was thinking, because of the expression 国色天香, which is the classic epithet for the peony, (国色 'guo se' kingdom's grace 天香 'tian xiang' heavenly fragrance) of the tale of 葛巾, here in the original classical chinese and in modern chinese translation. and also of the similar expression 倾城倾国 (enrapturing beauty that 倾城 'qing cheng' topples the city walls 倾国 'qing guo' unsettles the kingdom. much like helen of troy, "and burnt the topless towers of ilium") the destructive beauty (elaine scarry would not agree) or the consuming love of beauty and the desire for beautiful loves that leave the heart in crumbling ruins.

(rilke: we don't love like flowers, with only one springtime behind us; when we love a sap older than memory rises in our arms.)