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Ch'en T'ing-pi (after1414)
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Painting of the giraffe from Bengal. copied from Shen Tu
The first line from the right: 钦惟 皇帝陛下嗣承
Translation: Admire only; Emperor your majesty succeeds to (This is the beginning of the poem by Shen Du)
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Respectfully I consider that your Majesty succeeded to the Emperor T'ai-tsu's (1) Grand Heritage and that your virtue transforms (the world)
and
causes the Three Luminaries (2) to follow their regular course and all living souls to perform their duty. Consequently a Tsou-yu (vegetarian
tiger)
has appeared, Wonderful Ears (3) are produced, Sweet Dew (4) has descended, the Yellow River has been Clear (8) and Savory Springs have
gushed
forth. All the creatures that spell good fortune arrive. In the 9th month of the year chia-wu (5) of the Yung-lo period (6) (1414) a K'i-lin
(7)(giraffe) came from the country of Bengal and was formally presented as tribute to the court. The ministers and the people all gathered to gaze at it and their joy knows no
end. I, Your servant, have heard that, when a Sage possesses the virtue of the utmost benevolence so that he illuminates the
darkest places, then a K'i-lin appears. This shows that Your majesty's virtue equals that of Heaven; its merciful blessings have spread far
and
wide so that its harmonious vapors have emanated a K'i-lin, as an endless bliss to the state for a myriad myriad years. I, Your servant,
joining
the throng, behold respectfully this omen of good fortune and kneeling down a hundred times and knocking my head on the ground I present a
hymn of praise as follows :
Oh how glorious is the Sacred Emperor who excels both in literary and military virtues, Who has succeeded to the Precious Throne and has accomplished Perfect Order and imitated the Ancients ! The myriad countries are thoroughly at rest and the Three Luminaries (2) follow their due course. Rain and heat are seasonable and rice and millet are yearly harvested. The people in their customs are joyful and there is-no hindrance or rift between them, Consequently auspicious signs have abundantly descended to the world. A Tsou-yu has truly appeared, and Savory Springs and Sweet Dew (4) have come forth, Wonderful Ears (3) are found in plenty and the River has become Clear. When all the Happinesses gather, truly it betokens Heaven's help, Truly it betokens Heaven's help, and proclaims Heaven's favor. Now in the twelfth year (9) of which the cyclical position is chia-wu (5), In a corner of the western seas, in the stagnant waters of a great morass, Truly was produced a K'i-lin whose shape was high 15 feet, With the body of a deer and the tail of ox, and a fleshy boneless horn, With luminous spots like a red cloud or a purple mist, Its hoofs do not tread-on (living) beings and in its wanderings it carefully selects its ground, It walks in stately fashion; and in its every motion it observes a rhythm, Its harmonious voice sounds like a bell or a musical tube. Gentle is this animal that in all antiquity has been seen but once, The manifestation of its divine spirit rises up to Heaven's abode. Ministers and people gathering to behold it-vie in being the first to see the joyful spectacle, As when the Phoenix of Ch'i sang in Chou (10) or the Chart from the River was presented to (the Emperor) Yu. The hundred myriads this year are united and observe the same rules of conduct. Your servant on duty in the Forest of Letters, cherishing the presumptuous ambition to record this, Has intoned this poem in order to present a hymn of praise to the Sacred Ruler. Composed by Your servant, Shen Tu, Shih-chiang-hsueh-shih, Feng-hsun-ta-fu of the Han-lin-yuan. The 12th year of Yung-lo, the cyclical date chia-wu, in the autumn, the 9th month, the presentation of tribute by the country of Bengal,
also painted by your servant (Shen) Tu.
Copied and written by Ch'en T'ing-pi (whose style is) Yun-fan. |
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(1) Emperor T'ai-tsu's: (1328-1398) who founded the Ming dynasty.
(2) The sun , moon , and stars ( planets or star - planets ) are the Three Luminaries ( san - kuang ) . In the sky , they are the visible projection of the original tri - unity of the Three Breaths which animate the world .
(3) An ear is the grain-bearing tip part of the
stem of a cereal plant, such as wheat or maize (corn). (But maize was still not known).
(4) “Sweet dew” (ganlu is a highly symbolic object in Chinese culture. The Liji (Records of Rites) states: If a monarch acts in accord with and not against (the laws of nature), heaven will send down sweet dew.
(5) year chia-wu: the Chinese did not count in periods of 100 years but in periods of 60 years. Then it starts over. Every year has its own name; so every 60 year that name is repeated. They do not start in (0 AD) but the 45th cycle starts in (4 AD).
The cyclical year chia-wu is the 31 sign. So it will start in 4+30 = 34 AD and will come back every 60 years: 34-94-154-214-274 etc. They do not mention the amount of cycles that have past. Instead they add the name of the Emperor in that year and how many years he had already reigned.
This system of dating is found in: Oriental ceramic art by William Thompson Walters p54-55.
https://archive.org/details/ost-art-orientalceramica00walt/page/n73/mode/2up
(6) Yung-lo: : The Yongle Emperor — personal name Zhu Di, or Chu Ti— was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424.
(7) The qilin (麒麟) is a legendary hooved chimerical creature that appears in Chinese mythology, and is said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a sage or illustrious ruler.
(8) As the Yellow River had always been muddy, a clear River came to be regarded as the token for a wise ruler and a peaceful society. The idiom “calm sea and clear Yellow River” became another way of expressing a time of peace and prosperity. Such accounts as “clear Yellow River” at a certain place or on a certain date can be found from time to time in the official history of various dynasties.
Other descriptions were only auspicious signs fabricated by the rulers to deceive themselves.
(9) the 12th year of the Yung-lo period starting in 1403 + 12 = 1414-1415
(10) Ch’I :The name of the mountain where the descendants of Hou Chi, the ancestor of the Chou dynasty, lived.