Ju Song (simplified Chinese: 橘颂; traditional Chinese: 橘頌; pinyin: Jú sòng; lit. 'In praise of an orange') is a Classical Chinese poem which has been preserved in the Nine Pieces (Jiu Zhang) section of the ancient Chinese poetry anthology, the Chu ci, or The Songs of Chu. The poem has been translated into English by David Hawkes as "In Praise of the Orange-Tree". In the poem, the orange-tree is used as a metaphor for certain human qualities, such as "steadfastness".[1] Hawkes explains this by the tradition that this type of orange tree is supposed to grow naturally only in the part of China of which the ancient land of Chu was included in (as opposed to the northern plain). The particular orange-tree (ju) mentioned is what David Hawkes calls "citrus nobilis"; but, this type of orange (or, its hybrids) is now usually botanically referred to as Citrus reticulata, or else by the common name of "mandarin orange".
The word ju, meaning "orange (fruit or tree)" is phonetically reminiscent of the word zhù (祝), which means "to wish or pray for", as in the phrase zhù fú (祝福), "to wish or pray for good luck", thus the orange is symbolically a "harbinger of good luck".[2] Also in ancient times the emperor gave oranges to his officials,;[3] thus the emperor could be said to be like an orange tree, both being a source of orange fruits (and the metaphor could be extended).
Meter
"Ju Song" is written throughout in what David Hawkes calls "7-plus" meter; that is, each line has 7 regular syllables, augmented by a refrain word repeated in each line. In this case, the final syllable of each line is the exclamatory particle 兮 (xī).
Context
"Ju Song" is one of the nine poems of the Jiu Zhang (Nine Pieces) section of the Chu Ci, but is quite different from the other poems in this section; so that, as David Hawkes puts it "it is hard to see how it came to be included in the same collection".[4]
Poem
The poem appears to praise a prince or other young man, according to David Hawkes (178), by an extended comparison between the young man and an orange tree. David Hawkes describes the poem as being "charming". The author is unknown, although as usual with the Chu ci pieces, Qu Yuan has been given attribution, although in this case, this is not to likely given the evidence of the advanced metrical style (Hawkes 1985, 178). The final line of the poem makes an allusion to "Bo Yi", referring to the pair of brothers whose loyalty to the previous Shang dynasty resulted in that they preferred to starve to death than to symbolically submit to the succeeding Zhou dynasty by eating the produce of the land, which Zhou in their view had usurped from Shang.
Hawkes, David, translation, introduction, and notes (2011 [1985]). Qu Yuan et al., The Songs of the South: An Ancient Chinese Anthology of Poems by Qu Yuan and Other Poets. London: Penguin Books. ISBN978-0-14-044375-2
Eberhard, Wolfram (2003 [1986 (German version 1983)]), A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols: Hidden Symbols in Chinese Life and Thought. London, New York: Routledge. ISBN0-415-00228-1
Chinese Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Jiu Zhang (Chinese text source)
April 21, 2023
song, simplified, chinese, 橘颂, traditional, chinese, 橘頌, pinyin, sòng, praise, orange, classical, chinese, poem, which, been, preserved, nine, pieces, zhang, section, ancient, chinese, poetry, anthology, songs, poem, been, translated, into, english, david, haw. Ju Song simplified Chinese 橘颂 traditional Chinese 橘頌 pinyin Ju song lit In praise of an orange is a Classical Chinese poem which has been preserved in the Nine Pieces Jiu Zhang section of the ancient Chinese poetry anthology the Chu ci or The Songs of Chu The poem has been translated into English by David Hawkes as In Praise of the Orange Tree In the poem the orange tree is used as a metaphor for certain human qualities such as steadfastness 1 Hawkes explains this by the tradition that this type of orange tree is supposed to grow naturally only in the part of China of which the ancient land of Chu was included in as opposed to the northern plain The particular orange tree ju mentioned is what David Hawkes calls citrus nobilis but this type of orange or its hybrids is now usually botanically referred to as Citrus reticulata or else by the common name of mandarin orange An orange tree Citrus reticulata Contents 1 Symbolism 2 Meter 3 Context 4 Poem 5 See also 6 Notes 7 ReferencesSymbolism EditThe word ju meaning orange fruit or tree is phonetically reminiscent of the word zhu 祝 which means to wish or pray for as in the phrase zhu fu 祝福 to wish or pray for good luck thus the orange is symbolically a harbinger of good luck 2 Also in ancient times the emperor gave oranges to his officials 3 thus the emperor could be said to be like an orange tree both being a source of orange fruits and the metaphor could be extended Meter Edit Ju Song is written throughout in what David Hawkes calls 7 plus meter that is each line has 7 regular syllables augmented by a refrain word repeated in each line In this case the final syllable of each line is the exclamatory particle 兮 xi Context Edit Ju Song is one of the nine poems of the Jiu Zhang Nine Pieces section of the Chu Ci but is quite different from the other poems in this section so that as David Hawkes puts it it is hard to see how it came to be included in the same collection 4 Poem EditThe poem appears to praise a prince or other young man according to David Hawkes 178 by an extended comparison between the young man and an orange tree David Hawkes describes the poem as being charming The author is unknown although as usual with the Chu ci pieces Qu Yuan has been given attribution although in this case this is not to likely given the evidence of the advanced metrical style Hawkes 1985 178 The final line of the poem makes an allusion to Bo Yi referring to the pair of brothers whose loyalty to the previous Shang dynasty resulted in that they preferred to starve to death than to symbolically submit to the succeeding Zhou dynasty by eating the produce of the land which Zhou in their view had usurped from Shang See also EditChu ci Citrus List of Chuci contentsNotes Edit Hawkes 1985 178 Eberhard 1986 219 Eberhard 1986 219 Hawkes 1985 153References EditHawkes David translation introduction and notes 2011 1985 Qu Yuan et al The Songs of the South An Ancient Chinese Anthology of Poems by Qu Yuan and Other Poets London Penguin Books ISBN 978 0 14 044375 2 Eberhard Wolfram 2003 1986 German version 1983 A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols Hidden Symbols in Chinese Life and Thought London New York Routledge ISBN 0 415 00228 1 Chinese Wikisource has original text related to this article Jiu Zhang Chinese text source Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ju Song amp oldid 1000287554, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
