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不展國伯寶厥邦異之乃 易親時叔玉服無姓致昭 物人庸之于分替之于德

3 clothes, food, and vessels for use. The kings have then displayed the things thus produced by their virtue, and distributed them to the princes of the States of different surnames, to encourage them not to neglect their duties. The precious things and gems they have distributed among their uncles in charge of States, thereby increasing their attachment to the throne. The recipients have thus not despised the things, but have seen in them the power of virtue. 賓賓 is not merely 一岁, strangers, | Gan-shih, Though they loved them, yet if they ‘guests,' but=賓服;

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;-see in the dict, on

畢獻方物惟服 食器用方物其方所生之 物, ‘the articles produced by their country,'

and we may understand also articles manufactured there. The last clause gives a summary of those articles, and the meaning is that the con

tributions were restricted to these:一不敢 於此外有奇玩異物進獻 者 3. 異姓之邦伯叔之 國,the empire being divided into many States

or principalities, the emperors of each dynasty apportioned these among their relatives and adherents. The States of their uncles' were

同姓之邦, ‘regions of the same surname,'

had not shared their precious things with them, who could have known the sincerity of their

love (親之矣而不以所實分 之則人孰知親親之信也)?”

But the clause is evidently related to the

preceding 無替厥服, and must describe

the gifts proceeded, but the feeling which they -not the feeling of the emperors from which wished to increase in the princes, their relatives.

The explanation of 展by信 is therefore inadmissible. The meaning in the tranal. is given by Ts'ae and in the dictionary:使之益 厚其親

[In the passage of the from which I quoted, on the 1st par., the words of Confu

cius, the sage goes on to say:一於是肅

te, their rulers had the same surname as the 慎氏貢矢石其長

emperors. The 'regions of different surnames

were the States ruled by Chiefa, attached to 有咫先王昭其合德

the reigning dynasty, but of a different lineage.

To these the emperors 昭德之致,致遠也以示後人使

'displayed what their virtue thus produced,'

the productions of remote territories, the tribute

焉故銘其栝日肅慎氏之

from distant tribes. The transitive meaning of貢矢以分太姬配虞胡 昭 is very much determined by its correlation 而封諸陳古者分同姓以 with 分 in the next part of the par. The 珍玉展親也分異姓以遠 things were sent about as imperial gifts among 为之職貢使無忘服也

the States ; so they were 'displayed,' and served

to warn and encourage the chiefs to loyal service

and duty. 無替厥服無廢其

服事之職 時庸展親

Gan-kwǒ explains this by 是用誠信 其親親之道,‘thereby verifying the

人不易物惟德其物-by

is intended the various princes, receiving

the imperial gifts; 男=輕‘to slight.' 不

sincerity with which they held the principle of 'have not slighted the things,' have

attachment to their relatives,' taking as

信:Lin Che-k'e supports this interpretation,

not dared to think lightly of them, however

little valuable they might be; 德其物

they have virtue-ed the things; i.c., they have

and quotes with approval the words of Wang looked at the things in the light of the virtue which

貞。目○以盡君狎◎惟

○百不盡小人子梅德德

玩度役其人心,罔狸盛 人惟耳力罔狸以

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不物。

4 "Complete virtue allows no contemptuous familiarity. When a prince treats superior men with such familiarity, he cannot get them to give him all their hearts; when he so treats inferior men, he cannot 5 get them to put forth for him all their strength. If he be not in bondage to his ears and eyes, all his conduct will be ruled by correctness. 6 By trifling with men he ruins his virtue; by finding his amusement in things he ruins his aims.

produced them, and as monitions to the virtue

they themselves ought to cultivate. Gaubil's

rendering of this part is sententious, but can be of no help to a student:- Ainsi les choses qui viennent de la vertu retournent à la vertu.'

[This passage appears in the 左傳僖 五年,along with two other sentences from the Books of Chow,' in the following

form:-民不易物惟德繄物

The use which is made of it there is to show that virtue is the only sure defence of a State.] Pp. 4-6. How the sovereign's careful attention to his virtue will appear in his guarding against improper familiarity with men, and foolish cherishing of useless creatures and things. This is the meaning that is put upon these paragraphs. The interpretation of them, it will be seen, is

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degree of elevated character. They have their

minds-their virtues and acquirements-to serve the sovereign with; but when treated with contemptuous familiarity, they will despise him

and go away. 小人 are the people, in whom the familiarity of their superiors is sure to breed contempt, so that they will not be careful to labour for them, as they ought to do, with their strength. Ying-ta, aptly enough, quotes, in illus

tration of 侮狎君子, the words of E Yin,

perplexing and difficult. 4. 德盛不 狎侮-comp.狎侮五行, in 'the 接下思恭(太甲, Pt. ii., p. 7); and

Great Speech, Pt. iii, 2. Koo Seih-chtow(顧 the words of Confucius, 使民如承大祭 錫疇;Ming dyn.) says upon the terms here: (Ana., XII, ii.), in illustration of 狎侮小 一狎者與之暱也 5. 不役耳目=不為耳 者禮人 ie, if he be superior to the ex目所役,

之倨也一是視為私人一 是忽為易與狎 is being familiar

with them; is a haughty disregard of the

rules of propriety. The former indicates the looking upon them as mere favourites; the

latter expresses the treatment of them as easily consorted with.' For the two terms, how

ever, we have the one term 'to make sport

of

with'in p. 6. The Daily Explanation' says, on that par., that the first is the contempt, and the second the of fondness'

(上玩字玩忽之意下玩字 玩好之意). But we must find a com

ternal fascinations that assail him through the senses,-what are called in the next para

graph. 百度,‘the hundred measures," 百爲之度,(the measures of all his con

duct.' A certain rule-of 'correctness' (E-is supposed, by which the ruler, free from

the bondage of his senses, will endeavour to regulate all his conduct. 'His words and actions, it is said in the Daily Explanation,' will all be conformed to the measure of perfection, and he will not dare to transgress it an 6. 玩-see on par. 4. Contemp

meh.

tuous familiarity with men destroys that self

夜則則不土物,乃不以

邇遠育性民成作

乃 不無军玩

喪德玩物喪志•志

安格國 畜 足貴益言物 勤 ○ ○所不 珍犬異害以喪 不 嗚寶寶禽馬物有道 矜呼惟遠奇非賤益接。

細夙賢物獸其用功

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7 "The aims should repose in what is right; words should be listened to according to their relation to right.

8

9

"A prince should not do what is unprofitable to the injury of what is profitable, and then his merit may be completed. He should not value strange things to the contemning things that are useful, and then his people will be able to supply all his needs. Even dogs and horses which are not native to his country he will not keep; fine birds and strange animals he will not nourish in his kingdom. When he does not look on foreign things as precious, foreigners will come to him; when it is worth which is precious to him, his own people near at hand will enjoy repose.

“Oh! early and late never be but earnest. If you do not attend jealously to your small actions, the result will be to affect your virtue

respect and reverence for right which is at the | Leu, though he does not expressly mention foundation of all virtue. A fondness for, and fondling of, creatures like the hounds of Leu

brings the whole mind down to the level of little things.

P. 7. The rule for a prince's aims, and his intercourse with others.

道-所當由 之理, ‘the principles according to which we

ought to proceed.’ 言以道接一人 之言道而接. The first clause is

illustrated by Mencius'持其志 (II, Pt.

them. 不作至民乃足,−these two

clauses are of a general character, and may be
applied to an endless variety of subjects. R
乃足一个
-'the people will be sufficient.' Chin
Tih-sew says: 貴異物則征求多,
‘If he set a value on strange
而民不足,

things, his exactions and requirements will be so

many that the people will not be able to meet them.’

犬馬至不备—these dogs

and horses might be useful, but being foreign,

I., ii. 9), and the second by his 我知言(b, the virtuous sovereign will have nothing to do

p.11); also by Shun's language in The Counsels with them! 珍禽-珍 is here an

of Yu,'pp.14–16.

The two sayings are

good enough in their way, but the object which | adjective, =珍美之禽

they serve in the guardian's address is not very

evident;–see the remark of Wang Pih at the

conclusion of his ' Doubts ' about this Book.
P. 8. What things a sovereign should abstain
from cherishing and pursuing, and what things he
should prefer and seek. In this par. the Guardian
comes at last to the subject of the hounds of

不寶

至人安一 -see the remarks on this in the

note on the Contents of the Book.

Pp. 9, 10. How the sovereign is to cultivate his virtue by an untiring attention even to the smallest matters, and what grand results will flow from such

世居民迪簣功山大行

王惟保

虧九德

乃生允鞋
允一仞為

in great matters;—as when, in raising a mound of nine fathoms the 10 work is unfinished for want of one basket of earth. If you really follow this course, the people will preserve their possessions, and

the throne will descend from generation to generation.

a course.

不矜細行一矜 is used here | 居一生民 (the living people,' is merely much with the same meaning as in the Con. an equivalent of. The phrase is found

Ana. XV., xxi, 君子矜而不爭 also in the 孝經

Choo He was asked whether the term were not

used in the same way in the two passages, and

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replied, Much about it. The idea is that of

pitiful consideration, and firm conservation.'

For 保厥居

Medhurst has well-'may protect their hearths.'

惟乃世王王業可永

'the imperial inheritance may be perpetuated.'

(相似是個矜惜持守之意 Lappend Lin Che-k'e's observations on this: 為山云云, see the Con. Ana,太保旣以是訓王厥後凡

IX, xviii.仞=八尺, eight cubits' I 四夷所獻中國所受一如

call it 'a fathom,' as being the nearest approxi- 太保之訓觀肅慎氏

mation to it which we have in our designa

tions of measures. The paraphrase in the 之類可以見矣所謂

‘Daily Explanation' is:譬如為山者 兹者也周之子孫

積累工夫已至九仞所少 十卜年七百信乎

簣之士乃心生玩他不也夫却一獒之獻, 肯加益九仞之功到底虧耳

缺山豈可得而成也哉

之兆見於

之 所以祈

凡如矢迪三王事則永者

10. 允迪兹comp.允迪德
,一comp.允迪德命以為社稷無疆之休者
1. 生民保厥 蓋不在大也。

Pt., II., Bk. III., P, 1

THE BOOKS OF SHANG.

BOOK VI. THE METAL-BOUND COFFER.

我未○為公弗年旣 可
先可周王日豫王克
王以公穆我 有商
○戚日卜。其 二疾
疾二

1 I. Two years after the conquest of the Shang dynasty, the king 2 fell ill, and was quite disconsolate. The two dukes said, "Let us 3 reverently consult the tortoise concerning the king"; but the duke of Chow said, "You may not so distress our former kings."

The Name of the Book.Metal-bound.'

'The

is defined by, to tie or shut up,' 'to seal or fasten.' A certain chest or coffer, which was fastened with bands of metal, plays an important part among the incidents of the Book. It is called, p. 11,

; and from this the name is taken.

The Book is found in both the texts.

CONTENTS. King Woo is very ill, and his

death seems imminent. His brother, the duke of Chow, apprehensive of the disasters which such an event would occasion to their infant dynasty, conceives the idea of dying in his stead, and prays to the three kings,' their immediate progenitors, that he might be taken

of the duke is found. His devotion to his brother and the interests of his family is brought to light. The boy monarch weeps because of the unjust suspicions he had harboured, and welcomes the duke back to court, amid unmistakeable demonstrations of the approval of Heaven.

The whole narrative is a very pleasing episode in the history of the times, and is more interesting to the foreign reader than most other portions of the Shoo. It divides itself naturally into two chapters:-the first, parr. 1-11, ending with the depositing the prayer in the coffer; and the second, detailing how it was brought to light, and the duke cleared by means of it from the suspicions which had been cherished of him.

CH. I. Pp. 1-11. THE PRAYER OF THE

DUKE OF CHOW; ITS OCCASION; HIS SUBSEQUENT
DIVINATION, AND DEPOSITING THE PRAYER IN

and king Woo left. Having done so, and divined THE COFFER. 1. The illness of king Woo.

in

that he was heard, he deposits the prayer--the current chronology

the metal-bound coffer, where important archives were kept. The king gets well, and the duke is also spared; but five years after, Woo really dies, and is succeeded by his son, a boy only thirteen years old. Rumours are spread abroad that the duke has designs upon the throne, and he withdraws for a time from the court. At length in the third year of the young king, Heaven interposes. He has occasion to open the metal-bound coffer, and the prayer

既克商二年−the

refers this to the 14th year of king Woo, the year after the death of Show, B.C. 1,120. Kang-shing thought that the year of the conquest of Shang should not be included in the two years, and the critics of the present dynasty generally concur with him. Ming-shing says that if the historian had meant to say that the year was that succeeding the change of dynasties, as Gan-kwo, Sze-ma Ts'een, and Wang Sul

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