Dropping are the fruits from the plum-tree;
There are seven of them left!
For the gentlemen who seek me,
This is the fortunate time!
Dropping are the fruits from the plum-tree;
There are three of them left!
For the gentlemen who seek me,
Now is the time.
Dropt are the fruits from the plum-tree;
In my shallow basket I have collected them.
Would the gentlemen who seek me
Speak about it!
– “P ’eaou yew mei,” The She King, or, The Book of Poetry (trans. James Legge)