One Thought, a Mortal Life · Stubborn and Foolish by Nature · 58 / 102
· The Return
I drain the bitterness from the wine and take back the face I once wore. I mean to split the mountain and cut down evil spirits — barely enough to feed my podao its fill.
Rhinoceros-hide armor gleams in the light of mermaid candles; the last leaves are swept before the wind. My only fear is that I cannot see this through to the end, so I press my brow to the ground and beg blue heaven 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 Fenggui 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.'
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