Chinese and Arabian Literature - E. Wilson - The Search For Mecca

laS
THE SHI-KING
—
Lamenting the Absence of a Cherished Friend
Though small my basket, all my toil
Filled it with mouse-ears but in part.
I set it on the path, and sighed
For the dear master of my heart.
My steeds, o'er-tasked, their progress stayed.
When midway up that rocky height.
Give me a cup from that gilt vase
When shall this longing end in sight?
To mount that lofty ridge I drove,
Until my steeds all changed their hue.
!A. cup from that rhinoceros's horn
May help my longing to subdue.
Striving to reach that fiat-topped hill,
My steeds, worn out, relaxed their strain;
My driver also sank oppressed:
I'll never see my lord again
Celebrating the Goodness of the Descendants of King Wan
!l\s the feet of the lin, which avoid each living thing.
So our prince's noble sons no harm to men will bring.
They are the lin!
As the front of the lin, never forward thrust in wrath,
So our prince's noble grandsons of love tread the path.
They are the lin!
'As the horn of the lin, flesh-tipped, no wound to give,
So our prince's noble kindred kindly with all live.
They are the lin!
[Note.—The " lin " is the female of " K'e "— a fabulous animal
the symbol of all goodness and benevolence; having the body of a
deer, the tail of an ox, the hoofs of a horse, one horn, the scales of a
fish, etc. Its feet do not tread on any living thing—not even on live
grass; it does not butt with its forehead; and the end of its horn is
covered with flesh—to show that, while able for war, it wills to have
peace. The " lin " was supposed to appear inaugurating a golden age,
but the poet finds a better auspice of that in the character of Wan's
family and kindred.]
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