THE SHE KING; OR, THE BOOK OF ANCIENT POETRY

360 THE BOOK OP FOETEY. [PART IV. 361
This la the argument of the piece given in the Preface, and in which
the critics generally concur. In the Le Ke, IV. vi. 49, it is mentioned
that the king, in the beginning of winter, gave orders to the chief fisher
to commence his duties, and went himself to see his operations. He par
took of the first fhh captured, but first presented one as an offering in
the back apartment of the temple ; and in the first month of the spring,
when the sturgeons began to make their appearance, he presented one in
the same place. On these notices the argument in the Preface has been
constructed.
The two rivers, the Ts'eih and the Ts'eu, have been spoken of on II.
iii. VI.
In Ts'eih and Tsfen, those streams of Kfe,
About the warrens fish abound.
Large swarms of various kinds we see.
The mudfish and the carp are found.
The thryssa and the yellow-jaws,
And sturgeons, large and lank, are there,
Which we, observant of the laws,
Offer in sacrifice, with prayer,
That Chow may hold its brightening way,
Nor o'er its fortunes come decay.
VII.
The Yung; narrative. APPBOPKIATE AT A SACRIFICE BY KINO
WOO TO HIS FATHEB WAN.
Ihe disputes as to what sacrifice this piece was made for are endless.
In the time of Confucius, the three great Families of Loo used it when
sacrificing in their ancestral temples,—to the great dissatisfaction of the
sage (Analects, III. ii.). They used it when the sacrificial vessels and
their contents were being removed, and it was probably made at first to
be sung at tliat time ; and hence we find it called the Clt'eJt, with such
an indication, as well as the Yung.
The helping princes stand around,
With reverent air, in concord fine.
The king, Heaven's son, with looks profound,
Thus prays before his father's shrine :—
" This noble bull I bring to thee,
And these assist me in the rite.
Father, august and great, on me,
Thy filial son, pour down thy light!
BE I. § II. IX.] THE BOOK OF POETRY.
" All-sagely didst thou play the man,
Alike in peace and war a king.
Heaven rested in thee, 0 great Wan,
Who to thy sons still good dost bring.
" The eye-brows of long life to me,
Great source of comfort, thon hast given.
Thou mak'st me great, for 'tis through thee
Come all the other gifts of Heaven.
" 0 thon, my meritorious sire, *
And thon in whose fond breast I lay,
With power and grace your son inspire
His reverent sacrifice to pay."
vrn.
The Tsae 7ieen; narrative. APPROPRIATE TO AN OCCASION WHEN
THE FEUDAL PRINCES WERE ASSISTING KING CHING AT A SACRIFICE
To KING WOO.
Before their sovereign king the lords appeared,
To seek the rules that he for them ordains.
Their banners bright with dragon blazonry
Waved grandly in the air. Upon their reins
Eings glittering shone, while on their broidered flags
And carriage fronts bells gave a tinkling sound.
Thus full of majesty, they came to court,
And splendid were their equipages found !
The king then led them on the left, and laid,
With filial heart, before his father's shrine,
His offerings, that long life he might obtain,
And still preserve the honours of his line.
Favours he gets, both great and manifold.
'Tis from those brilliant and accomplished lords
They spring; and there shall longthrough them descend
Blessings unmrxed and bright that Heaven affords.
IX.
The Yew k'lh; narrative. CELEBRATING THE DUKE OF STJNG ON
ONE OF ms APPEARANCES AT THE CAPITAL TO ASSIST AT THE SA-