By the Făng-water grows the white millet[1];—Did not king Wû show wisdom in his employment of officers? He would leave his plans to his descendants, And secure comfort and support to his son. A sovereign true was king Wû!
The Second Decade, or that of Shăng Min.
Ode 1. The Shăng Min.
The legend of Hâu-kî:—his conception; his birth; the perils of his infancy; his boyish habits of agriculture; his subsequent methods and teaching of agriculture; his founding of certain sacrifices; and the honours of sacrifice paid to him by the house of Kâu.
Of Hâu-kî there is some notice on the tenth ode of the first decade of the Sacrificial Odes of Kâu. To him the kings of Kâu traced their lineage. Of Kiang Yüan, his mother, our knowledge is very scanty. It is said that she was a daughter of the House of Thâi, which traced its lineage up to Shăn-nung in prehistoric times. From the first stanza of this piece it appears that she was married, and had been so for some time without having any child. But who her husband was it is impossible to say with certainty. As the Kâu surname was Kî, he must have been one of the descendants of Hwang Tî.
The first birth of (our) people[2] Was from Kiang Yüan. How did she give birth to (our) people? She had presented a pure offering and sacrificed[3],
- ↑ 'The white millet,' a valuable species, grown near the Făng, suggests to the writer the idea of all the men of ability whom Wû collected around him.
- ↑ Our 'people' is of course the people of Kâu. The whole piece is about the individual from whom the House of Kâu sprang, of which were the kings of the dynasty so called.
- ↑ To whom Kiang Yüan sacrificed and prayed we are not told, but I receive the impression that it was to God,—see the next stanza,—and that she did so all alone with the special object which is mentioned.
