第17章

BOOK VII. THE GREAT ANNOUNCEMENT.

BOOK VII. THE GREAT ANNOUNCEMENT.

1. "The king speaks to the following effect:— ＇Ho! I made a great announcement to you, the princes of the many States, and to you, the managers of my affairs.—Unpitied am I, and Heaven sends down calamities on my House, without exercising the least delay. It greatly occupies my thoughts, that I, so very young, have inherited this illimitable patrimony, with its destinies and domains. I have not displayed wisdom, and let the people to tranquillity, and how much less should I be able to reach the knowledge of the decree of Heaven!

THE NAME OF THE BOOK.—꺶誥, ＇The Great Announcement,＇ At the commencement of the first paragraph, these two characters,—꺶誥,—occur, and they are thence taken and made the name of the Book.Gan-kwŏ, indeed, says that the Book sets forth great doctrines for the information of the empire, and thence it received its name (陳꺶道以誥天下, 故以名篇). But we look in vain for any ＇great doctrines＇ in the Book.The emergency which called the announcement forth was sufficiently important to justify the duke of Chow in calling it ＇great＇. We need not look for any lighter or deeper meaning in the title. The Book is found in both the texts.

CONTENTS; DATE; AND STYLE. The prefatory note says, ＇When king Woo had deceased, the three overseers and the wild tribes of the Hwae rebelled.The duke of Chow acted as prime minister to king Ching; and having purposed to snake an end of the House of Yin, he made "The Great Announcement".＇This sets forth the occasion on which the address was composed, but when we come to look at the contents,we find very little appropriate, according to our views,to the circumstances. The young emperor speaks of the responsibility lying on him to maintain the empire gained by the virtues and prowess of his father, and of the senseless movements of the House of Yin to regain its supremacy; he complains of the reluctance of many of the princes and high officers to second him in putting down the revolt; and proclaims with painful reiteration the support and assurances of success which he has received from the divining tortoise-shells. The three overseers are not mentioned, though we may find an allusion or two to them. The whole tone is feeble.I have divided, it will be seen, the 15 paragraphs in which it is now generally edited into five chapters.

The date of the announcement is general referred to the third year of Ching B.C., 1112. But such an arrangement of events supposes the duke of Chow＇s residence in the east, spoken of in the last Book, to have been a voluntary exile, and that this expedition against Yin was undertaken after he returned in the manner described. But I saw reason to understand the sojourning in the east as a description of this very expedition, and that the return mentioned was on its successful termination. On this view the announcement was made in the first or second year of Ching, and the expedition was finished in the third year. On that point,—the date of the extinction of Woo-kǎng and his revolt, there is an agreement.

The style of the Book ls about as difficult as that of ＇the Pwan-kǎng＇. ＇We may doubt,＇ says Wang Ganshih, ＇whether parts have hot been lost, and other parts have not fallen out of their proper place. Our plan is to let alone what we cannot understand, and to explain what we find ourselves able to do＇. ＇It is difficult,＇ says Choo He, ＇to point the Book. The sentences are very long and students generally try to break them up into shorter ones, which makes the interpretation more difficult still.＇

Ch. I. Pp. 1, 2. NOTWITHSTANDING HIS YOUTH AND INCOMPETENCIES, THE KING FEELS BOUND, BY HIS DUTY TO HIS FATHERS AND TO HEAVEN, TO DO HIS UTMOST TO PUT DOWN THE REVOLT WHICH WAS THREATENING THE RECENTLY ACQUIRED EMPIRE. 1. 王若曰,—those are the words of the duke of Chow, spoken by him as regent of the empire, and in the name of the young king. We are not to suppose indeed that Ching had anything to do with the announcement. Doubting the duke＇s loyalty, he would not have sent him to attack his other uncles; but the duke acted as the great duties of his position required him to do, and would not allow the safety of the dynasty to be perilled by weak scruples. At the same time it was right that his address should appear as in the name of the king. There was no other king but Ching, and no other is intended by王throughout the Book. K＇ang-shing, however, says that by王we should understand the duke himself. His words are:—王, 周公껩, 周公居攝命꺶事, 則權稱王, ＇The king is the duke of Chow. He was regent of the empire, and in giving charge about such great affairs, in the exigency of the circumstances, he called himself the king.＇ Keang-shing, Ming-shing, and other opponents of ＇the false K＇ung＇ adopt this view, and the ingenuity with which they argue for it is amusing; but it is too absurd to justify our entering into an examination of their arguments. Comp. the 王若曰 in the Pwan-Kǎng, Pt. i., 16; and often in several of the Books of Chow that follow. 猷꺶誥爾多邦,—猷 appears to have come into use, under the Chow dynasty, as an exclamation, like the 咨 of the ＇Canon of Yaou＇. I do not see what other meaning can be given to it here, or in the next Bk., p. 1; et al. Here Ma Yung and others in the Han dynasty read it after誥,—꺶誥猷爾, 云云,—and explained it by 道. Gankwŏ even attempted to give it the same meaning in its place at the beginning of the sentence:—周公稱王命, 順꺶道, 以誥天下, 云云. But this is exceedingly harsh and unnatural. Lin Che-k＇e was the first, so far as I have ascertained, who explained the term as an exclamation. It is a pity that this meaning of it does not appear in the dictionary. 爾多邦=爾在外多邦껣諸侯.

越爾御事,—see the ＇Great Speech＇, Pt. i., p. 2. 弗弔,—弔 (read teaou)=恤, ＇to pity＇, as in the She King,Pt. III., Bk. III., Ode. X., st. 5. In the ＇Pwan-kang＇, Pt. iii., 7, it was read teih, with the meaning of 至, ＇to come to＇, i.e., to reach the mark of goodness; and so Gan-kwŏ took it, and Keang Shing takes it, but with different relations to the rest of the sentences;—see the 註疏 and the 尚書集註音疏. Ts＇ae expands the phrase as in the translation:—我不為天所恤. 天降割於我家,不少延,—割=害, ＇injuries＇, ＇calamities＇. ＇Heaven sends down calamities on my House,＇—this has reference especially to the early death of king Woo; and we may include also the present troubles occasioned by the revolt in Yin. 不少延,—＇without a little delay＇. Blow was following on blow in quick succession. Gan-kwŏput a stop at 少, and carried 延 to the next sentence.Of this construction I shall speak on the next clause.K＇ang-shing pointed as in the text and interpreted 不少延 as= ＇not few and prolonged＇. 延 may certainly be thus taken as=長; but the whole phrase 不小延 is more naturally construed as I have done in the translation,following Ts＇ae and other Sung critics. 洪惟=꺶思, ＇I greatly think＇.

2. ＇Yes, I who an but a little child am in the position of one who has to cross a deep water;—it must be mine to go and seek how to cross over. I must diffuse the elegant institutioins of my predecessor, and augment the appointment which he received fromHeaven;—so shall I be not forgetful of his great work.Nor shall I dare to restrain the majesty of Heaven seen in the infiictions it sends down.

Gan-kwŏ, I have just said, began this clause with 延, and his comment on 延惟我幼沖그 is—兇害延꺶, 惟累我幼童그, 늅王言其不녦不誅껣意, ＇The calamities are so protracted and great that they involve me whoam so young;—the king＇s meaning is that there was nothing for him but to cut off the criminals.＇ This is very far-fetched, and must be rejected.

嗣無疆꺶歷服,—歷 is defined as=數, ＇fate＇, ＇destiny＇.Woo Ch＇ing says:—歷=天껣歷數. 服= ＇domains＇. Ts＇ae says—五服, ＇the five domains＇; but they were more than ＇five＇ under the Chow dynasty. Nearly all the critics define 服 by 事, and then expand it into something like 服王事; but Ts＇ae＇s meaning is much simpler. 弗造哲, 迪民康,—on this Gan-kwŏ has—不能為造智道以安그, ＇I have not met with (=found),intelligent men to lead the people to repose.＇ Better than either, Woo Ch＇ing read 造 with an aspirate,= ＇to go to＇, ＇to arrive at＇; and says:—弗能造於明哲以導民於安, ＇I have not attained to wisdom, so as to conduct the people to tranquillity.＇ So I take the words. 矧曰,云云,—I take 格 here with Gan-kwŏ as=至, ＇to reach to＇. I do not know what the young king, or rather the duke of Chow, had in view by 天命, ＇the decree or appointment of Heaven,＇ nor can I discern the bearing of the whole clause on the rest of the announcement. Perhaps a glimpse of light is afforded by Kin Le-ts＇ëang, who says:—此言늅王以幼沖嗣位, 流言展轉,而事變如此, 未能上測天意如何, 以起下文求濟卜筮껣意, ＇This speaks of how king Ching, inheriting the throne at so early an age, with the baseless rumoursgoing about, and such changes of events occurring, was unable to fathom what might be the mind of Heaven, in order to introduce what is said below about his seeking how to cross over his difficulties, and the intimations afforded by divination;＇—see the 集說. 2. 已 is used, acc. to Ts＇ae, as a continuative particle, indicating that though the speaker had come to a pause, yet he must go on expressing his sentiments (巳,承上語辭, 已而놋不能已껣意). Our ＇Yes＇ corresponds to it.

予惟至攸濟,—＇this＇, says Gan-kwŏ, ＇expresses the king＇s awe＇ (言祗懼). He might have said—＇awe and perplexity＇. 敷賁, 敷前그受命,—the former clause expresses the young king＇s apprehensive perplexity; this seems to express what under all circumstances he felt in incumbent upon him to do. The language however, is difficult to construe and interpret. Lin Che-k＇e says:—＇Gan-kwŏ read 賁 fun, as in the "Pwan-kǎng", Pt. iii., 7, and with the same signif. of great, and gave the meaning—＇I will spread and practice great principles, so spreading and displaying the appointment received by Wǎn and Woo.＇ But the text only says 敷賁, and to make that= ＇I will display great principles＇ is wide of the mark and forced. Soo and Lin Tsze-hwuy (林子晦) read the character pe, with the meaning of ＇to adorn＇ (飾; as in the ＇Announcement of T＇ang＇, p. 5).

3. ＇The Tranquillizing king left to me the gerat precious tortoise, to bring into connection with me the intelligence of Heaven. I consulted it, and it told me that there would be great trouble in the region of the west, and that the western people would not be still. Accordingly we have the present senseless movements.

Soo then interpreted—"What I diffuse must be to adorn and extend the appointment received by my predecessors, and not forget their merit," while Lin Tsze-hwuy says, "The meaning is—I will cultivate and illustrate the institutions, to impart ornament to the empire." The character 賁 is thus both pronounced and interpreted by them differently from Gan-kwŏ; but the meanings they bring out are as far from being clear as his. Wang Gan-shih says, better than any of them, that the text is maimed, and we need not weary ourselves to fix its meaning. The translation simply follows the view of Ts＇ae, which is that of Soo Tung-po. 子不敢,云云—in this clause the king intimates how it was his duty to punish Woo-kǎng and all aiding him in his revolt. He would let the justice of Heaven take its course; he would not restrain it, but execute it rather against them. 於, following 閉, is rather perplexing;but we have met with it before, similarly following transitive verbs.

Wang Gan-shih put a stop at 威, and read 뇾 with what follows—寧王, 云云, and Choo He approved of this construction;—see the 附錄. In this point Ts＇ae chose to follow the two K＇ung, rather than his master.Woo Ch＇ing, however, points with Gan-shih, and gives this view of the clause preceding, having closed a paragraph with 꺶功:—＇When Heaven was sending down its terrors on me, I did not dare to conceal them,but used the tortoise,＇ &c., &c.

Ch. II. Pp. 3—6. THE DIVINATIONS HAD INFORMED THE KING OF THE COMING TROUBLES, AND THEY NOW ASSURED HIM ON THE PRESENT EXPEDITION. MANY OF THE BEST AND ABLEST OF THE PEOPLE WERE SUPPORTION HIM. THEY MIGHT THEREFORE GO FORWARD WITH CONFIDENCE. 3. 寧王,—＇the Tranquillizing king＇. Gan-kwŏ says that king Wǎn is intended; but the phrase 寧考 in par. 8 determines that we interpret the epithet of king Woo, Ching＇s father. 紹天明,—紹=繼, ＇to continue and transmit＇. At a grand reception of visitors at court there were the attendants and officers who received them, and went between them and the prince. They and their function were called 介紹. Similarity we are told here that the tortoise-shell was a connection medium between the mind of man and the mind of Heaven. And this was the belief of the duke of Chow! 即命 is used like the same phrase in the last Book, p. 8. 曰놋꺶至不靜,—this is to be taken as the reply of the tortoise,or the result obtained from the divination. Gan-kwŏindeed makes the 曰 commence a new paragraph. 即命 is with him= ＇I have consulted it, and received its instruction;＇ and then for a time all reference to the tortoise ceases, and 曰= ＇The king also says＇. This construction is to me intolerably harsh. 曰 follows immediately on the divination by the tortoise-shell, and introduces the reply which was received. That reply is sufficiently enigmatical. The troubles arose in the east, and the oracle was that the west would be troubled. This difficulty is solved by saying that the troubles arose indeed in the east, but they necessarily went on to trouble the west. The ＇Daily Explanation＇paraphrases the text as if the oracle had been thus explicit:—龜即命曰, 異꿂東方諸侯起而叛亂, 將놋꺶艱難껣事於西土, 使西土껣그, 疲於奔命, 不得安靜, 是西土晏然껣時, 龜兆已豫告矣. This was, it will be seen, a prophecy, rather than the solution of a doubt, and theoracle was like those of the west. We may compare it with the ＇Aio te, Eacida, Romanos vincere posse.＇ 越茲蠢,—these are again the words of the king. =蠢蟲動,＇insects moving, wriggling about,＇ in the spring.

4. ＇Little as the present prosperity of Yin is, itsprince greatly dares to take in hand its broken line.Though Heaven sent down its terrors on his House,yet knowing of the evils in our kingdom, and that the people are not tranquil, he says— "I will recover mypatrimony"; and so he wishes to make our State of Chow a border territory again.

5. ＇One day there was a senseless movement, and the day after, ten men of worth among the people appeared to help me to go forward to restore tranquillity and to perpetuate the plans of my father.

It is often used in the sense of ＇silly＇, ＇impertinent＇. 4. The guilt of Woo-kǎng. 殷小腆,—this 腆 has marvelously vexed the critics. Gan-kwŏ took it as=小, and K＇ang-shing did the same. Ma Yung made it=至, meaning probably ＇Yin, who has but little attained.＇Wang Suh made it=主, so that 殷小腆= ＇this small princelet of Yin＇. The 說文 defined it by多, ＇many or much;＇ and Ming-shing says this justifies the 小 of Kang-shing, like lucus a non lucendo! Ts＇ae gives厚, ＇prosperous＇, ＇flourishing＇ for it, which is no doubt the correct meaning here. Compare 自洗腆致뇾酒in the ＇Announcement about Wine＇, p. 6. Tung-po was the first to bring this meaning of the term to the interpretation of the text. 敘,—＇to arrange＇, ＇to place in order;＇ then, ＇a series＇, ＇a rank＇. Here, being under the govt. of 紀, it is taken as=緒, ＇the end of a cocoon, or of a ball of thread;＇ then ＇a thread＇, ＇a line＇, and with the same metaphorical applications as our word ＇line＇. The clause, as expanded by Ts＇ae, is—乃敢꺶紀其既亡껣緒. All the old interpreters understood 天降威 of the troubles of the imperial House, with special reference to the rumours about the duke of Chow set on float by his brothers, following so quickly on the death of king Woo. The same view is taken also by Woo Ch＇ing and Këang Shing. If the 知 had been before the天 we must have construed in this way. The meaning which appears in the translation is given by Ts＇ae, who follows his expansion of the previous clause, quoted above, by—是雖天降威於殷, 然亦武庚知我國놋꺘叔疵隙, 民心不安, 故敢云云.

予復꿯鄙我周邦,—we must put a stop at 復, and then supply 而欲, as in the translation. 予 is Woo-kǎng himself speaking, but we cannot refer the 我 also to him. 予復=我將復殷業.

鄙 is used for ＇a border＇, ＇a border town＇. It has here the force of a verb. 5. 今蠢至以於,—獻=賢 (comp. the＇Yih and Tseih＇, p. 7. Këang Shing read 義, but with the same meaning); 於=往, ＇to go＇. Who the ＇ten men of worth＇ were, we do not know. Gan-kwŏ supposed they belonged to Yin, ＇loyal and far-seeing men in the rebellions territory＇. This is not likely. I suppose they were men of the imperial domain who had been forward to express their attachment to the dynasty of Chow. The 今蠢, 今翼꿂, indicate the promptitude with which they had come forward. Ts＇ae expands the clause:—今武庚蠢動, 今껣明꿂, 民껣賢者十夫,輔我以往, 云云. 敉寧武圖功,—敉=撫, ＇to soothe＇, ＇to tranquillize＇; 敉寧 go together,=撫定商邦, ＇to sootheand settle the country of Shang. 武=繼, ＇to continue＇.[武 is used for ＇military prowess or achievement＇,and also for 跡, ＇footsteps＇, ＇traces＇ from which the signification given to it in the text is derived.

The great business I am engaging in will have a successful issue, for I have divined and always got a favourable intimation.

6. ＇Therefore I tell you, the princes of my friendly States, and you, the directors of departments, my officers, and the managers of my affairs,—I have obtained a favourable reply to my divinations. I will now go forward with you from all the States, and punish those vagabond and transported ministers of Yin.

7. "And now, you the princes of the various States,and you the various officers and managers of my affairs, all resort on me, saying,

How the same character comes to have significations so different is one of the mysteries which a Lexicographer may solve by tracing its history, and showing how forms driginally distinct have coalesced in one.] 武圖功=繼嗣武王所圖껣功. This construction of the clause is given by Ts＇ae, and Keang Shing concurs in it. Other views may be seen in the 註疏,and in Woo Ch＇ing＇s commentary.

我놋, 云云,—꺶事, ＇great affair＇, referring to the warlike expedition about to be proceeded with. It is said in the 左傳 that ＇the "great affairs" of a State are sacrificed and war,＇ (國껣꺶事, 在祀與戎). 並吉,—＇alltogether are lucky＇. The king had divided; and the＇three men＇ who had operated with the three shells, or interpreted the threehold intimation of the one shell, all foretold a happy result;—see the ＇Great Plan＇, p. 24. Ts＇ae gives the connection of the two parts of the clause thus:—知我놋戎事休美者, 以朕卜꺘龜而並吉껩. We are not to suppose that this divining was the same as that mentioned in par. 2. That was earlier,before the rebellion had revealed itself; this was with reference to the expedition which was in progress. 6. 肆予至御事,—肆=故, ＇therefore＇. 尹氏, ＇the governors or directors,＇=庶官껣正, ＇the heads of the various magisterial departments＇. Gan-kwŏ says they were the卿꺶夫, ＇nobles and great officers＇. Compare the 땡尹of Bk. XXII., p. 3. We might bring out the meaning of the 氏 by saying—＇the directors, of the several surnames＇.

予得吉卜, 云云,—於, as in the last par.,=往. 逋播臣,—＇the absconded scattered ministers＇. Woo-kǎng and the old adherents of his House, who continued with him, are intended by this contemptuous language.There was enough in the circumstances of theircondition to afford a ground for so describing them.

Ch. III. Pp. 7—9. THE KING COMPLAINS OF THE RELUCTANCE OF THE PRINCES AND OFFICERS TO GO FORWARD WITH HIM TO THE EXPEDITION, AND REPLIES TO THEIR PROPOSAL TO GO CONTRARY TO THE DIVINATIONS. 7. The proposal of the princes and officers to go contrary to the oracles, and abandon the expedition. 罔不꿯,—＇there is not one who does not resort＇. K＇ang-shing says—無不꿯我껣意, ＇all oppose my views＇. Keang Shing would take 꿯 as simply=復,＇to reply＇. The two ideas are here combined in the term.All the rest of the par. is to be taken as the language of the malcontents. Gan-kwŏ, indeed, takes only 艱꺶, ＇the difficulties will be great,＇ as their words, and makes out all the rest to be a portion of the king＇s reply.

"The hardships will be great, and that the people are not still has its source really in the king＇s palace, and in the mansions of those princes of the troubled State.We, little ones, and the old reverent men as well, think the expedition ill-advised. Why does your majesty not go contrary to the divination?

8. ＇I, in my youth, think also continually of the hardships, and say, Alas! These senseless movements will deplorably afflict widowers and widows!

But, to my mind, the text is altogether unmanageable on this view. The exegesis which I have followed, and which appears in the translation, is not attended with difficulties; but it gives an interpretation of the passage in harmony with the general tenour of the Announcement, and not harsher, as regards particular expressions, than we are obliged to admit in many other places. 民不靜至君室,—this is an allusion, as plain as the duke of Chow could permit himself to make, to the dissatisfaction of his three brothers charged with the oversight of Yin, the rumours which they had spread against himself, and the suspicions which those had awakened in the king＇s mind. The邦君 are Sëen, Too, and Ch＇oo. 室, as opposed to 宮,I translate by ＇mansion＇. 越予小子, 考翼, 不녦征, 云云,—this passage presents several difficulties, and no construction of it has been proposed, against which objections cannot be urged. 予小子 is taken by Gan-kwŏ of the king speaking of himself, and this is the one strong point in his construction mentioned above. In the translation the phrase is taken in the plural:—so the princes and officers, opposed to the expedition, describe themselves. 考 is taken as=老, ＇old＇, ＇fathers＇.翼=敬, ＇to be reverent＇, i.e., in the conduct of business.The character is thus used in the She King, as may be 4seen in the dict. th tone)=曷, ＇why＇考. The paraphrase o翼=父老껣敬事者f. th害e w(read in the holeinthe＇Daily Explanation＇ is:—予等小子, 固無所知識, 至於敬事껣父老, 乃老늅練達껣그, 皆以為不녦, 그謀未協, 龜兆難憑, 曷不違卜, 而聽그乎.