{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_2941/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_2941","id":"gutenberg_2941","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2941","summary":null,"tags":["Category: History - Other","Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Chinese literature -- Translations into English"],"text":"Ver.12.12.00*END*\n\n\n\n\nThis etext was prepared by Rick Davis of Ashigawa, Japan, with\nassistance from David Steelman, Taiwan.\n\n\n\n\nA note from the digitizer\n\n\nThis is a text file that can be read on any computer with any\nChinese-capable word processor or text editor. If you have the Big\n5 character set for Chinese installed, choosing that set from your\nfont menu will display the Chinese characters properly. Even if\nChinese is not installed on your computer, the English will be\ndisplayed properly, even though the Chinese will appear as\ngarbage characters.\n\nThis digitized version preserves the original page breaks. The\ntext of each page is followed by its footnotes. Note reference\nnumbers in the text are enclosed in square brackets. In this text\nversion, all diacriticals have been omitted.\n\nIn a few places I have substituted the character forms available\nin the Big 5 character set for rare or (what are now considered)\nnonstandard forms used by Legge. Characters not included in the\nBig 5 character set in any form are described by their constituent\nelements.\n\nThis file contains only the Prolegomena; the other parts of\nLegge's work are in separate files.\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE CHINESE CLASSICS\n\nwith a translation, critical and exegetical\nnotes, prolegomena, and copious indexes\n\nby\n\nJames Legge\n\nIN FIVE VOLUMES\n\nCONFUCIAN ANALECTS\nTHE GREAT LEARNING\nTHE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN\n\n\n\n\n\nPROLEGOMENA.\n\nCHAPTER I.\nOF THE CHINESE CLASSICS GENERALLY.\n\nSECTION I.\nBOOKS INCLUDED UNDER THE NAME OF THE CHINESE CLASSICS.\n\n\t1. The Books now recognised as of highest authority in China\nare comprehended under the denominations of 'The five Ching [1]'\nand 'The four Shu [2].'  The term Ching is of textile origin, and\nsignifies the warp threads of a web, and their adjustment. An\neasy application of it is to denote what is regular and insures\nregularity. As used with reference to books, it indicates their\nauthority on the subjects of which they treat. 'The five Ching' are\nthe five canonical Works, containing the truth upon the highest\nsubjects from the sages of China, and which should be received as\nlaw by all generations. The term Shu simply means Writings or\nBooks, = the Pencil Speaking; it may be used of a single character,\nor of books containing thousands of characters.\n\t2. 'The five Ching' are: the Yi [3], or, as it has been styled,\n'The Book of Changes;' the Shu [4], or 'The Book of History;' the\nShih [5], or 'The Book of Poetry;' the Li Chi [6], or 'Record of Rites;'\nand the Ch'un Ch'iu [7], or 'Spring and Autumn,' a chronicle of\nevents, extending from 722 to 481 B.C. The authorship, or\ncompilation rather, of all these Works is loosely attributed to\nConfucius. But much of the Li Chi is from later hands. Of the Yi,\nthe Shu, and the Shih, it is only in the first that we find additions\nattributed to the philosopher himself, in the shape of appendixes.\nThe Ch'un Ch'iu is the only one of the five Ching which can, with\nan approximation to correctness, be described as of his own\n'making.'\n\n1 \u4e94\u7d93.\n2 \u56db\u66f8.\n3 \u6613\u7d93.\n4 \u66f8\u7d93.\n5 \u8a69\u7d93.\n6 \u79ae\u8a18.\n7 \u6625\u79cb.\n\n\n\t'The Four Books' is an abbreviation for 'The Books of the\nFour Philosophers [1].' The first is the Lun Yu [2], or 'Digested\nConversations,' being occupied chiefly with the sayings of\nConfucius. He is the philosopher to whom it belongs. It appears in\nthis Work under the title of 'Confucian Analects.' The second is\nthe Ta Hsio [3], or 'Great Learning,' now commonly attributed to\nTsang Shan [4], a disciple of the sage.  He is he philosopher of it.\nThe third is the Chung Yung [5], or 'Doctrine of the Mean,' as the\nname has often been translated, though it would be better to\nrender it, as in the present edition, by 'The State of Equilibrium\nand Harmony.' Its composition is ascribed to K'ung Chi [6], the\ngrandson of Confucius. He is the philosopher of it.  The fourth\ncontains the works of Mencius.\n\t3. This arrangement of the Classical Books, which is\ncommonly supposed to have originated with the scholars of the\nSung dynasty, is defective. The Great Learning and the Doctrine of\nthe Mean are both found in the Record of Rites, being the thirty-\nninth and twenty-eighth Books respectively of that compilation,\naccording to the best arrangement of it.\n\t4. The oldest enumerations of the Classical Books specify\nonly the five Ching. The Yo Chi, or 'Record of Music [7],' the\nremains of which now form one of the Books in the Li Chi, was\nsometimes added to those, making with them the six Ching. A\ndivision was also made into nine Ching, consisting of the Yi, the\nShih, the Shu, the Chau Li [8], or 'Ritual of Chau,' the I Li [9], or\ncertain 'Ceremonial Usages,' the Li Chi, and the annotated editions\nof the Ch'un Ch'iu [10], by Tso Ch'iu-ming [11], Kung-yang Kao [12],\nand Ku-liang Ch'ih [13]. In the famous compilation of the Classical\nBooks, undertaken by order of T'ai-tsung, the second emperor of\nthe T'ang dynasty (A.D. 627-649), and which appeared in the reign\nof his successor, there are thirteen Ching, viz. the Yi, the Shih,\nthe Shu, the three editions of the Ch'un Ch'iu, the Li Chi, the Chau\nLi, the I Li, the Confucian Analects, the R Ya [14], a sort of\nancient dictionary, the Hsiao Ching [15], or 'Classic of Filial\nPiety,' and the works of Mencius.\n\t5. A distinction, however, was made among the Works thus\n\n1 \u56db\u5b50\u4e4b\u66f8.\n2 \u8ad6\u8a9e.\n3 \u5927\u5b78.\n4 \u66fe\u53c3.\n5 \u4e2d\u5eb8.\n6 \u5b54\u4f0b.\n7 \u6a02\u8a18.\n8 \u5468\u79ae.\n9 \u5100\u79ae.\n10 \u6625\u79cb\u4e09\u50b3\n11 \u5de6\u4e18\u660e.\n12 \u516c\u7f8a\u9ad8.\n13 \u7a40\u6881\u8d64.\n14 \u723e\u96c5.\n15 \u5b5d\u7d93.\n\n\ncomprehended under the same common name; and Mencius, the Lun\nYu, the Ta Hsio, the Chung Yung, and the Hsiao Ching were spoken\nof as the Hsiao Ching, or 'Smaller Classics.' It thus appears,\ncontrary to the ordinary opinion on the subject, that the Ta Hsio\nand Chung Yung had been published as separate treatises before\nthe Sung dynasty, and that Four Books, as distinguished from the\ngreater Ching, had also previously found a place in the literature\nof China [1].\n\nSECTION II.\nTHE AUTHORITY OF THE CHINESE CLASSICS.\n\n\t1. This subject will be discussed in connexion with each\nseparate Work, and it is only designed here to exhibit generally\nthe evidence on which the Chinese Classics claim to be received\nas genuine productions of the time to which they are referred.\n\t2. In the memoirs of the Former Han dynasty (B.C. 202-A.D.\n24), we have one chapter which we may call the History of\nLiterature [2]. It commences thus: 'After the death of Confucius\n[3], there was an end of his exquisite words; and when his seventy\ndisciples had passed away, violence began to be done to their\nmeaning. It came about that there were five different editions of\nthe Ch'un Ch'iu, four of the Shih, and several of the Yi. Amid the\ndisorder and collisions of the warring States (B.C. 481-220),\ntruth and falsehood were still more in a state of warfare, and a\nsad confusion marked the words of the various scholars. Then\ncame the calamity inflicted under the Ch'in dynasty (B.C. 220-\n205), when the literary monuments were destroyed by fire, in\norder to keep the people in ignorance. But, by and by, there arose\nthe Han dynasty, which set itself to remedy the evil wrought by\nthe Ch'in. Great efforts were made to collect slips and tablets [4],\nand the way was thrown wide open for the bringing in of Books. In\nthe time of the emperor Hsiao-wu [5] (B.C. 140-85), portions of\nBooks being wanting and tablets lost, so that ceremonies and\nmusic were\n\n1 For the statements in the two last paragraphs, see \u897f\u6cb3\u5408\u96c6, \u5927\u5b78\n\u8b49\u6587, \u5377\u4e00.\n2 \u524d\u6f22\u66f8, \u672c\u5fd7, \u7b2c\u5341\u5377, \u85dd\u6587\u5fd7.\n3 \u4ef2\u5c3c.\n4 \u7bc7\u7c4d, slips and tablets of bamboo, which supplied in those days\nthe place of paper.\n5 \u4e16\u754c\u5b5d\u6b66\u7687\u5e1d.\n\n\nsuffering great damage, he was moved to sorrow and said, \"I am\nvery sad for this.\" He therefore formed the plan of Repositories,\nin which the Books might be stored, and appointed officers to\ntranscribe Books on an extensive scale, embracing the works of\nthe various scholars, that they might all be placed in the\nRepositories. The emperor Ch'ang (B.C. 32-5), finding that a\nportion of the Books still continued dispersed or missing,\ncommissioned Ch'an Nang, the Superintendent of Guests [2], to\nsearch for undiscovered Books throughout the empire, and by\nspecial edict ordered the chief of the Banqueting House, Liu\nHsiang [3], to examine the Classical Works, along with the\ncommentaries on them, the writings of the scholars, and all\npoetical productions; the Master-controller of Infantry, Zan\nHwang [4], to examine the Books on the art of war; the Grand\nHistoriographer, Yin Hsien [5], to examine the Books treating of\nthe art of numbers (i.e. divination); and the imperial Physician, Li\nChu-kwo [6], to examine the Books on medicine. Whenever any\nbook was done with, Hsiang forthwith arranged it, indexed it, and\nmade a digest of it, which was presented to the emperor. While\nthis work was in progress, Hsiang died, and the emperor Ai (B.C.\n6-A.D. 1) appointed his son, Hsin [7], a Master of the imperial\ncarriages, to complete his father's work. On this, Hsin collected\nall the Books, and presented a report of them, under seven\ndivisions.'\n\tThe first of these divisions seems to have been a general\ncatalogue [8] containing perhaps only the titles of the works\nincluded in the other six. The second embraced the Classical\nWorks [9]. From the abstract of it, which is preserved in the\nchapter referred to, we find that there were 294 collections of\nthe Yi-ching from thirteen different individuals or editors [10];\n412 collections of the Shu-ching, from nine different individuals;\n416 volumes of the Shih-ching, from six different individuals\n[11]; of the Books of Rites, 555 collec-\n\n1 \u5b5d\u6210\u7687\u5e1d.\n2 \u8b01\u8005\u9673\u8fb2.\n3 \u5149\u797f\u5927\u592b\u5289\u5411.\n4 \u6b65\u5175\u6821\u6170\u4efb\u5b8f.\n5 \u592a\u53f2\u4ee4\u5c39\u54b8.\n6 \u4f8d\u91ab\u674e\u6842\u570b.\n7 \u4f8d\u4e2d\u5949\u8eca\u90fd\u6170\u6b46.\n8 \u8f2f\u7565.\n9 \u516d\u85dd\u7565.\n10 \u51e1\u6613, \u5341\u4e09\u5bb6, \u4e8c\u767e\u4e5d\u5341\u56db\u7bc7. How much of the whole work was\ncontained in each \u7bc7, it is impossible to determine. P. Regis says:\n'Pien, quemadmodum Gallice dicimus \"des pieces d'eloquence, de\npoesie.\"'\n11 \u8a69, \u516d\u5bb6, \u56db\u767e\u4e00\u5341\u516d\u5377. The collections of the Shih-ching are\nmentioned under the name of chuan, 'sections,' 'portions.' Had p'ien\nbeen used, it might have been understood of individual odes. This\nchange of terms shows that by p'ien in the other summaries, we\nare not to understand single blocks or chapters.\n\n\ntions, from thirteen different individuals; of the Books on Music,\n165 collections, from six different editors; 948 collections of\nHistory, under the heading of the Ch'un Ch'iu, from twenty-three\ndifferent individuals; 229 collections of the Lun Yu, including the\nAnalects and kindred fragments, from twelve different\nindividuals; of the Hsiao-ching, embracing also the R Ya, and some\nother portions of the ancient literature, 59 collections, from\neleven different individuals; and finally of the lesser Learning,\nbeing works on the form of the characters, 45 collections, from\neleven different individuals. The works of Mencius were included\nin the second division [1], among the writings of what were\ndeemed orthodox scholars [2], of which there were 836\ncollections, from fifty-three different individuals.\n\t3. The above important document is sufficient to show how\nthe emperors of the Han dynasty, as soon as they had made good\ntheir possession of the empire, turned their attention to recover\nthe ancient literature of the nation, the Classical Books engaging\ntheir first care, and how earnestly and effectively the scholars of\nthe time responded to the wishes of their rulers. In addition to\nthe facts specified in the preface to it, I may relate that the\nordinance of the Ch'in dynasty against possessing the Classical\nBooks (with the exception, as it will appear in its proper place, of\nthe Yi-ching) was repealed by the second sovereign of the Han, the\nemperor Hsiao Hui [3], in the fourth year of his reign, B.C. 191, and\nthat a large portion of the Shu-ching was recovered in the time of\nthe third emperor, B.C. 179-157, while in the year B.C. 136 a\nspecial Board was constituted, consisting of literati, who were\nput in charge of the five Ching [4].\n\t4. The collections reported on by Liu Hsin suffered damage\nin the troubles which began A.D. 8, and continued till the rise of\nthe second or eastern Han dynasty in the year 25. The founder of\nit (A.D. 25-57) zealously promoted the undertaking of his\npredecessors, and additional repositories were required for the\nBooks which were collected. His successors, the emperors Hsiao-\nming [5] (58-75), Hsiao-chang [6] (76-88), and Hsiao-hwo [7] (89-\n105), took a part themselves in the studies and discussions of the\nliterary tribunal, and\n\n1 \u8af8\u5b50\u7565.\n2 \u5112\u5bb6\u8005\u6d41.\n3 \u5b5d\u60e0\u7687\u5e1d.\n4 \u6b66\u5e1d\u5efa\u5143\u4e94\u5e74, \u521d\u7f6e\u4e94\u7d93\u535a\u58eb.\n5 \u986f\u5b97\u5b5d\u660e\u7687\u5e1d.\n6 \u8085\u5b97\u5b5d\u7ae0\u7687\u5e1d.\n7 \u5b5d\u548c\u7687\u5e1d.\n\n\nthe emperor Hsiao-ling [1], between the years 172-178, had the\ntext of the five Ching, as it had been fixed, cut in slabs of stone,\nand set up in the capital outside the gate of the Grand College.\nSome old accounts say that the characters were in three different\nforms, but they were only in one form; -- see the 287th book of\nChu I-tsun's great Work.\n\t5. Since the Han, the successive dynasties have considered\nthe literary monuments of the country to be an object of their\nspecial care. Many of them have issued editions of the Classics,\nembodying the commentaries of preceding generations. No dynasty\nhas distinguished itself more in this line than the present\nManchau possessors of the empire. In fine, the evidence is\ncomplete that the Classical Books of China have come down from\nat least a century before our Christian era, substantially the\nsame as we have them at present.\n\t6. But it still remains to inquire in what condition we may\nsuppose the Books were, when the scholars of the Han dynasty\ncommenced their labors upon them. They acknowledge that the\ntablets -- we cannot here speak of manuscripts -- were\nmutilated and in disorder. Was the injury which they had received\nof such an extent that all the care and study put forth on the\nsmall remains would be of little use? This question can be\nanswered satisfactorily, only by an examination of the evidence\nwhich is adduced for the text of each particular Classic; but it\ncan be made apparent that there is nothing, in the nature of the\ncase, to interfere with our believing that the materials were\nsufficient to enable the scholars to execute the work intrusted to\nthem.\n\t7 The burning of the ancient Books by order of the founder\nof the Ch'in dynasty is always referred to as the greatest\ndisaster which they sustained, and with this is coupled the\nslaughter of many of the Literati by the same monarch.\n\tThe account which we have of these transactions in the\nHistorical Records is the following [2]:\n\t'In his 34th year [the 34th year, that is, after he had\nascended the throne of Ch'in. It was only the 9th year after he had\nbeen acknowledged Sovereign of the empire, coinciding with B.C.\n213], the emperor, returning from a visit to the south, which had\nextended\n\n1 \u5b5d\u9748\u7687\u5e1d.\n2 I have thought it well to endeavour to translate the whole of\nthe passages. Father de Mailla merely constructs from them a\nnarrative of his own; see L'Histoire Generale de La China, tome ii.\npp. 399-402. The \u901a\u9451\u7db2\u76ee avoids the difficulties of the original by\ngiving an abridgment of it.\n\n\nas far as Yueh, gave a feast in his palace at Hsien-yang, when the\nGreat Scholars, amounting to seventy men, appeared and wished\nhim a long life [1]. One of the principal ministers, Chau Ch'ing-\nch'an [2], came forward and said, \"Formerly, the State of Ch'in\nwas only 1000 li in extent, but Your Majesty, by your spirit-like\nefficacy and intelligent wisdom, has tranquillized and settled the\nwhole empire, and driven away all barbarous tribes, so that,\nwherever the sun and moon shine, all rulers appear before you as\nguests acknowledging subjection. You have formed the states of\nthe various princes into provinces and districts, where the people\nenjoy a happy tranquillity, suffering no more from the calamities\nof war and contention. This condition of things will be\ntransmitted for 10,000 generations. From the highest antiquity\nthere has been no one in awful virtue like Your Majesty.\"\n\t'The emperor was pleased with this flattery, when Shun-yu\nYueh [3], one of the Great Scholars, a native of Ch'i, advanced and\nsaid, \"The sovereigns of Yin and Chau, for more than a thousand\nyears, invested their sons and younger brothers, and meritorious\nministers, with domains and rule, and could thus depend upon\nthem for support and aid;-- that I have heard. But now Your\nMajesty is in possession of all within the seas, and your sons and\nyounger brothers are nothing but private individuals. The issue\nwill be that some one will arise to play the part of T'ien Ch'ang\n[4], or of the six nobles of Tsin. Without the support of your own\nfamily, where will you find the aid which you may require? That a\nstate of things not modelled from the lessons of antiquity can\nlong continue;-- that is what I have not heard. Ch'ing is now\nshowing himself to be a flatterer, who increases the errors of\nYour Majesty, and not a loyal minister.\"\n\t'The emperor requested the opinions of others on this\nrepresentation, and the premier, Li Sze [5], said, \"The five\nemperors were not one the double of the other, nor did the three\ndynasties accept one another's ways. Each had a peculiar system\nof government, not for the sake of the contrariety, but as being\nrequired by the changed times. Now, Your Majesty has laid the\nfoundations of\n\n1 \u535a\u58eb\u4e03\u5341\u4eba\u524d\u70ba\u58fd. The \u535a\u58eb were not only 'great scholars,' but had\nan official rank. There was what we may call a college of them,\nconsisting of seventy members.\n2 \u50d5\u5c04, \u5468\u9752\u81e3.\n3 \u6df3\u4e8e\u8d8a.\n4 \u7530\u5e38. -- \u5e38 should probably be \u6046, as it is given in the T'ung\nChien. See Analects XIV. xxii. T'ien Hang was the same as Ch'an\nCh'ang of that chapter.\n5 \u4e1e\u76f8\u674e\u65af\n\n\nimperial sway, so that it will last for 10,000 generations. This is\nindeed beyond what a stupid scholar can understand. And,\nmoreover, Yueh only talks of things belonging to the Three\nDynasties, which are not fit to be models to you. At other times,\nwhen the princes were all striving together, they endeavoured to\ngather the wandering scholars about them; but now, the empire is\nin a stable condition, and laws and ordinances issue from one\nsupreme authority. Let those of the people who abide in their\nhomes give their strength to the toils of husbandry, while those\nwho become scholars should study the various laws and\nprohibitions. Instead of doing this, however, the scholars do not\nlearn what belongs to the present day, but study antiquity. They\ngo on to condemn the present time, leading the masses of the\npeople astray, and to disorder.\n\t'\"At the risk of my life, I, the prime minister, say: Formerly,\nwhen the nation was disunited and disturbed, there was no one\nwho could give unity to it. The princes therefore stood up\ntogether; constant references were made to antiquity to the\ninjury of the present state; baseless statements were dressed up\nto confound what was real, and men made a boast of their own\npeculiar learning to condemn what their rulers appointed. And\nnow, when Your Majesty has consolidated the empire, and,\ndistinguishing black from white, has constituted it a stable unity,\nthey still honour their peculiar learning, and combine together;\nthey teach men what is contrary to your laws. When they hear\nthat an ordinance has been issued, every one sets to discussing it\nwith his learning. In the court, they are dissatisfied in heart; out\nof it, they keep talking in the streets. While they make a pretense\nof vaunting their Master, they consider it fine to have\nextraordinary views of their own. And so they lead on the people\nto be guilty of murmuring and evil speaking. If these things are\nnot prohibited, Your Majesty's authority will decline, and parties\nwill be formed. The best way is to prohibit them, I pray that all\nthe Records in charge of the Historiographers be burned,\nexcepting those of Ch'in; that, with the exception of those\nofficers belonging to the Board of Great Scholars, all throughout\nthe empire who presume to keep copies of the Shih-ching, or of\nthe Shu-ching, or of the books of the Hundred Schools, be required\nto go with them to the officers in charge of the several districts,\nand burn them [1]; that all who may dare to speak\n\n1 \u6089\u8a63\u5b88\u5c09\u96dc\u71d2\u4e4b.\n\n\ntogether about the Shih and the Shu be put to death, and their\nbodies exposed in the market-place; that those who make mention\nof the past, so as to blame the present, be put to death along with\ntheir relatives; that officers who shall know of the violation of\nthose rules and not inform against the offenders, be held equally\nguilty with them; and that whoever shall not have burned their\nBooks within thirty days after the issuing of the ordinance, be\nbranded and sent to labor on the wall for four years.  The only\nBooks which should be spared are those on medicine, divination,\nand husbandry. Whoever wants to learn the laws may go to the\nmagistrates and learn of them.\"\n\t'The imperial decision was -- \"Approved.\"'\n\tThe destruction of the scholars is related more briefly. In\nthe year after the burning of the Books, the resentment of the\nemperor was excited by the remarks and the flight of two\nscholars who had been favourites with him, and he determined to\ninstitute a strict inquiry about all of their class in Hsien-yang, to\nfind out whether they had been making ominous speeches about\nhim, and disturbing the minds of the people. The investigation\nwas committed to the Censors [1], and it being discovered that\nupwards of 460 scholars had violated the prohibitions, they were\nall buried alive in pits [2], for a warning to the empire, while\ndegradation and banishment were employed more strictly than\nbefore against all who fell under suspicion. The emperor's eldest\nson, Fu-su, remonstrated with him, saying that such measures\nagainst those who repeated the words of Confucius and sought to\nimitate him, would alienate all the people from their infant\ndynasty, but his interference offended him father so much that he\nwas sent off from court, to be with the general who was\nsuperintending the building of the great wall.\n\t8. No attempts have been made by Chinese critics and\nhistorians to discredit the record of these events, though some\nhave questioned the extent of the injury inflicted by them on the\nmonuments of their ancient literature [3]. It is important to\nobserve that the edict against the Books did not extend to the Yi-\nching, which was\n\n1 \u5fa1\u53f2\u6089\u6848\u554f\u8af8\u751f, \u8af8\u751f\u50b3\u76f8\u544a\u5f15.\n2 \u81ea\u9664\u72af\u7981\u8005, \u56db\u767e\u516d\u9918\u4eba, \u7686\u962c\u4e4b\u54b8\u967d. The meaning of this passage as\na whole is sufficiently plain, but I am unable to make out the\nforce of the phrase \u81ea\u9664.\n3 See the remarks of Chamg Chia-tsi (\u593e\u969b\u912d\u6c0f), of the Sung\ndynasty, on the subject, in the \u6587\u737b\u901a\u8003, Bk. clxxiv. p. 5.\n\n\nexempted as being a work on divination, nor did it extend to the\nother classics which were in charge of the Board of Great\nScholars. There ought to have been no difficulty in finding copies\nwhen the Han dynasty superseded that of the Ch'in, and probably\nthere would have been none but for the sack of the capital in B.C.\n206 by Hsiang Yu, the formidable opponent of the founder of the\nHouse of Han. Then, we are told, the fires blazed for three months\namong the palaces and public buildings, and must have proved as\ndestructive to the copies of the Great Scholars as the edict of the\ntyrant had been to the copies among the people.\n\tIt is to be noted also that the life of Shih Hwang Ti lasted\nonly three years after the promulgation of his edict. He died in\nB.C. 210, and the reign of his second son who succeeded him\nlasted only other three years. A brief period of disorder and\nstruggling for the supreme authority between different chiefs\nensured; but the reign of the founder of the Han dynasty dates\nfrom B.C. 202. Thus, eleven years were all which intervened\nbetween the order for the burning of the Books and rise of that\nfamily, which signaled itself by the care which it bestowed for\ntheir recovery; and from the edict of the tyrant of Ch'in against\nprivate individuals having copies in their keeping, to its express\nabrogation by the emperor Hsiao Hui, there were only twenty-two\nyears. We may believe, indeed, that vigorous efforts to carry the\nedict into effect would not be continued longer than the life of\nits author,-- that is, not for more than about three years. The\ncalamity inflicted upon the ancient Books of China by the House of\nCh'in could not have approached to anything like a complete\ndestruction of them. There would be no occasion for the scholars\nof the Han dynasty, in regard to the bulk of their ancient\nliterature, to undertake more than the work of recension and\nediting.\n\t9. The idea of forgery by them on a large scale is out of the\nquestion. The catalogues of Liang Hsin enumerated more than\n13,000 volumes of a larger or smaller size, the productions of\nnearly 600 different writers, and arranged in thirty-eight\nsubdivisions of subjects [1]. In the third catalogue, the first\nsubdivision contained the orthodox writers [2], to the number of\nfifty-three, with 836 Works or portions of their Works. Between\nMencius and\n\n1 \u51e1\u66f8\u516d\u7565, \u4e09\u5341\u516b\u7a2e, \u4e94\u767e\u4e5d\u5341\u516d\u5bb6, \u842c\u4e09\u5343\u4e8c\u767e\u516d\u4e5d\u5377.\n2 \u5112\u5bb6\u8005\u6d41.\n\n\nK'ung Chi, the grandson of Confucius, eight different authors have\nplace. The second subdivision contained the Works of the Taoist\nschool [1], amounting to 993 collections, from thirty-seven\ndifferent authors. The sixth subdivision contained the Mohist\nwriters [2], to the number of six, with their productions in 86\ncollections. I specify these two subdivisions, because they\nembrace the Works of schools or sects antagonistic to that of\nConfucius, and some of them still hold a place in Chinese\nliterature, and contain many references to the five Classics, and\nto Confucius and his disciples.\n\t10. The inquiry pursued in the above paragraphs conducts us\nto the conclusion that the materials from which the classics, as\nthey have come down to us, were compiled and edited in the two\ncenturies preceding our Christian era, were genuine remains,\ngoing back to a still more remote period. The injury which they\nsustained from the dynasty of Ch'in was, I believe, the same in\ncharacter as that to which they were exposed during all the time\nof 'the Warring States.' It may have been more intense in degree,\nbut the constant warfare which prevailed for some centuries\namong the different states which composed the kingdom was\neminently unfavourable to the cultivation of literature. Mencius\ntells us how the princes had made away with many of the records\nof antiquity, from which their own usurpations and innovations\nmight have been condemned [3]. Still the times were not\nunfruitful, either in scholars or statesmen, to whom the ways and\nmonuments of antiquity were dear, and the space from the rise of\nthe Ch'in dynasty to the death of Confucius was not very great. It\nonly amounted to 258 years. Between these two periods Mencius\nstands as a connecting link. Born probably in the year B.C. 371, he\nreached, by the intervention of Kung Chi, back to the sage himself,\nand as his death happened B.C. 288, we are brought down to within\nnearly half a century of the Ch'in dynasty. From all these\nconsiderations we may proceed with confidence to consider each\nseparate Work, believing that we have in these Classics and Books\nwhat the great sage of China and his disciples gave to their\ncountry more than 2000 years ago.\n\n1 \u9053\u5bb6\u8005\u6d41.\n2 \u58a8\u5bb6\u8005\u6d41.\n3 See Mencius, V. Pt. II. ii. 2.\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\nOF THE CONFUCIAN ANALECTS.\n\nSECTION I.\nFORMATION OF THE TEXT OF THE ANALECTS BY THE SCHOLARS OF\nTHE HAN DYNASTY.\n\n\t1. When the work of collecting and editing the remains of\nthe Classical Books was undertaken by the scholars of Han, there\nappeared two different copies of the Analects, one from Lu, the\nnative State of Confucius, and the other from Ch'i, the State\nadjoining. Between these there were considerable differences.\nThe former consisted of twenty Books or Chapters, the same as\nthose into which the Classic is now divided. The latter contained\ntwo Books in addition, and in the twenty Books, which they had in\ncommon, the chapters and sentences were somewhat more\nnumerous than in the Lu exemplar.\n\t2. The names of several individuals are given, who devoted\nthemselves to the study of those two copies of the Classic.\nAmong the patrons of the Lu copy are mentioned the names of\nHsia-hau Shang, grand-tutor of the heir-apparent, who died at the\nage of 90, and in the reign of the emperor Hsuan (B.C. 73-49) [1];\nHsiao Wang-chih [2], a general-officer, who died in the reign of\nthe emperor Yuan (B.C. 48-33); Wei Hsien, who was a premier of\nthe empire from B.C. 70-66; and his son Hsuan-ch'ang [3]. As\npatrons of the Ch'i copy, we have Wang Ch'ing, who was a censor\nin the year B.C. 99 [4]; Yung Shang [5]; and Wang Chi [6], a\nstatesman who died in the beginning of the reign of the emperor\nYuan.\n\t3. But a third copy of the Analects was discovered about B.C.\n150. One of the sons of the emperor Ching was appointed king of\nLu [7] in the year B.C. 154, and some time after, wishing to\nenlarge his palace, he proceeded to pull down the house of the\nK'ung family, known as that where Confucius himself had lived.\n\n1 \u592a\u5b50\u5927\u50b3\u590f\u4faf\u52dd.\n2 \u524d\u5c07\u8ecd, \u856d\u671b\u4e4b.\n3 \u4e1e\u76f8, \u97cb\u8ce2, \u53ca\u5b50, \u7384\u6210.\n4 \u738b\u537f.\n5 \u5eb8\u751f.\n6 \u4e2d\u5c09\u738b\u5409.\n7 \u9b6f\u738b\u5171 (or \u606d).\n\n\nWhile doing so, there were found in the wall copies of the Shu-\nching, the Ch'un Ch'iu, the Hsiao-ching, and the Lun Yu or Analects,\nwhich had been deposited there, when the edict for the burning of\nthe Books was issued. There were all written, however, in the\nmost ancient form of the Chinese character [1], which had fallen\ninto disuse, and the king returned them to the K'ung family, the\nhead of which, K'ung An-kwo [2], gave himself to the study of\nthem, and finally, in obedience to an imperial order, published a\nWork called \"The Lun Yu, with Explanations of the Characters, and\nExhibition of the Meaning [3].'\n\t4. The recovery of this copy will be seen to be a most\nimportant circumstance in the history f the text of the Analects.\nIt is referred to by Chinese writers, as 'The old Lun Yu.' In the\nhistorical narrative which we have of the affair, a circumstance\nis added which may appear to some minds to throw suspicion on\nthe whole account. The king was finally arrested, we are told, in\nhis purpose to destroy the house, by hearing the sounds of bells,\nmusical stones, lutes, and citherns, as he was ascending the\nsteps that led to the ancestral hall or temple. This incident was\ncontrived, we may suppose, by the K'ung family, to preserve the\nhouse, or it may have been devised by the historian to glorify the\nsage, but we may not, on account of it, discredit the finding of\nthe ancient copies of the Books. We have K'ung An-kwo's own\naccount of their being committed to him, and of the ways which\nhe took to decipher them. The work upon the Analects, mentioned\nabove, has not indeed come down to us, but his labors on the Shu-\nching still remain.\n\t5. It has been already stated, that the Lun Yu of Ch'i\ncontained two Books more than that of Lu. In this respect, the old\nLun Yu agreed with the Lu exemplar. Those two books were\nwanting in it as well. The last book of the Lu Lun was divided in\nit, however, into two, the chapter beginning, 'Yao said,' forming a\nwhole Book by itself, and the remaining two chapters formed\nanother Book beginning 'Tsze-chang.' With this trifling difference,\nthe old and the Lu copies appear to have agreed together.\n\t6 Chang Yu, prince of An-ch'ang [4], who died B.C. 4, after\nhaving\n\n1 \u79d1\u6597\u6587\u5b50, -- lit. 'tadpole  characters.' They were, it is said, the\noriginal forms devised by Ts'ang-chieh, with large heads and fine\ntails, like the creature from which they were named. See the\nnotes to the preface to the Shu-ching in 'The Thirteen Classics.'\n2 \u5b54\u5b89\u570b.\n3 \u8ad6\u8a9e\u8a13\u89e3. See the preface to the Lun Yu in 'The Thirteen Ching.' It\nhas been my principal authority in this section.\n4 \u5b89\u660c\u4faf, \u5f35\u79b9.\n\n\nsustained several of the highest offices of the empire, instituted\na comparison between the exemplars of Lu and Ch'i, with a view\nto determine the true text. The result of his labors appeared in\ntwenty-one Books, which are mentioned in Liu Hsin's catalogue.\nThey were known as the Lun of prince Chang [1], and commanded\ngeneral approbation. To Chang Yu is commonly ascribed the\nejecting from the Classic the two additional books which the Ch'i\nexemplar contained, but Ma Twan-lin prefers to rest that\ncircumstance on the authority of the old Lun, which we have seen\nwas without them [2]. If we had the two Books, we might find\nsufficient reason from their contents to discredit them. That may\nhave been sufficient for Chang Yu to condemn them as he did, but\nwe can hardly supposed that he did not have before him the old\nLun, which had come to light about a century before he published\nhis work.\n\t7. In the course of the second century, a new edition of the\nAnalects, with a commentary, was published by one of the\ngreatest scholars which China has ever produced, Chang Hsuan,\nknown also as Chang K'ang-ch'ang [3]. He died in the reign of the\nemperor Hsien (A.D. 190-220) [4] at the age of 74, and the amount\nof his labors on the ancient classical literature is almost\nincredible. While he adopted the Lu Lun as the received text of his\ntime, he compared it minutely with those of Ch'i and the old\nexemplar. In the last section f this chapter will be found a list of\nthe readings in his commentary different from those which are\nnow acknowledged in deference to the authority of Chu Hsi, of the\nSung dynasty. They are not many, and their importance is but\ntrifling.\n\t8. On the whole, the above statements will satisfy the\nreader of the care with which the text of the Lun Yu was fixed\nduring the dynasty of Han.\n\nSECTION II.\nAT WHAT TIME, AND BY WHOM, THE ANALECTS WERE WRITTEN;\nTHEIR PLAN; AND AUTHENTICITY.\n\n\t1. At the commencement of the notes upon the first Book,\nunder the heading, 'The Title of the Work,' I have given the\nreceived account of its authorship, which precedes the catalogue\n\n1 \u5f35\u4faf\u8ad6.\n2 \u6587\u737b\u901a\u8003, Bk. clxxxiv. p. 3.\n3 \u912d\u7384, \u5b57\u5eb7\u6210.\n4 \u5b5d\u737b\u7687\u5e1d.\n\n\nof Liu Hsin. According to that, the Analects were compiled by the\ndisciples if Confucius coming together after his death, and\ndigesting the memorials of his discourses and conversations\nwhich they had severally preserved. But this cannot be true. We\nmay believe, indeed, that many of the disciples put on record\nconversations which they had had with their master, and notes\nabout his manners and incidents of his life, and that these have\nbeen incorporated with the Work which we have, but that Work\nmust have taken its present form at a period somewhat later.\n\tIn Book VIII, chapters iii iv, we have some notices of the\nlast days of Tsang Shan, and are told that he was visited on his\ndeath-bed by the officer Mang Ching. Now Ching was the\nposthumous title of Chung-sun Chieh [1], and we find him alive (Li\nChi, II. Pt. ii. 2) after the death of duke Tao of Lu [2], which took\nplace B.C. 431, about fifty years after the death of Confucius.\n\tAgain, Book XIX is all occupied with the sayings of the\ndisciples. Confucius personally does not appear in it. Parts of it,\nas chapters iii, xii, and xviii, carry us down to a time when the\ndisciples had schools and followers of their own, and were\naccustomed to sustain their teachings by referring to the lessons\nwhich they had learned from the sage.\n\tThirdly, there is the second chapter of Book XI, the second\nparagraph of which is evidently a note by the compilers of the\nWork, enumerating ten of the principal disciples, and classifying\nthem according to their distinguishing characteristics. We can\nhardly suppose it to have been written while any of the ten were\nalive. But there is among them the name of Tsze-hsia, who lived\nto the age of about a hundred. We find him, B.C. 407, three-\nquarters of a century after the death of Confucius, at the court of\nWei, to the prince of which he is reported to have presented some\nof the Classical Books [3].\n\t2. We cannot therefore accept the above account of the\norigin of the Analects,-- that they were compiled by the disciples\nof Confucius. Much more likely is the view that we owe the work\nto their disciples. In the note on I. ii. I, a peculiarity is pointed\nout in the use of the surnames of Yew Zo and Tsang Shan, which\n\n1 See Chu Hsi's commentary, in loc. -- \u5b5f\u656c\u5b50, \u9b6f\u5927\u592b, \u4ef2\u5b6b\u6c0f, \u540d\u6377.\n2 \u60bc\u516c.\n3 \u6649\u9b4f\u65af\u53d7\u7d93\u65bc\u535c\u5b50\u590f; see the \u53a4\u4ee3\u7d71\u7d00\u8868, Bk. i. p. 77.\n\n\nhas made some Chinese critics attribute the compilation to their\nfollowers. But this conclusion does not stand investigation.\nOthers have assigned different portions to different schools.\nThus, Book V is given to the disciples of Tsze-kung; Book XI, to\nthose of Min Tsze-ch'ien; Book XIV, to Yuan Hsien; and Book XVI\nhas been supposed to be interpolated from the Analects of Ch'i.\nEven if we were to acquiesce in these decisions, we should have\naccounted only for a small part of the Work. It is best to rest in\nthe general conclusion, that it was compiled by the disciples of\nthe disciples of the sage, making free use of the written\nmemorials concerning him which they had received, and the oral\nstatements which they had heard, from their several masters.\nAnd we shall not be far wrong, if we determine its date as about\nthe end of the fourth, or the beginning of the fifth century before\nChrist.\n\t3. In the critical work on the Four Books, called 'Record of\nRemarks in the village of Yung [1],' it is observed, 'The Analects,\nin my opinion, were made by the disciples, just like a record of\nremarks. There they were recorded, and afterwards came a first-\nrate hand, who gave them the beautiful literary finish which we\nnow witness, so that there is not a character which does not have\nits own indispensable place [2].' We have seen that the first of\nthese statements contains only a small amount of truth with\nregard to the materials of the Analects, nor can we receive the\nsecond. If one hand or one mind had digested the materials\nprovided by many, the arrangement and the style of the work\nwould have been different. We should not have had the same\nremark appearing in several Books, with little variation, and\nsometimes with none at all. Nor can we account on this\nsupposition for such fragments as the last chapters of the ninth,\ntenth, and sixteenth Books, and many others. No definite plan has\nbeen kept in view throughout. A degree of unity appears to belong\nto some books more than others, and in general to the first ten\nmore than to those which follow, but there is no progress of\nthought or illustration of subject from Book to Book. And even in\nthose where the chapters have\n\n1 \u6995\u6751\u8a9e\u9304,-- \u6995\u6751, 'the village of Yung,' is, I conceive, the writer's\nnom de plume.\n2 \u8ad6\u8a9e\u60f3\u662f\u9580\u5f1f\u5b50, \u5982\u8a9e\u9304\u4e00\u822c, \u8a18\u5728\u90a3\u88e1, \u5f8c\u4f86\u6709\u4e00\u9ad8\u624b, \u934a\u6210\u6587\u7406\u9019\u6a23\u5c11, \u4e0b\n\u5b57\u7121\u4e00\u4e0d\u6e3e.\n\n\na common subject, they are thrown together at random more than\non any plan.\n\t4. We cannot tell when the Work was first called the Lun Yu\n[1]. The evidence in the preceding section is sufficient to prove\nthat when the Han scholars were engaged in collecting the ancient\nBooks, it came before them, not in broken tablets, but complete,\nand arranged in Books or Sections, as we now have it. The Old\ncopy was found deposited in the wall of the house which\nConfucius had occupied, and must have been placed there not later\nthan B.C. 211, distant from the date which I have assigned to the\ncompilation, not much more than a century and a half. That copy,\nwritten in the most ancient characters, was, possibly, the\nautograph of the compilers.\n\tWe have the Writings, or portions of the Writings, of\nseveral authors of the third and fourth centuries before Christ. Of\nthese, in addition to 'The Great Learning,' 'The Doctrine of the\nMean,' and 'The Works of Mencius,' I have looked over the Works of\nHsun Ch'ing [2] of the orthodox school, of the philosophers Chwang\nand Lieh of the Taoist school [3], and of the heresiarch Mo [4].\n\tIn the Great Learning, Commentary, chapter iv, we have the\nwords of Ana. XII. xiii. In the Doctrine of the Mean, ch. iii, we have\nAna. VI. xxvii; and in ch. xxviii. 5, we have substantially Ana. III.\nix. In Mencius, II. Pt. I. ii. 19, we have Ana. VII. xxxiii, and in vii. 2,\nAna. IV. i; in III. Pt. I. iv. 11, Ana. VIII. xviii, xix; in IV. Pt. I. xiv. 1,\nAna. XI. xvi. 2; in V. Pt. II. vii. 9, Ana. X. xiii. 4; and in VII. Pt. II.\nxxxvii. 1, 2, 8, Ana. V. xxi, XIII. xxi, and XVII. xiii. These\nquotations, however, are introduced by 'The Master said,' or\n'Confucius said,' no mention being made of any book called 'The\nLun Yu,' or Analects. In the Great Learning, Commentary, x. 15, we\nhave the words of Ana. IV. iii, and in\n\n1 In the continuation of the 'General Examination of Records and\nScholars (\u7e8c\u6587\u737b\u901a\u8003),' Bk. cxcviii. p. 17, it is said, indeed, on the\nauthority of Wang Ch'ung (\u738b\u5145), a scholar of our first century,\nthat when the Work came out of the wall it was named a Chwan or\nRecord (\u50b3), and that it was when K'ung An-kwo instructed a\nnative of Tsin, named Fu-ch'ing, in it, that it first got the name of\nLun Yu:-- \u6b66\u5e1d\u5f97\u8ad6\u8a9e\u4e8e\u5b54\u58c1\u4e2d, \u7686\u540d\u66f0\u50b3, \u5b54\u5b89\u570b\u4ee5\u53e4\u8ad6\u6559\u6649\u4eba\u6276\u537f, \u59cb\u66f0\u8ad6\n\u8a9e. If it were so, it is strange the circumstance is not mentioned\nin Ho Yen's preface.\n2 \u8340\u537f.\n3 \u838a\u5b50, \u5217\u5b50.\n4 \u58a8\u5b50.\n\n\nMencius, III. Pt. II. vii. 3, those of Ana. XVII. i, but without any\nnotice of quotation.\n\tIn the writings of Hsun Ch'ing, Book I. page 2, we find\nsomething like the words of Ana. XV. xxx; and on p. 6, part of XIV.\nxxv. But in these instances there is no mark of quotation.\n\tIn the writings of Chwang, I have noted only one passage\nwhere the words of the Analects are reproduced. Ana. XVIII. v is\nfound, but with large additions, and no reference of quotation, in\nhis treatise on 'Man in the World, associated with other Men [1].'\nIn all those Works, as well as in those of Lieh and Mo, the\nreferences to Confucius and his disciples, and to many\ncircumstances of his life, are numerous [2]. The quotations of\nsayings of his not found in the Analects are likewise many,\nespecially in the Doctrine of the Mean, in Mencius, and in the\nWorks of Chwang. Those in the latter are mostly burlesques, but\nthose by the orthodox writers have more or less of classical\nauthority. Some of them may be found in the Chia Yu [3], or\n'Narratives of the School,' and in parts of the Li Chi, while others\nare only known to us by their occurrence in these Writings.\nAltogether, they do not supply the evidence, for which I am in\nquest, of the existence of the Analects as a distinct Work,\nbearing the name of the Lun Yu, prior to the Ch'in dynasty. They\nleave the presumption, however, in favour of those conclusions,\nwhich arises from the facts stated in the first section,\nundisturbed. They confirm it rather. They show that there was\nabundance of materials at hand to the scholars of Han, to compile\na much larger Work with the same title, if they had felt it their\nduty to do the business of compilation, and not that of editing.\n\nSECTION III.\nOF COMMENTARIES UPON THE ANALECTS.\n\n\t1. It would be a vast and unprofitable labor to attempt to\ngive a list of the Commentaries which have been published on this\nWork. My object is merely to point out how zealously the business\nof interpretation was undertaken, as soon as the text had been\n\n1 \u4eba\u9593\u4e16.\n2 In Mo's chapter against the Literati, he mentions some of the\ncharacteristics of Confucius in the very words of the Tenth Book\nof the Analects.\n3 \u5bb6\u8a9e.\n\n\nrecovered by the scholars of the Han dynasty, and with what\nindustry it has been persevered in down to the present time.\n\t2. Mention has been made, in Section I. 6, of the Lun of\nprince Chang, published in the half century before our era. Pao\nHsien [1], a distinguished scholar and officer, f the reign of\nKwang-wu [2], the first emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty, A.D.\n25-57, and another scholar of the surname Chau [3], less known\nbut of the same time, published Works, containing arrangements\nof this in chapters and sentences, with explanatory notes. The\ncritical work of K'ung An-kwo on the old Lun Yu has been referred\nto. That was lost in consequence of suspicions under which An-\nkwo fell towards the close of the reign of the emperor Wu, but in\nthe time of the emperor Shun, A.D. 126-144, another scholar, Ma\nYung [4], undertook the exposition of the characters in the old Lun,\ngiving at the same time his views of the general meaning. The\nlabors of Chang Hsuan in the second century have been mentioned.\nNot long after his death, there ensued a period of anarchy, when\nthe empire was divided into three governments, well known from\nthe celebrated historical romance, called 'The Three Kingdoms.'\nThe strongest of them, the House of Wei, patronized literature,\nand three of its high officers and scholars, Ch'an Ch'un, Wang Su,\nand Chau Shang-lieh [5], in the first half, and probably the second\nquarter, of the third century, all gave to the world their notes on\nthe Analects.\n\tVery shortly after, five of the great ministers of the\nGovernment of Wei, Sun Yung, Chang Ch'ung, Tsao Hsi, Hsun K'ai,\nand Ho Yen [6], united in the production of one great Work,\nentitled, 'A Collection of Explanations of the Lun Yu [7].' It\nembodied the labors of all the writers which have been\nmentioned, and, having been frequently reprinted by succeeding\ndynasties, it still remains. The preface of the five compilers, in\nthe form of a memorial to the emperor, so called, of the House of\nWei, is published with it, and has been of much assistance to me\nin writing these sections. Ho\n\n1 \u5305\u54b8.\n2 \u5149\u6b66.\n3 \u5468\u6c0f.\n4 \u81f3\u9806\u5e1d\u6642, \u5357\u90e1\u592a\u5b88, \u99ac\u878d, \u4ea6\u70ba\u4e4b\u8a13\u8aaa.\n5 \u53f8\u8fb2, \u9673\u7fa4; \u592a\u5e38, \u738b\u8085; \u535a\u58eb, \u5468\u751f\u5217.\n6 \u5149\u797f\u5927\u592b, \u95dc\u5167\u4faf, \u5b6b\u9095; \u5149\u797f\u5927\u592b, \u912d\u6c96; \u6563\u9a0e\u5e38\u4f8d, \u4e2d\u9818\u8ecd, \u5b89\u9109\u4ead\u4faf, \u66f9\n\u7fb2; \u4f8d\u4e2d, \u8340\u9857; \u5c1a\u66f8, \u99d9\u99ac\u90fd\u5c09, \u95dc\u5167\u4faf, \u4f55\u664f.\n7 \u8ad6\u8a9e\u96c6\u89e3. I possess a copy of this work, printed about the middle\nof our fourteenth century.\n\n\nYen was the leader among them, and the work is commonly quoted\nas if it were the production of him alone.\n\t3. From Ho Yen downwards, there has hardly been a dynasty\nwhich has not contributed its laborers to the illustration of the\nAnalects. In the Liang, which occupied the throne a good part of\nthe sixth century, there appeared the 'Comments of Hwang K'an\n[1],' who to the seven authorities cited by Ho Yen added other\nthirteen, being scholars who had deserved well of the Classic\nduring the intermediate time. Passing over other dynasties, we\ncome to the Sung, A.D. 960-1279. An edition of the Classics was\npublished by imperial authority, about the beginning of the\neleventh century, with the title of 'The Correct Meaning.' The\nprincipal scholar engaged in the undertaking was Hsing P'ing [2].\nThe portion of it on the Analects [3] is commonly reprinted in 'The\nThirteen Classics,' after Ho Yen's explanations. But the names of\nthe Sung dynasty are all thrown into the shade by that of Chu Hsi,\nthan whom China has not produced a greater scholar. He composed,\nor his disciples complied, in the twelfth century, three Works on\nthe Analects:-- the first called 'Collected Meanings [4];' the\nsecond, 'Collected Comments [5];' and the third, 'Queries [6].'\nNothing could exceed the grace and clearness of his style, and the\ninfluence which he has exerted on the literature of China has been\nalmost despotic.\n\tThe scholars of the present dynasty, however, seem inclined\nto question the correctness of his views and interpretations of\nthe Classics, and the chief place among them is due to Mao Ch'i-\nling [7], known by the local name of Hsi-ho [8]. His writings, under\nthe name of 'The Collected Works of Hsi-ho [9],' have been\npublished in eighty volumes, containing between three and four\nhundred books or sections. He has nine treatises on the Four\nBooks, or parts of them, and deserves to take rank with Chang\nHsuan and Chu Hsi at the head of Chinese scholars, though he is a\nvehement opponent of the latter. Most of his writings are to be\nfound also in the great Work called 'A Collection of Works on the\nClassics, under the Imperial dynasty of Ch'ing [10],' which\ncontains 1400 sections, and is a noble contribution by the\nscholars of the present dynasty to the illustration of its ancient\nliterature.\n\n1 \u7687\u4f83\u8ad6\u8a9e\u852c.\n2 \u90a2\u663a.\n3 \u8ad6\u8a9e\u6b63\u7fa9.\n4 \u8ad6\u8a9e\u96c6\u7fa9.\n5 \u8ad6\u8a9e\u96c6\u8a3b.\n6 \u8ad6\u8a9e\u6216\u554f.\n7 \u6bdb\u5947\u9f61.\n8 \u897f\u6cb3.\n9 \u897f\u6cb3\u5168\u96c6.\n10 \u7687\u6e05\u7d93\u89e3.\n\n\nSECTION IV.\nOF VARIOUS READINGS.\n\n\tIn 'The Collection of Supplementary Observations on the\nFour Books [1],' the second chapter contains a general view of\ncommentaries on the Analects, and from it I extract the following\nlist of various readings of the text found in the comments of\nChang Hsuan, and referred to in the first section of this chapter.\n\nBook II. i, \u62f1 for \u5171; viii, \u9915 for \u994c; xix, \u63aa for \u932f; xxiii. 1, \u5341\u4e16\u53ef\u77e5,\nwithout \u4e5f, for \u5341\u4e16\u53ef\u77e5\u4e5f. Book III. vii, in the clause \u5fc5\u4e5f\u5c04\u4e4e, he\nmakes a full stop at \u4e5f; xxi. 1, \u4e3b for \u793e. Book IV. x, \u6575 for \u9069, and \u6155\nfor \u83ab. Book V. xxi, he puts a full stop at \u5b50. Book VI. vii, he has not\nthe characters \u5247\u543e. Book VII. iv, \u664f for \u71d5; xxxiv, \u5b50\u75be simply, for\n\u5b50\u75be\u75c5. Book IX. ix, \u5f01 for \u5195. Book XI. xxv. 7, \u50ce for \u64b0, and \u994b for \u6b78.\nBook XIII. iii. 3, \u4e8e\u5f80 for \u8fc2; xviii. 1, \u5f13 for \u8eac. Book XIV. xxxi, \u8b17 for\n\u65b9; xxxiv. 1, \u4f55\u662f\u6816\u6816\u8005\u8207 for \u4f55\u70ba\u662f\u6816\u6816\u8005\u8207. Book XV. i. a, \u7cbb for \u7ce7.\nBook XVI. i. 13, \u5c01 for \u90a6. Book XVII. i, \u994b for \u6b78; xxiv. 2, \u7d5e for \u5fbc.\nBook XVIII. iv, \u994b for \u6b78; viii. 1, \u4f8f for \u6731.\n\n\tThese various readings are exceedingly few, and in\nthemselves insignificant. The student who wishes to pursue this\nsubject at length, is provided with the means in the Work of Ti\nChiao-shau [2], expressly devoted to it. It forms sections 449-\n473 of the Works of the Classics, mentioned at the close of the\npreceding section. A still more comprehensive work of the same\nkind is, 'The Examination of the Text of the Classics and of\nCommentaries on them,' published under the superintendence of\nYuan Yuan, forming chapters 818 to 1054 of the same Collection.\nChapters 1016 to 1030 are occupied with the Lun yu; see the\nreference to Yuan Yuan farther on, on p. 132.\n\n1 \u56db\u66f8\u62d3\u9918\u8aaa. Published in 1798. The author was a Tsao Yin-ku --\n\u66f9\u5bc5\u8c37.\n2 \u7fdf\u6559\u6388, \u56db\u66f8\u8003\u7570.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\nOF THE GREAT LEARNING.\n\nSECTION I.\nHISTORY OF THE TEXT, AND THE DIFFERENT ARRANGEMENTS OF IT\nWHICH HAVE BEEN PROPOSED.\n\n\t1. It has already been mentioned that 'The Great Learning'\nfrms one of the Books of the Li Chi, or 'Record of Rites,' the\nformation of the text of which will be treated of in its proper\nplace. I will only say here, that the Records of Rites had suffered\nmuch more, after the death of Confucius, than the other ancient\nClassics which were supposed to have been collected and digested\nby him. They were in a more dilapidated condition at the time of\nthe revivial of the ancient literature under the Han dynasty, and\nwere then published in three collections, only one of which -- the\nRecord of Rites -- retains its place among the five Ching.\n\tThe Record of Rites consists, according to the ordinary\narrangement, of forty-nine Chapters or Books. Liu Hsiang (see ch.\nI. sect. II. 2) took the lead in its formation, and was followed by\nthe two famous scholars, Tai Teh [1], and his relative, Tai Shang\n[2]. The first of these reduced upwards of 200 chapters, collected\nby Hsiang, to eighty-nine, and Shang reduced these again to forty-\nsix. The three other Books were added in the second century of our\nera, the Great Learning being one of them, by Ma Yung, mentioned\nin the last chapter, section III.2.  Since his time, the Work has not\nreceived any further additions.\n\t2. In his note appended to what he calls the chapter of\n'Classical Text,' Chu Hsi says that the tablets of the 'old copies'\nof the rest of the Great Learning were considerably out of order.\nBy those old copies, he intends the Work of Chang Hsuan, who\npublished his commentary on the Classic, soon after it was\ncompleted by the additions of Ma Yung; and t is possible that the\ntablets were in confusion, and had not been arranged with\nsufficient care; but such a thing does not appear to have been\nsuspected until the\n\n1 \u6234\u5fb7\n2 \u6234\u8056 Shang was a second cousin of Teh.\n\n\ntwelfth century, nor can any evidence from ancient monuments be\nadduced in its support.\n\tI have related how the ancient Classics were cut on slabs of\nstone by imperial order, A.D. 175, the text being that which the\nvarious literati had determined, and which had been adopted by\nChang Hsuan. The same work was performed about seventy years\nlater, under the so-called dynasty of Wei, between the years 240\nand 248, and the two sets of slabs were set up together. The only\ndifference between them was, that whereas the Classics had been\ncut in the first instance only in one form, the characters in the\nslabs of Wei were in three different forms. Amd the changes of\ndynasties, the slabs both of Han and Wei had perished, or nearly\nso, before the rise of the T'ang dynasty, A.D. 624; but under one of\nits emperors, in the year 836, a copy of the Classics was again\ncut on stone, though only in one form of the character. These\nslabs we can trace down through the Sung dynasty, when they\nwere known as the tablets of Shen [1]. They were in exact\nconformity with the text of the Classics adopted by Chang Hsuan\nin his commentaries; and they exist at the present day at the city\nof Hsi-an, Shen-hsi, still called by the same name.\n\tThe Sung dynasty did not accomplish a similar work itself,\nnor did either of the two which followed it think it necessary to\nengrave in stone in this way the ancient Classics. About the\nmiddle of the sixteenth century, however, the literary world in\nChina was startled by a reprt that the slabs of Wei which\ncontained the Great Learning had been discovered. But this was\nnothing more than the result f an impudent attempt at an\nimposition, for which it is difficult to a foreigner to assign any\nadequate cause. The treatise, as printed from these slabs, has\nsome trifling additions, and many alterations in the order of the\ntext, but differing from the arrangements proposed by Chu Hsi,\nand by other scholars. There seems to be now no difference of\nopinion among Chinese critics that the whole affair was a\nforgery. The text of the Great Learning, as it appears in the\nRecord of Rites with the commentary of Chang Hsuan, and was\nthrice engraved on stone, in three different dynasties, is, no\ndoubt, that which was edited in the Han dynasty by Ma Yung.\n\t3. I have said, that it is possible that the tablets containing\nthe\n\n1 \u965c\u7891.\n\n\ntext were not arranged with sufficient care by him; and indeed,\nany one who studies the treatise attentively, will probably come\nto the conclusion that the part of it forming the first six\nchapters of commentary in the present Work is but a fragment. It\nwould not be a difficult task to propose an arrangement of the\ntext different from any which I have yet seen; but such an\nundertaking would not be interesting out of China. My object here\nis simply to mention the Chinese scholars wh have rendered\nthemselves famous or notorious in their own country by what\nthey hav done in this way. The first was Ch'ang Hao, a native of\nLo-yang in Ho-nan Province, in the eleventh century [1]. His\ndesignation of Po-shun, but since his death he has been known\nchiefly by the style of Ming-tao [2], which we may render the\nWise-in-doctrine. The eulogies heaped on him by Chu Hsi and\nothers are extravagant, and he is placed immediately after\nMencious in the list of great scholars. Doubtless he was a man of\nvast literary acquirements. The greatest change which he\nintroduced into the Great Learning, was to read sin [3] for ch'in\n[4], at the commencement, making the second object proposed in\nthe treatise to be the renovation of the people, instead of loving\nthem. This alteration and his various transpositions of the text\nare found in Mao Hsi-ho's treatise on 'The Attested Text of the\nGreat Learning [5].'\n\tHardly less illustrious than Ch'ang Hao was his younger\nbrother Ch'ang I, known by the style of Chang-shu [6], and since\nhis death by that of I-chwan [7]. He followed Hao in the adoption\nof the reading 'to renovate,' instead of 'to love.' But he transposed\nthe text differently, more akin to the arrangement afterwards\nmade by Chu Hsi, suggesting also that there were some\nsuperfluous sentences in the old text which might conveniently be\nerased. The Work, as proposed to be read by him, will be found in\nthe volume of Mao just referred to.\n\tWe come to the name of Chu Hsi who entered into the labors\nof the brothers Ch'ang, the young of whom he styles his Master, in\nhis introductory note to the Great Learning. His arrangement of\nthe text is that now current in all the editions of the Four Books,\nand it had nearly displaced the ancient text\n\n1 \u7a0b\u5b50\u9865\ufe50\u5b57\u4f2f\u6df3\ufe50\u6cb3\u5357\ufe50\u6d1b\u967d\u4eba.\n2 \u660e\u9053.\n3 \u65b0.\n4 \u89aa.\n5 \u5927\u5b78\u8b49.\n6 \u7a0b\u5b50\u9824\ufe50\u5b57\u6b63\u53d4\ufe50\u660e\u9053\u4e4b\u5f1f.\n7 \u4f0a\u5ddd.\n\n\naltogether. The sanction of Imperial approval was given to it\nduring the Yuan and Ming dynasties. In the editions of the Five\nChing published by them, only the names of the Doctrine of the\nMean and the Great Learning were preserved. No text of these\nBooks was given, and Hsi-ho tells us that in the reign of Chia-\nching [1], the most flourishing period of the Ming dynasty (A.D.\n1522-1566), when Wang Wan-ch'ang [2] published a copy of the\nGreat Learning, taken from the T'ang edition of the Thirteen\nChing, all the officers and scholars looked at one another in\nastonishment, and were inclined to supposed that the Work was a\nforgery. Besides adopting the reading of sin for ch'in from the\nCh'ang, and modifying their arrangements of the text, Chu Hsi\nmade other innovations. He first divided the whole into one\nchapter of Classical text, which he assigned to Confucius, and\nthen chapters of Commentary, which he assigned to the disciple\nTsang. Previous to him, the whole had been published, indeed,\nwithout any specification of chapters and paragraphs. He\nundertook, moreover, to supply one whole chapter, which he\nsupposed, after his master Ch'ang, to be missing.\n\tSince the time of Chu Hsi, many scholars have exercised\ntheir wit on the Great Learning.  The work of Mao Hsi-ho contains\nfour arrangements of the text, proposed respectively by the\nscholars Wang Lu-chai [3], Chi P'ang-shan [4], Kao Ching-yi [5],\nand Ko Ch'i-chan [6]. The curious student may examine them here.\n\tUnder the present dynasty, the tendency has been to\ndepreciate the labors of Chu Hsi. The integrity of the text of\nChang Hsuan is zealously maintained, and the simpler method of\ninterpretation employed by him is advocated in preference to the\nmore refined and ingenious schemes of the Sung scholars.  I have\nreferred several times in the notes to a Work published a few\nyears ago, under the title of 'The Old Text of the sacred Ching,\nwith Commentary and Discussions, by Lo Chung-fan of Nan-hai\n[7].' I knew the man many years ago. He was a fine scholar, and had\ntaken the second degree, or that of Chu-zan. He applied to me in\n1843 for Christian baptism, and, offended by my hesitancy, went\nand enrolled himself among the disciples of another missionary.\nHe soon, however,\n\n1 \u5609\u9756.\n2 \u738b\u6587\u6210.\n3 \u738b\u9b6f\u9f4a.\n4 \u674e\u5f6d\u5c71.\n5 \u9ad8\u666f\u9038.\n6 \u845b\u5c7a\u77bb\n7 \u8056\u7d93\u53e4\u672c,\u5357\u6d77\u7f85\u4ef2\u85e9\u8a3b\u8fa8.\n\n\nwithdrew into seclusion, and spent the last years of his life in\nliterary studies. His family have published the Work on the Great\nLearning, and one or two others. He most vehemently impugns\nnearly every judgment of Chu Hsi; but in his own exhibitions of\nthe meaning he blends many ideas of the Supreme Being and of the\ncondition of human nature, which he had learned from the\nChristian Scriptures.\n\nSECTION II.\nOF THE AUTHORSHIP, AND DISTINCTION OF THE TEXT INTO\nCLASSICAL TEXT AND COMMENTARY.\n\n\t1. The authorship of the Great Learning is a very doubtful\npoint, and one on which it does not appear possible to come to a\ndecided conclusion. Chu Hsi, as I have stated in the last section,\ndetermined that so much of it was Ching, or Classic, being the\nvery words of Confucius, and that all the rest was Chwan, or\nCommentary, being the views of Tsang Shan upon the sage's\nwords, recorded by his disciples. Thus, he does not expressly\nattribute the composition of the Treatise to Tsang, as he is\ngenerally supposed to do. What he says, however, as it is\ndestitute of external support, is contrary also to the internal\nevidence. The fourth chapter of commentary commences with 'The\nMaster said.' Surely, if there were anything more, directly from\nConfucius, there would be an intimation of it in the same way. Or,\nif we may allow that short sayings of Confucius might be\ninterwoven with the Work, as in the fifteenth paragraph of the\ntenth chapter, without referring them expressly to him, it is too\nmuch to ask us to receive the long chapter at the beginning as\nbeing from him. With regard to the Work having come from the\ndisciples of Tsang Shan, recording their master's views, the\nparagraph in chapter sixth, commencing with 'The disciple Tsang\nsaid,' seems to be conclusive against such an hypothesis. So much\nwe may be sure is Tsang's, and no more. Both of Chu Hsi's\njudgments must be set aside. We cannot admit either the\ndistinction of the contents into Classical text and Commentary,\nor that the Work was the production of Tsang's disciples.\n\t2. Who then was the author? An ancient tradition attributes\nit to K'ung Chi, the grandson of Confucius. In a notice published, at\nthe time of their preparation, about the stone slabs of Wei, the\n\nfollowing statement by Chia K'wei, a noted scholar of the first\ncentury, is found:-- 'When K'ung Chi was living, and in straits, in\nSung, being afraid lest the lessons of the former sages should\nbecome obscure, and the principles of the ancient sovereigns and\nkings fall to the ground, he therefore made the Great Learning as\nthe warp of them, and the Doctrine of the Mean as the woof [1].'\nThis would seem, therefore, to have been the opinion of that early\ntime, and I may say the only difficulty in admitting it is that no\nmention is made of it by Chang Hsuan. There certainly is that\nagreement between the two treatises, which makes their common\nauthorship not at all unlikely.\n\t3. Though we cannot positively assign the authorship of the\nGreat Learning, there can be no hesitation in receiving it as a\ngenuine monument of the Confucian school. There are not many\nwords in it from the sage himself, but it is a faithful reflection\nof his teachings, written by some of his followers, not far\nremoved from him by lapse of time. It must synchronize pretty\nnearly with the Analects, and may be safely referred to the fifth\ncentury before our era.\n\nSECTION III.\nITS SCOPE AND VALUE.\n\n\t1. The worth of the Great Learning has been celebrated in\nmost extravagant terms by Chinese writers, and there have been\nforeigners who have not yielded to them in their estimation of it.\nPauthier, in the 'Argument Philosphique,' prefixed to his\ntranslation of the Work, says:-- 'It is evident that the aim of the\nChinese philosopher is to exhibit the duties of political\ngovernment as those of the perfecting of self, and of the practice\nof virtue by all men. He felt that he had a higher mission than that\nwith which the greater part of ancient and modern philosophers\nhave contented themselves; and his immense love for the\nhappiness of humanity, which dominated over all his other\nsentiments, has made of his\n\n\n1 \u5510\u6c0f\u79e6\u758f\u6709\u66f0,\u865e\u677e\u6821\u523b\u77f3\u7d93\u4e8e\u9b4f\u8868,\u5f15\u6f22\u8cc8\u9035\u4e4b\u8a00,\u66f0,\u5b54\u4f0b\u7aae\u5c45\u4e8e\u5b8b,\u61fc\u5148\u8056\n\u4e4b\u5b78\u4e0d\u660e,\u800c\u5e1d\u738b\u4e4b\u9053\u589c,\u6545\u4f5c\u5927\u5b78\u4ee5\u7d93\u4e4b,\u4e2d\u5eb8\u4ee5\u7def\u4e4b; see the \u5927\u5b78\u8b49\u6587,\u4e00,\np. 5.\n\n\nphilosophy a system of social perfectionating, which, we venture\nto say, has never been equalled.'\n\tVery different is the judgment passed upon the treatise by a\nwriter in the Chinese Repository: 'The Ta Hsio is a short politico-\nmoral discourse. Ta Hsio, or \"Superior Learning,\" is at the same\ntime both the name and the subject of the discourse; it is the\nsummum bonum of the Chinese. In opening this Book, compiled by\na disciple of Confucius, and containing his doctrines, we might\nexpect to find a work like Cicero's De Officiis; but we find a very\ndifferent production, consisting of a few commonplace rules for\nthe maintenance of a good government [1].'\n\tMy readers will perhaps think, after reading the present\nsection, that the truth lies between these two representations.\n\t2. I believe that the Book should be styled T'ai Hsio [2], and\nnot Ta Hsio, and that it was so named as setting forth the higher\nand more extensive principles of moral science, which come into\nuse and manifestation in the conduct of government. When Chu Shi\nendeavours to make the title mean -- 'The principles of Learning,\nwhich were taught in the higher schools of antiquity,' and tells us\nhow at the age of fifteen, all the sons of the sovereign, with the\nlegitimate sons of the nobles, and high officers, down to the more\npromising scions of the common people, all entered these\nseminaries, and were taught the difficult lessons here inculcated,\nwe pity the ancient youth of China. Such 'strong meat' is not\nadapted for the nourishment of youthful minds. But the evidence\nadduced for the existence of such educational institutions in\nancient times is unsatisfactory, and from the older interpretation\nof the title we advance more easily to contemplate the object and\nmethod of the Work.\n\t3. The object is stated definitely enough in the opening\nparagraph: 'What the Great Learning teaches, is -- to illustrate\nillustrious virtue; to love the people; and to rest in the highest\nexcellence.' The political aim of the writer is here at once\nevident. He has before him on one side, the people, the masses of\nthe empire, and over against them are those whose work and duty,\ndelegated by Heaven, is to govern them, culminating, as a class, in\n'the son of Heaven [3],' 'the One man [4],' the sovereign. From the\nfourth and\n\n1 Chinese Repository, vol. iii. p. 98\n2 \u592a\u5b78, not \u5927\u5b78. See the note on the title of the Work below.\n3 \u5929\u5b50, Cl. (classical) Text, par. 6, 2.\n4 \u4e00\u4eba, Comm. ix. 3.\n\n\nfifth paragraphs, we see that if the lessons of the treatise be\nlearned and carried into practice, the result will be that\n'illustrious virtue will be illustrated throughout the nation,'\nwhich will be brought, through all its length and breadth, to a\ncondition of happy tranquillity. This object is certainly both\ngrand and good; annd if a reasonable and likely method to secure\nit were proposed in the Work, language would hardly supply terms\nadequate to express its value.\n\t4. But the above account of the object of the Great Learning\nleads us to the conclusion that the student of it should be a\nsovereign.  What interest can an ordinary man have in it? It is\nhigh up in the clouds, far beyond his reach. This is a serious\nobjection to it, and quite unfits it for a place in schools, such as\nChu Hsi contends it once had. Intelligent Chinese, whose minds\nwere somewhat quickened by Christianity, have spoken to me of\nthis defect, and complained of the difficulty they felt in making\nthe book a practical directory for their conduct. 'It is so vague\nand vast,' was the observation of one man. The writer, however,\nhas made some provision for the general application of his\ninstructions. He tells us that, from the sovereign down to the\nmass of the people, all must consider the cultivation of the\nperson to be the root, that is, the first thing to be attended to [1].\n_as in his method, moreover, he reaches from the cultivation of\nthe person to the tranquillization of the kingdom, through the\nintermediate steps of the regulation of the family, and the\ngovernment of the State [2], there is room for setting forth\nprinciples that parents and rulers generally may find adapted for\ntheir guidance.\n\t5. The method which is laid down for the attainment of the\ngreat object proposed, consists of seven steps:-- the\ninvestigation of things; the completion of knowledge; the\nsincerity of the thoughts; the rectifying of the heart; the\ncultivation of the person; the regulation of the family; and the\ngovernment of the state. These form the steps of a climax, the\nend of which is the kingdom tranquillized. Pauthier calls the\nparagraphs where they occur instances of the sorites, or abridged\nsyllogism. But they elong to rhetoric, and not to logic.\n\t6. In offering some observations on these steps, and the\nwriter's treatment of them, it will be well to separate them into\nthose preceding the cultivation of the person, and those following\nit; and to\n\n1  Cl. Text, par. 6.\n2  Cl. Text, pars. 4. 5.\n\n\ndeal with the latter first. -- Let us suppose that the cultivation\nof the person is fully attained, every discordant mental element\nhaving been subdued and removed. It is assumed that the\nregulation of the family will necessarily flow from this. Two\nshort paragraphs are all that are given to the illustration of the\npoint, and they are vague generalities on the subject of men's\nbeing led astray by their feelings and affections.\n\tThe family being regulated, there will result from it the\ngovernment of the State. First, the virtues taught in the family\nhave their correspondencies in the wider sphere. Filial piety will\nappear as loyalty. Fraternal submission will be seen in respect\nand obedience to elders and superiors. Kindness is capable of\nuniversal application. Second, 'From the loving example of one\nfamily, a whole State becomes loving, and from its courtesies the\nwhole State become courteous [1].' Seven paragraphs suffice to\nillustrate these statements, and short as they are, the writer\ngoes back to the topic of self-cultivation, returning from the\nfamily to the individual.\n\tThe State being governed, the whole empire will become\npeaceful and happy. There is even less of connexion, however, in\nthe treatment of this theme, between the premiss and the\nconclusion, than in the two previous chapters. Nothing is said\nabout the relation between the whole kingdom, and its component\nStates, or any one of them. It is said at once, 'What is meant by\n\"The making the whole kingdom peaceful and happy depends on the\ngovernment of the State,\" is this:-- When the sovereign behaves\nto his aged, as the aged should be behaved to, the people become\nfilial; when the sovereign behaves to his elders, as elders should\nbe behaved to, the people learn brotherly submission; when the\nsovereign treats compassionately the young and helpless, the\npeople do the same [2].' This is nothing but a repetition of the\npreceding chapter, instead of that chapter's being made a step\nfrom which to go on to the splendid consummation of the good\ngovernment of the whole kingdom.\n\tThe words which I have quoted are followed by a very\nstriking enunciation of the golden rule in its negative form, and\nunder the name of the measuring square, and all the lessons of the\nchapter are connected more or less closely with that. The\napplication of this principle by a ruler, whose heart is in the first\nplace in loving sympathy with the people, will guide him in all the\nexactions which\n\n1  See Comm. ix. 3.\n2  See Comm. x. 1.\n\n\nhe lays upon them, and in his selection of ministers, in such a\nway that he will secure the affections of his subjects, and his\nthrone will be established, for 'by gaining the people, the kingdom\nis gained, and, by losing the people, the kingdom is lost [1].' There\nare in this part of the treatise many valuable sentiments, and\ncounsels for all in authority over others. The objection to it is,\nthat, as the last step of the climax, it does not rise upon all the\nothers with the accumulated force of their conclusions, but\nintroduces us to new principles of action, and a new line of\nargument. Cut off the commencement of the first paragraph which\nconnects it with the preceding chapters, and it would form a brief\nbut admirable treatise by itself on the art of government.\n\tThis brief review of the writer's treatment of the\nconcluding steps of his method will satisfy the reader that the\nexecution is not equal to the design; and, moreover, underneath all\nthe reasoning, and more especially apparent in the eighth and\nninth chapters of commentary (according to the ordinary\narrangement of the work), there lies the assumption that example\nis all but omnipotent. We find this principle pervading all the\nConfucian philosophy. And doubtless it is a truth, most important\nin education and government, that the influence of example is\nvery great. I believe, and will insist upon it hereafter in these\nprolegomena, that we have come to overlook this element in our\nconduct of administration. It will be well if the study of the\nChinese Classics should call attention to it. Yet in them the\nsubject is pushed to an extreme, and represented in an\nextravagant manner. Proceeding from the view of human nature\nthat it is entirely good, and led astray only by influences from\nwithout, the sage of China and his followers attribute to personal\nexample and to instruction a power which we do not find that\nthey actually possess.\n\t7. The steps which precede the cultivation of the person are\nmore briefly dealt with than those which we have just\nconsidered. 'The cultivation of the person results from the\nrectifying of the heart or mind [2].' True, but in the Great Learning\nvery inadequately set forth.\n\t'The rectifying of the mind is realized when the thoughts\nare made sincere [3].' And the thoughts are sincere, when no self-\ndeception is allowed, and we move without effort to what is right\nand wrong, 'as we love what is beautiful, and as we dislike a bad\n\n1  Comm. x. 5.\n2  Comm. vii. 1.\n3  Comm. Ch. vi.\n\n\nsmell [1].' How are we to attain this state? Here the Chinese\nmoralist fails us. According to Chu Hsi's arrangement of the\nTreatise, there is only one sentence from which we can frame a\nreply to the above question. 'Therefore,' it is said, 'the superior\nman must be watchful over himself when he is alone [2].'\nFollowing. Chu's sixth chapter of commentary, and forming, we\nmay say, part of it, we have in the old arrangement of the Great\nLearning all the passages which he has distributed so as to form\nthe previous five chapters. But even from the examination of\nthem, we do not obtain the information which we desire on this\nmomentous inquiry.\n\t8. Indeed, the more I study the Work, the more satisfied I\nbecome, that from the conclusion of what is now called the\nchapter of classical text to the sixth chapter of commentary, we\nhave only a few fragments, which it is of no use trying to\narrange, so as fairly to exhibit the plan of the author. According\nto his method, the chapter on the connexion between making the\nthoughts sincere and so rectifying the mental nature, should be\npreceded by one on the completion of knowledge as the means of\nmaking the thoughts sincere, and that again by one on the\ncompletion of knowledge by the investigation of things, or\nwhatever else the phrase ko wu may mean. I am less concerned\nfor the loss and injury which this part of the Work has suffered,\nbecause the subject of the connexion between intelligence and\nvirtue is very fully exhibited in the Doctrine of the Mean, and will\ncome under our notice in the review of that Treatise. The manner\nin which Chu Hsi has endeavoured to supply the blank about the\nperfecting of knowledge by the investigation of things is too\nextravagant. 'The Learning for Adults,' he says, 'at the outset of\nits lessons, instructs the learner, in regard to all things in the\nworld, to proceed from what knowledge he has of their principles,\nand pursue his investigation of them, till he reaches the extreme\npoint. After exerting himself for a long time, he will suddenly\nfind himself possessed of a wide and far-reaching penetration.\nThen, the qualities of all things, whether external or internal, the\nsubtle or the coarse, will be apprehended, and the mind, in its\nentire substance and its relations to things, will be perfectly\nintelligent. This is called the investigation of things. This is\ncalled the perfection of knowledge [3].' And knowledge must be\nthus perfected before we can achieve the sincerity of our\nthoughts, and the rectifying of our hearts!\n\n1 Comm. vi. 1.\n2 Comm. vi. 2.\n3 Suppl. to Comm. Ch. v.\n\n\nVerily this would be learning not for adults only, but even\nMethuselahs would not be able to compass it. Yet for centuries\nthis has been accepted as the orthodox exposition of the Classic.\nLo Chung-fan does not express himself too strongly when he says\nthat such language is altogether incoherent. The author would\nonly be 'imposing on himself and others.'\n\t9. The orthodox doctrine of China concerning the connexion\nbetween intelligence and virtue is most seriously erroneous, but I\nwill not lay to the charge of the author of the Great Learning the\nwild representations of the commentator of our twelfth century,\nnor need I make here any remarks on what the doctrine really is.\nAfter the exhibition which I have given, my readers will probably\nconclude that the Work before us is far from developing, as\nPauthier asserts, 'a system of social perfectionating which has\nnever been equalled.'\n\t10. The Treatise has undoubtedly great merits, but they are\nnot to be sought in the severity of its logical processes, or the\nlarge-minded prosecution of any course of thought. We shall find\nthem in the announcement of certain seminal principles, which, if\nrecognised in government and the regulation of conduct, would\nconduce greatly to the happiness and virtue of mankind. I will\nconclude these observations by specifying four such principles.\n\tFirst. The writer conceives nobly of the object of\ngovernment, that it is to make its subjects happy and good. This\nmay not be a sufficient account of that object, but it is much to\nhave it so clearly laid down to 'all kings and governors,' that they\nare to love the people, ruling not for their own gratification but\nfor the good of those over whom they are exalted by Heaven. Very\nimportant also is the statement that rulers have no divine right\nbut what springs from the discharge of their duty. 'The decree\ndoes not always rest on them. Goodness obtains it, and the want\nof goodness loses it [1].'\n\tSecond. The insisting on personal excellence in all who have\nauthority in the family, the state, and the kingdom, is a great\nmoral and social principle. The influence of such personal\nexcellence may be overstated, but by the requirement of its\ncultivation the writer deserved well of his country.\n\tThird. Still more important than the requirement of such\nexcellence, is the principle that it must be rooted in the state of\n\n1 Comm. x. 11.\n\n\nthe heart, and be the natural outgrowth of internal sincerity. 'As a\nman thinketh in his heart, so is he.' This is the teaching alike of\nSolomon and the author of the Great Learning.\n\tFourth. I mention last the striking exhibition which we have\nof the golden rule, though only in its negative form:-- 'What a man\ndislikes in his superiors, let him not display in the treatment of\nhis inferiors; what he dislikes in inferiors, let him not display in\nhis service of his superiors; what he dislikes in those who are\nbefore him, let him not therewith precede those who are behind\nhim; what he dislikes in those who are behind him, let him not\ntherewith follow those who are before him; what he dislikes to\nreceive on the right, let him not bestow on the left; what he\ndislikes to receive on the left, let him not bestow on the right.\nThis is what is called the principle with which, as with a\nmeasuring square, to regulate one's conduct [1].' The Work which\ncontains those principles cannot be thought meanly of. They are\n'commonplace,' as the writer in the Chinese Repository calls\nthem, but they are at the same time eternal verities.\n\nl Comm. x. a.\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nTHE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN.\n\nSECTION I. ITS PLACE IN THE LI CHI, AND ITS PUBLICATION\nSEPARATELY.\n\n\t1. The Doctrine of the Mean was one of the treatises which\ncame to light in connexion with the labors of Liu Hsiang, and its\nplace as the thirty-first Book in the Li Chi was finally\ndetermined by Ma Yung and Chang Hsuan. In the translation of the\nLi Chi in 'The Sacred Books of the East' it is the twenty-eighth\nTreatise.\n\t2. But while it was thus made to form a part of the great\ncollection of Treatises on Ceremonies, it maintained a separate\nfooting of its own. In Liu Hsin's Catalogue of the Classical Works,\nwe find 'Two p'ien of Observations on the Chung Yung [l].' In the\nRecords of the dynasty of Sui (A.D. 589-618), in the chapter on\nthe History of Literature [2], there are mentioned three Works on\nthe Chung Yung;-- the first called 'The Record of the Chung Yung,'\nin two chuan, attributed to Tai Yung, a scholar who flourished\nabout the middle of the fifth century; the second, 'A Paraphrase\nand Commentary on the Chung Yung,' attributed to the emperor Wu\n(A.D. 502-549) of the Liang dynasty, in one chuan ; and the third,\n'A Private Record, Determining the Meaning of the Chung Yung,' in\nfive chuan, the author, or supposed author, of which is not\nmentioned [3].\n\tIt thus appears, that the Chung Yung had been published and\ncommented on separately, long before the time of the Sung\ndynasty. The scholars of that, however, devoted special attention\nto it, the way being led by the famous Chau Lien-ch'i [4]. He was\nfollowed by the two brothers Ch'ang, but neither of them\npublished upon it. At last came Chu Hsi, who produced his Work\ncalled\n\n1 \u4e2d\u5eb8\u8aaa\u4e8c\u7bc7.\n2 \u968b\u66f8,\u5377\u4e09\u5341\u4e8c,\u5fd7\u7b2c\u4e8c\u5341\u4e03,\u7d93\u7c4d,\u4e00, p. 12.\n3 \u79ae\u8a18\u4e2d\u5eb8\u5c08,\u4e8c\u5377,\u5b8b\u6563\u9a0e\u5e38\u4f8d\u6234\u9852\u64b0;\u4e2d\u5eb8\u8b1b\u758f,\u4e00\u5377,\u6881\u6b66\u5e1d\u64b0;\u79c1\u8a18\u5236\u65e8\u4e2d\u5eb8;\n\u4e94\u5377.\n4 \u5468\u6fc2\u6eaa.\n\n\n'The Chung Yung, in Chapters and Sentences [1],' which was made\nthe text book of the Classic at the literary examinations, by the\nfourth emperor of the Yuan dynasty (A.D. 1312-1320), and from\nthat time the name merely of the Treatise was retained in\neditions of the Li Chi. Neither text nor ancient commentary was\ngiven.\n\tUnder the present dynasty it is not so. In the superb edition\nof 'The Three Li Ching,' edited by numerous committees of\nscholars towards the middle of the Ch'ien-lung reign, the Chung\nYung is published in two parts, the ancient commentaries from\n'The Thirteen Ching' being given side by side with those of Chu\nHsi.\n\nSECTION II.\n\nITS AUTHOR; AND SOME ACCOUNT OF HIM.\n\n\t1. The composition of the Chung Yung is attributed to K'ung\nChi, the grandson of Confucius [2]. Chinese inquirers and critics\nare agreed on this point, and apparently on sufficient grounds.\nThere is indeed no internal evidence in the Work to lead us to such\na conclusion. Among the many quotations of Confucius's words and\nreferences to him, we might have expected to find some\nindication that the sage was the grandfather of the author, but\nnothing of the kind is given. The external evidence, however, or\nthat from the testimony of authorities, is very strong. In Sze-ma\nCh'ien's Historical Records, published about B.C. 100, it is\nexpressly said that 'Tsze-sze made the Chung Yung.' And we have a\nstill stronger proof, a century earlier, from Tsze-sze's own\ndescendant, K'ung Fu, whose words are, 'Tsze-sze compiled the\nChung Yung in forty-nine p'ien [3].' We may, therefore, accept the\nreceived account without hesitation.\n\t2. As Chi, spoken of chiefly by his designation of Tsze-sze,\nthus occupies a distinguished place in the classical literature of\nChina, it\n\n1 \u4e2d\u5eb8\u7ae0\u53e5.\n2 \u5b50\u601d\u4f5c\u4e2d\u5eb8; see the \u53f2\u8a18,\u56db\u5341\u4e03,\u5b54\u5b50\u4e16\u5bb6.\n3 This K'ung Fu (\u5b54\u9b92) was that descendant of Confucius, who hid\nseveral books in the wall of his house, on the issuing of the\nimperial edict for their burning. He was a writer himself, and his\nWorks are referred to under the title of \u5b54\u53e2\u5b50. I have not seen\nthem, but the statement given above is found in the \u56db\u66f8\u62d3\u9918\u8aaa;--\nart. \u4e2d\u5eb8. -- \u5b54\u53e2\u5b50\u4e91,\u5b50\u601d\u64b0\u4e2d\u5eb8\u4e4b\u66f8,\u56db\u5341\u4e5d\u7bc7.\n\n\nmay not be out of place to bring together here a few notices of\nhim gathered from reliable sources.\n\tHe was the son of Li, whose death took place B.C. 483, four\nyears before that of the sage, his father. I have not found it\nrecorded in what year he was born. Sze-ma Ch'ien says he died at\nthe age of 62. But this is evidently wrong, for we learn from\nMencius that he was high in favour with the duke Mu of Lu [1],\nwhose accession to that principality dates in B.C. 409, seventy\nyears after the death of Confucius. In the 'Plates and Notices of\nthe Worthies, sacrificed to in the Sage's Temples [2],' it is\nsupposed that the sixty-two in the Historical Records should be\neighty-two [3]. It is maintained by others that Tsze-sze's life\nwas protracted beyond 100 years [4]. This variety of opinions\nsimply shows that the point cannot be positively determined. To\nme it seems that the conjecture in the Sacrificial Canon must be\npretty near the truth [5].\n\tDuring the years of his boyhood, then, Tsze-sze must have\nbeen with his grandfather, and received his instructions. It is\nrelated, that one day, when he was alone with the sage, and heard\nhim sighing, he went up to him, and, bowing twice, inquired the\nreason of his grief. 'Is it,' said he, 'because you think that your\ndescendants, through not cultivating themselves, will be\nunworthy of you? Or is it that, in your admiration of the ways of\nYao and Shun, you are vexed that you fall short of them?' 'Child,'\nreplied Confucius, 'how is it that you know my thoughts?' 'I have\noften,' said Tsze-sze, 'heard from you the lesson, that when the\nfather has gathered and prepared the firewood, if the son cannot\ncarry the bundle, he is to be pronounced degenerate and unworthy.\nThe remark comes frequently into my thoughts, and fills me with\ngreat apprehensions.' The sage was delighted. He\n\n1. \u9b6f\u7a46(or \u7e46)\u516c.\n2. \u8056\u5edf\u7940\u5178\u5716\u8003.\n3. \u6216\u4ee5\u516d\u5341\u4e8c\u4f3c\u516b\u5341\u4e8c\u4e4b\u8aa4. Eighty-two and sixty-two may more\neasily be confounded, as written in Chinese, than with the Roman\nfigures.\n4 See the \u56db\u66f8\u96c6\u8b49, on the preface to the Chung Yung, -- \u5e74\u767e\u9918\u6b72\u5352.\n5 Li himself was born in Confucius's twenty-first year, and if\nTsze-sze had been born in Li's twenty-first year, he must have\nbeen 103 at the time of duke Mu's accession. But the tradition is,\nthat Tsze-sze was a pupil of Tsang Shan who was born B.C. 504.\nWe must place his birth therefore considerably later, and suppose\nhim to have been quite young when his father died. I was talking\nonce about the question with a Chinese friend, who observed:-- 'Li\nwas fifty when he died, and his wife married again into a family\nof Wei. We can hardly think, therefore, that she was anything like\nthat age. Li could not have married so soon as his father did.\nPerhaps he was about forty when Chi was born.'\n\n\nsmiled and said, 'Now, indeed, shall I be without anxiety! My\nundertakings will not come to naught. They will be carried on and\nflourish [1].' After the death of Confucius, Chi became a pupil, it\nis said, of the philosopher Tsang. But he received his instructions\nwith discrimination, and in one instance which is recorded in the\nLi Chi, the pupil suddenly took the place of the master. We there\nread: 'Tsang said to Tsze-sze, \"Chi, when I was engaged in\nmourning for my parents, neither congee nor water entered my\nmouth for seven days.\" Tsze-sze answered, \"In ordering their\nrules of propriety, it was the design of the ancient kings that\nthose who would go beyond them should stoop and keep by them,\nand that those who could hardly reach them should stand on tiptoe\nto do so. Thus it is that the superior man, in mourning for his\nparents, when he has been three days without water or congee,\ntakes a staff to enable himself to rise [2].\"'\n\tWhile he thus condemned the severe discipline of Tsang,\nTsze-sze appears, in various incidents which are related of him,\nto have been himself more than sufficiently ascetic. As he was\nliving in great poverty, a friend supplied him with grain, which he\nreadily received. Another friend was emboldened by this to send\nhim a bottle of spirits, but he declined to receive it.' You receive\nyour corn from other people,' urged the donor, 'and why should you\ndecline my gift, which is of less value? You can assign no ground\nin reason for it, and if you wish to show your independence, you\nshould do so completely.' 'I am so poor,' was the reply, 'as to be in\nwant, and being afraid lest I should die and the sacrifices not be\noffered to my ancestors, I accept the grain as an alms. But the\nspirits and the dried flesh which you offer to me are the\nappliances of a feast. For a poor man to be feasting is certainly\nunreasonable. This is the ground of my refusing your gift. I have\nno thought of asserting my independence [3].'\n\tTo the same effect is the account of Tsze-sze, which we\nhave from Liu Hsiang. That scholar relates:-- 'When Chi was living\nin Wei, he wore a tattered coat, without any lining, and in thirty\ndays had only nine meals. T'ien Tsze-fang having heard of his\n\n1 See the \u56db\u66f8\u96c6\u8b49, in the place just quoted from. For the incident\nwe are indebted to K'ung Fu; see note 3, p. 36.\n2 Li Chi, II. Sect. I. ii. 7.\n3 See the \u56db\u66f8\u96c6\u8b49, as above.\n\n\ndistress, sent a messenger to him with a coat of fox-fur, and\nbeing afraid that he might not receive it, he added the message,--\n\"When I borrow from a man, I forget it; when I give a thing, I part\nwith it freely as if I threw it away.\" Tsze-sze declined the gift\nthus offered, and when Tsze-fang said, \"I have, and you have not;\nwhy will you not take it?\" he replied, \"You give away as rashly as\nif you were casting your things into a ditch. Poor as I am, I cannot\nthink of my body as a ditch, and do not presume to accept your\ngift [1].\" 'Tsze-sze's mother married again, after Li's death, into a\nfamily of Wei. But this circumstance, which is not at all\ncreditable in Chinese estimation, did not alienate his affections\nfrom her. He was in Lu when he heard of her death, and proceeded\nto weep in the temple of his family. A disciple came to him and\nsaid, 'Your mother married again into the family of the Shu, and do\nyou weep for her in the temple of the K'ung?' 'I am wrong,' said\nTsze-sze, 'I am wrong;' and with these words he went to weep\nelsewhere [2].\n\tIn his own married relation he does not seem to have been\nhappy, and for some cause, which has not been transmitted to us,\nhe divorced his wife, following in this, it has been wrongly said,\nthe example of Confucius. On her death, her son, Tsze-shang [3],\ndid not undertake any mourning for her. Tsze-sze's disciples were\nsurprised and questioned him. 'Did your predecessor, a superior\nman,' they asked, 'mourn for his mother who had been divorced?'\n'Yes,' was the reply. 'Then why do you not cause Pai [4] to mourn\nfor his mother?' Tsze-sze answered, 'My progenitor, a superior\nman, failed in nothing to pursue the proper path. His observances\nincreased or decreased as the case required. But I cannot attain to\nthis. While she was my wife, she was Pai's mother; when she\nceased to be my wife, she ceased to be Pai's mother.' The custom\nof the K'ung family not to mourn for a mother who had been\ndivorced, took its rise from Tsze-sze [5].\n\tThese few notices of K'ung Chi in his more private relations\nbring him before us as a man of strong feeling and strong will,\nindependent, and with a tendency to asceticism in his habits.\n\n1 See the \u56db\u66f8\u96c6\u8b49, as above.\n2 See the Li Chi, II. Sect. II. iii. 15. \u5eb6\u6c0f\u4e4b\u6bcd\u6b7b must be understood\nas I have done above, and not with Chang Hsuan, -- 'Your mother\nwas born a Miss Shu.'\n3 \u5b50\u4e0a -- this was the designation of Tsze-sze's son.\n4 \u767d,-- this was Tsze-shang's name.\n5 See the Li Chi, II. Sect. I. i. 4.\n\n\nAs a public character, we find him at the ducal courts of Wei,\nSung; Lu, and Pi, and at each of them held in high esteem by the\nrulers. To Wei he was carried probably by the fact of his mother\nhaving married into that State. We are told that the prince of Wei\nreceived him with great distinction and lodged him honourably. On\none occasion he said to him, 'An officer of the State of Lu, you\nhave not despised this small and narrow Wei, but have bent your\nsteps hither to comfort and preserve it; vouchsafe to confer your\nbenefits upon me.' Tsze-sze replied. 'If I should wish to requite\nyour princely favour with money and silks, your treasuries are\nalready full of them, and I am poor. If I should wish to requite it\nwith good words, I am afraid that what I should say would not\nsuit your ideas, so that I should speak in vain and not be listened\nto. The only way in which I can requite it, is by recommending to\nyour notice men of worth.' The duke said. 'Men of worth are\nexactly what I desire.' 'Nay,' said Chi. 'you are not able to\nappreciate them.' 'Nevertheless,' was the reply, 'I should like to\nhear whom you consider deserving that name.' Tsze-sze replied,\n'Do you wish to select your officers for the name they may have\nor for their reality?' 'For their reality, certainly,' said the duke.\nHis guest then said, 'In the eastern borders of your State, there is\none Li Yin, who is a man of real worth.' 'What were his\ngrandfather and father?' asked the duke. 'They were husbandmen,'\nwas the reply, on which the duke broke into a loud laugh, saying, '\nI do not like husbandry. The son of a husbandman cannot be fit for\nme to employ. I do not put into office all the cadets of those\nfamilies even in which office is hereditary.' Tsze-sze observed, 'I\nmention Li Yin because of his abilities; what has the fact of his\nforefathers being husbandmen to do with the case? And moreover,\nthe duke of Chau was a great sage, and K'ang-shu was a great\nworthy. Yet if you examine their beginnings, you will find that\nfrom the business of husbandry they came forth to found their\nStates. I did certainly have my doubts that in the selection of\nyour officers you did not have regard to their real character and\ncapacity.' With this the conversation ended. The duke was silent\n[1].\n\tTsze-sze was naturally led to Sung, as the K'ung family\noriginally sprang from that principality. One account, quoted in\n'The\n\n1 See the \u6c0f\u59d3\u8b5c,\u5377\u4e00\u767e\u4e8c,\u5b54\u6c0f,\u5b54\u4f0b.\n\n\nFour Books, Text and Commentary, with Proofs and Illustrations\n[1],' says that he went thither in his sixteenth year, and having\nfoiled an officer of the State, named Yo So, in a conversation on\nthe Shu Ching, his opponent was so irritated at the disgrace put\non him by a youth, that he listened to the advice of evil\ncounsellors, and made an attack on him to put him to death. The\nduke of Sung, hearing the tumult, hurried to the rescue, and when\nChi found himself in safety, he said, 'When king Wan was\nimprisoned in Yu-li, he made the Yi of Chau. My grandfather made\nthe Ch'un Ch'iu after he had been in danger in Ch'an and Ts'ai. Shall\nI not make something when rescued from such a risk in Sung?'\nUpon this he made the Chung Yung in forty-nine p'ien.\n\tAccording to this account, the Chung Yung was the work of\nTsze-sze's early manhood, and the tradition has obtained a\nwonderful prevalence. The notice in 'The Sacrificial Canon' says,\non the contrary, that it was the work of his old age, when he had\nfinally settled in Lu, which is much more likely [2].\n\tOf Tsze-sze in Pi, which could hardly be said to be out of\nLu, we have only one short notice,-- in Mencius, V. Pt. II. iii. 3,\nwhere the duke Hui of Pi is introduced as saying, 'I treat Tsze-sze\nas my master.'\n\tWe have fuller accounts of him in Lu, where he spent all the\nlatter years of his life, instructing his disciples to the number of\nseveral hundred [3], and held in great reverence by the duke Mu.\nThe duke indeed wanted to raise him to the highest office, but he\ndeclined this, and would only occupy the position of a 'guide,\nphilosopher, and friend.' Of the attention which he demanded,\nhowever, instances will he found in Mencius, II. Pt. II. xi. 3; V. Pt.\nII. vi. 4, and vii. 4. In his intercourse with the duke he spoke the\ntruth to him fearlessly. In the 'Cyclopaedia of Surnames [4],' I find\nthe following conversations, but I cannot tell from what source\nthey are extracted into that Work.-- 'One day, the duke said to\nTsze-sze, \"The officer Hsien told me that you do good without\n\n1 This is the Work so often referred to as the \u56db\u66f8\u96c6\u8b49, the full\ntitle being \u56db\u66f8\u7d93\u8a3b\u96c6\u8b49. The passage here translated from it will\nbe found in the place several times referred to in this section.\n2 The author of the \u56db\u66f8\u62d3\u9918\u8aaa adopts the view that the Work was\ncomposed in Sung. Some have advocated this from ch. xxviii. 5,\ncompared with Ana. III. ix, 'it being proper,' they say, 'that Tsze-\nsze, writing in Sung, should not depreciate it as Confucius had\ndone out of it!'\n3 See in the 'Sacrificial Canon,' on Tsze-sze.\n4 This is the Work referred to in note 1, p. 40.\n\n\nwishing for any praise from men;-- is it so?\" Tsze-sze replied,\n\"No, that is not my feeling. When I cultivate what is good, I wish\nmen to know it, for when they know it and praise me, I feel\nencouraged to be more zealous in the cultivation. This is what I\ndesire, and am not able to obtain. If I cultivate what is good, and\nmen do not know it, it is likely that in their ignorance they will\nspeak evil of me. So by my good-doing I only come to be evil\nspoken of. This is what I do not desire, but am not able to avoid.\nIn the case of a man, who gets up at cock-crowing to practise\nwhat is good and continues sedulous in the endeavour till\nmidnight, and says at the same time that he does not wish men to\nknow it, lest they should praise him, I must say of such a man,\nthat, if he be not deceitful, he is stupid.\"'\n\tAnother day, the duke asked Tsze-sze, saying, 'Can my state\nbe made to flourish?' 'It may,' was the reply. 'And how?' Tsze-sze\nsaid, 'O prince, if you and your ministers will only strive to\nrealize the government of the duke of Chau and of Po-ch'in;\npractising their transforming principles, sending forth wide the\nfavours of your ducal house, and not letting advantages flow in\nprivate channels; if you will thus conciliate the affections of the\npeople, and at the same time cultivate friendly relations with\nneighboring states, your state will soon begin to flourish.'\n\tOn one occasion, the duke asked whether it had been the\ncustom of old for ministers to go into mourning for a prince\nwhose service and state they had left. Tsze-sze replied to him,\n'Of old, princes advanced their ministers to office according to\npropriety, and dismissed them in the same way, and hence there\nwas that rule. But now-a-days, princes bring their ministers\nforward as if they were going to take them on their knees, and\nsend them away as if they would cast them into an abyss. If they\ndo not treat them as their greatest enemies, it is well.-- How can\nyou expect the ancient practice to be observed in such\ncircumstances [1]?'\n\tThese instances may suffice to illustrate the character of\nTsze-sze, as it was displayed in his intercourse with the princes\nof his time. We see the same independence which he affected in\nprivate life, and a dignity not unbecoming the grandson of\nConfucius. But we miss the reach of thought and capacity for\nadministration which belonged to the Sage. It is with him, how-\n\n1 This conversation is given in the Li Chi, II. Sect. II. Pt. ii, 1.\n\n\never, as a thinker and writer that we have to do, and his rank in\nthat capacity will appear from the examination of the Chung Yung\nin the section iv below. His place in the temples of the Sage has\nbeen that of one of his four assessors, since the year 1267. He\nranks with Yen Hui, Tsang Shan, and Mencius, and bears the title\nof 'The Philosopher Tsze-sze, Transmitter of the Sage [1].'\n\nSECTION III.\n\nITS INTEGRITY.\n\n\tIn the testimony of K'ung Fu, which has been adduced to\nprove the authorship of the Chung Yung, it is said that the Work\nconsisted originally of forty-nine p'ien. From this statement it is\nargued by some, that the arrangement of it in thirty-three\nchapters, which originated with Chu Hsi, is wrong [2]; but this\ndoes not affect the question of integrity, and the character p'ien\nis so vague and indefinite, that we cannot affirm that K'ung Fu\nmeant to tell us by it that Tsze-sze himself divided his Treatise\ninto so many paragraphs or chapters.\n\n\tIt is on the entry in Liu Hsin's Catalogue, quoted section i,--\n'Two p'ien of Observations on the Chung Yung,' that the integrity\nof the present Work is called in question. Yen Sze-ku, of the Tang\ndynasty, has a note on that entry to the effect:-- 'There is now\nthe Chung Yung in the Li Chi in one p'ien. But that is not the\noriginal Treatise here mentioned, but only a branch from it [3]'\nWang Wei, a writer of the Ming dynasty, says:-- 'Anciently, the\nChung Yung consisted of two p'ien, as appears from the History of\nLiterature of the Han dynasty, but in the Li Chi we have only one\np'ien, which Chu Hsi, when he made his \"Chapters and Sentences,\"\ndivided into thirty-three chapters. The old Work in two p'ien is\nnot to be met with now [4].'\n\tThese views are based on a misinterpretation of the entry\nin the\n\n1 \u8ff0\u8056\u5b50\u601d\u5b50.\n2 See the \u56db\u66f8\u62d3\u9918\u8aaa, art. \u4e2d\u5eb8.\n3 \u984f\u5e2b\u53e4\u66f0,\u4eca\u79ae\u8a18\u6709\u4e2d\u5eb8\u4e00\u7bc7,\u5955\u975e\u672c\u79ae\u7d93,\u84cb\u6b64\u4e4b\u6d41.\n4 \u738b\u6c0f\u7def\u66f0,\u4e2d\u5eb8\u53e4\u6709\u4e8c\u7bc7,\u898b\u6f22\u85dd\u6587\u5fd7,\u800c\u5728\u79ae\u8a18\u4e2d\u8005,\u4e00\u7bc7\u800c\u5df2,\u6731\u5b50\u70ba\u7ae0\u53e5,\u56e0\n\u5176\u4e00\u7bc7\u8005,\u5206\u70ba\u4e09\u5341\u4e09\u7ae0,\u800c\u53e4\u6240\u8b02\u800c\u7bc7\u8005\u4e0d\u53ef\u898b\u77e3.\n\n\nCatalogue. It does not speak of two p'ien of the Chung Yung, but of\ntwo p'ien of Observations thereon. The Great Learning carries on\nits front the evidence of being incomplete, but the student will\nnot easily believe that the Doctrine of the Mean is so. I see no\nreason for calling its integrity in question, and no necessity\ntherefore to recur to the ingenious device employed in the edition\nof the five ching published by the imperial authority of K'ang Hsi,\nto get over the difficulty which Wang Wei supposes. It there\nappears in two p'ien, of which we have the following account\nfrom the author of 'Supplemental Remarks upon the Four Books:'--\n'The proper course now is to consider the first twenty chapters in\nChu Hsi's arrangement as making up the first p'ien, and the\nremaining thirteen as forming the second. In this way we retain\nthe old form of the Treatise, and do not come into collision with\nthe views of Chu. For this suggestion we are indebted to Lu Wang-\nchai' (an author of the Sung dynasty ) [1].\n\nSECTION IV.\n\nITS SCOPE AND VALUE.\n\n\t1. The Doctrine of the Mean is a work not easy to\nunderstand. 'It first,' says the philosopher Chang, 'speaks of one\nprinciple; it next spreads this out and embraces all things;\nfinally, it returns and gathers them up under the one principle.\nUnroll it and it fills the universe; roll it up, and it retires and\nlies hid in secrecy [2].' There is this advantage, however, to the\nstudent of it, that more than most other Chinese Treatises it has\na beginning, a middle, and an end. The first chapter stands to all\nthat follows in the character of a text, containing several\npropositions of which we have the expansion or development. If\nthat development were satisfactory, we should be able to bring\nour own minds en rapport with that of the author. Unfortunately it\nis not so. As a writer he belongs to the intuitional school more\nthan to the logical. This is well put in the 'Continuation of the\nGeneral Examination of Literary Monuments and Learned Men,'--\n'The philosopher Tsang reached his conclusions by following in\nthe train of things, watch-\n\n1 See the \u56db\u66f8\u62d3\u9918\u8aaa, art. \u4e2d\u5eb8.\n2 See the Introductory note of Chu Hsi.\n\n\ning and examining; whereas Tsze-sze proceeds directly and\nreaches to Heavenly virtue. His was a mysterious power of\ndiscernment, approaching to that of Yen Hui [1].' We must take the\nBook and the author, however, as we have them, and get to their\nmeaning, if we can, by assiduous examination and reflection.\n\t2. 'Man has received his nature from Heaven. Conduct in\naccordance with that nature constitutes what is right and true,--\nis a pursuing of the proper Path. The cultivation or regulation of\nthat path is what is called Instruction.' It is with these axioms\nthat the Treatise commences, and from such an introduction we\nmight expect that the writer would go on to unfold the various\nprinciples of duty, derived from an analysis of man's moral\nconstitution.\n\tConfining himself, however, to the second axiom, he\nproceeds to say that 'the path may not for an instant be left, and\nthat the superior man is cautious and careful in reference to what\nhe does not see, and fearful and apprehensive in reference to what\nhe does not hear. There is nothing more visible than what is\nsecret, and nothing more manifest than what is minute, and\ntherefore the superior man is watchful over his aloneness.' This\nis not all very plain. Comparing it with the sixth chapter of\nCommentary in the Great Learning, it seems to inculcate what is\nthere called 'making the thoughts sincere.' The passage contains\nan admonition about equivalent to that of Solomon,-- 'Keep thy\nheart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.'\n\tThe next paragraph seems to speak of the nature and the\npath under other names. 'While there are no movements of\npleasure, anger, sorrow, or joy, we have what may be called the\nstate of equilibrium. When those feelings have been moved, and\nthey all act in the due degree, we have what may be called the\nstate of harmony. This equilibrium is the great root of the world,\nand this harmony is its universal path.' What is here called 'the\nstate of equilibrium,' is the same as the nature given by Heaven,\nconsidered absolutely in itself, without deflection or inclination.\nThis nature acted on from without, and responding with the\nvarious emotions, so as always 'to hit [2]' the mark with entire\n\n1 See the \u7e8c\u6587\u737b\u901a\u8003, Bk. cxcix, art. \u5b50\u601d,--\u66fe\u5b50\u5f97\u4e4b\u4e8e\u96a8\u4e8b\u7701\u5bdf,\u800c\u5b50\u601d\n\u4e4b\u5b78,\u5247\u76f4\u9054\u5929\u5fb7,\u5eb6\u5e7e\u984f\u6c0f\u4e4b\u5999\u609f.\n2 \u4e2d\u7bc0.\n\n\ncorrectness, produces the state of harmony, and such harmonious\nresponse is the path along which all human activities should\nproceed.\n\tFinally. 'Let the states of equilibrium and harmony exist in\nperfection, and a happy order will prevail throughout heaven and\nearth, and all things will be nourished and flourish.' Here we pass\ninto the sphere of mystery and mysticism. The language,\naccording to Chu Hsi, 'describes the meritorious achievements and\ntransforming influence of sage and spiritual men in their highest\nextent.' From the path of duty, where we tread on solid ground,\nthe writer suddenly raises us aloft on wings of air, and will carry\nus we know not where, and to we know not what.\n\t3. The paragraphs thus presented, and which constitute Chu\nHsi's first chapter, contain the sum of the whole Work. This is\nacknowledged by all;-- by the critics who disown Chu Hsi's\ninterpretations of it, as freely as by him [1]. Revolving them in\nmy own mind often and long, I collect from them the following as\nthe ideas of the author:-- Firstly, Man has received from Heaven a\nmoral nature by which he is constituted a law to himself;\nsecondly, Over this nature man requires to exercise a jealous\nwatchfulness; and thirdly, As he possesses it, absolutely and\nrelatively, in perfection, or attains to such possession of it, he\nbecomes invested with the highest dignity and power, and may\nsay to himself-- 'I am a god; yea, I sit in the seat of God.' I will\nnot say here that there is impiety in the last of these ideas; but\ndo we not have in them the same combination which we found in\nthe Great Learning,-- a combination of the ordinary and the\nextraordinary, the plain and the vague, which is very perplexing to\nthe mind, and renders the Book unfit for the purposes of mental\nand moral discipline?\n\tAnd here I may inquire whether we do right in calling the\nTreatise by any of the names which foreigners have hitherto used\nfor it? In the note on the title, I have entered a little into this\nquestion. The Work is not at all what a reader must expect to find\nin what he supposes to be a treatise on 'The Golden Medium,' 'The\nInvariable Mean,' or 'The Doctrine of the Mean.' Those\n\nl Compare Chu Hsi's language in his concluding note to the first\nchapter:-- \u694a\u6c0f\u6240\u8b02\u4e00\u7bc7\u4e4b\u79ae\u8981, and Mao Hsi-ho's, in his \u4e2d\u5eb8\u8aaa, \u5377\u4e00,\np. 11:-- \u6b64\u4e2d\u5eb8\u4e00\u66f8\u4e4b\u9818\u8981\u4e5f.\n\n\nnames are descriptive only of a portion of it. Where the phrase\nChung Yung occurs in the quotations from Confucius, in nearly\nevery chapter from the second to the eleventh, we do well to\ntranslate it by 'the course of the Mean,' or some similar terms;\nbut the conception of it in Tsze-sze's mind was of a different\nkind, as the preceding analysis of the first chapter sufficiently\nshows [1].\n\t4. I may return to this point of the proper title for the Work\nagain, but in the meantime we must proceed with the analysis of\nit.-- The ten chapters from the second to the eleventh constitute\nthe second part, and in them Tsze-sze quotes the words of\nConfucius, 'for the purpose,' according to Chu Hsi, 'of illustrating\nthe meaning of the first chapter.' Yet, as I have just intimated,\nthey do not to my mind do this. Confucius bewails the rarity of\nthe practice of the Mean, and graphically sets forth the difficulty\nof it. 'The empire, with its component States and families, may be\nruled; dignities and emoluments may be declined; naked weapons\nmay be trampled under foot; but the course of the Mean can not be\nattained to [2].' 'The knowing go beyond it, and the stupid do not\ncome up to it [3].' Yet some have attained to it. Shun did so,\nhumble and ever learning from people far inferior to himself [4];\nand Yen Hui did so, holding fast whatever good he got hold of, and\nnever letting it go [5]. Tsze-lu thought the Mean could be taken by\nstorm, but Confucius taught him better [6]. And in fine, it is only\nthe sage who can fully exemplify the Mean [7].\n\tAll these citations do not throw any light on the ideas\npresented in the first chapter. On the contrary, they interrupt the\ntrain of thought. Instead of showing us how virtue, or the path of\nduty is in accordance with our Heaven-given nature, they lead us\nto think of it as a mean between two extremes. Each extreme may\nbe a violation of the law of our nature, but that is not made to\nappear. Confucius's sayings would be in place in illustrating the\ndoctrine of the Peripatetics, 'which placed all virtue in a medium\nbetween opposite vices [8].' Here in the Chung Yung of Tsze-sze I\nhave always felt them to be out of place.\n\t5. In the twelfth chapter Tsze-sze speaks again himself,\nand we seem at once to know the voice. He begins by saying that\n'the way of the superior man reaches far and wide, and yet is\n\n1 In the version in 'The Sacred Books of the East,' I call the\nTreatise 'The State of Equilibrium and Harmony.'\n2 Ch. ix.\n3 Ch. iv.\n4 Ch. vi.\n5 Ch. viii.\n6 Ch. x.\n7 Ch. xi.\n8 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Preliminary Dissertations, p. 318,\neighth edition.\n\n\nsecret,' by which he means to tell us that the path of duty is to be\npursued everywhere and at all times, while yet the secret spring\nand rule of it is near at hand, in the Heaven-conferred nature, the\nindividual consciousness, with which no stranger can\nintermeddle. Chu Hsi, as will be seen in the notes, gives a\ndifferent interpretation of the utterance. But the view which I\nhave adopted is maintained convincingly by Mao Hsi-ho in the\nsecond part of his 'Observations on the Chung Yung.' With this\nchapter commences the third part of the Work, which embraces\nalso the eight chapters which follow. 'It is designed,' says Chu\nHsi, 'to illustrate what is said in the first chapter that \"the path\nmay not be left.\"' But more than that one sentence finds its\nillustration here. Tsze-sze had reference in it also to what he had\nsaid-- 'The superior man does not wait till he sees things to be\ncautious, nor till he hears things to be apprehensive. There is\nnothing more visible than what is secret, and nothing more\nmanifest than what is minute. Therefore, the superior man is\nwatchful over himself when he is alone.' It is in this portion of\nthe Chung Yung that we find a good deal of moral instruction\nwhich is really valuable. Most of it consists of sayings of\nConfucius, but the sentiments of Tsze-sze himself in his own\nlanguage are interspersed with them. The sage of China has no\nhigher utterances than those which are given in the thirteenth\nchapter.-- 'The path is not far from man. When men try to pursue a\ncourse which is far from the common indications of\nconsciousness, this course cannot be considered the path. In the\nBook of Poetry it is said--\n\n\"In hewing an axe-handle, in hewing an axe-handle,\nThe pattern is not far off.\"\n\nWe grasp one axe-handle to hew the other, and yet if we look\naskance from the one to the other, we may consider them as\napart. Therefore, the superior man governs men according to their\nnature, with what is proper to them; and as soon as they change\nwhat is wrong, he stops. When one cultivates to the utmost the\nmoral principles of his nature, and exercises them on the\nprinciple of reciprocity, he is not far from the path. What you do\nnot like when done to yourself, do not do to others.'\n\t'In the way of the superior man there are four things, to\nnone of which have I as yet attained.-- To serve my father as I\nwould require my son to serve me: to this I have not attained; to\nserve\n\n\nmy elder brother as I would require my younger brother to serve\nme: to this I have not attained; to serve my ruler as I would\nrequire my minister to serve me: to this I have not attained; to\nset the example in behaving to a friend as I would require him to\nbehave to me: to this I have not attained. Earnest in practising the\nordinary virtues, and careful in speaking about them; if in his\npractice he has anything defective, the superior man dares not but\nexert himself; and if in his words he has any excess, he dares not\nallow himself such license. Thus his words have respect to his\nactions, and his actions have respect to his words;-- is it not\njust an entire sincerity which marks the superior man?'\n\tWe have here the golden rule in its negative form expressly\npropounded:-- 'What you do not like when done to yourself, do not\ndo to others.' But in the paragraph which follows we have the rule\nvirtually in its positive form. Confucius recognises the duty of\ntaking the initiative,-- of behaving himself to others in the first\ninstance as he would that they should behave to him. There is a\ncertain narrowness, indeed, in that the sphere of its operations\nseems to be confined to the relations of society, which are\nspoken of more at large in the twentieth chapter, but let us not\ngrudge the tribute of our warm approbation to the sentiments.\n\tThis chapter is followed by two from Tsze-sze, to the\neffect that the superior man does what is proper in every change\nof his situation, always finding his rule in himself; and that in\nhis practice there is an orderly advance from step to step,-- from\nwhat is near to what is remote. Then follow five chapters from\nConfucius:-- the first, on the operation and influence of spiritual\nbeings, to show 'the manifestness of what is minute, and the\nirrepressibleness of sincerity;' the second, on the filial piety of\nShun, and how it was rewarded by Heaven with the throne, with\nenduring fame, and with long life; the third and fourth, on the\nkings Wan and Wu, and the duke of Chau, celebrating them for\ntheir filial piety and other associate virtues; and the fifth, on the\nsubject of government. These chapters are interesting enough in\nthemselves, but when I go back from them, and examine whether I\nhave from them any better understanding of the paragraphs in the\nfirst chapter which they are said to illustrate, I do not find that I\nhave. Three of them, the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth,\nwould be more in place in the Classic of Filial Piety than here in\nthe Chung Yung. The meaning of the\n\n\nsixteenth is shadowy and undefined. After all the study which I\nhave directed to it, there are some points in reference to which I\nhave still doubts and difficulties.\n\tThe twentieth chapter, which concludes the third portion of\nthe Work, contains a full exposition of Confucius's views on\ngovernment, though professedly descriptive only of that of the\nkings Wan and Wu. Along with lessons proper for a ruler there are\nmany also of universal application, but the mingling of them\nperplexes the mind. It tells us of 'the five duties of universal\napplication,'-- those between sovereign and minister, husband and\nwife, father and son, elder and younger brother, and friends; of\n'the three virtues by which those duties are carried into effect,'\nnamely, knowledge, benevolence, and energy; and of 'the one thing,\nby which those virtues are practised,' which is singleness or\nsincerity [1]. It sets forth in detail the 'nine standard rules for\nthe administration of government,' which are 'the cultivation by\nthe ruler of his own character; the honouring men of virtue and\ntalents; affection to his relatives; respect towards the great\nministers; kind and considerate treatment of the whole body of\nofficers; cherishing the mass of the people as children;\nencouraging all classes of artisans; indulgent treatment of men\nfrom a distance; and the kindly cherishing of the princes of the\nStates [2].' There are these and other equally interesting topics in\nthis chapter; but, as they are in the Work, they distract the mind,\ninstead of making the author's great object more clear to it, and I\nwill not say more upon them here.\n\t6. Doubtless it was the mention of 'singleness,' or\n'sincerity,' in the twentieth chapter, which made Tsze-sze\nintroduce it into this Treatise, for from those terms he is able to\ngo on to develop what he intended in saying that 'if the states of\nEquilibrium and Harmony exist in perfection, a happy order will\nprevail throughout heaven and earth, and all things will be\nnourished and flourish.' It is here, that now we are astonished at\nthe audacity of the writer's assertions, and now lost in vain\nendeavours to ascertain his meaning. I have quoted the words of\nConfucius that it is 'singleness' by which the three virtues of\nknowledge, benevolence, and energy are able to carry into\npractice the duties of universal obligation. He says also that it is\nthis same 'singleness' by which 'the nine standard rules of\ngovernment' can be effectively carried out [3]. This 'singleness' is\nmerely a name for 'the states of Equilibrium\n\n1 Par. 8.\n2 Par. 12.\n3 Par. 15.\n\n\nand Harmony existing in perfection.' It denotes a character\nabsolutely and relatively good, wanting nothing in itself, and\ncorrect in all its outgoings. 'Sincerity' is another term for the\nsame thing, and in speaking about it, Confucius makes a\ndistinction between sincerity absolute and sincerity acquired.\nThe former is born with some, and practised by them without any\neffort; the latter is attained by study, and practised by strong\nendeavour [1]. The former is 'the way of Heaven;' the latter is 'the\nway of men [2].' 'He who possesses sincerity,'-- absolutely, that\nis,-- 'is he who without effort hits what is right, and apprehends\nwithout the exercise of thought; he is the sage who naturally and\neasily embodies the right way. He who attains to sincerity, is he\nwho chooses what is good and firmly holds it fast. And to this\nattainment there are requisite the extensive study of what is\ngood, accurate inquiry about it, careful reflection on it, the clear\ndiscrimination of it, and the earnest practice of it [3].' In these\npassages Confucius unhesitatingly enunciates his belief that\nthere are some men who are absolutely perfect, who come into\nthe world as we might conceive the first man was, when he was\ncreated by God 'in His own image,' full of knowledge and\nrighteousness, and who grow up as we know that Christ did,\n'increasing in wisdom and in stature.' He disclaimed being\nconsidered to be such an one himself [4], but the sages of China\nwere such. And moreover, others who are not so naturally may\nmake themselves to become so. Some will have to put forth more\neffort and to contend with greater struggles, but the end will be\nthe possession of the knowledge and the achievement of the\npractice.\n\tI need not say that these sentiments are contrary to the\nviews of human nature which are presented in the Bible. The\ntestimony of Revelation is that 'there is not a just man upon\nearth that doeth good and sinneth not.' 'If we say that we have no\nsin,' and in writing this term, I am thinking here not of sin\nagainst God, but, if we can conceive of it apart from that, of\nfailures in regard to what ought to be in our regulation of\nourselves, and in our behavior to others;-- 'if we say that we have\nno sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.' This\nlanguage is appropriate in the lips of the learned as well as in\nthose of the ignorant, to the highest sage as to the lowest child\nof the soil. Neither the scriptures of God nor the experience of\nman know of individuals\n\n1 Par. 9.\n2 Par. 18.\n3 Pars. 18, 19.\n4 Ana. VII. xix.\n\n\nabsolutely perfect. The other sentiment that men can make\nthemselves perfect is equally wide of the truth. Intelligence and\ngoodness by no means stand to each other in the relation of cause\nand effect. The sayings of Ovid, 'Video meliora proboque,\ndeteriora sequor,' 'Nitimur in velitum semper. cupimusque negata,'\nare a more correct expression of the facts of human\nconsciousness and conduct than the high-flown praises of\nConfucius.\n\t7. But Tsze-sze adopts the dicta of his grandfather without\nquestioning them, and gives them forth in his own style at the\ncommencement of the fourth part of his Treatise. 'When we have\nintelligence resulting from sincerity, this condition is to be\nascribed to nature; when we have sincerity resulting from\nintelligence, this condition is to be ascribed to instruction. But\ngiven the sincerity, and there shall be the intelligence; given the\nintelligence, and there shall be the sincerity [1].'\n\tTsze-sze does more than adopt the dicta of Confucius. He\napplies them in a way which the Sage never did, and which he\nwould probably have shrunk from doing. The sincere, or perfect\nman of Confucius, is he who satisfies completely all the\nrequirements of duty in the various relations of society, and in\nthe exercise of government; but the sincere man of Tsze-sze is a\npotency in the universe. 'Able to give its full development to his\nown nature, he can do the same to the nature of other men. Able to\ngive its full development to the nature of other men, he can give\ntheir full development to the natures of animals and things. Able\nto give their full development to the natures of creatures and\nthings, he can assist the transforming and nourishing powers of\nHeaven and Earth. Able to assist the transforming and nourishing\npowers of Heaven and Earth, he may with Heaven and Earth form a\nternion [2].' Such are the results of sincerity natural. The case\nbelow this -- of sincerity acquired, is as follows,-- 'The\nindividual cultivates its shoots. From these he can attain to the\npossession of sincerity. This sincerity becomes apparent. From\nbeing apparent, it becomes manifest. From being manifest, it\nbecomes brilliant. Brilliant, it affects others. Affecting others,\nthey are changed by it. Changed by it, they are transformed. It is\nonly he who is possessed of the most complete sincerity that can\nexist under heaven, who can transform [3].' It may safely be\naffirmed, that when he thus expressed himself, Tsze-sze\nunderstood neither what he said nor\n\n1 Ch. xxi.\n2 Ch. xxii.\n3 Ch. xxiii.\n\n\nwhereof he affirmed. Mao Hsi-ho and some other modern writers\nexplain away many of his predicates of sincerity, so that in their\nhands they become nothing but extravagant hyperboles, but the\nauthor himself would, I believe, have protested against such a\nmode of dealing with his words. True, his structures are castles\nin the air, but he had no idea himself that they were so.\n\tIn the twenty-fourth chapter there is a ridiculous descent\nfrom the sublimity of the two preceding. We are told that the\npossessor of entire sincerity is like a spirit and can foreknow,\nbut the foreknowledge is only a judging by the milfoil and\ntortoise and other auguries! But the author recovers himself, and\nresumes his theme about sincerity as conducting to self-\ncompletion and the completion of other men and things,\ndescribing it also as possessing all the qualities which can be\npredicated of Heaven and Earth. Gradually the subject is made to\nconverge to the person of Confucius, who is the ideal of the sage,\nas the sage is the ideal of humanity at large. An old account of\nthe object of Tsze-sze in the Chung Yung is that he wrote it to\ncelebrate the virtue of his grandfather [1]. He certainly contrives\nto do this in the course of it. The thirtieth, thirty-first, and\nthirty-second chapters contain his eulogium, and never has any\nother mortal been exalted in such terms. 'He may be compared to\nheaven and earth in their supporting and containing, their over-\nshadowing and curtaining all things; he may be compared to the\nfour seasons in their alternating progress, and to the sun and\nmoon in their successive shining.' 'Quick in apprehension, clear in\ndiscernment, of far-reaching intelligence, and all-embracing\nknowledge, he was fitted to exercise rule; magnanimous,\ngenerous, benign, and mild, he was fitted to exercise forbearance;\nimpulsive, energetic, strong, and enduring, he was fitted to\nmaintain a firm hold; self-adjusted, grave, never swerving from\nthe Mean, and correct, he was fitted to command reverence;\naccomplished, distinctive, concentrative, and searching, he was\nfitted to exercise discrimination.' 'All-embracing and vast, he\nwas like heaven; deep and active as a fountain, he was like the\nabyss.' 'Therefore his fame overspreads the Middle Kingdom, and\nextends to all barbarous tribes. Wherever ships and carriages\nreach; wherever the strength of man penetrates; wherever the\nheavens overshadow\n\n1 \u5510\u9678\u5fb7\u660e\u91cb\u6587\u8b02\u5b54\u5b50\u4e4b\u5b6b,\u5b50\u601d,\u4f5c\u6b64\u4ee5\u662d\u660e\u7956\u5fb7; see the \u4e2d\u5eb8\u5510\u8aaa\u4e00, p. 1.\n\n\nand the earth sustains; wherever the sun and moon shine;\nwherever frosts and dews fall;-- all who have blood and breath\nunfeignedly honour and love him. Hence it is said,-- He is the\nequal of Heaven!' 'Who can know him but he who is indeed quick in\napprehension, clear in discernment, of far-reaching intelligence,\nand all-embracing knowledge, possessing all heavenly virtue?'\n\t8. We have arrived at the concluding chapter of the Work, in\nwhich the author, according to Chu Hsi, 'having carried his\ndescriptions to the highest point in the preceding chapters, turns\nback and examines the source of his subject; and then again from\nthe work of the learner, free from all selfishness and watchful\nover himself when he is alone, he carries out his description, till\nby easy steps he brings it to the consummation of the whole\nworld tranquillized by simple and sincere reverentialness. He\nmoreover eulogizes its mysteriousness, till he speaks of it at\nlast as without sound or smell [1].' Between the first and last\nchapters there is a correspondency, and each of them may be\nconsidered as a summary of the whole treatise. The difference\nbetween them is, that in the first a commencement is made with\nthe mention of Heaven as the conferrer of man's nature, while in\nthis the progress of man in virtue is traced, step by step, till at\nlast it is equal to that of High Heaven.\n\t9. I have thus in the preceding paragraphs given a general\nand somewhat copious review of this Work. My object has been to\nseize, if I could, the train of thought and to hold it up to the\nreader. Minor objections to it, arising from the confused use of\nterms and singular applications of passages from the older\nClassics, are noticed in the notes subjoined to the translation. I\nwished here that its scope should be seen, and the means be\nafforded of judging how far it is worthy of the high character\nattributed to it. 'The relish of it,' says the younger Ch'ang, 'is\ninexhaustible. The whole of it is solid learning. When the skilful\nreader has explored it with delight till he has apprehended it, he\nmay carry it into practice all his life, and will find that it cannot\nbe exhausted [2].'\n\tMy own opinion of it is less favourable. The names by which\nit has been called in translations of it have led to misconceptions\nof its character. Were it styled 'The states of Equilibrium and\nHarmony,' we should be prepared to expect something strange and\nprobably extravagant. Assuredly we should expect nothing more\n\n1 See the concluding note by Chu Hsi.\n2 See the Introductory note below.\n\n\nstrange or extravagant than what we have. It begins sufficiently\nwell, but the author has hardly enunciated his preliminary\napophthegms, when he conducts into an obscurity where we can\nhardly grope our way, and when we emerge from that, it is to be\nbewildered by his gorgeous but unsubstantial pictures of sagely\nperfection. He has eminently contributed to nourish the pride of\nhis countrymen. He has exalted their sages above all that is called\nGod or is worshipped, and taught the masses of the people that\nwith them they have need of nothing from without. In the\nmeantime it is antagonistic to Christianity. By-and-by, when\nChristianity has prevailed in China, men will refer to it as a\nstriking proof how their fathers by their wisdom knew neither\nGod nor themselves.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\nCONFUCIUS AND HIS IMMEDIATE DISCIPLES.\n\nSECTION I.\nLIFE OF CONFUCIUS.\n\n\t1. 'And have you foreigners surnames as well?' This\nquestion has often been put to me by Chinese. It marks the\nignorance which belongs to the people of all that is external to\n\n[Sidebar] His ancestry.\n\nthemselves, and the pride of antiquity which enters largely as an\nelement into their character. If such a pride could in any case be\njustified, we might allow it to the family of the K'ung, the\ndescendants of Confucius. In the reign of K'ang-hsi, twenty-one\ncenturies and a half after the death of the sage, they amounted to\neleven thousand males. But their ancestry is carried back through\na period of equal extent, and genealogical tables are common, in\nwhich the descent of Confucius is traced down from Hwang-ti, in\nwhose reign the cycle was invented, B.C. 2637 [1].\n\tThe more moderate writers, however, content themselves\nwith exhibiting his ancestry back to the commencement of the\nChau dynasty, B.C. 1121. Among the relatives of the tyrant Chau,\nthe last emperor of the Yin dynasty, was an elder brother, by a\nconcubine, named Ch'i [2], who is celebrated by Confucius, Ana.\nXVIII. i, under the title of the viscount of Wei. Foreseeing the\nimpending ruin of their family, Ch'i withdrew from the court; and\nsubsequently he was invested by the emperor Ch'ang, the second\nof the house of Chau, with the principality of Sung, which\nembraced the eastern portion of the present province of Ho-nan,\nthat he might there continue the sacrifices to the sovereigns of\nYin. Ch'i was followed as duke of Sung by a younger brother, in\nwhose line the succession continued. His great-grandson, the duke\nMin [3], was\n\nl See Memoires concernant les Chinois, Tome XII, p. 447 et seq.\nFather Amiot states, p. 501, that he had seen the representative\nof the family, who succeeded to the dignity of \u884d\u8056\u516c in the ninth\nyear of Ch'ien-lung, A.D. 1744. The last duke, not the present, was\nvisited in our own time by the late Dr. Williamson and Mr. Consul\nMarkham. It is hardly necessary that I should say here, that the\nname Confucius is merely the Chinese characters \u5b54\u592b\u5b50 (K'ung Fu-\ntsze, 'The master K'ung') Latinized.\n2 \u555f.\n3 \u610d\u516c.\n\n\nfollowed, B.C. 908, by a younger brother, leaving, however, two\nsons, Fu-fu Ho [1] and Fang-sze [2]. Fu Ho [3] resigned his right to\nthe dukedom in favour of Fang-sze, who put his uncle to death in\nB.C. 893, and became master of the State. He is known as the duke\nLi [4], and to his elder brother belongs the honour of having the\nsage among his descendants.\n\tThree descents from Fu Ho, we find Chang K'ao-fu [5], who\nwas a distinguished officer under the dukes Tai, Wu, and Hsuan [6]\n(B.C. 799-728). He is still celebrated for his humility, and for his\nliterary tastes. We have accounts of him as being in\ncommunication with the Grand-historiographer of the kingdom,\nand engaged in researches about its ancient poetry, thus setting\nan example of one of the works to which Confucius gave himself\n[7]. K'ao gave birth to K'ung-fu Chia [8], from whom the surname of\nK'ung took its rise. Five generations had now elapsed since the\ndukedom was held in the direct line of his ancestry, and it was\naccording to the rule in such cases that the branch should cease\nits connexion with the ducal stem, and merge among the people\nunder a new surname. K'ung Chia was Master of the Horse in Sung,\nand an officer of well-known loyalty and probity. Unfortunately\nfor himself, he had a wife of surpassing beauty, of whom the\nchief minister of the State, by name Hwa Tu [9], happened on one\noccasion to get a glimpse. Determined to possess her, he\ncommenced a series of intrigues, which ended, B.C. 710, in the\nmurder of Chia and of the ruling duke Shang [10]. At the same\ntime, Tu secured the person of the lady, and hastened to his\npalace with the prize, but on the way she had strangled herself\nwith her girdle.\n\tAn enmity was thus commenced between the two families\nof K'ung and Hwa which the lapse of time did not obliterate, and\nthe latter being the more powerful of the two, Chia's great-\ngrandson withdrew into the State of Lu to avoid their persecution.\nThere he was appointed commandant of the city of Fang [11], and\nis known\n\n1 \u4f5b\u7236\u4f55.\n2 \u9b74(al. \u65b9) \u7940.\n3 I drop here the \u7236 (second tone), which seems to have been used\nin those times in a manner equivalent to our Mr.\n4 \u53b2\u516c.\n5 \u6b63\u8003\u752b; \u752b is used in the same way as \u7236; see note 3.\n6 \u6234, \u6b66, \u5ba3, \u4e09\u516c.\n7 See the \u9b6f\u8a9e, and \u5546\u980c\u8a69\u5e8f; quoted in Chiang Yung's (\u5de5\u6c38) Life of\nConfucius, which forms a part of the \u9109\u9ee8\u5716\u8003.\n8 \u5b54\u7236\u5609.\n9 \u83ef\u7763.\n10 \u6ba4\u516c.\n11 \u9632.\n\n\nin history by the name of Fang-shu [1]. Fang-shu gave birth to Po-\nhsia [2], and from him came Shu-liang Heh [3], the father of\nConfucius. Heh appears in the history of the times as a soldier of\ngreat prowess and daring bravery. In the year B.C. 562, when\nserving at the siege of a place called Peh-yang [4], a party of the\nassailants made their way in at a gate which had purposely been\nleft open, and no sooner were they inside than the portcullis was\ndropped. Heh was just entering; and catching the massive\nstructure with both his hands, he gradually by dint of main\nstrength raised it and held it up, till his friends had made their\nescape.\n\tThus much on the ancestry of the sage. Doubtless he could\ntrace his descent in the way which has been indicated up to the\nimperial house of Yin, nor was there one among his ancestors\nduring the rule of Chau to whom he could not refer with\nsatisfaction. They had been ministers and soldiers of Sung and Lu,\nall men of worth, and in Chang K'ao, both for his humility and\nliterary researches, Confucius might have special complacency.\n\t2. Confucius was the child of Shu-liang Heh's old age. The\nsoldier had married in early life, but his wife brought him only\n\n[Sidebar] From his birth to his first public employments. B.C. 551-\n531.\n\ndaughters,-- to the number of nine, and no son. By a concubine he\nhad a son, named Mang-p'i, and also Po-ni [5], who proved a\ncripple, so that, when he was over seventy years, Heh sought a\nsecond wife in the Yen family [6], from which came subsequently\nYen Hui, the favourite disciple of his son. There were three\ndaughters in the family, the youngest being named Chang-tsai [7].\nTheir father said to them, 'Here is the commandant of Tsau. His\nfather and grandfather were only scholars, but his ancestors\nbefore them were descendants of the sage sovereigns. He is a man\nten feet high [8], and of extraordinary prowess, and I am very\ndesirous of his alliance. Though he is old and austere, you need\nhave no misgivings about him. Which of you three will be his\nwife? 'The two elder daughters were silent, but Chang-tsai said,\n'Why do you ask us, father? It is for you to determine.' 'Very well,'\nsaid her father in reply, 'you will do.' Chang-tsai, accordingly,\nbecame Heh's wife, and in due time gave\n\n1 \u9632\u53d4.\n2 \u4f2f\u590f.\n3 \u53d4\u6881\u7d07.\n4 \u506a\u967d.\n5 \u5b5f\u76ae, \u4e00\u5b57\u4f2f\u5c3c.\n6 \u984f\u6c0f.\n7 \u5fb5\u5728.\n8 \u5176\u4eba, \u8eab\u9577\u5341\u5c3a. See, on the length of the ancient foot, Ana. VIII.\nvi, but the point needs a more sifting investigation than it has yet\nreceived.\n\n\nbirth to Confucius, who received the name of Ch'iu, and was\nsubsequently styled Chung-ni [1]. The event happened on the\ntwenty-first day of the tenth month of the twenty-first year of\nthe duke Hsiang, of Lu, being the twentieth year of the emperor\nLing, B.C. 552 [2]. The birth-place was in the district of Tsau [3],\nof which Heh was the governor. It was somewhere within the\nlimits of the present department of Yen-chau in Shan-tung, but\nthe honour of being the exact spot is claimed for two places in\ntwo different districts of the department.\n\tThe notices which we have of Confucius's early years are\nvery scanty. When he was in his third year his father died. It is\nrelated of him, that as a boy he used to play at the arrangement of\n\n1 \u540d\u90b1, \u5b57\u4ef2\u5c3c. The legends say that Chang-tsai fearing lest she\nshould not have a son, in consequence of her husband's age,\nprivately ascended the Ni-ch'iu hill to pray for the boon, and that\nwhen she had obtained it, she commemorated the fact in the\nnames -- Ch'iu and Chung-ni. But the cripple, Mang-p'i, had\nprevious been styled Po-ni. There was some reason, previous to\nConfucius's birth, for using the term ni in the family. As might be\nexpected, the birth of the sage is surrounded with many\nprodigious occurrences. One account is, that the husband and wife\nprayed together for a son in a dell of mount Ni. As Chang-tsai\nwent up the hill, the leaves of the trees and plants all erected\nthemselves, and bent downwards on her return. That night she\ndreamt the black Ti appeared, and said to her, 'You shall have a\nson, a sage, and you must bring him forth in a hollow mulberry\ntree.' One day during her pregnancy, she fell into a dreamy state,\nand saw five old men in the hall, who called themselves the\nessences of the five planets, and led an animal which looked like\na small cow with one horn, and was covered with scales like a\ndragon. This creature knelt before Chang-tsai, and cast forth from\nits mouth a slip of jade, on which was the inscription,-- 'The son\nof the essence of water shall succeed to the decaying Chau, and\nbe a throneless king.' Chang-tsai tied a piece of embroidered\nribbon about its horn, and the vision disappeared. When Heh was\ntold of it, he said, 'The creature must be the Ch'i-lin.' As her time\ndrew near, Chang-tsai asked her husband if there was any place in\nthe neighborhood called 'the hollow mulberry tree.' He told her\nthere was a dry cave in the south hill, which went by that name.\nThen she said, 'I will go and be confined there.' Her husband was\nsurprised, but when made acquainted with her former dream, he\nmade the necessary arrangements. On the night when the child\nwas born, two dragons came and kept watch on the left and right\nof the hill, and two spirit-ladies appeared in the air, pouring out\nfragrant odors, as if to bathe Chang-tsai; and as soon as the birth\ntook place, a spring of clear warm water bubbled up from the\nfloor of the cave, which dried up again when the child had been\nwashed in it. The child was of an extraordinary appearance; with\na mouth like the sea, ox lips, a dragon's back, &c. &c. On the top of\nhis head was a remarkable formation, in consequence of which he\nwas named Ch'iu, &c. See the \u5217\u570b\u5fd7, Bk. lxxviii.--Sze-ma Ch'ien\nseems to make Confucius to have been illegitimate, saying that\nHeh and Miss Yen cohabited in the wilderness (\u91ce\u5408). Chiang Yung\nsays that the phrase has reference simply to the disparity of\ntheir ages.\n2 Sze-ma Ch'ien says that Confucius was born in the twenty-\nsecond year of duke Hsiang, B.C. 550. He is followed by Chu Hsi in\nthe short sketch of Confucius's life prefixed to the Lun Yu, and by\n'The Annals of the Empire' (\u6b77\u4ee3\u7d71\u7d00\u8868), published with imperial\nsanction in the reign of Chia-ch'ing. (To this latter work I have\ngenerally referred for my dates.) The year assigned in the text\nabove rests on the authority of Ku-liang and Kung-yang, the two\ncommentators on the Ch'un-Ch'iu. With regard to the month,\nhowever, the tenth is that assigned by Ku-liang, while Kung-yang\nnames the eleventh.\n3 Tsau is written \u90f0, \u9139, \u966c, and \u9112.\n\n\nsacrificial vessels, and at postures of ceremony. Of his schooling\nwe have no reliable account. There is a legend, indeed, that at\nseven he went to school to Yen P'ing-chung [1], but it must be\nrejected as P'ing-chung belonged to the State of Ch'i. He tells us\nhimself that at fifteen he bent his mind to learning [2]; but the\ncondition of the family was one of poverty. At a subsequent\nperiod, when people were astonished at the variety of his\nknowledge, he explained it by saying, 'When I was young, my\ncondition was low, and therefore I acquired my ability in many\nthings; but they were mean matters [3].'\n\tWhen he was nineteen, he married a lady from the State of\nSung, of the Chien-kwan family [4], and in the following year his\nson Li was born. On the occasion of this event, the duke Chao sent\nhim a present of a couple of carp. It was to signify his sense of\nhis prince's favour, that he called his son Li (The Carp), and\nafterwards gave him the designation of Po-yu [5] (Fish Primus).\nNo mention is made of the birth of any other children, though we\nknow, from Ana. V. i, that he had at least one daughter. We know\nalso, from an inscription on her grave, that he had one other\ndaughter, who died when she was quite young. The fact of the duke\nof Lu's sending him a gift on the occasion of Li's birth, shows that\nhe was not unknown, but was already commanding public\nattention and the respect of the great.\n\tIt was about this time, probably in the year after his\nmarriage, that Confucius took his first public employment, as\nkeeper of the stores of grain [6], and in the following year he was\nput in charge of the public fields and lands [7]. Mencius adduces\nthese employments in illustration of his doctrine that the\nsuperior man may at times take office on account of his poverty,\nbut must confine himself in such a case to places of small\nemolument, and aim at nothing but the discharge of their humble\nduties. According to him. Confucius, as keeper of stores, said, 'My\ncalculations must all be right:-- that is all I have to care about;'\nand when in charge of the public fields, he said, 'The oxen and\nsheep must be fat and strong and\n\n1 \u664f\u5e73\u4ef2.\n2 Ana. II. iv.\n3 Ana. IX. vi.\n4 \u5a36\u5b8b\u4e4b\u5e75\u5b98\u6c0f.\n5 \u540d\u66f0\u9bc9, \u800c\u5b57\u4f2f\u9b5a.\n6 \u70ba\u59d4\u540f. This is Mencius's account. Sze-ma Ch'ien says \u5617\u70ba\u5b63\u6c0f\u540f,\nbut his subsequent words \u6599\u91cf\u5e73 show that the office was the\nsame.\n7 Mencius calls this office \u4e58\u7530, while Sze-ma Ch'ien says \u70ba\u53f8\u8077\n\u540f.\n\n\nsuperior:-- that is all I have to care about [1].' It does not appear\nwhether these offices were held by Confucius in the direct\nemployment of the State, or as a dependent of the Chi family in\nwhose jurisdiction he lived. The present of the carp from the duke\nmay incline us to suppose the former.\n\t3. In his twenty-second year, Confucius commenced his\nlabors as a public teacher, and his house became a resort for\nyoung and inquiring spirits, who wished to learn the doctrines of\nantiquity.\n\n[Sidebar] Commencement of his labors as a teacher. The death of\nhis mother. B.C. 531-527.\n\nHowever small the fee his pupils were able to afford, he never\nrefused his instructions [2]. All that he required, was an ardent\ndesire for improvement, and some degree of capacity. 'I do not\nopen up the truth,' he said, 'to one who is not eager to get\nknowledge, nor help out any one who is not anxious to explain\nhimself. When I have presented one corner of a subject to any one,\nand he cannot from it learn the other three, I do not repeat my\nlesson [3].'\n\tHis mother died in the year B.C. 527, and he resolved that\nher body should lie in the same grave with that of his father, and\nthat their common resting-place should be in Fang, the first home\nof the K'ung in Lu. But here a difficulty presented itself. His\nfather's coffin had been for twenty years where it had first been\ndeposited, off the road of The Five Fathers, in the vicinity of\nTsau:-- would it be right in him to move it? He was relieved from\nthis perplexity by an old woman of the neighborhood, who told him\nthat the coffin had only just been put into the ground, as a\ntemporary arrangement, and not regularly buried. On learning this,\nhe carried his purpose into execution. Both coffins were conveyed\nto Fang, and put in the ground together, with no intervening space\nbetween them, as was the custom in some States. And now came a\nnew perplexity. He said to himself, 'In old times, they had graves,\nbut raised no tumulus over them. But I am a man, who belongs\nequally to the north and the south, the east and the west. I must\nhave something by which I can remember the place.' Accordingly\nhe raised a mound, four feet high, over the grave, and returned\nhome, leaving a party of his disciples to see everything properly\ncompleted. In the meantime there came on a heavy storm of rain,\nand it was a considerable time before the disciples joined him.\n'What makes you so late?' he asked. 'The grave in Fang fell down,'\nthey said. He made no reply, and they repeated their\n\n1 Mencius, V. Pt. II. v. 4.\n2 Ana. VII. vii.\n3 Ana. VII. viii.\n\n\nanswer three times, when he burst into tears, and said, 'Ah! they\ndid not make their graves so in antiquity [1].' 'Confucius mourned\nfor his mother the regular period of three years,-- three years\nnominally, but in fact only twenty-seven months. Five days after\nthe mourning was expired, he played on his lute, but could not\nsing. It required other five days before he could accompany an\ninstrument with his voice [2].\n\tSome writers have represented Confucius as teaching his\ndisciples important lessons from the manner in which he buried\nhis mother, and having a design to correct irregularities in the\nordinary funeral ceremonies of the time. These things are\naltogether 'without book.' We simply have a dutiful son paying the\nlast tribute of affection to a good parent. In one point he departs\nfrom the ancient practice, raising a mound over the grave, and\nwhen the fresh earth gives way from a sudden rain, he is moved to\ntears, and seems to regret his innovation. This sets Confucius\nvividly before us,-- a man of the past as much as of the present,\nwhose own natural feelings were liable to be hampered in their\ndevelopment by the traditions of antiquity which he considered\nsacred. It is important, however, to observe the reason which he\ngave for rearing the mound. He had in it a presentiment of much of\nhis future course. He was 'a man of the north, the south, the east,\nand the west.' He might not confine himself to any one State. He\nwould travel, and his way might be directed to some 'wise ruler,'\nwhom his counsels would conduct to a benevolent sway that\nwould break forth on every side till it transformed the empire.\n\t4. When the mourning for his mother was over, Confucius\nremained in Lu, but in what special capacity we do not know.\nProbably he continued to encourage the resort of\n\n[Sidebar] He learns music; visits the court of Chau; and returns to\nLu.\nB.C. 527-517.\n\ninquirers to whom he communicated instruction, and pursued his\nown researches into the history, literature, and institutions of\nthe empire. In the year B.C. 525, the chief of the small State of\nT'an [3], made his appearance at the court of Lu, and discoursed in\na wonderful manner, at a feast given to him by the duke, about the\nnames which the most ancient sovereigns, from Hwang-ti\ndownwards, gave to their\n\n1 Li Chi, II. Sect I. i. 10; Sect. II. iii. 30; Pt. I. i. 6. See also the\ndiscussion of those passages in Chiang Yung's 'Life of Confucius.'\n2 Li Chi, II. Sect. I. i. 23.\n3 See the Ch'un Ch'iu, under the seventh year of duke Chao,-- \u79cb, \u90ef\n\u5b50\u4f86\u671d.\n\n\nministers. The sacrifices to the emperor Shao-hao, the next in\ndescent from Hwang-ti, were maintained in T'an, so that the chief\nfancied that he knew all about the abstruse subject on which he\ndiscoursed. Confucius, hearing about the matter, waited on the\nvisitor, and learned from him all that he had to communicate [1].\n\tTo the year B.C. 525, when Confucius was twenty-nine years\nold, is referred his studying music under a famous master of the\nname of Hsiang [2]. He was approaching his thirtieth year when, as\nhe tells us, 'he stood [3]' firm, that is, in his convictions on the\nsubjects of learning to which he had bent his mind fifteen years\nbefore. Five years more, however, were still to pass by, before\nthe anticipation mentioned in the conclusion of the last paragraph\nbegan to receive its fulfillment [4], though we may conclude from\nthe way in which it was brought about that he was growing all\nthe time in the estimation of the thinking minds in his native\nState.\n\tIn the twenty-fourth year of duke Chao, B.C. 518, one of the\nprincipal ministers of Lu, known by the name of Mang Hsi, died.\nSeventeen years before, he had painfully felt his ignorance of\nceremonial observances, and had made it his subsequent business\nto make himself acquainted with them. On his deathbed, he\naddressed his chief officer, saying, 'A knowledge of propriety is\nthe stem of a man. Without it he has no means of standing firm. I\nhave heard that there is one K'ung Ch'iu, who is thoroughly versed\nin it. He is a descendant of sages, and though the line of his\nfamily was extinguished in Sung, among his ancestors there were\nFu-fu Ho, who resigned the State to his brother, and Chang K'ao-\nfu, who was distinguished for his humility. Tsang Heh has\nobserved that if sage men of intelligent virtue do not attain to\neminence, distinguished men are sure to appear among their\nposterity. His words are now to be verified, I think, in K'ung Ch'iu.\nAfter my death, you must\n\n1 This rests on the respectable authority of Tso Ch'iu-ming's\nannotations on the Ch'un Ch'iu, but I must consider it apocryphal.\nThe legend-writers have fashioned a journey to T'an. The\nslightest historical intimation becomes a text with them, on\nwhich they enlarge to the glory of the sage. Amiot has reproduced\nand expanded their romancings, and others, such as Pauthier\n(Chine, pp. 121-183) and Thornton (History of China, vol. i. pp.\n151-215), have followed in his wake.\n2 \u5e2b\u8944. See the 'Narratives of the School,' \u5377\u4e09, art \u8faf\u6a02\u89e3; but the\naccount there given is not more credible than the chief of T'an's\nexpositions.\n3 Ana. II. iv.\n4 The journey to Chau is placed by Sze-ma Ch'ien before\nConfucius's holding of his first official employments, and Chu Hsi\nand most other writers follow him. It is a great error, and arisen\nfrom a misunderstanding of the passage from the \u5de6\u6c0f\u50b3 upon the\nsubject.\n\n\ntell Ho-chi to go and study proprieties under him [1].' In\nconsequence of this charge, Ho-chi [2], Mang Hsi's son, who\nappears in the Analects under the name of Mang I [3], and a\nbrother, or perhaps on]y a near relative, named Nan-kung Chang-\nshu [4], became disciples of Confucius. Their wealth and standing\nin the State gave him a position which he had not had before, and\nhe told Chang-shu of a wish which he had to visit the court of\nChau, and especially to confer on the subject of ceremonies and\nmusic with Lao Tan. Chang-shu represented the matter to the duke\nCh'ao, who put a carriage and a pair of horses at Confucius's\ndisposal for the expedition [5].\n\tAt this time the court of Chau was in the city of Lo [6]. in\nthe present department of Ho-nan of the province of the same\nname. The reigning sovereign is known by the title of Chang [7],\nbut the sovereignty was little more than nominal. The state of\nChina was then analogous to that of one of the European kingdoms\nduring the prevalence of the feudal system. At the commencement\nof the dynasty, the various states of the kingdom had been\nassigned to the relatives and adherents of the reigning family.\nThere were thirteen principalities of greater note, and a large\nnumber of smaller dependencies. During the vigorous youth of the\ndynasty, the sovereign or lord paramount exercised an effective\ncontrol over the various chiefs, but with the lapse of time there\ncame weakness and decay. The chiefs --corresponding somewhat\nto the European dukes, earls, marquises, barons, &c. -- quarrelled\nand warred among themselves, and the stronger among them\nbarely acknowledged their subjection to the sovereign. A similar\ncondition of things prevailed in each particular State. There there\n[sic] were hereditary ministerial families, who were continually\nencroaching on the authority of their rulers, and the heads of\nthose families again were frequently hard pressed by their\ninferior officers. Such was the state of China in Confucius's time.\nThe reader must have it clearly before him, if he would\nunderstand the position of the sage, and the reforms which, we\nshall find, it was subsequently his object to introduce.\n\tArrived at Chau, he had no intercourse with the court or any\nof\n\n1 See \u5de6\u6c0f\u50b3, \u662d\u516c\u4e03\u5e74.\n2 \u4f55\u5fcc.\n3 \u5b5f\u61ff\u5b50.\n4 \u5357\u5bae\u656c\u53d4.\n5 The \u5bb6\u8a9e makes Chang-shu accompany Confucius to Chau. It is\ndifficult to understand this, if Chang-shu were really a son of\nMang Hsi who had died that year.\n6 \u6d1b.\n7 \u656c\u738b (B.C. 519-475)\n\n\nthe principal ministers. He was there not as a politician, but as\nan inquirer about the ceremonies and maxims of the founders of\nthe existing dynasty. Lao Tan [1], whom he had wished to see,\ngenerally acknowledged as the founder of the Taoists, or\nRationalistic sect (so called), which has maintained its ground in\nopposition to the followers of Confucius, was then a curator of\nthe royal library. They met and freely interchanged their views,\nbut no reliable account of their conversations has been preserved.\nIn the fifth Book of the Li Chi, which is headed 'The philosopher\nTsang asked,' Confucius refers four times to the views of Lao-\ntsze on certain points of funeral ceremonies, and in the\n'Narratives of the School,' Book XXIV, he tells Chi K'ang what he\nhad heard from him about 'The Five Tis,' but we may hope their\nconversation turned also on more important subjects. Sze-ma\nCh'ien, favourable to Lao-tsze, makes him lecture his visitor in\nthe following style:-- 'Those whom you talk about are dead, and\ntheir bones are moldered to dust; only their words remain. When\nthe superior man gets his time, he mounts aloft; but when the\ntime is against him, he moves as if his feet were entangled. I\nhave heard that a good merchant, though he has rich treasures\ndeeply stored, appears as if he were poor, and that the superior\nman whose virtue is complete, is yet to outward seeming stupid.\nPut away your proud air and many desires, your insinuating habit\nand wild will [2]. These are of no advantage to you. This is all\nwhich I have to tell you.' On the other hand, Confucius is made to\nsay to his disciples, 'I know how birds can fly, how fishes can\nswim, and how animals can run. But the runner may be snared, the\nswimmer may be hooked, and the flyer may be shot by the arrow.\nBut there is the dragon. I cannot tell how he mounts on the wind\nthrough the clouds, and rises to heaven. Today I have seen Lao-\ntsze, and can only compare him to the dragon [3].'\n\tWhile at Lo, Confucius walked over the grounds set apart for\nthe great sacrifices to Heaven and Earth; inspected the pattern of\nthe Hall of Light, built to give audience in to the princes of the\nkingdom; and examined all the arrangements of the ancestral\ntemple and the court. From the whole he received a profound\n\n1 According to Sze-ma Ch'ien, Tan was the posthumous epithet of\nthis individual, whose surname was Li (\u674e), name R (\u8033), and\ndesignation Po-yang (\u4f2f\u967d).\n2 \u9038\u614b\u8207\u6deb\u5fd7.\n3 See the \u53f2\u8a18, \u5217\u50b3\u7b2c\u4e09, and compare the remarks attributed to\nLao-tsze in the account of the K'ung family near the beginning.\n\n\nimpression. 'Now,' said he with a sigh, 'I know the sage wisdom of\nthe duke of Chau, and how the House of Chau attained to the royal\nsway [1].' On the walls of the Hall of Light were paintings of the\nancient sovereigns from Yao and Shun downwards, their\ncharacters appearing in the representations of them, and words of\npraise or warning being appended. There was also a picture of the\nduke of Chau sitting with his infant nephew, the king Ch'ang, upon\nhis knees, to give audience to all the princes. Confucius surveyed\nthe scene with silent delight, and then said to his followers,\n'Here you see how Chau became so great. As we use a glass to\nexamine the forms of things, so must we study antiquity in order\nto understand the present time [2].' In the hall of the ancestral\ntemple, there was a metal statue of a man with three clasps upon\nhis mouth, and his back covered over with an enjoyable homily on\nthe duty of keeping a watch upon the lips. Confucius turned to his\ndisciples and said, 'Observe it, my children. These words are true,\nand commend themselves to our feelings [3].'\n\tAbout music he made inquiries at Ch'ang Hung, to whom the\nfollowing remarks are attributed:-- 'I have observed about Chung-\nni many marks of a sage. He has river eyes and a dragon forehead,-\n- the very characteristics of Hwang-ti. His arms are long, his\nback is like a tortoise, and he is nine feet six inches in height,--\nthe very semblance of T'ang the Completer. When he speaks, he\npraises the ancient kings. He moves along the path of humility and\ncourtesy. He has heard of every subject, and retains with a strong\nmemory. His knowledge of things seems inexhaustible.-- Have we\nnot in him the rising of a sage [4]?'\n\tI have given these notices of Confucius at the court of Chau,\nmore as being the only ones I could find, than because I put much\nfaith in them. He did not remain there long, but returned the same\nyear to Lu, and continued his work of teaching. His fame was\ngreatly increased; disciples came to him from different parts,\ntill their number amounted to three thousand. Several of those\nwho have come down to us as the most distinguished among his\nfollowers, however, were yet unborn, and the statement just\ngiven may be considered as an exaggeration. We are not to\nconceive of the disciples as forming a community, and living\ntogether. Parties\n\n1 2 3 See the \u5bb6\u8a9e, \u5377\u4e8c, art. \u89c0\u5468.\n4 Quoted by Chiang Yung from the 'Narratives of the School.'\n\n\nof them may have done so. We shall find Confucius hereafter\nalways moving amid a company of admiring pupils; but the greater\nnumber must have had their proper avocations and ways of living,\nand would only resort to the Master, when they wished specially\nto ask his counsel or to learn of him.\n\t5. In the year succeeding the return to Lu, that State fell\ninto great confusion. There were three Families in it, all\nconnected irregularly with the ducal House, which had long kept\nthe rulers in a condition of dependency. They appear frequently in\nthe Analects as the Chi clan, the Shu, and the Mang; and while\nConfucius freely spoke of their\n\n[Sidebar] He withdraws to Chi and returns to Lu the following\nyear. B.C. 515, 516.\n\nusurpations [1], he was a sort of dependent of the Chi family, and\nappears in frequent communication with members of all the three.\nIn the year B.C. 517, the duke Chao came to open hostilities with\nthem, and being worsted, fled into Ch'i, the State adjoining Lu on\nthe north. Thither Confucius also repaired, that he might avoid the\nprevailing disorder of his native State. Ch'i was then under the\ngovernment of a ruler (in rank a marquis, but historically called\nduke) , afterwards styled Ching [2], who 'had a thousand teams,\neach of four horses, but on the day of his death the people did not\npraise him for a single virtue [3].' His chief minister, however,\nwas Yen Ying [4], a man of considerable ability and worth. At his\ncourt the music of the ancient sage-emperor, Shun, originally\nbrought to Ch'i from the State of Ch'an [5], was still preserved.\n\tAccording to the 'Narratives of the School,' an incident\noccurred on the way to Ch'i, which I may transfer to these pages\nas a good specimen of the way in which Confucius turned\noccurring matters to account, in his intercourse with his\ndisciples. As he was passing by the side of the Tai mountain,\nthere was a woman weeping and wailing by a grave. Confucius\nbent forward in his carriage, and after listening to her for some\ntime, sent Tsze-lu to ask the cause of her grief. 'You weep, as if\nyou had experienced sorrow upon sorrow,' said Tsze-lu. The\nwoman replied, 'It is so. My husband's father was killed here by a\ntiger, and my husband also; and now my son has met the same\nfate.' Confucius asked her why she did not remove from the place,\nand on her answering,' There is here no oppressive government,' he\nturned to his disciples, and said, 'My\n\n1 See Analects, III. i. ii, et al.\n2 \u666f\u516c.\n3 Ana. XVI. xii.\n4 \u664f\u5b30. This is the same who was afterwards styled \u664f\u5e73\u4ef2.\n5 \u9673.\n\n\nchildren, remember this. Oppressive government is fiercer than a\ntiger [1].'\n\tAs soon as he crossed the border from Lu, we are told he\ndiscovered from the gait and manners of a boy, whom he saw\ncarrying a pitcher, the influence of the sages' music, and told the\ndriver of his carriage to hurry on to the capital [2]. Arrived there,\nhe heard the strain, and was so ravished with it, that for three\nmonths he did not know the taste of flesh. 'I did not think,' he\nsaid, 'that music could have been made so excellent as this [3].'\nThe duke Ching was pleased with the conferences which he had\nwith him [4], and proposed to assign to him the town of Lin-ch'iu,\nfrom the revenues of which he might derive a sufficient support;\nbut Confucius refused the gift, and said to his disciples, 'A\nsuperior man will only receive reward for services which he has\ndone. I have given advice to the duke Ching, but he has not yet\nobeyed it, and now he would endow me with this place! Very far is\nhe from understanding me [5]!'\n\tOn one occasion the duke asked about government, and\nreceived the characteristic reply, 'There is government when the\nruler is ruler, and the minister is minister; when the father is\nfather, and the son is son [6].' I say that the reply is\ncharacteristic. Once, when Tsze-lu asked him what he would\nconsider the first thing to be done if entrusted with the\ngovernment of a State, Confucius answered, 'What is necessary is\nto rectify names [7].' The disciple thought the reply wide of the\nmark, but it was substantially the same with what he said to the\nmarquis Ching. There is a sufficient foundation in nature for\ngovernment in the several relations of society, and if those be\nmaintained and developed according to their relative significancy,\nit is sure to obtain. This was a first principle in the political\nethics of Confucius.\n\tAnother day the duke got to a similar inquiry the reply that\nthe art of government lay in an economical use of the revenues;\nand being pleased, he resumed his purpose of retaining the\nphilosopher in his State, and proposed to assign to him the fields\nof Ni-ch'i. His\n\n1 See the \u5bb6\u8a9e, \u5377\u56db, art. \u6b63\u8ad6\u89e3. I have translated, however, from\nthe Li Chi, II. Sect. II. iii. 10, where the same incident is given,\nwith some variations, and without saying when or where it\noccurred.\n2 See the \u8aaa\u82d1, \u5377\u5341\u4e5d, p. 13.\n3 Ana. VII. xiii.\n4 Some of these are related in the 'Narratives of the School;'--\nabout the burning of the ancestral shrine of the sovereign \u91d0, and\na one-footed bird which appeared hopping and flapping its wings\nin Ch'i. They are plainly fabulous, though quoted in proof of\nConfucius's sage wisdom. This reference to them is more than\nenough.\n5 \u5bb6\u8a9e, \u5377\u4e8c, \u516d\u672c.\n6 Ana. XII. xi.\n7 Ana. XIII. iii.\n\n\nchief minister Yen Ying dissuaded him from the purpose, saying,\n'Those scholars are impracticable, and cannot be imitated. They\nare haughty and conceited of their own views, so that they will\nnot be content in inferior positions. They set a high value on all\nfuneral ceremonies, give way to their grief, and will waste their\nproperty on great burials, so that they would only be injurious to\nthe common manners. This Mr. K'ung has a thousand peculiarities.\nIt would take generations to exhaust all that he knows about the\nceremonies of going up and going down. This is not the time to\nexamine into his rules of propriety. If you, prince, wish to employ\nhim to change the customs of Ch'i, you will not be making the\npeople your primary consideration [1].'\n\tI had rather believe that these were not the words of Yen\nYing, but they must represent pretty correctly the sentiments of\nmany of the statesmen of the time about Confucius. The duke of\nCh'i got tired ere long of having such a monitor about him, and\nobserved. 'I cannot treat him as I would the chief of the Chi\nfamily. I will treat him in a way between that accorded to the\nchief of the Chi, and that given to the chief of the Mang family.'\nFinally he said, 'I am old; I cannot use his doctrines [2].' These\nobservations were made directly to Confucius, or came to his\nhearing [3]. It was not consistent with his self-respect to remain\nlonger in Ch'i, and he returned to Lu [4].\n\t6. Returned to Lu, he remained for the long period of about\nfifteen years without being engaged in any official employment.\nIt\n\n[Sidebar] He remains without office in Lu, B.C. 516-501.\n\nwas a time indeed of great disorder. The duke Chao continued a\nrefugee in Ch'i, the government being in the hands of the great\nFamilies, up to his death in B.C. 510, on which event the rightful\nheir was set aside, and another member of the ducal House, known\nto us by the title of Ting [5], substituted in his place. The ruling\nauthority of the principality became thus still more enfeebled\nthan it had been before, and, on the other hand, the chiefs of the\nChi, the Shu, and the Mang, could hardly keep their ground against\ntheir own officers. Of those latter, the two most conspicuous\nwere Yang Hu [6], called also Yang Ho [7], and\n\n1 See the \u53f2\u8a18, \u5b54\u5b50\u4e16\u5bb6, p. 2.\n2 Ana. XVIII. iii\n3  Sze-ma Ch'ien makes the first observation to have been\naddressed directly to Confucius.\n4 According to the above account Confucius was only once, and for\na portion of two years, in Ch'i. For the refutation of contrary\naccounts, see Chiang Yung's Life of the Sage.\n5 \u5b9a\u516c.\n6 \u967d\u864e.\n7 \u967d\u8ca8.\n\n\nKung-shan Fu-zao [1]. At one time Chi Hwan, the most powerful of\nthe chiefs, was kept a prisoner by Yang Hu, and was obliged to\nmake terms with him in order to obtain his liberation. Confucius\nwould give his countenance to none, as he disapproved of all, and\nhe studiously kept aloof from them. Of how he comported himself\namong them we have a specimen in the incident related in the\nAnalects, XVII. i.-- 'Yang Ho wished to see Confucius, but\nConfucius would not go to see him. On this, he sent a present of a\npig to Confucius, who, having chosen a time when Ho was not at\nhome, went to pay his respects for the gift. He met him, however,\non the way. \"Come, let me speak with you,\" said the officer. \"Can\nhe be called benevolent, who keeps his jewel in his bosom, and\nleaves his country to confusion?\" Confucius replied, \"No.\" \"Can he\nbe called wise, who is anxious to be engaged in public\nemployment, and yet is constantly losing the opportunity of being\nso?\" Confucius again said, \"No.\" The other added, \"The days and\nmonths are passing away; the years do not wait for us.\" Confucius\nsaid, \"Right; I will go into office.\"' Chinese writers are eloquent\nin their praises of the sage for the combination of propriety,\ncomplaisance and firmness, which they see in his behavior in this\nmatter. To myself there seems nothing remarkable in it but a\nsomewhat questionable dexterity. But it was well for the fame of\nConfucius that his time was not occupied during those years with\nofficial services. He turned them to better account, prosecuting\nhis researches into the poetry, history, ceremonies, and music of\nthe nation. Many disciples continued to resort to him, and the\nlegendary writers tell us how he employed their services in\ndigesting the results of his studies. I must repeat, however, that\nseveral of them, whose names are most famous, such as Tsang\nShan, were as yet children, and Min Sun [2] was not born till B.C.\n500.\n\tTo this period we must refer the almost single instance\nwhich we have of the manner of Confucius's intercourse with his\nson Li. 'Have you heard any lessons from your father different\nfrom what we have all heard?' asked one of the disciples once of\nLi. 'No,' said Li. 'He was standing alone once, when I was passing\nthrough the court below with hasty steps, and said to me, \"Have\nyou learned the Odes?\" On my replying, \"Not yet,\" he added, \"If you\ndo not learn the Odes, you will not be fit to converse with.\"\nAnother day,\n\n1 \u516c\u5c71\u4f5b\u64fe(\u53f2\u8a18, \u72c3).\n2 \u9594\u640d.\n\n\nin the same place and the same way, he said to me, \"Have you read\nthe rules of Propriety?\" On my replying, \"Not yet,\" he added, \"If\nyou do not learn the rules of Propriety, your character cannot be\nestablished.\" I have heard only these two things from him.' The\ndisciple was delighted and observed, 'I asked one thing, and I have\ngot three things. I have heard about the Odes. I have heard about\nthe rules of Propriety. I have also heard that the superior man\nmaintains a distant reserve towards his son [1].'\n\tI can easily believe that this distant reserve was the rule\nwhich Confucius followed generally in his treatment of his son. A\nstern dignity is the quality which a father has to maintain upon\nhis system. It is not to be without the element of kindness, but\nthat must never go beyond the line of propriety. There is too little\nroom left for the play and development of natural affection.\n\tThe divorce of his wife must also have taken place during\nthese years, if it ever took place at all, which is a disputed point.\nThe curious reader will find the question discussed in the notes\non the second Book of the Li Chi. The evidence inclines, I think,\nagainst the supposition that Confucius did put his wife away.\nWhen she died, at a period subsequent to the present, Li kept on\nweeping aloud for her after the period for such a demonstration\nof grief had expired, when Confucius sent a message to him that\nhis sorrow must be subdued, and the obedient son dried his tears\n[2]. We are glad to know that on one occasion the death of his\nfavourite disciple, Yen Hui -- the tears of Confucius himself\nwould flow over and above the measure of propriety [3].\n\t7. We come to the short period of Confucius's official life.\nIn the\n\n[Sidebar] He holds office. B.C. 500-496.\n\nyear B.C. 501, things had come to a head between the chiefs of the\nthree Families and their ministers, and had resulted in the defeat\nof the latter. In that year the resources of Yang Hu were\nexhausted, and he fled into Ch'i, so that the State was delivered\nfrom its greatest troubler, and the way was made more clear for\nConfucius to go into office, should an opportunity occur. It soon\npresented itself. Towards the end of that year he was made chief\nmagistrate of the town of Chung-tu [4].\n\n1 Ana. XVI. xiii.\n2 See the Li Chi, II. Pt. I. i. 27.\n3 Ana. XI. ix.\n4 \u4e2d\u90fd\u5bb0. Amiot says this was 'la ville meme ou le Souverain\ntenoit sa Cour' (Vie de Confucius, p. 147). He is followed of course\nby Thornton and Pauthier. My reading has not shown me that such\nwas the case. In the notes to K'ang-hsi's edition of the 'Five\nChing,' Li Chi, II Sect. I. iii. 4, it is simply said-- 'Chung-tu,-- the\nname of a town of Lu. It afterwards belonged to Ch'i when it was\ncalled Ping-lu (\u5e73\u9678).'\n\n\n\tJust before he received this appointment, a circumstance\noccurred of which we do not well know what to make. When Yang-\nhu fled into Ch'i, Kung-shan Fu-zao, who had been confederate\nwith him, continued to maintain an attitude of rebellion, and held\nthe city of Pi against the Chi family. Thence he sent a message to\nConfucius inviting him to join him, and the Sage seemed so\ninclined to go that his disciple Tsze-lu remonstrated with him,\nsaying, 'Indeed you cannot go! why must you think of going to see\nKung-shan?' Confucius replied, 'Can it be without some reason\nthat he has invited me? If any one employ me, may I not make an\neastern Chau [1]?'\n\tThe upshot, however, was that he did not go, and I cannot\nsuppose that he had ever any serious intention of doing so. Amid\nthe general gravity of his intercourse with his followers, there\ngleam out a few instances of quiet pleasantry, when he amused\nhimself by playing with their notions about him. This was\nprobably one of them.\n\tAs magistrate of Chung-tu he produced a marvellous\nreformation of the manners of the people in a short time.\nAccording to the 'Narratives of the School,' he enacted rules for\nthe nourishing of the living and all observances to the dead.\nDifferent food was assigned to the old and the young, and\ndifferent burdens to the strong and the weak. Males and females\nkept apart from each other in the streets. A thing dropped on the\nroad was not picked up. There was no fraudulent carving of\nvessels. Inner coffins were made four inches thick, and the outer\nones five. Graves were made on the high grounds, no mounds being\nraised over them, and no trees planted about them. Within twelve\nmonths, the princes of the other States all wished to imitate his\nstyle of administration [2].\n\tThe duke Ting, surprised at what he saw, asked whether his\nrules could be employed to govern a whole State, and Confucius\ntold him that they might be applied to the whole kingdom. On this\nthe duke appointed him assistant-superintendent of Works [3], in\nwhich capacity he surveyed the lands of the State, and made many\nimprovements in agriculture. From this he was quickly made\nminister of Crime [4], and the appointment was enough to put an\nend to crime. There was no necessity to put the penal laws in\nexecution. No offenders showed themselves [5].\n\n1 Ana. XVII. v.\n2 \u5bb6\u8a9e, Bk. I.\n3 \u53f8\u7a7a. This office, however, was held by the chief of the Mang\nFamily. We must understand that Confucius was only an assistant\nto him, or perhaps acted for him.\n4 \u5927\u53f8\u5bc7.\n5 \u5bb6\u8a9e, Bk. I.\n\n\n\tThese indiscriminating eulogies are of little value. One\nincident, related in the annotations of Tso-shih on the Ch'un-Ch'iu\n[1], commends itself at once to our belief, as in harmony with\nConfucius's character. The chief of the Chi, pursuing with his\nenmity the duke Chao, even after his death, had placed his grave\napart from the graves of his predecessors; and Confucius\nsurrounded the ducal cemetery with a ditch so as to include the\nsolitary resting-place, boldly telling the chief that he did it to\nhide his disloyalty [2]. But he signalized himself most of all in\nB.C. 500, by his behavior at an interview between the dukes of Lu\nand Ch'i, at a place called Shih-ch'i [3], and Chia-ku [4], in the\npresent district of Lai-wu, in the department of T'ai-an [5].\nConfucius was present as master of ceremonies on the part of Lu,\nand the meeting was professedly pacific. The two princes were to\nform a covenant of alliance. The principal officer on the part of\nCh'i, however, despising Confucius as 'a man of ceremonies,\nwithout courage,' had advised his sovereign to make the duke of\nLu a prisoner, and for this purpose a band of the half-savage\noriginal inhabitants of the place advanced with weapons to the\nstage where the two dukes were met. Confucius understood the\nscheme, and said to the opposite party, 'Our two princes are met\nfor a pacific object. For you to bring a band of savage vassals to\ndisturb the meeting with their weapons, is not the way in which\nCh'i can expect to give law to the princes of the kingdom. These\nbarbarians have nothing to do with our Great Flowery land. Such\nvassals may not interfere with our covenant. Weapons are out of\nplace at such a meeting. As before the spirits, such conduct is\nunpropitious. In point of virtue, it is contrary to right. As\nbetween man and man, it is not polite.' The duke of Ch'i ordered\nthe disturbers off, but Confucius withdrew, carrying the duke of\nLu with him. The business proceeded, notwithstanding, and when\nthe words of the alliance were being read on the part of Ch'i,-- '\nSo be it to Lu, if it contribute not 300 chariots of war to the help\nof Ch'i, when its army goes across its borders,' a messenger from\nConfucius added, 'And so be it to us, if we obey your orders,\nunless you return to us the fields on the south of the Wan.' At the\nconclusion of the ceremonies, the prince of Ch'i wanted to give a\ngrand entertainment, but Confucius demonstrated that such a\nthing would be\n\n1 \u5de6\u50b3, \u5b9a\u516c\u5143\u5e74.\n2 \u5bb6\u8a9e, Bk. I.\n3 \u5be6\u5176.\n4 \u593e\u8c37.\n5 \u6cf0\u5b89\u5e9c, \u840a\u856a\u7e23.\n\n\ncontrary to the established rules of propriety, his real object\nbeing to keep his sovereign out of danger. In this way the two\nparties separated, they of Ch'i filled with shame at being foiled\nand disgraced by 'the man of ceremonies;' and the result was that\nthe lands of Lu which had been appropriated by Ch'i were restored\n[1].\n\tFor two years more Confucius held the office of minister of\nCrime. Some have supposed that he was further raised to the\ndignity of chief minister of the State [2], but that was not the\ncase. One instance of the manner in which he executed his\nfunctions is worth recording. When any matter came before him,\nhe took the opinion of different individuals upon it, and in giving\njudgment would say, 'I decide according to the view of so and so.'\nThere was an approach to our jury system in the plan, Confucius's\nobject being to enlist general sympathy, and carry the public\njudgment with him in his administration of justice. A father\nhaving brought some charge against his son, Confucius kept them\nboth in prison for three months, without making any difference in\nfavour of the father, and then wished to dismiss them both. The\nhead of the Chi was dissatisfied, and said, 'You are playing with\nme, Sir minister of Crime. Formerly you told me that in a State or\na family filial duty was the first thing to be insisted on. What\nhinders you now from putting to death this unfilial son as an\nexample to all the people?' Confucius with a sigh replied, 'When\nsuperiors fail in their duty, and yet go to put their inferiors to\ndeath, it is not right. This father has not taught his son to be\nfilial; to listen to his charge would be to slay the guiltless. The\nmanners of the age have been long in a sad condition; we cannot\nexpect the people not to be transgressing the laws [3].'\n\tAt this time two of his disciples, Tsze-lu and Tsze-yu,\nentered the employment of the Chi family, and lent their\ninfluence, the former especially, to forward the plans of their\nmaster. One great cause of disorder in the State was the fortified\ncities held by the three chiefs, in which they could defy the\nsupreme authority, and were in turn defied themselves by their\nofficers. Those cities were like the castles of the barons of\nEngland in the time of the Norman\n\n1 This meeting at Chia-ku is related in Sze-ma Ch'ien, the\n'Narratives of the school,' and Ku-liang, with many exaggerations.\nI have followed \u5de6\u6c0f\u50b3, \u5b9a\u516c\u5341\u5e74.\n2 The \u5bb6\u8a9e says Bk. II, \u5b54\u5b50\u70ba\u9b6f\u53f8\u5bc7, \u651d\u76f8\u4e8b. But he was a \u76f8 only in\nthe sense of an assistant of ceremonies, as at the meeting in\nChia-ku, described above.\n3 See the \u5bb6\u8a9e, Bk. II.\n\n\nkings. Confucius had their destruction very much at heart, and\npartly by the influence of persuasion, and partly by the assisting\ncounsels of Tsze-lu, he accomplished his object in regard to Pi\n[1], the chief city of the Chi, and Hau [2], the chief city of the Shu.\n\tIt does not appear that he succeeded in the same way in\ndismantling Ch'ang [3], the chief city of the Mang [4]; but his\nauthority in the State greatly increased. 'He strengthened the\nducal House and weakened the private Families. He exalted the\nsovereign, and depressed the ministers. A transforming\ngovernment went abroad. Dishonesty and dissoluteness were\nashamed and hid their heads. Loyalty and good faith became the\ncharacteristics of the men, and chastity and docility those of the\nwomen. Strangers came in crowds from other States [5].'\nConfucius became the idol of the people, and flew in songs\nthrough their mouths [6].\n\tBut this sky of bright promise was soon overcast. As the\nfame of the reformations in Lu went abroad, the neighboring\nprinces began to be afraid. The duke of Ch'i said, 'With Confucius\nat the head of its government, Lu will become supreme among the\nStates, and Ch'i which is nearest to it will be the first swallowed\nup. Let us propitiate it by a surrender of territory.' One of his\nministers proposed that they should first try to separate between\nthe sage and his sovereign, and to effect this, they hit upon the\nfollowing scheme. Eighty beautiful girls, with musical and\ndancing accomplishments, and a hundred and twenty of the finest\nhorses that could be found, were selected, and sent as a present\nto duke Ting. They were put up at first outside the city, and Chi\nHwan having gone in disguise to see them, forgot the lessons of\nConfucius, and took the duke to look at the bait. They were both\ncaptivated. The women were received, and the sage was\nneglected. For three days the duke gave no audience to his\nministers. 'Master,' said Tsze-lu to Confucius, 'it is time for you\nto be going.' But Confucius was very unwilling to leave. The spring\nwas coming on, when the sacrifice to Heaven would be offered,\nand he determined to wait and see whether the\n\n1 \u8cbb.\n2 \u90c8.\n3 \u6210.\n4 In connexion with these events, the 'Narratives of the School'\nand Sze-ma Ch'ien mention the summary punishment inflicted by\nConfucius on an able but unscrupulous and insidious officer the\nShaou chang, Maou (\u5c11\u6b63\u536f). His judgment and death occupy a\nconspicuous place in the legendary accounts. But the Analects,\nTsze-sze, Mencius, and Tso Ch'iu-ming are all silent about it, and\nChiang Yung rightly rejects it as one of the many narratives\ninvented to exalt the sage.\n5 See the \u5bb6\u8a9e, Bk. II.\n6 See \u5b54\u53e2\u5b50, quoted by Chiang Yung.\n\n\nsolemnization of that would bring the duke back to his right mind.\nNo such result followed. The ceremony was hurried through, and\nportions of the offerings were not sent round to the various\nministers, according to the established custom. Confucius\nregretfully took his departure, going away slowly and by easy\nstages [1]. He would have welcomed a message of recall. But the\nduke continued in his abandonment, and the sage went forth to\nthirteen weary years of homeless wandering.\n\t8. On leaving Lu, Confucius first bent his steps westward to\nthe State of Wei, situate about where the present provinces of\nChih-li and Ho-nan adjoin.\n\n[Sidebar] He wanders from State to State. B.C. 497-484.\n\nHe was now in his fifty-sixth year, and felt depressed and\nmelancholy. As he went along, he gave expression to his feelings\nin verse:--\n\n'Fain would I still look towards Lu,\nBut this Kwei hill cuts off my view.\nWith an axe, I'd hew the thickets through:--\nVain thought! 'gainst the hill I nought can do;'\n\nand again,--\n\n'Through the valley howls the blast,\nDrizzling rain falls thick and fast.\nHomeward goes the youthful bride,\nO'er the wild, crowds by her side.\nHow is it, O azure Heaven,\nFrom my home I thus am driven,\nThrough the land my way to trace,\nWith no certain dwelling-place?\nDark, dark; the minds of men!\nWorth in vain comes to their ken.\nHastens on my term of years;\nOld age, desolate, appears [2],'\n\n\tA number of his disciples accompanied him, and his sadness\ninfected them. When they arrived at the borders of Wei at a place\ncalled I, the warden sought an interview, and on coming out from\nthe sage, he tried to comfort the disciples, saying, 'My friends,\nwhy are you distressed at your master's loss of office? The world\nhas been long without the principles of truth and right; Heaven is\ngoing to use your master as a bell with its wooden tongue [3].'\nSuch was the thought of this friendly stranger. The bell did indeed\nsound, but few had ears to hear.\n\n1 \u53f2\u8a18, \u5b54\u5b50\u4e16\u5bb6, p. 5. See also Mencius, V. Pt. II. i. 4.; et al.\n2 See Chiang Yung's Life of Confucius, \u53bb\u9b6f\u5468\u904a\u8003.\n3 Ana. III. xxiv.\n\n\n\tConfucius's fame, however, had gone before him, and he was\nin little danger of having to suffer from want. On arriving at the\ncapital of Wei, he lodged at first with a worthy officer, named\nYen Ch'au-yu [1]. The reigning duke, known to us by the epithet of\nLing [2], was a worthless, dissipated man, but he could not\nneglect a visitor of such eminence, and soon assigned to\nConfucius a revenue of 60,000 measures of grain [3]. Here he\nremained for ten months, and then for some reason left it to go to\nCh'an [4]. On the way he had to pass by K'wang [5], a place probably\nin the present department of K'ai-fung in Ho-nan, which had\nformerly suffered from Yang-hu. It so happened that Confucius\nresembled Hu, and the attention of the people being called to him\nby the movements of his carriage-driver, they thought it was\ntheir old enemy, and made an attack upon him. His followers were\nalarmed, but he was calm, and tried to assure them by declaring\nhis belief that he had a divine mission. He said to them, 'After the\ndeath of king Wan, was not the cause of truth lodged here in me?\nIf Heaven had wished to let this cause of truth perish, then I, a\nfuture mortal, should not have got such a relation to that cause.\nWhile Heaven does not let the cause of truth perish, what can the\npeople of K'wang do to me [6]?' Having escaped from the hands of\nhis assailants, he does not seem to have carried out his purpose\nof going to Ch'an, but returned to Wei.\n\tOn the way, he passed a house where he had formerly lodged,\nand finding that the master was dead, and the funeral ceremonies\ngoing on, he went in to condole and weep. When he came out, he\ntold Tsze-kung to take the outside horses from his carriage, and\ngive them as a contribution to the expenses of the occasion. 'You\nnever did such a thing,' Tsze-kung remonstrated, 'at the funeral of\nany of your disciples; is it not too great a gift on this occasion of\nthe death of an old host?' 'When I went in,' replied Confucius, 'my\npresence brought a burst of grief from the chief mourner, and I\njoined him with my tears. I dislike the thought of my tears not\nbeing followed by anything. Do it, my child [7].' On reaching Wei,\nhe lodged with Chu Po-yu, an officer of whom\n\n1 \u984f\u8b8e\u7531. See Mencius, V. Pt. I. viii. 2.\n2. \u9748\u516c.\n3 see the \u53f2\u8a18, \u5b54\u5b50\u4e16\u5bb6, p. 5.\n4 \u9673\u570b.\n5. \u5321.\n6 Ana. IX. v. In Ana. XI. xxii, there is another reference to this\ntime, in which Yen Hui is made to appear.\n7 See the Li Chi, II. Sect. I. ii. 16.\n\n\nhonourable mention is made in the Analects [1]. But this time he\ndid not remain long in the State. The duke was\n\n[Sidebar] B.C. 495.\n\nmarried to a lady of the house of Sung, known by the name of Nan-\ntsze, notorious for her intrigues and wickedness. She sought an\ninterview with the sage, which he was obliged unwillingly to\naccord [2]. No doubt he was innocent of thought or act of evil, but\nit gave great dissatisfaction to Tsze-lu that his master should\nhave been in company with such a woman, and Confucius, to\nassure him, swore an oath, saying, 'Wherein I have done\nimproperly, may Heaven reject me! May Heaven reject me [3]!' He\ncould not well abide, however, about such a court. One day the\nduke rode out through the streets of his capital in the same\ncarriage with Nan-tsze, and made Confucius follow them in\nanother. Perhaps he intended to honour the philosopher, but the\npeople saw the incongruity, and cried out, 'Lust in the front;\nvirtue behind!' Confucius was ashamed, and made the observation,\n'I have not seen one who loves virtue as he loves beauty [4].' Wei\nwas no place for him. He left it, and took his way towards Ch'an.\n\tCh'an, which formed part of the present province of Ho-nan,\nlay south from Wei. After passing the small State of Ts'ao [5], he\napproached the borders of Sung, occupying the present prefecture\nof Kwei-teh, and had some intentions of entering it, when an\nincident occurred, which it is not easy to understand from the\nmeagre style in which it is related, but which gave occasion to a\nremarkable saying. Confucius was practising ceremonies with his\ndisciples, we are told, under the shade of a large tree. Hwan T'ui,\nan ill-minded officer of Sung, heard of it, and sent a band of men\nto pull down the tree, and kill the philosopher, if they could get\nhold of him. The disciples were much alarmed, but Confucius\nobserved, 'Heaven has produced the virtue that is in me; what can\nHwan T'ui do to me [6]?' They all made their escape, but seem to\nhave been driven westwards to the State of Chang [7], on arriving\nat the gate conducting into which from the east, Confucius found\nhimself separated from his followers. Tsze-kung had arrived\nbefore him, and was told by a native of Chang that there was a\nman standing by the east gate, with a forehead like Yao, a neck\nlike Kao-yao, his shoulders on a level with those of Tsze-ch'an,\nbut wanting, below the waist, three\n\n1 Ana. XIV. xxvi; XV. vi.\n2 See the account in the \u53f2\u8a18, \u5b54\u5b50\u4e16\u5bb6, p. 6.\n3 Ana. VI. xxvi.\n4 Ana. IX. xvii.\n5 \u66f9.\n6 ana. IX. xxii.\n7 \u912d.\n\n\ninches of the height of Yu, and altogether having the disconsolate\nappearance of a stray dog.' Tsze-kung knew it was the master,\nhastened to him, and repeated to his great amusement the\ndescription which the man had given. 'The bodily appearance,' said\nConfucius, 'is but a small matter, but to say I was like a stray\ndog,-- capital! capital!' The stay they made at Chang was short,\nand by the end of B.C. 495, Confucius was in Ch'an.\n\tAll the next year he remained there, lodging with the\nwarder of the city wall, an officer of worth, of the name of Chang\n[2], and we have no accounts of him which deserve to be related\nhere [3].\n\tIn B.C. 494, Ch'an was much disturbed by attacks from Wu\n[4], a large State, the capital of which was in the present\ndepartment of Su-chau, and Confucius determined to retrace his\nsteps to Wei. On the way he was laid hold of at a place called P'u\n[5], which was held by a rebellious officer against Wei, and before\nhe could get away, he was obliged to engage that he would not\nproceed thither. Thither, notwithstanding, he continued his route,\nand when Tsze-kung asked him whether it was right to violate the\noath he had taken, he replied, 'It was a forced oath. The spirits do\nnot hear such [6].' 'The duke Ling received him with distinction,\nbut paid no more attention to his lessons than before, and\nConfucius is said then to have uttered his complaint, 'If there\nwere any of the princes who would employ me, in the course of\ntwelve months I should have done something considerable. In\nthree years the government would be perfected [7].'\n\tA circumstance occurred to direct his attention to the State\nof Tsin [8], which occupied the southern part of the present Shan-\nhsi, and extended over the Yellow river into Ho-nan. An invitation\ncame to Confucius, like that which he had formerly received from\nKung-shan Fu-zao. Pi Hsi, an officer of Tsin, who was holding the\ntown of Chung-mau against his chief, invited him to visit him,\nand Confucius was inclined to go. Tsze-lu was always the mentor\non such occasions. He said to him, 'Master, I have heard you say,\n\n1 See the \u53f2\u8a18, \u5b54\u5b50\u4e16\u5bb6, p. 6.\n2 \u53f8\u57ce\u8c9e\u5b50. See Mencius, V. Pt. I. viii. 3.\n3 Chiang Yung digests in this place two foolish stories,-- about a\nlarge bone found in the State of Yueh, and a bird which appeared in\nCh'ia and died, shot through with a remarkable arrow. Confucius\nknew all about them.\n4 \u5433.\n5 \u84b2.\n6 This ia related by Sze-ma ch'ien \u5b54\u5b50\u4e16\u5bb6, p. 7, and also in the\n'Narratives of the School.' I would fain believe it is not true. The\nwonder is, that no Chinese critic should have set about disproving\nit.\n7 Ana. XII. x.\n8 \u6649.\n\nthat when a man in his own person is guilty of doing evil, a\nsuperior man will not associate with him. Pi Hsi is in rebellion; if\nyou go to him, what shall be said?' Confucius replied, 'Yes, I did\nuse those words. But is it not said that if a thing be really hard,\nit may be ground without being made thin; and if it be really\nwhite, it may be steeped in a dark fluid without being made\nblack? Am I a bitter gourd? Am I to be hung up out of the way of\nbeing eaten [1]?'\n\tThese sentiments sound strangely from his lips. After all,\nhe did not go to Pi Hsi; and having travelled as far as the Yellow\nriver that he might see one of the principal ministers of Tsin, he\nheard of the violent death of two men of worth, and returned to\nWei, lamenting the fate which prevented him from crossing the\nstream, and trying to solace himself with poetry as he had done\non leaving Lu. Again did he communicate with the duke, but as\nineffectually, and disgusted at being questioned by him about\nmilitary tactics, he left and went back to Ch'an.\n\tHe resided in Ch'an all the next year, B.C. 491, without\nanything occurring there which is worthy of note [2]. Events had\ntranspired in Lu, however, which were to issue in his return to\nhis native State. The duke Ting had deceased B.C. 494, and Chi\nHwan, the chief of the Chi family, died in this year. On his death-\nbed, he felt remorse for his conduct to Confucius, and charged his\nsuccessor, known to us in the Analects as Chi K'ang, to recall the\nsage; but the charge was not immediately fulfilled. Chi K'ang, by\nthe advice of one of his officers, sent to Ch'an for the disciple\nYen Ch'iu instead. Confucius willingly sent him off, and would\ngladly have accompanied him. 'Let me return!' he said, 'Let me\nreturn [3]!' But that was not to be for several years yet.\n\tIn B.C. 490, accompanied, as usual, by several of his\ndisciples, he went from Ch'an to Ts'ai, a small dependency of the\ngreat fief of Ch'u, which occupied a large part of the present\nprovinces of Hu-nan and Hu-pei. On the way, between Ch'an and\nTs'ai, their provisions became exhausted, and they were cut off\nsomehow from obtaining a fresh supply. The disciples were quite\novercome with want, and Tsze-lu said to the master, 'Has the\nsuperior man indeed to endure in this way?' Confucius answered\nhim, 'The superior man may indeed have to endure want; but the\nmean man\n\nl Ana. XVII. vii.\n2 Tso Ch'iu-ming, indeed, relates a story of Confucius, on the\nreport of a fire in Lu, telling whose ancestral temple had been\ndestroyed by it.\n3 Ana. V. xxi.\n\n\nwhen he is in want, gives way to unbridled license [1].' According\nto the 'Narratives of the School,' the distress continued seven\ndays, during which time Confucius retained his equanimity, and\nwas even cheerful, playing on his lute and singing [2]. He retained,\nhowever, a strong impression of the perils of the season, and we\nfind him afterwards recurring to it, and lamenting that of the\nfriends that were with him in Ch'an and Ts'ai, there were none\nremaining to enter his door [3].\n\tEscaped from this strait, he remained in Ts'ai over B.C. 489,\nand in the following year we find him in Sheh, another district of\nCh'u, the chief of which had taken the title of duke, according to\nthe usurping policy of that State. Puzzled about his visitor, he\nasked Tsze-lu what he should think of him, but the disciple did\nnot venture a reply. When Confucius heard of it, he said to Tsze-\nlu. 'Why did you not say to him:-- He is simply a man who in his\neager pursuit of knowledge forgets his food, who in the joy of its\nattainment forgets his sorrows, and who does not perceive that\nold age is coming on [4]?' Subsequently, the duke, in conversation\nwith Confucius, asked him about government, and got the reply,\ndictated by some circumstances of which we are ignorant, 'Good\ngovernment obtains, when those who are near are made happy, and\nthose who are far off are attracted [5]'\n\tAfter a short stay in Sheh, according to Sze-ma Ch'ien, he\nreturned to Ts'ai, and having to dross a river, he sent Tsze-lu to\ninquire for the ford of two men who were at work in a neighboring\nfield. They were recluses, men who had withdrawn from public\nlife in disgust at the waywardness of the times. One of them was\ncalled Ch'ang-tsu, and instead of giving Tsze-lu the information\nhe wanted, he asked him, 'Who is it that holds the reins in the\ncarriage there?' 'It is K'ung Ch'iu.' 'K'ung Ch'iu of Lu?' 'Yes,' was\nthe reply, and then the man rejoined, 'He knows the ford.'\n\tTsze-lu applied to the other, who was called Chieh-ni, but\ngot for answer the question, 'Who are you, Sir?' He replied, 'I am\nChung Yu.' 'Chung Yu, who is the disciple of K'ung Ch'iu of Lu?'\n'Yes,' again replied Tsze-lu, and Chieh-ni said to him, 'Disorder,\nlike a swelling flood, spreads over the whole kingdom,\n\n1 Ana. XV. i. 2, 3.\n2 \u5bb6\u8a9e, \u5377\u4e8c, \u5728\u5371, \u4e8c\u5341\u7bc7.\n3 Ana. XI. ii.\n4 Ana. VII. xviii.\n5 Ana. XIII. xvi.\n\n\nand who is he that will change it for you? Than follow one who\nmerely withdraws from this one and that one, had you not better\nfollow those who withdraw from the world altogether?' With this\nhe fell to covering up the seed, and gave no more heed to the\nstranger. Tsze-lu went back and reported what they had said,\nwhen Confucius vindicated his own course, saying. 'It is\nimpossible to associate with birds and beasts as if they were the\nsame with us. If I associate not with these people,-- with\nmankind,-- with whom shall I associate? If right principles\nprevailed through the kingdom, there would be no need for me to\nchange its state [1].'\n\tAbout the same time he had an encounter with another\nrecluse, who was known as 'The madman of Ch'u.' He passed by the\ncarriage of Confucius, singing out, 'O phoenix, O phoenix, how is\nyour virtue degenerated! As to the past, reproof is useless, but\nthe future may be provided against. Give up, give up your vain\npursuit.' Confucius alighted and wished to enter into conversation\nwith him, but the man hastened away [2].\n\tBut now the attention of the ruler of Ch'u -- king, as he\nstyled himself -- was directed to the illustrious stranger who\nwas in his dominions, and he met Confucius and conducted him to\nhis capital, which was in the present district of I-ch'ang, in the\ndepartment of Hsiang-yang [3], in Hu-pei. After a time, he\nproposed endowing the philosopher with a considerable territory,\nbut was dissuaded by his prime minister, who said to him, 'Has\nyour majesty any officer who could discharge the duties of an\nambassador like Tsze-kung? or any one so qualified for a premier\nas Yen Hui? or any one to compare as a general with Tsze-lu? The\nkings Wan and Wu, from their hereditary dominions of a hundred\nli, rose to the sovereignty of the kingdom. If K'ung Ch'iu, with\nsuch disciples to be his ministers, get the possession of any\nterritory, it will not be to the prosperity of Ch'u [4]? On this\nremonstrance the king gave up his purpose; and, when he died in\nthe same year, Confucius left the State, and went back again to\nWei.\n\tThe duke Ling had died four years before, soon after\nConfucius\n\n[Sidebar] B.C. 489.\n\nhad last parted from him, and the reigning duke, known to us by\nthe title of Ch'u [5], was his grandson, and was holding the\nprincipality against his own father. The relations\n\n1 Ana. XVIII. vi.\n2 Ana XVII. v.\n3 \u8944\u967d\u5e9c\u5b9c\u57ce\u7e23.\n4 See the \u53f2\u8a18, \u5b54\u5b50\u4e16\u5bb6, p. 10.\n5 \u51fa\u516c.\n\n\nbetween them were rather complicated. The father had been\ndriven out in consequence of an attempt which he had instigated\non the life of his step-mother, the notorious Nan-tsze, and the\nsuccession was given to his son. Subsequently, the father wanted\nto reclaim what he deemed his right, and an unseemly struggle\nensued. The duke Ch'u was conscious how much his cause would be\nstrengthened by the support of Confucius, and hence when he got\nto Wei, Tsze-lu could say to him, 'The prince of Wei has been\nwaiting for you, in order with you to administer the government;-\n- what will you consider the first thing to be done [1]?' The\nopinion of the philosopher, however, was against the propriety of\nthe duke's course [2], and he declined taking office with him,\nthough he remained in Wei for between five and six years. During\nall that time there is a blank in his history. In the very year of his\nreturn, according to the 'Annals of the Empire,' his most beloved\ndisciple, Yen Hui, died, on which occasion he exclaimed, 'Alas!\nHeaven is destroying me! Heaven is destroying me [3]!' The death\nof his wife is assigned to B.C. 484, but nothing else is related\nwhich we can connect with this long period.\n\t9. His return to Lu was brought about by the disciple Yen Yu,\nwho, we have seen, went into the service of Chi K'ang, in B.C. 491.\n\n[Sidebar] From his return to Lu to his death. B.C. 484-478.\n\nIn the year B.C. 483, Yu had the conduct of some military\noperations against Ch'i, and being successful, Chi K'ang asked him\nhow he had obtained his military skill;-- was it from nature, or\nby learning? He replied that he had learned it from Confucius, and\nentered into a glowing eulogy of the philosopher. The chief\ndeclared that he would bring Confucius home again to Lu. 'If you\ndo so,' said the disciple, 'see that you do not let mean men come\nbetween you and him.' On this K'ang sent three officers with\nappropriate presents to Wei, to invite the wanderer home, and he\nreturned with them accordingly [4].\n\tThis event took place in the eleventh year of the duke Ai [5],\nwho succeeded to Ting, and according to K'ung Fu, Confucius's\ndescendant, the invitation proceeded from him [6]. We may\nsuppose that\n\n1 Ana. XIII. iii. In the notes on this passage, I have given Chu Hsi's\nopinion as to the time when Tsze-lu made this remark. It seems\nmore correct, however, to refer it to Confucius's return to Wei\nfrom Ch'u, as is done by Chiang Yung.\n2 Ana. VII. xiv.\n3 Ana. XI. viii. In the notes on Ana. XI. vii, I have adverted to the\nchronological difficulty connected with the dates assigned\nrespectively to the deaths of Yen Hui and Confucius's own son, Li.\nChiang Yung assigns Hui's death to B.C. 481.\n4 See the \u53f2\u8a18, \u5b54\u5b50\u4e16\u5bb6.\n5 \u54c0\u516c.\n6 See Chiang Yung's memoir, in loc.\n\n\nwhile Chi K'ang was the mover and director of the proceeding, it\nwas with the authority and approval of the duke. It is represented\nin the chronicle of Tso Ch'iu-ming as having occurred at a very\nopportune time. The philosopher had been consulted a little before\nby K'ung Wan [1], an officer of Wei, about how he should conduct a\nfeud with another officer, and disgusted at being referred to on\nsuch a subject, had ordered his carriage and prepared to leave the\nState, exclaiming, 'The bird chooses its tree. The tree does not\nchoose the bird.' K'ung Wan endeavoured to excuse himself, and to\nprevail on Confucius to remain in Wei, and just at this juncture\nthe messengers from Lu arrived [2].\n\tConfucius was now in his sixty-ninth year. The world had\nnot dealt kindly with him. In every State which he had visited he\nhad met with disappointment and sorrow. Only five more years\nremained to him, nor were they of a brighter character than the\npast. He had, indeed, attained to that state, he tells us, in which\n'he could follow what his heart desired without transgressing\nwhat was right [3],' but other people were not more inclined than\nthey had been to abide by his counsels. The duke Ai and Chi K'ang\noften conversed with him, but he no longer had weight in the\nguidance of state affairs, and wisely addressed himself to the\ncompletion of his literary labors. He wrote a preface, according\nto Sze-ma Ch'ien, to the Shu-ching; carefully digested the rites\nand ceremonies determined by the wisdom of the more ancient\nsages and kings; collected and arranged the ancient poetry; and\nundertook the reform of music [4]. He has told us himself. 'I\nreturned from Wei to Lu, and then the music was reformed, and\nthe pieces in the Songs of the Kingdom and Praise Songs found all\ntheir proper place [5].' To the Yi-ching he devoted much study, and\nSze-ma Ch'ien says that the leather thongs by which the tablets\nof his copy were bound together were thrice worn out. 'If some\nyears were added to my life,' he said, 'I would give fifty to the\nstudy of the Yi, and then I might come to be without great faults\n[6].' During this time also, we may suppose that he supplied Tsang\nShan with the materials of the classic of Filial Piety. The same\nyear that he returned, Chi Kang sent Yen Yu to ask his opinion\nabout an\n\n1 \u5b54\u6587\u5b50, the same who is mentioned in the Analects, V. xiv.\n2 See the \u5de6\u50b3, \u54c0\u516c\u5341\u4e00\u5e74.\n3 Ana. II. iv. 6.\n4 See the \u53f2\u8a18, \u5b54\u5b50\u4e16\u5bb6, p. 12.\n5 Ana. IX. xiv.\n6 Ana. VII. xvi.\n\n\nadditional impost which he wished to lay upon the people, but\nConfucius refused to give any reply, telling the disciple privately\nhis disapproval of the proposed measure. It was carried out,\nhowever, in the following year, by the agency of Yen, on which\noccasion, I suppose, it was that Confucius said to the other\ndisciples, 'He is no disciple of mine; my little children, beat the\ndrum and assail him [1].' The year B.C. 483 was marked by the\ndeath of his son Li, which he seems to have borne with more\nequanimity than he did that of his disciple Yen Hui, which some\nwriters assign to the following year, though I have already\nmentioned it under the year B.C. 489.\n\tIn the spring of B.C. 481, a servant of Chi K'ang caught a\nCh'i-lin on a hunting excursion of the duke in the present district\nof Chia-hsiang [2]. No person could tell what strange animal it\nwas, and Confucius was called to look at it. He at once knew it to\nbe a lin, and the legend-writers say that it bore on one of its\nhorns the piece of ribbon, which his mother had attached to the\none that appeared to her before his birth. According to the\nchronicle of Kung-yang, he was profoundly affected. He cried out,\n'For whom have you come? For whom have you come?' His tears\nflowed freely, and he added, 'The course of my doctrines is run\n[3].'\n\tNotwithstanding the appearance of the lin, the life of\nConfucius was still protracted for two years longer, though he\ntook occasion to terminate with that event his history of the\nCh'un Ch'iu. This Work, according to Sze-ma Ch'ien, was altogether\nthe production of this year, but we heed not suppose that it was\nso. In it, from the standpoint of Lu, he briefly indicates the\nprincipal events occurring throughout the country, every term\nbeing expressive, it is said, of the true character of the actors\nand events described. Confucius said himself, 'It is the Spring and\nAutumn which will make men know me, and it is the Spring and\nAutumn which will make men condemn me [4].' Mencius makes the\ncomposition of it to have been an achievement as great as Yu's\nregulation of the waters of the deluge:-- 'Confucius completed\nthe Spring and Autumn, and rebellious ministers and villainous\nsons were struck with terror [5].'\n\tTowards the end of this year, word came to Lu that the duke\n\n1 Ana. XI. xvi.\n2 \u5157\u5dde\u5e9c\u5609\u7965\u7e23.\n3 \u516c\u7f8a\u50b3, \u54c0\u516c\u5341\u56db\u5e74. According to Kung-yang, however, the lin was\nfound by some wood-gatherers.\n4 Mencius III. Pt. II. ix. 8.\n5 Mencius III. Pt. II. ix. 11.\n\n\nof Ch'i had been murdered by one of his officers. Confucius was\nmoved with indignation. Such an outrage he felt, called for his\nsolemn interference. He bathed, went to court, and represented\nthe matter to the duke, saying, 'Ch'an Hang has slain his\nsovereign, I beg that you will undertake to punish him.' The duke\npleaded his incapacity, urging that Lu was weak compared with\nCh'i, but Confucius replied, 'One half the people of Ch'i are not\nconsenting to the deed. If you add to the people of Lu one half the\npeople of Ch'i, you are sure to overcome.' But he could not infuse\nhis spirit into the duke, who told him to go and lay the matter\nbefore the chiefs of the three Families. Sorely against his sense\nof propriety, he did so, but they would not act, and he withdrew\nwith the remark, 'Following in the rear of the great officers, I did\nnot dare not to represent such a matter [1].'\n\tIn the year B.C. 479, Confucius had to mourn the death of\nanother of his disciples, one of those who had been longest with\nhim, the well-known Tsze-lu. He stands out a sort of Peter in the\nConfucian school, a man of impulse, prompt to speak and prompt\nto act. He gets many a check from the master, but there is\nevidently a strong sympathy between them. Tsze-lu uses a\nfreedom with him on which none of the other disciples dares to\nventure, and there is not one among them all, for whom, if I may\nspeak from my own feeling, the foreign student comes to form\nsuch a liking. A pleasant picture is presented to us in one passage\nof the Analects. It is said, 'The disciple Min was standing by his\nside, looking bland and precise; Tsze-lu (named Yu), looking bold\nand soldierly; Yen Yu and Tsze-kung, with a free and\nstraightforward manner. The master was pleased, but he\nobserved, \"Yu there!-- he will not die a natural death [2].\"'\n\tThis prediction was verified. When Confucius returned to Lu\nfrom Wei, he left Tsze-lu and Tsze-kao [3] engaged there in\nofficial service. Troubles arose. News came to Lu, B.C. 479, that a\nrevolution was in progress in Wei, and when Confucius heard it,\nhe said, 'Ch'ai will come here, but Yu will die [4].' So it turned out.\nWhen Tsze-kao saw that matters were desperate he made his\nescape, but Tsze-lu would not forsake the chief who had treated\n\n1 See the \u5de6\u50b3, \u54c0\u516c\u5341\u56db\u5e74 and Analects XIV. xxii.\n2 Ana. XI. xii.\n3 \u5b50\u7f94, by surname Kao (\u9ad8), and name Ch'ai (\u67f4).\n4 See the \u5de6\u50b3, \u54c0\u516c\u5341\u4e94\u5e74.\n\n\nhim well. He threw himself into the melee, and was slain.\nConfucius wept sore for him, but his own death was not far off. It\ntook place on the eleventh day of the fourth month in the same\nyear, B.C. 479 [1]. Early one morning, we are told, he got up, and\nwith his hands behind his back, dragging his staff, he moved about\nby his door, crooning over,--\n\n'The great mountain must crumble;\nThe strong beam must break;\nAnd the wise man wither away like a plant.'\n\n\tAfter a little, he entered the house and sat down opposite\nthe door. Tsze-kung had heard his words, and said to himself, 'If\nthe great mountain crumble, to what shall I look up? If the strong\nbeam break, and the wise man wither away, on whom shall I lean?\nThe master, I fear, is going to be ill.' With this he hastened into\nthe house. Confucius said to him, 'Ts'ze, what makes you so late?\nAccording to the statutes of Hsia, the corpse was dressed and\ncoffined at the top of the eastern steps, treating the dead as if he\nwere still the host. Under the Yin, the ceremony was performed\nbetween the two pillars, as if the dead were both host and guest.\nThe rule of Chau is to perform it at the top of the western steps,\ntreating the dead as if he were a guest. I am a man of Yin, and last\nnight I dreamt that I was sitting with offerings before me\nbetween the two pillars. No intelligent monarch arises; there is\nnot one in the kingdom that will make me his master. My time has\ncome to die.' So it was. He went to his couch, and after seven days\nexpired [2].\n\tSuch is the account which we have of the last hours of the\ngreat philosopher of China. His end was not unimpressive, but it\nwas melancholy. He sank behind a cloud. Disappointed hopes made\nhis soul bitter. The great ones of the kingdom had not received his\nteachings. No wife nor child was by to do the kindly offices of\naffection for him. Nor were the expectations of another life\npresent with him as he passed through the dark valley. He uttered\nno prayer, and he betrayed no apprehensions. Deep-treasured in\nhis own heart may have been the thought that he had endeavoured\nto serve his generation by the will of God, but he gave no sign.\n'The mountain falling came to nought, and the rock was removed\n\n1 See the \u5de6\u50b3, \u54c0\u516c\u5341\u516d\u5e74, and Chiang Yung's Life of Confucius, in\nloc.\n2 See the Li Chi, II, Sect. I. ii. 20.\n\n\nout of his place. So death prevailed against him and he passed; his\ncountenance was changed, and he was sent away.'\n\t10. I flatter myself that the preceding paragraphs contain a\nmore correct narrative of the principal incidents in the life of\nConfucius than has yet been given in any European language. They\nmight easily have been expanded into a volume, but I did not wish\nto exhaust the subject, but only to furnish a sketch, which, while\nit might satisfy the general reader, would be of special\nassistance to the careful student of the classical Books. I had\ntaken many notes of the manifest errors in regard to chronology\nand other matters in the 'Narratives of the School,' and the\nchapter of Sze-ma Ch'ien on the K'ung family, when the digest of\nChiang Yung, to which I have made frequent reference, attracted\nmy attention. Conclusions to which I had come were confirmed,\nand a clue was furnished to difficulties which I was seeking to\ndisentangle. I take the opportunity to acknowledge here my\nobligations to it. With a few notices of Confucius's habits and\nmanners, I shall conclude this section.\n\tVery little can be gathered from reliable sources on the\npersonal appearance of the sage. The height of his father is\nstated, as I have noted, to have been ten feet, and though\nConfucius came short of this by four inches, he was often called\n'the tall man.' It is allowed that the ancient foot or cubit was\nshorter than the modem, but it must be reduced more than any\nscholar I have consulted has yet done, to bring this statement\nwithin the range of credibility. The legends assign to his figure\n'nine-and-forty remarkable peculiarities [1],' a tenth part of\nwhich would have made him more a monster than a man. Dr.\nMorrison says that the images of him which he had seen in the\nnorthern parts of China, represent him as of a dark, swarthy\ncolour [2]. It is not so with those common in the south. He was, no\ndoubt, in size and complexion much the same as many of his\ndescendants in the present day. Dr. Edkins and myself enjoyed the\nservices of two of those descendants, who acted as 'wheelers' in\nthe wheelbarrows which conveyed us from Ch'u-fau to a town on\nthe Grand Canal more than 250 miles off. They were strong,\ncapable men, both physically and mentally superior to their\ncompanions.\n\n1 \u56db\u5341\u4e5d\u8868.\n2 Chinese and English Dictionary, char. \u5b54. Sir John Davis also\nmentions seeing a figure of Confucius, in a temple near the Po-\nyang lake, of which the complexion was 'quite black' (The Chinese,\nvol. ii. p. 66).\n\n\n\tBut if his disciples had nothing to chronicle of his personal\nappearance, they have gone very minutely into an account of many\nof his habits. The tenth Book of the Analects is all occupied with\nhis deportment, his eating, and his dress. In public, whether in the\nvillage, the temple, or the court, he was the man of rule and\nceremony, but 'at home he was not formal.' Yet if not formal, he\nwas particular. In bed even he did not forget himself;-- 'he did not\nlie like a corpse,' and 'he did not speak.' 'He required his sleeping\ndress to be half as long again as his body.' 'If he happened to be\nsick, and the prince came to visit him, he had his face set to the\neast, made his court robes be put over him, and drew his girdle\nacross them.'\n\tHe was nice in his diet,-- 'not disliking to have his rice\ndressed fine, nor to have his minced meat cut small.' 'Anything at\nall gone he would not touch.' 'He must have his meat cut properly,\nand to every kind its proper sauce; but he was not a great eater.'\n'It was only in drink that he laid down no limit to himself, but he\ndid not allow himself to be confused by it.' 'When the villagers\nwere drinking together, on those who carried staffs going out, he\nwent out immediately after.' There must always be ginger at the\ntable, and 'when eating, he did not converse.' 'Although his food\nmight be coarse rice and poor soup, he would offer a little of it in\nsacrifice, with a grave, respectful air.'\n\t'On occasion of a sudden clap of thunder, or a violent wind,\nhe would change countenance. He would do the same, and rise up\nmoreover, when he found himself a guest at a loaded board.' 'At\nthe sight of a person in mourning, he would also change\ncountenance, and if he happened to be in his carriage, he would\nbend forward with a respectful salutation.' 'His general way in his\ncarriage was not to turn his head round, nor talk hastily, nor point\nwith his hands.' He was charitable. 'When any of his friends died,\nif there were no relations who could be depended on for the\nnecessary offices, he would say, \"I will bury him.\"\n\t'The disciples were so careful to record these and other\ncharacteristics of their master, it is said, because every act, of\nmovement or of rest, was closely associated with the great\nprinciples which it was his object to inculcate. The detail of so\nmany small matters, however, hardly impresses a foreigner so\nfavourably. There rather seems to be a want of freedom about the\nphilosopher.\n\n\nSECTION II.\nHIS INFLUENCE AND OPINIONS.\n\n\t1. Confucius died, we have seen, complaining that of all the\nprinces of the kingdom there was not one who would adopt his\n\n[Sidebar] Homage rendered to Confucius by the sovereigns of\nChina.\n\nprinciples and obey his lessons. He had hardly passed from the\nstage of life, when his merit began to be acknowledged. When the\nduke Ai heard of his death, he pronounced his eulogy in the words,\n'Heaven has not left to me the aged man. There is none now to\nassist me on the throne. Woe is me! Alas! O venerable Ni [1]!' Tsze-\nkung complained of the inconsistency of this lamentation from\none who could not use the master when he was alive, but the\nprince was probably sincere in his grief. He caused a temple to be\nerected, and ordered that sacrifice should be offered to the sage,\nat the four seasons of the year [2].\n\tThe sovereigns of the tottering dynasty of Chau had not the\nintelligence, nor were they in a position, to do honour to the\ndeparted philosopher, but the facts detailed in the first chapter\nof these prolegomena, in connexion with the attempt of the\nfounder of the Ch'in dynasty to destroy the literary monuments of\nantiquity, show how the authority of Confucius had come by that\ntime to prevail through the nation. The founder of the Han\ndynasty, in passing through Lu, B.C. 195, visited his tomb and\noffered the three victims in sacrifice to him. Other sovereigns\nsince then have often made pilgrimages to the spot. The most\nfamous temple in the empire now rises near the place of the\ngrave. The second and greatest of the rulers of the present\ndynasty, in the twenty-third year of his reign, the K'ang-hsi\nperiod, there set the example of kneeling thrice, and each time\nlaying his forehead thrice in the dust, before the image of the\nsage.\n\tIn the year of our Lord 1, began the practice of conferring\nhonourary designations on Confucius by imperial authority. The\nemperor Ping [3] then styled him-- 'The duke Ni, all-complete and\n\nl Li Chi, II. Sect. I. iii. 43. This eulogy is found at greater length in\nthe \u5de6\u50b3, immediately after the notice of the sage's death.\n2 See the \u8056\u5edf\u7940\u5178\u5716\u8003, \u5377\u4e00, art. on Confucius. I am indebted to\nthis for most of the notices in this paragraph.\n3 \u5e73\u5e1d.\n\n\nillustrious [1].' This was changed, in A.D. 492, to-- 'The venerable\nNi, the accomplished Sage [2].' Other titles have supplanted this.\nShun-chih [3], the first of the Man-chau dynasty, adopted, in his\nsecond year, A.D. 1645, the style, 'K'ung, the ancient Teacher,\naccomplished and illustrious, all-complete, the perfect Sage [4];'\nbut twelve years later, a shorter title was introduced,-- 'K'ung,\nthe ancient Teacher, the perfect Sage [5].' Since that year no\nfurther alteration has been made.\n\tAt first, the worship of Confucius was confined to the\ncountry of Lu, but in A.D. 57 it was enacted that sacrifices should\nbe offered to him in the imperial college, and in all the colleges\nof the principal territorial divisions throughout the empire. In\nthose sacrifices he was for some centuries associated with the\nduke of Chau, the legislator to whom Confucius made frequent\nreference, but in A.D. 609 separate temples were assigned to\nthem, and in 628 our sage displaced the older worthy altogether.\nAbout the same time began the custom, which continues to the\npresent day, of erecting temples to him,-- separate structures, in\nconnexion with all the colleges, or examination-halls, of the\ncountry.\n\tThe sage is not alone in those temples. In a hall behind the\nprincipal one occupied by himself are the tablets -- in some\ncases, the images -- of several of his ancestors, and other\nworthies; while associated with himself are his principal\ndisciples, and many who in subsequent times have signalized\nthemselves as expounders and exemplifiers of his doctrines. On\nthe first day of every month, offerings of fruits and vegetables\nare set forth, and on the fifteenth there is a solemn burning of\nincense. But twice a year, in the middle months of spring and\nautumn, when the first ting day [6] of the month comes round, the\nworship of Confucius is performed with peculiar solemnity. At\nthe imperial college the emperor himself is required to attend in\nstate, and is in fact the principal performer. After all the\npreliminary arrangements have been made, and the emperor has\ntwice knelt and six times bowed his head to the earth, the\npresence of Confucius's spirit is invoked in the words, 'Great art\nthou, O perfect sage! Thy virtue is full; thy doctrine is complete.\nAmong mortal men there has not been thine equal. All kings\nhonour thee. Thy statutes and laws have come gloriously\n\n1 \u6210\u5ba3\u5c3c\u516c.\n2 \u6587\u8056\u5c3c\u7236.\n3 \u9806\u6cbb.\n4 \u5927\u6210\u81f3\u8056, \u6587\u5ba3\u5c3c\u5e2b, \u5b54\u5b50\n5 \u81f3\u8056\u5148\u5e2b\u5b54\u5b50\n6 \u4e0a\u4e01\u65e5\n\n\ndown. Thou art the pattern in this imperial school. Reverently\nhave the sacrificial vessels been set out. Full of awe, we sound\nour drums and bells [1].'\n\tThe spirit is supposed now to be present, and the service\nproceeds through various offerings, when the first of which has\nbeen set forth, an officer reads the following [2], which is the\nprayer on the occasion:-- 'On this ... month of this ... year, I, A.B.,\nthe emperor, offer a sacrifice to the philosopher K'ung, the\nancient Teacher, the perfect Sage, and say,-- O Teacher, in virtue\nequal to Heaven and Earth, whose doctrines embrace the past time\nand the present, thou didst digest and transmit the six classics,\nand didst hand down lessons for all generations! Now in this\nsecond month of spring (or autumn), in reverent observance of the\nold statutes, with victims, silks, spirits, and fruits, I carefully\noffer sacrifice to thee. With thee are associated the philosopher\nYen, Continuator of thee; the philosopher Tsang, Exhibiter of thy\nfundamental principles; the philosopher Tsze-sze, Transmitter of\nthee; and the philosopher Mang, Second to thee. May'st thou enjoy\nthe offerings!'\n\tI need not go on to enlarge on the homage which the\nemperors of China render to Confucius. It could not be more\ncomplete. He was unreasonably neglected when alive. He is now\nunreasonably venerated when dead.\n\t2. The rulers of China are not singular in this matter, but in\nentire sympathy with the mass of their people. It is the\ndistinction\n\n[Sidebar] General appreciation of Confucius.\n\nof this empire that education has been highly prized in it from the\nearliest times. It was so before the era of Confucius, and we may\nbe sure that the system met with his approbation. One of his\nremarkable sayings was,-- 'To lead an uninstructed people to war\nis to throw them away [3].' When he pronounced this judgment, he\nwas not thinking of military training, but of education in the\nduties of life and citizenship. A people so taught, he thought,\nwould be morally fitted to fight for their government. Mencius,\nwhen lecturing to the ruler of T'ang on the proper way of\ngoverning a kingdom, told him that he must provide the means of\neducation for all, the poor as well as the rich. 'Establish,' said he,\n'hsiang, hsu, hsio, and hsiao,-- all those educational\ninstitutions,-- for the instruction of the people [4].'\n\n1 2 See the \u5927\u6e05\u901a\u79ae\u5377\u5341\u4e8c.\n3 Ana. XIII. xxx.\n4 Mencius III. Pt. I. iii. 10.\n\n\n\tAt the present day, education is widely diffused throughout\nChina. In few other countries is the schoolmaster more abroad,\nand in all schools it is Confucius who is taught. The plan of\ncompetitive examinations, and the selection for civil offices only\nfrom those who have been successful candidates,-- good so far as\nthe competition is concerned, but injurious from the restricted\nrange of subjects with which an acquaintance is required,-- have\nobtained for more than twelve centuries. The classical works are\nthe text books. It is from them almost exclusively that the\nthemes proposed to determine the knowledge and ability of the\nstudents are chosen. The whole of the magistracy of China is thus\nversed in all that is recorded of the sage, and in the ancient\nliterature which he preserved. His thoughts are familiar to every\nman in authority, and his character is more or less reproduced in\nhim.\n\tThe official civilians of China, numerous as they are, are\nbut a fraction of its students, and the students, or those who\nmake literature a profession, are again but a fraction of those\nwho attend school for a shorter or longer period. Yet so far as the\nstudies have gone, they have been occupied with the Confucian\nwritings. In the schoolrooms there is a tablet or inscription on\nthe wall, sacred to the sage, and every pupil is required, on\ncoming to school on the morning of the first and fifteenth of\nevery month, to bow before it, the first thing, as an act of\nreverence [1]. Thus all in China who receive the slightest tincture\nof learning do so at the fountain of Confucius. They learn of him\nand do homage to him at once. I have repeatedly quoted the\nstatement that during his life-time he had three thousand\ndisciples. Hundreds of millions are his disciples now. It is hardly\nnecessary to make any allowance in this statement for the\nfollowers of Taoism and Buddhism, for, as Sir John Davis has\nobserved, 'whatever the other opinions or faith of a Chinese may\nbe, he takes good care to treat Confucius with respect [2].' For\ntwo thousand years he has reigned supreme, the undisputed\nteacher of this most populous land.\n\t3. This position and influence of Confucius are to be\nascribed, I conceive, chiefly to two causes:-- his being the\npreserver, namely of\n\nl During the present dynasty, the tablet of \u6587\u660c\u5e1d\u541b, the god of\nliterature, has to a considerable extent displaced that of\nConfucius in schools. Yet the worship of him does not clash with\nthat of the other. He is 'the father' of composition only.\n2 The Chinese, vol. ii. p. 45.\n\n\nthe monuments of antiquity, and the exemplifier and expounder of\n\n[Sidebar] The causes of his influence.\n\nthe maxims of the golden age of China; and the devotion to him of\nhis immediate disciples and their early followers. The national\nand the personal are thus blended in him, each in its highest\ndegree of excellence. He was a Chinese of the Chinese; he is also\nrepresented as, and all now believe him to have been, the beau\nideal of humanity in its best and noblest estate.\n\t4. It may be well to bring forward here Confucius's own\nestimate of himself and of his doctrines. It will serve to\nillustrate the\n\n[Sidebar] His own estimate of himself and of his doctrines.\n\nstatements just made. The following are some of his sayings:--\n'The sage and the man of perfect virtue;-- how dare I rank myself\nwith them? It may simply be said of me, that I strive to become\nsuch without satiety, and teach others without weariness.' 'In\nletters I am perhaps equal to other men; but the character of the\nsuperior man, carrying out in his conduct what he professes, is\nwhat I have not yet attained to.' 'The leaving virtue without\nproper cultivation; the not thoroughly discussing what is learned;\nnot being able to move towards righteousness of which a\nknowledge is gained; and not being able to change what is not\ngood;-- these are the things which occasion me solicitude.' 'I am\nnot one who was born in the possession of knowledge; I am one\nwho is fond of antiquity and earnest in seeking it there.' 'A\ntransmitter and not a maker, believing in and loving the ancients,\nI venture to compare myself with our old P'ang [1].'\n\tConfucius cannot be thought to speak of himself in these\ndeclarations more highly than he ought to do. Rather we may\nrecognise in them the expressions of a genuine humility. He was\nconscious that personally he came short in many things, but he\ntoiled after the character, which he saw, or fancied that he saw,\nin the ancient sages whom he acknowledged; and the lessons of\ngovernment and morals which he labored to diffuse were those\nwhich had already been inculcated and exhibited by them.\nEmphatically he was 'a transmitter and not a maker.' It is not to\nbe understood that he was not fully satisfied of the truth of the\nprinciples which he had learned. He held them with the full\napproval and consent of his own understanding. He believed that if\nthey were acted on, they would remedy the evils of his time.\n\n1 All these passages are taken from the seventh Book of the\nAnalects. See chapters xxxiii, xxxii, iii, xix, and i.\n\n\nThere was nothing to prevent rulers like Yao and Shun and the\ngreat Yu from again arising, and a condition of happy tranquillity\nbeing realized throughout the kingdom under their sway.\n\tIf in anything he thought himself 'superior and alone,' having\nattributes which others could not claim, it was in his possessing\na divine commission as the conservator of ancient truth and rules.\nHe does not speak very definitely on this point. It is noted that\n'the appointments of Heaven was one of the subjects on which he\nrarely touched [1].' His most remarkable utterance was that which\nI have already given in the sketch of his Life:-- 'When he was put\nin fear in K'wang, he said, \"After the death of king Wan, was not\nthe cause of truth lodged here in me? If Heaven had wished to let\nthis cause of truth perish, then I, a future mortal, should not have\ngot such a relation to that cause. While Heaven does not let the\ncause of truth perish, what can the people of K'wang do to me\n[2]?\"' Confucius, then, did feel that he was in the world for a\nspecial purpose. But it was not to announce any new truths, or to\ninitiate any new economy. It was to prevent what had previously\nbeen known from being lost. He followed in the wake of Yao and\nShun, of T'ang, and king Wan. Distant from the last by a long\ninterval of time, he would have said that he was distant from him\nalso by a great inferiority of character, but still he had learned\nthe principles on which they all happily governed the country, and\nin their name he would lift up a standard against the prevailing\nlawlessness of his age.\n\t5. The language employed with reference to Confucius by his\ndisciples and their early followers presents a striking contrast\nwith his own.\n\n[Sidebar] Estimate of him by his disciples and their early\nfollowers.\n\nI have already, in writing of the scope and value of 'The Doctrine\nof the Mean,' called attention to the extravagant eulogies of his\ngrandson Tsze-sze. He only followed the example which had been\nset by those among whom the philosopher went in and out. We\nhave the language of Yen Yuan, his favourite, which is\ncomparatively moderate, and simply expresses the genuine\nadmiration of a devoted pupil [3]. Tsze-kung on several occasions\nspoke in a different style. Having heard that one of the chiefs of\nLu had said that he himself -- Tsze-kung -- was superior to\nConfucius, he observed, 'Let me use the comparison of a house and\nits encompassing wall. My wall\n\n1 Ana. IX. i.\n2 Ana. IX. iii.\n3 Ana. IX. x.\n\n\nonly reaches to the shoulders. One may peep over it, and see\nwhatever is valuable in the apartments. The wall of my master is\nseveral fathoms high. If one do not find the door and enter by it,\nhe cannot see the rich ancestral temple with its beauties, nor all\nthe officers in their rich array. But I may assume that they are\nfew who find the door. The remark of the chief was only what\nmight have been expected [1]'\n\tAnother time, the same individual having spoken revilingly\nof Confucius, Tsze-kung said, 'It is of no use doing so. Chung-ni\ncannot be reviled. The talents and virtue of other men are hillocks\nand mounds which may be stepped over. Chung-ni is the sun or\nmoon, which it is not possible to step over. Although a man may\nwish to cut himself off from the sage, what harm can he do to the\nsun and moon? He only shows that he does not know his own\ncapacity [2].'\n\tIn conversation with a fellow-disciple, Tsze-kung took a\nstill higher flight. Being charged by Tsze-ch'in with being too\nmodest, for that Confucius was not really superior to him, he\nreplied, 'For one word a man is often deemed to be wise, and for\none word he is often deemed to be foolish. We ought to be careful\nindeed in what we say. Our master cannot be attained to, just in\nthe same way as the heavens cannot be gone up to by the steps of\na stair. Were our master in the position of the prince of a State,\nor the chief of a Family, we should find verified the description\nwhich has been given of a sage's rule:-- He would plant the\npeople, and forthwith they would be established; he would lead\nthem on, and forthwith they would follow him; he would make\nthem happy, and forthwith multitudes would resort to his\ndominions; he would stimulate them, and forthwith they would be\nharmonious. While he lived, he would be glorious. When he died, he\nwould be bitterly lamented. How is it possible for him to be\nattained to [3]?'\n\tFrom these representations of Tsze-kung, it was not a\ndifficult step for Tsze-sze to take in exalting Confucius not only\nto the level of the ancient sages, but as 'the equal of Heaven.' And\nMencius took up the theme. Being questioned by Kung-sun Ch'au,\none of his disciples, about two acknowledged sages, Po-i and I\nYin, whether they were to be placed in the same rank with\nConfucius, he replied, 'No. Since there were living men until now,\nthere never was another Confucius;' and then he proceeded to\nfortify his\n\n1 Ana. XIX. xxiii.\n2 Ana. XIX. xxiv.\n3 Ana. XIX. xxv.\n\n\nopinion by the concurring testimony of Tsai Wo, Tsze-kung, and Yu\nZo, who all had wisdom, he thought, sufficient to know their\nmaster. Tsai Wo's opinion was, 'According to my view of our\nmaster, he is far superior to Yao and Shun.' Tsze-kung said, 'By\nviewing the ceremonial ordinances of a prince, we know the\ncharacter of his government. By hearing his music, we know the\ncharacter of his virtue. From the distance of a hundred ages after,\nI can arrange, according to their merits, the kings of those\nhundred ages;-- not one of them can escape me. From the birth of\nmankind till now, there has never been another like our master.'\nYu Zo said, 'Is it only among men that it is so? There is the ch'i-\nlin among quadrupeds; the fung-hwang among birds; the T'ai\nmountain among mounds and ant-hills; and rivers and seas among\nrainpools. Though different in degree, they are the same in kind.\nSo the sages among mankind are also the same in kind. But they\nstand out from their fellows, and rise above the level; and from\nthe birth of mankind till now, there never has been one so\ncomplete as Confucius [1].' I will not indulge in farther\nillustration. The judgment of the sage's disciples, of Tsze-sze,\nand of Mencius, has been unchallenged by the mass of the scholars\nof China. Doubtless it pleases them to bow down at the shrine of\nthe Sage, for their profession of literature is thereby glorified. A\nreflection of the honour done to him falls upon themselves. And\nthe powers that be, and the multitudes of the people, fall in with\nthe judgment. Confucius is thus, in the empire of China, the one\nman by whom all possible personal excellence was exemplified,\nand by whom all possible lessons of social virtue and political\nwisdom are taught.\n\t6. The reader will be prepared by the preceding account not\nto expect to find any light thrown by Confucius on the great\nproblems of the human condition and destiny. He did not speculate\non the creation of things or the end of them. He was not troubled\nto account for the origin of man, nor did he seek to know about his\nhereafter. He meddled neither with physics nor metaphysics [2].\n\n[Sidebar] Subjects on which Confucius did not treat.-- That he\nwas unreligious, unspiritual, and open to the charge of\ninsincerity.\n\nThe testimony of the Analects about the subjects of his teaching\nis the following:-- 'His frequent themes of discourse were the\nBook\n\n1 Mencius, II. Pt. I. ii. 23-28.\n2 'The contents of the Yi-ching, and Confucius's labors upon it,\nmay be objected in opposition to this statement, and I must be\nunderstood to make it with come reservation. Six years ago, I\nspent all my leisure time for twelve months in the study of that\nWork, and wrote out a translation of it, but at the close I was\nonly groping my way in darkness to lay hold of [footnote continued\nnext page].\n\n\nof Poetry, the Book of History, and the maintenance of the rules\nof Propriety.' 'He taught letters, ethics, devotion of soul, and\ntruthfulness.' 'Extraordinary things; feats of strength; states of\ndisorder; and spiritual beings, he did not like to talk about [1].'\n\tConfucius is not to be blamed for his silence on the\nsubjects here indicated. His ignorance of them was to a great\nextent his misfortune. He had not learned them. No report of them\nhad come to him by the ear; no vision of them by the eye. And to\nhis practical mind the toiling of thought amid uncertainties\nseemed worse than useless.\n\tThe question has, indeed, been raised, whether he did not\nmake changes in the ancient creed of China [2], but I cannot\nbelieve that he did so consciously and designedly. Had his\nidiosyncrasy been different, we might have had expositions of the\nancient views on some points, the effect of which would have\nbeen more beneficial than the indefiniteness in which they are\nnow left, and it may be doubted so far, whether Confucius was not\nunfaithful to his guides. But that he suppressed or added, in order\nto bring in articles of belief originating with himself, is a thing\nnot to be charged against him.\n\tI will mention two important subjects in regard to which\nthere is a conviction in my mind that he came short of the faith\nof the older sages. The first is the doctrine of God. This name is\ncommon in the Shih-ching and Shu-ching. Ti or Shang-Ti appears\nthere as a personal being, ruling in heaven and on earth, the\nauthor of man's moral nature, the governor among the nations, by\nwhom kings reign and princes decree justice, the rewarder of the\ngood, and the punisher of the bad. Confucius preferred to speak of\nHeaven. Instances have already been given of this. Two others may\nbe cited:-- 'He who offends against Heaven has none to whom he\ncan pray [3]?' 'Alas! ' said he, 'there is no one that knows me.'\nTsze-kung said, 'What do you mean by thus saying that no one\nknows you?' He replied, 'I do not murmur against Heaven. I do\n\n[footnote continued from previous page] its scope and meaning,\nand up to this time I have not been able to master it so as to\nspeak positively about it. It will come in due time, in its place, in\nthe present Publication, and I do not think that what I here say of\nConfucius will require much, if any, modification.' So I wrote in\n1861; and I at last accomplished a translation of the Yi, which\nwas published in 1882, as the sixteenth volume of 'The Sacred\nBooks of 'the East.' I should like to bring out a revision of that\nversion, with the Chinese text, so as to make it uniform with the\nvolumes of the Classics previously published. But as Yang Ho said\nto Confucius, 'The years do not wait for us.'\n1 Ana. VII. xvii; xxiv; xx.\n2 See Hardwick's 'Christ and other Masters,' Part iii, pp. 18, 19,\nwith his reference in a note to a passage from Meadows's 'The\nChinese and their Rebellions.'\n3 Ana. III. xiii.\n\n\nnot grumble against men. My studies lie low, and my penetration\nrises high. But there is Heaven;-- THAT knows me [1]!' Not once\nthroughout the Analects does he use the personal name. I would\nsay that he was unreligious rather than irreligious; yet by the\ncoldness of his temperament and intellect in this matter, his\ninfluence is unfavourable to the development of ardent religious\nfeeling among the Chinese people generally; and he prepared the\nway for the speculations of the literati of medieval and modern\ntimes, which have exposed them to the charge of atheism.\n\tSecondly, Along with the worship of God there existed in\nChina, from the earliest historical times, the worship of other\nspiritual beings,-- especially, and to every individual, the\nworship of departed ancestors. Confucius recognised this as an\ninstitution to be devoutly observed. 'He sacrificed to the dead as\nif they were present; he sacrificed to the spirits as if the spirits\nwere present. He said. \"I consider my not being present at the\nsacrifice as if I did not sacrifice [2].\"' The custom must have\noriginated from a belief in the continued existence of the dead.\nWe cannot suppose that they who instituted it thought that with\nthe cessation of this life on earth there was a cessation also of\nall conscious being. But Confucius never spoke explicitly on this\nsubject. He tried to evade it. 'Chi Lu asked about serving the\nspirits of the dead, and the master said, \"While you are not able\nto serve men, how can you serve their spirits?\" The disciple\nadded, \"I venture to ask about death,\" and he was answered, \"While\nyou do not know life, how can you know about death [3].\"' Still\nmore striking is a conversation with another disciple, recorded in\nthe 'Narratives of the School.' Tsze-kung asked him, saying, 'Do\nthe dead have knowledge (of our services, that is), or are they\nwithout knowledge?' The master replied, 'If I were to say that the\ndead have such knowledge, I am afraid that filial sons and dutiful\ngrandsons would injure their substance in paying the last offices\nto the departed; and if I were to say that the dead have not such\nknowledge, I am afraid lest unfilial sons should leave their\nparents unburied. You need not wish, Tsze, to know whether the\ndead have knowledge or not. There is no present urgency about the\npoint. Hereafter you will know it for yourself [4].' Surely this was\nnot the teaching proper to a sage.\n\n1 Ana. XIV. xxxvii.\n2 Ana. III. xii.\n3 Ana. XI. xi.\n4 \u5bb6\u8a9e, \u5377\u4e8c, art. \u81f4\u601d, towards the end.\n\n\nHe said on one occasion that he had no concealments from his\ndisciples [1]. Why did he not candidly tell his real thoughts on so\ninteresting a subject? I incline to think that he doubted more\nthan he believed. If the case were not so, it would be difficult to\naccount for the answer which he returned to a question as to\nwhat constituted wisdom:-- 'To give one's self earnestly,' said\nhe, 'to the duties due to men, and, while respecting spiritual\nbeings, to keep aloof from them, may be called wisdom [2].' At any\nrate, as by his frequent references to Heaven, instead of\nfollowing the phraseology of the older sages, he gave occasion to\nmany of his professed followers to identify God with a principle\nof reason and the course of nature; so, in the point now in hand, he\nhas led them to deny, like the Sadducees of old, the existence of\nany spirit at all, and to tell us that their sacrifices to the dead\nare but an outward form, the mode of expression which the\nprinciple of filial piety requires them to adopt when its objects\nhave departed this life.\n\tIt will not be supposed that I wish to advocate or to defend\nthe practice of sacrificing to the dead. My object has been to\npoint out how Confucius recognised it, without acknowledging the\nfaith from which it must have originated, and how he enforced it\nas a matter of form or ceremony. It thus connects itself with the\nmost serious charge that can be brought against him,-- the charge\nof insincerity. Among the four things which it is said he taught,\n'truthfulness' is specified [3], and many sayings might be quoted\nfrom him, in which 'sincerity' is celebrated as highly and\ndemanded as stringently as ever it has been by any Christian\nmoralist; yet he was not altogether the truthful and true man to\nwhom we accord our highest approbation. There was the case of\nMang Chih-fan, who boldly brought up the rear of the defeated\ntroops of Lu, and attributed his occupying the place of honour to\nthe backwardness of his horse. The action was gallant, but the\napology for it was weak and unnecessary. And yet Confucius saw\nnothing in the whole but matter for praise [4]. He could excuse\nhimself from seeing an unwelcome visitor on the ground that he\nwas sick, when there was nothing the matter with him [5]. These\nwere small matters, but what shall we say to the incident which\nI have given in the sketch of his Life, p. 79,-- his deliberately\nbreaking the oath which he had sworn, simply on the ground that\nit had been forced from him?\n\n1 Ana. VII. xxiii.\n2 Ana. VI. xx.\n3 See above, near the beginning of this paragraph.\n4 Ana. VI. xiii.\n5 Am. XVII. xx.\n\n\nI should be glad if I could find evidence on which to deny the truth\nof that occurrence. But it rests on the same authority as most\nother statements about him, and it is accepted as a fact by the\npeople and scholars of China. It must have had, and it must still\nhave, a very injurious influence upon them. Foreigners charge a\nhabit of deceitfulness upon the nation and its government;-- on\nthe justice or injustice of this charge I say nothing. For every\nword of falsehood and every act of insincerity, the guilty party\nmust bear his own burden, but we cannot but regret the example\nof Confucius in this particular. It is with the Chinese and their\nsage, as it was with the Jews of old and their teachers. He that\nleads them has caused them to err, and destroyed the way of their\npaths [1].\n\tBut was not insincerity a natural result of the un-religion\nof Confucius? There are certain virtues which demand a true\npiety in order to their flourishing in the heart of man. Natural\naffection, the feeling of loyalty, and enlightened policy, may do\nmuch to build up and preserve a family and a state, but it requires\nmore to maintain the love of truth, and make a lie, spoken or\nacted, to be shrunk from with shame. It requires in fact the living\nrecognition of a God of truth, and all the sanctions of revealed\nreligion. Unfortunately the Chinese have not had these, and the\nexample of him to whom they bow down as the best and wisest of\nmen, does not set them against dissimulation.\n\t7. I go on to a brief discussion of Confucius's views on\ngovernment, or what we may call his principles of political\nscience. It\n\n[sidebar] His views on government.\n\ncould not be in his long intercourse with his disciples but that he\nshould enunciate many maxims bearing on character and morals\ngenerally, but he never rested in the improvement of the\nindividual. 'The kingdom, the world, brought to a state of happy\ntranquillity [2],' was the grand object which he delighted to think\nof; that it might be brought about as easily as 'one can look upon\nthe palm of his hand,' was the dream which it pleased him to\nindulge [3]. He held that there was in men an adaptation and\nreadiness to be governed, which only needed to be taken advantage\nof in the proper way. There must be the right administrators, but\ngiven those, and 'the growth of government would be rapid, just\nas vegetation is rapid in the earth; yea, their\n\n1 Isaiah iii. 12.\n2 \u5929\u4e0b\u5e73. See the \u5927\u5b78, \u7d93, pars. 4, 5; &c.\n3 Ana. III. xi; et al.\n\n\ngovernment would display itself like an easily-growing rush [1].'\nThe same sentiment was common from the lips of Mencius.\nEnforcing it one day, when conversing with one of the petty rulers\nof his time, he said in his peculiar style, 'Does your Majesty\nunderstand the way of the growing grain? During the seventh and\neighth months, when drought prevails, the plants become dry.\nThen the clouds collect densely in the heavens; they send down\ntorrents of rain, and the grain erects itself as if by a shoot. When\nit does so, who can keep it back [2]?' Such, he contended, would be\nthe response of the mass of the people to any true 'shepherd of\nmen.' It may be deemed unnecessary that I should specify this\npoint, for it is a truth applicable to the people of all nations.\nSpeaking generally, government is by no device or cunning\ncraftiness; human nature demands it. But in no other family of\nmankind is the characteristic so largely developed as in the\nChinese. The love of order and quiet, and a willingness to submit\nto 'the powers that be,' eminently distinguish them. Foreign\nwriters have often taken notice of this, and have attributed it to\nthe influence of Confucius's doctrines as inculcating\nsubordination; but it existed previous to his time. The character\nof the people molded his system, more than it was molded by it.\n\tThis readiness to be governed arose, according to Confucius,\nfrom 'the duties of universal obligation, or those between\nsovereign and minister, between father and son, between husband\nand wife, between elder brother and younger, and those belonging\nto the intercourse of friends [3].' Men as they are born into the\nworld, and grow up in it, find themselves existing in those\nrelations. They are the appointment of Heaven. And each relation\nhas its reciprocal obligations, the recognition of which is proper\nto the Heaven-conferred nature. It only needs that the sacredness\nof the relations be maintained, and the duties belonging to them\nfaithfully discharged, and the 'happy tranquillity' will prevail all\nunder heaven. As to the institutions of government, the laws and\narrangements by which, as through a thousand channels, it should\ngo forth to carry plenty and prosperity through the length and\nbreadth of the country, it did not belong to Confucius, 'the\nthroneless king,' to set them forth minutely. And indeed they were\nexisting in the records of 'the ancient sovereigns.' Nothing new\nwas needed. It was only\n\n1 \u4e2d\u5eb8, xx. 3.\n2 Mencius, I. Pt. I. vi. 6.\n3 \u4e2d\u5eb8, xx. 8.\n\n\nrequisite to pursue the old paths, and raise up the old standards.\n'The government of Wan and Wu,' he said, 'is displayed in the\nrecords,-- the tablets of wood and bamboo. Let there be the men,\nand the government will flourish; but without the men, the\ngovernment decays and ceases [1].' To the same effect was the\nreply which he gave to Yen Hui when asked by him how the\ngovernment of a State should be administered. It seems very wide\nof the mark, until we read it in the light of the sage's veneration\nfor ancient ordinances, and his opinion of their sufficiency.\n'Follow,' he said, 'the seasons of Hsia. Ride in the state carriages\nof Yin. Wear the ceremonial cap of Chau. Let the music be the Shao\nwith its pantomimes. Banish the songs of Chang, and keep far\nfrom specious talkers [2].'\n\tConfucius's idea then of a happy, well-governed State did\nnot go beyond the flourishing of the five relations of society\nwhich have been mentioned; and we have not any condensed\nexhibition from him of their nature, or of the duties belonging to\nthe several parties in them. Of the two first he spoke frequently,\nbut all that he has said on the others would go into small\ncompass. Mencius has said that 'between father and son there\nshould be affection; between sovereign and minister\nrighteousness; between husband and wife attention to their\nseparate functions; between old and young, a proper order; and\nbetween friends, fidelity [3].' Confucius, I apprehend, would\nhardly have accepted this account. It does not bring out\nsufficiently the authority which he claimed for the father and the\nsovereign, and the obedience which he exacted from the child and\nthe minister. With regard to the relation of husband and wife, he\nwas in no respect superior to the preceding sages who had\nenunciated their views of 'propriety' on the subject. We have a\nsomewhat detailed exposition of his opinions in the 'Narratives of\nthe School.'-- 'Man,' said he, 'is the representative of Heaven, and\nis supreme over all things. Woman yields obedience to the\ninstructions of man, and helps to carry out his principles [4]. On\nthis account she can determine nothing of herself, and is subject\nto the rule of the three obediences. When young, she must obey her\nfather and elder brother; when married, she must obey her\nhusband;\n\n1 \u4e2d\u5eb8, xx. 2.\n2 Ana. XV. x.\n3 Mencius, III. Pt. I. iv. 8.\n4 \u7537\u5b50\u8005, \u4efb\u5929\u9053\u800c\u9577\u842c\u7269\u8005\u4e5f; \u5973\u5b50\u8005, \u9806\u7537\u5b50\u4e4b\u9053, \u800c\u9577\u5176\u7406\u8005\u4e5f.\n\n\nwhen her husband is dead, she must obey her son. She may not\nthink of marrying a second time. No instructions or orders must\nissue from the harem. Woman's business is simply the preparation\nand supplying of drink and food. Beyond the threshold of her\napartments she should not be known for evil or for good. She may\nnot cross the boundaries of the State to attend a funeral. She may\ntake no step on her own motion, and may come to no conclusion on\nher own deliberation. There are five women who are not to be\ntaken in marriage:-- the daughter of a rebellious house; the\ndaughter of a disorderly house; the daughter of a house which has\nproduced criminals for more than one generation; the daughter of\na leprous house; and the daughter who has lost her father and\nelder brother. A wife may be divorced for seven reasons, which,\nhowever, may be overruled by three considerations. The grounds\nfor divorce are disobedience to her husband's parents; not giving\nbirth to a son; dissolute conduct; jealousy-- (of her husband's\nattentions, that is, to the other inmates of his harem);\ntalkativeness; and thieving. The three considerations which may\noverrule these grounds are-- first, if, while she was taken from a\nhome, she has now no home to return to; second, if she have\npassed with her husband through the three years' mourning for his\nparents; third, if the husband have become rich from being poor.\nAll these regulations were adopted by the sages in harmony with\nthe natures of man and woman, and to give importance to the\nordinance of marriage [1].'\n\tWith these ideas of the relations of society, Confucius\ndwelt much on the necessity of personal correctness of character\non the part of those in authority, in order to secure the right\nfulfillment of the duties implied in them. This is one grand\npeculiarity of his teaching. I have adverted to it in the review of\n'The Great Learning,' but it deserves some further exhibition, and\nthere are three conversations with the chief Chi K'ang in which it\nis very expressly set forth. 'Chi K'ang asked about government,\nand Confucius replied, \"To govern means to rectify. If you lead on\nthe people with correctness, who will dare not to be correct?\"'\n'Chi K'ang, distressed about the number of thieves in the State,\ninquired of Confucius about how to do away with them. Confucius\nsaid, \"If you, sir, were not covetous, though you should reward\nthem to do it, they would not steal.\"' 'Chi K'ang asked about\ngovernment,\n\n1 \u5bb6\u8a9e\u5377\u4e09, \u672c\u547d\u89e3\n\n\nsaying, \"What do you say to killing the unprincipled for the good\nof the principled?\" Confucius replied, \"Sir, in carrying on your\ngovernment, why should you use killing at all? Let your evinced\ndesires be for what is good, and the people will be good. The\nrelation between superiors and inferiors is like that between the\nwind and the grass. The grass must bend, when the wind blows\nacross it [1].\"'\n\tExample is not so powerful as Confucius in these and many\nother passages represented it, but its influence is very great. Its\nvirtue is recognised in the family, and it is demanded in the\nchurch of Christ. 'A bishop'-- and I quote the term with the simple\nmeaning of overseer-- 'must be blameless.' It seems to me,\nhowever, that in the progress of society in the West we have\ncome to think less of the power of example in many departments\nof state than we ought to do. It is thought of too little in the\narmy and the navy. We laugh at the 'self-denying ordinance,' and\nthe 'new model' of 1644, but there lay beneath them the principle\nwhich Confucius so broadly propounded,-- the importance of\npersonal virtue in all who are in authority. Now that Great Britain\nis the governing power over the masses of India and that we are\ncoming more and more into contact with tens of thousands of the\nChinese, this maxim of our sage is deserving of serious\nconsideration from all who bear rule, and especially from those\non whom devolves the conduct of affairs. His words on the\nsusceptibility of the people to be acted on by those above them\nought not to prove as water spilt on the ground.\n\tBut to return to Confucius.-- As he thus lays it down that\nthe mainspring of the well-being of society is the personal\ncharacter of the ruler, we look anxiously for what directions he\nhas given for the cultivation of that. But here he is very\ndefective. 'Self-adjustment and purification,' he said, 'with\ncareful regulation of his dress, and the not making a movement\ncontrary to the rules of propriety;-- this is the way for the ruler\nto cultivate his person [2].' This is laying too much stress on what\nis external; but even to attain to this is beyond unassisted human\nstrength. Confucius, however, never recognised a disturbance of\nthe moral elements in the constitution of man. The people would\nmove, according to him, to the virtue of their ruler as the grass\nbends to the wind, and that virtue\n\n1 Ana. XII. xvii; xviii; xix.\n2 \u4e2d\u5eb8, xx. 14.\n\n\nwould come to the ruler at his call. Many were the lamentations\nwhich he uttered over the degeneracy of his times; frequent were\nthe confessions which he made of his own shortcomings. It seems\nstrange that it never came distinctly before him, that there is a\npower of evil in the prince and the peasant, which no efforts of\ntheir own and no instructions of sages are effectual to subdue.\n\tThe government which Confucius taught was a despotism,\nbut of a modified character. He allowed no 'jus divinum,'\nindependent of personal virtue and a benevolent rule. He has not\nexplicitly stated, indeed, wherein lies the ground of the great\nrelation of the governor and the governed, but his views on the\nsubject were, we may assume, in accordance with the language of\nthe Shu-ching:-- 'Heaven and Earth are the parents of all things,\nand of all things men are the most intelligent. The man among\nthem most distinguished for intelligence becomes chief ruler, and\nought to prove himself the parent of the people [1].' And again,\n'Heaven, protecting the inferior people, has constituted for them\nrulers and teachers, who should be able to be assisting to God,\nextending favour and producing tranquillity throughout all parts\nof the kingdom [2].' The moment the ruler ceases to be a minister\nof God for good, and does not administer a government that is\nbeneficial to the people, he forfeits the title by which he holds\nthe throne, and perseverance in oppression will surely lead to his\noverthrow. Mencius inculcated this principle with a frequency and\nboldness which are remarkable. It was one of the things about\nwhich Confucius did not like to talk. Still he held it. It is\nconspicuous in the last chapter of 'The Great Learning.' Its\ntendency has been to check the violence of oppression, and\nmaintain the self-respect of the people, all along the course of\nChinese history.\n\tI must bring these observations on Confucius's views of\ngovernment to a close, and I do so with two remarks. First, they\nare adapted to a primitive, unsophisticated state of society. He is\na good counsellor for the father of a family, the chief of a clan,\nand even the head of a small principality. But his views want the\ncomprehension which would make them of much service in a great\ndominion. Within three centuries after his death,the government\nof China passed into a new phase. The founder of the Ch'in dynasty\nconceived the grand idea of abolishing all its feudal kingdoms,\nand centralizing their administration in himself. He effected the\nrevo-\n\nl 2 See the Shu-ching, V. i. Sect. I. 2, 7.\n\n\nlution, and succeeding dynasties adopted his system, and\ngradually molded it into the forms and proportions which are now\nexisting. There has been a tendency to advance, and Confucius has\nall along been trying to carry the nation back. Principles have\nbeen needed, and not 'proprieties.' The consequence is that China\nhas increased beyond its ancient dimensions, while there has been\nno corresponding development of thought. Its body politic has the\nsize of a giant, while it still retains the mind of a child. Its hoary\nage is in danger of becoming but senility.\n\tSecond, Confucius makes no provision for the intercourse of\nhis country with other and independent nations. He knew indeed of\nnone such. China was to him 'The Middle Kingdom [1],' 'The\nmultitude of Great States [2],' 'All under heaven [3].' Beyond it\nwere only rude and barbarous tribes. He does not speak of them\nbitterly, as many Chinese have done since his time. In one place\nhe contrasts their condition favourably with the prevailing\nanarchy of the kingdom, saying 'The rude tribes of the east and\nnorth have their princes, and are not like the States of our great\nland which are without them [4].' Another time, disgusted with\nthe want of appreciation which he experienced, he was expressing\nhis intention to go and live among the nine wild tribes of the east.\nSome one said, 'They are rude. How can you do such a thing?' His\nreply was, 'If a superior man dwelt among them, what rudeness\nwould there be [5]?' But had he been a ruler-sage, he would not\nonly have influenced them by his instructions, but brought them\nto acknowledge and submit to his sway, as the great Yu did [6].\nThe only passage of Confucius's teachings from which any rule\ncan be gathered for dealing with foreigners is that in the\n'Doctrine of the Mean,' where 'indulgent treatment of men from a\ndistance' is laid down as one of the nine standard rules for the\ngovernment of the country [7]. But 'the men from a distance' are\nunderstood to be pin and lu [8] simply,-- 'guests,' that is, or\nofficers of one State seeking employment in another, or at the\nroyal court; and 'visitors,' or travelling merchants. Of independent\nnations the ancient classics have not any knowledge, nor has\nConfucius. So long as merchants from Europe and other parts of\nthe world could have been content to appear in China as\nsuppliants, seeking the privilege of trade, so\n\n1 \u4e2d\u570b.\n2 \u8af8\u590f; Ana. III. v.\n3 \u5929\u4e0b; passim.\n4 Ana. III. v.\n5 Ana. IX. xiii.\n6 \u66f8\u7d93, III. ii. 10; et al.\n7 \u67d4\u9060\u4eba.\n8 \u8cd3\u65c5.\n\n\nlong the government would have ranked them with the barbarous\nhordes of antiquity, and given them the benefit of the maxim\nabout 'indulgent treatment,' according to its own understanding of\nit. But when their governments interfered, and claimed to treat\nwith that of China on terms of equality, and that their subjects\nshould be spoken to and of as being of the same clay with the\nChinese themselves, an outrage was committed on tradition and\nprejudice, which it was necessary to resent with vehemence.\n\tI do not charge the contemptuous arrogance of the Chinese\ngovernment and people upon Confucius; what I deplore, is that he\nleft no principles on record to check the development of such a\nspirit. His simple views of society and government were in a\nmeasure sufficient for the people while they dwelt apart from\nthe rest of mankind. His practical lessons were better than if\nthey had been left, which but for him they probably would have\nbeen, to fall a prey to the influences of Taoism and Buddhism, but\nthey could only subsist while they were left alone. Of the earth\nearthy, China was sure to go to pieces when it came into collision\nwith a Christianly-civilized power. Its sage had left it no\npreservative or restorative elements against such a case.\n\tIt is a rude awakening from its complacency of centuries\nwhich China has now received. Its ancient landmarks are swept\naway. Opinions will differ as to the justice or injustice of the\ngrounds on which it has been assailed, and I do not feel called to\njudge or to pronounce here concerning them. In the progress of\nevents, it could hardly be but that the collision should come; and\nwhen it did come it could not be but that China should be broken\nand scattered. Disorganization will go on to destroy it more and\nmore, and yet there is hope for the people, with their veneration\nfor the relations of society, with their devotion to learning, and\nwith their habits of industry and sobriety; there is hope for them,\nif they will look away from all their ancient sages, and turn to\nHim, who sends them, along with the dissolution of their ancient\nstate, the knowledge of Himself, the only living and true God, and\nof Jesus Christ whom He hath sent.\n\t8. I have little more to add on the opinions of Confucius.\nMany of his sayings are pithy, and display much knowledge of\ncharacter; but as they are contained in the body of the Work, I\nwill not occupy the space here with a selection of those which\nhave struck myself as most worthy of notice. The fourth Book of\nthe Analects,\n\n\nwhich is on the subject of zan, or perfect virtue, has several\nutterances which are remarkable.\n\tThornton observes:-- 'It may excite surprise, and probably\nincredulity, to state that the golden rule of our Saviour, 'Do unto\nothers as you would that they should do unto you,' which Mr. Locke\ndesignates as 'the most unshaken rule of morality, and foundation\nof all social virtue,' had been inculcated by Confucius, almost in\nthe same words, four centuries before [1].' I have taken notice of\nthis fact in reviewing both 'The Great Learning' and 'The Doctrine\nof the Mean.' I would be far from grudging a tribute of admiration\nto Confucius for it. The maxim occurs also twice in the Analects.\nIn Book XV. xxiii, Tsze-kung asks if there be one word which may\nserve as a rule of practice for all one's life, and is answered, 'Is\nnot reciprocity such a word? What you do not want done to\nyourself do not do to others.' The same disciple appears in Book V.\nxi, telling Confucius that he was practising the lesson. He says,\n'What I do not wish men to do to me, I also wish not to do to men;'\nbut the master tells him, 'Tsze, you have not attained to that.' It\nwould appear from this reply, that he was aware of the difficulty\nof obeying the precept ; and it is not found, in its condensed\nexpression at least, in the older classics. The merit of it is\nConfucius's own.\n\tWhen a comparison, however, is drawn between it and the\nrule laid down by Christ, it is proper to call attention to the\npositive form of the latter, 'All things whatsoever ye would that\nmen should do unto you, do ye even so to them.' The lesson of the\ngospel commands men to do what they feel to be right and good. It\nrequires them to commence a course of such conduct, without\nregard to the conduct of others to themselves. The lesson of\nConfucius only forbids men to do what they feel to be wrong and\nhurtful. So far as the point of priority is concerned, moreover,\nChrist adds, 'This is the law and the prophets.' The maxim was to\nbe found substantially in the earlier revelations of God. Still it\nmust be allowed that Confucius was well aware of the\nimportance of taking the initiative in discharging all the\nrelations of society. See his words as quoted from 'The Doctrine\nof the Mean' on pages 48, 49 above. But the worth of the two\nmaxims depends on the intention of the enunciators in regard to\ntheir application. Confucius, it seems to me, did not think of the\nreciprocity coming into action beyond the circle of his five\nrelations of society. Possibly, he might have\n\n1 History of China, vol. i. p. 209.\n\n\nrequired its observance in dealings even with the rude tribes,\nwhich were the only specimens of mankind besides his own\ncountrymen of which he knew anything, for on one occasion, when\nasked about perfect virtue, he replied, 'It is, in retirement, to be\nsedately grave; in the management of business, to be reverently\nattentive; in intercourse with others, to be strictly sincere.\nThough a man go among the rude uncultivated tribes, these\nqualities may not be neglected [1].' Still Confucius delivered his\nrule to his countrymen only, and only for their guidance in their\nrelations of which I have had so much occasion to speak. The rule\nof Christ is for man as man, having to do with other men, all with\nhimself on the same platform, as the children and subjects of the\none God and Father in heaven.\n\tHow far short Confucius came of the standard of Christian\nbenevolence, may be seen from his remarks when asked what was\nto be thought of the principle that injury should be recompensed\nwith kindness. He replied, 'With what then will you recompense\nkindness? Recompense injury with justice, and recompense\nkindness with kindness [2].' The same deliverance is given in one\nof the Books of the Li Chi, where he adds that 'he who\nrecompenses injury with kindness is a man who is careful of his\nperson [3].' Chang Hsuan, the commentator of the second century,\nsays that such a course would be 'incorrect in point of propriety\n[4].' This 'propriety' was a great stumbling-block in the way of\nConfucius. His morality was the result of the balancings of his\nintellect, fettered by the decisions of men of old, and not the\ngushings of a loving heart, responsive to the promptings of\nHeaven, and in sympathy with erring and feeble humanity.\n\tThis subject leads me on to the last of the opinions of\nConfucius which I shall make the subject of remark in this place.\nA commentator observes, with reference to the inquiry about\nrecompensing injury with kindness, that the questioner was\nasking only about trivial matters, which might be dealt with in\nthe way he mentioned, while great offences, such as those\nagainst a sovereign or a father, could not be dealt with by such an\ninversion of the principles of justice [5]. In the second Book of\nthe Li Chi there is the following passage:-- 'With the slayer of\nhis father, a man may not live under the same heaven; against the\nslayer of his brother, a man must never have to go home to fetch a\nweapon; with the slayer of\n\n1 Ana. XIII. xix.\n2 Ana. XIV. xxxvi.\n3 \u79ae\u8a18, \u8868\u8a18, par. 12.\n4 \u975e\u79ae\u4e4b\u6b63.\n5 See notes in loc., p. 288.\n\n\nhis friend, a man may not live in the same State [1].' The lex\ntalionis is here laid down in its fullest extent. The Chau Li tells\nus of a provision made against the evil consequences of the\nprinciple, by the appointment of a minister called 'The Reconciler\n[2].' The provision is very inferior to the cities of refuge which\nwere set apart by Moses for the manslayer to flee to from the\nfury of the avenger. Such as it was, however, it existed, and it is\nremarkable that Confucius, when consulted on the subject, took\nno notice of it, but affirmed the duty of blood-revenge in the\nstrongest and most unrestricted terms. His disciple Tsze-hsia\nasked him, 'What course is to be pursued in the case of the murder\nof a father or mother?' He replied, 'The son must sleep upon a\nmatting of grass, with his shield for his pillow; he must decline\nto take office; he must not live under the same heaven with the\nslayer. When he meets him in the marketplace or the court, he\nmust have his weapon ready to strike him.' 'And what is the\ncourse on the murder of a brother?' 'The surviving brother must\nnot take office in the same State with the slayer; yet if he go on\nhis prince's service to the State where the slayer is, though he\nmeet him, he must not fight with him.' 'And what is the course on\nthe murder of an uncle or a cousin?' 'In this case the nephew or\ncousin is not the principal. If the principal on whom the revenge\ndevolves can take it, he has only to stand behind with his weapon\nin his hand, and support him [3].'\n\tSir John Davis has rightly called attention to this as one of\nthe objectionable principles of Confucius [4]. The bad effects of it\nare evident even in the present day. Revenge is sweet to the\nChinese. I have spoken of their readiness to submit to\ngovernment, and wish to live in peace, yet they do not like to\nresign even to government the 'inquisition for blood.' Where the\nruling authority is feeble, as it is at present, individuals and\nclans take the law into their own hands, and whole districts are\nkept in a state of constant feud and warfare.\n\tBut I must now leave the sage. I hope I have not done him\ninjustice; the more I have studied his character and opinions, the\nmore highly have I come to regard him. He was a very great man,\nand his influence has been on the whole a great benefit to the\nChinese, while his teachings suggest important lessons to\nourselves who profess to belong to the school of Christ.\n\n1 \u79ae\u8a18, I. Sect. I. Pt. v. 10.\n2 \u5468\u79ae, \u5377\u4e4b\u5341\u56db, pp. 14-18.\n3  \u79ae\u8a18, II. Sect. I. Pt. ii. 24. See also the \u5bb6\u8a9e, \u5377\u56db, \u5b50\u8ca2\u554f.\n4 The Chinese, vol. ii. p. 41.\n\n\n\nSECTION III.\n\nHIS IMMEDIATE DISCIPLES.\n\n\tSze-ma Ch'ien makes Confucius say: 'The disciples who\nreceived my instructions, and could themselves comprehend them,\nwere seventy-seven individuals. They were all scholars of\nextraordinary ability [1].' The common saying is, that the\ndisciples of the sage were three thousand, while among them\nthere were seventy-two worthies. I propose to give here a list of\nall those whose names have come down to us, as being his\nfollowers. Of the greater number it will be seen that we know\nnothing more than their names and surnames. My principal\nauthorities will be the 'Historical Records,' the 'Narratives of the\nSchool,' 'The Sacrificial Canon for the Sage's Temple, with\nPlates,' and the chapter on 'The Disciples of Confucius' prefixed to\nthe 'Four Books, Text and Commentary, with Proofs and\nIllustrations.' In giving a few notices of the better-known\nindividuals, I will endeavour to avoid what may be gathered from\nthe Analects.\n\t1. Yen Hui, by designation Tsze-yuan (\u984f\u56de, \u5b57\u5b50\u6df5). He was a\nnative of Lu, the favourite of his master, whose junior he was by\nthirty years, and whose disciple he became when he was quite a\nyouth. 'After I got Hui,' Confucius remarked, 'the disciples came\ncloser to me.' We are told that once, when he found himself on the\nNang hill with Hui, Tsze-lu, and Tsze-kung, Confucius asked them\nto tell him their different aims, and he would choose between\nthem. Tsze-lu began, and when he had done, the master said, 'It\nmarks your bravery.' Tsze-kung followed, on whose words the\njudgment was, 'They show your discriminating eloquence.' At last\ncame Yen Yuan, who said, 'I should like to find an intelligent king\nand sage ruler whom I might assist. I would diffuse among the\npeople instructions on the five great points, and lead them on by\nthe rules of propriety and music, so that they should not care to\nfortify their cities by walls and moats, but would fuse their\nswords and spears into implements of agriculture. They should\nsend forth their flocks without fear into the plains and forests.\nThere should be no sunderings of families, no widows or\nwidowers. For a thousand\n\n1 \u5b54\u5b50\u66f0\uff0c\u53d7\u696d\u8eab\u901a\u8005\uff0c\u4e03\u5341\u6709\u4e03\u4eba\uff0c\u7686\u7570\u80fd\u4e4b\u58eb\u4e5f.\n\n\nyears there would be no calamity of war. Yu would have no\nopportunity to display his bravery, or Ts'ze to display his oratory.'\nThe master pronounced, 'How admirable is this virtue!'\n\tWhen Hui was twenty-nine, his hair was all white, and in\nthree years more he died. He was sacrificed to, along with\nConfucius, by the first emperor of the Han dynasty. The title\nwhich he now has in the sacrificial Canon,-- 'Continuator of the\nSage,' was conferred in the ninth year of the emperor, or, to speak\nmore correctly, of the period, Chia-ching, A. D. 1530. Almost all\nthe present sacrificial titles of the worthies in the temple were\nfixed at that time. Hui's place is the first of the four Assessors,\non the east of the sage [1].\n\t2. Min Sun, styled Tsze-ch'ien (\u9594\u640d\uff0c\u5b57\u5b50\u9a2b). He was a native\nof Lu, fifteen years younger than Confucius, according to Sze-ma\nCh'ien, but fifty years younger, according to the 'Narratives of the\nSchool,' which latter authority is followed in 'The Annals of the\nEmpire.' When he first came to Confucius, we are told, he had a\nstarved look [2], which was by-and-by exchanged for one of\nfulness and satisfaction [3]. Tsze-kung asked him how the change\nhad come about. He replied, 'I came from the midst of my reeds\nand sedges into the school of the master. He trained my mind to\nfilial piety, and set before me the examples of the ancient kings. I\nfelt a pleasure in his instructions; but when I went abroad, and\nsaw the people in authority, with their umbrellas and banners,\nand all the pomp and circumstance of their trains, I also felt\npleasure in that show. These two things assaulted each other in\n\n1 I have referred briefly, at p. 91, to the temples of Confucius.\nThe principal hall, called \u5927\u6210\u6bbf, or 'Hall of the Great and\nComplete One,' is that in which is his own statue or the tablet of\nhis spirit, having on each side of it, within a screen, the statues,\nor tablets, of his 'four Assessors.' On the east and west, along the\nwalls of the same apartment, are the two \u5e8f, the places of the \u5341\n\u4e8c\u54f2, or 'twelve Wise Ones,' those of his disciples, who, next to\nthe 'Assessors,' are counted worthy of honour. Outside this\napartment, and running in a line with the two \u5e8f, but along the\nexternal wall of the sacred inclosure, are the two \u5ee1, or side-\ngalleries, which I have sometimes called the ranges of the outer\ncourt. In each there are sixty-four tablets of the disciples and\nother worthies, having the same title as the Wise Ones, that of \u5148\n\u8ce2, or 'Ancient Worthy,' or the inferior title of \u5148\u5112, 'Ancient\nScholar.' Behind the principal hall is the \u5d07\u8056\u7960\u6bbf, sacred to\nConfucius's ancestors, whose tablets are in the centre, fronting\nthe south, like that of Confucius. On each side are likewise the\ntablets of certain 'ancient Worthies,' and 'ancient Scholars.'\n2 \u83dc\u8272.\n3 \u82bb\u8c62\u4e4b\u8272.\n\n\nmy breast. I could not determine which to prefer, and so I wore\nthat look of distress. But now the lessons of our master have\npenetrated deeply into my mind. My progress also has been helped\nby the example of you my fellow-disciples. I now know what I\nshould follow and what I should avoid, and all the pomp of power\nis no more to me than the dust of the ground. It is on this account\nthat I have that look of fulness and satisfaction.' Tsze-ch'ien was\nhigh in Confucius's esteem. He was distinguished for his purity\nand filial affection. His place in the temple is the first, east,\namong 'The Wise Ones,' immediately after the four assessors. He\nwas first sacrificed to along with Confucius, as is to be\nunderstood of the other 'Wise Ones,' excepting in the case of Yu\nZo, in the eighth year of the style K'ai-yuan of the sixth emperor\nof the T'ang dynasty, A.D. 720. His title, the same as that of all\nbut the Assessors, is-- 'The ancient Worthy, the philosopher Min.'\n\t3 . Zan Kang, styled Po-niu (\u5189\u8015, \u5b57\u767d [al. \u767e] \u725b). He was a\nnative of Lu, and Confucius's junior only by seven years. When\nConfucius became minister of Crime, he appointed Po-niu to the\noffice, which he had himself formerly held, of commandant of\nChung-tu. His tablet is now fourth among 'The Wise Ones,' on the\nwest.\n\t4. Zan Yung, styled Chung-kung (\u5189\u96cd, \u5b57\u4ef2\u5f13). He was of the\nsame clan as Zan Kang, and twenty-nine years younger than\nConfucius. He had a bad father, but the master declared that was\nnot to be counted to him, to detract from his admitted excellence.\nHis place is among 'The Wise Ones,' the second, east.\n\t5. Zan Ch'iu, styled Tsze-yu (\u5189\u6c42, \u5b57\u5b50\u6709). He was related to\nthe two former, and of the same age as Chung-kung. He was noted\namong the disciples for his versatile ability and many\nacquirements. Tsze-kung said of him, 'Respectful to the old, and\nkind to the young; attentive to guests and visitors; fond of\nlearning and skilled in many arts; diligent in his examination of\nthings:-- these are what belong to Zan Ch'iu.\" It has been noted in\nthe life of Confucius that it was by the influence of Tsze-yu that\nhe was finally restored to Lu. He occupies the third place, west,\namong 'The Wise Ones.'\n\t6. Chung Yu, styled Tsze-lu and Chi-lu (\u4ef2\u7531, \u5b57\u5b50\u8def, \u53c8\u5b57\u5b63\u8def).\nHe was a native of P'ien (\u535e) in Lu and only\n\n\nnine years younger than Confucius. At their first interview, the\nmaster asked him what he was fond of, and he replied, 'My long\nsword.' Confucius said, 'If to your present ability there were\nadded the results of learning, you would be a very superior man.'\n'Of what advantage would learning be to me?' asked Tsze-lu.\n'There is a bamboo on the southern hill, which is straight itself\nwithout being bent. If you cut it down and use it, you can send it\nthrough a rhinoceros's hide;-- what is the use of learning?' 'Yes,'\nsaid the master; 'but if you feather it and point it with steel, will\nit not penetrate more deeply?' Tsze-lu bowed ' twice, and said, 'I\nwill reverently receive your instructions.' Confucius was wont to\nsay, 'From the time that I got Yu, bad words no more came to my\nears.' For some time Tsze-lu was chief magistrate of the district\nof P'u (\u84b2), where his administration commanded the warm\ncommendations of the master. He died finally in Wei, as has been\nrelated above, pp. 86, 87. His tablet is now the fourth, east, from\nthose of the Assessors.\n\t7. Tsai Yu styled Tsze-wo (\u5bb0\u4e88, \u5b57\u5b50\u6211). He was a native of\nLu, but nothing is mentioned of his age. He had 'a sharp mouth,'\naccording to Sze-ma Ch'ien. Once, when he was at the court of\nCh'u on some commission, the king Chao offered him an easy\ncarriage adorned with ivory for his master. Yu replied, 'My master\nis a man who would rejoice in a government where right\nprinciples were carried out, and can find his joy in himself when\nthat is not the case. Now right principles and virtue are as it\nwere in a state of slumber. His wish is to rouse and put them in\nmotion. Could he find a prince really anxious to rule according to\nthem, he would walk on foot to his court and be glad to do so. Why\nneed he receive such a valuable gift, as this from so great a\ndistance?' Confucius commended this reply; but where he is\nmentioned in the Analects, Tsze-wo does not appear to great\nadvantage. He took service in the State of Ch'i, and was chief\nmagistrate of Lin-tsze, where he joined with T'ien Ch'ang in some\ndisorderly movement [1], which led to the destruction of his\nkindred, and made Confucius ashamed of him. His tablet is now\nthe second, west, among 'The Wise Ones.'\n\t8. Twan-mu Ts'ze, styled Tsze-kung (\u7aef\u6728\u8cdc, \u5b57\u5b50\u8ca2 [al. \u5b50\u8d1b]),\nwhose place is now third, east, from the Assessors. He\n\n1 \u8207\u7530\u5e38\u4f5c\u4e82. See Sze-ma Ch'ien's Biographies, chap. 7, though\ncome have doubted the genuineness of this part of the notice of\nTsze-wo.\n\n\nwas a native of Wei (\u885b), and thirty-one years younger than\nConfucius. He had great quickness of natural ability, and appears\nin the Analects as one of the most forward talkers among the\ndisciples. Confucius used to say, 'From the time that I got Ts'ze,\nscholars from a distance came daily resorting to me.' Several\ninstances of the language which he used to express his admiration\nof the master have been given in the last section. Here is\nanother:-- The duke Ching of Ch'i asked Tsze-kung how Chung-ni\nwas to be ranked as a sage. 'I do not know,' was the reply. 'I have\nall my life had the heaven over my head, but I do not know its\nheight, and the earth under my feet, but I do not know its\nthickness. In my serving of Confucius, I am like a thirsty man who\ngoes with his pitcher to the river, and there he drinks his fill,\nwithout knowing the river's depth.' He took leave of Confucius to\nbecome commandant of Hsin-yang (\u4fe1\u967d\u5bb0), when the master said\nto him, 'In dealing with your subordinates, there is nothing like\nimpartiality; and when wealth comes in your way, there is\nnothing like moderation. Hold fast these two things, and do not\nswerve from them. To conceal men's excellence is to obscure the\nworthy; and to proclaim people's wickedness is the part of a mean\nman. To speak evil of those whom you have not sought the\nopportunity to instruct is not the way of friendship and harmony.'\nSubsequently Tsze-kung was high in office both in Lu and Wei, and\nfinally died in Ch'i. We saw how he was in attendance on\nConfucius at the time of the sage's death. Many of the disciples\nbuilt huts near the master's grave, and mourned for him three\nyears, but Tsze-kung remained sorrowing alone for three years\nmore.\n\t9. Yen Yen, styled Tsze-yu (\u8a00\u5043, \u5b57\u5b50\u6e38), now the fourth in\nthe western range of 'The Wise Ones.' He was a native of Wu (\u5433),\nforty-five years younger than Confucius, and distinguished for his\nliterary acquirements. Being made commandant of Wu-ch'ang, he\ntransformed the character of the people by 'proprieties' and\nmusic, and was praised by the master. After the death of\nConfucius, Chi K'ang asked Yen how that event had made no\nsensation like that which was made by the death of Tsze-ch'an,\nwhen the men laid aside their bowstring rings and girdle\nornaments, and the women laid aside their pearls and ear-rings,\nand the voice of weeping was heard in the lanes for three months.\nYen replied, 'The influences of Tsze-ch'an and my master might be\ncompared\n\n\nto those of overflowing water and the fattening rain. Wherever\nthe water in its overflow reaches, men take knowledge of it,\nwhile the fattening rain falls unobserved.'\n\t10. Pu Shang, styled Tsze-hsia (\u535c\u5546, \u5b57\u5b50\u590f). It is not\ncertain to what State he belonged, his birth being assigned to Wei\n(\u885b), to Wei (\u9b4f), and to Wan (\u6eab). He was forty-five years younger\nthan Confucius, and lived to a great age, for we find him, B.C. 406,\nat the court of the prince Wan of Wei (\u9b4f), to whom he gave copies\nof some of the classical Books. He is represented as a scholar\nextensively read and exact, but without great comprehension of\nmind. What is called Mao's Shih-ching (\u6bdb\u8a69) is said to contain the\nviews of Tsze-hsia. Kung-yang Kao and Ku-liang Ch'ih are also\nsaid to have studied the Ch'un Ch'iu with him. On the occasion of\nthe death of his son he wept himself blind. His place is the fifth,\neast, among 'The Wise Ones.'\n\t11. Chwan-sun Shih, styled Tsze-chang (\u9853\u5b6b\u5e2b, \u5b57\u5b50\u5f35), has\nhis tablet, corresponding to that of the preceding, on the west. He\nwas a native of Ch'an (\u9673), and forty-eight years younger than\nConfucius. Tsze-kung said, 'Not to boast of his admirable merit;\nnot to signify joy on account of noble station; neither insolent nor\nindolent; showing no pride to the dependent:-- these are the\ncharacteristics of Chwan-sun Shih.' When he was sick, he called\n(his son) Shan-hsiang to him, and said, 'We speak of his end in the\ncase of a superior man, and of his death in the case of a mean\nman. May I think that it is going to be the former with me to-\nday?'\n\t12. Tsang Shan [or Ts'an] styled Tsze-yu (\u66fe\u53c3, \u5b57\u5b50\u8f3f [al. \u5b50\n\u8207]). He was a native of south Wu-ch'ang, and forty-six years\nyounger than Confucius. In his sixteenth year he was sent by his\nfather into Ch'u, where Confucius then was, to learn under the\nsage. Excepting perhaps Yen Hui, there is not a name of greater\nnote in the Confucian school. Tsze-kung said of him, 'There is no\nsubject which he has not studied. His appearance is respectful.\nHis virtue is solid. His words command credence. Before great\nmen he draws himself up in the pride of self-respect. His\neyebrows are those of longevity.' He was noted for his filial\npiety, and after the death of his parents, he could not read the\nrites of mourning without being led to think of them, and moved\nto tears. He was a voluminous writer. Ten Books of his\ncomposition are said to be contained in the 'Rites of the elder Tai'\n\n\n(\u5927\u6234\u79ae). The Classic of Filial Piety he is said to have made under\nthe eye of Confucius. On his connexion with 'The Great Learning,'\nsee above, Ch. III. Sect. II. He was first associated with the\nsacrifices to Confucius in A.D. 668, but in 1267 he was advanced\nto be one of the sage's four Assessors. His title-- 'Exhibitor of\nthe Fundamental Principles of the Sage,' dates from the period of\nChia-ching, as mentioned in speaking of Yen Hui.\n\t13. Tan-t'ai Mieh-ming, styled Tsze-yu (\u6fb9\u81fa\u6ec5\u660e, \u5b57\u5b50\u7fbd). He\nwas a native of Wu-ch'ang, thirty-nine years younger than\nConfucius, according to the 'Historical Records,' but forty-nine,\naccording to the 'Narratives of the School.' He was excessively\nugly, and Confucius thought meanly of his talents in consequence,\non his first application to him. After completing his studies, he\ntravelled to the south as far as the Yang-tsze. Traces of his\npresence in that part of the country are still pointed out in the\ndepartment of Su-chau. He was followed by about three hundred\ndisciples, to whom he laid down rules for their guidance in their\nintercourse with the princes. When Confucius heard of his\nsuccess, he confessed how he had been led by his bad looks to\nmisjudge him. He, with nearly all the disciples whose names\nfollow, first had a place assigned to him in the sacrifices to\nConfucius in A.D. 739. The place of his tablet is the second, east,\nin the outer court, beyond that of the 'Assessors' and 'Wise Ones.'\n\t14. Corresponding to the preceding, on the west, is the\ntablet of Fu Pu-ch'i styled Tsze-tsien (\u5b93 [al. \u5bc6 and \u8659, all = \u4f0f] \u4e0d\n\u9f4a, \u5b57\u5b50\u8ce4). He was a native of Lu, and, according to different\naccounts, thirty, forty, and forty-nine years younger than\nConfucius. He was commandant of Tan-fu (\u55ae\u7236\u5bb0), and hardly\nneeded to put forth any personal effort. Wu-ma Ch'i had been in\nthe same office, and had succeeded by dint of the greatest\nindustry and toil. He asked Pu-ch'i how he managed so easily for\nhimself, and was answered, 'I employ men; you employ men's\nstrength.' People pronounced Fu to be a superior man. He was also\na writer, and his works are mentioned in Liu Hsin's Catalogue.\n\t15. Next to that of Mieh-ming is the tablet of Yuan Hsien,\nstyled Tsze-sze (\u539f\u61b2, \u5b57\u5b50\u601d) a native of Sung or according to\nChang Hsuan, of Lu, and younger than Confucius by thirty-six\nyears. He was noted for his purity and modesty, and for his\n\n\nhappiness in the principles of the master amid deep poverty.\nAfter the death of Confucius, he lived in obscurity in Wei. In the\nnotes to Ana. VI. iii, I have referred to an interview which he had\nwith Tsze-kung.\n\t16. Kung-ye Ch'ang [al. Chih], styled Tsze-ch'ang [al. Tsze-\nchih], (\u516c\u51b6\u9577 [al. \u829d], \u5b57\u5b50\u9577 [al. \u5b50\u829d]), has his tablet next to that\nof Pu-ch'i. He was son-in-law to Confucius. His nativity is\nassigned both to Lu and to Ch'i.\n\t17. Nan-kung Kwo, styled Tsze-yung (\u5357\u5bae\u62ec [al. \u9002 and, in the\n'Narratives of the School,' \u7e1a (T'ao)], \u5b57\u5b50\u5bb9), has the place at the\neast next to Yuan Hsien. It is a question much debated whether he\nwas the same with Nan-kung Chang-shu, who accompanied\nConfucius to the court of Chau, or not. On occasion of a fire\nbreaking out in the palace of duke Ai, while others were intent on\nsecuring the contents of the Treasury, Nan-kung directed his\nefforts to save the Library, and to him was owing the\npreservation of the copy of the Chau Li which was in Lu, and other\nancient monuments.\n\t18. Kung-hsi Ai, styled Chi-ts'ze [al. Chi-ch'an] (\u516c\u7699\u54c0, \u5b57\u5b63\n\u6b21 [al. \u5b63\u6c89]). His tablet follows that of Kung-ye. He was a native\nof Lu, or of Ch'i. Confucius commended him for refusing to take\noffice with any of the Families which were encroaching on the\nauthority of the princes of the States, and for choosing to endure\nthe severest poverty rather than sacrifice a tittle of his\nprinciples.\n\t19. Tsang Tien, styled Hsi (\u66fe\u84a7[al. \u9ede], \u5b57\u7699). .He was the\nfather of Tsang Shan. His place in the temples is the hall to\nConfucius's ancestors, where his tablet is the first, west.\n\t20. Yen Wu-yao, styled Lu (\u984f\u7121\u7e47, \u5b57\u8def). He was the father of\nYen Hui, younger than Confucius by six years. His sacrificial place\nis the first, east, in the same hall as the last.\n\t21. Following the tablet of Nan-kung Kwo is that of Shang\nChu, styled Tsze-mu (\u5546\u77bf, \u5b57\u5b50\u6728). To him, it is said, we are\nindebted for the preservation of the Yi-ching, which he received\nfrom Confucius. Its transmission step by step, from Chu down to\nthe Han dynasty, is minutely set forth.\n\t22. Next to Kung-hsi Ai is the place of Kao Ch'ai, styled\nTsze-kao and Chi-kao (\u9ad8\u67f4, \u5b57\u5b50\u7f94 [al. \u5b63\u7f94; for \u7f94 moreover, we\nfind \u768b, and \u777e]), a native of Ch'i, according to the 'Narratives\n\n\nof the School,' but of Wei, according to Sze-ma Ch'ien and Chang\nHsuan. He was thirty (some say forty) years younger than\nConfucius, dwarfish and ugly, but of great worth and ability. At\none time he was criminal judge of Wei, and in the execution of his\noffice condemned a prisoner to lose his feet. Afterwards that\nsame man saved his life, when he was flying from the State.\nConfucius praised Ch'ai for being able to administer stern justice\nwith such a spirit of benevolence as to disarm resentment.\n\t23. Shang Chu is followed by Ch'i-tiao K'ai [prop. Ch'i],\nstyled Tsze-k'ai, Tsze-zo, and Tsze-hsiu (\u6f06\u96d5\u958b [pr. \u555f], \u5b57\u5b50\u958b, \u5b50\n\u82e5, and \u5b50\u4fee\u8129), a native of Ts'ai (\u8521), or according to Chang Hsuan,\nof Lu. We only know him as a reader of the Shu-ching, and refusing\nto go into office.\n\t24. Kung-po Liao, styled Tsze-chau (\u516c\u4f2f\u50da, \u5b57\u5b50\u5468). He\nappears in the Analects, XIV. xxxiii, slandering Tsze-lu. It is\ndoubtful whether he should have a place among the disciples.\n\t25. Sze-ma Kang, styled Tsze-niu (\u53f8\u99ac\u8015, \u5b57\u5b50\u725b), follows\nCh'i-tiao K'ai; also styled \u9ecd\u8015. He was a great talker, a native of\nSung, and a brother of Hwan T'ui, to escape from whom seems to\nhave been the labour of his life.\n\t26. The place next Kao Ch'ai is occupied by Fan Hsu, styled\nTsze-ch'ih (\u6a0a\u9808, \u5b57\u5b50\u9072), a native of Ch'i, or, according to others,\nof Lu, and whose age is given as thirty-six and forty-six years\nyounger than Confucius. When young, he distinguished himself in a\nmilitary command under the Chi family.\n\t27. Yu Zo, styled Tsze-zo (\u6709\u82e5, \u5b57\u5b50\u82e5). He was a native of\nLu, and his age is stated very variously. He was noted among the\ndisciples for his great memory and fondness for antiquity. After\nthe death of Confucius, the rest of the disciples, because of some\nlikeness in Zo's speech to the Master, wished to render the same\nobservances to him which they had done to Confucius, but on\nTsang Shan's demurring to the thing, they abandoned the purpose.\nThe tablet of Tsze-zo is now the sixth, east among 'The Wise\nOnes,' to which place it was promoted in the third year of Ch'ien-\nlung of the present dynasty. This was done in compliance with a\nmemorial from the president of one of the Boards, who said he\nwas moved by a dream to make the request. We may suppose that\nhis real motives were a wish to do Justice to the merits of Tsze-\nzo, and to restore the symmetry of the tablets in the 'Hall of the\n\n\nGreat and Complete One,' which had been disturbed by the\nintroduction of the tablet of Chu Hsi in the preceding reign.\n\t28. Kung-hsi Ch'ih, styled Tsze-hwa (\u516c\u897f\u8d64, \u5b57\u5b50\u83ef), a native\nof Lu, younger than Confucius by forty-two years, whose place is\nthe fourth, west, in the outer court. He was noted for his\nknowledge of ceremonies, and the other disciples devolved on him\nall the arrangements about the funeral of the Master.\n\t29. Wu-ma Shih [or Ch'i], styled Tsze-Ch'i (\u5deb\u99ac\u65bd [al. \u671f], \u5b57\n\u5b50\u671f [al. \u5b50\u65d7]), a native of Ch'an, or, according to Chang Hsuan, of\nLu, thirty years younger than Confucius. His tablet is on the east,\nnext to that of Sze-ma Kang. It is related that on one occasion,\nwhen Confucius was about to set out with a company of the\ndisciples on a walk or journey, he told them to take umbrellas.\nThey met with a heavy shower, and Wu-ma asked him, saying,\n'There were no clouds in the morning; but after the sun had risen,\nyou told us to take umbrellas. How did you know that it would\nrain?' Confucius said, 'The moon last evening was in the\nconstellation Pi, and is it not said in the Shih-ching, \"When the\nmoon is in Pi, there will be heavy rain?\" It was thus I knew it.'\n\t30. Liang Chan [al. Li], styled Shu-yu (\u6881\u9c63 [al. \u9bc9] \u5b57\u53d4\u9b5a),\noccupies the eighth place, west, among the tablets of the outer\ncourt. He was a man of Ch'i, and his age is stated as twenty-nine\nand thirty-nine years younger than Confucius. The following story\nis told in connexion with him.-- When he was thirty, being\ndisappointed that he had no son, he was minded to put away his\nwife. 'Do not do so,' said Shang Chu to him. 'I was thirty-eight\nbefore I had a son, and my mother was then about to take another\nwife for me, when the Master proposed sending me to Ch'i. My\nmother was unwilling that I should go, but Confucius said, 'Don't\nbe anxious. Chu will have five sons after he is forty.' It has turned\nout so, and I apprehend it is your fault, and not your wife's, that\nyou have no son yet.' Chan took this advice, and in the second year\nafter, he had a son.\n\t31. Yen Hsing [al. Hsin, Liu, and Wei], styled Tsze-liu (\u984f\u5e78\n[al. \u8f9b, \u67f3, and \u97cb], \u5b57\u5b50\u67f3), occupies the place, east, after Wu-ma\nShih. He was a native of Lu, and forty-six years younger than\nConfucius.\n\t32. Liang Chan is followed on the west by Zan Zu, styled\nTsze-lu [al. Tsze-tsang and Tsze-yu] (\u5189\u5b7a [al. \u5112] \u5b57*\u5b50\u9b6f [al. \u5b50\u66fe\n\n* Digitizer's note: This is \u5b87 in the source text; I have corrected\nwhat is an obvious misprint.\n\n\nand \u5b50\u9b5a]), a native of Lu, and fifty years younger than Confucius.\n\t33. Yen Hsing is followed on the east by Ts'ao Hsu, styled\nTsze-hsun (\u66f9\u5379, \u5b57\u5b50\u5faa), a native of Ts'ai, fifty years younger than\nConfucius.\n\t34. Next on the west is Po Ch'ien, styled Tsze-hsi, or, in the\ncurrent copies of the 'Narratives of the School,' Tsze-ch'iai (\u4f2f\u8654,\n\u5b57\u5b50\u7699 [al. \u5b50\u6790] or \u5b50\u6977), a native of Lu, fifty years younger than\nConfucius.\n\t35. Following Tsze-hsun is Kung-sun Lung [al. Ch'ung] styled\nTsze-shih (\u516c\u5b6b\u9f8d [al. \u5bf5], \u5b57\u5b50\u77f3), whose birth is assigned by\ndifferent writers to Wei, Ch'u, and Chao (\u8d99). He was fifty-three\nyears younger than Confucius. We have the following account:--\n'Tsze-kung asked Tsze-shih, saying, \"Have you not learned the\nBook of' Poetry?\" Tsze-shih replied, \"What leisure have I to do\nso? My parents require me to be filial; my brothers require me to\nbe submissive; and my friends require me to be sincere. What\nleisure have I for anything else?\" \"Come to my Master,\" said Tsze-\nkung, \"and learn of him.\"'\n\tSze-ma Ch'ien here observes: 'Of the thirty-five disciples\nwhich precede, we have some details. Their age and other\nparticulars are found in the Books and Records. It is not so,\nhowever, in regard to the fifty-two which follow.'\n\t36. Zan Chi, styled Tsze-ch'an [al. Chi-ch'an and Tsze-ta] (\u5189\n\u5b63, \u5b57\u5b50\u7522 [al. \u5b63\u7522 and \u5b50\u9054), a native of Lu, whose place is the\n11th, west, next to Po Ch'ien.\n\t37. Kung-tsu Kau-tsze or simply Tsze, styled Tsze-chih (\u516c\n\u7956\u52fe\u8332 [or simply \u8332], \u5b57\u5b50\u4e4b), a native of Lu. His tablet is the 23rd,\neast, in the outer court.\n\t38. Ch'in Tsu, styled Tsze-nan (\u79e6\u7956, \u5b57\u5b50\u5357), a native of\nCh'in. His tablet precedes that of the last, two places.\n\t39. Ch'i-tiao Ch'ih, styled Tsze-lien (\u6f06\u96d5\u54c6 [al. \u4f88], \u5b57\u5b50\u6582), a\nnative of Lu. His tablet is the 13th, west.\n\t40. Yen Kao, styled Tsze-chiao (\u984f\u9ad8\u5b57\u5b50\u9a55). According to the\n'Narratives of the School,' he was the same as Yen K'o (\u523b, or \u524b),\nwho drove the carriage when Confucius rode in Wei after the duke\nand Nan-tsze. But this seems doubtful. Other\n\n\nauthorities make his name Ch'an (\u7522), and style him Tsze-tsing (\u5b50\n\u7cbe). His tablet is the 13th, east.\n\t41. Ch'i-tiao Tu-fu [al. . Ts'ung], styled Tsze-yu, Tsze-ch'i,\nand Tsze-wan (\u6f06\u96d5\u5f92\u7236 [al. \u5f9e], \u5b57\u5b50\u6709 or \u5b50\u53cb [al. \u5b50\u671f and \u5b50\u6587]), a\nnative of Lu, whose tablet precedes that of Ch'i-tiao Ch'ih.\n\t42. Zang Sze-ch'ih, styled Tsze-t'u, or Tsze-ts'ung (\u58e4 [al. \u7a70]\n\u99df\u8d64, \u5b57\u5b50\u5f92 [al. \u5b50\u5f9e]), a native of Ch'in. Some consider Zang-sze\n(\u58e4\u99df) to be a double surname. His tablet comes after that of No.\n40.\n\t43. Shang Chai, styled Tsze-Ch'i and Tsze-hsiu (\u5546\u6fa4, \u5b57\u5b50\u5b63\n[al. \u5b50\u79c0]), a native of Lu. His tablet is immediately after that of\nFan Hsu, No. 26.\n\t44. Shih Tso [al. Chih and Tsze]-shu, styled Tsze-ming (\u77f3\u4f5c\n[al. \u4e4b and \u5b50], \u8700, \u5b57\u5b50\u660e). Some take Shih-tso (\u77f3\u4f5c) as a double\nsurname. His tablet follows that of No. 42.\n\t45. Zan Pu-ch'i, styled Hsuan (\u4efb\u4e0d\u9f4a, \u5b57\u9078), a native of Ch'u,\nwhose tablet is next to that of No. 28.\n\t46. Kung-liang Zu, styled Tsze-chang (\u516c\u826f\u5b7a [al. \u5112], \u5b57\u5b50\u6b63),\na native of Ch'in, follows the preceding in the temples. The\n'Sacrificial Canon' says:-- 'Tsze-chang was a man of worth and\nbravery. When Confucius was surrounded and stopped in P'u, Tsze-\nchang fought so desperately, that the people of P'u were afraid,\nand let the Master go, on his swearing that he would not proceed\nto Wei.'\n\t47. Hau [al. Shih] Ch'u [al. Ch'ien], styled Tsze-li [al. Li-ch'ih]\n(\u540e [al. \u77f3] \u8655 [al. \u8654], \u5b57\u5b50\u91cc [al. \u91cc\u4e4b]), a native of Ch'i, having his\ntablet the 17th, east.\n\t48. Ch'in Zan, styled K'ai (\u79e6\u5189, \u5b57\u958b), a native of Ts'ai. He is\nnot given in the list of the 'Narratives of the School,' and on this\naccount his tablet was put out of the temples in the ninth year of\nChia-tsing. It was restored, however, in the second year of Yung-\nchang, A.D. 1724, and is the 33rd, east, in the outer court.\n\t49. Kung-hsia Shau, styled Shang [and Tsze-shang] (\u516c\u590f\u9996\n[al. \u5b88], \u5b57\u4e58 [and \u5b50\u4e58]), a native of Lu, whose tablet is next to that\nof No. 44.\n\t50. Hsi Yung-tien [or simply Tien], styled Tsze-hsi [al. Tsze-\n\n\nchieh and Tsze-ch'ieh] (\u7cfb\u5bb9\u84a7 [or \u9ede], \u5b57\u5b50\u7699 [al. \u5b50\u5055 and \u5b50\u6977]), a\nnative of Wei, having his tablet the 18th, east.\n\t51. Kung Chien-ting [al. Kung Yu], styled Tsze-chung (\u516c\u80a9 [al.\n\u5805] \u5b9a [al. \u516c\u6709], \u5b57\u5b50\u4ef2 [al. \u4e2d and \u5fe0]). His nativity is assigned to Lu,\nto Wei, and to Tsin (\u6649). He follows No. 46.\n\t52. Yen Tsu [al. Hsiang], styled Hsiang and Tsze-hsiang (\u984f\u7956\n[al. \u76f8], \u5b57\u8944, and \u5b50\u8944), a native of Lu, with his tablet following\nthat of No. 50.\n\t53. Chiao Tan [al. Wu], styled Tsze-kea (\u9121\u55ae [al. \u9114\uff0a], \u5b57\u5b50\n\u5bb6), a native of Lu. His place is next to that of No. 51.\n\t54. Chu [al. Kau] Tsing-ch'iang [and simply Tsing], styled\nTsze-ch'iang [al. Tsze-chieh and Tsze-mang] (\u53e5 [al. \u52fe and \u9264] \u4e95\u7586\n[and simply \u4e95], \u5b57\u5b50\u7586 [al. \u5b50\u754c and \u5b50\u5b5f]), a native of Wei,\nfollowing No. 52.\n\t55. Han [al. Tsai]-fu Hei, styled Tsze-hei [al. Tsze-so and\nTsze-su] (\u7f55 [al. \u5bb0] \u7236\u9ed1, \u5b57\u5b50\u9ed1 [al. \u5b50\u7d22 and \u5b50\u7d20]), a native of Lu,\nwhose tablet is next to that of No. 53.\n\t56. Ch'in Shang, styled Tsze-p'ei [al. P'ei-tsze and Pu-tsze]\n(\u79e6\u5546, \u5b57\u5b50\u4e15 [al. \u4e15\u8332 and \u4e0d\u8332]), a native of Lu, or, according to\nChang Hsuan, of Ch'u. He was forty years younger than Confucius.\nOne authority, however, says he was only four years younger, and\nthat his father and Confucius's father were both celebrated for\ntheir strength. His tablet is the 12th, east.\n\t57. Shin Tang, styled Chau (\u7533\u9ee8\u5b57\u5468). In the 'Narratives of\nthe School' there is a Shin Chi, styled Tsze-chau (\u7533\u7e8c, \u5b57\u5b50\u5468). The\nname is given by others as T'ang (\u5802 and \u513b) and Tsu (\u7e8c), with the\ndesignation Tsze-tsu (\u5b50\u7e8c). These are probably the same person\nmentioned in the Analects as Shin Ch'ang (\u7533\u68d6). Prior to the Ming\ndynasty they were sacrificed to as two, but in A.D. 1530, the\nname Tang was expunged from the sacrificial list, and only that\nof Ch'ang left. His tablet is the 31st, east.\n\t58. Yen Chih-p'o, styled Tsze-shu [or simply Shu] (\u984f\u4e4b\u50d5, \u5b57\n\u5b50\u53d4 [or simply \u53d4]), a native of Lu, who occupies the 29th place,\neast.\n\t59. Yung Ch'i, styled Tsze-ch'i [al. Tsze-yen] (\u69ae\u65c2 [or \u7948], \u5b57\n\u5b50\u65d7 or \u5b50\u797a [al. \u5b50\u984f]), a native of Lu, whose tablet is the 20th,\nwest.\n\n*Digitizer's note: The actual variant used by Legge is (\u9114\u5de6\u5373\u53f3).\n\n\n\t60. Hsien Ch'ang, styled Tsze-ch'i [al. Tsze-hung] (\u7e23\u6210, \u5b57\u5b50\n\u68cb [al. \u5b50\u6a6b]), a native of Lu. His place is the 22nd, east.\n\t61. Tso Zan-ying [or simply Ying], styled Hsing and Tsze-\nhsing (\u5de6\u4eba\u90e2 [or simply \u90e2], \u5b57\u884c and \u5b50\u884c), a native of Lu. His\ntablet follows that of No. 59.\n\t62. Yen Chi, styled An [al. Tsze-sze] (\u71d5\u4f0b [or \u7d1a], \u5b57\u6069 [al. \u5b50\n\u601d) a native of Ch'in. His tablet is the 24th east.\n\t63: Chang Kwo, styled Tsze-t'u (\u912d\u570b, \u5b57\u5b50\u5f92), a native of Lu.\nThis is understood to be the same with the Hsieh Pang, styled\nTsze-ts'ung (\u859b\u90a6, \u5b57\u5b50\u5f9e), of the 'Narratives of the School.' His\ntablet follows No. 61.\n\t64. Ch'in Fei, styled Tsze-chih (\u79e6\u975e, \u5b57\u5b50\u4e4b), a native of Lu,\nhaving his tablet the 31st, west.\n\t65. Shih Chih-ch'ang, styled Tsze-hang [al. ch'ang] (\u65bd\u4e4b\u5e38, \u5b57\n\u5b50\u6046 [al. \u5e38]), a native of Lu. His tablet is the 30th, east.\n\t66. Yen K'wai, styled Tsze-shang (\u984f\u5672, \u5b57\u5b50\u8072), a native of\nLu. His tablet is the next to that of No. 64.\n\t67. Pu Shu-shang, styled Tsze-ch'e (\u6b65\u53d4\u4e58 [in the\n'Narratives of the School' we have an old form of \u4e58], \u5b57\u5b50\u8eca), a\nnative of Ch'i. Sometimes for Pu (\u6b65) we find Shao (\u5c11). His tablet\nis the 30th, west.\n\t68. Yuan K'ang, styled Tsze-chi (\u539f\u4ea2, \u5b57\u5b50\u7c4d), a native of Lu.\nSze-ma Ch'ien calls him Yuan K'ang-chi, not mentioning any\ndesignation. The 'Narratives of the School' makes him Yuan K'ang\n(\u6297), styled Chi. His tablet is the 23rd, west.\n\t69. Yo K'o [al. Hsin], styled Tsze-shang (\u6a02\u6b2c, [al. \u6b23], \u5b57\u5b50\u8072),\na native of Lu. His tablet is the 25th, east.\n\t70. Lien Chieh, styled Yung and Tsze-yung [al. Tsze-ts'ao] (\u5ec9\n\u6f54, \u5b57\u5eb8 and \u5b50\u5eb8 [al. \u5b50\u66f9), a native of Wei, or of Ch'i. His tablet is\nnext to that of No. 68.\n\t71. Shu-chung Hui [al. K'wai], styled Tsze-ch'i (\u53d4\u4ef2\u6703 [al. \u5672],\n\u5b57\u5b50\u671f), a native of Lu, or, according to Chang Hsuan, of Tsin. He\nwas younger than Confucius by fifty-four years. It is said that he\nand another youth, called K'ung Hsuan (\u5b54\u7401), attended by turns\nwith their pencils, and acted as amanuenses to the sage, and when\nMang Wu-po expressed a doubt of their competency, Confucius\ndeclared his satisfaction with them. He follows Lien Chieh in the\ntemples.\n\n\n\t72. Yen Ho, styled Zan (\u984f\u4f55, \u5b57\u5189), a native of Lu. The present\ncopies of the 'Narratives of the School' do not contain his name,\nand in A.D. 1588 Zan was displaced from his place in the temples.\nHis tablet, however, has been restored during the present dynasty.\nIt is the 33rd, west.\n\t73. Ti Hei, styled Che [al. Tsze-che and Che-chih] (\u72c4\u9ed1, \u5b57\u6662\n[al. \u5b50\u6662 and \u6662\u4e4b]), a native of Wei, or of Lu. His tablet is the 26th,\neast.\n\t74. Kwei [al. Pang] Sun, styled Tsze-lien [al. Tsze-yin] (\u25a1\n(kui1 \u5232\u5de6\u90a6\u53f3) [al. \u90a6] \u5dfd, \u5b57\u5b50\u6b5b [al. \u5b50\u98f2]), a native of Lu. His tablet\nis the 27th, west.\n\t75. K'ung Chung, styled Tsze-mieh (\u5b54\u5fe0, \u5b57\u5b50\u8511). This was\nthe son, it is said, of Confucius's elder brother, the cripple Mang-\np'i. His tablet is next to that of No. 73. His sacrificial title is 'The\nancient Worthy, the philosopher Mieh.'\n\t76. Kung-hsi Yu-zu [al. Yu], styled Tsze-shang (\u516c\u897f\u8f3f\u5982 [al.\n\u8f3f], \u5b57\u5b50\u4e0a), a native of Lu. His place is the 26th, west.\n\t77. Kung-hsi Tien, styled Tsze-shang (\u516c\u897f\u84a7 [or \u9ede], \u5b57\u5b50\u4e0a\n[al. \u5b50\u5c1a]), a native of Lu. His tablet is the 28th, east.\n\t78. Ch'in Chang [al. Lao], styled Tsze-k'ai (\u7434\u5f35 [al. \u7262], \u5b57\u5b50\n\u958b), a native of Wei. His tablet is the 29th, west.\n\t79. Ch'an K'ang, styled Tsze-k'ang [al. Tsze-ch'in] (\u9673\u4ea2, \u5b57\u5b50\n\u4ea2 [al. \u5b50\u79bd]), a native of Ch'an. See notes on Ana. I. x.\n\t80. Hsien Tan [al. Tan-fu and Fang], styled Tsze-hsiang (\u7e23\u4eb6\n[al. \u4eb6\u7236 and \u8c50], \u5b57\u5b50\u8c61), a native of Lu. Some suppose that this is\nthe same as No. 53. The advisers of the present dynasty in such\nmatters, however, have considered them to be different, and in\n1724, a tablet was assigned to Hsien Tan, the 34th, west.\n\tThe three preceding names are given in the 'Narratives of\nthe School.'\n\tThe research of scholars has added about twenty others.\n\t81. Lin Fang, styled Tsze-ch'iu (\u6797\u653e, \u5b57\u5b50\u90b1), a native of Lu.\nThe only thing known of him is from the Ana. III. iv. His tablet\nwas displaced under the Ming, but has been restored by the\npresent dynasty. It is the first, west.\n\t82. Chu Yuan, styled Po-yu (\u8627\u7457, \u5b57\u4f2f\u7389), an officer of Wei,\nand, as appears from the Analects and Mencius, an intimate\n\n\nfriend of Confucius. Still his tablet has shared the same changes\nas that of Lin Fang. It is now the first, east.\n\t83 and 84. Shan Ch'ang (\u7533\u68d6) and Shan T'ang (\u7533\u5802). See No.\n57.\n\t85. Mu P'i (\u7267\u76ae), mentioned by Mencius, VII. Pt. II. xxxvii. 4.\nHis entrance into the temple has been under the present dynasty.\nHis tablet is the 34th, east.\n\t86. Tso Ch'iu-ming or Tso-ch'iu Ming (\u5de6\u4e18\u660e) has the 32nd\nplace, east. His title was fixed in A.D. 1530 to be 'The Ancient\nScholar,' but in 1642 it was raised to that of 'Ancient Worthy.' To\nhim we owe the most distinguished of the annotated editions of\nthe Ch'un Ch'iu. But whether he really was a disciple of Confucius,\nand in personal communication with him, is much debated.\n\tThe above are the only names and surnames of those of the\ndisciples who now share in the sacrifices to the sage. Those who\nwish to exhaust the subject, mention in addition, on the authority\nof Tso Ch'iu-ming, Chung-sun Ho-chi (\u4ef2\u5b6b\u4f55\u5fcc), a son of Mang Hsi\n(see p. 63), and Chung-sun Shwo (\u4ef2\u5b6b\u8aaa), also a son of Mang Hsi,\nsupposed by many to be the same with No. 17; Zu Pei, (\u5b7a\u60b2),\nmentioned in the Analects, XVII. xx, and in the Li Chi, XVIII. Sect.\nII. ii. 22; Kung-wang Chih-ch'iu (\u516c\u7f54\u4e4b\u88d8) and Hsu Tien (\u5e8f\u9ede),\nmentioned in the Li Chi, XLIII. 7; Pin-mau Chia (\u8cd3\u725f\u8cc8), mentioned\nin the Li Chi, XVII. iii. 16; K'ung Hsuan (\u5b54\u7401) and Hai Shu-lan (\u60e0\u53d4\n\u862d), on the authority of the 'Narratives of the School;' Ch'ang Chi\n(\u5e38\u5b63), mentioned by Chwang-tsze; Chu Yu (\u97ab\u8a9e), mentioned by\nYen-tsze (\u664f\u5b50); Lien Yu (\u5ec9\u7440) and Lu Chun (\u9b6f\u5cfb), on the authority\nof \u6587\u7fc1\u77f3\u5ba4; and finally Tsze-fu Ho (\u5b50\u670d\u4f55), the Tsze-fu Ching-po\n(\u5b50\u670d\u666f\u4f2f) of the Analects, XIV. xxxviii.\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nLIST OF THE PRINCIPAL WORKS WHICH HAVE BEEN CONSULTED IN\nTHE PREPARATION OF THIS VOLUME.\n\nSECTION I.\n\nCHINESE WORKS, WITH BRIEF NOTICES.\n\n\t\u5341\u4e09\u7d93\u8a3b\u758f, 'The Thirteen Ching, with Commentary and\nExplanations.' This is the great repertory of ancient lore upon the\nClassics. On the Analects, it contains the 'Collection of\nExplanations of the Lun Yu,' by Ho Yen and others (see p. 19), and\n'The Correct Meaning,' or Paraphrase of Hsing Ping (see p. 20). On\nthe Great Learning and the Doctrine of the Mean, it contains the\ncomments and glosses of Chang Hsuan, and of K'ung Ying-ta (\u5b54\u7a4e\n\u9054) of the T'ang dynasty.\n\t\u65b0\u523b\u6279\u9ede\u56db\u66f8\u8b80\u672c, 'A new edition of the Four Books,\nPunctuated and Annotated, for Reading.' This work was published\nin the seventh year of Tao-kwang (1827) by a Kao Lin (\u9ad8\u7433). It is\nthe finest edition of the Four Books which I have seen, in point of\ntypographical execution. It is indeed a volume for reading. It\ncontains the ordinary 'Collected Comments' of Chu Hsi on the\nAnalects, and his 'Chapters and Sentences' of the Great Learning\nand Doctrine of the Mean. The editor's own notes are at the top\nand bottom of the page, in rubric.\n\t\u56db\u66f8\u6731\u5b50\u672c\u7fa9\u532f\u53c3, 'The Proper Meaning of the Four Books as\ndetermined by Chu Hsi, Compared with, and Illustrated from,\nother Commentators.' This is a most voluminous work, published\nin the tenth year of Ch'ien-lung, A.D. 1745, by Wang Pu-ch'ing (\u738b\n\u6b65\u9752), a member of the Han-lin College. On the Great Learning and\nthe Doctrine of the Mean, the 'Queries' (\u6216\u554f) addressed to Chu Hsi\nand his replies are given in the same text as the standard\ncommentary.\n\t\u56db\u66f8\u7d93\u8a3b\u96c6\u8b49, 'The Four Books, Text and Commentary, with\nProofs and Illustrations.' The copy of this Work which I have was\nedited by a Wang T'ing-chi (\u6c6a\u5ef7\u6a5f), in the third\n\n\nyear of Chia-ch'ing, A.D. 1798. It may be called a commentary on\nthe commentary. The research in all matters of Geography,\nHistory, Biography, Natural History, &c., is immense.\n\t\u56db\u66f8\u8af8\u5112\u8f2f\u8981, 'A Collection of the most important Comments\nof Scholars on the Four Books.' By Li P'ei-lin (\u674e\u6c9b\u9716); published in\nthe fifty-seventh K'ang-hsi year, A.D. 1718. This Work is about as\nvoluminous as the \u532f\u53c3, but on a different plan. Every chapter is\npreceded by a critical discussion of its general meaning, and the\nlogical connexion of its several paragraphs. This is followed by\nthe text, and Chu Hsi's standard commentary. We have then a\nparaphrase, full and generally perspicuous. Next, there is a\nselection of approved comments, from a great variety of authors;\nand finally, the reader finds a number of critical remarks and\ningenious views, differing often from the common interpretation,\nwhich are submitted for his examination.\n\t\u56db\u66f8\u7ffc\u8a3b\u8ad6\u6587, 'A Supplemental Commentary, and Literary\nDiscussions, on the Four Books.' By Chang Chan-t'ao [al. T'i-an] (\u5f35\n\u7504\u9676 [al. \u60d5\u83f4]), a member of the Han-lin college, in the early part,\napparently, of the reign of Ch'ien-lung. The work is on a peculiar\nplan. The reader is supposed to be acquainted with Chu Hsi's\ncommentary, which is not given; but the author generally supports\nhis views, and defends them against the criticisms of some of the\nearly scholars of this dynasty. His own exercitations are of the\nnature of essays more than of commentary. It is a book for the\nstudent who is somewhat advanced, rather than for the learner. I\nhave often perused it with interest and advantage.\n\t\u56db\u66f8\u9075\u8a3b\u5408\u8b1b, 'The Four Books, according to the Commentary,\nwith Paraphrase.' Published in the eighth year of Yung Chang, A.D.\n1730, by Wang Fu [al. K'eh-fu] (\u7fc1\u5fa9 [al. \u514b\u592b]). Every page is\ndivided into two parts. Below, we have the text and Chu Hsi's\ncommentary. Above, we have an analysis of every chapter,\nfollowed by a paraphrase of the several paragraphs. To the\nparaphrase of each paragraph are subjoined critical notes,\ndigested from a great variety of scholars, but without the\nmention of their names. A list of 116 is given who are thus laid\nunder contribution. In addition, there are maps and illustrative\nfigures at the commencement; and to each Book there are prefixed\nbiographical notices, explanations of peculiar allusions, &c.\n\t\u65b0\u589e\u56db\u66f8\u88dc\u8a3b\u9644\u8003\u5099\u65e8, 'The Four Books, with a\n\n\nComplete Digest of Supplements to the Commentary, and\nadditional Suggestions. A new edition, with Additions.' By Tu\nTing-chi (\u675c\u5b9a\u57fa). Published A.D. 1779. The original of this Work\nwas by Tang Lin (\u9127\u6797), a scholar of the Ming dynasty. It is perhaps\nthe best of all editions of the Four Books for a learner. Each page\nis divided into three parts. Below, is the text divided into\nsentences and members of sentences, which are followed by short\nglosses. The text is followed by the usual commentary, and that\nby a paraphrase, to which are subjoined the Supplements and\nSuggestions. The middle division contains a critical analysis of\nthe chapters and paragraphs; and above, there are the necessary\nbiographical and other notes.\n\t\u56db\u66f8\u5473\u6839\u9304, 'The Four Books, with the Relish of the Radical\nMeaning.' This is a new Work, published in 1852. It is the\nproduction of Chin Ch'ang, styled Chi'u-t'an (\u91d1\u6f82, \u5b57\u79cb\u6f6d), an\nofficer and scholar, who, returning, apparently to Canton\nprovince, from the North in 1836, occupied his retirement with\nreviewing his literary studies of former years, and employed his\nsons to transcribe his notes. The writer is fully up in all the\ncommentaries on the Classics, and pays particular attention to\nthe labours of the scholars of the present dynasty. To the\nAnalects, for instance, there is prefixed Chiang Yung's History of\nConfucius, with criticisms on it by the author himself. Each\nchapter is preceded by a critical analysis. Then follows the text\nwith the standard commentary, carefully divided into sentences,\noften with glosses, original and selected, between them. To the\ncommentary there succeeds a paraphrase, which is not copied by\nthe author from those of his predecessors. After the paraphrase\nwe have Explanations (\u89e3). The book is beautifully printed, and in\nsmall type, so that it is really a multum in parvo, with\nconsiderable freshness.\n\t\u65e5\u8b1b\u56db\u66f8\u7fa9\u89e3, 'A Paraphrase for Daily Lessons, Explaining the\nMeaning of the Four Books.' This work was produced in 1677, by a\ndepartment of the members of the Han-lin college, in obedience to\nan imperial rescript. The paraphrase is full, perspicuous, and\nelegant.\n\t\u5fa1\u88fd\u5468\u6613\u6298\u4e2d; \u66f8\u7d93\u50b3\u8aaa\u5f59\u7e82; \u8a69\u7d93\u50b3\u8aaa\u5f59\u7e82; \u79ae\u8a18\u7fa9\u758f; \u6625\u79cb\u50b3\u8aaa\u5f59\u7e82.\nThese works form together a superb edition of the Five Ching,\npublished by imperial authority\n\n\nin the K'ang-hsi and Yung-chang reigns. They contain the standard\nviews (\u50b3); various opinions (\u8aaa); critical decisions of the editors\n(\u664f) ; prolegomena; plates or cuts; and other apparatus for the\nstudent.\n\t\u6bdb\u897f\u6cb3\u5148\u751f\u5168\u96c6, 'The Collected Writings of Mao Hsi-ho.' See\nprolegomena, p. 20. The voluminousness of his Writings is\nunderstated there. Of \u7d93\u96c6, or Writings on the Classics, there are\n236 sections, while his \u6587\u96c6, or other literary compositions,\namount to 257 sections. His treatises on the Great Learning and\nthe Doctrine of the Mean have been especially helpful to me. He is\na great opponent of Chu Hsi, and would be a much more effective\none, if he possessed the same graces of style as that 'prince of\nliterature.'\n\t\u56db\u66f8\u62d3\u9918\u8aaa, 'A Collection of Supplemental Observations on\nthe Four Books.' The preface of the author, Ts'ao Chih-shang (\u66f9\u4e4b\n\u5347), is dated in 1795, the last year of the reign of Ch'ien-lung. The\nwork contains what we may call prolegomena on each of the Four\nBooks, and then excursus on the most difficult and disputed\npassages. The tone is moderate, and the learning displayed\nextensive and solid. The views of Chu Hsi are frequently well\ndefended from the assaults of Mao Hsi-ho. I have found the Work\nvery instructive.\n\t\u9109\u9ee8\u5716\u8003, 'On the Tenth Book of the Analects, with Plates.'\nThis Work was published by the author, Chiang Yung (\u6c5f\u6c38), in the\ntwenty-first Ch'ien-lung year, A.D. 1761, when he was seventy-\nsix years old. It is devoted to the illustration of the above portion\nof the Analects, and is divided into ten sections, the first of\nwhich consists of woodcuts and tables. The second contains the\nLife of Confucius, of which I have largely availed myself in the\npreceding chapter. The whole is a remarkable specimen of the\nminute care with which Chinese scholars have illustrated the\nClassical Books\n\t\u56db\u66f8\u91cb\u5730; \u56db\u66f8\u91cb\u5730\u7e8c; \u56db\u66f8\u91cb\u5730\u53c8\u7e8c; \u56db\u66f8\u91cb\u5730\u4e09\u7e8c. We may call\nthese volumes-- 'The Topography of the Four Books; with three\nSupplements.' The Author's name is Yen Zo-ch'u (\u95bb\u82e5\u74a9). The first\nvolume was published in 1698, and the second in 1700. I have not\nbeen able to find the dates of publication of the other two, in\nwhich there is more biographical and general matter than\ntopographical. The author apologizes for the inappropriateness of\ntheir titles by saying that he could not\n\n\nhelp calling them Supplements to the Topography, which was his\n'first love.'\n\t\u7687\u6e05\u7d93\u89e3, 'Explanations of the Classics, under the Imperial\nTs'ing Dynasty.' See above, p. 20. The Work, however, was not\npublished, as I have there supposed, by imperial authority, but\nunder the superintendence, and at the expense (aided by other\nofficers), of Yuan Yuan (\u962e\u5143), Governor-general of Kwang-tung\nand Kwang-hsi, in the ninth year of the last reign, 1829. The\npublication of so extensive a Work shows a public spirit and zeal\nfor literature among the high officers of China, which should keep\nforeigners from thinking meanly of them.\n\t\u5b54\u5b50\u5bb6\u8a9e, 'Sayings of the Confucian Family.' Family is to be\ntaken in the sense of Sect or School. In Liu Hsin's Catalogue, in\nthe subdivision devoted to the Lun Yu, we find the entry:--\n'Sayings of the Confucian Family, twenty-seven Books,' with a\nnote by Yen Sze-ku of the T'ang dynasty,-- 'Not the existing Work\ncalled the Family Sayings.' The original Work was among the\ntreasures found in the wall of Confucius's old house, and was\ndeciphered and edited by K'ung An-kwo. The present Work is by\nWang Su of the Wei (\u9b4f) dynasty, grounded professedly on the\nolder one, the blocks of which had suffered great dilapidation\nduring the intervening centuries. It is allowed also, that, since\nSu's time, the Work has suffered more than any of the\nacknowledged Classics. Yet it is a very valuable fragment of\nantiquity, and it would be worth while to incorporate it with the\nAnalects. My copy is the edition of Li Yung (\u674e\u5bb9), published in\n1780. I have generally called the Work 'Narratives of the School.'\n\t\u8056\u5edf\u7940\u5178\u5716\u8003, 'Sacrificial Canon of the Sage's Temples, with\nPlates.' This Work, published in 1826, by Ku Yuan, styled Hsiang-\nchau (\u9867\u6c85, \u5b57\u6e58\u821f), is a very painstaking account of all the Names\nsacrificed to in the temples of Confucius, the dates of their\nattaining to that honour, &c. There are appended to it Memoirs of\nConfucius and Mencius, which are not of so much value.\n\t\u5341\u5b50\u5168\u66f8, 'The Complete Works of the Ten Tsze.' See\nMorrison's Dictionary, under the character \u5b50. I have only had\noccasion, in connexion with this Work, to refer to the writings of\nChwang-tsze (\u838a\u5b50) and Lieh-tsze (\u5217\u5b50). My copy is an edition of\n1804.\n\n\n\t\u6b77\u4ee3\u540d\u8ce2\u5217\u5973\u6c0f\u59d3\u8b5c, 'A Cyclopaeia of Surnames, or\nBiographical Dictionary, of the Famous Men and Virtuous Women\nof the Successive Dynasties.' This is a very notable work of its\nclass; published in 1793, by \u856d\u667a\u6f22, and extending through 157\nchapters or Books.\n\t\u6587\u737b\u901a\u8003, 'General Examination of Records and Scholars.' This\nastonishing Work, which cost its author, Ma Twan-lin (\u99ac\u7aef\u81e8),\ntwenty years' labour, was first published in 1321. Remusat says,-\n- 'This excellent Work is a library in itself, and if Chinese\nliterature possessed no other, the language would be worth\nlearning for the sake of reading this alone.' It does indeed display\nall but incredible research into every subject connected with the\nGovernment, History, Literature, Religion, &c., of the empire of\nChina. The author's researches are digested in 348 Books. I have\nhad occasion to consult principally those on the Literary\nMonuments, embraced in seventy-six Books, from the 174th to the\n249th.\n\t\u6731\u5f5d\u5c0a\u7d93\u7fa9\u8003, 'An Examination of the Commentaries on the\nClassics,' by Chu I-tsun. The author was a member of the Han-lin\ncollege, and the work was first published with an imperial\npreface by the Ch'ien-lung emperor. It is an exhaustive work on\nthe literature of the Classics, in 300 chapters or Books.'\n\t\u7e8c\u6587\u737b\u901a\u8003, 'A Continuation of the General Examination of\nRecords and Scholars.' This Work, which is in 254 Books, and\nnearly as extensive as the former, was the production of Wang\nCh'i (\u738b\u573b), who dates his preface in 1586, the fourteenth year of\nWan-li, the style of the reign of the fourteenth emperor of the\nMing dynasty. Wang Ch'i brings down the Work of his predecessor\nto his own times. He also frequently goes over the same ground,\nand puts things in a clearer light. I have found this to be the case\nin the chapters on the classical and other Books.\n\t\u4e8c\u5341\u56db\u53f2, 'The Twenty-four Histories.' These are the\nimperially-authorized records of the empire, commencing with\nthe 'Historical Records,' the work of Sze-ma Ch'ien, and ending\nwith the History of the Ming dynasty, which appeared in 1742, the\nresult of the joint labours of 145 officers and scholars of the\npresent dynasty. The extent of the collection may be understood\nfrom this, that my copy, bound in English fashion, makes sixty-\nthree volumes, each one larger than this. No nation has a history\nso thoroughly digested; and on the whole it is trustworthy. In pre-\n\n\nparing this volume, my necessities have been confined mostly to\nthe Works of Sze-ma Ch'ien, and his successor, Pan Ku (\u73ed\u56fa), the\nHistorian of the first Han dynasty.\n\t\u6b77\u4ee3\u7d71\u8a18\u8868, 'The Annals of the Nation.' Published by imperial\nauthority in 1803, the eighth year of Ch'ia-ch'ing. This Work is\ninvaluable to a student, being, indeed, a collection of\nchronological tables, where every year, from the rise of the Chau\ndynasty, B.C. 1121, has a distinct column to itself, in which, in\ndifferent compartments, the most important events are noted.\nBeyond that date, it ascends to nearly the commencement of the\ncycles in the sixty-first year of Hwang-ti, giving -- not every\nyear, but the years of which anything has been mentioned in\nhistory. From Hwang-ti also, it ascends through the dateless ages\nup to P'an-ku, the first of mortal sovereigns.\n\t\u6b77\u4ee3\u7586\u57df\u8868, 'The Boundaries of the Nation in the successive\nDynasties.' This Work by the same author, and published in 1817,\ndoes for the boundaries of the empire the same service which the\npreceding renders to its chronology.\n\t\u6b77\u4ee3\u6cbf\u9769\u8868, 'The Topography of the Nation in the successive\nDynasties.' Another Work by the same author, and of the same date\nas the preceding.\n\n___________________________\n\n\tThe Dictionaries chiefly consulted have been:--\n\tThe well-known Shwo Wan (\u8aaa\u6587\u89e3\u5b57), by Hsu Shan, styled\nShu-chung (\u8a31\u614e, \u5b57\u53d4\u91cd), published in A.D. 100; with the\nsupplement (\u7e6b\u50b3) by Hsu Ch'ieh (\u5f90\u9347), of the southern Tang\ndynasty. The characters are arranged in the Shwo Wan under 540\nkeys or radicals, as they are unfortunately termed.\n\tThe Liu Shu Ku (\u516d\u66f8\u6545), by Tai T'ung, styled Chung-ta (\u6234\u4f97,\n\u5b57\u4ef2\u9054), of our thirteenth century. The characters are arranged in\nit, somewhat after the fashion of the R Ya (p. 2), under six general\ndivisions, which again are subdivided, according to the affinity of\nsubjects, into various categories.\n\tThe Tsze Hui (\u5b57\u5f59), which appeared in the Wan-li (\u842c\u6b77)\nreign of the Ming dynasty (1573-1619). The 540 radicals of the\nShwo Wan were reduced in this to 214, at which number they have\nsince continued.\n\tThe K'ang-hsi Tsze Tien (\u5eb7\u7199\u5b57\u5178), or Kang-hsi Dictionary,\nprepared by order of the great K'ang-hsi emperor in 1716. This\n\n\nis the most common and complete of all Chinese dictionaries for\ncommon use.\n\tThe I Wan Pi Lan (\u84fa\u6587\u5099\u89bd), 'A Complete Exhibition of all the\nAuthorized Characters,' published in 1787; 'furnishing,' says Dr.\nWilliams, 'good definitions of all the common characters, whose\nancient forms are explained.'\n\tThe Pei Wan Yun Fu (\u4f69\u6587\u97fb\u5e9c), generally known among\nforeigners as 'The Kang-hsi Thesaurus.' It was undertaken by an\nimperial order, and published in 1711, being probably, as Wylie\nsays, 'the most extensive work of a lexicographical character\never produced.' It does for the phraseology of Chinese literature\nall, and more than all, that the Kang-hsi dictionary does for the\nindividual characters. The arrangement of the characters is\naccording to their tones and final sounds. My copy of it, with a\nsupplement published about ten years later, is in forty-five large\nvolumes, with much more letter-press in it than the edition of\nthe Dynastic Histories mentioned on p. 133.\n\tThe Ching Tsi Tswan Ku, ping Pu Wei (\u7d93\u7c4d\u25a1(\u7e82\u4e0a\u9957\u4e0b)\u8a41\u5e76\u88dc\n\u907a), 'A Digest of the Meanings in the Classical and other Books,\nwith Supplement,' by, or rather under the superintendence of, Yuan\nYuan (p. 132). This has often been found useful. It is arranged\naccording to the tones and rhymes like the characters in the\nThesaurus.\n\nSECTION II.\n\nTRANSLATIONS AND OTHER WORKS.\n\n\tCONFUCIUS SINARUM PHILOSOPHUS; sive Scientia Sinensis\nLatine Exposita. Studio et opera Prosperi Intorcetta, Christiani\nHerdritch, Francisci Rougemont, Philippi Couplet, Patrum\nSocietatis JESU. Jussu Ludovici Magni. Parisiis, 1837.\n\tTHE WORKS OF CONFUCIUS; containing the Original Text,\nwith a Translation. Vol. 1. By J. Marshman. Serampore, 1809. This\nis only a fragment of 'The Works of Confucius.'\n\tTHE FOUR BOOKS; Translated into English, by Rev. David\nCollie, of the London Missionary Society. Malacca, 1828.\n\tL'INVARIABLE MILIEU; Ouvrage Moral de Tseu-sse, en Chinois\net en Mandchou, avec une Version litterale Latine, une Traduction\nFrancoise, &c. &c. Par M. Abel-Remusat. A Paris, 1817.\n\tLE TA HIO, OU LA GRANDE ETUDE; Traduit en Francoise, avec\nune Version Latine, &c. Par G. Pauthier. Paris, 1837.\n\n\n\tY-KING; Antiquissimus Sinarum Liber, quem ex Latina\nInterpretatione P. Regis, aliorumque ex Soc. JESU PP. edidit Julius\nMohl. Stuttgartiae et Tubingae, 1839.\n\tMEMOIRES concernant L'Histoire, Les Sciences, Les Arts, Les\nMoers, Les Usages, &c., des Chinois. Par les Missionaires de Pekin.\nA Paris, 1776-1814.\n\tHISTOIRE GENERALE DE LA CHINE; ou Annales de cet Empire.\nTraduites du Tong-Kien-Kang-Mou. Par le feu Pere Joseph-Annie-\nMarie de Moyriac de Mailla, Jesuite Francoise, Missionaire a Pekin.\nA Paris, 1776-1785.\n\tNOTITIA LINGUAE SINICAE. Auctore P. Premare. Malaccae,\ncura Academiae Anglo-Sinensis, 1831.\n\tTHE CHINESE REPOSITORY. Canton, China, 20 vols., 1832-\n1851.\n\tDICTIONNAIRE DES NOMS, Anciens et Modernes, des Villes et\nArrondissements de Premier, Deuxieme, et Troisieme ordre,\ncompris dans L'Empire Chinois, &c. Par Edouard Biot, Membre du\nConseil de la Societe Asiatique. Paris, 1842.\n\tTHE CHINESE. By John Francis Davis, Esq., F.R.S., &c. In two\nvolumes. London, 1836.\n\tCHINA: its State and Prospects. By W. H. Medhurst, D. D., of\nthe London Missionary Society. London, 1838.\n\tL'UNIVERS: Histoire et Description des tous les Peuples.\nChine. Par M. G. Pauthier. Paris, 1838.\n\tHISTORY OF CHINA, from the earliest Records to the Treaty\nwith Great Britain in 1842. By Thomas Thornton, Esq., Member of\nthe Royal Asiatic Society. In two volumes. London, 1844.\n\tTHE MIDDLE KINGDOM: A Survey of the Geography,\nGovernment, Education, Social Life, Arts, Religion, &c., of the\nChinese Empire. By S. Wells Williams, LL.D. In two volumes. New\nYork and London, 1848. The Second Edition, Revised, 1883.\n\tTHE RELIGIOUS CONDITION OF THE CHINESE. By Rev. Joseph\nEdkins, B. A., of the London Missionary Society. London, 1859.\n\tCHRIST AND OTHER MASTERS. By Charles Hardwood, M. A.,\nChristian Advocate in the University of Cambridge. Part III.\nReligions of China, America, and Oceanica. Cambridge, 1858.\n\tINTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF. CHINESE CHARACTERS. By J.\nEdkins, D.D. London, 1876.\n\tTHE STRUCTURE OF CHINESE CHARACTERS, under 300\nPrimary Forms. By John Chalmers, M.A., LL.D. Aberdeen, 1882.","title":"The Chinese Classics \u2014 Prolegomena","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":58177}