Introduction.

This is another version of the previous song, M120. The differences in content are clear in the translation, while the Miao text, despite occasional identical lines, shows considerable divergences of language, reflecting the personal styles of two very different singers.

In this version the name of the huntsman appears as "the great Drao-gha-njia" instead of "the great Du-gha-njia". However, after the second line its place is taken by "Drao-ngao-drao-gi-nw". This is almost certainly a descriptive title. The key words are "ngao" and "nw", but each can have a number of different meanings, and since there is no clue in the text as to which is intended, the title has not be translated into English.

Notwithstanding the final line, this version of the song is incomplete. Whether due to a lapse of memory on the part of the singer, or of concentration on the part of his amanuensis, the final crucial stanza is missing. We are told that no one on earth or in the sky was able to wear the skin of the prodigious animal which had been caught, and the matter is simply left there. However, the whole point of the story is the fact that, although others could not wear it, the skin fitted the huntsman himself exactly, and it became the insignia of his pre-eminence, as Wang Ming-ji’s version is at pains to explain.

Translation
Literal Transcription
Notes

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Word97 Introduction
Word97 Translation
Word97 Transcription
Word97 Notes

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