ministers and people) and they were of one accord with me. The spirits signified their assent, and the tortoise-shell and divining stalks concurred. Divination, when fortunate, should not be repeated.'* Yü did obeisance with his head to the ground, and firmly declined (the place). The Tî said, 'You must not do so. It is you who can suitably (occupy my place).' On the first morning of the first month, (Yü) received the appointment in the temple (dedicated by Shun) to the spirits of his ancestors[1], and took the leading of all the officers, as had been done by the Tî at the commencement (of his government).*
3. The Tî said, 'Alas! O Yü, there is only the lord of Miâo[2] who refuses obedience; do you go and correct him.' Yü on this assembled all the princes, and made a speech to the host, saying, 'Ye multitudes here arrayed, listen all of you to my orders. Stupid is this lord of Miâo, ignorant, erring, and disrespectful. Despiteful and insolent to others, he thinks that all ability and virtue are with himself. A rebel to the right, he destroys (all the obligations of) virtue. Superior men are kept by him in obscurity, and mean men fill (all) the offices. The people reject him and will not protect him. Heaven
- ↑ Many contend that this was the ancestral temple of Yâo. But we learn from Confucius, in the seventeenth chapter of the Doctrine of the Mean, that Shun had established such a temple for his own ancestors, which must be that intended here.
- ↑ The lord of Miâo against whom Yü proceeded would not be the one whom Shun banished to San-wei, as related in the former Book, but some chieftain of the whole or a portion of the people, who had been left in their native seat. That Yâo, Shun, and Yü were all obliged to take active measures against the people of Miâo, shows the difficulty with which the Chinese sway was established over the country.
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