November 16, 2004 - 1:31 p.m.

245.  Hou Ji, the Lord of Corn
He gave his people the beautiful grains : -- 
The black millet , and the double-kernelled ;
The tall red , and the white .
They planted extensively the black and the double-kernelled ,
Which were reaped and stacked on the ground .
They planted extensively the tall red and the white ,
Which were carried on their shoulders and backs ,
Home for the sacrifices which he founded .

And how as to our sacrifices [to him] ?
Some hull [the grain] ; some take it from the mortar ;
Some sift it ; some tread it .
It is rattling in the dishes ;
It is distilled , and the steam floats about .
We consult ; we observe the rites of purification ;
We take southernwood and offer it with the fat ;
We sacrifice a ram to the Spirit of the path ;
We offer roast flesh and broiled : -- 
And thus introduce the coming year .

We load the stands with the offerings ,
The stands both of wood and of earthenware .
As soon as the fragrance ascends ,
God , well pleased , smells the sweet savour .
Fragrant is it , and in its due season !
Hou-ji founded the sacrifice ,
And no one , we presume , has given occasion for blame or regret towards it,
Down to the present day .
...      .           . ...

i want to make a movie of The Book of Songs 
based in the Zhou Dynasty(around 800bc).
  
It'd be like 'Hero', except more mud and 
villages.  Banquets, sacrificing fish, retelling 
legends, politics, armies marching round the 
landscape.

I guess id have to bash it into the shape of one 
of those universal stories.  'war is 
hell' 'people are basically nasty' 'tragic 
love' 'people are basically nice' 'love conquers 
all' 'china should be one unified country'

I reckon i could do something on how ordinary 
people are deified as rulers. I cant have all 
the leaders being inept and all the peasants 
intelligent, that reads too much like anti 
bourgeois propaganda.  How about making everyone 
dumb; peasants, aristos.. the viewer? ooOo 
OOoOOOOoo.
Film by a westerner about a load of Chinese 
blundering about the countryside..? hmmm.  maybe 
not.  

Got to have a hero.  Young prince has an 
existentialist crisis, facing up to the uncaring 
world.  Unreasoning subservient peasants, 
reasoning peasants who want him dead.  All the 
legends and order are bullshit, the gods dont 
care if you sacrifice or not.  Staggers away, 
throws up in a stream.


..   .           .........
236.  Illustrious

The illustration of illustrious [virtue] is required below ,
And the dread majesty is on high .
Heaven is not readily to be relied on ;
It is not easy to be king .
Yin's rightful heir to the heavenly seat ,
Was not permitted to possess the kingdom .

Heaven surveyed this lower world ;
And its appointment lighted [on king Wen] .
In his early years ,
It made for him a mate ; -- 
On the north of the Qia ;
On the banks of the Wei .
When king Wen would wive ,
There was the lady in a large State .

In a large State was the lady ,
Like a fair denizen of Heaven .
The ceremonies determined the auspiciousness [of the union] .
And in person he met her on the Wei .
Over it he made a bridge of boats ; -- 
The glory [of the occasion] was illustrious .

The favouring appointment was from Heaven ,
Giving the throne to our king Wen ,
In the capital of Zhou .
The lady-successor was from Xin ,
Its eldest daughter , who came to marry him .
She was blessed to give birth to king Wu ,
Who was preserved , and helped , and received also the appointment ,
And in accordance with it smote the great Shang .

The troops of Yin-shang ,
Were collected like a forest ,
And marshalled in the wilderness of Mu .
We rose [to the crisis] ; -- 
'God is with you , ' [said Shang-fu to the king] ,
'Have no doubts in your heart . '

The wilderness of Mu spread out extensive ;
Bright shone the chariots of sandal ;
The teams of bays , black-maned and white-bellied , galloped along ;
The grand-master Shang-fu ,
Was like an eagle on the wing ,
Assisting king Wu ,
Who at one onset smote the great Shang .
That morning's encounter was followed by a clear bright [day] .

 
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