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Look at those recesses in the banks of the Qi, |
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With their green bamboos, so fresh and luxuriant! |
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There is our elegant and accomplished prince, -- |
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As from the knife and the file, |
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As from the chisel and the polisher! |
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How grave is he and dignified! |
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How commanding and distinguished! |
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Our elegant and accomplished prince, -- |
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Never can he be forgotten! |
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Look at those recesses in the banks of the Qi, |
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With their green bamboos, so strong and luxuriant! |
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There is our elegant and accomplished prince, -- |
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With his ear-stoppers of beautiful pebbles, |
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And his cap, glittering as with stars between the seams! |
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How grave is he and dignified! |
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How commanding and distinguished! |
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Our elegant and accomplished prince, -- |
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Never can he be forgotten! |
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Look at those recesses in the banks of the Qi, |
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With their green bamboos, so dense together! |
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There is our elegant and accomplished prince, -- |
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[Pure] as gold and as tin, |
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[Soft and rich] as a sceptre of jade! |
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How magnanimous is he and gentle! |
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There he is in his chariot with its two high sides! |
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Skilful is he at quips and jokes, |
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But how does he keep from rudeness from them! |
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He has reared his hut by the stream in the valley, |
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-- That large man, so much at his ease. |
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Alone he sleeps, and wakes, and talks. |
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He swears he will never forgets [his true joy]. |
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He has reared his hut in the bend of the mound, |
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-- That large man, with such an air of indifference. |
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Alone he sleeps, and wakes, and sings. |
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He swears he will never pass from the spot. |
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He has reared his hut on the level height, |
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-- That large man, so self-collected. |
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Alone, he sleeps and wakes, and sleeps again. |
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He swears he will never tell [of his delight]. |
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Large was she and tall, |
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In her embroidered robe, with a [plain] single garment over it: -- |
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The daughter of the marquis of Qi. |
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The wife of the marquis of Wei, |
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The sister of the heir-son of Tong |
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The sister-in-law of the marquis of Xing, |
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The viscount of Tan also her brother-in-law. |
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Her fingers were like the blades of the young white-grass; |
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Her skin was like congealed ointment; |
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Her neck was like the tree-grub; |
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Her teeth were like melon seeds; |
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Her forehead cicada-like; her eyebrows like [the antenne of] the silkworm moth; |
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What dimples, as she artfully smiled! |
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How lovely her eyes, with the black and white so well defined! |
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Large was she and tall, |
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When she halted in the cultivated suburbs. |
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Strong looked her four horses, |
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With the red ornaments so rich about their bits. |
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Thus in her carriage, with its screens of pheasant feathers, |
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she proceeded to our court. |
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Early retire, ye great officers, |
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And do not make the marquis fatiqued! |
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The waters of the He, wide and deep, |
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Flow northwards in majestic course. |
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The nets are dropt into them with a plashing sound, |
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Among shoals of sturgeon, large and small, |
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While the rushes and sedges are rank about. |
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Splendidly adorned were her sister ladies; |
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Martial looked the attendant officers. |
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A simple-looking lad you were, |
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Carrying cloth to exchange it for silk. |
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[But] you came not so to purchase silk; -- |
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You came to make proposals to me. |
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I convoyed you through the Qi, |
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As far as Dunqiu. |
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' It is not I, ' [I said], ' who would protract the time; |
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But you have had no good go-between. |
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I pray you be not angry, |
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And let autumn be the time. ' |
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I ascended that ruinous wall, |
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To look towards Fuguan; |
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And when I saw [you] not [coming from] it; |
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My tears flowed in streams. |
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When I did see [you coming from] Fuquan, |
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I laughed and I spoke. |
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You had consulted, [you said], the tortoise-shell and the reeds, |
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And there was nothing unfavourable in their response. |
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' Then come, ' [I said], ' with your carriage, |
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And I will remove with my goods. |
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Before the mulberry tree has shed its leaves, |
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How rich and glossy are they! |
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Ah! thou dove, |
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Eat not its fruit [to excess]. |
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Ah! thou young lady, |
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Seek no licentious pleasure with a gentleman. |
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When a gentleman indulges in such pleasure, |
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Something may still be said for him; |
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When a lady does so, |
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Nothing can be said for her. |
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When the mulberry tree sheds its leaves, |
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They fall yellow on the ground. |
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Since I went with you, |
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Three years have I eaten of your poverty; |
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And [now] the full waters of the Qi, |
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Wet the curtains of my carriage. |
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There has been no difference in me, |
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But you have been double in your ways. |
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It is you, Sir, who transgress the right, |
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Thus changeable in your conduct. |
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For three years I was your wife, |
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And thought nothing of my toil in your house. |
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I rose early and went to sleep late, |
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Not intermitting my labours for a morning. |
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Thus [on my part] our contract was fulfilled, |
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But you have behaved thus cruelly. |
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My brothers will not know [all this], |
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And will only laugh at me. |
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Silently I think of it, |
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And bemoan myself. |
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I was to grow old with you; -- |
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Old, you give me cause for sad repining. |
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The Qi has its banks, |
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And the marsh has its shores. |
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In the pleasant time of my girlhood, with my hair simply gathered in a knot, |
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Harmoniously we talked and laughed. |
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Clearly were we sworn to good faith, |
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And I did not think the engagement would be broken. |
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That it would be broken I did not think, |
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And now it must be all over! |
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With your long and tapering bamboo rods, |
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You angle in the Qi. |
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Do I not think of you? |
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But I am far away, and cannot get you. |
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The Quanyuan is on the left, |
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And the waters of the Qi are on the right. |
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But when a young lady goes away, [and is married], |
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She leaves her brothers and parents. |
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The waters of the Qi are on the right |
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And the Quanyuan is on the left. |
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How shine the white teeth through the artful smiles! |
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How the girdle gems move to the measured steps! |
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The waters of the Qi flow smoothly; |
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There are the oars of cedar and boats of pine. |
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Might I but go there in my carriage and ramble, |
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To dissipate my sorrow! |
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There are the branches of the sparrow-gourd; -- |
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There is that lad, with the spike at his girdle. |
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Though he carries a spike at his girdle, |
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He does not know us. |
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How easy and conceited is his manner, |
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With the ends of his girdle hanging down as they do! |
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There are the leaves of the sparrow-gourd; -- |
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There is that lad with the archer's thimble at his girdle. |
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Though he carries an archer's thimble at his girdle, |
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He is not superior to us. |
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How easy and conceited is his manner, |
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With the ends of his girdle hanging down as they do! |
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My noble husband is now martial-like! |
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The hero of the country! |
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My husband, grasping his halberd, |
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Is in the leading chariot of the king's [host]. |
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Since my husband went to the east, |
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My head has been like the flying [pappus of the] artemisia. |
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It is not that I could not anoint and wash it; |
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But for whom should I adorn myself? |
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O for rain! O for rain! |
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But brightly the sun comes forth. |
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Longingly I think of my husband, |
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Till my heart is weary, and my head aches. |
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How shall I get the plant of forgetfulness? |
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I would plant it on the north of my house. |
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Longingly I think of my husband, |
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And my heart is made to ache. |