submission, And throughout the region none had dared to insult him. The engines of onfall and assault were (then) vigorously plied, Against the walls of Khung very strong. He attacked it, and let loose all his forces; He extinguished (its sacrifices)[1], and made an end of its existence; And throughout the kingdom none dared to oppose him.
Ode 9. The Hsiâ Wû.
In praise of king Wû, walking in the ways of his forefathers, and by his filial piety securing the throne to himself and his posterity.
Successors tread in the steps (of their predecessors) in our Kâu. For generations there had been wise kings; The three sovereigns were in heaven[2]; And king (Wû) was their worthy successor in his capital[3].
King (Wû) was their worthy successor in his capital, Rousing himself to seek for the hereditary virtue, Always striving to be in accordance with the
- ↑ The extinction of its sacrifices was the final act in the extinction of a state. Any members of its ruling House who might survive could no longer sacrifice to their ancestors as having been men of princely dignity. The family was reduced to the ranks of the people.
- ↑ 'The three sovereigns,' or 'wise kings,' are to be understood of the three celebrated in ode 7,—Thâi, Kî, and Wăn. We are thus obliged, with all Chinese scholars, to understand this ode of king Wû. The statement that 'the three kings were in heaven' is very express.
- ↑ The capital here is Hâo, to which Wû removed in B.C. 1134, the year after his father's death. It was on the east of the river Făng, and only about eight miles from Wăn's capital of Făng.
mythical period of Chinese history. But Khih Yû appears as a rebel, or opposed to the One man in all the country who was then fit to rule. It is difficult to imagine how they could be associated, and sacrificed to together.
