Poetry Interpretation

This is a captivating love song between two young lovers. Unlike the contemporary association of "blue collar" with manual laborers, in Imperial China, the term refers to young scholars donning blue collars. In Chinese, the colour qing 青, which can mean both green and blue, evokes a sense of youth, freshness and vigour. Though the exact context remains an enigma - perhaps the young student had been away to face the trials of examinations or perhaps the student was visiting family in the countryside - the pangs of separation and the fervent yearning to be reunited transcend the boundaries of time and language through this powerful and evocative narrative.

“一日不見，如三月兮” 這句強烈而簡潔的表達，超越了時間和文化的界限，生動地刻畫了分離的痛苦與迫切渴望重聚的心情。當代觀眾在表達愛與思念時，仍然頻繁引用這句出自《詩經》的歌詞，彰顯了《詩經》中情感的深邃與持久的共鳴。

Written by Dr. Annie Luman Ren