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)

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.

‘ The troubles arose in the east, and not in the west. We do not know the facts in the state of the kingdom sufficiently to explain every difficulty in these Books. Perhaps the oracular response had been purposely ambiguous.

p. 158

now is, (its prince) greatly dares to take in hand its (broken) line. Though Heaven sent down its terrors (on his House), yet knowing of the evils in our kingdom, and that the people are not tranquil, he says, “I will recover (my patrimony);” and so (he wishes to) make our A’4u a border territory again.

‘One day there was a senseless movement, and the day after, ten men of worth appeared among the people, to help me to go forward to restore tranquillity and perpetuate the plans (of my father)}. The great business I am engaging in will (thus) have a successful issue. I have divined (also) by the tortoise-shell, and always got a favourable response.* Therefore I tell you, the princes of my friendly states, and you, the directors of departments, my officers, and the managers of my affairs——I have obtained a favourable reply to my divinations. I will go forward with you from all the states, and punish those vagabond and transported ministers of Yin.’

3. ‘(But) you the princes of the various states, and you the various officers and managers of my affairs, all retort on me, saying, “ The hardships will be great, and that the people are not quiet has its source really in the king’s palace and in the mansions of the princes in that (rebellious) state. We little ones, and the old and reverend men as well, think the expedition ill-advised ;—why does your Majesty not go contrary to the divinations ?” I, in my youth, (also) think continually of these hardships, and say,

1 Who these ‘ten men of worth’ were, we do not know, nor the circumstances in which they came forward to help the government.

* Here is an allusion, as plain as the duke could permit himself to make, to the complicity of his brothers in the existing troubles.

BOOK VII. THE GREAT ANNOUNCEMENT, 159

Alas! these senseless movements will deplorably afflict the wifeless men and widows! But I am the servant of Heaven, which has assigned me this great task, and laid the hard duty on my person.* I therefore, the young one, do not pity myself; and it would be right in you, the many officers, the directors of departments, and the managers of my affairs, to comfort me, saying, “ Do not be distressed with sorrow. We shall surely complete the plans of your Tranquillizing father.”

We shall surely complete the plans of your Tranquillizing father.”

‘Yes, I, the little child, dare not disregard the charge of God!.* Heaven, favourable to the Tranquillizing king, gave such prosperity to our small country of Kau. The Tranquillizing king divined and acted accordingly, and so he calmly received his (great) appointment. Now when Heaven is (evidently) aiding the people, how much more should we follow the indications of the shell! Oh! the clearly intimated will of Heaven is to be feared :— it is to help my great inheritance !’ *

4. The king says, ‘You, who are the old ministers, are fully able to remember the past ; you know how great was the toil of the Tranquillizing king. Where Heaven (now) shuts up (our path) and distresses us, is the place where I must accomplish my work ;— I dare not but do my utmost to complete the plans of the Tranquillizing king. It is on this account that I use such efforts to remove the doubts and carry forward the inclinations of the princes of my friendly states. And Heaven assists me with sincere expressions (of sympathy), which I have ascertained among

1 Probably the charge understood to be conveyed by the result of the divinations spoken of above.

p. 160

the people ;—how dare I but aim at the completion of the work formerly begun by the Tranquillizer ? Heaven, moreover, is thus toiling and distressing the people ;—it is as if they were suffering from disease ; how dare I allow (the appointment) which my predecessor, the Tranquillizer, received, to be without its happy fulfilment ?’ *

The king says, ‘ Formerly, at the initiation of this expedition, I spoke of its difficulties, and thought of them daily. But when a deceased father, (wishing) to build a house, had laid out the plan, if his son be unwilling to raise up the hall, how much less will he be willing to complete the roof! Or if the father had broken up the -ground, and his son be unwilling to sow the seed, how much less will he be willing to reap the crop! In such a case could the father, (who had himself) been so reverently attentive (to his objects), have been willing to say, “I have a son who will not abandon his patrimony?”—How dare I therefore but use all my powers to give a happy settlement to the great charge entrusted to the Tranquillizing king? Ifamong the friends of an elder brother or a deceased father there be those who attack his son, will the elders of the people encourage (the attack), and not (come to the) rescue ?’

5. The king says, ‘Oh! take heart, ye princes of the various states, and ye managers of my affairs. The enlightening of the country was from the wise, even from the ten men! who obeyed and knew the

1 «The ten men’ here can hardly be the ‘ten men of worth’ above in the second chapter. We must find them rather in the ‘ten virtuous men, one in heart and one in practice, capable of good,’ mentioned by king W4, in the second Part of the Great Declaration.

who obeyed and knew the

1 «The ten men’ here can hardly be the ‘ten men of worth’ above in the second chapter. We must find them rather in the ‘ten virtuous men, one in heart and one in practice, capable of good,’ mentioned by king W4, in the second Part of the Great Declaration.

BOOK VIII. CHARGE TO THE COUNT OF WEI. 161

charge of God,* and the real assistance given by Heaven. At that time none of you presumed to change the rules (prescribed by the Tranquillizing king). And now when Heaven is sending down calamity on the country of K4u, and the authors of these great distresses (make it appear on a grand scale as if) the inmates of a house were mutually to attack one another, you are without any knowledge that the decree of Heaven is not to be changed ! *

‘I ever think and say, Heaven in destroying Yin was doing husbandman’s work';—how dare I but complete the work on my fields? Heaven will thereby show its favour to my predecessor, the Tranquillizer. How should I be all for the oracle of divination, and presume not to follow (your advice)? * I am following the Tranquillizer, whose purpose embraced all within the limits of the land. How much more must I proceed, when the divinations are all favourable! It is on these accounts that I make this expedition in force to the east. There is no mistake about the decree of Heaven. The indications given by the tortoise-shell are all to the same effect.’*

Book VIII. Tue Cuarce to tHE Count or WEL.

Tue count of Wei was the principal character in the eleventh Book of the last Part, from which it appeared that he was a brother of the tyrant K&u-hsin. We saw how his friends advised him to withdraw from the court of Shang, and save

_ 1 That is, thorough work,—clearing the ground of weeds, and not letting their roots remain. (r] M

162 THE sHO KING. PART V.

himself from the destruction that was impending over their House. He had done so, and king W4 had probably continued him in the possession of his appanage of Wei, while Wfi-king, the son of the tyrant, had been spared, and entrusted with the duty of continuing the sacrifices to the great Thang and the other sovereigns of the House of Shang. Now that WQ-kang has been punished with death for his rebellion, the duke of Xau summons the count of Wei to court, and in the name of king Kh’ng invests him with the dukedom of Sung, corresponding to the present department of Kwei-teh, Ho-nan, there to be the representative of the line of the departed kings of Shang.

The king speaks to the following effect :—‘ Ho! eldest son of the king of Yin, examining into antiquity, (I find) that the honouring of the virtuous (belongs to their descendants) who resemble them in worth, and (I appoint) you to continue the line of the kings your ancestors, observing their ceremonies and taking care of their various relics. Come (also) as a guest to our royal House’, and enjoy the prosperity of our kingdom, for ever and ever without end.

Come (also) as a guest to our royal House’, and enjoy the prosperity of our kingdom, for ever and ever without end.

‘Oh! your ancestor, Thang the Successful, was reverent and sage, (with a virtue) vast and deep. The favour and help of great Heaven lighted upon him, and he grandly received its appointment, to soothe the people by his gentleness, and remove the wicked oppressions from which they were suffering.* His achievements affected his age, and his virtue was transmitted to his posterity. And you are the one who pursue and cultivate his plans ;—this praise

1 Under the dynasty of K4u, the representatives of the two previous dynasties of Shang and Hsia were distinguished above the other princes of the kingdom, and denominated ‘guests’ of the sovereign, coming to his court and assisting in the services in his ancestral temple, nearly on a footing of equality with him.

BOOK VIII. CHARGE TO THE COUNT OF WEI. 163

has belonged to you for long. Reverently and carefully have you discharged your filial duties ; gravely and respectfully you behave to spirits and to men.* I admire your virtue, and pronounce it great and not to be forgotten. God will always enjoy your offerings; the people will be reverently harmonious (under your sway).* I raise you therefore to the rank of high duke, to rule this eastern part of our great land}.

‘Be reverent. Go and diffuse abroad your instructions. Be carefully observant of your robes and (other accompaniments of) your appointment?; follow and observe the proper statutes;—so as to prove a bulwark to the royal House, Enlarge (the fame of) your meritorious ancestor; be a law to your people ;—so as for ever to preserve your dignity. (So also) shall you be a help to me, the One man; future ages will enjoy (the benefit of) your virtue ; all the states will take you for a pattern ;—and thus you will make our dynasty of AAu never weary of you.

‘Oh! go, and be prosperous. Do not disregard my charge.’

1 Sung lay east from Fang and Hao, the capitals of Wan and ‘WA, which were in the present department of Hstf-an, Shen-hsf.

* Meaning probably that he was to bear in mind that, however illustrious his descent, he was still a subject of the king of Kau,

p. 164

Boox IX.
THE ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE PRINCE OF KHANG.

Or the ten sons of king Wan, the ninth was called Fang, and is generally spoken of as Khang Shf, or ‘the uncle, (the prince of) Khang.’ We must conclude that Khang was the name of Fang’s appanage, somewhere in the royal domain. This Book contains the charge given to him on his appointment to be marquis of Wei (the Chinese name is quite different from that of the appanage of the count of Wei), the chief city of which was X4o-ko, that had been the capital of Xau-hsin. It extended westward from the present Khai Kau, department Té-ming, Xib-lf, to the borders of the departments of Wei-hui and Hwai-shing, Ho-nan.

It extended westward from the present Khai Kau, department Té-ming, Xib-lf, to the borders of the departments of Wei-hui and Hwai-shing, Ho-nan.

The Book is called an ‘Announcement,’ whereas it properly belongs to the class of ‘Charges.’ Whether the king who speaks in it, and gives the charge be W4, or his son king Kang, is a point on which there is much difference of opinion among Chinese critics. The older view that the appointment of Fang to be marquis of Wei, and ruler of that part of the people who might be expected to cling most tenaciously to the memory of the Shang dynasty, took place after the death of Wa-kang, the son of the tyrant, and was made by the duke of X4u, in the name of king Khang, is on the whole attended with the fewer difficulties.

The first paragraph, which appears within brackets, does not really belong to this Book, but to the thirteenth, where it will be found again. How it got removed from its proper

- place, and prefixed to the charge to the prince of Khang, is a question on which it is not necessary to enter. The key-note of the whole charge is in what is said, at the commencement of the first of the five chapters into which I have divided it, about king W4n, that ‘he was able to illustrate his virtue and be careful in the use of punishments.’ The first chapter celebrates the exhibition of these two things given by Wan, whereby he laid the foundations of the great destiny of his House, and set an example to his descendants. The second inculcates on Fang how he should illustrate his virtue, as the basis of his good government of the people entrusted to him. The third inculcates on him how he should be careful in the use of

BOOK Ix. ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE PRINCE OF KHANG. 165 punishments, and sets forth the happy effects of his being so. The fourth insists on the influence of virtue, as being superior in government to that of punishment, and how punishments should all be regulated by the ruler’s virtue. The last chapter winds the subject up with a reference to the uncertainty of the appointments of Heaven, and their dependance for permanence on the discharge of the duties connected with them by those on whom they have lighted.

[On the third month, when the moon began to wane, the duke of KAu commenced the foundations, and proceeded to build the new great city of Lo, of the eastern states. The people from every quarter assembled in great harmony. From the Hau, Tien, Nan, 3hdi, and Wei domains, the various officers stimulated this harmony of the people, and introduced them to the business there was to be done for Kau. The duke encouraged all to diligence, and made a great announcement about the performance (of the works).]

From the Hau, Tien, Nan, 3hdi, and Wei domains, the various officers stimulated this harmony of the people, and introduced them to the business there was to be done for Kau. The duke encouraged all to diligence, and made a great announcement about the performance (of the works).]

1. The king speaks to this effect :—‘ Head of the princes!, and my younger brother?, little one*, Fang, it was your greatly distinguished father, the king Wan, who was able to illustrate his virtue and be careful in the use of punishments. He did not dare to treat with contempt (even) wifeless men and widows. He employed the employable, and revered the reverend; he was terrible to those who needed to be awed :—so getting distinction among the people. It was thus he laid the foundations of (the sway of) our small portion of the kingdom’, and the one

1 Fang had, no doubt, been made chief or leader of all the feudal lords in one of the K4u or provinces of the kingdom.

* The duke of Au, though speaking in the name of king Khang, yet addresses Fang from the standpoint of his own relation to him.

> Referring to the original principality of Kau,p. 166 or two (neighbouring) regions were brought under his improving influence, until throughout our western land all placed in him their reliance. The fame of him ascended up to the high God, and God approved. Heaven accordingly gave a grand charge to king W4n, to exterminate the great (dynasty of) Yin, and grandly receive its appointment, so that the various countries belonging to it and their peoples were brought to an orderly condition.* Then your unworthy elder brother’ exerted himself; and thus it is that you Fang, the little one, are here in this eastern region.’

2. The king says, ‘Oh! Fang, bear these things in mind. Now (your success in the management of) the people will depend on your reverently following your father Wan ;—do you carry out his virtuous words which you have heard, and clothe yourself with them, (Moreover), where you go, seek out among (the traces of) the former wise kings of Yin what you may use in protecting and regulating their people. (Again), you must in the remote distance study the (ways of) the old accomplished men of Shang, that you may establish your heart, and know how to instruct (the people). (Further still), you must search out besides what is to be learned of the wise kings of antiquity, and employ it in tranquillizing and protecting the people. (Finally), enlarge (your thoughts) to (the comprehension of all) heavenly (principles), and virtue will be richly displayed in your person, so that you will not render nugatory the king’s charge.’

1 Is it strange that the duke should thus speak of king Wa?
Should we not think the better of him for it?

BOOK Ix. ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE PRINCE OF KHANG. 167

Should we not think the better of him for it?

BOOK Ix. ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE PRINCE OF KHANG. 167

The king says, ‘Oh! Fang, the little one, be respectfully careful, as if you were suffering from a disease. Awful though Heaven be, it yet helps the sincere.* The feelings of the people can for the most part be discerned; but it is difficult to preserve (the attachment of) the lower classes. Where you go, employ all your heart. Do not seek repose, nor be fond of ease and pleasure. I have read the saying,—“ Dissatisfaction is caused not so much by great things, or by small things, as by (a ruler’s) observance of principle or the reverse, and by his energy of conduct or the reverse.” Yes, it is yours, O little one,—it is your business to enlarge the royal (influence), and to protect the people of Yin in harmony with their feelings. Thus also shall you assist the king, consolidating the appointment of Heaven, and renovating the people.’*

3. The king says, ‘Oh! Fang, deal reverently and intelligently in your infliction of punishments. When men commit small crimes, which are not mischances, but purposed, they of themselves doing what is contrary to the laws intentionally, though their crimes be but small, you may not but put them to death. But in the case of great crimes, . which were not purposed, but from mischance and misfortune, accidental, if the transgressors confess their guilt without reserve, you must not put them to death.’

The king says, ‘Oh! Fang, there must be the orderly regulation (of this matter), When you show a great discrimination, subduing (men’s hearts), the people will admonish one another, and strive to be obedient. (Deal firmly yet tenderly with evil), as if it were a disease in your own person, and the peoplep. 168 will entirely put away their faults. (Deal with them) as if you were protecting your own infants, and the people will be tranquil and orderly. It is not you, O Fang, who (can presume to) inflict a (severe) punishment or death upon a man ;—do not, to please yourself, so punish a man or put him to death.’ Moreover, he says, ‘It is not you, O Fang, who (can presume to inflict a lighter punishment), cutting off a man’s nose or ears ;—do not, to please yourself, cause a man’s nose or ears to be cut off.’

The king says, ‘In things beyond (your immediate supervision), have laws set forth which the officers may observe, and these should be the penal laws of Yin which were rightly ordered.’ He also says, ‘In examining the evidence in (criminal) cases, reflect upon it for five or six days, yea, for ten days or three months. You may then boldly come toa decision in such cases},’

You may then boldly come toa decision in such cases},’

The king says, ‘In setting forth the business of the laws, the punishments will be determined by (what were) the regular laws of Yin. But you must see that those punishments, and (especially) the penalty of death, be righteous. And you must not let them be warped to agree with your own inclinations, O Fang. Then shall they be entirely accordant with right, and you may say, “ They are properly ordered ;” yet you must say (at the same time), “Perhaps they are not yet entirely accordant with right.” Yes, though you are the little one, who has a heart like you, O Fang? My heart and my virtue are also known to you.

1 This is supposed to refer to a case where guilt would involve death, so that there could be no remedying a wrong decision.

BOOK Ix. ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE PRINCE OF KHANG. 169

‘All who of themselves commit crimes, robbing, stealing, practising villainy and treachery, and who kill men or violently assault them to take their property, being reckless and fearless of death ;— these are abhorred by all.’

The king says, ‘O Fang, such great criminals are greatly abhorred, and how much more (detestable) are the unfilial and unbrotherly!—as the son who does not reverently discharge his duty to his father, but greatly wounds his father’s heart, and the father who can (no longer) love his son, but hates him; as the younger brother who does not think of the manifest will of Heaven, and refuses to respect his elder brother, and the elder brother who does not think of the toil of their parents in bringing up their children, and is very unfriendly to his junior. If we who are charged with government do not treat parties who proceed to such wickedness as offenders, the laws (of our nature) given by Heaven to our people will be thrown into great disorder and destroyed. You must resolve to deal speedily with such according to the penal laws of king W4n, punishing them severely and not pardoning.

‘Those who are disobedient (to natural principles) are to be thus subjected to the laws ;—how much more the officers employed in your state as the instructors of the youth, the heads of the official departments, and the smaller officers charged with their several commissions, when they propagate other lessons, seeking the praise of the people, not thinking (of their duty), nor using (the rules for their offices), but distressing their ruler! These lead on (the people) to wickedness, and are an abomination to me. Shall they be let alone? Do youp. 170 speedily, according to what is right, put them to death.

These lead on (the people) to wickedness, and are an abomination to me. Shall they be let alone? Do youp. 170 speedily, according to what is right, put them to death.

‘And you will be yourself ruler and president ;— if you cannot manage your own household, with your smaller officers, and the heads of departments in the state, but use only terror and violence, you will greatly set aside the royal charge, and be trying to regulate your state contrary to virtue. You must in everything reverence the statutes, and proceed by them to the happy rule of the people. There were the reverence of king Wan and his caution ;—in proceeding by them to the happy rule of the people, say, “If I could only attain to them—.” So will you make me, the One man, to rejoice.’

4. The king says, ‘O Fang, when I think clearly of the people, I see that they should be led (by example) to happiness and tranquillity. I think of the virtue of the former wise kings of Yin, whereby they tranquillized and regulated the people, and rouse myself to make it my own. Moreover, the people now are sure to follow a leader. If one do not lead them, he cannot be said to exercise a government in their state.’

The king says, ‘O Fang, I cannot dispense with the inspection (of the ancients), and I make this declaration to you about virtue in the use of punishments. Now the people are not quiet; they have not yet stilled their minds; notwithstanding my leading of them, they have not come to accord (with my government). I clearly consider that severe as are the inflictions of Heaven on me, I dare not murmur. The crimes (of the people), though they were not great or many, (would all be chargeable on me), and how much more shall this be said

BOOK X. ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT DRUNKENNESS. 171

when the report of them goes up so manifestly to heaven!’

The king says, ‘Oh! Fang, be reverent! Do not what will cause murmurings; and do not use bad counsels and uncommon ways. With the determination of sincerity, give yourself to imitate the active virtue (of the ancients). Hereby give repose to your mind, examine your virtue, send far forward your plans; and thus by your generous forbearance you will make the people repose in what is good, and I shall not have to blame you or cast you off.’

5. The king says, ‘Oh! you, Fang, the little one, (Heaven's) appointments are not unchanging.* Think of this, and do not make me deprive you of your dignity. Make illustrious the charge which you have received; exalt (the instructions) which you have heard, and tranquillize and regulate the people accordingly.’

The king speaks to this effect: ‘Go, Fang. Do not disregard the statutes you should reverence; hearken to what I have told you;—so shall you among the people of Yin enjoy (your dignity), and hand it down to your posterity.’

Book X.
THe ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT DRUNKENNESS.

Do not disregard the statutes you should reverence; hearken to what I have told you;—so shall you among the people of Yin enjoy (your dignity), and hand it down to your posterity.’

Book X.
THe ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT DRUNKENNESS.

Tuts Announcement was, like the last, made to Fang, the ptince of Khang, about the time when he was invested with the principality of Wei. Mention has often been made in previous documents of the Shfi of the drunken debauchery of ieh as the chief cause of the downfal of the dynasty of Hsia, and of the same vice in é4u-hsin, the last of the kings of

p. 172

Shang. The people of Shang had followed the example of their sovereign, and drunkenness, with its attendant immoralities, characterised both the highest and lowest classes of society. One of Fang’s most difficult tasks in his administration would be, to correct this evil habit, and he is called in this Book to the undertaking. He is instructed in the proper use and the allowable uses of spirits; the disastrous consequences of drunkenness are set forth ; and he is summoned to roll back the flood of its desolation from his officers and people.

I have divided the Book into two chapters :—the one preliminary, showing the original use and the permissible uses of ardent spirits; the other, showing how drunkenness had proved the ruin of the Shang dynasty, and how they of Kau, and particularly Fang in Wei, should turn the lesson to account.

The title might be translated —' The Announcement about Spirits,’ but the cursory reader would most readily suppose that the discourse was about Spiritual Beings. The Chinese term Xi, that is here employed, is often translated by wine, but it denotes, it seems to me, ardent spirits. As Gaubil says, ‘We have here to do with le vin du riz, the art of which was discovered, according to most writers, in the time of Yi, the founder of the first dynasty. The grape was not introduced to China till that of the first Han.’

[Since the above sentences were in manuscript, the Rev. Dr. Edkins of Pekin has stated at a meeting of the North-China branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, and in a letter to myself (April 24th), that he has lately investigated the question whether the Kid of the ancient Chinese was spirits or not, and found that distillation was first known in China in the Mongol or- Yian dynasty (a. p. 1280-1367), so that the Arabs must have the credit of the invention; that the process in making Ait was brewing, or nearly so, but, as the term beer is inadmissible in a translation of the classics, he would prefer to use the term wine; and that XiQ with Sh4o (‘ fired,’ ‘ardent’) before it, means spirits, but without Shao, it means wine.

If the whole process of Dr. Edkins’ investigation were before me, I should be glad to consider it, and not hesitate to alter my own view, if I saw reason to do so. Meanwhile, what he says makes me glad that I adopted ‘the Announcement about Drunkenness’ as the title of this chapter. It is drunkenness, by whatever liquor occasioned, that the king of Kau condemns and denounces.

BOOK x. ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT DRUNKENNESS. 173

What we commonly understand by wine is never intended by itt in the Chinese classics, and therefore I cannot use that term, After searching as extensively as I could do in this country, since I received Dr. Edkins’ letter, I have found nothing to make me think that the Chinese term is not properly translated by ‘spirits.’

Dr. Williams, in his Syllabic Dictionary of the Chinese Language (Shanghai, 1874), gives this account of Xi’ :—‘ Liquor ; it includes spirits, wine, beer, and other drinks. The Chinese make no wine, and chiefly distil their liquors, and say that TQ Khang, a woman of the Ti tribes, first made it’ This account is to a considerable extent correct. The Chinese distil their liquors. I never saw beer or porter of native production among them, though according to Dr. Edkins they had been brewing ‘or nearly so’ for more than 3000 years. Among his examples of the use of Xi, Williams gives the combinations of ‘red Xi’ for claret, ‘white Xi’ for sherry, and ‘pf (simply phonetical) Kid’ for beer, adding that they ‘are all terms of foreign origin.’ What he says about the traditional account of the first maker of id is not correct. It is said certainly that this was Tf Khang, but who he was, or when he lived, I have never been able to discover. Some identify him with f-tt, said by Williams to have been ‘a woman of the Ti tribes.’ The attributing of the invention to f-tf is probably an independent tradition. We find it in the ‘Plans of the Warring States’ (ch. xiv, art. 10), a work covering about four centuries from the death of Confucius:— Anciently, the daughter of the Tf ordered f-tf to make Kid. She admired it, and presented some to Yi, who drank it, and found it pleasant. He then discarded f-tt, and denounced the use of such generous id, saying, “In future ages there are sure to be those who by Kid will lose their states.”’ According to this tradition intoxicating Xifi was known in the time of Yii—in the twenty-third century B.c. The daughter of the Tf would be Yi’s wife, and i-tt would probably be their cook. It does not appear as the name of a woman, or one from the wild Tt tribes.

With regard to the phrase Sho Xif, said to be the proper term for ardent spirits, and unknown in China till the Yitan dynasty, a reference to the Khang-hsf Tonic Thesaurus of the language will show instances of its use as early at least as the Thang dynasty (a.D. 618-906).]

1. The king speaks to the following effect :—‘ Dop. 174 you clearly make known my great commands in the country of Mei’.

618-906).]

1. The king speaks to the following effect :—‘ Dop. 174 you clearly make known my great commands in the country of Mei’.

‘When your reverent father, the king W4n, laid the foundations of our kingdom in the western region, he delivered announcements and cautions to (the princes of) the various regions, and to all his (high) officers, with their assistants, and the managers of affairs, saying, morning and evening, “At sacrifices spirits should be employed.”* When Heaven was sending down its favouring decree, and laying the foundations of (the eminence of) our people, (spirits) were used only at the great sacrifices. When Heaven sends down its terrors, and our people are thereby greatly disorganized and lose their virtue, this may be traced invariably to their indulgence in spirits; yea, the ruin of states, small and great, (by these terrors), has been caused invariably by their guilt in the use of spirits ®.

1 There is a place called ‘the village of Mei,’ in the north of the present district of XAf, department Wei-hui, Ho-nan ;—a relic of the ancient name of the whole territory. The royal domain of Shang, north from the capital, was all called Mei. Fang’s principality of Wei must have embraced most of it.

* Kf Hsf says upon the meaning of the expressions ‘ Heaven was sending down its favouring decree’ (its order to make Xi, as he understood the language), and ‘when Heaven sends down its terrors,’ in this paragraph :—‘Kang Nan-hsien has brought out the meaning of these two statements much better than any of the critics who went before him, to the following effect:—if is a thing intended to be used in offering sacrifices and in entertaining guests ;—such employment of it is what Heaven has prescribed. But men by their abuse of Xifi come to lose their virtue, and destroy their persons ;—such employment of it is what*Heaven has annexed its terrors to. The Buddhists, hating the use of things where Heaven sends down its terrors, put away as well the use of them which Heaven has prescribed. It is not so with us of the learned (i.e. the Confucian or orthodox) school;—we only put

BOOK xX, ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT DRUNKENNESS, 175

‘ King Wan admonished and instructed the young nobles, who were charged with office or in any employment, that they should not ordinarily use spirits; and throughout all the states, he required that such should drink spirits only on occasion of sacrifices, and that then virtue should preside so that there might be no drunkenness",’

He said, ‘ Let my people teach their young men that they are to love only the productions of the soil, for so will their hearts be good, Let the young also hearken wisely to the.constant instructions of their fathers; and let them look at all virtuous actions, whether great or small, in the same light (with watchful heed).

‘(Ye people of) the land of Mei, if you can employ your limbs, largely cultivating your millets, and hastening about in the service of your fathers and elders; and if, with your carts and oxen, you traffic diligently to a distance, that you may thereby filially minister to your parents; then, when your parents are happy, you may set forth your spirits clear and strong, and use them ?,

‘ Hearken constantly to my instructions, all ye my (high) officers and ye heads of departments, all ye, my noble chiefs ;—when ye have largely done your away the use of things to which Heaven has annexed its terrors, and the use of them, of which it approves, remains as a matter of course.’

1 In sacrificing, the fragrant odour of spirits was supposed to be acceptable to the Beings worshipped. Here the use of spirits seems to be permitted in moderation to the worshippers after the sacrifices. Observe how king Wan wished to guard the young from acquiring the habit of drinking spirits.

* Here is another permissible use of spirits ;—at family feasts, with a view especially to the comfort of the aged.

p. 176

duty in ministering to your aged, and serving your ruler, ye may eat and drink freely and to satiety. And to speak of greater things:—when you can maintain a constant, watchful examination of yourselves, and your conduct is in accordance with correct virtue, then may you present the offerings of sacrifice,* and at the same time indulge yourselves in festivity. In such case you will indeed be ministers doing right service to your king, and Heaven likewise will approve your great virtue, so that you shall never be forgotten in the royal House.’ *

2. The king says, ‘O Fang, in our western region, the princes of states, and the young (nobles), sons of the managers of affairs, who in former days assisted king W4n, were all able to obey his lessons, and abstain from excess in the use of spirits; and so it is that I have now received the appointment which belonged to Yin.’

The king says, ‘O Fang, I have heard it said, that formerly the first wise king of Yin manifested a reverential awe of the bright principles of Heaven and of the lower people, acting accordingly, steadfast in his virtue, and holding fast his wisdom. * From him, Thang the Successful, down to Tt-yt}, all completed their royal virtue and revered their chief ministers, so that their managers of affairs respectfully discharged their helping duties, and dared not to allow themselves in idleness and pleasure ;—how much less would they dare to indulge themselves in drinking! Moreover, in the exterior domains, (the princes of) the Hau, Tien,

1 Ti-yt was the father of Kau-hsin, the twenty-seventh Shang sovereign. The sovereigns between Thang and him had not all been good, but the duke of Kau chooses here to say so.

BOOK x. ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT DRUNKENNESS, 177

Moreover, in the exterior domains, (the princes of) the Hau, Tien,

1 Ti-yt was the father of Kau-hsin, the twenty-seventh Shang sovereign. The sovereigns between Thang and him had not all been good, but the duke of Kau chooses here to say so.

BOOK x. ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT DRUNKENNESS, 177

Nan, and Wei (states)?, with their presiding chiefs ; and in the interior domain, all the various officers, the directors of the several departments, the inferior officers and employés, the heads of great houses, and the men of distinguished name living in retirement, all eschewed indulgence in spirits. Not only did they not dare to indulge in them, but they had not leisure to do so, being occupied with helping to complete the sovereign’s virtue and make. it more illustrious, and helping the directors of affairs reverently to attend to his service.

‘I have heard it said likewise, that the last successor of those kings was addicted to drink, so that no charges came from him brightly before the people, and he was (as if) reverently and unchangingly bent on doing and cherishing what provoked resentment. Greatly abandoned to extraordinary lewdness and dissipation, for pleasure’s sake he sacrificed all his majesty. The people were all sorely grieved and wounded in heart; but he gave himself wildly up to drink, not thinking of restraining himself, but continuing his excess, till his mind was frenzied, and he had no fear of death. His crimes (accumulated) in the capital of Shang; and though the extinction of the dynasty (was imminent), this gave him no concern, and he wrought not that any sacrifices of fragrant virtue might ascend to Heaven.* The rank odour of the people’s resentments, and the drunkenness of his herd of creatures, went loudly up on high, so that Heaven sent down ruin on Yin,

1 These were the first, second, third, and fifth domains or territorial divisions of the land under Kau, counting back from the royal domain. It appears here that an arrangement akin to that of Xu had been made ia the time of Shang.

(1] Np. 178 and showed no love for it,—because of such excesses. There is not any cruel oppression of Heaven; people themselves accelerate their guilt, (and its punishment.)’ *

It appears here that an arrangement akin to that of
Xu had been made ia the time of Shang.

(1] Np. 178 and showed no love for it,—because of such excesses. There is not any cruel oppression of Heaven; people themselves accelerate their guilt, (and its punishment.)’ *

The king says, ‘O Fang, I make you this long announcement, not (for the pleasure of doing so); but the ancients have said, ‘“ Let not men look into water ; let them look into the glass of other people.” Now that Yin has lost its appointment, ought we not to look much to it as our glass, (and learn) how to secure the repose of our time? I say to you,— Strenuously warn the worthy ministers of Yin, and (the princes) in the Hau, the Tien, the Nan, and the Wei domains; and still more your friends, the great Recorder and the Recorder of the Interior, and all your worthy ministers, the heads of great Houses; and still more those whom you serve, with whom you calmly discuss matters, and who carry out your measures; and still more those who are, as it were, your mates,—your Minister of War who deals with the rebellious, your Minister of Instruction who is like a protector to the people, and your Minister of Works who settles the boundaries; and above all, do you strictly keep yourself from drink.

‘If you are informed that there are companies that drink together, do not fail to apprehend them all, and send them here to KAu, where I may put them to death. As to the ministers and officers of Yin who were led to it and became addicted to drink, it is not necessary to put them to death (at once) ;—let them be taught for a time. If they follow these (lessons of mine), I will give them ‘bright distinction. If they disregard my lessons, then I, the One man, will show them no pity. As

BOOK XI. THE TIMBER OF THE ROTTLERA. 179

they cannot change their way, they shall be classed with those who are to be put to death.’

The king says, ‘O Fang, give constant heed to my admonitions. If you do not rightly manage the officers, the people will continue lost in drunkenness.’

Book XI. Tue TimsBeEr OF THE ROTTLERA.

‘ Tue wood of the 3ze tree ’—the Rottlera Japonica, according to Dr. Williams—is mentioned in the Book, and was adopted as the name for it. The 3ze was esteemed a very valuable tree for making articles of furniture and for the carver’s art. The title perhaps intimates that the administrator of government ought to go about his duties carefully and skilfully, as the cabinet-maker and carver deal with their materials.

The 3ze was esteemed a very valuable tree for making articles of furniture and for the carver’s art. The title perhaps intimates that the administrator of government ought to go about his duties carefully and skilfully, as the cabinet-maker and carver deal with their materials.

The Book is wanting in unity. Divided into two chapters, the first may be taken as a charge to ‘the prince of Khang. He is admonished of his duty to promote a good understanding between the different classes in his state, and between them all and the sovereign; and that, in order to this, his rule must be gentle, eschewing the use of punishments. The second chapter is of a different character, containing not the charges of a sovereign, but the admonitions or counsels of a minister, loyally cautioning him, and praying for the prosperity of his reign. We might suppose them the response of Fang to the previous charge, but the text does not indicate the introduction of a new speaker.

1. The king says, ‘O Fang, to secure a good understanding between the multitudes of his people and his ministers (on the one hand), and the great families (on the other); and (again) to secure the same between all the subjects under his charge, and the sovereign :—is the part of the ruler of a state.

‘If you regularly, in giving out your orders, say, “My instructors whom I am to follow, my Minister of Instruction, my Minister of War, and my Minister

N 2

p. 180

of Works; my heads of departments, and all ye, my officers, I will on no account put any to death oppressively!”—. Let the ruler also set the example of respecting and encouraging (the people), and these will (also) proceed to respect and encourage them. Then let him go on, in dealing with villainy and treachery, with murderers and harbourers of criminals, to exercise clemency (where it can be done), and these will likewise do the same with those who have assaulted others and injured their property. When sovereigns appointed overseers (of states), they did so in order to the government of the people, and said to them, “ Do not give way to violence or oppression, but go on to show reverent regard for the friendless, and find helping connexions for (destitute) women*.” Deal with all according to this method, and cherish them. And when sovereigns gave their injunctions to the rulers of states, and their managers of affairs, what was their charge? It was that they should lead (the people) to the enjoyment of plenty and peace. Such was the way of the kings from of old. An overseer is to eschew the use of punishments.’

(The king) says, ‘As in the management of a field, when the soil has been all laboriously turned up, they have to proceed by orderly arrangements to make its boundaries and water-courses; as in building a house, after all the toil on its walls, they have to plaster and thatch it; as in working with the wood of the rottlera, when the toil of the coarser and finer operations has been completed, they have

1 The sentence here is incomplete. Many of the critics confess that the text is unintelligible to them. * It is difficult to say what the exact meaning here is.

BOOK x11. ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE DUKE OF SHAO. 181 to apply the paint of red and other colours ;—(so do you finish for me the work which I have begun in the state of Wei.)’

2. Now let your majesty say, ‘ The former kings diligently employed their illustrious virtue, and produced such attachment by their cherishing (of the princes), that from all the states they brought offerings, and came with brotherly affection from all quarters, and likewise showed their virtue illustrious. Do you, O sovereign, use their methods to attach (the princes), and all the states will largely come with offerings. Great Heaven having given this Middle Kingdom with its people and territories to the former kings, do you, our present sovereign, display your virtue, effecting a gentle harmony among the deluded people, leading and urging them on;—so (also) will you comfort the former kings, who received the appointment (from Heaven). *

‘Yes, make these things your study. I say so simply from my wish that (your dynasty) may continue for myriads of years, and your descendants always be the protectors of the people.’

Book XII.
Tue ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE DUKE oF SHAO.

Suio was the name of a territory within the royal domain, corresponding to the present district of Hwan-44i, Kiang Xu, Shan-hsf. It was the appanage of Shih, one of the ablest of the men who lent their aid to the establishment of the dynasty of Ké4u. He appears in this Book as the Grand-Guardian at the court of king KA&ng, and we have met with him before inp. 182 the Hounds of Lti and the Metal-bound Coffer. He is introduced here in connexion with one of the most important enterprises of the duke of Kau, the building of the city of Lo, not very far from the present city of Lo-yang, in Ho-nan, as a new and central capital of the kingdom. King Wf had conceived the idea of such a city; but it was not carried into effect till the reign of his son, and is commonly assigned to AAing’s seventh year, in B.c. 1109.

Shih belonged to the royal House, and of course had the surname Ai. He is styled the duke of Sho, as being one of the ‘three dukes,’ or three highest officers of the court, and also the chief of Sh4o, all the country west of Shen being under him, as all the east of it was under the duke of Kau. He was invested by WA with the principality of ‘the Northern Yen,’ corresponding to the present department of Shun-thien, Xih-li, which was held by his descendants fully nine hundred years. It was in Lo—while the building of it was proceeding—that he composed this Book, and sent it by the hands of the duke of Xu to their young sovereign.

It was in Lo—while the building of it was proceeding—that he composed this Book, and sent it by the hands of the duke of Xu to their young sovereign.

The whole may be divided into three chapters. The first contains various information about the arrangements for the building of Lo, first by the duke of Shao, and then by the duke of Kau; and about the particular occasion when the former recited the counsels which he had composed, that they might be made known to the king. These form the second chapter. First, it sets forth the uncertainty of the favour of Heaven, and urges the king to cultivate the ‘ virtue of reverence,’ in order to secure its permanence, and that he should not neglect his aged and experienced ministers. It speaks next of the importance and difficulty of the royal duties, and enforces the same virtue of reverence by reference to the rise and fall of the previous dynasties. Lastly, it sets forth the importance, at this early period of his reign, of the king’s at once setting about the reverence which was thus described. There is a concluding chapter, where the duke gives expression to his loyal and personal feelings for the king, and the purpose to be served by the offerings, which he was then sending to the court.

The burden of the Announcement is ‘the virtue of reverence.’ Let the king only feel how much depended on his attending reverently to his duties, and all would be well. The people would love and support the dynasty of Kau, and Heaven would smile upon and sustain it.

wo

BOOK x11. ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE DUKE OF sHAo. 183

1. In the second month, on the day Yi-wei, six days after full moon, the king proceeded in the morning from Aéu to Fang’. (Thence) the Grand- Guardian went before the duke of Au to survey the locality (of the new capital); and in the third month, on the day Wa-shan, the third day after the first appearance of the moon on Ping-wf, he came in the morning to Lo. He divined by the tortoiseshell about the (several) localities, and having obtained favourable indications, he set about laying out the plan (of the city).* On Ka&ng-hsii, the third day after, he led the people of Yin to prepare the various sites on the north of the Lo; and this work was completed on A7i4-yin, the fifth day after.

On Yit-mdo, the day following, the duke of KAéu came in the morning to Lo, and thoroughly inspected the plan of the new city. On Ting-sze, the third day after, he offered two bulls as victims in the (northern and southern) suburbs?; and on the morrow, Wa-wd, at the altar to the spirit of the land in the new city, he sacrificed a bull, a ram, and a boar.* After seven days, on ia-4ze, in the morning, from his written (specifications) he gave their several orders to the people of Yin, and to the presiding chiefs of the princes from the H4u, Tien, and Nan domains. When the people of Yin had thus received their orders, they arose and entered with vigour on their work.

(When the work was drawing to a completion),

When the people of Yin had thus received their orders, they arose and entered with vigour on their work.

(When the work was drawing to a completion),

1 That is, from W4's capital of H4o to king W4n’s at Fang.

* By the addition to the text here of ‘northern and southern,’ I intimate my opinion that the duke of Au offered two sacrifices, one to Heaven at the altar in the southern suburb, and one to Earth in the northern suburb.

p. 184

the Grand-Guardian went out with the hereditary princes of the various states to bring their offerings (for the king)1; and when he entered again, he gave them to the duke of A4u, saying, ‘With my hands to my head and my head to the ground, I present these to his Majesty and your Grace*. Announcements for the information of the multitudes of Yin must come from you, with whom is the management of affairs.’

2. ‘Oh! God (dwelling in) the great heavens has changed his decree respecting his great son and the great dynasty of Yin. Our king has received that decree. Unbounded is the happiness connected with it, and unbounded is the anxiety :—Oh! how can he be other than reverent ?*

‘When Heaven rejected and made an end of the decree in favour of the great dynasty of Yin, there were many of its former wise kings in heaven.* The king, however, who had succeeded to them, the last of his race, from the time of his entering into their appointment, proceeded in such a way as at last to keep the wise in obscurity and the vicious in office. The poor people in such a case, carrying their children and leading their wives, made their moan to Heaven. They even fled away, but were apprehended again. Oh! Heaven had compassion on the people of the four quarters; its favouring

1 These ‘ offerings’ were the ‘presents of introduction,’ which the feudal princes brought with them to court, when they were to have audience of the king. This has led many critics to think that the king was now in Lo, which was not the case.

* The original text here is difficult and remarkable ;—intended probably to indicate that the king’s majesty was revered in the person of the duke of au, who was regent,

BOOK xl. ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE DUKE OF SHAO. 185

‘decree lighted on our earnest (founders). Let the king sedulously cultivate the virtue of reverence. *

p. 185

‘decree lighted on our earnest (founders). Let the king sedulously cultivate the virtue of reverence. *

, ‘Examining the men of antiquity, there was the (founder of the) Hsié dynasty. Heaven guided (his mind), allowed his descendants (to succeed him), and protected them.* He acquainted himself with Heaven, and was obedient to it. But in process of time the decree in his favour fell to the ground.* So also is it now when we examine the case of Yin. There was the same guiding (of its founder), who corrected (the errors of Hsi4), and (whose descendants) enjoyed the protection (of Heaven). He (also) acquainted himself with Heaven, and was obedient to it.* But now the decree in favour of him has fallen to the ground. Our king has now come to the throne in his youth ;—let him not slight the aged and experienced, for it may be said of them that they have studied the virtuous conduct of the ancients, and have matured their counsels in the sight of Heaven.

‘Oh! although the king is young, yet he is the great son (of God).* Let him effect a great harmony with the lower people, and that will be the blessing of the present time. Let not the king presume to be remiss in this, but continually regard and stand in awe of the perilous (uncertainty) of the people’s (attachment).

‘Let the. king come here as the vice-gerent of God, and undertake (the duties of government) in this centre of the land.* Tan! said, ‘“ Now that this great city has been built, from henceforth he may

1 Tan was the name of the duke of Ku, and his brother duke here refers to him by it, in accordance with the rule that ‘ministers

186 THE sHO KING. PART V.

be the mate of great Heaven, and reverently sacrifice to (the spirits) above and beneath ; from henceforth he may from this central spot administer successful government.” Thus shall the king enjoy the favouring regard (of Heaven)all-complete,and the government of the people will now be prosperous.*

‘Let the king first subdue to himself those who were the managers of affairs under Yin, associating them with the managers of affairs for our A4u. This will regulate their (perverse) natures, and they will make daily advancement. Let the king make reverence the resting-place (of his mind) ;—he must maintain the virtue of reverence.

This will regulate their (perverse) natures, and they will make daily advancement. Let the king make reverence the resting-place (of his mind) ;—he must maintain the virtue of reverence.

‘We should by all means survey the dynasties of Hsia and Yin. I do not presume to know and say, “The dynasty of Hsia was to enjoy the favouring decree of Heaven just for (so many) years,” nor do I presume to know and say, “It could not continue longer.” * The fact simply was, that, for want of the virtue of reverence, the decree in its favour prematurely fell to the ground. (Similarly), I do not presume to know and say, “ The dynasty of Yin was to enjoy the favouring decree of Heaven just for (so many) years,” nor do I presume to know and say, “It could not continue longer.” * The fact simply was, that, for want of the virtue of reverence, the decree in its favour fell prematurely to the ground. The king has now inherited the decree,— the same decree, I consider, which belonged to those two dynasties. Let him seek to inherit (the virtues should be called by their names in the presence of the sovereign.’ King King, indeed, was not now really present in Lo, but he was represented by his uncle, the regent.

BOOK x1. ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE DUKE OF SHAO. 187 of) their meritorious (sovereigns) ;—(let him do this especially) at this commencement of his duties.

‘Oh! it is as on the birth of a son, when all depends on (the training of) his early life, through which he may secure his wisdom in the future, as if it were decreed to him. Now Heaven may have™ decreed wisdom (to the king); it may have decreed good fortune or bad; it may have -decreed a (long) course of years ;—we only know that now is with him the commencement of his duties. Dwelling in this new city, let the king now sedulously cultivate the virtue of reverence. When he is all-devoted to this virtue, he may pray to Heaven for a long-abiding decree in his favour. *

‘In the position of king, let him not, because of the excesses of the people in violation of the laws, presume also to rule by the violent infliction of death ;—when the people are regulated gently, the merit (of government) is seen. It is for him who is in the position of king to overtop all with his virtue. In this case the people will imitate him throughout the kingdom, and he will become still more illustrious.

‘Let the king and his ministers labour with a mutual sympathy, saying, “We have received the decree of Heaven, and it shall be great as the longcontinued years of Hsia;—yea, it shall not fail of the long-continued years of Yin.” I wish the king, through (the attachment of) the lower people, to receive the long-abiding decree of Heaven.’ *

3. (The duke of Shao) then did obeisance with his hands to his head and his head to the ground, and said, ‘I, a small minister, presume, with the king’s (heretofore) hostile people and all their officers,

p. 188