Jiu Ge
Encyclopedia
Jiu Ge or Nine Songs, is a set of short poems sometimes attributed to Qu Yuan
and published in the Chu Ci
(楚辭 Songs of Chu, sometimes Songs of the South).
The songs were compiled by Qu Yuan
. Despite the title, Jiu Ge actually includes eleven articles (or songs): Dong Huang Tai Yi (东皇太一), Yun Zhong Jun (云中君), Xiang Jun (湘君), Xiang Fu Ren (湘夫人), Da Si Ming (大司命), Shao Si Ming (少司命), Dong Jun (东君), He Bo (河伯), Shan Gui (山鬼), Guo Shang (国殇), Li Hun (礼魂). The songs feature mythological
content. Jiu Ge is different from Qu Yuan's other works: with the exception of Guo Shang, each of the songs either includes dialogue or is written in prose
style, to express love between gods, who are portrayed as having human-like behaviour. It is thought that the songs were influenced by contemporary love songs.
Poems 6 and 7 refer to comets, which the ancient Chinese kept meticulous records of.
国殇
操吴戈兮披犀甲，车错毂兮短兵接。
旌蔽日兮敌若云，矢交坠兮土争先。
凌余阵兮躐余行，左骖殪兮右刃伤。
霾两轮兮絷四马，援玉枹兮击鸣鼓。
天时懟兮威灵怒，严杀尽兮弃原野。
出不入兮往不反，平原忽兮路超远。
带长剑兮挟秦弓，首身离兮心不惩。
诚以勇兮又以武，终刚强兮不可凌。
身既死兮神以灵，魂魄毅兮为鬼雄。
Who translated this?
1. King of the sky (Dong Huang Tai Yi)
1 Strike the Dark Strings
2 Strike Strike
3 the dark strings
4 And reed & zither answer
5 Spirit moves
6 in splendid gear
7 And is the body's splendid shaman
8 through which a god may sing
9 And indeed does sing
10 And strikes and strikes
11 that Darkest Bell
12 ah darkest bell---
13 my body struck
14 with love
2. Lord of Cloud (Mr. in the cloud) (Yun Zhong Jun)
15 Flower-spirit, shaman-child
16 in blaze of brightness dancing
17 Endless as the earth
18 She dances round it
19 As sun
20 As mantic moon
21 in dragon-chariot of sun
22 O endless flight!
23 Part of me climbs to heaven
24 through the four seas & seasons
25 Longing for you
3. Lord of Sun (Mr. East) (Dong Jun)
70 Lord Sun
71 wheels in flight
72 trailing his spirit-garment
73 High over the Nine Hills
74 he handles Yin & Yang
75 male & female
76 shade & sunshine
77 soul & body
78 a Yin for every Yang
79 And gallops into Light
80 I pluck the lovely hemp flower
81 Age creeps on apace
82 Soon all will be over
83 Soon all done all one
84 And fate is fixed in the heart
85 And not to draw nearer
86 is to drift forever
87 further apart
4. Lord of Xiang-river (Mr. Xiang) (Xiang Jun)
50 I build a bride-room
51 underwater
52 roof thatched with lotus
53 courtyard paved with murex
54 At dark dusk I cross
55 to the Western bank
56 Here it was
57 she cast down
58 her thin dress
59 upon the shore
60 Over the white nut grass
61 my eyes wander
62 see only water swirl
63 in the flood rains
64 Someone says my loved one sent for me
65 I gallop my horses
66 over the lotus leaves
67 toward where a dragon waits
68 toward where an elk browses
69 On the Mountain of Nine Doubts
5. Mrs. Xiang (Xiang Fu Ren)
26 She-shaman princess
27 in a stone boat
28 in winged dragon-boat
29 awning of fig-vine
30 sweet flag paddles
31 magnolia rudder
32 Rides to that Island
33 to that Bright Island
34 abode of light
35 Swinging her mesmere lamp
36 her incense burner
37 on a gold chain
38 She drops her thumb-ring in the Sea
39 And turning
40 and turning
41 stretches her body burning
42 toward me
43 (though she told me told me
44 she was not
45 free)
46 And flying dragons sweep her far away
47 from me
48 I gallop my horse in the morning
49 through the lowlands by the river
6. Master of Fate
102 A glow in the sky
103 and soon you'll arise
104 Night pales
105 Day shines forth
106 You ride on thunder wheels
107 cloud banners trailing
108 heave great sighs
109 look back yearning
110 for earth's beauty burning
111 look and linger
112 forget your way
113 I draw a long arrow
114 and shoot Heaven's Wolf
115 then draw me down the Dipper
116 And plunge alone into
117 the White Void
7. Young Master of Fate (Shao Si Ming)
88 Hall full of lovely ones
89 Yet you had eyes for me alone
90 Riding a whirlwind A cloud for a banner
91 Suddenly you came
92 And as suddenly departed
93 And only had eyes for me
94 I bathed with you
95 in the Pool of Heaven
96 In a sunny fold of the hill
97 I dried your hair
98 Now it is I who shout & sing with despair
99 Under a chariot-awning
100 of peacock feathers & halcyon flags
101 You climb again to the Nine Heavens
8. Spirit of mountains (Shan Gui)
135 Mountain Spirit left me alone
136 dark in a bamboo grove
137 Air dark with rain
138 Monkeys twitter again
139 cry all night again
140 And cry and cry
141 all night again
142 Waiting for you
143 I wander and linger
144 turn and turn
145 and turn again---
146 And won't turn back
147 and won't turn back---
9. Count of Rivers (He Bo)
148 Without my beloved
118 With you wandered
119 down rivers and coasts
120 River God
121 in fish-scale boat
122 drawn by dragons
123 with griffin oarsmen
124 With you I wander
125 on the river islands
126 go with you as far
127 as the Southern Shore
128 Dark dusk falling
129 And I too sad
130 to think of returning
131 Eyes only for
132 that farthest shore
133 I lie awake
134 yearning
10. Spirits of warriors
11. End of ritual
Translation missing
This poem expresses the characteristics of the God of Clouds, the deep desire that human have towards God, and how God responds to people’s prayer through the antiphonal singing of human and God. This is such a deep emotion that it cannot even be fully conveyed through this poem.
Qu Yuan
Qu Yuan was a Chinese poet who lived during the Warring States Period in ancient China. He is famous for his contributions to the poetry collection known as the Chu-ci...
and published in the Chu Ci
Chu Ci
Chu Ci , also known as Songs of the South or Songs of Chu, is an anthology of Chinese verse traditionally attributed to Qu Yuan and Song Yu from the Warring States Period, though about half of the poems seem to have been composed several centuries later, during the Han Dynasty...
(楚辭 Songs of Chu, sometimes Songs of the South).
The songs were compiled by Qu Yuan
Qu Yuan
Qu Yuan was a Chinese poet who lived during the Warring States Period in ancient China. He is famous for his contributions to the poetry collection known as the Chu-ci...
. Despite the title, Jiu Ge actually includes eleven articles (or songs): Dong Huang Tai Yi (东皇太一), Yun Zhong Jun (云中君), Xiang Jun (湘君), Xiang Fu Ren (湘夫人), Da Si Ming (大司命), Shao Si Ming (少司命), Dong Jun (东君), He Bo (河伯), Shan Gui (山鬼), Guo Shang (国殇), Li Hun (礼魂). The songs feature mythological
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
content. Jiu Ge is different from Qu Yuan's other works: with the exception of Guo Shang, each of the songs either includes dialogue or is written in prose
Prose
Prose is the most typical form of written language, applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure...
style, to express love between gods, who are portrayed as having human-like behaviour. It is thought that the songs were influenced by contemporary love songs.
Poems 6 and 7 refer to comets, which the ancient Chinese kept meticulous records of.
Text
国殇
操吴戈兮披犀甲，车错毂兮短兵接。
旌蔽日兮敌若云，矢交坠兮土争先。
凌余阵兮躐余行，左骖殪兮右刃伤。
霾两轮兮絷四马，援玉枹兮击鸣鼓。
天时懟兮威灵怒，严杀尽兮弃原野。
出不入兮往不反，平原忽兮路超远。
带长剑兮挟秦弓，首身离兮心不惩。
诚以勇兮又以武，终刚强兮不可凌。
身既死兮神以灵，魂魄毅兮为鬼雄。
Translation in English
Who translated this?
1. King of the sky (Dong Huang Tai Yi)
1 Strike the Dark Strings
2 Strike Strike
3 the dark strings
4 And reed & zither answer
5 Spirit moves
6 in splendid gear
7 And is the body's splendid shaman
8 through which a god may sing
9 And indeed does sing
10 And strikes and strikes
11 that Darkest Bell
12 ah darkest bell---
13 my body struck
14 with love
2. Lord of Cloud (Mr. in the cloud) (Yun Zhong Jun)
15 Flower-spirit, shaman-child
16 in blaze of brightness dancing
17 Endless as the earth
18 She dances round it
19 As sun
20 As mantic moon
21 in dragon-chariot of sun
22 O endless flight!
23 Part of me climbs to heaven
24 through the four seas & seasons
25 Longing for you
3. Lord of Sun (Mr. East) (Dong Jun)
70 Lord Sun
71 wheels in flight
72 trailing his spirit-garment
73 High over the Nine Hills
74 he handles Yin & Yang
75 male & female
76 shade & sunshine
77 soul & body
78 a Yin for every Yang
79 And gallops into Light
80 I pluck the lovely hemp flower
81 Age creeps on apace
82 Soon all will be over
83 Soon all done all one
84 And fate is fixed in the heart
85 And not to draw nearer
86 is to drift forever
87 further apart
4. Lord of Xiang-river (Mr. Xiang) (Xiang Jun)
50 I build a bride-room
51 underwater
52 roof thatched with lotus
53 courtyard paved with murex
54 At dark dusk I cross
55 to the Western bank
56 Here it was
57 she cast down
58 her thin dress
59 upon the shore
60 Over the white nut grass
61 my eyes wander
62 see only water swirl
63 in the flood rains
64 Someone says my loved one sent for me
65 I gallop my horses
66 over the lotus leaves
67 toward where a dragon waits
68 toward where an elk browses
69 On the Mountain of Nine Doubts
5. Mrs. Xiang (Xiang Fu Ren)
26 She-shaman princess
27 in a stone boat
28 in winged dragon-boat
29 awning of fig-vine
30 sweet flag paddles
31 magnolia rudder
32 Rides to that Island
33 to that Bright Island
34 abode of light
35 Swinging her mesmere lamp
36 her incense burner
37 on a gold chain
38 She drops her thumb-ring in the Sea
39 And turning
40 and turning
41 stretches her body burning
42 toward me
43 (though she told me told me
44 she was not
45 free)
46 And flying dragons sweep her far away
47 from me
48 I gallop my horse in the morning
49 through the lowlands by the river
6. Master of Fate
102 A glow in the sky
103 and soon you'll arise
104 Night pales
105 Day shines forth
106 You ride on thunder wheels
107 cloud banners trailing
108 heave great sighs
109 look back yearning
110 for earth's beauty burning
111 look and linger
112 forget your way
113 I draw a long arrow
114 and shoot Heaven's Wolf
115 then draw me down the Dipper
116 And plunge alone into
117 the White Void
7. Young Master of Fate (Shao Si Ming)
88 Hall full of lovely ones
89 Yet you had eyes for me alone
90 Riding a whirlwind A cloud for a banner
91 Suddenly you came
92 And as suddenly departed
93 And only had eyes for me
94 I bathed with you
95 in the Pool of Heaven
96 In a sunny fold of the hill
97 I dried your hair
98 Now it is I who shout & sing with despair
99 Under a chariot-awning
100 of peacock feathers & halcyon flags
101 You climb again to the Nine Heavens
8. Spirit of mountains (Shan Gui)
135 Mountain Spirit left me alone
136 dark in a bamboo grove
137 Air dark with rain
138 Monkeys twitter again
139 cry all night again
140 And cry and cry
141 all night again
142 Waiting for you
143 I wander and linger
144 turn and turn
145 and turn again---
146 And won't turn back
147 and won't turn back---
9. Count of Rivers (He Bo)
148 Without my beloved
118 With you wandered
119 down rivers and coasts
120 River God
121 in fish-scale boat
122 drawn by dragons
123 with griffin oarsmen
124 With you I wander
125 on the river islands
126 go with you as far
127 as the Southern Shore
128 Dark dusk falling
129 And I too sad
130 to think of returning
131 Eyes only for
132 that farthest shore
133 I lie awake
134 yearning
10. Spirits of warriors
11. End of ritual
Translation missing
The Lady of the Clouds
Back in ancient China, people worshiped the God of Clouds hoping that there would be rain and nice weather for crops. This poem can be divided into two parts: one part is sung by the person who does the offering and the other part is sung by the person who acts as the God of Clouds in the form of antiphonal singing in order to show their admiration towards God of Clouds. The God of Clouds is sometimes seen as male and sometimes seen as female, but in Chinese literature, the God of Clouds is usually portrayed as female.This poem expresses the characteristics of the God of Clouds, the deep desire that human have towards God, and how God responds to people’s prayer through the antiphonal singing of human and God. This is such a deep emotion that it cannot even be fully conveyed through this poem.