Reflections On Early History: Nine Chapters
Chapter (1)
读 史 述 九 章
二 子 让 国， 相 将 海 隅。
天 人 革 命， 绝 景 穷 居。
采 薇 高 歌， 慨 楒 黄 虞。
贞 风 凌 俗， 爰 感 懦 夫。
Du Shi Shu Jiu Zhang
(1)
Er zi rang guo, xiang jiang hai yu.
Tian ren ge ming, jue jing qiong ju.
Cai wei gao ge, kai si huang yu.
Zhen feng ling su, yuan gan nuo fu.
Chapter (1)
Two brothers, Bo Yi and Su Qu, neither wanted to rule
Supporting each other, travel to a corner of the ocean.
The country was turned upside down
Into hiding they went, to live in poverty.
Gather simple weeds, singing happily
Think deeply of emperors Huang and Yu.
Their honesty and high morality
Empowers those who may be faint-hearted.
Notes:
Brothers Bo Yi and Su Qu: Lived between the Shang and Zhou Dynasties (ca. 1046 BC). They have become metaphors for moral virtue, loyalty and idealism. They gave up fame and fortune to die of starvation in the western mountains. No wonder Tao idolized them.
Emperors Huang and Yu: Huang (2711-2598 BC) is credited with establishing centralized governance, Chinese culture and is the ancestor of all Chinese people. Huangdi is the name for “emperor”. Emperor Yu (the Great) (ca. 2123-2025 BC) is famous for being the controller of floods and for the origin of the Xia Dynasty (ca. 2070-ca. 1600 BC).