Two Youths in a Boat

Preface: "Two Youths in a Boat" commemorates Ji and Shou. The two sons of Duke Xuan of Wei vied to die for each other. The people of the state grieved for them and longed for them, and therefore composed this poem.

The two youths take a little boat,

Drifting and tossing, their shadows float.

My heart is filled with longing for them—

In my bosom, sorrow and disquiet.

The two youths take a little boat,

Drifting and tossing, far they go.

My heart is filled with longing for them—

May they meet no harm or woe.

"Two Youths in a Boat" has two stanzas, each of four lines.

The State of Bei has a total of nineteen poems, seventy-one stanzas, and three hundred sixty-three lines.