114

Liu Yu-hsi (772–842) was a native of Loyang and a prominent, though often banished, poet. He wrote this poem in 815 upon returning to Ch’ang-an after a ten-year banishment to Hunan for siding with the reform faction of Wang Shu-wen. The combination of allusions in this poem—the purple (i.e., royal) paths of the imperial city, the red dust (of illusion and sensory indulgence), the name of the temple (hsuan-tu—celestial capital), the thousands of officials promoted since his banishment, and the thinly veiled reference to himself—together resulted in a second banishment. When he returned he wrote the next poem (verse 115) after visiting the same temple, and was banished for a third time. The Taoist temple to which he refers was just outside Ch’ang-an, and the people he meets are on their way back from going to see its blossoms. The peach trees were planted by the abbot after Liu’s earlier banishment. While “Mister Liu” is clearly a mask for the author, it ostensibly refers to Liu Ch’en, an herb gatherer who became lost in the Tientai Mountains and survived on peaches until he finally returned two hundred years later.

The Peach Blossoms of Hsuantu Temple

LIU YU-HSI

Red dust from purple paths swirls before their faces

everyone says they’ve been to see the flowers

thousands of peach trees at Hsuantu Temple

and all of them planted since Mister Liu departed