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

43. 新臺 - Xin Tai

[x_los]

新臺有泚、河水瀰瀰。
燕婉之求、籧篨不鮮。

Fresh and bright is the New Tower,
On the waters of the He, wide and deep.
A pleasant, genial mate she sought,
[And has got this] vicious bloated mass!

新臺有洒、河水浼浼。
燕婉之求、籧篨不殄。

Lofty is the New Tower,
On the waters of the He, flowing still.
A pleasant, genial mate she sought,
[And has got this] vicious bloated mass!

魚網之設、鴻則離之。
燕婉之求、得此戚施。

It was a fish net that was set,
And a goose has fallen into it.
A pleasant, genial mate she sought,
And she has got this hunchback.

Re: 43. 新臺 - Xin Tai

[x_los]

I guess this guy is both unattractive and mean, and generally a bad husband? What's the xing of the tower doing? Kinda odd to see human environmental elements in a xing.

Re: 43. 新臺 - Xin Tai

[x_los]

...wait is the tower/river just a sex thing?

Re: 43. 新臺 - Xin Tai

[superborb]

Lol the slander in one of the sources, saying that Wei [state] Xuan gong committed incest with his stepmom, had a son, got a bride for his son, saw that the new bride was a great beauty, changed his mind, married her. Then the people made up this song to mock him.