“Tall though it be, what can one do with the useless lengths of the young bamboo with its one or two joints?”[1]
On hearing this, the Emperor became more and more intrigued, and without composing a reply he ordered the secretary to find out where the lady lived. When the secretary returned to the Gate, however, he found that she had quite vanished. He reported this to the Emperor, who with a terrible look told him that unless he discovered her whereabouts he would be held guilty of a crime. The secretary paled and withdrew. The Emperor, as a result of this, lost all interest in the football match and retired.
For some time afterward he wore a bitter scowl and caused everyone concern. One day Lord Konoe and others were in attendance at an Imperial entertainment. The Emperor was not his usual self. He seemed preoccupied and gazed listlessly about him. Lord Konoe had the wine cup presented and remarked, “Is it true that Your Majesty was not long ago ‘singed by a smudge-fire at a house in some unknown quarter?’ If it were looked for it wouldn’t remain hidden long, I daresay. In China the search was carried as far as Paradise.[2] Her house is within the capital; finding it should be a simple matter.” He offered the cup to the Emperor who, though he smiled faintly, was not amused and, drawing himself up, retired.
Meanwhile, the secretary was searching in every imaginable quarter, hoping to encounter the lady, and even offered prayers to the gods and to Buddha, but without avail. He was in despair when he remembered a certain diviner, named Fumpira, who was famed for his effortless predictions and who would be able to divine her whereabouts. The secretary called upon this man and asked his aid. “Word has reached me privately about this. A very grave matter,” said the diviner. “Now let us see what Fumpira’s divining can do about it. We have come under Mars. Today’s sign is the Serpent. From this I take it that she is in hiding only temporarily. You will find her
- ↑ Puns in the poem give it the additional meaning of “Exalted though you are what would be the good of one or two nights of idle love-making with the ‘young bamboo’?”
- ↑ Reference to the search for the soul of the Emperor Hsüan Tsung’s favorite Yang Kuei-fei (718–756), discovered in the Taoist paradise.
