Shi Jing – Le Canon des Poèmes

The red bows unbent,
Were received and deposited.
I have here an admirable quest,
And with all my heart I bestow one on him.
The bells and drums have been arranged in order,
And all morning will I feast him.

The red bows unbent,
Were received and fitted on their frames.
I have here an admirable quest,
And with all my heart I rejoice in him.
The bells and drums have been arranged in order,
And all morning will I honour him.

The red bows unbent,
Were received and placed in their cases.
I have here an admirable quest,
And with all my heart I love him.
The bells and drums have been arranged in order,
And all morning will I pledge him.

Legge 175

Ô la belle, la belle armoise,
qui est au milieu du coteau !
Sitôt que je vois mon seigneur,
quelle joie donc et quel respect !

Ô la belle, la belle armoise,
qui est au milieu de l'îlot !
Sitôt que je vois mon seigneur,
mon cœur alors a la gaîté !

Ô la belle, la belle armoise,
qui est au milieu de la berge !
Sitôt que je vois mon seigneur,
il me donne cent coquillages !

La barque en peuplier vogue ! vogue !
plongeant tantôt, flottant tantôt !
Sitôt que je vois mon seigneur,
mon cœur alors a le repos !

Granet LIII.

Luxuriantly grows the aster-southernwood,
In the midst of that large mound.
Since we see our noble lord,
We rejoice, and he shows us all courtesy.

Luxuriantly grows the aster-southernwood,
In the midst of that islet.
Since we see our noble lord,
Our hearts are full of joy.

Luxuriantly grows the aster-southernwood,
In the midst of that great height.
We see our noble lord,
And he gives us a hundred sets of cowries.

It floats about, – the willow boat,
Now sinking, now rising again.
Since we see our noble lord,
Our hearts are at rest.

Legge 176

In the sixth month all was bustle and excitement.
The war carriages had been made ready,
With the four steeds [of each], strong and eager ;
And the regular accountrements had been placed in the carriages.
The Xian-yun were in blazing force,
And thence was the urgency.
The king had ordered ther expedition,
To deliver the royal kingdom.

Matched in strength were the four black steeds,
Well trained to observe every rule.
On this sixth month,
We completed our accountrements.
Our accountrements were completed,
And we marched thirty Li [every day].
The king had ordered ther expedition,
To help the son of Heaven.

The four steeds were long, and stout,
And large-headed.
We smote the Xian-yun,
And achieved great merit.
Severely strict and careful [was our leader],
Discharging his military service, –
Discharging his military service,
And settling thereby the royal kingdom.

Badly reckoned the Xian-yun,
When they confidently occupied Jiao and Huo,
And overran Hao and Fang,
As far as to the north of the Jing.
On our flags was their blazonry of birds,
While their white streamers fluttered brightly.
Ten large war chariots,
Led the way in front.

The war carriages were well made.
Nicely balanced, before and behind.
Their four steeds were strong,
Both strong and well trained.
We smote the Xian-yun,
As far as Tai-yuan.
For peace or for war fit is Ji-fu,
A pattern to all the States.

Ji-fu feasts and is glad ;
Great happiness is his.
In returning from Hao,
Distant and long had been our march.
He entertains and feasts his friends,
With roast turtle and minced carp.
And who are there ?
There is Zhang Zhong, the filial and brotherly.

Legge 177

They were gathering the white millet,
In those new fields,
And in these acres brought only one year under cultivation,
When Fang Shu came to take the command.
His chariots were three thousand,
With a host of well-disciplined warriors.
Fang Shu led them on,
In his carriage drawn by four piebalds,
Four piebalds orderly moving.
Red shone his grand carriage,
With its chequered bamboo screen, and seal-skin quivers,
With the hooks for the trappings of the breast-bands, and the rein-ends.

They were gathering the white millet,
In those new fields,
And all about these villages,
When Fang Shu came to take the command.
His chariots were three thousand ;
His banners, with their blazonry of dragons, and of serpents and tortoises, fluttered gaily.
Fang Shu led them on,
The naves of his wheels bound with leather, and his yoke ornamented.
Tinkle-tinkle went the eight bells at the horses' bits.
He wore the robes conferred [by the king] ;
His red knee-covers were resplendent,
And the gems of his girdle-pendant sounding.

Rapid is the flight of the hawk,
Soaring to the heavens,
And again descending and settling in its place.
Fang Shu came to take the command.
His chariots were three thousand,
With a host of well disciplined warriors.
Fang Shu led them on.
With his jinglers and drummers,
He marshalled his hosts and addressed them.
Intelligent and true is Fang Shu,
Deep rolled the sound of his drums ;
With a lighter sound he led the troops back.

Foolish were the savage tribes of King,
Presuming to oppose our great region.
Fang Shu is of great age,
But full of vigour were his plans.
He led his army on,
Seized [the chiefs] for the question, and made captives of a crowd [besides].
Numerous were his war chariots,
Numerous and in grand array,
Like the clap or the roll of thunder their onset.
Intelligent and true is Fang Shu.
He had gone and smitten the Xian-yun,
And the tribes of King came, awed by his majesty.

Legge 178

Our chariots were strong,
Our horses were well matched,
And with four steeds [for each], sleek and large,
We yoked and proceeded to the east.

Our hunting carriages were good,
And their four steeds in fine condition.
Eastwards were the grassy plains of Fu ; –
We yoked and went there to hunt.

Of the officers in charge of the hunt,
The voices resounded as they told off the men.
They set up the banners, with ox-tails displayed,
And we proceeded to pursue the chase in Ao.

With their four-horsed chariots [they came],
Forming a long train,
In their red knee-covers and gold-adorned slippers,
Like the crowd of an occasional or a general audience.

The bowstring thimbles and armlets were fitted on ;
The bows and arrows were adjusted to one another ;
The archers acted in unison,
Helping us to rear a pile of game.

Of the four yellow horses of each chariot,
The two outsiders inclined not to either side.
No error in driving was committed,
And the arrows went forth like downright blows.

As if at their ease, the horses neighed,
Long and slow moved the line of pennons and banners ;
The footmen and charioteers created no alarms ;
The great kitchen did not claim its full complement.

So did the officers conduct this expedition,
Without any clamour in the noise of it.
Truly a princely man is [the king] ;
Great indeed are his achievements !

Legge 179

A lucky day was wu,
And we sacrificed on it to the Ruler [of horses], and prayed.
Our hunting carriages were good ;
The team for each was in fine condition.
We would ascend the greatest heights,
And pursue the herds [of the game].

A lucky day was geng-wu.
We had selected our horses ;
The haunts of the animals,
Where the does and stags lay numerous,
The grounds by the Qi and the Ju, –
That was the place for the son of Heaven [to hunt].

We looked to the midst of the plain,
Where the animals were large and abundant,
Now rushing about, now waiting together,
Here in threes, there in twos.
We led on all our attendants,
To give pleasure to the son of Heaven.

We have bent our bows ;
We have our arrows on the string.
Here is a small boar transifixed ;
There is a large rhinoceros killed.
The spoil will be presented to the visitors and guests,
Along with the cup of sweet wine.

Legge 180

The wild geese are flying about ;
Su-su goes the rustle of their wings.
[There were] those officers engaged on the commission.
Pained were we and toiled in the open fields ;
All were objects of pity,
But alas for those wifeless and widows !

The wild geese are flying about ;
And they settle in the midst of the marsh.
[There were] those officers directing the rearing of the walls ; –
Five thousand cubits of them arose at once.
Though there was pain and toil,
In the end we had rest in our dwellings.

The wild geese are flying about,
And melancholy is their cry of ao-ao.
There were they, wise men,
Who recognized our pain and toil ;
If they had been stupid men,
They would have said we were proclaiming our insolence.

Legge 181

How goes the night ?
It is not yet midnight.
The torch is blazing in the court-yard.
My princely men are arriving ; –
There is the tinkling of their bells.

How goes the night ?
The night is not yet through.
The torch is growing pale in the court-yard.
My princely men are arriving ; –
There is the sound of their bells, regular and near.

How goes the night ?
It is getting towards morning.
The torch is smoking in the court-yard.
My princely men are arriving ; –
I see their banners.

Legge 182

In large volume, those flowing waters,
Go to the court of the sea.
Rapid is that flying falcon,
Now soaring, now resting.
Alas ! among my brethren,
My countrymen, my friends,
No one is willing to think of the prevailing disorder ;
[But] who has not parents [to suffer from it] ?

In large volume, those flowing waters,
Roll on their swollen flood.
Rapid is that flying falcon,
Now soaring, now rising higher.
When I think of those lawless men,
Now I rise up, now I walk about.
The sorrow of my heart,
Cannot be repressed nor forgotten.

Rapid is that flying falcon,
Yet he keeps along the middle of the height.
The talk of the people, –
Is there no means of stopping it ?
If my friends would reverently [watch over themselves],
Would slanderous speeches be made ?

Legge 183

The crane cries in the ninth pool of the marsh,
And her voice is heard in the [distant] wilds.
The fish lies in the deep,
And now is by the islet.
Pleasant is that garden,
In which are the sandal trees ;
But beneath them are only withered leaves.
The stones of those hills,
May be made into grind-stones.

The crane cries in the ninth pool of the marsh,
And her voice is heard in the sky.
The fish is by the islet,
And now it lies hid in the deep.
Pleasant is that garden,
In which are the sandal trees ;
But beneath them is the paper-mulberry tree,
The stones of those hills,
May be used to polish gems.

Legge 184