PART II. MINOR ODES OF THE KINGDOM
BOOK I. DECADE OF LUH MING
LUH MING
1 With pleased sounds the deer call to one another,Eating the celery of the fields
I have here admirable guests;
The lutes are struck, and the organ is blown [for them];—
The organ is blown till its tongues are all moving.
The baskets of offerings [also] are presented to them.
The men love me,
And will show me the perfect path.
THE TITLE OF THE PART.—小雅, 二, 'Part II.Minor Odes of the Kingdom.' 'Odes of the kingdom'is not, indeed, a translation of 雅; but the phrase approximates nearer to a description of what the pieces in this and the next part are than any other I can think of. 雅 is explained by 正, 'correct'. Lacharme translates the title by 'Parvum Rectum,' adding—quia in hacparte mores describuntur recti illi quidem, qui tamen nonnihil a recto defiectunt.' But the pieces in this Part, as descriptive of manners, are not less correct,or less incorrect, as the case may be, than those in the next. The difference between them in that these were appropriate to lesser occasions, and those to greater.The former, as Choo He says, were sung at festal entertainments in the court; the latter at gatherings of the feudal princes, and their appearances at the royal court.
2 With pleased sounds the deer call to one another,
Eating the southernwood of the fields
I have here admirable guests;
Whose virtuous fame is grandly brilliant.
They show the people not to be mean;
The officers have in them a pattern and model
I have good wine,
Which my admirable guests drink, enjoying themselves.
3 With pleased sounds the deer call to one another,
Eating the salsola of the fields
I have here admirable guests,
The names 'small' and 'great', 'minor' and 'major', may have had reference also to the length of the pieces,and to the style of the music to which they were sung, and which is now lost; but we shall find that in the subject-matter of the pieces there is a sufficient ground for such a distinction. As the Fung, or the compositions in the first Part, were produced in the different feudal states, the Ya were produced in the royal territory. The first twenty-two pieces of this Part are attributed, indeed, to the duke of Chow himself,and are distinguished from those that follow as the odes of 'Chow and the South', and 'Shaou and the South' are distinguished from the other Books of Part I.As there were 'the correct Fung (正風)' and 'the Fung degenerate (變風)', so there are 'the correct Ya', and'the degenerate Ya'. It was proper to sing the Ya only on great and on solemn occasions at the royal court;in course of time they were used at the feudal courts,and even by ministers of the States, as in the services of the Ke family in Loo in the time of Confucius (Ana III. ii.); but this was a usurpation, a consequence of the decay into which the House of Chow fell.
TITLE OF THE BOOK.—鹿鳴之什, 二之一,'Decade of Luh-ming; Book I of Part II.' The pieces in Pt. 1 are all arranged under the names of the States to which they belonged. In the Parts, II., III., however,they are collected in tens (什), and classified under the name of the first piece in each collection. The only exception, in respect of the number, is the third Book of Part III.
Ode 1. Allusive. A FESTAL ODE, SUNG AT ENTERTAINMENTS TO THE KING'S MINISTERS,AND GUESTS FROM THE FEUDAL STATES.In the piece we read of 'guests' simply, but not of ministers or officers. Ying-tah says the officers becam the king's guests, when feasted as the ode describes.On this view the entertainment would not include envoys from States, which it does according to Choo He. The piece is referred, though not by Choo, to the time of king Wăn.
L1. 1,2, in all the stt. Maou makes yëw-yëw to be simply the cry of the deer, calling to one another;Choo makes it descriptive of 'the harmony of their cry'. Maou is wrong in identifying 苹, 'duckweed';—see on I. ii. IV. 1. The 苹 is, probably, as Williams calls it, 'a kind of celery';—'with a green leaf, white inside,and stalks like quills, edible both raw and cooked'. 蒿is, probably the male southernwood. 芩 is described by Maou merely as 'a grass'. It is a marshy plant, with leaves like the bamboo, a creeper. Cattle generally are fond of it, as well as deer. Williams, says,—'perhaps a kind of salsola'. From the deer browsing happily the writer proceeds to the guests and their entertainment.
St. 1, 3—8. 鼓瑟,—as in I. x. II. 3. 笙 and 簧,—see on I. vi. III. 1. 筐,—as in I. i. III. 1. The baskets here must be supposed to be filled with pieces of silk, or other offerings. 承=奉, 'to bear',= 'to bring in'. 將=行, 'to do'.—'The presenting of baskets of offerings is performed.'
For whom are struck the lutes, large and small.
The lutes, large and small, are struck,
And our harmonious joy is long-continued.
I have good wine,
To feast and make glad the hearts of my admirable guests.
SZE MOW
1 My four steeds advanced without stopping;
The way from Chow was winding and tedious.
Did I not have the wish to return?
But the king's business was not to be slackly performed;
And my heart was wounded with sadness.
This was part of the entertainment, the host signifying by his gifts his appreciation of his guests. The 之 in l.7 is merely expletive. 周行=大道, or 至道, 'the great', or 'the perfect way', the path of right and wisdom.
St. 3, l1.3—8. 德音,—as in I. xv. V. 1, et al. 視=示in last stanza. 恌=偷薄, 'to be mean'. 君子,—'officers,' in opposition to 民 of the line before. Both 則 and 傚 are verbs, of kindred meaning. 旨=美, 'good', 'admirable'.式 is to be taken as an initial particle,—as in I. iii. XI.敖=游, here 'to enjoy themselves'. Compare the last two lines in I. iii. I. 1.
St. 3, I1.3—8. 湛=樂之久, 'long continuance of the joy'. ='燕安, to compose', 'to soothe'.
The rhymes are—in st. 1, 鳴, 苹, 笙, cat. 11; 簧, 將,行*, cat. 10: in 2, 蒿, 昭, 恌, 傚, 敖, cat. 2: in 3, 芩, 琴,琴, 湛*, 心, cat. 7: t. 1.
Ode 2. Narrative and allusive. A FESTAL ODE, COMPLIMENTARY TO AN OFFICER ON HIS RETURN FROM AN EXPEDITION,CELEBRATING THE UNION IN HIM OF LOYAL DUTY AND FILIAL FEELING. There is certainly nothing in the ode itself to suggest its being composed for a festal occasion, and to compliment the officer who narrates his story in it. Both Maou and Choo,however, agree in the above account of it. It was not written, they say, by the officer himself, but was put into his mouth, asit were, to express the sympathy of his royal entertainer with him, and appreciation of his devotion to duty. There appear strikingly in it the union of family affections and loyal duty, which we met with in several of the pieces in Part I.; and the merit of king Wăn, to whose times it is assigned,shines out in the allowance which he makes for those affections.
Stt. 1, 2. 騑騑 is defined as 'the app. of advancing without ever stopping'. Choo takes 周道 as=大路, 'the great way'; Maou, as I have done in the translation.Acc. to this view, the ode must belong to the time when King Wăn was still endeavouring to unite the States in allegiance to the last King of Shang, in whose service the expedition referred to must have been undertaken. Williams says that 倭遲 means 'returning from a distance'; but that is not the meaning.
2 My four steeds advanced without stopping;
They panted and snorted, the white steeds blackmaned.
Did I not have the wish to return?
But the king's business was not to be slackly performed;
And I had not leisure to kneel or to sit.
3 The Filial doves keep flying about
Now soaring aloft, and now descending,
Collecting on the bushy oaks;
But the king's business was not to be slackly performed,
And I had not leisure to nourish my father.
4 The Filial doves keep flying about
Now flying, now stopping
Collecting on the bushy medlars.
But the king's business was not to be slackly performed,
And I had not leisure to nourish my mother.
倭 here= 'winding', 'tortuous'. The dict., in voc.,says that 倭遲, 逶迤, 委蛇, 威遲, and 委移 are all synonymous. I have followed Maou in the translation of tan-tan. Choo takes the characters as meaning'numerous'. 駱 is the name for a white horse with a black mane. The conflict of affection and duty appears in l1. 3, 4. L. 4.—see on I. x. VIII. 1. 啟=跪, 'to kneel'; 處=居 or 坐, 'to sit'. Anciently, there were no such things as chairs. People sat on mats:—if before a superior, kneeling, on their knees, with the body straight; if at their ease, they sat on the ground, leaning on a bench or stool. The two characters in combination signify—'to rest'.
Stt. 3, 4. Medhurst calls the chuy, 'a turtle dove', but it is a different bird from the 鳲鳩, and smaller. Yen Ts'an enumerates 14 different names by which it is called; but by none of them can I exactly identify it.It is said to be remarkable for its filial affection; and I have called it therefore 'the Filial dove'. This idea seems to be the basis of the allusion from it to the speaker in these two stanzas. P'ëen-p'ëen denote 'the app. of flying'.飛 must=飛上, 'flying aloft'.栩,—as in I. x. VIII. 1.
here is difft. from the willow tree of the same name in I. vii. 1. This is the 枸
, probably a kind of medlar,—as both Medhurst and Williams say. The finest trees of the sort are said to be in Kan suh, and Shen-se. Its young leaves, like those of a pomegranate tree, but softer and thinner, are edible.It grows in a bushy manner to the height of 3 and 5 cubits, puts forth purplish flowers in the 6th or 7th month, and produces a red fruit, longish like a date.One of its names is 'goats' teats, from the shape of the fruit. 將=養, 'to nourish'.
5 I yoked my four white steeds, black-maned;
They hurried away with speed.
[But] did I not wish to return?
Therefore I make this song,
Announcing my wish to nourish my mother.
HWANG-HWANG CHAY HWA
1 Brilliant are the flowers
On those level heights and the low grounds.
Complete and alert is the messenger, with his suite,
Ever anxious lest he should not succeed.
2 My horses are young;
The six reins look as if they were moistened.
I gallop them, and urge them on,
Everywhere pushing my inquiries.
St. 5. 驟 denotes 'a fleet horse'; 駸駸, 'the app. of its rapid course'. 是用=是以, 'therefore'. 諗=告,'to announce'.—This ode, with the 1st and 3d, are mentioned in the Tso-chuen, under the 4th year of duke Sëang, as sung at the court of Tsin.
The rhymes are—in st. 1, 騑, 遲, 歸, 悲, cat. 15, t. 1: in 2, 騑, 歸; 馬*, 盬, 處, cat. 5, t. 2: in 3, 下*, 栩, 盬, 父,ib.: in 4, 止,
, 母*, cat. 1, t. 2: in 5, 駸, 諗, cat. 7. t. 1.
Ode 3. Allusive, and narrative. AN ODE APPROPRIATE TO THE D E S PATCH OF AN ENVOY, COMPLIMENTARY TO HIM, AND SUGGESTING INSTRUCTIONS AS TO THE DISCHARGE OF HIS DUTIES. This piece also is referred to the time of king Wăn.
St. 1. 皇皇, —like 煌煌, in I. xii. V. 1. 原, as opposed to 隰, is defined by高平, 'high and level', 'a level height'. What flowers were to the heights and meadows, that the envoy was to the kingdom. Sin-sin expresses 'the app. of number and alertness'. Comp. 詵詵 in I. i. V. 1. 征夫 denotes the envoy and his suite.每懷靡及,—其所懷思, 常若有所不及, 'always as if he could not come up to what he purposes and thinks of'.
St. 2. In this and the following stanzas the envoy is introduced as narrating, himself, the energy and carefulness of his progress:—thereby he is admonished with what energy and care he should proceed. 駒,—'colts';—see I. i. IX. 3. The term indicates here that the horses were young and full of spirit. 如濡 denotes the fresh brightness of the reins. L. 3,—as in I. iv. X. 1, et al. 周=徧, 'everywhere'. 爰is the particle. 咨 and 諏 both signify 'to deliberate','to consult with'. Choo explains the combination by 訪問,—as in the translation.
3 My horses are piebald;
The six reins are like silk.
I gallop them, and urge them on,
Everywhere seeking information and counsel.
4 My horses ane white and black-maned;
The six reins look glossy.
I gallop them and urge them on,
Everywhere seeking information and advice.
5 My horses are grey;
The six reins are well in hand.
I gallop them and urge them on,
Everywhere seeking information and suggestions.
CHANG TE
1 The flowers of the cherry tree
Are they not gorgeously displayed?
Of all the men in the world
There are none equal to brothers.
Maou explains 周 by 忠信, 'with loyalty and sincerity',and says that 'to make inquiries of the good is 咨,and to inquire about affairs is 諏; but the view of Choo is much to be preferred. The envoy would get all the information which he could,—to guide him in discharging his duty, and to report to the court on his return.
St. 3. 騏,—as in I. xi. III. 1. 如絲 denotes the softness and pliancy of the reins. 謀,—'to plan'. Choo observes that 咨謀 is equivalent to 咨諏, the character being varied for the sake of the rhyme, here and in the other stanzas. Maou says the phrase means 'to deliberate about the difficulty or ease of carrying things into execution.
St. 4. 駱,—as in the previous ode. 沃若,—as in I.v. IV. 3. 度,—'to concert measures'. Maou says that the term means 'to deliberate on how affairs stand in regard to propriety and righteousness'.
St. 5. 駰 denotes a dark coloured horse, with white hair interspersed. 既均,—'are equally adjusted'.
2 On the dreaded occasions of death and burial,
It is brothers who greatly sympathize.
When fugitives are collected on the heights and low grounds,
They are brothers who will seek one another out.3 There is the wagtail on the level height;—
When brothers are in urgent difficulties
Friends, though they may be good
Will [only] heave long sighs.
4 Brothers may quarrel inside the walls,
But they will oppose insult from without,
詢—'talk about'. Maou says that 'it is appropriate to consultation with relatives'.
The rhymes are—in st. 1, 華*, 夫, cat. 5, t. 1; 隰, 及, cat. 7, t. 3: in st. 2, 駒*, 懦*, 驅*, 諏*, cat. 4, t. 1: in 3,騏, 絲, 謀*, cat. 1, t. 1: in 4, 駱, 若, 度, cat. 5, t. 3: in 5,駰, 均, 詢, cat. 12, t. 1.
Ode 4. Allusive and narrative. SETTING FORTH THE CLOSE RELATION AND AFFECTION THAT OUGHT TO OBTAIN BETWEEN BROTHERS. The Preface assigns the composition of the piece to the duke of Chow, saddened by the justice which he had been obliged to execute on his brothers, the lords of Kwan and Ts'ae. The ode thus came into use at entertainments given at the court to the princes of the same surname as the royal House. Some doubt is statement in the Tso-chuen, under the 25th year of duke thrown on this account of the origin of the ode by a He (B.C. 645), which assigns it to duke Muh of Shaou(召穆公), in the time of king Le (died B.C. 827); yet in the 'Narratives of the States (國語, 周, 中, art. 1)', the very same man, who assigns it this origin, quotes it as 'a poem of the time of duke Wăn of Chow'. There is nothing in the ode itself to guide us in adjudicating between these different views.
St. 1. The 常棣 is by most scholars distinguished from the 唐棣 of I. ii. XIII. This is the te properly and simply so called. Its fruit is eatable, and not larger than a cherry. I suppose, indeed, it is a kind of cherrytree. Both Maou and Choo take 鄂 as=外見貌 'outwardly displayed', and the line as interrogative, 不 being=豈不. Ch'ing K'ang-shing, on the other hand, took 咢as 'the calyx of the flower', and 不 (read foo) as=柎,'the foot or stalk of the calyx', saying that the calyx,glorified by the flowers, serves well to set forth the union of brothers, the younger serving the elder, the elder overshadowing and protecting the younger. Wuywuy means 'bright-looking', 'splendid'. 兄弟 is not to be confined to brothers of the same parents; it denotes all of the same surname, who traced their lineage to a common ancestor.
St. 2. Showing the value of brothers in times of greatest distress. 裒=聚, 'to be collected'. Choo understands it of 'the bodies of the dead'; but the 求 at the end suggests a less extreme case. The view I have adopted is put forth by Yen Ts'an, and Këang Pingchang.
St.3. Showing the superiority of brothers to friends in emergencies not so extreme. The 脊令 (in the Urhya, with 鳥 on the right) is the wagtail. 'Its head and tail,' say some, 'are continually moving in concert,just as brothers respond to one another.' 況 is taken by Choo as an initial particle. Others make it equivalent to 怳, 'to be fluttered'.—Friends are agitated, but they only sigh, and give no effectual help.
When friends, however good they may be,
Will not afford help.
5 When death and disorder are past,
And there are tranquillity and rest;
Although they have brothers,
[Some] reckon them not equal to friends.
6 Your dishes may be set in array,
And you may drink to satiety;
But it is when your brothers are all present,
That you are harmonious and happy, with childlike joy.
7 Loving union with wife and children
Is like the music of lutes;
But it is the accord of brothers
Which makes the harmony and happiness lasting.
St. 4. 鬩 is 'to wrangle'. 于牆, as opposed to 外 in l. 2, must=牆內, 'inside the walls'. 務 is explained by侮, which is found in the passage of the Tso-chuen referred to above. 烝,—an initial particle, as in I. xv.III. 1. The usage of 烝 here seems to establish Choo's construction of 況 in the preceding stanza. 戎=助, 'to help'.
St. 5. 友生=朋友, 'friends'. 生 here, as in other combinations, intensifies the substantive force of the preceding character. Some take the last line interrogatively:—不如友生乎. This brings out the same meaning as the construction of Choo, which I have followed.
St. 6. 籩豆,—as in I. xv. V. 2. 儐=陳, 'to set forth'.飫=饜, 'to eat or drink to repletion'. 之 is an expletive孺, 'a child', 'a suckling', is here used as an adjective,expressing such mutual confidence and complacency as exist between a child and its parents. The parties supposed to be feasted in the first two lines are friends
St. 7. Brotherly love is necessary to the completion and permanence of connubial joy. A brother should be more than a wife! Këang Ping-chang says, 'Brothers are from the same root, forming, indeed, one stem.翕=合, "union". Brothers, like the hands and feet,form one body, and should not be looked at as two individuals, like husband and wife, who are but the union of two surnames.'
8 For the ordering of your family,
For your joy in your wife and children,
Examine this and study it;—
Will you not find that it is truly so
FAH MUH
1 On the trees go the blows chăng-chăng;
And the birds cry out ying-ying.
One issues from the dark valley,
And removes to the lofty tree,
While ying goes its cry,
Seeking with its voice its companion.
Look at the bird,
Bird as it is, seeking with its voice its companion;
And shall a man
St. 8. 帑=子, 'a child', 'children'. 妻帑=妻子 in prec. st. L. 3 refers to the truth, as the writer deemed it, set forth in the whole ode. 亶=信, 'truly'. Ping-chang says here, 'If a man be generous and affectionate to his wife and children, while he is indifferent to his brothers, the generosity and affection are but the selfishness of human desire; but if he be generous and affectionate to his brothers, and carry on the same behaviour to his family, the generosity and affection are the justice of heavenly principle.'
The rhymes are—in st. 1, 韡, 弟, cat. 15, t. 2: in 2, 威,懷, cat. 15, t. 1; 裒, 求, cat. 3, t. 1: in 3, 原, 難, 歎, cat.14: in 4, 務*, 戎 (prop. cat. 9), cat. 3, t. 2: in 5, 平, 寧,生, cat. 11: in 6, 豆, 飫 (prop. cat. 2), 具*, 孺=*, cat. 4,t. 2: in 7, 合*, 翕, cat. 7, t. 3; 琴, 湛*, ib., t. 1: in 8, 家*,帑, 圖, 乎, cat. 5, t. 1.
Ode 5. Allusive. A FESTAL ODE, SUNG AT THE ENTERTAINMENT OF FRIENDS; INTENDED TO CELEBRATE THE DUTY AND VALUE OF FRIENDSHIP, EVEN TO THE HIGHEST. In Maou the piece is divided into six stanzas of six lines each; it is now arranged, more correctly, into three, each of twelve lines.
St. 1. 丁丁,—as in I. i. VII. Këang Ping-chang and some others understand 伐木 not of felling the trees, but of fashioning the felled trees for use, finding the idea of friendship in the combination of skill and strength for that purpose. But line 1 in st. 3 is inconsistent with that idea. A company of wooden, whose blows sound responsive to one another, serves well enough to introduce a company of festive friends. Ying-ying is intended to represent the voices of two birds calling to one another. Maou gives the characters, I hardly see why, the meaning of 'frightened', as if the birds were disturbed by the sound of the blows. I find,rather, in the mention of the birds a continuance of the allusive, or perhaps a metaphorical, element.
Not seek to have his friends?
Spiritual beings will then hearken to him;
He shall have harmony and peace.
2 Hoo-hoo they go, as they fell the trees.
I have strained off my spirits, till they are fine And the fatted lambs are provided,
To which to invite my paternal uncles.
It is better that something should keep them from coming,
Than that I should not have regarded them.
Oh! brightly I have sprinkled and swept my courtyard,
And arranged my viands, with eight dishes of grain, along with my fatted meat,
To which to invite my maternal uncles.
It is better that something should keep them from coming,
Than that there should be blame attaching to me.
L1. 3, 4:—See those lines quoted by Mencius, III. Pt. i. IV. 15, who moralizes on them in a manner not intended by the writer, though many of the critics here follow his example. I have followed Ying-tah in referring 聲 in l1.6, 8. to the bird on the tree. He says,作求其友之聲. 相=視, 'to regard'. 矧=況, 'how much more!' 友生,—as in the prec. ode. L1. 11, 12 tell thevalue and power of friendship in affecting spiritual Beings. 神=鬼神, such beings generally. The firs之is the expletive. 終 followed by 且,=既, as in I. iii. V. etal.
St. 2. 許 (hoo) 許 is correctly defined by Choo as 'the sound emitted by a number of people in putting forth their strength together.' L. 2. 釃 is the word appropriate to the straining off spirits through a sieve or basket to keep back all grains or other refuse. 有藇 denotes the appearance of the spirits so strained, 'clear and agreeable'. 羜 is a lamb, not fully grown, 'five months old'. 速=召, 'to invite'. The kings were wont to style all the nobles of the same surname as themselves 諸父, and those of a different surname 諸舅, as in l. 10. 適='it should happen'. 微=無,—as in I. iii. I. 1. 於 (woo),—a note of exclamation. 洒埽,—see on I. xv. III. 3. 簋,—as in I. xi. X. 2. The 'eight dishes' is expressive of the abundance of the provisions. So says Choo; and Yen Ts'an observes that it is of no use trying to illustrate the phrase from the institutions of the Chow dyn., which were formed subsequently to the time of king Wăn, when this ode was made. We are not to suppose that the viands (饋) were contained in these dishes. 牡is simply 'males'. Ying-tah would refer it to the lambs in l. 3.
3 They fell down the trees along the hill-side.
I have strained off my spirits in abundance;
The dishes stand in rows,
And none of my brethren are absent.
The loss of kindly feeling among people
May arise from faults in the matter of dry provisions.
If I have spirits I strain them, do I;
If I have no spirits, I buy them, do I;
I make the drums beat, do I;
I lead on the dance, do I.
Whenever we have leisure,
Let us drink the sparkling spirits.
T'ËEN PAOU
1 Heaven protects and establishes thee,
With the greatest security;
Makes thee entirely virtuous,
That thou mayest enjoy every happiness;
St. 3. 阪,—as in I.xi.I. 衍=多, 'much'. This is better than Maou's making it=美. L.3,—as in I.xv.V.2. 兄弟embraces all the guests mentioned in the preceding st.The king calls them all his brothers. L1. 5,6. Among the common people quarrels arose, because of their stinginess in the supply of the dry provisions of which their feasts were composed;—it was not for the king to be sparing in the supply of the richer food at his feast. There is a difficulty in believing that the king should speak l1.7—10 of himself, yet they cannot be otherwise construed. It breaks the unity of the stanza entirely to suppose, with Ch'ing K'ang-shing, that they are the language of the guests, praising the king for his favours:—'When he has [good] spirits, he strains them for us, when he has not, he gets others of an inferior order for us,' &c. At the same time, we need not suppose that the king did any of the things mentioned himself; but he caused them to be done for the entertainment of his guests. Seu=se in l.2. Koo=買,'to buy'. A comma must be understord after 酒 in l1.7, 8.Medhurst strangely translates l.8.—'There is no wine for me to buy!' 坎坎 represents the sound of the drum,and 蹲蹲 denotes the app. of the dancing. In all the last half of the stanza, the king, by the expression of his sympathy, encourage his guests to make merry.
Grants thee much increase,
So that thou hast all in abundance.
2 Heaven protects and establishes thee;
It grants thee all excellence,
So that thine every matter is right,
And thou receivest every heavenly favour.
It sends down to thee long-during happiness,
Which the days are not sufficient to enjoy
3 Heaven protects and establishes thee,
So that in every thing thou dost prosper,
Like the high hills, and the mountain masses,Like the topmost ridges, and the greatest bulks;
That, as the stream ever coming on,
Such is thine increase.
The rhymes are—in st. 1, 丁, 嚶, 鳴, 聲, 聲, 生, 聽,平*, cat. 11; 谷, 木, cat. 3, t. 3: in 2, 許, 藇, 羜, 父, 顧,cat. 5, t. 2; 埽, 簋*, 牡, 舅, 咎, cat. 3, t. 2: in 3, 阪, 衍,踐, 遠, 愆, cat. 14; 湑, 酤, 鼓, 舞, 暇*, 湑, cat. 5, t. 2.
Ode 6. Narrative. AN ODE RESPONSIVE TO ANY OF THE FIVE PRECEDING. HIS OFFICERS AND GUESTS, FEASTED BY THE KING, CELEBRATE HIS PRAISES, AND DESIRE FOR HIM THE BLESSING OF HEAVEN AND HIS ANCESTORS.
St. 1. 爾, 'thee' refers to the King. In l. 2, 亦 and 之are both particles, which we cannot translate. It is difficult to determine whether to translate保定 in the imperative or the indicative; but I conclude to adopt the latter mood. The ode is mainly one of praise; even stt. 4 and 5 must be translated in the indicative; and it is not till the last line that the imperative is more natural. 單=盡, 'entirely'; Maou defines it by信,'sincerely'. 厚, 'generous', 'faithful', 'honest', is here best given by 'virtuous'. 何褔不除,—'what happiness is not taken away?' taken away, that is, to be replaced by greater. 多益,—'much increase';—of every good, we may suppose, in himself and his kingdom.
St. 2. 戩=盡, 'entirely'; 穀=善, 'good', 'excellent'. 罄also=盡, 'entirely'. 宜 refers to all the king's doings as right. 百祿, 'the hundred emoluments'= all prosperities, all favours. 遐=遠, 'distant', 'long-during'.
St. 3, 興, 'to rise', 'to flourish'. I do not see why Choo should explain it here by 盛, 'abundant'. L1.3 and 4 should be connected with 1 and 2. 山 and 岡 give us the idea of the height of the hills; 阜 and 陵 of their mass.
4 With happy auspices and purifications, thou bringest the offerings,
And dost filially present them
In spring, summer, autumn, and winter,
To the dukes and former kings,
Who say, 'We give to thee
Myriads of years of duration unlimited.'
5 The spirits come
And confer on thee many blessings.
The people are simple and honest,
Daily enjoying their meat and drink.
All the black-haired race, in all their surnames,
Universally practise your virtue.
6 Like the moon advancing to the full
Like the sun ascending the heavens,
Like the age of the southern hills,
It is said, 'Land high and great is called 阜; when those dimensions are very large, 陵. L1. 5 and 6 go together.如川之方至,—'like the now coming to as of a river';giving the idea of the ever-continued progress and increase of the stream.
St. 4. 吉蠲 (=潔),—'lucky and purified'. The former term refers to the action of the king in choosing the day for the sacrifices, and the officers to assist in them; the latter to the bathings, fasting, and vigils,preparatory to them. 饎,—'the spirits, and other articles of oblation'. 為饎,—'you make, get ready, the oblations'. 享=獻,—'to offer'. This is done 'filially',because the service referred to was to the king's ancestors at the several seasons, in the ancestral temple. In the Chung-yung, ch. XVIII., we are told how the duke of Chow carried up the title of king to his grandfather and great grandfather, and appointed the sacrifices for all the earlier duke of the House of Chow. These are the 公 and 先王 of l.4. The same personages are the 君, or 'rulers', in l. 4; and 卜爾, 云云gives their answer expressed through their personator(尸), or, as we should say, the medium, in the service.With reference to this passage, the dict. defines卜 by予, and 賜, 'to give'. The promise in l. 6 is, of course,to the king's line, more that to himself.
St. 5. 之, in l1.1 and 3, is the expletive. By 神 is meant the king's ancestors, now existing as 'spirits'. 弔=至 'to come'; i.e., they are present, though unseen, in the temple. 詒=遺, 'to give'. 質=實, 'sincere', 'honest'.Maou explains it by 成, meaning that 'the affairs of the people are peacefully settled. L. 5 is a denomination of all the people. Choo explains the terms as in the translation; but the old interpreters take both 羣 and 黎as=衆, and by 百姓 they understand the heads of clans,
Never waning, never falling,
Like the luxuriance of the fir and the cypress;
May such be thy succeeding line!
TS'AE WE
1 Let us gather the thorn-ferns, let us gather the thornferns;
The thorn-ferns are now springing up.
When shall we return? When shall we return?
It will be late in the [next] year.
Wife and husband will be separated,
Because of the Hëen-yun.
We shall have no leisure to rest,
Because of the Hëen-yun.
who alone had surnames in those days. I will not say that their exegesis is not the better of the two.
St. 6. 恆 (read kăng, in the 3d tone) denotes the moon in her second quarter, going on to be full. 騫=虧, 'to fall', 'to become defective'. The first half of l.4 refers to the waning and decline of the sun and moon; the second to slips of the hill. 'The luxuriance of the pine and the cypress' is seen in the constant renewal of their leaves; and they are specified, rather than other trees, as being well known and evergreens. 承=繼,'to continue', 'to succeed to'. 或= 'some'.—'May there always be those who shall succeed to you!'
The rhymes are—in st. 1, 固, 除, 庶, cat. 5, t. 1: in 2,穀, 祿, 足, cat. 3, t. 3: in 3, 興, 陵, 增, cat. 1, t. 6: in 4,享*, 嘗, 王, 疆, cat. 10: in 5, 褔*, 食, 德, cat. 1, t. 3: in 6,恆, 升, 崩, 承, cat. 6; 壽, 茂*, cat. 3, t. 2.
Ode 7. Allusive and narrative. AN ODE ON THE DESPATCH OF TROOPS TO GUARD THE FRONTIERS ON THE NORTH AGAINST THE WILD TRIBES OF THE HEEN-YUN. This and the next two odes form a triad, having reference to the same expedition; this being appropriate to its commencement, those to its conclusion. The Preface says the expedition was undertaken in the time of king Wăn, when he was only duke of Chow, and was discharging his duty, as chief of all the regions of the west, to the last king of Shang. Choo denies that the odes are of so early an origin, and says that the 'Son of Heaven' in the 8th ode, must be one of the kings of Chow; but he does not attempt to fix the date more particularly.
As to the form of the ode, it resembles that of the second in this book. Though intended to encourage the departing troops, it is written as if it were their own production, giving expression to their feelings on setting out, and in the progress of the expedition, down to its close. A translator's greatest difficulty is to determine the moods and tenses which he will introduce into his version. 'The Complete Digest' says, 'The piece was made with reference to the time when the expedition was despatched, and the language throughout must be taken as that of anticipation (詩作於方遣之時, 大抵皆是預道之辭耳).' I have adapted my translation to this peculiarity.
2 Let us gather the thorn-ferns, let us gather the thornferns;
The thorn-ferns are now tender.
When shall we return? When shall we return?
Our hearts are sorrowful.
Our hearts are sad and sorrowful;
We shall hunger, we shall thirst.
While our service on guard is not finished
We can send no one home to enquire about our families.
3 Let us gather the thorn-ferns, let us gather the thornferns;
The thorn-ferns are now hard.
When shall we return? When shall we return?
The year will be in the tenth month.
St. 1. 薇,—as in I. ii. III. 3. 亦 and 止, here and below, must be taken as expletives. 作 describes the ferns as just rising out of the ground (生出地), when it must have been early in the spring. This gives the date of the first dispatch of the troops, which is thus allusively intimated. The two 曰 in l. 3 are expletives.Wang Yin-che says 曰歸 is simply equivalent to于歸. When the men were going away, they had naturally been anxious to have the date of their return fixed. We may translate曰歸 by 'as to our return', or interrogatively, as I have done,—after Yen Ts'an. L.4,—as in I.x.I.1, where the expletives are different. L. 5. A wife gives the husband a 室; a husband gives the wife a 家. L. 6. Choo simply says that the Hëen-yun were 北狄, 'wild tribes of the north'. The Shwoh-wăn does not give the characters, and elsewhere the same sounds are differently represented. Ch'ing K'ang-shing says they were the same tribe that in his days went by the name of Heung-noo (匈奴). I suppose the two names are imperfect phonetic expressions of the same sound, which we also have adopted in Huns. Wang Taou says that the Hëen-yun of Yin and Chow, the Heung-noo of Ts'in and Han, and the Tuh-keueh (突厥) of Suy and T'ang, all refer to the same tribes. Sze-ma Ts'ëen in his Record of the House of Chow, and of the Heung-noo, says that in the time of king E (B.C. 933909), those northern tribes became very troublesome,and refers to this ode as a composition of that time.—It is understood that this reference to the cause of the expedition is made by the troops in a public spirit,showing that they sympathized with the court in the necessity of undertaking it. L. 7.,—as in II. 2.
St. 2. I must believe that in this st. we have the words of a second detachment of troops sent off somewhat later than the former, when the ferns which,in st. 1, were only showing themselves, were now somewhat grown (柔). 烈烈 is descriptive of 'the app., or manifestation, of their sorrow of heart'. 戍=守, 'to guard'. The term denotes the service of troops stationed anywhere to defend territory from invasion.定=止, 'to be at an end'. 聘=問, 'to ask',—to inquire,that is, about the welfare of their families.
St. 3. We have here a third detachment sent off,when the ferns had attained their full growth. This view of three separate detachments is sanctioned by Ch'ing K'ang-shing and Ying-tah. The latter calls them the 一輩, 二輩, 三輩, sent off respectively in the 3d decade of the 2d month, the 1st decade of the 3d, and the 2d decade of it.
But the king's business must not be slackly performed;
We shall have no leisure to rest.
Our sorrowing hearts are in great distress;
But we shall not return from our expedition.
4 What is that so gorgeous?
It is the flowers of the cherry tree
What carriage is that?
It is the carriage of our general.
His war carriage is yoked;
The four steeds are strong.
Dare we remain inactive?
In one month we shall have three victories.
5 The four steeds are yoked,
The four steeds, eager and strong;—
The confidence of the general
陽 is here the name of the 10th month:—the sun was drawing near to the extreme point of its southern course, and the Yin principle ruled predominant in the year;—only, however, to give place to the Yang.On the eve of its extinction, apparently, the principle of light and heat, was 'like an embryo in the womb',about to make its appearance; and hence the month was named after it. So say all the critics. From the 10th to the 12th month, inclusive, was the conclusion of the year of st. 1. 疚=病, 'sick', 'distressed'. 來=復來, or 歸,'to come back'.
St. 4. The three detachments would seem here to be united, and marching with their general at their head,confident of great success. The Shwoh-wăn quotes l.1, with 薾 instead of 爾, defining the term by 'the app.of abundant flowering'.常 is the 常棣 of III. 1. 路=車,'a carriage'; here 戎車, 'a war carriage', as in l. 5. 君子must here=將帥, 'the general'. Choo explains 業業 by壯, 'strong'. We shall meet with the phrase again. 定居=安居,—as in the translation.
St. 5. Maou define k'wei-h'wei here by 強, 'strong';and in III.iii.III. by '不息', unresting. I have united the explanations. Choo says 依 is here equivalent to乘, 'to ride in'. we may admit this, but need not, in translating, depart from the ordinary meaning of the term. There is more difficulty with腓, which properly means 'the calf of the leg'.
The protection of the men.
The four steeds move regularly, like wings;—
There are the bow with its ivory ends, and the sealskin quiver.
Shall we not daily warn one another?
The business of the Hëen-yun is very urgent.
6 At first, when we set out
The willows were fresh and green;
Now, when we shall be returning,
The snow will be falling in clouds.
Long and tedious will be our marching;
We shall hunger; we shall thirst.
Our hearts are wounded with grief,
And no one knows our sadness.
CH'UH KEU
1 We proceeded with our carriages
To those pasture grounds.
'From the place of the son of Heaven,
Came an order to me to march,' [said the general].
Choo follows Ch'ing K'ang-shing, who says the character should be 芘, 'to shelter'. By 小人, 'the small men', the speakers denote themselves. 翼翼describes the regular, orderly, progress of the horses. 弭,—'the ends of a bow'. 魚 is here explained as 'the name of an animal, like a pig, found in the eastern sea, spotted on the back and green underneath'. Medhurst calls it a seal. Perhaps a porpoise may be meant. He explains魚服 as meaning 'fish skins, or clothes made of seal skins'; but 服 is here used in the sense of 'a quiver'.
In l. 7 it is doubtful whether we should read 日 or 曰. 棘=急, 'urgent'.
St. 6. Here the soldiers project their thoughts forward to the end of their expedition, or at least to the arrival of their relief. The 楊柳, called also simply 楊, is akin to the 蒲柳;—see I. vi. IV. 3. 依依,—'the app. of being weak and tender'; so, Yen Ts'an. 來,—as in st. 3. 思 is the particle.
So he called his carriage-officers
And told them to get the carriages all ready.
'The king's business,' [said he], 'is surrounded with difficulties
We must use despatch.'
2 We proceeded with our carriages
To that suburban region.
The banner with tortoises and serpents was raised,
And the ox-tails set up at the top of its staff;
霏霏 describes 'the app. of snow falling abundantly'.
The rhymes are—in st. 1, 薇, 歸, cat. 15, t. 1; 作*, 莫,家*, 故, 居, 故, cat. 5, t. 1: in 2, 薇, 歸; 柔, 憂, cat. 3, t.1; 烈, 渴, cat. 15, t. 3; 定, 聘, cat. 11: in 3, 薇, 歸; 剛, 陽,cat. 10; 監, 處, cat. 5, t. 2; 疚*, 來, cat. 1, t. 1: in 4, 何,何, cat. 17; 華*, 車*, cat. 5., t. 1; 業, 捷*, cat. 8. t. 3: in 5, 騤, 依, 腓, cat. 15, t. 1; 翼, 服*, 戒*, 棘, cat. 1, t. 3:in 6, 依, 霏, 遲, 飢, 悲, 哀; cat. 15, t. 1.
Ode 8. Narrative. AN ODE OF CONGRATULATION ON THE RETURN ON THE TROOPS FROM THE EXPEDITION AGAINST THE HEEN-YUN. While the old interpreters and Choo differ, as in the case of the prec. ode, as to the time to which they refer this, they agree in regarding it as specially designed to felicitate the leader of the expedition,—'the aweinspiring Nan Chung'. And so far they are correct. When the former go on, however, to make the general the principal speaker throughout the piece, hearing his words, e.g., in the whole of the first two stanzas, the difficulties of such a view are very great. Këang Ping chang has pointed this out; but when he refers the first personal pronoun mainly to 'the poet 詩人)' who wrote the piece, I cannot accept his construction. The soldiers of the expedition are the speakers throughout. They speak freely of their own toils and anxieties, while they glorify their general. At the same time they introduce his words, and the words of their own wives, in a manner which is perplexing and unartistic. composing the force of the expedition, or of the 1st
St. 1. L1. 1, 2. The 'carriages' here are those detachment of it. They proceeded to 'the pasture grounds', a considerable distance from the capital, and there waited till the other detachment should arrive, and the whole should be put in order for the march. To the distance of 50 le from the capital was called'the near suburbs (近郊)'; for other 50 le, the country was call 'the distant suburbs (遠郊)'; and beyond that were the pasture grounds, where herds of horses and cattle were kept. L1. 3, 4 abruptly introduce the words of the general, in which he informed the troops of the commission which he had received. We must identify the 天子 here with the 王 of l. 7, and other places. To make the 王 king Wăn, as Yen Ts'an and others do,is quite inadmissible. L1.5—8 give another abrupt turn, or rather two abrupt turns, in the composition of the stanza;—6 and 7 are narrative of the next proceedings of the general. 僕夫 is here defined by御夫, 'the drivers',—not of the general's war chariot, but of the baggage carriages. 載 is explained by 載其車以行, 'load their carriages for the march'. 謂 is active,'ordering', or 'and ordered', whereas in l. 4 it was passive, 謂我 being= 'it was said to me', or 'I received orders'. The last two lines give what the general said to the drivers. 棘,—as in st. 5 of prec. ode. 其 gives to the sentence a hortatory force.
St 2. L1. 1,2 relate to a second detachment of the force, which arrived at the suburbs, probably 'the distant suburbs', while the other was in the pasture grounds. L1. 2—6 describe various arrangements for the march to the enemy, and should be extended to both the detachments.
Did not it and the falcon banner
Fly about grandly?
The [general's] heart was anxious and sad,
And the carriage-officers appeared full of care
3 The king charged Nan Chung
To go and build a wall in the [disturbed] region.
How numerous were his chariots!
How splendid his dragon, his tortoise and serpent flags
The son of Heaven had charged us
To build a wall in that northern region.
Awe-inspiring was Nan Chung;
The Hëen-yun were sure to be swept away!
4 When we were marching at first
The millets were in flower
Now that we are returning,
The snow falls, and the roads are all mire.
The chaou was a banner with tortoises and snakes coiled round them emblazoned on it, the top of the staff being surmounted by a maou, which has been described, as well as the yu, under I. iv. IX. 斯 is the final particle.旆旆 is descriptive of the flags waving in the wind. L. 7 is taken of the general. 悄悄=憂貌, 'the app. of being sorrowful'. 況,—see on IV. 3.
St. 3. Here appears by name, the general,—a cadet of the Nan family; but we know nothing of him from any other source but this ode. The 方 of l. 2 must be the朔 or 北 (northern) 方 of l. 6. It is interesting to see at how early a period the idea of building a wall against the barbarians on the north originated, and began to be acted upon. 彭彭 is descriptive of the number of the chariots. 旂 was the name of a flag on which dragons were emblazoned, one over the other, heading now to the staff, now to the outer edge of the flag 交龍). 央央=鮮明, 'fresh and bright'. 赫赫= 'the terrible'. 襄 is defined by除, 'to take away'; and many critics suppose the last line to be in the past tense, and the whole stanza to intimate that the name of the general and the array of the expedition were sufficient to awe the Hëen-yun to submission without any fighting. L. 5 of the last stanza is sufficient to refute this notion. Wang Yin-che says that, here and in st. 6, 于 is to be taken as=是, 'to be'.
St. 4 bring us to the close of the expedition, and the progress of the returning march (comp. the last st. of the prec. ode); but as the critic Leu says,
The king's business was not to be slackly performed,
And we had not leisure to rest.
Did we not long to return?
But we were in awe of the orders in the tablets.
5 'Yaou-yaou go the grass-insects,
And the hoppers leap about.
While we do not see our husbands,
Our hearts must be full of grief.
Let us but see our husbands,
And our hearts will be at rest.'
Is smiting the Jung of the west.
6 The spring-days are lengthening out;
The plants and trees grow full of verdure;
The oriole's cry comes këae-këae;
[Our wives] go in crowds to gather the white southernwood.
the notes of time here make us refer the description not to the commencement of the march northwards, and the conclusion of the march home, but to the course of both routes. 思 and 載 are the particles. 塗=坭塗,'mire'. L1.5,6 must be construed in the past tense. 簡書refers, no doubt, to the orders from the court about the expedition, written, of course, in those days on tablets of wood.
St. 5. L1.1—6,—see on I.ii.III., the 1st stanza of which is all but exactly reproduced here. Instead of referring it, as all critics do, to the wife of the general,it seems to me much more natural to refer it to the wives of the soldiers, who then return in the last two lines to their great theme,—the general. 薄,—the particle, as in I.i.II.3. The 'western Jung' would be another barbarous tribe, lying more west than the Hëen-yun.
St. 6, contains the return. L.1,—as in I.xv.1.2 卉,—grass, and small plants generally. 萋萋, and k'ëaekëae,—as in I.i.II.I. L.4,—as in I.xv.I.2. 訊=問, 'to question'. Those who would be questioned—? Put to the torture—indicate, we may suppose, chiefs of the Hëen-yun; 'the crowd of captives (醜=徒衆)'—the multitude of their followers.
With our prisoners for the question and our captive crowd,
We return.
Awe-inspiring is Nan Chung;
The Hëen-yun are pacified
TE TOO
1 Solitary stands the russet pear tree,
With its fruit so bright.
And the days are prolonged with us one after another.
The king's business must not be slackly performed,
The sun and moon are in the tenth month.
My woman's heart is wounded;
My soldier might have leisure [to return]!
2 Solitary stands the russet pear tree,
With its leaves so luxuriant.
夷=平, 'to be pacified',—reduced to subjection
The rhymes are—in st. 1, 牧* (read mih) 來, 載, 棘, cat. 1, t. 3: in 2, 郊, 旐, 旄, cat. 2; 旆, 瘁, cat. 15, t.3: in 3, 方, 彭*, 央, 方, 襄, cat. 10: in 4, 華*, 塗*, 居, 書, cat.5, t. 1: in 5, 蟲, 螽, 忡, 降, 仲, 戎, cat. 9: in 6, 遲, 萋, 喈,祁, 歸, 夷, cat. 15, t. 1.
Ode 9. Narrative. AN ODE OF CONGRATULATION, SPECIALLY INTENDED FOR THE TROOPS ON THEIR RETURN FROM THE EXPEDITION AGAINST THE HEEN-YUN. The congratulation is given in a description of the anxiety and longing of the soldiers' wives for their return. I have supposed that one lady speaks throughout, which imparts to the piece more vividness and interest. Choo takes all the stanzas as narrative; zhangfangcn copyr-infringement redalert but the old interpreters make the first two allusive. It is not worth while discussing the point.
St. 1. L.1,—see I.x.VI. L.2. Choo, after Maou, defines 睆 by 實貌, 'the app. of the fruit', without saying what that appearance is. The term has the meanings of 'bright', 'beautiful'. Both in l1.1,2, 有must be taken with the characters that follow it in its descriptive use. The pears would be ripe towards the end of the year,—in the 10th month of l.5. It was not then time for the troops to return, but their wives fancy they might have leisure to do so, as the season would suspend their operations. 嗣=續, 'to continue'; syn. with 繼. 陽,—as in VII.3. I translate 女心, 'my woman's heart', because 我 takes the place of 女 in the next stanza. 征夫 must here be restricted to the soldiers, or rather to the husband of the speaker, her'conquering hero',—difft. from the phrase in III.1. The last line must be taken as a wish (望之之辭; Yen Ts'an). The 止 are all the final particle
St. 2. L1. 1,2. The winter has gone. It is spring again; but the troops still do not return, though the time for their doing so was come.
The king's business must not be slackly performed,
And my heart is wounded and sad.
The plants and trees are luxuriant,
But my heart is sad.
O that my soldier might return!
3 I ascended that hill in the north,
To gather the medlars.
The king's business must not be slackly performed,
And our parents are made sorrowful.
His chariot of sandal wood must be damaged;
His four horses must be worn out;
My soldier cannot be far off.
4 They have not packed up, they do not come;
My sorrowing heart is greatly distressed.
The time is past, and he is not here,
To the multiplication of my sorrows.
Both by the tortoise shell and the reeds have I divined,
And they unite in saying he is near.
My soldier is at hand!
征夫歸止=征夫可以歸也, 'my soldier might be returned'.
St. 3. L. 2. 言 is the initial particle.
,—as in II.4.L.4. The parents here are the husband's parents, the舅姑 of the wife. She speaks of them as her parents,having become a daughter of the family. 檀車,—see on L.ix.VI.1. 幝幝 is descriptive of the carriages as much worn and damaged (敝貌); and 痯痯, of the horses, as jaded (罷貌).
NAN KAE
St. 4. 匪=不, 'not', 載,—as in st.1 of last ode. Yingtah takes this line interrogatively. The meaning is the same. 逝=往, 'is gone by'. 而,—here=乃, 'and so it is that'. Wang Yin-che explains the line by 乃為憂. 卜,—to divine by burning the tortoise shell; 筮, by manipulating the reeds. 偕 has a verbal force, unless we carry it on to the next line;—'both together agree it saying'. The rhymes are—in st. 1, 杜, 監, cat. 5, t. 2; 實, 日, cat. 12, t. 3; 陽, 傷, 遑, cat. 10: in 2, 杜, 盬; 萋, 悲,萋,悲, 歸, cat. 15, t. 1: in 3,
, 母*, cat. 1, t. 2; 幝, 痯, 遠,cat. 14: in 4, 來, 疚*, cat.1, t.1; 至*, 恤, cat. 12, t. 3; 偕,近, (prop. cat. 13; but Koo-she contends it has here its original pronunciation) 邇*, cat. 15, t. 2.
Ode 10. This is one of the six odes, which are commonly spoken of as having been lost. Choo, however, contends that they were only the names of tunes, played on the organ, and never were pieces to be sung. Before this time, moreover, the 3d ode of the next Book was the 10th of this Book. For the grounds on which he changed the order of the pieces, and maintained that 'the lost pieces' were only names of tunes, see on the 1st and 2d odes of next Book. According to 'the Little Preface', the subject of the Nan-kae was—'Filial sons admonishing one another on the duty of supporting their parents'.