II. AN EXAMINATION OF THE NATURE OF MAN-By HAN WĂN-KUNG. The NATURE dates from the date of the life; the FEELINGS date from contact with external things. There are three GRADES of the nature, and it has five CHARACTERISTICS. There are also three GRADES of the feelings, and they have seven CHARACTERISTICS. To explain myself:-The three grades of the nature are-the Superior, the Middle, and the Inferior. The superior grade is good, and good only; the middle grade is capable of being led: it may rise to the superior, or sink to the inferior; the inferior is evil, and evil only. The five characteristics of the nature are-Benevolence, Righteousness, Propriety, Sincerity, and Knowledge. In the Superior Grade, the first of these characteristics is supreme, and the other four are practised. In the Middle Grade, the first of these characteristics is not wanting: it exists, but with a little tendency to its opposite; the other four are in an ill-assorted state. In the Inferior Grade there is the opposite of the first characteristic, and constant rebelliousness against the other four. The grade of the nature regulates the manifestation of the feelings in it. Again:-The three grades of the feelings are the Superior, the Middle, and the Inferior; and their seven characteristics are-Joy, Anger, Sorrow, Fear, Love, Hatred, and Desire. In the Superior Grade, these seven all move, and each in its due place and degree. In the Middle Grade, some of the characteristics are in excess, and some in defect; but there is a seeking to give them their due place and degree. In the Inferior Grade, whether they are in excess or defect, there is a reckless acting according to the one in immediate predominance. The grade of the feelings regulates the influence of the nature in reference to them. Speaking of the nature, Mencius said:‘Man's nature is good;' the philosopher Hsün said:-Man's nature is bad;' the philosopher Yang said :-'In the nature of man good and evil are mixed together.' Now, to say that the nature, good at first, subsequently becomes 之孟品。七甚於喜品。也五者而上三性性 性子 也有七日情於不也,五上中而之也 七所也怒之五少主日下下 與 甚然而哀 反 焉一,日 ,日下而反於禮慈善者所 動日品也有於仁也。三 處日 於則而義焉焉為而 情 情也。 其於其中信而而日為也 於 欲 ̧為 也之上其中日五。於 之性惡揚子之言性日人之性善惡混夫始 之日, 於焉七 上情於混,於 者也,焉者情下五 之有者七視焉也 可品,品生 始人 其於所之日其者一於 導有有也. 韓文公原性篇 bad; or that, bad at first, it subsequently becomes good; or that, mixed at first, it subsequently becomes, it may be, good, it may be, bad :-in each of these cases only the nature of the middle grade is dealt with, and the superior and inferior grades are neglected. Those philosophers are right about one grade, and wrong about the other two. When Shû-yü was born, his mother knew, as soon as she looked at him, that he would fall a victim to his love of bribes. When Yang Sze-wo was born, the mother of Shù-hsiang knew, as soon as she heard him cry, that he would cause the destruction of all his kindred. When Yüeh-tsiâo was born, Tsze-wån considered it was a great calamity, knowing that through him the ghosts of the Zo-âo family would all be famished.-With such cases before us, can it be said that the nature of man (i.e. all men) is good? When How-chi was born, his mother had no suffering; and as soon as he began to creep, he displayed all elegance and intelligence. When king Wan was in his mother's womb, she experienced no distress; after his birth, those who tended him had no trouble; when he began to learn, his teachers had no vexation.-With such cases before us, can it be said that the nature of man (i. e. all men) is evil ? Chû was the son of Yâo, and Chün the son of Shun; Kwan and Ts'âi were sons of king Wăn. They were instructed to practise nothing but what was good, and yet they turned out villains. Shun was the son of Kû-sâu, and Yü the son of K'wăn. They were instructed to practise nothing but what was bad, and yet they turned out sages.-With such cases before us, can it be said that in the nature of man (i. e. all men) good and evil are blended together ? Having these things in view, I say that the three philosophers, to whom I have referred, dealt with the middle grade of the nature, and neglected the superior and the inferior; that they were right about the one grade, and wrong about the other two. It may be asked, 'Is it so, then, that the superior and inferior grades of the nature can never be changed ?' I reply:-The nature of the superior grade, by application to learning, becomes more intelligent, and the nature of the inferior grade, through awe of power, comes to have few faults. The superior nature, therefore, may be taught, and the inferior nature may be restrained; but the grades have been pronounced by Confucius to be unchangeable. 其故之堯也嶷后果也生叔者善 乎。文 也。皆而 舉進 善而進惡獸始惡而進善歟始也混而今也善惡 中 也 子文以爲大戚知若敖氏之鬼不食也人之性 六始匍匐也則歧歧然嶷 性生 也下之 其之上 混鯀 均之 性乎。之 畏者也。也 不罪,可 移是移 也。故、乎。 之也 習之惡母災 非管乎不 蔡憂 皝匍 生匐 也,也 傅則 勤歧 旣 性善惡果混乎 其一而失其二者也 下者可制也其品則孔子謂不移也 學而愈明下之性畏威而寡罪是故上者可學而 日然則性之上下者其終不可移乎日上之性就 故曰三子之言性也舉其中而遺其上下者也得 瞽叟之舜鯀之禹習非不惡也而卒爲聖人人 无之朱舜之均文王之管蔡習非不善也而卒爲 人為 It may be asked, 'How is it that those who nowadays speak about the nature do so differently from this?' I reply:-Those who nowadays speak about the nature blend with their other views those of Buddhism and Lâo-tsze; and doing so, how could they speak other. wise than differently from me? 異。而奚言老雜言老雜言今也。此異性之日, 不言者,而佛也,而佛者之日,何於者言今 CHAPTER III. OF YANG CHÛ AND MO TÎ. SECTION I. THE OPINIONS OF YANG CHU. 1. 'The words of Yang Chû and Mo Ti,' said Mencius, 'fill the world. If you listen to people's discourses throughout it, you will find that they have adopted the views of the one or of the other. Now, Yang's principle is "Each one for himself," which does not acknowledge the claims of the sovereign. Mo's principle is-"To love all equally," which does not acknowledge the peculiar affection due to a father. To acknowledge neither king nor father is to be in the state of a beast. If their principles are not stopped, and the principles of Confucius set forth, their perverse speakings will delude the people, and stop up the path of benevolence and righteousness. 'I am alarmed by these things, and address myself to the defence of the doctrines of the former sages, and to oppose Yang and Mo. I drive away their licentious expressions, so that such perverse speakers may not be able to show themselves. When sages shall rise up again, they will not change my words1.' His opposition to Yang and Mo was thus one of the great labours of Mencius's life, and what he deemed the success of it one of his great achievements. His countrymen generally accede to the justice of his claim; though there have not been wanting some to sayjustly, as I think and will endeavour to show in the next section -that Mo need not have incurred from him such heavy censure. For Yang no one has a word to say. His leading principle as stated by Mencius is certainly detestable, and so far as we can judge from the slight accounts of him that are to be gathered from other quarters, he seems to have been about 'the least erected spirit,' who ever professed to reason concerning the life and duties of man. 2. The generally received opinion is that Yang belonged to the 1 Bk. III. Pt. II. ix. 9, 10. period of 'The Warring States,' the same era of Chinese history as Mencius. He was named Chû, and styled Tsze-chü1. In a note on Bk. III. Pt. II. ix. 9, I have supposed that he was of the times of Confucius and Lâo-tsze, having then before me a passage of the Taoist philosopher Chwang, in which he gives an account of an interview between Lâo-tsze and Yang Chû2. That interview, however, must be an invention of Chwang. The natural impression which we receive from all the references of Mencius is that Yang must have been posterior to Confucius, and that his opinions had come into vogue only in the times of our philosopher himself. This view would be placed beyond doubt if we could receive as genuine the chapter on Yang, which is contained in the writings of the philosopher Lieh. And so far we may accept it, as to believe that it gives the sentiments which were attributed to him in the first century before our era3. The leading principle ascribed to him by Mencius nowhere appears in it in so many words, but the general tenour of his language is entirely in accordance with it. This will appear from the following specimens, which are all to be found in the seventh chapter of the Books of Lieh. The corresponding English and Chinese paragraphs are indicated by the same letters prefixed to them :— a 'Yang Chû said, "A hundred years are the extreme limit of longevity; and not one man in a thousand enjoys such a period of life. Suppose the case of one who does so :-infancy borne in the arms, and doting old age, will nearly occupy the half; what is forgotten in sleep, and what is lost in the waking day, will nearly occupy the half; pain and sickness, sorrow and bitterness, losses, anxieties, and fears, will nearly occupy the half. There may remain ten years or so; but I reckon that not even in them will be found an hour of smiling self-abandonment, without the shadow of solicitude.-What is the life of man then to be made of? What pleasure is in it? ""Is it to be prized for the pleasure of food and dress? or for the enjoyments of music and beauty? But one cannot be always satisfied with those pleasures; one cannot be always toying with beauty and listening to music. And then there are the restraints of punishments and the stimulants of rewards; the urgings and the repressings of fame and laws :-these make one strive restlessly for the vain praise of an hour, and calculate on the residuary glory after death; they keep him, as with body bent, on the watch against what his ears hear and his eyes see, and attending to the right and the wrong of his conduct and thoughts. In this way 1 楊朱,字子居 2 See 莊子, 雜篇 第五, the 寓言, at the end. Dr. Morrison says of Lieh (Dictionary, character):-'Lieh-tsze, an eminent writer of the Tâo sect; lived about the same time as Lao-tsze, the founder of the sect (B. c. 585).' Lieh's Works are published, with the preface of Liû Hsiang written B.c. 13. Hsiang says Lieh was a native of Chăng (), and a contemporary of duke Mû (or). But Mû's reign extended from B. c. 627 to 604. There is evidently an anachronism somewhere. Hsiang goes on to speak of Lieh's writings, specifying the chapter on Yang Chû, in which there are references to Confucius and his acknowledged fame. Another of Lieh's chapters is all devoted to Confucius's sayings and doings.-This is not the place to attempt an adjustment of the difficulties. The chapter about Yang Chû was current in Liû Hsiang's time, and we may cull from it to illustrate the character of the man. |