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HOW THE GOVERNMENT OF THE EMPIRE SHOULD
BE CONDUCTED, AND IS TOLD BY HIM OF THE

GOT FROM HEAVEN.

1. 十有三礼 —the commentators observe that, the Shang term for 'year,' is here used instead of the Chow , the viscount of Ke using the character to which he had been accustomed. 訪

Men have thus the material

GREAT PLAN WITH NINE DIVISIONS WHICH YU body and the knowing mind, and Heaven further assists them, helping them to harmonize their lives. The right and the wrong of their language, the correctness and errors of their conduct, their enjoyment of clothing and food, the rightness of their various movements:-all these things are to be harmonized by what they are endowed with by Heaven. Accordance with the right way gives life, and error from it leads to death. Thus Heaven has not only given life to men, and conferred upon them a body and mind, but it further assists them to harmonize their conditions of life, so as to have a pro

acc.

to Ts'ae, 就而問之=‘went to and

asked him.' It implies consultation.' See the note on the History of the Book. 2.

王乃言日,‘the king thereupon spoke, vision for its continuance' (天非徒賦 saying.' The 乃 protracts the style, and in- 命於人,授以形體心識乃 dicates the deliberation with which the king 復佑助諧合其業使有常

made his inquiry. So in the next

箕子乃言曰:箕子,king Woo,

it is observed, addressed the noble by his Shang title, not having yet invested him with the territory of Corea. It may be so; but he might

The fact is that the obscure text 生之資).

can only be brought out obscurely. We cannot
do better than understand
as meaning

the principles in which men should rest in their various conditions,' belonging to the complex constitution which God has given them.

I have said that Heaven is the subject spoken

also address him thus, the old designation being familiar to him, even if he had already given him his new appointment. 天陰騰下 民相協厥居一险一默 secretly, ' by a hidden influence;' to settle.' plies no other; but Wang Suh supposed a 王 者, before 柙 thinking the meaning to be

Sze-ma Ts'een gives the text as 天陰定
TR, which shows at least how he under-
stood the term. The meaning then of the
first clause is that Heaven, working unseen,
has made men with certain hidden springs
of character.' As Gan-kwo says,
言而默定下民

·

This interpretation is much to be preferred to that adopted by Keang Shing and others from Ma Yung, who makes, 'to cover,' 'to

of in相協厥居. The text certainly sup

that Heaven having produced men with their

peculiar constitution, and taking an interest in them, it devolves on the sovereign to give effect to the wishes of Heaven for men's virtue and

happiness.' Keang Shing follows this view. It cannot be said not to be in harmony with the general teaching of the classics. The text is thereby, indeed, brought into strict accordance with that in the Announcement of Tang,' p. 2.

But the language in that passage is sufficiently explicit. I can find no subject in the text for but. The next clause, however, must be understood, I think, with reference to the duty of the sovereign, so that the

overshadow,' and P =ƒ=#=4, ‘to
produce.' is thus simply
Heaven that overshadows produced the in-
ferior people.'
'Announcement of Tang.'
The next clause is continua-

tive, and is to be referred to Heaven as its subject.

whole paragraph may be considered as very nearly equivalent to that referred to in the

我不知其彝倫攸敘-king

HP (3d. tone) — IIJJ, ' to aid.', 'to Woo, say many critics, knew very well all

unite,' 'to harmonize.'-their dwelling or abiding.' This expression is difficult. Both the Daily Explanation,' and Këang Shing

about the subject, but he thus speaks to bring out the learning of the viscount of Ke. We may rather suppose that he speaks with reference to the Great Plan and its Divisions, of

paraphrase it by ELŻE which he had merely heard.

the principles in which they ought to abide.' Gan-kwo's language upon it is enigmatical. He says that 'Heaven thus aids and harmonizes their abiding, so that they shall have a provision

彝常

'constant,' regular;' meaning here the nature of man, acting according to the regular laws of its constitution appointed by Heaven. Com

pare in the She King, Pt, III., Bk. III., Ode vi., st. 1, 天生烝民有物有則民 expanding,

for prolonged life: (是助合其居使之秉彝好是懿德 Heaven in

有常生之資). Ying-ta in expanding this has some striking things. He says that the people have been produced by supreme

Heaven (民是上天所生), and both

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giving birth to the multitudes of men, to every endowment appointed its appropriate law. The people, holding fast this constant nature, love

the virtue which is admirable.' =

body and soul are Heaven's gift the relations of human society, in which are

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彝錫禹攸洪帝水聞箕其 禹乃範乃在子彝 攸洪嗣鯀九震陳昔乃倫 敘範 疇怒其鯀言攸

○九天殛彝不五陞 救。 初疇乃死倫畀行洪我O

The viscount of Ke thereupon replied, "I have heard that of old time K'wan dammed up the inundating waters, and thereby threw into disorder the arrangement of the five elements. God was thereby roused to anger, and did not give him 'the great Plan with its nine Divisions,' whereby the proper virtues of the various relations were left to go to ruin. K'wan was then kept a prisoner till his death, and Yu rose up to continue his undertaking. To him Heaven gave the great Plan with its nine Divisions,' and thereby the proper virtues of the various relations were brought forth in their order.

seen the virtues of man's nature, intended by | cette regle: quelle est elle?' Medhurst endeavours to keep more close to the text:- Heaven

彝攸=所;攸敘=所以敘assecretly settled the lower people, niding

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how they are arranged.'

I have said that this clause is to be understood with reference to the work and duty

of the sovereign. Gan-kwǒ, indeed, supposes

and according with that in which they rest; but I do not know the arrangement of those invariable principles.'

P. 3. 鯀陞洪水-陞=塞,‘to

that Heaven is still the subject (dam up. Instead of finding a vent for the 天所以定民之常道理次 敘問何由); but the other view is gene

rally adopted. The explanation of the whole

paragraph, given by Chin Ya-yen (陳雅

; Ming dyn.) is the best which I have seen:

-武王意人君代天理物必
仰承天意以治民而使其
居之順其常得其正以每
頁上天陰騭相協之心者
其道在於敘其
其秉彝人 人倫

也之以告法

我之爲以蓋

accumulated waters, as his son Yu did, Kewǎn
attempted to remedy the evils of their inunda-
tion by damming them up. 汨陳五行
for the 'five elements,"see the 5th par. 汨
亂, ‘to confuse,' 'to throw into disorder. 陳
(to arrange, and 陳五行=上
=列,
five ele-
帝所陳列之五行,‘the
nents arranged by God' How K'wăn's dam-

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ming the waters-dealing wrongly with one element-should derange all the other elements, is a statement which I can make nothing of.

不畀洪範九疇-畀=與,

敘之不 所 以敘 to give to;疇=類,‘sorts,' classes,' 'divi

當何如此問箕 此問箕子 sions.. 彝倫攸斁-斁(read too) 治之道也箕子力 =敗, ‘to subvert,’‘to ruin' How the consc 洪範九疇爲為治之 quence here stated took place, is likewise a 法蓋九疇之敘卽繇之所 thing which I don't understand. 鯀則 敘也 Gaubil's translation is Le ciel 殛死 ,-see the 'Can. of Shun,' p. 12. a des voies secrettes, par lesquelles il rend le

peuple tranquille et fixe. Il s'unit à lui pour l'aider à garder son Etat. Je ne connois point

天乃錫禹洪範九疇we have

seen, in the second introductory note, how it is fabled that Yu received the great Plan from

用皇

九曰明用皇

三日

用 这次四 四曰敬日

嚮用稽德 日農用 用庶疑次六日協用五行 五徵次七日建用八事次 福次入曰父用五政次二

4 II. "Of those divisions, the first is called 'The five Elements;' the second is called 'The Reverent Practice of the five Businesses'; the third is called 'Earnest Devotion to the eight objects of Government;' the fourth is called 'The Harmonious Use of the five Arrangements'; the fifth is called "The Establishment and Use of Royal Perfection'; the sixth is called 'The Cultivation and Use of the three Virtues'; the seventh is called 'The Intelligent Use of the Examination of Doubts'; the eighth is called 'The Thoughtful Use of the various Verifications'; the ninth is called "The Hortatory Use of the five Happinesses, and the Awing Use of the six Extremities.'

Heaven. Lin Che-kfe held that all which is meant by the text is that Heaven gave Yu the mind and the enlightenment to conceive and describe the Plan. Choo He was asked what he thought of this view, and whether it was not

This paragraph is supposed to be the work of Yu. According to Lew Hin, indeed, the whole 65 characters were upon the back of the

tortoise;--see the 前漢書五行志

contrary to the Yih King, which says that the 上凡此六十五字皆洛書

Lo gave forth the Book.' He answered, 'Suppose

that Heaven had only now given the Book of Gan-kwo says he did not know Lo, if it did not also give the mind to interpret

it, no man would understand it! Neither the old account, nor Lin Che-k'e's, is to be set aside'

(便使而今天錫洛書若非 天啟其心亦無人理會得 兩說似不可偏廢也

have said I don't understand how the virtues and relations were left to go to ruin, in conse

quence of K'wùn's failure; Chin Sze-k.ae hus

how many characters were on the back of the tortoise, but that the numbering of the Divisions, ‘first,’‘second,’&c., (初 一日 次 二 ere would be 38 characters left. Some take 日云云) was done by Yu. In this way

I away the half of these again,-those, namely,

which have a verbal or hortatory force, (敬 用農用云云), leaving the names of the

tried to explain the difficulty, but with little divisions. The prevailing opinion now, however,

success.

is that there were only the 45 small cireles,

open and close, upon the creature; but even of the tortoise and the book of Lo' is only fit

He :-陶唐之盛於變 時雍之際又何彝倫之斁 thus much eannot be allowed. The whole story 哉此非言朝廷也蓋五行 to be told to children. In the paragraph before 既 九功未敘獸蹄鳥迹 us, the characters 五行五事, &c, had 之道交於中國堯甚憂之 &c, had done the same; 敬用農用, 此彝 倫之所以數也,豈必 綱常絶滅而後謂之

Ch. II. P. 4. THE GREAT PLAN AND ITS NINE DIVISIONS. The reader must not suppose that the great Plan was something

different from its nine Divisions. It was merely the combination of them.

come down from the times of Hea; perhaps the

初一日次二日, &c., were spoken

by the viscount of Ke in the narrative which he gave to Woo.

While discarding the book of Lo,' it will be a help to the student's memory, and in his reading of the various lore on the Plan, if I append here an outline of the Book' with the

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火日日日日日日五極威 BBB B 曰潤土金木火水行◎用 炎下水五四三二

五 節

III. [i.] "First, of the five elements.-The first is named water; the second, fire; the third, wood; the fourth, metal; the fifth, earth. The nature of water is to soak and descend; of fire, to blaze and as

cend; of wood, to be crooked and to be straight; of metal, to obey and

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For the names of the subjects of the nine Divisions, see on their several paragraphs that follow. With regard to the ‘five 事 it is

said they are to be reverently used. The being personal, belonging to the government of one's self, it is required to be reverent' in respect to them. [Keang Shing, after Lew Hin, reads 羞用 for 敬用, but 敬 rests on good authority;--see the, in loc.]. The eight E are to be used 'liberally.' is read as if it were and defined by

Ma Yung and Wang Suh try to retain the meaning of‘agriculture,'—but inefare to be used 'harmoniously,'-'to bring the works of men into harmony with the times of heaven.'

fectually. The ‘five 粑’

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The various are to be used 'thoughtfully.'

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ed.

as to attract men 'towards' () what is desirNo numbers, it is observed, are used with reference to the fifth Division, the perfection which it indicates not being capable of measurement.

Ch. III. Pp. 5-40. PARTICULAR DESCRIPTION OF THE NINE DIVISIONS. 5. Of the five elements. Gaubil does not translate, but gives always-les cinq hing. We have got into the habit of rendering it in English by 'elements.' But it seems hardly possible to determine what the Chinese mean by the term. By elements' we mean 'the first principles or ingredients of which all bodies are composed.' The Pythagoreans, by their four elements of earth, water, air, and fire-a classification first made, apparently, by Ocellus-did not intend 30 much the nature or essence of material substances, as the forms under which matter is actually presented to us. The term, meaning 'to move,' 'to be in action,' shows that the original conception of the Chinese is of a different nature; and it is said, in the dict., that 'the five hing move and revolve throughout heaven and earth, without ever ceasing, and

hence they are so called (* 地間未嘗停息故名)‘Dis

tributed,' say the editors of Yung-ching's Shoo, 'through the four seasons, they make the "five arrangements;" exhibited in prognostications, they give rise to divination by the tortoise and the reeds; having lodgment in the human body, they produce "the five businesses;" moved by good fortune and bad, they produce "the various verifications;" communicated to organisms, they produce the different natures, hard and soft, good and evil; working out their results in the changes of those organisms, they necessitate here benevolence and there meanness, here longevity and there early death:-all these things are from the operation of the five hing. But if we speak of them in their simplest and most important character, they are, as here, what man's life depends upon, what the people cannot do without."

Leaving all this jargon, and turning to the 'counsels of Yu' parr. 7, 8, we find that water,

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fire, metal, wood, and earth' are, along with 'grain,' the 'six magazines,' from which the people are to be provided with what is necessary for their sustenance and comfort. We may content ourselves, therefore, with under

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恭聽言事穡酸上穡日上 五 一作從作潤從木

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日日日日甘革苦下革 從思視貌○作 作曲作土 視貌 四 辛直鹹直 日日日日五稼作炎稼金

to change; while the virtue of earth is seen in seed-sowing and ingathering. That which soaks and descends becomes salt; that which blazes and ascends becomes bitter; that which is crooked and straight becomes sour; that which obeys and changes becomes acrid; and from seed-sowing and ingathering comes sweetness.

[ii.]“ Second, of the five businesses. The first is called demeanour; the second, speech; the third, seeing; the fourth, hearing; and the fifth, thinking. The virtue of the demeanour is called respectfulness; of speech, accordance with reason; of seeing, clear

standing here as 'the five essentials

duced, and the saltness is made by the soaking and descending. When fire, blazes on without

to human life. From 水日潤 down- ceasing, charring and scorching for a long time,

wards is to be taken as the language of the
viscount of Ke, or of the chronicler of Chow, to
whom we owe the 'great Plan' of the Shoo;
but the language is affected by the study of the
Yih-king, which had come into vogue.
-water may be described

水日潤下一

as moistening and descending.’潤下..... 從革, it is said, 以性言, describe the

nature of the elements' But nature in such a

case is only expressive of some qualities belonging to them.稼穡 again, is said to be

descriptive of the virtue of earth (以德言) and hence we read 土稼穡 and not 土日稼穡 ‘Metal obeys and changes';

i.e., it alters its form when acted on by fire From to the end we have the

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;

the bitter taste is produced, and the bitterness is made by the blazing and ascending '; &c., &c. The reader may find a reasonable meaning in all this, if he can. Ts'ae observes that the five elements have their several sounds, colours, and airs, as well as tastes, but the text only speaks of their tastes, those being of greater

importance to the people than the others.

P.6. Of the five businesses. To translate

五事 by the five businesses’reads awkward Medhurst renders the phrase by the five senses,' and uncouth; but I can do no better with it.

which is plainly inadmissible. Gaubil gives

for itles cing occupations ou affaires.

From the language of p. 4,一敬用五事

we gather that the 'aspect,' 'the speech,' &c., are not themselves the, but what give occasion to them.

貌=容儀, carringe,'

‘demeanour., 恭從&c, describe the 日從 一從順 accordance,' that is, obedience to

several virtues or desirable characteristics of the

businesses' (五事之德)

right and reason. It is strange that the old interpreters, Gan-kwo, Kang-shing, and Ma

Yung, all agree in defining 從by可從 making the meaning to be the virtue of speech is that it move others to follow the speaker.'

This is manifestly wrong. 睿一通乎

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