[Dragons. Temeraire is quiet for a moment longer. He still cannot think what might possibly make someone like Jehan cry, and so does not know what subjects to avoid, but at last he settles on something, and begins to speak.]

You asked once, I think, about what China was like. It is a vast country, and there is farmland as far as the eye can see, to support its dragons; and its rivers are broad and swollen in the early summer, and cut through mountains like great winding snakes. The dragons of China outnumber those in Europe by far; they come in all colors and sizes, and live among people quite peacefully. When they hatch, they are given the same education as any human citizen, and learn alongside children until they are fifteen months old, at which point they may choose their companions. A Chinese dragon may take any profession; there are soldiers, and scholars, and--poets...

[He hesitates. There is the sound of his wings rustling uncertainly, before he takes a deep breath and recites:]

Pure wine costs, for the golden bowl, ten thousand coppers a flagon,
And a jade platter of dainty food calls for a million coins.
I fling aside my bowl and meat, I cannot eat or drink…
I raise my talons to the sky, I peer four ways in vain.
I would cross the Yellow River, but ice takes hold of my limbs;
I would fly above the Tai-hang Mountains, but the sky is blind with snow.
I would sit and watch the golden carp, lazy by a brook—
But I suddenly dream of crossing the waves, sailing for the sun…
Journeying is hard,
Journeying is hard.
There are many turnings—
Which am I to follow?
I will mount a long wind some day and break the heavy bank of clouds,
And set my wings straight to bridge the wide, wide sea.