The opening line of
鹿鸣, the first ode of the
小雅 in the
诗经, sung at feasts for honoured guests:
呦呦鹿鸣,
食野之苹 'the deer call to each other, grazing on the wild mugwort'. Here
苹 is a wild plant, not the apple. Each of the three verses opens with the same line, and
曹操 borrowed the first four lines for his
短歌行 to say he welcomed men of talent.