Now the Tang emperor, once awakened from his dream, kept it constantly in mind. It was already the third point of the fifth watch, and Taizong convened the court, gathering the two ranks of civil and military officials. There was to be seen:

五鼓三點, the third point of the fifth watch, is close to dawn, and 兩班 are the two files a court arranged itself into, civil on one side and military on the other. The emperor has woken with the dream still on him and gone straight to work. 朝 in 設朝, 'to hold court,' is cháo; 那 is nà. A descriptive 賦 of the court follows.

Mist enfolds the phoenix towers; incense hangs about the dragon hall.

鳳闕, the phoenix gate-towers, and 龍樓, the dragon hall, are palace buildings named for the two imperial creatures; 藹 is to gather thick, the way haze does.

Light shimmers, and the vermilion screen seems to stir; clouds brush past, and the kingfisher-plumed canopy flows.

丹扆 is the red screen standing behind the throne, with 扆 read yǐ, and 翠華, 'kingfisher splendor,' is the plumed imperial canopy.

Ruler and minister accord like Yao and Shun; the rites and music, august and grave, approach those of Han and Zhou.

堯舜, Yao and Shun, are the sage-kings of high antiquity, and Han and Zhou the golden dynasties; no higher comparison was available, which is exactly why it is being made. 相 in 相契, 'to be in accord,' is xiāng, and 樂 in 禮樂, 'rites and music,' is yuè.

The attendants' lanterns, the palace maids' fans — pair on pair they glint with color;

The 賦 changes gear here, dropping into short three-character phrases and cataloguing the pomp of the court in matched pairs.

the peacock screens, the qilin hall — everywhere the light floats bright.

孔雀屏, the peacock screen, and 麒麟殿, the unicorn hall, name the painted furnishings; 處處光浮 is light shimmering everywhere.

They cry the mountain-cheer of 'Ten Thousand Years'; they offer the flowery wish of 'a Thousand Autumns.'

山呼萬歲, the mountain-call of 'ten thousand years,' is the ritual acclamation roared at the emperor by the assembled court, and 華祝千秋 is the flowery wish for a reign of a thousand autumns.

The silence-whip cracks three times; the capped and robed bow before the tasseled crown.

靜鞭, the 'quieting whip,' was cracked to command silence at court — three strokes, and the hall stops talking. 冕旒 is the emperor's crown with its hanging strings of beads, the 旒, which swung in front of his face.

Palace blossoms blaze splendid, and a heavenly fragrance wafts; the bank-willows sway soft, and the imperial music is sung.

天香, 'heavenly fragrance,' and 御樂, the imperial music, load the scene with scent and sound; 樂 in 御樂 is yuè.

The pearl blinds, the kingfisher blinds — on golden hooks hung high;

翡翠 is kingfisher green, whether the jade or the plumage, and 金鉤高控, 'golden hooks holding high,' describes blinds looped up out of the way.

the dragon-and-phoenix fans, the rivers-and-hills fans — and the jeweled palanquin at rest.

The great ceremonial 扇, fans far too large to fan anybody with, and the 寶輦 or treasure palanquin are regalia: they exist to mark the imperial presence, not to be used.

The civil officers, brilliant and refined; the military officers, vigorous and keen.

英秀 is outstanding and elegant; 抖擻, literally 'shaking out,' is what you say of a man visibly full of vigor, and it still means bracing yourself up.

The imperial way divides the high from the low; along the vermilion steps the ranks are arrayed by grade.

御道 is the emperor's own processional path, 丹墀 the cinnabar terrace or red-painted palace forecourt, and 品流 the graded ranks of office. Where a man stood said precisely what he was.

Golden seals and purple ribbons ride in threefold splendor; enduring as earth and lasting as heaven, ten thousand thousand autumns.

金章紫綬, golden seal and purple ribbon, are the insignia of the highest ministers — the same purple ribbon the fisherman turned down a few pages ago. 地久天長 is the wish for a reign lasting as long as earth and sky, and it closes the 賦. (長 in 天長 is cháng.)