Part 20 (2/2)

This ode is given here, because it is commonly taken as a prelude to the next. Ku Hsi interprets it of the feast, given by, the

[1. That is, we divine about the day, and choose the officers to take part in the service.

2. A sacrifice was offered to the spirit of the road on commencing a journey, and we see here that it was offered also in connexion with the king's going to the ancestral temple or the border altar.

3. It does not appear clearly what sacrifices the poet had in view here.

I think they must be all those in which the kings of Kau appeared as the princ.i.p.als or sacrificers. The concluding line is understood to intimate that the kings were not to forget that a prosperous agriculture was the foundation of their prosperity.

4. In this stanza we have the peculiar honour paid to Kau-ki by his descendants at one of the great border sacrifices to G.o.d,--the same to which the last ode in the first decade of the Sacrificial Odes of Kau belongs.]

king, at the close of the sacrifice in the ancestral temple, to the princes of his own surname. There are difficulties in the interpretation of the piece on this view, which, however, is to be preferred to any other.

In thick patches are those rushes, Springing by the way-side:--Let not the cattle and sheep trample them. Anon they will grow up; anon they will be completely formed, With their leaves soft and glossy[1]. Closely related are brethren; Let none be absent, let all be near. For some there are mats spread; For some there are given Stools [2].

The mats are spread, and a second one above; The stools are given, and there are plenty of servants. (The guests) are pledged, and they pledge (the host) in return; He rinses the cups (and refills them, but the guests) put them down, Sauces and pickles are brought in, With roasted meat and broiled. Excellent provisions there are of tripe and palates; With singing to lutes, and with drums.

The ornamented bows are strong, And the four arrows are all balanced.

They discharge the arrows, and all hit, And the guests are arranged according to their skill. The ornamented bows are drawn to the full, And the arrows are grasped in the hand. They go straight to the mark as if planted

[1. In the rushes growing up densely from a common root we have an emblem of brothers all sprung from the same ancestor; and in the plants developing. so finely, when preserved from injury, an emblem of the happy fellows.h.i.+ps of consanguinity, when nothing is allowed to interfere with mutual confidence and good, feeling.

2. In a previous note I have said that chairs and tables had not come into use in those early times. Guests sat and feasts were spread on mats on the floor; for the aged, however, stools were. placed on which they could lean forward.]

in it, And the guests are arranged according to the humble propriety of their behaviour.

The distant descendant presides over the feast; His sweet spirits are strong. He fills their cups from a large vase, And prays for the h.o.a.ry old (among his guests):--That with h.o.a.ry age and wrinkled back, They may lead on one another (to virtue), and' support one another (in it); That so their old age may be blessed, And their bright happiness ever increased.

ODE 3. THE Ki ZUI.

RESPONSIVE TO THE LAST:--THE UNCLES AND BRETHREN OF THE KING EXPRESS THEIR SENSE OF HIS KINDNESS, AND THEIR WISHES FOR HIS HAPPINESS, MOSTLY IN THE WORDS IN WHICH THE PERSONATORS OF THE DEPARTED ANCESTORS HAD CONVEYED THEIR SATISFACTION WITH THE SACRIFICE OFFERED TO THEM, AND PROMISED TO HIM THEIR BLESSING.

You have made us drink to the full of your spirit; You have satiated us with your kindness. May you enjoy, O our lord,, myriads of years! May your bright happiness (ever) be increased!

You have made us drink to the full of your spirits; Your viands were set out before us. May you enjoy, O our lord, myriads of years! May your bright intelligence ever be increased!

May your bright intelligence become perfect, High and brilliant, leading to a good end! That good end has (now) its beginning:--The personators of your ancestors announced it in their blessing.

What was their announcement? '(The offerings) in your dishes of bamboo and wood are clean and fine. Your friends [1], a.s.sisting in the service, Have done their part with reverent demeanour.

'Your reverent demeanour was altogether what the occasion required; And also that of your filial son [2]. For such filial piety, continued without ceasing, There will. ever be conferred blessings upon you.'

What will the blessings be? 'That along the pa.s.sages of your palace, You shall move for ten thousand years, And there will be granted to you for ever dignity and posterity.'

How as to your posterity? 'Heaven invests you with your dignity; Yea, for ten thousand years, The bright appointment is attached (to your line).'

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