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

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.

Re: 129. 蒹葭 - Jian Jia

[ann712]

From Wikipedia
White Dew indicates the real beginning of cool autumn.

I wonder if the speaker is a woman approaching the end of conventional marriageable years and her sadness that she has not attracted a mate,

Re: 129. 蒹葭 - Jian Jia

[x_los]

' the regret of being unable to attract virtuous hermits out of seclusion' never change, Mao school.

Re: 129. 蒹葭 - Jian Jia

[superborb]

The Mao Shi Xu and Zheng Jian interpretation is the ridiculing Qin Xiang gong one; the Yao Jiheng and Fang Yurun is the hermits one. (At least, as cited in Baike)

Re: 129. 蒹葭 - Jian Jia

[x_los]

...this is like a multiple shooters theory