"Unquestionably the enlightened Wen-weng was well acquainted with the
subject when he exclaimed, 'Better a frugal dish of olives flavoured
with honey than the most sumptuously devised puppy-pie of which the
greater portion is sent forth in silver-lined boxes and partaken of by
others.' At that time, however, this versatile saying--which so
gracefully conveys the truth of the undeniable fact that what a person
possesses is sufficient if he restrain his mind from desiring aught
else--would have been lightly treated by this self-conceited
story-teller even if his immature faculties had enabled him fully to
understand the import of so profound and well-digested a remark.
"At that time Tiao Ts'un was undoubtedly the most beautiful maiden in
all Peking. So frequently were the verses describing her habits and
appearances affixed in the most prominent places of the city, that
many persons obtained an honourable livelihood by frequenting those
spots and disposing of the sacks of written papers which they
collected to merchants who engaged in that commerce. Owing to the fame
attained by his written sentence, this really very much inferior being
had many opportunities of meeting the incomparable maiden Tiao at
flower-feasts, melon-seed assemblies, and those gatherings where
persons of both sexes exhibit themselves in revolving attitudes, and
are permitted to embrace openly without reproach; whereupon he became
so subservient to her charms and virtues that he lost no opportunity
of making himself utterly unendurable to any who might chance to speak
to, or even gaze upon, this Heaven-sent creature.
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