Book of Songs
Yin Qi Lei
Anonymous
殷其雷
在南山之阳
何斯违斯
莫敢或遑
振振君子
归哉归哉
殷其雷
在南山之侧
何斯违斯
莫敢遑息
振振君子
归哉归哉
殷其雷
在南山之下
何斯违斯
莫或遑处
振振君子
归哉归哉
Translation
Deeply the thunder rolls, on the southern side of South Mountain. Why has he left this place, with no leisure even for a moment? True and noble gentleman, come home, come home! Deeply the thunder rolls, along the side of South Mountain. Why has he left this place, with no leisure even to rest? True and noble gentleman, come home, come home! Deeply the thunder rolls, beneath South Mountain. Why has he left this place, with no leisure even to dwell in peace? True and noble gentleman, come home, come home!
Analysis
"Yin Qi Lei" is a poem of longing from the "Shao Nan" section of the Book of Songs. A woman hears thunder around South Mountain and thinks of the absent man she longs for. The poem's emotional center is simple but powerful: he is away, he has no rest, and she repeatedly calls him home. The poem begins with thunder. The word "yin" suggests a deep, rolling sound. Instead of beginning with direct complaint or confession, the poem begins with nature. The thunder outside becomes an echo of the speaker's unrest within. The thunder appears in three places: on the southern side of South Mountain, along its side, and beneath it. This shifting location gives the poem movement. The sound seems to roll closer, and with it the speaker's longing becomes more urgent. "Why has he left this place?" is the poem's central question. It carries sorrow and perhaps a slight reproach, but not bitterness. The speaker does not simply accuse him of absence. The following lines show that he may be burdened by duty. He has no leisure, no time to rest, no space to dwell peacefully. The word translated as "leisure" suggests free time, ease, or the ability to pause. The woman longs for his return, but she also understands that responsibility may be keeping him away. "True and noble gentleman" describes the absent man as morally worthy. He is not imagined as careless or faithless. Precisely because he is responsible, he may be unable to come home. The repeated cry "come home, come home" is the poem's most direct expression. Its force comes from repetition. After thunder, mountain, question, and understanding, everything condenses into one desire: return. The poem's beauty lies in the connection between natural sound and human feeling. Thunder rolls through the mountain landscape; longing rolls through the heart. In a few short stanzas, "Yin Qi Lei" captures the anxious tenderness of waiting for someone far away and overburdened.
About the Author
"Yin Qi Lei" comes from the "Shao 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. "Shao Nan," together with "Zhou Nan," forms the opening part of the "Airs of the States" and contains many poems related to marriage, household life, labor, ritual, and social order. "Yin Qi Lei" is a representative poem in which a natural sound, rolling thunder over South Mountain, evokes longing for an absent noble man and the desire for his return.