THE SHE KING; OR, THE BOOK OF ANCIENT POETRY

334 THE BOOK OF POETBT. [PART III.
I turn my gaze to the great sky;—
When shall this drought be done, and I
Quiet and restful be ? "
V.
The Suttg know; narrative. CELEBRATING THE APPOINTMENT BY
KINO SEUEN OP A RELATIVE TO BE THE MAKQUIS OP SHIN, AND DE
FENDER OP THE SOUTHERN BOEDER OP THE KINGDOM, WITH THE
ARRANGEMENTS MADE FOR HIS ENTERING ON HIS CHAEGE.
King Seuen is not named in the piece, but there can be no doubt as
to his being the king intended in it. The writer of it was Yin Keih-foo,
who appears in II. iii. III., as the commander of an expedition against
the tribes of the Heen-yun, in the beginning of Seuen's reign. Then in
II. viii. III. we have an account of the building of Seay as the capital of
the State, which is also a principal topic in this piece.
We must accept then the date assigned to the piece, and it gives us an
interesting instance of the way in which by colonization and military
occupancy the kingdom of Cbow—China—was extended towards the
south.
Shin, Heu, and Foo have all occurred in I. vi. IV. They were adjoin
ing principalities, all ruled by scions of the great family of Keang, de
scended from the chief minister of Yaou, who is styled " Chief of the
four mountains." With reference to this it is said in st. 1 that " the
mountains sent down a Spirit (or Spirits) who gave birth to Foo and
Shin." "This." says a critic, "is a personification of the poet's fan j,to
show how High Heaven had a mind to revive the fortunes of Chow, and
we need not trouble cm-selves as to whether there were such Spirits or
not."
The earl of Shaou, it is supposed, was Seuen's Minister of Works, and
on him devolved naturally such duties as are assigned to him in this
piece. On the early removal of the chiefs harem to Seay, mentioned in
st. 3, it is said, " While his family was not removed to his new residence,
the chief could not enjoy his domestic bliss, and the king ordered his
principal officer to convey the household to Seay." The name of Mei,
where the king gave the parting feast to the chief, remains in one of the
districts in the department of Fung-ts'eang.
The movement which the ode celebrates with so much eclat did not
turn out happily. King Seuen's son, Yew, married a daughter of the
House of Shin, a daughter probably of the chief mentioned here, and
made her his queen. AVhen he degraded her in consequence of his at
tachment to Paou feze, her father formed an alliance with the Dog Jung,
which issued in the death of Yew, and the removal of the capital to Loh.
Subsequently, Shin proved but a very ineffectual barrier against the tribes
that were banded togetfier under the rule of Ts'oo, and it was extinguished
and absorbed by that growing State during the period of the Ch'un Ts'e'w.
1 How grand and high, with hugest bulk, arise
Those southern hills whose summits touch the skies !
BK III. v.] THE BOOK OP POETET. 335
Down from them came a Spirit to the earth,
And to the sires of Foo and Shin gave birth.
In those two States our Chow a bulwark has,
O'er which the southern foemen dare not pass;
And all its States they screen, and through them
spread
Lessons of virtue, by themselves displayed.
2 Famed for his merit was Shin's present chief.
The king with Seay planned to enlarge his fief.
There, as his sires elsewhere had been, should he
To all the southern States a pattern be.
The earl of Shaou got charge there to provide
The capital, where Shin's chief should preside,
And o'er the south a powerful influence gain.
There too his sons that influence should maintain.
3 Thus to the chief the king gave his command:—
" A pattern be to all the southern land.
Your centre Seay, go from it onwards, till
Your merit all that southern sphere shall fill."
Shaou's earl was charged the new lands to define,
And by Chow's rules fit revenue assign.
The master of Shin's household orders got,
To move betimes the harem to the spot.
4 The earl of Shaou thus the foundation cleared,
On which the chiefs great merit should be reared.
The city's walls he built, and then went on
To build the temple. This work grandly done,
The chief receives four steeds, a noble team,
Whose breast-hooks 'mid their trappings brightly
gleam.
5 Those steeds were with a car of state well matched,
And then the king from court the chief despatched.
"Your residence," he said, "has been my care.
The south I chose. Quick thither now repair.
And take this noble mace, which I confer,
The symbol of your rank. Go, uncle, go ;
Protect the southern lauds from every foe."
6 Soon now the chief his way took from the north.
The king in Mei the parting feast set forth.