《The Book of odes and Hymns.Bin folksongs.July* 》

                   (*the seventh month by Chinese lunar calendar)

                      Translated by huofengding688 on 11/24/2015

七月流火，九月授衣。

When July comes, Constellation “Fire” moves to the west,

In September, winter clothes are made to the official request.

一之日觱發，二之日栗烈。

In November cold wind starts blowing,

In December the chill everyday is growing.

無衣無褐，何以卒歲？

Without clothes, finely made or coarsely wrought,

Living through the winter can hardly be thought?

三之日於耜，四之日舉趾。

In January farming tools will be prepared,

In February activities are performed as they are away squared.

同我婦子，饁彼南畝，田畯至喜。

Together with my wife and my children,

I send food to the fields which face the sunshine ,

The field official to his heart’s content is smiling.

七月流火，九月授衣。

When July comes, Constellation “Fire” moves to the west,

In September, winter clothes are made to the official request.

春日載陽, 有鳴倉庚。

Spring days are nice and warm,

The Orioles are happily singing.

女執懿筐，遵彼微行，爰求柔桑。

Deep baskets in their hands are well made and strong,

The female slaves a trod they are walking along,

The mulberry leaves they are to pluck must be young.

春日遲遲，采蘩祁祁。

Spring days are getting slower and longer,

People picking white Artemisia come in flocks and more.

女心傷悲，殆及公子同歸。

The girls look pensive and melancholy,

For they all fear to be part of princess’ marriage dowry.

七月流火，八月萑葦。

When July comes, Constellation “Fire” moves to the west,

During August, it is the good time the reeds and rushes to reap.

蠶月條桑，取彼斧斨，以伐遠揚，猗彼女桑。

March is the time to trim the mulberry trees,

Bring thy axes, wedged in at round or square center,

To cut off the wild and rampant twigs,

Reach and pick only those tender leaves.

七月鳴鴂，八月載績。

In July the shrikes are singing,

In August the hemp is being woven.

載玄載黃，我朱孔陽，為公子裳。

Linen is dyed black and yellow at the work site,

But I deem Vermilion is more strikingly bright,

Of which Princess’ clothes will be made fit and tight.

四月秀葽，五月鳴蜩。

In April, the milkwort will be earring,

In May, you will hear cicadas’ singing.

八月其獲，十月隕蘀。

In August crops are to be harvested,

In October the deciduous trees see their leaves falling.

一之日於貉，取彼狐狸，為公子裘。

November is a good time to hunt for brocks,

To trap foxes and get their skins tanned,

So that princess’ fur clothing can be made.

二之日其同，載纘武功。

December is a good time for rallying,

And let us continue our game for hunting.

言私其豵，獻豜於公。

All those young boars belong to the hunters themselves;

All those three year old or above go to the public.

五月斯螽動股，六月莎雞振羽。

In May grasshoppers make chirping sound by rubbing its legs,

In June Katydids make its sound by fluttering its wings.

七月在野，八月在宇，九月在戶，十月蟋蟀入我床下。

Crickets are at fields in July,

Under the eaves in August,

In the house in September and

They come under my beds in October.

穹室熏鼠，塞向瑾戶。

Stop all holes of the residence and smoke the rats out,

Seal all the windows facing north and spread mud onto doors.

嗟我婦子，曰為改歲，入此室處。

Oh! my wife and kids,

we will embrace a new year,

let us move into this residential place.

六月食郁及薁，七月亨葵及菽。

In June what we eat are plums and wild grapes,

In July what we cook are sunflowers and beans.

八月剝棗，十月獲稻；

In August we beat the ripe dates down,

In October we harvest the crop of rice.

為此春酒，以介眉壽。

We make Spring wine rich and mellow,

Which makes our lives longer and longer.

七月食瓜，八月斷壺，九月菽苴。

In July we eat sweet melons,

In August we cut gourds off its vines.

And in September we pick up hempseeds.

采荼薪樗，食我農夫。

We take bitter herbs as daily food,

And we take ailanthus as firewood.

九月築場圃，十月納禾稼，黍稷重穋，禾麻菽麥。

In September threshing sites are prepared;

In October crops of all kinds come in baled:

Millet or sorghum, grains ripe early or late,

Also we have Chestnuts and hemps, beans and wheat.

嗟我農夫！我稼既同，上入執宮功；

Atlas! How poor we are as farmers?

Right after having stored away our gains,

Public houses we still have to build in pains.

晝爾於茅，宵爾索綯，亟其乘屋，其始播百穀。

In the daytimes, we have to go out to look for thatches,

In the evenings, we then use them to make twisted ropes.

In a hurry we climb to the roof to fix the leakage,

And just when we finish doing all these,

The time for next Spring sowing kicks off.

二之日鏨冰沖沖，三之日納於凌陰。

December is the time to break ice in the pond,

January is to time to store it in the icehouse underground.

四之日其蚤，獻羔祭韭。

February is the time to offer the Early Sacrifice,

And we offer both lamb and leek.

九月肅霜，十月滌場。

In September, frost starts to fall, heavy or light,

In October, we will clean the threshing sites.

朋酒斯饗，曰殺羔羊，躋彼公堂，稱彼兕觥，萬壽無疆！

Wine is offered with utensils in pair,

As sacrifice we kill a lamb with flair.

Ascend to the court for public affair,

Raise your cup made of rhinoceros horns now!

Toast to each other saying: “long life forever to thou!”

             ----- The End -----