XWomen CONTENT


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	It floats about, that boat of cypress wood,
	There in the middle of the He.
	With his two tufts of hair falling over his forehead,
	He was my mate;
	And I swear that till death I will have no other.
	O mother, O Heaven,
	Why will you not understand me?
	It floats about, that boat of cypress wood,
	There by the side of the He.
	With his two tufts of hair falling over his forehead,
	He was my only one;
	And I swear that till death I will not do the evil thing.
	O mother, O Heaven,
	Why will you not understand me?

	The tribulus grows on the wall,
	And cannot be brushed away.
	The story of the inner chamber,
	Cannot be told.
	What would have to be told,
	Would be the vilest of recitals.
	The tribulus grow on the wall,
	And cannot be removed.
	The story of the inner chamber,
	Cannot be particularly related.
	What might be particularly related
	Would be a long story.
	The tribulus grow on the wall,
	And cannot be bound together, [and taken away].
	The story of the inner chamber
	Cannot be recited,
	What might be recited,
	Would be the most disgraceful of things.

	The husband's to their old age,
	In her headdress, and the cross-pins, with their six jewels;
	Easy and elegant in her movements;
	[Stately] as a mountain, [majestic]as a river,
	Well beseeming her pictured robes: --
	[But] with your want of virtue, O lady,
	What have you to do with these things?
	How rich and splendid
	Is her pleasant-figured robe!
	Her black hair in masses like clouds,
	No false locks does she descend to.
	There are her ear-plugs of jade,
	Her comb-pin of ivory,
	And her high forehead, so white.
	She appears like a visitant from heaven!
	She appears like a goddess!
	How rich and splendid
	Is her robe of state!
	It is worn over the finest muslin of dolichos,
	The more cumbrous and warm garment being removed.
	Clear are her eyes; fine is her forehead;
	Full are her temples.
	Ah! such a woman as this!
	The beauty of the country!

	I am going to gather the dodder,
	In the fields of Mei.
	But of whom are my thoughts?
	Of that beauty, the eldest of the Jiang.
	She made an appontment with me in Sangzhong;
	She will meet me in Shanggong;
	She will accompany me to Qishang.
	I am going to gather the wheat,
	In the north of Mei.
	But of whom are my thoughts?
	Of that beauty, the eldest of the Yi.
	She made an appontment with me in Sangzhong;
	She will meet me in Shanggong;
	She will accompany me to Qishang.
	I am going to gather the mustard plant,,
	In the east of Mei.
	But of whom are my thoughts?
	Of that beauty, the eldest of the Yong.
	She made an appontment with me in Sangzhong;
	She will meet me in Shanggong;
	She will accompany me to Qishang.

	Boldly faithful in their pairings are quails;
	Vigorously so are magpies.
	This man is all vicious,
	And I consider him my brother!
	Vigorously faithful in their pairings are magpies;
	Boldly so are quails.
	This woman is all vicious,
	And I regard her as marchioness.

	When [Ding] culminated [at night fall],
	He began to build the palace at Chu.
	Determining its aspects by means of the sun,
	He built the mansion at Chu.
	He planted about it hazel and chesnut trees,
	The yi, the tong, the zi, and the varnish-tree,
	Which, when cut down, might afford materials for lutes.
	He ascended those old walls,
	And thense surveyed [the site of ] Chu.
	He surveyed Chu and Tang,
	With the high hills and lofty elevations about:
	He descended and examined the mulberry trees;
	He then divined, and got a fortunate response;
	And thus the issue has been truly good.
	When the good rain had fallen,
	He would order his groom,
	By starlight, in the morning, to yoke his carriage,
	And would then stop among the mulberry trees and fields.
	But not only thus did he show what he was; --
	Maintaining in his heart a profound devotion to his duties,
	His tall horses and mares amounted to three thousand.

	There is a rainbow in the east,
	And no one dares to point to it.
	When a girl goes away [from her home],
	She separates from her parents and brothers.
	In the morning [a rainbow] rises in the west,
	And [only] during the morning is there rain.
	When a girl goes away [from her home],
	She separates from her brothers and parents.
	This person
	Has her heart only on being married.
	Greatly is she untrue to herself,
	And does not recognize [the law of] her lot.

	Look at a rat, -- it has its skin;
	But a man should be without dignity of demeanour.
	If a man have no dignity of demeanour,
	What should he but die?
	Look at a rat, -- it has its teeth;
	But a man shall be without any right deportment.
	If a man have not right deportment,
	What should he wait for but death?
	Look at a rat, -- it has its limbs;
	But a man shall be without any rules of propriety.
	If a man observe no rules of propriety,
	Why does he not quickly die?

	Conspiciously rise the staffs with their ox-tails,
	In the distant suburbs of Jun,
	Ornamented with the white silk bands;
	There are four carriages with their good horses,
	That admirable gentleman, --
	What will he give them for [this]?
	Conspiciously rise the staffs with their falcon-banners,
	In the nearer suburbs of Jun,
	Ornamented with the white silk ribbons;
	There are four carriages with their good horses,
	That admirable gentleman, --
	What will he give them for [this]?
	Conspiciously rise the staffs with their feathered streamers,
	At the walls of Jun,
	Bound with the white silk cords;
	There are six carriages with their good horses,
	That admirable gentleman, --
	What will he give them for [this]?

	I would have galloped my horses and whipt them,
	Returning to condole with the marquis of Wei.
	I would have urged them all the long way,
	Till I arrived at Cao.
	A great officer has gone, over the hills and through the rivers;
	But my heart is full of sorrow.
	You disapproved of my [proposal],
	And I cannot return to [Wei];
	But I regard you as in the wrong,
	And cannot forget my purpose.
	You disapproved of my purpose,
	But I cannot return across the streams;
	But I regard you as in the wrong,
	And cannot shut out my thoughts.
	I will ascend that mound with the steep side,
	And gather the mother-of-pearl lilies.
	I might, as a woman, have many thoughts,
	But every one of them was practicable.
	The people of Xu blame me,
	But they are all childish and hasty [in their conclusions].
	I would have gone through the country,
	Amidst the wheat so luxuriant.
	I would have carried the case before the great State.
	On whom should I have relied? Who would come [to the help of Wei]?
	Ye great officers and gentlemen,
	The hundred plans you think of
	Are not equal to the course I was going to take.


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