The Song of the Wretched Scholar, in 5-syllable couplets

Staatsbibliothek fascicles 4 and 14 contain a total of four poems written in five-syllable couplets, of which the poem below is one example. It seems this poem is further organized into quatrains (pairs of couplets), based on the changes of subject matter. This form, borrowed from Chinese tradition, must have been somewhat difficult for a Manchu poet because it limits most lines to two words.

The scholar in the poem is an idealized character, his wretched exterior contrasted with a noble interior. We don’t really get to see the scholar as a whole person, however, with hopes and fears and weaknesses and idiosyncrasies, and in that way the subject seems very shallow.

As the last couplet suggests, we are likely to wonder who the scholar is, and I think the poet had a particular person in mind. Unfortunately, I have never yet seen a Manchu poem where a person is actually named outright, so we may never for certain whom this was intended to describe.

	yadahūn saisa-i ucun		The Song of the Wretched Scholar
	Staatsbibliothek 14.8 (View Online)
	kokima saisa,		The indigent scholar
	umesi yobo,		is quite funny.
	suilacun canggi,		All he has is hardship,
	yadahūn noho,		he’s covered in poverty.
5	abai etuku,		Where are his clothes from?
	abai jemengge,		Where are his meals from?
	aide boo ūlen,		Where is his house and home?
	aide tuwa muke,		Where are his fire and water?
	ai wehe yaha,		What coal does he have?
10	ai jeku bele,		What food and grain?
	jiha yamaka,		Has he any money?
	ulin aibide,		Where is his property?
	nagan fulahūn,		His kang is pink,
	dere [几] ajige,		his table is small,
15	agūra seci,		as for implements,
	mucen-i teile,		just a cooking pot.
	juwari halukan,		Summer is warm,
	kemuni yebe,		so that is nicer,
	tuweri šahūrun,		but winter is cold,
20	ainu hamire,		how will he tolerate it?
	muru ubiyada,		His form is detestable,
	gisun eimede,		his speech repugnant,
	cira horoki,		his face looks old,
	giru šoyoro,		his appearance wrinkled.
25	gūnin wesihun,		His thoughts are exalted,
	beye giohoto,		though he has a beggar’s body.
	oilo buyasi,		Outside he’s humble,
	dolo yekengge,		inside he’s grand.
	hesebun juken,		Fated to be common,
30	mujilen tondo,		his mind is upright,
	mujin ambakan,		his aspirations are great,
	yabun hošonggo,		his deeds are righteous.
	jurgan tuwakiyahai,		As he watches over his virtues,
	hanja hairame,		he loves honesty,
35	jalangga beki,		he’s strong in frugality,
	sahiba moco,		unskilled at fawning.
	aisi de heolen,		Unconcerned with profit,
	tacin de hojo,		gratified in study,
	derenggei doli,		noble in substance,
40	gicukei oilo,		disgraceful in appearance.
	baitalan eden,		Lacking employment,
	funiyagan onco,		his forbearance is vast,
	ere we seci,		if you ask who this is,
	yan dzeng [顏曾] ni gese.		it’s the likes of Yán Huí and Zēngzǐ.

Translation difficulties

derenggei doli. For doli Norman has “the pulp of fruit.” Since the poet has paired it with oilo in the next line, it suggests a meaning that contrasts the scholar’s inner (dolo) being with his outer (oilo) appearance. I chose the translation “substance” as a term that could capture the idea of the stuff a person is made of as well as the stuff you find inside a fruit.