Mù GuāThe Quince 木瓜
A Book of Songs poem about exchanging gifts: the token matters less than the bond.
Original Chinese text with pinyin
投我以木瓜
tóu wǒ yǐ mù guā
报之以琼琚
bào zhī yǐ qióng jū
匪报也
fěi bào yě
永以为好也
yǒng yǐ wéi hǎo yě
Simplified characters; traditional title: 木瓜. 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
She tossed me a quince;
I gave her a jade pendant in return.
Not as repayment —
but so we would be close forever.
Original translation by Poetune — literal but poetic, written for this site.
Line by line
Meaning and imagery
A Book of Songs poem about exchanging gifts: the token matters less than the bond. The scene stays with you.
Background
A Book of Songs poem about exchanging gifts: the token matters less than the bond.
Key words
- 木瓜 mù guā
- key word in the poem
- 琼琚 qióng jū
- key word in the poem
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 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