《古谣谚》·卷二十五

韋杜二曲諺

歲華紀麗

城南韋杜。去天尺五。Words said about the style of two poets.

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臘日諺語

荊楚歲時記

臘鼓鳴。春草生。On the eighth of the lunar month December, people play drums to mark the beginning of the sprouting of spring grass.

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秦中諺

秦中歲時記

槐花黃。舉子忙。When the yellow flowers of the locust tree are blooming, scholars who do not pass the civil service test will have to compose new works in order to find other ways of being recommended for government posts.

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二月二日小兒戲具謠

帝城景物略

楊柳兒活﹑抽陀螺。楊柳兒青﹑放空鐘。楊柳兒死﹑踢毽子。楊柳發芽﹑打拔兒。

A children’s song concerning the kind of games and toys they play with at different times of the year.

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都城小兒祈雨歌二則

帝城景物略

青龍頭。白龍尾。小兒求雨天歡喜。麥子麥子焦黃。起動起

動龍王。大下小下。初一下到十八。摩訶薩。

風來了。雨來了。禾場背了穀來了。

A children’s song propitiating the sky for rain.

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拜月叩星歌

帝城景物略

月月月。拜三拜。休教兒生疥。

參兒辰兒。可憐溺床人兒。

A song propitiating the sun and moon for help in maintaining the health of children.

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武陵俗語

武陵競渡略

打得船來。過了端午。

When people are hitting the boats on shore, the time of the Dragon Boat Festival (the fifth of the lunar month of May) has passed.

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競渡散船歌

武陵競渡略

有也回。無也回。莫待江邊冷風吹。

A song sung during the dragon boat race. The song is alluding to the origin of the festival, in which people were racing boats to see who could find Qu Yuan first. Qu Yuan was a poet in ancient times. He killed himself by jumping into the river after his advice to his king was not taken. The words of the song are: whether one finds him or not, one ought to come back before the cold wind on the shore of the river starts to blow.

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划船俗歌

武降競渡略

花船贏了得時年。

If one wins the dragon boat race, one will have a good year.

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蓬葉諺

熙朝樂事

蓬開先百草。戴了春不老。

The raspberry plants bloom before all other kinds of plants. If a woman wears raspberry leaves, she will remain young forever.

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薺花諺

熙朝樂事

三春戴薺花。桃李羞繁華。

During the spring, people wear the flower of Qi plants. They are more attractiuve than peach or plum blossoms.

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戴柳諺

熙朝樂事

清明不戴柳。紅顏成皓首。

If a young person does not wear willow leaves during the early part of the lunar month of May, he or she will age quickly.

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上巳聽蛙聲占年諺

月令通考

上晝叫。上鄉熟。下晝叫。下鄉熟。終日叫。上下齊熟。

If the frogs call in the morning, then some places will have an early harvest. If the frogs call in the afternoon, some other places will harvest first. If the frogs call all day long, then every place will harvest simultaneously.

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清明晴雨諺二則

月令通考

簷前插柳青。農人休望晴。簷前插柳焦。農人好作驕。

午前晴。早蠶收。午後晴。晚蠶收。Two folk sayings concerning the implications of the weather on the day of Ching Ming in the lunar calendar. The first saying says that if it is a rainy day, the rain will not end for a while after that day. If it is a clear day, then farmers will have a good crop. The second song says that if it is a clear sky in the morning, people may harvest silk from their silk worms, and if it is a clear sky in the afternoon, then their harvest of silk from the silk worms will be late.

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卯庚占麥諺

月令通考

三卯三庚。麥出低坑。三庚三卯。麥出坳巧。

A folk saying concerning how the farmers should plow their fields for planting wheat in the lunar month of August

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秋分社日諺

月令通考

分社同一日。低田盡叫屈。秋分在社前。斗米換斗錢。秋分在社後。斗米換斗豆。

If the autumnal equinox is the same day as the Chinese Thanksgiving Day, then all those low-lying fields will have a bad harvest. If the former comes before the latter, then a good harvest is ensured. If it is the reverse, then the harvest will be bad.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

驟雨諺

月令廣義

驟雨不終朝。迅雷不終日。

A severe rain storm does not last a whole morning, nore does lightening last all day.

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四月占年諺

月令廣義

有利無利。只看四月十四。有穀無穀。只看四月十六。

The weather on the fourteenth of the lunar April month alone can decide the year’s crop yield. The time for the sun and moon rising on the sixteenth day of the same month is a good indication of that year’s crop yield as well.

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立夏小滿諺

月令廣義

立夏不下。田家莫耙。小滿不滿。芒種莫管。

If it does not rain on the day of the beginning of the summer according to the lunar calendar, then farmers cannot plow. If on the day of Xiao Man (around May 21 or 22 of the lunar calendar), it does not rain, then there is no hope of doing anything on the day of Mang Zhong (June 6th or 10th of the lunar calendar).

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黃梅諺

月令廣義

黃梅寒。井底乾。If it is cold and does not rain during the plum rain season, then the wells will be dried up.

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秋分占年諺

月令廣義

社了分。米穀如錦墩。分了社。米穀如苔鮓。社了分。米穀不出村。分了社。米穀遍天下。

A folk saying concerning the order of the dates of the autumnal equinox and the Chinese Thanksgiving day. If the former comes after the latter, then the crop yield for that year is bad.

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中秋上元諺

月令廣義

雲罩中秋月。雨打上元燈。

If it is cloudy on the night of Mid-autumn festival, then the fifteenth day of the lunar January in the next year will have rain.

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庚甲占陰晴諺

月令廣義

逢庚則變。遇甲雙晴。A folk saying concerning the weather of certain days being affected by the way two calendar systems are matching.

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貓狗諺

月令廣義

朝餧貓。夜餧狗。

Cats should be fed in the morning and dogs should be fed at night.

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三月占桑諺

紀歷撮要

三月三日晴。桑上掛銀瓶。三月三日雨。桑葉無人取。