From the archive

The Yî King — Sacred Books of China Part II, SBE Vol. 16 (trans. James Legge, 1882)

English·1879–1910·trans. James Legge·333 passages

The text · part 15 of 16

SECT. If.

forget that disorder may come. Thus his person is kept safe, and his states and all their clans can be preserved. This is according to what the Yi says, “(Let him say), ‘Shall I perish ? shall I perish?’ (so shall this state be firm, as if) bound to a clump of bushy mulberry trees.”’

40. The Master said :—‘Virtue small and office high; wisdom small and plans great; strength small and burden heavy:—where such conditions exist, it is seldom that they do not end (in evil). As is said in the Yi, “ The tripod’s feet are overthrown, and the ruler’s food is overturned. The body of him (who is thus indicated) is wet (with shame):— there will be evil.”’

41. The Master said:—‘ Does not he who knows the springs of things possess spirit-like wisdom ? The superior man, in his intercourse with the high, uses no flattery, and, in his intercourse with the low, no coarse freedom :— does not this show that he knows the springs of things? Those springs are the slight beginnings of movement, and the earliest indications of good fortune (or ill). The superior man sees them, and acts accordingly without waiting for (the delay of) a single day. As is said in the Yt, “He is firm as a rock, (and acts) without the delay of a single day. With firm goodness there will be good fortune.” Firm as a rock, how should he have to wait a single day to ensure his knowing (those springs and his course)? The superior man knows the minute and the manifested; he knows what is weak, and what is strong :—he is a model to ten thousand.’

42. The Master said:—‘I may venture to say that the son of the Yen family had nearly attained (the

CHAP. 8. APPENDIX III. 393

standard of perfection). If anything that he did was not good, he was sure to become conscious of that ; and when he knew it, he did not do the thing again. As is said in the Yi, “(The first line shows its subject) returning from an error that has not led him far away. There is no occasion for repentance. There will be great good.”’

43. There is an intermingling of the genial influences of heaven and earth, and transformation in its various forms abundantly proceeds. There is an intercommunication of seed between male and female, and transformation in its living types proceeds. What is said in the Yi, ‘ Three individuals are walking together and one is made to disappear ; there is (but) one man walking, and he gets his mate,’ tells us of the effort (in nature) at oneness (of operation).

What is said in the Yi, ‘ Three individuals are walking together and one is made to disappear ; there is (but) one man walking, and he gets his mate,’ tells us of the effort (in nature) at oneness (of operation).

44. The Master said :—‘ The superior man (in a high place) composes himself before he (tries to) move others; makes his mind restful and easy before he- speaks; settles (the principles of) his intercourse with others before he seeks anything from them. The superior man cultivates these three things, and so is complete. If he try to move others while he is himself in unrest, the people will not (act) with him; if he speak while he is himself in a state of apprehension, the people will not respond to him; if without (certain principles of) intercommunication, he issue his requests, the people will not grant them. When there are none to accord with him, those who (work to) injure him will make their appearance. As is said in the Yi, “(We see one) to whose advantage none will contribute, while some will seek to assail him. He observes no

394 THE APPENDIXES. SECT. Il.

regular rule in the ordering of his heart :—there will be evil.”’

Chapter V, paragraphs 31-44, gives the words of the duke of Xu on eleven different lines in the Text of the Yi, along with remarks of Confucius in farther illustration of them. But they seem also to be intended to bring forth more fully the meaning of certain previous utterances about the structure and scope of the Yi.

Paragraphs 31-34 start from the fourth line of the 31st hexagram, which would seem merely to require a steady and unvarying purpose in any one, in order to the full development of his influence. The editors of the imperial edition, however, make the whole a sequel of paragraph 5. But granted that there is no ‘anxious scheming’ in the processes of the natural world or in the phenomena of insect life, there is really no analogy to their proceedings in the course of the man who makes himself master of ‘the nature and reasons of things,’ as described in 33 and 34. Nor are ‘the nature and reasons of things’ to be found in the Y{, as the writer believed they were. Such as it is, it requires immense thought to understand it, and when we have laid hold of it, there is nothing substantial in our grasp. The ‘virtue’ predicated of such attainment is not so much moral excellence, as apprehension and the power and ability to invent, and to affect others.

Paragraph 35. See on the third line of Khw&n, the 47th hexagram. If we were to translate the explanations of the fine after Confucius, we should put the first two statements hypothetically; but the four that compose it seem to run on in the same way. They are all, I apprehend, hypothetical.

Paragraph 36. See on the last line of Kieh, the goth hexagram. .

If we were to translate the explanations of the fine after Confucius, we should put the first two statements hypothetically; but the four that compose it seem to run on in the same way. They are all, I apprehend, hypothetical.

Paragraph 36. See on the last line of Kieh, the goth hexagram. .

Paragraph 37. See on the first line of Shih Ho, the 21st hexagram. The ‘self-correction in what is small’ implies of course that the small man has been ‘awed.’ What is said about him here is true; but we hardly expect it in this place.

Paragraph 38 should probably begin, like those before and after it, with ‘The Master said.’ The characters quoted from the Yf are again from the text of Shih Ho, on the last line.

Paragraph 39. See on the fifth line of Phi, the 12th hexagram.

Paragraph 40 gives Confucius’ views on the fourth line of Ting, the 50th hexagram.

In paragraph 41 we are conducted to the 16th hexagram, — the cHapP. 6. APPENDIX IH. 395

Chapter VI. 45. The Master said :—‘(The trigrams) Kien and Khw4n may be regarded as the gate of the Yi.’ A Zien represents what is of the yang nature (bright and active); Khwan what is of the yin nature (shaded and inactive). These two unite according to their qualities, and there comes the embodiment of the result by the strong and weak (lines). In this way we have the phenomena of heaven and earth visibly exhibited, and can comprehend the operation of the spiritual intelligence.

46. The appellations and names (of the diagrams and lines) are various, but do not go beyond (what is to be ascribed to the operation of these two conditions). When we examine the nature and style second line of it. The being ‘firm as a rock’ is understood to symbolise the state of ‘rest,’ the quiet self-possession out of which successful movement and action is understood to spring.

In paragraph 42, ‘the son of the Yen family’ is Yen Hui, the favourite disciple of Confucius. The passage quoted from the Yi is that on the first line of Ff, the 24th hexagram.

To paragraph 43, as to paragraph 38, I would prefix the characters for‘ The Master said.’ ‘Male and female’ is to be taken generally, and not confined to the individuals of the human pair. One Chinese writer says that in the transformations ascribed to heaven and earth, birds, fishes, animals, and plants are included, but from the ‘transformation in its living types’ plants are excluded, because in their generation there is nothing analogous to the emission and reception of seed. Other Chinese writers, however, are well enough acquainted with the sexual system of plants. It would seem to me that Confucius, if the paragraph were really his, intended only plants or the vegetable world in his reference to the operation of heaven and earth, and had all living tribes in view in his mention of male and female. The passage of the Yt referred to is on the third line of Sun, the 41st hexagram. The application of it is far-fetched.

The passage of the Yt referred to is on the third line of Sun, the 41st hexagram. The application of it is far-fetched.

Paragraph 44. See on the fifth line of Yi, the 42nd hexagram.

396 THE APPENDIXES. SECT. If;

(of the appended explanations), they seem to express the ideas of a decaying age.

47. The Yi exhibits the past, and (teaches us to) discriminate (the issues of) the future; it makes manifest what is minute, and brings to light what is obscure. (Then king Wn) opened (its symbols), and distinguished things in accordance with its names, so that all his words were correct and his explanations decisive ;—-(the book) was now complete.

48. The appellations and names (of the diagrams and lines) are but small matters, but the classes of things comprehended under them are large. Their scope reaches far, and the explanations attached to them are elegant. The words are indirect, but to the point; the matters seem plainly set forth, but there is a secret principle in them. Their object is, in cases that are doubtful, to help the people in their conduct, and to make plain the recompenses of good and evil.

The principal object, it is said, of chapter VI, paragraphs 45-48, is to set forth the views of king Wan and his son in the explanations which they appended to the diagrams and lines; and in doing this the writer begins in 45, with Ff-hsi’s starting, in the formation of his eight trigrams, from the devising of the whole and divided lines, to represent the two primitive forms in nature. The two ‘pure’ trigrams formed of these lines, unmixed, give rise to all the others, or rather the lines of which they are formed do so; and are thus compared to a gate by which the various diagrams enter to complete the system that is intended to represent the changing phenomena of nature and experience. The next sentence in the above version of paragraph 45 appears in Canon McClatchie’s translation of the Yi, as follows:—‘Khien is the membrum virile, and Khwan is the pudendum muliebre (the sakti of Khien). It is hardly possible, on reading such a version, to suppress the exclamation proh pudor! Can a single passage be adduced in support of it from among all the Chinese critics in the

CHAP. 7. APPENDIX III. . 397

Chapter VII. 49. Was it not in the middle period of antiquity that the Yi began to flourish? Was not he who made it familiar with anxiety and calamity ?

50. Therefore (the roth diagram), Lt, shows us the foundation of virtue; (the 15th), Hsien, its handle; (the 24th), F, its root; (the 32nd), Hang, its solidity; (the 41st), Sun, its cultivation; (the 42nd), Yi, its abundance; (the 47th), Khw4n, its exercise of discrimination ; (the 48th), 3ing, its field ; and (the 57th), Sun, its regulation.

51. In Li we have the perfection of harmony ; in Hsien, we have the giving honour to others,

51. In Li we have the perfection of harmony ; in Hsien, we have the giving honour to others, line of centuries? I believe not. The ideas which it expresses are gratuitously and wantonly thrust into this text of the Yi. ‘Khien’ and ‘Khwin’ are not spoken of thus. If the latter half of the paragraph be unintelligible, this interpretation of the former would make the whole disgusting.

In paragraph 46 the writer passes from the work of Fd-hst to that of king Wan and his son, and the composition of the written Yi is referred to ‘a decaying age,’/—the age, namely, of the tyrant Ku. Then king Wan and the duke of X4u, it is said, deploring the degeneracy of their times and the enormities of the government, indicated, by their treatment of the ancient symbols, their sense of right and wrong, and the methods by which the prevailing evils might be rectified.

Paragraphs 47 and 48 follow and expand the meaning of 45. The editors of the imperial edition say that the former sentence of 47 is the sequel of 45, and the latter of 46, bringing us finally to the explanations and decisions of king W&n, as the most important portion of the Yi. AQ Hsf, moreover, observes that throughout the chapter, as well as in the chapters that follow, there must be many characters wanting in the text, while there are many also that are doubtful. This is specially the case with 48. Where the order of the characters has been disarranged merely, correction is easy; but where characters are evidently missing, attempts to fill the lacunae are merely guess-work.

398 THE APPENDIXES. SECT. If.

and the distinction thence arising; in Fa we have what is small (at first), but there is in it a (nice) discrimination of (the qualities of) things ; in Hang we have a mixed experience, but without any weariness; in Sun we have difficulty in the beginning and ease in the end; in Yt we have abundance of growth without any contrivance; in Khw4n we have the pressure of extreme difficulty, ending in a free course; in 3ing we have abiding in one’s place and at the same time removal (to meet the movement of others); and in Sun we have the weighing of things (and action accordingly), but secretly and unobserved.

52. (The use of) Lt appears in the harmony of the conduct; of Hsien, in the regulation of ceremonies ; of F 4, in self-knowledge; of Hang, in uniformity of virtue ; of Sun, in keeping what is harmful at a distance; of Yt, in the promotion of what is advantageous; of KhwéAn, in the diminution of resentments; of 3ing, in the discrimination of what is righteous; and of Sun, in the doing of what is appropriate to time and to circumstances.

Chapter VII, paragraphs 49-52, is occupied with nine hexagrams, as specially indicating how the superior man, or the ruler, should deal with a time of trouble and solicitude, specially by the cultivation of his own virtue. Not, we are told, that the same thing might not be learned from other diagrams, but these nine specially occurred to the writer, or, as many think, to Confucius.

Paragraph 49 is important as agreeing in its testimony with 46. The Yi was made in middle-antiquity; that is, in the end of the Shang dynasty, and the rise of the Kau; and the maker or makers had personal and public reasons for anxiety about the signs of the times.

Paragraph 50 shows the particular phase of virtue in each of the nine hexagrams that are mentioned; 51, the marvellous character-

CHAP. 8. APPENDIX III. 399

Chapter VIII. 53. The Ytis a book which should not be let slip from the mind. Its method (of teaching) is marked by the frequent changing (of its lines). They change and move without staying (in one place), flowing about into any one of the six places of the hexagram. They ascend and descend, ever inconstant. The strong and the weak lines change places, so that an invariable and compendious rule cannot be derived from them ;—it must vary as their changes indicate.

54. The goings forth and comings in (of the lines) are according to rule and measure. (People) learn from them in external and internal affairs to stand in awe.

55. (The book), moreover, makes plain the nature of anxieties and calamities, and the causes of them. Though (its students) have neither master nor guardian, it is as if their parents drew near to them.

56. Beginning with taking note of its explanations, we reason out the principles to which they point. We thus find out that it does supply a constant and standard rule. But if there be not the proper men (to carry this out), the course cannot be pursued without them.

istics of each phase; and 52, its use. The ‘therefore’ with which paragraph 50 commences shows the process of thought by which the writer passed from the anxiety that possessed the mind of the author of the Yi to the use to be derived, in such circumstances, from the study of Li and the other hexagrams.

Chapter VIII, paragraphs 53-56, describes the method of studying the Yf as consisting very much in watching the changes that take place in the lines, and reflecting on the appended explanations; while, after all, much must depend on there being ‘ the proper men,’ to carry its lessons into practice.

p. 400

Chapter IX. 57. The Yt is a book in which the form (of each diagram) is determined by the lines from the first to the last, which must be carefully observed. The six lines are mixed together, according to the time (when they enter the figure) and their substance (as whole and divided).

SECT. IT.

58. There is difficulty in knowing (the significance of) the first line, while to know that of the topmost line is easy ;—they form the beginning and the end (of the diagram). The explanation of the first line tasks the calculating (of the makers), but in the end they had (but) to complete this.

59. As to the variously-disposed intermediate lines with their diverse formations, for determining their qualities, and discriminating the right and wrong in them, we should be unprovided but for the explanations of them.

60. Yea, moreover, if we wish to know what is likely to be preserved and what to perish, what will be lucky and what will be unlucky, this may easily be known (from the explanations of the different lines). But if the wise will look at the explanations of the entire diagrams, their thoughts will embrace more than half of this knowledge.

61. The second and fourth lines are of the same

There seems to be a contradiction between the statements in paragraphs 53 and 56 about the book supplying, and not supplying, a standard rule; but the meaning, probably, is that while it does not give a rule generally applicable, it gives rules for particular cases.

0 Hst says he does not understand 54, and thinks some characters must have been lost. ‘The six places of the hexagram’ in 53 are, literally, ‘the six empties.’ The places are so called, because it is only a temporary possession of them, which is held by the fugitive lines, whether whole or divided.

CHAP. 9. APPENDIX III. 401

quality (as being in even places), but their positions (with respect to the fifth line) are different, and their value is not the same; but the second is the object of much commendation, and the fourth the subject of many apprehensions,—from its nearness (to that line). But for a line in a place of weakness it is not good to be far (from the occupant of the place of strength), and what its subject should desire in such a case is (merely) to be without blame. The advantage (here) is in (the second line) being in the central place.

62. The third and fifth lines are of the same quality, (as being in odd places), but their positions are different; and the (occupant of) the third meets with many misfortunes, while the occupant of the fifth achieves much merit:—this arises from one being.in the noble position and the other in the mean. Are they occupied by the symbol of weakness? There will be peril. By that of strength ? There will be victory.

Chapter IX, paragraphs 56-62, speaks of the hexagrams as made up of the different lines, and various things to be attended to in those lines to determine their meaning.

Are they occupied by the symbol of weakness? There will be peril. By that of strength ? There will be victory.

Chapter IX, paragraphs 56-62, speaks of the hexagrams as made up of the different lines, and various things to be attended to in those lines to determine their meaning.

Paragraph 57. The time or order in which the lines enter determines of course the place and number of each in the figure. Their ‘substance’ is their form, as whole or divided, being yang or yin.

Paragraph 58 belongs to the first and sixth lines. We are hardly prepared for the statement that ‘the maker or makers’ had so much difficulty in determining the meaning of the first line. Of course when they had fixed that and completed the figure, explaining all the lines, it was easy for the student to follow their exposition, as paragraph 59 says.

Paragraph 60 seems to say that the work of the duke of Kau on each line was but an indicating in detail of the processes of his father’s mind in explaining the whole figure.

[16] pd

p. 402

Chapter X. 63. The Yt is a book of wide comprehension and great scope, embracing everything. There are in it the way of heaven, the way of man, and the way of earth. It then takes (the lines representing) those three Powers, and doubles them till they amount to six. What these six lines show is simply this,—the way of the three Powers.

64. This way is marked by changes and movements, and hence we have the imitative lines. Those lines are of different grades (in the trigrams), and hence we designate them from their component elements. These are mixed together, and elegant forms arise. When such forms are not in their appropriate places, the ideas of good fortune and bad are thus produced. ,

The last two paragraphs mention several points important to be attended to in studying, more especially, the duke of au on the several lines. Three different views of the concluding statement,— ‘are they occupied,’ &c.,—are given in the imperial edition. ‘It belongs,’ says Wi Kang, ‘to the fifth line;’ ‘to the third line,’ says HA Ping-wan (also of the Yuan dynasty); while Han Hsing-kwo (of the Thang dynasty) held that it belonged to both. The Khang-hst editors say that ‘by discriminating and combining these views, we get to the meaning of the text.’ I am unable to do so.

Chapter X, paragraphs 63, 64, speaks of the great comprehensiveness of the Y}, its figures and explanations being applicable to the three Powers—heaven, earth, and man.

With paragraph 63, compare paragraph 4, Appendix VI. In the trigram the upper line represents heaven, the middle line man, and the lowest earth. This paragraph and that other are the nearest approach I know to an attempt to account for the doubling of the number of lines, and stopping with the hexagram ; but the doing so was entirely arbitrary. Ad Hsi says :—‘ The upper two characters belong to heaven, the middle two to man, and the lower two to earth.’ No words could be more express; and yet Canon McClatchie says (p. 354):—‘ The two upper strokes represent Heaven, or Thiaiyi, the husband; the two middle strokes, Earth, his wife; and the

CHAP. II. APPENDIX III. 403

Chapter XI. 65. Was it not in the last age of Yin, when the virtue of Au had reached its highest point, and during the troubles between king W&n and (the tyrant) Au, that the (study of the Yt) began to flourish? On this account the explanations (in the book) express (a feeling of) anxious apprehension, (and teach) how peril may be turned into security, and easy carelessness is sure to meet with overthrow. The method in which these things come about is very comprehensive, and must be acknowledged in every sphere of things. If at the beginning there be a cautious apprehension as to the end, there will probably be no error or cause for blame. This is what is called the way of the Yt.

two lower strokes, Man, their son; all being animated by the same Divine Reason (tao) or Supreme God (Chih Sh&n).’ This note shows how one error, or misunderstanding of the Chinese original, draws other errors with it. The character tao in the paragraph has not at all the sense of reason, human or divine, but its primary and ordinary signification of the path or course. As Lf 3f (Han dynasty) says:—‘In the way of heaven there are the changes of day and night, sun and moon; in that of earth, those of hardness and softness, dryness and moisture; in that of man, those of action and rest, of movement and stillness, of good fortune and bad, of good and evil.’

‘ The imitative lines’ in the translation of 64, is simply ‘the Y4o’ in the Chinese text, which I have rendered according to the account of them in paragraph 8, et al. Their different grades are their position as high or low in the figures (paragraph 1, Section i), and their ‘component elements,’ literally ‘their substance, or thingnature,’ is their structure as being yang or yin, according to the use of wuh in paragraphs 54, 59, et al. A yang line in an even place, or a yin line in an odd, is not in its appropriate place, and gives an indication of what is bad.

Chapter XI, paragraph 65. P. Regis observes on this chapter :— ‘I do not hesitate to say that there is found nowhere in the whole Dd 2

p. 404

A yang line in an even place, or a yin line in an odd, is not in its appropriate place, and gives an indication of what is bad.

Chapter XI, paragraph 65. P. Regis observes on this chapter :— ‘I do not hesitate to say that there is found nowhere in the whole Dd 2

p. 404

Chapter XII. 66. (The hexagram) A4ien represents the strongest of all under the sky. Through this quality its operations are always manifested with ease, for it knows where there would be peril and embarrassment. (The hexagram) Khw&n represents the most docile of all under the sky. Through this quality its operations are always manifested with the promptest decision, for it knows where there would be obstruction.

67. (The sages, who are thus represented, and who made the Yt,) were able to rejoice in heart (in the absolute truth of things), and were able (also) to weigh carefully all matters that could occasion anxiety ; (thus) they fixed the good and bad fortune (of all things) under the sky, and could accomplish the things requiring strenuous efforts.

68. Therefore amid the changes and transformations (taking place in heaven and earth), and the words and deeds of men, events that are to be fortunate have their happy omens. (The sages) knew the definite principles underlying the prognoStications of the former class, and the future of

Yi a passage which affords more light for the explanation of the book.’ Paragraph 49 told us that ‘the study of the Yf flourished in the middle period of antiquity, and that the author of it was familiar with anxiety and troubles.’ That information becomes here more particular. The Yf, existing when this Appendix was written, was made in the closing period of the Yin dynasty, and the making of it was somehow connected with the attempts of the tyrant Kau against king Wan. We are not told expressly that the book was written, in part at least, by king Wn; but the tradition to that effect derives a certain amount of support from what is said here. The general object of the author is also stated clearly enough,— to inculcate a cautious and reverent administration of affairs, never forgetful of the uncertainties of life and fortune.

CHAP. 12. APPENDIX III. 405

those of the latter, (now to be) ascertained by divination.

69. The places of heaven and earth (in the diagrams) having been determined, the sages were able (by means of the Yt) to carry out and complete their ability. (In this way even) the common people were able to share with them in (deciding about) the counsels of men and the counsels of spiritual beings.

70. The eight trigrams communicate their information by their emblematic figures. The explanations appended to the lines and the completed figures tell how the contemplation of them affected (the makers). The strong and the weak lines appear mixed in them, and (thus) the good and the evil (which they indicate) can be seen.

The explanations appended to the lines and the completed figures tell how the contemplation of them affected (the makers). The strong and the weak lines appear mixed in them, and (thus) the good and the evil (which they indicate) can be seen.

71. The changes and movements (which take place in the manipulation of the stalks and the formation of the diagrams) speak as from the standpoint of what is advantageous. The (intimations of) good and evil vary according to the place and nature (of the lines). Thus they may indicate a mutual influence (in any two of them) of love or hatred, and good or evil is the result; or that mutual influence may be affected by the nearness of the lines to, or their distance from, each other, and then repentance or regret is the result ; or the influence may be that of truth or of hypocrisy, and then the result is what is advantageous, or what is injurious. In all these relations of the (lines in the) Y1, if two are near and do not blend harmoniously, there may be (all these results),—evil, or what is injurious, or occasion for repentance and regret.

72. The language of him who is meditating a

406 THE APPENDIXES. SECT. If.

revolt (from the right) betrays his inward shame ; that of him whose inward heart doubts about it diverges to other topics. The words of a good man are few; those of a coarse man are many. The words of one who slanders what is good are un-

Chapter XII, paragraphs 66-72, is generally divided into three sections ;—the first, embracing 66-68, and treating of the sages, the makers of the Y1, as themselves independent of it, knowing all that it enables us to know, and able to accomplish all that it enables us to accomplish ; the second, embracing 69—71, and telling how the sages formed the Yi, and made all men, by means of it, partakers of their now unlimited knowledge and power; the third, comprised in paragraph 72, and saying, if it be genuine and in its proper place, that the ordinary speech of men is as mysterious and indicative of what is in them, as the explanations of the Yi are, when we consider who were its authors.

‘The sages,’ who are the subject of 65-68, are not mentioned in the text ; but 67 makes it plain that the subject must be some personal being or beings. Neither zien nor Khwan can ‘rejoice in heart, and weigh carefully matters occasioning anxiety.’ The commentators generally interpolate ‘the sages ;’ even Ying-t4 of the Thang dynasty, who does not introduce the sages in his exposition, yet makes the subject to be ‘the disposer and nourisher of all things.’ He gets to his view by an unnatural interpretation of two characters in 67, which are now thrown out of the text by all critics as not genuine. That ‘the sages’ is really the subject in the mind of the writer appears from the express mention of them in 69, when also ‘heaven and earth’ take the place of Ahien and Khw&n. It is absurd, not to say blasphemous, to assume that the sages who made the Yi had the knowledge and ability here ascribed to them; but the theory of the Yf as containing a scheme for the discovery of the future necessitated the ascribing such attributes to them. Compare with the whole Section, and especially with paragraph 68, what is said in ‘the Doctrine of the Mean,’ chapter 24.

The first Section shows how the sages were themselves independent of the Yf, and had no need of it; the second goes on to tell how they devised and constructed it, to make all men equal to themselves in a knowledge of phenomena and human events, and of their indications of, and issues in, the future. Summing up its

CHAP. 12. APPENDIX III. 407

substantial; those of him who is losing what he ought to keep are crooked.

lessons, the editors of the imperial edition say, ‘There is no passage in the Appendix more full and clear than this on the five points in regard to the lines which the student of the Yi has to attend to. Those points are :—their time, position, quality, mutual nearness, and responsive relation. It is by a consideration of the two latter points, moreover, that he must form his judgment on their appropriateness or inappropriateness in the three others.’

Paragraph 72 has really no connexion with the rest of the chapter. I have stated above how the critics attempt to make out such a connexion; but I agree myself with P. Regis, who appends to his version of the paragraph this note :—‘ Quae sententiae quidem sapiunt doctrinam Confucianam, at non ordinem, utpote cum praecedentibus minime cohaerentes, sed omnino ab iis abscissae avulsaeque.’

APPENDIX IV.

Supplementary to the Thwan and Y4o on the first and second Hexagrams, and showing how they may be interpreted of man’s nature and doings.

Section I. A#IEN.

Chapter I. 1. What is called (under Kien) ‘the great and originating’ is (in man) the first and chief quality of goodness ; what is called ‘ the penetrating’ is the assemblage of excellences ; what is called ‘the advantageous’ is the harmony of all that is right; and what is called ‘the correct and firm’ is the faculty of action. _ .

_ .

2. The superior man, embodying benevolence, is fit to preside over men; presenting the assemblage of excellences, he is fit to show in himself the union of all propriety; benefiting (all) creatures, he is fit to exhibit the harmony of all that is right; correct and firm, he is fit to manage (all) affairs.

3. The fact that the superior man practises these four virtues justifies the application to him of the words—‘ Kien represents what is great and originating, penetrating, advantageous, correct and firm.’

The title of this Appendix is in Chinese the Wan Yen Xwan, ‘The Record of Wan Yen;’ and according to the analogy of the titles of the three Appendixes that follow, W4n should perform the part of a verb and Yen that of a substantive. So the characters are usually taken, and to W&n is given the meaning of ‘Explaining (Shih);’ and to Yen that of ‘Words or Sentences,’ meaning the Thwan of king Wan, and the Y4o of the duke of Ku on the first two hexagrams. The document treats of these,

CHAP. 2. APPENDIX IV. 409

Chapter II. 4. What is the meaning of the words under the first line undivided, ‘The dragon lies hid (in the deep) ;—it is not the time for active doing ?’ The Master said :—‘ There he is, with the powers of the dragon, and yet lying hid. The influence of the world would make no change in him; he would do nothing (merely) to secure his fame. He can live, withdrawn from the world, without regret; he can experience disapproval without trouble of mind. Rejoicing (in opportunity), he carries his principles and of no others. ‘It shows the amount and depth of meaning in them,’ says AG Hsf, ‘and the other hexagrams may be treated after the analogy supplied here.’ Confucius, it is said by others, died before he was able to carry out the plan which he had formed. But, as I have shown in the Introduction (pp. 28-30), it is more than doubtful whether we have in this Appendix anything at all directly from the sage.

Chapter I, paragraphs 1-3, shows how the attributes of XAien,
“as explained by king W4n, are to be understood of the constituent

But, as I have shown in the Introduction (pp. 28-30), it is more than doubtful whether we have in this Appendix anything at all directly from the sage.

Chapter I, paragraphs 1-3, shows how the attributes of XAien,
“as explained by king W4n, are to be understood of the constituent

principles of human nature. What is remarkable is, that we find paragraphs 1, 2, with very little variation, in one of the narratives of the 30 Awan, as having been spoken by a marchionessdowager of Lf in B.c. 564, several years before Confucius was born. One so familiar as AQ Hstf was with all the classical literature of his country could not be ignorant of this. His solution of the questions arising from it is, that anciently there was this explanation of the characters of king Wan; that it was employed by Shi Xiang (of If), and that Confucius also availed himself of it; while the chronicler used, as he does below, the phraseology of ‘The Master said,’ to distinguish the real words of Confucius from such ancient sayings. But who was this chronicler? No one can tell. The legitimate conclusion from X's criticism is this, that so much of this Appendix as is preceded by ‘The Master said’ is from Confucius ;—so much and no more.

The ascription in paragraph 3 of ‘the four virtues’ to the superior or normal man, man in his best estate, and yet inferior to ‘the sagely man,’ is Confucian,—after the style of the teaching of the Master in the Analects,p. 410 into action ; sorrowing (for want of opportunity), he keeps with them in retirement. Yes, he is not to be torn from his root (in himself).’ This is ‘the dragon lying hid.’

5. What is the meaning of the words under the second line, ‘The dragon shows himself and is in the field ;—it will be advantageous to see the great man?’ The Master said :—‘ There he is, with the dragon’s powers, and occupying exactly the central place. He is sincere (even) in his ordinary words, and earnest in his ordinary conduct. Guarding
* against depravity, he preserves his sincerity. His goodness is recognised in the world, but he does not boast of it. His virtue is extensively displayed, and transformation ensues. The language of the Yi, “ The dragon shows himself and is in the field ;—it will be advantageous to see the great man,” refers to a ruler’s virtue.’

His goodness is recognised in the world, but he does not boast of it. His virtue is extensively displayed, and transformation ensues. The language of the Yi, “ The dragon shows himself and is in the field ;—it will be advantageous to see the great man,” refers to a ruler’s virtue.’

6. What is the meaning of the words under the third line, ‘The superior man is active and vigilant all the day, and in the evening (still) careful and apprehensive ;—the position is dangerous, but there will be no mistake ?’? The Master said :—‘ The superior man advances in virtue, and cultivates all the sphere of his duty. His leal-heartedness and good faith are the way by which he advances in virtue. His attention to his words and establishing his sincerity are the way by which he occupies in his sphere. He knows the. utmost point to be reached, and reaches it, thus showing himself in accord with the first springs (of things); he knows the end to be rested in, and rests in it, thus preserving his righteousness in accordance with that end. Therefore he occupies a high position without pride, and a low

CHAP, 2. APPENDIX IV. 41!

position without anxiety. Thus it is that, being active and vigilant, and careful (also) and apprehensive as the time requires, though his position be perilous, he will make no mistake.’

7. What is the meaning of the words under the fourth line, ‘He is as if he were leaping up, (but still) is in the deep;—there will be no mistake ?’ The Master said :—‘ He finds no permanent place either above or below, but he does not commit the error (of advancing). He may advance or recede ;— there is no permanent place for him: but he does not leave his fellows. The superior man, advancing in virtue and cultivating the sphere of his duty, yet wishes (to advance only) at the (proper) time, and therefore there is no mistake.’

- 8. What is the meaning of the words under the fifth line, ‘The dragon is on the wing in the sky ;— it will be advantageous to see the great man?’ The Master said :—‘ Notes of the same key respond to one another; creatures of the same nature seek one another; water flows towards the place that is (low and) damp; fire rises up towards what is dry; clouds follow the dragon, and winds follow the tiger :— (so) the sage makes his appearance, and all men look to him. Things that draw their origin from heaven move towards what is above; things that draw their origin from the earth cleave to what is below :—so does everything follow its kind.’

g. What is the meaning of the words under the topmost line, ‘The dragon exceeds the proper limits ;—there will be occasion for repentance ?’ The Master said :—‘ The position is noble, but it is not that of office; (its occupant) dwells on high, but he has no people (to rule); and the men of talentp. 412 and virtue in the positions below will give him no aid ;—should he move in such a case, there will be occasion for repentance.’

SECT. I.

and virtue in the positions below will give him no aid ;—should he move in such a case, there will be occasion for repentance.’

In chapter II, paragraphs 4-9, Confucius is introduced, explaining, with considerable amplification, what is said by the duke of Ku under the several lines of the hexagram. ‘The dragon’ becomes the symbol of ‘the superior man;’ and of ‘the great man,’ or the sage upon the throne. The language approaches at times to the magniloquence of Mencius, while in paragraph 8 the voice hardly seems to be that of the sage at all.

With paragraph 5, compare chapters 8 and 14 of ‘the Doctrine of the Mean,’ agreeing much in language and sentiment with what we have here. The line, a strong or undivided line, and therefore yang, is said to be ‘exactly in the central place;’ but the line is in the second, an even place, that proper to a yin line ; and in other passages this might be explained in an unfavourable way. The Chinese character ang has the meaning given to it, now of ‘exact,’ and now of ‘correct,’ the latter being always favourably interpreted.

Paragraph 8. The fifth is almost always the place of honour and authority in the hexagram, and therefore ‘the great man’ here continues to be the great man, ‘the sage.’ The argument is that as things of the same kind respond to and seek one another, so is it with the sage and ordinary man. They are of the same kind, though far apart; and when a sage appears, all other men look to him with admiration and hope. The continuity of the illustrations, however, is broken by the introduction of the dragon and clouds, and the tiger and wind. Are these of the same kind? AG Hs? says he does not think that the real dragon and real tiger are intended; but he does not tell us how he understood the terms. 34i Khing (early in the Ming dynasty) says:—‘ The dragon feels the influence of the clouds surcharged with rain, and rises from the deep, and when the tiger feels the- approach of the cold winds he roars. Thus when the dragon rises, the clouds are sure to collect ; and when the tiger screams, the winds follow ;’ but all this does not help us to appreciate any better the words of the text. And the concluding illustration is nearly as foreign to our way of conceiving things. By ‘things that draw their origin from heaven’ all animals —moving creatures—are intended; and by those that draw their origin from the earth are intended all plants, —things that stand and

CHAP. 3. APPENDIX IV. 413

Chapter III. ro. ‘ The dragon lies hid ;—it is not the time for active doing :'—the position is (too) low.

11. ‘The dragon shows himself and is in the field :’'—the time (requires him still) to be unemployed. |

12. ‘All the day active and vigilant :’—(he now) does his (proper) business.

13. ‘He is as if he were leaping up, (but still) is in the deep : —he is making trial of himself.

14. ‘The dragon is on the wing in the sky :’—
(the subject of the line) is on high and ruling.

12. ‘All the day active and vigilant :’—(he now) does his (proper) business.

13. ‘He is as if he were leaping up, (but still) is in the deep : —he is making trial of himself.

14. ‘The dragon is on the wing in the sky :’—
(the subject of the line) is on high and ruling.

15. ‘The dragon exceeds the proper limit, and there will be occasion for repentance :’—when things have been carried to extremity, calamity ensues.

16. Undivided lines appear in all these representations of the great and originating power denoted by K hien :—(what follows in the Y 4o tells us how) all under the sky there will be good order.

do not move. The former turn their heads to the sky, and the latter their roots to the earth. So we read in XQ Hsi; but I continue to wonder that Confucius selected such illustrations and spoke in such a style. ‘

Paragraph 9. As I have said above, the. place of honour and authority in the hexagram belongs to the fifth line, and no other plays so unimportant a part as the sixth; and hence it is represented here as having ‘no place’ at all. Before he whom it represents is called to act, the battle has been won or lost. Movement from him will only accelerate and intensify the result.

Chapter III, paragraphs ro-16, goes over again the Y4o of the duke of K4u with very brief explanations, grounded chiefly on the consideration of the place or position occupied by the several lines, and the time of their introduction into the action of the hexagram.

Paragraph 16. See the note on the Text of X Zien, corresponding to this line, page 58, and also that on paragraph 7 of the symbolism of the figures and lines, Section i, page 165. There is the same

p. 414

Chapter IV. 17. ‘The dragon lies hid in the deep ;—it is not the time for active doing :'—the energy denoted by the undivided line is laid up and hid away as in the deep.

18. ‘ The dragon appears in the field :'—all under heaven (begins to be) adorned and brightened.

19. ‘All the day active and vigilant :’—continually, as the time passes and requires, does he act.

20. ‘He is as if he were leaping up, (but still) is in the deep :'—a change is taking place in the method indicated by (this) AAien diagram.

21. ‘The dragon is on the wing in the sky :’'— this shows that his place is based on his heavenly virtue.

22. ‘The dragon exceeds the (proper) limit ;— there will be occasion for repentance :'—the time is come to an end, and so also is his opportunity.

23. Undivided lines appear in all these representations of the great and originating power denoted by KAien:—and (from what follows in the Y4o) we see the model (of action) afforded by heaven.

difficulty in understanding the first part of the short paragraph; the conclusion of it must be a consequence of the language of the Y4o, though it is not repeated here.

Chapter IV, paragraphs 17-23, goes over the same ground for a third time, treating the various paragraphs chiefly from the standpoint of time.

Paragraph 17 tells us that time and circumstances are essential, as well as inward power, to successful development and demonstration. In paragraph 18, the words of the Y4o about meeting with the great man are not quoted, but they prompted the latter half of it.

Paragraph 19. Compare the language on paragraph 6, towards the end.

Paragraph 20. The subject passes here from the lower trigram and enters into the upper. We are told not to lay stress on ‘the method of Xhien.’ In paragraph 21 we have the sage upon the

CHAP. 5. APPENDIX IV. 415

Chapter V. 24. The ‘greatness’ and ‘originating’ represented by Aien refer to it as (the symbol of) what gives their beginning (to all things), and (also) secures their growth and development.

25. ‘The advantageousness and the correctness and firmness’ refer to its nature and feelings (as seen in all the resulting things).

26. Khien, (thus) originating, is able with its admirable benefits to benefit all under the sky. We are not told how its benefits are conferred ; but how great is (its operation) !

27. How great is (what is emblemed by) KZien!— strong, vigorous, undeflected, correct, and (in all these qualities) pure, unmixed, exquisite !

28. The six lines, as explained (by the duke of K4u), bring forth and display (its meaning), and everything about it is (thus) indirectly exhibited.

29. (The great man) at the proper time drives with these six dragons through the sky. The clouds move, and the rain is distributed; all under heaven enjoys repose.

throne. Time and opportunity are both in progress in 19; here in 22, they are both passed, have reached their extremity or end.

Paragraph 23:—see on paragraph 16. ‘The model of heaven,’ says WA Khang, ‘is the due blending of the strong and active with the weak and passive, the regulation of movement in accordance with the highest reason, so that there shall be neither excess nor deficiency.’

Chapter V, paragraphs 24-29. The author here, leaving the treatise on the symbolism of the Y4o, turns to that on the Thwan, or expositions of king W&n, and amplifies it, not quoting from it, however, so fully and exactly, as he has done in the previous chapters from the Y4o.

Paragraphs 24 and 25 are based on the statement of the significance of the Thwan under X4ien, and not on the treatise on the ‘symbolism. The originating power cannot be separated from that of penetration and development. The latter issues from the former

416 THE APPENDIXES. SECT. f.

Chapter VI. 30. In the superior man his conduct is (the fruit of) his perfected virtue, which might be seen therefore in his daily course; but the force of that phrase, ‘lying hid,’ requires him to keep retired, and not yet show himself, nor proceed to the full development of his course. While this is the case, the superior man (knows that) it is not the time for active doing.

While this is the case, the superior man (knows that) it is not the time for active doing.

31. The superior man learns and accumulates the results of his learning; puts questions, and discriminates among those results; dwells magnanimously and unambitiously in what he has attained to; and carries it into practice with benevolence. What the Yt says, ‘The dragon appears in the field :—it will be advantageous to meet with the great man,’ has reference to the virtuous qualities of a ruler (as thus described).

32. In the third line there is a twofold (symbol of) strength, but (the position) is not central. (Its as the summer follows on the spring, according to an illustration of KG Hsf. ‘The advantageousness’ and ‘firm correctness,’ he compares also to the autumn and winter, saying that the A4/ien power in its essence, as it is in itself, is best described by these two latter characteristics, while the two former describe it in its operation. It is thus that he tries to give his readers an idea of what he understood by ‘nature and feelings’ in 25. But this chapter treats of the XAien power in nature rather than in humanity. Confining our view to the power so operating, we cannot say that the description of it in 26 and 27 is magniloquent or hyperbolical.

Paragraph 28 returns to the explanations of the lines of the hexagram by the duke of X4u, which exhibit the power in different positions and relations, bringing out all its significance ; and then 2g confines us to the fifth line, in which we have its ideal. The spheres of nature and of men seem to be in the view of the author, and therefore I introduce ‘the great man,’ as the subject, after the example of the best critics. Like the clouds and the rain to the thirsty earth, so is the rule of the sage to expectant humanity.

CHAP. 6. APPENDIX IV. 417

occupant) is not in heaven above, nor is he in the field beneath. Therefore there must be active vigilance and cautious apprehension as the time requires ; and though (the position be) perilous, there will be no mistake.

33. In the fourth line there is (the symbol of) strength, but (the position) is not central. (Its occupant) is not in heaven above, nor is he in the field beneath, nor is he in the place of man intermediate. Hence he is in perplexity; and being so, he has doubts about what should be his movements, and so will give no occasion for blame.

34. The great man is he who is in harmony, in his attributes, with heaven and earth; in his brightness, with the sun and moon; in his orderly procedure, with the four seasons; and in his relation to what is fortunate and what is calamitous, in harmony with the spirit-like operations (of Providence). He may precede Heaven, and Heaven will not act in opposition to him; he may follow Heaven, but will act (only) as Heaven at the time would do. If Heaven will not act in opposition to him, how much less will men! how much less will the spirit-like operation (of Providence)!

He may precede Heaven, and Heaven will not act in opposition to him; he may follow Heaven, but will act (only) as Heaven at the time would do. If Heaven will not act in opposition to him, how much less will men! how much less will the spirit-like operation (of Providence)!

35. The force of that phrase—‘ exceeding the proper limits ’—indicates the knowing to advance but not to retire; to maintain but not to let perish ; to get but not to lose.

36. He only is the sage who knows to advance and to retire, to maintain and to let perish ; and that without ever acting incorrectly. Yes, he only is the sage!

Chapter VI, paragraphs 30-36. The author leaving the Thwan, turns again to the treatise on the symbolism of the Y4o, his main

(16] Ee

p. 418

Section II. KuwaAvy.

Chapter I. 1. (What is indicated by) Khwian is most gentle and weak, but, when put in motion, is object being to show how reasonable are the decisions and lessons of the duke of Kau.

The subject of paragraph 30 has the virtue; but his position in the lowest place shows that his time is not yet come.

In paragraph 31 we have the superior man developing, by means of the processes described, into ‘the great man,’ with the attributes of a ruler, the appearance of whom is a blessing to men.

The twofold symbol of strength in paragraph 32 is the yang or undivided line in the third place (odd) proper to it. There will be no mistake, because the subject of the line, in the exercise of his caution, will abstain from any forward movement.

According to paragraph 63 of last Appendix, Section ii, both the third and fourth lines in the hexagram belong to man, and are intermediate between those of heaven and those of earth. Khung Ying-taé, to get over the difficulty in what is said on the fourth line, says that, as a matter of fact and locally, man is nearer earth than heaven, and is aptly represented therefore by the third line and not by the fourth;—I prefer to point out the inconsistency, and leave it. The subject of this fourth line will move very cautiously, and so escape blame.’

The subject of this fourth line will move very cautiously, and so escape blame.’

The eulogium of ‘the great man’ in paragraph 34 cannot fail to recall to the classical scholar the thirty-first and other chapters of ‘the Doctrine of the Mean,’ where the sage is described as ‘The Equal of Heaven.’ In one sentence here he is spoken of as sometimes taking precedence of Heaven, which then does not act in opposition to him! I do not know of any statement about the sage, coming without doubt from Confucius, that is so extravagant as this. It is difficult—in fact impossible—to say from the Yf itself, what we are to understand by the kwei shan, which I have translated here by ‘the spirit-like operations (of Providence).’ The compound denomination does not often occur in the book. In Appendix III, Section i, 21, kwei is the anima and sh&n the animus; and in paragraph 50, I have translated the terms by ‘the contracting and expanding operations.’ In Appendix I, page 226 and page 259, the name is used as in the present text. That second instance and this

CHAP. 2. APPENDIX IV. 419

hard and strong; it is most still, but is able to give every definite form.

2. ‘ By following, it obtains its (proper) lord, and pursues its regular (course).

3. It contains all things in itself, and its transforming (power) is glorious.

4. Yes, what docility marks the way of Khwan!
It receives the influences of heaven, and acts at
the proper time.

_Chapter II. 5. The family that accumulates goodness is sure to have superabundant happiness, and the family that accumulates evil is sure to have superabundant misery. The murder of a ruler by paragraph were evidently constructed, the one on the model of the other. I think it likely that the breath or air, £47, became the name with the earliest Chinese for their first concept of spirit; then the breath inspired or inhaled was called kwei, and became the name for the grosser part of the spirit, returning to the earth; and shan, the breath exhaled or expired, the name for the subtler and intellectual spirit, ascending to a state of activity and enjoyment. The explanations of the terms in the R Y4 and other dictionaries seem to justify this view. The combination kwei shin is sometimes best translated by ‘spiritual beings.’ The school of the Sung philosophy understand by it—the contracting and expanding of the primary matter, or that matter conceived of in two forms or with two opposite qualities. AA&ng-3ze says here that ‘Heaven and earth are another name for t4o, and kwei shan another name for “the vestiges of making and transformation;” and that the sage being in harmony with the t4o or practical reason of the universe, how can men or the kwei shan be contrary to him?’ Whatever be thought of the Sung speculations and theories, I think that a translator ought to give an indication of the primary meaning of the name kwei shan.