The following fairly late poem was written by
the poet Meng Chiao during the ninth century CE.
"The Stones
Where the Haft Rotted"
Less
than a day in paradise,
And
a thousand years have passed among men.
While
the pieces are still being laid on the board 1
All
things have changed to emptiness.
The
woodman takes the road home,
The
haft of his axe has rotted in the wind:
Nothing
is what it was but the stone bridge
Still
spanning a rainbow cinnabar red.
1. The imagery here is of
the board-game Go, in which two players consecutively place
black and white stones representing Yin and Yang
on a board in strategic positions to occupy or control as much
space as possible. In Chinese folklore, a traveller in remote
regions might come across a strange man on a mountain-top who
offers to play a game. Like Rip Van Wrinkle, or people who visit
fairy-land in European mythology, the participant plays a game,
and when he steps away discovers that many years have passed in
what seem like moments.
