drums and drums; Shrilly sound the flutes; All harmonious and blending together, According to the notes of the sonorous gem. Oh! majestic is the descendant of Thang; Very admirable is his music.
The large bells and drums fill the ear; The various dances are grandly performed[1]. We have the admirable visitors[2], Who are pleased and delighted.
From of old, before our time, The former men set us the example;—How to be mild and humble from morning to night, And to be reverent in discharging the service.
May he regard our sacrifices of winter and autumn[3], (Thus) offered by the descendant of Thang!
Ode 2. The Lieh Zû.
Probably like the last ode, appropriate to a sacrifice to Thang, dwelling on the spirits, and the gravity of the service, and on the assisting princes.
Neither can we tell by which of the kings of Shang this ode was first used. Kû Hsî says that the object of the sacrifice was Thang. The Preface assigns it to Thâi Mâu, the Kung Zung, or second of the three 'honoured ones.' But there is not a
- ↑ Dancing thus entered into the service as an accompaniment of the music. Two terms are employed; one denoting the movements appropriate to a dance of war, the other those appropriate to a dance of peace.
- ↑ The visitors would be the representatives of the lines of Hsiâ, Shun, and Yâo.
- ↑ Two of the seasonal sacrifices are thus specified, by synecdoche, for all the four.
pleasures, and delights; and on the third day he would have a complete image of him in his mind's eye. Then on the day of sacrifice, when he entered the temple, he would seem to see him in his shrine, and to hear him, as he went about in the discharge of the service. This line seems to indicate the realization of all this.
