第28章

BOOK XVII. THE CHARGE TO CHUNG OF TS＇AE.

BOOK XVII. THE CHARGE TO CHUNG OF TS＇AE.

1. When the duke of Chow was in the place of prime minister, and directed all the officers, the king＇s uncles spread abroad an evil report, in consequence of which he put to death the prince of Kwan in Shang; confined the prince of Tsae in Koh-lin, with an attendance,however, of seven chariots; and reduced the prince of Hŏ to be a private man, causing his name to be erased from the registers for three years. The son of the prince of Ts＇ae being able to display a reverent virtue, the duke of Chow made him a high noble, and when his father died, requested a decree from the king,investing him with the country of Ts＇ae.

THE NAME OF THE BOOK.—蔡仲之命, ＇The Charge to Chung of Ts＇ae.＇ Ts＇ae was the name of the small State or district, which formed the appanage of Too, a younger brother of the duke of Chow, on whose history I have slightly touched in the note on p. 12 of Bk. VI. The name still remains in the dis. of shang-ts＇ae (上蔡), dep. of Joo-ning, Ho-nan. Too was deprived of this appanage, but it was subsequently restored to his on, and the Charge preserved in this Book was given to him on the occasion. The name of Too＇s son was Hoo (胡). He is here called Chung; but that character only denoted his place in the roll of his brothers or cousins. A Chinese scholar has attempted to explain it to me thus.—Too was younger than king Woo, and so, from the standpoint of king Ching, he is called 蔡叔, ＇(younger) uncle of Ts＇ae＇. King Ching and Hoo were cousins,—＇brothers＇, according to Chinese usage of terms, and Hoo, being the younger of the two, was called 蔡仲, ＇(second) brother of Ts＇ae＇.

The Book is only found in the old text, or that of Gan-kwŏ. There is some difference of opinion as to the place which it should occupy in the list of the Books of Chow. Ts＇ae thinks it ought to be placed before ＇The Announcement about Lŏ＇. In the ＇Little Preface＇, as we have it from Ch＇ing, it is placed the 96th in the list of Books, immediately before the ＇Speech at Pe＇. Mingshing allows that so it is wrongly placed, which indeed is evident, but says that Ch＇ing gave the preface as he found it without venturing any alterations, whereas the author or forger of Gan-kwŏ＇s commentary took it upon him to remove the notice to where it now stands. Whether Gan-kwŏ＇s commentary be a forgery or not, the Book occurs in it, I apprehend, in the place which it original occupied. There is no necessity for supposing with Ts＇ae that it should be before Book XIII. We do not know in what year Ts＇ae Shuh died. Ts＇ae Chung＇s restoration to his father＇s honours may not have taken place till after the building of Lŏ, and king Ching had taken the government, upon reaching his majority, into his own hands.

CONTENTS. The first par. is of the nature of a preface, giving the details necessary to explain the appointment of Hoo. The seven paragraphs that follow are the king＇s Charge, directing him how to conduct himself, so that he might blot out the memory of his father＇s misdeeds, and win the praise of the emperor.

P. 1. Prefatory details. 惟周公至百工,—comp. ＇The Instructions of E.,＇ p. 1. 羣叔流言,—comp. Bk. VI., p. 12. —＇致辟,carried out the law to the utmost,＇= ＇put to death＇. [This confirms the interpretation given of我之弗辟, in Bk VI p 13] ..,..囚蔡叔至七乘囚,—= ＇to confirm＇. K＇ang-shing defined the term by 拘. 郭鄰 wasthe name of a place; but where it was, we cannot tell. Sze-ma Ts＇een, in the 管蔡, 世家第五, says that Ts＇ae Shuh was allowed an attendance of ＇ten chariots and 70 footmen＇. In the 左傳, 定四年, mention is also made of 70 footmen, but the chariots are seven, as in the text. For 以車七乘 the ＇Daily Explanation＇ gives—猶以車七乘隨之. 降霍叔至不齒,—the name of Hoh Shuh was Ch＇oo (處). Ch＇oo＇s appanage was Hoh, the name of which remains in Hoh Chow, dep. of P＇ing-yang (平陽) Shan-se ,.三年不齒,—＇for three years he had not his teeth＇, i.e., he was struck off the family roll. The names of all the brothers were entered according to their ＇teeth＇ or ages; hence one of the definitions of 齒in the dict. is by 年也, 列也. 蔡仲至卿士,—蔡仲, seethe note on the ＇name of the Book＇. Ts＇een says that＇when the duke of Chow heard of the good character of Hoo, he raised him to be a noble of Loo＇ (周公聞之, 땤舉胡以為魯卿士). The opinion of the speaker in the passage of the左傳referred to above was the same(蔡仲改行帥德, 周公舉之, 以為已卿士). Ts＇ae on thecontrary thinks that the office of ＇high noble＇ conferred on Hoo, was within the imperial domain, and not in Loo. This view appears to me the more likely; but the text does not enable us to decide the point.

命諸王邦之蔡=請命於늅王, 復封其國於蔡, 使繼叔之後, ＇He requested a decree from king Ching, and again invested Hoo with Ts＇ae, that he might continuethe line of his father.＇ Gan-kwŏ thought that the Ts＇ae with which Hoo was invested was not the same which had been the appanage of his father, but another on the east, ＇between the Hwae and the Joo,＇ to which the name of Ts＇ae was given, to mark the

connection between it and the former. This is not likely, nor is it supported by proper historical evidence.

[Shih King (郝敬; of the Ming dynasty) denies the various statements in this par., saying they are legends founded on a misapprehension of the duke of Chow＇s language in ＇The Metal-bound Coffer,＇—我之弗辟, 我無以告我先王; and that to suppose that the duke killed one brother and degraded two others, as he is here said to have done, is injurious to his character, and would establish a precedent of most dangerous nature. Having thus settled it that the statements are not true, he goes on to the conclusion, that this Book is a forgery. But this is egregious trifling. The statements of this par. were staple of Chinese history before the burning of the Shoo. The passage of the 左傳 adduced above, and the sequel of which contains a part of par. 3, is sufficient to prove this. The duke of Chow is easily vindicated from any charges brought against his character for the deeds which are related here.]

2. The king speaks to this effect, My little child,Hoo, you follow the virtue of our ancestors, and have changed from the conduct of your father; you are able to take heed to your ways;—I therefore appoint you to be a prince of the empire in the east. Go to your country. Be reverent!

3. ＇In order that you may cover the faults of your father, be loyal, be filial. Urge on your steps in your own way, diligent and never idle, and so you will hand down an example to your descendants.

Pp. 2—8. THE CHARGE. 2. The virtue of Hoo, to which he was entitled for the distinction conferred on him. 王若曰,—it may seem that this should be translated—＇The king spake to the following effect,＇rather than as I have done. I apprehend, however, that the charge was delivered by the duke of Chow in the king＇s name, in the same way as the charge to the Viscount of Wei, Bk. VIII. The 命諸王邦之蔡 in the last par. leads me to this view, nor need it be rejected though Hoo＇s appointment may have taken place after the building of Lǒ. 率德改行 must=循祖之德, 改父之行,—as in the translation. —東土,Ts＇ae was to the cast of Haou, Ching＇s capital. 往即乃封,—the first definition of 封 in the dict. is 封諸侯之土, ＇the country with which a prince was invested＇.The primary meaning of the term, however, was, no doubt, ＇a tumulus or mound＇; and Sëě Ke-seuen (薛季宣) ingeniously accounts for its being used as the designation of a territory in this way:—꽭子建侯立國, 分以꽭子之社, 使置社於其國, 因謂之封, ＇The emperor, when appointing a prince over a State, tookfrom the earth of his own altar to the spirit of the land, and gave it to the prince, that he might raise an altar to the spirit of the land in his State, which was thence called by the name of封. Compare the note on＇The Tribute of Yu,＇ Pt. i., p. 35. 3. Hoo must go on as he had begun, covering by his good deeds the evil memory of his father. 爾尚至惟孝,—the force of the尚 is partly concessive, and partly hortatory. By 前그 is intended, of course, Hoo＇s father. Though Hoo was acting contrary to his father＇s example, yet as his conduct would remove the disgrace that rested on his father＇s memory, it is characterized as ＇filial＇. 邁跡自身,—Gan-kwǒ gives for this—行善跡뇾汝身. There is a reference plainly to the conduct of Hoo＇s father, who had left no traces of good by which he might direct his steps. Lin Che-k＇e says:—汝之行善跡, 當自汝身땤始.The characters, as I understand them, are literally:—＇Do you push boldly on (邁即勇往, 力行之意), treading on your own person.＇ The condition,—無若爾考之違王命—is quoted in the 左傳, as referred to above.

[Ch＇in Foo-lëang says:—＇When Shun gave charge to Yu, he made no reference to the misconduct of his father K＇wǎn; and the duke of Chow, when giving charge to the viscount of Wei, made no mention of Woo-kǎng.