Confucius Odes

No. 1
GWAN! GWAN! CRY THE FISH HAWKS!
(a wedding song for the royal family)

Gwan! gwan! cry the fish hawks

on sandbars in the river:
a mild-mannered good girl,
fine match for the gentleman.

A ragged fringe is the floating-heart,

left and right we trail it:
that mild-mannered good girl,
awake, asleep, I search for her.

I search but cannot find her,

awake, asleep, thinking of her,
endlessly, endlessly,
turning, tossing from side to side.

A ragged fringe is the floating-heart,

left and right we pick it:
the mild-mannered good girl,
harp and lute make friends with her.

A ragged fringe is the floating-heart,

left and right we sort it:
the mild-mannered good girl,
bell and drum delight her.

Believed to be compiled by Confucius, Shih ching or "Book of Odes" is a collection

of 305 poems, dating from 1000 to 600 BC. These are believed to be the oldest
existing examples of Chinese poetry.

The collection includes refined folk songs, ritualistic poems, dynastic legends and
hymns for ancestral temples. All were intended to be sung, although the musical
accompaniments are long lost. The subject matter centers on daily activities such
as farming, gathering plants, farming, courting, feasting and going to war. The
imagery is concrete and the poems themselves focus on youth, beauty and vigor. The
tone is wide, from festive and lighthearted to bitter and satirical. Children and
old age are largely ignored.

The construction of the poems is very consistent. Each line contained four
characters (note: a Chinese character is not equivalent to an English word; Chinese
characters often encompass an entire phrase or idea). The lines are arranged in
stanzas of four, six or eight lines. Rhyming occurs infrequently.

Economy of expression is predominant. Most begin with an image of nature, which

oftentimes leads to a parallel in human life, or, just as often, a contrast.

"Book of Odes" is considered one of the Five Confucian Classics and became a basic
text in Chinese education. For many centuries, the Chinese have studied the text
for its wisdom relative to history, philosophy, ethics and politics.

No. 192
HOW IS THE NIGHT?

How is the night?

The night's not yet ended.
Courtyard torches are lit;
our lord is coming,
his bridle-bells make tinkling sounds.

How is the night?

The night's not yet over.
Courtyard torches shimmer and shine:
our lord is coming,
his bridle-bells make jangling sounds.

How is the night?

The night gives way to dawn.
Courtyard torches are glimmering:
our lord is coming,
I can see his banners!

Ask me what reason stay green mountain

Smile but not answer heart self idle
Peach blossom flow water far go
Apart have heaven earth in human world You ask for what reason I stay on the
green mountain,
I smile, but do not answer, my heart is at leisure.
Peach blossom is carried far off by flowing water,
Apart, I have heaven and earth in the human world.

There are two other alternative titles for this poem in some existing editions, but
neither is as apt. The first, �Answer to a Question,� is too general, whereas the
second, �Answer from the Mountain, to a Worldly Person,� is too explicit.

The poem begins with an innocent question, which can be translated differently
depending on which of the two variant texts is used. According to one text, the
line can be rendered as: �You ask me what I am doing dwelling in the Emerald
Mountain.� In the second text, the line would be: �You ask me why I intend to dwell
in the Emerald Mountain.� The first reading specifies dwelling in the mountain as a
fact, whereas the second suggests that the poet is contemplating doing so. The
distinction between the two readings will have a significant bearing on the rest of
the poem.

To answer the question, the poet writes that �I smile but make no reply, for my
heart itself is at leisure.� In the variant text, the poet simply says nothing
instead of making no reply. Although the wording �make no reply� echoes the title
of the poem appropriately, saying nothing could be an interesting reading because
it suggests that the poet does not wish to be bothered by the question at all. This
reading is more consistent with the sense of serenity expressed in the phrase, �for
my heart itself is at leisure.�

In Yan, the grass grows like threads of blue silk

In Qin, it is said, mulberry leaves of emerald green hang low
Somewhere, a husband dreams of returning home
To his heartbroken wife who
Feels the spring breeze strange
As it slips unseen through her silk curtains

https://100tangpoems.wordpress.com/2018/07/13/spring-thoughts-li-bai/

The title is ? (spring) ? (thought).

From the clues left behind in Li Bai�s poem, we can date the writing of the poem to
the spring of 756. Symbolically, the ancient State of Yan was rising like the blue-
green grass of spring. The ancient State of Qin hung low like the emerald-green
leaves of the mulberry tree.

In the winter of 755, General An Lushan, of Turkic extraction from modern day
Mongolia, launched a rebellion against Emperor Xuanzong and the Tang dynasty. By
the Lunar New Year in 756, An had captured the eastern Tang capital of Luoyang,
establishing a new state of Yan.

Tang generals and their armies moved north to confront the rebellion. In line 1, Li
Bai places our warrior husband in the the State of Yan (?), in the midst of the
blue green grasses.

? (Yan) ? (grass) ? (like) ? (bluish-green) ? (silk thread)

By 756, General An Lushan had captured the Tang capital of Chang�an (modern Xi�an
in the ancient state of Qin.) Silk is a symbol of Chinese culture and wealth. The
metaphor of hanging low and the fortunes of the Tang dynasty speaks for itself.

Back home in Qin, the ancient Chinese homeland, a wife longs for her absent
husband. Low hanging mulberry leaves, upon which the silk worms feast, have
recently unfolded in colors of emerald green, symbolizing sadness. A western wind
slips though the wife�s silk curtains and she senses a strange emotion with the
breeze that is felt but not seen.