《古谣谚》 卷五
商邱成醉歌
汉书景武昭宣成元功臣表
出居安能郁郁。Why am I feeling unhappy as a government official?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
班固引谚论刑法
汉书邢法志
鬻棺者欲岁之疫。
Coffin sales people would like to have a plague every year.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
元帝诗童谣
汉书五行志二
井水溢。灭灶烟。灌玉堂。流金门。
On the overthrow of the present ruling government.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
成帝时燕燕童谣
汉书五行志二
燕燕﹑尾涎涎。
张公子时相见。木门仓琅根。燕飞来。啄皇孙。
皇孙死。燕啄矢。
On how the woman dancer Zhao Fei Yan entered the emperor’s palace by pleasing the emperor and murdered the princes for her own benefit.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
成帝时黄爵谣
汉书五行志二
邪径败良田。谗口乱善人。桂树华不实。黄爵巢其顛。
故未人所羡。今为人所怜。
On how the Han dynasty fell to disgrace because of mismanagement of affairs and personnel, leading to the take-over by Wang Mang.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
魏河內民为史起歌
汉书沟洫志
鄴有贤令兮为史公。决漳水兮灌鄴旁。终古舄卤兮生稻梁。
On Ye’s (place name) having a good official who was able to resolve an irrigation problem and to enable crops growing on salted land.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
郑白渠歌
汉书沟洫志
田於何所。池阳谷口。郑国在前。白渠起后。
举臿为云。决渠为雨。水流灶下。鱼跃入釜。
涇水一石。其泥数斗。且溉且粪。长我禾黍。
衣食京师。亿万之口。
On the accomplishment of an efficient irrigation system that ensured large harvests to feed many in the capital city.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
班固引谚论经方
汉书艺文志
有病不治。常得中医。
If one delays the treatment of a disease, one does not recover quickly.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
贾谊引里谚论廉耻
汉书贾谊传
欲投鼠而忌器。
On wanting to attack someone yet being afraid of the consequences.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
路温书引俗语
汉书路温书传
画地为狱议不入。刻木为吏期不对。
On how the prison officials practiced such excessive cruelty that they were jeopardizing the entire system.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
广川王去为陶望卿歌
汉书广川惠王越传
背尊章。嫖以忽。谋\屈奇。起自绝。行周流。自生患。
谅非望。今谁怨。On a strife between two mistresses of Prince Qi. One of them had to take her own life after failing to please the prince because of the other’s slander of her.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
广川王去为诸姬歌
汉书广川惠王越传
愁莫愁。居无聊。心重结。意不舒。內茀郁。忧哀积。
上不见天生何益。日崔陨。时不再。愿弃躯。死无悔。
On to the boring life of Prince Qi’s mistresses after they were ordered to stay within their living quarters and granted no freedom of going out.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
李陵海上歌
汉书苏武传
径万里兮度沙幕。为君將兮奋匈奴。路穷绝兮矢刃摧。
士眾灭兮名已隤。老母已死。虽欲报恩將安归。A song sung by Li Ling, a Han general who had to surrender to Xiong Nu after he was set up to lose one key battle. This song expresses his feelings of hopelessness and sorrow because of his mother’s execution by the emperor because of his surrender.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
司马迁引谚
汉书司马迁传
谁为为之。孰令听之。
On the sadness of Si Ma Qian who advocated justice by speaking on behalf of Li Ling (as in 0171), and yet was punished by the emperor.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
燕王旦歌
汉书燕刺王旦传
归空城兮。狗不吠。鸡不鸣。横术何广广兮。固知国中之无人。A song sung by a prince who complained that there were no qualified people to serve as officials.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
华容夫人歌
汉书燕刺王旦传
发纷纷兮寘渠。骨藉藉兮亡居。母求死子兮妻求死夫。
裴回两渠间兮君子独安居。
A song that expresses the great suffering of Madam Hua Rong who experienced the execution of her husband and children and was abducted into the service of a powerful man.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
广陵王胥歌
汉书广陵厉王胥传
欲久生兮无终。长不乐兮安穷。奉天期兮不得须臾。
千里马兮驻待路。黄泉下兮幽深。人生要死﹑何为苦心。
何用为乐心所喜。出入无悰为乐亟。
蒿里召兮郭门阅。死不得取代庸。身自逝。
A song sung by Prince Xu on the brink of his execution after he was found to have used voodoo or shamanism to try to overthrow the ruling emperor.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
杨惲拊缶歌
汉书杨惲传
田彼南山。芜秽不治。种一顷豆。落而为萁。
人生行乐耳。须富贵何时。
A song sung by Yang Yun about how the government is in a mess and how people should try to enjoy their lives by not worrying about pursing wealth and fame.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
诸儒为朱云语
汉书朱云传
五鹿岳岳。朱云折其角。How Zhu Yun was able to defeat the emperor’s favorite five scholars in debate.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
琅邪里中为王吉语
汉书王吉传
东家有树。王阳妇去。东家枣完。去妇復还。
How Wang Ji divorced his wife for picking fruit from a tree grown over from next door. His neighbor cut the fruit tree down and asked him to take his wife back.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
汉书称王贡语
汉书王贡传
王阳在位。贡公弹冠。
How Wang Ji and Gong Yu would both work together and retreat from work together.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
京师为王骏语
汉书王吉传
前有赵张。后有三王。
The capable people in the capital city are first Chao and then three men with the same surname Wang.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
贡禹引俗语
汉书贡禹传
何以孝弟为。财多而光荣。何以礼仪为。史书而仕宦。
何以谨慎为。勇猛而临官。
How the morality of society has deteriorated so much due to the government’s bad policy of selling office positions.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
邹鲁谚
汉书韦贤传
遗子黄金满籯。不如一经。
Leaving the children with a lot of gold is not as good as leaving them with just one book.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
京师为诸葛丰语
汉书诸葛丰传
闲何阔。逢诸葛。
How Zhu Ge Fong is doing a good job at his post.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
刘辅引里语
汉书陆辅传
腐木不可以为柱。卑人不可以为主。Rotten wood should not be used as posts and servants should not be acting as masters.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
长安为萧朱王贡语
汉书萧育传
萧朱结綬。王贡弹冠。How friends recommend one another for jobs.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
上郡为冯氏兄弟歌
汉书冯野王传
大冯君。小冯君。兄弟继踵相因循。聪明贤知惠吏民。
政如鲁卫德化钧。周公﹑康叔犹二君。
A song sung by people in Shang county on how the two Fong brothers are doing a good job as officials in that county.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
诸儒为匡衡语
汉书匡衡传
无说诗。匡鼎来。匡说诗。解人颐。
Kuang Heng is good at interpreting poetry.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
诸儒为张禹语
汉书张禹传
欲为论。念张文。
How Zhang Yu is the ultimate expert on Confucius’ Lun Yu (the Annalect).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
薛宣引鄙语
汉书薛宣传
苛政不亲。烦苦伤恩。
Inappropriate and harsh policies distance the people from the government. Not only do they induce suffering and pain, they also counter the favors given to the people in the past.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
汝南鸿陂童谣
汉书翟方进传
坏陂谁。翟子威。饭我豆食羹芋魁。反乎覆。陂当復。
谁云者﹑两黄鵠
A children’s song on how a past policy of dismantling a dyke and making a lake out of a river by Zhai Zi Wei is causing the current drought problem.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
王嘉引里语
汉书王嘉传
千人所指。无病而死。
If thousands of people have complaints against one person, that person will die even with no illness.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
京师为杨雄语
汉书杨雄传赞
惟寂寞。自投阁。爱清静。作符命。
On some political complication after Wang Mang took the throne. Wang Mang was trying to get rid of some people who assisted him in taking over the office fearing that they would do the same for a rival.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
长安中为尹赏歌
汉书尹赏传
安所求子死。桓东少年场。生时谅不谨。枯骨后何葬。
On how the mayor of Chang An, Yin Shang, arrested a few hundred juvenile delinquents in the city and left them to die in a deep cave covered with rocks. Only one hundred days later, he allowed the family to identify the bodies and take them home. The song says that those juveniles may have been bad, yet is it right to bury a body that is mere skeleton.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
班固引谚论货殖
汉书货殖传序
以贫求富。农不如工。工不如商。刺绣文。不如倚市门。
The best way to become wealthy is through trade.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
长安为谷永楼护号
汉书楼护传
谷子云笔札。楼君卿脣舌。
On two celebrities of the time, one was a good writer by the name of Gu Zi Yun, the other was a good debater named Lou Jun Qing.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
閭里为楼护歌
汉书楼护传
五侯治丧楼君卿。
All key government officials assisted with the funeral proceedings of Lou Jun Qing’s mother.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
牢石歌
汉书石显传
牢邪石邪。五鹿客邪。印何纍纍。綬若若邪。
On how a few people were so powerful politically speaking.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
长安谣
汉书石显传
伊徙鴈。鹿徙菟。去牢与陈实无贾。
A folk song of Chang An city on how they were happy about those powerful people (described in 0197) lost their political clout.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
平城歌
汉书匈奴传
平城之下亦诚\苦。七日不食﹑不能彀弩。
The Xiong Nu (a tribe at the north of the Chinese border at the time) army had surrounded the city of Ping and the Han people and army were stuck in the city without food for seven whole days. The soldiers could not even use their bows.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
乌孙公主悲愁歌
汉书乌孙传
吾家嫁我兮天一方。远託异国兮乌孙王。穹庐为室兮旃为墙。
以肉为食兮酪为浆。居常土思兮心內伤。愿为黄鵠兮归故乡。
A song sung by a Chinese girl who married the chief of a neighboring foreign tribe for the sake of diplomatic ties. She did not like the nomadic food and environment and she did not know the tribal language. She was hoping to become a swan and fly home.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
戚夫人歌
汉书吕后传
子为王。母为虏。终日舂薄暮。常与死为伍。相离三千里。
当谁使告女。
A song sung by one of the concubines whose son became the second emperor of Han dynasty. Her complaint about being under house arrest caused the empress to order her execution.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
李延年歌
汉书李夫人传
北方有佳人。绝世而独立。一顾倾人城。再顾倾人国。寧不知倾城与倾国。佳人难再得。
A song sung to the emperor by the emperor’s musician Li Yan Nian who was trying to inform the emperor the exquisiteness of his beautiful sister.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
长安民为王氏五侯歌
汉书元后传
五侯初起。曲阳最怒。坏决高都。连竟外杜。
土山渐台西白虎。
A song sung by civilians in the city of Chang An about the extravagant lifestyle of five princes.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
长安为张竦语
汉书王莽传
欲求封。过张伯松。力战斗。不如巧为奏。
A song sung by people of Chang An about Chang Song who wrote a tribute to Wang Mang, the regent of the emperor’s court. Chang Song was rewarded for this flattering act.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
东方为王匡廉丹语
汉书王莽传
寧逢赤眉。不逢太师。太师尚可。更始杀我。
A song sung by people in northeastern China who were plagued by pillaging of officials and soldiers sent by the central ruling government.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
华人为高昌人歌
汉书逸文
驴非驴。马非马。
A song describing how barbaric the Gao Chang people were. Gao Chang was a kingdom in northwestern China.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
孟康引民语
汉书景帝纪
金可作。世可度。
A saying referring to the advantage of a penal code for producing fake gold.