第20章

BOOK X. THE ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT DRUNKENNESS.

BOOK X. THE ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT DRUNKENNESS.

1. "The king speaks to this effect:— ＇Do you clearly make known my great commands in the country of Mei.

2. ＇When your reverent father, the king Wăn, laid the foundations of our kingdom in the western region,he delivered announcements and cautions to theprinces of the various States, all the high officers, with their assistants, and the managers of affairs, saying,morning and evening, "For sacrifices spirits should be employed." When Heaven was sending down its favouring decree, and laying the foundations of theeminence of our people, spirits were used only in the great sacrifices.

THE NAME OF THE BOOK.—酒誥, ＇The Announcement about Drunkenness.＇ I have spoken of the proper meaning of the term 酒 on Part IV, Bk.VIII, Pt. iii,. 2. In the ＇Songs of the five Sons,＇ and the ＇Punitive Expedition of Yin,＇ I was unwilling to depart from the common usage of translators, and rendered 酒 by ＇wine＇; but there can be no doubt that the term in the ancient Books signifies ＇spirits distilled from rice,＇=our ＇ardent spirits＇. The French term ＇vin＇ seems to be capable of a wider application than our ＇wine＇. Gaubil says:—＇Le titre de ce chapitre signifie avis ou ordres sur J＇usage du vin. II s＇agit ici du vin de riz, qui fut decouvert, suivant la plupart des auteuvs, du tems de Yu, fondateur de la premiere dynastie. Le raisin n＇est à la Chine que depuis les premiers Han.＇ The title therefore might be correctly translated ＇The Announcement about Spirits,＇ but the cursory reader would most readily suppose that the discourse was about spiritual Beings. I have preferred in consequence to render it by—＇The Announcement about Drunkenness.＇

The Book is found in both the texts. There are the same questions about the date of it, and the speaker in it, which have been discussed with reference to ＇The Announcement to the prince of K＇ang;＇ and it is not necessary to enter on them against here. I suppose the speaker to be the duke of Chow, addressing his brother Fung in the name of the young king Ching.

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 Këe 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 it 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 food of its desolation from his officers and people.

The scholar Woo Ts＇ae-laou, earlier than Choo He, thought that there was in the Book sufficient evidence of its being composed of two announcements originally distinct:—the first, embracing parr. 1-7,being addressed by king Woo—[Ts＇ae-laou is one of the most earnest advocates of the early late 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 natural division of the Book into two chapters:—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 Wăn 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 Wăn 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.

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 the fourth chapter, and state how obedience to the commands on the use of spirits should 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 IS REGARD TO THE USE OF ARDENT SPIRITS ARE STATED; AND THE SPEAKER DECLARES HIS OWN COMMANDS IN HARMONY WITH THEM. 1. In the north of the pres. dis. of K＇e (淇縣), in the dep. of Wei-hwuy, Honan, there is a place called 妹鄉,—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 Mei acc. to Gan-kwŏ. In the She king, Pt. I., Bk. IV., Ode iv., ＇the villages of Mei＇, ＇the north of it＇, and ＇the east of it＇, are all mentioned. The character in use for the name there is沫, but the country intended is the same which is here called妹. Fung＇s principality of Wei must have embraced the greater part of it.

明大命,—明 is in the imperative mood. The whole=封, 꿷汝往治妹地, 當以我誥誡之辭, 敷佈於妹邦之臣民.Pp. 2—6. The lessons of king Wăn on the useof 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 穆 as simply denoting the place of king Wăn＇s shrine or spirit-tablet in the temple of ancestors;—see on the ＇Doctrine of the Mean＇, xix., 4. Many still follow this view, as Këang Shing, for instance, who says:—周家世次文王第當穆故稱穆考. I cannot think that this is the meaning, and much prefer to take 穆=敬, as in the translation,—an epithet descriptive of king Wăn, who is celebrated in the She King as the 穆穆文王. It is served, by those who understand the character in this way, that king Wăn in the last Bk. P. 13, is called顯考, 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꺱,—＇founded our kingdom in the western regions＇. But Wăn was not the founder of the House of Chow, whose fortunes had been gradually growing in the west. We must make allowance for the duke of Chow＇s language in speaking of his father. See, more over, the statements of king Woo＇s about Wăn＇s receiving the command of Heaven, ＇to soothe the regions of the empire＇. Bk. III., p. 5; et al. 厥誥毖至朝夕曰,—＇in his announcements &c., he said＇. =毖慎=戒謹, ＇to caution＇, ＇to warn＇;—difft. from the meaning of the character in Bk. VII., p. 8. 庶邦 is taken by Lin Che-k＇e as=諸侯, ＇the princes of the various States＇, i. e., of the States within bis jurisdiction as chief of the west(西伯).

3. 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.

This seems the simplest view of the phrase. 庶士,—＇all the officer＇. These, acc. to Ying-tă, were the 朝臣,＇ministers of the court＇. It is better to understand them as the 正, or 宮之長, ＇Heads of the various magisterial departments;＇—so, the ＇Daily Explanation＇. Then the少正 are the assistants of those Heads of departments;and the 御事, all who held any office, however low it might be .祀茲酒=惟祭祀, 則用此酒, ＇only in sacrifices should these ardent spirits be used＇.

惟꽭降命, 肇我民, 惟元祀,—Medhurst translates this:—＇And Heaven sent down the decree in the first instance to our people (to make it) that they might use it principally in sacrificing.＇ Gaubil has:—＇Cet ordre, ajoûtoit-il, est venu du ciel; quand pour la premiere fois il donna le vin aux peuples, il voulut que ce ne fut que pour les cérémonies religieuses.＇ These versions are erroneous or defective in several points but they agree in the view they give of the general scope of the passage. It is substantially that propounded by Gan-kwŏ, whose commentary is:—惟꽭下教命, 始令我民, 知作酒者, 惟為祭祀. This interpretation has been generally received by the critics. In the ＇Daily Explanation＇ we have:—꽭令我民始作此酒者, 止為郊社宗廟之大祭饗而設, 此外無녦用酒之時矣. This construction uses too much freedom with the text,which says nothing about Heaven＇s having given the command to make wine. 肇我民, standing as the characters do here, must be under the government of 降命, and= ＇to found our people＇. Woo Ch＇ing and Këang Shing do not follow the usual view, but their own explanations are not more admissible. Ch＇ing says:—如꿷我民作酒, 惟用之於大祭祀, 是꽭以此教人也, letting the 肇 slip quietly out of sight. Shing says:—惟꽭之下教命, 始開導我民者, 惟始於祀也. Here肇我民 is better dealt with, but I know not whence he derives the 始 in his last clause (始於祀), and I cannot admit the 命 of 降命 to stand here for 教命. The view of the meaning which appears in the translation does not seem to have occurred to any commentator. I am led to it chiefly by considering the relation in which꽭降命 here, and 꽭降威 at the beginning of the next par. evidently stand to each other. I have had occasion before to translate 命 by ＇favouring decree＇, (See IV., Bk. VII, Pt. i., 4; et al.) This indeed is its common signification. Heaven only confers its appointments where its approbation has gone before. Compare also the contrast between 威 and 命 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 Wăn＇s 祀茲酒. He goes back to the days of early simplicity and virtue, when that character was being formed in the chiefs and people of Chow, in virtue of which they went on to attain the supremacy of the empire; and then they made no use of spirits excepting at the great sacrifices. In 元祀 the元=大, 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 causes are assigned for the ruin of virtue and prosperity,—the terrors of Heaven and indulgence in spirits. The 用 expressly asserts the agency of Heaven, and the 亦, as clearly, that of intemperance. We must understand that the terrors of Heaven 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 and ruin. Ts＇ae says:—酒之禍人也, 而以為꽭降威者, 禍亂之成, 是亦꽭爾. Ts＇ae,it will be seen, takes 我民 as simply=人. So, Gan-kwŏand 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 special. We cannot take it here otherwise than in the prec. par. The translation I have given involves such references, tho＇ we cannot say what events they were which the speaker had 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.,—越小大, 云云,—the speaker passes from his own people to speak of the subject with relation to all States great and small.酒惟行, 酒惟辜,—＇intemperance is their conduct,intemperance is their guilt.＇

[Choo He gives a view of the meaning of 꽭降命and 꽭降威, in which I am not able to concur, but it is worthy to be preserved, and made current beyond the sphere of China. He says:—＇Nan-heen (張南軒; a critic of the Sung dynasty, contemporary with Choo He), in his treatise upon this Book, has brought out the meaning of the two phrases 꽭降命, 꽭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 drunk 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.e., 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. "For instance, in the use of meats and drinks, there is such a thing as wildly abusing and destroying the creatures of Heaven. The Buddhists, disliking this, confine themselves to a vegetable diet, while we only abjure the wild abuse 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 color, 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.

＇"The Buddhists, disliking the excesses to whichthe 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 Heavenly principles are the more brightly seen. Suppose the case of a stream of water.—The Buddhists, through dislike of its being foul with mud, proceed to dam it up with earth. They do not consider that when the earth has dammed up the stream, the supply of water will all be 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 available for use. This is the difference between the Buddhists and the Learned school."＇ (南軒酒誥一叚, 解꽭降命꽭降威處, 誠千百뎃儒者所놊及, 꿷備載其說曰, 酒之為物,本以奉祭祀, 拱賓客, 此即꽭之降命也, 而人以酒之故,至於失德喪身, 即꽭之降威也, 釋氏本惡꽭之降威者, 乃併與꽭之降命者去之, 吾儒則놊然, 去其降威者而已, 降威者去, 而降命者自在, 如飲食而至於暴殄꽭物, 釋氏惡之, 必欲食蔬茹, 吾儒則놊至於暴殄而已, 衣服而至於窮極奢侈, 釋氏惡之, 必欲衣壞色之衣, 吾儒則去其奢侈而已, 至於惡淫慝而絕夫婦, 吾儒則去其淫慝而已, 釋氏本惡人慾, 併與꽭理之公者去之, 吾儒去人慾, 所謂꽭理者昭然矣, 譬如水焉, 釋氏惡其泥沙之濁, 而窒之以꺱, 놊知꺱既窒, 則無水녦飲矣, 吾儒놊然, 澄其泥沙, 而水之清者녦酌, 此儒釋之分也.)

Apart from the interpretation of the disputed phrases in the text, the contrast hero drawn between Buddhism and Chinese orthodoxy in interesting. It will, perhaps,suggest to the reader the words of the apostle Paul,about ＇forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving.＇ It may remind him also of the controversies in the West about the subjects of vegetarianism, and total abstinence from all spirituous liquors.

4. ＇King Wăn 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.

5. He said, "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 youthalso 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 king Wǎn on the use of spirits, showing his anxiety especially that the young should be kept from the habit of drinking them,and trained to virtuous industry. In par. 2 we have the opinion of Wǎn that spirits were intended to be used only at sacrifices, their strong and fragrant odour being acceptable to the spirits worshipped (蓋藉以薦馨香;—see the 日講, in loc.); here it would appear that he also permitted the use of them by the worshippers after thesacrifices, only requiring that they should not go to excess.

4. 小子, 有正, 有事,—小子=小子之稱, ＇小子is theappellation of young people.＇ Ts＇ae observes that such are more readily swayed by impulses and led away by strong drink, and therefore King Wǎn addressed himself specially to them. But does this paragraph speak of the young only? Këang Shing thinks so, and explains 有正有事 as descriptive of 小子:—＇the young who have their superiors and . their duties.＇ His language is:—正, 長也, 小子有長껗之人, 有服勞之事,常酒則必慢껗, 而廢事, 故戒令毋然. It would simplify this par, if we could consider it all occupied with theduty of the young, but Shing＇s explanation of 有正, 有事 is too forced, and contrary moreover to the analogy of other passages in the Book;—see particularly 有正in par. 7. I must take 有正, therefore, with Ts＇ae, as=有官녦守者, and 有事 as=有職業者. 無彝酒=毋常於酒,＇that they should not be always (ordinarily) at wine＇. 飲惟祀=其飲惟於祭祀之時, ＇their drinking should only be at times of sacrificing＇. Compare 祀茲酒 in par. 2. Thetext is a relaxation or extension of the rule in regard to the use of spirits, which would flow 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. 惟曰,—we must suppose 文王 as the subject of曰. Some think differently. Woo Ch＇ing, for instance,says that here king Woo delivers to K＇ang-shuh the words which he should go and announce to the people of Mei,= ＇When you now proceed to your State, you ought to say,＇ &c. (꿷汝之往, 惟當言, 曰). But this is inadmissible. 迪=訓導, ＇to instruct and lead＇, ＇to train＇.

厥心臧,—臧=善, ＇good＇. Ts＇ae says:—＇When they toil at their sowing and reaping, and labour on their fields,desiring nothing beyond, then what they keep in their minds will be correct, and their goodness will grow from day to day.＇

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 your duty in ministering to your aged and serving your sovereign, you may eat and drink freely and to satiety.

Wǎn＇s idea was that if the young were trained to industrious habits, they would not be likely to fall a prey to intemperance. The fact sung by our children in the words,

＇Stan finds some mischief still

For idle hands to do,＇

was held in substance by him. 聰聽= ＇to give a ready ear to＇. 小大德, 小子惟一,=놊녦以謹酒為小德,小德大德, 小子惟一視之, 녦也, ＇Let them not look on watchfulness in the use of spirits as a small virtue. Theyoung should look in the same way on what are called great virtues and small virtues, equally observing them.＇ Gan-kwŏ takes the clause difftly, but not so well. Këang Shing takes it as declarative that the young of king Wăn＇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, addressed the people and officers of Mei 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 惟曰 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 one of them be idle. 純至稷,—純=大; 純藝= ＇largely, or diligently, cultivate＇. 黍 and 稷are two species of millet, put by synecdoche for 五穀, ＇the five kinds of grain;＇—intimating perhaps that millet was cultivated more than the others in Mei.

肇至賈,—肇=敏, ＇to be diligent＇, ＇urgent＇. 服=事; 服賈= ＇doing the business of traffic＇. The whole= ＇if you are diligent in leading about your carts and oxen, pursuingto a distance the business of traffic＇. 厥父母慶,—慶=喜慶, ＇to be happy and complacent＇. This is better than to take the term, with Gan-kwŏ and others, in the sense of善, ＇to approve＇, as if the meaning were—＇when your parents approve of your conduct＇. 自洗腆致用酒,—洗 (sëen) 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＇ 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 Explanation＇ expresses this clearly enough in its paraphrase of this clause:—自此, 則洗以致其潔, 腆以致其豐, 以用酒於父母之前, 而燕樂於家庭之內, 其亦녦矣.

And to speak of greater things:—when you can maintain a constant watchful examination of yourselves, and your conduct is in accordance with correct virtue, then may you minister the offerings of sacrifice, and at the same time indulge yourselves in festivity. In such case you will indeed be ministers doing right service to your king, and Heaven likewise will approve your great virtue, so that you shall never be forgotten in the royal House.＇ "

P. 7. is addressed to the ministers and officers of Mei. I suppose the 庶士, 有正 and 庶伯君子 to correspond to the 庶士, 少正, and 御事 of par. 2. The 御事 are here styled 庶伯君子 by way of compliment. 爾大克至醉飽,—Gan-kwŏ supposed that this was addressed to Fung himself, and explains it by—汝大땣進老成人之道, 則為君矣, 如此, 汝乃飲食醉飽之道, 先戒羣吏以聽教, 次戒康叔以君義. Ming-shing may well set this view aside as ＇wide of the mark,＇ but it is noteasy to arrive at the true meaning. The 惟君 is really unmanageable, and Ts＇ae honestly confesses that he does not understand it. He explains 羞 by 養 and and羞耇 by 養老, which is a more likely interpretation than ally other that I have seen. The translation is after the paraphrase in the 日講:—爾땣盡誠致敬, 大修養老奉君之禮, 則勸酬之間, 無非禮節, 雖飲食醉飽, 亦놊為過矣. 丕惟曰至用逸,—here again Gan-kwŏ strangely supposes that Fung is addressed, and =丕惟曰我大惟教汝, 曰. Këang Shing supposes that the subject of曰is君;—＇when you can 羞耇, 惟君, then your prince will say,＇ &c. This view also is unsatisfactory.I have taken, with Ts＇ae, 丕惟曰 as=以事之大者而言. 作稽中德,—稽=合, ＇accordant with＇; 中德 is ＇virtue exactly correct, without inclination or deflection＇. 爾尚克羞饋祀尚,—=庶幾, ＇perhaps＇; but more is meant than meets the ear. The king politely indicates by the character his full conviction than the officers, being such as he described, would be acceptable worshippers. 羞 is here=進. 爾乃自꿰用逸,—꿰=助,＇to assist＇. The sacrifice to the spirits is represented as the great or chief ceremony; the subsequent festiveindulgence by those who have taken part in it is a subsidiary ceremony (享神為正, 而我後飲, 是副之也;—this is the very pithy gloss of a 朱養醇, one of the five critics at the end of the long list of authorities quoted in Yung-ching＇s Shoo, whose age the editors say they have been unable to ascertain).