Ying, the daughter of a gatekeeper of Lu was weaving with
another [girl]. At midnight she cried.
Her companion said, "Why are you weeping?"
Ying said, "I have heard that the Heir Apparent of Wei is
unworthy; therefore[2]
I weep."
Her companion said, "That the Heir Apparent of Wei is
unworthy is the worry of the feudal lords. Why should you weep
because of it?"
Ying said, "What I have heard is at variance with what you
say. Formerly the ssŭ-ma Huan of Sung fell into disfavor with
the Prince of Sung and left the country for Lu.[3]
His horse
got loose and rolled in my garden and ate the mallows there.
For that year I have heard that the gardener lost half his harvest.
When the king of Yüeh, Kou-chien, raised troops to attack Wu,
the feudal lords feared his power, and Lu sent him a present of
girls, among them my sister. My elder brother went to see her and
succumbed to the perils of the road. Now it was Wu who was
overawed by Yüeh's army, but it was I who lost a brother. Viewed
in this light, disaster and prosperity come one after the other.[4]
Now the Heir Apparent of Wei is most unworthy and loves war.
Can I, with three younger brothers, be anything but worried?"
The Ode says,[5]
A great officer has gone, over the hills
and through the rivers;
And my heart is full of sorrow.
Is this not the same sort of thing?