CHAPTER XIX.

Stately her person, tall and fair,
Clad in her robes embroidered¹ and plain
Fingers as softest buds that grow,
Skin as an unguent² firm and white,
Neck as the tree worm's breed,
Mantis³ front and the silk moth's brow,
Dimples playing in witching smile,
Beautiful eyes, so dark and bright!
Stately in person, proud and free,
Screened by her plumes⁴, then to court comes she.
Chinese Song.

All things, even a journey from Lu Chang to Peking, must end some day, and Tuen's heart was leaping wildly, when after the long, tedious months upon the water she at last found herself seated in a sedan, entering the great outer wall of the capital city. Mechanically she kept repeating Szu's parting words: "A wise man adapts himself to circumstances as water shapes itself to the vessel⁵ that[Pg 176] contains it," but she merely did this because she must do something to keep her courage up, and not because she found any wisdom or any consolation⁶ in the proverb.

As in all places in China she saw a multitude of people about her, through which the chair bearers made their way with loud cries of Lai! Lai! (Clear the way! Clear the way!) Now they met some high mandarin⁷, surrounded by numerous attendants, who looked haughtily⁸ out from his sedan window at the mass of humanity about him, and next would come a bride in her gilded⁹ chair, hung with garlands of flowers, while behind her followed relations, attendants and servants bearing the wedding gifts, and beating loud tom-toms, and above the sound of kettle-drum and fire-crackers resounded¹¹ the wild wailing¹² of the bride who went to the husband she had never seen. Elaborately carved portals, on[Pg 177] whose top the dragon writhed¹³ in many a curve, spanned the wide streets; stores filled with tempting¹⁵ wares¹⁶ opened before the passers-by, their tall signs gay with bright-colored letters and hung with fluttering flags; and quaint¹⁷ little houses, painted in blue and green and gold, almost toppled over each other in the struggle for space. The streets were the home of a mighty¹⁸ throng¹⁹. The Mohammedan, conspicuous²⁰ in his red cap, touched elbows with the strongly marked Hebrew; the money-seller, with his long string of cash, weighed cautiously the coins brought him to change; the barber deftly²¹ shaved the head of his customer who was perched on a three-legged stool, in constant danger of being jostled by a hurried pedestrian; the cook took the long pole from his shoulders, and unloading the utensils²² from his movable kitchen, prepared food to tempt¹⁴ the lookers-on; the cobbler squatted²³ by the wayside mending shoes;[Pg 178] fortune-tellers waited for the curious; the dentist, with his necklace of shining teeth as proof of skill and customers, importuned²⁴ the sufferers; the travelling blacksmith, with his implements²⁵ beside him, solicited²⁶ trade; jugglers performed various feats²⁷ in return for the coins thrown them and delighted an ever-changing audience; and book-sellers, tinkers, druggists, musicians, razor-grinders, and pedlers of every description, cried out their wares as they went on their endless peregrinations. Wheel-barrows filled with vegetables and dromedaries bearing coal from Tartary were followed by a funeral procession, the mourners, arrayed in pure white, walking behind the gayly painted casket; and so the great population, shouting, laughing, gesticulating, surged and swelled²⁸, and the round of life was ever the same.

Tuen was very glad when she had made her way through all this din¹⁰ and tumult[Pg 179] and come to the second wall, the wall of the imperial city, where the yellow-tiled roofs shone like gold in the sunshine. In the distance could be seen King Shan, the Artificial Mountain, its five summits topped with beautiful pavilions. Trees of every kind clustered at its base, while through the foliage²⁹, now rich in autumn colors, glistened³⁰ the water of a silvery lake, and the gleaming roof of the Temple of Great Happiness. Tuen had only a confused idea of this beautiful panorama³¹, for now they had reached the third wall which encircles the Prohibited City—the home of the Son of Heaven. She had often heard how all within this closely guarded enclosure was gold and silver, so brilliant and so gorgeous that it dazzled the beholder³², and her little bias³³ eyes were open very wide behind the curtains of her sedan as she peeped cautiously out. The guards in the tower above the Meridian³⁴ Gate hastened to open it on her approach,[Pg 180] for her sedan was hung with yellow, the imperial color. She was borne over pleasant streams, spanned with bridges of sculptured marble, through courts where fountains played and flowers bloomed, and through splendid gilded corridors. Gate after gate of elaborately carved marble opened as if by magic at her approach and then quickly closed again, for she who enters here goes out no more. The magnificent Gate of Extensive Peace shut with a loud clang behind her, but she heard it not, for now she was being carried through beautiful walks with stately bronze figures on either side, past temples and pavilions and palaces, even past that most sacred and superb of all the buildings, the Tranquil³⁵ Palace, with its tower of burnished³⁶ copper³⁷ adorned³⁸ with images that seemed made of gold. Tuen had never pictured anything so lovely, so enchanting³⁹. The Viceroy's yamen dwindled⁴⁰ into insignificance⁴¹ before all this grandeur,[Pg 181] and she felt like a veritable beggar maid brought to a king. And just as she was beginning to think that it must all be some enchanted⁴² dream from which she would soon awake, the chair-bearers stopped in front of the Palace of Earth's Repose⁴³, which is the royal harem, and the last gate closed between her and all the world.

News travels very slowly through all the many gates that guard the Emperor from his subjects, and what goes on in the Forbidden City is a secret to the rest of the Empire. But sometimes, even from that jealously watched home of royalty⁴⁴, rumors⁴⁵ creep abroad, and are whispered from mouth to mouth, for gossip will not be quiet, even though you cut out its tongue. Someway it became noised abroad after a while that Tuen, the maiden⁴⁶ from Lu Chang, was the favorite wife of the Emperor, and second only to the Empress herself. Then nothing more was known until it was announced that[Pg 182] the Empress was dead, and after a while through the many gates crept the news that Tuen had become the royal consort⁴⁷.

Again there was silence, then at last the Emperor was gathered to his fathers, and Tuen, the little slave girl, during the infancy⁴⁸ of her son, became Empress of all China, and ruler over one third of the population of the world. Thus does Fate shift the figures in the game of life.

1 embroidered   

adj．绣花的

参考例句：

• She embroidered flowers on the cushion covers. 她在这些靠垫套上绣了花。
• She embroidered flowers on the front of the dress. 她在连衣裙的正面绣花。

2 unguent   

n.（药）膏；润滑剂；滑油

参考例句：

• The doctor applied an unguent to the wound,which speedily healed it.医生给伤口涂了些油膏，伤口很快就愈合了。
• The father smeared the face of his son with a powerful unguent.父亲用一种非常有效的油膏涂抹在儿子的脸上。

3 mantis   

n.螳螂

参考例句：

• Praying mantis has two powerful claws like sharp knives.螳螂有一对强壮的爪子，它们像锋利的刀。
• In her mind,it was a female mantis,devouring her mates.她的意识中，是一只雌螳螂正吞咽她的配偶。

4 plumes   

羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物

参考例句：

• The dancer wore a headdress of pink ostrich plumes. 那位舞蹈演员戴着粉色鸵鸟毛制作的头饰。
• The plumes on her bonnet barely moved as she nodded. 她点点头，那帽子的羽毛在一个劲儿颤动。

5 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

6 consolation   

n.安慰，慰问

参考例句：

• The children were a great consolation to me at that time.那时孩子们成了我的莫大安慰。
• This news was of little consolation to us.这个消息对我们来说没有什么安慰。

7 Mandarin   

n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的

参考例句：

• Just over one billion people speak Mandarin as their native tongue.大约有十亿以上的人口以华语为母语。
• Mandarin will be the new official language of the European Union.普通话会变成欧盟新的官方语言。

8 haughtily   

adv. 傲慢地, 高傲地

参考例句：

• She carries herself haughtily. 她举止傲慢。
• Haughtily, he stalked out onto the second floor where I was standing. 他傲然跨出电梯，走到二楼，我刚好站在那儿。

9 gilded   

a.镀金的，富有的

参考例句：

• The golden light gilded the sea. 金色的阳光使大海如金子般闪闪发光。
• "Friends, they are only gilded disks of lead!" "朋友们，这只不过是些镀金的铅饼！ 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡

10 din   

n.喧闹声，嘈杂声

参考例句：

• The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
• They tried to make themselves heard over the din of the crowd.他们力图让自己的声音盖过人群的喧闹声。

11 resounded   

v.（指声音等）回荡于某处( resound的过去式和过去分词 )；产生回响；（指某处）回荡着声音

参考例句：

• Laughter resounded through the house. 笑声在屋里回荡。
• The echo resounded back to us. 回声传回到我们的耳中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 wailing   

v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱

参考例句：

• A police car raced past with its siren wailing. 一辆警车鸣着警报器飞驰而过。
• The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。

13 writhed   

（因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He writhed at the memory, revolted with himself for that temporary weakness. 他一想起来就痛悔不已，只恨自己当一时糊涂。
• The insect, writhed, and lay prostrate again. 昆虫折腾了几下，重又直挺挺地倒了下去。

14 tempt   

vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣

参考例句：

• Nothing could tempt him to such a course of action.什么都不能诱使他去那样做。
• The fact that she had become wealthy did not tempt her to alter her frugal way of life.她有钱了，可这丝毫没能让她改变节俭的生活习惯。

15 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

16 wares   

n. 货物, 商品

参考例句：

• They sold their wares at half-price. 他们的货品是半价出售的。
• The peddler was crying up his wares. 小贩极力夸耀自己的货物。

17 quaint   

adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的

参考例句：

• There were many small lanes in the quaint village.在这古香古色的村庄里，有很多小巷。
• They still keep some quaint old customs.他们仍然保留着一些稀奇古怪的旧风俗。

18 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

19 throng   

n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集

参考例句：

• A patient throng was waiting in silence.一大群耐心的人在静静地等着。
• The crowds thronged into the mall.人群涌进大厅。

20 conspicuous   

adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的

参考例句：

• It is conspicuous that smoking is harmful to health.很明显，抽烟对健康有害。
• Its colouring makes it highly conspicuous.它的色彩使它非常惹人注目。

21 deftly   

adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He deftly folded the typed sheets and replaced them in the envelope. 他灵巧地将打有字的纸折好重新放回信封。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At last he had a clew to her interest, and followed it deftly. 这一下终于让他发现了她的兴趣所在，于是他熟练地继续谈这个话题。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

22 utensils   

器具，用具，器皿( utensil的名词复数 )； 器物

参考例句：

• Formerly most of our household utensils were made of brass. 以前我们家庭用的器皿多数是用黄铜做的。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

23 squatted   

v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。

参考例句：

• He squatted down beside the footprints and examined them closely. 他蹲在脚印旁仔细地观察。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He squatted in the grass discussing with someone. 他蹲在草地上与一个人谈话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 importuned   

v.纠缠，向（某人）不断要求( importune的过去式和过去分词 )；（妓女）拉（客）

参考例句：

• The boy importuned the teacher to raise his mark. 那个男孩纠缠着老师给他提分（数）。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He importuned me for a position in my office. 他不断地要求我在我的办事处给他一个位置。 来自辞典例句

25 implements   

n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• Primitive man hunted wild animals with crude stone implements. 原始社会的人用粗糙的石器猎取野兽。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• They ordered quantities of farm implements. 他们订购了大量农具。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

26 solicited   

v.恳求( solicit的过去式和过去分词 )；（指娼妇）拉客；索求；征求

参考例句：

• He's already solicited their support on health care reform. 他已就医疗改革问题请求他们的支持。 来自辞典例句
• We solicited ideas from Princeton University graduates and under graduates. 我们从普林斯顿大学的毕业生与大学生中征求意见。 来自辞典例句

27 feats   

功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He used to astound his friends with feats of physical endurance. 过去，他表现出来的惊人耐力常让朋友们大吃一惊。
• His heroic feats made him a legend in his own time. 他的英雄业绩使他成了他那个时代的传奇人物。

28 swelled   

增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）

参考例句：

• The infection swelled his hand. 由于感染，他的手肿了起来。
• After the heavy rain the river swelled. 大雨过后，河水猛涨。

29 foliage   

n.叶子，树叶，簇叶

参考例句：

• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage.小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
• Dark foliage clothes the hills.浓密的树叶覆盖着群山。

30 glistened   

v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Pearls of dew glistened on the grass. 草地上珠露晶莹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Her eyes glistened with tears. 她的眼里闪着泪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

31 panorama   

n.全景，全景画，全景摄影，全景照片[装置]

参考例句：

• A vast panorama of the valley lay before us.山谷的广阔全景展现在我们面前。
• A flourishing and prosperous panorama spread out before our eyes.一派欣欣向荣的景象展现在我们的眼前。

32 beholder   

n.观看者，旁观者

参考例句：

• Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 看起来觉得美就是美。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It has been said that art is a tryst, for in the joy of it maker and beholder meet. 有人说艺术是一种幽会，因为艺术家和欣赏者可在幽会的乐趣中相遇在一起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

33 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

34 meridian   

adj.子午线的；全盛期的

参考例句：

• All places on the same meridian have the same longitude.在同一子午线上的地方都有相同的经度。
• He is now at the meridian of his intellectual power.他现在正值智力全盛期。

35 tranquil   

adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的

参考例句：

• The boy disturbed the tranquil surface of the pond with a stick. 那男孩用棍子打破了平静的池面。
• The tranquil beauty of the village scenery is unique. 这乡村景色的宁静是绝无仅有的。

36 burnished   

adj.抛光的，光亮的v.擦亮（金属等），磨光( burnish的过去式和过去分词 )；被擦亮，磨光

参考例句：

• The floor was spotless; the grate and fire-irons were burnished bright. 地板上没有污迹；炉栅和火炉用具擦得发亮。 来自辞典例句
• The woods today are burnished bronze. 今天的树林是一片发亮的青铜色。 来自辞典例句

37 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

38 adorned   

[计]被修饰的

参考例句：

• The walls were adorned with paintings. 墙上装饰了绘画。
• And his coat was adorned with a flamboyant bunch of flowers. 他的外套上面装饰着一束艳丽刺目的鲜花。

39 enchanting   

a.讨人喜欢的

参考例句：

• His smile, at once enchanting and melancholy, is just his father's. 他那种既迷人又有些忧郁的微笑，活脱儿象他父亲。
• Its interior was an enchanting place that both lured and frightened me. 它的里头是个吸引人的地方，我又向往又害怕。

40 dwindled   

v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Support for the party has dwindled away to nothing. 支持这个党派的人渐渐化为乌有。
• His wealth dwindled to nothingness. 他的钱财化为乌有。 来自《简明英汉词典》

41 insignificance   

n.不重要；无价值；无意义

参考例句：

• Her insignificance in the presence of so much magnificence faintly affected her. "她想象着他所描绘的一切，心里不禁有些刺痛。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• It was above the common mass, above idleness, above want, above insignificance. 这里没有平凡，没有懒散，没有贫困，也没有低微。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

42 enchanted   

adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She was enchanted by the flowers you sent her. 她非常喜欢你送给她的花。
• He was enchanted by the idea. 他为这个主意而欣喜若狂。

43 repose   

v.(使)休息；n.安息

参考例句：

• Don't disturb her repose.不要打扰她休息。
• Her mouth seemed always to be smiling,even in repose.她的嘴角似乎总是挂着微笑，即使在睡眠时也是这样。

44 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。

45 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

46 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

47 consort   

v.相伴；结交

参考例句：

• They went in consort two or three together.他们三三两两结伴前往。
• The nurses are instructed not to consort with their patients.护士得到指示不得与病人交往。

48 infancy   

n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期

参考例句：

• He came to England in his infancy.他幼年时期来到英国。
• Their research is only in its infancy.他们的研究处于初级阶段。