Texts of Confucianism, Part I: The Shû King, the Religious Portions of the Shih King, the Hsiâo King — SBE Vol. 3 (trans. James Legge, 1879)
English·1879–1910·trans. Georg Bühler & James Legge·397 passages
The text · part 10 of 19
If you do not follow
BOOK XXIv. CHARGE TO THE DUKE OF Pi. 249 in dealing with them these lessons of antiquity, wherein will you instruct them ?’
4. The king said, ‘Oh! Grand-Master, the security or the danger of the kingdom depends on those officers of Yin. If you are not (too) stern with them nor (too) mild, their virtue will be truly cultivated. The duke of Au exercised the necessary caution at the beginning (of the undertaking); A iin-£44n displayed the harmony proper to the middle of it; and you, O duke, can bring it at last to a successful issue. You three princes will have been one in aim, and will have equally pursued the proper way. The penetrating power of your principles, and the good character of your measures of government, will exert an enriching influence on the character of the people, so that the wild tribes, with their coats buttoning on the left’, will all find their proper support in them, and I, the little child, will long enjoy much happiness. Thus, O duke, there in AAang-A4u will you establish for ever the power (of K4u), and you will have an inexhaustible fame. Your descendants will follow your perfect pattern, governing accordingly.
‘Oh! do not say, “I am unequal to this;” but exert your mind to the utmost. Do not say, “ The people are few;” but attend carefully to your business. Reverently follow the accomplished achievements of the former kings, and complete the excel- Ience of the government of your predecessors.’
1 Confucius once praised Kwan Kung, a great minister of XA1, in the seventh century B.c., for his services against the wild tribes of his time, saying, that but for him they in China would be wearing their hair dishevelled, and buttoning the lappets of their coats on the left side. See Analects, XIV, xviii. The long robes and: jackets of the Chinese generally stretch over on the right side of the chest, and are there buttoned. -
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Book XXV. Tue Xin-yA.
Accorpine to the note in the Preface to the Shf, the charge delivered in this Book to Xtin-y&, or possibly ‘the prince Y4,’ was by king Mf; and its dictum is not challenged by any Chinese critic. The reign of king KA&o0, who succeeded to Khang, is thus passed over in the documents of the Shi. Ma was the son and successor of K/4o, and reigned from B.c. 1001 to 947.
Xin-ya’s surname is not known. He is here appointed to be Minister of Instruction, and as it is intimated that his father and grandfather had been in the same office, it is conjectured that he was the grandson of the earl of Zui, who was Minister of Instruction at the beginning of the reign of king Khang.
The Book is short, speaking of the duties of the office, and stimulating Y4 to the discharge of them by considerations drawn from the merits of his forefathers, and the services which he would render to the dynasty and his sovereign.
The Book is short, speaking of the duties of the office, and stimulating Y4 to the discharge of them by considerations drawn from the merits of his forefathers, and the services which he would render to the dynasty and his sovereign.
1. The king spoke to the following effect :— ‘Oh! Xiin-y4é, your grandfather and your father, one after the other, with a true loyalty and henesty, laboured in the service of the royal House, accomplishing a merit that was recorded on the grand banner’, I, the little child, have become charged by inheritance with the line of government transmitted from W&n and W4, from A#ang and Khang; I also keep thinking of their ministers who aided them in the good government of the kingdom; the trembling anxiety of my mind makes me feel as if I were treading on a tiger’s tail, or walking upon spring ice. I now give you charge to assist me;
1 The grand banner was borne aloft when the king went to sacrifice. There were figures of the sun and moon on it, and dragons lying along its breadth, one over the other, head above tail. The names of meritorious ministers were inscribed on it during their lifetime, preparatory to their sharing in the sacrifices of the ancestral temple after their death.
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BOOK XXV. THE KUN-YA. 251
be as my limbs to me, as my heart and backbone. Continue their old service, and do not disgrace your grandfather and father.
‘ Diffuse widely (the knowledge of) the five invariable relations (of society), and reverently seek to produce a harmonious observance of the duties belonging to them among the people. If you are correct in your own person, none will dare to be but correct. The minds of the people cannot attain to the right mean (of duty) ;—they must be guided by your attaining to it. In the heat and rains of summer, the inferior people may be described as murmuring and sighing. And so it is with them in the great cold of winter. How great are their hardships! Think of their hardships in order to seek to promote their ease; and the people will be tranquil. Oh! how great and splendid were the plans of king Wan! How greatly were they carried out by the energy of king Wa! All in principle correct, and deficient in nothing, they are for the help and guidance of us their descendants. Do you with reverence and wisdom carry out your instructions, enabling me to honour and follow the example of my (immediate) predecessors, and to respond to and display the bright decree conferred on Wan and Wa ;—so shall you be the mate of your by-gone fathers.’
2. The king spoke to the following effect :— ‘ Kiin-y4, do you take for your rule the lessons afforded by the courses of your excellent fathers. The good or the bad order of the people depends on this. You will thus follow the practice of your grandfather and father, and make the good government of your sovereign illustrious.’
252 THE sHé KING. PART V.
Book XXVI. Tue Cuarce to A&IUNG.
The good or the bad order of the people depends on this. You will thus follow the practice of your grandfather and father, and make the good government of your sovereign illustrious.’
252 THE sHé KING. PART V.
Book XXVI. Tue Cuarce to A&IUNG.
Tue charge recorded here, like that in the last Book, is assigned to king Ma. It was delivered on the appointment of a X/iung or Po-Asiung (that is, the eldest AAiung, the eldest brother in his family) to be High Chamberlain. Of this KAiung we know nothing more than we learn from the Shi. He was no high dignitary of state. That the charge to him found a place in the Shf, we are told, shows how important it was thought that men in the lowest positions, yet coming into contact with the sovereign, should possess correct principles and an earnest desire for his progress in intelligence and virtue.
King M€ represents himself as conscious of his own incompetencies, and impressed with a sense of the high duties devolving on him. His predecessors, much superior to himself, were yet greatly indebted to the aid of the officers about them ;—how much more must this be the case with him!
He proceeds to appoint KhAiung to be the High Chamberlain, telling him how he should guide correctly all the other servants about the royal person, so that none but good influences should be near to act upon the king ;—telling him also the manner of men whom he should employ, and the care he should exercise in the selection of them.
The king spoke to the following effect :—‘ Pokhiung, 1 come short in virtue, and have succeeded to the former kings, to occupy the great throne. I am fearful, and conscious of the peril (of my position). I rise at midnight, and think how I can avoid falling into errors. Formerly Wan and Wd were endowed with all intelligence, august and sage, while their ministers, small and great, all cherished loyalty and goodness. Their servants, charioteers, chamberlains, and followers were all men of correctness; morning and evening waiting on their sovereign’s wishes, or supplying his deficiencies. (Those kings), going out and coming in, rising up and sitting aw an
BOOK XXVI. THE CHARGE TO KHIUNG. 253
down, were thus made reverent. Their every warning or command was good. The people yielded a reverent obedience, and the myriad regions were all happy. But I, the One man, am destitute of goodness, and really depend on the officers who have places about me to help my deficiencies, applying the line to my faults, and exhibiting my errors, thus correcting my bad heart, and enabling me to be the successor of my meritorious predecessors.
But I, the One man, am destitute of goodness, and really depend on the officers who have places about me to help my deficiencies, applying the line to my faults, and exhibiting my errors, thus correcting my bad heart, and enabling me to be the successor of my meritorious predecessors.
‘Now I appoint you to be High Chamberlain, to see that all the officers in your department and my personal attendants are upright and correct, that they strive to promote the virtue of their sovereign, and together supply my deficiencies. Be careful .in selecting your officers. Do not employ men of artful speech and insinuating looks, men whose likes and dislikes are ruled by mine, one-sided men and flatterers; but employ good men. When these household officers are correct, the sovereign will be correct ; when they are flatterers, the sovereign will consider himself a sage. His virtue or his want.of it equally depends on them. Cultivate no intimacy with flatterers, nor get them to do duty for me as my ears and eyes ;—they will lead their sovereign to disregard the statutes of the former kings. If you choose the men not for their personal goodness, but for the sake of their bribes, their offices will be made of no effect, your great want of reverence for your sovereign will be apparent, and I will hold you guilty.’
The king said, ‘Oh! be reverent! Ever help your sovereign to follow the regular laws of duty (which he should exemplify).
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Book XXVII. - Tue Marouis or LU on PUNISHMENTS.
Tue charge or charges recorded in this Book were given in the hundredth year of the king’s age. The king, it is again under-stood, was MQ; and the hundredth year of his age would be B.c. 952. The title of the Book in Chinese is simply ‘Lt’s Punishments,’ and I conclude that Li, or the marquis of Li, was a high minister who prepared, by the king’s orders, a code of punishments for the regulation of the kingdom, in connexion with the undertaking, or the completion, of which the king delivered to his princes and judges the sentiments that are here preserved.
The whole Book is divided into seven chapters. The first is merely a brief introduction, the historiographer’s account of the circumstances in which king Mf delivered his lessons. Each of the other chapters begins with the words, ‘The king said.’ The first two of them are an historical resumé of the lessons of antiquity on the subject of punishments, and an inculcation on the princes and officers of justice to give heed to them, and learn from them. The next two tell the princes of the diligence and carefulness to be employed in the use of punishments, and how they can make punishments a blessing. The fourth chapter treats principally of the commutation or redemption of punishments, and has been very strongly condemned by critics and moralists. They express their surprise that such a document should be in the Sh, and, holding that the collection was made by Confucius, venture to ask what the sage meant by admitting it. There is, in fact, no evidence that the redemption of punishments on the scale here laid down, existed in China before Mi’s time. It has entered, however, into the penal code of every subsequent dynasty. Great official corruption and depravation of the general morality would seem to be inseparable from such a system. The fifth chapter returns again to the
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reverence with which punishments should be employed; and the sixth and last is addressed to future generations, and directs them to the ancient models, in order that punishments may never be but a blessing to the kingdom.
A Chinese critic says that throughout the Book ‘virtue’ and ‘exact adaptation’ are the terms that carry the weight of the meaning. Virtue must underlie the use of punishments, of which their exact adaptation will be the manifestation.
1. In reference to the charge to (the marquis of) Lii :—When the king had occupied the throne till he reached the age of a hundred years, he gave great consideration to the appointment of punishments, in order to deal with (the people of) the four quarters.
2. The king said, ‘According to the teachings of ancient times, X/ih YQ was the first to produce disorder, which spread among the quiet, orderly people, till all became robbers and murderers, owl-like and yet self-complacent in their conduct, traitors and villains, snatching and filching, dissemblers and oppressors '.
‘Among the people of Miao, they did not use the power of goodness, but the restraint of punishments. They made the five punishments engines of oppression?, calling them the laws. They
‘Among the people of Miao, they did not use the power of goodness, but the restraint of punishments. They made the five punishments engines of oppression?, calling them the laws. They
} Khih YQ, as has been observed in the Introduction, p. 27, is the most ancient name mentioned in the Shf, and carries us back, . according to the Chinese chronologists, nearly to the beginning of the twenty-seventh century s.c. P. Gaubil translates the characters which appear in the English text here as ‘According to the teachings of ancient times’ by ‘Selon les anciens documents,’ which is more than the Chinese text says.—It is remarkable that at the commencement of Chinese history, Chinese tradition placed a period of innocence, a season when order and virtue ruled in men’s affairs.
* 1 do not think it is intended to say here that ‘the five punishments’ were invented by the chiefs of. the Miao; but only thatp. 256 slaughtered the innocent, and were the first also to go to excess in cutting off the nose, cutting off the ears, castration, and branding. All who became liable to those punishments were dealt with without distinction, no difference being made in favour of those who could offer some excuse. The people were gradually affected by this state of things, and became dark and disorderly. Their hearts were no more set on good faith, but they violated their oaths and covenants. The multitudes who suffered from the oppressive terrors, and were (in danger of) being murdered, declared their innocence to Heaven. God — surveyed the people, and there was no fragrance of virtue arising from them, but the rank odour of their (cruel) punishments.*
‘The great Tt? compassionated the innocent multitudes that were (in danger of) being murdered, and made the oppressors feel the terrors of his majesty. He restrained and (finally) extinguished the people of Mido, so that they should not conthese used them excessively and barbarously. From two passages in the Canon of Shun, we conclude that that monarch was acquainted with ‘the five great inflictions or punishments,’ and gave instructions to his minister K&o-y4o as to their use.
1 Here is the name—Hwang Ti—by which the sovereigns of China have been styled from s.c. 221, since the emperor of X;/in, on his extinction of the feudal states, enacted that it should be borne by himself and his descendants. I have spoken of the meaning of Tf and of the title Hwang Ti in the note on the translation of the Shi appended to the Preface. There can be no doubt that it was Shun whom king Mf intended by the name. A few sentences further on, the mention of Po-! and Yi leads us to the time subsequent to Y4o, and there does not appear to be any change of subject in the paragraph. We get from this Book a higher idea of the power of the Mifo than from the Books of Part II.
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and Yi leads us to the time subsequent to Y4o, and there does not appear to be any change of subject in the paragraph. We get from this Book a higher idea of the power of the Mifo than from the Books of Part II.
BOOK XXVII. MARQUIS OF LU ON PUNISHMENTS. 257
tinue to future generations. Then he commissioned Khung and Lt! to make an end of the communications between earth and heaven; and the descents (of spirits) ceased’. From the princes down to the
? Khung and Li are nowhere met with in the previous parts of the ShQ, nor in any other reliable documents of history, as officers of Shun. 3h4i An and others would identify them with the Hsf and Ho of the Canon of Y4o, and -hold those to have been descended from a Khung and a Li, supposed to belong to the time of Shao Ho in the twenty-sixth century B.c.
Whoever they were, the duty with which they were charged was remarkable. In the Narratives of the States (a book of the Aau dynasty), we find a conversation on it, during the lifetime of Confucius, between king Khao of KAQ (B.c. 515-489) and one of his ministers, called Kwan Yi-ff. ‘What is meant,’ asked the king, ‘by what is said in one of the Books of Kéu about Kung and Lf, that they really brought it about that there was no intercourse between heaven and earth? If they had not done so, would people have been able to ‘ascend to heaven?’ The minister replied that that was not the meaning at all, and gave his own view of it at great length, to the following effect— Anciently, the people attended to the discharge of their duties to one another, and left the worship of spiritual beings— the seeking intercourse with them, and invoking and effecting their descent on earth—to the officers who were appointed for that purpose. In this way things proceeded with great regularity. The people minded their own affairs, and the spirits minded theirs. Tranquillity and prosperity were the consequence. But in the time of Shao Hao, through the lawlessness of Xi(-If, a change took place. The people intruded into the functions of the regulators of the spirits and their worship. They abandoned their duties to their fellow men, and tried to bring down spirits from above. The spirits themselves, no longer kept in check and subjected to rule, made their appearance irregularly and disastrously. All was confusion and calamity, when Awan Hsii (B.C. 2510-2433) took the case in hand. He appointed Aung, the Minister of the South, to the superintendency of heavenly things, to prescribe the laws for the spirits, and Lf, the Minister of Fire, to the superintendency of earthly things, to prescribe the rules for the people. In this way both spirits and people were
(t] 8
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In this way both spirits and people were
(t] 8p. 258 inferior officers, all helped with clear intelligence (the spread of) the regular principles of duty, and the solitary and widows were no longer overlooked. The great Tt with an unprejudiced mind carried his enquiries low down among the people, and the solitary and widows laid before him their complaints against the Mido. He awed the people by the majesty of his virtue, and enlightened them by its brightness. He thereupon charged the three princely (ministers)' to labour with compassionate anxiety in the people’s behalf. Po-t delivered his statutes to prevent the people from rendering themselves obnoxious to punishment; Yii reduced to order the water and the land, and presided over the naming of the hills and rivers; t spread abroad a knowledge of agriculture, and (the people) extensively cultivated the admirable grains. When the three princes had accomplished their work, it was abundantly well with the people. The Minister of Crime? exercised among them the restraint of brought ‘back to their former regular courses, and there was no unhallowed interference of the one with the other. This was the work described in the text. But subsequently the chief of Sanmiso showed himself a Xif-li redivivus, till Y4o called forth the descendants of Afung and Lf, who had not forgotten the virtue and functions of their fathers, and made them take the case in hand again.
According to Yi-f(’s statements K/ung’s functions were those of the Minister of Religion, and Li’s those of the Minister of Instruction ; but Hs? and Ho were simply Ministers of Astronomy and the Calendar, and their descendants continue to appear as such in the Shi to the reign of Kung Khang, long after we know that men of other families were appointed to the important ministries of Khung and Lf.
1 Those immediately mentioned,—Po-f, Yi, and Ai. See the Canon of Shun and other Books of Part II.
* K4o-y4o,
—e | i \ .
NS
BOOK XXVII. MARQUIS OF LU ON PUNISHMENTS. 259
punishment in exact adaptation to each offence, and taught them to reverence virtue, The greatest gravity and harmony in the sovereign, and the greatest intelligence in those below him, thus shining forth to all quarters (of the land), all were rendered diligent in cultivating their virtue. Hence, (if anything more were wanted), the clear adjudication of punishments effected the regulation of the people, and helped them to observe the regular duties of life. The officers who presided over criminal cases executed the law (fearlessly) against the powerful, and (faithfully) against the wealthy, They were reverent and cautious. They had no occasion to make choice of words to vindicate their conduct. The virtue of Heaven was attained to by them ; from them was the determination of so great a matter as the lives (of men). In their low sphere they yet corresponded (to Heaven) and enjoyed (its favour).’ *
They had no occasion to make choice of words to vindicate their conduct. The virtue of Heaven was attained to by them ; from them was the determination of so great a matter as the lives (of men). In their low sphere they yet corresponded (to Heaven) and enjoyed (its favour).’ *
3. The king said, ‘Ah! you who direct the government and preside over criminal cases through all the land, are you not constituted the shepherds of Heaven?* ‘To whom ought you now to look as your pattern? Is it not to Pot, spreading among the people his lessons to avert punishments ? And from whom ought you now to take warning ? Is it not from the people of Miao, who would not: examine into the circumstances of criminal cases, and did not make choice of good officers that should see to the right apportioning of the five punishments, but chose the violent and bribe-snatchers, who determined and administered them, so as to oppress the innocent, until God would no longer hold them guiltless, and sent down calamity on
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260 THE sud KING. PART V.
Miao, when the people had no plea to allege in mitigation of their punishment, and their name was cut off from the world ?’ *
4. The king said, ‘Oh! lay it to heart. My uncles, and all ye, my brethren and cousins, my sons and my grandsons}, listen all of you to my words, in which, it may be, you will receive a most important charge. You will only tread the path of satisfaction by being daily diligent ;—do not have occasion to beware of the want of diligence. Heaven, in its wish to regulate the people, allows us for a day to make use of punishments.* Whether crimes have been premeditated, or are unpremeditated, depends on the parties concerned ;—do you (deal with them so as to) accord with the mind of Heaven, and thus serve me, the One man. Though I would put them to death, do not you therefore put them to death; though I would spare them, do not you therefore spare them. Reverently apportion the five punishments, so as fully to exhibit the three virtues *%. Then shall I, the One man, enjoy felicity; the people will look to you as their sure dependance ; the repose of such a state will be perpetual.’
5. The king said, ‘Ho! come, ye rulers of states _and territories, I will tell you how to make punishments a blessing. It is yours now to give repose to the people ;—what should you be most concerned
1 Meaning all the princes of the same surname as himself. As he was a hundred years old, there might well be among them those who were really his sons and grandsons.
8 ‘The three virtues’ are those of the Great Plan; those of ‘correctness and straightforwardness,’ of ‘ strong government,’ and of ‘mild government.’
® Meaning all the princes;—of the king’s own and other surnames.
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8 ‘The three virtues’ are those of the Great Plan; those of ‘correctness and straightforwardness,’ of ‘ strong government,’ and of ‘mild government.’
® Meaning all the princes;—of the king’s own and other surnames.
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about the choosing of ? Should it not be the proper men? What should you deal with the most reverently? Should it not be punishments? What should you calculate the most carefully ? Should it not be to whom these will reach ?
‘When both parties are present, (with their documents and witnesses) all complete, let the judges listen to the fivefold statements that may be made’. When they have examined and fully made up their minds on those, let them adjust the case to one of the five punishments. If the five punishments do not meet it, let them adjust it to one of the five redemption-fines ; and if these, again, are not suffcient for it, let them reckon it among the five cases of error’.
‘In (settling) the five cases of error there are evils (to be guarded against) ;—being warped by the influence of power, or by private grudge, or by female solicitation, or by bribes, or by applications. Any one of these things should be held equal to the crime (before the judges). Do you carefully examine, and prove yourselves equal to (every difficulty).
‘When there are doubts as to the infliction of any of the five punishments, that infliction should be forborne. When there are doubts as to the
1 That is, the statements, with the evidence on both sides, whether incriminating or exculpating. They are called fivefold, as the case might have to be dealt with by one or other of ‘ the five punishments.’
* That is, the offences of inadvertence. What should ensue on the adjudication of any case to be so ranked does not appear. It would be very leniently dealt with, and perhaps pardoned. In ‘the Counsels of Yi,’ K4o-y4o says to Shun, ‘ You pardon inadvertent offences however great.’
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infliction of any of the five fines, it should be forborne. Do you carefully examine, and prove yourselves equal to overcome (every difficulty). When you have examined and many things are clear, yet form a judgment from studying the appearance of the parties. If you find nothing out on examination, do not listen (to the case any more). In everything stand in awe of the dread majesty of Heaven.*
When you have examined and many things are clear, yet form a judgment from studying the appearance of the parties. If you find nothing out on examination, do not listen (to the case any more). In everything stand in awe of the dread majesty of Heaven.*
‘When, in a doubtful case, the punishment of branding is forborne, the fine to be laid on instead is 600 ounces (of copper); but you must first have satisfied yourselves as to the crime. When the case would require the cutting off the nose, the fine must be double this ;—with the same careful determination of the crime. When the punishment would be the cutting off the feet, the fine must be 3000 ounces ;—with the same careful determination of the crime. When the punishment would be castration}, the fine must be 3600 ounces ;—with the same determination. When the punishment would be death, the fine must be 6000 ounces ;—with the same determination. Of crimes that may be redeemed by the fine in lieu of branding there are 1000; and the same number of those that would otherwise incur cutting off the nose. The fine in lieu of cutting off the feet extends to 500 cases; that in lieu of castration, to 300; and that in lieu of death, to 200. Altogether, set against the five punishments, there are 3000 crimes. (In the case of others not exactly defined), you must class them with the (next) higher or (next) lower offences, not
1 Or solitary confinement in the case of a female.
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admitting assumptive and disorderly pleadings, and not using obsolete laws. Examine and act lawfully, judging carefully, and proving yourselves equal (to every difficulty).
‘Where the crime should incur one of the higher punishments, but there are mitigating circumstances, apply to it the next lower. Where it should incur one of the lower punishments, but there are aggravating circumstances, apply to it the next higher. The light and heavy fines are to be apportioned (in the same way) by the balance of circumstances. Punishments and fines should (also) be light in one age, and heavy in another. To secure uniformity in this (seeming) irregularity, there are certain relations of things (to be considered), and the essential principle (to be observed).
Punishments and fines should (also) be light in one age, and heavy in another. To secure uniformity in this (seeming) irregularity, there are certain relations of things (to be considered), and the essential principle (to be observed).
‘The chastisement of fines is short of death, yet it will produce extreme distress. They are not (therefore) persons of artful tongues who should determine criminal cases, but really good persons, whose awards will hit the right mean. Examine carefully where there are any discrepancies in the statements ; the view which you were resolved not to follow, you may see occasion to follow; with compassion and reverence settle the cases; examine carefully the penal code, and deliberate with all about it, that your decisions may be likely to hit the proper mean and be correct ;—whether it be the infliction of a punishment or a fine, examining carefully and mastering every difficulty. When the case is thus concluded, all parties will acknowledge the justice of the sentence; and when it is reported, the sovereign will do the same. In sending up reports of cases, they must be full and complete.
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If a man have been tried on two counts, his two punishments (must be recorded).’
6. The king said, ‘Oh! let there be a feeling of reverence. Ye judges and princes, of the same surname with me, and of other surnames, (know all) that I speak in much fear. I think with reverence of the subject of punishment, for the end of it is to promote virtue. Now Heaven, wishing to help the people, has made us its representatives here below.* Be intelligent and pure in hearing (each) side of a case. The right ordering of the people depends on the impartial hearing of the pleas on both sides ;—do not seek for private advantage to yourselves by means of those pleas. Gain (so) got by the decision of cases is no precious acquisition ; it is an accumulation of guilt, and will be recompensed with many judgments :—you should ever stand in awe of the punishment of Heaven.* It is not Heaven that does not deal impartially with men, but men ruin themselves. If the punishment of Heaven were not so extreme, nowhere under the sky would the people have good government.’
7. The king said, ‘Oh! ye who shall hereafter inherit (the dignities and offices of) the present time, to whom are ye to look for your models? Must it not be to those who promoted the virtue belonging to the unbiassed nature of the people? I pray you give attention to my words. The wise men (of antiquity) by their use of punishments obtained boundless fame. Everything relating to the five punishments exactly hit with them the due mean, and hence came their excellence. Receiving from your sovereigns the good multitudes, behold in the case of those men punishments made felicitous!’
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Book XXVIII.
THe CHARGE TO THE Marquis WAN.
Receiving from your sovereigns the good multitudes, behold in the case of those men punishments made felicitous!’
BOOK XXVIII. CHARGE TO THE MARQUIS WAN. 265
Book XXVIII.
THe CHARGE TO THE Marquis WAN.
Tne king to whom this charge is ascribed was Phing (B. c. 770-719). Between him and M@i there was thus a period of fully two centuries, of which no documents are, or ever were, in the collection of the Sh. The time was occupied by seven reigns, the last of which was that of Nieh, known as king YQ, a worthless ruler, and besotted in his attachment to a female favourite, called Paéo-sze. For her sake he degraded his queen, and sent their son, 1-4/0, to the court of the lord of Shan, her father, ‘to learn good manners.’ The lord of Shan called in the assistance of some barbarian tribes, by which the capital was sacked, and the king slain; and with him ended the sway of ‘the Western Kau.’ Several of the feudal princes went to the assistance of the royal House, drove away the barbarians, brought back f-24i0 from Sh&n, and hailed him as king. He is known as king Phing, ‘the Tranquillizer. His first measure was to transfer the capital from the ruins of H4o to Lo, thus fulfilling at length, but under disastrous circumstances, the wishes of the duke of X4u; and from this time (B.c. 770) dates the history of ‘the Eastern Kau.’
Among king Phing’s early measures was the rewarding the feudal lords to whom he owed his throne. The marquis of Kin was one of them. His name was X/i(i, and that of I-ho, by which he is called in the text, is taken as his ‘style,’ or designation assumed by him on his marriage. Waé&n, ‘the Accomplished,’ was his sacrificial title. The lords of Xin were descended from king W(’s son, Yi, who was appointed marquis of Thang, corresponding to the present department of Thai-ytian, in Shan-hsi. The name of Thang was afterwards changed into Xin. The state became in course of time one of the largest and most powerful in the kingdom. ,
The charge in this Book is understood to be in connexion with Win’s appointment to be president or chief of several of the other princes. The king begins by celebrating the virtues and happy times of kings Wan and W4, and the services rendered by the worthy ministers of subsequent reigns. He contrasts with this the misery and distraction of his own times, deploring
. his want of wise counsellors and helpers, and praising the.
p. 266
marquis for the services which he had rendered. He then concludes with the special charge by which he would reward the prince’s merit in the past, and stimulate him to ) greater exertions in the future.
his want of wise counsellors and helpers, and praising the.
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marquis for the services which he had rendered. He then concludes with the special charge by which he would reward the prince’s merit in the past, and stimulate him to ) greater exertions in the future.
1. The king spoke to the following effect :— ‘Uncle f-ho, how illustrious were Wan and Wa! Carefully did they make their virtue brilliant, till it rose brightly on high, and the fame of it was widely diffused here below. Therefore God caused his favouring decree to light upon king Wa&n.* There were ministers also (thereafter), who aided and illustriously served their sovereigns, following and carrying out their plans, great and small, so that my fathers sat tranquilly on the throne.
‘Oh! an object of pity am I, who am (but as) a little child. Just as I have succeeded to the throne, Heaven has severely chastised me.* Through the interruption of the (royal) bounties that ceased to descend to the inferior people, the invading barbarous tribes of the west have greatly (injured) our kingdom. Moreover, among the managers of my affairs there are none of age and experience and distinguished ability in their offices. I am (thus) unequal (to the difficulties of my position), and say to myself, “ My grand-uncles and uncles, you ought to compassionate my case.” Oh! if there were those who could establish their merit in behalf of me, the One man, I might long enjoy repose upon the throne.
‘Uncle f-ho, you render still more glorious your illustrious ancestor. You were the first to imitate the example of Wan and W4, collecting (the scattered powers), and continuing (the all but broken line of) your sovereign. Your filial piety goes back ied
BOOK XXIX, THE SPEECH AT Pf. 267 to your accomplished ancestor, (and is equal to his.) You have done much to repair my (losses), and defend me in my difficulties, and of you, being such, I am full of admiration,’
2. The king said, ‘ Uncle f-ho, return home, survey your multitudes, and tranquillize your state. I reward you with a jar of spirits, distilled from the black millet, and flavoured with odoriferous herbs’, with a red bow, and a hundred red arrows?; with a black bow, and a hundred black arrows; and with four horses. Go, my uncle. Show kindness to those that are far off, and help those who are near at hand; cherish and secure the repose of the inferior people; do not idly seek your ease ; exercise an inspection and (benign) compassion in your capital (and all your borders);— thus completing your illustrious virtue.’
Book XXIX. Tue Speecu at Pi.
Tue Speech at Pi carries us back from the time of Phing to that of king AAang. In the Preface to the Shf it is attributed to Po-AAin, the son of the duke of Xu; and there is a general acquiescence of tradition and critics in this view. We may account for its position out of the chronological order from
In the Preface to the Shf it is attributed to Po-AAin, the son of the duke of Xu; and there is a general acquiescence of tradition and critics in this view. We may account for its position out of the chronological order from
1 Compare king KA&ng’s gift to the duke of Xéu, in the Announcement concerning Lo, ch. 6.
* The conferring on a prince of a bow and arrows, invested him with the power of punishing throughout the states within his jurisdiction all who were disobedient to the royal commands, but not of taking life without first reporting to the court. The gift was also a tribute to the merit of the receiver. See the Book of Poetry, II, iii, ode 1.
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the Book’s being the record not of any royal doings, but of the words of the ruler of a state.
The speech has reference to some military operations against the wild tribes on the Hw4i river and in other parts of the province of Hsii; and we have seen that they were in insurrection many times during the reign of Khang. We thus cannot tell exactly the year in which the speech was delivered. Po-&/in presided over his state of Lf for the long period of fifty-three years, and died B. c. 1063.
The name of Pf is retained in the district still so called of the department of f-A4u. At first it was an independent territory, but attached to Lf, and under the jurisdiction of its marquises, by one of whom it had been incorporated with LQ before the time of Confucius.
Po-khin appears at the head of his host, approaching the scene of active operations. Having commanded silence, he issues his orders, first, that the soldiers shall have their weapons in good order; next, that the people of the country shall take care of the oxen and horses of the army; further, that the troops on no account leave their ranks or go astray; and finally, he names the day when he will commence operations against the enemy, and commands all the requisite preparations to be made. _
The duke said, ‘Ah! ye men, make no noise, but listen to my commands. We are going (to punish) those wild tribes of the Hwd4i and of Hsii, which have risen up together.
‘ Have in good repair your buff coats and helmets ; have the laces of your shields well secured ;—presume not to have any of them but in perfect order. Prepare your bows and arrows ; temper your lances and spears; sharpen your pointed and edged weapons ;— presume not to have any of them but in good condition.
‘We must now largely let the oxen and horses:
loose, and not keep them in enclosures ;— (ye people), do you close your traps and fill up your pitfalls, and do not presume to injure any of the animals (so let loose). If any of them be injured,
.
BOOK XXIX. THE SPEECH AT Pf. 269 you shall be dealt with according to the regular punishments,
If any of them be injured,
.
BOOK XXIX. THE SPEECH AT Pf. 269 you shall be dealt with according to the regular punishments,
‘When the horses or cattle are seeking one another, or when your followers, male or female, abscond, presume not to leave the ranks to pursue them. But let them be carefully returned. I will reward you (among the people) who return them according to their value. But if you leave your places to pursue them, or if you who find them do not restore them, you shall be dealt with according to the regular punishments.
‘And let none of you presume to commit any robbery or detain any creature that comes in your way, to jump over enclosures and walls to steal (people’s) horses or oxen, or to decoy away their servants or female attendants. If you do so, you shall be dealt with according to the regular punishments.
_ £On the day Aia-hsii I will take action against the hordes of Hsti ;—prepare the roasted grain and other provisions, and presume not to have any deficiency. If you have, you shall suffer the severest punishment. Ye men of Ld, from the three environing territories and the three tracts beyond’,
1 Outside the capital city was an environing territory called the Kifo, and beyond the Kido was the Sui. The Xiao of the royal domain was divided again into six Hsiang, which furnished the six royal hosts, while the Sui beyond furnished subsidiary hosts. The Xiao and Sui of a large state furnished three hosts, and if need ‘were, subsidiary battalions. The language of the text is equivalent, I conceive, simply to ‘ye men of the army of Lfi;’ but, as P. Gaubil observes, it is difficult at the present day to get correct ideas of what is meant by the designations, and to account for the mention of three Kido and three Sui.
270 | THE sHt KING. PART V.
be ready with your posts and planks. On ia-hsii I will commence my intrenchments ;—dare not but be provided with a supply of these. (If you be not so provided), you shall be subjected to various punishments, short only of death. Ye men of L4, from the three environing territories and the three tracts beyond, be ready with the forage, and do not dare to let it be other than abundant. (If you do), you shall suffer the severest punishment.’
Book XXX.
Tue SpeecH oF (THE Marquis or) HIN.
Tue state of Xin, at the time to which this speech belongs, was one of the most powerful in the kingdom, and already giving promise of what it would grow to. Ultimately, one ofits princes overthrew the dynasty of Xu, and brought feudal China to an end. Its earliest capital was in the present district of Kangshui, KAin X4u, Kan-sf.
Ultimately, one ofits princes overthrew the dynasty of Xu, and brought feudal China to an end. Its earliest capital was in the present district of Kangshui, KAin X4u, Kan-sf.
Khin and Xin were engaged together in s.c. 631 in besieging the capital of Kang, and threatened to extinguish that state. The marquis of Kin, however, was suddenly induced to withdraw his troops, leaving three of his officers in friendly relations with the court of Kang, and under engagement to defend the state from aggression. These men played the part of spies in the interest of KAin, and in 8. c. 629, one of them, called KAi-3ze, sent word that he was in charge of one of the gates, and if an army were sent to surprise the capital, Kang might be added to the territories of Khin. The marquis—known in history as duke Mf—laid the matter before his counsellors, The most experienced of them—P4i-lt Hst and Xhien-shO— were against taking advantage of the proposed treachery; but the marquis listened rather to the promptings of ambition; and the next year he sent a large force, under his three ablest com-
: manders, hoping to find Kang unprepared for any resistance. The attempt, however, failed; and the army, on its way back to
BOOK Xxx. THE SPEECH OF KXHIN. 271
Kzhin, was attacked by the forces of Xin, and sustained a terrible defeat. It was nearly annihilated, and the three commanders were taken prisoners.
The marquis of Xin was intending to put these captives to death, but finally sent them to Ain, that duke MQ might himself sacrifice them to his anger for their want of success. Mf, however, did no such thing. He went from his capital to meet the disgraced generals, and comforted them, saying that the blame of their defeat was due to himself, who had refused to listen to the advice of his wise counsellors. Then also, it is said, he made the speech here preserved for the benefit of all his ministers, describing the good and bad minister, and the different issues of listening to them, and deploring how he had himself foolishly rejected the advice of his aged counsellors, and followed that of new men ;—a thing which he would never do again.
The duke! said, ‘Ah! my officers, listen to me without noise. I solemnly announce to you the most important of all sayings. (It is this which) the ancients have said, “ Thus it is with all people, —they mostly love their ease. In reproving others there is no difficulty, but to receive reproof, and allow it to have free course,—this is difficult.” The sorrow of my heart is, that the days and months have passed away, and it is not likely they will come again, (so that I might pursue a different course.)
‘ There were my old counsellors*.—I said, “ They will not accommodate themselves to me,” and I hated them. There were my new counsellors, and I would for the time give my confidence to them’. So indeed it was with me; but hereafter I will
There were my new counsellors, and I would for the time give my confidence to them’. So indeed it was with me; but hereafter I will
1 The prince of KAin was only a marquis; but the historiographers or recorders of a state always gave their ruler the higher title. This shows that this speech is taken from the chronicles of Khin.
® Pai-lt Hst and KAien-shd.
* Khi-3ze and others.
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take advice from the men of yellow hair, and then I shall be free from error. That good old officer! —his strength is exhausted, but I would rather have him (as my counsellor). That dashing brave officer !—his shooting and charioteering are faultless, but I would rather not wish to have him. As to men of quibbles, skilful at cunning words, and able to make the good man change his purposes, what have I to do to make much use of them?
‘I have deeply thought and concluded.—Let me have but one resolute minister, plain and sincere, without other ability, but having a straightforward mind, and possessed of generosity, regarding the talents of others as if he himself possessed them ; and when he finds accomplished and sage men, loving them in his heart more than his mouth expresses, really showing himself able to bear them: —such a minister would be able to preserve my descendants and people, and would indeed be a | giver of benefits.
‘But if (the minister), when he finds men of ability, be jealous and hates them; if, when he finds accomplished and sage men, he oppose them and does not allow their advancement, showing himself really not able to bear them :—such a man will not be able to protect my descendants and people; and will he not be a dangerous man ?
‘The decline and fall of a state may arise from one man. The glory and tranquillity of a state may also arise from the goodness of one man.’
THE SHIH KING
OR
BOOK OF POETRY:
ALL THE PIECES AND STANZAS IN IT ILLUSTRATING THE RELIGIOUS VIEWS AND PRACTICES OF
THE WRITERS AND THEIR TIMES,
(1] T
Cc
THE SHIH KING
OR
BOOK OF POETRY.
INTRODUCTION.
CHAPTER I. THE NAME AND CONTENTS OF THE CLASSIC.
1. Among the Chinese classical books next after the Sha in point of antiquity comes the Shih or Book of Poetry.
The character Shd}, as formed by the combination of
The meaning two others, one of which signified ‘a pencil,’
ete and the other ‘to speak,’ supplied, we saw, Shih. in its structure, an indication of its primary
The character Shd}, as formed by the combination of
The meaning two others, one of which signified ‘a pencil,’
ete and the other ‘to speak,’ supplied, we saw, Shih. in its structure, an indication of its primary significance, and furnished a clue to its different applications. The character Shih? was made on a different principle,— that of phonetical formation, in the peculiar sense of these words when applied to a large class of Chinese terms. The significative portion of it is the character for ‘speech,’ but the other half is merely phonetical, enabling us to approximate to its pronunciation or name. The meaning of the compound has to be learned from its usage. Its most common significations are ‘ poetry,’ ‘a poem, or poems,’ and ‘a collection of poems.’ This last is its meaning when we speak of the Shih or the Shih King.
The earliest Chinese utterance that we have on the subject of poetry is that in the Sh by the ancient Shun, when he said to his Minister of Music, ‘ Poetry is the expression of earnest thought, and singing is the prolongedp. 276 utterance of that expression.’ To the same effect is the language of a Preface to the Shih, sometimes ascribed to Confucius, and certainly older than our Christian era :— ‘Poetry is the product of earnest thought. Thought cherished in the mind becomes earnest ; then expressed in words, it becomes poetry. The feelings move inwardly, and are embodied in words. When words are insufficient for them, recourse is had to sighs and exclamations, When sighs and exclamations are insufficient for them, recourse is had to the prolonged utterance of song. When this again is insufficient, unconsciously the hands begin to move and the feet to dance. .... To set forth correctly the successes and failures (of government), to affect Heaven and Earth, and to move spiritual beings, there is no readier instrument than poetry.’
Rhyme, it may be added here, is a necessary accompaniment of poetry in the estimation of the Chinese. Only in a very few pieces of the Shih is it neglected.
2. The Shih King contains 305 pieces and the titles of
‘The contents six others, The most recent of them are ofthe Shih. assigned to the reign of king Ting of the Kau dynasty, B.C. 606 to 586, and the oldest, forming a group of only five, to the period of the Shang dynasty which preceded that of Kau, B.c. 1766 to 1123. Of those five, the latest piece should be referred to the twelfth century B.C., and the most ancient may have been composed five centuries earlier. All the other pieces in the Shih have to be distributed over the time between Ting and king Wan, the founder of the line of XAu. The distribution, however, is not equal nor continuous. There were some reigns of which we do not have a single poetical fragment.
The whole collection is divided into four parts, called the Kwo FAng, the Hsiao YA, the Ta Y4, and the Sung.
The distribution, however, is not equal nor continuous. There were some reigns of which we do not have a single poetical fragment.
The whole collection is divided into four parts, called the Kwo FAng, the Hsiao YA, the Ta Y4, and the Sung.
The Kwo Fang, in fifteen Books, contains 160 pieces, nearly all of them short, and descriptive of manners and events in several of the feudal states of Kau. The title has been translated by The Manners of the Different States, ‘Les Moeurs des Royaumes,’ and, which I prefer, by Lessons from the States,
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The Hsiao Y4, or Lesser Y4, in eight Books, contains seventy-four pieces and the titles of six others, sung at gatherings of the feudal princes, and their appearances at the royal court. They were produced in the royal territory, and are descriptive of the manners and ways of the government in successive reigns. It is difficult to find an English word that shall fitly represent the Chinese Y4 as here used. In his Latin translation of the Shih, P. Lacharme translated Hsido YA by ‘Quod rectum est, sed inferiore ordine,’ adding in a note :—‘ Sido Y4, latine Parvum Rectum, quia in hac Parte mores describuntur, recti illi quidem, qui tamen nonnihil a recto deflectunt.’ But the manners described are not less correct or incorrect, as the case may be, than those of the states in the former Part or of the kingdom in the next. I prefer to call this Part ‘Minor Odes of the Kingdom,’ without attempting to translate the term YA.
The T& Ya or Greater YA, in three Books, contains thirty-one pieces, sung on great occasions at the royal court and in the presence of the king. P. Lacharme called it ‘Magnum Rectum (Quod rectum est superiore ordine).’ But there is the same objection here to the use of the word ‘correct’ as in the case of the pieces of the previous Part. I use the name ‘Major Odes of the Kingdom.’ The greater length and dignity of most of the pieces justify the distinction of the two Parts into Minor and Major.
The Sung, also in three Books, contains forty pieces, thirty-one of which belong to the sacrificial services at the royal court of Kau; four, to those of the marquises of La; and five to the corresponding sacrifices of the kings of Shang. P. Lacharme denominated them correctly ‘ Parentales Cantus.’ In the Preface to the Shih, to which I have made reference above, it is said, ‘The Sung are pieces in admiration of the embodied manifestation of complete virtue, announcing to the spiritual Intelligences their achievement thereof.’ A Hsi’s account of the Sung was— ‘Songs for the Music of the Ancestral Temple ;’ and that of Kiang Yung of the present dynasty—‘ Songs for the Music at Sacrifices.’ I have united these two definitions, and call the Part—‘ Odes of the Temple and the Altar.’ There isp. 278 a difference between the pieces of La and the other two collections in this Part, to which I will call attention in giving the translation of them.
a difference between the pieces of La and the other two collections in this Part, to which I will call attention in giving the translation of them.
From the above account of the contents of the Shih, Only the pieces it will be seen that only the pieces in the
ofthe fourth last of its four Parts are professedly of a
Part have se
professedly a 'eligious character. Many of those, however, religious in the other Parts, especially the second and character. : . es . .
third, describe religious services, and give expression to religious ideas in the minds of their authors.
3. Some of the pieces in the Shih are ballads, some are songs, some are hymns, and of others the nature can hardly
Classification be indicated by any English denomination.
of the pieces They have often been spoken of by the dale general name of odes, understanding by that term lyric poems that were set to music.
My reason for touching here on this point is the earliest account of the Shih, as a collection either already formed or in the process of formation, that we find in Chinese literature. In the Official Book of K4u, generally supposed to be a work of the twelfth or eleventh century B.C., among the duties of the Grand Music-Master there is ‘the teaching,’ (that is, to the musical performers,) ‘the six classes of poems :—the Fang; the Fa; the Pt; the Hsing; the Ya; and the Sung.’ That the collection of the Shih, as it now is, existed so early as the date assigned to the Official Book could not be; but we find the same account of it given in the so-called Confucian Preface. The Fang, the YA, and the Sung are the four Parts of the classic described in the preceding paragraph, the Y4 embracing both the Minor and Major Odes of the Kingdom. But what were the FG, the Pi, and the Hsing? We might suppose that they were the names of three other distinct Parts or Books. But they were not so. Pieces so discriminated are found in all the four Parts, though there are more of them in the first two than in the others.
The FQ may be described as Narrative pieces, in which the writers tell what they have to say in a simple, straightforward manner, without any hidden meaning reserved inp. 279 the mind. The metaphor and other figures of speech enter into their composition as freely as in descriptive poems in any other language.
The Pi are Metaphorical pieces, in which the poet has under his language a different meaning from what it expresses,—a meaning which there should be nothing in that language to indicate. Such a piece may be compared to the AEsopic fable; but, while it is the object of the fable to inculcate the virtues of morality and prudence, an historical interpretation has to be sought for the metaphorical pieces of the Shih. Generally, moreover, the moral of the fable is subjoined to it, which is never done in the case of these pieces.