Introduction.

This song begins with a dispute over a piece of land, which resulted in a Chinese being killed by the Miao Lyu-shao. It then goes on to say that the Yi woman and the Chinese woman arrested Lyu-shao, and had him imprisoned by the Chinese. What presumably happened was that the widow of the dead man complained to the Yi landlord, and the landlord’s wife, often a person of considerable influence, took up the case on her behalf. The result was that Lyu-shao was carried off and imprisoned in "Vao-ti", that is in Sichuan,

It is not clear how the man Jiai secured Lyu-shao’s release. It may have been by arguing the case in court, but the song seems to suggest that he simply bluffed the guards, who took him for a highly placed official or a powerful landlord.

"The man Jiai" means a man from the Jiai clan. It is not a personal name. The Chinese equivalent of Jiai in the common surname Li. The meaning of Lyu-shao is not known..

Translation
Literal Transcription
Notes

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