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Shi Jing Introduction Table des matières – Le Canon des Poèmes

Le plus ancien recueil connu de poésie chinoise, plus de trois cents chansons, odes et hymnes. Tr. Legge (en) et Granet (fr, incomplète).

Section IV — Odes of the temple and the Altar
1 2 3 4 5
Chapitre 4 — Praise-songs of Lu

297 298 299 300

Shijing IV. 4. (297)

Fat and large are the stallions,
On the plains of the far-distant borders.
Of those stallions, fat and large,
Some are black and white-breeched ; some light yellow ;
Some, pure black ; some, bay ;
[All], splendid carriage horses.
His thoughts are without limit ; –
He thinks of his horses, and they are thus good.

Fat and large are the stallions,
On the plains of the far-distant borders.
Of those stallions, fat and large,
Some are piebald, green and white ; others, yellow and white ;
Some, yellowish red ; some, dapple grey ;
[All], strong carriage horses.
His thoughts are without end ; –
He thinks of his horses, and they are thus strong.

Fat and large are the stallions,
On the plains of the far-distant borders.
Of those stallions, fat and large,
Some are flecked as with scales ; some, white and black-maned ;
Some, red and black-maned ; some, black and white-maned ;
[All], docile in the carriage,
His thoughts never weary ; –
He thinks of his horses, and such they become.

Fat and large are the stallions,
On the plains of the far-distant borders.
Of those stallions, fat and large,
Some are cream-coloured ; some, red and white ;
Some, with white hairy legs ; some, with fishes' eyes ;
[All], stout carriage horses.
His thoughts are without depravity ; – ;
He thinks of his horses, and thus serviceable are they.

Legge 297

[Xref] Lunyu II. 2. quotes Shijing IV. 4. (297)
gbog – Lunyu 18 – 02/12/2005

Shijing IV. 4. (298)

Fat and strong, fat and strong,
Fat and strong, are the chestnut teams.
Early and late are the [officers] in the court,
In the court, discriminating and intelligent.
[They are as] a flock of egrets on the wing,
Of egrets anon lighting on the ground.
The drums emit their deep sound ;
They drink to the full and then dance ; –
Thus rejoicing together.

Fat and strong, fat and strong,
Fat and strong are the teams of stallions.
Early and late are the [officers] with the prince,
With the prince drinking.
[They are as] a flock of egrets on the wing,
Of egrets flying about.
The drums emit their deep sound ;
They drink to the full and then return home ; –
Thus rejoicing together.

Fat and strong, fat and strong,
Fat and strong are the teams of iron-greys.
Early and late are the [officers] with the prince,
With the prince feasting.
'From this time forth,
May the years be abundant.
May our prince maintain his goodness,
And transmit it to his descendants ! ' –
Thus they rejoice together.

Legge 298

Shijing IV. 4. (299)

Pleasant is the semi-circular water,
And we will gather the cress about it.
The marquis of Lu is coming to it,
And we see his dragon-figured banner.
His banner waves in the wind,
And the bells of his horses tinkle harmoniously.
Small and great,
All follow the prince in his progress to it.

Pleasant is the semi-circular water,
And we will gather the pondweed in it.
The marquis of Lu has come to it,
With his horses looking so grand.
His horses are grand.
His fame is brilliant.
Blandly he looks and smiles ;
Without any impatience he delivers his instructions.

Pleasant is the semi-circular water,
And we will gather the mallows about it.
The marquis of Lu has come to it,
And in the college he is drinking.
He is drinking the good spirits ;
And may there be given him the old age that is seldom enjoyed !
May he accord with the grand ways,
So subduing to himself all the people !

Very admirable is the marquis of Lu,
Reverently displaying his virtue,
And reverently watching over his deportment,
The pattern of the people.
With great qualities truly civil and martial,
Brilliantly he affects his meritorious ancestors.
In everything entirely filial,
He seeks the blessing for himself.

Very intelligent is the marquis of Lu,
Making his virtue illustrious.
He has made this college with its semicircle of water,
And the tribes of the Huai will submit in consequence.
His martial-looking, tiger leaders,
Will here present the left ears [of their foes].
His examiners, wise as Gao-tao,
Will here present their prisoners.

His numerous officers,
Men who have enlarged their virtuous minds,
With martial energy conducting their expedition,
Will drive far away those tribes of the east and south.
Vigorous and grand,
Without noise or display,
Without having appealed to the judges,
They will here present [the proofs of] their merit.

How they draw their bows adorned with bone !
How their arrows whizz forth !
Their war chariots are very large !
Their footmen and charioteers never weary !
They have subdued the tribes of the Huai,
And brought them to an unrebellious submission !
Only lay your plans securely,
And all the tribes of the Huai will be got !

They come flying on the wing, those owls,
And settle on the trees about the college ;
They eat the fruit of our mulberry trees,
And salute us with fine notes.
So awakened shall be those tribes of the Huai ;
They will come presenting their precious things,
Their large tortoises and their elephants' teeth,
And great contributions of the southern metals.

Legge 299

Shijing IV. 4. (300)

How pure and still are the solemn temples,
In their strong solidity and minute completeness !
Highly distinguished was Jiang Yuan,
Of virtue undeflected.
God regarded her with favour ;
And without injury or hurt,
Immediately, when her months were fulfilled,
She gave birth to Hou-ji.
On him were conferred all blessings, –
[To know] how the millet ripened early, and the sacrificial millet late,
How first to sow pulse, and then wheat.
Anon he was invested with an inferior State,
And taught the people how to sow and to reap,
The millet and the sacrificial millet,
Rice and the black millet ;
Ere long all over the whole country ; –
[Thus] continuing the work of Yu.

Among the descendants of Hou-ji,
There was king Da,
Dwelling on the south of [mount] Qi,
Where the clipping of Shang began.
In process of time Wen and Wu,
Continued the work of king Da,
And [the purpose of] Heaven was carried out in its time,
In the plain of Mu.
'Have no doubts, no anxieties, ' [it was said] ;
'God is with you. '
[Wu] disposed of the troops of Shang ;
He and his men shared equally in the achievement.
[Then] king [Qing] said, ' My uncle,
I will set up your eldest son,
And make him marquis of Lu.
I will greatly enlarge your territory there,
To be a help and support to the House of Zhou. '

Accordingly he appointed [our first] duke of Lu,
And make him marquis in the east,
Giving him the hills and rivers,
The lands and fields, and the attached States.
The [present] descendant of the duke of Zhou,
The son of duke Zhuang,
With dragon-emblazoned banner attends the sacrifices,
His six reins soft and pliant.
In spring and autumn he does not neglect [the sacrifices] ;
His offerings are all without error.
To the great and sovereign God,
And to his great ancestor Hou-ji,
He offers the victims, red and pure.
Then enjoy, they approve,
And bestow blessings in large number.
The duke of Zhou, and [your other] great ancestors,
Also bless you.

In autumn comes the sacrifices of the season,
But in summer the bulls for it have had their horns capped.
They are the white bull and the red one ;
[There are] the bull-figured goblet in its dignity ;
Roast pig, minced meat, and soups ;
The dishes of bamboo and wood, and the large stand ;
And the dancers all-complete.
The filial descendant will be blessed.
[Your ancestors]will make you gloriously prosperous !
They will make you long-lived and good, –
To preserve this eastern region,
Long possessing the State of Lu,
Unwaning, unfallen,
Unshaken, undisturbed !
They will make your friendship with your three aged [ministers],
Like the hills, like the mountains !

Our prince's chariots are a thousand,
[And in each] are the vermilion tassels and the green bands of the two spears and two bows.
His footmen are thirty thousand,
With shells no vermillion-strings adorning their helmets.
So numerous are his ardent followers,
To deal with the tribes of the west and north,
And to punish [those of] King and Shu,
So that none of them will dare to withstand us.
May [the Spirits] make you grandly prosperous !
May they make you long-lived and wealthy !
May the hoary hair and wrinkled back,
Marking the aged men, be always in your employment !
May they make you prosperous and great !
May they grant you old age, ever vigorous,
For myriads and thousands of years,
With the eyebrows of longevity, and ever unharmed !

The mountain of Da is lofty,
Looked up to by the State of Lu.
We grandly possess also Gui and Mong ;
And we shall extend to the limits of the east,
Even the States along the sea.
The tribes of the Huai will seek our alliance ; –
All will proffer their allegiance : –
Such shall be the achievements of the marquis of Lu.

He shall maintain the possession of Hu and Yi,
And extend his sway to the regions of Xu,
Even to the States along the sea.
The tribes of the Huai, the Man, and the Mi,
And those tribes [still more] to the south,
All will proffer their allegiance : –
Not one will dare not to answer to his call,
Thus showing their obedience to the marquis of Lu.

Heaven will give great blessing to our prince,
So that with the eyebrows of longevity he shall maintain Lu.
He shall possess Chang and Xu,
And recover all the territory of the duke of Zhou.
Then shall the marquis of Lu feast and be glad,
With his admirable wife and aged mother ;
With his excellent ministers and all his [other] officers.
Our region and State shall be hold,
Thus receiving many blessings,
To hoary hair, with a child's teeth.

The pines of Cu-lei,
And the cypresses of Xin-fu,
Were cut down and measured,
With the cubit line and the eight cubits line.
The projecting beams of pine were large ;
The large inner apartments rose vast.
Splendid look the new temples,
The work of Xi-si,
Very wide and large,
Answering to the expectations of all the people.

Legge 300

Paysage chinois sur plateau (98)

Le Canon des Poèmes – Shi Jing IV. 4. – Chinois off/on – Français/English
Alias Shijing, Shi Jing, Book of Odes, Book of Songs, Classic of Odes, Classic of Poetry, Livre des Odes, Canon des Poèmes.

Le Canon des Poèmes, Les Entretiens, La Grande Étude, Le Juste Milieu, Les Trois Caractères, Le Livre des Mutations, De la Voie et la Vertu, 300 poèmes Tang, L'Art de la guerre, Trente-six stratagèmes
Bienvenue, aide, notes, introduction, table.
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