酈道元引俗諺釋清泉河
水經注
高梁無上源。清泉無下尾。
Words referring to the tiny creeks in the Yu Yang area. The flow of water in these creeks was so slow that it was hard to determine the origin and the end of the river.
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酈道元引古諺釋南北岈
水經注
南岈北岈。萬有餘家。
Words referring to the over ten thousand households residing around the Han River valley.
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泗上求鼎謠
水經注
稱樂太早絕鼎絲。
A folk song that was a sarcastic remark on the first emperor’s joyousness before the time when the nine ancinet tripods of bronze, symbols of power for the Chinese ruler beginning in the ancient Xia dynasty, were even found in the Si River.
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澇灘淨灘諺
水經注
冬澇夏淨。斷官使命。
Words said about two sections of the Han River. The two places had too little water in the winter and too much water in the summer, making sailing extremely difficult.
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樊陂喭
水經注
陂汪汪。下田良。樊子失業庾公昌。
Words said about a hilly area near a river. Originally the Fan households lived there, but later on, they lost the property to the Yu household.
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頭灘行者歌
水經注
灘頭白勃堅相持。倏忽淪沒別無期。
A song about a section of the Yang-Tzi River. The water in this section are so fierce that even fish and turtles can not swim there. It is easy to sink one’s boat there, too.
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湘川【漁】者歌
水經注
帆隨湘轉。望衡九面。
Words referring to what one could see when traveling in one section of the Xiang River, where one could see nine different sides of Mount Heng.
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橘洲諺
水經注
昭潭無底橘洲浮。One section of the Xiang River is adjacent to Mount Zhao, which has a very deep lake at its bottom. After that point, the Xiang River reaches the west of Nan Jin city, where the Ju island sits in the western portion of the river.
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漢末童謠
水經注
天子當興東南三餘之間。
Words referring to the place, from which the warlord Sun Quan of the Three Kingdom period would originate.
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武陵綠蘿山土人歌
水經注
仰茲山兮迢迢。層石搆兮嵯峨。朝日麗兮陽巖。
落景梁兮陰阿。鄣壑兮生音。吟籟兮相和。敷芳兮綠林。
恬淡兮潤波。樂茲潭兮安流。緩爾櫂兮詠歌。
A folk song sung by the native of Wu Ling expressing the pleasant feelings caused by the beautiful scenery of that area. The water, the mountain, the green forest, and the beautiful sunshine compose this song.
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楊慎引諺驗反照
山海經
日沒胭脂紅。無雨必有風。If the sky is red like red rouge after the sun sets, then there will be either rain or wind arising.
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巴東三峽漁者歌
宜都山川記
巴東三峽巫峽長。猿鳴三聲淚沾裳。
巴東三峽猿鳴悲。猿鳴三聲淚沾衣。
A song sung by the fishermen in the Three Gorges area of the Yang-Tzi River. The gorges are so windy that it takes a long time to get through them. When people are sailing on the boat in these sections of the river, they could hear apes howling constantly. The song says that people are eager to get on dry land after hearing the apes’ howling.
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周必大引俗諺
吳郡諸山錄
太平州不如蕪湖。不如黃池。
A folk saying concerning the prosperity of three cities, Tai Ping Zhou, Wu Hu and Huang Chi. Among them, Huang Chi ranks as the most prosperous.
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時人為嶽麓書院諺
嶽麓舊志
道林三百眾。書院一千徒。
Words said about the prosperity of the Yue Lu College in Hu Nan, which was ranked as the best during the Song dynasty.
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萬曆癸未鎮江鐵踏謠
北固山志
風吹鐵寶塔。水淹京口閘。
A song sung about the Iron Tower of Zhen Jiang. The wind blew the tower off and the water flooded the dyke in Jing Kou.
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陳洄泛月扣舷歌
山棲志
吹玉簫兮弄明月。明月照兮頭成雪。頭成雪兮將奈何。
白鷺起兮衝素波。A song sung by Chen Hui concerning the moon reflected in the water while he played the flute. The moon was so bright when it shone upon Chen’s head, it was as though he had grey hair.
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閿鄉秦山諺
名勝志
秦為頭。虢為尾。
Words said about the great Mount Qin which encompases two districts: Qin and Guo.
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京師為瑤光寺尼語
洛陽伽藍記
洛陽女兒急作髻。瑤光寺尼奪女婿。
Some sarcastic remarks about the Buddhist nuns in Yao Guang Temple after some nuns were raped by military men of a foreign tribe during the invasion of Luo Yang. The girls in the City of Luo Yang were eager to style their hair for their wedding, yet the nuns from Yao Guang Temple snatched their grooms.
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京師為青州刺史謠語
洛陽伽藍記
獄中無繫囚。舍內無青州。假令家道惡。腹中不懷愁。
Words referring to a snobbish custom that Qing Zhou has always had, which its govenor would have to know before starting his job.
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京師為伊洛魚語
洛陽伽藍記
伊洛鯉魴。貴於牛羊。
The carp from the Luo River and the fresh water bream from the Yi River are more of a delicacy then beef or mutton.
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京師為白馬寺甜榴語
洛陽伽藍記
白馬甜榴。一實直牛。One of the sweet and huge grapes grown in the White Horse Temple is worth a cow.
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游俠為白墮酒語
洛陽伽藍記
不畏張弓拔刀。唯畏白墮春醪。Words said by wandering martial men about the wine that Liu Bai Duo brewed. One is not afraid of streching a bow or using a knife, but one is afaid of drinking Liu Bai Duo’s wine, since drinking it could knock people unconscious for a whole month.
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秦民為河間王婢朝雲語
洛陽伽藍記
快馬健兒。不如老嫗吹篪。
Words said about a servantmaid of the Governor of Qin Zhou, Wang Chen. She was good at playing a kind of flute. Wang Chen had trouble settling the uprising of the Qiang tribes’ people. He then asked the servantmaid to masquerade herself as an old beggar and play her flute in the area where the Qiang bandits were. These Qiang bandits were all moved by the music and decided to become good citizens.
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魏時人為上高里歌
洛陽伽藍記
洛陽東北上高里。殷之頑民昔所止。今日百姓造甕子。
人皆棄去住者恥。A song sung by people of the Wei dynasty concerning a northeast area of the City of Luo Yang. A group of people, descendants of the ancient Shang dyansty, lived there and made pottery for their living. The chased away people who were not their kind and wanted to live there.
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范式墓諺
城塚記
大鼎山前十八塚。末末東頭范巨卿。
There are eighteen graves in front of Da Ding Mountain. The last one on the east is the grave of Fan Ju Qing.
