1 How pure and still are the solemn halls, In their strong solidity and minute completeness! Highly distinguished was Kiang Yuan, Of virtue undeflected. God regarded her with favour, And without injury or hurt, Immediately, when her months were completed, She gave birth to Hau-ji! On him were conferred all blessings,—(To know) how the (ordinary) millet ripened early, and the sacrificial millet late; How first to sow pulse and then wheat. Anon he was invested with an inferior state, And taught the people how to sow and to reap, The (ordinary) millet and the sacrificial, Rice and the black millet; Ere long over the whole country:—(Thus) continuing the work of Yu.

2 Among the descendants of Hau-ji, There was king Thai, Dwelling on the south of (mount) Khi, Where the clipping of Shang began. In process of time Wan and Wu Continued the work of king Thai, And (the purpose of) God was carried out in its time, In the plain of Mu. 'Have no doubts, no anxieties,' (it was said), 'God is with you.' Wu disposed of the troops of Shang; He and his men equally shared in the achievement. (Then) king (Khang) said, 'My uncle, I will set up your eldest son, And make him marquis of Lu. I will greatly enlarge your territory there, To be a help and support to the House of Kau.'

3 Accordingly he appointed (our first) duke of Lu, And made him marquis in the east, Giving him the hills and rivers, The lands and fields, and the attached states. The (present) descendant of the duke of Kau, The son of duke Khwang, With dragon-emblazoned banner, attends the offerings, (Grasping) his six reins soft and pliant. In spring and autumn he is not remiss; His offerings are all without error. To the great and sovereign God, In remembrance of his great ancestor Hau-ji, He offers the victims, red and pure. God accepts, He approves, And bestows blessings in large number. Remembering the duke of Kau and (your other) great ancestors, God also blesses you.

4 In autumn comes the offering of the season, But the bulls for it have had their horns capped in summer; They are the white bull and the red one. (There are) the bull-figured goblet in its dignity; Roast pig, minced meat, and soups; The dishes of bamboo and wood, and the large stands, And the dancers all complete. The filial descendant will be blessed. God will make you gloriously prosperous, He will make you long-lived and good, To preserve this eastern region, Long possessing the state of Lu, Unwaning, unfallen, Unshaken, undisturbed! He will make your friendship with your three aged (ministers) Like the hills, like the mountains.

5 Our prince's chariots are a thousand, And (in each) are (the two spears with their) vermilion tassels, and (the two bows with their) green bands. His footmen are thirty thousand, With shells on vermilion strings adorning their helmets. So numerous are his ardent followers, To deal with the tribes of the west and north, And to punish those of King and Shu, So that none of them will dare to withstand us. God shall make you grandly prosperous; He shall make you long-lived and wealthy. The hoary hair and wrinkled back, Marking the aged men, shall always be in your service. He shall grant you old age, ever vigorous, For myriads and thousands of years, With the eyebrows of longevity, and ever unharmed.

6 The mountain of Thai is lofty, Looked up to by the state of Lu. We grandly possess also Kwei and Mang; And we shall extend to the limits of the east, Even the states along the sea. The tribes of the Hwai will seek our alliance; All will proffer their allegiance:—Such shall be the achievements of the marquis of Lu.

7 He shall maintain the possession of Fu and Yi, And extend his sway to the regions of Hsu, Even to the states along the sea. The tribes of the Hwai, the Man, and the Mo, And those tribes (still more) to the south, All will proffer their allegiance;—Not one will dare not to answer to his call, Thus showing their obedience to the marquis of Lu.

8 God will give great blessing to our prince, So that with the eyebrows of longevity he shall maintain Lu. He shall possess Khang and Hsu, And recover all the territory of the duke of Kau. Then shall the marquis of Lu feast and be glad, With his admirable wife and aged mother; With his excellent ministers and all his (other) officers. Our region and state shall he hold, Thus receiving many blessings, To hoary hair, and with teeth ever renewed like a child's.

9 The pines of Tsu-lai, And the cypresses of Hsin-fu, Were cut down and measured, With the cubit line and the eight cubits' line. The projecting beams of pine were made very large; The grand inner apartments rose vast. Splendid look the new halls, The work of Hsi-sze, Very wide and large, Answering to the expectations of all the people.