Shijing or

Book of
Songs
James Legges translation from
http://etext.virginia.edu/chinese/shijing/Ano
Shih.html
1.
Guan-guan go the ospreys ,
On the islet in the river .
The modest , retiring , virtuous , young lady :
-For our prince a good mate she .
Here long , there short , is the duckweed ,
To the left , to the right , borne about by the
current .
The modest , retiring , virtuous , young lady :
-Waking and sleeping , he sought her .
He sought her and found her not ,
And waking and sleeping he thought about
her .
Long he thought ; oh ! long and anxiously ;
On his side , on his back , he turned , and
back again .
Here long , there short , is the duckweed ;
On the left , on the right , we gather it .
The modest , retiring , virtuous , young lady :
-With lutes , small and large , let us give her
friendly welcome .
Here long , there short , is the duckweed ;
On the left , on the right , we cook and
present it .
The modest , retiring , virtuous , young lady :

-With bells and drums let us show our delight

in her .
237.
In long trains ever increasing grow the
gourds.
When [our] people first spran ,
From the country about the Ju and the Qi ,
The ancient duke Tan-fu ,
Made for them kiln-like huts and caves ,
Ere they had yet any houses .
The ancient duke Tan-fu ,
Came in the morning, galloping his horses,
Along the banks of the western rivers,
To the foot of [mount] Qi;
And there , he and the lady Jiang,
Came, and together looked out for a site on
which to settle .
The plain of Zhou looked beautiful and rich,
With its violets and sowthistles [sweet] as
dumplings.
There he began with consulting [his
followers];
There he singed the tortoise-shell , [and
divined].
The responses were - there to stay, and then;
And they proceeded there to build their
houses.
He encouraged the people and settled them ;
Here on the left, there on the right.
He divided the ground into larger tracts and
smaller portions;
He dug the ditches; he defined the acres;
From the west to the east,
There was nothing which he did not take in
hand .
He called his superintendent of works;
He called his minister of instruction;
And charged them with the building of the
houses.
With the line they made everything straight;
They bound the frame-boards tight , so that
they should rise regularly.
Uprose the ancestral temple in its solemn
grandeur.

Crowds brought the earth in baskets

They threw it with shouts into the frames;
They beat it with responsive blows;
They pared the walls repeatedly, and they
sounded strong.
Five thousand cubits of them arose together ,
So that the roll of the great drum did not
overpower [the noise of the builders] .
They set up the gate of the enceinte ;
And the gate of the enceinte stood high .
They set up the court gate ;
And the court gate stood grand .
They reared the great altar [to the Spirits of
the land] ,
From which all great movements should
proceed .
Thus though he could nto prevent the rage
[of his foes] ,
He did not let fall his own fame .
The oaks and the Yu were [gradually]
thinned ,
And roads for travelling were opened .
The hordes of the Hun disappeared ,
Startled and panting .
[The chiefs of] Yu and Rui were brought to
an agreement ,
By king Wen's stimulating their natural
virtue .
Then , I may say , some came to him ,
previously not knowing him ;
And some , drawn the last by the first ;
And some , drawn by his rapid success ;
Ans some , by his defence [of the weak]
from insult .
195.
The angry terrors of Compassionate Heaven ,
Extend through this lower world ;
[The king's] counsels and plans are crooked
and bad ; -When will he stop [in the course] ?
Counsels which are good he will not follow ,
And those which are not good he employs ,
When I look at his counsels and plans ,
I am greatly pained .

Now they agree , and now they defame one

another ; -The case is greatly to be deplored .
If a counsel be good ,
They all are found opposing it .
If a counsel be bad ,
They all are found according with it .
When I look at such counsels and plans ,
What will they come to ?
Our tortoises are wearied out ,
And will not tell us anything about the
plans .
The counsellors are very many ,
But on that account nothing is
accomplished .
The speakers fill the court ,
But who dares to take any responsibility on
himself ?
We are as if we consulted [about a journey]
without taking a step in advance ,
And therefore did not get on on the road .
Alas ! our formers of plans ,
Do not take the ancients for their pattern ,
And do not regulate them by great
principles .
They only hearken to shallow words ,
And quarrel about shallow words ,
They are like one taking counsel with
wayfarers about building a house .
Which will consequently never come to
completion .
Although the kingdom be unsettled ,
There are some who are wise , and others
who are not .
Although the people may not be numerous ,
Some have perspicacity , some have
counsel ,
Some have gravity , and some have
orderliness .
But we are going on like the stream flowing
from a spring ,
And will sink together in a common ruin .
They dare not without weapons attack a
tiger ;
They dare not without a boat cross the He .
They know one thing ,

But they only know that one .

We should be apprehensive and careful ,
As if we were on the brink of a deep gulf ,
As if we were treading on thin ice .