King Yu’s Misgovernment. From the She-Ching. Upton Sinclair, ed. 1915. The Cry for Justice

Upton Sinclair, ed. (1878–1968).
The Cry for Justice: An Anthology of the Literature of Social Protest. 1915.

King Yu’s Misgovernment

From the She-Ching

(Chinese classic, B.C. 1000)


A FISH in some translucent lake
Must ever live to fear a prey
He cannot hide himself away
From those who come the fish to take.
I, too, may not escape the eyes	5
Of those who cause these miseries;
My sorrowing heart must grieve to know
My country’s deep distress and woe.