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THE ODES OF CHEN

WAN QIU

	How gay and dissipated you are,
	There on the top of Wanqiu!
	You are full of kindly affection indeed,
	But you have nothing to make you looked up to!
	How your blows on the drum resound,
	At the foot of Wanqiu!
	Be it winter, be it summer,
	You are holding your egret's feather!
	How you beat your earthen vessel,
	On the way to Wanqiu!
	Be it winter, be it summer,
	You are holding your egret-fan!

DONG MEN ZHI FEN

	[There are] the white elms at the east gate.
	And the oaks on Wanqiu;
	The daughter of Zizhong,
	Dances about under them.
	A good morning having been chosen,
	For the plain in the South,
	She leaves twisting her hemp,
	And dances to it through the market-place.
	The morning being good for excursion,
	They all proceed together.
	' I look on you as the flower of the thorny mallow;
	You give me a stalk of the pepper plant.

HENG MEN

	Beneath my door made of cross pieces of wood,
	I can rest at my leisure;
	By the wimpling stream from my fountain,
	I can joy amid my hunger.
	Why, in eating fish;
	Must we have bream from the He?
	Why, in taking a wife,
	Must we have a Jiang of Qi?
	Why, in eating fish;
	Must we have carp from the He?
	Why, in taking a wife,
	Must we have a Zi of Song?

DONG MEN ZHI CHI

	The moat at the east gate,
	Is fit to steep hemp in.
	That beautiful, virtuous, lady,
	Can respond to you in songs.
	The moat at the east gate,
	Is fit to steep the boehmeria in.
	That beautiful, virtuous, lady,
	Can respond to you in discourse.
	The moat at the east gate,
	Is fit to steep the rope-rush in.
	That beautiful, virtuous lady,
	Can respond to you in conversation.

DONG MEN ZHI YANG

	On the willows at the east gate,
	The leaves are very luxuria....
	The evening was the time agreed on,
	And the morning star is shining bright.
	On the willows at the east gate,
	The leaves are dense.
	The evening was the time agreed on,
	And the morning star is shining bright.

MU MEN

	At the gate to the tombs there are jujube trees; --
	They should be cut away with an axe.
	That man is not good,
	And the people of the State know it.
	They know it, but he does not give over; --
	Long time has it been thus with him.
	At the gate to the tombs there are plum trees;
	And there are owls collecting on them.
	That man is not good,
	And I sing [this song] to admonish him.
	I admonish him, but he will not regard me; --
	When he is overthrown, he will think of me.

FANG YOU QUE CHAO

	On the embankment are magpies' nests;
	On the height grows the beautiful pea.
	Who has been imposing on the object of my admiration?
	-- My heart is full of sorrow.
	The middle path of the temple is covered with its tiles;
	On the height is the beautiful medallion plant.
	Who has been imposing on the object of my admiration?
	-- My heart is full of trouble.

YUE CHU

	The moon comes forth in her brightness;
	How lovely is that beautiful lady!
	O to have my deep longings for her relieved!
	How anxious is my toiled heart!
	The moon comes forth in her splendour;
	How attractive is that beautiful lady!
	O to have my anxieties about her relieved!
	How agitated is my toiled heart!
	The moon comes forth and shines;
	How brilliant is that beautiful lady!
	O to have the chains of my mind relaxed!
	How miserable is my toiled heart!

ZHU LIN

	What does he in Zhulin?
	He is going after Xianan.
	He is not going to Zhulin;
	He is going after Xianan.
	' Yoke for me my team of horses;
	I will rest in the country about Zhu.
	I will drive my team of colts,
	And breakfast at Zhu.'

ZE PO

	By the shores of that marsh,
	There are rushes and lotus plants.
	There is the beautiful lady; --
	I am tortured for her, but what avails it?
	Waking or sleeping, I do nothing;
	From my eyes and nose the water streams.
	By the shores of that marsh,
	There are rushes and the valerian.
	There is the beautiful lady;
	Tall and large, and elegant.
	Waking or sleeping, I do nothing;
	My inmost heart is full of grief.
	By the shores of that marsh,
	There are rushes and lotus flowers.
	There is the beautiful lady;
	Tall and large, and majestic.
	Waking or sleeping, I do nothing;
	On my side, on my back, with my face on the pillow, I lie.


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Published by The Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, © Copyright 2003 by Anne Kinney and the University of Virginia