BOOK XX

Extracts from the Book of History

The Emperor Yau said to Shun, "Ah, upon you, upon your person, lies the Heaven-appointed order of succession!Faithfully hold to it, without any deflection; for if within the four seas necessity and want befall the people, your own revenue will forever come to an end."

Shun also used the same language in handing down the appointment to Yu.

The Emperor T'ang in his prayer, said, "I, the child Li, presume to avail me of an ox of dusky hue, and presume to manifestly announce to Thee, O God, the most high and Sovereign Potentate, that to the transgressor I dare not grant forgiveness, nor yet keep in abeyance Thy ministers.Judgment rests in Thine heart, O God.Should we ourself transgress, may the guilt not be visited everywhere upon all.Should the people all transgress, be the guilt upon ourself!"

Chow possessed great gifts, by which the able and good were richly endowed.

"Although," said King Wu, "he is surrounded by his near relatives, they are not to be compared with men of humane spirit.The people are suffering wrongs, and the remedy rests with me—the one man."

After Wu had given diligent attention to the various weights and measures, examined the laws and regulations, and restored the degraded officials, good government everywhere ensued.

He caused ruined States to flourish again, reinstated intercepted heirs, and promoted to office men who had gone into retirement; and the hearts of the people throughout the empire drew towards him.

Among matters of prime consideration with him were these—food for the people, the duty of mourning, and sacrificial offerings to the departed.

He was liberal and large-hearted, and so won all hearts; true, and so was trusted by the people; energetic, and thus became a man of great achievements; just in his rule, and all were well content.

Tsz-chang in a conversation with Confucius asked, "What say you is essential for the proper conduct of government?"

The Master replied, "Let the ruler hold in high estimation the five excellences, and eschew the four evils; then may he conduct his government properly."

"And what call you the five excellences?"he was asked.

"They are," he said, "Bounty without extravagance; burdening without exciting discontent; desire without covetousness; dignity without haughtiness; show of majesty without fierceness."

"What mean you," asked Tsz-chang, "by bounty without extravagance?"

"Is it not this," he replied—"to make that which is of benefit to the people still more beneficial?When he selects for them such labors as it is possible for them to do, and exacts them, who will then complain?So when his desire is the virtue of humaneness, and he attains it, how shall he then be covetous?And if—whether he have to do with few or with many, with small or with great—he do not venture ever to be careless, is not this also to have dignity without haughtiness?And if—when properly vested in robe and cap, and showing dignity in his every look—his appearance be so imposing that the people look up to and stand in awe of him, is not this moreover to show majesty without fierceness?"

"What, then, do you call the four evils?"said Tsz-chang.

The answer here was, "Omitting to instruct the people and then inflicting capital punishment on them—which means cruel tyranny.Omitting to give them warning and yet looking for perfection in them—which means oppression.Being slow and late in issuing requisitions, and exacting strict punctuality in the returns—which means robbery.And likewise, in intercourse with men, to expend and to receive in a stingy manner—which is to act the part of a mere commissioner."

"None can be a superior man," said the Master, "who does not recognize the decrees of Heaven.

"None can have stability in him without a knowledge of the proprieties.

"None can know a man without knowing his utterances."

THE SAYINGS OF MENICUS

[Translated into English by James Legge_]

INTRODUCTION

A hundred years after the time of Confucius the Chinese nation seemed to have fallen back into their original condition of lawlessness and oppression.The King's power and authority was laughed to scorn, the people were pillaged by the feudal nobility, and famine reigned in many districts.The foundations of truth and social order seemed to be overthrown.There were teachers of immorality abroad, who published the old Epicurean doctrine, "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die."This teaching was accompanied by a spirit of cold-blooded egotism which extinguished every spark of Confucian altruism.Even the pretended disciples of Confucius confused the precepts of the Master, and by stripping them of their narrow significance rendered them nugatory.It was at this point that Mang-tsze, "Mang the philosopher," arose.He was sturdy in bodily frame, vigorous in mind, profound in political sagacity and utterly fearless in denouncing the errors of his countrymen.He had been brought up among the disciples of Confucius, in whose province he was born B.C.372, but he was much more active and aggressive, less a Mystic than a fanatic, in comparison!with his Master.He resolved on active measures in stemming the tendency of his day.He did indeed surround himself with a school of disciples, but instead of making a series of desultory travels, teaching in remote places and along the high-road, he went to the heart of the evil.He presented himself like a second John the Baptist at the courts of kings and princes, and there boldly denounced vice and misrule.It was not difficult for a Chinese scholar and teacher to find access to the highest of the land.The Chinese believed in the divine right of learning, just as they believed in the divine right of kings.Mang employed every weapon of persuasion in trying to combat heresy and oppression; alternately ridiculing and reproving: now appealing in a burst of moral enthusiasm, and now denouncing in terms of cutting sarcasm the abuses which after all he failed to check.The last prince whom he successfully confronted was the Marquis of Lu, who turned him carelessly away.He accepted this as the Divine sentence of his failure, "That I have not found in this marquis, a ruler who would hearken to me is an intimation of heaven."Henceforth he lived in retirement until his ninety-seventh year; but from his apparent failure sprang a practical success.His written teachings are amongst the most lively and epigrammatic works of Chinese literature, have done much to keep alive amongst his countrymen the spirit of Confucianism, and even Western readers may drink wisdom from this spring of Oriental lore.The following selections from his sayings well exhibit the spirit of his system of philosophy and morality.

E. W.

THE SAYINGS OF MENCIUS

BOOK I

KING HWUY OF LňANG

Part I

Mencius went to see King Hwuy of LŽang.[1] The king said, "Venerable Sir, since you have not counted it far to come here a distance of a thousand li, may I presume that you are likewise provided with counsels to profit my kingdom?"Mencius replied, "Why must your Majesty used that word 'profit'?What I am likewise provided with are counsels to benevolence and righteousness; and these are my only topics.

"If your Majesty say, 'What is to be done to profit my kingdom?'the great officers will say, 'What is to be done to profit our families?'and the inferior officers and the common people will say, 'What is to be done to profit our persons?'Superiors and inferiors will try to take the profit the one from the other, and the kingdom will be endangered.In the kingdom of ten thousand chariots, the murderer of his ruler will be the chief of a family of a thousand chariots.In the State of a thousand chariots, the murderer of his ruler will be the chief of a family of a hundred chariots.To have a thousand in ten thousand, and a hundred in a thousand, cannot be regarded as not a large allowance; but if righteousness be put last and profit first, they will not be satisfied without snatching all.

"There never was a man trained to benevolence who neglected his parents.There never was a man trained to righteousness who made his ruler an after consideration.Let your Majesty likewise make benevolence and righteousness your only themes—Why must you speak of profit?"

When Mencius, another day, was seeing King Hwuy of LŽang, the King went and stood with him by a pond, and, looking round on the wild geese and deer, large and small, said, "Do wise and good princes also take pleasure in these things?"Mencius replied, "Being wise and good, they then have pleasure in these things.If they are not wise and good, though they have these things, they do not find pleasure."It is said in the 'Book of Poetry':—

  '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.
  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!'

King Wan used the strength of the people to make his tower and pond, and the people rejoiced to do the work, calling the tower 'the Marvellous Tower,' and the pond 'the Marvellous Pond,' and being glad that he had his deer, his fishes and turtles.The ancients caused their people to have pleasure as well as themselves, and therefore they could enjoy it.

"In the Declaration of T'ang it is said, 'O Sun, when wilt thou expire?We will die together with thee.'The people wished for KŽeh's death, though they should die with him.Although he had his tower, his pond, birds and animals, how could he have pleasure alone?"

King Hwuy of LŽang said, "Small as my virtue is, in the government of my kingdom, I do indeed exert my mind to the utmost.If the year be bad inside the Ho, I remove as many of the people as I can to the east of it, and convey grain to the country inside.If the year be bad on the east of the river, I act on the same plan.On examining the governmental methods of the neighboring kingdoms, I do not find there is any ruler who exerts his mind as I do.And yet the people of the neighboring kings do not decrease, nor do my people increase—how is this?"

Mencius replied, "Your Majesty loves war; allow me to take an illustration from war.The soldiers move forward at the sound of the drum; and when the edges of their weapons have been crossed, on one side, they throw away their buff coats, trail their weapons behind them, and run.Some run a hundred paces and then stop; some run fifty paces and stop.What would you think if these, because they had run but fifty paces, should laugh at those who ran a hundred paces?"The king said, "They cannot do so.They only did not run a hundred paces; but they also ran."Mencius said, "Since your Majesty knows this you have no ground to expect that your people will become more numerous than those of the neighboring kingdoms.

"If the seasons of husbandry be not interfered with, the grain will be more than can be eaten.If close nets are not allowed to enter the pools and ponds, the fish and turtles will be more than can be consumed.If the axes and bills enter the hill-forests only at the proper times, the wood will be more than can be used.When the grain and fish and turtles are more than can be eaten, and there is more wood than can be used, this enables the people to nourish their living and do all offices for their dead, without any feeling against any.But this condition, in which the people nourish their living, and do all offices to their dead without having any feeling against any, is the first step in the Royal way.

"Let mulberry trees be planted about the homesteads with their five acres, and persons of fifty years will be able to wear silk.In keeping fowls, pigs, dogs, and swine, let not their time of breeding be neglected, and persons of seventy years will be able to eat flesh.Let there not be taken away the time that is proper for the cultivation of the field allotment of a hundred acres, and the family of several mouths will not suffer from hunger.Let careful attention be paid to the teaching in the various schools, with repeated inculcation of the filial and fraternal duties, and gray-haired men will not be seen upon the roads, carrying burdens on their backs or on their heads.It has never been that the ruler of a State where these results were seen, persons of seventy wearing silk and eating flesh, and the black-haired people suffering neither from hunger nor cold, did not attain to the Royal dignity.

"Your dogs and swine eat the food of men, and you do not know to store up of the abundance.There are people dying from famine on the roads, and you do not know to issue your stores for their relief.When men die, you say, 'It is not owing to me; it is owing to the year,' In what does this differ from stabbing a man and killing him, and then saying, 'It was not I; it was the weapon'?Let your Majesty cease to lay the blame on the year and instantly the people, all under the sky, will come to you."

King Hwuy of LŽang said, "I wish quietly to receive your instructions."Mencius replied, "Is there any difference between killing a man with a stick and with a sword?""There is no difference," was the answer.

Mencius continued, "Is there any difference between doing it with a sword and with governmental measures?""There is not," was the answer again.

Mencius then said, "In your stalls there are fat beasts; in your stables there are fat horses.But your people have the look of hunger, and in the fields there are those who have died of famine.This is leading on beasts to devour men.Beasts devour one another, and men hate them for doing so.When he who is called the parent of the people conducts his government so as to be chargeable with leading on beasts to devour men, where is that parental relation to the people?Chung-ne said, 'Was he not without posterity who first made wooden images to bury with the dead?'So he said, because that man made the semblances of men and used them for that purpose; what shall be thought of him who causes his people to die of hunger?"

King Hwuy of LŽang said, "There was not in the kingdom a stronger State than Ts'in, as you, venerable Sir, know.But since it descended to me, on the east we were defeated by Ts'e, and then my eldest son perished; on the west we lost seven hundred li of territory to Ts'in; and on the south we have sustained disgrace at the hands of Ts'oo.I have brought shame on my departed predecessors, and wish on their account to wipe it away once for all.What course is to be pursued to accomplish this?"

Mencius replied, "With a territory only a hundred li square it has been possible to obtain the Royal dignity.If your Majesty will indeed dispense a benevolent government to the people, being sparing in the use of punishments and fines, and making the taxes and levies of produce light, so causing that the fields shall be ploughed deep, and the weeding well attended to, and that the able-bodied, during their days of leisure, shall cultivate their filial piety, fraternal duty, faithfulness, and truth, serving thereby, at home, their fathers and elder brothers, and, abroad, their elders and superiors, you will then have a people who can be employed with sticks which they have prepared to oppose the strong buff-coats and sharp weapons of the troops of Ts'in and Ts'oo.

"The rulers of those States rob their people of their time, so that they cannot plough and weed their fields in order to support their parents.Parents suffer from cold and hunger; elder and younger brothers, wives and children, are separated and scattered abroad.Those rulers drive their people into pitfalls or into the water; and your Majesty will go to punish them.In such a case, who will oppose your Majesty?In accordance with this is the saying, 'The benevolent has no enemy!'I beg your Majesty not to doubt what I said."

Mencius had an interview with King SŽang[2] of LŽang.When he came out he said to some persons, "When I looked at him from a distance, he did not appear like a ruler; when I drew near to him, I saw nothing venerable about him.Abruptly he asked me, 'How can the kingdom, all under the sky, be settled?'I replied, 'It will be settled by being united under one sway,'

"'Who can so unite it?'he asked.

"I replied, 'He who has no pleasure in killing men can so unite it.'

"'Who can give it to him?'he asked.

"I replied, 'All under heaven will give it to him.Does your Majesty know the way of the growing grain?During the seventh and eighth months, when drought prevails, the plants become dry.Then the clouds collect densely in the heavens, and send down torrents of rain, so that the grain erects itself as if by a shoot.When it does so, who can keep it back?Now among those who are shepherds of men throughout the kingdom, there is not one who does not find pleasure in killing men.If there were one who did not find pleasure in killing men, all the people under the sky would be looking towards him with outstretched necks.Such being indeed the case, the people would go to him as water flows downwards with a rush, which no one can repress."

King Seuen of Ts'e asked, saying, "May I be informed by you of the transactions of Hwan of Ts'e and Wan of Ts'in?"

Mencius replied, "There were none of the disciples of Chung-ne who spoke about the affairs of Hwan and Wan, and therefore they have not been transmitted to these after-ages; your servant has not heard of them.If you will have me speak, let it be about the principles of attaining to the Royal sway."

The king said, "Of what kind must his virtue be who can attain to the Royal sway?"Mencius said, "If he loves and protects the people, it is impossible to prevent him from attaining it."

The king said, "Is such an one as poor I competent to love and protect the people?""Yes," was the reply."From what do you know that I am competent to that?""I have heard," said Mencius, "from Hoo Heih the following incident:—'The king,' said he, 'was sitting aloft in the hall, when some people appeared leading a bull past below it.The king saw it, and asked where the bull was going, and being answered that they were going to consecrate a bell with its blood, he said, "Let it go, I cannot bear its frightened appearance—as if it were an innocent person going to the place of death."They asked in reply whether, if they did so, they should omit the consecration of the bell, but the king said, "How can that be omitted?Change it for a sheep."' I do not know whether this incident occurred."

"It did," said the king, and Mencius replied, "The heart seen in this is sufficient to carry you to the Royal sway.The people all supposed that your Majesty grudged the animal, but your servant knows surely that it was your Majesty's not being able to bear the sight of the creature's distress which made you do as you did."

The king said, "You are right; and yet there really was an appearance of what the people imagined.But though Ts'e be narrow and small, how should I grudge a bull?Indeed it was because I could not bear its frightened appearance, as if it were an innocent person going to the place of death, that therefore I changed it for a sheep."

Mencius said, "Let not your Majesty deem it strange that the people should think you grudged the animal.When you changed a large one for a small, how should they know the true reason?If you felt pained by its being led without any guilt to the place of death, what was there to choose between a bull and a sheep?"The king laughed and said, "What really was my mind in the matter?I did not grudge the value of the bull, and yet I changed it for a sheep!There was reason in the people's saying that I grudged the creature."

Mencius said, "There is no harm in their saying so.It was an artifice of benevolence.You saw the bull, and had not seen the sheep.So is the superior man affected towards animals, that, having seen them alive, he cannot bear to see them die, and, having heard their dying cries, he cannot bear to eat their flesh.On this account he keeps away from his stalls and kitchen."

The king was pleased and said, "The Ode says,

  'What other men have in their minds,
  I can measure by reflection,'

This might be spoken of you, my Master.I indeed did the thing, but when I turned my thoughts inward and sought for it, I could not discover my own mind.When you, Master, spoke those words, the movements of compassion began to work in my mind.But how is it that this heart has in it what is equal to the attainment of the Royal sway?"

Mencius said, "Suppose a man were to make this statement to your Majesty, 'My strength is sufficient to lift three thousand catties, but is not sufficient to lift one feather; my eyesight is sharp enough to examine the point of an autumn hair, but I do not see a wagon-load of fagots,' would your Majesty allow what he said?""No," was the king's remark, and Mencius proceeded, "Now here is kindness sufficient to reach to animals, and yet no benefits are extended from it to the people—how is this?is an exception to be made here?The truth is, the feather's not being lifted is because the strength was not used; the wagon-load of firewood's not being seen is because the eyesight was not used; and the people's not being loved and protected is because the kindness is not used.Therefore your Majesty's not attaining to the Royal sway is because you do not do it, and not because you are not able to do it."

The king asked, "How may the difference between him who does not do a thing and him who is not able to do it be graphically set forth?"Mencius replied, "In such a thing as taking the T'ae mountain under your arm, and leaping with it over the North Sea, if you say to people, 'I am not able to do it,' that is a real case of not being able.In such a matter as breaking off a branch from a tree at the order of a superior, if you say to people, 'I am not able to do it,' it is not a case of not being able to do it.And so your Majesty's not attaining to the Royal sway is not such a case as that of taking the T'ae mountain under your arm and leaping over the North Sea with it; but it is a case like that of breaking off a branch from a tree.

"Treat with reverence due to age the elders in your own family, so that those in the families of others shall be similarly treated; treat with the kindness due to youth the young in your own family, so that those in the families of others shall be similarly treated—do this and the kingdom may be made to go round in your palm.It is said in the 'Book of Poetry,'

  'His example acted on his wife,
  Extended to his brethren,
  And was felt by all the clans and States;'

Telling us how King Wan simply took this kindly heart, and exercised it towards those parties.Therefore the carrying out of the feeling of kindness by a ruler will suffice for the love and protection of all within the four seas; and if he do not carry it out, he will not be able to protect his wife and children.The way in which the ancients came greatly to surpass other men was no other than this, that they carried out well what they did, so as to affect others.Now your kindness is sufficient to reach to animals, and yet no benefits are extended from it to the people.How is this?Is an exception to be made here?

"By weighing we know what things are light, and what heavy.By measuring we know what things are long, and what short.All things are so dealt with, and the mind requires specially to be so.I beg your Majesty to measure it.—Your Majesty collects your equipments of war, endangers your soldiers and officers and excites the resentment of the various princes—do these things cause you pleasure in your mind?"

The king said, "No.How should I derive pleasure from these things?My object in them is to seek for what I greatly desire."

Mencius said, "May I hear from you what it is that your Majesty greatly desires?"The king laughed, and did not speak.Mencius resumed, "Are you led to desire it because you have not enough of rich and sweet food for your mouth?or because you have not enough of light and warm clothing for your body?or because you have not enough of beautifully colored objects to satisfy your eyes?or because there are not voices and sounds enough to fill your ears?or because you have not enough of attendants and favorites to stand before you and receive your orders?Your Majesty's various officers are sufficient to supply you with all these things.How can your Majesty have such a desire on account of them?""No," said the king, "my desire is not on account of them."Mencius observed, "Then what your Majesty greatly desires can be known.You desire to enlarge your territories, to have Ts'in and Ts'oo coming to your court, to rule the Middle States, and to attract to you the barbarous tribes that surround them.But to do what you do in order to seek for what you desire is like climbing a tree to seek for fish."

"Is it so bad as that?"said the king."I apprehend it is worse," was the reply."If you climb a tree to seek for fish, although you do not get the fish, you have no subsequent calamity.But if you do what you do in order to seek for what you desire, doing it even with all your heart, you will assuredly afterwards meet with calamities."The king said, "May I hear what they will be?"Mencius replied, "If the people of Tsow were fighting with the people of Ts'oo, which of them does your Majesty think would conquer?""The people of Ts'oo would conquer," was the answer, and Mencius pursued, "So then, a small State cannot contend with a great, few cannot contend with many, nor can the weak contend with the strong.The territory within the seas would embrace nine divisions, each of a thousand li square.All Ts'e together is one of them.If with one part you try to subdue the other eight, what is the difference between that and Tsow's contending with Ts'oo?With the desire which you have, you must turn back to the proper course for its attainment.

"Now, if your Majesty will institute a government whose action shall all be benevolent, this will cause all the officers in the kingdom to wish to stand in your Majesty's court, the farmers all to wish to plough in your Majesty's fields, the merchants, both travelling and stationary, all to wish to store their goods in your Majesty's market-places, travellers and visitors all to wish to travel on your Majesty's roads, and all under heaven who feel aggrieved by their rulers to wish to come and complain to your Majesty.When they are so bent, who will be able to keep them back?"

The king said, "I am stupid and cannot advance to this.But I wish you, my Master, to assist my intentions.Teach me clearly, and although I am deficient in intelligence and vigor, I should like to try at least to institute such a government."

Mencius replied, "They are only men of education, who, without a certain livelihood, are able to maintain a fixed heart.As to the people, if they have not a certain livelihood, they will be found not to have a fixed heart.And if they have not a fixed heart, there is nothing which they will not do in the way of self-abandonment, of moral deflection, of depravity, and of wild license.When they have thus been involved in crime, to follow them up and punish them, is to entrap the people.How can such a thing as entrapping the people be done under the rule of a benevolent man?"

"Therefore, an intelligent ruler will regulate the livelihood of the people, so as to make sure that, above, they shall have sufficient wherewith to serve their parents, and below, sufficient wherewith to support their wives and children; that in good years they shall always be abundantly satisfied, and that in bad years they shall not be in danger of perishing.After this he may urge them, and they will proceed to what is good, for in this case the people will follow after that with readiness.

"But now the livelihood of the people is so regulated, that, above, they have not sufficient wherewith to serve their parents, and, below, they have not sufficient wherewith to support their wives and children; even in good years their lives are always embittered, and in bad years they are in danger of perishing.In such circumstances their only object is to escape from death, and they are afraid they will not succeed in doing so—what leisure have they to cultivate propriety and righteousness?

"If your Majesty wishes to carry out a benevolent government, why not turn back to what is the essential step to its attainment?

"Let mulberry trees be planted about the homesteads with their five acres, and persons of fifty years will be able to wear silk.In keeping fowls, pigs, dogs, and swine, let not their times of breeding be neglected, and persons of seventy years will be able to eat flesh.Let there not be taken away the time that is proper for the cultivation of the field-allotment of a hundred acres, and the family of eight mouths will not suffer from hunger.Let careful attention be paid to the teaching in the various schools, with repeated inculcation of the filial and fraternal duties, and gray-haired men will not be seen upon the roads, carrying burdens on their backs or on their heads.It has never been that the ruler of a State, where these results were seen, the old wearing silk and eating flesh, and the black-haired people suffering neither from hunger nor cold, did not attain to the Royal dignity."

[NOTE: Books II, III, and IV are omitted]

[Footnote 1: The title of this book in Chinese is—"King Hwuy of LŽang; in chapters and sentences."Like the Books of the Confucian Analects, those of this work are headed by two or three words at or near the commencement of them.Each Book is divided into two parts.This arrangement was made by Chaou K'e, and to him are due also the divisions into chapters, and sentences, or paragraphs, containing, it may be, many sentences.]

[Footnote 2: SŽang was the son of King Hwuy.The first year of his reign is supposed to be B.C.317.SŽang's name was Hih.As a posthumous epithet, SŽang has various meanings: "Land-enlarger and Virtuous"; "Successful in Arms." The interview here recorded seems to have taken place immediately after Hih's accession, and Mencius, it is said, was so disappointed by it that he soon after left the country.]

THE SHI-KING

[Metrical translation by James Legge]

INTRODUCTION

The wisdom of Confucius as a social reformer, as a teacher and guide of the Chinese people, is shown in many ways.He not only gave them a code of personal deportment, providing them with rules for the etiquette and ceremony of life, but he instilled into them that profound spirit of domestic piety which is one of the strongest features in the Chinese character.He took measures to secure also the intellectual cultivation of his followers, and his Five Canons contain all the most ancient works of Chinese literature, in the departments of poetry, history, philosophy, and legislation.The Shi-King is a collection of Chinese poetry made by Confucius himself.This great anthology consists of more than three hundred pieces, covering the whole range of Chinese lyric poetry, the oldest of which dates some eighteen centuries before Christ, while the latest of the selections must have been written at the beginning of the sixth century before Christ.These poems are of the highest interest, and even nowadays may be read with delight by Europeans.The ballad and the hymn are among the earliest forms of national poetry, and the contents of the Shi-King naturally show specimens of lyric poetry of this sort.We find there not only hymns, but also ballads of a really fine and spirited character.Sometimes the poems celebrate the common pursuits, occupations, and incidents of life.They rise to the exaltation of the epithalamium, or of the vintage song; at other times they deal with sentiment and human conduct, being in the highest degree sententious and epigrammatic.We must give the credit to Confucius of having saved for us the literature of China, and of having set his people an example in preserving the monuments of a remote antiquity.While the literatures of ancient Greece and Rome have largely perished in the convulsions that followed the breaking up of the Roman empire in Europe, when the kingdom of China fell into disorder and decrepitude this one great teacher stepped forward to save the precious record of historic fact, philosophical thought, and of legislation as well as poetry, from being swept away by the deluge of revolution.Confucius showed his wisdom by the high value he set upon the poetry of his native land, and his name must be set side by side with that of the astute tyrant of Athens who collected the poems of Homer and preserved them as a precious heritage to the Greek world.Confucius has given us his opinion with regard to the poems of the Shi-King.No man, he says, is worth speaking to who has not mastered the poems of an anthology, the perusal of which elevates the mind and purifies it from all corrupt thoughts.Thanks to the work of modern scholarship, English readers can now verify this dictum for themselves.

E.W.

THE SHI-KING

PART I—LESSONS FROM THE STATES

BOOK I

THE ODES OF CHOW AND THE SOUTH

~Celebrating the Virtue of King Wan's Bride~

  Hark!  from the islet in the stream the voice
  Of the fish-hawks that o'er their nests rejoice!
  From them our thoughts to that young lady go,
  Modest and virtuous, loth herself to show.
  Where could be found to share our prince's state,
  So fair, so virtuous, and so fit a mate?

  See how the duckweed's stalks, or short or long,
  Sway left and right, as moves the current strong!
  So hard it was for him the maid to find!
  By day, by night, our prince with constant mind
  Sought for her long, but all his search was vain.
  Awake, asleep, he ever felt the pain
  Of longing thought, as when on restless bed,
  Tossing about, one turns his fevered head.

  Here long, there short, afloat the duckweed lies;
  But caught at last, we seize the longed-for prize.
  The maiden modest, virtuous, coy, is found;
  Strike every lute, and joyous welcome sound.
  Ours now, the duckweed from the stream we bear,
  And cook to use with other viands rare.
  He has the maiden, modest, virtuous, bright;
  Let bells and drums proclaim our great delight

~Celebrating the Industry of King Wan's Queen~

  Sweet was the scene.  The spreading dolichos
  Extended far, down to the valley's depths,
  With leaves luxuriant.   The orioles
  Fluttered around, and on the bushy trees
  In throngs collected—whence their pleasant notes
  Resounded far in richest melody.

  The spreading dolichos extended far,
  Covering the valley's sides, down to its depths,
  With leaves luxuriant and dense.   I cut
  It down, then boiled, and from the fibres spun
  Of cloth, both fine and coarse, large store,
  To wear, unwearied of such simple dress.

  Now back to my old home, my parents dear
  To see, I go.   The matron I have told,
  Who will announcement make.   Meanwhile my clothes,
  My private clothes I wash, and rinse my robes.
  Which of them need be rinsed?   and which need not?
  My parents dear to visit, back I go.

~In Praise of a Bride~

  Graceful and young the peach-tree stands;
    How rich its flowers, all gleaming bright!
  This bride to her new home repairs;
    Chamber and house she'll order right.

  Graceful and young the peach-tree stands;
    Large crops of fruit it soon will show.
  This bride to her new home repairs;
    Chamber and house her sway shall know.

  Graceful and young the peach-tree stands,
    Its foliage clustering green and full.
  This bride to her new home repairs;
    Her household will attest her rule.

~Celebrating T'ae-Sze's Freedom from Jealousy~

  In the South are the trees whose branches are bent,
  And droop in such fashion that o'er their extent
    All the dolichos' creepers fast cling.
  See our princely lady, from whom we have got
  Rejoicing that's endless!   May her happy lot
    And her honors repose ever bring!

  In the South are the trees whose branches are bent,
  And droop in such fashion that o'er their extent
    All the dolichos' creepers are spread.
  See our princely lady, from whom we have got
  Rejoicing that's endless!   Of her happy lot
    And her honors the greatness ne'er fade!

  In the South are the trees whose branches are bent,
  And droop in such fashion that o'er their extent
    All the dolichos' creepers entwine.
  See our princely lady, from whom we have got
  Rejoicing that's endless!   May her happy lot
    And her honors complete ever shine!

~The Fruitfulness of the Locust~

  Ye locusts, wingŤd tribes,
    Gather in concord fine;
  Well your descendants may
    In numerous bright hosts shine!

  Ye locusts, wingŤd tribes,
    Your wings in flight resound;
  Well your descendants may
    In endless lines be found!

  Ye locusts, wingŤd tribes,
    Together cluster strong;
  Well your descendants may
    In swarms forever throng!

~Lamenting the Absence of a Cherished Friend~

  Though small my basket, all my toil
    Filled it with mouse-ears but in part.
  I set it on the path, and sighed
    For the dear master of my heart.

  My steeds, o'er-tasked, their progress stayed,
    When midway up that rocky height.
  Give me a cup from that gilt vase—
    When shall this longing end in sight?

  To mount that lofty ridge I drove,
    Until my steeds all changed their hue.
  A cup from that rhinoceros's horn
    May help my longing to subdue.

  Striving to reach that flat-topped hill,
    My steeds, worn out, relaxed their strain;
  My driver also sank oppressed:—
    I'll never see my lord again!

~Celebrating the Goodness of the Descendants of King Wan~

  As the feet of the lin, which avoid each living thing,
  So our prince's noble sons no harm to men will bring.
                   They are the lin!

  As the front of the lin, never forward thrust in wrath,
  So our prince's noble grandsons of love tread the path.
                   They are the lin!

  As the horn of the lin, flesh-tipped, no wound to give,
  So our prince's noble kindred kindly with all live.
                   They are the lin!

[NOTE.—The "lin" is the female of "K'e"—a fabulous animal—the symbol of all goodness and benevolence; having the body of a deer, the tail of an ox, the hoofs of a horse, one horn, the scales of a fish, etc. Its feet do not tread on any living thing—not even on live grass; it does not butt with its forehead; and the end of its horn is covered with flesh—to show that, while able for war, it wills to have peace.The "lin" was supposed to appear inaugurating a golden age, but the poet finds a better auspice of that in the character of Wan's family and kindred.]

~The Virtuous Manners of the Young Women~

  High and compressed, the Southern trees
    No shelter from the sun afford.
  The girls free ramble by the Han,
    But will not hear enticing word.
  Like the broad Han are they,
    Through which one cannot dive;
  And like the Keang's long stream,
    Wherewith no raft can strive.

  Many the fagots bound and piled;
    The thorns I'd hew still more to make.
  As brides, those girls their new homes seek;
    Their colts to feed I'd undertake.
  Like the broad Han are they,
    Through which one cannot dive;
  And like the Keang's long stream,
    Wherewith no raft can strive.

  Many the fagots bound and piled;
    The Southern-wood I'd cut for more.
  As brides, those girls their new homes seek;
    Food for their colts I'd bring large store.
  Like the broad Han are they,
    Through which one cannot dive;
  And like the Keang's long stream,
    Wherewith no raft can strive.

~Praise of a Rabbit-Catcher~

  Careful he sets his rabbit-nets all round;
 Chang-chang his blows upon the pegs resound.
  Stalwart the man and bold!   his bearing all
  Shows he might be his prince's shield and wall.

  Careful he is his rabbit-nets to place
  Where many paths of rabbits' feet bear trace.
  Stalwart the man and bold!   'tis plain to see
  He to his prince companion good would be.

  Careful he is his rabbit-nets to spread,
  Where in the forest's depth the trees give shade.
  Stalwart the man and bold!   fit his the part
  Guide to his prince to be, and faithful heart.

~The Song of the Plantain-Gatherers~

  We gather and gather the plantains;
    Come gather them anyhow.
  Yes, gather and gather the plantains,
    And here we have got them now.

  We gather and gather the plantains;
    Now off the ears we must tear.
  Yes, gather and gather the plantains,
    And now the seeds are laid bare.

  We gather and gather the plantains,
    The seeds in our skirts are placed.
  Yes, gather and gather the plantains.
    Ho!     safe in the girdled waist!

~The Affection of the Wives on the Joo~

  Along the raised banks of the Joo,
    To hew slim stem and branch I wrought,
  My lord away, my husband true,
    Like hunger-pang my troubled thought!

  Along the raised banks of the Joo,
    Branch and fresh shoot confessed my art.
  I've seen my lord, my husband true,
    And still he folds me in his heart.

  As the toiled bream makes red its tail,
    Toil you, Sir, for the Royal House;
  Amidst its blazing fires, nor quail:—
    Your parents see you pay your vows.

BOOK II

THE ODES OF SHAOU AND THE SOUTH

~The Marriage of a Princess~

    In the magpie's nest
    Dwells the dove at rest.
  This young bride goes to her future home;
  To meet her a hundred chariots come.

    Of the magpie's nest
    Is the dove possessed.
  This bride goes to her new home to live;
  And escort a hundred chariots give.

    The nest magpie wove
    Now filled by the dove.
  This bride now takes to her home her way;
  And these numerous cars her state display.

~The Industry and Reverence of a Prince's Wife~

  Around the pools, the islets o'er,
    Fast she plucks white Southern-wood,
  To help the sacrificial store;
    And for our prince does service good.

  Where streams among the valleys shine,
    Of Southern-woods she plucks the white;
  And brings it to the sacred shrine,
    To aid our prince in solemn rite.

  In head-dress high, most reverent, she
    The temple seeks at early dawn.
  The service o'er, the head-dress see
    To her own chamber slow withdrawn.

~The Wife of Some Great Officer Bewails His Absence~

  Shrill chirp the insects in the grass;
    All about the hoppers spring.
  While I my husband do not see,
    Sorrow must my bosom wring.
      O to meet him!
      O to greet him!
    Then my heart would rest and sing.

  Ascending high that Southern hill,
    Turtle ferns I strove to get.
  While I my husband do not see,
    Sorrow must my heart beset.
      O to meet him!
      O to greet him!
    Then my heart would cease to fret.

  Ascending high that Southern hill,
    Spinous ferns I sought to find.
  While I my husband do not see,
    Rankles sorrow in my mind.
      O to meet him!
      O to greet him!
    In my heart would peace be shrined.

~The Diligence of the Young Wife of an Officer~

  She gathers fast the large duckweed,
    From valley stream that southward flows;
  And for the pondweed to the pools
    Left on the plains by floods she goes.

  The plants, when closed her toil, she puts
    In baskets round and baskets square.
  Then home she hies to cook her spoil,
    In pans and tripods ready there.

  In sacred chamber this she sets,
    Where the light falls down through the wall.
  'Tis she, our lord's young reverent wife,
    Who manages this service all.

~The Love of the People for the Duke of Shaou~

  O fell not that sweet pear-tree!
    See how its branches spread.
      Spoil not its shade,
      For Shaou's chief laid
    Beneath it his weary head.

  O clip not that sweet pear-tree!
    Each twig and leaflet spare.
      'Tis sacred now,
      Since the lord of Shaou,
    When weary, rested him there.

  O touch not that sweet pear-tree!
    Bend not a twig of it now.
      There long ago,
      As the stories show,
    Oft halted the chief of Shaou.

~The Easy Dignity of the Officers at Some Court~

  Arrayed in skins of lamb or sheep,
    With five silk braidings all of white,
  From court they go, to take their meal,
    All self-possessed, with spirits light.

  How on their skins of lamb or sheep
    The five seams wrought with white silk show!
  With easy steps, and self-possessed,
    From court to take their meal, they go.

  Upon their skins of lamb or sheep
    Shines the white silk the seams to link.
  With easy steps and self-possessed,
    They go from court to eat and drink.

~Anxiety of a Young Lady to Get Married~

  Ripe, the plums fall from the bough;
  Only seven-tenths left there now!
  Ye whose hearts on me are set,
  Now the time is fortunate!

  Ripe, the plums fall from the bough;
  Only three-tenths left there now!
  Ye who wish my love to gain,
  Will not now apply in vain!

  No more plums upon the bough!
  All are in my basket now!
  Ye who me with ardor seek,
  Need the word but freely speak!

BOOK III

THE ODES OF P'EI

~An Officer Bewails the Neglect with which He is Treated~

  It floats about, that boat of cypress wood,
    Now here, now there, as by the current borne.
  Nor rest nor sleep comes in my troubled mood;
    I suffer as when painful wound has torn
    The shrinking body.     Thus I dwell forlorn,
  And aimless muse, my thoughts of sorrow full.
    I might with wine refresh my spirit worn;
  I might go forth, and, sauntering try to cool
  The fever of my heart; but grief holds sullen rule.

  My mind resembles not a mirror plate,
    Reflecting all the impressions it receives.
  The good I love, the bad regard with hate;
    I only cherish whom my heart believes.
    Colleagues I have, but yet my spirit grieves,
  That on their honor I cannot depend.
    I speak, but my complaint no influence leaves
  Upon their hearts; with mine no feelings blend;
  With me in anger they, and fierce disdain contend.

  My mind is fixed, and cannot, like a stone,
    Be turned at will indifferently about;
  And what I think, to that, and that alone,
    I utterance give, alike within, without;
    Nor can like mat be rolled and carried out.
  With dignity in presence of them all,
    My conduct marked, my goodness who shall scout?
  My foes I boldly challenge, great and small,
  If there be aught in me they can in question call.

  How full of trouble is my anxious heart!
    With hate the blatant herd of creatures mean
  Ceaseless pursue.   Of their attacks the smart
    Keeps my mind in distress.     Their venomed spleen
    Aye vents itself; and with insulting mien
  They vex my soul; and no one on my side
    A word will speak.     Silent, alone, unseen,
  I think of my sad case; then opening wide
  My eyes, as if from sleep, I beat my breast, sore-tried.

  Thy disc, O sun, should ever be complete,
    While thine, O changing moon, doth wax and wane.
  But now our sun hath waned, weak and effete,
    And moons are ever full.     My heart with pain
    Is firmly bound, and held in sorrow's chain,
  As to the body cleaves an unwashed dress.
    Silent I think of my sad case; in vain
  I try to find relief from my distress.
  Would I had wings to fly where ills no longer press!

~A Wife Deplores the Absence of Her Husband~

  Away the startled pheasant flies,
    With lazy movement of his wings.
  Borne was my heart's lord from my eyes;—
    What pain the separation brings!

  The pheasant, though no more in view,
    His cry, below, above, forth sends.
  Alas!   my princely lord, 'tis you—
    Your absence, that my bosom rends.

  At sun and moon I sit and gaze,
    In converse with my troubled heart.
  Far, far from me my husband stays!
    When will he come to heal its smart?

  Ye princely men who with him mate,
    Say, mark ye not his virtuous way.
  His rule is—covet nought, none hate;—
    How can his steps from goodness stray?

~The Plaint of a Rejected Wife~

  The east wind gently blows,
    With cloudy skies and rain.
  'Twixt man and wife should ne'er be strife,
    But harmony obtain.
  Radish and mustard plants
    Are used, though some be poor;
  While my good name is free from blame,
    Don't thrust me from your door.

  I go along the road,
    Slow, with reluctant heart.
  Your escort lame to door but came,
    There glad from me to part.
  Sow-thistle, bitter called,
    As shepherd's purse is sweet;
  With your new mate you feast elate,
    As joyous brothers meet.

Part clear, the stream of King Is foul beside the Wei. You feast elate with your new mate, And take no heed of me. Loose mate, avoid my dam, Nor dare my basket move! Person slighted, life all blighted, What can the future prove?

  The water deep, in boat,
    Or raft-sustained, I'd go;
  And where the stream did narrow seem,
    I dived or breasted through.
  I labored to increase
    Our means, or great or small;
  When 'mong friends near death did appear,
    On knees to help I'd crawl.

  No cherishing you give,
    I'm hostile in your eyes.
  As pedler's wares for which none cares,
    My virtues you despise.

  When poverty was nigh,
   I strove our means to spare;
  You, now rich grown, me scorn to own;
   To poison me compare.

  The stores for winter piled
   Are all unprized in spring.
  So now, elate with your new mate,
   Myself away you fling.
  Your cool disdain for me
   A bitter anguish hath.
  The early time, our love's sweet prime,
   In you wakes only wrath.

~Soldiers of Wei Bewail Separation from Their Families~

  List to the thunder and roll of the drum!
    See how we spring and brandish the dart!
  Some raise Ts'aou's walls; some do field work at home;
    But we to the southward lonely depart.

  Our chief, Sun Tsze-chung, agreement has made,
    Our forces to join with Ch'in and with Sung.
  When shall we back from this service be led?
    Our hearts are all sad, our courage unstrung.

  Here we are halting, and there we delay;
    Anon we soon lose our high-mettled steeds.
  The forest's gloom makes our steps go astray;
    Each thicket of trees our searching misleads.

  For death as for life, at home or abroad,
    We pledged to our wives our faithfulest word.
  Their hands clasped in ours, together we vowed,
    We'd live to old age in sweetest accord.

  This march to the South can end but in ill;
    Oh!     never shall we our wives again meet.
  The word that we pledged we cannot fulfil;
    Us home returning they never will greet.

~An Officer Tells of His Mean Employment~

  With mind indifferent, things I easy take;
  In every dance I prompt appearance make:—
  Then, when the sun is at his topmost height,
  There, in the place that courts the public sight.

  With figure large I in the courtyard dance,
  And the duke smiles, when he beholds me prance.
  A tiger's strength I have; the steeds swift bound;
  The reins as ribbons in my hands are found.

  See how I hold the flute in my left hand;
  In right the pheasant's plume, waved like a wand;
  With visage red, where rouge you think to trace,
  While the duke pleased, sends down the cup of grace!

  Hazel on hills; the ling in meadow damp;—
  Each has its place, while I'm a slighted scamp.
  My thoughts go back to th' early days of Chow,
  And muse upon its chiefs, not equalled now.
    O noble chiefs, who then the West adorned,
    Would ye have thus neglected me and scorned?

~An Officer Sets Forth His Hard Lot~

  My way leads forth by the gate on the north;
    My heart is full of woe.
  I hav'n't a cent, begged, stolen, or lent,
    And friends forget me so.
     So let it be!      'tis Heaven's decree.
     What can I say—a poor fellow like me?

  The King has his throne, sans sorrow or moan;
    On me fall all his cares,
  And when I come home, resolved not to roam,
    Each one indignant stares.
     So let it be!      'tis Heaven's decree.
     What can I say—a poor fellow like me?

  Each thing of the King, and the fate of the State,
    On me come more and more.
  And when, sad and worn, I come back forlorn,
    They thrust me from the door.
      So let it be!       'tis Heaven's decree.
      What can I say—a poor fellow like me?

~The Complaint of a Neglected Wife~

  When the upper robe is green,
  With a yellow lining seen,
  There we have a certain token,
  Right is wronged and order broken.
  How can sorrow from my heart
  In a case like this depart?

  Color green the robe displays;
  Lower garment yellow's blaze.
  Thus it is that favorite mean
  In the place of wife is seen.
  Vain the conflict with my grief;
  Memory denies relief.

  Yes, 'twas you the green who dyed,
  You who fed the favorite's pride.
  Anger rises in my heart,
  Pierces it as with a dart.
  But on ancient rules lean I,
  Lest to wrong my thoughts should fly.

  Fine or coarse, if thin the dress,
  Cold winds always cause distress.
  Hard my lot, my sorrow deep,
  But my thoughts in check I keep.
  Ancient story brings to mind
  Sufferers who were resigned.

[NOTE.—Yellow is one of the five "correct" colors of the Chinese, while green is one of the "intermediate" colors that are less esteemed.Here we have the yellow used merely as a lining to the green, or employed in the lower, or less honorable, part of the dress;—an inversion of propriety, and intimating how a favorite had usurped the place of the rightful wife and thrust her down.]

~In Praise of a Maiden~

  O sweet maiden, so fair and retiring,
    At the corner I'm waiting for you;
  And I'm scratching my head, and inquiring
    What on earth it were best I should do.

  Oh!  the maiden, so handsome and coy,
    For a pledge gave a slim rosy reed.
  Than the reed is she brighter, my joy;
    On her loveliness how my thoughts feed!

  In the pastures a t'e blade she sought,
    And she gave it, so elegant, rare.
  Oh!   the grass does not dwell in my thought,
    But the donor, more elegant, fair.

~Discontent~

  As when the north winds keenly blow,
  And all around fast falls the snow,
  The source of pain and suffering great,
  So now it is in Wei's poor state.
  Let us join hands and haste away,
    My friends and lovers all.
  'Tis not a time will brook delay;
    Things for prompt action call.

  As when the north winds whistle shrill,
  And drifting snows each hollow fill,
  The source of pain and suffering great,
  So now it is in Wei's poor state,
  Let us join hands, and leave for aye,
    My friends and lovers all,
  'Tis not a time will brook delay;
    Things for prompt action call.

  We look for red, and foxes meet;
  For black, and crows our vision greet.
  The creatures, both of omen bad,
  Well suit the state of Wei so sad.

  Let us join hands and mount our cars,
    My friends and lovers all.
  No time remains for wordy jars;
    Things for prompt action call.

~Chwang Keang Bemoans Her Husband's Cruelty~

  Fierce is the wind and cold;
    And such is he.
  Smiling he looks, and bold
    Speaks mockingly.
  Scornful and lewd his words,
    Haughty his smile.
  Bound is my heart with cords
    In sorrow's coil.

  As cloud of dust wind-blown,
    Just such is he.
  Ready he seems to own,
    And come to me.
  But he comes not nor goes,
    Stands in his pride.
  Long, long, with painful throes,
    Grieved I abide.

  Strong blew the wind; the cloud
    Hastened away.
  Soon dark again, the shroud
    Covers the day.
  I wake, and sleep no more
    Visits my eyes.
  His course I sad deplore,
    With heavy sighs.

  Cloudy the sky, and dark;
    The thunders roll.
  Such outward signs well mark
    My troubled soul.
  I wake, and sleep no more
    Comes to give rest.
  His course I sad deplore,
    In anguished breast.

[NOTE: Selections from Books IV., V., and VI., have been omitted.—EDITOR.]

BOOK VII

THE ODES OF CH'ING

~The People's Admiration for Duke Woo~

  The black robes well your form befit;
    When they are worn we'll make you new.
  Now for your court!   oh!   there we'll sit,
    And watch how you your duties do.
      And when we to our homes repair,
      We'll send to you our richest fare,
      Such is the love to you we bear!

  Those robes well with your virtue match;
    When they are worn we'll make you new.
  Now for your court!   There will we watch,
    Well pleased, how you your duties do.
      And when we to our homes repair,
      We'll send to you our richest fare,
      Such is the love to you we bear!

  Those robes your character beseem;
    When they are worn we'll make you new.
  Now for your court!   oh!   there we deem
    It pleasure great your form to view.
      And when we to our homes repair,
      We'll send to you our richest fare,
      Such is the love to you we bear!

~A Wife Consoled by Her Husband's Arrival~

  Cold is the wind, fast falls the rain,
    The cock aye shrilly crows.
  But I have seen my lord again;—
    Now must my heart repose.

  Whistles the wind, patters the rain,
    The cock's crow far resounds.
  But I have seen my lord again,
    And healed are my heart's wounds.

  All's dark amid the wind and rain,
    Ceaseless the cock's clear voice!
  But I have seen my lord again;—
    Should not my heart rejoice?

~In Praise of Some Lady~

  There by his side in chariot rideth she,
  As lovely flower of the hibiscus tree,
  So fair her face; and when about they wheel,
  Her girdle gems of Ken themselves reveal.
  For beauty all the House of KŽang have fame;
  Its eldest daughter—she beseems her name.

  There on the path, close by him, walketh she,
  Bright as the blossom of hibiscus tree,
  And fair her face; and when around they flit,
  Her girdle gems a tinkling sound emit.
  Among the Keang she has distinguished place,
  For virtuous fame renowned, and peerless grace.

~A Man's Praise of His Wife~

  My path forth from the east gate lay,
  Where cloud-like moved the girls at play.
  Numerous are they, as clouds so bright,
  But not on them my heart's thoughts light.
  Dressed in a thin white silk, with coiffure gray
  Is she, my wife, my joy in life's low way.

  Forth by the covering wall's high tower,
  I went, and saw, like rush in flower,
  Each flaunting girl.   Brilliant are they,
  But not with them my heart's thoughts stay.
  In thin white silk, with head-dress madder-dyed,
  Is she, my sole delight, 'foretime my bride.

~An Entreaty~

  Along the great highway,
    I hold you by the cuff.
  O spurn me not, I pray,
    Nor break old friendship off.

  Along the highway worn,
    I hold your hand in mine.
  Do not as vile me scorn;
    Your love I can't resign.

~A Woman Scorning Her Lover~

  O dear!  that artful boy
    Refuses me a word!
  But, Sir, I shall enjoy
    My food, though you're absurd!

  O dear!  that artful boy
    My table will not share!
  But, Sir, I shall enjoy
    My rest, though you're not there!

~A Lady Mourns the Absence of Her Student Lover~

  You student, with the collar blue,
    Long pines my heart with anxious pain.
  Although I do not go to you,
    Why from all word do you refrain?

  O you, with girdle strings of blue,
    My thoughts to you forever roam!
  Although I do not go to you,
    Yet why to me should you not come?

  How reckless you, how light and wild,
    There by the tower upon the wall!
  One day, from sight of you exiled,
    As long as three long months I call.

[NOTE: Selections from Books IV., V., and VI., have been omitted.—EDITOR.]

BOOK VIII

THE ODES OF TS'E

~A Wife Urging Her Husband to Action~

  His lady to the marquis says,
     "The cock has crowed; 'tis late.
  Get up, my lord, and haste to court.
     'Tis full; for you they wait."
  She did not hear the cock's shrill sound,
  Only the blueflies buzzing round.

  Again she wakes him with the words,
     "The east, my lord, is bright.
  A crowded court your presence seeks;
     Get up and hail the light."
  'Twas not the dawning light which shone,
  But that which by the moon was thrown.

  He sleeping still, once more she says,
     "The flies are buzzing loud.
  To lie and dream here by your side
     Were pleasant, but the crowd
  Of officers will soon retire;
  Draw not on you and me their ire!"

~The Folly of Useless Effort~

  The weeds will but the ranker grow,
    If fields too large you seek to till.
  To try to gain men far away
    With grief your toiling heart will fill,

  If fields too large you seek to till,
    The weeds will only rise more strong.
  To try to gain men far away
    Will but your heart's distress prolong.

  Things grow the best when to themselves
    Left, and to nature's vigor rare.
  How young and tender is the child,
    With his twin tufts of falling hair!
  But when you him ere long behold,
    That child shall cap of manhood wear!

~The Prince of Loo~

  A grand man is the prince of Loo,
    With person large and high.
  Lofty his front and suited to
    The fine glance of his eye!
  Swift are his feet.   In archery
    What man with him can vie?
  With all these goodly qualities,
    We see him and we sigh!

  Renowned through all the land is he,
    The nephew of our lord.
  With clear and lovely eyes, his grace
    May not be told by word.
  All day at target practice,
    He'll never miss the bird.
  Such is the prince of Loo, and yet
    With grief for him we're stirred!

  All grace and beauty he displays,
    High forehead and eyes bright.
  And dancing choice!   His arrows all
    The target hit aright.
  Straight through they go, and every one
    Lights on the self-same spot.
  Rebellion he could well withstand,
    And yet we mourn his lot!

BOOK IX

THE ODES OF WEI

~On the Misgovernment of the State~

  A fruit, small as the garden peach,
    May still be used for food.
  A State, though poor as ours, might thrive,
    If but its rule were good.
  Our rule is bad, our State is sad,
    With mournful heart I grieve.
  All can from instrument and voice
    My mood of mind perceive.
  Who know me not, with scornful thought,
    Deem me a scholar proud.
  "Those men are right," they fiercely say,
    "What mean your words so loud?"
  Deep in my heart my sorrows lie,
    And none the cause may know.
  How should they know who never try
    To learn whence comes our woe?

  The garden jujube, although small,
    May still be used for food.
  A State, though poor as ours, might thrive,
    If but its rule were good.
  Our rule is bad, our State is sad,
    With mournful heart I grieve.
  Methinks I'll wander through the land,
    My misery to relieve.
  Who know me not, with scornful thought,
    Deem that wild views I hold.
  "Those men are right," they fiercely say,
    "What mean your words so bold?"

  Deep in my heart my sorrows lie,
  And none the cause may know.
  How can they know, who never try
  To learn whence comes our woe?

~The Mean Husband~

  Thin cloth of dolichos supplies the shoes,
    In which some have to brave the frost and cold.
  A bride, when poor, her tender hands must use,
    Her dress to make, and the sharp needle hold.
  This man is wealthy, yet he makes his bride
    Collars and waistbands for his robes provide.

  Conscious of wealth, he moves with easy mien;
    Politely on the left he takes his place;
  The ivory pin is at his girdle seen:—
    His dress and gait show gentlemanly grace.
  Why do we brand him in our satire here?
    'Tis this—-his niggard soul provokes the sneer.

~A Young Soldier on Service~

  To the top of that tree-clad hill I go,
    And towards my father I gaze,
  Till with my mind's eye his form I espy,
    And my mind's ear hears how he says:—
  "Alas for my son on service abroad!
    He rests not from morning till eve.
  May he careful be and come back to me!
    While he is away, how I grieve!"

  To the top of that barren hill I climb,
    And towards my mother I gaze,
  Till with my mind's eye her form I espy,
    And my mind's ear hears how she says:—
  "Alas for my child on service abroad!
    He never in sleep shuts an eye.
  May he careful be, and come back to me!
    In the wild may his body not lie!"

  Up the lofty ridge I, toiling, ascend,
    And towards my brother I gaze,
  Till with my mind's eye his form I espy,
    And my mind's ear hears how he says:—
  "Alas!   my young brother, serving abroad,
    All day with his comrades must roam.
  May he careful be, and come back to me,
    And die not away from his home."

BOOK X

THE ODES OF TANG

~The King Goes to War~

  The wild geese fly the bushy oaks around,
  With clamor loud.    Suh-suh their wings resound,
  As for their feet poor resting-place is found.
  The King's affairs admit of no delay.
  Our millet still unsown, we haste away.
  No food is left our parents to supply;
  When we are gone, on whom can they rely?
  O azure Heaven, that shinest there afar,
  When shall our homes receive us from the war?

  The wild geese on the bushy jujube-trees
  Attempt to settle and are ill at ease;—
  Suh-suh their wings go flapping in the breeze.
  The King's affairs admit of no delay;
  Our millet still unsown, we haste away.
  How shall our parents their requirements get?
  How in our absence shall their wants be met?
  O azure Heaven, that shinest there afar,
  When shall our homes receive us from the war?

  The bushy mulberry-trees the geese in rows
  Seek eager and to rest around them close—
  With rustling loud, as disappointment grows.
  The King's affairs admit of no delay;
  To plant our rice and maize we cannot stay.
  How shall our parents find their wonted food?
  When we are gone, who will to them be good?
  O azure Heaven, that shinest there afar,
  When shall our homes receive us from the war?

~Lament of a Bereaved Person~

  A russet pear-tree rises all alone,
  But rich the growth of leaves upon it shown!
  I walk alone, without one brother left,
  And thus of natural aid am I bereft.
  Plenty of people there are all around,
  But none like my own father's sons are found.
  Ye travellers, who forever hurry by,
  Why on me turn the unsympathizing eye?
  No brother lives with whom my cause to plead;—
  Why not perform for me the helping deed?

  A russet pear-tree rises all alone,
  But rich with verdant foliage o'ergrown.
  I walk alone, without one brother's care,
  To whom I might, amid my straits repair.
  Plenty of people there are all around,
  But none like those of my own name are found.
  Ye travellers, who forever hurry by,
  Why on me turn the unsympathizing eye?
  No brother lives with whom my cause to plead;—
  Why not perform for me the helping deed?

~The Drawbacks of Poverty~

  On the left of the way, a russet pear-tree
  Stands there all alone—a fit image of me.
  There is that princely man!   O that he would come,
  And in my poor dwelling with me be at home!
  In the core of my heart do I love him, but say,
  Whence shall I procure him the wants of the day?

  At the bend in the way a russet pear-tree
  Stands there all alone—a fit image of me.
  There is that princely man!   O that he would come,
  And rambling with me be himself here at home!
  In the core of my heart I love him, but say,
  Whence shall I procure him the wants of the day?

~A Wife Mourns for Her Husband~

  The dolichos grows and covers the thorn,
    O'er the waste is the dragon-plant creeping.
  The man of my heart is away and I mourn—
    What home have I, lonely and weeping?

  Covering the jujubes the dolichos grows,
    The graves many dragon-plants cover;
  But where is the man on whose breast I'd repose?
    No home have I, having no lover!

  Fair to see was the pillow of horn,
    And fair the bed-chamber's adorning;
  But the man of my heart is not here, and I mourn
    All alone, and wait for the morning.

  While the long days of summer pass over my head,
    And long winter nights leave their traces,
  I'm alone!   Till a hundred of years shall have fled,
    And then I shall meet his embraces.

  Through the long winter nights I am burdened with fears,
    Through the long summer days I am lonely;
  But when time shall have counted its hundreds of years
    I then shall be his—and his only!

BOOK XI

THE ODES OF TS'IN

~Celebrating the Opulence of the Lords of Ts'in~

  Our ruler to the hunt proceeds;
  And black as iron are his steeds
  That heed the charioteer's command,
  Who holds the six reins in his hand.
  His favorites follow to the chase,
  Rejoicing in his special grace.

  The season's males, alarmed, arise—
  The season's males, of wondrous size.
  Driven by the beaters, forth they spring,
  Soon caught within the hunters' ring.
  "Drive on their left," the ruler cries;
  And to its mark his arrow flies.

  The hunting done, northward he goes;
  And in the park the driver shows
  The horses' points, and his own skill
  That rules and guides them at his will.
  Light cars whose teams small bells display,
  The long-and short-mouthed dogs convey.

~A Complaint~

  He lodged us in a spacious house,
    And plenteous was our fare.
  But now at every frugal meal
    There's not a scrap to spare.
  Alas!   alas that this good man
  Could not go on as he began!

~A Wife's Grief Because of Her Husband's Absence~

  The falcon swiftly seeks the north,
  And forest gloom that sent it forth.
  Since I no more my husband see,
  My heart from grief is never free.
  O how is it, I long to know,
  That he, my lord, forgets me so?

  Bushy oaks on the mountain grow,
  And six elms where the ground is low.
  But I, my husband seen no more,
  My sad and joyless fate deplore.
  O how is it, I long to know,
  That he, my lord, forgets me so?

  The hills the bushy wild plums show,
  And pear-trees grace the ground below.
  But, with my husband from me gone,
  As drunk with grief, I dwell alone.
  O how is it, I long to know,
  That he, my lord, forgets me so?

~Lament for Three Brothers~

  They flit about, the yellow birds,
    And rest upon the jujubes find.
  Who buried were in duke Muh's grave,
    Alive to awful death consigned?

  'Mong brothers three, who met that fate,
    'Twas sad the first, Yen-seih to see.
  He stood alone; a hundred men
    Could show no other such as he.
  When to the yawning grave he came,
  Terror unnerved and shook his frame.

  Why thus destroy our noblest men,
    To thee we cry, O azure Heaven!
  To save Yen-seih from death, we would
    A hundred lives have freely given.

  They flit about, the yellow birds,
    And on the mulberry-trees rest find.
  Who buried were in duke Muh's grave,
    Alive to awful death consigned?

  'Mong brothers three, who met that fate,
    'Twas sad the next, Chung-hang to see.
  When on him pressed a hundred men,
    A match for all of them was he.
  When to the yawning grave he came,
  Terror unnerved and shook his frame.

  Why thus destroy our noblest men,
    To thee we cry, O azure Heaven!
  To save Chung-hang from death, we would
    A hundred lives have freely given.

  They flit about, the yellow birds,
    And rest upon the thorn-trees find.
  Who buried were in duke Muh's grave,
    Alive to awful death consigned?

  'Mong brothers three, who met that fate,
    'Twas sad the third, K'Žen-foo, to see.
  A hundred men in desperate fight
    Successfully withstand could he.
  When to the yawning grave he came,
  Terror unnerved and shook his frame.

  Why thus destroy our noblest men,
    To thee we cry, O azure Heaven!
  To save K'Žen-foo from death, we would
    A hundred lives have freely given.

[NOTE.—The incident related in this poem occurred in the year B.C.620, when the duke of Muh died after playing an important part in the affairs of Northwest China.Muh required the three officers here celebrated, to be buried with him, and according to the "Historical Records" this barbarous practice began with duke Ching, Muh's predecessor.In all, 170 individuals were buried with Muh.The death of the last distinguished man of the Ts'in dynasty, the Emperor I, was subsequently celebrated by the entombment with him of all the inmates of his harem.]

~In Praise of a Ruler of Ts'in~

  What trees grow on the Chung-nan hill?
    The white fir and the plum.
  In fur of fox, 'neath 'broidered robe,
    Thither our prince is come.
  His face glows with vermilion hue.
  O may he prove a ruler true!

  What find we on the Chung-nan hill?
    Deep nook and open glade.
  Our prince shows there the double Ke
    On lower robe displayed.
  His pendant holds each tinkling gem,
  Long life be his, and deathless fame!

~The Generous Nephew~

  I escorted my uncle to Tsin,
    Till the Wei we crossed on the way.
      Then I gave as I left
      For his carriage a gift
  Four steeds, and each steed was a bay.

  I escorted my uncle to Tsin,
    And I thought of him much in my heart.
      Pendent stones, and with them
     Of fine jasper a gem,
  I gave, and then saw him depart.

BOOK XII

THE ODES OF CH'IN

~The Contentment of a Poor Recluse~

My only door some pieces of crossed wood,
  Within it I can rest enjoy.
I drink the water wimpling from the spring;
  Nor hunger can my peace destroy.

Purged from ambition's aims I say, "For fish.
  We need not bream caught in the Ho;
Nor, to possess the sweets of love, require
  To Ts'e, to find a Keang, to go.

"The man contented with his lot, a meal
  Of fish without Ho carp can make;
Nor needs, to rest in his domestic joy,
  A Tsze of Sung as wife to take."

~The Disappointed Lover~

Where grow the willows near the eastern gate,
  And 'neath their leafy shade we could recline,
She said at evening she would me await,
  And brightly now I see the day-star shine!

Here where the willows near the eastern gate
  Grow, and their dense leaves make a shady gloom,
She said at evening she would me await.
  See now the morning star the sky illume!

~A Love-Song~

The moon comes forth, bright in the sky;
A lovelier sight to draw my eye
  Is she, that lady fair.
She round my heart has fixed love's chain,
But all my longings are in vain.
  'Tis hard the grief to bear.

The moon comes forth, a splendid sight;
More winning far that lady bright,
  Object of my desire!
Deep-seated is my anxious grief;
In vain I seek to find relief;
  While glows the secret fire.

The rising moon shines mild and fair;
More bright is she, whose beauty rare
  My heart with longing fills.
With eager wish I pine in vain;
O for relief from constant pain,
  Which through my bosom thrills!

~The Lament of a Lover~

There where its shores the marsh surround,
Rushes and lotus plants abound.
Their loveliness brings to my mind
The lovelier one that I would find.
In vain I try to ease the smart
Of wounded love that wrings my heart.
In waking thought and nightly dreams,
From every pore the water streams.

All round the marsh's shores are seen
Valerian flowers and rushes green.
But lovelier is that Beauty rare,
Handsome and large, and tall and fair,
I wish and long to call her mine,
Doomed with the longing still to pine.
Nor day nor night e'er brings relief;
My inmost heart is full of grief.

Around the marsh, in rich display,
Grow rush and lotus flowers, all gay.
But not with her do they compare,
So tall and large, majestic, fair.
Both day and night, I nothing speed;
Still clings to me the aching need.
On side, on back, on face, I lie,
But vain each change of posture.

THE ODES OF KWEI

~The Wish of an Unhappy Man~

  Where the grounds are wet and low,
  There the trees of goat-peach grow,
  With their branches small and smooth,
  Glossy in their tender youth.
  Joy it were to me, O tree,
  Consciousness to want like thee.

  Where the grounds are wet and low,
  There the trees of goat-peach grow.
  Soft and fragrant are their flowers,
  Glossy from the vernal showers.
  Joy it were to me, O tree,
  Ties of home to want like thee.

  Where the grounds are wet and low,
  There the trees of goat-peach grow,
  What delicious fruits they bear,
  Glossy, soft, of beauty rare!
  Joy it were to me, O tree,
  Household cares to want like thee.

BOOK XIV

THE ODES OF TS'AOU

~Against Frivolous Pursuits~

  Like splendid robes appear the wings
    Of the ephemeral fly;
  And such the pomp of those great men,
    Which soon in death shall lie!
  I grieve!   Would they but come to me!
    To teach them I should try.

  The wings of the ephemeral fly
    Are robes of colors gay;
  And such the glory of those men,
    Soon crumbling to decay!
  I grieve!   Would they but rest with me,
    They'd learn a better way!

  The ephemeral fly bursts from its hole,
    With gauzy wings like snow;
  So quick the rise, so quick the fall,
    Of those great men we know!
  I grieve!   Would they but lodge with me,
    Forth they would wiser go.

BOOK XV

THE ODES OF PIN

~The Duke of Chow Tells of His Soldiers~

  To the hills of the east we went,
    And long had we there to remain.
  When the word of recall was sent,
    Thick and fast came the drizzling rain.
  When told our return we should take,
    Our hearts in the West were and sore;
  But there did they clothes for us make:—
    They knew our hard service was o'er.
  On the mulberry grounds in our sight
    The large caterpillars were creeping;
  Lonely and still we passed the night,
    All under our carriages sleeping.

  To the hills of the East we went,
    And long had we there to remain.
  When the word of recall was sent,
    Thick and fast came the drizzling rain.
  The heavenly gourds rise to the eye,
    With their fruit hanging under the eave.
  In our chambers the sow-bug we spy;
    Their webs on our doors spiders weave.
  Our paddocks seem crowded with deer,
    With the glow-worm's light all about.
  Such thoughts, while they filled us with fear,
    We tried, but in vain, to keep out.

  To the hills of the East we went,
    And long had we there to remain.
  When the word of recall was sent,
    Thick and fast came the drizzling rain.

  On ant-hills screamed cranes with delight;
    In their rooms were our wives sighing sore.
  Our homes they had swept and made tight:—
    All at once we arrived at the door.
  The bitter gourds hanging are seen,
    From branches of chestnut-trees high.
  Three years of toil away we had been,
    Since such a sight greeted the eye.

  To the hills of the East we went,
    And long had we there to remain.
  When the word of recall was sent,
    Thick and fast came the drizzling rain.
  With its wings now here, and now there,
    Is the oriole sporting in flight.
  Those brides to their husbands repair,
    Their steeds red and bay, flecked with white.
  Each mother has fitted each sash;
    Their equipments are full and complete;
  But fresh unions, whatever their dash,
    Can ne'er with reunions compete.

~There is a Proper Way for Doing Everything~

  In hewing an axe-shaft, how must you act?
    Another axe take, or you'll never succeed.
  In taking a wife, be sure 'tis a fact,
    That with no go-between you never can speed.

  In hewing an axe-shaft, hewing a shaft,
    For a copy you have the axe in your hand.

  In choosing a wife, you follow the craft,
    And forthwith on the mats the feast-vessels stand.

PART II.—MINOR ODES TO THE KINGDOM

BOOK I

DECADE OF LUH MING

~A Festal Ode~

  With sounds of happiness the deer
    Browse on the celery of the meads.
  A nobler feast is furnished here,
    With guests renowned for noble deeds.
  The lutes are struck; the organ blows,
    Till all its tongues in movement heave.
  Each basket loaded stands, and shows
    The precious gifts the guests receive.
  They love me and my mind will teach,
  How duty's highest aim to reach.

  With sounds of happiness the deer
    The southern-wood crop in the meads,
  What noble guests surround me here,
    Distinguished for their worthy deeds!
  From them my people learn to fly
    Whate'er is mean; to chiefs they give
  A model and a pattern high;—
    They show the life they ought to live.
  Then fill their cups with spirits rare,
  Till each the banquet's joy shall share.

  With sounds of happiness the deer
    The salsola crop in the fields.
  What noble guests surround me here!
    Each lute for them its music yields.
  Sound, sound the lutes, or great or small.
    The joy harmonious to prolong;—

  And with my spirits rich crown all
    The cups to cheer the festive throng.
  Let each retire with gladdened heart,
  In his own sphere to play his part.

~A Festal Ode Complimenting an Officer~

  On dashed my four steeds, without halt, without stay,
  Though toilsome and winding from Chow was the way.
  I wished to return—but the monarch's command
  Forbade that his business be done with slack hand;
    And my heart was with sadness oppressed.

  On dashed my four steeds; I ne'er slackened the reins.
  They snorted and panted—all white, with black manes.
  I wished to return, but our sovereign's command
  Forbade that his business be done with slack hand;—
    And I dared not to pause or to rest.

  Unresting the Filial doves speed in their flight,
  Ascending, then sweeping swift down from the height,
  Now grouped on the oaks.   The king's high command
  Forbade that his business be done with slack hand;—
    And my father I left, sore distressed.

  Unresting the Filial doves speed in their flight,
  Now fanning the air and anon they alight
  On the medlars thick grouped.   But our monarch's command
  Forbade that his business be done with slack hand;—
    Of my mother I thought with sad breast.

  My four steeds I harnessed, all white and black-maned,
  Which straight on their way, fleet and emulous strained.
  I wished to return; and now venture in song
  The wish to express, and announce how I long
    For my mother my care to attest.

[NOTE.—Both Maou and Choo agree that this ode was composed in honor of the officer who narrates the story in it, although they say it was not written by the officer himself, but was put into his mouth, as it were, to express the sympathy of his entertainer with him, and the appreciation of his devotion to duty.]

~The Value of Friendship~

  The woodmen's blows responsive ring,
    As on the trees they fall;
  And when the birds their sweet notes sing,
    They to each other call.
  From the dark valley comes a bird,
    And seeks the lofty tree.
  Ying goes its voice, and thus it cries,
    "Companion, come to me."
  The bird, although a creature small,
    Upon its mate depends;
  And shall we men, who rank o'er all,
    Not seek to have our friends?
  All spirits love the friendly man,
    And hearken to his prayer.
  What harmony and peace they can
    Bestow, his lot shall share.

  Hoo-hoo the woodmen all unite
    To shout, as trees they fell.
  They do their work with all their might;—
    What I have done I'll tell.
  I've strained and made my spirits clear,
    The fatted lambs I've killed.
  With friends who my own surname bear,
    My hall I've largely filled.
  Some may be absent, casually,
    And leave a broken line;
  But better this than absence by
    An oversight of mine.
  My court I've sprinkled and swept clean,
    Viands in order set.
  Eight dishes loaded stand with grain;
    There's store of fatted meat.
  My mother's kith and kin I'm sure
    I've widely called by name.
  That some be hindered better is
    Than ~I~ give cause for blame.

  On the hill-side the trees they fell,
    All working with good-will
  I labor too, with equal zeal.
    And the host's part fulfil.
  Spirits I've set in order meet,
    The dishes stand in rows.
  The guests are here; no vacant seat
    A brother absent shows.
  The loss of kindly feeling oft
    From slightest things shall grow,
  Where all the fare is dry and spare,
    Resentments fierce may glow.
  My store of spirits is well strained,
    If short prove the supply,
  My messengers I straightway send,
    And what is needed buy.
  I beat the drums, and in the dance
    Lead joyously the train.
  Oh!   good it is, when falls the chance
    The sparkling cup to drain.

~The Response to a Festal Ode~

  Heaven shields and sets thee fast.
  It round thee fair has cast
    Thy virtue pure.
  Thus richest joy is thine;—
  Increase of corn and wine,
  And every gift divine,
    Abundant, sure.

  Heaven shields and sets thee fast.
  From it thou goodness hast;
    Right are thy ways.
  Its choicest gifts 'twill pour,
  That last for evermore,
  Nor time exhaust the store
    Through endless days.

  Heaven shields and sets thee fast,
  Makes thine endeavor last
    And prosper well.
  Like hills and mountains high,
  Whose masses touch the sky;
  Like streams aye surging by;
    Thine increase swell!

  With rite and auspice fair,
  Thine offerings thou dost bear,
    And son-like give,
  The season's round from spring,
  To olden duke and king,
  Whose words to thee we bring:—
    "Forever live,"

  The spirits of thy dead
  Pour blessings on thy head,
    Unnumbered sweet.
  Thy subjects, simple, good,
  Enjoy their drink and food.
  Our tribes of every blood
    Follow thy feet.

  Like moons that wax in light;
  Or suns that scale the height;
    Or ageless hill;
  Nor change, nor autumn know;
  As pine and cypress grow;
  The sons that from thee flow
    Be lasting still!

~An Ode of Congratulation~

  The russet pear-tree stands there all alone;
  How bright the growth of fruit upon it shown!
  The King's affairs no stinting hands require,
  And days prolonged still mock our fond desire.
  But time has brought the tenth month of the year;
  My woman's heart is torn with wound severe.
  Surely my warrior lord might now appear!

  The russet pear-tree stands there all alone;
  How dense the leafy shade all o'er it thrown!
  The King's affairs require no slackening hand,
  And our sad hearts their feelings can't command.
  The plants and trees in beauty shine; 'tis spring.
  From off my heart its gloom I fain would fling.
  This season well my warrior home may bring!

  I climbed that northern hill, and medlars sought;
  The spring nigh o'er, to ripeness they were brought.
  "The King's affairs cannot be slackly done";—
  'Tis thus our parents mourn their absent son.
  But now his sandal car must broken be;
  I seem his powerful steeds worn out to see.
  Relief has gone!   He can't be far from me!

  Alas!  they can't have marched; they don't arrive!
  More hard it grows with my distress to strive.
  The time is passed, and still he is not here!
  My sorrows multiply; great is my fear.
  But lo!   by reeds and shell I have divined,
  That he is near, they both assure my mind;—
  Soon at my side my warrior I shall find!

~An Ode on the Return of the Troops~

  Forth from the city in our cars we drove,
    Until we halted at the pasture ground.
  The general came, and there with ardor strove
    A note of zeal throughout the host to sound.
    "Direct from court I come, by orders bound
  The march to hasten";—it was thus he spake.
    Then with the carriage-officers around,
  He strictly charged them quick despatch to make:—
  "Urgent the King's affairs, forthwith the field we take."

  While there we stopped, the second corps appeared,
    And 'twixt Us and the city took its place.
  The guiding standard was on high upreared,
    Where twining snakes the tortoises embrace,
    While oxtails, crest-like, did the staff's top grace.
  We watched the sheet unfolding grandly wave;
    Each flag around showed falcons on its face.

  With anxious care looked on our leader brave;
  Watchful the carriage-officers appeared and grave.

  Nan Chung, our chief, had heard the royal call
    To go where inroad by Heen-yuns was made,
  And 'cross the frontier build a barrier wall.
    Numerous his chariots, splendidly arrayed!
    The standards—this where dragons were displayed,
  And that where snakes round tortoises were coiled—
    Terrific flew.     "Northward our host," he said,
  "Heaven's son sends forth to tame the Heen-yun wild."
  Soon by this awful chief would all their tribes be foiled.

  When first we took the field, and northward went,
    The millet was in flower;—a prospect sweet.
  Now when our weary steps are homeward bent,
    The snow falls fast, the mire impedes our feet.
    Many the hardships we were called to meet,
  Ere the King's orders we had all fulfilled.
    No rest we had; often our friends to greet
  The longing came; but vain regrets we stilled;
  By tablets stern our hearts with fresh resolve were thrilled.

  "Incessant chirp the insects in the grass;
    All round about the nimble hoppers spring.
  From them our thoughts quick to our husbands pass?
    Although those thoughts our hearts with anguish wring.
    Oh!     could we see them, what relief 'twould bring!
  Our hearts, rejoiced, at once would feel at rest."
    Thus did our wives, their case deploring, sing;
  The while our leader farther on had pressed,
  And smitten with his power the wild Jung of the west.

  The spring days now are lengthening out their light;
    The plants and trees are dressed in living green;
  The orioles resting sing, or wing their flight;
    Our wives amid the southern-wood are seen,
    Which white they bring, to feed their silkworms keen.
  Our host, returned, sweeps onwards to the hall,
    Where chiefs are questioned, shown the captives mean
  Nan Chung, majestic, draws the gaze of all,
  Proud o'er the barbarous foe his victories to recall.

BOOK II

THE DECADE OF PIH H'WA

~An Ode Appropriate to a Festivity~

  The dew lies heavy all around,
  Nor, till the sun shines, leaves the ground.
  Far into night we feasting sit;
  We drink, and none his place may quit.

  The dew lies heavy, and its gems
  Stud the luxuriant, grassy stems.
  The happy night with wassail rings;
  So feasted here the former kings.

  The jujube and the willow-tree
  All fretted with the dew we see.
  Each guest's a prince of noble line,
  In whom the virtues all combine.

  The t'ung and e their fruits display,
  Pendant from every graceful spray.
  My guests are joyous and serene,
  No haggard eye, no ruffled mien.

BOOK III

THE DECADE OF TUNG RUNG

~Celebrating a Hunting Expedition~

  Our chariots were well-built and firm,
    Well-matched our steeds, and fleet and strong.
  Four, sleek and large, each chariot drew,
    And eastward thus we drove along.

  Our hunting cars were light and good,
    Each with its team of noble steeds.
  Still further east we took the way
    To Foo-mere's grassy plains that leads.

  Loud-voiced, the masters of the chase
    Arranged the huntsmen, high and low.
  While banners streamed, and ox-tails flew,
    We sought the prey on distant Gaou.

  Each with full team, the princes came,
    A lengthened train in bright array.
  In gold-wrought slippers, knee-caps red,
    They looked as on an audience day.

  Each right thumb wore the metal guard;
    On the left arm its shield was bound.
  In unison the arrows flew;
    The game lay piled upon the ground.

  The leaders of the tawny teams
    Sped on their course, direct and true.
  The drivers perfect skill displayed;
    Like blow well aimed each arrow flew.

  Neighing and pleased, the steeds returned;
  The bannered lines back slowly came.
  No jostling rude disgraced the crowd;
  The king declined large share of game.

  So did this famous hunt proceed!
  So free it was from clamorous sound!
  Well does our King become his place,
And high the deeds his reign have crowned!

~The King's Anxiety for His Morning Levťe~

  How goes the night?  For heavy morning sleep
  Ill suits the king who men would loyal keep.
  The courtyard, ruddy with the torch's light,
  Proclaims unspent the deepest hour of night.
  Already near the gate my lords appear;
  Their tinkling bells salute my wakeful ear.

  How goes the night?  I may not slumber on.
  Although not yet the night is wholly gone,
  The paling torch-light in the court below
  Gives token that the hours swift-footed go.
  Already at the gate my lords appear;
  Their tinkling bells with measured sound draw near.

  How goes the night?  I may not slumber now.
  The darkness smiles with morning on its brow.
  The courtyard torch no more gives forth its ray,
  But heralds with its smoke the coming day.
  My princes pass the gate, and gather there;
  I see their banners floating in the air.

~Moral Lessons from Natural Facts~

  All true words fly, as from yon reedy marsh
  The crane rings o'er the wild its screaming harsh.
  Vainly you try reason in chains to keep;—
  Freely it moves as fish sweeps through the deep.

  Hate follows love, as 'neath those sandal-trees
  The withered leaves the eager searcher sees.
  The hurtful ne'er without some good was born;—
  The stones that mar the hill will grind the corn.

  All true words spread, as from the marsh's eye
  The crane's sonorous note ascends the sky.
  Goodness throughout the widest sphere abides,
  As fish round isle and through the ocean glides.
  And lesser good near greater you shall see,
  As grows the paper shrub 'neath sandal-tree.
  And good emerges from what man condemns;—
  Those stones that mar the hill will polish gems.

BOOK IV

THE DECADE OF K'E-FOO

~On the Completion of a Royal Palace~

  On yonder banks a palace, lo!  upshoots,
    The tender blue of southern hill behind;
  Firm-founded, like the bamboo's clamping roots;
    Its roof made pine-like, to a point defined.
  Fraternal love here bears its precious fruits,
    And unfraternal schemes be ne'er designed!

  Ancestral sway is his.  The walls they rear,
    Five thousand cubits long; and south and west
  The doors are placed.   Here will the king appear,
    Here laugh, here talk, here sit him down and rest.

  To mould the walls, the frames they firmly tie;
    The toiling builders beat the earth and lime.
  The walls shall vermin, storm, and bird defy;—
    Fit dwelling is it for his lordly prime.

  Grand is the hall the noble lord ascends;—
    In height, like human form most reverent, grand;
  And straight, as flies the shaft when bow unbends;
    Its tints, like hues when pheasant's wings expand.

  High pillars rise the level court around;
    The pleasant light the open chamber steeps;
  And deep recesses, wide alcoves, are found,
    Where our good king in perfect quiet sleeps.

  Laid is the bamboo mat on rush mat square;—
    Here shall he sleep, and, waking, say, "Divine
    What dreams are good?     For bear and grizzly bear,
    And snakes and cobras, haunt this couch of mine."

  Then shall the chief diviner glad reply,
    "The bears foreshow that Heaven will send you sons.
  The snakes and cobras daughters prophesy.
    These auguries are all auspicious ones.

  "Sons shall be his—on couches lulled to rest.
    The little ones, enrobed, with sceptres play;
  Their infant cries are loud as stern behest;
    Their knees the vermeil covers shall display.
  As king hereafter one shall be addressed;
    The rest, our princes, all the States shall sway.

  "And daughters also to him shall be born.
    They shall be placed upon the ground to sleep;
  Their playthings tiles, their dress the simplest worn;
    Their part alike from good and ill to keep,
  And ne'er their parents' hearts to cause to mourn;
    To cook the food, and spirit-malt to steep."

~The Condition of King Seuen's Flocks~

  Who dares to say your sheep are few?
    The flocks are all three hundred strong.
  Who dares despise your cattle too?
    There ninety, black-lipped, press along.
  Though horned the sheep, yet peaceful each appears;
  The cattle come with moist and flapping ears.

  These climb the heights, those drink the pool;
    Some lie at rest, while others roam.
  With rain-coats, and thin splint hats cool,
    And bearing food, your herdsmen come.
  In thirties, ranged by hues, the creatures stand;
  Fit victims they will yield at your command.

  Your herdsmen twigs and fagots bring,
    With prey of birds and beasts for food.
  Your sheep, untouched by evil thing,
    Approach, their health and vigor good.
  The herdsman's waving hand they all behold,
  And docile come, and pass into the fold.

  Your herdsmen dream;—fish take the place
    Of men; on banners falcons fly,
  Displacing snakes and tortoises.
    The augur tells his prophecy:—
  "The first betoken plenteous years; the change
  Of banners shows of homes a widening range."

BOOK V

THE DECADE OF SEAOU MIN

~A Eunuch Complains of His Fate~

  A few fine lines, at random drawn,
  Like the shell-pattern wrought in lawn
    To hasty glance will seem.
  My trivial faults base slander's slime
  Distorted into foulest crime,
    And men me worthless deem.

  A few small points, pricked down on wood,
  May be made out a picture good
    Of the bright Southern Sieve.
  Who planned, and helped those slanderers vile,
  My name with base lies to defile?
    Unpitied, here I grieve.

  With babbling tongues you go about,
  And only scheme how to make out
    The lies you scatter round.
  Hear me—Be careful what you say;
  People ere long your words will weigh,
    And liars you'll be found.

  Clever you are with changeful schemes!
  How else could all your evil dreams
    And slanders work their way?
  Men now believe you; by and by,
  The truth found out, each vicious lie
    Will ill for ill repay.

  The proud rejoice; the sufferer weeps.
  O azure Heaven, from out thy deeps
    Why look in silence down?
  Behold those proud men and rebuke;
  With pity on the sufferers look,
    And on the evil frown.

  Those slanderers I would gladly take,
  With all who help their schemes to make,
    And to the tigers throw.
  If wolves and tigers such should spare,
  Td hurl them 'midst the freezing air,
    Where the keen north winds blow.
  And should the North compassion feel
  I'd fling them to great Heaven, to deal
    On them its direst woe.

  As on the sacred heights you dwell,
  My place is in the willow dell,
    One is the other near.
  Before you, officers, I spread
  These lines by me, poor eunuch, made.
    Think not Mang-tsze severe.

~An Officer Deplores the Misery of the Time~

  In the fourth month summer shines;
  In the sixth the heat declines.
  Nature thus grants men relief;
  Tyranny gives only grief.
  Were not my forefathers men?
  Can my suffering 'scape their ken?

  In the cold of autumn days
  Each plant shrivels and decays.
  Nature then is hard and stern;
  Living things sad lessons learn.
  Friends dispersed, all order gone,
  Place of refuge have I none.

  Winter days are wild and fierce;
  Rapid gusts each crevice pierce.
  Such is my unhappy lot,
  Unbefriended and forgot!
  Others all can happy be;
  I from misery ne'er am free.

  On the mountains are fine trees;
  Chestnuts, plum-trees, there one sees.
  All the year their forms they show;
  Stately more and more they grow.
  Noble turned to ravening thief!
  What the cause?   This stirs my grief.

  Waters from that spring appear
  Sometimes foul, and sometimes clear,
  Changing oft as falls the rain,
  Or the sky grows bright again.
  New misfortunes every day
  Still befall me, misery's prey.

  Aid from mighty streams obtained,
  Southern States are shaped and drained.
  Thus the Keang and Han are thanked,
  And as benefactors ranked.
  Weary toil my vigor drains;
  All unnoticed it remains!

  Hawks and eagles mount the sky;
  Sturgeons in deep waters lie.
  Out of reach, they safely get,
  Arrow fear not, nor the net.
  Hiding-place for me there's none;
  Here I stay, and make my moan.

  Ferns upon the hills abound;
  Ke and e in marshy ground.
  Each can boast its proper place,
  Where it grows for use or grace.
  I can only sing the woe,
  Which, ill-starred, I undergo.

~On the Alienation of a Friend~

  Gently and soft the east wind blows,
    And then there falls the pelting rain.
  When anxious fears pressed round you close,
    Then linked together were we twain.
  Now happy, and your mind at rest,
  You turn and cast me from your breast.

  Gently and soft the east wind blows,
    And then there comes the whirlwind wild.
  When anxious fears pressed round you close,
    Your bosom held me as a child.
  Now happy, and in peaceful state,
  You throw me off and quite forget.

  Gently and soft the east wind blows,
    Then round the rocky height it storms.
  Each plant its leaves all dying shows;
    The trees display their withered forms.
  My virtues great forgotten all,
  You keep in mind my faults, though small.

BOOK VI

THE DECADE OF PIH SHAN

~A Picture of Husbandry~

  Various the toils which fields so large demand!
  We choose the seed; we take our tools in hand.
  In winter for our work we thus prepare;
  Then in the spring, bearing the sharpened 'share,
  We to the acres go that south incline,
  And to the earth the different seeds consign.
  Soon, straight and large, upward each plant aspires;—
  All happens as our noble lord desires.

  The plants will ear; within their sheath confined,
  The grains will harden, and be good in kind.
  Nor darnel these, nor wolf's-tail grass infests;
  From core and leaf we pick the insect pests,
  And pick we those that eat the joints and roots:—
  So do we guard from harm the growing fruits.
  May the great Spirit, whom each farmer names,
  Those insects take, and cast them to the flames!

  The clouds o'erspread the sky in masses dense,
  And gentle rain down to the earth dispense.
  First may the public fields the blessing get,
  And then with it our private fields we wet!
  Patches of unripe grain the reaper leaves;
  And here and there ungathered are the sheaves.
  Handfuls besides we drop upon the ground,
  And ears untouched in numbers lie around;—

  These by the poor and widows shall be found.
  When wives and children to the toilers come,
  Bringing provisions from each separate home,
  Our lord of long descent shall oft appear;
  The Inspector also, glad the men to cheer.
  They too shall thank the Spirits of the air,
  With sacrifices pure for all their care;
  Now red, now black, the victims that they slay,
  As North or South the sacrifice they pay;
  While millet bright the altars always show;—
  And we shall thus still greater blessings know.

~The Complaint of an Officer~

  O Heaven above, before whose light
  Revealed is every deed and thought,
     To thee I cry.
  Hither on toilsome service brought,
  In this wild K'ew I watch time's flight,
     And sadly sigh.
  The second month had just begun,
  When from the east we took our way.
     Through summer hot
  We passed, and many a wintry day.
  Summer again its course has run.
     O bitter lot!
  There are my compeers, gay at court,
  While here the tears my face begrime.
     I'd fain return—
  But there is that dread net for crime!
  The fear of it the wish cuts short.
     In vain I burn!

  Ere we the royal city left,
  The sun and moon renewed the year.
     We marched in hope.
  Now to its close this year is near.
  Return deferred, of hope bereft,
     All mourn and mope.
  My lonesome state haunts aye my breast,
  While duties grow, and cares increase,
     Too hard to bear.

  Toils that oppress me never cease;
  Not for a moment dare I rest,
    Nigh to despair.
  I think with fond regard of those,
  Who in their posts at court remain,
    My friends of old.
  Fain would I be with them again,
  But fierce reproof return would cause.
    This post I hold.

  When for the West I left my home,
  The sun and moon both mildly shone,
    Our hearts to cheer.
  We'd soon be back, our service done!
  Alas!   affairs more urgent come,
    And fix us here.
  The year is hastening to expire.
  We gather now the southern-wood,
    The beans we reap;—
  That for its fragrance, these for food.
  Such things that constant care require
    Me anxious keep.
  Thinking of friends still at their posts,
  I rise and pass the night outside,
    So vexed my mind.
  But soon what changes may betide?
  I here will stay, whate'er it costs,
    And be resigned.

  My honored friends, O do not deem
  Your rest which seems secure from ill
    Will ever last!
  Your duties quietly fulfil,
  And hold the upright in esteem,
    With friendship fast.
  So shall the Spirits hear your cry,
  You virtuous make, and good supply,
    In measure vast.

  My honored friends, O do not deem
  Repose that seems secure from ill
    Will lasting prove.
  Your duties quietly fulfil,
  And hold the upright in esteem,
    With earnest love.
  So shall the Spirits hear your prayer,
  And on you happiness confer,
    Your hopes above.

BOOK VII

DECADE OF SANG HOO

~The Rejoicings of a Bridegroom~

  With axle creaking, all on fire I went,
   To fetch my young and lovely bride.
  No thirst or hunger pangs my bosom rent—
   I only longed to have her by my side.
  I feast with her, whose virtue fame had told,
  Nor need we friends our rapture to behold.

  The long-tailed pheasants surest covert find,
   Amid the forest on the plain.
  Here from my virtuous bride, of noble mind,
   And person tall, I wisdom gain.
  I praise her while we feast, and to her say,
  "The love I bear you ne'er will know decay.

  "Poor we may be; spirits and viands fine
   My humble means will not afford.
  But what we have, we'll taste and not repine;
   From us will come no grumbling word.
  And though to you no virtue I can add,
  Yet we will sing and dance, in spirit glad.

  "I oft ascend that lofty ridge with toil,
   And hew large branches from the oaks;
  Then of their leafy glory them I spoil,
   And fagots form with vigorous strokes.
  Returning tired, your matchless grace I see,
  And my whole soul dissolves in ecstasy.

  "To the high hills I looked, and urged each steed;
   The great road next was smooth and plain.

  Up hill, o'er dale, I never slackened speed;
    Like lute-string sounded every rein.
  I knew, my journey ended, I should come
  To you, sweet bride, the comfort of my home."

~Against Listening to Slanderers~

  Like the blueflies buzzing round,
    And on the fences lighting,
  Are the sons of slander found,
    Who never cease their biting.
  O thou happy, courteous king,
  To the winds their slanders fling.

  Buzzing round the blueflies hear,
    About the jujubes flocking!
  So the slanderers appear,
    Whose calumnies are shocking.
  By no law or order bound,
  All the kingdom they confound.

  How they buzz, those odious flies,
    Upon the hazels clust'ring!
  And as odious are the lies
    Of those slanderers blust'ring.
  Hatred stirred between us two
  Shows the evil they can do.

BOOK VIII

THE DECADE OF TOO JIN SZE

~In Praise of By-gone Simplicity~

  In the old capital they stood,
    With yellow fox-furs plain,
  Their manners all correct and good,
    Speech free from vulgar stain.
  Could we go back to Chow's old days,
  All would look up to them with praise.

  In the old capital they wore
    T'ae hats and black caps small;
  And ladies, who famed surnames bore,
    Their own thick hair let fall.
  Such simple ways are seen no more,
  And the changed manners I deplore.

  Ear-rings, made of plainest gold,
    In the old days were worn.
  Each lady of a noble line
    A Yin or Keih seemed born.
  Such officers and ladies now
  I see not and my sorrows grow.

  With graceful sweep their girdles fell,
    Then in the days of old.
  The ladies' side-hair, with a swell,
    Like scorpion's tail, rose bold.
  Such, if I saw them in these days,
  I'd follow with admiring gaze.

  So hung their girdles, not for show;—
    To their own length 'twas due.
  'Twas not by art their hair curled so;—
    By nature so it grew.
  I seek such manners now in vain,
  And pine for them with longing pain.

[NOTE.—Yin and Keih were clan names of great families, the ladies of which would be leaders of fashion in the capital.]

~A Wife Bemoans Her Husband's Absence~

  So full am I of anxious thought,
  Though all the morn king-grass I've sought,
    To fill my arms I fail.
  Like wisp all-tangled is my hair!
  To wash it let me home repair.
    My lord soon may I hail!

  Though 'mong the indigo I've wrought
  The morning long; through anxious thought
    My skirt's filled but in part.
  Within five days he was to appear;
  The sixth has come and he's not here.
    Oh!     how this racks my heart!

  When here we dwelt in union sweet,
  If the hunt called his eager feet,
    His bow I cased for him.
  Or if to fish he went away,
  And would be absent all the day,
    His line I put in trim.

  What in his angling did he catch?
  Well worth the time it was to watch
    How bream and tench he took.
  Men thronged upon the banks and gazed;
  At bream and tench they looked amazed,
    The triumphs of his hook.

~The Earl of Shaou's Work~

  As the young millet, by the genial rain
    Enriched, shoots up luxuriant and tall,
  So, when we southward marched with toil and pain,
    The Earl of Shaou cheered and inspired us all.

  We pushed our barrows, and our burdens bore;
    We drove our wagons, and our oxen led.
  "The work once done, our labor there is o'er,
    And home we travel," to ourselves we said.

  Close kept our footmen round the chariot track;
    Our eager host in close battalions sped.
  "When once our work is done, then we go back,
    Our labor over," to themselves they said.

  Hard was the work we had at Seay to do,
    But Shaou's great earl the city soon upreared.
  The host its service gave with ardor true;—
    Such power in all the earl's commands appeared!

  We did on plains and low lands what was meet;
    We cleared the springs and streams, the land to drain.
  The Earl of Shaou announced his work complete,
    And the King's heart reposed, at rest again.

~The Plaint of King Yew's Forsaken Wife~

  The fibres of the white-flowered rush
    Are with the white grass bound.
  So do the two together go,
    In closest union found.
  And thus should man and wife abide,
    The twain combined in one;
  But this bad man sends me away,
    And bids me dwell alone.

  Both rush and grass from the bright clouds
    The genial dew partake.

  Kind and impartial, nature's laws
    No odious difference make.
  But providence appears unkind;
    Events are often hard.
  This man, to principle untrue,
    Denies me his regard.

  Northward the pools their waters send,
    To flood each paddy field;
  So get the fields the sap they need,
    Their store of rice to yield.
  But that great man no deed of grace
    Deigns to bestow on me.
  My songs are sighs.   At thought of him
    My heart aches wearily.

  The mulberry branches they collect,
    And use their food to cook;
  But I must use a furnace small,
    That pot nor pan will brook.
  So me that great man badly treats,
    Nor uses as his wife,
  Degrades me from my proper place,
    And fills with grief my life.

  The bells and drums inside the court
    Men stand without and hear;
  So should the feelings in my breast,
    To him distinct appear.
  All-sorrowful, I think of him,
    Longing to move his love;
  But he vouchsafes no kind response;
    His thoughts far from me rove.

  The marabow stands on the dam,
    And to repletion feeds;
  The crane deep in the forest cries,
    Nor finds the food it needs.
  So in my room the concubine
    By the great man is placed;
  While I with cruel banishment
    Am cast out and disgraced.

  The yellow ducks sit on the dam,
     With left wing gathered low;
  So on each other do they lean,
     And their attachment show.
  And love should thus the man and wife
     In closest concord bind;
  But that man turns away from me,
     And shows a fickle mind.

  When one stands on a slab of stone,
     No higher than the ground,
  Nothing is added to his height;—
     Low with the stone he's found.
  So does the favorite's mean estate
     Render that great man mean,
  While I by him, to distance sent,
     Am pierced with sorrow keen.

~Hospitality~

  A few gourd leaves that waved about
     Cut down and boiled;—the feast how spare!
  But the good host his spirits takes,
     Pours out a cup, and proves them rare.

  A single rabbit on the mat,
     Or baked, or roast:—how small the feast!
  But the good host his spirits takes,
     And fills the cup of every guest.

  A single rabbit on the mat,
     Roasted or broiled:—how poor the meal!
  But the guests from the spirit vase
     Fill their host's cup, and drink his weal.

  A single rabbit on the mat,
     Roasted or baked:—no feast we think!
  But from the spirit vase they take,
     Both host and guests, and joyous drink.

~On the Misery of Soldiers~

  Yellow now is all the grass;
  All the days in marching pass.
  On the move is every man;
  Hard work, far and near, they plan.

  Black is every plant become;
  Every man is torn from home.
  Kept on foot, our state is sad;—
  As if we no feelings had!

  Not rhinoceroses we!
  Tigers do we care to be?
  Fields like these so desolate
  Are to us a hateful fate.

  Long-tailed foxes pleased may hide
  'Mong the grass, where they abide.
  We, in box carts slowly borne,
  On the great roads plod and mourn.

PART III.—GREATER ODES OF THE KINGDOM

BOOK I

DECADE OF KING WAN

~Celebrating King Wan~

  The royal Wan now rests on high,
  Enshrined in brightness of the sky.
  Chow as a state had long been known,
  And Heaven's decree at last was shown.
  Its lords had borne a glorious name;
  God kinged them when the season came.
  King Wan ruled well when earth he trod;
  Now moves his spirit near to God.

  A strong-willed, earnest king was Wan,
  And still his fame rolls widening on.
  The gifts that God bestowed on Chow
  Belong to Wan's descendants now.
  Heaven blesses still with gifts divine
  The hundred scions of his line;
  And all the officers of Chow
  From age to age more lustrous grow.

  More lustrous still from age to age,
  All reverent plans their zeal engage;
  And brilliant statesmen owe their birth
  To this much-favored spot of earth.
  They spring like products of the land—
  The men by whom the realm doth stand.
  Such aid their numerous bands supply,
  That Wan rests tranquilly on high.

  Deep were Wan's thoughts, sustained his ways;
  His reverence lit its trembling rays.
  Resistless came great Heaven's decree;
  The sons of Shang must bend the knee;—
  The sons of Shang, each one a king,
  In numbers beyond numbering.
  Yet as God spoke, so must it be:—
  The sons of Shang all bent the knee.

  Now each to Chow his homage pays—
  So dark and changing are Heaven's ways.
  When we pour our libations here,
  The officers of Shang appear,
  Quick and alert to give their aid:—
  Such is the service by them paid,
  While still they do not cast aside
  The cap and broidered axe—their pride.
  Ye servants of our line of kings,
  Remember him from whom it springs.

  Remember him from whom it springs;—
  Let this give to your virtue wings.
  Seek harmony with Heaven's great mind;—
  So shall you surest blessing find.
  Ere Shang had lost the nation's heart,
  Its monarchs all with God had part
  In sacrifice.   From them you see
  'Tis hard to keep high Heaven's decree.

  'Tis hard to keep high Heaven's decree!
  O sin not, or you cease to be.
  To add true lustre to your name,
  See Shang expire in Heaven's dread flame.
  For Heaven's high dealings are profound,
  And far transcend all sense and sound.
  From Wan your pattern you must draw,
  And all the States will own your law.

[Book II.is omitted]

BOOK III [*]

DECADE OF TANG

~King Seuen on the Occasion of a Great Drought~

  Grand shone the Milky Way on high,
  With brilliant span athwart the sky,
    Nor promise gave of rain.
  King Seuen long gazed; then from him broke,
  In anguished tones the words he spoke.
    Well might he thus complain!
  "O Heaven, what crimes have we to own,
  That death and ruin still come down?
  Relentless famine fills our graves.
  Pity the king who humbly craves!
    Our miseries never cease.
  To every Spirit I have vowed;
  The choicest victim's blood has flowed.
  As offerings I have freely paid
  My store of gems and purest jade.
    Hear me, and give release!

  "The drought consumes us.  As on wing
  Its fervors fly, and torment bring.
  With purest mind and ceaseless care
  My sacrifices I prepare.
  At thine own border altars, Heaven,
  And in my father's fane, I've given
    What might relief have found.
  What Powers above, below, have sway,
  To all my precious gifts I pay,
    Then bury in the ground.
  Yes, every Spirit has received
  Due honor, and, still unrelieved,
    Our sufferings greater grow.
  How-tseih can't give the needed aid,
  And help from God is still delayed!
  The country lies a ruined waste.
  O would that I alone might taste
    This bitter cup of woe!

  "The drought consumes us.  Nor do I
  To fix the blame on others try.
  I quake with dread; the risk I feel,
  As when I hear the thunders peal,
    Or fear its sudden crash.
  Our black-haired race, a remnant now,
  Will every one be swept from Chow,
    As by the lightning's flash.
  Nor I myself will live alone.
  God from his great and heavenly throne
    Will not spare even me.
  O friends and officers, come, blend
  Your prayers with mine; come, lowly bend.
  Chow's dynasty will pass away;
  Its altars at no distant day
    In ruins all shall be!

  "The drought consumes us.  It keeps on
  Its fatal course.   All hope is gone.
  The air more fierce and fiery glows.
  Where can I fly?   Where seek repose?
    Death marks me for its prey.
  Above, no saving hand!   Around,
  No hope, no comfort, can be found.
  The dukes and ministers of old
  Give us no help.   Can ye withhold
  Your sympathy, who lately reigned?
  And parents, how are you restrained,
    In this so dreadful day?

  "The drought consumes us.  There on high
  The hills are parched.   The streams are dry.
  Drought's demon stalks abroad in ire,
  And scatters wide his flames and fire.
    Alas, my woful heart!
  The fires within its strength consume;
  The heat without creates a gloom
    That from it will not part.
  The dukes and ministers by-gone
  Respond not to my prayer and moan.
  God in great Heaven, permission give
  That I may in retirement live,
    And try to heal my smart!

  "The drought consumes us.  Still I strive,
  And will not leave while I survive.
    Duty to shun I fear.
  Why upon me has come this drought?
  Vainly I try to search it out,
    Vainly, with quest severe.
  For a good harvest soon I prayed,
  Nor late the rites I duly paid,
  To Spirits of the air and land.
  There wanted nought they could demand,
    Their favor to secure.
  God in great heaven, be just, be kind!
  Thou dost not bear me in Thy mind.
  My cry, ye wisest Spirits, hear!
  Ye whom I constantly revere,
    Why do I this endure?

  "The drought consumes us.  People fly,
  And leave their homes.   Each social tie
    And bond of rule is snapt.
  The Heads of Boards are all perplexed;
  My premier's mind is sorely vexed;
    In trouble all are wrapt.
  The Masters of my Horse and Guards;
  My cook, and men of different wards:—
  Not one has from the struggle shrunk.
  Though feeling weak, they have not sunk,
    But done their best to aid.
  To the great sky I look with pain;—
  Why do these grievous sorrows rain
    On my devoted head?

  "Yes, at the mighty sky I gaze,
  And lo!   the stars pursue their maze,
    And sparkle clear and bright.
  Ah!   Heaven nor helps, nor seems to ken.
  Great officers and noble men,
  With all your powers ye well have striven,
  And reverently have sought from Heaven
    Its aid in our great fight.
  My death is near; but oh!   keep on,
  And do as thus far you have done.
    Regard you only me?
  No, for yourselves and all your friends,
  On whom for rule the land depends,
    You seek security.
  I turn my gaze to the great sky;—
  When shall this drought be done, and I
    Quiet and restful be?"

[NOTE *: Selections from Book II.are omitted.—EDITOR.]

PART IV.—ODES OF THE TEMPLE AND ALTAR

BOOK I

SACRIFICIAL ODES OF CHOW

~Appropriate to a Sacrifice to King Wan~

  My offerings here are given,
    A ram, a bull.
  Accept them, mighty Heaven,
    All-bountiful.

  Thy statutes, O great king,
    I keep, I love;
  So on the realm to bring
    Peace from above.

  From Wan comes blessing rich;
    Now on the right
  He owns those gifts to which
    Him I invite.

  Do I not night and day,
    Revere great Heaven,
  That thus its favor may
    To Chow be given?

~On Sacrificing to the Kings Woo, Ching, and K'ang~

  The arm of Woo was full of might;
    None could his fire withstand;
  And Ching and K'ang stood forth to sight,
    As kinged by God's own hand.

  We err not when we call them sage.
    How grandly they maintained
  Their hold of all the heritage
    That Wan and Woo had gained!

  As here we worship, they descend,
    While bells and drums resound,
  And stones and lutes their music blend.
    With blessings we are crowned.

  The rites correctly we discharge;
    The feast we freely share.
  Those Sires Chow's glory will enlarge,
    And ever for it care.

THE TRAVELS OF F¬-HIEN

[Translation by James Legge]

TRANSLATOR'S INTRODUCTION

Nothing of great importance is known about F‚-hien in addition to what may be gathered from his own record of his travels.I have read the accounts of him in the "Memoirs of Eminent Monks," compiled in A.D.519, and a later work, the "Memoirs of Marvellous Monks," by the third emperor of the Ming dynasty (A.D.1403-1424), which, however, is nearly all borrowed from the other; and all in them that has an appearance of verisimilitude can be brought within brief compass.

His surname, they tell us, was Kung, and he was a native of Wu-yang in P'ing-yang, which is still the name of a large department in Shan-hsÓ.He had three brothers older than himself; but when they all died before shedding their first teeth, his father devoted him to the service of the Buddhist society, and had him entered as a Sr‚manera, still keeping him at home in the family.The little fellow fell dangerously ill, and the father sent him to the monastery, where he soon got well and refused to return to his parents.

When he was ten years old, his father died; and an uncle, considering the widowed solitariness and helplessness of the mother, urged him to renounce the monastic life, and return to her, but the boy replied, "I did not quit the family in compliance with my father's wishes, but because I wished to be far from the dust and vulgar ways of life.This is why I choose monkhood."The uncle approved of his words and gave over urging him.When his mother also died, it appeared how great had been the affection for her of his fine nature; but after her burial he returned to the monastery.

On one occasion he was cutting rice with a score or two of his fellow-disciples, when some hungry thieves came upon them to take away their grain by force.The other Sr‚maneras all fled, but our young hero stood his ground, and said to the thieves, "If you must have the grain, take what you please.But, sirs, it was your former neglect of charity which brought you to your present state of destitution; and now, again, you wish to rob others.I am afraid that in the coming ages you will have still greater poverty and distress; I am sorry for you beforehand."With these words he followed his companions to the monastery, while the thieves left the grain and went away, all the monks, of whom there were several hundred, doing homage to his conduct and courage.

When he had finished his novitiate and taken on him the obligations of the full Buddhist orders, his earnest courage, clear intelligence, and strict regulation of his demeanor, were conspicuous; and soon after, he undertook his journey to India in search of complete copies of the Vinaya-pitaka.What follows this is merely an account of his travels in India and return to China by sea, condensed from his own narrative, with the addition of some marvellous incidents that happened to him, on his visit to the Vulture Peak near R‚jagriha.

It is said in the end that after his return to China, he went to the capital (evidently Nanking), and there, along with the Indian Sramana Buddha-bhadra, executed translations of some of the works which he had obtained in India; and that before he had done all that he wished to do in this way, he removed to King-chow (in the present Hoo-pih), and died in the monastery of Sin, at the age of eighty-eight, to the great sorrow of all who knew him.It is added that there is another larger work giving an account of his travels in various countries.

Such is all the information given about our author, beyond what he has himself told us.F‚-hien was his clerical name, and means "Illustrious in the Law," or "Illustrious master of the Law."The Shih which often precedes it is an abbreviation of the name of Buddha as S‚kyamuni, "the S‚kya, mighty in Love, dwelling in Seclusion and Silence," and may be taken as equivalent to Buddhist.He is sometimes said to have belonged to "the eastern Tsin dynasty" (A.D.317-419), and sometimes to "the Sung," that is, the Sung dynasty of the House of LiŻ (A.D.420-478).If he became a full monk at the age of twenty, and went to India when he was twenty-five, his long life may have been divided pretty equally between the two dynasties.

If there were ever another and larger account of F‚-hien's travels than the narrative of which a translation is now given, it has long ceased to be in existence.

In the catalogue of the imperial library of the Suy dynasty (A.D.589-618), the name F‚-hien occurs four times.Towards the end of the last section of it, after a reference to his travels, his labors in translation at Kin-ling (another name for Nanking), in conjunction with Buddha-bhadra, are described.In the second section we find "A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms"—with a note, saying that it was the work of "the Sramana, F‚-hien"; and again, we have "Narrative of F‚-hien in two Books," and "Narrative of F‚-hien's Travels in one Book."But all these three entries may possibly belong to different copies of the same work, the first and the other two being in separate subdivisions of the catalogue.

In the two Chinese copies of the narrative in my possession the title is "Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms." In the Japanese or Corean recension the title is twofold; first, "Narrative of the Distinguished Monk, F‚-hien"; and then, more at large, "Incidents of Travels in India, by the Sramana of the Eastern TsÓn, F‚-hien, recorded by himself."

There is still earlier attestation of the existence of our little work than the Suy catalogue.The "Catalogue Raisonnť" of the imperial library of the present dynasty mentions two quotations from it by Le T‚o-yŁen, a geographical writer of the dynasty of the Northern Wei (A.D.386-584), one of them containing eighty-nine characters, and the other two hundred and seventy-six; both of them given as from the "Narrative of F‚-hien."

In all catalogues subsequent to that of Suy our work appears.The evidence for its authenticity and genuineness is all that could be required.It is clear to myself that the "Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms" and the "Narrative of his Travels by F‚-hien" were designations of one and the same work, and that it is doubtful whether any larger work on the same subject was ever current.With regard to the text subjoined to my translation, it was published in Japan in 1779.The editor had before him four recensions of the narrative; those of the Sung and Ming dynasties, with appendices on the names of certain characters in them; that of Japan; and that of Corea.He wisely adopted the Corean text, published in accordance with a royal rescript in 1726, so far as I can make out; but the different readings of the other texts are all given in top-notes, instead of foot-notes as with us, this being one of the points in which customs in the East and West go by contraries.Very occasionally, the editor indicates by a single character, equivalent to "right" or "wrong," which reading in his opinion is to be preferred.

The editors of the "Catalogue Raisonnť" intimate their doubts of the good taste and reliability of all F‚-hien's statements.It offends them that he should call central India the "Middle Kingdom," and China, which to them was the true and only Middle Kingdom, but "a Border-land"—it offends them as the vaunting language of a Buddhist writer, whereas the reader will see in the expressions only an instance of what F‚-hien calls his "simple straightforwardness."

As an instance of his unreliability they refer to his account of the Buddhism of Khoten, whereas it is well-known, they say, that the Khoteners from ancient times till now have been Mohammedans;—as if they could have been so one hundred and seventy years before Mohammed was born, and two hundred twenty-two years before the year of the Hegira!And this is criticism in China.The catalogue was ordered by the K'ien-lung emperor in 1722.Between three and four hundred of the "Great Scholars" of the empire were engaged on it in various departments, and thus egregiously ignorant did they show themselves of all beyond the limits of their own country, and even of the literature of that country itself.

Much of what F‚-hien tells his readers of Buddhist miracles and legends is indeed unreliable and grotesque; but we have from him the truth as to what he saw and heard.

In concluding this introduction I wish to call attention to some estimates of the number of Buddhists in the world which have become current, believing, as I do, that the smallest of them is much above what is correct.

In a note on the first page of his work on the Bhilsa Topes (1854), General Cunningham says: "The Christians number about two hundred and seventy millions; the Buddhists about two hundred and twenty-two millions, who are distributed as follows: China one hundred and seventy millions, Japan twenty-five millions, Anam fourteen millions, Siam three millions, Ava eight millions, NepŠl one million, and Ceylon one million."In his article on M.J.Barthťlemy Saint-Hilaire's "Le Bouddha et sa Religion," republished in his "Chips from a German workshop," vol.i.(1868), Professor Max MŁller says, "The young prince became the founder of a religion which, after more than two thousand years, is still professed by four hundred and fifty-five millions of human beings," and he appends the following note: "Though truth is not settled by majorities, it would be interesting to know which religion counts at the present moment the largest numbers of believers.Berghaus, in his 'Physical Atlas,' gives the following division of the human race according to religion: 'Buddhists 31.2 per cent., Christians 30.7, Mohammedans 15.7, Brahmanists 13.4, Heathens 8.7, and Jews O.3.'As Berghaus does not distinguish the Buddhists in China from the followers of Confucius and Laotse, the first place on the scale belongs really to Christianity.It is difficult in China to say to what religion a man belongs, as the same person may profess two or three.The emperor himself, after sacrificing according to the ritual of Confucius, visits a Tao-tsť temple, and afterwards bows before an image of Fo in a Buddhist chapel."("Mťlanges Asiatiques de St.Pťtersbourg," vol.ii.p.374.)

Both these estimates are exceeded by Dr. T.W.Rhys Davids (intimating also the uncertainty of the statements, and that numbers are no evidence of truth) in the introduction to his "Manual of Buddhism."The Buddhists there appear as amounting in all to five hundred millions:—thirty millions of Southern Buddhists, in Ceylon, Burma, Siam, Anam, and India (Jains); and four hundred and seventy millions of Northern Buddhists, of whom nearly thirty-three millions are assigned to Japan, and 414,686,974 to the eighteen provinces of China proper.According to him, Christians amount to about 26 per cent, of mankind, Hindus to about 13, Mohammedans to about 12-1/2, Buddhists to about 40, and Jews to about one-half of one per cent.

In regard to all these estimates, it will be observed that the immense numbers assigned to Buddhism are made out by the multitude of Chinese with which it is credited.Subtract Cunningham's one hundred and seventy millions of Chinese from his total of two hundred and twenty-two millions, and there remain only fifty-two millions of Buddhists.Subtract Davids's four hundred fourteen and one-half millions of Chinese from his total of five hundred millions, and there remain only eighty-five and one-half millions for Buddhism.Of the numbers assigned to other countries, as well as of their whole populations, I am in considerable doubt, excepting in the cases of Ceylon and India; but the greatness of the estimates turns upon the immense multitudes said to be in China.I do not know what total population Cunningham allowed for that country, nor on what principle he allotted one hundred and seventy millions of it to Buddhism; perhaps he halved his estimate of the whole, whereas Berghaus and Davids allotted to it the highest estimates that have been given of the people.

But we have no certain information of the population of China.At an interview with the former Chinese ambassador, Kwo Sung-t‚o, in Paris, in 1878, I begged him to write out for me the amount, with the authority for it, and he assured me that it could not be done.I have read probably almost everything that has been published on the subject, and endeavored by methods of my own to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion;—without reaching a result which I can venture to lay before the public.My impression has been that four hundred millions is hardly an exaggeration.

But supposing that we had reliable returns of the whole population, how shall we proceed to apportion that among Confucianists, T‚oists, and Buddhists?Confucianism is the orthodoxy of China.The common name for it is JŻ Chi‚o, "the Doctrines held by the Learned Class," entrance into the circle of which is, with a few insignificant exceptions, open to all the people.The mass of them and the masses under their influence are preponderatingly Confucian; and in the observance of ancestral worship, the most remarkable feature of the religion proper of China from the earliest times, of which Confucius was not the author but the prophet, an overwhelming majority are regular and assiduous.

Among "the strange principles" which the emperor of the K'ang-hsÓ period, in one of his famous Sixteen Precepts, exhorted his people to "discountenance and put away, in order to exalt the correct doctrine," Buddhism and T‚oism were both included.If, as stated in the note quoted from Professor MŁller, the emperor countenances both the T‚oist worship and the Buddhist, he does so for reasons of state; to please especially his Buddhistic subjects in Thibet and Mongolia, and not to offend the many whose superstitious fancies incline to T‚oism.

When I went out and in as a missionary among the Chinese people for about thirty years, it sometimes occurred to me that only the inmates of their monasteries and the recluses of both systems should be enumerated as Buddhists and Taoists; but I was in the end constrained to widen that judgment, and to admit a considerable following of both among the people, who have neither received the tonsure nor assumed the yellow top.Dr. Eitel, in concluding his discussion of this point in his "Lecture on Buddhism, an Event in History," says: "It is not too much to say that most Chinese are theoretically Confucianists, but emotionally Buddhists or Taoists.But fairness requires us to add that, though the mass of the people are more or less influenced by Buddhist doctrines, yet the people, as a whole, have no respect for the Buddhist church, and habitually sneer at Buddhist priests."For the "most" in the former of these two sentences I would substitute "nearly all;" and between my friend's "but" and "emotionally" I would introduce "many are," and would not care to contest his conclusion further.It does seem to me preposterous to credit Buddhism with the whole of the vast population of China, the great majority of whom are Confucianists.My own opinion is that its adherents are not so many as those even of Mohammedanism, and that instead of being the most numerous of the religions (so-called) of the world, it is only entitled to occupy the fifth place, ranking below Christianity, Confucianism, Brahmanism, and Mohammedanism, and followed, some distance off, by T‚oism.To make a table of percentages of mankind, and to assign to each system its proportion, are to seem to be wise where we are deplorably ignorant; and, moreover, if our means of information were much better than they are, our figures would merely show the outward adherence.A fractional percentage might tell more for one system than a very large integral one for another.

JAMES LEGGE.

THE TRAVELS OF F¬-HIEN

CHAPTER I

~From Ch'ang-gan to the Sandy Desert~

F‚-Hien had been living in Ch'ang-gan.[1] Deploring the mutilated and imperfect state of the collection of the Books of Discipline, in the second year of the period Hwang-che, being the Ke-h‚e year of the cycle, [2] he entered into an engagement with Hwuy-king, T‚o-ching, Hwuy-ying, and Hwuy-wei, that they should go to India and seek for the Disciplinary Rules.

After starting from Ch'ang-gan, they passed through Lung, [3] and came to the kingdom of K'een-kwei,[4] where they stopped for the summer retreat.When that was over, they went forward to the kingdom of Now-t'an, crossed the mountain of Yang-low, and reached the emporium of Chang-yih.[5] There they found the country so much disturbed that travelling on the roads was impossible for them.Its king, however, was very attentive to them, kept them in his capital, and acted the part of their d‚napati.[6]

Here they met with Che-yen, Hwuy-keen, Sang-sh‚o, P‚o-yun, and Sang-king; and in pleasant association with them, as bound on the same journey with themselves, they passed the summer retreat of that year [7] together, resuming after it their travelling, and going on to T'un-hwang, [8] the chief town in the frontier territory of defence extending for about eighty li from east to west, and about forty from north to south.Their company, increased as it had been, halted there for some days more than a month, after which F‚-hien and his four friends started first in the suite of an envoy, having separated for a time from P‚o-yun and his associates.

Le H‚o, the prefect of Tun-hwang, had supplied them with the means of crossing the desert before them, in which there are many evil demons and hot winds.Travellers who encounter them perish all to a man.There is not a bird to be seen in the air above, nor an animal on the ground below.Though you look all round most earnestly to find where you can cross, you know not where to make your choice, the only mark and indication being the dry bones of the dead left upon the sand.

[Footnote 1: Ch'ang-gan is still the name of the principal district (and its city) in the department of Se-gan, Shen-se.It had been the capital of the first empire of Han (B.C.202 A.D.24), as it subsequently was that of Suy (A.D.589-618).]

[Footnote 2: The period Hwang-che embraced from A.D.399 to 414, being the greater portion of the reign of Y‚o Hing of the After Ts'in, a powerful prince.He adopted Hwang-che for the style of his reign in 399, and the cyclical name of that year was Kang-tsze.It is not possible at this distance of time to explain, if it could be explained, how F‚-hien came to say that Ke-h‚e was the second year of the period.It seems most reasonable to suppose that he set out on his pilgrimage in A.D.399, the cycle name of which was Ke-h‚e.In the "Memoirs of Eminent Monks" it is said that our author started in the third year of the period Lung-gan of the Eastern Ts'in, which was A.D.399.]

[Footnote 3: Lung embraced the western part of Shen-se and the eastern part of Kan-suh.The name remains in Lung Chow, in the extreme west of Shen-se.]

[Footnote 4: K'een-kwei was the second king of "the Western Ts'in."F‚-hien would find him at his capital, somewhere in the present department of Lan-chow, Kan-suh.]

[Footnote 5: Chang-yih is still the name of a district in Kan-chow department, Kan-suh.It is a long way north and west from Lan-chow, and not far from the Great Wall.Its king at this time was, probably, Twan-yeh of "the northern LŽang."]

[Footnote 6: D‚na is the name for religious charity, the first of the six p‚ramit‚s, or means of attaining to nirv‚na; and a d‚napati is "one who practises d‚na and thereby crosses the sea of misery."]

[Footnote 7: This was the second summer since the pilgrims left
Ch'ang-gan. We are now, therefore, probably, in A. D. 400.]

[Footnote 8: T'un-hwang is still the name of one of the two districts constituting the department of Gan-se, the most western of the prefectures of Kan-suh; beyond the termination of the Great Wall.]

CHAPTER II

~On to Shen-shen and thence to Khoten~

After travelling for seventeen days, a distance we may calculate of about 1500 li, the pilgrims reached the kingdom of Shen-shen, a country rugged and hilly, with a thin and barren soil. The clothes of the common people are coarse, and like those worn in our land of Han, [1] some wearing felt and others coarse serge or cloth of hair; this was the only difference seen among them. The king professed our Law, and there might be in the country more than four thousand monks, who were all students of the hÓnay‚na. [2] The common people of this and other kingdoms in that region, as well as the Sramans, [3] all practise the rules of India, only that the latter do so more exactly, and the former more loosely. So the travellers found it in all the kingdoms through which they went on their way from this to the west, only that each had its own peculiar barbarous speech. The monks, however, who had given up the worldly life and quitted their families, were all students of Indian books and the Indian language. Here they stayed for about a month, and then proceeded on their journey, fifteen days' walking to the northwest bringing them to the country of Woo-e. In this also there were more than four thousand monks, all students of the hÓnay‚na. They were very strict in their rules, so that Sramans from the territory of Ts'in were all unprepared for their regulations. F‚-hien, through the management of Foo Kung-sun, maÓtre d'hotellerie, was able to remain with his company in the monastery where they were received for more than two months, and here they were rejoined by P‚o-yun and his friends.At the end of that time the people of Woo-e neglected the duties of propriety and righteousness, and treated the strangers in so niggardly a manner that Che-yen, Hwuy-keen, and Hwuy-wei went back towards K‚o-ch'ang, hoping to obtain there the means of continuing their journey.F‚-hien and the rest, however, through the liberality of Foo Kung-sun, managed to go straight forward in a southwest direction.They found the country uninhabited as they went along.The difficulties which they encountered in crossing the streams and on their route, and the sufferings which they endured, were unparalleled in human experience, but in the course of a month and five days they succeeded in reaching Yu-teen.

[Footnote 1: This is the name which F‚-hien always uses when he would speak of China, his native country, as a whole, calling it from the great dynasty which had ruled it, first and last, for between four and five centuries.Occasionally, as we shall immediately see, he speaks of "the territory of Ts'in or Ch'in," but intending thereby only the kingdom of Ts'in, having its capital in Ch'ang-gan.]

[Footnote 2: Meaning the "small vehicle, or conveyance."There are in Buddhism the triy‚na, or "three different means of salvation, i.e.of conveyance across the sams‚ra, or sea of transmigration, to the shores of nirv‚na.Afterwards the term was used to designate the different phases of development through which the Buddhist dogma passed, known as the mah‚y‚na, hÓnay‚na, and madhyamay‚na.""The hÓnay‚na is the simplest vehicle of salvation, corresponding to the first of the three degrees of saintship."E.H., pp.151-2, 45, and 117.]

[Footnote 3: "Sraman" may in English take the place of Sramana, the name for Buddhist monks, as those who have separated themselves from (left) their families, and quieted their hearts from all intrusion of desire and lust.]

CHAPTER III

~Khoten—Processions of Images~

Yu-Teen is a pleasant and prosperous kingdom, with a numerous and flourishing population.The inhabitants all profess our Law, and join together in its religious music for their enjoyment.The monks amount to several myriads, most of whom are students of the mah‚y‚na.[1] They all receive their food from the common store.Throughout the country the houses of the people stand apart like separate stars, and each family has a small tope [2] reared in front of its door.The smallest of these may be twenty cubits high, or rather more.They make in the monasteries rooms for monks from all quarters, the use of which is given to travelling monks who may arrive, and who are provided with whatever else they require.

The lord of the country lodged F‚-hien and the others comfortably, and supplied their wants, in a monastery called Gomati, of the mah‚y‚na school.Attached to it there are three thousand monks, who are called to their meals by the sound of a bell.When they enter the refectory, their demeanor is marked by a reverent gravity, and they take their seats in regular order, all maintaining a perfect silence.No sound is heard from their alms-bowls and other utensils.When any of these pure men require food, they are not allowed to call out to the attendants for it, but only make signs with their hands.

Hwuy-king, T‚o-ching, and Hwuy-tah set out in advance towards the country of K'eeh-ch'‚; but F‚-hien and the others, wishing to see the procession of images, remained behind for three months.There are in this country four great monasteries, not counting the smaller ones.Beginning on the first day of the fourth month, they sweep and water the streets inside the city, making a grand display in the lanes and byways.Over the city gate they pitch a large tent, grandly adorned in all possible ways, in which the king and queen, with their ladies brilliantly arrayed, take up their residence for the time.

The monks of the Gomati monastery, being mah‚y‚na students, and held in greatest reverence by the king, took precedence of all the others in the procession.At a distance of three or four li from the city, they made a four-wheeled image car, more than thirty cubits high, which looked like the great hall of a monastery moving along.The seven precious substances [3] were grandly displayed about it, with silken streamers and canopies hanging all around.The chief image stood in the middle of the car, with two Bodhisattvas [4] in attendance on it, while devas were made to follow in waiting, all brilliantly carved in gold and silver, and hanging in the air.When the car was a hundred paces from the gate, the king put off his crown of state, changed his dress for a fresh suit, and with bare feet, carrying in his hands flowers and incense, and with two rows of attending followers, went out at the gate to meet the image; and, with his head and face bowed to the ground, he did homage at its feet, and then scattered the flowers and burnt the incense.When the image was entering the gate, the queen and the brilliant ladies with her in the gallery above scattered far and wide all kinds of flowers, which floated about and fell promiscuously to the ground.In this way everything was done to promote the dignity of the occasion.The carriages of the monasteries were all different, and each one had its own day for the procession.The ceremony began on the first day of the fourth month, and ended on the fourteenth, after which the king and queen returned to the palace.

Seven or eight li to the west of the city there is what is called the King's new monastery, the building of which took eighty years, and extended over three reigns.It may be two hundred and fifty cubits in height, rich in elegant carving and inlaid work, covered above with gold and silver, and finished throughout with a combination of all the precious substances.Behind the tope there has been built a Hall of Buddha, of the utmost magnificence and beauty, the beams, pillars, venetianed doors and windows, being all overlaid with gold-leaf.Besides this, the apartments for the monks are imposingly and elegantly decorated, beyond the power of words to express.Of whatever things of highest value and preciousness the kings in the six countries on the east of the Ts'ung range of mountains are possessed, they contribute the greater portion to this monastery, using but a small portion of them themselves.

[Footnote 1: Mah‚y‚na is a later form of the Buddhist doctrine, the second phase of its development corresponding to the state of a Bodhisattva, who, being able to transport himself and all mankind to nirv‚na, may be compared to a huge vehicle.]

[Footnote 2: A worshipping place, an altar, or temple.]

[Footnote 3: The Sapta-ratna, gold, silver, lapis lazuli, rock crystal, rubies, diamonds or emeralds, and agate.]

[Footnote 4: A Bodhisattva is one whose essence has become intelligence; a Being who will in some future birth as a man (not necessarily or usually the next) attain to Buddhahood.The name does not include those Buddhas who have not yet attained to parinirv‚na.The symbol of the state is an elephant fording a river.]

CHAPTER IV

~Through the Ts'ung Mountains to K'eech-ch'a~

When the processions of images in the fourth month were over, Sang-sh‚o, by himself alone, followed a Tartar who was an earnest follower of the Law, and proceeded towards Ko-phene.F‚-hien and the others went forward to the kingdom of Tsze-hoh, which it took them twenty-five days to reach.Its king was a strenuous follower of our Law, and had around him more than a thousand monks, mostly students of the mah‚y‚na.Here the travellers abode fifteen days, and then went south for four days, when they found themselves among the Ts'ung-ling mountains, and reached the country of Yu-hwuy, where they halted and kept their retreat.[1] When this was over, they went on among the hills for twenty-five days, and got to K'eeh-ch'a, there rejoining Hwuy-king and his two companions.

[Footnote 1: This was the retreat already twice mentioned as kept by the pilgrims in the summer, the different phraseology, "quiet rest," without any mention of the season, indicating their approach to India.Two, if not three, years had elapsed since they left Ch'ang-gan.Are we now with them in 402?]

CHAPTER V

~Great Quinquennial Assembly of Monks~

It happened that the king of the country was then holding the paŮcha parishad; that is, in Chinese, the great quinquennial assembly.When this is to be held, the king requests the presence of the Sramans from all quarters of his kingdom.They come as if in clouds; and when they are all assembled, their place of session is grandly decorated.Silken streamers and canopies are hung out in it, and water-lilies in gold and silver are made and fixed up behind the places where the chief of them are to sit.When clean mats have been spread, and they are all seated, the king and his ministers present their offerings according to rule and law.The assembly takes place in the first, second, or third month, for the most part in the spring.

After the king has held the assembly, he further exhorts the ministers to make other and special offerings.The doing of this extends over one, two, three, five, or even seven days; and when all is finished, he takes his own riding-horse, saddles, bridles, and waits on him himself, while he makes the noblest and most important minister of the kingdom mount him.Then, taking fine white woollen cloth, all sorts of precious things, and articles which the Sramans require, he distributes them among them, uttering vows at the same time along with all his ministers; and when this distribution has taken place, he again redeems whatever he wishes from the monks.

The country, being among the hills and cold, does not produce the other cereals, and only the wheat gets ripe.After the monks have received their annual portion of this, the mornings suddenly show the hoar-frost, and on this account the king always begs the monks to make the wheat ripen [1] before they receive their portion.There is in the country a spittoon which belonged to Buddha, made of stone, and in color like his alms-bowl.There is also a tooth of Buddha, for which the people have reared a tope, connected with which there are more than a thousand monks and their disciples, all students of the hÓnay‚na.To the east of these hills the dress of the common people is of coarse materials, as in our country of Ts'in, but here also there were among them the differences of fine woollen cloth and of serge or haircloth.The rules observed by the Sramans are remarkable, and too numerous to be mentioned in detail.The country is in the midst of the Onion range.As you go forward from these mountains, the plants, trees, and fruits are all different from those of the land of Han, excepting only the bamboo, pomegranate, and sugarcane.

[Footnote 1: Watters calls attention to this as showing that the monks of K'eeh-ch'‚ had the credit of possessing weather-controlling powers.]

CHAPTER VI

~North India—Image of Maitreya Bodhisattva~

From this the travellers went westward towards North India, and after being on the way for a month, they succeeded in getting across and through the range of the Onion mountains.The snow rests on them both winter and summer.There are also among them venomous dragons, which, when provoked, spit forth poisonous winds, and cause showers of snow and storms of sand and gravel.Not one in ten thousand of those who encounter these dangers escapes with his life.The people of the country call the range by the name of "The Snow mountains."When the travellers had got through them, they were in North India, and immediately on entering its borders, found themselves in a small kingdom called T'oleih, where also there were many monks, all students of the hÓnay‚na.

In this kingdom there was formerly an Arhan, [1] who by his supernatural power took a clever artificer up to the Tushita [2] heaven, to see the height, complexion, and appearance of Maitreya Bodhisattva, [3] and then return and make an image of him in wood.First and last, this was done three times, and then the image was completed, eighty cubits in height, and eight cubits at the base from knee to knee of the crossed legs.On fast-days it emits an effulgent light.The kings of the surrounding countries vie with one another in presenting offerings to it.Here it is—to be seen now as of old.

[Footnote 1: Lo-han, Arhat, Arahat are all designations of the perfected ¬rya, the disciple who has passed the different stages of the Noble Path, or eightfold excellent way, who has conquered all passions, and is not to be reborn again.Arhatship implies possession of certain supernatural powers, and is not to be succeeded by Buddhaship, but implies the fact of the saint having already attained Nirv‚na.]

[Footnote 2: Tushita is the fourth Devaloka, where all Bodhisattvas are reborn before finally appearing on earth as Buddha.Life lasts in Tushita four thousand years, but twenty-four hours there are equal to four hundred years on earth.]

[Footnote 3: Maitreya was a Bodhisattva, the principal one, indeed, of S‚kyamuni's retinue, but is not counted among the ordinary disciples, nor is anything told of his antecedents.It was in the Tushita heaven that S‚kyamuni met him and appointed him as his successor, to appear as Buddha after the lapse of five thousand years.Maitreya is therefore the expected Messiah of the Buddhists, residing at present in Tushita.]

CHAPTER VII

~The Perilous Crossing of the Indus~

The travellers went on to the southwest for fifteen days at the foot of the mountains, and following the course of their range.The way was difficult and rugged, running along a bank exceedingly precipitous, which rose up there, a hill-like wall of rock, ten thousand cubits from the base.When one approached the edge of it, his eyes became unsteady; and if he wished to go forward in the same direction, there was no place on which he could place his foot; and beneath were the waters of the river called the Indus.In former times men had chiselled paths along the rocks, and distributed ladders on the face of them, to the number altogether of seven hundred, at the bottom of which there was a suspension bridge of ropes, by which the river was crossed, its banks being there eighty paces apart.The place and arrangements are to be found in the Records of the Nine Interpreters, but neither Chang K'een [1] nor Kan Ying [2] had reached the spot.

The monks asked F‚-hien if it could be known when the Law of Buddha first went to the east.He replied, "When I asked the people of those countries about it, they all said that it had been handed down by their fathers from of old that, after the setting up of the image of Maitreya Bodhisattva, there were Sramans of India who crossed this river, carrying with them Sķtras and Books of Discipline.Now the image was set up rather more than three hundred years after the Nirv‚na of Buddha, which may be referred to the reign of king P'ing of the Chow dynasty.According to this account we may say that the diffusion of our great doctrines in the East began from the setting up of this image.If it had not been through that Maitreya, the great spiritual master who is to be the successor of the S‚kya, who could have caused the 'Three Precious Ones,' [3] to be proclaimed so far, and the people of those border lands to know our Law?We know of a truth that the opening of the way for such a mysterious propagation is not the work of man; and so the dream of the emperor Ming of Han had its proper cause."

[Footnote 1: Chang K'een, a minister of the emperor Woo of Han (B.C.140-87), is celebrated as the first Chinese who "pierced the void," and penetrated to "the regions of the west," corresponding very much to the present Turkestan.Through him, by B.C.115, a regular intercourse was established between China and the thirty-six kingdoms or states of that quarter.]

[Footnote 2: Less is known of Kan Ying than of Chang K'een.Being sent in A.D.88 by his patron Pan Ch‚o on an embassy to the Roman empire, he only got as far as the Caspian sea, and returned to China.He extended, however, the knowledge of his countrymen with regard to the western regions.]

[Footnote 3: "The precious Buddha," "the precious Law," and "the precious Monkhood"; Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha; the whole being equivalent to Buddhism.]

CHAPTER VIII

~Woo-chang, or Udy‚na—Traces of Buddha~

After crossing the river, the travellers immediately came to the kingdom of Woo-chang, which is indeed a part of North India.The people all use the language of Central India, "Central India" being what we should call the "Middle Kingdom."The food and clothes of the common people are the same as in that Central Kingdom.The Law of Buddha is very flourishing in Woo-chang.They call the places where the monks stay for a time or reside permanently Sangh‚r‚mas; and of these there are in all five hundred, the monks being all students of the hÓnay‚na.When stranger bhikshus [1] arrive at one of them, their wants are supplied for three days, after which they are told to find a resting-place for themselves.

There is a tradition that when Buddha came to North India, he came at once to this country, and that here he left a print of his foot, which is long or short according to the ideas of the beholder on the subject.It exists, and the same thing is true about it, at the present day.Here also are still to be seen the rock on which he dried his clothes, and the place where he converted the wicked dragon.The rock is fourteen cubits high, and more than twenty broad, with one side of it smooth.

Hwuy-king, Hwuy-tah, and T‚o-ching went on ahead towards the place of Buddha's shadow in the country of N‚gara; but F‚-hien and the others remained in Woo-chang, and kept the summer retreat.That over, they descended south, and arrived in the country of Soo-ho-to.

[Footnote 1: Bhikshu is the name for a monk as "living by alms," a mendicant.All bhikshus call themselves Sramans.Sometimes the two names are used together by our author.]

CHAPTER IX

~Soo-ho-to—Legends of Buddha~

In that country also Buddhism is flourishing.There is in it the place where Sakra, [1] Ruler of Devas, in a former age, tried the Bodhisattva, by producing a hawk in pursuit of a dove, when the Bodhisattva cut off a piece of his own flesh, and with it ransomed the dove.After Buddha had attained to perfect wisdom, and in travelling about with his disciples arrived at this spot, he informed them that this was the place where he ransomed the dove with a piece of his own flesh.In this way the people of the country became aware of the fact, and on the spot reared a tope, adorned with layers of gold and silver plates.

[Footnote 1: Sakra is a common name for the Brahmanic Indra, adopted by Buddhism into the circle of its own great adherents;—it has been said, "because of his popularity."He is now the representative of the secular power, the valiant protector of the Buddhist body, but is looked upon as inferior to S‚kyamuni, and every Buddhist saint.]

CHAPTER X

~Gandh‚ra—Legends of Buddha~

The travellers, going downwards from this towards the east, in five days came to the country of Gandh‚ra, the place where Dharma-vivardhana, the son of Asoka, [1] ruled.When Buddha was a Bodhisattva, he gave his eyes also for another man here; and at the spot they have also reared a large tope, adorned with layers of gold and silver plates.The people of the country were mostly students of the hÓnay‚na.

[Footnote 1: Asoka is here mentioned for the first time—the Constantine of the Buddhist society, and famous for the number of vih‚ras and topes which he erected.He was the grandson of Chandragupta, a rude adventurer, who at one time was a refugee in the camp of Alexander the Great; and within about twenty years afterwards drove the Greeks out of India, having defeated Seleucus, the Greek ruler of the Indus provinces.His grandson was converted to Buddhism by the bold and patient demeanor of an Arhat whom he had ordered to be buried alive, and became a most zealous supporter of the new faith.]

CHAPTER XI

~Takshasil‚—Legends—The Four Great Topes~

Seven days' journey from this to the east brought the travellers to the kingdom of Takshasil‚, which means "the severed head" in the language of China.Here, when Buddha was a Bodhisattva, he gave away his head to a man; and from this circumstance the kingdom got its name.

Going on further for two days to the east, they came to the place where the Bodhisattva threw down his body to feed a starving tigress.In these two places also large topes have been built, both adorned with layers of all the precious substances.The kings, ministers, and peoples of the kingdoms around vie with one another in making offerings at them.The trains of those who come to scatter flowers and light lamps at them never cease.The nations of those quarters call those and the other two mentioned before "the four great topes."

CHAPTER XII

~Buddha's Alms-bowl—Death of Hwuy-king~

Going southwards from G‚ndh‚ra, the travellers in four days arrived at the kingdom of Purushapura.[1] Formerly, when Buddha was travelling in this country with his disciples, he said to ¬nanda, [2] "After my pari-nirv‚na, [3] there will be a king named Kanishka, who shall on this spot build a tope."

This Kanishka was afterwards born into the world; and once, when he had gone forth to look about him, Sakra, Ruler of Devas, wishing to excite the idea in his mind, assumed the appearance of a little herd-boy, and was making a tope right in the way of the king, who asked what sort of a thing he was making.The boy said, "I am making a tope for Buddha."The king said, "Very good;" and immediately, right over the boy's tope, he proceeded to rear another, which was more than four hundred cubits high, and adorned with layers of all the precious substances.Of all the topes and temples which the travellers saw in their journeyings, there was not one comparable to this in solemn beauty and majestic grandeur.There is a current saying that this is the finest tope in JambudvÓpa [4].When the king's tope was completed, the little tope of the boy came out from its side on the south, rather more than three cubits in height.

Buddha's alms-bowl is in this country.Formerly, a king of YŁeh-she raised a large force and invaded this country, wishing to carry the bowl away.Having subdued the kingdom, as he and his captains were sincere believers in the Law of Buddha, and wished to carry off the bowl, they proceeded to present their offerings on a great scale.When they had done so to the Three Precious Ones, he made a large elephant be grandly caparisoned, and placed the bowl upon it.But the elephant knelt down on the ground, and was unable to go forward.Again he caused a four-wheeled wagon to be prepared in which the bowl was put to be conveyed away.Eight elephants were then yoked to it, and dragged it with their united strength; but neither were they able to go forward.The king knew that the time for an association between himself and the bowl had not yet arrived, and was sad and deeply ashamed of himself.Forthwith he built a tope at the place and a monastery, and left a guard to watch the bowl, making all sorts of contributions.

There may be there more than seven hundred monks.When it is near mid-day, they bring out the bowl, and, along with the common people, make their various offerings to it, after which they take their mid-day meal.In the evening, at the time of incense, they bring the bowl out again.It may contain rather more than two pecks, and is of various colors, black predominating, with the seams that show its fourfold composition distinctly marked.Its thickness is about the fifth of an inch, and it has a bright and glossy lustre.When poor people throw into it a few flowers, it becomes immediately full, while some very rich people, wishing to make offering of many flowers, might not stop till they had thrown in hundreds, thousands, and myriads of bushels, and yet would not be able to fill it.[5]

P‚o-yun and Sang-king here merely made their offerings to the alms-bowl, and then resolved to go back.Hwuy-king, Hwuy-tah, and T‚o-ching had gone on before the rest to Nag‚ra, to make their offerings at the places of Buddha's shadow, tooth, and the flat-bone of his skull.There Hwuy-king fell ill, and T‚o-ching remained to look after him, while Hwuy-tah came alone to Purushapura, and saw the others, and then he with P‚o-yun and Sang-king took their way back to the land of Ts'in.Hwuy-king came to his end in the monastery of Buddha's alms-bowl, and on this F‚-hien went forward alone towards the place of the flat-bone of Buddha's skull.[6]

[Footnote 1: The modern Pesh‚wur.]

[Footnote 2: A first cousin of S‚kyamuni, and born at the moment when he attained to Buddhaship.Under Buddha's teaching, ¬nanda became an Arhat, and is famous for his strong and accurate memory; and he played an important part at the first council for the formation of the Buddhist canon.The friendship between S‚kyamuni and ¬nanda was very close and tender; and it is impossible to read much of what the dying Buddha said to him and of him, as related in the Mah‚pari-nirv‚na SŻtra, without being moved almost to tears.¬nanda is to reappear on earth as Buddha in another Kalpa.]

[Footnote 3: On his attaining to nirv‚na, S‚kyamuni became the Buddha, and had no longer to mourn his being within the circle of transmigration, and could rejoice in an absolute freedom from passion, and a perfect purity.Still he continued to live on for forty-five years, till he attained to pari-nirv‚na, and had done with all the life of sense and society, and had no more exercise of thought.He died; but whether he absolutely and entirely ceased to be, in any sense of the word being, it would be difficult to say.Probably he himself would not and could not have spoken definitely on the point.So far as our use of language is concerned, apart from any assured faith in and hope of immortality, his pari-nirv‚na was his death.]

[Footnote 4: JambudvÓpa is one of the four great continents of the universe, representing the inhabited world as fancied by the Buddhists, and so-called because it resembles in shape the leaves of the jambu tree.]

[Footnote 5: Compare the narrative in Luke's Gospel, xxi.1-4.]

[Footnote 6: This story of Hwuy-king's death differs from the account given in chapter xiv.—EDITOR.]