Sacred Books of the East/Volume 3/The Shih/Odes of the Temple and the Altar/The Sacrificial Odes of Kâu/Decade 2/Ode 10

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Sacred Books of the East, Vol. III, The Shih King
translated by James Legge

Odes of the Temple and the Altar, The Sacrificial Odes of Kâu, Decade ii, Ode 10: The Wû

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Wǔ (武) is taken from the first line, being the posthumous name of King Wu of Zhou.

3742673Sacred Books of the East, Vol. III, The Shih King — Odes of the Temple and the Altar, The Sacrificial Odes of Kâu, Decade ii, Ode 10: The WûJames Legge

Ode 10. The Wû.

Sung in the ancestral temple to the music regulating the dance in honour of the achievements of king Wû.

This account of the piece, given in the Preface, is variously corroborated, and has not been called in question by any critic. Perhaps this brief ode was sung as a prelude to the dance, or it may be that the seven lines are only a fragment. This, indeed, is most likely, as we have several odes in the next decade, all said to have been used at the same occasion.

Oh! great wast thou, O king Wû,
Displaying the utmost strength in thy work.
Truly accomplished was king Wăn,
Opening the path for his successors.
Thou didst receive the inheritance from him.
Thou didst vanquish Yin, and put a stop to its cruelties;—
Effecting the firm establishment of thy merit.