APPROPRIATE TO A SACRIFICE IN THE ANCESTRAL TEMPLE OF SHANG;--INTENDED SPECIALLY TO DO HONOUR TO THE KING WÛ-TING.
If this ode were not intended to do honour to Wû-ting, the Kâo Zung of Shang, we cannot account for the repeated mention of him in it. Kû Hsî, however, in his note on it, says nothing about Wû-ting, but simply that the piece belonged to the sacrifices in the ancestral temple, tracing back the line of the kings of Shang to its origin, and to its attaining the sovereignty of the kingdom. Not at all unlikely is the view of Kang Hsüan, that the sacrifice was in the third year after the death of Wû-ting and offered to him in the temple of Hsieh, the ancestor of the Shang dynasty.
Heaven commissioned the swallow, To descend and give birth to (the father of our) Shang[1]. (His descendants) dwelt in the land of Yin, and became great. (Then) long ago God appointed the martial Thang, To regulate the boundaries throughout the four quarters (of the kingdom).
(In those) quarters he appointed the princes, And grandly possessed the nine regions[2]. The [1. The father of Shang is Hsieh, who has already been mentioned. The mother of Hsieh was a daughter of the House of the ancient state of Sung, and a concubine of the ancient ruler Khû (B.C. 2435). According to Mâo, she accompanied Khû, at the time of the vernal equinox, when the swallow made its appearance, to sacrifice and pray to the first match-maker, and the result was the birth of Hsieh. Sze-mâ Khien and Kang make Hsieh's birth more marvellous:--The lady was bathing in some open place, when a swallow made its appearance, and dropt an egg, which she took and swallowed; and from this came Hsieh. The editors of the imperial edition of the Shih, of the present dynasty, say we need not believe the legends;--the important point is to believe that the birth of Hsieh was specially ordered by Heaven.
2 'The nine regions' are the nine provinces into which Yü divided the kingdom.]
first sovereign of Shang[1] Received the appointment without any element of instability in it, And it is (now) held by the descendant of Wû-ting [2].
The descendant of Wû-ting Is a martial sovereign, equal to every emergency. Ten princes, (who came) with their dragon-emblazoned banners, Bear the large dishes of millet.
The royal domain of a thousand lî Is where the people rest; But the boundaries that reach to the four seas commence there.
From the four seas [3] they come (to our sacrifices); They come in multitudes. King has the Ho for its outer border [4]. That Yin[5] should have received the appointment (of Heaven) was entirely right;--(Its sovereign) sustains all its dignities.
ODE 4. THE KHANG FÂ.
CELEBRATING HSIEH, THE ANCESTOR OF THE HOUSE OF SHANG; HSIANG-THÛ, HIS GRANDSON; THANG, THE FOUNDER OF THE DYNASTY; AND Î-YIN, THANG'S CHIEF MINISTER AND ADVISER.
It does not appear on occasion of what sacrifice this piece was made. The most probable view is that of Mâo, that it was the [1. That is, Thang.
2. If this ode were used, as Mang supposes, in the third year after Wû-ting's death, this ' descendant' would be his son Zû-kang, B.C. 1265 to 1259.
3. This expression, which occurs also in the Shû, indicates that the early Chinese believed that their country extended to the sea, east, west, north, and south.
4. Kû Hsî Says he did not understand this line; but there is ground in the Zo Kwan for our believing that King was the name of a hill in the region where the capital of Shang was.
5. We saw in the Shû that the name Shang gave place to Yin after the time of Pan-kang, B.C. 1401 to 1374. Wû-ting's reign was subsequent to that of Pan-kang.]
'great Tî sacrifice,' when the principal object of honour would be the ancient Khû, the father of Hsieh, with Hsieh as his correlate, and all the kings of the dynasty, with the earlier lords of Shang, and their famous ministers and advisers, would have their places at the service. I think this is the oldest of the odes of Shang.
Profoundly wise were (the lords of) Shang, And long had there appeared the omens (of their dignity).
When the waters of the deluge spread vast abroad, Yû arranged and divided the regions of the land, And assigned to the exterior great states their boundaries, With their borders extending all over (the kingdom). (Even) then the chief of Sung was beginning to be great, And God raised up the son (of his daughter), and founded (the line of) Shang[1].
The dark king exercised an effective sway[2]. Charged with a small state, he commanded success: Charged with a large state, he commanded success[3]. He followed his rules of conduct without error; Wherever he inspected (the people), they responded (to his instructions[4]. (Then came) Hsiang-thû all ardent [5], And all within the four seas, beyond (the middle regions), acknowledged his restraints.
[1. This line refers to the birth of Hsieh, as described in the previous ode, and his being made lord of Shang.
2. It would be hard to say why Hsieh is here called 'the dark king.' There may be an allusion to the legend about the connexion of the swallow,--'the dark bird,'--with his birth, He never was 'a king;' but his descendants here represented him as such.
3. All that is meant here is, that the territory of Shang was enlarged under Hsieh.
4. There is a reference here to Hsieh's appointment by Shun to be Minister of Instruction.
5. Hsiang-thû appears in the genealogical lists as grandson of Hsieh. We know nothing of him but what is related here.]
The favour of God did not leave (Shang), And in Thang was found the fit object for its display. Thang was not born too late, And his wisdom and reverence daily advanced:--Brilliant was the influence of his character (on Heaven) for long. God he revered, And God appointed him to be the model for the nine regions.
He received the rank-tokens of the states, small and large, Which depended on him like the pendants of a banner:--So did he receive the blessing of Heaven. He was neither violent nor remiss, Neither hard nor soft. Gently he spread his instructions abroad, And all dignities and riches were concentrated in him.
He received the tribute of the states, small and large, And he supported them as a strong steed (does its burden):--So did he receive the favour of Heaven. He displayed everywhere his valour, Unshaken, unmoved, Unterrified, unscared:--All dignities were united in him.
The martial king displayed his banner, And with reverence grasped his axe. It was like (the case of) a blazing fire which no one can repress. The root, with its three shoots, Could make no progress, no growth[1]. The nine regions were effectually secured by Thang. Having smitten (the princes of) Wei and Kû, He dealt with (him of) Kün-wû and with Kieh of Hsiâ.
Formerly, in the middle of the period (before [1. By 'the root' we are to understand Thang's chief opponent, Kieh, the last king of Hsiâ. Kieh's three great helpers were 'the three shoots,'--the princes of Wei, Kû, and Kün-wû; but the exact sites of their principalities cannot be made out.]
Thang), There was a time of shaking and peril[1]. But truly did Heaven (then) deal with him as a son, And sent him down a high minister, Namely, Â-hang[2], Who gave his assistance to the king of Shang.
ODE 5. THE YIN WÛ.
CELEBRATING THE WAR OF WÛ-TING AGAINST KING-KHÛ, ITS SUCCESS, AND THE GENERAL HAPPINESS AND VIRTUE OF HIS REIGN;--MADE, PROBABLY, WHEN A SPECIAL AND PERMANENT TEMPLE WAS BUILT FOR HIM AS THE 'HIGH AND HONOURED' KING OF SHANG.
The concluding lines indicate that the temple was made on the occasion which I thus assign to it. After Wû-ting's death, his spirit-tablet would be shrined in the ancestral temple, and he would have his share in the seasonal sacrifices; but several reigns would elapse before there was any necessity to make any other arrangement, so that his tablet should not be removed, and his share in the sacrifices not be discontinued. Hence the composition of the piece has been referred to the time of Tî-yî, the last but one of the kings of Shang.
Rapid was the warlike energy of (our king of) Yin, And vigorously did he attack King-Khû [3].
[1. We do not know anything of this time of decadence in the fortunes of Shang between Hsieh and Thang.
2. Â-hang is Î Yin, who plays so remarkable a part in the Shû, IV, Books iv, v, and vi.
3. King, or Khû, or King-Khû, as the two names are combined here, was a large and powerful half-savage state, having its capital in the present Wû-pei. So far as evidence goes, we should say, but for this ode, that the name of Khû was not in use till long after the Shang dynasty. The name King appears several times in 'the Spring and Autumn' in the annals of duke Kwang (B.C. 693 to 662), and then it gives place to the name Khû in the first year of duke Hsî (B.C. 659), and subsequently disappears itself altogether. In consequence of this some critics make this piece out to have been composed under the Kâu dynasty. The point cannot be fully cleared up; but on the whole I accept the words of the ode as sufficient proof against the silence of other documents.]
Boldly he entered its dangerous passes, And brought the multitudes of King together, Till the country was reduced under complete restraint: Such was the fitting achievement of the descendant of Thang!
'Ye people,' (he said), 'of King-Khû, Dwell in the southern part of my kingdom. Formerly, in the time of Thang the Successful, Even from the Kiang of Tî[1], They dared not but come with their offerings; (Their chiefs) dared not but come to seek acknowledgment[2]:--Such is the regular rule of Shang.'
Heaven had given their appointments (to the princes), But where their capitals, had been assigned within the sphere of the labours of Yü, For the business of every year they appeared before our king[3], (Saying), 'Do not punish nor reprove us; We have not been remiss in our husbandry.'
When Heaven by its will is inspecting (the kingdom), The lower people are to be feared. (Our king) showed no partiality (in rewarding), no excess (in punishing); He dared not to allow himself in indolence:--So was his appointment (established) [1. The Tî Kiang, or Kiang of Tî, still existed in the time of the Han dynasty, occupying portions of the present Kan-sû.
2. The chiefs of the wild tribes, lying beyond the nine provinces of the kingdom, were required to present themselves once in their lifetime at the royal court. The rule, in normal periods, was for each chief to appear immediately after he had succeeded to the headship of his tribe.
3. The feudal lords had to appear at court every year. They did so, we may suppose, at the court of Wû-ting, the more so because of his subjugation of King-Khû.]
over the states, And he made his happiness grandly secure.
The capital of Shang was full of order, The model for all parts of the kingdom. Glorious was (the king's) fame; Brilliant his energy. Long lived he and enjoyed tranquillity, And so he preserves us, his descendants.
We ascended the hill of King[1], Where the pines and cypresses grew symmetrical. We cut them down and conveyed them here; We reverently hewed them square. Long are the projecting beams of pine; Large are the many pillars. The temple was completed,--the tranquil abode (of the martial king of Yin).
II. THE SACRIFICIAL ODES OF KÂU.
IN this division we have thirty-one sacrificial odes of Kâu, arranged in three decades, the third of which, however, contains eleven pieces. They belong mostly to the time of king Wan, the founder of the Kâu dynasty, and to the reigns of his son and grandson, kings Wû and Khang. The decades are named from the name of the first piece in each.
The First Decade, or that of Khing Miâo.
ODE 1. THE KHING MIÂO.
CELEBRATING THE REVERENTIAL MANNER IN WHICH A SACRIFICE TO KING WAN; WAS PERFORMED, AND FURTHER PRAISING HIM.
Chinese critics agree in assigning this piece to the sacrifice mentioned in the Shû, in the end of the thirteenth Book of Part V, when, the building of Lo being finished, king Khang came to [1. See on the last line but two of ode 3.]
the new city, and offered a red bull to Win, and the same to Wû. It seems to me to have been sung in honour of Wan, after the service was completed. This determination of the occasion of the piece being accepted, we should refer it to B.C. 1108.
Oh! solemn is the ancestral temple in its pure stillness. Reverent and harmonious were the distinguished assistants[1]; Great was the number of the officers [2]:--(All) assiduous followers of the virtue of (king Wan). In response to him in heaven, Grandly they hurried about in the temple. Distinguished is he and honoured, And will never be wearied of among men.
ODE 2. THE WEI THIEN KIH MING.
CELEBRATING THE VIRTUE OF KING WAN AS COMPARABLE TO THAT OF HEAVEN, AND LOOKING TO HIM FOR BLESSING IN THE FUTURE.
According to the Preface, there is an announcement here of the realization of complete peace throughout the kingdom, and some of the old critics refer the ode to a sacrifice to king Win by the duke of Kâu, when he had completed the statutes for the new dynasty. But there is nothing to authorize a more definite argument of the contents than I have given.
The ordinances of Heaven,--How deep are they and unintermitting! And oh! how illustrious Was the singleness of the virtue of king Wan [3]!
How does he (now) show his kindness? We will receive it, Striving to be in accord with him, our [1. These would be the princes who were assembled on the occasion, and assisted the king in the service.
2 That is, the officers who took part in the libations, prayers, and other parts of the sacrifice.
3 See what Dze-sze says on these four lines in the Doctrine of the Mean, XXVI, par. 10.]
king Wan; And may his remotest descendant be abundantly the same!
ODE 3. THE WEI KHING.
APPROPRIATE AT SOME SACRIFICE TO KING WAN, AND CELEBRATING HIS STATUTES.
Nothing more can, with any likelihood of truth, be said of this short piece, which moreover has the appearance of being a fragment.
Clear and to be preserved bright, Are the statutes of king Wan. From the first sacrifice (to him), Till now when they have issued in our complete state, They have been the happy omen of (the fortunes of) Kâu.
ODE 4. THE LIEH WAN.
A SONG IN PRAISE OF THE PRINCES WHO HAVE ASSISTED AT A SACRIFICE, AND ADMONISHING THEM.
The Preface says that this piece was made on the occasion of king Khang's accession to the government, when he thus addressed the princes who had assisted him in the ancestral temple. Kû Hsî considers that it was a piece for general use in the ancestral temple, to be sung when the king presented a cup to his assisting guests, after they had thrice presented the cup to the representatives of the dead. There is really nothing in it to enable us to decide in favour of either view.
Ye, brilliant and accomplished princes, Have conferred on me this happiness. Your favours to me are without limit, And my descendants will preserve (the fruits of) them.
Be not mercenary nor extravagant in your states, And the king will honour you. Thinking of this service, He will enlarge the dignity of your successors.
What is most powerful is the being the man:--Its influence will be felt throughout your states. What is most distinguished is the being virtuous:--It will secure the imitation of all the princes. Ah! the former kings cannot be forgotten!
ODE 5. THE THIEN ZO.
APPROPRIATE TO A SACRIFICE TO KING THÂI.
We cannot tell what the sacrifice was; and the Preface, indeed, says that the piece was used in the seasonal sacrifices to all the former king., s and dukes of the House of Kâu. King Thâi was the grandfather of king Wan, and, before he received that title, was known as 'the ancient duke Than-fû.' In B.C. 1327, he moved with his followers from Pin, an earlier seat of his House, and settled in the plain of Khî, about fifty lî to the north-east of the present district city of Khî-shan, in Shen-hsî.
Heaven made the lofty hill[1], And king Thâi brought (the country about) it under cultivation. He made the commencement with it, And king Wan tranquilly (carried on the work), (Till) that rugged (mount) Khî Had level roads leading to it. May their descendants ever preserve it!
ODE 6. THE HÂO THIEN YÛ KHANG MING.
APPROPRIATE TO A SACRIFICE TO KING KHANG.
Khang was the honorary title of Sung, the son and successor of king Wû, B.C. 1115 to 1079.
Heaven made its determinate appointment, which our two sovereigns received[2]. King Khang did not dare to rest idly in it, But night and day enlarged [1. Meaning mount Khî.
2. Wan and Wû.]
its foundations by his deep and silent virtue. How did he continue and glorify (his heritage), Exerting all his heart, And so securing its tranquillity!
ODE 7. THE WÛ KIANG.
APPROPRIATE TO A SACRIFICE TO KING WAN, ASSOCIATED WITH HEAVEN, IN THE HALL OF AUDIENCE.
There is, happily, an agreement among the critics as to the occasion to which this piece is referred. It took place in the last month of autumn, in the Hall of Audience, called also 'the Brilliant Hall,' and 'the Hall of Light.' We must suppose that the princes are all assembled at court, and that the king receives them in this hall. A sacrifice is then presented to God, with him is associated king Wan, and the two being the fountain from which, and the channel through which, the sovereignty had come to Kâu.
I have brought my offerings, A ram and a bull. May Heaven accept them[1]!
I imitate and follow and observe the statutes of king Wan, Seeking daily to secure the tranquillity of the kingdom. King Wan, the Blesser, has descended on the right, and accepted (the offerings).
Do I not, night and day, Revere the majesty of Heaven, Thus to preserve (its favour).
ODE 8. THE SHIH MÂI.
APPROPRIATE TO KING WÛ'S SACRIFICING TO HEAVEN, AND TO THE SPIRITS OF THE HILLS AND RIVERS, ON A PROGRESS THROUGH THE KINGDOM, AFTER THE OVERTHROW OF THE SHANG DYNASTY.
Here again there is an agreement among the critics. We find from the Zo Kwan and 'the Narratives of the States.' that the [1. This is a prayer. The worshipper, it is in view of the majesty of Heaven, shrank from assuming that God would certainly accept his sacrifice. He assumes, below, that king Wan does so.]
piece was, when those compilations were made, considered to be the work of the duke of Kâu; and, no doubt, it was made by him soon after the accession of Wû to the kingdom, and when he was making a royal progress in assertion of his being appointed by Heaven to succeed to the rulers of Shang. The 'I' in the fourteenth line is, most probably, to be taken of the duke of Kâu, who may have recited the piece on occasion of the sacrifices, in the hearing of the assembled princes and lords.
Now is he making a progress through his states; May Heaven deal with him as its son!
Truly are the honour and succession come from it to the House of Kâu. To his movements All respond with tremulous awe. He has attempted and given rest to all spiritual beings [1], Even to (the spirits of) the Ho and the highest hills. Truly is the king our sovereign lord.
Brilliant and illustrious is the House of Kâu. He has regulated the positions of the princes; He has called in shields and spears; He has returned to their cases bows and arrows[2]. He will cultivate admirable virtue, And display it throughout these great regions. Truly will the king preserve the appointment.
[1. 'All spiritual beings' is, literally, 'the hundred spirits,' meaning the spirits presiding, under Heaven, over all nature, and especially the spirits of the rivers and hills throughout the kingdom. Those of the Ho and the lofty mountains are mentioned, because if their spirits Were satisfied with Wû, those of all other mountains and hills, no doubt, were so.
2. Compare with these lines the last chapter of 'the Completion of the War' in the Shû.]
ODE 9. THE KIH KING.
AN ODE APPROPRIATE IN SACRIFICING TO THE KINGS WÛ, KHANG, AND KHANG.
The Chinese critics differ in the interpretation of this ode, the Preface and older scholars restricting it to a sacrifice to king Wû, while Kû Hsî and others find reference in it, as to me also seems most natural, to Khang and Khang, who succeeded him.
The arm of king Wû was full of strength; Irresistible was his ardour. Greatly illustrious were Khang and Khang [1], Kinged by God.
When we consider how Khang and Khang Grandly held all within the four quarters (of the kingdom), How penetrating was their intelligence!
The bells and drums sound in harmony; The sounding-stones and flutes blend their notes; Abundant blessing is sent down.
Blessing is sent down in large measure. Careful and exact is all our deportment; We have drunk, and we have eaten, to the fall; Our happiness and dignity will be prolonged.
ODE 10. THE SZE WAN.
APPROPRIATE TO ONE OF THE BORDER SACRIFICES, WHEN HÂU-KÎ WAS WORSHIPPED AS THE CORRELATE OF GOD, AND CELEBRATING HIM.
Hâu-kî was the same as Khî, who appears in Part II of the Shû as Minister of Agriculture to Yâo and Shun, and co-operating with [1. If the whole piece be understood only of a sacrifice to Wû, this line will have to be translated--'How illustrious was he, who completed (his great work), and secured its tranquillity.' We must deal similarly with the next line. This construction is very forced; nor is the text clear on the view of Kû-Hsî.]
Yü in his labours on the flooded land. The name Hâu belongs to him as lord of Thâi; that of Ki, as Minister of Agriculture. However the combination arose, Hâu-kî became historically the name of Khî of the time of Yâo and Shun, the ancestor to whom the kings of Kâu traced their lineage. He was to the people the Father of Husbandry, who first taught men to plough and sow and reap. Hence, when the kings offered sacrifice and prayer to God at the commencement of spring for his blessing on the labours of the year, they associated Hâu-kî with him at the service.
O accomplished Hâu-kî, Thou didst prove thyself the correlate of Heaven. Thou didst give grain-food to our multitudes:--The immense gift of thy goodness. Thou didst confer on us the wheat and the barley, Which God appointed for the nourishment of all. And without distinction of territory or boundary, The rules of social duty were diffused throughout these great regions.
The Second Decade, or that of Khan Kung.
ODE 1. THE KHAN KUNG.
INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN TO THE OFFICERS OF HUSBANDRY.
The place of this piece among the sacrificial odes makes us assign it to the conclusion of some sacrifice; but what the sacrifice was we cannot tell. The Preface says that it was addressed, at the conclusion of the spring sacrifice to ancestors to the princes who had been present and taken part in the service. Kû Hsî says nothing but what I have stated in the above argument of the piece.
Ah! ah! ministers and officers, Reverently attend to your public duties. The king has given you perfect rules;--Consult about them and consider them.
Ah! ah! ye assistants.. It is now the end of spring [1]; And what have ye to seek for? (Only) how to manage the new fields and those of the third year, How beautiful are the wheat and the barley! The bright and glorious God Will in them give us a good year. Order all our men To be provided with their spuds and hoes:--Anon we shall see the sickles at work.
ODE 2. THE Î HSÎ.
ODE 2. THE Î HSÎ.
FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS TO THE OFFICERS OF HUSBANDRY.
Again there is a difficulty in determining to what sacrifice this piece should be referred. The Preface says it was sung on the occasions of sacrifice by the king to God, in spring and summer, for a good year. But the note on the first two lines will show that this view cannot be accepted without modification.
Oh! yes, king Khang [2] Brightly brought himself near [2]. Lead your husbandmen To sow their various kinds of grain, Going vigorously to work [1. It is this line which makes it difficult to determine after what sacrifice we are to suppose these instructions to have been delivered. The year, during the Hsiâ dynasty, began with the first month of spring, as it now does in China, in consequence of Confucius having said that that was the proper time. Under the Shang dynasty, it commenced a month earlier; and during the Kâu period, it ought always to have begun with the new moon preceding the winter solstice,--between our November 22 and December 22. But in the writings of the Kâu period we find statements of time continually referred to the calendar of Hsiâ,--as here.
2 These first two lines are all but unmanageable. The old critics held that there was no mention of king Khang in them; but the text is definite on this point. We must suppose that a special service had been performed at his shrine, asking him to intimate the day when the sacrifice after which the instructions were given should be performed; and that a directing oracle had been received.]
on your private fields[1], All over the thirty lî[2]. Attend to your ploughing, With your ten thousand men all in pairs.
ODE 3. THE KÂU LÛ.
CELEBRATING THE REPRESENTATIVES OF FORMER DYNASTIES, WHO HAD COME TO COURT TO ASSIST AT A SACRIFICE IN THE ANCESTRAL TEMPLE.
This piece may have been used when the king was dismissing his distinguished guests in the ancestral temple. See the introductory note to this Part, pp. 300, 301.
A flock of egrets is flying, About the marsh there in the west[3]. My visitors came, With an (elegant) carriage like those birds.
There, (in their states), not disliked, Here, (in Kâu), never tired of;-They are sure, day and night, To perpetuate their fame.
[1. The mention of 'the private fields' implies that there were also 'the public fields,' cultivated by the husbandmen in common, in behalf of the government. As the people are elsewhere introduced, wishing that the rain might first fall on 'the public fields,' to show their loyalty, so the king here mentions only 'the private fields,' to show his sympathy and consideration for the people.
2. For the cultivation of the ground, the allotments of single families were separated by a small ditch; ten allotments, by a larger; a hundred, by what we may call a brook; a thousand, by a small stream; and ten thousand, by a river. The space occupied by 10,000 families formed a square of a little more than thirty-two lî. We may suppose that this space was intended by the round number of thirty lî in the text. So at least Kang Khang-kang explained it.
3. These two lines make the piece allusive. See the Introduction, p. 279.]
ODE 4. THE FANG NIEN.
AN ODE OF THANKSGIVING FOR A PLENTIFUL YEAR.
The Preface says the piece was used at sacrifices in autumn and winter. Kû Hsî calls it an ode of thanksgiving for a good year,--without any specification of time. He supposes, however, that the thanks were given to the ancient Shan-nang, 'the father of Agriculture,' Hâu-kî, 'the first Husbandman,' and the spirits presiding over the four quarters of the heavens. To this the imperial editors rightly demur, saying that the blessings which the piece speaks of could come only from God.
Abundant is the year with much millet and much rice And we have our high granaries, With myriads, and hundreds of thousands, and millions (of measures in them); For spirits and sweet spirits, To present to our forefathers, male and female, And to supply all our ceremonies. The blessings sent down on us are of every kind.
ODE 5. THE YÛ KÛ.
THE BLIND MUSICIANS OF THE COURT OF KÂU; THE INSTRUMENT OF MUSIC; AND THEIR HARMONY.
The critics agree in holding that this piece was made on occasion of the duke of Kâu's completing his instruments of music for the ancestral, temple, and announcing the fact at a grand performance in the temple of king Wan. It cam hardly be regarded as a sacrificial ode.
There are the blind musicians; there are the blind musicians; In the court of (the temple of) Kâu.[1] [1. The blind musicians at the court of Kâu were numerous. The blindness of the eyes was supposed to make the ears more acute in hearing, and to be favourable to the powers of the voice. In the Official Book of Kâu, III, i, par. 22, the enumeration of these blind musicians gives 2 directors of the first rank, and 4 of the second; 40 performers of the first grade, 100 of the second, and 160 of the third; with 300 assistants who were possessed of vision. But it is difficult not to be somewhat incredulous as to this great collection of blind musicians about the court of Kâu.]
There are (the music-frames with their) face-boards and posts, The high toothed-edge (of the former), and the feathers stuck (in the latter); With the drums, large and small, suspended from them; And the hand-drums and sounding-stones, the instrument to give the signal for commencing, and the stopper. These being all complete, the music is struck up. The pan-pipe and the double flute begin at the same time [1].
Harmoniously blend their sounds; In solemn unison they give forth their notes. Our ancestors will give ear. Our visitors will be there;--Long to witness the complete performance.
ODE 6. THE KHIEN.
SUNG IN THE LAST MONTH OF WINTER, AND IN SPRING, WHEN THE KING PRESENTED A FISH IN THE ANCESTRAL TEMPLE.
Such is the argument of this piece given in the Preface, and in which the critics generally concur. In the Lî Kî, IV, vi, 49, it is recorded that the king, in the third Month of winter, gave orders to his chief fisher to commence his duties, and went himself to see his operations. He partook of the fish first captured, but previously presented some as an offering in the back apartment of the ancestral temple. In the third month of spring, again, when the sturgeons began to make their appearance (Lî Kî, IV, i, 25), the king presented one in the same place. On [1. All the instruments here enumerated were performed on in the open court below the hall. Nothing is said of the stringed instruments which were used in the hall itself; nor is the enumeration of the instruments in the courtyard complete.]
these passages, the prefatory notice was, no doubt, constructed. Choice specimens of the earliest-caught fish were presented by the sovereign to his ancestors, as an act of duty, and an acknowledgment that it was to their favour that he and the people were indebted for the supplies of food, which they received from the waters.
Oh! in the Khî and the Khü, There are many fish in the warrens;--Sturgeons, large and snouted, Thryssas, yellow-jaws, mud-fish, and carp;--For offerings, for sacrifice, That our bright happiness may be increased.
ODE 7. THE YUNG.
APPROPRIATE, PROBABLY, AT A SACRIFICE BY KING WÛ TO HIS FATHER WAN.
From a reference in the Analects, III, ii, to an abuse of this ode in the time of Confucius, We learn that it was sung When the sacrificial vessels and their contents were being removed.
They come full of harmony; They are here in all gravity;--The princes assisting, While the Son of Heaven looks profound.
(He says), 'While I present (this) noble bull, And they assist me in setting forth the sacrifice, O great and august Father, Comfort me, your filial son.
With penetrating wisdom thou didst play the man. A sovereign with the gifts both of peace and war, Giving rest even to great Heaven[1], And ensuring prosperity to thy descendants.
[1. 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 the), have rest given to them, then Heaven is at rest.']
'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[1].'
ODE 8. THE ZÂI 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 [2], 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 Thâi Sze, celebrated often in the pieces of the first Book of Part I, and elsewhere.
2 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 Wû, in opposition to his father Wan.]
Enabling him to perpetuate them in their brightness as pure blessing.
ODE 9. THE YÛ KHO.
CELEBRATING THE DUKE OF SUNG ON ONE OF HIS APPEARANCES AT THE CAPITAL TO ASSIST AT THE SACRIFICE IN THE ANCESTRAL TEMPLE OF KÂU;--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 Shû, 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 Shû, V, viii. With the dynasty of Shang white had been the esteemed and sacred colour, as red was with Kâu, 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 [1].
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.]
ODE 10. THE WÛ.
SUNG IN THE ANCESTRAL TEMPLE TO THE MUSIC REGULATING THE DANCE IN HONOUR OF THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF KING WÛ.
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 Wû, 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.