The Shih King, or, Book of Poetry Part 11

maintain Lu. He shall possess Kang and Hsu[1], And recover all the territory of the duke of Kau. Then shall the marquis of Lu feast and be glad, With his admirable wife and aged mother; With his excellent ministers and all his (other) officers[2]. Our region and state shall he hold, Thus receiving many blessings, To h.o.a.ry hair, and with teeth ever renewed like a child's.

9. The pines of Zu-lai [3], And the cypresses of Hsin-fu [3], Were cut down and measured, With the cubit line and the eight cubits' line. The projecting beams of pine were made very large; The grand inner apartments rose vast. Splendid look the new temples, The work of Hsi-sze, Very wide and large, Answering to the expectations of all the people.

[1. Kang was a city with some adjacent territory, in the present district of Thang, that had been taken from Lu by Khi. Hsu, called in the Spring and Autumn 'the fields of Hsu' was west from Lu, and had been granted to it as a convenient place for its princes to stop at on their way to the royal court; but it had been sold or parted with to Kang in the first year of duke Hwan (B.C. 711). The poet desires that Hsi should recover these and all other territory which had at any time belonged to Lu.

2 He would feast with the ladies in the inner apartment of the palace, suitable for such a purpose; with his ministers in the outer banqueting-room.

3. These were two hills, in the present department of Thai-an.]

II. THE MINOR ODES OF THE KINGDOM.

PIECES AND STANZAS ILl.u.s.tRATING THE RELIGIOUS VIEWS AND PRACTICES OF THE WRITERS AND THEIR TIMES.

The First Decade, or that of Lu-ming.

ODE 5, STANZA 1. THE Fa Mu.

THE Fa Mu IS A FESTAL ODE, WHICH WAS SUNG AT THE ENTERTAINMENT OF FRIENDS;--INTENDED TO CELEBRATE THE DUTY AND VALUE OF FRIENDs.h.i.+P, EVEN TO THE HIGHEST.

On the trees go the blows kang-kang; And the birds cry out ying-ying.

One issues from the dark valley, And removes to the lofty tree. Ying goes its cry, Seeking with its voice its companion. Look at the bird, Bird as it is, seeking with its. voice its companion; And shall a man Not seek to have his friends? Spiritual beings will then hearken to him[1]; He shall have harmony and peace.

ODE 6. THE THIEN PaO.

A FESTAL ODE, RESPONSIVE TO ANY OF THE FIVE THAT PRECEDE IT. THE KING'S OFFICERS AND GUESTS, HAVING BEEN FEASTED BY HIM, CELEBRATE HIS PRAISES, AND DESIRE FOR HIM THE BLESSING OF HEAVEN AND HIS ANCESTORS.

Ascribed, like the former, to the duke of Kau.

Heaven protects and establishes thee, With the greatest. security; Makes thee entirely virtuous.

[1. This line and the following show the power and value of the cultivation of friends.h.i.+p in affecting spiritual beings. That destination is understood in the widest sense.]

That thou mayest enjoy every happiness; Grants thee much increase, So that thou hast all in abundance.

Heaven protects and establishes thee. It grants thee all excellence, So that thine every matter is right, And thou receivest every Heavenly favour. It sends down to thee long-during happiness, Which the days are not sufficient to enjoy.

Heaven protects and establishes thee, So that in everything thou dost prosper. Like the high hills and the mountain ma.s.ses, Like the topmost ridges and the greatest bulks, Like the stream ever coming on, Such is thine increase.

With happy auspices and purifications thou bringest the offerings, And dost filially present them, In spring, summer, autumn, and winter, To the dukes and former kings[1]; And they say, 'We give to thee myriads of years, duration unlimited [2].'

The spirits come [3], And confer on thee many blessings. The people are simple and honest, Daily enjoying their meat, and drink. All the black-haired race, in all their surnames, Universally practise thy virtue.

Like the moon advancing to the full, Like the sun ascending the heavens, Like the everlasting southern hills, Never waning, never falling, Like

[1. These dukes and former kings are all the ancestors of the royal House of Kau, sacrificed to at the four seasons of the year.

2 Here we have the response of the dukes and kings communicated to the sacrificing king by the individuals chosen to represent them at the service.

3. The spirits here are, of course, those of the former dukes and kings.]

the luxuriance of the fir and the cypress;--May such be thy succeeding line!

ODE 9, STANZA 4. THE Ti Tu.

THE Ti Tu IS AN ODE OF CONGRATULATION, INTENDED FOR THE MEN WHO HAVE RETURNED FROM MILITARY DUTY AND SERVICE ON THE FRONTIERS.

The congratulation is given in a description of the anxiety and longing of the soldiers' wives for their return. We must suppose one of the wives to be the speaker throughout. The fourth stanza shows how she had resorted to divination to allay her fears about her husband.

They have not packed up, they do not come. My sorrowing heart is greatly distressed. The time is past, and he is not here, To the multiplication of my sorrows. Both by the tortoise-sh.e.l.l and the reeds have I divined, And they unite in saying he is near. My warrior is at hand.

The Fourth Decade, or that of Khi fu.

ODE 5, STANZAS 5 TO 9. THE SZE KAN.

THE SZE KAN WAS, PROBABLY MADE FOR A FESTIVAL ON THE COMPLETION OF A PALACE; CONTAINING A DESCRIPTION OF IT, AND PROCEEDING TO GOOD WISHES FOR THE BUILDER AND HIS POSTERITY. THE STANZAS HERE GIVEN SHOW HOW DIVINATION WAS RESORTED TO FOR THE INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS.

The piece is referred to the time of king Hsuan (B.C. 827 to 782).

Level and smooth is the courtyard, And lofty are the pillars around it.

Pleasant is the exposure of the chamber to the light, And deep and wide are its recesses. Here will our n.o.ble lord repose.

On the rush-mat below and that of fine bamboos above it, May he repose in slumber! May he sleep and awake, (Saying), 'Divine for me my dreams[1]. What dreams are lucky? They have been of bears and grisly bears; They have been of cobras and (other) snakes.'

The chief diviner will divine them. 'The bears and grisly bears Are the auspicious intimations of sons; The cobras and (other) snakes Are the auspicious intimations of daughters [2].'

Sons shall be born to him:--They will be put to sleep on couches; They will be clothed in robes; They will have sceptres to play with; Their cry will be loud. They will be (hereafter) resplendent with red knee-covers, The (future) king, the princes of the land.

Daughters shall be born to him:-They will be put to sleep on the ground; They will be clothed with wrappers; They will have tiles to play with[3]. It will be theirs neither to do wrong nor to do good[4]. Only about the spirits and the food will

[1. In the Official Book of Kau, ch. 24, mention is made of the Diviner of Dreams and his duties:--He had to consider the season of the year when a dream occurred, the day of the cycle, and the then predominant influence of the two powers of nature. By the positions of the sun, moon, and planets in the zodiacal s.p.a.ces he could determine whether any one of the six cla.s.ses of dreams was lucky or unlucky. Those six cla.s.ses were ordinary and regular dreams, terrible dreams, dreams of thought, dreams in waking, dreams of joy, and dreams of fear.

2 The boy would have a sceptre, a symbol of dignity, to play with; the girl, a tile, the symbol of woman's work, as, sitting with a tile on her knee, she twists the threads of hemp.

3. That is, the red ap.r.o.n of a king and of the prince of a state.

4 The woman has only to be obedient. That is her whole duty, The line does not mean, as it has been said, that 'she is incapable of good or evil;' but it is not her part to take the initiative even in what is good.]