126 CHINESE POETRY AND ITS CONNOTATIONS 



him in his chariot, that not being the function of a woman. She was 

 supplanted by the beautiful but unscrupulous "Flying Swallow," who 

 accused her to the Emperor of having denounced him to the Kuei 

 and Shen, that is, the beings of the other worlds. The Emperor 

 therefore sent for the Lady Pan, who kneeling before him answered 

 his questioning as follows : 



"The unworthy one of the Emperor has heard that he who 

 cultivates virtue still has not attained happiness or favour. If 

 this be so, for him who does evil what hope is there ? Supposing 

 the Demons and Spirits are aware of the affairs of this world, 

 they could not endure that one who was not faithful to the 

 Emperor should betray him — should utter the secret thoughts 

 hidden in the darkness of his heart ! If they are not conscious — 

 of what benefit or advantage would the uttering of these dark 

 thoughts be?" 



Then rising she left the Imperial presence. She realized, however, 

 that her day was over, and she could not bear to live on in the Palace. 

 She therefore begged that she might be allowed to attend the Empress 

 Dowager to whom she was very devoted and so left the Imperial harem 

 in a most dignified manner. When in retirement she wrote the Emperor 

 a poem in which she likened herself to a fan put away in a box of split 

 bamboo as soon as the fierce gales of autumn dispersed the summer 

 heats; for this reason the term "autumn fan" bears the connotation 

 "a deserted wife." 



Chao Fei Yen i§ ^ ffe the "Flying Swallow," also the Concubine 

 of Cheng Ti of Han, and the very opposite to Pan Chieh-yu. 

 She was trained as a dancing girl, and her grace and lightness were 

 such that she received the name "Flying Swallow." She was seen 

 at the Capital by the Emperor when he was roaming the city in 

 disguise and she and her sister were at once placed in the Imperial 

 seraglio. She became the favorite concubine and in 16 B.C. was 

 raised to the rank of Empress consort, but on the death of the 

 Emperor she was driven by Palace intrigue to commit suicide. 



T'ang Chi Jg Jg Concubine of Shao Ti A; fy of Han ^ |g who 

 was most devoted to him and when the treacherous Tung Cho jf ^l 

 insisted that his Emperor should commit suicide by drinking poison, 

 Shao Ti begged that if he must drain the cup, T'ang Chi might give 

 him pleasure by dancing before him. This, weeping bitterly, T'ang 

 Chi ^ jfl5 did, and the Emperor died in peace. As she was only 

 eighteen she was returned to her father's home, and he wished her to 

 marry, this, however, she refused to do but spent her time in tending a 

 spirit tablet of Shao Ti. Hsien Ti ^ ^ , the succeeding Emperor, 

 upon the restoration, hearing of her fidelity, commanded that she should 

 return to the Palace and sent an Official to meet and escort her, she 

 was given a dwelling in the Palace gardens, and always carried an 

 official tasselled staff in memory of Shao Ti A? %fr. 



P'an Yii-erh $f 3£ ^> Concubine of Tung-hun Hou ffc -§| ^ 

 of Southern Ch'i ^. In his infatuation for her he ordered that golden 

 lotus should be made upon the floor of the Palace^, that "at every step 

 a lotus might bloom." Upon the overthrow of the Ch'i dynasty by 

 the Liang ^, Wu Ti jj^ fy was much attracted by her beauty and 

 wished to add her to the ladies of his Palace, whereupon his official 

 Wang Mo EE jSH saying indignantly, "What caused the overthrow of 

 Ch'i? It was that thing!" induced the Emperor to refrain from 

 keeping her. She was to be given to a minor Military Official but 

 rather than submit to such indignity the proud beauty hanged herself. 



Hsu Niang f£ $g Concubine of *¥~uan Ti 7c # of Liang g£, who 

 was "daft" about her, although outwardly she appeared to care for 



