從筮用凡曰曰雨命立 時二七貞驛日卜卜 一人之言 人 衍下日日霽筮筮 占作忒五悔。克。曰 人 蒙 則卜 ◎ 占○○蒙 乃 appointed officers for divining by the tortoise and by the milfoil, 21 they are to be charged on occasion to perform their duties. In doing this, they will find the appearances of rain, clearing up, cloudiness, 22 want of connection and crossing; and the symbols, solidity, and re23 pentance. In all the indications are seven;-five given by the tortoise, and two by the milfoil, by which the errors of affairs may be 24 traced out. These officers having been appointed, when the operations with the tortoise and milfoil are proceeded with, three men are to obtain and interpret the indications and symbols, and the consenting words of two of them are to be followed. tions. In the‘Counsels of Yu' p. 18, that sage proposes to Shun to submit the question of who should be his successor on the throne to divination, and the emperor replies that he had already done so. There is no reason to doubt, therefore, the genuineness of the great Plan, as a relic of the Hea times, from the nature of this part of it. As soon as the curtain lifts from China, and we get a glimpse of its greatest men about four thousand years ago, we find them trying to build up a science of the will of Heaven and issues of events, from various indications given by the shell of a tortoise and the stalks of the milfoil! Gaubil observes that according to the text the tortoise and milfoil were consulted only in doubtful cases. But we may be sure that if such was the practice of the sages, superstitious observances entered largely as a depraving and disturbing element into the life of the people. They do so at the present day. The old methods of divination have fallen into disuse, and I cannot say how far other methods viners and soothsayers, of many kinds, form a considerable and influential class of society. are sanctioned by the government, but the digovernment, but the di Pp. 20–24 contain some hints as to the manner in which divination was practised. The and the plant will yield, when a hundred years old, a hundred stalks from one root, and is also a spiritual and intelligent thing. The two divinations were in reality a questioning of spiritual beings, the plant and the tortoise being employed, because of their mysterious intelligence, to indicate their intimations. The way of divination by the tortoise was by the application of fire to scorch the tortoise-shell till the indications appeared on it; and that by the stalks of the plant was to manipulate in the prescribed ways forty-nine of them, eighteen different times, till the diagrams were formed' (龜歲久則靈著生百歲 ·本百莖亦物之神靈者 卜筮實問鬼神以著龜神 靈之物故假之以其卦兆 下法以明火熱柴灼龜為 兆筮法以四十九蓍分掛 same subject is treated in the Chow Le, Bk. 凡十有八變而成卦). XXIV; but it is hardly possible to get the two accounts into one's mind so as to understand and be able distinctly to describe the subject. 20. Two kinds of divination and the appointment of officers to superintend them. The two kinds of divination were-first, that by means of the tortoise, or tortoise-shell rather, called ; See the Chapter on Divination in the 'Historical Records'(龜策列傳第六十八). plants called Achillea millefolium. Williams calls leading us to think of the holy herb' of Dioscorides, the verbena officinalis. The correctness, however, of both these accounts may be doubt and that by means of the stalks of the plant, called 籠. The tortoise,' says Choo He, ed. There is a figure of the plant in the * after great length of years becomes intelligent;本草綱目(草部隰草類上); but I have not yet been able to obtain a specimen to have its botanical name and place exactly determined. We cannot tell how many were the officers of divination in the earlier dynasties, nor what were their several duties. In the Book of the Chow Le, referred to above, we have the , or 'grand diviner;' theif, or 'master of divination;' the 龜人, or 'keeper of the tortoises;' the 氏 or 'preparer of the wood;' and the A or the observers and interpreters of the prognostics.' They were all, observe the critics, required to be men far 貞 and the outer 悔; 23. We have here a resume of the two last parr. with the addition of the enigmatical phrase removed from the disturbing influence of passion at the end. 卜五占用二, and prejudice. Only such could be associated with the methods of communication between higher intelligences and men. -we must understand a first between and 21. 五. The 卜占here is equivalent to 卜筮 · 占: 衍 Pp. 21-23. The various indications. The appearances here described were those made on the shell of the tortoise. The way in in p. 20, so that is exchanged for. which they were obtained seems to have been--HE, 'to infer,' 'to push or carry this. The outer shell of the tortoise was taken out;' may be taken as either —,'error,' or. Ts'ae adopts the former meaning, and interprets-By this means the errors of human affairs may be traced out,' that is, may be indicated before they occur, and so be avoided. The Daily Explanation,' expanding this view, says 所謂推衍者推衍于未 stopping,''the weather clearing up.' 家 有過差之先非遲廻顧慮 6 =, cloudiness, obscurity.' , for which K'ung-shing and others have , is understood to mean certain marks scat 于已然之後. Choo He adopted the former meaning, and interpreted-every tered about, without connection or relation;see the remarks, by the editors of Yung-ching's Shoo, on Gan-kwo's definition of the term by operations, thus many times varied, had been 落驛不屬 貉驛不 and Ts'ac's by concluded, the object would be to obtain the guidance of their results in the conduct of affairs. Woo Ch'ing and many others prefer = meaning lines or cracks in the ink crossing each other. Ts'ae says these appearances belonged severally to the different elements. that of rain to water, of cloudiness to wood, &c. The whole operation was a piece of absurdity, and we have too little information to say anything certain about it. 22. 貞 and悔 to say that they do not understand the phrase at all. 24. Care to be taken in performing the divina tion. 立時人作卜筮時一 were the names given to the diagrams 是 and the whole=既立是所擇 formed by the manipulation of the stalks of之人以作卜筮之官, (Having the she. In a complete diagram, composed appointed the men thus selected to be the officers of two of the eight primary ones, the lower figure is called the inner diagram' 卦), and was styled 貞; the upper figure is called 'the outer diagram'), and was styled. There were also other conditions according to which these names of and were applied to the different figures. How far, however, they obtained in the Hea and Shang dynasties we cannot tell. Our present Yih King is entirely a book of the Chow dynasty; of divination.' 三人占 ,—we are to sup pose that they have been charged to perform their duties, p. 20), and then here it is used both for 25 ○○同卿卜謀 卿庶筮庶汝身士筮 及 士民從民則其從 卿則 逆 從汝逆從康庶士有 吉龜則吉龜疆民則謀大 從逆◎從子從從及疑 汝 庶卿 孫 不是龜庶謀 則 從民十從其之從 人、及 從 汝從卿逢謂 謀乃 龜則吉龜士吉大從及心 "If you have doubts about any great matter, consult with your own heart; consult with your nobles and officers; consult with the 26 masses of the people; consult the tortoise and milfoil. If If you, the tortoise, the milfoil, the nobles and officers, and the common people all consent to a course, this is what is called a great concord, and the result will be the welfare of your person, and good fortune to 27 your descendants. If you, the tortoise, and the milfoil all agree, while the nobles and common people oppose, the result will be 28 fortunate. If the nobles and officers, the tortoise, and the milfoil all agree, while you oppose and the common people oppose, the 29 result will be fortunate. If the common people, the tortoise and the milfoil all agree, while you and the nobles and officers oppose, 30 the result will be fortunate. If you and the tortoise agree, while Pp.25–31. Rules for the application of the | the Pwan-kăng complains that the opinions of results of divination, and the varying conclusions of the people were kept from him. Compare also, men, to the solution of doubts. 25. 大疑 pp.2 and 3 in The punitive Expedition of Yin. is not ‘great doubts,' but ‘doubts on a great matter.' The 'Daily Explanation' says, 家大事有行止可疑而未 決者云云. It is not to be supposed that the emperor would on every little matter or private occasion consult both men and spirits in the way proposed. We must keep in mind that the Great Plan' is a scheme of government. There are five parties whose opinions were to be weighed:first, the emperor himself; next, his high nobles and officers generally (卿士); third, the common people; fourth, the tortoise; and fifth, the stalks of the she. The student will remember how the emperor in VOL. III. Choo He observes that the opinions of men were first taken into consideration, but as they are liable to be affected by ignorance, and selfish considerations, the views of the spirits, above such disturbing influences, and intimated by the divinations, were to have the greater weight 26. The cuse in the final determination. 27. of a great concord, all the five parties agreeing. milfoil, all agreeing, carry it over the nobles and The emperor, the tortoise-shell, and the officers, and the people. 28. The nobles and officers, with the tortoise and milfoil, carry it over the sovereign and people. 29. The people, with the tortoise and milfoil, carry it over the sovereign, and the nobles aud officers. 30. When the sovereign and the tortoise were opposed to all the other parties. In this case, not only are the 43 凶。吉人共◎作作庶卿從 ○用用違龜外內民士筮 入作靜于筮凶吉 the milfoil, the nobles and officers, and the common people oppose, internal operations will be fortunate, and external operations will 31 be unlucky. When the tortoise and milfoil are both opposed to the views of men, there will be good fortune in stillness, and active operations will be unlucky. opinions of men divided, but the spirits also give | 箕子之說行後世人君將 different intimations. The doubt therefore re mained, and the difficulty was settled by a 有棄卿士,忽庶民而惟龜 compromise!‘Internal affairs,' ace. to Gan kwǔ, were cases of marriages, capping, and sacrifices, within the State; external affairs’ were military expeditions undertaken beyond it. Choo He says:-'In this case, the tortoise opposing and the milfoil consenting, nothing, 邪說異 入天下自此多 IIII 此蓋商俗尙鬼習聞其說 it would seem, should be undertaken. But the 遂信不移雖箕子之賢不 tortoise-shell was supposed to give surer indica tions than the plant, and as all the human 能拔於流俗也,‘From the oldest opinions agreed, it was inferred that internal affairs might be proceeded with and would be fortunate! It is needless to point out the inconsistency of this. 31. Where the divinations gave results contrary to all the human opinions. In this case the spirits carried it over men. time never has anything turned out fortunate which the nobles and officers, with the common people, all disapproved of. Were the statements of the viscount of Ke to obtain currency and credence, the sovereigns of future ages would be found casting away their high ministers and officers, and slighting their people, attending 用靜吉‘using stillness, there will be only to the intimations of the tortoise-shell and good fortune. By ‘stillness' is meant refrain- the she. Perverted talk and strange principles ing from the undertaking doubted of. [Many Chinese critics of more recent times seem to have an uneasy feeling of dissatisfaction on the subject of the ancient divinations; but hardly one has the courage boldly and fairly to disown them. To do so would be inconsistent with the proper veneration for the sages. would find their way to influence, and there would be no end to the troubles of the empire. These passages belong to the fondness for superstition which was characteristic of the Shang dynasty; accustomed to hear such things said, people believed them, and even a man of worth, like the viscount of Ke, could not keep himself from going with the current of the prevailing custom, These observations are unusually free and sound, as coming from a himself thus should have gone on to bolder I am sorry to find a writer, so sensible in Tsae Chin said:-義之所當為而 不為者非數之所能知也,Chinese scholar. The The man who expressed 義之所不當為而為者亦非 conclusions, affecting the reputation for sageness 數之所能知也非義不占, of Yu and Shun, and even of Confucius himself. 非疑不占非疑而占謂之 general as Hoo Wei, trying to beat down the 非義而占謂之欺 謂之欺.Not to remarks of Ching with the authority of the do what in right ought to be done:no rule for great sage:-草廬說經往往有賢 can be obtained from them to do what in right 智之過,而此說尤為紕繆, ought not to be done. There should be no divi- 夫子之贊易也日探賾索 this can be obtained from numbers; and no rule nation in reference to what would not be right, and no divination where there are no doubts.隱鈎深致遠以定天下之吉 To divine where there are no doubts is pronoun ced “a piece of folly ;” to do so in reference to 凶成天下之亹亹者莫大乎 著龜又曰人謀鬼謀百姓 what would not be right is pronounced "a piece of deception." Woo Ching observed:天下之事, :一天下之事,與能謂其可以斷天下之 卿士庶民皆不可而猶有疑也大禹之稽疑豈別 吉者蓋自古未之有也使所指而箕子以卜筮附會 蕃敘各者曰寒日雨庶 ◎草其備五 32 [viii]. "Eighth, of the various verifications.-They are rain; sunshine; heat; cold; wind; and seasonableness. When the five come all complete, and each is in its proper order, even the various are full of false ideas on the subject of physics. * 之邪使箕子而溺於流俗 TUBI‡, "Ts'aou-loo' [this is a designation by which Woo Ching is known], in his remarks upon the Classics, often speaks about the errors of the worthy and wise; but here he errs and commits himself more than usual. The Master, in his observations on the Yih, has said, "To unravel what is confused, and search out what is mysterious; to hook up what is deep, and reach to what is distant,thus determining whatever will be fortunate or unlucky, and rousing all men to continuous effort: there is nothing better than the use of the she and the tortoise-shell" (see the p. 37. The Master' of course is Confucius]. He also says, "Men are consulted; the spirits are consulted; the common people also contribute their ability" 1, p. 69), meaning that thus all things doubted of may be determined. Did the great Yu mean anything else than this by his "Examination of Doubts"? and did the viscount of Ke accommodate to that what he said about divination by the tortoise and the milfoil? Had he been sunk in the current of prevailing custom merely, how could he have been the viscount of Ke?'] Pp. 32-38. Of the various verifications. Medhurst translates by the general verifications;'—rightly, as regards, but It may be also that the viscount of Ke wanted to play the physicist on points which he did not know.' Gaubil describes correctly the way in which the character is here applied, but the translator should not render it from what it is applied to, but according to its proper signification. In the dict. it is defined by 'to bear 品 witness,' 'to attest,' and by, to illustrate;' and then there is quoted from par. 4 of this Book, 'Verifications' is probably as good a term as can be found in our language. The giving the name to the various phenomena in the text, and making them indicators of the character of men's conduct, is of a piece with the divinations of the last division. It is another form of superstition. If there underlie the words of the viscount of Ke some feeling of the harmony between the natural and spiritual worlds, which occurs to most men at times, and which strongly affects minds under deep religious thought or on the wings of poetic rapture, his endeavour to give the subject a practical application is so shallow that it only strikes us as grotesque and absurd. The Division falls into two parts. In the first parr. 32-34, we have a description of the verifying phenomena, and the interpretation of them. 一明, ‘brightness,' ‘sunshine.' 燠-熱 煖.(heat. The meaning of and is sufficiently shown by their opposition. to 'rain and cold.' and, I have translated this by seasonablenss,' and would extend its meaning to all the preceding verifications, so that there are only five and not six phenomena. The specification of 'five' immediately after (五者來備), and the way in which the wrong, as regards JF, which 非 not 在中, ‘warmth diffused,' or one merely,' 'many,' various.' Gaubil renders the phrase by' 'les apparences,'—unhappily. In a note he says:-'I render the Chinese character by apparences,' not having found any word which would cover the whole extent of its meaning. In the present case, it signifies meteors, phenomena, appearances, but in such a sort that those have relation to some other things with which they are connected ;-the meteor or phenomenon indicates some good or some evil. It is a kind of correspondence which is supposed, it appears, to exist between the ordinary events of the life of men, and the constitution of the air, according to the different seasons;-what is here said supposes I know not what physical speculation of those times. It is needless to bring to bear on the text the interpretations of the later Chinese, for they by 6. Les saisons.' And this view is contend phenomena are mentioned in the next par. with the adjunct of 時, seem to require this interpretation. This was the view also of Gan-kwŏ, and is adopted by Choo He and most other critics. Gaubil however, translates . |