Book of Songs
Tao Yao · The Peach Tree
Anonymous
桃之夭夭
灼灼其华
之子于归
宜其室家
桃之夭夭
有蕡其实
之子于归
宜其家室
桃之夭夭
其叶蓁蓁
之子于归
宜其家人
Translation
The peach tree is young and lovely; brightly, brightly its blossoms shine. This young woman goes to her marriage; may she bring harmony to her household. The peach tree is young and lovely; abundant are its fruits. This young woman goes to her marriage; may she bring prosperity to her home. The peach tree is young and lovely; thick and lush are its leaves. This young woman goes to her marriage; may she bring peace among all her family.
Analysis
"Tao Yao" is one of the best-known wedding poems in the Book of Songs. It uses the peach tree in three stages — blossom, fruit, and leaves — to bless a young woman as she enters marriage. The poem is bright, festive, and full of life. The repeated phrase "The peach tree is young and lovely" sets the tone. The peach tree in spring becomes an image of the bride's freshness and beauty. The first stanza focuses on blossoms, suggesting visual beauty and the radiant beginning of marriage. The second stanza turns to fruit — abundant peach fruit suggests fertility, prosperity, descendants. The third stanza turns to leaves, described as thick and lush, showing the marriage as stable, full, and enduring. The poem's power lies in its clarity and health. It presents marriage as a natural flourishing, like a peach tree in spring. Beauty, fertility, domestic harmony, and social blessing are joined in one simple, memorable song.
About the Author
"Tao Yao" comes from the "Zhou 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. The "Zhou Nan" poems often concern love, marriage, household life, ritual, and blessing. "Tao Yao" is one of the classic Chinese wedding poems, using the peach tree's blossoms, fruit, and leaves to symbolize bridal beauty, prosperity, fertility, and family harmony.