...

Shi Jing Introduction Table of content – The Book of Odes

The oldest collection of Chinese poetry, more than three hundred songs, odes and hymns. Tr. Legge (en) and Granet (fr, incomplete).

Section I — Lessons from the states
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15
Chapter 9 — The odes of Wei

107 108 109 110 111 112 113

Shijing I. 9. (107)

Shoes thinly woven of the dolichos fibre,
May be used to walk on the hoarfrost.
The delicate fingers of a bride,
May be used in making clothes.
[His bride] puts the waistband to his lower garment and the collar to his upper,
And he, a wealthy man, wears them.

Wealthy, he moves about quite at ease,
And politely he stands aside to the left.
From his girdle hangs his ivory comb-pin.
It is the narrowness of his disposition,
Which makes him a subject for satire.

Legge 107

Shijing I. 9. (108)

There in the oozy grounds of the Fen,
They gather the sorrel.
That officer,
Is elegant beyond measure.
He is elegant beyond measure.
But, perhaps, he is not what the superintendent of the ruler's carriages ought to be.

There along the side of the Fen,
They gather the mulberry leaves.
That officer,
Is elegant as a flower.
He is elegant as a flower ;
But, perhaps, he is not what the marshaller of the carriages ought to be.

There along the bend of the Fen,
They gather the ox-lips.
That officer,
Is elegant as a gem.
He is elegant as a gem ;
But, perhaps, he is not what the superintendent of the ruler's relations should be.

Legge 108

Shijing I. 9. (109)

Of the peach trees in the garden,
The fruit may be used as food.
My heart is grieved,
And I play and sing.
Those who do not know me,
Say I am a scholar venting his pride.
' Those men are right ;
What do you mean by your words ? '
My heart is grieved ;
Who knows [the cause of] it ?
Who knows [the cause of] it ?
[They know it not], because they will not think.

Of the jujube trees in the garden,
The fruit may be used as food.
My heart is grieved,
And I think I must travel about through the State.
Those who do not know me,
Say I am an officer going to the verge of license.
' Those men are right ;
What do you mean by your words ? '
My heart is grieved ;
Who knows [the cause of] it ?
Who knows [the cause of] it ?
[They do not know it], because they will not think.

Legge 109

Shijing I. 9. (110)

I ascend that tree-clad hill,
And look towards [the residence of] my father.
My father is saying, ' Alas ! my son, abroad on the public service,
Morning and night never rests.
May he be careful,
That he may come [back], and not remain there ! '

I ascend that bare hill,
And look towards [the residence of] my mother.
My mother is saying, ' Alas ! my child, abroad on the public service,
Morning and night has no sleep.
May he be careful,
That he may come [back], and not leave his body there ! '

I ascend that ridge,
And look towards [the residence of] my elder brother.
My brother is saying, ' Alas ! my younger brother, abroad on the public service,
Morning and night must consort with his comrades.
May he be careful,
That he may come back, and not die ! '

Legge 110

Shijing I. 9. (111)

Among their ten acres,
The mulberry-planters stand idly about.
' Come, ' [says one to another], ' I will go away with you. '

Beyond those ten acres,
The mulberry-planters move idly about.
' Come, ' [says one to another], ' I will go away with you. '

Legge 111

Shijing I. 9. (112)

Kan-kan go his blows on the sandal trees,
And he places what he hews on the river's bank,
Whose waters flow clear and rippling.
You sow not nor reap ; –
How do you get the produce of those three hundred farms ?
You do not follow the chase ; –
How do we see the badgers hanging up in your court yards ?
O that superior man !
He would not eat the bread of idleness !

Kan-kan go his blows on the wood for his spokes,
And he places it by the side of the river,
Whose waters flow clear and even.
You sow not nor reap ; –
How do you get your three millions of sheaves ?
You do not follow the chase ; –
How do we see the three-year-olds hanging up in your court yards ?
O that superior man !
He would not eat the bread of idleness !

Kan-kan go his blows on the wood for his wheels,
And he places it by the lip of the river,
Whose waters flow clear in rippling circles.
You sow not nor reap ; –
How do you get the paddy for your three hundred round binns ?
You do not follow the chase ; –
How do we see the quails hanging in your court yards ?
O that superior man !
He would not eat the bread of idleness !

Legge 112

Chop ,chop ,we cut down the elms
And pile the wood on the bank,
By the waters clear and rippling.
They neither sow nor reap;
How then have they three hundred sheaves of corn?
They neither hunt nor chase;
How then do we see badgers hanging in their courtyards?
Ah,those lords
They do not need to work for their food!

Chop, chop, we cut wood for wheel-spokes
And pile it on the shore,
By the waters clear and flowing.
They neither sow nor reap;
How then have they three hundred stacks of corn?
They neither hunt nor chase;
How then do we see bulls hanging in their courtyards?
Ah, those lords
They do not need to work to eat!

Chop, chop, we cut hard wood for wheels
And pile it at the river's brink,
By the waters clear and dimpling.
They neither sow nor reap;
How then have they three hundred ricks of corn?
They neither hunt nor chase;
How then do we see quails hanging in their courtyards?
Ah, those lords
They do not have to work to live!
Gregor Kneussel – 2004/12/04

Shijing I. 9. (113)

Large rats ! Large rats !
Do not eat our millet.
Three years have we had to do with you,
And you have not been willing to show any regard for us.
We will leave you,
And go to that happy land.
Happy land ! Happy land !
There shall we find our place.

Large rats ! Large rats !
Do not eat our wheat.
Three years have we had to do with you,
And you have not been willing to show any kindness to us.
We will leave you,
And go to that happy State.
Happy State ! Happy State !
There shall we find ourselves right.

Large rats ! Large rats !
Do not eat our springing grain !
Three years have we had to do with you,
And you have not been willing to think of our toil.
We will leave you,
And go to those happy borders.
Happy borders ! Happy borders !
Who will there make us always to groan ?

Legge 113

Shi Jing I. 9. Table of content
Previous page
Next page
Chinese landscape on plate (98)

The Book of Odes – Shi Jing I. 9. – Chinese on/offFrançais/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
Welcome, help, notes, introduction, table.
IndexContactTop

Wengu, Chinese Classics multilingual text base