ZHANG JIULING AND THE LYCHEE

Abstract Preface. When asked to contribute a piece in honor of Elling Eide’s scholarship to this journal whose publication he so generously supported for many years, I thought first of offering something on Li Bo 李白, the Tang poet most admired by both of us, about whom we have both written, and whom we also discussed often with each other at length. But that would be predictable, and Elling was anything but predictable. My thoughts turned instead to his appreciation of rare plants, especially subtropical fruit. Combined with Elling’s fondness for the court of Xuanzong and his lifelong dedication to the practice of translation, the specific choice of topic was then obvious.