Magic
Boundless, the great sea.Straight down,--no bottom: sideways,--no border.Of cloudy waves and misty billows down in the uttermost depthsMen have fabled, in the midst there stand three sacred hills.On the hills, thick growing,--herbs that banish Death.Wings grow on those who eat them and they turn into heavenly “hsien.”The Lord of Ch’in and Wu of Han believed in these stories:And magic-workers year by year were sent to gather the herbs.The Blessed Islands, now and of old, what but an empty tale?The misty waters spread before them and they knew not where to seek.Boundless, the great sea.Dauntless, the mighty wind.Their eyes search but cannot see the shores of the Blessed Islands.They cannot find the Blessed Isles and yet they dare not return:Youths and maidens that began the quest grew grey on board the boat.They found that the writings of Hsü were all boasts and lies:To the Lofty Principle and Great Unity in vain they raised theirprayers.Do you not seeThe graves on the top of Black Horse Hill and the tombs atMo-ling?What is left but the sighing wind blowing in the tangled grasses?Yes, and what is more,The Dark and Primal Master of Sages in his five thousand wordsNever spoke of herbs,Never spoke of “hsien,”Nor spoke of soaring in broad daylight up to the blue heaven.
Words in this poem
- uttermost a.
- Extreme; utmost; being; in the farthest, greatest, or highest degree; as, the uttermost extent or end. [From Utter, a.; cf. Utmost, and Outermost.]
- hsien n.
- An administrative subdivision of a fu, or department, or of an independent chow; also, the seat of government of such a district.
- dauntless a.
- Incapable of being daunted; undaunted; bold; fearless; intrepid.
- ling n.
- Heather (Calluna vulgaris). Ling honey, a sort of wild honey, made from the flowers of the heather. Holland. [Icel. lyng; akin to Dan. lyng, Sw. ljung.]
- primal a.
- First; primary; original; chief. [LL. primalis, fr. L. primus the first. See Prime, a.]
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- daylight n.
- The light of day as opposed to the darkness of night; the light of the sun, as opposed to that of the moon or to artificial light.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Magic is in the public domain. This text is taken from A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #42290, the Arthur Waley translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Various, Magic, in A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems (1918), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #42290, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/waley-chinese/magic.html, id L18834.
Form and metre
Magic is 27 lines in a single stanza. 88% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 11.0 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 18% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 A----B-C--A-------A-----CB- seaA · border · depths · hills · death · hsienB · stories · herbsC · tale · seek · seaA · wind · islands · return · boat · lies · their · prayers · seeA · at · ling · grasses · more · words · herbsC · hsienB · heaven
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Boundless, the great sea. | 5 | /˘··· |
| Straight down,--no bottom: sideways,--no border. | 10 | ···/˘/··/˘ |
| Of cloudy waves and misty billows down in the uttermost depths | 16 | ·/˘··/˘/˘···/˘˘· |
| Men have fabled, in the midst there stand three sacred hills. | 13 | ··/˘······/˘· |
| On the hills, thick growing,--herbs that banish Death. | 11 | ····/˘··/˘· |
| Wings grow on those who eat them and they turn into heavenly “hsien.” | 16 | ············/˘˘· |
| The Lord of Ch’in and Wu of Han believed in these stories: | 14 | ········˘/··/˘ |
| And magic-workers year by year were sent to gather the herbs. | 15 | ·/˘/˘······/˘·· |
| The Blessed Islands, now and of old, what but an empty tale? | 14 | ··/˘·······/˘· |
| The misty waters spread before them and they knew not where to seek. | 16 | ·/˘/˘··········· |
| Boundless, the great sea. | 5 | /˘··· |
| Dauntless, the mighty wind. | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| Their eyes search but cannot see the shores of the Blessed Islands. | 14 | ····/˘······/˘ |
| They cannot find the Blessed Isles and yet they dare not return: | 14 | ·/˘·········˘/ |
| Youths and maidens that began the quest grew grey on board the boat. | 15 | ··/˘·˘/········ |
| They found that the writings of Hsü were all boasts and lies: | 13 | ····/˘······· |
| To the Lofty Principle and Great Unity in vain they raised their | 17 | ··/˘/˘˘··/˘˘····· |
| prayers. | 1 | · |
| Do you not see | 4 | ···· |
| The graves on the top of Black Horse Hill and the tombs at | 13 | ············· |
| Mo-ling? | 2 | ·· |
| What is left but the sighing wind blowing in the tangled grasses? | 16 | ·····/˘·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Yes, and what is more, | 5 | ····· |
| The Dark and Primal Master of Sages in his five thousand words | 16 | ···/˘/˘·/˘···/˘· |
| Never spoke of herbs, | 5 | /˘··· |
| Never spoke of “hsien,” | 5 | /˘··· |
| Nor spoke of soaring in broad daylight up to the blue heaven. | 15 | ···/˘··/·····/˘ |
Notes from the edition 6
Arthur Waley's notes to A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems (1918; Project Gutenberg #42290).
- Line 7 The “First Emperor,” 259-210 B.C.
- Line 7 Wu Ti, 156-87 B.C.
- Line 16 = Hsü Shih. Giles, 1276.
- Line 20 The burial-places of these two Emperors.
- Line 21 Ibid.
- Line 24 Lao-tzŭ, in the Tao Tē Ching.
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