As for Erh-lang, his heart stayed faithful to the girl he had so greatly loved. At every feast he went to the temple of the Marshal-of-the-Five-Ways, and burned incense, so that the pleasant smoke of it might ascend to the palace of the soul of little Victorious-Immortal. His fidelity touched even the rough heart of Chou and, when he came to die a few years later, his body was buried in the same tomb with her whom his arms had known only in sleep.

Nao fan lou to ch'ing sheng hsien (Chou Victorious-
Immortal, of abundant love, overthrows the Pa-
vilion of the Fan). Hsing shih heng yen
(1627), 14th Tale.


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THE ERROR OF THE EMBROIDERED SLIPPER

The sun is in our eyes

And we think we are running out towards joy;

Our heart pulls us down

And we shall never know the way of the sky

Or the end of all things.