Gems of Chinese Literature/Anonymous-The Cat and the Peony

OU-YANG HSIU

(q.v.) picked up an old picture of a cluster of peonies with a cat sitting near by. He was quite at a loss to make out its inner meaning, until a friend who lived next door came in to see it. “Oh,” exclaimed the latter, “the subject is Noon;” and he proceeded to explain as follows. “You notice,” said he, “that the flowers are wide open and dulled in hue, just as flowers are at midday. Then again, the pupils of the cat’s eyes are like a black thread, as they always are at that hour. When flowers have dew on them the calyx is contracted and the hue is fresh; and in the morning and evening the pupils in a cat’s eyes are always round. Thus skilfully, is it possible to ferret out the underlying intentions of the men of old.”