44. The Song of a Faithful Woman

A poem by Meng Jiao, translated by Hyun Woo Kim, and an announcement

Wutong trees grow old, leaning against each other;

Mandarin ducks come together to die in couples.

A virtuous wife cherishes following her husband to death,

Also laying down her life in such a way.

Waves, I swear, will not rise;

My heart is the water in a well.

「烈女操」

梧桐相待老

鴛鴦會雙死

貞婦貴徇夫

舍生亦如此

波瀾誓不起

妾心井中水

From Hyun Woo:

Today’s poem is problematic, at least to its modern readers. The Chinese character I translated as “faithful”, “烈”, often carries the nuance of being a martyr or dying for a greater cause. In short, the poem is praising a woman who will die along when her husband dies. A lighter version of a “faithful woman” or “烈女” in Confucian societies was a widow refusing to get married again, but it is quite clear that the poet is calling for something even more hardcore: become a martyr to prove your faithfulness to your (dead) husband. Such faithfulness is embodied by the still “water in a well”, where no waves will rise. Again, not every “faithful woman” was someone who killed herself after the death of her husband, but we cannot deny that there was a trend of praising such a deed.

Announcement:

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