Lù MíngThe Deer Cry 鹿鸣
A Book of Songs feast poem: "I have fine guests; play the zither and the reed pipes."
Original Chinese text with pinyin
呦呦鹿鸣
yōu yōu lù míng
食野之苹
shí yě zhī píng
我有嘉宾
wǒ yǒu jiā bīn
鼓瑟吹笙
gǔ sè chuī shēng
Simplified characters; traditional title: 鹿鳴. 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
Yoo, yoo, the deer call,
eating the wild herbs in the field.
I have fine guests here —
play the zither, blow the reed pipes.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
A Book of Songs feast poem: "I have fine guests; play the zither and the reed pipes." The scene stays with you.
Background
A Book of Songs feast poem: "I have fine guests; play the zither and the reed pipes."
Key words
- 呦呦 yōu yōu
- you-you — the deer's calling cry
- 鹿鸣 lù míng
- the deer's cry — also a Book of Songs title
- 食野 shí yě
- feeding in the wilds
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
- On the South Hill南山有台
- Heaven Protects You天保
- The Peach Tree Is Young桃夭