Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 3.djvu/102

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68
THE SHÛ KING.
PART III.

to settle on. The three Kiang were led to enter the sea, and it became possible to still the marsh of Kăn. The bamboos, small and large, then spread about; the grass grew thin and long, and the trees rose high; the soil was miry.

The fields of this province were the lowest of the lowest class; its contribution of revenue was the highest of the lowest class, with a proportion of the class above. Its articles of tribute were gold, silver, and copper; yâo and khwăn stones; bamboos, small and large; (elephants') teeth, hides, feathers, hair, and timber. The wild people of the islands brought garments of grass, with silks woven in shell-patterns in their baskets. Their bundles contained small oranges and pummeloes,—rendered when specially required.

They followed the course of the Kiang and the sea, and so reached the Hwâi and the Sze.

7. (Mount) King and the south of (mount) Hăng formed (the boundaries of) King Kâu[1].

The Kiang and the Han pursued their (common) course to the sea, as if they were hastening to court. The nine Kiang were brought into complete order. The Tho and Khien (streams) were conducted by


  1. Mount King, which bounded King Kâu on the north, is in the department of Hsiang-yang, Hû-pei, and is called the southern King, to distinguish it from another mountain of the same name farther north in Yung Kâu. Mount Hăng, its southern boundary, is 'the southern mountain' of the Canon of Shun in Hăng-kâu department, Hû-nan. Yang Kâu was on the east, and the country on the west was almost unknown. King Kâu contained the greater portion of the present provinces of Hû-pei and Hû-nan, and parts also of Kwei-kâu and Sze-khüan. Some geographers also extend it on the south into Kwang-tung and Kwang-hsî, which is very unlikely.