78

Kao Shih (702–765) tries to mollify a friend being sent to Fukien as punishment for performing too well his job of criticizing breaches of policy and law. Geese are a reminder of exile, but they can fly north in spring. Kao would have us believe they don’t fly as far south as Fukien. Still, one cannot avoid hearing the eerie howl of a gibbon and being reminded of one’s desolation. The Coast Road skirts the East China Sea in Chekiang and Fukien. What Kao means by “the South” is “in this part of the South.” Elsewhere in the South the climate was equivalent to a death sentence for Northerners. At the end of this poem Kao encourages his friend by trying to assure him that he will enjoy imperial favor (rain and dew), but only if he can avoid stirring up more trouble (wind and waves).

For Censor Cheng on Being Banished to Fukien

KAO SHIH

Go into exile but bear no grudge

I was once in Fukien myself

geese for the most part are rare in fall

though gibbons are common at night

the Coast Road merges with cloud-high peaks

but miasmas and plagues in the South are mild

you’ll know the rain and dew again

go but watch out for the wind and waves