#“why are you heckling this clown for telling the truth? sure. the writing is subpar but give it a few decades and it might become mediocre!

[grand-theft-carbohydrates]

so i was looking at old chinese songs (research for my fic) and. guys. I'VE CONNECTED THE DOTS you didn't connect shit I'VE CONNECTED THEM!!!! So this poem is called "the Blue-collared Lad" from the state of Zheng (771–701 BCE). Blue robes were associated with scholars btw. it's commonly interpreted as a girlfriend lamenting her indifferent scholar boyfriend. (or perhaps, a scholar boyfriend lamenting his indifferent scholar boyfriend)

san guo fans notice anything??? ill give you a hint: the phrase "blue-collared lad, my heart longs for you" is REMIXED WORD FOR WORD into the poem Cao Cao wrote called Drinking Song The purpose of this poem is to a) flex his poetry skills and b) encourage all the talented scholars of the land to flock to his court. THE FACT THAT HE COUCHES HIS LONGING FOR TALENT WITH THE SAME WORDS OF A DESPERATE LOVER. IS. TRUELY SOMETHING!!!! also something about "folk music" making its way into "high art" makes me so happy. ⻘⻘⼦衿，悠悠我⼼。 但为君故，沉吟⾄今

Oh, you blue-gowned scholars, You linger on my heart. It is only because of you That I still chant these words.

呦呦⿅鸣，⻝野之苹。 我有嘉宾，⿎瑟吹笙。

But the deer call to us from the fields As they eat the charmed grasses. I have illustrious guests Play the drums and zither. Blow the reed pipes!

明明如⽉，何时可掇？ 忧从中来，不可断绝。

You are as brilliant as the moon When can I make you mine? Worry comes from within It never fully ends.

some of my favourite passages from the poem include this REALLY clever wordplay where "you you" [my heart "longs" for you] is echoed in the next line's onomatopoeia [the deer in the field bleats "you you"]. my brain really likes that. oh, and of course my all time favourite, "the magpie flies south and circles the tree three times, where shall he land?"

anyways someone whos better at chinese than me PLEASE peer review this. im half convinced it's just a mercury-fuelled delusion from eating too much canned tuna again.