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The first birth of [our] people, |
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Was from Jiang Yuan. |
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How did she give birth to [our] people? |
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She had presented a pure offering and sacrificed, |
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That her childlessness might be taken away. |
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She then trod on a toe-print made by God, and was moved, |
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In the large place where she rested. |
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She became pregnant; she dwelt retired; |
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She gave birth to, and nourished [a son], |
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Who was Hou-ji. |
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When she had fulfilled her months, |
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Her first-born son [came forth] like a lamb. |
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There was no bursting, nor rending, |
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No injury, no hurt; -- |
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Showing how wonderful he would be. |
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Did not God give her the comfort? |
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Had He not accepted her pure offering and sacrifice, |
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So that thus easily she brought forth her son? |
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He was placed in a narrow lane, |
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But the sheep and oxen protected him with loving care. |
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He was placed in a wide forest, |
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Where he was met with by the wood-cutters. |
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He was placed on the cold ice, |
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And a bird screened and supported him with its wings. |
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When the bird went away, |
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Hou-ji began to wail. |
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His cry was long and loud, |
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So that his voice filled the whole way. |
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When he was able to crawl, |
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He looked majestic and intelligent. |
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When he was able to feed himself, |
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He fell to planting large beans. |
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The beans grew luxuriantly; |
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His rows of paddy shot up beautifully; |
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His hemp and wheat grew strong and close; |
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His gourds yielded abundantly. |
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The husbandry of Hou-ji, |
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Proceeded on the plan of helping [the growth]. |
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Having cleared away the thick grass, |
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He sowed the ground with the yellow cereals. |
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He managed the living grain, till it was ready to burst; |
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Then he used it as seed, and it sprang up; |
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It grew and came into ear; |
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It became strong and good; |
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It hung down, every grain complete; -- |
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And thus he was appointed lord of Tai. |
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He gave his people the beautiful grains: -- |
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The black millet, and the double-kernelled; |
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The tall red, and the white. |
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They planted extensively the black and the double-kernelled, |
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Which were reaped and stacked on the ground. |
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They planted extensively the tall red and the white, |
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Which were carried on their shoulders and backs, |
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Home for the sacrifices which he founded. |
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And how as to our sacrifices [to him]? |
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Some hull [the grain]; some take it from the mortar; |
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Some sift it; some tread it. |
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It is rattling in the dishes; |
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It is distilled, and the steam floats about. |
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We consult; we observe the rites of purification; |
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We take southernwood and offer it with the fat; |
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We sacrifice a ram to the Spirit of the path; |
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We offer roast flesh and broiled: -- |
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And thus introduce the coming year. |
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We load the stands with the offerings, |
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The stands both of wood and of earthenware. |
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As soon as the fragrance ascends, |
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God, well pleased, smells the sweet savour. |
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Fragrant is it, and in its due season! |
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Hou-ji founded the sacrifice, |
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And no one, we presume, has given occasion for blame or regret in regret to it, |
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Down to the present day. |
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In thick patches are those rushes, springing by the way (-side); |
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Let not the cattle and sheep trample them. |
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Anon they will burst up; anon they will be completely formed, |
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With their leaves soft and glossy. |
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Closely related are brethren; -- |
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Let none be absent, let all be near. |
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For some there are spread mats; |
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For some there are given stools [besides]. |
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The mats are spread, and a second one above; |
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The stools are given, and there are plenty of servants. |
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[The guests] are pledged, and they pledge [the host] in return; |
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He rinses the cup, and the guests put theirs down. |
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Sauces and pickles are brought in, |
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With roast meat and broiled. |
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Excellent provisions there are [also] of tripe and cheek; |
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With singing to lutes, and with drums. |
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The ornamented bows are strong, |
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And the four arrows are all balanced. |
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They discharge the arrows, and all hit, |
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And the guests are arranged according to their skill. |
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The ornamented bows are drawn full, |
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And the four arrows are grasped in the hand. |
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They go straight to the mark as if planted in it, |
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And the quests are arranged by the humble propriety of their demeanour. |
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The distant descendant presides over the feast; |
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His sweet spirits are strong. |
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He fills their cups from a measure, |
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And prays for the hoary old [among his quests]; -- |
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That with hoary age and wrinkled back, |
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They may lead on one another [to virtue], and support one another [in it]; |
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That so their old age may be blessed, |
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And their bright happiness [ever] increased. |
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You have made us drink to the full of your spirits; |
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You have satiated us with your kindness, |
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May you enjoy, O our lord, myriads of years! |
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May your bright happiness [ever] be increased! |
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You have made us drink to the full of your spirits; |
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Your viands were all set out before us. |
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May you enjoy, O our lord, myriads of years! |
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May your bright intelligence [ever] be increased! |
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May your bright intelligence become perfect, |
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High and brilliant, leading to a good end! |
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That good end has [now] its beginning: -- |
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The personator of your ancestors announced it in his blessing. |
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What was his announcement? |
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' [ The offerings in] your dishes of bamboo and wood are clean and fine. |
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Your friends asisting at the service, |
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Have done their part with reverent demeanour. |
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' Your reverent demeanour was altogether what the occasion required, |
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And not yours only, but that also of your filial son. |
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For such filial piety, without ceasing, |
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There will ever be conferred blessing on you. |
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' What will the blessings be? |
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That along the passages of your palace, |
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You shall move for ten thousand years; |
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And there will be granted to you for ever dignity and posterity. |
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' How as to your posterity? |
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Heaven invests you with your dignity, |
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Yea for ten thousand years, |
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The bright appointment is attached to your person. |
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' How will it be attached? |
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There is given you a heroic wife. |
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There is given you a heroic wife, |
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And from her shall come [the line of] descendants. ' |
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The wild-ducks and widgeons are on the King; |
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The personators of your ancestors feast and are happy. |
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Your spirits are clear, |
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Your viands are fragrant; |
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The personators of your ancestors feast and drink; -- |
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Their happiness and dignity are made complete. |
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The wild-ducks and widgeons are on the sand; |
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The personators of the dead enjoy the feast, their appropriate tribute. |
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Your spirits are abundant, |
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Your viands are good; |
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The personators of your ancestors feast and drink; -- |
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Happiness and dignity lend them their aids. |
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The wild ducks and widgeons are on the islets; |
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The personators of your ancestors feast and enjoy themselves. |
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Your spirits are strained, |
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Your viands are in slices; |
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The personators of your ancestors feast and drink; -- |
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Happiness and dignity descend on them. |
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The wild ducks and widgeons are where the waters meet; |
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The personators of your ancestors feast, and are honoured. |
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The feast is spread in the ancestral temple, |
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The place where happiness and dignity descend. |
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The personators of your ancestors feast and drink; -- |
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Their happiness and dignity are at the highest point. |
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The wild ducks and widgeons are in the gorge; |
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The personators of your ancestors rest, full of complacency. |
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Your fine spirits are delicious, |
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Your flesh, roast and broiled, is fragrant; |
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The personators of your ancestors feast and drink; -- |
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No troubles shall be theirs after this. |
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Of [our] admirable, amiable, sovereign, |
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Most illustrious is the excellent virtue. |
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He orders rightly the people, orders rightly the officers, |
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And receives his dignity from heaven, |
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Which protects and helps him, and [confirms] his appointment, |
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By repeated acts of renewal from heaven. |
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[So] does he seek for the emoluments of dignity, [and obtain] all blessings, -- |
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Thousands and hundreds of thousands of descendants, |
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Of reverent virtue and admirable character, |
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Fit to be rulers [of States], fit to be king, |
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Erring in nothing, forgetful of nothing, |
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Observing and following the old statutes. |
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[May they] manifest all self-restraint in deportment, |
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And their virtuous fame be without fail! |
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Without resentments, without dislikes, |
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[May they] give free course to [the good among] the officers, |
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Receiving blessing without limit, |
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And regulating all within the four quarters [of the kingdom]! |
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Regulating all, and determining each point, |
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Giving repose to his friends, |
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All the princes and ministers, |
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Will love the son of Heaven. |
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Not idly occupying his office, |
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The people will find rest in him. |
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Of generous devotion to the people was duke Liu, |
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Unable to rest or take his ease [where he was], |
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He divided and subdivided the country into fields; |
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He stored up the produce in the fields and in barns; |
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He tied up dried meat and grain, |
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In bottomless bags and in sacks; -- |
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That he might hold [the people] together, and glorify [his tribe]. |
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Then with bows and arrows all ready, |
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With shields and spears, and axes, large and small, |
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He commenced his march. |
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Of generous devotion to the people was duke Liu, |
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He had surveyed the plain [where he was settled]; |
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[The people] were numerous and crowded; |
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In sympathy with them, he made proclamation [of his contemplated measure], |
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And there were no perpetual sighings about it |
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He ascended to the hill-tops; |
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He ascended again to the plains. |
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What was it that he carried at his girdle? |
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Pieces of jade, and yao gems, |
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And his ornamented scabbard with its sword. |
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Of generous devotion to the people was duke Liu, |
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He went there to [the place of] the hundred springs, |
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And saw [around him] the wide plain. |
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He ascended the ridge on the south, |
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And looked at a large [level] height, |
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A height affording space for multitudes. |
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Here was room to dwell in; |
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Here might booths be built for strangers; |
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Here he told out his mind; |
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Here he entered on deliberations. |
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Of generous devotion to the people was duke Liu, |
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When he had found rest on the height, |
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With his officers all in dignified order, |
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He caused mats to be spread, with stools upon them; |
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And they took their places on the mats and leaned on the stools. |
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He had sent to the herds, |
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And taken a pig from the pen. |
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He poured out his spirits into calabashes; |
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And so he gave them to eat and to drink, |
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Acknowledged by them as ruler, and honoured. |
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Of generous devotion to the people was duke Liu, |
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[His territory] being now broad and long, |
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He determined the points of the heavens by means of the shadows; and then, ascending the ridges, |
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He surveyed the light and the shade, |
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Viewing [also] the [course of the] streams and springs. |
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His armies were three troops; |
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He measured the marshes and plains; |
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He fixed the revenue on the system of common cultivation of the fields; |
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He measured also the fields west of the hills; |
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And the settlement of Bin became truly great. |
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Of generous devotion to the people was duke Liu, |
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Having settled in temporary lodging houses in Bin, |
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He crossed the Wei by means of boats, |
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And gathered whetstones and iron. |
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When his settlement was fixed, and all boudaries defined, |
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The people became numerous and prosperous, |
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Occupying both sides of the Huang valley, |
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And pushing on up that of Guo; |
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And as the population became dense, |
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They went on to the country beyond the Ju. |
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Take the pool-water from a distance; |
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Draw it into one vessel and let it flow to another, |
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And it may be used to stream rice or millet. |
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[How much more should] the happy and courteous sovereign, |
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Be the parent of the people! |
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Take the pool-water from a distance; |
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Draw it into one vessel and let it flow to another, |
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And it may be used to wash a [spirit] vase. |
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[How much more should] the happy and courteous sovereign, |
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Be the centre of attraction to the people! |
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Take the pool-water from a distance; |
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Draw it into one vessel and let it flow to another, |
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And it may be used for all purpose of cleansing. |
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[How much more should] the happy and courteous sovereign, |
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Be the centre of rest to the people! |
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Into the recesses of the large mound, |
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Came the wind whirling from the south. |
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There was [our] happy, courteous sovereign, |
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Rambling and singing; |
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And I took occasion to give forth my notes. |
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'Full of spirits you ramble; |
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Full of satisfaction you rest. |
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O happy and courteous sovereign, |
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May you fulfill your years, |
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And end them like your ancestors! |
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'Your territory is great and glorious, |
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And perfectly secure. |
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O happy and courteous sovereign, |
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May you fulfill your years, |
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As the host of all the Spirits! |
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'You have received the appointment long-ackowledged, |
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With peace around your happiness and dignity. |
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O happy and courteous sovereign, |
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May you fulfill your years, |
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With pure happiness your constant possession! |
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'You have helpers and supporters, |
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Men of filial piety and of virtue, |
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To lead you on, and act as wings to you, |
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[So that], O happy and courteous sovereign, |
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You are a pattern to the four quarters [of the kingdom]. |
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'Full of dignity and majesty [are they], |
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Like a jade-mace [in its purity], |
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The subject of praise, the contemplation of hope. |
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O happy and courteous sovereign, |
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[Through them] the four quarters [of the kingdom] are guided by you. |
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'The male and female phoenix fly about, |
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Their wings rustling, |
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While they settle in their proper resting place. |
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Many are your admirable officers, O king, |
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Ready to be employed by you, |
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Loving you, the son of Heaven. |
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'The male and female phoenix fly about, |
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Their wings rustling, |
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As they soar up to heaven. |
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Many are your admirable officers, O king, |
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Waiting for your commands, |
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And loving the multitudes of the people. |
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'The male and female phoenix give out their notes, |
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On that lofty ridge. |
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The dryandras grow, |
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They grow luxuriantly; |
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And harmoniously the notes resound. |
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'Your carriages, O sovereign, |
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Are many, many. |
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Your horses, O sovereign, |
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Are well trained and fleet. |
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I have made my few verses, |
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In prolongation of your song. ' |
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The people indeed are heavily burdened, |
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But perhaps a little ease may be got for them. |
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Let us cherish this centre of the kingdom, |
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To secure the repose of the four quarters of it. |
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Let us give no indulgence to the wily and obsequious, |
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In order to make the unconscientious careful, |
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And to repress robbers and oppressors, |
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Who have no fear of the clear will [of Heaven]. |
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Then let us show kindness to those who are distant, |
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And help those who are near; -- |
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Thus establishing [the throne of] our king. |
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The people indeed are heavily burdened, |
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But perhaps a little rest may be got for them. |
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Let us cherish this centre of the kingdom, |
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And make it a gathering-place for the people. |
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Let us give no indulgence to the wily and obsequious, |
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In order to make the noisy braggarts careful, |
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And to repress robbers and oppressors; -- |
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So the people shall not have such sorrow. |
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Do not cast away your [former] service, |
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But secure the quiet of the king. |
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The people indeed are heavily burdened, |
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But perhaps a little relief may be got for them. |
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Let us cherish this capital, |
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To secure the repose of the States in the four quarters. |
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Let us give no indulgence to the wily and obsequious, |
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To make careful those who set no limit to themselves, |
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And to repress robbers and oppressors; -- |
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Not allowing them to act out their evil. |
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Then let us be reverently careful of our demeanour, |
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To cultivate association with the virtuous. |
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The people indeed are heavily burdened, |
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But perhaps a little repose may be got for them. |
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Let us cherish this centre of the kingdom, |
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That the sorrow of the people may be dispelled. |
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Let us give no indulgence to the wily and obsequious, |
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In order to make the multitudes of the evil careful, |
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And to repress robbers and oppressors, |
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So that the right shall not be over thrown. |
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Though you may be [but as] little children, |
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Your work is vast and great. |
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The people indeed are heavily burdened, |
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But perhaps a little tranquillity may be got for them. |
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Let us cherish this centre of the kingdom, |
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That it may not everywhere suffer such wounds. |
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Let us give no indulgence to the wily and obsequious, |
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In order to make the parasites careful, |
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And to repress robbers and oppressors, |
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So that the right shall not be reversed. |
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The king wishes to hold you as [sceptres of] jade, |
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And therefore I thus strongly admonish you. |
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God has reversed [His usual course of procedure], |
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And the lower people are full of distress. |
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The words which you utter are not right; |
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The plans which you form are not far-reaching. |
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As there are not sages, you think you have no guidance; |
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You have no reality in your sincerity. |
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[Thus] your plans do not reach far, |
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And I therefore strongly admonish you. |
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Heaven is now sending down calamities; -- |
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Do not be so complacent. |
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Heaven is now producing such movements; -- |
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Do not be so indifferent. |
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If your words were harmonious, |
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The people would become untied. |
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If your words were gentle and kind, |
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The people would be settled. |
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Though my duties are different from yours, |
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I am your fellow-servant. |
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I come to advise with you, |
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And you hear me with contemptuous indifference. |
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My words are about the [present urgent] affairs; -- |
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Do not think them matter for laughter. |
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The ancients had a saying: -- |
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'Consult the grass and firewood-gatherers. ' |
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Heaven is now exercising oppression; -- |
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Do not in such a way make a mock of things. |
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An old man, [I speak] with entire sincerity; |
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But you, my juniors, are full of pride. |
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It is not that my words are those of age, |
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But you make a joke of what is sad. |
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But the troubles will multiply like flames, |
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Till they are beyond help or remedy. |
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Heaven is now displaying its anger; -- |
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Do not be either boastful or flattering,. |
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Utterly departing from all propriety of demeanour, |
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Till good men are reduced to personators of the dead. |
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The people now sigh and groan, |
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And we dare not examine [into the causes of their trouble]. |
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The ruin and disorder are exhausting all their means of living, |
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And we show no kindness to our multitudes. |
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Heaven enlightens the people, |
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As the bamboo flute responds to the porcelain whistle; |
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As two half maces form a whole one; |
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As you take a thing, and bring it away in your hand, |
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Bringing it away without any more ado. |
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The enlightenment of the people is very easy. |
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They have [now] many perversities; -- |
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Do not you set up your perversity [before them]. |
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Good men are a fence; |
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The multitudes of the people are a wall; |
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Great States are screens; |
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Great Families are buttresses; |
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The cherishing of virtue secures repose; |
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The circle of [the king's] Relatives is a fortified wall. |
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We must not let the fortified wall get destroyed; |
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We must not let him solitary be consumed with terrors. |
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Revere the anger of Heaven, |
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And presume not to make sport or be idle. |
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Revere the changing moods of Heaven, |
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And presume not to drive about [at your pleasure]. |
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Great Heaven is intelligent, |
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And is with you in all your goings. |
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Great Heaven is clear-seeing, |
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And is with you in your wandering and indulgences. |