"
Sung Yu was not dismissed from court.
Sung Yu was not dismissed from court.
Waley - 170 Chinese Poems
And in my
village there are none that can be compared with the girl next door.
"The girl next door would be too tall if an inch were added to her
height, and too short if an inch were taken away. Another grain of
powder would make her too pale; another touch of rouge would make her
too red. Her eyebrows are like the plumage of the kingfisher, her flesh
is like snow. Her waist is like a roll of new silk, her teeth are like
little shells. A single one of her smiles would perturb the whole city
of Yang and derange the suburb of Hsia-ts'ai. [3] For three years this
lady has been climbing the garden wall and peeping at me, yet I have
never succumbed.
[3] Fashionable quarters in the capital of Ch'u state.
"How different is the behaviour of master T? ng-t'u! His wife has a wooly
head and misshapen ears; projecting teeth irregularly set; a crook in
her back and a halt in her gait. Moreover, she has running sores in
front and behind.
"Yet T? ng-t'u fell in love with her and caused her to bear him five
children.
"I would have your Majesty consider which of us is the debauchee.
"
Sung Yu was not dismissed from court.
THE ORPHAN
Anon. (first century B. C. )
To be an orphan,
To be fated to be an orphan.
How bitter is this lot!
When my father and mother were alive
I used to ride in a carriage
With four fine horses.
But when they both died,
My brother and sister-in-law
Sent me out to be a merchant.
In the south I travelled to the "Nine Rivers"
And in the east as far as Ch'i and Lu.
At the end of the year when I came home
I dared not tell them what I had suffered--
Of the lice and vermin in my head,
Of the dust in my face and eyes.
My brother told me to get ready the dinner.
My sister-in-law told me to see after the horses.
I was always going up into the hall
And running down again to the parlour.
My tears fell like rain.
In the morning they sent me to draw water,
I didn't get back till night-fall.
My hands were all sore
And I had no shoes.
village there are none that can be compared with the girl next door.
"The girl next door would be too tall if an inch were added to her
height, and too short if an inch were taken away. Another grain of
powder would make her too pale; another touch of rouge would make her
too red. Her eyebrows are like the plumage of the kingfisher, her flesh
is like snow. Her waist is like a roll of new silk, her teeth are like
little shells. A single one of her smiles would perturb the whole city
of Yang and derange the suburb of Hsia-ts'ai. [3] For three years this
lady has been climbing the garden wall and peeping at me, yet I have
never succumbed.
[3] Fashionable quarters in the capital of Ch'u state.
"How different is the behaviour of master T? ng-t'u! His wife has a wooly
head and misshapen ears; projecting teeth irregularly set; a crook in
her back and a halt in her gait. Moreover, she has running sores in
front and behind.
"Yet T? ng-t'u fell in love with her and caused her to bear him five
children.
"I would have your Majesty consider which of us is the debauchee.
"
Sung Yu was not dismissed from court.
THE ORPHAN
Anon. (first century B. C. )
To be an orphan,
To be fated to be an orphan.
How bitter is this lot!
When my father and mother were alive
I used to ride in a carriage
With four fine horses.
But when they both died,
My brother and sister-in-law
Sent me out to be a merchant.
In the south I travelled to the "Nine Rivers"
And in the east as far as Ch'i and Lu.
At the end of the year when I came home
I dared not tell them what I had suffered--
Of the lice and vermin in my head,
Of the dust in my face and eyes.
My brother told me to get ready the dinner.
My sister-in-law told me to see after the horses.
I was always going up into the hall
And running down again to the parlour.
My tears fell like rain.
In the morning they sent me to draw water,
I didn't get back till night-fall.
My hands were all sore
And I had no shoes.
