Takashima & the Yilin · A short read
Three rams run all day. None of them eats.
Three rams compete for a female. They chase one another all day, missing their food, until they have worn themselves out. The Yilin takes sixteen characters to follow them from desire to an empty stomach.
Qian to Da Chu, 1 to 26
三羊爭雌，相逐奔馳，終日不食，精氣勞疲。
Three rams compete for a female, chasing one another at a run. All day they go without food; their strength and vitality wear out.
English translation: DaYan. 羊 can refer to sheep or goats. We use “rams” for the males in this scene; the verse gives no more detail about the animals.
The day goes missing
First there are three rivals and something they want. Then comes the running. Only at 終日, “all day”, do we learn how long they have kept it up. By then a meal has disappeared from the day.
The poet gives the last phrase to exhaustion. We never hear which animal gets the female. As readers we have followed their efforts, yet the only result we can point to is how tired and hungry they are.
Leave them beside the company organisers
In another part of the reading room, Takashima asks a company’s organisers who will direct their work. His case and this verse make an interesting pair: one begins with people trying to organise a venture; the other follows creatures who keep each other running.
The animals need no office or business plan to be recognisable. You may have seen a queue, a contest or an argument absorb everyone’s afternoon in much the same way. Here the poet lets us watch until mealtime has passed.
Sources & translation
Jiaoshi Yilin, Qian to Da Chu (乾之大畜), received text via Chinese Text Project. English translation and reading notes: DaYan.
Chinese Text Project: Jiaoshi Yilin ↗