The Cantos Project - LIII

LIII

Yeou taught men to break branches
Seu Gin set up the stage and taught barter,
taught the knotting of cords
Fou Hi taught men to grow barley
2837 ante Christum
and they know still where his tomb is
by the high cypress between the strong walls.
the FIVE grains, said Chin Nong, that are
wheat, rice, millet, gros blé and chick peas
and made a plough that is used five thousand years
Moved his court then to Kio-feou-hien
held market at mid-day
‘bring what we have not here’, wrote an herbal
Souan yen bagged fifteen tigers
made signs out of bird tracks
Hoang Ti contrived the making of bricks
and his wife started working the silk worms,
money was in days of Hoang Ti.
He measured the length of Syrinx
of the tubes to make tune for song
Twenty-six (that was) eleven ante Christum
had four wives and 25 males of his making
His tomb is today in Kiao-Chan
Ti Ko set his scholars to fitting words to their music
is buried in Tung Kieou
This was in the twenty fifth century a.c.
YAO like the sun and rain,
saw what star is at solstice
saw what star marks mid summer
YU, leader of waters,
black earth is fertile, wild silk still is from Shantung
Ammassi, to the provinces,
let his men pay tithes in kind.
‘Siu-tcheou province to pay in earth of five colours
Pheasant plumes from Yu-chan of mountains
Yu-chan to pay sycamores
of this wood are lutes made
Ringing stones from Se-choui river
and grass that is called Tsing-mo’ or μῶλυ,
Chun to the spirit Chang Ti, of heaven
moving the sun and stars
que vos vers expriment vos intentions,
et que la musique conforme
abundance.
Then an Empress fled with Chao Kang in her belly.
Fou-hi by virtue of wood;
Chin-nong, of fire; Hoang Ti ruled by the earth,
Chan by metal.
Tchuen was lord, as is water.
CHUN, govern
YU, cultivate,
The surface is not enough,
from Chang Ti nothing is hidden.
For years no waters came, no rain fell
for the Emperor Tching Tang
grain scarce, prices rising
so that in 1760 Tching Tang opened the copper mine (ante Christum)
made discs with square holes in their middles
and gave these to the people
wherewith they might buy grain
where there was grain
The silos were emptied
7 years of sterility
der im Baluba das Gewitter gemacht hat
Tching prayed on the mountain and
wrote MAKE IT NEW
on his bath tub
Day by day make it new
cut underbrush,
pile the logs
keep it growing.
Died Tching aged years an hundred,
in the 13th of his reign.
‘We are up, Hia is down.’
Immoderate love of women
Immoderate love of riches,
Cared for parades and huntin’.
Chang Ti above alone rules.
Tang not stinting of praise:
Consider their sweats, the people’s
If you wd/ sit calm on throne.
Hia! Hia is fallen
for offence to the spirits
For sweats of the people.
Not by your virtue
but by virtue of Tching Tang
Honour to YU, converter of waters
Honour Tching Tang
Honour to YIN
seek old men and new tools
After five hundred years came then Wen Wang
B.C. 1231
Uncle Ki said: Jewels!
You eat nothing but bears’ paws.
In marble tower of Lou Tai doors were of jasper
that palace was ten years in the making
Tan Ki, palace, lit by day with torches and lanthorns
Now Kieou’s daughter
was baked in an ox and served.
And they worked out the Y-king or changes
to guess from
In plain of Mou Ye, Cheou-sin came as a forest moving
Wu Wang entered the city
gave out grain till the treasures were empty
by the Nine vases of YU, demobilized army
sent horses to Hoa-chan
To the peach groves
Dated his year from the winter solstice.
Red was his dynasty.
Kids 8 to 15 in the schools, then higher training
mottoes writ all over walls
‘Use their ways and their music
Keep form of their charts and banners
Prepare soldiers in peace time
All is lost in the night clubs
that was gained under good rule.’
Wagon with small box wherein was a needle
that pointed to southward
and this was called the South Chariot.
Lo Yang in the middle Kingdom and its length
was 17200 feet. Saith Tcheou Kong: True sage seeks not repose.
Hope without work is crazy
Your forebear among the people
dressed as one of the people
Caring for needs of the people,
old when he came to the throne
Observing the solstice.
Died eleven o six ante Christum
are still bits of his writing
‘A good governor is as wind over grass
A good ruler keeps down taxes.’
Tching-ouang kept lynx eye on bureaucrats
lynx eye on the currency
weight of the tchu was one 24th of an ounce
or one hundred grains of millet
cloth bolt and silk bolt
to be two feet two inches by four tchang (one Tchang equals four feet)
reigned till 1079
and was peace for the rest of his reign.
Called for his hat shaped as a mortar board
set out the precious stones on his table
saying this is my will and my last will
Keep peace
Keep the peace, care for the people.
Ten lines, no more in his testament.
Chao Kong called the historians,
laid out white and violet damask
For the table of jewels, as when Tching-ouang received princes.
On the table of the throne of the West
laid out the charters
constitutions of antient kings and two sorts of stone
Hong-pi and Yuen-yen
And on the East table he put the pearls from Mt Hoa-chan
and pearls from the islands and the sphere of Chun
that showeth the places of heaven. And the dance robes of In
the old dynasty and the great drum that is 8 feet high
these he put in the place for music. The pikes, bows,
bamboo arrows and war gear he set to the East.
The mats of the first rank of rushes bordered with damask
of the second of bamboo and the third rank
of tree bark.
A gray fur cap for the crowning, and 20 ft halbards.
(Ten seven eight ante Christum)
‘Left in my Father’s orders, By the table of jewels
To administrate as in the law left us
Keep peace in the Empire
Ouen Ouang, and Wu Wang your fathers.’
Thus came Kang to be Emperor.
White horses with sorrel manes in the court yard.
‘I am pro-Tcheou’ said Confucius
‘I am’ said Confucius pro-Tcheou in politics’
Wen-wang and Wu-wang had sage men, strong as bears
Said young Kang-wang:
Help me to keep the peace!
Your ancestors have come one by one under our rule
for our rule.
Honour to Chao-Kong the surveyor.
Let his name last 3000 years
Gave each man land for his labour
not by plough-land alone
But for keeping of silk-worms
Reforested the mulberry groves
Set periodical markets
Exchange brought abundance, the prisons were empty.
‘Yao and Chun have returned’
sang the farmers
‘Peace and abundance bring virtue.’ I am
‘pro-Tcheou’ said Confucius five centuries later.
With his mind on this age.
In the 16th of Kang Ouang died Pé-kin
Prince of Lou, friend of peace, friend of the people
worthy son of Tcheou-kong
And in the 26th Kang Ouang, died Chao-Kong the tireless
on a journey he made for good of the state
and men never thereafter cut branches
of the pear-trees whereunder he had sat deeming justice
deeming the measures of lands.
And you will hear to this day the folk singing
Grow pear-boughs, be fearless
let no man break twig of this tree
that gave shade to Chao-Kong
he had shadow from sun here;
rest had he in your shade.
Died then Kang Wang in the 26th of his reign.
Moon shone in an haze of colours
Water boiled in the wells, and died Tchao-ouang
to joy of the people.
Tchao-ouang that hunted across the tilled fields
And MOU-OUANG said:
‘as a tiger against me,
a man of thin ice in thaw
aid me in the darkness of rule’
then fell into vanity
against council led out a myriad army and brought back
4 wolves and 4 deer
his folk remained mere barbarians.
Yet when neared an hundred
he wd/ have made reparation
Criminal law is from Chun,
from necessity only
In doubt, no condemnation, rule out irrelevant evidence.
Law of MOU is law of the just middle, the pivot.
Riches that come of court fines and of judges’ takings
these are no treasure
as is said in the book Lin hing of the Chu King.
And the governor’s daughters, three daughters,
came to the river King-Ho,
For ten months was the emperor silent
and in the twelfth month, he, KONG, burnt the town
and got over it
Song turned against Y-wang, great hail upon
Hiao wang
killing the cattle, Han-kiang was frozen over.
And in his time was the horse dealer Fei-tsei
industrious, of the fallen house of Pe-y
who became master of equerry, who became Prince of Tsin.
Li WANG avid of silver, to whom a memorial
‘A Prince who wd/ fulfill obligation, takes caution
à ce que l’argent circule
that cash move amongst the people.
‘Glory of HEOU-TSIE is clouded
Deathless his honour that saw his folk using their substance.
The end of your house is upon us.’
Youi-leang-fou, in memorial.
Said Chao-kong: Talk of the people
is like the hills and the streams
Thence comes our abundance.
To be Lord to the four seas of China
a man must let men make verses
he must let people play comedies
and historians write down the facts
he must let the poor speak evil of taxes.
Interregnum of Cong-ho. Siuen went against the west tartars
His praise lasts to this day: Siuen-ouang contra barbaros
legat belli ducem Chaoumoukong,
Hoailand, fed by Hoai river
dark millet, Tchang wine for the sacrifice.
Juxta fluvium Hoai acies ordinatur nec mora
Swift men as if flyers, like Yangtse
Strong as the Yangtse,
they stand rooted as mountains
they move as a torrent of waters
Emperor not rash in council: agit considerate
HAN founded the town of Yuei
and taught men to sow the five grains
In the 4th year of Siuen,
Sié was founded.
and there were four years of dry summer.
RITE is:
Nine days before the first moon of spring time,
that he fast. And with gold cup of wheat-wine
that he go afield to spring ploughing
that he plough one and three quarters furrows
and eat beef when this rite is finished,
so did not Siuen
that after famine, called back the people
where are reeds to weave, where are pine trees
Siuen established this people hac loca fluvius alluit
He heard the wild geese crying sorrow
Campestribus locis
here have we fixed our dwelling
after our sorrow,
our grandsons shall have our estate
The Lady Pao Sse brought earthquakes. TCHEOU falleth,
folly, folly, false fires no true alarm
Mount Ki-chan is broken.
Ki-chan is crumbled in the 10th moon of the 6th year of Yeou Ouang
Sun darkened, the rivers were frozen....
and at this time was Tçin rising, a marquis on the Tartar border
Empire down in the rise of princes
Tçin drave the tartar, lands of the emperor idle
Tcheou tombs fallen in ruin
from that year was no order
No man was under another
9 Tcheou wd/ not stand together
were not rods in a bundle
Sky dark, cloudless and starless
at midnight a rain of stars
Wars,
wars without interest
boredom of an hundred years’ wars.
And in Siang, the princes impatient
killed a bad king for a good one, and thus Ouen Kong
came to their rule in Sung land
and they said Siang had been killed when hunting
Ouen cherished the people.
States of Lou were unhappy
Their Richards poisoned young princes.
All bloods, murders, all treasons
Sons of the first wife of Ouen Kong.
Ling Kong loved to shoot from the hedges
you’d see him behind a wall with his arrows
For fun of winging pedestrians
this prince liked eating bears’ paws.
By the Nine Urns of Yu, King Kong
made an alliance at hearing the sound of Tcheou music
This was the year of the two eclipses
And Cheou-lang that held up the portcullis
was named ‘hillock’ because of a lump on his head
Man of Sung, and his line of Lou land
and his second son was Kung-fu-tseu
Taught and the not taught. Kung and Eleusis
to catechumen alone.
And when Kung was poor, a supervisor of victuals
Pien’s report boosted him
so that he was made supervisor of cattle
In that time were banquets as usual, Kung was inspector of markets
And that year was a comet in Scorpio
and by night they fought in the boats on Kiang river
And King Wang thought to vary the currency
μεταθεμένων τε τῶν χρωμένων
against council’s opinion,
and to gain by this wangling.
Honour to Fen-yang who resisted injustice
And King Kong said ‘That idea is good doctrine’
But I am too old to start using it.
Never were so many eclipses.
Then Kungfutseu was made minister and moved promptly against C. T. Mao
and had him beheaded
that was false and crafty of heart
a tough tongue that flowed with deceit
A man who remembered evil and was complacent in doing it.
LOU rose. Tsi sent girls to destroy it
Kungfutseu retired
At Tching someone said:
there is man with Yao’s forehead
Cao’s neck and the shoulders of Tsé Tchin
A man tall as Yu, and he wanders about in front of the East gate
like a dog that has lost his owner.
Wrong, said Confucius, in what he says of those Emperors
but as to the lost dog, quite correct.
He was seven days foodless in Tchin
the rest sick and Kung making music
‘sang even more than was usual’
Honour to Yng P the bastard
Tchin and Tsai cut off Kung in the desert
and Tcheou troops alone got him out
Tsao fell after 25 generations
And Kung cut 3000 odes to 300
Comet from Yng star to Sin star, that is two degrees long
in the 40th year of King Ouang
Died Kung aged 73
Min Kong’s line was six centuries lasting
and there were 84 princes
Swine think of extending borders
Decent rulers of internal order
Fan-li sought the five lakes
Took presents but made no highways
Snow fell in mid summer
Apricots were in December, Mountains defend no state
nor swift rivers neither, neither Tai-hia nor Hoang-ho
Usurpations, jealousies, taxes
Greed, murder, jealousies, taxes and douanes
338 died Hao tse Kong-sung-yang
Sou-tsin, armament racket, war propaganda.
and Tchan-y was working for Tsin
brain work POLLON IDEN
and Tchao Siang called himself ‘Emperor of the Occident’
Sou Tsi thought it badinage
Yo-Y reduced corvées and taxes.
Thus of Kung or Confucius, and of ‘Hillock’ his father
when he was attacking a city
his men had passed under the drop gate
And the warders then dropped it, so Hillock caught
the whole weight on his shoulder, and held till his
last man had got out.
Of such stock was Kungfutseu.

53 ideograms 4

b.c. 1053

b.c. 860

b.c. 479

Useful Links