Book of Songs
郑风·将仲子
佚名
将仲子兮，无逾我里，无折我树杞。
岂敢爱之？畏我父母。
仲可怀也，父母之言亦可畏也。
将仲子兮，无逾我墙，无折我树桑。
岂敢爱之？畏我诸兄。
仲可怀也，诸兄之言亦可畏也。
将仲子兮，无逾我园，无折我树檀。
岂敢爱之？畏人之多言。
仲可怀也，人之多言亦可畏也。
Translation
Zhongzi, please do not climb over the gate of my lane, and do not break the wolfberry tree I planted. It is not that I cherish the tree so much; I fear what my parents will say. Zhongzi is dear to my heart, yet the words of my parents are also something to fear. Zhongzi, please do not climb over my wall, and do not break the mulberry tree I planted. It is not that I cherish the tree so much; I fear what my elder brothers will say. Zhongzi is dear to my heart, yet the words of my brothers are also something to fear. Zhongzi, please do not climb into my garden, and do not break the sandalwood tree I planted. It is not that I cherish the tree so much; I fear the many words of other people. Zhongzi is dear to my heart, yet people’s gossip is also something to fear.
Analysis
“Qiang Zhong Zi” presents a young woman caught between desire and social restraint. She does not deny her affection for Zhongzi; in fact, each stanza repeats that he is dear to her heart. What holds her back is not indifference, but fear: first of her parents, then of her brothers, and finally of public gossip. The poem’s repeated structure is essential. The spaces move inward from the lane to the wall and then to the garden, while the pressure expands from family authority to the broader voice of society. The trees—wolfberry, mulberry, and sandalwood—are not the real issue. They are delicate markers of the boundary that Zhongzi must not cross. What makes the poem memorable is its emotional honesty. The speaker’s refusal is tender rather than cold. She loves, but she is afraid; she longs, but she knows the force of reputation and family order. In a few repeated lines, the poem captures both the intimacy of courtship and the social world that surrounds and restricts it.
About the Author
The poem “Qiang Zhong Zi” belongs to the Zheng Airs in the Book of Songs. Like most poems in the “Airs of the States,” its author is unknown. These works preserve songs and voices from different regions of the Zhou world, including courtship, labor, ritual, war, and everyday emotion. The Zheng poems are especially known for their vivid treatment of love, desire, and social pressure. “Qiang Zhong Zi” is a clear example of this tradition: simple in language, but subtle in its portrayal of feeling and restraint.