08 January 2007

the dubious consolations of being admired by connoisseurs

The Judge of the Underworld to four sinners who have been transformed into a butterfly, a bee, a swallow, and an oriole:

". . . and even though careless children in the world of the living
pelt you with pellets,
strike at you with fans,
still you may become
subjects of paintings for men of taste to cherish."

from The Peony Pavilion by Tang Xianzu, translated by Cyril Birch
(This passage was omitted from the Young Lovers edition recently seen in America, though in the Underworld scene these four did show up as acrobats.)

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