This is a sentence from "Yueren Song".
"Song of the Yue People" is an earlier poem that explicitly praises love in the history of Chinese literature. It, together with other folk poems of the Chu State, became the artistic source of "Chu Ci". "Song of the Yue People" comes from Liu Xiang's "Shuo Yuan" (Volume 11, Shan Shuo Chapter) of the Han Dynasty.
"Shan Shuo" records the vivid story of Chu Ling Yin Ejunzixi appreciating the singing of Bangfenyue people on a cruise ship in the Spring and Autumn Period. In the article, the author Liu Xiang described this magnificent and luxurious boat trip through the mouth of Chu doctor Zhuang Xin, and then wrote: "After the sound of the bells and drums was finished, the Bangfenyue people gathered around and sang, and the lyrics He said: "The rivers and lakes are everywhere." Yue Ge, Zi Shi said it to me. So Nai Chu said, "What time will it be that I will be in the middle of the river? I will be in the same boat with the prince." I don't want to be ashamed. I know that the prince is full of trees and branches. I am happy for you. So E Junxi walked up to him and held up his embroidered quilt. "
The story in "Shuo Yuan" is roughly like this:
On the day when Xiangcheng Jun of Chu State just received his title, he was dressed in gorgeous clothes and was surrounded by his followers. Then came to the river. Dr. Chu Zhuang Xin happened to be passing by. After paying homage to Mr. Xiangcheng, he stood up and wanted to shake Mr. Xiangcheng's hand. Shaking hands was a very unserious behavior in the hierarchical ancient times, so Xiangchengjun was very angry after hearing this and his face changed drastically. Zhuang Xin was a little uncomfortable when he saw it. He turned around, washed his hands, and told Xiang Chengjun a story about E Junzi:
One day, E Junzi was sitting on a magnificent road with a blue bird carved on it. On the cruise ship, I heard a Yue man in charge of the boat singing while holding an oar. The singing was euphemistic and beautiful, and Mr. E was very moved, but he just couldn't understand what he was singing. So E Junzi hired a translator and asked him to translate the lyrics of The Boating Man into Chu dialect. This is the famous "Yue People's Song", the lyrics are as follows:
What evening will we be here today? The boat is in the middle of the current; what day is it today? Gotta ride with the prince. Being humiliated and treated well is not shameful. My heart is troubled but never stops, I know the prince. There are trees in the mountains, and the trees have branches. My heart is happy for you, but you don’t know it.
After E Junzi understood the meaning of the lyrics, he immediately stepped forward, hugged the rower, and covered the man with an embroidered quilt. After hearing this story, Xiang Chengjun also stepped forward and extended his friendly hands to Zhuang Xin.
The above story took place around 540 BC. Although Chu and Yue were neighboring countries at that time, their dialects were incomprehensible, so communication required the help of translators. This "Yueren Song" is the first translated poem in the history of our country. This poem is close to the sentimentality of "Songs of Chu" and has a very high artistic level. It, together with other folk poems of Chu State, has become the artistic source of "Songs of Chu".
In addition, there is another version of the legend in "Song of the Yue People", which is relatively brief:
When E Junzi was boating in the river, the Yue girl who paddled admired him and sang in Vietnamese A song, E Jun asked someone to translate it into Chu language, it is this beautiful love poem. Prince E Junzixi of the Chu Kingdom was finally moved by the singing. He smiled and went boating with Yue Nu.
A "Yue people's song" traveled through the Spring and Autumn Period and wandered in the Chu region. The Yue woman paddled her oars, creating ripples. The song sings of admiration, the eyes flow with desire, and the heart holds a trace of humility.
The meaning of these two sentences is probably:
There are trees on the mountains, and there are branches on the trees (this is something everyone knows)
But I like you so much, but you don’t know.