Letter to Han Ching-chou

I have heard that, when the empire's chatty scholars gather together, they say to each other, "During one's lifetime, it is not necessary to be a marquis with the income from ten thousand households, if one could hope but once to make the acquaintance of Han, the Governor of Ching-chou." How is it that you have caused men to lionize you to such a degree ? Is it not because you have the spirit of the Duke of Chou who, in his anxiety not to miss any callers, would interrupt his meals by spitting out his food and his bath by wringing his half- washed hair? The result is that all the elite within the realm rush to you and give you their allegiance. Once having passed the hurdle of gaining your recommendation, their credit increases tenfold. Thus, those gentlemen who are hidden away in retirement like coiled dragons and reclusive phoenixes are all desirous of receiving a good name and establishing their worth with Your Honor. I pray that your Honor does not pride himself on association with the rich and noble nor scorn the poor and lowly. Then, if among your many guests there would be a Mao Sui, should I but get a chance to show the tip of my head, I shall be that man.

I am a commoner from Lung-hsi and have drifted here to Ching-chou. At fifteen, I was fond of swordsmanship and ranged broadly in search of employment with various lords. At thirty, I became an accomplished litterateur and contacted successively a number of high officers. Although I am not quite a six- footer, I am braver than ten thousand men. Princes, dukes, and high ministers admit that I have moral courage and high principles. This, then, has been my past spiritual biography. How could I venture not to explain it fully to Your Lordship ?

Your writings are worthy of the gods and your virtuous conduct moves Heaven and Earth. Your pen is imbued with creative energy and your scholarship plumbs heavenly principles and human affairs. I hope, because of your open-mindedness and good nature, that I shall have the good fortune not to meet with a refusal in making this low bow before you. If you receive me with grand feasts, give free rein to my untrammelled discourse, and then request that I attempt to indite ten thousand words a day, just wait! I'll dash them off on the spur of the moment.' Today, the whole Empire holds you to be the life-and-death arbiter in literary matters and the scales upon which men are weighed. Once having been adjudged worthy by you, one can then be a superb scholar. So why should you begrudge me a modest space before your stairs, thus neither allowing me a feeling of pride and self-fulfillment nor stimulating me to rise up to the cloudy blue?

Of old, when Wang Tzu-shih was serving as Governor of Yu-chou, he summoned Hsiun Tz'u-ming even before he had assumed office. And, when he did assume office, he summoned K'ung Wen-chu. When Shan T'ao was acting as Governor of Chi-chou, he picked out more than thirty individuals who became either court attendants or state secretaries, for which he was admired by earlier generations. Your Lordship, as well, had but to recommend Harmonizer of the Scales Yen and he was admitted to the court as secretary in the Imperial Library. Among others, there are people like Ts'ui Tsung-chih, Fang Hsi-tsu, Li Hsin, and Hsu Jung, some of whom made your acquaintance because of their reputa- tion for brilliance and some of whom were appreciated by you because of their unimpeachable character. I have often observed their introspective devotion and the way they exert themselves in acts of loyalty. As a result, I am deeply im- pressed and realize the empathy which you extend to worthy individuals. There- fore, I shall not give my allegiance to anyone else but willingly entrust myself to you who are without peer in our land. Should you ever get into difficulty such that I might be of use to you, may I be so bold as to offer, in gratitude, my humble services ? Yet none of us is a Yao or a Shun. Who can be perfect? How could I be so presumptuous as to boast of my counsels and plans? As for my own writings, I have accumulated a large number of scrolls. Although I flatter myself that you will deign to look at them, I fear that these "insect carvings" and trivial exercises will not suit Your Honor's taste. If you would do me the favor of reading my rustic pieces, please provide me with paper and ink along with a copyist. Then I shall retreat to a vacant room and, having tidied it up, will have a copy of them made to present to you. This is similar to the increased value which would accrue to the sword, Green Duckweed, by placing it at the door of Hsueh Chu and to the gem, Congealed Greenness, by placing it at the door of Pien Ho.

May you extend your blessings to me in my lowly station, greatly encouraging and rewarding me. It all depends on how Your Lordship views the matter.

Reference:

1. Mair, Victor H. "Li Po's Letters in Pursuit of Political Patronage." Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 44.1 (1984): 123-53. JSTOR. Web. 28 Feb. 2012.