<p>In my copy of 诗经 each line is rendered in more modern Chinese as well:</p>
<p>窈窕淑女: 美丽的善良的姑娘 A beautiful, kindhearted maiden,</p>
<p>君子好逑：是君子追求的心仪对象 this gentlemen would fain pursue</p>

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2021-06-21T03:56:30.630Z
2021-06-21T03:56:30.630Z
Pedroski
<p>About these two sentences from the Book of Poems, my understanding is that a good girl is always the desired target of a man of virtue, something like the beginning words of Pride and Prejudice--It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.</p>
<p>&quot;There's a good maiden fair/Whom a young man is wooing&quot; is the interpretation of the same by a Chinese translator named 许渊冲, which is not the right translation of the original. He must have mistaken the word 逑 for 求.</p>

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2021-06-20T18:41:09.753Z
The translation wasn't very good but consider "wooing" means "A man's courting of a woman; seeking the affections of a woman (usually with the hope of marriage), it is not too far off from its original meaning either - a fair lady is the desirable match (好逑) of the gentleman. Note "求" has the meaning of "to seek" or "to look for", which is fine in the reverse translation (Chinese - English).
r13
<word>
Does 窈窕淑女，君子好逑 mean “There's a good maiden fair / Whom a young man is wooing”？
# Does 窈窕淑女，君子好逑 mean “There's a good maiden fair / Whom a young man is wooing”？

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-06-20)

About these two sentences from the Book of Poems, my understanding is that a good girl is always the desired target of a man of virtue, something like the beginning words of Pride and Prejudice--It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

"There's a good maiden fair/Whom a young man is wooing" is the interpretation of the same by a Chinese translator named 许渊冲, which is not the right translation of the original. He must have mistaken the word 逑 for 求.

**Tags:** word

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: The translation wasn't very good but consider "wooing" means "A man's courting of a woman; seeking the affections of a woman (usually with the hope of marriage), it is not too far off from its original meaning either - a fair lady is the desirable match (好逑) of the gentleman. Note "求" has the meaning of "to seek" or "to look for", which is fine in the reverse translation (Chinese - English).  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2021-06-21. Score: 1

In my copy of 诗经 each line is rendered in more modern Chinese as well:

窈窕淑女: 美丽的善良的姑娘 A beautiful, kindhearted maiden,

君子好逑：是君子追求的心仪对象 this gentlemen would fain pursue


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