予畏上帝 I fear the High God
不敢不正 [and thus] must rectify the world (lit. “not dare not rectify”).
今夏多罪 Currently the State of Xia has many sins;
天命殛之 Heaven’s will is that it be destroyed.
— Tang, 15th King of the State of Shang (c. 1500 BC) and conquerer of Xia, according to Sima Qian’s Records of the Grand Historian (c. 100 BC)
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