Guofeng·Chen Feng·Dongmenzhichi Translation | Comments | Appreciation

Guofeng·Chen Feng·Dongmenzhichi [Pre-Qin] Anonymous

Dongmenchichi can be used for retting hemp. She is a beautiful concubine, you can sing songs with her. The pond at the east gate can be used to soak rice. She is a beautiful concubine, and you can talk to her. The pond at the east gate can be used for soaking rice. She is a beautiful concubine, I can talk to her. Translation and annotations

Translation The moat outside the east gate can be used as a pond for retting. The beautiful and kind-hearted third girl can sing opposite her. The protective pond outside the east gate can be used as a pond for soaking. The three beautiful and kind girls can chat with each other and talk about everyday things. The protective pond outside the east gate can be used as a dipping pond. A beautiful and kind-hearted third girl, with whom you can express your heartfelt feelings.

Notes Pool: moat. Let's talk about the pool. Retting (òu): Soaking in water for a long time. Before spinning the linen, soak it in water to soften it, then peel off the linen skin and use it to weave linen cloth. Shu: good, beautiful. One is "Uncle", which means the third in rank. Ji: Zhou's surname. One theory is that it was a good name for women in ancient times. Meeting (wù) song: singing in harmony with each other, that is, antiphonal singing. Zhi (zhù): Same as "ramie", ramie. It is a perennial herbaceous plant whose stem bark contains fiber and can be used to make ropes and weave cloth. Conversation: dialogue. 蕅(jiān): 蝷草. Appreciation

This is a cheerful labor antiphon. As you can imagine, this kind of scene is still common to this day. The water used for retting has a very strong odor. It is quite hard work to remove the hemp that has been soaked for a long time from the water, wash away the slurry and peel off the hemp skin. However, in this hard work, the young man can be with the girl he loves, talking and singing, and his mood is very different. Hard work turned into warm gatherings, and the songs were full of joy.

There are three chapters and twelve lines in the poem, which actually only have one meaning. One chapter has already included the entire meaning. Chapters 2 and 3 are just repetitions. And fuda, words with the same or similar meanings are chanted repeatedly, which is the traditional language form of Chinese folk songs. This kind of repeated singing not only expresses the simple and strong emotions of the working youth, but also strengthens the theme of the poem through repetition. This method has been used until modern times. If we talk about changes, only three words have been changed in the three chapters. One is that the object of retting is not only hemp, but also ramie and grass; one is that the form of meeting has changed, and there are also words and deeds. This shows that as the labor process continues, the temperature of love is gradually increasing.

Creative background