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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1about the Li, the Rules of Propriety or Ceremonial Usages, recognised in his time. It is a natural inference from his language that there were Collections of such Rules which could be read and studied ; but he does not expressly say so. The language of Mencius was more definite. In at least two passages of his works we find the usual form of quota- How Mencius tion Li Yiieh, ‘The Li says*,’ which, acspoke of them. cording to the analogy of Shih Yiieh, ‘ The Shih King, or Book of Poetry, says,’ might be rendered, 2 Confucian Analects, Book VIII, 8 and 2. 3 Works of Mencius, II, Part ii, a. 5 ; III, Part ii, 3. 3. B / [27] 2 THE Li xf. CH. ‘The Li King says.’ In another passage, he says to a Mr. King Khun, ‘ Have you not read the L#?’ It does not appear that Mencius was always referring to one and the same collection of Li; but it is clear that in his time there were one or more such collections current and well known among his countrymen. There are now three Chinese classics into which the name Now there Li enters:—the f Li, the XAu Li, and the Lt are three Lt King, Ki, frequently styled, both by the Chinese or three Rituals. themselves and by sinologists, ‘The Three Rituals?’ The first two are books of the K Au dynasty (B.C. 1122-225). The third, of which a complete translation is given in the present work, may contain passages of an earlier date than either of the others; but as a collection in its present form, it does not go higher than the Han dynasty, and was not completed till our second century. It has, however, taken a higher position than those others, and is ranked with the Sha, the Shih, the Yi, and the K/un K hid, forming one of ‘The Five King,’ which are acknowledged as the books of greatest authority in China. Other considerations besides antiquity have given, we shall see, its eminence to the Li Xi. 2. The monuments of the ancient literature, with the exception, perhaps, of the Yi King, were in a condition of State of the Lt disorder and incompleteness at the rise of the boots at nen Han dynasty (B.C. 206). This was the case dynasty. — especially with the f Lit and K4u Li. They had suffered, with the other books, from the fires and proscription of the short-lived dynasty of Ain, the founder of which was bent especially on their destruction’; and during the closing centuries of Ku, in all the period of ‘The Warring Kingdoms,’ they had been variously mutilated by the contending princes‘. 1 Works of Mencius, III, ii, a. 2. 3 See Wylie’s Notes on Chinese Literature, p. 4, and Mayers’ Chinese Reader's Manual, p. 300. * Sze-m4 Xhien’s Biographies, Book 61 ( ), p- 5°. Other testimonies to the fact could be adduced. i mK fa * Mencius V, ii, 2.2. See also the note of Lifi Hsin, appended to his catalogue of Li works, in the Imperial library of Han, CH. I. INTRODUCTION. 3
2300. * Sze-m4 Xhien’s Biographies, Book 61 ( ), p- 5°. Other testimonies to the fact could be adduced. i mK fa * Mencius V, ii, 2.2. See also the note of Lifi Hsin, appended to his catalogue of Li works, in the Imperial library of Han, CH. I. INTRODUCTION. 3 The sovereigns of Han undertook the task of gathering Work of the up and arranging the fragments of the ancient sn pecovering the books, and executed it well. In B.C. 213 ancient books. Shih Hwang Ti of KAin had promulgated his edict forbidding any one to hide and keep in his possession the old writings. This was repealed in B.C. 191 by the emperor Hui, so that it had been in existence only twentytwo years, during most of which, we may presume, it had been inoperative. Arrangements were also made to receive and preserve old tablets which might be presented!, and to take down in writing what scholars might be able to repeat. In B.C. 164, the emperor Win ordered ‘the Great Scholars’ of his court to compile ‘the Royal Ordinances,’ the fifth of the Books in our Li Ki?. i. Internal evidence shows that when this treatise was Recovery of made, the f Li, or portions of it at least, thefLt. had been recovered; and with this agrees the testimony of Sze-ma Kfien, who was born perhaps in that very year’, and lived to between B.¢. go and 80. In the 61st Book of his Biographies, referred to in a note above, Khien says, ‘Many of the scholars repeated (parts of) the Li; but no other of them so much as K4o Thang of La; and now we have only the Shih Li, which he was able to recite. In harmony with this statement of the great historian, is the first entry in Lid Hsin’s Catalogue of Li books in the Imperial library of Han’:—‘56 fiian or sections of Li in the old text, and 17 phien in the (current) text (of the time);’ forming, as is universally believed, the present ft Li, for which the Shih Li of Kéien is merely another name. That K4o Thang should have been able to dictate so much of the work will not be thought wonderful by those who 1 Such was the ‘Stone-Conduit Gallery,’ which Mayers (Manual, p. 185) describes as a building erected by Hsiéo Ho at X”ang-an for the reception of the records of the extinct A”in dynasty, about B.C. 200, adding that ‘in B.C. 51, the emperor Hsiian appointed a commission of scholars to assemble in this building, and complete the revision of the classical writings.’ But it had also been intended from the first as a repository for those writings as they were recovered. 2 See the General Mirror of History under that year. 3 Mayers puts his birth ‘ about B. C. 163,’ and his death ‘about 85.” B2 4 THE Li xi. CH. 1.
32 See the General Mirror of History under that year. 3 Mayers puts his birth ‘ about B. C. 163,’ and his death ‘about 85.” B2 4 THE Li xi. CH. 1. are familiar with the power of memory displayed by many Chinese scholars even at the present day. The sections in the old text were found in the reign of the emperor Wa (B.C. 140-87), and came into the possession of his brother, known as. king Hsien of Ho-fien. We do not know how much this mass of tablets added to the f Li, as we now have it, but they confirmed the genuineness of the portion obtained from K4o. ii, The recovery of the A 4u Li came not long after, and through the agency of the same king Hsien. No one did King Hsien of so muchas hein the restoration of the ancient Be eer of literature. By name Teh, and one of the four- the Kau Lf. teen sons of the emperor King (B.C. 156-141), he was appointed by his father, in B.C. 155, king of Ho-4ien, which is still the name of one of the departments of Xih-li, and there he continued till his death, in 129, the patron of all literary men, and unceasingly pursuing his quest for old books dating from before the KAin dynasty. Multitudes came to him from all quarters, bringing to him the precious tablets which had been preserved in their families or found by them elsewhere. The originals he kept in his own library, and had a copy taken, which he gave to the donor with a valuable gift. We are indebted to him in this way for the preservation of the Tao Teh King, the works of Mencius, and other precious treasures; but I have only to notice here his services in connexion with the Li books}, Some one? brought to him the tablets of the K 4u Li, then called K4u Kwan, ‘The Official Book of K4u,’ and purporting to contain a complete account of the organised government of the dynasty of 4u in six sections. The sixth section, however, which should have supplied a list of the officers in the department of the minister of Works, 1 See the account of king Hsien in the twenty-third chapter of the Biographies in the History of the first Han dynasty. Hsien was the king's posthumous title ( Rh). denoting ‘ The Profound and Intelligent.’ 3 The Catalogue of the Sui Dynasty’s (A. D. 589-618) Imperial library says this was a scholar of the surname Lf (48). I have been unable to trace the authority for the statement farther back. CH. 1. INTRODUCTION. 5
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.
1about the Li, the Rules of Propriety or Ceremonial Usages, recognised in his time. It is a natural inference from his language that there were Collections of such Rules which could be read and studied ; but he does not expressly say so. The language of Mencius was more definite. In at least two passages of his works we find the usual form of quota- How Mencius tion Li Yiieh, ‘The Li says*,’ which, acspoke of them. cording to the analogy of Shih Yiieh, ‘ The Shih King, or Book of Poetry, says,’ might be rendered, 2 Confucian Analects, Book VIII, 8 and 2. 3 Works of Mencius, II, Part ii, a. 5 ; III, Part ii, 3. 3. B / [27] 2 THE Li xf. CH. ‘The Li King says.’ In another passage, he says to a Mr. King Khun, ‘ Have you not read the L#?’ It does not appear that Mencius was always referring to one and the same collection of Li; but it is clear that in his time there were one or more such collections current and well known among his countrymen. There are now three Chinese classics into which the name Now there Li enters:—the f Li, the XAu Li, and the Lt are three Lt King, Ki, frequently styled, both by the Chinese or three Rituals. themselves and by sinologists, ‘The Three Rituals?’ The first two are books of the K Au dynasty (B.C. 1122-225). The third, of which a complete translation is given in the present work, may contain passages of an earlier date than either of the others; but as a collection in its present form, it does not go higher than the Han dynasty, and was not completed till our second century. It has, however, taken a higher position than those others, and is ranked with the Sha, the Shih, the Yi, and the K/un K hid, forming one of ‘The Five King,’ which are acknowledged as the books of greatest authority in China. Other considerations besides antiquity have given, we shall see, its eminence to the Li Xi. 2. The monuments of the ancient literature, with the exception, perhaps, of the Yi King, were in a condition of State of the Lt disorder and incompleteness at the rise of the boots at nen Han dynasty (B.C. 206). This was the case dynasty. — especially with the f Lit and K4u Li. They had suffered, with the other books, from the fires and proscription of the short-lived dynasty of Ain, the founder of which was bent especially on their destruction’; and during the closing centuries of Ku, in all the period of ‘The Warring Kingdoms,’ they had been variously mutilated by the contending princes‘. 1 Works of Mencius, III, ii, a. 2. 3 See Wylie’s Notes on Chinese Literature, p. 4, and Mayers’ Chinese Reader's Manual, p. 300. * Sze-m4 Xhien’s Biographies, Book 61 ( ), p- 5°. Other testimonies to the fact could be adduced. i mK fa * Mencius V, ii, 2.2. See also the note of Lifi Hsin, appended to his catalogue of Li works, in the Imperial library of Han, CH. I. INTRODUCTION. 3
2300. * Sze-m4 Xhien’s Biographies, Book 61 ( ), p- 5°. Other testimonies to the fact could be adduced. i mK fa * Mencius V, ii, 2.2. See also the note of Lifi Hsin, appended to his catalogue of Li works, in the Imperial library of Han, CH. I. INTRODUCTION. 3 The sovereigns of Han undertook the task of gathering Work of the up and arranging the fragments of the ancient sn pecovering the books, and executed it well. In B.C. 213 ancient books. Shih Hwang Ti of KAin had promulgated his edict forbidding any one to hide and keep in his possession the old writings. This was repealed in B.C. 191 by the emperor Hui, so that it had been in existence only twentytwo years, during most of which, we may presume, it had been inoperative. Arrangements were also made to receive and preserve old tablets which might be presented!, and to take down in writing what scholars might be able to repeat. In B.C. 164, the emperor Win ordered ‘the Great Scholars’ of his court to compile ‘the Royal Ordinances,’ the fifth of the Books in our Li Ki?. i. Internal evidence shows that when this treatise was Recovery of made, the f Li, or portions of it at least, thefLt. had been recovered; and with this agrees the testimony of Sze-ma Kfien, who was born perhaps in that very year’, and lived to between B.¢. go and 80. In the 61st Book of his Biographies, referred to in a note above, Khien says, ‘Many of the scholars repeated (parts of) the Li; but no other of them so much as K4o Thang of La; and now we have only the Shih Li, which he was able to recite. In harmony with this statement of the great historian, is the first entry in Lid Hsin’s Catalogue of Li books in the Imperial library of Han’:—‘56 fiian or sections of Li in the old text, and 17 phien in the (current) text (of the time);’ forming, as is universally believed, the present ft Li, for which the Shih Li of Kéien is merely another name. That K4o Thang should have been able to dictate so much of the work will not be thought wonderful by those who 1 Such was the ‘Stone-Conduit Gallery,’ which Mayers (Manual, p. 185) describes as a building erected by Hsiéo Ho at X”ang-an for the reception of the records of the extinct A”in dynasty, about B.C. 200, adding that ‘in B.C. 51, the emperor Hsiian appointed a commission of scholars to assemble in this building, and complete the revision of the classical writings.’ But it had also been intended from the first as a repository for those writings as they were recovered. 2 See the General Mirror of History under that year. 3 Mayers puts his birth ‘ about B. C. 163,’ and his death ‘about 85.” B2 4 THE Li xi. CH. 1.
32 See the General Mirror of History under that year. 3 Mayers puts his birth ‘ about B. C. 163,’ and his death ‘about 85.” B2 4 THE Li xi. CH. 1. are familiar with the power of memory displayed by many Chinese scholars even at the present day. The sections in the old text were found in the reign of the emperor Wa (B.C. 140-87), and came into the possession of his brother, known as. king Hsien of Ho-fien. We do not know how much this mass of tablets added to the f Li, as we now have it, but they confirmed the genuineness of the portion obtained from K4o. ii, The recovery of the A 4u Li came not long after, and through the agency of the same king Hsien. No one did King Hsien of so muchas hein the restoration of the ancient Be eer of literature. By name Teh, and one of the four- the Kau Lf. teen sons of the emperor King (B.C. 156-141), he was appointed by his father, in B.C. 155, king of Ho-4ien, which is still the name of one of the departments of Xih-li, and there he continued till his death, in 129, the patron of all literary men, and unceasingly pursuing his quest for old books dating from before the KAin dynasty. Multitudes came to him from all quarters, bringing to him the precious tablets which had been preserved in their families or found by them elsewhere. The originals he kept in his own library, and had a copy taken, which he gave to the donor with a valuable gift. We are indebted to him in this way for the preservation of the Tao Teh King, the works of Mencius, and other precious treasures; but I have only to notice here his services in connexion with the Li books}, Some one? brought to him the tablets of the K 4u Li, then called K4u Kwan, ‘The Official Book of K4u,’ and purporting to contain a complete account of the organised government of the dynasty of 4u in six sections. The sixth section, however, which should have supplied a list of the officers in the department of the minister of Works, 1 See the account of king Hsien in the twenty-third chapter of the Biographies in the History of the first Han dynasty. Hsien was the king's posthumous title ( Rh). denoting ‘ The Profound and Intelligent.’ 3 The Catalogue of the Sui Dynasty’s (A. D. 589-618) Imperial library says this was a scholar of the surname Lf (48). I have been unable to trace the authority for the statement farther back. CH. 1. INTRODUCTION. 5
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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