While from the cloud-capped Pass[54] above,
The eagle's eye aglow,
Sees but an aged fisherman
Midst lakes and streams below.
[49] The Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ascended the throne 140 b.c.
[50] A lake probably situated to the south-west of Chang-an, the capital of China in the Han Dynasty. This city is now the provincial capital of Shen-si and better known as Si-an.
[51] A stone image of the Spinning-Maid stood on one shore of the lake, and another of the Cowherd on the opposite shore.
[52] A stone image of an immense fish covered with finely carved scales was also placed by the side of the lake.
[53] A kind of rice.
[54] Probably the celebrated 'Tung' Pass near Chang-an.
The whole poem has a political signification implying that revolution had turned the country into a wilderness, and desolation taken the place of former prosperity and greatness.