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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1‘With penetrating wisdom thou didst play the man, A sovereign with the gifts both of peace and war, Giving rest even to great Heaven’, And ensuring prosperity to thy descendants. * To explain this line one commentator refers to the seventh stanza of the first piece in the Major Odes of the Kingdom, where it is said, ‘God surveyed the four quarters of the kingdom, seeking for some one to give settlement and rest to the people ;’ and adds, ‘Thus what Heaven has at heart is the settlement of the people. When they have rest given to them, then Heaven is at rest.’ 326 THE SHIH KING. DECADE II. ‘Thou comfortest me with the eyebrows of longevity; Thou makest me great with manifold blessings, I offer this sacrifice to my meritorious father, And to my accomplished mother.’ Ove 8. Tue 3A1 HsIEn. APPROPRIATE TO AN OCCASION WHEN THE FEUDAL PRINCES HAD BEEN ASSISTING KING KHANG AT A SACRIFICE TO HIS FATHER. They appeared before their sovereign king, To seek from him the rules (they were to observe). With their dragon-emblazoned banners, flying bright, The bells on them and their front-boards tinkling, And with the rings on the ends of the reins glittering, Admirable was their majesty and splendour. He led them to appear before his father shrined on the left?, Where he discharged his filial duty, and presented his offerings ;—That he might have granted to him long life, And ever preserve (his dignity). Great and many are his blessings. They are the brilliant and accomplished princes, Who cheer him with his many sources of happiness, 1 At sacrifices to ancestors, the spirit tablets of wives were placed along with those of their husbands in their shrines, so that both shared in the honours of the service. So it is now in the imperial ancestral temple in Peking. The ‘accomplished mother’ here would be Thai Sze, celebrated often in the pieces of the first Book of Part I, and elsewhere. * Among the uses of the services of the ancestral temple, specified by Confucius and quoted on p. 302, was the distinguishing the order of descent in the royal House. According to the rules for that purpose, the characters here used enable us to determine the subject of this line as king W4, in opposition to his father Wan. ODE 9. THE SACRIFICIAL ODES OF KAU. 327 Enabling him to perpetuate them in their brightness as pure blessing. Ope 9. THe Yo Kuo. CELEBRATING THE DUKE OF SUNG ON ONE OF HIS APPEARANCES AT THE CAPITAL TO ASSIST AT THE SACRIFICE IN THE ANCESTRAL TEMPLE OF KAU j7— SHOWING HOW HE WAS ESTEEMED AND CHERISHED BY THE KING.
2327 Enabling him to perpetuate them in their brightness as pure blessing. Ope 9. THe Yo Kuo. CELEBRATING THE DUKE OF SUNG ON ONE OF HIS APPEARANCES AT THE CAPITAL TO ASSIST AT THE SACRIFICE IN THE ANCESTRAL TEMPLE OF KAU j7— SHOWING HOW HE WAS ESTEEMED AND CHERISHED BY THE KING. The mention of the white horses here in the chariot of the visitor sufficiently substantiates the account in the Preface that he was the famous count of Wei, mentioned in the Shu, IV, xi, and whose subsequent investiture with the duchy of Sung, as the representative of the line of the Shang kings, is also related in the Shd, V, viii. With the dynasty of Shang white had been the esteemed and sacred colour, as red was with Kau, and hence the duke had his carriage drawn by white horses. ‘The language,’ says one critic, ‘is all in praise of the visitor, but it was sung in the temple, and is rightly placed therefore among the Sung.’ There is, in the last line, an indication of the temple in it. ‘ The noble visitor! The noble visitor! Drawn, like his ancestors, by white horses! The reverent and dignified, Polished members of his suite! The noble guest will stay (but) a night or two! The noble guest will stay (but) two nights or four! Give him ropes, To bind his horses?. I will convoy him (with a parting feast); I will comfort him in every possible way. Adorned with such great dignity, It is very natural that he should be blessed. 1 These four lines simply express the wish of the king to detain his visitor, from the delight that his presence gave him. Compare the similar language in the second ode of the fourth decade of Part II. 328 THE SHIH KING. DECADE HI. Ove 10. Tue Wo. SUNG IN THE ANCESTRAL TEMPLE TO THE MUSIC REGULATING THE DANCE IN HONOUR OF THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF KING wO0. This account of the piece, given in the Preface, is variously corroborated, and has not been called in question by any critic. Perhaps this brief ode was sung as a prelude to the dance, or it may be that the seven lines are only a fragment. This, indeed, is most likely, as we have several odes in the next decade, all said to have been used at the same occasion. Oh! great wast thou, O king Wa, Displaying the utmost strength in thy work. Truly accomplished was king Wan, Opening the path for his successors. Thou didst receive the inheritance from him. Thou didst vanquish Yin, and put a stop to its cruelties ;—Effecting the firm establishment of thy merit. The Third Decade, or that of Min Yii Hsido 3ze. Ope 1. THe Min Yu. APPROPRIATE TO THE YOUNG KING XHANG, DECLARING HIS SENTIMENTS IN THE TEMPLE OF HIS FATHER.
3Thou didst vanquish Yin, and put a stop to its cruelties ;—Effecting the firm establishment of thy merit. The Third Decade, or that of Min Yii Hsido 3ze. Ope 1. THe Min Yu. APPROPRIATE TO THE YOUNG KING XHANG, DECLARING HIS SENTIMENTS IN THE TEMPLE OF HIS FATHER. The speaker in this piece is, by common consent, king AAang. The only question is as to the date of its composition, whether it was made for him, in his minority, on his repairing to the temple when the mourning for his father was completed, or after the expiration of the regency of the duke of Kau. The words ‘little child,’ according to their usage, are expressive of humility and not of age. They do not enable us to determine the above point. Alas for me, who am a little child, On whom has devolved the unsettled state! Solitary am I and full of distress. Oh! my great Father, All thy life long, thou wast filial. Thou didst think of my great grandfather, (Seeing — ODE 3. THE SACRIFICIAL ODES OF KAU. 329 him, as it were) ascending and descending in the court, I, the little child, Day and night will be as reverent. Oh! ye great kings, As your successor, I will strive not to forget you. Ope 2. Tue Fanc Lo. THE YOUNG KING TELLS OF HIS DIFFICULTIES AND INCOMPETENCIES ; ASKS FOR COUNSEL TO KEEP HIM TO COPY THE EXAMPLE OF HIS FATHER ; STATES HOW HE MEANT TO DO SO; AND CONCLUDES WITH AN APPEAL OR PRAYER TO HIS FATHER. This seems to be a sequel to the former ode. We can hardly say anything about it so definite as the statement in the Preface, that it relates to a council held by Aang and his ministers in the ancestral temple. I take counsel at the beginning of my (rule), How I can follow (the example of) my shrined father. Ah! far-reaching (were his plans), And I am not yet able to carry them out. However I endeavour to reach to them, My continuation of them. will still be all-deflected. I am a little child, Unequal to the many difficulties of the state. Having taken his place, (I will look for him) to go up and come down in the court, To ascend and descend in the house. Admirable art thou, O great Father, (Condescend) to preserve and enlighten me. Ope 3. Tue AING AIH. KING XHXANG SHOWS HIS SENSE OF WHAT WAS REQUIRED OF HIM TO PRESERVE THE FAVOUR OF HEAVEN,.A CONSTANT JUDGE; INTIMATES HIS GOOD PURPOSES; AND ASKS THE HELP OF HIS MINISTERS TO BE ENABLED TO PERFORM THEM. Let me be reverent! Let me be reverent! (The way of) Heaven is evident, And its appointment 330 THE SHIH KING. DECADE III. is not easily preserved!. Let me not say that it is high aloft above me. It ascends and descends about our doings; It daily inspects us wherever we are. I am a little child, Without intelligence to be reverently (attentive to my duties); But by daily progress and monthly advance, I will learn to hold fast the gleams (of knowledge), till I arrive at bright intelligence. Assist me to bear the burden (of my position), And show me how to display a virtuous conduct. Ope 4. Tue HstAo Pt.
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.
1‘With penetrating wisdom thou didst play the man, A sovereign with the gifts both of peace and war, Giving rest even to great Heaven’, And ensuring prosperity to thy descendants. * To explain this line one commentator refers to the seventh stanza of the first piece in the Major Odes of the Kingdom, where it is said, ‘God surveyed the four quarters of the kingdom, seeking for some one to give settlement and rest to the people ;’ and adds, ‘Thus what Heaven has at heart is the settlement of the people. When they have rest given to them, then Heaven is at rest.’ 326 THE SHIH KING. DECADE II. ‘Thou comfortest me with the eyebrows of longevity; Thou makest me great with manifold blessings, I offer this sacrifice to my meritorious father, And to my accomplished mother.’ Ove 8. Tue 3A1 HsIEn. APPROPRIATE TO AN OCCASION WHEN THE FEUDAL PRINCES HAD BEEN ASSISTING KING KHANG AT A SACRIFICE TO HIS FATHER. They appeared before their sovereign king, To seek from him the rules (they were to observe). With their dragon-emblazoned banners, flying bright, The bells on them and their front-boards tinkling, And with the rings on the ends of the reins glittering, Admirable was their majesty and splendour. He led them to appear before his father shrined on the left?, Where he discharged his filial duty, and presented his offerings ;—That he might have granted to him long life, And ever preserve (his dignity). Great and many are his blessings. They are the brilliant and accomplished princes, Who cheer him with his many sources of happiness, 1 At sacrifices to ancestors, the spirit tablets of wives were placed along with those of their husbands in their shrines, so that both shared in the honours of the service. So it is now in the imperial ancestral temple in Peking. The ‘accomplished mother’ here would be Thai Sze, celebrated often in the pieces of the first Book of Part I, and elsewhere. * Among the uses of the services of the ancestral temple, specified by Confucius and quoted on p. 302, was the distinguishing the order of descent in the royal House. According to the rules for that purpose, the characters here used enable us to determine the subject of this line as king W4, in opposition to his father Wan. ODE 9. THE SACRIFICIAL ODES OF KAU. 327 Enabling him to perpetuate them in their brightness as pure blessing. Ope 9. THe Yo Kuo. CELEBRATING THE DUKE OF SUNG ON ONE OF HIS APPEARANCES AT THE CAPITAL TO ASSIST AT THE SACRIFICE IN THE ANCESTRAL TEMPLE OF KAU j7— SHOWING HOW HE WAS ESTEEMED AND CHERISHED BY THE KING.
2327 Enabling him to perpetuate them in their brightness as pure blessing. Ope 9. THe Yo Kuo. CELEBRATING THE DUKE OF SUNG ON ONE OF HIS APPEARANCES AT THE CAPITAL TO ASSIST AT THE SACRIFICE IN THE ANCESTRAL TEMPLE OF KAU j7— SHOWING HOW HE WAS ESTEEMED AND CHERISHED BY THE KING. The mention of the white horses here in the chariot of the visitor sufficiently substantiates the account in the Preface that he was the famous count of Wei, mentioned in the Shu, IV, xi, and whose subsequent investiture with the duchy of Sung, as the representative of the line of the Shang kings, is also related in the Shd, V, viii. With the dynasty of Shang white had been the esteemed and sacred colour, as red was with Kau, and hence the duke had his carriage drawn by white horses. ‘The language,’ says one critic, ‘is all in praise of the visitor, but it was sung in the temple, and is rightly placed therefore among the Sung.’ There is, in the last line, an indication of the temple in it. ‘ The noble visitor! The noble visitor! Drawn, like his ancestors, by white horses! The reverent and dignified, Polished members of his suite! The noble guest will stay (but) a night or two! The noble guest will stay (but) two nights or four! Give him ropes, To bind his horses?. I will convoy him (with a parting feast); I will comfort him in every possible way. Adorned with such great dignity, It is very natural that he should be blessed. 1 These four lines simply express the wish of the king to detain his visitor, from the delight that his presence gave him. Compare the similar language in the second ode of the fourth decade of Part II. 328 THE SHIH KING. DECADE HI. Ove 10. Tue Wo. SUNG IN THE ANCESTRAL TEMPLE TO THE MUSIC REGULATING THE DANCE IN HONOUR OF THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF KING wO0. This account of the piece, given in the Preface, is variously corroborated, and has not been called in question by any critic. Perhaps this brief ode was sung as a prelude to the dance, or it may be that the seven lines are only a fragment. This, indeed, is most likely, as we have several odes in the next decade, all said to have been used at the same occasion. Oh! great wast thou, O king Wa, Displaying the utmost strength in thy work. Truly accomplished was king Wan, Opening the path for his successors. Thou didst receive the inheritance from him. Thou didst vanquish Yin, and put a stop to its cruelties ;—Effecting the firm establishment of thy merit. The Third Decade, or that of Min Yii Hsido 3ze. Ope 1. THe Min Yu. APPROPRIATE TO THE YOUNG KING XHANG, DECLARING HIS SENTIMENTS IN THE TEMPLE OF HIS FATHER.
3Thou didst vanquish Yin, and put a stop to its cruelties ;—Effecting the firm establishment of thy merit. The Third Decade, or that of Min Yii Hsido 3ze. Ope 1. THe Min Yu. APPROPRIATE TO THE YOUNG KING XHANG, DECLARING HIS SENTIMENTS IN THE TEMPLE OF HIS FATHER. The speaker in this piece is, by common consent, king AAang. The only question is as to the date of its composition, whether it was made for him, in his minority, on his repairing to the temple when the mourning for his father was completed, or after the expiration of the regency of the duke of Kau. The words ‘little child,’ according to their usage, are expressive of humility and not of age. They do not enable us to determine the above point. Alas for me, who am a little child, On whom has devolved the unsettled state! Solitary am I and full of distress. Oh! my great Father, All thy life long, thou wast filial. Thou didst think of my great grandfather, (Seeing — ODE 3. THE SACRIFICIAL ODES OF KAU. 329 him, as it were) ascending and descending in the court, I, the little child, Day and night will be as reverent. Oh! ye great kings, As your successor, I will strive not to forget you. Ope 2. Tue Fanc Lo. THE YOUNG KING TELLS OF HIS DIFFICULTIES AND INCOMPETENCIES ; ASKS FOR COUNSEL TO KEEP HIM TO COPY THE EXAMPLE OF HIS FATHER ; STATES HOW HE MEANT TO DO SO; AND CONCLUDES WITH AN APPEAL OR PRAYER TO HIS FATHER. This seems to be a sequel to the former ode. We can hardly say anything about it so definite as the statement in the Preface, that it relates to a council held by Aang and his ministers in the ancestral temple. I take counsel at the beginning of my (rule), How I can follow (the example of) my shrined father. Ah! far-reaching (were his plans), And I am not yet able to carry them out. However I endeavour to reach to them, My continuation of them. will still be all-deflected. I am a little child, Unequal to the many difficulties of the state. Having taken his place, (I will look for him) to go up and come down in the court, To ascend and descend in the house. Admirable art thou, O great Father, (Condescend) to preserve and enlighten me. Ope 3. Tue AING AIH. KING XHXANG SHOWS HIS SENSE OF WHAT WAS REQUIRED OF HIM TO PRESERVE THE FAVOUR OF HEAVEN,.A CONSTANT JUDGE; INTIMATES HIS GOOD PURPOSES; AND ASKS THE HELP OF HIS MINISTERS TO BE ENABLED TO PERFORM THEM. Let me be reverent! Let me be reverent! (The way of) Heaven is evident, And its appointment 330 THE SHIH KING. DECADE III. is not easily preserved!. Let me not say that it is high aloft above me. It ascends and descends about our doings; It daily inspects us wherever we are. I am a little child, Without intelligence to be reverently (attentive to my duties); But by daily progress and monthly advance, I will learn to hold fast the gleams (of knowledge), till I arrive at bright intelligence. Assist me to bear the burden (of my position), And show me how to display a virtuous conduct. Ope 4. Tue HstAo Pt.
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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