James Legge

“ THE HSIÂO YÜAN. SOME OFFICER IN A TIME OF DISORDER AND MISGOVERNMENT URGES ON HIS BROTHERS THE DUTY OF MAINTAINING THEIR OWN VIRTUE, AND OF OBSERVING THE GREATEST CAUTION.
Small is the cooing dove, But it flies aloft to heaven. My heart is wounded with sorrow, And I think of our forefathers. When the dawn is breaking, and I cannot sleep, The thoughts in my breast are of our parents.
Men who are grave and wise, Though they drink, are mild and masters of themselves; But those who are benighted and ignorant Become devoted to drink, and more so daily. ”

“ This king Kî Was gifted by God with the power of judgment, So that the fame of his virtue silently grew. His virtue was highly intelligent,--Highly intelligent, and of rare discrimination; Able to lead, able to rule, To rule over this great country ”

“ THE YÜ WÛ KANG. THE WRITER OF THIS PIECE MOURNS OVER THE MISERABLE STATE OF THE KINGDOM, THE INCORRIGIBLE COURSE OF THE KING, AND OTHER EVILS, APPEALING ALSO TO HEAVEN, AND SURPRISED THAT IT ALLOWED SUCH THINGS TO BE.
Great and wide Heaven, How is it you have contracted your kindness, Sending down death and famine, Destroying all through the kingdom? Compassionate Heaven, arrayed in terrors, How is it you exercise no forethought, no care? Let alone the criminals:--They have suffered for their guilt. But those who have no crime Are indiscriminately involved in ruin. ”

“ THE KANG MIN. CELEBRATING THE VIRTUES OF KUNG SHAN-FÛ, WHO APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL MINISTERS OF KING HSÜAN, AND HIS DESPATCH TO THE EAST, TO FORTIFY THE CAPITAL OF TIM STATE OF KHÎ.
Heaven, in giving birth to the multitudes of the people, To every faculty and relationship annexed its law. The people possess this normal nature, And they (consequently) love its normal virtue [1] . Heaven beheld the ruler of Kâu, Brilliantly affecting it by his conduct below, And to maintain him, its Son, Gave birth to Kung Shan-fû [2] . ”

“ Heaven is now inflicting calamities, And is destroying the state. My illustrations are not taken from things remote:--Great Heaven makes no mistakes. If you go on to deteriorate in your virtue, You will bring the people to great distress. ”

“ Truly are the honour and succession come from it to the House of Kâu. To his movements All respond with tremulous awe. He has attempted and given rest to all spiritual beings [1] , Even to (the spirits of) the Ho and the highest hills. Truly is the king our sovereign lord.
Brilliant and illustrious is the House of Kâu. He has regulated the positions of the princes; He has called in shields and spears; He has returned to their cases bows and arrows [2] . He will cultivate admirable virtue, And display it throughout these great regions. Truly will the king preserve the appointment. ”

“ With every month it continues to grow, So that the people have no repose. I am as if intoxicated with the grief of my heart. Who holds the ordering of the kingdom? He attends not himself to the government, And the result is toil and pain to the people. ”

“ Ye, brilliant and accomplished princes, Have conferred on me this happiness. Your favours to me are without limit, And my descendants will preserve (the fruits of) them.
Be not mercenary nor extravagant in your states, And the king will honour you. ”

“ The king addressed in this piece was most probably Yû. It suits his character and reign.
I look up to great Heaven, But it shows us no kindness. Very long have we been disquieted, And these great calamities are sent down (upon us) . There is nothing settled in the country; Officers and people are in distress. Through the insects from without and from within, There is no peace or limit (to our misery) . The net of crime is not taken up [1] , And there is no peace nor cure (for our state) .
Why is it that Heaven is (thus) reproving (you) ? Why is it that Heaven is not blessing (you) ? ”

“ Very admirable is the marquis of Lû, Reverently displaying his virtue, And reverently watching over his deportment, The pattern of the people.
With great qualities, both civil and martial, Brilliantly he affects his meritorious ancestors [1] . In everything entirely filial, He seeks the blessing that is sure to follow.
5. Very intelligent is the marquis of Lû, Making his virtue illustrious. He has made this college with its semicircle of water, And the tribes of the Hwâi will submit to him [2] . ”

“ But mysteriously great Heaven Is able to strengthen anything. Do not disgrace your great ancestors This will save your posterity [1] .
ODE 11, STANZAS 1 AND 2. THE SHÂO MIN. THE WRITER APPEALS TO HEAVEN, BEMOANING THE MISERY AND RUIN WHICH WERE GOING ON, AND SHOWING HOW THEY WERE DUE TO THE KING'S EMPLOYMENT OF MEAN AND WORTHLESS CREATURES.
Compassionate Heaven is arrayed in angry terrors. Heaven is indeed sending down ruin, Afflicting us with famine, So that the people are all wandering fugitives. In the settled regions, and on the borders, all is desolation. ”

“ Many are your admirable officers, O king, Waiting for your commands, And loving the multitudes of the people, The male and female phœnix give out their notes, On that lofty ridge. The dryandras grow, On those eastern slopes. They grow luxuriantly ”

“ Heaven protects and establishes thee. It grants thee all excellence, So that thine every matter is right, And thou receivest every Heavenly favour. It sends down to thee long-during happiness, Which the days are not sufficient to enjoy. ”

“ With happy auspices and purifications thou bringest the offerings, And dost filially present them, In spring, summer, autumn, and winter, To the dukes and former kings [1] ; And they say, 'We give to thee myriads of years, duration unlimited [2] .'
The spirits come [3] , And confer on thee many blessings. The people are simple and honest, Daily enjoying their meat, and drink. All the black-haired race, in all their surnames, Universally practise thy virtue. ”

“ The mild and respectful man Possesses the foundation of virtue. There is a wise man;--I tell him good words, And he yields to them the practice of docile virtue. There is a stupid man;--He says on the contrary that my words are not true:--So different are people's minds. ”

“ The heavens overhead are one arch of clouds, Snowing in multitudinous flakes; There is super-added the drizzling rain. When (the land) has received the moistening, Soaking influence abundantly, It produces all our kinds of grain.
The boundaries and smaller divisions are nicely adjusted, And the millets yield abundant crops, The harvest of the distant descendant. We proceed to make therewith spirits and food, To supply our representatives of the departed, and our guests;--To obtain long life, extending over myriads of years. ”

“ Heaven is now sending down calamities;--Do not be so complacent. Heaven is now producing such movements;--Do not be so indifferent. If your words were harmonious, The people would become united. If your words were gentle and kind, The people would be settled. ”

“ Again, his summary in the tenth chapter of the Hsiâo King, of the duties of filial piety, is the following:--'A filial son, in serving his parents, in his ordinary intercourse with them, should show the utmost respect; in supplying them with food, the greatest delight; when they are ill, the utmost solicitude; when mourning for their death, the deepest grief; and when sacrificing to them, the profoundest solemnity. When these things are all complete, he is able to serve his parents.'
The royal worship of ancestors. ”

“ 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 ”

“ The duke of Kâu, and (your other) great ancestors, Also bless you.
4. In autumn comes the sacrifice of the season [3] , But the bulls for it have had their horns capped in summer [4] ; They are the white bull and the red one [5] . (There are) the bull-figured goblet in, its dignity [6] ; Roast pig, minced meat, and soups; The dishes of bamboo and wood, and the large stands [7] , And the dancers all complete. ”

“ Great states are screens; Great families are buttresses;--The cherishing of virtue
[1. During all the time of the sacrifice, the personators of the dead said not a word, but only ate and drank. To the semblance of them good men were now reduced.
2. The meaning is, that Heaven has so attuned the mind to virtue, that, if good example were set before the people, they would certainly and readily follow it. This is illustrated by various instances of things, in which the one succeeded the other freely and as it necessarily; so that government by virtue was really very easy.] ”

“ Every good deed has its recompense. If you are gracious among your friends, And to the people, as if they were you: children, Your descendants will continue in unbroken line, And all the people will surely be obedient to you.
Looked at in friendly intercourse with superior men, You make your countenance harmonious and mild; Anxious not to do anything wrong. Looked at in your chamber, You ought to be equally free from shame before the light which shines in. Do not say, 'This place is not public; No one can see me here.' The approaches of spiritual beings Cannot be calculated beforehand ”

“ THE KING KIH. KING KHANG SHOWS HIS SENSE OF WHAT WAS REQUIRED OF HIM TO PRESERVE THE FAVOUR OF HEAVEN, A CONSTANT JUDGE; INTIMATES HIS GOOD PURPOSES; AND ASKS THE HELP OF HIS MINISTERS TO BE ENABLED TO PERFORM THEM.
Let me be reverent! Let me be reverent! (The way of) Heaven is evident, And its appointment is not easily preserved [1] . Let me not say that it is high aloft above me. It ascends and descends about our doings; It daily inspects us wherever we are. ”

“ The hoary hair and wrinkled back, Marking the aged men, shall always be in your service. They shall grant you old age, ever vigorous, For myriads and thousands of years, With the eyebrows of longevity, and ever unharmed.
6. The mountain of Thâi is lofty, Looked up to by the state of Lû [1] . We grandly possess also Kwei and Mang [2] . And we shall extend to the limits of the east, Even the states along the sea. The tribes of the Hwâi will seek our alliance; All will proffer their allegiance:--Such shall be the achievements of the marquis of Lû. ”

“ Heaven protects and establishes thee, So that in everything thou dost prosper. Like the high hills and the mountain masses, Like the topmost ridges and the greatest bulks, Like the stream ever coming on, Such is thine increase. ”

“ It is said in the tenth ode of the first decade of the Major Odes of the Kingdom, that king Wû in his capital of Hâo built 'his hall with its circlet of water.' That was the royal college built in the middle of a circle of water; each state had its grand college with a semicircular pool in front of it, such is may now be seen in front of the temples of Confucius in the metropolitan cities of the provinces. It is not easy to describe all the purposes which the building served. ”

“ Compare what is said of king Wan in the third stanza of the sixth ode of the first decade. King Wan and duke Wû were both influenced by the consideration that their inmost thoughts, even when 'unseen by men,' were open to the inspection of spiritual beings.]
O prince, let your practice of virtue Be entirely good and admirable. Watch well over your behaviour, And allow nothing wrong in your demeanour. Committing no excess, doing nothing injurious, There are few who will not in such a case take you for their pattern. When one throws to me a peach, I return to him a plum [1] . ”