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Front Page  Titles (by Subject) BOOK I.: THE WĂN WONG DECADE. * - The Shi King, the Old Poetry Classic of the Chinese
BOOK I.: THE “WĂN WONG” DECADE. * - Misc (Confucian School), The Shi King, the Old “Poetry Classic” of the Chinese [1891]Edition used:The Shi King, the Old “Poetry Classic” of the Chinese. A Close Metrical Translation, with Annotations by William Jennings (London: George Routledge and Sons, 1891).
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BOOK I.
THE “WĂN WONG” DECADE.
III. i. 1.
KING WĂN, THE FOUNDER AND EXAMPLE OF THE LINE OF CHOW.
-
- King Wăn is now on high. And oh
- What glory his in Heaven!
- Old be the land of Chow, yet thence
- New calls (to rule) are given.
- Chow’s Lords, are they not shining lights?
- God’s calls, are they not timely?
- King Wăn, there at God’s either hand,
- Moveth about sublimely.
-
- King Wăn was vigorous and strong;
- His fame is aye unending.
- Chow’s Heaven-sent gifts are still upon
- King Wăn’s sons’ sons descending,—
- King Wăn’s sons’ sons, in stock and branch,—
- To countless generations.
- Chow’s Servants, too, shall these not all
- For aye adorn their stations?
-
- For aye adorn their stations,—yea,
- In counsel wisdom heeding;
- For king-like is each minister
- The Royal State is breeding!
- The Royal State can breed the men
- Chow’s House to build on surely;
- To such an ample ministry
- King Wăn may trust securely!
-
- Profound, profound was he, King Wăn;
- In reverence aye transcendent!
- Great was Heaven’s call! The House of Shang,
- To each far-off descendant,—
- To each far-off descendant,—yea,
- In force ten myriads,—vaster,—
- When that decree of God went forth,
- Acknowledged Chow its Master.
-
- Acknowledged Chow: ah! Providence
- Hath diverse dispensations:—
- Yin’s Chiefs, the able and expert,
- Aid at our Court’s libations!
- And this, still in the broidered skirt
- And cap they erst affected.
- O ye about the throne, let ne’er
- Your Founder be neglected!
-
- Your Founder be neglected,—no,
- But cultivate his merit;
- Aye make the will of Heaven your own;
- So blessings great inherit!
- Yin, ere it lost its men, had kings
- Meet to be linked with Heaven;
- In Yin ’tis mirorred well, how with
- Great calls great tasks are given.
-
- Great calls, great tasks.—Ah be not thou
- Thyself thine own undoing!
- Shine forth in righteous character,
- Yin’s fall from Heaven oft viewing.
- The operations of High Heaven
- Are odourless, are soundless!
- For rule and pattern take King Wăn:
- Thy credit will be boundless.
III. i. 2.
FURTHER EULOGY OF KING WĂN.
-
- Beams of brightness here beneath:
- Gleams of glory there on high!
- Heaven makes hard demands on faith;
- Kings are kings not easily.
- Yin had heirs to fill the throne:
- They were doomed no realm to own!
-
- Jen, the second Maid of Chi,
- From the Yin-shang country came,
- Came, a bride for Chow to be,—
- Chow’s chief city’s chiefest Dame.
- She, the consort of King Ki,
- To the paths of virtue clave.
- T‘ai-jen—mother (soon) was she;
- Then to us our Wăn she gave.
-
- This was he, that royal Wăn,
- Who, with reverent zeal imbued,
- Gloriously served God, and won
- Manifold beatitude.
- Since his virtue never veered,
- All the land to him adhered.
-
- Heaven looked down upon the earth;
- On King Wăn its summons lit.
- Heaven for him, soon after birth,
- Had prepared a consort fit.
- O’er the Hia’s north watershed,
- On the Wai’s declivity.
- When King Wăn prepared to wed,
- There in that great land was she.
-
- There in that great land was she,
- Like a goddess from on high.—
- Lucky proved the augury;
- And he met her by the Wai.
- Bridge of boats for her he made;
- Was not splendour there displayed?
-
- ’T was an ordinance of Heaven,
- Thus ordained that our King Wăn
- To Chow’s capital be given.—
- Jen’s successor was from San:
- She, San’s eldest, was that bride:
- Blessed, at length, to bear King Wu,
- Your Preserver, Helper, Guide,—
- Who, as such, great Shang o’erthrew.
-
- As a forest, stood combined
- The battalions of Yin-shang,
- On the wilds of Muh aligned.
- As upon that host we sprang,
- “God is with you!” [cried King Wu]
- “No half-heartedness with you!”
-
- Flashed the cars of sandal-wood
- O’er those boundless wilds of Muh!
- How the teams of bays did scud!
- That great officer, Shang-fu,
- Was a very eagle then,
- Soaring, bearing up King Wu.
- Swoop! Great Shang we overthrew!
- Clash! Then bright the daylight grew!
III. i. 3.
ORIGIN OF THE HOUSE OF CHOW.
-
- See the trailing young gourds, how they spread!
- See in these how our people first grew:
- From the land of the Ts‘iü and the Ts‘ih,
- From the time of the old duke Tan-fu,—
- When they dwelt in the kraals and the caves,
- When they nothing of houses yet knew.
-
- Thence away came the old duke Tan-fu:—
- Quick as light with his horses sped he;
- And he followed the Stream of the West,
- Till he came to the foot of Mount K‘i.
- And there he and his lady the Kiáng
- Sought a site where they settled should be.
-
- And Chow’s plain was so fertile and fat,
- That the herbs we count bitter grew sweet;
- He began then to ponder and plan,
- And the tortoise-shell gave to the heat;
- And the answer was “settle,” and “here,”—
- Here establish your family seat.
-
- So tranquillity came, and repose;
- And the “East” and the “West” he defined,
- And the bounds of demesnes, large and small,
- And allotments and “acres” assigned.
- From the West to the East, all around,
- Were the marks of his vigorous mind.
-
- Then he summoned a Master of Works;
- And he summoned him task-masters too;
- And employed them in building their “home.”
- So with plummet and line, straight and true,
- And with frame-boards (the concrete) to hold,
- Lo! a temple imposing up-grew!
-
- Then what crowding with baskets of earth!
- And what clatter in filling each frame!
- And what thuds, beating solid the walls,
- And scrape-scraping, tap-tapping the same!
- With a hundred walls rising at once
- The big drum ne’er the hubbub o’ercame!
-
- Then the Court’s outer gate they set up:
- ’Twas a portal aye lofty and grand;
- Then the inner and principal gate,
- An imposing one, skilfully planned.
- Then the land-spirits’ altar uprose,—
- Source of each great event to the land.
-
- Though he quelled not the ire of his foes,
- Yet he suffered his fame not to fade:—
- By his thinning the oaks and the thorns,
- He the highways more passable made;
- And he caused the wild turbulent tribes
- To make off, open-mouthed and dismayed.
-
- Those two States, —how was settled their strife?
- ’Twas King Wăn roused their conscience to life!
- On my word (’twas their glimpse of wise laws):
- His affinity laws,—laws of grades,—
- And his courier-system,—and, last,
- His defence against insolent raids.
III. i. 4.
IN PRAISE OF KING WĂN.
-
- O dense was the growth of the shrub and thorn:
- For gathering in, for storing.—
- Sublime was the sight of our Prince and King,
- As all pressed round (adoring).
-
- Sublime was the sight when surrounding chiefs
- On their batons bore libations;
- And bravely they bore them—those eminent men;—
- Right worthy they of their stations.
-
- Rode proudly his boats on yon river King,
- With all his oarsmen rowing.—
- Marched (proudly) Chow’s King when he sallied forth,—
- Six legions with him going.
-
- O vast is yon span of the Milky Way,
- That blazonry of Heaven!
- And the long life-span of the King of Chow,—
- To earth what has it not given!
-
- How glitters the substance of gold and gems,
- Wrought bright by varied tooling!
- So wrought our King on the world of men,
- By his energetic ruling.
III. i. 5.
HIS PEOPLE’S ADMIRATION.
-
- See down there, at the Han hill’s base,
- Hazel and buckthorn growing apace.—
- Joyous and free our prince could be:
- High in his aim, yet joyous and free.
-
- Rare are his goblets, rare and fine,
- Brimming with amber-coloured wine.—
- Joyous and free our prince could be:
- Worthy of wealth and dignity!
-
- Kites in flight will heavenwards go;
- Fishes leap in their pools below.
- Joyous and free our prince could be:
- How hath he raised humanity!
-
- Pure are the spirits—the vase is full;
- All prepared is the dark roan bull;—
- Ready to offer, to immolate;
- So to enhance his blessings great.
-
- Dense is the growth of the oak and thorn;
- Fuel rare for the folks to burn.—
- Joyous and free our prince could be:
- Pet of the spirit-world was he!
-
- Creepers, rioting, clambering,
- How to both branch and stem they cling!
- So was our prince, the joyous and free,
- Bent on blessing unswervingly!
III. i. 6.
HIS VIRTUES.
[The first stanza is in praise of his mother and wife.] - How reverential was T‘ai-jen,
- Of whom King Wăn was born.
- How did she love the Kiáng of Chow!
- The royal home adorn!
- Tai-sze inherited the same fair fame,
- And many sons she bore unto the name.
[The remainder is to be understood of King Wăn himself.]
-
- Obsequious to his ancestors,
- Their spirits could not chide,
- Nor be not satisfied.
- Example to his worthy queen,
- Yea, to his brethren, when was seen
- His hospitable hand
- Held out to all the land.
-
- Reigned harmony within his halls,
- Devotion in his fane.
- Unseen,—as watched,—he wearied not
- (His virtue) to maintain.
-
- Though unexempt from trial sore,
- Undimmed his great light shone;
- Untutored, yet he lived by rule;
- Uncounselled, straight went on.
-
- Men of ripe age his virtues learnt,
- And youth made promise fair;
- Unwearying was our ancient chief:
- His fame his servants share.
III. i. 7.
RISE OF THE CHOW DYNASTY.
- The most high God
- Looked down on earth—dread thought!—
- And, gazing round,
- His people’s peace He sought.
- Two royal lines
- Had ruled, but ruled amiss
- O’er the whole land;
- And, pondering over this,
- God now made known His sovereign will,
- To enlarge the bounds of empire still;
- And, as He westward turned His face,
- Said, “Here be now their dwelling-place.”
[The second stanza begins abruptly with a description of the preparation by King T‘aifor this new settlement in the plain of Chow and on Mount K‘i]:—
-
- Dry trunks, dead logs
- Away were borne:
- The clumps and rows
- Were trimmed and shorn;
- Willow and cane
- Were slashed and slain;
- Wild mulberries thinned
- And disciplined.
- A ruler wise God thither led,
- And virtuous. The wild hordes fled.
- Heaven raised him up a consort meet,
- And thus the appointment was complete.
-
- God viewed their hill:
- Its wild growth now was rare,
- Its pine-woods cleft
- By many a thoroughfare.
- God made the State:
- Princes to match made He,
- What time these lived—
- T‘ai-pih and royal Ki,
- ’Twas this King Ki,
- So brotherly at heart,
- Who so well played
- The younger brother’s part,
- That all through life success he found,
- And made (the elder) so renowned.
- Dignity won he never lost:
- Well-nigh of empire he might boast.
-
- Yea, this King Ki
- God gifted with keen mind.
- Pure shines his fame;
- His virtues were refined.
- A critic, judge,
- Leader, controller, he,—
- This great land’s king:
- Loyal, winning loyalty.
- Until King Wăn reigned in his stead,
- Nought ’gainst his virtue could be said.
- Himself God’s benison possessed;
- On his sons’ sons it now doth rest!
-
- Spake God to Wăn:
- “All wild caprices shun,
- And cravings curb.”—
- Thus rare prestige he won.
- When Mihites rude
- Dared our great land oppose,
- Invaded Yün,
- And marched on Kung as foes,
- Then burned like fire
- His kingly ire;
- His troops he put in full array,
- The invading enemy to stay.
- Chow’s welfare he would aye uphold,
- And be the empire’s champion bold.
-
- His capital
- Safe and secure he made;
- Forth o’er the bounds
- Of Yün his troops he led;
- He scaled our heights:
- None occupied our hills,
- Our hills or knolls;
- No (foe) drank at our springs,
- Our springs or pools.
- And pleasant plains he there surveyed,
- And there, south of K‘i’s hill, he stayed,
- Where, near the Wai, converge all States,
- And where our race most congregates.
-
- Spake God to Wăn:
- “I love thy virtue strange:
- No blare, no show,
- No vaunting, and no change.
- In artless wise
- Unconscious hast thou trod
- The path of God.”
- (Also) spake God to Wăn:
- “Now shalt thou plan,
- Thou and thy friends, to overthrow
- The city of your mutual foe.
- Your ladders and your engines all
- Take, and lay low Ts‘ung’s rampart-wall.”
-
- Slowly against that high stout wall
- The war machinery drew near.
- Captives were “questioned,” one by one;
- Noiselessly lopped was many an ear.
- To Heaven, to Heroes, gifts were made,
- With prayers for furtherance and aid,
- And that the land’s rude foes be stayed.
- With vigour then played each machine,
- Against that wall so strong and high.
- They make a breach! they swarm within,
- And all in death and ruin lie!
- No foe should now the land defy!
III. i. 8.
DELIGHT OF THE PEOPLE ON SEEING THE MAGNIFICENCE WITH WHICH KING WĂN SURROUNDED HIMSELF.
-
- The King designed his wondrous tower:
- ’Twas his design, ’twas his device;
- His people undertook the work,
- And all was finished in a trice!
- In planning it he urged no haste,
- Yet all like children round him pressed.
-
- Behold him in his wondrous park,
- Where stags and hinds lie down in herds,
- His stags and hinds all sleek and fat;—
- Around him glinting snow-white birds.
- Behold him on his wondrous lake,
- Where crowding fish their frolic take.
-
- Like row of trees his music-stand!
- Big drums, big bells thereon they pile.—
- O harmony of drum and bell!
- Delightsome that pavilioned isle!
- Delightsome that pavilion’d isle,
- With harmony of drum and bell!
- Drums of iguana-hide resound.
- Those blind ones do their parts (right well).
III. i. 9.
EULOGY OF KING WU.
-
- Last comes Wu, and founded is Chow!
- Yea, this age hath its monarchs wise;
- Three are in Heaven, and one here now
- Well their place on the throne supplies.
-
- Well their place on the throne supplies,
- Making their virtues his great quest.
- Aye his appointment he justifies,
- Now of the land’s full trust possessed.
-
- Now of the land’s full trust possessed,
- Model for all of the ranks below:
- Filial feelings aye in his breast,
- Filial feelings the pattern show.
-
- Him, this Man of men, we admire
- So reflecting the gentle grace;
- He, ever mindful of his sire,
- Grandly adopts his work, his place.
-
- Grandly those who from him descend—
- If to their father’s course they cleave—
- Till the ten-thousandth year shall end,
- Blessings from Heaven will aye receive.
-
- Blessings from Heaven will aye be theirs,
- Gratulation from all below;
- Surely throughout those myriad years
- Lack of support they ne’er shall know.
III. i. 10.
EXPLOITS OF WĂN AND WU.
-
- Renowned is King Wăn,
- Yea, and highly renowned.
- His purpose was peace:
- He beheld it abound!
- Then hurrah for King Wăn!
-
- Heaven’s mandates had Wăn:—
- To his exploits belong
- Ts‘ung’s fall, and the rise
- Of his city in Fung.
- Then hurrah for King Wăn!
-
- Fung made he its match,
- When moated and walled.—
- Self-curb’d,—he his sire’s
- Filial duty recalled.
- Then hurrah for the King!
-
- Fung’s walls were a work
- That displayed him a King:
- Men everywhere flocked
- To be under his wing!
- Then hurrah for the King!
-
- Where flowed the Fung East,—
- By the labours of Yü,—
- Men everywhere sought
- Their great monarch, King (Wu).
- The great monarch, hurrah!
-
- His pavilion’d isle
- When Hâu’s capital held,
- East, West, North, or South
- Ne’er an instant rebelled.
- The great sovereign, hurrah!
-
- For when he divined,
- “Should Hâu-King be his seat?”
- “Yea,” answered the shell,
- Then he made all complete.
- Then hurrah for King Wu!
-
- The Fung had its weeds,
- And had Wu not his cares?—
- How he wrought for his son!
- How he planned for his heirs!
- Then hurrah for King Wu!
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), Duke of Chow, and as Si Peh, Chief of the West. He was afterwards canonized as “King Wăn.”
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