# 
 
 niv-;eio-£  HU  '  30 
 
 q  r,  c 
 
 •  v-  '  w  ^ 
 
 A 
 
 ! 
 
Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
 in  2019  with  funding  from  „ 
 Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 
 
 https://archive.org/details/classicsofconfucOOunse 
 
First  Edition 
 Reprinted  .  . 
 
 Reprinted  .  . 
 
 March  1906 
 October  1911 
 October  1918 
 
WISDOM  OF  THE  EAST 
 
 THE  CLASSICS  OF 
 CONFUCIUS 
 
 BOOK  OF  HISTORY  (SHU  KING) 
 
 RENDERED  AND  COMPILED 
 
 BY  W.  GORN  OLD,  M.R.A.S. 
 
 AUTHOR  OF  TRANSLATIONS  (WITH  COMMENTARIES) 
 
 Or  THE  SHU  KING,  TAOTEH-KING,  BTC. 
 
 JOHN  MURRAY,  ALBEMARLE ‘STREET,  W. 
 
 1918 
 
All  Rights  Reserved 
 
 Printed  by  Hatell,  Watson  &"  Finey,  Ld ,,  London  and  Aylesbury ,  England. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 fAQB 
 
 9 
 
 I 
 
 WHAT  YAOU  SAID  . 
 
 IT 
 
 II 
 
 THE  SHINING  OF  SHUN  . 
 
 21 
 
 III 
 
 THE  TOILS  OF  TA-YU  .  .  .  t  •  .  2(> 
 
 IV 
 
 THE  ENDING  OF  HIA 
 
 5 
 
 31 
 
EDITORIAL  NOTE 
 
 HE  object  of  the  editors  of  this  series  is  a 
 
 JL  very  definite  one.  They  desire  above  all 
 things  that,  in  their  humble  way,  these  books 
 shall  be  the  ambassadors  of  good-will  and 
 understanding  between  East  and  West,  the  old 
 world  of  Thought,  and  the  new  of  Action.  In 
 this  endeavour,  and  in  their  own  sphere,  they 
 are  but  followers  of  the  highest  example  in  the 
 land.  They  are  confident  that  a  deeper  kn&w- 
 ledge  of  the  great  ideals  and  lofty  philosophy 
 of  Oriental  thought  may  help  to  a  revival  of 
 that  true  spirit  of  Charity  which  neither  despises 
 nor  fears  the  nations  of  another  creed  and 
 colour. 
 
 L.  CRANMER-BYNG, 
 S.  A.  KAPADIA. 
 
 Northbrook  Society, 
 
 21  Cromwell  Road, 
 
 Kensington,  S.W, 
 
THE 
 
 CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 BOOK  OF  HISTORY  (SHU  KING) 
 
 - * - 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 The  following  pages  are  designed  to  convey  to 
 the  English  reader  a  familiar  view  of  the  men 
 who  made  Chinese  history  during  the  earlier  ages 
 of  the  Yellow  Empire. 
 
 As  to  the  construction  of  the  present  work  I 
 may  say  that  although  the  body  of  it  has  been 
 extracted  from  the  book  known  as  the  Historical 
 Classic  ( Shu  King),  much  of  the  detail  is  due  to 
 the  Mirror  of  Chinese  History.  The  Classic 
 compiled  by  Confucius  from  the  records  of  the 
 Chow  Dynasty  contains  only  detached  records 
 of  the  chief  historical  incidents  in  the  reigns  of 
 some  seventeen  rulers  of  the  Middle  Kingdom 
 (Chung  Kwo),oi  which  two,  Yaou  and  Shun,  belong 
 to  the  Patriarchal  Dynasty,  five  to  the  Hia 
 
 9 
 
10  THE  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 Dynasty,  five  to  the  Shang  Dynasty,  and  five  to 
 the  Chow  Dynasty.  Of  these  seventeen  rulers 
 we  learn  very  little  that  is  of  an  intimate  nature 
 from  the  State  records  comprised  in  the  Class  c, 
 but  it  appears  that  later  research  and  the  revival 
 of  literature  in  China  evoked  a  considerable  body 
 of  detached  incidents,  personal  anecdotes,  and 
 other  fragments  of  historical  value,  which  even¬ 
 tually  gave  life  and  colour  to  the  work  of  later 
 historians.  On  this  account  it  is  possible  to 
 restore  to  some  extent  the  faded  portraits  pre¬ 
 sented  in  the  pages  of  the  Historical  Classic, 
 and  I  have  attempted  this  in  regard  to  some 
 few  of  the  more  notable  characters.  Thus,  while 
 the  characters  treated  are  all  to  be  found  in  the 
 Classic,  and  while  a  large  portion  of  the  material 
 is  drawn  directly  from  that  source,  the  tone  and 
 style  are  dictated  in  every  instance  by  the  Mirror, 
 an  arrangement  which  it  is  to  be  hoped  will  not 
 warrant  the  criticism  of  the  scholar  nor  prove 
 without  its  benefits  to  the  general  reader. 
 
 The  author  has  reason  to  believe  that  the 
 present  narratives  will  commend  themselves,  if 
 only  on  account  of  their  brevity,  to  those  who  are 
 not  usually  inclined  to  the  study  of  history.  All 
 the  characters  to  which  these  sketches  are  related 
 are  to  be  found  in  the  Chinese  Historical  Classic 
 of  Confucius  (the  Shu  King). 
 
 To  those  who  are  unacquainted  with  the  history 
 of  Chinese  literature,  a  few  words  regarding  the 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 11 
 
 Historical  Classic  may  not  be  unwelcome.  It  is 
 abundantly  evident  from  the  text  of  this  ancient 
 record  that  from  the  very  earliest  times  of  which 
 it  treats  the  Tai  Shih,  or  Great  Historian,  was 
 one  of  the  four  chief  Ministers  of  State,  and  that 
 the  office  was  at  no  time  vacant  during  successive 
 centuries.  The  historians  of  the  Hia  dynasty 
 were  succeeded  by  those  of  the  Shang,  and  the 
 historians  of  Yin  by  those  of  Chow,  so  that  the 
 records  to  which  Confucius  had  access,  and  from 
 which  he  compiled  the  Shu  King,  were  probably 
 as  genuine  and  authentic  as  any  archives  of  which 
 the  world  has  knowledge.  Moreover,  a  close 
 study  of  the  text  of  this  remarkable  classic 
 reveals  the  fact  that  the  historians  of  each 
 successive  dynasty  quote  the  records  of  their 
 immediate  predecessors,  which  clearly  indicates 
 the  existence  of  permanent  historical  archives. 
 Yet  at  one  time  the  whole  of  this  record  was  in 
 danger  of  being  wiped  out  of  existence,  an  event 
 which  would  have  left  the  denizens  of  the  Yellow 
 Empire  to  perpetuate  their  traditions  within  the 
 shadow-line  of  song  and  fable.  It  happened  in 
 the  year  b.c.  220  that  the  Emperor  Chi-Hwang, 
 being  desirous  of  flooding  the  earth  with  his  glory, 
 commanded  that  the  historical  books  should  be 
 burned  and  the  literary  men  buried  alive,  so  that, 
 in  the  absence  of  any  evidence  to  the  contrary, 
 he  might  be  thenceforth  considered  as  the  founder 
 of  the  Empire  and  the  first  of  its  rulers.  Special 
 
12  THE  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 search  was  made  for  copies  of  the  Shu  King,  and 
 all  found  were  consigned  to  the  flames.  Thus 
 it  came  about  that  when  Wan  Ti  (b.c.  177) 
 desired  to  restore  the  literature  of  the  Empire, 
 he  was  obliged  to  engage  the  services  of  an  old 
 man  named  Fuh  Sang,  who  lived  in  the  Shan-tung 
 province,  and  who  had  escaped  death  by  the 
 extreme  measure  of  putting  out  his  eyes  and 
 feigning  insanity.  This  old  man  was  able  to 
 reproduce  the  greater  part  of  the  Book  of  History 
 from  memory.  About  thirty  years  later,  how¬ 
 ever,  when  Rung  Wang  of  Lu  was  engaged  in 
 dismantling  the  former  abode  of  Confucius,  he 
 discovered  among  a  number  of  other  books  a 
 copy  of  the  Shu  King  written  in  the  ancient 
 characters.  This  was  deciphered  and  transcribed 
 by  Kung-An-Kwo  and  published  with  a  com¬ 
 mentary. 
 
 The  History  embraces  a  period  of  upwards  of 
 two  thousand  years,  from  the  reign  of  the  patri¬ 
 archal  ruler  Yaou  (b.c.  2355)  to  that  of  Ping  Wang 
 (b.c.  768),  treating  of  the  more  important  incidents 
 in  the  kingdom  during  the  dominion  of  the  Hia, 
 Shang,  and  Chow  dynasties. 
 
 Of  K’ung-Fu-Tzu  (Confucius),  the  compiler  of 
 this  classic,  little  need  be  said. 
 
 He  was  born  in  Lu  on  December  12th,  b.c.  550. 
 
 Whether  as  political  reformer,  author,  philo¬ 
 sopher,  or  as  compiler  of  the  Chinese  Classics, 
 his  name  is  known  all  over  the  world.  His 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 13 
 
 famous  work,  Spring  and  Autumn  (Chun  Chiu), 
 contains  the  history  of  h’s  own  times  and  begins 
 where  this  record  of  the  Shu  King  leaves  off,  being 
 continued  to  the  year  b.c.  481.  In  this  book  he 
 frequently  quotes  from  the  earliest  section  of  the 
 Shu  King  under  the  name  of  the  Book  of  Hia, 
 and  since  the  authenticity  of  the  Chun  Chiu  has 
 never  been  questioned,  the  great  antiquity  of  the 
 Historical  Classic  is  manifestly  established. 
 
 The  knowledge  of  at  least  the  outlines  of  so 
 ancient  and  w^ell-authenticated  a  history  as  that 
 which  belongs  to  China,  is  not  merely  a  matter 
 of  ordinary  education,  but  is  of  supreme  import¬ 
 ance  to  those  who  would  enter  seriously  and 
 sympathetically  into  the  thought  and  literature 
 of  the  Far  East.  It  is  not  altogether  speculative 
 to  affirm  that  the  balance  of  political  power, 
 within  the  limits  of  the  Yellow  Empire,  will  in 
 all  probability  before  long  undergo  some  re¬ 
 adjustment,  and  to  whatever  nation  the  Fates 
 may  entrust  the  work  of  political  reconstruction 
 and  organisation,  it  is  certain  that  the  teeming 
 millions  of  the  Flowery  Kingdom  will  be  more 
 easily  persuaded  than  coerced,  and  far  more 
 readily  drawn  into  loyal  co-operation  with  those 
 who  respect  their  traditions,  and  show  at  least  a 
 passing  knowledge  of  the  things  they  swear  by, 
 than  with  any  others. 
 
 If  I  were  asked  to  indicate  the  arena  of  the 
 world’s  great  struggle  for  supremacy  in  the  future, 
 
 o 
 
14  THE  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 the  Coliseum  of  its  heroes,  the  Forum  of  its 
 legislators,  and  the  Emporium  of  its  trade,  I 
 should  place  my  finger  on  the  ancient  Yellow 
 Empire.  Vast  indeed  must  be  the  resources  of 
 that  extensive  territory  of  all  but  virgin  soil ; 
 but  the  people  who  would  undertake  the  de¬ 
 velopment  of  that  country  must  be  prepared  to 
 break  down  the  traditional  prejudices  which 
 dominate  the  minds  of  its  native  populace,  or 
 at  least  make  an  intelligent  use  of  them.  And 
 this  is  not  to  be  effectively  done  without  some 
 knowledge  of  the  precepts  and  statutes  which 
 have  influenced  the  domestic  and  civil  life  of  the 
 Chinese  for  over  forty  centuries. 
 
 It  is  oustomary,  I  might  almost  say  fashionable, 
 to  affect  a  supreme  contempt  for  those  peoples 
 which,  on  account  of  their  social  and  political 
 remoteness  from  modern  Western  methods  and 
 standards  of  civilisation,  are  termed  “  heathen 
 and  barbarian.”  But  it  will  afford  salutary  re¬ 
 freshment  to  many  minds  when  it  is  thoroughly 
 understood  that  the  foundations  of  our  science, 
 our  philosophy,  our  religion,  and  our  politics  were 
 established  in  China  some  thirty  centuries  before 
 the  present  era. 
 
 Think  of  it !  Upwards  of  twenty-five  centuries 
 before  the  dawn  of  the  light  of  Christianity  and 
 civilisation  in  Britain,  and  nearly  twenty  centuries 
 before  the  founding  of  the  city  of  Rome,  China 
 was  possessed  of  a  civil  and  criminal  code,  statute 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 15 
 
 laws,  nine  departmental  Ministers  of  State  under 
 the  Emperor,  extensive  home  industries,  a  large 
 import  and  export  trade,  a  systematised  canal 
 and  river  service,  a  standing  army,  an  extensive 
 agriculture,  local  governments  and  tributary  taxa¬ 
 tion,  and  schools  of  literature,  art,  science,  and 
 music  under  the  patronage  and  protection  of 
 hereditary  dukes,  earls,  marquises,  and  barons. 
 
 In  the  sciences  of  engineering  and  astronomy 
 alone  we  have  sufficient  evidence  before  us  to 
 show  that  the  Chinese  had  attained  a  perfection 
 which  later  civilisations  have  emulated,  but  only 
 the  few  surpassed.  Thus  we  learn  from  the 
 History  that  Yaou  checked  the  calendar  which 
 he  had  received  by  tradition  from  Chuen-Hia  by 
 reference  to  the  culmination  of  the  four  cardinal 
 constellations — Sing,  Fang,  Hiu,  and  Maou — and 
 determined  by  observation  the  length  of  the 
 sidereal  year.  Of  Ta-Yu  we  read  that  he  success¬ 
 fully  fought  the  great  floods  of  the  year  b.c.  2295, 
 embanking  and  directing  the  great  Hwang-Ho 
 and  the  Yang-tze-Kiang,  levelling  the  hills  and 
 draining  the  marches,  widening  and  deepening 
 the  canals,  thus  laying  nearly  a  thousand  square 
 miles  open  to  cultivation  by  the  people  who  had 
 been  driven  to  take  refuge  in  the  hills. 
 
 The  ethical  and  political  philosophy  to  be  found 
 even  in  the  earliest  pages  of  the  History  are  such 
 as  are  applicable  to  all  ages  and  nations,  and  it 
 may  be  said  with  considerable  assurance  that 
 
16  THE  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 there  is  no  fundamental  principle  of  modern 
 acceptation  either  in  social  law  or  political 
 economy  which  does  not  find  its  place  in  the 
 statutes  of  Ancient  China. 
 
 It  is  therefore  with  some  confidence  that  I 
 venture  to  present  these  simple  stories  concerning 
 some  of  the  more  notable  characters  in  the  annals 
 of  Ancient  China,  believing  that  they  will  suffer 
 no  disadvantage  when  honestly  judged  by  modern 
 Western  standards,  and  hoping  that  they  may  be 
 the  means  of  bringing  my  own  countrymen  into 
 closer  sympathy  with  that  great  and  ancient 
 nation  of  which  they  are  illustrious  or  remarkable 
 and  interesting  representatives. 
 
 i 
 
BOOK  OF  HISTORY 
 
 I 
 
 WHAT  YAOU  SAID 
 
 Fang-heun,  the  son  of  Kaou-Sin  and  K’ing-Tu, 
 having  been  born  at  Tanling,  and  brought  up 
 in  the  province  of  E,  was  afterwards  removed  to 
 Ki.  Therefore  was  he  called  E-Ki.  And  when 
 his  elder  brother  Che  had  ruled  for  nine  years 
 over  all  of  the  Middle  Kingdom ,  and  so  ruled 
 that  he  was  rejected  both  of  gods  and  men,  it 
 was  then  that  Taou-T’ang,  otherwise  called  Yaou, 
 ascended  the  Imperial  throne  at  Ping -yang,  being 
 ten  and  six  years  of  age. 
 
 All  within  the  four  seas  have  heard  how  that 
 he  first  of  all  regulated  the  calendar,  making 
 count  of  the  times  from  the  days  of  Chuen-Hia, 
 and  settling  the  seasons  by  the  stars  of  the  evening 
 sky.  Then  did  he  receive  from  the  barbarians 
 of  Yue-shang  the  tribute  of  the  Great  Tortoise 
 at  his  court,  whereby  from  figures  engraven  on 
 its  back  he  learned  of  what  had  happened  before 
 the  days  of  the  flood  in  ages  that  had  long  gone 
 
 17 
 
18  THE  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 by.  Then  peace  reigned  throughout  the  land, 
 for  the  Son  of  Heaven  governed  the  people  with 
 virtue  and  had  regard  for  Heaven’s  decrees. 
 
 Thus  was  it  that  on  occasion  he  rambled  through 
 the  highways  and  byways  of  the  country,  and 
 heard  the  plaudits  of  the  people  in  their  simple 
 songs,  of  which  the  records  give  us  this  example  : 
 
 Great  is  Heaven’s  Son  the  mighty  Yaou, 
 
 On  whom  we  rest 
 As  creatures  sleep 
 Upon  the  breast 
 Of  Tuh ! 
 
 Secure,  contented,  peaceful,  blest : 
 
 While  stars  with  noiseless  measure  sweep 
 In  view  ! 
 
 We  nothing  know  nor  understand 
 But  how  to  keep  the  King’s  command  ! 
 
 And  hearing  this  the  Emperor  was  glad  in  his 
 heart  and  said  :  “  Lo  !  I  have  not  distressed  my¬ 
 self,  and  yet  the  people  are  well  governed.  I 
 have  remained  in  obscurity,  and  behold,  the 
 people  shine  !  ” 
 
 But  there  were  those  in  whose  hearts  was  the 
 spirit  of  disaffection,  sons  of  the  soil  to  whom  the 
 kindly  earth  had  yielded  of  its  best,  and  these 
 said  murmuringly  :  “We  sally  forth  to  our  work 
 at  the  rising  of  the  sun,  and  at  its  going  down  we 
 take  our  well-earned  rest.  We  dig  our  wells  and 
 drink ;  we  plough  our  fields  and  eat.  What 
 then  does  the  Emperor’s  strength  avail  us  ?  ”  * 
 
 *  The  Husbandman’s  Song :  Chinese  Literature ,  H.  A.  Giles, 
 U  A..  U.  D. 
 
WHAT  YAOU  SAID 
 
 19 
 
 At  this  the  Emperor  said  within  himself : 
 “  What  then  ?  Is  there  yet  the  man  who  does 
 not  know  humility  ?  The  fault  is  mine.  I 
 must  study  to  increase  my  virtue  and  see 
 wherein  I  have  departed  from  the  Way  of 
 Heaven.” 
 
 When  the  keeper  of  the  Hwa  Mountain  received 
 the  Emperor  on  his  tour  of  inspection,  he  humbly 
 felicitated  him,  saying  :  “  May  the  august  mon¬ 
 arch  enjoy  great  wealth  and  long  life  and  become 
 the  father  of  many  sons.” 
 
 But  Yaou  replied,  saying  :  “  Thanks,  I  would 
 rather  be  excused  !  He  who  has  many  sons  has 
 a  multiplicity  of  fears.  He  who  has  much  wealth 
 has  a  great  load  of  care.  He  who  lives  long  is 
 certain  to  decline.” 
 
 Then  said  the  keeper  of  Hwa-shan  :  “  When 
 Heaven  produces  a  people,  it  always  finds  them 
 something  to  do,  and  if  you  have  many  sons  and 
 they  be  well  occupied,  what  need  is  there  to  fear  ? 
 If  you  are  rich,  you  can  distribute  your  wealth  to 
 others,  and  then  what  need  is  there  for  care  ? 
 And  if  you  live  a  long  while  and  follow  the  true 
 way,  should  the  empire  prosper  you  will  flourish 
 with  the  rest.  But  if  you  live  a  long  while,  and 
 the  world  is  filled  with  wickedness,  you  have  only 
 to  retire  into  obscurity  and  cultivate  your  virtue 
 then  when  life  is  done  and  human  ties  are  severed, 
 you  will  go  to  join  the  gods.  And  thus  trans¬ 
 cending  the  clouds,  you  will  attain  the  regions  of 
 
20  THE  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 the  Supreme ;  so  what  occasion  is  there  for 
 decline  ?  ” 
 
 Then  Yaou  said  :  “  Hwa-shan  Paou  !  we  come 
 by  many  branching  roads  and  devious  ways  to 
 the  understanding  of  wisdom.  I,  the  Lonely  One, 
 have  travelled  many  leagues  and  have  heard 
 many  strange  things  ;  but  this  saying  of  yours, 
 that  a  man  may  have  many  sons  and  possess 
 much  wealth  and  see  great  length  of  days,  and 
 yet  be  free  from  care  and  fear  and  danger  of 
 decline,  is  a  thing  which  I  never  yet  have  heard  ! 
 I  perceive  that  the  forest  trees  are  of  many  sorts 
 and  sizes,  and  that  those  which  bear  fruit  do  not 
 put  it  all  forth  upon  a  single  branch.  I  will  think 
 upon  it.” 
 
 Now  concerning  the  good  Yaou,  it  is  said  that 
 he  ruled  Chung-Kwo  for  one  hundred  years, 
 the  years  of  his  life  being  one  hundred  ten  and 
 six.  He  was  kind  and  benevolent  as  Heaven, 
 wise  and  discerning  as  the  gods.  From  afar 
 his  radiance  was  like  a  shining  cloud,  and  ap¬ 
 proaching  near  him  he  was  brilliant  as  the  sun. 
 Rich  was  he  without  ostentation,  and  regal 
 without  luxuriousness.  He  wore  a  yellow  cap 
 and  a  dark  tunic  and  rode  in  a  red  chariot  drawn 
 by  white  horses.  The  eaves  of  his  thatch  were 
 not  trimmed,  and  the  rafters  were  unplaned, 
 while  the  beams  of  his  house  had  no  ornamental 
 ends.  His  principal  food  was  soup,  indifferently 
 compounded,  nor  was  ho  choice  in  selecting  his 
 
THE  SHINING  OF  SHUN 
 
 21 
 
 grain.  He  drank  his  broth  of  lentils  from  a  dish 
 that  was  made  of  clay,  using  a  wooden  spoon. 
 His  person  was  not  adorned  with  jewels,  and  his 
 clothes  were  without  embroidery,  simple  and 
 without  variety.  He  gave  no  attention  to 
 uncommon  things  and  strange  happenings,  nor 
 did  he  value  those  things  that  were  rare  and 
 peculiar.  He  did  not  listen  to  songs  of  dalliance, 
 his  chariot  of  state  was  not  emblazoned,  the 
 walls  of  his  house  were  not  painted,  nor  were  his 
 mattings  fringed  with  borders.  In  summer  he 
 wore  his  simple  garb  of  cotton,  and  in  winter  he 
 covered  himself  with  skins  of  the  deer.  Yet  was 
 he  the  richest,  the  wisest,  the  longest-lived  and 
 most  beloved  of  all  that  ever  ruled  over  Chung- 
 Kwo.* 
 
 (B.c.  2356-2256.) 
 
 II 
 
 THE  SHINING  OF  SHUN 
 
 Ciiung-Hwa,  otherwise  known  as  Yiu-Yew,  the 
 son  of  Kuh-Saou,  being  bom  in  obscurity,  there¬ 
 after  attained  to  such  brilliance  that  there  was 
 none  within  the  four  seas  who  did  not  witness 
 to  his  glory.  For  Shun’s  father  was  blind  with 
 the  blindness  of  unreason,  and  his  mother  was 
 
 *  “  Heaven  alone  is  great,”  says  Confucius,  “  and  none  but 
 Yaou  could  imitate  Heaven,” 
 
22  THE  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 frail  with  the  frailty  of  self-deception  ;  while  his 
 brother  Siang,  who  was  favoured  of  his  father 
 because  he  was  the  child  of  his  second  wife, 
 vented  his  spleen  upon  the  patient  Shun  on  all 
 occasions.  Yet  did  not  Shun  fail  in  obedience 
 to  his  parents,  nor  in  kindness  to  his  younger 
 brother,  but  was  continually  careful  and  attentive 
 to  his  duties,  respectful,  humble,  and  devoted. 
 And  as  to  his  kindred,  so  also  to  his  neighbours 
 he  practised  virtue  and  charity,  so  that  while 
 he  was  yet  a  young  man  he  became  noted  for  his 
 filal  piety,  his  patience,  his  loyalty  and  goodness 
 of  heart.  Wherever  he  ploughed  the  people 
 forgot  their  landmarks,  wherever  he  fished  the 
 people  took  in  their  lines.  He  made  pottery  on 
 the  banks  of  the  Hwang-Ho  that  was  perfectly 
 smooth  and  non-porous.  He  made  implements 
 at  Show-shan.  Wherever  he  lived  for  a  year 
 the  people  formed  a  community  ;  wherever  he 
 lived  for  two  years  they  built  a  city  ;  and  wherever 
 he  resided  for  three  years  they  erected  a  capital. 
 
 These  things  came  to  the  ears  of  the  good 
 Yaou  at  the  time  when  he  sought  a  successor 
 to  his  throne,  for  his  own  son  Tan-Chu  was  a 
 man  in  whom  there  was  no  virtue.  He  therefore 
 determined  to  put  Yu-Shun  upon  trial  to  see  if 
 he  could  manage  the  affairs  of  the  State.  Shun 
 therefore  set  forth  throughout  all  the  land  the 
 Five  Great  Precepts.  Being  charged  with  the 
 calculations,  they  were  all  seasonably  arranged. 
 
THE  SHINING  OF  SHUN 
 
 23 
 
 Being  told  to  receive  the  guests  at  the  four  gates 
 of  the  palace,  they  came  in  harmoniously  and 
 went  forth  contented  and  pleased.  While  the 
 floods  were  still  unabated,  he  was  sent  forth  into 
 the  hills  and  forests  to  make  a  survey  of  the 
 country,  and  though  fierce  winds  and  thunder 
 and  torrential  rains  prevailed,  he  was  not  dis¬ 
 mayed,  neither  did  he  lose  his  way.  Certain 
 was  it  that  his  capacity  excelled  that  of  other 
 men,  so  that  Heaven  and 'Earth,  the  spirits  and 
 the  gods,  all  did  him  service. 
 
 Then  said  the  good  Yaou  :  “  Come,  Yu-Shun  ! 
 I  have  studied  your  actions  and  taken  count  of 
 your  words.  Your  actions  are  great  and  your 
 words  are  small.  Both  have  the  merit  of  virtue. 
 Do  you  therefore  ascend  the  throne,  for  I  find 
 no  virtue  in  my  son  Tan-Chu.  ” 
 
 Then  Shun  divided  the  country  into  twelve 
 districts,  and  commanded  Yu  to  drain  the  land 
 and  bring  the  floods  under  control.  He  appointed 
 the  twelve  hills  for  sacrificial  stations,  and 
 determined  the  modes  and  degrees  of  punishment 
 to  offenders. 
 
 “  Be  careful  !  ”  he  said.  “  Be  cautious  in  the 
 administration  of  the  law.  Offences  of  ignorance 
 and  misfortune  must  be  freely  pardoned,  and  in 
 all  matters  of  doubt  let  your  judgment  incline 
 to  the  side  of  mercy.” 
 
 When  after  twenty  and  eight  years  the  good 
 Yaou  died  at  Yang,  it  was  to  Shun,  the  faithful, 
 
24  THE  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 the  loyal,  the  industrious,  that  the  people  adhered. 
 He  appointed  the  heads  of  the  sixteen  chief 
 families  to  administer  the  government,  and 
 expressed  his  willingness  to  receive  correction. 
 Moreover,  he  set  up  a  Complaint  Board,  so  that 
 whoever  had  a  grievance  against  his  methods  of 
 government  might  state  it  without  fear.  Then 
 he  ordered  the  Chief  Musician,  whose  name  was 
 Kwei,  to  make  a  harp  of  three  and  twenty 
 strings.  And  the  musician  did  so,  and  composed 
 the  tunes  of  the  “  The  Nine  Guests,”  “  The  Six 
 Nobles,”  and  “The  Six  Heroes,”  setting  forth  the 
 virtues  of  the  Emperor. 
 
 Chung-Li  was  enchanted,  and  proposed  that 
 a  search  should  be  made  for  more  men  of  musical 
 excellence.  But  the  Emperor  said  :  “  No.  One 
 Kwei  is  enough.” 
 
 And  in  the  third  year,  at  the  time  of  the  annual 
 sacrifice,  Shun  made  inquiry  of  individual  merit, 
 elevating  and  degrading  those  whom  he  had  put 
 in  office  according  as  they  proved  themselves 
 efficient  or  incapable.  Then  all  the  State  officials 
 sang  : 
 
 The  azure  vault  is  clear  and  bright, 
 
 The  stars  their  courses  run, 
 
 The  sun  and  moon  conjoin  their  light 
 To  glorify  Yu-Shun  ! 
 
 And  in  the  thirty  and  third  year  of  his  exalted 
 reign,  the  Emperor  Shun  sought  the  President 
 of  the  Sze-Shan  and  said  to  him  :  “If  there  be 
 
THE  SHINING  OE  SHUN 
 
 25 
 
 within  my  kingdom  one  who  is  capable  of  exalting 
 virtue,  who  can  carry  out  the  good  Yaou’s  enter¬ 
 prises,  I  would  make  him  Prime  Minister,  so 
 that  he  might  illuminate  all  things  with  his 
 intelligence  and  render  everything  subservient  to 
 his  uses.” 
 
 “  There  is  Lord  Yu,”  exclaimed  every  one 
 present,  “  the  son  of  Kwan,  the  Earl  of  Tsung. 
 Has  he  not  in  his  capacity  of  Surveyor-General 
 manifested  the  utmost  capacity  ?  ” 
 
 “  True  !  ”  replied  the  Emperor.  And  he 
 signed  for  Yu  to  come  forward. 
 
 But  Yu  was  affected  with  modesty,  having  the 
 virtue  of  humility,  and  he  declined  the  honour 
 in  favour  of  Kaou-Yaou,  and  Sia  and  Tseih. 
 
 “  These  are  all  good  men,”  he  said.  “  Your 
 Majesty  may  be  pleased  to  select  one  of  them.” 
 
 “  Very  good  !  ”  replied  the  Emperor,  “  but 
 do  you  set  about  the  business  of  administering 
 the  government.” 
 
 Then  Yu  compiled  the  Code  of  Laws  and  fixed 
 the  nine  degrees  of  rank,  and  newly  divided 
 the  empire  into  nine  provinces.  And  when  he 
 had  appointed  the  nine  Ministers  of  Sta„te,  the 
 Surveyor-General,  the  Minister  of  Agriculture, 
 the  Minister  of  Public  Instruction,  the  Criminal 
 Judge,  the  Minister  of  Public  Works,  the  Master 
 of  the  Ceremonies,  the  Chief  Musician,  the  Chief 
 Ambassador,  and  the  Warden  of  the  Marshes,  he 
 called  Tan-Chu,  the  son  of  Yaou,  and  said  to 
 
26  THE  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 him  :  “  0  Chu,  son  of  Yaou,  it  is  necessary 
 
 that  there  be  open  communion  between  the  gods 
 and  men,  and  between  the  Supreme  Ruler  and 
 our  Emperor  Shun.  Do  you  therefore  take  in 
 hand  the  government  of  Tan,  and  continually 
 preserve  the  sacrifices  that  are  due  to  your  august 
 ancestors.” 
 
 Then  the  Emperor  went  to  his  father  Kuh- 
 Saou,  and  did  him  homage,  elevating  his  younger 
 brother  Siang  to  the  territory  of  Yiu-Pih. 
 
 And  the  people  prospered,  and  the  country 
 had  rest. 
 
 But  in  the  eight  and  fortieth  year  of  his  reign 
 the  emperor  died  in  the  desert  of  Tsang-Wuh. 
 For  thirty  years  he  sat  upon  the  throne  with 
 Yaou,  and  for  fifty  years*  he  ruled  alone.  Then 
 he  ascended  far  away,  and  died.  And  the  people 
 reverted  to  Yu. 
 
 (b.C.  2284-2204.) 
 
 Ill 
 
 THE  TOILS  OF  TA-YU 
 
 Wang-ming-tze,  son  of  Kwan,  Earl  of  Tsung, 
 and  of  Siu-ki,  daughter  of  Yiu-sin,  attained  to 
 the  highest  position  by  virtue  of  his  capacity 
 for  strenuous  work.  His  father,  Kwan,  having 
 been  appointed  by  Shun  to  be  the  Minister  of 
 
 *  This  nicludes  two  years  previous  to  investiture  of  Shun. 
 
THE  TOILS  OF  TA-YU 
 
 21 
 
 Public  Works,  was  directed  to  reclaim  the  valleys 
 from  devastating  floods.  But  after  nine  years 
 the  inundated  valleys  were  still  submerged. 
 
 Then  was  it  that  the  Emperor  said  to  his 
 ministers  :  “  Find  me  the  man  who  shall  cause 
 the  rivers  to  flow  jn  their  appointed  channels  and 
 abate  these  floods  which  devastate  my  people’s 
 country.”  And  all  those  who  were  present  said  : 
 “  Behold  !  there  is  Lord  Yu.”  Wherefore  the 
 son  of  Kwan  was  appointed  to  be  Surveyor- 
 General,  and  completed  the  work  which  his 
 father Jiad  been  unable  to  accomplish. 
 
 He  went  forth  upon  his  marriage  morn,  nor 
 tarried  in  dalliance,  but  having  received  the 
 commands  of  his  Emperor  he  straightway  sought 
 to  fulfil  them.  He  divided  the  country  into 
 nine  provinces,  partitioning  the  land  and  fixing 
 the  boundaries  by  the  high  hills  and  great  rivers. 
 Ascending  the  hills,  he  felled  the  timber ;  and 
 making  dams,  bridges,  and  pontoons,  he  widened 
 and  deepened  the  canals,  and  drained  off  the 
 marshes  into  the  rivers,  conducting  them  into 
 the  Yang-t&e  and  the  Ho.  Three  times  in  the 
 course  of  his  survey  he  passed  the  door  of  his 
 own  dwelling  and  heard  the  voice  of  his  bride 
 and  the  prattle  of  his  infant  son,  but  yet  he  did 
 not  enter.  Thus*  after  eight  years  he  completed 
 his  task  and  presented  his  staff  to  the  Emperor. 
 
 Then  Shun  said  :  “  Come  hither,  Yu  !  When 
 the  inundations  alarmed  me  and  drove  my  people 
 
28  THE  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 from  the  fertile  valleys  into  the  desolate  hills, 
 you  accomplished  your  promise  and  effected 
 that  which  you  undertook  to  perform.  You 
 were  diligent  in  the  affairs  of  the  country  and 
 practised  economy  in  the  household,  without 
 pride  or  elation.  This  proved  your  ability.  Yet 
 you  were  not  puffed  up  on  that  account,  though 
 high  and  low  none  could  compete  with  you,  nor 
 did  you  boast  of  it,  though  under  Heaven  none 
 could  perform  your  task.  I  commend  your 
 virtue  and  esteem  your  surpassing  merit.  Be 
 thou  Chief  Minister.” 
 
 And  after  the  Emperor  had  been  seated  on  the 
 throne  for  thirty  and  three  years  he  called  his 
 Chief  Minister  and  said  :  “  Come  thou,  Yu.  I 
 am  old  and  decrepit  and  fatigued  with  much 
 action.  Be  thou  the  cause  of  avoiding  negligence. 
 Take  care  of  my  people.”  Yu  therefore  took 
 upon  himself  the  government  of  the  people, 
 receiving  the  Imperial  decree  in  the  Temple  of 
 the  divine  ancestor  Yaou  ;  and  after  he  had 
 reigned  with  Shun  for  nineteen  years,  in  the 
 thirteenth  year  of  the  ninth  cycle,  in  the  first 
 month  of  Spring,  Yu  ascended  the  throne  at  Han. 
 He  ruled  by  the  virtue  of  metal — rigidly.*  He 
 composed  the  music  of  the  Hia  dynasty  and 
 established  the  use  of  coloured  flags  for  distinc¬ 
 tions  of  rank.  He  appointed  the  nine  degrees  of 
 rank  and  enrolled  the  nine  ministers  of  State. 
 
 *  By  the  “  virtue  of  metal  ”  is  understo  jd  firmness. 
 
THE  TOILS  OF  TA-YU 
 
 29 
 
 Formerly  the  Yellow  Emperor  had  invented 
 carriages.  Sliao-Hao  had  yoked  in  oxen,  and 
 Ki-Chung  trained  in  horses  to  the  shaft.  Yu 
 therefore  made  Ki-Chung  the  Master  of  the  Horse 
 and  Chief  of  the  Charioteers. 
 
 Yu  then  announced  to  the  scholars  in  all 
 quarters,  saying  :  “  He  who  would  guide  me  in 
 the  right  way,  he  who  would  instruct  me  in 
 rectitude,  he  who  would  inform  me  in  matters 
 of  business,  he  who  would  lodge  a  complaint,  and 
 he  wrho  would  try  any  cause  whatsoever,  let  him 
 come  up  to  me  at  the  Palace  and  claim  my  notice 
 in  the  appointed  manner.  It  is  not  so  much  that 
 I  fear  the  scholars  of  my  country  will  be  left 
 waiting  outside  my  gates,  as  that  they  may  pass 
 me  by.” 
 
 In  the  course  of  one  meal  the  Emperor  rose 
 up  ten  times  to  give  audience  to  those  who  called 
 upon  his  name,  and  thrice  in  the  course  of  his 
 bathing  he  had  tied  up  his  hair  that  he  might 
 hear  the  complaints  of  his  people.  Thus  did  he 
 encourage  the  people  to  righteous  endeavour  and 
 attention  to  duty. 
 
 In  former  ages  men  had  made  sweet  wines  and 
 had  fermented  the  milk  of  mares,  and  now  there 
 appeared  one  named  I-teih  who  invented  alcoholic 
 drinks.  The  Emperor  tasted  them  and  found 
 them  pleasant.  Wherefore  he  banished  I-teih  to 
 a  safe  distance,  and  prohibited  the  use  of  intoxi¬ 
 cating  liquor,  saying  :  “In  later  times  the  use 
 
30  THE  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 of  wine  will  be  the  ruin  of  my  country.”  At  that 
 time  Heaven  rained  down  metallic  dust  for  three 
 days.  The  Emperor  cast  nine  tripods  from  metal 
 brought  in  as  tribute  by  the  nine  rulers  of  the 
 provinces,  each  tripod  being  designed  to  represent 
 one  of  the  divisions  of  the  empire. 
 
 While  going  upon  a  tour  of  inspection  he  came 
 upon  a  criminal,  and  alighting  from  his  carriage, 
 inquired  into  his  case.  Then  the  attendants, 
 seeing  that  the  Emperor’s  eyes  were  filled  with 
 tears,  said  to  him  :  “  Why  should  your  Majesty 
 distress  yourself  about  this  fellow  who  has  trans¬ 
 gressed  the  law  ?  ” 
 
 “  Alas  !  ”  replied  Ta-Yu,  “  the  people  of  Yaou, 
 and  equally  those  of  Shun,  embodied  the  prin¬ 
 ciples  of  Yaou  and  Shun,  but  since  I  have  become 
 their  King  they  follow  their  own  inclinations. 
 Therefore  am  I  grieved,  not  that  this  man  hath 
 transgressed  the  law,  but  that  such  transgression 
 commends  itself  to  one  of  my  subjects.” 
 
 Yu  then  coined  gold  money  from  the  metal 
 of  Leihshan,  and  redeemed  the  children  of  those 
 people  who  had  been  compelled  to  sell  them  into 
 slavery  for  want  of  food.  Afterwards  he  extended 
 his  tour  to  the  south  of  the  Yang-tze-Kiang, 
 and  assembled  the  princes  of  the  empire  at  the 
 hill  of  Mao,  which  thereafter  was  known  as 
 Kuei-ki,  or  the  Hill  of  General  Investigation. 
 
 Of  Yu  it  is  said  that  he  ruled  with  a  rigid 
 strength.  Of  colours  he  favoured  black;  his 
 
THE  ENDING  OF  HIA 
 
 31 
 
 standard  was  dark  blue,  and  his  sacrificial  animals 
 were  chosen  of  a  sombre  hue.  His  stature  was 
 nine  cubits  and  two  inches.  His  accomplished 
 teachings  and  Imperial  decrees  were  spread 
 abroad  throughout  the  empire,  even  to  the 
 limits  of  the  seas.  For  eighty  and  six  years  he 
 served  his  country.  For  eight  years  he  fought 
 the  floods  and  revealed  the  smiling  valleys  to  the 
 light  of  day.  And  for  twenty  years  thereafter 
 he  served  the  Emperor  Yaou.  For  thirty  and 
 two  years  he  acted  as  Surveyor-General  to  the 
 Emperor  Shun,  after  which  he  was  presented  in  the 
 ancestral  temple  as  Prince  Regent.  For  eighteen 
 years  he  reigned  with  Shun  and  administered  the 
 affairs  of  State.  Then  he  ruled  for  eight  years 
 alone  and  died  at  Kuei-ki,  where  he  was  buried. 
 
 (b.c.  2282-2196.) 
 
 IV 
 
 THE  ENDING  OF  HIA 
 
 From  the  time  when  Ta-Yu  ascended  the  throne 
 at  An-yi  in  Han  to  the  ending  of  the  Hia  dynasty 
 were  four  hundred  and  forty  years,  during  which 
 there  were  seventeen  rulers  of  the  Flowery 
 Kingdom. 
 
 And  the  ending  of  Hia  was  in  this  wise : 
 Kia-kwei,  son  of  Fa,  the  son  of  Kao,  having 
 
32  THE  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 attained  the  throne  of  the  Yellow  Empire  in  the 
 fortieth  year  of  the  fifteenth  cycle  (b.c.  1816), 
 gave  himself  over  to  lewdness  and  luxury,  de¬ 
 pending  on  the  tyranny  of  great  strength  to 
 overawe  and  reduce  the  people.  For  it  was 
 known  of  them  that  he  could  straighten  hooks 
 with  his  fingers  and  twist  iron  into  ropes. 
 
 But  himself  he  could  not  straighten  nor  control. 
 He  regarded  the  counsel  of  Chao-liang  because  it 
 was  in  accordance  with  his  own  grasping  and 
 tyrannous  nature,  so  that  he  made  war  upon 
 Yiu-shi  of  Mang-shan,  marching  his  troops  over 
 the  tilled  lands  of  his  own  people.  And  among 
 those  whom  Yiu-shi  surrendered  to  Kwei  was  one 
 
 cx 
 
 named  Mei-hi,  a  young  female,  of  whom  the 
 Emperor  became  exceedingly  fond,  so  that  he 
 preferred  her  counsel  to  that  of  the  appointed 
 ministers  of  the  State  and  sages. 
 
 Now  Mei-hi  was  filled  with  vanity,  and  addicted 
 to  self-indulgence  and  covetousness,  so  that  the 
 Emperor,  in  order  to  gratify  her  desires,  put  the 
 country  under  tribute  and  raised  a  store  of 
 wealth  with  which  he  erected  for  her  a  coral 
 chamber  with  ivory  vestibules  and  terraces  of 
 precious  stones.  He  also  made  her  a  couch  of 
 polished  chrysoprase.  And  Kia-kwei  gave  himself 
 up  to  luxury  and  wantonness,  piling  up  fresh  and 
 dried  meats,  and  forming  a  pool  of  wine,  whereon 
 a  boat  could  float,  and  of  which,  at  the  roll  of  a 
 drum,  three  thousand  men  drank  like  oxen  until 
 
THE  ENDING  OF  HIA 
 
 33 
 
 they  were  inflamed  with  it.  Thus  it  was  that 
 the  country  became  reduced  by  taxation  and 
 internal  disorders,  and  the  people  cried  out  for 
 one  who  should  deliver  them  from  their  oppressor. 
 
 It  was  then  that  Chu-kwei,  the  ruler  of  Shang, 
 died  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Li-tzu,  who 
 had  attained  to  thirty  years  of  age.  To  him  the 
 people  looked  for  deliverance.  When  the  ruler  of 
 Ko  ill-used  those  who  made  offerings,  he  forthwith 
 subdued  him  and  took  the  government  of  Ko 
 upon  himself.  When  in  the  East  he  rectified  the 
 laws,  they  of  the  West  were  dissatisfied  and 
 jealous,  and  when  in  the  South  he  arrested 
 disorders,  they  of  the  North  were  discontented, 
 saying  :  “  Why  does  he  neglect  us  alone  ?  ” 
 
 And  wherever  he  went  the  people  rejoiced  and 
 said  :  “  We  wait  for  our  Prince,  and  when  he 
 comes  he  will  restore  all  things.”  For  their  great 
 regard  of  Shang  had  existed  for  a  very  long  time. 
 
 Now  Li-tzti,  that  is  to  say,  Ching-T’ang,  the 
 ruler  of  Shang,  sent  a  messenger  with  presents  to 
 the  sage  I-yin,  who  lived  at  Yiu-sin.  And  he, 
 having  come  to  Po,  which  was  the  capital  of 
 Shang,  was  entertained  by  T’ang  and  afterwards 
 sent  on  to  the  Emperor,  to  the  end  that  he  might 
 be  reformed  and  amend  his  ways.  But  after 
 five  audiences  with  Kia-kwei,  during  which 
 I-yin  proclaimed  the  doctrines  of  Yaou  and 
 Shun,  and  exhorted  the  Emperor  to  abide  therein, 
 he  returned  to  Po,  unhappy  that  his  counsel 
 
34  THE  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 had  not  been  regarded.  And  all  the  princes 
 heard  of  this  and  said  :  “Our  T’ang  is  benevolent 
 even  to  animals.  How  much  more  so  will  he 
 be  towards  men  ! 55  Therefore  they  gave  him 
 their  allegiance.  On  this,  the  Emperor,  fearing 
 that  the  influence  of  T’ang  might  still  further 
 increase,  imprisoned  him  in  the  Tower  of  Hia. 
 Kia-kwei  then  gave  himself  up  to  further  dissipa¬ 
 tions  and  tyrannies,  and  boasted  in  the  security 
 of  his  throne,  saying  :  “I  hold  the  throne  as 
 securely  as  the  sun  holds  the  sky.  When  the 
 sun  expires,  then  only  may  I  be  destroyed  !  ” 
 
 And  this  became  the  burthen  of  the  people’s 
 plaint,  for  everywhere  they  murmured  against 
 their  oppressor,  saying  :  “0  sun !  when  wilt 
 thou  expire  ?  For  now  we  desire  nothing  but 
 to  perish  with  thee  !  ” 
 
 Then  Kia,  fearing  the  revolt  of  the  princes, 
 and  considering  that  the  Shang  was  a  powerful 
 State  and  daily  growing,  released  T’ang  from 
 his  prison  at  Chung-hsuen.  Nevertheless  Kia- 
 kwei  was  not  persuaded  to  abate  his  follies, 
 but  further  plunged  himself  in  obscenities  and 
 license.  For  thirty  days  he  remained  in  his 
 underground  palace,  immersed  in  wine  and 
 promiscuous  debauch  along  with  his  followers 
 and  companions.  And  at  the  end  of  that  time 
 the  great  historian,  Chung-ku,  holding  the 
 plans  and  records  of  the  country,  went  forth 
 with  tears  in  his  eyes  to  reprove  him.  And 
 
THE  ENDING  OF  HIA 
 
 35 
 
 further  there  went  forth  to  him  one  named 
 Kwan-lung-pang,  to  denounce  him  and  proclaim 
 against  his  neglect  of  the  people,  his  abandonment 
 of  the  religious  observances,  his  extravagance 
 and  slaughter,  saying  in  effect  :  44  These  your 
 
 people  are  only  afraid  that  you  will  die  too 
 late  !  ”  Him  the  tyrant  slew  even  while  he 
 spoke,  but  Chung-ku  escaped  away  to  Shang. 
 
 Also  there  went  forth  from  Hia  to  Shang, 
 Ta-fei  and  many  others,  each  with  his  following. 
 And  at  that  time  there  appeared  in  the  Heavens 
 two  suns,  one  in  the  east  and  the  other  in  the 
 west,  shining  against  one  another.  Ta-fei  said  : 
 44 1  made  inquiry  of  Ping-i  what  they  might  mean, 
 and  being  informed  that  the  western  sun  was 
 Hia  and  the  eastern  Shang,  I  immediately  reverted 
 to  T’ang.” 
 
 Thus  on  all  sides  T’ang  gathered  strength  and 
 support  from  the  princes  and  nobles  and  officers 
 of  other  states.  And  in  the  eighteenth  year  of 
 his  reign  over  Shang,  in  the  eight  and  fortieth 
 year  of  his  age,  T’ang  assembled  his  troops,  and 
 having  sworn  them  in,  addressed  them,  saying  : 
 
 44  This  thing  that  I  am  about  to  do  is  not  of 
 my  choice.  It  is  the  decree  of  Heaven  on  account 
 of  Hia’s  transgression.  Think  not  that  I  have 
 no  pity  for  you,  and  that  I  willingly  sacrifice 
 your  peaceful  arts  and  husbandry  in  order  to 
 bring  about  the  conquest  of  Hia.  I  have  heard 
 your  words  of  complaint,  but  as  I  fear  the  Supreme 
 
36  THE  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 Ruler,  I  dare  not  refrain  from  this  work.  And 
 some  of  you  are  saying  :  ‘  What  are  Hia’s  offences 
 to  us  ?  ’  But  the  people  of  Hia  are  not  in  the 
 same  condition  as  are  you.  Their  strength  is 
 depleted  and  their  courage  is  gone.  If  I  do  not 
 resist  this  evil,  how  can  I  look  for  Heaven’s 
 support  ?  If  you  uphold  me,  your  reward  is 
 assured,  but  if  you  do  not  comply  with  my 
 decrees  and  keep  this  my  oath  before  Heaven,  I 
 shall  cut  off  both  you  and  your  children.  I  shall 
 not  eat  my  words.” 
 
 Then  T’ang  made  war  upon  the  ruler  of  Hia 
 and  reduced  him,  driving  him  to  Nan-tsiao, 
 where  he  remained  in  banishment.  He  took 
 I-yin  to  be  his  Prime  Minister,  and  other  of  the 
 sages  and  officers  of  Hia  he  exalted  to  positions 
 in  the  government  of  Shang.  He  then  returned 
 to  Po  and  administered  the  government  in  the 
 good  old  way.  Thus  the  dynasty  founded  by 
 Ta-Yu  was  brought  to  an  end  through  the  iniquity 
 of  one  man,  and  by  one  man  also  were  the  people 
 delivered  from  the  yoke  of  an  insufferable  tyranny, 
 
 (b.c.  1794-1764.) 
 
 V 
 
 THE  REFORMATION  OF  TAI-KIA 
 
 In  the  first  year  of  the  reign  of  Tai-kia,  in  the 
 twelfth  month,  on  the  second  day  of  the  month, 
 
THE  REFORMATION  OF  TA1-KIA  37 
 
 I-yin  made  sacrifice  to  the  former  King  (Ching- 
 T’ang),  presenting  at  the  same  time  the  newly 
 ascended  monarch,  who  dutifully  waited  upon 
 his  august  ancestor.  The  princes  of  the  adjacent 
 tenures  were  all  present,  and  the  various  officers 
 and  ministers  of  State  gave  account  of  their 
 affairs,  waiting  for  the  instructions  of  the  Prime 
 Minister. 
 
 I-yin  then  luminously  dilated  upon  the  worthy 
 ancestor’s  peculiar  virtues,  for  the  instruction 
 of  the  King,  saying  : 
 
 “  Verily,  in  ancient  times  the  early  rulers  of 
 Hia  were  greatly  endowed  with  virtue,  and  in 
 those  days  the  Heavens  did  not  send  down 
 adversities.  But  upon  their  successors,  who  did 
 not  follow  out  their  example,  Imperial  Heaven 
 inflicted  dire  calamities,  using  for  that  purpose 
 the  hand  of  our  Prince  T’ang  and  investing  him 
 with  the  celestial  decree.  Thus  it  was  that 
 while  Kia  set  causes  in  operation  which  attended 
 him  at  Ming-taou,  my  Prince  began  his  righteous 
 rule  at  Po.  For  it  was  there  that  the  ruler  of 
 Shang  displayed  his  wisdom  and  courage,  instead 
 of  oppression  showing  liberality,  so  that  the 
 myriads  of  people  sincerely  esteemed  him.  Now 
 the  King’s  hope  of  handing  down  his  decree  to 
 posterity  invariably  depends  on  the  beginning 
 of  his  rule,  and  if  he  would  establish  himself  in 
 the  affections  of  his  people,  he  must  begin  with 
 those  who  are  near  to  him,  and  to  establish 
 
38  THE  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 respect  among  the  people,  he  must  commence 
 with  the  elders.  And  the  late  King  began  by 
 giving  his  attention  to  the  public  chronicle.  He 
 listened  to  reproof,  he  did  not  ignore  advice, 
 and  was  altogether  in  accord  with  the  leaders 
 of  the  people.  In  authority  he  was  capable  and 
 intelligent,  and  in  small  things  faithful.  In 
 dealing  with  others  he  did  not  look  for  perfection, 
 and  in  regarding  himself  he  was  conscious  of 
 defects.  Thus  did  he  acquire  the  lasting  possession 
 of  the  numerous  States.” 
 
 But  the  newly  ascended  monarch  did  not  con¬ 
 form  to  the  instructions  of  I-yin.  The  sage 
 therefore  spoke  a  second  time,  saying  : 
 
 ‘  Wise  counsel  is  all-embracing  and  good 
 advice  is  perspicuous.  The  Supreme  Ruler  is 
 not  unchanging.  On  those  who  do  good  he  will 
 confer  manifold  blessings,  and  on  those  who  do 
 evil  he  will  send  down  afflictions.  In  the  practice 
 of  virtuous  works  we  should  be  mindful  of  the 
 smallest ;  and  not  be  conscious  of  the  greatest 
 only  in  works  that  are  evil.  And  why  was  it 
 that  Yun  was  able  to  give  assistance  to  the  late 
 monarch  and  to  control  the  people  ?  It  was 
 that  he  had  himself  observed  in  regard  to  the 
 western  city  of  Hia  that  while  it  remained 
 true  to  the  invariable  principles,  it  had  every 
 prospect  of  enduring,  but  when  succeeding  rulers 
 failed  in  their  regard  of  virtue,  they  were  in¬ 
 capable  of  accomplishing  anything.” 
 
THE  REFORMATION  OF  TAI-KIA  39 
 
 The  King,  however,  did  not  regard  the  counsel 
 of  his  minister,  but  considered  his  teachings  as 
 so  much  verbiage.  He  continued  to  besport 
 himself  with  his  lordly  companions  and  altogether 
 neglected  the  duties  of  his  kingly  office. 
 
 Then  I-yin  spoke  a  third  time,  and  also  effected 
 a  written  declaration,  saying  : 
 
 “  The  former  King  in  the  twilight  of  the  morn¬ 
 ing  attained  to  perfect  illumination  and  sat  still 
 waiting  for  the  dawn.  Then  he  sought  every¬ 
 where  for  learned  and  accomplished  scholars  to 
 instruct  and  direct  his  people.  He  sought  for 
 them  that  they  might  afford  aid  to  you,  his  im¬ 
 mediate  successors.  He  warned  those  who  sat 
 in  office,  saying  :  ‘  If  you  have  continual  dancing 
 in  your  mansions,  or  drinking  and  singing  in 
 your  houses,  or  if  you  are  addicted  to  drunkenness 
 and  lust,  or  spend  your  time  in  idleness  and 
 sporting,  being  addicted  to  dissolute  habits,  or 
 if  you  disparage  the  counsels  of  the  wise,  opposing 
 the  faithful  and  sincere,  repelling  those  who 
 are  disposed  to  virtue  and  consort  instead  with 
 lordlings  and  reprobates,  you  will  become  the 
 ruin  of  your  family  and  the  desolation  of  your 
 country.’ 
 
 4  4  Do  not  therefore  offend  against  the  decrees 
 of  your  ancestors,  lest  it  be  the  cause  of  your 
 own  downfall.  Bear  in  mind  the  virtue  of 
 economy  and  concentrate  your  thoughts  upon 
 projects  for  the  future.  Have  due  regard  to 
 
40  THE  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 rectitude  of  living  and  imitate  your  ancestors 
 in  goodly  actions.  Then  indeed  shall  I  have 
 cause  for  satisfaction,  and  ten  thousand  genera¬ 
 tions  will  applaud  you.” 
 
 But  yet  the  King  was  unable  to  reform  himself. 
 
 Then  I-yin  rose  up  and  said  :  “  This  is  not  a 
 righteous  course.  Tendencies  are  apt  to  become 
 habits.  It  is  not  wise  that  I  should  leave  him 
 in  the  hands  of  ungodly  people.  I  will  build 
 him  a  palace  over  against  the  tomb  of  T’ang, 
 where  he  may  reflect  upon  the  virtues  of  his 
 ancestor  and  so  not  be  lost  for  ever  in  obscurity.” 
 
 So  the  worthy  minister  made  a  palace  called 
 Shan-T’ang  over  the  tomb  of  T’ang,  the  King’s 
 grandfather,  and  thither  he  sent  his  royal  charge, 
 and  admonished  him,  saying  : 
 
 “  When  your  accomplished  ancestor  ascended 
 the  throne,  he  did  away  with  the  iniquities  of 
 Hia.  He  was  childlike  and  merciful  to  the 
 overburdened  and  poor,  and  the  people  therefore 
 submitted  to  his  decrees  and  were  without 
 exception  glad.  And  when  for  seven  successive 
 years  there  was  a  great  drought  in  the  land,  the 
 Emperor  examined  himself  to  find  wherein  he 
 had  offended  against  Heaven.  Then  he  went 
 out  into  the  mulberry  grove  and  besought  the 
 mercy  of  Heaven,  confessing  himself  in  six  things 
 deserving  of  blame.  And  while  he  yet  spoke 
 the  rain  descended  copiously  and  watered  the 
 land  over  several  thousand  miles,  so  that  the 
 
THE  REFORMATION  OF  TAI-KIA  41 
 
 rivers  were  everywhere  replenished  and  the  great 
 torment  of  the  people  assuaged.  Ching-T’ang 
 then  composed  a  song,  which  he  set  to  music, 
 and  had  it  engraved  for  the  instruction  of 
 future  ages.” 
 
 Tai-kia  thereafter  sat  at  the  Gate  of  Mourning 
 for  three  years,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time 
 his  mind  was  sincerely  reformed.  And  in  the 
 twelfth  month,  on  the  first  day  of  the  month, 
 I-yin  escorted  the  King  from  T’ang  to  the  city 
 of  Po,  where  he  was  enrobed  and  crowned  in 
 the  presence  of  the  nobles  and  ministers,  the 
 officers  and  elders  of  the  people. 
 
 The  King  said  :  “  When  Heaven  sends  trouble, 
 there  is  always  a  means  of  sustaining  it,  but  a 
 man’s  own  folly  is  a  thing  from  which  he  rarely 
 escapes.  In  the  past  I  resisted  the  instruction 
 of  my  good  master,  being  at  first  incapable  of 
 receiving  it,  but  now  I  shall  endeavour  to  make 
 sure  of  the  end.” 
 
 Thus  was  Tai-kia  sincerely  reformed  by  the 
 integrity  and  wisdom  of  I-yin,  and,  because  he 
 had  conquered  himself,  he  was  called  Tai-tsung, 
 that  is  to  say,  Great  Master.  For  he  who  subdues 
 others  is  a  lord,  but  he  who  conquers  himself 
 is  king. 
 
 Then  I-yin,  having  restored  the  government 
 of  the  country  to  Tai-kia,  announced  his  resigna¬ 
 tion  and  gave  forth  this  admonition,  saying  : 
 
 “  Verily  it  has  been  said  that  Heaven  has  no 
 
42  THE  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 predilections,  but  to  those  who  are  capable  of 
 devotion  it  is  favourably  disposed.  The  people 
 have  no  constant  devotion,  but  they  attach 
 themselves  to  those  who  are  benevolent.  The 
 spirits  and  gods  are  not  always  propitiated, 
 but  they  accept  the  sacrifices  of  those  who  are 
 sincere.  He  who  establishes  his  virtue  will 
 sustain  his  supremacy,  but  he  who  fails  in  virtue, 
 even  though  he  possess  all  things,  yet  his  kingdom 
 will  come  to  an  end.  It  is  not  that  Heaven  has 
 favoured  the  Shang  dynasty,  but  that  Heaven 
 has  regard  to  integrity  and  virtue.  It  is  by  no 
 means  that  success  and  failure  are  indiscrimi¬ 
 nately  dispensed  to  mankind,  but  Heaven  confers 
 blessings  and  sends  down  afflictions  according 
 to  merit.  Virtue  has  no  invariable  rule,  but 
 is  related  to  good  as  its  law.  Goodness  has 
 no  certain  location,  but  is  allied  to  capable 
 simplicity.  If  every  yeoman  and  every  matron 
 does  not  succeed  in  self-control,  even  the  King 
 himself  will  fail  to  perfect  his  merit.  The  words 
 of  the  King  are  just,  his  heart  is  simple.  Let 
 him  receive  the  inheritance  of  his  predecessors 
 and  continually  promote  the  welfare  of  his 
 people.” 
 
 And  Tai-kia  reigned  for  thirty  and  two  years, 
 and  the  old  minister  I-yin  buried  him  at  Po. 
 And  after  him  ascended  his  son  Yu-ting,  who  gave 
 honour  to  his  father  in  the  temple  of  his  ancestors. 
 
 In  the  eighth  year  of  the  reign  of  Yu-ting, 
 
THE  PARLEY  OF  PUON-KANG  43 
 
 the  old  minister  and  sage  I-yin,  the  exemplar 
 and  instructor  of  four  generations,  died  and  was 
 buried  at  Po. 
 
 (B.c.  1753-1712.) 
 
 VI 
 
 THE  PARLEY  OF  PUON-KANG 
 
 From  the  time  when  Ching-T’ang  established  his 
 capital  at  Po  (b.c.  1779),  until  the  enthroning 
 of  Puon-Kang  in  the  city  of  Hing,  were  three 
 hundred  and  eighty  years,  during  which,  on  ac¬ 
 count  of  floods,  earthquakes,  and  other  devasta¬ 
 tions,  the  capital  had  been  removed  four  times, 
 and  from  Ki,  the  son  of  Ta-Yu,  to  that  time 
 were  seven  hundred  and  ninety-seven  years, 
 during  which  eight  removals  of  the  Imperial 
 capital  had  been  made. 
 
 Now  Puon-Kang  considered  within  himself 
 as  to  the  cause  of  all  this  trouble,  and  clearly 
 saw  that  it  was  due  to  neglect  of  those  principles 
 which  had  been  instituted  by  Yaou  and  Shun 
 and  Ta-Yu.  For  in  ancient  times  the  rulers 
 were  wont  to  follow  the  decrees  of  Heaven  as 
 revealed  in  the  divinations,  to  cherish  the  lives 
 of  the  people,  and  to  display  zeal  in  the  welfare 
 of  the  country. 
 
 Wherefore  Puon-Kang,  having  given  the  matter 
 
44  THE  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 due  consideration,  consulted  the  diviners,  and 
 these  determined  that  the  capital  should  be 
 located  in  Yin.  Puon-Kang  therefore  removed 
 his  capital  to  Yin,  and  from  that  time  forth 
 the  name  of  the  djmasty  was  changed  to  Yin. 
 
 But  certain  of  the  officials  and  heads  of  the 
 people  having  established  themselves  at  Hing, 
 refused  to  follow  the  King,  being  fearful  of  the 
 dislocation  of  their  material  interests.  The 
 King  therefore  went  down  to  Hing  and  gathered 
 together  the  officers  of  State  and  the  heads  of 
 families  and  all  the  disaffected  people,  and  per¬ 
 sonally  addressed  them,  saying  : 
 
 “  Tsu-yih,  a  former  ruler  of  our  people,  came 
 and  brought  his  capital  to  this  place  so  that  the 
 people  should  not  be  utterly  ruined  by  the  floods 
 at  Kang.  But  now,  separated  as  we  are,  it  is 
 impossible  to  continue.  The  diviners,  upon  being 
 consulted,  say  that  Yin  is  suitable  to  the  adjust¬ 
 ment  of  our  affairs.  Now  former  kings,  having 
 important  affairs  on  hand,  discreetly  and  respect¬ 
 fully  sought  Heaven’s  will,  and  now,  if  we  do 
 not  comply  with  the  ancient  practice,  what 
 guarantee  have  we  that  our  decree  may  not 
 be  cut  off  ?  And  but  for  the  tolerance  of  Heaven 
 it  would  indeed  be,  for  we  are  incapable  of  the 
 zeal  which  animated  our  ancient  rulers.  Hewn 
 trees  may  sprout  again,  and  this  Hing  may  grow 
 again  in  Yin.  It  is  my  royal  will  that  those 
 having  grievances  shall  come  up  even  to  the 
 
THE  PARLEY  OF  PUON-KANG  45 
 
 Court,  therefore  let  none  presume  to  disregard 
 the  voice  of  the  lowly.” 
 
 The  king  again  addressed  them,  saying  : 
 
 “  Come,  now,  you  people,  and  I  will  talk  with 
 you  in  all  sincerity.  Do  you  throw  off  your 
 selfishness  and  rid  yourselves  of  pride  and  in¬ 
 dolence.  Of  yore  Ching-T’ang  was  particular 
 in  employing  only  old-established  persons  in 
 the  government  of  the  country.  What  he  said 
 was  duly  carried  out,  nor  did  they  conceal  his 
 intentions.  He  gave  his  mind  to  the  matter  of 
 government  and  his  ministers  were  faithful. 
 Thus  the  people  were  able  to  effect  a  great 
 reformation.  But  now  you  are  for  ever  talking 
 to  persuade  the  people  to  your  confidence.  For 
 myself  I  do  not  know  what  you  are  prating 
 about !  When  the  poor  and  needy  come  up  to 
 you  with  complainings,  you  are  ready  at  a  word 
 with  false  assertions.  But  you  are  more  particu¬ 
 lar  with  me,  who  can  determine  the  length  of 
 your  tether  !  Why  do  you  not  represent  their 
 troubles  to  me,  instead  of  circulating  loose 
 reports  to  agitate  and  involve  the  populace  ? 
 But  there  !  even  though  you  were  unapproachable 
 as  a  raging  fire  on  the  plain,  I  myself  would  stamp 
 you  out ! 
 
 “  Yea,  I  would  stamp  you  out  utterly  rather 
 than  that  my  people  should  suffer.  Aforetime 
 my  predecessor,  together  with  his  progenitors 
 and  ancestors,  mutually  shared  both  leisure  and 
 
 4 
 
46  THE  CLASSICS  OE  CONFUCIUS 
 
 toil.  For  generations  they  recognised  the  zealous 
 work  of  your  ancestors,  and  I  in  turn  will  not 
 conceal  your  merits.  But  you  do  not  venerate 
 my  person,  a  fact  which  is  as  apparent  to  me  as 
 if  looking  at  a  fire.  Perhaps  I  have  myself 
 brought  this  about  by  my  unskilful  methods. 
 Chih-jin  has  a  proverb  which  says :  4  As  to  men, 
 we  only  want  them  old ;  but  as  to  instruments, 
 we  do  not  want  them  old  but  new.’ 
 
 44  Now  I  have  informed  you  of  the  root  of  the 
 matter  as  carefully  as  an  archer  adjusting  his 
 bow.  Henceforth  let  every  one  attend  to  his 
 duty,  for  to  one  and  all  of  you  I  make  this  de¬ 
 claration  :  Whether  one  be  distantly  or  nearly 
 related  to  the  Imperial  throne,  the  criminal 
 shall  suffer  death  and  the  doer  of  good  shall 
 have  his  goodness  proclaimed.  The  nation’s 
 welfare  rests  with  you,  individually  and  all.  If 
 the  nation  should  suffer,  it  will  only  be  in  con¬ 
 sequence  of  my  having  neglected  the  awards  and 
 punishments.  As  the  cord  in  the  net,  so  let 
 there  be  uniformity  of  procedure  and  not  con¬ 
 fusion  !  ” 
 
 Then  Puon-Kang  went  forth,  urging  the  people 
 to  come  up  to  him  without  confusion  in  the 
 royal  precincts.  And  turning  again  to  those  who 
 would  not  follow  him,  he  further  addressed  them 
 in  all  sincerity,  saying  : 
 
 44  In  olden  days  my  predecessors  applied  them¬ 
 selves  to  the  interests  of  the  people,  sustaining 
 
THE  PARLEY  OE  PUON-KANG  47 
 
 their  chiefs  in  mutual  affection,  so  that  they 
 were  able  to  overcome  periods  of  adversity,  and 
 when  Yin  was  subject  to  great  calamities  the 
 rulers  were  not  indolent,  but  speedily  arranged 
 for  the  removal  of  the  capital.  Why  do  you 
 fail  to  regard  their  memory  ?  When  with  due 
 regard  to  your  welfare  I  ordered  your  removal, 
 I  was  but  solicitous  of  sharing  your  welfare. 
 I  do  not  say  that  you  have  offended  and  deserve 
 punishment.  On  the  contrary,  this  removal 
 of  the  capital  is  solely  for  your  benefit  and  to 
 greatly  promote  your  welfare.  But  while  I 
 have  been  striving  to  pacify  and  establish  the 
 people,  you  have  failed  to  make  known  your 
 feelings  in  the  matter,  which,  being  prompted 
 by  sincerity,  would  have  undoubtedly  received 
 consideration.  Thus  you  are  continually  deluding 
 and  perplexing  yourselves,  and,  like  an  irregular 
 crew,  you  only  endanger  the  cargo.  How  can 
 this  distress  of  yours  be  lessened  if  you  do  not 
 make  it  known  %  You  fail  to  lay  your  plans 
 far  enough  in  advance  to  provide  against  distress, 
 and  thus  greatly  increase  your  troubles.  But 
 now  that  you  have  the  present  with  you  and 
 have  made  no  provision  for  the  future,  you  can 
 but  live  from  above.  Now  therefore  I  command 
 you  not  to  be  self-indulgent  to  your  own  detri¬ 
 ment,  lest  hurt  come  to  you  both  in  body  and 
 mind.  I  consider  my  predecessors’  zealous  work 
 for  all  your  ancestors,  and  I  am  greatly  disposed 
 
4$  THU  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 to  cherish  you  because  I  regard  you  in  this 
 light. 
 
 “  Ching-T’ang  removed  the  capital  to  the  hill 
 of  Po,  thereby  bringing  our  disabilities  under 
 control.  But  now  my  people  are  swayed  about, 
 having  no  fixed  abode,  and  yet  you  say  to  me  : 
 ‘  Why  do  you  agitate  and  disturb  the  people 
 about  this  removal  ?  ’  It  is  that  I  desire  the 
 renewal  of  ancient  methods  and  so  prevent 
 confusion  to  our  House.  I  have  continually 
 sought  to  befriend  and  guide  you.  Nevertheless, 
 I  would  not  dispense  with  your  advice  and 
 counsel,  though  it  is  impossible  that  you  can 
 oppose  the  divinations.  I  will  not  support  those 
 who  hoard  up  wealth,  but  will  continually 
 befriend  the  industrious,  while  those  who  nourish 
 my  people  and  make  plans  for  their  protection 
 I  will  employ  and  esteem. 
 
 “  Now  I  have  come  forward  and  advised  you 
 of  my  intentions,  and  whether  you  agree  with 
 them  or  not,  do  you  not  fail  to  regard  them. 
 Do  not  give  yourselves  up  to  amassing  wealth, 
 but  be  continually  productive  and  self-sustaining. 
 Diligently  diffuse  popular  virtue  and  constantly 
 cherish  sincerity  and  simplicity  of  thought/ * 
 
 Then  Puon-Kang  held  no  more  parley  with 
 the  people,  but  returned  to  Yin,  where  for 
 twenty  and  eight  years  he  practised  the  prin¬ 
 ciples  of  government  adopted  by  Ching-T’ang, 
 and  there  died.  And  the  government  of  the 
 
A  WISE  MAN  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS  49 
 
 Shang  dynasty  was  vested  thenceforth  in  the 
 city  of  Yin, 
 
 (b.c.  1399.) 
 
 VII 
 
 A  WISE  MAN  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS 
 
 Wtj-ting,  son  of  Siao-Yih,  the  younger  brother 
 of  Puon-Kang,  mourned  for  his  father  in  twilight 
 obscurity  for  the  space  of  three  years,  during 
 which  time  his  minister  Kan-puon  administered 
 the  affairs  of  State.  And  at  the  end  of  that 
 time  he  still  refused  to  speak,  so  that  his  ministers 
 and  officers  were  dismayed  and  perplexed,  and 
 came  to  him,  saying :  “  Knowledge  and  in¬ 
 
 telligence  are  necessary  to  the  administration  of 
 the  law.  Your  Majesty  is  the  head  of  numerous 
 States,  and  we,  the  mandarins,  venerate  your 
 authority.  But  your  Majesty  can  only  effect 
 your  will  by  issuing  your  commands,  and  in  thus 
 refusing  to  speak  your  ministers  and  subjects 
 are  left  in  ignorance  of  your  will.” 
 
 The  King  then  made  use  of  a  writing  to 
 announce  his  will  to  them,  and  said  :  “  Since  I 
 was  called  to  the  rule  of  the  empire  my  mind 
 has  been  distressed  lest  my  virtue  and  capacity 
 should  be  unequal  to  the  task.  On  this  account 
 I  did  not  speak.  But  I  would  have  it  known 
 that  while  I  was  meditating  on  the  Tao  I 
 
50  THE  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 dreamed  that  the  Supreme  Ruler  conferred  on 
 me  an  excellent  minister,  one  who  might  speak 
 for  me.” 
 
 The  King  then  described  his  appearance  as 
 he  had  perceived  it  in  his  vision,  and  com¬ 
 manded  that  a  portrait  should  be  made  of  him 
 and  a  thorough  search  conducted  throughout  the 
 country.  And  this  being  done,  it  was  found 
 that  one  named  Yueh,  who  was  employed  in 
 making  the  dam  in  the  wilderness  at  Fuh-yen, 
 alone  answered  to  the  description.  Him  they 
 brought  to  court  and  presented  to  the  Emperor, 
 who  addressed  him,  saying  :  4 4  Come  now,  Yueh  ! 
 I,  the  little  child,  formerly  gave  myself  to  the 
 instruction  of  Kan-puon,  after  which  I  retired 
 to  the  waste  wilderness  and  there  entered  a 
 town  on  the  Yellow  River.  From  there  I  hied 
 to  the  city  of  Po,  and  after  all,  the  result  is 
 that  I  am  not  distinguished.  But  do  you  instruct 
 my  mind,  as  if  in  the  making  of  wine  you  were 
 the  ferment  of  sugar,  or  in  the  making  of  good 
 soup  you  might  be  the  salt  and  prunes  !  En¬ 
 deavour  to  embellish  my  mind,  and  then  I  shall 
 be  capable  of  fulfilling  your  instructions.” 
 
 Yueh  bowed  low,  and  said  :  44  0  King  !  men 
 seek  to  extend  their  information  that  they  may 
 establish  their  affairs.  But  do  you  apply  yourself 
 to  the  understanding  of  the  ancient  traditions, 
 and  you  will  meet  with  success.  For  a  man  of 
 affairs  not  to  understand  the  ancient  methods 
 
A  WISE  MAN  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS  51 
 
 and  yet  to  be  capable  of  perpetuating  his  genera¬ 
 tions  is  a  thing  of  which  Yueh  never  yet  heard  !  ” 
 
 Then  Wu-ting,  having  satisfied  his  mind  regard¬ 
 ing  Yueh  of  Fuh-yen,  and  finding  him  in  all 
 respects  to  accord  with  the  revelation,  appointed 
 him  to  act  as  Prime  Minister,  and  placing  him 
 before  the  host  of  officers,  commanded  him, 
 saying  :  “  Do  you  continually  impart  your  in¬ 
 structions  to  me,  so  that  I  may  continue  in 
 virtue.  If  I  am  blunt  as  metal,  I  will  use  you 
 for  my  grindstone.  If  I  desire  to  navigate  deep 
 waters,  you  shall  be  the  oar  of  my  boat.  If  the 
 year  be  one  of  great  drought,  I  will  use  you  as 
 a  copious  rain.  Unfold  your  mind,  therefore, 
 and  refresh  my  heart.  If  physic  be  not  strong 
 enough,  the  disease  will  not  be  cured.  Be  then, 
 in  association  with  your  fellows,  continually 
 steadfast  in  correcting  your  King,  directing  him 
 in  the  footsteps  of  former  wise  rulers,  and  causing 
 him  to  emulate  our  former  exalted  Prince,  Ching- 
 T’ang.  Thus  will  the  myriads  of  people  find 
 rest !  ” 
 
 Yueh  answered  and  said  :  “  As  wood  following 
 the  carpenter’s  line  is  rendered  straight,  so  a 
 prince  by  following  good  advice  becomes  a  sage. 
 Then  will  his  ministers  acquiesce  in  his  designs 
 without  command.  Who  then  would  dare  to 
 refuse  reverential  assent  to  the  king’s  august 
 decrees  ?  Verily,  an  intelligent  king  submits 
 his  mind  to  the  laws  of  Heaven.  He  establishes 
 
52  THE  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 his  country,  fixes  his  capital,  and  commissions 
 his  numerous  officers,  not  solely  for  his  own 
 convenience  and  dignity,  but  rather  for  the 
 welfare  of  his  people.  Heaven  alone  is  omniscient, 
 but  a  wise  ruler  may  attempt  its  portrayal, 
 and  in  such  case  the  ministers  will  give  their 
 compliance,  and  the  people  will  follow  the 
 government. 
 
 “  Speech  can  involve  one  in  disgrace,  and  the 
 use  of  weapons  may  lead  to  war.  One  should 
 be  careful  in  the  use  of  these  things.  The  robes 
 of  office  are  kept  in  a  chest  until  required,  and 
 even  so,  the  sword  of  justice  should  only  be 
 unsheathed  after  a  careful  examination  of  the 
 offender.  The  adjustment  of  irregularities  rests 
 with  those  in  office,  and  those  who  do  not  extend 
 partiality  to  their  own  relations  should  alone  be 
 depended  upon,  while  those  of  the  nobility  who 
 do  not  indulge  in  vice  are  alone  fit  to  be  ministers 
 of  the  State.” 
 
 The  King  thereupon  replied  to  Yueh,  saying  : 
 “  Excellent !  0  Yueh  !  Your  advice  shall  be 
 
 regarded.  Had  you  not  gone  so  far  as  to  instruct 
 me,  I  might  have  never  heard  anything  at  all 
 worth  doing.” 
 
 Yueh  bowed  low  his  head  and  then  replied  : 
 “  It  is  not  the  knowledge  of  a  thing  but  the  doing 
 of  it  that  is  difficult.  Be  studious  of  humble 
 intentions,  and  try  to  maintain  timely  effort. 
 Embellishment  will  then  come  to  you  of  its  own 
 
A  WISE  MAN  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS  53 
 
 accord.  Sincerely  reflect  on  this,  and  virtue  will 
 accumulate  in  your  person.  Consider  the  end 
 and  aim  of  your  study  while  you  are  continually 
 engaged  in  it,  and  the  means  will  present  itself 
 without  effort .  Take  your  example  from  the 
 perfection  of  former  kings.  Do  not  open  the 
 doors  to  favouritism  and  so  incur  disrespect. 
 Do  not  esteem  yourself  highly  and  so  commit  a 
 folly.  Only  that  in  wffiich  one  abides  contentedly 
 is  his  proper  vocation,  and  that  only  will  succeed. 
 For  one  who  is  defiled  to  officiate  at  the  sacrifice 
 is  accounted  desecration.  Also  when  ceremonies 
 are  too  numerous  they  will  become  irksome,  and 
 the  service  of  the  gods  will  be  difficult  in  con¬ 
 sequence.” 
 
 The  King  answered  and  said  :  “  Verily,  Yueh, 
 if  these  my  people  within  the  four  seas  should 
 come  to  revere  my  methods,  it  will  surely  be  due 
 only  to  your  wise  counsel.  Legs  and  arms  are 
 necessary  to  a  man,  and  trusty  ministers  to  a 
 ruler.  It  is  reported  of  I-yin,  who  served  my 
 predecessor,  that  he  once  said  :  6  If  I  cannot  make 
 my  Prince  as  perfect  in  his  mind  as  were  Yaou 
 and  Shun,  I  shall  be  as  thoroughly  disgraced  as 
 if  I  had  been  beaten  in  public.’  And  if  a  single 
 subject  did  not  get  his  rights,  he  would  say  : 
 ‘  There  again  !  It  is  my  fault !  5  Thus  he  aided 
 my  illustrious  ancestor  to  attain  to  a  celestial 
 excellence.  Do  you  in  like  manner  assist  me  so 
 that  the  great  I-yin  may  not  lay  claim  to  every 
 
54  THE  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 good  quality  in  the  history  of  Shang.  May  you 
 ably  continue  to  imitate  his  constant  goodwill  to 
 the  people.” 
 
 Yueh  bent  low  his  head  and  said  :  “I  will 
 endeavour  to  realise  your  Majesty’s  wishes  and 
 illustrate  the  Son  of  Heaven’s  excellent  decrees. 
 If  your  Majesty  can  sincerely  receive  my  instruc¬ 
 tion,  there  will  be  no  more  difficulty  in  continuing 
 the  perfect  methods  of  our  former  virtuous  kings. 
 Only,  had  Yueh  not  spoken,  he  would  have  been 
 the  most  defective  of  ministers.” 
 
 And  from  that  time  the  Princes  continued  to 
 come  to  court,  and  ambassadors  from  six  States, 
 speaking  foreign  tongues,  came  up  to  Yin  bringing 
 their  interpreters.  Then  Yin  became  established 
 in  peace  and  prosperity,  and  all  within  the  four 
 seas  were  sincerely  compacted  together.  But  in 
 the  thirty-second  year  of  the  reign  of  Wu-ting, 
 the  northern  Tartars  inhabiting  the  Land  of 
 Demons  revolted  and  became  dissolute,  so  that 
 Wu-ting  moved  his  army  against  them,  and  after 
 three  years  subdued  them.  And  after  this  there 
 were  no  more  disturbances  either  at  home  or 
 abroad,  and  the  strength  of  Yin  wTas  revived. 
 
 In  the  fifty-ninth  year  of  his  reign  the  King 
 died,  and  was  honoured  by  the  name  of  Kao- 
 tsung,  which  is  to  say,  Exalted  Master. 
 
 (B.O.  1322-1263.) 
 
THE  RUIN  OF  YIN 
 
 55 
 
 VIII 
 
 THE  RUIN  OF  YIN 
 
 Tai-Yih,  son  of  Tai-Ting,  ascended  the  throne  of 
 the  Celestial  Empire  in  the  seventh  year  of  the 
 six  and  twentieth  cycle  (b.c.  1189),  while  yet  the 
 iniquity  of  his  fathers  was  as  the  smoke  of  green 
 grass,  obscuring  the  Heavens.  Now  Tai-Yih  was 
 a  man  of  virtue.  But  of  his  progenitor  Wuh-Yih, 
 the  father  of  Tai-Ting,  it  is  said  that  he  was 
 unprincipled  and  profane. 
 
 He  made  images  of  the  gods  and  caused  the 
 people  to  play  at  chess  with  them.  He  also  made 
 trial  of  his  powers  therein,  and  when  he  lost  the 
 game,  he  forthwith  abused  the  gods  for  their 
 incompetence. 
 
 Moreover,  he  made  bladders  to  be  filled  with 
 blood  and  used  them  for  flying  targets,  which 
 sport  he  denominated  “  shooting  the  heavens.” 
 
 For  this  cause  he  was  smitten  by  fire  from 
 Heaven  while  hunting  in  the  Valley  of  Wei. 
 And  after  him  ascended  his  son,  who  reigned  but 
 for  three  years  and  then  died,  so  that  Tai-Yih 
 became  King  of  Yin  while  yet  the  Duke  of  Chowr 
 was  making  war  upon  the  foreigners  of  Chi-Hu 
 and  I-Tu.  But  in  the  fifth  year  of  Tai-Yih’s 
 reign,  Kwei-Leih,  the  Duke  of  Chow,  died,  and 
 was  succeeded  by  his  accomplished  and  benevolent 
 eon  Chang. 
 
56  THE  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 Now  Tai-Yih  took  to  himself  a  concubine,  who 
 bore  him  a  son  named  Wei-tze  and  another  named 
 Chung-yen,  after  which  she  became  Empress  and 
 brought  forth  Sin.  It  was  the  will  of  Tai-yih 
 that  Wei-tze  should  succeed  to  the  throne  because 
 he  showed  himself  to  be  virtuous  and  good.  But 
 Tai-Shih,  the  great  historian,  contested  the  right 
 of  his  succession,  and  held  fast  to  the  letter  of  the 
 law,  which  said  :  “  He  who  has  a  son  by  his  wife 
 shall  not  advance  the  son  of  a  concubine.” 
 
 Wherefore  was  it  that  when  Tai-yih  died, 
 having  reigned  for  thirty  and  seven  years,  his 
 son  Chow-Sin  ascended  the  throne  as  King  of  Yin. 
 
 Now  Sin  was  a  man  of  giant  strength  and  of 
 ungodly  nature.  Those  who  reproved  him  he 
 slew  without  remorse,  and  those  who  flattered 
 him  he  advanced.  He  gave  himself  over  to 
 luxury  and  extravagance,  and  his  patronage 
 to  women  without  virtue.  In  debate  he  was 
 cunning  and  skilful,  and  because  he  had  strength 
 to  slay  wild  beasts  with  his  hands,  his  courtiers 
 feared  and  flattered  him.  Thus  he  became 
 tyrannical  and  despotic,  regarding  himself  in  all 
 respects  as  a  god. 
 
 When  first  he  made  chop-sticks  of  ivory,  the 
 wise  Ki-tze  rebuked  him  saying  :  “Now  that 
 you  make  chop -sticks  of  ivory  you  will  shortly 
 be  making  crystal  cups.  Then  you  will  be  eating 
 the  paws  of  bears  and  the  wombs  of  leopards. 
 These  and  other  things  in  like  measure  you  will 
 
'  THE  RUIN  OF  YIN 
 
 57 
 
 want  in  great  abundance.  Surely  the  country 
 will  soon  become  impoverished.” 
 
 And  seven  years  thereafter  the  Emperor  took 
 to  himself  Ta-ki,  as  trophy  of  war  from  Yuh-suh, 
 to  be  his  wife.  And  Ta-ki  found  favour  in  the 
 eyes  of  Chow-Sin,  and  whomsoever  she  favoured, 
 him  did  the  Emperor  advance,  and  whomsoever 
 she  hated,  him  did  the  Emperor  slay.  Therefore 
 she  was  called  “The  Revenge  of  Yuh-suh.”  For 
 her  delight  he  built  a  gallery  called  Lu-tai,  with 
 chambers  and  doors  of  precious  stones.  It  was 
 a  thousand  cubits  high  and  half  a  li  *  in  length. 
 Seven  years  of  heavy  taxation  and  oppression 
 were  endured  by  the  people  during  the  building 
 of  this  gallery  at  Ki  in  the  territory  of  Chow,  so 
 that  it  might  be  stored  with  gold  and  grain. 
 
 And  the  black-haired  people  trembled  with  rage 
 and  vexation. 
 
 Then  Ta-ki  said  :  “  Lord,  the  executions  are 
 too  rare.  The  punishments  are  too  simple.  The 
 throne  is  thereby  endangered.” 
 
 She  therefore  invented  the  trial  by  fire,  the 
 hot  brazen  pillar  or  climbing  pole,  and  the  pun¬ 
 ishment  of  the  roas ting-spit.  And  the  people 
 repined  with  shuddering. 
 
 Now  when  Kung  Kiu  became  Duke  he  sent  in 
 his  daughter  to  the  palace  to  do  homage  to  the 
 Emperor.  But  when  Sin  found  that  she  resisted 
 his  passionate  lust,  the  tyrant  slew  her  in  his 
 #  The  li  is  a  Chinese  mile,  about  465  English  yards. 
 
bS  THE  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 rage  and  cut  her  father  into  pieces.  Then  Kung- 
 Goh  went  in  to  the  Emperor  and  reproved  him 
 for  his  tyranny.  Him  also  did  the  Emperor  slay, 
 cutting  him,  as  meat  into  slices.  And  the  sage 
 Ki-tze  also  went  in  to  reprove  him,  and  forthwith 
 was  cast  into  prison.  And  Pi-Kan  also  reproved 
 him  saying  :  “  The  people  have  withdrawn  their 
 favour,  and  Heaven  hath  turned  itself  away 
 because  of  your  transgressions.  Amend  your 
 ways  before  you  become  the  ruin  of  your  country, 
 or  in  the  days  to  come  the  people  will  only  mention 
 your  name  to  pronounce  an  anathema.” 
 
 But  Chang,  the  lord  of  Chow,  only  sighed  in 
 secret. 
 
 (B.c.  1189-1141.) 
 
 IX 
 
 TWO  POINTED  THINGS. — I 
 
 Because  the  Duke  of  Chow,  Wan-wang,  set  his 
 face  in  silent  displeasure  against  the  iniquities  of 
 the  tyrant  Show,*  the  Emperor  threw  him  into 
 prison  at  Yiu-li.  There  did  he  diligently  study  the 
 plans  and  diagrams,  establishing  himself  on  the 
 principles  of  good  government,  making  use  of 
 t^e  pen  for  the  writing  of  books  and  commen¬ 
 taries.  Nor  did  he  languish. 
 
 Now  the  good  lord  of  Chow  had  two  faithful 
 *  The  same  as  Chow-Sin, 
 
TWO  POINTED  THINGS.—!  59 
 
 servants,  Hung-Yao  and  San-i-Sang,  who  dis¬ 
 tressed  themselves  about  their  lord’s  captivity 
 more  than  did  he  himself.  These  men  sought 
 out  and  found  a  woman  of  great  beauty  in  the 
 country  of  Yiu-Sin.  Taking  also  a  dappled  horse 
 from  Li-jung  and  a  team  of  four  from  Yiu-hiung, 
 they  took  them,  with  other  rarities  and  strange 
 things,  to  one  named  Pi-Chung,  a  favoured 
 minister  of  Yin,  that  he  might  present  them  to 
 Chow-Sin.  And  with  them  the  Emperor  was 
 mightily  pleased,  and  so  expressed  himself,  saying  : 
 “  This  woman  alone  is  enough  to  procure  the 
 freedom  of  the  western  lord.  Why  trouble  me 
 with  so  many  things  ?  ” 
 
 Thus  it  came  about  that  Wan-wang  regained  his 
 liberty,  whereupon  he  presented  his  territory  west 
 of  the  Lo  River,  and  beseeched  the  Emperor  to 
 abolish  the  penalty  of  the  roasting-spit.  And 
 this  request  was  granted.  Thereafter  the  Em¬ 
 peror  conferred  upon  the  western  lord  a  bow  and 
 arrow,  together  with  a  hatchet,  in  token  that 
 he  was  empowered  to  punish  offenders  at  his 
 discretion. 
 
 It  happened  that  at  this  time  the  princes  of 
 Yu  and  Juy,  being  in  dispute  about  some  land, 
 agreed  to  submit  their  differences  to  the  arbi¬ 
 tration  of  Wan-wang.  For  this  purpose  they 
 repaired  to  Chow,  and  on  crossing  the  border 
 they  found  the  fields  being  tilled  without  land¬ 
 marks,  men  giving  way  to  one  another  on  the 
 
00  THE  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 high-road,  while  in  the  city  of  Chow  they  found 
 that  men  and  women  had  separate  footpaths, 
 and  that  old  men  were  not  allowed  to  carry 
 burdens.  On  entering  the  court  they  found 
 the  philosophers  making  way  for  the  officers 
 who  passed  them  with  courteous  recognition. 
 Whereupon  the  two  princes  were  greatly  touched, 
 and  said  :  “We  worthless  fellows  are  not  worthy 
 to  soil  the  courts  of  such  excellent  men  with  the 
 dust  of  our  feet !  ” 
 
 They  therefore  agreed  that  the  fields  should  be 
 their  joint  property,  and  so  retired.  Then  the 
 fame  of  Chow  got  spread  abroad  to  such  extent 
 that  forty  and  two  States  accepted  its  government  . 
 Thus  was  fulfilled  the  prophecy  of  Tan-fuh 
 concerning  his  grandson  Chang,  wherein  he  said  : 
 “  If  ever  my  family  should  flourish,  it  will  be  by 
 means  of  Chang.” 
 
 Now  it  came  about  that  when  the  western  lord 
 bethought  himself  to  go  a-hunting,  he  consulted 
 the  divinations  and  obtained  this  answer : 
 “  Neither  dragons  nor  snakes,  neither  boars 
 nor  tigers,  neither  bears  nor  leopards,  shalt  thou 
 catch,  but  only  a  man.  And  he  will  be  such  as 
 can  assist  a  ruler  to  extend  his  empire.” 
 
 And  so  it  transpired.  For  on  the  south  of 
 the  River  Wei  he  came  upon  Lu-shang,  and  on 
 conversing  with  him  was  greatly  delighted  and 
 said  :  “  My  ancestor,  Tai-kung,  was  wont  to  say 
 that  a  wise  man  would  come  to  Chow  and  his 
 
TWO  POINTED  THINGS.— I 
 
 61 
 
 coming  would  make  it  flourish.  You,  sir,  must 
 surely  be  the  man.  Truly  my  ancestor  has 
 waited  for  you  a  long  time  !  ” 
 
 Thereupon  Shang  was  appointed  to  serve  the 
 western  lord  as  Chief  Instructor,  even  as  his 
 ancestor  had  served  the  Emperor  Shun  after 
 that  he  had  assisted  Ta-Yu  in  reducing  the  floods 
 and  draining  the  lands. 
 
 Concerning  the  lord  of  Chow,  the  benevolent 
 and  accomplished  Wan-wang,  it  is  said  that  on 
 a  certain  occasion  he  was  walking  in  the  fields 
 when  he  saw  an  old  bone,  which  he  straightway 
 ordered  to  be  buried. 
 
 “  This  bone  has  no  owner,”  said  one  of  his 
 attendants. 
 
 “  Nevertheless  it  should  be  buried,”  replied 
 Wan-wang.  “  The  Emperor  has  charge  of  the 
 empire,  and  the  ruler  of  a  State  is  said  to  possess 
 it.  Thus  do  I  become  responsible  for  the  bone, 
 being  its  owner.  Perhaps  also  I  ought  to  bury 
 it.”  And  he  did  so. 
 
 Then  said  all  those  who  heard  of  it :  “  If  the 
 western  lord  thus  considers  an  old  bone,  how 
 much  more  will  he  have  regard  to  men  !  ” 
 
 Truly  benevolent  was  the  western  lord,  beloved 
 of  all  men  and  by  all  respected.  He  venerated 
 the  aged,  and  showed  indulgence  to  the  young, 
 while  those  of  virtuous  nature  he  looked  upon 
 benignly.  He  paid  so  little  care  to  his  simple 
 fare  that  it  was  said  he  fed  upon  books  and 
 
 5 
 
62  THE  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 scholars,  and  to  him  reverted  all  men  of  learning 
 throughout  the  empire. 
 
 And  in  the  third  year  of  the  seven  and  twentieth 
 cycle  (b.c.  1134),  in  the  one  hundred  and 
 twenty-second  year  of  his  age,  Wan-wang,  son 
 of  Kwei-Leih,  the  son  of  Tan-fuh,  being  about 
 to  die,  called  to  him  his  son  Fa  and  said  to  him  : 
 “  My  son,  look  for  that  which  is  good  and  be 
 not  slow  to  practise  it.  When  opportunity 
 serves,  do  not  hesitate.  Exterminate  evil  and 
 let  it  not  abide.  In  these  three  points  do  virtue 
 and  goodness  consist.” 
 
 Then  the  accomplished  ruler  died  and  was 
 buried  at  Peih. 
 
 (B.c.  1140-1134.) 
 
 X 
 
 TWO  POINTED  THINGS. — II 
 
 Lord  Fa  succeeded  to  the  dominion  of  Chow, 
 the  western  territory,  under  the  title  of  Wu-wang. 
 To  him  was  given  the  decree  of  Heaven  to  cut 
 off  and  destroy  the  tyrant  Emperor  Show,  who, 
 upon  being  defeated  in  the  desert  of  Muh,  was 
 bereft  of  his  senses  and  fled  to  Lu-tai  (the  Stag 
 Gallery),  where  he  adorned  himself  in  pearls  and 
 precious  stones  and  burned  himself  to  death. 
 Then  Wu-wang,  having  executed  Ta-ki,  raised 
 
TWO  POINTED  THINGS.— II 
 
 63 
 
 a  cenotaph  over  the  graves  of  those  who  were 
 slain  by  the  tyrant  and  distinguished  the  families 
 of  those  of  Yin  who  were  possessed  of  virtue. 
 The  grain  of  Kiu-kiao  he  dispensed  to  the  poor, 
 the  treasure  of  Lu-tai  he  caused  to  be  circulated, 
 and  all  the  women  of  the  harem  were  sent 
 home  to  their  people.  Seeing  all  this,  the 
 people  of  Yin  acclaimed  him,  saying  :  “If  the 
 King  thus  acts  towards  good  men,  raising  a 
 tomb  over  such  as  are  dead,  what  will  he  not 
 do  for  the  living  ?  If  the  families  of  the  virtuous 
 dead  are  thus  distinguished,  how  much  more 
 will  he  have  regard  to  those  that  remain  !  If 
 the  hard-gotten  store  of  wealth  is  thus  scattered 
 abroad,  there  is  little  enough  fear  of  taxation  ! 
 If  thus  he  sends  home  those  who  were  found  in 
 the  palace,  it  is  not  likely  he  will  summon  others  !  ” 
 
 The  King  then  appointed  the  princes  of  the 
 empire  and  ascended  the  throne  at  Hwa.  He 
 established  the  calendar  and  chose  red  for  the 
 national  colour.  He  sent  back  the  war-horses 
 to  the  Flowery  Mountains  and  loosed  the  oxen 
 in  the  wilderness  of  Hwa-yin.  The  implements 
 of  war  he  wrapped  about  with  tiger-skins,  and 
 covering  the  chariots  and  the  armour,  he  stored 
 them  away.  Thus  he  made  an  end  of  war. 
 
 He  then  sacrificed  in  the  ancestral  temple, 
 exalting  the  names  of  his  fathers.  He  perused 
 the  Red  Book  for  his  own  admonition,  and 
 inquired  of  his  officers,  saying :  “In  what  con- 
 
64  THE  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 sists  excellence  ?  What  is  the  rule  of  practice  ? 
 What  is  the  law  that  can  hold  good  for  ten 
 thousand  generations  ?  ” 
 
 Then  answered  him  Shang-fuh,  the  great 
 preceptor,  saying  :  4  ‘  It  is  contained  in  the 
 
 Red  Book,  which  says — c  When  care  exceeds 
 indifference,  things  are  right.  When  sloth  ex¬ 
 ceeds  care,  ruin  comes  along.  When  propriety 
 exceeds  lust,  affairs  are  felicitous.  When  lust 
 exceeds  uprightness,  trouble  will  ensue.  With¬ 
 out  due  caution  affairs  will  go  awry,  and  error 
 points  the  way  to  destruction.  Respect  of  these 
 things  may  extend  to  ten  thousand  ages.” 
 
 The  King  was  struck  with  these  words,  and 
 caused  them  to  be  engraved  and  painted,  woven 
 and  written  on  everything  about  him.  He  then 
 adjusted  the  affairs  of  the  Yin  country  and 
 straightened  the  wrong-doings  of  Show. 
 
 But  two  men  of  Yin  named  I  and  Tse,  who 
 had  offered  affront  to  Wu-wang,  went  and  hid 
 themselves  in  the  Show-yang  Hill,  because  they 
 were  ashamed,  and  being  too  righteous  to  eat 
 the  corn  of  Chow,  they  fed  upon  ferns  of  Wei. 
 Dying  of  hunger,  they  made  an  ode,  as  this  ; 
 
 Arise  !  let  us  away, 
 
 Yon  hill  ascend, 
 
 Where  now  the  glorious  day 
 Hath  halt  and  end. 
 
 Of  Wei  ferns  let  us  eat 
 Whilst  yet  we  may, 
 
TWO  POINTED  THINGS.— II 
 
 65 
 
 Ere  tyranny  complete 
 The  world’s  dismay ! 
 
 Shin-nung  and  Yao  and  Shun 
 All  men  forget. 
 
 Alas !  Our  day  is  done, 
 
 Our  sun  has  set ! 
 
 In  such  degree  did  the  virtues  of  the  Chow 
 dynasty  illumine  the  world,  that  foreign  tribes 
 sent  articles  of  tribute  to  the  court,  among  which 
 was  a  large  hound,  four  cubits  high,  which  had 
 been  trained  to  bring  down  human  quarry. 
 This  uncommon  occurrence  caused  unrest  in 
 the  mind  of  Shih,  the  Duke  of  Shaou.  He 
 therefore  wrote  an  admonitory  essay  to  the 
 King,  in  which  he  said  : 
 
 “  Trifling  with  men  is  loss  of  virtue  ;  trifling 
 with  things  is  puerile  play.  Let  your  desires 
 be  guided  by  moderation  and  your  words  by 
 goodwill.  Do  not  deal  with  unprofitable  things, 
 and  neglect  not  those  that  are  worthy.  Thus 
 you  will  perfect  your  m3rit.  Do  not  set  a  value 
 on  rare  things  nor  belittle  such  as  are  useful. 
 Thus  you  will  prosper  the  people.  Except  in 
 their  own  countries,  dogs  and  horses  should  not 
 be  reared.  By  not  setting  a  value  on  rare  things 
 the  stranger  is  admonished.  Esteeming  worthi¬ 
 ness  alone,  you  may  abide  in  peace  with  your 
 neighbours.” 
 
 Now  it  happened  that  in  the  third  year  of 
 Wu-wang’s  reign,  Ki-tze  came  to  court.  All 
 
66  THE  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS 
 
 within  the  four  seas  had  heard  his  vow  that  if 
 the  Yin  dynasty  fell  he  would  not  serve  another. 
 Yet  he  alone  was  able  to  lay  before  the  King 
 the  Great  Plan  of  perfect  government.  Therefore 
 the  King  sought  him  out.  But  while  passing 
 through  the  market-place,  where  formerly  the 
 palace  of  Yin  had  stood,  he  found  it  covered  with 
 a  crop  of  wheat.  At  first  he  would  have  burst 
 into  loud  lamentation,  but  considered  it  un¬ 
 dignified  ;  and  then  he  would  have  wept  in 
 secret,  but  thought  it  unmanly.  He  therefore 
 sat  down  and  composed  this  song  : 
 
 Full-eared  and  shaft-like  stands  the  wheat, 
 
 The  corn  in  golden  glory  stands, 
 
 But  where  is  he  whose  ancient  seat 
 Was  firmly  set  by  virtuous  hands  ? 
 
 He  spurned  as  dust  beneath  his  feet 
 Man’s  good  advice  and  Heaven’s  commands ! 
 
 Full-eared  and  golden  stands  the  corn 
 Where  once  our  palace  reared  its  head. 
 
 Alas !  that  man  was  ever  born 
 To  thus  behold  Yin’s  glory  fled  ! 
 
 Rich  food  is  this  that  puts  to  scorn 
 The  vanished  glory  of  the  dead ! 
 
 And  when  the  remaining  subjects  of  the  Yin 
 country  heard  this  song,  they  could  not  withhold 
 their  tears.  But  the  King,  wishing  to  honour 
 Ki-tze,  and  remembering  his  vow  not  to  serve 
 another  dynasty,  appointed  him  to  be  ruler  of 
 Korea. 
 
 Thereafter,  in  the  winter  of  the  third  year, 
 
TWO  POINTED  THINGS.— II 
 
 67 
 
 the  warrior  King  died  and  was  succeeded  by  his 
 eldest  son  Sung,  under  the  title  of  Ching-wang, 
 while  Tan,  the  Duke  of  Chow,  filled  the  office 
 of  Prime  Minister. 
 
 And  for  many  ages  thereafter,  when  the 
 scholars  of  Chow  discussed  both  sides  of  an 
 argument,  two  pointed  things  were  always  in 
 evidence — the  pen  of  Wan  and  the  sword  of  Wu. 
 
 FINIS 
 
 Printed  by  Hazelly  Watson  <S*  Viney ,  Ld.,  London  and  Aylesbury,  England. 
 
\ 
 
 * 
 
 \ 
 
 •*> 
 
 4? 
 
 % 
 
 I 
 
 *: 
 
 ■  \ 
 
 / 
 
 ^  ,  » 
 
THE  WISDOM  OF  THE  EAST 
 
 SERIES 
 
 Edited  by  L.  CRANMER-BYNQ  and  Dr.  S.  A.  KAPADIA 
 
 THE  SERIES  AND  ITS  PURPOSE 
 
 THIS  Series  has  a  definite  object.  It  is,  by  means  oi  the  best 
 Oriental  literature — its  wisdom,  philosophy,  poetry,  and  ideals 
 — to  bring  together  West  and  East  in  a  spirit  of  mutual  sym¬ 
 pathy,  goodwill,  and  understanding.  From  India,  China,  Japan, 
 Persia,  Arabia,  Palestine,  and  Egypt  these  words  of  wisdom  have 
 been  gathered. _ 
 
 NEW  VOLUMES. 
 
 BUDDHIST  PSALMS.  Translated  from  the  Japanese  of  Shinran 
 Shonin  by  S.  Zamabe  and  L.  Adam  Beck.  3/6  net. 
 
 THE  SECRET  ROSE  GARDEN  OF  SA’D  UD  DIN 
 
 MAHMUD  SHABISTARI.  Rendered  from  the  Persian, 
 with  an  Introduction,  by  Florence  Lederer.  3/6  net. 
 
 THE  RHYTHM  OF  LIFE.  Based  on  the  Philosophy  of 
 Lao-Tse.  By  Henri  Borel.  Translated  by  M.  E.  Reynolds.  3/6  net 
 
 INDIAN 
 
 THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  SIKHS.  By  Dorothy  Field. 
 
 3/6  net. 
 
 BUDDHIST  SCRIPTURES.  A  Selection  Translated  from  the. 
 Pali  with  Introduction  by  E.  J.  Thomas,  M.A.  3/6  net. 
 
 THE  HEART  OF  INDIA.  Sketches  in  the  History  of  Hindu 
 Religion  and  Morals.  By  L.  D.  Barnett,  M.A.,  Litt.D.,  Professor  of 
 Sanskrit  at  University  College,  London.  3/6  net. 
 
 BRAHMA-KNOWLEDGE:  An  Outline  of  the  Philosophy  of 
 the  Vedanta.  As  set  forth  by  the  Upanishads  and  by  Sankara. 
 By  L.  D.  Barnett,  M.A.,  Litt.D.,  Professdr  of  Sanskrit  at  University 
 College,  London.  3/6  net. 
 
 Continued  over 
 
THE  BUDDHA'S  “WAY  OF  VIRTUE.”  A  Translation  of 
 the  Dhammapada.  By  W.  C.  D.  Wagiswara  and  K.  J.  Saunders, 
 Members  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  Ceylon  branch.  3/6  net. 
 
 THE  PATH  OF  LIGHT.  Rendered  for  the  first  time  into 
 
 English  from  the  Bodhi-charyavatara  of  Santi-Deva.  A  Manual  of 
 Maha-Y5na  Buddhism.  By  L.  D.  Barnett,  M.A.,  Litt.D.  3/6  net. 
 
 LEGENDS  OF  INDIAN  BUDDHISM.  Translated  from 
 
 “  L’Introduction  a  1’Histoire  du  Buddhisme  Indien  ”  of  Eugene  Burnouf, 
 with  an  Introduction  by  Winifred  Stephens.  3/6  net. 
 
 THE  WAY  OF  THE  BUDDHA.  Selections  from  the  Buddhist 
 texts,  together  with  the  original  Pali,  with  Introduction  by  Herbert 
 Baynes,  M.R.A.S.  3/6  net. 
 
 IRANIAN  (Persian,  Pehlvi,  Zend,  etc.) 
 
 THE  DIWAN  OF  ZEB-UN-NISSA.  The  First  Fifty  Ghazals 
 Rendered  from  the  Persian  by  Magan  Lal  and  Jessie  Duncan  West¬ 
 brook.  With  an  Introduction  and  Notes.  3/6  net. 
 
 THE  RUBATYAT  OF  HAFIZ.  Translated  with  Introduction 
 by  Syed  Abdul  Majid,  LL.D.  Rendered  into  English  Verse  by 
 L.  Cranmer-Byng.  2/6  net. 
 
 THE  SPLENDOUR  OF  GOD.  Being  Extracts  from  the  Sacred 
 
 Writings  of  the  Bahais.  With  Introduction  by  Eric  Hammond.  3/6  net. 
 
 THE  TEACHINGS  OF  ZOROASTER,  and  the  Philosophy 
 of  the  Parsi  Religion.  Translated  with  Introduction  by  Dr 
 S.  A.  Kapadia,  Lecturer,  University  College,  London,  2nd  Edition; 
 3/6  net. 
 
 THE  PERSIAN  MYSTICS. 
 
 I.  Jalalu’d-dfn  Rumi.  By  F.  Hadland  Davis.  3/6  net. 
 
 II.  Jami.  By  F.  Hadland  Davis.  3/6  net. 
 
 THE  BUSTAN  OF  SA’DI.  From  the  Persian.  Translated 
 
 with  Introduction  by  A.  Hart  Edwards.  3/6  net. 
 
 SA’DI’S  SCROLL  OF  WISDOM.  By  Shaikh  Sa’di.  With 
 
 Introduction  by  Sir  Arthur  N.  Wollaston,  K.C.I.E.  2/6  net. 
 
 With  Persian  Script  added.  3/6  net. 
 
 THE  ROSE  GARDEN  OF  SA’DI.  Selected  and  Rendered 
 
 from  the  Persian  with  Introduction  by  L.  Cranmer-Byng,  2/6  net. 
 
 ARABIC 
 
 THE  POEMS  OF  MU'TAMID,  KING  OF  SEVILLE. 
 
 Rendered  into  English  Verse  by  Dulcie  Lawrence  Smith.  With  an 
 Introduction.  2/6  net. 
 
 ABU’L  ALA,  THE  SYRIAN.  By  Henry  Baerlein.  3/6  net. 
 
THE  ALCHEMY  OF  HAPPINESS.  By  Al  Ghazzali. 
 
 Rendered  into  English  by  Claud  Field.  3/6  net. 
 
 THE  AWAKENING  OF  THE  SOUL.  From  the  Arabic  of 
 Ibn  Tufail.  Translated  with  Introduction  by  Paul  Bronnle,  Ph.D. 
 2/6  net. 
 
 THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  KORAN.  With  Introduction  by 
 
 Sir  Arthur  N.  Wollaston,  K.C.I.E,  2/6  net. 
 
 ARABIAN  WISDOM.  Selections  and  Translations  from  the 
 
 Arabic  by  John  Wortabet,  M.D.  2/6  net. 
 
 THE  SINGING  CARAVAN. 
 
 By  Henry  Baerlein.  3/6  net. 
 
 THE  DIWAN  OF  ABU’L-ALA. 
 
 2/6  net. 
 
 Some  Echoes  of  Arabian  Poetry 
 By  Henry  Baerlein. 
 
 HEBREW 
 
 ANCIENT  JEWISH  PROVERBS.  Compiled  and  Classified 
 
 by  A.  Cohen,  late  Scholar  of  Emmanuel  College,  Cambridge.  3/6  net. 
 
 THE  WISDOM  OF  THE  APOCRYPHA.  With  an  Intro¬ 
 
 duction  by  C.  E.  Lawrence,  Author  of  “Pilgrimage,”  etc.  3/6  net. 
 
 CHINESE 
 
 A  FEAST  OF  LANTERNS.  Rendered  with  an  Introduction  by 
 L.  Cranmer-Byng,  Author  of  “A  Lute  of  Jade,”  “The  Odes  of  Con¬ 
 fucius,”  etc.  3/6  net. 
 
 YANG  CHU'S  GARDEN  OF  PLEASURE.  Translated 
 
 from  the  Chinese  by  Professor  Anton  Forke.  With  an  Introduction  by 
 
 H.  Cranmer-Byng.  2/6  net. 
 
 TAOIST  TEACHINGS.  From  the  Mystical  Philosophy  of  Lieh 
 
 Tzu.  Translated  by  Lionel  Giles,  M.A.  3/6  net. 
 
 A  LUTE  OF  JADE.  Being  Selections  from  the  Classical  Poets  of 
 China.  Rendered  with  an  Introduction  by  L.  Cranmer-Byng.  and 
 Edition.  3/6  net. 
 
 THE  CLASSICS  OF  CONFUCIUS. 
 
 I.  The  Book  of  Odes  (Shi-King). 
 
 By  L  Cranmer-Byng.  2/6  net. 
 
 II.  The  Book  of  History  (Shu-King). 
 
 By  W.  Gorn  Old.  2/6  net. 
 
 THE  SAYINGS  OF  CONFUCIUS.  A  new  Translation  of  the 
 
 greater  part  of  the  Confucian  Analects,  with  Introduction  and  Notes  by 
 Lionel  Giles,  M.A.  (Oxon.),  Assistant  in  the  Department  of  Oriental 
 Books  and  Manuscripts  of  the  British  Museum.  3/6  net. 
 
THE  CONDUCT  OF  LIFE;  or,  The  Universal  Order  of 
 Confucius.  A  translation  of  one  of  the  four  Confucian  Books, 
 hitherto  known  as  the  Doctrine  of  the  Mean.  By  Ku  Hung  Ming,  M.A. 
 (Edin.).  2/6  net. 
 
 THE  BOOK  OF  FILIAL  DUTY.  Translated  from  the  Chinese 
 of  the  Hsiao  Ching  by  Ivan  Chen,  First  Secretary  to  the  Chinese 
 Legation.  2/6  net. 
 
 THE  SAYINGS  OF  LAO  TZU.  From  the  Chinese.  Trans¬ 
 lated  with  Introduction  by  Lionel  Giles,  of  the  British  Museum. 
 2/6  net. 
 
 MUSINGS  OF  A  CHINESE  MYSTIC.  Selections  from  the 
 Philosophy  of  Chuang  Tzu.  With  Introduction  by  Lionel  Giles,  M.A. 
 (Oxon.),  Assistant  at  the  British  Museum.  3/6  net. 
 
 THE  FLIGHT  OF  THE  DRAGON.  An  Essay  on  the  Theory 
 and  Practice  of  Art  in  China  and  Japan,  based  on  Original  Sources.  By 
 Laurence  Binyon.  3/6  net. 
 
 JAPANESE 
 
 THE  SPIRIT  OF  JAPANESE  ART.  By  Yone  Noguchi. 
 
 3/6  net. 
 
 THE  SPIRIT  OF  JAPANESE  POETRY.  By  Yone  Noguchi. 
 
 3/6  net. 
 
 THE  WAY  OF  CONTENTMENT.  Translated  from  the: 
 
 Japanese  of  Kaibara  Ekken  by  Ken  Hoshino.  3/6  net. 
 
 THE  MASTER-SINGERS  OF  JAPAN.  Being  Verse  Trans¬ 
 
 lations  from  the  Japanese  Poets.  By  Clara  A.  Walsh.  3/6  net. 
 
 WOMEN  AND  WISDOM  OF  JAPAN.  With  Introduction 
 
 by  S.  Takaishi.  2/6  net. 
 
 EGYPTIAN 
 
 ANCIENT  EGYPTIAN  LEGENDS.  By  Margaret  A. 
 
 Murray.  3/6  net. 
 
 THE  BURDEN  OF  ISIS.  Being  the  Laments  of  Isis  and 
 Nephthys.  Translated  from  the  Egyptian  with  an  Introduction  by  James 
 Teackle  Dennis.  2 16  net. 
 
 THE  INSTRUCTION  OF  PTAH-HOTEP  AND  THE 
 INSTRUCTION  OF  KE’GEMNI.  The  Oldest  Books  in 
 the  World.  Translated  from  the  Egyptian  with  Introduction  and. 
 Appendix  by  Batti§combe  Gunn.  2/6  net. 
 
 Editorial  Communications  should  be  addressed  to 
 
 The  Editors  of  the  Wisdom  of  the  East  Series, 
 
 50A,  Albemarle  Street,  London,  W.i 
 
 LONDON ;  JOHN  MURRAY,  ALBEMARLE  STREET,  W.. 
 
Date  Due 
 
 mm* 
 
 m 
 
 PRINTED 
 
 IN  U.  S.  A.