VI. Kung Liu

The Kung Liu; narrative. The story of Duke Liu:—how he made his first settlement in Pin, building there, laying out the ground, forming armies, arranging for a revenue, till even Pin became too small for all his people.

1Duke Liu we sing, with generous ardor fired,
Whose breast his people's good alone inspired,
In their old seat no longer could he rest;
Its narrow limits forced him from the west.
The produce of the many fields he reaps;
What can be spared, in store he safely keeps.
Here in the barn, there in the field, it lies;
His forethought then wrapper and sack supplies,
This hoard of grain and dried meat to contain,
When they should move, a glorious fame to gain.
Then ready further with his weapons all,
Bows, arrows, shields, spears, axes great and small,
His people to the march he forth did call.

2Duke Liu we sing, with generous ardor fired,
Whose breast his people's good alone inspired.
O’er all the plain he ranged with eager eye,
But could not space for thronging crowds descry. p. 372
In pity for the numbers thus confined,
He told to all the measure in his mind.
Loth to abandon their much-loved repose,
At first, but not for long, their murmurs rose.
Each lofty hilltop now the duke ascends;
Back to the plains he comes, and eastward bends
His course. Lo! at his girdle pendant seen,
The jade, and gems of yao, emit their sheen!
Sheathed in its glittering scabbard hangs the sword,
That safety from the foeman shall afford.

3Duke Liu we sing, with generous ardor fired,
Whose breast his people's good alone inspired.
To Pin now come, where gush the hundred springs,
His followers all about him there he brings.
Round him there lay the bright and ample plain;
He climbs a ridge, a wider view to gain.
Behold! a spacious table-land he spies,
Where his new settlement may well arise.
For multitudes large space could be assigned,
And immigrants still room for booths would find. p. 373
Here then he dwelt, and would his plans unfold;
Here counsel took, and heard what others told.

4Duke Liu we sing, with generous ardor fired,
Whose breast his people's good alone inspired.
When on the height his rest he thus had found,
His officers all stand in state around.
The mats are spread, with stools upon them set;
Both old and young, they here are joyous met.
From herd and pen the victims both are killed;
Dried gourds for cups are with the spirits filled.
So does the duke his friends and chieftains feast;
Him as their lord and ruler hails each guest.

5Duke Liu we sing, with generous ardor fired,
Whose breast his people's good alone inspired.
When now his bounds extended far and wide,
He marked the shadows, thereby to decide
The east and west, the north and south, all round.
He clomb the ridges, and, observing, found
What tracts were in the light, what in the shade. p. 374
The springs and streams he carefully surveyed.
Three armies of defense were made. Each plain
And marsh was measured; and to till the grain
An equal system framed: the farmers wrought,
And shared the produce, after they had brought
The fair proportion for himself he sought.
West of the hills the land he also tilled,
And grandly Pin with men and wealth was filled,

6Duke Liu we sing, with generous ardor fired,
Whose breast his people's good alone inspired.
At first rude homes their purpose served in Pin;
Erelong the Wei in boats he crossed, to win
Whetstones and iron. Dwellings now they rear,
And makeshift huts before them disappear.
The houses good, their boundaries well defined,
The people multiply, and fortune kind
Attends their course. The vale of Huang they fill
On either side. The Kuo vale then they till.
Still grow their numbers; through the Jui they go;
Tracts widely spread now Liu's dominion know.