Max Wondering about the poor buggers who kept this lot going- they also
tended to die young as well-cheers Patrick -up the revolution
-----Original Message-----
From: Poetryetc: poetry and poetics [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Max Richards
Sent: 20 June 2013 06:21
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: 'from the korean palace guide'
From the Korean palace garden guide
Set in the deep woods
in the western part of the garden,
is a sacred place for ancestral rites.
There was a place for composing poetry,
a setting for contemplation,
a venue for banquets,
and an archery range.
The royal family went fishing
and boating on the pond
and fireworks was sometimes displayed here.
Here the king and queen also
engaged farming
and raised silkworms.
One pavilion in this area
was for state exams conducted
in the presence of the king.
This pavilion which seems to be a lotus flower
in bloom on the pond
is designated as a Treasure
- number 1769.
The king once said 'I love the lotus because
it blooms with such clean and beautiful flowers,
however dirty the water may be,
symbolizing the virtue of a true gentleman.'
A brook flows through the deep valley north.
Sometimes the king and his officials set afloat
their wine cups on the water while they wrote poetry.
When a wine cup was sent to a specific person,
The recipient had to drink the wine
then compose an impromptu poem and recite it.
If he could not, he had to drink
three cups of wine as punishment.
This type of party soon became
widely popular among high society.
The kings of Korea tended to die
about forty-six years of age.
Their lives were short because of
overwork, overeating,
and too many concubines.
Max Richards
(now back in Melbourne)
=
|