Shi Jing, The Book of Odes: Lessons from the States, Odes Of Gui and Odes of Cao

[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.

* In case you missed it and are interested, some people on the com are doing a Nirvana in Fire read-along here. Anyone with thoughts is welcome to chime in. 

**NEXT BATCH MARCH 15.**

Comments

檜風 - Odes Of Gui; 147. 素冠 - Su Guan

[x_los]

庶見素冠兮、棘人欒欒兮、勞心慱慱兮。

If I could but see the white cap,
And the earnest mourner worn to leanness! -
My toiled heart is worn with grief!

庶見素衣兮、我心傷悲兮、聊與子同歸兮。

If I could but see the white [lower] dress! -
My heart is wounded with sadness!
I should be inclined to go and live with the wearer!

庶見素韠兮、我心蘊結兮、聊與子如一兮。

If I could but see the white knee-covers! -
Sorrow is knotted in my heart!
I should almost feel as of one soul with the wearer!

Re: 檜風 - Odes Of Gui; 147. 素冠 - Su Guan

[x_los]

Seeing signs of ritual mourning carried out earnestly moves the poet to deep empathy. May be about telling people how to mourn correctly?

Re: 檜風 - Odes Of Gui; 147. 素冠 - Su Guan

[superborb]

As you may expect, baike says there's a gazillion possible explanations for this poem: funerals, mourning, visiting prisons, a virtuous official being rebuked, sympathy with mourners, a love poem.