The First Decade, or that of Chhing Miao

Ode 1. The Chhing Miao

Oh! solemn is the hall of remembrance in its pure stillness. Reverent and harmonious were the distinguished assistants! Great was the number of the officers:—(All) assiduous followers of the virtue of (king Wan). In response to God in heaven, Grandly they hurried about in the hall. Distinguished and honoured is the memory of king Wan, And he will never be wearied of among men.

Ode 2. The Wei Thien Chih Ming

The ordinances of God,—How deep are they and unintermitting! And oh! how illustrious Was the singleness of the virtue of king Wan!

How great is the kindness God shows! We will receive it, Striving to be in accord with the example of our king Wan; And may his remotest descendant be abundantly the same!

Ode 3. The Wei Chhing

Clear and to be preserved bright, Are the statutes of king Wan. From the first offering (made in remembrance of him), Till now when they have issued in our complete state, They have been the happy omen of (the fortunes of) Chau.

Ode 4. The Lieh Wan

Ye, brilliant and accomplished princes, Have conferred on me this happiness. Your favours to me are without limit, And my descendants will preserve (the fruits of) them.

Be not mercenary nor extravagant in your states, And the king will honour you. Thinking of this great service, He will enlarge the dignity of your successors.

What is most powerful is the being the man:—Its influence will be felt throughout your states. What is most distinguished is the being virtuous:—It will secure the imitation of all the princes. Ah! the former kings cannot be forgotten!

Ode 5. The Thien Tso

God made the lofty hill, And king Thai brought (the country about) it under cultivation. He made the commencement with it, And king Wan tranquilly (carried on the work), (Till) that rugged (mount) Chi Had level roads leading to it. May their descendants ever preserve it!

Ode 6. The Hao Thien Yu Chhang Ming

God made His determinate appointment, Which our two sovereigns received. King Chheng did not dare to rest idly in it, But night and day enlarged its foundations by his deep and silent virtue. How did he continue and glorify (his heritage), Exerting all his heart, And so securing its tranquillity!

Ode 7. The Wo Chiang

I have brought my offerings, A ram and a bull. May God accept them!

I imitate and follow and observe the statutes of king Wan, Seeking daily to secure the tranquillity of the kingdom. The example of king Wan, the blessed, stands at my right hand.

Do I not, night and day, Revere the majesty of God, Thus to preserve (His favour)?

Ode 8. The Shih Mai

Now is he making a progress through his states; May God deal with him as with a favoured servant!

Truly are the honour and succession come from Him to the House of Chau. To his movements All respond with tremulous awe. He has brought rest to all the created powers, Even to the Ho and the highest hills. Truly is the king our sovereign lord.

Brilliant and illustrious is the House of Chau. He has regulated the positions of the princes; He has called in shields and spears; He has returned to their cases bows and arrows. I will cultivate admirable virtue, And display it throughout these great regions. Truly will the king preserve the appointment.

Ode 9. The Chih Ching

The arm of king Wu was full of strength; Irresistible was his ardour. Greatly illustrious were Chheng and Khang, Kinged by God.

When we consider how Chheng and Khang Grandly held all within the four quarters (of the kingdom), How penetrating was their intelligence!

The bells and drums sound in harmony; The sounding-stones and flutes blend their notes; Abundant blessing is sent down.

Blessing is sent down in large measure. Careful and exact is all our deportment; We have drunk, and we have eaten, to the full; Our happiness and dignity will be prolonged.

Ode 10. The Sze Wan

Accomplished was Hau-chi; He proved himself a faithful servant of God. He gave grain-food to our multitudes:—The immense gift of his goodness. He conferred on us the wheat and the barley, Which God appointed for the nourishment of all. And without distinction of territory or boundary, The rules of social duty were diffused throughout these great regions.

The Second Decade, or that of Chhen Kung

Ode 1. The Chhen Kung

Ah! ah! ministers and officers, Reverently attend to your public duties. The king has given you perfect rules;—Consult about them, and consider them.

Ah! ah! ye assistants, It is now the end of spring; And what have ye to seek for? (Only) how to manage the new fields and those of the third year. How beautiful are the wheat and the barley! The bright and glorious God Will in them give us a good year. Order all our men To be provided with their spades and hoes:—Anon we shall see the sickles at work.

Ode 2. The Chhen Hsi

Oh! yes, king Chheng set a bright example. Lead your husbandmen To sow their various kinds of grain, Going vigorously to work on your private fields, All over the thirty li. Attend to your ploughing, With your ten thousand men all in pairs.

Ode 3. The Yung Khoh

A flock of egrets is flying, About the marsh there in the west. My visitors came, With an (elegant) carriage like those birds.

There, (in their states), not disliked, Here, (in Chau), never tired of;—They are sure, day and night, To perpetuate their fame.

Ode 4. The Feng Nien

Abundant is the year with much millet and much rice; And we have our high granaries, With myriads, and hundreds of thousands, and millions (of measures in them); For sweet drinks and offerings of charity, To remember our forefathers, male and female, And to supply all our ceremonies. The blessings sent down on us are of every kind.

Ode 5. The Yu Ku

There are the blind musicians; there are the blind musicians; In the court of (the hall of remembrance of) Chau. There are (the music-frames with their) faceboards and posts, The high toothed-edge (of the former), and the feathers stuck (in the latter); With the drums, large and small, suspended from them; And the hand-drums and sounding-stones, the instrument to give the signal for commencing, and the stopper. These being all complete, the music is struck up. The pan-pipe and the double flute begin at the same time.

Harmoniously blend their sounds; In solemn unison they give forth their notes. God will give ear. Our visitors will be there;—Long to witness the complete performance.

Ode 6. The Chhien

Oh! in the Chi and the Chhu, There are many fish in the warrens;—Sturgeons, large and snouted, Thryssas, yellow-jaws, mud-fish, and carp;—For offerings, for charity, That our bright happiness may be increased.

Ode 7. The Yung

They come full of harmony; They are here in all gravity;—The princes assisting, While the king looks profound.

(He says), "While I present (this) noble bull, And they assist me in setting forth the offering, O great and august God, Comfort me, Thy servant.

"With penetrating wisdom my father played the man, A sovereign with the gifts both of peace and war, Giving rest to the people, as God desires, And ensuring prosperity to his descendants.

"May God comfort me with the eyebrows of longevity; May He make me great with manifold blessings. I make this offering in memory of my meritorious father, And of my accomplished mother."

Ode 8. The Tsai Hsien

They appeared before their sovereign king, To seek from him the rules (they were to observe). With their dragon-emblazoned banners, flying bright, The bells on them and their front-boards tinkling, And with the rings on the ends of the reins glittering, Admirable was their majesty and splendour.

He led them in remembrance of his father, Where he discharged his filial duty, and presented his offerings;—That he might have granted to him long life, And ever preserve (his dignity). Great and many are his blessings. They are the brilliant and accomplished princes, Who cheer him with his many sources of happiness, Enabling him to perpetuate them in their brightness as pure blessing.

Ode 9. The Yu Ko

The noble visitor! The noble visitor! Drawn, like his ancestors, by white horses! The reverent and dignified, Polished members of his suite!

The noble guest will stay (but) a night or two! The noble guest will stay (but) two nights or four! Give him ropes, To bind his horses.

I will convoy him (with a parting feast); I will comfort him in every possible way. Adorned with such great dignity, It is very natural that he should be blessed.

Ode 10. The Wu

Oh! great was king Wu, Displaying the utmost strength in his work. Truly accomplished was king Wan, Opening the path for his successors. Wu received the inheritance from him. He vanquished Yin, and put a stop to its cruelties;—Effecting the firm establishment of his merit.

The Third Decade, or that of Min Yu Hsiao Tze

Ode 1. The Min Yu

Alas for me, who am a little child, On whom has devolved the unsettled state! Solitary am I and full of distress. Oh! my great father, All his life long, he was filial.

He thought of my great grandfather, (Seeing him, as it were) ascending and descending in the court, I, the little child, Day and night will be as reverent.

Oh! those great kings, As their successor, I will strive not to forget them.

Ode 2. The Fang Lo

I take counsel at the beginning of my (rule), How I can follow (the example of) my departed father. Ah! far-reaching (were his plans), And I am not yet able to carry them out. However I endeavour to reach to them, My continuation of them will still be all-deflected. I am a little child, Unequal to the many difficulties of the state. Having taken his place, (I will remember him) going up and coming down in the court, Ascending and descending in the house. Admirable was my great father; (May God) preserve and enlighten me.

Ode 3. The Ching Chih

Let me be reverent! Let me be reverent! (The way of) God is evident, And His appointment is not easily preserved. Let me not say that He is high aloft above me. He ascends and descends about our doings; He daily inspects us wherever we are.

I am a little child, Without intelligence to be reverently (attentive to my duties); But by daily progress and monthly advance, I will learn to hold fast the gleams (of knowledge), till I arrive at bright intelligence. Assist me to bear the burden (of my position), And show me how to display a virtuous conduct.

Ode 4. The Hsiao Pi

I condemn myself (for the past), And will be on my guard against future calamity. I will have nothing to do with a wasp, To seek for myself its painful sting. At first indeed it seemed to be (but) a wren, But it took wing, and became a large bird. I am unequal to the many difficulties of the kingdom, And am placed in the midst of bitter experiences.

Ode 5. The Tsai Shan

They clear away the grass and the bushes; And the ground is laid open by their ploughs.

In thousands of pairs they remove the roots, Some in the low wet land, some along the dykes.

There are the master and his eldest son; His younger sons, and all their children; Their strong helpers, and their hired servants. How the noise of their eating the viands brought to them resounds! (The husbands) think lovingly of their wives; (The wives) keep close to their husbands. (Then) with their sharp ploughshares They set to work on the south-lying acres.

They sow their various kinds of grain, Each seed containing in it a germ of life.

In unbroken lines rises the blade, And, well nourished, the stalks grow long.

Luxuriant looks the young grain, And the weeders go among it in multitudes.

Then come the reapers in crowds, And the grain is piled up in the fields, Myriads, and hundreds of thousands, and millions (of stacks); For sweet drinks and offerings of charity, To remember our ancestors, male and female, And to provide for all ceremonies.

Fragrant is their aroma, Enhancing the glory of the state. Like pepper is their smell, To give comfort to the aged.

It is not here only that there is this (abundance); It is not now only that there is such a time:—From of old it has been thus.

Ode 6. The Liang Sze

Very sharp are the excellent shares, With which they set to work on the south-lying acres. They sow their various kinds of grain, Each seed containing in it a germ of life.

There are those who come to see them, With their baskets round and square, Containing the provisions of millet.

With their light splint hats on their heads, They ply their hoes on the ground, Clearing away the smartweed on the dry land and wet.

The weeds being decayed, The millets grow luxuriantly.

They fall rustling before the reapers. The gathered crop is piled up solidly, High as a wall, United together like the teeth of a comb; And the hundred houses are opened (to receive the grain).

Those hundred houses being full, The wives and children have a feeling of repose.

(Now) we kill this black-muzzled tawny bull, with his crooked horns, As an offering of charity for the sake of God, To hand down, To hand down (the good observances of) our ancestors.

Ode 7. The Sze I

In his silken robes, clean and bright, With his cap on his head, looking so respectful, From the hall he goes to the foot of the stairs, And (then) from the sheep to the oxen. (He inspects) the tripods, large and small, And the curved goblet of rhinoceros horn. The good drink is mild, (And) there is no noise, no insolence:—An auspice (this) of great longevity.