Book of Songs
Bei Wind · Spring Water
Anonymous
毖彼泉水
亦流于淇
有怀于卫
靡日不思
娈彼诸姬
聊与之谋
出宿于泲
饮饯于祢
女子有行
远父母兄弟
问我诸姑
遂及伯姊
出宿于干
饮饯于言
载脂载舝
还车言迈
遄臻于卫
不瑕有害
我思肥泉
兹之永叹
思须与漕
我心悠悠
驾言出游
以写我忧
Translation
"Spring Water" portrays a woman who has married far away and longs for her homeland, the state of Wei. The spring water flowing toward the Qi River awakens her wish to return home. She imagines speaking with her female companions, passing familiar place names, and driving a carriage back to her native land. The poem contains no loud cry of grief; instead, through repeated place names, imagined travel, and long sighs, it expresses a homesickness blocked by ritual constraints and reality.
Analysis
This poem begins with the image of spring water flowing toward the Qi River, which evokes the deep longing of a woman married far from her home state of Wei. Through repeated expressions such as "I think," "I sigh long," and "my heart is far and restless," the poem gradually deepens the sense of homesickness. The linked place names, such as Ji, Ni, Gan, and Yan, are both an imagined route home and a map of emotion. A return that cannot be realized in life becomes a spiritual journey within the poem.
About the Author
Many works in the Book of Songs come from pre-Qin folk songs, aristocratic music, and ritual hymns, and most of their authors are unknown. "Bei Airs" is one of the "Airs of the Fifteen States," preserving customs, emotions, and social life from ancient northern regions.