92 t He Han Dy na s t y
12 For the sake of blue heaven above, 上用倉浪天故 (shàng yòng cāng làng tiān gù)
And for our young children here below! 下為黃口小兒 (xià wéi huáng kŏu xiăo ér)
14 Now you are pure and upright, 今時清廉 (jīn shí qīng lián)
And will not violate the moral code. 難犯教言 (nán fàn jiào yán)
16 You should have self-regard, don’t do evil things! 君復自愛莫為非 (jūn fù zì ài mò wéi fēi)
Now you are pure and upright, 今時清廉 (jīn shí qīng lián)
18 And will not violate the moral code. 難犯教言 (nán fàn jiào yán)
You should have self-regard, don’t do evil things! 君復自愛莫為非 (jūn fù zì ài mò wéi fēi)
20 “Go away! 行 (xíng)
I am already late!” 吾去為遲 (wú qù wéi chí)
22 “Be careful!” 平慎行 (píng shèn xíng)
“Wait for my return!” 望吾歸 (wàng wú guī)
[SS 21.616]19“Song of the East Gate” is classified as a “Xianghe ge ci” (Lyrics for Accompanied
Songs), which were old Han songs performed to the accompaniment of string and
reed instruments. The singer held a rhythm stick during the performance of these
songs. The word xing in the title (Dongmen xing) designates some sort of song,
and most modern scholars have translated it as “ballad,” which, in European lit-
erature, is rather loosely defined and seems to indicate an oral poem of unknown
authorship that narrates a story and originates in folk culture. These allegedly Han
yuefu poems cannot be ascertained as original folk songs; they could have been
literati imitations.20 Several scholars have applied Milman Parry and Albert Lord’s
theory of oral poetry to the Book of Poetry and to yuefu poetry in an attempt to prove
that these poems are nonliterate folk songs. Charles Egan, however, has argued
that there is no direct evidence to prove that these poems were orally or commu-
nally composed and transmitted. The more balanced view is thus to consider these
poems as the products of the “symbiosis of oral and literate methods that has in
fact long characterized balladry.”21 Instead of privileging a single tradition, it is
more realistic to consider oral, folk literature and literati writings as being in a
constantly interactive relationship.
In the Yuefu shiji, there are two versions of this poem with minor variations be-
tween them. Hans Frankel has suggested that “we need not assume that one ver-
sion is correct and the other corrupt; both may be equally authentic.”22 This sort of
variation is certainly a well-known phenomenon in the English ballad tradition.
In analyzing Han yuefu poetry, Cai Zong-qi discerns two major modes: the dra-
matic and the narrative.23 “We Fought South of the Walls” is in the narrative mode,
but “Song of the East Gate” switches between these two modes. First, it contains
a clear storyline in which a man in poverty decides to perform an evil act in order
to support his family and is being stopped by his wife. Second, the dramatic dia-
logue between the protagonist and his wife forms the climax of the poem. Lines
1–4, written in a pithy trisyllabic style, convey the persona’s extreme discontent
and despair. In general, the style of the song is irregular and mixed, as in “We