The Shih King, or, Book of Poetry Part 15

ODE 6. THE HSIN NAN SHAN.

HUSBANDRY TRACED TO ITS FIRST AUTHOR; DETAILS ABOUT IT, GOING ON TO THE SUBJECT OF SACRIFICES TO ANCESTORS.

The Preface refers this piece to the reign of king Yu; but there is nothing. in it to suggest the idea of its having been made in a time of disorder and misgovernment. 'The distant descendant' in the first stanza is evidently the princ.i.p.al in the sacrifice of the last two stanzas:--according to Ku, a n.o.ble or great landholder in the royal domain; according to others, some one of the kings of Kau. I incline myself to this latter view. The three pieces,

[1. These uncles and cousins were all present at the sacrifice, and of the same surname as the princ.i.p.al. The feast to them was to show his peculiar affection for his relatives.

2. The feast was given in the apartment of the temple behind the hall where the sacrifice had been performed, so that the musicians are represented as going in to continue at the feast the music they had discoursed at the sacrifice.

3. The transition to the second person here is a difficulty. We can hardly make the speech, made by some one of the guests on behalf of all the others, commence here. We must come to the conclusion that the ode was written, in compliment to the sacrificer, by one of the relatives who shared in the feast; and so here he addresses him directly.]

of which this is the middle one, seem all to be royal odes. The mention of 'the southern hill' strongly confirms this view.

Yes, (all about) that southern hill Was made manageable by Yu [1]. Its plains and marshes being opened up, It was made into fields by the distant descendant. We define their boundaries, We form their smaller divisions, And make the acres lie, here to the south, there to the east.

The heavens overhead are one arch of clouds, Snowing in mult.i.tudinous flakes; There is super-added the drizzling rain. When (the land) has received the moistening, Soaking influence abundantly, It produces all our kinds of grain.

The boundaries and smaller divisions are nicely adjusted, And the millets yield abundant crops, The harvest of the distant descendant. We proceed to make therewith spirits and food, To supply our representatives of the departed, and our guests;--To obtain long life, extending over myriads of years.

In the midst of the fields are the huts[2], And

[1. There is here a recognition of the work of the great Yu, as the real founder of the kingdom of China, extending the territory of former elective chiefs, and opening up the country. 'The southern hill' bounded the prospect to the south from the capital of Kau, and hence the writer makes mention of it. He does not mean to confine the work of Yu to that part of the country; but, on the other hand, there is nothing in his language to afford a confirmation to the account given in the third Part of the SU of that hero's achievements.

2. In every King, or s.p.a.ce of 900 Chinese acres or mau, a.s.signed to eight families, there were in the Centre 100 mau of 'public fields,'

belonging to the government, and cultivated by the husbandmen in common.

In this s.p.a.ce of 100 mau, two mau and a half were again -a.s.signed to each family, and on them were erected the huts in which they lived, while they were actively engaged in their agricultural labours.]

along the bounding divisions are gourds. The fruit is sliced and pickled, To be presented to our great ancestors, That their distant descendant may have long life, And receive the blessing of Heaven [1].

We sacrifice (first) with clear spirits, And then follow with a red bull; Offering them to our ancestors, (Our lord) holds the knife with tinkling bells, To lay open the hair of the victim, And takes the blood and fat [2].

Then we present, then we offer; All round the fragrance is diffused.

Complete and brilliant is the sacrificial service; Grandly come our ancestors. They will reward (their descendant) with great blessing, Long life, years without end.

ODE 7. THE PHu THIEN.

PICTURES OF HUSBANDRY, AND SACRIFICES CONNECTED WITH IT. HAPPY UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE PEOPLE AND THEIR SUPERIORS.

It is difficult to say who the 'I' in the piece is, but evidently he and the 'distant descendant' are different persons. I suppose he may have been an officer, who had charge of the farms, as we may call them, in the royal domain.

Bright are those extensive fields, A tenth of whose produce is annually levied [3]. I take the old

[1. Here, as in so many other places, the sovereign Power, ruling in the lots of men, is referred to as Heaven.

2. The fat was taken from the victim, and then burnt along with fragrant herbs, so as to form a cloud of incense. On the taking of the 'blood,'

it is only said, that it was done to enable the sacrificer to announce that a proper victim had been slain.

3. This line, literally, is, 'Yearly are taken ten (and a) thousand meaning the produce of ten acres in every hundred, and of a thousand in every ten thousand.]

stores, And with them feed the husbandmen. From of old we have had good years; And now I go to the south-lying acres, Where some are weeding, and some gather the earth about the roots. The millets look luxuriant; And in a s.p.a.cious resting place, I collect and encourage the men of greater promise [1].

With my vessels full of bright millet, And my pure victim-rams, we sacrificed at the altar of the spirits of the land, and at (the altars of those of the four) quarters [2]. That my fields are in such good condition is matter of joy to the husbandmen. With lutes, and with drums beating, We will invoke the Father of Husbandry[3] And pray for sweet rain, To increase the produce of our millets, And to bless my men and their wives.

The distant descendant comes, When their wives and children Are bringing food to those (at work) in the south-lying acres. The surveyor of the fields (also) comes and is glad. He takes (of the food) on the left and the right, And tastes whether

[1. The general rule was that the sons of husbandmen should continue husbandmen; but their superior might select those among them in whom he saw promising abilities, and facilitate their advancement to the higher grade of officers.

2. The sacrifices here mentioned were of thanksgiving at the end of the harvest of the preceding year. The one was to 'sovereign Earth,'

supposed to be the supreme Power in correlation with Heaven, or, possibly, to the spirits supposed to preside over the productive energies of the land; the other to the spirits presiding over the four quarters of the sky, and ruling all atmospherical influences.

3. This was the sacrifice that had been, or was about to be, offered in spring to 'the Father of Husbandry,'--probably the ancient mythical Ti, Shan Nang.]

it be good or not. The grain is well cultivated, all, the acres over; Good will it be and abundant. The distant descendant has no displacency; The husbandmen are encouraged to diligence.

The crops of the distant descendant Look (thick) as thatch, and (swelling) like a carriage-cover. His stacks will stand like islands and mounds. He will seek for thousands of granaries; He will seek for tens of thousands of carts. The millets, the paddy, and the maize Will awake the joy of the husbandmen; (And they will say),'May he be rewarded with great happiness, With myriads of years, life without end!'

ODE 8. THE Ta THIEN.

FURTHER PICTURES OF HUSBANDRY, AND SACRIFICES CONNECTED WITH IT.

Large are the fields, and various is the work to be done. Having selected the seed, and looked after the implements, So that all preparations have been made for our labour, We take our sharp ploughshares, And commence on the south-lying acres. We sow all the kinds of grain, Which grow up straight and large, So that the wish of the distant descendant is satisfied.

It ears and the fruit lies soft in its sheath; It hardens and is of good quality; There is no wolf's-tail gra.s.s nor darnel. We remove the insects that eat the heart and the leaf, And those that eat the roots and the joints, So that they shall not hurt the young plants of our fields. May the spirit, the Father of Husbandry[1], Lay hold of them, and put them in the blazing fire!

[1. The ancient Shan Nang, as in the preceding ode.]

The clouds form in dense ma.s.ses,. And the rain comes down slowly. May it first rain on our public fields[1], And then come to our private Yonder shall be young grain unreaped, And here some bundles ungathered; Yonder shall be handfuls left on the ground, And here ears untouched:--For the benefit of the widow[2].

The distant descendant will come, When their wives and children Are bringing food to those (at work) on the south-lying acres. The surveyor of the fields (also) will come and be glad. They will come and offer pure sacrifices to (the spirits of the four) quarters, With their victims red and black[3], With their preparations of millet:--Thus offering, thus sacrificing, Thus increasing our bright happiness.

The Seventh Decade, or that of Sang Hu.

ODE 1, STANZA 1. THE SANG Hu.

THE KING, ENTERTAINING THE CHIEF AMONG THE FEUDAL PRINCES, EXPRESSES HIS ADMIRATION OF THEM, AND GOOD WISHES FOR THEM.

They flit about, the greenbeaks[4], With their

[1. These are two famous lines, continually quoted as showing the loyal attachment of the people to their superiors in those ancient times.