《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.

一之日觱发，二之日栗烈。

In November cold wind starts blowing,

In December the chill everyday is growing.

无衣无褐，何以卒岁？

Without clothes, finely made or coarsely wrought,

Living through the winter can hardly be thought?

三之日于耜，四之日举趾。

In January farming tools will be prepared,

In February activities are performed as they are away squared.

同我妇子，馌彼南亩，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.

春日载阳, 有鸣仓庚。

Spring days are nice and warm,

The Orioles are happily singing.

女执懿筐，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.

春日迟迟，采蘩祁祁。

Spring days are getting slower and longer,

People picking white Artemisia come in flocks and more.

女心伤悲，殆及公子同归。

The girls look pensive and melancholy,

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

七月流火，八月萑苇。

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

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

蚕月条桑，取彼斧斨，以伐远扬，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.

七月鸣鴂，八月载绩。

In July the shrikes are singing,

In August the hemp is being woven.

载玄载黄，我朱孔阳，为公子裳。

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，五月鸣蜩。

In April, the milkwort will be earring,

In May, you will hear cicadas’ singing.

八月其获，十月陨萚。

In August crops are to be harvested,

In October the deciduous trees see their leaves falling.

一之日于貉，取彼狐狸，为公子裘。

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，载缵武功。

December is a good time for rallying,

And let us continue our game for hunting.

言私其豵，献豜于公。

All those young boars belong to the hunters themselves;

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

五月斯螽动股，六月莎鸡振羽。

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，九月在户，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，塞向瑾户。

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

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

嗟我妇子，曰为改岁，入此室处。

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.

八月剥枣，十月获稻；

In August we beat the ripe dates down,

In October we harvest the crop of rice.

为此春酒，以介眉寿。

We make Spring wine rich and mellow,

Which makes our lives longer and longer.

七月食瓜，八月断壶，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，食我农夫。

We take bitter herbs as daily food,

And we take ailanthus as firewood.

九月筑场圃，十月纳禾稼，黍稷重穋，禾麻菽麦。

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.

嗟我农夫！我稼既同，上入执宫功；

Atlas! How poor we are as farmers?

Right after having stored away our gains,

Public houses we still have to build in pains.

昼尔于茅，宵尔索綯，亟其乘屋，其始播百谷。

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.

二之日錾冰冲冲，三之日纳于凌阴。

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，献羔祭韭。

February is the time to offer the Early Sacrifice,

And we offer both lamb and leek.

九月肃霜，十月滌场。

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

In October, we will clean the threshing sites.

朋酒斯飨，曰杀羔羊，跻彼公堂，称彼兕觥，万寿无疆！

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 -----