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

[x_los]

* 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.

Until someone knows what to do there, I'll send out manual messages weekly. If you'd like to receive these and are not getting them, please let me know.

* 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.

**NEXT BATCH MARCH 1.**

Comments

126. 車鄰 - Che Lin

[x_los]

有車鄰鄰、有馬白顛。
未見君子、寺人之令。

He has many carriages, giving forth their lin-lin;
He has horses with their white foreheads.
Before we can see our prince,
We must get the services of the eunuch.

阪有漆、隰有栗。
既見君子、並坐鼓瑟。
今者不樂、逝者其耋。

On the hill-sides are varnish trees;
In the low wet grounds are chestnuts.
When we have seen our prince,
We sit together with him, and they play on their lutes.
If now we do not take our joy,
The time will pass till we are octogenarians.

阪有桑、隰有楊。
既見君子、並坐鼓簧。
今者不樂、逝者其亡。

On the hill-sides are mulberry trees;
In the low wet grounds are willows.
When we have seen our prince,
We sit together with him, and they play on their organs.
If now we do not take our joy,
The time will pass till we are no more.

Re: 126. 車鄰 - Che Lin

[x_los]

So they're gonna take their pleasures while they can, but also they need the eunuch to get them in? What's the first stanza doing? The separation mountain-lowlands duo is back, so maybe you don't get to see your homie/liege lord very often.

127. 駟驖 - Si Tie

[x_los]

駟驖孔阜、六轡在手。
公之媚子、從公于狩。

His four iron-black horses are in very fine condition;
The six reins are in the hand [of the charioteer].
The ruler's favourites,
Follow him to the chase.

奉時辰牡、辰牡孔碩。
公曰左之、舍拔則獲。

The male animals of the season are made to present themselves,
The males in season, of very large size.
The ruler says, ' To the left of them; '
Then he lets go his arrows and hits.

遊于北園、四馬既閑。
輶車鸞鑣、載獫歇驕。

He rambles in the northern park;
His four horses display their training.
Light carriages, with bells at the horses' bits,
Convey the long and short-mouthed dogs.

Re: 127. 駟驖 - Si Tie

[x_los]

Getting a sense the retainers, hunted animals and hunting animals are being compared here?

Re: 127. 駟驖 - Si Tie

[superborb]

Have learned many ways to say 'fat' poetically now.

Baike: the reason there are only 6 reins (instead of 8) is bc the inner reins of the middle two horses are tied to the bar, so there are only 6 in hand

The ruler's favorites could be his fav son or his fav aide, or just ... his fav.

It's interesting to me that apparently the animals being hunted are domesticated? Like they release them to hunt them for fun?

128. 小戎 - Xiao Rong

[x_los]

小戎俴收、五楘梁輈。
游環脅驅、陰靷鋈續、文茵暢轂、駕我騏馵。
言念君子、溫其如玉。
在其板屋、亂我心曲。

[There is] his short war carriage; -
With the ridge-like end of its pole, elegantly bound in five places;
With its slip rings and side straps,
And the traces attached by gilt rings to the masked transverse;
With its beautiful mat of tiger's skin, and its long naves;
With its piebalds, and horses with white left feet.
When I think of my husband [thus],
Looking bland and soft as a piece of jade;
Living there in his plank house;
It sends confusion into all the corners of my heart.

四牡孔阜、六轡在手、騏駵是中、騧驪是驂、龍盾之合、鋈以觼軜。
言念君子、溫其在邑。
方何為期、胡然我念之。

His four horses are in very fine condition,
And the six reins are in the hand [of the charioteer].
Piebald, and bay with black mane, are the insides;
Yellow with black mouth, and black, are the outsides;
Side by side are placed the dragon-figured shields;
Gilt are the buckles for the inner reins.
I think of my husband [thus],
Looking so mild in the cities there.
What time can be fixed for his return?
Oh! how I think of him!

俴駟孔羣、厹矛鋈錞、
蒙伐有苑、虎韔鏤膺、
交韔二弓、竹閉緄縢。
言念君子、載寢載興。
厭厭良人、秩秩德音。

His mail-covered team moves in great harmony;
There are the trident spears with their gilt ends;
And the beautiful feather-figured shield;
With the tiger-skin bow-case, and the carved metal ornaments on its front.
The two bows are placed in the case,
Bound with string to their bamboo frames.
I think of my husband,
When I lie down and rise up.
Tranquil and serene is the good man,
With his virtuous fame spread far and near.

Re: 128. 小戎 - Xiao Rong

[x_los]

incongruous image of the poetic speaker's gentle, domestic husband thoroughly fitted out for war, far away

Re: 128. 小戎 - Xiao Rong

[forestofglory]

There are a lot of horse in this batch of poems

129. 蒹葭 - Jian Jia

[x_los]

蒹葭蒼蒼、白露為霜。
所謂伊人、在水一方。
遡洄從之、道阻且長。
遡遊從之、宛在水中央。

The reeds and rushes are deeply green,
And the white dew is turned into hoarfrost.
The man of whom I think,
Is somewhere about the water.
I go up the stream in quest of him,
But the way is difficult and long.
I go down the stream in quest of him,
And lo! he is right in the midst of the water.

蒹葭淒淒、白露未晞。
所謂伊人、在水之湄。
遡洄從之、道阻且躋。
遡遊從之、宛在水中坻。

The reeds and rushes are luxuriant,
And the white dew is not yet dry.
The man of whom I think,
Is on the margin of the water.
I go up the stream in quest of him,
But the way is difficult and steep.
I go down the stream in quest of him,
And lo! he is on the islet in the midst of the water.

蒹葭采采、白露未已。
所謂伊人、在水之涘。
遡洄從之、道阻且右。
遡遊從之、宛在水中沚。

The reeds and rushes are abundant,
And the white dew is not yet ceased.
The man of whom I think,
Is on the bank of the river.
I go up the stream in quest of him,
But the way is difficult and turns to the right.
I go down the stream in quest of him,
And lo! he is on the island in the midst of the water.

Re: 129. 蒹葭 - Jian Jia

[x_los]

is this island in the middle of the water Signifying anything?

Re: 129. 蒹葭 - Jian Jia

[superborb]

Baike: originally, thought to be ridiculing Qin Xiang gong for not being able to consolidate his country, or the regret of being unable to attract virtuous hermits out of seclusion. However, it's not dealing with as concrete or specific of scenes as most Shijing poems, even the gender of the person being addressed is unclear. Lacking evidence (which may not have survived), those previous conclusions are in doubt. Modern scholars think of it as a love poem, unable to obtain the longing of their heart. The depression and melancholy of not being good enough to reach what you love.

130. 終南 - Zhong Nan

[x_los]

終南何有、有條有梅。
君子至止、錦衣狐裘。
顏如渥丹、其君也哉。

What are there on Zhongnan?
There are white firs and plum trees.
Our prince has arrived at it,
Wearing an embroidered robe over his fox-fur,
And with his countenance rouged as with vermilion.
May he prove a ruler indeed!

終南何有、有紀有堂。
君子至止、黻衣繡裳、佩玉將將、壽考不忘。

What are there on Zhongnan?
There are nooks and open glades.
Our prince has arrived at it,
With the symbol of distinction embroidered on his lower garment,
And the gems at his girdle emitting their tinkling.
May long life and an endless name be his?

Re: 130. 終南 - Zhong Nan

[x_los]

why ? is that dubiousness, or just hope?

131. 黃鳥 - Huang Niao

[x_los]

交交黃鳥、止于棘。
誰從穆公、子車奄息。
維此奄息、百夫之特。
臨其穴、惴惴其慄。
彼蒼者天、殲我良人。
如可贖兮、人百其身。

They flit about, the yellow birds,
And rest upon the jujube trees.
Who followed duke Mu [to the grave]?
Ziche Yansi.
And this Yansi,
Was a man above a hundred.
When he came to the grave,
He looked terrified and trembled.
Thou azure Heaven there!
Thou art destroying our good men.
Could he have been redeemed,
We should have given a hundred lives for him.

交交黃鳥、止于桑。
誰從穆公、子車仲行。
維此仲行、百夫之防。
臨其穴、惴惴其慄。
彼蒼者天、殲我良人。
如可贖兮、人百其身。

They flit about, the yellow birds,
And rest upon the mulberry trees.
Who followed duke Mu [to the grave]?
Ziche Zhongheng.
And this Zhongheng,
Was a match for a hundred.
When he came to the grave,
He looked terrified and trembled.
Thou azure Heaven there!
Thou art destroying our good men.
Could he have been redeemed,
We should have given a hundred lives for him.

交交黃鳥、止于楚。
誰從穆公、子車鍼虎。
維此鍼虎、百夫之禦。
臨其穴、惴惴其慄。
彼蒼者天、殲我良人。
如可贖兮、人百其身。

They flit about, the yellow birds,
And rest upon the thorn trees.
Who followed duke Mu [to the grave]?
Ziche Qianhu.
And this Ziche Qianhu,
Could withstand a hundred men.
When he came to the grave,
He looked terrified and trembled.
Thou azure Heaven there!
Thou art destroying our good men.
Could he have been redeemed,
We should have given a hundred lives for him.

Re: 131. 黃鳥 - Huang Niao

[x_los]

so following Duke Mu, in combat, is killing off decent men, who are like yellow birds who have no roost but a thorn tree

Re: 131. 黃鳥 - Huang Niao

[x_los]

"The most famous example of a poem composed in response to the
historical circumstances of its time is “Yellow Bird” (Mao 131 “Huang
niao”) in the “Airs of Qin”:
Jiao-jiao cry the yellow birds, / settling on the jujube tree. / Who followed Lord Mu? / Ziju Yanxi! / Truly, this Yanxi, / the finest of a hundred men! / He draws close to the pit, / trembling, trembling in terror. /
Heaven, the azure one, / slays our good man! / If one could ransom
him, ah— / a hundred men for his life!
Jiao-jiao cry the yellow birds, / settling on the mulberry tree. / Who
followed Lord Mu? / Ziju Zhonghang! / Truly, this Zhonghang, / a
match for a hundred men! / He draws close to the pit, / trembling,
trembling in terror. / Heaven, the azure one, / slays our good man! / If
one could ransom him, ah— / a hundred men for his life!
Jiao-jiao cry the yellow birds, / settling on the caltrop bush. / Who followed Lord Mu? / Ziju Qianhu! / Truly, this Qianhu, / a guard against a
hundred men! / He draws close to the pit, / trembling, trembling in terror. / Heaven, the azure one, / slays our good man. / If one could ransom him, ah— / a hundred men for his life!

For the year 621 BCE, the Zuo Tradition narrates that at the burial of
Lord Mu of Qin, Yanxi, Zhonghang, and Qianhu followed him into the
grave as human sacrifices, whereupon “the men of the state mourned them, and on their behalf recited ‘Yellow Bird’.”51 Here we have the
single most plausible case where fu (“to present,” “to recite”) should be
taken as “to make,”, which is, quite naturally, how the Mao preface
interprets the situation. Note, however, that the “men of the state”
(guoren) are not the common folk but members of the Qin court élite.
This rare example, where the Zuo Tradition relates not only a poem’s historical context but also its act of composition, generates credibility for the general idea that early Chinese poetry could emerge in
response to specific circumstances—even though no poem from the
“Airs,” unlike the “Major Court Hymns,” contains a sustained historical narrative. The underlying dictum that “poetry expresses intent”
makes poetry symptomatic and revealing, and endows it with an unquestionable truth claim. It also encourages the identification of authorial agency, even in semi-anonymous terms such as “the men of the
state.” Yet the poetics attributed to the “Airs” frame authorship not as
autonomous or creative. A poem is not “made” by a controlling poet
but arises from history, and its truth claim rests precisely in the absence of authorial control and artful manipulation. Thus, early Chinese
aesthetic appreciation is primarily concerned with how a poem matches the world it depicts. As individual poems could, thus, be decoded—
or constituted—as symptom and omen, so could the entire body of the
Poetry. Consider the performance of dance, music, and song that the
court of Lu gave to Prince Ji Zha of Wu, who, in 544 BCE, requested
to be allowed to “observe the music of Zhou.” The Zuo Tradition provides the following account of his judgment of the different “Airs”:--"

https://scholar.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/mkern/files/the_formation_of_the_classic_of_poetry_0.pdf

Re: 131. 黃鳥 - Huang Niao

[superborb]

Baike: Qin Mu gong (Duke Mu of Qin, named Renhao) got his ministers drunk and said "we monarch and ministers, in life are happy together, in death also grieve together". The three ministers agreed to follow him in death. When Qin Mu gong died, no less 177 people were buried with him, including the three ministers (who were brothers). As the ministers were considered virtuous people of the Qin dynasty, the people mourned and wrote this poem.

There's puns about the jujubes being homophones with urgent/worried, mulberry with mourning, and the thorn trees (chaste berry trees) with anguish/suffering

132. 晨風 - Chen Feng

[x_los]

鴥彼晨風、鬱彼北林。
未見君子、憂心欽欽。
如何如何、忘我實多。

Swift flies the falcon,
To the thick-wooded forest in the north.
While I do not see my husband,
My heart cannot forget its grief.
How is it, how is it,
That he forgets me so very much?

山有苞櫟、隰有六駮。
未見君子、憂心靡樂。
如何如何、忘我實多。

On the mountain are the bushy oaks;
In the low wet grounds are six elms.
While I do not see my husband,
My sad heart has no joy.
How is it, how is it,
That he forgets me so very much?

山有苞棣、隰有樹檖。
未見君子、憂心如醉。
如何如何、忘我實多。

On the mountain are the bushy sparrow-plums;
In the low wet grounds are the high, wild pear trees.
While I do not see my husband,
My heart is as if intoxicated with grief.
How is it, how is it,
That he forgets me so very much?

Re: 132. 晨風 - Chen Feng

[x_los]

. xi. 7.: OUT OF SIGHT AND OUT OF MIND.
Swiftly sped the sparrow-hawk,
Northward where the woods grow dense.—
Absent is my husband still,
And ’tis sad, this long suspense.
Why is he, methinks, and how
So unmindful of me now?
Groves of oak adorn the hill,
Elm-trees, six of them, the mead.—
Absent is my husband still;
Sad and cheerless life I lead,
Why is he, methinks, and how
So unmindful of me now?
On the hill wild cherry-trees,
On the meadowland wild pears.—
With my husband absent still
I seem stupefied with cares.
Why is he, methinks, and how
So unmindful of me now?

https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/confucius-the-shi-king-the-old-poetry-classic-of-the-chinese#lf1440_label_602

Re: 132. 晨風 - Chen Feng

[x_los]

Hey it's the mountains-lowlands separation xing again! Classic, classic.

Another abandoned wife one for ya.

(Still gonna use it for angry Binghe, tho. Still gonna use it.)

Re: 132. 晨風 - Chen Feng

[superborb]

From baike, the falcon is a sparrowhawk, and the sparrow-plum is a shadbush. The wild pear is a rowan.

I kind of wish there was a source for if these particular choices of animals/vegetation have meanings beyond just imagery? Like is it just that these plants live in contrasting locations and it's just for the xing?

133. 無衣 - Wu Yi

[x_los]

豈曰無衣、與子同袍。
王于興師、脩我戈矛、與子同仇。

How shall it be said that you have no clothes?
I will share my long robes with you.
The king is raising his forces;
I will prepare my lance and spear,
And will be your comrade.

豈曰無衣、與子同澤。
王于興師、脩我矛戟、與子偕作。

How shall it be said that you have no clothes?
I will share my under clothes with you.
The king is raising his forces;
I will prepare my spear and lance,
And will take the field with you.

豈曰無衣、與子同裳。
王于興師、脩我甲兵、與子偕行。

How shall it be said that you have no clothes?
I will share my lower garments with you.
The king is raising his forces;
I will prepare my buffcoat and sharp weapons,
And will march along with you.

Re: 133. 無衣 - Wu Yi

[x_los]

So the martial lover has little, but this comrade or partner will share all they have, and even go into battle with them.

134. 渭陽 - Wei Yang

[x_los]

我送舅氏、曰至渭陽。
何以贈之、路車乘黃。

I escorted my mother's nephew,
To the north of the Wei,
What did I present to him?
Four bay horses for his carriage of state.

我送舅氏、悠悠我思。
何以贈之、瓊瑰玉佩。

I escorted my mother's nephew,
Long, long did I think of him.
What did I present to him?
A precious jasper, and gems for his girdle-pendant.

Re: 134. 渭陽 - Wei Yang

[x_los]

either you're giving thoughtful gifts or you need to see if this is a cousin marriage period. it's a maternal cousin so, you know, get in.

135. 權輿 - Quan Yu

[x_los]

於我乎、夏屋渠渠、今也每食無餘。
于嗟乎、不承權輿。

He assigned us a house large and spacious;
But now at every meal there is nothing left.
Alas that he could not continue as he began!

於我乎、每食四簋、今也每食不飽。
于嗟乎、不承權輿。

He assigned us at every meal four dishes of grain;
But now at every meal we do not get our fill.
Alas that he could not continue as he began!

Re: 135. 權輿 - Quan Yu

[x_los]

An over-promiser. Now you're left with a giant house to keep up and no fuckin food. What an asshole. Should have given you a small house, and a more consistent food supply.