Book of Songs
王风·葛藟
佚名
绵绵葛藟，在河之浒。
终远兄弟，谓他人父。
谓他人父，亦莫我顾。
绵绵葛藟，在河之涘。
终远兄弟，谓他人母。
谓他人母，亦莫我有。
绵绵葛藟，在河之漘。
终远兄弟，谓他人昆。
谓他人昆，亦莫我闻。
Translation
The creeping vines stretch endlessly along the riverbank. I have been separated from my own brothers and must call another man father; yet the one I call father does not care for me. The vines stretch along the water’s edge. I have been separated from my kin and must call another woman mother; yet the one I call mother does not take me in. The vines stretch along the river’s lip. I have been separated from my brothers and must call another man elder brother; yet the one I call brother does not hear me.
Analysis
Ge Lei is a poem of displacement and lost kinship. The trailing vines suggest continuity and attachment, yet the speaker’s own family ties have been broken. Each stanza names a different substitute relation — father, mother, elder brother — but each substitute fails to give real care. The sorrow lies not only in being separated from one’s own kin, but in finding that new names cannot create true belonging. The shifting riverbank images give the poem a sense of movement, as if the speaker is wandering along the water, seeking a place to rest. The poem is quiet, but socially sharp: outside the protection of kinship, the individual becomes painfully exposed.
About the Author
Wang Feng is one of the regional sections in the Airs of the States within the Book of Songs. Its poems are anonymous and belong to an early tradition of songs later gathered and preserved as part of the classical canon. Compared with some brighter regional airs, Wang Feng often carries tones of separation, service, social unease, and inward feeling. Its language is simple, but its repeated forms and everyday images give it lasting emotional force.