The Pulchritudinous Peach Tree
From the South Zhou Chapter of The Book of Songs
By an anonymous author
How pulchritudinous the peach tree looks!
Radiant is every blossom.
A young lady joins her new husband’s family.
She will delightfully keep house for them.
How pulchritudinous the peach tree looks!
Plump is every peach.
A young lady joins her new husband’s family.
She will delightfully handle domestic affairs within her reach.
How pulchritudinous the peach tree looks!
Verdant is every leaf.
A young lady joins her new husband’s family.
She will delightfully please every one of them beyond belief.
The Book of Songs is the oldest anthology of Chinese poetry. It consists of more than 300 poems, which could have been written any time between the 11th century BC and the sixth century BC. Since the poems are so old, some words in them are archaic. One of the adjectives in the poem above, “yao yao (夭夭),” just happens to be an example. That’s why it is translated as “pulchritudinous,” a word rarely used in modern English.
Copyright: A Poetic Portal To Chinese Culture, China Pictorial Press
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