FURTHER PICTURES OF HUSBANDRY, AND SACRIFICES CONNECTED WITH IT.
Large are the fields, and various is the work to be done. Having selected the seed, and looked after the implements, So that all preparations have been made for our labour, We take our sharp ploughshares, And commence on the south-lying acres. We sow all the kinds of grain, Which grow up straight and large, So that the wish of the distant descendant is satisfied.
It ears and the fruit lies soft in its sheath; It hardens and is of good quality; There is no wolf's-tail grass nor darnel. We remove the insects that eat the heart and the leaf, And those that eat the roots and the joints, So that they shall not hurt the young plants of our fields. May the spirit, the Father of Husbandry[1], Lay hold of them, and put them in the blazing fire!
[1. The ancient Shan Nang, as in the preceding ode.]
The clouds form in dense masses,. And the rain comes down slowly. May it first rain on our public fields[1], And then come to our private Yonder shall be young grain unreaped, And here some bundles ungathered; Yonder shall be handfuls left on the ground, And here ears untouched:--For the benefit of the widow[2].
The distant descendant will come, When their wives and children Are bringing food to those (at work) on the south-lying acres. The surveyor of the fields (also) will come and be glad. They will come and offer pure sacrifices to (the spirits of the four) quarters, With their victims red and black[3], With their preparations of millet:--Thus offering, thus sacrificing, Thus increasing our bright happiness.
The Seventh Decade, or that of Sang Hû.
ODE 1, STANZA 1. THE SANG HÛ.
THE KING, ENTERTAINING THE CHIEF AMONG THE FEUDAL PRINCES, EXPRESSES HIS ADMIRATION OF THEM, AND GOOD WISHES FOR THEM.
They flit about, the greenbeaks[4], With their