7. 兔罝  T'oo tseu.

《兔罝》，后妃之化也。關雎之化行，則莫不好德，賢人衆多也。

肅肅兔罝、椓之丁丁。 赳赳武夫、公侯干城。

肅肅兔罝、施于中逵。 赳赳武夫、公侯好仇。

肅肅兔罝、施于中林。 赳赳武夫、公侯腹心。

Carefully adjusted are the rabbit nets; Clang clang go the blows on the pegs.  That stalwart, martial man Might be shield and wall to his prince.

Carefully adjusted are the rabbit nets, And placed where many ways meet.  That stalwart, martial man Would be a good companion for his prince.

Carefully adjusted are the rabbit nets, And placed in the midst of the forest.  That stalwart, martial man Might be head and heart to his prince.

Ode 7. Praise of a Rabbit Catcher, as fit to be a Prince's Mate.

Whether any particular individual was intended will be considered in the note on the interpretation. The generally accepted view is that the ode sets forth the influence of king Wăn (acc. to Choo), or of T'ae-sze (acc. to Maou), as so powerful and beneficial, that individuals in the lowest rank were made fit by it to occupy the highest positions.

St.1. L.1.罝 is defined in the Urh-ya as 'a rabbit-net;' to which Le Seun, the glossarist, (李巡; end of the Han dyn.), adds, that the rabbit makes paths underground for itself. Choo makes 肅肅 descriptive of the careful manner in which the nets were set; Maou, of the reverent demeanour of the trapper. It is difficult to choose between them. On Choo's view the piece is allusive; on Maou's narrative.

L.2. 丁 (read chăng) 丁 is intended to represent the sound of the blows(椓) on the pins or pegs (杙) used in setting the nets.

L.3. Both Maou and Choo give 赳赳 as = 'martial-like,' while the Shwoh-wăn defines the phrase by 輕輕有材力, 'light, vigorous, able, and strong.'

L.4. 公侯 = 'duke and marquis;' together, = prince. We are to understand king Wan by the designation. At the time to which the ode refers, he was not yet styled king, and, indeed, Choo takes the phrase as one proof that Wăn never assumed that title. Mao takes 干 = 扞, so that 干城 go together, = 'defender,' or 'wall of defence;' probably after Tso-she, in his narrative appended to the 12th year of duke Ching. 'Shield and wall,' however, are suitable enough in the connection.

St.2. L.2. 施 is read she, 'to place,' 'to set.' 中逵 and 中林 below, --like 中谷 in Ode II. 逵 = 九達之道, a place from which 9 ways proceed.' I have asked Wang T'aou and other scholars, whether such a thoroughfare was not an unlikely place to catch rabbits in, and got no satisfactory answer.

L.4.  仇=逑 in Ode I.

There is a difficulty as to the rhyming of 逵 and 仇. The latter is said to be here read, by poetical license, k'e. A better solution is to adopt the reading of 首 with 九 at the side, instead of 逵, for which there is some evidence.

St.3. L.4. 腹心 = 'confidant and guide;' lit. 'belly and heart.' We do not use 'belly,' as the Chinese do.

The rhymes are in st.1, 罝, 夫; 丁, 城; in 2, 罝, 夫; 逵*, 仇(this is a doubtful rhyme); in 3, 罝, 夫; 林, 心. The alternate line all ryhme,  which is 隔句韻.

Interpretation.

The ordinary view of this ode has been mentioned above. A special interpretation, however, which is worth referring to, has been put upon it. In the 2d of his chapters (尚賢, 上), Mih Teih says that 'king Wăn raised from their rabbit nets Hwang Yaou and T'ae T'een.' We find booth those names in the Shoo (V. xvi. 12) as ministers of Wan. Kin Le-ts'eang(金履祥; Yuen dyn.) and other scholars think, therefore, that his ode had reference to them. This view seems very likely.