Joy and Sorrow - Songs of Ancient China: A New Translation of Shi Jing Guo Feng (A Chinese-English Bilingual Edition)

The Shi Jing is the oldest anthology of Chinese songs. It contains 305 songs of ancient China, composed in the 12th to 7th century BCE. The collection is divided into four parts. The present work is a translation of its first part, namely Guo Feng, which translates as "songs of states" within the Zhou kingdom (1122-255 BCE). The Guo Feng songs were mostly sung by the common people of the kingdom. In this respect, they are unlike the songs in the other three parts, which are generally dynastic songs of the Zhou court. The songs included in this translation predate Confucius, many by several centuries. Accordingly, through them one may hear the spontaneous voices of pre-Confucian China. The text of the Shi Jing has come down to us at the present time in familiar Chinese characters. But their usage is so ancient that for centuries even Chinese readers have had to rely on a few standard commentaries, which all gave Confucian, moralistic readings of the songs, even of those that are unmistakably simple love songs. Ha Poong Kim's translation has incorporated the results of some recent Japanese studies which question the traditional, Confucian approach to the text, thereby recovering the original meaning of many songs in the Guo Feng. It is hoped that this Chinese-English Bilingual Edition makes the voices of joys and sorrows of this ancient land audible to a modern readership, not only in the West but also in China as well. (History, Literary Criticism, Confucianism, Asian Studies) Front Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Preface Introduction: Confucius and the Confucians on the Shi The Translation I. Zhou Nan1 1. Guan Guan, Ospreys 2. The Cloth-plant Spreading 3. Chickweeds 4. Drooping Tree 5. Locusts 6. Young Peach Tree 7. Rabbit Nets 8. Plantain 9. Broad Han 10. The High Banks of the Ru 11. Qilin’s Hoofs II. Shao Nan 12. Magpie’s Nest 13. Gather the White Mugwort 14. Cicada 15. Gather the Duckweed 16. Wild Pear Tree 17. Dew-drenched Path 18. Lamb Skins 19. The Thunder Rolling 20. Plum Throwing 21. Little Stars 22. The Yangzi Has its Branches 23. Dead Roe Deer in the Field 24. How Resplendent 25. Zouyu III. Bei Feng 26. Cypress Boat 27. Green Dress 28. Swallows, Swallows 29. Sun and Moon 30. Windy Day 31. Beat the Drums 32. Gentle Breeze 33. Cock-pheasant 34. The Gourd Has Bitter Leaves 35. Valley Wind 36. How Wretched 37. Scrubby Hill 38. How Stately 39. Spring Water 40. North Gate 41. North Wind 42. Quiet Girl 43. New Terrace 44. Two of You in a Boat IV. Yong Feng 45. Cypress Boat 46. Star-thistle over the Wall 47. Companion Till Death 48. Mulberry Field 49. How Quarrelsome the Quails 50. Pegasus in the Middle of the Sky 51. Rainbow 52. Look at the Rat 53. Pole-banners 54. Gallop, Gallop V. Wei Feng 55. The Cove of the Qi 56. Joy in the Gully 57. Splendid Woman 58. Vendor 59. Bamboo Rod 60. Vine-bean 61. Broad Huang He 62. You Are a Brave One 63. Fox Dragging About 64. Quince VI. Wang Feng 65. The Millet Bending 66. He Is Gone to Service 67. How Merry He Was 68. Spraying Stream 69. Motherwort in the Valley 70. Carefree Hare 71. Creepers 72. Pluck the Cloth-creepers 73. Great Carriage 74. On the Hill Grows the Hemp VII. Zheng Feng 75. Black Coat 76. Please, Zhongzi 77. Shu Goes to the Hunting-fields (1) 78. Shu Goes to the Hunting-fields (2) 79. Men of Qing 80. Lamb Coat 81. On the Main Road 82. The Woman Says “The Cock Has Crowed” 83. Girl Riding with Me 84. On the Hill Grows the Fusu 85. Oh, Falling Leaves 86. Mean Fellow 87. Tucking up the Dress 88. How Gorgeous 89. By the Clearing at the East Gate 90. Windy Rain 91. Blue Collar 92. Spraying Stream 93. Outside the East Gate 94. In the Field Grow Creepers 95. The Qin and Wei VIII. Qi Feng 96. The Cock Has Crowed 97. How Quick 98. Inside the Gate 99. Sun in the East 100. The Eastern Sky Is Still Dark 101. South Mountain 102. Open Field 103. Black Hound 104. Broken Fish-trap 105. Here Comes the Carriage Galloping 106. Ah, How Splendid! IX. Wei Feng 107. Cloth-shoes 108. In That Wetland of the Fen 109. In the Garden Is a Peach Tree 110. I Climb That Wooded Hill 111. Ten-acre Field 112. Cut the Tan Tree 113. Big Rat X. Tang Feng 114. Crickets 115. In the Mountain Grows the Thorn-elm 116. Spraying Stream 117. Pepper-plant 118. Firewood Fast Bundled 119. Lone Wild Pear-tree 120. Lamb Coat 121. Bustards in the Sky 122. I Have No Clothes 123. There Grows a Lone Wild Pear-tree 124. The Cloth-plant Grows 125. Gather Licorice XI. Qin Feng 126. The Carriage Rolling 127. Four Black Horses 128. Small War-chariot 129. Rush 130. Zhongnan 131. Oriole 132. Morning Wind 133. No Clothes 134. The North of the Wei 135. Gone are the Flourishing Days XII. Chen Feng 136. Wanqiu 137. Elms of the East Gate 138. Single-bar Gate 139. The Pond by the East ate 140. Willows of the East Gate 141. The Cemetery Gate 142. On the Dyke 143. The Moon Rising 144. Zhulin 145. Water’s Edge XIII. Kuai Feng 146. Lamb Coat 147. White Cap 148. Brushwood in the Lowland 149. Fierce Wind XIV. Cao Feng 150. Mayfly 151. Palace Guard 152. Turtle-dove 153. Spring Water XV. Bin Feng 154. Seventh Month 155. Owl 156. Eastern Mountains 157. Broken Axes 158. To Cut an Ax-handle 159. Caught in the Small Net 160. The Wolf Stumbles Appendix: Ren and the Shi in Confucius Bibliography Back Cover