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Reflections on Reading the Ancient Locust Chronicle
2026-04-23
Reflections on Reading the Ancient Locust Chronicle
(Pingding) Liu Zhencai
Hongtong’s Han Cijiao and Guangwen have been colleagues for many years, their rapport so close that they are often said to be perfectly in tune. Recently, when Guangwen issued a call for poems and prose on the Great Locust Tree, he entrusted me with composing one. According to my family genealogy, our clan originally migrated from Qixian County in Henan to Hongtong in Shanxi; later, from Hongtong we moved again to Pingding. Thus, my ancestors, too, were of Hongtong origin. Reflecting on this clear lineage and rejoicing that these ancient relics remain unobscured, I have composed this song—though I am well aware that it may invite the reproach of being but a mere continuation of what has gone before.
As I recite, dear friends, the poem of the locust tree, it scatters like pearls and jade descending from the nine heavens. I, ashamed of my lack of literary grace, dare not add to its splendor; with brush in hand, I look around, my heart adrift in bewilderment.
In former times, at the twilight of the Yuan dynasty, bands of marauders—numbering like fleas—conspired and banded together. They burned and slaughtered, leaving no house intact; for a thousand miles, desolation reigned, and all human habitation had vanished.
The True Man of Huai-shang laid out the realm and, by proclamation, summoned settlers to strengthen the frontier. At that time, this land was teeming with people; yet those who sought to till the soil often found themselves with no surplus fields.
Southward we journey to Chuzhou and Hezhou, northward to Yan and Lu; the fish‑scale registers are ordered to be meticulously recompiled. Turning back, I gaze afar at the trees of my hometown, and all I see is the lofty locusts casting round, midday shade.
It is widely rumored among the people that this was the very place to which their ancestor himself once migrated. Alas! The Yellow Race traces its origins to the Yellow Emperor, and its founding lineage likewise took root upon the summit of Kunlun.
Later, through generations of upheaval and relocation, the records grew incomplete and were lost to time, leaving no trace. How I long for such a locust tree, forever preserved as a lasting memorial in this world.
Who shall record their deeds? Jing (Er Yu) and Han (Ci Jiao)—a pavilion stands, a stele is erected, their names indelible. Now I am fortunate to have clung to their heels; may their fame endure for ten thousand years.
Keywords:
Hongtong Great Locust Tree
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