A Mortal Life, Born of One Thought · Stubborn and Foolish by Nature · 58 / 102
Bu Suan Zi · Coming Home
I drink off the bitterness in the wine and take back the face I wore before. I mean to open the mountain and cut down the evil souls — scarcely enough to feed the podao its fill.
Rhinoceros-hide armour shines in the mermaid-fat candlelight; the last leaves are swept before the wind. My one fear is that I cannot see the thing through to its end; I knock and beg the blue heavens to keep me.
Glosses—
朴刀 [pō dāo]: an old-style weapon, a blade narrow and long with a handle shorter than that of the great sabre, wielded with both hands;
Mermaid candles: candles made from the fat of the mermaid. The phrase comes from the Records of the Grand Historian, 'Basic Annals of the First Emperor of Qin': 'When the First Emperor was buried at Mount Li… they used mermaid fat for the candles, reckoning they would burn long without going out.' Wang Penggui of the Tang, 'Rhapsody on the Sun': 'Fireflies gather and burn, the mermaid candles blaze together; the bright moon shines from on high, the myriad stars are ranged afar.' Dai Wangshu, 'The Lamp': 'The emperor lies long, the mermaid candles burn high and eternal, in his dark and solemn tomb.'
*This piece is an original work. If you repost it, please credit the original author Guang Zhi Shiyi; any infringement, once discovered, will be pursued for legal liability. In addition, the accompanying illustration comes from the internet and belongs to its original artist, Hehewu.