The Mandarin "Lunch and Learn 午间中文" is a free, online, weekly 'Read-Aloud' series for Chinese language learners of all levels.
The series helps individuals learn and practice pronunciation in Mandarin, while engaging with Chinese literature, culture and history with fellow enthusiasts. Participants will enjoy live interactions with our language and cultural experts from home.
The full playlist of Lunch and Learn sessions are available on YouTube.
These materials correspond to the June 1 and June 8, 2020 sessions.
Guan-guan Go the Ospreys, the Book of Songs 《关雎∙诗经》 If you like learning Chinese language, literature, or particularly Chinese poetry, you have to know the Book of Songs（《诗经》), the fountainhead of Chinese literature, a collection of 305 poems, the finest form at the time and even today in Chinese language, compiled by Confucius, who lived from 551 to 479 B.C. For over 2,000 years, educated men and women in Chinese culture must, at some point, read the poems in the Book of Songs. Guan-guan Go the Ospreys（《关雎》）is the very first poem in the Book of Songs. In addition to its literary importance, many phrases and cultural references in this short poem, such as “窈窕淑女”, “求之不得”, “悠哉悠哉”, “辗转反侧” are still commonly used in modern Chinese. The poem is also one of the earliest documents referring to the important role of music in Chinese tradition. The selected English translation is by James Legge, a Scottish sinologist, missionary, and scholar, best known as an early and prolific translator of Classical Chinese texts into English. He was the first Professor of Chinese at Oxford University (1876–1897).
For more in the language, culture and history of the poem, please visit the complete Read-Aloud session of Guan-guan Go the Ospreys (《关雎》) on China Institute’s YouTube channel:
June 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g7SxCgVmlY&list=PLz- 17ZzYlEqluTIGsHsfD_5fiSpMAJfBS&index=5 June 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cm3bzFMJvy4&list=PLz- 17ZzYlEqluTIGsHsfD_5fiSpMAJfBS&index=4
关(guān) 雎 (jū) / Guan-guan Go the Ospreys
《诗经》/ from “the Book of Songs”
作者：佚名 /author unknown
翻译 / translation by James Legge guān guān jū jiū zài hé zhī zhōu Guan-guan go the ospreys , 关 关 雎 鸠， 在 河 之 洲。 On the islet in the river. yǎo tiǎo shū nǚ jūn zǐ hǎo qiú The modest , retiring , virtuous , young lady: --
窈 窕 淑 女， 君 子 好 逑。 For our prince a good mate she.
cēn cī xìng cài zuǒ yòu liú zhī Here long , there short, is the duckweed , 参 差 荇 菜， 左 右 流 之。 To the left, to the right, borne about by the current. yǎo tiǎo shū nǚ wù mèi qiú zhī The modest, retiring, virtuous, young lady: --
窈 窕 淑 女， 寤 寐 求 之。 Waking and sleeping, he sought her.
qiú zhī bù dé wù mèi sī fú He sought her and found her not, 求 之 不 得，寤 寐 思 服。 And waking and sleeping he thought about her. yōu zāi yōu zāi zhǎn zhuǎn fǎn cè Long he thought ; oh ! long and anxiously ;
悠 哉 悠 哉， 辗 转 反 侧。 On his side, on his back, he turned, and back again.
cēn cī xìng cài zuǒ yòu cǎi zhī Here long , there short , is the duckweed ; 参 差 荇 菜， 左 右 采 之。 On the left, on the right, we gather it. yǎo tiǎo shū nǚ qín sè yǒu zhī The modest , retiring , virtuous , young lady : --
窈 窕 淑 女， 琴 瑟 友 之。 With lutes, small and large, let us give her friendly
welcome. cēn cī xìng cài zuǒ yòu mào zhī Here long , there short , is the duckweed ; 参 差 荇 菜， 左 右 芼 之。 On the left, on the right, we cook and present it. yǎo tiǎo shū nǚ zhōng gǔ lè zhī The modest, retiring, virtuous, young lady: --
窈 窕 淑 女， 钟 鼓 乐 之。 With bells and drums let us show our delight in
her.