5. He deliberated with (the President of) the Four Mountains how to throw open the doors (of communication between himself and the) four (quarters of the land), and how he could see with the eyes, and hear with the ears of all.
He consulted with the twelve Pastors[1], and said to them, 'The food!—it depends on observing the seasons. Be kind to the distant, and cultivate the ability of the near. Give honour to the virtuous, and your confidence to the good, while you discountenance the artful;—so shall the barbarous tribes lead on one another to make their submission.'
Shun said, 'Ho! (President of) the Four Mountains, is there any one who can with vigorous service attend to all the affairs of the Tî, whom I may appoint to be General Regulator, to assist me in (all) affairs, managing each department according to its nature?' All (in the court) replied, 'There is Po-yü[2], the Minister of Works.' The Tî said, 'Yes. Ho! Yü, you have regulated the water and the land. In this (new office) exert yourself.' Yü did obeisance with his head to the ground, and wished to decline in favour of the Minister of Agriculture, or Hsieh, or Kâo-yâo. The Tî said, 'Yes, but do you go (and undertake the duties).'
The Tî said, 'Khî[3], the black-haired people are (still) suffering from famine. Do you, O prince, as
- ↑ These were the twelve princes holding the chief sway and superintendence in his twelve provinces.
- ↑ Po-yü is the great Yü;, the founder of the Hsiâ dynasty. Po denotes, probably, his order as the eldest among his brothers.
- ↑ Khî was the name of the Minister of Agriculture, better known in the Shih and other books as Hâu-kî, the progenitor of the kings of Kâu. See the legend about him in the Shih, Part III, ii, Ode 1.
