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Ts’ai Ch’ueh (1037–1093) was from Chuanchou in Fukien province. He rose to the rank of minister during the reign of Emperor Shen-tsung (r. 1068–1085) and at first supported Wang An-shih’s financial reforms. But when the emperor changed sides, so did Ts’ai. In addition to his opportunism, he was also known for his arrogance, and he delighted in harassing others. He was later appointed prefect of Anlu in Hupei province and wrote a series of ten poems while visiting this pavilion outside Anlu that overlooked a tributary of the Han River. When the military governor of Hanyang heard these poems, he took advantage of a few double entendres to balance accounts and accused Ts’ai of disrespect to the throne. Ts’ai was arrested and died in detention. Until modern times, Chinese preferred porcelain or stone pillows during summer, as they “cool the brain.” Mats of woven bamboo or rattan are also used in the summer to reduce the body’s heat. And a square bed is meant to be shared. The fisherman here recalls the figure in the poem titled “The Fisherman” in the Chutzu, in which a fisherman criticizes Ch’u Yuan (340–278 B.C.) for his rigid adherence to principle and rows away singing: “When the waves are clear I wash my hat [serve in office] / when the waves are muddy I wash my feet [retire].”

Climbing to Canopy Pavilion on a Summer Day

TS’AI CH’UEH

A paper screen a stone pillow a square bamboo bed

a book falls from my hand during a midday dream

I wake up pleased and smile to myself

at the sound of a fisherman’s flute on the waves