World Rhymes›La da ju, che da ju
拉大鋸，扯大鋸
La da ju, che da ju · “Pull the big saw”
Chinese (Mandarin)Rocking game rhymePublic domain
A Chinese rhyme for an adult and a small child sitting face to face. They hold hands and rock forward and back as if two people were sawing a log, while the rhyme tells of a family party at grandmother's house.
The rhyme
拉大鋸，扯大鋸，
鋸木頭，蓋房子，
姥姥家，娶娘子，
搭大棚，唱大戲，
接姑娘，請女婿，
小外甥，你也去。
Romanization
Lā dà jù, chě dà jù,
jù mù tou, gài fáng zi,
lǎo lao jiā, qǔ niáng zi,
dā dà péng, chàng dà xì,
jiē gū niang, qǐng nǚ xù,
xiǎo wài sheng, nǐ yě qù.
Good to know
What it means
Pull the big saw, drag the big saw, saw the wood and build a house. At grandmother's house a bride is fetched, a big mat shed is put up and an opera is played. The married daughters and their husbands are invited, and the small nephew is asked to come too.
How to play
An adult and a child sit face to face and hold hands. They rock forward and back as if sawing a log while saying the rhyme. Many versions end with a tickle or by lifting the child.
History
About this rhyme
This is one of the best-known rhymes in China. In 1896 an Italian scholar working in Beijing printed it and noted exactly the rocking action that families still use. The later lines describe a family wedding party at the maternal grandmother's home, with a play performed under a mat shed. The last line changes from region to region, and the ending where the small nephew is invited too is how many versions finish. We do not know how old it is beyond that first print.
Sources & rights
- The rhyme is anonymous and traditional. We show the Beijing text printed in Guido Vitale, Pekinese Rhymes (Peking, 1896); an English rendering appeared in Isaac Taylor Headland, Chinese Mother Goose Rhymes (1900).
- The meaning, the game instructions and the background text are written by us in our own words. The Chinese text still needs a native-speaker check.
- There is no recording or tune on this page: we do not claim any.
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