第14章

Without perversity, without one-sidedness,

The Royal path is right and straight.

Seeing this perfect excellence,

Turn to this perfect excellence."

15. He went on to say, "This amplification of the Royal perfection contains the unchanging rule, and is the great lesson;—yes, it is the lesson of God.

16. All the multitudes, instructed in this amplification of the perfect excellence, and carrying it into practice,

But we might still retain 頗, and read 義 as go, to rhyme with it. 儀, which is a derivative from it, is allowed to be sometimes pronounced so; and, in fact,我 is the phonetic element in 義 itself. Këang Shing edits—無偏無頗, 遵王껣誼. The dict. also says that 誼was the reading of the old text. I have not found any authority for this.

Ts＇ae observes that 偏, 陂, 好 and 惡, in the first three couplets, are descriptive of risings of selfishness in one＇s own mind, and 偏, 黨, 反, and 側, in the next three, are descriptive of the manifestations of selfishness in one＇s conduct. A distinction is made between 道 and 路 in this way:—道 is the ideal character of the Royal course, always right (以其為事物껣當然曰道); 路 is that course, as it is to be actually trodden by all (以其為天下껣共由曰路). 王道平平,—平 is read p＇een, to rhyme with 偏. The phrase is explained by 平易. 會其有極, 歸其有極,—Lin Che-k＇esays on this:—建極者如北辰껣居所, 而會其極, 歸其極者, 則如眾星껣拱北辰也, ＇The perfection, set up, is like the north pole-star occupying its place. Meeting withthe perfection and turning to it, is like all the other stars moving towards—doing homage to—the pole star.＇

Pp. 15, 16. The viscount of Ke celebrates the description which he has given of the Royal perfection, and the glorious issue to which it leads.

15. The 曰, at the beginning, must have 箕子 for its subject. Ts＇ae calls it 起語辭, ＇a term of introduction＇; Hea Seuen, 更端辭, ＇a term indicating a change in the discourse or argument＇. 皇極껣敷言,—＇the diffuse discourse of Royal perfection＇. We must understand all the amplification which the viscount had given of the phrase 皇極. 놆彝,—彝=常;—＇it is constant, invariable＇. 놆訓—＇it is the lesson＇ for all. 於帝其訓,—＇from God is its lesson＇. We must wish that the language of this par. had been more explicit. I will here again make use of the words of Ch＇in Ya-yen, while confessing my own want of appreciation of what awakens so much enthusiasm in him, and other Chinese critics:—聖人在上, 既建極而以身教於天下, 復敷言而以言教於天下, 蓋身教者, 示以躬行踐履껣實, 言教者, 使其歌誦吟詠而得, 二者不可偏廢也. 天下惟理為至常, 惟理為至大, 皇極껣敷言, 純늂一理, 故謂껣常理,故謂껣大訓, 놆理也, 本껣於天, 惟皇上帝降衷껣理, 놆豈可以君껣訓視껣哉, 乃天껣訓也, 天者其不言껣聖人,聖人者, 其能言껣天, 一而二, 二而一者也.

will approximate to the glory of the son of Heaven,and say, ＇The son of Heaven is the parent of the people, and so becomes the sovereign of the empire.＇

17. "Sixth, of the three virtues.—The first is called correctness and straightforwardness; the second, strong government; and the third, mild government. In peace and tranquillity, correctness and straightforwardness must sway; in violence and disorder, strong government must sway; in harmony and order, mild government must sway. For the reserved and retiring there is the strong rule; for the lofty and intelligent there is the mild rule.

16. 極껣敷言 is of couse 皇極껣敷言. Medhurst erroneously translates the clause—＇carry out these wide-spread instructions＇. The people are supposed to repeat and croon over the amplification,—especially the song, teaching themselves and one another, and to be aroused to carry the lessons into practice, till they attain to a perfection in their degree equal to that of the sovereign in this. 曰天子. 云云,—the people are the subject of the 曰 here. Hea Seuen would refer it to箕子, like the 曰 in the last par., but he must be wrong.天子,—＇the Son of Heaven＇;—see Part III., Bk. IV., 5.

Pp. 17—19. Of the three virtues. The three virtues are characteristics of the imperial rule;—they are not personal attributes of the sovereign, but the manifestations of the perfection which is supposed to have been described in the last Division. Their names are 正直, 剛克, and 柔克. Ts＇ae makes the names 正直,剛, and 柔; but the omission of the 克 in the case of the second and third gives them too much the appearance of personal attributes. The second and third are chiefly dwelt on, this division being supplementary to the last,—to show how the Royal perfection will deal with times and cases of an abnormal character. 17. 正直,—see in p.14, 王道正直. This is the course that the perfect sovereign will naturally and usually take. 剛克,—＇strong subduing＇. This is the course of the perfect sovereign, when it is necessary for him to put on his terrors.

柔克, ＇mild subduing＇. This is his course, when it is proper for him to condescend to weaker natures. 疆弗友,—友, ＇friendly＇, ＇disposed to be friendly＇, must here be taken as=順, ＇compliant＇, ＇obedient＇.

燮=놌, ＇harmonious＇, ＇mild＇. 沈潛,—the former of these characters signifies ＇to sink beneath the water,＇and the second, ＇to dive＇. ＇Disappearance＇, ＇being hidden＇, belongs to both these things, and hence the combination is used in the text to denote individuals who are reserved and retiring, wanting in force of character. In 高明, ＇the high and intelligent,＇ we have the opposite of them, those in whom the forward element predominates. The ＇strong rule＇ must be applied to the former class,—to encourage them, and the ＇mild rule＇ to the latter,—to repress them. The use of the ＇virtues＇ is thus different from what it appears to be in the clauses that precede. Chinese critics do not venture to find fault with this;—to me it makes the text perplexing and enigmatical.

18. "It belongs only to the prince to confer favours,to display the terrors of majesty, and to receive the revenues of the empire.

19. There should be no such thing as a minister conferring favours, displaying the terrors of justice,or receiving the revenues of the country. Such a thing is injurious to the families, and fatal to the States of the empire;—small officers become one-sided and perverse, and the people commit assumptions and excessess.

20. "Seventh, of the examination of doubts.

18, 19. The prerogatives of the ruler must be strictly maintained. Some critics would remove these paragraphs to the last Division. One certainly does not readily perceive what connection they have with the three virtues that have just been spoken of. We can hardly venture on the step of removing them,however, and putting them in another place;—we must be content with them where they are, acknowledging the vexation which their inconsequence occasions us.Only the prince 作福, ＇rouses up, employs, the various happinesses＇; i. e., he is the source of all favours and dignities. In the same way he only 作威,—is the source of all punishments and degradations. 惟辟냫食,—＇only the prince the gemmeous food＇. 냫食=珍食, ＇the pearly or precious food＇, each grain of rice or other corn being spoken of as a gem or pear. There is no 作, it will be seen, betwewn 辟 and 냫食, and we must therefore supply another verb, and one, it seems to me, of a different meaning. Lin Che-k＇e, without repeating the 作, or supplying any other verb, yet understands the clause according to the analogy of the two preceding ones, and takes the 냫食 as meaning all the badges of distinction and favour conferred by the sovereign on his princes and ministers. There is thus no intelligible difference between the first clause, 惟闢作福, and this.

Ts＇ae says that the 냫食, ＇the precious grain,＇ is what the people contribute to their rulers (下껣所以奉上).He must be right. 냫食= ＇the revenues＇ of the State;and we must understand the verb, 享, ＇to enjoy＇, ＇to receive＇, before the phrase.

According to this view, 辟 is to be interpreted not of the emperor only, but of all the princes, large and small, in their several States as well. K＇ang-shing, Ma Yung, and Wang Suh all insist on this. Ma Yung＇s words are—辟君也, 냫食, 美食, 不言王者, 關諸侯也.Gan-kwŏ does not speak distinctly on the point; but Ying-tǎ, in his gloss on the other＇s annotation, refers to Wang Sub＇s view, observing that, as the princes, in their several States, had the power of rewards and punishments, and, he might have added, the right to the revenue, this interpretation is perhaps correct. It does seem strange thus to pass from the person and govt. of the emperor; but so it is.

其害於而家, 凶於而國,—see on 好於而家, in par.13. There is the same difficulty in determining themeaning. The two last clauses show how the injury and ruin will arise. There will be a general disorganization of social order, each lower rank trying to usurp the privileges of that above it;—comp. Mencius I., Bk. I., i., 14. 人 and 民 are again opposed to each other, as in the 10th and other paragraphs.

Pp. 20—31 Of the examination of doubts. The course proposed for the satisfaction of doubts shows us at how early an age the Chinese had come under the power of absurd superstitions.

—Having chosen and appointed officers for divining by the tortoise and by the milfoil, they are to be charged on occasion to perform their duties.

21. In doing this, they will find the appearances of rain, clearing up, cloudiness, want of connection, and crossing,

22. and the symbols, solidity, and repentance.

23. In all the indications are seven;—five given by the tortoise, and two by the milfoil, by which the errors of affairs may be traced out.

24. 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 o be followed.

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 are sanctioned by the government, but the diviners and soothsayers, of many kinds, form a considerable and infiuential class of society.

Pp. 20—24. contain some hints as to the manner in which divination was practised. The same subject is treated in the Chow Le, Bk. XXIV; but it is hardly possible to get the two accounts into one＇s hind 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 卜; and that by means of the stalks of the 蓍 plant, called 筮. ＇The tortoise,＇says Choo He, ＇after great length of years becomes intelligent; and the 蓍 plant will yield, when a hundred years old, a hundred stalks from one root, and is also 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꼋則靈, 蓍生百歲. 一本百巠, 亦物껣神靈者, 卜筮實問鬼神, 以蓍龜神靈껣物, 故假껣以其卦兆, 卜法以明뀙熱柴, 灼龜為兆, 筮法以四十九蓍, 分,掛, 揲, 扐, 凡十有八變, 而成卦). See the Chapter on Divination in the ＇Historical Records＇ (龜策, 列傳, 第뀖十八). Medhurst says the 蓍 was one of the class of plants called Achillea millefolium. Williams calls it ＇a sort of labiate plant, like verbena＇ thereby leading us to think of the ＇holy herb＇ of Dioscorides, the verbenaofficinalis. The correctness, however, of both these accounts may be doubted. There is a figure of the plant in the 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 太卜, or ＇grand diviner＇; the卜師, or ＇master of divination＇; the 龜人, ＇or keeper of the tortoises＇; the 華氏, or ＇preparer of the wood＇; and the 占人, or ＇the observers and interpreters of the prognostics＇. They were all, observe the critics, required to be men far removed from the disturbing influence of passion and prejudice. Only such could be associated with the methods of communication between hiller intelligences and men.

Pp. 21-28. The various indications. 21. The appearance here described were those made on the shell of the tortoise. The way in which they were obtained seems to have been this.—The outer shell of the tortoise was taken off, leaving the inner portion on which were the marks of the lines of the muscles of the creature, &c. A part of this was selected for operation, and smeared with ink. The fire was then applied beneath, and the ink, when it was examined,according as it had been variously dried by the heat,gave the appearances mentioned. 霽 is defined as 雨止,＇rain stopping,＇= ＇the weather clearing up＇. 蒙=蒙昧不明, ＇cloudiness, obscurity＇.

驛, for which K＇ung-shing and others have 圛, is understood to mean certain marks scattered about,without connection or relation;—see the remarks,by the editors of Yung-ching＇s Shoo, on Gan-kwŏ＇s definition of the term by 落驛不屬, and Ts＇ae＇s by 絡繹不屬. 克=交錯, 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 were the names given to the diagrams formed by the manipulation of the stalks of the she.In a complete diagram, composed of two of the eight primary ones, the lower figure is called ＇to inner diagram＇ (內卦), and was styled 貞; the upper figure is called ＇the outer diagram＇ (外卦), and was styled 悔.There were also other conditions according to which these names of 貞 and 悔 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; but the text shows that the manipulation of Fuh-he＇s lines,and the derivation of meanings from the combination of them were practiced, at least to some extent, in the earlier times. The meaning of the names 貞 and 悔is very much debated; and instead of entering on the discussion here, I will content myself with the words of Heang Gan-she (項安世, Sung dyn.), one of the most voluminous writers on the Yih,—＇We only know that the inner diagram was 貞 and the outer 悔; we do not know what was intended by those designations.＇

23. We have here a resume of the two last parr. with the addition of the enigmatical phrase 衍忒 at the end.卜五, 佔用二,—we must understand a first 用 between卜 and 五. The 占卜 here is equivalent to 卜筮 in p. 20,so that 筮 is exchanged for 占. 衍忒,—衍=推, ＇to infer＇,＇to push or carry out＇; 忒 may be taken as either=差,＇error＇, or=變. 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—所謂衍推者, 推衍於냭有過差껣先, 非遲廻顧慮於已然껣後. Choo He adopted the former meaning, and interpreted—＇every changingform of indication and symbol being traced out and determined.＇ See the quotation from him in the 集說; still, when the operations, thus many tines varied,had been concluded, the object would be to obtain the guidance of their results in the conduct of affairs. Woo Ch＇ing and many others prefer to say that they do not understand the phrase at all.

24. Care to be taken in performing the divination.立時人作卜筮,—時=놆, and the whole=既立놆所擇껣人, 以作卜筮껣官, ＇Having appointed the men thus selected to be the officers of divination.＇ 꺘人占,—weare to suppose that they have been charged to perform their duties (乃命卜筮, p. 20), and then three men divine in each way. 占 in the last par. was=筮; here it is used both for 卜 and 筮, including not only the various manipulations, but also the interpreting the results obtained. It is supposed that each man went through his operation further on a different method.

25. "If you have doubts about any great matter,consult with your own heart; consult with your nobles and officers; consult with the masses of the people; consult the tortoise and milfoil.

26. 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 your descendants.

27. If you, the tortoise, and the milfoil all agree,while the nobles and common people oppose, the result will be fortunate.

28. If the nobles and officers, the tortoise, and the milfoil all agree, while you oppose and the common people oppose, the result will be fortunate.

29. If the common people, the tortoise and the milfoil all agree, while you and the nobles and officers oppose, the result will be fortunate.

Pp. 25—31. Rules for the application of the results of divination, and the varying conclusions of men, to the solution of doubts. 25. 大疑 is not ＇great doubts＇, but ＇doubts on a great matter＇. The ＇Daily Explanation＇says,—國家大事, 有行止可疑而냭決者, 云云. It is notto be supposed that the emperor would on every little matter or private occasion consult both men and spirit 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 the Pwan-kǎng complains that the opinions of the people were kept from him. Compare also, pp. 2 and 3 in ＇The punitive Expedition of Yin.＇ 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 in thefinal determination. 26. The case of a great concord,all the five parties agreeing.

27. The emperor, the tortoise-shell and the milfoil, all agreeing, carry it over the nobles and 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 and officers. 30. When the sovereign and the tortoise were opposed to all the other parties.

30. If you and the tortoise agree, while the milfoil,the nobles and officers, and the common people oppose, internal operations will be fortunate, and external operations will be unlucky.

31. 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.

In this case, not only are the opinions of men divided, but the spirits also give different intimations. The doubt therefore remained, and the difficulty was settled by a compromise!＇ ＇Internal affairs,＇ acc. to Gan-kwŏ, 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, it would seem, should be undertaken. But the tortoise-shell was supposed to give super indications than the plant, and as all the human 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. 用靜, 吉,—＇using stillness, there will be good fortune＇. By ＇stillness＇ is meant refraining 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.

Ts＇ae Ch＇in said:—義껣所當為而不為者, 非數껣所能知也, 義껣所不當為而為者, 亦非數껣所能知也, 非義不佔, 非疑不佔, 非疑而占, 謂껣侮, 非義而占, 謂껣欺.＇Not to do what in right ought to be done:—no rule for this can be obtained from numbers; and no rule canbe obtained from them to do what in right ought not to be done. There should be no divination in reference to what would not be right, and not divination where there are no doubts. To divine where there are no doubts is pronounced "a piece of folly" to do so in reference to what would not be right is pronounced "a piece of deception".

Woo Ch＇ing observed:—天下껣事, 卿士庶民, 皆不可而猶有吉者, 蓋自古냭껣有也, 使箕子껣說行, 後世人君將有棄卿士, 忽庶民, 而惟龜筮껣從, 邪說異議, 得以乘間而入, 天下自此多事矣, 此蓋商俗尚鬼, 習聞其說, 遂信不移, 雖箕子껣賢, 不能拔於流俗也, ＇From the oldest time never has anything turned out fortunatewhich 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 only to the intimations of the tortoise-shell and the she. Perverted talk and strange principles 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 usually free and sound, as coming from a Chinese scholar. The man who expressed himself thus should have gone on to bolder conclusions, affecting the reputation for sageness of Yu and Shun, and even of Confucius himself. I am sorry to find a writer, so sensible in general as Hoo Wei, trying to beat down the remarks of Ch＇ing with the authority of the great sage:—草廬說經, 往往有賢智껣過, 而此說尤為紕繆, 꽬子껣贊易也,曰, 探賾索隱, 鉤深致遠, 以定天下껣吉凶, 成天下껣亹亹者, 莫大늂蓍龜, 꺗曰, 人謀, 鬼謀, 百姓與能, 謂其可以斷天下껣疑也, 大禹껣稽疑, 豈別有所指, 而箕子以卜筮附會껣邪, 使箕子而溺於流俗, 何以為箕子,

32. "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 plants will be abundantly luxuriant.

＇Ts＇aou-loo＇ [this is a designation by which Woo Ch＇ing 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 繫辭上傳,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" (繫辭下傳, 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 Ke?＇)

Pp. 32-38. Of the various verifications. Medhurst translates 庶徵 by ＇the general verifications＇;—rightly,as regards 徵, but wrong, as regards 庶, which=非—＇not one merely＇, ＇many＇, ＇various.＇ Gaubil renders the phrase by ＇les apparences,＇—unhappily. In a note he says:—＇I render the Chinese character 徵 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 are full of false ideas on the subject of physics. 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 徵 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證, ＇to bear witness＇, ＇to attest＇, and by 明, ＇to illustrate＇;and then there is quoted from par. 4 of this Book, 念用庶徵. ＇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. 3234, we have a description of the verifying phenomena,and the interpretation of them.

P. 32. 暘=日出, ＇the sun coming forth＇, or=明,＇brightness＇, ＇sunshine＇. 燠—熱在中, ＇warmth diffused＇,or=煖, ＇heat＇. The meaning of 暘 and 燠 is sufficiently shown by their opposition to 雨 and 寒, ＇rain and cold＇.曰時,—I have translated this by ＇seasonableness,＇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 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 曰時 by ＇Les saisons＇.

33. Should any one of them be either excessively abundant, or excessively deficient, there is evil.

34. "There are the favourable verifications:—namely, of gravity, which is emblemed by seasonble rain; of orderliness, emblemed by seasonable sunshine; of wisdom, emblemed by seasonable heat;of deliberation, emblemed by seasonable cold; and of sageness, emblemed by seasonable wind. There are also the unfavourable verifications:—namely, of wildness, emblemed by constant rain; of assumption,emblemed by constant sunshine; of indolence,emblemed by constant heat;

And this view is contended by Lin Che-k＇e, who understands days＇ of whih時c owf e＇t hhe roeu nthde year, the months, andtheavaccount in the 35th and foll paragraphs. He took the view from Ts＇ae Yuen-too (蔡元度), a critic also of the Sung dyn., earlier than himself. It supposes a more artificial structure of the text than the study of the whole Book authorizes.各以其敘,—敘=序, ＇order＇, ＇series＇. The order of time and the degree of quantity, are both included, (各得其多寡先後껣序). 庶草蕃廡,—廡=豐茂, ＇abundant＇,＇luxuriant＇. This is a very simple truth. It is supposed to be mentioned as one of the least consequences of theseasonableness of the various phenomena, from which all others, however great, may be inferred.

33. Gan-kwŏ＇s expansion of this is—一者備極過甚,則凶, 一者極無不至, 亦凶, 謂不時失敘.

34. The favourable or good, and the unfavourable or bad, verifications. The student will see that this par. and the 6th are closely connected. The successful achievement of each of the ＇five businesses＇ has its verification in the character of the phenomena which have been described, and failure in, or the neglect, of them, has also its corresponding outward manifestation. On the 若, with which each clause terminates. Ying-tǎ observes:—此休咎, 皆曰若者, 其所致者, 皆順其所行, 故言若也, ＇In every case, good and bad, the issue is in accordance with the course ofthe conduct, and therefore we find the character 若.＇Opposed to ＇gravity＇, we have 狂,=妄, ＇incoherence＇,＇wildness＇. Opposed to ＇orderliness＇ we have 僭=差,＇error＇, ＇presumptuous error＇. Opposed to ＇wisdom＇,there is 豫, ＇idleness＇, ＇indecision＇ (Wang Suh read 舒, with the same meaning). Opposed to ＇deliberation＇, there is 急, ＇urgency＇, ＇haste＇; and opposed to ＇sageness＇there is 蒙, ＇stupidity＇. The various phenomena, by which these qualities good and bad are responded to in nature and providence, are of course all fanciful. Since the Han dynasty, the critics lave nearly all abandoned themselves to vain jangling in speculations on the operation of the five elements, and their distributions through the seasons of the year, en rapport with the virtues and failing of men. And yet, as we saw on the last Division, many of them do not endorse the statements of the text without misgivings. Ts＇ae observes that ＇to say on occasion of such and such a ＇business＇ being successfully achieved, there will be the favourable verification corresponding to it, or that on occasion of such and such a ＇business＇ being failed in, there will be the corresponding unfavourable verification would betray a pertinacious obtuseness,—would show that the speaker was not a man to be talked with on the mysterious operations of nature.

of haste, emblemed by constant cold; and of stupidity,emblemed by constant wind."

35. He went on to say, "The sovereign is to examine the character of the whole year; nobles and officers,that of the months; and the inferior officers, that of the day.

36. If throughout the year, the month, the day,there be an unchanging seasonableness, all the kinds of grain are matured; the operations of government are wise; heroic men stand forth eminent; and in the families of the people there are peace and prosperity.

37. If throughout the year, the month, the day, the seasonableness is interrupted, the various kinds of grain do not become matured;

It is not easy to describe the reciprocal meeting of Heaven and men. The hidden springs touched by failure and success, and the minute influences that respond to them:—who can know these but the man who has apprehended all truth (必曰某事得, 則某休徵應, 某事失, 則某咎徵應, 則亦膠固不通, 而不足與語造化껣妙矣, 天人껣際냭易言也, 失得껣幾, 應感껣微, 非知道者, 孰能識껣哉)?＇ This is in effect admitting that the statements of the text can be of no practical use.

Pp. 35—38. We have here apparently an endeavour to show how the ＇various verifications are to be thoughtfully made use of,＇ according to the language of p. 4. By 師尹 we are to understand all the 有司 or inferior officers. See on 庶尹 in the ＇Yih and Tseih＇ p. 10. We may take 師 here as=庶 or 眾; with regard to the rank of the 尹 which the text mentions, the whole scope of the passage shows it could only be of a lower grade. The sovereign stands to his nobles and great officers as the year to months, including and leading on them all; and they again stand to their inferior employes as the month to the days. Must the sovereign then, by the rule here laid down, wait till the vear＇s end before examining his character and ways? I suppose, as he comprehends all dignities in himself, he must be every month doing on himself the examination work of a high officer, and every day that of an inferior. The editors of Yung-ching＇s Shoo say on this point:—＇The sovereign, the high officers, anil the inferior officers, it is said here, must examine severally the year, the month and the day; but this is spoken in a general and vague way, with reference to the different rank of their offices:—we must not stick to a phrase. For Instance, a violent wind shall in a day do injury to the grain fields. The wind lasts for a single day only, but its injurious effects extend to the months and the year. Shall we make it relate to the inferior officers?or to the high officers and the sovereign? Whenever any unfavourable verification happens, no one should put the thing off himself. Every one should examine himself, and do so with regard to every matter.＇Experience and their own sense have made many in China wiser in many things than their classics, but they will not give up the national idols.

36. 37. 時無易,—＇if the times do not change＇. But we must take 時 in the same way as in p. 34, meaning＇seasonableness＇. The meaning is that if rain and sunshine, heat and cold, and wind all occur seasonably,the various effects enumerated will follow. There is a grain of truth in the assertions, and a bushel of nonsense. Hoo Wei says that 乂 is used with reference to the government of the court (以朝政言껣), and 俊民 of individuals who have no office (以無位者言껣),while 家 refers to those who are in office.

the operations of government are dark and unwise;heroic men are reduced to obscurity; and in the families of the people there is no repose."

38. "The common people are like the stars. Some stars love the wind, and some love the rain. The course of the sun and moon give winter and summer. The course of the moon among the stars gives wind and rain.

In regard to the last clause, I prefer the view which is given in the translation.

[Gaubil has here the following note:—＇There is supposed here a mutual correspondence between the ordinary events of the life of men, especially of kings and grandees, and the constitution of the air;but instead of adopting the false ideas which the viscount of Ke may have had on that subject we may reflect on what has been thought about it in Europe,and on what many people still think and say of a culpable and dangerous character. It appears that the Chinese have admitted a homogeneous matter in all bodies; that they have admitted a soul subsisting after the destruction of the body; that they have admitted spirits, and one spiritual Being, Master of heaven, of earth, and of men. But they have been bad physicists,and have troubled themselves little with metaphysics or with logic. They have not thought too much (?) of examining the grounds of their reasoning on the nature of beings; and they have in no way fathomed the question of the union of the soul with the body, nor that of the operations of the soul.＇

There is no danger of our adopting the notions of the viscount of Ke on the correspondence between the weather and the characters of men. A great service would be done by the Sinologue, who should take up＇the Great Plan＇ and produce a commentary on it for Chinese readers, clearly and minutely unfolding the errors on the constitution of nature and the course of providence of which it is full. From this ground we might go on to shake the stronghold of their confidence in all the ancient teachings and the wisdom of their so-called sages.]

P. 38. The people should enamine the stars. 庶民惟星,—Medhurst translates this—＇The common people are like the stars,＇ and Gaubil, in the same way,—＇Les etoiles represent eut les peuples.＇ This also is the view of Ts＇ae, who says,—民껣麗늂꺱, 猶星껣麗늂天也. Butthis would make the paragraph of a different character entirely from those immediately preceding. The text is evidently analogous with the clauses of par. 35, and the 省 which we must understand there of the 卿꺱 and 師尹, we must understand here also after 庶民.＇The people should examine the stars.＇ But nothing is said of ＇verifications＇ in connection with the stars and the people;—what was to result from the examination of the stars? ＇The people,＇ says Woo Ch＇ing, ＇would know when it was summer, and when it was winter, when they might expect wind, and when they might expect rain. Knowing these things they could carry on their labours and take their precautionary measures accordingly.＇ We thus find a meaning in the paragraph, though of a different kind from what the preceding paragraphs would lead us to look for. On the view of the first clause, taken by Ts＇ae and the commentators generally, the whole paragraph appears equally out of place, and no reasonable meaning can be given to it. The constellation 箕—the hand of Sagittarius—is said to bring wind, and 畢 or Hyades, to bring rain. Ts＇ae goes at great length into the courses of the sun and moon, but all according to the accounts of the astronomers of the Han dynasty. The text specifies no stars from which we night determine the place of the sun in the heavens at the solstices or equinoxes, when the Book was made.

39. "Ninth, of the five happinesses.—The first is long life; the second is riches; the third is soundness of body and serenity of mind; the fourth is the love of virtue; the fifth is an end crowning the life.

40. As to the six extremities again, the first is misfortune, shortening the life; the second is sickness;the third is sorrow; the fourth is poverty; the fifth is wickedness; the sixth is weakness."

Pp. 39, 40. Of the five happinesses and six extremities. It is said, in p. 4, that ＇a hortatory use is to be made of the five happinesses＇, and ＇an awing use of the six extremities＇. It is not easy to see how this division enters into the scheme of the Great Plan. Tsǎng Kung (曾鞏) says:—＇The nine divisions all describe the course of the sovereign. The happinesses and extremities are conditions by which the sovereign examines his own attainments and defects in reference to the people. That these happinesses should be among the people, is what tie sovereign should aim after; and the extremities being among them is what he should be standing in awe of;＇—see the 集說. Hoo Wei, on the other hand, says:—＇The five conditions of happiness and six conditions of suffering, are by the doing of Heaven, and not from any arrangements of men. We have it said in the division on Royal Perfection, "He concentrates in himself the five happinesses, and then diffuses them so as to give them to his people;"—we have therefore in this place only the names of the happinesses and their opposites, and nothing about their use.＇ (五福뀖極, 皆天껣所為, 非人껣所設也, 其斂時敷錫껣道, 具在皇極章中, 故此但列其目, 而不言其用).

39. 壽,—＇longevity＇; without specifying any number of years. Gan-kwŏ says it means 120 years; but this is absurd. A man dying over 50 is spoken of by the Chinese as not having a short life. 60 and upwards is reckoned longevity. Ts＇ae says that with long life all the other happinesses can be enjoyed, and therefore it occupies the first place among them. 富,—＇riches＇; probably meaning a competency according to the rank and station. Lin Che-k＇e says, ＇a sufficiency for food and clothing is 富＇. 康寧= ＇freedom from sickness＇, i.e., good health,—according to Gan-kwŏ. Modern critics extend the meaning, as in the translation.—形康而心寧. 攸好德=所好者德, ＇when virtue is what is loved＇.The meaning, says Lin Che-k＇e, is a natural disposition tending to the love of virtue rather than of pleasures and other lower things.

考終命,—Ts＇ae explains this by the words of Mencius, VII., Pt. I., ii. 1, 順手其正, ＇submissively receiving all the will of Heaven＇. 考 is generally explained here by 成, ＇to accomplish＇ and the happiness is that of ＇accomplishing to the end the will of Heaven＇. This does not differ materially from the view of the translation, which has the advantage of making more evident the proper meaning of 考.

40. 뀖極,—極=窮= ＇exhaustion＇, ＇being brought to extremity＇. It denotes the opposite of 福. 凶短折is literally ＇disastrous short breaking＇. The meaning is—the life coming to an untimely and disastrous close. 疾 and 憂 are the opposite of 康寧. 惡,—Gankwŏ explained this by 醜陋, ＇ugliness＇ and the last extremity—弱, by 尫劣, ＇feebleness＇;—perhaps in both cases with some reference to the mind as well as the body. 惡 means probably boldness in what is evil, and弱, weakness in what is good. The viscount of Ke was not so successful in enumerating the ＇extremities＇, as with the ＇happinesses＇.

[Gaubil, in a concluding note, thinks it not unlikely that the viscount of Ke wished to speak of the ＇Book of Lŏ,＇ and under pretence of explaining this enigma,＇has given very excellent instructions on the duties which princes and subjects ought to observe.＇ I am unable to agree with the learned Jesuit. The Great Plan is little less of an enigma than the Book of Lŏ. It is full of perplexities and absurdities. There are some right principles of morals and government in it, but after hearing it all, king Woo must have been more in the dark than when he went to the viscount at first with the remark that he did not know how the virtues in men＇s various relations should be brought forth in their proper order.]

I append here a scheme of the whole Plan, modified from that which is given among the cuts in Yungching＇s Shoo:—