the Grand-Guardian went out with the hereditary princes of the various states to bring their offerings (for the king)[1]; and when he entered again, he gave them to the duke of Kâu, saying, 'With my hands to my head and my head to the ground, I present these to his Majesty and your Grace[2]. Announcements for the information of the multitudes of Yin must come from you, with whom is the management of affairs.'
2. 'Oh! God (dwelling in) the great heavens has changed his decree respecting his great son and the great dynasty of Yin. Our king has received that decree. Unbounded is the happiness connected with it, and unbounded is the anxiety:—Oh! how can he be other than reverent?*
'When Heaven rejected and made an end of the decree in favour of the great dynasty of Yin, there were many of its former wise kings in heaven.* The king, however, who had succeeded to them, the last of his race, from the time of his entering into their appointment, proceeded in such a way as at last to keep the wise in obscurity and the vicious in office. The poor people in such a case, carrying their children and leading their wives, made their moan to Heaven. They even fled away, but were apprehended again. Oh! Heaven had compassion on the people of the four quarters; its favouring
- ↑ These 'offerings' were the 'presents of introduction,' which the feudal princes brought with them to court, when they were to have audience of the king. This has led many critics to think that the king was now in Lo, which was not the case.
- ↑ The original text here is difficult and remarkable;—intended probably to indicate that the king's majesty was revered in the person of the duke of Kâu, who was regent.
