第25章

13. "The king speaks to this effect: ＇Ye numerous officers of Yin, the case now is this, that the sovereigns of our Chow, from their great goodness were charged with the work of God.

14. There was the charge to them, "Cut off Yin."They proceeded to perform it, and announced the correcting work to God.

15. In our affairs we have followed no double aims: ye of the royal house of Yin must follow us.

It is better to take it as in the translation.—天之所不與紂者, 以紂不明其德故耳. 12. A general proposition is here laid down embracing the case of Show. Comp. Bk. X., p. 3.

Pp. 13—15. The sovereigns of Chow in overthrowing Yin had merely performed the will of God. 13. 我周王,—＇the sovereigns of Chow＇ were kings Wăn and Woo. 丕靈承帝事,—we must take both丕 and 靈 as adverbs joined to the verb 承. The kings understood the work, and they did so with a great and almost more than human efficiency. Le-tsëang says:—周之靈承, 蓋得於不言之表者矣. With 承帝事 comp. 祗承껗帝, 以遏亂略, Bk. III., p. 6. 14. 告敕於帝,—we may suppose this announcement to have been made,either while the operations against Show were in progress, as related in Bk. II. Pp. 6—8, or after they were completed, as in the same Bk., p. 3. 15. The translation of this par. is after Ts＇ae, who succeeds better with it than any other of the critics. He says:—周不貳於帝, 殷其能貳於周乎, ＇As Chow had not been double to God, dare Yin be double to Chow?＇ 王家=商王士, p. 1. Lin Che-k＇e goes round about the passage in a strange way:—我於割殷之事, 應天順그,—舉而定, 不待再適殷都, 爾乃不明天命所歸, 既亡復叛, 使我之用兵, 遂至於再, 乃惟爾商王之家, 召我適爾殷都껩, ＇In the business of cutting off Yin, we were acting in obedience to Heaven and in accordance with men.One movement accomplished the work. We did not need to go twice to the capital of Yin. But you would not discern to whom the favour of Heaven had fallen. After your overthrow you rebelled, and caused us a second time to put our forces in motion. It was you, belonging to the House of the kings of Shang, who called us to go to your capital of Yin.＇ As far-fetched is the interpretation of Këang Shing, who takes 適=敵,＇enemies＇—惟我事順天下, 不有貳뀞而為敵者, 惟爾王家作難, 與我為敵, 謂武庚叛껩.

16. May I not say that you were very lawless? I did not want to remove you.

17. The thing came from your own city. When I consider also how Heaven has drawn near to Yin with so great tribulations, it must be that there was there what was not right.＇ "

18. "The king says, ＇Ho! I declare to you, ye numerous officers, it is simply on account of these things that I have removed and settled you in the west; —it was not that I, the one man, considered it a part of my virtue to make you untranquil. The thing was from the decree of Heaven; do not resist me; I dare not have any further change for you.

Ch. III. Pp. 16—28. THEY HAD OBLIGED THE KING BY CONTINUED DESAFFECTION TO REMOVE THEM TO LŎ. HE HAD DEALT KINDLY WITH THEM, AND WAS PREPARED TO DO SO Ŏ STILLORE.EMOVALOASMTHEIRRTLWINTENDED FOR THEIR GOOD. 16, 17. It was the lawless and continued disaffection of Yin which had necessitated their removal. 16. 予其曰, 云云,—the emphatic force of the 其 is brought out in English by using the negative interrogation. 無度=無法, ＇lawless＇,＇unregulated＇. The reference is to rebellion of Wookăng and his people, with the king＇s uncles who had been act over them.

不爾動,—動, ＇to move＇, ＇to excite＇; in this case=＇to remove＇. 自乃邑,—comp. 造攻, 自鳴條in the＇Instructions of E,＇ p. 2. 17. Here, as in p. 11, I have translated according to the view of Ts＇ae, whose exposition of the whole is—予亦念天就殷邦, 屢降大戾, 紂既死, 武庚又死, 故邪慝不녊, 言當遷徙껩. Gankwŏ expounds it:—我亦念天, 就於殷大罪而加誅者,故以紂不能녊身念法, ＇I also thought of Heaven; and having reference to the great crimes of Yin, infiictedthe punishment of death, because Show would not correct himself and think of the laws.＇ This is absurd enough, but not so much so as it may at first appear, Gan-kwŏ understanding the 爾洪無度 of the last par. to have reference to Show. Këang Shing takes a view of the par. quite as wide of the mark, making 녊=殺, ＇to put to death,＇ and interpreting:—我亦念武庚之叛, 是天就於殷而大拂戾之, 非爾多士之由, 故不녊爾多士, 釋所以不誅而遷之之意.

P.18. The king reiterates his assertion that in removing them to Lŏ he was merely obeying the will of Heaven. There was no reason why they should murmur against him .猷,—see on Bk. VII., p. 1. 惟時=惟是之故, ＇on account of these things＇, the facts, mentioned in the two prec. parr. 遷居西爾,—＇have transferred your dwelling and wested you,＇ i. e., have removed and settled you here in the west. Lŏ lay south and west from Show＇s old capital, though it was to the east of Haou, Woo＇s capital. Këang Shing strangely argues for the meaning of 西 as being 꿀息, ＇to give rest to＇, so that the meaning is—＇I have changed the place of your dwelling in order to give you rest＇ (遷所居以西息汝). 非我奉德不康寧=非我奉持其德, 好勞動爾, 不安寧爾.

19. Do not murmur against me. Ye know that your fathers of the Yin dynasty had their archives and narratives showing how Yin superseded the appointment of Hea.

20. Ye now indeed say further, "The officers of Hea were chosen and promoted to the imperial court, or had their places among the mass of officers." I, the one man, listen only to the virtuous and employ them; and it was with this view that I presumed to seek you out in your heavenly city of Shang. I thereby follow the ancient example, and have pity on you. Your present non-employment is no fault of mine; it is by the decree of Heaven.＇ "

The expression 奉德 is here difficult. Këang Shing gives for the whole—非我所秉之德性不靜安, ＇was not because my disposition is restless＇. 時=是. 無違, 朕不敢有後,—I have translated this after Ts＇ae, and Gan-kwŏ took substantially the same meaning:—汝無違命, 我亦不敢有後誅. The editors of Yung-ching＇s Shoo say this interpretation is suitable enough; but they also mention with approbation another, proposed by Lin Che-k＇e:—＇The thing was from the decree of Heaven. That was not to be resisted, and I did not dare to make any delay in obeying it. Do not murmur against me, as if the transference of you here proceeded from me.＇ It is difficult to decide between the two. On the whole, I think the first is preferable.

Pp. 19, 20. Yin＇s overthrow of Hea sufficient justified Chow＇s overthrow of Yin; and if the officers of Yin were not now treated so well as those of Hea had been, they had only themselves to blame.

19. 殷先그=殷之先녡, ＇the prior—early—ages of Yin＇. 有冊有典,—Koo Seih-ch＇ow says that by 冊we are to understand the engraved tablets kept in the depositories, and by 典, the same circulated through tho empire (藏府曰冊, 頒行曰典). 20. 夏迪至땡僚,—迪=進, ＇to bring forward＇; 簡=拔, ＇to make choice of＇,＇to promote＇. By 夏 we are evidently to understand 夏之士, ＇the officers of the Hea dynasty＇. The officers of Yin urge that they were not treated as those of Hea had been. 天邑尚,—all agree that the capital of the Yin dynasty and country about it are here intended.But why is it called ＇the heavenly city?＇ K＇ang-shing says, ＇Because it had been originally established by Heaven.＇ Len Tsoo-heen and others say, ＇Because there the emperors of Yin—the sons of Heaven—had dwelt.＇Wang Suh says:—＇The king means to say, "Shang,which is now my heavenly city."＇ I think it maybe spoken ironically—＇your heavenly city＇. Këang Shing takes the language from 予一그 to 商 to be spoken of the appointment of the viscount of Wei.—＇I also had regard to and employed the virtuous, and I therefore ventured to seek out the descendant of your kings in the city,＇ &c. This is amusingly ingenious, but few will be found to adopt the view. The king is evidently speaking of what he had done to those whom he was addressing.

21. "The king says, ＇Ye numerous officers, formerly,when I came from Yen, I greatly mitigated the penalty in favour of the lives of the people of your four countries. At the same time I made evident the punishment appointed by Heaven, and removed you to this distant abode, that you might be near the ministers who had served in our honoured capital, and learn their much obedience.＇ "

予惟率肆矜爾=予惟循商故事, 矜恤爾而已. Themeaning is that the king hoped their removal to Lŏwould lead them to virtue and loyalty, so that it was really an act of kindness to them. While they were vicious and disaffected, it would be contrary to the will of Heaven to confer dignities and offices on them.

1. The officers and people of Yin had really been deal with very leniently. This par. refers to the time three or four years back, when the rebellion of Woo-kăng, supported by the king＇s uncles, had been disposed of. The wild tribe of the Yen—a district corresponding to the pres. dis. of K＇ëuh-fow, dep. of Yen-chow, Shan-tung—had joined with the insurgents. We hear of them again in Bk. XVIII., as in arms a second time against the new dynasty. The crushing of the Yen had been the last act in the suppression of the rebellion. When that was accomplished, the duke of Chow—for he was the agent, though the thing is here ascribed to the king, after the manner of ＇The Great Announcement＇—had time to deal with the people of Yin. Our natural conclusion from this par. is certainly that many of the people of Yin were then removed to Lŏ.降爾四國民命,—降 is here used in the sense of 減, ＇to diminish＇, ＇to mitigate＇. Their lives were all forfeited; but the king spared their lives, and only banished them. We have not met with this usage of the character before; but it is now quite common in legal language. Gan-kwŏ took 民命 as equivalent to 君. Ying-tă says:—民以君為命, 故民命謂君껩, ＇The peopleconsider their sovereign to be their life, and hence the sovereign is designated "the life of the people."＇The meaning then is—＇I made an end of the rulers of your four kingdoms, thereby executing on them the punishment appointed by Heaven.＇ But this is very far-fetched, and unwarranted. Nor is the view given by Këang Shing more likely.—＇I sent down lessons and commands for you, the people of the four kingdoms, and carried clearly out the punishment appointed by Heaven upon their rulers.＇ By the ＇four kingdoms＇, we are to understand the ＇imperial domain of Yin＇, which had been portioned out to Woo-kăng, and three of the king＇s uncles;—see the note on Bk. VI., p. 12.

移爾遐逖=移爾遠居於洛. Both 遐 and 逖 are defined by遠 ＇far＇, ＇distant＇. 比事臣我宗, 多遜,—宗 is heretaken as=宗周, ＇the honoured Chow,＇ a name given to Haou, the old capital of Chow, in distinction from the new capital of 成周 at Lŏ. It was in the duke＇s mind, in prospect of the new capital, that the old trusted ministers of Chow should remove to it, when the influence of their character and principle would affect beneficially the adherents of the old dynasty brought there into contact with them. The translation is after the ＇Daily Explanation＇:—移爾遠居於洛, 使爾得密邇王室, 親比臣事我宗周之臣떚, 遠離頑梗之俗, 漸摩遜順之風. There is little to choose between this and the following ingenious exposition by Choo He:—以親我, 事我, 臣我, 宗法我周濟濟多遜之盛, ＇that ye might be near us, serve us, and be ministers to us, honouringand imitating the rich and full obedience of our Chow.＇

22. "The king says, I declare to you, ye numerous officers of Yin, —now I have not put you to death, and therefore I repeat to you my charge again. I have built this great city here in lŏ, considering that there was no other place in which to receive my guests from the four quarters, and also that you, ye numerous officers,might here with zealous activity, perform the part of ministers to us with much obedience.

23. You have still here I may say your grounds, and here you may still rest in your duties and dwellings.

24. If you can reverently obey, Heaven will favour and compassionate you.

Pp. 22, 23. The king again repeats his objects in building Lŏ, and impresses on the officers of Yin the kindness with which he was treating them. 22. 予惟不至有申,—申=重, ＇to repeat＇. They had received one charge on their first removal; the present address might be considered a repetition of it. 꿷朕作大邑於茲洛,—possibly the ＇great city＇ here may be the 王城, or imperial city, in connection with the building of which we have seen that the duke of Shaou was specially despatched. Though ＇the lower capital,＇ where the officers of Yin were located may have been previously built, at least in part, the design intended by it could not be realized, until the other was likewise prepared. 四뀘罔攸賓=四뀘諸侯罔有賓禮之所. The king＇s ＇guests＇were the princes coming to court from all the States. 攸服奔走,—＇where ye might serve, hasting and running＇.23. Gan-kwŏ took this par. as a promise.—＇If you learn obedience to us, and become loyal subjects, then you will still have here your grounds,＇ &c. But it is better to take the language as historical, and showing how generously they had been treated .尚=庶幾, here=our ＇I may say＇. 幹=事, ＇business＇, ＇duties＇. 꿀=居, ＇dwellings＇,＇settlements＇.

Ch. IV. Pp. 24—26. LET THE OFFICERS OF YIN ACQUIESCE IN THEIR LOT, AND THEY MAY HAVE A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS FUTURE IN LŎ. IF THEY REFUSE TO DO SO, THEY WILL BRING ON THEMSELVES UTTER RUIN. 24. 爾克敬,—＇If you can reverence＇. We are not to find in敬here all that is denoted by ＇the virtue of reverence＇in Bk. XIII., but a standing in awe and submission to what had happened to them. —畀矜爾,each of these verbs 畀 and 矜 has a meaning of its own. We are not to think that they run into each other. As Lin Che-k＇e has it ,天必有以畀予之, 矜憐之. 啻=但, ＇only＇. 致天之罰於爾躬,—compare 致天罰 in p. 21. The punishment of Heaven there spoken of had only deprived them oftheir grounds in Yin; this would deprive them of their lives.

If you cannot reverently obey, you will not only not have your lands, but I will also carry to the utmost Heaven＇s infiictions on your persons.

25. Now you may here dwell in your villages,and perpetuate your families; you may pursue your occupations and enjoy your years in this Lŏ; your children also will prosper: —all from your being removed here.＇ "

26. "The king says,—and again he says, ＇Whatsoever I have spoken, is all on account of my anxiety about your residence here.＇ "

25. 꿷爾惟時 (=是) 宅爾邑,—the 爾, prefixed to 邑,indicates, I think, that we are not to suppose that Lŏis intended by 邑,—which, however, is the view of Lin Che-k＇e. Ts＇ae says that we are to understand the＇villages＇ formed by the families around every four 井,or space of 3,600 mow. Every family, in connection with such a settlement, had its five mow, for houses and private garden,—21 in the field, and 21 in the associate village; see Mencius, I., Pt. 1., iii., 4. Taking this view, we must understand that the king is not addressing here the officers of Yin merely, but the body of the people who had been removed from their old settlements. 居 will then signify the homes of the several families belonging to each village. 幹,—as in p. 23. 從爾遷,—Gan-kwŏ takes this, as an additional predicate about their descendants, and makes 與從爾遷=起從汝化而遷善, ＇will arise, and following your transformation also become good＇. It is much better to take the clause as I have done,—a view first proposed by Soo Shih.

P.26. After the 王曰 there must be something wanting. Compare the two last paragraphs of Book XVIII. There is probably something lost also after the又曰. We cannot take 時 as meaning ＇now＇; it must be=是, and would hardly commence a sentence. 爾攸居is also elliptical. Ts＇ae brings out the meaning thus:—時我或有所言, 皆以爾之所居꿀為念껩. Këang Shing makes the clause hortatory:—꿷我乃有言告汝, 汝其安所居哉. This is not so likely.