Part 21 (1/2)

How is it attached? 'There is given you a heroic wife. There is given you a heroic wife, And from her shall come the (line of) descendants.'

ODE 4. THE Hu i.

AN ODE APPROPRIATE TO THE FEAST GIVEN TO THE PERSONATORS OF THE DEPARTED, ON THE DAY AFTER THE SACRIFICE IN THE ANCESTRAL TEMPLE.

This supplementary sacrifice on the day after the princ.i.p.al service in the temple appeared in the ninth Book of the fourth Part of the Shu; and of the feast after it to the personators of the dead I have spoken on p.

301.

The wild-ducks and widgeons are on the King[2];

[1. That is, the guests, visitors, and officers of the court.

2. Towards the end of the sacrificial service, the eldest son of the king joined in pledging the representatives of their ancestors.

3. The King is an affluent of the Wei, not far from Wu's capital of Hao.

The birds, feeling at home in its waters, on its sands, &c., serve to introduce the parties feasted, in a situation where they might relax from the gravity of the preceding day, and be happy.]

The personators of your ancestors feast and are happy. Your spirits are clear; Your viands are fragrant. The personators of your ancestors feast and drink;--Their happiness and dignity are made complete.

The wild-ducks and widgeons are on the sand; The personators of the dead enjoy the feast, their appropriate tribute. Your spirits are abundant; Your viands are good. The personators of your ancestors feast and drink;--Happiness and dignity lend them their aids.

The wild-ducks and widgeons are on the islets; The personators of your ancestors feast and enjoy themselves. Your spirits are strained; Your viands are in slices. The personators of your ancestors feast and drink;--Happiness and dignity descend on them.

The wild-ducks and widgeons are where the waters meet; The personators of your ancestors feast and are honoured. The feast is spread in the ancestral temple. The place where happiness and dignity descend. The personators of your ancestors feast and drink;--Their happiness and dignity are at the highest point.

The wild-ducks and widgeons are in the gorge; The personators of your ancestors rest, full of complacency. The fine spirits are delicious; Your meat, roast and broiled, is fragrant. The personators of your ancestors feast and drink;--No troubles will be theirs after this.

ODE 5, STANZA 1. THE KIa LO.

IN PRAISE OF SOME KING, WHOSE VIRTUE SECURED TO HIM THE FAVOUR OF HEAVEN.

Perhaps the response of the feasted personators of the ancestors.

Of our admirable, amiable sovereign Most ill.u.s.trious is the excellent virtue. He orders rightly the people, orders rightly the officers, And receives his dignity from Heaven, Which protects and helps him, and (confirms) his appointment, By repeated acts of renewal from heaven.

ODE 8. THE KHuAN a.

ADDRESSED, PROBABLY, BY THE DUKE OF SHaO TO KING KHANG, DESIRING FOR HIM LONG PROSPERITY, AND CONGRATULATING HIM, IN ORDER TO ADMONISH HIM, ON THE HAPPINESS OF HIS PEOPLE, THE NUMBER OF HIS ADMIRABLE OFFICERS, AND THE AUSPICIOUS OMEN ARISING FROM THE APPEARANCE OF THE PH?NIX.

The duke of Shao was the famous s.h.i.+h, who appears in the fifth and other Books of the fifth Part of the Shu, the colleague of the duke of Kin in the early days of the Kau dynasty. This piece may have been composed by him, but there is no evidence in it that it was so. The a.s.signing it to him rests entirely on the authority of the preface. The language, however, is that in which an old statesman of that time might express his complacency in his young sovereign.

Into the recesses of the large mound Came the wind, whirling from the south. There was (our) happy, courteous sovereign, Rambling and singing; And I took occasion to give forth my notes.

'Full of spirits you ramble; Full of satisfaction you rest. O happy and courteous sovereign, May you fulfil your years, And end them like your ancestors!'