Book of Songs
郑风·女曰鸡鸣
佚名
女曰鸡鸣，士曰昧旦。
子兴视夜，明星有烂。
将翱将翔，弋凫与雁。
弋言加之，与子宜之。
宜言饮酒，与子偕老。
琴瑟在御，莫不静好。
知子之来之，杂佩以赠之。
知子之顺之，杂佩以问之。
知子之好之，杂佩以报之。
Translation
The woman says, “The rooster has crowed.” The man says, “It is still dim before dawn.” She says, “Rise and look at the night: the morning star is shining bright. Soon the birds will fly; you may shoot wild ducks and geese.” “When you have brought them down, we shall prepare them together. It is fitting to drink wine; I wish to grow old with you. With qin and se before us, all is peaceful and good.” “Knowing that you come to me, I give you my pendant ornaments. Knowing that you are gentle toward me, I send them as a token. Knowing that you love me, I offer them in return.”
Analysis
“Nü Yue Ji Ming” is one of the gentlest domestic love poems in the Book of Songs. It opens with a morning dialogue: the woman says the rooster has crowed, while the man says it is still before dawn. Her answer, pointing to the bright morning star, turns an ordinary wake-up scene into an intimate exchange. The poem moves from dawn to daily labor, from hunting to shared food and wine, and then to the hope of growing old together. The famous line “qin and se are before us; all is peaceful and good” expresses not passionate ecstasy, but quiet harmony. Love here is imagined as ordered, tender, and enduring. The final stanza centers on pendant ornaments as tokens of affection. The repeated structure marks mutual responsiveness: he comes, he is gentle, he loves; she gives, asks, and returns. The poem’s beauty lies in its calm vision of companionship, where small gestures become signs of a life shared.
About the Author
“Nü Yue Ji Ming” is an anonymous poem from the Zheng Airs of the Book of Songs. The love poems in the Book of Songs do not only depict longing and pursuit; many also present the quieter textures of companionship. This poem uses a dawn conversation, hunting, wine, music, and exchanged ornaments to evoke a relationship built on tenderness, mutual care, and the wish to grow old together.