Love

The Yay Yéw Man Ts‘aou

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

Translated by James Legge (1876) · From The She King (1876), Part I, Book VII

Love

On the moor, where thickly grew
Creeping grass, bent down with dew,
There a handsome man drew nigh,
’Neath whose forehead, broad and high,
Gleamed his clear and piercing eye.
’Twas by accident we met ;
Glad was I my wish to get.

Where the grass creeps o’er the moor,
‘With the dew all covered o’er,
There the finest man found I,
’Bove whose clear and piercing eye,
Rose his forehead, broad and high.
Chance gave us a meeting rare,
And we both were happy there.

✦ ✦ ✦

A lady rejoices in an unlawful connexion which she had formed.

MLA

Shi Jing (The Book of Songs). “The Yay Yéw Man Ts‘aou.” Translated by James Legge. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/shi-jing/90/.

Chicago

Shi Jing (The Book of Songs). “The Yay Yéw Man Ts‘aou.” Translated by James Legge. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/shi-jing/90/.

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