THE SHE KING; OR, THE BOOK OF ANCIENT POETRY

1G8 THE BOOK OP POETET. [PAET I.
II.
The Tung man cJtefim ; narrative.
YOUNG PEOPLE OF CH'IN.
WANTON ASSOCIATIONS OF THE
1 The white elms by the east gate grow,
And clumps of oaks crown Yuen-k'ew's head ;
There Tsze-chung's daughter oft we see,
Dancing about beneath their shade.
2 On a bright morning they have fixed,
To seek the plain that southward lies.
Then from her task of twisting hemp,
See ! dancing through the mart she hies.
3 The morning fair, young men and girls
Together go. You hear a youth
Say to his mate, " 0 sunflower bright,
Pledge me with pepper-stalk your truth ! "
HI.
The Hang inun; narrative. THE CONTENTMENT AND HAPPINESS OP
A POOE RECLUSE.
1 My only door some pieces of crossed wood,
Within it I can rest enjoy.
I drink the water wimpling from the spring;
Nor hunger can my peace destroy.
2 Purged from ambition's aims, I say, '' For fish,
We need not bream caught in the Ho;
Nor, to possess the sweets of love, require
To Ts'e, to find a Keang, to go.
3 " The man contented with his lot, a meal
Of fish without Ho carp can make ;
Nor needs, to rest in his domestic joy,
A Tsze of Sung as wife to take."
IV.
The Tung nun cJie ch'e ; allusive. THE TEAISE OF SOME VIRTUOUS
AND INTELLIGENT LADY.
BE XII. VI.] THE BOOK OF POETET.
1 To steep your hemp, you seek the moat,
Where lies the pool, th' east gate beyond.
/ seek that lady, good and fair,
Who can to me in song respond.
2 To steep your grass-cloth plants, you seek
The pool that near the east gate lies.
I seek that lady, good and fair,
Who can with me hold converse wise.
3 Out by the east gate, to the moat,
To steep your rope-rush, you repair.
Her pleasant converse to enjoy,
I seek that lady, good and fair.
The Tung mun che yang ; allusive.
TION.
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169
THE FAILURE OF AN ASSIGNA-
1 Where grow the willows near the eastern gate,
And 'neath their leafy shade we could recline,
She said at evening she would me await,
And brightly now I see the day star shine !
2 Here where the willows near the eastern gate
Grow, and their dense leaves make a shady gloom,
She said at evening she would me await.
See now the morning star the sky illume !
VI.
The Moo iniin; allusive. ON SOME EVIL PERSON WHO WAS GOING
ON OBSTINATELY TO HIS RUIN.
This is the argument of these verses finally adopted by Choo He. The
Preface gives an historical interpretation of them which Choo at one
time accepted. They were directed, according to that, against T'o of
Ch'in. This T'o was a brother of duke Hwan (B.C. 743—706), upon
whose death he killed his eldest sou and got possession of the State,—to
come to an untimely end himself the year after. The piece may have
been made against T'o ; but in itself it indicates nothing more than I
have stated.
1 Where through the gate in to the tombs we go,
Thick jujube trees, the axe requiring, grow.