Dr. Sally Church has just returned from Bonn, Germany, where she presented at the international conference “Tribute System and Rulership in Late Imperial China”, International Workshop of the SFB 1167 “Macht and Herrschaft – Pre-modern Configurations in a Transcultural Perspective”. The conference took place at the University of Bonn on the 6-7th of July 2018.Her paper was on the topic: “Chen Cheng and Ming-Timurid Tribute Exchanges, 1413-1420”. It primarily concerned Chen’s “Rhymeprose on the Lion” (Shizi fu 獅子賦), about the tribute gift of a lion given by the Timurid ruler Shahrukh to the Chinese Yongle emperor. The long descriptive poem describes how the king of beasts was chosen to be a tribute item for the Chinese emperor, was captured, caged and transported 4,000 miles from Herat to Beijing and presented to the Emperor Yongle in 1415. In addition to a long rhymeprose, Chen also wrote a shorter poem about the lion, translated here:
The Lion
I’ve heard this animal lives in prides,
I now see its wondrous form, truly extraordinary.
Bright and shiny, its two pupils like jade-green autumn pools,
Its body pale golden yellow all one colour.
Impressive charisma, more powerful than rhinoceros or elephant,
Its teeth and claws frighten off the tigers and wolves.
Since ancient times we’ve seen such animals only in pictures,
Who would have thought I’d be presenting one to our emperor?
Author: Chen Cheng 陳誠 Translation: Dr. Sally Church
Please follow this link in order to find more information about the conference:
https://www.sfb1167.uni-bonn.de/aktuelles/termine/workshop-tribute-system