How to Read Chinese Poetry A Guided Anthology

t e t ra s y l l a biC Sh i P oe t ry : The B o ok of P oeT ry 15

as serious as with the Greek poetic fragments of the same period, where we find
puzzling little snippets such as Archilochus’s (ca. 680–ca. 650 b.C.e.) fragment
no. 107:

I hope that the Dog Star

will wither many of them

with his piercing rays.1

Who “many of them” refers to is unclear, but the clarity of the poet’s enmity for
them allows this poem to resonate even with modern readers. Alkman’s (seventh
century b .C.e.?) fragment no. 82 is similar:

The girls sank down,

helplessly,

like birds beneath

a hovering hawk.2

What is the context here? Although without more of the poem or a commentary it
remains difficult to say, the sinister image of the hovering hawk and the vulnera-
bility of young girls lying helpless appeal to us across time. Many of the poems col-
lected in the Book of Poetry also lack contexts and have puzzled readers. One such
song is “Zhu lin” (The Grove at Zhu [Mao no. 144]):3

C 1. 1

The Grove at Zhu 株林 (zhū lín)

“Why are you in Zhu Grove? 胡為乎株林^ (hú wéi hu zhū lín)
2 Have you followed after Xia Nan?” 從夏南 (cóng xià nán)
“I have not gone to Zhu Grove, 匪適株林^ (f ěi shì zhū lín)
4 To follow after Xia Nan.” 從夏南 (cóng xià nán)

“I drove my team of four horses, 駕我乘馬 (jià wŏ shèng mă)
6 I rested in the outskirts of Zhu; 說于株野 (shuì yú zhū yě)
I teamed my four colts, 乘我乘駒 (chéng wŏ shèng jū)
8 And breakfasted in Zhu.” 朝食于株 (zhāo shí yú zhū)
[MSZJ 1.16b–17a]

As with the pieces by Archilochus and Alkman, the reader seeks a context for this
song. Although the poem could be simply a love song about an anxious suitor, the
references to the historical figure Xia Nan have caused most readers to identify
the context of this poem with the affair between Duke Ling of Chen (r. 613–599
b.C.e.) and Xia Nan’s mother, as portrayed in the early Chinese historical text Zuo
zhuan (Zuo Commentary on the “Spring and Autumn Annals”). There we learn that
after continuing to see Xia Nan’s mother for some time, the duke insulted Xia Nan
while they were drinking together. After the feast was finished, Xia Nan shot and
killed Duke Ling with an arrow. The song was written, it is said, to satirize Duke
Ling’s improper behavior. It is the duke who drove to Zhu. His impatience—he