Sh i P oe t ry : musiC bur e au P oe m s 87This poem adopts the imperial “we,” speaking in the persona of an emperor.
Setting the calendar is certainly one of the most significant actions reserved exclu-
sively for the Son of Heaven, since an accurate calendar would have a great impact
on people’s lives in an agricultural society. Some commentators have interpreted
li shu in line 1 as a heavenly order by which a ruler replaces the previous ruler. In
other words, the emperor in the ritual wishes to inform his subjects that it is by
heaven’s mandate that he has ascended the throne. The emperor then states that he
has fasted and purified himself in order to hold sacrifices at the ancestral temple.
In this passage, he demonstrates filial piety toward his royal ancestors, thereby
conveying a moral message to his subjects. Through this ritual act of filial piety,
the ruler is capable of inspiring loyalty from all the subjects residing even in the
remotest areas. Despite the fact that it is unorthodox to adopt regional music for
such a solemn occasion, this set of hymns is composed in the Chu mode, stressing
Liu Bang’s devotion and feeling toward his native place and ancestry.
Another celebrated set of ritual hymns verifiably written in the Han are the
nineteen songs of the “Jiaosi ge” (Songs for the Suburban Sacrifices), preserved
in the “Monograph on Music and Rites” of the Han shu. It is recorded that Em-
peror Wu performed the suburban sacrifices in 133 b.C.e.; these sacrifices were an-
cient religious rites that reputedly had existed since the Western Zhou (1066–771
b.C.e.). According to the Han shu, at the time Emperor Wu established the sub-
urban sacrifices, he began to worship the Grand Unity at the Sweet Spring Palace
and, also at this time, established the Music Bureau.9 He ordered the bureau to
collect regional songs for night chanting and appointed Li Yannian (d. 87 b.C.e.)
as commandant of musical harmony to set the music. Li often presented songs
and rhapsodies composed by a number of writers, such as Sima Xiangru (179–117
b.C.e.). The great historian Sima Qian (145–86? b .C.e.) commented that the lyrics
of these songs were so difficult that scholars versed in only one classic could not
interpret them, and it took masters in all the five classics to discuss them together
in order to comprehend their general meaning. The content of this set of ritual
hymns covers contemporary beliefs as well as state cults. These poems sing of the
gods of the four directions and commemorate auspicious incidents or signs, such
as the discovery of the sacred tripods and magical unicorns and plants. “Behold,
the Grand Unity” is a poem dedicated to the highest celestial god of the Han:
We respectfully discipline ourselves and fast, 敕身齊戒 (chì shēn zhāi jiè)
4 Issue out our instructions cautiously. 施教申申 (shī jiào shēn shēn)
Thereby we establish the ancestral temple, 乃立祖廟 (năi lì zŭ miào)
6 To pay respect and glorify our honorable
ancestors. 敬明尊親 (jìng míng zūn qīn)
Grand is splendid filial piety! 大矣孝熙 (dà yĭ xiào xī)
8 Subjects from the four extremes all arrive
[to pay tribute]. 四極爰轃 (sì jí yuán zhēn)
[HS 22.1047]