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The Daughter of a Gatekeeper of Lu Cried at Midnight

Ying, the daughter of a gatekeeper of Lu was weaving with another girl. At midnight she cried.
Her companion said, "Why are you weeping?"

Ying said, "I have heard that the Heir Apparent of Wei is unworthy; therefore I weep."

Her companion said, "That the Heir Apparent of Wei is unworthy is the worry of the feudal lords. Why should you weep because of it?"

Ying said, "What I have heard is at variance with what you say. Formerly the ssŭ-ma Huan of Sung fell into disfavor with the Prince of Sung and left the country for Lu. His horse got loose and rolled in my garden and ate the mallows there. For that year I have heard that the gardener lost half his harvest. When the king of Yüeh, Kou-chien, raised troops to attack Wu, the feudal lords feared his power, and Lu sent him a present of girls, among them my sister. My elder brother went to see her and succumbed to the perils of the road. Now it was Wu who was overawed by Yüeh's army, but it was I who lost a brother. Viewed in this light, disaster and prosperity come one after the other. Now the Heir Apparent of Wei is most unworthy and loves war. Can I, with three younger brothers, be anything but worried?"

The Ode says,

A great officer has gone, over the hills and through the rivers;
And my heart is full of sorrow.

Is this not the same sort of thing?

鲁监门之女婴相从绩,中夜而泣涕。其偶曰:“何谓而泣也?”婴曰:“吾闻卫世子不肖,所以泣也。”其偶曰:“卫世子不肖,诸侯之忧也,子曷为泣也?”婴曰:“吾闻之异乎子之言也。昔者、宋之桓司马得罪于宋君,出于鲁,其马佚而𩥇吾园,而食吾园之葵,是岁、吾闻园人亡利之半。越王勾践起兵而攻吴,诸侯畏其威,鲁往献女,吾姊与焉,兄往视之,道畏而死。越兵威者、吴也,兄死者、我也。由是观之,祸与福相反也。今卫世子甚不肖,好兵,吾男弟三人,能无忧乎?”《诗》曰:“大夫跋涉,我心则忧。”是非类与乎!

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