Out in the mountain hollows a briar tangles,
The morning mist settles heavy upon it.
"There was a man so lovely,
Clear brow well rounded.
By chance I came across him,
And he let me have my will."
How easily he yielded,
I had hoped for a challenge.
Yet he proved worthy,
Not of life, but memory.
There is a man so lovely,
Brow obscured in blood.
By chance my arms still hold him,
And I let him have his will.
How valiantly I fight,
Yet still he hopes for revenge.
Will I prove worthy,
Of life, but not sanity?
Apr 2
Apr 2, 2026 at 7:50 PM UTC
Out in the mountain hollows a briar tangles,
The morning mist settles heavy upon it.
"There was a man so lovely,
Clear brow well rounded.
By chance I came across him,
And he let me have my will."
How easily he yielded,
I had hoped for a challenge.
Yet he proved worthy,
Not of life, but memory.
There is a man so lovely,
Brow obscured in blood.
By chance my arms still hold him,
And I let him have his will.
How valiantly I fight,
Yet still he hopes for revenge.
Will I prove worthy,
Of life, but not sanity?
This is a derivative reimagining of what else the lines of "In the Bushlands a Creeper Grows" (采蘩) from the Shijing could lead to under a different narrative trajectory. You can find the full English translation of the original text to see the actual intention/trajectory of the song:
Waley, A. (2005). Chinese poems. Routledge.
