詩経
采蘋
Anonymous
于以采蘋
南涧之滨
于以采藻
于彼行潦
于以盛之
维筐及筥
于以湘之
维锜及釜
于以奠之
宗室牖下
谁其尸之
有齐季女
翻訳
Where shall we gather water fern? By the southern stream bank. Where shall we gather waterweed? There, in the roadside pools. What shall we use to hold them? Baskets and round hampers. What shall we use to cook them? Tripod pots and cauldrons. Where shall we set them as offerings? Below the window in the ancestral hall. Who shall preside over the rite? A young maiden, purified and reverent.
解説
"Cai Ping" is a ritual poem from the "Shao Nan" section of the Book of Songs. Unlike a simple labor song, it describes the gathering and preparation of water plants for ancestral offering. The poem is structured as a sequence of questions and answers, almost like a concise ritual manual. The first stanza asks where the plants are gathered. Water fern is gathered by the southern stream; waterweed is gathered from roadside pools. The details are concrete and natural, but the act is not casual. These plants are being collected for ritual use, so the gathering itself already belongs to the sphere of ceremony. The second stanza turns to vessels. The plants are placed in baskets and hampers, then cooked in tripod pots and cauldrons. The naming of objects matters. Ritual is not only about intention; it is also about proper tools, order, and preparation. The third stanza identifies the place and the person involved in the offering. The plants are set beneath the window of the ancestral hall. This makes clear that the poem concerns family or clan sacrifice. The offering is not for ordinary eating, but for a sacred ritual space. The final question, "Who shall preside over the rite?" is answered by "a young maiden, purified and reverent." The word translated here as "purified" refers to ritual cleansing or fasting. The young woman is not merely present; she is ritually prepared and qualified to take part in the ceremony. The poem's beauty lies in its quiet order. It does not express strong personal emotion. Instead, it shows a world governed by sequence: gather, hold, cook, offer, preside. Each action is modest, but each belongs to a larger ritual pattern. "Cai Ping" is also important because it shows women in the Book of Songs not only as lovers, brides, or wives, but as participants in ancestral and clan ritual. Its tone is clean, restrained, and ceremonial.
作者紹介
"Cai Ping" comes from the "Shao Nan" section of the "Airs of the States" in the Book of Songs. Its author is unknown. The Book of Songs is the earliest anthology of Chinese poetry, containing more than three hundred poems from roughly the early Western Zhou to the mid-Spring and Autumn period. "Shao Nan," together with "Zhou Nan," forms the opening part of the "Airs of the States" and contains many poems related to marriage, household life, labor, ritual, and social order. "Cai Ping" is an important ritual poem, using the gathering of water plants to show the preparation of offerings and the role of purified young women in ancestral ceremony.