Comments and Annotations

The present song is an excerpt from Annals of the States of Wu and Yue (《吴越春秋》).

In his stay in Wu as a prisoner, Goujian came across an idea to win the trust of the king of Wu in order that he might be allowed to return to his own state, and thus he instructed his senior minister Wen Zhong (?—472 BC), who stayed in the lost territory taking charge of state affairs, to prepare some articles of tribute, including 100,000 rolls of kudzu cloth. The Yue women, aware of their king’s plight and plan, gathered kudzu and spun and weaved with might and main.

Just as expected, when the Yues paid tribute to Wu, the king of Wu was overjoyed. In return he gave the State of Yue a scepter, had Yue’s lief enlarged and conferred on Yue the title of a state, at which people in Yue felt inspired.

In 473 BC, Yue finally gained the upper hand over Wu and annexed it.

The women of Yue, who had helped their king by preparing the tribute, sang the present song to express their sympathy with their king, their joy over the successful implementation of the king’s strategy and their confidence in the cause of restoration. The logical arrangement and the touching narration of the events lend the song a vivid clarity. About the background and the structuring of the song, please refer to Appendix I: Inquiries and Discussions, No. 5.