The Cantos Project - LIV

LIV

So that Tien-tan chose bulls, a thousand
and covered them with great leather masks, making dragons
and bound poignards to their horns
and tied torches, pitch-smeared, to their tails
and loosed them by night from ten points
on the camp of Ki-kié the besieger
lighting the torches
So died Ki-kié and that town (Tsié-mé) was delivered.
For three hundred years, four hundred, nothing quiet,
WALL rose in the time of TSIN CHI
TCHEOU lasted eight centuries and then TSIN came
and of TSIN was CHI HOANG TI that united all China
who referred to himself as the surplus
or needless bit of the Empire
and jacked up astronomy
and after 33 years burnt the books
because of fool litterati
by counsel of Li-ssé
save medicine and on field works
and HAN was after 43 years of TSIN dynasty.
some fishin’ some huntin’ some things cannot be changed
some cook, some do not cook
some things can not be changed.
And when TSE-YNG had submitted, Siao-ho ran to the palace
careless of treasure, and laid hold of the records,
registers of the realm for Lord Lieou-pang
that wd/ be first HAN
Now after the end of EULH and the death of his eunuch
were Lieou-pang, and Hiang-yu
who had taste for commanding
but made no progress in letters,
saying they serve only to transmit names to posterity
and he wished to carve up the empire
bloody rhooshun, thought in ten thousands
his word was worth nothing, he would not learn fencing. And against him
Lieou-pang stored food and munitions
so that he came to be emperor, KAO,
brought calm and abundance
No taxes for a whole year,
‘no taxes till people can pay ‘em’
‘When the quarry is dead, weapons are useless.’
‘It appears to me’ said this Emperor, ‘that it is
because I saw what each man cd/ put through.’
And Lou-kia was envoy to Nan-hai, with nobility,
and wished that the king (the books Chu king and Chi king) be restored
to whom KAO: I conquered the empire on horseback.
to whom Lou: Can you govern it in that manner?
whereon Lou-kia wrote ‘The New Discourse’ (Sin-yu)
in 12 chapters, and the books were restored.
And KAO went to Kung fu tseu’s tomb out of policy
videlicet to please the writers and scholars
A hot lord and unlettered, that knew to correct his own faults
as indeed when he had first seen palace women, their splendour
yet listened to Fan-kouai
and had gone out of Hien-yang the palace, aroused.
And he told Siao-ho to edit the law code
Thereon the men in the vaudevilles
sang of peace and of empire
Au douce temps de pascor
And Tchang-tsong wrote of music, its principles
Sun-tong made record of rites
And this was written all in red-character, countersigned by the assembly
sealed with the Imperial Seal
and put in the hall of the forebears
as check on successors.
HIAO HOEI TI succeeded his father.
Rain of blood fell in Y-yang
pear trees fruited in winter
LIU-HEOU was empress, with devilments,
till the grandees brought Hiao OUEN
Prince of Tai to the throne that was son of KAO TI and a concubine
(no tribute for the first year of his reign)
And the chief of the Southern Barbarians complained
that his silver import was intercepted
circulation of specie impeded
the tombs of his ancestors ruin’d
‘49 years have I governed Nan-yuei
my grandsons are now fit to serve
I am old, nigh blind, can scarce hear the drum-beats
I give up title of Emperor.’
And Kia-Y sent in a petition that they store grain against famine
and HIAO OUEN TI the emperor published:
Earth is the nurse of all men
I now cut off one half the taxes
I wish to follow the sages, to honour Chang Ti by my furrow
Let farm folk have tools for their labour it is
for this I reduce the said taxes
Gold is inedible. Let no war find us unready.
Thus Tchao-tso of his ministry (war)
‘Gold will sustain no man’s life nor will diamonds
keep the land under culture....
by wise circulation. Bread is the base of subsistence.’
They ended mutilation as punishment
were but 400 men in all jails
Died HIAO OUEN TI, ante Cristum one fifty seven.
After 23 years of reign, that pensioned the elders.
Great rebels began making lead money
grasshoppers came against harvest
And Li-kouang bluffed the tartars (the Hiong-nou)
in face of a thousand, he and his scouts dismounted
and unsaddled their horses, so the Hiong nou
thought Li’s army was with him.
Virtue is the daughter of heaven, YU followed CHUN
and CHUN, YAO having one root of conduct
HIAO KING had a just man’s blood on his conscience.
Sin
jih
jih
sin,
HIA’S fortune was in good ministers
The highbrows are full of themselves
learnèd, gay and irrelevant
on such base nothing stands
HAN OU was for huntin’, huntin’ tigers, bears, leopards
They said: you outride all yr/ huntsmen
no one else has such good horses.
The prince of Hoai-nan took to light reading
Prince of Ho-kien preferred histories, Chu King
and the Tcheou-li and the Li-ki of Mencius (Mong-tsé)
and the Chi-king or Odes of Mao-chi and the Tchun-tsiou
with the comment of Tso-kieou-min.
and the Li-yo with treatise on music.
HAN TCHAO TI opened the granaries
HAN SIEUN (or SIUN) was fed up with highbrows
Preferred men who knew people’s habits
‘Writers are full of their own importance’
And when the tartar king came to Tchang-ngan
all the troops stood before him
the great in ceremonial uniform waited before that city
and the EMPEROR
came out of the Palace with
foreign and chinese princes,
Mandarins of the army and the book mandarins
as an hedge from the palace
and He took his way between them
mid cheering and acclamation
Ouan-soui!! Ouan-soui!!
10,000 Ouan Soui!! may he live for
ten thousand years!
They cried this for the Emperor and joy was in every voice.
And the Tartar ran from his car to HAN SIEUN
held out his hand in friendship
and then remounted his war horse
And they came into the city, and to the palace prepared
And next day two imperial princes went to the Prince Tartar
the Tchen-yu and brought him to the audience hall
where all princes sat in their orders
and the Tchen-yu knelt to HAN SIEUN
and stayed three days there in festival
whereafter he returned to his border and province.
He was the Prince of Hiong-nou
And the kings of Si-yu, that are from Tchang-ngan to the Caspian
came into the Empire
to the joy of HAN SIEUN TI
(Pretty manoeuvre but the technicians
watched with their hair standing on end
anno sixteen, Bay of Naples)
From Ngan to the Caspian all was under HAN SIEUN
The text of books reestablished. And he died in the 25th of his reign
And Fong-chi led the bear back to its cage
which tale is as follows:
Fong-chi and Fou-chi had titles but only as Queens of HAN YUEN
and in the imperial garden a bear forced the bars of his cage
and of the court ladies only Fong faced him
who seeing this went back quietly to his cage.
And now was seepage of bhuddists. HAN PING
simple at table, gave tael to the poor
Tseou-kou and Tchong took the high road
The Prince of Ou-yen killed off a thousand,
set troops to tilling the fields.
KOUANG OU took his risks as a common soldier
HAN MING changed nothing of OU’s
gave no posts to princesses’ relatives
and Yang Tchong sent in a placet that food prices had risen
since the start of the Tartar war, taxes had risen
Year of drought 77 and the Empress MA CHI answered:
Until now few Empresses’ relatives
have been enriched without making trouble
When Ouang Chi’s five brothers were lifted
thick fog came on this Empire
‘History is a school book for princes.’
HAN HO TI heard men’s good counsel
And in the third moon of the first year of HAN NGAN
the Empress’ brother named Teng-tchi refused the honours of princedom
But gathered scholars and finally heard of Yang-tchin
whom he made governor
and Yang-tchin refused gold of the mandarin Ouang-mi
earthquakes and eclipses.
And they turned out 300 mandarins
that were creations of Léang-ki
And HUON gave most of the swag to the people
500 million tael
war, taxes, oppression
backsheesh, taoists, bhuddists
wars, taxes, oppressions
And some grandees formed an academy
and the eunuchs disliked the academy
but they never got rid of the eunuchs
Téou-Chi brought back the scholars
and the books were incised in stone
46 tablets set up at the door of the college
inscribed in 5 sorts of character
HAN HUON was run by eunuchs
HAN LING was governed by eunuchs
wars, murders and crime news
HAN sank and there were three kingdoms
and booze in the bamboo grove
where they sang: emptiness is the beginning of all things.
Lieou-Tchin died in hall of the forebears––
when his father wd/ not die fighting——
by suicide, slaying his children and consort.
Down! HAN is down. Under TÇIN
Tou-yu proposed a bridge over Hoang-ho
TÇIN OU TI mourned for Sir Yang-Hou
that had planned the union of empire,
and had named Tou-yu to succeed him
Ouang-siun wrote to his MAJESTY: Wind was against us
at San-chan, we cd/ not sail up the Kiang
nor was there sense in returning.
Not I but Sun-hao’s own men sacked his palace.
And TÇIN OU exempted the conquered in OU from taxes.
Was an army and navy dog fight. And after the fall of Sun-hao
his ballet distracted the EMPEROR
were five thousand ballet girls
after the first Quindecennio
And Lieou-Y answered the Emperor:
‘Difference, milorr’, is that HUON and LING TI
extracted and kept it in public vaults
whereas YR Majesty keeps it in yr/ own private
TÇIN OU dismissed too many troops
and was complimented on dragons
(two found in the soldiers’ well, green ones)
and the country was run by Yang Siun
while the emperor amused himself in his park
had a light car made, harnessed to sheep
The sheep chose which picnic he went to,
ended his days as a gourmet. Said Tchang, tartar:
Are not all of his protégés flatterers?
How can his county keep peace?
And the prince Imperial went into the cabaret business
and read Lao Tse.
HOAI TI was deposed, MIN TI taken by tartars
made lackey to Lieou-Tsong of Han
TÇIN TCHING cared for the people.
TÇIN NGAN died of tonics and taoists
TÇIN HIAO told a girl she was 30
and she strangled him
(piquée de ce badinage) he drunk at the time
Now was therefore SUNG rising.
When Lieou-yu’s mother was buried
His dad couldn’t hire a nurse for this baby
KAO-TSOU.
last TÇIN down in a Bhud mess
KAO TSEU preferred distribution
No pomps in palatio, Made peace with the tartars
Li-Chan wd/ not leave his mountain
Et les Indiens disent que Boudha
in the form of a white buck elephant
slid into Queen Nana’s bosom, she virgin,
and after nine months ingestion
emerged on the dexter side
The Prince of Ouei put out hochangs
put out the shamen and Taotsé
a.d. 444, putt ‘em OUT
in the time of OUEN TI
‘Let artisans teach their sons crafts’
Found great store of arms in a temple
Then To-pa-tao went after the shave-heads, the hochang
And the censor finally printed his placet
against extortionate judgements and greed of
the High Judge Yupingtchi
OUEN TI reduced him (Yupingtchi)
And there was peace between Sung land and Oueï land
and they ordered more war machines à la Valturio
conscriptions, assassins, taoists
taxes still in the hands of the princes
OU TI had ’em centralized
Yen Yen was frugal. Oueï prince went pussyfoot
And the rites of Tien, that is Heaven
were ploughing and the raising of silk worms
OU TI ploughed his festival furrow a.d. 460
his Empress did rite of the silk worms
Then OU went gay and SUNG ended.
Thus was it with Kao’s son that was Siao, that was called as Emperor
OU TI
collecter of vases
(Topas were in Ouei country, they were Tartar)
bhuddists, hochangs, serendipity
‘Man’s face is a flag’ said Tan Tchin
‘Thought is to body as is its edge to a sword’
So OU TI of LEANG had a renaissance
Snow lay in Ping Tching till June
Emp’r’r huntin’ and the Crown Prince full of saki
And Topa Hong came south under the rain
‘No lack of students, few wise.
Perhaps this is due to the colleges.’
And Topa, who was Lord of the Earth called himself Yuen
and there was a hand-out to the aged
halls were re-set to Kung-fu-tseu
yet again, allus droppin’ ’em and restorin’ ’em
after intervals. And there was war on the Emperor OU TI
Hochang consider their own welfare only.
And the 46 tablets that stood still there in Yo Lang
were broken and built into Foé’s temple (Foé’s, that is goddam bhuddists.)
this was under Hou-chi the she empress. OU TI went into cloister
Empire rotted by hochang, the shave-heads, and
Another boosy king died. Snow alone kept out the tartars
And men turned their thought toward Ouen Ti
Yang-kien of Soui set men to revise his law code
Sou-ouei advised him, grain went into his granaries
HEOU raised the Three Towers
sat late and wrote verses
His mandate was ended.
Came the XIIth dynasty: SOUI
YANG-KIEN, rough, able, wrathy
flogged a few every day
and sacrificed on Mt Taï Chan
Built Gin Cheou the palace
pardoned those who stood up to him.
Touli-Kahn, tartar, was given a princess
now was contempt of scholars
OUEN kept up mulberry trees
and failed with his family
YANG (kouang) TI ordered more buildings
jobs for two millyum men
and filled his zoological gardens
1600 leagues of canals 40 ft wide for the
honour of YANG TI of SOUI
the stream Kou-choui was linked to Hoang Ho the river
great works by oppression
by splendid oppression
the Wall was from Yu-lin to Tsé-ho
and a million men worked on that wall.
Pei-kiu was tactful with traders,
knowing that YANG liked news from afar,
with what he learned of the Si-yu he mapped 48 kingdoms.
KONG sank in abuleia. TANG rising.
And the first TANG was KAO TSEU, the starter.
And that year died Li-Chi that had come to his rescue
with a troop of 10,000. The war drums beat at her funeral
And her husband drove back the tartars, Tou-kou-hoen.
Fou stood against foé, damn bhuddists
When TAÏ TSONG came to be emperor he turned out 3000 fancies
Built thus for two hundred years TANG
And there were ten thousand students.
Fou-Y saying they use muzzy language
the more to mislead folk.
Kung is to China as is water to fishes.
War, letters, to each a time.
Provinces by mountain and rivers divided.
‘A true prince wants his news straight’
TAÏ TSONG was no friend to taozers hochangs and foés.
Was observer of seasons, saying:
Take not men from the plough
Let judges fast for three days before passing capital sentence
Oueï-Tching rock-like in council
made the Emperor put on his best clothes
Said: in war time we want men of ability
in peace we want also character
300 were unjailed to do their spring ploughing
and they all came back in October
‘I grew with the people’ said TAÏ TSONG
‘my son in the palace’
Died KAO TSEU the emperor’s father
635 anno domini
Died the Empress Tchang-sun CHI
leaving ‘Notes for Princesses’
And TAÏ in his law code cut 92 reasons for death sentence
and 71 for exile
as they had been under SOUI
And there were halls to Confucius and Tchéou-Kong
Ma-tchéou spoke against corvées
that had been under SOUI
Grain price was high when TAÏ entered
a small measure cost one bolt of silk, entire.
If a prince piles up treasure
he shares only his surplus
Lock not up the people’s subsistence. Said TAÏ TSONG:
let a prince be cited for actions.
A measure of rice now cost three or four denars,
that wd/ feed one man for one day.
Oueï-tching spoke his mind to the Emperor. Died a.d. 643.
And there were plots in palatio.
TAÏ TSONG had a letch for Corea
And an embassy came from north of the Caspian
from Koulihan of short nights
where there is always light over horizon
and from the red-heads of Kieï-kou
Blue-eyed and their head man was Atchen or Atkins Chélisa
And the Emperor TAÏ TSONG left his son ‘Notes on Conduct’
whereof the 3rd treats of selecting men for a cabinet
whereof the 5th says that they shd/ tell him his faults
the 7th: maintain abundance
The 10th a charter of labour
and the last on keepin’ up kulchur
Saying ‘I have spent money on palaces
too much on ’osses, dogs, falcons
but I have united the Hempire (and you ’aven’t)
Nothing harder than to conquer a country
and damn’d easy to lose one, in fact there
ain’t anything heasier.
Died TAÏ TSONG in the 23rd of his reign.
And left not more than fifty men in all jails of the empire
none of ’em complaining of judgement.
And the tartars wanted to die at his funeral
and wd/ have, if TAÏ hadn’t foreseen it
and writ expressly that they should not.
Then the Empress Ou-heou ran the country
toward ruin
but TAÏ TSONG’S contraption still worked——
local administrations in order
Tching-gintai drove after tartars,
his men perished in snow storms
and the hochang ran the old empress
the old bitch ruled by prescription and hochangs
who told her she was the daughter of Buddha
Tartars remembering TAÏ TSONG
held up the state of TAÏ TSONG
young TCHONG was run by his wife.
Honour to HIEUN ‘to hell with embroideries, a.d.
to hell with the pearl merchants’
HIEUN measured shadows at solstice
polar star at 34.4
Measured it in different parts of the empire
at Lang-tchéou was 29 and a half
Tsiun-Y 34° and 8 lines
For five years no taxes in Lou-tchéou
census 41 million, 726 anno domini
And HIEUN TSONG decreed Kung posthumous honours
That he shd/ be henceforth called prince not mere ‘maistre’ in all rites
and we were sad that the north cities, Chépoutching
and Ngan-yong were in hands of the tartars
(Tou-san)
And there came a taozer babbling of the elixir
that wd/ make men live without end
and the taozer died very soon after that.
And plotters cried out against the Queen Koué-fei
‘a rebel’s daughter’ and killed her.
Tchang-siun fighting for SOU TSONG had need of arrows
and made then 1200 straw men which he set in dark
under wall at Yong-kieu
and the tartars shot these full of arrows. And next night
Colonel Tchang set out real men, and the tartars withheld their arrows
till Tchang’s men were upon them.
To SOU TSONG they sent rhinoceri and elephants dancing
and bowing, but when Li-yen
sent TÉ TSONG a memorial on the nuances of clouds our lord
TÉ TSONG replied that plentiful harvests were prognastics more to
his taste than strange animals
or even new botanical specimens and other natural what-nots
Cock fighting wastes palace time
So they set up another tribunal
to watch mandarins
and no new temples to idols
700,000 men in the army
inkum 30 million tael silver
and in grain 20 million measures of 100 lbs each.
Nestorians entered, General Kouo-tsé-y
is named in their monument.
Such bravery and such honesty, 30 years without rest.
And more goddam Tartars bust loose again
better war than peace with these tartars
Taxes rising, Li-ching had a liaison
And TÉ-TSONG rode apart from his huntsmen in the hunting by Sintien
and went into a peasant’s house incognito
And said:
we had good crops for two years or three years
and no war.
And the peasant said: bé, if we have had
good crops for two years or three years
you’ve got no taxes to pay to the Emperor
we used to pay twice a year and no extras
and now they do nothing but think up new novelties
We pay the usual tithe, and if there’s a full crop
They come round to squeeze more of it out of us
and beat down our prices, and then
sell it back again to us
or else we have to get pack animals
or wear out our own, so that I can’t keep a tael quiet.
Does this mean contentment?’
Whereon TÉ TSONG did nothing
save exempt that one peasant from corvée.
and then laid a tea tax
Empresses, rebels, tartars
six months without rain.
Died TÉ-TSONG; the deceived.

b.c. 279

b.c. 213

b.c. 202

b.c. 179

b.c. 146

b.c. 49

a.d. 107

a.d. 159

a.d. 175

a.d. 274

a.d. 317

a.d. 396

a.d. 448

a.d. 460

a.d. 503-550

a.d. 581

a.d. 618

a.d. 662

a.d. 713-756

a.d. 756

a.d. 805

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