The Writings of Kwang-tze — Sacred Books of China Part II, SBE Vol. 40 (trans. James Legge, 1891)

“ Some one caused it;”—then there was a real Being.
“No one did it;”’—then there was mere vacancy.
To have a name and a real existence,—that is the
_ condition of a thing. Not to have a name, and not

? Two masters of schools of Taoism. Who the former was I do not know; but Sze-m4 Kz’ien in the seventy-fourth Book of his Records mentions several Taoist masters, and among them Kieh-3ze, a native of AA/i, ‘a student of the arts of the T4o and its Characteristics, as taught by Hwang-Tt and L4o-3ze, and who also published his views on the subject.’

[40] Kp. 130 to have real being ;—that is vacancy and no thing. We may speak and we may think about it, but the more we speak, the wider shall we be of the mark. Birth, before it comes, cannot be prevented ; death, when it has happened, cannot be traced farther. Death and life are not far apart; but why they have taken place cannot be seen. That some one has caused them, or that there has been no action in the case are but speculations of doubt. When I look for their origin, it goes back into infinity; when I look for their end, it proceeds without termination. Infinite, unceasing, there is no room for words about (the T4o). To regard it as in the category of things is the origin of the language that it is caused or that it is the result of doing nothing; but it would end as it began with things. The T4o cannot have a (real) existence; if it has, it cannot be made to appear as if it had not. The name T4o is a metaphor, used for the purpose of description’. To say that it causes or does nothing is but to speak of one phase of things, and has nothing to do with the Great Subject. If words were sufficient for the purpose, in a day’s time we might exhaust it; since they are not sufficient, we may speak all day, and only exhaust (the subject of) things. The TAo is the extreme to which things conduct us. Neither speech nor silence is sufficient to convey the notion of it. Neither by speech nor by silence can our thoughts about it have their highest expression.

1 A very important statement with regard to the meaning of the name T4o.

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BOOK XXVI.
Part III. Section IV.

WaAi W4, or ‘ What comes from Without !.’

1, What comes from without cannot be determined beforehand. So it was that Lung-fang? was killed; Pi-kan immolated; and the count of Xi (made to feign himself) mad, (while) O-lai died?, and Kieh and K4u both perished. Rulers all wish their ministers to be faithful, but that faithfulness may not secure their confidence; hence Wf Yiin became . a wanderer along the Kiang‘, and Aang Hung died in Sha, where (the people) preserved his blood for three years, when it became changed into green jade®, Parents all wish their sons to be filial, but that filial duty may not secure their love; hence

1 See vol. xxxix, p. 155.

2? The name of Kwan Lung-fang, a great officer of Kieh, the tyrant of Hsia ;—see Bk. IV, par. 1, et al.

xxxix, p. 155.

2? The name of Kwan Lung-fang, a great officer of Kieh, the tyrant of Hsia ;—see Bk. IV, par. 1, et al.

5 A scion of the line of Ain whose fortunes culminated in Shih Hwang-Tf. O-ldi assisted the tyrant of Shang, and was put to death by king W4 of Kau.

* The famous Wf 3ze-hsti, the hero of Revenge, who made his escape along the Kiang, in about B.c. 512, to WA, after the murder of-his father and elder brother by the king of KAQ.

5 See Bk. X, par. 2. In the 30-4wan, under the third year of duke Ai, it is related that the people of au killed Khang Hung ; but nothing is said of this being done in Shf, or of his blood turning to green jade! This we,owe to the Khun KAid of Lit.

K 2

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Hsido-4t* had to endure his sorrow, and 34ng Shan his grief *,

When wood is rubbed against wood, it begins to burn; when metal is subjected to fire, it (melts and) flows. When the Yin and Yang act awry, heaven and earth are greatly perturbed; and on this comes the crash of thunder, and from the rain comes fire, which consumes great locust trees®. (The case of men) is still worse. They are troubled between two pitfalls‘, from which they cannot escape, Chrysalis-like, they can accomplish nothing. Their minds are as if hung up between heaven and earth. Now comforted, now pitied, they are plunged in difficulties. The ideas of profit and of injury rub against each other, and produce in them a very great fire. The harmony (of the mind) is consumed in the mass of men. Their moonlike intelligence cannot overcome the (inward) fire. They thereupon fall away more and more, and the Course (which they should pursue) is altogether lost.

2. The family of Kwang Ku being poor, he went to ask the loan of some rice from the Marquis Superintendent of the Ho®, who said, ‘Yes, I shall be

1 Said to have been the eldest son of king WA Ting or K4o 3ung of the Yin dynasty. I do not know the events in his experience to which our author must be referring.

* The well-known disciple of Confucius, famous for his filial piety.

5 The lightning accompanying a thunderstorm.

* The ideas of profit and injury immediately mentioned.

5 In another version of this story, in Lid Hsiang’s Shwo Yiian, XI, art. 13, the party applied to is ‘duke Wan of Wei;’ but this does not necessarily conflict with the text. The genuineness of the paragraph is denied by Lin Hsf-4ung and others; but I seem to see the hand of Kwang-jze in it.

PT, 111, SECT. Iv. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-3ZE. 133

13, the party applied to is ‘duke Wan of Wei;’ but this does not necessarily conflict with the text. The genuineness of the paragraph is denied by Lin Hsf-4ung and others; but I seem to see the hand of Kwang-jze in it.

PT, 111, SECT. Iv. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-3ZE. 133 getting the (tax-) money from the people (soon), - and I will then lend you three hundred ounces of silver ;—will that do?’ wang Au flushed with anger, and said, ‘On the road yesterday, as I was coming here, I heard some one calling out. On looking round, I saw a goby in the carriage rut, and said to it, “Goby fish, what has brought you here ?” The goby said, “I am Minister of Waves in the Eastern Sea. Have you, Sir, a gallon or a pint of water to keep me alive?” I replied, “ Yes, I am going south to see the kings of WQ and Yiieh, and I will then lead a stream from the Western Kiang to meet you ;—will that do?” The goby flushed with anger, and said, “I have lost my proper element, and I can here do nothing for myself; but if I could get a gallon or a pint of water, I should keep alive. Than do what you propose, you had better soon look for me in a stall of dry fish.”’

3. A son of the duke of Zan}, having provided himself with a great hook, a powerful black line, and fifty steers to be used as bait, squatted down on (mount) Kwai Ai, and threw the line into the Eastern Sea. Morning after morning he angled thus, and for a whole year caught nothing. At the end of that time, a great fish swallowed the bait, and dived down, dragging the great hook with him. Then it rose to the surface in a flurry, and flapped with its fins, till the white waves rose like hills, and the waters were lashed into fury. The noise was like that of imps and spirits, and spread terror

1 I suppose this was merely a district of KAf, and the duke of it merely the officer in charge of it ;—according to the practice of the rulers of AAA, after they usurped the title of King.

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for a thousand lf. The prince having got such a fish, cut it in slices and dried them. From the Keh river! to the east, and from 3hang-w(? to the north, there was not one who did not eat his full from that fish ; and in subsequent generations, story-tellers of small abilities have all repeated the story to one another with astonishment. (But) if the prince had taken his rod, with a fine line, and gone to pools and ditches, and watched for minnows and gobies, it would have been difficult for him to get a large fish. Those who dress up their small tales to obtain favour with the magistrates are far from being men of great understanding ; and therefore one who has not heard the story of this scion of Zan is not fit to take any part in the government of the world ;—far is he from being so*.

Those who dress up their small tales to obtain favour with the magistrates are far from being men of great understanding ; and therefore one who has not heard the story of this scion of Zan is not fit to take any part in the government of the world ;—far is he from being so*.

4. Some literati, students of the Odes and Ceremonies, were breaking open a mound over a grave‘. The superior among them spoke down to the others, ‘ Day is breaking in the east ; how is the thing going on?’ The younger men replied, ‘We have not yet opened his jacket and skirt, but there is a pearl in the mouth. As it is said in the Ode,

“The bright, green grain

Is growing on the sides of the mound.

' The FF] YB] of the text = the wr YT, still giving its name to the province so called.

2 Where Shun was buried.

5 This last sentence is difficult to construe, and to understand.— The genuineness of this paragraph is also questioned, and the style is inferior to that of the preceding.

* I can conceive of Xwang-3ze telling this story of some literati who had been acting as resurrectionists, as a joke against their class; but not of his writing it to form a part of his work.

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While living, he gave nothing away ;
Why, when dead, should he hold a pearl in his
mouth! ?”’

Thereupon they took hold of the whiskers and pulled at the beard, while the superior introduced a piece of fine steel into the chin, and gradually separated the jaws, so as not to injure the pearl in the mouth.

5. A disciple of Lao LAi-3ze?, while he was out gathering firewood, met with Aung-nt. On his return, he told (his master), saying, ‘ There is a man there, the upper part of whose body is long and the lower part short. He is slightly hump-backed, and his ears are far back. When you look at him, he seems occupied with the cares of all within the four seas ; I do not know whose son he is.’ Lao L4i-3ze said, ‘ It is Kid; call him here;’ and when Kung-ni came, he said to him, ‘ AAid, put away your personal conceit, and airs of wisdom, and show yourself to be indeed a superior man.’ ung-nt bowed and was retiring, when he abruptly changed his manner, and asked, ‘Will the object I am pursuing be thereby advanced?’ Lao LaAi-jze replied, ‘ You cannot bear the sufferings of this one age, and are stubbornly regardless of the

1 This verse is not found, so far as I know, anywhere else.

2 Lao Léi-gze appears here as a contemporary of Confucius, and the master of a T4oistic school, and this also is the view of him which we receive from the accounts in Sze-ma X/ien and HwangfQ Mi. Sze-ma says he published a work in fifteen sections on the usefulness of Taoism. Some have imagined that he was the same as LAo-gze himself, but there does not appear any ground for that opinion. He is one of the twenty-four examples of Filial Piety so celebrated among the Chinese; but I suspect that the accounts of him as such are fabrications. He certainly lectures Confucius here in a manner worthy of Lao Tan.

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evils of a myriad ages :—is it that you purposely make yourself thus unhappy ? or is it that you have not the ability to comprehend the case? Your obstinate purpose to make men rejoice in a participation of your joy is your life-long shame, the procedure of a mediocre man. You would lead men by your fame; you would bind them to you by your secret art. Than be praising Y4o and condemning Kieh, you had better forget them both, and shut up your tendency to praise. If you reflect on it, it does nothing but injury; your action in it is entirely wrong. The sage is full of anxiety and indecision in undertaking anything, and so he is always successful, But what shall I say of your conduct? To the end it is all affectation.’

6. Theruler Yiian of Sung! (once) dreamt at midnight that a man with dishevelled hair peeped in on him at a side door and said, ‘I was coming from the abyss of 34i-li, commissioned by the Clear Kiang to go to the place of the Earl of the Ho; but the fisherman Yii Zii has caught me.’ When the ruler Yiian ‘awoke, he caused a diviner to divine the meaning (of the dream), and was told, ‘ This is a marvellous tortoise.’ The ruler asked if among the fishermen there was one called Yii 3ii, and being told by his attendants that there was, he gave orders that he should be summoned to court. Accordingly the man next day appeared at court, and the ruler said, ‘What have you caught (lately) in fishing?’ The reply was, ‘I have caught in my net a white tortoise, sievelike, and five cubits round.’ ‘ Present the prodigy here,’ said the ruler ; and, when it came, once and

* Compare in Bk, XXI, par. 7.

PT. Ill, SECT.IvV. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-8ZE. 137 again he wished to kill it, once and again he wished to keep it alive. Doubting in his mind (what to do), he had recourse to divination, and obtained the answer, ‘ To kill the tortoise for use in divining will be fortunate.’ Accordingly they cut the creature open, and perforated its shell in seventy-two places, and there was not a single divining slip which failed’.

Doubting in his mind (what to do), he had recourse to divination, and obtained the answer, ‘ To kill the tortoise for use in divining will be fortunate.’ Accordingly they cut the creature open, and perforated its shell in seventy-two places, and there was not a single divining slip which failed’.

Kung-nt said, ‘ The spirit-like tortoise could show itself in a dream to the ruler Yiian, and yet it could not avoid the net of Yi 3ii. Its wisdom could respond on seventy-two perforations without failing in a single divination, and yet it could not avoid the agony of having its bowels all scooped out. We see from this that wisdom is not without its perils, and spirit-like intelligence does not reach to everything. A man may have the greatest wisdom, but there are a myriad men scheming against him. Fishes do not fear the net, though they fear the pelican. Put away your small wisdom, and your great wisdom will be bright ; discard your skilfulness, and you will become naturally skilful. A child when it is born needs no great master, and yet it becomes able to speak, living (as it does) among those who are able to speak.’

7. Hui-3ze said to Awang-sze, ‘ You speak, Sir, of what is of no use. The reply was, ‘When a man knows what is not useful, you can then begin to speak to him of what is useful. The earth for instance is certainly spacious and great; but what a

1 The story of this wonderful tortoise is found at much greater length, and with variations, in Sze-ma Khien’s Records, Bk. LXVIII, q: v- The moral of it is given in the concluding remarks from Confucius.

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man uses of it is only sufficient ground for his feet. If, however, a rent were made by the side of his feet, down to the yellow springs, could the man still make use of it?’ Hui-3ze said, ‘ He could not use it, and Kwang-jze rejoined, ‘Then the usefulness of what is of no use is clear \.’

8. AKwang-sze said, ‘If a man have the power to enjoy himself (in any pursuit), can he be kept from doing so? If he have not the power, can he so enjoy himself? There are those whose aim is bent on concealing themselves, and those who are determined that their doings shall leave no trace. Alas! they both shirk the obligations of perfect knowledge and great virtue. The (latter) fall, and cannot recover themselves; the (former) rush on like fire, and do not consider (what they are doing). Though men may stand to each other in the relation of ruler and minister, that is but fora time. Ina changed age, the one of them would not be able to look down on the other. Hence it is said, ‘‘ The Perfect man leaves no traces of his conduct.”

‘To honour antiquity and despise the present time is the characteristic of learners? ; but even the disciples of A%ih-wei? have to look at the present age ; and who can avoid being carried along by its course ? It is only the Perfect man who is able to enjoy himself in the world, and not be deflected from the right,

; but even the disciples of A%ih-wei? have to look at the present age ; and who can avoid being carried along by its course ? It is only the Perfect man who is able to enjoy himself in the world, and not be deflected from the right,

1 See Bk. I, par. 6, and XXIV, par. 14. The conversations between our author and Hui-jze often turned on this subject.

2 Does our author mean by ‘learners’ the literati, the disciples of Confucius?

5 Khih-wei,— see Bk. VI, par. 7. Perhaps ‘the disciples of Khih-wei’ are those who in our author's time called themselves such, but were not.

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to accommodate himself to others and not lose himself. He does not learn their lessons ; he only takes their ideas into consideration, and does not discard them as different from his own.

g. ‘It is the penetrating eye that gives clear vision, the acute ear that gives quick hearing, the discriminating nose that gives discernment of odours, the practised mouth that gives the enjoyment of flavours, the active mind that acquires knowledge, and the far-reaching knowledge that constitutes virtue.. In no case does the connexion with what is without like to be obstructed; obstruction produces stoppage ; stoppage, continuing without intermission, arrests all progress; and with this all injurious effects spring up.

‘ The knowledge of all creatures depends on their breathing?. But if their breath be not abundant, it is not the fault of Heaven, which tries to penetrate them with it, day and night without ceasing; but men notwithstanding shut their pores against it. The womb encloses a large and empty space; the heart has its spontaneous and enjoyable movements. If their apartment be not roomy, wife and motherin-law will be bickering; if the heart have not its spontaneous and enjoyable movements, the six faculties of perception? will be in mutual collision. That

1 There seems to underlie this statement the T4oist dogma about the regulation of the ‘ breath,’ as conducive to long life and mental cultivation.

2 Probably what in Buddhist literature are called ‘the Six Entrances (*% JN), what Mayers denominates ‘ The Six Organs of Admittance, or Bodily Sensations,’ the Shad4yatana, the eye, ear, nose, mouth, body, and mind,—one of the twelve Nidanas in the Buddhist system.

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p. 140

the great forests, the heights and hills, are pleasant to men, is because their spirits cannot overcome (those distracting influences). Virtue overflows into (the love of) fame; (the love of) fame overflows into violence ; schemes originate in the urgency (of circumstances); (the show of) wisdom comes from rivalry; the fuel (of strife) is produced from the obstinate maintenance (of one’s own views); the business of offices should be apportioned in accordance with the approval of all. In spring, when the rain and the sunshine come seasonably, vegetation grows luxuriantly, and sickles and hoes begin to be prepared. More than half of what had fallen down becomes straight, and we do not know how.

10. ‘Stillness and silence are helpful to those who are ill; rubbing the corners of the eyes is helpful to the aged; rest serves to calm agitation; but they are the toiled and troubled who have recourse to these things. Those who are at ease, and have not had such experiences, do not care to ask about them. The spirit-like man has had no experience of how it is that the sagely man keeps the world in awe, and so he does not inquire about it; the sagelyman has had no experience of how it is that the man of ability and virtue keeps his age in awe, and so he does not inquire about it; the man of ability and virtue has had no experience of how it is that the superior man keeps his state in awe, and so he does not inquire about it. The superior man has had no experience of how it is that the small man keeps himself in agreement with his times that he should inquire about it.’

11. The keeper of the Yen Gate’, on the death of

* The name of one of the gates in the wall of the capital of Sung.

PT. III, SECT. IV. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-3ZE. I4!I

his father, showed so much skill in emaciating his person? that he received the rank of ‘ Pattern for Officers. Half the people of his neighbourhood (in consequence) carried their emaciation to such a point that they died. When Y4o wished to resign the throne to Hsii Yd, the latter ran away. When Thang offered his to Wi Kwang’, Wi Kwang became angry. When At Tha® heard it, he led his disciples, and withdrew to the river Kho, where the feudal princes came and condoled with him, and after three years, Shan Tha-ti+ threw himself into the water. Fishing-stakes® are employed to catch fish ; but when the fish are got, the men forget the stakes. Snares are employed to catch hares, but when the hares are got, men forget the snares. Words are employed to convey ideas; but when the ideas are apprehended, men forget the words. Fain would I talk with such a man who has forgot the words!

1 The abstinences and privations in mourning were so many that there was a danger of their seriously injuring the health ;— which was forbidden.

7 See Bk. VI, par. 3; but in the note there, WA Kwang is said to have been of the time of Hwang-T?; which is probably an error.

1 The abstinences and privations in mourning were so many that there was a danger of their seriously injuring the health ;— which was forbidden.

7 See Bk. VI, par. 3; but in the note there, WA Kwang is said to have been of the time of Hwang-T?; which is probably an error.

® See IV, par. 3; but I do not know who &? Thé was, nor can I explain what is said of him here.

“ See again IV, par. 3.

5 According to some, ‘baskets.’ This illustration is quoted in the Inscription on the Nestorian Monument, II, 7.

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BOOK XXVII.
Part III. Section V.
Yii Yen, or ‘Metaphorical Language,’

1. Of my sentences nine in ten are metaphorical ; of my illustrations seven in ten are from valued writers. The rest of my words are like the water that daily fills the cup, tempered and harmonised by the Heavenly element in our nature’.

The nine sentences in ten which are metaphorical are borrowed from extraneous things to assist (the comprehension of) my argument. (When it is said, for instance),‘A father does not act the part of matchmaker for his own son,’ (the meaning is that) ‘it is better for another man to praise the son than for his father to do so. The use of such metaphorical language is not my fault, but the fault of men (who would not otherwise readily understand me).

Men assent to views which agree with their own, and oppose those which do not so agree. Those which agree with their own they hold to be right, and those which do not so agree they hold to be wrong. The seven out of ten illustrations taken from valued writers are designed to put an end to disputations. Those writers are the men of hoary eld, my predecessors in time. But such as are un-

* See vol. xxxix, pp. 155, 156. 2 See Bk. II, par. ro.

PT. Ill. SECT. V. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-8ZE. 143 versed in the warp and woof, the beginning and end of the subject, cannot be set down as of venerable eld, and regarded as the predecessors of others. If men have not that in them which fits them to precede others, they are without the way proper to man, and they who are without the way proper to man can only be pronounced defunct monuments of antiquity.

If men have not that in them which fits them to precede others, they are without the way proper to man, and they who are without the way proper to man can only be pronounced defunct monuments of antiquity.

Words like the water that daily issues from the cup, and are harmonised by the Heavenly Element (of our nature), may be carried on into the region of the unlimited, and employed to the end of our years. But without words there is an agreement (in principle). That agreement is not effected by words, and an agreement in words is not effected by it. Hence it is said,‘ Let there be no words.’ Speech does not need words. One may speak all his life, and not have spoken a (right) word; and one may not have spoken all his life, and yet all his life been giving utterance to the (right) words. There is that which makes a thing allowable, and that which makes a thing not allowable. There is that which makes a thing right, and that which makes a thing not right. How isa thing right? It is right because it is right. How is a thing wrong? It is wrong because it is wrong. How is a thing allowable? It is allowable because it is so. Howisa thing not allowable? It is not allowable because it is not so. Things indeed have what makes them right, and what makes them allowable. There is nothing which has not its condition of right ; nothing which has not its condition of allowability. But without the words of the (water-) cup in daily use, and harmonised by the Heavenly Element (in ourp. 144 nature), what one can continue long in the possession of these characteristics ?

All things are divided into their several classes, and succeed to one another in the same way, though of different bodily forms. They begin and end as in an unbroken ring, though how it is they do so be not apprehended. This is what is called the Lathe of Heaven; and the Lathe of Heaven is the Heavenly Element in our nature.

2. AKwang-jze said to Hui-3ze, ‘When Confucius was in his sixtieth year, in that year his views changed’. What he had before held to be right, he now ended by holding to be wrong ; and he did not know whether the things which he now pronounced to be right were not those which he had for fifty-nine years held to be wrong.’ Hui-jze replied, ‘ Confucius with an earnest will pursued the acquisition of knowledge, and acted accordingly.’ A wang-3ze rejoined, ‘Confucius disowned such a course, and never said that it was his. He said, “ Man receives his powers from the Great Source * (of his being), and he should restore them to their (original) intelligence in his life. His singing should be in accordance with the musical tubes, and his speech a model for imitation. When profit and righteousness are set before him, and his liking (for the latter) and dislike (of the

1 Compare this with the same language about At Po-yii in Bk. XXV, par. 8. There is no proof to support our author’s assertion that the views of Confucius underwent any change.

When profit and righteousness are set before him, and his liking (for the latter) and dislike (of the

1 Compare this with the same language about At Po-yii in Bk. XXV, par. 8. There is no proof to support our author’s assertion that the views of Confucius underwent any change.

* «The Great Source (Root)’ here is generally explained by ‘the Grand Beginning.’ It is not easy to say whether we are to understand an ideal condition of man designed from the first, or the condition of every man as he is born into the world. On the ‘ powers’ received by man, see Mencius VI, i, 6.

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former), his approval and disapproval, are manifested, that only serves to direct the speech of men _(about him). To make men in heart submit, and not dare to stand up in opposition to him; to establish the fixed law for all under heaven :—ah! ah! I have not attained to that.”’

3. 3ang-3ze twice took office, and on the two occasions his state of mind was different. He said, ‘While my parents were alive I took office, and though my emolument was only three ff! (of grain), my mind was happy. Afterwards when I took office, my emolument was three thousand £ung?; but I could not share it with my parents, and my mind was sad.’ The other disciples asked Aung-ni, saying, ‘Such an one as Shan may be pronounced free from all entanglement :—is he to be blamed for feeling as he did??’ The reply was, ‘ But he was subject to entanglement‘. If he had been free from it, could he have had that sadness? He would have looked on his three ff and three thousand ung no more than ona heron or a mosquito passing before him.’

4. Yen Khang 3ze-yf said to Tung-kwo 3ze-£4i *, ‘When I (had begun to) hear your instructions, the first year, I continued a simple rustic; the second

1A ffi=ten t&u and four shing, or sixty-four shing, the shing at present being rather less than an English pint.

* A kung=sixty-four tau; but there are various accounts of its size.

5 This sentence is difficult to construe.

* But Confucius could not count his love for his parents an entanglement.

5 We must suppose this master to be the same as the Nan-kwo
3ze-kAt of Bk. II.

[40] Lp. 146 year, I became docile; the third year, I comprehended (your teaching); the fourth year, I was (plastic) as a thing; the fifth year, I made advances; the sixth year, the spirit entered (and dwelt in me); the seventh year, (my nature as designed by) Heaven was perfected ; the eighth year, I knew no difference between death and life; the ninth year, I attained to the Great Mystery!.

‘ Life has its work to do, and death ensues, (as if) the common character of each were a thing prescribed. Men consider that their death has its cause; but that life from (the operation of) the Yang has no cause. But is it really so? How does (the Yang) operate in this direction? Why - does it not operate there ?

Men consider that their death has its cause; but that life from (the operation of) the Yang has no cause. But is it really so? How does (the Yang) operate in this direction? Why - does it not operate there ?

‘Heaven has its places and spaces which can be calculated; (the divisions of) the earth can be assigned by men, But how shall we search for and find out (the conditions of the Great Mystery)? We do not know when and how (life) will end, but how shall we conclude that it is not determined (from without) ? and as we do not know when and how it begins, how should we conclude that it is not (so) determined ?

‘In regard to the issues of conduct which we deem appropriate, how should we conclude that there are no spirits presiding over them; and where those issues seem inappropriate, how should we conclude that there are spirits presiding over them ?’

? In illustration of the text here Lf Sh@-4ih refers to the use of Miéo (44), in the account of the term ‘Spirit, in the fifth Appendix to the Yi, par. 10, as meaning ‘the subtle (presence and operation of God) with all things.’ 3ze-y@’s further exposition of his attainments is difficult to understand fully.

PT. III, SECT. Vv. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-3ZE. 147

5. The penumbrae (once) asked the shadow}, saying, ‘Formerly you were looking down, and now you are looking up; formerly you had your hair tied up, and now it is dishevelled; formerly you were sitting, and now you have risen up; formerly you were walking, and now you have stopped :— how is all this?’ The shadow said, ‘Venerable Sirs, how do you ask me about such small matters ? These things all belong to me, but I do not know how they do so. I am (like) the shell of a cicada or the cast-off skin of a snake? ;—like them, and yet not like them. With light and the sun I make my appearance; with darkness and the night I fade away. Am not I dependent on the substance from which I am thrown? And that substance is itself dependent on something else! When it comes, I come with it; when it goes, I go with it. When it comes under the influence of the strong Yang, I come under the same. Since we are both produced by that strong Yang, what occasion is there for you to question me?’

6. Yang 3ze-4ii* had gone South to Phei*, while L4o Tan was travelling in the west in K/in® (He thereupon) asked (LAo-sze) to come to the border (of Phei), and went himself to Liang, where he met him. L4o-sze stood in the middle of the way, and, looking up to heaven, said with a sigh, ‘At first I thought that you might be taught, but now I see that you cannot be. Yang 3ze-Aii made no reply;

1 Compare Bk. II, par. 11.

* Such is the reading of 3iao Hung.

* No doubt the Yang A@ of Lieh-3ze and Mencius.

‘ See in XIV, 26b.

5 In the borders of Phei; can hardly be the great State.

L2

p. 148

Yang 3ze-Aii made no reply;

1 Compare Bk. II, par. 11.

* Such is the reading of 3iao Hung.

* No doubt the Yang A@ of Lieh-3ze and Mencius.

‘ See in XIV, 26b.

5 In the borders of Phei; can hardly be the great State.

L2

p. 148

and when they came to their lodging-house, he brought in water for the master to wash his hands and rinse his mouth, along with a towel and comb. He then took off his shoes outside the door, went forward on his knees, and said, ‘Formerly, your disciple wished to ask you, Master, (the reason of what you said); but you were walking, and there was no opportunity, and therefore I did not presume to speak. Now there is an opportunity, and I beg to ask why you spoke as you did.’ L&o-ze replied, ‘Your eyes are lofty, and you stare ;—who would live with you? The purest carries himself as if he were soiled; the most virtuous seems to feel himself defective. Yang 3ze-£ii looked abashed and changed countenance, saying, ‘I receive your commands with reverence.

When he first went to the lodging-house, the people of it met him and went before him. The master of it carried his mat for him, and the mistress brought the towel and comb. The lodgers left their mats, and the cook his fire-place (as he passed them). When he went away, the others in the house would have striven with him about (the places for) their mats}.

? So had his arrogant superciliousness given place to humility.

p. 149

BOOK XXVIII.

Part III. Sxction VI.

Zang Wang, or ‘ Kings who have wished to resign the Throne?’

1. Yao proposed to resign the throne to Hsii YQ, who would not accept it. He then offered it to 3ze-kAu Kih-f02, but he said, ‘It is not unreasonable to propose that I should occupy the throne, but I happen to be suffering under a painful sorrow and illness. While I am engaged in dealing with it, I have not leisure to govern the kingdom.’ Now the throne is the most important of all positions, and yet this man would not occupy it to the injury of his life; how much less would he have allowed any other thing to do so! But only he who does not care to rule the kingdom is fit to be entrusted with it.

Shun proposed to resign the throne to 3ze-s4u Kih-po*, who declined in the very same terms as Kih-fQ had done. Now the kingdom is the greatest of all concerns, and yet this man would not give his life in exchange for the throne. This shows how they who possess the T4o differ from common men.

1 See vol. xxxix, pp. 156, 157.

2 We know nothing of this man but what is related here. He is, no doubt, a fictitious character. ih-ff and Xih-po are supposed to be the same individual. See Hwang-fi Mf, I, 7.

p. 150

1 See vol. xxxix, pp. 156, 157.

2 We know nothing of this man but what is related here. He is, no doubt, a fictitious character. ih-ff and Xih-po are supposed to be the same individual. See Hwang-fi Mf, I, 7.

p. 150

Shun proposed to resign the throne to Shan Kiian!, who said, ‘I am a unit in the midst of space and time. In winter I wear skins and furs; in summer, grass-cloth and linen; in spring I plough and sow, my strength being equal to the toil; in autumn I gather in my harvest, and am prepared to cease from labour and eat. At sunrise I get up and work; at sunset I rest. So do I enjoy myself between heaven and earth, and my mind is content : —why should I have anything to do with the throne? Alas! that you, Sir, do not know me better!’ Thereupon he declined the proffer, and went away, deep among the hills, no man knew where.

Shun proposed to resign the throne to his friend, a farmer of Shih-hi*. The farmer, however, said (to himself), ‘ How full of vigour does our lord show himself, and how exuberant is his strength! If Shun with all his powers be not equal (to the task of government, how should I be so?).’ On this he took his wife on his back, led his son by the hand, and went away to the sea-coast, from which to the end of his life he did not come back.

When Thai-wang Than-fa* was dwelling in Pin 8, the wild tribes of the North attacked him. He tried to serve them with skins and silks, but they were not satisfied. He tried to serve them with dogs and horses, but they were not satisfied, and then

* Nor do we know more of Shan Ktian, though Mf relates a visit of Yao to him.

2 Name of a place; where it was is very uncertain.

5 An ancestor of the House of Ku, who about .c. 1325 removed from Pin (in the present small department so called of Shen-hsf), and settled in the district of K/i-shan, department of Fang-shiang. He was the grandfather of king Wan.

PT. III. SECT. VI. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-8ZE. I51

5 An ancestor of the House of Ku, who about .c. 1325 removed from Pin (in the present small department so called of Shen-hsf), and settled in the district of K/i-shan, department of Fang-shiang. He was the grandfather of king Wan.

PT. III. SECT. VI. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-8ZE. I51

with pearls and jade, but they were not satisfied. What they sought was his territory. Th4i-wang Than-ff said (to his people), ‘To dwell with the elder brother and cause the younger brother to be killed, or with the father and cause the son to be killed,—this is what I cannot bear to do. Make an effort, my children, to remain here. What difference is there between being my subjects, or the subjects of those wild people? And I have heard that a man does not use that which he employs for nourishing his people to injure them.’ Thereupon he took his staff and switch and left, but the people followed him in an unbroken train, and he established a (new) state at the foot of mount K#i4. Thus Thai-wang Than-fd might be pronounced one who could give its (due) honour to life. Those who are able to do so, though they may be rich and noble, will not, for that which nourishes them, injure their persons; and though they may be poor and mean, will not, for the sake of gain, involve their bodies (in danger). The men of the present age who occupy high offices and are of honourable rank all lose these (advantages) again, and in the prospect of gain lightly expose their persons to ruin:—is it not a case of delusion ?

The people of Yiieh three times in succession killed their ruler, and the prince Sdu?, distressed by it, made his escape to the caves of Tan, so that Yiieh was left without a ruler. The people sought

1 See note 3, p. 150.

2 Sze-m4 Xhien takes up the history of Yiieh at a later period, and we have from him no details of this prince SAu. Tan-hsiieh was the name of a district in the south of Yiieh, in which was a valley with caves containing cinnabar ;—the fabled home of the phoenix.

p. 152

for the prince, but could not find him, till (at last) they followed him to the cave of Tan. The prince was not willing to come out to them, but they smoked him out with moxa, and made him mount the royal chariot. As he took hold of the strap, and mounted the carriage, he looked up to heaven, and called out, ‘O Ruler, O Ruler, could you not have spared me this?’ Prince S4u did not dislike being ruler ;—he disliked the evil inseparable from being so. It may be said of him that he would not for the sake of a kingdom endanger his life; and this indeed was the reason why the people of Yiieh wanted to get him for their ruler.

It may be said of him that he would not for the sake of a kingdom endanger his life; and this indeed was the reason why the people of Yiieh wanted to get him for their ruler.

2. Han! and Wei? were contending about some territory which one of them had wrested from the other. 3ze-hwa 3ze ? went to see the marquis A4éo-hsi (of Han) 3, and, finding him looking sorrowful, said, ‘Suppose now that all the states were to sign an agreement before you to the effect that ‘“ Whoever should with his left hand carry off (the territory in dispute) should lose his right hand, and whoever should do so with his right hand should lose his left hand, but that, nevertheless, he who should carry it off was sure to obtain the whole kingdom ;” would your lordship feel yourself able to carry it off?’ The marquis said, ‘I would not carry it off, and 3ze-hw4 rejoined, ‘Very good. Looking at the thing from this point of view, your two arms are of more value to you than the whole kingdom. But

' Two of the three states into which the great state of 3in was divided about the beginning of the fifth century s.c.

* A native, we may call him a philosopher, of Wei.

* Began his rule in B.c. 359.

p. 153

your body is of more value than your two arms, and - Han is of much less value than the whole kingdom. The territory for which you are now contending is further much less important than Han :—your lordship, since you feel so much eoncern for your body, should not be endangering your life by indulging your sorrow.’

The marquis K4o-hsi said, ‘Good! Many have given me their counsel about this matter; but I never heard what you have said.’ 3ze-hw4 3ze may be said to have known well what was of great importance and what was of little.

3. The ruler of Ld, having heard that Yen Ho? had attained to the T4o, sent a messenger, with a gift of silks, to prepare the way for further communication with him, Yen Ho was waiting at the door of a mean house, in a dress of coarse hempen cloth, and himself feeding a cow. When the messenger arrived, Yen Ho himself confronted him. ‘Is this,’ said the messenger, ‘the house of Yen Ho?’ ‘It is, was the reply; and the other was presenting the silks to him, when he said, ‘I am afraid you heard (your instructions) wrongly, and that he who sent you will blame you. You had better make sure.’ The messenger on this returned, and made sure that he was right; but when he came back, and sought for Yen Ho, he was not to be found.

Yes; men like Yen Ho do of a truth dislike riches and honours. Hence it is said, ‘The true

1 Perhaps the Yen Ho of IV, 5.

2 The same thing is often seen at the present day. The party in charge of the cow pours its prepared food down its throat from a joint of bamboo.

154 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK, XXVIIIe

Hence it is said, ‘The true

1 Perhaps the Yen Ho of IV, 5.

2 The same thing is often seen at the present day. The party in charge of the cow pours its prepared food down its throat from a joint of bamboo.

154 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK, XXVIIIe object of the T4o is the regulation of the person. Quite subordinate to this is its use in the management of the state and the clan; while the government of the kingdom is but the dust and refuse of it.’ From this we may see that the services of the Tits and Kings are but a surplusage of the work of the sages, and do not contribute to complete the person or nourish the life. Yet the superior men of the present age will, most of them, throw away their lives for the sake of their persons, in pursuing their (material) objects ;—is it not cause for grief? Whenever a sage is initiating any movement, he is sure to examine the motive which influences him, and what he is about to do. Here, however, is a man, who uses a pearl like that of the marquis of Sui! to shoot a bird at a distance of 10,000 feet. All men will laugh at him; and why? Because the thing which he uses is of great value, and what he wishes to get is of little. And is not life of more value than the pearl of the marquis of Sui ?

4. 3ze? Lieh-3ze? was reduced to extreme poverty, and his person had a hungry look. A visitor mentioned the case to 3ze-yang, (the premier) of Kang, saying, ‘Lieh Yii-khau, I believe, is a scholar who has attained to the T4o. Is it because our ruler does not love (such) scholars, that he should be living in his state in such poverty?’ 3ze-yang immediately ordered an officer to send to him a supply of grain.

1 Sui was a small feudal state, a dependency of Wei. Its name remains in the Sui-44u, Teh-an department, H@-pei. The story is that one of its lords having healed a wounded snake, the creature one night brought him a large pearl in its mouth.

? The phraseology is peculiar. See Introductory Note on Bks XXXII.

p. 155

When Lieh-3ze saw the messenger, he bowed to him twice, and declined the gift, on which the messenger went away. On Lieh-jze’s going into the house, his wife looked to him and beat her breast, saying, ‘ I have heard that the wife and children of a possessor of the T4o all enjoy plenty and ease, but now we look starved. The ruler has seen his error, and sent you a present of food, but you would not receive it; —is it appointed (for us to suffer thus)?’ 3ze Liehsze laughed and said to her, ‘The ruler does not himself know me. Because of what some one said to him, he sent me the grain; but if another speak (differently) of me to him, he may look on me as a criminal. This was why I did not receive the grain.’

In the end it did come about, that the people, on an occasion of trouble and disorder, put 3ze-yang to death.

Because of what some one said to him, he sent me the grain; but if another speak (differently) of me to him, he may look on me as a criminal. This was why I did not receive the grain.’

In the end it did come about, that the people, on an occasion of trouble and disorder, put 3ze-yang to death.

5. When king Ko of Kd? lost his kingdom, the sheep-butcher Yiieh followed him in his flight. When the king (recovered) his kingdom and returned to it, and was going to reward those who had followed him, on coming to the sheep-butcher Yiieh, that personage said, ‘When our Great King lost his kingdom, I lost my sheep-killing. When his majesty got back his kingdom, I also got back my sheepkilling. My income and rank have been recovered ; why speak further of rewarding me?’ The king, (on hearing of this reply), said, ‘ Force him (to take the reward) ;’ but Yiieh said, ‘It was not through any crime of mine that the king lost his kingdom,

~ 1 B.c. 515-489. He was driven from his capital by an invasion of WA, directed by WA 3ze-hsii.

p. 156

and therefore I did not dare to submit to the death (which would have been mine if I had remained in the capital). And it was not through any service of mine that he recovered his kingdom, and therefore I do not dare to count myself worthy of any reward from him,’

The king (now) asked that the butcher should be introduced to him, but Yiieh said, ‘ According to the law of KAO, great reward ought to be given to great service, and the recipient then be introduced to the king ; but now my wisdom was not sufficient to preserve the kingdom, nor my courage sufficient to die at the hands of the invaders. When the army of Wa entered, I was afraid of the danger, and got out of the way of the thieves ;—it was not with a distinct purpose (of loyalty) that I followed the king. And now he wishes, in disregard of the law, and violations of the conditions of our social compact, to see me in court ;—this is not what I would like to be talked of through the kingdom.’ The king said to 3ze-khi, the Minister of War, ‘ The position of the sheep-butcher Yiieh is low and mean, but his setting forth of what is right is very high ; do you ask him for me to accept the place of one of my three most distinguished nobles!” (This being communicated to Yiieh), he said, ‘I know that the place of such a distinguished noble is nobler than a sheep-butcher’s stall, and that the salary of 10,000 £ung is more than its profits. But how should I, through my greed of rank and emolument, bring on our ruler the name of an unlawful dispensation of his gifts? I dare not

1 Literally, ‘My three banners or flags,’ emblems of the favour of the sovereign.

PT, Il. SECT. VI. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-8ZE. 157 respond to your wishes, but desire to return to my stall as the sheep-butcher. Accordingly he did not accept (the proffered reward).

I dare not

1 Literally, ‘My three banners or flags,’ emblems of the favour of the sovereign.

PT, Il. SECT. VI. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-8ZE. 157 respond to your wishes, but desire to return to my stall as the sheep-butcher. Accordingly he did not accept (the proffered reward).

6. Yiian Hsien? was living in-Lf. His house, whose walls were only a few paces round, looked as if it were thatched with a crop of growing grass; its door of brushwood was incomplete, with branches of a mulberry tree for its side-posts ; the window of each of its two apartments was formed by an earthenware jar (in the wall), which was stuffed with some coarse serge. It leaked above, and was damp on the ground beneath ; but there he sat composedly, playing on his guitar. 3ze-kung, in an inner robe of purple and an outer one of pure white, riding in a carriage drawn by two large horses, the hood of which was too high to get into the lane (leading to the house), went to see him. Yiian Hsien, in a cap made of bark, and slippers without heels, and with a stalk of hellebore for a staff, met him at the door. ‘Alas! Master, said 3ze-kung, ‘that you should be in such distress!’ Yitian Hsien answered him, ‘I have heard that to have no money is to be poor, and that not to be able to carry one’s learning into practice is to be distressed. I am poor but not in distress.’ 3ze-kung shrank back, and looked ashamed, on which the other laughed and said, ‘To act with a view to the world’s (praise) ; to pretend to be publicspirited and yet be a partisan; to learn in order to please men ; to teach for the sake of one’s own gain ; to conceal one’s wickedness under the garb of

* A disciple of Confucius, called also Yiian Sze ;—see Confucian Analects VI, iii, 3. With the description of his house or hut, compare in the Li Xi, XXVIII, 10.

p. 158

benevolence and righteousness; and to be fond of the show of chariots and horses :—these are things which Hsien cannot bear to do.’

3ang-yze was residing in Wei. He wore a robe quilted with hemp, and had no outer garment; his countenance looked rough and emaciated ; his hands and feet were horny and callous ; he would be three days without lighting a fire ; in ten years he did not have a new suit; if he put his cap on straight, the strings would break ; if he drew tight the overlap of his robe, his elbow would be seen ; in putting on his shoes, the heels would burst them. Yet dragging his shoes along, he sang the ‘ Sacrificial Odes of Shang’ with a voice that filled heaven and earth as if it came from a bell or a sounding stone. The Son of Heaven could not get him to be a minister ; no feudal prince could get him for his friend. So it is that he who is nourishing his mind’s aim forgets his body, and he who is nourishing his body discards all thoughts of gain, and he who is carrying out the Tao forgets his own mind.

The Son of Heaven could not get him to be a minister ; no feudal prince could get him for his friend. So it is that he who is nourishing his mind’s aim forgets his body, and he who is nourishing his body discards all thoughts of gain, and he who is carrying out the Tao forgets his own mind.

Confucius said to Yen Hui, ‘Come here, Hui. Your family is poor, and your position is low; why should you not take office?’ Hui replied, ‘I have no wish to be in office. Outside the suburban district I possess fields to the extent of fifty acres, which are sufficient to supply me with congee ; and inside it I have ten acres, which are sufficient to supply me with silk and flax. I find my pleasure in playing on my lute, and your doctrines, Master, which I study, are sufficient for my enjoyment; I do not wish to take office.” Confucius looked sad, changed countenance, and said, ‘ How good is the mind of Hui! I have heard that he who is conp. 159tented will not entangle himself with the pursuit of gain, that he who is conscious of having gained (the truth) in himself is not afraid of losing other things, and that he who cultivates the path of inward rectification is not ashamed though he may have no official position. I have long been preaching this; but to-day I see it realised in Hui :—this is what I have gained.’

7. Prince Mau! of Xung-shan! spoke to Kan-ze?, saying, ‘ My body has its place by the streams and near the sea, but my mind dwells at the court of Wei ;—what have you to say to me in the circumstances ?’ an-sze replied, ‘Set the proper value on your life. When one sets the proper value on his life, gain seems to him unimportant.’ The prince rejoined, ‘I know that, but I am not able to overcome (my wishes).’ The reply was, ‘If you cannot master yourself (in the matter), follow (your inclinations so that) your spirit may not be dissatisfied. When you cannot master yourself, and try to force yourself where your spirit does not follow, this is what is called doing yourself a double injury; and those who so injure themselves are not among the long-lived.’

Mau of Wei was the son of a lord of ten thousand chariots. For him to live in retirement among crags and caves was more difficult than for a scholar who had not worn the dress of office. Although he

? Prince Mau was a son of the marquis of Wei, and had been appointed to the appanage of Kung-shan,—corresponding to part of the present Ting A4u in Pei Xib-li.

? A worthy officer or thinker of Wei. One is not sure that his advice was altogether good.

p. 160

had not attained to the T4o, he may be said to have had some idea of it.

? A worthy officer or thinker of Wei. One is not sure that his advice was altogether good.

p. 160

had not attained to the T4o, he may be said to have had some idea of it.

8. When Confucius was reduced to extreme distress between A’A4n and 3hai, for seven days he had no cooked meat to eat, but only some soup of coarse vegetables without any rice in it. His countenance wore the appearance of great exhaustion, and yet he kept playing on his lute and singing inside the house. Yen Hui (was outside), selecting the vegetables, while 3ze-li and 3ze-kung were talking together, and said to him, ‘The Master has twice been driven from Li; he had to flee from Wei; the tree (beneath which he rested) was cut down in Sung; he was reduced to extreme distress in Shang and /4u ; he is held in a state of siege here between A/an and 3h4i ; any one who kills him will be held guiltless ; there is no prohibition against making him a prisoner. And yet he keeps playing and singing, thrumming his lute without ceasing. Can a superior man be without the feeling of shame to such an extent as this?’ Yen Hui gave them no reply, but went in and told (their words) to Confucius, who pushed aside his lute, and said, ‘ YQ and 3hze are small men. Call them here, and I will explain the thing to them.’

When they came in, 3ze-lfi said, ‘Your present condition may be called one of extreme distress.’ Confucius replied, ‘What words are these! When the Superior man has free course with his principles, that is what we call his success ; when such course is denied, that is what we call his failure. Now I hold in my embrace the principles of benevolence and righteousness, and with them meet the evils of a disordered age ;—where is the proof. of my beingp. 161 in extreme distress? Therefore looking inwards and examining myself, I have no difficulties about my principles; though I encounter such difficulties (as the present), I do not lose my virtue. It is when winter’s cold is come, and the hoar-frost and snow are falling, that we know the vegetative power of the pine and cypress. This strait between Aan and 3hAi is fortunate for me.’ He then took back his lute so that it emitted a twanging sound, and began to play and sing. (At the same time) 3ze-ld, hurriedly, seized a shield, and began to dance, while 3ze-kung said, ‘I did not know (before) the height of heaven nor the depth of the earth.’

The ancients who had got the T4o were happy when reduced to extremity, and happy when having free course. Their happiness was independent of both these conditions. The T4o and its characteristics !—let them have these and distress and success come to them as cold and heat, as wind and rain in the natural order of things. Thus it was that Hsii YQ found pleasure on the north of the river Ying, and that the earl of Kung enjoyed himself on the top of mount (Kung) ?.

Thus it was that Hsii YQ found pleasure on the north of the river Ying, and that the earl of Kung enjoyed himself on the top of mount (Kung) ?.

g. Shun proposed to resign the throne to his friend, the Northerner Wd-A4i?, who said, ‘A strange man you are, O sovereign! You (first) lived among the channeled fields, and then your

1 This takes us to the famous Kung-ho period (.c. 842-828),
but our author evidently follows the account of it found in the
‘Bamboo Books;’—see the prolegomena to the Sha King,
Pp. 154.

2 We found, in Book XXI (see vol. xxxix, p. 133), WO-Aai as the name of Thien 3ze-fang. Here is the same name belonging to a much earlier man, ‘a man of the north.’

[4°] Mp. 162 place was in the palace of Yao. And not only so:— you now further wish to extend to me the stain of your disgraceful doings. I am ashamed to see you.’ And on this he threw himself into the abyss of Khing-lang?.

When Thang was about to attack Kieh, he took counsel with Pien Sui, who said, ‘It is no business of mine. Thang then said, ‘To whom should I apply?’ And the other said, ‘I do not know.’ Thang then took counsel with Wa Kwang, who gave the same answer as Pien Sui; and when asked to whom he should apply, said in the same way, ‘I do not know.’ ‘Suppose,’ Thang then said, ‘I apply to { Yin, what do you say about him?’ The reply was, ‘He has a wonderful power in doing what is disgraceful, and I know nothing more about him!’

Thang thereupon took counsel with { Yin, attacked Kieh, and overcame him, after which he proposed to resign the throne to Pien Sui, who declined it, saying, ‘When you were about to attack Kieh, and sought counsel from me, you must have supposed me to be prepared to bea robber. Now that you have conquered Xieh,-and propose to resign the throne to me, you must consider me to be greedy. I have been born in an age of disorder, and a man without principle twice comes, and tries to extend to me the stain of his disgraceful proceedings !— I cannot bear to hear the repetition of his proposals.’ With this he threw himself into the KAu? water and died.

1 At the foot of a hill in the present department of Nan-yang,
Ho-nan.
* The reading uncertain.

p. 163