Living

Industry and Filial Piety

by Shi Jing (The Book of Songs) poems c. 1000–600 BC; compilation traditionally ascribed to Confucius

Translated by William Jennings (1891) · From The Shi King (Jennings, 1891), Part I, Book i

Living

Rarely my creepers grow
Into the vale they flow:
O, 'tis a leafy sea!
Golden orioles, taking flight,
Now on the bosky trees alight,
Chirruping all with glee.

Rarely my creepers grow!
Into the vale they flow;
Thick are their leafy beds.
These will I cut, prepare, and boil,
Lawn, coarse and fine, that ne'er will soil,
Weaving out of their threads.

Then let the matron know,
Know I must homewards go;
So be my wardrobe clean;
So be my robes rinsed free from spot.
Which then be sullied, and which be not?
Parents must aye be seen.

MLA

Shi Jing (The Book of Songs). “Industry and Filial Piety.” Translated by William Jennings. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/shi-jing/301/.

Chicago

Shi Jing (The Book of Songs). “Industry and Filial Piety.” Translated by William Jennings. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/shi-jing/301/.

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