The Shih King, or, Book of Poetry Part 24

[1. That is, to withdraw and give place to a more worthy sovereign.

2. This was the border sacrifice to G.o.d, when Hau-ki was a.s.sociated 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 KaO.

CELEBRATING THE APPOINTMENT BY KING HSuAN 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 Hsuan 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 Khu, 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 ma.s.ses reaching to the heavens. From those mountains was sent down a spirit, Who produced the birth of (the princes of) Fu and Shan [1]. Fu and

[1. Shan was a small marquisate, a part of what is the present department of Nan-yang, Ho-nan. Fu, which was also called Lu, was another small territory, not far from Shan. The princes of both were Kiangs, descended from the chief minister of Yao, called in the first Book of the Shu, 'the Four Mountains.' Other states were ruled by his descendants, particularly the great state of Khi. When it is said here that a spirit was sent down from the great mountains, and produced the birth of (the princes of) Fu and Shan, we have, probably, a legendary tradition concerning the birth of Yao'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 t.i.tle of Yao's minister. On the statement about the mountains sending 'down a spirit, Hw.a.n.g Hsun, 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 Kau, 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 Shao, 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 Shao, 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 Shao Four n.o.ble steeds, With the hooks for the trappings of the breast-bands, glittering bright[3].

[1. Hsieh was in the present Fang Kau 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-fu' in the plain of Kau. 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 invest.i.ture. 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-Fu, WHO APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE PRINc.i.p.aL MINISTERS OF KING HSuAN, AND HIS DESPATCH TO THE EAST, TO FORTIFY THE CAPITAL OF TIM STATE OF KHi.

Heaven, in giving birth to the mult.i.tudes 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 Kau, Brilliantly affecting it by his conduct below, And to maintain him, its Son, Gave birth to Kung Shan-fu [2].

Kung Shan-fu 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 const.i.tution (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 const.i.tution.

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 Hsuan, and therefore, to mark its appreciation of him, and for his help,, it now produced Kung Shan-fu.

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-fu, To fortify the city there in the east.

ODE 7, STANZAS I AND PART OF 3. THE HAN Yi.

CELEBRATING THE MARQUIS OF HAN:--HIS INVESt.i.tURE, 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 ill.u.s.trate 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 Hsi-an, Shen-hsi, in which also is mount Liang.

Very grand is the mountain of Liang, Which was made cultivable by Yu.

Bright is the way from it, (Along which came) the marquis of Han to receive invest.i.ture. 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 a.s.sisting 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 Tu.

ODE 8, STANZAS 4 AND 5. THE KIANG HAN.

CELEBRATING AN EXPEDITION AGAINST THE SOUTHERN TRIBES OF THE HWaI, AND THE WORK DONE FOR THE KING IN THEIR COUNTRY, BY Hu, THE EARL OF SHaO, WITH THE MANNER IN WHICH THE KING REWARDED HIM, AND HE RESPONDED TO THE ROYAL FAVOUR.

Hu was probably the same earl of Shao, who is mentioned in ode 5, as building his capital of Hsieh for the new marquis of Shan. The lords of Shao had been distinguished in the service of Kau ever since the rise of the dynasty.

The king gave charge to Hu of Shao:--'You have everywhere made known (and carried out my orders). When (the kings) Wan and Wu received their appointment, The duke of Shao was their strong support. You not (only) have a regard to me the little child But you try to resemble that duke of Shao. 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 (Khi-)kau shall you receive invest.i.ture, According as your ancestor received his.' Hu 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 Kau, in the Shu, 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 Kau 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 Khi-kau, 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 Yu. 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.