The gathering at Mount Tianque was the grandest of its day, yet Xie Daoyun, who had exchanged her hairpins for a man's cap to take her place among them, felt a loneliness she had never known before-
Mount Tianque had an unusual shape, resembling the twin horns of an ox's head, and was commonly called Ox-Head Mountain. Pines, bamboo, and peach trees covered its slopes. In the third month, late spring, lush greenery spread over the mountainside, and peach blossoms bloomed in brilliant rivalry, mass upon mass of flowers, like billowing clouds and glowing sunset hues.
The celebrated men of Jiankang, led by Wang Xizhi and Xie Wan, toured the mountain scenery. Once the spring purification rites were over, they sat upright on rocks beside a small stream prepared beforehand. Lacquer cups filled with wine were set upon the winding current. Jagged rocks crowded the banks, often obstructing the floating cups; whoever a cup stopped before had to drink the wine and compose a poem.
Mount Tianque abounded in unusual pines, so the day's theme was "On Pines." Xie Daoyun sat in a row with her two younger cousins, Xie Lang and Xie Shao. Seeing that a lacquer cup was about to stop before him, and having yet to devise a fine line, Xie Shao flicked his toe. A pebble dropped into the water, sending the cup drifting away until it rocked gently to a stop before Xie Daoyun-
Everyone attending the gathering, young or old, had to compose poetry. At the Orchid Pavilion Gathering in Kuaiji in the Ninth Year of Yonghe, Wang Xizhi's youngest son, Wang Xianzhi, had been only ten when he accompanied his father and elder brothers, yet he too had composed a poem. Thus Xie Daoyun could no longer conceal her brilliance behind her paternal