Spring breezes
stir the apple blossoms
on the garden path."
I knew you once in our fishing village.
You followed your father about his shop
or mended nets for the fishermen,
Then you grew up too beautiful.
And thus your father sold you
to the imperial palace at Chang An.
Now you've become the favorite
of our emperor, the Tian-ze--
Proud, with the look of a queen.
You no longer remember us --
you have left us all behind
as forgotten as the cries of gulls.
Lonely child, grown to a woman,
you are still not old enough
to have lost your quiet dreams.
Where will the deep currents
Bear the boat of your soul?
The gulls all cry their farewell.
You wear your loveliness
Like a phoenix robe
worthy of the imperial court.
May your beauty endure
in this humble poem--
although the sly crone of age
must steal one day, late or soon,
both your beauty and your dreams.
Do not forget what flowers
The great boar trampled down in ivy time.
Her brow was creamy as the long ninth wave,
Her night-dark eyes were wild.
But nothing promised that is not performed.
-- Robert Graves
Models are identified above. In the poetry I made an effort to suggest the tenor of the different pictures.
The poem "Forgotten Village" suggests customs of ancient Chinese culture. Poor villagers or serfs were often forced to sell beautiful daughters. The more fortunate of these girls eventually became high-class courtesans-- that is, artists and entertainers. The less fortunate went to brothels, or became concubines (second, third, or fourth wives) of wealthy men.
In the court of the emperor, courtesans who gained the emperor's favor could exert great power. The most famous, Empress Wu of the Tang Dynasty, began at the imperial palace as a fourth-grade courtesan -- a low level of entertainer. She seduced the emperor, and lived to become empress, see her sons on the Dragon Throne, and finally, to herself rule as emperor of China. She was the only woman to ever sit on the Dragon Throne (i.e., become emperor). Thus if the poem suggests that the woman may be better off for having been sold to the palace, well, that could actually have been the case.
The woman Ho Chia Shuan is quite a beauty. I can't remember a more aristocratic look. One wonders that her hair is almost too perfect to be real. She has the facial bones of a queen. Wow!
Emi Andoh needs no comment. She's gorgeous. The pose suggests a certain girlish dreaminess, which gave rise to the poem. To move on, Mimiko Shimada is loveliness personified. The poetry is an excerpt from a longer poem by the English poet, Robert Graves. It's immeasurably better poetry than mine.
I might mention a web group that was the source of one or more of these photos. The group is
http://www.egroups.com/group/sexyasianwomen. One must join this group by filling out an application and then wait to be confirmed by the "EGroups" people before you can see the file photos. Be careful-- a number of the photos on this site are nude, so if you find such photos uncomfortable, it's not for you.. It is a great place if one enjoys tasteful photos of Asian celebrities or models. One can also post messages discussing things.
All the photos posted here came off of sites that disclaim any ownership or copyright of the photos. If there's been some mistake, please let me know. Reach me at EMAIL.
Sound track on the site is Beethoven's "Pathetique" sonata, second (andante) movement. Probably as close to heavenly music as could be found for these heavenly beauties. Alas, arranger not known.
the Glyptodont
