11.

Stirred Emotions (First of Twenty Poems)

A wulü

1910

The first of twenty poems that explore Chen’s difficulty in reconciling his mood of detachment from the world of politics and power with his inability to stop thinking about China and its fate, while leading a quiet life in Hangzhou between revolutionary storms.

This beauty lives along a winding lane,

more lovely than a peach or plum.

Pearls would add nothing to her charm,

which matches that of an orchid and an iris.

If not for infinite commitment,

she would be disinclined to talk of love.

She shuts the door and listens to the plucking of red strings,

but mindful still of world affairs.

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Line 1: Starting in the Warring States period with Qu Yuan, if not earlier, Chinese literati used the image of a beautiful woman and of fragrant grass to indicate their own virtue and purity.