30 Pr e - q i n t i m e s
C 1. 1 2
Egrets in Flight 振鷺 (zhèn lù)A flock of egrets in flight 振鷺于飛 (zhèn lù yú fêi)
2 Over that western marsh. 于彼西雝 (yú bĭ xī yōng)
Our guests have arrived— 我客戾止 (wŏ kè lì zhĭ)
4 They also have this appearance. 亦有斯容 (yì yŏu sī róng)Among those (spirits), no distaste; 在彼無惡 (zài bĭ wú è)
6 Among these (who sacrifice), no fatigue. 在此無斁 (zài cĭ wú yì)
May they from dawn to dusk 庶幾夙夜 (shù jĭ sù yè)
8 Thereby make their (ancestors’) fame
everlasting. 以永終譽 (yĭ yŏng zhōng yù)
[MSZJ 19.7b–8a]The host is the Zhou king, who invites the descendants of the former dynasties
(Xia and Shang) to come to court and present sacrifices to their ancestors (and the
Zhou predecessors). It has been argued that egrets were selected for this meta-
phoric poem because the immediate predecessors of the Zhou, the Shang, honored
white above all colors. But egrets are elegant birds and are used metaphorically to
describe courtiers in “You bi” (The Robust Horse [Mao no. 298]) as well. The idea
of the flight of birds suggesting a comparison with human activities is a common
one in the Book of Poetry (for example, “Hong yan” [Wild Geese, Mao no. 181]). In
this sacrificial hymn, we can imagine perhaps two rows of supplicants: one of the
Xia line and the other of the Shang descendants, the rows suggesting the forma-
tion of the egrets in flight. After the scene has been set in the first stanza, the sec-
ond offers the hope that the supplicants will be diligent and the ancestral spirits
receptive. In this way, the song argues, both ancestral lines will become immortal.
The rhyme scheme (xaxa, bbbb) is striking and seems to suggest (in the second
stanza), in its repetitiveness, the solemnity of the moment, perhaps echoed by
bells or drums.
The final poem to be examined, “Mian” (Woven [Mao no. 237]), is one of the
series of pieces in the “Da ya” (Greater Elegantiae) that depicts the founding of the
Zhou dynasty, particularly the exploits of its first ruler, King Wen:C 1. 1 3
Woven 綿 (mián)Woven and unbroken are the gourds, large and small. 綿綿瓜瓞 (mián mián guā dié )
2 As the early life of our people. 民之初生 (mín zhī chū shēng)
From the Du to the Qi 自土沮漆 (zì tŭ cú qī)
4 Came the ancient honorable Dan Fu. 古公亶父 (gŭ gōng dăn fŭ)
He dug shelters, he dug caves— 陶復陶穴 (táo fù táo xué)
6 They still did not have houses and homes. 未有家室 (wèi yŏu jiā shì)