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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1We shall surely complete the plans of your Tranquillizing father.” ‘Yes, I, the little child, dare not disregard the charge of God!.* Heaven, favourable to the Tranquillizing king, gave such prosperity to our small country of Kau. The Tranquillizing king divined and acted accordingly, and so he calmly received his (great) appointment. Now when Heaven is (evidently) aiding the people, how much more should we follow the indications of the shell! Oh! the clearly intimated will of Heaven is to be feared :— it is to help my great inheritance !’ * 4. The king says, ‘You, who are the old ministers, are fully able to remember the past ; you know how great was the toil of the Tranquillizing king. Where Heaven (now) shuts up (our path) and distresses us, is the place where I must accomplish my work ;— I dare not but do my utmost to complete the plans of the Tranquillizing king. It is on this account that I use such efforts to remove the doubts and carry forward the inclinations of the princes of my friendly states. And Heaven assists me with sincere expressions (of sympathy), which I have ascertained among 1 Probably the charge understood to be conveyed by the result of the divinations spoken of above. 160 THE SHO KING. PART V. the people ;—how dare I but aim at the completion of the work formerly begun by the Tranquillizer ? Heaven, moreover, is thus toiling and distressing the people ;—it is as if they were suffering from disease ; how dare I allow (the appointment) which my predecessor, the Tranquillizer, received, to be without its happy fulfilment ?’ * The king says, ‘ Formerly, at the initiation of this expedition, I spoke of its difficulties, and thought of them daily. But when a deceased father, (wishing) to build a house, had laid out the plan, if his son be unwilling to raise up the hall, how much less will he be willing to complete the roof! Or if the father had broken up the -ground, and his son be unwilling to sow the seed, how much less will he be willing to reap the crop! In such a case could the father, (who had himself) been so reverently attentive (to his objects), have been willing to say, “I have a son who will not abandon his patrimony?”—How dare I therefore but use all my powers to give a happy settlement to the great charge entrusted to the Tranquillizing king? Ifamong the friends of an elder brother or a deceased father there be those who attack his son, will the elders of the people encourage (the attack), and not (come to the) rescue ?’ 5. The king says, ‘Oh! take heart, ye princes of the various states, and ye managers of my affairs. The enlightening of the country was from the wise, even from the ten men! who obeyed and knew the 1 «The ten men’ here can hardly be the ‘ten men of worth’ above in the second chapter. We must find them rather in the ‘ten virtuous men, one in heart and one in practice, capable of good,’ mentioned by king W4, in the second Part of the Great Declaration.
2who obeyed and knew the 1 «The ten men’ here can hardly be the ‘ten men of worth’ above in the second chapter. We must find them rather in the ‘ten virtuous men, one in heart and one in practice, capable of good,’ mentioned by king W4, in the second Part of the Great Declaration. BOOK VIII. CHARGE TO THE COUNT OF WEI. 161 charge of God,* and the real assistance given by Heaven. At that time none of you presumed to change the rules (prescribed by the Tranquillizing king). And now when Heaven is sending down calamity on the country of K4u, and the authors of these great distresses (make it appear on a grand scale as if) the inmates of a house were mutually to attack one another, you are without any knowledge that the decree of Heaven is not to be changed ! * ‘I ever think and say, Heaven in destroying Yin was doing husbandman’s work';—how dare I but complete the work on my fields? Heaven will thereby show its favour to my predecessor, the Tranquillizer. How should I be all for the oracle of divination, and presume not to follow (your advice)? * I am following the Tranquillizer, whose purpose embraced all within the limits of the land. How much more must I proceed, when the divinations are all favourable! It is on these accounts that I make this expedition in force to the east. There is no mistake about the decree of Heaven. The indications given by the tortoise-shell are all to the same effect.’* Book VIII. Tue Cuarce to tHE Count or WEL. Tue count of Wei was the principal character in the eleventh Book of the last Part, from which it appeared that he was a brother of the tyrant K&u-hsin. We saw how his friends advised him to withdraw from the court of Shang, and save _ 1 That is, thorough work,—clearing the ground of weeds, and not letting their roots remain. (r] M 162 THE sHO KING. PART V. himself from the destruction that was impending over their House. He had done so, and king W4 had probably continued him in the possession of his appanage of Wei, while Wfi-king, the son of the tyrant, had been spared, and entrusted with the duty of continuing the sacrifices to the great Thang and the other sovereigns of the House of Shang. Now that WQ-kang has been punished with death for his rebellion, the duke of Xau summons the count of Wei to court, and in the name of king Kh’ng invests him with the dukedom of Sung, corresponding to the present department of Kwei-teh, Ho-nan, there to be the representative of the line of the departed kings of Shang. The king speaks to the following effect :—‘ Ho! eldest son of the king of Yin, examining into antiquity, (I find) that the honouring of the virtuous (belongs to their descendants) who resemble them in worth, and (I appoint) you to continue the line of the kings your ancestors, observing their ceremonies and taking care of their various relics. Come (also) as a guest to our royal House’, and enjoy the prosperity of our kingdom, for ever and ever without end.
3Come (also) as a guest to our royal House’, and enjoy the prosperity of our kingdom, for ever and ever without end. ‘Oh! your ancestor, Thang the Successful, was reverent and sage, (with a virtue) vast and deep. The favour and help of great Heaven lighted upon him, and he grandly received its appointment, to soothe the people by his gentleness, and remove the wicked oppressions from which they were suffering.* His achievements affected his age, and his virtue was transmitted to his posterity. And you are the one who pursue and cultivate his plans ;—this praise 1 Under the dynasty of K4u, the representatives of the two previous dynasties of Shang and Hsia were distinguished above the other princes of the kingdom, and denominated ‘guests’ of the sovereign, coming to his court and assisting in the services in his ancestral temple, nearly on a footing of equality with him. BOOK VIII. CHARGE TO THE COUNT OF WEI. 163 has belonged to you for long. Reverently and carefully have you discharged your filial duties ; gravely and respectfully you behave to spirits and to men.* I admire your virtue, and pronounce it great and not to be forgotten. God will always enjoy your offerings; the people will be reverently harmonious (under your sway).* I raise you therefore to the rank of high duke, to rule this eastern part of our great land}. ‘Be reverent. Go and diffuse abroad your instructions. Be carefully observant of your robes and (other accompaniments of) your appointment?; follow and observe the proper statutes;—so as to prove a bulwark to the royal House, Enlarge (the fame of) your meritorious ancestor; be a law to your people ;—so as for ever to preserve your dignity. (So also) shall you be a help to me, the One man; future ages will enjoy (the benefit of) your virtue ; all the states will take you for a pattern ;—and thus you will make our dynasty of AAu never weary of you. ‘Oh! go, and be prosperous. Do not disregard my charge.’ 1 Sung lay east from Fang and Hao, the capitals of Wan and ‘WA, which were in the present department of Hstf-an, Shen-hsf. * Meaning probably that he was to bear in mind that, however illustrious his descent, he was still a subject of the king of Kau, 164 THE SHO KING. PART V. Boox IX. THE ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE PRINCE OF KHANG. Or the ten sons of king Wan, the ninth was called Fang, and is generally spoken of as Khang Shf, or ‘the uncle, (the prince of) Khang.’ We must conclude that Khang was the name of Fang’s appanage, somewhere in the royal domain. This Book contains the charge given to him on his appointment to be marquis of Wei (the Chinese name is quite different from that of the appanage of the count of Wei), the chief city of which was X4o-ko, that had been the capital of Xau-hsin. It extended westward from the present Khai Kau, department Té-ming, Xib-lf, to the borders of the departments of Wei-hui and Hwai-shing, Ho-nan.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1We shall surely complete the plans of your Tranquillizing father.” ‘Yes, I, the little child, dare not disregard the charge of God!.* Heaven, favourable to the Tranquillizing king, gave such prosperity to our small country of Kau. The Tranquillizing king divined and acted accordingly, and so he calmly received his (great) appointment. Now when Heaven is (evidently) aiding the people, how much more should we follow the indications of the shell! Oh! the clearly intimated will of Heaven is to be feared :— it is to help my great inheritance !’ * 4. The king says, ‘You, who are the old ministers, are fully able to remember the past ; you know how great was the toil of the Tranquillizing king. Where Heaven (now) shuts up (our path) and distresses us, is the place where I must accomplish my work ;— I dare not but do my utmost to complete the plans of the Tranquillizing king. It is on this account that I use such efforts to remove the doubts and carry forward the inclinations of the princes of my friendly states. And Heaven assists me with sincere expressions (of sympathy), which I have ascertained among 1 Probably the charge understood to be conveyed by the result of the divinations spoken of above. 160 THE SHO KING. PART V. the people ;—how dare I but aim at the completion of the work formerly begun by the Tranquillizer ? Heaven, moreover, is thus toiling and distressing the people ;—it is as if they were suffering from disease ; how dare I allow (the appointment) which my predecessor, the Tranquillizer, received, to be without its happy fulfilment ?’ * The king says, ‘ Formerly, at the initiation of this expedition, I spoke of its difficulties, and thought of them daily. But when a deceased father, (wishing) to build a house, had laid out the plan, if his son be unwilling to raise up the hall, how much less will he be willing to complete the roof! Or if the father had broken up the -ground, and his son be unwilling to sow the seed, how much less will he be willing to reap the crop! In such a case could the father, (who had himself) been so reverently attentive (to his objects), have been willing to say, “I have a son who will not abandon his patrimony?”—How dare I therefore but use all my powers to give a happy settlement to the great charge entrusted to the Tranquillizing king? Ifamong the friends of an elder brother or a deceased father there be those who attack his son, will the elders of the people encourage (the attack), and not (come to the) rescue ?’ 5. The king says, ‘Oh! take heart, ye princes of the various states, and ye managers of my affairs. The enlightening of the country was from the wise, even from the ten men! who obeyed and knew the 1 «The ten men’ here can hardly be the ‘ten men of worth’ above in the second chapter. We must find them rather in the ‘ten virtuous men, one in heart and one in practice, capable of good,’ mentioned by king W4, in the second Part of the Great Declaration.
2who obeyed and knew the 1 «The ten men’ here can hardly be the ‘ten men of worth’ above in the second chapter. We must find them rather in the ‘ten virtuous men, one in heart and one in practice, capable of good,’ mentioned by king W4, in the second Part of the Great Declaration. BOOK VIII. CHARGE TO THE COUNT OF WEI. 161 charge of God,* and the real assistance given by Heaven. At that time none of you presumed to change the rules (prescribed by the Tranquillizing king). And now when Heaven is sending down calamity on the country of K4u, and the authors of these great distresses (make it appear on a grand scale as if) the inmates of a house were mutually to attack one another, you are without any knowledge that the decree of Heaven is not to be changed ! * ‘I ever think and say, Heaven in destroying Yin was doing husbandman’s work';—how dare I but complete the work on my fields? Heaven will thereby show its favour to my predecessor, the Tranquillizer. How should I be all for the oracle of divination, and presume not to follow (your advice)? * I am following the Tranquillizer, whose purpose embraced all within the limits of the land. How much more must I proceed, when the divinations are all favourable! It is on these accounts that I make this expedition in force to the east. There is no mistake about the decree of Heaven. The indications given by the tortoise-shell are all to the same effect.’* Book VIII. Tue Cuarce to tHE Count or WEL. Tue count of Wei was the principal character in the eleventh Book of the last Part, from which it appeared that he was a brother of the tyrant K&u-hsin. We saw how his friends advised him to withdraw from the court of Shang, and save _ 1 That is, thorough work,—clearing the ground of weeds, and not letting their roots remain. (r] M 162 THE sHO KING. PART V. himself from the destruction that was impending over their House. He had done so, and king W4 had probably continued him in the possession of his appanage of Wei, while Wfi-king, the son of the tyrant, had been spared, and entrusted with the duty of continuing the sacrifices to the great Thang and the other sovereigns of the House of Shang. Now that WQ-kang has been punished with death for his rebellion, the duke of Xau summons the count of Wei to court, and in the name of king Kh’ng invests him with the dukedom of Sung, corresponding to the present department of Kwei-teh, Ho-nan, there to be the representative of the line of the departed kings of Shang. The king speaks to the following effect :—‘ Ho! eldest son of the king of Yin, examining into antiquity, (I find) that the honouring of the virtuous (belongs to their descendants) who resemble them in worth, and (I appoint) you to continue the line of the kings your ancestors, observing their ceremonies and taking care of their various relics. Come (also) as a guest to our royal House’, and enjoy the prosperity of our kingdom, for ever and ever without end.
3Come (also) as a guest to our royal House’, and enjoy the prosperity of our kingdom, for ever and ever without end. ‘Oh! your ancestor, Thang the Successful, was reverent and sage, (with a virtue) vast and deep. The favour and help of great Heaven lighted upon him, and he grandly received its appointment, to soothe the people by his gentleness, and remove the wicked oppressions from which they were suffering.* His achievements affected his age, and his virtue was transmitted to his posterity. And you are the one who pursue and cultivate his plans ;—this praise 1 Under the dynasty of K4u, the representatives of the two previous dynasties of Shang and Hsia were distinguished above the other princes of the kingdom, and denominated ‘guests’ of the sovereign, coming to his court and assisting in the services in his ancestral temple, nearly on a footing of equality with him. BOOK VIII. CHARGE TO THE COUNT OF WEI. 163 has belonged to you for long. Reverently and carefully have you discharged your filial duties ; gravely and respectfully you behave to spirits and to men.* I admire your virtue, and pronounce it great and not to be forgotten. God will always enjoy your offerings; the people will be reverently harmonious (under your sway).* I raise you therefore to the rank of high duke, to rule this eastern part of our great land}. ‘Be reverent. Go and diffuse abroad your instructions. Be carefully observant of your robes and (other accompaniments of) your appointment?; follow and observe the proper statutes;—so as to prove a bulwark to the royal House, Enlarge (the fame of) your meritorious ancestor; be a law to your people ;—so as for ever to preserve your dignity. (So also) shall you be a help to me, the One man; future ages will enjoy (the benefit of) your virtue ; all the states will take you for a pattern ;—and thus you will make our dynasty of AAu never weary of you. ‘Oh! go, and be prosperous. Do not disregard my charge.’ 1 Sung lay east from Fang and Hao, the capitals of Wan and ‘WA, which were in the present department of Hstf-an, Shen-hsf. * Meaning probably that he was to bear in mind that, however illustrious his descent, he was still a subject of the king of Kau, 164 THE SHO KING. PART V. Boox IX. THE ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE PRINCE OF KHANG. Or the ten sons of king Wan, the ninth was called Fang, and is generally spoken of as Khang Shf, or ‘the uncle, (the prince of) Khang.’ We must conclude that Khang was the name of Fang’s appanage, somewhere in the royal domain. This Book contains the charge given to him on his appointment to be marquis of Wei (the Chinese name is quite different from that of the appanage of the count of Wei), the chief city of which was X4o-ko, that had been the capital of Xau-hsin. It extended westward from the present Khai Kau, department Té-ming, Xib-lf, to the borders of the departments of Wei-hui and Hwai-shing, Ho-nan.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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