第23章

BOOK XII. THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE DUKE OF SHAOU.

BOOK XII. THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE DUKE OF SHAOU.

1. In the second month, on the day Yih-we, six days after the full moon, the king early in the morning proceeded from Chow, and came to Fung.

THE NAME OF THE BOOK.—召誥, ＇The Announcement of the duke of Shaou. Shaou was the name of a place within the imperial domain,corresponding to the present district of Hwan-k＇euh (垣曲), in the small dep. of Këang (絳州), Shan-se. It was the appanage of Shih (奭), one of the ablest of the men who lent their aid to the establishment of the dynasty of Chow. He appears here as the ＇Great guardian＇ (太保) of king Ching; and we have met with him before in＇The Hounds of Leu＇ and ＇The Metal-bound Coffer＇. He was one of ＇the three dukes＇ (三公), or highest officers of the dynasty, and is frequently styled 召公, the ＇duke of Shaou＇. He appears here in connection with one of the most important enterprizes of the duke of Chow,the building of the city of Lŏh (洛邑), as a new and central capital of the empire. King Woo had conceived the idea of such a city, but it was carried fully into effect till the reign of his son;—see on the second paragraph below. In Lŏh the duke of Shaou composed the ＇Announcement＇ which forms the subject-matter of this Book, and sent it by the hands of the duke of Chow to the young emperor. It might, perhaps, with more than equal propriety, have been styled ＇The Instructions of the duke of Shaou＇ (召訓).

According to Sze-ma Ts＇een, Shih belonged to the imperial House of Chow, and consequently had the surname Ke (姬). The historian, Hwang-p＇oo Meih,says he was a son of king Wǎn by a concubine (뀗王之庶子);—on what authority I cannot tell. King Woo appointed him to the principality of ＇The Northern Yen＇(北燕), corresponding to the pres. dep. of Shun-t＇een(順天), Chih-le, which was held by his descendants fully nine hundred years. He remained himself,however, at the imperial court. We find him often styled the ＇Chief of Shaou＇ (召伯); and Ts＇een says that all the country west of Shen (陝) was under him, as all east of it was under the duke of Chow. See the 史記,三十四, 燕召公, 世家第四. His posthumous title was K＇ang (康), and hence he is sometimes referred to as召康公奭. As to the date of the Announcement, see on par. 1. It is found in both texts.

CONTENTS. The first seven paragraphs are introductory to the body of the Book, which is composed of the Announcement of Shih. They contain various information about the surveying and planning and building of Lŏh. We may consider them as forming a first or preliminary chapter. Parr 8—22, contain the Announcement, which, however,commences properly with par. 9.

2. Thence the Grand-guardian went before the duke of Chow to inspect the localities, and in the third month, on the day Mow-shin, the third day after the first appearance of the new moon on Ping-woo,came in the morning to Lŏ. He consulted the tortoise about the localities, and having obtained favourable indications, he set about laying out the plans.

The ＇Complete Digest＇ says it may be divided into three parts. In the first, parr. 9—12, Shih sets forth the uncertainty of the favour of Heaven, and urges the young king to cultivate ＇the virtue of reverence＇in order to secure its permanence, concluding with a recommendation to him not to neglect his aged and experienced advisers. The second, parr. 13—18,speaks of the importance and difficulty of the imperial duties, and enforces the same virtue of reverence by reference to the rise and fall of the previous dynasties.In the last part, parr. 19—23, Shih insists on the importance of the king, at this early period of his reign, and on his personal undertaking of the duties of govt., at once setting about the reverence which was required to attach the people to himself and his House,and insure the lasting favour of Heaven. In the last par.the duke of Shaou gives expression to his personal feelings for the king, in the peculiar situation in which he was placed at Lŏ. The burden of the announcement all turns on ＇the virtue of reverence＇. Let the king only feel how much depends on his reverently attending to his duties, and govern or the people and not for himself:—let him do this, and all will be well. The people will love and support the dynasty of Chow, and Heaven will smile upon and sustain it.

Ch. I. Pp. 1—7. PROCEEDING OF THE KING,THE DUKE OF SHAOU, AND THE DUKE OF CHOW, IN CONNECTION WITH THE BUILDING OF LǒH. 1. 惟괗月至乙未,—according to this statement, the day Yih-we must have been the 21st of the second month, and, as Gaubil observes, we may,from the data here supplied, determine the year to which the Announcement of Shaou should be referred.It was, he says correctly, the year B.C. 1,098. 乙未being the 21st day of the second month, 乙亥 must have been the lst, and the 1st day of that year of Chow must have been Ping-woo (丙午), the 43d day of the cycle. But that was the day of the new moon preceding the winter solstice, from which under this dynasty they calculated the year, in B.C. 1,098, or 1,097 (not reckoning A. D.). This result is not accordant with the current chronology of king Ching＇s reign, nor with the date assigned to it from the ＇Bamboo Books＇. The building of Lǒ is assigned to his 7th year, which was,on the received system, B.C. 1,109 (or 1, 108) and acc. to the Bamboo Books B.C. 1038. It is enough to call attention to this point here, without going into further discussion about it. Ch＇ing K＇ang-thing proposed to change 괗月 into 一月, in which case the year would have begun with 乙亥, the 11th cycle day;and he assigned the building of Lǒ, after Fuh-shang,to Ching＇s 5th year instead of the 7th. Even if we were to follow him in these points, we should be equally unable to reconcile the note of time given in the text with the arrangements of the chronologers. 王步至豐,—comp. Bk. III., p. 1. The temple of king Wǎn was in Fung, and we may suppose had been left standing when Woo transferred the capital to Haou. Now when such an important thing as the establishing of a new capital, which should rank with Haou, if it did not supersede it, was in progress, it was proper that the king should solemnly announce it in the temples of his father and grandfather. That he might do so to the spirit of king Wǎn, he went from Chow or Haou to Fung. 2. To Shih the Grand-guardian, and to the duke of Chow, was assigned the duty of making all the arrangements for carrying out the plans of king Woo about establishing a new capital at Lǒ. In fact,Woo had himself taken some measures towards the accomplishment of his views. We are told in the 左傳,under the year B.C. 708 (桓公괗年), that ＇he removed the nine tripods or vases to the city of Lǒ＇ (武王克商, 遷깇鼎於洛邑). Those vases might be considered a sort of regalia of the empire. Originally cast by Yu, they had passed from the Hea dynasty to Shang, and were now the property of the House of Chow. See a detailed account of them in the 左傳, under the year B.C. 605(宣公, 三年). Sze-ma Ts＇een also gives, in his ＇Records of the Chow dynasty＇, and probably from some of the lost Books of the Shoo, a conversation between the duke of Chow and Woo, in which the latter says, ＇On the south I look to San-t＇oo [there is still the mountain of San-t＇oo, to the south-west of the district city of Sung (嵩縣)];

3. On Kăng-suh, the third day after, he led the people of Yin to prepare the various sites on the north of the Lŏ; and this work was completed on the fifth day, Këă-yin.

on the north I look, and see the towns near the Yǒh [this is supposed to be the T＇ae-hang mountain, north of the Ho, on the border between Shan-se and Ho-nan; see the ＇Tribute of Yu＇, Part ii., par. 1]; when I look round, I see the Ho; and again I behold the Lǒ and the E＇ (我南望三塗, 北望嶽鄙, 顧詹有河, 粵詹洛伊). Ts＇een adds that Woo laid out or built a settlement for Chow onthe spot, and went away (營周居於洛邑而後去). These passages make it plain that Woo had fixed on Lǒ, at the time of his conquest of Shang, as the proper capital for his dynasty, and had taken measures to make it so. There was already, it is likely, some settlement at the place, which he enlarged. His locating at it the vases of Yu was a sufficient declaration to all the empire of his purpose. And that purpose had not been forgotten by the duke of Chow. When we bring together all the passages referring to Lǒ, the natural conclusion is that he had been gradually enlarging the place, and had even removed to it the more dangerous among the old adherents of Yin who still continued disaffected to the new rule. Up to the time when the action of this Book commences, however, nothing had been done towards the building of the palace and other structures which were the necessary appendages to it, and the planning of all these was, I think, the special mission entrusted to the duke of Shaou.

In the statistical account of the empire under the present dynasty, it is stated that the remain of the ancient city of Lǒ—what was called 成周城, ＇the capital of the completed or established Chow,＇ are 30 le on the north-east of the pres. city of Lǒh-yang (1at. 34°43＇, N.; lou. 4°, W.); and those of the old city of Ho-nan, what was the ＇imperial city＇ (王城) and ＇the eastern Capital＇ of Chow—are 5 le on the west of it. The imperial city got the name of Ho-nan (河南) about the year B.C. 509, when the emperor King (敬王) left it, and took up his residence in the 成周城. I may add to these notices of Lǒ, that notwithstanding the wishes of king Woo and his labours, king Ching continued to reside at Haou; it was not till the reign of P＇ing (平王) that the court was removed to the east, B.C. 769.

惟太保先周公相宅,—that the Grand-guardian (see Bk. XX., p. 5) was the duke of Shaou is nowhere said in the Book itself, but the title and the prefatory note(see page 10) are sufficient evidence on the point. 先may be construed in the 1st tone or the 3d. 相=視,＇to survey＇. 宅,—Këang Shing gives for this, very aptly,—可定居處, ＇the places which might be fixed for residence＇. The character does not denote so much ＇a dwelling＇, as the site of a dwelling. 越若至於洛,—Ts＇ae takes 越若來 as simply a conjunction (녢語辭),=our＇thereupon＇. Attempts have been made to translate the characters. Medhurst renders them—＇proceeding leisurely on his journey＇, which might be taken as a translation of Gan-kwǒ＇s 於順來, but he wrongly joins them to the preceding clause. Others (see Lin Che-k＇e in loc.) take them as= ＇so, in obedience to the charge, he came＇. Our best plan is to follow the view of Ts＇ae. 朏, formed from 月 and 出, ＇the moon come forth＇, denotes the third day of the month. As this was Ping-woo, the second month must have been ＇small＇,consisting only of 29 days; and Mow-shin was the 5th of the 3d month. From Fung to Lǒ was 300 le,so that if Shih commenced his journey, as the critics suppose, on the day Yih-we of the month before, he must have travelled leisurely enough. 卜宅=用龜卜宅都之地, ＇he used the tortoise to divine where the capital should be built＇. Wang K＇ǎng-t＇ang observes on經營, that we are not to understand those terms of any actual work in building, but only of the determination of the dimensions of the wall, the palace or court, the ancestral temple, &c;—see the 集說. 3. 越三日庚戌,—it may be observed that in these three days both Kǎngsuh and Mow-shin are included. So, in the case of the＇three days＇ in the last par. 以庶殷, 攻位於洛汭,—庶殷=殷之眾民, ＇all the people of Yin＇.

4. The day following, being the day Yih-maou,the duke of Chow came in the morning to Lŏ, and thoroughly surveyed the plans for the new city.

5. On Ting-sze, the third day after, he offered two bulls as victims in the suburbs; and on the morrow,Mow-woo, at the altar to the spirit of the land in the new city, he sacrificed a bull, a goat, and a pig.

This confirms what I have said above about the population of the imperial domain of Yin having already been in part removed to Lǒ,—the city commenced by king Woo. 攻位 describes the marking out on the ground of the foundations of the various structures from the plans of Shih. 洛汭,—see ＇The Songs of the five Sons＇, p. 3.

五日甲寅,—the five days include Kǎng-suh and Këǎyin. The latter was the 11th of the 3d month.

Pp. 4—7. The measures of the duke of Chow.

4. 達觀於新邑營,—達=徧, ＇all over＇. The duke made a thorough survey of all the Guardian＇s plans and arrangements for the building of the new city; and,as we conclude from the next two parr., approved of them. 5. 用牲於郊牛괗,—the disputes about the sacrifice or sacrifices here intended are very warm and lengthy. Ts＇ae says that by 郊 are intended the sacrifice or sacrifices to Heaven and Earth (郊祭天地也). Whether he meant that the duke of Chow offered two sacrifices,—one to Heaven and one to Earth; or only one sacrifice to Heaven and Earth together, offering the two bulls at the same altar,does not appear. Maou K＇e-ling, supposing that the latter was his view, shows that to sacrifice to Heaven and Earth together was an uncanonical practice.But I should rather think that Ts＇ae meant that two sacrifices were offered, one to Heaven in the southern suburb, and one to Earth in the northern, a single bull being used at each. These sacrifices of course would be on occasion of the marking out the spots for the respective altars. Maou himself thinks that only one sacrifice—that to Heaven—is spoken and that two victims are mentioned, because How-tseih (后稷), as the great ancestor of the House of Chow, was associated with Heaven at the sacrifices to it. So far he is correct in saying that How-tseih participated in the usual sacrifices under the Chow dynasty to Heaven,and that there was special provision for a victim-bull to him, and one to the supernal Power. This was the view, moreover, of Gan-kwǒ. If the text were that ＇the duke of Chow sacrificed, to Heaven, using two bulls＇,I should adopt it. As the text stands, however, I prefer the view given above, and which I have said was probably that of Ts＇ae. 社於新邑, 牛一, 羊一, 豕一, —社= ＇he offered the sacrifice at the altar to the spirit of the land＇. Maou contends that this was the sacrifice to Earth, corresponding to the previous one to Heaven.But the text shows clearly that he is wrong. This sacrifice was offered 於新邑, ＇in—i.e., within—the new city＇, whereas the sacrifices to Heaven and Earth were both celebrated in the suburbs, outside the city.We are to understand here, beyond doubt, the sacrifice to the spirit of the land, with which there was always associated that to the spirit of the grain. The altars were and still are within the wall of the imperial city.Who the spirits thus sacrificed to were, is a question not easy to determine. It seems to me probable that they were not spirits distinct from God, who was served in the sacrifices to Heaven and Earth. Compare the dictum of Confucius in ＇The Doctrine of the Mean,＇xix., 6. Whatever opinion may be held on this point,the human worthy associated at the sacrifice to the spirit of the land was Row-lung (뀔龍), minister of Works to the very ancient emperor Chuen-heuh, whose place on the list of Chinese sovereigns is immediately after Hwang-te. The human associate with the spirit of the grain was How-tseih. These same names appear in the ritual of the present dynasty (see the 大清通禮, 卷之七). A long note on this paragraph by the editors of Yung-ching＇s Shoo is well worth the attention of the student.

6. After seven days, on Këă-tsze, in the morning,from his written specifications he gave their several charges to the people of Yin, and to the chiefs of the States from the How, Teen, and Nan tenures.

7. When the people of Yin had thus received their orders, they arose with vigour to do their work.

8. The Great-guardian then went out with the hereditary princes of the various States to bring their offerings; and when he entered again, he gave them to the duke of Chow, saying, "With my head in my hands and bowed to the ground, I present these before the king and your Grace.

6. 用書,—I have translated 書 by ＇written specifications＇. The duke had employed the six days after Ting-sze (that day is not included in the 七日) in writing out the work which was to be done in executing the Guardian＇s plans, with all the necessary specifications, and especially of the parties to whom the different parts of it should be assigned. The Chiefs of countries (邦伯) in the tenures specified must have been the pastors of the provinces (州牧). They would give their instructions to the princes belonging to their respective jurisdictions, who again would issue the necessary commands to the companies of their people whom they had brought with them to labour on the work in hand. 7. Lin Che-k＇e observes on this:—＇The duke of Shaou completed all his plans for Lǒ in 7 days, from Mow-shin to Këǎ-yin inclusive; then came the duke of Chow, and in ten days he was ready with all his specifications, and the work was grandly in hand:—so earnest and prompt were they with their measures. All together, from the day Yih-we, when king Ching came to Fung, to the day Këǎ-sze, there elapsed but one month. The foundation of 10,00 years＇possession and prosperity was laid in one month! Future ages could not show such an achievement!＇ The observation must be accepted with due allowance for its grandiloquence.

Ch. II. Pp. 8—23. THE ANNOUNCEMENT.

8. The old interpreters all thought that king Ching was present in Lǒ when this announcement was made. It may be well to give the exposition of Gan-kwǒ. On 太保至復극 he says:—諸侯公卿竝覲於王,王與周公俱至, 뀗놊見者, 王無事也, 召公與諸侯出取幣, 欲因大會顯周公, ＇The various princes, the dukes and high nobles appeared together before the king.The king and the duke of Chow had both come to Lǒ. The text is silent about the king＇s coming, because there was nothing to be done by him at that time. The duke of Shaou and all the prince went out to fetch the ceremonial offerings, wishing to take occasion of the great assembly to glorify the duke of Chow.＇On 錫周公至王若公 he says:—召公以幣극, 稱成王命, 賜周公曰, 敢拜手稽首, 陳王所宜順周公之事, ＇The duke of Shaou then entered with the offerings, and,proclaiming the command of king Ching, gave them to the duke of Chow, saying, "I venture, with my face to my hands and my head to the ground, to set forth the thing in which the king ought to act in accordance with the duke of Chow."＇ On the last clause he says:—召公指戒成王, 而以眾殷諸侯於自乃御治事, 為辭, 謙也, 諸侯在故托焉, ＇The duke of Shaou＇s aim was to admonish king Ching, and that he addressed himselfto the multitudes of Yin and the princes, down to the managers of affairs [see Ying-tǎ＇s paraphrase], was the language of modesty. The princes were present, and he took the opportunity to address himself to the king through them.＇

K＇ang-shing＇s view of the passage was substantially the same as that of Gan-kwǒ.

Announcements for the instruction of the multitudes of Yin must come from you with whom is the management of affairs.

9. "Oh! God dwelling in the great heavens has changed his decree in favour of his eldest son, and this great dynasty of Yin. Our king has received that decree. Unbounded is the happiness connected with it,and unbounded is the anxiety:—Oh! How can he be other than reverent?

That the king was present, and that the design of Shih was to glorify the duke of Chow for the services he had performed: —these are assumptions, for which I can find no support in the tenour of the Book itself.That the offering were presented to the duke of Chow for himself is broadly contrary to the last paragraph.The interpretation, moreover, of 旅王若公, and of越自乃御事, is intolerable harsh and forced. In the translation I have preferred to follow the views of Ts＇ae, who himself followed Choo He. There is a great assembly of the two dukes and the princes who were with them at Lǒ. The duke of Chow is about to return,or at least to send a communication, to king Ching in Haou. The duke of Shaou, revering the king＇s majesty in the regent, takes the opportunity to send by him the loyal presents of the princes, and his own loyal wishes and advices to the court. And there was the greater propriety in his doing so now, as it was understood that the duke of Chow was about to withdraw from the duties of the regency, and the king might be expected to take the administration of affairs into his own hands.

以庶邦冢君,—以=與; see the dict. in voc. 冢君,—comp. Bk 1., Pt i., p. 2.

旅王若公,—公—旅=陳, ＇to set forth＇, ＇to exhibit＇;with reference to the offering which would be set down and displayed in the court below the hall where they were assembled. The 若 is very perplexing. We have seen how the old interpreters tried to manage it.Ts＇ae takes it as simply = 與, ＇and＇. This gives a good enough sense, but I must confess that I cannot think of a similar use of the term elsewhere. 誥告至냬,—this is an indirect call to the king to come before the people in his own person, pointing out to them thecourse of their duty, and leading in the way of it. The duke delicately avoids any direct mention of the king, but he really intends him as ＇the manager of affairs＇. In this way we see the force of the 自, which the old interpreter could not manage.

Pp. 9—12. With the favour shown by God to the king there was connected much anxiety. He must reverently cherish the thought of his responsibilities and duties; learn from the experience of the former dynasties; and listen to the advice of his wise and aged ministers. 9.皇天上帝,—see on 皇上帝, in ＇The Announcement of T＇ang＇, p. 2. —元子,see on Bk., VIII., p. 1. Here and in par. 13, it is a designation equivalent to ＇the emperor＇. When he is called Heaven＇s eldest son, the mind thinks of the favour which must rest upon him, and may well deem his state secure. K＇ang-shing says here:—凡人皆雲天之子, 天子為之首耳, ＇All men may be called the sons of Heaven; the emperor is the head or the eldest of them.＇ 惟王受命,—＇the king here is king Ching,＇=our king, who was now become God＇s eldest son. 曷其奈何놊敬,—this puts the duty of being reverent in the strongest way. On the meaning of this ＇being reverent＇Ts＇ae says, that ＇it is being sincere and without guile, the eyes, ears, words, and movements all being accordant with reason; the likings and dislikings, the usings and refusing never contrary to the will of Heaven. When one＇s virtue thus agrees with that of Heaven, he will surely be able to receive the bright favouring decree of Heaven＇ (敬則誠實無妄, 視聽言動, 一循乎理, 好惡用捨, 놊違乎天, 與天同德, 固能受天明命也).

10. "When Heaven rejected and made an end of the decree in favour of the great State of Yin, there were many of the former intelligent kings of Yin in heaven.The king, however, who had succeeded to them, the last of their race, from the time of his entering into their appointment, proceeded in such a way as at last to keep the wise in obscurity and the vicious in office.The poor people in such a case, carrying their children and leading their wives, made their moan to Heaven.They even fled away, but were apprehended again.Oh! Heaven had compassion on the people of the four quarters; its favouring decree lighted on our earnest founders. Let the king sedulously cultivate the virtue of reverence.

10. Much of the language of this paragraph, it is observed by Ts＇ae, is difficult of explanation; but there is an general agreement as to the meaning of most of it. King Ching is reminded of the fall of the dyn. Of Yin through the misgovernment and wickedness of Show, and how it was because of the earnest virtue of his own predecessors that they had been called to the sovereignty of the empire.—Let it be his to imitate them. 天既至在天,—遐=遠, ＇far＇, ＇distant＇; here, as I understand it,= ＇to reject＇. 終=絕, ＇to make an end of＇.It is difficult to give the force of the 茲. Perhaps we should join at emphatically to 殷.—＇Of this Yin, thus rejected, many of the former kings, &c.＇ The speaker believed that the good kings were in heaven, and he intimates that it might therefore have been expected that they would have been able to preserve their dynasty; but that could not be. 越厥至瘝在,—越 is here= ＇but＇, ＇however＇.

後王後民,—both these phrases seem to be best taken of Show, who is the subject of all this portion. Gan-kwǒ, however, understood 厥後王後民, 茲服厥命 of good sovereigns and their people, who worthily continued the sway of their predecessors. It is only at厥終, ＇the last of them＇, that the tyrant comes with him upon the stage.

瘝=病, ＇to distress＇. 瘝在=病民之人在位. 꽬知至籲天,—on 꽬知 Wang Suh says:—꾩꽬知欲安其室, ＇the ordinary people, who knew enough to wish to secure the comfort of their families＇. Compare 꾩꽬 in Ana.,IX., xxv. This is as satisfactory as anything which can be said about the 꽬知 here. 꽬 should be read in the upper first tone. 徂厥亡出執=往而逃亡, 出見拘執, 無地自容, as in the translation.

其眷命用懋= ＇it looked round and gave its appointment to those who were employing themselves earnestly on virtue＇. Comp.

11. "Examining the men of antiquity, there was thefounder of the Hea dynasty. Heaven guided his mind,allowed his descendants to succeed him, and protected them. He acquainted himself with Heaven, and was obedient.—But in process of time the decree in his favour fell to the ground. So also when we examine the case of Yin. Heaven guided its founder, so that he corrected the errors of Shang, and it protected his descendants. He also acquainted himself with Heaven,and was obedient.—But now the decree in favour of him has fallen to the ground.

12. Our king has now come to the throne in his youth:—let him not slight the aged and experienced,for it may be said of them that they have studied the virtuous conduct of our ancient worthies, and still more, that they have matured their plans in the light of Heaven.