The Walls of Emerald (Li Shang-yin, 812(?) — 58, first stanza)

Twelve turns of the rail on the walls of emerald;

A sea-beast’s horn repels the dust, a jade repels the cold.

Letters from Mount Lang-yuan have cranes for messengers,

On Lady’s Couch a hen-phoenix perches in every tree.

The stars which sank to the bottom of the sea show up at the window:

The rain has passed where the River rises; far off you sit watching.

If the pearl of dawn should shine and never leave its place,

All life long we shall gaze in the crystal dish.