University of Virginia Library

How pure and still are the solemn temples ,
In their strong solidity and minute completeness !
Highly distinguished was Jiang Yuan ,
Of virtue undeflected .
God regarded her with favour ;
And without injury or hurt ,
Immediately , when her months were fulfilled ,
She gave birth to Hou-ji .
On him were conferred all blessings ,—
[To know] how the millet ripened early , and the sacrificial millet late ,
How first to sow pulse , and then wheat .
Anon he was invested with an inferior State ,
And taught the people how to sow and to reap ,
The millet and the sacrificial millet ,
Rice and the black millet ;
Ere long all over the whole country ;—
[Thus] continuing the work of Yu .

Among the descendants of Hou-ji ,
There was king Da ,
Dwelling on the south of [mount] Qi ,
Where the clipping of Shang began .
In process of time Wen and Wu ,
Continued the work of king Da ,
And [the purpose of] Heaven was carried out in its time ,
In the plain of Mu .
'Have no doubts , no anxieties , ' [it was said] ;
'God is with you . '
[Wu] disposed of the troops of Shang ;
He and his men shared equally in the achievement .
[Then] king [Qing] said , ' My uncle ,
I will set up your eldest son ,
And make him marquis of Lu .
I will greatly enlarge your territory there ,
To be a help and support to the House of Zhou . '

Accordingly he appointed [our first] duke of Lu ,
And make him marquis in the east ,
Giving him the hills and rivers ,
The lands and fields , and the attached States .
The [present] descendant of the duke of Zhou ,
The son of duke Zhuang ,
With dragon-emblazoned banner attends the sacrifices ,
His six reins soft and pliant .
In spring and autumn he does not neglect [the sacrifices] ;
His offerings are all without error .
To the great and sovereign God ,
And to his great ancestor Hou-ji ,
He offers the victims , red and pure .
Then enjoy , they approve ,
And bestow blessings in large number .
The duke of Zhou , and [your other] great ancestors ,
Also bless you .

In autumn comes the sacrifices of the season ,
But in summer the bulls for it have had their horns capped .
They are the white bull and the red one ;
[There are] the bull-figured goblet in its dignity ;
Roast pig , minced meat , and soups ;
The dishes of bamboo and wood , and the large stand ;
And the dancers all-complete .
The filial descendant will be blessed .
[Your ancestors]will make you gloriously prosperous !
They will make you long-lived and good , —
To preserve this eastern region ,
Long possessing the State of Lu ,
Unwaning , unfallen ,
Unshaken , undisturbed !
They will make your friendship with your three aged [ministers] ,
Like the hills , like the mountains !

Our prince's chariots are a thousand ,
[And in each] are the vermilion tassels and the green bands of the two spears and two bows .
His footmen are thirty thousand ,
With shells no vermillion-strings adorning their helmets .
So numerous are his ardent followers ,
To deal with the tribes of the west and north ,
And to punish [those of] King and Shu ,
So that none of them will dare to withstand us .
May [the Spirits] make you grandly prosperous !
May they make you long-lived and wealthy !
May the hoary hair and wrinkled back ,
Marking the aged men , be always in your employment !
May they make you prosperous and great !
May they grant you old age , ever vigorous ,
For myriads and thousands of years ,
With the eyebrows of longevity , and ever unharmed !

The mountain of Da is lofty ,
Looked up to by the State of Lu .
We grandly possess also Gui and Mong ;
And we shall extend to the limits of the east ,
Even the States along the sea .
The tribes of the Huai will seek our alliance ;—
All will proffer their allegiance :—
Such shall be the achievements of the marquis of Lu .

He shall maintain the possession of Hu and Yi ,
And extend his sway to the regions of Xu ,
Even to the States along the sea .
The tribes of the Huai , the Man , and the Mi ,
And those tribes [still more] to the south ,
All will proffer their allegiance :—
Not one will dare not to answer to his call ,
Thus showing their obedience to the marquis of Lu .

Heaven will give great blessing to our prince ,
So that with the eyebrows of longevity he shall maintain Lu .
He shall possess Chang and Xu ,
And recover all the territory of the duke of Zhou .
Then shall the marquis of Lu feast and be glad ,
With his admirable wife and aged mother ;
With his excellent ministers and all his [other] officers .
Our region and State shall be hold ,
Thus receiving many blessings ,
To hoary hair , with a child's teeth .

The pines of Cu-lei ,
And the cypresses of Xin-fu ,
Were cut down and measured ,
With the cubit line and the eight cubits line .
The projecting beams of pine were large ;
The large inner apartments rose vast .
Splendid look the new temples ,
The work of Xi-si ,
Very wide and large ,
Answering to the expectations of all the people .