第30章

BOOK XIX. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF GOVERNMENT.

BOOK XIX. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF GOVERNMENT.

1. The duke of Chow spoke to the following effect, "With our heads to our hands and then to the ground, we make our declarations to the new emperor, our king." In such manner accordingly all the other ministers cautioned the king, saying, "In close attendance on your Majesty there are the regular presidents, the regular high officers, and the officers of the laws; the keepers of the robes also, and the guards."—The duke of Chow said, "Oh! admirable are these officers. Few, however, know to be sufficiently anxious about them."

THE NAME OF THIS BOOK.—立政, ＇The Establishment of Government.＇ This phrase occurs four or five times in the course of the Book, and is thence taken to denominate it;—with considerable appropriateness. The subject treated of throughout is, it will be seen, how good government may be established. The Book is found in both the texts.

CONTENTS. The editors of Yung-ching＇s Shoo give the following summary of the Book from Tung Ting (董鼎), of the Yuen dynasty, which is tolerably complete:—＇In imperial govt. there is nothing more important than the use of proper men; and when proper men are being looked out for, the first care should be for those to occupy the "three high positions". When these are properly filled, all the other offices get their right men, and imperial govt.will be established. The appointment of the officers of business, of pastoral oversight, and of the law (宅事, 牧, 準; p. 2) is the great theme of the whole Book(其綱領), and the words, "Admirable are these! But to know to be sufficiently careful about them," are its pulse [其血脈; i.e., may be felt everywhere, throbbing in all the sentiments]. Parr. 2 and 8 illustrate the subject from the history of the Hea dynasty; parr. 4 and 5 do the same from that of the House of T＇ang;and in parr. 9 to 15 it is shown how Wǎn and Woo, like the founders of the previous dynasties, knew how to be anxious about the selection of their officers, and so obtained the great inheritance of the empire, initiating the happy state which was then continuing. From par.16 to the end, the duke earnestly addresses the king on his duty to put away from him men of artful tongues;to employ the good, distinguished by their habits of virtue; to be always well prepared for war; and to be very careful of his conduct in the matter of litigations.His object in all was that the king should learn from the founders of the different dynasties how he should manifest anxiety on the great subject of the Book, and should be warned by the fate of Këě and Show against allowing himself to be indifferent about it. The whole is an example of loyal affection, which we seem even to the present day to be able to take hold of.

Lin Che-k＇e comments upon it, arranged in three chapters:—parr. 1-5; 6-18; 16-28. The student will find the arrangement in five chapters which I have adopted of more assistance to him.

THE ORDER OF THE PARAGRAPHS; AND DATE. There is no ancient authority for altering the arrangement of the received text; but the reader can hardly fail to be annoyed with the long list of officers of Wǎn and Woo in parr. 8-15.—Why should the speaker go at so much length into their appointments,after having touched so briefly on those of Yu and T＇ang? The student＇s attention is distracted by the lengthy enumeration; it could only have diverted the young king＇s mind from the important lesson which the duke wished to impress upon him. There is, again,the greater portion of par. 2,—from乃敢 to the end,which has always seemed to me to have no proper connection as it stands. The only Chinese critic,however, whom I have met with, who owns to feeling the same difficulties is Wang Pih. He does not scruple to say that the text as it stands is ＇head and tail in disorder, and without connection＇. His conception of the occasion when the duke delivered the sentiments of the Book is this:—It was soon after king Ching undertook the responsibilities of the government.At such a time it was proper that all the officers should unite in lessoning him, and the duke of Chow accordingly appeared with a host of them, great and small, and when they had expressed their views on the point which seemed most important to them, he took the subject up, and prosecuted it in his own way. Pih would thus remove parr. 8—11, and the part of par. 2 to which I have referred, and make them all one long preliminary paragraph;—周公若曰, 拜手稽首, 告嗣天떚王矣. 用咸戒於王曰, 王녨右, 常伯, 常任, 准人, 綴衣,虎賁, 趣馬, 小尹, 녨右播僕, 百司, 庶府, 大都小伯, 藝극, 表臣百司, 大史, 庶常吉土, 司徒, 司馬, 司容, 亞旅,夷, 微, 盧, 烝, 三亳, 阪尹, 乃敢告教厥後日, 拜手稽首后矣, 曰宅乃事, 宅乃牧, 宅乃準, 茲惟后矣, 謀面用丕訓德,則乃宅人, 茲乃三宅無義民， 周公曰, 嗚呼, 休茲, 知恤鮮哉.

The praise of ingenuity cannot be denied to this arrangement of the text, and if it were proper to decide on such a point simply on internal grounds, I should not hesitate to adopt it.

Wang Pih supposes that this announcement was made after the duke of Chow had resigned the regency. Such was the opinion of all the early scholars; and likewise, we may presume from the order in which the Book stands, of the compiler of ＇The Little Preface＇, though his note says nothing on the point (see Pref. N. 54). Now, however, in the received chronology, the Book is referred to the 4th year of king Ching. This date was first proposed by Hoo Woo-fung (胡五峰; one of the early Sung writers, author of the 皇王大紀), and is argued for in the 通鑑綱目,—on very insufficient grounds, as will be seen from the notes on various paragraphs.

Ch. I. P. 1. CIRCUMSTANCES ATTENDING THE DELIVERY OF THE ADDRESS; AND ITS TEXT. 周公若曰至王矣,—it will be seen that I have translated拜手, 云云 in the first person plural, understanding that the duke of Chow appeared before the king with a long train of ministers, and that he here speaks first in their name,—for himself and for them. Then 用成戒於王 intimates that the ministers all took up

the subject, and began to speak for themselves. As the ＇Daily Explanation＇, has it:—羣臣用皆進戒於王. They have hardly entered on their admonition,however, when the duke takes the word from them, and continues the address in his own person,—周公曰, 嗚呼, 云云. Gan-kwǒ supposed that the duke of Chow was the speaker in his own person throughout. Hence he understood 拜手, 云云 as = ＇with my head to my hands, &c., I make an announcement.＇ For 用咸戒於王曰, he gives—又用王所立政之事, 皆戒於王曰, ＇He also took up the various procedures of the king by which he should establish his govt., and warnedhim on the subject of them all, saying,——. But Lin Che-k＇e well observes that this is very forced, and apart from the meaning of the text. The interpretation which I have given was first fully developed by Ch＇in Shaou-nan (陳少南), who found the germ of it in the comment of Wang Suh,—於時周公會羣臣, 共戒王, 其言曰, 拜手稽首者, 是周公讚羣臣之辭, 休茲, 此五官美哉. Dr. Medhurst makes 拜手, 云云, to be addressed by the duke to all the ministers.—＇The duke of Chow,addressing his ministers, spoke to the following effect, Bow down and make obeisance, while you address the new emperor and king.＇ This construction is to be decidedly rejected, but there can be pleaded for it the authority of Woo Ch＇ing, who says:—前周公若曰, 公與羣臣言껩, 後周公曰, 公與王言껩. 嗣天떚王矣,—＇the son of Heaven who has inherited (or, who is continuing) the line of succession, the king＇. Thislanguage, it is said, is more appropriate, if addressed to the young king, a minor, than if addressed to him when of full age. It seems to me, on the contrary, what we should expect, if spoken to Ching now fully seated on the throne of his father. 常伯, 常任, 準人—＇the regular chiefs, the regular holders of office, and the equalizing men＇. It is difficult to say what officers are intended by these designations. Leu Tsoo-heen says:—＇These are the occupiers of the three positions, mentioned in the 4th par, but nowhere else in the Books of the three early dynasties do the designations appear. May we not suppose that they were other names for the high nobles and assistants about the imperial court?Different names were given to the occupants of offices, as when the prime minister was called A-hǎng(阿衡) and Paou-hǎng (保衡), and when the three chief ministers about a prince＇s court were called K＇e-foo (圻꿵), Nung-foo (農꿵), and Hwang-foo (宏꿵). In the same way, the names in the text are to be taken simply as diversified designations of the great ministers who assisted in the govt. during the three dynasties. The two designations of 綴衣 and 虎賁 which follow are the names of two selected from among the various classes of inferior officers, as specimens of the rest.With those who were in the great offices was lodged the safety or the peril of the throne; by those whose offices brought them into familiar intercourse with the sovereign his character was liable to be affected:—the condition of the empire depended equally on them both. See the 集說. There can be no doubt these observations give the general meaning of the text, and the reason why the ministers and officers mentioned in it are specified; but how are we to translate the different designations? Gaubil avoids the difficulty by retaining the names, and giving vague accounts of the officers intended by them in his notes. It seems reasonable to take, with Lin Che-k＇e, the 常伯 here as=the 宅乃事; and the 準人 as=the 宅乃準. We may then understand by 常伯 the chiefs or presidents who had a pastoral charge of the people (牧民之長); by常任, the high ministers of War, Instruction, Works,&c., in the imperial domain; and by 準人, the law officers. 準= ＇level＇, ＇to level＇, ＇the instrument to make or determine a level＇. 準人 are the officers who guard the laws, the instrument of justice. The officers called綴衣, ＇Connected Robes＇, and 虎賁, ＇Tiger Braves＇, are not known to have existed under these names in the previous dynasties; this Book shows that they were an institution in the times of Wǎn and Woo. We do not find the name of 綴衣 in the Chow Le, but there are enumerated the ＇master of the furred robes＇ (司裘), the＇master of robes to the empress＇ (內司服), the ＇tailor＇ (縫人), and the ＇master of robes＇ (司服) which must have been kindred appointments. See Books VI., VII., and XXI. The 虎賁 are expressly mentioned in Bk XXXI. They were guards, amounting, acc. to K＇ang shing, to 800 men, generally in attendance on the emperor＇s person; but might be detailed off to other services. 休茲=美矣此官, as in the translation. Many critics understand the characters as meaning—＇Admirable are these observations!＇ But it would be hard to say what observations have been made. The duke takes the word out of the mouth of the others, and at once gives out the text which he proceeds to illustrate in his own way. 知恤鮮哉=知以不得人為憂者殆亦鮮矣, ＇those whoknow to make the not getting the proper men for them a subject of sorrow are few＇.

2. Among the ancients who exemplified this anxiety there was the founder of the Hea dynasty. When his House was at its strength, he sought for able men to honour God. His advisers, when they knew of men thoroughly proved and trustworthy in the practice of the nine virtues, would then presume to inform and instruct their sovereign, saying, ＇With our heads to our hands and then to the ground, O sovereign, we would say, Let such an one occupy one of your high offices:Let such an one be one of your pastors: Let such an one be one of your law-officers.

Ch. II. Pp. 2, 3. THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS PRINCIPLE,—AN ANXIOUS CONCERN TO GET THE OFFICES OF STATE FILLED BY THE RIGHT MEN, ILLUSTRATED IN THE HISTORY OF THE HEA DYNASTY. 2. 古之人迪惟놋憂=古之人君, 迪行知恤之者, 惟夏王大禹, ＇of the ancients who walked in this course of a wise anxiety there wasthe great Yu, the Sovereign of Hea＇. 迪=行 or 蹈, ＇to walk＇, ＇to tread＇. Gan-kwǒ and Këang Shing take it as=道; but they bring out the same meaning. 놋室大競=當王室大強之時, ＇when the imperial House was greatly strong＇. Këang Shing, after Gan-kwǒ, by 놋室 understands 卿大夫之家, ＇the families of the high nobles and officers＇;—an interpretation not nearly so good as that which I have followed. 籲 (=呼=求) 俊尊上帝,—comp., in p. 4, 不釐上帝之耿命, and, in p.6, 以敬事上帝. These three passages supply a very striking testimony of the recognition in those times of Godas ruling over the nations of the earth. Yu, T＇ang, and kings Wǎn and Woo, the founders of the three great dynasties which are still celebrated, all considered it their great business to honour and serve God. They were simply His ministers. Whatever were the errors of religious belief and worship into which they fell, they held fast this important principle—that they were called to their high stations by the one Supreme Ruler, and were bound to occupy in them so as to please Him. 迪知忱恂於깇德之行,—this, I think, is spoken of Yu＇s ministers, and advisers who were about him. Not only did he seek out able men to honour God, but they also sympathized with him in his views, and co-operated with him, and recommended to him men of whose character and fitness they were assured. As Wǎng Ts＇ëaou tersely says:—古之賢臣, 以人事君, 古之賢君, 以人事天, ＇The good and able ministers of antiquity served the sovereigns by recommending theright men; the good and able sovereigns of antiquity served Heaven by employing those men. For 깇德之行 see ＇The Counsels of Kaou-yaou,＇ pp. 3, 4. Lin Chek＇e explains 迪知 by 驗之於實跡而知之, ＇those whom they knew by examination of their actual conduct＇. 宅乃事, 云云,—these three clauses are to be taken not as general advice with regard to putting good men in the positions indicated, but as specific, with reference to the individuals whom they had in view as displaying more or fewer of ＇the nine virtues＇. 茲惟后矣=如此而後可以為君껩, ＇do this, and so will you prove yourself the sovereign indeed＇. 謀面至냬,—Gan-kwǒ quite misunderstood the meaning of this part of the par.,led away in the first place by interpreting the 三宅of the 五宅三居, ＇three localities assigned to the five banishments＇, mentioned in the ＇Canon of Shun＇, p. 20.

By such appointments you will discharge your royal duty. If you judge by the face only, and therefrom deem men well schooled in virtue and appoint them,then those three appointments will all be occupied by unrighteous people.＇

3. The way of Këe, however, was not to observe this precedent. Those whom he employed were cruel men;—and he had no successors.

4."After him there was T＇ang the Successful, who,rising to the throne, greatly administered the bright ordinances of God.

He gives for the whole:—謀所面見之事, 無疑, 則땣用大順德, 乃땣居賢人於眾官, 若此乃땣三居無義民,大罪宥之四裔, 次깇州之外, 次其國之外, ＇Consult on the ground of the things you have seen before yourface, and which will not admit of doubt; you can then employ those who are greatly accordant with virtue, and will be able to fill all the offices with men of worth. Thereafter you can locate the unrighteous people in the three places assigned to them:—those whose crimes are heinous, furthest among the four wild tribes; less heinous criminals beyond the nine provinces; and those whose offences are lighter still beyond the boundaries of their several States.＇ This interpretation of 三宅 is altogether foreign to the scope of the paragraph; but it continued till the Sung dynasty, and even then Soo Tung-po followed it.

謀面 is ＇to judge merely from the face, or outward appearance＇. 謀面用丕訓德, 則乃宅人=徒謀之面貌, 用以為大順於德, 乃宅而任之. Këang Shing avoids the old interpretation of 三宅, and brings out a meaningsomething like what I have given, but by hard shifts. He reads 亂 before 謀; takes 面=向; 丕 for 不; 義 for 儀; and interprets, ＇If your counsels are deceived, and you move towards men who are not virtuous, and place them in these offices, then the occupants of these three positions will be able to give no good example to the people 3 ..桀德,—＇K＇ëě＇s virtue＇, i.e., his evil way, 德being in a bad sense. 弗作往,—＇did not do the past＇, i.e., did not imitate the example of Yu in employing the worthy. The language is not clear, but it is better to point and construe as I have done,—after Ts＇ae. Gan-kwǒ and Këang Shing have each a different method; but they take the same view of the whole paragraph. 任是惟暴德=所任者乃惟暴德之人.

Ch. III. Pp. 4, 5. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SAME PRINCIPLE EXEMPLIFIED IN THE HISTORY OF THE SHANG DYNASTY. 4. 亦越may be taken, with Ts＇ae, as a compound conjunction,=our ＇again＇, ＇further＇. 陟丕釐上帝之耿命,—＇ascended,and greatly regulated the bright appointment of God＇.陟, ＇ascended＇, seems to be used with reference to T＇ang＇s from being the chief of a second-rate State becoming emperor. Other explanations of the term are given, but it is not worth while to dwell on them. 蘆=理 or 冶, ＇to regulate＇, ＇to administer＇. Gan-kwǒ prefers the meaning of 賜, ＇to give＇;—but very inappropriately.

He employed to fill the three high positions those who were equal to those positions; and those who were called possessors of the three grades of ability could display that ability. He then studied them severely and greatly imitated them, making the utmost use of them in their three positions and with their three grades of ability. The people in the cities of Shang were hereby all brought to harmony, and those in the different quarters of the empire were brought greatly under the influence of the virtue thus displayed.

5. Oh! when the throne of T＇ang came to Show,his character was all violence. He preferred men of severity, princes of States who deemed cruelty a virtue,to share with him in the government of the empire;and at the same time, the host of his associates, men who counted idleness a virtue, shared the offices of his court.

The meaning is, that when T＇ang was established on the throne, his whole system of govt. was in harmony with the mind of God. His institutions might be regarded as divine ordinances.

乃用三놋宅克即宅,—this is clearly paraphrased in the ＇Daily Explanation＇—乃又땣旁求賢才, 相助為理,所用以居常伯, 常任, 準人之官, 為三놋宅者, 實땣就是位, 而不曠廢其職. still more evident here than in the 2d par. is the blunder of Gan-kwǒ in taking 三宅 of＇the three places of banishment＇. —＇三놋俊,the three—or three classes—of possessors of ability, men amonga thousand＇. Gan-kwǒ and Këang Shing suppose that men are meant who possessed the ＇three virtues＇mentioned in ＇The Great Plan＇, p. 17; but it is simpler to understand that by 俊 are intended men who had talents and virtue which would make them eligible to the three high positions. On such T＇ang had his notice fixed, and was prepared to call them to office at the proper time .日三놋俊克郎俊=所稱三俊, 實땣就是德而不浮其名. 嚴惟至三俊,—Woo Ch＇ing may be said to expunge 巖惟丕式, for he says that they are ＇a formof introduction＇ (發語辭). Gan-kwǒ and Këang Shing interpret the passage thus:—＇T＇ang＇s majesty became a great example to the empire because he was able to use the right men＇ (湯之嚴威惟땣大法於天떘者, 以其땣用三宅三俊). They differ, however, in the meaning which they give to 三宅; but their construction of thetext is far inferior to that of Leu Tsoo-heen and other critics, which I have followed. 惟 is not the particle, but the verb,=思, ＇to think of＇, ＇to study＇; and 式=法 or效, ＇to imitate＇. Tsoo-heen says that T＇ang＇s way with E Yin, first sitting as a learner at his feet, and then reposing entire confidence in him as his minister, may illustrate the meaning. —＇其在商邑,by the cities of Shang＇ we are to understand all the territory of the imperial domain. —＇用丕式見德,thereby were led to great imitation, and saw the virtue of their sovereign＇. The ＇Daily Explanation＇ expands it:—其在四友之遠而自慕者, 用以大為取法, 如親見其君德, 而無不順治焉.5. 其在受,—comp. the commencement of parr. 5 and6 in Bk XV ..暋=強, ＇strong＇, ＇violent＇. Ts＇ae explains羞刑 by 進任刑戮者, ＇he advanced to office those who punished capitally＇. Këang Shing also gives進任 for羞; but I must take 羞刑 as a description of 暴德之人,＇men of violent character, like his own, who advanced(=deemed) punishments as the proper instrument of govt.＇

God then sovereignly punished him, and caused us to possess the great empire, enjoy the favouring decree which Shang had afore received, and govern all the people in their myriad realms.

6."Subsequently there were king Wăn and king Woo, who knew well the minds of those whom they put in the three positions, and clearly saw the minds of those who had the three grades of ability. Thus they could employ them reverently to serve God, and appointed them as presidents and chiefs of the people.

Show had pleasure only in those princes of the States who were such.

厥邦, ＇his countries＇, seems to be opposed to 厥政,＇his govt＇, i.e., the fiefs to the court.

I take 欽 in the sense of ＇sovereignly＇. Anything with the express sanction of imperial authority is so denominated. 伻놖놋夏, 式商受命=使놖周놋此諸夏, 用商所受之命. 奄甸萬姓,—＇entirely to rule the myriad surnames＇. Compare in Bk. XIV., p. 6, 成湯革夏, 俊民甸四뀘. We need not seek for any other meaning to 甸(as Ts＇ae does) than the general one of 治, ＇to govern＇.萬姓,—comp. Pt. III., Bk. III., p. 9. I suppose that 萬 is used without any particular reference to the surnamesof the people as being so many, or that 萬姓=萬邦之民.

Ch. IV. Pp. 6—15. THE SAME PRINCIPLE OF ANXIETY ABOUT EMPLOYING THE RIGHT MEN EXEMPLIFIED IN THE KINGS WAN AND WOO. 6. Ts＇ae observes that when it is said that Wǎn and Woo knew the minds and saw the minds of the 三宅 and 三俊, this is equivalent to the language of the 2d par., 迪知忱恂而非謀面. It certainly indicates that those sovereigns sought to obtain the most thorough knowledge of those whom they placed or would place in the highest offices of trust. Tsoo-heen calls attention to the difference between 知 and 見.—They knew what was in the highest servants of their govt.; they saw what the men of ability could prove themselves to be, when called to employment.

立民長伯,—those whom Wǎn and Woo thus appointed were the 三宅 and 三後. Ts＇ae, arguing from the language of the Bk. 王制 in the Le Ke, makes the長 to be the governors of a 屬 or five States, and the伯 to be the chiefs of a 州 or 210 States. I do not think that we need to seek for such a definite application of the terms. Ch＇in Leih says that it was a common practice of antiquity for the princes of States to reside at the imperial court, and there sustain office, while the officers of the court were also sent forth, as princes of States.

7. To establish their government, they had the men of office, the officers of law, and the pastors and these appointments were their three concerns.

8. They had also their guards; their officers of the robes; their equerries; their heads of petty officers;their personal attendants; their various overseers; and their treasurers.

9. They had their governors of larger assigned cities and of the smaller; their men of arts; the overseers whose offices were beyond the court; their grand historiographers; and their chiefs of direction:—all,good men of constant virtue.

See the 集說. 7. Këang Shing briefiy and comprehensively explains this par. —文武立政, 以任人, 準夫, 牧, 為三事. 任人 is the 常任 of par. 1; 準夫, the 準人; and 牧,the 常伯.

8. The long enumeration of officers in this and some following paragraphs has no organic connection with the rest of the Book, the argument of which would be improved by the omission of it. I have shown in one of the introductory notes how Wang Pih would dispose of it. All that we can do is to explain the various designation in the best way we can. 趣(read ts＇ow) 馬,—＇equerries＇. These belonged to the department of the 校人 or masters of the imperial stud. Their rank was that of 떘士. See the Chow Le, Books XXVIII. and XXXII. 小尹=小官之長, ＇the heads of small officers＇. We cannot define the designation more particularly.

녨右攜僕,—Gan-kwǒ understands this phrase as in the translation,—녨右攜持器物之僕. Ts＇ae supposes that 攜 has this signification, and that 僕 denotes＇charioteers＇ (僕御). Woo Ch＇ing, again would confine the two characters to this latter meaning. Gan-kwǒ＇s interpretation seems the preferable. =＇百司, the hundred super-intendents or overseers＇. The phrase denotes all the officers who had their special individual charges. Many 司 are mentioned in the Chow Le,—the 司服, 司門, 司뎀, 司甲, 司弓矢, &c .庶府,—＇all thetreasurers＇. In the Chow Le, Bk. VI., we have the 大府, or ＇Grand Treasurer＇; the 玉府, or ＇Treasurer of gems, pearls, gold ornaments＇, &c. the 內府, or ＇Keeper of the inner treasury＇; and the 外府, or ＇Keeper of the outer treasury＇,—the treasury of disbursements. Other府 are mentioned in other places. Wang Yen says:—＇The 庶府 denote all charged with the management of the imperial wealth＇ (凡掌財). 9. The 大都小伯 must be construed, with Ch＇in Shaou-man, 大小都伯, ＇the commandants of Too, great and small＇. The clause is an instance of what is called ＇interlaced style＇ (互文見意),and when completed would be 大都之伯, 小都之伯. On the meaning of 都, see the note on Mencius, II., Pt. II.,iv., 4. By the ＇great Too＇ here we are to understand the cities in the imperial domain assigned for the support of the highest nobles (公之采邑), and by the ＇small Too＇ the cities assigned to those of inferior dignity.

10."In the various States there were the minister of Instruction, the minister of War, and the minister of Works; with the many officers subordinate to them.

11."Among the wild tribes of the Wei, the Loo, and the Ching, in the three Pŏ; and in dangerous places: they had wardens.

12."King Wăn was able to have in himself the minds of those in the three high positions, and so it was that he established those regular officers and superintending pastors, so that they were men of ability and virtue.