292 t He F i v e Dy na s t i e s anD t He s ong Dy na s t y
former is also unmistakably clear. The management of time deserves attention
also. “Secret Fragrance” is written in the framework of the lyrical present. It is in
this present that the lyric speaker recalls the experience of plucking flowers and
holding hands with a beautiful woman on cold moonlit nights by West Lake. This
work is thus cast in the traditional self-expressive mode that relies on the lyrical
moment of the present for its temporal coherence.
The strong personal tone of “Secret Fragrance” disappears in the subsequent
piece. “Dappled Shadows,” by contrast, opens with an objective description of small
jewel-like birds roosting together on mossy plum branches grown thick with jade-
like blossoms. According to Fan Chengda’s Meipu (Book of Plum Trees), the Shao-
xing and Wuxing areas were known for a kind of plum tree called taimei (moss
plum). The tree featured “branches gnarled and twisted in multifarious shapes.
Scaly green moss seals up flower stems. There are also moss whiskers hanging
among the branches, some of which are several inches long. Whenever the wind
comes, green threads flutter in a most pleasing manner.”9 There seems little doubt
that Jiang Kui is referring in this poem to this special kind of plum, treasured by
people living in the region. It is possible that Jiang Kui noticed moss plum trees
at Fan Chengda’s home when he visited. “Jade,” in line 1, functions as a metaphor
for the flowers; as is usual in such poems and song lyrics, the object written about
(the blossoming plum) is not directly named. The beginning strophe of “Dappled
Shadows” highlights not only the image of the blossom but also the togetherness
symbolized by the little birds sleeping side by side. The image of the “bluebirds”
alludes to a story about a certain Zhao Shixiong of the late sixth century who once
got drunk and fell asleep beneath a big plum in full bloom.10 In his dream, Zhao
Shixiong encountered a beautiful woman (the plum blossom fairy?) with whom he
drank wine and, later, a boy dressed in green who laughed and sang, playing and
dancing about. The next morning, Zhao awoke to bluebirds chirping in the plum
tree above. The use of this allusion perhaps indicates that Jiang Kui was reminded
of Zhao Shixiong’s experience when he saw moss plum trees at his friend’s resi-
dence. Although not clearly suggested, it is possible that Jiang Kui means to imply
that Zhao Shixiong must have felt disappointed and lonesome when he woke up to
see only bluebirds rather than a beautiful woman and a boy. The first strophe can
then be seen as pointing to the poet’s inner state (that of solitude).
In the second strophe, it is not said who meets whom, but from the context we
can speculate that it is the lyric speaker who encounters the blossoming plum.
These first two strophes form a sequence depicting perhaps what Jiang Kui, as a
visitor, had seen at Fan Chengda’s house, although he has indicated nothing about
this in the preface. There also exists a surface contrast between the two strophes.
Ke li xiang feng (meeting each other away from home or when one is visiting some-
body else) suggests the idea of wandering; hence the encounter is entirely differ-
ent from that of the bluebirds’ roosting together on the branch. The blossoming
plum is personified, described as leaning, speechless and alone, against the slen-
der bamboo in the dusk. The dominant feeling of solitude here contrasts with the
preceding surface atmosphere of togetherness. Just as togetherness belongs to the