7 The waters bubbling up make known How deep and strong the spring below; ΧΙ. The Shaou min; narrative, all but st. 6, which is metaphorical. THE WRITER BEMOANS THE MISERY AND RUIN WHICH WERE GOING ON, AND SHOWS HOW THEY WERE OWING TO THE KING'S EMPLOYMENT OF MEAN AND WORTHLESS CHARACTERS. The subject and style of this piece lead us to assign the same authorship to it as to the preceding one. "The writer," says one of the critics, 46 saw that nothing now could be done for the kingdom, and that the honoured capital of Chow was near destruction; but in his loyal and righteous heart he could not cease to hope concerning his sovereign. In the former ode he expresses his wish that the king would not disgrace his ancestors, and here that he would use such ministers as the duke of Shaou, A filial son will not refrain from giving medicine to his father, though he knows that his disease is incurable, and a loyal minister will still give good advice to his sovereign, though he knows that the kingdom is on the verge of ruin." 10 pitying Heaven, why see we thee Famine has come. The people flee, 2 See o'er the land Heaven's net of crime! Men idle, knowing not the time, Oppressive, perverse, fond of strife!- 3 Slanderers and insolent, the king Us to dread peril's brink they bring; 4 As when the dry parched grass we see So all things now to ruin haste. 5 'Twas merit once that riches gained; The case how different now! Troubles through all our time have reigned, Like grain unhulled those men in place! 6 Now empty stands and dry the pool;- So for those evils all around 7 When our first kings the throne received, Such ministers they had As Shaou's great chief, whom all believed. A thousand le, from States which came THE BOOK OF POETRY. PART IV. ODES OF THE TEMPLE AND THE ALTAR. Book I. Sacrificial Odes of Chow. SECTION I. DECADE OF TS'ING MEAOU. TITLE OF THE PART. This is simply in Chinese Sung ;-meaning, according to the Preface, "pieces in admiration of the embodied manifestation of complete virtue, announcing to Spiritual Beings their achievement thereof." Two other definitions are-"Songs for the music of the ancestral temple," and "Songs for the music at sacrifices." I have combined these two accounts of the pieces, though there are a few whose only claim to have anything to do with sacrifices is that they are found here. Of the pieces in the Second Book I will speak when we come to them. -It has been mentioned in the prolegomena that some of the pieces do not rhyme. This is probably the reason why they have not in this Book been divided into stanzas and numbered. TITLE OF THE BOOK. The pieces in this were all appropriate to the temple services of the kings of Chow; and they are arranged in sections, two of which contain ten pieces each, and the third. like the third Book of last Part, eleven. Yet all the sections are called Decades. Choo contends, in opposition to the older interpreters, and correctly in my opinion, that of the thirty-one pieces in the Sung of Chow, while most were made (or fixed) by the duke of Chow, there are some among them belonging to the reign of king K'ang (B.C. 1077–1050), and even of a later date. I. The Tsing mëaou; narrative. CELEBRATING THE REVERENTIAL MANNER IN WHICH A SACRIFICE TO KING WAN WAS PERFORMED, AND FURTHER PRAISING HIM. Choo agrees with the Preface in assigning the composition of this piece to the time of the sacrifice mentioned in the Book of History, V. xiii. 29, when, the building of Loh being completed, king Ching came to the new city, and offered a red bull to Wan and the same to Woo. Solemn and pure the ancestral temple stands. II. The Wei Teen che ming; narrative. CELEBRATING THE VIRTUE OF KING WAN AS COMPARABLE TO THAT OF HEAVEN; AND LOOKING TO HIM FOR BLESSING IN THE FUTURE. The Preface says that in this piece there is an announcement of the realization of complete peace throughout the kingdom; and the old interpreters referred it to a sacrifice to Wăn by the duke of Chow, when he had completed his Statutes for the new dynasty in the sixth year of his regency after the death of Woo. But neither the piece nor any ancient testimony authorizes a more definite argument of the contents than that which I have given. Heaven by a deep and ceaseless law To us he shows his kindness still. To be in concord with his will, So Latinè. By W. T. Mercer. Jussa profunda manent magni mandataque Cœli, The Wei ts'ing; narrative. III APPROPRIATE AT SOME SACRIFICE TO KING WAN, AND CELEBRATING HIS STATUtes. According to the Preface, these lines were sung to accompany the dance of king Woo, called Seang. That dance consisted in going through a number of movements, intended to illustrate the style of fighting introduced by Woo, and supposed to be described in the Book of History, V. ii. 7, 8. But, as Choo observes, there is no reference in the piece to the dance, and the imperial editors allow this, while at the same time they are unwilling to give up the old view, and accumulate authorities in support of it. But we can say nothing more about it than I have done above. The piece, moreover, has the appearance of a fragment. The statutes of king Wan are pure and clear; The Leeh wẵn; narrative. IV. A SONG IN PRAISE OF THE PRINCES WHO HAVE ASSISTED AT A SACRIFICE. The Preface says that this piece was made on the occasion of king Ching's accession to the government, when he thus addressed the princes who had assisted him in the ancestral temple. Choo views it as a piece for general use in the ancestral temple when the king presented a cup to his assisting guests after they had thrice presented the cup to the representatives of the dead. Ye brilliant and accomplished lords, Who with your help my worship crown, |