Book of Songs
郑风·狡童
佚名
彼狡童兮，不与我言兮。
维子之故，使我不能餐兮。
彼狡童兮，不与我食兮。
维子之故，使我不能息兮。
Translation
That sly young man—he will not speak with me. Because of you, I cannot eat. That sly young man—he will not eat with me. Because of you, I cannot rest.
Analysis
“Jiao Tong” is a short poem of romantic complaint. The speaker calls the young man “sly” or “cunning,” but the tone is not purely hostile. It carries the intimacy of reproach: he will not speak to her, he will not eat with her, and because of him she cannot eat or rest. The poem has no elaborate scenery or narrative. Its power lies in the directness of emotional disturbance. A small withdrawal in love—the refusal to speak or share a meal—becomes enough to disrupt appetite and peace. The two stanzas intensify the feeling. Speech becomes shared food; inability to eat becomes inability to rest. In this compressed form, the poem captures the anxious dependence of affection: when the beloved turns away, ordinary life itself loses balance.
About the Author
“Jiao Tong” is an anonymous poem from the Zheng Airs of the Book of Songs. The Zheng Airs are known for direct, compact love songs that capture intimacy, teasing, resentment, and longing in everyday language. This poem uses only two small refusals—not speaking and not eating together—to express the anxiety of being emotionally neglected.