Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 3.djvu/299



king to whom this charge is ascribed was Phing ( 770–719). Between him and Mû there was thus a period of fully two centuries, of which no documents are, or ever were, in the collection of the Shû. The time was occupied by seven reigns, the last of which was that of Nieh, known as king Yü, a worthless ruler, and besotted in his attachment to a female favourite, called Pâo-sze. For her sake he degraded his queen, and sent their son, Î-khiû, to the court of the lord of Shăn, her father, 'to learn good manners.' The lord of Shăn called in the assistance of some barbarian tribes, by which the capital was sacked, and the king slain; and with him ended the sway of 'the Western Kâo.' Several of the feudal princes went to the assistance of the royal House, drove away the barbarians, brought back Î-khiû from Shăn, and hailed him as king. He is known as king Phing, 'the Tranquillizer.' His first measure was to transfer the capital from the ruins of Hâo to Lo, thus fulfilling at length, but under disastrous circumstances, the wishes of the duke of Kâu; and from this time ( 770) dates the history of 'the Eastern Kâu.'

Among king Phing's early measures was the rewarding the feudal lords to whom he owed his throne. The marquis of Kin was one of them. His name was Khiû, and that of Î-ho, by which he is called in the text, is taken as his 'style,' or designation assumed by him on his marriage. Wăn, 'the Accomplished,' was his sacrificial title. The lords of Kin were descended from king Wû's son, Yü, who was appointed marquis of Thang, corresponding to the present department of Thâi-yüan, in Shan-hsî. The name of Thang was afterwards changed into Kin. The state became in course of time one of the largest and most powerful in the kingdom.

The charge in this Book is understood to be in connexion with Wăn's appointment to be president or chief of several of the other princes. The king begins by celebrating the virtues and happy times of kings Wăn and Wû, and the services rendered by the worthy ministers of subsequent reigns. He contrasts with this the misery and distraction of his own times, deploring his want of wise counsellors and helpers, and praising the