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Shang Shu - Day of the Supplementary Sacrifice to Gao Zong #1

2021-08-24 11:41:21Translation by Nivison
Posted by: the_duke (Ofer Waldman)	In "The Nivison annals" (Presented under CC BY-NC-ND license, See https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/27403/9781501505393.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y), David Nivison translates thus (quoting from pages 23-24): On the day of the Rong sacrifice to Gao Zong (Wu Ding), there appeared a crowing pheasant. Zu Ji said, 「What has happened is that the [King』s] predecessor has come to the King, to correct his actions.」 So he then lectured to the King, saying, 「When Heaven inspects the people below, attending to their conduct, it sends down years of life either long or not long; it is not that Heaven causes people to die early; the people cut off their allotted lives midway. [It』s just that] when people have unsatisfactory virtue, and won』t acknowledge their fault, Heaven then manifests its will [in omens], to correct their [bad] virtue; but they then say, 「What concern is this to us?」 Oh! Your Majesty, in having the responsibility of caring reverently for the people, is in every respect acting as the vicar of Heaven; in managing the sacrifices, do not be lavish toward those who are close to you.

2021-08-24 11:41:21Translation by Nivison

Posted by: the_duke (Ofer Waldman)

In "The Nivison annals" (Presented under CC BY-NC-ND license, See
https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/27403/9781501505393.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y), David Nivison translates thus (quoting from pages 23-24):

On the day of the Rong sacrifice to Gao Zong (Wu Ding), there appeared a
crowing pheasant. Zu Ji said, 「What has happened is that the [King』s] predecessor has come to the King, to correct his actions.」 So he then lectured to the King, saying, 「When Heaven inspects the people below, attending to their conduct, it sends down years of life either long or not long; it is not that Heaven causes people to die early; the people cut off their allotted lives midway. [It』s just that] when people have unsatisfactory virtue, and won』t
acknowledge their fault, Heaven then manifests its will [in omens], to correct their [bad] virtue; but they then say, 「What concern is this to us?」 Oh! Your Majesty, in having the responsibility of caring reverently for the
people, is in every respect acting as the vicar of Heaven; in managing the
sacrifices, do not be lavish toward those who are close to you.

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