(King Thâi) raised up and removed The dead trunks and the fallen trees. He dressed and regulated The bushy clumps and the (tangled) rows. He opened up and cleared The tamarisk trees and the stave trees. He hewed and thinned The mountain mulberry trees. God having brought about the removal thither of this intelligent ruler, The Kwan hordes fled away[2]. Heaven had raised up a helpmeet for him, And the appointment he had received was made sure.
God surveyed the hills, Where the oaks and the buckthorn were thinned, And paths made through the firs and cypresses. God, who had raised the
[1. Those of Hsiâ and Shang.
2. The same as 'the hordes of the Khwan' in ode 3. Mr. T. W. Kingsmill says that 'Kwan' here should be 'Chun,' and charges the transliteration Kwan with error (journal of the Royal Asiatic Society for April, 1878). He had not consulted his dictionary for the proper pronunciation of the Chinese character.]
state, raised up a proper ruler[1] for it,--From the time of Thâi-po and king Kî (this was done) [1]. Now this king Kî In his heart was full of brotherly duty. Full of duty to his elder brother, He gave himself the more to promote the prosperity (of the country), And secured to him the glory (of his act) [2]. He accepted his dignity and did not lose it, And (ere long his family) possessed the whole kingdom.
This king Kî Was gifted by God with the power of judgment, So that the fame of his virtue silently grew. His virtue was highly intelligent,--Highly intelligent, and of rare discrimination; Able to lead, able to rule, To rule over this great country; Rendering a cordial submission, effecting a cordial union [3]. When (the sway) came to king Wan, His
[1. King Wan is 'the proper ruler' intended here, and the next line intimates that this was determined before there was any likelihood of his becoming the ruler even of the territory of Kâu; another instance of the foreseeing providence ascribed to God. Thâi-po was the eldest son of king Thai, and king Kî was, perhaps, only the third. The succession ought to have come to Thai-po; but he, seeing the sage virtues of Khang (afterwards king Wan), the son of Kî, and seeing also that king Thai was anxious that this boy should ultimately become ruler of Kâu, voluntarily withdrew from Kau altogether, and left the state to Kî and his son. See the remark of Confucius on Thâi-po's conduct, in the Analects, VIII, i.
2 .The lines from six to ten speak of king Kî in his relation to his elder brother. He accepted Thâi-po's act without -any failure of his own duty to him, and by his own improvement of it, made his brother more glorious through it. His feeling of brotherly duty was simply the natural instinct of his heart. Having accepted the act, it only made him the more anxious to promote the good of the state, and thus he made his brother more glorious by showing what advantages accrued from his resignation and withdrawal from Kau.
3. This line refers to Kî's maintenance of his own loyal duty to the dynasty of Shang, and his making all the states under his presidency loyal also.]
virtue left nothing to be dissatisfied with, He received the blessing of God, And it was extended to his descendants.