孟郊诗

Poems of Meng Jiao


Index

黄雀吟

Golden Sparrow


黄雀舞承尘
倚恃主人仁
主人忽不仁
买弹弹尔身

Golden sparrow dances overhead,
Relying on the landlord's tolerance.
If the landlord is suddenly heartless,
He buys a crossbow, shoots her down.

何不远飞去
蓬蒿正繁新
蒿粒无人争
食之足为珍

Why not fly off far away?
Chrysanthemums are just now blooming.
They drop their seeds where no men fight.
And having enough to eat is a treasure.

莫觑翻车粟
觑翻罪有因
黄雀不知言
赠之徒殷勤

Don't look for the return of the grain cart.
Look for the crimes we have earned.
Golden sparrow, unable to speak, has
Asked me to pass on her words.

-- 孟郊


废话

No mystery here. Just remember Meng Jiao is not talking about sparrows. Nor is he talking about Golden Sparrow, King Hu's last film for Shaw Brother's, marking the first appearance of a strong female character in Chinese martial arts films, and incidentally Jackie Chan's first film where he plays a little street urchin who sings in a beggars' chorus. Nor is he talking about the Golden Sparrow (a young Liu Yifei) in the much later Hidden Kingdom with Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Who he is talking about is left as an exercise for the reader.


Index