Shi Jing, The Book of Odes: Lessons from the states, Odes Of Bei

[x_los]

This is a longer chapter than the previous two, and people are still catching up with the last two chapters/acclimating to the format. Thus we'll only do one chapter this week.

I'm going to post this week's poem translations in the body of the discussion to make commenting a bit easier. 

Get your 'odes of bae' jokes out early, before the rush.

Comments

39. 泉水 - Quan Shui

[x_los]

毖彼泉水、亦流于淇。
有懷于衛、靡日不思。
孌彼諸姬、聊與之謀。

How the water bubbles up from that spring,
And flows away to the Qi!
My heart is in Wei;
There is not a day I do not think of it.
Admirable are those, my cousins;
I will take counsel with them.

出宿于泲、飲餞于禰。
女子有行、遠父母兄弟。
問我諸姑、遂及伯姊。

When I came forth, I lodged in Ji,
And we drank the cup of convoy at Ni.
When a young lady goes [to be married],
She leaves her parents and brothers;
[But] I would ask for my aunts,
And then for my elder sister.

出宿于干、飲餞于言。
載脂載牽、還車言邁。
遄臻于衛、不瑕有害。

I will go forth and lodge in Gan,
And we drink the cup of convoy at Yan.
I will grease the axle and fix the pin,
And the returning chariot will proceed.
Quickly shall we arrive in Wei; -
But would not this be wrong?

我思肥泉、茲之永歎。
思須與漕、我心悠悠。
駕言出遊、以寫我憂。

I think of the Feiquan,
I am ever sighing about it.
I think of Xu and Cao,
Long, long, my heart dwells with them.
Let me drive forth and travel there,
To dissipate my sorrow.

Re: 39. 泉水 - Quan Shui

[aeriallon]

So many place names!

When a young lady goes [to be married],
She leaves her parents and brothers;
[But] I would ask for my aunts,
And then for my elder sister.

I have nothing to say about this I just really liked it a lot. Ruth/Naomi, Canticles, Sappho, et alia.

Re: 39. 泉水 - Quan Shui

[x_los]

'my heart is in Wei': still not 魏 . This has been your daily 'no'.

Is this a male speaker who misses his aunts and sister, or a female speaker very ready to grease the axle and fix the pin?

"But would not this be wrong?" where is that coming from?