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dankodes * I found the best option for the weekly reminder emails, via Gmail. The external service options are more involved than our purposes require. Does anyone know anything about how to arrange an Apps Script? Basically all it has to do is tell ten people, on Saturdays, to come and get their juice/poems.
Until someone knows what to do there, I'll send out manual messages weekly. If you'd like to receive these and are not getting them, please let me know.
* If you haven't read it yet, chapter one, on tetrasyllabic shi poetry, in How to Read Chinese Poetry is hugely useful for the Book of Odes, imo.
* Remember you can also look at How to Read Chinese Poetry in Context.
* IF YOU HAVE FRIENDS WHO MIGHT LIKE TO JOIN or have other ideas, please let me know on this post.
* Every week I search the poems' English results to see if I can find any scholarship or neat bits and pop the results in Resources. Here is this week's collection.
**NEXT BATCH MAY 24.**
Until someone knows what to do there, I'll send out manual messages weekly. If you'd like to receive these and are not getting them, please let me know.
* If you haven't read it yet, chapter one, on tetrasyllabic shi poetry, in How to Read Chinese Poetry is hugely useful for the Book of Odes, imo.
* Remember you can also look at How to Read Chinese Poetry in Context.
* IF YOU HAVE FRIENDS WHO MIGHT LIKE TO JOIN or have other ideas, please let me know on this post.
* Every week I search the poems' English results to see if I can find any scholarship or neat bits and pop the results in Resources. Here is this week's collection.
**NEXT BATCH MAY 24.**
235. 文王 - Wen Wang
周雖舊邦、其命維新。
有周不顯、帝命不時。
文王陟降、在帝左右。
King Wen is on high;
Oh! bright is he in heaven.
Although Zhou was an old country,
The [favouring] appointment lighted on it recently.
Illustrious was the House of Zhou,
And the appointment of God came at the proper season.
King Wen ascends and descends,
On the left and the right of God.
亹亹文王、令聞不已。
陳錫哉周、侯文王孫子。
文王孫子、本支百世。
凡周之士、不顯亦世。
Full of earnest activity was king Wen,
And his fame is without end.
The gifts [of God] to Zhou,
Extend to the descendants of king Wen; -
To the descendants of king Wen,
In the direct line and the collateral branches for a hundred generations.
All the officers of Zhou,
Shall [also] be illustrious from age to age.
世之不顯、厥猶翼翼。
思皇多士、生此王國。
王國克生、維周之楨。
濟濟多士、文王以寧。
They shall be illustrious from age to age,
Zealously and reverently pursuing their plans.
Admirable are the many officers,
Born in this royal kingdom.
The royal kingdom is able to produce them, -
The suppporters of [the House of] Zhou.
Numerous is the array of officers,
And by them king Wen enjoys his repose.
穆穆文王、於緝熙敬止。
假哉天命、有商孫子。
商之孫子、其麗不億。
上帝既命、侯于周服。
Profound was king Wen;
Oh! continuous and bright was his feeling of reverence.
Great is the appointment of Heaven!
There were the descendants of [the sovereigns] of Shang; -
The descendants of the sovereigns of Shang,
Were in number more than hundreds of thousands;
But when God gave the command,
They became subject to Zhou.
侯服于周、天命靡常。
殷士膚敏、祼將于京。
厥作祼將、常服黼冔。
王之藎臣、無念爾祖。
They became subject to Zhou.
The appointment of Heaven is not constant.
The officers of Yin, admirable and alert,
Assist at the libations in [our] capital; -
They assist at those libations,
Always wearing the hatchets on their lower garment and their peculiar cap.
O ye loyal ministers of the king,
Ever think of your ancestor!
無念爾祖、聿脩厥德。
永言配命、自求多福。
殷之未喪師、克配上帝。
宜鑒于殷、駿命不易。
Ever think of your ancestor,
Cultivating your virtue,
Always striving to accord with the will [of Heaven].
So shall you be seeking for much happiness.
Before Yin lost the multitudes,
[Its kings] were the assessors fo God.
Look to Yin as a beacon;
The great appointment is not easily [preserved].
命之不易、無遏爾躬。
宣昭義問、有虞殷自天。
上天之載、無聲無臭。
儀刑文王、萬邦作孚。
The appointment is not easily [preserved],
Do not cause your own extinction.
Display and make bright your righteousness and name,
And look at [the fate of] Yin in the light of Heaven.
The doings of High Heaven,
Have neither sound nor smell.
Take your pattern from king Wen,
And the myriad regions will repose confidence in you.
Re: 235. 文王 - Wen Wang
The [favouring] appointment lighted on it recently.' does this mean that the country has been around a long time, but has only recently become prominent?
'And the appointment of God came at the proper season.
King Wen ascends and descends,
On the left and the right of God.' but that's ok bc it was the right time for them to rise--and then what's this last couplet?
Why are we talking about some singular god?
And then we discuss how some other kingdoms have effectively amalgamated into Zhou.
"Always wearing the hatchets on their lower garment and their peculiar cap." ethnic costume? court dress for the fallen Yin? Why all this harping on the Yin?
"[Its kings] were the assessors fo God." ?
"The doings of High Heaven,
Have neither sound nor smell." ??
Re: 235. 文王 - Wen Wang
https://scholar.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/mkern/files/the_formation_of_the_classic_of_poetry_0.pdf
The “Major Court Hymns” display a particular focus on King Wen,with two hymns, “King Wen” (Mao 235 “Wen wang”) and “King WenHas Fame” (Mao 244 “Wen wang you sheng”), entirely devoted to hispraise. In addition, another five hymns have been read as a set recallingthe story of King Wen.29 Here again, we may be witnessing less a setof discrete poems than a large repertoire of verse from which to recallthe origin of the Zhou.“King Wen,” the first of the “Major Court Hymns,” unfolds as follows, including shared lines with five other poems, among them “ClearTemple,” the first of the “Eulogies of Zhou”:King Wen is on high, / oh, shining in Heaven. / Though Zhou is an oldstate, / its mandate, it is new. / With Zhou, he was greatly illustrious, /God’s mandate was greatly timely. / King Wen ascends and descends /to God’s left side and right.Vigorous, vigorous was King Wen, / his good fame never ceases. / Arrayed are the bestowals on Zhou, / extending to King Wen’s line of descendants. / King Wen’s line of descendants / grows as root andbranches for a hundred generations. / All the officers of Zhou / shall begreatly illustrious in each generation.Across generations greatly illustrious / reverently, reverently are theyin their plans. / Admirable are the many officers, / they are born in thisland of the king. / The king’s land is able to give birth to them, / andthey are the supporters of Zhou. / Dignified, dignified are the many officers, / King Wen, by them, is at ease.Solemn, solemn was King Wen, / continuously bright and reverent. /Great indeed is Heaven’s mandate, / from Shang’s line of descendants./ Shang’s line of descendants / were in number a hundred thousand. /[But] God on high gave the mandate, / making them subjects of Zhou.They were made subjects of Zhou / [but] Heaven’s mandate is not constant. / The officers of Yin are eagerly serving, / now conducting libations in the capital [of Zhou]. / When rising to conduct the libations, / they don the customary robes and axe-patterned caps. / Chosen subjects of the king, / never forget your ancestors!Never forget your ancestors, / display and cultivate their virtue! / Forever strive to conjoin with the mandate, / bringing manifold blessingsupon yourself. / When Yin had not yet lost the multitudes, / they wereable to conjoin with God on high. / Take [the fate of] Yin as your mirror, / the lofty appointment is not easy [to keep]!The mandate is not easy [to keep], / may it not cease with you! /Spread and make bright your good fame, / take your measure from andrely on Heaven! / [Yet] the doings of Heaven above / are withoutsound, without smell— / model yourself on King Wen, / and the myriad states will submit in trust.According to the sequence of the poems in the Mao Poetry and thecomments in their prefaces, the first eighteen hymns praise Kings Wen,Wu, and Cheng (r. 1042/35-1006 BCE); the next five reprehend KingLi (r. 857/53-842/28 BCE); the next six praise King Xuan (r. 827/25-782 BCE); and the final two reprehend King You (r. 781-771 BCE).The hymns are thus believed to reflect significant moments in the development of the Western Zhou dynasty, beginning with an initial“golden age” and ending with the dynastic collapse under King You,the prototypical “bad last ruler” (and mirror image of the last ruler ofShang).
Traditionally, the hymns, mostly attributed to anonymous court officials, have been regarded as witnesses to, and compositions of, theseinflection points; yet they may just as well be products of retrospectiveimagination. None of the more than ten thousand Western Zhou inscribed bronze vessels, bells, weapons, and other artifacts shares asingle couplet with any of the hymns. In the Zuo Tradition, one line offour characters from “King Wen” is first quoted in an entry nominallydated to 706 BCE,30 and another line from the same song appears in anentry dated to 688 BCE.31 The next recitations of, or short quotationsfrom, “Major Court Hymns” appear only from 655 BCE onward, andeven then only very sparingly until about the mid-sixth century BCE,when they begin to occur in somewhat higher frequency.32 Altogether, only twenty of these thirty-one poems are either mentioned by title orquoted. None is quoted in full, and the only quotation of a full stanzaof forty-eight characters appears in the entry for the year 514 BCE.33Moreover, quotations or recitations mentioned under particular years inthe Zuo Tradition did not necessarily take place during these times butmay have been inserted when the text was compiled some time in thelate fourth century BCE; the same may be true of the eleven “MajorCourt Hymns” quoted in the Conversations of the States.34 Even if allthese references were made on the historical occasions attributed tothem, the traces of “Major Court Hymns” in texts from before or during Kongzi’s lifetime would still be scant. Aside from a single stanzalength quotation, the textual record contains no more than a few dozenwords, beginning in 706 BCE and, hence, post-dating the reigns of theearly Zhou kings by more than three centuries.
Re: 235. 文王 - Wen Wang
https://baylor-ir.tdl.org/bitstream/handle/2104/10239/Thesis.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y
The being of Tian 天 (Heaven) is the same as that of God discussed in Chapter 1.When the Zhou dynasty came into power, they conflated Shangdi with Heaven, theirhighest god; centuries later, the Romans would do the same thing after their capture ofGreece. As with Jupiter and Zeus, Shangdi and Heaven were essentially the same beingin ancient Chinese religion; hence, He is the same being as God. For identificationpurposes, however, Tian will be translated as “Heaven” within the poem but referred toas God without.
His virtue was also passed down to his descendants, as seen in Wei Tian Zhi Ming維天之命:維天之命 “The Commandments of Heaven”維天之命 The commandments of Heaven10於穆不已 Are profound and unceasing.於乎不顯 Oh, how luminous 文王之德之純 Is King Wen’s virtue and purity!假以溢我 His virtue overflows to us;我其收之 We humbly receive it.駿惠我文王 Submit to our wise King Wen;曾孫篤之May his farthest descendants be whole-heartedly likehim.11This poem, along with the following Wo Jiang 我將, speaks of one of the great rulers ofthe Zhou: Ji Chang 姬昌, more commonly known as Zhou Wen Wang 周文王 (KingWen of Zhou), born in 1152 BC. Although a king of the Zhou people, King Wen did notrule during the Zhou dynasty, as the Western Zhou began in 1046 BC and King Wen diedin 1056 BC. However, he was instrumental in the downfall of the previous Shang dynastyby forming alliances with the neighboring Shi 士, or chiefs, during his tenure as Xi Bai西伯 (Lord of the West). This helped to build up the military strength necessary tooverthrow the Shang dynasty, an act accomplished by King Wen’s son.
Re: 235. 文王 - Wen Wang
"Zhou was an old country": in 'clan society' (unsure exactly what this means, presumably in the before nation state times?), Zhou was a tribe with the family name Ji. They united/allied with the Jiang family and grew in the northwest. Then Baike says some stuff about the early kings who established the foundation of the Zhou and led it to become independent of the Shang dynasty.
The appointment is what is often translated to "mandate of heaven" in English.
The gloss for 'ascends and descends' is highly opaque to me: 陟降：上行曰陟，下行曰降, which means, ascend descend: the direction of 'up' is advance/ascend/promote, the direction of 'down' is descend/surrender? I think it means one dynasty coming into power and one leaving.
The left/right is glossed as "the same as beside"
The hatchets are a particular archaic motif of alternating black and white decorative designs. Baike describes these clothes as those prescribed for sacrifice/rites. The Yin are the aristocrats of the Shang dynasty, which was the previous ruling dynasty -- and now subjects of the Zhou
"[Its kings] were the assessors fo God." is glossed as 'it can match the will of God'
I think that last bit is just saying that we don't know the will of the heavens, so you have to be cautious and virtuous to maintain the favor of the heavens.
236. 大明 - Da Ming
明明在下、赫赫在上。
天難忱斯、不易維王。
天位殷適、使不挾四方。
The illustration of illustrious [virtue] is required below,
And the dread majesty is on high.
Heaven is not readily to be relied on;
It is not easy to be king.
Yin's rightful heir to the heavenly seat,
Was not permitted to possess the kingdom.
摯仲氏任、自彼殷商、來嫁于周、曰嬪于京。
乃及王季、維德之行。
大任有身、生此文王。
Ren, the second of the princesses of Zhi,
From [the domain of] Yin-shang,
Came to be married to the prince of Zhou,
And because his wife in his capital,
Both she and king Ji,
Were entirely virtuous.
[Then] Da-ren became pregnant,
And gave birth to our king Wen.
維此文王、小心翼翼。
昭事上帝、聿懷多福。
厥德不回、以受方國。
This king Wen,
Watchfully and reverently,
With entire intelligence served God,
And so secured the great blessing.
His virtue was without deflection;
And in consequence he received [the allegiance of] the States from all quarters.
天監在下、有命既集。
文王初載、天作之合。
在洽之陽、在渭之涘。
文王嘉止、大邦有子。
Heaven surveyed this lower world;
And its appointment lighted [on king Wen].
In his early years,
It made for him a mate; -
On the north of the Qia;
On the banks of the Wei.
When king Wen would wive,
There was the lady in a large State.
大邦有子、俔天之妹。
文定厥祥、親迎于渭。
造舟為梁、不顧其光。
In a large State was the lady,
Like a fair denizen of Heaven.
The ceremonies determined the auspiciousness [of the union].
And in person he met her on the Wei.
Over it he made a bridge of boats; -
The glory [of the occasion] was illustrious.
有命自天、命此文王。
于周于京、纘女維莘。
長子維行、篤生武王。
保右命爾、燮伐大商。
The favouring appointment was from Heaven,
Giving the throne to our king Wen,
In the capital of Zhou.
The lady-successor was from Xin,
Its eldest daughter, who came to marry him.
She was blessed to give birth to king Wu,
Who was preserved, and helped, and received also the appointment,
And in accordance with it smote the great Shang.
殷商之旅、其會如林。
矢于牧野、維予侯興。
上帝臨女、無貳爾心。
The troops of Yin-shang,
Were collected like a forest,
And marshalled in the wilderness of Mu.
We rose [to the crisis]; -
'God is with you, ' [said Shang-fu to the king],
'Have no doubts in your heart. '
牧野洋洋、檀車煌煌、駟騵彭彭。
維師尚父、時維鷹揚、涼彼武王、肆伐大商。
會朝清明。
The wilderness of Mu spread out extensive;
Bright shone the chariots of sandal;
The teams of bays, black-maned and white-bellied, galloped along;
The grand-master Shang-fu,
Was like an eagle on the wing,
Assisting king Wu,
Who at one onset smote the great Shang.
That morning's encounter was followed by a clear bright [day].
Re: 236. 大明 - Da Ming
Why "Da-ren"?
Shang fu and the king of Shang are different people?
So is this a dynastic history poem?
Re: 236. 大明 - Da Ming
"And the dread majesty is on high." The gloss for this is: "remarkably bright in appearance" "celestial/heavenly" (the latter is literally 'in the sky'). Vernacular translation is something like "the exceptional brightness appears in heaven".
Tai Ren is the name of the woman, and Baike's gloss on the line is "Da, same as Tai". The characters are very similar looking, 大 and 太, so perhaps it's a variant spelling.
Shang-fu is Lv Shang / Jiang Tai gong. Wen wang had him return and set up as a teacher. He helped Wen wang and Wu wang.
Baike describes it as an epic narrative poem about the founding of the Zhou dynasty.
Re: 236. 大明 - Da Ming
237. 緜 - Mian
民之初生、自土沮漆。
古公亶父、陶復陶穴、未有家室。
In long trains ever increasing grow the gourds.
When [our] people first sprang,
From the country about the Ju and the Qi,
The ancient duke Dan-fu,
Made for them kiln-like huts and caves,
Ere they had yet any houses.
古公亶父、來朝走馬。
率西水滸、至于岐下。
爰及姜女、聿來胥宇。
The ancient duke Dan-fu,
Came in the morning, galloping his horses,
Along the banks of the western rivers,
To the foot of [mount] Qi;
And there, he and the lady Jiang,
Came, and together looked out for a site on which to settle.
周原膴膴、菫茶如飴。
爰始爰謀、爰契我龜。
曰止曰時、築室于茲。
The plain of Zhou looked beautiful and rich,
With its violets and sowthistles [sweet] as dumplings.
There he began with consulting [his followers];
There he singed the tortoise-shell, [and divined].
The responses were - there to stay, and then;
And they proceeded there to build their houses.
迺慰迺止、迺左迺右、迺疆迺理、迺宣迺畝、自西徂東、周爰執事。
He encouraged the people and settled them;
Here on the left, there on the right.
He divided the ground into larger tracts and smaller portions;
He dug the ditches; he defined the acres;
From the west to the east,
There was nothing which he did not take in hand.
乃召司空、乃召司徒、俾立室家。
其繩則直、縮版以載、作廟翼翼。
He called his superintendent of works;
He called his minister of instruction;
And charged them with the building of the houses.
With the line they made everything straight;
They bound the frame-boards tight, so that they should rise regularly.
Uprose the ancestral temple in its solemn grandeur.
捄之陾陾、度之薨薨、築之登登、削屢馮馮、百堵皆興、鼛鼓弗勝。
Crowds brought the earth in baskets
They threw it with shouts into the frames;
They beat it with responsive blows;
They pared the walls repeatedly, and they sounded strong.
Five thousand cubits of them arose together,
So that the roll of the great drum did not overpower [the noise of the builders].
迺立臯門、臯門有伉。
迺立應門、應門將將。
迺立冢土、戎醜攸行。
They set up the gate of the enceinte;
And the gate of the enceinte stood high.
They set up the court gate;
And the court gate stood grand.
They reared the great altar [to the Spirits of the land],
From which all great movements should proceed.
肆不殄厥慍、亦不隕厥問。
柞棫拔矣、行道兌矣。
混夷駾矣、維其喙矣。
Thus though he could nto prevent the rage [of his foes],
He did not let fall his own fame.
The oaks and the Yu were [gradually] thinned,
And roads for travelling were opened.
The hordes of the Hun disappeared,
Startled and panting.
虞芮質厥成、文王蹶厥生。
予曰有疏附、予曰有先後、予曰有奔奏、予曰有禦侮。
[The chiefs of] Yu and Rui were brought to an agreement,
By king Wen's stimulating their natural virtue.
Then, I may say, some came to him, previously not knowing him;
And some, drawn the last by the first;
And some, drawn by his rapid success;
Ans some, by his defence [of the weak] from insult.
Re: 237. 緜 - Mian
"the gate of the enceinte;" nounARCHAIC
an enclosure or the enclosing wall of a fortified place.
"The oaks and the Yu were [gradually] thinned," Yu as in--that tribe? like they're killing them off like oaks when bringing land under cultivation? No, 238 and 239 make it clear this is a different yu, some kind of plant.
Okay so why was this guy roaming and trying to settle somewhere initially, how did they get displaced?
Re: 237. 緜 - Mian
Baike:
Oaks and Yu -- both plants are kinds of oaks, shrubs that grow as a thicket. IDK why Legge chooses to translate Yu this way when it makes the last stanza, that is about the ancient country of Yu, seem like it's the same word, but it's not.
Apparently there are five famous migrations of the Zhou people, in pursuit of fertile land. In this case, the Baike describes that they were invaded by the Kunyi nomadic people, so they had to migrate from Bin (county in Shaanxi) to Qishan (also in Shaanxi)
238. 棫樸 - Yu Pu
薪之槱之。
濟濟辟王。
左右趣之。
Abundant is the growth of the yu and the pu,
Supplying firewood; yea, stores of it.
Elegant and dignified was our prince and king;
On the right and the left they hastened to him.
濟濟辟王。
左右奉璋。
奉璋峩峩。
髦士攸宜。
Elegant and dignified was our prince and king;
On his left and his right they bore their half-mace [libation-cups]; -
They bore their instruments with solemn gravity,
As beseemed such eminent officers.
淠彼涇舟。
烝徒楫之。
周王于邁。
六師及之。
They rush along, - those boats on the Jing.
All the rowers labouring at their oars.
The king of Zhou marched on,
Followed by his six hosts.
倬彼雲漢。
為章于天。
周王壽考。
遐不作人。
Vast is that Milky Way,
Making a brilliant figure in the sky.
Long years did the king of Zhou enjoy; -
Did he not exert an influence upon men?
追琢其章。
金玉其相。
勉勉我王。
綱紀四方。
Engraved and chiselled are the ornaments;
Of metal and of jade is their substance.
Ever active was our king,
Giving law and rules to the four quarters [of the kingdom].
Re: 238. 棫樸 - Yu Pu
Kind of a lack-lustre praise hymn.
Re: 238. 棫樸 - Yu Pu
Apparently, they think it's about Zhou Wen wang bc the poem mentions the long life and he lived 97 years.
239. 旱麓 - Han Lu
豈弟君子、于祿豈弟。
Look at the foot of the Han,
How abundantly grow the hazel and the arrow-thorn!
Easy and self-possessed was our prince,
In his pursuit of dignity [still] easy and self-possessed!
瑟彼玉瓚、黃流在中。
其弟君子、福祿攸降。
Massive is that libation-cup of jade,
With the yellow liquid [sparkling] in it.
Easy and self-possessed was our prince,
The fit recipient of blessing and dignity.
鳶飛戾天、魚躍于淵。
豈弟君子、遐不作人。
The hawk flies up to heaven;
The fishes leap in the deep.
Easy and self-possessed was our-prince; -
Did he not exert an influence upon men?
清酒既載、騂牡既備。
以享以祀、以介景福。
His clear spirits are in vessel;
His red bull is ready; -
To offer, to sacrifice,
To increase his bright happiness.
瑟彼柞棫、民所燎矣。
豈弟君子、神所勞矣。
Thick grow the oaks and the yu,
Which the people use for fuel.
Easy and self-possessed was our prince,
Cheered and encouraged by the Spirits.
莫莫葛藟、施于條枚。
豈弟君子、求福不回。
Luxuriant are the dolichos and other creepers,
Clinging to the branches and stems,
Easy and self-possessed was our prince,
Seeking for happiness by no crooked ways.
Re: 239. 旱麓 - Han Lu
How abundantly grow the hazel and the arrow-thorn!" what has this to do with the Prince?
"The hawk flies up to heaven;
The fishes leap in the deep.
Easy and self-possessed was our-prince; -" these things are natural and graceful in their designated spheres, like our prince in his
"Luxuriant are the dolichos and other creepers,
Clinging to the branches and stems,
Easy and self-possessed was our prince,
Seeking for happiness by no crooked ways." so are these parasitic plants a contrasting example of crooked ways?
Re: 239. 旱麓 - Han Lu
There is some discussion about how to properly interpret the hawk/fish stanza, but it seemed to come down on the side of it being about cultivating talented people?
Baike only says the last stanza says how heaven will bless the Zhou. The last line can be interpreted in two ways: either seeking good fortune/happiness without violating the way of the ancestors or without evil ways.
But your suggestion seems to make more sense to me?? Since previously creepers have been used to represent hanger-ons.
240. 思齊 - Si Zhai
大姒嗣徽音、則百斯男。
Pure and reverent was Da-ren,
The mother of king Wen;
Loving was she to Zhou Jiang; -
A wife becoming the House of Zhou.
Da-si inherited her excellent fame,
And from her came a hundred sons.
惠于宗公、神罔時怨、神罔時恫。
刑于寡妻、至于兄弟、以御于家邦。
He conformed to the example of his ancestors,
And their Spirits had no occasion for complaint.
Their Spirits had no occasion for dissatisfaction,
And his example acted on his wife,
Extended to his brethren,
And was felt by all the clans and States.
雝雝在宮、肅肅在廟。
不顯亦臨、無射亦保。
Full of harmony was he in his palace;
Full of reverence in the ancestral temple.
Out of sight he still felt as under inspection;
Unweariedly he maintained [his virtue].
肆戎疾不殄、烈假不瑕。
不聞亦式、不諫亦入。
Though he could not prevent [some] great calamities,
His brightness and magnanimity were without stain.
Without previous instruction he did what was right;
Without admonition, he went on [in the path of goodness].
肆成人有德、小子有造。
古之人無斁、譽髦斯士。
So, grown up men became virtuous [through him],
And young men made [constant] attainments.
[Our] ancient prince never felt weariness,
And from him were the fame and eminence of his officers.
Re: 240. 思齊 - Si Zhai
Re: 240. 思齊 - Si Zhai
Da Si (Tai Si) is the wife of Wen wang. Da/Tai must be the way to refer to wives of kings of this time period -- it also at one point calls Zhou Jiang "Tai Jiang". The women are: Da Ren (mother of Wen wang), Zhou Jiang (grandmother of Wen wang), Da Si (wife of Wen wang).
The vernacular translation makes it clear that the second stanza refers to Wen wang.
241. 皇矣 - Huang Yi
監觀四方、求民之莫。
維此二國、其政不獲。
維彼四國、爰究爰度。
上帝耆之、憎其式廓。
乃眷西顧、止維與宅。
Great is God,
Beholding this lower world in majesty.
He surveyed the four quarters [of the kingdom],
Seeking for some one to give settlement to the people.
Those two [earlier] dynasties,
Had failed to satisfy Him with their government;
So throughout the various States,
He sought and considered,
For one on which he might confer the rule.
Hating all the great [States],
He turned His kind regards on the west,
And there gave a settlement [to king Da].
作之屏之、其菑其翳。
脩之平之、其灌其栵。
啟之辟之、其檉其椐。
攘之剔之、其檿其柘。
帝遷明德、串夷載路。
天立厥配、受命既固。
[King Da] raised up and removed,
The dead trunks, and the fallen trees.
He dressed and regulated,
The bushy clumps, and the [tangled] rows.
He opened up and cleared,
The tamarix trees, and the stave-trees.
He hewed and thinned,
The mountain-mulberry trees.
God having brought about the removal thither of this intelligent ruler,
The Chuan hordes fled away.
Heaven raised up a helpmeet for him.
And the appointment he had received was made sure.
帝省其山、柞棫斯拔、松柏斯兌。
帝作邦作對、自大伯王季。
維此王季、因心則友。
則友其兄、則篤其慶。
載錫之光、受祿無喪、奄有四方。
God surveyed the hills,
Where the oaks and yu were thinned,
And paths made through the firs and cypresses.
God, who had raised the State, raised up a proper ruler for it; -
From the time of Da-bo and king Ju [this was done].
Now this king Ji,
In his heart was full of brotherly duty.
Full of duty to his elder brother,
He gave himself the more to promote the prosperity [of the country],
And secured to him the glory [of his act].
He accepted his dignity, and did not lose it,
And [ere long his family] possessed the whole kingdom.
維此王季、帝度其心、貊其德音。
其德克明、克明克類、克長克君。
王此大邦、克順克比。
比于文王、其德靡悔。
既受帝祉、施于孫子。
The king Ji,
Was gifted by God with the power of judgement,
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;
Rendering a cordial submission, effecting a cordial union.
When [the sway] came to king Wen,
His virtue left nothing to be dissatisfied with.
He received the blessing of God,
And it was extended to his descendants.
帝謂文王、無然畔援、無然歆羨、誕先登于岸。
密人不恭、敢距大邦、侵阮徂共。
王赫斯怒、爰整其旅、以按徂旅、以篤于周祜、以對于天下。
God said to king Wen,
' Be not like those who reject this and cling to that;
Be not like those who are ruled by their likings and desires; '
So he grandly ascended before others to the height [of virtue].
The people of Mi were disobedient,
Daring to oppose our great country,
And invaded Ruan, marching to Gong.
The king rose majestic in his wrath;
He marshalled his troops,
To stop the invading foes;
To consolidate the prosperity of Zhou;
To meet [the expectations of ] all under heaven.
依其在京、侵自阮疆、陟我高岡。
無矢我陵、我陵我阿。
無飲我泉、我泉我池。
度其鮮原、居歧之陽、在渭之將。
萬邦之方、下民之王。
He remained quietly in the capital;
But [his troops] went on from the borders of Ruan.
They ascended our lofty ridges,
And [the enemy] arrayed no forces on our hills,
On our hills, small or large,
Nor drank at our springs,
Our springs or our pools.
He then determined the finest of the plains,
And settled on the south of Qi,
On the side of the Wei;
The centre of all the States,
The resort of the lower people.
帝謂文王、予懷明德、不大聲以色、不長夏以革。
不識不知、順帝之則。
帝謂文王、詢爾仇方、同爾兄弟、以爾鉤援、與爾臨衝、以伐崇墉。
God said to king Wen,
'I am pleased with your intelligent virtue,
Not loudly proclaimed nor pourtrayed,
Without extravagance or changeableness,
Without consciousness of effort on your part,
In accordance with the pattern of God.'
God said to king Wen,
'Take measures against the country of your foes.
Along with your brethren,
Get ready your scaling ladders,
And your engines of onfall and assault,
To attack the walls of Chong.'
臨衝閑閑、崇墉言言。
執訊連連、攸馘安安。
是類是禡、是致是附。
四方以無悔。
臨衝茀茀、崇墉仡仡。
是伐是肆、是絕是忽。
四方以無拂。
The engines of onfall and assault were gently plied,
Against the walls of Chong high and great;
Captives for the question were brought in one after another;
' The left ears [of the slain] were taken leisurely.
He sacrificed to God, and to the Father of war,
Thus seeking to induce submission;
And throughout the kingdom none dared to insult him.
The engines of onfall and assault were vigorously plied,
Against the walls of Chong very strong;
He attacked it, and let loose all his forces;
He extinguished [its sacrifices], and made an end of its existence;
And throughout the kingdom none dared to oppose him.'
Re: 241. 皇矣 - Huang Yi
"some one to give settlement to the people." odd phrasing
"From the time of Da-bo and king Ju [this was done].
Now this king Ji," who's Ju? Ji isn't King Da, is he? why did we suddenly switch subjects?
And then we move to King Wen, and I'm not sure why. Are we following a line of descent? Are we skipping around to unrelated rulers with the Mandate?
"' Be not like those who reject this and cling to that;" well that's vague!
"And [the enemy] arrayed no forces on our hills,
On our hills, small or large,
Nor drank at our springs,
Our springs or our pools.
He then determined the finest of the plains,
And settled on the south of Qi,
On the side of the Wei;
The centre of all the States,
The resort of the lower people." what's this all about?
"The engines of onfall"?
Re: 241. 皇矣 - Huang Yi
"some one to give settlement to the people" is esp odd because the vernacular translation is saying that the sufferings of the people have been revealed? The gloss says that the last char is suffering, but some say stability, which might be where Legge gets that from?
Da-bo is the eldest son of Tai wang, Tai Bo. Second son was Yu Zhong, third son Ji Li. The king loved Ji Li most, so Tai Bo and Yu Zhong fled south to establish Wu state. After Tai wang died, Ji Li became king, known as Wang Ji. (Unclear why Wang/king is first here, since that's not what was used previously?) Tai wang, Wang Ji, and Wen wang founded the Zhou dynasty, which is why they're the three being referenced. I think maybe there is a typo and the line "From the time of Da-bo and king Ju" should read "From the time of Da-bo and king Ji" -- the line in Chinese refers to both Da Bo and Wang Ji.
"Be not like those who reject this and cling to that;" it has in modern Chinese the meaning of domineering/tyrannical, but the gloss says to linger, to dither and not move forward.
The vernacular translation puts the section "And [the enemy] arrayed no forces on our hills,
On our hills, small or large,
Nor drank at our springs,
Our springs or our pools." in quotes, I think to imply that it's an instruction given. Then it's describing the location Wen wang occupies.
The engines of onfall and assault seem to be how Legge is rendering these two names of military vehicles. One has a watchtower used either to keep a lookout or to provide the high ground in a siege. The other can attack the bottom of the city wall
242. 靈臺 - Ling Tai
庶民攻之、不日成之。
經始勿亟、庶民子來。
When he planned the commencement of the marvellous tower,
He planned it, and defined it;
And the people in crowds undertook the work,
And in no time completed it.
When he planned the commencement, [he said], ' Be not in a hurry; '
But the people came as if they were his children.
王在靈囿、麀鹿攸伏、麀鹿濯濯、白鳥翯翯。
王在靈沼、於牣魚躍。
The king was in the marvellous park,
Where the does were lying down, -
The does, so sleek and fat;
With the white birds glistening.
The king was by the marvellous pond; -
How full was it of fishes leaping about!
虡業維樅、賁鼓維鏞。
於論鼓鐘、於樂辟廱。
On his posts was the toothed face-board, high and strong,
With the large drums and bells.
In what unison were their sounds!
What joy was there in the hall with its circlet of water!
於論鼓鐘、於樂辟廱。
鼉鼓逢逢、朦瞍奏公。
In what unison sounded the drums and bells!
What joy was there in the hall with its circlet of water!
The lizard-skin drums rolled harmonious,
As the blind musicians performed their parts.
Re: 242. 靈臺 - Ling Tai
"When he planned the commencement, [he said], ' Be not in a hurry; '
But the people came as if they were his children." how do these lines relate?
"On his posts was the toothed face-board, high and strong," ?
"What joy was there in the hall with its circlet of water!" so it's got a little moat, or?
"As the blind musicians performed their parts." why blind?
Re: 242. 靈臺 - Ling Tai
I guess Legge has translated Ling to marvelous, but the gloss says this is the name of an ancient tower, in modern day northwest Xi'an.
My speculation is that the children line means that he didn't necessarily rush construction, but people worked hard like they were his children? Baike does not say anything about it.
The board is a wooden frame for hanging bells.
I have no idea where Legge gets the circlet of water from, it's not in those sentences in the Chinese? Maybe he's carrying it down from the pond?
At the time musicians were often blind people.
The lizard-skin is Chinese alligator btw
243. 下武 - Xia Wu
三后在天、王配于京。
Successors tread in the steps [of their predecessors] in our Zhou.
For generations there had been wise kings;
The three sovereigns were in heaven;
And king [Wu] was their worthy successor in his capital.
王配于京、世德作求。
永言配命、成王之孚。
King [Wu] was their worthy successor in his capital,
Rousing himself to seek for the hereditary virtue,
Always striving to accord with the will [of Heaven];
And thus he secured the confidence due to a king.
成王之孚、下土之式。
永言孝思、孝思維則。
He secured the confidence due to a king,
And became a pattern of all below him.
Ever thinking how to be filial,
His filial mind was the model [which he supplied].
媚茲一人、應侯順德。
永言孝思、昭哉嗣服。
Men loved him, the One man,
And responded [to his example] with a docile virtue.
Ever thinking how to be filial,
He brilliantly continued the doings [of his fathers].
昭茲來許、繩其祖武。
於萬斯年、受天之祜。
Brilliantly! and his posterity,
Continuing to walk in the steps of their forefathers,
For myriads of years,
Will receive the blessing of Heaven.
受天之祜、四方來賀。
於萬斯年、不遐有佐。
They will receive the blessing of Heaven.
And from the four quarters [of the kingdom] will felicitations come to them.
For myriads of years,
Will there not be their helpers?
Re: 243. 下武 - Xia Wu
"For myriads of years,
Will there not be their helpers?" ?
Re: 243. 下武 - Xia Wu
This is actually three men lolol -- Zhou Wu wang, Zhou Cheng wang, and Zhou Kang wang.
The vernacular has the alternate last line of "then worry that no one will come help [the ruler]"
The rhetorical method dingzhen is used, where pairs of stanzas have a repeated phrase, and there are quasi-dingzhen patterns used with phrases with the same meaning and structure. Baike says this gives the poem more aesthetic pleasure in form. (I think it agrees with you that the content is dull)
244. 文王有聲 - Wen Wang You Sheng
遹求厥寧、遹觀厥成。
文王烝哉。
King Wen is famous;
Yea, he is very famous.
What he sought was the repose [of the people];
What he saw was the completion [of his work].
A sovereign true was king Wen!
文王受命、有此武功。
既伐于崇、作邑于豐。
文王烝哉。
King Wen received the appointment [of Heaven],
And achieved his martial success.
Having overthrown Chong,
He fixed his [capital] city in Feng.
A sovereign true was king Wen!
築城伊淢、作豐伊匹。
匪棘其欲、遹追來孝。
王后烝哉。
He repaired the walls along the [old] moat :
His establishing himself in Feng was according to [the pattern of his forefathers],
It was not that he was in haste to gratify his wishes; -
It was to show the filial duty which had come down to him.
A sovereign true was [our] royal prince!
王公伊濯、為豐之垣。
四方攸同、王后維翰。
王后烝哉。
His royal merit was brightly displayed,
By those walls of Feng.
There were collected [the sympathies of the people of] the four quarters,
Who regarded the royal prince as their protector.
A sovereign true was [our] royal prince!
豐水東注、維禹之績。
四方攸同、皇王維辟。
皇王烝哉。
The Feng-water flowed on to the east [of the city],
Through the meritorious labour of Yu.
There were collected [the sympathies of the people of ] the four quarters,
Who would have the great king as their ruler.
A sovereign true was the great king!
鎬京辟廱。
自西自東、自南自北、無思不服。
皇王烝哉。
In the capital of Hao he built his hall with its circlet of water;
From the west to the east,
From the south to the north,
There was not a thought but did him homage.
A sovereign true was the great king!
考卜維王、宅是鎬京。
維龜正之、武王成之。
武王烝哉。
He examined and divined, did the king,
About settling in the capital of Hao.
The tortoise-shell decided the site,
And king Wu completed the city.
A sovereign true was king Wu!
豐水有芑、武王豈不仕。
詒厥孫謀、以燕翼子。
武王烝哉。
By the Feng-water grows the white millet; -
Did not king Wu show wisdom in his employment of officers?
He would leave his plans to his descendants,
And secure comfort and support to his son.
A sovereign true was king Wu!
Re: 244. 文王有聲 - Wen Wang You Sheng
"In the capital of Hao he built his hall with its circlet of water;" again with that moat
"By the Feng-water grows the white millet;" does that mean anything for us?
Re: 244. 文王有聲 - Wen Wang You Sheng
So Baike says this term for the hall is the name of the palace of the Western Zhou, which I think Legge is just taking liberty in translation with??
The white millet is glossed as Chinese wolfberry shrub / willow, some say water celery. (I think it is meant to be a willow?) Fengshui means abundant water, so I think just a plentiful image?