P e n ta s y l l a biC Sh i P oe t ry : ne w t o P i C s 149decorated lavishly with the Seven Jewels, including agate, carnelian, jade, and gold
(which, in Chinese, is the same word as “metal” [jin]). In the Pure Land, even trees
are made of precious gems: of some trees, The Sutra of the Buddha of Infinite Life
says the roots are made of diamonds, the trunks of gold, the branches of silver,
the twigs of beryl, the leaves of lapis lazuli, the flowers of coral, and the fruits of
red pearls; the sutra goes on and on in this manner. That trees should be made of
various jewels might seem unnatural or artificial to some lay readers, and yet dia-
monds, silver, lapis lazuli, and coral are things of nature, as is organic vegetation.
Being made of jewels only means that the trees in the Buddhist paradise do not
wither and decay, as do trees in the mortal world; they are beyond the cycle of life
and death. Xiao Gang was obviously fascinated by the blissful land sumptuously
portrayed in the sutras. In another poem, “Xizhai xing ma” (Riding in the Western
Residence), we see such a couplet:
Clouds open up like leaves of carnelian; 雲開瑪瑙葉 (yún kāi mă năo yè)
Transparent are waves of glass. 水淨琉璃波 (shuĭ jìng liú lí bō)
[XQHWJNBCS 3:1950]Viewed in the Buddhist context, Xiao Gang’s poem “On Clouds” becomes poignant.
As the illusory jade leaves are scattered by the autumn wind, we see the contrast
between the solidity and permanence of the diamond land inhabited by heavenly
beings and the fragility of the human world inhabited by the poet—and us.
Many of Xiao Gang’s poems are informed by his intimate knowledge of Bud-
dhist texts. The following poem, “On a Fair Lady Viewing a Painting,” recalls the
Buddhist story of the mutual deception of a carpenter and a painter. The carpen-
ter played a practical joke on his painter friend by making a wooden statue of a
pretty girl, which the painter took to be real and fell in love with. Upon learning
of his error, the painter decided to get back at the carpenter. He made a painting
of his hanging himself, which looked so real that the carpenter was led to think
that the painter had committed suicide. Terrified, the carpenter rushed to cut the
rope—only to discover that it was an object in a painting. This story illustrates the
fallacy of human perception and the unreal nature of the physical world. It is in-
cluded in the Jinglü yixiang (Differentiated Manifestations of Sutras and Laws), a large
Buddhist encyclopedia commissioned by Xiao Gang’s father, Emperor Wu of the
Liang, in 516.
C 7. 6
On a Fair Lady Viewing a Painting 詠美人看畫 (yŏng mĕi rén kàn huà)
In the hall a portrait of a divine woman; 殿上圖神女 (diàn shàng tú shén nǚ)
2 From the palace emerges a fair lady. 宮裏出佳人 (gōng lĭ chū jiā rén)
So lovely, both are painted; 可憐俱是畫 (kĕ lián jù shì huà)
4 Who could distinguish real from unreal? 誰能辨偽真 (shuí néng biàn wĕi zhēn)
Clearly both have bright eyes and neat brows; 分明淨眉眼 (fēn míng jìng méi yăn)