1. How pure and still are the solemn temples,
In their strong solidity and minute completeness!
Highly distinguished was Kiang Yüan,
Of virtue undeflected.
God regarded her with favour,
And without injury or hurt,
Immediately, when her months were completed,
She gave birth to Hâu-kî!
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 Yü.
2. Among the descendants of Hâu-kî,
There was king Thâi,
Dwelling on the south of (mount) Khî,
Where the clipping of Shang began.
In process of time Wăn and Wû
Continued the work of king Thâi,
And (the purpose of) Heaven was carried out in its time,
In the plain of Mû.
'Have no doubts, no anxieties,' (it was said),
'God is with you,'
Wû disposed of the troops of Shang;
He and his men equally shared in the achievement.
(Then) king (Khăng) said, 'My uncle,
I will set up your eldest son,
And make him marquis of Lû.
I will greatly enlarge your territory there,
To be a help and support to the House of Kâu.'
3. Accordingly he appointed (our first) duke of Lû,
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 Kâu,
The son of duke Kwang,
With dragon-emblazoned banner, attends the sacrifices,
(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,
And to his great ancestor Hâu-kî,
He offers the victims, red and pure.
They enjoy, they approve,
And bestow blessings in large number.
The duke of Kâu, and (your other) great ancestors,
Also bless you.
4. In autumn comes the sacrifice 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.
(Your ancestors) will make you gloriously prosperous,
They will make you long-lived and good,
To preserve this eastern region,
Long possessing the state of Lû,
Unwaning, unfallen,
Unshaken, undisturbed!
They 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 Shû,
So that none of them will dare to withstand us.
(The spirits of your ancestors) shall make you grandly prosperous;
They shall make you long-lived and wealthy.
The hoary hair and wrinkled back,
Marking the aged men, shall always be in your service.
They 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 Thâi is lofty,
Looked up to by the state of Lû.
We grandly possess also Kwei and Măng;
And we shall extend to the limits of the east,
Even the states along the sea.
The tribes of the Hwâi will seek our allegiance;
All will proffer their allegiance:—
Such shall be the achievements of the marquis of Lû.
7. He shall maintain the possession of Hû and Yî,
And extend his sway to the regions of Hsü,
Even to the states along the sea.
The tribes of the Hwâi, 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 Lû.
8. Heaven will give great blessing to our prince,
So that with the eyebrows of longevity he shall maintain Lû.
He shall possess Kang and Hsü,
And recover all the territory of the duke of Kâu.
Then shall the marquis of Lû 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 Zû-lâi,
And the cypresses of Hsin-fû,
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 temples,
The work of Hsî-sze,
Very wide and large,
Answering to the expectations of all the people.
Legge · 1879 · public domain