History & Politics
The Kan T‘ang
Translated by James Legge (1876) · From The She King (1876), Part I, Book II
O fell not that sweet pear tree!
See how its branches spread.
Spoil not its shade,
For Shaou’s chief laid
Beneath it his weary head.
O clip not that sweet pear tree !
Each twig and leaflet spare.
’Tis sacred now,
Since the lord of Shaou,
When weary, rested him there.
O touch not that sweet pear tree!
Bend not a twig of it now.
There long ago,
As the stories show,
Oft halted the chief of Shaou.
Codex Note
The love of the people for the memory of the duke of Shaou makes them love the trees beneath which he had rested.
Cite this poem
MLA
Shi Jing (The Book of Songs). “The Kan T‘ang.” Translated by James Legge. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/shi-jing/15/.
Chicago
Shi Jing (The Book of Songs). “The Kan T‘ang.” Translated by James Legge. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/shi-jing/15/.
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