Shi Ji Zhuan :: :: University of Virginia Library

Luxuriantly is that young mulberry tree ,
And beneath it wide is the shade ;
But they will pluck its leaves till it is quite destroyed .
The distress inflicted on these [multitudes of the ] people ,
Is an unceasing sorrow to my heart ;—
My commiseration fills [my breast] .
O thou bright and great Heaven ,
Shouldest thou not have compassion on us ?

The four steeds [gallop about] , eager and strong ;
The tortoise-and-serpent and the falcon banners fly about .
Disorder grows , and no peace can be secured .
Every State is being ruined ;
There are no black heads among the people ;
All are reduced to ashes , [as it were] , by calamity .
Oh ! alas !
The doom of the kingdom hurries on .

There is nothing to arrest the doom of the kingdom ;
Heaven does not nourish us .
There is no place in which to stop securely ;
There is no place to which to go .
Superior men are the bonds [of the social state] ,
Allowing no love of strife in their hearts .
Who reared the steps of the dissatisfaction ,
Which has reached the present distress ?

The grief of my heart is extreme ,
And I dwell on [the condition of] our territory .
I was born at an unhappy time ,
To meet with the severe anger of Heaven .
From the west to the east ,
There is no quiet place of abiding .
Many are the distresses I meet with ;
Very urgent is the trouble on our borders .

You have your counsels ; you employ caution ;
But the disorder grows and dismemberments ensue .
I tell you the subjects for anxiety ;
I instruct you how to distinguish the orders of men .
Who can hold anything hot ?
Must he not dip it [first] in water ?
How can you [by your method] bring a good state of things about ?
You [and your advisers] will sink together in ruin .

[The state of things] is like going in the teeth of the wind ,
Which makes one quite breathless .
Some have a mind to go forward ,
But they are made to think it is of no use to do so .
They attach themselves to husbandry ,
And labour like the people instead of eating [the bread of office] .
Their sowing and reaping are precious to them ;
They love this substitute for [official] emolument .

Heaven is sending down death and disorder ,
And has put an end to our king .
It is sending down those devourers of the grain ,
So that the husbandry is all in evil case .
All is in peril and going to ruin ;
I have no strength [to do anything] ,
And think of [the Power in] the azure vault .

Here is a good and righteous ruler ,
Who is looked up to by the people and by all ;—
He keeps his heart , and his plans are formed on mature deliberation ,
Searching carefully for helpers .
There is one who has no such character ,
But reckons only to his own views to be good ;—
He holds only to his own thoughts ,
And causes the people to be distracted .

Look into the middle of that forest ,
At the herds of deer roaming together .
[But here] friends are insincere ,
And do not help one another in what is good .
People have the saying ,
'To go forwards or backwards is alike impracticable . '

Here is a wise man ;—
His views and words reach to a hundred Li ,
There is a stupid man ;—
He on the contrary rejoices in his madness .
It is not that I could not speak [all this] ;—
How is it I was withheld by my fear ?

Here is a good man ,
But he is not sought out nor employed .
There is a hard-hearted man ,
And he is thought of and promoted once and again .
The people [in consequence] desire disorder ,
And find emjoyment in bitter , poisonous ways .

Great winds have a path ;—
They come from the large empty valleys .
Here is a good man ,
Whose doings will be good .
There is a man unobservant of the right ,
Whose goings will be according to his inward filthiness .

Great winds have a path ;—
The covetous men try to subvert their peers .
I would speak , if he would hear my words ,
But I can [only] croon them over as if I were drunk .
He will not employ the good ,
And on the contrary causes me [such] distress .

Ah ! my friends ,
Is it in ignorance that I make [this ode]?
[But it may happen] as in the case of a bird on the wing ,
Which sometimes is hit and caught .
I go to do you good ,
But you become the more incensed against me .

The unlimited disorder of the people ,
Is owing to those hypocrites , skilful to prevaricate .
They work out the injury of the people ,
As if their efforts were not equal to it .
The depravity of the people ,
Is brought about by their strenuous endeavours .

That the people are unsettled ,
Is owing to the robbers that prey on them .
Hypocritical , they say ' These men will not do ; '
But when their backs are turned , they show their skill in reviling [the good] .
Although you say , ' We did not do this , '
I have made this song about you .