The "Shuo Yuan" compiled by Liu Xiang of the Han Dynasty records such a historical story:
On the day when Xiangcheng Jun of Chu State just received his title, he was dressed in gorgeous clothes and was greeted by his followers. Crowded 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 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 is this night? 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 and communication required the help of translators. This "Yue People's Song" is the first translated poem extant 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".