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Three-Character Classic st.43-46, attrib. Wang Yinglin
Tuesday, 2 May 2023 07:3743.
It starts with Fuxi, Shennong,
Then Yellow Emperor:
We call these the Three Sovereigns
Who lived in the first era.
自羲农
至黄帝
号三皇
居上世
44.
Yao Tang had Shun Yu:
These are Two Emperors
Who abdicated in turn—
Theirs was a golden age.
唐有虞
号二帝
相揖逊
称盛世
45.
Xia Dynasty had Yu—
Shang Dynasty had Tang—
Zhou Dynasty, King Wen—
These are the Three Kings.
夏有禹
商有汤
周文王
称三王
46.
Xia rule went father to son—
A family ran the realm
For four centuries,
Till altars left the Xia.
夏传子
家天下
四百载
迁夏社
• 43: The Three Sovereigns were China’s mythical founding rulers, all deities. • 44: These are the last two of the Five Emperors, who were China’s legendary founding rulers. (The first three were succeeded by heirs from their bloodline instead of a handpicked man of talent, and so are less admirable. Shun Yu’s successor founded, in turn, the Xia Dynasty.) • 45: Yu, Tang, and Wen were the supposed founders of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, respectively. With the last, we reach recorded history, provisionally dated as starting c.1046 BCE (the records are fuzzy). (Reminder: Xia is a single syllable, pronounced /shya/.) • 46: Saying that the imperial sacrifices passed to others is saying that Xia rulers lost the imperium.
---L.
It starts with Fuxi, Shennong,
Then Yellow Emperor:
We call these the Three Sovereigns
Who lived in the first era.
自羲农
至黄帝
号三皇
居上世
44.
Yao Tang had Shun Yu:
These are Two Emperors
Who abdicated in turn—
Theirs was a golden age.
唐有虞
号二帝
相揖逊
称盛世
45.
Xia Dynasty had Yu—
Shang Dynasty had Tang—
Zhou Dynasty, King Wen—
These are the Three Kings.
夏有禹
商有汤
周文王
称三王
46.
Xia rule went father to son—
A family ran the realm
For four centuries,
Till altars left the Xia.
夏传子
家天下
四百载
迁夏社
• 43: The Three Sovereigns were China’s mythical founding rulers, all deities. • 44: These are the last two of the Five Emperors, who were China’s legendary founding rulers. (The first three were succeeded by heirs from their bloodline instead of a handpicked man of talent, and so are less admirable. Shun Yu’s successor founded, in turn, the Xia Dynasty.) • 45: Yu, Tang, and Wen were the supposed founders of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, respectively. With the last, we reach recorded history, provisionally dated as starting c.1046 BCE (the records are fuzzy). (Reminder: Xia is a single syllable, pronounced /shya/.) • 46: Saying that the imperial sacrifices passed to others is saying that Xia rulers lost the imperium.
---L.