University of Virginia Library

Great is God ,
Beholding this lower world in majesty .
He surveyed the four quarters [of the kingdom] ,
Seeking for some one to give settlement to the people .
Those two [earlier] dynasties ,
Had failed to satisfy Him with their government ;
So throughout the various States ,
He sought and considered ,
For one on which he might confer the rule .
Hating all the great [States] ,
He turned His kind regards on the west ,
And there gave a settlement [to king Da] .

[King Da] 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 tamarix 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 Guan hordes fled away .
Heaven raised up a helpmeet for him .
And the appointment he had received was made sure .

God surveyed the hills ,
Where the oaks and yu were thinned ,
And paths made through the firs and cypresses .
God , who had raised the State , raised up a proper ruler for it ;—
From the time of Da-bo and king Ju [this was done] .
Now this king Ju ,
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] .
He accepted his dignity , and did not lose it ,
And [ere long his family] possessed the whole kingdom .

The king Ju ,
Was gifted by God with the power of judgement ,
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 .
When [the sway] came to king Wen ,
His virtue left nothing to be dissatisfied with .
He received the blessing of God ,
And it was extended to his descendants .

God said to king Wen ,
' Be not like those who reject this and cling to that ;
Be not like those who are ruled by their likings and desires ; '
So he grandly ascended before others to the height [of virtue] .
The people of Mi were disobedient ,
Daring to oppose our great country ,
And invaded Yuan , marching to Gung .
The king rose majestic in his wrath ;
He marshalled his troops ,
To stop the invading foes ;
To consolidate the prosperity of Zhou ;
To meet [the expectations of ] all under heaven .

He remained quietly in the capital ;
But [his troops] went on from the borders of Yuan .
They ascended our lofty ridges ,
And [the enemy] arrayed no forces on our hills ,
On our hills , small or large ,
Nor drank at our springs ,
Our springs or our pools .
He then determined the finest of the plains ,
And settled on the south of Ju ,
On the side of the Wei ;
The centre of all the States ,
The resort of the lower people .

God said to king Wen ,
'I am pleased with your intelligent virtue ,
Not loudly proclaimed nor pourtrayed ,
Without extravagance or changeableness ,
Without consciousness of effort on your part ,
In accordance with the pattern of God . '
God said to king Wen ,
' Take measures against the country of your foes .
Along with your brethren ,
Get ready your scaling ladders ,
And yoru engines of onfall and assault ,
To attack the walls of Chong . '

The engines of onfall and assault were gently plied ,
Against the walls of Chong high and great ;
Captives for the question were brought in one after another ;
' The left ears [of the slain] were taken leisurely .
He sacrificed to God , and to the Father of War ,
Thus seeking to induce submission ;
And throughout the kingdom none dared to insult him .
The engines of onfall and assault were vigorously plied ,
Against the walls of Chong very strong ;
He attacked it , and let loose all his forces ;
He extinguished [its sacrifices] , and made an end of its existence ;
And throughout the kingdom none dared to oppose him .'