A Story from Ancient Times: Li Bai and His Attendant in Yangzhou (Part 3)

(Minghui.org) Li Bai, one of the most famous poets in Chinese history, visited Yangzhou when he was 26. Because he was so generous, he gave away 300,000 copper coins (the currency at the time). He was later injured and became poverty-stricken, and had no place to stay. With the help of his attendant Dansha, Li was able to stay in Daming Temple. One night, he had a interesting dream. When he woke up, he realized that he missed his hometown and wrote a famous poem about it.

Below are the details.

(Continued from Parts 1 and 2)

Part 3. A Poem

After Jianzhen said they could stay in Daming Temple, Dansha thanked him and left. When Li Bai appeared at Daming Temple the next day, Jianzhen received him at the entrance. Li was very grateful, but Jianzhen said, “We also want to thank you. You wrote a very good poem about the Xiling Pagoda at Daming Temple. In your spare time while you are here, please write some poems for us. Good poems are priceless.” He had another monk arrange two rooms, one for Li Bai and the other for Dansha.

Li’s room was nicely appointed with a relief decoration around window and the relaxing scent of sandalwood. There was a new mosquito net to keep the bugs out. Dansha’s room was plain. It had a simple window and there was a small hole in the mosquito net. But the room was clean and neat.

A month passed, and Li gradually recovered. One evening while he was in bed, he stared at the relief around the window in a trance. The relief depicted three rabbits running, one after the other. Interestingly, because they were running in a circle around the window, they shared ears. That is, while each rabbit has two ears, the three rabbits had three ears. It was interesting, almost mystical.

Li closed his eyes, seemingly able to hear the rabbits running. They jumped out into the yard as if calling for him. Li got up and went out. In the yard, the stone table was still, the water wheel was quiet, and the laurel tree swayed gently. It seemed to Li as if he himself was a rabbit playing with the other rabbits. Then the three rabbits jumped up into the laurel tree and disappeared in the dense branches and leaves.

Li ran around the tree a few times but couldn’t find them. Scratching his head, he was puzzled. Suddenly he looked up and saw an auspicious cloud, on which was a beautiful celestial maiden carrying a rabbit. “Ah, isn’t this the legendary maiden of Chang’e?” he wondered.

Wide-eyed, Li stared at Chang’e and the rabbit. The maiden glowed softly in the moonlight, her eyes holy and pure. Looking at her, Li’s restless heart calmed down.

After a while, a spectacular scene appeared in the night sky. Behind Chang’e with the rabbit, another Chang’e with a rabbit suddenly appeared—like a reflection in a mirror. Li was amazed: What mystical power could make a second Chang’e appear?

As he was pondering this, a third Chang’e with a rabbit appeared, then a fourth and a fifth... They appeared endlessly, like a child blowing bubbles, each a glowing Chang’e with a rabbit.

Soon after that, there were Chang’e with rabbits all over the the sky. They then grew smaller and turned into clusters of flashing jellyfish-like spots. These glowing spots slowly rose in the moonlight, spinning and transforming into different shapes. Tens of thousands of jellyfish-like spots gathered on top of Xiling Pagoda, becoming smaller and turning into bright stars in the sky. Tens of thousands of these “stars” danced in the sky and, in the end, formed a gigantic, brilliant pattern of the giant bird Dapeng, ready to soar into the sky. Dapeng’s entire body was glowing, casting a silver coating of light on Xiling Pagoda. The entire yard was lit up like daytime.

Li felt like a wanderer who had gone though endless hardships and been terribly wounded and finally returned to his hometown after a long absence. The familiar yet long-forgotten image of Dapeng sent Li’s blood racing through his veins, leaving him with a sense of joy and bringing tears to his eyes. Li stared intently at the dazzling Dapeng in the sky. Dapeng’s shining star-like eyes seemed to speak to Li’s very soul; every small and shining “star” on Dapeng’s body echoed deeply in Li’s heart, and he felt like he himself had broken into countless, trembling pieces, each piece one of Dapeng’s “stars.” A tranquil happiness filled Li’s heart, like a baby returning to its mother’s arms or a lonely wild animal returning to the protection of the forest.

Li gently closed his eyes and felt a warm current flow throughout his body. When he opened his eyes again, he saw the image of Dapeng slowly disappearing in the night sky. In fact, as he looked more carefully, it was not that the image was disappearing, but that Dapeng was flying higher and further away. As it flew, the pattern of stars changed in Li’s eyes. Sometimes he saw Dakuang Mountain in his hometown, where he could see the familiar figures of his elderly parents and the blurred outlines of Wu Zhinan and Teacher Zhao Rui. Sometimes he saw a glimpse of Tian Shan at his birthplace of Suyab, where his childhood playmates galloped away on Akhal-teke horses next to the Chu River. As the last horse faded away, the stars rearranged themselves into the capital city of Chang’an, streets crisscrossing the checkerboard-like city with people as tiny as ants.

As Li stared at the palace in Chang’an, it suddenly disappeared, replaced by a dreamlike celestial realm of Yaochi, where the immortals live. Yaochi was surrounded by a golden halo. Shining Dapeng had disappeared into the Moon Palace. The only thing visible in the night sky was the grand and mysterious realm of Yaochi and the golden Moon Palace.

Yaochi was really impressive! A gigantic divine being with curly blue hair and exuding an air of peace and harmony was sitting on a lotus platform in the center. His expression was compassionate and solemn, and his eyes were as deep as the sea. Behind him was a shining light that illuminated the entire celestial realm like in a dream.

In the lower part of the scene were several playful celestial children. They were cute and innocent. Two were playing in water, clapping their hands, and laughing. Two others were trying hard to climb up on a lotus leaf, their little faces red with effort.

In the middle were a group of flying celestial maidens with graceful figures and shimmering dresses. Some of them were flying between buildings, holding flower baskets and scattering petals in the air, creating a beautiful rain of flower petals; others were playing mesmerizing melodies on musical instruments.

Above were musical instruments that played themselves. Flying in the sky, they sounded very pleasant, which, together with the singing and laughter of the celestial beings, presented a wonderful picture of harmony. It was amazing that those instruments could play such great music themselves, as if they were living beings.

Just as Li was gazing at a kong hou (an ancient instrument like a harp) that was playing itself, the entire mystical scene vanished, just like a bubble had popped. Looking around, Li saw the still stone window and the three-rabbit relief, surrounded by the quiet of a temple. Oh, it was a dream.

Standing up and walking slowly to the yard, Li thought he saw a thin layer of frost on the fence around the water well. Going closer, he realized it was reflected moonlight. Looking up in the sky, Li saw the orange moon high above Xiling Pagoda even brighter. In the quiet of the night, he could not help missing his hometown, and a poem came to mind:

Jing Ye Si (Thoughts on a Quiet Night)

On the fence of the well shines the bright moonlight,reflecting like frost at night;Looking up I see the moon bright and round,lowering my head, I miss my hometown.

The day he left Daming Temple, Li wrote this poem on a poetry board.

After reading this poem word by word, Jianzhen nodded and praised it. He asked someone to put it up in the main hall of the temple.

Dansha looked at the poem and read it 10 times.

“Do you also know poems?” Jianzhen asked

“My young master is having a difficult time and even his poems are so-so nowadays,” Dansha replied. “Even I can also come up with a poem like this one.”

Jianzhen could not help but be in awe and said, “As the attendant of the great poet Li Bai, you are not an ordinary person. Could you share your poem with us?”

So all the monks in the main hall held their breath and listened respectfully. Dansha did not hesitate and, after clearing his throat and puffing out his chest, read his poem aloud:

Annoyance at Midnight

Next to my pillow is a buzzing sound,constant and loud almost like thunder;Looking up I see a hole in the mosquito net,lowering my head I am busy swatting the gnats.

The End