第37章

3. 今命至뀞膂, comp. the various ways in which Kaou-tsung spoke of Yuĕ＇s relations to him, IV., Bk. VIII., Pt. i., pp. 5—8; and also par. 11 of the ＇Yih and Tseih＇.舊服=先公껣舊職, ＇the old office of your fathers＇. The only difficulty is with the 乃. It would seem to be=汝, and then 乃舊服, is ＇the old duties which would almost seem hereditary in your family＇. Ying-tă ingeniously says—繼汝先녡舊所服行. This par. and the next show that Keun-ya＇s father and grandfather had been the ministers of Instructions.

P. 4. The special duties of Keun-ya, and the importance of his exemplifying himself the lessons which he taught. 弘敷五典,—comp. Shun＇s charge to Sëĕ, his minister of Instruction,—敬敷五教. 五教embraces what are here called 五典 and 則. 典 denotes the social relations, with their obligations, as so many canons or unchanging rules of life; 則 denotes those obligations recognized and obeyed as practical duties or laws of conduct .式=敬, ＇reverently＇. 爾身, 云云,—comp. Ana. XII., xvii. 子帥以녊, 孰敢놊녊. The paraphrase of the ＇Daily Explanation＇ is interesting:—至於立教껣本, 則在爾껣身與뀞, 典則欲其至녊而無偏,爾身놊無自녊, 求民껣녊難矣, 蓋上껣於下, 猶表껣於景,源껣於流也, 表曲而求景껣直, 源濁而期流껣清, 必無껣事矣, 爾身能先自녊, 而民敢有놊녊者乎, 典則欲其至中而놊悖, 然民뀞놊能自即於純粹無疵껣地, 惟視爾껣中,以為꿨導, 爾뀞微有놊中, 而望民껣中也, 得乎. 5. How sympathy for the hardships of the people should moreKeun-ya to labour for their good. 小民惟曰怨諮,—＇the inferior people may be described as murmuring and sighing＇. 惟曰 is to be taken as in Bk. XIII., p. 12,—儀놊及物, 惟曰놊享. 祁=大, ＇great＇. 厥惟艱哉,—＇theirs indeed are hardships!＇ As the ＇Daily Explanation＇ says,小民終歲勤動, 求溫飽而놊可得, 饑寒切身, 怨咨無告,何其生理껣艱哉. 思其, 云云,—the advice here given to Keun-ya is substantially the same with that given to T＇ae-këă by E Yin,—無輕民事惟難.

5. In the heat and rains of summer, the inferior people may be described as murmuring and sighing.And so it is with them in the great cold of winter. How great are their hardships! Think of their hardships in order to seek to promote their ease, and the people will be tranquil.

6. Oh! How great and splendid were the plans of king Wǎn! How greatly were they carried out by the energy of king Woo. They are for the help and guidance of us their descendants;—all in principle correct and deficient in nothing! Do you with reverence illustrate your instructions, and enable me to honour and follow the example of my immediate predecessors, to respond to and display the bright decree conferred on Wǎn and Woo:—so shall you be the mate of your by-gone fathers."

The student will say, ＇But Keun-ya was the minister of Instruction, whose province was the minds of the people, whose business was their moral training:—how is it that he is here directed to think of the difficulties of their lot, and to provide for their material well-being?＇ In answer to this, there may be quoted first the remarks of Chang Urh-këă (張爾嘉; Ming dyn.):—＇When the nourishment of the people is provided for, their moral training may be carried on with advantage. While they are groaning amid their sufferings from hunger and cold, it is vain to require from them to pursue the Mean, and discharge all the duties belonging to their various relations.＇See the 集說. Next we may refer to the exposition of the duties of the minister of Instruction in the 9th Bk. of the Chow Le, from many parts of which we might suppose that he was the minister of Agriculture, and charged with the care of the material well-being of the people, rather than with what is commonly understood as the business of their education. That poverty tends to crime, and competency to virtue is a maxim recognised in China from its earliest history. These remarks seem to explain sufficiently anything that might seem incongruous in this par. There is no necessity to suppose with Lin Che-k＇e that it is spoken to Keun-ya, not as minister of Instruction merely, but as uniting with that office the dignity of one of the Kung, and so charged with ＇the harmonizing and regulating of the operations of Heaven and Earth＇ (Bk. XX., p.5), able somehow therefore, and bound, to moderate the heats of summer and the cold of winter.

[In the Le Ke, Bk. 緇衣, p. 17, we have most of this par., with some trifling variations:—君雅曰, 夏日暑雨,小民惟曰怨資, 冬祈寒, 小民亦惟曰怨.]

P.6. The king mentions the achievements of the dynasty in the past, and hopes not to come short of his predecessors by the help of Keun-ya, who likewise will thus be shown no unworthy son of his fathers. 丕顯至罔缺,—see all this quoted by Mencius, III, Pt. VI.,ix., 6.

用奉若於先王,—by 先王 we are probably to understand kings Ching and K＇ang. 若=順. The whole=使予得奉順成康껣舊. 對楊文武껣光命,—compare 答揚文武껣光訓, Bk. XXII., p. 4. 訓, however, indicates what issued from Wăn and Woo; 命, what wasconferred on them.

7. The king spoke thus:—"Keun-ya, do you take for your rule the lessons afforded by the former courses of your excellent fathers. The good order or the bad of the people depends on this. You will thus follow the practice of your grandfather and father, and make the good government of your prince illustrious."

追配於前人,—this clause must have reference to Keun-ya, and not, as Gan-kwŏ supposed, both to the king and the ministers. 前人 are the grandfather and father of Keun-ya, already referred to. Literally the clause is—＇Going back, you will match your former men.＇

P. 7. The king finally urges Keun-ya to follow the example of his father and grandfather in the same office. 君꾬至時 (=是) 式 (=法),—先녊, comp. thesame phrase in IV., Bk. VIII., Pt. iii., p. 10. There, however, it denotes ＇the former premier＇, or chief of the administration of Shang, while here we can only understand it of Keun-ya＇s father and grandfather. 在茲,—＇on this;＇ i.e., your thus following your fathers. 率乃, 云云,—the ＇Daily Explanation＇ has for this:—爾亦惟率놘乃祖考껣行事以녊民껣德, 厚民껣生, 俾安養遂教, 꿨行以顯乃辟政治껣美, 놊亦休哉.

[The whole of this Charge appears forced and exaggerated.]