The Shih King, or, Book of Poetry Part 4

'great Ti sacrifice,' when the princ.i.p.al object of honour would be the ancient Khu, the father of Hsieh, with Hsieh as his correlate, and all the kings of the dynasty, with the earlier lords of Shang, and their famous ministers and advisers, would have their places at the service. I think this is the oldest of the odes of Shang.

Profoundly wise were (the lords of) Shang, And long had there appeared the omens (of their dignity).

When the waters of the deluge spread vast abroad, Yu arranged and divided the regions of the land, And a.s.signed to the exterior great states their boundaries, With their borders extending all over (the kingdom). (Even) then the chief of Sung was beginning to be great, And G.o.d raised up the son (of his daughter), and founded (the line of) Shang[1].

The dark king exercised an effective sway[2]. Charged with a small state, he commanded success: Charged with a large state, he commanded success[3]. He followed his rules of conduct without error; Wherever he inspected (the people), they responded (to his instructions[4]. (Then came) Hsiang-thu all ardent [5], And all within the four seas, beyond (the middle regions), acknowledged his restraints.

[1. This line refers to the birth of Hsieh, as described in the previous ode, and his being made lord of Shang.

2. It would be hard to say why Hsieh is here called 'the dark king.'

There may be an allusion to the legend about the connexion of the swallow,--'the dark bird,'--with his birth, He never was 'a king;' but his descendants here represented him as such.

3. All that is meant here is, that the territory of Shang was enlarged under Hsieh.

4. There is a reference here to Hsieh's appointment by Shun to be Minister of Instruction.

5. Hsiang-thu appears in the genealogical lists as grandson of Hsieh. We know nothing of him but what is related here.]

The favour of G.o.d did not leave (Shang), And in Thang was found the fit object for its display. Thang was not born too late, And his wisdom and reverence daily advanced:--Brilliant was the influence of his character (on Heaven) for long. G.o.d he revered, And G.o.d appointed him to be the model for the nine regions.

He received the rank-tokens of the states, small and large, Which depended on him like the pendants of a banner:--So did he receive the blessing of Heaven. He was neither violent nor remiss, Neither hard nor soft. Gently he spread his instructions abroad, And all dignities and riches were concentrated in him.

He received the tribute of the states, small and large, And he supported them as a strong steed (does its burden):--So did he receive the favour of Heaven. He displayed everywhere his valour, Unshaken, unmoved, Unterrified, unscared:--All dignities were united in him.

The martial king displayed his banner, And with reverence grasped his axe. It was like (the case of) a blazing fire which no one can repress.

The root, with its three shoots, Could make no progress, no growth[1].

The nine regions were effectually secured by Thang. Having smitten (the princes of) Wei and Ku, He dealt with (him of) Kun-wu and with Kieh of Hsia.

Formerly, in the middle of the period (before

[1. By 'the root' we are to understand Thang's chief opponent, Kieh, the last king of Hsia. Kieh's three great helpers were 'the three shoots,'--the princes of Wei, Ku, and Kun-wu; but the exact sites of their princ.i.p.alities cannot be made out.]

Thang), There was a time of shaking and peril[1]. But truly did Heaven (then) deal with him as a son, And sent him down a high minister, Namely, a-hang[2], Who gave his a.s.sistance to the king of Shang.

ODE 5. THE YIN Wu.

CELEBRATING THE WAR OF Wu-TING AGAINST KING-KHu, ITS SUCCESS, AND THE GENERAL HAPPINESS AND VIRTUE OF HIS REIGN;--MADE, PROBABLY, WHEN A SPECIAL AND PERMANENT TEMPLE WAS BUILT FOR HIM AS THE 'HIGH AND HONOURED' KING OF SHANG.

The concluding lines indicate that the temple was made on the occasion which I thus a.s.sign to it. After Wu-ting's death, his spirit-tablet would be shrined in the ancestral temple, and he would have his share in the seasonal sacrifices; but several reigns would elapse before there was any necessity to make any other arrangement, so that his tablet should not be removed, and his share in the sacrifices not be discontinued. Hence the composition of the piece has been referred to the time of Ti-yi, the last but one of the kings of Shang.

Rapid was the warlike energy of (our king of) Yin, And vigorously did he attack King-Khu [3].

[1. We do not know anything of this time of decadence in the fortunes of Shang between Hsieh and Thang.

2. a-hang is i Yin, who plays so remarkable a part in the Shu, IV, Books iv, v, and vi.

3. King, or Khu, or King-Khu, as the two names are combined here, was a large and powerful half-savage state, having its capital in the present Wu-pei. So far as evidence goes, we should say, but for this ode, that the name of Khu was not in use till long after the Shang dynasty. The name King appears several times in 'the Spring and Autumn' in the annals of duke Kw.a.n.g (B.C. 693 to 662), and then it gives place to the name Khu in the first year of duke Hsi (B.C. 659), and subsequently disappears itself altogether. In consequence of this some critics make this piece out to have been composed under the Kau dynasty. The point cannot be fully cleared up; but on the whole I accept the words of the ode as sufficient proof against the silence of other doc.u.ments.]

Boldly he entered its dangerous pa.s.ses, And brought the mult.i.tudes of King together, Till the country was reduced under complete restraint: Such was the fitting achievement of the descendant of Thang!

'Ye people,' (he said), 'of King-Khu, Dwell in the southern part of my kingdom. Formerly, in the time of Thang the Successful, Even from the Kiang of Ti[1], They dared not but come with their offerings; (Their chiefs) dared not but come to seek acknowledgment[2]:--Such is the regular rule of Shang.'

Heaven had given their appointments (to the princes), But where their capitals, had been a.s.signed within the sphere of the labours of Yu, For the business of every year they appeared before our king[3], (Saying), 'Do not punish nor reprove us; We have not been remiss in our husbandry.'

When Heaven by its will is inspecting (the kingdom), The lower people are to be feared. (Our king) showed no partiality (in rewarding), no excess (in punishing); He dared not to allow himself in indolence:--So was his appointment (established)

[1. The Ti Kiang, or Kiang of Ti, still existed in the time of the Han dynasty, occupying portions of the present Kan-su.

2. The chiefs of the wild tribes, lying beyond the nine provinces of the kingdom, were required to present themselves once in their lifetime at the royal court. The rule, in normal periods, was for each chief to appear immediately after he had succeeded to the headship of his tribe.

3. The feudal lords had to appear at court every year. They did so, we may suppose, at the court of Wu-ting, the more so because of his subjugation of King-Khu.]

over the states, And he made his happiness grandly secure.

The capital of Shang was full of order, The model for all parts of the kingdom. Glorious was (the king's) fame; Brilliant his energy. Long lived he and enjoyed tranquillity, And so he preserves us, his descendants.

We ascended the hill of King[1], Where the pines and cypresses grew symmetrical. We cut them down and conveyed them here; We reverently hewed them square. Long are the projecting beams of pine; Large are the many pillars. The temple was completed,--the tranquil abode (of the martial king of Yin).

II. THE SACRIFICIAL ODES OF KaU.

IN this division we have thirty-one sacrificial odes of Kau, arranged in three decades, the third of which, however, contains eleven pieces. They belong mostly to the time of king Wan, the founder of the Kau dynasty, and to the reigns of his son and grandson, kings Wu and Khang. The decades are named from the name of the first piece in each.

The First Decade, or that of Khing Miao.

ODE 1. THE KHING MIaO.

CELEBRATING THE REVERENTIAL MANNER IN WHICH A SACRIFICE TO KING WAN; WAS PERFORMED, AND FURTHER PRAISING HIM.

Chinese critics agree in a.s.signing this piece to the sacrifice mentioned in the Shu, in the end of the thirteenth Book of Part V, when, the building of Lo being finished, king Khang came to

[1. See on the last line but two of ode 3.]

the new city, and offered a red bull to Win, and the same to Wu. It seems to me to have been sung in honour of Wan, after the service was completed. This determination of the occasion of the piece being accepted, we should refer it to B.C. 1108.

Oh! solemn is the ancestral temple in its pure stillness. Reverent and harmonious were the distinguished a.s.sistants[1]; Great was the number of the officers [2]:--(All) a.s.siduous followers of the virtue of (king Wan). In response to him in heaven, Grandly they hurried about in the temple. Distinguished is he and honoured, And will never be wearied of among men.

ODE 2. THE WEI THIEN KIH MING.

CELEBRATING THE VIRTUE OF KING WAN AS COMPARABLE TO THAT OF HEAVEN, AND LOOKING TO HIM FOR BLESSING IN THE FUTURE.

According to the Preface, there is an announcement here of the realization of complete peace throughout the kingdom, and some of the old critics refer the ode to a sacrifice to king Win by the duke of Kau, when he had completed the statutes for the new dynasty. But there is nothing to authorize a more definite argument of the contents than I have given.