Magpie

In the following poem, set to the tune Celebrating the Sacred Dynasty, the magpie is a wise craftsman who builds a strong and secure house. However, the poem invokes a metaphor of the Duke of Zhou, and that must surely be from the Shījīng [詩經] I.2.12, which begins:

維鵲有巢，維鳩居之
saksaha-i feye be / dudu ejelembiThe nest of the magpie / is occupied by the turtledove

The commentary on this poem from the Manchu translation of the Shījīng reads:

saksaha feye arara faksi.	The magpie is the maker of the nest.
terei feye mujakū akdun beki.	Its nest is truly strong and secure.
dudu-i banin moco, feye arame bahanarakū.	The turtledove, by nature, is crude, and cannot build a nest.
ememungge saksaha-i belen-i araha feye de bimbi.	Some live in the nests ready-made by the magpies.

The use of the words faksi, akdun, beki in the poem below show a direct allusion to the commentary above. The ending lines of the Manchu poem ask a question that could be understood in two different ways, depending on whether faksi means “craftsman” or “craftiness”:

• Who is taught by this kind of wise craftsman?
• Who is taught by this kind of clever craftiness?

I think the ambiguity may be intentional, allowing the poet to simultaneously challenge the wisdom of working hard when one’s work will ultimately be taken over by another, and also to invite the listener to consider what kind of person would see this and take it as a model for their own dishonest behavior.

	saksaha [鵲雀],		Magpie
	Staatsbibliothek 11.59 (View Online)
	banitai,		By nature,
	banin gali,		precocious in disposition,
	jilgaci,		when it sings,
	jilgan sabi,		its song is an omen,
5	jeo gung duibulen,		it was a metaphor of the Duke of Zhou.
	feye arambi,		It makes a nest,
	uce fa,		doors and windows
	akdun beki,		strong and secure.
	tacibuhangge weci,		Who are the ones that are taught
10	enteke sure faksi.		by this kind of clever craftiness?

Translation Notes

weci, this is either “from whom” or the plural form of we, “who?” I think the latter makes more sense in this context.

The Old Fisherman

In this poem, the fisherman is both poor and rich at the same time. While he has little in the way of valuable goods and property, with his simple outdoor livelihood he is rich in what he wants: Food, wine and a beautiful landscape.

	nimaha butara mafa [漁翁],		The Old Fisherman
	Staatsbibliothek 11.13 (View Online)
	banjin ai,		What is he like?
	borgon ambula,		With great heaps
	dehe sijin welmiyeku,		of hooks, lines, fishing poles,
	nure nimaha sampa,		of wine, fish and shrimp
5	bayakan mafa.		the old man is rich.
	teku ai,		What is his dwelling?
	ūlen hon fiyangga,		His house is very colorful,
	tugi suman boo leli,		his home of clouds and mist is vast,
	ula alin hūwa amba,		his garden of rivers and mountains is great,
10	mukei falangga.		in a watery neighborhood.

The Tin Maidservant

The Tin Maidservant is a name for a pot (汤婆子) that could be filled with hot water, wrapped in a quilt, and placed in a bed to keep it warm. Like the Clay Daughter-in-Law, this poem simultaneously talks about a woman and a household article. Maybe it is a riddle, intended to make the listener think of a woman, while the answer is a household article. Or maybe the household article is a thin disguise and it really is about the woman.

	toholon nehū [錫奴],		The Tin Maidservant
	Staatsbibliothek 11.87 (View Online)
	gebu fusihūn,		Of humble reputation,
	saikan banin,		but beautiful appearance,
	banjinjiha wenjehun,		is the warmth that has come to live here.
	adanjici icangga,		Pleasant when accompanying one,
5	abai duyen,		never indifferent,
	dembei nesuken,		very gentle,
	haji halhūn,		amorous.
	beye ufuhi ujen,		Body partly heavy,
	ume foihori tuwara,		do not treat her carelessly,
10	urui ginggun.		be always respectful.

The Clay Daughter-in-Law

There are two Staatsbibliothek poems titled The Clay Daughter-in-Law, a term that refers to a type of doll (sometimes a magical figure, also called 魔合罗, mó hé luó). They praise the doll as the ideal daughter-in-law: Serious but pretty, and adored by children, exemplifying motherly love.

The two poems are closely related, and this is made clear by the use of the word dacan. This term does not appear in my dictionaries or anywhere else in the SBJ poetry, so I have had to make a guess at its meaning from context, yet it appears in both of these poems in connection with the question of who will marry the doll. It seems quite likely that one of these poems is a response to the other.

The opening line of the second poem suggests an interesting subversive alternate reading. The word boihon means “clay,” but it can also be a variant spelling of boigon, “property,” and the two words were probably pronounced the same. If we read this line as “fated to be property” then the second poem takes on a subtly different tone. However, I cannot tell whether I want to read it this way because of my own cultural values, or whether the poet intended to invoke this ambiguous meaning.

The first poem is to the tune Celebrating the Sacred Dynasty:

	boihon urun [泥媳婦],		The Clay Daughter-in-Law
	Staatsbibliothek 11.86 (View Online)
	urun buyakan,		The daughter-in-law is rather small.
	abai dacan,		Whither is she destined?
	yaka ini hojihon,		Who will be her groom?
	banjinjiha ya aniya,		In what year did she come to live here?
5	sohon ihan,		In the Yellow Ox year.
	hehei doro giyan,		The right way of a woman
	dulin yongkiyan,		is to be perfect in halves.
	jingji dade hocikon,		Serious, but also pretty.
	buya juse niorokoi,		A motherly love
10	aja jilan.		that charms the little children.

The second poem is to the tune Heavenly Spice:

	boihon urun [泥媳婦],		The Clay Daughter-in-Law
	Staatsbibliothek 11.51 (View Online)
	boihon hesebun,		To be clay is her fate,
	yala unenggi gūnin,		indeed she is sincere,
	heni oilohon akū,		not the slightest bit frivolous.
	urun,		For a daughter-in-law
5	ujen jingji hon sain.		to be grave and serious is very good.
	dacan talihūn,		Her destiny is undecided,
	tusuhengge ya eigen,		to what husband will she be given?
	ainci nairahūn dere,		Presumably she is gentle.
	gosin,		Compassion,
10	buya juse haji ten.		for little children, is the height of love.