Gu Yao Yan 古謡諺 :: :: University of Virginia Library

A song referring to Emperor Zhong's three attempts to ascend the Song mountain and consecrate it. He failed each time due to the unrest of neighboring foreign tribes on the northern border, and on the third time, he died.

如意初里歌

舊唐書五行志

黃獐黃獐﹑ 草裏藏。彎弓射爾傷。

Those roebucks hidden in the bush really can shoot arrows and kill you. Words referring to how an entire army was wiped out by the Qi Dan tribe from the north during the Tang dynasty.

元和小兒謠

舊唐書五行志

打麥打麥。三三三。舞了也。

A children's song referring to the date when and the manner by which (an ambush) Wu Yuan Heng was killed.

鬼門關諺

舊唐書地理之嶺南道容州下

鬼門關。十人九不還。

Of those who go past the Gate to the Ghost Realm (referring to the custom on the border between China and present day Vietnam), nine out of ten will not come back alive.

滄州百姓為薛大鼎歌

舊唐書食貨志下

新河得通舟戢利。直達滄海魚鹽至。
昔日徒行今騁駟。美哉薛公德滂被。

Words by people of Chang Zhou praising the good work of their official Xue Da Ding, who cleared a river path to the ocean.

竇建德軍中謠

舊唐書竇建德傳

豆入牛口。勢不得久。

Words referring to the defeat of a warlord Dou Jiang De by Prince Qin, who was an emperor of the Tang dynasty.

時人為屈突氏兄弟語

舊唐書屈突通傳

寧食三斗艾。不見屈突蓋。
寧服三斗蔥。不見屈突通。

Words referring to the strict enforcement of law by two brothers, Qu Tu Tong and Qu Tu Gai, who were both government officials.

高宗時王府官語

舊唐書江元祥傳

寧向儋崖振白。不事江滕蔣虢。

People would rather live in undeveloped places in the tropical south than have to live under the jurisdiction of four greedy and corrupted princes: Prince of Jiang, Prince of Teng, Prince of Jiang, and Prince of Guo.

女武王謠

舊唐書李君羨傳

當有女武王者。

Words predicting the coming to power of the one and only Empress Wu in the Tang dynasty.

廉州邑里為顏游秦歌

舊唐書顏籀傳

廉州顏有道。性行同莊老。愛人如赤子。不殺非時草。

A song sung by people of Lian Zhou praising their governors Yan Liu and You Qin for their kindness to the people.

馬周引俚語

舊唐書馬周傳

貧不學儉。富不學奢。

The poor should not have to learn how to be frugal and the rich should not have to learn to be extravagant.

景雲中海內語

舊唐書柳亨傳

姚宋為相。邪不如正。太平用事。正不如邪。

Words referring to how people recommended by Yao Qinand Song Jing all became good officials, whereas people recommended by Princess Tai Ping were all bad.

時人為李義府及其子婿語

舊唐書李義府傳

今日巨唐年。還誅四凶族。

This is a great time for the Tang dynasty, since four fiercely corrupted officials were eliminated.

薛仁貴軍中歌

舊唐書薛仁貴傳

將軍三箭定天山。戰士長歌入漢關。

A song sung by soldiers of General Xue Ren Gui, who conquered the Jiu Xing tribe of Tu Jui, which could never cause trouble agian.

江淮間為許郝田彭四氏語

舊唐書郝處俊傳

貴如許郝。富若田彭。

Among people of Jiang Hui, the most powerful were Xu and Hao, and the most wealthy were Tian and Peng.

時人為閻麟之裴光庭語

舊唐書裴光庭傳

麟之口。光庭手。

People's jobs were decided by what Yan Lin Zhi, who was a subordinate to Pei Guang Ting, said to Pei Guang Ting, who was the Secretary of Human Resources at one time during the Tang dynasty.

益州人吏為杜景儉語

舊唐書杜景儉傳

錄事意與天通。益州司馬折威風。

Words referring to how the Secretary of Yi Zhou advised the new military chief of Yi Zhou, Fang Si Ye, not to impose his power on people before the official notice had arrived. It turned out that Fang Si Ye was appointed the military chief of Jing Zhou instead of Yi Zhou.

時人稱徐有功杜景儉來俊臣侯思止語

舊唐書杜景儉傳

遇徐杜者必生。遇來侯者必死。

Among the four prison officials, whoever met Xu and Du would live, and whoever met Lai and Hou would definitely die.

時人為賈敦頤張任愿語

舊唐書張任愿傳

洛州有前賈後張。可敵京兆三王。

Words referring to the effective law enforcement of Jia and Zhang, the governers of Luo Zhou.

時人為張嘉貞語

舊唐書張嘉貞傳

令公四俊。苗呂員訓。

There are four outstanding officials working under Zhang Jai Zhen, the Interior Secretary: Miao, Lu, Yuan, Cui.

司府吏人為尹思貞語

舊唐書尹思貞傳

不畏侯卿杖。惟畏尹卿筆。

One should not have to be afraid of Huo Zhi Yi's sticks but should be afraid of Yi Si Zhen's pen.

時人為盧從愿語

舊唐書盧從愿傳

吏部前有馬裴。後有盧李。

In the Department of Human Resources, there were four good officials, the ealier two were Ma and Pei, the later two were Lu and Li.

玄宗時人間唱得体歌

舊唐書韋堅傳

得体紇那也。紇囊得体耶。潭裏船車鬧。
揚州銅器多。三郎當殿坐。看唱得体歌。

A song concerning how an articifial lake was built in the capital city of Chang An under Wei Jian's supervision. The oddities were his enforcement of license plates for boats, boatmen in uniforms that had a southern (tropical) style, and the goods filling those boats.

崔成甫使婦人唱得寶歌

舊唐書韋堅傳

得寶弘農野。弘農得寶那。潭裏船車鬧。
揚州銅器多。三郎當殿坐。看唱得寶歌。

A song that the county mayor of Shan made some women sing. The song concerned an auspicious omen that was found in Hong Nong, and the boats in the lake seen in the previous item.

京師為李峴謠

舊唐書李峴傳

欲得米粟賤。無過追李峴。

A song sung by people of the capital city, which had rain for over sixty days, causing the price of rice to skyrocket. The good mayor, Li Xian, was blamed for the natural disaster and was sent off to southern China. The song says that only Li Xian could bring the price of rice back down.

盧群醉歌

舊唐書盧群傳

祥瑞不在鳳凰麒麟。太平須得邊將忠臣。衛霍真誠奉主。
貔虎十萬一身。江河潛注息浪。蠻貊款塞無塵。
但得百寮師長肝膽。不用三軍羅綺金銀。

A song sung by Lu Qun when he was drunk. The song was about his feeling that his talents and loyalty were unknown by those who had power to make him an official.

時人為竇懷貞語

舊唐書竇懷貞傳

竇僕射前為韋氏國遮。後作公主邑丞。

Words referring to Duo Hui Zhen, who got his petty jobs by pleasing the empress and princess whose unwise projects he served.

時人為武懿宗何阿小語

舊唐書武懿宗傳

唯此兩何。殺人最多。

These two He's had killed the most people. Words referring to how one Tang Emperor Yi, when he was Prince of He Nei, killed many civilians who were returned after being abducted by a foreign tribe, Qi Dan. The other He was a general of that foreign tribe.

郢州百姓為田仁會歌

舊唐書田仁會傳

父母育我田使君。精誠為人上天聞。田中致雨山出雲。
倉廩既實禮義申。但願常在不患貧。

A song sung by people of Ying Zhou, praising its governor Tian Ren Hui for being able to get rain for them so that their storehouse was filled with grain.

時人為傅孝忠姜師度語

舊唐書姜師度傳

傅孝忠兩眼看天。姜師度一心穿地。

Fu Xiao Zhong was good at astrology, and Jiang Shi Du was good at knowing where underground water was.

中宗時人語

舊唐書崔無詖傳

皇后嫁女。天子娶婦。

Words referring to a royal matrimony between a dead princess (the emperor's maternal uncle's daughter) and a dead prince (the emperor's younger brother). The family of the dead princess obtained much dowry for the marriage.

天寶中時人語

舊唐書趙曄傳

殷顏柳陸。蕭李邵趙。

Words about the true friendship among eight men.

趙州鄉族為李太沖李孝端語

舊唐書李知木傳

太沖無兄。孝端無弟。

Words about two cousins who were government officials, Li Tai Chong and Li Xiao Duan. Tai Chong's rank was higher than Xiao Duan's.

時人為賀氏兄弟語

舊唐書賀德仁傳

學行可師﹑賀德基。文質彬彬﹑賀德仁。

Both He De Ji and He De Ren, who are brothers, are learned persons.

四郡人為楊德幹語

舊唐書楊浻傳

寧食三斗蒜。不逢楊德幹。

One would rather eat lots of garlic than confront the strict official Yang De Gan.

張果引諺

舊唐書張果傳

娶婦得公主。平地生公府。

If one were to be married to a princess, it would be like cohabiting with a high authority instantly.

高昌童謠

舊唐書高昌國傳

高昌兵馬如霜雪。漢家兵馬如日月。
日月照霜雪。迴手自消滅。

A children's song from a kingdom in present-day northwest of China. The words go like this: the army of Gao Chang is like frost and snow and the Han army is like the sun and the moon. The frost and snow melts when shoned upon by the sun and the moon.

乾符中謠言

舊唐書黃巢傳

金色蝦蟆爭努眼。翻卻曹州天下反。

A rumor predicting the Huang Chao's uprising against the central Tang government.

大理囚為袁仁敬歌

舊唐書逸文

天不恤冤人兮。何奪我慈親兮。
有理無申兮。痛哉安訴陳兮。

The prisoners of Da Li mourned the death of their warden. They cried out the song: Heaven has no mercy on people who have been framed. That is why it took Yuan Ren Jing, who was as dear as our parent, away. From now on, we have no way of petitioning our innocence.

時人為楊貴妃語

舊唐書五行志一

義髻拋河裏。黃裙逐水流。

The empress Yang Tai Zhen threw her wigs and yellow skirts out into the river.

調露初京城民謠

新唐書五行志二

側堂堂。橈堂堂。

A folk song sung in the capital city of Tang proclaiming that depite the messy internal power struggle in the imperial court, the Tang dynasty would continue on.

永淳中童謠

新唐書五行志二

新禾不入箱。新麥不入場。迨及八九月。狗吠空垣牆。

A children's song predicting that there would be no harvest for a specific year because of too much rain.

永淳後民歌

新唐書五行志二

楊柳楊柳漫頭駝。

A folk song predicting the failure of a warlord named Xu Jing Yei.

神龍後民謠

新唐書五行志二

山南鳥鵲窠。山北金駱駝。鐮柯不鑿孔。斧子不施柯。

Words referring to how the Tang territory was bothered by the invasions of Tu Jui and therefore people could not even farm or harvest regularly.

神龍後童謠

新唐書五行志二

可憐安樂寺。了了樹頭懸。

A children's song referring to the death of Princess An Le, whose head was cut off and hung on a tree.

景龍中民謠

新唐書五行志二

黃牸犢子挽紖斷。兩足踏地鞋【麻】斷。城南黃牸犢子韋。

A folk song referring to the failure of an uprising organized by Wei.

又景龍中謠

新唐書五行志二

可憐聖善寺。身著綠毛衣。牽來河裏飲。踏殺鯉魚兒。

A folk song referring to the failure of an uprising organized by the Prince of Jiao, who killed himself by plunging into the Luo River.

潞州童謠

新唐書五行志二

羊頭山北作朝堂。

A children's song predicting the imperial visit by Emperor Xuan.

安祿山未反時童謠

新唐書五行志二

燕燕飛上天。天上女兒鋪白氈。氈上有千錢。

A children's song predicting the major uprising of An Lu Shan.

幽州謠

新唐書五行志二

舊來誇戴竿。今日不堪看。但看五月裏。清水河邊見契丹。

A song predicting the invasion of the Qi Dan tribe.

朱泚未敗前童謠

新唐書五行志二

一隻箸。兩頭朱。五六月。化為蛆。

A children's song predicting the death of a warlord named Zhu Ci.

咸通七年童謠

新唐書五行志二

草青青。被嚴霜。鵲始復。看顛狂。

The grass was green before it was covered by bitter frost. Look at the crazy mess in the country.

咸通十四年成都童謠

新唐書五行志二

咸通癸巳。出無所之。蛇去馬來。
道路稍開。頭無片瓦。地有殘灰。

During this year, people could not really get anywhere. Next year, it should be better. However, people will still not have a stable life.

乾符六年童謠

新唐書五行志二

八月無霜塞草青。將軍騎馬出空城。
漢家天下西巡狩。猶向江東更索兵。

In the month of August, there was no frost and therefore the grass outside the northern border was green. The general rode on his horse out of the empty city. The Han's emperor travelled to the west. It was as though he was inviting invasion from warlords in the southeast.

中和初童謠

新唐書五行志二

黃巢走。泰山東。死在翁家翁。

A children's song concerning the place and manner (killed by his own subordinate) of death for Huang Chao, who organized an uprising against the central government.

門匠謠

新唐書食貨志三

古無門匠墓。

Guides for crossing a certain river with underwater rocks usually drown after shipwreck; therefore there are generally no graves for these people.

荊南民為段文昌語

新唐書段文昌傳

旱不苦。禱而雨。雨不愁。公出游。

People of Jing Nan praising Duan Wen Chang, a general stationed there. He could somehow control the weather. When they needed rain, he could make it rain. When they wanted it sunny, he could make it sunny.

崔仁師引諺

新唐書崔仁師傳

殺人刖足。亦皆有禮。

There should be rules guiding the execution of people and the cutting off of their legs. In other words, the punishment should fit the crime.

時人為權懷恩語

新唐書權懷恩傳

寧飲三斗塵。無逢權懷恩。

One would rather devour a great amount of dust than confront the strict law enforcer, Quan Hui An.

時人為李乂語

新唐書李乂傳

李下無蹊徑。

There is no short cut to getting favors from Li Yi.

哥舒翰引諺

新唐書哥舒翰傳

狐向窟嗥不祥。

It is not auspicious for a fox to howl at its own cave.

長安民為鮮于氏兄弟歌

新唐書李叔明傳

前尹赫赫。具瞻允若。後尹熙熙。具瞻允斯。

A song sung by people of Chang An, the capital city, praising their two mayors who were brothers to each other.

時人為崔鉉語

新唐書崔鉉傳

鄭楊段薛。炙手可熱。欲得命通。魯紹瑰蒙。

Words referring to the four powerful consultants of Cui Xuan, who was trusted by the emperor at the time.

時人為蘇張三楊語

新唐書楊虞卿傳

欲趨舉場﹑ 問蘇張。蘇張猶可。三楊殺我。

If one wants to take the civil service test, one should ask for advice from Su and Zhang. Su and Zhang may give good advice, but the best advice would come from Yang Yu Qing.

真源邑中為華南金語

新唐書張巡傳

南金口。明府手。

Words about how Hua Nan Jin, who was abusing his power as a key offcial, was executed by Governor Zhang Xun.

學者為蘇李沈宋語

新唐書宋之問傳

蘇李居前。沈宋比肩。

Words referring to four poets' style of poetry.

李邕妻引諺

新唐書李邕傳

士無賢不肖。入朝見疾。

There are no such thing as good or bad people, since as long as they serve in the imperial court, jealousy comes around to them.

唐時為八詩人語

新唐書盧綸傳

前有沈宋王杜。後有錢郎劉李。

Words about eight poets during the Tang dynasty.

武三思干政時天下語

新唐書武三思傳

崔冉鄭。亂時政。

Words referring to the people who were messing up the imperial court, and who got their power from allying with Wu San Si.

京師里閭詛

新唐書王旭傳

若違教。值三豹。

A curse that people used when swearing against their own actions. It says that if I were to have gone against the teaching (of something not specified), then I would meet any of the three ruthless officials in the capital city.

時人為魏牙軍語

新唐書羅紹威傳

長安天子。魏府牙軍。

The people from the Wei Ya army camp were like the emperors in the capital city. This is referring to the unreasonable and illicit behavior of these military personnel.

蜀人為吐蕃南詔語

新唐書四夷列傳序

西戊尚可。南蠻殘我。

Words referring to the aggressively and viciously strong military force of Tu Fan, which is the present day Tibet.

賈言忠引諺

新唐書高麗傳

軍無媒。中道回。

If a military mission has no guide who knows the inside information of the opponents, it will likely have to retreat half of the way.

黃巢軍中謠

新唐書黃巢傳

逢儒則肉﹑師必覆。

If intellectuals who know nothing about a warfare are attacked in a military action, then that action will definitely fail.

張濛傳太白山神語

舊五代史唐書末帝紀上

三珠併一珠。驢馬沒人驅。歲月甲庚午。中興戊己土。

Words spoken by a fortune teller are said by a mountain deity. However, the fortune teller said he could not interpret these words. He became an advisor to the emperor anyway.

諸軍為唐末帝謠

舊五代史唐書末帝紀上

去欲生菩薩。扶起一條鐵。

A song sung by the military complaining about the meager pay they receive for protecting the emperor.

唐昭宗引俚語

新五代史寇彥卿傳

紇干山頭凍死雀。何不飛去生處樂。

An idiom referred to by Tang's emperor Zhao, saying that instead of freezing to death in a cold mountain, people should go somewhere where they could live.

郭崇韜故人子弟引俚語

新五代史郭崇韜傳

騎虎者勢不得下。

Once a person rides on a tiger, it is hard for that person to get down from the tiger without being hurt.

王彥章引俚語

新五代史王彥章傳

豹死留皮。人死留名。

What is left behind by a leopard when it dies is its skin, and what is left behind by a person when he or she dies is his or her reputation.

杜重威引俚語

新五代史杜重威傳

逢賊得命。更望複子乎。

If one survives a confrontation with bandits, one is lucky enough and should not think about getting anything else.

吳越王還鄉歌

新五代史吳越世家

三節還鄉兮掛錦衣。碧天朗朗兮愛日暉。
功成道上兮列旌旗。父老遠來相追隨。
家山鄉眷兮會時稀。今朝設宴兮觥散飛。
牛斗無孛人無欺。吳越一王駟馬歸。

A song sung by Qian Liu who was crowned as a king by Tang's emperor Zhao. The song is about how he loves his hometown and his people.

閩人為歸守明歌

新五代史閩世家。

誰謂九龍帳。惟貯一歸郎。

Who calls for the making of that nine-dragon canopy? He will not get to use it but his wife's lover will.