第26章

BOOK XV. AGAINST LUXURIOUS EASE.

BOOK XV. AGAINST LUXURIOUS EASE.

1. The duke of Chow said, "Oh! the superior man rests in this,—that he will have no luxurious ease.

2. He first understands the painful toil of sowing and reaping, how it conducts to ease, and thus he understands the law of the support of the inferior people.

THE NAME OF THE BOOK.—無逸, ＇Avoiding Luxurious Ease＇. These words are taken from the first paragraph. They are the keynote to the whole Book,and hence are rightly taken to designate it. Gaubil says the character mean—＇Il ne faut pas se livrer au plaisir.＇ Medhurst entitles the Book—＇On avoiding luxurious ease.＇ 逸 and 佚 are used interchangeably.Their primary signification is that of ＇idleness＇;compare Mencius, VII., Pt. II., xxiv. 1, and IV., Pt.II., xxx. 2. But as the character is used in the Shoo,it does not denote a mere passive idleness, but one in which, while the proper duties are neglected, improper lusts and gratifications may be eagerly sought; see the ＇Counsels of Yu,＇ p. 14; et al. Still the idea of the term here is that of ＇luxurious or indulgent ease＇. 無is used as the imperative 毋. The Book is found in both the texts. It comes under the division of 訓 or＇Instructions＇.

CONTENTS. The prefatory note is simply to the effect that ＇the duke of Chow made the Woo Yih;＇without a word about the time or occasion of it. The general view, which there is no reason to dispute, is that the duke of Chow addressed it to king Ching,soon after he had resigned the government into his hands. That the minister thought it necessary thus to admonish the young sovereign confirms what I have several times urged, that there was between them a measure of dissatisfaction on the one side and of suspicion on the other. There are six pauses in the course of the address, which is resumed always with a 周公曰嗚呼, ＇The duke of Chow said, "Oh!"＇. A division into seven chapters is thus suggested.

In parr. 1—3, the duke leads the king to find a rule for himself in the laborious toils which devolve on the husbandmen. In parr. 4—7, he refers to the long reigns of three of the sovereign of the Yin dynasty,and the short reigns of others, as illustrating how the blessing of Heaven rests on the diligent sovereign. In parr. 6—11, the example of their own kings, T＇ae, Ke,and Wăn is adduced with the same object. In parr. 12,13, the duke addresses the king personally, and urges him to follow the example of king Wăn and fee from that of Show. In 14, 15, he stimulates him by reference to ancient precedents to adopt his counsels, and shows the evil effects that will follow if he refuse to do so.In parr. 16—18, he shows him by the examples of the good kings of Yin and of king Wăn how he ought to have regard to the opinions of the common people,and gird himself to diligence. The last par. is a single admonition that the king should lay what had been said to heart.

Ch. I. Pp. 1—3. THE GREAT PRINCIPLE, THAT THERE SHOULD BE NO INDULGENT EASE.IT IS ENFORCED BY A REFERRENCE TO THE TOILS OF HUSBANDRY, AND TH FREQUENT DEGENERACY OF THE SONS OF THOSE WHO HAVE TOILED HARD.

3. I have observed among the inferior people, that where the parents have diligently laboured in sowing and reaping, their sons often do not understand this painful toil, and abandon themselves to ease, and to village slang, and become quite disorderly. Or where they do not do so, they throw contempt on their parents, saying, ＇Those old people have heard nothing and know nothing.＇ "

4. It the duke of Chow said, "Oh! I have heard that aforetime the emperor of Yin, Chung-tsung, was grave, humble, reverential, and fearful.

1 .君子所其無逸,—K＇ang-shing thought that 君子here was spoken simply of the ruler (君子止謂在官長者), without any implication of the virtuous character which is commonly denoted by the expression. He must be wrong. The designation is to be taken of ＇the man of virtue＇, with an application of it implied to such a man in authority. I take 所 as a verb=止. The usage is akin to that in Bk. XIII., p. 16,—王敬作所. 其無 (=毋) 逸 is then under the govt. of 所. Ts＇ae, after Leu Tsoo-hëen, gives for the par.—君子以無逸為所, which brings out the meaning very well. Ch＇ing and Gan-kwŏ both put a comma at 所,—which is very harsh. The former says:—君子處位為政, 其無自逸豫也; and the latter:—君子之道, 所在念德, 其無逸豫. 2.It is as well to take 君子 as the subject of the two 知here. The meaning would be substantially the same if we supposed the language directly addressed to king Ching, when 先知 would= ＇when you first understand＇. The only difficulty is with the 乃逸. The characters simply show that ease and plenty are a result of the toils of husbandry. Gan-kwŏ attributed a sort of hortatory force to them, and interpreted:—稼穡, 農夫之艱難事, 先知之乃謀逸豫, ＇sowing and reaping are the toilsome business of the husbandman. This mustfirst be known, and then plans for ease may be laid.＇Soo Shih objected to this that the object of the duke of Chow was to get the king to put away the thought of ease, and it was not likely he would begin to suggest to him the idea of ＇planning for ease＇. The criticism is subtle, but correct. ＇What the inferior people depend on＇ is their hard toil in the fields. That is the law of their support. Ease comes from it as a matter of course. Ease finds them; they do not seek it. 3. 相小人,—compare 相녢先民, Bk. XII., p. 11. 小人,—as in the last par.,=小民. 乃逸乃諺, 既誕=乃縱逸自恣, 乃習俚巷鄙語, 既又誕妄, 無所不至, as in the translation. 誕 is ＇a proverb＇, ＇a saying＇. Gan-kwŏ understands by it ＇coarselanguage＇, taking it=喭;—see Ana. XI., xvi., 4. Këang Shing reads—乃佚, 乃憲, 既誕不則, ＇they become idle, and indulge in pleasure, behave rudely, and are lawless.＇ I prefer the received text and interpretation.昔之人=녢老之人, as I have translated it; or it may mean—＇our predecessors＇.

Ch. II. Pp. 4—7. THE ADVANTAGES OF AVOIDING SELF-INDULGENT EASE SHOWN BY THE HISTORY OF SEVERAL OF THE SOVEREIGNS OF THE YIN DYNASTY.

He measured himself with reference to the appointment of Heaven, and cherished a reverent apprehension in governing the people, not daring to indulge in useless ease. It was thus that Chung-tsung enjoyed the throne for seventy and five years.

5. "If we come to the time of Kaou-tsunhg, he toiled at first away from the court, and was among the inferior people. When he came to the throne, it may be said that, while he was in the mourning shed, for three years he did not speak. Afterwards he was still inclined not to speak; but when he did speak, his words were full of harmonious wisdom.

4. The case of Chung-tsung. 昔在殷王中宗,—the 在中宗was the sacrificial title (廟號) of the emperor described. See the note on T＇ae-mow, p. 220. 嚴 and恭 are said to express the king＇s reverence as shown externally, while 寅 and 畏 described his inward feeling of it.

天命自度,—by 天命 Ts＇ae and many others understand 天理, ＇Heaven principles,＇ so that the meaning of the clause is, ＇He measured (=defined the rules of life for) himself in accordance with heavenly principles. But this is needless refining. The meaning rather is that Kaou-tsung felt that (the appointment of Heaven＇, which placed him upon the throne, brought with it certain duties and responsibilities, on his discharge of which depended his retaining Heaven＇s favour; he therefore measured himself to know whether his course was what it ought to be. Woo Ch＇ing brings this meaning out very clearly:—天命在躬, 易눂難保, 故꿯躬自省, 謹循法則, 惟恐不能永保天命也. I have said on p. 220 that we might doubt the length of Chung-tsung＇s reign, if it were not thusguaranteed by the duke of Chow. Two brothers are said to have preceded him on the throne;—first Yung-ke, who reigned 12 years, and before him Sëaou-këa, who reigned 17 years. If Chung-tsung were born in the same year that their father died, B.C. 1664, he must have been 30 when he succeeded to the empire.

5. The case of Kaou-tsung. See Book. VIII., of the last Part. 其在高宗時,—the 時 should evidently be read with the first clause, but it is difficulty to explain it, or to account for it. 舊勞於外, 爰暨小人,—comp.＇The Charge to Yuě＇, Pt. iii., p. 1. The old interpreters took 舊=久, ＇long＇. It is better to take it as= ＇at first＇, i.e., while his father was alive (當其為太子之時). 爰=於놆; and 暨=與, ＇with＇. The text must be supplemented:—於놆與小人同其事. It is perplexing to find 暨 used as a preposition, and not simply a conjunction.

He did not dare to indulge in useless and easy ways,but admirably and tranquilly presided over the empire of Yin, till in all its States, great and small, there was not a single murmur. It was thus that Kaou-tsung enjoyed the throne for fifty and nine years.

6. "In the case of Tsoo-këă, he would not unrighteously be emperor, and was at first one of the inferior people. When he came to the throne,he understood the law of the support of the inferior people, and was able to exercise a protecting kindness towards their masses, and did not dare to treat with contempt the widower and widows. Thus it was that Tsoo-këă enjoyed the throne for thirty and three years.

作其即位,—in order to bring out the meaning of 作,Woo Ch＇ing says:—起自民間, 即天子位, ＇He arose from among the people, and ascended the imperial seat.＇ But in trying to account for the 作, he overlooks the 其作 has here merely a conjunctive force,=及. 乃或亮陰, 三年不言,—see ＇The Charge to Yuě,＇ Pt. i.,p. 1. I have said there that we are not to suppose that the emperor during the years of mourning maintained a total silence, but only kept from speaking on governmental matters. This is perhaps indicated by the或. 其惟不言, 言乃雍,—I have translated this according to the account which we have in the beginning of＇The Charge to Yuě＇. K＇ang-shing supposed that the duke is still speaking of Kaou-tsung during the time of mourning; but that is very unlikely. The history is evidently being carried on and forward. 嘉靖殷邦,—＇he made the States—the empire—of Yin admirable and tranquil,＇ i.e., he hushed all jarrings, and produced great prosperity.

6. The case of Tsoo-këă. Tsoo-këă was the son of Kaou-tsung. I have mentioned on P. 269 that Sze-ma Ts＇een says that Tsoo-këă was lewd and disorderly.Similar testimony is found in the 國語. Having respect to these statements, Gan-kwŏ could not admit that the emperor spoken of here was the son of Kaoutsung, and maintained that we were to find him in T＇ae-këă, the grandson of T＇ang. But from Chungtsang the duke comes on to Kaou-tsung, approaching to the rise of their own dynasty of Chow;—how unnatural the address would be if he were now to go back to the beginning of the times of Yin! Moreover,the son of Kaou-tsung was styled Tsoo-këă, while the grandson of T＇ang was called T＇ae-këă. Nor does the confinement of T＇ae-këă for a season by E Yin for his misdeeds sufficiently answer the requirements of the text,—不義惟王, 舊為小人, 知小人之依. Gan-kwŏsays:—湯孫太甲, 為王不義, 久為小人之行, 伊尹放之桐, ＇Tae-kea, being king, proved unrighteous. He had long displayed the conduct of an unworthy person,and E Yin confined him in T＇ung.＇ But the meaning thus given to 小人, which has already occurred three times in the address, and always with the signification of ＇the inferior people＇, without any implication of unworthiness, must be rejected. On every ground we must conclude that the sovereign spoken of was not the grandson of T＇ang. He was the son of Kaou-tsung. K＇ang shing has a story that Woo-ting wanted to disinherit Tsoo-këă＇s elder brother in favour of him, and that Tsoo-këă, thinking such a proceeding would be unrighteous, withdrew and lived for a time among the common people (祖甲以為不義, 逃於民間).

7. "The emperors which arose after these all their life-time enjoyed ease. From their birth enjoying ease,they did not understand the painful toil of sowing and reaping, nor hear of the hard labours of the inferior people. They only sought after excessive pleasures,and so not one of them enjoyed the throne for a long period. They continued for ten years, for seven or eight, for five or six, or "perhaps only for three or four.

8. The duke of Chow said, "Oh! there likewise were king T＇ae and king Ke of our own Chow, who attained to humility and reverential awe.

Ts＇ae adduces this as the ground of the language in the text,—不義惟王, 舊為小人. Ying-tă and Maou K＇e-ling after him object to this account, that no authority can be adduced for it, and that there is no evidence of Këă＇s elder brother being unworthy, while it is defaming a good king like Woo-ting to say that he wanted to disinherit his eldest son in favour of a younger brother. K＇e-ling, therefore, supposes that Tsoo-këă, in his youth, had been dissolute, and consorted with unworthy associates (不義惟王, 舊為小人, 言祖甲少行不義, 爰及非類). But here is the meaning of 小人 to which I have objected above. Hisexplanation is as much as hypothesis as that of K＇ang-shing, whom he vehemently condemns. The truth is,—while it is plain that it is the son of Kaou-tsung of whom the duke of Chow speaks, we do not know enough of that emperor to explain all his language. Gan-kwŏ for 保惠於庶民 gives 安順於庶民. It is better to take 惠=愛, as in the translation.

The other emperors of Yin. 生則逸,—＇being born, they had ease＇. The ＇Daily Explanation＇ says:—身為帝王之裔, 長於宮禁之中, 生則止見安逸耳. Këang Shing says ingeniously that the repetition of 生則逸 indicates that thus it was with one emperor and another. It is as well, however, to construe as I havedone. 惟耽樂之從—another reading for this is 惟湛樂놆從; but the meaning is the same. 克壽,—＇could come to old age;＇ ut the sequel shows that he is speaking of the occupancy of the throne. A long life and a long reign, however, would generally go together. It is to be observed that the reigns of the other sovereigns of Yin were not so short as the text says. There were six emperors after Tsoo-këă, of whom one reigned 21 years; a second, 23; and the tyrant Show himself, 28. Between Kaou-tsung and Chung-tsung, again, there were 12 reigns, of which only 2 were under ten years.

Ch. III. Pp. 8—11. THE DUKE DIRECTS THE KING＇S ATTENTION TO THE PRINCES OF THEIR OWN DYNASTY,—TO KINGS T＇AEAND KE, AND ESPECIALLY TO KING WAN. 8. 厥亦云雲,—the 厥corresponds to the 其 with which pp. 5 and 6 begin. 太王, 王季,—see Bk. III., p. 5; and the notes in pp. 268,269.

9. King Wăn dressed meanly, and gave himself to the work of tranquillization, and to that of husbandry.10. Admirably mild and beautifully humble, he cherished and protected the inferior people, and showed a fostering kindness to the widower and widows. From morning to midday, and from midday to sundown, he did not allow himself time to eat;—thus seeking to secure the happy harmony of the myriads of the people.

11. King Wăn did not dare to go to any excess in his excursions or his hunting, and from the various States he received only the correct amount of contribution.He received the appointment of Heaven in the middle of his life, and enjoyed the throne for fifty years."