The Shih King, or, Book of Poetry Part 22

[1. The proof of G.o.d's having reversed his usual course of procedure was to be found in the universal misery of the people, whose good He was understood to desire, and for the securing of which government by, righteous kings was maintained by him.

2 If ancient worthies thought that persons in such mean employments were to he consulted surely, the advice of the writer deserved to be taken into account by his comrades.]

Heaven is now exercising oppression;--Do not in such a way make a mock of things. An old man, (I speak) with entire sincerity; But you, my juniors, are full of pride. It is not that my words are those of age, But you make a joke of what is sad. But the troubles will multiply like flames, Till they are beyond help or remedy.

Heaven is now displaying its anger;--Do not be either boastful or flattering, Utterly departing from all propriety of demeanour, Till good men are reduced to personators of the dead [1]. The people now sigh and groan, And we dare not examine (into the causes of their trouble). The ruin and disorder are exhausting all their means of living, And we show no kindness to our mult.i.tudes.

Heaven enlightens the people [2], As the bamboo flute responds to the earthen whistle; As two half-maces form a whole one; As you take a thing, and bring it away in your hand, Bringing it away, without any more ado. The enlightenment of the people is very easy. They have (now) many perversities;--Do not you set up your perversity before them.

Good men are a fence; The mult.i.tudes of the people are a wall; Great states are screens; Great families are b.u.t.tresses;--The cherishing of virtue

[1. During all the time of the sacrifice, the personators of the dead said not a word, but only ate and drank. To the semblance of them good men were now reduced.

2. The meaning is, that Heaven has so attuned the mind to virtue, that, if good example were set before the people, they would certainly and readily follow it. This is ill.u.s.trated by various instances of things, in which the one succeeded the other freely and as it necessarily; so that government by virtue was really very easy.]

secures repose; The circle of (the king's) relatives is a fortified wall. We must not let the fortified wall get destroyed; We must not let (the king) be solitary and consumed with terrors.

Revere the anger of Heaven, And presume not to make sport or be idle.

Revere the changing moods of Heaven, And presume not to drive about (at your pleasure). Great Heaven is intelligent, And is with you in all your goings. Great Heaven is clear-seeing, And is with you in your wanderings and indulgences.

The Third Decade, or that of Tang.

ODE 1. THE TANG.

WARNINGS, SUPPOSED TO BE ADDRESSED TO KING Li, 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 Mu of Shao. The structure of the piece is peculiar, for, after the first stanza, we have king Win introduced delivering a series of warnings to Kau-hsin, the last king of the Shang dynasty. They are put into Win's mouth, in the hope that Li, if, indeed, he was the monarch whom the writer had in view, would transfer the figure of Kau-hsin to himself, and alter his course so as to avoid a similar ruin.

How vast is G.o.d, The ruler of men below! How arrayed in terrors is G.o.d, With many things irregular in his ordinations. Heaven gave birth to the mult.i.tudes 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 G.o.d, 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 G.o.d 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 Hsia.'

[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 Li,' 'the Hsien-yun,' &c. Towards the beginning of our era, they were called Hsiung-nu, from which, perhaps, came the name Huns; and some centuries later, Thu-kueh (Thuh-kueh), from which came Turk. We are told in the Yi, under the diagram Ki-ki, that Kao Zung (B.C. 1324-1266) conducted an expedition against the demon regions, and in three years subdued them.]

ODE 2. THE Yi.

CONTAINING VARIOUS COUNSELS WHICH DUKE Wu 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 a.s.signing this piece to duke Wu 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 Kau dynasty. That article relates how Wu, 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 i to admonish himself.'

The i is understood to be only another name for this Yi. Thus the speaker throughout the piece is Wu, 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. Wu 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 circ.u.mstances 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 Wu 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 Ku Hsi 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 Wu 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.