Texts of Confucianism, Part I: The Shû King, the Religious Portions of the Shih King, the Hsiâo King — SBE Vol. 3 (trans. James Legge, 1879)

You have made us drink to the full of your spirits; You have satiated us with your kindness. May you enjoy, O our lord, myriads of years! May your bright happiness (ever) be increased!

You have made us drink to the full of your spirits;
Your viands were set out before us. May you enjoy,
O our lord, myriads of years! May your bright
intelligence ever be increased!

May your bright intelligence become perfect, High and brilliant, leading to a good end! That good end has (now) its beginning :—The personators of your ancestors announced it in their blessing.

What was their announcement? ‘(The offerings) in your dishes of bamboo and wood are clean and {1] pd

402 THE SHIH KING. DECADE Il.

fine. Your friends!, assisting in the service, Have done their part with reverent demeanour.

‘Your reverent demeanour was altogether what the occasion required; And also that of your filial son*. For such filial piety, continued without ceasing, There will ever be conferred blessings upon you.’

What will the blessings be? ‘That along the passages of your palace, You shall move for ten thousand years, And there will be granted to you for ever dignity and posterity.’

How as to your posterity ? ‘Heaven invests you
with your dignity; Yea, for ten thousand years,
The bright appointment is attached (to your line).’

How is it attached? ‘There is given you a heroic wife. There is given you a heroic wife, And from her shall come the (lin® of) descendants.’

Ove 4. Tue Ho f.

AN ODE APPROPRIATE TO THE FEAST GIVEN TO THE PERSONATORS OF THE DEPARTED, ON THE DAY AFTER THE SACRIFICE IN THE ANCES-

TRAL TEMPLE.

This supplementary sacrifice on the day after the principal service in the temple appeared in the ninth Book of the fourth Part of the Shi; and of the feast after it to the personators of the dead I have spoken on p. 301.

The wild-ducks and widgeons are on the King®;

1 That is, the guests, visitors, and officers of the court.

2 Towards the end of the sacrificial service, the eldest son of the king joined in pledging the representatives of their ancestors.

5 The Xing is an affluent of the Wei, not far from W's capital of Héo. The birds, feeling at home in its waters, on its sands, &c., serve to introduce the parties feasted, in a situation where they might relax from the gravity of the preceding day, and be happy.

p. 403

The personators of your ancestors feast and are happy. Your spirits are clear; Your viands are fragrant. The personators of your ancestors feast and drink ;—Their happiness and dignity are made complete.

The wild-ducks and widgeons are on the sand; The personators of the dead enjoy the feast, their appropriate tribute. Your spirits are abundant ; Your viands are good. The personators of your ancestors feast and drink ;—Happiness and dignity lend them their aids.

The wild-ducks and widgeons are on the sand; The personators of the dead enjoy the feast, their appropriate tribute. Your spirits are abundant ; Your viands are good. The personators of your ancestors feast and drink ;—Happiness and dignity lend them their aids.

The wild-ducks and widgeons are on the islets; The personators of your ancestors feast and enjoy themselves. Your spirits are strained; Your viands are in slices. The personators of your ancestors feast and drink ;—Happiness and dignity descend on them.

The wild-ducks and widgeons are where the waters meet; The personators of your ancestors feast and are honoured. The feast is spread in the ancestral temple, The place where happiness and dignity descend. The personators of your ancestors feast and drink ;—Their happiness and dignity are at the highest point.

The wild-ducks and widgeons are in the gorge; The personators of your ancestors rest, full of complacency. The fine spirits are delicious; Your meat, roast and broiled, is fragrant. The personators of your ancestors feast and drink ;—No troubles will be theirs after this.

pd 2

404 THE SHIH KING, DECADE If,

Ope 5, Stanza l. Tue A1A Lo.

IN PRAISE OF SOME KING, WHOSE VIRTUE SECURED TO HIM THE
FAVOUR OF HEAVEN.

Perhaps the response of the feasted personators of the ancestors.

Of our admirable, amiable sovereign Most illustrious is the excellent virtue. He orders rightly the people, orders rightly the officers, And receives his dignity from Heaven, Which protects and helps him, and (confirms) his appointment, By repeated acts of renewal from heaven.

Ope 8. Tue Kuian A,

ADDRESSED, PROBABLY, BY THE DUKE OF SHAO TO KING XHANG, DESIRING FOR HIM LONG PROSPERITY, AND CONGRATULATING HIM, IN ORDER TO ADMONISH HIM, ON THE HAPPINESS OF HIS PEOPLE, THE NUMBER OF HIS ADMIRABLE OFFICERS, AND THE AUSPICIOUS OMEN ARISING FROM THE APPEARANCE OF THE PHENIX.

The duke of Sh4o was the famous Shih, who appears in the fifth and other Books of the fifth Part of the ShQ, the colleague of the duke of Au in the early days of the Kau dynasty. This piece may have been composed by him, but there is no evidence in it that it was so. The assigning it to him rests entirely on the authority of the preface. The language, however, is that in which an old statesman of that time might express his complacency in his young sovereign.

Into the recesses of the large mound Came the wind, whirling from the south. There was (our) happy, courteous sovereign, Rambling and singing; And I took occasion to give forth my notes.

‘Full of spirits you ramble; Full of satisfaction you rest. O happy and courteous sovereign, May you fulfil your years, And end them like your ancestors !

‘Your territory is great and glorious, And per-

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fectly secure. O happy and courteous sovereign,
May you fulfil your years, As the host of all the
Spirits?!

O happy and courteous sovereign, May you fulfil your years, And end them like your ancestors !

‘Your territory is great and glorious, And per-

p. 405

fectly secure. O happy and courteous sovereign,
May you fulfil your years, As the host of all the
Spirits?!

‘You have received the appointment long acknowledged, With peace around your happiness and dignity. O happy and courteous sovereign, May you fulfil your years, With pure happiness your constant possession !

‘You have helpers and supporters, Men of filial piety and of virtue, To lead you on, and act as wings to you, (So that), O happy and courteous sovereign, You are a pattern to the four quarters (of the kingdom).

‘Full of dignity and majesty (are they), Like a

1 «Host of the hundred—i.e., of all—the spirits’ is one of the titles of the sovereign of China. It was and is his prerogative to offer the great ‘border sacrifices’ to Heaven and Earth, or, as Confucius explains them, to God, and to the spirits of his ancestors in his ancestral temple; and in his progresses (now neglected), among the states, to the spirits of the hills and rivers throughout the kingdom. Every feudal prince could only sacrifice to the hills and streams within his own territory. Under the changed conditions of the government of China, the sacrificial ritual of the emperor still retains the substance of whatever belonged to the sovereigns in this respect from the earliest dynasties. On the text here, Khung Ying-t4 of the Thang dynasty said, ‘ He who possesses all under the sky, sacrifices to all the spirits, and thus he is the host of them all.’ Ka Hsf said on it, ‘And always be the host of (the spirits of) Heaven and Earth, of the hills and rivers, and of the departed.’ The term ‘host’ does not imply any superiority of rank on the part of the entertainer. In the greatest sacrifices the emperor acknowledges himself as ‘the servant or subject of Heaven.’ See the prayer of the first of the present Manchau line of emperors, in announcing that he had ascended the throne, at the altar of Heaven and Earth, in 1644, as translated by the Rev. Dr. Edkins in the chapter on Imperial Worship, in the recent edition of his ‘ Religion in China,’

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jade-mace (in its purity), The subject of praise, the contemplation of hope. O happy and courteous sovereign, (Through them) the four quarters (of the kingdom) are guided by you.

‘The male and female phcenix fly about!, Their wings rustling, While they settle in their proper resting-place. Many are your admirable officers, O king, Ready to be employed by you, Loving you, the Son of Heaven.

‘The male and female phcenix fly about, Their wings rustling, As they soar up to heaven. Many are your admirable officers, O king, Waiting for your commands, And loving the multitudes of the people.

‘The male and female phcenix fly about, Their wings rustling, As they soar up to heaven. Many are your admirable officers, O king, Waiting for your commands, And loving the multitudes of the people.

‘The male and female phcenix give out their
notes, On that lofty ridge. The dryandras grow,
On those eastern slopes. They grow luxuriantly ;
And harmoniously the notes resound.

1 The phoenix (so the creature has been named) is a fabulous bird, ‘the chief of the 360 classes of the winged tribes.’ It is mentioned in the fourth Book of the second Part of the Sha, as appearing in the courtyard of Shun; and the appearance of a pair of them has always been understood to denote a sage on the throne and prosperity in the country. Even Confucius (Analects, IX, viii) could not express his hopelessness about his own times more strongly than by saying that ‘the phoenix did not make its appearance.’ He was himself also called ‘a phoenix,’ in derision, by one of the recluses of his time (Analects, XVIII, v). The type of the bird was, perhaps, the Argus pheasant, but the: descriptions of it are of a monstrous creature, having ‘a fowl’s head, a swallow’s chin, a serpent’s neck, a fish’s tail,’ &c. It only lights on the dryandra cordifolia, of which tree also many marvellous stories are related. The poet is not to be understood as saying that the phoenix actually appeared; but that the king was sage and his government prosperous, as if it had appeared.

p. 407

‘Your chariots, O sovereign, Are numerous, many. Your horses, O sovereign, Are well trained and fleet. I have made my few verses, In prolongation of your song.’

Ope 9, Stanza 1. Tue Min LAo.

IN A TIME OF DISORDER AND SUFFERING, SOME OFFICER OF DISTINC- TION CALLS ON HIS FELLOWS TO JOIN WITH HIM TO EFFECT A REFORMATION IN THE CAPITAL, AND PUT AWAY THE PARTIES WHO WERE THE CAUSE OF THE PREVAILING MISERY.

With the Khitan A, what are called the ‘correct’ odes of Part III, or those belonging to a period of good government, and the composition of which is ascribed mainly to the duke of X4u, come to an end; and those that follow are the ‘changed’ Major Odes of the Kingdom, or those belonging to a degenerate period, commencing with this. Some among them, however, are equal to any of the former class. The Min Lo has been assigned to duke MQ of Shao, a descendant of duke Khang, the Shih of the Sh, the reputed author of the KAttan A, and was directed against king Lf, B.c. 878 to 828.

The people indeed are heavily burdened, But perhaps a little relief may be got for them. Let us cherish this centre of the kingdom, To secure the repose of the four quarters of it. Let us give no indulgence to the wily and obsequious, In order to make the unconscientious careful, And to repress robbers and oppressors, Who have no fear of the clear will (of Heaven)!. Then let us show kindness to those who are distant, And help those who are near,—Thus establishing (the throne of) our king.

Then let us show kindness to those who are distant, And help those who are near,—Thus establishing (the throne of) our king.

1¢The clear will,’ according to XQ Hsi, is ‘the clear appointment of Heaven;’ according to Af Kung-éhien, ‘correct principle.’ They both mean the law of human duty, as gathered from the nature of man’s moral constitution conferred by Heaven.

408 THE SHIH KING. DECADE Il.

Ove 10. THe Pan.

AN OFFICER OF EXPERIENCE MOURNS OVER THE PREVAILING MISERY; COMPLAINS OF THE WANT OF SYMPATHY WITH HIM SHOWN BY OTHER OFFICERS ; ADMONISHES THEM, AND SETS FORTH THE DUTY RE- QUIRED OF THEM, ESPECIALLY IN THE ANGRY MOOD IN WHICH IT MIGHT SEEM THAT HEAVEN WAS.

This piece, like the last, is assigned to the time of king Lf.

God has reversed (his usual course of procedure)’, And the lower people are full of distress. The words which you utter are not right; The plans which you form are not far-reaching. As there are not sages, you think you have no guidance ;—You have no real sincerity. (Thus) your plans do not reach far, And I therefore strongly admonish you.

Heaven is now sending down calamities;—Do not be so complacent. Heaven is now producing such movements ;—Do not be so indifferent. If your words were harmonious, The people would become united. If your words were gentle and kind, The people would be settled.

Though my duties are different from yours, I am your fellow-servant. I come to advise with you, And you hear me with contemptuous indifference. My words are about the (present urgent) affairs ;— Do not think them matter for laughter. The ancients had a saying:—‘Consult the gatherers of grass and firewood *.’

1 The proof of God’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.

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

p. 409

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. 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 multitudes.

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 multitudes.

Heaven enlightens the people?, As the bamboo flute responds to the earthen whistle; As two halfmaces 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 multitudes of the people are awall; Great states are screens; Great families are buttresses; 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 illustrated by various instances of things, in which the one succeeded the other freely and as if necessarily ; so that government by virtue was really very easy.

p. 410

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.

Ove 1. Tue Tana.

WARNINGS, SUPPOSED TO BE ADDRESSED TO KING uf, 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 M€ of Shao. The structure of the piece is peculiar, for, after the first stanza, we have king Wn introduced delivering a series of warnings to A4au-hsin, the last king of the Shang dynasty. They are put into WAn’s mouth, in the hope that Lf, if, indeed, he was the monarch whom the writer had in view, would transfer the figure of XAu-hsin to himself, and alter his course so as to avoid a similar ruin.

How vast is God, Theruler 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)

p. 411

at first, But few prove themselves to be so at the last}.

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)

p. 411

at first, But few prove themselves to be so at the last}.

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 WaAn 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.

p. 412

darkness; But amid clamour and shouting, You turn the day into night?.’

King Wn 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 Hsia.’

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.

8 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 Lf,’ ‘ the Hsien-yun,’ &c. Towards the beginning of our era, they were called Hsiung-nf, from which, perhaps, came the name Huns; and some centuries later, Tha-4teh (Thuh-Aieh), from which came Turk. We are told in the Yi, under the diagram A?-ét, that Kao Bung (B.c. 1324-1266) conducted an expedition against the demon regions, and in three years subdued them,

p. 413

Ope 2, Tue Yi.

CONTAINING VARIOUS COUNSELS WHICH DUKE wi) 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 IN- SPECTION 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 Wf 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 Wf, 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 f to admonish himself.’ The f is understood to be only another name for this Yi. Thus the speaker throughout the piece is Wd, 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 WA 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.

414 THE SHIH KING. DECADE Ill.

In every smaller sphere, and in the largest, ‘being the man,’ displaying, that is, the proper qualities of humanity, will be appreciated and felt.

414 THE SHIH KING. DECADE Ill.

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 farreaching 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?. 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*. 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;

} Han Ying (who has been mentioned in the Introduction) says that WQ 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.

* 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.

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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 fora flaw in speech Nothing can be done.

Do not speak lightly; your words are your own}. 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 your children, Your descendants will continue in unbroken line, And all the people will surely be obedient to you.

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 your 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 *.

? And therefore every one is himself responsible for his words.

* K0Q Hs 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, he 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 Win and duke Wf were both influenced by the consideration that their inmost thoughts, even when ‘unseen by men,’ were open to the inspection of spiritual beings.

416 THE SHIH KING. DECADE Itl.

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 hima plum?. To look for horns on a young ram_ Will only weary you, my son ?,

The tough and elastic wood Can be fitted with the silken string*. 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‘. 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.

3 See the conclusion of duke W(’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.

5 Such wood is the proper material for a bow:

* That is, to secure your attention.

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Horns grow as the young ram grows. Effects must not be expected where there have not been the conditions from which they naturally spring.

5 Such wood is the proper material for a bow:

* That is, to secure your attention.

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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,

Ope 3, Stanzas 1, 2, 3, 4, anD 7. THE Sanc ZAu.

THE WRITER MOURNS OVER THE MISERY AND DISORDER OF THE TIMES,
WITH A VIEW TO REPREHEND THE MISGOVERNMENT OF KING Li,
APPEALING ALSO TO HEAVEN TO HAVE COMPASSION.

King Li 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 Xih, a place in the present Ho X4au, department Phing-yang, Shan-hsi, where he remained till his death in B.c. 828. The government in the meantime was carried on by the dukes of Shao and A4u, whose administration, called the period of ‘Mutual Harmony,’ forms an important chronological era in Chinese history. On the authority of a reference in the 80 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'. The distress

1 These three lines are metaphorical of the once flourishing kingdom, which was now brought to the verge of ruin.

{1} kep. 418 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}; 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*. 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)*, Allowing no love of strife in their hearts. Who reared the steps of the dissatisfaction‘, Which has reached the present distress ?

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)*, Allowing no love of strife in their hearts. Who reared the steps of the dissatisfaction‘, 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

’ 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.

® Intimating that no such men were now to be found in office.

‘ Meaning the king by his misgovernment and employment of bad men,p. 419 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?! Allis in peril and going to ruin. I have no strength (to do anything), And think of (the Power in) the azure vault.

Oper 4. Tue Yun Hany.

KING HSUAN, 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 Hsiian 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 Hsilan, by Zang Shd, 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 Hstian’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?; 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 Kau.

3 In the Official Book of Kau, 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.

Ee 2

420 THE SHIH KING. DECADE Ill.

This rule had, no doubt, been acted on during the drought which this ode describes.

Ee 2

420 THE SHIH KING. DECADE Ill.

jade symbols, oblong and round, are exhausted ! ;— 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* To the (Powers) above and below I have presented my offerings and then buried them*;—There is no spirit whom I have not honoured. HAu-At 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 A4u, among the black-haired people, There will not be half aman 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 Sh@, 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.

3 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 Hau-éf in the seventh line makes us think especially of the service in the spring, to pray for a good year, when Hau-éi was associated with God.

5 *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.

p. 421

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? Give me no help. O ye parents and (nearer) ancestors*, 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* My heart is terrified with the heat ;—My sorrowing heart is as if on fire. The

Equivalent to the extinction of the dynasty.

-*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* My heart is terrified with the heat ;—My sorrowing heart is as if on fire. The

Equivalent to the extinction of the dynasty.

® The king had sacrificed to all the early lords of Kau. ‘The many dukes’ may comprehend kings Thai and Ait. He had also sacrificed to their ministers. Compare what Pan-kang says in the Shf, 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.

® The king could hardly hope that his father, the oppressive Li, 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 Li which has made some critics understand by ‘parents’ and ‘ancestors’ the same individuals, namely, kings Wan and W4, ‘the ancestors’ of Hsiian, and who had truly been ‘the parents’ of the people.

* Khung Ying-ta, 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.

p. 422

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?).

‘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 ?. I was not late (in sacrificing) to (the spirits of) the four quarters and of the land*%. 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‘, 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

? That is, to withdraw and give place to a more worthy sovereign. ;

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

? That is, to withdraw and give place to a more worthy sovereign. ;

* This was the border sacrifice to God, when H4u-éi 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.

* See note 2 on p. 371.

“ See note 1 on p. 356.

ODEs. |THE MAJOR ODES OF THE KINGDOM. 423 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 ?’

Ope 5, Stanzas 1, 2, anp 4. Tue Sune 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 Hsiian 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 KAQ, whose lords had 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) FQ and Shan’. Fd and

1 Shan was a small marquisate, a part of what is the present department of Nan-yang, Ho-nan. Fd, which was also called Li, was another small territory, not far from Shan. The princes of both were Kiangs, descended from the chief minister of Y4o, called in the first Book of the Shi, ‘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) FQ 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 Xau. The character for

p. 424

Shan Are the support of K4u, Screens to all the states, Diffusing (their influence) over the four quarters of the kingdom. \

The character for

p. 424

Shan Are the support of K4u, Screens to all the states, Diffusing (their influence) over the four quarters of the kingdom. \

Full of activity is the chief of Shan, And the king would employ him to continue the services (of his fathers), With his capital in Hsieh?, Where he should be a pattern to the states of the south. The king gave charge to the earl of Sh4o, To arrange all about the residence of the chief of Shan, 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 Shin The foundation was laid by the earl of Sh4o, Who first built the walls (of his city), And then completed his ancestral temple?. When the temple was completed, wide and grand, The king conferred on the chief of Shaéo Four noble steeds, With the hooks for the trappings of the breast-bands, glittering bright °.

‘ mountains’ in lines 1 and 3 is the same that occurs in the title of Y4o's minister, On the statement about the mountains sending down a spirit, Hwang Hstin, 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.’

1 Hsieh was in the present Fang au of the department of
Nan-yang.

* Compare with this the account given, in ode 3 of the first decade, of the settling of ‘the ancient duke Than-f@’ 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.

8 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.

p. 425

Ope 6, Stanzas 1 AND 7. Tue KANG Mun.

CELEBRATING THE VIRTUES OF XUNG SHAN-F(), WHO APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL MINISTERS OF KING HSUAN, AND HIS DESPATCH TO THE EAST, TO FORTIFY THE CAPITAL OF THE STATE OF KHf%.

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}. Heaven beheld the ruler of X4u, Brilliantly affecting it by his conduct below, And to maintain him, its Son, Gave birth to Kung Shan-fd *

Kung Shan-fa went forth, having sacrificed to the spirit of the road*. His four steeds were strong;

Heaven beheld the ruler of X4u, Brilliantly affecting it by his conduct below, And to maintain him, its Son, Gave birth to Kung Shan-fd *

Kung Shan-fa went forth, having sacrificed to the spirit of the road*. 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 hearing 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.

* 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 Hsiian, and therefore, to mark its appreciation of him, and for his help, it now produced Kung Shan-fa.

5 This was a special sacrifice at the commencement of a journey, or of an expedition. See note 2 on p. 399.

p. 426

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

Ope 7, STanzas 1 AND PART OF 3. THE Han Yi.

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 TERRI- TORY; 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-&44ng, department of Hsf-an, Shen-hsi, in which also is mount Liang.

Very grand is the mountain of Liang, Which was made cultivable by Yi. 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. Bea support against those princes who do not come to court, Thus assisting your sovereign.’

Be diligent early and late, And reverently discharge your duties :— So shall my appointment of you not change. Bea 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 Td.

opE8. THE MAJOR ODES OF THE’ KINGDOM. 427

Ope 8, Stanzas 4 AND 5. THE Atanc Han.

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

Hf was probably the same earl of Sh4&o, who is mentioned in ode 5, as building his capital of Hsieh for the new marquis of Shin. The lords of Shao had been distinguished in the service of X4u ever since the rise of the dynasty.

The king gave charge to Hd of Shao :—‘ You have everywhere made known (and carried out my orders). When (the kings) Wan and Wad 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 Sh4o. You have commenced and earnestly displayed your merit; And I will make you happy.

‘I give you a large libation-cup of jade’, Anda jar of herb-flavoured spirits from the black ‘millet. I have made announcement to the Accomplished one*, And confer on you hills, lands, and fields. In (KAi-)é4u shall you receive investiture, According as your ancestor received his.’ Hd bowed withp. 428 his head to the ground (and said), ‘May the Son of Heaven live for ever!’

1 See note 2 on p. 386.

* 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 Shd, p. 194. More substantial gifts are immediately specified.

5 «The Accomplished one’ is understood to be king Wan (=‘ the Accomplished king’). He was the founder of the Aau 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-A4u, the old territory of the family, and obtain, as it were, his leave for what they were doing.

Ope 10, Stanzas 1, 5,6, ano 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 Ya. It suits his character and reign.

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 Ya. 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', 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 #), 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.

3 Compare ode 9 of the fourth decade in the former Part.

p. 429

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 }.

Ope 11, Stanzas 1 anpD 2. THE SHAo 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.
Compassiqnate 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.

LESSONS FROM THE STATES.

OpEs AND STANZAS ILLUSTRATING THE RELIGIOUS
VIEWS AND PRACTICES OF THE WRITERS AND
THEIR TIMES.

He does this, believing that all things are possible with Heaven.

LESSONS FROM THE STATES.

OpEs AND STANZAS ILLUSTRATING THE RELIGIOUS
VIEWS AND PRACTICES OF THE WRITERS AND
THEIR TIMES.

Ir 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 Kau 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 Kau.

Book II. Tue Opes or SHAO AND THE SOUTH.

Tue Shfi and previous portions of the Shih have made us familiar with Shao, the name of the appanage of Shih, one of the principal ministers at the court of Au in the first two reigns of the dynasty. The site of the city of Sh4o was in the present department of Fang-4hiang, Shen-hsi. The first possessor of it, along with the still more famous duke of Xu, 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 Xau 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 ShAo, and the principalities south of it within his jurisdiction, by the duke.

BOOK II. 2. LESSONS FROM THE STATES. 431

Ope 2. Tue ZxHAtr 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.

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 AQ Hsf 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! 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.

432 THE SHIH KING. BOOK Il. 4.

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).

Ope 4. Tue Zx#Ar 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’. Who superintends the business ? It is (this) reverent young lady.