古谣谚 卷十六

师旷为周太子晋歌

汲冢周书

国诚\寧矣。

远人来观。

修义经矣。

好乐无荒。

A song sung by Shi Kuang, the court musician, to Princess Jin of the Zhou kingdom. The words go like this: The kingdom is in such peaceful state that people come from afar to visit. We are working on some scriptures and yet we have not ignored music.

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时人为于公严延年语

前汉纪

于公高门以待对。

严母除地以望丧。

Words referring to two different officials who had to do with criminal trials: Yu Ding Guo was good at serving justice, while Yan Yan Lian was always too apt at executing people.

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朝廷称张释之于定国语

前汉纪

张释之为廷尉。

天下无冤民。

于定国为廷尉。

天下自不冤。

When Zhang Shi Zhi was the chief judge of the supreme court, there were no people who were framed. When Yu Ding Guo held the same job, the whole country never had any injustice.

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宛郡乡里为茨充号

东观汉记

一马两车﹑茨子河。

Words referring to how Ci Chong gave his friend a ride in his own charriot after his friend’s horse died.

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逢萌哭言

东观汉记

新乎。

新乎。

Words cried out by Feng Meng, who was prophesying that Wang Mang’s Xin dynasty wouldcome to an end.

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汉明德皇后引俗语

东观汉记

时无赭。

浇黄土。

Since we do not have the mineral that is used for giving yellow color, we could use yellow sand instead. An idiom meaning that the replacement will not work as the original would.

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京师为杨政祁圣元号

东观汉记

说经鏗鏗﹑杨子行。

论难僠僠﹑祁圣元。

Words said in the capital city about two scholars of scripture, Yang Zi Xing, who was good at lecturing, and Qi Sheng Yuan, who was good at debating.

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人为陈嚚语

东观汉记

关东说诗﹑陈君期。

In the Guang Dong area, there was Chen Jun Qi, who was good at explicating poems.

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更始时长安里閭语

东观汉记

使儿居市决。

作者不能得。

Words said by people of Chang An about how Emperor Geng Shi was employing bad people.

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京师称宋度语

谢承后汉书

宋叔平。

一史奏。

罢九卿。

Words said by people in the capital city concerning Song Du, who proposed to impeach all the high-ranking officials in the court.

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蜀郡童为黄昌谣

谢承后汉书

两日出。

天兵戢。

A song sung by children in Si Chuan, predicting the arrival of a new governor named HaungChang.

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吴人为彭修歌

谢承后汉书

时岁仓卒。

盗贼\从横。

大戟强弩不可当。

赖遇贤令子阳。

A song sung by people in the southeast of China about Governor Peng Xiu, who was able to persuade a gang of pirates to leave his territory alone.

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京师为唐约谣

谢承后汉书

治身无嫌﹑唐仲谦。

A song sung in the capital city about the official Tang Zhong Lian could keep government secrets, and never took bribes, and never had anything to do with conflicts of interest.

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京师为张磐谚

谢承后汉书

闻清白。

张子石。

Words said in the capital city about the official Zhang Qian, who would never take money that did not belong to him.

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苍梧人为陈临歌

谢承后汉书

苍梧陈君恩广大。

令死罪囚有后代。

德参古贤天报施。

A song sung by people of Cang Wu praising their governor, Chen Lin, who allowed conjugalvisits for a prisoner who had no son yet.

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乡人为秦护歌

谢承后汉书

冬无裤。

有秦护。

Qin Hu has no pants to wear in the winter. A song sung by his town’s people about how hewas clean on his job, never taking any bribes or gifts.

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诸儒为刘愷语

华嶠后汉书

难经伉伉﹑刘太常。

Words said by some scholars about Liu Kai, who was always referring to scriptures.

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桓帝时人为党人谣

袁崧后汉书

九卿直言﹑有陈蕃。

天下好交﹑荀伯修。

天下冰楞﹑王秀陵。

天下忠平﹑魏少英。

天下稽古﹑刘伯祖。

天下良辅﹑杜周甫。

天下英才﹑赵仲经。

Praises sung by people during Eastern Han’s Emperor Huan’s reign, concerning a group ofintellectuals who were talented and righteous.

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京师称李膺陈蕃语

袁松后汉书

李元礼巖巖如玉山。

陈仲举轩轩如千里驥。

Words said inthe capital city, praising Li Ying and Chen Zhong Ju, who were the leaders of a group of intellectuals trying to reform the government.

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南阳为朱公叔语

袁松后汉书

朱公叔肃肃如松柏下风。

Words said by people of Nan Yang concerning Zhu Gong Shu, who was considered very righteous.

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时人为公沙氏兄弟号

袁松后汉书

公沙六龙。

天下无双。

Words said about the six outstanding sons of Gong Sha Mu.

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太原介休乡里谚

后汉纪

欲作郭林宗耶。

Would you like to be Guo Lin Zong, who was always considerate and polite to others?

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王昶引谚

梁祚魏国统

知足不辱。

如不知足。

则失所欲。

Once one feels content about what one has, then humiliation does not arise. If one could never feel content, one would never even get what one wished to have.

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魏孝文帝菖蒲歌

后魏典略

两菖蒲。

新野药。

A song sung by Wei’s Emperor Xiao Wen praising the beauty of calamus.

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齐武成殂后谣

三国典略

千钱置果园。

中有芙蓉树。

破券不分明。

莲子隨他去。

A song predicting the misfortune of the last emperor of Qi dynasty.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

京师为丁谓寇准语

东都事略寇准传

欲得天下寧。

当拔眼中钉。

欲得天下好。

莫如召寇老。

Words said in the capital city about two court officials. If people want peace in the world, then Ging Wei should be gotten rid of, if people want a good world, then they need Kou Zhuan.

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益州人为王曙谣

东都事略王曙传

蜀守之良。

前张后王。

惠我赤子。

而无流亡。

何以报之。

俾寿而昌。

A song sung by people of Si Chuan praising their good governor Wang Shu. The words said that Wang Shu gave them such good lives that the only way to pay him back was to wish him longevity and prosperity.

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京师为范仲淹谣

东都事略范仲淹传

朝廷无忧有范君。

京师无事有希文。

A song sung in the capital city praising the court official Fan Zhong Yan. The words said that as long as Fan was in the court, then there were no worries. As long as he was in the capital city, nothing would go wrong there.

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军中为韩琦范仲淹语

东都事略范仲淹传

军中有一韩。

西贼\闻之心骨寒。

军中有一范。

西贼\闻之惊破胆。

Words said in the military about two generals, Fan Zhong Yan and Han Qi. As long as they wereleading the army, the bandits from the west would be frightened.

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广州为邵曄陈世卿歌

东都事略邵曄传

邵父陈母。

除我二苦。

A song sung by people of Guang Zhou, praising the fact that their two officials, Shao Ye andChen Shi Qing, were just as good as their parents at eliminating hardships from their lives.

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天祚时国人谚

契丹国志天祚皇帝纪上

五箇翁翁四百岁。

南面北面顿瞌睡。

自己精神管不得。

有甚心情杀女直。

A song sung by people of the country Qi Dan (west of China), about how its emperor and his advisors were fairly incompetent in governing the country.

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天祚时狂人歌

契丹国志天祚皇帝纪上

辽国且亡。

A song sung by someone with a human head and the body of a beast. The song says that the Qi Dan nation will die out.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

明昌四年京师谣言

大金国志章宗皇帝纪上

东欲行。

西欲飞。

中间一路赤垂垂。

我醉不醉知不知。

A folk song sung in the capital about an uprising organized by Prince Zheng in order to take Jin dynasty Emperor Zhang’s throne. Prince Zheng and his people were arrested when they were all drunk and asleep.

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时人为来虞二氏子语

弘简录

护儿儿作相。

世南男作匠。

The son of Hu Er (who was a general before he was executed) became the emperor’s chiefadvisor, while the son of Yu Shi Nan (who was the emperor’s chief advisor) became a craftsman.

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緱氏民为王旭谣

弘简录

永寧三钁。

緱氏一縑。

Words said by people of Guo Shi county about their mayor Wang Xu concerning his self-discipline and honesty.

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禿刺引俗言

续弘简录

一箭中麋。

毋曰自能。

百兔未得。

未可遽止。

If one shoots a deer with just one arrow, one should not boast about it. When one cannot shoot at one hundred rabbits, then own should start to be afraid of one’s incompetence.

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时人为吴烈妇谣

续弘简录

红羊年。

黑鼠月。

张妇吴。

儼遗烈。

九山风酸泖波血。

二气舛错愁云结。

一树梅花惊飘雪。

A song sung by the contemporaries of Ms. Zhang, Wu Miao Ling about their regret that she hadto kill herself because of her sense of guilt and her fear that her father’s legal trouble mightimplicate her husband and his family.

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方国珍未乱时台州童谣

续弘简录

杨屿青。

出海精。

A children’s song foretelling Fang Guo Zhen and his brothers’ uprising against governmentoppression.