The Third Decade, or that of Tang.
ODE 1. THE TANG.
WARNINGS, SUPPOSED TO BE ADDRESSED TO KING LÎ, ON THE ISSUES OF THE COURSE WHICH HE WAS PURSUING, SHOWING THAT THE MISERIES OF THE TIME AND THE IMMINENT DANGER OF RUIN WERE TO BE ATTRIBUTED, NOT TO HEAVEN, BUT TO HIMSELF AND HIS MINISTERS.
This ode, like the ninth of the second decade, is attributed to duke Mû of Shâo. The structure of the piece is peculiar, for, after the first stanza, we have king Win introduced delivering a series of warnings to Kâu-hsin, the last king of the Shang dynasty. They are put into Win's mouth, in the hope that Lî, if, indeed, he was the monarch whom the writer had in view, would transfer the figure of Kâu-hsin to himself, and alter his course so as to avoid a similar ruin.
How vast is God, The ruler of men below! How arrayed in terrors is God, With many things irregular in his ordinations. Heaven gave birth to the multitudes of the people, But the nature it confers is not to be depended on. All are (good) at first, But few prove themselves to be so at the last[1].
King Wan said, 'Alas! Alas! you sovereign of Shang, That you should have such violently oppressive ministers, That you should have such extortionate exactors, That you should have them in offices, That you should have them in the conduct of affairs! "Heaven made them with their insolent dispositions;" But it is you who employ them, and give them strength.'
King Wan said, 'Alas! Alas! you (sovereign of) Yin-shang, You ought to employ such as are good, But (you employ instead) violent oppressors, who cause many dissatisfactions. They respond to you with baseless stories, And (thus) robbers and thieves are in your court. Hence come oaths and curses, Without limit, without end.'
King Wan said, 'Alas! Alas! you (sovereign of) Yin-shang, You show a strong fierce will in the centre of the kingdom, And consider the contracting of enmities a proof of virtue. All-unintelligent are you. Of your (proper) virtue, And so, you have no (good) men behind you, nor by your side. Without any intelligence of your (proper) virtue, You have no (good) intimate adviser or minister.'
King Wan said, 'Alas! Alas! you (sovereign of) Yin-shang, It is not Heaven that flushes your face with spirits, So that you follow what is evil and imitate it. You go wrong in all your conduct; You make no distinction between the light and the
[1. The meaning seems to be that, whatever miseries might prevail, and be ignorantly ascribed to God, they were in reality owing to men's neglect of the law of Heaven inscribed on their hearts.]
darkness; But amid clamour and shouting, You turn the day into night[1].'
King Wan said, 'Alas! Alas! you (sovereign of) Yin-shang, (All round you) is like the noise of cicadas, Or like the bubbling of boiling soup. Affairs, great and small, are approaching to ruin, And still you (and your creatures) go on in this course. Indignation is rife against you here in the Middle Kingdom, And extends to the demon regions [2].'
King Wan said, 'Alas! Alas! you (sovereign of) Yin-shang, It is not God that has caused this evil time, But it arises from Yin's not using the old (ways). Although you have not old experienced men, There are still the ancient statutes and laws. But you will not listen to them, And so your great appointment is being overthrown.'
King Wan said, 'Alas! Alas! you (sovereign of) Shang, People have a saying, "When a tree falls utterly, While its branches and leaves are yet uninjured, It must first have been uprooted." The beacon of Yin is not far distant;--It is in the age of the (last) sovereign of Hsiâ.'
[1. We speak of 'turning night into day.' The tyrant of Shang turned day into night, Excesses, generally committed in darkness, were by him done openly.
2 These 'demon regions' are understood to mean the seat of the Turkic tribes to the north of China, known from the earliest times by various names-'The hill Zung,' 'the northern Lî,' 'the Hsien-yun,' &c. Towards the beginning of our era, they were called Hsiung-nû, from which, perhaps, came the name Huns; and some centuries later, Thû-küeh (Thuh-küeh), from which came Turk. We are told in the Yî, under the diagram Kî-kî, that Kâo Zung (B.C. 1324-1266) conducted an expedition against the demon regions, and in three years subdued them.]
ODE 2. THE YÎ.
CONTAINING VARIOUS COUNSELS WHICH DUKE WÛ OF WEI MADE TO ADMONISH HIMSELF, WHEN HE WAS OVER HIS NINETIETH YEAR; ESPECIALLY ON THE DUTY OF A RULER TO BE CAREFUL OF HIS OUTWARD DEMEANOUR, FEELING THAT HE IS EVER UNDER THE INSPECTION OF SPIRITUAL BEINGS, AND TO RECEIVE WITH DOCILITY INSTRUCTIONS DELIVERED TO HIM.
The sixth ode in the seventh decade of the Minor Odes of the Kingdom is attributed to the same duke of Wei as this; and the two bear traces of having proceeded from the same writer. The external authorities for assigning this piece to duke Wû are the statement of the preface and an article in the 'Narratives of the States,' a work already referred to as belonging to the period of the Kâu dynasty. That article relates how Wû, at the age of ninety-five, insisted on all his ministers and officers being instant, in season and out of season, to admonish him on his conduct, and that 'he made the warnings in the Î to admonish himself.' The Î is understood to be only another name for this Yî. Thus the speaker throughout the piece is Wû, and 'the young Son,' whom he sometimes addresses, is himself also. The conception of the writer in taking such a method to admonish himself, and give forth the lessons of his long life, is very remarkable; and the execution of it is successful.
Outward demeanour, cautious and grave, Is an indication of the (inward) virtue. People have the saying, 'There is no wise man who is not (also) stupid.' The stupidity of the ordinary man Is determined by his (natural) defects. The stupidity of the wise man Is from his doing violence (to his proper character).
What is most powerful is the being the man [1];--
[1. Wû writes as the marquis of Wei, the ruler of a state; but what he says is susceptible of universal application. In every smaller sphere, and in the largest, 'being the man,' displaying, that is, the proper qualities of humanity, will be appreciated and felt.]
In all quarters (of the state) men are influenced by it. To an upright virtuous conduct All in the four quarters of the state render obedient homage. With great counsels and determinate orders, With far-reaching plans and timely announcements, And with reverent care of his outward demeanour, One will become the pattern of the people.
As for the circumstances of the present time, You are bent on error and confusion in your government. Your virtue is subverted; You are besotted by drink [1]. Although you thus pursue nothing but pleasure, How is it you do not think of your relation to the past, And do not widely study the former kings, That you might hold fast their wise laws?
Shall not those whom great Heaven does not approve of, Surely as the waters flow from a spring, Sink down together in ruin? Rise early and go to bed late, Sprinkle and sweep your courtyard;--So as to be a pattern to the people [2]. Have in good order your chariots and horses, Your bows and arrows, and (other) weapons of war;--To be prepared for warlike action, To keep at a distance (the hordes of) the south.
Perfect what concerns your officers and people;
[1. Han Ying (who has been mentioned in the Introduction) says that Wû made the sixth ode of the seventh decade of the former Part against drunkenness, when he was repenting of his own giving way to that vice. His mention of the habit here, at the age of ninety-five, must be understood as a warning to other rulers.
2. Line 3 describes things important to the cultivation of one's self; and line 4, things important to the regulation of one's family. They may seem unimportant, it is said,. as compared with the defence of the state, spoken of in the last four lines of the stanza; but the ruler ought not to neglect them.]
Be careful of your duties as a prince (of the kingdom). To be prepared for unforeseen dangers, Be cautious of what you say; Be reverentially careful of your outward behaviour; In all things be mild and correct. A flaw in a mace of white jade May be ground away; But for a flaw in speech Nothing can be done.
Do not speak lightly; your words are your own[1]. Do not say, 'This is of little importance; No one can hold my tongue for me.' Words are not to be cast away. Every word finds its answer; Every good deed has its recompense. If you are gracious among your friends, And to the people, as if they were you: children, Your descendants will continue in unbroken line, And all the people will surely be obedient to you.
Looked at in friendly intercourse with superior men, You make your countenance harmonious and mild; Anxious not to do anything wrong. Looked at in your chamber, You ought to be equally free from shame before the light which shines in. Do not say, 'This place is not public; No one can see me here.' The approaches of spiritual beings Cannot be calculated beforehand; But the more should they not be slighted [2].
[1. And therefore every one is himself responsible for his words.
2 Kû Hsî says that from the fourth line this stanza only speaks of the constant care there should be in watching over one's thoughts; but in saying so, be overlooks the consideration by which such watchful care is enforced. Compare what is said of king Wan in the third stanza of the sixth ode of the first decade. King Wan and duke Wû were both influenced by the consideration that their inmost thoughts, even when 'unseen by men,' were open to the inspection of spiritual beings.]
O prince, let your practice of virtue Be entirely good and admirable. Watch well over your behaviour, And allow nothing wrong in your demeanour. Committing no excess, doing nothing injurious, There are few who will not in such a case take you for their pattern. When one throws to me a peach, I return to him a plum [1]. To look for horns on a young ram Will only weary you, my son [2].
The tough and elastic wood Can be fitted with the silken string [3]. The mild and respectful man Possesses the foundation of virtue. There is a wise man;--I tell him good words, And he yields to them the practice of docile virtue. There is a stupid man;--He says on the contrary that my words are not true:--So different are people's minds.
Oh! my son, When you did not know what was good, and what was not good, Not only did I lead you by the hand, But I showed the difference between them by appealing to instances. Not (only) did I charge you face to face, But I held you by the ear [4]. And still perhaps you do not know, Although you have held a son in your arms. If people be not self-sufficient, Who comes to a late maturity after early instruction?
Great Heaven is very intelligent, And I pass,
[1. That is, every deed, in fact, meets with its recompense.
2. See the conclusion of duke Wû's ode against drunkenness. Horns grow as the young ram grows. Effects must not be expected where there have not been the conditions from which they naturally spring.
3. Such wood is the proper material for a bow.
4. That is, to secure your attention.]
my life without pleasure. When I see you so dark and stupid, My heart is full of pain. I taught you with assiduous repetition, And you listened to me with contempt. You would not consider me as your teacher, But regarded me as troublesome. Still perhaps you do not know;--But you are very old.
Oh! my son, I have told you the old ways. Hear and follow my counsels:--Then shall you have no cause for great regret. Heaven is now inflicting calamities, And is destroying the state. My illustrations are not taken from things remote:--Great Heaven makes no mistakes. If you go on to deteriorate in your virtue, You will bring the people to great distress.
ODE 3, STANZAS 1, 2, 3, 4, AND 7. THE SANG ZÂU.
THE WRITER MOURNS OVER THE MISERY AND DISORDER OF THE TIMES, WITH A VIEW TO REPREHEND THE MISGOVERNMENT OF KING LÎ, APPEALING ALSO TO HEAVEN TO HAVE COMPASSION.
King Lî is not mentioned by name in the piece, but the second line of stanza 7 can only be explained of him. He was driven from the throne, in consequence of his misgovernment, in B.C. 842, and only saved his life by flying to Kih, a place in the present Ho Kâu, department Phing-yang, Shan-hsî, where he remained till his death in B.C. 828. The government in the meantime was carried on by the dukes of Shâo and Kâu, whose administration, called the period of 'Mutual Harmony,' forms an important chronological era in Chinese history. On the authority of a reference in the Zo Kwan, the piece is ascribed to an earl of Zui.
Luxuriant is that young mulberry tree, And beneath it wide is the shade; But they will pluck its leaves till it is quite destroyed[1]. The distress
[1. These three lines are metaphorical of the once flourishing kingdom, which was now brought to the verge of ruin.]
inflicted on these (multitudes of the) people, Is an unceasing sorrow to my heart; My commiseration fills (my breast). O thou bright and great Heaven, Shouldest thou not have compassion on us?
The four steeds (gallop about), eager and strong[1]; The tortoise-and-serpent and the falcon banners fly about. Disorder grows, and no peace can be secured. Every state is being ruined; There are no black heads among the people[2]. Everything is reduced to ashes by calamity. Oh! alas! The doom of the kingdom hurries on.
There is nothing to arrest the doom of the kingdom; Heaven does not nourish us. There is no place in which to stop securely; There is no place to which to go. Superior men are the bonds (Of the social state)[3], Allowing no love of strife in their hearts. Who reared the steps of the dissatisfaction [4], Which has reached the present distress?
The grief of my heart is extreme, And I dwell on (the condition of) our land. I was born at an unhappy time, To meet with the severe anger of Heaven. From the west to the east, There is no quiet place of abiding. Many are the distresses I meet with; Very urgent is the trouble on our borders.
Heaven is sending down death and disorder, And
[1. That is, the war-chariots, each drawn by its team of four horses.
2. The young and able-bodied of the people were slain or absent on distant expeditions, and only old and gray-headed men were to be seen.
3. Intimating that no such men were now to be found in office.
4. Meaning the king by his misgovernment and employment of bad men.]
has put an end to our king. It is (now) sending down those devourers of the grain, So that the husbandry is all in evil case. Alas for our middle states [1]! All is in peril and going to ruin. I have no strength (to do anything), And think of (the Power in) the azure vault.
ODE 4. THE YUN HAN.
KING HSÜAN, ON OCCASION OF A GREAT DROUGHT, EXPOSTULATES WITH GOD AND ALL THE SPIRITS, WHO MIGHT BE EXPECTED TO HELP HIM AND HIS PEOPLE; ASKS THEM WHEREFORE THEY WERE CONTENDING WITH HIM; AND DETAILS THE MEASURES HE HAD TAKEN, AND WAS STILL TAKING, FOR THE REMOVAL OF THE CALAMITY.
King Hsüan does not occur by name in the ode, though the remarkable prayer which it relates is ascribed to a king in stanza 1. All critics have admitted the statement of the Preface that the piece was made, in admiration of king Hsüan, by Zang Shû, a great officer, we may presume, of the court. The standard chronology places the commencement of the drought in B.C. 822, the sixth year of Hsüan's reign. How long it continued we cannot tell.
Bright was the milky way, Shining and revolving in the sky. The king said, 'Oh! What crime is chargeable on us now, That Heaven (thus) sends down death and disorder? Famine comes again and again. There is no spirit I have not sacrificed to[2]; There is no victim I have grudged; Our
[1. We must translate here in the plural, 'the middle states' meaning all the states subject to the sovereign of Kâu.
2. In the Official Book of Kâu, among the duties of the Minister of Instruction, or, as Biot translates the title, 'the Director of the Multitudes,' it is stated that one of the things he has-to do, on occurrences of famine, is 'to seek out the spirits,' that is, as explained by the commentators, to see that sacrifices are offered to all the spirits, even such as may have been discontinued. This rule had, no doubt, been acted on during the drought which this ode describes.]
jade symbols, oblong and round, are exhausted[1];--How is it that I am not heard?
'The drought is excessive; Its fervours become more and more tormenting. I have not ceased offering pure sacrifices; From the border altars I have gone to the ancestral temple [2]. To the (Powers) above and below I have presented my offerings and then' buried them[3];--There is no spirit whom I have not honoured. Hâu-kî is not equal to the occasion; God does not come to us. This wasting and ruin of our country,--Would that it fell (only) on me!
'The drought is excessive, And I may not try to excuse myself. I am full of terror, and feel the peril, Like the clap of thunder or the roll. Of the remnant of Kâu, among the black-haired people, There will not be half a man left; Nor will God from his great heaven exempt (even) me. Shall
[1. We have, in the sixth Book of the fifth Part of the Shû, an instance of the use of the symbols here mentioned in sacrificing to the spirits of departed kings. The Official Book, among the duties of the Minister of Religion, mentions the use of these and other symbols--in all six, of different shapes and colours--at the different sacrifices.
2. By 'the border altars' we are to understand the altars in the suburbs of the capital, where Heaven and Earth were sacrificed to -the great services at the solstices, and any other seasons. The mention of Hâu-kî in the seventh line makes us think especially of the service in the spring, to pray for a good year, when Hâu-kî was associated with God.
3. 'The (Powers) above and below' are Heaven and Earth. The offerings, during the progress of the service, were placed on the ground, or on the altars, and buried in the earth at the close of it. This explains what the king says in the first stanza about the offerings of jade being exhausted.]
we not mingle our fears together? (The sacrifices to) my ancestors will be extinguished[1].
'The drought is excessive, And it -cannot be stopped. More fierce and fiery, It is leaving me no place. My end is near;--I have none to look up, none to look round, to. The many dukes and their ministers of the past [2] Give me no help. O ye parents and (nearer) ancestors [3], How can ye bear to see me thus?
'The drought is excessive;--Parched are the hills, and the streams are dried. The demon of drought exercises his oppression, As if scattering flames and fire [4] My heart is terrified with the heat;--My sorrowing heart is as if on fire. The
[1. Equivalent to the extinction of the dynasty.
2. The king had sacrificed to all the early lords of Kâu. 'The many dukes' may comprehend kings Thâi and Kî. He had also sacrificed to their ministers. Compare what Pan-kang says in the Shû, p. 109, about his predecessors and their ministers. Some take 'the many dukes, and the ministers,' of all princes of states who had signalised themselves by services to the people and kingdom.
3. The king could hardly hope that his father, the oppressive Lî, would in his spirit-state give him any aid; but we need only find in his words the expression of natural feeling. Probably it was the consideration of the character of Lî which has made some critics understand by 'parents' and 'ancestors' the same individuals, namely, kings Wan and Wû, 'the ancestors' of Hsüan, and who had truly been 'the parents' of the people.
4. Khung Ying-tâ, from 'the Book of Spirits and Marvels,' gives the following account of 'the demon of drought:'--'In the southern regions there is a man, two or three cubits in height, with the upper part of his body bare, and his eyes in the top of his head. He runs with the speed of the wind, and is named Po. In whatever state he appears, there ensues a great drought.' The Book of Spirits and Marvels, however, as it now exists, cannot be older, than our fourth or fifth century.]
many dukes and their ministers of the past Do not hear me. O God, from thy great heaven, Grant me the liberty to withdraw (into retirement[1]).
'The drought is excessive;--I struggle and fear to go away. How is it that I am afflicted with this drought? I cannot ascertain the cause of it. In praying for a good year I was abundantly early [2]. I was not late (in sacrificing) to (the spirits of) the four quarters and of the land [3]. God in great heaven Does not consider me. Reverent to the intelligent spirits, I ought not to be thus the object of their anger.
'The drought is excessive;--All is dispersion, and the bonds of government are relaxed. Reduced to extremities are the heads of departments; Full of distress are my chief ministers, The Master of the Horse, the Commander of the Guards, The chief Cook[4], and my attendants. There is no one who has not (tried to) help (the people); They have not refrained on the ground of being unable. I look up to the great heaven;--Why am I plunged in this sorrow?
'I look up to the great heaven, But its stars sparkle bright. My great officers and excellent men, Ye have reverently drawn near (to Heaven) with all
[1. That is, to withdraw and give place to a more worthy sovereign.
2. This was the border sacrifice to God, when Hâu-kî was associated with him. Some critics add a sacrifice in -the first month of winter, for a blessing on the ensuing year, offered to 'the honoured ones of heaven,'--the sun, moon, and zodiacal constellations.
3. See note 2 on p. 371.
4. See note 1 On p. 356.]
your powers. Death is approaching, But do not cast away what you have done. You are seeking not for me only, But to give rest to all our departments. I look up to the great heaven;--When shall I be favoured with repose?'
ODE 5, STANZAS 1, 2, AND 4. THE SUNG KÂO.
CELEBRATING THE APPOINTMENT BY KING HSÜAN OF A RELATIVE TO BE THE MARQUIS OF SHAN, AND DEFENDER OF THE SOUTHERN BORDER OF THE KINGDOM, WITH THE ARRANGEMENTS MADE FOR HIS ENTERING ON HIS CHARGE.
That the king who appears in this piece was king Hsüan is sufficiently established. He appears in it commissioning 'his great uncle,' an elder brother, that is, of his mother, to go and rule, as marquis of Shan, and chief or president of the states in the south of the kingdom, to defend the borders against the encroaching hordes of the south, headed by the princes of Khû, whose lords bad been rebellious against the middle states even in the time of the Shang dynasty;--see the last of the Sacrificial Odes of Shang.
Grandly lofty are the mountains, With their large masses reaching to the heavens. From those mountains was sent down a spirit, Who produced the birth of (the princes of) Fû and Shan [1]. Fû and
[1. Shan was a small marquisate, a part of what is the present department of Nan-yang, Ho-nan. Fû, which was also called Lü, was another small territory, not far from Shan. The princes of both were Kiangs, descended from the chief minister of Yâo, called in the first Book of the Shû, 'the Four Mountains.' Other states were ruled by his descendants, particularly the great state of Khî. When it is said here that a spirit was sent down from the great mountains, and produced the birth of (the princes of) Fû and Shan, we have, probably, a legendary tradition concerning the birth of Yâo's minister, which was current among all his descendants; and with which we may compare the legends that have come under our notice about the supernatural births of the ancestors of the founders of the Houses of Shang and Kau. The character for mountains' in lines 1 and 3 is the same that occurs in the title of Yâo's minister. On the statement about the mountains sending 'down a spirit, Hwang Hsün, a critic of the Sung dynasty, says that it is merely a personification of the poet, to show how high Heaven had a mind to revive the fortunes of Kau, and that we need not trouble ourselves about whether there was such a spirit or not!]
Shan Are the support of Kâu, Screens to all the states, Diffusing (their influence) over the four quarters of the kingdom.
Full of activity is the chief of Shin, And the king would employ him to continue the services (of his fathers), With his capital in Hsieh [1], Where he should be a pattern to the states of the south. The king gave charge to the earl of Shâo, To arrange all about the residence of the chief of Shin, Where he should do what was necessary for the regions of the south, And where his posterity might maintain his merit.
Of the services of the chief of Shan The foundation was laid by the earl of Shâo, Who first built the walls (of his city), And then completed his ancestral temple [2]. When the temple was completed, wide and grand, The king conferred on the chief of Shâo Four noble steeds, With the hooks for the trappings of the breast-bands, glittering bright[3].
[1. Hsieh was in the present Fang Kâu of the department of Nan-yang.
2. Compare with this the account given, in ode 3 of the first decade, of the settling of 'the ancient duke Than-fû' in the plain of Kâu. Here, as there, the great religious edifice, the ancestral temple, takes precedence of all other buildings in the new city.
3. The steeds with their equipments were tokens of the royal favour, usually granted on occasions of investiture. The. conferring of them was followed immediately by the departure of the newly-invested prince to his charge.]
ODE 6, STANZAS 1 AND 7. THE KANG MIN.
CELEBRATING THE VIRTUES OF KUNG SHAN-FÛ, WHO APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL MINISTERS OF KING HSÜAN, AND HIS DESPATCH TO THE EAST, TO FORTIFY THE CAPITAL OF TIM STATE OF KHÎ.
Heaven, in giving birth to the multitudes of the people, To every faculty and relationship annexed its law. The people possess this normal nature, And they (consequently) love its normal virtue [1]. Heaven beheld the ruler of Kâu, Brilliantly affecting it by his conduct below, And to maintain him, its Son, Gave birth to Kung Shan-fû [2].
Kung Shan-fû went forth, having sacrificed to the spirit of the road [3]. His four steeds were strong;
[1. We get an idea of the meaning which has been attached to these four lines from a very early time by Mencius' quotation of them (VI, i, ch. 6) in support of his doctrine of the goodness of human nature, and the remark on the piece which he 'attributes to Confucius, that 'the maker of it knew indeed the constitution (of our nature).' Every faculty, bodily or mental, has its function to fulfil, and every relationship its duty to be discharged. The function and the duty are the things which the human being has to observe:--the seeing clearly, for instance, with the eyes, and bearing distinctly with the ears; the maintenance of righteousness between ruler and minister, and of affection between parent and child. This is the 'normal nature,' and the 'normal virtue' is the nature fulfilling the various laws of its constitution.
2 The connexion between these four lines and those that precede is this:--that while Heaven produces all men with the good nature there described, on occasions it produces others with virtue and powers in a super-eminent degree. Such an occasion was presented by the case of king Hsüan, and therefore, to mark its appreciation of him, and for his help,, it now produced Kung Shan-fû.
3 This was a special sacrifice at the commencement of a journey, or of an expedition. See note 2 on p. 399.]
His men were alert, He was always anxious lest he should not be equal to his commission; His steeds went on without stopping, To the tinkling of their eight bells. The king had given charge to Kung Shan-fû, To fortify the city there in the east.
ODE 7, STANZAS I AND PART OF 3. THE HAN YÎ.
CELEBRATING THE MARQUIS OF HAN:--HIS INVESTITURE, AND THE KING S CHARGE TO HIM; THE GIFTS HE RECEIVED, AND THE PARTING FEAST AT THE COURT; HIS MARRIAGE; THE EXCELLENCE OF HIS TERRITORY; AND HIS SWAY OVER THE REGIONS OF THE NORTH.
Only one line--the first of stanza 3--in this interesting piece serves to illustrate the religious practices of the time, and needs no further note than what has been given on the first line of stanza 7 in the preceding ode. The name of the marquisate of Han remains in the district of Han-khang, department of Hsî-an, Shen-hsî, in which also is mount Liang.
Very grand is the mountain of Liang, Which was made cultivable by Yü. Bright is the way from it, (Along which came) the marquis of Han to receive investiture. The king in person gave the charge:--'Continue the services of your ancestors; Let not my charge to you come to nought. Be diligent early and late, And reverently discharge your duties:--So shall my appointment of you not change. Be a support against those princes who do not come to court, Thus assisting your sovereign.'
When the marquis of Han left the court, he sacrificed to the spirit of the road. He went forth, and lodged for the night in Tû.
ODE 8, STANZAS 4 AND 5. THE KIANG HAN.
CELEBRATING AN EXPEDITION AGAINST THE SOUTHERN TRIBES OF THE HWÂI, AND THE WORK DONE FOR THE KING IN THEIR COUNTRY, BY HÛ, THE EARL OF SHÂO, WITH THE MANNER IN WHICH THE KING REWARDED HIM, AND HE RESPONDED TO THE ROYAL FAVOUR.
Hû was probably the same earl of Shâo, who is mentioned in ode 5, as building his capital of Hsieh for the new marquis of Shan. The lords of Shâo had been distinguished in the service of Kâu ever since the rise of the dynasty.
The king gave charge to Hû of Shâo:--'You have everywhere made known (and carried out my orders). When (the kings) Wan and Wû received their appointment, The duke of Shâo was their strong support. You not (only) have a regard to me the little child But you try to resemble that duke of Shâo. You have commenced and earnestly displayed your merit; And I will make you happy.
'I give you a large libation-cup of jade[1], And a jar of herb-flavoured spirits from the black millet[2]. I have made announcement to the Accomplished one[3], And confer on you hills, lands, and fields. In (Khî-)kâu shall you receive investiture, According as your ancestor received his.' Hû bowed with
[1. See note 2 on p. 386.
2. The cup and the spirits would be used by the earl when sacrificing in his ancestral temple. Compare the similar gift from king Khang to the duke of Kâu, in the Shû, p. 194. More substantial gifts are immediately specified.
3. 'The Accomplished one' is understood to be king Wan (= 'the Accomplished king'). He was the founder of the Kâu dynasty. To him the kingdom had first come by the appointment and gift of Heaven. It was the duty therefore of his successors, in making grants of territory to meritorious officers, to announce them to him in Khî-kâu, the old territory of the family, and obtain, as it were, his leave for what they were doing.]
his head to the ground (and said), 'May the Son of Heaven live for ever!'
ODE 10, STANZAS 1, 5, 6, AND 7. THE KAN ZANG.
THE WRITER DEPLORES, WITH AN APPEALING WAIL TO HEAVEN, THE MISERY AND OPPRESSION THAT PREVAILED, AND INTIMATES THAT THEY WERE CAUSED BY THE INTERFERENCE OF WOMEN AND EUNUCHS IN THE GOVERNMENT.
The king addressed in this piece was most probably Yû. It suits his character and reign.
I look up to great Heaven, But it shows us no kindness. Very long have we been disquieted, And these great calamities are sent down (upon us). There is nothing settled in the country; Officers and people are in distress. Through the insects from without and from within, There is no peace or limit (to our misery). The net of crime is not taken up[1], And there is no peace nor cure (for our state).
Why is it that Heaven is (thus) reproving (you)? Why is it that Heaven is not blessing (you)? You neglect your great barbarian (foes), And regard me with hatred. You are regardless of the evil omens (that abound [2]), And your demeanour is all unseemly. (Good) men are going away, And the country is sure to go to ruin.
Heaven is letting down its net, And many (are the calamities in it). (Good) men are going away, And my heart is sorrowful. Heaven is letting down
[1. By 'the net of crime' we are to understand the multitude of penal laws, to whose doom people were exposed. In stanza 6, Heaven is represented as letting it down.
2. Compare ode 9 of the fourth decade in the former Part.]
its net, And soon (all will be caught in it). (Good) men are going away, And my heart is sad.
Right from the spring comes the water bubbling, Revealing its depth. The sorrow of my heart,--Is it (only) of to-day? Why were these things not, before me? Or why were they not after me? But mysteriously great Heaven Is able to strengthen anything. Do not disgrace your great ancestors This will save your posterity[1].
ODE 11, STANZAS 1 AND 2. THE SHÂO MIN.
THE WRITER APPEALS TO HEAVEN, BEMOANING THE MISERY AND RUIN WHICH WERE GOING ON, AND SHOWING HOW THEY WERE DUE TO THE KING'S EMPLOYMENT OF MEAN AND WORTHLESS CREATURES.
Compassionate Heaven is arrayed in angry terrors. Heaven is indeed sending down ruin, Afflicting us with famine, So that the people are all wandering fugitives. In the settled regions, and on the borders, all is desolation.
Heaven sends down its net of crime;--Devouring insects, who weary and confuse men's minds, Ignorant, oppressive, negligent, Breeders of confusion, utterly perverse:--These are the men employed.
[1. The writer in these concluding lines ventures to summon the king to repentance, and to hold out a hope that there might come a change in their state. He does this, believing that all things are possible with Heaven.]
IV. LESSONS FROM THE STATES.
ODES AND STANZAS ILLUSTRATING THE RELIGIOUS VIEWS AND PRACTICES OF THE WRITERS AND THEIR TIMES.
IT has been stated in the Introduction, p. 276, that the first Part of the Shih, called the Kwo Fang, or 'Lessons from the States,' consists of 160 pieces, descriptive of manners and events in several of the feudal states into which the kingdom of Kâu was divided. Nearly all of them are short; and the passages illustrating the religious views and practices of their times are comparatively few. What passages there are, however, of this nature will all be found below. The pieces are not arranged in decades, as in the Odes of the Kingdom, but in Books, under the names of the states in which they were produced.
Although the Kwo Fang form, as usually published, the first Part of the Shih, nearly all of them are more recent in their origin than the pieces of the other Parts. They bring us face to face with the states of the kingdom, and the ways of their officers and people for several centuries of the dynasty of Kâu.
BOOK II. THE ODES OF SHÂO AND THE SOUTH.
THE Shû and previous portions of the Shih have made us familiar with Shâo, the name of the appanage of Shih, one of the principal ministers at the court of Kâu in the first two reigns of the dynasty. The site of the city of Shâo was in the present department of Fang-khiang, Shen-hsî. The first possessor of it, along with the still more famous duke of Kâu, remained at court, to watch over the fortunes of the new dynasty. They were known as 'the highest dukes' and 'the two great chiefs,' the duke of Kâu having charge of the eastern portions of the kingdom, and the other of the western. The pieces in this Book are supposed to have been produced in Shâo, and the principalities south of it within his jurisdiction, by the duke.
ODE 2. THE ZHÂI FAN.
CELEBRATING THE INDUSTRY AND REVERENCE OF A PRINCE'S WIFE, ASSISTING HIM IN SACRIFICING.
We must suppose the ladies of a harem, in one Of the states of the south, admiring and praising in these simple stanzas the way in which their mistress discharged her duties. A view of the ode maintained by many is that the lady gathered the southernwood, not to use it in sacrificing, but in the nurture, of the silkworms under her care; but the evidence of the characters in the text is, on the whole, in favour of the more common view. Constant reference is made to the piece by Chinese moralists, to show that the most trivial things are accepted in sacrifice, when there are reverence and sincerity in the presenting of them.
One critic asked Kû Hsî whether it was conceivable that the wife of a prince did herself what is here related, and he replied that the poet said so. Another has observed that if the lady ordered and employed others, it was still her own doing. But that the lady did it herself is not incredible, when we consider the simplicity of those early times, in the twelfth century B.C.
She gathers the white southernwood, By the ponds, on the islets. She employs it, In the business of our prince.
She gathers the white southernwood, Along the streams in the valleys. She employs it, In the temple [1] of our prince.
[1. If the character here translated 'temple' had no other signification but that, there would-be an end of the dispute about the meaning of the piece. But while we find it often used- of the ancestral temple, it may also mean any building, especially one of a large and public character, such as a palace or. mansion; and hence some contend that it should be interpreted here of 'the silkworm house.' We are to conceive of the lady, after, having gathered the materials for sacrificial use, then preparing them according to rule, and while it is yet dark on the morning of the -sacrificial day, going with them into the temple, and setting them forth in their proper vessels and places.]
With head-dress reverently rising aloft, Early, while yet it is night, she is in the prince's (temple). In her head-dress, slowly retiring, She returns (to her own apartments).
ODE 4. THE ZHÂI PIN.
CELEBRATING THE DILIGENCE AND REVERENCE OF THE YOUNG WIFE OF AN OFFICER, DOING HER PART IN SACRIFICIAL OFFERINGS.
She gathers the large duckweed, By the banks of the stream in the southern valley. She gathers the pondweed, In those pools left by the floods.
She deposits what she gathers, In her square baskets and round ones. She boils it, In her tripods and pans.
She sets forth her preparations, Under the window in the ancestral chamber[1]. Who superintends the business? It is (this) reverent young lady.
[1. 'The ancestral chamber' was a room behind the temple of the family, dedicated specially to the ancestor of the officer whose wife is the subject of the piece. The princes of states were succeeded, as a rule, by the eldest son of the wife proper. Their sons by other wives were called 'other sons.' The eldest son by the wife proper of one of them became the 'great ancestor' of the clan descended from him, and 'the ancestral chamber' was an apartment dedicated to him. Mâo and other interpreters, going on certain statements as to the training of daughters in the business of sacrificing in this apartment for three months previous to their marriage, contend that the lady spoken of here was not yet married, but was only undergoing this preparatory education. It is not necessary, however, to adopt this interpretation. The lady appears doing the same duties as the wife in the former piece.]
BOOK III. THE ODES OF PHEI.
WHEN king Wû overthrew the dynasty of Shang, the domain of its kings was divided into three portions, the northern portion being called Phei, the southern Yung, and the eastern Wei, the rulers of which last in course of time absorbed the other two. It is impossible to say why the old names were retained in the arrangement of the odes in this Part of the Shih, for it is acknowledged on all hands that the pieces in Books iii and iv, as well as those of Book v, are all odes of Wei.
ODE 4. THE ZAH YÜEH.
SUPPOSED TO BE THE COMPLAINT AND APPEAL OF KWANG KIANG, A MARCHIONESS OF WEI, AGAINST THE BAD TREATMENT SHE RECEIVED FROM HER HUSBAND.
All the Chinese critics give this interpretation of the piece. Kwang Kiang was a daughter of the house of Khî, about the middle of the eighth century B.C., and was married to the marquis Yang, known in history as 'duke Kwang,' of Wei. She was a lady of admirable character, and beautiful; but her husband proved faithless and unkind. In this ode she makes her subdued moan, appealing to the sun and moon, as if they could take cognizance of the way in which she was treated. Possibly, however, the addressing those bodies may simply be an instance of prosopopoeia.
O sun, O moon, Which enlighten this lower earth! Here is this man, Who treats me not according to the ancient rule. How can he get his mind settled? Would he then not regard me?
O sun, O moon, Which overshadow this lower earth! Here is this man, Who will not be friendly with me. How can he get his mind settled? Would he then not respond to me?
O sun, O moon, Which come forth from the east! Here is this man, With virtuous words, but really not good. How can he get his mind settled? Would he then allow me to be forgotten?
O sun, O moon, From the east that come forth! O father, O mother, There is no sequel to your nourishing of me. How can he get his mind settled? Would he then respond tome contrary to all reason?
ODE 15, STANZA 1. THE PEI MAN.
AN OFFICER OF WEI SETS FORTH HIS HARD LOT, THROUGH DISTRESSES AND THE BURDENS LAID UPON HIM, AND HIS SILENCE UNDER IT IN SUBMISSION TO HEAVEN.
I go out at the north gate, With my heart full of sorrow. Straitened am I and poor, And no one takes knowledge of my distress. So it is! Heaven has done it[1];--What then shall I say?
BOOK IV. THE ODES OF YUNG.
See the preliminary note on p. 433.
ODE 1. THE PAI KÂU.
PROTEST OF A WIDOW AGAINST BEING URGED TO MARRY AGAIN, AND HER APPEAL TO HER MOTHER AND TO HEAVEN.
THIS piece, it is said, was made by Kung Kiang, the widow of Kung-po, son of the marquis Hsî Of Wei (B.C. 855-814). Kung-po having died an early death, her parents (who must have been the marquis of Khî and his wife or one of the ladies of his harem) wanted to force her to a second marriage, against which she protests. The ode was preserved, no doubt, as an example of
[1. The 'Complete Digest of Comments on the Shih' warns its readers not to take 'Heaven' here as synonymous with Ming, 'what is decreed or Commanded.' The writer does not go on to define the precise idea which he understood the character to convey. This appears to be what we often mean by 'Providence,' when we speak of anything permitted, rather than appointed, by the supreme ruling Power.]
what the Chinese have always considered a great virtue,--the refusal of a, widow to marry again.
It floats about, that boat of cypress wood, There in the middle of the Ho [1]. With his two tufts of hair falling over his forehead [2], He was my mate; And I swear that till death I will have no other. O mother, O Heavens[3], Why will you not understand me?
It floats about, that boat of cypress wood, There by the side of the Ho. With his two tufts of hair falling over his forehead, He was my only one; And I swear that till death I will not do the evil thing. O mother, O Heaven, Why will you not understand me?
ODE 3, STANZA 2. THE KÜN-DZE KIEH LÂO.
CONTRAST BETWEEN THE BEAUTY AND SPLENDOUR OF HSÜAN KIANG AND HER VICIOUSNESS.
Hsüan Kiang was a princess of Khî, Who, towards the close of the seventh century B.C., became wife to the marquis of Wei, known as duke Hsüan. She was beautiful and unfortunate, but various things are related of her indicative of the grossest immoralities prevailing in the court of Wei.
How rich and splendid Is her pheasant-figured
[1. These allusive lines, probably, indicate the speaker's widowhood, Which left her like 'a boat floating about on the water.'
2. Such was the mode in which the hair was kept, while a boy or young man's parents were alive, parted into two tufts from the pia mater, and brought down as low as the eyebrows on either side of the forehead.
3. Mâo, thought that the lady intended her father by 'Heaven;' while Kû held that her father may have been dead, and that the mother is called Heaven, with reference to the kindness and protection that she ought to show. There seems rather to be in the term a wild, and not very intelligent, appeal to the supreme Power in heaven.]
robe[1]! Her black hair in masses like clouds, No false locks does she descend to. There are her earplugs of jade, Her comb-pin of ivory, And her high forehead, so white. She appears like a visitant from heaven! She appears like a goddess[2].
ODE 6, STANZAS 1 AND 2. THE TING KIH FANG KÛNG.
CELEBRATING THE PRAISE OF DUKE WIN;--HIS DILIGENCE, FORESIGHT, USE OF DIVINATION, AND OTHER QUALITIES.
The state of Wei was reduced to extremity by an irruption of some northern hordes in B.C. 660, and had nearly disappeared from among the states of Kau. Under the marquis Wei, known in history as duke Wan, its fortunes revived, and he became a sort of second founder of the state.
When Ting culminated (at night-fall)[3] He began to build the palace at Khû [4], Determining
[1. The lady is introduced arrayed in the gorgeous robes worn by the princess of a state in the ancestral temple.
2 P. Lacharme translated these two concluding lines by 'Tu primo aspectu coelos (pulchritudine), et imperatorem (majestate) adaequas,' without any sanction of the Chinese critics; and moreover there was no Tî (###) in the sense of imperator then in China. The sovereigns of Kau were Wang or kings. Kû Hsî expands the lines thus:--'Such is the beauty of her robes and appearance, that beholders are struck with awe, as if she were a spiritual being.' Hsü Khien (Yüan dynasty) deals with them thus:--With such splendour of beauty and dress, how is it that she is here? She has come down from heaven I She is a spiritual being!'
3 Ting is the name of a small space in the heavens, embracing alpha Markab and another star of Pegasus. Its culminating at night-fall was the signal that the labours of husbandry were over for the year, and that building operations should be taken in hand. Great as was the urgency for the building of his new capital, duke Win would not take it in hand till the proper time for such a labour was arrived.
4 Khû, or Khû-khiû, was the new capital of Wei, in the present district of Khang-wû, department Zhâo-kâu, Shan-tung.]
its aspects by means of the sun. He built the palace at Khû. He planted about it hazel and chesnut trees, The Î, the Thung, the Dze, and the varnish tree. Which, when cut down, might afford materials for lutes.
He ascended those old walls, And thence surveyed (the site of) Khû. He surveyed Khû and Thang[1], With the lofty hills and high elevations about. He descended and examined the mulberry trees. He then divined by the tortoise-shell, and got a favourable response [2]; And thus the issue has been truly good.
BOOK V. THE ODES OF WEI.
IT has been said on the title of Book iii, that Wei at first was the eastern portion of the old domain of the kings of Shang. With this a brother of king Wû, called Khang-shû, was invested. The principality was afterwards increased by the absorption of Phei and Yung. It came to embrace portions of the present provinces of Kih-lî, Shan-tung, and Ho-nan. It outlasted the dynasty of Kâu itself, the last prince of Wei being reduced to the ranks of the people only during the dynasty of Khin.
ODE 4, STANZAS I AND 2. THE MANG.
AN UNFORTUNATE WOMAN, WHO HAD BEEN SEDUCED INTO AN IMPROPER CONNEXION, NOW CAST OFF, RELATES AND BEMOANS HER SAD CASE.
An extract is given from the pathetic history here related, because it shows how divination was used among the common people, and entered generally into the ordinary affairs of life.
A simple-looking lad you were, Carrying cloth
[1. Thang was the name of a town, evidently not far from Khû.
2. We have seen before how divination was resorted to on occasion of new undertakings, especially in proceeding to rear a city.]
to exchange it for silk. (But) you came not so to purchase silk;-You came to make proposals to me. I convoyed you through the Khî [1], As far as Tun-khiû [2], 'It is not I,' (I said), 'who would protract the time; But you have had no good go-between. I pray you be not angry, And let autumn be the time.'
I ascended that ruinous wall, To look towards Fû-kwan [3]; And when I saw (you) not (coming from) it, My tears flowed in streams. When I did see (you coming from) Fû-kwan, I laughed and I spoke. You had consulted, (you said), the tortoiseshell and the divining stalks, And there was nothing unfavourable in their response [4]. 'Then come,' (I said), 'with your carriage, And I will remove with my goods.'
BOOK VI. THE ODES OF THE ROYAL DOMAIN.
KING Wan, it has been seen, had for his capital the city of Fang, from which his son, king Wû, moved the seat of government to Hâo. In the time of king Khang, a city was built by the duke
[1. The Khî was a famous river of Wei.
2. Tun-khiû was a well-known place--'the mound or height of Tun'-south of the Wei.
'Fû-kwan must have been the place where the man lived, according to Kû. Rather, it must have been a pass (Fû-kwan may mean 'the gate or pass of Fû'), through which he would come, and was visible from near the residence of the woman.
4 Ying tâ observes that the man had never divined about the matter, and said that he had done so only to complete the process of seduction. The critics dwell on the inconsistency of divination being resorted to in such a case:--'Divination is proper only if used in reference to what is right and moral.']
of Kâu, near the present Lo-yang, and called 'the eastern capital.' Meetings of the princes of the states assembled there; but the court continued to be held at Hâo till the accession of king Phing in B.C. 770. From that time, the kings of Kâu sank nearly to the level of the princes of the states, and the poems collected in their domain were classed among the 'Lessons of Manners from the States,' though still distinguished by the epithet 'royal' prefixed to them.
ODE 1, STANZA 1. THE SHÛ-LÎ.
AN OFFICER DESCRIBES HIS MELANCHOLY AND REFLECTIONS ON SEEING THE DESOLATION OF THE OLD CAPITAL OF KAU, MAKING HIS MOAN TO HEAVEN BECAUSE OF IT.
There is no specific mention of the old. capital of Kâu in the piece, but the schools of Mâo and Kû are agreed in this interpretation, which is much more likely than any of the others that have been proposed.
There was the millet with its drooping heads; There was the sacrificial millet coming into blade[1]. Slowly I moved about, In my heart all-agitated. Those who knew me said I was sad at heart. Those who did not know me, Said I was seeking for something. O thou distant and azure Heaven[2]! By what man was this (brought about)[3]?
[1. That is, there where the ancestral temple and other grand buildings of Hâo had once stood.
2. 'He cried out to Heaven,' says Yen Zhan, 'and told (his distress), but he calls it distant in its azure brightness, lamenting that his complaint was not heard.' This is, probably, the correct explanation of the language. The speaker would by it express his grief that the dynasty of Kâu and its people were abandoned and uncared for by Heaven.
3. Referring to king Yû, whose reckless course had led to the destruction of Hâo by the Zung, and in a minor degree to his son, king Phing, who had subsequently removed to the eastern capital.]
ODE 9, STANZAS 1 AND 3. THE TÂ KÜ.
A LADY EXCUSES HERSELF FOR NOT FLYING TO HER LOVER BY HER FEAR OF A SEVERE AND VIRTUOUS MAGISTRATE, AND SWEARS TO HIS THAT SHE IS SINCERE IN HER ATTACHMENT TO HIM.
His great carriage rolls along, And his robes of rank glitter like the young sedge. Do I not think of you? But I am afraid of this officer, and dare not (fly to you).
While living we may have to occupy different apartments; But, when dead, we shall share the same grave. If you say that I am not sincere, By the bright sun I swear that I am[1].
BOOK X. THE, ODES OF THANG.
THE odes of Thang were really the odes of Zin, the greatest of the fiefs of Kâu until the rise of Khin. King Khang, in B.C. 1107, invested his younger brother, called Shû-yü, with the territory where Yâo was supposed to have ruled anciently as the marquis of Thang, in the present department of Thâi-yüan, Shan-hsî, the fief retaining that ancient name. Subsequently the name of the state was changed to Zin, from the river Zin in the southern part of it.
ODE, 8, STANZA 1. THE PÂO YÜ.
THE MEN OF ZIN, CALLED OUT TO WARFARE BY THE KING'S ORDER, MOURN OVER THE CONSEQUENT SUFFERING OF THEIR PARENTS, AND LONG FOR THEIR RETURN TO THEIR ORDINARY AGRICULTURAL PURSUITS, MAKING THEIR APPEAL TO HEAVEN.
Sû-sû go the feathers of the wild geese, As
[1. In the 'Complete Digest' this oath is expanded in the following way:--'These words are from my heart. If you think that they are not sincere, there is (a Power) above, like the bright sun, observing me;--how should my words not be sincere?']
they settle on the bushy oaks[1]. The king's affairs must not be slackly discharged, And (so) we cannot plant our millets;--What will our parents have to rely on? O thou distant and azure Heaven [2]! When shall we be in our places again?
ODE 11. THE KO SHANG.
A WIFE MOURNS THE DEATH OF HER HUSBAND, REFUSING TO BE COMFORTED, AND DECLARES THAT SHE WILL CHERISH HIS MEMORY TILL HER OWN DEATH.
It is supposed that the husband whose death is bewailed in this piece had died in one of the military expeditions of which duke Hsien (B.C. 676-651) was fond. It may have been so, but there is nothing in the piece to make us think of duke Hsien. I give it a place in the volume, not because of the religious sentiment in it, but because of the absence of that sentiment, Where we might expect it. The lady shows the grand virtue of a Chinese widow, in that she will never marry again. And her grief would not be assuaged. The days would all seem long summer days, and the nights all long winter nights; so that a hundred long years would seem to drag their slow course, But there is not any hope expressed of a re-union with her husband in another state. The 'abode' and the 'chamber' of which she speaks are to be understood of his grave; and her thoughts do not appear to go beyond it.
The dolichos grows, covering the thorn trees; The convolvulus spreads all over the waste [3]. The
[1. Trees are not the proper. place for geese to rest on; and the attempt to do so is productive of much noise and trouble to the birds. The lines would seem to allude to the hardships of the soldiers' lot, called from their homes to go on a distant expedition.
2. See note 2 on ode I of Book vi, where Heaven is appealed to in the same language.
3. These two lines are taken as allusive, the speaker being led by the sight of the weak plants supported by the trees, shrubs, and tombs, to think of her own desolate, unsupported condition. But they may also be taken as narrative, and descriptive of the battleground, where her husband had met his death.]
man of my admiration is no more here;--With whom can I dwell? I abide alone.
The dolichos grows, covering the jujube trees; The convolvulus spreads all over the tombs. The man of my admiration is no more here;--With whom can I dwell? I rest alone.
How beautiful was the pillow of horn! How splendid was the embroidered coverlet[1]! The man of my admiration is no more here;--With whom can I dwell? Alone (I wait for) the morning.
Through the (long) days of summer, Through the (long) nights of winter (shall I be alone), Till the lapse of a hundred years, When I shall go home to his abode.
Through the (long) nights of winter, Through the (long) days of summer(shall I be alone), Till the lapse of a hundred years, When I shall go home to his chamber.
BOOK XI. THE ODES OF KHIN.
THE state of Khin took its name from its earliest principal city, in the present district of Khing-shui, in Khin Kau, Kan-sû. Its chiefs claimed to be descended from Yî, who appears in the Shû as the forester of Shun, and the assistant of the great Yü in his labours on the flood of Yâo. The history of his descendants is very imperfectly related till we come to a Fei-Dze, who had charge of the herds of horses belonging to king Hsiâo (B.C. 90989.5), and in consequence of his good services. was invested with
[1. These things had been ornaments of the bridal chamber; and as the widow thinks of them, her grief becomes more intense.]
the small territory of Khin, as an attached state. A descendant of his, known as duke Hsiang, in consequence of his loyal services, when the capital was moved to the cast in B.C. 770, was raised to the dignity of an earl, and took his place among the great feudal princes of the kingdom, receiving also a large portion of territory, which included the ancient capital of the House of Kâu. In course of time Khin, as is well known, superseded the dynasty of Kâu, having gradually moved its capital more and more to the east. The people of Khin were, no doubt, mainly composed of the wild tribes of the west.
ODE 6, STANZA 1. THE HWANG NIÂO.
LAMENT FOR THREE WORTHIES OF KHIN, WHO WERE BURIED IN THE SAME GRAVE WITH DUKE MÛ.
There is no difficulty or difference in the interpretation of this piece; and it brings us down to B.C. 621. Then died duke Mû, after playing an important part in the north-west of China for thirty-nine years. The Zo Kwan, under the sixth year of duke Wan, makes mention of Mû's requiring that the three brothers here celebrated should be buried with him, and of the composition of this piece in consequence. Sze-mâ Khien says that this barbarous practice began with Mû's predecessor, with whom sixty-six persons were buried alive, and that one hundred and seventy-seven in all were buried with Mû. The death of the last distinguished man of the House of Khin, the emperor [1], was subsequently celebrated by the entombment with him of all the inmates of his harem.
They flit about, the yellow birds, And rest upon the jujube trees [1]. Who followed duke Mû in the grave? Dze-kü Yen-hsî. And this Yen-hsî Was a man above a hundred. When he came to the
[1. It is difficult to see the relation between these two allusive lines and the rest of the stanza. Some say that it is this,-that the people loved the three victims as they liked the birds; others that the birds among the trees were in their proper place,--very different from the brothers in the grave of duke Mû.]
grave, He looked terrified and trembled. Thou azure Heaven there! Could he have been redeemed, We would have given a hundred (ordinary) men for him[1].
BOOK XV. THE ODES OF PIN.
DUKE Liû, an ancestor of the Kâu family, made a settlement, according to its traditions, in B.C. 1797, in Pin, the site of which is pointed out, 90 lî to the west of the present district city of San-shui, in Pin Kau, Shen-hsî, where the tribe remained till the movement eastwards of Than-fû, celebrated in the first decade of the Major Odes of the Kingdom, ode 3. The duke of Kâu, during the minority of king Khang, made, it is supposed, the first of the pieces in this Book, describing for the instruction of the young monarch, the ancient ways of their fathers in Pin; and subsequently sonic one compiled other, odes made by the duke, and others also about him, and brought them together under the common name of 'the Odes of Pin.'
ODE 1, STANZA 8. THE KHÎ YÜEH.
DESCRIBING LIFE IN PIN IN THE OLDEN TIME; THE PROVIDENT ARRANGEMENTS THERE TO SECURE THE CONSTANT SUPPLY OF FOOD AND RAIMENT,--WHATEVER WAS NECESSARY FOR THE SUPPORT AND COMFORT OF THE PEOPLE.
If the piece was made, as the Chinese critics all suppose, by the duke of Kâu, we must still suppose that he writes in the person of an old farmer or yeoman of Pin. The picture which it gives of the manners of the Chinese people, their thrifty, provident ways, their agriculture and weaving, nearly 3,700 years ago, is
[1. This appeal to Heaven is like what we met with in the first of the Odes of the Royal Domain, and the eighth of those of Thang.]
full of interest; but it is not till we come to the concluding stanza that we find anything bearing on their religious practices.
In the days of (our) second month, they hew out the ice with harmonious blows [1]; And in those of (our) third month, they convey it to the ice-houses, (Which they open) in those of (our) fourth, early in the morning A lamb having been offered in sacrifice with scallions[2]. In the ninth month, it is cold, with frost. In the tenth month, they sweep clean their stack-sites. (Taking) the two bottles of spirits to be offered to their ruler, And having killed their lambs and sheep, They go to his hall, And raising
[1. They went for the ice to the deep recesses of the hills, and wherever it was to be found in the best condition.
2.. It is said in the last chapter of 'the Great Learning,' that 'the family which keeps its stores of ice does not rear cattle or sheep,' meaning that the possessor of an ice-house must be supposed to be very wealthy, and above the necessity of increasing his means in the way described. Probably, the having ice-houses by high ministers and heads of clans was an innovation on the earlier custom, according to which such a distinction was proper only to the king, or the princes of states, on whom it devolved as I the fathers of the people,' to impart from their stores in the hot season as might be necessary. The third and fourth lines of this stanza are to be understood of what was done by the orders of the ruler of the tribe of Kâu in Pin. In the Official Book of Kâu, Part 1, ch. 5, we have a description of the duties of 'the Providers of Ice,' and the same subject is treated in the sixth Book of 'the Record of Rites,' sections 2 and 6. The ice having been collected and stored in winter, the ice-houses were solemnly opened in the spring. A sacrifice was offered to 'the Ruler of Cold, the Spirit of the Ice' and of the first ice brought forth an offering was set out in the apartment behind the principal hall of the ancestral temple. A sacrifice to the same Ruler of Cold, it is said, had also been offered when the ice began to be collected. The ceremony may be taken as an illustration of the manner in which religious services entered into the life of the ancient Chinese.]
the cup of rhinoceros horn, Wish him long life,--that he may live for ever[1].