Chapter VII: Part IV: are appropriate, it will be observed, to sacrifices offered to (2)

The Preface says that this ode was used in spring, when the king in person turned up some furrows in the field set apart for that purpose, and prayed at the altars of the spirits of the land and the grain, for an abundant year. Ka Hsî says he does not know on what occasion it was intended to be used; but comparing it with the fourth ode of the second decade, he is inclined to rank it with that as an ode of thanksgiving. There is nothing in the piece itself to determine us in favour of either view. It brings before us a series of pleasing pictures of the husbandry of those early times. The editors of the imperial edition say that its place in the Sung makes it clear that it was an accompaniment of some royal sacrifice, We need not controvert this; but the poet evidently singled out some large estate, and describes the labour on it, from the first bringing it under cultivation to the state in which it was before his eyes, and concludes by saying that the picture which he gives of it had long been applicable to the whole country.

They clear away the grass and the bushes; And the ground is laid open by their ploughs.

In thousands of pairs they remove the roots, Some in the low wet land, some along the dykes.

[1. The Chinese characters here mean, literally, 'peach-tree insect,' or, as Dr. Williams has it, 'peach-bug.' Another name for the bird is 'the clever wife,' from the artistic character of its nest, which would point it out as the small 'tailor bird.' But the name is applied to various small birds.]

There are the master and his eldest son; His younger sons, and all their children; Their strong helpers, and their hired servants. How the noise of their eating the viands brought to them resounds! (The husbands) think lovingly of their wives; (The wives) keep close to their husbands. (Then) with their sharp ploughshares They set to work on the south-lying acres.

They sow their various kinds of grain, Each seed containing in it a germ of life.

In unbroken lines rises the blade, And, well nourished, the stalks grow long.

Luxuriant looks the young grain, And the weeders go among it in multitudes.

Then come the reapers in crowds, And the o-rain is piled up in the fields, Myriads, and hundreds of thousands, and millions (of stacks); For spirits and for sweet spirits, To offer to our ancestors, male and female, And to provide for all ceremonies.

Fragrant is their aroma, Enhancing the glory of the state. Like pepper is their smell, To give comfort to the aged.

It is not here only that there is this (abundance); It is not now only that there is such a time:--From of old it has been thus.

ODE 6. THE LIANG SZE.

PRESUMABLY, AN ODE OF THANKSGIVING IN THE AUTUMN TO THE
SPIRITS OF THE LAND AND GRAIN.

Very sharp are the excellent shares, With which they set to work on the south-lying, acres.

They sow their various kinds of grain, Each seed containing in it a germ of life.

There are those who come to see them, With their baskets round and square, Containing the provisions of millet.

With their light splint hats on their heads, They ply their hoes on the ground, Clearing away the smartweed on the dry land and wet.

The weeds being decayed, The millets grow luxuriantly.

They fall rustling before the reapers. The gathered crop is piled up solidly, High as a wall, United together like the teeth of a comb; And the hundred houses are opened (to receive the grain)[1].

Those hundred houses being full, The wives and children have a feeling of repose.

(Now) we kill this black-muzzled tawny bull[2], with his crooked horns, To imitate and hand down, To hand down (the observances of) our ancestors.

ODE 7. THE SZE Î.

AN ODE APPROPRIATE TO THE PREPARATIONS AND PROGRESS OF A FEAST
AFTER A SACRIFICE.

The Preface and the editors of the Yung-khang Shih say that the piece has reference to the entertainment given, the day after a

[1. 'The hundred houses,' or chambers in a hundred family residences, are those of the hundred families, cultivating the space which was bounded by a brook;--see note on the second ode of the preceding decade. They formed a society, whose members helped one another in their field work, so that their harvest might be said to be carried home at the same time. Then would come the threshing or treading, and winnowing, after which the groin would be brought into the houses.

2 It has been observed that under the Kâu dynasty, red was the colour of the sacrificial victims. So it was for the ancestral temple but in sacrificing to the spirits of the land and grain, the victim was a 'yellow' bull with black lips.]

sacrifice, in the ancestral temple, to the personators of the dead, described on p. 301. Kû Hsî denies this, and holds simply that it belongs to the feast after a sacrifice, without further specifying what sacrifice. The old view is probably the more correct.

In his silken robes, clean and bright, With his cap on his head, looking so respectful, From the hall he goes to the foot of the stairs, And (then) from the sheep to the oxen[1]. (He inspects) the tripods, large and small, And the curved goblet of rhinoceros horn[2]. The good spirits are mild, (But) there is no noise, no insolence:--An auspice (this) of great longevity.

ODE 8. THE KO.

AN ODE IN PRAISE OF KING WÛ, AND RECOGNISING THE DUTY TO
FOLLOW HIS COURSE.

This was sung, according to the Preface, at the conclusion of the dance in honour of king Wû;--see on the last piece of the second decade.

Oh! powerful was the king's army, But he nursed it, in obedience to circumstances, while the

[1. The subject of these lines must be an ordinary officer, for to such the silk robes and a purple cap were proper, when he was assisting at the sacrifices of the king or of a feudal prince. There were two buildings outside the principal gate leading to the ancestral temple, and two corresponding inside, in which the personators of the departed ancestors were feasted. We must suppose the officer in question descending from the upper hall to the vestibule of the gate, to inspect the dishes, arranged for the feast, and then proceeding to see the animals, and the tripods for boiling the flesh, &c.

2 The goblet of rhinoceros horn was to be drained, as a penalty, by any one offending at the feast against the rules of propriety; but here there was no occasion for it.]

time was yet dark. When the time was clearly bright, He thereupon donned his grand armour. We have been favoured to receive What the martial king accomplished. To deal aright with what we have inherited, We have to be sincere imitators of thy course, (O king).

ODE 9. THE HWAN.

CELEBRATING THE MERIT AND SUCCESS OF KING WÛ.

According to a statement in the Zo Kwan, this piece also was sung in connexion with the dance of Wû. The Preface says it was used in declarations of war, and in sacrificing to God and the Father of War. Perhaps it came to be used on such occasions; but we must refer it in the first place to the reign of king Khang.

There is peace throughout our myriad regions. There has been a succession of plentiful years:--Heaven does not weary in its favour. The martial king Wû Maintained (the confidence of) his officers, And employed them all over the kingdom, So securing the establishment of his family. Oh! glorious was he in the sight of Heaven, Which kinged him in the room (of Shang).

ODE 10. THE LÂI.

CELEBRATING THE PRAISE OF KING WAN.

This is the only account of the piece that can be given from itself. The Zo Kwan, however, refers it to the dance of king Wû; and the Preface says it contains the words with which Wû accompanied his grant of fiefs and appanages in the ancestral temple to his principal followers.

King Wan laboured earnestly:--Right is it we should have received (the kingdom). We will diffuse (his virtue), ever cherishing the thought of him; Henceforth we will seek only the settlement (of the kingdom). It was he through whom came the appointment of Kâu. Oh! let us ever cherish the thought of him.

ODE 11. THE PAN.

CELEBRATING THE GREATNESS OF KÂU, AND ITS FIRM POSSESSION OF
THE KINGDOM, AS SEEN IN THE PROGRESSES OF ITS REIGNING SOVEREIGN.

In the eighth piece of the first decade we have an ode akin to this, relating a tentative progress of king Wû, to test the acceptance of his sovereignty. This is of a later date, and should be referred, probably, to the reign of king Khang, when the dynasty was fully acknowledged. Some critics, however, make it, like the three preceding, a portion of what was sung at the Wû dance.

Oh! great now is Kâu. We ascend the high hills, Both those that are long and narrow, and the lofty mountains. Yes, and (we travel) along the regulated Ho, All under the sky, Assembling those who now respond to me. Thus it is that the appointment belongs to Kâu.

III. THE PRAISE ODES OF LÛ.

IT is not according to the truth of things to class the Sung of Lû among the sacrificial odes, and I do not call them such. Kû Hsî says:--'King Khang, because of the great services rendered by the duke of Kâu, granted to Po-khin, (the duke's eldest son, and first marquis of Lû), the privilege of using the royal ceremonies and music, in consequence of which Lû had its Sung, which were sung to the music in its ancestral temple. Afterwards, they made in Lû other odes in praise of their rulers, which they also called Sung.' In this way it is endeavoured to account for there being such pieces in this part of the Shih as the four in this division of it. Confucius, it is thought, found them in Lû, bearing the name of Sung, and so he classed them with the true sacrificial odes, bearing that designation. If we were to admit, contrary to the evidence in the case, that the Shih was compiled by Confucius, this explanation of the place, of the Sung of Lû in this Part would not be complimentary to his discrimination.

Whether such a privilege as Kû states was really granted to the first marquis of Lû, is a point very much controverted. Many contend that the royal ceremonies were usurped in the state,--in the time of duke Hsî (B.C. 659 to 627). But if this should be conceded, it would not affect the application to the odes in this division of the name of Sung. They are totally unlike the Sung of Shang and of Kâu. It has often been asked why there are no Fang of Lû in the first Part of the Shih. The pieces here are really the Fang of Lû, and may be compared especially with the Fang of Pin.

Lû was one of the states in the east, having its capital in Khü-fâu, which is still the name of a district in the department of Yen-kâu, Shan-tung. According to Kû, king Khang invested the duke of Kâu's eldest son with the territory. According to Sze-ma Khien, the duke of Kâu was himself appointed marquis of Lû; but being unable to go there in consequence of his duties at the royal court, he sent his son instead. After the expiration of his 'regency, the territory was largely augmented, but he still remained in Kâu.

I pass over the first two odes, which have no claim to a place among 'sacred texts.' And only in one stanza of the third is there the expression of a religious sentiment. I give it entire, however.

ODE 3. THE PHAN SHUI.

IN PRAISE OF SOME MARQUIS OF LÛ, CELEBRATING HIS INTEREST IN THE
STATE COLLEGE, WHICH HE HAD, PROBABLY, REPAIRED, TESTIFYING HIS
VIRTUES, AND AUSPICING FOR HIM A COMPLETE TRIUMPH OVER THE
TRIBES OF THE HWÂI, WHICH WOULD BE CELEBRATED IN THE COLLEGE.

The marquis here celebrated was, probably, Shan, or 'duke Hsî,' mentioned above. The immediate occasion of its composition must have been some opening or inauguration service in connexion with the repair of the college.

1. Pleasant is the semicircular water [1], And we gather the cress about it. The marquis of Lû is coming to it, And we see his dragon-figured banner. His banner waves in the wind, And the bells of his horses tinkle harmoniously. Small and great, All follow the prince in his progress to it.

2. Pleasant is the semicircular water, And we gather the pondweed in it. The marquis of Lû has come to it, With his horses so stately. His horses are grand; His fame is brilliant. Blandly he looks and smiles; Without any impatience he delivers his instructions.

3. Pleasant is the semicircular water, And we gather the mallows about it. The marquis of Lû has come to it, And in the college he is drinking. He is drinking the good spirits. May there be

[1. It is said in the tenth ode of the first decade of the Major Odes of the Kingdom, that king Wû in his capital of Hâo built 'his hall with its circlet of water.' That was the royal college built in the middle of a circle of water; each state had its grand college with a semicircular pool in front of it, such is may now be seen in front of the temples of Confucius in the metropolitan cities of the provinces. It is not easy to describe all the purposes which the building served. In this piece the marquis of Lû appears feasting in it, delivering instructions, taking counsel with his ministers, and receiving the spoils and prisoners of war. The Lî Ki, VIII, ii, 7, refers to sacrifices to Hâu-kî in connexion with the college of Lû. There the officers of the state in autumn learned ceremonies; in winter, literary studies; in spring and summer, the use of arms; and in autumn and winter, dancing. There were celebrated trials of archery; there the aged were feasted; there the princes held council with their ministers. The college was in the western suburb of each capital.]

given to him such old age as is seldom enjoyed! May he accord with the grand ways, So subduing to himself all the people!

4. Very admirable is the marquis of Lû, Reverently displaying his virtue, And reverently watching over his deportment, The pattern of the people.

With great qualities, both civil and martial, Brilliantly he affects his meritorious ancestors [1]. In everything entirely filial, He seeks the blessing that is sure to follow.

5. Very intelligent is the marquis of Lû, Making his virtue illustrious. He has made this college with its semicircle of water, And the tribes of the Hwâi will submit to him [2]. His martial-looking tiger-leaders Will here present the left ears (of their foes)[3]. His examiners, wise as Kâo-yâo [4] Will here present the prisoners.

6. His numerous officers, Men who have enlarged their virtuous minds, With martial energy conducting their expedition, Will drive far away those tribes of the east and south. Vigorous and

[1. The meaning is that the fine qualities of the marquis 'reached to' and affected his ancestors in their spirit-state, and would draw down their protecting favour. Their blessing, seen in his prosperity, was the natural result of his filial piety.

2. The Hwâi rises in the department of Nan-yang, Ho-nan, and flows eastward to the sea. South of it, down to the time of this ode, were many rude and wild tribes that gave frequent occupation to the kings of Kâu.

3. When prisoners refused to submit, their left ears were cut off, and shown as trophies.

4. The ancient Shun's Minister of Crime. The 'examiners' were officers. who questioned the prisoners, especially the more important of them, to elicit information, and decide as to the amount of their guilt and punishment.]

grand, Without noise or display, Without appeal to the judges [1], They will here present (the proofs of) their merit.

7. How they draw their bows adorned with bone! How their arrows whiz forth! Their war chariots are very large! Their footmen and charioteers never weary! They have subdued the tribes of Hwâi, And brought them to an unrebellious submission. Only lay your plans securely, And all the tribes of the Hwâi will be won [2].

8. They come flying on the wing, those owls, And settle on the trees about the college; They eat the fruit of our mulberry trees, And salute us with fine notes [3]. So awakened shall be those tribes of the Hwâi. They will come presenting their precious things, Their large tortoises, and their elephants' teeth, And great contributions of the southern metals [4].

[1. The 'judges' decided all questions of dispute in the army, and on the merits of different men who had distinguished themselves.

2. In this stanza the poet describes a battle with the wild tribes, as if it were going on before his eyes.

3 An owl is a bird with a disagreeable scream, instead of a beautiful note; but the mulberries grown about the college would make them sing delightfully. And so would the influence of Lû, going forth from the college, transform the nature of the tribes about the Hwâi.

4 That is, according to 'the Tribute of Yü,' in the Shû, from King-kâu and Yang-kâu.]

ODE 4. THE PÎ KUNG.

IN PRAISE OF DUKE HSÎ, AND AUSPICING FOR HIM A MAGNIFICENT
CAREER OF SUCCESS, WHICH WOULD MAKE-LÛ ALL THAT IT HAD EVER
BEEN:--WRITTEN, PROBABLY, ON AN OCCASION WHEN HSÎ HAD REPAIRED
THE TEMPLES OF THE STATE, OF WHICH PIOUS ACT HIS SUCCESS WOULD
BE THE REWARD.

There is no doubt that duke Hsî is the hero of this piece. He is mentioned in the third stanza as 'the son of duke Kwang,' and the Hsî-sze referred to in the last stanza as the architect under whose superintendence the temples had been repaired was his brother, whom we meet with elsewhere as 'duke's son, Yü'. The descriptions of various sacrifices prove that the lords of Lû, whether permitted to use royal ceremonies or not, did really do so. The writer was evidently in a poetic rapture as to what his ruler was, and would do. The piece is a genuine bardic effusion.

The poet traces the lords of Lû to Khang Yüen and her son Hâu-kî. He then comes to the establishment of the Kâu dynasty, and under it of the marquisate of Lû; and finally to duke Hsî, dilating on his sacrificial services, the military power of Lû, and the achievements which be might be expected to accomplish in subjugating all the territory lying to the east and a long way South, of Lû.

I. How pure and still are the solemn temples, In their strong solidity and minute completeness! Highly distinguished was Kiang Yüan[1], Of virtue undeflected. God regarded her with favour, And without injury or hurt, Immediately, when her months were completed, She gave birth to Hâu-kî! On him were conferred all blessings,--(To know) how the (ordinary) millet ripened early, and the sacrificial millet late; How first to sow pulse

[1. About Kiang Yüan and her conception and birth of Hâu-kî, see the first piece in the third decade of the Major Odes of the Kingdom. There also Hâu-kî's teaching of husbandry is more fully described.]

and then wheat. Anon he was invested with an inferior state, And taught the people how to sow and to reap, The (ordinary) millet and the sacrificial, Rice and the black millet; Ere long over the whole country:--(Thus) continuing the work of Yü.

2. Among the descendants of Hâu-kî, There was king Thâi[1], Dwelling on the south of (mount) Khî, Where the clipping of Shang began. In process of time Wan and Wû Continued the work of king Thâi, And (the purpose of) Heaven was carried out in its time, In the plain of Mû [2]. 'Have no doubts, no anxieties,'--(it was said), 'God is with you [3].' Wû disposed of the troops of Shang; He and his men equally, shared in the achievement. (Then) king (Khang) said, 'My uncle [4], I will set up your eldest son, And make him marquis of Lû. I will greatly enlarge your territory there, To be a help and support to the House of Kâu.'

3. Accordingly he appointed (our first) duke of Lo, And made him marquis in the east, Giving him the hills and rivers, The lands and fields, and the attached states [5]. The (present) descendant of the duke of Kâu, The son of duke Kwang, With dragon-emblazoned banner, attends the sacrifices, (Grasping) his six reins soft and pliant. In spring

[1. See on the Sacrificial Odes of Kâu, decade i, ode 5.

2. See the Shû, V, iii.

3. Shang-fû, one of Wû's principal leaders, encouraged him at the battle of Mû with these words.

4 That is, the duke of Kâu.

5 That is, small territories, held by chiefs of other surnames, but acknowledging the jurisdiction of. the lords of Lû, and dependent on them for introduction to the royal court.]

and autumn he is not remiss; His offerings are all without error[1]. To the great and sovereign God, And to his great ancestor Hâu-kî, He offers the victims, red and pure [2] They enjoy, they approve, And bestow blessings in large number. The duke of Kâu, and (your other) great ancestors, Also bless you.

4. In autumn comes the sacrifice of the season[3], But the bulls for it have had their horns capped in summer [4]; They are the white bull and the red one [5]. (There are) the bull-figured goblet in, its dignity [6]; Roast pig, minced meat, and soups; The dishes of bamboo and wood, and the large stands [7], And the dancers all complete. The filial descendant

[1. These lines refer to the seasonal sacrifices in the temple of ancestors, two seasons being mentioned for all the four, as in some of the odes of Shang.

2. From the seasonal sacrifices the poet passes to the sacrifice to God at the border altar in the spring,--no doubt the same which is referred to in the last ode of the first decade of the Sacrificial Odes of Kâu.

3. The subject of the seasonal sacrifices is resumed.

4. A piece of wood was fixed across the horns of the victim-bulls, to prevent their injuring them by pushing or rubbing against any hard substance. An animal injured in any way was not fit to be used in sacrifice.

5. In sacrificing to the duke of Kâu, a white bull was used by way of distinction. His great services to the. dynasty had obtained for him the privilege of being sacrificed to with royal ceremonies. A white bull, such as had been offered to the kings of Shang, was therefore devoted to him; while for Po-khin, and 'the other marquises (or dukes as spoken of by their own subjects), a victim of the orthodox Kâu colour was employed.

6. This goblet, fashioned in the shape of a bull, or with a bull pictured on it, must have been well known in connexion with these services.

7. 'The large stand' was of a size to support half the roasted body of a victim.]

will be blessed. (Your ancestors) will make you gloriously prosperous, They will make you long-lived and good, To preserve this eastern, region, Long possessing the state of Lû, Unwaning, unfallen, Unshaken, undisturbed! They will make your friendship with your three aged (ministers)[1] Like the hills, like the mountains.

5. Our prince's chariots are a thousand, And (in each) are (the two spears with their) vermilion tassels, and (the two bows with their) green bands. His footmen are thirty thousand, With shells on vermilion strings adorning their helmets [2]. So numerous are his ardent followers, To deal with the tribes of the west and north, And to punish those of King and Shû [3], So that none of them will dare to withstand us. (The spirits of your ancestors) shall make you grandly prosperous; They

[1. Referring, probably, to the three principal ministers of the state.

2. These lines describe Hsî's resources for war. A thousand chariots was the regular force which a great state could at the utmost bring into the field. Each chariot contained three mailed men;--the charioteer in the middle, a spearman on the right, and an archer on the left. Two spears rose aloft with vermilion tassels, and there were two bows, bound with green bands to frames in their cases. Attached to every chariot were seventy-two foot-soldiers and twenty-five followers, making with the three men in it, 100 in all; so that the whole force would amount to 100,000 men. But in actual service the force of a great state was restricted to three 'armies' or 375 chariots, attended by 37,500 men, of whom 27,500 were foot-soldiers, put down here in round numbers as 30,000.

3 King is the King-khû of the last of the Sacrificial Odes of Shang, and the name Shû was applied to several half-civilized states to the east of it, which it brought, during the Khun Khiû period, one after another under its jurisdiction.]

shall make you long-lived and wealthy. The hoary hair and wrinkled back, Marking the aged men, shall always be in your service. They shall grant you old age, ever vigorous, For myriads and thousands of years, With the eyebrows of longevity, and ever unharmed.

6. The mountain of Thâi is lofty, Looked up to by the state of Lû [1]. We grandly possess also Kwei and Mang [2]. And we shall extend to the limits of the east, Even the states along the sea. The tribes of the Hwâi will seek our alliance; All will proffer their allegiance:--Such shall be the achievements of the marquis of Lû.

7. He shall maintain the possession of Hû and Yî [3], And extend his sway to the regions of Hsü [4], Even to the states along the sea. The tribes of the Hwâi, the Man, and the Mo [5], And those tribes (still more) to the south, All will proffer their allegiance;--Not one will dare not to answer to his call, Thus showing their obedience to the marquis of Lû.

8. Heaven will give great blessing to our prince, So that with the eyebrows of longevity he shall

[1. Mount Thâi is well known, the eastern of the four great mountains of China in the time of Shun. It is in the department of Thâi-an, Shan-tung.

2 These were two smaller hills in Lû.

3 These were two hills of Lû, in the present district of Zâu.

4. Hsü was the name of one of Yü's nine provinces, embracing portions of the present Shan-tung, Kiang-sû, and An-hui.

5. Mo was properly the name of certain wild tribes in the north, as Man was that of the tribes of the south. But we cannot suppose any tribes to be meant here but such as lay south of Lû.]

maintain Lû. He shall possess Kang and Hsü[1], And recover all the territory of the duke of Kâu. Then shall the marquis of Lû feast and be glad, With his admirable wife and aged mother; With his excellent ministers and all his (other) officers[2]. Our region and state shall he hold, Thus receiving many blessings, To hoary hair, and with teeth ever renewed like a child's.

9. The pines of Zû-lâi [3], And the cypresses of Hsin-fû [3], Were cut down and measured, With the cubit line and the eight cubits' line. The projecting beams of pine were made very large; The grand inner apartments rose vast. Splendid look the new temples, The work of Hsî-sze, Very wide and large, Answering to the expectations of all the people.

[1. Kang was a city with some adjacent territory, in the present district of Thang, that had been taken from Lû by Khî. Hsü, called in the Spring and Autumn 'the fields of Hsü' was west from Lû, and had been granted to it as a convenient place for its princes to stop at on their way to the royal court; but it had been sold or parted with to Kang in the first year of duke Hwan (B.C. 711). The poet desires that Hsî should recover these and all other territory which had at any time belonged to Lû.

2 He would feast with the ladies in the inner apartment of the palace, suitable for such a purpose; with his ministers in the outer banqueting-room.

3. These were two hills, in the present department of Thâi-an.]

II. THE MINOR ODES OF THE KINGDOM.

PIECES AND STANZAS ILLUSTRATING THE RELIGIOUS VIEWS AND PRACTICES
OF THE WRITERS AND THEIR TIMES.

The First Decade, or that of Lû-ming.

ODE 5, STANZA 1. THE FÂ MÛ.

THE FÂ MÛ IS A FESTAL ODE, WHICH WAS SUNG AT THE ENTERTAINMENT
OF FRIENDS;--INTENDED TO CELEBRATE THE DUTY AND VALUE OF
FRIENDSHIP, EVEN TO THE HIGHEST.

On the trees go the blows kang-kang; And the birds cry out ying-ying. One issues from the dark valley, And removes to the lofty tree. Ying goes its cry, Seeking with its voice its companion. Look at the bird, Bird as it is, seeking with its. voice its companion; And shall a man Not seek to have his friends? Spiritual beings will then hearken to him[1]; He shall have harmony and peace.

ODE 6. THE THIEN PÂO.

A FESTAL ODE, RESPONSIVE TO ANY OF THE FIVE THAT PRECEDE IT. THE
KING'S OFFICERS AND GUESTS, HAVING BEEN FEASTED BY HIM,
CELEBRATE HIS PRAISES, AND DESIRE FOR HIM THE BLESSING OF HEAVEN
AND HIS ANCESTORS.

Ascribed, like the former, to the duke of Kâu.

Heaven protects and establishes thee, With the greatest. security; Makes thee entirely virtuous.

[1. This line and the following show the power and value of the cultivation of friendship in affecting spiritual beings. That destination is understood in the widest sense.]

That thou mayest enjoy every happiness; Grants thee much increase, So that thou hast all in abundance.

Heaven protects and establishes thee. It grants thee all excellence, So that thine every matter is right, And thou receivest every Heavenly favour. It sends down to thee long-during happiness, Which the days are not sufficient to enjoy.

Heaven protects and establishes thee, So that in everything thou dost prosper. Like the high hills and the mountain masses, Like the topmost ridges and the greatest bulks, Like the stream ever coming on, Such is thine increase.

With happy auspices and purifications thou bringest the offerings, And dost filially present them, In spring, summer, autumn, and winter, To the dukes and former kings[1]; And they say, 'We give to thee myriads of years, duration unlimited [2].'

The spirits come [3], And confer on thee many blessings. The people are simple and honest, Daily enjoying their meat, and drink. All the black-haired race, in all their surnames, Universally practise thy virtue.

Like the moon advancing to the full, Like the sun ascending the heavens, Like the everlasting southern hills, Never waning, never falling, Like

[1. These dukes and former kings are all the ancestors of the royal House of Kâu, sacrificed to at the four seasons of the year.

2 Here we have the response of the dukes and kings communicated to the sacrificing king by the individuals chosen to represent them at the service.

3. The spirits here are, of course, those of the former dukes and kings.]

the luxuriance of the fir and the cypress;--May such be thy succeeding line!

ODE 9, STANZA 4. THE TÎ TÛ.

THE TÎ TÛ IS AN ODE OF CONGRATULATION, INTENDED FOR THE MEN WHO
HAVE RETURNED FROM MILITARY DUTY AND SERVICE ON THE FRONTIERS.

The congratulation is given in a description of the anxiety and longing of the soldiers' wives for their return. We must suppose one of the wives to be the speaker throughout. The fourth stanza shows how she had resorted to divination to allay her fears about her husband.

They have not packed up, they do not come. My sorrowing heart is greatly distressed. The time is past, and he is not here, To the multiplication of my sorrows. Both by the tortoise-shell and the reeds have I divined, And they unite in saying he is near. My warrior is at hand.

The Fourth Decade, or that of Khî fû.

ODE 5, STANZAS 5 TO 9. THE SZE KAN.

THE SZE KAN WAS, PROBABLY MADE FOR A FESTIVAL ON THE COMPLETION
OF A PALACE; CONTAINING A DESCRIPTION OF IT, AND PROCEEDING TO
GOOD WISHES FOR THE BUILDER AND HIS POSTERITY. THE STANZAS HERE
GIVEN SHOW HOW DIVINATION WAS RESORTED TO FOR THE INTERPRETATION
OF DREAMS.

The piece is referred to the time of king Hsüan (B.C. 827 to 782).

Level and smooth is the courtyard, And lofty are the pillars around it. Pleasant is the exposure of the chamber to the light, And deep and wide are its recesses. Here will our noble lord repose.

On the rush-mat below and that of fine bamboos above it, May he repose in slumber! May he sleep and awake, (Saying), 'Divine for me my dreams[1]. What dreams are lucky? They have been of bears and grisly bears; They have been of cobras and (other) snakes.'

The chief diviner will divine them. 'The bears and grisly bears Are the auspicious intimations of sons; The cobras and (other) snakes Are the auspicious intimations of daughters [2].'

Sons shall be born to him:--They will be put to sleep on couches; They will be clothed in robes; They will have sceptres to play with; Their cry will be loud. They will be (hereafter) resplendent with red knee-covers, The (future) king, the princes of the land.

Daughters shall be born to him:-They will be put to sleep on the ground; They will be clothed with wrappers; They will have tiles to play with[3]. It will be theirs neither to do wrong nor to do good[4]. Only about the spirits and the food will

[1. In the Official Book of Kâu, ch. 24, mention is made of the Diviner of Dreams and his duties:--He had to consider the season of the year when a dream occurred, the day of the cycle, and the then predominant influence of the two powers of nature. By the positions of the sun, moon, and planets in the zodiacal spaces he could determine whether any one of the six classes of dreams was lucky or unlucky. Those six classes were ordinary and regular dreams, terrible dreams, dreams of thought, dreams in waking, dreams of joy, and dreams of fear.

2 The boy would have a sceptre, a symbol of dignity, to play with; the girl, a tile, the symbol of woman's work, as, sitting with a tile on her knee, she twists the threads of hemp.

3. That is, the red apron of a king and of the prince of a state.

4 The woman has only to be obedient. That is her whole duty, The line does not mean, as it has been said, that 'she is incapable of good or evil;' but it is not her part to take the initiative even in what is good.]

they have to think, And to cause no sorrow to their parents.

ODE 6, STANZA 4. THE WÛ YANG.

THE WÛ YANG IS SUPPOSED TO CELEBRATE THE LARGENESS AND EXCELLENT
CONDITION OF KING HSÜAN'S FLOCKS AND HERDS. THE CONCLUDING
STANZA HAS REFERENCE TO THE DIVINATION OF THE DREAMS OF HIS
HERDSMEN.

Your herdsmen shall dream, Of multitudes and then of fishes, Of the tortoise-and-serpent, and then of the falcon, banners[1]. The chief diviner will. divine the dreams;--How the multitudes, dissolving into fishes, Betoken plentiful years; How the tortoise-and-serpent, dissolving into the falcon, banners, Betoken the increasing population of the kingdom.

ODE 7. THE KIEH NAN SHAN.

A LAMENTATION OVER THE UNSETTLED STATE OF THE KINGDOM DENOUNCING
THE INJUSTICE AND NEGLECT OF THE CHIEF MINISTER, BLAMING ALSO
THE CONDUCT OF THE KING, WITH APPEALS TO HEAVEN, AND SEEMINGLY
CHARGING IT WITH CRUELTY AND INJUSTICE.

This piece is referred to-the time of king Yû (B.C. 781, to 771), the unworthy son of king Hsüan. The 'Grand-Master' Yin must have been one of the 'three Kung,' the highest ministers at the court of Kâu, and was, probably, the chief of the three, and administrator of the government under Yû.

Lofty is that southern hill [2], With its masses of rocks! Awe-inspiring are you, O (Grand-)Master

[1. The tortoise-and-serpent banner marked the presence in a host of its leader on a military expedition. On its field were the figures of tortoises, with snakes coiled round them. The falcon banners belonged to the commanders of the divisions of the host. They bore the figures of falcons on them.

2. 'The southern hill' was also called the Kung-nan, and rose right to the south of the western capital of Kâu.]

Yin, And the people all look to you! A fire burns in their grieving hearts; They do not dare to speak of you even in jest. The kingdom is verging to extinction;--How is it that you do not consider the state of things?

Lofty is that southern hill, And vigorously grows the vegetation on it! Awe-inspiring are you,-O (Grand-)Master Yin, But how is it that you are so unjust? Heaven is continually redoubling its inflictions; Deaths and disorder increase and multiply; No words of satisfaction come from the people; And yet you do not correct nor bemoan yourself

The Grand-Master Yin Is the foundation of our Kâu, And the balance of the kingdom is in his hands. He should be keeping its four quarters together; He should be aiding the Son of Heaven, So as to preserve the people from going astray. O unpitying great Heaven, It is not right he should reduce us all to such misery!

He does nothing himself personally, And the people have no confidence in him. Making no enquiry about them, and no trial of their services, He should not deal deceitfully with superior men. If he dismissed them on the requirement of justice, Mean men would not be endangering (the commonweal); And his mean relatives Would not be in offices of importance.

Great Heaven, unjust, Is sending down these exhausting disorders. Great Heaven, unkind, Is sending down these great miseries. Let superior men come (into office), And that would bring rest to the people's hearts. Let superior men execute their justice, And the animosities and angers would disappear[1].

O unpitying great Heaven, There is no end to the disorder! With every month it continues to grow, So that the people have no repose. I am as if intoxicated with the grief of my heart. Who holds the ordering of the kingdom? He attends not himself to the government, And the result is toil and pain to the people.

I yoke my four steeds, My four steeds, long-necked. I look to the four quarters (of the kingdom); Distress is everywhere; there is no place I can drive to.

Now your evil is rampant [2], And I can see your spears. Anon you are pacified and friendly as if you were pledging one another.

From great Heaven is the injustice, And our king has no repose. (Yet) he will not correct his heart, And goes on to resent endeavours to rectify him,

I, Kiâ-fû, have made this poem, To lay bare a the king's disorders. If you would but change your heart, Then would the myriad regions be nourished.

[1. In this stanza, as in the next and the last but one, the writer complains of Heaven, and charges it foolishly. He does so by way of appeal, however, and indicates the true causes of the misery of the kingdom,--the reckless conduct, namely, of the king and his minister.

2 The parties spoken of here are the followers of the minister, 'mean men,' however high in place and great in power, now friendly, now hostile to one another.]

ODE 8, STANZAS 4, 5, AND 7. THE KANG YÜEH.

THE KANG YÜEH IS, LIKE THE PRECEDING ODE, A LAMENTATION OVER THE
MISERIES OF THE KINGDOM, AND THE RUIN COMING ON IT; WITH A
SIMILAR, BUT MORE HOPEFULLY EXPRESSED, APPEAL TO HEAVEN, 'THE
GREAT GOD.'

Look into the middle of the forest; There are (only) large faggots and small branches in it [1]. The people now amidst their perils Look to Heaven, all dark; But let its determination be fixed, And there is no one whom it will not overcome. There is the great God,--Does he hate any one?

If one say of a hill that it is low, There are its ridges and its large masses. The false calumnies of the people,--How is it that you do not repress them [2]? You call those experienced ancients, You consult the diviner of dreams. They all say, 'We are very wise, But who can distinguish the male and female crow[3]?'

Look at the rugged and stony field;--Luxuriantly rises in it the springing grain. (But) Heaven moves and shakes me, As if it could not overcome me [4].

[1. By introducing the word 'only,' I have followed the view of the older interpreters, who consider the forest, with merely some faggots and twigs left in it, to be emblematic of the ravages of oppressive government in the court and kingdom. Ka Hsî takes a different view of them:--'In a forest you can easily distinguish the large faggots from the small branches, while Heaven appears unable to distinguish between the good and bad.'

2 The calumnies that were abroad were as absurd as the assertion in line 1, and yet the king could not, or would not, see through them and repress them.

3. This reference to the diviners of dreams is in derision of their pretensions.

4. That is, the productive energy of nature manifests itself in the most unlikely places; how was it that 'the great God, who hates no one,' was contending so with the writer?]

They sought me (at first) to be a pattern (to them), (Eagerly) as if they could not get me; (Now) they regard me with great animosity, And will not use my strength.

ODE 9. THE SHIH YÜEH KIH KIÂO.

THE LAMENTATION OF AN OFFICER OVER THE PRODIGIES CELESTIAL AND
TERRESTRIAL, ESPECIALLY AN ECLIPSE OF THE SUN, THAT WERE
BETOKENING THE RUIN OF KÂU. HE SETS FORTH WHAT HE CONSIDERED TO
BE THE TRUE CAUSES OF THE PREVAILING MISERY, WHICH WAS BY NO
MEANS TO BE CHARGED ON HEAVEN.

Attention is called in the Introduction, p. 296, to the date of the solar eclipse mentioned in this piece.

At the conjunction (of the sun and moon) in the tenth month, On the first day of the moon, which was hsin-mâo, The sun was eclipsed, A thing of very evil omen. Before, the moon became small, And now the sun became small. Henceforth the lower people Will be in a very deplorable case.

The sun and moon announce evil, Not keeping to their proper paths. Throughout the kingdom there is no (proper) government, Because the good are not employed. For the moon to be eclipsed Is but an ordinary matter. Now that the sun has been eclipsed,--How bad it is!

Grandly flashes the lightning of the thunder. There is a want of rest, a want of good. The streams all bubble up and overflow. The crags on the hill-tops fall down. High banks become valleys; Deep valleys become hills. Alas for the men of this time! How does (the king) not stop these things?

Hwang-fû is the President; Fan is the Minister of Instruction; Kiâ-po is the (chief) Administrator; Kung-yün is the chief Cook; Zâu is the Recorder of the Interior; Khwei is Master of the Horse; Yü is Captain of the Guards; And the beautiful wife blazes, now in possession of her place [1].

This Hwang-fû Will not acknowledge that he is acting. out of season. But why does he call us to move, Without coming and consulting with us? He has removed our walls and roofs; And our fields are all either a marsh or a moor. He says, 'I am not injuring you; The laws require that thus it should be.'

Hwang-fû is very wise; He has built a great city for himself in Hsiang. He chose three men as his ministers, All of them possessed of great wealth. He could not bring himself to leave a single minister, Who might guard our king. He (also) selected those who had chariots and horses, To go and reside in Hsiang [2].

[1. We do not know anything from history of the ministers of Yû mentioned in this stanza. Hwang-fû appears to have been the leading minister of the government at the time when the ode was written, and, as appears from the next two stanzas, was very crafty, oppressive, and selfishly ambitious. The mention of 'the chief Cook' among the high ministers appears strange; but we shall find that functionary mentioned in another ode; and from history it appears that 'the Cook,' at the royal and feudal courts, sometimes played an important part during the times of Kâu. 'The beautiful wife,' no doubt, was the well-known Sze of Pâo, raised by king Yû from her position as one of his concubines to be his queen, and whose insane folly and ambition led to her husband's death, and great and disastrous changes in the kingdom.

2. Hsiang was a district of the royal domain, in the present district of Mang, department of Hwâi-khing, Ho-nan. It had been assigned to Hwang-fû, and he was establishing himself there, without any loyal regard to the king. As a noble in the royal domain, he was entitled only to two ministers, but he had appointed three as in one of the feudal states, encouraging, moreover, the resort to himself of the wealthy and powerful, while the court was left weak and unprotected.]

I have exerted myself to discharge my service, And do not dare to make a report of my toils. Without crime or offence of any kind, Slanderous mouths are loud against me. (But) the calamities of the lower people Do not come down from Heaven. A multitude of (fair) words, and hatred behind the back;--The earnest, strong pursuit of this is from men.

Distant far is my village, And my dissatisfaction is great. In other quarters there is ease, And I dwell here, alone and sorrowful. Everybody is going into retirement, And I alone dare not seek rest. The ordinances of Heaven are inexplicable, But I will not dare to follow my friends, and leave my post.

ODE 10, STANZAS I AND 3. THE YÜ WÛ KANG.

THE WRITER OF THIS PIECE MOURNS OVER THE MISERABLE STATE OF THE
KINGDOM, THE INCORRIGIBLE COURSE OF THE KING, AND OTHER EVILS,
APPEALING ALSO TO HEAVEN, AND SURPRISED THAT IT ALLOWED SUCH
THINGS TO BE.

Great and wide Heaven, How is it you have contracted your kindness, Sending down death and famine, Destroying all through the kingdom? Compassionate Heaven, arrayed in terrors, How is it you exercise no forethought, no care? Let alone the criminals:--They have suffered for their guilt. But those who have no crime Are indiscriminately involved in ruin.

How is it, O great Heaven, That the king will not hearken to the justest words? He is like a man going (astray), Who knows not where he will proceed to. All ye officers, Let each of you attend to his duties. How do ye not stand in awe of one another? Ye do not stand in awe of Heaven.

The Fifth Decade, or that of Hsiâo Min.

ODE 1, STANZAS 1, 2, AND 3. THE HSIÂO MIN.

A LAMENTATION OVER THE RECKLESSNESS AND INCAPACITY OF THE KING
AND HIS COUNSELLORS. DIVINATION HAS BECOME OF NO AVAIL, AND
HEAVEN IS DESPAIRINGLY APPEALED TO.

This is referred, like several of the pieces in the fourth decade, to the time of king Yû.

The angry terrors of compassionate Heaven Extend through this lower world. (The king's) counsels and plans are crooked and bad; When will he stop (in his course)? Counsels that are good he will not follow, And those that are not good he employs. When I look at his counsels and plans, I am greatly pained.

Now they agree, and now they defame one another;--The case is greatly to be deplored. If a counsel be good, They are all found opposing it. If a counsel be bad, They are all found according with it. When I look at such counsels and plans, What will they come to?

Our tortoise-shells are wearied out, And will not tell us anything about the plans. The counsellors are very many, But on that account nothing is accomplished. The speakers fill the court, But who dares to take any responsibility on himself? We are as if we consulted (about a journey) without taking a step in advance, And therefore did not get on on the road.

ODE 2, STANZAS I AND 2. THE HSIÂO YÜAN.

SOME OFFICER IN A TIME OF DISORDER AND MISGOVERNMENT URGES ON
HIS BROTHERS THE DUTY OF MAINTAINING THEIR OWN VIRTUE, AND OF
OBSERVING THE GREATEST CAUTION.

Small is the cooing dove, But it flies aloft to heaven. My heart is wounded with sorrow, And I think of our forefathers. When the dawn is breaking, and I cannot sleep, The thoughts in my breast are of our parents.

Men who are grave and wise, Though they drink, are mild and masters of themselves; But those who are benighted and ignorant Become devoted to drink, and more so daily. Be careful, each of you, of your deportment; What Heaven confers, (when once lost), is not regained[1].

The greenbeaks come and go, Picking up grain about the stackyard. Alas for the distressed and the solitary, Deemed fit inmates for the prisons! With a handful of grain I go out and divine[2], How I may be able to become good.

[1. 'What Heaven confers' is, probably, the good human nature which by vice, and especially by drunkenness, may be irretrievably ruined.

2. A religious act is here referred to, on which we have not sufficient information to be able to throw much light. It was the practice to spread some finely ground rice on the ground, in connexion with divination, as an offering to the spirits. The poet represents himself here as using a handful of grain for the purpose,--probably on account of his poverty.]

ODE 3, STANZAS 1 AND 3. THE HSIÂO PAN.

THE ELDEST SON AND HEIR-APPARENT OF KING YÛ BEWAILS HIS
DEGRADATION, APPEALING TO HEAVEN AS TO HIS INNOCENCE, AND
COMPLAINING OF ITS CASTING HIS LOT IN SUCH A TIME.

It is allowed that this piece is clearly the composition of a banished son, and there is no necessity to call in question the tradition preserved in the Preface which prefers it to Î-khiû, the eldest son of king Yû. His mother was a princess of the House of Shan; but when Yû became enamoured of Sze of Pâo, the queen was degraded, and the son banished to Shan.

With flapping wings the crows Come back, flying all in a flock[1]. Other people are happy, And I only am full of misery. What is my offence against Heaven? What is my crime? My heart is sad; What is to be done?

Even the mulberry trees and the rottleras Must be regarded with reverence [2]; But no one is to be looked up to like a father, No one is to be depended on as a mother. Have I not a connexion with the hairs (of my father)? Did I not dwell in the womb (of my mother)? O Heaven, who gave me birth! How was it at so inauspicious a time?

[1. The sight of the crows, all together, suggests to the prince his own condition, solitary and driven from court.

2. The mulberry tree and the rottlera were both planted about the farmsteadings, and are therefore mentioned here. They carried the thoughts back to the father or grandfather, or the more remote ancestor, who first planted them, and so a feeling of reverence attached to themselves.]

ODE 4, STANZA 1. THE KHIÂO YEN.

SOME ONE, SUFFERING FROM THE KING THROUGH SLANDER, APPEALS TO
HEAVEN, AND GOES ON TO DWELL ON THE NATURE AND EVIL OF SLANDER.

This piece has been referred to the time of king Lî, B.C. 878 to 828.

O vast and distant Heaven, Who art called our parent, That, without crime or offence, I should suffer from disorders thus great! The terrors of great Heaven are excessive, But indeed I have committed no crime. (The terrors. of) great Heaven are very excessive, But indeed I have committed no offence.

ODE 6, STANZAS 5 AND 6. THE HSIANG PO.

A EUNUCH, HIMSELF THE VICTIM OF SLANDER, COMPLAINS OF HIS FATE,
AND WARNS AND DENOUNCES HIS ENEMIES; APPEALING AGAINST THEM, AS
HIS LAST RESORT, TO HEAVEN.

The proud are delighted, And the troubled are in sorrow. O azure Heaven! O azure Heaven! Look on those proud men, Pity those who are troubled.