dankodes | Shi Jing, The Book of Odes: Minor Odes of the Kingdom, Decade of Xiao Min

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Shi Jing, The Book of Odes: Minor Odes of the Kingdom, Decade of Xiao Min

* 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 APRIL 26.**

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

旻天疾威、敷于下土。
谋犹回遹、何日斯沮。
谋臧不从、不臧覆用。
我视谋犹、亦孔之邛。

The angry terrors of Compassionate Heaven,
Extend through this lower world;
[The king's] counsels and plans are crooked and bad; -
When will he stop [in the course]?
Counsels which are good he will not follow,
And those which are not good he employs,
When I look at his counsels and plans,
I am greatly pained.

潝潝訿訿、亦孔之哀。
谋之其臧、则具是违。
谋之不臧、则具是依。
我视谋犹、伊于胡底。

Now they agree, and now they defame one another; -
The case is greatly to be deplored.
If a counsel be good,
They all are found opposing it.
If a counsel be bad,
They all are found according with it.
When I look at such counsels and plans,
What will they come to?

我龟既厌、不我告犹。
谋夫孔多、是用不集。
发言盈庭、谁敢执其咎。
如匪行迈谋、是用不得于道。

Our tortoises are wearied out,
And will not tell us anything about the plans.
The counsellors are very many,
But on that account nothing is accomplished.
The speakers fill the court,
But who dares to take any responsibility on himself?
We are as if we consulted [about a journey] without taking a step in advance,
And therefore did not get on on the road.

哀哉为犹、匪先民是程、匪大犹是经、维迩言是听、维迩言是争。
如彼筑室于道谋、是用不溃于成。

Alas! our formers of plans,
Do not take the ancients for their pattern,
And do not regulate them by great principles.
They only hearken to shallow words,
And quarrel about shallow words,
They are like one taking counsel with wayfarers about building a house.
Which will consequently never come to completion.

国虽靡止、或圣或否。
民虽靡膴、或哲或谋、或肃或艾。
如彼泉流、无沦胥以败。

Although the kingdom be unsettled,
There are some who are wise, and others who are not.
Although the people may not be numerous,
Some have perspicacity, some have counsel,
Some have gravity, and some have orderliness.
But we are going on like the stream flowing from a spring,
And will sink together in a common ruin.

不敢暴虎、不敢冯河。
人知其一、莫知其他。
战战兢兢、如临深渊、如履薄冰。

They dare not without weapons attack a tiger;
They dare not without a boat cross the He.
They know one thing,
But they only know that one.
We should be apprehensive and careful,
As if we were on the brink of a deep gulf,
As if we were treading on thin ice.

Our tortoises are wearied out,

This relates to the practice of divination via tortoise shells. And apparently all the divination in the world ain't shit if you're not also taking logistical acton.

I like this finale.

II. v. 1.: WORTHLESS COUNSELLORS.
Bounteous Heaven its stern displeasure
Vents* upon this lower earth.
When shall we have done with counsels
And with schemes devoid of worth?†
Be a counsel good, ’tis slighted,
Be it ill, ’tis entertained.
When I see them at such tactics
I am sore distressed and pained.
In their concord and their discord
There is much to be deplored.
Be a policy a good one,
’Tis by all of them ignored;
Let an ill one be brought forward,
Upon that they all depend.
When I see them at such tactics,
What, methinks, will be the end?
Our divining-shells, exhausted,
Tell no more what plan is right.
Counsellors are far too many,
So can never all unite.
[222]
Though the Court is filled with speakers,
Who himself dare implicate?*
Like men planning routes and never moving,
Thus it is they never get a-gate.
O the pity! in their counsels
Not the ancients are their guides,
Nor great policies their standards:
The last word they hear decides!†
The last word their sole contention!
Like men planning to erect
Homes to live in while on travel!
Nothing can they thus effect.
Though the country be unsettled,
There are wise men, and unwise;
Though the inhabitants be dwindling,
Some have sense, some can advise.
Some are grave, and some methodic.
Yet, meseems, are one and all—
Like the waters from a fountain—
Verging to a fatal fall!
Who will dare to rouse a tiger?
Who will dare to wade the Ho?
Sirs, ye know but one way only;
Not another do ye know.
Act as from a sense of danger,
With precaution and with care,—
As a yawning gulf o’erlooking,
As on ice that scarce will bear!
[223]

https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/confucius-the-shi-king-the-old-poetry-classic-of-the-chinese

Baike says there's no way to tell if this is about Zhou You wang or Zhou Li wang, but it's around the end of the Western Zhou dynasty.

宛彼鸣鸠、翰飞戾天。
我心忧伤、念昔先人。
明发不寐、有怀二人。

Small is the cooing dove,
But it flies aloft up to heaven.
My heart is wounded with sorrow,
And I think of our forefathers.
When the dawn is breaking, and I cannot sleep,
The thoughts in my breast are of our parents.

人之齐圣、饮酒温克。
彼昏不知、壹醉日富。
各敬尔仪、天命不又。

Men who are grave and wise,
Though they drink, are mild and masters of themselves;
But those who are benighted and ignorant,
Are devoted to drink, and more so daily.
Be careful, each of you, of your deportment; -
What Heaven confers, [when once lost], is not regained.

中原有菽、庶民采之。
螟蛉有子、蜾蠃负之。
教诲尔子、式谷似之。

In the midst of the plain there is pulse,
And the common people gather it.
The mulberry insect has young ones,
And the sphex carries them away.
Teach and train your sons,
And they will become good as you are.

题彼脊令、载飞载鸣。
我日斯迈、而月斯征。
夙兴夜寐、无忝尔所生。

Look at the wagtail,
Flying, and at the same time twittering.
My days are advancing;
Your months are going on.
Rising early and going to sleep late,
Do not disgrace those who gave you birth.

交交桑扈、率场啄粟。
哀我填寡、宜岸宜狱。
握粟出卜、自何能谷。

The greenbeaks come and go,
Pecking up grain about the stack-yard.
Alas for the distressed and the solitary,
Deemed fit inmates for the prisons!
With a handful of grain I go out and divine,
How I may be able to become good.

温温恭人、如集于木。
惴惴小心、如临于谷。
战战兢兢、如履薄冰。

We must be mild, and humble,
As if we were perched on trees.
We must be anxious and careful,
As if we were on the brink of a valley.
We must be apprehensive and cautious,
As if we were treading upon thin ice.

Be careful, each of you, of your deportment; -
What Heaven confers, [when once lost], is not regained.

Perhaps attesting to a belief in innate dignity, which stands to be squandered, rather than which must be earned.

"Wasps of the genus Sphex (commonly known as digger wasps) are cosmopolitan predators that sting and paralyze prey insects."

Whatever the fuck a green beak is, we have not seen the last of it:

Minor odes of the kingdom, Decade of Sand Hu, Shijing II. 7. (215)

"They flit about, the green-beaks,
With their variegated wings."

"With a handful of grain I go out and divine,
How I may be able to become good."

a nice line

"We must be mild, and humble,
As if we were perched on trees."
huh?

why two such similar ends in a row?!

Baike's gloss on the tree part is that it's like birds in trees, you should be afraid of falling.

Interestingly, Baike's article on 如履薄冰, says it's an idiom meaning "as if walking on thin ice" meaning potential danger, be cautious and alert. Originating in the poem Xiao Min (195). [So this poem doesn't get any credit for it?]

II. v. 2.: LAMENTS AND WARNINGS DURING AN EVIL TIME.
Though small be the turtle-dove,
It will high in the welkin soar.
My heart is wrung, as I muse
On our sires in the days of yore.
At the earliest dawn two forms*
Haunt my soul, and I sleep no more.
Sedate, shrewd men o’er their cups
Are sober and self-restrained;
More sottish from day to day
Grow these witless and cloudy-brained.
Give heed to decorum, all!
Heaven’s gifts are not twice obtained.
Wild beans that on commons grow
Are the people’s common quest.†
The mulberry-insect’s brood
By the sphex is borne (to her nest).‡
Instruct, then, and train your sons;
You will make them good as the best.
Take note how the wagtail sings
As she flutters from place to place.§
[224]
The days of our life speed on,
And the months are marching apace;—
Up early, and late repose;
So bring to your parents no disgrace.
The green-beaks,* hovering round,
Come pecking the grain in the yards.
Alas for our needy and lone—
Thought meet for prisons and wards!
With handfuls of grain I divine
Whether fortune aught better accords.
Our humble, respectful men
Are on tops of trees, as it were;
Or, as peering into a gulf,
Shrink nervously back with care;
Or softly and fearfully tread
As on ice that will scarcely bear.

https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/confucius-the-shi-king-the-old-poetry-classic-of-the-chinese

Edited 2021-04-20 02:54 (UTC)

Baike informs me that Mao's commentary says this is satirizing Zhou You wang, a later source says it is satirizing Zhou Li wang. In the overall section though, Baike says it's not satirizing the kings at all, but reflecting the chaos of the society at the time.

pulse: soybeans, here indicating the leaves of the plant
mulberry insect: pyralid moths
sphex: a black wasp with a slender waist, which catches pyralid moths to feed to their larva. Ancient people mistakenly believed they were rearing the moths
wagtail: the name of a bird. looks like a chicken, eats insects by the water
greenbeak: the name of a bird. looks like a small pigeon. Blue-green color, patterned neck.

弁彼鸒斯、归飞提提。
民莫不谷、我独于罹。
何辜于天、我罪伊何。
心之忧矣、云如之何。

With flapping wings the crows,
Come back, flying all in a flock.
Other people all are happy,
And I only am full of misery.
What is my offence against Heaven?
What is my crime?
My heart is sad; -
What is to be done?

踧踧周道、鞫为茂草。
我心忧伤、惄焉如擣。
假寐永叹、维忧用老。
心之忧矣、疢如疾首。

The way to Zhou should be level and easy,
But it is all overgrown with rank grass.
My heart is wounded with sorrow,
And I think till I feel as if pounded [all over].
I lie down undressed, and sigh continually;
Through my grief I am growing old.
My heart is sad; -
It puts me in pain like a headache.

维桑与梓、必恭敬止。
靡瞻匪父、靡依匪母。
不属于毛、不离于裹。
天之生我、我辰安在。

Even the mulberry trees and the Zi,
Must be regarded with reverence :
But no one is to be looked up to like a father;
No one is to be depended on like a mother.
Have I not a connection with the hairs [of my father]?
Did I not dwell in the womb [of my mother]?
O Heaven who gave me birth!
How was it at such an inauspicious time?

菀彼柳斯、鸣蜩嘒嘒。
有漼者渊、萑苇淠淠。
譬彼舟流、不知所届。
心之忧矣、不遑假寐。

Luxuriant grow those willows,
And the cicadas [on them] go hui-hui.
Deep looks the pool,
And abundantly grow the rushes and reeds [about it],
[But] I am like a boat adrift, -
Where it will go you know not.
My heart is sad; -
I have not leisure to lie down [even] undressed.

鹿斯之奔、维足伎伎。
雉之朝雊、尚求其雌。
譬彼坏木、疾用无枝。
心之忧矣、宁莫之知。

The stag is running away,
But his legs move slowly.
The pheasant crows in the morning,
Seeking his mate.
I am like a ruined tree,
Stript by disease of all its branches.
My heart is sad; -
How is it that no one knows me?

相彼投兔、尚或先之。
行有死人、尚或墐之。
君子秉心、维其忍之。
心之忧矣、涕既陨之。

Look at the hare seeking protection; -
Some one will step in before and save it.
One the road there is a dead man;
Some one will bury him.
[But] such is the heart of our sovereign,
That there is nothing he cannot bear to do.
My heart is sad,
So that my tears are falling down.

君子信谗、如或醻之。
君子不惠、不舒究之。
伐木掎矣、析薪杝矣。
舍彼有罪、予之佗矣。

Our sovereign believes slanders,
As readily as he joins in the pledge cup.
Our sovereign is unkind,
And does not leisurely examine into things.
The tree-fellers follow the lean of the tree;
The faggot-cleavers follow the direction of the grain;
[But] he lets alone the guilty,
And imputes guilt to me.

莫高匪山、莫浚匪泉。
君子无易由言、耳属于垣。
无逝我梁、无发我笱。
我躬不阅、遑恤我后。

There is nothing higher than a mountain;
There is nothing deeper than a [great] spring.
Our sovereign should not lightly utter his words,
Lest an ear be laid close to the wall.
Do not approach my dam;
Do not remove my basket.
My person is rejected; -
Of what use is it to care for what may come after?

This is, again, a much better 'decade' than some of the minor odes.

"The way to Zhou should be level and easy," any significance to Zhou here?

This is an evocative one.

II. v. 3.: LAMENT OF A DEFAMED AND BANISHED PRINCE.†
There go the rooks, all flying homeward,
Flock after flock, in bustling glee;
Around me there is none unhappy,
I am alone in misery!
Wherein have I offended Heaven?
My guilt—whence doth it then accrue?
My soul is full of heaviness:
Alas, I know not what to do.
[225]
Once trodden smooth was Chow’s great highway,
All o’er it now rank grasses grow.
It grieves, it pains my heart to see it:
Each thought comes like a stunning blow.
Sleep without comfort,* sighs continual,—
My sorrow brings on age amain;
My heart is full of heaviness,
And throbs as throbs an aching brain.
The trees† around his native village
A man with fond regard must view.
I looked to none as to my father,
None than my mother found more true.
Are not these very hairs my father’s?
Hung I not once on a mother’s breast?
O that, when Heaven thus gave me being,
My time had been in time of rest!
Amid the green luxuriant willows
With clamour the cicadas grind;
And o’er the deep dark standing water
Bend rush and reed before the wind.
Myself am like a drifting vessel,
And whither destined do not know;
My soul is full of heaviness;
E’en roughest rest* must I forego.
The stag, with all his wild careering,
Still runs reluctant (from the herd).
The pheasant, crowing in the morning,
Crows but for his companion bird.
[226]
Myself am like a tree death-stricken,
Reft of its branches by disease;
My soul is full of heaviness;
How is it none my trouble sees?
See the chased hare when seeking refuge;
Some, sure, will interpose to save.
Lies a dead man upon the highway,
Some, sure, will dig for him a grave.
And should a king suppress all feeling,
And bear unmoved the sight of woe?
My soul is full of heaviness:
My tears run down in ceaseless flow.
The king lends ear to the maligner,
Responding, aye, as to a pledge.*
He lacks the charitable spirit,
Stays not to test what men allege.
In felling trees men note their leanings,
In cleaving wood they note its grain;—
(Not so with him); he clears the guilty,
And I, the guiltless, bear the pain.
Nought may be higher than a mountain,†
Nought may be deeper than a spring.
Walls may have ears: let words not lightly
Be uttered even by a king.
“Yet leave alone my fishing dam;‡
“My wicker-nets—remove them not:
“Myself am spurned;—some vacant hour
“May bring compassion for my lot.”

https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/confucius-the-shi-king-the-old-poetry-classic-of-the-chinese

Edited 2021-04-20 03:00 (UTC)

Baike says there are a few legends about who wrote this poem / which particular prince was banished, but that these legends are not entirely believed, but are useful to help understand the meaning of the poem.

mulberry and Zi: [this phrase is now in a dictionary as meaning '(literary) native place, homeland'] in ancient times, mulberry and Zi were planted near residences. They then became an antonomasia for 'homeland'

悠悠昊天、曰父母且。
无罪无辜、乱如此怃。
昊天已威、予慎无罪。
昊天泰怃、予慎无辜。

O vast and distant Heaven,
Who art called our parent,
That without crime or offence,
I should suffer from disorders thus great!
The terrors of great Heaven are excessive,
But indeed I have committed no crime.
[The terrors of] great Heaven are very excessive,
But indeed I have committed no offence.

乱之初生、僭始既涵。
乱之又生、君子信谗。
君子如怒、乱庶遄沮。
君子如祉、乱庶遄已。

Disorder then comes to the birth,
When the first untruth is received.
Its further increase,
Is from our sovereign's believing the slanderers.
If he were to be angry [with them],
The disorder would probably quickly be abated;
If he were to show his joy [in the good],
The disorder would probably quickly cease.

君子屡盟、乱是用长。
君子信盗、乱是用暴。
盗言孔甘、乱是用餤。
匪其止共、维王之邛。

Our sovereign makes frequent covenants,
And the disorders are thereby increased.
He believes the scoundrels,
And the disorders thereby grow into oppression.
Their words are very sweet,
And the disorders thereby advance.
They do not discharge their duties,
But only create distress to the king.

奕奕寝庙、君子作之。
秩秩大猷、圣人莫之。
他人有心、予忖度之。
跃跃毚兔、遇犬获之。

Very grand is the ancestral temple; -
A true sovereign made it.
Wisely arranged are the great plans; -
Sages determined them.
What other men have in their minds,
I can measure by reflection.
Swiftly runs the crafty hare,
But it is caught by the hound.

荏染柔木、君子树之。
往来行言、心焉数之。
蛇蛇硕言、出自口矣。
巧言如簧、颜之厚矣。

Trees of soft wood, easily wrought,
Are planted by wise men.
The words of way-farers that come and go,
Can be discriminated by the mind.
Their easy and grand words,
[Only] issue from their mouths.
Their artful words, like organ-tongues,
Show how unblushing are their faces.

彼何人斯、居河之麋。
无拳无勇、职为乱阶。
既微且尰、尔勇伊何。
为犹将多、尔居徒几何。

Who are they?
They [are like men who] dwell on the banks of the river;
And they have neither strenghth nor courage,
While yet they rear the steps of disorder!
With legs ulcerated and swollen,
What courage can you have?
You form plans great and many,
But your followers about you are few.

"Disorder then comes to the birth,
When the first untruth is received." so what's this mean?

"Swiftly runs the crafty hare,
But it is caught by the hound." how does this relate to the immediately-previous couplets?

"way-farers" why do two of these poems disdain way-farers?

"organ-tongues" ??

What's the last stanza doing?

"Disorder then comes to the birth, When the first untruth is received." From baike's vernacular translation, it seems like, "when the chaos first appeared, slander was already tolerated". I guess saying the roots of believing in slander were already there?

I think the hare part is the narrator saying that he's like the hare, trying to run from the hound/slander but he can't?

Unsure where Legge got way-farers from, the line just seems to say that rumors are circulating.

The phrase the organ-tongue comes from is the reed (of an instrument), so maybe Legge not thinking a reed was grand enough?

Baike's discussion of the final stanza says that it is specifying who is doing the slandering and specifically satirizing them.

II. v. 4.: A SLANDERED OFFICIAL.
O far Great Heaven! we call thee
Our Father and our Mother!
Alas that on the blameless
Such gross disorders gather!
I verily am guiltless,
Yet stern is thy displeasure.
I truly am offenceless,
Thou harsh beyond all measure.
Disorder first arises
On falsehood’s first receiving;
And gathers force when rulers
Deem slanders worth believing.
Showed but the king displeasure,
Disorder soon had vanished;
And favoured he (the worthy),
So too it soon were banished.
When kings make frequent compacts,*
Disorder grows with vigour;
When faith they put in villains,
Then cruel is its rigour.
When villains’ words are blandest,
Disorder (most) progresses;
While failure in their duty
The monarch but distresses.
Grand is the ancestral temple;
A master mind designed it.†
Well framed was our Great Charter;
Good men and wise defined it.
[228]
Whate’er be these men’s motive,
I’ll weigh it well and watch it:
Though sharp the hare, and cunning,
The dog will round and catch it!
What woods are soft and supple,—
Our wiser men will grow them.
What words are said at random,—
One’s inner sense should know them.
Ah, glib high-sounding language
But to the tongue one traces,
And artful dulcet* speeches
To men of brazen faces.
And these—who are they?—Dwellers
On a river’s swampy borders!
Yet these weak, nerveless creatures
Give rise to such disorders!
Ye ulcered, swollen-shinned ones!
How should ye be so daring?
But though ye make grand schemes, and many,
How few to follow you are caring?

https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/confucius-the-shi-king-the-old-poetry-classic-of-the-chinese

彼何人斯、其心孔艰。
胡逝我梁、不入我门。
伊谁云从、维暴之云。

What man was that?
His mind is full of dangerous devices.
Why did he approach my dam,
Without entering my gate?
Of whom is he a follower?
I venture to say, - of Bao.

二人从行、谁为此祸。
胡逝我梁、不入唁我。
始者不如今、云不我可。

Those two follow each other in their goings; -
Which of them wrought me this calamity?
Why came he to my dam,
Without entering to condole with me?
Our former relations were different from the present,
When he will have nothing to do with me.

彼何人斯、胡逝我陈。
我闻其声、不见其身。
不愧于人、不畏于天。

What man was it?
Why came he to the path inside my gate?
I heard his voice,
But did not see his person.
He is not ashamed before men;
He does not stand in awe of Heaven.

彼何人斯、其为飘风。
胡不自北、胡不自南。
胡逝我梁、祇搅我心。

What man was it?
He is like a violent wind.
Why came he not from the north?
Or why not from the south?
Why did he approach my dam,
Doing nothing but perturb my mind?

尔之安行、亦不遑舍。
尔之亟行、遑脂尔车。
壹者之来、云何其盱。

You go along slowly,
And yet you have not leisure to stop!
You go along rapidly,
And yet you have leisure to grease your wheels!
If you would come to me but once! -
Why am I kept in a state of expectation?

尔还而入、我心易也。
还而不入、否难知也。
壹者之来、俾我祇也。

If on your return you entered my house,
My heart would be relieved.
When on your return you do not enter it,
It is hard to understand your denial.
If you would come to me but once,
It would set me at rest.

伯氏吹埙、仲氏吹篪。
及尔如贯、谅不我知。
出此三物、以诅尔斯。

The elder of us blew the porcelain whistle,
And the younger blew the bamboo flute;
I was as if strung on the same string with you.
If indeed you do not understand me,
Here are the three creatures [for sacrifice],
And I will take an oath to you.

为鬼为蜮、则不可得。
有靦面目、视人罔极。
作此好歌、以极反侧。

If you were an imp or a water-bow,
You could not be got at.
But when one with face and eyes stands opposite to another,
The man can be seen through and through.
I have made this good song,
To probe to the utmost your veerings and turnings.

Why the repeated questions when the speaker knows of whom she speaks?

What is 'dam' in this sense?

"If you were an imp or a water-bow,
You could not be got at." ??

The word rendered here as 'imp' (鬼) is usually rendered as 'ghost' (per the Jennings translation below). Went down a bit of a rabbit-hole over 蜮 (rendered here as 'water-bow' and by Jennings as 'watersprite'). According to Baike, 蜮 is a mythological water-beast that spits sand grains at people/people's shadows, causing illness.

Tell you what though, Jennings' approach makes me appreciate Legge. Never thought I'd say that.

Dam here is a dam that blocks water to catch fish

But why would a dam have a gate and a whole seeming home attached, like, the poet is not a beaver (unless--)

Baike does not say anything specifically useful here, though at one point in its discussion mentions the husband coming home and just wanting to go fish instead of even greeting his hard-at-work wife.

But I wonder if it's something like, metaphorically enjoying only the pleasant fun things instead of participating in the hard parts?

II. v. 5.: ALIENATION OF AN OLD FRIEND.†
And who is this? A man whose heart
Is in great jeopardy.
How comes he to approach my dam,
And not come in to me?
[229]
Ah, who is he whose heels he dogs?
Pâu, surely, it must be!
The two pursue the selfsame road;
But whether deals this blow?
How pass my dam, and not come in
His sympathy to show?
I am beneath his notice now;
At first it was not so.
Ay who is this? Why comes he now
Along my path, more near?
I fail to see himself as yet,
Only his voice I hear.
Who cannot face a man for shame,
Of Heaven hath he no fear?
Ay who is this? The man is like
A gusty whirling wind.
Why blow not from the North, or South,
(In front, or else behind)?
Why didst thou come so near my dam—
Only to vex my mind?
While driving leisurely along,
Thou hast no time to stop!
E’en driving quickly, there are times
Grease in thy wheels to drop.
Cam’st thou but once! Why am I left
To look, and long, and hope?
If thou hadst turned and called on me,
Then ease of heart were mine.
To turn and not to call—’tis hard
Such halting to divine.
Cam’st thou but once! Then come had peace:
(No more should I repine).
[230]
The whistle once the elder one,
The flute the younger blew;*
We both were strung upon one string.
If now I seem untrue,
I will bring forth my victims three,†
And swear to thee anew.
Art thou a ghost, a watersprite?
That all approach is vain.
Could face meet face and eye meet eye.
All then were clear and plain.—
Here to thy tune of twist and turn
I set this goodly strain.‡

https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/confucius-the-shi-king-the-old-poetry-classic-of-the-chinese

I see we're back to abandoned women poems?

Baike acknowledges that because the questioning of the figure ends up being scattered bc of the use of life memories, and tries to frame it as a "dream"

萋兮斐兮、成是贝锦。
彼谮人者、亦已大甚。

A few elegant lines,
May be made out to be shell-embroidery.
Those slanderers,
Have gone to great excess.

哆兮侈兮、成是南箕。
彼谮人者、谁适与谋。

A few diverging points,
May be made out to be the southern Sieve.
Those slanderers!
Who devised their schemes for them?

缉缉翩翩、谋欲谮人。
慎尔言也、谓尔不信。

With babbling mouths you go about,
Scheming and wishing to slander others,
[But] be careful of your words; -
[People] will [yet] say that you are untruthful.

捷捷幡幡、谋欲谮言。
岂不尔受、既其女迁。

Clever you are, and ever changing.
In your schemes and wishes to slander.
They receive it [now] indeed,
But by and by it will turn to your own hurt.

骄人好好、劳人草草。
苍天苍天、视彼骄人、矜此劳人。

The proud are delighted,
And the troubled are in sorrow.
O azure Heaven! O azure Heaven!
Look on those proud men,
Pity those troubled.

彼谮人者、谁适与谋。
取彼谮人、投畀豺虎。
豺虎不食、投畀有北。
有北不受、投畀有昊。

Those slanderers!
Who devised their schemes for them?
I would take those slanderers,
And throw them to wolves and tigers.
If these refused to devour them,
I would cast them into the north.
If the north refused to receive them,
I would throw them into the hands of great [Heaven].

杨园之道、猗于亩丘。
寺人孟子、作为此诗。
凡百君子、敬而听之。

The way through the willow garden,
Lies near the acred height.
I, the eunuch Meng-zi,
Have made this poem.
All ye officers,
Reverently hearken to it.

"A few elegant lines,
May be made out to be shell-embroidery." is this about misconstruing false prophecies?

"A few diverging points,
May be made out to be the southern Sieve." so is this saying, there are a few sets of stars in the sky you can say are the Chinese equivalent of the drinking gourd/little dipper? is this also about divination?

"If the north refused to receive them," what's so scary about the North?

Another ANNOUNCEMENT of authorship

This set of poems is all about SLANDER it seems.

Baike says the shell embroidery is making a point about how rumors are effective because they're covered with a pretty outside.

The southern sieve is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnowing_Basket_(Chinese_constellation). The Baike vernacular translation makes it seem like, 'your mouth is so big, it's like the winnowing basket'

The North is bitter cold.

II. v. 6.: DEFAMATION.
How finely wrought! how exquisite!
You weave the perfectest brocade!
Ye scandal-weavers!—yet ye go
Too far with your tirade.
What gaping and wide-open mouths!
So many Southern Sieves,§ indeed!
Ye scandal-mongers!—Say, yet, who
Takes in these plots the lead?
[231]
With clitter-clatter, here and there,
Ye plot, ye seek to vilify,
Yet of the tales ye tell—beware,
For others say ye lie.
Adroit and shifty—so ye plot,
All eager till the scandal spreads.
True, ’tis believed; yet even now
Recoils on your own heads.
The haughty ones are overjoyed;
The men who toil are sore annoyed.
O azure Heaven! O azure Heaven!
Those haughty ones do Thou regard.
And pity those whose toil is hard.
The slanderers!—And yet I’d know
By whose support these plottings grow.
Seize the defamers!—banish them
To wolves and tigers forth!
If wolves and tigers spurn such prey,
Send them into the North.
And if the North should spare them still,
Give them to Heaven’s own will.
Up to the cultivated hill
Through willow-patches lies a way.*
And I, Mang-tse the Eunuch, am
The author of this lay.
All ye of higher grade, take heed
And list to what I say.

https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/confucius-the-shi-king-the-old-poetry-classic-of-the-chinese

习习谷风、维风及雨。
将恐将惧、维予与女。
将安将乐、女转弃予。

Gently blows the east wind; -
The wind followed by the rain.
In the time of fear and dread,
It was all I and you.
In your time of rest and pleasure,
You have turned and cast me off.

习习谷风、维风及颓。
将恐将惧、置予于怀。
将安将乐、弃予如遗。

Gently blows the east wind; -
And the wind is followed by the tornado.
In the time of fear and dread,
You placed me in your breast.
In your time of rest and pleasure,
You have cast me off like an abandoned thing.

习习谷风、维山崔嵬。
无草不死、无木不萎。
忘我大德、思我小怨。

Gently blows the east wind; -
And on the rock-covered tops of the hills.
There is no grass which is not dying,
No tree which is not withering.
You forget my great virtues,
And think of my small faults.

II. v. 7.: FRIENDSHIP VEERS WITH FORTUNE.
It blows, it blows, the East wind blows,
First softly, then the rains ensue.
Once were alarms and anxious fears,
And I was all in all to you;
Now there is peace and all that cheers
You turn and spurn me from your view.
It blows, it blows, the East wind blows,
First softly, then with fierce hot blast
Once, in alarm, with anxious fears,
You held me to your bosom fast;
Now there is peace and all that cheers
Away like refuse I am cast.
It blows, it blows, the East wind blows,
And on the rugged rock-crowned height
There’s not a plant it fails to kill,
And not a tree it fails to blight.
Blind to my excellences still,
My little faults you keep in sight.

https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/confucius-the-shi-king-the-old-poetry-classic-of-the-chinese

I love a good shi jing breakup poem.

It's interesting that there are two Shijing breakup poems that start with this same first line hahaha

Anyway, Baike says it could be the abandoning friends or women, but Mao's commentary says it's satirizing Zhou You wang and that the world is indifferent and friends rare (the last two clauses I may be mistranslating since Mao's commentary is succinct). But most people nowadays think it's about an abandoned woman.

蓼蓼者莪、匪莪伊蒿。
哀哀父母、生我劬劳。

Long and large grows the e; -
It is not the e but the hao.
Alas! alas! my parents,
With what toil ye gave me birth!

蓼蓼者莪、匪莪伊蔚。
哀哀父母、生我劳瘁。

Long and large grows the e; -
It is not the e but the wei.
Alas! alas! my parents,
With what toil and suffering ye gave me birth!

瓶之罊矣、维罍之耻。
鲜民之生、不如死之久矣。
无父何怙、无母何恃。
出则衔恤、入则靡至。

When the pitcher is exhausted,
It is the shame of the jar.
Than to live an orphan,
It would be better to have been long dead.
Fatherless, who is there to rely on?
Motherless, who is there to depend on?
When I go abroad, I carry my grief with me;
When I come home, I have no one to go to.

父兮生我、母兮鞠我。
拊我畜我、长我育我。
顾我复我、出入腹我。
欲报之德、昊天罔极。

O my father, who begat me!
O my mother, who nourished me!
Ye indulged me, ye fed me,
Ye held me up, ye supported me,
Ye looked after me, ye never left me,
Out and in ye bore me in your arms.
If I would return your kindness,
It is like great Heaven, illimitable,

南山烈烈、飘风发发。
民莫不谷、我独何害。

Cold and bleak is the Southern hill;
The rushing wind is very fierce.
People all are happy; -
Why am I alone thus miserable?

南山律律、飘风弗弗。
民莫不谷、我独不卒。

The Southern hill is very steep;
The rushing wind is blustering.
People all are happy; -
I alone have been unable to finish [my duty].

"Long and large grows the e; -
It is not the e but the hao."

"Long and large grows the e; -
It is not the e but the wei."

"When the pitcher is exhausted,
It is the shame of the jar."

all these stanza beginnings are very ??

II. v. 8.: THE ORPHAN.
How tall and strong the southernwood has grown!
Ah no!—the tansy* rather.
O mother mine! O father!
And for my life what travail ye have known!
[233]
Yea, tall and strong the southernwood I see;
Nay, wormwood—somewhat other.
O father mine! O mother!
And for my life what toil and pain had ye!
Ah, when no more the flagon is supplied,
Disgrace befals the jar.*
O better lot by far
Than orphaned life, to long ago have died!
The fatherless—in whom shall he confide?
The motherless find rest?
Abroad, with grief suppressed
He goes; returns,—none hastens to his side
O father, thou didst give my life to me!
O mother, thou didst nourish
And comfort me, and cherish
And rear and train me from my infancy,
And watch and tend and to thy bosom press
At parting or return!
To requite such love I burn,
But, like Great Heaven itself, ’tis measureless.
Around South Hill’s bleak eminences moan
The battling, wheeling winds!
Ah, while none other finds
Life robb’d of joy, why suffer I alone?
Yea, round South Hill’s acclivities and bluffs
The circling storm-wind beats.
Round me is none but meets
With joy in life: I only meet rebuffs.
[234]

https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/confucius-the-shi-king-the-old-poetry-classic-of-the-chinese

Baike says the plants are because the e (zedoary) are edible and useful. They also grow as a thicket, so they are metaphorically filial. The other two plants are grown in a scattered way, and also not edible, so they are not useful or filial.

The pitcher draws water from the jar, so if the pitcher is empty then it's the jar's fault, like the son who cannot do his filial duty.

有饛簋飧、有救棘匕。
周道如砥、其直如矢。
君子所履、小人所视。
睠言顾之、潸焉出涕。

Well loaded with millet were the dishes,
And long and curved were spoons of thorn-wood.
The way to Zhou was like a whetstone,
And straight as an arrow.
[So] the officers trod it,
And the common people looked on it.
When I look back and think of it,
My tears run down in streams.

小东大东、杼柚其空。
纠纠葛屦、可以履霜。
佻佻公子、行彼周行。
既往既来、使我心疚。

In the States of the east, large and small,
The looms are empty.
Thin shoes of dolichos fibre,
Are made to serve to walk on the hoar-frost.
Slight and elegant gentlemen,
Walk along that road to Zhou.
Their going and coming,
Makes my heart ache.

有冽氿泉、无浸获薪。
契契寤叹、哀我惮人。
薪是获薪、尚可载也。
哀我惮人、亦可息也。

Ye cold waters, issuing variously from the spring,
Do not soak the firewood I have cut.
Sorrowful I awake and sigh; -
Alas for us toiled people!
The firewood has been cut; -
Would that it were conveyed home!
Alas for us the toiled people!
Would that we could have rest!

东人之子、职劳不来。
西人之子、粲粲衣服。
舟人之子、熊罴是裘。
私人之子、百僚是试。

The sons of the east,
Are only summoned [to service], without encouragement;
While the sons of the west,
Shine in splendid dresses.
The sons of boatmen,
Have furs of the bear and grisly bear.
The sons of the poorest families,
Form the officers in public employment.

或以其酒、不以其浆。
鞙鞙佩璲、不以其长。
维天有汉、监亦有光。
跂彼织女、终日七襄。

If we present them with spirits,
They do not look on them as liquor.
If we give them long girdle-pendants with their stones,
They do not think them long enough.
There is the milky way in heaven,
Which looks down on us in light;
And the three stars together are the Weaving Sisters,
Passing in a day through seven stages [of the sky].

虽则七襄、不成报章。
睆彼牵牛、不以服箱。
东有启明、西有长庚。
有救天毕、载施之行。

Although they go through their seven stages,
They complete no bright work for us.
Brilliant shine the Draught Oxen,
But they do not serve to draw our carts.
In the east there is Lucifer;
In the west there is Hesperus;
Long and curved is the Rabbit Net of the sky; -
But they only occupy their places.

维南有箕、不可以簸扬。
维北有斗、不可以挹酒浆。
维南有箕、载翕其舌。
维北有斗、西柄之揭。

In the south is the Sieve,
But it is of no use to sift.
In the north is the Ladle,
But it lades out no liquor.
In the south is the Sieve,
Idly showing its mouth.
In the north is the Ladle,
Raising its handle in the west.

II. v. 9.: THE NEGLECTED EASTERN STATES.*
Once supped we from well-laden trenchers,
And thornwood spoons bent to the loads!
’Twixt here and Chow, worn smooth as whetstones,
And straight as arrows, were the roads.
Thereon the great officials travelled,
Plebeians there to gaze would go:—
When I look back and contemplate it,
My tears in very torrents flow.
Here in the East, whate’er the Province,†
Shuttle and distaff none may use;‡
And sparsely-woven fibre-sandals
Must serve to walk on frozen dews.
There, dainty tender sons of nobles
Are journeying on those roads of Chow.
Alack! their goings and their comings
Fill me with sickening sorrow now.
Ye ice-cold rills, from springs escaping!
Do not the gathered fuel soak.
Sore harassed, troubled, sleepless, sighing,—
Enough have our afflicted folk.
Their firewood is cut down and bundled:
Had they but strength to get it in,
Poor toiling miserable people,
Then some repose perchance they’d win.
[235]
Here in the East the sons of nobles
For service hard remain unpaid;
There in the West the sons of nobles
Are in most gorgeous garb arrayed.
There, too, the very sons of boatmen
Apparelled are in furs of bears;
Yea, those of humblest antecedents
Are charged with all the land’s affairs.
Let some of them have wine before them,
They take no count yet of its strength;
And their long-dangling girdle-trinkets
In their opinion lack in length!
—There, looking down with radiant brightness,
Appears in Heaven the Milky Way;*
There, too, stand out the Weaving Sisters,†
Seven stages making through the day—
Yet, weaving through their stages seven,
Nought bright for us do they produce.
And the Draught Oxen‡ shimmering yonder
For waggon-draught are scarce of use!
Though in the East be the star of morning,
Though in the West the evening star,
And though the Hare-net§ show its foldings,
—All keep their paths (nor mend nor mar)!
[236]
There in the South the Sieve* is shining,
Yet not for sifting was it made.
There in the North appears the Ladle,†
Yet ne’er a liquor will it lade.
Though southward there the Sieve be shining,
Here points its Tongue‡ beyond the rest!
Though northward there appear the Ladle,
It hoists its Handle in the West!

https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/confucius-the-shi-king-the-old-poetry-classic-of-the-chinese

"Well loaded with millet were the dishes,
And long and curved were spoons of thorn-wood.
The way to Zhou was like a whetstone,
And straight as an arrow."

what's this xing doing, and then the following couplet?

"The sons of the poorest families,
Form the officers in public employment." ?

"If we present them with spirits,
They do not look on them as liquor.
If we give them long girdle-pendants with their stones,
They do not think them long enough.
There is the milky way in heaven,
Which looks down on us in light;
And the three stars together are the Weaving Sisters,
Passing in a day through seven stages [of the sky]." ??

Stars in constellations don't do the work of the figures they represent and the poet is salty about it

What's the last stanza doing?

The poorest families bit is the narrator contrasting the socio-economic and political status of the Zhou people and those they conquered.

Baike's commentary on the last stanza says something about how even the "sky" was serving the Zhou dynasty to squeeze the Eastern people.

Baike says nothing useful about the first stanza though. My interpretation is that even though the food is there, it's all going to the Zhou people (via this nice flat road)?

Baike says this is from the POV of the eastern countries and tribes being attacked/conquered by the Western Zhou dynasty during middle/late Western Zhou dynasty times.

Also, Baike says this is not a folk song, but one written by scholar officials.

四月维夏、六月徂暑。
先祖匪人、胡宁忍予。

In the fourth month comes summer,
And in the sixth month the heat begins to decrease.
Were not my forefathers men?
How can they endure that I should be [thus]?

秋日凄凄、百卉具腓。
乱离瘼矣、爰其适归。

The autumn days become cold,
And the plants all decay.
Amid such distress of disorder and dispersion,
Whither can I betake myself?

冬日烈烈、飘风发发。
民莫不谷、我独何害。

The winter days are very fierce,
And the storm blows in rapid gusts.
People all are happy;
Why do I alone suffer this misery?

山有嘉卉、侯栗侯梅。
废为残贼、莫知其尤。

On the mountain are fine trees, -
Chestnut trees and plum trees.
Of their degenerating into ravening thieves,
I know not the evil cause.

相彼泉水、载清载浊。
我曰构祸、曷云能谷。

Look at the water of that spring,
Sometimes clear, sometimes muddy.
I am every day coming into contact with misfortune;
How can I be happy?

滔滔江汉、南国之纪。
尽瘁以仕、宁莫我有。

Grandly flow the Jiang and the Han,
Regulators of the southern States.
Worn out as I am with service,
He yet takes no notice of me.

匪鷻匪鸢、翰飞戾天。
匪鳝匪鲔、潜逃于渊。

I am not an eagle nor a hawk,
Which flies aloft to heaven.
I am not a sturgeon, large or small,
Which can dive and hide in the deep.

山有蕨薇、隰有杞桋。
君子作歌、维以告哀。

On the hills are the turtle-foot and thorn ferns;
In the marshes are the medlar and the yi.
I, an officer, have made this song,
To make known my plaint.

II. v. 10.: EVIL TIMES.
With the fourth month cometh Summer,
With the sixth its heats decline.—
Are my sires§ no longer human,
Feeling not for me and mine?
Chilly grow the days of Autumn,
Nature fading everywhere.—
Sick of tumults and desertions,—
Whither should one yet repair?
Now the Winter days grow colder,
And the storm-winds round us moan.—
Ah, while all around are happy,
Why am I distressed alone?
On the heights the trees grow grandly,
Chestnuts here, and plum-trees there.—
Our high∥ places breed despoilers,
Of their mischief none aware.
[237]
See the waters of the fountain,
Turbid now, then crystalline.—
Daily wedded to Misfortune,
When shall I make Fortune mine?
Han and Kiang are noble rivers,
Regents of the Southern States!—
Why do I now count for nothing,
Whom long service enervates?
I am not a hawk, an eagle,
That may soar into the sky.
Nor am I an eel or lamprey,
In the deep to lurk and lie.
Hills grow royal fern and bracken,
Vales the medlar and the sloe.—*
I, a great one, write these verses,
Let them tell my tale of woe!

https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/confucius-the-shi-king-the-old-poetry-classic-of-the-chinese

stanza 1: nature and I both rising and dwindling,
stanza 2: nature and I both succumbing to decay and entropy,
stanza 3: personal winter
stanza 4: trees are thieves?? (wtf)
stanza 5: nature meets variably with good and bad turns, me only bad ones
stanza 6: the king still won't fuck me, tho I am a hardworking minister (pick-meism, ancient chinese edition)
stanza 7: I'm not IMPORTANT, nor can I absent myself from court matters
stanza 8: a pretty wtf xing

Baike says this is written by someone exiled by the Zhou dynasty, writing of his suffering. The exile might just be the practice of sending a high official to a minor post in an outlying area, a punishment in imperial China.

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Shi Jing, The Book of Odes: Minor Odes of the Kingdom, Decade of Xiao Min

195. 小旻 - Xiao Min

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196. 小宛 - Xiao Wan

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197. 小弁 - Xiao Bian

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198. 巧言 - Qiao Yan

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199. 何人斯 - He Ren Si

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Re: 199. 何人斯 - He Ren Si

Re: 199. 何人斯 - He Ren Si

Re: 199. 何人斯 - He Ren Si

Re: 199. 何人斯 - He Ren Si

200. 巷伯 - Xiang Bo

Re: 200. 巷伯 - Xiang Bo

Re: 200. 巷伯 - Xiang Bo

Re: 200. 巷伯 - Xiang Bo

201. 谷风 - Gu Feng

Re: 201. 谷风 - Gu Feng

Re: 201. 谷风 - Gu Feng

Re: 201. 谷风 - Gu Feng

202. 蓼莪 - Liao E

Re: 202. 蓼莪 - Liao E

Re: 202. 蓼莪 - Liao E

Re: 202. 蓼莪 - Liao E

203. 大东 - Da Dong

Re: 203. 大东 - Da Dong

Re: 203. 大东 - Da Dong

Re: 203. 大东 - Da Dong

Re: 203. 大东 - Da Dong

204. 四月 - Si Yue

Re: 204. 四月 - Si Yue

Re: 204. 四月 - Si Yue

Re: 204. 四月 - Si Yue