Create accountLogin

Recent searches

No recent searches

Search options

Only available when logged in.
federatedfandom.net is one of the many independent Mastodon servers you can use to participate in the fediverse.
This is a fandom instance run by imp (stopthatimp on Tumblr) and kate (madecunningly on tumblr). We are here to have fun.

Administered by:

Server stats:

161
active users

federatedfandom.net: AboutStatusProfiles directoryPrivacy policy

Mastodon: AboutGet the appKeyboard shortcutsView source codev4.3.4

villainous friend

Anyone in the mood for 2700-year-old celebrity scandal? This is from the Arthur Waley translation of the Shijing.

(NB I think picture 2 should say, “The princess was Wan’s step-mother.”)

46 * On the Wall There Is Star- Thistle On the wall there is star-thistle; It must not be swept away. [1] What is said within the fence [2] May not be disclosed. But what could be disclosed [3] Was filthy as tale can be. On the wall there is star-thistle; It must not be cleared away. What is said within the fence May not be reported in full. But what could be reported in full Was lewd as tale can be. On the wall there is star-thistle; It must not be bundled for firewood. What is said within the fence May not be openly recited. But what could be recited Was shameful as tale can be. 1. Because its prickles keep out intruders. 2. I.e., at the secret hearing of love-disputes. 3. The matrimonial dispute here referred to is traditionally supposed to have taken place in Wei, about 699 B.c. See Additional Notes.
Additional Notes for poem 46. When Hui, still in his minority, succeeded Xuan as Duke of Wei in 699, the men of Qi, who at this period dominated the affairs of the central Chinese states, forced Hui's half-brother Wan to marry Hui's widowed mother, who was a Qi princess, in order to ensure a succession favorable to Qi interests. The princess was Hui's step-mother, and it is supposed that a dispute arose concerning the legitimacy of the union. Something
very shocking evidently transpired during the hearing of the case (if we accept that this explanation of the poem is correct). Presumably what transpired was that Wan had already had intercourse with his step-mother during his father's lifetime. Zheng Xuan, in his commentary on the last words of Zhou li, chapter 26, says that the place where love-disputes were heard was "covered over on top and fenced in below." I take the gou of the present song as equivalent to the zhan (fencing) of Zheng's note. Both words mean trellis-work made of thin strips of wood. Gou is usually taken to mean the partition which divided the woman's rooms from the man's. But it was deeds, not words, which disgraced the harem. The "words" that were shocking were the stories told at the trial. My interpretation certainly makes better sense; but we know so little of these yin song (trials in camera) that I only put it forward as a hypothesis.
Jul 16, 2023, 03:35 PM·Public·Toot!
0boosts·0favorites
ExploreLive feeds
About