且平 依我 赫湯孫 穆穆厰聲 BOOK III. THE SACRIFICIAL ODES OF SHANG. I. Na. 淵綏烈鼓猗 。 那 商頌四之三 猗與那與置我桃 奏鼓簡 成。湯食 靴孫簡。置 旣 鼓奏衎我 聲。於和 淵假我靴 How admirable! how complete! Here are set our hand-drums and drums. The drums resound harmonious and loud, To delight our meritorious ancestor. The descendant of T'ang invites him with this music, That he may soothe us with the realization of our thoughts. Deep is the sound of the hand-drums and drums; Shrilly sound the flutes; All harmonious and blending together, According to the notes of the sonorous gem. Oh! majestic is the descendant of T'ang; Very admirable is his music. TITLE OF THE BOOK.-商頌四之三brated Tang, who overthrew the dynasty of Sacrificial odes of Shang; Book III. of Part IV. Here we return, for several odes at least, to the proper meaning of 頌 in this Part of the She, the character having the same meaning as in the title of Book I. Shang is the name of the second of the three ancient feudal dynasties, and remains still as the name of the small department of Shang Hea, and made himself master of the kingdom; inB.C. 1,765, (or B.C. 1,557, acc. to the Bamboo Annals). His descendants ruled in China, down to B. C. 1,120 (or 1,101), when Chow or Show, the last sovereign, was put to death by king Woo of the dynasty of Chow. Among them there were three, more particularly distinguished:-Tae-këah, T'ang's grandson and successor, who received the title of 太宗: T'ae-mow (B. C. 1,636-1,560, or 1,474-1,398) Chow in Shen-se. The ancestor of the dynasty was Seeh(), who appears in the Shoo as minister of Instruction to Shun. Whether he known as 中宗; and Woo-ting (B.C. 1,323– Shun is a disputed point. In the 14th generation | 1,263, or 1,273–1,213 known as 高宗).The from Sëeh was a Tëen-yih (天乙), the cele- | temples or shrines of these four sovereigns main received his investiture from Yaou or from Of how it is that we have even these, we have the following account. The viscount of Wei was made duke of Sung, there to continue the sacrifices of the House of Shang; but the govt. of that State fell subsequently into great disorder, and the memorials of the dynasty seem to have been lost. In the time of duke Tae ; tract the Spirit or Spirits sacrificed to, and secure their presence at the service. Ch'in Haou ; Ming dyn.) says:—‘The departed Spirits hover between heaven and earth, and sound goes forth filling all the region of the air. Hence, in sacrificing, the people of Yin commenced with a performance of music, wishing thereby to call the attention of the Spirits, who, hearing it, would perhaps come to be present at the service and to enjoy it.' I do not vouch for the correctness of this explanation; but the sacrifices of Yin or Shang did begin with music; and hence we have so much about it in this ode. L. 1. -as in i. [ii.] VI.; but I translate here- How admirable,' as we must take the terms as an exclamation of admiration B. C. 798-765), one of his ministers, Chingk'aou-foo, an ancestor of Confucius (Vol. I., proleg., p.57) received from the Grand music-m; Ying-tah). _,—as in II. master at the court of Chow twelve of the ficial odes of Shang, with which he returned to Sung, and used them in sacrificing to the former kings of that dynasty. This story rests on a statement in the 'Narratives of the States ( , art. 17)' by a contemporary of Confucius. As we have only five odes in the Classic, it is supposed that seven of those twelve had perished during the two centuries that elapsed between Ching-k'aou-foo and his descendant. Choo adds that in the odes that remain there are many lacunæ, and passages of which the meaning is doubtful, so that he could not presume to be positive in the interpretation of denotes the striking up of all the drums. M is defined by,—as in the translation. Ll. 4. Fj, —as in II. vii. VI. 2. The merit orious ancestor' is T'ang. LI. 5-12. L. 5. The descendant of T'ang' is the sacrificing sovereign. Ch'ing, erroneously insisting on as meaning 'grandson,' says we are to understand T'ae-këah. Maou takes = them. To the same effect is a remark of Fan Ch'oo-e on the 1st ode, that the student must deal with these pieces as in reading the Pwan-kang, so that the line 'The descendant of Tang performs this grand music.' Much better is it to take as =*, 'to come to,' and the Announcements in the Shoo, not insisting on the literal meaning of the text, but well satisfied if he can catch the writer's drift (I 者要當如讀盤誥不必以 文義相屬識其大 so that the meaning of is as I have given it, or, perhaps, stronger. L. 6 has per the critics very much, though Ching 可也)plexed Ode 1. Narrative. APPROPRIATE TO A SACRIFICE TO T'ANG THE SUCCESSFUL, THE FOUNDER OF THE SHANG DYNASTY, DWELLING ESPECIALLY ON THE MUSIC, AND ON THE REVERENCE WITH WHICH THE SERVICE WAS PERFORMED. By which of the sovereigns of Shang the sacrifice to which the ode refers was performed we cannot tell. He is simply spoken of as a descendant of T'ang.' Are we to take the piece as from him, whoever he was, or as narrative rather, composed by some one, probably a member of the royal House, who had taken part in the service? On the former view the several in the piece, and especially the in the last line got hold of what seems to be the correct view of it. In the Le Ke, XXVI. Pt. i. 2, 3, we are told how the sacrificer, as preliminary to the service, had to fast for several days, and to think of the person of his ancestor,-where he had stood and sat, how he had smiled and spoken, what had been his cherished aims, pleasures, and delights; and on the 3d day he would have a complete image of him in his mind's eye. Then on the day of sacrifice, when he entered the temple, he would seem to see him in his shrine, and to hear him as he went about in the discharge of the service. The line seems to indicate the realization of all this. The Complete Digest says on it -綏‧安也;思成言未祭而 but one, find an easy explanation, but on the 所思旣祭而若有形 other hand, I cannot conceive the principal in 接則所思者於是乎成矣 the sacrifice speaking of himself simply as 湯孫 or that he could say of himself 赫湯孫 as in 1. 11. I understand the whole therefore as narrative, and translate the personal pronouns in the plural. LI. 1-4. Sacrifices, during the Shang dynasty, were commenced with music; during the Chow dynasty with libations of fragrant spirits;-in both cases with the same object, to at 謂神命來格也. L1.7,8.淵淵 indicate the deep sound of the drums. and the clear, shrill notes of the flutes. LL 9, 10. These sounds were in harmony and blend ed together. being regulated by the music which came from the hall above the court. Of the music in the 之將 將。 。恪。 昔。懌嘉舞 庸 先○ 温恭朝夕 自亦 舞有奕 奕。 斁。 孫 顧執作。 在夷有萬 The large bells and drums fill the ear; The various dances are grandly performed. We have admirable visitors, Who are pleased and delighted. From of old, before our time, The former men set us the example; How to be mild and humble from morning to night, And to be reverent in discharging the service. May he regard our sacrifices in summer and autumn, hall only one instrument is mentioned, the king. L1. 15,16.客 -as in i. [ii.] III, et al.; only This, we are told, was not the ordinary king, or the term should here, perhaps, be taken in the sounding stone (石磬), which was among (玉磬玉球): I cannot describe it | singular, the visitor being the representative of the instruments in the court, but the 'gem k'ing the former dynasty of Hea. There may have been another also, the representative of the Family of Shun. L. 16 must be construed inare synonymous, more particularly. Ll.11,12. I have said I can not conceive of the sacrificer speaking, as in 1. 11, of himself. Këang says the line is in praise of T'ang, and not the sacrificer's boasting of himself (頌湯非自誇也); but that is a mere evasion of the difficulty. Ll. 13–16. The preceding paragraph is supposed to cover the offering of the sacrifice, and all the feasting of the departed T'ang through his representative. In this the service is draw ing to a conclusion. L.13.庸=the same cha racter with at the side, in III. i. VIII. 3. Both Maou and Choo say on 有 斁然盛也, meaning the richness and compass of the notes of the bells and drume There is nothing in the dict., under the charac ter, to give us this meaning of it; but Wang Taou observes that 斁驛, and繹 were an ciently interchanged. Either of the latter formis L1.17-20 celebrate the mildness and reverence of the sacrificer in all the service, showing him to be the true representative of all the great men of former times. Choo Kung-ts'ëen refers the 'former men' to such as T'ang, noted for his 敬;Yu, for his 祇; Shun, for his 恭; and Yaou for his 欽. The force of the 作一行 to practise,' must be carried on to the next line. 恪 =敬,‘to be reverent.. L1. 21, 22 are expressive of a prayer or wish (言湯其尙顧我 will suggest the meaning adopted here. L. 14.聲 有奕奕奕然有次序, deno ting the orderly gracefulness with which the 客 dances were performed. VOL. IV. t. 3 ; The rhymes are- -鼓,祖,cat.5,t.2;成 and cat.11; ..奕.. ,聲聲, cat. 5, 懌昔作.夕,恪, cat.10. 80 II. Leeh tsoo. 成賚載所及錫斯祖嗟 亦我淸○爾無站有嗟 有思旣斯疆申秩烈 Ah! ah! our meritorious ancestor! Permanent are the blessings coming from him, Repeatedly conferred without end: They have come to you in this place. The clear spirits are in our vessels, 烈祖 And there is granted to us the realization of our thoughts. There are also the well-tempered soups, Ode 2. Narrative. PROBABLY LIKE LAST Ode, APPROPRIATE TO A SACRIFICE TO T'ANG, DWELL- 自歌工 導達主祭 意也歌工自己身 祭者則日爾自先祖之身 指主祭者則日 of the three Honoured ones (中宗) among the 主 sovereigns of Shang. The imperial editors go at length into a discussion of the question, and say all that can be said in favour of the earlier view. But I am persuaded that Choo is correct. There is no getting over the 烈祖 of 1. 1, and the 湯孫 of 1.22. It would be very strange to have a sacrifice to T'ae-mow, and not a word in the piece in praise of him, which can be interThere is the same difficulty with the personal preted in any way of him, unless it be 1. 4. pronouns as in the former ode, and I can see no other method to dispose of it but that which I there adopted. The student can try if he can get any satisfaction from the following Fenafks of Lew Kin, who has on this ode endeavoured to cope with it:-The Sung odes all celebrate the complete virtue and set forth the accomplished merit of their subjects; but this is done by the singer (or writer), giving expression to the sentiments of the principal at the sacrifice. When from the stand-point of his own person he refers to that principal, he calls him "you." From the stand-point of the ancestor (sacrificed to), he calls him “ the grandson of T'ang." When he introduces him in his own person, he uses the first personal pronoun. It is one and the same person who is indicated by these different forms of expression. The case is the same in the previous ode. So in the Chow Sung, [ii.] VII., the writer, from the standpoint of his own person mentions the sacrificer as “the Son of Heaven " thon, as “the filial son,” also as here we have the grandson of | 之身而言 日我, 雖殊所指之人, 如上篇所稱亦然也 又如周頌詩既稱天子 則固自歌工之身而指主祭 者矣下文又稱孝子亦若 此詩稱湯孫也又稱予稱 我亦若此詩子我也 L1.1-4. 嗟嗟as in i.[ii.]I. I.‘The meritorious ancestor'is, with all critics, Tang,一 as in last ode. The 'Flower and Essence of the She' expands 1.2 into 烈祖眷顧後 人有常者此福‘This happiness with which our meritorious ancestor blesses his posterity is his permanent possession.' Being permanent, he could confer it on one descendant after another. The in 1.4 must be referred to the principal in the sacrifice with reference to which the ode was first made. On which of the kings of Shang he was, not even a conjecture can be hazarded. 斯所‘this place;' = in this place. His sacrificing to Tang in the ancestral temple was the greatest possible proof of his inheriting from him the royal dignity.-Of course those who hold by the Preface refer the ‘you'to Tae-mow; against all natural interpretation. Tang ;" and again we have the sacrificer speak- L1.5-12.酤-酒, spirits. These are ing in the first person just as here (mentioned here as for the purpose of libation, at 所以美盛德告成功而皆| the commencement of the sacrifice.載 indi 之○假降我鶿疆綏假 將。顧 來康受 我無羹。 饗 鷦 約箱 降 溥以輯 壽時 將。假 旣 戒旣平 無穰。自以衡。著有平。 Prepared beforehand, the ingredients rightly proportioned. Nor is there now any contention [in any part of the service]. He will bless us with the eyebrows of longevity, With the grey hair and wrinkled face, in unlimited degree. With the naves of their wheels bound with leather, and their With the eight bells at their horses' bits all tinkling, We have received the appointment in all its greatness, [Our ancestor] will come and enjoy [our offerings], May he regard our sacrifices in summer and winter, cates their being 'contained' in their proper Ll. 13-20. Ll. 13-15 relate to the feudal princes who were present and assisted in the service. Ll. 18, 14. See on II. iii. IV. 2, here being evidently equivalent to 瑲瑲 in of all the flavours in it. The same idea is re- 1. 9 there. L. 15. They indicates the object peated in the 4, and so the also must of the princes in coming to the court of Shang. refer to the soup as carefully prepared before- to offer,'=to take part in offering. In ll. 享, hand. Ll. 9, 10 are quoted in the Doctrine 16-20 the ode returns again to the principal in of the Mean,' XXXIII. 4, with 奏 instead of , and Choo adopts the former as the true reading, so that 鬷假-奏假 in 1.5 of last ode. The rest of the lines describe the stillness and gravity with which all the service was gone about. L1. 11, 12 express the blessing which T'ang, so worshipped, would confer. Comp.1.4 in II. iii. VII. 5. the sacrifice, as the descendant of Tang, rejoicing in the favour of Heaven, and the blessing which he would receive from his ancestor. 溥廣,‘wide;’將一大,‘great.' L.18,一 comp. in i. [i.] IX. The subject of 11. 19, 20 is Tang. 來一是, blending its meaning with the verbs that follow. Ll. 21, 22,-as in last ode. |