Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1Ch. 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. 256 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP. II. 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
2The 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. CH. I. HARMONY OF THE SEEN AND UNSEEN. 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 258 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP. II, 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.’
3In 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 them CH.I. HARMONY OF THE SEEN AND UNSEEN, 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 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.
1Ch. 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. 256 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP. II. 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
2The 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. CH. I. HARMONY OF THE SEEN AND UNSEEN. 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 258 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. APP. II, 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.’
3In 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 them CH.I. HARMONY OF THE SEEN AND UNSEEN, 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 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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