Pʻei Yen-ling settled atO-chou on the middle Yangtze, where he devoted himself to historical scholarship, continuing and completing the famous commentary to theShih-chi of Pei Yin, and acquiring some reputation as a scholar.
From the foregoing outline of the circulation of rice in the various provinces it is apparent that Lin-an (Hang-chou), Chien-kʻang (Nanking) andO-chou (Wu-chʻang) were central regional markets serving a large-scale long-distance trade freely carried on by merchants.
Liu Chen had gone to the Wu area about 776 to begin mourning for his father. After the mourning period had elapsed, he was assigned to serve (ca. 783) inO-chou under Li Chien.
So must the voice of the mysterious lady atO-chou have sounded in Po Chü-i's ears when he heard her singing on her boat at night;¹⁷ and he stood listening.
¹⁷The poem referred to is not the famousLute Girl's Song, but a much shorter one (Works x. 8) on a similar theme.O-chou is the modern Wu-ch'ang in Hupeh.
