The Shih King, or, Book of Poetry Part 5

The ordinances of Heaven,--How deep are they and unintermitting! And oh!

how ill.u.s.trious Was the singleness of the virtue of king Wan [3]!

How does he (now) show his kindness? We will receive it, Striving to be in accord with him, our

[1. These would be the princes who were a.s.sembled on the occasion, and a.s.sisted the king in the service.

2 That is, the officers who took part in the libations, prayers, and other parts of the sacrifice.

3 See what Dze-sze says on these four lines in the Doctrine of the Mean, XXVI, par. 10.]

king Wan; And may his remotest descendant be abundantly the same!

ODE 3. THE WEI KHING.

APPROPRIATE AT SOME SACRIFICE TO KING WAN, AND CELEBRATING HIS STATUTES.

Nothing more can, with any likelihood of truth, be said of this short piece, which moreover has the appearance of being a fragment.

Clear and to be preserved bright, Are the statutes of king Wan. From the first sacrifice (to him), Till now when they have issued in our complete state, They have been the happy omen of (the fortunes of) Kau.

ODE 4. THE LIEH WAN.

A SONG IN PRAISE OF THE PRINCES WHO HAVE a.s.sISTED AT A SACRIFICE, AND ADMONISHING THEM.

The Preface says that this piece was made on the occasion of king Khang's accession to the government, when he thus addressed the princes who had a.s.sisted him in the ancestral temple. Ku Hsi considers that it was a piece for general use in the ancestral temple, to be sung when the king presented a cup to his a.s.sisting guests, after they had thrice presented the cup to the representatives of the dead. There is really nothing in it to enable us to decide in favour of either view.

Ye, brilliant and accomplished princes, Have conferred on me this happiness. Your favours to me are without limit, And my descendants will preserve (the fruits of) them.

Be not mercenary nor extravagant in your states, And the king will honour you. Thinking of this service, He will enlarge the dignity of your successors.

What is most powerful is the being the man:--Its influence will be felt throughout your states. What is most distinguished is the being virtuous:--It will secure the imitation of all the princes. Ah! the former kings cannot be forgotten!

ODE 5. THE THIEN ZO.

APPROPRIATE TO A SACRIFICE TO KING THaI.

We cannot tell what the sacrifice was; and the Preface, indeed, says that the piece was used in the seasonal sacrifices to all the former king., s and dukes of the House of Kau. King Thai was the grandfather of king Wan, and, before he received that t.i.tle, was known as 'the ancient duke Than-fu.' In B.C. 1327, he moved with his followers from Pin, an earlier seat of his House, and settled in the plain of Khi, about fifty li to the north-east of the present district city of Khi-shan, in Shen-hsi.

Heaven made the lofty hill[1], And king Thai brought (the country about) it under cultivation. He made the commencement with it, And king Wan tranquilly (carried on the work), (Till) that rugged (mount) Khi Had level roads leading to it. May their descendants ever preserve it!

ODE 6. THE HaO THIEN Yu KHANG MING.

APPROPRIATE TO A SACRIFICE TO KING KHANG.

Khang was the honorary t.i.tle of Sung, the son and successor of king Wu, B.C. 1115 to 1079.

Heaven made its determinate appointment, which our two sovereigns received[2]. King Khang did not dare to rest idly in it, But night and day enlarged

[1. Meaning mount Khi.

2. Wan and Wu.]

its foundations by his deep and silent virtue. How did he continue and glorify (his heritage), Exerting all his heart, And so securing its tranquillity!

ODE 7. THE Wu KIANG.

APPROPRIATE TO A SACRIFICE TO KING WAN, a.s.sOCIATED WITH HEAVEN, IN THE HALL OF AUDIENCE.

There is, happily, an agreement among the critics as to the occasion to which this piece is referred. It took place in the last month of autumn, in the Hall of Audience, called also 'the Brilliant Hall,' and 'the Hall of Light.' We must suppose that the princes are all a.s.sembled at court, and that the king receives them in this hall. A sacrifice is then presented to G.o.d, with him is a.s.sociated king Wan, and the two being the fountain from which, and the channel through which, the sovereignty had come to Kau.

I have brought my offerings, A ram and a bull. May Heaven accept them[1]!

I imitate and follow and observe the statutes of king Wan, Seeking daily to secure the tranquillity of the kingdom. King Wan, the Blesser, has descended on the right, and accepted (the offerings).

Do I not, night and day, Revere the majesty of Heaven, Thus to preserve (its favour).

ODE 8. THE SHIH MaI.

APPROPRIATE TO KING Wu'S SACRIFICING TO HEAVEN, AND TO THE SPIRITS OF THE HILLS AND RIVERS, ON A PROGRESS THROUGH THE KINGDOM, AFTER THE OVERTHROW OF THE SHANG DYNASTY.

Here again there is an agreement among the critics. We find from the Zo Kwan and 'the Narratives of the States.' that the

[1. This is a prayer. The worshipper, it is in view of the majesty of Heaven, shrank from a.s.suming that G.o.d would certainly accept his sacrifice. He a.s.sumes, below, that king Wan does so.]

piece was, when those compilations were made, considered to be the work of the duke of Kau; and, no doubt, it was made by him soon after the accession of Wu to the kingdom, and when he was making a royal progress in a.s.sertion of his being appointed by Heaven to succeed to the rulers of Shang. The 'I' in the fourteenth line is, most probably, to be taken of the duke of Kau, who may have recited the piece on occasion of the sacrifices, in the hearing of the a.s.sembled princes and lords.

Now is he making a progress through his states; May Heaven deal with him as its son!

Truly are the honour and succession come from it to the House of Kau. To his movements All respond with tremulous awe. He has attempted and given rest to all spiritual beings [1], Even to (the spirits of) the Ho and the highest hills. Truly is the king our sovereign lord.

Brilliant and ill.u.s.trious is the House of Kau. He has regulated the positions of the princes; He has called in shields and spears; He has returned to their cases bows and arrows[2]. He will cultivate admirable virtue, And display it throughout these great regions. Truly will the king preserve the appointment.

[1. 'All spiritual beings' is, literally, 'the hundred spirits,' meaning the spirits presiding, under Heaven, over all nature, and especially the spirits of the rivers and hills throughout the kingdom. Those of the Ho and the lofty mountains are mentioned, because if their spirits Were satisfied with Wu, those of all other mountains and hills, no doubt, were so.

2. Compare with these lines the last chapter of 'the Completion of the War' in the Shu.]