From the archive

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

English·1879–1910·trans. James Legge·245 passages

The text · part 8 of 12

1 The question of the genuineness of this paragraph has been touched on in vol. xxxix, p. 163. Whether from himself or from some disciple, it celebrates Kwang-3ze as the chief and most interesting of all ancient Taoist writers.

p. 229

7. Hui Shih? had many ingenious notions. His writings would fill five carriages ; but his doctrines were erroneous and contradictory, and his words were wide of their mark. Taking up one thing after another, he would say :—‘ That which is so great that there is nothing outside it may be called the Great One; and that which is so small that there is nothing inside it may be called the Small One.’ ‘What has no thickness and will not admit of being repeated is 1000 li in size®’ ‘Heaven may be as low as the earth.’’ ‘A mountain may be as level as a marsh. ‘The sun in the meridian may be the sun declining.” ‘A creature may be born to life and may die at the same time.’ ‘(When _ it is said that) things greatly alike are different from things a little alike, this is what is called making little of agreements and differences ; (when it is said that) all things are entirely alike or entirely different, this is what is called making much of agreements and differences.’ ‘The south is unlimited and yet has a limit.’ ‘I proceed to Yueh to-day and came to it yesterday.’ ‘Things which are joined together can be separated.’ ‘I know the centre of the world ;—it is north of Yen or south of Yueh.’ ‘If all things be regarded with love, heaven and earth are of one body (with me).’

Hui Shih by such sayings as these made himself

1 Introduced to us in the first Book of our author, and often mentioned in the intervening Books. He was not a TAoist, but we are glad to have the account of him here given, as enabling us to understand better the intellectual life of China in Awang-3ze’s time.

2 It is of little use trying to find the answers to these sayings of
Hui Shih and others. They are only riddles or paradoxes.

p. 230

2 It is of little use trying to find the answers to these sayings of
Hui Shih and others. They are only riddles or paradoxes.

p. 230

very conspicuous throughout the kingdom, and was considered an able debater. All other debaters vied with one another and delighted in similar exhibitions. (They would say), ‘There are feathers in an egg.’ ‘A fowl has three feet.’ ‘The kingdom belongs to Ying.’ ‘A dog might have been (called) a sheep.’ ‘A tadpole has a tail.’ ‘ Fire is not hot.’ ‘A mountain gives forth a voice.’ ‘A wheel does not tread on the ground.’ ‘The eye does not see.’ ‘The finger indicates, but needs not touch, (the object).’ ‘Where you come to may not be the end.’ ‘ The tortoise is longer than the snake.’ ‘The carpenter’s square is not square.’ ‘A compass should not itself be round.’ ‘A chisel does not surround its handle.’ ‘ The shadow of a flying bird does not (itself) move.’ ‘ Swift as the arrowhead is, there is a time when it is neither flying nor at rest.’ ‘A dog is not a hound.’ ‘A bay horse and a black ox are three. ‘A white dog is black.’ ‘A motherless colt never had a mother. ‘If from a stick a foot long you every day take the half of it, in a myriad ages it will not be exhausted.—It was in this way that the debaters responded to Hui Shih, all their lifetime, without coming to an end.

Hwan Twan! and Kung-sun Lung? were true members of this class. By their specious representations they threw a glamour over men’s minds and altered their ideas. They vanquished men in argument, but could not subdue their minds, only keeping them in the enclosure of their sophistry. Hui Shih daily used his own knowledge and the arguments of others to propose strange theses to all debaters ;—

1 Elsewhere unknown. 2 See Book XVII, par. 10.

PT. Ill, SECT. XI. THE WRITINGS OF XWANG-8ZE. 231 such was his practice. At the same time he would talk freely of himself, thinking himself the ablest among them, and saying, ‘In heaven or earth who is my match?’ Shih maintained indeed his masculine energy, but he had not the art (of controversy).

Ill, SECT. XI. THE WRITINGS OF XWANG-8ZE. 231 such was his practice. At the same time he would talk freely of himself, thinking himself the ablest among them, and saying, ‘In heaven or earth who is my match?’ Shih maintained indeed his masculine energy, but he had not the art (of controversy).

In the south there was a man of extraordinary views, named Hwang Lido!, who asked him how it was that the sky did not fall nor the earth sink, and what was the cause of wind, rain, and the thunder’s roll and crash. Shih made no attempt to evade the | questions, and answered him without any exercise of thought, talking about all things, without pause, on and on without end; yet still thinking that his words were few, and adding to them the strangest observations. He thought that to contradict others was a real triumph, and wished to make himself famous by overcoming them; and on this account he was not liked by the multitude of debaters. He was weak in real attainment, though he might seem strong in comparison with others, and his way was narrow and dark. If we look at Hui Shih’s ability from the standpoint of Heaven and Earth, it was only like the restless activity of a mosquito or gadfly ; of what service was it to anything? To give its full development to any one capacity is a good thing, and he who does so is in the way to a higher estimation of the Tao; but Hui Shih could find no rest for himself in doing this. He diffused himself over the world of things without satiety, till in the end he had only the reputation of being a skilful debater. Alas! Hui Shih, with

1 Elsewhere unknown.

p. 232

all his talents, vast as they were, made nothing out; he pursued all subjects and never came back (with success). It was like silencing an echo by his shouting, or running a-race with his shadow. Alas!

THE THAI-SHANG

TRACTATE OF ACTIONS AND THEIR

RETRIBUTIONS.

THE THAI-SHANG

TRACTATE OF ACTIONS AND THEIR
RETRIBUTIONS14.

1, The Thai-Shang (Tractate) says, ‘ There are no special doors for calamity and happiness (in men’s lot); they come as men themselves call them. Their recompenses follow good and evil as the shadow follows the substance®.

2. ‘Accordingly, in heaven and earth® there are

Machi spirits that take account of men’s transachinery . . .

tosecure gressions, and, according to the lightness retribution. . : or gravity of their offences, take away from their term of life‘. When that term is curtailed, men become poor and reduced, and meet with many sorrows and afflictions. All (other) men hate them; punishments and calamities attend them; good luck and occasions for felicitation shun them ;

The Thesis.

1 See vol. xxxix, pp. 38-40.

When that term is curtailed, men become poor and reduced, and meet with many sorrows and afflictions. All (other) men hate them; punishments and calamities attend them; good luck and occasions for felicitation shun them ;

The Thesis.

1 See vol. xxxix, pp. 38-40.

3 This paragraph, after the first three characters, is found in the 30 Khwan, under the tenth and eleventh notices in the twenty-third year of duke Hsiang (8.c. 549),—part of an address to a young nobleman by the officer Min 3ze-m&. The only difference in the two: texts is in one character which does not affect the meaning. Thus the text of this TAoist treatise is taken from a source which cannot be regarded as T4oistic.

® This seems equivalent to ‘all through space.’

* The swan in the text here seems to mean ‘the whole of the allotted term of life.’ Further on, the same character has the special meaning of ‘a period of a hundred days.’

p. 236

evil stars send down misfortunes on them!. When their term of life is exhausted they die.

‘There also are the Spirit-rulers in the three pairs of the Thai stars of the Northern Bushel? over men’s heads, which record their acts of guilt and wickedness, and take away (from their term of life) periods of twelve years or of a hundred days.

‘ There also are the three Spirits of the recumbent body which reside within a man’s person *. As each kang-shin* day comes round, they forthwith ascend to the court of Heaven, and report men’s deeds of guilt and transgression. On the last day of the moon, the spirit of the Hearth does the same °.

‘In the case of every man’s transgressions, when they are great, twelve years are taken from his term of life ; when they are small, a hundred days.

‘Transgressions, great and small, are seen in several hundred things. He who wishes to seek for long life ® must first avoid these.

* This and other passages show how T4oism pressed astrology into its service.

* The Northern Peck or Bushel is the Chinese name of our constellation of the Great Bear, ‘the Chariot of the Supreme Ruler.’ The three pairs of stars, «, «; A, #3 », & are called the upper, middle, and lower Th4i, or ‘their three Eminences :’— see Reeves’s Names of Stars and Constellations, appended to Morrison’s Dictionary, part ii, vol. i.

5 The Khang-hstf Dictionary simply explains san shfh as ‘the name of a spirit;’ but the phrase is evidently plural. The names and places of the three spirits are given, and given differently. Why should we look for anything definite and satisfactory in a notion which is merely an absurd superstition ?

* Kang-shan is the name of the fifty-seventh term of the cycle, indicating every fifty-seventh day, or year. Here it indicates the day.

® The name of this spirit of the fire-place is given by commentators with many absurd details which need not be touched on.

* Long life is still the great quest of the Téoist.

p. 237

Here it indicates the day.

® The name of this spirit of the fire-place is given by commentators with many absurd details which need not be touched on.

* Long life is still the great quest of the Téoist.

p. 237

3. ‘Is his way right, he should go forward in it; is it wrong, he should withdraw from it.

‘He will not tread in devious by-ways ; he will not impose on himself in any secret apartment. He will amass virtue and accumulate deeds of The way of : : : a good man, merit. He will feel kindly towards

(all) creatures. He will be loyal, filial, loving to his younger brothers, and submissive to his elder. He will make himself correct and (so) transform others. He will pity orphans, and compassionate widows ; he will respect the old and cherish the young. Even the insect tribes, grass, and trees he should not hurt.

‘He ought to pity the malignant tendencies of others; to rejoice over their excellences; to help them in their straits; to rescue them from their perils; to regard their gains as if they were his own, and their losses in the same way; not to publish their shortcomings ; not to vaunt his own superiorities; to put a stop to what is evil, and exalt and display what is good; to yield much, and take little for himself; to receive insult without resenting it, and honour with an appearance of apprehension ; to bestow favours without seeking for a return, and give to others without any subsequent regret :—this is what is called a good man. All other men respect him; Heaven in its course protects him; happiness and emolument follow him ; all evil things keep far from him; the spiritual Intelligences defend him; what he does is sure to succeed ?;

1 In its widest meaning :—Men, creatures, and all living things.
3 Here are the happy issues of doing good in addition to long
life ;—-compare the Tao Teh Xing, ch. 50, et al.

p. 238

he may hope to become Immaterial and Immortal '. He who would seek to become an Immortal of Heaven! ought to give the proof of 1300 good deeds ; and he who would seek to become an Immortal of Earth! should give the proof of three hundred.

Happy issues of his course.

4. ‘But if the movements (of a man’s heart) are contrary to righteousness, and the (actions of his) conduct are in opposition to reason; if he regard his wickedness as a proof of his ability, and can bear to do what is cruel and injurious ; if he secretly harms the honest and good ; if he treats with clandestine slight his ruler or parents; if he is disrespectful to his elders and teachers?; if he disregards the authority of those whom he should serve; if he deceives the simple ; if he calumniates his fellow-learners; if he vent baseless slanders, practise deception and hypocrisy,

The way of a bad man.

Here there appears the influence of Buddhism on the doctrine of the Tao. The R7shis of Buddhism are denoted in Chinese by

Hsien Zan (fil AJ), which, for want of a better term, we translate by ‘Immortals’ The famous N&g4rguna, the fourteenth Buddhist patriarch, counts ten classes of these Aishis, and ascribes to them only a temporary exemption for a million years from transmigration, but Chinese Buddhists and Téoists view them as absolutely immortal, and distinguish five classes :—first, Deva Rishis, or Heavenly Hsien, residing on the seven concentric rocks round Meru; second, Purusha, or Spirit-like Hsien, roaming through the air; third, Nara, or Human Hsien, dwelling among men ; fourth, Bhfimi, or Earth Hsien, residing on earth in caves; and fifth, Preta, or Demon Hsien, roving demons. See Eitel’s Handbook to Chinese Buddhism, second edition, p. 130. In this place three out of the five classes are specified, each having its own price in good deeds.

? Literally, ‘those born before himself,’ but generally used as a designation of teachers,p. 239 and attack and expose his kindred by consanguinity and affinity; if he is hard, violent, and without humanity ; if he is ruthlessly cruel in taking his own way; if his judgments of right and wrong are incorrect ; and his likings and aversions are in despite of what is proper; if he oppresses inferiors, and claims merit (for doing so); courts superiors by gratifying their (evil) desires; receives favours without feeling grateful for them ; broods over resentments without ceasing; if he slights and makes no account of Heaven’s people'; if he trouble and throw into disorder the government of the state; bestows rewards on the unrighteous and inflicts punishments on the guiltless; kills men in order to get their wealth, and overthrows men to get their offices ; slays those who have surrendered, and massacres those who have made their submission ; throws censure on the upright, and overthrows the worthy; maltreats the orphan and oppresses the widow; if he casts the laws aside and receives bribes ; holds the right to be wrong and the wrong to be right; enters light offences as heavy; and the sight of an execution makes him more enraged (with the criminal); if he knows his faults and does not change them, or knows what is good and does not do it; throws the guilt of his crimes on others; if he tries to hinder the exercise of an art (for a living); reviles and slanders the sage and worthy ; and assails and oppresses (the principles of ) reason and virtue ? ;

1 A Confucian phrase. See the Lf #7, III, v, 13.

p. 240

2 One is sorry not to see his way to translate here—‘ Assails . and oppresses those who pursue the T4o and its characteristics.’ Julien gives for it—‘Insulter et traiter avec cruauté ceux qui se livrent 4 l’étude de la Raison et de la Vertu.’ Wattersp. 240 if he shoots birds and hunts beasts, unearths the burrowing insects and frightens roosting birds, blocks up the dens of animals and overturns nests, hurts the pregnant womb and breaks eggs; if he wishes others to have misfortunes and _ losses; and defames the merit achieved by others; if he imperils others to secure his own safety ; diminishes the property of others to increase his own ; exchanges bad things for good!; and sacrifices the public weal to his private advantage; ifhe takes credit to himself for the ability of others ; conceals the excellences of others; publishes the things discreditable to others; and searches out the private affairs of others; leads others to waste their property and wealth ; and causes the separation of near relatives ?; encroaches on what others love ; and assists others in doing wrong ; gives the reins to his will and puts on airs of majesty ; puts others to shame in seeking victory for himself ; injures or destroys the growing crops of others; and breaks up projected marriages; if becoming rich by improper means makes him proud; and by a peradventure escaping the consequences of his misconduct, he yet feels no shame; if he owns to favours (which he did not confer), and puts off his errors (on others); marries away (his own) calamity to another, and sells (for gain) his own wickedness ; purchases for himself empty praise ; and keeps hidden dangerous purposes in his heart; detracts from the excelhas—‘ Insults and oppresses (those who have attained to the practice of) Truth and Virtue.’

* It is a serious mistranslation of this which Mr. Balfour gives :—

“returns evil for good,’ as if it were the golden rule in its highest expression.

* Literally, ‘separates men’s bones and flesh,’

—__ nearths t ting bit urns net as; ith 1d losses ss; ith Jiminishe axchangs rblic wes it to hin ccellencs o others 5; leads d causes on what r3 gies iajesty;

imself;

Ss; and g rich by @ 5 mis yours —

5 (on

1ases igerxcel- __ prace

S:—

‘hest

{

p. 241

lences of others, and screens his own shortcomings ; if he takes advantage of his dignity to practise intimidation, and indulges his cruelty to kill and wound; if without cause he (wastes cloth) in clipping and shaping it; cooks animals for food, when no rites require it; scatters and throws away the five grains; and burdens and vexes all living creatures; if he ruins the families of others, and gets possession of their money and valuables; admits the water or raises fire in order to injure their dwellings; if he throws into confusion the established rules in order to defeat the services of others; and injures the implements of others to deprive them of the things they require to use; if, seeing others in glory and honour, he wishes them to be banished or degraded ; or seeing them wealthy and prosperous, he wishes them to be broken and scattered; if he sees a beautiful woman and forms the thought of illicit intercourse with her; is indebted to men for goods or money, and wishes them to die; if, when his requests and applications are not complied with, his anger vents itself in imprecations; if he sees others meeting with misfortune, and begins to speak of their misdeeds; or seeing them with bodily imperfections he laughs at them; or when their abilities are worthy of praise, he endeavours to keep them back; if he buries the image of another to obtain an injurious power over him; or employs poison to kill trees; if he is indignant and angry with his instructors; or opposes and thwarts his

1 The crimes indicated here are said to have become rife under the Han dynasty, when the arts of sorcery and witchcraft were largely. employed to the injury of men.

[40] R

p. 242

employed to the injury of men.

[40] Rp. 242 father and elder brother; if he takes things by violence or vehemently demands them ; if he loves secretly to pilfer, and openly to snatch ; makes himself rich by plunder and rapine; or by artifice and deceit seeks for promotion; if he rewards and punishes unfairly; if he indulges in idleness and pleasure to excess; is exacting and oppressive to his inferiors; and tries to frighten other men; if he murmurs against Heaven and finds fault with men; reproaches the wind and reviles the rain; if he fights and joins in quarrels; strives and raises litigations ; recklessly hurries to join associate fraternities ; is led by the words of his wife or concubine to disobey the instructions of his parents; if, on getting what is new, he forgets the old; and agrees with his mouth, while he dissents in his heart; if he is covetous and greedy after wealth, and deceives and befools his superiors (to get it); if he invents wicked speeches to calumniate and overthrow the innocent ; defames others and calls it being straightforward ; reviles the Spirits and styles himself correct; if he casts aside what is according to right, and imitates what is against it; turns his back on his near relatives, and his face to those who are distant; if he appeals to Heaven and Earth to witness to the mean thoughts of his mind ; or calls in the spiritual Intelligences to mark the filthy affairs of his life; if he gives and afterwards repents that he has done so; or borrows and does not return; if he plans and seeks for what is beyond his lot; or lays tasks (on people) beyond their strength; if he indulges his lustful desires without measure; if there be poison in his heart and mildness in his face; if he gives others filthy food to eat; or by corrupt doc-

p. 243

trines deludes the multitude; if he uses a short cubit, a narrow measure, light weights, and a small pint; mixes spurious articles with the genuine; and (thus) amasses illicit gain; if he degrades (children or others of) decent condition to mean positions ; or deceives and ensnares simple people; if he is insatiably covetous and greedy ; tries by oaths and imprecations to prove himself correct; and in his liking for drink is rude and disorderly; if he quarrels angrily with his nearest relatives; and as a man he is not loyal and honourable; if a woman is not gentle and obedient ; if (the husband) ' is not harmonious with his wife ; if the wife does not reverence her husband; if he is always fond of boasting and bragging ; if she is constantly jealous and envious ; if he is guilty of improper conduct to his wife or sons; if she fails to behave properly to her parents-in-law; if he treats with slight and disrespect the spirits of his ancestors; if he opposes and rebels against the charge of his sovereign; if he occupies himself in doing what is of no use; and cherishes and keeps concealed a purpose other than what appears; if he utter imprecations against himself and against others (in the assertion of his innocence) 1; or is partial in his likes and dislikes ; if he strides over the well or the hearth ; leaps over the food, or over a man?; kills newly-born children or brings about abortions’; if he does many actions of secret depravity; if he sings and dances on the

1 The one illustrative story given by Julien under this clause shows clearly that I have rightly supplemented it. He translates it:—‘Faire des imprécations contre soi-méme et contre les autres,’

* Trifling acts and villainous crimes are here mixed together.

p. 244

last day of the moon or of the year; bawls out or gets angry on the first day of the moon or in the early dawn; weeps, spits, or urinates, when fronting: the north ; sighs, sings, or wails, when fronting the fire-place ; and moreover, if he takes fire from the hearth to burn incense; or uses dirty firewood to cook with ; if he rises at night and shows his person naked ; if at the eight terms of the year? he inflicts punishments ; if he spits at a shooting star; points at a rainbow; suddenly points to the three luminaries; looks long at the sun and moon; in the months of spring burns the thickets in hunting; with his face to the north angrily reviles others; and without reason kills tortoises and smites snakes ? :-—

‘In the case of crimes such as these, (the Spirits) presiding over the Life, according to their lightness or gravity, take away the culprit’s periods of twelve years or of one hundred days. When his term of life is exhausted, death ensues. If at death there remains guilt unpunished, judgment extends to his posterity °.

1 The commencements of the four seasons, the equinoxes and solstices.

When his term of life is exhausted, death ensues. If at death there remains guilt unpunished, judgment extends to his posterity °.

1 The commencements of the four seasons, the equinoxes and solstices.

* Many of the deeds condemned in this long paragraph have a ground of reason for their condemnation; others are merely offences against prevailing superstitions.

5 The principle enunciated here is very ancient in the history of the ethical teaching of China. It appears in one of the Appendixes to the Yt Xing (Sacred Books of the East, vol. xvi, p. 419), ‘ The family that accumulates goodness is sure to have superabundant happiness; the family that accumulates evil is sure to have superabundant misery.’ We know also that the same view prevailed in the time of Confucius, though the sage himself does not expressly sanction it. This Tractate does not go for the issues of Retribution beyond the present life.

p. 245

5. ‘Moreover, when parties by wrong and violence take the money of others, an account is taken, and set Conclusion of 22inSt its amount, of their wives and the whole children, and all the members of their matter. families, when these gradually die. If they do not die, there are the disasters from water, fire, thieves, and robbers, from losses of property, illnesses, and (evil) tongues to balance the value of their wicked appropriations}, Further, those who wrongfully kill men are (only) putting their weapons into the hands of others who will in their turn kill them *.

‘To take to one’s self unrighteous wealth is like satisfying one’s hunger with putrid food?, or one’s thirst with poisoned wine. It gives a temporary relief, indeed, but death also follows it.

‘Now when the thought of doing good has arisen in a man's mind, though the good be not yet done, the good Spirits are in attendance on him. Or, if the thought of doing evil has arisen, though the evil be not yet done, the bad Spirits are in attendance on him.

‘If one have, indeed, done deeds of wickedness, but afterwards alters his way and repents, resolved not to do anything wicked, but to practise reverently

1 These sentences are rather weak. Nothing is said of any recompense to the parties who have been robbed. The thief is punished by the death of others, or the loss of property.

* A somewhat perplexing sentence. Julien gives for it:— ‘Ceux qui font périr des hommes innocens ressemblent 4 des ennemis qui échangent leurs armes et se tuent les uns les autres;’ and Watters:—‘ Those who put others to death wrongly are like men who exchange arms and slay each other.’

® Literally, ‘soaked food that has been spoiled by dripping water.’

p. 246

all that is good, he is sure in the long-run to obtain good fortune :—this is called changing calamity into blessing. Therefore the good man speaks what is good, contemplates what is good, and does what is good ; every day he has these three virtues :—at the end of three years Heaven is sure to send down blessing on him?. The bad man speaks what is wicked, contemplates what is wicked, and does what is wicked ; every day he has these three vices :—at the end of three years, Heaven is sure to send down misery on him .—How is it that men will not exert themselves to de what is good ?’

* The effect of repentance and reformation is well set forth;. but the specification of three years, as the period within which the recompense or retribution will occur, is again an indication of the weakness in this concluding paragraph.

APPENDIXES.

APPENDIX I.
Khing Kang King, or ‘The Classic of Purity’

So I must translate the title of this brochure, as it appears in the ‘Collection of the Most Important Treatises of the Taoist Fathers’ (vol. xxxix, p. xvii), in which alone I have had an opportunity of perusing and studying the Text. The name, as given by Wylie (Notes, p. 178), Balfour (Taoist Texts), and Faber (China Review, vol. xiii, p. 246), is Khing King King, and signifies ‘The Classic of Purity and Rest.’ The difference is in the second character, but both Khing Kang and Khing King are wellknown combinations in Téoist writings ; and it will be seen, as the translation of the Text is pursued, that neither of them is unsuitable as the title of the little Book.

It is, as Dr. Faber says, one of the ‘mystical canons’ of Taoism ; but the mysticism of Téoism is of a nature peculiar to itself, and different from any mental exercises which have been called by that name in connexion with Christianity or Mohammedanism. It is more vague and shadowy than any theosophy or Sfifism, just as the idea of the T 4o differs from the apprehension of a personal God, however uncertain and indefinite that apprehension may be. Mr. Wylie says the work ‘ treats under very moderate limits of the subjection of the mental faculties.’ This indeed is the consummation to which it conducts the student; ap. 248 condition corresponding to the nothingness which L4o-jze contended for as antecedent to all positive existence, and out of which he said that all existing being came, though he does not indicate how.

APP. I.

condition corresponding to the nothingness which L4o-jze contended for as antecedent to all positive existence, and out of which he said that all existing being came, though he does not indicate how.

I give to the Treatise the first place among our appendixes here because of the early origin ascribed to it. It is attributed to Ko Yiian (or Hsiian)!, a T4oist of the Wa dynasty (A. D. 222-277), who is fabled to have attained to the state of an Immortal, and is generally so denominated*. He is represented as a worker of miracles; as addicted to intemperance, and very eccentric in his ways. When shipwrecked on one occasion, he emerged from beneath the water with his clothes unwet, and walked freely on its surface. Finally he ascended to the sky in bright day*. All these accounts may safely be put down as the figments of a later time.

It will be seen that the Text ascribes the work to L4o-jze himself, and I find it impossible to accept the account of its origin which is assigned by Li Hsi-yiieh to Ko Hsiian. As quoted by Li in the first of some notes subjoined to his Commentary, Ko is made to say, ‘When I obtained the true T4o, I had recited this K ing ten thousand times. It is what the Spirits of heaven practise, and had not been communicated to scholars of this lower world. I got it from the Divine Ruler of the eastern Hwa; he received it from the Divine Ruler of the Golden Gate ; he received it from the Royal-mother of the West. In all these cases it was transmitted from mouth to mouth, and was not committed to writing. I now, while I am in the world, have written it out in a book. Scholars of the highest order, understanding it, ascend and become officials of Heaven ; those of the middle order, cultivating it, are ranked among the Immortals of the Southern Palace ; those of the lowest order, possessing it, get long years of life in the world, roam

‘7G BL. * 8 fill B-

® See the Accounts of Ko in the Biographical Dictionary of Hsiao Aih-han (1793), and Wang /A!’s supplement to the great work of M& Twan-lin, ch, 242. .

p. 249

through the Three Regions!, and (finally) ascend to, and enter, the Golden Gate.’

This quotation would seem to be taken from the preface to our little classic by Ho Hsiian. If there were indeed such a preface during the time of the Wd dynasty, the corruption of the old Taoism must have been rapid. The Hsit Wang-m4, or Royal-mother of the West, is mentioned once in Kwang-jze (Bk. VI, par. 7); but no ‘ Divine - Ruler’ disfigures his pages. Every reader must feel that in the Classic of Purity he has got into a different region of thought from that which he has traversed in the Tao Teh King and in the writings of Kwang-jze.

With these remarks I now proceed to the translation and explanation of the text of our Xing.

Every reader must feel that in the Classic of Purity he has got into a different region of thought from that which he has traversed in the Tao Teh King and in the writings of Kwang-jze.

With these remarks I now proceed to the translation and explanation of the text of our Xing.

Ch. 1. 1. L&o the Master! said, The Great? Tao has no bodily form, but It produced and nourishes heaven and earth*. The Great T 4o has no passions‘, but It causes the sun and moon to revolve as they do.

_ The Great? T4o has no name‘, but It effects the growth and maintenance of all things *.

I do not know its name, but I make an effort, and call It the Tao%

1 The name here is Lao K iin (&- #f). [have stated (vol. xxxix, p. 40) that, with the addition of Thai Shang, this is the common designation of Lao-3ze as the Father of Taoism and deifying him,and that it originated probably inthe Thang dynasty. It might seem to be used simply here by Ko Hsiian with the same high application; and since in his preface he refers to different ‘ Divine Rulers,’ it may be contended that we ought to translate Lao Kiin by ‘Lao the Ruler.’ But I am unwilling to think that the deification of Lao-jze

1 ¢The three regions (= SR) ’ here can hardly be the trilokya of the Buddhists, the ethical categories of desire, form, and formlessness. They are more akin to the Brahmanic bhuvanatraya, the physical or cosmological categories of bhfr or earth, bhuvaé or heaven, and svar or atmosphere.

p. 250

had taken place so early. The earliest occurrence of the combination L4o X iin which has attracted my notice is in the history of Khung Yung, a descendant of Confucius in the twentieth generation the same who is celebrated in the San 3ze King, for his fraternal deference at the age of four, and who met with a violent death in A. D. 208. While still only a boy, wishing to obtain an interview with a representative of the Lao family, he sent in this message to him, ‘My honoured predecessor and the honoured Lao, the predecessor of your Li family, equally virtuous and righteous, were friends and teachers of each other.’ The epithet Kiin is equally applied to Confucius and L4o-jze, and the combination L4o Kiin implies no exaltation of the latter above the other.

* See Téo Teh King, chaps. 18, 25, 53.

8 T. T. K., chaps. 1, 51, et al.

* See Kwang-jze, Bk. II, par. 2. ‘ Passions,’ that is, feelings, affections ; as in the first of the thirty-nine Articles.

5 T. T. K., chaps. 1, 25, 32, 51.

6 T. T. X., ch. 25.

2. Now, the T 4o (shows itself in two forms) ; the Pure and the Turbid, and has (the two conditions of) Motion and Rest’. Heaven is pure and earth is turbid; heaven moves and earth is at rest. The masculine is pure and the feminine is turbid; the masculine moves and the feminine is still*. The radical (Purity) descended, and the (turbid) issue flowed abroad ; and thus all things were produced}.

The pure is the source of the turbid, and motion is the foundation of rest.

The masculine is pure and the feminine is turbid; the masculine moves and the feminine is still*. The radical (Purity) descended, and the (turbid) issue flowed abroad ; and thus all things were produced}.

The pure is the source of the turbid, and motion is the foundation of rest.

If man could always be pure and still, heaven and earth would both revert (to non-existence) *.

1 This paragraph is intended to set forth ‘ the production of all things ;’ but it does so in a way that is hardly intelligible. Comparing what is said here with the utterances in the former paragraph, T4o would seem to be used in twop. 251 senses; first as an Immaterial Power or Force, and next as the Material Substance, out of which all things come. Li Hsi-yiieh says that in the first member of par. 1 we have ‘the Unlimited (or Infinite) producing the Grand (or Primal) Finite.’ On the TAo in par. 2 he says nothing. The fact is that the subject of creation in the deepest sense of the name is too high for the human mind.

® Compare T. T. X., ch. 61.

8 I do not understand this, but I cannot translate the Text otherwise. Mr. Balfour has :—‘ If a man is able to remain pure and motionless, Heaven and Earth will both at once come and dwell in him. Lt explains thus :—JR i

Wh it — FER A RR HE RR. Compare T. T. KX, ch. 16, and especially Ho-shang Kung’s title to it,—Br 4h.

3. Now the spirit of man loves Purity, but his mind! disturbs it. The mind of man loves stillness, but his desires draw it away?. If he could always send his desires away, his mind would of itself become still. Let his mind be made clean, and his Spirit will of itself become pure.

As a matter of course the six desires? will not arise, and the three poisons ° will be taken away and disappear.

1 Téoism thus recognises in man the spirit, the mind, and the body.

2 «The six desires’ are those which have their inlets in the eyes, ears, nostrils, the tongue, the sense of touch, and the imagination. The two last are expressed in Chinese by shan, ‘the body,’ and i, ‘ the idea, or thought.’

8 ‘The three poisons’ are greed, anger, and stupidity ;— see the Khang-hsi Thesaurus, under Fg.

4. The reason why men are not able to attain to this, is because their minds have not been cleansed, and their desires have not been sent away.

p. 252

If one is able to send the desires away, when he then looks in at his mind, it is no longer his; when he looks out at his body, it is no longer his; and when he looks farther off at external things, they are things which he has nothing to do with.

When he understands these three things, there will appear to him only vacancy. This contemplation of vacancy will awaken the idea of vacuity. Without such vacuity there is no vacancy.

The idea of vacuous space having vanished, that of nothingness itself also disappears; and when the idea of nothingness has disappeared, there ensues serenely the condition of constant stillness.

Without such vacuity there is no vacancy.

The idea of vacuous space having vanished, that of nothingness itself also disappears; and when the idea of nothingness has disappeared, there ensues serenely the condition of constant stillness.

In this paragraph we have what Mr. Wylie calls ‘the subjection of the mental faculties ;’ and I must confess myself unable to understand what it is. It is probably another way of describing the T4oist trance which we find once and again in Kwang-jze, ‘ when the body becomes like a withered tree, and the mind like slaked lime’ (Bk. II, par. 1,etal.). But such a sublimation of the being, as the characteristic of its serene stillness and rest, is to me inconceivable.

5. In that condition of rest independently of place how can any desire arise? And when no desire any longer arises, there is the True stillness and rest.

That True (stillness) becomes (a) constant quality, and responds to external things (without error) ; yea, that True and Constant quality holds possession of the nature.

In such constant response and constant stillness there is the constant Purity and Rest.

He who has this absolute Purity enters gradually into the (inspiration of the) True Tao. And

CH. Il. THE CLASSIC OF PURITY. . 253 having entered thereinto, he is styled Possessor of the TAo. .

Although he is styled Possessor of the T4o, in reality he does not think that he has become possessed of anything. It is as accomplishing the transformation of all living things, that he is styled Possessor of the T do.

He who is able to understand this may transmit to others the Sacred T4o.

This is the consummation of the state of Purity. In explaining the former sentence of the fifth member, Li Hsi-

yiieh uses the characters of T. T. K., ch. 4, ig ri ita Fi
Zz Rm A FH with some variation, — a im KA 2,
A imi 1B.

2. 1. L&o the Master said, Scholars of the highest class do not strive (for anything); those of the lowest class are fond of striving’. Those who possess in the highest degree the attributes (of the To) do not show them; those who possess them in a low degree hold them fast (and display them) *. Those who ‘so hold them fast and display them are not styled (Possessors of) the T4o and Its attributes 2,

1 Compare the T. T. X., ch. 41, 1.

2 Compare the T. T. X., ch. 38, 1.

2. The reason why all men do not obtain the True T4o is because their minds are perverted. Their minds being perverted, their spirits become perturbed. Their minds being perturbed, they are attracted towards external things. Being attracted towards external things, they begin to seek for them greedily. This greedy quest leads to perplexities and annoyances; and these again result in disordered

p. 254

Their minds being perturbed, they are attracted towards external things. Being attracted towards external things, they begin to seek for them greedily. This greedy quest leads to perplexities and annoyances; and these again result in disorderedp. 254 thoughts, which cause anxiety and trouble to both body and mind. The parties then meet with foul disgraces, flow wildly on through the phases of life and death, are liable constantly to sink in the sea of bitterness, and for ever lose the True T Ao.

3. The True and Abiding Tao! They who understand it naturally obtain it. And they who come to understand the T4o abide in Purity and Stillness.

Our brief Classic thus concludes, and our commentator Li thus sums up his remarks on it :—‘ The men who understand the T4o do so simply by means of the Absolute Purity, and the acquiring this Absolute Purity depends entirely on the Putting away of Desire, which is the urgent practical lesson of the Treatise.’

I quoted in my introductory remarks Li’s account of the origin of the Classic by its reputed author Ko Hsiian. I will now conclude with the words which he subjoins from ‘a True Man, 30 Hsiian : ’—‘ Students of the T4o, who keep this Classic in their hands and croon over its contents, will get good Spirits from the ten heavens to watch over and protect their bodies, after which their spirits will be preserved by the seal of jade, and their bodies refined by the elixir of gold. Both body and spirit will become exquisitely ethereal, and be in true union with the T4o!’

Of this ‘True Man, 30 Hsiian,’ I have not been able to ascertain anything: The Divine Ruler of the eastern Hwa, referred to on p. 248, is mentioned in the work of Wang K/Ai (ch. 241, p. 21>), but with no definite information about him. The author says his surname was Wang, but he knows neither his name nor when he lived.

APPENDIX II.

Yin Fd Xing, or ‘Classic of the Harmony of the Seen and the Unseen.’

In the KAien-lung Catalogue of the Imperial Library, ch. 146, Part iii, this Book occupies the first place among all Taoist works, with three notices, which all precede the account of Ho-shang Kung’s Commentary on the T4o Teh King. From the work of Lao-3ze we are conducted along the course of T4oist literature to the year 1626, when the catalogue of what is called ‘the Taoist Canon!’ appeared. Ch. 147 then returns to the Yin FQ King, and treats of nine other works upon it, the last being the Commentary of Lt Kwang-li, one of the principal ministers and great scholars in the time of X/ien-lung’s grandfather, known as Khang-hs? from the name of his reign.

Ch. 147 then returns to the Yin FQ King, and treats of nine other works upon it, the last being the Commentary of Lt Kwang-li, one of the principal ministers and great scholars in the time of X/ien-lung’s grandfather, known as Khang-hs? from the name of his reign.

In the first’ of these many notices it is said that the preface of an old copy assigns the composition of the work to Hwang-Ti (in the 27th century B.C.), and says that commentaries on it had been made by Thai-kung (12th century B.C.), Fan Li (5th century B.C.), the Recluse of the Kwei Valley (4th century B.c.), Kang Liang (died B.c. 189), Kd Ko Liang (A. D. 181-234), and Li Kwan of the Thang dynasty (about the middle of our 8th century)?. Some writers, going back to the time of Hwang-Ti for the composition of our small classic, attribute it not to that sovereign himself, but to his teacher Kwang K/ang-jze*;

2 Ok

3 See also Ma Twan-lin’s great work, ch. 211, p. 18°.
3 See Awang-3ze, Bk. XI, par. 4.

p. 256

and many of them hold that this Kwang KAang-jze was an early incarnation of Lao-3ze himself, so that the Yin Fa might well be placed before the Tao Teh Xing! Li Hsiyiieh is one of the scholars who adopt this view.

I will not say that under the K4u dynasty there was no book called Yin Fd, with a commentary ascribed to Thaikung?, for Sze-ma K4ien, in his biography of SQ KAin (Bk. Ixix), relates how that adventurer obtained ‘ the Yin Fa book of K4u,’ and a passage in the ‘Plans of the Warring States’ tells us that the book contained ‘the schemes of Thai-kung!.’ However this may have been, no such work is now extant. Of all the old commentaries on it mentioned in the A/ien-lung Catalogue, the only one remaining is the last,—that of Li Kwan; and the account which we have of it is not to be readily accepted and relied on.

The story goes that in A.D. 441 Khau K4ien-kih, who had usurped the dignity and title of Patriarch from the Kang family, deposited a copy of the Yin Ff King ina mountain cave. There it remained for about three centuries and a half, till it was discovered by Li Kwan, a Taoist scholar, not a little damaged by its long exposure. He copied it out as well as he could, but could not understand it, till at last, wandering in the distant West, he met with an old woman, who made the meaning clear to him, at the foot of mount Li; after which he published the Text with a Commentary, and finally died, a wanderer among the hills in quest of the Tao; but the place of his death was never known?.

The Classic, as it now exists, therefore cannot be traced higher than our eighth century; and many critics hold that, as the commentary was made by Li KAwan, so the text was forged by him. All that Hsi-yiieh has to say in reply to this is that, if the classic be the work of Li KAwan, then

1 See the Khang-hst Thesaurus under the combination Yin F4@. ? See the account of Li AZwan in Wang X721’s continuation of Ma Twan-lin’s work, ch. 242; and various items in the K/ien-lung Catalogue.

p. 257

he must think of him as another Kwang KAang-jze; but this is no answer to the charge of forgery.

As to the name of the Treatise, the force of Fi has been set forth in vol. xxxix, p. 133, in connexion with the title of Kwang-jze’s fifth Book. The meaning which I have given of the whole is substantially that of Li Hsi-yiieh, who says that the Yin must be understood as including Yang, and grounds his criticism on the famous dictum in the Great Appendix to the Yi Xing (vol. xvi, p. 355), ‘ The successive movement of the Yin and Yang (their rest and active operation) constitutes what is called the course (of things). Mr. Balfour translates the title by ‘The Clue to the Unseen,’ which is ingenious, but may be misleading. The writer reasons rather from the Unseen to the Seen than from the Seen to the Unseen.

Mr. Wylie gives his view of the object of the Treatise in these words :—‘ This short Treatise, which is not entirely free from the obscurity of T4oist mysticism, professes to reconcile the decrees of Heaven with the current of mundane affairs. To what extent the Book does this, and whether successfully or not, the reader will be able to judge for himself from the translation which will be immediately subjoined. Li Hst-yiieh, looking at it simply from its practical object, pronounces it ‘hsid lien #ih Sha, a Book of culture and refining?.’ This language suggests the idea of a T4oist devotee, who has sublimated himself by the study of this Book till he is ready to pass into the state of an Immortal. I must be permitted to say, however, that the whole Treatise appears to me to have come down to us in a fragmentary condition, with passages that are incapable of any satisfactory explanation.

Ch. 1. 1. If one observes the Way of Heaven’, and maintains Its doings (as his own)?, all that he has to do is accomplished.

1 Dr. Williams explains ‘hsifi lien (6G Hi or i)’ as meaning

‘ becoming religious, as a recluse or ascetic.’

[40] s

p. 258

1 To explain ‘the Way of Heaven,’ Li Hst-yiieh adduces the last sentence of the T. T. X., ch. 9, ‘When the work is done, and one’s name has become distinguished, to withdraw into obscurity is the Way of Heaven.’

2 To explain ‘the doings of Heaven,’ he adduces the first paragraph of the symbolism of the first hexagram of the Yi, ‘Heaven in its motion gives the idea of strength. In accordance with this, the superior man nerves himself to ceaseless activity.’

In accordance with this, the superior man nerves himself to ceaseless activity.’

2. To Heaven there belong the five (mutual) foes’, and he who sees them (and understands their operation) apprehends how they produce prosperity. The same five foes are in the mind of man, and when he can set them in action after the manner of Heaven, all space and time are at his disposal, and all things receive their transformations from his person ?.

1 The startling name thieves (= foes, robbers) here is understood to mean the ‘five elements,’ which pervade and indeed make up the whole realm of nature, the heaven of the text including also earth, the other term in the binomial combination of ‘heaven and earth.’ According to the T&oist teaching, the element of Earth generates Metal, and overcomes Water; Metal generates Water, and overcomes Wood; Water generates Wood, and overcomes Fire; Wood generates Fire, and overcomes Earth. These elements fight and strive together, now overcoming, now overcome, till by such interaction a harmony of their influences arises, and production goes on with vigour and beauty.

2 It is more difficult to give an account of the operation of the five elements in the mind of man, though I have seen them distributed among the five viscera, and the five virtues of Benevolence, Righteousness, Propriety, Knowledge, and Faith. Granting, however, their presence and _operation in the mind, what shall be said on the two concluding members of the paragraph? There underlies themp. 259 the doctrine of the three coordinate Powers ;—Heaven, Earth, and Man, which I have never been able to comprehend clearly.

3. The nature of Heaven belongs (also) to Man; the mind of Man is a spring (of power). When the Way of Heaven is established, the (Course of) Man is thereby determined.

These short and enigmatic sentences seem merely to affirm the general subject of the Treatise,—the harmony between the unseen and the seen.

4. When Heaven puts forth its power of putting to death, the stars and constellations lie hidden in darkness. When Earth puts forth its power of putting to death, dragons and serpents appear on the dry ground. When Man puts forth his power of putting to death, Heaven and Earth resume their (proper course). When Heaven and Man exert their powers in concert, all transformations have their commencements determined,

‘The power of putting to death here’ seems merely to indicate the ‘rest’ which succeeds to movement. The paragraph is intended to show us the harmony of the Three Powers, but one only sees its meaning darkly. The language of the third sentence about the influence of Man on Heaven and Earth finds its explanation from the phraseology of the thwan of the twenty-fourth hexagram of the Yi (vol. xvi, pp. 107, 108).

The language of the third sentence about the influence of Man on Heaven and Earth finds its explanation from the phraseology of the thwan of the twenty-fourth hexagram of the Yi (vol. xvi, pp. 107, 108).

5. The nature (of man) is here clever and there stupid ; and the one of these qualities may lie hidden in the other. The abuse of the nine apertures is (chiefly) in the three most important, which may be : now in movement and now at rest. When fire | arises in wood, the evil, having once begun, is sure to go on to the destruction of the wood. When

260 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP, It, calamity arises in a state, if thereafter movement ensue, it is sure to go to ruin.

When one conducts the work of culture and refining wisely we call him a Sage.

The constitution of man is twofold ;—his mental constitution, quiet and restful, and his physical constitution, restless and fond of movement. The nine apertures are the eyes, ears, nostrils, mouth, and the lower parts, and of these the eyes, ears, and mouth are the most important ; but they all need to be kept in subjection and under restraint. If indulged beyond reason, the ruin of themselves and of the mind and body to which they belong is sure to ensue.

2. 1. For Heaven now to give life and now to take it away is the method of the T4o. Heaven and Earth are the despoilers of all things ; all things are the despoilers of Man; and Man is the despoiler of all things. When the three despoilers act as they ought to do, as the three Powers, they are at rest. Hence it is said, ‘During the time of nourishment, all the members are properly regulated; when the springs of motion come into play, all transformations quietly take place.’

Compare ch. 1, par.2. The mutual contention of the five elements in nature only conduces to the nourishment of all its parts; and so man, as one of the three Powers, consumes only to increase his store, and throws down only to build up.

Where the concluding quotation is taken from is not known. Of course any quotation is inconsistent with the idea of the early origin of the Treatise.

2. Men know the mysteriousness of the Spirit's (action), but they do not know how what is not Spiritual comes to be so. The sun and moon have their definite times, and their exact measures asp. 261 large and small. The service of the sages hereupon arises, and the spiritual intelligence becomes apparent.

Compare par. 10 in the fifth Appendix to the Yi King.

3. The spring by which the despoilers are moved is invisible and unknown to all under the sky. When the superior man has got it, he strengthens his body by it; when the small man has got it, he makes light of his life.

The thing is good in itself, but its effect will be according to the character of its user, and of the use which is made of it.

When the superior man has got it, he strengthens his body by it; when the small man has got it, he makes light of his life.

The thing is good in itself, but its effect will be according to the character of its user, and of the use which is made of it.

3. 1. The blind hear well, and the deaf see well. To derive all that is advantageous from one source is ten times better than the employment of a host; to do this thrice in a day and night is a myriad times better.

That the loss of oné sense may be in a manner compensated for by the greater cultivation of another,—in the case especially of the two senses specified,—is a fact; but I fail to perceive how this is illustrated by what follows in the rest of the paragraph. The illustration is taken from the seventh of the hexagrams in the Yi, but I have not discovered the nexus of it in the text of that classic or in the Appendixes on the thwan or hsiang of the hexagram.

It must be from this paragraph that the bearing of the Treatise on the conduct of military operations has been maintained.

2. The mind is quickened (to activity) by (external)
things, and dies through (excessive pursuit of) them.
The spring (of the mind’s activity) is in the eyes.

Heaven has no (special feeling of) kindness, but so it is that the greatest kindness comes from It.

p. 262

The crash of thunder and the blustering wind both come without design.

Mr. Balfour translates the first member here by—‘ The mind is produced from matter and dies with matter; the working faculty is in the eye;’ and says that it embodies a bold denial of any future life, or the existence of spirit, apart.from matter. The meaning of the Text, however, is only what I have given ;—is moral and not metaphysical. The eye is singled out from the three most important apertures of the body in ch. 1, par. 5.

The rest of the paragraph has its parallelisms in LAo-3ze and Kwang-jze.

3. Perfect enjoyment is the overflowing satisfaction of the nature. Perfect stillness is the entire disinterestedness of it. When Heaven seems to be most wrapt up in Itself, Its operation is universal in its character.

A sequel to the preceding paragraph. Li Hst-yiieh observes that the having no feeling of kindness is equivalent to LAo-jze’s ‘doing nothing.’ See the T.T. X., ch. 35, ‘The Tao does nothing, and so there is nothing which It does not do.’

4. It is by its breath that we control whatever creature we grasp. Life is the root of death, and death is the root of life. Kindness springs from injury, and injury springs from kindness. He who sinks himself in water or enters amidst fire brings destruction on himself.