This is a song about nobles hosting a banquet to entertain guests. It is the same group of banquet poems as the three poems "Xiaoya·Yuli" and "Xiaoya·Nanshan Youtai". "Fish Li" talks about the sumptuous delicacies at the banquet, with no hesitation in praising them; "Jiayu" talks about the harmony between the guests and the joy; "Nanshan Youtai", which will be mentioned later, is about the host's blessing to the guests. , I hope they can live long and hope their blessings will extend to their descendants.
The first section, "There are fine fish in the south, and the atmosphere is quiet. Gentlemen have wine, and guests enjoy themselves." The south is rich in delicious fish, and all kinds of fish are swimming in the water. The host provides fine wine and the guests enjoy the banquet.
In the second section, "There are Jiayu in the south, and Shantou is in full bloom. Gentlemen have wine, and guests have a feast." The south is rich in delicious fish, and all kinds of fish swim in the water. The host provides fine wine and the guests enjoy the banquet.
The third stanza, "There are locust trees in the south, and the sweet gourds are tired. The gentleman has wine, and the guests are like Yan Sui." There are curved trees in the south, and gourd vines are twining and climbing. The host provides fine wine, and the guests feel at ease during the banquet.
In the fourth section, "The graceful people come to think about it. The gentlemen have wine, and the guests think about it." The doves and doves flew in and gathered together. The host provides fine wine, and the guests invite the guests to drink.
South, south; for the Zhou Dynasty, the south refers to the Yangtze River and Han River basins. The Zhou Dynasty regarded the Chu State in this area as "Jingman". Jiayu, beautiful fish. 烝 (zhēng), numerous appearance. Cover, the same as "drop off", the way fish swim in the water with their tails wagging. Formula, particle. Yan, same as "Yan", banquet.
Shantou (shàn) Shantou, looks like a school of fish swimming in the water. 衎 (kàn), happy. Jiū (jiū) is a curved tree. As mentioned in "Zhou Nan·樛木" earlier, the image of "樛木" is extended to mean blessing, and it is used similarly here. Hu (hù), gourd. Tired (léi), entangled. Sui (suí), An. Zhu (zhuī), also called a dove, will coo in the trees when it is about to rain or when it is just sunny. Si, a particle at the end of a sentence, has no real meaning. Also, pass "Yu" to persuade people to drink.
The poem is divided into four stanzas. The first two stanzas are inspired by the swimming schools of fish. The last two stanzas are based on the word "樛木", which compares the relationship between host and guest to trees and the gourd vines climbing the trees, trees and the doves and doves that gather on the trees to sing, emphasizing the joyful, intimate relationship and banquet between the host and the guest. happy atmosphere.
The 171st special topic on the Book of Songs, the 171st overall.