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)

The innocent cry to Heaven. The odour of such a state is felt on high.*

‘Heaven loves the people, and the sovereign should reverently carry out (this mind of) Heaven. Kieh, the sovereign of Hsia, would not follow the

1 In Book iii we are told that WA commenced his march to attack K4u-hsin, on Kwei-#, the 2nd day of the moon. Calculating on to the day Wf-wf, we find that it was the 28th day of the same moon. —p. 128 example of Heaven, but sent forth his poisonous injuries through the states of the kingdom :—Heaven therefore gave its aid to Thang the Successful, and charged him to make an end of the appointment of Hsia.* But the crimes of Shau exceed those of Kieh. He has degraded from office the greatly good man’; he has behaved with cruel tyranny to his reprover and helper?. He says that with him is the appointment of Heaven; he says that a reverent care of his conduct is not worth observing ; he says that sacrifice is of no use; he says that tyranny isno harm.* The beacon for him to look to was not far off ;—it was that king of Hsia. It would seem that Heaven is going by means of me to rule the people. My dreams coincide with my divinations ; the auspicious omen is double.* My attack on Shang must succeed.

‘Sh4u has hundreds of thousands and millions of ordinary men, divided in heart and divided in practice ;—I have of ministers, able to govern, ten men &, one in heart and one in practice. Though he has his nearest relatives with him, they are not like my virtuous men. Heaven sees as my people see; Heaven hears as my people hear.* The people are blaming me, the One man, for my delay ;—I must now go forward. My military prowess is displayed, and I enter his territories to take the wicked tyrant. My punishment (of evil) will be great, and more glorious than that executed by Thang. Rouse ye,

1 The count of Wei. 2 Pi-kan.

5 Confucius tells us, in the Analects, VIII, xx, that one of these ten was a woman; but whether the lady was W0’s wife or mother is disputed.

BOOK I. THE GREAT DECLARATION. 129

my heroes! Do not think that he is not to be feared ;—better think that he cannot be withstood. (His) people stand in trembling awe of him, as if the horns were falling from their heads. Oh! unite your energies, unite your hearts ;—so shall you forthwith surely accomplish the work, to last for all ages!’

Section 3.

The time was on the morrow, when the king went round his six hosts in state, and made a clear declaration to all his officers. He said, ‘Oh! my valiant men of the west, from Heaven are the illustrious courses of duty, of which the (several) requirements are quite plain. And now Shau, the king of Shang, treats with contemptuous slight the five regular (virtues), and abandons himself to wild idleness and irreverence. He has cut himself off from Heaven, and brought enmity between himself and the people. *

And now Shau, the king of Shang, treats with contemptuous slight the five regular (virtues), and abandons himself to wild idleness and irreverence. He has cut himself off from Heaven, and brought enmity between himself and the people. *

‘ He cut through the leg-bones of those who were wading in the morning; he cut out the heart of the worthy man?, By the use of his power, killing and murdering, he has poisoned and sickened all within the four seas. His honours and confidence are given to the villainous and bad. He has driven from him his instructors and guardians. He has thrown to the winds the statutes and penal laws. He has imprisoned and enslaved the upright officer’. He neglects the sacrifices to heaven and earth. He

1 This was in winter. Observing some people then wading through a stream, X4u-hsin caused their legs to be, cut through at the shank-bone, that he might see their marrow.

* Pi-kan.

® The count of K4Ai; see Book iv.

[1] Kp. 130 has discontinued the offerings in the ancestral temple. He makes contrivances of wonderful device and extraordinary cunning to please his wife’—God will no longer indulge him, but with a curse is sending down on him this ruin.* Do ye with untiring zeal support me, the One man, reverently to execute the punishment appointed by Heaven. The ancients have said, “ He who soothes us is our sovereign; he who oppresses us is our enemy.” This solitary fellow Sh4u, having exercised great tyranny, is your perpetual enemy. (It is said again), “In planting (a man’s) virtue, strive to make it great; in putting away (a man’s) wickedness, strive to do it from the roots.” Here I, the little child, by the powerful help of you, all my officers, will utterly exterminate your enemy. Do you, all my officers, march forward with determined boldness to sustain your prince. Where there is much merit, there shall be large reward; where you do not so advance, there shall be conspicuous disgrace.

‘Oh! (the virtue of) my deceased father Wan was like the shining of the sun and moon. His brightness extended over the four quarters of the land, and shone signally in the western region. Hence it is that our Au has received (the allegiance of) many states. If I subdue Shau, it will not be from my prowess, but from the faultless (virtue of) my deceased father Wan. If Shau subdue me, it will not be from any fault of my deceased father Wan, but because I, the little child, am not good.’

1 The notorious Ta-A, the accounts of whose shameless wickedness and atrocious cruelties almost exceed belief.

BOOK II. THE SPEECH AT MO. 131

Boox II. Tue Sprecu at Mo.

Ir is the morning of the day of battle, for which the king has prepared his host by the three speeches of the last Book. Once more he addresses his confederate princes, his officers, and his men. He sets forth more briefly the intolerable wickedness of Sh4u, and instructs and warns his troops how they are to behave in the fight.

Once more he addresses his confederate princes, his officers, and his men. He sets forth more briefly the intolerable wickedness of Sh4u, and instructs and warns his troops how they are to behave in the fight.

M& was in the south of the present district of At, department Wei-hui, Ho-nan, a tract of open country stretching into the district of X}, and at no great distance from the capital of Sh4u.

1. The time was the grey dawn of the day Ai4-jze. On that morning the king came to the open country of Ma, in the borders of Shang, and addressed his army. In his left hand he carried a battle-axe, yellow with gold, and in his right he held a white ensign, which he waved, saying, ‘Far are ye come, ye men of the western regions!’ He added, ‘Ah! ye hereditary rulers of my friendly states; ye managers of affairs,—the Ministers of Instruction, of War, and of Works; the great officers subordinate to these, and the many other officers; the master of my body-guards; the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds; and ye, O men of Yung, Shd, Kiang, Mao, Wei, La, Phang, and Pho’, lift up your lances, join your shields, raise your spears :— I have a speech to make.’

* These are the names of eight different tribes or confederations of tribes of the south and west. We are to look for their sites in Sze-Adiian, Yiin-nan, and Hf-pei. They were, no doubt, an important portion of W(’s army, but only as auxiliaries. It is too much to ascribe, as some have done, the overthrow of Shang to an irruption of barbarous people from the west.

K 2

p. 132

2. The king (then) said, ‘ The ancients have said, “The hen does not announce the morning. The crowing of a hen in the morning (indicates) the subversion of the family.” Now Shdau, the king of Shang, follows only the words of his wife. In his blindness he has neglected the sacrifices which he ought to offer, and makes no response (for the favours that he has received) ;* he has also cast off his paternal and maternal relations, not treating them properly. They are only the vagabonds from all quarters, loaded with crimes, whom, he honours and exalts, whom he employs and trusts, making them great officers and high nobles, so that they can tyrannize over the people, and exercise their villainies in the cities of Shang.

‘Now, I, Fa, am simply executing respectfully the punishment appointed by Heaven.* In to-day’s business do not advance more than six or seven steps, and then stop and adjust your ranks ;—my brave men, be energetic! Do not exceed four blows, five blows, six blows, or seven blows, and then stop and adjust your ranks ;—my brave men, be energetic! Display a martial bearing. Be like tigers and panthers, like bears and grisly bears,— (here) in the borders of Shang. Do not rush on thcse who fly (to us in submission), but receive them to serve our western land ;—my brave men, be energetic! If you be not energetic (in all these matters), you will bring destruction on yourselves.’

Do not rush on thcse who fly (to us in submission), but receive them to serve our western land ;—my brave men, be energetic! If you be not energetic (in all these matters), you will bring destruction on yourselves.’

BOOK II. SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE WAR. 133

Boox III.

Tue SuccressFUL COMPLETION OF THE War.

I nave divided this Book into three chapters :—one, consisting of brief historical notes of the commencement and close of W(’'s expedition ; a second, giving the address (or a part of it) delivered by Wf to his nobles and officers on occasion, we may suppose, of their recognition of him as king, and his confirming some of them in their old states or appointments, and giving new ones to others; the third again historical, and relating several incidents of the battle between Wf and Shau, and going on to subsequent events and important governmental measures of the new dynasty.

Most Chinese critics hold that portions of the Book are lost, and that the paragraphs of it are, besides, erroneously arranged. In what division of the documents of the Shfi it should be classified, it is not easy to say. It is more like a ‘Canon’ than anything else.

1. In the first month, the day Zan-£A4an immediately followed the end of the moon’s waning. The next day was Kwei-ét, when the king, in the morning, marched from A4u! to attack and punish Shang. In the fourth month, at the first appearance of the moon, the king came from Shang to Fang *, when he hushed all the movements of war, and proceeded to cultivate the arts of peace. He sent back his horses to the south of mount Hw,

1 K4u is, probably, Wd’s capital, called H4o, about ten miles south of the present district city of Kang-an, and not quite so far from his father’s capital of Fang. The river Fang ran between them.

3 In Fang there was the ancestral temple of the lords of K4u, and thither from the capital of Shang, ¥ Wa now repaired for the purpose of sacrificing.

p. 134

and let loose his oxen in the open country of ThAolin', showing to all under heaven that he would not use them (again).

On the day Ting-wei, he sacrificed in the ancestral temple of K’u,when (the princes) of the royal domain, and of the Tien, H4u, and Wei domains, all hurried about, carrying the dishes.* The third day after was Kang-hsii, when he presented a burnt-offering to Heaven, and worshipped towards the hills and rivers, solemnly announcing the successful completion of the war.*

After the moon began to wane, the hereditary princes of the various states, and all the officers, received their appointments from * 4u 2.

2. The king spoke to the following effect :—‘Oh! ye host of princes, the first of our kings * founded his state, and commenced (the enlargement of) its territory. Kung Lif‘ was able to consolidate the services of his predecessor. But it was the king Thai who laid the foundations of the royal inheritance. The king At was diligent for the royal House; and my deceased father, king W4n, completed his merit, and grandly received the appoint-

1 The country about the hill of MQ-nif' or Khw4-f@, in the southeast of the present department of Thung-Aau. Thao-lin may be translated ‘ Peach-forest.’

* The new dynasty of Xau was now fully inaugurated.

® By ‘the first of our kings,’ we must understand Af, Shun’s Minister of Agriculture ; and his state was that of Thai.

* Kung Lif, perhaps ‘duke Li@,’ appears in Pin, the present Pin K&u of Shen-hsf, about the beginning of the eighteenth century B.c., reviving the fallen fortunes of the House of XAt. History is then silent about the family for more than four centuries, when we find Than-fa, called here ‘king Thdi,’ founding the state of Kau.

BOOK 111. SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE WAR. 135

ment of Heaven, to soothe the regions of our great land.* The great states feared his strength; the small states thought fondly of his virtue. In nine years, however, the whole kingdom was not united under his rule, and. it fell to me, the little child, to carry out his will.

‘ Detesting the crimes of Shang, I announced to great Heaven and the sovereign Earth, to the famous hill! and the great river! by which I passed, saying, “T, Fa, the principled, king of Kau by a long descent, am about to administer a great correction to Shang. Sh4u, the present king of Shang, is without principle, cruel and destructive to the creatures of Heaven, injurious and tyrannical to the multitudes of the people, lord of all the vagabonds under heaven, who collect about him as fish in the deep, and beasts in the prairie. I, the little child, having obtained (the help of) virtuous men, presume reverently to comply with (the will of) God, and make an end of his disorderly ways.* Our flowery and great land, and the tribes of the south and north, equally follow and consent with me. Reverently obeying the determinate counsel of Heaven, I pursue my punitive work to the east, to give tranquillity to its men and women. They meet me with their baskets full of dark-coloured and yellow silks, thereby showing (the virtues) of us, the kings of Kau. Heaven's favours stir them up, so that they come with their allegiance to our great state of Kau. And now, ye spirits, grant me your aid, that I may relieve the millions of the people, and nothing turn out to your shame.”’ *

1 Probably mount Hw and the Ho.

p. 136

Heaven's favours stir them up, so that they come with their allegiance to our great state of Kau. And now, ye spirits, grant me your aid, that I may relieve the millions of the people, and nothing turn out to your shame.”’ *

1 Probably mount Hw and the Ho.

p. 136

3. On the day Wf-wi, the army crossed the ford of Mang, and on Kwei-hai it was drawn up in array in the borders of Shang, waiting for the gracious decision of Heaven. On Aidyze, at early dawn, Sh4u led forward his troops, (looking) like a forest, and assembled them in the wild of Md. But they offered no opposition to our army. Those in the front inverted their spears, and attacked those behind them, till they fled; and the blood flowed till it floated the pestles of the mortars. Thus did (king Wd) once don his armour, and the kingdom was grandly settled. He overturned the (existing) rule of Shang, and made government resume its old course. He delivered the count of AAt from prison, and raised a mound over the grave of Pt-kan. He bowed forward to the cross-bar of his carriage at the gate of Shang Yung’s village’. He dispersed the treasures of the Stag Tower ’, and distributed the grain of Xii-4i4o%, thus conferring great gifts on all within the four seas, so that the people joyfully submitted to him.

He arranged the nobles in five orders‘, assigning the territories to them according to a threefold

1 Shang Yung must have been some worthy in disgrace with
Shau, and living in the retirement of his village.

3 The Stag Tower was the name of a place in the present department of Wei-hui, Ho-nan, where Shau had accumulated great treasures, He fled to it after his defeat, and burned himself to death ; but it would appear he had not succeeded in consuming at the same time all his wealth.

8 Ki-khido was in the present district of KAt-k4u, department Kwang-phing, Xih-lf, where Shau had collected great stores of grain.

* Dukes, marquises, earls, counts, and barons.

BOOK IV. THE GREAT PLAN. 137

scale. He gave offices only to the worthy, and employments only to the able. He attached great importance to the people’s being taught the duties of the five relations of society, and to measures for ensuring a sufficient supply of food, attention to the rites of mourning, and to sacrifices* He showed the reality of his truthfulness, and proved clearly his righteousness. He honoured virtue, and rewarded merit. Then he had only to let his robes fall down, and fold his hands, and the kingdom was orderly ruled.

Book IV. Tue Great Puan.

He honoured virtue, and rewarded merit. Then he had only to let his robes fall down, and fold his hands, and the kingdom was orderly ruled.

Book IV. Tue Great Puan.

Tue Great Plan, ordinarily classed among the ‘Counsels’ or among the ‘Instructions’ of the Shi, might as well have a place among the ‘Canons.’ It is a remarkable production, and though it appears among the documents of the Kau dynasty, there is claimed for the substance of it a much greater antiquity. According to the introductory sentences, king W4, the founder of Au, obtained it from the count of XAi in the same year, the thirteenth of his dignity as Chief of the West, that he took the field against the tyrant of Shang. The count of KA, it is understood, was the Grand-Master at the court of Shang, who appears in the concluding Book of the last Part. He says there, that, when ruin overtook the House of Shang, he would not be the servant of another dynasty. Accordingly, he refused to acknowledge the sovereignty of king Wf, who had delivered him from the prison in which he had been confined by K4uhsin, and fled—or purposed perhaps to flee—to Corea. WA respected and admired his fidelity to the fallen dynasty, and invested him with that territory. He then, it is said, felt constrained to appear at the court of Xau, when the king consulted

1 Dukes and marquises had the same amount of territory assigned to them, and counts and barons also.

p. 138

him on the principles of government ; and the result was that he communicated to him this Great Plan, with its nine divisions. When we read the Book, we see that it belonged originally to the time of Hsia, and that the larger portion of it should be ascribed to the Great Yii, and was as old, indeed, as the reign of Y4o. How it had come into the possession of the count of ii we cannot tell. Nor does it appear how far the language of it should be ascribed to him. That the larger portion of it had come down from the times of Hsia is not improbable. The use of the number nine and other numbers, and the naming of the various divisions of the Plan, are in harmony with Yii’s style and practice in his Counsels in the second Part of our Classic, and in the second Part also of the Tribute of Yi. We are told in the introductory sentences, that Heaven or God gave the Plan with its divisions to Yi. To explain the way in which the gift was made, there is a tradition about a mysterious tortoise that appeared in the waters of the Lo, bearing well-defined marks on its back from one to nine, and that thereupon Yti determined the meaning of those marks and of their numbers, and completed the nine divisions of the Plan. Of this legend, however, it is not necessary to speak in connexion with the ShQ, which does not mention it; it will come up in connexion with the translation of the Yf King.

Of this legend, however, it is not necessary to speak in connexion with the ShQ, which does not mention it; it will come up in connexion with the translation of the Yf King.

The Great Plan means the great model for the government of the nation,—the method by which the people may be rendered happy and tranquil, in harmony with their condition, through the perfect character of the king, and his perfect administration of government.

P. Gaubil says that the Book is a treatise at once of physics, astrology, divination, morals, politics, and religion, and that it has a sufficiently close resemblance to the work of Ocellus the Lucanian. There is a shadowy resemblance between the Great Plan and the curious specimen of Pythagorean doctrine which we have in the treatise on the Universe; but the dissimilarities are still greater and more numerous. More especially are the differences between the Greek mind, speculative, and the Chinese mind, practical, apparent in the two works. Where the Chinese writer loses himself in the sheerest follies of his imagining, he yet gropes about for a rule to be of use in the conduct of human affairs.

The whole of the treatise is divided into three chapters. The first is introductory, and relates how the Great Plan with its

BOOK IV. THE GREAT PLAN. 139

nine divisions was at first made known to Yu, and came at this time to be communicated to king Wf; the second contains the names of the nine divisions of the Plan; and in the third we have a description of the several divisions. ‘The whole,’ says a Chinese writer, ‘exhibits the great model for the government of the nation.’ The fifth or middle division on royal perfection is the central one of the whole, about which the Book revolves. The four divisions that precede it show how this royal perfection is to be accomplished, and the four that follow show how it is to be maintained.

1. In the thirteenth year}, the king went to enquire of the count of A4t, and said to him, ‘Oh! count of AAi, Heaven, (working) unseen, secures the tranquillity of the lower people, aiding them to be in harmony with their condition*®. I do not know how the unvarying principles (of its method in doing so) should be set forth in due order.’

The count of A4At thereupon replied, ‘I have heard that in old time Khwan dammed up the inundating waters, and thereby threw into disorder the arrangement of the five elements. God was consequently roused to anger, and did not give him the Great Plan with its nine divisions, and thus the unvarying principles (of Heaven’s method) were allowed to go to ruin.* Khwan was therefore

1 See the commencement of Book i.

God was consequently roused to anger, and did not give him the Great Plan with its nine divisions, and thus the unvarying principles (of Heaven’s method) were allowed to go to ruin.* Khwan was thereforep. 140 kept a prisoner till his death, and his son Yii rose up (and entered on the same undertaking). To him Heaven gave the Great Plan with its nine divisions, and the unvarying principles (of its method) were set forth in their due order.’ *

1 See the commencement of Book i.

* Khung Ying-t& of the Thang dynasty says on this:—‘ The people have been produced by supreme Heaven, and both body and soul are Heaven’s gift. Men have thus the material body and the knowing mind, and Heaven further assists them, helping them to harmonize their lives. The right and the wrong of their language, the correctness and errors of their conduct, their enjoyment of clothing and food, the rightness of their various movements ;—all these things are to be harmonized by what they are endowed with by Heaven.’

2. ‘(Of those divisions) the first is called “the five elements ;” the second, “reverent attention to the five (personal) matters;” the third, “earnest devotion to the eight (objects of) government ;” the fourth, “the harmonious use of the five dividers of time;” the fifth, “the establishment and use of royal perfection;” the sixth, “the discriminating use of the three virtues;” the seventh, “the intelligent use of (the means for) the examination of doubts ;” the eighth, “the thoughtful use of the various verifications ;” the ninth, “the hortatory use of the five (sources of) happiness, and the awing use of the six (occasions of) suffering.” ’

3. i. ‘First, of the five elements '.—The first is

1 Gaubil gives here ‘les cinq hing,’ without translating the Chinese term. English sinologists have got into the habit of rendering it by ‘elements,’ but it hardly seems possible to determine what the Chinese mean by it. We intend by ‘elements’ ‘the first principles or ingredients of which all things are composed.’ The Pythagoreans, by their four elements of earth, water, air, and fire, did not intend so much the nature or essence of material substances, as the forms under which matter is actually presented to us. The character hsing, meaning ‘to move,’ ‘to be in action,’ shows that the original conception of the Chinese is of a different nature ; and it is said in the Khang-hst Dictionary, ‘The five hsing move and revolve between heaven and earth, without ever ceasing, and hence they are named.’ The editors of the latest imperial edition of the Shfi say, ‘ Distributed through the four seasons, they make “ the five dividers of time ;” exhibited in prognostications, they give rise to divination by the tortoise-shell and the reeds; having lodgment in the human body, they produce “the five personal matters;” moved by good fortune and bad, they

BOOK Iv. THE GREAT PLAN. 14!

THE GREAT PLAN. 14!

water; the second is fire; the third, wood; the fourth, metal; and the fifth, earth. (The nature of) water is to soak and descend; of fire, to blaze and ascend ; of wood, to be crooked and straight; of metal, to yield and change; while (that of) earth is seen in seed-sowing and in-gathering. That which soaks and descends becomes salt; that which blazes and ascends becomes bitter; that which is crooked and straight becomes sour; that which yields and changes becomes acrid; and from seed-sowing and in-gathering comes sweetness.’

ii. ‘Second, of the five (personal) matters 1—The first is the bodily demeanour; the second, speech ; the third, seeing; the fourth, hearing; the fifth, thinking. (The virtue of) the bodily appearance is respectfulness ; of speech, accordance (with reason) ; of seeing, clearness; of hearing, distinctness; of thinking, perspicaciousness. The respectfulness becomes manifest in gravity; accordance (with reason), in orderliness; the clearness, in wisdom; the distinctness, in deliberation ; and the perspicaciousness, in sageness.’

iii. ‘Third, of the eight (objects of) government *.—

?

produce “the various verifications ;” communicated to organisms, they produce the different natures, hard and soft, good and evil ; working out their results in the changes of those organisms, they necessitate—here benevolence and there meanness, here longevity and there early death :—all these things are from the operation of the five hsing. But if we speak of them in their simplest and most important character, they are what man’s life depends on, what the people cannot do without.’ After all this, I should still be sorry to be required to say what the five hsing are.

1 These five ‘matters’ are represented as being in the human person what the five hsing are in nature. Demeanour is the human correspondency of water, speech that of fire, &c.

* Medhurst calls the eight (objects of ) government ‘the eight

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The first is food; the second, wealth and articles of convenience ; the third, sacrifices ; the fourth, (the business of) the Minister of Works; the fifth, (that of) the Minister of Instruction ; the sixth, (that of) the Minister of Crime; the seventh, the observances to be paid to guests; the eighth, the army.’

iv. ‘Fourth, of the five dividers of time 1.—The first is the year (or the planet Jupiter) ; the second, the moon; the third, the sun; the fourth, the stars and planets, and the zodiacal spaces; and the fifth, the calendaric calculations.’

‘Fourth, of the five dividers of time 1.—The first is the year (or the planet Jupiter) ; the second, the moon; the third, the sun; the fourth, the stars and planets, and the zodiacal spaces; and the fifth, the calendaric calculations.’

v. ‘Fifth, of royal perfection*—The sovereign, having established (in himself) the highest degree and pattern of excellence, concentrates in his own person the five (sources of) happiness, and proceeds to diffuse them, and give them to the multitudes of the people. Then they, on their part, embodying your perfection, will give it (back) to you, and secure the preservation of it. Among all the multitudes of the people there will be no unlawful confederacies, and among men (in office) there will be no bad and selfish combinations ;—let the sovereign regulators,’ and Gaubil calls them ‘les huit régles du gouvernement.’ The phrase means the eight things to be attended to in government,—its objects and departments, and serving as an example and attractive influence to all below, both ministers and people.

1 «The five dividers of time’ are with Medhurst ‘the five arrangers,’ and with Gaubil ‘les cinq périodes.’ This division of the Great Plan is substantially the same as Y4o’s instructions to his astronomers.

* By ‘royal perfection’ we are to understand the sovereign when he is, or has made himself, all that he ought to be. ‘ Perfection’ is ‘the utmost point, the extreme of excellence, realized in the person of the sovereign, guiding his administrative measures,

BOOK IV. THE GREAT PLAN. 143

establish in (himself) the highest degree and pattern of excellence.

‘Among all the multitudes of the people there will be those. who have ability to plan and to act, and who keep themselves (from evil):—do you keep such in mind; and there will be those who, not coming up to the highest point of excellence, yet do not involve themselves in evil :—let the sovereign receive such. And when a placid satisfaction appears in their countenances, and they say, “ Our love is fixed on virtue,” do you then confer favours on them ;—those men will in this way advance to the perfection of the sovereign. Do not let him oppress the friendless and childless, nor let him fear the high and distinguished. When men (in office) have ability and administrative power, let them be made still more to cultivate their conduct; and the prosperity of the country will be promoted. All (such) right men, having a competency, will go on in goodness. If you cannot cause them to haye what they love in their families, they will forthwith proceed to be guilty of crime. As to those who have not the love of virtue, although you confer favours (and emoluments) on them, they will (only) involve you in the guilt of employing the evil.

‘Without deflection, without unevenness,
Pursue the royal righteousness,
Without selfish likings,

Pursue the royal way.

Without selfish dislikings,

Pursue the royal path.

‘Without deflection, without unevenness,
Pursue the royal righteousness,
Without selfish likings,

Pursue the royal way.

Without selfish dislikings,

Pursue the royal path.

Avoid deflection, avoid partiality ;—
Broad and long is the royal way.

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Avoid partiality, avoid deflection ;~

Level and easy is the royal way.

Avoid perversity, avoid one-sidedness ;—

Correct and straight is the royal way.

(Ever) seek for this perfect excellence,

(Ever) turn to this perfect excellence.’ He went on to say, ‘This amplification of the royal perfection contains the unchanging (rule), and is the (great) Iesson ;—yea, it is the lesson of God.* All the multitudes of the people, instructed in this amplification of the perfect excellence, and carrying it into practice, will thereby approximate to the glory of the Son of Heaven, and say, “The Son of Heaven is the parent of the people, and so becomes the sovereign of all under the sky.”’”’

vi. ‘Sixth, of the three virtues!.—The first is correctness and straightforwardness; the second, strong rule; and the third, mild rule. In peace and tranquillity, correctness and straightforwardness (must sway); in violence and disorder, strong rule ; in harmony and order, mild rule. For the reserved and retiring there should be (the stimulus of) the strong rule; for the high(-minded) and distinguished, (the restraint of) the mild rule.

‘It belongs only to the sovereign to confer dignities and rewards, to display the terrors of majesty, and to receive the revenues (of the kingdom). There should be no such thing as a minister's conferring dignities or rewards, displaying the terrors of majesty, or receiving the revenues. Such

1¢The three virtues’ are not personal attributes of the sovereign, but characteristics of his rule, the varied manifestations of the perfection described in the preceding division.

BOOK IV. THE GREAT PLAN. 145

a thing is injurious to the clans, and fatal to the states (of the kingdom); smaller affairs are thereby managed in a one-sided and perverse manner, and the people fall into assumptions and excesses.’

vii. ‘Seventh, of the (means for the) examination of doubts 1.—Officers having been chosen and appointed for divining by the tortoise-shell and the

‘Seventh, of the (means for the) examination of doubts 1.—Officers having been chosen and appointed for divining by the tortoise-shell and the

1 The practice of divination for the satisfaction of doubts was thus used in China from the earliest times. In the Counsels of Yii, p. 50, that sage proposes to Shun to submit the question of who should be his successor on the throne to divination, and Shun replies that he had already done so. Gaubil says that according to the Great Plan divination was only used in doubtful cases; but if such was the. practice of the sages, diviners and soothsayers must have formed, as they do now, a considerable and influential class in society. The old methods of divination have fallen into disuse, and we do not know how far other methods are employed and sanctioned by the government. Those old methods were by means of the tortoise-shell, and the stalks of the XAi plant. ‘The tortoise,’ says KO Hsf, ‘after great length of years becomes intelligent; and the AA? plant will yield, when a hundred years old, a hundred stalks from one root, and is also a spiritual and intelligent thing. The two divinations were in reality a questioning of spiritual beings, the plant and the shell being employed, because of their mysterious intelligence, to indicate their intimations. The way of divination by the shell was by the application of fire to scorch it till the indications appeared on it; and that by the stalks of the plant was to manipulate in a prescribed way forty-nine of them, eighteen different times, till the diagrams were formed.’

The outer shell of the tortoise was removed, leaving the inner portion on which were the marks of the lines of the muscles of the creature. This was smeared with a black pigment, and, fire being applied beneath, the pigment was examined, and according as it had been variously dried by the heat, presented the indications mentioned in the text. The Af plant was probably the Achillea millefolium. It is cultivated largely on the mound over the grave of Confucius. I brought from that two bundles of the dried stalks in 1873.

(1) Lp. 146 stalks of the Achillea, they are to be charged (on occasion) to execute their duties. (In doing this), they will find (the appearances of) rain, of clearing up, of cloudiness, of want of connexion, and of crossing; and the inner and outer diagrams. In all (the indications) are seven ;—five given by the shell, and two by the stalks ; and (by means) of these any errors (in the mind) may be traced out. These officers having been appointed, when the divination is proceeded with, three men are to interpret the indications, and the (consenting) words of two of them are to be followed.*

These officers having been appointed, when the divination is proceeded with, three men are to interpret the indications, and the (consenting) words of two of them are to be followed.*

‘When you have doubts about any great matter, consult with your own mind; consult with your high ministers and officers; consult with the common people; consult the tortoise-shell and divining stalks. If you, the shell, the stalks, the ministers and officers, and the common people, all agree about a course, this is what is called a great concord, and the result will be the welfare of your person and good fortune to your descendants. If you, the shell, and the stalks agree, while the ministers, and officers, and the common people oppose, the result will be fortunate. If the ministers and officers, with the shell and stalks, agree, while you and the common people oppose, the result will be fortunate. If the common people, the shell, and the stalks agree, while you, with the ministers and officers, oppose, the result will be fortunate. If you and the shell agree, while the stalks, with the ministers and officers, and the common people, oppose, internal operations will be fortunate, and external undertakings unlucky. When the shell and stalks are both opposed to the views of men, there will be

BOOK Iv. THE GREAT PLAN. 147

good fortune in being still, and active operations will be unlucky.’ * viii. ‘Eighth, of the various verifications ?.— They are rain, sunshine, heat, cold, wind, and seasonableness. When the five come, all complete, and each in its proper order, (even) the various plants will be richly luxuriant. Should any one of them be either excessively abundant or excessively deficient, there will be evil.*

‘ There are the favourable verifications? :-—_namely,

When the five come, all complete, and each in its proper order, (even) the various plants will be richly luxuriant. Should any one of them be either excessively abundant or excessively deficient, there will be evil.*

‘ There are the favourable verifications? :-—_namely,

1 P. Gaubil renders by ‘les apparences’ the characters which I have translated ‘ the various verifications,’ observing that he could not find any word which would cover the whole extent of the meaning. He says, ‘In the present case, the character signifies meteors, phenomena, appearances, but in such sort that these have relation to some other things with which they are connected ;— the meteor or phenomenon indicates some good or some evil. Ic is a kind of correspondency which is supposed, it appears, to exist between the ordinary events of the life of men and the constitution of the air, according to the different seasons ;—what is here said supposes—I know not what physical speculation of those times. It is needless to bring to bear on the text the interpretation of the later Chinese, for they are full of false ideas on the subject of physics. It may be also that the count of XAt wanted to play the physicist on points which he did not know.’ There seems to underlie the words of the count that feeling of the harmony between the natural and spiritual worlds, which occurs at times to most men, and strongly affects minds under deep religious thought or on the wings of poetic rapture, but the way in which he endeavours to give the subject a practical application can only be characterised as grotesque.

* Compare with this what is said above on the second division of the Plan, ‘ the five (personal) matters.’ It is observed here by Shai Khan, the disciple of XO Hsf, and whose commentary on the Shtt has, of all others, the greatest authority: —‘ To say that on occasion of such and such a personal matter being realized, there will be the favourable verification corresponding to it, or that, on occasion of the failure of such realization, there will be the corresponding

L2

p. 148

of gravity, which is emblemed by seasonable rain ; of orderliness, emblemed by seasonable sunshine; of wisdom, emblemed by seasonable heat ; of deliberation, emblemed by seasonable cold ; and of sageness, emblemed by seasonable wind. There are (also) the unfavourable verifications :—namely, of recklessness, emblemed by constant rain; of assumption, emblemed by constant sunshine; of indolence, emblemed by constant heat; of hastiness, emblemed by constant cold; and of stupidity, emblemed by constant wind.’ *

There are (also) the unfavourable verifications :—namely, of recklessness, emblemed by constant rain; of assumption, emblemed by constant sunshine; of indolence, emblemed by constant heat; of hastiness, emblemed by constant cold; and of stupidity, emblemed by constant wind.’ *

He went on to say, ‘ The king should examine the (character of the whole) year ; the high ministers and officers (that of) the month; and the inferior officers (that of) the day. If, throughout the year, the month, the day, there be an unchanging seasonableness, all the grains will be matured ; the measures of government will be wise; heroic men will stand forth distinguished; and in the families (of the people) there will be peace and prosperity. If, throughout the year, the month, the day, the seasonableness be interrupted, the various kinds of grain will not be matured; the measures of government will be dark and unwise; heroic men will be kept in unfavourable verification, would betray a pertinacious obtuseness, and show that the speaker was not a man to be talked with on the mysterious operations of nature. It is not easy to describe the reciprocal meeting of Heaven and men. The hidden springs touched by failure and success, and the minute influences that respond to them:—who can know these but the man that has apprehended all truth?’ This is in effect admitting that the statements in the text can be of no practical use. And the same thing is admitted by the latest imperial editors of the Shfi on the use which the text goes on to make of the thoughtful use of the verifications by the king and others.

BOOK V. THE HOUNDS OF LU. 149

obscurity ; and in the families (of the people) there will be an absence of repose.

‘By the common people the stars should be examined. Some stars love wind, and some love rain. The courses of the sun and moon give winter and summer. The way in which the moon follows the stars gives wind and rain.’

ix. ‘ Ninth, of the five (sources of) happiness .— The first is long life; the second, riches; the third, soundness of body and serenity of mind; the fourth, the love of virtue; and the fifth, fulfilling to the. end the will (of Heaven).* Of the six extreme evils, the first is misfortune shortening the life; the second, sickness; the third, distress of mind; the fourth, poverty; the fifth, wickedness; the sixth, weakness?,’

Book V. Tue Hounps or Li.

end the will (of Heaven).* Of the six extreme evils, the first is misfortune shortening the life; the second, sickness; the third, distress of mind; the fourth, poverty; the fifth, wickedness; the sixth, weakness?,’

Book V. Tue Hounps or Li.

Li was the name of one of the rude tribes of the west, lying beyond the provinces of Kau. Its situation cannot be more exactly defined. Its people, in compliment to king WA, and impressed by a sense of his growing power, sent to him some of their hounds, and he having received them, or intimated that he would do so, the Grand-Guardian remonstrated with him, showing that to receive such animals would be contrary to precedent, dangerous to the virtue of the sovereign, and was not the way to deal with outlying tribes and nations. The Grand- Guardian, it is supposed, was the duke of Shao, author of the Announcement which forms the twelfth Book of this Part. The Book is one of the ‘Instructions’ of the Sha.

1 It is hardly possible to see how this division enters into the scheme of the Great Plan.

2 *Wickedness’ is, probably, boldness in what is evil, and ‘ weakness,’ feebleness of will in what is good.

p. 150

1. After the conquest of Shang, the way being open to the nine tribes of the I! and the eight of the Man!, the western tribe of Lii sent as tribute some of its hounds, on which the Grand-Guardian made ‘the Hounds of Li,’ by way of instruction to the king.

2. He said, ‘Oh! the intelligent kings paid careful attention to their virtue, and the wild tribes on every side acknowledged subjection to them. The nearer and the more remote all presented the productions of their countries,—in robes, food, and vessels for use. The kings then displayed the things thus — drawn forth by their virtue, (distributing them) to the (princes of the) states of different surnames from their own, (to encourage them) not to neglect their duties. The (more) precious things and pieces of jade they distributed among their uncles in charge of states, thereby increasing their attachment (to the throne). The recipients did not despise the things, but saw in them the power of virtue.

‘Complete virtue allows no contemptuous familiarity. When (a ruler) treats superior men with such familiarity, he cannot get them to give him all their hearts; when he so treats inferior men, he cannot get them to put forth for him all their strength. Let him keep from being in bondage to his ears and eyes, and strive to be correct in all his measures. By trifling intercourse with men, he ruins his virtue ; by finding his amusement in things (of mere pleasure),

1 By ‘the nine f and eight Man’ we are to understand generally the barbarous tribes lying round the China of Kau. Those tribes are variously enumerated in the ancient books. Generally the f are assigned to the east, the Zung to the west, the Tf to the north, and the Man to the south.

BOOK VI. THE METAL-BOUND COFFER. I51I

Those tribes are variously enumerated in the ancient books. Generally the f are assigned to the east, the Zung to the west, the Tf to the north, and the Man to the south.

BOOK VI. THE METAL-BOUND COFFER. I51I

he ruins his aims. His aims should repose in what is right; he should listen to words (also) in their relation to what is right.

‘When he does not do what is unprofitable to the injury of what is profitable, his merit can be completed. When he does not value strange things to the contemning things that are useful, his people will be able to supply (all that he needs). (Even) dogs and horses that are not native to his country he will not keep. Fine birds and strange animals he will not nourish in his state. When he does not look on foreign things as precious, foreigners will come to him; when it is real worth that is precious to him, (his own) people near at hand will be in a state of repose.

‘Oh! early and late never be but earnest. If you do not attend jealously to your small actions, the result will be to affect your virtue in great matters ; —in raising a mound of nine fathoms, the work may be unfinished for want of one basket (of earth). If you really pursue this course (which I indicate), the people will preserve their possessions, and the throne will descend from generation to generation.’

Book VI. Tue METAL-BouND COoFFER.

A certain chest or coffer, that was fastened with bands of metal, and in which important state documents were deposited, plays an important part among the incidents of the Book, which is therefore called ‘the Metal-bound Coffer.’ To what class among the documents of the Shfi it should be assigned is doubtful.

King W4 is very ill, and his death seems imminent. His brother, the duke of Hau, apprehensive of the disasters which such anp. 152 event would occasion to their infant dynasty, conceives the idea of dying in his stead, and prays to ‘the three kings,’ their immediate progenitors, that he might be taken and king Wd left. Having done so, and divined that he was heard, he deposits the prayer in the metal-bound coffer. The king gets well, and the duke is also spared; but five years later, WQ does die, and is succeeded by his son, a boy only thirteen years old. Rumours are spread abroad that the duke has designs on the throne, and he withdraws for a time from the court. At length, in the third year of the young king, Heaven interposes. He has occasion to open the coffer, and the prayer of the duke is found. His devotion to his brother and to the interests of their family is brought to light. The boy-monarch weeps because of the unjust suspicions he had harboured, and welcomes the duke back to court, amid unmistakeable demonstrations of the approval of Heaven.

His devotion to his brother and to the interests of their family is brought to light. The boy-monarch weeps because of the unjust suspicions he had harboured, and welcomes the duke back to court, amid unmistakeable demonstrations of the approval of Heaven.

The whole narrative is a very pleasing episode in the history of the times. It divides itself naturally into two chapters :—the first, ending with the placing the prayer in the coffer; and the second, detailing how it was brought to light, and the consequences of the discovery.

It is in this Book that we first meet in the Shi with the duke of 4u, a name in Chinese history only second to that of Confucius. He was the legislator and consolidator of the dynasty of X4u, equally mighty in words and in deeds,—a man of counsel and of action. Confucius regarded his memory with reverence, and spoke of it as a sign of his own failing powers, that the duke of K4u no longer appeared to him in his dreams. He was the fourth son of king Wan; his name was Tan, and he had for his appanage the territory of Kau, where Than-fQ, canonized by him as king ThAi, first placed the seat of his family in B.c. 1327, and hence he is commonly called ‘the duke of Kau.’

1. Two years after the conquest of Shang?!, the king fell ill, and was quite disconsolate. The two (other great) dukes? said, ‘Let us reverently consult

1 Bc. 112I. * These were the duke of Sh4o, to whom the preceding Book is ascribed, and Th4i-kung, who became the first of the lords of Khi.

BOOK VI. THE METAL-BOUND COFFER. 1§3

the tortoise-shell about the king;’ but the duke of Au said, ‘You must not so distress our former kings.” He then took the business on himself, and reared three altars of earth on the same cleared space; and having made another altar on the south of these, and facing the north, he took there his own position. Having put a round symbol of jade (on each of the three altars), and holding in his hands the lengthened symbol (of his own rank), he addressed the kings Thai, At, and W&n.*

The (grand) historiographer had written on tablets his prayer, which was to this effect :—‘ A. B., your great descendant, is suffering from a severe and violent disease ;—if you three kings have in heaven the charge of (watching over) him, (Heaven’s) great son, let me Tan be a substitute for his person *. I was lovingly obedient to my father ; I am possessed of many abilities and arts, which fit me to serve spiritual beings. Your great descendant, on the other hand, has not so many abilities and arts as I, and is not so capable of serving spiritual beings. And moreover he was appointed in the hall of God to extend his aid all over the kingdom, so that he might establish your descendants in this lower earth. The people of the four quarters all stand in reverent

1 He negatives their proposal, having determined to take the whole thing on himself.

And moreover he was appointed in the hall of God to extend his aid all over the kingdom, so that he might establish your descendants in this lower earth. The people of the four quarters all stand in reverent

1 He negatives their proposal, having determined to take the whole thing on himself.

* Two things are here plain :—first, that the duke of Kau offered himself to die in the room of his brother; and second, that he thought that his offer might somehow be accepted through the intervention of the great kings, their progenitors. He proceeds to give his reasons for making such an offer, which are sufficiently interesting. It was hardly necessary for Chinese scholars to take the pains they have done to free the duke from the charge of boasting in them.

p. 154

awe of him. Oh! do not let that precious Heavenconferred appointment fall to the ground, and (all the long line of) our former kings will also have one in whom they can ever rest at our sacrifices.* I will now seek for your determination (in this matter) from the great tortoise-shell. If you grant me (my request), I will take these symbols and this mace, and return and wait for your orders. If you do not grant it, I will put them by?’ *

The duke then divined with the three tortoiseshells, and all were favourable. He opened with a key the place where the (oracular) responses were kept, and looked at them, and they also were favourable. He said, ‘According to the form (of the prognostic) the king will take no injury. I, the little child, have got the renewal of his appointment from the three kings, by whom a long futurity has been consulted for. I have now to wait for the issue. They can provide for our One man.’ *

When the duke returned, he placed the tablets (of the prayer) in a metal-bound coffer?, and next day the king got better.

2. (Afterwards), upon the death of king W4, (the duke’s) elder brother, he of Kwan, and his younger brothers, spread a baseless report through the kinge

1 I suppose that the divination took place before the altars, and that a different shell was used to ascertain the mind of each king. The oracular responses would be a few lines, kept apart by themselves, and consulted, on occasion, according to certain rules which have not come down to the present day.

* Many scholars think that it was this coffer which contained the oracles of divination mentioned above. It may have been so; but I rather suppose it to have been different, and a special chest in which important archives of the dynasty, to be referred to on great emergencies, were kept.

BOOK VI. THE METAL-BOUND COFFER. 155

dom, to the effect that the duke would do no good to the (king’s) young son. On this the duke said to the two (other great) dukes, ‘If I do not take the law (to these men), I shall not be able to make my report to the former kings!’ *

e

BOOK VI. THE METAL-BOUND COFFER. 155

dom, to the effect that the duke would do no good to the (king’s) young son. On this the duke said to the two (other great) dukes, ‘If I do not take the law (to these men), I shall not be able to make my report to the former kings!’ *

He resided (accordingly) in the east for two years’, when the criminals were taken (and brought to justice). Afterwards he made a poem to present to the king, and called it ‘the Owl*’ The king on his part did not dare to blame the duke.

In the autumn, when the grain was abundant and ripe, but before it was reaped, Heaven sent a great storm of thunder and lightning, along with wind, by which the grain was all broken down, and great trees torn up. The people were greatly terrified; and the king and great officers, all in their caps of state, proceeded to open the metal-bound coffer and examine the writings in it, where they found the words of the duke when he took on himself the business of being a substitute for king Wd. The two (great) dukes and the king asked the historiographer and all the other officers (acquainted with the transaction) about the thing, and they replied, ‘It was really thus; but ah! the duke charged us that wep. 156 should not presume to speak about it.’ The king held the writing in his hand, and wept, saying, ‘We need not (now) go on reverently to divine. Formerly the duke was thus earnest for the royal House, but I, being a child, did not know it. Now Heaven has moved its terrors to display his virtue. That I, the little child, (now) go with my new views and feelings to meet him, is what the rules of propriety of our kingdom require.’ *

1 WA died in p.c, 1116, and was succeeded by his son Sung, who is known in history as king AA&ng, or ‘the Completer.’ He was at the time only thirteen years old, and his uncle, the duke of Au, acted as regent. The jealousy of his elder brother Hsien, ‘lord of Kwan,’ and two younger brothers, was excited, and they spread the rumour which is referred to, and entered into a conspiracy with the son of the tyrant of Shang, to overthrow the new dynasty.

* These two years were spent in military operations against the revolters.

* See the Book of Poetry, Part I, xv, Ode 2.

The king then went out to the borders (to meet the duke), when Heaven sent down rain, and, by virtue of a contrary wind, the grain all rose up. The two (great) dukes gave orders to the people to take up the trees that had fallen and replace them. The year then turned out very fruitful. *

Book VII. Tue Great ANNOUNCEMENT.

The two (great) dukes gave orders to the people to take up the trees that had fallen and replace them. The year then turned out very fruitful. *

Book VII. Tue Great ANNOUNCEMENT.

Tus ‘Great Announcement’ was called forth by the emergency referred to in the second chapter of the last Book. The prefatory notice says, ‘When king Wa had deceased, the three overseers and the wild tribes of the Hw4i rebelled. The duke of Xau acted as minister for king Kh&ng, and having purposed to make an end of the House of Yin (or Shang), he made ‘the Great Announcement.’ Such was the occasion on which the Book was composed. The young king speaks in it the words and sentiments of the duke of K4u; and hence the style in which it commences, ‘The king speaks to the following effect.’

The young sovereign speaks of the responsibility lying on him to maintain the kingdom gained by the virtues and prowess of his father, and of the senseless movements of the House of Shang to regain its supremacy. He complains of the reluctance of many of the princes and high officers to second him in putting down revolt, and proclaims with painful reiteration the support and assurances of success which he has received from the divining shell. His traitorous uncles, who were confederate with the son of the tyrant of Shang, are only alluded to.

BOOK VII. THE GREAT ANNOUNCEMENT. 157

1. The king speaks to the following effect :—‘ Ho! I make a great announcement to you, (the princes of) the many states, and to you, the managers of my affairs—We are unpitied, and Heaven sends down calamities on our House, without the least intermission!.* It greatly occupies my thoughts that I, so very young, have inherited this illimitable patrimony with its destinies and domains. I cannot display wisdom and lead the people to prosperity ; and how much less should I be able to reach the knowledge of the decree of Heaven!* Yes, I who am but a little child am in the position of one who has to go through a deep water ;—I must go and seek where I can cross over. I must diffuse the elegant institutions of my predecessor and display the appointment which he received (from Heaven) ;— so shall I not be forgetful of his great work. Nor shall I dare to restrain the majesty of Heaven in sending down its inflictions (on the criminals)?,’ *

2. ‘The Tranquillizing king * left to me the great precious tortoise-shell, to bring into connexion with me the intelligence of Heaven. I divined by it, and it told me that there would be great trouble in the region of the west‘, and that the western people would not be still4* Accordingly we have these senseless movements. Small and reduced as Yin

1 With reference, probably, to the early death of his father, and the revolt that followed quickly upon it.

* The duke had made up his mind that he would deal stern justice even on his own brothers.

5 King Wa.