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dankodesOdes Of Zhou And The South:
https://ctext.org/book-of-poetry/odes-of-zhou-and-the-south, or http://wengu.tartarie.com/wg/wengu.php?l=Shijing&no=1 (On the page, this string guides you through the Zhou poems: nº 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 .)
The sites have different set-ups for Chinese dual-facing text which are difficult to c/p, and if you'd prefer to access the poem in Chinese I'd suggest using your preferred external site. All English translations come from James Legge (on both sites, because as usual Chinese to English translation options are thin on the ground).
The titles are what the poem is traditionally known as in Chinese.
Guan ju
Guan-guan go the ospreys,
On the islet in the river.
The modest, retiring, virtuous, young lady : –
For our prince a good mate she.
Here long, there short, is the duckweed,
To the left, to the right, borne about by the current.
The modest, retiring, virtuous, young lady : –
Waking and sleeping, he sought her.
He sought her and found her not,
And waking and sleeping he thought about her.
Long he thought ; oh ! long and anxiously ;
On his side, on his back, he turned, and back again.
Here long, there short, is the duckweed ;
On the left, on the right, we gather it.
The modest, retiring, virtuous, young lady : –
With lutes, small and large, let us give her friendly welcome.
Here long, there short, is the duckweed ;
On the left, on the right, we cook and present it.
The modest, retiring, virtuous, young lady : –
With bells and drums let us show our delight in her.
Ge Tan
How the dolichos spread itself out,
Extending to the middle of the valley !
Its leaves were luxuriant ;
The yellow birds flew about,
And collected on the thickly growing trees,
Their pleasant notes resounding far.
How the dolichos spread itself out,
Extending to the middle of the valley !
Its leaves were luxuriant and dense.
I cut it and I boiled it,
And made both fine cloth and coarse,
Which I will wear without getting tired of it.
I have told the matron,
Who will announce that I am going to see my parents.
I will wash my private clothes clean,
And I will rinse my robes.
Which need to be rinsed, which do not ?
I am going back to visit my parents.
Juan Er
I was gathering and gathering the mouse-ear,
But could not fill my shallow basket.
With a sigh for the man of my heart,
I placed it there on the highway.
I was ascending that rock-covered height,
But my horses were too tired to breast it.
I will now pour a cup from that gilded vase,
Hoping I may not have to think of him long.
I was ascending that lofty ridge,
But my horses turned of a dark yellow.
I will now take a cup from that rhinoceros' horn,
Hoping I may not have long to sorrow.
I was ascending that flat-topped height,
But my horses became quite disabled,
And my servants were [also] disabled.
Oh ! how great is my sorrow!
Jiu Mu
In the south are trees with curved drooping branches,
With the doliches creepers clinging to them.
To be rejoiced in is our princely lady : –
May she repose in her happiness and dignity !
In the south are the trees with curved drooping branches,
Covered by the dolichos creepers.
To be rejoiced in is our princely lady : –
May she be great in her happiness and dignity !
In the south are the trees with curved drooping branches,
Round which the dolichos creepers twine.
To be rejoiced in is our princely lady : –
May she be complete in her happiness and dignity !
Zhong Si
Ye locusts, winged tribes,
How harmoniously you collect together !
Right is it that your descendants
Should be multitudinous !
Ye locusts, winged tribes,
How sound your wings in flight !
Right is it that your descendents
Should be as in unbroken strings !
Ye locusts, winged tribes,
How you cluster together !
Right is it that your descendents
Should be in swarms !
Tao Yao
The peach tree is young and elegant ;
Brilliant are its flowers.
This young lady is going to her future home,
And will order well her chamber and house.
The peach tree is young and elegant ;
Abundant will be its fruits.
This young lady is going to her future home,
And will order well her chamber and house.
The peach tree is young and elegant ;
Luxuriant are its leaves.
This young lady is going to her future home,
And will order well her family.
Tu Ju
Carefully adjusted are the rabbit nets ;
Clang clang go the blows on the pegs.
That stalwart, martial man
Might be shield and wall to his prince.
Carefully adjusted are the rabbit nets,
And placed where many ways meet.
That stalwart, martial man
Would be a good companion for his prince.
Carefully adjusted are the rabbit nets,
And placed in the midst of the forest.
That stalwart, martial man
Might be head and heart to his prince.
Fu Yi
We gather and gather the plantains ;
Now we may gather them.
We gather and gather the plantains ;
Now we have got them.
We gather and gather the plantains ;
Now we pluck the ears.
We gather and gather the plantains ;
Now we rub out the seeds.
We gather and gather the plantains ;
Now we place the seeds in our skirts.
We gather and gather the plantains ;
Now we tuck out skirts under our girdles.
Han Guang
In the south rise the trees without branches,
Affording no shelter.
By the Han are girls rambling about,
But it is vain to solicit them.
The breath of the Han
Cannot be dived across ;
The length of the Jiang
Cannot be navigated with a raft.
Many are the bundles of firewood ;
I would cut down the thorns [to form more].
Those girls that are going to their future home, –
I would feed their horses.
The breadth of the Han
Cannot be dived across ;
The length of the Jiang,
Cannot be navigated with a raft.
Many are the bundles of firewood ;
I would cut down the southern wood [to form more].
Those girls that are going to their future home, –
I would feed their colts.
The breadth of the Han
Cannot be dived across ;
The length of the Jiang
Cannot be navigated with a raft.
Ru Fen
Along those raised banks of the Ru,
I cut down the branches and slender stems.
While I could not see my lord,
I felt as it were pangs of great hunger.
Along those raised banks of the Ru,
I cut down the branches and fresh twigs.
I have seen my lord ;
He has not cast me away.
The bream is showing its tail all red ;
The royal House is like a blazing fire.
Though it be like a blazing fire,
Your parents are very near.
Lin Zhi Zhi
The feet of the Lin : –
The noble sons of our prince,
Ah ! they are the Lin !
The forehead of the Lin : –
The noble grandsons of our prince,
Ah ! they are the Lin !
The horn of the Lin : –
The noble kindred of our prince,
Ah ! they are the Lin !
https://ctext.org/book-of-poetry/odes-of-zhou-and-the-south, or http://wengu.tartarie.com/wg/wengu.php?l=Shijing&no=1 (On the page, this string guides you through the Zhou poems: nº 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 .)
The sites have different set-ups for Chinese dual-facing text which are difficult to c/p, and if you'd prefer to access the poem in Chinese I'd suggest using your preferred external site. All English translations come from James Legge (on both sites, because as usual Chinese to English translation options are thin on the ground).
The titles are what the poem is traditionally known as in Chinese.
Guan ju
Guan-guan go the ospreys,
On the islet in the river.
The modest, retiring, virtuous, young lady : –
For our prince a good mate she.
Here long, there short, is the duckweed,
To the left, to the right, borne about by the current.
The modest, retiring, virtuous, young lady : –
Waking and sleeping, he sought her.
He sought her and found her not,
And waking and sleeping he thought about her.
Long he thought ; oh ! long and anxiously ;
On his side, on his back, he turned, and back again.
Here long, there short, is the duckweed ;
On the left, on the right, we gather it.
The modest, retiring, virtuous, young lady : –
With lutes, small and large, let us give her friendly welcome.
Here long, there short, is the duckweed ;
On the left, on the right, we cook and present it.
The modest, retiring, virtuous, young lady : –
With bells and drums let us show our delight in her.
Ge Tan
How the dolichos spread itself out,
Extending to the middle of the valley !
Its leaves were luxuriant ;
The yellow birds flew about,
And collected on the thickly growing trees,
Their pleasant notes resounding far.
How the dolichos spread itself out,
Extending to the middle of the valley !
Its leaves were luxuriant and dense.
I cut it and I boiled it,
And made both fine cloth and coarse,
Which I will wear without getting tired of it.
I have told the matron,
Who will announce that I am going to see my parents.
I will wash my private clothes clean,
And I will rinse my robes.
Which need to be rinsed, which do not ?
I am going back to visit my parents.
Juan Er
I was gathering and gathering the mouse-ear,
But could not fill my shallow basket.
With a sigh for the man of my heart,
I placed it there on the highway.
I was ascending that rock-covered height,
But my horses were too tired to breast it.
I will now pour a cup from that gilded vase,
Hoping I may not have to think of him long.
I was ascending that lofty ridge,
But my horses turned of a dark yellow.
I will now take a cup from that rhinoceros' horn,
Hoping I may not have long to sorrow.
I was ascending that flat-topped height,
But my horses became quite disabled,
And my servants were [also] disabled.
Oh ! how great is my sorrow!
Jiu Mu
In the south are trees with curved drooping branches,
With the doliches creepers clinging to them.
To be rejoiced in is our princely lady : –
May she repose in her happiness and dignity !
In the south are the trees with curved drooping branches,
Covered by the dolichos creepers.
To be rejoiced in is our princely lady : –
May she be great in her happiness and dignity !
In the south are the trees with curved drooping branches,
Round which the dolichos creepers twine.
To be rejoiced in is our princely lady : –
May she be complete in her happiness and dignity !
Zhong Si
Ye locusts, winged tribes,
How harmoniously you collect together !
Right is it that your descendants
Should be multitudinous !
Ye locusts, winged tribes,
How sound your wings in flight !
Right is it that your descendents
Should be as in unbroken strings !
Ye locusts, winged tribes,
How you cluster together !
Right is it that your descendents
Should be in swarms !
Tao Yao
The peach tree is young and elegant ;
Brilliant are its flowers.
This young lady is going to her future home,
And will order well her chamber and house.
The peach tree is young and elegant ;
Abundant will be its fruits.
This young lady is going to her future home,
And will order well her chamber and house.
The peach tree is young and elegant ;
Luxuriant are its leaves.
This young lady is going to her future home,
And will order well her family.
Tu Ju
Carefully adjusted are the rabbit nets ;
Clang clang go the blows on the pegs.
That stalwart, martial man
Might be shield and wall to his prince.
Carefully adjusted are the rabbit nets,
And placed where many ways meet.
That stalwart, martial man
Would be a good companion for his prince.
Carefully adjusted are the rabbit nets,
And placed in the midst of the forest.
That stalwart, martial man
Might be head and heart to his prince.
Fu Yi
We gather and gather the plantains ;
Now we may gather them.
We gather and gather the plantains ;
Now we have got them.
We gather and gather the plantains ;
Now we pluck the ears.
We gather and gather the plantains ;
Now we rub out the seeds.
We gather and gather the plantains ;
Now we place the seeds in our skirts.
We gather and gather the plantains ;
Now we tuck out skirts under our girdles.
Han Guang
In the south rise the trees without branches,
Affording no shelter.
By the Han are girls rambling about,
But it is vain to solicit them.
The breath of the Han
Cannot be dived across ;
The length of the Jiang
Cannot be navigated with a raft.
Many are the bundles of firewood ;
I would cut down the thorns [to form more].
Those girls that are going to their future home, –
I would feed their horses.
The breadth of the Han
Cannot be dived across ;
The length of the Jiang,
Cannot be navigated with a raft.
Many are the bundles of firewood ;
I would cut down the southern wood [to form more].
Those girls that are going to their future home, –
I would feed their colts.
The breadth of the Han
Cannot be dived across ;
The length of the Jiang
Cannot be navigated with a raft.
Ru Fen
Along those raised banks of the Ru,
I cut down the branches and slender stems.
While I could not see my lord,
I felt as it were pangs of great hunger.
Along those raised banks of the Ru,
I cut down the branches and fresh twigs.
I have seen my lord ;
He has not cast me away.
The bream is showing its tail all red ;
The royal House is like a blazing fire.
Though it be like a blazing fire,
Your parents are very near.
Lin Zhi Zhi
The feet of the Lin : –
The noble sons of our prince,
Ah ! they are the Lin !
The forehead of the Lin : –
The noble grandsons of our prince,
Ah ! they are the Lin !
The horn of the Lin : –
The noble kindred of our prince,
Ah ! they are the Lin !
Guan Ju
Re: Guan Ju
Other interesting dictionary bits: 琴瑟, translated to "With lutes, small and large," also carries the meaning of "two string instruments that play in perfect harmony; marital harmony"
Re: Guan Ju
Then I had to pause and go read the wiki article first, instead. Then backtrack and jump between, I'm not entirely sure I understand what commentators get at as regards the poem and meanings. However, when I try and read it aloud to myself, it has a nice cadence to listen to.
...did anyone else think that the English translation made it sound terribly like someone was going to be cooked and eaten?
Re: Guan Ju
+1 for cannibalism
Re: Guan Ju
Idk re the former, but there are a LOT of linguistic overlaps on that point in the development of English re 'charm', which has an almost universally negative magical-power connotation in Anglo-Saxon manuscripts and then comes to take on lighter, romantic associations, all without dropping femme connotations (always with an edge of potential mind-control--for a brief period circa The Monk the term's flat out serving as a euphemism for female genitals). So it'd make more sense to me than not, in a way, that there was this contested/shared territory re gender performance in another language?
Re: Guan Ju
'In particular, the lines 窈窕淑女 "fair and good lady", 求之不得 "seeking and not getting", and 寤寐求之 "seeking day and night" have become well-known four-character classical idioms or set phrases (chengyu).'
So are these quite literal translations of these phrases?
'This usage of natural images in juxtaposition to human situations was given the term xing (興) by early commentators, and was regarded as one of the three rhetorical devices of the Shi Jing. It is not easy to find an equivalent in Western literature, but xing can be explained as a method of creating the mood, atmosphere or context within which the remainder of the poem takes place, and which exerts influence over the possible meanings of the rest of the poem’s action. It has variously been translated as "stimulus", "stimulates", and "motif".[3] Although there is no historical evidence to prove that the composer of "Guan ju" were intentionally employing such a rhetorical device, there have been a myriad of interpretations as to the purpose of the xing.'
That seems p pertinent to keep in mind.
'One century after the Maos, Zheng Xuan introduced an interesting twist to the Mao interpretation. In his eyes the "pure young lady" refers not to the queen herself, but rather to palace ladies whom their mistress, in her virtuous and jealousy-free seclusion, is seeking as additional mates for the king. Thus it is she who tosses and turns until finding them.[11]' This poly reading is just here for
Okay, so it seems broadly that *probably* these poems were orally composed in topolects as folk songs, were collected by officials/rewritten in courtly Chinese, were for many centuries read as heavily political allegories under a series of four interpretive schools (which doesn't really reflect their original composition, but was nonetheless an important, meaningful conceit for the centuries when it was active), and then (per the over-arching Classic of Poetry article), about 1200 CE this started being seriously questioned. Since then, and in 20th c crit, this is the kind of thought that's salient:
"Arthur Waley agreed with Granet that traditional readings distort the "true nature" of the poems, but he did point out that it was facilitated by the multivalent meanings of words and social practices. For Waley, the Shi Jing was a diverse collection which does not necessarily display a unified function, and, as such, cannot be approached merely with one reading strategy.
C. H. Wang has been vehemently critical of what he calls "a manifest distortion of this classic anthology" and argues that the earliest definition of poetry in Chinese tradition (in Shang Shu) links it with song rather than ethics.[16] He considers that the Shi Jing poems have their roots in oral transmission rather than literary composition, and directed contested the claims of the Mao school that the poems are the product of specific authors referring to specific events in their lives."
***
Poem Proper:
The opening with the (mating?) call does set everything up well.
'To the left, to the right, borne about by the current.
[...]
On his side, on his back, he turned, and back again.' That's a nice parallel, I wonder if it's an example of xing?
'Here long, there short, is the duckweed ;
On the left, on the right, we gather it.
The modest, retiring, virtuous, young lady : –'
Is there something going on, I wonder, with these commingled vignettes of harvesting, selection, preparation, service and the Qualities of the lady? Is she ripe, is she suitable, is she pressed into the rhythms of fertility/agricultural cycle/sustenance?
'With lutes, small and large, let us give her friendly welcome.'
This is just a dick joke.
Re: Guan Ju
And I felt, reading these, very strongly that oral folk tradition -- it's the repetitiveness, I think?
Ge Tan
Re: Ge Tan
1. Four of the notes say that a word is meaningless, which I thought was kind of funny. (Two of these were for words that I was confused about, so that was useful.)
2. Interesting choice to translate 師氏 as matron; baidu says either household slave or nanny, or one source says female teacher.
3. The Chinese terms used make it clear that it's a married woman returning to see her parents
Re: Ge Tan
'Meet the Unusual Beans' thanks gardening website, I think i'm good.
I can't find much about hyacinth cloth production?
The image of the tree/return to the parents is nice. That good xing shit again.
'I will wash my private clothes clean,
And I will rinse my robes.
Which need to be rinsed, which do not ?' this seems kinda sexual, esp in relation to the married woman returning to her parental home? (telling a matron/house keeper, not her partner--is stuff Up in this marriage?) (not asking permission at all though, which is interesting)
Re: Ge Tan
Re: Ge Tan
Re: Ge Tan
http://d2xzbm87hekj13.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/18160922/c1.10.mp3
Juan Er
Re: Juan Er
The mouse-ear here is a little confusing because apparently many people throughout the world have thought, why, that leaf is about the size of: a mouse's ear. I shall call it--
But given that this can't be the European mouse ear, it seems like it's chickweed, 'a cosmopolitan weed in China, where it grows at elevations up to 4300 metres.' (This would explain why she's up a mountain.) It's edible (with at least one 'sacred spring time ritual' association in Japan), and has been used for bruises, anaemia, pulmonary issues, aching bones, "skin diseases, bronchitis, rheumatic pains, arthritis and period pain" in folk medicine. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellaria_media#Uses)
Page 24 of this offers another translation: https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/handle/2123/1527/02whole.pdf;jsessionid=5F91A3A7DE9445D0BF6F3E3E7146664A?sequence=2
Juan Er 卷耳, “The Cocklebur” (Mao 3)53 :
采采卷耳，不盈頃筐 Gathering the cocklebur - but [I] cannot fill the small basket
嗟我懷人，寘彼周行 I sigh for the man I cherish, and put it down on that
circuit road54
陟彼崔嵬，我馬虺隤 I ascend that high peak, my horses, flagging, collapse
我姑酌彼金罍，維以不永懷Just for a moment, I pour from that bronze jug, so as not to
yearn forever
陟彼高罔，我馬玄黃 I ascend that lofty crag, my horses are sick and yellow
我姑酌彼兕觥，維以不永傷Just for a moment, I pour from that rhino-horn cup, so as not
to hurt forever
陟彼砠矣，我馬瘏矣 O, I ascend that mound, O, my horses are completely worn
out
我僕痡矣，云何吁矣 O, my servant is exhausted, O, such complete sorrow!
Apparently, per bottom p 25/top p 26 here (he takes a moment to bitch about Mao School Being Mao School), the bulk of commenters read this as "a single persona who takes on the imagined role of her [far-off, travelling] husband as a secondary persona". This is interesting as maybe that was a common formal device, or marked in the singing, in a way we can't easily access now, in translation.
This whole dissertation is pretty good shit, honestly:
'The first couplet offers a stark disjuncture: the characters caicai 采采, while a transitive verb in this line, can also be considered as inscribed with their meaning as a stative verb “greatly flourishing”. The compound caicai is reduplicative, indicating an intensification of the act of “gathering” and thus, by implication, an abundance of the plant being harvested. This is contrasted with the image of the basket which the persona does not fill. The relationship between the lines caicai juan er 采采卷耳 “gathering the cocklebur” and bu ying qing kuang 不盈頃筐 “but [I] cannot fill the small basket” is semantically one of opposition, with the second line disappointing the expectation of successful harvesting created by the first. In addition, then, to any other meaning arising from the opening couplet (for instance, the emotional evocation of sorrow, as in the Mao tradition), there is an atmosphere of non-achievement and insufficiency.'
In other news I'm gonna use the lines about drinking to forget missing your husband (or wife depending on the theory you're subscribing to) for fic reasons. It's free emotional real estate.
Re: Juan Er
I was also surprised at the unusual line lengths in the poem, so it was interesting to read the dissertation's speculation that it might be purposefully referencing an even older ritual language.
Jiu Mu
Re: Jiu Mu
'trees with curved drooping branches,
With the doliches creepers clinging to them'
This kind of parasitic treatment of the plant that, two poems ago, was a powerful/spreading symbol of the family is a bit unexpected.
The xing of placing the drooping branches and clinging vine next to the lady--are we supposed to read her ideal femininity as similarly dependent/clinging?
Princely/happiness/dignity are all unexpectedly noble, masc-coded, subject-centring adjectives, though. Feels like the sort of poem that could have been written about a male subject?
Re: Jiu Mu
Baidu says: it's a song expressing blessings, and maybe the situation is a wedding, the birth of a child, or other joyous scene. The kudzu climbing and entangling the trees express the feeling of love towards the gentleman. All the commentary afterwards interprets this as the feelings of excitement about a wedding basically.
Baidu also says some stuff about how the structure is concise and uses a "bixing" method. I don't understand what "bixing" means, and the commentary about it... is totally opaque to me.
The word I was really confused by was 荒, which translates to "desolate, shortage, uncultivated, neglect". Legge translates that line to "Covered by the dolichos creepers". Baidu says that in this poem it means cover, but doesn't provide any etymology on how the meaning of that character changed over time.
I find it EXTREMELY interesting that Baidu (in their vernacular interpretation) thinks that this is about a man (the princely man) and how happiness is coming to him, while Legge translates it as about a woman. When I read the poem, I also think a man is the subject, since 君子 is so gendered. Also, Baidu's commentary for 君子 says "this refers to the to be married groom"
Zhong Si
Re: Zhong Si
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57e18fad46c3c4fc309a7725/t/5c9518c5a4222fc9502aa113/1553275077429/Haun-Saussy_Odes_EN.pdf
Weird to positively parallel locusts, always an image of agricultural devastation in Talmudic and Christian traditions, with hordes/unbroken strings of decedents, the ultimate in Confucian Goals. Is the sound of the locusts supposed to remind one of a crowd of people talking? That's more earthy than I typically associate with kind of austere Confucian ideas of hierarchy/order in groups.
Re: Zhong Si
Tao Yao
Re: Tao Yao
“The peach tree is young and elegant; Brilliant are its flowers.
The peach tree is young and elegant; Exuberant are its leaves.”
so I select the last character of each of these two verses."
I wonder if that's a kind of common way of naming a kid, or VERY esoteric? Like it'd be unheard of, in English.
'And will order well her chamber and house/her family' such an emphasis on women's good household management, agency and capability (for a love poem, especially). More emphasised even than the fecundity/fruits point.
Chinese peach trees in bloom look a LOT like your stereotypical Japanese cherry blossom viewing party fare.
Re: Tao Yao
Re: Tao Yao
Re: Tao Yao
http://d2xzbm87hekj13.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/18160932/c1.2.mp3
Tu Ju
Re: Tu Ju
9 Jun 2018 — “Good morning.” Wei Wuxian almost fell out of the tree he had been sleeping on. When he came back drunk that night he had no energy"
I fucking called it.
However, this does not give me more information about this form of rabbit trapping. Only about thirst-trapping. A shame.
What can I say, this poem is high-key gay and I'm vibing, this is the content I came for.
Re: Tu Ju
lol Legge translates 仇 to companion, but the dictionary says "spouse; companion". Baidu says 通“逑”，匹偶。"a married couple"?!
Fu Yi
Re: Fu Yi
Re: Fu Yi
I guess there is some controversy over exactly what 芣苢 was (my dictionary doesn't even have 苢 in it). Baidu says this is another way to say 芣苡, the name of a wild edible plant, and there is dispute over if it's 车前草 (plantain herb) or 薏苡 (job's tear plant). If you take it to be the latter, it's an attractive plant used as medicine and associated with fertility.
Other bits from Baidu: this song sounds wrong if one person sings it; it must be sung by many people.
Han Guang
Re: Han Guang
https://www.jstor.org/stable/43490142?read-now=1&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
Second, I will save you some embarrassing googling.
漢廣 Han Juang
含光君 Hánguāng-jūn
No.
江之永矣 or 姜水 Jiang, the river
云梦江氏 Yúnmèng Jiāng Shì
Also no. Just homonyms, I guess. (If even that, in Chinese.) (A shame, because 'The length of the Jiang/Cannot be navigated with a raft.' is the kind of endorsement adult virgin Jiang Cheng has been looking for.)
Probably gonna at least glance at the article, because I'm not getting far with this poem on my own.
Re: Han Guang
Re: Han Guang
Also lol at the interpretation that this is an admonishment to Zhou's children to not pursue southern women.
I had been curious if there was going to be any commentary on 汉 wrt the Han people (who take their name from the Han River), but I guess since the Zhou predates the Han dynasty, it must not have been an implication at the time.
Ru Fen
Re: Ru Fen
I felt as it were pangs of great hunger."
-_0
'Though it be like a blazing fire,
Your parents are very near.'
Another hookup ruined.
Per Guided Anthology:
'Any discussion of “I Beg of You, Zhong Zi” would be incomplete without some
comparison with “Ru fen” (The Banks of the Ru [Mao no. 10]), which also invokes
the awe and respect most young lovers showed their parents'. Sure.
'“Ru fen” has traditionally been read with the final couplet developing from the xing of the reddened bream in line 9. Wang shi, which is here rendered literally as “royal chamber,” is normally understood pars pro toto (a part for the whole) as referring to the royal court, which is “as if ablaze” in some sort of crisis. The final two lines are then read as the wife urging her husband, who is serving at court, to return home because of his parents (which would mean he would also return to her). There is another line of commentary that reads the poem in just the opposite way, of urging her husband to serve an oppressive court so that his parents could be well cared for. But as an air, the poem might easily be read as a love poem sung by a wife whose husband has been away serving the state but who has now returned. This would fit the gathering-plant imagery of lines 1–2 and 5–6, which is often associated with male–female relations. The image of the bream with the reddened tail in line 9, however, is problematic in either reading. Wen Yiduo (1899–1946) has argued that fish are symbols of lovers in the Book of Poetry. Thus the lover in this poem would be ardent after such a long absence from his wife. Hunger (line 4), too, is often equated with sexual desire in these poems. Although there have also been erotic readings of this poem by modern Western scholars, Wen Yiduo’s interpretation of wang shi as referring metonymically to a member of the royal court (as a parallel to two other expressions referring to courtiers, zong shi and wang sun) seems most reasonable. Lines 10–12 would then read:
The royal courtier as if ablaze; Even though he is as if ablaze, Father and mother are very near.'
Re: Ru Fen
Was v confused about use of 墳 (grave; tomb) but apparently this is a pun/loanword on 濆 (edge of water) to give the meaning of levee.
Baidu says this is a folk song from the Rushui area from when the Zhou dynasty was collapsing, and the wife is sad about her husband being away for military service. And then a lot of stuff about gov't forcing them to be separated and how hard life was. Baidu ends with "and this is the collapse of the Zhou dynasty" sdkfjslkd
Lin Zhi Zhi
Re: Lin Zhi Zhi
I'm sure actually it's some Virgil-esque patron-cockwarming, but the mood is nonetheless LINS! DAAAAAAMN!! Feetpics. Horn.
I can't find any articles about this, so gonna just Assume.
Re: Lin Zhi Zhi
Also, Baidu always does a vernacular version of the poem, and when I put that through google translate:
The unicorns do not kick people with their feet. They are kind and worthy sons. You all look like unicorns!
Qilin's forehead doesn't hit anyone, and he is kind and respectable. You all look like unicorns!
The sharp horns of unicorns do not hurt people, and they are kind and respectable. You all look like unicorns!
I DIE.
Apparently this is similar to Confucius's 获麟歌, where the first phrase describes the qilin, the second the noble, and the third lamenting the unfortunate qilin; the aristocratic killing of the qilin as a metaphor for ruling classes persecuting sages (inc Confucius).