《古谣谚》·卷十五
西王母為穆王謠
穆天子傳
白雲在天。山陵自出。道里悠遠。
山川間之。將子為死。尚能復來。
A song sung by Xi Wang Mu ("western king mother," a supposedly mythological figure) forEmperor Mu. The words express the long distance that he had to travel in order to visit her.
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穆王答西王母謠
穆天子傳
予歸東土。和治諸夏。萬民平均。
吾顧見汝。比及三年。將復而野。
A song sung by Emperor Mu in reply to Xi Wang Mu’s song in the previous item. The words saythat he would do a good job governing the entire country and making people happy. He wouldcome back in three years to visit her.
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穆王西巡時憂吟
穆天子傳
彼徂西土。爰居其野。虎豹為群。於鵲與處。嘉命不遷。
我為帝天子。大命而不可稱。顧世民之恩。流涕卉隕。
吹笙鼓簧。中心翱翔。世民之子。唯天子望。
A verse made by Emperor Mu when he traveled west to see the territory he reigned. Heexpressed his concerns for his people and realized that people would wish for him to do a goodjob.
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穆王使宮樂謠
穆天子傳
黃之地。 其馬歕沙。 皇人威儀。 黃之澤。其馬歕玉。
皇人受穀。
A song sung by Emperor Mu’s musician. The words are praising Emperor’s Mu’s majesticradiance and wishing him a long life.
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擊壤歌
帝王世紀
吾日出而作。 日入而息。 鑿井而飲。 耕田而食。
帝何力於我哉。
We go to work when the sun rises and quit work when the sun sets. We dig our own well fordrinking water and we grow our own food. In no way is the emperor’s power constricting us.
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開皇初太原童謠
大唐創業起居注
法律存。道德在。白旗天子出東海。
A children’s song from Tai Yuan where the first emperor of Tang dynasty originated. The wordsgo like this : as long as the law exists, there will be morality. The emperor goes on ships on theEastern Sea.
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桃李子歌
大唐創業起居注
桃李子。莫浪語。黃鵠繞山飛。宛轉花園裏。
桃花園。 宛轉屬旌旛。
A song about a peach garden and plums. Tang emperor’s surname is Li, which literally meansplum. This song predicted the coming to power of the Li family. People were amazed that whatthe song was hinting at should come true.
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慧化尼歌
大唐創業起居注
東海十八子。八井喚三軍。手持雙白雀。頭上戴紫雲。
丁丑語甲子。深藏入堂裏。何意坐堂裏。中央有天子。
西北天光照。龍山昭童子。赤光連北斗。童子木上懸白旛。
胡兵紛紛滿前後。拍手唱堂堂。驅羊向南走。
胡兵未濟漢不整。治中都護有八井。興伍伍。仁義行。武得九九得聲名。童子木底百丈水。
東家井裏五色星。我語不可信。問取衛先生。
A song sung by a nun concerning what China would become.
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楊濟引諺
通鑑
生子癡。了官事。If one should have stupid sons, then one does not ever have to worry about them getting intotrouble with the government, as they could not possibly be in any government posts.
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魏孝武帝遷長安時諺
通鑑
熒惑入南斗。 天子下 殿走。
The emperor would run off the court when the constellation was in certain arrangement.
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唐太宗引諺
通鑑
生狼猶恐如羊。
A wolf is afraid of giving birth to a son who has the character of a lamb. A proverb referred to byTang Emperor Tai concerning his crown prince, Zhi whose character was too weak.
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薛克構引諺
通鑑
娶婦得公主。無事取官府。
If one is married to a princess, it is like trying to have more trouble with the government.
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上元元年淮西謠言
通鑑
手執金刀起東方。
A rumor predicting the uprising of a warlord holding a gold saber in the east.
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時人稱揚益二州語
通鑑
揚一。益二。
In the country, Yang Zhou (equivalent to a state) is the most prosperous and Yi Zhou is next tothat.
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胡三省引鄙語論司馬懿
通鑑
棋逢敵手難藏行。
When one meets an opponent with equal competence in a chess game, it is hard to hide anysecret skills.
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胡三省引鄙語論後唐後漢二后
通鑑
福至心靈。禍來神昧。When one is having good fortune, one’s mind tends to be clear. When one is struck by a disaster,one’s mind tends to be muddled.
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理宗紹定時人語
宋季三朝政要
陰陽眠變理。天地醉經綸。
Words said during the Shao Ding era of Song’s Emperor Li. It says that the emperor’s chiefadvisor is sick in bed and the emperor himself is too drunk to do anything. These words, ofcourse, were said very indirectly.
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里巷為馬光祖許堪史嵩之謠
宋季三朝政要
光祖做總領。許堪為節制。丞相要起復。援例。
Words said by people about five court officials who were only good at pleasing the emperorrather than at doing any good work.
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池州二士哭趙昴發言
宋季三朝政要
生為大宋人。死為大宋鬼。何以洗此污。清溪一泓水。
Words said by two people who mourned a couple who hanged themselves because of the end ofthe Song dynasty.
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京師為伯顏語
庚申外史
上把君欺。下把民虐。倚恃著太皇太后。Words said in the capital city about Buo Yan who was an official of Song yet surrendered to thenew Yuan dynasty. The words go like this: He lies to the emperor and abuses people under him.He is relying on his close relationship with the emperor’s grandmother.
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京師人為脫脫丞相語
庚申外史
脫脫丞相開乾河。
Words referring to the failed attempt of the emperor’s chief advisor, Tuo Tuo, to dig up a canal in the capital city.
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江西民為華林賊土官兵謠
炎徼紀聞
華林賊。來亦得。土兵來。死不測。黃狐跳梁白狐立。十家九家邏柴棘。
A song sung by people of Jiang Xi concerning the bandits and the government troops who weredispatched to eliminate the bandits. The words go like this : It is not too bad when the banditscome, but when the government troops come, we could die easily and everyone no longer has apeaceful life.
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廣西人為猺蠻謠
炎徼紀聞
盎有一斗米。莫泝藤峽水。囊有一陌錢。莫上府江船。
A song sung by people of Guang Xi about one section of a river gorge in which the bandits got together and stood on the hills overlooking the boats going by, then robbed and killed the travelers.
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韓雍引諺論滅猺
炎徼紀聞
救火焉。而噓之。
When one tries to put out a fire, one should not give the fire more wind to burn higher.
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粵西宣慰氏族諺
炎徼紀聞
思播田楊。兩廣岑黃。Words referring to the major population groups with the family names of Tian, Yang, Chen and Huang in southwestern and southern China.
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播凱二州人為楊氏兄弟諺
炎徼紀聞
骨肉臡醢。參商播凱。
Of all the bloody strife between brothers, Yang You and Yang Ai had the worst case.
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苗人復讎諺
炎徼紀聞
苗家仇。九世休。
The feud among the groups of Miao people can be extended to nine generations.
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羅羅國諺
炎徼紀聞
水西羅鬼。斷頭掉尾。
Words referring to some tribal groups in Southern China whose people are violent and takepleasure in bloody conflicts.
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兩廣征猺諺
炎徼紀聞
比年小征。 三年大征。
In Guang Dong and Guang Xi, there is constantly warfare between the Chinese with neighboringtribal groups.
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京師為溫體仁謠二則
明季北略
崇皇帝。 溫閣老。崇禎皇帝遭溫了。
Two songs sung by people in the capital city during Ming Emperor Cong Zhen’s reign (the last emperor of Ming), indicating that the emperor has used the wrong person as his chief advisor.
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盧州民為許宦妾謠
明季北略
一砲打死二大王。
One cannon shot killed two bandits leaders. Words said by people of Lu Zhou about Xu Huan Qie who lit up the cannon in Lu Zhou when bandits were attacking the place.
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四川人為陳士奇謠
明季北略
學憲廣文。
Words said by people of Su Chuan about Chen Shi Qi, who was the superintendent of the school system. Under his management, even poor people got to attend the schools.
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京師為劉懋謠
綏寇紀略
劉給事裁省驛遞。驅民為盜。
A song sung by people in the capital city for Liu Mao, who had proposed some policyconcerning the government system which resulted in the creation of more bandits.
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熹宗時童謠
綏寇紀略
天下兵起。遍地皆煙。When the world is going to have unrest because of rebels, we see smoke first. The smoke refersto a kind of fire therapy used for healing. Smoke therapy seems to be in vogue everytime there isa major unrest.
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慶陽軍中為張良臣語
明史紀事本末
不怕金牌張。 惟怕七條鎗。
Zhang Liang Chen who had a golden shield is not to be feared; it is his seven god sons who usedspears who should be feared.
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李登負罌木歌
明史紀事本末
癰之不決而狃於痏。危巢不覆而令梟止。
A song sung by an oil vendor about how to eliminate different factions of a warlord’s followersby using internal strife to make them kill each other.
