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

People between the Qiong and Zhen area making fun of cows and the people riding them, who try to jump across a river with a rocky riverbed. When the cows fail to jump across, both the people and the cow flow down the river.

張翰秋風歌

中吳紀聞

秋風起兮佳景時。吳江水兮鱸正肥。三千里兮家為歸。
恨難得兮仰天悲。

A song sung by Zhang Han, who served as an official for Prince Qi. One day when he was in the capital and the autumn wind started to blow, he sang this song to express his feelings for the autumn landscape and the fish in the Wu River. This made him homesick, and he decided that since he was not happy with his job anyway, he would quit and go home.

大觀中姑蘇小兒唱

中吳紀聞

沈逍遙。

A short children's song in the Wu area. It correctly predicted the wrongful accusation, due to a political struggle in the court, of illegal minting by Zhang Yan. Before this time, the Wu area had not seen turmoil of any kind for over three hundred years.

桂林古諺

桂海虞衡志

癸水繞東城。永不見刀兵。

A folk saying about the city of Gui Lin, where the Li River protects against invasion by surrounding its eastern edge.

周去非引南人言論餘甘獐肉

嶺外代答

餘甘一時熟。獐一日肥。

Words said by people in southern China about one type of stone fruit by the name of Yu Gan, which is only good for a few hours after it ripens. The meat of the roebuck is only good on the day the roebuck happens to be fat.

杭人為西湖諺

武林舊事

銷金鍋兒。

Words said about Xi Hu (the West Lake) in the City of Hang Zhou, concerning the large number of tourists who go there all year round, spending much money there.

餛飩餺飥諺

武林舊事

冬餛飩。年【餺】飥。

Words said about merchants' custom of taking three days off just before the winter solstice. They eat some dumplings as their festive food.

擂搥諺

武林舊事

杭州人一日喫三十丈木頭。

Words said about the large quantity of rice that the people in Hang Zhou consume in one day.

吳自牧引杭人諺論日用

夢梁錄

東菜西水。南柴北米。

Words said about the directions of the sources of daily produce and goods needed by the people of Hang Zhou.

吳自牧引俗諺論善惡

夢梁錄

作善者降百祥。天神祐之。作惡者降千災。鬼神禍之。

People who do virtuous deeds have auspiciousness descending upon them and heavenly deities protecting them. People who do bad deeds shall only encounter thousands of disasters and have ghosts troubling them.

吳自牧引俗諺論宴會

夢梁錄

燒香點茶。挂畫插花。四般閒事。不宜累家。

Words said about the ease of holding banquets, so long as one knows how to use the right servants to make proper arrangements.

陸友仁引吳農諺論占年

吳中舊事

甲甲猶自可。乙酉怕殺人。

Words said by farmers of the Wu area (near the present day Su Zhou). If it rains during certain hours during the lunar May month, then they will not be able to harvest their wheat crop.

葉少蘊引吳人俚語

吳中舊事

等人易得久。瞋人易得醜。

It takes forever to wait for other people. Being angry with other people makes one ugly.

蘇州除夕群兒呼語

平江記事

賣癡獃。千貫賣汝癡。萬貫賣汝獃。見賣儘多送。
要賒隨我來。

Words that children call out on New Year's Eve on the streets of Su Zhou. The words accuse people of that area of being fools.

元延祐中太倉民謠二則

平江記事

打碗花子開。今搬州縣來。
黃郎屋上走。州來住不久。

A folk song predicting the designation of Tai Chang as the capital of the State of Kun Shan during the Yuan Zhen era and the cancellation of that designation during the Zhi Zheng era.

吳人為太守謠

吳風錄

曹平分。傅白奪。

Words said by people of the Wu area about their governors, who imposed governor's tax on the merchants.

無代時湖州諺

西吳枝乘

放爾生。放爾命。放爾湖州作百姓。

During the Five Dyansties era, the south of the Yang-Zi River was in constant warfare. Hu Zhou was the only peaceful place.

吳興土人語

西吳枝乘

大頭菜。小頭魚。

Words said by the natives of Wu Xing about two kinds of regional delicacy, namely, a kind of fish and a kind of vegetable native to the area.

閩人食品語

閩部疏

山食鷓鴣獐。海食馬鮫鯧。

Words said about two kinds of delicacy in the Min area, namely, quails and the Chang fish.

李實引諺釋入霑出霑

蜀語

入霑有雨出霑晴。

Words said about the ten rainy days after the autumnal equinox.

李實引諺占霧

蜀語

霧溝晴。霧山雨。

Words said by people of the Shu area (present day Si Chuan) about the way they tell if rain is coming. When the mountain looks foggy, it is surely going to rain.

羅旁猺謠二則

南越筆記

撞石鼓。萬家為我虜。吹士角。我兵齊宰剝。
官有萬兵。我有萬山。兵來我去。兵去我還。

Two songs sung by the bandits in southern China, who held an uprising against the central government during the Wan Li era of the Ming dynasty. The words are expressing the advantage of having a very mountanous region to hide in.

行旅為倉振高芝歌

南越筆記

倉榕高松。手澤重重。高松倉榕。夾道陰濃。

A song sung by travelers to Xin Zhou in southern China about their appreciation of the two governors who planted two type of trees, pine and banyan.