

114 



The black silk is taken away that we may serve the prince of Ming; 

 But, at first, transrait me your verbal instruction, and save my body. 

 This evening we come before the face of the five founders — 

 To overturn Tsing and restore Ming is agreable to God. 



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ii. 



On the seven-starred altar mounted Ngo-lung ; 



In one morning august Heaven sent down an admirable man ; 



If Kin-nan had not used an excellent stratagem, 



How could Yun-lung then have been confident in his own abilities? ( l ) 



(!) Allusion to an episode from the period of the three states (A. D. 168 — 265). The incident alluded to 

 happened at the Tkree-rivers -entrance ( ;El ^X Pm« which. are situated between the districts 



Tang-yang l& Wf\ and T-ling 1^ Hs|m * n * üe department King-chau (1M >M4 1, inthepro- 



vince of Hu-kicang. Thsao47isao i~f&} $(jk I was anchored there with a large fleet, manned with a million 



of men. Ziu-pi, his antagonist , was iu great anxiety how to preserve his army from total destruction. 



Ngo-lung, Aid-de-camp of Liu-pi, tben erected an altar to the Seven Stars and, having prayed to the 



Gods, the wind changed from N. W. to a stronge S. E. breeze. This gave Liu-pi occasion to send down 



fire-ships which burned the whole fleet of T/isao-t/tsao. So much blood was shed there that all the walls 



and stones at the place were reddened. 



The place was, therefore, called, afterwards, „the red-wall-river" [yfh l|§ XX )• 



The above quatrain is a parody on that occurring in the 8° Ed., of the History of the three states, which 



quatrain runs thus : 



On the seven-starred altar mounted Ngo-lung ; 



In one night the East-wind was stronger than the water of the river; 



If Klwng-ming {Ngo-lung) had not used an excellent stratagem , 



How could Chau-lang then have been confident in his own abilities. 



<fc' A X J: PL- M ft 



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We do not find in the History of the Triad-society the episode of Wan-yun-lung alluded to in the second 

 part of the above quatrain. 



