Book of Songs
竹竿
佚名
Qǐ bù ěr sī? Yuǎn mò zhì zhī.
Nǚ zǐ yǒu xíng, yuǎn xiōng dì fù mǔ.
Qiǎo xiào zhī cuō, pèi yù zhī nuó.
Jià yán chū yóu, yǐ xiě wǒ yōu.
Translation
Slender, slender is the bamboo rod, used for fishing by the Qi River. Do I not think of you? The distance is too far, and I cannot reach you. The spring source lies to the left; the Qi River lies to the right. When a woman goes in marriage, she travels far from brothers and parents. The Qi River lies to the right; the spring source lies to the left. Her graceful smile is bright; her jade pendants move with ease. The Qi River flows on and on; cypress oars and a pine boat are ready. I set out to wander, hoping to release my sorrow.
Analysis
“Bamboo Rod” is a poem of longing and distance. The opening image of fishing by the Qi River is quiet, but it immediately leads to the question: “Do I not think of you?” Distance is the emotional center of the poem. It is not merely geographical; it is the distance created by marriage, departure, and separation from one’s family. The second stanza states the theme directly: when a woman goes in marriage, she leaves brothers and parents behind. The poem does not turn this into open lament. Instead, it uses water, direction, and movement to express an irreversible separation. The third stanza remembers the woman’s smile and jade ornaments, making her presence vivid even in absence. The final stanza turns to travel as a way of easing sorrow. Since the speaker cannot fully return or reach the beloved place, movement itself becomes a form of release. The poem’s emotion is restrained but deep, preserving a subtle voice of homesickness and familial longing within the rituals of marriage.
About the Author
“Bamboo Rod” is an anonymous poem from the Airs of Wey. Many Wey poems are connected with the Qi River, which functions not only as a landscape but also as a vessel of memory and feeling. This poem centers on marriage, distance, and longing for family, preserving a delicate emotional record of women’s experience within early Zhou ritual society.