The "beasts" are fabulous creatures called tso chih, with tusks three feet long, who delight in eating the flesh of men. Li T'ai-po uses them metaphorically for the rebels who are threatening the capital.
Note 39.
When, before our glad faces, shall we see the Glory of Heaven?
The Emperor, under the usual figure of the Sun.
Note 40.
I say the Crosswise River is terrible.
The savage wind blows as if it would overturn the Heaven's Gate Mountains.
The "Crosswise River" is that section of the Yangtze which flows past steep cliffs in Anhwei. The "Heaven's Gate Mountains" tower above, making a sharp defile.
Note 41.
From the beginning of things, the Ox Ledge has been more dangerous than the Standing Horse Hill.