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Bridge House Hotel / Wai-Loong, Nanking.- Leaves for Ichang [Yichang] on the 18th. Has engaged a house boat and intends to go as far up as Kweizu [?]; expects to get to Peking [Beijing] early in May. Given the political situation, perhaps he ought to leave earlier, but things seem too uncertain to alter his plans. Had an interesting time at Shanghai: met Sun Yat Sen, who believes Yuan Shikai was privy to the murder of Sung [Song Jiaoren]. Also met Wu-ting-sung and Wen-tsung-yao, and went to two banquets and two theatres. Thanks Trevelyan for his introduction to Dr Sterling [?]. Politically anything seems possible: there may be civil war again. Envies Trevelyan for being in Peking at this crisis.

Trevelyan's confidence in Waley's 'scholarship and accuracy as a translator', and praise of his translations for lacking 'irrelevant echoes of English poetical rhetoric and technique. The words only are English; the spirit is Chinese'. The gathering today is to give sympathy and whatever help they can to the Chinese people in their current 'terrible and undeserved trials'; to sympathise, it is necessary to understand, and literature is one of the best ways of 'understanding the character and the mental qualities of a people'. Waley's work as a translator and 'historian of ideas and culture' cover over two thousand years of Chinese civilization; he has recently published a translation of "Monkey", which dates from as late as the Ming Dynasty. Thirty years ago, Trevelyan spent a few weeks at Pekin [Beijing], and visited the Temple of Confucius with a Chinese friend, Mr Kung, who was he thinks a 60th generation descendant of a cousin of Confucius. As a southerner, Kung had never before visited the Temple, 'from which the tablet of Confucius had lately been sacrilegiously removed by Yuan Shi-k'ay' and was much moved; Trevelyan felt awkward as he had always 'ignorantly thought Confucius a 'rather tiresome, pedantical sort of moraliser'. Now however, having read Waley's translations of and writing on Confucius, he realises his wisdom, humanity, and sense of humour.

Handwritten text to be given after Waley's reading, commenting that his 'quiet unemphatic' reading style is well suited to the poetry, and inviting the audience to ask any questions they may have. Has also been asked to draw the audience's attention to the interesting 'exhibition of contrasted Chinese and English art' upstairs.