Part 27 (1/2)

'Fu-kwan must have been the place where the man lived, according to Ku.

Rather, it must have been a pa.s.s (Fu-kwan may mean 'the gate or pa.s.s of Fu'), through which he would come, and was visible from near the residence of the woman.

4 Ying ta observes that the man had never divined about the matter, and said that he had done so only to complete the process of seduction. The critics dwell on the inconsistency of divination being resorted to in such a case:--'Divination is proper only if used in reference to what is right and moral.']

of Kau, near the present Lo-yang, and called 'the eastern capital.'

Meetings of the princes of the states a.s.sembled there; but the court continued to be held at Hao till the accession of king Phing in B.C.

770. From that time, the kings of Kau sank nearly to the level of the princes of the states, and the poems collected in their domain were cla.s.sed among the 'Lessons of Manners from the States,' though still distinguished by the epithet 'royal' prefixed to them.

ODE 1, STANZA 1. THE SHu-Li.

AN OFFICER DESCRIBES HIS MELANCHOLY AND REFLECTIONS ON SEEING THE DESOLATION OF THE OLD CAPITAL OF KAU, MAKING HIS MOAN TO HEAVEN BECAUSE OF IT.

There is no specific mention of the old. capital of Kau in the piece, but the schools of Mao and Ku are agreed in this interpretation, which is much more likely than any of the others that have been proposed.

There was the millet with its drooping heads; There was the sacrificial millet coming into blade[1]. Slowly I moved about, In my heart all-agitated. Those who knew me said I was sad at heart. Those who did not know me, Said I was seeking for something. O thou distant and azure Heaven[2]! By what man was this (brought about)[3]?

[1. That is, there where the ancestral temple and other grand buildings of Hao had once stood.

2. 'He cried out to Heaven,' says Yen Zhan, 'and told (his distress), but he calls it distant in its azure brightness, lamenting that his complaint was not heard.' This is, probably, the correct explanation of the language. The speaker would by it express his grief that the dynasty of Kau and its people were abandoned and uncared for by Heaven.

3. Referring to king Yu, whose reckless course had led to the destruction of Hao by the Zung, and in a minor degree to his son, king Phing, who had subsequently removed to the eastern capital.]

ODE 9, STANZAS 1 AND 3. THE Ta Ku.

A LADY EXCUSES HERSELF FOR NOT FLYING TO HER LOVER BY HER FEAR OF A SEVERE AND VIRTUOUS MAGISTRATE, AND SWEARS TO HIS THAT SHE IS SINCERE IN HER ATTACHMENT TO HIM.

His great carriage rolls along, And his robes of rank glitter like the young sedge. Do I not think of you? But I am afraid of this officer, and dare not (fly to you).

While living we may have to occupy different apartments; But, when dead, we shall share the same grave. If you say that I am not sincere, By the bright sun I swear that I am[1].

BOOK X. THE, ODES OF THANG.

THE odes of Thang were really the odes of Zin, the greatest of the fiefs of Kau until the rise of Khin. King Khang, in B.C. 1107, invested his younger brother, called Shu-yu, with the territory where Yao was supposed to have ruled anciently as the marquis of Thang, in the present department of Thai-yuan, Shan-hsi, the fief retaining that ancient name.

Subsequently the name of the state was changed to Zin, from the river Zin in the southern part of it.

ODE, 8, STANZA 1. THE PaO Yu.

THE MEN OF ZIN, CALLED OUT TO WARFARE BY THE KING'S ORDER, MOURN OVER THE CONSEQUENT SUFFERING OF THEIR PARENTS, AND LONG FOR THEIR RETURN TO THEIR ORDINARY AGRICULTURAL PURSUITS, MAKING THEIR APPEAL TO HEAVEN.

Su-su go the feathers of the wild geese, As

[1. In the 'Complete Digest' this oath is expanded in the following way:--'These words are from my heart. If you think that they are not sincere, there is (a Power) above, like the bright sun, observing me;--how should my words not be sincere?']

they settle on the bushy oaks[1]. The king's affairs must not be slackly discharged, And (so) we cannot plant our millets;--What will our parents have to rely on? O thou distant and azure Heaven [2]! When shall we be in our places again?