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A simple-looking lad you were ,
Carrying cloth to exchange it for silk .
[But] you came not so to purchase silk ; —
You came to make proposals to me .
I convoyed you through the Qi ,
As far as Dunqiu .
' It is not I , ' [I said] , ' who would protract the time ;
But you have had no good go-between .
I pray you be not angry ,
And let autumn be the time . '

I ascended that ruinous wall ,
To look towards Fuguan ;
And when I saw [you] not [coming from] it ;
My tears flowed in streams .
When I did see [you coming from] Fuquan ,
I laughed and I spoke .
You had consulted , [you said] , the tortoise-shell and the reeds ,
And there was nothing unfavourable in their response .
' Then come , ' [I said] , ' with your carriage ,
And I will remove with my goods .

Before the mulberry tree has shed its leaves ,
How rich and glossy are they !
Ah ! thou dove ,
Eat not its fruit [to excess] .
Ah ! thou young lady ,
Seek no licentious pleasure with a gentleman .
When a gentleman indulges in such pleasure ,
Something may still be said for him ;
When a lady does so ,
Nothing can be said for her .

When the mulberry tree sheds its leaves ,
They fall yellow on the ground .
Since I went with you ,
Three years have I eaten of your poverty ;
And [now] the full waters of the Qi ,
Wet the curtains of my carriage .
There has been no difference in me ,
But you have been double in your ways .
It is you , Sir , who transgress the right ,
Thus changeable in your conduct .

For three years I was your wife ,
And thought nothing of my toil in your house .
I rose early and went to sleep late ,
Not intermitting my labours for a morning .
Thus [on my part] our contract was fulfilled ,
But you have behaved thus cruelly .
My brothers will not know [all this] ,
And will only laugh at me .
Silently I think of it ,
And bemoan myself .

I was to grow old with you ; —
Old , you give me cause for sad repining .
The Qi has its banks ,
And the marsh has its shores .
In the pleasant time of my girlhood , with my hair simply gathered in a knot ,
Harmoniously we talked and laughed .
Clearly were we sworn to good faith ,
And I did not think the engagement would be broken .
That it would be broken I did not think ,
And now it must be all over !