The General's Monologue Poem by William He

"Lotus pond": Lianhuachi. It became private property in the 17th century when it was appropriated by infamous general and Machiavellian genius Wu Sangui. He turned the grounds surrounding the springs into a pleasure palace for his concubine Chen Yuanyuan. The story of how Wu and Chen ended up in Kunming deserves some background. "Her melancholy": Chen Yuanyuan, deemed as one of the eight beauties in ancient China along the Qinhuai River in today's Nanjing City, was many men's fantasy. Her romance with the controversial general Wu Sangui (1612-78) , one of the most widespread stories about her, changed the history of China. "Golden Temple": Chen Yongbin, provincial governor of Yunnan Province of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) , was told that Mingfeng Mountain in Kunming is a place with good Fengshui (a Chinese system of geomancy) . In expectation of getting good luck, Chen built the Golden Temple in the mountain, modeling the Taihegong Golden Temple on Wudang Mountain in Hubei Province, in 1602 to worship Zhenwu the Great (a Chinese god of Taoism) . "In heroic tone": Wu Sangui, Chinese general who invited the Manchu of Manchuria into China and helped them establish the Qing dynasty in 1644. Later, in southwestern China, he led a revolt against the Qing in an attempt to set up his own dynasty. "Chieftains": The leaders or heads of groups, especially of the clans or tribes. During Sui and Tang dynasties (581 A.D.--907 A.D.) , there were six tribes around Erhai Lake and they gradually became powerful. Among the six tribes, the Nanzhao tribe grew rapidly in strength.