CONTENTS. The Announcement, as has just been said, is, like the last, addressed to Fung as invested with the govt. of Wei. We have seen how the drunken debauchery of Kee was the chief cause of the downfal of the Hea dynasty, and how that of Shang was brought to an end mainly by the same vice in Show. The people of Yin had followed the example of their sovereign, and the vice of drunkenness, with its attendant immoralities, extensively characterized the highest and the lowest classes of society. One of Fung's most difficult tasks in his administration would be to correct this evil habit, and he is in this Book summoned to the undertaking. He is instructed on the proper use, and the allowable uses of spirits; the disastrous consequences of drunkenness are strikingly set forth; he is called to roll back the flood of its desolation from his officers and people. SPIRITS ARE STATED; AND THE SPEAKER DE- 1. In the north of the pres. dis. of Ke(), in the dep. of Wei-hwuy, Honan, there is a place called a relic of the ancient name of the whole territory. It was in Mei that Show had his capital;-the imperial domain north from Chaou-ko, was all called Bk.' IV., Ode iv., the villages of Mei,' 'the Mei acc. to Gan-kwŏ. In the She king, Pt. I., north of it,' and 'the east of it,' are all mentioned. The character in use for the name there is. but the country intended is the same which is here called Fung's principality of Wei must have embraced the greater part of it. The scholar Woo Ts'ae-laou, earlier than Choo is in the imperative mood. He, thought that there was in the Book sufficient The whole-4Œƒ£ evidence of its being composed of two announce ments originally distinct:the first, embracing parr. 1–7, being addressed by king Woo [T's'ae-laou is one of the most earnest advocates of the early date of the Book]-directly to the people of Yin; and the second, parr. 8-17, being addressed to Fung. Ts'ae has examined this hypothesis, in his introductory observations on the Book, and adduced sufficient reasons for rejecting it. The whole, as we now have it, was, no doubt, addressed to Fung; but in the 6th and 7th parr. the king seems to forget that he is speaking to him, and appeals to the people and officers of Yin, for whose sakes the announcement was made. There is nothing unnatural or much out of the way in this. The criticism of Woo suggests, however, a 當以我誥誡之辭敷布于 ZER Pp. 2-6. The lessons of king Wan on the use of ardent spirits. 2, 3. Spirits should be used only in sacrifices. So it is in times of prosperity; when calamities come upon a State, the cause will be found to be drunkenness. 乃穆考 the old interpreters all took as simply denoting the place of king Wan's shrine or spirittablet in the temple of ancestors;-see on the 'Doctrine of the Mean,' xix., 4. Many still follow this view, as Keang Shing, for instance, who says:一周家世文王第當 natural division of the Book into two chapters: *** I cannot think that -the first preliminary, parr. 1—7, chiefly on the original use and the permissible uses of ardent spirits; the other, addressed directly to Fung, and showing how drunkenness had proved the ruin of the Shang dynasty, and how they of Chow, and particularly Fung in Wei, should turn the lesson to account. In the Complete digest of Commentaries on the Shoo,' the following summary of the contents is given :-The whole is to be looked at from the stand-point of the first par., after which the contents might be divided into 4 chapters. Parr. 2-8 would form the first. The speaker relates the instructions of king Wan on the subject of spirits, to introduce his own commands to the country of Mei, and concludes by relating how their dynasty of Chow rose by obedience to Wan's lessons. Parr. 9-12 would form the second. They describe the rise and fall of the Shang dynasty, and how they should look into it as a glass, where they would see their present duty. this is the meaning, and much prefer to take as in the translation,—an epithet descriptive of king Wan, who is celebrated in the She King as the. It is observed, by those who understand the character in this way, that king Wan in the last Bk. p. 18, is called, because the subject there is the manner in which he displayed his virtue (明德) while here he is called 穆考 being spoken of as instructing and cautioning his people. 肇國在西土‘fohnd ed our kingdom in the western regions.' But Wan was not the founder of the House of Chow, whose fortunes had been gradually growing in the west. We must make allowance for the father. See, moreover, the statements of king duke of Chow's language in speaking of his Woo's about Wan's receiving the command of Heaven, 'to soothe the regions of the empire,' Bk. III., p. 5; et al. 厥誥毖至朝 The 13th par. strictly charges Fung with the duty of imposing the lessons he received upon his people and officers, and on other princes, and of rendering a personal obedience to them himself. The other parr., 14-17, would form in his announcements &c., he said.’ the fourth chapter, and state how obedience to the commands on the use of spirits should-- 'to caution,' 'to warn ;' -difft. from the meaning of the character in Bk. VII., p. 8. is taken by Lin Che=諸侯 the princes of the various be enforced Ch. I. Pp. 1-7. FUNG IS ORDERED TO MAKE THE KING'S COMMANDS KNOWN THROUGH MEI. THE PRINCIPLES INCULCATED BY KING WAN IN REGARD TO THE USE OF ARDENT k'e as= 惟罔用小惟喪用威 辜非喪大行非德大我天 ◎酒亦邦越酒亦亂民降 3 the great sacrifices. When Heaven has sent down its terrors, and our people have thereby been greatly disorganized and lost their virtue, this might also be invariably traced to their indulgence in spirits; yea, the ruin of States, small and great, by these terrors, may be also traced invariably to their crime in the use of spirits. as chief of the west’(西伯). This seems the simplest view of the phrase. 庶士, all the officers.' These, acc. to Ying-tă, were the 朝臣,‘ministers of the court.' It is better to understand them as the 正 or官 之長, ‘Heads of the various magisterial de partments;’–so, the Daily Explanation. Then 3:一如今我民作酒惟用之 於大祭礼是天以此教人 也, letting the 肇 slip quietly out of sight. 開導我民者惟始于礼也 Shing says:一惟天之下教命始 Here 肇我民 is better dealt with, but I the 少正 of departments; and the 御事, all who held clause(始于), and I cannot admit the any office, however low it might be. 兹 命of條命 to stand here for 教命. The 酒祭則用此酒, only translation does not seem to have occurred to are the assistants of those Heads know not whence he derives the in his last view of the meaning which appears in the in sacrifices should these ardent spirits be used.' any commentator. I am led to it chiefly by 惟天降命肇我民惟元 礼—Medhurst translates this:‘And Heaven scut down the decree in the first instance to our people (to make it) that they might use it considering the relation in which 天降命 | and in the 'Conquest of Le,' p. 4, et al., exactly corresponding to what appears here. It does not matter whether we understand the speaker to be king Wăn, or, as I rather think, king Ching, commenting on Wan's 兹酒. He goes back to the days of early simplicity and virtue, when that char been generally received by the critics. In the acter was being formed in the chiefs and people ‘Daily Explanation’we have:一天合我 民始作此酒者止爲郊社 大祭響而設此外 無可用酒之時矣. This construc tion uses too much freedom with the text, which says nothing about Heaven's having given the of Chow, in virtue of which they went on to they made no use of spirits excepting at the great sacrifices. In 元 the 元一大 attain the supremacy of the empire; and then and we may take the 'great sacrifices' as those to Heaven, the earth, and ancestors. Sacrifices were not so numerous then as they afterwards became. In the third par. two canses are assigned for command to make wine. 肇我民, standing | the ruin of virtue and prosperity, the terrors as the characters do here, must be under the of Heaven and indulgence in spirits. government of 降命, and = to found our people,' VOL. III. The expressly asserts the agency of Heaven, and the 亦 as clearly, that of intemperance. We must understand that the terrors of Heaven 51 are its justice manifested in the punishment of men's guilt. Men first wrest spirits from their proper use to feed their own lusts, and there is a natural issue of evil consequences. Then Heaven, seeing men obstinate in their wicked course, righteously accelerates their overthrow "The Buddhists, disliking the excesses to which the evil desires of men lead, would put away, along with them, the actions which are in accordance with the justice of Heavenly principles, while we, the orthodox, put away the evil desires of men, and what are called Hea Suppose the case of a stream of water.-The and ruin. Tsae says:-酒之禍人也 , venly principles are the more brightly seen. 而以為天降威者禍亂之 Buddhists, through dislike of its being foul with 成是亦天雨. Ts'ae, it will be seen, do not consider that when the earth has dammtakes 我民 as simply = 人. So, Gan-kwǒ and others. This avoids the necessity of supposing any special references to events in the history of the House of Chow; but the 我民 is spe mud, proceed to dam it up with earth. They ed up the stream, the supply of water will all he cut off. It is not so with us, the orthodox. We seek only to cleanse away the mud and sand, so that the pure clear water may be availThis is the difference between able for use. cial. We cannot take it here otherwise than in the Buddhists and the Learned school." the pree. var. The translation I have given involves such references, tho' we cannot say 軒酒誥一段解天隆命 what events they were which the speaker had 降威處誠千百年儒者所 in his mind. Indeed, we might translate in the future tense, instead of the present complete as I have done; and in the last portion of the par,爲物本以奉祭祀 一越小大云云,-the speaker passes 不及今備載 供賓客 from his own people to speak of the subject with relation to all States great and small. 天之降 至於失後 威者乃倂與天之 [Choo He gives a view of the meaning of 天命者去之吾儒 儒則不然 降命and 天降威 in which I am not 其降威者而已降 已降威者 惟行酒惟辜‘intemperance is their 天之降威也 降威也釋氏 本惡天 conduct, intemperance is their guilt.' 軒降不爲此酒天之命其而至必於窮衣 奢絕而天人譬之既不者 【殄奢色而婦釋之所水而則 塵壞侈夫已理欲如濁窒然可 於暴殄而 已衣服而至 南天所之客以卽天降去去而之至於欲其而 able to concur, but it is worthy to be preserved, and made current beyond the sphere of China. 而降命者自在如飲 He says: Nan-heen (張南軒; a critic of 至於暴殄天 天物釋氏 the Sung dynasty, contemporary with Choo He), in his treatise upon this Book, has brought out the meaning of the two phrases 天降命 天降威, much better than any of the critics in the many centuries before him; and here I transcribe the whole of his remarks:-"Strong drink is a thing intended to be used in offering sacrifices and in entertaining guests:-such employment of it is what Heaven has prescribed. But men by their abuse of such drink come to lose their virtue and destroy their persons: such employment of it is what Heaven has annexed its terrors to. The Buddhists, hating the use of things where Heaven sends down its terrors, put away as well the use of them which Heaven has prescribed. It is not so with us of the Learned(i.c., the Orthodox) school; we only put away the use of things to which Heaven has annexed its terrors, and the use of them of which it approves remains as a matter of course. 而已釋 i吾儒則不 之公者去 4. For instance, in the use of meats and drinks, 不然澄其泥沙而水之清 destroying the creatures of Heaven. The Bud-者可酌此儒釋之分也) there is such a thing as wildly abusing and dhists, disliking this, confine themselves to a Apart from the interpretation of the disputed vegetable diet, while we only abjure the wild phrases in the text, the contrast here drawn beabuse and destruction. In the use of clothes, again, there is such a thing as wasteful extravagance. The Buddhists, disliking this, will have no clothes but those of a dark and sad colour, while we only condemn the extravagance. They, further, through dislike of criminal connection between the sexes, would abolish the relation between husband and wife, while we only denounce the criminal connection. 4 越祖厥子曰將國無子 考心惟我無飲彝有王 大之臧土民醉酒正誥 彝聰物迪○越有教 訓聽愛小惟德庶事小 'King Wan admonished and instructed the young and all who were charged with office and in employment, that they should not ordinarily use spirits. Throughout all his States, he required that they should be drunk only on occasion of sacrifices, and then that? virtue should preside so that there might be no drunkenness. He said, 5 "Let my people teach their young men that they are to love only the productions of the ground, for so will their hearts be good. Let the youth also hearken diligently to the constant lessons of their fathers. Let them look at virtuous actions whether great or small in the same light." Pp. 4,5. Further instructions of lking Wăn 有正 therefore, with Tsae, as – -有官 that the young should be kept from the habit of 可守者, and 有事as 有職業 on the use of spirits, showing his anxiety especially drinking them, and trained to virtuous industry. In par. 2 we have the opinion of Wan that spirits 者無彝酒毋常於酒, that were intended to be used only at sacrifices, their they should not be always (ordinarily) at strong and fragrant odour being acceptable to wine.' 飮惟=其飮惟於 the spirits worshipped (蓋藉以薦馨 祭祀之時, their drinking should only 香: appear that he also permitted the use of them 4. 小子有正有事一小子= 少子之稱小子 is the appellation of young people.' Ts'ac observes that such are more readily swayed by impulses and led away by strong drink, and therefore king Wan addressed himself specially to them. But does this paragraph speak of the young only? Keang Shing thinks so, and explains 有正有事 be at times of sacrificing Compare 兹 酒 in par. 2. The text is a relaxation or ex tension of the rule in regard to the use of spirits, which would fow from the former statement. 德將無醉將 is here=節, ‘to regulate,''to keep in order. We do not find this meaning of the character in the dictionary. 5. 惟日一we must suppose 文王 as the subject of . Some think differently. Woo Ching, for instance, says that here king Woo delivers to K'ang-shuh the words which -the young who he should go and announce to the people of as descriptive of 小子: 'the young who have their superiors and their duties.' His | Mei, =When you now proceed to your State, language is: 正長也小子有長 could consider it all occupied with the duty of to the analogy of other passages in the Book ;see particularly in par. 7. I must take you ought to say, &c. (今汝之往惟 But this is inadmissible. 迪 當言日). 訓導 一訓導 to instruct and lead,' 'to train.* 厥心臧臧善,‘good.' Ts'ae says:- When they toil at their sowing and nothing beyond, then what they keep in their reaping, and labour on their fields, desiring minds will be correct, and their goodness will grow from day to day.' Wan's idea was that if the young were trained to industrious habits, they would not be likely 子有致父孝車厥 嗣子 其正用母養牛 爾越酒慶厥遠厥 稷股 子惟一〇妹 奔肱 ○ 聽 庶洗母賈肇走純 朕君士腆厥用牽事其土 6 'Ye people of the land of Mei, if you can employ your limbs, largely cultivating your millet, and hastening about in the service of your fathers and elders; and if with your carts and oxen you traffic to a distance, that you may thereby filially minister to your parents-then, when your parents are happy, you may set forth your spirits clear and strong, and use them. 7 'Hearken constantly to my instructions, all ye high officers, ye assistants, and all ye noble chiefs:-when you have largely done to fall a prey to intemperance. The fact sung|一大;純藝= largely, or diligently, by our children in the words, 'Satan finds some mischief still For idle hands to do,' was held in substance by him. ‘to give a ready ear to.. 聰聽 小大德 小子惟一=不可以謹酒 爲小德小德大德小子惟 一視之可也,‘Let them not look on watchfulness in the use of spirits as a small virtue. The young should look in the same way on cultivate.' 黍 and are two species of mil let, put by synecdoche for 五穀, 'the Ave kinds of grain ;'-intimating perhaps that millet was cultivated more than the others in Mei. 肇至買肇敏, to be diligent, urgent 服一事;服買 gent,'‘urgent.’服事;服買 = 'doing the business of traffic.' The whole‘if you are diligent in leading about your carts and oxen, pursuing to a distance the business of traffic.' 厥父母慶慶=喜 than to take the term, with Gan-kwǒ and others, in the sense of, 'to approve,' as if the meaning were-when your parents approve of what are called great virtues and small virtues,, 'to be happy and complacent.' This is better equally observing them.' Gan-kwo takes the clause difftly, but not so well. Këang Shing takes it as declarative that the young of king Wan's States became equally observant of great virtues and small;-but neither can I agree with him. Pp. 6. 7. The duke of Chow, in the name of king Ching, addresses the people and officers of Met directly, and warns them against using spirits excepting in certain specified cases. P. 6 is addressed to the people. They might drink spirits after having toiled for their parents and done all their duty for them. Both this par. and the next must be taken as addressed directly by the speaker to the people of Mei. Woo Ch'ing and others try to put them into the mouth of Fung, following the of the last par.; but such a construction is forced on the text. 嗣 爾股肱‘connect your arms and legs;" i.e., employ your limbs, one after the other; let none of them be idle. 純至稷-純 | your conduct.' 自洗腆致用酒 一洗(seen) and 腆 are both verbs, intimating operations to be performed upon the spirits, to make them fit for use, the effect of the former being to make them clear; of the latter, to make them strong. The 自 =自此 the then ’ 1 of the translation. Gaubil cannot be said to translate the clause at all. Medhurst has for it: -' then you may bathe and enjoy your abundance, and after that make use of wine.' The meaning of the whole par. is—that spirits might be used at family feasts. The 'Daily Explana tion' expresses this clearly enough in its paraphrase of this clause:自此則洗以 致其潔腆以致其豐以用 |