"Unsteady
is that Cypress Boat."
The following poem is from the Shih Ching. It is the
the 45th poem appearing in Mao's ordering of the Shih Ching,
but is often numbered 53rd in English versions of that anthology.
Unsteady
is that cypress boat 1
In
the middle of the river.
His
two locks looped over his brow 2
He
swore that truly he was my comrade,
And
till death would love no other.
Oh,
mother! Ah, Heaven!
That
a man could be so false!
Unsteady
is that boat of cypress-wood
By
that river's side.
His
two locks looped over his brow
He
swore truly he was my mate,
And
till death would not fail me.
Oh,
mother! Ah Heaven!
That
a man could be so false! 3
1. "The
cypress boat is frequently a symbol of fluctuating intention."
--Arthur Waley, The Book of Songs: The Ancient Chinese
Classic of Poetry, page 53, note 1)
2. As Waley again notes, having locks of hair
dangle over either side of the brow implies the man is adolescent,
and has not yet shorn his hair in an adult fashion.
3. The repetition of these lines suggests
the poem's origins as a song or an oral-formulaic composition.
In poetry that was memorized and performed rather than written
down (oral-formulaic poetry), the material often features
a pattern of repeated elements (which appeared in each performance
of the song) broken by sections of improvisational work
(which varied from performance to performance).
