The trees were felled, and hewn exact.
The workmen, with the nicest tact,
Using of various lengths the line,
Projected far the beams of pine,
While rose the inner chambers great.
Grand are those temples of the State,
New built, the work of He-sze skilled,
So wide, so deep, that all are filled
With admiration of his art !

How well has He-sze done his part!

BOOK III.

THE SACRIFICIAL ODES OF SHANG.

HERE the term Sung has again the same meaning as in Book i. Shang was the name of the second of the three ancient dynasties, which ruled over feudal China, and remains still in the small department of Shang Chow in Shen-se. The ancestor of this dynasty was Seeh, who appears in the Book of History as minister of Instruction to Shun. Whether he received his investiture from Yaou or from Shun is a disputed point. In the 14th generation from Seeh was a T'een-yih, the celebrated T'ang, who overthrew the dynasty of Hea, and made himself master of the kingdom in B.C. 1765, according to the common chronology. His descendants ruled in China, down to B.C. 1120, 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 :-Tang's grandson and successor, T'ae-këah, who received the title of T'ae-tsung; T'ae-mow (B.C. 1636-1560), known as Chung-tsung; and Woo-ting (B.C. 1323-1263), known as Kaou-tsung. The temples or shrines of these four sovereigns maintained their place in the ancestral temple of the dynasty after their first establishment; and if all its sacrificial odes had been preserved, they would nearly all have been in praise of one or other of them. But at least all those of which Tae-tsung was the subject were lost. Of the others we have only a small portion,-five pieces in all.

Of how it is that we have these we have the following account. The viscount of Wei, as has been stated on i. [ii.] IX., was made viscount of Sung, there to continue the sacrifices of the House of Shang; but the government of that State fell subsequently into disorder, and the memorials of the Shang dynasty seem to have been lost. In the time of duke Tae (B.C. 798-765), one of his ministers, a scion of the ducal House, and an ancestor of Confucius, styled Ching-k'aou-foo, received from the Grand Music-master at the court of Chow twelve of the sacrificial odes of Shang, with which he returned to Sung; and they were used in sacrificing to the old kings of the dynasty. As we have only five pieces in this Book, it is supposed that seven of those twelve were lost during the rather more than two centuries that elapsed between Ching-k'aou-foo and his great descendant.

I.

The Na; narrative. APPROPRIATE TO A SACRIFICE TO T'ANG THE SUCCESSFUL, THE REAL 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 that the piece describes was performed we cannot tell. The music is more prominent than in most of the sacrificial odes of Chow, because during the Chow dynasty, sacrifices commenced with libations of fragrant spirits, and under Shang with music. "The departed Spirits," it is said, "hover between heaven and earth, and sound goes forth filling all the region of the air.

Hence

in sacrificing, the people of Yin (i.e., of Shang) 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."

O grand! the drums, both large and for the hand,
Complete in number, here in order stand.

Their tones, though loud, harmoniously are blent,
And rise to greet our ancestor's descent.

Him, the great T'ang, of merit vast, our king
Asks by this music to descend, and bring
To us, the worshippers, the soothing sense
That he, the object of desire intense,

Is here. Deep are the sounds the drums emit,
And now we hear the flutes, which shrilly fit
Into the diapason :-concord great,
Which the sonorous gem doth regulate!
Majestic is our king of T'ang's great line,
Whose instruments such qualities combine.

Large bells we hear, which with the drums have place,
While in the court the dancers move with grace.
Scions of ancient kings the service view,
Pleased and delighted, guests of goodness true.
Such service we received from former days,

Down from our sires, who showed us virtue's ways,-
How to be meek and mild, from morn to night,
And reverently discharge our parts aright.

May T'ang accept the rites his son thus pays,
As round the summer comes, and autumn days!

II.

The Lech tsoo; narrative. APPROPRIATE, PROBABLY, LIKE THE LAST PIECE, TO A SACRIFICE TO T'ANG,-DWELLING ON THE SPIRITS, THE SOUPS, AND THE GRAVITY OF THE SERVICE, AND ON THE ASSISTING PRINCES.

It is the view of Choo He that this piece was used at a sacrifice to T'ang, and I am persuaded the view is correct. The Preface says that it was sung in sacrificing to Tae-mow, the second of the Honoured Ones (Chung Tsung), mentioned in the note on the title of the Book. But it would be strange if we had a sacrifice to Tae-mow, and not a word in the hymn used at it in praise of him, or that can in any way be fairly interpreted of him.

Ah! from our sire, whose merit vast we own,
What blessings ever upon us come down,
Abiding, oft-repeated, deeds of grace!
And you, O king, receive them in this place.

Here in our vessels shine the spirits clear,
And Tang himself, much wished for, shall appear.
Here too are set the soups of flavour rare,
Tempered, and mixed, with cunning and with care.
These offerings we set forth, without a word,
Without contention, and with one accord,
To beg the presence of the honoured lord.
He will the eye-brows of long life confer,
And face of wrinkled age, and whitening hair.

With yokes adorned, and naves with leather bound,
While at the bits the eight bells tinkling sound,
The feudal princes come, to take their part
In all the offerings made with rev'rent heart.
To us the mighty sovereignty was given;

And prosperous fortune long sent down from Heaven
Our fruitful harvests clearly prove.

And now

Himself pleased with our service T'ang will show,
And on us blessings without end bestow.

May Tang regard the rites his son thus pays,
As round the summer comes, and autumn days!

III.

The Heuen nëaou; narrative. APPROPRIATE TO A SACRIFICE IN THE ANCESTRAL TEMPLE OF SHANG-INTENDED SPECIALLY TO DO HONOUR TO THE KING WOO-TING AND THE CELEBRATING MONARCH.

Reference has been made to Seeh in the preliminary note. His mother, it is said, belonged to the harem of the ancient emperor K'uh, and was named Keen-teih. The legends about the manner of Seeh's conception are various. According to Sze-ma Ts'ëen and others, Keen-teih was bathing

in an open place, when a swallow suddenly made its appearance and dropt an egg, which she took and swallowed; and from this came the birth of Seeh. Compare the legend about How-tseih in III. ii. I. The imperial editors say that we need not believe the legends;-the important point is to believe that the birth of Seeh was specially ordered by Heaven.

King, towards the end of the piece, was the name, it is supposed, of a hill near the capital of Shang, to which it served as a shelter and defence.

By Heaven sent down, the swallow came to earth,
And gave to our great Seeh his mystic birth.
The sire of Shang, his children long abode
In Yin-land, waxing great. Thereafter God
Gave to the martial T'ang His charge, that he
Should to each State assign its boundary.

T'ang grandly thus possessed the regions nine,
And to each quarter did its lords assign.

First lord of Shang, the sovereign power who swayed,
He got his charge, certain and stable made.
Thus to our king the throne Woo-ting conveyed.

Woo-ting's descendant is a martial king,
Whose powers, however taxed, still victory bring.
Ten lords, whose chariots dragon banners grace,
His millet dishes in due order place.

A thousand le extends the king's domain,
And there the people to repose are fain.

Lo! to the four seas thence our borders spread,
And from the space within there come to aid
Our temple service many chiefs arrayed.

Our hill of King for border has the Ho.

'Twas right the sovereignty to Shang should go; And from its ruler now all honours flow.

IV.

The Chang fah; narrative. CELEBRATING SEEH, THE ANCESTOR OF THE HOUSE OF SHANG; SEANG-TOO, HIS GRANDSON; T'ANG, THE FOUNDER OF THE DYNASTY; AND E YIN, TANG'S CHIEF ADVISER.

It does not appear on occasion of what sacrifice this piece was made. The Preface says it was on occasion of the great Te sacrifice, when the principal object of honour would be the emperor K'uh, with Sëeh as his cor