316 t He F i v e Dy na s t i e s anD t He s ong Dy na s t y
breaks in the translation reflect this two-part structure of the lines in this poem by
Wang Anshi (1021–1086).
Master Huyin (literally, South of the Lake) is Yang Defeng (fl. 1080), who was
Wang Anshi’s neighbor when he lived in retirement in the mountains outside Jin-
ling (Nanjing). The title, “Written on Master Huyin’s Wall, No. 1,” tells us that this
poem was one that the poet inscribed on the wall of his neighbor’s house. To under-
stand this practice, which was not unusual, we must understand that the original
inscription would have been valued as much for the author’s calligraphy, seen as
the embodiment of his personality and learning, as for the language and meaning
of the poem itself. Wang Anshi had served for many years as grand councillor, the
highest official in the empire, and had persuaded the emperor to embark on an
ambitious and controversial program of reforms. By the time he wrote this poem,
he had retired from service and was living more or less in seclusion in the moun-
tains. In all likelihood, Yang Defeng had invited his famous neighbor to compose
a poem and inscribe it on his wall. Having been asked, Wang Anshi obliged with
a composition that fulfills the social nature of the occasion by complimenting the
neighbor on his residence and his way of life.
The opening two lines of the poem emphasize the care that Yang Defeng takes
to ensure that his residence is well kept. There is nothing growing where it should
not be, and what is growing is not just said to be neatly arranged; it was personally
planted by the head of the household. All this speaks to Yang Defeng’s fastidious-
ness, thrift, and diligence. The opening lines are decorous and polite, but they are
not remarkable. If the entire poem was made up of such lines, it would not have
attracted critical attention.
The closing two lines are a different matter. They contain pointed borrowings of
phrases from Han dynasty historical writings, ingeniously pressed into service in a
way that makes literal sense in each line of the poem. The word hutian (line 3) de-
rives in a complex way from language used to describe the establishment of state
farms (tuntian) in the western borderlands of the Han empire. The farms were set
up in unpopulated areas and run by soldiers who were garrisoned there. Aside
from providing food for the troops, the farms effectively created a buffer zone be-
tween the agrarian areas of the interior and the lands of the nomadic tribes outside
the Chinese border. The language of the Han shu (History of the Han Dynasty) and
its Tang commentary is this: “From Dunhuang west to Salt Marsh, way stations
were established intermittently. Several hundred ‘field soldiers’ were stationed at
Luntai and Quli. Commissioners and commandants were installed to supervise
and guard them.”5 The commentary, explaining the function of the officials re-
ferred to in the closing sentence, says, “They supervised and guarded the cultiva-
tion of fields.” It is noteworthy that neither the History of the Han Dynasty passage
nor the commentary on it actually uses the phrase hutian (to guard the fields),
which occurs in line 3 of the poem. Both sources use the two words but do not join
them directly together. Still, the association of the two words in these early texts
is felt to be close enough to establish a precedent for their later use, together, as a
covert allusion.