Shi Jing, The Book of Odes: Lessons from the States, Odes Of Yong

[x_los]

First off, THANK YOU for your email and poem responses this week! Please do check out each others' thoughts in the comments. There's some fun stuff to build off of, and it's less intimidating to offer up some thoughts if we're having a conversation. I'm looking forward to getting into these this evening. 

Some notes:

* Two members asked for weekly email reminders on Saturday, so I've figured out how to set that up. If you did NOT get an email yesterday, I haven't got you on the list. If you'd like to be on the list, please let me know!

If you would like *not* to be on the list, let's see whether the first Automated Email on Saturday has an unsubscribe option? If it doesn't, please just respond 'unsubscribe' or something and I'll take you off the reminder.

* One member asked that we do a classic Tang collection right after this one, for something a bit more modern and approachable (she phrased it as the difference between Chaucer and Shakespeare). Unless there are objections, I'm very happy to jump forward in time--we can always circle back to danker parts later if/when we feel like it, and Tang is regarded as some very good shit.

* If you have further ideas, please let me know on this post. 

* IF YOU HAVE FRIENDS WHO MIGHT LIKE TO JOIN, please also let me know on this post. I think we're getting to a more stable point, where a handful of additional commenters would be welcome?

* If you haven't read it yet, chapter one, on tetrasyllabic shi poetry, in How to Read Chinese Poetry is hugely useful for the Book of Odes, imo.



Thank you!

Comments

45. 柏舟 - Bo Zhou

[x_los]

汎彼柏舟、在彼中河。
髧彼兩髦、實維我儀。
之死矢靡它。
母也天只、不諒人只。

It floats about, that boat of cypress wood,
There in the middle of the He.
With his two tufts of hair falling over his forehead,
He was my mate;
And I swear that till death I will have no other.
O mother, O Heaven,
Why will you not understand me?

汎彼柏舟、在彼河側。
髧彼兩髦、實維我特。
之死矢靡慝。
母也天只、不諒人只。

It floats about, that boat of cypress wood,
There by the side of the He.
With his two tufts of hair falling over his forehead,
He was my only one;
And I swear that till death I will not do the evil thing.
O mother, O Heaven,
Why will you not understand me?

Re: 45. 柏舟 - Bo Zhou

[x_los]

Cypress in Western tradition has funereal associations, and I wonder if that's true here, too. Is this describing a water burial?

I think based off vague googling this is about the daughter refusing to remarry after her partner's death.

It's short, but my verdict is: this one slaps.

Re: 45. 柏舟 - Bo Zhou

[superborb]

Baidu says this poem is about hidden worries and is full of metaphors (such as the boat with nowhere to go). Also yet again, controversy over who wrote it, with modern scholars thinking it was by a woman.