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Long and large grows the e; -- |
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It is not the e but the hao. |
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Alas! alas! my parents, |
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With what toil ye gave me birth! |
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Long and large grows the e; -- |
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It is not the e but the wei. |
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Alas! alas! my parents, |
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With what toil and suffering ye gave me birth! |
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When the pitcher is exhausted, |
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It is the shame of the jar. |
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Than to live an orphan, |
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It would be better to have been long dead. |
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Fatherless, who is there to rely on? |
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Motherless, who is there to depend on? |
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When I go abroad, I carry my grief with me; |
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When I come home, I have no one to go to. |
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O my father, who begat me! |
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O my mother, who nourished me! |
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Ye indulged me, ye fed me, |
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Ye held me up, ye supported me, |
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Ye looked after me, ye never left me, |
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Out and in ye bore me in your arms. |
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If I would return your kindness, |
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It is like great Heaven, illimitable, |
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Cold and bleak is the Southern hill; |
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The rushing wind is very fierce. |
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People all are happy; -- |
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Why am I alone thus miserable? |
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The Southern hill is very steep; |
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The rushing wind is blustering. |
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People all are happy; -- |
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I alone have been unable to finish [my duty]. |
Published
by The Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, © Copyright 2003
by Anne Kinney and the University of Virginia