Danmei Society for the Egregious Misuse of Chinese Poetry and Literature

i quite gave up trying to figure out a proper name for the officials' ranks xD mr. legge's translation spells the details out very obviously already, so i just plucked them out and plonked them in mine HAHAH. anyway so so so here's my take on 《汾沮洳》~squishy wet banks of river fen~

彼汾沮洳，言采其莫。
Bǐ fén jù rù, yán cǎi qí mò.
That person by the muddy Fen River then plucked the bristle docks.
彼其之子，美无度。
Bǐ qí zhīzǐ, měi wúdù.
"That man is beautiful beyond measure -
美无度，殊异乎公路。
Měi wúdù, shū yìhū gōnglù.
beautiful beyond measure, outstandingly different from the superintendent of the ruler's carriage."

彼汾一方，言采其桑。
Bǐ fén yīfāng, yán cǎi qí sāng.
That person on the other bank of the Fen River then plucked the mulberry leaves.
彼其之子，美如英。
Bǐ qí zhīzǐ, měi rú yīng.
"That man is as beautiful as a flower -
美如英，殊异乎公行。
Měi rú yīng, shū yìhū gōng xíng.
beautiful as a flower, outstandingly different from the marshal of the carriages."

彼汾一曲，言采其藚。
Bǐ fén yī qū, yán cǎi qí xù.
That person at another bend of the Fen River then plucked the ox-lips.
彼其之子，美如玉。
Bǐ qí zhīzǐ, měi rú yù.
"That man as beautiful as jade -
美如玉，殊异乎公族。
Měi rú yù, shū yìhū gōng zú
beautiful as jade, outstandingly different from the ranks of nobility."

i took a whack at 《 陟岵》 first before this one bc i liked the subject there a little more (also bc it's shorter lol), but they've both got that whole 'progression of time and intensity' vibe going on. in this case i suppose it's the speaker's interest and attraction to the dude they're talking about.

okies so! let's start off by clarifying: 'that person' 彼 (gender unspecified) at SOME position relative to the fen river 汾 across the first line of the three parts, is a DIFFERENT one for sure from 'the other person' 彼其 (gender specified to be male 之子) in the second lines. i guess the first person is implied to be female just by the things they're doing i.e. picking wild plants, mulberry leaves and herbs, and will be referred to as 'she' from now on. she lives nearby i suppose, and he has stuff to do in the area.

the first time she catches sight of him, she is totally blown away. she's never seen someone so beautiful!!!! and too busy being awed, to her his beauty was without measure. the second time she sees him, she's clearly had time to think about it and he's as beautiful as a flower! blooming flowers in their prime; the world is more beautiful for their presence.

the third time she sees him, oh, this is interesting. she thinks he's as beautiful as jade! jade which is associated with good moral character, virtue, a certain inborn nobility of nature.
just as a point of interest as digging the rabbit hole led me to another shijing entry (pls take with a pinch of salt as i have not read it in its entirety lol):
言念君子 温其如玉
the gentleman whom i long for is as gentle, as warm as jade
- from 秦风·小戎 odes of qin, xiao rong
and he is better looking than those officials and nobility AND a man of good moral character, unlike them. high praise, young lady, high praise indeed.

i do wonder what IS the selection criteria for 'superintendent of the ruler's carriage' and 'marshal of the carriages'. is appearance one of the considerations for her to compare them? or are they just the most important official that she has seen?