{"collection":"philosophy-ethics","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_10056/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_10056","id":"gutenberg_10056","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10056","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches","Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Poetry","China -- Literary collections","Chinese literature","Chinese literature -- Translations into English"],"text":"CHINESE LITERATURE\n\n\n\nCOMPRISING\n\nTHE ANALECTS OF CONFUCIUS,\nTHE SAYINGS OF MENCIUS,\nTHE SHI-KING,\nTHE TRAVELS OF F\u00c2-HIEN, AND\nTHE SORROWS OF HAN\n\n\nWITH CRITICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES BY\n\nEPIPHANIUS WILSON, A.M.\n\n\nREVISED EDITION\n\n1900\n\n\n\n\nTHE ANALECTS OF CONFUCIUS\n\nIntroduction\n\nBOOK\n\nI.     On Learning--Miscellaneous Sayings\nII.    Good Government--Filial Piety--The Superior Man\nIII.   Abuse of Proprieties in Ceremonial and Music\nIV.    Social Virtue--Superior and Inferior Man\nV.     A Disciple and the Golden Rule--Miscellaneous\nVI.    More Characteristics--Wisdom--Philanthropy\nVII.   Characteristics of Confucius--An Incident\nVIII.  Sayings of Tsang--Sentences of the Master\nIX.    His Favorite Disciple's Opinion of Him\nX.     Confucius in Private and Official Life\nXI.    Comparative Worth of His Disciples\nXII.   The Master's Answers--Philanthropy--Friendships\nXIII.  Answers on the Art of Governing--Consistency\nXIV.   Good and Bad Government--Miscellaneous Sayings\nXV.    Practical Wisdom--Reciprocity the Rule of Life\nXVI.   Against Intestine Strife--Good and Bad Friendships\nXVII.  The Master Induced to Take Office--Nature and Habit\nXVIII. Good Men in Seclusion--Duke of Chow to His Son\nXIX.   Teachings of Various Chief Disciples\nXX.    Extracts from the Book of History\n\n\n\nTHE SAYINGS OF MENCIUS\n\nIntroduction\n\nBook I. King Hwuy of L\u00ebang.--\n   Part I\n\n[_Books II., III., and IV. are omitted_]\n\nBook V. Wan Chang.--\n   Part I\n\n\n\nTHE SHI-KING\n\nIntroduction\n\n_Part I.--Lessons from the States_.\n\nBOOK I.--THE ODES OF CHOW AND THE SOUTH.--\n  Celebrating the Virtue of King Wan's Bride\n  Celebrating the Industry of King Wan's Queen\n  In Praise of a Bride\n  Celebrating T'ae-Sze's Freedom from Jealousy\n  The Fruitfulness of the Locust\n  Lamenting the Absence of a Cherished Friend\n  Celebrating the Goodness of the Descendants of King Wan\n  The Virtuous Manners of the Young Women\n  Praise of a Rabbit-Catcher\n  The Song of the Plantain-Gatherers\n  The Affection of the Wives on the Joo\n\nBOOK II.--THE ODES OF SHAOU AND THE SOUTH.--\n  The Marriage of a Princess\n  The Industry and Reverence of a Prince's Wife\n  The Wife of Some Great Officer Bewails his Absence\n  The Diligence of the Young Wife of an Officer\n  The Love of the People for the Duke of Shaou\n  The Easy Dignity of the Officers at Some Court\n  Anxiety of a Young Lady to Get Married\n\nBOOK III.--THE ODES OF P'EI.--\n  An Officer Bewails the Neglect with which He is Treated\n  A Wife Deplores the Absence of Her Husband\n  The Plaint of a Rejected Wife\n  Soldiers of Wei Bewail Separation from their Families\n  An Officer Tells of His Mean Employment\n  An Officer Sets Forth His Hard Lot\n  The Complaint of a Neglected Wife\n  In Praise of a Maiden\n  Discontent\n  Chwang Keang Bemoans Her Husband's Cruelty\n\n[_Books IV., V., and VI. are omitted_]\n\nBOOK VII.--THE ODES OF CH'ING.---\n  The People's Admiration for Duke Woo\n  A Wife Consoled by Her Husband's Arrival\n  In Praise of Some Lady\n  A Man's Praise of His Wife\n  An Entreaty\n  A Woman Scorning Her Lover\n  A Lady Mourns the Absence of Her Student Lover---\n\nBOOK VIII.--THE ODES OF TS'E.--\n  A Wife Urging Her Husband to Action\n  The Folly of Useless Effort\n  The Prince of Loo\n\nBOOK IX.--THE ODES OF WEI.--\n  On the Misgovernment of the State\n  The Mean Husband\n  A Young Soldier on Service\n\nBOOK X.--THE ODES OF T'ANG.--\n  The King Goes to War\n  Lament of a Bereaved Person\n  The Drawbacks of Poverty\n  A Wife Mourns for Her Husband\n\nBOOK XI.--THE ODES OF TS'IN.--\n  Celebrating the Opulence of the Lords of Ts'in\n  A Complaint\n  A Wife's Grief Because of Her Husband's Absence\n  Lament for Three Brothers\n  In Praise of a Ruler of Ts'in\n  The Generous Nephew\n\nBOOK XII.--THE ODES OF CH'IN.--\n  The Contentment of a Poor Recluse\n  The Disappointed Lover\n  A Love-Song\n  The Lament of a Lover\n\nBOOK XIII.--THE ODES OF KWEI--\n  The Wish of an Unhappy Man\n\nBOOK XIV.--THE ODES OF TS'AOU.--\n  Against Frivolous Pursuits\n\nBOOK XV.--THE ODES OF PIN.--\n  The Duke of Chow Tells of His Soldiers\n  There is a Proper Way for Doing Everything\n\n\n_Part II.--Minor Odes of the Kingdom_.\n\nBOOK I.--DECADE OF LUH MING.--\n  A Festal Ode\n  A Festal Ode Complimenting an Officer\n  The Value of Friendship\n  The Response to a Festal Ode\n  An Ode of Congratulation\n  An Ode on the Return of the Troops\n\nBOOK II.--THE DECADE OF PIH HWA.--\n  An Ode Appropriate to a Festivity\n\nBOOK III.--THE DECADE OF T'UNG KUNG.--\n  Celebrating a Hunting Expedition\n  The King's Anxiety for His Morning Levee\n  Moral Lessons from Natural Facts\n\nBOOK IV.--THE DECADE OF K'E-FOO.--\n  On the Completion of a Royal Palace\n  The Condition of King Seuen's Flocks\n\nBOOK V.--THE DECADE OF SEAOU MIN.--\n  A Eunuch Complains of His Fate\n  An Officer Deplores the Misery of the Time\n  On the Alienation of a Friend\n\nBOOK VI.--THE DECADE OF PIH SHAN.--\n  A Picture of Husbandry\n  The Complaint of an Officer\n\nBOOK VII.--DECADE OF SANG HOO.--\n  The Rejoicings of a Bridegroom\n  Against Listening to Slanderers\n\nBOOK VIII.--THE DECADE OF TOO JIN SZE.--\n  In Praise of By-gone Simplicity\n  A Wife Bemoans Her Husband's Absence\n  The Earl of Shaou's Work\n  The Plaint of King Yew's Forsaken Wife\n  Hospitality\n  On the Misery of Soldiers\n\n\n_Part III.--Greater Odes of the Kingdom_.\n\nBOOK I.--DECADE OF KING WAN.--\n  Celebrating King Wan\n\n[_Book II. is omitted_]\n\nBOOK III.--DECADE OF TANG.--\n  King Seuen on the Occasion of a Great Drought\n\n\n_Part IV.--Odes of the Temple and Altar_.\n\nBOOK I.--SACRIFICIAL ODES OF CHOW.--\n  Appropriate to a Sacrifice to King Wan\n  On Sacrificing to the Kings Woo, Ching, and K'ang\n\nTHE TRAVELS OF F\u00c2-HIEN\nTranslator's Introduction\nCHAPTER\nI.       From Ch'ang-gan to the Sandy Desert\nII.      On to Shen-shen and thence to Khoten\nIII.     Khoten--Processions of Images\nIV.      Through the Ts'ung Mountains to K'eech-ch'a\nV.       Great Quinquennial Assembly of Monks\nVI.      North India--Image of Maitreya Bodhisattva\nVII.     The Perilous Crossing of the Indus\nVIII.    Woo-chang, or Udyana--Traces of Buddha\nIX.      Soo ho-to--Legends of Buddha\nX.       Gandhara--Legends of Buddha\nXI.      Takshasila--Legends--The Four Great Topes\nXII.     Buddha's Alms-bowl--Death of Hwuy-king\nXIII.    Festival of Buddha's Skull-bone\nXIV.     Crossing the Indus to the East\nXV.      Sympathy of Monks with the Pilgrims\nXVI.     Condition and Customs of Central India\nXVII.    Legend of the Trayastrimsas Heaven\nXVIII.   Buddha's Subjects of Discourse\nXIX.     Legend of Buddha's Danta-kashtha\nXX.      The Jetavana Vihara--Legends of Buddha\nXXI.     The Three Predecessors of Sakyamuni\nXXII.    Legends of Buddha's Birth\nXXIII.   Legends of Rama and its Tope\nXXIV.    Where Buddha Renounced the World\nXXV.     The Kingdom of Vaisali\nXXVI.    Remarkable Death of \u00c2nanda\nXXVII.   King Asoka's Spirit-built Palace and Halls\nXXVIII.  Rajagriha, New and Old--Legends Connected with It\nXXIX.    F\u00e2-Hien Passes a Night on Gridhra-kuta Hill\nXXX.     Srataparna Cave, or Cave of the First Council\nXXXI.    Sakyamuni's Attaining to the Buddhaship\nXXXII.   Legend of King Asoka in a Former Birth\nXXXIII.  Kasyapa Buddha's Skeleton on Mount Gurupada\nXXXIV.   On the Way Returning to Patna\nXXXV.    Dakshina, and the Pigeon Monastery\nXXXVI.   F\u00e2-Hien's Indian Studies\nXXXVII.  F\u00e2-Hien's Stay in Champa and Tamalipti\nXXXVIII. At Ceylon--Feats of Buddha--His Statue in Jade\nXXXIX.   Cremation of an Arhat--Sermon of a Devotee\nXL.      After Two Years F\u00e2-Hien Takes Ship for China\n\nConclusion\n\n\nTHE SORROWS OF HAN\n\nIntroduction\nTranslator's Preface\nDramatis Personae\nPrologue\nAct First\nAct Second\nAct Third\nAct Fourth\n\n\n\n\nTHE ANALECTS\n\nOF\n\nCONFUCIUS\n\n[_Translated into English by William Jennings_]\n\n\n\nPRONUNCIATION OF PROPER NAMES\n\n_j_, as in French.\n_ng_, commencing a word, like the same letters terminating one.\n_ai_ or _ei_, as in _aisle_ or _eider_.\n_au_, as in German, or like _ow_ in _cow_.\n_\u00e9_, as in _f\u00eate_.\n_i_ (not followed by a consonant), as _ee_ in _see_.\n_u_ (followed by a consonant), as in _bull_.\n_iu_, as _ew_ in _new_.\n_ui_, as _ooi_ in _cooing_.\n_h_ at the end of a name makes the preceding vowel short.\n_i_ in the middle of a word denotes an aspirate (_h_), as _K'ung_=Khung.\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\n\nThe strangest figure that meets us in the annals of Oriental thought is\nthat of Confucius. To the popular mind he is the founder of a religion,\nand yet he has nothing in common with the great religious teachers of\nthe East. We think of Siddartha, the founder of Buddhism, as the very\nimpersonation of romantic asceticism, enthusiastic self-sacrifice, and\nfaith in the things that are invisible. Zoroaster is the friend of God,\ntalking face to face with the Almighty, and drinking wisdom and\nknowledge from the lips of Omniscience. Mohammed is represented as\nsnatched up into heaven, where he receives the Divine communication\nwhich he is bidden to propagate with fire and sword throughout the\nworld. These great teachers lived in an atmosphere of the supernatural.\nThey spoke with the authority of inspired prophets. They brought the\nunseen world close to the minds of their disciples. They spoke\npositively of immortality, of reward or punishment beyond the grave. The\npresent life they despised, the future was to them everything in its\npromised satisfaction. The teachings of Confucius were of a very\ndifferent sort. Throughout his whole writings he has not even mentioned\nthe name of God. He declined to discuss the question of immortality.\nWhen he was asked about spiritual beings, he remarked, \"If we cannot\neven know men, how can we know spirits?\"\n\nYet this was the man the impress of whose teaching has formed the\nnational character of five hundred millions of people. A temple to\nConfucius stands to this day in every town and village of China. His\nprecepts are committed to memory by every child from the tenderest age,\nand each year at the royal university at Pekin the Emperor holds a\nfestival in honor of the illustrious teacher.\n\nThe influence of Confucius springs, first of all, from the narrowness\nand definiteness of his doctrine. He was no transcendentalist, and never\nmeddled with supramundane things. His teaching was of the earth, earthy;\nit dealt entirely with the common relations of life, and the Golden Rule\nhe must necessarily have stumbled upon, as the most obvious canon of his\nsystem. He strikes us as being the great Stoic of the East, for he\nbelieved that virtue was based on knowledge, knowledge of a man's own\nheart, and knowledge of human-kind. There is a pathetic resemblance\nbetween the accounts given of the death of Confucius and the death of\nZeno. Both died almost without warning in dreary hopelessness, without\nthe ministrations of either love or religion. This may be a mere\ncoincidence, but the lives and teachings of both men must have led them\nto look with indifference upon such an end. For Confucius in his\nteaching treated only of man's life on earth, and seems to have had no\nideas with regard to the human lot after death; if he had any ideas he\npreserved an inscrutable silence about them. As a moralist he prescribed\nthe duties of the king and of the father, and advocated the cultivation\nby the individual man of that rest or apathy of mind which resembles so\nmuch the disposition aimed at by the Greek and Roman Stoic. Even as a\nmoralist, he seems to have sacrificed the ideal to the practical, and\nhis loose notions about marriage, his tolerance of concubinage, the\nslight emphasis which he lays on the virtue of veracity--of which indeed\nhe does not seem himself to have been particularly studious in his\nhistoric writings--place him low down in the rank of moralists. Yet he\ntaught what he felt the people could receive, and the flat mediocrity of\nhis character and his teachings has been stamped forever upon a people\nwho, while they are kindly, gentle, forbearing, and full of family\npiety, are palpably lacking not only in the exaltation of Mysticism, but\nin any religious feeling, generally so-called.\n\nThe second reason that made the teaching of Confucius so influential is\nbased on the circumstances of the time. When this thoughtful, earnest\nyouth awoke to the consciousness of life about him, he saw that the\nabuses under which the people groaned sprang from the feudal system,\nwhich cut up the country into separate territories, over which the power\nof the king had no control. China was in the position of France in the\nyears preceding Philippe-Auguste, excepting that there were no places of\nsanctuary and no Truce of God. The great doctrine of Confucius was the\nunlimited despotism of the Emperor, and his moral precepts were intended\nto teach the Emperor how to use his power aright. But the Emperor was\nonly typical of all those in authority--the feudal duke, the judge on\nthe bench, and the father of the family. Each could discharge his duties\naright only by submitting to the moral discipline which Confucius\nprescribed. A vital element in this system is its conservatism, its\nadherence to the imperial idea. As James I said, \"No bishop, no king,\"\nso the imperialists of China have found in Confucianism the strongest\nbasis for the throne, and have supported its dissemination accordingly.\n\nThe Analects of Confucius contain the gist of his teachings, and is\nworthy of study. We find in this work most of the precepts which his\ndisciples have preserved and recorded. They form a code remarkable for\nsimplicity, even crudity, and we are compelled to admire the force of\ncharacter, the practical sagacity, the insight into the needs of the\nhour, which enabled Confucius, without claiming any Divine sanction, to\nimpose this system upon his countrymen.\n\nThe name Confucius is only the Latinized form of two words which mean\n\"Master K'ung.\" He was born 551 B.C., his father being governor of\nShantung. He was married at nineteen, and seems to have occupied some\nminor position under the government. In his twenty-fourth year he\nentered upon the three years' mourning for the death of his mother. His\nseclusion gave him time for deep thought and the study of history, and\nhe resolved upon the regeneration of his unhappy country. By the time he\nwas thirty he became known as a great teacher, and disciples flocked to\nhim. But he was yet occupied in public duties, and rose through\nsuccessive stages to the office of Chief Judge in his own country of Lu.\nHis tenure of office is said to have put an end to crime, and he became\nthe \"idol of the people\" in his district. The jealousy of the feudal\nlords was roused by his fame as a moral teacher and a blameless judge.\nConfucius was driven from his home, and wandered about, with a few\ndisciples, until his sixty-ninth year, when he returned to Lu, after\naccomplishing a work which has borne fruit, such as it is, to the\npresent day. He spent the remaining five years of his life in editing\nthe odes and historic monuments in which the glories of the ancient\nChinese dynasty are set forth. He died in his seventy-third year, 478\nB.C. There can be no doubt that the success of Confucius has been\nsingularly great, owing especially to the narrow scope of his scheme,\nwhich has become crystallized in the habits, usages, and customs of the\npeople. Especially has it been instrumental in consolidating the empire,\nand in strengthening the power of the monarch, who, as he every year\nburns incense in the red-walled temple at Pekin, utters sincerely the\ninvocation: \"Great art thou, O perfect Sage! Thy virtue is full, thy\ndoctrine complete. Among mortal men there has not been thine equal. All\nkings honor thee. Thy statutes and laws have come gloriously down. Thou\nart the pattern in this imperial school. Reverently have the sacrificial\nvessels been set out. Full of awe, we sound our drums and bells.\"\n\nE. W.\n\n\nTHE ANALECTS\n\n\nBOOK I\n\nOn Learning--Miscellaneous Sayings:--\n\n\n\"To learn,\" said the Master, \"and then to practise opportunely what one\nhas learnt--does not this bring with it a sense of satisfaction?\n\n\"To have associates in study coming to one from distant parts--does not\nthis also mean pleasure in store?\n\n\"And are not those who, while not comprehending all that is said, still\nremain not unpleased to hear, men of the superior order?\"\n\n\nA saying of the Scholar Yu:--\n\n\"It is rarely the case that those who act the part of true men in regard\nto their duty to parents and elder brothers are at the same time willing\nto turn currishly upon their superiors: it has never yet been the case\nthat such as desire not to commit that offence have been men willing to\npromote anarchy or disorder.\n\n\"Men of superior mind busy themselves first in getting at the root of\nthings; and when they have succeeded in this the right course is open to\nthem. Well, are not filial piety and friendly subordination among\nbrothers a root of that right feeling which is owing generally from man\nto man?\"\n\nThe Master observed, \"Rarely do we meet with the right feeling due from\none man to another where there is fine speech and studied mien.\"\n\nThe Scholar Tsang once said of himself: \"On three points I examine\nmyself daily, viz., whether, in looking after other people's interests,\nI have not been acting whole-heartedly; whether, in my intercourse with\nfriends, I have not been true; and whether, after teaching, I have not\nmyself been practising what I have taught.\"\n\nThe Master once observed that to rule well one of the larger States\nmeant strict attention to its affairs and conscientiousness on the part\nof the ruler; careful husbanding of its resources, with at the same time\na tender care for the interests of all classes; and the employing of the\nmasses in the public service at suitable seasons.\n\n\"Let young people,\" said he, \"show filial piety at home, respectfulness\ntowards their elders when away from home; let them be circumspect, be\ntruthful; their love going out freely towards all, cultivating good-will\nto men. And if, in such a walk, there be time or energy left for other\nthings, let them employ it in the acquisition of literary or artistic\naccomplishments.\"\n\nThe disciple Tsz-hi\u00e1 said, \"The appreciation of worth in men of worth,\nthus diverting the mind from lascivious desires--ministering to parents\nwhile one is the most capable of so doing--serving one's ruler when one\nis able to devote himself entirely to that object--being sincere in\none's language in intercourse with friends: this I certainly must call\nevidence of learning, though others may say there has been 'no\nlearning.'\"\n\n\nSayings of the Master:--\n\n\"If the great man be not grave, he will not be revered, neither can his\nlearning be solid.\n\n\"Give prominent place to loyalty and sincerity.\n\n\"Have no associates in study who are not advanced somewhat like\nyourself.\n\n\"When you have erred, be not afraid to correct yourself.\"\n\n\nA saying of the Scholar Tsang:--\n\n\"The virtue of the people is renewed and enriched when attention is seen\nto be paid to the departed, and the remembrance of distant ancestors\nkept and cherished.\"\n\nTsz-k'in put this query to his fellow disciple Tsz-kung: said he, \"When\nour Master comes to this or that State, he learns without fail how it is\nbeing governed. Does he investigate matters? or are the facts given\nhim?\"\n\nTsz-kung answered, \"Our Master is a man of pleasant manners, and of\nprobity, courteous, moderate, and unassuming: it is by his being such\nthat he arrives at the facts. Is not his way of arriving at things\ndifferent from that of others?\"\n\n\nA saying of the Master:--\n\n\"He who, after three years' observation of the will of his father when\nalive, or of his past conduct if dead, does not deviate from that\nfather's ways, is entitled to be called 'a dutiful son.'\"\n\n\nSayings of the Scholar Yu:--\n\n\"For the practice of the Rules of Propriety,[1] one excellent way is to\nbe natural. This naturalness became a great grace in the practice of\nkings of former times; let everyone, small or great, follow their\nexample.\n\n\"It is not, however, always practicable; and it is not so in the case of\na person who does things naturally, knowing that he should act so, and\nyet who neglects to regulate his acts according to the Rules.\n\n\"When truth and right are hand in hand, a statement will bear\nrepetition. When respectfulness and propriety go hand in hand, disgrace\nand shame are kept afar-off. Remove all occasion for alienating those to\nwhom you are bound by close ties, and you have them still to resort to.\"\n\n\nA saying of the Master:--\n\n\"The man of greater mind who, when he is eating, craves not to eat to\nthe full; who has a home, but craves not for comforts in it; who is\nactive and earnest in his work and careful in his words; who makes\ntowards men of high principle, and so maintains his own rectitude--that\nman may be styled a devoted student.\"\n\nTsz-kung asked, \"What say you, sir, of the poor who do not cringe and\nfawn; and what of the rich who are without pride and haughtiness?\" \"They\nare passable,\" the Master replied; \"yet they are scarcely in the same\ncategory as the poor who are happy, and the rich who love propriety.\"\n\n\"In the 'Book of the Odes,'\" Tsz-kung went on to say, \"we read of one\n\n  Polished, as by the knife and file,\n  The graving-tool, the smoothing-stone.\n\nDoes that coincide with your remark?\"\n\n\"Ah! such as you,\" replied the Master, \"may well commence a discussion\non the Odes. If one tell you how a thing goes, you know what ought to\ncome.\"\n\n\"It does not greatly concern me,\" said the Master, \"that men do not know\nme; my great concern is, my not knowing them.\"\n\n\n[Footnote 1: An important part of a Chinaman's education still. The\ntext-book, \"The Li Ki,\" contains rules for behavior and propriety for\nthe whole life, from the cradle to the grave.]\n\n\n\nBOOK II\n\nGood Government--Filial Piety--The Superior Man\n\n\nSayings of the Master:--\n\n\"Let a ruler base his government upon virtuous principles, and he will\nbe like the pole-star, which remains steadfast in its place, while all\nthe host of stars turn towards it.\n\n\"The 'Book of Odes' contains three hundred pieces, but one expression in\nit may be taken as covering the purport of all, viz., Unswerving\nmindfulness.\n\n\"To govern simply by statute, and to reduce all to order by means of\npains and penalties, is to render the people evasive, and devoid of any\nsense of shame.\n\n\"To govern upon principles of virtue, and to reduce them to order by the\nRules of Propriety, would not only create in them the sense of shame,\nbut would moreover reach them in all their errors.\n\n\"When I attained the age of fifteen, I became bent upon study. At\nthirty, I was a confirmed student. At forty, nought could move me from\nmy course. At fifty, I comprehended the will and decrees of Heaven. At\nsixty, my ears were attuned to them. At seventy, I could follow my\nheart's desires, without overstepping the lines of rectitude.\"\n\nTo a question of Mang-i, as to what filial piety consisted in, the\nmaster replied, \"In not being perverse.\" Afterwards, when Fan Ch'i was\ndriving him, the Master informed him of this question and answer, and\nFan Ch'i asked, \"What was your meaning?\" The Master replied, \"I meant\nthat the Rules of Propriety should always be adhered to in regard to\nthose who brought us into the world: in ministering to them while\nliving, in burying them when dead, and afterwards in the offering to\nthem of sacrificial gifts.\"\n\nTo a query of Mang Wu respecting filial piety, the Master replied,\n\"Parents ought to bear but one trouble--that of their own sickness.\"\n\nTo a like question put by Tsz-yu, his reply was this: \"The filial piety\nof the present day simply means the being able to support one's\nparents--which extends even to the case of dogs and horses, all of which\nmay have something to give in the way of support. If there be no\nreverential feeling in the matter, what is there to distinguish between\nthe cases?\"\n\nTo a like question of Tsz-hia, he replied: \"The manner is the\ndifficulty. If, in the case of work to be done, the younger folks simply\ntake upon themselves the toil of it; or if, in the matter of meat and\ndrink, they simply set these before their elders--is this to be taken as\nfilial piety?\"\n\nOnce the Master remarked, \"I have conversed with Hw\u00fai the whole day\nlong, and he has controverted nothing that I have said, as if he were\nwithout wits. But when his back was turned, and I looked attentively at\nhis conduct apart from me, I found it satisfactory in all its issues.\nNo, indeed! Hw\u00fai is not without his wits.\"\n\n\nOther observations of the Master:--\n\n\"If you observe what things people (usually) take in hand, watch their\nmotives, and note particularly what it is that gives them satisfaction,\nshall they be able to conceal from you what they are? Conceal\nthemselves, indeed!\n\n\"Be versed in ancient lore, and familiarize yourself with the modern;\nthen may you become teachers.\n\n\"The great man is not a mere receptacle.\"\n\nIn reply to Tsz-kung respecting the great man:--\n\n\"What he first says, as a result of his experience, he afterwards\nfollows up.\n\n\"The great man is catholic-minded, and not one-sided. The common man is\nthe reverse.\n\n\"Learning, without thought, is a snare; thought, without learning, is a\ndanger.\n\n\"Where the mind is set much upon heterodox principles--there truly and\nindeed is harm.\"\n\nTo the disciple Tsz-lu the Master said, \"Shall I give you a lesson about\nknowledge? When you know a thing, maintain that you know it; and when\nyou do not, acknowledge your ignorance. This is characteristic of\nknowledge.\"\n\nTsz-chang was studying with an eye to official income. The Master\naddressed him thus: \"Of the many things you hear hold aloof from those\nthat are doubtful, and speak guardedly with reference to the rest; your\nmistakes will then be few. Also, of the many courses you see adopted,\nhold aloof from those that are risky, and carefully follow the others;\nyou will then seldom have occasion for regret. Thus, being seldom\nmistaken in your utterances, and having few occasions for regret in the\nline you take, you are on the high road to your preferment.\"\n\nTo a question put to him by Duke Ngai [2] as to what should be done in\norder to render the people submissive to authority, Confucius replied,\n\"Promote the straightforward, and reject those whose courses are\ncrooked, and the thing will be effected. Promote the crooked and reject\nthe straightforward, and the effect will be the reverse.\"\n\nWhen Ki K'ang [3] asked of him how the people could be induced to show\nrespect, loyalty, and willingness to be led, the Master answered, \"Let\nthere be grave dignity in him who has the oversight of them, and they\nwill show him respect; let him be seen to be good to his own parents,\nand kindly in disposition, and they will be loyal to him; let him\npromote those who have ability, and see to the instruction of those who\nhave it not, and they will be willing to be led.\"\n\nSome one, speaking to Confucius, inquired, \"Why, sir, are you not an\nadministrator of government?\" The Master rejoined, \"What says the 'Book\nof the Annals,' with reference to filial duty?--'Make it a point to be\ndutiful to your parents and amicable with your brethren; the same duties\nextend to an administrator.' If these, then, also make an administrator,\nhow am I to take your words about being an administrator?\"\n\nOn one occasion the Master remarked, \"I know not what men are good for,\non whose word no reliance can be placed. How should your carriages,\nlarge or little, get along without your whipple-trees or swing-trees?\"\n\nTsz-chang asked if it were possible to forecast the state of the country\nten generations hence. The Master replied in this manner: \"The Yin\ndynasty adopted the rules and manners of the Hi\u00e1 line of kings, and it\nis possible to tell whether it retrograded or advanced. The Chow line\nhas followed the Yin, adopting its ways, and whether there has been\ndeterioration or improvement may also be determined. Some other line may\ntake up in turn those of Chow; and supposing even this process to go on\nfor a hundred generations, the result may be known.\"\n\nOther sayings of the Master:--\n\n\"It is but flattery to make sacrificial offerings to departed spirits\nnot belonging to one's own family.\n\n\"It is moral cowardice to leave undone what one perceives to be right to\ndo.\"\n\n\n[Footnote 2: Of Lu (Confucius's native State).]\n\n[Footnote 3: Head of one of the \"Three Families\" of Lu.]\n\n\n\nBOOK III\n\nAbuse of Proprieties in Ceremonial and Music\n\n\nAlluding to the head of the Ki family, [4] and the eight lines of\nposturers [5] before their ancestral hall, Confucius remarked, \"If the\nKi can allow himself to go to this extent, to what extent will he not\nallow himself to go?\"\n\nThe Three Families [6] were in the habit, during the Removal of the\nsacred vessels after sacrifice, of using the hymn commencing,\n\n  \"Harmoniously the Princes\n    Draw near with reverent tread,\n  Assisting in his worship\n    Heaven's Son, the great and dread.\"\n\n\"How,\" exclaimed the Master, \"can such words be appropriated in the\nancestral hall of the Three Families?\"\n\n\"Where a man,\" said he again, \"has not the proper feelings due from one\nman to another, how will he stand as regards the Rules of Propriety? And\nin such a case, what shall we say of his sense of harmony?\"\n\nOn a question being put to him by Lin Fang, a disciple, as to what was\nthe radical idea upon which the Rules of Propriety were based, the\nMaster exclaimed, \"Ah! that is a large question. As to some rules, where\nthere is likelihood of extravagance, they would rather demand economy;\nin those which relate to mourning, and where there is likelihood of\nbeing easily satisfied, what is wanted is real sorrow.\"\n\nSpeaking of the disorder of the times he remarked that while the\nbarbarians on the North and East had their Chieftains, we here in this\ngreat country had nothing to compare with them in that respect:--we had\nlost these distinctions!\n\nAlluding to the matter of the Chief of the Ki family worshipping on\nTai-shan, [7] the Master said to Yen Yu, \"Cannot you save him from this?\"\nHe replied, \"It is beyond my power.\" \"Alas, alas!\" exclaimed the Master,\n\"are we to say that the spirits of T'ai-shan have not as much\ndiscernment as Lin Fang?\"\n\nOf \"the superior man,\" the Master observed, \"In him there is no\ncontentiousness. Say even that he does certainly contend with others, as\nin archery competitions; yet mark, in that case, how courteously he will\nbow and go up for the forfeit-cup, and come down again and give it to\nhis competitor. In his very contest he is still the superior man.\"\n\nTsz-hi\u00e1 once inquired what inference might be drawn from the lines--\n\n  \"Dimples playing in witching smile,\n    Beautiful eyes, so dark, so bright!\n  Oh, and her face may be thought the while\n    Colored by art, red rose on white!\"\n\n\"Coloring,\" replied the Master, \"requires a pure and clear background.\"\n\"Then,\" said the other, \"rules of ceremony require to have a\nbackground!\" \"Ah!\" exclaimed the Master, \"you are the man to catch the\ndrift of my thought. Such as you may well introduce a discussion on the\nOdes.\"\n\nSaid the Master, \"As regards the ceremonial adopted and enforced by the\nHi\u00e1 dynasty, I am able to describe it, although their own descendants in\nthe State of Ki can adduce no adequate testimony in favor of its use\nthere. So, too, I am able to describe the ceremonial of the Yin dynasty,\nalthough no more can the Sung people show sufficient reason for its\ncontinuance amongst themselves. And why cannot they do so? Because they\nhave not documents enough, nor men learned enough. If only they had\nsuch, I could refer them to them in support of their usages.\n\n\"When I am present at the great quinquennial sacrifice to the _manes_ of\nthe royal ancestors,\" the Master said, \"from the pouring-out of the\noblation onwards, I have no heart to look on.\"\n\nSome one asked what was the purport of this great sacrifice, and the\nMaster replied, \"I cannot tell. The position in the empire of him who\ncould tell you is as evident as when you look at this\"--pointing to the\npalm of his hand.\n\nWhen he offered sacrifices to his ancestors, he used to act as if they\nwere present before him. In offering to other spirits it was the same.\n\nHe would say, \"If I do not myself take part in my offerings, it is all\nthe same as if I did not offer them.\"\n\nWang-sun Ki\u00e1 asked him once, \"What says the proverb, 'Better to court\nfavor in the kitchen than in the drawing-room'?\" The Master replied,\n\"Nay, better say, He who has sinned against Heaven has none other to\nwhom prayer may be addressed.\"\n\nOf the Chow dynasty the Master remarked, \"It looks back upon two other\ndynasties; and what a rich possession it has in its records of those\ntimes! I follow Chow!\"\n\nOn his first entry into the grand temple, he inquired about every matter\nconnected with its usages. Some one thereupon remarked, \"Who says that\nthe son of the man of Tsou [8] understands about ceremonial? On entering\nthe grand temple he inquired about everything.\" This remark coming to\nthe Master's ears, he said, \"What I did is part of the ceremonial!\"\n\n\"In archery,\" he said, \"the great point to be observed is not simply the\nperforation of the leather; for men have not all the same strength. That\nwas the fashion in the olden days.\"\n\nOnce, seeing that his disciple Tsz-kung was desirous that the ceremonial\nobservance of offering a sheep at the new moon might be dispensed with,\nthe Master said, \"Ah! you grudge the loss of the sheep; I grudge the\nloss of the ceremony.\"\n\n\"To serve one's ruler nowadays,\" he remarked, \"fully complying with the\nRules of Propriety, is regarded by others as toadyism!\"\n\nWhen Duke Ting questioned him as to how a prince should deal with his\nministers, and how they in turn should serve their prince, Confucius\nsaid in reply, \"In dealing with his ministers a prince should observe\nthe proprieties; in serving his prince a minister should observe the\nduty of loyalty.\"\n\nReferring to the First of the Odes, he remarked that it was mirthful\nwithout being lewd, and sad also without being painful.\n\nDuke Ngai asked the disciple Tsai Wo respecting the places for\nsacrificing to the Earth. The latter replied, \"The Family of the Great\nYu, of the Hi\u00e1 dynasty, chose a place of pine trees; the Yin founders\nchose cypresses; and the Chow founders chestnut trees, solemn and\nmajestic, to inspire, 'tis said, the people with feelings of awe.\"\n\nThe Master on hearing of this exclaimed, \"Never an allusion to things\nthat have been enacted in the past! Never a remonstrance against what is\nnow going on! He has gone away without a word of censure.\"\n\nThe Master once said of Kwan Chung, [9] \"A small-minded man indeed!\"\n\n\"Was he miserly?\" some one asked.\n\n\"Miserly, indeed!\" said he; \"not that: he married three rimes, and he\nwas not a man who restricted his official business to too few hands--how\ncould he be miserly?\"\n\n\"He knew the Rules of Propriety, I suppose?\"\n\n\"Judge:--Seeing that the feudal lords planted a screen at their gates,\nhe too would have one at his! Seeing that when any two of the feudal\nlords met in friendly conclave they had an earthenware stand on which to\nplace their inverted cups after drinking, he must have the same! If he\nknew the Rules of Propriety, who is there that does not know them?\"\n\nIn a discourse to the Chief Preceptor of Music at the court of Lu, the\nMaster said, \"Music is an intelligible thing. When you begin a\nperformance, let all the various instruments produce as it were one\nsound (inharmonious); then, as you go on, bring out the harmony fully,\ndistinctly, and with uninterrupted flow, unto the end.\"\n\nThe warden of the border-town of I requested an interview with\nConfucius, and said, \"When great men have come here, I have never yet\nfailed to obtain a sight of them.\" The followers introduced him; and, on\nleaving, he said to them, \"Sirs, why grieve at his loss of office? The\nempire has for long been without good government; and Heaven is about to\nuse your master as its edict-announcer.\"\n\nComparing the music of the emperor Shun with the music of King Wu, the\nMaster said, \"That of Shun is beautiful throughout, and also good\nthroughout. That of Wu is all of it beautiful, but scarcely all of it\ngood.\"\n\n\"High station,\" said the Master, \"occupied by men who have no large and\ngenerous heart; ceremonial performed with no reverence; duties of\nmourning engaging the attention, where there is absence of sorrow;--how\nshould I look on, where this is the state of things?\"\n\n\n[Footnote 4: The Chief of the Ki clan was virtually the Duke of Lu,\nunder whom Confucius for a time held office.]\n\n[Footnote 5: These posturers were mutes who took part in the ritual of\nthe ancestral temple, waving plumes, flags, etc. Each line or rank of\nthese contained eight men. Only in the sovereign's household should\nthere have been eight lines of them; a ducal family like the Ki should\nhave had but six lines; a great official had four, and one of lower\ngrade two. These were the gradations marking the status of families, and\nConfucius's sense of propriety was offended at the Ki's usurping in this\nway the appearance of royalty.]\n\n[Footnote 6: Three great families related to each other, in whose hands\nthe government of the State of Lu then was, and of which the Ki was the\nchief.]\n\n[Footnote 7: One of the five sacred mountains, worshipped upon only by\nthe sovereign.]\n\n[Footnote 8: Tsou was Confucius's birthplace; his father was governor of\nthe town.]\n\n[Footnote 9: A renowned statesman who flourished about two hundred years\nbefore Confucius's time. A philosophical work on law and government,\nsaid to have been written by him, is still extant. He was regarded as a\nsage by the people, but he lacked, in Confucius's eyes, the one thing\nneedful--propriety.]\n\n\n\nBOOK IV\n\nSocial Virtue--Superior and Inferior Man\n\n\nSayings of the Master:--\n\n\"It is social good feeling that gives charm to a neighborhood. And where\nis the wisdom of those who choose an abode where it does not abide?\n\n\"Those who are without it cannot abide long, either in straitened or in\nhappy circumstances. Those who possess it find contentment in it. Those\nwho are wise go after it as men go after gain.\n\n\"Only they in whom it exists can have right likings and dislikings for\nothers.\n\n\"Where the will is set upon it, there will be no room for malpractices.\n\n\"Riches and honor are what men desire; but if they arrive at them by\nimproper ways, they should not continue to hold them. Poverty and low\nestate are what men dislike; but if they arrive at such a condition by\nimproper ways, they should not refuse it.\n\n\"If the 'superior man' make nought of social good feeling, how shall he\nfully bear that name?\n\n\"Not even whilst he eats his meal will the 'superior man' forget what he\nowes to his fellow-men. Even in hurried leave-takings, even in moments\nof frantic confusion, he keeps true to this virtue.\n\n\"I have not yet seen a lover of philanthropy, nor a hater of\nmisanthropy--such, that the former did not take occasion to magnify that\nvirtue in himself, and that the latter, in his positive practice of\nphilanthropy, did not, at times, allow in his presence something\nsavoring of misanthropy.\n\n\"Say you, is there any one who is able for one whole day to apply the\nenergy of his mind to this virtue? Well, I have not seen any one whose\nenergy was not equal to it. It may be there are such, but I have never\nmet with them.\n\n\"The faults of individuals are peculiar to their particular class and\nsurroundings; and it is by observing their faults that one comes to\nunderstand the condition of their good feelings towards their fellows.\n\n\"One may hear the right way in the morning, and at evening die.\n\n\"The scholar who is intent upon learning the right way, and who is yet\nashamed of poor attire and poor food, is not worthy of being discoursed\nwith.\n\n\"The masterly man's attitude to the world is not exclusively this or\nthat: whatsoever is right, to that he will be a party.\n\n\"The masterly man has an eye to virtue, the common man, to earthly\nthings; the former has an eye to penalties for error--the latter, to\nfavor.\n\n\"Where there is habitual going after gain, there is much ill-will.\n\n\"When there is ability in a ruler to govern a country by adhering to the\nRules of Propriety, and by kindly condescension, what is wanted more?\nWhere the ability to govern thus is wanting, what has such a ruler to do\nwith the Rules of Propriety?\n\n\"One should not be greatly concerned at not being in office; but rather\nabout the requirements in one's self for such a standing. Neither should\none be so much concerned at being unknown; but rather with seeking to\nbecome worthy of being known.\"\n\nAddressing his disciple Tsang Sin, the Master said, \"Tsang Sin, the\nprinciples which I inculcate have one main idea upon which they all\nhang.\" \"Aye, surely,\" he replied.\n\nWhen the Master was gone out the other disciples asked what was the\npurport of this remark. Tsang's answer was, \"The principles of our\nMaster's teaching are these--whole-heartedness and kindly forbearance;\nthese and nothing more.\"\n\n\nOther observations of the Master:--\n\n\"Men of loftier mind manifest themselves in their equitable dealings;\nsmall-minded men in their going after gain.\n\n\"When you meet with men of worth, think how you may attain to their\nlevel; when you see others of an opposite character, look within, and\nexamine yourself.\n\n\"A son, in ministering to his parents, may (on occasion) offer gentle\nremonstrances; when he sees that their will is not to heed such, he\nshould nevertheless still continue to show them reverent respect, never\nobstinacy; and if he have to suffer, let him do so without murmuring.\n\n\"Whilst the parents are still living, he should not wander far; or, if a\nwanderer, he should at least have some fixed address.\n\n\"If for three years he do not veer from the principles of his father, he\nmay be called a dutiful son.\n\n\"A son should not ignore the years of his parents. On the one hand, they\nmay be a matter for rejoicing (that they have been so many), and on the\nother, for apprehension (that so few remain).\n\n\"People in olden times were loth to speak out, fearing the disgrace of\nnot being themselves as good as their words.\n\n\"Those who keep within restraints are seldom losers.\n\n\"To be slow to speak, but prompt to act, is the desire of the 'superior\nman.'\n\n\"Virtue dwells not alone: she must have neighbors.\"\n\n\nAn observation of Tsz-yu:--\n\"Officiousness, in the service of princes, leads to disgrace: among\nfriends, to estrangement.\"\n\n\n\nBOOK V\n\nA Disciple and the Golden Rule--Miscellaneous\n\n\nThe Master pronounced Kung-ye Ch'ang, a disciple, to be a marriageable\nperson; for although lying bound in criminal fetters he had committed no\ncrime. And he gave him his own daughter to wife.\n\nOf Nan Yung, a disciple, he observed, that in a State where the\ngovernment was well conducted he would not be passed over in its\nappointments, and in one where the government was ill conducted he would\nevade punishment and disgrace. And he caused his elder brother's\ndaughter to be given in marriage to him.\n\nOf Tsz-tsien, a disciple, he remarked, \"A superior man indeed is the\nlike of him! But had there been none of superior quality in Lu, how\nshould this man have attained to this excellence?\"\n\nTsz-kung asked, \"What of me, then?\" \"You,\" replied the Master--\"You are\na receptacle.\" \"Of what sort?\" said he. \"One for high and sacred use,\"\nwas the answer.\n\nSome one having observed of Yen Yung that he was good-natured towards\nothers, but that he lacked the gift of ready speech, the Master said,\n\"What need of that gift? To stand up before men and pour forth a stream\nof glib words is generally to make yourself obnoxious to them. I know\nnot about his good-naturedness; but at any rate what need of that gift?\"\n\nWhen the Master proposed that Tsi-tiau K'ai should enter the government\nservice, the latter replied, \"I can scarcely credit it.\" The Master was\ngratified.\n\n\"Good principles are making no progress,\" once exclaimed the Master. \"If\nI were to take a raft, and drift about on the sea, would Tsz-lu, I\nwonder, be my follower there?\" That disciple was delighted at hearing\nthe suggestion; whereupon the Master continued, \"He surpasses me in his\nlove of deeds of daring. But he does not in the least grasp the pith of\nmy remark.\"\n\nIn reply to a question put to him by Mang Wu respecting Tsz-lu--as to\nwhether he might be called good-natured towards others, the Master said,\n\"I cannot tell\"; but, on the question being put again, he answered,\n\"Well, in an important State [10] he might be intrusted with the\nmanagement of the military levies; but I cannot answer for his good\nnature.\"\n\n\"What say you then of Yen Yu?\"\n\n\"As for Yen,\" he replied, \"in a city of a thousand families, or in a\nsecondary fief, [11] he might be charged with the governorship; but I\ncannot answer for his good-naturedness.\"\n\n\"Take Tsz-hwa, then; what of him?\"\n\n\"Tsz-hwa,\" said he, \"with a cincture girt upon him, standing as\nattendant at Court, might be charged with the addressing of visitors and\nguests; but as to his good-naturedness I cannot answer.\"\n\nAddressing Tsz-kung, the Master said, \"Which of the two is ahead of the\nother--yourself or Hw\u00fai?\" \"How shall I dare,\" he replied, \"even to look\nat Hw\u00fai? Only let him hear one particular, and from that he knows ten;\nwhereas I, if I hear one, may from it know two.\"\n\n\"You are not a match for him, I grant you,\" said the Master. \"You are\nnot his match.\"\n\nTsai Yu, a disciple, used to sleep in the daytime. Said the Master, \"One\nmay hardly carve rotten wood, or use a trowel to the wall of a\nmanure-yard! In his case, what is the use of reprimand?\n\n\"My attitude towards a man in my first dealings with him,\" he added,\n\"was to listen to his professions and to trust to his conduct. My\nattitude now is to listen to his professions, and to watch his conduct.\nMy experience with Tsai Yu has led to this change.\n\n\"I have never seen,\" said the Master, \"a man of inflexible firmness.\"\nSome one thereupon mentioned Shin Ch'ang, a disciple. \"Ch'ang,\" said he,\n\"is wanton; where do you get at his inflexibleness?\"\n\nTsz-kung made the remark: \"That which I do not wish others to put upon\nme, I also wish not to put upon others.\" \"Nay,\" said the Master, \"you\nhave not got so far as that.\"\n\nThe same disciple once remarked, \"There may be access so as to hear the\nMaster's literary discourses, but when he is treating of human nature\nand the way of Heaven, there may not be such success.\"\n\nTsz-lu, after once hearing him upon some subject, and feeling himself as\nyet incompetent to carry into practice what he had heard, used to be\napprehensive only lest he should hear the subject revived.\n\nTsz-kung asked how it was that Kung Wan had come to be so styled Wan\n(the talented). The Master's answer was, \"Because, though a man of an\nactive nature, he was yet fond of study, and he was not ashamed to stoop\nto put questions to his inferiors.\"\n\nRespecting Tsz-ch'an,[12] the Master said that he had four of the\nessential qualities of the 'superior man':--in his own private walk he\nwas humble-minded; in serving his superiors he was deferential; in his\nlooking after the material welfare of the people he was generously kind;\nand in his exaction of public service from the latter he was just.\n\nSpeaking of Yen Ping, he said, \"He was one who was happy in his mode of\nattaching men to him. However long the intercourse, he was always\ndeferential to them.\"\n\nReferring to Tsang Wan, he asked, \"What is to be said of this man's\ndiscernment?--this man with his tortoise-house, with the pillar-heads\nand posts bedizened with scenes of hill and mere!\"\n\nTsz-chang put a question relative to the chief Minister of Tsu, Tsz-wan.\nHe said, \"Three times he became chief Minister, and on none of these\noccasions did he betray any sign of exultation. Three times his ministry\ncame to an end, and he showed no sign of chagrin. He used without fail\nto inform the new Minister as to the old mode of administration. What\nsay you of him?\"\n\n\"That he was a loyal man,\" said the Master.\n\n\"But was he a man of fellow-feeling?\" said the disciple.\n\n\"Of that I am not sure,\" he answered; \"how am I to get at that?\"\n\nThe disciple went on to say:--\"After the assassination of the prince of\nTs'i by the officer Ts'ui, the latter's fellow-official Ch'in Wan, who\nhad half a score teams of horses, gave up all, and turned his back upon\nhim. On coming to another State, he observed, 'There are here characters\nsomewhat like that of our minister Ts'ui,' and he turned his back upon\nthem. Proceeding to a certain other State, he had occasion to make the\nsame remark, and left. What say you of him?\"\n\n\"That he was a pure-minded man,\" answered the Master.\n\n\"But was he a man of fellow-feeling?\" urged the disciple.\n\n\"Of that I am not sure,\" he replied; \"how am I to get at that?\"\n\nKi Wan was one who thought three times over a thing before he acted. The\nMaster hearing this of him, observed, \"Twice would have been enough.\"\n\nOf Ning Wu, the Master said that when matters went well in the State he\nused to have his wits about him: but when they went wrong, he lost them.\nHis intelligence might be equalled, but not his witlessness!\n\nOnce, when the Master lived in the State of Ch'in, he exclaimed, \"Let me\nget home again! Let me get home! My school-children [13] are wild and\nimpetuous! Though they are somewhat accomplished, and perfect in one\nsense in their attainments, yet they know not how to make nice\ndiscriminations.\"\n\nOf Peh-I and Shuh Ts'i he said, \"By the fact of their not remembering\nold grievances, they gradually did away with resentment.\"\n\nOf Wei-shang Kau he said, \"Who calls him straightforward? A person once\nbegged some vinegar of him, and he begged it from a neighbor, and then\npresented him with it!\"\n\n\"Fine speech,\" said he, \"and studied mien, and superfluous show of\ndeference--of such things Tso-k'iu Ming was ashamed, I too am ashamed of\nsuch things. Also of hiding resentment felt towards an opponent and\ntreating him as a friend--of this kind of thing he was ashamed, and so\ntoo am I.\"\n\nAttended once by the two disciples Yen Yuen and Tsz-lu, he said, \"Come\nnow, why not tell me, each of you, what in your hearts you are really\nafter?\"\n\n\"I should like,\" said Tsz-lu, \"for myself and my friends and associates,\ncarriages and horses, and to be clad in light furs! nor would I mind\nmuch if they should become the worse for wear.\"\n\n\"And I should like,\" said Yen Yuen, \"to live without boasting of my\nabilities, and without display of meritorious deeds.\"\n\nTsz-lu then said, \"I should like, sir, to hear what your heart is set\nupon.\"\n\nThe Master replied, \"It is this:--in regard to old people, to give them\nquiet and comfort; in regard to friends and associates, to be faithful\nto them; in regard to the young, to treat them with fostering affection\nand kindness.\"\n\nOn one occasion the Master exclaimed, \"Ah, 'tis hopeless! I have not yet\nseen the man who can see his errors, so as inwardly to accuse himself.\"\n\n\"In a small cluster of houses there may well be,\" said he, \"some whose\nintegrity and sincerity may compare with mine; but I yield to none in\npoint of love of learning.\"\n\n\n[Footnote 10: Lit., a State of 1,000 war chariots.]\n\n[Footnote 11: Lit., a House of 100 war chariots.]\n\n[Footnote 12: A great statesman of Confucius's time.]\n\n[Footnote 13: A familiar way of speaking of his disciples in their\nhearing.]\n\n\n\nBOOK VI\n\nMore Characteristics--Wisdom--Philanthropy\n\n\nOf Yen Yung, a disciple, the Master said, \"Yung might indeed do for a\nprince!\"\n\nOn being asked by this Yen Yung his opinion of a certain individual, the\nMaster replied, \"He is passable. Impetuous, though.\"\n\n\"But,\" argued the disciple, \"if a man habituate himself to a reverent\nregard for duty--even while in his way of doing things he is\nimpetuous--in the oversight of the people committed to his charge, is he\nnot passable? If, on the other hand, he habituate himself to impetuosity\nof mind, and show it also in his way of doing things, is he not then\nover-impetuous?\"\n\n\"You are right,\" said the Master.\n\nWhen the Duke Ngai inquired which of the disciples were devoted to\nlearning, Confucius answered him, \"There was one Yen Hw\u00fai who loved\nit--a man whose angry feelings towards any particular person he did not\nsuffer to visit upon another; a man who would never fall into the same\nerror twice. Unfortunately his allotted time was short, and he died, and\nnow his like is not to be found; I have never heard of one so devoted to\nlearning.\"\n\nWhile Tsz-hwa, a disciple, was away on a mission to Ts'i, the disciple\nYen Yu, on behalf of his mother, applied for some grain. \"Give her three\npecks,\" said the Master. He applied for more. \"Give her eight, then.\"\nYen gave her fifty times that amount. The Master said, \"When Tsz-hwa\nwent on that journey to Ts'i, he had well-fed steeds yoked to his\ncarriage, and was arrayed in light furs. I have learnt that the\n'superior man' should help those whose needs are urgent, not help the\nrich to be more rich.\"\n\nWhen Yuen Sz became prefect under him, he gave him nine hundred measures\nof grain, but the prefect declined to accept them.[14] \"You must not,\"\nsaid the Master. \"May they not be of use to the villages and hamlets\naround you?\"\n\nSpeaking of Yen Yung again, the Master said, \"If the offspring of a\nspeckled ox be red in color, and horned, even though men may not wish to\ntake it for sacrifice, would the spirits of the hills and streams reject\nit?\"\n\nAdverting to Hw\u00fai again, he said, \"For three months there would not be\nin his breast one thought recalcitrant against his feeling of good-will\ntowards his fellow-men. The others may attain to this for a day or for a\nmonth, but there they end.\"\n\nWhen asked by Ki K'ang whether Tsz-lu was fit to serve the government,\nthe Master replied, \"Tsz-lu is a man of decision: what should prevent\nhim from serving the government?\"\n\nAsked the same question respecting Tsz-kung and Yen Yu he answered\nsimilarly, pronouncing Tsz-kung to be a man of perspicacity, and Yen Yu\nto be one versed in the polite arts.\n\nWhen the head of the Ki family sent for Min Tsz-k'ien to make him\ngovernor of the town of Pi, that disciple said, \"Politely decline for\nme. If the offer is renewed, then indeed I shall feel myself obliged to\ngo and live on the further bank of the Wan.\"\n\nPeh-niu had fallen ill, and the Master was inquiring after him. Taking\nhold of his hand held out from the window, he said, \"It is taking him\noff! Alas, his appointed time has come! Such a man, and to have such an\nillness!\"\n\nOf Hw\u00fai, again: \"A right worthy man indeed was he! With his simple\nwooden dish of rice, and his one gourd-basin of drink, away in his poor\nback lane, in a condition too grievous for others to have endured, he\nnever allowed his cheery spirits to droop. Aye, a right worthy soul was\nhe!\"\n\n\"It is not,\" Yen Yu once apologized, \"that I do not take pleasure in\nyour doctrines; it is that I am not strong enough.\" The Master rejoined,\n\"It is when those who are not strong enough have made some moderate\namount of progress that they fail and give up; but you are now drawing\nyour own line for yourself.\"\n\nAddressing Tsz-hi\u00e1, the Master said, \"Let your scholarship be that of\ngentlemen, and not like that of common men.\"\n\nWhen Tsz-yu became governor of Wu-shing, the Master said to him, \"Do you\nfind good men about you?\" The reply was, \"There is Tan-t'ai Mieh-ming,\nwho when walking eschews by-paths, and who, unless there be some public\nfunction, never approaches my private residence.\"\n\n\"Mang Chi-fan,\" said the Master, \"is no sounder of his own praises.\nDuring a stampede he was in the rear, and as they were about to enter\nthe city gate he whipped up his horses, and said, 'Twas not my daring\nmade me lag behind. My horses would not go.'\"\n\n_Obiter dicta_ of the Master:--\n\n\"Whoever has not the glib utterance of the priest T'o, as well as the\nhandsomeness of Prince Ch\u00e1u of Sung, will find it hard to keep out of\nharm's way in the present age.\n\n\"Who can go out but by that door? Why walks no one by these guiding\nprinciples?\n\n\"Where plain naturalness is more in evidence than polish, we have--the\nman from the country. Where polish is more in evidence than naturalness,\nwe have--the town scribe. It is when naturalness and polish are equally\nevident that we have the ideal man.\n\n\"The life of a man is--his rectitude. Life without it--such may you have\nthe good fortune to avoid!\n\n\"They who know it are not as those who love it, nor they who love it as\nthose who rejoice in it--that is, have the fruition of their love for\nit.\n\n\"To the average man, and those above the average, it is possible to\ndiscourse on higher subjects; to those from the average downwards, it is\nnot possible.\"\n\nFan Ch'i put a query about wisdom. The Master replied, \"To labor for the\npromoting of righteous conduct among the people of the land; to be\nserious in regard to spiritual beings, and to hold aloof from\nthem;--this may be called wisdom.\"\n\nTo a further query, about philanthropy, he replied, \"Those who possess\nthat virtue find difficulty with it at first, success later.\n\n\"Men of practical knowledge,\" he said, \"find their gratification among\nthe rivers of the lowland, men of sympathetic social feeling find theirs\namong the hills. The former are active and bustling, the latter calm and\nquiet. The former take their day of pleasure, the latter look to length\nof days.\"\n\nAlluding to the States of Ts'i and Lu, he observed, that Ts'i, by one\nchange, might attain to the condition of Lu; and that Lu, by one change,\nmight attain to good government.\n\nAn exclamation of the Master (satirizing the times, when old terms\nrelating to government were still used while bereft of their old\nmeaning):--\"A quart, and not a quart! _quart_, indeed! _quart_, indeed!\"\n\nTsai Wo, a disciple, put a query. Said he, \"Suppose a philanthropic\nperson were told, 'There's a fellow-creature down in the well!' Would he\ngo down after him?\"\n\n\"Why should he really do so?\" answered the Master. \"The good man or, a\nsuperior man might be induced to go, but not to go down. He may be\nmisled, but not befooled.\"\n\n\"The superior man,\" said he, \"with his wide study of books, and hedging\nhimself round by the Rules of Propriety, is not surely, after all that,\ncapable of overstepping his bounds.\"\n\nOnce when the Master had had an interview with Nan-tsz, which had\nscandalized his disciple Tsz-lu, he uttered the solemn adjuration, \"If I\nhave done aught amiss, may Heaven reject me! may Heaven reject me!\"\n\n\"How far-reaching,\" said he, \"is the moral excellence that flows from\nthe Constant Mean! [15] It has for a long time been rare among the\npeople.\"\n\nTsz-kung said, \"Suppose the case of one who confers benefits far and\nwide upon the people, and who can, in so doing, make his bounty\nuniversally felt--how would you speak of him? Might he be called\nphilanthropic?\"\n\nThe Master exclaimed, \"What a work for philanthropy! He would require\nindeed to be a sage! He would put into shade even Yau and Shun!--Well, a\nphilanthropic person, desiring for himself a firm footing, is led on to\ngive one to others; desiring for himself an enlightened perception of\nthings, he is led on to help others to be similarly enlightened. If one\ncould take an illustration coming closer home to us than yours, that\nmight be made the starting-point for speaking about philanthropy.\"\n\n\n[Footnote 14: At this time Confucius was Criminal Judge in his native\nState of Lu. Yuen Sz had been a disciple. The commentators add that this\nwas the officer's proper salary, and that he did wrong to refuse it.]\n\n[Footnote 15: The doctrine afterwards known by that name, and which gave\nits title to a Confucian treatise.]\n\n\n\nBOOK VII\n\nCharacteristics of Confucius--An Incident\n\n\nSaid the Master:--\n\n\"I, as a transmitter[16] and not an originator, and as one who believes\nin and loves the ancients, venture to compare myself with our old P'ang.\n\n\"What find you indeed in me?--a quiet brooder and memorizer; a student\nnever satiated with learning; an unwearied monitor of others!\n\n\"The things which weigh heavily upon my mind are these--failure to\nimprove in the virtues, failure in discussion of what is learnt,\ninability to walk according to knowledge received as to what is right\nand just, inability also to reform what has been amiss.\"\n\nIn his hours of recreation and refreshment the Master's manner was easy\nand unconstrained, affable and winning.\n\nOnce he exclaimed, \"Alas! I must be getting very feeble; 'tis long since\nI have had a repetition of the dreams in which I used to see the Duke of\nChow. [17]\n\n\"Concentrate the mind,\" said he, \"upon the Good Way.\n\n\"Maintain firm hold upon Virtue.\n\n\"Rely upon Philanthropy.\n\n\"Find recreation in the Arts. [18]\n\n\"I have never withheld instruction from any, even from those who have\ncome for it with the smallest offering.\n\n\"No subject do I broach, however, to those who have no eager desire to\nlearn; no encouraging hint do I give to those who show no anxiety to\nspeak out their ideas; nor have I anything more to say to those who,\nafter I have made clear one corner of the subject, cannot from that give\nme the other three.\"\n\nIf the Master was taking a meal, and there were any in mourning beside\nhim, he would not eat to the full.\n\nOn one day on which he had wept, on that day he would not sing.\n\nAddressing his favorite disciple, he said, \"To you only and myself it\nhas been given to do this--to go when called to serve, and to go back\ninto quiet retirement when released from office.\"\n\nTsz-lu, hearing the remark said, \"But if, sir, you had the handling of\nthe army of one of the greater States,[19] whom would you have\nassociated with you in that case?\"\n\nThe Master answered:--\n\n  \"Not the one 'who'll rouse the tiger,'\n   Not the one 'who'll wade the Ho;'\n\nnot the man who can die with no regret. He must be one who should watch\nover affairs with apprehensive caution, a man fond of strategy, and of\nperfect skill and effectiveness in it.\"\n\nAs to wealth, he remarked, \"If wealth were an object that I could go in\nquest of, I should do so even if I had to take a whip and do grooms'\nwork. But seeing that it is not, I go after those objects for which I\nhave a liking.\"\n\nAmong matters over which he exercised great caution were times of\nfasting, war, and sickness.\n\nWhen he was in the State of Ts'i, and had heard the ancient Shau music,\nhe lost all perception of the taste of his meat. \"I had no idea,\" said\nhe, \"that music could have been brought to this pitch.\"\n\nIn the course of conversation Yen Yu said, \"Does the Master take the\npart of the Prince of Wei?\" \"Ah yes!\" said Tsz-kung, \"I will go and ask\nhim that.\"\n\nOn going in to him, that disciple began, \"What sort of men were Peh-I\nand Shuh Ts'i?\" \"Worthies of the olden time,\" the Master replied. \"Had\nthey any feelings of resentment?\" was the next question. \"Their aim and\nobject,\" he answered, \"was that of doing the duty which every man owes\nto his fellows, and they succeeded in doing it;--what room further for\nfeelings of resentment?\" The questioner on coming out said, \"The Master\ndoes not take his part.\"\n\n\"With a meal of coarse rice,\" said the Master, \"and with water to drink,\nand my bent arm for my pillow--even thus I can find happiness. Riches\nand honors without righteousness are to me as fleeting clouds.\"\n\n\"Give me several years more to live,\" said he, \"and after fifty years'\nstudy of the 'Book of Changes' I might come to be free from serious\nerror.\"\n\nThe Master's regular subjects of discourse were the \"Books of the Odes\"\nand \"History,\" and the up-keeping of the Rules of Propriety. On all of\nthese he regularly discoursed.\n\nThe Duke of Shih questioned Tsz-lu about Confucius, and the latter did\nnot answer.\n\nHearing of this, the Master said, \"Why did you not say, He is a man with\na mind so intent on his pursuits that he forgets his food, and finds\nsuch pleasure in them that he forgets his troubles, and does not know\nthat old age is coming upon him?\"\n\n\"As I came not into life with any knowledge of it,\" he said, \"and as my\nlikings are for what is old, I busy myself in seeking knowledge there.\"\n\nStrange occurrences, exploits of strength, deeds of lawlessness,\nreferences to spiritual beings--such-like matters the Master avoided in\nconversation.\n\n\"Let there,\" he said, \"be three men walking together: from that number I\nshould be sure to find my instructors; for what is good in them I should\nchoose out and follow, and what is not good I should modify.\"\n\nOn one occasion he exclaimed, \"Heaven begat Virtue in me; what can man\ndo unto me?\"\n\nTo his disciples he once said, \"Do you look upon me, my sons, as keeping\nanything secret from you? I hide nothing from you. I do nothing that is\nnot manifest to your eyes, my disciples. That is so with me.\"\n\nFour things there were which he kept in view in his\nteaching--scholarliness, conduct of life, honesty, faithfulness.\n\n\"It is not given to me,\" he said, \"to meet with a sage; let me but\nbehold a man of superior mind, and that will suffice. Neither is it\ngiven to me to meet with a good man; let me but see a man of constancy,\nand it will suffice. It is difficult for persons to have constancy, when\nthey pretend to have that which they are destitute of, to be full when\nthey are empty, to do things on a grand scale when their means are\ncontracted!\"\n\nWhen the Master fished with hook and line, he did not also use a net.\nWhen out with his bow, he would never shoot at game in cover.\n\n\"Some there may be,\" said he, \"who do things in ignorance of what they\ndo. I am not of these. There is an alternative way of knowing things,\nviz.--to sift out the good from the many things one hears, and follow\nit; and to keep in memory the many things one sees.\"\n\nPupils from Hu-hiang were difficult to speak with. One youth came to\ninterview the Master, and the disciples were in doubt whether he ought\nto have been seen. \"Why so much ado,\" said the Master, \"at my merely\npermitting his approach, and not rather at my allowing him to draw back?\nIf a man have cleansed himself in order to come and see me, I receive\nhim as such; but I do not undertake for what he will do when he goes\naway.\"\n\n\"Is the philanthropic spirit far to seek, indeed?\" the Master exclaimed;\n\"I wish for it, and it is with me!\"\n\nThe Minister of Crime in the State of Ch'in asked Confucius whether Duke\nCh'an, of Lu was acquainted with the Proprieties; and he answered, \"Yes,\nhe knows them.\"\n\nWhen Confucius had withdrawn, the minister bowed to Wu-ma K'i, a\ndisciple, and motioned to him to come forward. He said, \"I have heard\nthat superior men show no partiality; are they, too, then, partial? That\nprince took for his wife a lady of the Wu family, having the same\nsurname as himself, and had her named 'Lady Tsz of Wu, the elder,' If he\nknows the Proprieties, then who does not?\"\n\nThe disciple reported this to the Master, who thereupon remarked, \"Well\nfor me! If I err in any way, others are sure to know of it.\"\n\nWhen the Master was in company with any one who sang, and who sang well,\nhe must needs have the song over again, and after that would join in it.\n\n\"Although in letters,\" he said, \"I may have none to compare with me, yet\nin my personification of the 'superior man' I have not as yet been\nsuccessful.\"\n\n\"'A Sage and a Philanthropist?' How should I have the ambition?\" said\nhe. \"All that I can well be called is this--An insatiable student, an\nunwearied teacher;--this, and no more.\"--\"Exactly what we, your\ndisciples, cannot by any learning manage to be,\" said Kung-si Hwa.\n\nOnce when the Master was seriously ill, Tsz-lu requested to be allowed\nto say prayers for him. \"Are such available?\" asked the Master. \"Yes,\"\nsaid he; \"and the Manual of Prayers says, 'Pray to the spirits above and\nto those here below,'\"\n\n\"My praying has been going on a long while,\" said the Master.\n\n\"Lavish living,\" he said, \"renders men disorderly; miserliness makes\nthem hard. Better, however, the hard than the disorderly.\"\n\nAgain, \"The man of superior mind is placidly composed; the small-minded\nman is in a constant state of perturbation.\"\n\nThe Master was gentle, yet could be severe; had an over-awing presence,\nyet was not violent; was deferential, yet easy.\n\n\n[Footnote 16: In reference to his editing the six Classics of his time.]\n\n[Footnote 17: This was one of his \"beloved ancients,\" famous for what he\ndid in helping to found the dynasty of Chow, a man of great political\nwisdom, a scholar also, and poet. It was the \"dream\" of Confucius's life\nto restore the country to the condition in which the Duke of Chow left\nit.]\n\n[Footnote 18: These were six in number, viz.: Ceremonial, Music,\nArchery, Horsemanship, Language, and Calculation.]\n\n[Footnote 19: Lit., three forces. Each force consisted of 12,500 men,\nand three of such forces were the equipment of a greater State.]\n\n\n\nBOOK VIII\n\nSayings of Tsang--Sentences of the Master\n\n\nSpeaking of T'ai-pih the Master said that he might be pronounced a man\nof the highest moral excellence; for he allowed the empire to pass by\nhim onwards to a third heir; while the people, in their ignorance of his\nmotives, were unable to admire him for so doing.\n\n\"Without the Proprieties,\" said the Master, \"we have these results: for\ndeferential demeanor, a worried one; for calm attentiveness, awkward\nbashfulness; for manly conduct, disorderliness; for straightforwardness,\nperversity.\n\n\"When men of rank show genuine care for those nearest to them in blood,\nthe people rise to the duty of neighborliness and sociability. And when\nold friendships among them are not allowed to fall off, there will be a\ncessation of underhand practices among the people.\"\n\nThe Scholar Tsang was once unwell, and calling his pupils to him he said\nto them, \"Disclose to view my feet and my hands. What says the Ode?--\n\n  'Act as from a sense of danger,\n    With precaution and with care,\n  As a yawning gulf o'erlooking,\n    As on ice that scarce will bear,'\n\nAt all times, my children, I know how to keep myself free from bodily\nharm.\"\n\nAgain, during an illness of his, Mang King, an official, went to ask\nafter him. The Scholar had some conversation with him, in the course of\nwhich he said--\n\n  \"'Doleful the cries of a dying bird,\n      Good the last words of a dying man,'\n\nThere are three points which a man of rank in the management of his\nduties should set store upon:--A lively manner and deportment, banishing\nboth severity and laxity; a frank and open expression of countenance,\nallied closely with sincerity; and a tone in his utterances utterly free\nfrom any approach to vulgarity and impropriety. As to matters of bowls\nand dishes, leave such things to those who are charged with the care of\nthem.\"\n\nAnother saying of the Scholar Tsang: \"I once had a friend who, though he\npossessed ability, would go questioning men of none, and, though\nsurrounded by numbers, would go with his questions to isolated\nindividuals; who also, whatever he might have, appeared as if he were\nwithout it, and, with all his substantial acquirements, made as though\nhis mind were a mere blank; and when insulted would not retaliate;--this\nwas ever his way.\"\n\nAgain he said: \"The man that is capable of being intrusted with the\ncharge of a minor on the throne, and given authority over a large\nterritory, and who, during the important term of his superintendence\ncannot be forced out of his position, is not such a 'superior man'? That\nhe is, indeed.\"\n\nAgain:--\"The learned official must not be without breadth and power of\nendurance: the burden is heavy, and the way is long.\n\n\"Suppose that he take his duty to his fellow-men as his peculiar burden,\nis that not indeed a heavy one? And since only with death it is done\nwith, is not the way long?\"\n\n\nSentences of the Master:--\n\n\"From the 'Book of Odes' we receive impulses; from the 'Book of the\nRules,' stability; from the 'Book on Music,' refinement. [20]\n\n\"The people may be put into the way they should go, though they may not\nbe put into the way of understanding it.\n\n\"The man who likes bravery, and yet groans under poverty, has mischief\nin him. So, too, has the misanthrope, groaning at any severity shown\ntowards him.\n\n\"Even if a person were adorned with the gifts of the Duke of Chow, yet\nif he were proud and avaricious, all the rest of his qualities would not\nindeed be worth looking at.\n\n\"Not easily found is the man who, after three years' study, has failed\nto come upon some fruit of his toil.\n\n\"The really faithful lover of learning holds fast to the Good Way till\ndeath.\n\n\"He will not go into a State in which a downfall is imminent, nor take\nup his abode in one where disorder reigns. When the empire is well\nordered he will show himself; when not, he will hide himself away. Under\na good government it will be a disgrace to him if he remain in poverty\nand low estate; under a bad one, it would be equally disgraceful to him\nto hold riches and honors.\n\n\"If not occupying the office, devise not the policy.\n\n\"When the professor Chi began his duties, how grand the finale of the\nFirst of the Odes used to be! How it rang in one's ears!\n\n\"I cannot understand persons who are enthusiastic and yet not\nstraightforward; nor those who are ignorant and yet not attentive; nor\nagain those folks who are simple-minded and yet untrue.\n\n\"Learn, as if never overtaking your object, and yet as if apprehensive\nof losing it.\n\n\"How sublime was the handling of the empire by Shun and Yu!--it was as\nnothing to them!\n\n\"How great was Yau as a prince! Was he not sublime! Say that Heaven only\nis great, then was Yau alone after its pattern! How profound was he! The\npeople could not find a name for him. How sublime in his achievements!\nHow brilliant in his scholarly productions!\"\n\n\nShun had for his ministers five men, by whom he ordered the empire.\n\nKing Wu (in his day) stated that he had ten men as assistants for the\npromotion of order.\n\nWith reference to these facts Confucius observed, \"Ability is hard to\nfind. Is it not so indeed? During the three years' interregnum between\nYau and Shun there was more of it than in the interval before this\npresent dynasty appeared. There were, at this latter period, one woman,\nand nine men only.\n\n\"When two-thirds of the empire were held by King Wan, he served with\nthat portion the House of Yin. We speak of the virtue of the House of\nChow; we may say, indeed, that it reached the pinnacle of excellence.\"\n\n\"As to Yu,\" added the Master, \"I can find no flaw in him. Living on\nmeagre food and drink; yet providing to the utmost in his filial\nofferings to the spirits of the dead! Dressing in coarse garments; yet\nmost elegant when vested in his sacrificial apron and coronet! Dwelling\nin a poor palace; yet exhausting his energies over those\nboundary-ditches and watercourses! I can find no flaw in Yu.\"\n\n\n[Footnote 20: Comparison of three of the Classics: the \"Shi-King,\" the\n\"Li Ki,\" and the \"Yoh.\" The last is lost.]\n\n\n\nBOOK IX\n\nHis Favorite Disciple's Opinion of Him\n\n\nTopics on which the Master rarely spoke were--Advantage, and Destiny,\nand Duty of man to man.\n\nA man of the village of Tah-hiang exclaimed of him, \"A great man is\nConfucius!--a man of extensive learning, and yet in nothing has he quite\nmade himself a name!\"\n\nThe Master heard of this, and mentioning it to his disciples he said,\n\"What then shall I take in hand? Shall I become a carriage driver, or an\narcher? Let me be a driver!\"\n\n\"The sacrificial cap,\" he once said, \"should, according to the Rules, be\nof linen; but in these days it is of pure silk. However, as it is\neconomical, I do as all do.\n\n\"The Rule says, 'Make your bow when at the lower end of the hall'; but\nnowadays the bowing is done at the upper part. This is great freedom;\nand I, though I go in opposition to the crowd, bow when at the lower\nend.\"\n\nThe Master barred four words:--he would have no \"shall's,\" no \"must's,\"\nno \"certainty's,\" no \"I's.\"\n\nOnce, in the town of K'wang fearing that his life was going to be taken,\nthe Master exclaimed, \"King Wan is dead and gone; but is not '_wan_'\n[21] with you here? If Heaven be about to allow this '_wan_' to perish,\nthen they who survive its decease will get no benefit from it. But so\nlong as Heaven does not allow it to perish, what can the men of K'wang\ndo to me?\"\n\nA high State official, after questioning Tsz-kung, said, \"Your Master is\na sage, then? How many and what varied abilities must be his!\"\n\nThe disciple replied, \"Certainly Heaven is allowing him full\nopportunities of becoming a sage, in addition to the fact that his\nabilities are many and varied.\"\n\nWhen the Master heard of this he remarked, \"Does that high official know\nme? In my early years my position in life was low, and hence my ability\nin many ways, though exercised in trifling matters. In the gentleman is\nthere indeed such variety of ability? No.\"\n\nFrom this, the disciple Lau used to say, \"'Twas a saying of the Master:\n'At a time when I was not called upon to use them, I acquired my\nproficiency in the polite arts.'\"\n\n\"Am I, indeed,\" said the Master, \"possessed of knowledge? I know\nnothing. Let a vulgar fellow come to me with a question--a man with an\nemptyish head--I may thrash out with him the matter from end to end, and\nexhaust myself in doing it!\"\n\n\"Ah!\" exclaimed he once, \"the phoenix does not come! and no symbols\nissue from the river! May I not as well give up?\"\n\nWhenever the Master met with a person in mourning, or with one in\nfull-dress cap and kirtle, or with a blind person, although they might\nbe young persons, he would make a point of rising on their appearance,\nor, if crossing their path, would do so with quickened step!\n\nOnce Yen Yuen exclaimed with a sigh (with reference to the Master's\ndoctrines), \"If I look up to them, they are ever the higher; if I try to\npenetrate them, they are ever the harder; if I gaze at them as if before\nmy eyes, lo, they are behind me!--Gradually and gently the Master with\nskill lures men on. By literary lore he gave me breadth; by the Rules of\nPropriety he narrowed me down. When I desire a respite, I find it\nimpossible; and after I have exhausted my powers, there seems to be\nsomething standing straight up in front of me, and though I have the\nmind to make towards it I make no advance at all.\"\n\nOnce when the Master was seriously ill, Tsz-lu induced the other\ndisciples to feign they were high officials acting in his service.\nDuring a respite from his malady the Master exclaimed, \"Ah! how long has\nTsz-lu's conduct been false? Whom should I delude, if I were to pretend\nto have officials under me, having none? Should I deceive Heaven?\nBesides, were I to die, I would rather die in the hands of yourselves,\nmy disciples, than in the hands of officials. And though I should fail\nto have a grand funeral over me, I should hardly be left on my death on\nthe public highway, should I?\"\n\nTsz-kung once said to him, \"Here is a fine gem. Would you guard it\ncarefully in a casket and store it away, or seek a good price for it and\nsell it?\" \"Sell it, indeed,\" said the Master--\"that would I; but I\nshould wait for the bidder.\"\n\nThe Master protested he would \"go and live among the nine wild tribes.\"\n\n\"A rude life,\" said some one;--\"how could you put up with it?\"\n\n\"What rudeness would there be,\" he replied, \"if a 'superior man' was\nliving in their midst?\"\n\nOnce he remarked, \"After I came back from Wei to Lu the music was put\nright, and each of the Festal Odes and Hymns was given its appropriate\nplace and use.\"\n\n\"Ah! which one of these following,\" he asked on one occasion, \"are to be\nfound exemplified in me--proper service rendered to superiors when\nabroad; duty to father and elder brother when at home; duty that shrinks\nfrom no exertion when dear ones die; and keeping free from the confusing\neffects of wine?\"\n\nStanding once on the bank of a mountain stream, he said (musingly),\n\"Like this are those that pass away--no cessation, day or night!\"\n\n\nOther sayings:--\n\n\"Take an illustration from the making of a hill. A simple basketful is\nwanting to complete it, and the work stops. So I stop short.\n\n\"Take an illustration from the levelling of the ground. Suppose again\njust one basketful is left, when the work has so progressed. There I\ndesist!\n\n\"Ah! it was Hw\u00fai, was it not? who, when I had given him his lesson, was\nthe unflagging one!\n\n\"Alas for Hw\u00fai! I saw him ever making progress. I never saw him stopping\nshort.\n\n\"Blade, but no bloom--or else bloom, but no produce; aye, that is the\nway with some!\n\n\"Reverent regard is due to youth. How know we what difference there may\nbe in them in the future from what they are now? Yet when they have\nreached the age of forty or fifty, and are still unknown in the world,\nthen indeed they are no more worthy of such regard.\n\n\"Can any do otherwise than assent to words said to them by way of\ncorrection? Only let them reform by such advice, and it will then be\nreckoned valuable. Can any be other than pleased with words of gentle\nsuasion? Only let them comply with them fully, and such also will be\naccounted valuable. With those who are pleased without so complying, and\nthose who assent but do not reform, I can do nothing at all.\n\n\"Give prominent place to loyalty and sincerity.\n\n\"Have no associates in study who are not advanced somewhat like\nyourself.\n\n\"When you have erred, be not afraid to correct yourself.\n\n\"It may be possible to seize and carry off the chief commander of a\nlarge army, but not possible so to rob one poor fellow of his will.\n\n\"One who stands--clad in hempen robe, the worse for wear--among others\nclad in furs of fox and badger, and yet unabashed--'tis Tsz-lu, that, is\nit not?\"\n\nTsz-lu used always to be humming over the lines--\n\n  \"From envy and enmity free,\n  What deed doth he other than good?\"\n\n\"How should such a rule of life,\" asked the Master, \"be sufficient to\nmake any one good?\"\n\n\"When the year grows chilly, we know the pine and cypress are the last\nto fade.\n\n\"The wise escape doubt; the good-hearted, trouble; the bold,\napprehension.\n\n\"Some may study side by side, and yet be asunder when they\ncome to the logic of things. Some may go on together in this\nlatter course, but be wide apart in the standards they reach in\nit. Some, again, may together reach the same standard, and\nyet be diverse in weight of character.\"\n\n  \"The blossom is out on the cherry tree,\n    With a flutter on every spray.\n  Dost think that my thoughts go not out to thee?\n    Ah, why art thou far away!\"\n\nCommenting on these lines the Master said, \"There can hardly have been\nmuch 'thought going out,' What does distance signify?\"\n\n\n[Footnote 21: \"Wan\" was the honorary appellation of the great sage and\nruler, whose praise is in the \"Shi-King\" as one of the founders of the\nChow dynasty, and the term represented civic talent and virtues, as\ndistinct from Wu, the martial talent--the latter being the honorary\ntitle of his son and successor. \"Wan\" also often stands for literature\nand polite accomplishments. Here Confucius simply means, \"If you kill\nme, you kill a sage.\"]\n\n\n\nBOOK X\n\nConfucius in Private and Official Life\n\n\nIn his own village, Confucius presented a somewhat plain and simple\nappearance, and looked unlike a man who possessed ability of speech.\n\nBut in the ancestral temple, and at Court, he spoke with the fluency and\naccuracy of a debater, but ever guardedly.\n\nAt Court, conversing with the lower order of great officials, he spoke\nsomewhat firmly and directly; with those of the higher order his tone\nwas somewhat more affable.\n\nWhen the prince was present he was constrainedly reverent in his\nmovements, and showed a proper degree of grave dignity in demeanor.\n\nWhenever the prince summoned him to act as usher to the Court, his look\nwould change somewhat, and he would make as though he were turning round\nto do obeisance.\n\nHe would salute those among whom he took up his position, using the\nright hand or the left, and holding the skirts of his robe in proper\nposition before and behind. He would make his approaches with quick\nstep, and with elbows evenly bent outwards.\n\nWhen the visitor withdrew, he would not fail to report the execution of\nhis commands, with the words, \"The visitor no longer looks back.\"\n\nWhen he entered the palace gate, it was with the body somewhat bent\nforward, almost as though he could not be admitted. When he stood still,\nthis would never happen in the middle of the gateway; nor when moving\nabout would he ever tread on the threshold. When passing the throne, his\nlook would change somewhat, he would turn aside and make a sort of\nobeisance, and the words he spoke seemed as though he were deficient in\nutterance.\n\nOn going up the steps to the audience chamber, he would gather up with\nboth hands the ends of his robe, and walk with his body bent somewhat\nforward, holding back his breath like one in whom respiration has\nceased. On coming out, after descending one step his countenance would\nrelax and assume an appearance of satisfaction. Arrived at the bottom,\nhe would go forward with quick step, his elbows evenly bent outwards,\nback to his position, constrainedly reverent in every movement.\n\nWhen holding the sceptre in his hand, his body would be somewhat bent\nforward, as if he were not equal to carrying it; wielding it now higher,\nas in a salutation, now lower, as in the presentation of a gift; his\nlook would also be changed and appear awestruck; and his gait would seem\nretarded, as if he were obeying some restraining hand behind.\n\nWhen he presented the gifts of ceremony, he would assume a placid\nexpression of countenance. At the private interview he would be cordial\nand affable.\n\nThe good man would use no purple or violet colors for the facings of his\ndress. [22] Nor would he have red or orange color for his undress. [23]\nFor the hot season he wore a singlet, of either coarse or fine texture,\nbut would also feel bound to have an outer garment covering it. For his\nblack robe he had lamb's wool; for his white one, fawn's fur; and for\nhis yellow one, fox fur. His furred undress robe was longer, but the\nright sleeve was shortened. He would needs have his sleeping-dress one\nand a half times his own length. For ordinary home wear he used thick\nsubstantial fox or badger furs. When he left off mourning, he would wear\nall his girdle trinkets. His kirtle in front, when it was not needed for\nfull cover, he must needs have cut down. He would never wear his (black)\nlamb's-wool, or a dark-colored cap, when he went on visits of condolence\nto mourners. [24] On the first day of the new moon, he must have on his\nCourt dress and to Court. When observing his fasts, he made a point of\nhaving bright, shiny garments, made of linen. He must also at such times\nvary his food, and move his seat to another part of his dwelling-room.\n\nAs to his food, he never tired of rice so long as it was clean and pure,\nnor of hashed meats when finely minced. Rice spoiled by damp, and sour,\nhe would not touch, nor tainted fish, nor bad meat, nor aught of a bad\ncolor or smell, nor aught overdone in cooking, nor aught out of season.\nNeither would he eat anything that was not properly cut, or that lacked\nits proper seasonings. Although there might be an abundance of meat\nbefore him, he would not allow a preponderance of it to rob the rice of\nits beneficial effect in nutrition. Only in the matter of wine did he\nset himself no limit, yet he never drank so much as to confuse himself.\nTradesmen's wines, and dried meats from the market, he would not touch.\nGinger he would never have removed from the table during a meal. He was\nnot a great eater. Meat from the sacrifices at the prince's temple he\nwould never put aside till the following day. The meat of his own\nofferings he would never give out after three days' keeping, for after\nthat time none were to eat it.\n\nAt his meals he would not enter into discussions; and when reposing\n(afterwards) he would not utter a word.\n\nEven should his meal consist only of coarse rice and vegetable broth or\nmelons, he would make an offering, and never fail to do so religiously.\n\nHe would never sit on a mat that was not straight.\n\nAfter a feast among his villagers, he would wait before going away until\nthe old men had left.\n\nWhen the village people were exorcising the pests, he would put on his\nCourt robes and stand on the steps of his hall to receive them.\n\nWhen he was sending a message of inquiry to a person in another State,\nhe would bow twice on seeing the messenger off.\n\nKi K'ang once sent him a present of some medicine. He bowed, and\nreceived it; but remarked, \"Until I am quite sure of its properties I\nmust not venture to taste it.\"\n\nOnce when the stabling was destroyed by fire, he withdrew from the\nCourt, and asked, \"Is any person injured? \"--without inquiring as to the\nhorses.\n\nWhenever the prince sent him a present of food, he was particular to set\nhis mat in proper order, and would be the first one to taste it. If the\nprince's present was one of raw meat, he must needs have it cooked, and\nmake an oblation of it. If the gift were a live animal, he would be sure\nto keep it and care for it.\n\nWhen he was in waiting, and at a meal with the prince, the prince would\nmake the offering,[25] and he (the Master) was the pregustator.\n\nWhen unwell, and the prince came to see him, he would arrange his\nposition so that his head inclined towards the east, would put over him\nhis Court robes, and draw his girdle across them.\n\nWhen summoned by order of the prince, he would start off without waiting\nfor his horses to be put to.\n\nOn his entry into the Grand Temple, he inquired about everything\nconnected with its usages.\n\nIf a friend died, and there were no near relatives to take him to, he\nwould say, \"Let him be buried from my house.\"\n\nFor a friend's gift--unless it consisted of meat that had been offered\nin sacrifice--he would not bow, even if it were a carriage and horses.\n\nIn repose he did not lie like one dead. In his home life he was not\nformal in his manner.\n\nWhenever he met with a person in mourning, even though it were a\nfamiliar acquaintance, he would be certain to change his manner; and\nwhen he met with any one in full-dress cap, or with any blind person, he\nwould also unfailingly put on a different look, even though he were\nhimself in undress at the time.\n\nIn saluting any person wearing mourning he would bow forwards towards\nthe front bar of his carriage; in the same manner he would also salute\nthe bearer of a census-register.\n\nWhen a sumptuous banquet was spread before him, a different expression\nwould be sure to appear in his features, and he would rise up from his\nseat.\n\nAt a sudden thunder-clap, or when the wind grew furious, his look would\nalso invariably be changed.\n\nOn getting into his car, he would never fail (first) to stand up erect,\nholding on by the strap. When in the car, he would never look about, nor\nspeak hastily, nor bring one hand to the other.\n\n  \"Let one but make a movement in his face,\n  And the bird will rise and seek some safer place.\"\n\nApropos of this, he said, \"Here is a hen-pheasant from Shan Liang--and\nin season! and in season!\" After Tsz-lu had got it prepared, he smelt it\nthrice, and then rose up from his seat.\n\n\n[Footnote 22: Because, it is said, such colors were adopted in fasting\nand mourning.]\n\n[Footnote 23: Because they did not belong to the five correct colors\n(viz. green, yellow, carnation, white, and black), and were affected\nmore by females.]\n\n[Footnote 24: Since white was, as it is still, the mourning color.]\n\n[Footnote 25: The act of \"grace,\" before eating.]\n\n\n\nBOOK XI\n\nComparative Worth of His Disciples\n\n\n\"The first to make progress in the Proprieties and in Music,\" said the\nMaster, \"are plain countrymen; after them, the men of higher standing.\nIf I had to employ any of them, I should stand by the former.\"\n\n\"Of those,\" said he, \"who were about me when I was in the Ch'in and\nTs'ai States, not one now is left to approach my door.\"\n\n\"As for Hwui,\" [26] said the Master, \"he is not one to help me on: there\nis nothing I say but he is not well satisfied with.\"\n\n\"What a dutiful son was Min Tsz-k'ien!\" he exclaimed. \"No one finds\noccasion to differ from what his parents and brothers have said of him.\"\n\nNan Yung used to repeat three times over the lines in the Odes about the\nwhite sceptre. Confucius caused his own elder brother's daughter to be\ngiven in marriage to him.\n\nWhen Ki K'ang inquired which of the disciples were fond of learning,\nConfucius answered him, \"There was one Yen Hw\u00fai who was fond of it; but\nunfortunately his allotted time was short, and he died; and now his like\nis not to be found.\"\n\nWhen Yen Yuen died, his father, Yen Lu, begged for the Master's carriage\nin order to get a shell for his coffin. \"Ability or no ability,\" said\nthe Master, \"every father still speaks of 'my son.' When my own son Li\ndied, and the coffin for him had no shell to it, I know I did not go on\nfoot to get him one; but that was because I was, though retired, in the\nwake of the ministers, and could not therefore well do so.\"\n\nOn the death of Yen Yuen the Master exclaimed, \"Ah me! Heaven is ruining\nme, Heaven is ruining me!\"\n\nOn the same occasion, his wailing for that disciple becoming excessive,\nthose who were about him said, \"Sir, this is too much!\"--\"Too much?\"\nsaid he; \"if I am not to do so for him, then--for whom else?\"\n\nThe disciples then wished for the deceased a grand funeral. The Master\ncould not on his part consent to this. They nevertheless gave him one.\nUpon this he remarked, \"He used to look upon me as if I were his father.\nI could never, however, look on him as a son. Twas not my mistake, but\nyours, my children.\"\n\nTsz-lu propounded a question about ministering to the spirits of the\ndeparted. The Master replied, \"Where there is scarcely the ability to\nminister to living men, how shall there be ability to minister to the\nspirits?\" On his venturing to put a question concerning death, he\nanswered, \"Where there is scarcely any knowledge about life, how shall\nthere be any about death?\"\n\nThe disciple Min was by his side, looking affable and bland; Tsz-lu\nalso, looking careless and intrepid; and Yen Yu and Tsz-kung, firm and\nprecise. The Master was cheery. \"One like Tsz-lu there,\" said he, \"does\nnot come to a natural end.\"\n\nSome persons in Lu were taking measures in regard to the Long Treasury\nHouse. Min Tsz-k'ien observed, \"How if it were repaired on the old\nlines?\" The Master upon this remarked, \"This fellow is not a talker, but\nwhen he does speak he is bound to hit the mark!\"\n\n\"There is Yu's harpsichord,\" exclaimed the Master--\"what is it doing at\nmy door?\" On seeing, however, some disrespect shown to him by the other\ndisciples, he added, \"Yu has got as far as the top of the hall; only he\nhas not yet entered the house.\"\n\nTsz-kung asked which was the worthier of the two--Tsz-chang or Tsz-hi\u00e1.\n\"The former,\" answered the Master, \"goes beyond the mark; the latter\nfalls short of it.\"\n\n\"So then Tsz-chang is the better of the two, is he?\" said he.\n\n\"To go too far,\" he replied, \"is about the same as to fall short.\"\n\nThe Chief of the Ki family was a wealthier man than the Duke of Chow had\nbeen, and yet Yen Yu gathered and hoarded for him, increasing his wealth\nmore and more.\n\n\"He is no follower of mine,\" said the Master. \"It would serve him right,\nmy children, to sound the drum, and set upon him.\"\n\nCharacteristics of four disciples:--Tsz-k\u00e1u was simple-minded; Tsang Si,\na dullard; Tsz-chang, full of airs; Tsz-lu, rough.\n\n\"As to Hw\u00fai,\" said the Master, \"he comes near to perfection, while\nfrequently in great want. Tsz-kung does not submit to the appointments\nof Heaven; and yet his goods are increased;--he is often successful in\nhis calculations.\"\n\nTsz-chang wanted to know some marks of the naturally Good Man.\n\n\"He does not walk in others' footprints,\" said the Master; \"yet he does\nnot get beyond the hall into the house.\"\n\nOnce the Master said, \"Because we allow that a man's words have\nsomething genuine in them, are they necessarily those of a superior man?\nor words carrying only an outward semblance and show of gravity?\"\n\nTsz-lu put a question about the practice of precepts one has heard. The\nMaster's reply was, \"In a case where there is a father or elder brother\nstill left with you, how should you practise all you hear?\"\n\nWhen, however, the same question was put to him by Yen Yu, his reply\nwas, \"Yes; do so.\"\n\nKung-si Hwa animadverted upon this to the Master. \"Tsz-lu asked you,\nsir,\" said he, \"about the practice of what one has learnt, and you said,\n'There may be a father or elder brother still alive'; but when Yen Yu\nasked the same question, you answered, 'Yes, do so.' I am at a loss to\nunderstand you, and venture to ask what you meant.\"\n\nThe Master replied, \"Yen Yu backs out of his duties; therefore I push\nhim on. Tsz-lu has forwardness enough for them both; therefore I hold\nhim back.\"\n\nOn the occasion of that time of fear in K'wang, Yen Yuen having fallen\nbehind, the Master said to him (afterwards), \"I took it for granted you\nwere a dead man.\" \"How should I dare to die,\" said he, \"while you, sir,\nstill lived?\"\n\nOn Ki Tsz-jen putting to him a question anent Tsz-lu and Yen Yu, as to\nwhether they might be called \"great ministers,\" the Master answered, \"I\nhad expected your question, sir, to be about something extraordinary,\nand lo! it is only about these two. Those whom we call 'great ministers'\nare such as serve their prince conscientiously, and who, when they\ncannot do so, retire. At present, as regards the two you ask about, they\nmay be called 'qualified ministers.'\"\n\n\"Well, are they then,\" he asked, \"such as will follow their leader?\"\n\n\"They would not follow him who should slay his father and his prince!\"\nwas the reply.\n\nThrough the intervention of Tsz-lu, Tsz-kau was being appointed governor\nof Pi.\n\n\"You are spoiling a good man's son,\" said the Master.\n\nTsz-lu rejoined, \"But he will have the people and their superiors to\ngain experience from, and there will be the altars; what need to read\nbooks? He can become a student afterwards.\"\n\n\"Here is the reason for my hatred of glib-tongued people,\" said the\nMaster.\n\nOn one occasion Tsz-lu, Tsang Sin, Yen Yu, and Kung-si Hwa were sitting\nnear him. He said to them, \"Though I may be a day older than you, do not\n(for the moment) regard me as such. While you are living this unoccupied\nlife you are saying, 'We do not become known.' Now suppose some one got\nto know you, what then?\"\n\nTsz-lu--first to speak--at once answered, \"Give me a State of large size\nand armament, hemmed in and hampered by other larger States, the\npopulation augmented by armies and regiments, causing a dearth in it of\nfood of all kinds; give me charge of that State, and in three years'\ntime I should make a brave country of it, and let it know its place.\"\n\nThe Master smiled at him. \"Yen,\" said he, \"how would it be with you?\"\n\n\"Give me,\" said Yen, \"a territory of sixty or seventy li square, or of\nfifty or sixty square; put me in charge of that, and in three years I\nshould make the people sufficiently prosperous. As regards their\nknowledge of ceremonial or music, I should wait for superior men to\nteach them that.\"\n\n\"And with you, Kung-si, how would it be?\"\n\nThis disciple's reply was, \"I have nothing to say about my capabilities\nfor such matters; my wish is to learn. I should like to be a junior\nassistant, in dark robe and cap, at the services of the ancestral\ntemple, and at the Grand Receptions of the Princes by the Sovereign.\"\n\n\"And with you, Tsang Sin?\"\n\nThis disciple was strumming on his harpsichord, but now the twanging\nceased, he turned from the instrument, rose to his feet, and answered\nthus: \"Something different from the choice of these three.\" \"What harm?\"\nsaid the Master; \"I want each one of you to tell me what his heart is\nset upon.\" \"Well, then,\" said he, \"give me--in the latter part of\nspring--dressed in full spring-tide attire--in company with five or six\nyoung fellows of twenty, [27] or six or seven lads under that age, to do\nthe ablutions in the I stream, enjoy a breeze in the rain-dance, [28]\nand finish up with songs on the road home.\"\n\nThe Master drew in his breath, sighed, and exclaimed, \"Ah, I take with\nyou!\"\n\nThe three other disciples having gone out, leaving Tsang Sin behind, the\nlatter said, \"What think you of the answers of those three?\"--\"Well,\neach told me what was uppermost in his mind,\" said the Master;--\"simply\nthat.\"\n\n\"Why did you smile at Tsz-lu, sir?\"\n\n\"I smiled at him because to have the charge of a State requires due\nregard to the Rules of Propriety, and his words betrayed a lack of\nmodesty.\"\n\n\"But Yen, then--he had a State in view, had he not?\"\n\n\"I should like to be shown a territory such as he described which does\nnot amount to a State.\"\n\n\"But had not Kung-si also a State in view?\"\n\n\"What are ancestral temples and Grand Receptions, but for the feudal\nlords to take part in? If Kung-si were to become an unimportant\nassistant at these functions, who could become an important one?\"\n\n\n[Footnote 26: The men of virtuous life were Yen Yuen (Hw\u00fai), Min\nTsz-k'ien, Yen Pihniu, and Chung-kung (Yen Yung); the speakers and\ndebaters were Tsai Wo and Tsz-kung; the (capable) government servants\nwere Yen Yu and Tsz-lu; the literary students, Tsz-yu and Tsz-hi\u00e1.]\n\n[Footnote 27: Lit., capped ones. At twenty they underwent the ceremony\nof capping, and were considered men.]\n\n[Footnote 28: I.e., before the altars, where offerings were placed with\nprayer for rain. A religious dance.]\n\n\n\nBOOK XII\n\nThe Master's Answers--Philanthropy--Friendships\n\n\nYen Yuen was asking about man's proper regard for his fellow-man. The\nMaster said to him, \"Self-control, and a habit of falling back upon\npropriety, virtually effect it. Let these conditions be fulfilled for\none day, and every one round will betake himself to the duty. Is it to\nbegin in one's self, or think you, indeed! it is to begin in others?\"\n\n\"I wanted you to be good enough,\" said Yen Yuen, \"to give me a brief\nsynopsis of it.\"\n\nThen said the Master, \"Without Propriety use not your eyes; without it\nuse not your ears, nor your tongue, nor a limb of your body.\"\n\n\"I may be lacking in diligence,\" said Yen Yuen, \"but with your favor I\nwill endeavor to carry out this advice.\"\n\nChung-kung asked about man's proper regard for his fellows.\n\nTo him the Master replied thus: \"When you go forth from your door, be as\nif you were meeting some guest of importance. When you are making use of\nthe common people (for State purposes), be as if you were taking part in\na great religious function. Do not set before others what you do not\ndesire yourself. Let there be no resentful feelings against you when you\nare away in the country, and none when at home.\"\n\n\"I may lack diligence,\" said Chung-kung, \"but with your favor I will\nendeavor to carry out this advice.\"\n\nSz-ma Niu asked the like question. The answer he received was this: \"The\nwords of the man who has a proper regard for his fellows are uttered\nwith difficulty.\"\n\n\"'His words--uttered with difficulty?'\" he echoed, in surprise. \"Is that\nwhat is meant by proper regard for one's fellow-creatures?\"\n\n\"Where there is difficulty in doing,\" the Master replied, \"will there\nnot be some difficulty in utterance?\"\n\nThe same disciple put a question about the \"superior man.\" \"Superior\nmen,\" he replied, \"are free from trouble and apprehension.\"\n\n\"'Free from trouble and apprehension!'\" said he. \"Does that make them\n'superior men'?\"\n\nThe Master added, \"Where there is found, upon introspection, to be no\nchronic disease, how shall there be any trouble? how shall there be any\napprehension?\"\n\nThe same disciple, being in trouble, remarked, \"I am alone in having no\nbrother, while all else have theirs--younger or elder.\"\n\nTsz-hi\u00e1 said to him, \"I have heard this: 'Death and life have destined\ntimes; wealth and honors rest with Heaven. Let the superior man keep\nwatch over himself without ceasing, showing deference to others, with\npropriety of manners--and all within the four seas will be his brethren.\nHow should he be distressed for lack of brothers!'\" [29]\n\nTsz-chang asked what sort of man might be termed \"enlightened.\"\n\nThe Master replied, \"That man with whom drenching slander and cutting\ncalumny gain no currency may well be called enlightened. Ay, he with\nwhom such things make no way may well be called enlightened in the\nextreme.\"\n\nTsz-kung put a question relative to government. In reply the Master\nmentioned three essentials:--sufficient food, sufficient armament, and\nthe people's confidence.\n\n\"But,\" said the disciple, \"if you cannot really have all three, and one\nhas to be given up, which would you give up first?\"\n\n\"The armament,\" he replied.\n\n\"And if you are obliged to give up one of the remaining two, which would\nit be?\"\n\n\"The food,\" said he. \"Death has been the portion of all men from of old.\nWithout the people's trust nothing can stand.\"\n\nKih Tsz-shing once said, \"Give me the inborn qualities of a gentleman,\nand I want no more. How are such to come from book-learning?\"\n\nTsz-kung exclaimed, \"Ah! sir, I regret to hear such words from you. A\ngentleman!--But 'a team of four can ne'er o'er-take the tongue!'\nLiterary accomplishments are much the same as inborn qualities, and\ninborn qualities as literary accomplishments. A tiger's or leopard's\nskin without the hair might be a dog's or sheep's when so made bare.\"\n\nDuke Ngai was consulting Yu Joh. Said he, \"It is a year of dearth, and\nthere is an insufficiency for Ways and Means--what am I to do?\"\n\n\"Why not apply the Tithing Statute?\" said the minister.\n\n\"But two tithings would not be enough for my purposes,\" said the duke;\n\"what would be the good of applying the Statute?\"\n\nThe minister replied, \"So long as the people have enough left for\nthemselves, who of them will allow their prince to be without enough?\nBut--when the people have not enough, who will allow their prince all\nthat he wants?\"\n\nTsz-chang was asking how the standard of virtue was to be raised, and\nhow to discern what was illusory or misleading. The Master's answer was,\n\"Give a foremost place to honesty and faithfulness, and tread the path\nof righteousness, and you will raise the standard of virtue. As to\ndiscerning what is illusory, here is an example of an illusion:--Whom\nyou love you wish to live; whom you hate you wish to die. To have wished\nthe same person to live and also to be dead--there is an illusion for\nyou.\"\n\nDuke King of Ts'i consulted Confucius about government. His answer was,\n\"Let a prince be a prince, and ministers be ministers; let fathers be\nfathers, and sons be sons.\"\n\n\"Good!\" exclaimed the duke; \"truly if a prince fail to be a prince, and\nministers to be ministers, and if fathers be not fathers, and sons not\nsons, then, even though I may have my allowance of grain, should I ever\nbe able to relish it?\"\n\n\"The man to decide a cause with half a word,\" exclaimed the Master, \"is\nTsz-lu!\"\n\nTsz-lu never let a night pass between promise and performance.\n\n\"In hearing causes, I am like other men,\" said the Master. \"The great\npoint is--to prevent litigation.\"\n\nTsz-chang having raised some question about government, the Master said\nto him, \"In the settlement of its principles be unwearied; in its\nadministration--see to that loyally.\"\n\n\"The man of wide research,\" said he, \"who also restrains himself by the\nRules of Propriety, is not likely to transgress.\"\n\nAgain, \"The noble-minded man makes the most of others' good qualities,\nnot the worst of their bad ones. Men of small mind do the reverse of\nthis.\"\n\nKi K'ang was consulting him about the direction of public affairs.\nConfucius answered him, \"A director should be himself correct. If you,\nsir, as a leader show correctness, who will dare not to be correct?\"\n\nKi K'ang, being much troubled on account of robbers abroad, consulted\nConfucius on the matter. He received this reply: \"If you, sir, were not\ncovetous, neither would they steal, even were you to bribe them to do\nso.\"\n\nKi K'ang, when consulting Confucius about the government, said, \"Suppose\nI were to put to death the disorderly for the better encouragement of\nthe orderly--what say you to that?\"\n\n\"Sir,\" replied Confucius, \"in the administration of government why\nresort to capital punishment? Covet what is good, and the people will be\ngood. The virtue of the noble-minded man is as the wind, and that of\ninferior men as grass; the grass must bend, when the wind blows upon\nit.\"\n\nTsz-chang asked how otherwise he would describe the learned official who\nmight be termed influential.\n\n\"What, I wonder, do you mean by one who is influential?\" said the\nMaster.\n\n\"I mean,\" replied the disciple, \"one who is sure to have a reputation\nthroughout the country, as well as at home.\"\n\n\"That,\" said the Master, \"is reputation, not influence. The influential\nman, then, if he be one who is genuinely straightforward and loves what\nis just and right, a discriminator of men's words, and an observer of\ntheir looks, and in honor careful to prefer others to himself--will\ncertainly have influence, both throughout the country and at home. The\nman of mere reputation, on the other hand, who speciously affects\nphilanthropy, though in his way of procedure he acts contrary to it,\nwhile yet quite evidently engrossed with that virtue--will certainly\nhave reputation, both in the country and at home.\"\n\nFan Ch'i, strolling with him over the ground below the place of the\nrain-dance, said to him, \"I venture to ask how to raise the standard of\nvirtue, how to reform dissolute habits, and how to discern what is\nillusory?\"\n\n\"Ah! a good question indeed!\" he exclaimed. \"Well, is not putting duty\nfirst, and success second, a way of raising the standard of virtue? And\nis not attacking the evil in one's self, and not the evil which is in\nothers, a way of reforming dissolute habits? And as to illusions, is not\none morning's fit of anger, causing a man to forget himself, and even\ninvolving in the consequences those who are near and dear to him--is not\nthat an illusion?\"\n\nThe same disciple asked him what was meant by \"a right regard for one's\nfellow-creatures.\" He replied, \"It is love to man.\"\n\nAsked by him again what was meant by wisdom, he replied, \"It is\nknowledge of man.\"\n\nFan Ch'i did not quite grasp his meaning.\n\nThe Master went on to say, \"Lift up the straight, set aside the crooked,\nso can you make the crooked straight.\"\n\nFan Ch'i left him, and meeting with Tsz-hi\u00e1 he said, \"I had an interview\njust now with the Master, and I asked him what wisdom was. In his answer\nhe said, 'Lift up the straight, set aside the crooked, and so can you\nmake the crooked straight.' What was his meaning?\"\n\n\"Ah! words rich in meaning, those,\" said the other. \"When Shun was\nemperor, and was selecting his men from among the multitude, he 'lifted\nup' K\u00e1u-y\u00e1u; and men devoid of right feelings towards their kind went\nfar away. And when T'ang was emperor, and chose out his men from the\ncrowd, he 'lifted up' I-yin--with the same result.\"\n\nTsz-kung was consulting him about a friend. \"Speak to him frankly, and\nrespectfully,\" said the Master, \"and gently lead him on. If you do not\nsucceed, then stop; do not submit yourself to indignity.\"\n\nThe learned Tsang observed, \"In the society of books the 'superior man'\ncollects his friends; in the society of his friends he is furthering\ngood-will among men.\"\n\n\n[Footnote 29: From Confucius, it is generally thought.]\n\n\n\nBOOK XIII\n\nAnswers on the Art of Governing--Consistency\n\n\nTsz-lu was asking about government. \"Lead the way in it,\" said the\nMaster, \"and work hard at it.\"\n\nRequested to say more, he added, \"And do not tire of it.\"\n\nChung-kung, on being made first minister to the Chief of the Ki family,\nconsulted the Master about government, and to him he said, \"Let the\nheads of offices be heads. Excuse small faults. Promote men of sagacity\nand talent.\"\n\n\"But,\" he asked, \"how am I to know the sagacious and talented, before\npromoting them?\"\n\n\"Promote those whom you do know,\" said the Master.\n\n\"As to those of whom you are uncertain, will others omit to notice\nthem?\"\n\nTsz-lu said to the Master, \"As the prince of Wei, sir, has been waiting\nfor you to act for him in his government, what is it your intention to\ntake in hand first?\"\n\n\"One thing of necessity,\" he answered--\"the rectification of terms.\"\n\n\"That!\" exclaimed Tsz-lu. \"How far away you are, sir! Why such\nrectification?\"\n\n\"What a rustic you are, Tsz-lu!\" rejoined the Master. \"A gentleman would\nbe a little reserved and reticent in matters which he does not\nunderstand. If terms be incorrect, language will be incongruous; and if\nlanguage be incongruous, deeds will be imperfect. So, again, when deeds\nare imperfect, propriety and harmony cannot prevail, and when this is\nthe case laws relating to crime will fail in their aim; and if these\nlast so fail, the people will not know where to set hand or foot. Hence,\na man of superior mind, certain first of his terms, is fitted to speak;\nand being certain of what he says can proceed upon it. In the language\nof such a person there is nothing heedlessly irregular--and that is the\nsum of the matter.\"\n\nFan Ch'i requested that he might learn something of husbandry. \"For\nthat.\" said the Master, \"I am not equal to an old husbandman.\" Might he\nthen learn something of gardening? he asked. \"I am not equal to an old\ngardener.\" was the reply.\n\n\"A man of little mind, that!\" said the Master, when Fan Ch'i had gone\nout. \"Let a man who is set over the people love propriety, and they will\nnot presume to be disrespectful. Let him be a lover of righteousness,\nand they will not presume to be aught but submissive. Let him love\nfaithfulness and truth, and they will not presume not to lend him their\nhearty assistance. Ah, if all this only were so, the people from all\nsides would come to such a one, carrying their children on their backs.\nWhat need to turn his hand to husbandry?\n\n\"Though a man,\" said he, \"could hum through the Odes--the three\nhundred--yet should show himself unskilled when given some\nadministrative work to do for his country; though he might know much of\nthat other lore, yet if, when sent on a mission to any quarter, he could\nanswer no question personally and unaided, what after all is he good\nfor?\n\n\"Let a leader,\" said he, \"show rectitude in his own personal character,\nand even without directions from him things will go well. If he be not\npersonally upright, his directions will not be complied with.\"\n\nOnce he made the remark, \"The governments of Lu and of Wei are in\nbrotherhood.\"\n\nOf King, a son of the Duke of Wei, he observed that \"he managed his\nhousehold matters well. On his coming into possession, he thought, 'What\na strange conglomeration!'--Coming to possess a little more, it was,\n'Strange, such a result!' And when he became wealthy, 'Strange, such\nelegance!'\"\n\nThe Master was on a journey to Wei, and Yen Yu was driving him. \"What\nmultitudes of people!\" he exclaimed. Yen Yu asked him, \"Seeing they are\nso numerous, what more would you do for them?\"\n\n\"Enrich them,\" replied the Master.\n\n\"And after enriching them, what more would you do for them?\"\n\n\"Instruct them.\"\n\n\"Were any one of our princes to employ me,\" he said, \"after a\ntwelvemonth I might have made some tolerable progress;\"\n\nAgain, \"How true is that saying, 'Let good men have the management of a\ncountry for a century, and they would be adequate to cope with\nevil-doers, and thus do away with capital punishments,'\"\n\nAgain, \"Suppose the ruler to possess true kingly qualities, then surely\nafter one generation there would be good-will among men.\"\n\nAgain, \"Let a ruler but see to his own rectitude, and what trouble will\nhe then have in the work before him? If he be unable to rectify himself,\nhow is he to rectify others?\"\n\nOnce when Yen Yu was leaving the Court, the Master accosted him. \"Why so\nlate?\" he asked. \"Busy with legislation,\" Yen replied. \"The details of\nit,\" suggested the Master; \"had it been legislation, I should have been\nthere to hear it, even though I am not in office.\"\n\nDuke Ting asked if there were one sentence which, if acted upon, might\nhave the effect of making a country prosperous.\n\nConfucius answered, \"A sentence could hardly be supposed to do so much\nas that. But there is a proverb people use which says, 'To play the\nprince is hard, to play the minister not easy.' Assuming that it is\nunderstood that 'to play the prince is hard,' would it not be probable\nthat with that one sentence the country should be made to prosper?\"\n\n\"Is there, then,\" he asked, \"one sentence which, if acted upon, would\nhave the effect of ruining a country?\"\n\nConfucius again replied, \"A sentence could hardly be supposed to do so\nmuch as that. But there is a proverb men have which says, 'Not gladly\nwould I play the prince, unless my words were ne'er withstood.' Assuming\nthat the words were good, and that none withstood them, would not that\nalso be good? But assuming that they were not good, and yet none\nwithstood them, would it not be probable that with that one saying he\nwould work his country's ruin?\"\n\nWhen the Duke of Sheh consulted him about government, he replied, \"Where\nthe near are gratified, the far will follow.\"\n\nWhen Tsz-hi\u00e1 became governor of K\u00fc-fu, and consulted him about\ngovernment, he answered, \"Do not wish for speedy results. Do not look at\ntrivial advantages. If you wish for speedy results, they will not be\nfar-reaching; and if you regard trivial advantages you will not\nsuccessfully deal with important affairs.\"\n\nThe Duke of Sheh in a conversation with Confucius said, \"There are\nsome straightforward persons in my neighborhood. If a father has stolen\na sheep, the son will give evidence against him.\"\n\n\"Straightforward people in my neighborhood are different from those,\"\nsaid Confucius. \"The father will hold a thing secret on his son's\nbehalf, and the son does the same for his father. They are on their way\nto becoming straightforward.\"\n\nFan Ch'i was asking him about duty to one's fellow-men. \"Be courteous,\"\nhe replied, \"in your private sphere; be serious in any duty you take in\nhand to do; be leal-hearted in your intercourse with others. Even though\nyou were to go amongst the wild tribes, it would not be right for you to\nneglect these duties.\"\n\nIn answer to Tsz-kung, who asked, \"how he would characterize one who\ncould fitly be called 'learned official,'\" the Master said, \"He may be\nso-called who in his private life is affected with a sense of his own\nunworthiness, and who, when sent on a mission to any quarter of the\nempire, would not disgrace his prince's commands.\"\n\n\"May I presume,\" said his questioner, \"to ask what sort you would put\nnext to such?\"\n\n\"Him who is spoken of by his kinsmen as a dutiful son, and whom the\nfolks of his neighborhood call' good brother.'\"\n\n\"May I still venture to ask whom you would place next in order?\"\n\n\"Such as are sure to be true to their word, and effective in their\nwork--who are given to hammering, as it were, upon one note--of inferior\ncalibre indeed, but fit enough, I think, to be ranked next.\"\n\n\"How would you describe those who are at present in the government\nservice?\"\n\n\"Ugh! mere peck and panier men!--not worth taking into the reckoning.\"\n\nOnce he remarked, \"If I cannot get _via media_ men to impart instruction\nto, then I must of course take the impetuous and undisciplined! The\nimpetuous ones will at least go forward and lay hold on things; and the\nundisciplined have at least something in them which needs to be brought\nout.\"\n\n\"The Southerners,\" said he, \"have the proverb, 'The man who sticks not\nto rule will never make a charm-worker or a medical man,'\nGood!--'Whoever is intermittent in his practise of virtue will live to\nbe ashamed of it.' Without prognostication,\" he added, \"that will indeed\nbe so.\"\n\n\"The nobler-minded man,\" he remarked, \"will be agreeable even when he\ndisagrees; the small-minded man will agree and be disagreeable.\"\n\nTsz-kung was consulting him, and asked, \"What say you of a person who\nwas liked by all in his village?\"\n\n\"That will scarcely do,\" he answered.\n\n\"What, then, if they all disliked him?\"\n\n\"That, too,\" said he, \"is scarcely enough. Better if he were liked by\nthe good folk in the village, and disliked by the bad.\"\n\n\"The superior man,\" he once observed, \"is easy to serve, but difficult\nto please. Try to please him by the adoption of wrong principles, and\nyou will fail. Also, when such a one employs others, he uses them\naccording to their capacity. The inferior man is, on the other hand,\ndifficult to serve, but easy to please. Try to please him by the\nadoption of wrong principles, and you will succeed. And when he employs\nothers he requires them to be fully prepared for everything.\"\n\nAgain, \"The superior man can be high without being haughty. The inferior\nman can be haughty if not high.\"\n\n\"The firm, the unflinching, the plain and simple, the slow to speak,\"\nsaid he once, \"are approximating towards their duty to their\nfellow-men.\"\n\nTsz-lu asked how he would characterize one who might fitly be called an\neducated gentleman. The master replied, \"He who can properly be\nso-called will have in him a seriousness of purpose, a habit of\ncontrolling himself, and an agreeableness of manner: among his friends\nand associates the seriousness and the self-control, and among his\nbrethren the agreeableness of manner.\"\n\n\"Let good and able men discipline the people for seven years,\" said the\nMaster, \"and after that they may do to go to war.\"\n\nBut, said he, \"To lead an undisciplined people to war--that I call\nthrowing them away.\"\n\n\n\nBOOK XIV\n\nGood and Bad Government--Miscellaneous Sayings\n\n\nYuen Sz asked what might be considered to bring shame on one.\n\n\"Pay,\" said the Master; \"pay--ever looking to that, whether the country\nbe well or badly governed.\"\n\n\"When imperiousness, boastfulness, resentments, and covetousness cease\nto prevail among the people, may it be considered that mutual good-will\nhas been effected?\" To this question the Master replied, \"A hard thing\novercome, it may be considered. But as to the mutual good-will--I cannot\ntell.\"\n\n\"Learned officials,\" said he, \"who hanker after a home life, are not\nworthy of being esteemed as such.\"\n\nAgain, \"In a country under good government, speak boldly, act boldly.\nWhen the land is ill-governed, though you act boldly, let your words be\nmoderate.\"\n\nAgain, \"Men of virtue will needs be men of words--will speak out--but\nmen of words are not necessarily men of virtue. They who care for their\nfellow-men will needs be bold, but the bold may not necessarily be such\nas care for their fellow-men.\"\n\nNan-kung Kwoh, who was consulting Confucius, observed respecting I, the\nskilful archer, and Ngau, who could propel a boat on dry land, that\nneither of them died a natural death; while Yu and Tsih, who with their\nown hands had labored at husbandry, came to wield imperial sway.\n\nThe Master gave him no reply. But when the speaker had gone out he\nexclaimed, \"A superior man, that! A man who values virtue, that!\"\n\n\"There have been noble-minded men,\" said he, \"who yet were wanting in\nphilanthropy; but never has there been a small-minded man who had\nphilanthropy in him.\"\n\nHe asked, \"Can any one refuse to toil for those he loves? Can any one\nrefuse to exhort, who is true-hearted?\"\n\nSpeaking of the preparation of Government Notifications in his day he\nsaid, \"P'i would draw up a rough sketch of what was to be said; the\nShishuh then looked it carefully through and put it into proper shape;\nTsz-yu next, who was master of the ceremonial of State intercourse,\nimproved and adorned its phrases; and Tsz-ch'an of Tung-li added his\nscholarly embellishments thereto.\"\n\nTo some one who asked his opinion of the last-named, he said, \"He was a\nkind-hearted man.\" Asked what he thought of Tsz-si, he exclaimed, \"Alas\nfor him! alas for him!\"--Asked again about Kwan Chung, his answer was,\n\"As to him, he once seized the town of P'in with its three hundred\nfamilies from the Chief of the Pih clan, who, afterwards reduced to\nliving upon coarse rice, with all his teeth gone, never uttered a word\nof complaint.\"\n\n\"It is no light thing,\" said he, \"to endure poverty uncomplainingly; and\na difficult thing to bear wealth without becoming arrogant.\"\n\nRespecting Mang Kung-ch'oh, he said that, while he was fitted for\nsomething better than the post of chief officer in the Ch\u00e1u or Wei\nfamilies, he was not competent to act as minister in small States like\nthose of T'ang or Sieh.\n\nTsz-lu asked how he would describe a perfect man. He replied, \"Let a man\nhave the sagacity of Tsang Wu-chung, the freedom from covetousness of\nKung-ch'oh, the boldness of Chwang of P'in, and the attainments in\npolite arts of Yen Yu; and gift him further with the graces taught by\nthe 'Books of Rites' and 'Music'--then he may be considered a perfect\nman. But,\" said he, \"what need of such in these days? The man that may\nbe regarded as perfect now is the one who, seeing some advantage to\nhimself, is mindful of righteousness; who, seeing danger, risks his\nlife; and who, if bound by some covenant of long standing, never forgets\nits conditions as life goes on.\"\n\nRespecting Kung-shuh Wan, the Master inquired of Kung-ming Ki\u00e1, saying,\n\"Is it true that your master never speaks, never laughs, never takes\naught from others?\"\n\n\"Those who told you that of him,\" said he, \"have gone too far. My master\nspeaks when there is occasion to do so, and men are not surfeited with\nhis speaking. When there is occasion to be merry too, he will laugh, but\nmen have never overmuch of his laughing. And whenever it is just and\nright to take things from others, he will take them, but never so as to\nallow men to think him burdensome.\" \"Is that the case with him?\" said\nthe Master. \"Can it be so?\"\n\nRespecting Tsang Wu-chung the Master said, \"When he sought from Lu the\nappointment of a successor to him, and for this object held on to his\npossession of the fortified city of Fang--if you say he was not then\nusing constraint towards his prince, I must refuse to believe it.\"\n\nDuke Wan of Tsin he characterized as \"artful but not upright\"; and Duke\nHwan of Ts'i as \"upright but not artful.\"\n\nTsz-lu remarked, \"When Duke Hwan caused his brother Kiu to be put to\ndeath, Shau Hwuh committed suicide, but Kwan Chung did not. I should say\nhe was not a man who had much good-will in him--eh?\"\n\nThe Master replied, \"When Duke Hwan held a great gathering of the feudal\nlords, dispensing with military equipage, it was owing to Kwan Chung's\nenergy that such an event was brought about. Match such good-will as\nthat--match it if you can.\"\n\nTsz-kung then spoke up. \"But was not Kwan Chung wanting in good-will? He\ncould not give up his life when Duke Hwan caused his brother to be put\nto death. Besides, he became the duke's counsellor.\"\n\n\"And in acting as his counsellor put him at the head of all the feudal\nlords,\" said the Master, \"and unified and reformed the whole empire; and\nthe people, even to this day, reap benefit from what he did. Had it not\nbeen for him we should have been going about with locks unkempt and\nbuttoning our jackets (like barbarians) on the left. Would you suppose\nthat he should show the same sort of attachment as exists between a poor\nyokel and his one wife--that he would asphyxiate himself in some sewer,\nleaving no one the wiser?\"\n\nKung-shuh Wan's steward, who became the high officer Sien, went up\naccompanied by Wan to the prince's hall of audience.\n\nWhen Confucius heard of this he remarked, \"He may well be esteemed a\n'Wan,'\"\n\nThe Master having made some reference to the lawless ways of Duke Ling\nof Wei, Ki K'ang said to him, \"If he be like that, how is it he does not\nruin his position?\"\n\nConfucius answered, \"The Chung-shuh, Yu, is charged with the\nentertainment of visitors and strangers; the priest T'o has charge of\nthe ancestral temple; and Wang-sun Ki\u00e1 has the control of the army and\nits divisions:--with men such as those, how should he come to ruin?\"\n\nHe once remarked, \"He who is unblushing in his words will with\ndifficulty substantiate them.\"\n\nCh'in Shing had slain Duke Kien. Hearing of this, Confucius, after\nperforming his ablutions, went to Court and announced the news to Duke\nNgai, saying, \"Ch'in Hang has slain his prince. May I request that you\nproceed against him?\"\n\n\"Inform the Chiefs of the Three Families,\" said the duke.\n\nSoliloquizing upon this, Confucius said, \"Since he uses me to back his\nministers, [30] I did not dare not to announce the matter to him; and\nnow he says, 'Inform the Three Chiefs.'\"\n\nHe went to the Three Chiefs and informed them, but nothing could be\ndone. Whereupon again he said, \"Since he uses me to back his ministers,\nI did not dare not to announce the matter.\"\n\nTsz-lu was questioning him as to how he should serve his prince.\n\"Deceive him not, but reprove him,\" he answered.\n\n\"The minds of superior men,\" he observed, \"trend upwards; those of\ninferior men trend downwards.\"\n\nAgain, \"Students of old fixed their eyes upon themselves: now they learn\nwith their eyes upon others.\"\n\nK\u00fc Pih-yuh despatched a man with a message to Confucius. Confucius gave\nhim a seat, and among other inquiries he asked, \"How is your master\nmanaging?\" \"My master,\" he replied, \"has a great wish to be seldom at\nfault, and as yet he cannot manage it.\"\n\n\"What a messenger!\" exclaimed he admiringly, when the man went out.\n\"What a messenger!\"\n\n\"When not occupying the office,\" was a remark of his, \"devise not the\npolicy.\"\n\nThe Learned Tsang used to say, \"The thoughts of the 'superior man' do\nnot wander from his own office.\"\n\n\"Superior men,\" said the Master, \"are modest in their words, profuse in\ntheir deeds.\"\n\nAgain, \"There are three attainments of the superior man which are beyond\nme--the being sympathetic without anxiety, wise without scepticism,\nbrave without fear.\"\n\n\"Sir,\" said Tsz-kung, \"that is what you say of yourself.\"\n\nWhenever Tsz-kung drew comparisons from others, the Master would say,\n\"Ah, how wise and great you must have become! Now I have no time to do\nthat.\"\n\nAgain, \"My great concern is, not that men do not know me, but that they\ncannot.\"\n\nAgain, \"If a man refrain from making preparations against his being\nimposed upon, and from counting upon others' want of good faith towards\nhim, while he is foremost to perceive what is passing--surely that is a\nwise and good man.\"\n\nWi-shang Mau accosted Confucius, saying, \"Kiu, how comes it that you\nmanage to go perching and roosting in this way? Is it not because you\nshow yourself so smart a speaker, now?\"\n\n\"I should not dare do that,\" said Confucius. \"Tis that I am sick of\nmen's immovableness and deafness to reason.\"\n\n\"In a well-bred horse,\" said he, \"what one admires is not its speed, but\nits good points.\"\n\nSome one asked, \"What say you of the remark, 'Requite enmity with\nkindness'?\"\n\n\"How then,\" he answered, \"would you requite kindness? Requite enmity\nwith straightforwardness, and kindness with kindness.\"\n\n\"Ah! no one knows me!\" he once exclaimed.\n\n\"Sir,\" said Tsz-kung, \"how comes it to pass that no one knows you?\"\n\n\"While I murmur not against Heaven,\" continued the Master, \"nor cavil at\nmen; while I stoop to learn and aspire to penetrate into things that are\nhigh; yet 'tis Heaven alone knows what I am.\"\n\nLi\u00e1u, a kinsman of the duke, having laid a complaint against Tsz-lu\nbefore Ki K'ang, an officer came to Confucius to inform him of the fact,\nand he added, \"My lord is certainly having his mind poisoned by his\nkinsman Li\u00e1u, but through my influence perhaps we may yet manage to see\nhim exposed in the marketplace or the Court.\"\n\n\"If right principles are to have their course, it is so destined,\" said\nthe Master; \"if they are not to have their course, it is so destined.\nWhat can Li\u00e1u do against Destiny?\"\n\n\"There are worthy men,\" said the Master, \"fleeing from the world; some\nfrom their district; some from the sight of men's looks; some from the\nlanguage they hear.\"\n\n\"The men who have risen from their posts and withdrawn in this manner\nare seven in number.\"\n\nTsz-lu, having lodged overnight in Shih-mun, was accosted by the\ngate-keeper in the morning. \"Where from?\" he asked. \"From Confucius,\"\nTsz-lu responded. \"That is the man,\" said he, \"who knows things are not\nup to the mark, and is making some ado about them, is it not?\"\n\nWhen the Master was in Wei, he was once pounding on the musical stone,\nwhen a man with a basket of straw crossed his threshold, and exclaimed,\n\"Ah, there is a heart that feels! Aye, drub the stone!\" After which he\nadded, \"How vulgar! how he hammers away on one note!--and no one knows\nhim, and he gives up, and all is over!\n\n  Be it deep, our skirts we'll raise to the waist,\n  --Or shallow, then up to the knee,'\"\n\n\"What determination!\" said the Master. \"Yet it was not\nhard to do.\"\n\nTsz-chang once said to him, \"In the 'Book of the Annals'\nit is stated that while K\u00e1u-tsung was in the Mourning Shed he\nspent the three years without speaking. What is meant by\nthat?\"\n\n\"Why must you name K\u00e1u-tsung?\" said the Master. \"It\nwas so with all other ancient sovereigns: when one of them\ndied, the heads of every department agreed between themselves\nthat they should give ear for three years to the Prime Minister.\"\n\n\"When their betters love the Rules, then the folk are easy\ntools,\" was a saying of the Master.\n\nTsz-lu having asked what made a \"superior man,\" he answered,\n\"Self-culture, with a view to becoming seriously-minded.\"\n\n\"Nothing more than that?\" said he.\n\n\"Self-culture with a view to the greater satisfaction of\nothers,\" added the Master.\n\n\"That, and yet no more?\"\n\n\"Self-culture with a view to the greater satisfaction of all the\nclans and classes,\" he again added. \"Self-culture for the sake\nof all--a result that, that would almost put Yau and Shun into\nthe shade!\"\n\nTo Yuen Jang, [31] who was sitting waiting for him in a squatting\n(disrespectful) posture, the Master delivered himself as follows:\n\"The man who in his youth could show no humility or subordination,\nwho in his prime misses his opportunity, and who when old age\ncomes upon him will not die--that man is a miscreant.\" And he\ntapped him on the shin with his staff.\n\nSome one asked about his attendant--a youth from the village\nof Kiueh--whether he was one who improved. He replied, \"I note\nthat he seats himself in the places reserved for his betters,\nand that when he is walking he keeps abreast with his seniors.\nHe is not one of those who care for improvement: he wants to\nbe a man all at once.\"\n\n\n[Footnote 30: Confucius had now retired from office, and this incident\noccurred only two years before his death.]\n\n[Footnote 31: It is a habit with the Chinese, when a number are out\nwalking together, for the eldest to go first, the others pairing off\naccording to their age. It is a custom much older than the time of\nConfucius.]\n\n\n\nBOOK XV\n\nPractical Wisdom--Reciprocity the Rule of Life\n\n\nDuke Ling of Wei was consulting Confucius about army arrangements. His\nanswer was, \"Had you asked me about such things as temple requisites, I\nhave learnt that business, but I have not yet studied military matters.\"\nAnd he followed up this reply by leaving on the following day.\n\nAfter this, during his residence in the State of Ch'in, his followers,\nowing to a stoppage of food supply, became so weak and ill that not one\nof them could stand. Tsz-lu, with indignation pictured on his\ncountenance, exclaimed, \"And is a gentleman to suffer starvation?\"\n\n\"A gentleman,\" replied the Master, \"will endure it unmoved, but a common\nperson breaks out into excesses under it.\"\n\nAddressing Tsz-kung, the Master said, \"You regard me as one who studies\nand stores up in his mind a multiplicity of things--do you not?\"--\"I\ndo,\" he replied; \"is it not so?\"--\"Not at all. I have one idea--one cord\non which to string all.\"\n\nTo Tsz-lu he remarked, \"They who know Virtue are rare.\"\n\n\"If you would know one who without effort ruled well, was not Shun such\na one? What did he indeed do? He bore himself with reverent dignity and\nundeviatingly 'faced the south,' and that was all.\"\n\nTsz-chang was consulting him about making way in life. He answered, \"Be\ntrue and honest in all you say, and seriously earnest in all you do, and\nthen, even if your country be one inhabited by barbarians, South or\nNorth, you will make your way. If you do not show yourself thus in word\nand deed how should you succeed, even in your own district or\nneighborhood?--When you are afoot, let these two counsels be two\ncompanions preceding you, yourself viewing them from behind; when you\ndrive, have them in view as on the yoke of your carriage. Then may you\nmake your way.\"\n\nTsz-chang wrote them on the two ends of his cincture.\n\n\"Straight was the course of the Annalist Yu,\" said the Master--\"aye,\nstraight as an arrow flies; were the country well governed or ill\ngoverned, his was an arrow-like course.\n\n\"A man of masterly mind, too, is K\u00fc Pih-yuh! When the land is being\nrightly governed he will serve; when it is under bad government he is\napt to recoil, and brood.\"\n\n\"Not to speak to a man.\" said he, \"to whom you ought to speak, is to\nlose your man; to speak to one to whom you ought not to speak is to lose\nyour words. Those who are wise will not lose their man nor yet their\nwords.\"\n\nAgain, \"The scholar whose heart is in his work, and who is\nphilanthropic, seeks not to gain a livelihood by any means that will do\nharm to his philanthropy. There have been men who have destroyed their\nown lives in the endeavor to bring that virtue in them to perfection.\"\n\nTsz-kung asked how to become philanthropic. The Master answered him\nthus: \"A workman who wants to do his work well must first sharpen his\ntools. In whatever land you live, serve under some wise and good man\namong those in high office, and make friends with the more humane of its\nmen of education.\"\n\nYen Yuen consulted him on the management of a country. He answered:--\n\n\"Go by the Hi\u00e1 Calendar. Have the State carriages like those of the Yin\nprinces. Wear the Chow cap. For your music let that of Shun be used for\nthe posturers. Put away the songs of Ch'ing, and remove far from you men\nof artful speech: the Ch'ing songs are immodest, and artful talkers are\ndangerous.\"\n\nOther sayings of the Master:--\n\n\"They who care not for the morrow will the sooner have their sorrow.\n\n\"Ah, 'tis hopeless! I have not yet met with the man who loves Virtue as\nhe loves Beauty.\n\n\"Was not Tsang Wan like one who surreptitiously came by the post he\nheld? He knew the worth of Hw\u00fai of Liu-hi\u00e1, and could not stand in his\npresence.\n\n\"Be generous yourself, and exact little from others; then you banish\ncomplaints.\n\n\"With one who does not come to me inquiring 'What of this?' and 'What of\nthat?' I never can ask 'What of this?' and give him up.\n\n\"If a number of students are all day together, and in their conversation\nnever approach the subject of righteousness, but are fond merely of\ngiving currency to smart little sayings, they are difficult indeed to\nmanage.\n\n\"When the 'superior man' regards righteousness as the thing material,\ngives operation to it according to the Rules of Propriety, lets it issue\nin humility, and become complete in sincerity--there indeed is your\nsuperior man!\n\n\"The trouble of the superior man will be his own want of ability: it\nwill be no trouble to him that others do not know him.\n\n\"Such a man thinks it hard to end his days and leave a name to be no\nlonger named.\n\n\"The superior man is exacting of himself; the common man is exacting of\nothers.\n\n\"A superior man has self-respect, and does not strive; is sociable, yet\nno party man.\n\n\"He does not promote a man because of his words, or pass over the words\nbecause of the man.\"\n\nTsz-kung put to him the question, \"Is there one word upon which the\nwhole life may proceed?\"\n\nThe Master replied, \"Is not Reciprocity such a word?--what you do not\nyourself desire, do not put before others.\"\n\n\"So far as I have to do with others, whom do I over-censure? whom do I\nover-praise? If there be something in them that looks very praiseworthy,\nthat something I put to the test. I would have the men of the present\nday to walk in the straight path whereby those of the Three Dynasties\nhave walked.\n\n\"I have arrived as it were at the annalist's blank page.--Once he who\nhad a horse would lend it to another to mount; now, alas! it is not so.\n\n\"Artful speech is the confusion of Virtue. Impatience over little things\nintroduces confusion into great schemes.\n\n\"What is disliked by the masses needs inquiring into; so also does that\nwhich they have a preference for.\n\n\"A man may give breadth to his principles: it is not principles (in\nthemselves) that give breadth to the man.\n\n\"Not to retract after committing an error may itself be called error.\n\n\"If I have passed the whole day without food and the whole night without\nsleep, occupied with my thoughts, it profits me nothing: I were better\nengaged in learning.\n\n\"The superior man deliberates upon how he may walk in truth, not upon\nwhat he may eat. The farmer may plough, and be on the way to want: the\nstudent learns, and is on his way to emolument. To live a right life is\nthe concern of men of nobler minds: poverty gives them none.\n\n\"Whatsoever the intellect may attain to, unless the humanity within is\npowerful enough to keep guard over it, is assuredly lost, even though it\nbe gained.\n\n\"If there be intellectual attainments, and the humanity within is\npowerful enough to keep guard over them, yet, unless (in a ruler) there\nbe dignity in his rule, the people will fail to show him respect.\n\n\"Again, given the intellectual attainments, and humanity sufficient to\nkeep watch over them, and also dignity in ruling, yet if his movements\nbe not in accordance with the Rules of Propriety, he is not yet fully\nqualified.\n\n\"The superior man may not be conversant with petty details, and yet may\nhave important matters put into his hands. The inferior man may not be\ncharged with important matters, yet may be conversant with the petty\ndetails.\n\n\"Good-fellowship is more to men than fire and water. I have seen men\nstepping into fire and into water, and meeting with death thereby; I\nhave not yet seen a man die from planting his steps in the path of\ngood-fellowship.\n\n\"Rely upon good nature. 'Twill not allow precedence even to a teacher.\n\n\"The superior man is inflexibly upright, and takes not things upon\ntrust.\n\n\"In serving your prince, make your service the serious concern, and let\nsalary be a secondary matter.\n\n\"Where instruction is to be given, there must be no distinction of\npersons.\n\n\"Where men's methods are not identical, there can be no planning by one\non behalf of another.\n\n\"In speaking, perspicuity is all that is needed.\"\n\nWhen the blind music-master Mien paid him a visit, on his approaching\nthe steps the Master called out \"Steps,\" and on his coming to the mat,\nsaid \"Mat.\" When all in the room were seated, the Master told him\n\"So-and-so is here, so-and-so is here.\"\n\nWhen the music-master had left, Tsz-chang said to him, \"Is that the way\nto speak to the music-master?\" \"Well,\" he replied, \"it is certainly the\nway to assist him.\"\n\n\n\nBOOK XVI\n\nAgainst Intestine Strife--Good and Bad Friendships\n\n\nThe Chief of the Ki family was about to make an onslaught upon the\nChuen-yu domain.\n\nYen Yu and Tsz-lu in an interview with Confucius told him, \"The Ki is\nabout to have an affair with Chuen-yu.\"\n\n\"Yen,\" said Confucius, \"does not the fault lie with you? The Chief of\nChuen-yu in times past was appointed lord of the East Mung (mountain);\nbesides, he dwells within the confines of your own State, and is an\nofficial of the State-worship; how can you think of making an onslaught\nupon him?\"\n\n\"It is the wish of our Chief,\" said Yen Yu, \"not the wish of either of\nus ministers.\"\n\nConfucius said, \"Yen, there is a sentence of Ch\u00e1u Jin which runs thus:\n'Having made manifest their powers and taken their place in the official\nlist, when they find themselves incompetent they resign; if they cannot\nbe firm when danger threatens the government, nor lend support when it\nis reeling, of what use then shall they be as Assistants?'--Besides, you\nare wrong in what you said. When a rhinoceros or tiger breaks out of its\ncage--when a jewel or tortoise-shell ornament is damaged in its\ncasket--whose fault is it?\"\n\n\"But,\" said Yen Yu, \"so far as Chuen-yu is concerned, it is now\nfortified, and it is close to Pi; and if he does not now take it, in\nanother generation it will certainly be a trouble to his descendants.\"\n\n\"Yen!\" exclaimed Confucius, \"it is a painful thing to a superior man to\nhave to desist from saying, 'My wish is so-and-so,' and to be obliged to\nmake apologies. For my part, I have learnt this--that rulers of States\nand heads of Houses are not greatly concerned about their small\nfollowing, but about the want of equilibrium in it--that they do not\nconcern themselves about their becoming poor, but about the best means\nof living quietly and contentedly; for where equilibrium is preserved\nthere will be no poverty, where there is harmony their following will\nnot be small, and where there is quiet contentment there will be no\ndecline nor fall. Now if that be the case, it follows that if men in\noutlying districts are not submissive, then a reform in education and\nmorals will bring them to; and when they have been so won, then will you\nrender them quiet and contented. At the present time you two are\nAssistants of your Chief; the people in the outlying districts are not\nsubmissive, and cannot be brought round. Your dominion is divided,\nprostrate, dispersed, cleft in pieces, and you as its guardians are\npowerless. And plans are being made for taking up arms against those who\ndwell within your own State. I am apprehensive that the sorrow of the Ki\nfamily is not to lie in Chuen-yu, but in those within their own screen.\"\n\n\"When the empire is well-ordered,\" said Confucius, \"it is from the\nemperor that edicts regarding ceremonial, music, and expeditions to\nquell rebellion go forth. When it is being ill governed, such edicts\nemanate from the feudal lords; and when the latter is the case, it will\nbe strange if in ten generations there is not a collapse. If they\nemanate merely from the high officials, it will be strange if the\ncollapse do not come in five generations. When the State-edicts are in\nthe hands of the subsidiary ministers, it will be strange if in three\ngenerations there is no collapse.\n\n\"When the empire is well-ordered, government is not left in the hands of\nhigh officials.\n\n\"When the empire is well-ordered, the common people will cease to\ndiscuss public matters.\"\n\n\"For five generations,\" he said, \"the revenue has departed from the\nducal household. Four generations ago the government fell into the hands\nof the high officials. Hence, alas! the straitened means of the\ndescendants of the three Hwan families.\"\n\n\"There are,\" said he, \"three kinds of friendships which are profitable,\nand three which are detrimental. To make friends with the upright, with\nthe trustworthy, with the experienced, is to gain benefit; to make\nfriends with the subtly perverse, with the artfully pliant, with the\nsubtle in speech, is detrimental.\"\n\nAgain, \"There are three kinds of pleasure which are profitable, and\nthree which are detrimental. To take pleasure in going regularly through\nthe various branches of Ceremonial and Music, in speaking of others'\ngoodness, in having many worthy wise friends, is profitable. To take\npleasure in wild bold pleasures, in idling carelessly about, in the too\njovial accompaniments of feasting, is detrimental.\"\n\nAgain, \"Three errors there be, into which they who wait upon their\nsuperior may fall:--(1) to speak before the opportunity comes to them to\nspeak, which I call heedless haste; (2) refraining from speaking when\nthe opportunity has come, which I call concealment; and (3) speaking,\nregardless of the mood he is in, which I call blindness.\"\n\nAgain, \"Three things a superior should guard against:--(1) against the\nlusts of the flesh in his earlier years while the vital powers are not\nfully developed and fixed; (2) against the spirit of combativeness when\nhe has come to the age of robust manhood and when the vital powers are\nmatured and strong, and (3) against ambitiousness when old age has come\non and the vital powers have become weak and decayed.\"\n\n\"Three things also such a man greatly reveres:--(1) the ordinances of\nHeaven, (2) great men, (3) words of sages. The inferior man knows not\nthe ordinances of Heaven and therefore reveres them not, is unduly\nfamiliar in the presence of great men, and scoffs at the words of\nsages.\"\n\n\"They whose knowledge comes by birth are of all men the first in\nunderstanding; they to whom it comes by study are next; men of poor\nintellectual capacity, who yet study, may be added as a yet inferior\nclass; and lowest of all are they who are poor in intellect and never\nlearn.\"\n\n\"Nine things there are of which the superior man should be mindful:--to\nbe clear in vision, quick in hearing, genial in expression, respectful\nin demeanor, true in word, serious in duty, inquiring in doubt, firmly\nself-controlled in anger, just and fair when the way to success opens\nout before him.\"\n\n\"Some have spoken of 'looking upon goodness as upon something beyond\ntheir reach,' and of 'looking upon evil as like plunging one's hands\ninto scalding liquid';--I have seen the men, I have heard the sayings.\n\n\"Some, again, have talked of 'living in seclusion to work out their\ndesigns,' and of 'exercising themselves in righteous living in order to\nrender their principles the more effective';--I have heard the sayings,\nI have not seen the men.\"\n\n\"Duke King of Ts'i had his thousand teams of four, yet on the day of his\ndeath the people had nothing to say of his goodness. Peh-I and Shuh-Ts'i\nstarved at the foot of Shau-yang, and the people make mention of them to\nthis day.\n\n  'E'en if not wealth thine object be,\n  'Tis all the same, thou'rt changed to me.'\n\n\"Is not this apropos in such cases?\"\n\nTsz-k'in asked of Pih-yu, \"Have you heard anything else peculiar from\nyour father?\"\n\n\"Not yet,\" said he. \"Once, though, he was standing alone when I was\nhurrying past him over the vestibule, and he said, 'Are you studying the\nOdes?' 'Not yet,' I replied. 'If you do not learn the Odes,' said he,\n'you will not have the wherewithal for conversing,' I turned away and\nstudied the Odes. Another day, when he was again standing alone and I\nwas hurrying past across the vestibule, he said to me, 'Are you learning\nthe Rules of Propriety?' 'Not yet,' I replied. 'If you have not studied\nthe Rules, you have nothing to stand upon,' said he. I turned away and\nstudied the Rules.--These two things I have heard from him.\"\n\nTsz-k'in turned away, and in great glee exclaimed, \"I asked one thing,\nand have got three. I have learnt something about the Odes, and about\nthe Rules, and moreover I have learnt how the superior man will turn\naway his own son.\"\n\nThe wife of the ruler of a State is called by her husband \"My helpmeet.\"\nShe speaks of herself as \"Your little handmaiden.\" The people of that\nState call her \"The prince's helpmeet,\" but addressing persons of\nanother State they speak of her as \"Our little princess.\" When persons\nof another State name her they say also \"Your prince's helpmeet.\"\n\n\n\nBOOK XVII\n\nThe Master Induced to Take Office--Nature and Habit\n\n\nYang Ho was desirous of having an interview with Confucius, but on the\nlatter's failing to go and see him, he sent a present of a pig to his\nhouse. Confucius went to return his acknowledgments for it at a time\nwhen he was not at home. They met, however, on the way.\n\nHe said to Confucius, \"Come, I want a word with you. Can that man be\nsaid to have good-will towards his fellow-men who hugs and hides his own\nprecious gifts and allows his country to go on in blind error?\"\n\n\"He cannot,\" was the reply.\n\n\"And can he be said to be wise who, with a liking for taking part in the\npublic service, is constantly letting slip his opportunities?\"\n\n\"He cannot,\" was the reply again.\n\n\"And the days and months are passing; and the years do not wait for us.\"\n\n\"True,\" said Confucius; \"I will take office.\"\n\nIt was a remark of the Master that while \"by nature we approximate\ntowards each other, by experience we go far asunder.\"\n\nAgain, \"Only the supremely wise and the most deeply ignorant do not\nalter.\"\n\nThe Master once, on his arrival at Wu-shing, heard the sound of stringed\ninstruments and singing. His face beamed with pleasure, and he said\nlaughingly, \"To kill a cock--why use an ox-knife?\"\n\nTsz-yu, the governor, replied, \"In former days, sir, I heard you say,\n'Let the superior man learn right principles, and he will be loving to\nother men; let the ordinary person learn right principles, and he will\nbe easily managed.'\"\n\nThe Master (turning to his disciples) said, \"Sirs, what he says is\nright: what I said just now was only in play.\"\n\nHaving received an invitation from Kung-shan Fuh-jau, who was in revolt\nagainst the government and was holding to his district of Pi, the Master\nshowed an inclination to go.\n\nTsz-lu was averse to this, and said, \"You can never go, that is certain;\nhow should you feel you must go to that person?\"\n\n\"Well,\" said the Master, \"he who has invited me must surely not have\ndone so without a sufficient reason! And if it should happen that my\nservices were enlisted, I might create for him another East Chow--don't\nyou think so?\"\n\nTsz-chang asked Confucius about the virtue of philanthropy. His answer\nwas, \"It is the being able to put in practice five qualities, in any\nplace under the sun.\"\n\n\"May I ask, please, what these are?\" said the disciple.\n\n\"They are,\" he said, \"dignity, indulgence, faithfulness, earnestness,\nkindness. If you show dignity you will not be mocked; if you are\nindulgent you will win the multitude; if faithful, men will place their\ntrust in you; if earnest, you will do something meritorious; and if\nkind, you will be enabled to avail yourself amply of men's services.\"\n\nPih Hih sent the Master an invitation, and he showed an inclination to\ngo.\n\nTsz-lu (seeing this) said to him, \"In former days, sir, I have heard you\nsay, 'A superior man will not enter the society of one who does not that\nwhich is good in matters concerning himself'; and this man is in revolt,\nwith Chung-man in his possession; if you go to him, how will the case\nstand?\"\n\n\"Yes,\" said the Master, \"those are indeed my words; but is it not said,\n'What is hard may be rubbed without being made thin,' and 'White may be\nstained without being made black'?--I am surely not a gourd! How am I to\nbe strung up like that kind of thing--and live without means?\"\n\n\"Tsz-lu,\" said the Master, \"you have heard of the six words with their\nsix obfuscations?\"\n\n\"No,\" said he, \"not so far.\"\n\n\"Sit down, and I will tell you them. They are these six virtues, cared\nfor without care for any study about them:--philanthropy, wisdom,\nfaithfulness, straightforwardness, courage, firmness. And the six\nobfuscations resulting from not liking to learn about them are,\nrespectively, these:--fatuity, mental dissipation, mischievousness,\nperversity, insubordination, impetuosity.\"\n\n\"My children,\" said he once, \"why does no one of you study the\nOdes?--They are adapted to rouse the mind, to assist observation, to\nmake people sociable, to arouse virtuous indignation. They speak of\nduties near and far--the duty of ministering to a parent, the duty of\nserving one's prince; and it is from them that one becomes conversant\nwith the names of many birds, and beasts, and plants, and trees.\"\n\nTo his son Pih-yu he said, \"Study you the Odes of Chow and the South,\nand those of Shau and the South. The man who studies not these is, I\nshould say, somewhat in the position of one who stands facing a wall!\"\n\n\"'Etiquette demands it.' 'Etiquette demands it,' so people plead,\" said\nhe; \"but do not these hankerings after jewels and silks indeed demand\nit? Or it is, 'The study of Music requires it'--'Music requires it'; but\ndo not these predilections for bells and drums require it?\"\n\nAgain, \"They who assume an outward appearance of severity, being\ninwardly weak, may be likened to low common men; nay, are they not\nsomewhat like thieves that break through walls and steal?\"\n\nAgain, \"The plebeian kind of respect for piety is the very pest of\nvirtue.\"\n\nAgain, \"Listening on the road, and repeating in the lane--this is\nabandonment of virtue.\"\n\n\"Ah, the low-minded creatures!\" he exclaimed. \"How is it possible indeed\nto serve one's prince in their company? Before they have got what they\nwanted they are all anxiety to get it, and after they have got it they\nare all anxiety lest they should lose it; and while they are thus full\nof concern lest they should lose it, there is no length to which they\nwill not go.\"\n\nAgain, \"In olden times people had three moral infirmities; which, it may\nbe, are now unknown. Ambitiousness in those olden days showed itself in\nmomentary outburst; the ambitiousness of to-day runs riot. Austerity in\nthose days had its sharp angles; in these it is irritable and perverse.\nFeebleness of intellect then was at least straightforward; in our day it\nis never aught but deceitful.\"\n\nAgain, \"Rarely do we find mutual good feeling where there is fine speech\nand studied mien.\"\n\nAgain, \"To me it is abhorrent that purple color should be made to\ndetract from that of vermilion. Also that the Odes of Ch'ing should be\nallowed to introduce discord in connection with the music of the Festal\nSongs and Hymns. Also that sharp-whetted tongues should be permitted to\nsubvert governments.\"\n\nOnce said he, \"Would that I could dispense with speech!\"\n\n\"Sir,\" said Tsz-kung, \"if you were never to speak, what should your\npupils have to hand down from you?\"\n\n\"Does Heaven ever speak?\" said the Master. \"The four seasons come and\ngo, and all creatures live and grow. Does Heaven indeed speak?\"\n\nOnce Ju Pi desired an interview with Confucius, from which the latter\nexcused himself on the score of ill-health; but while the attendant was\npassing out through the doorway with the message he took his lute and\nsang, in such a way as to let him hear him.\n\nTsai Wo questioned him respecting the three years' mourning, saying that\none full twelve-month was a long time--that, if gentlemen were for three\nyears to cease from observing rules of propriety, propriety must\ncertainly suffer, and that if for three years they neglected music,\nmusic must certainly die out--and that seeing nature has taught us that\nwhen the old year's grain is finished the new has sprung up for\nus--seeing also that all the changes[32] in procuring fire by friction\nhave been gone through in the four seasons--surely a twelve-month might\nsuffice.\n\nThe Master asked him, \"Would it be a satisfaction to you--that returning\nto better food, that putting on of fine clothes?\"\n\n\"It would,\" said he.\n\n\"Then if you can be satisfied in so doing, do so. But to a gentleman,\nwho is in mourning for a parent, the choicest food will not be\npalatable, nor will the listening to music be pleasant, nor will\ncomforts of home make him happy in mind. Hence he does not do as you\nsuggest. But if you are now happy in your mind, then do so.\"\n\nTsai Wo went out. And the Master went on to say, \"It is want of human\nfeeling in this man. After a child has lived three years it then breaks\naway from the tender nursing of its parents. And this three years'\nmourning is the customary mourning prevalent all over the empire. Can\nthis man have enjoyed the three years of loving care from his parents?\"\n\n\"Ah, it is difficult,\" said he, \"to know what to make of those who are\nall day long cramming themselves with food and are without anything to\napply their minds to! Are there no dice and chess players? Better,\nperhaps, join in that pursuit than do nothing at all!\"\n\n\"Does a gentleman,\" asked Tsz-lu, \"make much account of bravery?\"\n\n\"Righteousness he counts higher,\" said the Master. \"A gentleman who is\nbrave without being just may become turbulent; while a common person who\nis brave and not just may end in becoming a highwayman.\"\n\nTsz-kung asked, \"I suppose a gentleman will have his aversions as well\nas his likings?\"\n\n\"Yes,\" replied the Master, \"he will dislike those who talk much about\nother people's ill-deeds. He will dislike those who, when occupying\ninferior places, utter defamatory words against their superiors. He will\ndislike those who, though they may be brave, have no regard for\npropriety. And he will dislike those hastily decisive and venturesome\nspirits who are nevertheless so hampered by limited intellect.\"\n\n\"And you, too, Tsz-kung,\" he continued, \"have your aversions, have you\nnot?\"\n\n\"I dislike,\" said he, \"those plagiarists who wish to pass for wise\npersons. I dislike those people who wish their lack of humility to be\ntaken for bravery. I dislike also those divulgers of secrets who think\nto be accounted straightforward.\"\n\n\"Of all others,\" said the Master, \"women-servants and men-servants are\nthe most difficult people to have the care of. Approach them in a\nfamiliar manner, and they take liberties; keep them at a distance, and\nthey grumble.\"\n\nAgain, \"When a man meets with odium at forty, he will do so to the end.\"\n\n\n[Footnote 32: Different woods were adopted for this purpose at the\nvarious seasons.]\n\n\n\nBOOK XVIII\n\nGood Men in Seclusion--Duke of Chow to His Son\n\n\n\"In the reign of the last king of the Yin dynasty,\" Confucius I said,\n\"there were three men of philanthropic spirit:--the viscount of Wei, who\nwithdrew from him; the viscount of Ki, who became his bondsman; and\nPi-kan, who reproved him and suffered death.\"\n\nHw\u00fai of Liu-hi\u00e1, who filled the office of Chief Criminal Judge, was\nthrice dismissed. A person remarked to him, \"Can you not yet bear to\nwithdraw?\" He replied, \"If I act in a straightforward way in serving\nmen, whither in these days should I go, where I should not be thrice\ndismissed? Were I to adopt crooked ways in their service, why need I\nleave the land where my parents dwell?\"\n\nDuke King of Ts'i remarked respecting his attitude towards Confucius,\n\"If he is to be treated like the Chief of the Ki family, I cannot do it.\nI should treat him as somewhere between the Ki and Mang Chiefs.--I am\nold,\" he added, \"and not competent to avail myself of him.\"\n\nConfucius, hearing of this, went away.\n\nThe Ts'i officials presented to the Court of Lu a number of female\nmusicians. Ki Hwan accepted them, and for three days no Court was held.\n\nConfucius went away.\n\nTsieh-yu, the madman [33] of Ts'u, was once passing Confucius, singing\nas he went along. He sang--\n\n  \"Ha, the phoenix! Ha, the phoenix!\n  How is Virtue lying prone!\n  Vain to chide for what is o'er,\n  Plan to meet what's yet in store.\n  Let alone! Let alone!\n  Risky now to serve a throne.\"\n\nConfucius alighted, wishing to enter into conversation with him; but the\nman hurried along and left him, and he was therefore unable to get a\nword with him.\n\nCh'ang-ts\u00fc and Kieh-nih [34] were working together on some ploughed\nland. Confucius was passing by them, and sent Tsz-lu to ask where the\nford was.\n\nCh'ang-ts\u00fc said, \"Who is the person driving the carriage?\"\n\n\"Confucius,\" answered Tsz-lu.\n\n\"He of Lu?\" he asked.\n\n\"The same,\" said Tsz-lu.\n\n\"He knows then where the ford is,\" said he.\n\nTsz-lu then put his question to Kieh-nih; and the latter asked, \"Who are\nyou?\"\n\nTsz-lu gave his name.\n\n\"You are a follower of Confucius of Lu, are you not?\"\n\n\"You are right,\" he answered.\n\n\"Ah, as these waters rise and overflow their bounds,\" said he, \"'tis so\nwith all throughout the empire; and who is he that can alter the state\nof things? And you are a follower of a learned man who withdraws from\nhis chief; had you not better be a follower of such as have forsaken the\nworld?\" And he went on with his harrowing, without stopping.\n\nTsz-lu went and informed his Master of all this. He was deeply touched,\nand said, \"One cannot herd on equal terms with beasts and birds: if I am\nnot to live among these human folk, then with whom else should I live?\nOnly when the empire is well ordered shall I cease to take part in the\nwork of reformation.\"\n\nTsz-lu was following the Master, but had dropped behind on the way, when\nhe encountered an old man with a weed-basket slung on a staff over his\nshoulder. Tsz-lu inquired of him, \"Have you seen my Master, sir?\" Said\nthe old man, \"Who is your master?--you who never employ your four limbs\nin laborious work; you who do not know one from another of the five\nsorts of grain!\" And he stuck his staff in the ground, and began his\nweeding.\n\nTsz-lu brought his hands together on his breast and stood still.\n\nThe old man kept Tsz-lu and lodged him for the night, killed a fowl and\nprepared some millet, entertained him, and brought his two sons out to\nsee him.\n\nOn the morrow Tsz-lu went on his way, and told all this to the Master,\nwho said, \"He is a recluse,\" and sent Tsz-lu back to see him again. But\nby the time he got there he was gone.\n\nTsz-lu remarked upon this, \"It is not right he should evade official\nduties. If he cannot allow any neglect of the terms on which elders and\njuniors should live together, how is it that he neglects to conform to\nwhat is proper as between prince and public servant? He wishes for\nhimself personally a pure life, yet creates disorder in that more\nimportant relationship. When a gentleman undertakes public work, he will\ncarry out the duties proper to it; and he knows beforehand that right\nprinciples may not win their way.\"\n\nAmong those who have retired from public life have been Peh-I and\nShuh-Ts'i, Yu-chung, I-yih, Chu-chang, Hw\u00fai of Liuhia, and Sh\u00e1u-lien.\n\n\"Of these,\" said the Master, \"Peh-I and Shuh-Ts'i may be characterized,\nI should say, as men who never declined from their high resolve nor\nsoiled themselves by aught of disgrace.\n\n\"Of Hw\u00fai of Liu-hi\u00e1 and Sh\u00e1u-lien, if one may say that they did decline\nfrom high resolve, and that they did bring disgrace upon themselves, yet\ntheir words were consonant with established principles, and their action\nconsonant with men's thoughts and wishes; and this is all that may be\nsaid of them.\n\n\"Of Yu-chung and I-yih, if it be said that when they retired into\nprivacy they let loose their tongues, yet in their aim at personal\npurity of life they succeeded, and their defection was also successful\nin its influence.\n\n\"My own rule is different from any adopted by these: I will take no\nliberties, I will have no curtailing of my liberty.\"\n\nThe chief music-master went off to Ts'i. Kan, the conductor of the music\nat the second repast, went over to Ts'u. Li\u00e1u, conductor at the third\nrepast, went over to Ts'ai. And Kiueh, who conducted at the fourth, went\nto Ts'in.\n\nFang-shuh, the drummer, withdrew into the neighborhood of the Ho. Wu the\ntambourer went to the Han. And Yang the junior music-master, and Siang\nwho played on the musical stone, went to the sea-coast.\n\nAnciently the Duke of Chow, addressing his son the Duke of Lu, said, \"A\ngood man in high place is not indifferent about the members of his own\nfamily, and does not give occasion to the chief ministers to complain\nthat they are not employed; nor without great cause will he set aside\nold friendships; nor does he seek for full equipment for every kind of\nservice in any single man.\"\n\nThere were once eight officials during this Chow dynasty, who were four\npairs of twins, all brothers--the eldest pair Tab and Kwoh, the next Tub\nand Hwuh, the third Y\u00e9 and Hi\u00e1, the youngest Sui and Kwa.\n\n\n[Footnote 33: He only pretended to be mad, in order to escape being\nemployed in the public service.]\n\n[Footnote 34: Two worthies who had abandoned public life, owing to the\nstate of the times.]\n\n\n\nBOOK XIX\n\nTeachings of Various Chief Disciples\n\n\n\"The learned official,\" said Tsz-chang, \"who when he sees danger ahead\nwill risk his very life, who when he sees a chance of success is mindful\nof what is just and proper, who in his religious acts is mindful of the\nduty of reverence, and when in mourning thinks of his loss, is indeed a\nfit and proper person for his place.\"\n\nAgain he said, \"If a person hold to virtue but never advance in it, and\nif he have faith in right principles and do not build himself up in\nthem, how can he be regarded either as having such, or as being without\nthem?\"\n\nTsz-hi\u00e1's disciples asked Tsz-chang his views about intercourse with\nothers. \"What says your Master?\" he rejoined. \"He says,\" they replied,\n\"'Associate with those who are qualified, and repel from you such as are\nnot,'\" Tsz-chang then said, \"That is different from what I have learnt.\nA superior man esteems the worthy and wise, and bears with all. He makes\nmuch of the good and capable, and pities the incapable. Am I eminently\nworthy and wise?--who is there then among men whom I will not bear with?\nAm I not worthy and wise?--others will be minded to repel me: I have\nnothing to do with repelling them.\"\n\nSayings of Tsz-hi\u00e1:--\n\n\"Even in inferior pursuits there must be something worthy of\ncontemplation, but if carried to an extreme there is danger of\nfanaticism; hence the superior man does not engage in them.\n\n\"The student who daily recognizes how much he yet lacks, and as the\nmonths pass forgets not what he has succeeded in learning, may\nundoubtedly be called a lover of learning.\n\n\"Wide research and steadfast purpose, eager questioning and close\nreflection--all this tends to humanize a man.\n\n\"As workmen spend their time in their workshops for the perfecting of\ntheir work, so superior men apply their minds to study in order to make\nthemselves thoroughly conversant with their subjects.\n\n\"When an inferior man does a wrong thing, he is sure to gloss it over.\n\n\"The superior man is seen in three different aspects:--look at him from\na distance, he is imposing in appearance; approach him, he is gentle and\nwarm-hearted; hear him speak, he is acute and strict.\n\n\"Let such a man have the people's confidence, and he will get much work\nout of them; so long, however, as he does not possess their confidence\nthey will regard him as grinding them down.\n\n\"When confidence is reposed in him, he may then with impunity administer\nreproof; so long as it is not, he will be regarded as a detractor.\n\n\"Where there is no over-stepping of barriers in the practice of the\nhigher virtues, there may be freedom to pass in and out in the practice\nof the lower ones.\"\n\nTsz-yu had said, \"The pupils in the school of Tsz-hi\u00e1 are good enough at\nsuch things as sprinkling and scrubbing floors, answering calls and\nreplying to questions from superiors, and advancing and retiring to and\nfrom such; but these things are only offshoots--as to the root of things\nthey are nowhere. What is the use of all that?\"\n\nWhen this came to the ears of Tsz-hi\u00e1, he said, \"Ah! there he is\nmistaken. What does a master, in his methods of teaching, consider first\nin his precepts? And what does he account next, as that about which he\nmay be indifferent? It is like as in the study of plants--classification\nby _differentiae_. How may a master play fast and loose in his methods\nof instruction? Would they not indeed be sages, who could take in at\nonce the first principles and the final developments of things?\"\n\n\nFurther observations of Tsz-hi\u00e1:--\n\n\"In the public service devote what energy and time remain to study.\nAfter study devote what energy and time remain to the public service.\n\n\"As to the duties of mourning, let them cease when the grief is past.\n\n\"My friend Tsz-chang, although he has the ability to tackle hard things,\nhas not yet the virtue of philanthropy.\"\n\nThe learned Tsang observed, \"How loftily Tsz-chang bears himself!\nDifficult indeed along with him to practise philanthropy!\"\n\nAgain he said, \"I have heard this said by the Master, that 'though men\nmay not exert themselves to the utmost in other duties, yet surely in\nthe duty of mourning for their parents they will do so!'\"\n\nAgain, \"This also I have heard said by the Master: 'The filial piety of\nMang Chwang in other respects might be equalled, but as manifested in\nhis making no changes among his father's ministers, nor in his father's\nmode of government--that aspect of it could not easily be equalled.'\"\n\nYang Fu, having been made senior Criminal Judge by the Chief of the Mang\nclan, consulted with the learned Tsang. The latter advised him as\nfollows: \"For a long time the Chiefs have failed in their government,\nand the people have become unsettled. When you arrive at the facts of\ntheir cases, do not rejoice at your success in that, but rather be sorry\nfor them, and have pity upon them.\"\n\nTsz-kung once observed, \"We speak of 'the iniquity of Ch\u00e1u'--but 'twas\nnot so great as this. And so it is that the superior man is averse from\nsettling in this sink, into which everything runs that is foul in the\nempire.\"\n\nAgain he said, \"Faults in a superior man are like eclipses of the sun or\nmoon: when he is guilty of a trespass men all see it; and when he is\nhimself again, all look up to him.\"\n\nKung-sun Ch'an of Wei inquired of Tsz-kung how Confucius acquired his\nlearning.\n\nTsz-kung replied, \"The teachings of Wan and Wu have not yet fallen to\nthe ground. They exist in men. Worthy and wise men have the more\nimportant of these stored up in their minds; and others, who are not\nsuch, store up the less important of them; and as no one is thus without\nthe teachings of Wan and Wu, how should our Master not have learned? And\nmoreover what permanent preceptor could he have?\"\n\nShuh-sun Wu-shuh, addressing the high officials at the Court, remarked\nthat Tsz-kung was a greater worthy than Confucius.\n\nTsz-fuh King-pih went and informed Tsz-kung of this remark.\n\nTsz-kung said, \"Take by way of comparison the walls outside our houses.\nMy wall is shoulder-high, and you may look over it and see what the\nhouse and its contents are worth. My Master's wall is tens of feet high,\nand unless you should effect an entrance by the door, you would fail to\nbehold the beauty of the ancestral hall and the rich array of all its\nofficers. And they who effect an entrance by the door, methinks, are\nfew! Was it not, however, just like him--that remark of the Chief?\"\n\nShuh-sun Wu-shuh had been casting a slur on the character of Confucius.\n\n\"No use doing that,\" said Tsz-kung; \"he is irreproachable. The wisdom\nand worth of other men are little hills and mounds of earth:\ntraversible. He is the sun, or the moon, impossible to reach and pass.\nAnd what harm, I ask, can a man do to the sun or the moon, by wishing to\nintercept himself from either? It all shows that he knows not how to\ngauge capacity.\"\n\nTsz-k'in, addressing Tsz-kung, said, \"You depreciate yourself. Confucius\nis surely not a greater worthy than yourself.\"\n\nTsz-kung replied, \"In the use of words one ought never to be\nincautious; because a gentleman for one single utterance of his is apt\nto be considered a wise man, and for a single utterance may be accounted\nunwise. No more might one think of attaining to the Master's perfections\nthan think of going upstairs to Heaven! Were it ever his fortune to be\nat the head of the government of a country, then that which is spoken of\nas 'establishing the country' would be establishment indeed; he would be\nits guide and it would follow him, he would tranquillize it and it would\nrender its willing homage: he would give forward impulses to it to which\nit would harmoniously respond. In his life he would be its glory, at his\ndeath there would be great lamentation. How indeed could such as he be\nequalled?\"\n\n\n\nBOOK XX\n\nExtracts from the Book of History\n\n\nThe Emperor Yau said to Shun, \"Ah, upon you, upon your person, lies the\nHeaven-appointed order of succession! Faithfully hold to it, without any\ndeflection; for if within the four seas necessity and want befall the\npeople, your own revenue will forever come to an end.\"\n\nShun also used the same language in handing down the appointment to Yu.\n\nThe Emperor T'ang in his prayer, said, \"I, the child Li, presume to\navail me of an ox of dusky hue, and presume to manifestly announce to\nThee, O God, the most high and Sovereign Potentate, that to the\ntransgressor I dare not grant forgiveness, nor yet keep in abeyance Thy\nministers. Judgment rests in Thine heart, O God. Should we ourself\ntransgress, may the guilt not be visited everywhere upon all. Should the\npeople all transgress, be the guilt upon ourself!\"\n\nChow possessed great gifts, by which the able and good were richly\nendowed.\n\n\"Although,\" said King Wu, \"he is surrounded by his near relatives, they\nare not to be compared with men of humane spirit. The people are\nsuffering wrongs, and the remedy rests with me--the one man.\"\n\nAfter Wu had given diligent attention to the various weights and\nmeasures, examined the laws and regulations, and restored the degraded\nofficials, good government everywhere ensued.\n\nHe caused ruined States to flourish again, reinstated intercepted heirs,\nand promoted to office men who had gone into retirement; and the hearts\nof the people throughout the empire drew towards him.\n\nAmong matters of prime consideration with him were these--food for the\npeople, the duty of mourning, and sacrificial offerings to the departed.\n\nHe was liberal and large-hearted, and so won all hearts; true, and so\nwas trusted by the people; energetic, and thus became a man of great\nachievements; just in his rule, and all were well content.\n\nTsz-chang in a conversation with Confucius asked, \"What say you is\nessential for the proper conduct of government?\"\n\nThe Master replied, \"Let the ruler hold in high estimation the five\nexcellences, and eschew the four evils; then may he conduct his\ngovernment properly.\"\n\n\"And what call you the five excellences?\" he was asked.\n\n\"They are,\" he said, \"Bounty without extravagance; burdening without\nexciting discontent; desire without covetousness; dignity without\nhaughtiness; show of majesty without fierceness.\"\n\n\"What mean you,\" asked Tsz-chang, \"by bounty without extravagance?\"\n\n\"Is it not this,\" he replied--\"to make that which is of benefit to the\npeople still more beneficial? When he selects for them such labors as it\nis possible for them to do, and exacts them, who will then complain? So\nwhen his desire is the virtue of humaneness, and he attains it, how\nshall he then be covetous? And if--whether he have to do with few or\nwith many, with small or with great--he do not venture ever to be\ncareless, is not this also to have dignity without haughtiness? And\nif--when properly vested in robe and cap, and showing dignity in his\nevery look--his appearance be so imposing that the people look up to and\nstand in awe of him, is not this moreover to show majesty without\nfierceness?\"\n\n\"What, then, do you call the four evils?\" said Tsz-chang.\n\nThe answer here was, \"Omitting to instruct the people and then\ninflicting capital punishment on them--which means cruel tyranny.\nOmitting to give them warning and yet looking for perfection in\nthem--which means oppression. Being slow and late in issuing\nrequisitions, and exacting strict punctuality in the returns--which\nmeans robbery. And likewise, in intercourse with men, to expend and to\nreceive in a stingy manner--which is to act the part of a mere\ncommissioner.\"\n\n\"None can be a superior man,\" said the Master, \"who does not recognize\nthe decrees of Heaven.\n\n\"None can have stability in him without a knowledge of the proprieties.\n\n\"None can know a man without knowing his utterances.\"\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE SAYINGS OF MENICUS\n\n[Translated into English by James Legge_]\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\n\nA hundred years after the time of Confucius the Chinese nation seemed to\nhave fallen back into their original condition of lawlessness and\noppression. The King's power and authority was laughed to scorn, the\npeople were pillaged by the feudal nobility, and famine reigned in many\ndistricts. The foundations of truth and social order seemed to be\noverthrown. There were teachers of immorality abroad, who published the\nold Epicurean doctrine, \"Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die.\"\nThis teaching was accompanied by a spirit of cold-blooded egotism which\nextinguished every spark of Confucian altruism. Even the pretended\ndisciples of Confucius confused the precepts of the Master, and by\nstripping them of their narrow significance rendered them nugatory. It\nwas at this point that Mang-tsze, \"Mang the philosopher,\" arose. He was\nsturdy in bodily frame, vigorous in mind, profound in political sagacity\nand utterly fearless in denouncing the errors of his countrymen. He had\nbeen brought up among the disciples of Confucius, in whose province he\nwas born B.C. 372, but he was much more active and aggressive, less a\nMystic than a fanatic, in comparison! with his Master. He resolved on\nactive measures in stemming the tendency of his day. He did indeed\nsurround himself with a school of disciples, but instead of making a\nseries of desultory travels, teaching in remote places and along the\nhigh-road, he went to the heart of the evil. He presented himself like a\nsecond John the Baptist at the courts of kings and princes, and there\nboldly denounced vice and misrule. It was not difficult for a Chinese\nscholar and teacher to find access to the highest of the land. The\nChinese believed in the divine right of learning, just as they believed\nin the divine right of kings. Mang employed every weapon of persuasion\nin trying to combat heresy and oppression; alternately ridiculing and\nreproving: now appealing in a burst of moral enthusiasm, and now\ndenouncing in terms of cutting sarcasm the abuses which after all he\nfailed to check. The last prince whom he successfully confronted was the\nMarquis of Lu, who turned him carelessly away. He accepted this as the\nDivine sentence of his failure, \"That I have not found in this marquis,\na ruler who would hearken to me is an intimation of heaven.\" Henceforth\nhe lived in retirement until his ninety-seventh year; but from his\napparent failure sprang a practical success. His written teachings are\namongst the most lively and epigrammatic works of Chinese literature,\nhave done much to keep alive amongst his countrymen the spirit of\nConfucianism, and even Western readers may drink wisdom from this spring\nof Oriental lore. The following selections from his sayings well exhibit\nthe spirit of his system of philosophy and morality.\n\n E.W.\n\n\n\n\nTHE SAYINGS OF MENCIUS\n\n\n\nBOOK I\n\nKING HWUY OF L\u00cbANG\n\n\nPart I\n\nMencius went to see King Hwuy of L\u00ebang. [1] The king said, \"Venerable\nSir, since you have not counted it far to come here a distance of a\nthousand li, may I presume that you are likewise provided with counsels\nto profit my kingdom?\" Mencius replied, \"Why must your Majesty used that\nword 'profit'? What I am likewise provided with are counsels to\nbenevolence and righteousness; and these are my only topics.\n\n\"If your Majesty say, 'What is to be done to profit my kingdom?' the\ngreat officers will say, 'What is to be done to profit our families?'\nand the inferior officers and the common people will say, 'What is to be\ndone to profit our persons?' Superiors and inferiors will try to take\nthe profit the one from the other, and the kingdom will be endangered.\nIn the kingdom of ten thousand chariots, the murderer of his ruler will\nbe the chief of a family of a thousand chariots. In the State of a\nthousand chariots, the murderer of his ruler will be the chief of a\nfamily of a hundred chariots. To have a thousand in ten thousand, and a\nhundred in a thousand, cannot be regarded as not a large allowance; but\nif righteousness be put last and profit first, they will not be\nsatisfied without snatching all.\n\n\"There never was a man trained to benevolence who neglected his parents.\nThere never was a man trained to righteousness who made his ruler an\nafter consideration. Let your Majesty likewise make benevolence and\nrighteousness your only themes--Why must you speak of profit?\"\n\nWhen Mencius, another day, was seeing King Hwuy of L\u00ebang, the King went\nand stood with him by a pond, and, looking round on the wild geese and\ndeer, large and small, said, \"Do wise and good princes also take\npleasure in these things?\" Mencius replied, \"Being wise and good, they\nthen have pleasure in these things. If they are not wise and good,\nthough they have these things, they do not find pleasure.\" It is said in\nthe 'Book of Poetry':--\n\n  'When he planned the commencement of the Marvellous tower,\n  He planned it, and defined it,\n  And the people in crowds undertook the work,\n  And in no time completed it.\n  When he planned the commencement, he said, \"Be not in a hurry.\"\n  But the people came as if they were his children.\n  The king was in the Marvellous park,\n  Where the does were lying down--\n  The does so sleek and fat;\n  With the white birds glistening.\n  The king was by the Marvellous pond;--\n  How full was it of fishes leaping about!'\n\nKing Wan used the strength of the people to make his tower and pond, and\nthe people rejoiced to do the work, calling the tower 'the Marvellous\nTower,' and the pond 'the Marvellous Pond,' and being glad that he had\nhis deer, his fishes and turtles. The ancients caused their people to\nhave pleasure as well as themselves, and therefore they could enjoy it.\n\n\"In the Declaration of T'ang it is said, 'O Sun, when wilt thou expire?\nWe will die together with thee.' The people wished for K\u00ebeh's death,\nthough they should die with him. Although he had his tower, his pond,\nbirds and animals, how could he have pleasure alone?\"\n\nKing Hwuy of L\u00ebang said, \"Small as my virtue is, in the government of my\nkingdom, I do indeed exert my mind to the utmost. If the year be bad\ninside the Ho, I remove as many of the people as I can to the east of\nit, and convey grain to the country inside. If the year be bad on the\neast of the river, I act on the same plan. On examining the governmental\nmethods of the neighboring kingdoms, I do not find there is any ruler\nwho exerts his mind as I do. And yet the people of the neighboring kings\ndo not decrease, nor do my people increase--how is this?\"\n\nMencius replied, \"Your Majesty loves war; allow me to take an\nillustration from war. The soldiers move forward at the sound of the\ndrum; and when the edges of their weapons have been crossed, on one\nside, they throw away their buff coats, trail their weapons behind them,\nand run. Some run a hundred paces and then stop; some run fifty paces\nand stop. What would you think if these, because they had run but fifty\npaces, should laugh at those who ran a hundred paces?\" The king said,\n\"They cannot do so. They only did not run a hundred paces; but they also\nran.\" Mencius said, \"Since your Majesty knows this you have no ground to\nexpect that your people will become more numerous than those of the\nneighboring kingdoms.\n\n\"If the seasons of husbandry be not interfered with, the grain will be\nmore than can be eaten. If close nets are not allowed to enter the pools\nand ponds, the fish and turtles will be more than can be consumed. If\nthe axes and bills enter the hill-forests only at the proper times, the\nwood will be more than can be used. When the grain and fish and turtles\nare more than can be eaten, and there is more wood than can be used,\nthis enables the people to nourish their living and do all offices for\ntheir dead, without any feeling against any. But this condition, in\nwhich the people nourish their living, and do all offices to their dead\nwithout having any feeling against any, is the first step in the Royal\nway.\n\n\"Let mulberry trees be planted about the homesteads with their five\nacres, and persons of fifty years will be able to wear silk. In keeping\nfowls, pigs, dogs, and swine, let not their time of breeding be\nneglected, and persons of seventy years will be able to eat flesh. Let\nthere not be taken away the time that is proper for the cultivation of\nthe field allotment of a hundred acres, and the family of several mouths\nwill not suffer from hunger. Let careful attention be paid to the\nteaching in the various schools, with repeated inculcation of the filial\nand fraternal duties, and gray-haired men will not be seen upon the\nroads, carrying burdens on their backs or on their heads. It has never\nbeen that the ruler of a State where these results were seen, persons of\nseventy wearing silk and eating flesh, and the black-haired people\nsuffering neither from hunger nor cold, did not attain to the Royal\ndignity.\n\n\"Your dogs and swine eat the food of men, and you do not know to store\nup of the abundance. There are people dying from famine on the roads,\nand you do not know to issue your stores for their relief. When men die,\nyou say, 'It is not owing to me; it is owing to the year,' In what does\nthis differ from stabbing a man and killing him, and then saying, 'It\nwas not I; it was the weapon'? Let your Majesty cease to lay the blame\non the year and instantly the people, all under the sky, will come to\nyou.\"\n\nKing Hwuy of L\u00ebang said, \"I wish quietly to receive your instructions.\"\nMencius replied, \"Is there any difference between killing a man with a\nstick and with a sword?\" \"There is no difference,\" was the answer.\n\nMencius continued, \"Is there any difference between doing it with a\nsword and with governmental measures?\" \"There is not,\" was the answer\nagain.\n\nMencius then said, \"In your stalls there are fat beasts; in your stables\nthere are fat horses. But your people have the look of hunger, and in\nthe fields there are those who have died of famine. This is leading on\nbeasts to devour men. Beasts devour one another, and men hate them for\ndoing so. When he who is called the parent of the people conducts his\ngovernment so as to be chargeable with leading on beasts to devour men,\nwhere is that parental relation to the people? Chung-ne said, 'Was he\nnot without posterity who first made wooden images to bury with the\ndead?' So he said, because that man made the semblances of men and used\nthem for that purpose; what shall be thought of him who causes his\npeople to die of hunger?\"\n\nKing Hwuy of L\u00ebang said, \"There was not in the kingdom a stronger State\nthan Ts'in, as you, venerable Sir, know. But since it descended to me,\non the east we were defeated by Ts'e, and then my eldest son perished;\non the west we lost seven hundred li of territory to Ts'in; and on the\nsouth we have sustained disgrace at the hands of Ts'oo. I have brought\nshame on my departed predecessors, and wish on their account to wipe it\naway once for all. What course is to be pursued to accomplish this?\"\n\nMencius replied, \"With a territory only a hundred li square it has been\npossible to obtain the Royal dignity. If your Majesty will indeed\ndispense a benevolent government to the people, being sparing in the use\nof punishments and fines, and making the taxes and levies of produce\nlight, so causing that the fields shall be ploughed deep, and the\nweeding well attended to, and that the able-bodied, during their days of\nleisure, shall cultivate their filial piety, fraternal duty,\nfaithfulness, and truth, serving thereby, at home, their fathers and\nelder brothers, and, abroad, their elders and superiors, you will then\nhave a people who can be employed with sticks which they have prepared\nto oppose the strong buff-coats and sharp weapons of the troops of Ts'in\nand Ts'oo.\n\n\"The rulers of those States rob their people of their time, so that they\ncannot plough and weed their fields in order to support their parents.\nParents suffer from cold and hunger; elder and younger brothers, wives\nand children, are separated and scattered abroad. Those rulers drive\ntheir people into pitfalls or into the water; and your Majesty will go\nto punish them. In such a case, who will oppose your Majesty? In\naccordance with this is the saying, 'The benevolent has no enemy!' I beg\nyour Majesty not to doubt what I said.\"\n\nMencius had an interview with King S\u00ebang[2] of L\u00ebang. When he came out\nhe said to some persons, \"When I looked at him from a distance, he did\nnot appear like a ruler; when I drew near to him, I saw nothing\nvenerable about him. Abruptly he asked me, 'How can the kingdom, all\nunder the sky, be settled?' I replied, 'It will be settled by being\nunited under one sway,'\n\n\"'Who can so unite it?' he asked.\n\n\"I replied, 'He who has no pleasure in killing men can so unite it.'\n\n\"'Who can give it to him?' he asked.\n\n\"I replied, 'All under heaven will give it to him. Does your Majesty\nknow the way of the growing grain? During the seventh and eighth months,\nwhen drought prevails, the plants become dry. Then the clouds collect\ndensely in the heavens, and send down torrents of rain, so that the grain\nerects itself as if by a shoot. When it does so, who can keep it back?\nNow among those who are shepherds of men throughout the kingdom, there\nis not one who does not find pleasure in killing men. If there were one\nwho did not find pleasure in killing men, all the people under the sky\nwould be looking towards him with outstretched necks. Such being indeed\nthe case, the people would go to him as water flows downwards with a\nrush, which no one can repress.\"\n\nKing Seuen of Ts'e asked, saying, \"May I be informed by you of the\ntransactions of Hwan of Ts'e and Wan of Ts'in?\"\n\nMencius replied, \"There were none of the disciples of Chung-ne who spoke\nabout the affairs of Hwan and Wan, and therefore they have not been\ntransmitted to these after-ages; your servant has not heard of them. If\nyou will have me speak, let it be about the principles of attaining to\nthe Royal sway.\"\n\nThe king said, \"Of what kind must his virtue be who can attain to the\nRoyal sway?\" Mencius said, \"If he loves and protects the people, it is\nimpossible to prevent him from attaining it.\"\n\nThe king said, \"Is such an one as poor I competent to love and protect\nthe people?\" \"Yes,\" was the reply. \"From what do you know that I am\ncompetent to that?\" \"I have heard,\" said Mencius, \"from Hoo Heih the\nfollowing incident:--'The king,' said he, 'was sitting aloft in the\nhall, when some people appeared leading a bull past below it. The king\nsaw it, and asked where the bull was going, and being answered that they\nwere going to consecrate a bell with its blood, he said, \"Let it go, I\ncannot bear its frightened appearance--as if it were an innocent person\ngoing to the place of death.\" They asked in reply whether, if they did\nso, they should omit the consecration of the bell, but the king said,\n\"How can that be omitted? Change it for a sheep.\"' I do not know whether\nthis incident occurred.\"\n\n\"It did,\" said the king, and Mencius replied, \"The heart seen in this is\nsufficient to carry you to the Royal sway. The people all supposed that\nyour Majesty grudged the animal, but your servant knows surely that it\nwas your Majesty's not being able to bear the sight of the creature's\ndistress which made you do as you did.\"\n\nThe king said, \"You are right; and yet there really was an appearance of\nwhat the people imagined. But though Ts'e be narrow and small, how\nshould I grudge a bull? Indeed it was because I could not bear its\nfrightened appearance, as if it were an innocent person going to the\nplace of death, that therefore I changed it for a sheep.\"\n\nMencius said, \"Let not your Majesty deem it strange that the people\nshould think you grudged the animal. When you changed a large one for a\nsmall, how should they know the true reason? If you felt pained by its\nbeing led without any guilt to the place of death, what was there to\nchoose between a bull and a sheep?\" The king laughed and said, \"What\nreally was my mind in the matter? I did not grudge the value of the\nbull, and yet I changed it for a sheep! There was reason in the people's\nsaying that I grudged the creature.\"\n\nMencius said, \"There is no harm in their saying so. It was an artifice\nof benevolence. You saw the bull, and had not seen the sheep. So is the\nsuperior man affected towards animals, that, having seen them alive, he\ncannot bear to see them die, and, having heard their dying cries, he\ncannot bear to eat their flesh. On this account he keeps away from his\nstalls and kitchen.\"\n\nThe king was pleased and said, \"The Ode says,\n\n  'What other men have in their minds,\n  I can measure by reflection,'\n\nThis might be spoken of you, my Master. I indeed did the thing, but when\nI turned my thoughts inward and sought for it, I could not discover my\nown mind. When you, Master, spoke those words, the movements of\ncompassion began to work in my mind. But how is it that this heart has\nin it what is equal to the attainment of the Royal sway?\"\n\nMencius said, \"Suppose a man were to make this statement to your\nMajesty, 'My strength is sufficient to lift three thousand catties, but\nis not sufficient to lift one feather; my eyesight is sharp enough to\nexamine the point of an autumn hair, but I do not see a wagon-load of\nfagots,' would your Majesty allow what he said?\" \"No,\" was the king's\nremark, and Mencius proceeded, \"Now here is kindness sufficient to reach\nto animals, and yet no benefits are extended from it to the people--how\nis this? is an exception to be made here? The truth is, the feather's\nnot being lifted is because the strength was not used; the wagon-load of\nfirewood's not being seen is because the eyesight was not used; and the\npeople's not being loved and protected is because the kindness is not\nused. Therefore your Majesty's not attaining to the Royal sway is\nbecause you do not do it, and not because you are not able to do it.\"\n\nThe king asked, \"How may the difference between him who does not do a\nthing and him who is not able to do it be graphically set forth?\"\nMencius replied, \"In such a thing as taking the T'ae mountain under your\narm, and leaping with it over the North Sea, if you say to people, 'I am\nnot able to do it,' that is a real case of not being able. In such a\nmatter as breaking off a branch from a tree at the order of a superior,\nif you say to people, 'I am not able to do it,' it is not a case of not\nbeing able to do it. And so your Majesty's not attaining to the Royal\nsway is not such a case as that of taking the T'ae mountain under your\narm and leaping over the North Sea with it; but it is a case like that\nof breaking off a branch from a tree.\n\n\"Treat with reverence due to age the elders in your own family, so that\nthose in the families of others shall be similarly treated; treat with\nthe kindness due to youth the young in your own family, so that those in\nthe families of others shall be similarly treated--do this and the\nkingdom may be made to go round in your palm. It is said in the 'Book of\nPoetry,'\n\n  'His example acted on his wife,\n  Extended to his brethren,\n  And was felt by all the clans and States;'\n\nTelling us how King Wan simply took this kindly heart, and exercised it\ntowards those parties. Therefore the carrying out of the feeling of\nkindness by a ruler will suffice for the love and protection of all\nwithin the four seas; and if he do not carry it out, he will not be able\nto protect his wife and children. The way in which the ancients came\ngreatly to surpass other men was no other than this, that they carried\nout well what they did, so as to affect others. Now your kindness is\nsufficient to reach to animals, and yet no benefits are extended from it\nto the people. How is this? Is an exception to be made here?\n\n\"By weighing we know what things are light, and what heavy. By measuring\nwe know what things are long, and what short. All things are so dealt\nwith, and the mind requires specially to be so. I beg your Majesty to\nmeasure it.--Your Majesty collects your equipments of war, endangers\nyour soldiers and officers and excites the resentment of the various\nprinces--do these things cause you pleasure in your mind?\"\n\nThe king said, \"No. How should I derive pleasure from these things? My\nobject in them is to seek for what I greatly desire.\"\n\nMencius said, \"May I hear from you what it is that your Majesty greatly\ndesires?\" The king laughed, and did not speak. Mencius resumed, \"Are you\nled to desire it because you have not enough of rich and sweet food for\nyour mouth? or because you have not enough of light and warm clothing\nfor your body? or because you have not enough of beautifully colored\nobjects to satisfy your eyes? or because there are not voices and sounds\nenough to fill your ears? or because you have not enough of attendants\nand favorites to stand before you and receive your orders? Your\nMajesty's various officers are sufficient to supply you with all these\nthings. How can your Majesty have such a desire on account of them?\"\n\"No,\" said the king, \"my desire is not on account of them.\" Mencius\nobserved, \"Then what your Majesty greatly desires can be known. You\ndesire to enlarge your territories, to have Ts'in and Ts'oo coming to\nyour court, to rule the Middle States, and to attract to you the\nbarbarous tribes that surround them. But to do what you do in order to\nseek for what you desire is like climbing a tree to seek for fish.\"\n\n\"Is it so bad as that?\" said the king. \"I apprehend it is worse,\" was\nthe reply. \"If you climb a tree to seek for fish, although you do not\nget the fish, you have no subsequent calamity. But if you do what you do\nin order to seek for what you desire, doing it even with all your heart,\nyou will assuredly afterwards meet with calamities.\" The king said, \"May\nI hear what they will be?\" Mencius replied, \"If the people of Tsow were\nfighting with the people of Ts'oo, which of them does your Majesty think\nwould conquer?\" \"The people of Ts'oo would conquer,\" was the answer, and\nMencius pursued, \"So then, a small State cannot contend with a great,\nfew cannot contend with many, nor can the weak contend with the strong.\nThe territory within the seas would embrace nine divisions, each of a\nthousand li square. All Ts'e together is one of them. If with one part\nyou try to subdue the other eight, what is the difference between that\nand Tsow's contending with Ts'oo? With the desire which you have, you\nmust turn back to the proper course for its attainment.\n\n\"Now, if your Majesty will institute a government whose action shall all\nbe benevolent, this will cause all the officers in the kingdom to wish\nto stand in your Majesty's court, the farmers all to wish to plough in\nyour Majesty's fields, the merchants, both travelling and stationary,\nall to wish to store their goods in your Majesty's market-places,\ntravellers and visitors all to wish to travel on your Majesty's roads,\nand all under heaven who feel aggrieved by their rulers to wish to come\nand complain to your Majesty. When they are so bent, who will be able to\nkeep them back?\"\n\nThe king said, \"I am stupid and cannot advance to this. But I wish you,\nmy Master, to assist my intentions. Teach me clearly, and although I am\ndeficient in intelligence and vigor, I should like to try at least to\ninstitute such a government.\"\n\nMencius replied, \"They are only men of education, who, without a certain\nlivelihood, are able to maintain a fixed heart. As to the people, if\nthey have not a certain livelihood, they will be found not to have a\nfixed heart. And if they have not a fixed heart, there is nothing which\nthey will not do in the way of self-abandonment, of moral deflection, of\ndepravity, and of wild license. When they have thus been involved in\ncrime, to follow them up and punish them, is to entrap the people. How\ncan such a thing as entrapping the people be done under the rule of a\nbenevolent man?\"\n\n\"Therefore, an intelligent ruler will regulate the livelihood of the\npeople, so as to make sure that, above, they shall have sufficient\nwherewith to serve their parents, and below, sufficient wherewith to\nsupport their wives and children; that in good years they shall always\nbe abundantly satisfied, and that in bad years they shall not be in\ndanger of perishing. After this he may urge them, and they will proceed\nto what is good, for in this case the people will follow after that with\nreadiness.\n\n\"But now the livelihood of the people is so regulated, that, above, they\nhave not sufficient wherewith to serve their parents, and, below, they\nhave not sufficient wherewith to support their wives and children; even\nin good years their lives are always embittered, and in bad years they\nare in danger of perishing. In such circumstances their only object is\nto escape from death, and they are afraid they will not succeed in doing\nso--what leisure have they to cultivate propriety and righteousness?\n\n\"If your Majesty wishes to carry out a benevolent government, why not\nturn back to what is the essential step to its attainment?\n\n\"Let mulberry trees be planted about the homesteads with their five\nacres, and persons of fifty years will be able to wear silk. In keeping\nfowls, pigs, dogs, and swine, let not their times of breeding be\nneglected, and persons of seventy years will be able to eat flesh. Let\nthere not be taken away the time that is proper for the cultivation of\nthe field-allotment of a hundred acres, and the family of eight mouths\nwill not suffer from hunger. Let careful attention be paid to the\nteaching in the various schools, with repeated inculcation of the filial\nand fraternal duties, and gray-haired men will not be seen upon the\nroads, carrying burdens on their backs or on their heads. It has never\nbeen that the ruler of a State, where these results were seen, the old\nwearing silk and eating flesh, and the black-haired people suffering\nneither from hunger nor cold, did not attain to the Royal dignity.\"\n\n[NOTE: _Books II, III, and IV are omitted_]\n\n\n[Footnote 1: The title of this book in Chinese is--\"King Hwuy of L\u00ebang;\nin chapters and sentences.\" Like the Books of the Confucian Analects,\nthose of this work are headed by two or three words at or near the\ncommencement of them. Each Book is divided into two parts. This\narrangement was made by Chaou K'e, and to him are due also the divisions\ninto chapters, and sentences, or paragraphs, containing, it may be, many\nsentences.]\n\n[Footnote 2: S\u00ebang was the son of King Hwuy. The first year of his reign\nis supposed to be B.C. 317. S\u00ebang's name was Hih. As a posthumous\nepithet, S\u00ebang has various meanings: \"Land-enlarger and Virtuous\";\n\"Successful in Arms.\" The interview here recorded seems to have taken\nplace immediately after Hih's accession, and Mencius, it is said, was so\ndisappointed by it that he soon after left the country.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE SHI-KING\n\n\n[_Metrical translation by James Legge_]\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\n\nThe wisdom of Confucius as a social reformer, as a teacher and guide of\nthe Chinese people, is shown in many ways. He not only gave them a code\nof personal deportment, providing them with rules for the etiquette and\nceremony of life, but he instilled into them that profound spirit of\ndomestic piety which is one of the strongest features in the Chinese\ncharacter. He took measures to secure also the intellectual cultivation\nof his followers, and his Five Canons contain all the most ancient works\nof Chinese literature, in the departments of poetry, history,\nphilosophy, and legislation. The Shi-King is a collection of Chinese\npoetry made by Confucius himself. This great anthology consists of more\nthan three hundred pieces, covering the whole range of Chinese lyric\npoetry, the oldest of which dates some eighteen centuries before Christ,\nwhile the latest of the selections must have been written at the\nbeginning of the sixth century before Christ. These poems are of the\nhighest interest, and even nowadays may be read with delight by\nEuropeans. The ballad and the hymn are among the earliest forms of\nnational poetry, and the contents of the Shi-King naturally show\nspecimens of lyric poetry of this sort. We find there not only hymns,\nbut also ballads of a really fine and spirited character. Sometimes the\npoems celebrate the common pursuits, occupations, and incidents of life.\nThey rise to the exaltation of the epithalamium, or of the vintage song;\nat other times they deal with sentiment and human conduct, being in the\nhighest degree sententious and epigrammatic. We must give the credit to\nConfucius of having saved for us the literature of China, and of having\nset his people an example in preserving the monuments of a remote\nantiquity. While the literatures of ancient Greece and Rome have largely\nperished in the convulsions that followed the breaking up of the Roman\nempire in Europe, when the kingdom of China fell into disorder and\ndecrepitude this one great teacher stepped forward to save the precious\nrecord of historic fact, philosophical thought, and of legislation as\nwell as poetry, from being swept away by the deluge of revolution.\nConfucius showed his wisdom by the high value he set upon the poetry of\nhis native land, and his name must be set side by side with that of the\nastute tyrant of Athens who collected the poems of Homer and preserved\nthem as a precious heritage to the Greek world. Confucius has given us\nhis opinion with regard to the poems of the Shi-King. No man, he says,\nis worth speaking to who has not mastered the poems of an anthology, the\nperusal of which elevates the mind and purifies it from all corrupt\nthoughts. Thanks to the work of modern scholarship, English readers can\nnow verify this dictum for themselves.\n\nE. W.\n\n\n\n\nTHE SHI-KING\n\n\n\n_PART I--LESSONS FROM THE STATES_\n\n\nBOOK I\n\nTHE ODES OF CHOW AND THE SOUTH\n\n\n~Celebrating the Virtue of King Wan's Bride~\n\n\n  Hark! from the islet in the stream the voice\n  Of the fish-hawks that o'er their nests rejoice!\n  From them our thoughts to that young lady go,\n  Modest and virtuous, loth herself to show.\n  Where could be found to share our prince's state,\n  So fair, so virtuous, and so fit a mate?\n\n  See how the duckweed's stalks, or short or long,\n  Sway left and right, as moves the current strong!\n  So hard it was for him the maid to find!\n  By day, by night, our prince with constant mind\n  Sought for her long, but all his search was vain.\n  Awake, asleep, he ever felt the pain\n  Of longing thought, as when on restless bed,\n  Tossing about, one turns his fevered head.\n\n  Here long, there short, afloat the duckweed lies;\n  But caught at last, we seize the longed-for prize.\n  The maiden modest, virtuous, coy, is found;\n  Strike every lute, and joyous welcome sound.\n  Ours now, the duckweed from the stream we bear,\n  And cook to use with other viands rare.\n  He has the maiden, modest, virtuous, bright;\n  Let bells and drums proclaim our great delight\n\n\n\n~Celebrating the Industry of King Wan's Queen~\n\n  Sweet was the scene. The spreading dolichos\n  Extended far, down to the valley's depths,\n  With leaves luxuriant. The orioles\n  Fluttered around, and on the bushy trees\n  In throngs collected--whence their pleasant notes\n  Resounded far in richest melody.\n\n  The spreading dolichos extended far,\n  Covering the valley's sides, down to its depths,\n  With leaves luxuriant and dense. I cut\n  It down, then boiled, and from the fibres spun\n  Of cloth, both fine and coarse, large store,\n  To wear, unwearied of such simple dress.\n\n  Now back to my old home, my parents dear\n  To see, I go. The matron I have told,\n  Who will announcement make. Meanwhile my clothes,\n  My private clothes I wash, and rinse my robes.\n  Which of them need be rinsed? and which need not?\n  My parents dear to visit, back I go.\n\n\n\n~In Praise of a Bride~\n\n  Graceful and young the peach-tree stands;\n    How rich its flowers, all gleaming bright!\n  This bride to her new home repairs;\n    Chamber and house she'll order right.\n\n  Graceful and young the peach-tree stands;\n    Large crops of fruit it soon will show.\n  This bride to her new home repairs;\n    Chamber and house her sway shall know.\n\n  Graceful and young the peach-tree stands,\n    Its foliage clustering green and full.\n  This bride to her new home repairs;\n    Her household will attest her rule.\n\n\n\n~Celebrating T'ae-Sze's Freedom from Jealousy~\n\n  In the South are the trees whose branches are bent,\n  And droop in such fashion that o'er their extent\n    All the dolichos' creepers fast cling.\n  See our princely lady, from whom we have got\n  Rejoicing that's endless! May her happy lot\n    And her honors repose ever bring!\n\n  In the South are the trees whose branches are bent,\n  And droop in such fashion that o'er their extent\n    All the dolichos' creepers are spread.\n  See our princely lady, from whom we have got\n  Rejoicing that's endless! Of her happy lot\n    And her honors the greatness ne'er fade!\n\n  In the South are the trees whose branches are bent,\n  And droop in such fashion that o'er their extent\n    All the dolichos' creepers entwine.\n  See our princely lady, from whom we have got\n  Rejoicing that's endless! May her happy lot\n    And her honors complete ever shine!\n\n\n\n~The Fruitfulness of the Locust~\n\n  Ye locusts, wing\u00e8d tribes,\n    Gather in concord fine;\n  Well your descendants may\n    In numerous bright hosts shine!\n\n  Ye locusts, wing\u00e8d tribes,\n    Your wings in flight resound;\n  Well your descendants may\n    In endless lines be found!\n\n  Ye locusts, wing\u00e8d tribes,\n    Together cluster strong;\n  Well your descendants may\n    In swarms forever throng!\n\n\n\n~Lamenting the Absence of a Cherished Friend~\n\n  Though small my basket, all my toil\n    Filled it with mouse-ears but in part.\n  I set it on the path, and sighed\n    For the dear master of my heart.\n\n  My steeds, o'er-tasked, their progress stayed,\n    When midway up that rocky height.\n  Give me a cup from that gilt vase--\n    When shall this longing end in sight?\n\n  To mount that lofty ridge I drove,\n    Until my steeds all changed their hue.\n  A cup from that rhinoceros's horn\n    May help my longing to subdue.\n\n  Striving to reach that flat-topped hill,\n    My steeds, worn out, relaxed their strain;\n  My driver also sank oppressed:--\n    I'll never see my lord again!\n\n\n\n~Celebrating the Goodness of the Descendants of King Wan~\n\n  As the feet of the _lin_, which avoid each living thing,\n  So our prince's noble sons no harm to men will bring.\n                   They are the _lin!_\n\n  As the front of the _lin_, never forward thrust in wrath,\n  So our prince's noble grandsons of love tread the path.\n                   They are the _lin!_\n\n  As the horn of the _lin_, flesh-tipped, no wound to give,\n  So our prince's noble kindred kindly with all live.\n                   They are the _lin!_\n\n[NOTE.--The \"lin\" is the female of \"K'e\"--a fabulous animal--the\nsymbol of all goodness and benevolence; having the body of a\ndeer, the tail of an ox, the hoofs of a horse, one horn, the scales of a\nfish, etc. Its feet do not tread on any living thing--not even on live\ngrass; it does not butt with its forehead; and the end of its horn is\ncovered with flesh--to show that, while able for war, it wills to have\npeace. The \"lin\" was supposed to appear inaugurating a golden age,\nbut the poet finds a better auspice of that in the character of Wan's\nfamily and kindred.]\n\n\n\n~The Virtuous Manners of the Young Women~\n\n  High and compressed, the Southern trees\n    No shelter from the sun afford.\n  The girls free ramble by the Han,\n    But will not hear enticing word.\n  Like the broad Han are they,\n    Through which one cannot dive;\n  And like the Keang's long stream,\n    Wherewith no raft can strive.\n\n  Many the fagots bound and piled;\n    The thorns I'd hew still more to make.\n  As brides, those girls their new homes seek;\n    Their colts to feed I'd undertake.\n  Like the broad Han are they,\n    Through which one cannot dive;\n  And like the Keang's long stream,\n    Wherewith no raft can strive.\n\n  Many the fagots bound and piled;\n    The Southern-wood I'd cut for more.\n  As brides, those girls their new homes seek;\n    Food for their colts I'd bring large store.\n  Like the broad Han are they,\n    Through which one cannot dive;\n  And like the Keang's long stream,\n    Wherewith no raft can strive.\n\n\n\n~Praise of a Rabbit-Catcher~\n\n  Careful he sets his rabbit-nets all round;\n _Chang-chang_ his blows upon the pegs resound.\n  Stalwart the man and bold! his bearing all\n  Shows he might be his prince's shield and wall.\n\n  Careful he is his rabbit-nets to place\n  Where many paths of rabbits' feet bear trace.\n  Stalwart the man and bold! 'tis plain to see\n  He to his prince companion good would be.\n\n  Careful he is his rabbit-nets to spread,\n  Where in the forest's depth the trees give shade.\n  Stalwart the man and bold! fit his the part\n  Guide to his prince to be, and faithful heart.\n\n\n\n~The Song of the Plantain-Gatherers~\n\n  We gather and gather the plantains;\n    Come gather them anyhow.\n  Yes, gather and gather the plantains,\n    And here we have got them now.\n\n  We gather and gather the plantains;\n    Now off the ears we must tear.\n  Yes, gather and gather the plantains,\n    And now the seeds are laid bare.\n\n  We gather and gather the plantains,\n    The seeds in our skirts are placed.\n  Yes, gather and gather the plantains.\n    Ho! safe in the girdled waist!\n\n\n\n~The Affection of the Wives on the Joo~\n\n  Along the raised banks of the Joo,\n    To hew slim stem and branch I wrought,\n  My lord away, my husband true,\n    Like hunger-pang my troubled thought!\n\n  Along the raised banks of the Joo,\n    Branch and fresh shoot confessed my art.\n  I've seen my lord, my husband true,\n    And still he folds me in his heart.\n\n  As the toiled bream makes red its tail,\n    Toil you, Sir, for the Royal House;\n  Amidst its blazing fires, nor quail:--\n    Your parents see you pay your vows.\n\n\n\n\nBOOK II\n\n\n\nTHE ODES OF SHAOU AND THE SOUTH\n\n\n\n~The Marriage of a Princess~\n\n    In the magpie's nest\n    Dwells the dove at rest.\n  This young bride goes to her future home;\n  To meet her a hundred chariots come.\n\n    Of the magpie's nest\n    Is the dove possessed.\n  This bride goes to her new home to live;\n  And escort a hundred chariots give.\n\n    The nest magpie wove\n    Now filled by the dove.\n  This bride now takes to her home her way;\n  And these numerous cars her state display.\n\n\n\n~The Industry and Reverence of a Prince's Wife~\n\n  Around the pools, the islets o'er,\n    Fast she plucks white Southern-wood,\n  To help the sacrificial store;\n    And for our prince does service good.\n\n  Where streams among the valleys shine,\n    Of Southern-woods she plucks the white;\n  And brings it to the sacred shrine,\n    To aid our prince in solemn rite.\n\n  In head-dress high, most reverent, she\n    The temple seeks at early dawn.\n  The service o'er, the head-dress see\n    To her own chamber slow withdrawn.\n\n\n\n~The Wife of Some Great Officer Bewails His Absence~\n\n  Shrill chirp the insects in the grass;\n    All about the hoppers spring.\n  While I my husband do not see,\n    Sorrow must my bosom wring.\n      O to meet him!\n      O to greet him!\n    Then my heart would rest and sing.\n\n  Ascending high that Southern hill,\n    Turtle ferns I strove to get.\n  While I my husband do not see,\n    Sorrow must my heart beset.\n      O to meet him!\n      O to greet him!\n    Then my heart would cease to fret.\n\n  Ascending high that Southern hill,\n    Spinous ferns I sought to find.\n  While I my husband do not see,\n    Rankles sorrow in my mind.\n      O to meet him!\n      O to greet him!\n    In my heart would peace be shrined.\n\n\n\n~The Diligence of the Young Wife of an Officer~\n\n  She gathers fast the large duckweed,\n    From valley stream that southward flows;\n  And for the pondweed to the pools\n    Left on the plains by floods she goes.\n\n  The plants, when closed her toil, she puts\n    In baskets round and baskets square.\n  Then home she hies to cook her spoil,\n    In pans and tripods ready there.\n\n  In sacred chamber this she sets,\n    Where the light falls down through the wall.\n  'Tis she, our lord's young reverent wife,\n    Who manages this service all.\n\n\n\n~The Love of the People for the Duke of Shaou~\n\n  O fell not that sweet pear-tree!\n    See how its branches spread.\n      Spoil not its shade,\n      For Shaou's chief laid\n    Beneath it his weary head.\n\n  O clip not that sweet pear-tree!\n    Each twig and leaflet spare.\n      'Tis sacred now,\n      Since the lord of Shaou,\n    When weary, rested him there.\n\n  O touch not that sweet pear-tree!\n    Bend not a twig of it now.\n      There long ago,\n      As the stories show,\n    Oft halted the chief of Shaou.\n\n\n\n~The Easy Dignity of the Officers at Some Court~\n\n  Arrayed in skins of lamb or sheep,\n    With five silk braidings all of white,\n  From court they go, to take their meal,\n    All self-possessed, with spirits light.\n\n  How on their skins of lamb or sheep\n    The five seams wrought with white silk show!\n  With easy steps, and self-possessed,\n    From court to take their meal, they go.\n\n  Upon their skins of lamb or sheep\n    Shines the white silk the seams to link.\n  With easy steps and self-possessed,\n    They go from court to eat and drink.\n\n\n\n~Anxiety of a Young Lady to Get Married~\n\n  Ripe, the plums fall from the bough;\n  Only seven-tenths left there now!\n  Ye whose hearts on me are set,\n  Now the time is fortunate!\n\n  Ripe, the plums fall from the bough;\n  Only three-tenths left there now!\n  Ye who wish my love to gain,\n  Will not now apply in vain!\n\n  No more plums upon the bough!\n  All are in my basket now!\n  Ye who me with ardor seek,\n  Need the word but freely speak!\n\n\n\nBOOK III\n\n\n\nTHE ODES OF P'EI\n\n\n~An Officer Bewails the Neglect with which He is Treated~\n\n  It floats about, that boat of cypress wood,\n    Now here, now there, as by the current borne.\n  Nor rest nor sleep comes in my troubled mood;\n    I suffer as when painful wound has torn\n    The shrinking body. Thus I dwell forlorn,\n  And aimless muse, my thoughts of sorrow full.\n    I might with wine refresh my spirit worn;\n  I might go forth, and, sauntering try to cool\n  The fever of my heart; but grief holds sullen rule.\n\n  My mind resembles not a mirror plate,\n    Reflecting all the impressions it receives.\n  The good I love, the bad regard with hate;\n    I only cherish whom my heart believes.\n    Colleagues I have, but yet my spirit grieves,\n  That on their honor I cannot depend.\n    I speak, but my complaint no influence leaves\n  Upon their hearts; with mine no feelings blend;\n  With me in anger they, and fierce disdain contend.\n\n  My mind is fixed, and cannot, like a stone,\n    Be turned at will indifferently about;\n  And what I think, to that, and that alone,\n    I utterance give, alike within, without;\n    Nor can like mat be rolled and carried out.\n  With dignity in presence of them all,\n    My conduct marked, my goodness who shall scout?\n  My foes I boldly challenge, great and small,\n  If there be aught in me they can in question call.\n\n  How full of trouble is my anxious heart!\n    With hate the blatant herd of creatures mean\n  Ceaseless pursue. Of their attacks the smart\n    Keeps my mind in distress. Their venomed spleen\n    Aye vents itself; and with insulting mien\n  They vex my soul; and no one on my side\n    A word will speak. Silent, alone, unseen,\n  I think of my sad case; then opening wide\n  My eyes, as if from sleep, I beat my breast, sore-tried.\n\n  Thy disc, O sun, should ever be complete,\n    While thine, O changing moon, doth wax and wane.\n  But now our sun hath waned, weak and effete,\n    And moons are ever full. My heart with pain\n    Is firmly bound, and held in sorrow's chain,\n  As to the body cleaves an unwashed dress.\n    Silent I think of my sad case; in vain\n  I try to find relief from my distress.\n  Would I had wings to fly where ills no longer press!\n\n\n\n~A Wife Deplores the Absence of Her Husband~\n\n\n  Away the startled pheasant flies,\n    With lazy movement of his wings.\n  Borne was my heart's lord from my eyes;--\n    What pain the separation brings!\n\n  The pheasant, though no more in view,\n    His cry, below, above, forth sends.\n  Alas! my princely lord, 'tis you--\n    Your absence, that my bosom rends.\n\n  At sun and moon I sit and gaze,\n    In converse with my troubled heart.\n  Far, far from me my husband stays!\n    When will he come to heal its smart?\n\n  Ye princely men who with him mate,\n    Say, mark ye not his virtuous way.\n  His rule is--covet nought, none hate;--\n    How can his steps from goodness stray?\n\n\n\n~The Plaint of a Rejected Wife~\n\n  The east wind gently blows,\n    With cloudy skies and rain.\n  'Twixt man and wife should ne'er be strife,\n    But harmony obtain.\n  Radish and mustard plants\n    Are used, though some be poor;\n  While my good name is free from blame,\n    Don't thrust me from your door.\n\n  I go along the road,\n    Slow, with reluctant heart.\n  Your escort lame to door but came,\n    There glad from me to part.\n  Sow-thistle, bitter called,\n    As shepherd's purse is sweet;\n  With your new mate you feast elate,\n    As joyous brothers meet.\n\n  Part clear, the stream of King\n    Is foul beside the Wei.\n  You feast elate with your new mate,\n    And take no heed of me.\n  Loose mate, avoid my dam,\n    Nor dare my basket move!\n  Person slighted, life all blighted,\n    What can the future prove?\n\n  The water deep, in boat,\n    Or raft-sustained, I'd go;\n  And where the stream did narrow seem,\n    I dived or breasted through.\n  I labored to increase\n    Our means, or great or small;\n  When 'mong friends near death did appear,\n    On knees to help I'd crawl.\n\n  No cherishing you give,\n    I'm hostile in your eyes.\n  As pedler's wares for which none cares,\n    My virtues you despise.\n\n  When poverty was nigh,\n   I strove our means to spare;\n  You, now rich grown, me scorn to own;\n   To poison me compare.\n\n  The stores for winter piled\n   Are all unprized in spring.\n  So now, elate with your new mate,\n   Myself away you fling.\n  Your cool disdain for me\n   A bitter anguish hath.\n  The early time, our love's sweet prime,\n   In you wakes only wrath.\n\n\n\n~Soldiers of Wei Bewail Separation from Their Families~\n\n  List to the thunder and roll of the drum!\n    See how we spring and brandish the dart!\n  Some raise Ts'aou's walls; some do field work at home;\n    But we to the southward lonely depart.\n\n  Our chief, Sun Tsze-chung, agreement has made,\n    Our forces to join with Ch'in and with Sung.\n  When shall we back from this service be led?\n    Our hearts are all sad, our courage unstrung.\n\n  Here we are halting, and there we delay;\n    Anon we soon lose our high-mettled steeds.\n  The forest's gloom makes our steps go astray;\n    Each thicket of trees our searching misleads.\n\n  For death as for life, at home or abroad,\n    We pledged to our wives our faithfulest word.\n  Their hands clasped in ours, together we vowed,\n    We'd live to old age in sweetest accord.\n\n  This march to the South can end but in ill;\n    Oh! never shall we our wives again meet.\n  The word that we pledged we cannot fulfil;\n    Us home returning they never will greet.\n\n\n\n~An Officer Tells of His Mean Employment~\n\n  With mind indifferent, things I easy take;\n  In every dance I prompt appearance make:--\n  Then, when the sun is at his topmost height,\n  There, in the place that courts the public sight.\n\n  With figure large I in the courtyard dance,\n  And the duke smiles, when he beholds me prance.\n  A tiger's strength I have; the steeds swift bound;\n  The reins as ribbons in my hands are found.\n\n  See how I hold the flute in my left hand;\n  In right the pheasant's plume, waved like a wand;\n  With visage red, where rouge you think to trace,\n  While the duke pleased, sends down the cup of grace!\n\n  Hazel on hills; the _ling_ in meadow damp;--\n  Each has its place, while I'm a slighted scamp.\n  My thoughts go back to th' early days of Chow,\n  And muse upon its chiefs, not equalled now.\n    O noble chiefs, who then the West adorned,\n    Would ye have thus neglected me and scorned?\n\n\n\n~An Officer Sets Forth His Hard Lot~\n\n  My way leads forth by the gate on the north;\n    My heart is full of woe.\n  I hav'n't a cent, begged, stolen, or lent,\n    And friends forget me so.\n     So let it be! 'tis Heaven's decree.\n     What can I say--a poor fellow like me?\n\n  The King has his throne, sans sorrow or moan;\n    On me fall all his cares,\n  And when I come home, resolved not to roam,\n    Each one indignant stares.\n     So let it be! 'tis Heaven's decree.\n     What can I say--a poor fellow like me?\n\n  Each thing of the King, and the fate of the State,\n    On me come more and more.\n  And when, sad and worn, I come back forlorn,\n    They thrust me from the door.\n      So let it be! 'tis Heaven's decree.\n      What can I say--a poor fellow like me?\n\n\n\n~The Complaint of a Neglected Wife~\n\n  When the upper robe is green,\n  With a yellow lining seen,\n  There we have a certain token,\n  Right is wronged and order broken.\n  How can sorrow from my heart\n  In a case like this depart?\n\n  Color green the robe displays;\n  Lower garment yellow's blaze.\n  Thus it is that favorite mean\n  In the place of wife is seen.\n  Vain the conflict with my grief;\n  Memory denies relief.\n\n  Yes, 'twas you the green who dyed,\n  You who fed the favorite's pride.\n  Anger rises in my heart,\n  Pierces it as with a dart.\n  But on ancient rules lean I,\n  Lest to wrong my thoughts should fly.\n\n  Fine or coarse, if thin the dress,\n  Cold winds always cause distress.\n  Hard my lot, my sorrow deep,\n  But my thoughts in check I keep.\n  Ancient story brings to mind\n  Sufferers who were resigned.\n\n\n[NOTE.--Yellow is one of the five \"correct\" colors of the Chinese, while\ngreen is one of the \"intermediate\" colors that are less esteemed. Here\nwe have the yellow used merely as a lining to the green, or employed in\nthe lower, or less honorable, part of the dress;--an inversion of\npropriety, and intimating how a favorite had usurped the place of the\nrightful wife and thrust her down.]\n\n\n\n~In Praise of a Maiden~\n\n\n  O sweet maiden, so fair and retiring,\n    At the corner I'm waiting for you;\n  And I'm scratching my head, and inquiring\n    What on earth it were best I should do.\n\n  Oh! the maiden, so handsome and coy,\n    For a pledge gave a slim rosy reed.\n  Than the reed is she brighter, my joy;\n    On her loveliness how my thoughts feed!\n\n  In the pastures a _t'e_ blade she sought,\n    And she gave it, so elegant, rare.\n  Oh! the grass does not dwell in my thought,\n    But the donor, more elegant, fair.\n\n\n\n~Discontent~\n\n  As when the north winds keenly blow,\n  And all around fast falls the snow,\n  The source of pain and suffering great,\n  So now it is in Wei's poor state.\n  Let us join hands and haste away,\n    My friends and lovers all.\n  'Tis not a time will brook delay;\n    Things for prompt action call.\n\n  As when the north winds whistle shrill,\n  And drifting snows each hollow fill,\n  The source of pain and suffering great,\n  So now it is in Wei's poor state,\n  Let us join hands, and leave for aye,\n    My friends and lovers all,\n  'Tis not a time will brook delay;\n    Things for prompt action call.\n\n  We look for red, and foxes meet;\n  For black, and crows our vision greet.\n  The creatures, both of omen bad,\n  Well suit the state of Wei so sad.\n\n  Let us join hands and mount our cars,\n    My friends and lovers all.\n  No time remains for wordy jars;\n    Things for prompt action call.\n\n\n\n~Chwang Keang Bemoans Her Husband's Cruelty~\n\n  Fierce is the wind and cold;\n    And such is he.\n  Smiling he looks, and bold\n    Speaks mockingly.\n  Scornful and lewd his words,\n    Haughty his smile.\n  Bound is my heart with cords\n    In sorrow's coil.\n\n  As cloud of dust wind-blown,\n    Just such is he.\n  Ready he seems to own,\n    And come to me.\n  But he comes not nor goes,\n    Stands in his pride.\n  Long, long, with painful throes,\n    Grieved I abide.\n\n  Strong blew the wind; the cloud\n    Hastened away.\n  Soon dark again, the shroud\n    Covers the day.\n  I wake, and sleep no more\n    Visits my eyes.\n  His course I sad deplore,\n    With heavy sighs.\n\n  Cloudy the sky, and dark;\n    The thunders roll.\n  Such outward signs well mark\n    My troubled soul.\n  I wake, and sleep no more\n    Comes to give rest.\n  His course I sad deplore,\n    In anguished breast.\n\n\n\n[NOTE: Selections from Books IV., V., and VI.,\nhave been omitted.--EDITOR.]\n\n\n\nBOOK VII\n\n\n\nTHE ODES OF CH'ING\n\n\n\n~The People's Admiration for Duke Woo~\n\n  The black robes well your form befit;\n    When they are worn we'll make you new.\n  Now for your court! oh! there we'll sit,\n    And watch how you your duties do.\n      And when we to our homes repair,\n      We'll send to you our richest fare,\n      Such is the love to you we bear!\n\n  Those robes well with your virtue match;\n    When they are worn we'll make you new.\n  Now for your court! There will we watch,\n    Well pleased, how you your duties do.\n      And when we to our homes repair,\n      We'll send to you our richest fare,\n      Such is the love to you we bear!\n\n  Those robes your character beseem;\n    When they are worn we'll make you new.\n  Now for your court! oh! there we deem\n    It pleasure great your form to view.\n      And when we to our homes repair,\n      We'll send to you our richest fare,\n      Such is the love to you we bear!\n\n\n\n~A Wife Consoled by Her Husband's Arrival~\n\n  Cold is the wind, fast falls the rain,\n    The cock aye shrilly crows.\n  But I have seen my lord again;--\n    Now must my heart repose.\n\n  Whistles the wind, patters the rain,\n    The cock's crow far resounds.\n  But I have seen my lord again,\n    And healed are my heart's wounds.\n\n  All's dark amid the wind and rain,\n    Ceaseless the cock's clear voice!\n  But I have seen my lord again;--\n    Should not my heart rejoice?\n\n\n~In Praise of Some Lady~\n\n  There by his side in chariot rideth she,\n  As lovely flower of the hibiscus tree,\n  So fair her face; and when about they wheel,\n  Her girdle gems of _Ken_ themselves reveal.\n  For beauty all the House of K\u00ebang have fame;\n  Its eldest daughter--she beseems her name.\n\n  There on the path, close by him, walketh she,\n  Bright as the blossom of hibiscus tree,\n  And fair her face; and when around they flit,\n  Her girdle gems a tinkling sound emit.\n  Among the Keang she has distinguished place,\n  For virtuous fame renowned, and peerless grace.\n\n\n\n~A Man's Praise of His Wife~\n\n  My path forth from the east gate lay,\n  Where cloud-like moved the girls at play.\n  Numerous are they, as clouds so bright,\n  But not on them my heart's thoughts light.\n  Dressed in a thin white silk, with coiffure gray\n  Is she, my wife, my joy in life's low way.\n\n  Forth by the covering wall's high tower,\n  I went, and saw, like rush in flower,\n  Each flaunting girl. Brilliant are they,\n  But not with them my heart's thoughts stay.\n  In thin white silk, with head-dress madder-dyed,\n  Is she, my sole delight, 'foretime my bride.\n\n\n\n~An Entreaty~\n\n  Along the great highway,\n    I hold you by the cuff.\n  O spurn me not, I pray,\n    Nor break old friendship off.\n\n  Along the highway worn,\n    I hold your hand in mine.\n  Do not as vile me scorn;\n    Your love I can't resign.\n\n\n\n  ~A Woman Scorning Her Lover~\n\n  O dear! that artful boy\n    Refuses me a word!\n  But, Sir, I shall enjoy\n    My food, though you're absurd!\n\n  O dear! that artful boy\n    My table will not share!\n  But, Sir, I shall enjoy\n    My rest, though you're not there!\n\n\n\n~A Lady Mourns the Absence of Her Student Lover~\n\n  You student, with the collar blue,\n    Long pines my heart with anxious pain.\n  Although I do not go to you,\n    Why from all word do you refrain?\n\n  O you, with girdle strings of blue,\n    My thoughts to you forever roam!\n  Although I do not go to you,\n    Yet why to me should you not come?\n\n  How reckless you, how light and wild,\n    There by the tower upon the wall!\n  One day, from sight of you exiled,\n    As long as three long months I call.\n\n\n[NOTE: Selections from Books IV., V., and VI., have been\nomitted.--EDITOR.]\n\n\n\nBOOK VIII\n\n\n\nTHE ODES OF TS'E\n\n\n\n~A Wife Urging Her Husband to Action~\n\n  His lady to the marquis says,\n     \"The cock has crowed; 'tis late.\n  Get up, my lord, and haste to court.\n     'Tis full; for you they wait.\"\n  She did not hear the cock's shrill sound,\n  Only the blueflies buzzing round.\n\n  Again she wakes him with the words,\n     \"The east, my lord, is bright.\n  A crowded court your presence seeks;\n     Get up and hail the light.\"\n  'Twas not the dawning light which shone,\n  But that which by the moon was thrown.\n\n  He sleeping still, once more she says,\n     \"The flies are buzzing loud.\n  To lie and dream here by your side\n     Were pleasant, but the crowd\n  Of officers will soon retire;\n  Draw not on you and me their ire!\"\n\n\n\n~The Folly of Useless Effort~\n\n  The weeds will but the ranker grow,\n    If fields too large you seek to till.\n  To try to gain men far away\n    With grief your toiling heart will fill,\n\n  If fields too large you seek to till,\n    The weeds will only rise more strong.\n  To try to gain men far away\n    Will but your heart's distress prolong.\n\n  Things grow the best when to themselves\n    Left, and to nature's vigor rare.\n  How young and tender is the child,\n    With his twin tufts of falling hair!\n  But when you him ere long behold,\n    That child shall cap of manhood wear!\n\n\n\n~The Prince of Loo~\n\n  A grand man is the prince of Loo,\n    With person large and high.\n  Lofty his front and suited to\n    The fine glance of his eye!\n  Swift are his feet. In archery\n    What man with him can vie?\n  With all these goodly qualities,\n    We see him and we sigh!\n\n  Renowned through all the land is he,\n    The nephew of our lord.\n  With clear and lovely eyes, his grace\n    May not be told by word.\n  All day at target practice,\n    He'll never miss the bird.\n  Such is the prince of Loo, and yet\n    With grief for him we're stirred!\n\n  All grace and beauty he displays,\n    High forehead and eyes bright.\n  And dancing choice! His arrows all\n    The target hit aright.\n  Straight through they go, and every one\n    Lights on the self-same spot.\n  Rebellion he could well withstand,\n    And yet we mourn his lot!\n\n\n\nBOOK IX\n\n\n\nTHE ODES OF WEI\n\n\n\n~On the Misgovernment of the State~\n\n  A fruit, small as the garden peach,\n    May still be used for food.\n  A State, though poor as ours, might thrive,\n    If but its rule were good.\n  Our rule is bad, our State is sad,\n    With mournful heart I grieve.\n  All can from instrument and voice\n    My mood of mind perceive.\n  Who know me not, with scornful thought,\n    Deem me a scholar proud.\n  \"Those men are right,\" they fiercely say,\n    \"What mean your words so loud?\"\n  Deep in my heart my sorrows lie,\n    And none the cause may know.\n  How should they know who never try\n    To learn whence comes our woe?\n\n  The garden jujube, although small,\n    May still be used for food.\n  A State, though poor as ours, might thrive,\n    If but its rule were good.\n  Our rule is bad, our State is sad,\n    With mournful heart I grieve.\n  Methinks I'll wander through the land,\n    My misery to relieve.\n  Who know me not, with scornful thought,\n    Deem that wild views I hold.\n  \"Those men are right,\" they fiercely say,\n    \"What mean your words so bold?\"\n\n  Deep in my heart my sorrows lie,\n  And none the cause may know.\n  How can they know, who never try\n  To learn whence comes our woe?\n\n\n\n~The Mean Husband~\n\n  Thin cloth of dolichos supplies the shoes,\n    In which some have to brave the frost and cold.\n  A bride, when poor, her tender hands must use,\n    Her dress to make, and the sharp needle hold.\n  This man is wealthy, yet he makes his bride\n    Collars and waistbands for his robes provide.\n\n  Conscious of wealth, he moves with easy mien;\n    Politely on the left he takes his place;\n  The ivory pin is at his girdle seen:--\n    His dress and gait show gentlemanly grace.\n  Why do we brand him in our satire here?\n    'Tis this---his niggard soul provokes the sneer.\n\n\n\n~A Young Soldier on Service~\n\n  To the top of that tree-clad hill I go,\n    And towards my father I gaze,\n  Till with my mind's eye his form I espy,\n    And my mind's ear hears how he says:--\n  \"Alas for my son on service abroad!\n    He rests not from morning till eve.\n  May he careful be and come back to me!\n    While he is away, how I grieve!\"\n\n  To the top of that barren hill I climb,\n    And towards my mother I gaze,\n  Till with my mind's eye her form I espy,\n    And my mind's ear hears how she says:--\n  \"Alas for my child on service abroad!\n    He never in sleep shuts an eye.\n  May he careful be, and come back to me!\n    In the wild may his body not lie!\"\n\n  Up the lofty ridge I, toiling, ascend,\n    And towards my brother I gaze,\n  Till with my mind's eye his form I espy,\n    And my mind's ear hears how he says:--\n  \"Alas! my young brother, serving abroad,\n    All day with his comrades must roam.\n  May he careful be, and come back to me,\n    And die not away from his home.\"\n\n\n\nBOOK X\n\n\n\nTHE ODES OF TANG\n\n\n\n~The King Goes to War~\n\n  The wild geese fly the bushy oaks around,\n  With clamor loud. _Suh-suh_ their wings resound,\n  As for their feet poor resting-place is found.\n  The King's affairs admit of no delay.\n  Our millet still unsown, we haste away.\n  No food is left our parents to supply;\n  When we are gone, on whom can they rely?\n  O azure Heaven, that shinest there afar,\n  When shall our homes receive us from the war?\n\n  The wild geese on the bushy jujube-trees\n  Attempt to settle and are ill at ease;--\n  _Suh-suh_ their wings go flapping in the breeze.\n  The King's affairs admit of no delay;\n  Our millet still unsown, we haste away.\n  How shall our parents their requirements get?\n  How in our absence shall their wants be met?\n  O azure Heaven, that shinest there afar,\n  When shall our homes receive us from the war?\n\n  The bushy mulberry-trees the geese in rows\n  Seek eager and to rest around them close--\n  With rustling loud, as disappointment grows.\n  The King's affairs admit of no delay;\n  To plant our rice and maize we cannot stay.\n  How shall our parents find their wonted food?\n  When we are gone, who will to them be good?\n  O azure Heaven, that shinest there afar,\n  When shall our homes receive us from the war?\n\n\n\n~Lament of a Bereaved Person~\n\n\n  A russet pear-tree rises all alone,\n  But rich the growth of leaves upon it shown!\n  I walk alone, without one brother left,\n  And thus of natural aid am I bereft.\n  Plenty of people there are all around,\n  But none like my own father's sons are found.\n  Ye travellers, who forever hurry by,\n  Why on me turn the unsympathizing eye?\n  No brother lives with whom my cause to plead;--\n  Why not perform for me the helping deed?\n\n  A russet pear-tree rises all alone,\n  But rich with verdant foliage o'ergrown.\n  I walk alone, without one brother's care,\n  To whom I might, amid my straits repair.\n  Plenty of people there are all around,\n  But none like those of my own name are found.\n  Ye travellers, who forever hurry by,\n  Why on me turn the unsympathizing eye?\n  No brother lives with whom my cause to plead;--\n  Why not perform for me the helping deed?\n\n\n\n~The Drawbacks of Poverty~\n\n  On the left of the way, a russet pear-tree\n  Stands there all alone--a fit image of me.\n  There is that princely man! O that he would come,\n  And in my poor dwelling with me be at home!\n  In the core of my heart do I love him, but say,\n  Whence shall I procure him the wants of the day?\n\n  At the bend in the way a russet pear-tree\n  Stands there all alone--a fit image of me.\n  There is that princely man! O that he would come,\n  And rambling with me be himself here at home!\n  In the core of my heart I love him, but say,\n  Whence shall I procure him the wants of the day?\n\n\n\n~A Wife Mourns for Her Husband~\n\n  The dolichos grows and covers the thorn,\n    O'er the waste is the dragon-plant creeping.\n  The man of my heart is away and I mourn--\n    What home have I, lonely and weeping?\n\n  Covering the jujubes the dolichos grows,\n    The graves many dragon-plants cover;\n  But where is the man on whose breast I'd repose?\n    No home have I, having no lover!\n\n  Fair to see was the pillow of horn,\n    And fair the bed-chamber's adorning;\n  But the man of my heart is not here, and I mourn\n    All alone, and wait for the morning.\n\n  While the long days of summer pass over my head,\n    And long winter nights leave their traces,\n  I'm alone! Till a hundred of years shall have fled,\n    And then I shall meet his embraces.\n\n  Through the long winter nights I am burdened with fears,\n    Through the long summer days I am lonely;\n  But when time shall have counted its hundreds of years\n    I then shall be his--and his only!\n\n\n\nBOOK XI\n\n\n\nTHE ODES OF TS'IN\n\n\n\n~Celebrating the Opulence of the Lords of Ts'in~\n\n  Our ruler to the hunt proceeds;\n  And black as iron are his steeds\n  That heed the charioteer's command,\n  Who holds the six reins in his hand.\n  His favorites follow to the chase,\n  Rejoicing in his special grace.\n\n  The season's males, alarmed, arise--\n  The season's males, of wondrous size.\n  Driven by the beaters, forth they spring,\n  Soon caught within the hunters' ring.\n  \"Drive on their left,\" the ruler cries;\n  And to its mark his arrow flies.\n\n  The hunting done, northward he goes;\n  And in the park the driver shows\n  The horses' points, and his own skill\n  That rules and guides them at his will.\n  Light cars whose teams small bells display,\n  The long-and short-mouthed dogs convey.\n\n\n~A Complaint~\n\n  He lodged us in a spacious house,\n    And plenteous was our fare.\n  But now at every frugal meal\n    There's not a scrap to spare.\n  Alas! alas that this good man\n  Could not go on as he began!\n\n\n  ~A Wife's Grief Because of Her Husband's Absence~\n\n  The falcon swiftly seeks the north,\n  And forest gloom that sent it forth.\n  Since I no more my husband see,\n  My heart from grief is never free.\n  O how is it, I long to know,\n  That he, my lord, forgets me so?\n\n  Bushy oaks on the mountain grow,\n  And six elms where the ground is low.\n  But I, my husband seen no more,\n  My sad and joyless fate deplore.\n  O how is it, I long to know,\n  That he, my lord, forgets me so?\n\n  The hills the bushy wild plums show,\n  And pear-trees grace the ground below.\n  But, with my husband from me gone,\n  As drunk with grief, I dwell alone.\n  O how is it, I long to know,\n  That he, my lord, forgets me so?\n\n\n~Lament for Three Brothers~\n\n\n  They flit about, the yellow birds,\n    And rest upon the jujubes find.\n  Who buried were in duke Muh's grave,\n    Alive to awful death consigned?\n\n  'Mong brothers three, who met that fate,\n    'Twas sad the first, Yen-seih to see.\n  He stood alone; a hundred men\n    Could show no other such as he.\n  When to the yawning grave he came,\n  Terror unnerved and shook his frame.\n\n  Why thus destroy our noblest men,\n    To thee we cry, O azure Heaven!\n  To save Yen-seih from death, we would\n    A hundred lives have freely given.\n\n  They flit about, the yellow birds,\n    And on the mulberry-trees rest find.\n  Who buried were in duke Muh's grave,\n    Alive to awful death consigned?\n\n  'Mong brothers three, who met that fate,\n    'Twas sad the next, Chung-hang to see.\n  When on him pressed a hundred men,\n    A match for all of them was he.\n  When to the yawning grave he came,\n  Terror unnerved and shook his frame.\n\n  Why thus destroy our noblest men,\n    To thee we cry, O azure Heaven!\n  To save Chung-hang from death, we would\n    A hundred lives have freely given.\n\n  They flit about, the yellow birds,\n    And rest upon the thorn-trees find.\n  Who buried were in duke Muh's grave,\n    Alive to awful death consigned?\n\n  'Mong brothers three, who met that fate,\n    'Twas sad the third, K'\u00eben-foo, to see.\n  A hundred men in desperate fight\n    Successfully withstand could he.\n  When to the yawning grave he came,\n  Terror unnerved and shook his frame.\n\n  Why thus destroy our noblest men,\n    To thee we cry, O azure Heaven!\n  To save K'\u00eben-foo from death, we would\n    A hundred lives have freely given.\n\n\n[NOTE.--The incident related in this poem occurred in the year B.C. 620,\nwhen the duke of Muh died after playing an important part in the affairs\nof Northwest China. Muh required the three officers here celebrated, to\nbe buried with him, and according to the \"Historical Records\" this\nbarbarous practice began with duke Ching, Muh's predecessor. In all, 170\nindividuals were buried with Muh. The death of the last distinguished\nman of the Ts'in dynasty, the Emperor I, was subsequently celebrated by\nthe entombment with him of all the inmates of his harem.]\n\n\n\n~In Praise of a Ruler of Ts'in~\n\n  What trees grow on the Chung-nan hill?\n    The white fir and the plum.\n  In fur of fox, 'neath 'broidered robe,\n    Thither our prince is come.\n  His face glows with vermilion hue.\n  O may he prove a ruler true!\n\n  What find we on the Chung-nan hill?\n    Deep nook and open glade.\n  Our prince shows there the double _Ke_\n    On lower robe displayed.\n  His pendant holds each tinkling gem,\n  Long life be his, and deathless fame!\n\n\n\n~The Generous Nephew~\n\n  I escorted my uncle to Tsin,\n    Till the Wei we crossed on the way.\n      Then I gave as I left\n      For his carriage a gift\n  Four steeds, and each steed was a bay.\n\n  I escorted my uncle to Tsin,\n    And I thought of him much in my heart.\n      Pendent stones, and with them\n     Of fine jasper a gem,\n  I gave, and then saw him depart.\n\n\n\nBOOK XII\n\n\n\nTHE ODES OF CH'IN\n\n\n\n~The Contentment of a Poor Recluse~\n\nMy only door some pieces of crossed wood,\n  Within it I can rest enjoy.\nI drink the water wimpling from the spring;\n  Nor hunger can my peace destroy.\n\nPurged from ambition's aims I say, \"For fish.\n  We need not bream caught in the Ho;\nNor, to possess the sweets of love, require\n  To Ts'e, to find a Keang, to go.\n\n\"The man contented with his lot, a meal\n  Of fish without Ho carp can make;\nNor needs, to rest in his domestic joy,\n  A Tsze of Sung as wife to take.\"\n\n\n\n~The Disappointed Lover~\n\nWhere grow the willows near the eastern gate,\n  And 'neath their leafy shade we could recline,\nShe said at evening she would me await,\n  And brightly now I see the day-star shine!\n\nHere where the willows near the eastern gate\n  Grow, and their dense leaves make a shady gloom,\nShe said at evening she would me await.\n  See now the morning star the sky illume!\n\n\n\n~A Love-Song~\n\nThe moon comes forth, bright in the sky;\nA lovelier sight to draw my eye\n  Is she, that lady fair.\nShe round my heart has fixed love's chain,\nBut all my longings are in vain.\n  'Tis hard the grief to bear.\n\nThe moon comes forth, a splendid sight;\nMore winning far that lady bright,\n  Object of my desire!\nDeep-seated is my anxious grief;\nIn vain I seek to find relief;\n  While glows the secret fire.\n\nThe rising moon shines mild and fair;\nMore bright is she, whose beauty rare\n  My heart with longing fills.\nWith eager wish I pine in vain;\nO for relief from constant pain,\n  Which through my bosom thrills!\n\n\n\n~The Lament of a Lover~\n\nThere where its shores the marsh surround,\nRushes and lotus plants abound.\nTheir loveliness brings to my mind\nThe lovelier one that I would find.\nIn vain I try to ease the smart\nOf wounded love that wrings my heart.\nIn waking thought and nightly dreams,\nFrom every pore the water streams.\n\nAll round the marsh's shores are seen\nValerian flowers and rushes green.\nBut lovelier is that Beauty rare,\nHandsome and large, and tall and fair,\nI wish and long to call her mine,\nDoomed with the longing still to pine.\nNor day nor night e'er brings relief;\nMy inmost heart is full of grief.\n\nAround the marsh, in rich display,\nGrow rush and lotus flowers, all gay.\nBut not with her do they compare,\nSo tall and large, majestic, fair.\nBoth day and night, I nothing speed;\nStill clings to me the aching need.\nOn side, on back, on face, I lie,\nBut vain each change of posture.\n\n\nTHE ODES OF KWEI\n\n\n~The Wish of an Unhappy Man~\n\n  Where the grounds are wet and low,\n  There the trees of goat-peach grow,\n  With their branches small and smooth,\n  Glossy in their tender youth.\n  Joy it were to me, O tree,\n  Consciousness to want like thee.\n\n  Where the grounds are wet and low,\n  There the trees of goat-peach grow.\n  Soft and fragrant are their flowers,\n  Glossy from the vernal showers.\n  Joy it were to me, O tree,\n  Ties of home to want like thee.\n\n  Where the grounds are wet and low,\n  There the trees of goat-peach grow,\n  What delicious fruits they bear,\n  Glossy, soft, of beauty rare!\n  Joy it were to me, O tree,\n  Household cares to want like thee.\n\n\n\nBOOK XIV\n\n\n\nTHE ODES OF TS'AOU\n\n~Against Frivolous Pursuits~\n\n  Like splendid robes appear the wings\n    Of the ephemeral fly;\n  And such the pomp of those great men,\n    Which soon in death shall lie!\n  I grieve! Would they but come to me!\n    To teach them I should try.\n\n  The wings of the ephemeral fly\n    Are robes of colors gay;\n  And such the glory of those men,\n    Soon crumbling to decay!\n  I grieve! Would they but rest with me,\n    They'd learn a better way!\n\n  The ephemeral fly bursts from its hole,\n    With gauzy wings like snow;\n  So quick the rise, so quick the fall,\n    Of those great men we know!\n  I grieve! Would they but lodge with me,\n    Forth they would wiser go.\n\n\nBOOK XV\n\n\n\nTHE ODES OF PIN\n\n\n~The Duke of Chow Tells of His Soldiers~\n\n  To the hills of the east we went,\n    And long had we there to remain.\n  When the word of recall was sent,\n    Thick and fast came the drizzling rain.\n  When told our return we should take,\n    Our hearts in the West were and sore;\n  But there did they clothes for us make:--\n    They knew our hard service was o'er.\n  On the mulberry grounds in our sight\n    The large caterpillars were creeping;\n  Lonely and still we passed the night,\n    All under our carriages sleeping.\n\n  To the hills of the East we went,\n    And long had we there to remain.\n  When the word of recall was sent,\n    Thick and fast came the drizzling rain.\n  The heavenly gourds rise to the eye,\n    With their fruit hanging under the eave.\n  In our chambers the sow-bug we spy;\n    Their webs on our doors spiders weave.\n  Our paddocks seem crowded with deer,\n    With the glow-worm's light all about.\n  Such thoughts, while they filled us with fear,\n    We tried, but in vain, to keep out.\n\n  To the hills of the East we went,\n    And long had we there to remain.\n  When the word of recall was sent,\n    Thick and fast came the drizzling rain.\n\n  On ant-hills screamed cranes with delight;\n    In their rooms were our wives sighing sore.\n  Our homes they had swept and made tight:--\n    All at once we arrived at the door.\n  The bitter gourds hanging are seen,\n    From branches of chestnut-trees high.\n  Three years of toil away we had been,\n    Since such a sight greeted the eye.\n\n  To the hills of the East we went,\n    And long had we there to remain.\n  When the word of recall was sent,\n    Thick and fast came the drizzling rain.\n  With its wings now here, and now there,\n    Is the oriole sporting in flight.\n  Those brides to their husbands repair,\n    Their steeds red and bay, flecked with white.\n  Each mother has fitted each sash;\n    Their equipments are full and complete;\n  But fresh unions, whatever their dash,\n    Can ne'er with reunions compete.\n\n\n\n~There is a Proper Way for Doing Everything~\n\n  In hewing an axe-shaft, how must you act?\n    Another axe take, or you'll never succeed.\n  In taking a wife, be sure 'tis a fact,\n    That with no go-between you never can speed.\n\n  In hewing an axe-shaft, hewing a shaft,\n    For a copy you have the axe in your hand.\n\n  In choosing a wife, you follow the craft,\n    And forthwith on the mats the feast-vessels stand.\n\n\n\nPART II.--MINOR ODES TO THE KINGDOM\n\n\nBOOK I\n\n\n\nDECADE OF LUH MING\n\n\n~A Festal Ode~\n\n  With sounds of happiness the deer\n    Browse on the celery of the meads.\n  A nobler feast is furnished here,\n    With guests renowned for noble deeds.\n  The lutes are struck; the organ blows,\n    Till all its tongues in movement heave.\n  Each basket loaded stands, and shows\n    The precious gifts the guests receive.\n  They love me and my mind will teach,\n  How duty's highest aim to reach.\n\n  With sounds of happiness the deer\n    The southern-wood crop in the meads,\n  What noble guests surround me here,\n    Distinguished for their worthy deeds!\n  From them my people learn to fly\n    Whate'er is mean; to chiefs they give\n  A model and a pattern high;--\n    They show the life they ought to live.\n  Then fill their cups with spirits rare,\n  Till each the banquet's joy shall share.\n\n  With sounds of happiness the deer\n    The salsola crop in the fields.\n  What noble guests surround me here!\n    Each lute for them its music yields.\n  Sound, sound the lutes, or great or small.\n    The joy harmonious to prolong;--\n\n  And with my spirits rich crown all\n    The cups to cheer the festive throng.\n  Let each retire with gladdened heart,\n  In his own sphere to play his part.\n\n\n\n~A Festal Ode Complimenting an Officer~\n\n  On dashed my four steeds, without halt, without stay,\n  Though toilsome and winding from Chow was the way.\n  I wished to return--but the monarch's command\n  Forbade that his business be done with slack hand;\n    And my heart was with sadness oppressed.\n\n  On dashed my four steeds; I ne'er slackened the reins.\n  They snorted and panted--all white, with black manes.\n  I wished to return, but our sovereign's command\n  Forbade that his business be done with slack hand;--\n    And I dared not to pause or to rest.\n\n  Unresting the Filial doves speed in their flight,\n  Ascending, then sweeping swift down from the height,\n  Now grouped on the oaks. The king's high command\n  Forbade that his business be done with slack hand;--\n    And my father I left, sore distressed.\n\n  Unresting the Filial doves speed in their flight,\n  Now fanning the air and anon they alight\n  On the medlars thick grouped. But our monarch's command\n  Forbade that his business be done with slack hand;--\n    Of my mother I thought with sad breast.\n\n  My four steeds I harnessed, all white and black-maned,\n  Which straight on their way, fleet and emulous strained.\n  I wished to return; and now venture in song\n  The wish to express, and announce how I long\n    For my mother my care to attest.\n\n\n[NOTE.--Both Maou and Choo agree that this ode was composed in\nhonor of the officer who narrates the story in it, although they say it\nwas not written by the officer himself, but was put into his mouth, as\nit were, to express the sympathy of his entertainer with him, and the\nappreciation of his devotion to duty.]\n\n\n\n~The Value of Friendship~\n\n  The woodmen's blows responsive ring,\n    As on the trees they fall;\n  And when the birds their sweet notes sing,\n    They to each other call.\n  From the dark valley comes a bird,\n    And seeks the lofty tree.\n  _Ying_ goes its voice, and thus it cries,\n    \"Companion, come to me.\"\n  The bird, although a creature small,\n    Upon its mate depends;\n  And shall we men, who rank o'er all,\n    Not seek to have our friends?\n  All spirits love the friendly man,\n    And hearken to his prayer.\n  What harmony and peace they can\n    Bestow, his lot shall share.\n\n  _Hoo-hoo_ the woodmen all unite\n    To shout, as trees they fell.\n  They do their work with all their might;--\n    What I have done I'll tell.\n  I've strained and made my spirits clear,\n    The fatted lambs I've killed.\n  With friends who my own surname bear,\n    My hall I've largely filled.\n  Some may be absent, casually,\n    And leave a broken line;\n  But better this than absence by\n    An oversight of mine.\n  My court I've sprinkled and swept clean,\n    Viands in order set.\n  Eight dishes loaded stand with grain;\n    There's store of fatted meat.\n  My mother's kith and kin I'm sure\n    I've widely called by name.\n  That some be hindered better is\n    Than ~I~ give cause for blame.\n\n  On the hill-side the trees they fell,\n    All working with good-will\n  I labor too, with equal zeal.\n    And the host's part fulfil.\n  Spirits I've set in order meet,\n    The dishes stand in rows.\n  The guests are here; no vacant seat\n    A brother absent shows.\n  The loss of kindly feeling oft\n    From slightest things shall grow,\n  Where all the fare is dry and spare,\n    Resentments fierce may glow.\n  My store of spirits is well strained,\n    If short prove the supply,\n  My messengers I straightway send,\n    And what is needed buy.\n  I beat the drums, and in the dance\n    Lead joyously the train.\n  Oh! good it is, when falls the chance\n    The sparkling cup to drain.\n\n\n\n~The Response to a Festal Ode~\n\n  Heaven shields and sets thee fast.\n  It round thee fair has cast\n    Thy virtue pure.\n  Thus richest joy is thine;--\n  Increase of corn and wine,\n  And every gift divine,\n    Abundant, sure.\n\n  Heaven shields and sets thee fast.\n  From it thou goodness hast;\n    Right are thy ways.\n  Its choicest gifts 'twill pour,\n  That last for evermore,\n  Nor time exhaust the store\n    Through endless days.\n\n  Heaven shields and sets thee fast,\n  Makes thine endeavor last\n    And prosper well.\n  Like hills and mountains high,\n  Whose masses touch the sky;\n  Like streams aye surging by;\n    Thine increase swell!\n\n  With rite and auspice fair,\n  Thine offerings thou dost bear,\n    And son-like give,\n  The season's round from spring,\n  To olden duke and king,\n  Whose words to thee we bring:--\n    \"Forever live,\"\n\n  The spirits of thy dead\n  Pour blessings on thy head,\n    Unnumbered sweet.\n  Thy subjects, simple, good,\n  Enjoy their drink and food.\n  Our tribes of every blood\n    Follow thy feet.\n\n  Like moons that wax in light;\n  Or suns that scale the height;\n    Or ageless hill;\n  Nor change, nor autumn know;\n  As pine and cypress grow;\n  The sons that from thee flow\n    Be lasting still!\n\n\n\n~An Ode of Congratulation~\n\n  The russet pear-tree stands there all alone;\n  How bright the growth of fruit upon it shown!\n  The King's affairs no stinting hands require,\n  And days prolonged still mock our fond desire.\n  But time has brought the tenth month of the year;\n  My woman's heart is torn with wound severe.\n  Surely my warrior lord might now appear!\n\n  The russet pear-tree stands there all alone;\n  How dense the leafy shade all o'er it thrown!\n  The King's affairs require no slackening hand,\n  And our sad hearts their feelings can't command.\n  The plants and trees in beauty shine; 'tis spring.\n  From off my heart its gloom I fain would fling.\n  This season well my warrior home may bring!\n\n  I climbed that northern hill, and medlars sought;\n  The spring nigh o'er, to ripeness they were brought.\n  \"The King's affairs cannot be slackly done\";--\n  'Tis thus our parents mourn their absent son.\n  But now his sandal car must broken be;\n  I seem his powerful steeds worn out to see.\n  Relief has gone! He can't be far from me!\n\n  Alas! they can't have marched; they don't arrive!\n  More hard it grows with my distress to strive.\n  The time is passed, and still he is not here!\n  My sorrows multiply; great is my fear.\n  But lo! by reeds and shell I have divined,\n  That he is near, they both assure my mind;--\n  Soon at my side my warrior I shall find!\n\n\n\n~An Ode on the Return of the Troops~\n\n  Forth from the city in our cars we drove,\n    Until we halted at the pasture ground.\n  The general came, and there with ardor strove\n    A note of zeal throughout the host to sound.\n    \"Direct from court I come, by orders bound\n  The march to hasten\";--it was thus he spake.\n    Then with the carriage-officers around,\n  He strictly charged them quick despatch to make:--\n  \"Urgent the King's affairs, forthwith the field we take.\"\n\n  While there we stopped, the second corps appeared,\n    And 'twixt Us and the city took its place.\n  The guiding standard was on high upreared,\n    Where twining snakes the tortoises embrace,\n    While oxtails, crest-like, did the staff's top grace.\n  We watched the sheet unfolding grandly wave;\n    Each flag around showed falcons on its face.\n\n  With anxious care looked on our leader brave;\n  Watchful the carriage-officers appeared and grave.\n\n  Nan Chung, our chief, had heard the royal call\n    To go where inroad by Heen-yuns was made,\n  And 'cross the frontier build a barrier wall.\n    Numerous his chariots, splendidly arrayed!\n    The standards--this where dragons were displayed,\n  And that where snakes round tortoises were coiled--\n    Terrific flew. \"Northward our host,\" he said,\n  \"Heaven's son sends forth to tame the Heen-yun wild.\"\n  Soon by this awful chief would all their tribes be foiled.\n\n  When first we took the field, and northward went,\n    The millet was in flower;--a prospect sweet.\n  Now when our weary steps are homeward bent,\n    The snow falls fast, the mire impedes our feet.\n    Many the hardships we were called to meet,\n  Ere the King's orders we had all fulfilled.\n    No rest we had; often our friends to greet\n  The longing came; but vain regrets we stilled;\n  By tablets stern our hearts with fresh resolve were thrilled.\n\n  \"Incessant chirp the insects in the grass;\n    All round about the nimble hoppers spring.\n  From them our thoughts quick to our husbands pass?\n    Although those thoughts our hearts with anguish wring.\n    Oh! could we see them, what relief 'twould bring!\n  Our hearts, rejoiced, at once would feel at rest.\"\n    Thus did our wives, their case deploring, sing;\n  The while our leader farther on had pressed,\n  And smitten with his power the wild Jung of the west.\n\n  The spring days now are lengthening out their light;\n    The plants and trees are dressed in living green;\n  The orioles resting sing, or wing their flight;\n    Our wives amid the southern-wood are seen,\n    Which white they bring, to feed their silkworms keen.\n  Our host, returned, sweeps onwards to the hall,\n    Where chiefs are questioned, shown the captives mean\n  Nan Chung, majestic, draws the gaze of all,\n  Proud o'er the barbarous foe his victories to recall.\n\n\n\nBOOK II\n\n\n\nTHE DECADE OF PIH H'WA\n\n\n\n~An Ode Appropriate to a Festivity~\n\n  The dew lies heavy all around,\n  Nor, till the sun shines, leaves the ground.\n  Far into night we feasting sit;\n  We drink, and none his place may quit.\n\n  The dew lies heavy, and its gems\n  Stud the luxuriant, grassy stems.\n  The happy night with wassail rings;\n  So feasted here the former kings.\n\n  The jujube and the willow-tree\n  All fretted with the dew we see.\n  Each guest's a prince of noble line,\n  In whom the virtues all combine.\n\n  The _t'ung_ and _e_ their fruits display,\n  Pendant from every graceful spray.\n  My guests are joyous and serene,\n  No haggard eye, no ruffled mien.\n\n\n\nBOOK III\n\n\n\nTHE DECADE OF TUNG RUNG\n\n\n\n~Celebrating a Hunting Expedition~\n\n  Our chariots were well-built and firm,\n    Well-matched our steeds, and fleet and strong.\n  Four, sleek and large, each chariot drew,\n    And eastward thus we drove along.\n\n  Our hunting cars were light and good,\n    Each with its team of noble steeds.\n  Still further east we took the way\n    To Foo-mere's grassy plains that leads.\n\n  Loud-voiced, the masters of the chase\n    Arranged the huntsmen, high and low.\n  While banners streamed, and ox-tails flew,\n    We sought the prey on distant Gaou.\n\n  Each with full team, the princes came,\n    A lengthened train in bright array.\n  In gold-wrought slippers, knee-caps red,\n    They looked as on an audience day.\n\n  Each right thumb wore the metal guard;\n    On the left arm its shield was bound.\n  In unison the arrows flew;\n    The game lay piled upon the ground.\n\n  The leaders of the tawny teams\n    Sped on their course, direct and true.\n  The drivers perfect skill displayed;\n    Like blow well aimed each arrow flew.\n\n  Neighing and pleased, the steeds returned;\n  The bannered lines back slowly came.\n  No jostling rude disgraced the crowd;\n  The king declined large share of game.\n\n  So did this famous hunt proceed!\n  So free it was from clamorous sound!\n  Well does our King become his place,\nAnd high the deeds his reign have crowned!\n\n\n\n~The King's Anxiety for His Morning Lev\u00e9e~\n\n  How goes the night? For heavy morning sleep\n  Ill suits the king who men would loyal keep.\n  The courtyard, ruddy with the torch's light,\n  Proclaims unspent the deepest hour of night.\n  Already near the gate my lords appear;\n  Their tinkling bells salute my wakeful ear.\n\n  How goes the night? I may not slumber on.\n  Although not yet the night is wholly gone,\n  The paling torch-light in the court below\n  Gives token that the hours swift-footed go.\n  Already at the gate my lords appear;\n  Their tinkling bells with measured sound draw near.\n\n  How goes the night? I may not slumber now.\n  The darkness smiles with morning on its brow.\n  The courtyard torch no more gives forth its ray,\n  But heralds with its smoke the coming day.\n  My princes pass the gate, and gather there;\n  I see their banners floating in the air.\n\n\n\n~Moral Lessons from Natural Facts~\n\n  All true words fly, as from yon reedy marsh\n  The crane rings o'er the wild its screaming harsh.\n  Vainly you try reason in chains to keep;--\n  Freely it moves as fish sweeps through the deep.\n\n  Hate follows love, as 'neath those sandal-trees\n  The withered leaves the eager searcher sees.\n  The hurtful ne'er without some good was born;--\n  The stones that mar the hill will grind the corn.\n\n  All true words spread, as from the marsh's eye\n  The crane's sonorous note ascends the sky.\n  Goodness throughout the widest sphere abides,\n  As fish round isle and through the ocean glides.\n  And lesser good near greater you shall see,\n  As grows the paper shrub 'neath sandal-tree.\n  And good emerges from what man condemns;--\n  Those stones that mar the hill will polish gems.\n\n\n\nBOOK IV\n\n\n\nTHE DECADE OF K'E-FOO\n\n\n\n~On the Completion of a Royal Palace~\n\n  On yonder banks a palace, lo! upshoots,\n    The tender blue of southern hill behind;\n  Firm-founded, like the bamboo's clamping roots;\n    Its roof made pine-like, to a point defined.\n  Fraternal love here bears its precious fruits,\n    And unfraternal schemes be ne'er designed!\n\n  Ancestral sway is his. The walls they rear,\n    Five thousand cubits long; and south and west\n  The doors are placed. Here will the king appear,\n    Here laugh, here talk, here sit him down and rest.\n\n  To mould the walls, the frames they firmly tie;\n    The toiling builders beat the earth and lime.\n  The walls shall vermin, storm, and bird defy;--\n    Fit dwelling is it for his lordly prime.\n\n  Grand is the hall the noble lord ascends;--\n    In height, like human form most reverent, grand;\n  And straight, as flies the shaft when bow unbends;\n    Its tints, like hues when pheasant's wings expand.\n\n  High pillars rise the level court around;\n    The pleasant light the open chamber steeps;\n  And deep recesses, wide alcoves, are found,\n    Where our good king in perfect quiet sleeps.\n\n  Laid is the bamboo mat on rush mat square;--\n    Here shall he sleep, and, waking, say, \"Divine\n    What dreams are good? For bear and grizzly bear,\n    And snakes and cobras, haunt this couch of mine.\"\n\n  Then shall the chief diviner glad reply,\n    \"The bears foreshow that Heaven will send you sons.\n  The snakes and cobras daughters prophesy.\n    These auguries are all auspicious ones.\n\n  \"Sons shall be his--on couches lulled to rest.\n    The little ones, enrobed, with sceptres play;\n  Their infant cries are loud as stern behest;\n    Their knees the vermeil covers shall display.\n  As king hereafter one shall be addressed;\n    The rest, our princes, all the States shall sway.\n\n  \"And daughters also to him shall be born.\n    They shall be placed upon the ground to sleep;\n  Their playthings tiles, their dress the simplest worn;\n    Their part alike from good and ill to keep,\n  And ne'er their parents' hearts to cause to mourn;\n    To cook the food, and spirit-malt to steep.\"\n\n\n\n~The Condition of King Seuen's Flocks~\n\n  Who dares to say your sheep are few?\n    The flocks are all three hundred strong.\n  Who dares despise your cattle too?\n    There ninety, black-lipped, press along.\n  Though horned the sheep, yet peaceful each appears;\n  The cattle come with moist and flapping ears.\n\n  These climb the heights, those drink the pool;\n    Some lie at rest, while others roam.\n  With rain-coats, and thin splint hats cool,\n    And bearing food, your herdsmen come.\n  In thirties, ranged by hues, the creatures stand;\n  Fit victims they will yield at your command.\n\n  Your herdsmen twigs and fagots bring,\n    With prey of birds and beasts for food.\n  Your sheep, untouched by evil thing,\n    Approach, their health and vigor good.\n  The herdsman's waving hand they all behold,\n  And docile come, and pass into the fold.\n\n  Your herdsmen dream;--fish take the place\n    Of men; on banners falcons fly,\n  Displacing snakes and tortoises.\n    The augur tells his prophecy:--\n  \"The first betoken plenteous years; the change\n  Of banners shows of homes a widening range.\"\n\n\nBOOK V\n\n\n\nTHE DECADE OF SEAOU MIN\n\n\n\n~A Eunuch Complains of His Fate~\n\n\n  A few fine lines, at random drawn,\n  Like the shell-pattern wrought in lawn\n    To hasty glance will seem.\n  My trivial faults base slander's slime\n  Distorted into foulest crime,\n    And men me worthless deem.\n\n  A few small points, pricked down on wood,\n  May be made out a picture good\n    Of the bright Southern Sieve.\n  Who planned, and helped those slanderers vile,\n  My name with base lies to defile?\n    Unpitied, here I grieve.\n\n  With babbling tongues you go about,\n  And only scheme how to make out\n    The lies you scatter round.\n  Hear me--Be careful what you say;\n  People ere long your words will weigh,\n    And liars you'll be found.\n\n  Clever you are with changeful schemes!\n  How else could all your evil dreams\n    And slanders work their way?\n  Men now believe you; by and by,\n  The truth found out, each vicious lie\n    Will ill for ill repay.\n\n  The proud rejoice; the sufferer weeps.\n  O azure Heaven, from out thy deeps\n    Why look in silence down?\n  Behold those proud men and rebuke;\n  With pity on the sufferers look,\n    And on the evil frown.\n\n  Those slanderers I would gladly take,\n  With all who help their schemes to make,\n    And to the tigers throw.\n  If wolves and tigers such should spare,\n  Td hurl them 'midst the freezing air,\n    Where the keen north winds blow.\n  And should the North compassion feel\n  I'd fling them to great Heaven, to deal\n    On them its direst woe.\n\n  As on the sacred heights you dwell,\n  My place is in the willow dell,\n    One is the other near.\n  Before you, officers, I spread\n  These lines by me, poor eunuch, made.\n    Think not Mang-tsze severe.\n\n\n\n~An Officer Deplores the Misery of the Time~\n\n  In the fourth month summer shines;\n  In the sixth the heat declines.\n  Nature thus grants men relief;\n  Tyranny gives only grief.\n  Were not my forefathers men?\n  Can my suffering 'scape their ken?\n\n  In the cold of autumn days\n  Each plant shrivels and decays.\n  Nature then is hard and stern;\n  Living things sad lessons learn.\n  Friends dispersed, all order gone,\n  Place of refuge have I none.\n\n  Winter days are wild and fierce;\n  Rapid gusts each crevice pierce.\n  Such is my unhappy lot,\n  Unbefriended and forgot!\n  Others all can happy be;\n  I from misery ne'er am free.\n\n  On the mountains are fine trees;\n  Chestnuts, plum-trees, there one sees.\n  All the year their forms they show;\n  Stately more and more they grow.\n  Noble turned to ravening thief!\n  What the cause? This stirs my grief.\n\n  Waters from that spring appear\n  Sometimes foul, and sometimes clear,\n  Changing oft as falls the rain,\n  Or the sky grows bright again.\n  New misfortunes every day\n  Still befall me, misery's prey.\n\n  Aid from mighty streams obtained,\n  Southern States are shaped and drained.\n  Thus the Keang and Han are thanked,\n  And as benefactors ranked.\n  Weary toil my vigor drains;\n  All unnoticed it remains!\n\n  Hawks and eagles mount the sky;\n  Sturgeons in deep waters lie.\n  Out of reach, they safely get,\n  Arrow fear not, nor the net.\n  Hiding-place for me there's none;\n  Here I stay, and make my moan.\n\n  Ferns upon the hills abound;\n  _Ke_ and _e_ in marshy ground.\n  Each can boast its proper place,\n  Where it grows for use or grace.\n  I can only sing the woe,\n  Which, ill-starred, I undergo.\n\n\n\n~On the Alienation of a Friend~\n\n\n  Gently and soft the east wind blows,\n    And then there falls the pelting rain.\n  When anxious fears pressed round you close,\n    Then linked together were we twain.\n  Now happy, and your mind at rest,\n  You turn and cast me from your breast.\n\n  Gently and soft the east wind blows,\n    And then there comes the whirlwind wild.\n  When anxious fears pressed round you close,\n    Your bosom held me as a child.\n  Now happy, and in peaceful state,\n  You throw me off and quite forget.\n\n  Gently and soft the east wind blows,\n    Then round the rocky height it storms.\n  Each plant its leaves all dying shows;\n    The trees display their withered forms.\n  My virtues great forgotten all,\n  You keep in mind my faults, though small.\n\n\nBOOK VI\n\n\nTHE DECADE OF PIH SHAN\n\n\n\n~A Picture of Husbandry~\n\n  Various the toils which fields so large demand!\n  We choose the seed; we take our tools in hand.\n  In winter for our work we thus prepare;\n  Then in the spring, bearing the sharpened 'share,\n  We to the acres go that south incline,\n  And to the earth the different seeds consign.\n  Soon, straight and large, upward each plant aspires;--\n  All happens as our noble lord desires.\n\n  The plants will ear; within their sheath confined,\n  The grains will harden, and be good in kind.\n  Nor darnel these, nor wolf's-tail grass infests;\n  From core and leaf we pick the insect pests,\n  And pick we those that eat the joints and roots:--\n  So do we guard from harm the growing fruits.\n  May the great Spirit, whom each farmer names,\n  Those insects take, and cast them to the flames!\n\n  The clouds o'erspread the sky in masses dense,\n  And gentle rain down to the earth dispense.\n  First may the public fields the blessing get,\n  And then with it our private fields we wet!\n  Patches of unripe grain the reaper leaves;\n  And here and there ungathered are the sheaves.\n  Handfuls besides we drop upon the ground,\n  And ears untouched in numbers lie around;--\n\n  These by the poor and widows shall be found.\n  When wives and children to the toilers come,\n  Bringing provisions from each separate home,\n  Our lord of long descent shall oft appear;\n  The Inspector also, glad the men to cheer.\n  They too shall thank the Spirits of the air,\n  With sacrifices pure for all their care;\n  Now red, now black, the victims that they slay,\n  As North or South the sacrifice they pay;\n  While millet bright the altars always show;--\n  And we shall thus still greater blessings know.\n\n\n\n~The Complaint of an Officer~\n\n  O Heaven above, before whose light\n  Revealed is every deed and thought,\n     To thee I cry.\n  Hither on toilsome service brought,\n  In this wild K'ew I watch time's flight,\n     And sadly sigh.\n  The second month had just begun,\n  When from the east we took our way.\n     Through summer hot\n  We passed, and many a wintry day.\n  Summer again its course has run.\n     O bitter lot!\n  There are my compeers, gay at court,\n  While here the tears my face begrime.\n     I'd fain return--\n  But there is that dread net for crime!\n  The fear of it the wish cuts short.\n     In vain I burn!\n\n  Ere we the royal city left,\n  The sun and moon renewed the year.\n     We marched in hope.\n  Now to its close this year is near.\n  Return deferred, of hope bereft,\n     All mourn and mope.\n  My lonesome state haunts aye my breast,\n  While duties grow, and cares increase,\n     Too hard to bear.\n\n  Toils that oppress me never cease;\n  Not for a moment dare I rest,\n    Nigh to despair.\n  I think with fond regard of those,\n  Who in their posts at court remain,\n    My friends of old.\n  Fain would I be with them again,\n  But fierce reproof return would cause.\n    This post I hold.\n\n  When for the West I left my home,\n  The sun and moon both mildly shone,\n    Our hearts to cheer.\n  We'd soon be back, our service done!\n  Alas! affairs more urgent come,\n    And fix us here.\n  The year is hastening to expire.\n  We gather now the southern-wood,\n    The beans we reap;--\n  That for its fragrance, these for food.\n  Such things that constant care require\n    Me anxious keep.\n  Thinking of friends still at their posts,\n  I rise and pass the night outside,\n    So vexed my mind.\n  But soon what changes may betide?\n  I here will stay, whate'er it costs,\n    And be resigned.\n\n  My honored friends, O do not deem\n  Your rest which seems secure from ill\n    Will ever last!\n  Your duties quietly fulfil,\n  And hold the upright in esteem,\n    With friendship fast.\n  So shall the Spirits hear your cry,\n  You virtuous make, and good supply,\n    In measure vast.\n\n  My honored friends, O do not deem\n  Repose that seems secure from ill\n    Will lasting prove.\n  Your duties quietly fulfil,\n  And hold the upright in esteem,\n    With earnest love.\n  So shall the Spirits hear your prayer,\n  And on you happiness confer,\n    Your hopes above.\n\n\nBOOK VII\n\n\n\nDECADE OF SANG HOO\n\n\n\n~The Rejoicings of a Bridegroom~\n\n  With axle creaking, all on fire I went,\n   To fetch my young and lovely bride.\n  No thirst or hunger pangs my bosom rent--\n   I only longed to have her by my side.\n  I feast with her, whose virtue fame had told,\n  Nor need we friends our rapture to behold.\n\n  The long-tailed pheasants surest covert find,\n   Amid the forest on the plain.\n  Here from my virtuous bride, of noble mind,\n   And person tall, I wisdom gain.\n  I praise her while we feast, and to her say,\n  \"The love I bear you ne'er will know decay.\n\n  \"Poor we may be; spirits and viands fine\n   My humble means will not afford.\n  But what we have, we'll taste and not repine;\n   From us will come no grumbling word.\n  And though to you no virtue I can add,\n  Yet we will sing and dance, in spirit glad.\n\n  \"I oft ascend that lofty ridge with toil,\n   And hew large branches from the oaks;\n  Then of their leafy glory them I spoil,\n   And fagots form with vigorous strokes.\n  Returning tired, your matchless grace I see,\n  And my whole soul dissolves in ecstasy.\n\n  \"To the high hills I looked, and urged each steed;\n   The great road next was smooth and plain.\n\n  Up hill, o'er dale, I never slackened speed;\n    Like lute-string sounded every rein.\n  I knew, my journey ended, I should come\n  To you, sweet bride, the comfort of my home.\"\n\n\n\n~Against Listening to Slanderers~\n\n  Like the blueflies buzzing round,\n    And on the fences lighting,\n  Are the sons of slander found,\n    Who never cease their biting.\n  O thou happy, courteous king,\n  To the winds their slanders fling.\n\n  Buzzing round the blueflies hear,\n    About the jujubes flocking!\n  So the slanderers appear,\n    Whose calumnies are shocking.\n  By no law or order bound,\n  All the kingdom they confound.\n\n  How they buzz, those odious flies,\n    Upon the hazels clust'ring!\n  And as odious are the lies\n    Of those slanderers blust'ring.\n  Hatred stirred between us two\n  Shows the evil they can do.\n\n\n\nBOOK VIII\n\n\n\nTHE DECADE OF TOO JIN SZE\n\n\n\n~In Praise of By-gone Simplicity~\n\n\n  In the old capital they stood,\n    With yellow fox-furs plain,\n  Their manners all correct and good,\n    Speech free from vulgar stain.\n  Could we go back to Chow's old days,\n  All would look up to them with praise.\n\n  In the old capital they wore\n    _T'ae_ hats and black caps small;\n  And ladies, who famed surnames bore,\n    Their own thick hair let fall.\n  Such simple ways are seen no more,\n  And the changed manners I deplore.\n\n  Ear-rings, made of plainest gold,\n    In the old days were worn.\n  Each lady of a noble line\n    A Yin or Keih seemed born.\n  Such officers and ladies now\n  I see not and my sorrows grow.\n\n  With graceful sweep their girdles fell,\n    Then in the days of old.\n  The ladies' side-hair, with a swell,\n    Like scorpion's tail, rose bold.\n  Such, if I saw them in these days,\n  I'd follow with admiring gaze.\n\n  So hung their girdles, not for show;--\n    To their own length 'twas due.\n  'Twas not by art their hair curled so;--\n    By nature so it grew.\n  I seek such manners now in vain,\n  And pine for them with longing pain.\n\n[NOTE.--Yin and Keih were clan names of great families, the ladies\nof which would be leaders of fashion in the capital.]\n\n\n\n~A Wife Bemoans Her Husband's Absence~\n\n  So full am I of anxious thought,\n  Though all the morn king-grass I've sought,\n    To fill my arms I fail.\n  Like wisp all-tangled is my hair!\n  To wash it let me home repair.\n    My lord soon may I hail!\n\n  Though 'mong the indigo I've wrought\n  The morning long; through anxious thought\n    My skirt's filled but in part.\n  Within five days he was to appear;\n  The sixth has come and he's not here.\n    Oh! how this racks my heart!\n\n  When here we dwelt in union sweet,\n  If the hunt called his eager feet,\n    His bow I cased for him.\n  Or if to fish he went away,\n  And would be absent all the day,\n    His line I put in trim.\n\n  What in his angling did he catch?\n  Well worth the time it was to watch\n    How bream and tench he took.\n  Men thronged upon the banks and gazed;\n  At bream and tench they looked amazed,\n    The triumphs of his hook.\n\n\n\n~The Earl of Shaou's Work~\n\n  As the young millet, by the genial rain\n    Enriched, shoots up luxuriant and tall,\n  So, when we southward marched with toil and pain,\n    The Earl of Shaou cheered and inspired us all.\n\n  We pushed our barrows, and our burdens bore;\n    We drove our wagons, and our oxen led.\n  \"The work once done, our labor there is o'er,\n    And home we travel,\" to ourselves we said.\n\n  Close kept our footmen round the chariot track;\n    Our eager host in close battalions sped.\n  \"When once our work is done, then we go back,\n    Our labor over,\" to themselves they said.\n\n  Hard was the work we had at Seay to do,\n    But Shaou's great earl the city soon upreared.\n  The host its service gave with ardor true;--\n    Such power in all the earl's commands appeared!\n\n  We did on plains and low lands what was meet;\n    We cleared the springs and streams, the land to drain.\n  The Earl of Shaou announced his work complete,\n    And the King's heart reposed, at rest again.\n\n\n\n~The Plaint of King Yew's Forsaken Wife~\n\n  The fibres of the white-flowered rush\n    Are with the white grass bound.\n  So do the two together go,\n    In closest union found.\n  And thus should man and wife abide,\n    The twain combined in one;\n  But this bad man sends me away,\n    And bids me dwell alone.\n\n  Both rush and grass from the bright clouds\n    The genial dew partake.\n\n  Kind and impartial, nature's laws\n    No odious difference make.\n  But providence appears unkind;\n    Events are often hard.\n  This man, to principle untrue,\n    Denies me his regard.\n\n  Northward the pools their waters send,\n    To flood each paddy field;\n  So get the fields the sap they need,\n    Their store of rice to yield.\n  But that great man no deed of grace\n    Deigns to bestow on me.\n  My songs are sighs. At thought of him\n    My heart aches wearily.\n\n  The mulberry branches they collect,\n    And use their food to cook;\n  But I must use a furnace small,\n    That pot nor pan will brook.\n  So me that great man badly treats,\n    Nor uses as his wife,\n  Degrades me from my proper place,\n    And fills with grief my life.\n\n  The bells and drums inside the court\n    Men stand without and hear;\n  So should the feelings in my breast,\n    To him distinct appear.\n  All-sorrowful, I think of him,\n    Longing to move his love;\n  But he vouchsafes no kind response;\n    His thoughts far from me rove.\n\n  The marabow stands on the dam,\n    And to repletion feeds;\n  The crane deep in the forest cries,\n    Nor finds the food it needs.\n  So in my room the concubine\n    By the great man is placed;\n  While I with cruel banishment\n    Am cast out and disgraced.\n\n  The yellow ducks sit on the dam,\n     With left wing gathered low;\n  So on each other do they lean,\n     And their attachment show.\n  And love should thus the man and wife\n     In closest concord bind;\n  But that man turns away from me,\n     And shows a fickle mind.\n\n  When one stands on a slab of stone,\n     No higher than the ground,\n  Nothing is added to his height;--\n     Low with the stone he's found.\n  So does the favorite's mean estate\n     Render that great man mean,\n  While I by him, to distance sent,\n     Am pierced with sorrow keen.\n\n\n\n~Hospitality~\n\n  A few gourd leaves that waved about\n     Cut down and boiled;--the feast how spare!\n  But the good host his spirits takes,\n     Pours out a cup, and proves them rare.\n\n  A single rabbit on the mat,\n     Or baked, or roast:--how small the feast!\n  But the good host his spirits takes,\n     And fills the cup of every guest.\n\n  A single rabbit on the mat,\n     Roasted or broiled:--how poor the meal!\n  But the guests from the spirit vase\n     Fill their host's cup, and drink his weal.\n\n  A single rabbit on the mat,\n     Roasted or baked:--no feast we think!\n  But from the spirit vase they take,\n     Both host and guests, and joyous drink.\n\n\n\n~On the Misery of Soldiers~\n\n  Yellow now is all the grass;\n  All the days in marching pass.\n  On the move is every man;\n  Hard work, far and near, they plan.\n\n  Black is every plant become;\n  Every man is torn from home.\n  Kept on foot, our state is sad;--\n  As if we no feelings had!\n\n  Not rhinoceroses we!\n  Tigers do we care to be?\n  Fields like these so desolate\n  Are to us a hateful fate.\n\n  Long-tailed foxes pleased may hide\n  'Mong the grass, where they abide.\n  We, in box carts slowly borne,\n  On the great roads plod and mourn.\n\n\n\nPART III.--GREATER ODES OF THE KINGDOM\n\n\n\nBOOK I\n\n\n\nDECADE OF KING WAN\n\n\n~Celebrating King Wan~\n\n  The royal Wan now rests on high,\n  Enshrined in brightness of the sky.\n  Chow as a state had long been known,\n  And Heaven's decree at last was shown.\n  Its lords had borne a glorious name;\n  God kinged them when the season came.\n  King Wan ruled well when earth he trod;\n  Now moves his spirit near to God.\n\n  A strong-willed, earnest king was Wan,\n  And still his fame rolls widening on.\n  The gifts that God bestowed on Chow\n  Belong to Wan's descendants now.\n  Heaven blesses still with gifts divine\n  The hundred scions of his line;\n  And all the officers of Chow\n  From age to age more lustrous grow.\n\n  More lustrous still from age to age,\n  All reverent plans their zeal engage;\n  And brilliant statesmen owe their birth\n  To this much-favored spot of earth.\n  They spring like products of the land--\n  The men by whom the realm doth stand.\n  Such aid their numerous bands supply,\n  That Wan rests tranquilly on high.\n\n  Deep were Wan's thoughts, sustained his ways;\n  His reverence lit its trembling rays.\n  Resistless came great Heaven's decree;\n  The sons of Shang must bend the knee;--\n  The sons of Shang, each one a king,\n  In numbers beyond numbering.\n  Yet as God spoke, so must it be:--\n  The sons of Shang all bent the knee.\n\n  Now each to Chow his homage pays--\n  So dark and changing are Heaven's ways.\n  When we pour our libations here,\n  The officers of Shang appear,\n  Quick and alert to give their aid:--\n  Such is the service by them paid,\n  While still they do not cast aside\n  The cap and broidered axe--their pride.\n  Ye servants of our line of kings,\n  Remember him from whom it springs.\n\n  Remember him from whom it springs;--\n  Let this give to your virtue wings.\n  Seek harmony with Heaven's great mind;--\n  So shall you surest blessing find.\n  Ere Shang had lost the nation's heart,\n  Its monarchs all with God had part\n  In sacrifice. From them you see\n  'Tis hard to keep high Heaven's decree.\n\n  'Tis hard to keep high Heaven's decree!\n  O sin not, or you cease to be.\n  To add true lustre to your name,\n  See Shang expire in Heaven's dread flame.\n  For Heaven's high dealings are profound,\n  And far transcend all sense and sound.\n  From Wan your pattern you must draw,\n  And all the States will own your law.\n\n\n[Book II. is omitted]\n\n\nBOOK III [*]\n\n\n\nDECADE OF TANG\n\n\n\n~King Seuen on the Occasion of a Great Drought~\n\n  Grand shone the Milky Way on high,\n  With brilliant span athwart the sky,\n    Nor promise gave of rain.\n  King Seuen long gazed; then from him broke,\n  In anguished tones the words he spoke.\n    Well might he thus complain!\n  \"O Heaven, what crimes have we to own,\n  That death and ruin still come down?\n  Relentless famine fills our graves.\n  Pity the king who humbly craves!\n    Our miseries never cease.\n  To every Spirit I have vowed;\n  The choicest victim's blood has flowed.\n  As offerings I have freely paid\n  My store of gems and purest jade.\n    Hear me, and give release!\n\n  \"The drought consumes us. As on wing\n  Its fervors fly, and torment bring.\n  With purest mind and ceaseless care\n  My sacrifices I prepare.\n  At thine own border altars, Heaven,\n  And in my father's fane, I've given\n    What might relief have found.\n  What Powers above, below, have sway,\n  To all my precious gifts I pay,\n    Then bury in the ground.\n  Yes, every Spirit has received\n  Due honor, and, still unrelieved,\n    Our sufferings greater grow.\n  How-tseih can't give the needed aid,\n  And help from God is still delayed!\n  The country lies a ruined waste.\n  O would that I alone might taste\n    This bitter cup of woe!\n\n  \"The drought consumes us. Nor do I\n  To fix the blame on others try.\n  I quake with dread; the risk I feel,\n  As when I hear the thunders peal,\n    Or fear its sudden crash.\n  Our black-haired race, a remnant now,\n  Will every one be swept from Chow,\n    As by the lightning's flash.\n  Nor I myself will live alone.\n  God from his great and heavenly throne\n    Will not spare even me.\n  O friends and officers, come, blend\n  Your prayers with mine; come, lowly bend.\n  Chow's dynasty will pass away;\n  Its altars at no distant day\n    In ruins all shall be!\n\n  \"The drought consumes us. It keeps on\n  Its fatal course. All hope is gone.\n  The air more fierce and fiery glows.\n  Where can I fly? Where seek repose?\n    Death marks me for its prey.\n  Above, no saving hand! Around,\n  No hope, no comfort, can be found.\n  The dukes and ministers of old\n  Give us no help. Can ye withhold\n  Your sympathy, who lately reigned?\n  And parents, how are you restrained,\n    In this so dreadful day?\n\n  \"The drought consumes us. There on high\n  The hills are parched. The streams are dry.\n  Drought's demon stalks abroad in ire,\n  And scatters wide his flames and fire.\n    Alas, my woful heart!\n  The fires within its strength consume;\n  The heat without creates a gloom\n    That from it will not part.\n  The dukes and ministers by-gone\n  Respond not to my prayer and moan.\n  God in great Heaven, permission give\n  That I may in retirement live,\n    And try to heal my smart!\n\n  \"The drought consumes us. Still I strive,\n  And will not leave while I survive.\n    Duty to shun I fear.\n  Why upon me has come this drought?\n  Vainly I try to search it out,\n    Vainly, with quest severe.\n  For a good harvest soon I prayed,\n  Nor late the rites I duly paid,\n  To Spirits of the air and land.\n  There wanted nought they could demand,\n    Their favor to secure.\n  God in great heaven, be just, be kind!\n  Thou dost not bear me in Thy mind.\n  My cry, ye wisest Spirits, hear!\n  Ye whom I constantly revere,\n    Why do I this endure?\n\n  \"The drought consumes us. People fly,\n  And leave their homes. Each social tie\n    And bond of rule is snapt.\n  The Heads of Boards are all perplexed;\n  My premier's mind is sorely vexed;\n    In trouble all are wrapt.\n  The Masters of my Horse and Guards;\n  My cook, and men of different wards:--\n  Not one has from the struggle shrunk.\n  Though feeling weak, they have not sunk,\n    But done their best to aid.\n  To the great sky I look with pain;--\n  Why do these grievous sorrows rain\n    On my devoted head?\n\n  \"Yes, at the mighty sky I gaze,\n  And lo! the stars pursue their maze,\n    And sparkle clear and bright.\n  Ah! Heaven nor helps, nor seems to ken.\n  Great officers and noble men,\n  With all your powers ye well have striven,\n  And reverently have sought from Heaven\n    Its aid in our great fight.\n  My death is near; but oh! keep on,\n  And do as thus far you have done.\n    Regard you only me?\n  No, for yourselves and all your friends,\n  On whom for rule the land depends,\n    You seek security.\n  I turn my gaze to the great sky;--\n  When shall this drought be done, and I\n    Quiet and restful be?\"\n\n\n[NOTE *: Selections from Book II. are omitted.--EDITOR.]\n\n\n\nPART IV.--ODES OF THE TEMPLE AND ALTAR\n\n\n\nBOOK I\n\n\n\nSACRIFICIAL ODES OF CHOW\n\n\n\n~Appropriate to a Sacrifice to King Wan~\n\n  My offerings here are given,\n    A ram, a bull.\n  Accept them, mighty Heaven,\n    All-bountiful.\n\n  Thy statutes, O great king,\n    I keep, I love;\n  So on the realm to bring\n    Peace from above.\n\n  From Wan comes blessing rich;\n    Now on the right\n  He owns those gifts to which\n    Him I invite.\n\n  Do I not night and day,\n    Revere great Heaven,\n  That thus its favor may\n    To Chow be given?\n\n\n\n~On Sacrificing to the Kings Woo, Ching, and K'ang~\n\n  The arm of Woo was full of might;\n    None could his fire withstand;\n  And Ching and K'ang stood forth to sight,\n    As kinged by God's own hand.\n\n  We err not when we call them sage.\n    How grandly they maintained\n  Their hold of all the heritage\n    That Wan and Woo had gained!\n\n  As here we worship, they descend,\n    While bells and drums resound,\n  And stones and lutes their music blend.\n    With blessings we are crowned.\n\n  The rites correctly we discharge;\n    The feast we freely share.\n  Those Sires Chow's glory will enlarge,\n    And ever for it care.\n\n\n\nTHE TRAVELS OF F\u00c2-HIEN\n\n\n\n[Translation by James Legge]\n\n\nTRANSLATOR'S INTRODUCTION\n\n\nNothing of great importance is known about F\u00e2-hien in addition to what\nmay be gathered from his own record of his travels. I have read the\naccounts of him in the \"Memoirs of Eminent Monks,\" compiled in A.D. 519,\nand a later work, the \"Memoirs of Marvellous Monks,\" by the third\nemperor of the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1403-1424), which, however, is nearly\nall borrowed from the other; and all in them that has an appearance of\nverisimilitude can be brought within brief compass.\n\nHis surname, they tell us, was Kung, and he was a native of Wu-yang in\nP'ing-yang, which is still the name of a large department in Shan-hs\u00ee.\nHe had three brothers older than himself; but when they all died before\nshedding their first teeth, his father devoted him to the service of the\nBuddhist society, and had him entered as a Sr\u00e2manera, still keeping him\nat home in the family. The little fellow fell dangerously ill, and the\nfather sent him to the monastery, where he soon got well and refused to\nreturn to his parents.\n\nWhen he was ten years old, his father died; and an uncle, considering\nthe widowed solitariness and helplessness of the mother, urged him to\nrenounce the monastic life, and return to her, but the boy replied, \"I\ndid not quit the family in compliance with my father's wishes, but\nbecause I wished to be far from the dust and vulgar ways of life. This\nis why I choose monkhood.\" The uncle approved of his words and gave over\nurging him. When his mother also died, it appeared how great had been\nthe affection for her of his fine nature; but after her burial he\nreturned to the monastery.\n\nOn one occasion he was cutting rice with a score or two of his\nfellow-disciples, when some hungry thieves came upon them to take away\ntheir grain by force. The other Sr\u00e2maneras all fled, but our young hero\nstood his ground, and said to the thieves, \"If you must have the grain,\ntake what you please. But, sirs, it was your former neglect of charity\nwhich brought you to your present state of destitution; and now, again,\nyou wish to rob others. I am afraid that in the coming ages you will\nhave still greater poverty and distress; I am sorry for you beforehand.\"\nWith these words he followed his companions to the monastery, while the\nthieves left the grain and went away, all the monks, of whom there were\nseveral hundred, doing homage to his conduct and courage.\n\nWhen he had finished his novitiate and taken on him the obligations of\nthe full Buddhist orders, his earnest courage, clear intelligence, and\nstrict regulation of his demeanor, were conspicuous; and soon after, he\nundertook his journey to India in search of complete copies of the\nVinaya-pitaka. What follows this is merely an account of his travels in\nIndia and return to China by sea, condensed from his own narrative, with\nthe addition of some marvellous incidents that happened to him, on his\nvisit to the Vulture Peak near R\u00e2jagriha.\n\nIt is said in the end that after his return to China, he went to the\ncapital (evidently Nanking), and there, along with the Indian Sramana\nBuddha-bhadra, executed translations of some of the works which he had\nobtained in India; and that before he had done all that he wished to do\nin this way, he removed to King-chow (in the present Hoo-pih), and died\nin the monastery of Sin, at the age of eighty-eight, to the great sorrow\nof all who knew him. It is added that there is another larger work\ngiving an account of his travels in various countries.\n\nSuch is all the information given about our author, beyond what he has\nhimself told us. F\u00e2-hien was his clerical name, and means \"Illustrious\nin the Law,\" or \"Illustrious master of the Law.\" The Shih which often\nprecedes it is an abbreviation of the name of Buddha as S\u00e2kyamuni, \"the\nS\u00e2kya, mighty in Love, dwelling in Seclusion and Silence,\" and may be\ntaken as equivalent to Buddhist. He is sometimes said to have belonged\nto \"the eastern Tsin dynasty\" (A.D. 317-419), and sometimes to \"the\nSung,\" that is, the Sung dynasty of the House of Li\u00fb (A.D. 420-478). If\nhe became a full monk at the age of twenty, and went to India when he\nwas twenty-five, his long life may have been divided pretty equally\nbetween the two dynasties.\n\nIf there were ever another and larger account of F\u00e2-hien's travels than\nthe narrative of which a translation is now given, it has long ceased to\nbe in existence.\n\nIn the catalogue of the imperial library of the Suy dynasty (A.D.\n589-618), the name F\u00e2-hien occurs four times. Towards the end of the\nlast section of it, after a reference to his travels, his labors in\ntranslation at Kin-ling (another name for Nanking), in conjunction with\nBuddha-bhadra, are described. In the second section we find \"A Record of\nBuddhistic Kingdoms\"--with a note, saying that it was the work of \"the\nSramana, F\u00e2-hien\"; and again, we have \"Narrative of F\u00e2-hien in two\nBooks,\" and \"Narrative of F\u00e2-hien's Travels in one Book.\" But all these\nthree entries may possibly belong to different copies of the same work,\nthe first and the other two being in separate subdivisions of the\ncatalogue.\n\nIn the two Chinese copies of the narrative in my possession the title is\n\"Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms.\" In the Japanese or Corean recension the\ntitle is twofold; first, \"Narrative of the Distinguished Monk, F\u00e2-hien\";\nand then, more at large, \"Incidents of Travels in India, by the Sramana\nof the Eastern Ts\u00een, F\u00e2-hien, recorded by himself.\"\n\nThere is still earlier attestation of the existence of our little work\nthan the Suy catalogue. The \"Catalogue Raisonn\u00e9\" of the imperial library\nof the present dynasty mentions two quotations from it by Le T\u00e2o-y\u00fcen, a\ngeographical writer of the dynasty of the Northern Wei (A.D. 386-584),\none of them containing eighty-nine characters, and the other two hundred\nand seventy-six; both of them given as from the \"Narrative of F\u00e2-hien.\"\n\nIn all catalogues subsequent to that of Suy our work appears. The\nevidence for its authenticity and genuineness is all that could be\nrequired. It is clear to myself that the \"Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms\"\nand the \"Narrative of his Travels by F\u00e2-hien\" were designations of one\nand the same work, and that it is doubtful whether any larger work on\nthe same subject was ever current. With regard to the text subjoined to\nmy translation, it was published in Japan in 1779. The editor had before\nhim four recensions of the narrative; those of the Sung and Ming\ndynasties, with appendices on the names of certain characters in them;\nthat of Japan; and that of Corea. He wisely adopted the Corean text,\npublished in accordance with a royal rescript in 1726, so far as I can\nmake out; but the different readings of the other texts are all given in\ntop-notes, instead of foot-notes as with us, this being one of the\npoints in which customs in the East and West go by contraries. Very\noccasionally, the editor indicates by a single character, equivalent to\n\"right\" or \"wrong,\" which reading in his opinion is to be preferred.\n\nThe editors of the \"Catalogue Raisonn\u00e9\" intimate their doubts of the\ngood taste and reliability of all F\u00e2-hien's statements. It offends them\nthat he should call central India the \"Middle Kingdom,\" and China, which\nto them was the true and only Middle Kingdom, but \"a Border-land\"--it\noffends them as the vaunting language of a Buddhist writer, whereas the\nreader will see in the expressions only an instance of what F\u00e2-hien\ncalls his \"simple straightforwardness.\"\n\nAs an instance of his unreliability they refer to his account of the\nBuddhism of Khoten, whereas it is well-known, they say, that the\nKhoteners from ancient times till now have been Mohammedans;--as if they\ncould have been so one hundred and seventy years before Mohammed was\nborn, and two hundred twenty-two years before the year of the Hegira!\nAnd this is criticism in China. The catalogue was ordered by the\nK'ien-lung emperor in 1722. Between three and four hundred of the \"Great\nScholars\" of the empire were engaged on it in various departments, and\nthus egregiously ignorant did they show themselves of all beyond the\nlimits of their own country, and even of the literature of that country\nitself.\n\nMuch of what F\u00e2-hien tells his readers of Buddhist miracles and legends\nis indeed unreliable and grotesque; but we have from him the truth as to\nwhat he saw and heard.\n\nIn concluding this introduction I wish to call attention to some\nestimates of the number of Buddhists in the world which have become\ncurrent, believing, as I do, that the smallest of them is much above\nwhat is correct.\n\nIn a note on the first page of his work on the Bhilsa Topes (1854),\nGeneral Cunningham says: \"The Christians number about two hundred and\nseventy millions; the Buddhists about two hundred and twenty-two\nmillions, who are distributed as follows: China one hundred and seventy\nmillions, Japan twenty-five millions, Anam fourteen millions, Siam three\nmillions, Ava eight millions, Nep\u00e1l one million, and Ceylon one\nmillion.\" In his article on M.J. Barth\u00e9lemy Saint-Hilaire's \"Le Bouddha\net sa Religion,\" republished in his \"Chips from a German workshop,\" vol.\ni. (1868), Professor Max M\u00fcller says, \"The young prince became the\nfounder of a religion which, after more than two thousand years, is\nstill professed by four hundred and fifty-five millions of human\nbeings,\" and he appends the following note: \"Though truth is not settled\nby majorities, it would be interesting to know which religion counts at\nthe present moment the largest numbers of believers. Berghaus, in his\n'Physical Atlas,' gives the following division of the human race\naccording to religion: 'Buddhists 31.2 per cent., Christians 30.7,\nMohammedans 15.7, Brahmanists 13.4, Heathens 8.7, and Jews O.3.' As\nBerghaus does not distinguish the Buddhists in China from the followers\nof Confucius and Laotse, the first place on the scale belongs really to\nChristianity. It is difficult in China to say to what religion a man\nbelongs, as the same person may profess two or three. The emperor\nhimself, after sacrificing according to the ritual of Confucius, visits\na Tao-ts\u00e9 temple, and afterwards bows before an image of Fo in a\nBuddhist chapel.\" (\"M\u00e9langes Asiatiques de St. P\u00e9tersbourg,\" vol. ii. p.\n374.)\n\nBoth these estimates are exceeded by Dr. T.W. Rhys Davids (intimating\nalso the uncertainty of the statements, and that numbers are no evidence\nof truth) in the introduction to his \"Manual of Buddhism.\" The Buddhists\nthere appear as amounting in all to five hundred millions:--thirty\nmillions of Southern Buddhists, in Ceylon, Burma, Siam, Anam, and India\n(Jains); and four hundred and seventy millions of Northern Buddhists, of\nwhom nearly thirty-three millions are assigned to Japan, and 414,686,974\nto the eighteen provinces of China proper. According to him, Christians\namount to about 26 per cent, of mankind, Hindus to about 13, Mohammedans\nto about 12-1/2, Buddhists to about 40, and Jews to about one-half of\none per cent.\n\nIn regard to all these estimates, it will be observed that the immense\nnumbers assigned to Buddhism are made out by the multitude of Chinese\nwith which it is credited. Subtract Cunningham's one hundred and seventy\nmillions of Chinese from his total of two hundred and twenty-two\nmillions, and there remain only fifty-two millions of Buddhists.\nSubtract Davids's four hundred fourteen and one-half millions of Chinese\nfrom his total of five hundred millions, and there remain only\neighty-five and one-half millions for Buddhism. Of the numbers assigned\nto other countries, as well as of their whole populations, I am in\nconsiderable doubt, excepting in the cases of Ceylon and India; but the\ngreatness of the estimates turns upon the immense multitudes said to be\nin China. I do not know what total population Cunningham allowed for\nthat country, nor on what principle he allotted one hundred and seventy\nmillions of it to Buddhism; perhaps he halved his estimate of the whole,\nwhereas Berghaus and Davids allotted to it the highest estimates that\nhave been given of the people.\n\nBut we have no certain information of the population of China. At an\ninterview with the former Chinese ambassador, Kwo Sung-t\u00e2o, in Paris, in\n1878, I begged him to write out for me the amount, with the authority\nfor it, and he assured me that it could not be done. I have read\nprobably almost everything that has been published on the subject, and\nendeavored by methods of my own to arrive at a satisfactory\nconclusion;--without reaching a result which I can venture to lay before\nthe public. My impression has been that four hundred millions is hardly\nan exaggeration.\n\nBut supposing that we had reliable returns of the whole population, how\nshall we proceed to apportion that among Confucianists, T\u00e2oists, and\nBuddhists? Confucianism is the orthodoxy of China. The common name for\nit is J\u00fb Chi\u00e2o, \"the Doctrines held by the Learned Class,\" entrance into\nthe circle of which is, with a few insignificant exceptions, open to all\nthe people. The mass of them and the masses under their influence are\npreponderatingly Confucian; and in the observance of ancestral worship,\nthe most remarkable feature of the religion proper of China from the\nearliest times, of which Confucius was not the author but the prophet,\nan overwhelming majority are regular and assiduous.\n\nAmong \"the strange principles\" which the emperor of the K'ang-hs\u00ee\nperiod, in one of his famous Sixteen Precepts, exhorted his people to\n\"discountenance and put away, in order to exalt the correct doctrine,\"\nBuddhism and T\u00e2oism were both included. If, as stated in the note quoted\nfrom Professor M\u00fcller, the emperor countenances both the T\u00e2oist worship\nand the Buddhist, he does so for reasons of state; to please especially\nhis Buddhistic subjects in Thibet and Mongolia, and not to offend the\nmany whose superstitious fancies incline to T\u00e2oism.\n\nWhen I went out and in as a missionary among the Chinese people for\nabout thirty years, it sometimes occurred to me that only the inmates of\ntheir monasteries and the recluses of both systems should be enumerated\nas Buddhists and Taoists; but I was in the end constrained to widen that\njudgment, and to admit a considerable following of both among the\npeople, who have neither received the tonsure nor assumed the yellow\ntop. Dr. Eitel, in concluding his discussion of this point in his\n\"Lecture on Buddhism, an Event in History,\" says: \"It is not too much to\nsay that most Chinese are theoretically Confucianists, but emotionally\nBuddhists or Taoists. But fairness requires us to add that, though the\nmass of the people are more or less influenced by Buddhist doctrines,\nyet the people, as a whole, have no respect for the Buddhist church, and\nhabitually sneer at Buddhist priests.\" For the \"most\" in the former of\nthese two sentences I would substitute \"nearly all;\" and between my\nfriend's \"but\" and \"emotionally\" I would introduce \"many are,\" and would\nnot care to contest his conclusion further. It does seem to me\npreposterous to credit Buddhism with the whole of the vast population of\nChina, the great majority of whom are Confucianists. My own opinion is\nthat its adherents are not so many as those even of Mohammedanism, and\nthat instead of being the most numerous of the religions (so-called) of\nthe world, it is only entitled to occupy the fifth place, ranking below\nChristianity, Confucianism, Brahmanism, and Mohammedanism, and followed,\nsome distance off, by T\u00e2oism. To make a table of percentages of mankind,\nand to assign to each system its proportion, are to seem to be wise\nwhere we are deplorably ignorant; and, moreover, if our means of\ninformation were much better than they are, our figures would merely\nshow the outward adherence. A fractional percentage might tell more for\none system than a very large integral one for another.\n\nJAMES LEGGE.\n\n\n\nTHE TRAVELS OF F\u00c2-HIEN\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I\n\n~From Ch'ang-gan to the Sandy Desert~\n\n\nF\u00e2-Hien had been living in Ch'ang-gan. [1] Deploring the mutilated and\nimperfect state of the collection of the Books of Discipline, in the\nsecond year of the period Hwang-che, being the Ke-h\u00e2e year of the cycle,\n[2] he entered into an engagement with Hwuy-king, T\u00e2o-ching, Hwuy-ying,\nand Hwuy-wei, that they should go to India and seek for the Disciplinary\nRules.\n\nAfter starting from Ch'ang-gan, they passed through Lung, [3] and came\nto the kingdom of K'een-kwei,[4] where they stopped for the summer\nretreat. When that was over, they went forward to the kingdom of\nNow-t'an, crossed the mountain of Yang-low, and reached the emporium of\nChang-yih.[5] There they found the country so much disturbed that\ntravelling on the roads was impossible for them. Its king, however, was\nvery attentive to them, kept them in his capital, and acted the part of\ntheir d\u00e2napati.[6]\n\nHere they met with Che-yen, Hwuy-keen, Sang-sh\u00e2o, P\u00e2o-yun, and\nSang-king; and in pleasant association with them, as bound on the same\njourney with themselves, they passed the summer retreat of that year [7]\ntogether, resuming after it their travelling, and going on to\nT'un-hwang, [8] the chief town in the frontier territory of defence\nextending for about eighty li from east to west, and about forty from\nnorth to south. Their company, increased as it had been, halted there\nfor some days more than a month, after which F\u00e2-hien and his four\nfriends started first in the suite of an envoy, having separated for a\ntime from P\u00e2o-yun and his associates.\n\nLe H\u00e2o, the prefect of Tun-hwang, had supplied them with the means of\ncrossing the desert before them, in which there are many evil demons and\nhot winds. Travellers who encounter them perish all to a man. There is\nnot a bird to be seen in the air above, nor an animal on the ground\nbelow. Though you look all round most earnestly to find where you can\ncross, you know not where to make your choice, the only mark and\nindication being the dry bones of the dead left upon the sand.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: Ch'ang-gan is still the name of the principal district (and\nits city) in the department of Se-gan, Shen-se. It had been the capital\nof the first empire of Han (B.C. 202 A.D. 24), as it subsequently was\nthat of Suy (A.D. 589-618).]\n\n[Footnote 2: The period Hwang-che embraced from A.D. 399 to 414, being\nthe greater portion of the reign of Y\u00e2o Hing of the After Ts'in, a\npowerful prince. He adopted Hwang-che for the style of his reign in 399,\nand the cyclical name of that year was Kang-tsze. It is not possible at\nthis distance of time to explain, if it could be explained, how F\u00e2-hien\ncame to say that Ke-h\u00e2e was the second year of the period. It seems most\nreasonable to suppose that he set out on his pilgrimage in A.D. 399, the\ncycle name of which was Ke-h\u00e2e. In the \"Memoirs of Eminent Monks\" it is\nsaid that our author started in the third year of the period Lung-gan of\nthe Eastern Ts'in, which was A.D. 399.]\n\n[Footnote 3: Lung embraced the western part of Shen-se and the eastern\npart of Kan-suh. The name remains in Lung Chow, in the extreme west of\nShen-se.]\n\n[Footnote 4: K'een-kwei was the second king of \"the Western Ts'in.\"\nF\u00e2-hien would find him at his capital, somewhere in the present\ndepartment of Lan-chow, Kan-suh.]\n\n[Footnote 5: Chang-yih is still the name of a district in Kan-chow\ndepartment, Kan-suh. It is a long way north and west from Lan-chow, and\nnot far from the Great Wall. Its king at this time was, probably,\nTwan-yeh of \"the northern L\u00ebang.\"]\n\n[Footnote 6: D\u00e2na is the name for religious charity, the first of the\nsix p\u00e2ramit\u00e2s, or means of attaining to nirv\u00e2na; and a d\u00e2napati is \"one\nwho practises d\u00e2na and thereby crosses the sea of misery.\"]\n\n[Footnote 7: This was the second summer since the pilgrims left\nCh'ang-gan. We are now, therefore, probably, in A.D. 400.]\n\n[Footnote 8: T'un-hwang is still the name of one of the two districts\nconstituting the department of Gan-se, the most western of the\nprefectures of Kan-suh; beyond the termination of the Great Wall.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II\n\n~On to Shen-shen and thence to Khoten~\n\n\nAfter travelling for seventeen days, a distance we may calculate of\nabout 1500 li, the pilgrims reached the kingdom of Shen-shen, a country\nrugged and hilly, with a thin and barren soil. The clothes of the common\npeople are coarse, and like those worn in our land of Han, [1] some\nwearing felt and others coarse serge or cloth of hair; this was the only\ndifference seen among them. The king professed our Law, and there might\nbe in the country more than four thousand monks, who were all students\nof the h\u00eenay\u00e2na. [2] The common people of this and other kingdoms in\nthat region, as well as the Sramans, [3] all practise the rules of\nIndia, only that the latter do so more exactly, and the former more\nloosely. So the travellers found it in all the kingdoms through which\nthey went on their way from this to the west, only that each had its own\npeculiar barbarous speech. The monks, however, who had given up the\nworldly life and quitted their families, were all students of Indian\nbooks and the Indian language. Here they stayed for about a month, and\nthen proceeded on their journey, fifteen days' walking to the northwest\nbringing them to the country of Woo-e. In this also there were more than\nfour thousand monks, all students of the h\u00eenay\u00e2na. They were very strict\nin their rules, so that Sramans from the territory of Ts'in were all\nunprepared for their regulations. F\u00e2-hien, through the management of Foo\nKung-sun, _ma\u00eetre d'hotellerie_, was able to remain with his company in\nthe monastery where they were received for more than two months, and\nhere they were rejoined by P\u00e2o-yun and his friends. At the end of that\ntime the people of Woo-e neglected the duties of propriety and\nrighteousness, and treated the strangers in so niggardly a manner that\nChe-yen, Hwuy-keen, and Hwuy-wei went back towards K\u00e2o-ch'ang, hoping to\nobtain there the means of continuing their journey. F\u00e2-hien and the\nrest, however, through the liberality of Foo Kung-sun, managed to go\nstraight forward in a southwest direction. They found the country\nuninhabited as they went along. The difficulties which they encountered\nin crossing the streams and on their route, and the sufferings which\nthey endured, were unparalleled in human experience, but in the course\nof a month and five days they succeeded in reaching Yu-teen.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: This is the name which F\u00e2-hien always uses when he would\nspeak of China, his native country, as a whole, calling it from the\ngreat dynasty which had ruled it, first and last, for between four and\nfive centuries. Occasionally, as we shall immediately see, he speaks of\n\"the territory of Ts'in or Ch'in,\" but intending thereby only the\nkingdom of Ts'in, having its capital in Ch'ang-gan.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Meaning the \"small vehicle, or conveyance.\" There are in\nBuddhism the triy\u00e2na, or \"three different means of salvation, i.e. of\nconveyance across the sams\u00e2ra, or sea of transmigration, to the shores\nof nirv\u00e2na. Afterwards the term was used to designate the different\nphases of development through which the Buddhist dogma passed, known as\nthe mah\u00e2y\u00e2na, h\u00eenay\u00e2na, and madhyamay\u00e2na.\" \"The h\u00eenay\u00e2na is the simplest\nvehicle of salvation, corresponding to the first of the three degrees of\nsaintship.\" E.H., pp. 151-2, 45, and 117.]\n\n[Footnote 3: \"Sraman\" may in English take the place of Sramana, the name\nfor Buddhist monks, as those who have separated themselves from (left)\ntheir families, and quieted their hearts from all intrusion of desire\nand lust.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III\n\n~Khoten--Processions of Images~\n\n\nYu-Teen is a pleasant and prosperous kingdom, with a numerous and\nflourishing population. The inhabitants all profess our Law, and join\ntogether in its religious music for their enjoyment. The monks amount to\nseveral myriads, most of whom are students of the mah\u00e2y\u00e2na. [1] They all\nreceive their food from the common store. Throughout the country the\nhouses of the people stand apart like separate stars, and each family\nhas a small tope [2] reared in front of its door. The smallest of these\nmay be twenty cubits high, or rather more. They make in the monasteries\nrooms for monks from all quarters, the use of which is given to\ntravelling monks who may arrive, and who are provided with whatever else\nthey require.\n\nThe lord of the country lodged F\u00e2-hien and the others comfortably, and\nsupplied their wants, in a monastery called Gomati, of the mah\u00e2y\u00e2na\nschool. Attached to it there are three thousand monks, who are called to\ntheir meals by the sound of a bell. When they enter the refectory, their\ndemeanor is marked by a reverent gravity, and they take their seats in\nregular order, all maintaining a perfect silence. No sound is heard from\ntheir alms-bowls and other utensils. When any of these pure men require\nfood, they are not allowed to call out to the attendants for it, but\nonly make signs with their hands.\n\nHwuy-king, T\u00e2o-ching, and Hwuy-tah set out in advance towards the\ncountry of K'eeh-ch'\u00e2; but F\u00e2-hien and the others, wishing to see the\nprocession of images, remained behind for three months. There are in\nthis country four great monasteries, not counting the smaller ones.\nBeginning on the first day of the fourth month, they sweep and water the\nstreets inside the city, making a grand display in the lanes and byways.\nOver the city gate they pitch a large tent, grandly adorned in all\npossible ways, in which the king and queen, with their ladies\nbrilliantly arrayed, take up their residence for the time.\n\nThe monks of the Gomati monastery, being mah\u00e2y\u00e2na students, and held in\ngreatest reverence by the king, took precedence of all the others in the\nprocession. At a distance of three or four li from the city, they made a\nfour-wheeled image car, more than thirty cubits high, which looked like\nthe great hall of a monastery moving along. The seven precious\nsubstances [3] were grandly displayed about it, with silken streamers\nand canopies hanging all around. The chief image stood in the middle of\nthe car, with two Bodhisattvas [4] in attendance on it, while devas were\nmade to follow in waiting, all brilliantly carved in gold and silver,\nand hanging in the air. When the car was a hundred paces from the gate,\nthe king put off his crown of state, changed his dress for a fresh suit,\nand with bare feet, carrying in his hands flowers and incense, and with\ntwo rows of attending followers, went out at the gate to meet the image;\nand, with his head and face bowed to the ground, he did homage at its\nfeet, and then scattered the flowers and burnt the incense. When the\nimage was entering the gate, the queen and the brilliant ladies with her\nin the gallery above scattered far and wide all kinds of flowers, which\nfloated about and fell promiscuously to the ground. In this way\neverything was done to promote the dignity of the occasion. The\ncarriages of the monasteries were all different, and each one had its\nown day for the procession. The ceremony began on the first day of the\nfourth month, and ended on the fourteenth, after which the king and\nqueen returned to the palace.\n\nSeven or eight li to the west of the city there is what is called the\nKing's new monastery, the building of which took eighty years, and\nextended over three reigns. It may be two hundred and fifty cubits in\nheight, rich in elegant carving and inlaid work, covered above with gold\nand silver, and finished throughout with a combination of all the\nprecious substances. Behind the tope there has been built a Hall of\nBuddha, of the utmost magnificence and beauty, the beams, pillars,\nvenetianed doors and windows, being all overlaid with gold-leaf. Besides\nthis, the apartments for the monks are imposingly and elegantly\ndecorated, beyond the power of words to express. Of whatever things of\nhighest value and preciousness the kings in the six countries on the\neast of the Ts'ung range of mountains are possessed, they contribute the\ngreater portion to this monastery, using but a small portion of them\nthemselves.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: Mah\u00e2y\u00e2na is a later form of the Buddhist doctrine, the\nsecond phase of its development corresponding to the state of a\nBodhisattva, who, being able to transport himself and all mankind to\nnirv\u00e2na, may be compared to a huge vehicle.]\n\n[Footnote 2: A worshipping place, an altar, or temple.]\n\n[Footnote 3: The Sapta-ratna, gold, silver, lapis lazuli, rock crystal,\nrubies, diamonds or emeralds, and agate.]\n\n[Footnote 4: A Bodhisattva is one whose essence has become intelligence;\na Being who will in some future birth as a man (not necessarily or\nusually the next) attain to Buddhahood. The name does not include those\nBuddhas who have not yet attained to parinirv\u00e2na. The symbol of the\nstate is an elephant fording a river.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\n~Through the Ts'ung Mountains to K'eech-ch'a~\n\n\nWhen the processions of images in the fourth month were over, Sang-sh\u00e2o,\nby himself alone, followed a Tartar who was an earnest follower of the\nLaw, and proceeded towards Ko-phene. F\u00e2-hien and the others went forward\nto the kingdom of Tsze-hoh, which it took them twenty-five days to\nreach. Its king was a strenuous follower of our Law, and had around him\nmore than a thousand monks, mostly students of the mah\u00e2y\u00e2na. Here the\ntravellers abode fifteen days, and then went south for four days, when\nthey found themselves among the Ts'ung-ling mountains, and reached the\ncountry of Yu-hwuy, where they halted and kept their retreat. [1] When\nthis was over, they went on among the hills for twenty-five days, and\ngot to K'eeh-ch'a, there rejoining Hwuy-king and his two companions.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: This was the retreat already twice mentioned as kept by the\npilgrims in the summer, the different phraseology, \"quiet rest,\" without\nany mention of the season, indicating their approach to India. Two, if\nnot three, years had elapsed since they left Ch'ang-gan. Are we now with\nthem in 402?]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V\n\n~Great Quinquennial Assembly of Monks~\n\n\nIt happened that the king of the country was then holding the pa\u00f1cha\nparishad; that is, in Chinese, the great quinquennial assembly. When\nthis is to be held, the king requests the presence of the Sramans from\nall quarters of his kingdom. They come as if in clouds; and when they\nare all assembled, their place of session is grandly decorated. Silken\nstreamers and canopies are hung out in it, and water-lilies in gold and\nsilver are made and fixed up behind the places where the chief of them\nare to sit. When clean mats have been spread, and they are all seated,\nthe king and his ministers present their offerings according to rule and\nlaw. The assembly takes place in the first, second, or third month, for\nthe most part in the spring.\n\nAfter the king has held the assembly, he further exhorts the ministers\nto make other and special offerings. The doing of this extends over one,\ntwo, three, five, or even seven days; and when all is finished, he takes\nhis own riding-horse, saddles, bridles, and waits on him himself, while\nhe makes the noblest and most important minister of the kingdom mount\nhim. Then, taking fine white woollen cloth, all sorts of precious\nthings, and articles which the Sramans require, he distributes them\namong them, uttering vows at the same time along with all his ministers;\nand when this distribution has taken place, he again redeems whatever he\nwishes from the monks.\n\nThe country, being among the hills and cold, does not produce the other\ncereals, and only the wheat gets ripe. After the monks have received\ntheir annual portion of this, the mornings suddenly show the hoar-frost,\nand on this account the king always begs the monks to make the wheat\nripen [1] before they receive their portion. There is in the country a\nspittoon which belonged to Buddha, made of stone, and in color like his\nalms-bowl. There is also a tooth of Buddha, for which the people have\nreared a tope, connected with which there are more than a thousand monks\nand their disciples, all students of the h\u00eenay\u00e2na. To the east of these\nhills the dress of the common people is of coarse materials, as in our\ncountry of Ts'in, but here also there were among them the differences of\nfine woollen cloth and of serge or haircloth. The rules observed by the\nSramans are remarkable, and too numerous to be mentioned in detail. The\ncountry is in the midst of the Onion range. As you go forward from these\nmountains, the plants, trees, and fruits are all different from those of\nthe land of Han, excepting only the bamboo, pomegranate, and sugarcane.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: Watters calls attention to this as showing that the monks\nof K'eeh-ch'\u00e2 had the credit of possessing weather-controlling powers.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI\n\n~North India--Image of Maitreya Bodhisattva~\n\n\nFrom this the travellers went westward towards North India, and after\nbeing on the way for a month, they succeeded in getting across and\nthrough the range of the Onion mountains. The snow rests on them both\nwinter and summer. There are also among them venomous dragons, which,\nwhen provoked, spit forth poisonous winds, and cause showers of snow and\nstorms of sand and gravel. Not one in ten thousand of those who\nencounter these dangers escapes with his life. The people of the country\ncall the range by the name of \"The Snow mountains.\" When the travellers\nhad got through them, they were in North India, and immediately on\nentering its borders, found themselves in a small kingdom called\nT'oleih, where also there were many monks, all students of the h\u00eenay\u00e2na.\n\nIn this kingdom there was formerly an Arhan, [1] who by his supernatural\npower took a clever artificer up to the Tushita [2] heaven, to see the\nheight, complexion, and appearance of Maitreya Bodhisattva, [3] and then\nreturn and make an image of him in wood. First and last, this was done\nthree times, and then the image was completed, eighty cubits in height,\nand eight cubits at the base from knee to knee of the crossed legs. On\nfast-days it emits an effulgent light. The kings of the surrounding\ncountries vie with one another in presenting offerings to it. Here it\nis--to be seen now as of old.\n\n[Footnote 1: Lo-han, Arhat, Arahat are all designations of the perfected\n\u00c2rya, the disciple who has passed the different stages of the Noble\nPath, or eightfold excellent way, who has conquered all passions, and is\nnot to be reborn again. Arhatship implies possession of certain\nsupernatural powers, and is not to be succeeded by Buddhaship, but\nimplies the fact of the saint having already attained Nirv\u00e2na.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Tushita is the fourth Devaloka, where all Bodhisattvas are\nreborn before finally appearing on earth as Buddha. Life lasts in\nTushita four thousand years, but twenty-four hours there are equal to\nfour hundred years on earth.]\n\n[Footnote 3: Maitreya was a Bodhisattva, the principal one, indeed, of\nS\u00e2kyamuni's retinue, but is not counted among the ordinary disciples,\nnor is anything told of his antecedents. It was in the Tushita heaven\nthat S\u00e2kyamuni met him and appointed him as his successor, to appear as\nBuddha after the lapse of five thousand years. Maitreya is therefore the\nexpected Messiah of the Buddhists, residing at present in Tushita.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII\n\n~The Perilous Crossing of the Indus~\n\n\nThe travellers went on to the southwest for fifteen days at the foot of\nthe mountains, and following the course of their range. The way was\ndifficult and rugged, running along a bank exceedingly precipitous,\nwhich rose up there, a hill-like wall of rock, ten thousand cubits from\nthe base. When one approached the edge of it, his eyes became unsteady;\nand if he wished to go forward in the same direction, there was no place\non which he could place his foot; and beneath were the waters of the\nriver called the Indus. In former times men had chiselled paths along\nthe rocks, and distributed ladders on the face of them, to the number\naltogether of seven hundred, at the bottom of which there was a\nsuspension bridge of ropes, by which the river was crossed, its banks\nbeing there eighty paces apart. The place and arrangements are to be\nfound in the Records of the Nine Interpreters, but neither Chang K'een\n[1] nor Kan Ying [2] had reached the spot.\n\nThe monks asked F\u00e2-hien if it could be known when the Law of Buddha\nfirst went to the east. He replied, \"When I asked the people of those\ncountries about it, they all said that it had been handed down by their\nfathers from of old that, after the setting up of the image of Maitreya\nBodhisattva, there were Sramans of India who crossed this river,\ncarrying with them S\u00fatras and Books of Discipline. Now the image was set\nup rather more than three hundred years after the Nirv\u00e2na of Buddha,\nwhich may be referred to the reign of king P'ing of the Chow dynasty.\nAccording to this account we may say that the diffusion of our great\ndoctrines in the East began from the setting up of this image. If it had\nnot been through that Maitreya, the great spiritual master who is to be\nthe successor of the S\u00e2kya, who could have caused the 'Three Precious\nOnes,' [3] to be proclaimed so far, and the people of those border lands\nto know our Law? We know of a truth that the opening of the way for such\na mysterious propagation is not the work of man; and so the dream of the\nemperor Ming of Han had its proper cause.\"\n\n\n[Footnote 1: Chang K'een, a minister of the emperor Woo of Han (B.C.\n140-87), is celebrated as the first Chinese who \"pierced the void,\" and\npenetrated to \"the regions of the west,\" corresponding very much to the\npresent Turkestan. Through him, by B.C. 115, a regular intercourse was\nestablished between China and the thirty-six kingdoms or states of that\nquarter.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Less is known of Kan Ying than of Chang K'een. Being sent\nin A.D. 88 by his patron Pan Ch\u00e2o on an embassy to the Roman empire, he\nonly got as far as the Caspian sea, and returned to China. He extended,\nhowever, the knowledge of his countrymen with regard to the western\nregions.]\n\n[Footnote 3: \"The precious Buddha,\" \"the precious Law,\" and \"the\nprecious Monkhood\"; Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha; the whole being\nequivalent to Buddhism.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII\n\n~Woo-chang, or Udy\u00e2na--Traces of Buddha~\n\n\nAfter crossing the river, the travellers immediately came to the kingdom\nof Woo-chang, which is indeed a part of North India. The people all use\nthe language of Central India, \"Central India\" being what we should call\nthe \"Middle Kingdom.\" The food and clothes of the common people are the\nsame as in that Central Kingdom. The Law of Buddha is very flourishing\nin Woo-chang. They call the places where the monks stay for a time or\nreside permanently Sangh\u00e2r\u00e2mas; and of these there are in all five\nhundred, the monks being all students of the h\u00eenay\u00e2na. When stranger\nbhikshus [1] arrive at one of them, their wants are supplied for three\ndays, after which they are told to find a resting-place for themselves.\n\nThere is a tradition that when Buddha came to North India, he came at\nonce to this country, and that here he left a print of his foot, which\nis long or short according to the ideas of the beholder on the subject.\nIt exists, and the same thing is true about it, at the present day. Here\nalso are still to be seen the rock on which he dried his clothes, and\nthe place where he converted the wicked dragon. The rock is fourteen\ncubits high, and more than twenty broad, with one side of it smooth.\n\nHwuy-king, Hwuy-tah, and T\u00e2o-ching went on ahead towards the place of\nBuddha's shadow in the country of N\u00e2gara; but F\u00e2-hien and the others\nremained in Woo-chang, and kept the summer retreat. That over, they\ndescended south, and arrived in the country of Soo-ho-to.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: Bhikshu is the name for a monk as \"living by alms,\" a\nmendicant. All bhikshus call themselves Sramans. Sometimes the two names\nare used together by our author.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX\n\n~Soo-ho-to--Legends of Buddha~\n\n\nIn that country also Buddhism is flourishing. There is in it the place\nwhere Sakra, [1] Ruler of Devas, in a former age, tried the Bodhisattva,\nby producing a hawk in pursuit of a dove, when the Bodhisattva cut off a\npiece of his own flesh, and with it ransomed the dove. After Buddha had\nattained to perfect wisdom, and in travelling about with his disciples\narrived at this spot, he informed them that this was the place where he\nransomed the dove with a piece of his own flesh. In this way the people\nof the country became aware of the fact, and on the spot reared a tope,\nadorned with layers of gold and silver plates.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: Sakra is a common name for the Brahmanic Indra, adopted by\nBuddhism into the circle of its own great adherents;--it has been said,\n\"because of his popularity.\" He is now the representative of the secular\npower, the valiant protector of the Buddhist body, but is looked upon as\ninferior to S\u00e2kyamuni, and every Buddhist saint.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X\n\n~Gandh\u00e2ra--Legends of Buddha~\n\n\nThe travellers, going downwards from this towards the east, in five days\ncame to the country of Gandh\u00e2ra, the place where Dharma-vivardhana, the\nson of Asoka, [1] ruled. When Buddha was a Bodhisattva, he gave his eyes\nalso for another man here; and at the spot they have also reared a large\ntope, adorned with layers of gold and silver plates. The people of the\ncountry were mostly students of the h\u00eenay\u00e2na.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: Asoka is here mentioned for the first time--the Constantine\nof the Buddhist society, and famous for the number of vih\u00e2ras and topes\nwhich he erected. He was the grandson of Chandragupta, a rude\nadventurer, who at one time was a refugee in the camp of Alexander the\nGreat; and within about twenty years afterwards drove the Greeks out of\nIndia, having defeated Seleucus, the Greek ruler of the Indus provinces.\nHis grandson was converted to Buddhism by the bold and patient demeanor\nof an Arhat whom he had ordered to be buried alive, and became a most\nzealous supporter of the new faith.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI\n\n~Takshasil\u00e2--Legends--The Four Great Topes~\n\n\nSeven days' journey from this to the east brought the travellers to the\nkingdom of Takshasil\u00e2, which means \"the severed head\" in the language of\nChina. Here, when Buddha was a Bodhisattva, he gave away his head to a\nman; and from this circumstance the kingdom got its name.\n\nGoing on further for two days to the east, they came to the place where\nthe Bodhisattva threw down his body to feed a starving tigress. In these\ntwo places also large topes have been built, both adorned with layers of\nall the precious substances. The kings, ministers, and peoples of the\nkingdoms around vie with one another in making offerings at them. The\ntrains of those who come to scatter flowers and light lamps at them\nnever cease. The nations of those quarters call those and the other two\nmentioned before \"the four great topes.\"\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII\n\n~Buddha's Alms-bowl--Death of Hwuy-king~\n\n\nGoing southwards from G\u00e2ndh\u00e2ra, the travellers in four days arrived at\nthe kingdom of Purushapura. [1] Formerly, when Buddha was travelling in\nthis country with his disciples, he said to \u00c2nanda, [2] \"After my\npari-nirv\u00e2na, [3] there will be a king named Kanishka, who shall on this\nspot build a tope.\"\n\nThis Kanishka was afterwards born into the world; and once, when he had\ngone forth to look about him, Sakra, Ruler of Devas, wishing to excite\nthe idea in his mind, assumed the appearance of a little herd-boy, and\nwas making a tope right in the way of the king, who asked what sort of a\nthing he was making. The boy said, \"I am making a tope for Buddha.\" The\nking said, \"Very good;\" and immediately, right over the boy's tope, he\nproceeded to rear another, which was more than four hundred cubits high,\nand adorned with layers of all the precious substances. Of all the topes\nand temples which the travellers saw in their journeyings, there was not\none comparable to this in solemn beauty and majestic grandeur. There is\na current saying that this is the finest tope in Jambudv\u00eepa [4]. When\nthe king's tope was completed, the little tope of the boy came out from\nits side on the south, rather more than three cubits in height.\n\nBuddha's alms-bowl is in this country. Formerly, a king of Y\u00fceh-she\nraised a large force and invaded this country, wishing to carry the bowl\naway. Having subdued the kingdom, as he and his captains were sincere\nbelievers in the Law of Buddha, and wished to carry off the bowl, they\nproceeded to present their offerings on a great scale. When they had\ndone so to the Three Precious Ones, he made a large elephant be grandly\ncaparisoned, and placed the bowl upon it. But the elephant knelt down on\nthe ground, and was unable to go forward. Again he caused a four-wheeled\nwagon to be prepared in which the bowl was put to be conveyed away.\nEight elephants were then yoked to it, and dragged it with their united\nstrength; but neither were they able to go forward. The king knew that\nthe time for an association between himself and the bowl had not yet\narrived, and was sad and deeply ashamed of himself. Forthwith he built a\ntope at the place and a monastery, and left a guard to watch the bowl,\nmaking all sorts of contributions.\n\nThere may be there more than seven hundred monks. When it is near\nmid-day, they bring out the bowl, and, along with the common people,\nmake their various offerings to it, after which they take their mid-day\nmeal. In the evening, at the time of incense, they bring the bowl out\nagain. It may contain rather more than two pecks, and is of various\ncolors, black predominating, with the seams that show its fourfold\ncomposition distinctly marked. Its thickness is about the fifth of an\ninch, and it has a bright and glossy lustre. When poor people throw into\nit a few flowers, it becomes immediately full, while some very rich\npeople, wishing to make offering of many flowers, might not stop till\nthey had thrown in hundreds, thousands, and myriads of bushels, and yet\nwould not be able to fill it.[5]\n\nP\u00e2o-yun and Sang-king here merely made their offerings to the alms-bowl,\nand then resolved to go back. Hwuy-king, Hwuy-tah, and T\u00e2o-ching had\ngone on before the rest to Nag\u00e2ra, to make their offerings at the places\nof Buddha's shadow, tooth, and the flat-bone of his skull. There\nHwuy-king fell ill, and T\u00e2o-ching remained to look after him, while\nHwuy-tah came alone to Purushapura, and saw the others, and then he with\nP\u00e2o-yun and Sang-king took their way back to the land of Ts'in.\nHwuy-king came to his end in the monastery of Buddha's alms-bowl, and on\nthis F\u00e2-hien went forward alone towards the place of the flat-bone of\nBuddha's skull.[6]\n\n\n[Footnote 1: The modern Pesh\u00e2wur.]\n\n[Footnote 2: A first cousin of S\u00e2kyamuni, and born at the moment when he\nattained to Buddhaship. Under Buddha's teaching, \u00c2nanda became an Arhat,\nand is famous for his strong and accurate memory; and he played an\nimportant part at the first council for the formation of the Buddhist\ncanon. The friendship between S\u00e2kyamuni and \u00c2nanda was very close and\ntender; and it is impossible to read much of what the dying Buddha said\nto him and of him, as related in the Mah\u00e2pari-nirv\u00e2na S\u00fbtra, without\nbeing moved almost to tears. \u00c2nanda is to reappear on earth as Buddha in\nanother Kalpa.]\n\n[Footnote 3: On his attaining to nirv\u00e2na, S\u00e2kyamuni became the Buddha,\nand had no longer to mourn his being within the circle of\ntransmigration, and could rejoice in an absolute freedom from passion,\nand a perfect purity. Still he continued to live on for forty-five\nyears, till he attained to pari-nirv\u00e2na, and had done with all the life\nof sense and society, and had no more exercise of thought. He died; but\nwhether he absolutely and entirely ceased to be, in any sense of the\nword being, it would be difficult to say. Probably he himself would not\nand could not have spoken definitely on the point. So far as our use of\nlanguage is concerned, apart from any assured faith in and hope of\nimmortality, his pari-nirv\u00e2na was his death.]\n\n[Footnote 4: Jambudv\u00eepa is one of the four great continents of the\nuniverse, representing the inhabited world as fancied by the Buddhists,\nand so-called because it resembles in shape the leaves of the jambu\ntree.]\n\n[Footnote 5: Compare the narrative in Luke's Gospel, xxi. 1-4.]\n\n[Footnote 6: This story of Hwuy-king's death differs from the account\ngiven in chapter xiv.--EDITOR.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII\n\n~Festival of Buddha's Skull-bone~\n\n\nGoing west for sixteen yojanas, [1] he came to the city He-lo [2] in the\nborders of the country of Nag\u00e2ra, where there is the flat-bone of\nBuddha's skull, deposited in a vih\u00e2ra [3] adorned all over with\ngold-leaf and the seven sacred substances. The king of the country,\nrevering and honoring the bone, and anxious lest it should be stolen\naway, has selected eight individuals, representing the great families in\nthe kingdom, and committed to each a seal, with which he should seal its\nshrine and guard the relic. At early dawn these eight men come, and\nafter each has inspected his seal, they open the door. This done, they\nwash their hands with scented water and bring out the bone, which they\nplace outside the vih\u00e2ra, on a lofty platform, where it is supported on\na round pedestal of the seven precious substances, and covered with a\nbell of lapis lazuli, both adorned with rows of pearls. Its color is of\na yellowish white, and it forms an imperfect circle twelve inches round,\ncurving upwards to the centre. Every day, after it has been brought\nforth, the keepers of the vih\u00e2ra ascend a high gallery, where they beat\ngreat drums, blow conches, and clash their copper cymbals. When the king\nhears them, he goes to the vih\u00e2ra, and makes his offerings of flowers\nand incense. When he has done this, he and his attendants in order, one\nafter another, raise the bone, place it for a moment on the top of their\nheads, and then depart, going out by the door on the west as they had\nentered by that on the east. The king every morning makes his offerings\nand performs his worship, and afterwards gives audience on the business\nof his government. The chiefs of the Vaisyas [4] also make their\nofferings before they attend to their family affairs. Every day it is\nso, and there is no remissness in the observance of the custom. When all\nof the offerings are over, they replace the bone in the vih\u00e2ra, where\nthere is a vimoksha tope, of the seven precious substances, and rather\nmore than five cubits high, sometimes open, sometimes shut, to contain\nit. In front of the door of the vih\u00e2ra, there are parties who every\nmorning sell flowers and incense, and those who wish to make offerings\nbuy some of all kinds. The kings of various countries are also\nconstantly sending messengers with offerings. The vih\u00e2ra stands in a\nsquare of thirty paces, and though heaven should shake and earth be\nrent, this place would not move.\n\nGoing on, north from this, for a yojana, F\u00e2-hien arrived at the capital\nof Nag\u00e2ra, the place where the Bodhisattva once purchased with money\nfive stalks of flowers, as an offering to the Dip\u00e2nkara Buddha. In the\nmidst of the city there is also the tope of Buddha's tooth, where\nofferings are made in the same way as to the flat-bone of his skull.\n\nA yojana to the northeast of the city brought him to the mouth of a\nvalley, where there is Buddha's pewter staff; and a vih\u00e2ra also has been\nbuilt at which offerings are made. The staff is made of Gosirsha\nChandana, and is quite sixteen or seventeen cubits long. It is contained\nin a wooden tube, and though a hundred or a thousand men were to try to\nlift it, they could not move it.\n\nEntering the mouth of the valley, and going west, he found Buddha's\nSangh\u00e2li, [5] where also there is reared a vih\u00e2ra, and offerings are\nmade. It is a custom of the country when there is a great drought, for\nthe people to collect in crowds, bring out the robe, pay worship to it,\nand make offerings, on which there is immediately a great rain from the\nsky.\n\nSouth of the city, half a yojana, there is a rock-cavern, in a great\nhill fronting the southwest; and here it was that Buddha left his\nshadow. Looking at it from a distance of more than ten paces, you seem\nto see Buddha's real form, with his complexion of gold, and his\ncharacteristic marks in their nicety, clearly and brightly displayed.\nThe nearer you approach, however, the fainter it becomes, as if it were\nonly in your fancy. When the kings from the regions all around have sent\nskilful artists to take a copy, none of them have been able to do so.\nAmong the people of the country there is a saying current that \"the\nthousand Buddhas must all leave their shadows here.\"\n\nRather more than four hundred paces west from the shadow, when Buddha\nwas at the spot, he shaved off his hair and clipped his nails, and\nproceeded, along with his disciples, to build a tope seventy or eighty\ncubits high, to be a model for all future topes; and it is still\nexisting. By the side of it there is a monastery, with more than seven\nhundred monks in it. At this place there are as many as a thousand topes\nof Arhans and Pratyeka Buddhas.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: Now in India, F\u00e2-hien used the Indian measure of distance;\nbut it is not possible to determine exactly what its length then was.\nThe estimates of it are very different, and vary from four and a half or\nfive miles to seven, and sometimes more.]\n\n[Footnote 2: The present Hidda, west of Pesh\u00e2wur, and five miles south\nof Jellalabad.]\n\n[Footnote 3: \"The vihara,\" says Hardy, \"is the residence of a recluse or\npriest;\" and so Davids--\"the clean little hut where the mendicant\nlives.\"]\n\n[Footnote 4: The Vaisyas, or the bourgeois caste of Hindu society, are\ndescribed here as \"resident scholars.\"]\n\n[Footnote 5: Or Sangh\u00e2ti, the double or composite robe, part of a monk's\nattire, reaching from the shoulders to the knees, and fastened round the\nwaist.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV\n\n~Crossing the Indus to the East~\n\n\nHaving stayed there till the third month of winter, F\u00e2-hien and the two\nothers, proceeding southwards, crossed the Little Snowy mountains. On\nthem the snow lies accumulated both winter and summer. On the north side\nof the mountains, in the shade, they suddenly encountered a cold wind\nwhich made them shiver and become unable to speak. Hwuy-king could not\ngo any farther. A white froth came from his mouth, and he said to\nF\u00e2-hien, \"I cannot live any longer. Do you immediately go away, that we\ndo not all die here\"; and with these words he died. F\u00e2-hien stroked the\ncorpse, and cried out piteously, \"Our original plan has failed; it is\nfate. What can we do?\" He then again exerted himself, and they succeeded\nin crossing to the south of the range, and arrived in the kingdom of\nLo-e, [1] where there were nearly three thousand monks, students of both\nthe mah\u00e2y\u00e2na and h\u00eenay\u00e2na. Here they stayed for the summer retreat, [2]\nand when that was over, they went on to the south, and ten days' journey\nbrought them to the kingdom of Poh-n\u00e2, where there are also more than\nthree thousand monks, all students of the h\u00eenay\u00e2na. Proceeding from this\nplace for three days, they again crossed the Indus, where the country on\neach side was low and level.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: Lo-e, or Rohi, or Afghanistan; only a portion of it can be\nintended.]\n\n[Footnote 2: We are now therefore in A.D. 404.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV\n\n~Sympathy of Monks with the Pilgrims~\n\n\nAfter they had crossed the river, there was a country named Pe-t'oo,\nwhere Buddhism was very flourishing, and the monks studied both the\nmah\u00e2y\u00e2na and h\u00eenay\u00e2na. When they saw their fellow-disciples from Ts'in\npassing along, they were moved with great pity and sympathy, and\nexpressed themselves thus: \"How is it that these men from a border-land\nshould have learned to become monks, and come for the sake of our\ndoctrines from such a distance in search of the Law of Buddha?\" They\nsupplied them with what they needed, and treated them in accordance with\nthe rules of the Law.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI\n\n~Condition and Customs of Central India~\n\n\nFrom this place they travelled southeast, passing by a succession of\nvery many monasteries, with a multitude of monks, who might be counted\nby myriads. After passing all these places, they came to a country named\nMa-t'\u00e2ou-lo. They still followed the course of the P'oo-na river, on the\nbanks of which, left and right, there were twenty monasteries, which\nmight contain three thousand monks; and here the Law of Buddha was still\nmore flourishing. Everywhere, from the Sandy Desert, in all the\ncountries of India, the kings had been firm believers in that Law. When\nthey make their offerings to a community of monks, they take off their\nroyal caps, and along with their relatives and ministers, supply them\nwith food with their own hands. That done, the king has a carpet spread\nfor himself on the ground, and sits down on it in front of the\nchairman;--they dare not presume to sit on couches in front of the\ncommunity. The laws and ways, according to which the kings presented\ntheir offerings when Buddha was in the world, have been handed down to\nthe present day.\n\nAll south from this is named the Middle Kingdom. In it the cold and heat\nare finely tempered, and there is neither hoarfrost nor snow. The people\nare numerous and happy; they have not to register their households, or\nattend to any magistrates and their rules; only those who cultivate the\nroyal land have to pay a portion of the gain from it. If they want to go\nthey go; if they want to stay on, they stay. The king governs without\ndecapitation or other corporal punishments. Criminals are simply fined,\nlightly or heavily, according to the circumstances of each case. Even in\ncases of repeated attempts at wicked rebellion, they only have their\nright hands cut off. The king's body-guards and attendants all have\nsalaries. Throughout the whole country the people do not kill any living\ncreature, nor drink intoxicating liquor, nor eat onions or garlic. The\nonly exception is that of the Chand\u00e2las. That is the name for those who\nare held to be wicked men, and live apart from others. When they enter\nthe gate of a city or a market-place, they strike a piece of wood to\nmake themselves known, so that men know and avoid them, and do not come\ninto contact with them. In that country they do not keep pigs and fowls,\nand do not sell live cattle; in the markets there are no butchers' shops\nand no dealers in intoxicating drink. In buying and selling commodities\nthey use cowries. Only the Chand\u00e2las are fishermen and hunters, and sell\nflesh meat.\n\nAfter Buddha attained to pari-nirv\u00e2na the kings of the various countries\nand the heads of the Vaisyas built vih\u00e2ras for the priests, and endowed\nthem with fields, houses, gardens, and orchards, along with the resident\npopulations and their cattle, the grants being engraved on plates of\nmetal, so that afterwards they were handed down from king to king,\nwithout any one daring to annul them, and they remain even to the\npresent time.\n\nThe regular business of the monks is to perform acts of meritorious\nvirtue, and to recite their S\u00fbtras and sit wrapped in meditation. When\nstranger monks arrive at any monastery, the old residents meet and\nreceive them, carry for them their clothes and alms-bowl, give them\nwater to wash their feet, oil with which to anoint them, and the liquid\nfood permitted out of the regular hours. [1] When the stranger has\nenjoyed a very brief rest, they further ask the number of years that he\nhas been a monk, after which he receives a sleeping apartment with its\nappurtenances, according to his regular order, and everything is done\nfor him which the rules prescribe.\n\nWhere a community of monks resides, they erect topes to S\u00e2riputtra, [2]\nto Mah\u00e2-maudgaly\u00e2yana, [3] and to \u00c2nanda, and also topes in honor of the\nAbhidharma, [4] the Vinaya, [4] and the S\u00fbtras. [4] A month after the\nannual season of rest, the families which are looking out for blessing\nstimulate one another to make offerings to the monks, and send round to\nthem the liquid food which may be taken out of the ordinary hours. All\nthe monks come together in a great assembly, and preach the Law; after\nwhich offerings are presented at the tope of S\u00e2riputtra, with all kinds\nof flowers and incense. All through the night lamps are kept burning,\nand skilful musicians are employed to perform.\n\nWhen S\u00e2riputtra was a great Brahman, he went to Buddha, and begged to be\npermitted to quit his family and become a monk. The great Mugalan and\nthe great Kas'yapa also did the same. The bhikshunis [5] for the most\npart make their offerings at the tope of \u00c5nanda, because it was he who\nrequested the World-honored one to allow females to quit their families\nand become nuns. The Sr\u00e2maneras [6] mostly make their offerings to\nRahula. [7] The professors of the Abhidharma make their offerings to it;\nthose of the Vinaya to it. Every year there is one such offering, and\neach class has its own day for it. Students of the mah\u00e2y\u00e2na present\nofferings to the Praj\u00f1a-p\u00e2ramit\u00e2, to Ma\u00f1jus'ri, and to Kwan-she-yin.\nWhen the monks have done receiving their annual tribute from the\nharvests, the Heads of the Vaisyas and all the Brahmans bring clothes\nand such other articles as the monks require for use, and distribute\namong them. The monks, having received them, also proceed to give\nportions to one another. From the nirv\u00e2na of Buddha, the forms of\nceremony, laws, and rules, practised by the sacred communities, have\nbeen handed down from one generation to another without interruption.\n\nFrom the place where the travellers crossed the Indus to South India,\nand on to the Southern Sea, a distance of forty or fifty thousand li,\nall is level plain. There are no large hills with streams among them;\nthere are simply the waters of the rivers.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: No monk can eat solid food except between sunrise and noon,\nand total abstinence from intoxicating drinks is obligatory. Food eaten\nat any other part of the day is called vik\u00e2la, and forbidden; but a\nweary traveller might receive unseasonable refreshment, consisting of\nhoney, butter, treacle, and sesamum oil.]\n\n[Footnote 2: S\u00e2riputtra was one of the principal disciples of Buddha,\nand indeed the most learned and ingenious of them all.]\n\n[Footnote 3: Mugalan, the Singhalese name of this disciple, is more\npronounceable. He also was one of the principal disciples, called\nBuddha's \"left-hand attendant.\" He was distinguished for his power of\nvision, and his magic powers.]\n\n[Footnote 4: The different parts of the tripitaka.]\n\n[Footnote 5: The bhikshunis are the female monks or nuns, subject to the\nsame rules as the bhikshus, and also to special ordinances of\nrestraint.]\n\n[Footnote 6: The Sr\u00e2maneras are the novices, male or female, who have\nvowed to observe the Shiksh\u00e2pada, or ten commandments.]\n\n[Footnote 7: The eldest son of S\u00e2kyamuni by Yasodhar\u00e2. Converted to\nBuddhism, he followed his father as an attendant; and after Buddha's\ndeath became the founder of a philosophical realistic school\n(vaibh\u00e2shika). He is now revered as the patron saint of all novices, and\nis to be reborn as the eldest son of every future Buddha.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII\n\n~Legend of the Trayastrimsas Heaven~\n\n\nFrom this they proceeded southeast for eighteen yojanas, and found\nthemselves in a kingdom called Sank\u00e2s'ya, at the place where Buddha\ncame down, after ascending to the Trayastrims'as heaven [1], and there\npreaching for three months his Law for the benefit of his mother [2].\nBuddha had gone up to this heaven by his supernatural power, without\nletting his disciples know; but seven days before the completion of the\nthree months he laid aside his invisibility, and Anuruddha [3], with his\nheavenly eyes, saw the World-honored one, and immediately said to the\nhonored one, the great Mugalan, \"Do you go and salute the World-honored\none,\" Mugalan forthwith went, and with head and face did homage at\nBuddha's feet. They then saluted and questioned each other, and when\nthis was over, Buddha said to Mugalan, \"Seven days after this I will go\ndown to Jambudv\u00eepa\"; and thereupon Mugalan returned. At this time the\ngreat kings of eight countries with their ministers and people, not\nhaving seen Buddha for a long time, were all thirstily looking up for\nhim, and had collected in clouds in this kingdom to wait for the\nWorld-honored one.\n\nThen the bhikshun\u00ee Utpala thought in her heart, \"To-day the kings, with\ntheir ministers and people, will all be meeting and welcoming Buddha. I\nam but a woman; how shall I succeed in being the first to see him?\"\nBuddha immediately, by his spirit-like power, changed her into the\nappearance of a holy Chakravartti king, and she was the foremost of all\nin doing reverence to him.\n\nAs Buddha descended from his position aloft in the Trayastrims'as\nheaven, when he was coming down, there were made to appear three flights\nof precious steps. Buddha was on the middle flight, the steps of which\nwere composed of the seven precious substances. The king of Brahma-loka\n[4] also made a flight of silver steps appear on the right side, where\nhe was seen attending with a white chowry in his hand. Sakra, Ruler of\nDevas, made a flight of steps of purple gold on the left side, where he\nwas seen attending and holding an umbrella of the seven precious\nsubstances. An innumerable multitude of the devas followed Buddha in his\ndescent. When he was come down, the three flights all disappeared in the\nground, excepting seven steps, which continued to be visible. Afterwards\nking As'oka, wishing to know where their ends rested, sent men to dig\nand see. They went down to the yellow springs without reaching the\nbottom of the steps, and from this the king received an increase to his\nreverence and faith, and built a vih\u00e2ra over the steps, with a standing\nimage, sixteen cubits in height, right over the middle flight. Behind\nthe vih\u00e2ra he erected a stone pillar, about fifty cubits high, with a\nlion on the top of it. [5] Let into the pillar, on each of its four\nsides, there is an image of Buddha, inside and out shining and\ntransparent, and pure as it were of lapis lazuli. Some teachers of\nanother doctrine once disputed with the S'ramanas about the right to\nthis as a place of residence, and the latter were having the worst of\nthe argument, when they took an oath on both sides on the condition\nthat, if the place did indeed belong to the S'ramanas, there should be\nsome marvellous attestation of it. When these words had been spoken, the\nlion on the top gave a great roar, thus giving the proof; on which their\nopponents were frightened, bowed to the decision, and withdrew.\n\nThrough Buddha having for three months partaken of the food of heaven,\nhis body emitted a heavenly fragrance, unlike that of an ordinary man.\nHe went immediately and bathed; and afterwards, at the spot where he did\nso, a bathing-house was built, which is still existing. At the place\nwhere the bhikshuni Utpala was the first to do reverence to Buddha, a\ntope has now been built.\n\nAt the places where Buddha, when he was in the world, cut his hair and\nnails, topes are erected; and where the three Buddhas [6] that preceded\nS'\u00e2kyamuni Buddha and he himself sat; where they walked, and where\nimages of their persons were made. At all these places topes were made,\nand are still existing. At the place where S'akra, Ruler of the Devas,\nand the king of the Brahma-loka followed Buddha down from the\nTrayastrimsas heaven they have also raised a tope.\n\nAt this place the monks and nuns may be a thousand, who all receive\ntheir food from the common store, and pursue their studies, some of the\nmahayana and some of the h\u00eenay\u00e2na. Where they live, there is a\nwhite-eared dragon, which acts the part of danapati to the community of\nthese monks, causing abundant harvests in the country, and the enriching\nrains to come in season, without the occurrence of any calamities, so\nthat the monks enjoy their repose and ease. In gratitude for its\nkindness, they have made for it a dragon-house, with a carpet for it to\nsit on, and appointed for it a diet of blessing, which they present for\nits nourishment. Every day they set apart three of their number to go to\nits house, and eat there. Whenever the summer retreat is ended, the\ndragon straightway changes its form, and appears as a small snake, with\nwhite spots at the side of its ears. As soon as the monks recognize it,\nthey fill a copper vessel with cream, into which they put the creature,\nand then carry it round from the one who has the highest seat at their\ntables to him who has the lowest, when it appears as if saluting them.\nWhen it has been taken round, immediately it disappears; and every year\nit thus comes forth once. The country is very productive, and the people\nare prosperous, and happy beyond comparison. When people of other\ncountries come to it, they are exceedingly attentive to them all, and\nsupply them with what they need.\n\nFifty yojanas northwest from the monastery there is another, called \"The\nGreat Heap.\" Great Heap was the name of a wicked demon, who was\nconverted by Buddha, and men subsequently at this place reared a vih\u00e2ra.\nWhen it was being made over to an Arhat by pouring water on his hands,\nsome drops fell on the ground. They are still on the spot, and however\nthey may be brushed away and removed, they continue to be visible, and\ncannot be made to disappear.\n\nAt this place there is also a tope to Buddha, where a good spirit\nconstantly keeps all about it swept and watered, without any labor of\nman being required. A king of corrupt views once said, \"Since you are\nable to do this, I will lead a multitude of troops and reside there till\nthe dirt and filth has increased and accumulated, and see whether you\ncan cleanse it away or not.\" The spirit thereupon raised a great wind,\nwhich blew the filth away, and made the place pure.\n\nAt this place there are many small topes, at which a man may keep\ncounting a whole day without being able to know their exact number. If\nhe be firmly bent on knowing it, he will place a man by the side of each\ntope. When this is done, proceeding to count the number of the men,\nwhether they be many or few, he will not get to know the number. [7]\n\nThere is a monastery, containing perhaps six hundred or seven hundred\nmonks, in which there is a place where a Pratyeka Buddha used to take\nhis food. The nirv\u00e2na ground where he was burned after death is as large\nas a carriage wheel; and while grass grows all around, on this spot\nthere is none. The ground also where he dried his clothes produces no\ngrass, but the impression of them, where they lay on it, continues to\nthe present day.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: The heaven of Indra or S\u00e2kya, meaning \"the heaven of\nthirty-three classes,\" a name which has been explained both historically\nand mythologically. \"The description of it,\" says Eitel, \"tallies in all\nrespects with the Svarga of Brahmanic mythology. It is situated between\nthe four peaks of the Meru, and consists of thirty-two cities of devas,\neight on each of the four corners of the mountain. Indra's capital of\nBellevue is in the centre. There he is enthroned, with a thousand heads\nand a thousand eyes, and four arms grasping the vajra, with his wife and\n119,000 concubines. There he receives the monthly reports of the four\nMah\u00e2r\u00e2jas, concerning the progress of good and evil in the world,\" etc.,\netc.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Buddha's mother, M\u00e2y\u00e2 and Mah\u00e2-m\u00e2y\u00e2, died seven days after\nhis birth.]\n\n[Footnote 3: Anuruddha was a first cousin of S\u00e2kyamuni, being the son of\nhis uncle Amritodana. He is often mentioned in the account we have of\nBuddha's last moments. His special gift was the \"heavenly eye,\" the\nfirst of the six \"supernatural talents,\" the faculty of comprehending in\none instantaneous view, or by intuition, all beings in all worlds.]\n\n[Footnote 4: This was Brahma, the first person of the Brahmanical\nTrimurti, adopted by Buddhism, but placed in an inferior position, and\nsurpassed by every Buddhist saint who attains to bodhi.]\n\n[Footnote 5: A note of Mr. Beal says on this:--\"General Cunningham, who\nvisited the spot (1862), found a pillar, evidently of the age of Asoka,\nwith a well-carved elephant on the top, which, however, was minus trunk\nand tail. He supposes this to be the pillar seen by F\u00e2-hien, who mistook\nthe top of it for a lion. It is possible such a mistake may have been\nmade, as in the account of one of the pillars at Sr\u00e2vasti, F\u00e2-hien says\nan ox formed the capital, whilst Hs\u00fcan-chwang calls it an elephant.\"]\n\n[Footnote 6: These three predecessors of Sakya-muni were the three\nBuddhas of the present or Mah\u00e2-bhadra Kalpa, of which he was the fourth,\nand Maitreya is to be the fifth and last. They were: (i) Kra-kuchanda,\n\"he who readily solves all doubts\"; a scion of the Kasyapa family. Human\nlife reached in his time forty thousand years, and so many persons were\nconverted by him. (2) Kanakamuni, \"body radiant with the color of pure\ngold\"; of the same family. Human life reached in his time thirty\nthousand years, and so many persons were converted by him. (3) Kasyapa,\n\"swallower of light.\" Human life reached in his time twenty thousand\nyears, and so many persons were converted by him.]\n\n[Footnote 7: This would seem to be absurd; but the writer evidently\nintended to convey the idea that there was something mysterious about\nthe number of the topes.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII\n\n~Buddha's Subjects of Discourse~\n\n\nF\u00e2-Hien stayed at the Dragon vihara till after the summer retreat, [1]\nand then, travelling to the southeast for seven yojanas, he arrived at\nthe city of Kanyakubja, lying along the Ganges. There are two\nmonasteries in it, the inmates of which are students of the hinay\u00e2na. At\na distance from the city of six or seven li, on the west, on the\nnorthern bank of the Ganges, is a place where Buddha preached the Law to\nhis disciples. It has been handed down that his subjects of discourse\nwere such as \"The bitterness and vanity of life as impermanent and\nuncertain,\" and that \"The body is as a bubble or foam on the water.\" At\nthis spot a tope was erected, and still exists.\n\nHaving crossed the Ganges, and gone south for three yojanas, the\ntravellers arrived at a village named A-le, containing places where\nBuddha preached the Law, where he sat, and where he walked, at all of\nwhich topes have been built.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: This was, probably, in A.D. 405.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX\n\n~Legend of Buddha's Danta-k\u00e2shtha~\n\n\nGoing on from this to the southeast for three yojanas, they came to the\ngreat kingdom of Sh\u00e2-che. As you go out of the city of Sh\u00e2-che by the\nsouthern gate, on the east of the road is the place where Buddha, after\nhe had chewed his willow branch, stuck it in the ground, when it\nforthwith grew up seven cubits, at which height it remained, neither\nincreasing nor diminishing. The Brahmans, with their contrary doctrines,\nbecame angry and jealous. Sometimes they cut the tree down, sometimes\nthey plucked it up, and cast it to a distance, but it grew again on the\nsame spot as at first. Here also is the place where the four Buddhas\nwalked and sat, and at which a tope was built that is still existing.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX\n\n~The Jetavana Vih\u00e2ra--Legends of Buddha~\n\n\nGoing on from this to the south, for eight yojanas, the travellers came\nto the city of Sravasti in the kingdom of Kosala, in which the\ninhabitants were few and far between, amounting in all only to a few\nmore than two hundred families; the city where king Prasenajit ruled,\nand the place of the old vih\u00e2ra of Maha-praj\u00e2pati; [1] of the well and\nwalls of the house of the Vaisya head Sudatta; [2] and where the\nAngulim\u00e2lya [3] became an Arhat, and his body was afterwards burned on\nhis attaining to pari-nirv\u00e2na. At all these places topes were\nsubsequently erected, which are still existing in the city. The\nBrahmans, with their contrary doctrine, became full of hatred and envy\nin their hearts, and wished to destroy them, but there came from the\nheavens such a storm of crashing thunder and flashing lightning that\nthey were not able in the end to effect their purpose.\n\nAs you go out from the city by the south gate, and one thousand two\nhundred paces from it, the Vais'ya head Sudatta built a vih\u00e2ra, facing\nthe south; and when the door was open, on each side of it there was a\nstone pillar, with the figure of a wheel on the top of that on the left,\nand the figure of an ox on the top of that on the right. On the left and\nright of the building the ponds of water clear and pure, the thickets of\ntrees always luxuriant, and the numerous flowers of various hues,\nconstituted a lovely scene, the whole forming what is called the\nJetavana vih\u00e2ra.\n\nWhen Buddha went up to the Trayastrimsas heaven, and preached the Law\nfor the benefit of his mother, after he had been absent for ninety days,\nPrasenajit, longing to see him, caused an image of him to be carved in\nGosirsha Chandana wood, and put in the place where he usually sat. When\nBuddha, on his return entered the vihara, this image immediately left\nits place, and came forth to meet him. Buddha said to it, \"Return to\nyour seat. After I have attained to pari-nirv\u00e2na, you will serve as a\npattern to the four classes of my disciples,\" [4] and on this the image\nreturned to its seat. This was the very first of all the images of\nBuddha, and that which men subsequently copied. Buddha then removed, and\ndwelt in a small vihara on the south side of the other, a different\nplace from that containing the image, and twenty paces distant from it.\n\nThe Jetavana vih\u00e2ra was originally of seven stories. The kings and\npeople of the countries around vied with one another in their offerings,\nhanging up about it silken streamers and canopies, scattering flowers,\nburning incense, and lighting lamps, so as to make the night as bright\nas the day. This they did day after day without ceasing. It happened\nthat a rat, carrying in its mouth the wick of a lamp, set one of the\nstreamers or canopies on fire, which caught the vih\u00e2ra, and the seven\nstories were all consumed. The kings, with their officers and people,\nwere all very sad and distressed, supposing that the sandalwood image\nhad been burned; but lo! after four or five days, when the door of a\nsmall vih\u00e2ra on the east was opened, there was immediately seen the\noriginal image. They were all greatly rejoiced, and cooperated in\nrestoring the vih\u00e2ra. When they had succeeded in completing two stories,\nthey removed the image back to its former place.\n\nWhen F\u00e2-hien and T\u00e2o-ching first arrived at the Jetavana monastery, and\nthought how the World-honored one had formerly resided there for\ntwenty-five years, painful reflections arose in their minds. Born in a\nborder-land, along with their like-minded friends, they had travelled\nthrough so many kingdoms; some of those friends had returned to their\nown land, and some had died, proving the impermanence and uncertainty of\nlife; and today they saw the place where Buddha had lived now unoccupied\nby him. They were melancholy through their pain of heart, and the crowd\nof monks came out, and asked them from what kingdom they were come. \"We\nare come,\" they replied, \"from the land of Han.\" \"Strange,\" said the\nmonks with a sigh, \"that men of a border country should be able to come\nhere in search of our Law!\" Then they said to one another, \"During all\nthe time that we, preceptors and monks, have succeeded to one another,\nwe have never seen men of Han, followers of our system, arrive here.\"\n\nFour li to the northwest of the vih\u00e2ra there is a grove called \"The\nGetting of Eyes.\" Formerly there were five hundred blind men, who lived\nhere in order that they might be near the vih\u00e2ra. Buddha preached his\nLaw to them, and they all got their eyesight. Full of joy, they stuck\ntheir staves in the earth, and with their heads and faces on the ground,\ndid reverence. The staves immediately began to grow, and they grew to be\ngreat. People made much of them, and no one dared to cut them down, so\nthat they came to form a grove. It was in this way that it got its name,\nand most of the Jetavana monks, after they had taken their mid-day meal,\nwent to the grove, and sat there in meditation.\n\nSix or seven li northeast from the Jetavana, mother Vaisakha built\nanother vih\u00e2ra, to which she invited Buddha and his monks, and which is\nstill existing.\n\nTo each of the great residences for the monks at the Jetavana vih\u00e2ra\nthere were two gates, one facing the east and the other facing the\nnorth. The park containing the whole was the space of ground which the\nVaisaya head, Sudatta, purchased by covering it with gold coins. The\nvih\u00e2ra was exactly in the centre. Here Buddha lived for a longer time\nthan at any other place, preaching his Law and converting men. At the\nplaces where he walked and sat they also subsequently reared topes, each\nhaving its particular name; and here was the place where Sundari [5]\nmurdered a person and then falsely charged Buddha with the crime.\nOutside the east gate of the Jetavana, at a distance of seventy paces to\nthe north, on the west of the road, Buddha held a discussion with the\nadvocates of the ninety-six schemes of erroneous doctrine, when the king\nand his great officers, the householders, and people were all assembled\nin crowds to hear it. Then a woman belonging to one of the erroneous\nsystems, by name Cha\u00f1chamana, prompted by the envious hatred in her\nheart, and having put on extra clothes in front of her person, so as to\ngive her the appearance of being with child, falsely accused Buddha\nbefore all the assembly of having acted unlawfully towards her. On this,\nSakra, Ruler of Devas, changed himself and some devas into white mice,\nwhich bit through the strings about her waist; and when this was done,\nthe extra clothes which she wore dropped down on the ground. The earth\nat the same time was rent, and she went down alive into hell. This also\nis the place where Devadatta, trying with empoisoned claws to injure\nBuddha, went down alive into hell. Men subsequently set up marks to\ndistinguish where both these events took place.\n\nFurther, at the place where the discussion took place, they reared a\nvih\u00e2ra rather more than sixty cubits high, having in it an image of\nBuddha in a sitting posture. On the east of the road there was a\ndev\u00e2laya [6] of one of the contrary systems, called \"The Shadow\nCovered,\" right opposite the vih\u00e2ra on the place of discussion, with\nonly the road between them, and also rather more than sixty cubits high.\nThe reason why it was called \"The Shadow Covered\" was this: When the sun\nwas in the west, the shadow of the vih\u00e2ra of the World-honored one fell\non the dev\u00e2laya of a contrary system; but when the sun was in the east,\nthe shadow of that dev\u00e2laya was diverted to the north, and never fell on\nthe vih\u00e2ra of Buddha. The malbelievers regularly employed men to watch\ntheir dev\u00e2laya, to sweep and water all about it, to burn incense, light\nthe lamps, and present offerings; but in the morning the lamps were\nfound to have been suddenly removed, and in the vih\u00e2ra of Buddha. The\nBrahmans were indignant, and said, \"Those Sramanas take our lamps and\nuse them for their own service of Buddha, but we will not stop our\nservice for you!\" [7] On that night the Brahmans themselves kept watch,\nwhen they saw the deva spirits which they served take the lamps and go\nthree times round the vih\u00e2ra of Buddha and present offerings. After this\nadministration to Buddha they suddenly disappeared. The Brahmans\nthereupon knowing how great was the spiritual power of Buddha, forthwith\nleft their families, and became monks. It has been handed down, that,\nnear the time when these things occurred, around the Jetavana vih\u00e2ra\nthere were ninety-eight monasteries, in all of which there were monks\nresiding, excepting only in one place which was vacant. In this Middle\nKingdom there are ninety-six sorts of views, erroneous and different\nfrom our system, all of which recognize this world and the future world\nand the connection between them. Each has its multitude of followers,\nand they all beg their food: only they do not carry the alms-bowl. They\nalso, moreover, seek to acquire the blessing of good deeds on\nunfrequented ways, setting up on the roadside houses of charity, where\nrooms, couches, beds, and food and drink are supplied to travellers, and\nalso to monks, coming and going as guests, the only difference being in\nthe time for which those parties remain.\n\nThere are also companies of the followers of Devadatta still existing.\nThey regularly make offerings to the three previous Buddhas, but not to\nS\u00e2kyamuni Buddha.\n\nFour li southeast from the city of Sr\u00e2vast\u00ee, a tope has been erected at\nthe place where the World-honored one encountered king Vir\u00fbdhaha, when\nhe wished to attack the kingdom of Shay-e, and took his stand before him\nat the side of the road.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: Explained by \"Path of Love,\" and \"Lord of Life.\" Praj\u00e2pati\nwas aunt and nurse of S\u00e2kyamuni, the first woman admitted to the\nmonkhood, and the first superior of the first Buddhistic convent. She is\nyet to become a Buddha.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Sudatta, meaning \"almsgiver,\" was the original name of\nAn\u00e2tha-pindika, a wealthy householder, or Vaisya head, of Sr\u00e2vasti,\nfamous for his liberality. Of his old house, only the well and walls\nremained at the time of F\u00e2-hien's visit to Sr\u00e2vasti.]\n\n[Footnote 3: The Angulim\u00e2lya were a sect or set of Sivaitic fanatics,\nwho made assassination a religious act. The one of them here mentioned\nhad joined them by the force of circumstances. Being converted by\nBuddha, he became a monk.]\n\n[Footnote 4: \u00c2rya, meaning \"honorable,\" \"venerable,\" is a title given\nonly to those who have mastered the four spiritual truths:--(i) that\n\"misery\" is a necessary condition of all sentient existence; this is\nduhka: (ii) that the \"accumulation\" of misery is caused by the passions;\nthis is samudaya: (iii) that the \"extinction\" of passion is possible;\nthis is nirodha: and (iv) that the \"path\" leads to the extinction of\npassion; which is marga. According to their attainment of these truths,\nthe Aryas, or followers of Buddha, are distinguished into four\nclasses--Srot\u00e2pannas, Sakrid\u00e2gamins, An\u00e2g\u00e2mins, and Arhats.]\n\n[Footnote 5: Hs\u00fcan-chwang does not give the name of this murderer; see\nin Julien's \"Vie et Voyages de Hiouen-thsang \"--\"a heretical Brahman\nkilled a woman and calumniated Buddha.\" See also the fuller account in\nBeal's \"Records of Western Countries,\" where the murder is committed by\nseveral Brahmacharins. In this passage Beal makes Sundari to be the name\nof the murdered person. But the text cannot be so construed.]\n\n[Footnote 6: A dev\u00e2laya is a place in which a deva is worshipped--a\ngeneral name for all Brahmanical temples.]\n\n[Footnote 7: Their speech was somewhat unconnected, but natural enough\nin the circumstances. Compare the whole account with the narrative in 1\nSamuel v. about the Ark and Dagon, that \"twice-battered god of\nPalestine.\"]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI\n\n~The Three Predecessors of S\u00e2kyamuni~\n\n\nFifty li to the west of the city brings the traveller to a town\nnamed Too-wei, the birthplace of K\u00e2syapa Buddha. At the\nplace where he and his father met, and at that where he attained\nto pari-nirv\u00e2na, topes were erected. Over the entire relic\nof the whole body of him, the K\u00e2syapa Tath\u00e2gata, a great tope\nwas also erected.\n\nGoing on southeast from the city of Sr\u00e2vasti for twelve yojanas,\nthe travellers came to a town named Na-pei-ke\u00e2, the birthplace\nof Krakuchanda Buddha. At the place where he and his father met,\nand at that where he attained to pari-nirv\u00e2na, topes were erected.\nGoing north from here less than a yojana, they came to a town\nwhich had been the birthplace of Kanakamuni Buddha. At the place\nwhere he and his father met, and where he attained to pari-nirv\u00e2na,\ntopes were erected.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXII\n\n~Legends of Buddha's Birth~\n\n\nLess than a yojana to the east from this brought them to the city of\nKapilavastu; but in it there was neither king nor people. All was mound\nand desolation. Of inhabitants there were only some monks and a score or\ntwo of families of the common people. At the spot where stood the old\npalace of king Suddhodana there have been made images of his eldest son\nand his mother; and at the places where that son appeared mounted on a\nwhite elephant when he entered his mother's womb, and where he turned\nhis carriage round on seeing the sick man after he had gone out of the\ncity by the eastern gate, topes have been erected. The places were also\npointed out where the rishi \u00c2-e inspected the marks of Buddhaship on the\nbody of the heir-apparent when an infant; where, when he was in company\nwith Nanda and others, on the elephant being struck down and drawn on\none side, he tossed it away; [1] where he shot an arrow to the\nsoutheast, and it went a distance of thirty li, then entering the ground\nand making a spring to come forth, which men subsequently fashioned into\na well from which travellers might drink; where, after he had attained\nto Wisdom, Buddha returned and saw the king, his father; where five\nhundred S\u00e2kyas quitted their families and did reverence to Up\u00e2li [2]\nwhile the earth shook and moved in six different ways; where Buddha\npreached his Law to the devas, and the four deva kings and others kept\nthe four doors of the hall, so that even the king, his father, could not\nenter; where Buddha sat under a nyagrodha tree, which is still standing,\nwith his face to the east, and his aunt Mah\u00e2-praj\u00e2pati presented him\nwith a Sangh\u00e2li; and where king Vaid\u00fbrya slew the seed of S\u00e2kya, and\nthey all in dying became Srot\u00e2pannas. [3] A tope was erected at this\nlast place, which is still existing.\n\nSeveral li northeast from the city was the king's field, where the\nheir-apparent sat under a tree, and looked at the ploughers.\n\nFifty li east from the city was a garden, named Lumbin\u00ee, where the queen\nentered the pond and bathed. Having come forth from the pond on the\nnorthern bank, after walking twenty paces, she lifted up her hand, laid\nhold of a branch of a tree, and, with her face to the east, gave birth\nto the heir-apparent. When he fell to the ground, he immediately walked\nseven paces. Two dragon-kings appeared and washed his body. At the place\nwhere they did so, there was immediately formed a well, and from it, as\nwell as from the above pond, where the queen bathed, the monks even now\nconstantly take the water, and drink it.\n\nThere are four places of regular and fixed occurrence in the history of\nall Buddhas: first, the place where they attained to perfect Wisdom and\nbecame Buddha; second, the place where they turned the wheel of the Law;\nthird, the place where they preached the Law, discoursed of\nrighteousness, and discomfited the advocates of erroneous doctrines; and\nfourth, the place where they came down, after going up to the\nTrayastrimsas heaven to preach the Law for the benefit of their\nmothers. Other places in connection with them became remarkable,\naccording to the manifestations which were made at them at particular\ntimes.\n\nThe country of Kapilavastu is a great scene of empty desolation. The\ninhabitants are few and far between. On the roads people have to be on\ntheir guard against white elephants [4] and lions, and should not travel\nincautiously.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: The Lichchhavis of Vais\u00e2l\u00ee had sent to the young prince a\nvery fine elephant; but when it was near Kapilavastu, Deva-datta, out of\nenvy, killed it with a blow of his fist. Nanda (not \u00c2nanda, but a\nhalf-brother of Siddhartha), coming that way, saw the carcass lying on\nthe road, and pulled it on one side; but the Bodhisattva, seeing it\nthere, took it by the tail, and tossed it over seven fences and ditches,\nwhen the force of its fall made a great ditch.]\n\n[Footnote 2: They did this, probably, to show their humility, for Up\u00e2li\nwas only a S\u00fbdra by birth, and had been a barber; so from the first did\nBuddhism assert its superiority to the conditions of rank and caste.\nUp\u00e2li was distinguished by his knowledge of the rules of discipline, and\npraised on that account by Buddha. He was one of the three leaders of\nthe first synod, and the principal compiler of the original Vinaya\nbooks.]\n\n[Footnote 3: The Srot\u00e2pannas are the first class of saints, who are not\nto be reborn in a lower sphere, but attain to nirv\u00e0na after having been\nreborn seven times consecutively as men or devas. The Chinese editions\nstate there were one thousand of the S\u00e3kya seed. The general account is\nthat they were five hundred, all maidens, who refused to take their\nplace in king Vaidurya's harem, and were in consequence taken to a pond,\nand had their hands and feet cut off. There Buddha came to them, had\ntheir wounds dressed, and preached to them the Law. They died in the\nfaith, and were reborn in the region of the four Great Kings. Thence\nthey came back and visited Buddha at Jetavana in the night, and there\nthey obtained the reward of Srot\u00e2panna.]\n\n[Footnote 4: F\u00e2-hien does not say that he himself saw any of these white\nelephants, nor does he speak of the lions as of any particular color. We\nshall find by and by, in a note further on, that, to make them appear\nmore terrible, they are spoken of as \"black.\"]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIII\n\n~Legends of R\u00e2ma and its Tope~\n\n\nEast from Buddha's birthplace, and at a distance of five yojanas, there\nis a kingdom called R\u00e2ma. The king of this country, having obtained one\nportion of the relics of Buddha's body, returned with it and built over\nit a tope, named the R\u00e2ma tope. By the side of it there was a pool, and\nin the pool a dragon, which constantly kept watch over the tope, and\npresented offerings at it day and night. When king Asoka came forth\ninto the world, he wished to destroy the eight topes over the relics,\nand to build instead of them eighty-four thousand topes. [1] After he\nhad thrown down the seven others, he wished next to destroy this tope.\nBut then the dragon showed itself, and took the king into its palace;\nwhen he had seen all the things provided for offerings, it said to him,\n\"If you are able with your offerings to exceed these, you can destroy\nthe tope, and take it all away. I will not contend with you.\" The king,\nhowever, knew that such appliances for offerings were not to be had\nanywhere in the world, and thereupon returned without carrying out his\npurpose.\n\nAfterwards, the ground all about became overgrown with vegetation, and\nthere was nobody to sprinkle and sweep about the tope; but a herd of\nelephants came regularly, which brought water with their trunks to water\nthe ground, and various kinds of flowers and incense, which they\npresented at the tope. Once there came from one of the kingdoms a\ndevotee to worship at the tope. When he encountered the elephants he was\ngreatly alarmed, and screened himself among the trees; but when he saw\nthem go through with the offerings in the most proper manner, the\nthought filled him with great sadness--that there should be no monastery\nhere, the inmates of which might serve the tope, but the elephants have\nto do the watering and sweeping. Forthwith he gave up the great\nprohibitions by which he was bound, and resumed the status of a\nSr\u00e2manera. With his own hands he cleared away the grass and trees, put\nthe place in good order, and made it pure and clean. By the power of his\nexhortations, he prevailed on the king of the country to form a\nresidence for monks; and when that was done, he became head of the\nmonastery. At the present day there are monks residing in it. This event\nis of recent occurrence; but in all the succession from that time till\nnow, there has always been a Sr\u00e2manera head of the establishment.\n\n[Footnote 1: The bones of the human body are supposed to consist of\n84,000 atoms, and hence the legend of Asoka's wish to build 84,000\ntopes, one over each atom of Sakyamuni's skeleton.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIV\n\n~Where Buddha Renounced the World~\n\n\nEast from here four yojanas, there is the place where the heir-apparent\nsent back Chandaka, with his white horse; and there also a tope was\nerected.\n\nFour yojanas to the east from this, the travellers came to the Charcoal\ntope, where there is also a monastery.\n\nGoing on twelve yojanas, still to the east, they came to the city of\nKusanagara, on the north of which, between two trees, on the bank of the\nNaira\u00f1jan\u00e2 river, is the place where the World-honored one, with his\nhead to the north, attained to pan-nirv\u00e2na and died. There also are the\nplaces where Subhadra, [1] the last of his converts, attained to Wisdom\nand became an Arhat; where in his coffin of gold they made offerings to\nthe World-honored one for seven days, where the Vajrap\u00e2ni laid aside his\ngolden club, and where the eight kings divided the relics of the burnt\nbody: at all these places were built topes and monasteries, all of which\nare now existing.\n\nIn the city the inhabitants are few and far between, comprising only the\nfamilies belonging to the different societies of monks.\n\nGoing from this to the southeast for twelve yojanas, they came to the\nplace where the Lichchhavis wished to follow Buddha to the place of his\npari-nirv\u00e2na, and where, when he would not listen to them and they kept\ncleaving to him, unwilling to go away, he made to appear a large and\ndeep ditch which they could not cross over, and gave them his alms-bowl,\nas a pledge of his regard, thus sending them back to their families.\nThere a stone pillar was erected with an account of this event engraved\nupon it.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: A Brahman of Ben\u00e2res, said to have been one hundred and\ntwenty years old, who came to learn from Buddha the very night he died.\n\u00c2nanda would have repulsed him; but Buddha ordered him to be introduced;\nand then putting aside the ingenious but unimportant question which he\npropounded, preached to him the Law. The Brahman was converted and\nattained at once to Arhatship.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXV\n\n~The Kingdom of Vais\u00e2l\u00ee~\n\n\nEast from this city ten yojanas, the travellers came to the kingdom of\nVais\u00e2l\u00ee. North of the city so named is a large forest, having in it the\ndouble-galleried vih\u00e2ra where Buddha dwelt, and the tope over half the\nbody of \u00c2nanda. Inside the city the woman \u00c2mbap\u00e2l\u00ee [1] built a vih\u00e2ra in\nhonor of Buddha, which is now standing as it was at first. Three li\nsouth of the city, on the west of the road, is the garden which the same\n\u00c2mbap\u00e2l\u00ee presented to Buddha, in which he might reside. When Buddha was\nabout to attain to his pari-nirv\u00e2na, as he was quitting the city by the\nwest gate, he turned round, and, beholding the city on his right, said\nto them, \"Here I have taken my last walk.\" Men subsequently built a tope\nat this spot.\n\nThree li northwest of the city there is a tope called, \"Bows and weapons\nlaid down.\" The reason why it got that name was this: The inferior wife\nof a king, whose country lay along the river Ganges, brought forth from\nher womb a ball of flesh. The superior wife, jealous of the other, said,\n\"You have brought forth a thing of evil omen,\" and immediately it was\nput into a box of wood and thrown into the river. Farther down the\nstream another king was walking and looking about, when he saw the\nwooden box floating in the water. He had it brought to him, opened it,\nand found a thousand little boys, upright and complete, and each one\ndifferent from the others. He took them and had them brought up. They\ngrew tall and large, and very daring and strong, crushing all opposition\nin every expedition which they undertook. By and by they attacked the\nkingdom of their real father, who became in consequence greatly\ndistressed and sad. His inferior wife asked what it was that made him\nso, and he replied, \"That king has a thousand sons, daring and strong\nbeyond compare, and he wishes with them to attack my kingdom; this is\nwhat makes me sad.\" The wife said, \"You need not be sad and sorrowful.\nOnly make a high gallery on the wall of the city on the east; and when\nthe thieves come, I shall be able to make them retire.\" The king did as\nshe said; and when the enemies came, she said to them from the tower,\n\"You are my sons; why are you acting so unnaturally and rebelliously?\"\nThey replied, \"Who are you that say you are our mother?\" \"If you do not\nbelieve me,\" she said, \"look, all of you, towards me, and open your\nmouths.\" She then pressed her breasts with her two hands, and each sent\nforth five hundred jets of milk, which fell into the mouths of the\nthousand sons. The thieves thus knew that she was their mother, and laid\ndown their bows and weapons. The two kings, the fathers, hereupon fell\ninto reflection, and both got to be Pratyeka Buddhas. The tope of the\ntwo Pratyeka Buddhas is still existing.\n\nIn a subsequent age, when the World-honored one had attained to perfect\nWisdom and become Buddha, he said to his disciples, \"This is the place\nwhere I in a former age laid down my bow and weapons.\" [2] It was thus\nthat subsequently men got to know the fact, and raised the tope on this\nspot, which in this way received its name. The thousand little boys were\nthe thousand Buddhas of this Bhadra-kalpa. [3]\n\nIt was by the side of the \"Weapons-laid-down\" tope that Buddha, having\ngiven up the idea of living longer, said to \u00c2nanda, \"In three months\nfrom this I will attain to pari-nirv\u00e2na\"; and king M\u00e2ra [4] had so\nfascinated and stupefied \u00c2nanda, that he was not able to ask Buddha to\nremain longer in this world.\n\nThree or four li east from this place there is a tope commemorating the\nfollowing occurrence: A hundred years after the pari-nirv\u00e2na of Buddha,\nsome Bhikshus of Vais\u00e2l\u00ee went wrong in the matter of the disciplinary\nrules in ten particulars, and appealed for their justification to what\nthey said were the words of Buddha. Hereupon the Arhats and Bhikshus\nobservant of the rules, to the number in all of seven hundred monks,\nexamined afresh and collated the collection of disciplinary books [5].\nSubsequently men built at this place the tope in question, which is\nstill existing.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: \u00c2mbap\u00e2l\u00ee, \u00c2mrap\u00e2l\u00ee, or \u00c2mradarik\u00e2, \"the guardian of the\n\u00c2mra (probably the mango) tree,\" is famous in Buddhist annals. She was a\ncourtesan. She had been in many n\u00e2rakas or hells, was one hundred\nthousand times a female beggar, and ten thousand times a prostitute; but\nmaintaining perfect continence during the period of K\u00e2syana Buddha,\nSakyamuni's predecessor, she had been born a dev\u00ee, and finally appeared\nin earth under an \u00c2mra tree in Vais\u00e2l\u00ee. There again she fell into her\nold ways, and had a son by king Bimbis\u00e2ra; but she was won over by\nBuddha to virtue and chastity, renounced the world, and attained to the\nstate of an Arhat.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Thus S\u00e2kyamuni had been one of the thousand little boys who\nfloated in the box in the Ganges. How long back the former age was we\ncannot tell. I suppose the tope of the two fathers who became Pratyeka\nBuddhas had been built like the one commemorating the laying down of\nweapons after Buddha had told his disciples of the strange events in the\npast.]\n\n[Footnote 3: Bhadra-kalpa, \"the Kalpa of worthies or sages.\" \"This,\"\nsays Eitel, \"is a designation for a Kalpa of stability, so-called\nbecause one thousand Buddhas appear in the course of it. Our present\nperiod is a Bhadra-kalpa, and four Buddhas have already appeared. It is\nto last two hundred and thirty-six millions of years, but over one\nhundred and fifty-one millions have already elapsed.\"]\n\n[Footnote 4: \"The king of demons.\" The name Mara is explained by \"the\nmurderer,\" \"the destroyer of virtue,\" and similar appellations. \"He is,\"\nsays Eitel, \"the personification of lust, the god of love, sin, and\ndeath, the arch-enemy of goodness, residing in the heaven Paranirmita\nVasavartin on the top of the Kamadhatu. He assumes different forms,\nespecially monstrous ones, to tempt or frighten the saints, or sends his\ndaughters, or inspires wicked men like Devadatta or the Nirgranthas to\ndo his work. He is often represented with 100 arms, and riding on an\nelephant.\"]\n\n[Footnote 5: Or the Vinaya-pitaka. The meeting referred to was an\nimportant one, and is generally spoken of as the second Great Council of\nthe Buddhist Church. The first Council was that held at R\u00e2jagriha,\nshortly after Buddha's death, under the presidency of K\u00e2syapa--say about\nB.C. 410. The second was that spoken of here--say about B.C. 300.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVI\n\n~Remarkable Death of \u00c2nanda~\n\n\nFour yojanas on from this place to the east brought the travellers to\nthe confluence of the five rivers. When \u00c2nanda was going from Magadha to\nVais\u00e2l\u00ee, wishing his pari-nirv\u00e2na to take place there, the devas\ninformed king Aj\u00e2tasatru [1] of it, and the king immediately pursued\nhim, in his own grand carriage, with a body of soldiers, and had reached\nthe river. On the other hand, the Lichchhavis of Vais\u00e2l\u00ee had heard that\n\u00c2nanda was coming to their city, and they on their part came to meet\nhim. In this way, they all arrived together at the river, and \u00c2nanda\nconsidered that, if he went forward, king Aj\u00e2tasatru would be very\nangry, while, if he went back, the Lichchhavis would resent his conduct.\nHe thereupon in the very middle of the river burnt his body in a fiery\necstasy of Sam\u00e2dhi [2], and his pari-nirv\u00e2na was attained. He divided\nhis body into two parts, leaving one part on each bank; so that each of\nthe two kings got one part as a sacred relic, and took it back to his\nown capital, and there raised a tope over it.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: He was the son of king Bimbis\u00e2ra, who was one of the first\nroyal converts to Buddhism. Ajasat murdered his father, or at least\nwrought his death; and was at first opposed to Sakyamuni, and a favorer\nof Devadotta. When converted, he became famous for his liberality in\nalmsgiving.]\n\n[Footnote 2: \"Sam\u00e2dhi,\" says Eitel, \"signifies the highest pitch of\nabstract, ecstatic meditation; a state of absolute indifference to all\ninfluences from within or without; a state of torpor of both the\nmaterial and spiritual forces of vitality; a sort of terrestrial\nNirv\u00e2na, consistently culminating in total destruction of life.\"]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVII\n\n~King Asoka's Spirit-built Palace and Halls~\n\n\nHaving crossed the river, and descended south for a yojana, the\ntravellers came to the town of P\u00e2taliputtra [1], in the kingdom of\nMagadha, the city where king Asoka ruled. The royal palace and halls\nin the midst of the city, which exist now as of old, were all made by\nspirits which he employed, and which piled up the stones, reared the\nwalls and gates, and executed the elegant carving and inlaid\nsculpture-work--in a way which no human hands of this world could\naccomplish.\n\nKing Asoka had a younger brother who had attained to be an Arhat, and\nresided on Gridhra-k\u00fbta hill, finding his delight in solitude and quiet.\nThe king, who sincerely reverenced him, wished and begged him to come\nand live in his family, where he could supply all his wants. The other,\nhowever, through his delight in the stillness of the mountain, was\nunwilling to accept the invitation, on which the king said to him, \"Only\naccept my invitation, and I will make a hill for you inside the city.\"\nAccordingly, he provided the materials of a feast, called to him the\nspirits, and announced to them, \"Tomorrow you will all receive my\ninvitation; but as there are no mats for you to sit on, let each one\nbring his own seat.\" Next day the spirits came, each one bringing with\nhim a great rock, like a wall, four or five paces square, for a seat.\nWhen their sitting was over, the king made them form a hill with the\nlarge stones piled on one another, and also at the foot of the hill,\nwith five large square stones, to make an apartment, which might be more\nthan thirty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and more than ten cubits\nhigh.\n\nIn this city there had resided a great Brahman, named R\u00e2dha-s\u00e2mi, a\nprofessor of the mah\u00e2y\u00e2na, of clear discernment and much wisdom, who\nunderstood everything, living by himself in spotless purity. The king of\nthe country honored and reverenced him, and served him as his teacher.\nIf he went to inquire for and greet him, the king did not presume to sit\ndown alongside of him; and if, in his love and reverence, he took hold\nof his hand, as soon as he let it go, the Brahman made haste to pour\nwater on it and wash it. He might be more than fifty years old, and all\nthe kingdom looked up to him. By means of this one man, the Law of\nBuddha was widely made-known, and the followers of other doctrines did\nnot find it in their power to persecute the body of monks in any way.\n\nBy the side of the tope of Asoka, there has been made a mah\u00e2y\u00e2na\nmonastery, very grand and beautiful; there is also a h\u00eenay\u00e2na one; the\ntwo together containing six hundred or seven hundred monks. The rules of\ndemeanor and the scholastic arrangements in them are worthy of\nobservation.\n\nShamans of the highest virtue from all quarters, and students, inquirers\nwishing to find out truth and the grounds of it, all resort to these\nmonasteries. There also resides in this monastery a Brahman teacher,\nwhose name also is Ma\u00f1jusr\u00ee, whom the Shamans of greatest virtue in\nthe kingdom, and the mah\u00e2y\u00e2na Bhikshus honor and look up to.\n\nThe cities and towns of this country are the greatest of all in the\nMiddle Kingdom. The inhabitants are rich and prosperous, and vie with\none another in the practice of benevolence and righteousness. Every year\non the eighth day of the second month they celebrate a procession of\nimages. They make a four-wheeled car, and on it erect a structure of\nfive stories by means of bamboos tied together. This is supported by a\nking-post, with poles and lances slanting from it, and is rather more\nthan twenty cubits high, having the shape of a tope. White and silk-like\ncloth of hair is wrapped all round it, which is then painted in various\ncolors. They make figures of devas, with gold, silver, and lapis lazuli\ngrandly blended and having silken streamers and canopies hung out over\nthem. On the four sides are niches, with a Buddha seated in each, and a\nBodhisattva standing in attendance on him. There may be twenty cars, all\ngrand and imposing, but each one different from the others. On the day\nmentioned, the monks and laity within the borders all come together;\nthey have singers and skilful musicians: they say their devotions with\nflowers and incense. The Brahmans come and invite the Buddhas to enter\nthe city. These do so in order, and remain two nights in it. All through\nthe night they keep lamps burning, have skilful music, and present\nofferings. This is the practice in all the other kingdoms as well. The\nHeads of the Vaisya families in them establish in the cities houses for\ndispensing charity and medicines. All the poor and destitute in the\ncountry, orphans, widowers, and childless men, maimed people and\ncripples, and all who are diseased, go to those houses, and are provided\nwith every kind of help, and doctors examine their diseases. They get\nthe food and medicines which their cases require, and are made to feel\nat ease; and when they are better, they go away of themselves.\n\nWhen king Asoka destroyed the seven topes, intending to make eighty-four\nthousand, the first which he made was the great tope, more than three li\nto the south of this city. In front of this there is a footprint of\nBuddha, where a vihara has been built. The door of it faces the north,\nand on the south of it there is a stone pillar, fourteen or fifteen\ncubits in circumference, and more than thirty cubits high, on which\nthere is an inscription, saying, \"Asoka gave the Jambudvipa to the\ngeneral body of all the monks, and then redeemed it from them with\nmoney. This he did three times.\" North from the tope three hundred or\nfour hundred paces, king Asoka built the city of Ne-le. In it there is a\nstone pillar, which also is more than thirty feet high, with a lion on\nthe top of it. On the pillar there is an inscription recording the\nthings which led to the building of Ne-le, with the number of the year,\nthe day, and the month.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: The modern Patna. The Sanscrit name means \"The city of\nflowers.\" It is the Indian Florence.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVIII\n\n~R\u00e2jagriha, New and Old--Legends Connected with It~\n\n\nThe travellers went on from this to the southeast for nine yojanas, and\ncame to a small solitary rocky hill, at the head or end of which was an\napartment of stone, facing the south--the place where Buddha sat, when\nSakra, Ruler of Devas, brought the deva-musician, Pa\u00f1chasikha, to give\npleasure to him by playing on his lute. Sakra then asked Buddha about\nforty-two subjects, tracing the questions out with his finger one by one\non the rock. The prints of his tracing are still there; and here also\nthere is a monastery.\n\nA yojana southwest from this place brought them to the village of N\u00e2la,\nwhere S\u00e2riputtra was born, and to which also he returned, and attained\nhere his pari-nirv\u00e2na. Over the spot where his body was burned there was\nbuilt a tope, which is still in existence.\n\nAnother yojana to the west brought them to New R\u00e2jagriha--the new city\nwhich was built by king Aj\u00e2tasatru. There were two monasteries in it.\nThree hundred paces outside the west gate, king Aj\u00e2tasatru, having\nobtained one portion of the relics of Buddha, built over them a tope,\nhigh, large, grand, and beautiful. Leaving the city by the south gate,\nand proceeding south four li, one enters a valley, and comes to a\ncircular space formed by five hills, which stand all round it, and have\nthe appearance of the suburban wall of a city. Here was the old city of\nking Bimbis\u00e2ra; from east to west about five or six li, and from north\nto south seven or eight. It was here that S\u00e2riputtra and Maudgaly\u00e2yana\nfirst saw Upasena [1]; that the Nirgrantha made a pit of fire and\npoisoned the rice, and then invited Buddha to eat with him; that king\nAj\u00e2tasatru made a black elephant intoxicated with liquor, wishing him to\ninjure Buddha; and that at the northeast corner of the city in a large\ncurving space J\u00eevaka built a vih\u00e2ra in the garden of \u00c2mbap\u00e2l\u00ee, and\ninvited Buddha with his one thousand two hundred and fifty disciples to\nit, that he might there make his offerings to support them. These places\nare still there as of old, but inside the city all is emptiness and\ndesolation; no man dwells in it.\n\n[Footnote 1: One of the five first followers of Sakyamuni. He is also\ncalled Asvajit; in Pali Assaji; but Asvajit seems to be a military\ntitle, \"Master or trainer of horses.\" The two more famous disciples met\nhim, not to lead him, but to be directed by him, to Buddha.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIX\n\n~F\u00e2-Hien Passes a Night on Gridhra-k\u00fbta Hill~\n\n\nEntering the valley, and keeping along the mountains on the southeast,\nafter ascending fifteen li, the travellers came to mount Gridhra-k\u00fbta.\nThree li before you reach the top, there is a cavern in the rocks,\nfacing the south, in which Buddha sat in meditation. Thirty paces to the\nnorthwest there is another, where \u00c2nanda was sitting in meditation, when\nthe deva M\u00e2ra Pisuna, having assumed the form of a large vulture, took\nhis place in front of the cavern, and frightened the disciple. Then\nBuddha, by his mysterious, supernatural power, made a cleft in the rock,\nintroduced his hand, and stroked \u00c2nanda's shoulder, so that his fear\nimmediately passed away. The footprints of the bird and the cleft for\nBuddha's hand are still there, and hence comes the name of \"The Hill of\nthe Vulture Cavern.\"\n\nIn front of the cavern there are the places where the four Buddhas sat.\nThere are caverns also of the Arhats, one where each sat and meditated,\namounting to several hundred in all. At the place where in front of his\nrocky apartment Buddha was walking from east to west in meditation, and\nDevadatta, from among the beetling cliffs on the north of the mountain,\nthrew a rock across, and hurt Buddha's toes, the rock is still there.\n\nThe hall where Buddha preached his Law has been destroyed, and only the\nfoundations of the brick walls remain. On this hill the peak is\nbeautifully green, and rises grandly up; it is the highest of all the\nfive hills. In the New City F\u00e2-hien bought incense-sticks, flowers, oil\nand lamps, and hired two bhikshus, long resident at the place, to carry\nthem to the peak. When he himself got to it, he made his offerings with\nthe flowers and incense, and lighted the lamps when the darkness began\nto come on. He felt melancholy, but restrained his tears and said, \"Here\nBuddha delivered the S\u00fbr\u00e2ngama S\u00fbtra. I, F\u00e2-hien, was born when I could\nnot meet with Buddha; and now I only see the footprints which he has\nleft, and the place where he lived, and nothing more.\" With this, in\nfront of the rock cavern, he chanted the S\u00fbr\u00e2ngama S\u00fbtra, remained there\nover the night, and then returned towards the New City.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXX\n\n~Srataparna Cave, or Cave of the First Council~\n\n\nOut from the old city, after walking over three hundred paces, on the\nwest of the road, the travellers found the Karanda Bamboo garden, where\nthe old vih\u00e2ra is still in existence, with a company of monks, who keep\nthe ground about it swept and watered.\n\nNorth of the vih\u00e2ra two or three li there was the Smas\u00e2nam, which name\nmeans in Chinese \"the field of graves into which the dead are thrown.\"\n\nAs they kept along the mountain on the south, and went west for three\nhundred paces, they found a dwelling among the rocks, named the Pippala\ncave, in which Buddha regularly sat in meditation after taking his\nmid-day meal.\n\nGoing on still to the west for five or six li, on the north of the hill,\nin the shade, they found the cavern called Srataparna, [1] the place\nwhere, after the nirv\u00e2na of Buddha, five hundred Arhats collected the\nS\u00fbtras. When they brought the S\u00fbtras forth, three lofty seats had been\nprepared and grandly ornamented. S\u00e2riputtra occupied the one on the\nleft, and Maudgaly\u00e2yana that on the right. Of the number of five hundred\none was wanting. Mah\u00e2kasyapa was president on the middle seat. \u00c2nanda\nwas then outside the door, and could not get in. At the place there was\nsubsequently raised a tope, which is still existing.\n\nAlong the sides of the hill, there are also a very great many cells\namong the rocks, where the various Arhans sat and meditated. As you\nleave the old city on the north, and go down east for three li, there is\nthe rock dwelling of Devadatta, and at a distance of fifty paces from it\nthere is a large, square, black rock. Formerly there was a bhikshu, who,\nas he walked backwards and forwards upon it, thought with\nhimself:--\"This body is impermanent, a thing of bitterness and vanity,\nand which cannot be looked on as pure. I am weary of this body, and\ntroubled by it as an evil.\" With this he grasped a knife, and was about\nto kill himself. But he thought again:--\"The World-honored one laid down\na prohibition against one's killing himself.\" [2] Further it occurred to\nhim:--\"Yes, he did; but I now only wish to kill three poisonous\nthieves.\" Immediately with the knife he cut his throat. With the first\ngash into the flesh he attained the state of a Srot\u00e2panna; when he had\ngone half through, he attained to be an An\u00e2g\u00e2min; and when he had cut\nright through, he was an Arhat, and attained to pari-nirv\u00e2na, and died.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: A very great place in the annals of Buddhism. The Council\nin the Srataparna cave did not come together fortuitously, but appears\nto have been convoked by the older members to settle the rules and\ndoctrines of the order. The cave was prepared for the occasion by king\nAj\u00e2tasatru.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Buddha made a law forbidding the monks to commit suicide.\nHe prohibited any one from discoursing on the miseries of life in such a\nmanner as to cause desperation.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXI\n\n~S\u00e2kyamuni's Attaining to the Buddhaship~\n\n\nFrom this place, after travelling to the west for four yojanas, the\npilgrims came to the city of Gay\u00e2; but inside the city all was emptiness\nand desolation. Going on again to the south for twenty li, they arrived\nat the place where the Bodhisattva for six years practised with himself\npainful austerities. All around was forest.\n\nThree li west from here they came to the place where, when Buddha had\ngone into the water to bathe, a deva bent down the branch of a tree, by\nmeans of which he succeeded in getting out of the pool.\n\nTwo li north from this was the place where the Gr\u00e2mika girls presented\nto Buddha the rice-gruel made with milk; and two li north from this was\nthe place where, seated on a rock under a great tree, and facing the\neast, he ate the gruel. The tree and the rock are there at the present\nday. The rock may be six cubits in breadth and length, and rather more\nthan two cubits in height. In Central India the cold and heat are so\nequally tempered that trees live for several thousand and even for ten\nthousand years.\n\nHalf a yojana from this place to the northeast there was a cavern in the\nrocks, into which the Bodhisattva entered, and sat cross-legged with his\nface to the west. As he did so, he said to himself, \"If I am to attain\nto perfect wisdom and become Buddha, let there be a supernatural\nattestation of it.\" On the wall of the rock there appeared immediately\nthe shadow of a Buddha, rather more than three feet in length, which is\nstill bright at the present day. At this moment heaven and earth were\ngreatly moved, and devas in the air spoke plainly, \"This is not the\nplace where any Buddha of the past, or he that is to come, has attained,\nor will attain, to perfect Wisdom. Less than half a yojana from this to\nthe southwest will bring you to the patra tree, where all past Buddhas\nhave attained, and all to come must attain, to perfect Wisdom.\" When\nthey had spoken these words, they immediately led the way forward to the\nplace, singing as they did so. As they thus went away, the Bodhisattva\narose and walked after them. At a distance of thirty paces from the\ntree, a deva gave him the grass of lucky omen, which he received and\nwent on. After he had proceeded fifteen paces, five hundred green birds\ncame flying towards him, went round him thrice, and disappeared. The\nBodhisattva went forward to the patra tree, placed the kusa grass at the\nfoot of it, and sat down with his face to the east. Then king M\u00e2ra sent\nthree beautiful young ladies, who came from the north, to tempt him,\nwhile he himself came from the south to do the same. The Bodhisattva put\nhis toes down on the ground, and the demon soldiers retired and\ndispersed, and the three young ladies were changed into old\ngrandmothers.\n\nAt the place mentioned above of the six years' painful austerities, and\nat all these other places, men subsequently reared topes and set up\nimages, which all exist at the present day.\n\nWhere Buddha, after attaining to perfect Wisdom, for seven days\ncontemplated the tree, and experienced the joy of vimukti; where, under\nthe patra tree, he walked to and fro from west to east for seven days;\nwhere the devas made a hall appear, composed of the seven precious\nsubstances, and presented offerings to him for seven days; where the\nblind dragon Muchilinda [1] encircled him for seven days; where he sat\nunder the nyagrodha tree, on a square rock, with his face to the east,\nand Brahma-deva came and made his request to him; where the four deva\nkings brought to him their alms-bowls; where the five hundred merchants\npresented to him the roasted flour and honey; and where he converted the\nbrothers Kasyapa and their thousand disciples;--at all these places\ntopes were reared.\n\nAt the place where Buddha attained to perfect Wisdom, there are three\nmonasteries, in all of which there are monks residing. The families of\ntheir people around supply the societies of these monks with an abundant\nsufficiency of what they require, so that there is no lack or stint. The\ndisciplinary rules are strictly observed by them. The laws regulating\ntheir demeanor in sitting, rising, and entering when the others are\nassembled, are those which have been practised by all the saints since\nBuddha was in the world down to the present day. The places of the four\ngreat topes have been fixed, and handed down without break, since Buddha\nattained to nirv\u00e2na. Those four great topes are those at the places\nwhere Buddha was born; where he attained to Wisdom; where he began to\nmove the wheel of his Law; and where he attained to pari-nirv\u00e2na.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: Called also Maha, or the Great Muchilinda. Eitel says: \"A\nnaga king, the tutelary deity of a lake near which Sakyamuni once sat\nfor seven days absorbed in meditation, whilst the king guarded him.\" The\naccount in \"The Life of the Buddha\" is:--\"Buddha went to where\nlived the naga king Muchilinda, and he, wishing to preserve him from the\nsun and rain, wrapped his body seven times round him, and spread out his\nhood over his head; and there he remained seven days in thought.\"]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXII\n\n~Legend of King Asoka in a Former Birth~\n\n\nWhen king Asoka, in a former birth, was a little boy and playing on the\nroad, he met Kasyapa Buddha walking. The stranger begged food, and the\nboy pleasantly took a handful of earth and gave it to him. The Buddha\ntook the earth, and returned it to the ground on which he was walking;\nbut because of this the boy received the recompense of becoming a king\nof the iron wheel, to rule over Jambudv\u00eepa. Once when he was making a\njudicial tour of inspection through Jambudv\u00eepa, he saw, between the iron\ncircuit of the two hills, a naraka for the punishment of wicked men.\nHaving thereupon asked his ministers what sort of a thing it was, they\nreplied, \"It belongs to Yama, [1] king of demons, for punishing wicked\npeople.\" The king thought within himself:--\"Even the king of demons is\nable to make a naraka in which to deal with wicked men; why should not\nI, who am the lord of men, make a naraka in which to deal with wicked\nmen?\" He forthwith asked his ministers who could make for him a naraka\nand preside over the punishment of wicked people in it. They replied\nthat it was only a man of extreme wickedness who could make it; and the\nking thereupon sent officers to seek everywhere for such a bad man; and\nthey saw by the side of a pond a man tall and strong, with a black\ncountenance, yellow hair, and green eyes, hooking up the fish with his\nfeet, while he called to him birds and beasts, and, when they came, then\nshot and killed them, so that not one escaped. Having got this man, they\ntook him to the king, who secretly charged him, \"You must make a square\nenclosure with high walls. Plant in it all kinds of flowers and fruits;\nmake good ponds in it for bathing; make it grand and imposing in every\nway, so that men shall look to it with thirsting desire; make its gates\nstrong and sure; and when any one enters, instantly seize him and punish\nhim as a sinner, not allowing him to get out. Even if I should enter,\npunish me as a sinner in the same way, and do not let me go. I now\nappoint you master of that naraka.\"\n\nSoon after this a bhikshu, pursuing his regular course of begging his\nfood, entered the gate of the place. When the lictors of the naraka saw\nhim, they were about to subject him to their tortures; but he,\nfrightened, begged them to allow him a moment in which to eat his\nmid-day meal. Immediately after, there came in another man, whom they\nthrust into a mortar and pounded till a red froth overflowed. As the\nbhikshu looked on, there came to him the thought of the impermanence,\nthe painful suffering and inanity of this body, and how it is but as a\nbubble and as foam; and instantly he attained to Arhatship. Immediately\nafter, the lictors seized him, and threw him into a caldron of boiling\nwater. There was a look of joyful satisfaction, however, in the\nbhikshu's countenance. The fire was extinguished, and the water became\ncold. In the middle of the caldron there rose up a lotus flower, with\nthe bhikshu seated on it. The lictors at once went and reported to the\nking that there was a marvellous occurrence in the naraka, and wished\nhim to go and see it; but the king said, \"I formerly made such an\nagreement that now I dare not go to the place.\" The lictors said, \"This\nis not a small matter. Your Majesty ought to go quickly. Let your former\nagreement be altered.\" The king thereupon followed them, and entered the\nnaraka, when the bhikshu preached the Law to him, and he believed, and\nwas made free. Forthwith he demolished the naraka, and repented of all\nthe evil which he had formerly done. From this time he believed in and\nhonored the Three Precious Ones, and constantly went to a patra tree,\nrepenting under it, with self-reproach, of his errors, and accepting the\neight rules of abstinence.\n\nThe queen asked where the king was constantly going to, and the\nministers replied that he was constantly to be seen under such and such\na patra tree. She watched for a time when the king was not there, and\nthen sent men to cut the tree down. When the king came, and saw what had\nbeen done, he swooned away with sorrow, and fell to the ground. His\nministers sprinkled water on his face, and after a considerable time he\nrevived. He then built all round the stump with bricks, and poured a\nhundred pitchers of cows' milk on the roots; and as he lay with his four\nlimbs spread out on the ground, he took this oath, \"If the tree do not\nlive, I will never rise from this.\" When he had uttered this oath, the\ntree immediately began to grow from the roots, and it has continued to\ngrow till now, when it is nearly one hundred cubits in height.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: Yama was originally the \u00c2ryan god of the dead, living in a\nheaven above the world, the regent of the south; but Brahmanism\ntransferred his abode to hell. Both views have been retained by\nBuddhism. The Yama of the text is the \"regent of the narakas, residing\nsouth of Jambudv\u00eepa, outside the Chakrav\u00e2las (the double circuit of\nmountains above), in a palace built of brass and iron. He has a sister\nwho controls all the female culprits, as he exclusively deals with the\nmale sex. Three times, however, in every twenty-four hours, a demon\npours boiling copper into Yama's mouth, and squeezes it down his throat,\ncausing him unspeakable pain.\" Such, however, is the wonderful\n\"transrotation of births,\" that when Yama's sins have been expiated, he\nis to be reborn as Buddha, under the name of \"The Universal King.\"]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIII\n\n~Kasyapa Buddha's Skeleton on Mount Gurupada~\n\n\nThe travellers, going on from this three li to the south, came to a\nmountain named Gurupada, inside which Mah\u00e2kasyapa even now is. He made a\ncleft, and went down into it, though the place where he entered would\nnot now admit a man. Having gone down very far, there was a hole on one\nside, and there the complete body of Kasyapa still abides. Outside the\nhole at which he entered is the earth with which he had washed his\nhands. If the people living thereabouts have a sore on their heads, they\nplaster on it some of the earth from this, and feel immediately easier.\nOn this mountain, now as of old, there are Arhats abiding. Devotees of\nour Law from the various countries in that quarter go year by year to\nthe mountain, and present offerings to Kasyapa; and to those whose\nhearts are strong in faith there come Arhats at night, and talk with\nthem, discussing and explaining their doubts, and disappearing suddenly\nafterwards.\n\nOn this hill hazels grow luxuriantly; and there are many lions, tigers,\nand wolves, so that people should not travel incautiously.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIV\n\n~On the Way Returning to Patna~\n\n\nF\u00e2-Hien returned from here towards P\u00e2taliputtra, keeping along the\ncourse of the Ganges and descending in the direction of the west. After\ngoing ten yojanas he found a vih\u00e2ra, named \"The Wilderness\"--a place\nwhere Buddha had dwelt, and where there are monks now.\n\nPursuing the same course, and going still to the west, he arrived, after\ntwelve yojanas, at the city of V\u00e2r\u00e2nas\u00ee in the kingdom of K\u00e2s\u00ee. Rather\nmore than ten li to the northeast of the city, he found the vih\u00e2ra in\nthe park of \"The rishi's Deer-wild.\" [1] In this park there formerly\nresided a Pratyeka Buddha, with whom the deer were regularly in the\nhabit of stopping for the night. When the World-honored one was about to\nattain to perfect Wisdom, the devas sang in the sky, \"The son of king\nSuddhodana, having quitted his family and studied the Path of Wisdom,\nwill now in seven days become Buddha.\" The Pratyeka Buddha heard their\nwords, and immediately attained to nirv\u00e2na; and hence this place was\nnamed \"The Park of the rishi's Deer-wild.\" After the World-honored one\nhad attained to perfect Wisdom, men built the vih\u00e2ra in it.\n\nBuddha wished to convert Kaundinya and his four companions; but they,\nbeing aware of his intention, said to one another, \"This Sramana Gotama\n[2] for six years continued in the practice of painful austerities,\neating daily only a single hemp-seed, and one grain of rice, without\nattaining to the Path of Wisdom; how much less will he do so now that he\nhas entered again among men, and is giving the reins to the indulgence\nof his body, his speech, and his thoughts! What has he to do with the Path\nof Wisdom? To-day, when he comes to us, let us be on our guard not to\nspeak with him.\" At the places where the five men all rose up, and\nrespectfully saluted Buddha, when he came to them; where, sixty paces\nnorth from this, he sat with his face to the east, and first turned the\nwheel of the Law, converting Kaundinya and the four others; where,\ntwenty paces further to the north, he delivered his prophecy concerning\nMaitreya; and where, at a distance of fifty paces to the south, the\ndragon El\u00e2pattra asked him, \"When shall I get free from this n\u00e2ga\nbody?\"--at all these places topes were reared, and are still existing.\nIn the park there are two monasteries, in both of which there are monks\nresiding.\n\nWhen you go northwest from the vih\u00e2ra of the Deer-wild park for thirteen\nyojanas, there is a kingdom named Kaus\u00e2mbi. Its vih\u00e2ra is named\nGhochiravana--a place where Buddha formerly resided. Now, as of old,\nthere is a company of monks there, most of whom are students of the\nh\u00eenay\u00e2na.\n\nEast from this, when you have travelled eight yojanas, is the place\nwhere Buddha converted the evil demon. There, and where he walked in\nmeditation and sat at the place which was his regular abode, there have\nbeen topes erected. There is also a monastery, which may contain more\nthan a hundred monks.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: \"The rishi,\" says Eitel, \"is a man whose bodily frame has\nundergone a certain transformation by dint of meditation and asceticism,\nso that he is, for an indefinite period, exempt from decrepitude, age,\nand death. As this period is believed to extend far beyond the usual\nduration of human life, such persons are called, and popularly believed\nto be, immortals.\" Rishis are divided into various classes; and\nrishi-ism is spoken of as a seventh path of transrotation, and rishis\nare referred to as the seventh class of sentient beings.]\n\n[Footnote 2: This is the only instance in F\u00e2-hien's text where the\nBodhisattva or Buddha is called by the surname \"Gotama.\" For the most\npart our traveller uses Buddha as a proper name, though it properly\nmeans \"The Enlightened.\" He uses also the combinations \"S\u00e2kya Buddha,\"\nwhich means \"The Buddha of the S\u00e2kya tribe,\" and \"S\u00e2kyamuni,\" which\nmeans \"The S\u00e2kya sage.\" This last is the most common designation of the\nBuddha in China. Among other Buddhistic peoples \"Gotama\" and \"Gotama\nBuddha\" are the more frequent designations.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXV\n\n~Dakshina, and the Pigeon Monastery~\n\n\nSouth from this two hundred yojanas, there is a country named Dakshina,\nwhere there is a monastery dedicated to the by-gone Kasyapa Buddha, and\nwhich has been hewn out from a large hill of rock. It consists in all of\nfive stories;--the lowest, having the form of an elephant, with five\nhundred apartments in the rock; the second, having the form of a lion,\nwith four hundred apartments; the third, having the form of a horse,\nwith three hundred apartments; the fourth, having the form of an ox,\nwith two hundred apartments; and the fifth, having the form of a pigeon,\nwith one hundred apartments. At the very top there is a spring, the\nwater of which, always in front of the apartments in the rock, goes\nround among the rooms, now circling, now curving, till in this way it\narrives at the lowest story, having followed the shape of the structure,\nand flows out there at the door. Everywhere in the apartments of the\nmonks, the rock has been pierced so as to form windows for the admission\nof light, so that they are all bright, without any being left in\ndarkness. At the four corners of the tiers of apartments, the rock has\nbeen hewn so as to form steps for ascending to the top of each. The men\nof the present day, being of small size, and going up step by step,\nmanage to get to the top; but in a former age they did so at one step.\nBecause of this, the monastery is called Paravata, that being the Indian\nname for a pigeon. There are always Arhats residing in it.\n\nThe country about is a tract of uncultivated hillocks, without\ninhabitants. At a very long distance from the hill there are villages,\nwhere the people all have bad and erroneous views, and do not know the\nSramanas of the Law of Buddha, Brahmanas, or devotees of any of the\nother and different schools. The people of that country are constantly\nseeing men on the wing, who come and enter this monastery. On one\noccasion, when devotees of various countries came to perform their\nworship at it, the people of those villages said to them, \"Why do you\nnot fly? The devotees whom we have seen hereabouts all fly\"; and the\nstrangers answered, on the spur of the moment, \"Our wings are not yet\nfully formed.\"\n\nThe kingdom of Dakshina is out of the way, and perilous to traverse.\nThere are difficulties in connection with the roads; but those who know\nhow to manage such difficulties and wish to proceed should bring with\nthem money and various articles, and give them to the king. He will then\nsend men to escort them. These will, at different stages, pass them over\nto others, who will show them the shortest routes. F\u00e2-hien, however, was\nafter all unable to go there; but having received the above accounts\nfrom men of the country, he has narrated them.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXVI\n\n~F\u00e2-Hien's Indian Studies~\n\n\nFrom V\u00e2r\u00e2nas\u00ee the travellers went back east to P\u00e2taliputtra. F\u00e2-hien's\noriginal object had been to search for copies of the Vinaya. In the\nvarious kingdoms of North India, however, he had found one master\ntransmitting orally the rules to another, but no written copies which he\ncould transcribe. He had therefore travelled far and come on to Central\nIndia. Here, in the mah\u00e2y\u00e2na monastery, he found a copy of the Vinaya,\ncontaining the Mah\u00e2s\u00e2nghik\u00e2 [1] rules--those which were observed in the\nfirst Great Council, while Buddha was still in the world. The original\ncopy was handed down in the Jetavana vih\u00e2ra. As to the other eighteen\nschools, each one has the views and decisions of its own masters. Those\nagree with this in the general meaning, but they have small and trivial\ndifferences, as when one opens and another shuts. This copy of the\nrules, however, is the most complete, with the fullest explanations. [2]\n\nHe further got a transcript of the rules in six or seven thousand\ng\u00e2thas, [3] being the sarv\u00e2stiv\u00e2d\u00e2h [4] rules--those which are observed\nby the communities of monks in the land of Ts'in; which also have all\nbeen handed down orally from master to master without being committed to\nwriting. In the community here, moreover, he got the\nSamyukt\u00e2bhi-dharma-hridaya-s\u00e2stra, containing about six or seven\nthousand g\u00e2thas; he also got a S\u00fbtra of two thousand five hundred\ng\u00e2thas; one chapter of the Pari-nirv\u00e2na-vaipulya S\u00fbtra, of about five\nthousand g\u00e2thas; and the Mah\u00e2s\u00e2nghik\u00e2 Abhidharma.\n\nIn consequence of this success in his quest F\u00e2-hien stayed here for\nthree years, learning Sanscrit books and the Sanscrit speech, and\nwriting out, the Vinaya rules. When T\u00e2o-ching arrived in the Central\nKingdom, and saw the rules observed by the Sramanas, and the dignified\ndemeanor in their societies which he remarked under all occurring\ncircumstances, he sadly called to mind in what a mutilated and imperfect\ncondition the rules were among the monkish communities in the land of\nTs'in, and made the following aspiration: \"From this time forth till I\ncome to the state of Buddha, let me not be born in a frontier-land.\" He\nremained accordingly in India, and did not return to the land of Han.\nF\u00e2-hien, however, whose original purpose had been to secure the\nintroduction of the complete Vinaya rules into the land of Han, returned\nthere alone.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: Mah\u00e2s\u00e2nghik\u00e2 simply means \"the Great Assembly,\" that is, of\nmonks.]\n\n[Footnote 2: It was afterwards translated by F\u00e2-hien into Chinese.]\n\n[Footnote 3: A g\u00e2tha is a stanza, generally consisting of a few,\ncommonly of two, lines somewhat metrically arranged.]\n\n[Footnote 4: \"A branch,\" says Eitel, \"of the great vaibh\u00e2shika school,\nasserting the reality of all visible phenomena, and claiming the\nauthority of R\u00e2hula.\"]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXVII\n\n~F\u00e2-hien's Stay in Champ\u00e2 and T\u00e2malipt\u00ee~\n\n\nFollowing the course of the Ganges, and descending eastward for eighteen\nyojanas, he found on the southern bank the great kingdom of Champ\u00e2, with\ntopes reared at the places where Buddha walked in meditation by his\nvih\u00e2ra, and where he and the three Buddhas, his predecessors, sat. There\nwere monks residing at them all. Continuing his journey east for nearly\nfifty yojanas, he came to the country of T\u00e2malipt\u00ee, the capital of which\nis a seaport. In the country there are twenty-two monasteries, at all of\nwhich there are monks residing. The Law of Buddha is also flourishing in\nit. Here F\u00e2-hien stayed two years, writing out his S\u00fbtras, and drawing\npictures of images.\n\nAfter this he embarked in a large merchant-vessel, and went floating\nover the sea to the southwest. It was the beginning of winter, and the\nwind was favorable; and, after fourteen days, sailing day and night,\nthey came to the country of Singhala. The people said that it was\ndistant from T\u00e2malipt\u00ee about seven hundred yojanas.\n\nThe kingdom is on a large island, extending from east to west fifty\nyojanas, and from north to south thirty. Left and right from it there\nare as many as one hundred small islands, distant from one another ten,\ntwenty, or even two hundred li; but all subject to the large island.\nMost of them produce pearls and precious stones of various kinds; there\nis one which produces the pure and brilliant pearl--an island which\nwould form a square of about ten li. The king employs men to watch and\nprotect it, and requires three out of every ten pearls which the\ncollectors find.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXVIII\n\n~At Ceylon--Feats of Buddha--His Statue in Jade~\n\n\nThe country originally had no human inhabitants, but was occupied only\nby spirits and n\u00e2gas, with which merchants of various countries carried\non a trade. When the trafficking was taking place, the spirits did not\nshow themselves. They simply set forth their precious commodities, with\nlabels of the price attached to them; while the merchants made their\npurchases according to the price; and took the things away.\n\nThrough the coming and going of the merchants in this way, when they\nwent away, the people of their various countries heard how pleasant the\nland was, and flocked to it in numbers till it became a great nation.\nThe climate is temperate and attractive, without any difference of\nsummer and winter. The vegetation is always luxuriant. Cultivation\nproceeds whenever men think fit: there are no fixed seasons for it.\n\nWhen Buddha came to this country, wishing to transform the wicked n\u00e2gas\nby his supernatural power, he planted one foot at the north of the royal\ncity, and the other on the top of a mountain, [1] the two being fifteen\nyojanas apart. Over the footprint at the north of the city the king\nbuilt a large tope, four hundred cubits high, grandly adorned with gold\nand silver, and finished with a combination of all the precious\nsubstances. By the side of the tope he further built a monastery, called\nthe Abhayagiri, where there are now five thousand monks. There is in it\na hall of Buddha, adorned with carved and inlaid work of gold and\nsilver, and rich in the seven precious substances, in which there is an\nimage of Buddha in green jade, more than twenty cubits in height,\nglittering all over with those substances, and having an appearance of\nsolemn dignity which words cannot express. In the palm of the right hand\nthere is a priceless pearl. Several years had now elapsed since F\u00e2-hien\nleft the land of Han; the men with whom he had been in intercourse had\nall been of regions strange to him; his eyes had not rested on an old\nand familiar hill or river, plant or tree: his fellow-travellers,\nmoreover, had been separated from him, some by death, and others flowing\noff in different directions; no face or shadow was now with him but his\nown, and a constant sadness was in his heart. Suddenly one day, when by\nthe side of this image of jade, he saw a merchant presenting as his\noffering a fan of white silk; [2] and the tears of sorrow involuntarily\nfilled his eyes and fell down.\n\nA former king of the country had sent to Central India and got a slip of\nthe patra tree, which he planted by the side of the hall of Buddha,\nwhere a tree grew up to the height of about two hundred cubits. As it\nbent on one side towards the southeast, the king, fearing it would fall,\npropped it with a post eight or nine spans around. The tree began to\ngrow at the very heart of the prop, where it met the trunk; a shoot\npierced through the post, and went down to the ground, where it entered\nand formed roots, that rose to the surface and were about four spans\nround. Although the post was split in the middle, the outer portions\nkept hold of the shoot, and people did not remove them. Beneath the tree\nthere has been built a vih\u00e2ra, in which there is an image of Buddha\nseated, which the monks and commonalty reverence and look up to without\never becoming wearied. In the city there has been reared also the vih\u00e2ra\nof Buddha's tooth, in which, as well as on the other, the seven precious\nsubstances have been employed.\n\nThe king practises the Brahmanical purifications, and the sincerity of\nthe faith and reverence of the population inside the city are also\ngreat. Since the establishment of government in the kingdom there has\nbeen no famine or scarcity, no revolution or disorder. In the treasuries\nof the monkish communities there are many precious stones, and the\npriceless manis. One of the kings once entered one of those treasuries,\nand when he looked all round and saw the priceless pearls, his covetous\ngreed was excited, and he wished to take them to himself by force. In\nthree days, however, he came to himself, and immediately went and bowed\nhis head to the ground in the midst of the monks, to show his repentance\nof the evil thought. As a sequel to this, he informed the monks of what\nhad been in his mind, and desired them to make a regulation that from\nthat day forth the king should not be allowed to enter the treasury and\nsee what it contained, and that no bhikshu should enter it till after he\nhad been in orders for a period of full forty years.\n\nIn the city there are many Vaisya elders and Sabaean merchants, whose\nhouses are stately and beautiful. The lanes and passages are kept in\ngood order. At the heads of the four principal streets there have been\nbuilt preaching halls, where, on the eighth, fourteenth, and fifteenth\ndays of the month, they spread carpets, and set forth a pulpit, while\nthe monks and commonalty from all quarters come together to hear the\nLaw. The people say that in the kingdom there may be altogether sixty\nthousand monks, who get their food from their common stores. The king,\nbesides, prepares elsewhere in the city a common supply of food for five\nor six thousand more. When any want, they take their great bowls, and go\nto the place of distribution, and take as much as the vessels will hold,\nall returning with them full.\n\nThe tooth of Buddha is always brought forth in the middle of the third\nmonth. Ten days beforehand the king grandly caparisons a large elephant,\non which he mounts a man who can speak distinctly, and is dressed in\nroyal robes, to beat a large drum, and make the following proclamation:\n\"The Bodhisattva, during three Asankhyeya-kalpas, [3] manifested his\nactivity, and did not spare his own life. He gave up kingdom, city,\nwife, and son; he plucked out his eyes and gave them to another; he cut\noff a piece of his flesh to ransom the life of a dove; he cut off his\nhead and gave it as an alms; he gave his body to feed a starving\ntigress; he grudged not his marrow and brains. In many such ways as\nthese did he undergo pain for the sake of all living. And so it was,\nthat, having become Buddha, he continued in the world for forty-five\nyears, preaching his Law, teaching and transforming, so that those who\nhad no rest found rest, and the unconverted were converted. When his\nconnection with the living was completed, he attained to pari-nirvana\nand died. Since that event, for one thousand four hundred and\nninety-seven years, the light of the world has gone out, and all living\nthings have had long-continued sadness. Behold! ten days after this,\nBuddha's tooth will be brought forth, and taken to the Abhayagiri\n-vih\u00e2ra. Let all and each, whether monks or laics, who wish to amass\nmerit for themselves, make the roads smooth and in good condition,\ngrandly adorn the lanes and by-ways, and provide abundant store of\nflowers and incense to be used as offerings to it.\"\n\nWhen this proclamation is over, the king exhibits, so as to line both\nsides of the road, the five hundred different bodily forms in which the\nBodhisattva has in the course of his history appeared:--here as Sud\u00e2na,\nthere as S\u00e2ma; now as the king of elephants, and then as a stag or a\nhorse. All these figures are brightly colored and grandly executed,\nlooking as if they were alive. After this the tooth of Buddha is brought\nforth, and is carried along in the middle of the road. Everywhere on the\nway offerings are presented to it, and thus it arrives at the hall of\nBuddha in the Abhayagiri-vih\u00e2ra. There monks and laics are collected in\ncrowds. They burn incense, light lamps, and perform all the prescribed\nservices, day and night without ceasing, till ninety days have been\ncompleted, when the tooth is returned to the vih\u00e2ra within the city. On\nfast-days the door of that vih\u00e2ra is opened, and the forms of ceremonial\nreverence are observed according to the rules.\n\nForty li to the east of the Abhayagiri-vih\u00e2ra there is a hill, with a\nvih\u00e2ra on it, called the Chaitya, where there may be two thousand monks.\nAmong them there is a Sramana of great virtue, named Dharma-gupta,\nhonored and looked up to by all the kingdom. He has lived for more than\nforty years in an apartment of stone, constantly showing such gentleness\nof heart, that he has brought snakes and rats to stop together in the\nsame room, without doing one another any harm.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: This would be what is known as \"Adam's peak,\" having,\naccording to Hardy, the three names of Selesumano, Samastak\u00fbta, and\nSamanila. There is an indentation on the top of it, a superficial\nhollow, 5 feet 3 3/4 inches long, and 2 1/2 feet wide. The Hindus regard\nit as the footprint of Siva; the Mohammedans, as that of Adam; and the\nBuddhists, as in the text--as having been, made by Buddha.]\n\n[Footnote 2: We naturally suppose that the merchant-offerer was a\nChinese, as indeed the Chinese texts say, and the fan such as F\u00e2-hien\nhad seen and used in his native land.]\n\n[Footnote 3: A Kalpa, we have seen, denotes a great period of time; a\nperiod during which a physical universe is formed and destroyed.\nAsankhyeya denotes the highest sum for which a conventional term\nexists--according to Chinese calculations equal to one followed by\nseventeen ciphers; according to Thibetan and Singhalese, equal to one\nfollowed by ninety-seven ciphers. Every Maha-kalpa consists of four\nAsankhye-yakalpas.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIX\n\n~Cremation of an Arhat--Sermon of a Devotee~\n\n\nSouth of the city seven li there is a vih\u00e2ra, called the Mah\u00e2-vih\u00e2ra,\nwhere three thousand monks reside. There had been among them a Sramana,\nof such lofty virtue, and so holy and pure in his observance of the\ndisciplinary rules, that the people all surmised that he was an Arhat.\nWhen he drew near his end, the king came to examine into the point; and\nhaving assembled the monks according to rule, asked whether the bhikshu\nhad attained to the full degree of Wisdom. They answered in the\naffirmative, saying that he was an Arhat. The king accordingly, when he\ndied, buried him after the fashion of an Arhat, as the regular rules\nprescribed. Four or five li east from the vih\u00e2ra there was reared a\ngreat pile of firewood, which might be more than thirty cubits square,\nand the same in height. Near the top were laid sandal, aloe, and other\nkinds of fragrant wood.\n\nOn the four sides of the pile they made steps by which to ascend it.\nWith clean white hair-cloth, almost like silk, they wrapped the body\nround and round. They made a large carriage-frame, in form like our\nfuneral car, but without the dragons and fishes.\n\nAt the time of the cremation, the king and the people, in multitudes\nfrom all quarters, collected together, and presented offerings of\nflowers and incense. While they were following the car to the\nburial-ground, the king himself presented flowers and incense. When this\nwas finished, the car was lifted on the pile, all over which oil of\nsweet basil was poured, and then a light was applied. While the fire was\nblazing, every one, with a reverent heart, pulled off his upper garment,\nand threw it, with his feather-fan and umbrella, from a distance into\nthe midst of the flames, to assist the burning. When the cremation was\nover, they collected and preserved the bones, and proceeded to erect a\ntope. F\u00e2-hien had not arrived in time to see the distinguished Shaman\nalive, and only saw his burial.\n\nAt that time the king, who was a sincere believer in the Law of Buddha\nand wished to build a new vih\u00e2ra for the monks, first convoked a great\nassembly. After giving the monks a meal of rice, and presenting his\nofferings on the occasion, he selected a pair of first-rate oxen, the\nhorns of which were grandly decorated with gold, silver, and the\nprecious substances. A golden plough had been provided, and the king\nhimself turned up a furrow on the four sides of the ground within which\nthe building was to be. He then endowed the community of the monks with\nthe population, fields, and houses, writing the grant on plates of\nmetal, to the effect that from that time onwards, from generation to\ngeneration, no one should venture to annul or alter it.\n\nIn this country F\u00e2-hien heard an Indian devotee, who was reciting a\nS\u00fbtra from the pulpit, say: \"Buddha's alms-bowl was at first in Vais\u00e2l\u00ee,\nand now it is in Gandh\u00e2ra. After so many hundred years (he gave, when\nF\u00e2-hien heard him, the exact number of years, but he has forgotten it),\nit will go to Western Tukh\u00e2ra; after so many hundred years, to Khoten;\nafter so many hundred years, to Kharachar; after so many hundred years,\nto the land of Han; after so many hundred years, it will come to\nSinhala; and after so many hundred years, it will return to Central\nIndia. After that, it will ascend to the Tushita heaven; and when the\nBodhisattva Maitreya sees it, he will say with a sigh, 'The alms-bowl of\nS\u00e2kyamuni Buddha is come'; and with all the devas he will present to it\nflowers and incense for seven days. When these have expired, it will\nreturn to Jambudv\u00eepa, where it will be received by the king of the sea\nn\u00e2gas, and taken into his n\u00e2ga palace. When Maitreya shall be about to\nattain to perfect Wisdom and become Buddha, it will again separate into\nfour bowls, which will return to the top of mount Anna, whence they\ncame. After Maitreya has become Buddha, the four deva kings will again\nthink of the Buddha with their bowls as they did in the case of the\nprevious Buddha. The thousand Buddhas of this Bhadra-kalpa, indeed, will\nall use the same alms-bowl; and when the bowl has disappeared, the Law\nof Buddha will go on gradually to be extinguished. After that extinction\nhas taken place, the life of man will be shortened, till it is only a\nperiod of five years. During this period of a five years' life, rice,\nbutter, and oil will all vanish away, and men will become exceedingly\nwicked. The grass and trees which they lay hold of will change into\nswords and clubs, with which they will hurt, cut, and kill one another.\nThose among them on whom there is blessing will withdraw from society\namong the hills; and when the wicked have exterminated one another, they\nwill again come forth, and say among themselves, 'The men of former\ntimes enjoyed a very great longevity; but through becoming exceedingly\nwicked, and doing all lawless things, the length of our life has been\nshortened and reduced even to five years. Let us now unite together in\nthe practice of what is good, cherishing a gentle and sympathizing\nheart, and carefully cultivating good faith and righteousness. When each\none in this way practises that faith and righteousness, life will go on\nto double its length till it reaches eighty thousand years. When\nMaitreya appears in the world, and begins to turn the wheel of this Law,\nhe will in the first place save those among the disciples of the Law\nleft by the S\u00e2kya who have quitted their families, and those who have\naccepted the three Refuges, undertaken the five Prohibitions and the\neight Abstinences, and given offerings to the Three Precious Ones;\nsecondly and thirdly, he will save those between whom and conversion\nthere is a connection transmitted from the past.'\" [1]\n\nSuch was the discourse, and F\u00e2-hien wished to write it down as a portion\nof doctrine; but the man said, \"This is taken from no S\u00fbtra, it is only\nthe utterance of my own mind.\"\n\n\n[Footnote 1: That is, those whose Karma in the past should be rewarded\nby such conversion in the present.]\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XL\n\n~After Two Years F\u00e2-hien Takes Ship for China~\n\n\nF\u00e2-hien abode in this country two years; and, in addition to his\nacquisitions in Patna, succeeded in getting a copy of the Vinaya-pitaka\nof the Mah\u00ees\u00e2sak\u00e2h school; the D\u00eergh\u00e2gama and Samyukt\u00e2gama S\u00fbtras; and\nalso the Samyukta-sa\u00f1chaya-pitaka;--all being works unknown in the land\nof Han. Having obtained these Sanscrit works, he took passage in a large\nmerchantman, on board of which there were more than two hundred men, and\nto which was attached by a rope a smaller vessel, as a provision against\ndamage or injury to the large one from the perils of the navigation.\nWith a favorable wind, they proceeded eastward for three days, and then\nthey encountered a great wind. The vessel sprang a leak and the water\ncame in. The merchants wished to go to the smaller vessel; but the men\non board it, fearing that too many would come, cut the connecting rope.\nThe merchants were greatly alarmed, feeling their risk of instant death.\nAfraid that the vessel would fill, they took their bulky goods and threw\nthem into the water. F\u00e2-hien also took his pitcher and washing-basin,\nwith some other articles, and cast them into the sea; but fearing that\nthe merchants would cast overboard his books and images, he could only\nthink with all his heart of Kwan-she-yin, and commit his life to the\nprotection of the church of the land of Han, saying in effect, \"I have\ntravelled far in search of our Law. Let me, by your dread and\nsupernatural power, return from my wanderings, and reach my\nresting-place!\"\n\nIn this way the tempest continued day and night, till on the thirteenth\nday the ship was carried to the side of an island, where, on the ebbing\nof the tide, the place of the leak was discovered, and it was stopped,\non which the voyage was resumed. On the sea hereabouts there are many\npirates, to meet with whom is speedy death. The great ocean spreads out,\na boundless expanse. There is no knowing east or west; only by observing\nthe sun, moon, and stars was it possible to go forward. If the weather\nwere dark and rainy, the ship went as she was carried by the wind,\nwithout any definite course. In the darkness of the night, only the\ngreat waves were to be seen, breaking on one another, and emitting a\nbrightness like that of fire, with huge turtles and other monsters of\nthe deep all about. The merchants were full of terror, not knowing where\nthey were going. The sea was deep and bottomless, and there was no place\nwhere they could drop anchor and stop. But when the sky became clear,\nthey could tell east and west, and the ship again went forward in the\nright direction. If she had come on any hidden rock, there would have\nbeen no way of escape.\n\nAfter proceeding in this way for rather more than ninety days, they\narrived at a country called Java-dvipa, where various forms of error and\nBrahmanism are flourishing, while Buddhism in it is not worth speaking\nof. After staying there for five months, F\u00e2-hien again embarked in\nanother large merchantman, which also had on board more than two hundred\nmen. They carried provisions for fifty days, and commenced the voyage on\nthe sixteenth day of the fourth month.\n\nF\u00e2-hien kept his retreat on board the ship. They took a course to the\nnortheast, intending to fetch Kwang-chow. After more than a month, when\nthe night-drum had sounded the second watch, they encountered a black\nwind and tempestuous rain, which threw the merchants and passengers into\nconsternation. F\u00e2-hien again, with all his heart, directed his thoughts\nto Kwan-she-yin and the monkish communities of the land of Han; and,\nthrough their dread and mysterious protection, was preserved to\ndaybreak. After daybreak, the Brahmans deliberated together and said,\n\"It is having this Sramana on board which has occasioned our misfortune\nand brought us this great and bitter suffering. Let us land the bhikshu\nand place him on some island-shore. We must not for the sake of one man\nallow ourselves to be exposed to such imminent peril.\" A patron of\nF\u00e2-hien, however, said to them, \"If you land the bhikshu, you must at\nthe same time land me; and if you do not, then you must kill me. If you\nland this Sramana, when I get to the land of Han, I will go to the king,\nand inform against you. The king also reveres and believes the Law of\nBuddha, and honors the bhikshus.\" The merchants hereupon were perplexed,\nand did not dare immediately to land F\u00e2-hien.\n\nAt this time the sky continued very dark and gloomy, and the\nsailing-masters looked at one another and made mistakes. More than\nseventy days passed from their leaving Java, and the provisions and\nwater were nearly exhausted. They used the salt-water of the sea for\ncooking, and carefully divided the fresh water, each man getting two\npints. Soon the whole was nearly gone, and the merchants took counsel\nand said, \"At the ordinary rate of sailing we ought to have reached\nKwang-chow, and now the time is passed by many days;--must we not have\nheld a wrong course?\" Immediately they directed the ship to the\nnorthwest, looking out for land; and after sailing day and night for\ntwelve days, they reached the shore on the south of mount Lao, on the\nborders of the prefecture of Ch'ang-kwang, and immediately got good\nwater and vegetables. They had passed through many perils and hardships,\nand had been in a state of anxious apprehension for many days together;\nand now suddenly arriving at this shore, and seeing those well-known\nvegetables, the lei and kwoh, [1] they knew indeed that it was the land\nof Han. Not seeing, however, any inhabitants nor any traces of them,\nthey did not know whereabouts they were. Some said that they had not yet\ngot to Kwang-chow, and others that they had passed it. Unable to come to\na definite conclusion, some of them got into a small boat and entered a\ncreek, to look for someone of whom they might ask what the place was.\nThey found two hunters, whom they brought back with them, and then\ncalled on F\u00e2-hien to act as interpreter and question them. F\u00e2-hien first\nspoke assuringly to them, and then slowly and distinctly asked them,\n\"Who are you?\" They replied, \"We are disciples of Buddha.\" He then\nasked, \"What are you looking for among these hills?\" They began to\nlie,[2] and said, \"To-morrow is the fifteenth day of the seventh month.\nWe wanted to get some peaches to present to Buddha.\" He asked further,\n\"What country is this?\" They replied, \"This is the border of the\nprefecture of Ch'ang-kwang, a part of Ts'ing-chow under the ruling House\nof Ts'in.\" When they heard this, the merchants were glad, immediately\nasked for a portion of their money and goods, and sent men to\nCh'ang-kwang city.\n\nThe prefect Le E was a reverent believer in the Law of Buddha. When he\nheard that a Sramana had arrived in a ship across the sea, bringing with\nhim books and images, he immediately came to the sea-shore with an\nescort to meet the traveller, and receive the books and images, and took\nthem back with him to the seat of his government. On this the merchants\nwent back in the direction of Yang-chow; but when F\u00e2-hien arrived at\nTs'ing-chow, the prefect there begged him to remain with him for a\nwinter and a summer. After the summer retreat was ended, F\u00e2-hien, having\nbeen separated for a long time from his fellows, wished to hurry to\nCh'ang-gan; but as the business which he had in hand was important, he\nwent south to the Capital; and at an interview with the masters there\nexhibited the S\u00fbtras and the collection of the Vinaya which he had\nprocured.\n\nAfter F\u00e2-hien set out from Ch'ang-gan, it took him six years to reach\nCentral India; stoppages there extended over six years; and on his\nreturn it took him three years to reach Ts'ing-chow. The countries\nthrough which he passed were a few under thirty. From the sandy desert\nwestwards on to India, the beauty of the dignified demeanor of the\nmonkhood and of the transforming influence of the Law was beyond the\npower of language fully to describe; and reflecting how our masters had\nnot heard any complete account of them, he therefore went on without\nregarding his own poor life, or the dangers to be encountered on the sea\nupon his return, thus incurring hardships and difficulties in a double\nform. He was fortunate enough, through the dread power of the three\nHonored Ones, to receive help and protection in his perils; and\ntherefore he wrote out an account of his experiences, that worthy\nreaders might share with him in what he had heard and said.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: What these vegetables exactly were it is difficult to say;\nand there are different readings of the characters for kwoh, brings the\ntwo names together in a phrase, but the rendering of it is simply \"a\nsoup of simples.\"]\n\n[Footnote 2: It is likely that these men were really hunters; and, when\nbrought before F\u00e2-hien, because he was a Sramana, they thought they\nwould please him by saying they were disciples of Buddha. But what had\ndisciples of Buddha to do with hunting and taking life? They were caught\nin their own trap, and said they were looking for peaches.]\n\n\n\n\n\n~THE SORROWS OF HAN~\n\n\n[Translated into English by John Francis Davis]\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\n\n\"The Sorrows of Han\" is considered by Chinese scholars to be one of the\nlargest tragedies in the whole range of the Chinese drama, which is very\nvoluminous. Although, properly speaking, there are no theatres in China,\nthe Chinese are passionately fond of dramatic representations. Chinese\nacting is much admired and praised by travellers who are competent to\nfollow the dialogue. The stage is generally a temporary erection\nimprovised in a market-place, and the stage arrangements are of the most\nprimitive character; no scenery is employed, and the actors introduce\nthemselves in a sort of prologue, in which they state the name and\ncharacter they represent in the drama. They also indicate the place\nwhere they are in the story, or the house which they have entered. Yet\nthe Chinese stage has many points in common with that of Ancient Greece.\nIt is supported and controlled by government, and has something of a\nreligious and national character, being particularly employed for\npopular amusement in the celebration of religious festivals. Only two\nactors are allowed to occupy the stage at the same time, and this is\nanother point in common with the early Greek drama. The plots or stories\nof the Chinese plays are simple and effective, and Voltaire is known to\nhave taken the plot of a Chinese drama, as Moli\u00e8re took a comedy of\nPlautus, and applied it in writing a drama for the modern French stage.\n\"The Sorrows of Han\" belongs to the famous collection entitled \"The\nHundred Plays of the Yuen Dynasty.\" It is divided into acts and is made\nup of alternate prose and verse. The movement of the drama is good, and\nthe d\u00e9nouement arranged with considerable skill.\n\nE.W.\n\n\n\n\nTRANSLATOR'S PREFACE\n\n\nThe following drama was selected from the \"Hundred Plays of Yuen,\" which\nhas already supplied to Europe two specimens of the Chinese stage--the\nfirst, called the \"Orphan of Chaou,\" translated by P\u00e8re Premare; and the\nsecond, entitled an \"Heir in Old Age,\" by the author of the present\nversion. \"The Sorrows of Han\" is historical, and relates to one of the\nmost interesting periods of the Chinese annals, when the growing\neffeminacy of the court, and consequent weakness of the government,\nemboldened the Tartars in their aggressions, and first gave rise to the\ntemporizing and impolitic system of propitiating those barbarians by\ntribute, which long after produced the downfall of the empire and the\nestablishment of the Mongol dominion.\n\nThe moral of the piece is evidently to expose the evil consequences of\nluxury, effeminacy, and supineness in the sovereign.\n\n  \"When love was all an easy monarch's care,\n  Seldom at council--never in a war.\"\n\nThe hero, or rather the chief personage, of the drama, came to the\nthrone very near the beginning of the Christian era, about B.C. 42. The\nfate of the Lady Chaoukeun is a favorite incident in history, of which\npainters, poets, and romancers frequently avail themselves; her \"Verdant\nLamb\" is said to exist at the present day, and to remain green all the\nyear round, while the vegetation of the desert in which it stands is\nparched by the summer sun.\n\nIn selecting this single specimen from among so many, the translator was\ninfluenced by the consideration of its remarkable accordance with our\nown canons of criticism. The Chinese themselves make no regular\nclassification of comedy and tragedy; but we are quite at liberty to\ngive the latter title to a play which so completely answers to the\nEuropean definition. The unity of action is complete, and the unities of\ntime and place much less violated than they frequently are on our own\nstage. The grandeur and gravity of the subject, the rank and dignity of\nthe personages, the tragical catastrophe, and the strict award of\npoetical justice, might satisfy the most rigid admirer of Grecian rules.\nThe translator has thought it necessary to adhere to the original by\ndistinguishing the first act (or Pro\u00ebm) from the four which follow it:\nbut the distinction is purely nominal, and the piece consists, to all\nintents and purposes, of five acts. It is remarkable that this peculiar\ndivision holds true with regard to a large number of the \"Hundred Plays\nof Yuen.\"\n\nThe reader will doubtless be struck by the apparent shortness of the\ndrama which is here presented to him; but the original is eked out, in\ncommon with all Chinese plays, by an irregular operatic species of song,\nwhich the principal character occasionally chants forth in unison with a\nlouder or a softer accompaniment of music, as may best suit the\nsentiment or action of the moment. Some passages have been embodied in\nour version: but the translator did not give all, for the same reasons\nthat prompted P\u00e8re Premare to give none--\"they are full of allusions to\nthings unfamiliar to us, and figures of speech very difficult for us to\nobserve.\" They are frequently, moreover, mere repetitions or\namplifications of the prose parts; and being intended more for the ear\nthan the eye, are rather adapted to the stage than to the closet.\n\nHis judgment may perhaps be swayed by partiality towards the subject of\nhis own labors; but the translator cannot help thinking the plot and\nincidents of \"The Sorrows of Han\" superior to those of the \"Orphan of\nChaou\"--though the genius of Voltaire contrived to make the last the\nground-work of an excellent French tragedy. Far is he, however, from\nentertaining the presumptuous expectation that a destiny of equal\nsplendor awaits the present drama; and he will be quite satisfied if the\nreader has patience to read it to the end, and then pronounces it to be\na somewhat curious sample of a very foreign literature.\n\nJOHN FRANCIS DAVIS.\n\n\n\n\nDRAMATIS PERSONAE\n\nYUENTE, Emperor of China of the Dynasty Han.\nHANCHENYU, K'han of the Tartars.\nMAOUYENSHOW, a worthless Minister of the Emperor.\nSHANGSHOO (a title), President of the Imperial Council.\nCHANGSHEE (a title), Officer in waiting.\nFANSHE (a title), Envoy of the K'han.\nCHAOUKEUN, Lady, raised to be Princess of Han.\n   Tartar Soldiers, Female Attendants, Eunuchs.\n\nThe Scene is laid in the Tartar Camp on the Frontiers; and\nin the Palace of Han.\n\n\n\n\n~THE SORROWS OF HAN~ [1]\n\n\n\n~PROLOGUE~\n\n\n_Enter Hanchenyu, K'han [2] of the Tartars, reciting four verses_.\n\n\nK'HAN.      The autumnal gale blows wildly through the grass,\n      amidst our woolen tents.\n  And the moon of night, shining on the rude huts, hears the\n      lament of the mournful pipe:\n  The countless hosts, with their bended horns, obey me as\n      their leader.\n\n    Our tribes are ten distinguished friends of the family of Han. I am\n    Hanchenyu, the old inhabitant of the sandy waste; the sole ruler of\n    the northern regions. The wild chase is our trade; battle and\n    conquest our chief occupation. The Emperor Wunwong retired before\n    our Eastern tribes; Weikeang trembled at us, and sued for our\n    friendship. The ancient title of our chiefs has in the course of\n    time been changed to that which I now bear. When the two races of\n    Tsin and Han contended in battle, and filled the empire with tumult,\n    our tribes were in full power: numberless was the host of armed\n    warriors with their bended horns. For seven days my ancestor hemmed\n    in with his forces the Emperor Kaoute; until, by the contrivance of\n    the minister, a treaty was concluded, and the Princesses of China\n    were yielded in marriage to our K'hans. Since the time of Hoeyte and\n    the Empress Leuhow, [3] each successive generation has adhered to\n    the established rule, and sought our alliance with its daughters. In\n    the reign of the late Emperor Seuente, my brothers contended with\n    myself for the rule of our nation, and its power was weakened until\n    the tribes elected me as their chief. I am a real descendant of the\n    empire of Han. I command a hundred thousand armed warriors. We have\n    moved to the South, and approached the border, claiming an alliance\n    with the Imperial race. Yesterday I despatched an envoy with\n    tributary presents to demand a princess in marriage; but know not if\n    the Emperor will ratify the engagement with the customary oaths. The\n    fineness of the season has drawn away our chiefs on a hunting\n    excursion amidst the sandy steppes. May they meet with success, for\n    we Tartars have no fields--our bows and arrows are our sole means of\n    subsistence.\n\n_Enter Minister of Han, reciting verses_.\n\nMINISTER. Let a man have the heart of a kite, and the talons\n      of an eagle.\n  Let him deceive his superiors, and oppress those below\n      him;\n  Let him enlist flattery, insinuation, profligacy, and avarice\n      on his side,\n\n    And he will find them a lasting assistance through life. I am no\n    other than Maouyenshow, a minister of the sovereign of Han. By a\n    hundred arts of specious flattery and address I have deceived the\n    Emperor, until he places his whole delight in me alone. My words he\n    listens to; and he follows my counsel. Within the precincts of the\n    palace, as without them, who is there but bows before me--who is\n    there but trembles at my approach? But observe the chief art which I\n    have learned: It is this: to persuade the Emperor to keep aloof from\n    his wise counsellors, and seek all his pleasures amidst the women of\n    his palace. Thus it is that I strengthen my power and greatness.\n    But, in the midst of my lucubrations--Here comes the Emperor.\n\n_Enter Emperor Yuente, attended by Eunuchs and Women_.\n\nEMPEROR [_recites verses]_. During the ten generations that\n    have succeeded our acquisition of Empire, my race has alone\n    possessed the four hundred districts of the world. Long have the\n    frontiers been bound in tranquillity by the ties of mutual oaths.\n    And our pillow has been undisturbed by grief or anxiety. Behold in\n    us the Emperor Yuente, of the race of Han. Our ancestor Kaoute\n    emerged from a private station, and raised his family by\n    extinguishing the dynasty of Tsin, and slaughtering their race. Ten\n    generations have passed away since he left this inheritance to us.\n    The four boundaries of the empire have been tranquil; the eight\n    regions at rest! But not through our personal merits; we have wholly\n    depended on the exertions of our civil and military rulers. On the\n    demise of our late father, the female inmates of the palace were all\n    dispersed, and our harem is now solitary and untenanted; but how\n    shall this be endured!\n\nMINISTER. Consider, sir, that even the thriving husbandman\n    may desire to change his partner; then why not your Majesty, whose\n    title is the Law of Heaven, whose possessions are the whole world!\n    May I advise that commissioners be despatched to search throughout\n    the empire for all of whatever rank that is most beautiful between\n    the ages of fifteen and twenty, for the peopling of the inner\n    palace.\n\n    EMPEROR. You say well. We appoint you at once our minister of\n    selection, and will invest you with a written authority. Search\n    diligently through our realms; and when you have selected the most\n    worthy, let us be provided with portraits of each, as a means of\n    fixing our choice. By the merits of your services, you may supply us\n    with an occasion of rewarding you on your return.        [_Exeunt_.\n\n\n\n[Footnote 1: Han Koong Tsew, literally \"Autumn in the Palace of Han\";\nbut in Chinese, Autumn is emblematic of Sorrow, as Spring is of Joy, and\nmay therefore be rendered by what it represents.]\n\n[Footnote 2: In Chinese, Ko-ban.]\n\n[Footnote 3: The mother of Hoeyte, a bold and able woman, who ruled for\nher son, the second emperor of Han.]\n\n\n\n~ACT FIRST~\n\n\n\nMINISTER [_repeats verses_]. The huge ingots of yellow gold I\n      appropriate to myself.\n    I heed not the seas of blood which flow by perverting the\n      laws.\n\n    During life I am determined to have abundance of riches; what care I\n    for the curses of mankind after my death? Having received the\n    Emperor's commission to search far and wide for the most beautiful\n    damsels, I have fixed upon ninety and nine. Their families were glad\n    to invite my selection by rich gifts, and the treasure that I have\n    amassed is not small. On arriving yesterday at a district pertaining\n    to Chingtoo city, I met with a maiden, daughter of one Wongchang.\n    The brightness of her charms was piercing as an arrow. She was\n    perfectly beautiful--and doubtless unparalleled in the whole empire.\n    But, unfortunately, her father is a cultivator of the land, not\n    possessed of much wealth. When I insisted on a hundred ounces of\n    gold to secure her being the chief object of the imperial choice,\n    they first pleaded their poverty--and then, relying on her\n    extraordinary beauty, rejected my offers altogether. I therefore\n    left them. [_Considers awhile_.] But no!----I have a better plan.\n    [_He knits his brows and matures his scheme_.] I will disfigure her\n    portrait in such a manner that when it reaches the Emperor it shall\n    secure her being doomed to neglected seclusion. Thus I shall\n    contrive to make her unhappy for life--Base is the man who delights\n    not in revenge! [_Exit._\n\n\n_Night_.--_Enter the Lady Chaoukeun, with two female attendants_.\n\n\nCHAOUKEUN [_recites verses_]. Though raised to be an inhabitant\n      of the imperial dwelling\n    I have long been here without the good fortune to see\n      my prince.\n\n    This beautiful night must I pass in lonely solitude, with no\n    companion but my lute to solace my retirement. I am a native of\n    Chingtoo city; and my father's occupation is husbandry. My mother\n    dreamed on the day I was born that the light of the moon shone on\n    her bosom, but was soon cast low to the earth.[1] I was just\n    eighteen years of age when chosen as an inhabitant of the imperial\n    palace; but the minister Maouyenshow, disappointed in the treasure\n    which he demanded on my account, disfigured my portrait in such a\n    manner as to keep me out of the Emperor's presence; and now I live\n    in neglected solitude. While at home, I learned a little music, and\n    could play a few airs on the lute. Thus sorrowing in the stillness\n    of midnight, let me practise one of my songs to dispel my griefs.\n    [_Begins to play on the lute_.\n\n_Enter Emperor, attended by a Eunuch, carrying a light_.\n\nEMPEROR. Since the beauties were selected to grace our palace,\n    we have not yet discovered a worthy object on whom to fix our\n    preference. Vexed and disappointed, we pass this day of leisure\n    roaming in search of her who may be destined for our imperial\n    choice. [_Hears the lute._] Is not that some lady's lute?\n\nATTENDANT. It is.--I hasten to advise her of your Majesty's\n    approach.\n\nEMPEROR. No, hold! Keeper of the yellow gate, discover to\n    what part of our palace that lady pertains; and bid her approach our\n    presence; but beware lest you alarm her.\n\nATTENDANT [_approaches in the direction of the sound, and\n    speaks_]. What lady plays there? The Emperor comes! approach to meet\n    him.                               [_Lady advances_.\n\nEMPEROR. Keeper of the yellow gate, see that the light burns\n    brightly within your gauze [2] lamp, and hold it nearer to us.\n\nLADY _[approaching_]. Had your handmaid but known it was\n    your Majesty, she would have been less tardy; forgive, then, this\n    delay.\n\nEMPEROR. Truly this is a very perfect beauty! From what\n    quarter come such superior charms?\n\nLADY. My name is Chaoukeun: my father cultivates at Chingtoo\n    the fields which he has derived from his family. Born in an humble\n    station, I am ignorant of the manners that befit a palace.\n\nEMPEROR. But with such uncommon attractions, what chance\n    has kept you from our sight?\n\nLADY. When I was chosen by the minister Maouyenshow, he\n    demanded of my father an amount of treasure which our poverty could\n    not supply; he therefore disfigured my portrait, by representing a\n    scar under the eyes, and caused me to be consigned to seclusion and\n    neglect.\n\nEMPEROR. Keeper of the yellow gate, bring us that picture,\n    that we may view it. [_Sees the picture_.] Ah, how has he dimmed the\n    purity of the gem, bright as the waves in autumn. [_To the\n    attendant_] Transmit our pleasure to the officer of the guard, to\n    behead Maouyenshow and report to us his execution.\n\nLADY. My parents, sir, are subject to the tax [3] in our native\n    district. Let me entreat your Majesty to remit their contributions\n    and extend favor towards them!\n\nEMPEROR. That shall readily be done. Approach and hear our\n    imperial pleasure. We create you a Princess of our palace.\n\nLADY. How unworthy is your handmaid of such gracious distinction!\n    [_Goes through the form of returning thanks_.] Early to-morrow I\n    attend your Majesty's commands in this place. The Emperor is gone:\n    let the attendants close the doors:--I will retire to rest. _[Exit._\n\n\n\n[Footnote 1: Boding a short but fatal distinction to her offspring.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Instead of glass, to defend it from the wind.]\n\n[Footnote 3: The principal taxes in China are the land-tax, customs,\nsalt monopoly, and personal service; which last is the source of much\noppression to the lowest orders, who have nothing but their labor to\ncontribute.]\n\n\n\n~ACT SECOND~\n\n\n\n_Enter K'han of the Tartars, at the head of his Tribes_.\n\nK'HAN. I lately sent an envoy to the sovereign of Han, with\n    the demand of a princess in marriage; but the Emperor has returned a\n    refusal, under the plea that the princess is yet too young. This\n    answer gives me great trouble. Had he not plenty of ladies in his\n    palace, of whom he might have sent me one? The difference was of\n    little consequence. [1] Let me recall my envoy with all speed, for I\n    must invade the South with out forces. And yet I am unwilling to\n    break a truce of so many years' standing! We must see how matters\n    turn out, and be guided by the event.\n\n_Enter Minister of Han_.\n\nMINISTER. The severity with which I extorted money, in the\n    selection of beauties for the palace, led me to disfigure the\n    picture of Chaoukeun, and consign her to neglected seclusion. But\n    the Emperor fell in with her, obtained the truth, and condemned me\n    to lose my head. I contrived to make my escape--though I have no\n    home to receive me. I will take this true portrait of Chaoukeun and\n    show it to the Tartar K'han, persuading him to demand her from the\n    Emperor, who will no doubt be obliged to yield her up. A long\n    journey has brought me to this spot, and from the troops of men and\n    horses I conclude I have reached the Tartar camp. [_Addresses\n    himself to somebody_] Leader, inform King Hanchenyu that a great\n    minister of the empire of Han is come to wait on him.\n\nK'HAN [_on being informed_]. Command him to approach.\n    [_Seeing Maouyenshow_] What person are you?\n\nMINISTER. I am a minister of Han. In the western palace of\n    the Emperor is a lady, named Chaoukeun, of rare and surpassing\n    charms. When your envoy, great king, came to demand a princess, this\n    lady would have answered the summons, but the Emperor of Han could\n    not bring himself to part with her, and refused to yield her up. I\n    repeatedly renewed my bitter reproaches, and asked how he could\n    bear, for the sake of a woman's beauty, to implicate the welfare of\n    two nations. For this the Emperor would have beheaded me; and I\n    therefore escaped with the portrait of the lady, which I present,\n    great king, to yourself. Should you send away an envoy with the\n    picture to demand her, she must certainly be delivered up. Here is\n    the portrait. [_Hands it up_.\n\nK'HAN. Whence could so beautiful a female have appeared\n    in the world! If I can only obtain her, my wishes are complete.\n    Immediately shall an envoy be despatched, and my ministers prepare a\n    letter to the Emperor of Han, demanding her in marriage as the\n    condition of peace. Should he refuse, I will presently invade the\n    South: his hills and rivers shall be exposed to ravage. Our warriors\n    will commence by hunting, as they proceed on their way; and thus\n    gradually entering the frontiers, I shall be ready to act as may\n    best suit the occasion. [_Exit._\n\n_The Palace of Han. Enter Lady, attended by females_.\n\nPRINCESS. A long period has elapsed since I had to thank his\n    Majesty for his choice. The Emperor's fondness for me is so great,\n    that he has still neglected to hold a court. I hear he is now gone\n    to the hall of audience, and will therefore ornament myself at my\n    toilet and be ready to wait on him at his return. [_Stands opposite\n    a mirror_.\n\n_Enter Emperor_.\n\nEMPEROR. Since we first met with Chaoukeun in the western\n    palace, we have been as it were deranged and intoxicated; a long\n    interval has elapsed since we held a court; and on entering the hall\n    of audience this day, we waited not until the assembly had\n    dispersed, but returned hither to obtain a sight of her.\n    [_Perceiving the Princess_.] Let us not alarm her, but observe in\n    secret what she is doing.\n    [_Comes close behind and looks over her._] Reflected in that round\n    mirror, she resembles the Lady in the Moon. [2]\n\n_Enter President, and an Officer in waiting_.\n\nPRESIDENT [_recites verses._] Ministers should devote themselves\n          to the regulation of the empire; They should be occupied with public\n    cares in the hall of government. But they do nought but attend at\n         the banquets in the palace. When have they employed a single day in\n    the service of their prince?\n\n    This day, when the audience was concluded, an envoy arrived from the\n    Tartars to demand Chaoukeun in marriage, as the only condition of\n    peace. It is my duty to report this to his Majesty, who has retired\n    to his western palace. Here I must enter. [_Perceiving the\n    Emperor._] I report to your Majesty that Hanchenyu, the leader of\n    the northern foreigners, sends an envoy to declare that Maouyenshow\n    has presented to him the portrait of the princess, and that he\n    demands her in marriage as the only condition of peace. If refused,\n    he will invade the South with a great power, and our rivers and\n    hills will be exposed to rapine.\n\nEMPEROR. In vain do we maintain and send forth armies; vain\n    are the crowds of civil and military officers about our palace!\n    Which of them will drive back for us these foreign troops? They are\n    all afraid of the Tartar swords and arrows! But if they cannot exert\n    themselves to expel the barbarians, why call for the princess to\n    propitiate them?\n\nPRESIDENT. The foreigners say that through your Majesty's\n    devoted fondness for the princess, the affairs of your empire are\n    falling into ruin. They declare that if the government does not\n    yield her up, they will put their army in motion, and subdue the\n    country. Your servant reflects, that Chow-wong [3] who lost his\n    empire and life entirely through his blind devotion to Takee, is a\n    fit example to warn your Majesty. Our army is weak, and needs the\n    talents of a fit general. Should we oppose the Tartars, and be\n    defeated, what will remain to us? Let your Majesty give up your\n    fondness for the princess, to save your people.\n\nOFFICER. The envoy waits without for an audience.\n\nEMPEROR. Well; command that he approach us.\n\n_Enter Envoy_.\n\nENVOY. Hanchenyu, K'han of the Tartars, sends me, his minister,\n    to state before the great Sovereign of Han, that the Northern tribes\n    and the Southern empire have long been bound in peace by mutual\n    alliances; but that envoys being twice sent to demand a princess,\n    his requisitions have been refused. The late minister, Maouyenshow,\n    took with him the portrait of a beautiful lady, and presented it to\n    the K'ban, who now sends me, his envoy, on purpose to demand the\n    Lady Chaoukeun, and no other, as the only condition of peace between\n    the two nations. Should your Majesty refuse, the K'han has a\n    countless army of brave warriors, and will forthwith invade the\n    South to try the chances of war. I trust your Majesty will not err\n    in your decision.\n\nEMPEROR. The envoy may retire to repose himself in his lodging.\n    [_Exit the Envoy_.] Let our civil and military officers consult, and\n    report to us the best mode of causing the foreign troops to retire,\n    without yielding up the princess to propitiate them. They take\n    advantage of the compliant softness of her temper. Were the Empress\n    Leuhow alive--let her utter a word--which of them would dare to be\n    of a different opinion? It would seem that, for the future, instead\n    of men for ministers, we need only have fair women to keep our\n    empire in peace.\n\nPRINCESS. In return for your Majesty's bounties, it is your\n    handmaid's duty to brave death to serve you. I can cheerfully enter\n    into this foreign alliance, for the sake of producing peace, and\n    shall leave behind me a name still green in history.--But my\n    affection for your Majesty, how am I to lay aside!\n\nEMPEROR. Alas, I [4] know too well that I can do no more than\n    yourself!\n\nPRESIDENT. I entreat your Majesty to sacrifice your love, and\n    think of the security of your Dynasty. Hasten, sir, to send the\n    princess on her way!\n\nEMPEROR. Let her this day advance a stage on her journey,\n    and be presented to the envoy.--To-morrow we will repair as far as\n    the bridge of Pahling, and give her a parting feast.\n\nPRESIDENT. Alas! Sir, this may not be! It will draw on us\n    the contempt of these barbarians.\n\nEMPEROR. We have complied with all our minister's propositions--shall\n    they not, then, accede to ours? Be it as it may, we will witness her\n    departure--and then return home to hate the traitor Maouyenshow!\n\nPRESIDENT. Unwillingly we advise that the princess be sacrificed\n    for the sake of peace; but the envoy is instructed to insist upon\n    her alone--and from ancient times, how often hath a nation suffered\n    for a woman's beauty!\n\nPRINCESS. Though I go into exile for the nation's good, yet ill\n    can I bear to part from your Majesty!           _[Exeunt._\n\n\n[Footnote 1: The honor of the imperial alliance being the chief object.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Changngo, the goddess of the moon, gives her name to the\nfinely curved eyebrows of the Chinese ladies, which are compared to the\nlunar crescent when only a day or two old.]\n\n[Footnote 3: Chow-wong was the last of the Shang dynasty, and infamous\nby his debaucheries and cruelties, in concert with his empress Takee,\nthe Theodora of Chinese history.]\n\n[Footnote 4: The imperial pronoun \"Tchin,\" _me_, is with very good taste\nsupplied by _I_ in these impassioned passages.]\n\n\n\n~ACT THIRD~\n\n\n\n_Enter Envoy, escorting the Princess, with a band of music_.\n\nPRINCESS. Thus was I, in spite of the treachery of Maouyenshow,\n    who disfigured my portrait, seen and exalted by his Majesty; but the\n    traitor presented a truer likeness to the Tartar king, who comes at\n    the head of an army to demand me, with a threat of seizing the\n    country. There is no remedy--I must be yielded up to propitiate the\n    invaders! How shall I bear the rigors--the winds and frosts of that\n    foreign land! It has been said of old, that \"surpassing beauty is\n    often coupled with an unhappy fate.\" Let me grieve, then, without\n    entertaining fruitless resentment at the effects of my own\n    attractions.\n\n_Enter Emperor, attended by his several officers_.\n\nEMPEROR. This day we take leave of the princess at Pahling\n    bridge! [_To his ministers_.] Can ye not devise a way to send out\n    these foreign troops, without yielding up the princess for the sake\n    of peace? [_Descends from his horse and seems to grieve with\n    Chaoukeun_.] Let our attendants delay awhile, till we have conferred\n    the parting cup.\n\nENVOY. Lady, let us urge you to proceed on your way--the\n    sky darkens, and night is coming on.\n\nPRINCESS. Alas! when shall I again behold your Majesty? I\n    will take off my robes of distinction and leave them behind me.\n    To-day in the palace of Han--to-morrow I shall be espoused to a\n    stranger. I cease to wear these splendid vestments--they shall no\n    longer adorn my beauty in the eyes of men.\n\nENVOY. Again let us urge you, princess, to depart; we have\n    delayed but too long already!\n\nEMPEROR. 'Tis done!--Princess, when you are gone, let your\n    thoughts forbear to dwell with sorrow and resentment upon us! [_They\n    part_.] And am I the great Monarch of the line of Han?\n\nPRESIDENT. Let your Majesty cease to dwell with such grief\n    upon this subject!\n\nEMPEROR. She is gone! In vain have we maintained those\n    armed heroes on the frontier. [1] Mention but swords and spears, and\n    they tremble at their hearts like a young deer. The princess has\n    this day performed what belonged to themselves: and yet they affect\n    the semblance of men!\n\nPRESIDENT. Your Majesty is entreated to return to the palace:\n    dwell not so bitterly, Sir, on her memory:--allow her to depart!\n\nEMPEROR. Did I not think of her, I had a heart of iron--a\n    heart of iron! The tears of my grief stream in thousand\n    channels--this evening shall her likeness be suspended in the\n    palace, where I will sacrifice to it--and tapers with their silver\n    lights shall illuminate her chamber.\n\nPRESIDENT. Let your Majesty return to the palace--the princess\n    is already far distant! [_Exeunt_.\n\n\n_The Tartar Camp. Enter K'han at the head of his tribes, leading\nin the Princess_.\n\n\nK'HAN. The Emperor of Han having now, in observance of\n    old treaties, yielded up to me the Lady Chaoukeun in marriage, I\n    take her as my rightful queen. The two nations shall enjoy the\n    benefits of peace. [_To his generals_] Leaders, transmit my\n    commands to the army to strike our encampment, and proceed to the\n    north. [_They march_.\n\n\n_The river Amoor. [2] Tartar army on its march_.\n\n\nPRINCESS. What place is this?\n\nENVOY. It is the River of the Black Dragon, the frontier of\n    the Tartar territories and those of China. This southern shore is\n    the Emperor's; on the northern side commences our Tartar dominion.\n\nPRINCESS [_to the K'han_]. Great King, I take a cup of wine,\n    and pour a libation towards the South--my last farewell to the\n    Emperor--[_pours the libation_] of Han, this life is finished. I\n    await thee in the next!\n\n[_Throws herself into the river. The K'han, in great consternation,\nendeavors to save her, but in vain_.\n\nK'HAN. Alas! alas!--so determined was her purpose against\n    this foreign alliance--she has thrown herself into the stream, and\n    perished! Tis done, and remediless! Let her sepulchre be on this\n    river's bank, and be it called \"the verdant tomb,\" [3] She is no\n    more; and vain has been our enmity with the dynasty of Han! The\n    traitor Maouyenshow was the author of all this misery. [_To an\n    officer_] Take Maouyenshow and let him be delivered over to the\n    Emperor for punishment. I will return to our former friendship with\n    the dynasty of Han. We will renew and long preserve the sentiments\n    of relationship. The traitor disfigured the portrait to injure\n    Chaoukeun--then deserted his sovereign, and stole over to me, whom\n    he prevailed on to demand the lady in marriage. How little did I\n    think that she would thus precipitate herself into the stream, and\n    perish!--In vain did my spirit melt at the sight of her! But if I\n    detained this profligate and traitorous rebel, he would certainly\n    prove to us a root of misfortune: it is better to deliver him for\n    his reward to the Emperor of Han, with whom I will renew, and long\n    retain, our old feelings of friendship and amity. _[Exeunt._\n\n\n\n[Footnote 1: It may be observed that the great wall is never once\nexpressly mentioned through this drama. The expression used is P\u00ebensih,\nthe border, or frontier. The wall had existed two hundred years at this\ntime, but the real frontier was beyond it.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Or Saghalien, which falls into the sea of Ochotsk.]\n\n[Footnote 3: Said to exist now and to be green all the year.]\n\n\n\n~ACT FOURTH~\n\n\n\n_Enter Emperor, with an attendant_.\n\nEMPEROR. Since the princess was yielded to the Tartars, we\n    have not held an audience. The lonely silence of night but increases\n    our melancholy! We take the picture of that fair one and suspend it\n    here, as some small solace to our griefs, [_To the attendant_]\n    Keeper of the yellow gate, behold, the incense in yonder vase is\n    burnt out: hasten then to add some more. Though we cannot see her,\n    we may at least retain this shadow; and, while life remains, betoken\n    our regard. But oppressed and weary, we would fain take a little\n    repose.\n\n[_Lies down to sleep. The Princess appears before him in a\nvision_.] [1]\n\nPRINCESS. Delivered over as a captive to appease the barbarians,\n    they would have conveyed me to their Northern country: but I took an\n    occasion to elude them and have escaped back. Is not this the\n    Emperor, my sovereign? Sir, behold me again restored.\n\n[_A Tartar soldier appears in the vision_.]\n\nSOLDIER. While I chanced to sleep, the lady, our captive, has\n    made her escape, and returned home. In eager pursuit of her, I have\n    reached the imperial palace.--Is not this she?\n\n[_Carries her off. The Emperor starts from his sleep_.]\n\nEMPEROR. We just saw the Princess returned--but alas, how\n    quickly has she vanished! In bright day she answered not to our\n    call--but when morning dawned on our troubled sleep, a vision\n    presented her in this spot. [_Hears the wild fowl's [2] cry_] Hark,\n    the passing fowl screamed twice or thrice!--Can it know there is no\n    one so desolate as I? [_Cries repeated_] Perhaps worn out and weak,\n    hungry and emaciated, they bewail at once the broad nets of the\n    South and the tough bows of the North. [_Cries repeated_] The\n    screams of those water-birds but increase our melancholy.\n\nATTENDANT. Let your Majesty cease this sorrow, and have\n    some regard to your sacred [3] person.\n\nEMPEROR. My sorrows are beyond control. Cease to upbraid\n    this excess of feeling, since ye are all subject to the same. Yon\n    doleful cry is not the note of the swallow on the carved rafters,\n    nor the song of the variegated bird upon the blossoming tree. The\n    princess has abandoned her home! Know ye in what place she grieves,\n    listening like me to the screams of the wild bird?\n\n_Enter President_.\n\nPRESIDENT. This day after the close of the morning council,\n    a foreign envoy appeared, bringing with him the fettered traitor\n    Maouyenshow. He announces that the renegade, by deserting his\n    allegiance, led to the breach of truce, and occasioned all these\n    calamities. The princess is no more! and the K'han wishes for peace\n    and friendship between the two nations. The envoy attends, with\n    reverence, your imperial decision.\n\nEMPEROR. Then strike off the traitor's head, and be it presented\n    as an offering to the shade of the princess! Let a fit banquet be\n    got ready for the envoy, preparatory to his return. _[Recites these\n    verses_.\n\nAt the fall of the leaf, when the wild-fowl's cry was heard\n      in the recesses of the palace.\nSad dreams returned to our lonely pillow; we thought of\n      her through the night:\nHer verdant tomb remains--but where shall we seek her\n      self?\nThe perfidious painter's head shall atone for the beauty\n      which he wronged.\n\n\n[Footnote 1: There is nothing in this more extravagant than the similar\nvision in the tragedy of Richard III.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Yengo, a species of wild goose, is the emblem in China of\nintersexual attachment and fidelity, being said never to pair again\nafter the loss of its mate. An image of it is worshipped by newly\nmarried couples.]\n\n[Footnote 3: Literally, \"dragon person.\" The emperor's throne is often\ncalled the \"dragon seat.\"]","title":"Chinese literature : $b Comprising the Analects of Confucius, the Sayings of Mencius, the Shi-King, the Travels of F\u00e2-Hien, and the Sorrows of Han","tradition":"philosophy-ethics","translated_text":null,"word_count":86965}