The moon’s rays were like flowingwaters, gently depositing their moisture on the layer of leaves and blossoms. Alight green mist floated just above the lotus pond. The leaves and blossomslooked as though they had been bathed in milk, or like a blurred dream swathedin airy gauze. Although the moon was full, a light covering of clouds in thesky prevented it from shining brightly; yet I had the pleasant feeling that Ihad come to a fine spot. For just as one cannot do without deep slumber, stilla light sleep has its own delights. The moon’s rays filtered down through thetrees, and dark, uneven shadows of varying shades were cast by the densefoliage on the high ground, perilously dark and spooky. The bewitching shadowscast by the sparse, twisted willow trees seemed to be painted on the lotusleaves. The moonlight on the pond was spread unevenly, but the rays and theshadows were a concert of harmony, like a celebrated tune played on a violin.
On all sides of the lotus pond, farand near, on high ground and low, there are trees, most of them willows. Thesetrees completely envelop the whole of the lotus pond; only by the side of thepath are there gaps, here and there showing through, seemingly left there justso the moon can shine in. The colors of the trees are uniformly dark. At firstglance, they resemble a bank of fog and mist, but the slender, graceful formsof the willows can still be distinguished in that fog and mist. Above thetreetops a row of mountains can be seen ever so indistinctly, just the hint oftheir shapes, while one or two faint glimmers of roadside lamps seep throughthe openings of the branches, appearing like the weary eyes of a tired man. Nowthe spot was at its noisiest, if you count the chirping of cicadas in the treesand the croaking of frogs in the water. But the noise was theirs alone; I addednothing to it.
All of a sudden, I was reminded oflotus gathering. The gathering of lotuses is an old custom south of theYangtze, whose origins probably date from very early on but that flourishedduring the Six Dynasty period. This we know from the poems and ballads of thetime. The lotus gatherers were young maidens who drifted in small boats andsang their songs of love. It goes without saying that there were great numbersof lotus gatherers as well as those who came to watch them, for that was afestive and a romantic occasion. “The Lotus Gatherers” by Emperor Yuan of theLiang Dynasty tells it well: