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

[x_los]

* I know the two titular Weis are confusing; I believe they're different characters both rendered thus in Pinyin.

* I found the best option for the weekly reminder emails, via Gmail. The external service options are more involved than our purposes require. Does anyone know anything about how to arrange an Apps Script? Basically all it has to do is tell ten people, on Saturdays, to come and get their juice/poems. 

* 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.

* IF YOU HAVE FRIENDS WHO MIGHT LIKE TO JOIN or have other ideas, please let me know on this post.

* Every week I search the poems' English results to see if I can find any scholarship or neat bits and pop the results in Resources. Here is this week's collection.

Comments

113. 碩鼠 - Shuo Shu

[x_los]

碩鼠碩鼠、無食我黍。
三歲貫女、莫我肯顧。
逝將去女、適彼樂土。
樂土樂土、爰得我所。

Large rats! Large rats!
Do not eat our millet.
Three years have we had to do with you,
And you have not been willing to show any regard for us.
We will leave you,
And go to that happy land.
Happy land! Happy land!
There shall we find our place.

碩鼠碩鼠、無食我麥。
三歲貫女、莫我肯德。
逝將去女、適彼樂國。
樂國樂國、爰得我直。

Large rats! Large rats!
Do not eat our wheat.
Three years have we had to do with you,
And you have not been willing to show any kindness to us.
We will leave you,
And go to that happy State.
Happy State! Happy State!
There shall we find ourselves right.

碩鼠碩鼠、無食我苗。
三歲貫女、莫我肯勞。
逝將去女、適彼樂郊。
樂郊樂郊、誰之永號。

Large rats! Large rats!
Do not eat our springing grain!
Three years have we had to do with you,
And you have not been willing to think of our toil.
We will leave you,
And go to those happy borders.
Happy borders! Happy borders!
Who will there make us always to groan?

Re: 113. 碩鼠 - Shuo Shu

[x_los]

So a long pestilence/pest problem/famine thing? ...is the happy state the release of death? (or is this guys away on military service?)

Re: 113. 碩鼠 - Shuo Shu

[superborb]

Baike says it's laborers expressing hatred for their exploiters (the rats). Historically, said exploiters were read as the monarch.

Interestingly, as in 112, here they say three years, but it's again not meant literally, just as a long time.

Re: 113. 碩鼠 - Shuo Shu

[ann712]

Read this as quite Victorian. Life is shit. We’re poor and starving. But our misery guarantees us a place in heaven and untroubled joy. So deal with the shit!