Book of Songs
卫风·木瓜
佚名
投我以木瓜，报之以琼琚。
匪报也，永以为好也。
投我以木桃，报之以琼瑶。
匪报也，永以为好也。
投我以木李，报之以琼玖。
匪报也，永以为好也。
Translation
You give me a quince; I return to you a fine jade. It is not merely repayment, but a wish that our affection may last forever. You give me a peach; I return to you precious jade. It is not merely repayment, but a pledge of lasting goodwill. You give me a plum; I return to you another jewel. What matters is not equal exchange, but the enduring bond it makes between us.
Analysis
Mu Gua is one of the warmest and clearest poems in the Book of Songs. Its three stanzas are built on repetition, changing only the gifts exchanged: quince, peach, plum; jade pendants and jewels. On the surface, the poem describes an exchange of presents. Yet the central line, “It is not merely repayment,” changes the meaning of the whole poem. The speaker does not answer a small gift with a precious jade in order to balance accounts. The return gift is a declaration that the relationship itself matters. The fruits are simple and earthly; the jade is refined, durable, and ceremonial. Their unequal value shows that affection cannot be measured as commerce. The poem may be read as love poetry, friendship poetry, or a poem of ritual goodwill. Its power lies in its plainness: someone offers a sign of regard, and the speaker answers with something that preserves that regard for the long term. Repetition gives the poem the feeling of a vow. It is quiet, but not light; simple, but not shallow.
About the Author
The poems of Wei Feng belong to the Airs of the States in the Book of Songs. Like most poems in the collection, Mu Gua is anonymous and is best understood as part of an early ritual and folk-song tradition rather than as the work of a known individual poet. The poem preserves a social world in which gifts, songs, and repeated phrases carried emotional and ethical meaning. Its simplicity is typical of many Guofeng poems: ordinary objects become vessels for lasting human feeling.