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SI MU

My four steeds advanced without stopping;
The way from Zhou was winding and tedious.
Did I not have the wish to return?
But the king's business was not to be slackly performed;
And my heart was wounded with sadness.
My four steeds advanced without stopping;
They panted and snorted, the white steeds black-maned.
Did I not have the wish to return?
But the king's business was not to be slackly performed;
And I had not leisure to kneel or to sit.
The Filial doves keep flying about,
Now soaring aloft, and now descending,
Collecting on the bushy oaks;
But the king's business was not to be slackly performed;
And I had not leisure to nourish my father.
The Filial doves keep flying about,
Now flying, now stopping,
Collecting on the bushy medlars;
But the king's business was not to be slackly performed;
And I had not leisure to nourish my mother.
I yoked my four white steeds, black-maned;
They hurried away with speed.
[But] did I not wish to return?
Therefore I make this song,
Announcing my wish to nourish my mother.
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IATHPublished by The Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, © Copyright 2003 by Anne Kinney and the University of Virginia