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Nán Shān Yǒu TáiOn the South Hill 南山有台
A Book of Songs blessing, wishing long life without end.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
南山有台
nán shān yǒu tái
北山有莱
běi shān yǒu lái
乐只君子
lè zhǐ jūn zǐ
邦家之基
bāng jiā zhī jī
乐只君子
lè zhǐ jūn zǐ
万寿无期
wàn shòu wú qī
Simplified characters; traditional title: 南山有臺. This is a long poem; only the best-known lines are shown, and “……” marks omitted passages.
Note on the text: This page presents a well-known excerpt; the full poem is longer in the traditional corpus.
English translation
On the south hill there is sedge,
on the north hill, goosefoot.
Joy to you, my lord,
foundation of the land.
Joy to you, my lord,
may you live ten thousand years.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
A Book of Songs blessing, wishing long life without end. The scene stays with you.
Background
A Book of Songs blessing, wishing long life without end.
Key words
- 南山 nán shān
- the southern mountains — often Zhongnan
- 有台 yǒu tái
- there is a terrace; having a platform
- 北山 běi shān
- the northern hills
About the poet: Book of Songs
The Book of Songs (Shijing) is the oldest anthology of Chinese poetry, compiling ritual hymns and folk songs from the Zhou dynasty.
Lifetime: c. 11th–6th c. BCE. Other famous works: The Quince (木瓜); The Ospreys Cry (关雎); Reeds (蒹葭); The Banks of the Qi (淇奥); On the South Hill (南山有台); The Deer Cry (鹿鸣); Heaven Protects You (天保); The Peach Tree Is Young (桃夭).
More by Book of Songs
- The Quince木瓜
- The Ospreys Cry关雎
- Reeds蒹葭
- The Banks of the Qi淇奥
- The Deer Cry鹿鸣
- Heaven Protects You天保
- The Peach Tree Is Young桃夭