A LETTER OF THANKS FOR PRECIOUS PEARLS BESTOWED BY ONE ABOVE
Florence Wheelock Ayscough translation
BY CHIANG TS'AI-P'IN
(THE "PLUM-BLOSSOM" CONCUBINE OF THE EMPEROR MING HUANG)
It is long—long—since my two eyebrows were painted like cassia-leaves. I have ended the adorning of myself. My tears soak my dress of coarse red silk. All day I sit in the Palace of the High Gate. I do not wash; I do not comb my hair. How can precious pearls soothe so desolate a grief.