dankodes | Shi Jing, The Book of Odes: Minor Odes of the Kingdom, Decade of Qi Fu

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Shi Jing, The Book of Odes: Minor Odes of the Kingdom, Decade of Qi Fu

* 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.

* One of our members is doing posts on the foundations and development of wuxia. Worth checking out!

**NEXT BATCH APRIL 19.**

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祈父、予王之爪牙。
胡轉予于恤、靡所止居。

Minister of war,
We are the claws and teeth of the king.
Why have you rolled us into this sorrow,
So that we have no abiding place?

祈父、予王之爪士。
胡轉予于恤、靡所底止。

Minister of war,
We are the taloned soldiers of the king.
Why have you rolled us into this sorrow,
So that there is no end [of our toils]?

祈父、亶不聰。
胡轉予于恤、有母之尸饔。

Minister of war,
You have indeed acted without discrimination.
Why have you rolled us into this sorrow,
So that our mothers have to do all the labour of cooking?

皎皎白駒、食我場苗。
縶之維之、以永今朝。
所謂伊人、於焉逍遙。

Let the brilliant white colt,
Feed on the young growth of my vegetable garden.
Tether it by the foot, tie it by the collar,
To prolong this morning.
So may its owner of whom I think,
Spend his time here at his ease!

皎皎白駒、食我場藿。
縶之維之、以永今夕。
所謂伊人、於焉嘉客。

Let the brilliant white colt,
Feed on the bean sprouts of my vegetable garden.
Tether it by the foot, tie it by the collar,
To prolong this evening.
So may its owner of whom I think,
Be here, an admired guest!

皎皎白駒、賁然來思。
爾公爾侯、逸豫無期。
慎爾優游、勉爾遁思。

If [you with] the brilliant white colt,
Would brightly come to me,
You should be a duke, you should be a marquis,
Enjoying yourself without end.
Be on your guard against idly wandering;
Deal vigorously with your thoughts of retirement.

皎皎白駒、在彼空谷。
生芻一束、其人如玉。
毋金玉爾音、而有遐心。

The brilliant white colt,
Is there in that empty valley,
With a bundle of fresh grass.
Its owner is like a gem.
Do not make the news of you rare as gold and gems, -
Indulging your purpose to abandon me.

黃鳥黃鳥。
無集于穀。
無啄我粟。
此邦之人。
不我肯穀。
言旋言歸。
復我邦族。

Yellow bird, yellow bird,
Do not settle on the broussonetias,
Do not eat my paddy.
The people of this country,
Are not willing to treat me well.
I will return, I will go back,
Back to my country and kin.

黃鳥黃鳥。
無集于桑。
無啄我粱。
此邦之人。
不可與明。
言旋言歸。
復我諸兄。

Yellow bird, yellow bird,
Do not settle on the mulberry trees,
Do not eat my maize.
The people of this country,
Will not let me come to an understanding with them.
I will return, I will go back,
Back to my brethren.

黃鳥黃鳥。
無集于栩。
無啄我黍。
此邦之人。
不可與處。
言旋言歸。
復我諸父。

Yellow bird, yellow bird,
Do not settle on the oaks,
Do not eat my grand millet.
The people of this country,
I cannot dwell with.
I will return, I will go back,
Back to my uncles.

我行其野、蔽芾其樗。
昏姻之故、言就爾居。
爾不我畜、復我邦家。

I travelled through the country,
Where the Fetid tree grew luxuriant.
Because of our affinity by marriage,
I went to reside with you.
But you do not entertain me;
And I go back to my country and clan.

我行其野、言采其蓫。
昏姻之故、言就爾宿。
爾不我畜、言歸思復。

I travelled through the country,
Gathering the sheep's-foot.
Because of our affinity by marriage,
I came to lodge with you.
But you do not entertain me;
And I will return, I will go back.

我行其野、言采其葍。
不思舊姻、求爾新特。
成不以富、亦祇以異。

I travelled through the country,
Gathering the pokeweed.
You do not think of our old affinity,
And seek to please your new relative.
If indeed you are not influenced by her riches,
You still are so by the difference [between the new and the old].

秩秩斯干、幽幽南山。
如竹苞矣、如松茂矣。
兄及弟矣、式相好矣、無相猶矣。

By the graceful sweep of these banks,
With the southern hill, so calm in the distance,
[Has the palace arisen], firm as the roots of a clump of bamboos,
[With its roof] like the luxuriant head of a pine tree.
May the brothers [here],
Be loving among themselves,
And have no schemings against one another!

似續妣祖、築室百堵、西南其戶。
爰居爰處、爰笑爰語。

Having entered into the inheritance of his ancestors,
He has built his chambers, five thousand cubits of walls,
With their doors to the west and to the south.
Here will he reside; here will he sit;
Here will he laugh; here will he talk.

約之閣閣、椓之橐橐。
風雨攸除、鳥鼠攸去、君子攸芋。

They bound the frames for the earth, exactly over one another;
Tuo-tuo went on the pounding; -
Impervious [the walls] to wind and rain,
Offering no cranny to bird or rat.
A grand dwelling is it for our noble lord.

如跂斯翼、如矢斯棘、如鳥斯革。
如翬斯飛、君子攸躋。

Like a man on tip-toe, in reverent expectation;
Like an arrow, flying rapidly;
Like a bird which has changed its feathers;
Like a pheasant on flying wings;
Is the [hall] which our noble lord will ascend.

殖殖其庭、有覺其楹、噲噲其正、噦噦其冥、君子攸寧。

Level and smooth is the court-yard,
And lofty are the pillars around it.
Pleasant is the exposure of the chamber to the light,
And deep and wide are its recesses; -
Here will our noble lord repose.

下莞上簟、乃安斯寢。
乃寢乃興、乃占我夢。
吉夢維何、維熊維羆、維虺維蛇。

On the rush-mat below, and that of fine bamboos above it,
Here may he repose in slumber!
May he sleep and awake,
[Saying] ' Divine for me my dreams.
What dreams are lucky?
They have been of bears and grisly bears;
They have been of cobras and [other] serpents. '

大人占之。
維熊維羆、男子之祥。
維虺維蛇、女子之祥。

The chief diviner will divine them.
The bears and grisly bears,
Are the auspicious intimations of sons.
The cobras and [other] serpents,
Are the auspicious intimations of daughters.

乃生男子、載寢之床、載衣之裳、載弄之璋。
其泣喤喤、朱芾斯皇、室家君王。

Sons shall be born to him:
They will be put to sleep on couches;
They will be clothed in robes;
They will have sceptres to play with;
Their cry will be loud.
They will be [hereafter] resplendent with red knee-covers,
The [future] king, the princes of the land.

乃生女子、載寢之地、載衣之裼、載弄之瓦。
無非無儀、唯酒食是議、無父母詒罹。

Daughters shall be born to him:
They will be put to sleep on the ground;
They will be clothed with wrappers;
They will have tiles to play with.
It will be theirs neither to do wrong nor to do good.
Only about the spirits and the food will they have to think,
And to cause no sorrow to their parents.

誰謂爾無羊、三百維群。
誰謂爾無牛、九十其犉。
爾羊來思、其角濈濈。
爾牛來思、其耳濕濕。

Who can say that you have no sheep?
There are three hundred in [each] herd.
Who says that you have no cattle?
There are ninety, which are black-lipped.
Your sheep come,
Horned, but all agreeing.
Your cattle come,
Flapping their ears.

或降于阿、或飲于池、或寢或訛。
爾牧來思、何蓑何笠、或負其餱。
三十維物、爾牲則具。

Some are descending among the mounds;
Some are drinking at the pools;
Some are lying down, some are moving about.
Your herdsmen come,
Bearing their rain-coats and bamboo-hats,
Or carrying on their backs their provisions.
In thirties are the creatures arranged according to their colour;
For your victims there is abundant provision.

爾牧來思、以薪以蒸、以雌以雄。
爾羊來思、矜矜兢兢、不騫不崩。
麾之以肱、畢來既升。

Your herdsmen come,
With their large faggots, and smaller branches,
And with their prey of birds and beasts.
Your sheep come,
Vigorous and strong,
None injured, no infection in the herd.
At the wave of the [herdsman's] arm,
All come, all go up [into the fold].

牧人乃夢、眾維魚矣、旐維旟矣。
大人占之、眾維魚矣、實維豐年。
旐維旟矣、室家溱溱。

Your herdsmen shall dream, -
Of multitudes and then of fishes;
Of the tortoise-and-serpent; and then of the falcon banners.
The chief diviner will divine the dreams,
How the multitudes dissolving into fishes,
Betoken plentiful years;
How the tortoise-and-serpent dissolving into the falcon banners,
Betoken the increasing population of the kingdom.

節彼南山、維石巖巖。
赫赫師尹、民具爾瞻。
憂心如惔、不敢戲談。
國既卒斬、何用不監。

Lofty is that southern hill,
With its masses of rocks!
Awe-inspiring are you, O [Grand] master Yin,
And the people all look to you!
A fire burns in their grieving hearts;
They do not dare to speak of you even in jest.
The kingdom is verging to extinction; -
How is it that you do not consider the state of things?

節彼南山、有實其猗。
赫赫師尹、不平謂何。
天方薦瘥、喪亂弘多。
民言無嘉、憯莫懲嗟。

Lofty is that southern hill,
And vigorously grows the vegetation on it!
Awe-inspiring are you, O [Grand] master Yin,
But how is it that you are so unjust?
Heaven is continually redoubling its afflictions;
Deaths and disorder increase and multiply;
No words of satisfaction come from the people;
And yet you do not correct nor bemoan yourself!

尹氏大師、維周之氐。
秉國之均、四方是維。
天子是毗、俾民不迷。
不弔昊天、不宜空我師。

The Grand-master Yin,
Is the foundation of our Zhou,
And the balance of the State is in his hands.
He should be keeping together the four quarters [of the kingdom];
He should be aiding the Son of Heaven,
So as to preserve the people from going astray.
O unpitying great Heaven,
It is not right he should reduce us all to such misery!

弗躬弗親、庶民弗信。
弗問弗仕、勿罔君子。
式夷式已、無小人殆。
瑣瑣姻亞、則無膴仕。

Doing nothing himself personally,
The people have no confidence in him,
By making no inquiry, and no trial of their services,
He should not deal deceitfully with superior men.
By dismissing them on the requirement of justice,
Mean men would not be endangering [the common weal];
And his mean relatives,
Would not be in offices of importance.

昊天不傭、降此鞠訩。
昊天不惠、降此大戾。
君子如屆、俾民心闋。
君子如夷、惡怒是違。

Great Heaven, unjust,
Is sending down these exhausting disorders.
Great Heaven, unkind,
Is sending down these great miseries.
Let superior men come [into office],
And that would bring rest to the people's hearts.
Let superior men do justly,
And the animosities and angers would disappear.

不弔昊天、亂靡有定。
式月斯生、俾民不寧。
憂心如酲、誰秉國成。
不自為政、卒勞百姓。

O unpitying, great Heaven,
There is no end to the disorder!
With every month it continues to grow,
So that the people have no repose.
I am as if intoxicated with the grief of my heart.
Who holds the ordering of the kingdom?
Not attending himself to the government,
The issue is toil and pain to the people.

駕彼四牡、四牡項領。
我瞻四方、蹙蹙靡所騁。

I yoke my four steeds,
My four steeds, long-necked.
I look to the four quarters [of the kingdom];
Distress is everywhere; there is nowhere I can drive to.

方茂爾惡、相爾矛矣。
既夷既懌、如相醻矣。

Now your evil is rampant,
And I see your spears.
Again you are pacified and friendly,
As if you were pledging one another.

昊天不平、我王不寧。
不懲其心、覆怨其正。

From great Heaven is the injustice,
And our king has no repose.
[Yet] he will not correct his heart,
And goes on to resent endeavours to rectify him.

家父作誦、以究王訩。
式訛爾心、以畜萬邦。

I, Jia-fu, have made this song,
To lay bare the king's disorders.
If you would but change your heart,
And nourish the myriad States! -

正月繁霜、我心憂傷。
民之訛言、亦孔之將。
念我獨兮、憂心京京。
哀我小心、癙憂以痒。

In the first month [of summer] the hoar-frost abounds,
And my heart is wounded with sorrow.
The false calumnies of the people,
Also wax greater and greater.
I think how I stand alone,
And the sorrow of my heart grows intense.
Alas! through my anxious cares,
My hidden sorrow goes on to make me ill.

父母生我、胡俾我瘉。
不自我先、不自我後。
好言自口、莠言自口。
憂心愈愈、是以有侮。

Ye parents who gave me birth!
Was it to make me suffer this pain?
[Why was this time] not before me?
Or [why was it] not after me?
Their good words are [only] from the mouth;
Their bad words are [only] from the mouth.
The sorrow of my heart becomes greater,
And because of this I incur contempt.

憂心惸惸、念我無祿。
民之無辜、并其臣僕。
哀我人斯、于何從祿。
瞻烏爰止、于誰之屋。

My sorrow heart is very sad;
I think of my unfortunate position.
The innocent people,
Will all be reduced to servitude with me.
Alas for me!
From whom shall I henceforth get support?
I see a crow which will rest,
- But on whose house?

瞻彼中林、侯薪侯蒸。
民今方殆、視天夢夢。
既克有定、靡人弗勝。
有皇上帝、伊誰云憎。

Look into the middle of the forest;
There are [only] large faggots and small branches in it.
The people now amidst their perils,
Look to Heaven, all dark.
But let its determination be fixed,
And there is none whom it will not overcome.
There is the great God, -
Does He hate any one?

謂山蓋卑、為岡為陵。
民之訛言、寧莫之懲。
召彼故老、訊之占夢。
具曰予聖、誰知烏之雌雄。

If one say of a hill that it is low,
There are its ridges, and its large masses.
The false calumnies of the people, -
How is it that you do not repress them?
You call those experienced ancients;
You consult the diviner of dreams :
They all say, ' We are wise;
But who can distinguish the male and female crow? '

謂天蓋高、不敢不局。
謂地蓋厚、不敢不蹐。
維號斯言、有倫有脊。
哀今之人、胡為虺蜴。

We say of the heavens that they are high,
But I dare not but stoop under them.
We say of the earth that it is thick,
But I dare not but walk daintily on it.
For my freely expressing myself thus,
I have reason, I have good ground.
Alas for the men of this time!
Why are they such cobras and efts?

瞻彼阪田、有菀其特。
天之扤我、如不我克。
彼求我則、如不我得。
執我仇仇、亦不我力。

Look at that rugged and stony field; -
Luxuriantly rises in it the springing grain!
[But] Heaven moves and shakes me,
As if it could not overcome me.
They sought me [at first] to be a pattern [to them],
[Eagerly] as if they could not get me.
[Now] they regard me with great animosity,
And will not use my strength.

心之憂矣、如或結之。
今茲之正、胡然厲矣。
燎之方揚、寧或滅之。
赫赫宗周、褒姒滅之。

My heart with its sorrow,
Feels as if it were tied and bound by something.
This government of the present time, -
How oppressive it is!
The flames, when they are blazing,
May still perhaps be extinguished;
But the majestic honoured capital of Zhou,
Is being destroyed by Si of Bao.

終其永懷、又窘陰雨。
其車既載、乃棄爾輔。
載輸爾載、將伯助予。

This issue is ever my anxious thought.
Moreover, you have the embarrassment of soaking rain.
Your carriage is loaded,
And if you throw away your wheel-aids,
Your load will be overturned,
And you will be crying, ' O sir, help me! '

無棄爾輔、員于爾輻。
屢顧爾僕、不輸爾載。
終踰絕險、曾是不意。

If you do throw away your wheel-aids,
Which give asistance to the spokes;
And if you constantly look after the driver,
You will not overturn your load,
And in the end will get over the most difficult places;
But you have not thought of this.

魚在于沼、亦匪克樂。
潛雖伏矣、亦孔之炤。
憂心慘慘、念國之為虐。

The fish are in the pond,
But they cannot enjoy themselves.
Although they dive to the bottom,
They are very clearly seen.
My sorrow heart is deeply pained,
When I think of the oppression in the kingdom.

彼有旨酒、又有嘉殽。
洽比其鄰、昏姻孔云。
念我獨兮、憂心慇慇。

They have their good spirits,
And their fine viands along with them.
They assemble their neighbours,
And their relatives are full of their praise.
When I think of my solitariness,
My sorrowing heart is full of distress.

佌佌彼有屋、蔌蔌方有穀。
民今之無祿、天夭是椓。
哿矣富人、哀此惸獨。

Mean-like, those have their houses;
Abjects, they will have their emoluments.
But the people now have no maintenance.
For Heaven is pounding them with its calamities,
The rich may get through,
But alas for the helpless and solitary!

十月之交、朔日辛卯。
日有食之、亦孔之醜。
彼月而微、此日而微。
今此下民、亦孔之哀。

At the conjunction [of the sun and moon] in the tenth month,
On the first day of the moon, which was Xin-mao,
The sun was eclipsed,
A thing of very evil omen.
Then the moon became small,
And now the sun became small.
Henceforth the lower people,
Will be in a very deplorable case.

日月告凶、不用其行。
四國無政、不用其良。
彼月而食、則維其常。
此日而食、于何不臧。

The sun and moon announce evil,
Not keeping to their proper paths.
All through the kingdom there is no [proper] government,
Because the good are not employed.
For the moon to be eclipsed,
Is but an ordinary matter.
Now that the sun has been eclipsed, -
How bad it is!

㷸㷸震電、不寧不令。
百川沸騰、山冢崒崩。
高岸為谷、深谷為陵。
哀今之人、胡憯莫懲。

Grandly flashes the lightning of the thunder; -
There is a want of rest, a want of good.
The streams all bubble up and overflow.
The crags on the hill-tops fall down.
High banks become valleys;
Deep valleys become hills.
Alas for the men of this time!
How does [the king] not stop these things?

皇父卿士。
番維司徒。
家伯維宰。
仲允膳夫。
棸子內史。
蹶維趣馬。
楀維師氏。
豔妻煽方處。

Huang-fu is the president;
Fan is the minister of instruction;
Jia-bo is the [chief] administrator;
Zhong-yun is the chief cook;
Zou is the recorder of the interior;
Jue is master of the horse;
Ju is captain of the guards;
And the beautiful wife blazes, now in possession of her place.

抑此皇父、豈曰不時。
胡為我作、不即我謀。
徹我牆屋、田卒汙萊。
曰予不戕、禮則然矣。

This Huang-fu,
Will not acknowledge that he is acting out of season.
But why does he call us to action,
Without coming and consulting with us?
He has removed our walls and roofs,
And our fields are all either a marsh or a moor.
He says, ' I am not injuring you;
The laws require that thus it should be? '

皇父孔聖、作都于向。
擇三有事、亶侯多藏。
不憖遺一老、俾守我王。
擇有車馬、以居徂向。

Huang-fu is very wise;
He has built a great city for himself in Xiang.
He chose three men as his ministers,
All of them indeed of great wealth.
He could not bring himself to leave a single minister,
Who might guard our king.
He [also] selected those who had chariots and horses,
To go and reside in Xiang.'

黽勉從事、不敢告勞。
無罪無辜、讒口囂囂。
下民之孽、匪降自天。
噂沓背憎、職競由人。

I have exerted myself to discharge my service,
And do not dare to make a report of my toils.
Without crime or offense of any kind,
Slanderous mouths are loud against me.
[But] the calamities of the lower people,
Do not come down from Heaven.
A multitide of [fair] words, and hatred behind the back, -
The earnest, strong pursuit of this is from men.

悠悠我里、亦孔之痗。
四方有羨、我獨居憂。
民莫不逸、我獨不敢休。
天命不徹、我不敢傚我友自逸。

Distant far is my village,
And my dissatisfaction is great.
In other quarters there is ease,
And I dwell here alone and sorrowful.
Every body is going into retirement,
And I alone dare not seek rest.
The ordinances of Heaven are inexplicable,
But I will not dare to follow my friends and leave my post.

浩浩昊天、不駿其德。
降喪飢饉、斬伐四國。
昊天疾威、弗慮弗圖。
舍彼有罪、既伏其辜。
若此無罪、淪胥以鋪。

Great and wide Heaven,
How is it you have contracted your kindness,
Sending down death and famine,
Destroying all through the kingdom?
Compassionate Heaven, arrayed in terrors,
How is it you exercise no forethought, no care?
Let alone the criminals:
They have suffered for their offences;
But those who have no crime,
Are indiscriminately involved in ruin.

周宗既滅、靡所止戾。
正大夫離居、莫知我勩。
三事大夫、莫肯夙夜。
邦君諸侯、莫肯朝夕。
庶曰式臧、覆出為惡。

The honoured House of Zhou is [nearly] extinguished,
And there is no means of stopping or settling [the troubles].
The Heads of the officers have left their places,
And no one knows my toil.
The three high ministers, and [other] great officers,
Are unwilling [to attend to their duties] early and late.
The lords of the various States,
Are unwilling [to appear at court] morning and evening.
If indeed he would turn to good, -
But on the contrary he proceeds to [greater] evil.

如何昊天。
辟言不信。
如彼行邁、則靡所臻。
凡百君子、各敬爾身。
胡不相畏、不畏于天。

How is it, O great Heaven,
That he will not hearken to the justest words?
He is like a man going [astray],
[Who knows] not where he will proceed to.
All ye officers,
Let each of you reverently attend to his duties.
How do ye not stand in awe of one another?
Ye do not stand in awe of Heaven.

戎成不退、飢成不遂。
曾我暬御、憯憯日瘁。
凡百君子、莫肯用訊。
聽言則答、譖言則退。

War has done its work, but he withdraws not [from evil];
Famine has done its work, but he goes not on [to good];
So that I, a [mere] groom of the chambers,
Am full of grief and in pain daily.
All ye officers,
Ye are unwilling to declare [the truth to him].
When you hear a question, you [simply] answer it,
And when slander touches you, you withdraw.

哀哉不能言、匪舌是出、維躬是瘁。
哿矣能言、巧言如流、俾躬處休。

Alas that [right words] cannot be spoken,
Which come not from the tongue [only]!
The speakers of them are sure to suffer.
Well is it for the words that can be spoken!
The artful speech flows like a stream,
And the speakers dwell at ease in prosperity.

維曰于仕、孔棘且殆。
云不可使、得罪于天子。
亦云可使、怨及朋友。

It may be said about taking office,
That it is full of hazard and peril.
By [advice] that he says cannot be followed,
You offend against the Son of Heaven.
By advice that he says will be followed,
You excite the resentment of your friends.

謂爾遷于王都、曰予未有室家。
鼠思泣血、無言不疾。
昔爾出居、誰從作爾室。

I say to you, ' Remove to the royal capital, '
And ye say that you have not got houses there.
Painful are my inmost thoughts, and I weep blood; -
Every word I speak makes me hated;
But when you formerly left to reside elsewhere,
Who was it that made houses for you?

Rolled is an odd choice of words

What do the mothers and cooking have to do with anything?

'Be on your guard against idly wandering;
Deal vigorously with your thoughts of retirement.'

So what's this couplet about? Is it even right to say couplet, like is that a thing?

The last line flows a bit awkwardly out of a more easily intelligible stanza.

I think this may be the most competent chapter of minor odes thus far.

Spurned bride or under appreciated official? It's nearly always one of them...

You do not think of our old affinity,
And seek to please your new relative.
If indeed you are not influenced by her riches,
You still are so by the difference [between the new and the old].

This is a really nice turn, overall this decade is substantially stronger than the last few

How is a great hall like a man on tip-toe? (It's almost Lewis Carroll.)

Interesting that daughters are auspicious rather than oh no, daughters.

Tiles to play with?

What does 'it will be theirs neither to do wrong nor to do good' mean here?

'For your victims there is abundant provision.' wtf

The initial xing makes sense to me--this guy is remote, hard, unapproachable like a lowering rock face. But then

'Lofty is that southern hill,
And vigorously grows the vegetation on it!'

Makes less sense?

'Their good words are [only] from the mouth;
Their bad words are [only] from the mouth.'

Not clear on this.

What's the significance of the crow coming to rest on a house?

What does it mean that there are only twigs and great bundles of sticks in the wood?

What is the cobras and efts business?

Fish in the pond being visible and unable to enjoy themselves for it also maximally weird.

The beginning of the final stanza is confusing.

So this clearly has a historical referent that might contextualise it?

'How does [the king] not stop these things?'

You want him to stop geology?? Or is this just metaphor?

Another 'this is definitely About Something' poem.

The last two stanzas are somewhat unclear to me.

"We may then further specify this tentative definition: the xing is the vehicle of a trope of which the tenor is man and his actions. But is Mao’s xing, thus defined, identical with the “motif,” as Wang sees it?

Poem 188, “Wo xing qi ye 我行其野,” contains the “plant-plucking motif”:

我行其野 I walk into the fields;
言采其蓫 I pluck the pokeweed.
昏姻之故 It was as bride and wife,
言就爾宿 That I came to live with you;
爾不我畜 Now as you will not keep me,
言歸斯復 I walk, back to where I came from.

Plant-picking is frequently described in the Odes, a fact that justifies Wang’s designation “motif.” But is it a xing, as Mao understood the term? According to Wang, “plantpicking” occurs in poems describing women in distress. The plant-picking motif is thus used by the poet to make the listener, in a cognitive process better described as metonymic or synecdochic than metaphoric, associate to “women in distress,” and this link-of-association had been established long before this poem was actually composed."

Comparative Poetics in the Raw, http://130.241.151.208/digitalAssets/1700/1700640_4.-mse-comparative-poetics-in-the-raw.pdf

What is being translated as "Maize"? It can't possible be Zea mays! Seem like an odd translation choice.

What do mothers and cooking have to do with anything?

Perhaps chefs were targeted for enrolment in the war effort?

Rolled- something to do with the movement of war wagons transporting them to the front line? Like rolling stock for trains?

Be on your guard against idly wandering;
Deal vigorously with your thoughts of retirement.'

Don’t even THINK of wandering off mate. If you visit me I’ll treat you like a Prince.

What does 'it will be theirs neither to do wrong nor to do good' mean here?

PurePlay? Play for no purpose but the fun of playing?

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Shi Jing, The Book of Odes: Minor Odes of the Kingdom, Decade of Qi Fu

185. 祈父 - Qi Fu

186. 白駒 - Bai Ju

187. 黃鳥 - Huang Niao

188. 我行其野 - Wo Xing Qi Ye

189. 斯干 - Si Gan

190. 無羊 - Wu Yang

191. 節南山 - Jie Nan Shan

192. 正月 - Zheng Yue

193. 十月之交 - Shi Yue Zi Jiao

194. 雨無正 - Yu Wu Zheng

Re: 185. 祈父 - Qi Fu

Re: 186. 白駒 - Bai Ju

Re: 187. 黃鳥 - Huang Niao

Re: 188. 我行其野 - Wo Xing Qi Ye

Re: 189. 斯干 - Si Gan

Re: 190. 無羊 - Wu Yang

Re: 191. 節南山 - Jie Nan Shan

Re: 192. 正月 - Zheng Yue

Re: 193. 十月之交 - Shi Yue Zi Jiao

Re: 194. 雨無正 - Yu Wu Zheng

Re: 188. 我行其野 - Wo Xing Qi Ye

Re: 187. 黃鳥 - Huang Niao

Re: 185. 祈父 - Qi Fu

Re: 186. 白駒 - Bai Ju

Re: 189. 斯干 - Si Gan