Book of Songs
唐风·绸缪
佚名
绸缪束薪，三星在天。今夕何夕？见此良人。子兮子兮！如此良人何！
绸缪束刍，三星在隅。今夕何夕？见此邂逅。子兮子兮！如此邂逅何！
绸缪束楚，三星在户。今夕何夕？见此粲者。子兮子兮！如此粲者何！
Translation
Bundles of firewood are tightly bound; the Three Stars shine high in the sky. What kind of night is this, that I should meet such a lovely person? O you, O you—what can I do before one so dear? Bundles of grass are tied together; the Three Stars have moved toward the corner. What kind of night is this, that I should have such an unexpected meeting? O you, O you—how shall I answer such a meeting? Bundles of thornwood are bound; the Three Stars shine by the door. What kind of night is this, that I should see one so radiant? O you, O you—what can I say before such brightness?
Analysis
“Chou Mou” is a poem of meeting, wonder, and bridal joy. Its repeated images of binding firewood, grass, and thornwood are concrete details, but they also suggest union and attachment. The phrase “chou mou” itself means to bind or wind together, and in this poem the physical action becomes a quiet emblem of emotional joining. The movement of the Three Stars—from the sky, to the corner, to the doorway—creates a subtle sense of deepening night. Time passes, yet the speaker remains caught in the astonishment of the encounter. The refrain “What kind of night is this?” is not a question seeking an answer; it is the voice of happiness too sudden to be contained. The beloved is called “good person,” “unexpected meeting,” and “radiant one,” each phrase shifting the focus from affection, to fate, to visible beauty. The repeated cry “O you, O you” gives the poem an intimate, almost breathless quality. Its power lies in restraint: it does not narrate a love story, but preserves the instant in which love seems both ordinary and miraculous.
About the Author
The poems in the “Airs of the States” section of the Book of Songs are largely anonymous songs from different regions of the Zhou world. “Tang Feng” is associated with the ancient Tang region, later connected with Jin culture. Its poems range from love and marriage to labor, political criticism, and reflections on time. “Chou Mou” is one of its brighter love poems, using night, stars, and repeated exclamations to preserve the joy of encounter in a simple but memorable form.