Monday, November 04, 2024
Good Times Ahead
Stone Lake: The Poetry of Fan Chengda (1126-1193), tr. J.D. Schmidt (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992), p. 106 ("A song to please a god"):
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Pigs' trotters fill the platters, wine fills the cups;
A cool breeze sighs, when the god approaches.
They hope the god will come cheerfully and leave cheerfully, too;
Young boys bow low to welcome him, little girls dance.
Old men brandish incense sticks, smiling as they talk:
"This year farmers' lives will definitely be better than last.
Last year we had to sell our clothes to pay the rent and taxes;
But this year we'll have plenty of clothes to wear for the autumn thanksgiving!"
