THE SHE KING; OR, THE BOOK OF ANCIENT POETRY

390 THE BOOK OF POETRY.
V.
[PART IV.
The Yin moo; narrative. CELEBRATING THE WAR OF WOO-TTNG
AGAINST KlNG-TS'OO, ITS SUCCESS, AND THE GENERAL HAPPINESS AND
VIRTUE OF HIS REIGN ;—MADE, PROBABLY, WHEN A SPECIAL AND
PERMANENT TEMPLE WAS MADE FOR HIM AS THE E.AOU TsUJfO, " THE
HIGH AND HONOURED" KING OF SHANG.
After Woe-ting's death, his Spirit-tablet would be shrined in the an
cestral temple of Shang, and he would have his share in the seasonal
sacrifices ; but several reigns would elapse before there was a necessity
for any other arrangement to prevent his table from being removed and
his share in the sacrifices from being discontinued. Hence some critics
have referred the composition of the piece to the reign Of Te-yih, the
last but one of the sovereigns of Shang.
In King-ts'oo we have two names of the same State combined together,
just as we have occasion to notice the combination Yin-shang as the name
of the Shang or Yin dynasty. But the combination here is more per
plexing. Both the names of Yin and Shang were in common use long
before the time when their combination occurs in the She ; we should say,
however, but for this ode, that the name of Ts'oo was not in use at all till
long after the Shang dynasty. The name King appears several times in the
Ch'un Ts'ew in the annals of duke Chwang of Loo, and then it gives
place to the name Ts'oo in the 1st year of duke He, and subsequently
disappears itself altogether. The common opinion is that the name of
Ts'oo did not come into use till between four and five centuries after the
overthrow of the Shang dynasty. If the ode before us be a genuine pro
duction of the Shang dynasty, that opinion of course is incorrect. Some,
however, contend that it should be referred to the time of duke Seang of
Sung ; and the balance of the argument seems to me to incline in favour
of that view.
" The Keang of Te," or " the Te-keang," still existed in the time of
the Han dynasty, occupying portions of the present Kan-suh. Woo-
ting's reign, according to the common chronology, extended over fifty-
nine years.
1 Swift moved with martial force the king of Tin,
And King-tsfoo he attacked, resolved to win.
Its dangerous passes fearlessly he sought,
And then its multitudes together brought.
Soon was the country subject at his feet;—
Such triumph proved him T'ang's descendant meet.
2 " Ye people," thus to King-ts'oo's hosts he said,
" My kingdom's southern part your home have made.
Of old, when the successful T'ang bore sway,
The States made haste their offerings to pay.
BK III. v.] THE BOOK OP POETET. 391
The distant Keang of Te in homage came;
No chief then dared deny our sever ign claim.
Shall ye, who dwell much nearer than the Keang,
Transgress what long has been th' unvaried rule of Shang ?
3 " 'Twas Heaven assigned to all the States their bounds;
But where within the sphere of Yu's grand rounds
Their capitals were placed, then every year,
As business called, their princes did appear
Before our king, and to him humbly said,
' Prepare not us to punish or upbraid,
For we the due regard to husbandry have paid.' "
4 When Heaven's high glance this lower world surveys,
Attention to the people first it pays.
Aware of this, our king impartial was,
Nor punished so as justice to o'erpass.
'Gainst idleness he took precaution sure ;—
So o'er the States his rule did firm endure,
And all his life he made his happiness secure.
5 Well ordered was his capital, and grand,
And served as model good to all the land.
Men recognized his energy as great;
His glorious fame rang loud through every State.
Long was his life, and tranquil was his end;
He blesses and protects us who from him descend.
6 Eager we climbed the King hill near at hand,
Where round and straight the pine and cypress stand.
We felled these to the ground, and hither brought,
And, reverent, hewed them to the shape we sought.
Long from the wall project the beams of pine,
And numerous rise the pillars, large and fine ;—
So have we built this house for Woo-ting's peaceful shrine.