Baike: Most think this is ridiculing how mediocre people get high positions, criticizing unequal social reality. The poem uses a lot of poetic techniques.
The 'fu' technique is used in the first stanza, comparing two different people. (The first two lines of the first stanza and the last two lines refer to different people.) The people it complains about (those people with the red covers) are high-ranking and pompous.
The second and third stanzas use the 'bi' (comparison) technique. Here the pelican is standing on the dam and only needs to stretch its neck to get fish (not enter the water), as the fish will jump into its mouth.
The last stanza uses the 'qixing' technique, describing the gray and overcast atmosphere and the abandoned and starved young lady.
'red covers': ceremonial clothing(?) made of leather, the upper part is narrow and the lower part is wide, and the upper part is fixed to the waist. The colors indicate rank; red is for senior officials and above. 'dam': a dike that extends into the water for fishing 'hunger': one source says it's the hunger of a woman for marriage
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Re: 曹風 - Odes Of Cao; 151. 候人 - Hou Ren
Date: 2021-03-14 06:18 pm (UTC)The 'fu' technique is used in the first stanza, comparing two different people. (The first two lines of the first stanza and the last two lines refer to different people.) The people it complains about (those people with the red covers) are high-ranking and pompous.
The second and third stanzas use the 'bi' (comparison) technique. Here the pelican is standing on the dam and only needs to stretch its neck to get fish (not enter the water), as the fish will jump into its mouth.
The last stanza uses the 'qixing' technique, describing the gray and overcast atmosphere and the abandoned and starved young lady.
'red covers': ceremonial clothing(?) made of leather, the upper part is narrow and the lower part is wide, and the upper part is fixed to the waist. The colors indicate rank; red is for senior officials and above.
'dam': a dike that extends into the water for fishing
'hunger': one source says it's the hunger of a woman for marriage