* "The Book of Poetry", tr. by James Legge, [1876],
Vii
The "Nan Shan Yu T'ai;" allusive. A festal ode, where the ruler, as the host, celebrates the virtues of his ministers, who are the guests, and supplicates blessings on them.
1 The southern hills the "t'ai" plant show,
The northern yield the "lai".
Your presence here, my noble guests,
Fills me with rapture high.
'Tis on your strength that all my states depend;
Myriads of years be yours, years without end!
2 On southern hills are mulberry trees,
On northern willows grow.
Your presence here, my noble guests,
Makes my joy overflow.
Your virtue's rays through all my regions shine;
Myriads of years be yours in boundless line! p. 207