greatest fear of the Heen-yun on the north, known afterwards as the Heung-noo (II. i. VIII.).5 The principal element of a Chinese army was the chariot drawn by two or by four horses.6 It carried three mailed warriors, the officer to whom it belonged being in the middle. He had on his right his esquire, who passed to him his arms; and on his left the charioteer I. vii. V. 3). A troop of soldiers followed the chariot to protect it (II. i. VII. 5 : IV. ii. III. 7). The term chariot was then a collective name like lance in our middle ages. The Le Ke reckons for every chariot 3 mailed warriors, 25 footmen in front and at the sides to guide the horses and the chariot, and seventy-two light-armed foot-soldiers following. But this number or company was never complete. IV. ii. IV. 5 counts only 30,000 foot-soldiers for 1000 chariots, making but 30 for a chariot.7 Another ode (II. iii. IV. 2) speaks of an army of 3000 chariots, which would represent, according to the Le Ke, 300,000 men.8 Lacharme remarks, and I agree with him, that the numbers in the Le Ke must be very much exaggerated, like all the numbers of armies given by Asiatic authors. The number in the official list was never complete.

The sovereign never marched without a guard of 2,500 men, called sze.9 Every dignitary or great officer had an escort of 500 men called leu (II. iii. IV. 3; viii. III. 3).9 To employ our military terms, sze was a regiment, leu a battalion. Six sze, or 15,000 men, formed an ordinary army (II vi. IX. 1: III. i. IV. 3). 10 They distinguished the soldiers of the left wing and the right, according to the division long used in the marching and encampments of the Tartar hordes (III. iii. IX. 2). An army was divided into three troops (III. ii. VI. 5).11 The six sze appear also to represent in general six sections of any army (III. iii. IX. 1).12 In II. iv. III. the commentary explains sze by keun, which denotes a corps of 12,500 men. The six sze are a collective term, like the six king mentioned in several chapters of the Shoo-king (III. ii. 1, and V. ii.).13 The chief of each corps had his place in the middle of it. (I. vii. V.).

The chariot of the sovereign, or of the commander-in-chief, had four or six horses, yoked abreast.14 When there were four horses, which was the ordinary number, (II. vii. VIII. 2: III. iii. VII. 2), two of them were yoked to the pole, and two to the transverse bar of the chariot (II. vii. VIII.). The horses were covered with mail (I. vii. V.; xi. III.), or protected at the sides by bucklers (I. xi. III. 2).15 Those

6 I

In an

5 The Heen-yun do not appear an object of fear, so much as a troublesome enemy. believe the war-chariots had all 4 horses. 7 This description is not quite correct. ordinary fighting chariot, the charioteer was in the middle; one warrior, who wielded the spear, was on the right; and the one on the left was an archer. It was only in the chariot of the general that the driver was on the left, while he himself thundered on a drum to urge the troops forward. The spearman on the right was not his esquire to hand him his arms, but a noted warrior of great strength, to protect him, and take part in the battle as he was needed. 8 See the note on IV. ii. IV. 5, where the number of 30,000 is otherwise explained; and the note on II. iii. IV. 1, where the 3,000 chariots may be made out, without any exaggeration. 9 These things do not appear in the odes. In the Tso-chuen, on XI. iv., par. 4, it is said :

# œ œ When the ruler goes, a sze (2,500 men) attends him; when

a high ministers goes, a leu (500 men) attends him;' but the discourse is there of a feudal prince, and the subject is of their going to certain meetings. 10 It should be 5 sze, or 12,500 men,

which formed a or army. In both the passages referred to, 大師六軍, the host

which followed the king to the field. 11 See the note on the words referred to. We can draw no conclusion from the passage. 12 See note 10. 13 Only the first reference is applicable. In V. ii., the term does not occur. The six king would be the commanders of the six royal armies or Afifi). 14 The She nowhere mentions 6 horses to a chariot; but

the king did have that number. the sides of the horses.

15 Those bucklers were in the front of the chariot, and not at

of the commanders had golden bits (III. ii. III.),16 with a small bell at each side of the bit (I. xi. II. 3: II. iii. IV. 2: III. iii. VII. 4). The reins were richly adorned (IV. ii. III.),17 and led through rings of leather on the backs of the horses (I. xi. III. 1: IV. ii. IV. 3). The sides of the chariots were covered with boards as a defence against the arrows of the enemy (I. xi. III.) They were adorned in the inside with mats of bamboo (I. iv. III. 3),18 or embroidered carpets (I. xi. III. 1).18 The axle-trees of the chariots of the chiefs were wrapped round with green silk (IV. iii. II.),20 or with leather (II. iii. IV. 2),19 probably to strengthen them. The pole was also covered with leather, painted in 5 colours (I. xi. III. 1).21

The princes and regular warriors wore helmets. Those of the princes of the blood were adorned with a plume of red silk (IV. ii. IV. 5).22 The regular warriors had a sword (II. vi. IX. 2: I. vii. V. 3), two lances (or spears) and two bows (I. vii. V. 2: IV. ii. IV. 5).23 The scabbards of the chiefs' swords were adorned with precious stones (III. ii. VI. 2), or with other ornaments (II. vi. IX. 2). The spears were of three kinds :—the maou which was 4 métres long (20 Chow cubits); and the kih, 16 cubits (I. xi. VIII. 2). These were set up in the war chariots (ib.). The javelin ko (ib.) was 6 cubits, 6 in. long, and was used by the foot-soldiers. 24 (These lengths are given by the commentary from the Le Ke.) All the lances had red pendants or streamers (I. vii. V. 1).

Like the hunting bows, those used in war were of wood adorned with green silk (IV. ii. IV. 5).25 The bows of the chiefs had ornaments of ivory (II. i. VII. 5). There were also bows of horn, or strong as horn (II. vii. IX. 1: IV. ii III. 7),26 which discharged several arrows at once.26 To preserve the bows, they were kept in cases of tiger-skin (I. xi III. 3), or of ordinary leather (I. vii. IV. 3). Every case contained two bows, and they were closely fitted to bamboos, to hinder them from being warped by the damp (I. xi. III. 3: II. viii. II. 3). The bow-cases and the quivers were made of the skin of some marine animal called yu (II. i. VII. 5: iii. IV. 1), which may have been a seal.

The mailed warriors had bucklers (I. i. VII. 1: III. ii VI. 1), and battle-axes with handles of wood (I. xv. IV.: III. ii. VI. 1). The foot-soldiers were usually armed only with javelins and spears (I. xv. IV.). II. iii. V. describes an army in march. The horses in the chariots neigh; the flags and pennons wave in the air; the foot-soldiers and the assistants who guide the horses march in silence. 27 Besides the war-chariots, there followed the army carriages laden with sacks of baggage, and drawn by oxen (II. viii. III. 2. Shoo, V. xxix. 3). These sacks had one or two openings, and contained provisions (III. ii. VI. 1). The chariots were unloaded, and arranged round the place of encampment (Yih-king, ch. Vl., diagram sze).28 Then the feeble watched the baggage, while the strong advanced against the enemy. 16 III ii. III. says nothing about horses and their ornaments. The bits were of metal; not necessarily gold; and were fitted with bells. 17 Nor does IV. ii. III. say anything about reins. They are commonly spoken of as soft and glossy; they had rings of metal at their ends. 18 These were screens, not mats, of bamboo, which covered in the carriages of ladies, and some others given to great men by the king. 19 These were mats of tiger-skin. 20 Not with green silk, but only with leather, which was lacquered. The axle-trees, or perhaps only the projecting ends, were bound with this. 21 Only the curved end of the pole. 22 No. The ornament on the helmet consisted of shells strung on red cords. 23 The spear and the bow-case were carried in the chariot. It does not seem to me competent from the odes to say anything about the sword as a regular weapon. 24 It does not appear that the javelin was ever thrown. 25 See notes on I. xi. III. 3. 26 These bows were probably only

adorned with horn. The She does not mention the spring-bow, which could discharge more than 27 This ode is only about a grand hunting-expedition of king Seuen.

one arrow at once.

28 There is no such statement in the Yih-king.

The expeditions against the indigenous tribes of the centre, the west, and the north, were made in the 6th moon (II. iii. III.), the time of the year corresponding to the end of May and the beginning of June. 29 They marched 30 le per day, about 11 kilometres, if we value the le at 1,800 cubits of 10 centimetres each (II. iii. III. 2). For a grand army of 300 chariots, 10 chariots formed the advanced guard (ib., 4).

On the banners were figures of birds (ib., 4), and of serpents (II. i. VIII. 2, 3).30 There were attached to them little bells (II. vi. VIII. 2),31 and ribbons (III. iii. VII. 2).32 On the royal standard there was the image of the sacred dragon (IV. i. [ii.] VIII.).33 The princes of the blood, and secondary chiefs or viceroys had broad pennons or flags (IV. iii. IV. 3). One pennon, formed of an ox-tail upon a pole, was placed behind in the chariot of the chief of a squadron. Figures of these flags are given in the plates published with the imperial editions of the Chow Le and the Le Ke.

The warriors wore coloured cuisses, and buskins on their legs, (II. vii. VIII. 3).34 Lacharme says that this practice still exists in China with foot-soldiers. In I. xi. VIII. a man of Ts'in engages another to follow him to the war by the promise of clothes, shoes, and weapons, should he need them. This custom of having all their military equipment in common reminds us involuntarily of the miserable equipment of Chinese soldiers at the present day, who, according to many travellers, lend to each other their clothes and weapons for the purpose of passing a review.

The commandant of a corps d'armée had the title of Ke-foo (II. iv. I.), or of Shang-foo (III. i. II. 7).35 Several odes (II. i. VII., et al), designate the general by the name of the illustrious man;'-meaning the Prince, the Dignitary 36

The drum gave the signal for departure (I. iii. VI. 1), for attack, and for retreat II. vi. IV. 3).37 Large drums were covered with the skin of a fish called to (III. i. VIII. 4), and which appears to have been a crocodile, according to the description in the Japanese Encyclopædia, ch. xiv., fol. 5, and the explanation in the commentary on the Le Ke, VI. iv. 6.38 Before the battle, the warriors excited one another by mock combats. They leaped, ran, and threatened one another with their weapons (I. iii. VI. 1).39 Turner, in his Journey to Thibet, gives us a similar description of a sham fight.

In III. i. VII. 7, 8, king Wăn causes the assault of a fortified city, and his soldiers ascend the wall by means of hooked ladders. He takes some prisoners and punishes

29 No. The 6th month in II. iii. III. is mentioned to show the urgency of the occasion, calling for an expedition at an unusual time. 30 The chaou was characterized by serpents and tortoises intertwined blazoned upon it. 31 The bells in II. vii. VIII. 2 are probably those at the horses' bits; but there were bells at the top of the flag-staff (IV. i. [ii.] VIII.). 32 I do not know that these ornaments were of ribbons. 33. It is not the royal standard which is here mentioned; but what Biot immediately calls a broad pennon or flag carried by princes of the blood, &c. It was a large flag with dragons figured on it. The royal standard had a representation at the top of it of the sun and moon, beneath which and all round were dragons. It is not mentioned in the She. 34. These coloured cuisses, which were a sort of apron or knee-cover, belonged to the dress of ceremony and not of war. The buskins may have been something like the gaiters which I have seen on Chinese soldiers. 35 Ke-foo was a designation of the king's minister of War, and not of the commander of a corps d'armée. Shang-foo was the name or designation of a minister of kings Wăn and Woo. 36 The illustrious man' is merely a title of praise and admiration. 37 A retreat was generally ordered by the gong or some instrument of metal, In II. vi. IV. 3 a light sound of the drum serves the same purpose. 38 The t'o was no doubt some kind of saurian; but not the crocodile.

39

I. iii. VI. 1 is not sufficient to bear this remark out. In the Tso-chuen we have numerous instances of individual deeds of daring against the enemy before a battle.

them as rebels, proportioning their chastisement to the gravity of their offence. He causes one ear of his captives to be cut off, and in contenting himself with this punishment he passes for a just and humane man.40 In the State of Loo (towards the south of Shan-tung), the ariny, returned from an expedition, is assembled in the parade-ground called Pwan-kung (IV. ii. III.).41 They present to the prince the ears that have been cut off; they bring the captive chiefs in chains before the judge, by whom they are condemned by regular sentence.42 Like the tribes of America, the Chinese then made very few prisoners; they put the vanquished chiefs to death, and released the common soldiers after cutting off one of their ears, as a mark of dishonour, or that they might recognize them if they met with them again.

The parade-ground of the capital of Loo was surrounded with a canal, sown with cress and other plants (IV. ii. III. 1, 2).43 There they practised archery, and the use of other weapons (ib., 7). Near the palace of king Wăn, there was found a similar ground, named Peih yung (the lake of the Round Tablet),44 and intended for corporal exercises (III. i. VIII.). A similar parade-ground existed under his son, king Woo, at the capital city Haou (III. i. X. 6). The Le Ke, quoted by the commentator on III. i. VIII., and IV. ii. III., affirms that they gave also to the people in this special place lessons in morality (literally, that they taught them the rites). III. i. VI. mentions young men who were educated according to the institutions of king Wăn.

GENERAL ORGANIZATION OF THE GOVERNMENT. DIGNITIES.

The secondary chiefs, feudatories of the sovereign, had the general designation of hour, assistants (III. iii. II. 5;1 IV. ii. IV. 2).2 They were divided into three principal classes,3 the special titles of which are found in many odes of the She-king, and are well known as they occur in the Shoo-king and the Chow Le. See also these names in the translation of Mencius by M. Stanislas Julien (V. Pt. ii. II.).4 Among the principal officers attached to the sovereign, the name of sze, instructors, is read in the She-king, (II. iv. VII. 2, 3, and III. i. II. 8).5 Immediately below the sze were the ministers designated by the general term of officers of the right and of the left (III. i. IV. 1),6 according to the place which they occupied in the ceremonies beside the sovereign. The She-king names among them the sze-t'oo, charged with the direction of the civil administration and the instruction of the people (III. i. III. 5); the sze-k'ung, charged with the public works (ib.); the how-tseih, superin40 The left ears of the slain, as also often of captives, were cut off. Pwan-kung really was, and its form, parade-ground, or place of exercise. standing of IV.ii.III. 6.

41 As to what the see the notes on IV. ii. III. It is wrong to speak of it as a 42 This statement appears to have arisen from a misunderThere was a semicircular pool in front of the Pwan-kung, and in and about the water grew cress and mallows 44 Peih-yung should be called the Hall with the circlet of water.-Neither the Pwan-kung nor the Peih-yung had anything to do with war.

43 No.

1 is the more common term for the feudal princes, or one of their number. alone however, is so used here. With regard to the meaning of the term, see on Mencius, V. Pt. ii. II. 3. 2 How here has its special meaning of marquis. 3 They are generally reckoned five classes, but M. Biot probably says they were only three, because their territories were assigned them on a three-fold scale;-acc. to the Shoo and Mencius, See my note on the Shoo, V. iii. 10. 4 M. Julien gives the Chinese names, without trying to translate them, or to give their equivalents in Latin. He mentions, but with disapprobation, Noel's rendering of them by duke, prince, count, marquis, and baron. I have called them duke, marquis, viscount, earl, and baron; and any of them, indifferently, prince. 5 The, the grand-master, grand-tutor, or grand-instruc

6

tor of the Shoo, V. xx. 5. those on the right and on the left' was a very general expression, and might be applied to ministers and attendants of almost no rank.

tendent of agriculture (III. ii. I. 1, et al.).7 We find also in the She-king mention of the ta-foo, or grand-prefects, placed over the different districts of every principality (III. iii. IV. 8: I. iv. X. 1, 4),8 and of the sze, scholars, or superior secretaries attached to the sovereign (III. i. IV 2). The complete description of the adminis trative organization of this period cannot be better seen than in the Chow Le. I have said that I have undertaken the translation of this long work; and therefore I will not enter into a larger account of this subject here.

The secondary chiefs, placed at the head of the different principalities, received as the sign of their dignity, two sorts of tablets of precious stone, one of which, called a kwei, was oblong, and the other, called a peih, was oval (I. v. I. 3: III. iii. V. 5).9 When they came to court, they held these before the mouth, in speaking to the sovereign (Yih, art. 40; diagram).10 These visits of the chiefs were made at two seasons of the year,-spring and autumn (II. iii. V. 4.).11 Various odes of the first and second Parts contain allusions to tours of inspection, which the sovereign himself made at similar periods, through the different principalities. 11 This exchange of visits and of tours is a proof of the small extent of the Chinese empire in the early times described by the She-king. IV. iii. III., which belongs to the times of the Shang dynasty (from the 18th to the 12th century before our era), gives, it is true, to the State of the sovereign the nominal extent of 1,000 le. But Part I. v. VII. says that from the chief town of the State of Sung they could see that of the State of Wei; and Mencius (II. Pt. i. I. 10) mentions the small extent of the kingdom of king Wăn;11 saying that the crowing of the cocks and the barking of the dogs were heard from the royal residence to the four limits of the kingdom.

RELIGIOUS BELIEFS.

Several odes of the She-king indicate, in an undeniable manner, the belief in one Supreme Being, Shang-te, the Sovereign Lord. III. i. II. 3 says that king Wan honoured Shang-te by a reverent worship, and that thence came the prosperity of this prince and of his race. In the same ode (st. 7) the companions of king Woo say to him, before the famous battle of Muh-yay, 'Shang-te is favourable; let not your soul waver between fear and hope.' "The favour of Shang-te shown to the arms of king Woo is celebrated in the same terms, in IV. ii. IV. 2. III. i. VII. shows Shang-te wearied with the faults of the families of Hea and Shang, and calling the family of Chow to replace them. It is Shang-te who directs T'an-foo or king Tae, the ancient chief of this family, in the countries of the west. He seconds his labours

7 How-tseih was the name of the minister of agriculture in the times of Yaou and Shan. Throughout the She How-tseih is simply the name of the ancestor of the house of Chow. 8 Ta-foo is in the She more a name of dignity, than of territorial rule. In II. iv. X. 2 the designation appears as given to the highest ministers of the kingdom. 9 But of the kwei there were three forms, and of the peih two; in all five, corresponding to the 5 orders of nobility. 10 This is probably a wrong reference, as there is nothing under the 40th diagram, relating to the subject in hand. As to how the kwei and peih were held at court, Confucius has, no doubt. given us an example. See Ana. X. v. 1. 11. This is a misstatement. See on the Shoo, VI. i. 8, 9: V. xv. 14. And the reasoning from his own mistake to the small extent of the kingdom of Chow falls to the ground. It was not so large as many people vaguely suppose, yet it was not so small as M. Biot would make out. I. v. VII. cannot be strained to the meaning he gives to it, and Mencius. II. Pt. i. I. 10, is speaking not of the kingdom of king Wăn, but of the State of Tse, showing how thickly it was peopled.

1 I have, after the best Chinese scholars, put this language into the mouth of Shang-foo, a principal adherent of king Woo. This does not affect the sentiment.