Although Chow was an old country, 文王之什三之一 大家 詩經 大雅三 The [favouring] appointment lighted on it recently. Illustrious was the House of Chow, And the appointment of God came at the proper season. TITLE OF THE PART.一大雅, Part III. Greater Odes of the Kingdom.' Little can be added here to what I have said on the title of Part II. The rendering of 大雅 is not according to the literal meaning of ; but it is more descriptive of the odes, and more intelligible, than a literal translation would be. The term 'greater' is given to the pieces because of their comparatively greater length, and the themes of several of them, which are of a more exalted kind than those of Part II., being occupied with the history and the virtues of the ancestors of the House of Chow, and founders of the dynasty. The first eighteen pieces are 'the Correct Ya (正雅),' and are attributed to the duke of Chow. TITLE OF THE BOOK 文王之什三 之一 'The Decade of king Wan; Book I. of , Part III.' As in the last Part, the odes should be arranged in tens; and each Decade takes its name from that of the first ode in it. Luh Tihming observes that in this Book king Wan is the subject of the first eight odes, and king Woo, of the last two. Ode 1. Narrative. CELEBRATING KING WAN, DEAD AND ALIVE, AS THE FOUNDER OF THE DYNASTY OF CHOW, SHOWING HOW HIS VIRTUES DREW TO HIM THE FAVOURING REGARD OF HEAVEN, AND MADE HIM A BRIGHT PATTERN TO HIS DESCENDANTS AND THEIR MINISTERS ;-ATTRIBUTED TO THE DUKE OF CHOW, FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE YOUNG KING CHING. 王孫侯錫不王亹右。在王 孫子文哉已。合亹 子。文王周。陳 King Wăn ascends and descends, On the left and the right of God. 帝陟 文 左降。 2 Full of earnest activity was king Wăn, Extend to the descendants of king Wăn;- St. 1. Acc. to Choo, the first two and the | last two lines are to be taken of the soul or spirit of king Wăn in heaven; and to explain them otherwise is, simply, to explain them away. Maou makes在上inl.1=在民 上 'was over the people;' and 1.2='Oh! his E virtue was displayed to Heaven.' Then in 1. 7 he ascended and descended;' i.e., he did what was right in the sight of Heaven above, and what was good in the sight of men below. On 1.8 Maou says nothing; but Ching took in the sense of, to examine,' and interprets all the line-King Wan was able to see and know the mind of Heaven, obeyed it, and acted according to it.' Yen Ts'an, dissatisfied with these explanations, says, 'King Wăn's virtue was in accordance with Heaven. He ascended and descended, advanced and retired, as if he were always on the left and right of God, so that not a single movement of his was other than the action of Heaven.' The inadequacy of all these explanations of the text is sufficiently evident. Keang Ping-chang admits it in reference to 11. 7, 8, and adopts Choo's view, that the language can only be taken of Wan's spirit (以神言) But we must adopt it also in 11. 1,2. is simply is on high.' The writer is not territory so called, as I have related on the title of I.i.I; but Yen Ts'an is correct, as regards the spirit of the ode, in saying that it is the House of Chow, after and before its settlement in Chow, that the poet has in view. in 1. 4 is the 'appointment of Heaven' that the sovereignty of the kingdom should be in the Chow family. The statement that the appointment was 'new,' or 'recent,' shows that we should not translate by decree. On the use of in 1. 5, see on II. v. VI. 6. Maou obare to be serves that 不顯 taken as affirmative of and 不時 and. We may do this, or take the lines interrogatively. The -, 'at the proper time.' I translate both and by 'God.' The single term has that meaning, and the E, 'High,' is equivalent to the definite article. The one is the Elohim in Hebrew; the other is the Ha-elohim. St. 2 tells us how the blessing of Heaven rested not only on the person of Wăn, but extended also to his descendants and his ministers. In 1.1,亹亹=强勉之貌 the app. of H-# # thinking of Wan as over the people,' but in strong exertion,' In 2, reference to the wonderful attributes of character which made him the object of the divine favour. He is called 'king Wăn,' as having been kinged by the duke of Chow, after the subjugation of the Shang dynasty, when Woo in his old age received the appointment to the throne (Doctrine of the Mean, XVIII. 3);-not that he ever assumed the title of king himself. It was an error in the scholars of the Han dynasty to suppose that he did so, originating with Szema Tseen. The appointment of Heaven light ed on Wăn, but it took effect only when his son Fah became the sovereign of China as king.. Ll. 8-6. Ching is literally correct in saying that the history of Chow dates from the removal of Wan's grandfather, king Tae, to the 'good praise,' fame. In 3, is explained by , 'to diffuse,' 'to give.' The line is quoted, once and again, in the Tso-chuen and the KwohMaou yu, and always with instead of explains by, which it is much better to take in its frequent usage as an expletive particle, than to attempt, with Kang-shing to give it the meaning of 'to begin,' which it also has. It appears also more in harmony with the ode to understand God as the subject of than king Wan, as Ying-tah does;-so that the 熈穆以濟克生翼世之本 止。文 穆 寜濟生 王。 文艺王 思皇 之 士。支 顯顯世。 厥示凡 王楨國士猶世周 In the direct line and the collateral branches for a hundred generations. All the officers of Chow Shall [also] be illustrious from age to age. 3 They shall be illustrious from age to age, Zealously and reverently pursuing their plans. Admirable are the many officers 4 = Born in this royal kingdom. The royal kingdom is able to produce them,- Numerous is the array of officers, And by them king Wan enjoys his repose. Profound was king Wăn; Oh! continuous and bright was his feeling of reverence. Great is the appointment of Heaven! 上帝錫于周In 1.4.侯一 維 -as often., has no more meaning than 子孫, ‘sons and grandsons,'=descendants. The usual order of the terms is changed here for the sake of the rhyme. That no peculiar meaning is to be sought in the form of the expression appears from its recurrence in st. 4. This line is under the govt of 敷錫 or may be taken as St. 3 continues the subject of the officers of Chow, for the duke of Chow knew that only through their loyal attachment would the throne be secure. In 1. 2, 猶謀, ‘counsels. 翼-勉敬,‘zealous and reverent.' L. 3. is here an initial particle,—as in II.vii.IV. É– 美‘admirable L1.4, 5. The royal kingdom, is the kingdom of Chow,-both the original Chow, and the general dominions which the House had obtained through Wăn and Woo. L. 6. 楨一楨榦 one part for the whole of the wooden frame by which adobie walls are raised, so that the term has the idea of erection as well as of support. L1.7, 8. Choo finds in in apposition with L. 6. 'The root and the the branches' denote the eldest sons by the recognized queen, succeeding to the throne, and the other sons by the queen and by concubines. The former should be the kings, and the latter the nobles of the kingdom, through a hundred generations. The former would grow up directly from the root, and the latter would constitute the here only the idea of 'numerous;' Maou branches of the great Chow tree. L1.7,8. And not only the descendants of Wăn, but all the officers of the House of Chow should share in the favour of Heaven through him. 士,‘officers,' should have its most extensive application. 不顯 as in st. 1. 亦 may here have its force of ' also adds to that the idea of good deportment,-as in heaven, in his spiritual condition (文王 St. 4 returns to king Wan and sets forth his great virtue of (reverent attention' to his duties, 爾王裸裸靡侯于億之命。 祖。之 將。將 常。服周 孫 藎常于殷于服蒂 臣。服京。士周。 旣其孫 命。麗子。 無黼厥膚天 念。作敏。命 侯不商 There were the descendants of [the sovereigns] of Shang;– The descendants of the sovereigns of Shang, Were in number more than hundreds of thousands; But when God gave the command, They became subject to Chow. 5 They became subject to Chow. The appointment of Heaven is not constant. The officers of Yin, admirable and alert, Assist at the libations in [our] capital; They assist at those libations, Always wearing the hatchets on their lower garment and their peculiar cap. O ye loyal ministers of the king, through which it was that the dominion of the we must understand both the descendants of Shang and their ministers. They are described as 膚(一美) and敏(=疾), ‘admirable and active.' When they appeared at the court the remarks on them there. L. 3.假=大,orchow, they assisted at the sacrifices of the ‘great.’ Choo makes the line "The great appointment of Heaven rested on him;' but that term seems rather to be descriptive of the appointment of Heaven, and to have its usual force of admiration. L. 7. 麗=數 ‘numbers.’ In ll. 7, 8, the meaning seems to be more vivid if we take命 as I have done. 侯 一維,a , as in st. 2. Wang Taou says that both here and there it=y, a force which 維 sometimes has. 于周服服于周 St. 5, carries on the subject of the descendants of Shang, and concludes with an admonition, drawn from their case, to the officers of Chow. There is in the st. an element of proud feeling in the triumph of the author's dynasty. Ll. 3, 4. By殷(the previous dynasty was called indifferently that of Shang or Yin) t, I think king in his ancestral temple, which began with a libation of fragrant spirits to bring down the Spirits of the departed. The libation was poured out by the representative of the dead, and the cup with the spirits for that purpose was hand to him by some of those who assisted at the ed service; here it is represented as done by the officers of Yin. 裸一灌‘to pour out as a Choo defines 將 by行, and Ying libation.' tah, by 送; ;-we must take the two characters them. L. 6. 黼 together, with the meaning which I have given at sacrifices. The Hëa had used the 收, and 王無殷躬,命*殷克多德無 431 萬聲皇宜之駿配福永 念 邦無 命上殷 臭。上 易。不帝。之配 祖。 天問 無易。宜 未命。 刑之有遏 文載。虞爾 于師求厥 6 Ever think of your ancestor, Cultivating your virtue, Always striving to accord with the will [of Heaven]. So shall you be seeking for much happiness. Before Yin lost the multitudes, [Its kings] were the assessors of God. Look to Yin as a beacon; The great appointment is not easily [preserved]. 7 The appointment is not easily [preserved] Do not cause your own extinction. Display and make bright your righteousness and name, Have neither sound nor smell. Take your pattern from king Wăn, And the myriad regions will repose confidence in you. and also by way of warning. In ll. 7, 8, the used their peculiar cap;tby way of honour,省察使其所行,無不合於 writer turns to the officers of king Ching, and ad- 天理則盛大之福自我致 monishes and stimulates them. 藎一進‘to 之有不外求而得矣In ll. 5– St. 6. LL. 2–4. 聿 is merely the initial particle.厥德is not to be understood of St. 7 continues the admonition in st.6,con advance,' i.e., never to cease in the maintenance 8 we have the case of Yin again produced. See of their loyalty. Their ancestor,' of course is the Great Learning,' Comm. X. 5. See also king Wan. equivalent to 1.6 here. the Shoo, V.xvi, 8, on the phrase 配天 the virtue of king Wăn, but of that of the offi- verging, in the conclusion, from the officers of cers who are addressed; and 厥‘your., Chow to the person of king Ching himself. In 言 particle;配合,‘to is the particle; 配合, to match,to 1.2,遏,一色, (to extinguish,' = to ruin. In accord with;’命=‘the will of Heaven,' 1.3, 宣布‘to spread abroad; 昭明, to make bright; 問 = 聞, in st. 2. In 1.4, Choo says, 天理, heavenly principle: 自 有一页 ‘moreover; 虞 - 度, to cal a' as a matter of course,''this is the natural 1 way’As Choo expands ll. 3,4:一而又常自 culate,' 'to estimate’自天‘from Heav |