Brotherly love — a third century poem by Cáozhí about sibling rivalry during the Three Kingdoms Period in China.
Seven Step Poem
Cook the beans burn the beanstalk,
While the beans weep in the pan
Two born of the same root
Cooked together, what’s the hurry
七步诗煮豆燃豆萁，
豆在釜中泣。
本自同根生，
相煎何太急Qībùshī
Cáozhí (曹植, 220 – 280)
Zhǔ dòu rán dòu qí,
dòu zài fǔ zhōng qì.
Běn zì tóng gēn shēng,
xiāng jiān hé tài jí
Seven Steps
The Seven Steps Poem by Cáozhí (曹植, 220 – 280), was created during the Three Kingdoms period and obviously much older than the Tang Dynasty. The story that accompanies the poem is that Cáozhí’s older brother was chosen emperor, and worried that his talented younger brother might pose a threat. The emperor forced the younger brother to create a poem on the spot within seven steps, and if he could not, he would be put to death. Cáozhí did not think seven steps were necessary, instead, he appealed to his brother’s sense of family.
Why Seven
Seven may represent the five senses plus yin and yang. Also, seven is a lucky number, suggesting harmony in Confucianism, kindness and beauty in Taoism. Seven because it is harder than two, three, or four…
Book Seven of the Analects by Confucius.
The Master said, “The silent treasure of knowledge; learning without end; and instructing others without being wearied: which one of these things belongs to me?”
…
The Master said, “Let your will be set on the path of duty.”
…
The Master said, “The superior man is satisfied and composed, the mean man, full of distress.”
Chapter Seven of the Tao de Ching.
Heaven is eternal – the earth endures. Why do Heaven and earth last forever? They do not live for themselves.
Notes on Translation
诗, shī in the title means all poetry and in a narrower sense, poems with verse of equal length. Five character of four lines was a traditional pattern.
七步诗, qībùshī, literally means “to compose a poem within seven steps.” It has become an idiom for describing someone who is quick witted.
煮豆燃萁, zhǔ dòu rán qí, to cook the beans with fire, is a metaphor for working together and not against one another.
100 Tang Poems 