|
It floats about, that boat of cypress wood; |
|
Yea, it floats about on the current. |
|
Disturbed am I and sleepless, |
|
As if suffering from a painful wound. |
|
It is not because I have no wine, |
|
And that I might not wander and saunder about. |
|
My mind is not a mirror; -- |
|
It cannot [equally] receive [all impressions]. |
|
I, indeed, have brothers, |
|
But I cannot depend on them, |
|
I meet with their anger. |
|
My mind is not a stone; -- |
|
It cannot be rolled about. |
|
My mind is not a mat; -- |
|
It cannot be rolled up. |
|
My deportment has been dignified and good, |
|
With nothing wrong which can be pointed out. |
|
My anxious heart is full of trouble; |
|
I am hated by the herd of mean creatures; |
|
I meet with many distresses; |
|
I receive insults not a few. |
|
Silently I think of my case, |
|
And, starting as from sleep, I beat my breast. |
|
There are the sun and moon, -- |
|
How is it that the former has become small, and not the latter? |
|
The sorrow cleaves to my heart, |
|
Like an unwashed dress. |
|
Silently I think of my case, |
|
But I cannot spread my wings and fly away. |
|
Green is the upper robe, |
|
Green with a yellow lining! |
|
The sorrow of my heart, -- |
|
How can it cease? |
|
Green is the upper robe, |
|
Green the upper, and yellow the lower garment! |
|
The sorrow of my heart, -- |
|
How can it be forgotten? |
|
[Dyed] green has been the silk; -- |
|
It was you who did it. |
|
[But] I think of the ancients, |
|
That I may be kept from doing wrong. |
|
Linen, fine or coarse, |
|
Is cold when worn in the wind. |
|
I think of the ancients, |
|
And find what is in my heart. |
|
The swallows go flying about, |
|
With their wings unevenly displayed. |
|
The lady was returning [to her native state], |
|
And I escorted her far into the country. |
|
I looked till I could no longer see her, |
|
And my tears fell down like rain. |
|
The swallows go flying about, |
|
Now up, now down. |
|
The lady was returning [to her native state], |
|
And far did I accompany her. |
|
I looked till I could no longer see her, |
|
And long I stood and wept. |
|
The swallows go flying about; |
|
From below, from above, comes their twittering. |
|
The lady was returning [to her native state], |
|
And far did I escort her to the south. |
|
I looked till I could no longer see her, |
|
And great was the grief of my heart. |
|
Lovingly confiding was lady Zhong; |
|
Truly deep was her feeling. |
|
Both gentle was she and docile, |
|
Virtuously careful of her person. |
|
In thinking of our deceased lord, |
|
She stimulated worthless me. |
|
O sun; O moon, |
|
Which enlightens this lower earth! |
|
Here is the man, |
|
Who treats me not according to the ancient rule. |
|
How can he get his mind settled? |
|
Would he then not regard me? |
|
O sun; O moon, |
|
Which overshadow this lower earth! |
|
Here is this man, |
|
Who will not be friendly with me. |
|
How can he get his mind settled? |
|
Would he then not respond to me? |
|
O sun; O moon, |
|
Which come forth from the east! |
|
Here is the man, |
|
With virtuous words, but really not good. |
|
How can he get his mind settled? |
|
Would he then allow me to be forgotten? |
|
O sun; o moon, |
|
From the east which come forth! |
|
O father, O mother, |
|
There is no sequel to your nourishing of me. |
|
How can he get his mind settled? |
|
Would he then respond to me, contrary to all reason? |
|
The wind blows and is fierce, |
|
He looks at me and smiles, |
|
With scornful words and dissolute, -- the smile of pride. |
|
To the center of my heart I am grieved. |
|
The wind blows, with clouds of dust. |
|
Kindly he seems to be willing to come to me; |
|
[But] he neither goes nor comes. |
|
Long, long, do I think of him. |
|
The wind blew, and the sky was cloudy; |
|
Before a day elapses, it is cloudy again. |
|
I awake, and cannot sleep; |
|
I think of him, and gasp. |
|
All cloudy is the darkness, |
|
And the thunder keeps muttering. |
|
I awake and cannot sleep; |
|
I think of him, and my breast is full of pain. |
|
Hear the roll of our drums! |
|
See how we leap about, using our weapons! |
|
Those do the fieldwork in the State, or fortify Cao, |
|
While we alone march to the south. |
|
We followed Sun Zizhong, |
|
Peace having been made with Chen and Song; |
|
[But] he did not lead us back, |
|
And our sorrowful hearts are very sad. |
|
Here we stay, here we stop; |
|
Here we lose our horses; |
|
And we seek for them, |
|
Among the trees of the forest. |
|
For life or for death, however separated, |
|
To our wives we pledged our word. |
|
We held their hands; -- |
|
We were to grow old together with them. |
|
Alas for our separation! |
|
We have no prospect of life. |
|
Alas for our stipulation! |
|
We cannot make it good. |
|
The genial wind from the south |
|
Blows on the heart of that jujube tree, |
|
Till that heart looks tender and beautiful. |
|
What toil and pain did our mother endure! |
|
The genial wind from the south |
|
Blows on the branches of that jujube tree, |
|
Our mother is wise and good; |
|
But among us there is none good. |
|
There is the cool spring |
|
Below [the city of] Jun. |
|
We are seven sons, |
|
And our mother is full of pain and suffering. |
|
The beautiful yellow birds |
|
Give forth their pleasant notes. |
|
We are seven sons, |
|
And cannot compose our mother's heart. |
|
The gourd has [still] its bitter leaves, |
|
And the crossing at the ford is deep. |
|
If deep, I will go through with my clothes on; |
|
If shallow, I will do so, holding them up. |
|
The ford is full to overflowing; |
|
There is the note of the female pheasant. |
|
The full ford will not wet the axle of my carriage; |
|
It is the pheasant calling for her mate. |
|
The wild goose, with its harmonious notes, |
|
At sunrise, with the earliest dawn, |
|
By the gentleman, who wishes to bring home his bride, |
|
[Is presented] before the ice is melted. |
|
The boatman keeps beckoning; |
|
And others cross with him, but I do not. |
|
Others cross with him, but I do not; -- |
|
I am waiting for my friend. |
|
Gently blows the east wind, |
|
With cloudy skies and with rain. |
|
[Husband and wife] should strive to be of the same mind, |
|
And not let angry feelings arise. |
|
When we gather the mustard plant and earth melons, |
|
We do not reject them because of their roots. |
|
While I do nothing contrary to my good name, |
|
I should live with you till our death. |
|
I go along the road slowly, slowly, |
|
In my inmost heart reluctant. |
|
Not far, only a little way, |
|
Did he accompany me to the threshold. |
|
Who says that the sowthistle is bitter? |
|
It is as sweet as the shepherd's purse. |
|
You feast with your new wife, |
|
[Loving] as brothers. |
|
The muddiness of the King appears from the Wei, |
|
But its bottom may be seen about the islets. |
|
You feast with your new wife, |
|
And think me not worth being with |
|
Do not approach my dam, |
|
Do not move my basket. |
|
My person is rejected; -- |
|
What avails it to care for what may come after? |
|
Where the water was deep, |
|
I crossed it by a raft or a boat. |
|
Where it was shallow, |
|
I dived or swam across it. |
|
Whether we had plenty or not, |
|
I exerted myself to be getting. |
|
When among others there was a death, |
|
I crawled on my knees to help them. |
|
You cannot cherish me, |
|
And you even count me as an enemy. |
|
You disdain my virtues, -- |
|
A pedlar's wares which do not sell. |
|
Formerly, I was afraid our means might be exhausted, |
|
And I might come with you to destitution. |
|
Now, when your means are abundant, |
|
You compare me to poison. |
|
My fine collection of vegetables, |
|
Is but a provision against the winter. |
|
Feasting with your new wife, |
|
You think of me as a provision [only] against your poverty. |
|
Cavalierly and angrily you treat me; |
|
You give me only pain. |
|
You do not think of the former days, |
|
And are only angry with me. |
|
The dolichos on that high and sloping mound; -- |
|
How wide apart are [now] its joints! |
|
O ye uncles, |
|
Why have ye delayed these many days? |
|
Why do they rest without stirring? |
|
It must be they expect allies. |
|
Why do they prolong the time? |
|
There must be a reason for their conduct. |
|
Our fox-furs are frayed and worn. |
|
Came our carriages not eastwards? |
|
O ye uncles, |
|
You do not sympathize with us. |
|
Fragments, and a remnant, |
|
Children of dispersion [are we]! |
|
O ye uncles, |
|
Notwithstanding your full robes, your ears are stopped. |
|
Easy and indifferent! easy and indifferent! |
|
I am ready to perform in all dances, |
|
Then when the sun is in the meridian, |
|
There in that conspicious place. |
|
With my large figure, |
|
I dance in the ducal courtyard. |
|
I am strong [also] as a tiger; |
|
The reins are in my grasp like ribbons. |
|
In my left hand I grasp a flute; |
|
In my right I hold a pheasant's feather. |
|
I am red as if I were rouged; |
|
The duke gives me a cup [of spirits]. |
|
The hazel grows on the hills, |
|
And the liquorice in the marshes. |
|
Of whom are my thoughts? |
|
Of the fine men of the west. |
|
O those fine men! |
|
Those men of the west! |
|
How the water bubbles up from that spring, |
|
And flows away to the Qi! |
|
My heart is in Wei; |
|
There is not a day I do not think of it. |
|
Admirable are those, my cousins; |
|
I will take counsel with them. |
|
When I came forth, I lodged in Ji, |
|
And we drank the cup of convoy at Ni. |
|
When a young lady goes [to be married], |
|
She leaves her parents and brothers; |
|
[But] I would ask for my aunts, |
|
And then for my elder sister. |
|
I will go forth and lodge in Gan, |
|
And we drink the cup of convoy at Yan. |
|
I will grease the axle and fix the pin, |
|
And the returning chariot will proceed. |
|
Quickly shall we arrive in Wei; -- |
|
But would not this be wrong? |
|
I think of the Feiquan, |
|
I am ever sighing about it. |
|
I think of Xu and Cao, |
|
Long, long, my heart dwells with them. |
|
Let me drive forth and travel there, |
|
To dissipate my sorrow. |
|
I go out at the north gate, |
|
With my heart full of sorrow. |
|
Straitened am I and poor, |
|
And no one takes knowledge of my distress. |
|
So it is! |
|
Heaven has done it; -- |
|
What then shall I say? |
|
The king's business comes on me, |
|
And the affairs of our government in increasing measure. |
|
When I come home from abroad, |
|
The members of my family all emulously reproach me. |
|
So it is! |
|
Heaven has done it; -- |
|
What then shall I say? |
|
The king's business is thrown on me, |
|
And the affairs of our government are left to me more and more. |
|
When I come home from abroad, |
|
The members of my family all emulously thrust at me. |
|
So it is! |
|
Heaven has done it; -- |
|
What then shall I say? |
|
Cold blows the north wind; |
|
Thick falls the snow. |
|
Ye who love and regard me, |
|
Let us join hands and go together. |
|
Is it a time for delay? |
|
The urgency is extreme! |
|
The north wind whistles; |
|
The snow falls and drifts about. |
|
Ye who love and regard me, |
|
Let us join hands, and go away for ever. |
|
Is it a time for delay? |
|
The urgency is extreme! |
|
Nothing red is seen but foxes, |
|
Nothing black but crows. |
|
Ye who love and regard me, |
|
Let us join hands, and go together in our carriages. |
|
Is it a time for delay? |
|
The urgency is extreme! |
|
How lovely is the retiring girl! |
|
She was to await me at a corner of the wall. |
|
Loving and not seeing her, |
|
I scratch my head, and am in perplexity. |
|
How handsome is the retiring girl! |
|
She presented to me a red tube. |
|
Bright is the red tube; -- |
|
I delight in the beauty of the girl. |
|
From the pasture lands she gave a shoet of the white grass, |
|
Truly elegant and rare. |
|
It is not you, O grass, that are elegant; -- |
|
You are the gift of an elegant girl. |
|
Fresh and bright is the New Tower, |
|
On the waters of the He, wide and deep. |
|
A pleasant, genial mate she sought, |
|
[And has got this] vicious bloated mass! |
|
Lofty is the New Tower, |
|
On the waters of the He, flowing still. |
|
A pleasant, genial mate she sought, |
|
[And has got this] vicious bloated mass! |
|
It was a fish net that was set, |
|
And a goose has fallen into it. |
|
A pleasant, genial mate she sought, |
|
And she has got this hunchback. |