|
I ascend that northern hill, |
|
And gather the medlars. |
|
An officer, strong and vigorous, |
|
Morning and evening I am engaged in service. |
|
The king's business is not to be slackly performed; |
|
And my parents are left in sorrow. |
|
Under the wide heaven, |
|
All is the king's land. |
|
Within the sea-boundaries of the land, |
|
All are the king's servants. |
|
His great officers are unfair, -- |
|
Making me serve thus as if I alone were worthy. |
|
My four horses never halt; |
|
The king's business allows no rest. |
|
They praise me as not yet old; |
|
They think few like me in vigour. |
|
While the backbone retains its strength, |
|
I must plan and labour in all parts of the kingdom. |
|
Some enjoy their ease and rest, |
|
And some are worn out in the service of the State; |
|
Some rest and loll upon their couches, |
|
And some never cease marching about. |
|
Some never hear a sound, |
|
And some are cruelly toiled; |
|
Some lazily roost, on their backs looking up, |
|
And some are all-bustled in the service of the king. |
|
Some indulge long in pleasure and drinking, |
|
And some are miserable, in apprehension of blame; |
|
Some, at home and abroad, pass critical remarks, |
|
And some have everything to do. |
|
O bright and high Heaven, |
|
Who enlightenest and rulest this lower world! |
|
I marched on this expedition to the west, |
|
As far as this wilderness of Qiu. |
|
From the first day of the second month, |
|
I have passed through the cold and the heat. |
|
My heart is sad; |
|
The poison [of my lot] is too bitter. |
|
I think of those [at court] in their offices, |
|
And my tears flow down like rain. |
|
Do I not wish to return? |
|
But I fear the net for crime. |
|
Formerly, when I set out, |
|
The sun and moon had renewed the year. |
|
When shall I return? |
|
The year is now late. |
|
I think how I am alone, |
|
While the affairs devolving on me are very many. |
|
My heart is sad; |
|
And I am toiled without any leisure. |
|
I think of those [at court] in their offices, |
|
Looking back to them with fond regard. |
|
Do I not wish to return? |
|
But I am afraid of reproof and anger. |
|
Formerly, when I set out, |
|
The sun and moon were giving a mild warmth. |
|
When shall I return? |
|
The affairs of government are become more urgent. |
|
It is late in the year, |
|
And we are gathering the southernwood, and reaping the beans. |
|
My heart is sad; |
|
I give myself nothing but distress. |
|
When I think of those [at court] in their offices, |
|
I rise and pass the night outside. |
|
Do I not wish to return? |
|
But I am afraid of the vicissitudes of things. |
|
Ah! ye gentlemen! |
|
Do not reckon on your rest being permanent. |
|
Quietly fulfil the duties of your offices, |
|
Associating with the correct and upright. |
|
So shall the Spirits hearken to you, |
|
And give you good. |
|
Ah! ye gentlemen! |
|
Do not reckon on your repose being permanent. |
|
Quietly fulfil the duties of your offices, |
|
Loving the correct and upright. |
|
So shall the Spirits hearken to you, |
|
And give you large measures of bright happiness. |
|
His bells ring out jiang-jiang, |
|
While the waters of the Huai go sweeping on; |
|
Sad is my heart and wouded. |
|
The virtuous sovereigns [of old], -- |
|
In my heart, indeed, I cannot forget them. |
|
His drums ring out jie-jie, |
|
While the waters of the Huai rush along; |
|
My heart is sad and grieved. |
|
Of the virtuous sovereigns [of old], |
|
The virtue was without flaw. |
|
His bells ring out, his large drums resound, |
|
There are the three islands in the Huai; |
|
Sad is my heart and moved. |
|
Of the virtuous sovereigns [of old], |
|
The virtue was different from this. |
|
His bells ring out qin-qin; |
|
His lutes, large and small, give their notes; |
|
The tones of his organs and sounding stones are in unison. |
|
They sing the Ya and the Nan, |
|
Dancing to their flutes without error. |
|
Thick grew the tribulus [on the ground], |
|
But they cleared away its thorny bushes. |
|
Why did they this of old? |
|
That we might plant our millet and sacrificial millet; |
|
That our millet might be abundant, |
|
And our sacrificial millet luxuriant. |
|
When our barns are full, |
|
And our stacks can be counted by tens of myriads, |
|
We proceed to make spirits and prepare viands, |
|
For offerings and sacrifice; |
|
We seat the representatives of the dead, and urge them to eat: -- |
|
Thus seeking to increase our bright happiness. |
|
With correct and reverent deportment, |
|
The oxen and sheep all pure, |
|
We proceed to the winter and autumnal sacrifices. |
|
Some flay [the victims]; some boil [their flesh]; |
|
Some arrange [the meat]; some adjust [the pieces of it]. |
|
The priest sacrifices inside the temple gate, |
|
And all the service is complete and brilliant. |
|
Grandly come our progenitors; |
|
Their Spirits happily enjoy the offerings; |
|
Their filial descendent receives blessing: -- |
|
They will reward him with great happiness, |
|
With myriads of years, life without end. |
|
They attend to the furnaces with reverence; |
|
They prepare the trays, which are very large; -- |
|
Some for the roast meat; some for the broiled. |
|
Wives presiding are still and reverent, |
|
Preparing the numerous [smaller] dishes. |
|
The guests and visitors, |
|
Present the cup, and drink all round. |
|
Every form is according to rule; |
|
Every smile and word are as they should be. |
|
The Spirits quietly come, |
|
And respond with great blessings; -- |
|
Myriads of years as the [fitting] reward. |
|
We are very much exhausted, |
|
And have performed every ceremony without error. |
|
The able priest announces [the will of the Spirits], |
|
And goes to the filial descendent to convey it. |
|
' Fragrant has been your filial sacrifice, |
|
And the Spirits have enjoyed your spirits and viands. |
|
They confer upon you a hundred blessings; |
|
Each as it is desired, each as sure as law. |
|
You have been exact and expeditions; |
|
You have been correct and careful: |
|
They will ever confer on you the choicest favours, |
|
In myriads and tens of myriads. ' |
|
The ceremonies having thus been completed, |
|
And the bells and drums having given their warning, |
|
The filial descendent goes to his place, |
|
And the able priest makes his announcement, |
|
' The Spirits have drunk to the full. ' |
|
The great representative of the dead then rises, |
|
And the bells and drums escort his withdrawal, |
|
[On which] the Spirits tranquilly return [to their place]. |
|
All the servants, and the presiding wives, |
|
Remove [the trays and dishes] without delay. |
|
The [descendant's] uncles and cousins, |
|
All repair to the private feast. |
|
Yes, [all about] that southern hill, |
|
Was made manageable by Yu. |
|
Its plains and marshes being opened up, |
|
It was made into fields by the distant descendant. |
|
We define their boundaries, we form their smaller divisions, |
|
And make the acres lie, here to the south, there to the east. |
|
The heavens over head are one arch of clouds, |
|
Snowing in multitudinous flakes. |
|
There is superadded 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 dead, and our guests; -- |
|
To obtain long life, extending over myriads of years. |
|
In the midst of the fields are the huts, |
|
And along the bounding divisions are gourds. |
|
The fruits is sliced and pickled, |
|
To be presented to our great ancestors, |
|
That their distant descendant may have long life, |
|
And receive the blessing of Heaven. |
|
We sacrifice [first] with pure spirits, |
|
And then follow with a red bull; |
|
Offering them to our ancestors. |
|
[Our lord] holds the knife with tinkling bells, |
|
To lay open the hair of the victim, |
|
And takes its flesh and fat. |
|
Then we present, then we offer; |
|
All round the fragrance is diffused. |
|
Complete and brilliant is the sacrificial service; |
|
Grandly come our ancestors. |
|
They will reward [their descendant] with great blessing, -- |
|
Long life, years without end. |
|
Bright are those extensive fields, |
|
A tenth of whose produce is annually levied. |
|
I take the old stores, |
|
And with them feed the husbandmen, |
|
From of old we have had good years, |
|
And now I go to the south-lying acres, |
|
Where some are weeding, and some gather the earth about the roots. |
|
The millets look luxuriant; |
|
And in a spacious resting place, |
|
I collect and encourage the men of greater promise. |
|
With my vessels full of bright millet, |
|
And my pure victim-rams, |
|
We sacrificed to [the Spirits of] the land, and to [those of] the four quarters. |
|
That my fields are in such good condition, |
|
Is matter of joy to my husbandmen. |
|
With lutes, and with drums beating, |
|
We will invoke the Father of husbandry, |
|
And pray for sweet rain, |
|
To increase the produce of our millets, |
|
And to bless my men and their wives. |
|
The distant descendant comes, |
|
When their wives and children, |
|
Are bringing food to those [at work] in the south-lying acres. |
|
The surveyor of the fields [also] comes, and is glad. |
|
He takes [of the food] on the left and the right, |
|
And tastes whether it be good or not. |
|
The grain is well cultivated, all the acres over; |
|
Good will it be and abundant. |
|
The distant descendant has no displacency; |
|
The husbandmen are encouraged to diligence. |
|
The crops of the distant descendant, |
|
Look [thick] as thatch, and [swelling] like a carriage cover. |
|
The stacks of the distant descendant, |
|
Will stand like islands and mounds. |
|
He will seek for thousands of granaries; |
|
He will seek for myriads of carts. |
|
The millets, the paddy, and the maize, |
|
Will awake the joy of the husbandmen; |
|
[And they will say], ' May he be rewarded with great happiness. |
|
With myriads of years, life without end! |
|
Large are the fields, and various is the work to be done. |
|
Having selected the seed, and looked after the implements, |
|
So that all preparations have been made for our labour, |
|
We take our sharp plough-shares, |
|
And commence on the south-lying acres. |
|
We sow all the kinds of grain, |
|
Which grow up straight and large, |
|
So that the wish of the distant descendant is satisfied. |
|
It ears, and the fruit lies soft in its sheath; |
|
It hardens and is of good quality; |
|
There is no wolf ' s-tail grass, nor darnel. |
|
We remove the insects that eat the heart and the leaf, |
|
And those that eat the roots and the joints. |
|
So that they shall not hurt the young plants of our fields. |
|
May the Spirit, the Father of husbandry, |
|
Lay hold of them, and put them in the blazing fire! |
|
The clouds form in dense masses, |
|
And the rain comes down slowly. |
|
May it rain first on our public fields, |
|
And then come to our private! |
|
There shall be young grain unreaped, |
|
And here some sheaves ungathered; |
|
There shall be handfuls left on the ground, |
|
And here ears untouched: -- |
|
The distant descendant will come, |
|
When their wives and children, |
|
Are bringing food to those [at work] on the south-lying acres. |
|
The surveyor of the fields [also] will come and be glad. |
|
They will come and offer pure sacrifices to the Spirits of the four quarters, |
|
With their preparations of millet: |
|
Thus offering, thus sacrificing, |
|
Thus increasing our bright happiness. |
|
Look at the Luo, |
|
With its waters broad and deep. |
|
Thither has come our lord, |
|
In whom all happiness and dignity are concentrated. |
|
Red are his madder-dyed knee covers, |
|
In which he might raise his six armies. |
|
Look at the Luo, |
|
With its waters broad and deep. |
|
Thither has our lord come, |
|
The gems at his scabbard ' s mouth all-gleaming. |
|
May our lord live myriads of years, |
|
Preserving his House! |
|
Look at the Luo, |
|
With its waters broad and deep. |
|
Thither has our lord come, |
|
In whom all happiness and dignities are united. |
|
May our lord live myriads of years, |
|
Preserving his clans and States! |
|
Splendid are the flowers, |
|
And the leaves are luxuriant. |
|
I see these princes, |
|
And my heart is entirely satisfied. |
|
My heart is entirely satisfied. |
|
Right is it they should have praise and prosperity! |
|
Splendid are the flowers, |
|
And deep is their yellow. |
|
I see these princes, |
|
Full of all elegance. |
|
They are full of all elegance; -- |
|
Right is it they should have every blessing! |
|
Splendid are the flowers, |
|
Some yellow, some white. |
|
I see these princes, |
|
Drawn by their four white steeds, black-maned. |
|
They are drawn by their four white steeds, black-maned. |
|
And the six reins are glossy! |
|
To the left [they move], to the left, |
|
And they execute the movement properly. |
|
To the right [they move], to the right, |
|
And they execute the movement properly. |
|
They are possessed of the ability, |
|
And right is it their movements should indicate it. |