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The Book of Poetry, tr. by James Legge, [1876], at sacred-texts.com


X

The Hsiao Hsing; allusive. The thankful submission to their lot of the inferior members of a harem.

1  Behold those starlets small,
    How three or five the east illume! p. 20
    Swiftly we came when fell the gloom,
  And now at dawn the hall
Of the harêm we leave, nor dare gainsay
Our lot which grants us here no longer stay.

2  Behold those starlets small,
    Orion and the Pleiads bright!
    Swiftly we came as failed the light,
  And here brought to the hall
Our coverlets and sheets. Now we return,
Nor our inferior lot presume to mourn.


Next: XI. Chiang Yu Ssŭ