“狼跋其胡”质疑

Query on the Explanation of the Poem “Lang Ba Qi Hu”

There are diverse explanations on the poem“Lang Ba Qi Hu”(狼跋其胡)in the BinFeng Part of the Book of Songs.The contradictory and unreasonable situation is mainly due to following the ancient standard away from its context.When words are away from its context,it will be difficult to understand the words’real meaning.According to reason and common sense,the author presumes that the problem lies in the understanding of“Qi”(其).Actually,“Qi”(其) here refers to the wolf’s prey,instead of the wolf itself.“Hu”(胡)here refers to the throat of the wolf’s prey,instead of the dangling flesh on the wolf’s neck.