The oldest collection of Chinese poetry, more than three hundred songs, odes and hymns. Tr. Legge (en) and Granet (fr, incomplete).
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 ?
Legge 45
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.
Legge 46
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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 !
Legge 47
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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.
Legge 48
Où cueille-t'on la cuscute ?
c'est dans le pays de Mei !
Savez-vous à qui je pense ?
c'est à la belle Mong Kiang !
Elle m'attend à Sang-tchong,
Elle me veut à Chang-Kong,
Elle me suit sur la K'i !
Où cueille-t-on le froment ?
c'est du côté nord de Mei !
Savez-vous à qui je pense ?
c'est à la belle Mong Yi !
Elle m'attend à... etc.
Où cueille-t-on le navet ?
c'est du côté est de Mei !
Savez-vous à qui je pense ?
c'est à la belle Mong Yang !
Elle...
Granet XLIV.
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.
Legge 49
Les cailles vont par couples et les pies vont par paires...
D'un homme sans bonté vais-je faire mon frère ?
Les pies s'en vont par paires et les cailles par couples...
D'un homme sans bonté ferais-je mon seigneur ?
Granet VII.
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.
Legge 50
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.
Legge 51
L'arc-en-ciel est à l'orient !
personne ne l'ose montrer !
La fille pour se marier,
laisse au loin frères et parents !
Vapeur matinale au couchant !
c'est la pluie pour la matinée !
La fille pour se marier,
laisse au loin frères et parents !
Or la fille que vous voyez
rêve d'aller se marier
Sans plus garder la chasteté
et avant qu'on l'ait ordonné !
Granet XVI.
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 ?
Legge 52
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] ?
Legge 53
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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.
Legge 54
The Book of Odes – Shi Jing I. 4. – Chinese on/off – Français/English
Alias Shijing, Shi Jing, Book of Odes, Book of Songs, Classic of Odes, Classic of
Poetry, Livre des Odes, Canon des Poèmes.
The Book of Odes, The Analects, Great Learning, Doctrine of the Mean, Three-characters book, The Book of Changes, The Way and its Power, 300 Tang Poems, The Art of War, Thirty-Six Strategies
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