Part 17 (1/2)
They became subject to Kau, (For) the appointment of Heaven is not unchangeable. The officers of Yin, admirable and alert, a.s.sist at the libations in our capital[1]. They a.s.sist at those libations, Always wearing the hatchet-figures on their lower garments and their peculiar cap[2]. O ye loyal ministers of the king, Ever think of your ancestor!
Ever think of your ancestor, Cultivating your virtue, Always seeking to accord with the will (of Heaven):-So shall you be seeking for much happiness, Before Yin lost the mult.i.tudes, (Its kings) were the correlates of G.o.d'. Look to Yin as a beacon i The great appointment is not easily preserved.
The appointment is not easily (preserved):--Do not cause your own extinction. Display and make bright your righteousness and fame, And look at (the fate of) Yin in the light of Heaven. The doings of high Heaven Have neither sound nor
[1. These officers of Yin would be the descendants of the Yin kings and of their princ.i.p.al n.o.bles, scions likewise of the, Yin stock. They would a.s.sist, at the court of Kau, at the services in the ancestral temple, which began with a libation of fragrant spirits to bring down the spirits of the departed.
2 These, differing from the dress worn by the representatives of the ruling House, were still worn by the officers of Yin or Shang, by way of honour, and also by way of warning.
3 There was G.o.d in heaven hating none, desiring the good of all the people; there were the sovereigns on earth, G.o.d's vicegerents, maintained by him so long as they carried out in their government his purpose of good.]
smell[1]. Take your pattern from king Wan, And the myriad regions will repose confidence in you.
ODE 2. THE Ta MING.
HOW THE APPOINTMENT OF HEAVEN OR G.o.d CAME FROM HIS FATHER TO KING WAN, AND DESCENDED TO HIS SON, KING Wu, WHO OVERTHREW THE DYNASTY OF SHANG BY HIS VICTORY AT Mu; CELEBRATING ALSO THE MOTHER AND WIFE OF KING WAN.
The ill.u.s.tration of ill.u.s.trious (virtue) is required below, And the dread majesty is or, high[2]. Heaven is not readily to be relied on; It is not easy to be king. Yin's rightful heir to the heavenly seat Was not permitted to possess the kingdom.
Zan, the second of the princesses of Kih[3], From (the domain of) Yin-shang, Came to be married to (the prince of) Kau, And became his wife in his
[1. These two lines are quoted in the last paragraph of the Doctrine of the Mean, as representing the ideal of perfect virtue. They are indicative of Power, operating silently, and not to be perceived by the senses, but resistless in its operations.
2. 'The first two lines,' says the commentator Yen Zhan, 'contain a general sentiment, expressing the principle that governs the relation between Heaven and men. According to line 1, the good or evil of a ruler cannot be-concealed; according to 2, Heaven, in giving its favour or taking it away, acts with strict decision. When below there is the ill.u.s.trious ill.u.s.tration (of virtue), that reaches up on high. When above there is the awful majesty, that exercises a survey below. The relation between Heaven and men ought to excite our awe.'
3. The state of Kih must have been somewhere in the royal domain of Yin.
Its lords had the surname of Zan, and the second daughter of the House became the wife of Ki of Kau. She is called in the eighth line Thai-zan, by which name she is still famous in China. 'She commenced,' it is said, 'the instruction of her child when he was still in her womb, looking on no improper sight, listening to no licentious sound, uttering no word of pride.']
capital. Both she and king Ki Were entirely virtuous. (Then) Thai-zan became pregnant, And gave birth to our king Wan.
This king Wan, Watchfully and reverently, With entire intelligence served G.o.d, And so secured the great blessing. His virtue was without deflection; And in consequence he received (the allegiance of) the states from all quarters.
Heaven surveyed this lower world; And its appointment lighted (on king Wan). In his early years, It made for him a mate[1];--On the north of the Hsia, On the banks of the Wei. When king Wan would marry, There was the lady in a large state[2].
In a large state was the lady, Like a fair denizen of heaven. The ceremonies determined the auspiciousness (of the union) [3], And in person he met her on the Wei. Over it he made a bridge of boats; The glory (of the occasion) was ill.u.s.trious.
The favouring appointment was from Heaven, Giving the throne to our kin Wan, In the capital of Kau. The lady-successor was from Hsin, Its eldest daughter, who came to marry him. She was blessed to give birth to king Wu, Who was preserved, and helped, and received (also) the. appointment,
[1. Heaven is here represented as arranging for the fulfilment of its purposes beforehand.
2. The name of the state was Hsin, and it must have been near the Hsia and the Wei, somewhere in the south-east of the present Shen-hsi.
3. 'The ceremonies' would be various; first of all, divination by means of the tortoise-sh.e.l.l.]
And in accordance with it smote the great Shang.
The troops of Yin-shang Were collected like a forest, And marshalled in the wilderness of Mu. We rose (to the crisis); 'G.o.d is with you,' (said Shang-fu to the king), 'Have no doubts in your heart[1].'
The wilderness of Mu spread out extensive; Bright shone the chariots of sandal; The teams of bays, black-maned and white-bellied, galloped along; The Grand-Master Shang-fu. Was like an eagle on the wing, a.s.sisting king Wu, Who at one onset smote the great Shang. That morning's encounter was followed by a clear, bright (day).