Appreciation of Guan Ju’s original annotated translation
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——The eternal song of love between men and women
Original text
Guan Guan Jujiu①, in Hezhizhou②.
A graceful lady ③, a gentleman is fond of quarrel ④.
Assorted waterlilies ⑤ flow from left to right ⑥.
A graceful lady, I long for her ⑦.
I can’t get what I want, so I sleep hard and think about it⑧.
Carefree, leisurely ⑨, tossing and turning ⑩.
Pick them from left to right.
A graceful lady, a harp and a friend.
There are different kinds of watercress, with hairs on the left and right.
A graceful lady, played with bells and drums.
Notes
①Guan Guan: The sound of water birds chirping. Ju (ju) dove: a kind of water bird. ②Continent: Land in the water. ③Yao Tiao: beautiful inside and outside. Shu: Good, good. ④Junzi: This refers to the honorific title given by women to men. Qiu (qiu): spouse. ⑤Uneven (cen ci): uneven length. Nymphoides: a perennial aquatic plant with edible leaves. ⑥Liu: used as "Qiu", meaning to seek or choose. ⑦寤(wu): wake up from sleep. Mei (mei): falling asleep. ⑧Thinking: A modal particle with no real meaning. Service: missing. ⑨You: Looks worried. ⑩Toss and turn: rotate. Opposite side: tossing and turning. Qin and harp: The harp and harp are both ancient stringed instruments. Friend: Friendly communication, closeness. ⑿ Hair: Plucking.
Translation
The waterbirds singing in Guanguan,
dwelling on the sandbanks in the river.
A kind and beautiful girl,
A good spouse for a good man.
The girls went to pick the waterlilies of varying lengths.
A kind and beautiful girl,
I miss her every time I wake up and dream.
Missing and pursuing cannot be obtained,
Wake up and dream of Sauvignon Blanc.
I miss you so much,
It’s hard to fall asleep as I toss and turn.
The girls went to pick the waterlilies of varying lengths.
A kind and beautiful girl,
play the piano, drums and harp to get close to her.
The girl picked the waterlilies of varying lengths.
The girl went left and right to pick them.
A kind and beautiful girl,
ring bells and drums to please her.
Interpretation
Folk songs sing the voices of the people and the real truths about the real experience of life. What's touching about it is that it expresses life experiences and truths that we all can experience in mortal bodies. Its brilliance makes the artificiality and sourness of literati look pale, anemic and disgusting.
The songs of the common people are the same as the words of the common people, simple, true, to the point, and flesh and blood. Men should marry when they are older, and women should marry when they are older. This is an eternal truth and a law of nature. When a good man sees a good girl, his heart flutters, and when a good girl sees a good man, she is filled with admiration. This is the most natural and humane impulse, and it is the most incredible and strange thing.
The love of young girls and the love of young men should probably be regarded as eternal themes in the world. A sincere and touching love song, it can also be said to be an eternal masterpiece. Love between men and women is a matter of course, but some people insist on researching and digging into it, looking for trivial meanings. Some people turn their heads and write papers to talk nonsense, some people mean one thing but deliberately say another, and some people complain about it without any reason. Be passionate. Man is a monster. He always creates ghosts to scare himself, and he always creates shackles to put on himself. He just doesn't want to look at himself in the mirror, face to face, inside and out.
Times are changing, could it be that human nature is really changing too? A man is not a man, he does not grow a beard, he does not ride a horse or shoot a gun, he is covered in cream, and his hands are powerless, so he is not called a "man" but a "boy". Girls are not girly, they have loud voices, big arms and waists, they dare to do things that boys dare not do, they dare to say things that boys dare not say, they cannot do things that girls can do, and they cannot sing or speak things that girls can sing or speak.
Industrialization not only turns people into products produced on the assembly line, but also turns the true feelings of love between men and women into cans, instant noodles, chocolate, cosmetics, shampoo, bubble gum...
Compared with the ancients, is this our luck or misfortune?