128 



CHINESE POETRY AND ITS CONNOTATIONS 



refused to fight in defence of the Empire until the lovely Yang Kuei 

 Fei had been given over to them for execution. They strangled her 

 to death, and the broken-hearted Ming Huang ^ M fled to Ssu Ch'uan 



Miao (Yao, Giles) Niang ^f jjjfL Concubine of Hou Chu $£ #: of the 

 Southern T'ang iff J|f , during tne Six Dynasties. Was very small, ex- 

 quisitely lovely, and could dance most beautifully. The Emperor had 

 a golden lotus six feet high rising from fairy clouds made for her, and 

 upon this she used to dance, her feet bound with white silk to make 

 them look like crescent moons. The custom of foot-binding is supposed 

 to have come from this incident. 





Miao Mang. 



Many other names are mentioned in the annals of 

 women both good and bad who have influenced the rulers of 

 the Empire during the many years of its history, but those 

 already quoted are characteristic examples of the great power 

 which has been wielded from behind the doors which guard 

 the "blossoms of the Palace." 



History and Literature. — The historical and literary 

 backgrounds of Chinese poetry are so vast, the allusions to 

 persons, events, and writings so numerous that it is im- 

 possible to even touch upon them in a paper of this length. 



The fundamental difference between the poetry of China 

 and that of the West is that the former is of necessity the 

 work of scholars, who before they can dash off the spirited 

 lyrics for which they are so famous, must have studied deeply 

 the history and literature of their country ; whereas the latter 

 is often the work of men and women who make no profession 

 of deep erudition. The result is that the Classical Allusions 



