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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1‘Without deflection, without unevenness, Pursue the royal righteousness, Without selfish likings, Pursue the royal way. Without selfish dislikings, Pursue the royal path. Avoid deflection, avoid partiality ;— Broad and long is the royal way. 144 THE SHO KING. PART VY. Avoid partiality, avoid deflection ;~ Level and easy is the royal way. Avoid perversity, avoid one-sidedness ;— Correct and straight is the royal way. (Ever) seek for this perfect excellence, (Ever) turn to this perfect excellence.’ He went on to say, ‘This amplification of the royal perfection contains the unchanging (rule), and is the (great) Iesson ;—yea, it is the lesson of God.* All the multitudes of the people, instructed in this amplification of the perfect excellence, and carrying it into practice, will thereby approximate to the glory of the Son of Heaven, and say, “The Son of Heaven is the parent of the people, and so becomes the sovereign of all under the sky.”’”’ vi. ‘Sixth, of the three virtues!.—The first is correctness and straightforwardness; the second, strong rule; and the third, mild rule. In peace and tranquillity, correctness and straightforwardness (must sway); in violence and disorder, strong rule ; in harmony and order, mild rule. For the reserved and retiring there should be (the stimulus of) the strong rule; for the high(-minded) and distinguished, (the restraint of) the mild rule. ‘It belongs only to the sovereign to confer dignities and rewards, to display the terrors of majesty, and to receive the revenues (of the kingdom). There should be no such thing as a minister's conferring dignities or rewards, displaying the terrors of majesty, or receiving the revenues. Such 1¢The three virtues’ are not personal attributes of the sovereign, but characteristics of his rule, the varied manifestations of the perfection described in the preceding division. BOOK IV. THE GREAT PLAN. 145 a thing is injurious to the clans, and fatal to the states (of the kingdom); smaller affairs are thereby managed in a one-sided and perverse manner, and the people fall into assumptions and excesses.’ vii. ‘Seventh, of the (means for the) examination of doubts 1.—Officers having been chosen and appointed for divining by the tortoise-shell and the
2‘Seventh, of the (means for the) examination of doubts 1.—Officers having been chosen and appointed for divining by the tortoise-shell and the 1 The practice of divination for the satisfaction of doubts was thus used in China from the earliest times. In the Counsels of Yii, p. 50, that sage proposes to Shun to submit the question of who should be his successor on the throne to divination, and Shun replies that he had already done so. Gaubil says that according to the Great Plan divination was only used in doubtful cases; but if such was the. practice of the sages, diviners and soothsayers must have formed, as they do now, a considerable and influential class in society. The old methods of divination have fallen into disuse, and we do not know how far other methods are employed and sanctioned by the government. Those old methods were by means of the tortoise-shell, and the stalks of the XAi plant. ‘The tortoise,’ says KO Hsf, ‘after great length of years becomes intelligent; and the AA? plant will yield, when a hundred years old, a hundred stalks from one root, and is also a spiritual and intelligent thing. The two divinations were in reality a questioning of spiritual beings, the plant and the shell being employed, because of their mysterious intelligence, to indicate their intimations. The way of divination by the shell was by the application of fire to scorch it till the indications appeared on it; and that by the stalks of the plant was to manipulate in a prescribed way forty-nine of them, eighteen different times, till the diagrams were formed.’ The outer shell of the tortoise was removed, leaving the inner portion on which were the marks of the lines of the muscles of the creature. This was smeared with a black pigment, and, fire being applied beneath, the pigment was examined, and according as it had been variously dried by the heat, presented the indications mentioned in the text. The Af plant was probably the Achillea millefolium. It is cultivated largely on the mound over the grave of Confucius. I brought from that two bundles of the dried stalks in 1873. (1) L 146 THE SHO KING. PART V. stalks of the Achillea, they are to be charged (on occasion) to execute their duties. (In doing this), they will find (the appearances of) rain, of clearing up, of cloudiness, of want of connexion, and of crossing; and the inner and outer diagrams. In all (the indications) are seven ;—five given by the shell, and two by the stalks ; and (by means) of these any errors (in the mind) may be traced out. These officers having been appointed, when the divination is proceeded with, three men are to interpret the indications, and the (consenting) words of two of them are to be followed.*
3These officers having been appointed, when the divination is proceeded with, three men are to interpret the indications, and the (consenting) words of two of them are to be followed.* ‘When you have doubts about any great matter, consult with your own mind; consult with your high ministers and officers; consult with the common people; consult the tortoise-shell and divining stalks. If you, the shell, the stalks, the ministers and officers, and the common people, all agree about a course, this is what is called a great concord, and the result will be the welfare of your person and good fortune to your descendants. If you, the shell, and the stalks agree, while the ministers, and officers, and the common people oppose, the result will be fortunate. If the ministers and officers, with the shell and stalks, agree, while you and the common people oppose, the result will be fortunate. If the common people, the shell, and the stalks agree, while you, with the ministers and officers, oppose, the result will be fortunate. If you and the shell agree, while the stalks, with the ministers and officers, and the common people, oppose, internal operations will be fortunate, and external undertakings unlucky. When the shell and stalks are both opposed to the views of men, there will be BOOK Iv. THE GREAT PLAN. 147 good fortune in being still, and active operations will be unlucky.’ * viii. ‘Eighth, of the various verifications ?.— They are rain, sunshine, heat, cold, wind, and seasonableness. When the five come, all complete, and each in its proper order, (even) the various plants will be richly luxuriant. Should any one of them be either excessively abundant or excessively deficient, there will be evil.* ‘ There are the favourable verifications? :-—_namely,
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1‘Without deflection, without unevenness, Pursue the royal righteousness, Without selfish likings, Pursue the royal way. Without selfish dislikings, Pursue the royal path. Avoid deflection, avoid partiality ;— Broad and long is the royal way. 144 THE SHO KING. PART VY. Avoid partiality, avoid deflection ;~ Level and easy is the royal way. Avoid perversity, avoid one-sidedness ;— Correct and straight is the royal way. (Ever) seek for this perfect excellence, (Ever) turn to this perfect excellence.’ He went on to say, ‘This amplification of the royal perfection contains the unchanging (rule), and is the (great) Iesson ;—yea, it is the lesson of God.* All the multitudes of the people, instructed in this amplification of the perfect excellence, and carrying it into practice, will thereby approximate to the glory of the Son of Heaven, and say, “The Son of Heaven is the parent of the people, and so becomes the sovereign of all under the sky.”’”’ vi. ‘Sixth, of the three virtues!.—The first is correctness and straightforwardness; the second, strong rule; and the third, mild rule. In peace and tranquillity, correctness and straightforwardness (must sway); in violence and disorder, strong rule ; in harmony and order, mild rule. For the reserved and retiring there should be (the stimulus of) the strong rule; for the high(-minded) and distinguished, (the restraint of) the mild rule. ‘It belongs only to the sovereign to confer dignities and rewards, to display the terrors of majesty, and to receive the revenues (of the kingdom). There should be no such thing as a minister's conferring dignities or rewards, displaying the terrors of majesty, or receiving the revenues. Such 1¢The three virtues’ are not personal attributes of the sovereign, but characteristics of his rule, the varied manifestations of the perfection described in the preceding division. BOOK IV. THE GREAT PLAN. 145 a thing is injurious to the clans, and fatal to the states (of the kingdom); smaller affairs are thereby managed in a one-sided and perverse manner, and the people fall into assumptions and excesses.’ vii. ‘Seventh, of the (means for the) examination of doubts 1.—Officers having been chosen and appointed for divining by the tortoise-shell and the
2‘Seventh, of the (means for the) examination of doubts 1.—Officers having been chosen and appointed for divining by the tortoise-shell and the 1 The practice of divination for the satisfaction of doubts was thus used in China from the earliest times. In the Counsels of Yii, p. 50, that sage proposes to Shun to submit the question of who should be his successor on the throne to divination, and Shun replies that he had already done so. Gaubil says that according to the Great Plan divination was only used in doubtful cases; but if such was the. practice of the sages, diviners and soothsayers must have formed, as they do now, a considerable and influential class in society. The old methods of divination have fallen into disuse, and we do not know how far other methods are employed and sanctioned by the government. Those old methods were by means of the tortoise-shell, and the stalks of the XAi plant. ‘The tortoise,’ says KO Hsf, ‘after great length of years becomes intelligent; and the AA? plant will yield, when a hundred years old, a hundred stalks from one root, and is also a spiritual and intelligent thing. The two divinations were in reality a questioning of spiritual beings, the plant and the shell being employed, because of their mysterious intelligence, to indicate their intimations. The way of divination by the shell was by the application of fire to scorch it till the indications appeared on it; and that by the stalks of the plant was to manipulate in a prescribed way forty-nine of them, eighteen different times, till the diagrams were formed.’ The outer shell of the tortoise was removed, leaving the inner portion on which were the marks of the lines of the muscles of the creature. This was smeared with a black pigment, and, fire being applied beneath, the pigment was examined, and according as it had been variously dried by the heat, presented the indications mentioned in the text. The Af plant was probably the Achillea millefolium. It is cultivated largely on the mound over the grave of Confucius. I brought from that two bundles of the dried stalks in 1873. (1) L 146 THE SHO KING. PART V. stalks of the Achillea, they are to be charged (on occasion) to execute their duties. (In doing this), they will find (the appearances of) rain, of clearing up, of cloudiness, of want of connexion, and of crossing; and the inner and outer diagrams. In all (the indications) are seven ;—five given by the shell, and two by the stalks ; and (by means) of these any errors (in the mind) may be traced out. These officers having been appointed, when the divination is proceeded with, three men are to interpret the indications, and the (consenting) words of two of them are to be followed.*
3These officers having been appointed, when the divination is proceeded with, three men are to interpret the indications, and the (consenting) words of two of them are to be followed.* ‘When you have doubts about any great matter, consult with your own mind; consult with your high ministers and officers; consult with the common people; consult the tortoise-shell and divining stalks. If you, the shell, the stalks, the ministers and officers, and the common people, all agree about a course, this is what is called a great concord, and the result will be the welfare of your person and good fortune to your descendants. If you, the shell, and the stalks agree, while the ministers, and officers, and the common people oppose, the result will be fortunate. If the ministers and officers, with the shell and stalks, agree, while you and the common people oppose, the result will be fortunate. If the common people, the shell, and the stalks agree, while you, with the ministers and officers, oppose, the result will be fortunate. If you and the shell agree, while the stalks, with the ministers and officers, and the common people, oppose, internal operations will be fortunate, and external undertakings unlucky. When the shell and stalks are both opposed to the views of men, there will be BOOK Iv. THE GREAT PLAN. 147 good fortune in being still, and active operations will be unlucky.’ * viii. ‘Eighth, of the various verifications ?.— They are rain, sunshine, heat, cold, wind, and seasonableness. When the five come, all complete, and each in its proper order, (even) the various plants will be richly luxuriant. Should any one of them be either excessively abundant or excessively deficient, there will be evil.* ‘ There are the favourable verifications? :-—_namely,
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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