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

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

[ann712]

Yep I go with that

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?

Re: 127. 駟驖 - Si Tie

[x_los]

Oh, I didn't necessarily think they were domesticated? I'm not entirely sure what being made to present themselves would mean in this context though, or why he's shooting to the side of them.

Re: 127. 駟驖 - Si Tie

[superborb]

IDK if domesticated is the right word or how much Baike is like, extra-textually adding details, but Baike says that the "made to present themselves" is like, a hunting officer opening cages containing fat animals for the hunt. Also, they are all male animals, which are more expensive and thus better for sacrifice.

I think it's like, he called that he's shooting the one on the left and then does so, like idk, calling the shot in billiards.

Re: 127. 駟驖 - Si Tie

[x_los]

Oh the sacrifice context feels as though it adds a lot

Re: 127. 駟驖 - Si Tie

[superborb]

Yeah, the gloss on the "male animals" specifically says that in ancient times, male animals were used for sacrifice. I'm not sure if there is meant to be additional implication that /this/ is a sacrifice?