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different individuals; of the Books on Music, 165 collections, from 6 different editors; 948 collections of History, under the heading of the Ch'un Ts'ew, from 23 different individuals; 229 collections of the Lun Yu, including the Analects and kindred fragments, from 12 different individuals; of the Heaou-king, embracing also the Urh Ya, and some other portions of the ancient literature, 59 collections, from 11 different individuals; and finally of the Lesser Learning, being works on the form of the characters, 45 collections, from 11 different individuals. The Works of Mencius were included in the second division, 16 among the Writings of what were deemed orthodox scholars, 17 of which there were 836 collections, from 53 different individuals.

3. The above important document is sufficient to show how the emperors of the Han dynasty, as soon as they had made good their possession of the empire, turned their attention to recover the ancient literature of the nation, the Classical Books engaging their first care, and how earnestly and effectively the scholars of the time responded to the wishes of their rulers. In addition to the facts specified in the preface to it, I may relate that the ordinance of the Ts'in dynasty against possessing the Classical Books (with the exception, as will appear in its proper place, of the Yih-king) was repealed by the second sovereign of the Han, the emperor Heaou Hwuy, 18 in the 4th year of his reign, B.C. 190, and that a large portion of the Shoo-king was recovered in the time of the third emperor, B.C. 178-156, while in the year B.C. 135, a special Board was constituted, consisting of literati who were put in charge of the five King. 19

4. The collections reported on by Lew Hin suffered damage in the troubles which began A.D. 8, and continued till the rise of the second or eastern Han dynasty in the year 25. The founder of it (A.D. 25-57) zealously promoted the undertaking of his predecessors, and additional repositories were required for the books which were collected. His successors, the emperors, Heaou-ming20 (58-75), Heaou-chang21 (76-88), and Heaou-hwo22 (89-105), took a part themselves in the studies and discussions of the literary tribunal, 儒家者流 18 孝惠皇帝 1 武帝建元五 年初置五經博士. 顯宗孝明皇帝‧ 肅宗孝章皇帝

16 諸子略:

22 孝和皇帝

21

and the emperor Heaou-ling, 23 between the years 172-178, had the text of the five King, as it had been fixed, cut in slabs of stone, in characters of three different forms.

5. Since the Han, the successive dynasties have considered the literary monuments of the country to be an object of their special care. Many of them have issued editions of the classics, embodying the commentaries of preceding generations. No dynasty has distinguished itself more in this line than the present Manchew possessors of the Empire. In fine, the evidence is complete that the Classical Books of China have come down from at least a century before our Christian era, substantially the same as we have them at pres

ent.

6. But it still remains to inquire in what condition we may suppose the Books were, when the scholars of the Han dynasty commenced their labours upon them. They acknowledge that the tablets-we cannot here speak of manuscripts—were mutilated and in disorder. Was the injury which they had received of such an extent that all the care and study put forth on the small remains would be of little use? This question can be answered satisfactorily, only by an examination of the evidence which is adduced for the text of each particular Classic; but it can be made apparent that there is nothing, in the nature of the case, to interfere with our believing that the materials were sufficient to enable the scholars to execute the work intrusted to them.

7. The burning of the ancient Books by order of the founder of the Ts'in dynasty is always referred to as the greatest disaster which they sustained, and with this is coupled the slaughter of many of the Literati by the same monarch.

The account which we have of these transactions in the Historical Records is the following :—24

"In his 34th year," (the 34th year, that is, after he had ascended the throne of Tsin. It was only the 8th after he had been acknow ledged Sovereign of the empire, coinciding with B.C. 212), the emperor, returning from a visit to the south, which had extended as far as Yuě, gave a feast in the palace of Heen-yang, when the Great

23 24 I have thought it well to endeavour to translate the whole of the passages. Father de Mailla merely constructs from them a narrative of his own; see L'Histoire Generale de La Chine, tome II., pp. 399-402. The avoids the difficulties of the

original by giving an abridgment of it.

Scholars, amounting to seventy men, appeared and wished him long life.25 One of the principal ministers, Chow Ts'ing-shin,26 came forward and said, 'Formerly, the State of Ts'in was only 1,000 le in extent, but Your Majesty, by your spirit-like efficacy and intelligent wisdom, has tranquillized and settled the whole empire, and driven away all barbarous tribes, so that, wherever the sun and moon shine, all appear before you as guests acknowledging subjection. You have formed the States of the various princes into provinces and districts, where the people enjoy a happy tranquillity, suffering no more from the calamities of war and contention. This condition of things will be transmitted for 10,000 generations. From the highest antiquity there has been no one in awful virtue like Your Majesty.'

"The Emperor was pleased with this flattery, when Shun Yuyuě,27 one of the great scholars, a native of Ts'e, advanced and said, 'The sovereigns of Yin and Chow, for more than a thousand years, invested their sons and younger brothers, and meritorious ministers, with domains and rule, and could thus depend upon them for support and aid;-that I have heard. But now Your Majesty is in possession of all within the seas, and your sons and younger brothers are nothing but private individuals. The issue will be that some one will arise to play the part of T'een Chang, 28 or of the six nobles of Tsin. Without the support of your own family, where will you find the aid which you may require? That a state of things not modelled from the lessons of antiquity can long continue;-that is what I have not heard. Ts'ing is now showing himself to be a flatterer, who increases the errors of Your Majesty, and not a loyal minister.' "The Emperor requested the opinions of others on this representation, when the premier, Le Sze, 29 said, 'The five emperors were not one the double of the other, nor did the three dynasties accept one another's ways. Each had a peculiar system of government, not for the sake of the contrariety, but as being required by the changed times. Now, Your Majesty has laid the foundations of imperial sway, so that it will last for 10,000 generations. This is

博士七十人前為壽 The 博士 were not only 'great scholars,' but had

an official rank. There was what we may call a college of them, consisting of seventy members.

26 僕射周青臣:27 淳于越28 田常一常 should probably be 恆:

it is given in the T'ung Keën. 29.

as

indeed beyond what a stupid scholar can understand. And, more over, Yue only talks of things belonging to the Three Dynasties, which are not fit to be models to you. At other times, when the princes were all striving together, they endeavoured to gather the wandering scholars about them; but now, the empire is in a stable condition, and laws and ordinances issue from one supreme authority. Let those of the people who abide in their homes give their strength to the toils of husbandry, and those who become scholars should study the various laws and prohibitions. Instead of doing this, however, the scholars do not learn what belongs to the present day, but study antiquity. They go on to condemn the present time, leading the masses of the people astray, and to disorder.

of

"At the risk of my life, I, the prime minister, say,-Formerly, when the empire was disunited and disturbed, there was no one who could give unity to it. The princes therefore stood up toge ther; constant references were made to antiquity to the injury the present state; baseless statements were dressed up to confound what was real, and men made a boast of their own peculiar learning to condemn what their rulers appointed. And now, when Your Majesty has consolidated the empire, and, distinguishing black from white, has constituted it a stable unity, they still honour their peculiar learning, and combine together; they teach men what is contrary to your laws. When they hear that an ordinance has been issued, every one sets to discussing it with his learning. In the court, they are dissatisfied in heart; out of it, they keep talking in the streets. While they make a pretence of vaunting their Master, they consider it fine to have extraordinary views of their own. And so they lead on the people to be guilty of murmuring and evil speaking. If these things are not prohibited, Your Majesty's authority will decline, and parties will be formed. The best way is to prohibit them. I pray that all the Records in charge of the Historiographers be burned, excepting those of Tsin; that, with the exception of those officers belonging to the Board of Great Scholars, all throughout the empire who presume to keep copies of the Sheking, or of the Shoo-king, or of the books of the Hundred Schools, be required to go with them to the officers in charge of the several districts, and burn them; 30 that all who may dare to speak together 30 悉詣守尉雜燒之

about the She and the Shoo be put to death, and their bodies exposed in the market place; that those who make mention of the past, so as to blame the present, be put to death along with their relatives; that officers who shall know of the violation of those rules and not inform against the offenders, be held equally guilty with them; and that whoever shall not have burned their Books within thirty days after the issuing of the ordinance, be branded and sent to labour on the wall for four years. The only Books which should be spared are those on medicine, divination, and husbandry. Whoever wants to learn the laws may go to the magistrates and learn of them.' “The imperial decision was-' Approved.'"

The destruction of the scholars is related more briefly. In the year after the burning of the Books, the resentment of the emperor was excited by the remarks and flight of two scholars who had been favourites with him, and he determined to institute a strict inquiry about all of their class in Heen-yang, to find out whether they had been making ominous speeches about him, and disturbing the minds of the people. The investigation was committed to the Censors,31 and it being discovered that upwards of 460 scholars had violated the prohibitions, they were all buried alive in pits,32 for a warning to the empire, while degradation and banishment were employed more strictly than before against all who fell under suspicion. The emperor's eldest son, Foo-soo, remonstrated with him, saying that such measures against those who repeated the words of Confucius and sought to imitate him, would alienate all the people from their infant dynasty, but his interference offended his father so much that he was sent off from court, to be with the general who was superintending the building of the great wall.

8. No attempts have been made by Chinese critics and historians to discredit the record of these events, though some have questioned the extent of the injury inflicted by them on the monuments of their ancient literature.33 It is important to observe that the edict against the Books did not extend to the Yih-king, which was

御史悉案問諸生諸生傳相告引 32 自除犯禁者 四百六十餘人皆阬之咸陽. The meaning of this passage as a whole is

sufficiently plain, but I am unable to make out the force of the phrase 33 See the remarks of Ching Keñ-tse (), of the Sung dynasty, on the subject, in the

, Bk. clxxiv. p. 5.

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