The Book of Songs of Guanju

Guanjujujiu, in the river island. A graceful lady, a gentleman is fond of quarrels.

Scattered waterlilies flow left and right. A graceful lady, I long for her.

I can’t get what I want, so I sleep hard and think about it. Leisurely leisurely, tossing and turning.

Pick them from left to right. A graceful lady, she is a friend of the piano and the harp.

There are different kinds of waterlilies, with leaves growing on both sides. The fair lady is played with bells and drums.

Translation

Jujiu Pass is singing, on the sandbank in the river. A quiet and beautiful girl, the young man is eager to pursue her.

Go for long and short fresh waterlilies from both sides of the river. A quiet and beautiful girl whom I want to pursue day and night.

My pursuit failed to turn out as I wished, and I worried about it day and night. The long night never ends, and it’s hard to fall asleep as I toss and turn.

Pick the long and short fresh waterlilies with both hands. A quiet and beautiful girl, she plays the piano, drums and harp to show her love.

Long and short fresh watercress, carefully select both sides. A quiet and beautiful girl, the sound of the bell brings her smile.

Appreciation

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 the life experiences and truths that we all can experience in the mortal body. Its brilliance makes the artificiality and sourness of the 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". The 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 and talk. 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?