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.