V 
 
 
 MAIN LIB 
 

 ) 
 
 THE 
 
 • 
 
 LIFE AND TEACHINGS 
 
 OF 
 
 CONFUCIUS. 
 
 WITH EXPLANATORY NOTES. 
 
 BT 
 
 JAMES LEGGE, D.D. 
 
 >i#tlj (kirttbn; 
 
 LONDON: 
 TRUBNER & CO., 57 & 59 LUDGATE HILL. 
 
 1887. 
 
 [All rights reserved.'] 
 
. ■ 
 
 
 ■I /a. f 
 
 Main Lib. 
 
 JOHN FRYER 
 CHINESE LIBRARY 
 
THE CHINESE CLASSICS: 
 
 TKANSLATED INTO ENGLISH, 
 
 WITH 
 
 PRELIMINARY ESSAYS AND EXPLANATORY NOTES. 
 
 (reproduced for geneeal readers from the author's woek 
 containing the original text, &c.) 
 
 BY 
 
 JAMES LEGGE, D.D. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 THE LIFE AND TEACHINGS OF CONFUCIUS. 
 
 SUiIj (Sfotfam. 
 
 LONDON : 
 TRUBNER & CO., 57 & 59 LUDGATE HILL. 
 
 1887 
 [All rights reserved'^ 
 
PEEFACE. 
 
 When the author, in 1861, commenced the publication of 
 
 the Chinese Classics, with an English translation and such a 
 critical apparatus as was necessary to the proper appreciation of 
 the original Works, he did not contemplate an edition without 
 the Chinese text and simply adapted for popular reading. It 
 was soon pressed upon him, however, from various quarters ; 
 and he had formed the purpose to revise the separate volumes, 
 when he should have completed the whole of his undertaking, 
 and to publish the English text, with historical introductions 
 and brief explanatory notes, which might render it acceptable 
 for general perusal. 
 
 He is sorry that circumstances have arisen to call for such 
 an issue of his volumes, without waiting for the completion 
 of the last of the Classics; — principally because it adds another 
 to the many unavoidable hindrances which have impeded the 
 onward prosecution of his important task. A Mr Baker, of 
 Massachusetts, in the United States, having sent forth the 
 prospectus of a republication of the author's translation, his 
 publisher in London strongly represented to him the desira- 
 bleness of his issuing at once a popular edition in his own name, 
 as a counter-movement to Mr Baker's, and to prevent other 
 similar acts of piracy : — and the result is the appearance of the 
 present volume. It will be followed by a second, containing 
 the Works of Mencius, as soon as the publisher shall feel 
 himself authorized by public encouragement to go forward with 
 the undertaking. 
 
 The author has seen the first part of Mr Baker's repub- 
 lication, containing the English text of his first volume, and 
 the indexes of Subjects and Proper ]S r ames, without alteration. 
 The only other matter in it is an introduction of between 
 seven and eight pages. Eour of these are occupied with an 
 account of Confucius, taken from Chambers' Encyclopaedia, 
 
 747737 
 
t 
 
 lv PKEFACE. 
 
 which Mr Baker Bays he chooses to copy : — so naturally does it 
 come to him to avail himself of the labours of other men. "Con- 
 vey the wise it call. Steal ? Poh ! A fico for the phrase ! " 
 
 In the remainder of his Introduction, Mr Baker assumes a 
 controversial tone, and calls in question some of the judgments 
 which the author has passed on the Chinese sage and his doc- 
 trines. He would make it out that Confucius was a most 
 religious man, and abundantlv recognized the truth of a future 
 life ; that the worship of God was more nearly universal in China 
 than in the Theocracy of Israel ; that the Chinese in general 
 are not more regardless of truth than Dr Legge's own country- 
 men ; and that Confucius' making no mention of heaven and heh 
 is the reason why missionaries object to his system of practising 
 virtue for virtue's sake ! Mr Baker has made some proficiency 
 in the art of " adding insult to injury." It is easy to see to 
 what school of religion he belongs ; but the author would be 
 sorry to regard his publication as a specimen of the manner in 
 which the members of it "practise virtue for virtue's sake." 
 
 In preparing the present volume for the press, the author 
 has retained a considerable part of the prolegomena in the larger 
 work, to prepare the minds of his readers for proceeding with 
 advantage to the translation, and forming an intelligent judg- 
 ment on the authority which is to be allowed to the original 
 "Works. He has made a few additions and corrections which his 
 increased acquaintance with the field cf ChinOS-3 literature en- 
 abled him to do. 
 
 He was pleased to find, in revising the translation, that 
 the alterations which it was worth while to make were very few 
 and unimportant. 
 
 He has retained the headings to the notes on the several 
 chapters, as they give, for the most part, an adequate summary 
 of the subjects treated in them. All critical matter, interesting 
 and useful only to students of the Chinese language, he 1km 
 thrown out. In a few instances he has remodelled the nous, 
 or made such additions to them a? were appropriate to tLd 
 popular design of the edition. 
 
 Ifon^-Konrf, 2Gt!i October, 18GG. 
 
fK 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Y } f Cp ) I. PRELIMINARY ESSAYS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 OF THE CHINESE CLASSICS GENERALLY. 
 8KCTION PAGE 
 
 I. BOOKS INCLUDED UNDER THE NAME OF THE CHINESE 
 
 CLASSICS .. .. .. ., ., ., ,, 
 
 II. THE AUTHORITY OF THE CHINESE CLASSICS . . . . 3 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 OF THE CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 
 
 T. FORxMATION OF THE TEXT OF THE ANALECTS BY THE 
 
 SCHOLARS OF THE HAN DYNASTY 12 
 
 II. AT WHAT TIME, AND BY WHOM, THE ANALECTS WERE 
 WRITTEN ; TnEIR PLAN ; AND AUTHENTICITY . . 15 
 
 III. OF COMMENTARIES UPON THE ANALECTS . , . . . . 19 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 tl - [O 
 
 OF THE GREAT LEARNING. 
 
 I. HISTORY OF THE TEXT; AND THE DIFFERENT ARRANGE- 
 MENTS OF IT WHICH HAVE BEEN PROPOSED . . . . 22 
 
 IT. OF THE AUTHORSHIP, AND DISTINCTION OF THE TEXT 
 
 INTO CLASSICAL TEXT AND COMMENTARY . . . . *2G 
 
 UI. ITS SCOPE AND VALUE , , , . . , . , . . 27 
 
 . 
 
VI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 
 4KCTION TAGB 
 J. ITS TLACE IN THE LE KE, AND ITS PUBLICATION SE- 
 PARATELY . , 35 
 
 . . 36 
 
 II. ITS AUTHOR ; AND SOME ACCOUNT OF HIM 
 III. ITS SCOPE AND VALUE 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 CONFUCIUS ; HIS INFLUENCE AND DOCTRINES. 
 
 I. LIFE OF CONFUCIUS . . . . . ,. . . . . 55 
 II. HIS INFLUENCE AND OPINIONS 91 
 
 II. THE CLASSICS. 
 
 I. CONFUCIAN ANALECTS 
 
 II. THE GREAT LEARNING 
 
 III. THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN 
 
 . . 116 
 . . 264 
 
 . , 282 
 
 III. INDEXES. 
 
 I. SUBJECTS IN THE CONFUCIAN ANALECTS . . 
 
 II. PROPER NAMES IN THE CONFUCIAN ANALECTS 
 
 III. SUBJECTS IN THE GREAT LEARNING 
 
 IV. PROPER NAMES IN THE GREAT LEARNING 
 
 V. SUBJECTS IN THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN 
 
 VI. PROPER NAMES IN THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN 
 
 . 321 
 . 330 
 . 334 
 . 335 
 . 336 
 . 338 
 

 PEELIMINAEY ESSAYS. 
 
 >o o 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 01 THE CHINESE CLASSICS GENERALLY. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 BOOKS INCLUDED UNDER THE NAME OP THE CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 1, The Books now recognized as of highest authority in 
 China are comprehended under the denominations of " The 
 five-^2^" and " The four Shoo" The term Tdng is of 
 textile origin, and signifies the warp threads of a web, and 
 their adjustment. An easy application of it is to denote 
 what is regular and insures regularity. As used with refer- 
 ence to books, it indicates their authority on the subjects of 
 which they treat. " The five King" are the five canonical 
 Works, c ontaining the trutibugpjiihfi highfiaSwajyjeete-fcoiD 
 -the_-sagesJ Qf China, and wh ichTshould he received as law by 
 alL generations. The term 'shoo simply means w ritings p r 
 
 2. The five King are : — the Yih, or, as it has been styled, 
 ' < The Book of Changes ; " the Shoo, or " The Book of His- 
 torical Documents ; " the She, or " The Book of Poetry ; " 
 the Le Ke, or u Record of Bites ; " and the Ch'un Ts'ew, or 
 " Spring and Autumn/'' a chronicle of events, extending 
 from B.C. 721 to 480. The authorship, or compilation rather, 
 of all these works is< lpos ely attributed to Confucius. But 
 much of the Le Ke is from later hands. Of the Yih, the 
 Shoo, and the She, it is only in the first that we find 
 additions said to be from the philosopher himself, in the 
 shape of appendixes. The-X/h/ un Ts' ew is the only one of the 
 
 VOL. I. 1 
 
2 THE CHINESE CLASSICS GENERALLY. 
 
 five King which cart, with an approximation to correctness, 
 Tie described as of his own "making." 
 
 " The four Books " is an abbreviation for " The Books of 
 ! '.tile four .Philosophers." The first is the Lun Yu, or "Digested 
 Conversations," being occupied chiefly with the sayings of 
 ■. ; .Confucius. He ?s the philosopher to whom it belongs. It 
 appears in this Work under the title of " Confucian Analects." 
 The second is the Ta Heo, or " Great "T^aTnihg," now com- 
 monly attributed to Tsang Sin, a disciple of the sage. He 
 is the philosopher of it. The third is the Chung Yung, or 
 v " Doctrine of the Mean," ascribed to K'ung Keih, the grand- 
 son of Confucius. He is the philosopher of it. The fourth 
 — ' contains the works of Mencius. 
 
 3. This arrangement of the Classical Books, which is 
 commonly supposed to have originated with the scholars of 
 the Sung dynasty, is defective. The Great Learning and 
 the Doctrine of the Mean are both found in the Record of 
 Rites, beii*ig the forty-second and thirty-first Books respect- 
 ively of that compilation, according to the usual arrange- 
 ment of it. 
 
 4. The oldest enumerations of the Classical Books specify 
 only the five King. The Yo Ke, or " Record of Music," the 
 remains of which now form one of the Books in the Le Ke, 
 was sometimes added to those, making with them the six 
 King. A division was also made into nine King, consisting 
 of the Yih, the She, the Shoo, the Chow Le, or " Ritual of 
 Chow," the E Le, or " Ceremonial Usages," the Le Ke, and 
 the three annotated editions of the Ch f un Ts'ew, by Tso- 
 k'ew Ming, Kung-yang Kaou, and Kuh-leang Ch/ih. In 
 the famous compilation of the classical Books, undertaken 
 by order of T f ae-tsung, the second emperor of the T'ang r 
 dynasty (b.c. 627 — 619), and which appeared in the reign of 
 his successor, there are thirteen King ; viz., the Yih, the 
 She, the Shoo, the three editions of the Ch'uii Ts'ew, the 
 Le Ke, the Chow Le, the E Le, the Confucian Analects, 
 the Urh Ya, a sort of ancient dictionary, the Heaou King, 
 or " Classic of Filial Piety," and the works of Mencius. 
 
 5. A distinction, however, was made, as early as the 
 dynasty of the Western Han, in our first century, among 
 \h.Q Works thus comprehended under the same common name; 
 and Mencius, the Lun Yu, the Ta Heo, the Chung Yung, 
 and the Heaou King were spoken of as the seaou King, or 
 
AUTHORITY OF THE CHINESE CLASSICS. 3 
 
 <( smaller Classics." It thus appears, contrary to the 
 ordinary opinion on the subject, that the Ta Heo and Chung 
 Yung had been published as separate treatises long before 
 the Sung dynasty, and that the Four Books, as distinguished 
 from the greater King, had also previously found a place in 
 the literature of China. 1 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 THE AUTHORITY OP THE CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 1. This subject will be discussed in connection with each 
 separate Work, and it is only designed here to exhibit 
 generally the evidence on which the Chinese Classics claim 
 to be received as genuine productions of the time to which 
 they are referred. 
 
 2. In the memoirs of the Former Han dynasty (b.c. 201 — 
 a.d. 24), we have one chapter which we may call the History 
 of Literature. It commences thus : — " After the death of * 
 Confucius, there was an end of his exquisite words ; and 
 when his seventy disciples had passed away, violence began 
 to be done to their meaning. It came about that there were/ 
 five different editions of the Chmn Ts'ew, four of the She, 
 and several of the Yih. Amid the disorder and collision of 
 the warring States (b.c. 480 — 221), truth and falsehood were 
 still more in a state of warfare, and a sad confusion marked 
 the words of the various scholars. Then came the calamity 
 
 •inflicted under the Ts'in dynasty (b.c. 220 — 205), when the 
 literary monuments were destroyed by fire, in order to keep 
 the people in ignorance. But, by and by, there arose the 
 Han dynasty, which set itself to remedy the evil wrought 
 by the Tsun. Great efforts were made to collect slips and 
 tablets, 2 and the way was thrown wide open for the bringing in 
 of Books. In the time of the emperor Heaou-wo o (b.c. 139 — -H«*IA/* : 
 8G), portions of Books being wanting and tablets lost, so 
 that ceremonies and music were suffering great damage, he 
 
 1 For the statements in the two last paragraphs, see the works of Se-hb 
 on " The Text of the Great Learning," Bk. I. 
 
 3 Slips and tablets on bamboo, which supplied in those days the place of 
 paper. 
 
 1* 
 
4 THE CHINESE CLASSICS GENERALLY. 
 
 was moved to sorrow, and said, { I am very sad for this? 
 He therefore formed the plan of Repositories, in which the 
 Books might be stored, and appointed officers to transcribe 
 Books on an extensive scale, embracing the works of the 
 various scholars, that they might all be placed in the Re- 
 positories. The Emperor Ch'ing (b.c. 31 — 6), finding that a 
 portion of the Books still continued dispersed or missing, 
 commissioned Ch'in Nung, the superintendent of guests, to 
 search for undiscovered Books throughout the empire, and 
 by special edict ordered the chief of the Banqueting House, 
 Lew Heang, to examine the classical Works, along with the 
 commentaries on them, the writings of the scholars, and all 
 poetical productions ; the master-controller of infantry, Jin 
 Hwang, to examine the Books on the art of war ; the grand 
 historiographer, Yin Heen, to examine the Books treating 
 of the art of numbers (i. e. divination) ; and the imperial 
 physician, Le Ch'tjo-ko, to examine the Books on medicine. 
 Whenever any Book was done with, Heang forthwith ar- 
 ranged it, indexed it, and made a digest of it, which was 
 presented to the emperor. While the undertaking was in 
 progress, Heang died, and the emperor Grae (b.c. 5 — A.D.) 
 appointed his son, Hin, a master of the imperial carriages, 
 to complete his father's work. On this, Hin collected all 
 the Books, and presented a report of them, under seven 
 divisions." 
 
 The first of these divisions seems to have been a general 
 catalogue, containing perhaps only the titles of the works 
 included in the other six. The second embraced the class- 
 ical Works. From the abstract of it, which is preserved in 
 the chapter referred to, we find that there were 294 collec- 
 tions of the Yih-king, from 13 different individuals or edit- 
 ors j 1 412 collections of the Shoo-king, from nine different 
 individuals ; 416 volumes of the She-king, from six different 
 individuals; 2 of the Book of Rites, 555 collections, from 13 
 different individuals; of the Books on Music, 165 collections, 
 from six different editors; 948 collections of History, under 
 
 1 How much of the whole Work was contained in each " collection " or 
 p'een, it is impossible for us to ascertain. P. Eegissays : — " Pien, quemadmo- 
 clum Gallice dicimus ' des pieces d' eloquence, de poesieS " 
 
 2 The collections of the She-king are mentioned under the name of keuen, 
 " sections," " portions." Had p'eeu been used, it might have been understood 
 of individual odes. This change of terms shows that by p'een in the other 
 Biimmaries, we are not to understand single blocks or chapters. 
 
AUTHOEITY OP THE CHINESE CLASSICS. 5 
 
 the heading of the Ch/un Ts'ew, from 23 different indivi- 
 duals ; 229 collections of the Lun Yu, including the Analects 
 and kindred fragments, from 12 different individuals ; of the 
 Heaou-king, embracing also the Urh Ya, and some other 
 portions of the ancient literature, 59 collections, from 11 
 different individuals ; and finally of the Lesser Learning, 
 being works on the form of the characters, 45 collections, 
 from 11 different individuals.- The Works of Mencius were 
 included in the second division, among the Writings of what 
 were deemed orthodox scholars, of which there were 836 
 collections, from 53 different individuals. 
 
 3. The above important document is sufficient to show 
 how the emperors of the Han dynasty, as soon as they had 
 made good their possession of the empire, turned their at- 
 tention to recover the ancient literature of the nation, the 
 Classical Books engaging their first care, and how earnestly 
 and effectively the scholars of the time responded to the 
 wishes of their rulers. In addition to the facts specified in 
 the preface to it, I may relate that the ordinance of the Ts f in 
 dynasty against possessing the Classical Books (with the ex- i 
 ception, as will appear in its proper place, of the Yih-king) / 
 was repealed by the second sovereign of the Han, the em- 
 peror Heaou Hwuy, in the 4th year of his reign, B.C. 190, 
 and that a large portion of the Shoo-king was recovered in 
 the time of the third emperor, B.C. 178 — 156, while in the 
 year B.C. 135, a special Board was constituted, consisting of 
 literati who were put in charge of the five King. 
 
 4. The collections reported on by Lew Hin suffered 
 damage in the troubles which began a.d. 8, and continued 
 till the rise of the second or eastern Han dynasty in the year 
 25. The founder of it (a.d. 25'— 57) zealously promoted the 
 undertaking of his predecessors, and additional repositories 
 were required for the books which were collected. His 
 successors, the emperors, Heaou-ming (58 — 75), Heaou-chang 
 (75 — 88), andHeaou-hwo (89 — 105), took a part themselves 
 in the studies and discussions of the literary tribunal, and 
 the emperor Heaou-ling, between the years 172 — 178, had 
 the text of the five King, as it had been fixed, cut in slabs 
 of stone, in characters of three different forms. 
 
 5. Since the Han, the successive dynasties have considered 
 the literary monuments of the country to be an object of 
 their special care. Many of them, have issued editions of the/ 
 
6 THE CHINESE CLASSICS GENEEALLY. 
 
 f- classics, embodying the commentaries of preceding gener* 
 ations. No *xLyn<$sty has distinguished itself more in this 
 line than the present Manchow possessors of the Empire. 
 In fine, the evidence is complete that the Classical Books of 
 China have come down from at least a century before our 
 Christian era, substantially the same as we have them at 
 .►present. 
 
 6. But it still remains to inquire in what condition we may 
 suppose the Books were when the scholars of the Han 
 dynasty commenced their labours upon them. They ac- 
 knowledge that the tablets — we cannot here speak of manu- 
 scripts — were mutilated and in disorder. Was the injury 
 which they had received of such an extent that all the care 
 and study put forth on the small remains would be of little 
 use ? This question can be answered satisfactorily only by 
 an examination of the evidence which is adduced for the text 
 of each particular Classic ; but it can be made apparent that 
 there is nothing, in the nature of the case, to interfere with 
 our believing that the materials were sufficient to enable the 
 scholars to execute the work intrusted to them. 
 
 /' 7. The burning of the ancient Books by order of the 
 founder of the Ts'in dynasty is always referred to as the 
 greatest disaster which they sustained, and with this is- 
 coupled the slaughter of many of the literati by the same 
 monarch. 
 
 The account which we have of these transactions in the 
 Historical Eecords is the following •} — 
 
 " In his 34th year" (the 34th year, that is, after he had 
 ascended the throne of Ts'in. It was only the 8th after he 
 had been acknowledged Sovereign of the empire, coinciding 
 with B.C. 212) "the emperor, returning from a visit to the 
 south, which had extended as far as Yue, gave a feast in the 
 palace of Heen-yang, when the Great Scholars, amounting 
 to seventy men, appeared and wished him long life. 3 The 
 superintendent of archery, Chow Ts f ing-ch f in, came for- 
 
 1 I have thought it well to endeavour to translate the whole of the passages. 
 Father de Mailla merely constructs from them a narrative of his own ; see 
 UHistoire Generate de La Chine, tome II., pp. 399—402. The common 
 histories current in China avoid the difficulties of the original by giving an 
 abridgment of it. 
 
 2 These were not only "great scholars," but had an official rank. There 
 was what we may call a college of them, consisting of seventy members. 
 
AUTH0E1TY OF THE CHINESE CLASSICS. 7 
 
 ward and praised him, saying, l Formerly, the State of Ts'in. 
 was only 1000 le in extent, but Your Majesty, by your 
 spirit-like efficacy and intelligent wisdom, has tranquillized 
 and settled the whole empire, and driven away all barbarous 
 tribes, so that wherever the sun and moon shine, all appear 
 before you as guests acknowledging subjection. You have 
 formed the States of the various princes into provinces and 
 districts, where the people enjoy a happy tranquillity, suf- 
 fering no more from the calamities of war and contention. 
 This condition of things will be transmitted for 10,000 
 generations. From the highest antiquity there has been no 
 one in awful virtue like Your Majesty/ 
 
 " The Emperor was pleased with this flattery, when Shun- 
 yu Yue, one of the great scholars, a native of IVe, advanced 
 and said, ' The sovereigns of Yin and Chow, for more than a 
 thousand years, invested their sons and younger brothers, 
 and meritorious ministers, with domains and rule, and could 
 thus depend upon them for support and aid ; — that I have 
 heard. But now Your Majesty is in possession of all within 
 the seas, and your sons and younger brothers are nothing 
 but private individuals. The issue will be that some one 
 will arise to play the part of T f een Chiang, 1 or of the six nobles 
 of Ts'in. Without the support of your own family, where 
 will you find the aid which you may require ? That a state 
 of things not modelled from the lessons of antiquity can long 
 continue ; — that is what I have not heard. Ts'ing is now 
 showing himself to be a flatterer, who increases the errors of 
 Your Majesty, and is not a loyal minister/ 
 
 " The Emperor requested the opinions of others on this 
 representation, when the premier, Le Sze, said, e The five 
 emperors were not one the double of the other, nor did the 
 three dynasties accept one another's ways. Each had a pe- 
 culiar system of government, not for the sake of the contra- 
 riety, but as being required by the changed times. > Now, 
 Your Majesty has laid the foundations of imperial sway, so 
 that it will last for 10,000 generations. This is indeed be- 
 yond what a stupid scholar can understand. And, moreover, 
 Yue only talks of things belonging to the Three Dynasties, 
 which are not fit to be models to you. At other times, when 
 
 1 The T'e'en family grew up in the State of Ts'e, and in the early part of the 
 4th century B.C. supplanted the ruling House. The dismemberment of 
 Ts'in was still earlier. 
 
8 THE CHINESE CLASSICS GENERALLY. 
 
 the princes were all striving together, they endeavoured to 
 gather the wandering scholars about them ; but now, the 
 empire is in a stable condition, and laws and ordinances 
 issue from one supreme authority. Let those of the people 
 who abide in their homes give their strength to the toils of 
 husbandry, and those who become scholars should study the 
 various laws and prohibitions. Instead of doing this, how- 
 ever, the scholars do not learn what belongs to the present 
 day, but study antiquity. They go on to condemn the pre- 
 sent time, leading the masses of the people astray, and to 
 disorder. 
 
 " ' At the risk of my life, I, the prime minister, say, — 
 Formerly, when the empire was disunited and disturbed, 
 there was no one who could give unity to it. The princes 
 therefore stood up together ; constant references were made 
 to antiquity to the injury of the present state ; baseless 
 statements were dressed up to confound what was real, and 
 men made a boast of their own peculiar learning to condemn 
 what their rulers appointed. And now, when Your Majesty 
 has consolidated the empire, and, distinguishing black from 
 white, has constituted it a stable unity, they still honour 
 their peculiar learning, and combine together ; they teach 
 men what is contrary to your laws. When they hear that 
 an ordinance has been issued, every one sets to discussing it 
 with his learning. In the court, they are dissatisfied in 
 heart ; out of it, they keep talking in the streets. While 
 they make a pretence of vaunting their Master, they consider 
 it fine to have extraordinary views of their own. And so 
 they lead on the people to be guilty of murmuring and evil 
 speaking. If these things are not prohibited, Your Majesty's 
 authority will decline, and parties will be formed. As to 
 the best way to prohibit them, I pray that all the Records in 
 charge of the Historiographers be burned, excepting those 
 of Ts'in ; that, with the exception of those officers belonging 
 to the Board of Great Scholars, all throughout the empire 
 who presume to keep copies of the She-king, or of the Shoo- 
 king, or of the books of the Hundred Schools, be required 
 to go with them to the officers in charge of the several dis- 
 tricts, and burn them ; that all who may dare to speak to- 
 gether about the She and the Shoo be put to death, and 
 their bodies exposed in the market-place ; that those who 
 make mention of the past, so as to blame the present, be put 
 
AUTHORITY OP THE CHINESE CLASSICS. 
 
 to death, along with their relatives ; that officers who shall ( 
 know of the violation of these rules and not inform against 
 the offenders, be held equally guilty with them ; and that 
 whoever shall not have burned their books within thirty 
 days after the issuing of the ordinance, be branded and sent 
 to labour on the wall for four years. The only books which 
 should be spared are those on medicine, divination, and 
 husbandry. Whoever wants to learn the laws may go to 
 the magistrates and learn of them/ 
 
 " The imperial decision was — ' Approved/ " 
 The destruction of the scholars is related more briefly. 
 In the year after the burning of the Books, the resentment 
 of the Emperor was excited by the remarks and flight of 
 two scholars who had been favourites with him, and he de- 
 termined to institute a strict inquiry about all of their class 
 in Heen-yang, to find out whether they had been making 
 ominous speeches about him, and disturbing the minds of 
 the people. The investigation was committed to the Cen- 
 sors ; and it being discovered that upwards of 460 scholars 
 had violated the prohibitions, they were all buried alive in 
 pits, for a warning to the empire, while degradation and 
 banishment were employed more strictly than before against 
 all who fell under suspicion. The Einperor's eldest son, 
 Foo-soo, remonstrated with him, saying that such measures 
 against those who repeated the words of Confucius, and 
 sought to imitate him, would alienate all the people from 
 their infant dynasty, but his interference offended his father 
 so much that he was sent off from court, to be with the 
 general who was superintending the building of the great 
 wall. 
 
 8. No attempts have been made by Chinese critics and his- 
 torians to discredit the record of these events, though some 
 have questioned the extent of the injury inflicted by them 
 on the monuments of their ancient literature. It is import- 
 ant to observe that the edict against the Books did not extend 
 to the Yih-king, which was exempted as being a work on 
 /divination; nor did it extend to the other classics which were 
 in charge of the Board of Great Scholars. There ought to 
 have been no difficulty in finding copies when the Han dy- 
 nasty superseded that of Ts'in ; and probably there would 
 have been none but for the sack of the capital, in B.C. 203, 
 by Heang Yu, the most formidable opponent of the founder 
 
10 THE CHINESE CLASSICS GENERALLY 
 
 I of the House of Han. Then, we are told, the fires blazed 
 for three months among the palaces and public buildings, 
 and proved as destructive to the copies of the ' Great 
 Scholars/ as those ordered by the tyrant had done to the 
 copies of the people. 
 
 It is to be noted, moreover, that his life lasted only three 
 years after the promulgation of his edict. He died B.C. 209 ; 
 and the reign of his second son,, who succeeded him, lasted 
 only other three years. Then the reign of the founder of 
 the Han dynasty dates from B.C. 201 : — eleven years were 
 all which intervened between the order for the burning of the 
 Books and the establishment of that Family which signal- 
 ized itself by the care which it bestowed for their recovery ; 
 and from the issue of the edict against private individuals 
 having copies in their keeping to its express abrogation by 
 the Emperor Hwuy, there were only 22 years. We may 
 believe, indeed, that vigorous efforts to carry the edict into 
 effect would not be continued longer than the life of its 
 author, — that is, not for more than about three years. The 
 calamity inflicted on the ancient Books of China by the 
 House of Ts'in could not have approached to anything like 
 a complete destruction of them. 
 
 C9. The idea of forgery by the scholars of the Han dynasty 
 on a large scale is out of the question. The catalogues of 
 Lew Hin enumerated more than 13,000 volumes of a larger 
 or smaller size, the productions of nearly 600 different 
 writers, and arranged in 38 subdivisions of subjects. In the 
 third catalogue, the first subdivision contained the orthodox 
 writers, to the number of 53, with 836 Works or portions of 
 their Works. Between Mencius and K'ung Keih, the grand- 
 son of Confucius, eight different authors have place. The 
 second subdivision contained the Works of the Taouist school, 
 amounting to 993 collections, from 37 different authors. The 
 sixth subdivision contained the Mihist writers, to the num- 
 ber of six, with their productions in 86 collections. I specify 
 these two subdivisions, because they embraced the "Works 
 of schools or sects antagonist to that of Confucius, and some 
 of them still hold a place in Chinese literature, and contain 
 many references to the five Classics, and to Confucius and 
 his disciples. 
 
 10. The inquiry pursued in the above paragraphs conducts 
 us to the conclusion that the materials from which the 
 
AUTHOEITY OP THE CHINESE CLASSICS. 11 
 
 Classics, as they have come clown to us, were compiled and 
 edited in the two centuries preceding our Christian era, were 
 genuine remains, going back to a still more remote period. 
 The injury which they sustained from the dynasty of Ts'in 
 was, I believe, the same in character as that to which they 
 were exposed during all the time of u the Warring States/" 
 It may have been more intense in degree, but the constant 
 warfare which prevailed for some centuries among the dif- 
 ferent States which composed the empire was eminently 
 unfavourable to the cultivation of literature. Mencius tells 
 us how the princes had made away with many of the records 
 of antiquity, from which their own usurpations and innova- 
 tions might have been condemned. 1 Still the times were not 
 unfruitful, either in scholars or statesmen, to whom the ways 
 and monuments of antiquity were dear, and the space from 
 the rise of the Ts'in dynasty to Confucius was not very great. 
 It only amounted to 258 years. Between these two periods 
 Mencius stands as a connecting link. Born probably in the 
 year B.C. 371, he reached, by the intervention of Kmng Keih, 
 back to the sage himself, and as his death happened B.C. 288, 
 we are brought down to within nearly half a century of the 
 Ts'in dynasty. From all these considerations, we may proceed 
 with confidence to consider each separate Work, believing 
 that we have in these Classics and Books what the great 
 sage of China and his disciples found, or gave to their coun- 
 try, more than 2000 years ago. 
 
 See Mencius, V. Pt, II, ii. 2, 
 
12 THE CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 OP THE CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 FORMATION OF THE TEXT OF THE ANALECTS BY THE SCHOLARS 
 
 OF THE HAN DYNASTY. 
 
 1. When the work of collecting and editing the remains 
 of the Classical Books was undertaken by the scholars of 
 Han, there appeared two different copies of the Analects ; 
 one from Loo, the native State of Confucius, and the other 
 from Ts'e, the State adjoining. Between these there were 
 considerable differences. The former consisted of twenty 
 iTooks or Chapters, the same as those into which the Classic 
 is now divided. The latter contained two Books in addition, 
 and in the twenty Books, which they had in common, the 
 chapters and sentences were somewhat more numerous than 
 in the Loo exemplar. 
 
 2. The names of several individuals are given, who devoted 
 themselves to the study of those two copies of the Classic. 
 Among the patrons of the Loo copy are mentioned the 
 names of Hea-how Shing, grand-tutor of the heir-apparent, 
 who died at the age of 90, and in the reign of the Emperor 
 Seuen (b.c 72 — 48) ; Seaou Wangcke, a general officer, who 
 died in the reign of the Emperor Yuen (b.c. 47 — 32) ; Wei 
 Heen, who was premier of the empire from B.C. 70 — Q6 ; and 
 his son Heuen-shing. As patrons of the Ts f e copy, we have 
 Wang K f ing, who was a censor in the year B.C. 99 ; Yung 
 Tan, and AVang Keih, a statesman who died in the beginning 
 of the. reign of tlje Emperor Yuen. 
 
 3. But a third copy of the Analects was discovered about 
 <. B.C. 15(X One of the sons of the Emperor King was ap- 
 pointed king of Loo, in the year B.C. 153, and some time 
 after, wishing to enlarge his palace, he proceeded to pull 
 
FORMATION OE THE TEXT. 13 
 
 down the house of the K'ung family, known as that where 
 Confucius himself had lived. While doing so, there were 
 found in the wall copies of the Shoo-king, the Ch f un Ts'ew, 
 the Heaou-king, and the Lun Yu or Analects, which had 
 been deposited there, when the edict for the burning of the 
 Books was issued. They were all written, however, in the 
 most ancient form of the Chinese character, 1 which had 
 fallen into disuse ; and the king returned them to the K'ung 
 family, the head of which, K'ung Gan-kwo, gave himself to 
 the study of them, and finally, in obedience to an imperial 
 order, published a Work called " The Lun Yu, with explana- 
 tions of the Characters, and Exhibition of the Meaning/'' 2 
 
 4. The recovery of this 'copy will be seen to be a most im- 
 portant circumstance in the history of the text of the Ana- 
 lects. It is referred to by Chinese writers, as " The old 
 Lun Yu." In the historical narrative which we have of the 
 affair, a circumstance is added which may appear to some 
 minds to throw suspicion on the whole account. The king 
 was finally arrested, we are told, in his purpose to destroy 
 the house, by hearing the sound of bells, musical stones, 
 lutes, and harpsichords, as he was ascending the steps that 
 led to the ancestral hall or temple. This incident was con- 
 trived, we may suppose, by the K'ung family, to preserve 
 the house, or it may have been devised by the historian 
 to glorify the sage, but we may not, on account of it, dis- 
 credit the finding of the ancient copies of the Books. We 
 have K/ung Gan-kwo's own account of their being com- 
 mitted to him, and of the ways which he took to decipher 
 them. The work upon the Analects, mentioned above, has 
 not indeed come down to us, but his labours on the Shoo- 
 king still remain. 
 
 5. It has been already stated, that the Lun Yu of Ts'e 
 contained two Books more than that of Loo. In this re- 
 spect, th e old Lun Yu agreed with the Loo exemplar. Those 
 two books were wanting in it as well. The last book of the 
 Loo Lun was divided in it, however, into two, the chapter 
 
 1 Called " tadpole characters/' They were, it is said, the original forms 
 devised by Ts'ang Kee, with large heads and fine tails, like the creature from 
 which they were named. See the notes to the preface to the Shoo-king in 
 " The thirteen Classics." 
 
 2 See the preface to the Lun Yu in " The thirteen King." It has been my 
 principal authority in this Section. 
 
14 THE CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 
 
 beginning, " Yaou said," forming a whole Book by itself, 
 and the remaining two chapters formed another Book be- 
 ginning " Tsze-chang.-" With this trifling difference, the 
 old and the Loo copies appear to have agreed together. 
 
 6. Chang Yu, prince of Gan-chlang^^riio died bjl 4, after 
 having sustained several of the highest offices of the em- 
 pire,, instituted a comparison between the exemplars of Loo 
 
 ^ and Ts'e, with a view to determine the true text. The re- 
 sult of his labours appeared in twenty-one Books, which are 
 **"" mentioned in Lejy__I£in's catalogue. They were known as 
 the Lun of the Prince Chang, and commanded general ap- 
 probation. To Chang Yu is commonly ascribed the eject- 
 ing from the Classic of the two additional books which the 
 Ts f e exemplar contained, but Ma Twan-lin prefers to rest 
 that circumstance on the authority of the old Lun, which 
 we have seen was without them. If we had the two Books, 
 we might find sufficient reason from their contents to dis- 
 credit them. That may have been sufficient for Chang Yu 
 to condemn them as he did, but we can hardly suppose that 
 he did not have before him the old Lun, which had come to 
 light about a century before he published his Work. 
 
 7. In the course of the second century, a new edition of 
 the Analects, with a commentary, was published by one "of 
 the greatest scholars which China lias ever produced, — Ch/ing 
 Heuen, known also as Chring K f ang- siring. He died in 
 the reign of the Emperor Heen (a.d.109 — 220) at the age of 
 74, and the amount of his labours on the ancient classical 
 literature is almost incredible. While he adopted the Loo 
 Lun as the received text of his trin e, he compared it minutely 
 witTi those of Ts'e and the old exemplar. He produced three 
 different works on the Analects, which unfortunately do not 
 subsist. They were current, however, for several centuries ; 
 and the name of one of them — " The Meaning of the Lun Yu 
 explained/'— appears in the Catalogues of Books in the 
 T'ang dynasty (a.d. 624—907). 
 
 i 8. On the whole, the above statements will satisfy the 
 reader of the care with which the text of the Lun Yu was 
 fixed during the dynasty of Han. 
 
BY WHOM WRITTEN. 15 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 AT WHAT TIME, AND BY WHOM, THE ANALECTS WERE WRITTEN ; 
 THEIR PLAN j AND AUTHENTICITY. 
 
 1. At the commencement of the notes upon the first Book, 
 under the heading — " The Title of the Work," I have given 
 the received account of its authorship, taken from the <c History 
 of Literature " of the western Han dynasty. According to 
 that, the Analects were compiled by the disciples of Con- 
 fucius, coming together after his death, and digesting the 
 memorials of his discourses and conversations which they had 
 severally preserved. But this cannot be true. We may be- • 
 lieve, indeed, that many of the disciples put on record con- 
 versations which they had had with their master, and notes 
 about his manners and incidents of his life, and that these 
 have been incorporated with the Work which we have, but 
 that Work must have taken its present form at a period some- 
 what later. 
 
 In Book VIII., chapters iii. and iv., we have some notices 
 of the last days of Tsang Sin, and are told that he was 
 visited on his death-bed by the officer Mang King. Now 
 King was the posthumous title of Chung- sun Tsee, and we 
 find him alive (Le Ke, II. Pt. II. ii. 2) after the death of 
 Duke To of Loo, which took place B.C. 480, about fifty years 
 after the death of Confucius. 
 
 Again, Book XIX. is all occupied with the sayings of the 
 disciples. Confucius personally does not appear in it. Parts 
 of it, as chapters iii., xii., xviii., and xix., carry us down to 
 a time when the disciples had schools and followers of their 
 own, and were accustomed to sustain their teachings by 
 referring to the lessons which they had heard from the sage. 
 
 Thirdly, there is the second chapter of Book XL, the 
 second paragraph of which is evidently a note by the com- 
 pilers of the work, enumerating ten of the principal disciples, 
 and classifying them according to their distinguishing char- 
 acteristics. We can hardly suppose it to have been written 
 while any of the ten were alive. But there is among them 
 the name of Tsze-hea, who lived to the age of about a hun- 
 

 16 THE CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 
 
 dred. We find hhn, B.C. 406, three quarters of a century 
 after the death of Confucius, at the court of Wei, to the 
 prince of which he is reported to have presented some of 
 the Classical Books. 
 
 2. We cannot therefore accept the above account of the 
 origin of the Analects, — that they were compiled by the 
 disciples of Confucius. ^Much more likely is the view that we 
 
 -owe the work to their disciples. In the note on Book I. ii. 
 1, a peculiarity is pointed out in the use of the surnames of 
 Yew Jo and Tsang Sin, which has made some Chinese critics 
 • attribute the compilation to their followers. But this con- 
 clusion does not stand investigation. Others have assigned 
 different portions to different schools. Thus Book V. is 
 given to the disciples of Tsze-kung ; Book XI. to those of 
 Min Tsze-k f een; Book XIV. to Yuen Heenj and Book 
 XVI. has been supposed to be interpolated from the Ana- 
 lects of Ts f e. Even if we were to acquiesce in these 
 decisions, we should have accounted only for a small part 
 of the work. It is better to rest in the general conclusion, 
 that it was compiled by the disciples of the disciples of the 
 sage, making free use of the written memorials concerning 
 him which they had received, and the oral statements which 
 they had heard, from their several masters. And we shall 
 not be far wrong, if we determine its date as about the 
 beginning of the third, or the end of the fourth century 
 before Christ. 
 
 3. In the critical work on the Classical Books, called 
 <( Record of Remarks in the village of Yung/' published in 
 1743, it is observed,- " The Analects, in my opinion, were 
 made by the disciples, just like this Record of Remarks. 
 There they were recorded, and afterwards came a first-rate 
 hand, who gave them the beautiful literary finish which we 
 now witness, so that there is not a character which does not 
 have its own indispensable place." We have seen that the 
 first of these statements contains only a small amount of 
 truth with regard to the materials of the Analects, nor can 
 we receive the second. If one hand or one mind had di- 
 gested the materials provided by many, the arrangement 
 and style of the work would have been different. We should 
 not have had the same remark appearing in several Books, 
 with little variation, and sometimes with none at all. Nor 
 can we account on this supposition for such fragments as 
 
THEIR AUTHENTICITY. 17 
 
 the last chapters of the 9th, 10th, and 16th Books, and 
 many others. No definite plan has been kept in view 
 throughout. A degree of unity appears to belong to some 
 Books more than to others, and in general to the first ten 
 more than to those which follow, but there is no progress of 
 thought or illustration of subject from Book to Book. And 
 even in those where the chapters have a common subject, 
 they are thrown together at random more than on any plan. 
 
 4. When the Work was first called the Lun Yu, we cannot 
 tell. 1 The evidence in the preceding section is sufficient to. 
 prove that when the Han scholars were engaged in collecting 
 the ancient Books, it came before them, not in broken 
 tablets, but complete, and arranged in Books or Sections, 
 as we now have it. The old Lun was found deposited in the 
 wall of the house which Confucius had occupied, and must 
 have been placed there not later than B.C. 211, distant from 
 the date which I have assigned to the compilation, not much 
 more than a century and a half! That copy, written in the 
 most ancient characters, was, possibly, the autograph, so to 
 speak, of the compilers. 
 
 We have the Writings, or portions of the Writings, of 
 several authors of the third and fourth centuries before 
 Christ. Of these, in addition to " The Great Learning," 
 < ' The Doctrine of the Mean," and " The Works of Mencius/' 
 I have looked over the Works of Seun K'ing of the orthodox 
 school, of the philosophers Chwang and Lee of the Taouist 
 school, and of the heresiarch Mih. 
 
 In The Great Learning*, Commentary, chapter iv., we have 
 the words of Ana. XII. xiii. In The Doctrine of the Mean, 
 ch. hi., we have Ana. VI. xxvii. ; and in ch. xxviii. 5, we 
 have Ana. III. ix. and xiv. In Mencius, II. Pt. I. ii. 19, we 
 have Ana. TIL xxxiii., and in vii. 2, Ana. IV. i. ; in III. Pt. 
 I. iv. 11, Ana. VIII. xviii., xix. \ in IV. Pt. I. xiv. 1, Ana. 
 XL xvi. 2 ; V. Pt. II. vii. 9, Ana. X. xiii. 4 ; and in VII. 
 Pt. II. xxxvii. 1, 2, 8, Ana. V. xxi., XIII. xxi., and XVII. 
 
 1 In the continuation of the " General Examination of Records and 
 Scholars," Bk cxcviii. p. 17, it is said, indeed, on the authority of Wang 
 Ch'ung, a scholar of the 1st century, that when the Work came out of the 
 wall it was named a Ch'uen or Eecord, and that it was when K'ung Ofan-kwo 
 instructed a native of Tsin, named Foo-k'ing, in it, that it first got the name 
 of Lun Yu. If it were so, it is strange the circumstance is not mentioned in 
 Ho An's preface. 
 
 vol. i. 2 
 
18 THE CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 
 
 xiii. These quotations, however, are introduced by " The 
 Master said/' or " Confucius said/' no mention being made 
 of any book called " The Lun Yu/' or Analects. In The 
 Great Learning, Commentary, x. 15, we have the words of 
 Ana. IV. iii., and in Mencius, III. Pt. II. vii. 3, those of 
 Ana. XVII. i., but without any notice of quotation. 
 
 In the Writings of Seun K'ing, Book I. page 2, we find 
 some words of Ana. XV. xxx. ; p. 6, those of XIV. xxv. 
 In Book VIII. p. 13, we have some words of Ana. II. xvii. 
 .But in these three instances there is no mark of quotation. 
 
 In the Writings of Chwang, I have noted only one pas- 
 sage where the words of the Analects are reproduced. Ana. 
 XVIII. v. is found, but with large additions, and no reference 
 of quotation, in his treatise on " The state of Men in the 
 world, Intermediate/' placed, that is, between Heaven and 
 Earth. In all these Works, as well as in those of Lee and 
 Mih, the references to Confucius and his disciples, and to 
 many circumstances of his life, are numerous. 1 The quota- 
 tions of sayings of his not found in the Analects are like- 
 wise many, especially in the Doctrine of the Mean, in Mencius, 
 and in the works of Chwang. Those in the la/tter are mostly 
 burlesques, but those by the orthodox writers have more or 
 less of classical authority. Some of them may be found in 
 the Kea Yu, or " Family Sayings," and in parts of the Le 
 Ke, while others are only known to us by their occurrence 
 in these Writings. Altogether, they do not supply the 
 evidence, for which I am in quest, of the existence of the 
 Analects as a distinct Work, bearing the name of the Lun 
 Yu, prior to the Ts'in dynasty. They leave the presumption, 
 however, in favour of those conclusions, which arises from 
 the facts stated in the first section, undisturbed. They con- 
 firm it rather. They show that there was abundance of 
 materials at hand to the scholars of Han, to compile a 
 much larger Work with the same title, if they had felt it 
 their duty to do the business of compilation, and not that of 
 editing. 
 
 1 In Mih's chapter against the Literati, he mentions some of the charac- 
 teristics of Confucius,, in the very words of the 10th Book of the Analects. 
 
COMMENTARIES. 1 9 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 OF COMMENTAEIES UPON THE ANALECTS. 
 
 1. It would be a vast and unprofitable labour to attempt 
 to give a 'list of the Commentaries wliicli have been pub- 
 lished on this Work. My object is merely to point out how 
 zealously the business of interpretation was undertaken, as 
 soon as the text had been recovered by the scholars of the 
 Han dynasty, and with what industry it has been persevered 
 in down to the present time. 
 
 2. Mention has been made, in Section I. 6, of the Lun of 
 Prince Chang, published in the half century before our era. 
 Paou H$£n, a distinguished scholar and officer, of the reign 
 of Kwang-woo, the first emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty, 
 a.d. 25 — 57, and another scholar of the surname Chow, less 
 known but of the same time, published Works, containing 
 arrangements of this into chapters and sentences, with ex- 
 planatory notes. The critical work of K f ung Gf&n-kwo on 
 the old Lun Yu has been referred to. That was lost in 
 consequence of troubles which arose towards the close of 
 the reign of the Emperor Woo, but in the time of the Em- 
 peror Shun, a.d. 126 — 144, another scholar, Ma Yung, under- 
 took the exposition of the characters in the old Lun, giving 
 at the same time his views of the general meaning. The 
 labours of Ch/ing Heuen in the second century have been 
 mentioned. Not long after his death, there ensued a period 
 of anarchy, when the empire was divided into three govern- 
 ments, well known from the celebrated historical romance, 
 called " The Three States." The strongest of them, the 
 House of Wei, patronized literature, and three of its high 
 officers and scholars, Ch'in K'eun, Wang Suh, and Chow 
 Shang-lee, in the first half, and probably the second quarter 
 of the third century, all gave to the world their notes on the 
 Analects. 
 
 Vergf shortly after, five of the chief ministers of the Go- 
 vernment of Wei, Sun Yung, Ch/ing Cheung, Tsaou He, 
 Seun K'ae, and Ho An, united in the production of one 
 
 2* 
 
20 THE CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 
 
 great work, entitled, " A Collection of Explanations of the 
 Lun Yu." It embodied the labours of all the writers which 
 have been mentioned, and having been frequently reprinted 
 by succeeding dynasties, it still remains. The preface of 
 the five compilers, in the form of a memorial to the emperor, 
 so called, of the House of Wei, is published with it, and has 
 been of much assistance to me in writing these sections. 
 Ho An was the leader among them, and the work is com- 
 monly quoted as if it were the production of him alone. 
 
 3. From Ho An downwards, there has not been a dynasty 
 which has not contributed its labourers to the illustration of 
 the Analects. In the Leang, which occupied the throne a 
 o-ood part of the sixth century, there appeared the " Com- 
 ments of Wang K/an," who to the seven authorities cited 
 by Ho An added other thirteen, being scholars who had 
 deserved well of the Classic during the intermediate time. 
 Passing over other dynasties, we come to the Sung, a.d. 
 960 — 1279. An edition of the Classics was published by 
 imperial authority, about the beginning of the 11th century, 
 with the title of " The Correct Meaning." The principal 
 scholar engaged in the undertaking was Hing Ping. The 
 portion of it on the Analects is commonly reprinted in " The 
 Thirteen Classics," after Ho An ; s explanations. But the 
 names of the Sung dynasty are all thrown into the shade by 
 that of Choo He, than whom China has not produced a 
 greater scholar. He composed, in the 12th century, three 
 Works on the Analects, which still remain : — the first called 
 "Collected Meanings;" the second, "Collected Comments;" 
 and the third, " Queries." Nothing could exceed the 
 grace and clearness of his style, and the influence which 
 he has exerted on the literature of China has been almost 
 despotic. 
 
 The scholars of the present dynasty, however, seem in- 
 clined to question the correctness of his views and interpret- 
 ations of the Classics, and the chief place among them is 
 due to Maou Keeling, known more commonly as Maou Se-ho. 
 His writings, under the name of " The Collected Works of 
 Se-ho," have been published in 80 volumes, containing be- 
 tween three and four hundred books or sections. He has 
 nine treatises on The Four Books, or parts of them, and 
 deserves to take rank with Ch f ing Heuen and Choo He at 
 the head of Chinese scholars, though he is a vehement op- 
 
COMMENTARIES. 21 
 
 ponent of tlie latter. Many of his writings are to be found 
 also in the great Work called " A Collection of Works on 
 the Classics, under the Imperial dynasty of Ts f ing/^ which 
 contains 1400 sections, and is a noble contribution by 
 scholars of the present dynasty to the illustration of its 
 ancient literature. 
 
22 THE GREAT LEARNING. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 OF THE GREAT LEARNING. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 HISTORY OF THE TEXT ; AND THE DIFFERENT ARRANGEMENTS OF IT 
 
 'WHICH HAVE BEEN PROPOSED. 
 
 1. It has already been mentioned that tc The Great Learn- 
 ing " forms one of the chapters of the Le Ke, or " Record of 
 Rites/' the formation of the text of which will be treated of 
 in its proper place. I will only say here that the Book, or 
 Books,, of Rites had suffered much more, after the death of 
 Confucius, than the other ancient Classics. They were in a 
 more dilapidated condition at the time of the revival of the 
 ancient literature under the Han dynasty, and were then 
 published in three collections, only one of which — the Record 
 of Rites — retains its place among the King. 
 
 The Record of Rites consists, according to the current ar- 
 rangement, of 49 chapters or Books. Lew Heang (see ch. 
 I. sect. II. 2) took the lead in its formation, and was followed 
 by the two famous scholars, Tae Tih, and his relative, Tae 
 Siring. The first of these reduced upwards of 200 chapters, 
 collected by Heang, to 89, and Shing reduced these again to 
 46. The three other Books were added in the second 
 century of our era, The Great Learning being one of them, 
 by Ma Yuug, mentioned in the last chaper, section III. 2. 
 Since his time, the Work has not received any further ad- 
 ditions. 
 
 2. In his note appended to what he calls the chapter of 
 " Classical Text/'' Choo He says that the tablets of the " old 
 copies " of the rest of The Great Learning were considerably 
 out of order. By those old copies, he intends the Work of 
 Ch/ing Heuen, who published his commentary on the Classic, 
 soon after it was completed by the additions of Ma Yung ; 
 
HISTOEY OF THE TEXT. 23 
 
 and it is possible that the tablets were in confusion, and had 
 not been arranged with sufficient care ; but such a thing does 
 not appear to have been suspected until the 12th century ; 
 nor can any authority from ancient monuments be adduced 
 in its support. 
 
 I have related how the ancient Classics were cut on slabs 
 of stone by imperial order, a.d. 175, the text being that 
 which the various literati had determined, and which had 
 been adopted by Ch'ing Heuen. The same work was per- 
 formed about seventy years later, under the so-called dynasty 
 of Wei, between the years 240 and 248, and the two sets of 
 slabs were set up together. The only difference between 
 them was, that whereas the Classics had been cut in the first 
 instance in three different forms, called the Seal character, 
 the Pattern style, and the Imperfect form, there was substi- 
 tuted for the latter in the slabs of Wei the oldest form of the 
 characters, similar to that which has been described in con- 
 nection with the discovery of the old Lun Yu in the wall of 
 Confucius' house. Amid the changes of dynasties, the slabs 
 both of Han and Wei had perished before the rise of the 
 T'ang dynasty, a.d. 624 ; but under one of its emperors, in 
 the year 836, a copy of the Classics was again cut on stone, 
 though only in one form of the character. These slabs we can 
 trace down through the Sung dynasty when they were known 
 as the tablets of Shen. They were in exact conformity with 
 the text of the Classics adopted by Ch/ing Heuen in his 
 commentaries. 
 
 The Sung dynasty did not accomplish a similar work it- 
 self, nor has any one of the three which have followed it 
 thought it necessary to engrave in stone in this way the 
 ancient classics. About the middle of the 16th century, 
 however, the literary world in China was startled by a re- 
 port that the slabs of Wei which contained The Great Learn- 
 ing had been discovered. But this was nothing more than 
 the result of an impudent attempt at an imposition, for which 
 it is difficult to a foreigner to assign any adequate cause. 
 The treatise, as printed from these slabs, has some trifling 
 additions, and many alterations in the order of the text, but 
 differing from the arrangements proposed by Choo He, and 
 by other scholars. There seems to be now no difference of 
 opinion among Chinese critics that the whole affair was a 
 forgery. The text of The Great Learning, as it appears in 
 
2-1 THE GREAT LEARNING. 
 
 the Book of Rites with, the commentary of Ch f ing Heuen, and 
 was thrice engraved on stone, in three different dynasties, is, 
 no doubt, that which was edited in the Han dynasty by Ma 
 Yung. 
 
 3. I have said that it is possible that the tablets contain- 
 ing the text were not arranged with sufficient care by him, 
 and, indeed, anyone who studies the treatise attentively will 
 probably come to the conclusion that the part of it forming 
 the first six chapters of Commentary in the present Work is 
 but a fragment. It would not be a difficult task to propose 
 an arrangement of the text different from any which I have 
 yet seen; but such an undertaking would not be interesting 
 out of China. My object here is simply to mention the 
 Chinese scholars who have rendered themselves famous or 
 notorious in their own country, by what they have done 
 in this way. The first was Ch/ing Haou, a native of Loh- 
 yang in Ho-nan province, in the 11th century. His designa- 
 tion was Pih-shun, but since his death he has been known 
 chiefly by the style of Ming-taou, which we may render the 
 Wise-in- doctrine. The eulogies heaped on him by Choo He 
 and others are extravagant, and he is placed immediately 
 after Mencius in the list of great scholars. Doubtless he 
 was a man of vast literary acquirements. The greatest 
 change which he introduced into The Great Learning, 
 was to read sin for ts c in } at the commencement, making 
 the second object proposed in the treatise to be the 
 renovation of the people, instead of loving them. This alter- 
 ation and his various transpositions of the text are found in 
 Maou Se-ho's treatise on " The attested text of The Great 
 Learning.'" 
 
 Hardly less illustrious than Ch/ing Haou was his younger 
 brother Ch/ing E, known by the style of Ching-shuh, and since 
 his death by that of E-ch/uen. He followed Haou in the 
 adoption of the reading " to renovate" instead of " to love. 13 
 But he transposed the text differently, more akin to the 
 arrangement afterwards made by Choo He, suggesting also 
 that there were some superfluous sentences in the old text 
 which might conveniently be erased. The Work, as proposed 
 to be read by him, will be found in the volume of Maou just 
 referred to. 
 
 We come to the name of Choo He who entered into the 
 labours of the brothers Ch/ing, the younger of whom he 
 
HISTORY OF THE TEXT. 25 
 
 styles his Master, in his introductory note to The Great 
 Learning. His arrangement of the text is that now current 
 in all the editions of the Four Books, and it had nearly dis- 
 placed the ancient text altogether. The sanction of Imperial 
 approval was given to it during the Yuen and Ming dynasties. 
 In the editions of the five King published by them, only the 
 names of the Doctrine of the Mean and The Great Learning 
 were preserved. No text of these Books was given, and 
 Se-ho tells us, that in the reign of Kea-tsing, the most 
 flourishing period of the Ming dynasty (a.d. 1522 — 1566), 
 when a Wang Wan-shing published a copy of The Great 
 Learning, taken from the T'ang edition of the Thirteen King, 
 all the officers and scholars looked at one another in astonish- 
 ment, and were inclined to suppose that the Work was a 
 forgery. Besides adopting the reading of siii for ts'in from 
 the Ch/ing, and modifying their arrangements of the text, 
 Choo He made other innovations. He first divided the whole 
 into one chapter of Classical text, which he assigned to Con- 
 fucius, and ten chapters of Commentary, which he assigned 
 to the disciple Tsang. Previous to him, the whole had been 
 published, indeed, without any specification of chapters and 
 paragraphs. He undertook, moreover, to supply one whole 
 chapter, which he supposed, after his master Ch/ing, to be 
 missing. 
 
 Since the time of Choo He, many scholars have exercised 
 their wit on The Great Learning. The Work of Maou Se-ho 
 contains four arrangements of the text, proposed respectively 
 by the scholars Wang Loo-chae, Ke P'ang-san, KaouKing- 
 yih, and Ko Hoo-chen. The curious student may examine 
 them there. 
 
 Under the present dynasty, the tendency has been to de- 
 preciate the labours of Choo He. The integrity of the text 
 of Ch'ing Heuen is zealously maintained, and the simpler 
 method of interpretation employed by him is advocated in 
 preference to the more refined and ingenious schemes of the 
 Sung scholars. I have referred several times in the notes to 
 a Work published a few years ago, under the title of " The 
 Old Text of the sacred King, with Commentary and Discus- 
 sions, by Lo Chung-fan of Nan-hae." I knew the man 
 seventeen years ago. He was a fine scholar, and had taken 
 the second degree, or that of Keu-jin. He applied to me in 
 1843 for Christian baptism, and offended by my hesitancy 
 
26 THE GREAT LEARNING. 
 
 went and enrolled himself among the disciples of another 
 Missionary. He soon, however, withdrew into seclusion, and 
 spent the last years of his life in literary studies. His family 
 have published the work on The Great Learning, and one 
 or two others. He most vehemently impugns nearly every 
 judgment of Choo He : but in his own exhibitions of the 
 meaning he blends many ideas of the Supreme Being and ot 
 the condition of human nature, which he had learned from 
 the Christian Scriptures. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 OF THE AUTHORSHIP, AND DISTINCTION OP THE TEXT INTO CLASSICAL 
 
 TEXT AND COMMENTARY. 
 
 1 . The authorship of The Great Learning is a very doubt- 
 ful point, and one on which it does not appear possible to 
 come to a decided conclusion. Choo He, as I have stated 
 in the last section, determined that so much of it was king, 
 or Classic, being the very words of Confucius, and that all 
 the rest was chuen, or Commentary, being the views of Tsang 
 Sin upon the sage's words, recorded by his disciples. Thus, 
 he does not expressly attribute the composition of the 
 Treatise to Tsang, as he is generally supposed to do. What 
 he says, however, as it is destitute of external support, is 
 contrary also to the internal evidence. The 4th chapter 
 of Commentary commences with " The Master said." Surely, 
 if there were anything more, directly from Confucius, there 
 would be an intimation of it in the same way. Or, if we 
 may allow that short sayings of Confucius might be inter- 
 woven with the Work, as in the 15th paragraph of the 10th 
 chapter, without mention of "The Master/'' it is too much to 
 ask us to receive the long chapter at the beginning as being 
 from him. With regard to the Work having come from the 
 disciples of Tsang Sin, recording their master's views, the 
 paragraph in chapter 6th, commencing with " The disciple 
 Tsang said," seems to be conclusive against that hypothesis. 
 So much we may be sure is Tsang' s, and no more. Both of 
 Choo He's judgments must be set aside. We cannot admit 
 
ITS SCOPE AND VALUE. 
 
 27 
 
 either the distinction of the contents into Classical text and 
 Commentary, or that the Work was the production of 
 
 Tsang's disciples. . 
 
 2. Who then was the author ? An ancient tradition attri- 
 butes it to K'ung Keih, the grandson of Confucius. In a 
 notice published at the time of their preparation, about the 
 stone slabs of Wei, the following statement by Kea Kwei, a 
 noted scholar of the 1st century, is quoted :— '' When K'ung 
 Keih was living, and in straits, in Sung, being afraid lest 
 the lessons of the former sages should become obscure, and 
 the principles of the ancient emperors and kings fall to the 
 ground, he therefore made The Great Learning as the warp 
 of them, and The Doctrine of the Mean as the woof." This 
 would seem, therefore, to have been the opinion of. that early 
 time, and I may say the only difficulty in admitting it is that 
 no mention is made of it by Ch'ing Heuen. There certainly 
 is that agreement between the two treatises, which makes 
 their common authorship not at all unlikely. 
 
 3. Though we cannot positively assign the authorship of 
 The Great Learning, there can be no hesitation in receiving 
 it as a genuine monument of the Confucian school. There 
 are not many words in it from the sage himself, but it is a 
 faithful reflection of his teachings, written by some of his 
 followers, not far removed from him by lapse of time. It 
 must synchronize pretty nearly with the Analects, and may 
 be safely referred to the fourth century before our era. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 ITS SCOPE AND VALUE. 
 
 1. The worth of The Great Learning has been celebrated 
 in most extravagant terms by many Chinese writers, and 
 there have been foreigners who have not yielded to them in 
 their estimation of it. Pauthier, in the " Argument Philo- 
 sophique," prefixed to his translation of the Work, says :— 
 " It is evident that the aim of the Chinese philosopher is to 
 exhibit the duties of political government as those of the 
 perfecting of self, and of the practice of virtue by all men. 
 
28 THE GREAT LEARNING. 
 
 He felt that lie had a higher mission than that with which 
 the greater part of ancient and modern philosophers have 
 contented themselves ; and his immense love for the happi- 
 ness of humanity, which dominated over all his other senti- 
 ments, has made of his philosophy a system of social 
 perfectionating, which, we venture to say, has never been 
 equalled.'" 1 
 
 Very different is the judgment passed upon the treatise by 
 a writer in the Chinese Repository : — " The Ta Heo is a 
 short politico-moral discourse. Ta Heo, or c Superior Learn- 
 ing/ is at the same time both the name and the subject of 
 the discourse ; it is the summum honum of the Chinese. In 
 opening this Book, compiled by a disciple of Confucius, and 
 containing his doctrines, we might expect to find a Work 
 like Cicero's De Officiis ; but we find a very different pro- 
 duction, consisting of a few commonplace rules for the main- 
 tenance of a good government/' 2 
 
 My readers will perhaps think, after reading the present 
 section, that the truth lies between these two represent- 
 ations. 
 
 2. I believe that the Book should be styled T'ae Heo, and 
 not Ta Heo, and that it was so named as setting forth the 
 higher and more extensive principles of moral science, which 
 come into use and manifestation in the conduct of govern- 
 ment. When Choo He endeavours to make the title mean — 
 <t The principles of Learning, which were taught in the 
 higher schools of antiquity/' and tells us how at the age of 
 15 all the sons of the emperor, with the legitimate sons of 
 the nobles and high officers, down to the more promising 
 scions of the common people, all entered these seminaries, 
 -and were taught the difficult lessons here inculcated, we 
 pity the ancient youth of China. Such " strong meat " is 
 not adapted for the nourishment of youthful minds. But 
 the evidence adduced for the existence of such educational 
 institutions in ancient times is unsatisfactory, and from the 
 older interpretation of the title we advance more easily to 
 contemplate the object and method of the Work. 
 
 3. The object is stated definitely enough in the opening 
 paragraph : — (C What The Great Learning teaches, is — to 
 illustrate illustrious virtue ; to love the people ; and to rest 
 
 1 Le Ta Heo, ou La Grande Etude. Paris, 1837. 
 2 Chinese Kepository, vol. iii. p. 98. 
 
ITS SCOPE AND VALUE. 29 
 
 in the highest excellence." The political aim of the writer 
 is here at once evident. He has before him on one side the 
 people, the masses of the empire, and over against them are 
 those whose work and duty, delegated by Heaven, is to 
 govern them, culminating, as a class, in " the son of Hea- 
 ven/' " the one man," the emperor. From the 4th and 
 5th paragraphs, we see that if the lessons of the treatise be 
 learned and carried into practice, the result will be that 
 " illustrious virtue will be illustrated throughout the em- 
 pire," which will be brought, through all its length and 
 breadth, to a condition of happy tranquillity. This object is 
 certainly both grand and good ; and if a reasonable and 
 likely method to secure it were proposed in the Work, lan- 
 guage would hardly supply terms adequate to express its 
 value. 
 
 4. But the above account of the object of The Great 
 Learning leads us to the conclusion that the student of it 
 should be an emperor. What interest can an ordinary man 
 have in it ? It is high up in the clouds, far beyond his reach. 
 This is a serious objection to it, and quite unfits it for a 
 place in schools, such as Choo He contends it once had. In- 
 telligent Chinese, whose minds were somewhat quickened 
 by Christianity, have spoken to me of this defect, and com- 
 plained of the difficulty they felt in making the book a 
 practical directory for their conduct. u It is so vague and 
 vast," was the observation of one man. The writer, however, 
 has made some provision for the general application of his 
 instructions. He tells us, that from the emperor down to the 
 mass of the people, all must consider the cultivation of the 
 person to be the root, that is, the first thing to be attended 
 to. As in his method, moreover, he reaches from the culti- 
 vation of the person to the tranquillization of the Empire, 
 through the intermediate steps of the regulation of the 
 family, and the government of the State, there is room for 
 setting forth principles that parents and rulers generally 
 may find adapted for their guidance. 
 
 5. The method which is laid down for the attainment of 
 the great object proposed consists of seven, steps : — the in- 
 vestigation of things ; the completion of knowledge ; the 
 sincerity of the thoughts ; the rectifying of the heart; the 
 cultivation of the person ; the regulation of the family ; and 
 the government of the State. These form the steps of a 
 
30 THE GREAT LEARNING. 
 
 climax, the end of which is the empire tranquillized. Pau- 
 thier calls the paragraphs where they occur instances of the 
 sorites, or abridged syllogism. But they belong to rhetoric, 
 and not to logic. 
 
 6. In offering some observations on these steps, and the 
 writer's treatment of them, it will be well to separate them 
 into those preceding the cultivation of the person, and those 
 following it ; and to deal with the latter first. — Let us sup- 
 pose that the cultivation of the person is all attained, every 
 discordant mental element having been subdued and removed. 
 It is assumed that the regulation of the family will neces- 
 sarily flow from this. Two short paragraphs are all that are 
 given to the illustration of the point, and they are vague 
 generalities on the subject of men being led astray by 
 their feelings and affections. 
 
 The family being regulated, there will result from it the 
 government of the State. First, the virtues taught in the 
 family have their correspondences in the wider sphere. 
 Filial piety will appear as loyalty. Fraternal submission 
 will be seen in respect and obedience to elders and superiors. 
 Kindness is capable of universal application. Second, u From 
 the loving example of one family, a whole State becomes 
 loving, and from its courtesies the whole State becomes court- 
 eous." Seven paragraphs suffice to illustrate these state- 
 ments, and short as they are, the writer goes back to the 
 topic of self-cultivation, returning from the family to the 
 individual. 
 
 The State being governed, the whole empire will become 
 peaceful and happy. There is even less of connection, how- 
 ever, in the treatment of this theme, between the premise 
 and the conclusion, than in the two previous chapters. No- 
 thing is said about the relation between the whole empire, 
 and its component States, or any one of them. It is said at 
 once, " What is meant by ' The making the whole empire 
 peaceful and happy depends on the government of the State,' 
 is this : — when the sovereign behaves to his aged, as the 
 aged should be behaved to, the people become filial ; when 
 the sovereign behaves to his elders, as elders should be be- 
 haved to, the people learn brotherly submission ; when the 
 sovereign treats compassionately the young and helpless, 
 the people do the same." This is nothing but a repetition 
 of the preceding chapter, instead of that chapter's being 
 
ITS SCOPE AND VALUE. 31 
 
 made a step from which to go on to the splendid consumma- 
 tion of the good government of the whole empire. 
 
 The words which I have quoted are followed by a very- 
 striking enunciation of the golden rule in its negative form, 
 and under the name of the measuring square, and all the les- 
 sons of the chapter are connected more or less closely with 
 that. The application of this principle by a ruler, whose 
 heart is in the first place in loving sympathy with the people, 
 will guide him in all the exactions which he lays upon them, 
 and in the selection of ministers, in such a way that he will 
 secure the affections of his subjects, and his throne will be 
 established, for "by gaining the people, the kingdom is 
 gained ; and, by losing the people, the kingdom is lost." 
 There are in this part of the treatise many valuable senti- 
 ments, and counsels for all in authority over others. The 
 objection to it is, that, as the last step of the climax, it does 
 not rise upon all the others with the accumulated force of 
 their conclusions, but introduces us to new principles of action 
 and a new line of argument. Cut off the commencement of 
 the first paragraph which connects it with the preceding 
 chapters, and it would form a brief but admirable treatise by 
 itself on the art of government. 
 
 This brief review of the writer's treatment of the con- 
 cluding steps of his method will satisfy the reader that the 
 execution is not equal to the design ; and, moreover, under- 
 neath all the reasoning, and more especially apparent in 
 the 8th and 9th chapters of Commentary (according to the 
 ordinary arrangement of the work), there lies the assumption 
 that example is all but omnipotent. We find this principle 
 pervading all the Confucian philosophy. And doubtless it 
 is a truth, most important in education and government, 
 that the influence of example is very great. I believe, and 
 will insist upon it hereafter in these prolegomena, that we 
 have come to overlook this element in our conduct of 
 administration. It will be well if the study of the Chinese 
 Classics should call attention to it. Yet in them the subject 
 is pushed to an extreme, and represented in an extravagant 
 manner. Proceeding from the view of human nature that it 
 is entirely good, and led astray only by influences from with- 
 out, the sage of China and his followers attribute to personal 
 example and to instruction a power which we do not find 
 that they actually possess. 
 
32 THE GEEAT LEAENING. 
 
 7. The steps which, precede the cultivation of the person 
 are more briefly dealt with than those which we have just 
 considered. " The cultivation of the person results from 
 the rectifying the heart or mind." True, but in The Great 
 Learning very inadequately set forth. 
 
 " The rectifying of the mind is realized when the thoughts 
 are made sincere/'' And the thoughts are sincere when no 
 self-deception is allowed, and we move without effort to 
 what is right and wrong, " as we love what is beautiful, and 
 as we hate a bad smell." How are we to attain to this 
 state ? Here the Chinese moralist fails us. According to 
 Choo He's arrangement of the Treatise, there is only one 
 sentence from which we can frame a reply to the above 
 question. " Therefore," it is said, "the superior man must 
 be watchful over himself when he is alone." Following 
 Choo's 6th chapter of Commentary, and forming, we may say, 
 part of it, we have in the old arrangement of The Great 
 Learning all the passages which he has distributed so as to 
 form the previous five chapters. But even from the examina- 
 tion of them, we do not obtain the information which we 
 desire on this momentous inquiry. 
 
 8. Indeed, the more I study the Work, the more satisfied 
 I become, that from the conclusion of what is now called the 
 chapter of Classical text to the sixth chapter of Commentary, 
 we have only a few fragments, which it is of no use trying 
 to arrange, so as fairly to exhibit the plan of the author. 
 According to his method, the chapter on the connection be- 
 tween making the thoughts sincere and so rectifying the 
 mental nature, should be preceded by one on the completion 
 of knowledge as the means of making the thoughts sincere, 
 and that again by one on the completion of knowledge by 
 the investigation of things, or whatever else the phrase JciJi 
 ivuh may mean. I am less concerned for the loss and injury 
 which this part of the Work has suffered, because the sub- 
 ject of the connection between intelligence and virtue is very 
 fully exhibited in The Doctrine of the Mean, and will come 
 under my notice in the review of that Treatise. The man- 
 ner in which Choo He has endeavoured to supply the blank 
 about the perfecting of knowledge by the investigation of 
 things is too extravagant. " The Learning for Adults," he 
 says, " at the outset of its lessons, instructs the learner, in 
 regard to all things in the world, to proceed from what know- 
 
ITS SCOPE AND VALUE. 83 
 
 ledge lie lias of tlieir principles, and pursue his investigation 
 of them, till he reaches the extreme point. After exerting 
 himself for a long time, he will suddenly find himself pos- 
 sessed of a wide and far-reaching penetration. Then, the 
 qualities of all things, whether external or internal, the 
 subtle or the coarse, will be apprehended, and the mind, in 
 its entire substance and its relation to things, will be perfectly 
 intelligent. This is called the investigation of things. This 
 is called the perfection of knowledge." And knowledge 
 must be thus perfected before we can achieve the sincerity 
 of our thoughts and the rectifying of our hearts ! Verily 
 this would be learning not for adults only, but even Methu- 
 selahs would not be able to compass it. Yet for centuries 
 this has been accepted as the orthodox exposition of the 
 Classic. Lo Chung-fan does not express himself too strongly 
 when he says that such language is altogether incoherent. 
 The author would only be "imposing on himself and 
 others." 
 
 9. The orthodox doctrine of China concerning the con- 
 nection between intelligence and virtue is most seriously 
 erroneous, but I will not lay to the charge of the author of 
 The Great Learning the wild representations of the com- 
 mentator of the twelfth century, nor need I make here any 
 remarks on what the doctrine really is. After the exhibition 
 which I have given, my readers will probably conclude that 
 the Work before us is far from developing, as Pauthier asserts, 
 " a system of social perfectionating which has never been 
 equalled." 
 
 10. The Treatise has undoubtedly great merits, but they 
 are not to be sought in the severity of its logical processes, 
 or the large-minded prosecution of any course of thought. 
 We shall find them in the announcement of certain seminal 
 principles, which, if recognized in government and the re- 
 gulation of conduct, would conduce greatly to the happiness 
 and virtue of mankind. I will conclude these observations 
 by specifying four such principles. 
 
 First, The writer conceives nobly of the object of govern- 
 ment, that it is to make its subjects happy and good. This 
 may not be a sufficient account of that object, but it is much 
 to have it so clearly laid down to c( all kings and governors," 
 that they are to love the people, ruling not for their own 
 gratification, but for the good of those over whom they are 
 
 vol. i. 3 
 
34 THE GEEAT LEAKNING. 
 
 exalted by Heaven. Very important also is the statement 
 that rulers have no divine right but what springs from the 
 discharge of their duty. " The decree does not always rest 
 on them. Goodness obtains it, and the want of goodness 
 loses it." 
 
 Second, The insisting on personal excellence in all who 
 have authority in the family, the State, and the empire, is a 
 great moral and social principle. The influence of such per- 
 sonal excellence may be overstated, but by the requirement 
 of its cultivation the writer deserved well of his country. 
 
 Third, Still more important than the requirement of such 
 excellence is the principle that it must be rooted in the state 
 of the heart, and be the natural outgrowth of internal sin- 
 cerity. " As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." This 
 is the teaching alike of Solomon and the author of The 
 Great Learning. 
 
 Fourth, I mention last the striking exhibition which we 
 have of the golden rule, though only in its negative form. 
 ' ' What a man dislikes in his superiors, let him not display 
 in the treatment of his inferiors ; what he dislikes in inferiors, 
 let him not display in his service of his superiors ; what he 
 dislikes in those who are before him, let him not therewith 
 precede those who- are behind him ; what he dislikes in those 
 who are behind him, let him not therewith follow those who 
 are before him ; what he dislikes to receive on the right, let 
 him not bestow on the left ; what he dislikes to receive on 
 the left, let him not bestow on the right : — this is what is 
 called the principle with which, as with a measuring square, 
 to regulate one's conduct." 
 
 The Work which contains those principles cannot be 
 thought meanly of. They are " commonplace," as the 
 writer in the Chinese repository calls them, but they are 
 a 41 : the same time eternal verities. 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 35 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE DOCTRINE OE THE MEAN. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 ITS PLACE IN THE LE KE, AND ITS PUBLICATION SEPARATELY. 
 
 1 . The Doctrine of the Mean was one of the treatises which 
 came to light in connection with the labours of Lew Heang, 
 and its place as the 31st Book in the Le Ke was finally de- 
 termined by Ma Yung and Chung Heuen. 
 
 2. But while it was thus made to form a part of the great 
 collection of Works on Ceremonies, it maintained a separate 
 footing of its own. In Lew Hut's catalogue of the Classical 
 Works, we find " Two p'een of Observations on the Chung 
 Yung. 3 ' In the Becords of the dynasty of Suy (a.d. 589 — 
 617), in the chapter on the History of Literature, there are 
 mentioned three Works on the Chung Yung ; " — the first 
 called ' ' The Record of the Chung Yung," in two heuen, at- 
 tributed to Tae Yung, a scholar who flourished about the 
 middle of the 5th century ; the second, " A Paraphrase and 
 Commentary on the Chung Yung," attributed to the Emperor 
 Woo (a.d. 502 — 549) of the Leang dynasty, in one heuen; 
 and the third, " A Private Record, determining the Mean- 
 ing of the Chung Yung," in five heuen, the author, or sup- 
 posed author, of which is not mentioned. 
 
 It thus appears, that the Chung Yung had been published 
 and commented on separately long before the time of the 
 Sung dynasty. The scholars of that, however, devoted 
 special attention to it, the way being led by the famous Chow 
 Leen-k'e. He was followed by the two brothers Chung, but 
 neither of them published upon it. At last came Choo He, 
 who produced his W ork called " The Chung Yung, in 
 Chapters and Sentences," which was made the text book of 
 the Classic at the literary examinations, by the fourth 
 
36 THE DOCTKINE OF THE MEAN. 
 
 emperor of tlie Yuen dynasty (a.d. 1312 — 1320), and from 
 that time the name merely of the Treatise was retained in 
 editions of the Le Ke. Neither text nor ancient comment- 
 ary was given. 
 
 Under the present dynasty it is not so. In the superb 
 edition of " The Five King, 33 edited by a numerous com- 
 mittee of scholars towards the end of the reign K'ang-he, 
 the Chung Yung is published in two parts, the ancient com- 
 mentaries from " The Thirteen King " being given side by 
 side with those of Choo He. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 ITS AUTHOK ) AND SOME ACCOUNT OF HIM. 
 
 1. The composition of the Chung Yung is attributed to 
 K'ung Keih, the grandson of Confucius. Chinese inquirers 
 and critics are agreed on this point, and apparently on suffi- 
 cient grounds. There is indeed no internal evidence in the 
 Work to lead us to such a conclusion. Among the many 
 quotations of Confucius' words and references to him, we 
 might have expected to find some indication that the sage 
 was the grandfather of the author, but nothing of the kind 
 is given. The external evidence, however, or that from the 
 testimony of authorities, is very strong. In Sze-ma Ts' een's 
 Historical Records, published about the beginning of the 
 first century B.C., it is expressly said that " Tsze-sze made 
 the Chung Yung." And we have a still stronger proof, a 
 century earlier, from Tsze-sze's own descendant, K'ung Foo, 
 whose words are, " Tsze-sze compiled the Chung Yung in 
 49 p'een" 1 We may, therefore, accept the received account 
 without hesitation. 
 
 2. As Keih, spoken of chiefly by his designation of Tsze- 
 sze, thus occupies a distinguished place in the classical 
 literature of China, it may not be out of place to bring to- 
 
 1 This K'ung Foo was that descendant of Confucius, who hid several hooks 
 in the wall of his house, on the issuing of the imperial edict for their hurning. 
 He was a writer himself, and his Works are referred to under the title of 
 K'ung Ts'ung-tsze. 
 
ACCOUNT ~OF ITS AUTHOR. 37 
 
 gether here a few notices of liim gathered from reliable 
 sources. 
 
 He was the son of Le, whose death took place b.c. 482 
 four years before that of the sage, his father. I have not 
 found it recorded in what year he was born. Sze-raa Ts'een 
 says he died at the age of 62. But this is evidently wrong, 
 for we learn from Mencius that he was high in favour with 
 the Duke Muh of Loo, 1 whose accession to that principality 
 dates in B.C. 408, seventy years after the death of Confucius. 
 In the ' ' Plates and Notices of the Worthies, sacrificed to in 
 the Sage's Temples," it is supposed that the 62 in the His- 
 torical Records should be 82. 2 It is maintained by others 
 that Tsze-sze\s life was protracted beyond 100 years. This 
 variety of opinions simply shows that the point cannot be 
 positively determined. To me it seems that the conjecture 
 in the Sacrificial Canon must be pretty near the truth. 3 
 
 During the years of his boyhood, then, Tsze-sze must have 
 beenwithhis grandfather, and received his instructions. It is 
 related, that one day, when he was alone with the sage, and 
 heard him sighing, he went up to him, and, bowing twice, 
 inquired the reason of his grief. " Is it," said he, " because 
 you think that your descendants, through not cultivating 
 themselves, will be unworthy of you ? Or is it that, in your 
 admiration of the ways of Yaou and Shun, you are vexed 
 that you fall short of them 2" " Child," replied Confucius, 
 <( how is it that you know my thoughts V " I have often," 
 said Tsze-sze, " heard from you the lesson, that when the 
 father has gathered and prepared the firewood, if the son can- 
 not carry the bundle, he is to be pronounced degenerate and 
 unworthy. The remark comes frequently into my thoughts, 
 and fills me with great apprehension." The sage was de- 
 
 1 Mencius, V. Pt. II. vi. 4. 
 
 2 82 and 62 may more easily be confounded as written in Chinese than 
 with the Roman figures. 
 
 3 Le himself was born in Confucius' 21st year, and if Tsze-sze had been bom 
 in Le's 21st year, he must have been 103 at the time of Duke Muh's accession. 
 But the tradition is that Tsze-sze was a pupil of Tsang Sin, who was born B.C. 
 504. We must place his birth therefore considerably later, and suppose him 
 to have been quite young when his father died. I was talking once about the 
 question with a Chinese friend, who observed : — " Le was 50 when he died, and 
 his wife married again into a family of Wei. We can hardly think, there- 
 fore, that she was anything like that age. Le could not have married so 
 soon as his father did. Perhaps he was about 40 when Keih was born." 
 
38 THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 
 
 lighted. He smiled and said, " Now, indeed, shall I be with- 
 out anxiety ! My undertakings will not come to nought. 
 They will be carried on and nourish." 1 
 
 After the death of Confucius, Keih became a pupil, it is 
 said, of the philosopher Tsang. But he received his in- 
 structions with discrimination, and in one instance which is 
 recorded in the Le Ke, the pupil suddenly took the place of 
 the master. We there read : — " Tsang said to Tsze-sze, 
 ( Keih, when I was engaged in mourning for my parents, 
 neither congee nor water entered my mouth for seven days/ 
 Tsze-sze answered, ' In ordering their rules of propriety, it 
 was the design of the ancient kings that those who would go 
 beyond them should stoop and keep by them, and that those 
 who could hardly reach them should stand on tiptoe to do so. 
 Thus it is that the superior man, in mourning for his parents, 
 when he has been three days without water or congee, takes 
 a staff to enable himself to rise/ " 2 
 
 While he thus condemned the severe discipline of Tsang, 
 Tsze-sze appears in various incidents which are related of 
 him, to have been himself more than sufficiently ascetic. As 
 he was living in great poverty, a friend supplied him with 
 grain, which he readily received. Another friend was em- 
 boldened by this to send him a bottle of wine, but he de- 
 clined to receive it. "You receive your corn from other 
 people,'-' urged the donor, " and why should you decline my 
 gift, which is of less value ? You can assign no ground in 
 reason for it ; and if you wish to show your independence, 
 you should do so completely." " I am so poor," was the 
 reply, c c as to be in want ; and being afraid lest I should die,, 
 and the sacrifices not be offered to my ancestors, I accept 
 the grain as an alms. But the wine and the dried flesh 
 which you offer to me are the appliances of a feast. For a 
 poor man to be feasting is certainly unreasonable. This is 
 the ground of my refusing your gift. I have no thought of as- 
 serting my independence." 
 
 To the same effect is the account of Tsze-sze, which we 
 have from Lew Heang. That scholar relates : — " When 
 Keih was living in Wei, he wore a tattered coat, without any 
 lining, and in 30 days had only nine meals. T'een Tsze-fang 
 
 1 For this incident we are indebted to K'ung Foo ; see note 1, p. 36 
 
 2 Le Ke, II. Pt. I. ii. 7. 
 
ACCOUNT OP ITS AUTHOR. 39 
 
 having heard of his distress, sent a messenger to him with a 
 coat of fox-fur, and being afraid that he might not receive 
 it, he added the message, — ' When I borrow from a man, I 
 forget it ; when I give a thing, I part with it freely as if I 
 threw it away/ Tsze-sze declined the gift thus offered, and 
 when Tsze-fang said, ' I have, and you have not ; why will 
 you not take it ? ' he replied, ' You give away so rashly, as 
 if you were casting your things into a ditch. Poor as I 
 am, I cannot think of my body as a ditch, and do not presume 
 to accept your gift/ " 
 
 Tsze-sze's mother married again, after Le's death, into a 
 family of Wei. But this circumstance, which is not at all 
 creditable in Chinese estimation, did not alienate his affec- 
 tions from her. He was in Loo when he heard of her death, 
 and proceeded to weep in the temple of his family. A dis- 
 ciple came to him and said, " Your mother married again 
 : uto the family of the Shoo, and do you weep for her in the 
 temple of the K'ung ? " "I am wrong/'' said Tsze-sze, " I 
 am wrong \ " and with these words he went to weep else- 
 where. 1 
 
 In his own married relation he does not seem to have been 
 happy; and for some cause, which has not been transmitted 
 to us, he divorced his wife, following in this, it would appear, 
 the example of Confucius. On her death her son, Tsze- 
 shang, 2 did not undertake any mourning for her. Tsze-sze's 
 disciples were surprised and questioned him. ' c Did not your 
 father/ - ' they asked, " mourn for his mother who had been 
 divorced ? " " Yes/' was the reply. " Then why do you not 
 cause Pih 3 to mourn for his mother ? " Tsze-sze answered, 
 f ' My father failed in nothing to pursue the proper path. His 
 observances increased or decreased as the case required. But 
 I cannot attain to this. While she was my wife, she was 
 Pill's mother; when she ceased to be my wife, she ceased to 
 be Pill's mother." The custom of the K'ung family not to 
 mourn for a mother who had left it herself, or been divorced, 
 took its rise from Tsze-sze. 4 
 
 These few notices of K'ung Keih in his more private re- 
 lations bring him before us as a man of strong feeling and 
 strong will, independent, and with a tendency to asceticism 
 in his habits. 
 
 1 See the Le Ke, II. Pt. II. iii. 15. 2 This was the designation of Tsze-sze's son. 
 8 This was Tsze-shang's name. 4 See the Le Ke, II. Pt. I. i. 4. 
 
40 THE DOCTRINE OP THE MEAN. 
 
 As a public character, we find him at the ducal courts of 
 Wei, Sung, Loo, and Pe, and at each of them held in high es- 
 teem by the rulers. To Wei he was carried probably by the 
 fact of his mother having married into that State. We are 
 told that the prince of Wei received him with great distinc- 
 tion and lodged him honourably. On one occasion he said 
 to him, " An officer of the State of Loo, you have not de- 
 spised this small and narrow Wei, but have bent your steps 
 hither to comfort and preserve it ; — vouchsafe to confer 
 your benefits upon me." Tsze-sze replied, " If I should wish 
 to requite your princely favour with money and silks, your 
 treasuries are already full of them, and I am poor. If I 
 should wish to requite it with good words, I am afraid that 
 what I should say would not suit your ideas, so that I should 
 speak in vain, and not be listened to. The only way in which 
 I can requite it, is by recommending to your notice men of 
 worth/'' The duke said, <( Men of worth is exactly what I 
 desire." " Nay," said Keih, " you are not able to appreciate 
 them." " Nevertheless," was the reply, " I should like to 
 hear whom you consider deserving that name." Tsze-sze 
 replied, " Do you wish to select your officers for the name 
 they may have, or for their reality ? " " For their reality, 
 certainly," said the duke. His guest then said, " In the 
 eastern borders of your State, there is one Le Yin, who is a 
 man of real worth." " What were his grandfather and 
 father ? " asked the duke. " They were husbandmen," was 
 the reply, on which the duke broke into a loud laugh, saying, 
 " I do not like husbandry. The son of a husbandman can- 
 not be fit for me to employ. I do not put into office all the 
 cadets of those families even in which office is hereditary."* 
 Tsze-sze observed, " I mention Le Yin because of his 
 abilities ; what has the fact of his forefathers being husband- 
 men to do with the case ? And, moreover, the duke of Chow 
 was a great sage, and K f ang-shuh was a great worthy. Yet 
 if you examine their beginnings, you will find that from the 
 business of husbandry they came forth to found their States. 
 I did certainly have my doubts that in the selection of your 
 officers you did not have regard to their real character and 
 caj^acity." With this the conversation ended. The duko 
 was silent. 1 
 
 1 See the Biographical Dictionary ; Art. K'ung Keih. 
 
ACCOUNT OP ITS AUTHOR, 41 
 
 Tsze-sze was naturally led to Sung, as the K'ung family 
 originally sprang from that principality. One account, 
 quoted in " The Four Books, Text and Commentary, with 
 Proofs and Illustrations/' says that he went thither in his 
 16th year, and having foiled an officer of the State, named 
 Yo So, in a conversation on the Shoo-king, his opponent 
 was so irritated at the disgrace put on him by a youth, that 
 he listened to the advice of evil counsellors, and made an 
 attack on him to put him to death. The duke of Sung, 
 hearing the tumult, hurried to the rescue, and when Keili 
 found himself in safety, he said, " When King Wan was im- 
 prisoned in Yew-le, he made the Yih of Chow. My grand- 
 father made the Ch/un Ts'ew after he had been in danger 
 in Ch/in and Ts'ae. Shall I not make something when res- 
 cued from such a risk in Sung ? " Upon this he made the 
 Chung Yung in 49 p'een. 
 
 According to this account, the Chung Yun'g was the work 
 of Tsze-sze' s early manhood, and the tradition has obtained a 
 wonderful prevalence. The .-notice in " The Sacrificial 
 Canon " says, on the contrary, that it was the work of his 
 old age, when he had finally settled in Loo ; which is much 
 more likely. 
 
 Of Tsze-sze in Pe, which could hardly be said to be out of 
 Loo, we have only one short notice, — in Mencius, Y. Pt. II. 
 iii. 3, where the Duke Hwuy of Pe is introduced as saying, 
 " I treat Tsze-sze as my master.'" 
 
 We have fuller accounts of him in Loo, where he spent all 
 the latter years of his life, instructing his disciples to the 
 number of several hundred, 1 and held in great reverence by 
 the Duke Muh. The duke indeed wanted to raise him to the 
 highest office, but he declined this, and would only occupy 
 the position of a " guide, philosopher, and friend." Of the 
 attention which he demanded, however, instances will be 
 found in Mencius, II. Pt. II. xi. 3 ; V. Pt. II. vi. 5, and vii. 3. 
 In his intercourse with the duke he spoke the truth to him 
 fearlessly. In the " Cyclopaedia of Surnames," I find the 
 following conversations, but I cannot tell from what source 
 they are extracted into that work — " One day the duke said 
 to Tsze-sze, ' The officer Heen told me that you do good 
 without wishing for any praise from men ; — is it so ? ' Tsze- 
 
 1 See the " Sacrificial Canon," on Tsze-sze, 
 
42 THE DOCTRINE OP THE MEAN. 
 
 sze replied, e No, that is not my feeling. When I cultivate 
 what is good, I wish men to know it, for when they know it 
 and praise me, I feel encouraged to be more zealous in the 
 cultivation. This is what I desire, and am not able to ob- 
 tain. If I cultivate what is good, and men do not know it, 
 it is likely that in their ignorance they will speak evil of me. 
 So by my good-doing I only come to be evil spoken of. This 
 is what I do not desire, but am not able to avoid. In the case 
 of a man, who gets up at cock crowing to practise what is good, 
 and continues sedulous in the endeavour till midnight, and 
 says at the same time that he does not wish men to know it, 
 lest they should praise him, I must say of such a man, that 
 if he be not deceitful he is stupid.'' " 
 
 Another day, the duke asked Tsze-sze saying, " Can my 
 State be made to flourish V " It may," was the reply. 
 f ' And how ? " Ts«e-sze said, " O prince, if you and your 
 ministers will only strive to realize the government of the 
 dukes of Chow and of Pih-k f in ; practising their transform- 
 ing principles, sending forth wide the favours of your 
 ducal house, and not letting advantages flow in private chan- 
 nels; — if you will thus conciliate the affections of the people, 
 and at the same time cultivate friendly relations with neigh- 
 bouring States, your kingdom will soon begin to flourish." 
 
 On one occasion, the duke asked whether it had been the 
 custom of old for ministers to go into mourning for a prince 
 whose service and State they had left. Tsze-sze replied to 
 him, " Of old, princes advanced their ministers, to office ac- 
 cording to propriety, and dismissed them in the same way, 
 and hence there was that rule. But now-a-days princes 
 bring their ministers forward as if they were going to take 
 them on their knees, and send them away as if they would 
 cast them into an abyss. If they do not treat them as their 
 greatest enemies, it is well. — How can you expect the ancient 
 practice to be observed in such circumstances ? " l 
 
 These instances may suffice to illustrate the character of 
 Tsze-sze, as it was displayed in his intercourse with the 
 princes of his time. We see the same independence which 
 he affected in private life, and a dignity not unbecoming the 
 grandson of Confucius. But we miss the reach of thought 
 and capacity for administration which belonged to the Sage. 
 
 1 This conversation is given in the Le Ke, II. Pt. II. ii. 1. 
 
ITS SCOPE AND VALUE. 4 
 
 o 
 
 It is witli him, however, as a thinker and writer that we have 
 to do, and his rank in that capacity will appear from the exa- 
 mination of the Chung Yung in the section that follows. 
 His place in the temples of the Sage has "been that of one of 
 his four assessors, since the year 1267. He ranks with Yen 
 Hwuy, Tsang Sin, and Mencius, and bears the title of " The 
 Philosopher Tsze-sze, Transmitter of the Sage. ; " 
 
 )j 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 ITS SCOPE AND VALUE. 
 
 1 . The Doctrine of the Mean is a work not easy to under- 
 stand. " It first/"' says the philosopher Ch/ing, " speaks of 
 one principle ; it next spreads this out and embraces all 
 things ; finally, it returns and gathers them up under the 
 one principle. Unroll it, and it fills the universe ; roll it up, 
 and it retires and lies hid in secrecy.'''' There is this ad- 
 vantage, however, to the student of it, that, more than most 
 other Chinese Treatises, it has a beginning, a middle, and 
 an end. The first chapter stands to all that follows in the 
 character of a text, containing several propositions of which 
 we have the expansion or development. If that develop- 
 ment were satisfactory, we should be able to bring our own 
 minds en rapjjort with that of the author. Unfortunately it 
 is not so. As a writer he belongs to the intuitional school 
 more than to the logical. . This is well put in the " Contin- 
 uation of the General Examination of Literary Monuments 
 and Learned Men : " — " The philosopher Tsang reached his 
 conclusions by following in the train of things, watching and 
 examining ; whereas Tsze-sze proceeds directly and reaches 
 to heavenly virtue. His was a mysterious power of dis- 
 cernment, approaching to that of Yen Hwuy." We must 
 take the Book and the author, however, as we have them, and 
 get to their meaning, if we can, by assiduous examination 
 and reflection. 
 
 2. " Man has received his nature from Heaven. Conduct 
 in accordance with that nature constitutes what is right and 
 true, — is a pursuing of the proper path. The cultivation or 
 
44 THE DOCTRINE OP THE MEAN. 
 
 regulation of that path is what is called instruction." It is 
 with these axioms that the Treatise commences, and from 
 such an introduction we might expect that the writer would 
 go on to unfold the various principles of duty, derived from 
 an analysis of mam's moral constitution. 
 
 Confining himself, however, to the second axiom, he pro- 
 ceeds to say that " the path may not for an instant be left, 
 and that the superior man is cautious and careful in refer- 
 ence to what he does not see, and fearful and apprehensive 
 in reference to what he does not hear. There is nothing 
 more visible than what is secret, and nothing more manifest 
 than what is minute, and therefore the superior man is 
 watchful over his aioneness." This is not all very plain. 
 Comparing it with the 6th chapter of Commentary in The 
 Great Learning, it seems to inculcate what is there called 
 11 making the thoughts sincere." The passage contains an 
 admonition about equivalent to that of Solomon, — " Keep 
 thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of 
 life." 
 
 The next paragraph seems to speak of the nature and the 
 path under other names. cc While there are no movements 
 of pleasure, anger, sorrow, or joy, we have what may be 
 called the state of equilibrium. When those feelings have 
 been moved, and they all act in the due degree, we have 
 what may be called the state of harmony. This equilibrium 
 is the great root of the world, and this harmony is its uni- 
 versal path." What is here called " the state of equilibrium " 
 is the same as the nature given by Heaven, considered ab- 
 solutely in itself, without deflection or inclination. This 
 nature acted on from without, and responding with the 
 various emotions, so as always "to hit " the mark with entire 
 •correctness, produces the state of harmony, and such har- 
 monious response is the path along which all human ac- 
 tivities should proceed. 
 
 Finally, (C Let the states of equilibrium and harmony exist 
 in perfection, and a happy order will prevail throughout 
 heaven and earth, and all things will be nourished and nour- 
 ish." Here we pass into the sphere of mystery and mys- 
 ticism. The language, according to Choo He, " describes 
 the meritorious achievements and transforming influence of 
 sage and spiritual men in their highest extent." From the 
 path of duty, where we tread on solid ground, the writer 
 
ITS SCOPE AND VALUE. 45 
 
 suddenly raises us aloft on wings of air, and will carry us 
 we know not where, and to we know not wliat. 
 
 o. The paragraphs thus presented, and which constitute 
 Choo He's first chapter, contain the sum of the whole 
 Work. This is acknowledged by all; — by the critics who 
 disown Choo He's interpretations of it, as freely as by him, 
 Revolving them in my own mind often and long, I collect 
 from them the following as the ideas of the author : — 1st, 
 Man has received from Heaven a moral nature by which he 
 is constituted a law to himself; 2nd, Over this nature man 
 requires to exercise a jealous watchfulness ; and 3rd, As he 
 possesses it, absolutely and relatively, in perfection, or 
 attains to such possession of it, he becomes invested with 
 the highest dignity and power, and may say to himself — " I 
 am a God ; yea, I sit in the seat of God." I will not say here 
 that there is blasphemy in the last of these ideas ; but do 
 we not have in them the same combination which we found 
 in The Great Learning, — a combination of the ordinary and 
 the extraordinary, the plain and the vague, which is very 
 perplexing to the mind, and renders the Book unfit for the 
 purposes of mental and moral discipline ? 
 
 And here I may inquire whether we do right in calling 
 the Treatise by any of the names which foreigners -have 
 hitherto used for it ? In the note on the title, I have en- 
 tered a little into this question. The Work is not at all 
 what a reader must expect to find in what he supposes to 
 be a treatise on " The Golden Medium/' " The Invariable 
 Mean," or " The Doctrine of the Mean." Those names are 
 descriptive only of a portion of it. Where the phrase Chung 
 Yung occurs in the quotations from Confucius, in nearly 
 every chapter, from the 2nd to the 11th, we do well to trans- 
 late it by "ike course of the Mean," or some similar terms; 
 but the conception of it in Tsze-sze's mind was of a different 
 kiud, as the preceding analysis of the first chapter sufficiently 
 shows. 
 
 4. I may return to this point of the proper title for the 
 Work again, but in the mean time we must proceed with the 
 analysis of it. — The ten chapters from the 2nd to the 11th 
 constitute the second part, and in them Tsze-sze quotes the 
 words of Confucius, " for the purpose," according to Choo 
 He, "of illustrating the meaning of the first chapter." 
 Yet, as I have just intimated, they do not to my mind do 
 
46 THE DOCTKINE OF THE MEAN. 
 
 tliis. Confucius bewails the rarity of the practice of the 
 Mean, and graphically sets forth the difficulty of it. " The 
 empire, with its component States and families, may be 
 ruled ; dignities and emoluments may be declined, naked 
 weapons may be trampled under foot ; but the course of the 
 Mean cannot be attained to." 1 " The knowing go beyond 
 it, and the stupid do not come up to it." 2 Yet some have 
 attained to it. Shun did so, humble and ever learning from 
 people far inferior to himself; 3 and Yen Hwuy did so, hold- 
 ing fast whatever good he got hold of, and never letting it 
 go. * Tszeloo thought the Mean could be taken by storm, 
 but Confucius taught him better. 5 And in fine, it is only 
 the sage who can fully exemplify the Mean. 6 
 
 All these citations do not throw any light on the ideas 
 presented in the first chapter. On the contrary, they inter- 
 rupt the train of thought. Instead of showing us how virtue, 
 or the path of duty, is in accordance with our Heaven-given 
 nature, they lead us to think of it as a mean between two 
 extremes. Each extreme may be a violation of the law of 
 our nature, but that is not made to appear. Confucius' 
 sayings would be in place in illustrating the doctrine of 
 the Peripatetics, " which placed all virtue in a medium be- 
 tween opposite vices." Here in the Chung Yung of Tsze- 
 sze, I have always felt them to be out of place. 
 
 5. In the 12th chapter Tsze-sze speaks again himself, and 
 we seem at once to know the voice. He begins by saying 
 that " the way of the superior man reaches far and wide, and 
 yet is secret," by which he means to tell us that the path of 
 duty is to be pursued everywhere and at all times, while yet 
 the secret spring and rule of it is near at hand, in the 
 Heaven- conferred nature, the individual consciousness, with 
 which no stranger can intermeddle. Choo He, as will be 
 seen in the notes, gives a different interpretation of the 
 utterance. But the view which I have adopted is main- 
 tained convincingly by Maou Se-ho in the second part of 
 his "- Observations on the Chung Yung." "With this chapter 
 commences the third part of the Work, which embraces also 
 the eight chapters which follow. " It is designed," says 
 Choo He, " to illustrate what is said in the first chapter that 
 the path may not be left." But more than that one sen- 
 
 1 Ch.ix. 2 Ch. iv. 3 Cli. iv. i Ch. viii. 5 Ch. x e Ch. xl 
 
ITS SCOPE AND VALUE. 47 
 
 ience finds its illustration liere. Tsze-sze had reference in 
 it also to what he had said — " The superior man does not 
 wait till he sees things to be cautious, nor till he hears 
 things to be apprehensive. There is nothing more visible 
 than what is secret, and nothing more manifest than what is 
 minute. Therefore, the superior man is watchful over him- 
 self when he is alone/'' 
 
 It is in this portion of the Chung Yung that we find a 
 good deal of moral instruction which is really valuable. 
 Most of it consists of sayings of Confucius, but the senti- 
 ments of Tsze-sze himself in his own language are inter- 
 spersed with them. The sage of China has no higher 
 utterances than those which are given in the 13th chapter : — 
 " The path is not far from man. When men try to pursue 
 a course which is far from the common indications of con- 
 sciousness, this course cannot be considered the 'path. In 
 the Book of Poetry it is said — 
 
 ' In hewing an axe-handle, in hewing an axe-handle, 
 The pattern is not far off.' 
 
 We grasp one axe-handle to hew the other, and yet if we 
 look askance from the one to the other, we may consider 
 them as apart. Therefore, the superior man governs men 
 according to their nature, with what is proper to them ; and 
 as soon as they change what is wrong, he stops. When one 
 cultivates to the utmost the moral principles of his nature, and 
 exercises them on the principle of reciprocity, he is not far 
 from the path. What you do not like when done to your- 
 self, do not do to others. 
 
 1 ' In the way of the superior man there are four things, to 
 none of which have I as yet attained : — To serve my father as 
 I would require my son to serve me : to this I have not 
 attained ; to serve my elder brother as I would require my 
 younger brother to serve me : to this I have not attained ; 
 to serve my prince as I would require my minister to serve 
 me : to this I have not attained ; to set the example in be- 
 having to a friend as I would require him to behave to me : 
 to this I have not attained. Earnest in practising the ordin- 
 ary virtues, and careful in speaking about them ; if in his 
 practice he has anything defective, the superior man dares 
 not but exert himself, and if in his words he has any excess, 
 he dares not allow himself such license. Thus his words 
 
48 THE DOCTKINE OF THE MEAN. 
 
 have respect to his actions,, and his actions have respect to 
 his words ; — is it not just an entire sincerity which marks 
 the superior man ? " 
 
 We have here the golden rule in its negative form ex- 
 pressly propounded : — ""What you do not like when done 
 to yourself, do not do to others." But in the paragraph 
 which follows we have the rule virtually in its positive form. 
 Confucius recognizes the duty of taking the initiative, — of 
 behaving himself to others in the first instance as he would 
 that they should behave to him. There is a certain narrow- 
 ness, indeed, in that the sphere of its operations seems to be 
 confined to the relations of society, which are spoken of 
 more at large in the 20th chapter ; but let us not grudge the 
 tribute of our warm approbation to the sentiments. 
 
 This chapter is followed by two from Tsze-sze, to the 
 effect that the superior man does what is proper in every 
 change of his situation, always finding his rule in himself ; 
 and that in his practice there is an orderly advance from 
 step to step, — from what is near to what is remote. Then 
 follow five chapters from Confucius : — the first, on the opera- 
 tion and influence of spiritual beings, to show <e the niani- 
 festness of what is minute, and the irrepressibleness of 
 sincerity ; " the second, on the filial piety of Shun, and how 
 it was rewarded by Heaven with the empire, with enduring 
 fame, and with long life ; the third and fourth, on the kings 
 Wan and Woo, and the duke of Chow, celebrating them for 
 their filial piety and other associate virtues ; and the fifth, 
 on the subject of government. These chapters are inter- 
 esting enough in themselves, but when I go back from 
 them, and examine whether I have from them any better 
 understanding of the paragraphs in the first chapter which 
 they are said to illustrate, I do not find that I have. Three 
 of them, the 17th, 18th, and 19th, would be more in place 
 in the Classic of Filial Piety than here in the Chung Yung. 
 The meaning of the 16th is shadowy and undefined. After 
 all the study which I have directed to it, there are some 
 points in reference to which I have still doubts and diffi- 
 culties. 
 
 The 20th chapter, which concludes the third portion of the 
 Work, contains a full exposition of Confucius' views on 
 gjvernment, though professedly descriptive only of that of 
 lie kings Wan and Woo. Along with lessons proper for a 
 
ITS SCOPE AND VALUE. 49 
 
 ruler there are many also of universal application, but the 
 mingling of them perplexes the mind. It tells us of (< the 
 five duties of universal application/' — those between sove- 
 reign and minister, husband and wife, father and son, elder 
 and younger brother, and friends ; of " the three virtues by 
 which those duties are carried into effect/' namely, know- 
 ledge, benevolence, and energy ; and of ' ' the one thing, by 
 which those virtues are practised/' which is singleness or 
 sincerity. It sets forth in detail the " nine standard rules 
 for the administration of government," which are " the cul- 
 tivation by the ruler of his own character ; the honouring 
 men of virtue and talents ; affection to his relatives ; respect 
 towards the great ministers; kind and considerate treat- 
 ment of the whole body of officers ; cherishing the mass of 
 the people as children ; encouraging all classes of artizans ; 
 indulgent treatment of men from a distance ; and the kindly 
 cherishing of the princes of the States." There are these 
 and other equally interesting topics in this chapter ; but, as 
 they are in the Work, they distract the mind, instead of 
 making the author's great object more clear to it, and I will 
 not say more upon them here. 
 
 6. Doubtless it was the mention of u singleness," or 
 " sincerity," in the 20th chapter, which made Tsze-sze 
 introduce it into this Treatise, for from those terms he is 
 able to go on to develope what he intended in saying, that 
 ce if the states of Equilibrium and Harmony exist in perfec- 
 tion, a happy order will prevail throughout heaven and 
 earth, and all things will be nourished and flourish." It is 
 here, that now we are astonished at the audacity of the 
 writer's assertions, and now lost in vain endeavours to 
 ascertain his meaning. I have quoted the words of Confucius 
 that it is " singleness," by which the three virtues of know- 
 ledge, benevolence, and energy are able to carry into prac- 
 tice the duties of universal obligation. He says also that it- 
 is this same " singleness " by which " the nine standard 
 rules of government " can be effectively carried out. This 
 " singleness " is just a name for " the states of Equilibrium 
 and Harmony existing in perfection." It denotes a character 
 absolutely and relatively good, wanting nothing in itself, 
 and correct in all its outgoings. " Sincerity " is another 
 term for the same thing, and in speaking about it, Confucius 
 makes a distinction between sincerity absolute and sincerity 
 
 VOL. I. 4 
 
50 THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 
 
 acquired. The former is born with some., and practised by 
 them without any effort ; the latter is attained by study and 
 practised by strong endeavour. The former is " the way of 
 Heaven ; " the latter is " the way of men.'''' " He who pos- 
 sesses sincerity/' — absolutely, that is, — " is he who without 
 effort hits what is right, and apprehends without the exer- 
 cise of thought ; — he is the sage who naturally and easily 
 embodies the right way. He who attains to sincerity is he 
 who chooses what is good, and firmly holds it fast. And to 
 this attainment there are requisite the extensive study of 
 what is good, accurate inquiry about it, careful reflection on 
 it, the clear discrimination of it, and the earnest practice of 
 it. - " In these passages Confucius unhesitatingly enunciates 
 his belief that there are some men who are absolutely per- 
 fect, who come into the world as we may conceive the first 
 man was, when he was created by God " in His own image," 
 full of knowledge and righteousness, and who grow up as 
 we know that Christ did, (< increasing in wisdom and in 
 stature." He disclaimed being considered to be such au 
 one himself, 1 but the sages of China were such. And, more- 
 over, others who are not so naturally may make themselves 
 to become so. Some will have to put forth more effort and 
 to contend with greater struggles, but the end will be the 
 possession of the knowledge and the achievement of the 
 practice. 
 
 I need not say that these sentiments are contrary to the 
 views of human nature which are presented in the Bible. 
 The testimony of Revelation is that " there is not a just man 
 upon earth that doeth good and sinneth not." a If we say 
 that we have no sin," and in writing this term, I am think- 
 ing here not of sin against God, but, if we can conceive of 
 it apart from that, of failures in regard to what ought to be 
 in our regulation of ourselves, and in our behaviour to 
 others ; — " if we say that we have no sin we deceive our- 
 selves, and the truth is not in us." This language is appro- 
 priate in the lips of the learned as well as in those of the 
 io-norant, to the highest sao-e as to the lowest child of the 
 soil. Neither the Scriptures of God nor the experience of 
 man know of individuals absolutely perfect. The other 
 sentiment that men can make themselves perfect is equally 
 wide of the truth. Intelligence and goodness by no means 
 
 1 Ana. VII. xix. 
 
ITS SCOPE AND VALUE. 51 
 
 stand to each other in the relation of cause and effect. The 
 sayings of Ovid, "Video meliora proboque, deteriora sequor," 
 "Nitimur in vetitum semper , cupimusqiie negata/' area more 
 correct expression of the facts of human consciousness and 
 conduct than the high-flown phrases of Confucius. 
 
 7. But Tsze-sze adopts the dicta of his grandfather with- 
 out questioning them, and gives them forth in his own style 
 at the commencement of the fourth part of his Treatise. 
 " When we have intelligence resulting from sincerity, this 
 condition is to be ascribed to nature ; when we have sin- 
 cerity resulting from intelligence, this condition is to be 
 ascribed to instruction. But given the sincerity, and there 
 shall be the intelligence ; given the intelligence, and there 
 shall be the sincerity." 
 
 Tsze-sze does more than adopt the dicta of Confucius. 
 He applies them in a way which the sage never did, and 
 which he would probably have shrunk from doing. The 
 sincere, or perfect man of Confucius is he who satisfies com- 
 pletely all the requirements of duty in the various relations 
 of society, and in the exercise of government ; but the sin- 
 cere man of Tsze-sze is a potency in the universe. "Able 
 to give its full development to his own nature, he can do the 
 same to the nature of other men. Able to give its full 
 development to the nature of other men, he can give their 
 full development to the natures of animals and things. Able 
 to give their full development to the natures of creatures 
 and things, he can assist the transforming and nourishing 
 powers of Heaven and Earth. Able to assist the trans- 
 forming and nourishing powers of Heaven and Earth, he 
 may with Heaven and Earth form a ternion." Such are the 
 results of sincerity natural. The case below this — of sin- 
 cerity acquired, is as follows, — " The individual cultivates 
 its shoots. From these he can attain to the possession of 
 sincerity. This sincerity becomes apparent. From being 
 apparent, it becomes manifest. From being manifest, it be- 
 comes brilliant. Brilliant, it affects others. Affecting others, 
 they are changed by it. Changed by it, they are transformed. 
 It is only he who is possessed of the most complete sincerity 
 that can exist under heaven, who can transform." It may 
 safely be affirmed, that when he thus expressed himself, 
 Tsze-sze understood neither what he said nor whereof he 
 affirmed. Maou Se-ho and some other modern writers ex- 
 
 4* 
 
52 THE DOCTEINE OP THE MEAN. 
 
 plain away many of his predicates of sincerity, so that in 
 their hands they become nothing but extravagant hyper- 
 boles, but the author himself would, I believe, have protested 
 against such a mode of dealing with his words. True, his 
 structures are castles in the air, but he had no idea himself 
 that they were so. 
 
 In the 24th chapter there is a ridiculous descent from the 
 sublimity of the two preceding. We are told that the pos- 
 sessor of entire sincerity is like a spirit, and can foreknow, 
 but the foreknowledge is only a judging by the milfoil and 
 tortoise and other auguries ! But the author recovers him- 
 self, and resumes his theme about sincerity as conducting to 
 self- completion, and the completion of other men and things, 
 describing it also as possessing all the qualities which can 
 be predicated of Heaven and Earth. Gradually the subject 
 is made to converge to the person of Confucius, who is the 
 ideal of the sage, as the sage is the ideal of humanity at 
 large. An old account of the object of Tsze-sze in the Chung 
 Yung is that "he wrote it to celebrate the virtue of his 
 grandfather." He certainly contrives to do this in the 
 course of it. The 80th, 81st, and 32nd chapters contain 
 his eulogium, and never has any other mortal been exalted 
 in such terms. " He may be compared to Heaven and Earth 
 in their supporting and containing, their overshadowing and 
 curtaining all things ; he may be compared to the four sea- 
 sons in their alternating progress, and to the sun and moon 
 in their successive shining." " Quick in apprehension, clear 
 in discernment, of far-reaching intelligence, and all-em- 
 bracing knowledge, he was fitted to exercise rule ; mag- 
 nanimous, generous, benign, and mild, he was fitted to 
 exercise forbearance ; impulsive, energetic, firm, and en- 
 during, he was fitted to maintain a firm hold ; self-adjusted, 
 grave, never swerving from the Mean, and correct, he was 
 fitted to command reverence; accomplished, distinctive, 
 concentrative, and searching, he was fitted to exercise 
 discrimination." " All-embracing and vast, he was like 
 heaven; deep and active as. a fountain, he was like the 
 abyss." " Therefore his fame overspreads the Middle 
 Kingdom, and extends to all barbarous tribes. Wherever 
 ships and carriages reach; wherever the strength of man 
 penetrates ; wherever the heavens overshadow and the earth 
 sustains ; wherever the sun and moon shine ; wherever frosts 
 
ITS SCOPE AND VALUE. 53 
 
 and dews fall ; all who have blood and breath mifeignedly 
 honour and love him. Hence it is said, — He is the equal of 
 Heaven ! " " Who can know him but he who is indeed 
 quick in apprehension, clear in discernment, of far-reaching* 
 intelligence, and all-embracing knowledge, possessing all 
 heavenly virtue ? " 
 
 8. We have arrived at the concluding chapter of the 
 Work, in which the author, according to Choo He, " having 
 carried his descriptions to the highest point in the preceding 
 chapters, turns back and examines the source of his subject ; 
 and then again from the work of the learner, free from all 
 selfishness and watchful over himself when he is alone, he 
 carries out his description, till by easy steps he brings it 
 to the consummation of the whole empire tranquillized by 
 simple and sincere reverent ialness. He moreover eulogizes 
 its rnysteriousness, till he speaks of it at last as without 
 sound or smell." Between the first and last chapters there is 
 a correspondency, and each of them may be considered as a 
 summary of the whole treatise. The difference between 
 them is, that in the first a commencement is made with the 
 mention of Heaven as the conferrer of man's nature, while 
 in this the progress of man in virtue is traced, step by step, 
 till at last it is equal to that of High Heaven. 
 
 9. I have thus in the preceding paragraphs given a general 
 and somewhat copious review of this Work. My object has 
 been to seize, if I could, the train of thought, and to hold it 
 up to the reader. Minor objections to it, arising from the 
 confused use of terms and singular applications of passages 
 from the older Classics, are noticed in the notes subjoined 
 to the translation. I wished here that its scope should be 
 seen, and the means be afforded of judging how far it is 
 worthy of the high character attributed to it. " The relish 
 of it," says the younger Ch/ing, " is inexhaustible. The 
 whole of it is solid learning. When the skilful reader has 
 explored it with delight till he has apprehended it, he may 
 carry it into practice all his life, and will find that it cannot 
 be exhausted." 
 
 My own opinion of it is much less favourable. The names 
 by which it has been called in translations of it have led to 
 misconceptions of its character. Were it styled " The states 
 of Equilibrium and Harmony," we should be prepared to 
 expect something strange and probably extravagant. As- 
 
54 • THE DOCTEINE OF THE MEAN. 
 
 suredly we should expect nothing more strange or extrava- 
 gant than what we have. It begins sufficiently well, but the 
 author has hardly enunciated his preliminary apophthegms, 
 w r hen he conducts into an obscurity where we can hardly 
 grope our way, and when we emerge from that, it is to be 
 bewildered by his gorgeous but unsubstantial pictures of 
 sagely perfection. He has eminently contributed to nourish 
 the pride of his countrymen. He has exalted their sages 
 above all that is called God or is worshipped, and taught 
 the masses of the people that with them they have need of 
 nothing from without. In the mean time it is antagonistic 
 to Christianity. By and by, when Christianity has pre- 
 vailed in China, men will refer to it as a striking proof how 
 their fathers by their wisdom knew neither God nor them- 
 
 selves. 
 
CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTRINES. 55 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 CONFUCIUS ; HIS INFLUENCE AND DOCTRINES. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 LIFE OF CONFUCIUS. 
 
 1 . u And have you foreigners surnames as well ? " This 
 question has often been put to me by Chinese. It marks 
 the ignorance which belongs to the people of 
 all that is external to themselves, and the pride 
 of antiquity which enters largely as an element into their 
 character. If such a pride could in any case be justified, we 
 might allow it to the family of the K'ung, the descendants 
 of Confucius. In the reign K'ang-he, twenty-one centuries 
 and a half after the death of the sage, they amounted to 
 eleven thousand males. But their ancestry is carried back 
 through a period of equal extent, and genealogical tables 
 are common, in which the descent of Confucius is traced 
 down from Hwang-te, the inventor of the cycle, B.C. 2637. 1 
 
 The more moderate writers, however, content themselves 
 with exhibiting his ancestry back to the commencement of 
 the Chow dynasty, B.C. 1121. Among the relatives of the 
 tyrant Chow, the last emperor of the Yin dynasty, was an 
 elder brother, by a concubine, named K f e, who is celebrated 
 by Confucius, Ana. XVIII. i., under the title of the viscount 
 of Wei. Foreseeing the impending ruin of their family, 
 K'e withdrew from the court ; and subsequently, he was 
 invested by the Emperor Ch/ing, the second of the house of 
 
 1 See Memoires eoncemant les Chinois, Tome XII. p. 447, et seq. 
 Father Amiot states, p. 501, that he had seen the representative of the family, 
 who succeeded to the dignity of the " Duke, Continuator of the Sage's line," 
 in the 9th year of K'een-lung, A.D. 1744. It is hardly necessary that I should 
 say here, that the name Confucius is merely the Chinese characters, K'ung 
 Foo-tsze, " The master, K'ung," latinized. 
 
56 CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTKINES. 
 
 Chow, with the principality of Sung, which embraced the 
 eastern portion of the present province of Ho-nan, that he 
 might there continue the sacrifices to the emperors of Yin. 
 K'e was followed as duke of Sung by a younger brother, in 
 whose line the succession continued, His great-grandson, 
 the Duke Min, was followed, B.C. 908, by a younger brother, 
 leaving, however, two sons, Fuh-foo Ho, and Fang-sze. 
 Fuh Ho resigned his right to the dukedom in favour of 
 Fang-sze, who put his uncle to death in B.C. 893, and be- 
 came master of the State. He is known as the Duke. Le, and 
 to his elder brother belongs the honour of having the sage 
 among his descendants. 
 
 Three descents from Fuh Ho., we find Ching K f au-foo, 
 who was a distinguished officer under the dukes Tae, Woo, 
 and Seuen (b.c 799 — 728).- He is still celebrated for his 
 humility, and for his literaiy tastes. We have accounts of him 
 as being in communication with the Grand-historiographer 
 of the empire, and engaged in researches about its ancient 
 poetry, thus setting an example of one of the works to 
 which Confucius gave himself. K'aou gave birth to K'ung- 
 foo Kea, from whom the surname of K'ung took its rise. 
 Five generations had now elapsed since the dukedom was 
 held in the direct line of his ancestry, and it was according to 
 the rule in such cases that the branch should cease its con- 
 nection with the ducal stem, and merge among the people 
 under a new surname. K'ung Kea was Master of the Horse 
 in Sung, and an officer of well-known loyalty and probity. 
 Unfortunately for himself, he had a wife of surpassing beauty, 
 of whom the chief minister of the State, by name Hwa Tuh, 
 happened on one occasion to get a glimpse. Determined to 
 possess her, he commenced a series of intrigues, which 
 ended, B.C. 709, in the murder of Kea and the reig-nino* Duke 
 Shang. At the same time, Tuh secured the person of the 
 lady, and hastened to his palace with the prize, but on the 
 way she had strangled herself with her girdle. 
 
 An enmity was thus commenced between the two families 
 of Kmng and Hwa which the lapse of time did not obliter- 
 ate, and the latter being the more powerful of the two, Kea's 
 great-grandson withdrew into the State of Loo to avoid 
 their persecution. There he was appointed commandant of 
 the city of Fang, and is known in history by the name of 
 Fang-shuh. Fang-shuh gave birth to Pih-hea, and from 
 
CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTRINES. 57 
 
 liim cauie Shuh-leang Heih, tlie father of Confucius. Heih. 
 appears in the history of the times as a soldier of great 
 prowess and daring bravery. In the year B.C. 562, when 
 serving at the siege of a place called Peih-yang, a party of 
 the assailants made their way in at a gate which had 
 .purposely been left open, and no sooner were they inside 
 than the portcullis was dropped. Heih was just entering, 
 and catching the massive structure with both his hands, he 
 gradually by dint of main strength raised it and held it up, 
 till his friends had made their escape. 
 
 Thus much on the ancestry of the sage. Doubtless he 
 could trace his descent in the way which has been indicated 
 up to the imperial house of Yin, nor was there one among 
 his ancestors during the rule of Chow to whom he could 
 not refer with satisfaction. They had been ministers and 
 soldiers of Sung and Loo, all men of worth ; and in Ching 
 K'aou, both for his humility and literary researches, 
 Confucius might have special complacency. 
 
 2. Confucius was the child of Shuh-leang HehYs old age. 
 
 The soldier had married in early life, but his wife brought 
 
 ....,,.,. him only dauo-hters, — to the number of 
 
 From his birth to his . J ° ' 1 . , 
 
 first public employment, nine, and no son. Joy a concubine he 
 
 had a son, named Mang-p'e, and also 
 Pih-ne, who proved a cripple, so that, when he was over 
 seventy years, Heih sought a second wife in the Yen family, 
 from which came subsequently Yen Hwuy, the favourite 
 disciple of his son. There were three daughters in the 
 family, the youngest being named Ching-tsae. Their father 
 said to them, " Here is the commandant of Tsow. His 
 father and grandfather were only scholars, but his ancestors 
 before them were descendants of the sage emperors. He is 
 a man ten feet high, 1 and of extraordinary prowess, and I 
 am very desirous of his alliance. Though he is old and 
 austere, you need have no misgivings about him. Which 
 of you three will be his wife ? " The two elder daughters 
 were silent, but Ching-tsae said, " Why do you ask us, 
 father ? It is for you to determine." " Very well," said 
 her father in reply, " you will do." Ching-tsae, accordingly, 
 became Helm's wife, and in due time gave birth to Confucius, 
 
 1 See, on the length of the ancient foot, Ana. YIII. vi., but the point needs 
 Tin ore sifting investigation than it has yet received. 
 
58 CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTKINES. 
 
 who received the name of K'ew, and was subsequently 
 styled Chung-ne. 1 The event happened on the 21st day of 
 the 10th month of the 21st year of the Duke Seang,, of Loo, 
 being the 20th year of the Emperor Ling, B.C. 551. 2 The 
 birth-place was in the district of Tsow, of which Heih was 
 
 1 The legends say that Ching-tsae, fearing lest she should not have a son, 
 in consequence of her hushand's age, privately ascended the Ne-k'ew hill to 
 pray for the hoon, and that when she had obtained it, she commemorated 
 the fact in the names — K'ew and Chung-ne. But the cripple, Mang-p'e, had 
 previously been styled Pih-ne. There was some reason, previous to Confucius' 
 birth, for using the term ne in the family. As might be expected, the birth 
 of the sage is surrounded with many prodigious occurrences. One account 
 is, that the husband and wife prayed together for a son in a dell of mount 
 Ne. As Ching-tsae went up the hill, the leaves of the trees and plants all 
 erected themselves, and bent downwards on her return. That night she 
 dreamt the Black Te appeared, and said to her, " You shall have a son, a 
 sage, and you must bring him forth in a hollow mulberry tree." One day 
 during her pregnancy, she fell into a dreamy state, and saw five old men in 
 the hall, who called themselves the essences of the five planets, and led an 
 animal which looked like a small cow with one horn, and was covered with 
 scales like a dragon. This creature knelt before Ching-tsae, and cast forth from 
 its mouth a slip of gem, on which was the inscription, — " The son of the 
 essence of water shall succeed to the withering Chow, and be a throneless 
 king." Ching-tsae tied a piece of embroidered ribbon about its horn, and 
 the vision disappeared. "When Heih was told of it, he said, " The creature must 
 be the K'e-lin." As her time drew near, Ching-tsae asked her husband if 
 there was any place in the neighbourhood called " The hollow mulberry tree." 
 He told her there was a dry cave in the south hill, which went by that name. 
 Then she said, " I will go and be confined there." Her husband was sur- 
 prised, but when made acquainted with her former dream, he made the 
 necessary arrangements. On the night when the child was born, two dragons 
 came and kept watch on the left and right of the hill, and two spirit-ladies 
 appeared in the air, pouring out fragrant odours, as if to bathe Ching-tsae ; 
 and as soon as the birth took place, a spring of clear warm water bubbled up 
 from trie floor of the cave, which dried up again when the child had been 
 washed in it. The child was of an extraordinary appearance ; with a mouth 
 like the sea, ox lips, a dragon's back, &c., &c. On the top of his head was 
 a remarkable formation, in consequence of which he was named K'ew, &c. 
 Sze-ma Ts'een seems to make Confucius to have been illegitimate, saying 
 that Heih and Miss Yen cohabited in the wilderness. Keang Yung says that 
 the phrase has reference simply to the disparity of their ages. 
 
 2 Sze-ma Ts'een says that Confucius was born in the 22nd year of Duke 
 Seang, B.C. 550. He is followed by Choo He in the short sketch of 
 Confucius' life prefixed to the Lun Yu, and by " The Annals of the Empire," 
 published with imperial sanction in the reign Kea-k'ing. (To this work 
 I have generally referred for my dates.) The year assigned in the text 
 above rests on the authority of Kuh-leang and Kung-yang, the two comment- 
 ators on the Ch'un Ts'ew. With regard to the month, however, the 10th is 
 that assigned by Kuh-leang, while Kung-yang names the 11th. 
 
CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTRINES. 59 
 
 the governor. It was somewhere within the limits of the 
 present department of Yen- chow in Shan-tang, but the 
 honour of being the exact spot is claimed for two places m 
 two different districts of the department. 
 
 The notices which we have of Confucius' early years are 
 very scanty. When he was in his third year his father died. 
 It is related of him, that as a boy he used to play at the 
 arrangement of sacrificial vessels, and at postures of cere- 
 mony? Of his schooling we have no reliable account. Ihfre 
 is a legend, indeed, that at seven he went to school to ban 
 Pmg-chung, but it must be rejected, as P'ing-chung be- 
 longed to the State of Ts'e. He tells us himself that at 
 fifteen he bent his mind to learning ? but the condition of 
 the family was one of poverty. At a subsequent period when 
 people were astonished at the variety of his knowledge, 
 he explained it by saying, " When I was young my condition 
 was low, and therefore I acquired my ability in many things ; 
 but they were mean matters." 2 
 
 When he was nineteen, he married a lady from the btate 
 of Suns:, of the Keen-kwan family ; and in the following 
 year his son Le was born. On the occasion of this event 
 the Duke Ch'aou sent him a present of a couple of carp It 
 was to signify his sense of his prince's favour, that he 
 called his son Le (The Carp), and afterwards gave him the 
 designation of Pih-yu (Fish Primus) . No mention is made 
 of the birth of any other children, though we know from 
 Ana V. i., that he had at least one daughter, lhe fact oi 
 the duke of Loo's sending him a gift on the occasion 
 of Le's birth shows that he was not unknown, but was 
 already commanding public attention and the respect oi 
 
 the great. , . .-, £l i,-„ 
 
 It was about this time, probably m the year after his 
 marriage, that Confucius took his first public employment, 
 as keeper of the stores of grain, and in the following year 
 he was put in charge of the public fields and lands. Mencius 
 adduces these employments in illustration of his doctrine 
 that the superior man may at times take office on account 
 of his poverty, but must confine himself in such a case » to 
 places of small emolument, and aim at nothing but the dis- 
 charge of their humble duties. According to him, Confucius 
 
 > Ana. II. iv. 2 Ana. IX. vi. 
 
60 CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTRINES. 
 
 as keeper of stores, said, "My calculations must all be 
 right : — that is all I have to care about ; " and when in 
 charge of the public fields, he said, " The oxen and sheep 
 must be fat and strong and superior : — that is all I have to 
 care about." l It does not appear whether these offices 
 were held by Confucius in the direct employment of the 
 State, or as a dependeut of the Ke family in whose juris- 
 diction he lived. The present of the carp from the duke 
 may incline us to suppose the former. 
 
 3. In his twenty-second year, Confucius commenced his 
 labours as a public teacher, and his house became a resort 
 for young and inquiring spirits, who wished to learn the 
 doctrines of antiquity. However small the fee his pupils 
 
 were able to afford, he never refused his 
 
 Commencement of his • , ,• <? aii.li.li • n 
 
 labours as a teacher. The instructions/ All that he required, was 
 2^530— 5- iS 6. mother ' an ar d- en t desire for improvement, and 
 
 some degree of capacity. "I do not 
 open up the truth," he said, " to one who is not eager to 
 get knowledge, nor help out any one who is not anxious to 
 explain himself. When I have presented one corner of a 
 subject to any one, and he cannot from it learn the other 
 three, I do not repeat my lesson/'' 3 
 
 His mother died in the year B.C. 528, and he resolved that 
 her body should lie in the same grave with that of his father, 
 and that their common resting-place should be in Fang, the 
 first home of the K'ung in Loo. But here a difficulty pre- 
 sented itself. His father's coffin had been for twenty years, 
 where it had first been deposited, off the road of The Five 
 Fathers, in the vicinity of Tsow : — would it be right in him 
 to move it ? He was relieved from this perplexity by an old 
 woman of the neighbourhood, who told him that the coffin 
 had only just been put into the ground, as a temporary ar- 
 rangement, and not regularly buried. On learning this, he 
 carried his purpose into execution. Both coffins were con- 
 veyed to Fang, and put in the ground together, with no in- 
 tervening space between them, as was the custom in some 
 States. And now came a new perplexity. He said to him- 
 self, " In old times, they had graves, but raised no tumulus 
 over them. But I am a man, who belongs equally to the 
 north and the south, the east and the west. I must have 
 
 1 Menoius, V. Pfc. II. v. 4. 2 Ana. VII. vii. 3 Ana. VII. viii. 
 
CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTEINES. Gl 
 
 something by which I can remember the place." Accord- 
 ingly he raised a ruound, four feet high, over the grave, and 
 returned home, leaving a party of his disciples to see every- 
 thing properly completed. In the mean time there came on a 
 heavy storm of rain, and it was a considerable time before 
 the disciples joined him. " What makes you so late ? " he 
 asked. " The grave in Fang fell down," they said. He 
 made no reply, and they repeated their answer three times, 
 when he burst into tears, and said, " Ah ! they did not make 
 their graves so in antiquity." * 
 
 Confucius mourned for his mother the regular period of 
 three years, — three years nominally, but in fact only twenty- 
 seven months. Five days after the mourning was expired, 
 he played on his lute but could not sing. It required other 
 five days before he could accompany an instrument with his 
 voice. 2 
 
 Some writers have represented Confucius as teaching nis 
 disciples important lessons from the manner in which he 
 buried his mother, and having a design to correct irregular- 
 ities in the ordinary funeral ceremonies of the time. These 
 things are altogether "without book." We simply have a 
 dutiful son paying the last tribute of affection to a good 
 parent. In one point he departs from the ancient practice, 
 raising a mound over the grave, and when the fresh earth 
 gives way from a sudden rain, he is moved to tears, and 
 seems to regret his innovation. This sets Confucius vividly 
 before us, — a man of the past as much as of the present, 
 whose own natural feelings were liable to be hampered in 
 their development, by the traditions of antiquity which he 
 considered sacred. It is important, however, to observe 
 the reason which he gave for rearing the mound. He had 
 in it a presentiment of much of his future course. He 
 was " a man of the north, the south, the east, and the west." 
 He might not confine himself to any one State. He would 
 travel, and his way might be directed to some " wise 
 ruler," whom his counsels would conduct to a benevolent 
 sway that would break forth on every side till it trans- 
 formed the empire. 
 
 4. When the mourning for his mother was over, Confucius 
 
 1 Le Ke, II. Pt. I. i. 10 ; Pt. II. iii. 30 ; Pt. I, i. 6. See also the discus- 
 sion of those passages in Keang Yung's " Life of Confucius." 
 
 2 Le Ke, II. Pt. I. i. 22. 
 
62 CONFUCIUS AND HJS DOCTRINES. 
 
 remained in Loo, but in what special capacity we do not 
 
 know. Probably he continued to en- 
 He learns music ; visits the x i . L i p » • , 
 
 court of Chow; and returns courage the resort of inquirers to 
 ^^ «» whom he communicated instruction, 
 
 B.C. 52b — 517. _ _ . "i ■ I 
 
 and pursued his own researches into 
 the history, literature, and institutions of the empire. In 
 the year B.C. 524, the chief of the small state of T'an l made 
 his appearance at the court of Loo, and discoursed in a 
 wonderful manner, at a feast given to him by the duke, 
 about the names which the most ancient sovereigns, from 
 Hwang-te downwards, gave to their ministers. The sacri- 
 fices to the Emperor Shaou-haou, the next in descent from 
 Hwaug-te, were maintained in T'an, so that the chief fancied 
 that he knew all about the abstruse subject on which he 
 discoursed. Confucius, hearing about the matter, waited on 
 the visitor, and learned from him all that he had to com- 
 municate. 2 
 
 To the year b.c 523, when Confucius was twenty-nine 
 years old, is referred his studying music under a famous 
 master of the name of Seang. He was approaching his 30th 
 year when, as he tells us, u he stood firm/'' 3 that is, in his 
 convictions on the subjects of learning to which he had 
 bent his mind fifteen years before. Five years more, how- 
 ever, were still to pass by before the anticipation mentioned 
 in the conclusion of the last paragraph began to receive its 
 fulfilment, 4 though we may conclude from the way in which 
 it was brought about that he was growing all the time in the 
 estimation of the thinking minds in his native State. 
 
 In the 24th year of Duke Ch/aou, B.C. 517, one of the 
 principal ministers of Loo, known by the name of Mang He, 
 died. Seventeen years before he had painfully felt his ig- 
 
 1 See the Ch c un Ts'ew, under the 7th year of Duke Ch'aou. 
 
 2 This rests on the respectable authority of Tso-k'ew Ming's annotations 
 on the Ch'un Ts'ew, but I must consider it apocryphal. The legend-writers 
 have fashioned a journey to T'an. The slightest historical intimation be- 
 comes a text with them, on which they enlarge to the glory of the sage. 
 Amiot has reproduced and expanded their romancings, and others, such as 
 Pauthier (Chine, pp. 121 — 183) and Thornton (History of China, vol. i. pp. 
 151 — 215) have followed in his wake. 3 Ana. II. iv. 
 
 4 The journey to Chow is placed by Sze-ma Ts'ecn before Confucius' hold- 
 ing of his first official employments, and Choo He and most other writers 
 follow him. It is a great error, aud has arisen from a misunderstanding of 
 the passages from Tso-K'ew Ming upon the subject. 
 
CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTRINES. 63 
 
 norance of ceremonial observances, and had made it his sub- 
 sequent business to make himself acquainted with them. 
 On his deathbed, he addressed his chief officer, saying, 
 "A knowledge of propriety is the stem of a man. With- 
 out it he has no means of standing firm. I have heard that 
 there is one K'ung Kew, who is thoroughly versed in it. 
 He is a descendant of Sages, and though the line of his 
 family was extinguished in Sung, among his ancestors there 
 were Fuh-foo Ho, who resigned the dukedom to his brother, 
 and Ching K f aou-foo, who was distinguished for his hu- 
 mility. Tsang Heih has observed that if sage men of in- 
 telligent virtue do not attain to eminence, distinguished men 
 are sure to appear among their posterity. His words are 
 now to be verified, I think, in K f ung K'ew. After my 
 death, you must tell Ho-ke to go and study proprieties 
 under kirn." In consequence of this charge, Ho-ke, Miing 
 He's son, who appears in the Analects under the name of 
 Mang E, 1 and a brother, or perhaps only a near relative, 
 named iSfan-kung King-shuh, became disciples of Confucius. 
 Their wealth and standing in the State gave him a position 
 which he had not had before, and he told King-shuh of a 
 wish which he had to visit the court of Chow, and especially 
 to confer on the subject of ceremonies and music with Laou 
 Tan. King-shuh represented the matter to the Duke Ck/aou, 
 who put a carriage and a pair of horses at Confucius' dis- 
 posal for the expedition. 
 
 At this time the court of Chow was in the city of Lo, in 
 the present department of Ho-nan of the province of the 
 same name. The reigning emperor is known by the title of 
 King, but the sovereignty was little more than nominal. 
 The state of China was then analogous to that of one of the 
 European kingdoms, during the prevalence of the feudal 
 system. At the commencement of the dynasty, the various 
 States of the empire had been assigned to the relatives and 
 adherents of the reigning family. There were thirteen 
 principalities of greater note, and a large number of smaller 
 dependencies. During the vigorous youth of the dynasty, 
 the emperor or lord paramount exercised an effective con- 
 trol over the various chiefs, but with the lapse of time there 
 came weakness and decay. The chiefs — corresponding 
 
 1 Ana. II. v. 
 
64 CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTRINES. 
 
 somewhat to the European dukes, earls, marquises, barons, 
 &c., — quarrelled and warred among themselves, and the 
 stronger among them barely acknowledged their subjection 
 to the emperor. A similar condition of things prevailed 
 in each particular State. There were hereditary minis- 
 terial families, who were continually encroaching- on the 
 authority of their rulers, and the heads of those families 
 again were frequently hard pressed by their inferior officers. 
 Such was the state of China in Confucius' time. The reader 
 must have it clearly before him, if he would understand the 
 position of the sage, and the reforms which, we shall find, it 
 was subsequently his object to introduce. 
 
 Arrived at Chow, he had no intercourse with the court or 
 any of the principal ministers. He was there not as a poli- 
 tician, but an inquirer about the ceremonies and maxims of 
 the founders of the dynasty. Laou Tan, whom he had 
 wished to see the acknowledged founder of the Taouists, 
 or Rationalistic sect, which has maintained its ground in 
 opposition to the followers of Confucius, was then a trea- 
 sury-keeper. They met and freely interchanged their views, 
 but no reliable account of their conversation has been pre- 
 served. In the 5th Book of the Le Ke, which is headed, 
 " The philosopher Tsang asked/' Confucius refers four 
 times to the views of Laou-tsze on certain points of funeral 
 ceremonies, and in the " Family Sayings," Book xxiv., he 
 tells Ke K'ang what he had heard from him about " The 
 Five Te," but we may hope their conversation turned also 
 on more important subjects. Sze-ma Ts'een, favourable 
 to Laou-tsze, makes him lecture his visitor in the following 
 style : — " Those whom you talk about are dead, and their 
 bones are mouldered to dust; only their words remain. 
 When the superior man gets his time, he mounts aloft ; but 
 when the time is against him, he moves as if his feet were 
 entangled. I have heard that a good merchant, though he 
 has rich treasures deeply stored, appears as if he were poor, 
 and that the superior man whose virtue is complete, is yet 
 to outward seeming stupid. Put away your proud air and 
 many desires, your insinuating habit and wild will. These 
 are of no advantage to you. This is all which I have to 
 tell you." On the other hand, Confucius is made to say to 
 his disciples, " I know how birds can fly, how fishes can 
 swim, and how animals can run. But the runner may bo 
 
LIFE OF CONFUCIUS. 65 
 
 snared, the swimmer maybe hooked, and the flyer may be 
 shot by the arrow. But there is the dragon. I cannot tell 
 how he mounts on the wind through the clouds, and rises to 
 heaven. To-day I have seen Laou-tsze, and can only com- 
 pare him to the dragon/-' 
 
 While at Lo, Confucius walked over the grounds set 
 apart for the great sacrifices to Heaven and Earth; in- 
 spected the pattern of the Hall of Light, built to give 
 audience in to the princes of the empire ; and examined all 
 the arrangements of the ancestral temple and the court. 
 From the whole he received a profound impression. 
 " Now/'' said he with a sigh, " I know the sage wisdom of 
 the duke of Chow, and how the house of Chow attained to 
 the imperial sway." On the walls of the Hall of Light 
 were paintings of the ancient sovereigns from Yaou and 
 Shun downwards, their characters appearing in the 
 representations of them, and words of praise or warn- 
 ing being appended. There was also a picture of the 
 duke of Chow sitting with his infant nephew, the king 
 Ch'ing, upon his knees, to give audience to all the princes. 
 Confucius surveyed the scene with silent delight, and then 
 said to his followers, " Here you see how Chow became 
 so great. As we use a glass to examine the forms of 
 things, so must we study antiquity in order to understand 
 the present." In the hall of the ancestral temple there was 
 a metal statue of a man with three clasps upon his mouth, 
 and his back covered over with an enjoyable homily on the 
 duty of keeping a watch upon the lips. Confucius turned 
 to his disciples, and said, " Observe it, my children. These 
 words are true, and commend themselves to our feelings." 
 
 About music he made inquiries of Ch'ang Hwang, to 
 whom the following remarks are attributed : — " I have ob- 
 served about Chung-ne many marks of a sage. He has 
 river eyes and a dragon forehead, — the very characteristics 
 of Hwang-te. His arms are long, his back is like a tor- 
 toise, and he is nine feet six inches in height, — the very 
 semblance of T'ang the Successful. When he speaks, 
 he praises the ancient kings. He moves along the 
 path of humility and courtesy. He has heard of every 
 subject, and retains with a strong memory. His know- 
 ledge of things seems inexhaustible. — Have we not in him 
 the rising of a sage ? " 
 
 VOL. i. 5 
 
66 CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTRINES. 
 
 I have given these notices of Confucius at the court of 
 Chow, more as being the only ones I could find, than be- 
 cause I put much faith in them. He did not remain there 
 long, but returned the same year to Loo, and continued 
 his work of teaching. His fame was greatly increased ; 
 disciples came to him from different parts, till their 
 number amounted to three thousand. Several of those 
 who have come down to us as the most distinguished 
 among his followers, however, were yet unborn, and the 
 statement just given may be considered as an exaggera- 
 tion. We are not to conceive of the disciples as forming 
 a community, and living together. Parties of them may 
 have done so. We shall find Confucius hereafter always 
 moving amid a company of admiring pupils ; but the 
 greater number must have had their proper avocations and 
 ways of living, and would only resort to the master, when 
 they wished specially to ask his counsel or to learn of him. 
 
 5. In the year succeeding the return to Loo, that State 
 fell into great confusion. There were three Families in it, 
 all connected irregularly with the ducal house, which had 
 
 long kept the rulers in a condition 
 
 He withdraws to Ts'e, and p 5 J rp-i £ 
 
 returns to Loo the following ol dependency. 1 hey appear Ire- 
 year, b.c. 516, 515. quently in the Analects as the Ke 
 
 clan, the Shuh, and the Mang ; and while Confucius freely 
 spoke of their usurpations, 1 he was a sort of dependent of 
 the Ke family, and appears in frequent communication 
 with members of all the three. In the year B.C. 516, the 
 duke Chaou came to open hostilities with them, and 
 being worsted, fled into Ts f e, the State adjoining Loo on 
 the north. Thither Confucius also repaired, that he might 
 avoid the prevailing disorder of his native State. Ts'e 
 was then under the government of a duke, afterwards 
 styled King, who " had a thousand teams, each of four 
 horses, but on the day of his death the people did not 
 praise him for a single virtue. "* His chief minister, how- 
 ever, was Gan Ying, a man of considerable ability and 
 worth. At his court the music of the ancient sage-em- 
 peror, Shun, originally brought to T f se from the State of 
 Ch'in, was still preserved. 
 
 According to the " Family Sayings," an incident oc- 
 
 See Analects, III. i. ii. et al. 2 Ana. XVI. xii. 
 
LIFE OF CONFUCIUS. 67 
 
 curred on the way to Ts f e, which I may transfer to these 
 pages as a good specimen of the way in which Confncins 
 turned occurring matters to account in his intercourse with 
 his disciples. As he was passing by the side of the T'ae 
 mountain, there was a woman weeping and wailing by a 
 grave. Confucius bent forward in his carriage, and after 
 listening to her for some time, sent Tsze-loo to ask the 
 cause of her grief. cc You weep, as if you had experienced 
 sorrow upon sorrow/' said Tsze-loo. The woman replied, 
 " It is so. My husband's father was killed here by a 
 tiger, and my husband also ; and now my son has met the 
 same fate." Confucius asked her why she did not remove 
 from the place, and on her answering, u There is here no 
 oppressive government/' he turned to his disciples, and 
 said, " My children, remember this. Oppressive govern- 
 ment is fiercer than a tiger." l 
 
 As soon as he crossed the border from Loo, we are told 
 he discovered from the gait and manners of a boy, whom 
 he saw carrying a pitcher, the influence of the sage's 
 music, and told the driver of his carriage to hurry on to 
 the capital. Arrived there, he heard the strain, and was 
 so ravished with it, that for three months he did not know 
 the taste of flesh. " I did not think," he said, " that 
 music could have been made so excellent as this." 3 The 
 Duke King was pleased with the conferences which he had 
 with him, 3 and proposed to assign to him the town of 
 Lin-k f ew, from the revenues of which he might derive a 
 sufficient support ; but Confucius refused the gift, and 
 said to his disciples, " A superior man will only receive 
 reward for services which he has done. I have given ad- 
 vice to the Duke King, but he has not yet obeyed it, and 
 now he would endow me with this place ! Yery far is he 
 from understanding me." 
 
 On one occasion the duke asked about government, and 
 received the characteristic reply, " There is government 
 
 1 I have translated, however, from the Le Ke, II. Pt. II. iii. 10, where 
 the sanie incident is given, with some variations, and without saying 
 when or where it occurred. a Ana. VII. xiii. 
 
 3 Some of these are related in the Family Sayings ; — about the burn- 
 ing of the ancestral shrine of the Einperor Le, and a one-footed bird which 
 appeared hopping and napping its wings in Ts'e. They are plainly fabul- 
 ous, though quoted in proof of Confucius' sage wisdom. This reference to 
 them is more than enough. 
 
 5 * 
 
68 CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTEINES. 
 
 when the prince is prince, and the minister is minister; 
 when the father is father, and the son is son." x I say 
 that the reply is characteristic. Once, when Tsze-loo asked 
 him what he would consider the first thing to be done if 
 intrusted with the government of a State, Confucius an- 
 swered, " What is necessary is to rectify names." 2 The 
 disciple thought the reply wide of the mark, but it was 
 substantially the same with what he said to the Duke 
 King. There is a sufficient foundation in nature for 
 government in the several relations of society, and if those 
 be maintained and developed according to their relative 
 significancy, it is sure to obtain. This was a first principle 
 in the political ethics of Confucius. 
 
 Another day the duke got to a similar inquiry the reply 
 that the art of government lay in an economical use of the 
 revenues ; and being pleased, he resumed his purpose of 
 retaining the philosopher in his State, and proposed to 
 assign to him the fields of Ne-k'e. His chief minister, 
 GanYing, dissuaded him from the purpose, saying, "Those, 
 scholars are impracticable, and cannot be imitated. They 
 are haughty and conceited of their own views, so that they 
 will not be content in inferior positions. They set a high 
 value on all funeral ceremonies, give way to their grief, 
 and will waste their property on great burials, so that 
 they would only be injurious to the common manners. 
 This Mr K'ung has a thousand peculiarities. It would 
 take generations to exhaust all that he knows about the 
 ceremonies of going up and going down. This is not the 
 time to examine into his rules of propriety. If you, 
 prince, wish to employ him to change the customs of Ts% 
 you will not be making the people your primary con- 
 sideration. " 3 
 
 I had rather believe that these were not the words of 
 Gan Ying ; but they must represent pretty correctly the 
 sentiments of many of the statesmen of the time about 
 Confucius. The duke of Ts'e got tired ere long of having 
 such a monitor about him, and observed, " I cannot treat 
 him as I would the chief of the Ke family. I will treat 
 him in away between that accorded to the chief of the Ke, 
 
 i Ana. XII. xi. 2 Ana. XIII. iii. 
 
 3 See in Sze-nia's History of Confucius. 
 
LIFE OF CONFUCIUS. 69 
 
 and that given to the chief of the Mang family." Finally 
 he said, " I am old ; I cannot nse his doctrines." x These 
 observations were made directly to Confucius, or came to 
 his hearing. 2 It was not consistent with his self-respect 
 to remain longer in Ts f e, and he returned to Loo. 3 
 
 6. Eeturned to Loo, he remained for the long period of 
 about fifteen years without being engaged in any official 
 „ . ... employment. It was a time, indeed, of 
 
 He remains without . T i mi t-v i m 
 
 office in Loo, great disorder. I he Duke Cliaou con- 
 
 tinued a refugee in Ts f e, the government 
 being in the hands of the great Families, up to his death 
 in B.C. 509, on which event the rightful heir was set aside, 
 and another member of the ducal house, known to us by 
 the title of Ting, substituted in his place. The ruling 
 authority of the principality became thus still more en- 
 feebled than it had been before, and, on the other hand, 
 the chiefs of the Ke, the Shuh, and the Mang, could 
 hardly keep their ground against their own officers. Of 
 those latter the two most conspicuous were Yang Hoo, 
 called also Yang Ho, and Kung-shan Fuh-jaou. At one 
 time Ke Hwan, the most powerful of the chiefs, was kept 
 a prisoner by Yang Hoo, and was obliged to make terms 
 with him in order to secure his liberation. Confucius 
 would give his countenance to none, as he disapproved of 
 all, and he studiously kept aloof from them. Of how he 
 comported himself among them we have a specimen in the 
 incident related in the Analects, xvu. i. — "Yang Ho 
 wished to see Confucius, but Confucius would not go to 
 see him. On this, he sent a present of a pig to Confucius, 
 who, having chosen a time when Ho was not at home, 
 went to pay his respects for the gift. He met him, how- 
 ever, on the way. ' Come, let me speak with you/ said 
 the officer. ' Can he be called benevolent, who keeps his 
 jewel in his bosom, and leaves his country to confusion ? ' 
 Confucius replied, - No.* ( Can he be called wise, who is 
 anxious to be engaged in public employment, and yet is 
 
 1 Ana. XVIII. iii. 
 
 2 Sze-ma Ts'een makes the first observation to have been addressed 
 directly to Confucius. 
 
 3 According to the above account Confucius was only once, and for a 
 portion of two years, in Ts'e. For the refutation of contrary accounts, 
 see Keang Yung's Life of the sage. 
 
70 CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTEINES. 
 
 constantly losing the opportunity of being so ? ' Con- 
 fucius again said, ' No/ The other added, ' The days and 
 months are passing away ; the years do not wait for us.' 
 Confucius said, ' Right ; I will go into office.' " Chinese 
 writers are eloquent in their praise of the sage for the 
 combination of propriety, complaisance, and firmness, 
 which they see in his behaviour in this matter. To myself 
 there seems nothing remarkable in it but a somewhat 
 questionable dexterity. But it was well for the fame of 
 Confucius that his time was not occupied during those 
 years with official services. He turned them to better 
 account, prosecuting his researches into the poetry, history, 
 ceremonies, and music of the empire. Many disciples con- 
 tinued to resort to him, and the legendary writers tell us 
 how he employed their services in digesting the results of 
 his studies. I must repeat, however, that several of them, 
 whose names are most famous, such as Tsang Sin, were 
 as yet children, and Min Sun was not born till B.C. 500. 
 
 To this period we must refer the almost single instance 
 which we have of the manner of Confucius' intercourse 
 with his son Le. " Have you heard any lessons from your 
 father different from what we have all heard ? " asked 
 one of the disciples once of Le. " No," said Le. " He 
 was standing alone once, when I was passing through the 
 court below with hasty steps, and said to me, ' Have you 
 read the Odes ? ' On my replying, ' Not yet/ he added, 
 1 If you do not learn the Odes, you will not be fit to con- 
 verse with.' Another day, in the same place and the 
 same way, he said to me, ' Have you read the rules of 
 Propriety ? ' On my replying, ' Not yet,' he added, ( If 
 you do not learn the rules of Propriety, your character 
 cannot be established.' I have heard only these two 
 things from him." The disciple was delighted, and ob- 
 served, " I asked one thing, and I have got three things. 
 I have heard about the Odes ; I have heard abont the 
 rules of Propriety. I have also heard that the superior 
 man maintains a distant reserve towards his son." 1 
 
 I can easily believe that this distant reserve was the 
 rule which Confucius followed generally in his treatment 
 of his son. A stern dignity is the quality which a father 
 
 1 Ana. XVI. xiii. 
 
LIFE OF CONFUCIUS. 71 
 
 has to maintain upon his system. It is not to be without 
 the element of kindness, but that must never go beyond 
 the line of propriety. There is too little room left for the 
 play and development of natural affection. 
 
 The divorce of his wife must also have taken place 
 during these years, if it ever took place at all, which is a 
 disputed point. The curious reader will find the question 
 discussed in the notes on the second Book of the Le Ke. 
 The evidence inclines, I think, against the supposition that 
 Confucius did put his wife away. When she died, at a 
 period subsequent to the present, Le kept on weeping aloud 
 for her after the period for such a demonstration of grief 
 had expired, when Confucius sent a message to him that 
 his sorrow must be subdued, and the obedient son dried 
 his tears. - 1 We are glad to know that on one occasion — the 
 death of his favourite disciple, Yen Hwuy — the tears of 
 Confucius himself would flow over and above the measure 
 of propriety. 2 
 
 7. We come to the short period of Confucius' official 
 
 He holds office. ^ G < I n the year B.C. 501, things had come 
 
 b.c. 500— 496. -fcQ a head between the chiefs of the three 
 
 Families and their ministers, and had resulted in the de- 
 feat of the latter. In b.c. 500, the resources of Yang Hoo 
 were exhausted, and he fled into Ts f e, so that the State 
 was delivered from its greatest troubler, and the way was 
 made more clear for Confucius to go into office, should an 
 opportunity occur. It soon presented itself. Towards 
 the end of that year he was made chief magistrate of the 
 town of Chung-too. 3 
 
 Just before he received this appointment, a circum- 
 stance occurred of which we do not well know what to 
 make. When Yang-hoo fled into Ts'e, Kung-shan Fuh- 
 jaou, who had been confederate with him, continued to 
 maintain an attitude of rebellion, and held the city of Pe 
 against the Ke family. Thence he sent a message to 
 Confucius inviting him to join him, and the sage seemed 
 
 1 See the Le Ke, II. Pt. I. i. 27. 2 Ana. XI. ix. 
 
 3 Amiot says this was "la ville meme ou le Souverain tenoit sa Cour" 
 (Vie de Confucius, p. 147). He is followed of course by Thornton and 
 Pauthier. My reading has not shown me that such was the case. In the 
 notes to K'ang-he's edition of the " Five King," Le Ke, II. Pt. I. iii.4, it is 
 simply said — " Chung-too, — the name of a town of Loo. It afterwards 
 belonged to Ts'e, when it was called P'ing-luh." 
 
72 CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTRINES. 
 
 so inclined to go that his disciple Tsze-loo remonstrated 
 with him, saying, " Indeed yon cannot go ! why must you 
 think of going to see Kung-shan ? " Confucius replied, 
 " Can it be without some reason that he has invited me ? 
 If any one employ me, may I not make an eastern Chow ? " l 
 The upshot, however, was that he did not go, and I can- 
 not suppose that he had ever any serious intention of doing 
 so. Amid the general gravity of his intercourse with his 
 followers, there gleam out a few instances of quiet plea- 
 santry, when he amused himself by playing with their 
 notions about him. This was probably one of them. 
 
 As magistrate of Chung-too he produced a marvellous 
 reformation of the manners of the people in a short time. 
 According to the " Family Sayings," he enacted rules for 
 the nourishing of the living, and all observances to the 
 dead. Different food was assigned to the old and the 
 young, and different burdens to the strong and the weak. 
 Males and females were kept apart from each other in 
 the streets. A thing dropt on the road was not picked up. 
 There was no fraudulent carving of vessels. Inner coffins 
 were made four inches thick, and the outer ones five. 
 Graves were made on the high grounds, no mounds being 
 raised over them, and no trees planted about them. 
 Within twelve months, the princes of the States all about 
 wished to imitate his style of administration. 
 
 The Duke Ting, surprised at what he saw, asked whether 
 his rules could be employed to govern a whole State, and 
 Confucius told him that they might be applied to the whole 
 empire. On this the duke appointed him assistant- super- 
 intendent of Works, 2 in which capacity he surveyed the 
 lands of the State, and made many improvements in agri- 
 culture. From this he was quickly made minister of Crime, 
 and the appointment was enough to put an end to crime. 
 There was no necessity to put the penal laws in execution. 
 No offenders showed themselves. 
 
 These indiscriminating eulogies are of little value. One 
 incident, related in the annotations of Tso-k f ew on the 
 Ts'ivn Ts'ew, commends itself at once to our belief, as in 
 
 1 Ana. XVII. v. 
 
 2 This office, however, was held by the chief of the Mang family. We 
 must understand that Confucius was only an assistant to him, or 
 perhaps acted for him. 
 
LIFE OF CONFUCIUS. 73 
 
 harmony with Confucius* character. The chief of the Ke, 
 pursuing with his enmity the Duke Chaou, even after his 
 dearth, had placed his grave apart from the graves of his 
 predecessors ; and Confucius surrounded the ducal ceme- 
 tery with a ditch so as to include the solitary resting-place, 
 boldly telling the chief that he did it to hide his disloyalty. 
 But he signalized himself most of all, in B.C. 499, by his 
 behaviour at an interview between the dukes of Loo and 
 Ts f e, at a place called Shih-k f e, and Kea-kuh, in the 
 present district of Lae-woo, in the department of T f ae- 
 gan. Confucius was present as master of ceremonies on 
 the part of Loo, and the meeting was professedly pacific. 
 The two princes were to form a covenant of alliance. The 
 principal officer on the part of Ts f e, however, despising 
 Confucius as cc a man of ceremonies, without courage," 
 had advised his sovereign to make the duke of Loo a 
 prisoner, and for this purpose a band of the half-savage 
 original inhabitants of the place advanced with weapons 
 to the stage where the two dukes were met. Confucius 
 understood the scheme, and said to the opposite party, 
 " Our two princes are met for a pacific object. For you 
 to bring a band of savage vassals to disturb the meeting 
 with their weapons, is not the way in which Ts'e can 
 expect to give law to the princes of the empire. These 
 barbarians have nothing to do with our Great Flowery 
 land. Such vassals may not interfere with our covenant. 
 Weapons are out of place at such a meeting. As before 
 the spirits, such conduct is unpropitious. In point of 
 virtue, it is contrary to right. As between man and man, 
 it is not polite." The duke of Ts'e ordered the disturbers 
 off, but Confucius withdrew, carrying the duke of Loo 
 with him. The business proceeded, notwithstanding, and 
 when the words of the alliance were being read on the 
 part of Ts f e, — " So be it to Loo, if it contribute not 300 
 chariots of war to the help of Ts'e, when its army goes 
 across its borders," a messenger from Confucius added, — 
 " And so it be to us, if we obey your orders, unless you 
 return to us the fields on the south of the Wan." At the 
 conclusion of the ceremonies, the prince of Ts f e wanted to 
 give a grand entertainment, but Confucius demonstrated 
 that such a thing would be contrary to the established 
 rules of propriety, his real object being to keep his sove- 
 
74 CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTRINES. 
 
 reign out of danger. In this way the two parties separated, 
 they of Ts f e filled with shame at being foiled and dis- 
 graced by u the man of ceremonies/' and the result was 
 that the lands of Loo which had been appropriated by 
 Ts'e were restored. 1 
 
 For two years more Confucius held the office of min- 
 ister of Crime. Some have supposed that he was further 
 raised to the dignity of chief minister of State, but that 
 was not the case. One instance of the manner in which 
 he executed his functions is worth recording. When any 
 matter came before him, he took the opinion of different 
 individuals upon it, and in giving judgment would say, 
 " I decide according to the view of so and so. - " There 
 was an approach to our jury system in the plan, Confucius' 
 object being to enlist general sympathy, and carry the 
 public judgment with him in his administration of justice. 
 A father having brought some charge against his son, 
 Confucius kept them both in prison for three months, with- 
 out making any difference in favour of the father, and then 
 wished to dismiss them both. The head of the Ke was 
 dissatisfied, and said, " You are playing with me, Sir 
 minister of Crime. Formerly you told me that in a State 
 or a family filial duty was the first thing to be insisted on. 
 What hinders you now from putting to death this unfilial 
 son as an example to all the people ? " Confucius with a 
 sigh replied, " When superiors fail in their duty, and yet 
 go to put their inferiors to death, it is not right. This 
 father has not taught his son to be filial ; — to listen to his 
 charge would be to slay the guiltless. The manners of 
 the age have been long in a sad condition ; we cannot 
 expect the people not to be transgressing the laws." 
 
 At this time two of his disciples, Tsze-loo and Tsze-yew, 
 entered the employment of the Ke family, and lent their 
 influence, the former especially, to forward the plans of 
 their master. One great cause of disorder in the State 
 was the fortified cities held by the three chit fs, in which 
 they could defy the supreme authority, and were in turn 
 defied themselves by their officers. Those cities were like 
 the castles of the barons of England in the time of the 
 
 1 This meeting at Kea-kuh is related in Sze-nia Ts'een, the Family 
 Sayings, and Kuh-leang, with many exaggerations. 
 
LIFE OP CONFUCIUS. 75 
 
 Norman kings. Confucius had their destruction very 
 much at heart, and partly by the influence of persuasion, 
 and partly by the assisting counsels of Tsze-loo, he ac- 
 complished his object in regard to Pe, the chief city of the 
 Ke, and How, the chief city of the Shuh. 
 
 It does not appear that he succeeded in the same way 
 in dismantling Ch/ing, the chief city of the Mang ; l but 
 his authority in the State greatly increased. " He 
 strengthened the ducal House and weakened the private 
 Families. He exalted the sovereign, and depressed the 
 ministers. A transforming government went abroad. 
 Dishonesty and dissoluteness were ashamed, and hid their 
 heads. Loyalty and good faith became the characteristics 
 of the men, and chastity and docility those of the women. 
 Strangers came in crowds from other States. Confucius 
 became the idol of the people, and flew in songs through 
 their mouths. 
 
 But this sky of bright promise was soon overcast. As 
 the fame of the reformations in Loo went abroad, the 
 neighbouring princes began to be afraid. The duke of 
 Ts'e said, " With Confucius at the head of its govern- 
 ment, Loo will become supreme among the States, and 
 Ts'e which is nearest to it will be the first swallowed up. 
 Let us propitiate it by a surrender of territory." One of 
 his ministers proposed they should first try to separate be- 
 tween the sage and his sovereign, and to effect this, they 
 hit upon the following scheme. Eighty beautiful girls, 
 with musical and dancing accomplishments, were selected, 
 and a hundred and twenty of the finest horses that could 
 be found, and sent as a present to Duke Ting. They were 
 put up at first outside the city, and Ke Hwan having gone 
 in disguise to see them, forgot the lessons of Confucius, 
 and took the duke to look at the bait. They were both 
 captivated. The women were received, and the sage was 
 neglected. For three days the duke gave no audience to 
 his ministers. " Master," said Tsze-loo to Confucius, " it 
 
 1 In connection with these events, the Family Sayings and Sze-ma Ts'een 
 mention the summary punishment hifiicted by Confucius on an able but 
 unscrupulous and insidious officer, the Shaou-ching, Maou. His judgment 
 and death occupy a conspicuous place in the legendary accounts. But 
 the Analects, Tsze-sze, Mencius, and Tso-k'ew Ming are all silent about it, 
 and Keang Yung rightly rejects it, as one of the many narratives invented 
 to exalt the sage. 
 
76 CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTRINES. 
 
 is time for you to be going." But Confucius was very 
 unwilling to leave. The time was drawing near when the 
 great sacrifice to Heaven would be offered, and he de- 
 termined to wait and see whether the solemnity of that 
 would bring the duke back to his right mind. No such 
 result followed. The ceremony was hurried through, and 
 portions of the offerings were not sent round to the various 
 ministers, according to the established custom. Confucius 
 regretfully took his departure, going away slowly and by 
 easy stages. He would have welcomed a messenger of re- 
 call. The duke continued in his abandonment, and the 
 sage went forth to thirteen weary years of homeless 
 wandering. 
 
 8. On leaving Loo, Confucius first bent his steps west- 
 ward to the State of Wei, situate about where the present 
 
 provinces of Chih-le and Ho-nan ad- 
 He wanders from State • • tt • i • k ^»xi 
 
 to state. J oirL - He was now m his 55th year, 
 
 b.c. 496-483. an( ^ f e it depressed and melancholy. 
 
 As he went along, he gave expression to his feeling in 
 
 verse : — 
 
 "Fain would I still look towards Loo, 
 But this Kwei hill cuts off my view. 
 With an axe, I'd hew the thickets through : — 
 Yain thought ! 'gainst the hill I nought can do ; " 
 
 and again, — 
 
 " Through the valley howls the blast, 
 Drizzling rain falls thick and fast. 
 Homeward goes the 3'outkful bride, 
 O'er the wild, crowds by her side, 
 How is it, azure Heaven, 
 From my home I thus am driven, 
 Through the land my way to trace, 
 With no certain dwelling-place ? 
 Dark, dark, the minds of men ! 
 Worth in vain comes to their ken. 
 Hastens on my term of years ; 
 Old age, desolate, appears." 1 
 
 A number of his disciples accompanied him, and his 
 sadness infected them. When they arrived at the borders 
 of Wei, at a place called E, the warden sought an inter- 
 view, and on coming out from the sage, he tried to com- 
 fort the disciples, saying, " My friends, why are you dis- 
 tressed at your Master's loss of office ? The empire has 
 
 1 See Keang Yung's Life of Confucius. 
 
LIFE OF CONFUCIUS. 77 
 
 been long without the principles of truth and right ; 
 Heaven is going to use your master as a bell with its 
 wooden tongue." 1 Such was the thought of this friendly 
 stranger. The bell did indeed sound, but few had ears to 
 hear. 
 
 Confucius' fame, however, had gone before him, and he 
 was in little danger of having to suffer from want. On 
 arriving at the capital of Wei, he lodged at first with a 
 worthy officer, named Yen Ch f ow-yew. 2 The reigning 
 duke, known to us by the epithet of Ling, was a worthless, 
 dissipated man, but he could not neglect a visitor of such 
 eminence, and soon assigned to Confucius a revenue of 
 60,000 measures of grain. Here he remained for ten 
 months, and then for some reason left it to go to Ch'in. 
 On the way he had to pass by K'wang, a place probably 
 in the present department of K f ae-fung in Ho-nan, which 
 had formerly suffered from Yang-hoo. It so happened 
 that Confucius resembled Hoo, and the attention of the 
 people being called to him by the movements of his car- 
 riage-driver, they thought it was their old enemy, and 
 made an attack upon him. His followers were alarmed, 
 but he was calm, and tried to assure them by declaring* 
 his belief that he had a divine mission. He said to them, 
 " After the death of King Wan, was not the cause of truth 
 lodged here in me ? If Heaven had wished to let this 
 cause of truth perish, then I, a future mortal, should not 
 have got such a relation to that cause. While Heaven 
 does not let the cause of truth perish, what can the people 
 of K'wang do to me ? " 3 Having escaped from the hands 
 of his assailants, he does not seem to have carried out his 
 purpose of going to Ch'in, but returned to Wei. 
 
 On the way, he passed a house where he had formerly 
 been lodged, and finding that the master was dead, and the 
 funeral ceremonies going on, he went in to condole and 
 weep. When he came out, he told Tsze-kung to take one 
 of the horses from his carriage, and give it as a contribu- 
 tion to the expenses of the occasion. "You never did 
 such a thing," Tsze-kung remonstrated, " at the funeral 
 of any of your disciples ; is it not too great a gift on this 
 
 1 Ana. III. xxiv. 2 See Mencius, V. Pt. I. viii. 2. 
 
 3 Ana. IX. v. In Ana. XL xxii. there is another reference to this time, 
 in -which Yen Hwuy is made to appear. 
 
78 CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTRINES. 
 
 occasion of the death of an old host ? " Ci When I went 
 in/' replied Confucius, ' ' my presence brought a burst of 
 grief from the chief mourner, and I joined him with my 
 tears. I dislike the thought of my tears not being 1 followed 
 by anything. Do it, my child." l 
 
 On reaching Wei, he lodged with Keu Pih-yuh, an 
 officer of whom honourable meution is made in the Ana- 
 lects. 2 But this time he did not remain long* in the State. 
 The duke was married to a lady of the house of 
 
 B C 495 r~t 
 
 Sung, known by the name of Nan-tsze, notorious 
 for her intrigues and wickedness. , She sought an inter- 
 view with the sage, which he was obliged unwillingly to 
 accord. No doubt he was innocent of thought or act of 
 evil ; but it gave great dissatisfaction to Tsze-loo that his 
 master should have been in company with such a woman, 
 and Confucius, to assure hirn, swore an oath, saying, 
 " Wherein I have done improperly, may Heaven reject 
 me ! May Heaven reject me ! " 3 He could not well 
 abide, however, about such a court. One day the duke 
 rode out through the streets of his capital in the same car- 
 riage with Nan-tsze, and made Confucius follow them in 
 another. Perhaps he intended to honour the philosopher, 
 but the people saw the incongruity, and cried out, " Lust 
 in the front ; virtue behind ! M Confucius was ashamed, 
 and made the observation, " I have not seen one who 
 loves virtue as he loves beauty/' 4 Wei was no place for 
 hirn. He left it, and took his way towards Ch'in. 
 
 Ch'in, which formed part of the present province of Ho- 
 nan, lay south from Wei. After passing the small State 
 of Ts'aou, he approached the borders of Sung, occupying 
 the present prefecture of Kwei-tih, and had some inten- 
 tions of entering it, when an incident occurred, which it 
 is not easy to understand from the meagre style in which 
 it is related, but which gave occasion to a remarkable say- 
 ing. Confucius was practising ceremonies with his dis- 
 ciples, we are told, under the shade of a large tree. Hwan 
 T'uy, an ill-minded officer of Sung, heard of it, and sent a 
 band of men to pull down the tree, and kill the philosopher, 
 if they could get hold of him. The disciples were much 
 alarmed, but Confucius observed, " Heaven has produced 
 
 1 See the Le Ke. II. Pt. I. ii. 1G. 2 Ana. XIV. xxvi. ; XV. vi. 
 
 3 Ana. VI, xxvi. * Ana. IX. xvii. 
 
LIFE OP CONFUCIUS. 79 
 
 tlie virtue that is in me ; — what can Hwan T'uy do to 
 me ? " * They all made their escape, but seem to have 
 been driven westwards to the State of Ch/ing, on arriving 
 at the gate conducting into which from the east, Confucius 
 found himself separated from his followers. Tsze-kung 
 had arrived before him, and was told by a native of Ch/ing 
 that "there was a man standing by the east gate, with a 
 forehead like Yaou, a neck like Kaou-yaou, his shoulders 
 on a level with those of Tsze-ch'an, but wanting, below the 
 waist, three inches of the height of Yu, and altogether 
 having the disconsolate appearance of a stray dog.'" 
 Tsze-kung knew it was the master, hastened to him, and 
 repeated to his great amusement the description which the 
 man had given. " The bodily appearance," said Confucius, 
 " is but a small matter, but to say I was like a stray dog 
 — capital ! capital ! " The stay they made at Ch/ing was 
 short, and by the end of B.C. 495, Confucius was in Ch'in. 
 
 All the next year he remained there lodging with the 
 warder of the city wall, an officer of worth, of the name of 
 Ching, 2 and we have no accounts of him which deserve to 
 be related here. 3 
 
 In B.C. 493, Ch'in was much disturbed by attacks from 
 Woo, a large State, the capital of which was in the 
 present department of Soo-chow, and Confucius de- 
 termined to retrace his steps to Wei. On the way he was 
 laid hold of at a place called P'oo, which was held by a 
 rebellious officer against Wei, and before he could get 
 away, he was obliged to engage that he would not pro- 
 ceed thither. Thither, notwithstanding, he continued his 
 route, and when Tsze-kung asked him whether it was 
 right to violate the oath he had taken, he replied, " It was 
 a forced oath. The spirits do not hear such." 4 The duke 
 Ling received him with distinction, but paid no more at- 
 tention to his lessons than before, and Confucius is said 
 then to have uttered his complaint, " If there were any of 
 
 1 Ana. IX. xxii. 2 See Mencius, V. Pt. I. viii. 3. 
 
 3 Keang Yung digests in this place two foolish stories, — about a large 
 bone found in the State of Yue, and a bird which appeared in Cb'in and 
 died, shot through with a remarkable arrow. Confucius knew all about 
 them. 
 
 4 This is related by Sze-ma Ts'een, and also in the Family Sayings. I 
 would fain believe it is not true. The wonder is, that no Chinese critic 
 should have set about disproving it. 
 
80 CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTEINES. 
 
 the princes who would employ Hie, in the course of twelve 
 months I should have done something considerable. In 
 three years the government would be perfected." 1 
 
 A circumstance occurred to direct his attention to the 
 State of T-sin, which occupied the southern part of the 
 present Shan-se, and extended over the Yellow river into. 
 Ho-nan. An invitation came to Confucius, like that which 
 he had formerly received from Kung-shan Fuh-jaou. Peih 
 Heih, an officer of Tsin, who was holding the town of 
 Chung-mow against his chief, invited him to visit him, and 
 Confucius was inclined to go. Tsze-loo was always the 
 mentor on such occasions. He said to him, " Master, I 
 have heard you say, that when a man in his own person is 
 guilty of doing evil, a superior man will not associate with 
 him. Peih Heih is in rebellion ; if you go to him, what 
 shall be said ? " Confucius replied, " Yes, I did use those 
 words. But is it not said that if a thing be really hard, it 
 may be ground without being made thin ; and if it be 
 really white, it may be steeped in a dark fluid without 
 being made black ? Am I a bitter gourd ? Am I to be 
 hung up out of the way of being eaten ? " 2 
 
 These sentiments sound strangely from his lips. After 
 all, he did not go to Peih Heih ; and having travelled as 
 far as the Yellow river that he might see one of the prin- 
 cipal ministers of Tsin, he heard of the violent death of two 
 men of worth, and returned to Wei, lamenting the fate 
 which prevented him from crossing the stream, and trying 
 to solace himself with poetry as he had done on leaving 
 Loo. Again did he commuuicate with the duke, but as 
 ineffectually, and disgusted at being questioned by him 
 about military tactics, he left and went back to Ch/in. 
 
 He resided in Ch'in all the next year, B.C. 491, without 
 anything occurring there which is worthy of note. Events 
 had transpired in Loo, however, which were to issue in 
 his return to his native State. The duke Ting had de- 
 ceased B.C. 494, and Ke Hwan, the chief of the Ke family, 
 died in this year. On his deathbed, he felt remorse for 
 his conduct to Confucius, and charged his successor, 
 known to us in the Analects as Ke K'ang, to recall the 
 sage ; but the charge was not immediately fulfilled. Ke 
 
 1 Ana. XII. x. 2 Ana. XVII. vil. 
 
LIFE OF CONFUCIUS, 81 
 
 K'ang, by the advice of one of his officers, sent to Ch'in 
 for the disciple Yen K'ew instead. Confucius willingly sent 
 him off, and would gladly have accompanied him. " Let 
 me return ! " he said, <( Let me return ! >n But that was 
 not to be for several years yet. 
 
 In B.C. 490, accompanied, as usual, by several of his dis- 
 ciples, he went from Ch/in to Ts'ae, a small dependency 
 of the great fief of Ts'oo, which occupied a large part; of 
 the present provinces of Hoo-nan and Hoo-pih. On 
 the way, between Ch/in and Ts'ae, their provisions 
 became exhausted, and they were cut off somehow from 
 obtaining a fresh supply. The disciples were quite over- 
 come with want, and Tsze-loo said to the master, " Has 
 the superior man indeed- to endure in this way ? " Con- 
 fucius answered him, " The superior man may indeed have 
 to endure want ; but the mean man, when he is in want, 
 gives way to unbridled license." 2 According to the 
 " Family Sayings/' the distress continued seven days, 
 during which time Confucius retained his equanimity, and 
 was even cheerful, playing on his lute and singing. He 
 retained, however, a strong impression of the perils of 
 the season, and we find him afterwards recurring: to it, and 
 lamenting that of the friends that were with him in 
 Ch/in and Ts'ae, there were none remaining to enter his 
 door. 3 
 
 Escaped from this strait, he remained in Ts'ae over b.c 
 489, and in the following year we find him in She, another 
 district of Ts'oo, the chief of which had usurped the title 
 of duke. Puzzled about his visitor, he asked Tsze-loo 
 what he should think of him, but the disciple did not 
 venture a reply. When Confucius heard of it, he said to 
 Tsze-loo, " Why did you not say to him, — He is simply a 
 man who in his eager pursuit of knowledge forgets his 
 food, who in the joy of its attainment forgets his sorrows, 
 and who does not perceive that old age is coming on ? " 4 
 Subsequently, the duke, in conversation with Confucius, 
 asked him about government, and got the reply, dictated 
 by some circumstances of which we are ignorant, " Good 
 government obtains, when those who are near are made 
 na PP} 7 j an d those who are far off are attracted." 5 
 
 i Ana. V. xxi. 2 Ana. XV. i. 2, 3. 3 Ana. XI. ii. 
 
 4 Ana. VII. xviii. s Ana. XIII. xvi. 
 
 vol. i. 6 
 
82 CONFUCIUS and HIS docteines. 
 
 After a short stay in She, according to Sze-ma Ts'een, 
 lie returned to Ts'ae, and having to cross a river, he sent 
 Tsze-loo to inquire for the ford of two men who were at 
 work in a neighbouring field. They were recluses, — men 
 who had withdrawn from public life in disgust at the way- 
 wardness of the times. One of them was called Ch f ang- 
 tseu, and instead of giving Tsze-loo the information he 
 wanted, he asked him, "Who is it that holds the reins 
 in the carriage there ? " " It is K'ung Kew." " K'ung 
 Kew of Loo ?" " Yes," was the reply, and then the man 
 rejoined, " He knows the ford." 
 
 Tsze-loo applied to the other, who was called Kee-neih, 
 but got for answer the question, " Who are you, Sir ? " 
 He replied, " I am Chung Yew." " Chung Yew, who is 
 the disciple of K f ung Kew of Loo ? " ct Yes," again re- 
 plied Tsze-loo, and Kee-heih addressed him, " Disorder, 
 like a swelling flood, spreads over the whole empire, and 
 who is he that will change it for you ? Than follow one 
 who merely withdraws from this one and that one, had 
 you not better follow those who withdraw from the 
 world altogether ?" With this he fell to covering up the 
 seed, and gave no more heed to the stranger. Tsze-loo 
 went back and reported what they had said, when Con- 
 fucius vindicated his own course, saying, "It is impos- 
 sible to associate with birds and beasts as if they were the 
 same with us. If I associate not with these people, — with 
 mankind, — with whom shall I associate ? If right princi- 
 ples prevailed through the empire, there would be no use 
 for me to change its state." l 
 
 About the same time he had an encounter with another 
 recluse, who was known as " The madman of Ts'oo." He 
 passed by the carriage of Confucius, singing out, " O 
 Fung, Fung, how is your virtue degenerated ! As to 
 the past, reproof is useless, but the future may be provided 
 against. Give up, give up your vain pursuit." Confucius 
 alighted and wished to enter into conversation with him, 
 but the man hastened away. 2 
 
 But now the attention of the ruler of Ts'oo — king, as 
 he styled himself — was directed to the illustrious stranger 
 who was in his dominions, and he met Confucius and con- 
 
 * Ana. XVIII. vi. 2 Ana. XVII. v. 
 
LIFE OP CONFUCIUS. 83 
 
 ducted hhn to his capital, which, was in the present dis- 
 trict "of E-sbing, in the department of Seang-yang, in 
 Hoo-pih. After a time, he proposed endowing the philo- 
 sopher with a considerable territory, but was dissuaded by 
 his prime minister, who said to him, " Has your Majesty 
 any officer who could discharge the duties of an. ambas- 
 sador like Tsze-kung ? or any one so qualified for a 
 premier as Yen Hwuy ? or any one to compare as a 
 general with Tsze-loo ? The kings Wan and Woo, from 
 their hereditary dominions of a hundred le, rose to the 
 sovereignty of the empire. If K'ung K'ew, with such 
 disciples to be his ministers, get the possession of any 
 territory, it will not be to the prosperity of Ts'oo ? On 
 this remonstrance, the king gave up his purpose, and 
 when he died in the same year, Confucius left the State, 
 and went back again to Wei. 
 
 The Duke Ling had died four years before, soon after 
 Confucius had last parted from him, and the reign- ^ c ^ 
 ing duke, known to us by the title of Ch/uh, was 
 his grandson, and was holding the principality against his 
 own father. The relations between them were- rather 
 complicated. The father had been driven out in conse- 
 quence of an attempt which he had instigated on the life 
 of his mother, the notorious Nan-tsze, and the succession 
 was given to his son. Subsequently, the father wanted 
 to reclaim what he deemed his right, and an unseemly 
 struggle ensued. The Duke Chmh was conscious how 
 much his cause would be strengthened by the support of 
 Confucius, and hence when he got to Wei, Tsze-loo could 
 say to him, " The prince of Wei has been waiting for you, 
 in order with you to administer the government ; — what 
 will you consider the first thiug to be done?" 1 The 
 opinion of the philosopher, however, was against the pro- 
 priety of the duke's course, and he declined taking office 
 with him, though he remained in Wei for between five 
 and six years. During all that time there is a blank in 
 his history. In the very year of his return, according to 
 the " Annals of the Empire/' his most beloved disciple, 
 
 l Ana. XIII. iii. In the notes on this passage, I have given Choo 
 He's opinion as to the time when Ts'ze-loo made this remark. It seems 
 more correct, however, to refer it to Confucius' return to Wei from Ts'oo, 
 as is done by Keang Yung. 
 
 6* 
 
84 CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTRINES. 
 
 Yen Hwuy, died, on which occasion he exclaimed, ' ' Alas ! 
 Heaven is destroying me ! Heaven is destroying me ! " l 
 The death of his wife is assigned to B.C. 484, but nothing 
 else is related which we can connect with this long period. 
 
 9. His return to Loo was brought about by the disciple 
 Yen Yew, who, we have seen, went into the service of Ke 
 FromMsre- K'ang, in B.C. 491. In the year B.C. 483,. 
 to Ms death 00 Yew had the conduct of some military opera- 
 te. 4S3— 478. tions against Ts'e, and being successful, Ke 
 K'ang asked him how he had obtained his military 
 skill • — was it from nature, or by learning ? He replied 
 that he had learned it from Confucius, and entered into 
 a glowing eulogy of the philosopher. The chief de- 
 clared that he would bring Confucius home again to 
 Loo. " If you do so," said the disciple, u see that you 
 do not let mean men come between you and Mm" 
 On this K'ang sent three officers with appropriate presents 
 to Wei, to invite the wanderer home, and he returned 
 with them accordingly. 
 
 This event took place in the eleventh year of the Duke 
 Gae, who succeeded to Ting, and according to K'ung Foo, 
 Confucius' descendant, the invitation proceeded from him. 
 We may suppose that while Ke K'ang was the mover and 
 director of the proceeding, it was with the authority and 
 approval of the duke. It is represented in the chronicle 
 of Tso-k f ew Ming as having occurred at a very opportune 
 time. The philosopher had been consulted a little be- 
 fore by K'ung Wan, an officer of Wei, about how he should 
 conduct a feud with another officer, and disgusted at 
 being referred to on such a subject, had ordered his car- 
 riage and prepared to leave the State, exclaiming, te The 
 bird chooses its tree. The tree does not chase the bird." 
 K'ung Wan endeavoured to excuse himself, and to prevail 
 on Confucius to remain in Wei, and just at this juncture 
 the messengers from Loo arrived. 
 
 Confucius was now in his 69th year. The world had 
 not dealt kindly with him. In every State which he had 
 visited he had met with disappointment and sorrow. Only^ 
 
 1 Ana. XI. viii. In the notes on Ana. XI. vii., I have adverted to the 
 chronological difficulty connected with the dates assigned respectively to 
 the deaths of Yen Hwuy and Confucius' own son, Le. Keang Yung as- 
 signs Hwuy's death to B.C. 481. 
 
LIFE OF CONFUCIUS. 85 
 
 five more years remained to him, nor were _they of a 
 brighter character than the past. He had, indeed, at- 
 tained to that state, he tells us, in which " he could follow 
 what his heart desired without transgressing what ?7as 
 right" 1 but other people were not more inclined than 
 they had been to abide by his counsels. The Duke Gae 
 and Ke K'ang often conversed with him, but he no longer 
 had weight in the guidance of State affairs, and wisely 
 addressed himself to the completion of his literary labours. 
 He wrote, it is said, a preface to the Shoo-king ; carefully 
 digested the rites and ceremonies determined by the wis- 
 dom of the more ancient sages and kings ; collected and 
 arranged the ancient poetry ; and undertook the reform 
 of music. He has told us himself, cc I returned from Wei 
 to Loo, and then the music was reformed, and the pieces 
 in the Imperial Songs and Praise Songs found all their 
 proper place." 2 To the Yih-king he devoted much study, 
 and Sze-ma Ts f een says that the leather thongs by which 
 the tablets of his copy were bound together were thrice 
 worn out. " If some years were added to my life," he 
 said, cc I would give fifty to the study of the Yih, and theo 
 I might come to be without great faults." 3 During this 
 time also, we may suppose that he supplied Tsang Sin 
 with the materials of the classic of Filial Piety. The same 
 year that he returned, Ke K f ang sent Yen Yew to ask his 
 opinion about an additional impost which he wished to 
 lay upon the people, but Confucius refused to give any 
 reply, telling the disciple privately his disapproval of the 
 proposed measure. It was carried out, however, in the 
 following year, by the agency of Yen, on which occaLion, 
 I suppose, it was that Confucius said to the other disciples, 
 u He is no disciple of mine ; my little children, beat the 
 drum and assail him." 4 The^eax_BjC. 482 was marked 
 by the death of his son Le, which he seems to have borne 
 with more equanimity than he did that of his disciple Yen 
 Hwuy, which some writers assign to the following year, 
 though I have already mentioned it under the year B.C. 488. 
 In the spring of B.C. 480, a servant of Ke K'ang caught 
 a Ic'e-lin on a hunting excursion of the duke in the pre- 
 
 1 Ana. II. iv. 6. 2 Ana. IX. xiv. 
 
 3 Ana. VII. xvi. i Ana. XL xvi. 
 
86 CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTRINES. 
 
 sent district of Kea-ts'eang. No person could tell what 
 strange animal it was, and' Confucius was called to look at 
 it. He at once knew it to be a lin, and the legend-writers 
 say that it bore on one of its horns the piece of ribbon^ 
 which his mother had attached to the one that appeared" 
 to her before his birth. According to the chronicle of 
 Kung-yang, he was profoundly affected. He cried out. 
 " For whom have you come ? For whom have you come ? " 
 His tears flowed freely, and he added, " The course of my 
 doctrines is run." 
 
 Notwithstanding the appearance of the lin, the life of 
 Confucius was still protracted for two years longer, though 
 he took occasion to terminate with that event his history of 
 the Ch/un Ts'ew. This Work, according to Sze-ma Ts'een, 
 was altogether the production of this year, but we need 
 not suppose that it was so. In it, from the stand-point of 
 Loo, he briefly indicates the principal events occurring 
 throughout the empire, every term being expressive, it is 
 said, of the true character of the actors and events de- 
 scribed. Confucius said himself, "It is the Spring and 
 Autumn which will make men know me, and it is the 
 Spring and Autumn which will make men condemn me." l 
 Mencius makes the composition of it to have been an 
 achievement as great as Yu's regulation of the waters of 
 the deluge. — cc Confucius completed the Spring and 
 Autumn, and rebellious ministers and villainous sons were 
 struck with terror.'''' 2 
 
 Towards the end of this year, word came to Loo that 
 the duke of Ts f e had been murdered by one of his officers. 
 Confucius was moved with indignation. Such an outrage, 
 he felt, called for his solemn interference. He bathed, 
 went to court, and represented the matter to the duke, 
 saying, " Ck'in Hang has slain his sovereign, I beg that 
 you will undertake to punish him." The duke pleaded 
 his incapacity, urging that Loo was weak compared with 
 Ts'e, but Confucius replied, " One half of the people of 
 Ts f e are not consenting to the deed. If you add to the 
 people of Loo one half of the people of Ts'e, you are sure 
 to overcome." But he could not infuse his spirit into the 
 duke, who told him to go and lay the matter before the 
 
 1 Mencius, III. Pt. II. ix. 8. 2 Mencius, III. Pt. II. ix. 11. 
 
LIFE OP CONFUCIUS. 87 
 
 chief of the three Families. Sorely against his sense of 
 propriety, he did so, but they would not act, and he with- 
 drew with the remark, ' ' Following in the rear of the great 
 officers, I did not dare not to represent such a matter." 1 
 
 In the year B.C. 479, Confucius had to mourn the death 
 of another of his disciples, one of those who had been 
 longest with him, — the well-known Tsze-loo. He stands 
 out a sort of Peter in the Confucian school, a man of im- 
 pulse, prompt to speak and prompt to act. He gets many 
 a check from the master, but there is evidently a strong 
 sympathy between them. Tsze-loo uses a freedom with 
 him on which none of the other disciples dares to venture, 
 and there is not one among them all, for whom, if I may 
 speak from my own feeling, the foreign student comes to 
 form such a liking. A pleasant picture is presented to us 
 in one passage of the Analects. It is said, u The disciple 
 Min was standing by his side, looking bland and precise ; 
 Tsze-loo (named Yew), looking bold and soldierly ; Yen 
 Yew and Tsze-kung, with a free and straightforward 
 manner. The master was pleased, but he observed, ( Yew 
 there ! — he will not die a natural death/ " 2 
 
 This prediction was verified. When Confucius re- 
 turned to Loo from Wei, he left Tsze-loo and Tsze-kaou 
 engaged there in official service. Troubles arose. News 
 came to Loo, B.C. 479, that a revolution was in progress 
 in Wei, and when Confucius heard it, he said, " Ch/ae 
 will come here, but Yew will die/'' So it turned out. 
 When Tsze-kaou saw that matters were desperate he 
 made his escape, but Tsze-loo would not forsake the chief 
 who had treated him well. He threw himself into the 
 melee, and was slain. Confucius wept sore for him, but 
 his own death was not far off. It took place on the 11th 
 
 \day of the 4th month in the following year, B.C. 478. 
 Early one morning, we are told, he got up, and with his 
 lands behind his back, dragging his staff, he moved 
 ibout by his door, crooning over,. — 
 
 " The great mountain must crumble ; 
 The strong beam must break ; 
 And the wise man wither awtiy like a plant." 
 
 After a little, he entered the house and sat down oppo- 
 site the door. Tsze-kung had heard his words, and said 
 
 1 Analects, XIV. xxii. 2 Ana. XI. xii. 
 
\ 
 
 88 CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTEINES. 
 
 to himself, u If the great mountain crumble, to what shall 
 I look up ? If the strong beam break, and the wise man 
 wither away, on whom shall I lean ? The master, I fear, is 
 going to be ill." With this he hastened into the house. 
 Confucius said to him, " Ts'ze, what makes you so late ? 
 According to the statutes of Hea, the corpse was dressed 
 and coffined at the top of the eastern steps, treating the 
 dead as if he were still the host. Under the Yin, the 
 ceremony was performed between the two pillars, as if 
 the dead were both host and guest. The rule of Chow is 
 to perform it at the top of the western steps, treating the 
 dead as if he were a guest. I am a man of Yin, and last 
 night I dreamt that I was sitting with offerings before 
 me between the two pillars. No intelligent monarch 
 arises ; there is not one in the empire that will make me 
 his master. My time is come to die." So it was. He 
 went to his couch, and after seven days expired. 1 
 
 Such is the account which we have of the last hours of 
 the great philosopher of China. His end was not unim- 
 pressive, but it was melancholy. He sank behind a cloud. 
 Disappointed hopes made his soul bitter. The great ones 
 of the empire had not received his teachings. No wife 
 nor child was by to do the kindly offices of affection for 
 him. Nor were the expectations of another life present 
 with him as he passed though the dark valley. He uttered 
 no prayer, and he betrayed no apprehensions. Deep- 
 treasured in his own heart may have been the thought 
 that he had endeavoured to serve his generation by the 
 will of God, but he gave no sign. " The mountain falling 
 came to nought, and the rock was removed out of his 
 place. So death prevailed against him and he passed; 
 his countenance was changed, and he was sent away." 
 
 10. I flatter myself that the preceding paragraphs con- 
 tain a more correct narrative of the principal incidents in 
 the life of Confucius than has yet been given in any Euro- 
 pean language. They might easily have been expanded 
 into a volume, but I did not wish to exhaust the subject, 
 but only to furnish a sketch, which, while it might satisfy 
 the general reader, would be of special assistance to the 
 careful student of the classical Books. I had taken many 
 
 ' See the Le Ke, n. Pt. I. ii. 20. 
 
LIFE OP CONFUCIUS. 89 
 
 notes of the manifest errors in regard to chronology and 
 other matters in the (e Family Sayings/' and the chapter 
 of Sze-ma Ts'een on the K'ung family , when the digest of 
 Keang Yung, to which I have made frequent reference, 
 attracted my attention. Conclusions to which I had come 
 were confirmed, and a clue was furnished to difficulties 
 which I was seeking to disentangle. I take the opportunity 
 to acknowledge here my obligations to it. With a few 
 notices of Confucius' habits and manners, I shall conclude 
 this section, 
 
 Very little can be gathered from reliable sources on the 
 personal appearance of the sage. The height of his father 
 is stated, as I have noted, to have been ten feet, and 
 though Confucius came short of this by four inches, he 
 was often called " the tall man." It is allowed that the 
 ancient foot or cubit was shorter than the modern, but it 
 must be reduced more than any scholar I have consulted 
 has yet done, to bring this statement within the range of 
 credibility. The legends assign to his figure " nine-and- 
 forty remarkable peculiarities," a tenth part of which 
 would have made him more a monster than a man. Dr 
 Morrison says that the images of him, which he had seen 
 in the northern parts of China, represent him as of a dark 
 swarthy colour. 1 It is not so with those common in 
 the south. He was, no doubt, in size and complexion 
 much the same as many of his descendants in the present 
 day. 
 
 But if his disciples had nothing to chronicle of his per- 
 sonal appearance, they have gone very minutely into an 
 account of many of his habits. The tenth book of the 
 Analects is all occupied with his deportment, his eating', 
 and his dress. In public, whether in the village, the 
 temple, or the court, he was the man of rule and ceremony, 
 but " at home he was not formal." Yet if not formal, he 
 was particular. In bed even he did not forget himself; 
 — ""he did not lie like a corpse," and "he did not speak." 
 " He required his sleeping dress to be half as long again 
 as his body." " If he happened to be sick, and the prince 
 came to visit him, he had his face to the east, made his 
 
 1 Chinese and English Dictionary, char, K'ung. Sir John Davis also 
 mentions seeing a figure of Confucius, in a temple near the Po-yang Lake, 
 of which the complexion was "quite black." ("The Chinese," vol. II. p. 66.) 
 
90 CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTRINES, 
 
 court robes be put over hini, and drew his girdle across 
 them." 
 
 He was nice in his diet, — " not disliking to have his rice 
 dressed fine, nor to have his minced meat cut small." 
 " Anything at all gone he would not touch." " He must 
 have his meat cut properly, and to every kind its proper 
 sauce ; but he was not a great eater." " It was only in 
 wine that he laid down no limit to himself, but he did not 
 allow himself to be confused by it." "When the vil- 
 lagers were drinking together, on those who carried 
 staves going out, he went out immediately after." There 
 must always be ginger at the table, and " when eating, he 
 did not converse.-" "Although his food might be coarse 
 rice and poor soup, he would offer a little of it in sacrifice, 
 with a grave respectful air." 
 
 " On occasion of a sudden clap of thunder, or a violent 
 wind, he would change countenance. He would do the 
 same, and rise up moreover, when he found himself a 
 guest at a loaded board." "At the sight of a person in 
 mourning he would also change countenance, and if he hap- 
 pened to be in his carriage, he would bend forward with 
 a respectful salutation." " His general way in his car- 
 riage was not to turn his head round, nor talk hastily, 
 nor point with his hands." He was charitable. "When 
 any of his friends died, if there were no relations who 
 could be depended on for the necessary offices, he would 
 say, e I will bury him/ " 
 
 The disciples were so careful to record these and other 
 characteristics of their master, it is said, because every act, 
 of movement or of rest, was closely associated with the 
 ^reat principles which it was his object to inculcate. The 
 detail of so many small matters, however, does not impress 
 a foreigner so favourably. There is a want of freedom 
 about the philosopher. Somehow he is less a sage to me, 
 after I have seen him at his table, in his undress, in his 
 bed, and in his carriage. 
 
INFLUENCE AND OPINIONS. 91 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 HIS INFLUENCE AND OPINIONS. 
 
 1. Confucius died, we have seen, complaining that of 
 all the princes of the empire there was not one who wonld 
 adopt his principles and obey his lessons. Homage ren- 
 He had hardly passed from the stage of life ^K; 
 when his merit began to be acknowledged, perors of China. 
 When the Duke Gae heard of his death, he pronounced 
 his eulogy in the words,, " Heaven has not left to me 
 the aged man. There is none now to assist me on the 
 throne. Woe is me ! Alas ! venerable ~Ne ! " x Tsze- 
 Kung complained of the inconsistency of this lament- 
 ation from one who could not use the master when he 
 was alive, but the duke was probably sincere in his grief. 
 He caused a temple to be erected, and ordered that sacri- 
 fice should be offered to the sage, at the four seasons of 
 the year. 
 
 The emperors of the tottering dynasty of Chow had not 
 the intelligence, nor were they in a position, to do honour 
 to the departed philosopher, but the facts detailed in the 
 first chapter of these prolegomena, in connection with the 
 attempt of the founder of the Ts'in dynasty to destroy the 
 monuments of antiquity, show how the authority of Con- 
 fucius had come by that time to prevail through the empire. 
 The founder of the Han dynasty, in passing through Loo, 
 B.C. 194, visited his tomb and offered an ox in sacrifice to 
 him. Other emperors since then have often made pilgrim- 
 ages to the spot. The most famous temple in the empire 
 now rises over the place of the grave. K'ang-he, the 
 second and greatest of the rulers of the present dynasty, in 
 the twenty-third year of his reign, there set the example of 
 kneeling thrice, and each time laying his forehead thrice in 
 the dust, before the image of the sage. 
 
 In the year of our Lord 1, began the practice of conferring 
 honorary designations on Confucius by imperial authority. 
 The Emperor P'ing then styled him—" The Duke Ne, all- 
 
 1 Le Ke, II. Pt. I. iii. 43. This eulogy is found at greater length ia 
 Tso-K'ew Ming, immediately after the notice of the sage's death. 
 
92 CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTRINES. 
 
 complete and illustrious." This was changed, in a.d. 492, 
 to — " The venerable Ne, the accomplished Sage." Other 
 titles have supplanted this. Shun-che, the first of the Man- 
 chow dynasty, adopted, in his second year, a.d. 1645, the 
 style, — ' ' K f ung, the ancient Teacher, accomplished and 
 illustrious, all-complete, the perfect Sage ; " but twelve 
 years later, a shorter title was introduced, — " K'ung, the 
 ancient Teacher, the perfect Sage." Since that year no 
 further alteration has been made. 
 
 At first the worship of Confucius was confined to the 
 country of Loo, but in a.d. 57 it was enacted that sacrifices 
 should be offered to him in the imperial college, and in all the 
 colleges of the principal territorial divisions throughout the 
 empire. In those sacrifices he was for some centuries associ- 
 ated with the duke of Chow, the legislator to whom Confu- 
 cius made frequent reference; but in a.d. 609 separate 
 temples were assigned to them, and in 628 our sage dis- 
 placed the older worthy altogether. About the same time 
 began the custom, which continues to the present day, 
 of erecting temples to him, — separate structures, in con- 
 nection with all the colleges, or examination-halls, of the 
 country. 
 
 The sage is not alone in those temples. In a hall behind 
 the principal one occupied by himself are the tablets — in 
 some cases, the images — of several of his ancestors, and 
 other worthies; while associated with himself are his prin- 
 cipal disciples, and many who in subsequent times have 
 signalized themselves as expounders and exemplifiers of 
 his doctrines. On the first day of every month, offerings 
 of fruits and vegetables are set forth, and on the fifteenth 
 there is a solemn burning of incense. But twice a year, 
 in the middle months of spring and autumn, when the 
 first "ting" day of the month comes round, the worship 
 of Confucius is performed with peculiar solemnity. At 
 the imperial college the emperor himself is required to 
 attend in state, and is in fact the principal performer. 
 After all the preliminary arrangements have been made, 
 and the emperor has twice knelt and six times bowed his 
 head to the earth, the presence of Confucius' spirit is in- 
 voked in the words, " Great art thou, perfect sage ! 
 Thy virtue is full; thy doctrine is complete. Among 
 mortal men there has not been thine equal. All kings 
 
INFLUENCE AND OPINIONS. 93 
 
 honour thee. Thy statutes and laws have come gloriously 
 down. Thou art the pattern in this imperial school. Rever- 
 ently have the sacrificial vessels been set out. Full of 
 awe, we sound our drums and bells." 
 
 The spirit is supposed now to be present, and the service 
 proceeds through various offerings, when the first of which 
 has been set forth, an officer reads the following, which is 
 the prayer on the occasion : — <( On this — month of this — 
 year, I, A.B., the emperor, offer a sacrifice to the philoso- 
 pher K'ung, the ancient Teacher, the perfect Sage, and 
 Ba y^ — Teacher, in virtue equal to Heaven and Earth, 
 whose doctrines embrace the past time aud the present, thou 
 didst digest and transmit the six classics, and didst hand 
 down lessons for all generations ! Now in this second 
 month of spring (or autumn), in reverent observance of the 
 old statutes, with victims, silks, spirits, and fruits, I care- 
 fully offer sacrifice to thee. With thee are associated the 
 philosopher Yen, continuator of thee ; the philosopher 
 Tsang, exhibiter of thy fundamental principles ; the philo- 
 sopher Tsze-sze, transmitter of thee ; and the philosopher 
 Mang, second to thee. May'st thou enjoy the offerings ! " 
 
 I need not go on to enlarge on the homage which the 
 emperors of China render to Confucius. It could not be 
 more complete. It is worship and not mere homage. He 
 was unreasonably neglected when alive. He is now un- 
 reasonably venerated when dead. The estimation with 
 which the rulers of China regard their sage leads them to 
 sin against God, and this is a misfortune to the empire. 
 
 2. The rulers of China are not singular in this matter, 
 but in entire sympathy with the mass of their people. It 
 is the distinction of this empire that education General ap _ 
 has been highly prized in it from the earliest preciation of 
 
 -r- ° J -i n ,i c n e j Confucius. 
 
 times. It was so before the era ol Contucius, and 
 we may be sure that the system met with his approbation. 
 One of his remarkable sayings was, — " To lead an unin- 
 structed people to war, is to throw them away." l When 
 he pronounced this judgment, he was not thinking of 
 military training, but of education in the duties of life and 
 citizenship. A people so taught, he thought, would be 
 morally fitted to fight for their government. Mencius, 
 
 1 Ana. XIII. 30. 
 
94 CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTftlNES. 
 
 when lecturing to the duke of T'ang on the proper way of 
 governing a kingdom, told him that he must provide the 
 means of education for all, the poor as well as the rich. 
 " Establish/-' said he, "ts'eang, seu, lied, and heaou, — all 
 those educational institutions, — for the instruction of the 
 people. i)l 
 
 At the present day education is widely diffused through- 
 out China. In no other country is the schoolmaster more 
 abroad, and in all schools it is Confucius who is taught. 
 The plan of competitive examinations, and the selection for 
 civil offices only from those who have been successful can- 
 didates, — good so far as the competition is concerned, but 
 injurious from the restricted range of subjects with which 
 an acquaintance is required, — have obtained for more than 
 twelve centuries. The classical works are the text books. 
 It is from them almost exclusively that the themes pro- 
 posed to determine the knowledge and ability of the stu- 
 dents are chosen. The whole of the magistracy of China 
 is thus versed in all that is recorded of the sage, and in 
 the ancient literature which he preserved. His thoughts 
 are familiar to every man in authority, and his character 
 is more or less reproduced in him. 
 
 The official civilians of China, numerous as they are, are 
 but a fraction of its students, and the students, or those 
 who make literature a profession, are again but a fraction 
 of those who attend school for a shorter or longer period. 
 Yet so far as the studies have gone, they have been occu- 
 pied with the Confucian writings. In many school-rooms 
 there is a tablet or inscription on the wall, sacred to the 
 sage, and every pupil is required, on coming to school on 
 the morning of the first and fifteenth of every month, to 
 bow before it, the first thing, as an act of worship. 3 Thus, 
 all in China who receive the slightest tincture of learning 
 do so at the fountain of Confucius. They learn of him and do 
 homage to him at once. I have repeatedly quoted the 
 statement that during his life-time he had three thousand 
 disciples. Hundreds of millions are his disciples now. It 
 
 1 Mencius, III. Pt. I. iii. 10. 
 
 2 During the present dynasty, the tablet of the god of literature has to a 
 considerable extent displaced that of Confucius in schools Yet the worship 
 of him does not clash with that of the other. He is " the father " of com- 
 position only. 
 
INFLUENCE AND OPINIONS. 95 
 
 is hardly necessary to make any allowance in this statement 
 for the followers of Taouism and Buddhism, for, as Sir John 
 Davis has observed, " whatever the other opinions or faith 
 of a Chinese may be, he takes good care to treat Con- 
 fucius with respect. 1 For two thousand years he has reigned 
 supreme, the undisputed teacher of this most populous 
 land. 
 
 3. This position and influence of Confucius are to be 
 ascribed, I conceive, chiefly to two causes : — his being 
 the preserver, namely, of the monuments of Thecausesof 
 antiquity, and the exemplifier and expounder his influence. 
 of the maxims of the golden age of China ; and the devo- 
 tion to him of his immediate disciples and their early fol- 
 lowers. The national and the personal are thus blended in 
 him, each in its highest degree of excellence. He was a 
 Chinese of the Chinese; he is also represented, and all now 
 believe him to have been, the beau ideal of humanity in its 
 best and noblest estate. 
 
 4. It may be well to bring forward here Confucius' own 
 estimate of himself and of his doctrines. It will serve to 
 illustrate the statements just made. The following are 
 some of his sayings. — "The sage and the man His own es- 
 of perfect virtue; — how dare I rank mvself with ti ™ ate ? f ^\ n ?- 
 
 .1 o tj. -in • n a i self and of Ins 
 
 them f It may simply be said of me, that doctrines. 
 I strive to become such without satiety, and teach others 
 without weariness/'' " In letters I am perhaps equal to 
 other men ; but the character of the superior man, carry- 
 ing out in his conduct what he professes, is what I have not 
 yet attained to. 1 " " The leaving virtue without proper cul- 
 tivation ; the not thoroughly discussing what is learned; 
 not being able to move towards righteousness of which a 
 knowledge is gained; and not being able to change what 
 is not good ; — these are the things which occasion me so- 
 licitude." i ' I am not one who was born in the possession 
 of knowledge ; I am one who is fond of antiquity and earn- 
 est in seeking it there." " A transmitter and not a maker, 
 believing in and loving the ancients, I venture to compare 
 myself with our old P'ang.-" 3 
 
 Confucius cannot be thought to speak of himself in these 
 
 1 " The Chinese," vol. II. p. 45. 
 
 2 All these passages are taken from the Vllth Book of the Analects. 
 See ch. xxxiii. ; xxxii. ; iii. ; xix. j and i. 
 
96 CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTEINES. 
 
 declarations more highly than he ought to do. Rather we 
 may recognize in them the expressions of a genuine hu- 
 mility. He was conscious that personally he came short 
 in many things, but he toiled after the character, which 
 he saw, or fancied that he saw, in the ancient sages whom 
 he acknowledged; and the lessons of government and 
 morals which he laboured to diffuse were those which had 
 already been inculcated and exhibited by them. Empha- 
 tically he was " a transmitter and not a maker. " It is 
 not to be understood that he was not fully satisfied of the 
 truth of the principles which he had learned. He held 
 them with the full approval and consent of his own under- 
 standing. He believed that if they were acted on, they 
 would remedy the evils of his time. There was nothing 
 to prevent rulers like Yaou and Shun and the great Yu 
 from again arising, and a condition of happy tranquillity 
 being realized throughout the empire under their sway. 
 
 If in anything he thought himself " superior and alone," 
 having attributes which others could not claim, it was in 
 his possessing a Divine commission as the conservator of 
 ancient truth and rules. He does not speak very definitely 
 on this point. It is noted that "the appointments of 
 Heaven was one of the subjects on which he rarely 
 touched." * His most remarkable utterance was that 
 which I have already given in the sketch of his Life : — 
 " When he was put in fear in K'wang, he said, ' After the 
 death of King Wan, was not the cause of truth lodged here 
 in me ? If Heaven had wished to let this cause of truth 
 perish, then I, a future mortal, should not have got such a 
 relation to that cause. While Heaven does not let the 
 cause of truth perish, what can the people of KSvang do to 
 me?'" 2 Confucius, then, did feel that he was in the 
 world for a special purpose. But it was not to announce 
 any new truths, or to initiate any new economy. It was to 
 prevent what had previously been known from being lost. 
 He followed in the wake of Yaou and Shun, of T'ang, and 
 King Wan. Distant from the last by a long interval of 
 time, he would have said that he was distant from him also 
 by a great inferiority of character, but still he had learned 
 the principles on which they all happily governed the em- 
 
 1 Ana. IX. i, 2 Ana. IX. iii. 
 
INFLUENCE AND OPINIONS. 97 
 
 pire, and in their name he would lift up a standard against 
 the prevailing lawlessness of his age. 
 
 5. The language employed with reference to Confucius 
 by his disciples and their early followers presents a strik- 
 ing contrast with his own. I have already, in writing of 
 the scope and value of " The Doctrine of the Estimate of 
 Mean," called attention to the extravagant ci ™ es andtheir 
 eulogies of his grandson Tsze-sze. He early followers » 
 only followed the example which had been set by those 
 among whom the philosopher went in and out. We 
 have the language of Yen Yuen, his favourite, which 
 is comparatively moderate, and simply expresses the 
 genuine admiration of a devoted pupil. 1 Tsze-kung 
 on several occasions spoke in a different style. Having* 
 heard that one of the chiefs of Loo had said that he him- 
 self — Tsze-kung — was superior to Confucius, he observed, 
 <l Let me use the comparison of a house and its encompass- 
 ing wall. My wall only reaches to the shoulders. One 
 may peep over it, and see whatever is valuable in the 
 apartments. The wall of my master is several fathoms 
 high. If one do not find the door and enter by it, he can- 
 r.ot see the rich ancestral temple with its beauties, nor all 
 the officers in their rich array. But I may assume that 
 they are few who find the door. The remark of the chief 
 was only what might have been expected." 2 
 
 Another time, the same individual having spoken re- 
 vilingly of Confucius, Tsze-kung said, " It is of no use 
 doing so. Chung-ne cannot be reviled. The talents and 
 virtue of other men are hillocks and mounds which may be 
 stept over. Chung-ne is the sun or moon, which it is not 
 possible to step over. Although a man may wish to cat 
 himself off from the sage, what harm can he do to the sun 
 and moon? He only shows that he does not know his 
 own capacity.''' 3 
 
 In conversation with a fellow-disciple, Tsze-kung took 
 a still higher flight. Being charged by Tsze-k f in with 
 being too modest, for that Confucius was not really 
 superior to him, he replied, " For one word a man is often 
 deemed to be wise, and for one word he is often deemed 
 to be foolish. We ought to be careful indeed in what we 
 
 1 Ana. IX. x. 2 Ana. XIX. xxiii. 3 Ana. XIX. xxiv. 
 
 VOL. I. 7 
 
S8 CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTEINES. 
 
 say. Our master cannot be attained to, just in the same 
 way as the heavens cannot be gone up to by the steps of 
 a stair. Were our master in the position of the prince of 
 a State, or the chief of a Family, we should find verified 
 the description which has been given of a sage's rule : — 
 He would plant the people, and forthwith they would be 
 established ; he would lead them on, and forthwith they 
 would follow him ; he would make them happy, and forth- 
 with multitudes would resort to his dominions ; he would 
 stimulate them, and forthwith they would be harmonious. 
 While he lived, he would be glorious. When he died, he 
 would be bitterly lamented. How is it possible for him to 
 be attained to ? " l 
 
 From these representations of Tsze-kung, it was not a 
 difficult step for Tsze-sze to make in exalting Confucius 
 not only to the level of the ancient sages, but as u the 
 equal of Heaven." And Mencius took up the theme. 
 Being questioned by Kung-sun Ch/ow, one of his disciples, 
 about two acknowledged sages, Pih-e and E Yin, whether 
 they were to be placed in the same rank with Confucius, 
 he replied, " No. Since there were living men until now, 
 there never was another Confucius ; ; ' and then he pro- 
 ceeded to fortify his opinion by the concurring testimony 
 of Tsae Go, Tsze-kung, and Yew Jo, who all had wisdom, 
 he thought, sufficient to know their master. Tsae Go's 
 opinion was, " According to my view of our master, he is 
 far superior to Yaou and Shun." Tsze-kung said, "By 
 viewing the ceremonial ordinances of a prince, we know 
 the character of his government. By hearing his music, 
 we know the character of his virtue. From the distance 
 of a hundred ages after, I can arrange, according to their 
 merits, the kings of a hundred ages ; — not one of them can 
 escape me. From the birth of mankind till now, there 
 has never been another like our master/'' Yew Jo said, 
 " Is it only among men that it is so ? There is the k f e- 
 lin among quadrupeds; the fung-hwang among birds; 
 the T'ae mountain among mounds and ant-hills ; and 
 rivers and seas among rain-pools. Though different in 
 degree, they are the same in kind. So the sages among 
 mankind are also the same in kind. But they stand out 
 
 1 Ana. XIX. xxv. 
 
INFLUENCE AND OPINIONS.' 99 
 
 from their fellows, and rise above the level; and frorc ra* 
 birth of mankind till now, there has never been one so 
 complete as Confucius. " \ I will not indulge in farthti 
 illustration. The judgment of the sage's disciples, of 
 Tsze-sze, and of Mencius, has been unchallenged by the 
 mass of the scholars of China. Doubtless it pleases them 
 to bow down at the shrine of the sage, for their profession 
 of literature is thereby glorified. A reflection of the 
 honour done to him falls upon themselves. And the 
 powers that be, and the multitudes of the people, fall in 
 with the judgment. Confucius is thus, in the empire of 
 China, the one man by whom all possible personal excel- 
 lence was exemplified, and by whom all possible lessons 
 >of social virtue and political wisdom are taught. 
 
 6. The reader will be prepared by the preceding ac- 
 count not to expect to find any light thrown by Confucius 
 on the great problems of the human condition and destiny. 
 He did not speculate on the creation of things Subjects on 
 or the end of them. He was not troubled didnot °treat.— 
 to account for the origin of man, nor did he JKoSrSsS- 
 seek to know about his hereafter. He med- ritl \ al > a / ld °v cl l 
 
 -n -i '^ 'iii- j i • o to the charge of 
 
 ulea neither with physics nor metaphysics.- 2 insincerity. 
 The testimony of the Analects about the subjects of 
 his teaching is the following : — " His frequent themes 
 •of discourse were the Book of Poetry, the Book of 
 History, and the maintenance of the rules of Propriety.-" 
 "" He taught letters, ethics, devotion of soul, and truthful- 
 ness." "Extraordinary things; feats of strength; states 
 of disorder ; and spiritual beings he did not like to talk 
 about." 3 
 
 Confucius is not to be blamed for his silence on the 
 subjects here indicated. His ignorance of them was to a 
 
 1 Mencius, II. Pfc I. ii. 23—28. 
 
 2 The contents of the Yin-king, and Confucius' labours upon it, may be 
 objected in opposition to this statement, and I must be understood to make 
 it with some reservation. Six years ago, I spent all my leisure time for 
 twelve months in the study of that Work, and wrote out a translation of it, 
 but at the close I was only groping my way in darkness to lay hold of its 
 scope and meaning, and up to this time I have not been able to master it 
 so as to speak positively about it. It will come in due time, in its place, 
 in the present publication, and I do not think that what I here say of Con- 
 fucius will require much, if any, modification. 
 
 3 Ana. VII. xvii. ; xxiv. ; xx. 
 
 z* 
 
O.T> 
 
 100 CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTKINES. 
 
 great extent his misfortune. He had not learned them 
 No report of them had come to him by the ear ; no visi 
 of them by the eye. And to his practical mind the toiling 
 of thought amid uncertainties seemed worse than useless. 
 
 The question has, indeed, been raised, whether he did 
 not make changes in the ancient creed of China, 1 but I 
 cannot believe that he did so consciously and design- 
 edly. Had his idiosyncrasy been different, we might have 
 had expositions of the ancient views on some points, the 
 effect of which would have been more beneficial than the 
 indefiniteness in which they ar$ now left, and it may be 
 doubted so far, whether Confucius was not unfaithful to- 
 his guides. But that he suppressed or added, in order to 
 bring in articles of belief originating with himself, is a 
 thing not to be charged against him. 
 
 I will mention two important subjects in regard to 
 which there is a growing conviction in my mind that he 
 came short of the faith of the older sages. The first is the 
 doctrine of God. This name is common in the She-king, 
 and Shoo-king. Te or Shang Te appears there as a per- 
 sonal being, ruling in heaven and on earth, the author of 
 man's moral nature, the governor among the nations, by 
 whom kings reign and princes decree justice, the rewarder 
 of the good and the punisher of the bad. Confucius pre- 
 ferred to speak of Heaven. Instances have already been 
 given of this. Two others may be cited : — :c He who 
 offends against Heaven has none to whom he can pray." 2 
 "Alas ! " said he, " there is no one that knows me." 
 Tsze-kung said, " What do you mean by thus saying that 
 no one knows you ? " He replied, "I do not murmur 
 against Heaven. I do not grumble against men. My 
 studies lie low, and my penetration rises high. But there 
 is Heaven ; — that knows me ! " 3 Not once throughout 
 the Analects does he use the personal name. I would say 
 that he was unreligious rather than irreligious ; yet by the 
 coldness of his temperament and intellect in this matter, 
 his influence is unfavourable to the development of true 
 religious feeling amongthe Chinese people generally, aad 
 he prepared the way for the speculations of the literati of 
 
 1 See Hardwick's " Christ and other Masters," Part IILpp. IS, J a **$h 
 his reference in a note to a passage from Meadows' " The Chinese ana »neir 
 llebellions." ? Ana. III. xiii. 3 Ana. XIV. xxxvii. 
 
INFLUENCE AND OPINIONS. 101 
 
 mediaeval and modern times, which have exppsod, them 'to 
 the charge of atheism. , .... 
 
 Secondly, Along with the worship of Grod there, existed * 
 in China, from the earliest historical times, the worship of 
 other spiritual beings, — especially, and to every individual, 
 the worship of departed ancestors. Confucius recognized 
 this as an institution to be devoutly observed. ie He 
 sacrificed to the dead as if they were present ; he sacri- 
 ficed to the spirits as if the spirits were present. He said, 
 * I consider my not being present at the sacrifice as if I 
 did not sacrifice. ' " l The custom must have originated 
 from a belief of the continued existence of the dead. We 
 cannot suppose that they who instituted it thought that 
 with the cessation of this life on earth there was a cess- 
 ation also of all conscious being. But Confucius never 
 spoke explicitly on this subject. He tried to evade it. 
 " Ke Loo asked about serving the spirits of the dead, and 
 the master said, ( While you are not able to serve men, how 
 can you serve their spirits ? ' The disciple added, ( I ven- 
 ture to ask about death/ and he was answered, ( While 
 you do not know life, how can you know about death/ " 2 
 Still more striking is a conversation with another disciple, 
 recorded in the " Family Sayings," Tsze-kung asked 
 him, " Do the dead have knowledge (of our services, 
 that is), or are they without knowledge ? " The master 
 replied, "If I were to say that the dead have such 
 knowledge, I am afraid that filial sons and dutiful grand- 
 sons would injure their substance in paying the last 
 offices to the departed; and if I were to say that the dead 
 have not such knowledge, I am afraid lest unfilial sons 
 should leave their parents unburied. You need not wis! 1 , 
 Ts'ze, to know whether the dead have knowledge or no: . 
 There is no present urgency about the point. Hereafter 
 you will know it for yourself." Surely this was not the 
 teaching proper to a sage. He said on one occasion that 
 he had no concealments from his disciples. 3 Why did he 
 not candidly tell his real thoughts on so interesting a sub- 
 ject ? I incline to think that he doubted more than he 
 believed. If the case were not so, it would be difficult to 
 account for the answer which he returned to a question 
 
 1 Ana. III. xii. 2 Ana. XI. xi. 3 Ana. VII. xxii*. 
 
102 CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTRINES. 
 
 as to what constituted wisdom. " To give one's-self earn- 
 estly// said he, ""to the duties due to men, and, while 
 ^cs-pectiug spiritual "beings, to keep aloof from them, may 
 be called wisdom.'-' 1 " At any rate, as by his frequent 
 references to Heaven, instead of following the phraseology 
 of the older sages, he gave occasion to many of his pro- 
 fessed followers to identify God with a- pri ncipl e of reason 
 and the course of nature j_so, in the point now in hand, 
 he has led them to deny, like the Sadducees of old, the 
 existence of any spirit at all, and to , tell us that their 
 sacrifices to the dead arc but [in outward form, the mode 
 of expression which the princi ple of filial piety requires 
 them to adopt,, when its objects have departed t his life.. 
 
 It will not be supposed that I wish to advocate or defend 
 the practice of sacrificing to the dead. My object has 
 been to point out how Confucius recognized it, w ith on t, 
 acknowledging the faith from which it must have origin- 
 ated, and how he enforced it as a. matter of form or c ere- 
 mony. It thus connects itself with the most serious 
 charge that can be brought against him, — the charge of 
 insinc erity. Among the four things which it is said he 
 taught, " truthfulness " is specified, 2 and many sayings 
 might be quoted from him, in which " sincerity " is cele- 
 brated as highly and demanded as stringently as ever it 
 has been by any Christian moralist ; yet he was not alto- 
 gether the truthful and true man to whom we accord our 
 highest approbation. There was the case of Mang Che- 
 fan, who boldly brought up the rear of the defeated troops 
 of Loo, and attributed his occupying the place of honour 
 to the backwardness of his horse. The action was gallant,, 
 but the apology for it was weak and wrong. And yet 
 Confucius saw nothing in the whole but matter for praise. 3 
 He could excuse himself from seeing an unwelcome visitor 
 on the ground that he was sick, when there was nothing 
 the matter with him. 4 These perhaps were small matters, 
 but what shall we say to the incident which I have given 
 in the sketch of his Life, — his deliberately breaking 
 the oath which he had sworn, simply on the ground that 
 it had been forced from him ? I should be glad if I could 
 
 1 Ana. VI. xx. 
 
 2 See above, near the beginning of this paragraph. 
 
 3 Ana. VI. xiii. 4 Ana. XVII. xx. 
 
INFLUENCE AND OPINIONS. 
 
 103 
 
 find evidence on which to deny the truth of that occur- 
 rence But it rests on the same authority as most other 
 statements about him, and it is accepted as a fact by thq 
 people and scholars of China. It must have had, and it 
 must still have, a very injurious influence upon them. 
 Foreigners charge, and with reason, a habit ot deceitml- 
 ness upon the nation and its government. For every word 
 of falsehood and every act of insincerity the guilty party 
 must bear his own burden, but we cannot but regret the 
 example of Confucius in this particular. It is with the 
 Chinese and their sage, as it was with the Jews of old and 
 their teachers. He that leads them has caused them to 
 err, and destroyed the way of their paths. 1 
 
 But was not insincerity a natural result of the un- 
 religion of Confucius ? There are certain virtues which 
 demand a true piety in order to their flourishing in the 
 corrupt heart of man. Natural affection, the feeling ot 
 loyalty, and enlightened policy, may do much to build up 
 and preserve a family and a State, but it requires more to 
 maintain the love of truth, and make a lie, spoken or 
 acted, to be shrunk from with shame. It requires m tacu 
 the living recognition of a God of truth, and all the sanc- 
 tions of revealed religion. Unfortunately the Chinese 
 have not had these, and the example of him to whom 
 they bow down as the best and wisest of men, encourages 
 them to act, to dissemble, to sin. < _ 
 
 7 I go on to a brief discussion of Confucius views on 
 government, or wnat we may call _ his principles ot 
 political science. It could not be in his long Hferfewson 
 intercourse with his disciples but that he govemmen 
 should enunciate many maxims bearing on character and 
 morals generally, but he never rested in the improvement 
 of the individual. « The empire brought to a state ot 
 happy tranquillity " was the grand object which he de- 
 lighted to think of; that it might be brought about as 
 easily as " one can look upon the palm of his hand, was 
 the dream which it pleased him to indulge m. 2 He held 
 that there was in men an adaptation and readiness to be go- 
 verned, which only needed to be taken advantage ot m tne 
 proper way. There must be the right administrators, but 
 
 i Isaiah iii. 12. 2 Ana. III. xi., et ah 
 
104 CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTRINES. 
 
 given those, and "the growth of government would be 
 rapid, just as vegetation is rapid in the earth ; yea, their 
 government would display itself like an easily- growing 
 rush." x The same sentiment was common from the lips of 
 Mencius. Enforcing it one day, when conversing with one 
 of the petty princes of his time, he said in his peculiar style, 
 " Does your Majesty understand the way of the growing 
 grain ? During the seventh and eighth months, when 
 drought prevails, the plants become dry. Then the clouds 
 collect densely in the heavens, they send down torrents 
 of rain, and the grain erects itself as if by a shoot. When 
 it does so, who can keep it back ? " 2 Such, he contended, 
 would be the response of the mass of the people to any 
 true " shepherd of men." It maybe deemed unnecessary 
 that I should specify this point, for it is a truth applicable 
 to the people of all nations. Speaking generally, govern- 
 ment is by no device or cunning craftiness ; human nature 
 demands it. But in no other family of mankind is the 
 characteristic so largely developed as in the Chinese. 
 The love of order and quiet, and a willingness to submit 
 to " the powers that be," eminently distinguish them. 
 Foreign writers have often taken notice of this, and have 
 attributed it to the influence of Confucius' doctrines as 
 inculcating subordination ; but it existed previous to his 
 time. The character of the people moulded his system, 
 more than it was moulded by it. 
 
 This readiness to be governed arose, according to Con- 
 fucius, from the duties of universal obligation, or those be- 
 tween sovereign and minister, between father and son, 
 between husband and wife, between elder brother and 
 younger, and those belonging to the intercourse of friends." 3 
 Men as they are born into the world, and grow up in it, 
 find themselves existing in those relations. They are the 
 appointment of Heaven. And each relation has its reci- 
 procal obligations, the recognition of which is proper to the 
 Heaven- conferred nature. It only needs that the sacred- 
 ness of the relations be maintained, and the duties belong- 
 ing to them faithfully discharged, and the "happy tran- 
 quillity" will prevail all under heaven. As to the institu- 
 
 i Doctriue of the Mean, xx. 3. 2 Mencius, I. Pt I. vi. 6. 
 
 3 Doctrine of the Mean, xx. 8. 
 
INFLUENCE AND OPINIONS. 105 
 
 tions of government, the laws and arrangements by which, 
 as through a thousand channels, it should go forth to carry 
 plenty and prosperity through the length and breadth of 
 the country, it did not belong to Confucius, " the throne- 
 less king," to set them forth minutely. And indeed they 
 were existing in the records of " the ancient sovereigns." 
 Nothing new was needed. It was only requisite to pursue 
 the old paths, and raise up the old standards. " The go- 
 vernment of Wan and Woo," he said, " is displayed in the 
 records, — the tablets of wood and bamboo. Let there be 
 the men, and the government will nourish, but without the 
 men, the government decays and ceases." ! To the same 
 effect was the reply which he gave to Yen Hwuy when 
 asked by him how the government of a State should be 
 administered. It seems very wide of the mark, until we 
 read it in the light of the sage's veneration for ancient or- 
 dinances, and his opinion of their sufficiency. " Follow," 
 he said, ' ' the seasons of Hea. Ride in the state-carriages 
 of Yin. Wear the ceremonial cap of Chow. Let the music 
 be the Shaou with its pantomimes. Banish the songs of 
 Ch'ing, and keep far from specious talkers." 2 
 
 Confucius' idea then of a happy, well-governed State did 
 not go beyond the flourishing of the five relations of society 
 which have been mentioned ; and we have not any con- 
 densed exhibition from him of their nature, or of the duties 
 belonging to the several parties in them. Of the two first 
 he spoke frequently, but all that he has said on the others 
 would go into small compass. Mencius has said that ' ' be- 
 tween father and son, there should be affection; between 
 sovereign and minister, righteousness ; between husband 
 and wife, attention to their separate functions ; between 
 old and young, a proper order; and between friends, 
 fidelit}^." 3 Confucius, I apprehend, would hardly have 
 accepted this account. It does not bring out sufficiently 
 the authority which he claimed for the father and the 
 sovereign, and the obedience which he exacted from the 
 child and the minister. With regard to the relation of 
 husband and wife, he was in no respect superior to the 
 preceding sages who had enunciated their views of u pro- 
 
 1 Doctrine of the Mean, xx. 2. 3 Ana. XV. x, 
 
 3 Mencius, III. Pt I. iv. 8. 
 
106 CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTEINES. 
 
 pfiety" on the subject. We have a somewhat detailed 
 exposition of his opinions in the " Family Sayings/'' — 
 " Mail/' said he, " is the representative of Heaven, and 
 is supreme over all things. Woman yields obedience to 
 the instructions of man, and helps to carry out his 
 principles. On this account she can determine nothing 
 of herself, and is subject to the rule of the three obedi- 
 ences. When young, she must obey her father and 
 elder brother; when married, she must obey her hus- 
 band; when her husband is dead, she must obey her 
 son. She may not think of marrying a second time. No 
 instructions or orders must issue from the harem. 
 Woman's business is simply the preparation and supply- 
 ing of wine and food. Beyond the threshold of her 
 apartments she should not be known for evil or for good. 
 She may not cross the boundaries of the State to ac- 
 company a funeral. She may take no step on her own 
 motion, and may come to no conclusion on her own 
 deliberation. There are five women who are not to be 
 taken in marriage : — the daughter of a rebellious house ; 
 the daughter of a disorderly house ; the daughter of a 
 house which has produced criminals for more than one 
 generation; the daughter of a leprous house ; and the 
 daughter who has lost her father and elder brother. A 
 wife may be divorced for seven reasons, which may be 
 overruled by three considerations. The grounds for 
 divorce are disobedience to her husband's parents ; not 
 giving birth to a son; dissolute conduct; jealousy (of her 
 husband's attentions, that is, to the other inmates of his 
 harem) ; talkativeness ; and thieving. The three con- 
 siderations which may overrule these grounds are — first, 
 if, while she was taken from a home, she has now no 
 home to return to ; second, if she have passed with her 
 husband through the three years' mourniDg for his 
 parents ; third, if the husband have become rich from 
 being poor. All these regulations were adopted by the 
 sages in harmony with the natures of man and woman, 
 and to give importance to the ordinance of marriage." 
 
 With these ideas — not very enlarged — of the relations 
 of society, Confucius dwelt much on the necessity of per- 
 sonal correctness of character on the part of those in 
 authority, in order to secure the right fulfilment of the 
 
INFLUENCE AND OPINIONS. 107 
 
 duties implied in them. This is one grand peculiarity 
 of his teaching. I have adverted to it in the review of 
 "The Great Learning," but it deserves some further 
 exhibition, and there are three conversations with the 
 chief Ke K'ang, in which it is very expressly set forth. 
 " Ke K'ang asked about government, and Confucius 
 replied, f To govern means to rectify. If you lead on the 
 people with correctness, who will dare not to be correct V " 
 "Ke K'ang, distressed about the number of thieves in 
 the State, inquired of Confucius about how to do away 
 with them. Confucius said, ( If you, sir, were not covet- 
 ous, though you should reward them to do it, they 
 would not steal/ " " Ke K'ang asked about government, 
 saying, ' What do you say to killing the unprincipled for 
 the good of the principled ? ' Confucius replied, ' Sir, in 
 carrying on your government, why should you use killing at 
 all ? Let your .evinced desires be for what is good, and 
 the people will be good. The relation between superiors 
 and inferiors is like that between the wind and the 
 grass. The grass must bend, when the wind blows 
 across it.-' " l 
 
 Example is not so powerful as Confucius in these and 
 many other passages represented it, but its influence is 
 very great. Its virtue is recognized in the family, and it 
 is demanded in the Church of Christ. " A bishop " — and 
 I quote the term with the simple meaning of overseer — 
 "must be blameless." It seems to me, however, that in 
 the progress of society in the West we have come to think 
 less of the power of example in many departments of State 
 than we ought to do. It is thought of too little in the 
 army and the navy. We laugh at the " self-denying ordin- 
 ance " and the "new model" of 1644, but there lay 
 beneath them the principle which Confucius so broadly 
 propounded, — the importance of personal virtue in all who* 
 are in authority. Now that Great Britain is the govern- 
 ing power over the masses of India, and that we are 
 coming more and more into contact with tens of thou- 
 sands of the Chinese, this maxim of our sage is deserv- 
 ing of serious consideration from all who bear rule, and 
 especially from those on whom devolves the conduct of 
 
 l Analects, XII. xvii. j xviii. ; xix. 
 
108 CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTRINES. 
 
 affairs. His words on the susceptibility of the people to 
 be acted on by those above them, ought not to prove as 
 water spilt on the ground. 
 
 But to return to Confucius. — As he thus lays it down 
 that the mainspring of the well-being of society is the 
 personal character of the ruler, we look anxiously for what 
 directions he has given for the cultivation of that. But 
 here he is very defective. " Self-adjustment and purifi- 
 cation/' he said, "with careful regulation of his dress, 
 and the not making a movement contrary to the rules 
 of propriety ; — this is the way for the ruler to cultivate 
 his person." 1 This is laying too much stress on what 
 is external; but even to attain to this is beyond unas- 
 sisted human strength. Confucius, however, never recog- 
 nized a disturbance of the moral elements in the con- 
 stitution of man. The people would move, according to 
 him, to the virtue of their ruler as the grass bends to 
 the wind, and that virtue would come to the ruler at 
 his call. Many were the lamentations which he uttered 
 over the degeneracy of his times ; frequent were the con- 
 fessions which he made of his own shortcomings. It 
 seems strange that it never came distinctly before him, 
 that there is a power of evil in the prince and the peasant, 
 which no efforts of their own and no instructions of sages 
 are effectual to subdue. 
 
 The government which Confucius taught was a despot- 
 ism, but of a modified character. He allowed no "jus di- 
 vinum" independent of personal virtue and a benevolent 
 rule. He has not explicitly stated, indeed, wherein lies 
 the ground of the great relation of the governor and the 
 governed, but his views on the subject were, we may as- 
 sume, in accordance with the language of the Shoo-king: — 
 <e Heaven and Earth are the parents of all things, and of 
 all things men are the most intelligent. The man among 
 them most distinguished for intelligence becomes chief 
 ruler, and ought to prove himself the parent of the people." 2 
 And again, "Heaven, protecting the inferior people, has 
 constituted for them rulers and teachers, who should be 
 able to be assisting to God, extending favour and produc- 
 ing tranquillity throughout all parts of the empire/' 2 The 
 
 1 Doctrine of the Mean, xx. 14. 
 2 See the Shoo-king, V. i. Sect. I. 2, 7. 
 
INFLUENCE AND OPINIONS. 10£ 
 
 moment the ruler ceases to be a minister of God for good, 
 and does not administer a government that is beneficial to 
 the people, he forfeits the title by which he holds the throne, 
 and perseverance in oppression will surely lead to his over- 
 throw. Mencius inculcated this principle with a frequency 
 and boldness which are remarkable. It was one of the 
 things about which Confucius did not like to talk. Still 
 he held it. It is conspicuous in the last chapter of 
 " The Great Learning." Its tendency has been to 
 check the violence of oppression, and to maintain the self- 
 respect of the people, all along the course of Chinese 
 history. 
 
 I must bring these observations on Confucius' views of 
 government to a close, and I do so with two remarks. 
 First, they are adapted to a primitive, unsophisticated state 
 of society. He is a good counsellor for the father of a family, 
 the chief of a clan, and even the head of a small principality. 
 But his views want the comprehension which would make 
 them of much service in a great empire. Within three 
 centuries after his death, the government of China passed 
 into a new phase. The founder of the Ts'in dynasty con- 
 ceived the grand idea of abolishing all its feudal Kingdoms, 
 and centralizing their administration in himself. He ef- 
 fected the revolution, and succeeding dynasties adopted his 
 system, and gradually moulded it into the forms and pro- 
 portions which are now existing. There has been a tend- 
 ency to advance, and Confucius has all along been trying 
 to carry the nation back. Principles have been needed, 
 and not "proprieties." The consequence is that China has 
 increased beyond its ancient dimensions, while there has 
 been no corresponding development of thought. Its body 
 politic has the size of a giant, while it still retains the mind 
 of a child. Its hoary age is but senility. 
 
 Second, Confucius makes no provision for the intercourse 
 of his country with other and independent nations. He 
 knew indeed of none such. China was to him " The middle 
 Kingdom," " The multitude of Great States," " All under 
 heaven." Beyond it were only rude and barbarous tribes. 
 He does not speak of them bitterly, as many Chinese have 
 done since his time. In one place he contrasts them fa- 
 vourably with the prevailing anarchy of the empire, saying, 
 'The rude tribes of the east and north have their princes, 
 
 << 
 
110 CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTEINES. 
 
 and are not like the States of our great land which are with- 
 out them." 1 Another time, disgusted with the want of 
 appreciation which he experienced, he was expressing his 
 intention to go and live among the nine wild tribes of the 
 east. Some one said, " They are rude. How can you do 
 such a thing ?" His reply was, " If a superior man dwelt 
 among them, what rudeness would there be ?" 2 But had 
 he been an emperor- sage, he would not only have influenced 
 them by his instructions, but brought them to acknowledge 
 and submit to his sway, as the great Yu did. The only pas- 
 sage of Confucius' teachings from which any rule can be 
 gathered for dealing with foreigners, is that in the ( ' Doc- 
 trine of the Mean," where " indulgent treatment of men 
 from a distance " is laid down as one of the nine standard 
 rules for the government of the empire. But "the men from 
 a distance " are understood to be jpin and leu simply, — 
 " guests," that is, or officers of one State seeking employment 
 in another, or at the imperial court; and "visitors," or tra- 
 velling merchants. Of independent nations the ancient clas- 
 sics have not any knowledge, nor has Confucius. So long 
 as merchants from Europe and other parts of the world could 
 have been content to appear in China as suppliants, seek- 
 ing the jDrivilege of trade, so long the government would 
 have ranked them with the barbarous hordes of antiquity, 
 and given them the benefit of the maxim about " indulgent 
 treatment," according to its own understanding of it. 
 But when their governments interfered, and claimed to 
 treat with that of China on terms of equality, and that 
 their subjects should be spoken to and of as being of the 
 same clay with the Chinese themselves, an outrage was 
 committed on tradition and prejudice, which it was neces- 
 sary to resent with vehemence. 
 
 I do not charge the contemptuous arrogance of the 
 Chinese government and people upon Confucius ; what I 
 deplore is, that he left no principles on record to check 
 the development of such a spirit. His simple views of 
 society and government were in a measure sufficient for 
 the people, while they dwelt apart from the rest of man- 
 kind. His practical lessons were better than if they had 
 been left, which but for him they probably would have 
 
 1 Ana. III. v. 2 Ana. IX. xiii. 
 
INFLUENCE AND OPINIONS. Ill 
 
 been, to fell a prey to tlie influences of Taouism and Budd- 
 hism; but they could only subsist while they were left 
 alone. Of the earth earthy, China was sure to go to pieces 
 when it came into collision with a Christianly- civilized 
 power. Its sage had left it no preservative or restorative 
 elements against such a case. 
 
 It is a rude awakening from its complacency of centuries 
 which China has now received. Its ancient landmarks 
 are swept away. Opinions will differ as to the justice or 
 injustice of the grounds on which it has been assailed, and 
 I do not feel called to judge or to pronounce here concern- 
 ing them. In the progress of events, it could not be but 
 that the collision should come ; and when it did come, it 
 could not be but that China should be broken and scat- 
 tered. Disorganization will go on to destroy it more and 
 more, and yet there is hope for the people, with their 
 veneration of the relations of society, with their devotion 
 to learning, and with their habits of industry and so- 
 briety ; — there is hope for them, if they will look away 
 from all their ancient sages, and turn to Him, who sends 
 them, along with the dissolution of their ancient state, 
 the knowledge of Himself, the only living and true God, 
 and of Jesus Christ whom He hath sent. 
 
 8. I have little more to add on the opinions of Con- 
 fucius. Many of his sayings are pithy, and display much 
 knowledge of character ; but as they are contained in the 
 body of the Work, I will not occupy the space here with 
 a selection of those which have struck myself as most 
 worthy of notice. The fourth Book of the Analects, which 
 is on the subject ofjin, or perfect virtue, has several utter- 
 ances which are remarkable. 
 
 Thornton observes : — " It may excite surprise, and 
 probably incredulity, to state that the golden rule of our 
 Saviour, ' Do unto others as you would that they should 
 do unto you/ which Mr Locke designates as ' the most 
 unshaken rule of morality, and foundation of all social 
 virtue/ had been inculcated by Confucius, almost in the 
 same words, four centuries before. - " 1 I have taken notice 
 of this fact in reviewing both " The Great Learning/' and 
 "The Doctrine of the Mean," and would be far from 
 
 i History of China, vol. i. p. 209. 
 
112 CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTRINES. 
 
 grudging a tribute of admiration to Confucius for it. The 
 maxim occurs also twice in the Analects. In Book XV. 
 xxiii., Tsze-kung asks if there be one word which may 
 serve as a rule of practice for all one's life, and is an- 
 swered, " Is not reciprocity such a word ? What you do 
 not want done to yourself do not do to others." The 
 same disciple appears in Book V. xi., telling Confucius 
 that he was practising the lesson. He says, "What 
 I do not wish men to do to me, I also wish not to do 
 to men ; " but the master tells him, " Ts'ze, you have 
 not attained to that." It would appear from this reply, 
 that he was aware of the difficulty of obeying the 
 precept ; and it is not found, in its condensed expression 
 at least, in the older classics. The merit of it is Con- 
 fucius' own. 
 
 When a comparison, however, is drawn between it and 
 the rule laid down by Christ, it is proper to call attention 
 to the positive form of the latter, — "All things whatso- 
 ever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even 
 so to tkein." The lesson of the gospel. commands men to 
 do what they feel to be right and good. It requires them 
 to commence a course of such conduct, without regard to 
 the conduct of others to themselves. The lesson of Con- 
 fucius only forbids men to do what they feel to be wrong 
 and hurtful. So far as the point of priority is concerned, 
 moreover, Christ adds, " This is the law and the prophets." 
 The maxim was to be found substantially in the earlier re- 
 velations of God. 
 
 But the worth of the two maxims depends on the inten- 
 tion of the enunciators in regard to their application. 
 Confucius, it seems to me, did not think of the reciprocity 
 coming into action beyond the circle of his five relations of 
 society. Possibly, he might have required its observance 
 in dealings even with the rude tribes, which were the only 
 specimens of mankind besides his own countrymen of 
 which he knew anything, for on one occasion, when asked 
 about perfect virtue, he replied, " It is, in retirement, to 
 be sedately grave ; in the management of business, to be 
 reverently attentive ; in intercourse with others, to be 
 strictly sincere. Though a man go among the rude un- 
 cultivated tribes, these qualities may not be neglected." 1 
 
 1 Analects, XIII. xix. 
 
INFLUENCE AND OPINIONS. 113 
 
 Still, Confucius delivered his rule to his countrymen only, 
 and only for their guidance in their relations of which I 
 have had so much occasion to speak. The rule of Christ 
 is for man as man, having to do with other men, all with 
 himself on the same platform, as the children and subjects 
 of the one God and Father in heaven. 
 
 How far short Confucius came of the standard of Christian 
 benevolence, may be seen from his remarks when asked 
 what was to be thought of the principle that injury 
 should be recompensed with kindness. He replied, 
 " With what then will you recompense kindness ? Re- 
 compense injury with justice, and recompense kindness 
 with kindness.'"' l The same deliverance is given in one 
 of the Books of the Le Ke, where he adds that " He who 
 recompenses injury with kindness is a man who is" care- 
 ful of his person/'' Ch/ing Heuen, the commentator of 
 the second century, says that such a course would be 
 1 ' incowect in point of propriety. " This " propriety " 
 was a great stumbling-block in the way of Confucius. 
 His morality was the result of the balancings of his in- 
 tellect, fettered by the decisions of men of old, and not 
 the gushings of a loving heart, responsive to the prompt- 
 ings of Heaven, and in sympathy with erring and feeble 
 humanity. 
 
 This subject leads me on to the last of the opinions of 
 Confucius which I shall make the subject of remark in this 
 place. A commentator observes, with reference to the 
 inquiry about recompensing injury with kindness, that the 
 questioner was asking only about trivial matters, which 
 might be dealt with in the way he mentioned, while gpeat 
 offences, such as those against a sovereign or a father, could 
 not be dealt with by such an inversion of the principles of 
 justice. In the second Book of the Le Ke there is the 
 following passage : — " With the slayer of his father, a 
 man may not live under the same heaven ; against the 
 slayer of his brother, a man must never have to go home 
 to fetch a weapon ; with the slayer of his friend, a man 
 may not live in the same State. - " The lex talionis is here 
 laid down in its fullest extent. The Chow Le tells us of a 
 provision made against the evil consequences of the prin- 
 
 1 Ana. XXV. xxxvi. 
 vol. i. 8 
 
114 CONFUCIUS AND HIS DOCTRINES. 
 
 ciple, by the appointment of a minister called u The Recon- 
 ciler." The provision is very inferior to the cities of re- 
 fuge which were set apart by Moses for the manslayer to 
 flee to from the fury of the avenger. Such as it was, 
 however, it existed, and it is remarkable that Confucius, 
 when consulted on the subject, took no notice of it, but 
 affirmed the duty of blood-revenge in the strongest and 
 most unrestricted terms. His disciple Tsze-hea asked 
 him, " What course is to be pursued in the case of the 
 murder of a father or mother ? " He replied, " The son 
 must sleep upon a matting of grass, with his shield for his 
 pillow ; he must decline to take office ; he must not live 
 under the same heaven with the slayer. When he meets 
 him in the market-place or the court, he must have his 
 weapon ready to strike him." " And what is the course 
 on the murder of a brother ? " " The surviving brother 
 must not take office in the same State with the slayer; 
 yet if he go on his prince's service to the State where the 
 slayer is, though he meet him, he must not fight with 
 him." " And what is the course on the murder of an 
 uncle or a cousin ? " " In this case the nephew or cousin 
 is not the principal. If the principal on whom the revenge 
 devolves can take it, he has only to stand behind with his 
 weapon in his hand, and support him." 
 
 Sir John Davis has rightly called attention to this as 
 one of the objectionable principles of Confucius. 1 The 
 bad effects of it are evident even in the present day. Re- 
 venge is sweet to the Chinese. I have spoken of their 
 readiness to submit to government, and wish to live in 
 peace, yet they do not like to resign even to government 
 the " inquisition for blood." Where the ruling authority is 
 feeble, as it is at present, individuals and clans take the law 
 into their own hands, and whole districts are kept in a 
 state of constant feud and warfare. 
 
 But I must now leave the sage. I hope I have not 
 done him injustice ; but after long study of his character 
 and opinions, I am unable to regard him as a great man. 
 He was not before his age, though he was above the mass 
 of the officers and scholars of his time. He threw no new 
 light on any of the questions which have a world-wide 
 
 1 The Chinese, vol. II. p. 41. 
 
INFLUENCE AND OPINIONS. 115 
 
 interest. He gave no impulse to religion. He had no 
 sympathy with progress. His influence has been wonder- 
 ful, but it will henceforth wane. My opinion is, that the 
 faith of the nation in him will speedily and extensively 
 pass away. 
 
 8 * 
 
CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 
 
 — I ■ _ ■ m f*****m> 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. The Master said, " Is it not pleasant U&. 
 learn with a constant perseverance and application ? 
 
 2. "Is it not delightful to have friends coming from 
 distant quarters ? 
 
 3. " Is he not a man of complete virtue, who feels se 
 discomposure though men may take no note of him ? '* 
 
 Title of the Work. — Literally, " Discourses and Dialogues ; " that : 
 the discourses or discussions of Confucius with his disciples and others tsi 
 various topics, and his replies to their inquiries. Many chapters, howera^, 
 and one whole book, are the sayings, not of the sage himself, but of scaufe 
 of his disciples. The characters may also be rendered " Digested Conressa- 
 tions," and this appears to be the more ancient signification attached to- 
 them, the account being, that, after the death of Confucius, his disciples, 
 collected together and compared the memoranda of his conversations 
 which they had severally preserved, digesting them into the twenty bcciks? 
 which compose the work. I have styled the work " Confucian Analeet^,*" 
 as being more descriptive of its character than any other name I ccssM 
 think of. 
 
 Heading and subjects of this book. The two first character 
 literally, "To learn and — " after the introductory — "The Master 
 said," are adopted as its heading. This is similar to the custom of the Je^rs^ 
 who name many books in the Bible from the first word in them. In scab 
 of the books we find a unity or analogy of subjects, which evidently gunledl 
 the compilers in grouping the chapters together. Others seem devaafi 
 of any such principle of combination. The sixteen chapters of this boot ; 
 occupied, it is said, with the fundamental subjects which ought to en| 
 the attention of the learner, and the great matters of human practise. 
 The word " learn" rightly occupies the forefront in the studies d a^ 
 nation, of which its educational system has so long been the distinciiasa 
 and glory. 
 
 1. The whole work and achievement of the leaener, first per- 
 fecting his knowledge, then attracting by his fame likeminjxed 
 
 INDIVIDUALS, AND FINALLY COMPLETE IN HIMSELF. 1. "The Master" hsSter 
 
 is Confucius ; but if we render the original term by " Confucius," as all pie- 
 ceding translators have done, we miss the indication which it gives of the: 
 
or. n/] Confucian analects. 117 
 
 II. 1. Yew the philosopher said, " They are few who, 
 Ibeing filial and fraternal, are fond of offending against 
 t&eir superiors. There have been none, who, not liking 
 Go offend against their superiors, have been fond of stir- 
 ring up confusion. 
 
 2. *' The superior man bends his attention to what is 
 "E&dieal. That being established, all right practical courses 
 "waturally grow up. Filial piety and fraternal subniis- 
 tgmji 1 — are they not the root of all benevolent actions ? " 
 
 HI. The Master said, " Fine words and an insinuating 
 appearance are seldom associated with true virtue." 
 
 IV. Tsang the philosopher said, "1 daily examine 
 myself on three points : — whether, in transacting business 
 for others, I may have been not faithful ; — whether, in 
 intercourse with friends, I may have been not sincere ; — 
 ^whether I may have not mastered and practised the in- 
 structions of my teacher." 
 
 iactdlwork of his disciples, and the reverence which it bespeaks for him. 
 years ago, an able Chinese scholar published a collection of moral 
 igs by David, Solomon, Paul, Augustine, Jesus, Confucius, &c. To 
 : sayings of the others he prefixed their names, and to those of Confucius 
 phrase of the text, — " The Master said," thus telling his readers 
 he was himself a disciple of the sage, and exalting him above 
 wn, and every other name which he introduced, even above Jesus 
 ^■mself 1 
 
 "%. The " Friends " here are not relatives, nor even old and intimate ac- 
 'S^jsratances ; but individuals of the same style of mind as the subject of 
 paragraph, — students of truth and friends of virtue. 
 3. The " man of complete virtue " is, literally, " a princely man." The 
 5e is a technical one with Chinese moral writers, for which there is no 
 correspondency in English. We cannot always translate it in the 
 3S2ss.e way. 
 
 2. Filial piety and fraternal submission are the foundation of 
 i£L virtuous practice. 1. Yew was a native of Loo, and famed 
 4K@ag the other disciples of Confucius for his ..strong memory, and love 
 Skt the doctrines of antiquity. In personal appearance he resembled the 
 3R^3. See Mencius, III. Ft. II. iv. 13. There is a peculiarity in the 
 - u Yew, the philosopher/' the title following the surname, which 
 made some Chinese critics assign an important part in the com- 
 >n of the Analects to his disciples ; but the matter is too slight to 
 SarsM such a conclusion on. The tablet to Yew's spirit is in the same 
 g&jp&zrtment of the sage's temples as that of the sage himself, among the 
 *" wise ones" of his followers. 
 
 3L Fair appearances are suspicious. 
 
 4L 'How the philosopher Tsang dally examined himself, to 
 <3-&ia against his being guilty of any self-deception. Tsang 
 WB3*£Qeof the principal disciples of Confucius.- A follower of the sage 
 
118 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK I. 
 
 Y. The Master said, " To rule a country of a thousand 
 chariots, there must be reverent attention to business, and 
 sincerity; economy in expenditure, and love for the 
 people ; and the employment of them at the proper sea- 
 sons." 
 
 Yl. The Master said, f ' A youth, when at home, should 
 be filial, and, abroad, respectful to his elders. He should 
 be earnest and truthful. He should overflow in love to 
 all, and cultivate the friendship of the good. When he 
 has time and opportunity, after the performance of these 
 things, he should employ them in polite studies. " 
 
 YII. Tsze-hea said, "If a man withdraws his mind 
 from the love of beauty, and applies it as sincerely to the 
 love of the virtuous ; if, in serving his parents, he can 
 exert his utmost strength; if, in serving his prince, he can 
 devote his life ; if, in his intercourse with his friends, his 
 words are sincere : — although men say that he has not 
 learned, I will certainly say that he has.'" 
 
 from his 16th year, though inferior in natural ability to some others, by 
 his filial piety and other moral qualities he entirely won the Master'^ 
 esteem, and by persevering attention mastered his doctrines. Confucius 
 employed him in the composition of the Classic of Filial Piety. The au- 
 thorship of the "Great Learning " is also ascribed to him, though incor- 
 rectly, as we shall see. Ten books, moreover, of his composition are 
 preserved in the Le Ke. His spirit tablet, among the sage's four assessors, 
 has precedence of that of Mencius. There is the same peculiarity in the 
 designation of him here^ which I have pointed out under the last chapter 
 in connection with the style — " Yew, the philosopher ; " and a similar con- 
 clusion has been argued from it. 
 
 5. Fundamental principles for the government of a large 
 state. " A country of a thousand chariots " was one of the largest fiefs 
 of the empire, — a state which could bring such a force into the field. — 
 The last principle means that the people should not be called away from 
 their husbandry at improper seasons to do service on military expeditions 
 and public works. 
 
 6. Duty first and then accomplishments. " Polite duties " are not 
 literary studies merely, but all the accomplishments of a gentleman also: 
 ceremonies, music, archery, horsemanship, writing, and numbers. 
 
 7. Tsze-hea' s views of the substance of learning. Tsze-hea 
 was another of the sage's distinguished disciples, and now placed among 
 the " wise ones." He was greatly famed for his learning, and his views 
 on the She-king and the CJi l un Ts'erv are said to be preserved in the com- 
 mentary of Maou, and of Kung-yang Kaou, and Kuh-leang Ch'ih. He wept 
 himself blind on the death of his son, but lived to a great age, and was 
 much esteemed by the people and princes of the time. With regard to the 
 scope of this chapter, there is some truth in what the commentator Woo 
 
CH. VIII.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 119 
 
 VIII. 1. The Master said, "If the scholar be not 
 grave, he will not call forth any veneration, and his learn- 
 ing will not be solid. 
 
 2. "Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles. 
 
 3. "Have no friends not equal to yourself. 
 
 4. "When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them." 
 
 IX. Tsang the philosopher said, u Let there be a care- 
 ful attention to perform the funeral rites to parents when 
 dead, and let them be followed when long gone with the 
 ceremonies of sacrifice ; — then the virtue of the people will 
 resume its proper excellence." 
 
 X. 1. Tsze-k'in asked Tsze-kung, saying, " When our 
 Master comes to any country, he does not fail to learn all 
 about its government. Does he ask his information ? or 
 is it given to him ? " 
 
 2. Tsze-kung said, " Our Master is benign, upright, 
 courteous, temperate, and complaisant, and thus he gets 
 his information. The Master's mode of asking inform- 
 ation ! — is it not different from that of other men ? " 
 
 XI. The Master said, " While a man's father is alive, 
 look at the bent of his will ; when his father is dead, look 
 at his conduct. If for three years he does not alter from 
 the way of his father, he may be called filial." 
 
 says, — that Tsze-hea's words may be wrested to depreciate learning, while 
 those of the Master in the preceding chapter hit exactly the due medium. 
 
 8. Principles of self-cultivation. 
 
 9. The good effect of attention on the part of pkinces 
 to the offices to the dead : — an admonition of tsang sln. 
 This is a counsel to princes and all in authority. The effect which it is 
 supposed would follow from their following it is an instance of the influence 
 of example, of which so much is made by Chinese moralists. 
 
 10. Characteristics of Confucius, and their influence on 
 the princes of the time. 
 
 1. Tsze-k'in and Tsze-k'ang are designations of Ch'in K'ang, one of the 
 minor disciples of Confucius. His tablet is in the outer hall of the tem- 
 ples. A good story is related of him. On the death of his brother, his 
 wife and major-domo wished to bury some living persons with him, to 
 serve him in the regions below. The thing being referred to Tsze-k'in, he 
 proposed that the wife and steward should themselves submit to the im- 
 molation, which made them stop the matter. Tsze-kung, with the double 
 surname Twan-muh, and named Ts'ze, occupies a higher place in the 
 Confucian ranks, and is now among the "wise ones." He is conspicuous 
 in this work for his readiness and smartness in reply, and displayed on 
 several occasions practical and political ability. 
 
 11. On filial duty. It is to be understood that the way of the 
 
120 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK I. 
 
 XII. 1 . Yew the philosopher said, " In practising the 
 rules of propriety, a natural ease is to be prized. In the 
 ways prescribed by the ancient kings, this is the excellent 
 quality; and in things small and great we should thus 
 follow those rules. 
 
 2. " Yet it is not to be observed in all cases. If one, 
 knowing how such ease should be prized, manifests it, 
 without regulating it by the rules of propriety, this like- 
 wise is not to be done." 
 
 XIII. Yew the jmilosopher said, e ' When agreements 
 are made according to what is right, what is spoken can 
 be made good. When respect is shown according to 
 what is proper, one keeps far from shame and disgrace. 
 WTien the parties upon whom a man leans are proper per- 
 sons to be intimate with, he can make them his guides 
 and masters." 
 
 XIV. The Master said, " He who aims to be a man of 
 complete virtue, in his food does not seek to gratify his 
 appetite, nor in his dwelling-place does he seek the ap- 
 pliances of ease : he is earnest in what he is doing-, and 
 careful in his speech ; he frequents the company of men of 
 principle that he maybe rectified : — such a person may be 
 said indeed to love to learn." 
 
 XV. 1. Tsze-kung said, "What do you pronounce 
 concerning the poor man who yet does not flatter, and 
 the rich man who is not proud ? " The Master replied, 
 " They will do ; but they are not equal to him, who, 
 though poor, is yet cheerful, and to him, who, though rich, 
 loves the rules of propriety." S^Jt./ ~C€vw^ 
 
 father had not heen very had. An old interpretation, that the three years 
 are to he understood of the three years of mourning for the father, is now 
 rightly rejected. 
 
 12. In ceremonies a natural ease is to be prized, and vet 
 to be subordinate to the end of ceremonies, — the rever- 
 ENTIAL observance OF propriety. The term here rendered " rules of 
 propriety," is not easily rendered in another language. There underlies it 
 the idea of ivliat is proper. It is "the fitness of things," what reason 
 calls for in the performance of duties towards superior heings, and between 
 man and man. Our term " ceremonies" would come near its meaning here. 
 
 13. to save from future repentance, we must be careful 
 in our first steps. 
 
 14. With what mind one aiming to be a Keun-tsze pursues 
 his learning. 
 
 15. an illustration of the successive steps in self-culti- 
 
CK. XVI.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 121 
 
 2. Tsze-kung replied, (< It is said in the Book of Poetry, 
 'As you cut and then file, as you carve and then polish/ 
 — The meaning is the same, I apprehend, as that which 
 you have just expressed/'' 
 
 3. The Master said, " With one like Tsze, I can begin 
 to talk about the Odes. I told him one point, and he 
 knew its proper sequence/'' 
 
 XVI. The Master said, "I will not be afflicted at 
 men's not knowing me ; I will be afflicted that I do not 
 know men." 
 
 BOOK II. 
 
 Chapter I. The Master said, " He who exercises go- 
 vernment by means of his virtue, may be compared to the 
 north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars 
 turn towards it." 
 
 II. The Master said, " In the Book of Poetry are 
 three hundred pieces, but the design of them all may be 
 embraced in that one sentence — 'Have no depraved 
 thoughts/ " 
 
 VATION. 1. Tsze-kung had been poor, and then did not cringe. He be- 
 came rich, and was not proud. He asked Confucius about the style of 
 character to which he had attained. Confucius allowed its worth, but sent 
 him to higher attainments. 2. The ode quoted is the first of the songs 
 of Wei, praising the prince Woo, who had dealt with himself as an ivory- 
 worker who first cuts the bone, and then files it smooth ; or a lapidary whose 
 hammer and chisel are followed by all the appliances for smoothing 
 and polishing. See the She-king, Pt I. Bk v. i. 2. 
 
 16. Personal attainment should be our chief aim. 
 
 Heading and subjects of this Book. This second book contains 
 twenty-four chapters, and is named " The practice of government." That is 
 the object to which learning, treated of in the last book, should lead ; 
 and here we have the qualities which constitute, and the character of the 
 men who administer, good government. 
 
 1. The influence of virtue in a ruler. Choo He's view of 
 the comparison is that it sets forth the illimitable influence which virtue 
 in a ruler exercises without his using any effort. This is extravagant. 
 His opponents say that virtue is the polar star, and the various departments 
 of government the other stars. This is far-fetched. We must be content 
 to accept the vague utterance without minutely determining its meaning. 
 
 2. The pure design of the Book of Poetry. The number of 
 compositions in the She-king is rather more than the round number here 
 given. " Have no depraved thoughts," — see the She-king, IV. ii. 1. st. 4. 
 
122 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK II. 
 
 III. 1. The Master said, "If tlie people be led by 
 laws, and uniformity sought to be given them by punish- 
 ments, they will try to avoid the punishment, but have no 
 sense of shame. 
 
 2. " If they be led by virtue, and uniformity sought to 
 be given them by the rules of propriety, they will have 
 the sense of shame, and moreover will become good." 
 
 IV. 1. The Master said, " At fifteen, I had my mind 
 bent on learning. 
 
 2. "At thirty, I stood firm. 
 
 3. "At forty, I had no doubts. 
 
 4. "At fifty, I knew the decrees of heaven. 
 
 5. "At sixty, my ear was an obedient organ for the re- 
 ception of truth. 
 
 6. " At seventy, I could follow what my heart desired, 
 without transgressing what was right.'" 
 
 V. 1. Mang E asked what filial piety was. The Master 
 said, " It is not being disobedient/'' 
 
 2. Soon after, as Fan Ch/e was driving him, the Master 
 told him, saying, " Mang-sun asked me what filial piety 
 was, and I answered him — ' Not being disobedient/ " 
 
 The sentence there is indicative, and in praise of one of the dukes of Loo, 
 who had no depraved thoughts. The sage would seem to have heeu in- 
 tending his own design in compiling the She. Individual pieces are 
 calculated to have a different effect. 
 
 3. how rulers should prefer moral appliances. 
 
 4. Confucius' own account of his gradual progress and at- 
 tainments. Chinese commentators are perplexed with this chapter. 
 Holding of Confucius, that " He was born with knowledge, and did what 
 was right with entire ease," they say that he here conceals his sagehood, 
 and puts himself on the level of common men, to set before them a stimu- 
 lating example. We may believe that the compilers of the Analects, the 
 sage's immediate disciples, did not think of him so extravagantly as later 
 men have done. It is to be wished, however, that he had been more definite 
 and diffuse in his account of himself. 1. The " learning," to which, at the 
 age of fifteen, Confucius gave himself, is to be understood of the subjects 
 of the " Superior Learning." See Choo He's preliminary essay to the Ta 
 Heo. 2. The " standing firm " probably indicates that he no more needed 
 to bend his will. 3. The " no doubts " may have been concerning what was 
 proper in all circumstances and events. 4. " The decrees of Heaven," the 
 things decreed by Heaven, the constitution of things making what was 
 proper to be so. 5. " The ear obedient " is the mind receiving, as by intui- 
 tion, the truth from the ear. 
 
 5. Filial piety must be shown according to the rules of 
 propriety. 1. Mang E was a great officer of the state of Loo, by name 
 Ho-ke, and the chief of one of the three great families by which in the 
 
Cn. VI.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 123 
 
 3. Fan ClYe said, " What did you mean ? " The 
 Master replied, " That parents, when alive, should be 
 served according to propriety ; that when dead, they 
 should be buried according to propriety ; and that they 
 should be sacrificed to according to propriety." 
 
 VI. Mang Woo ashed what filial piety was. The 
 Master said, " Parents are anxious lest their children 
 should be sick/'' 
 
 VII. Tsze-yew asked what filial piety was. The Master 
 said, " The filial piety of now-a-days means the support 
 of one's parents. But dogs and horses likewise are able 
 to do something in the way of support \ — without rever- 
 ence, what is there to distinguish the one support given 
 from the other ? >} 
 
 VIII. Tsze-hea asked what filial piety was. The Mas- 
 ter said, " The difficulty is with the countenance. If, 
 when their elders have any troublesome affairs, the young* 
 take the toil of them, and if, when the young have wine 
 and food, they set them before their elders, is this to be 
 considered filial piety ? " 
 
 time of Confucius the authority of that state was grasped. Those families 
 were descended from three brothers, the sons by a concubine of the Duke 
 Hwan (B.C. 710 — 693). E. which means "mild and virtuous," was the 
 posthumous honorary title given to Ho-ke. Fan Ch'e was a minor dis- 
 ciple of the sage. Confucius repeated his remark to Fan, that he might 
 report the explanation of it to his friend Mang E, and thus prevent him 
 from supposing that all the sage intended was disobedience to parents. 
 
 6. The anxiety op parents about their children an argu- 
 ment FOR filial piety. This enigmatical sentence has been interpreted 
 in two ways. Choo He takes it thus : — " Parents have the sorrow of 
 thinking anxiously about their — i. e. their children's — being unwell. 
 Therefore children should take care of their persons." Tbe old commenta- 
 tors interpreted differently : in the sense of " only." " Let parents have only 
 the sorrow of their children's illness. Let them have no other occasion 
 for sorrow. This will be filial piety." Mang Woo (the hon. epithet= 
 " Bold and of straightforward principle,") was the son of Mang E, of the 
 last chapter. 
 
 7. HOW THERE MUST BE REVERENCE LN FILIAL DUTY. Tsze-yew was 
 
 the designation of Yen Yen, a native of Woo, and distinguished among the 
 disciples of Confucius for his knowledge of the rules of propriety, and 
 for his learning. He is now among the " wise ones." Choo He gives a 
 different turn to the sentiment. " But dogs and horses likewise manage 
 to get their support." The other and older interpretation is better. 
 
 8. The duties of filial piety must be performed with a 
 cheerful countenance. To the different interrogatories here recorded 
 about filial duty, the sage, we are told, made answer according to the cha- 
 racter of the questioner, as each one needed instruction. 
 
124 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK II. 
 
 IX. The Master said, " I have talked with Hwuy for 
 a whole day, and he has not made any objection to 
 anything I said ; — as if he were stupid. He has retired, 
 and I have examined his conduct when away from me, and 
 found him able to illustrate my teachings. Hwuy ! He is 
 not stupid." 
 
 X. 1. The Master said, " See what a man does. 
 
 2. " Mark his motives. 
 
 3. " Examine in what things he rests. 
 
 4. cc How can a man conceal his character ! 
 
 5. " How can a man conceal his character ! " 
 
 XI. The Master said, " If a man keeps cherishing his 
 ,old knowledge so as continually to be acquiring new, he 
 Imay be a teacher of others." 
 
 XII. The Master said, " The accomplished scholar is 
 not an utensil." 
 
 XIII. Tsze-kung asked what constituted the superior 
 ■ man. The Master said, " He acts before he speaks, and 
 I afterwards speaks according to his actions." 
 
 XI V. The Master said, " The superior man is catholic 
 and no partizan. The mean man is a partizan and not 
 catholic." 
 
 XV. The Master said, " Learning without thought is 
 labour lost; thought without learning is perilous/' 
 
 XVI. The Master said, "The study of strange doc- 
 trines is injurious indeed ! " 
 
 9. The quiet receptivity of the disciple Hwuy. Yen Hwuy 
 was Confucius' favourite disciple, and is now honoured with the first place 
 east among his four assessors in his temples, with the title of " The second 
 sage, the philosopher Yen." At the age of twenty-nine, his hair was entirely 
 white ; and at thirty-three, he died, to the excessive grief of the sage. 
 
 10. How to determine the characters op men. 
 
 11. TO BE ABLE TO TEACH OTHERS ONE MUST FROM HIS OLD 
 STORES BE CONTINUALLY DEVELOPING- THINGS NEW. 
 
 12. The general aptitude of the Superior Man. This is not like 
 our English saying, that " such a man is a machine," — a blind instrument. 
 An utensil has its particular use. It answers for that and no other. Not 
 so with the superior man, who is ad omnia paratus. 
 
 13. How WITH the superior man words follow actions. The 
 reply is literally : " He first acts his words, and afterwards follows them." 
 
 14. The difference between the superior man and the small 
 MAN. The sentence is this — " With the superior man, it is principles not 
 men ; with the small man, the reverse." 
 
 15. In learning, reading and thought must be combined. 
 
 16. Strange doctrines are not to be studied. In Confucius' time 
 
CH. XVII.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 125 
 
 XVII. The Master said, " Yew, shall I teach you what 
 knowledge is ? When you know a thing, to hold that you 
 know it ; and when you do not know a thing, to allow 
 that you do not know it ; — this is knowledge/'' 
 
 XVIII. 1. Tsze-chang was learning with a view to 
 official emolument. 
 
 2. The Master said/; c< Hear much and put aside the 
 points of which you stand in doubt, while you speak cau- 
 tiously at the same time of the others : — then you will 
 afford few occasions for blame. See much and put aside 
 the things which seem perilous, while you are cautious at 
 the same time in carrying the others into practice : — then 
 you will have few occasions for repentance. When one 
 gives few occasions for blame in his words, and few occa- 
 sions for repentance in his conduct, he is in the way to 
 get emolument/' 
 
 XIX. The Duke Gae asked, saying, " What should be 
 done in order to secure the submission of the people '■ 
 Confucius replied, "Advance the upright and set aside 
 the crooked, then the people will submit. Advance the 
 crooked and set aside the upright, then the people will not 
 submit/'' 
 
 Buddhism was not in China, and we can hardly suppose him to intend 
 Taouism. Indeed, we are ignorant to what doctrines he referred, but his 
 maxim is of general application. 
 
 17. There should be no pretence in the profession or know- 
 ledge, or the denial op ignorance. Yew, by surname Chung, 
 and generally known by his designation of Tsze-loo, was one of the most 
 famous disciples of Confucius, and now occupies in the temples the fourth 
 place east in the sage's own hall, among the " wise ones." He was noted for 
 his courage and forwardness, a man of impulse rather than reflection. 
 Confucius had foretold that he would come to an untimely end, and so it 
 happened. He was killed through his own rashness in a revolution in the 
 state of "Wei. The tassel of his cap being cut off when he received his 
 death-wound, he quoted a saying — " The superior man must not die with- 
 out his cap," tied on the tassel, adjusted the cap, and expired. 
 
 18. The end in learning should be one's own improvement, 
 and NOT emolument. Tzse-chang, named Sze, with the double surname 
 Chuen-sun, a native of Ch'in, was not undistinguished in the Confucian 
 school. Tsze-kung praised him as a man of merit without boasting, hum- 
 ble in a high position, and not arrogant to the helpless. From this chapter, 
 however, it would appear that inferior motives did sometimes rule him. 
 
 19. How A prince by the right employment of his officers 
 
 MAY SECURE THE REAL SUBMISSION OF HIS SUBJECTS. Gae was the 
 
 honorary epithet of Tseang, Duke of Loo (b.c 494 — 3G7). Confucius died in 
 his sixteenth year. According to the laws for posthumous titles, Gae denotes 
 
126 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK II. 
 
 XX. Ke K'ang asked how to cause the people to rever- 
 ence their ruler, to be faithful to kini, and to urge them- 
 selves to virtue. The Master said, " Let him preside over 
 them with gravity; — then they will reverence him. Let 
 him be filial and kind to all • — then they will be faithful 
 to him. Let him advance the good and teach the incom- 
 petent ; — then they will eagerly seek to be virtuous." 
 
 XXI. 1. Some one addressed Confucius, saying, "Sir, 
 why are you not engaged in the government ? " 
 
 2. The Master said, " What does the Shoo-king say of 
 filial piety ? — ' You are filial, you discharge your brotherly 
 duties. These qualities are displayed in government.'' 
 This then also constitutes the exercise of government. 
 Why must' there be that to make one be in the govern- 
 ment ? " 
 
 XXII. The Master said, ' ' I do not know how a man 
 without truthfulness is to get on. How can a large car- 
 riage be made to go without the cross bar for yoking the 
 oxen to, or a small carriage without the arrangement for 
 yoking the horses ? " 
 
 XXIII. 1. Tsze-chang asked whether the affairs of ten 
 ages after could be known. 
 
 u the respectful and benevolent, early cut off," and Duke Gae, " The to- 
 be-lamented duke." 
 
 20. Example en superiors is more powerful than force. K'ang, 
 " easy and pleasant, people-soother," was the honorary epithet of Ke-sun 
 Fei, the head of one of the three great families of Loo ; see ch. 5. His 
 idea is seen in " to cause," the power of force ; that of Confucius appears 
 in " then," the power of influence. 
 
 21. Confucius' explanation of his not being in any office. 1. 
 " Confucius " is here " K'ung, the philosopher," the surname indicating 
 that the questioner was not a disciple. He had his reason for not being in 
 office at the time, but it was not expedient to tell. He replied, therefore, 
 as in par. 2. See the Shoo-king, v. xxi. 1. But the text is neither cor- 
 rectly applied nor exactly quoted. A western may think that the philoso- 
 pher might have made a happier evasion. 
 
 22. The necessity to a man of being truthful and sincere. 
 
 23. The great principles governing society are unchange- 
 able. 1 . Confucius made no pretension to supernatural powers, and all 
 commentators are agreed that the things here asked about were not what 
 we would call contingent or indifferent events. He merely says that the 
 great principles of morality and relations of society had continued the same, 
 and would ever do so. 2. The Hea, Yin, and Chow, are now spoken of 
 as the " Three dynasties," literally, " The three Changes." The first em- 
 peror of the Hea was " The great Yu," B.C. 2204 ; of the Yin, T'ang, B.C. 
 1765 ; and of Chow, Woo, B.C. 1121. 
 
CH. XXIV.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 127 
 
 2. Confucius said, "The Yin dynasty followed the 
 regulations of the Hea : wherein it took from or added 
 to them may be known. The Chow dynasty has followed 
 the regulations of the Yin : wherein it took from or added 
 to them may be known. Some other may follow the Chow, 
 but though it should be at the distance of a hundred 
 ages, its affairs may be known." 
 
 XXIV. 1. The Master said, "For a man to sacrifice 
 to a spirit which does not belong to him is flattery." 
 
 2. "To see what is right and not to do it, is want of 
 courage." 
 
 BOOK III. 
 
 Chaptee I. Confucius said of the head of the Ke family, 
 who had eight rows of pantomimes in his area, " If he can 
 bear to do this, what may he not bear to do ? " 
 
 II. The three families used the yung ode, while the 
 vessels were being removed, at the conclusion of the sac- 
 
 24. Neither in sacrifice nor in other practice may a man do 
 anything- BUT what is right. The spirits of which a man may say 
 that they are his, are those only of his ancestors, and to them only he may 
 sacrifice. The ritual of China provides for sacrifices to three classes of ob- 
 jects—" Spirits of heaven, of the earth, of men." This chapter is not 
 to be extended to all the three. It has reference only to the manes of 
 departed men. 
 
 Heading and subjects of this book. The last book treated of 
 the practice of government, and therein no things, according to Chinese 
 ideas, are more important than ceremonial rites and music. With those 
 topics, therefore, the twenty-six chapters of this book are occupied, and 
 " eight rows," the principal words in the first chapter, are adopted as its 
 heading. 
 
 1. Confucius' indignation at the usurpation of imperial 
 kites. These dancers, or pantomimes rather, kept time in the temple ser- 
 vices, in the front space before the raised portion in the principal hall, 
 moving or brandishing feathers, flags, or other articles. In his ancestral 
 temple, the Emperor had eight rows, each row consisting of eight men ; a 
 duke or prince had six, and a great officer only four. For the Ke, there- 
 fore, to use eight rows was a usurpation, for though it may be argued, that to 
 the ducal family of Loo imperial rites were conceded, and that the off- 
 shoots of it might use the same, still great officers were confined to 
 the ordinances proper to their rank. Confucius' remark may also be 
 translated, " If this be endured, what may not be endured ? ' 
 
 2. Again against usurped rites. The three families assembled to- 
 gether as being the descendants of Duke Hwan in one temple. To 
 
128 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK III* 
 
 rijice. The Master said, " ' Assisting are the princes ; — 
 the Emperor looks profound and grave : ' — what applica- 
 tion can these words have in the hall of the three 
 families ? " 
 
 III. The Master said, " If a man be without the vir- 
 tues proper to humanity, what has he to do with the rites 
 of propriety ? If a man be without the virtues proper to 
 humanity, what has he to do with music ? " 
 
 IV. 1. Lin Fang asked what was the first thing to 
 be attended to in ceremonies. 
 
 2. The Master said, a A great question indeed ! " 
 
 3. " In festive ceremonies it is better to be sparing than 
 extravagant. In the ceremonies of mourning it is better 
 that there be deep sorrow than a minute attention to 
 observances." 
 
 V. The Master said, " The rude tribes of the east and 
 north have their princes, and are not like the States of our 
 great land which are without them/'' 
 
 VI. The chief of the Ke family was about to sacrifice 
 to the T'ae mountain. The Master said to Yen Yew, 
 " Can you not save him from this ? " He answered, " I 
 cannot." Confucius said, " Alas ! will you say that the 
 T'ae mountain is not so discerning as Lin Fang ? 
 
 )} 
 
 this temple belonged the area in the last chapter, which is called the area 
 of the Ke, because circumstances had concurred to make the Ke the chief of 
 the three families. For the Yung ode, see the She-king, V. Bk II. vii. 1. 
 It was properly sung in the imperial temples of the Chow dynasty, at the 
 " clearing away " of the sacrificial apparatus, and contains the lines quoted 
 by Confucius, which of course were quite inappropriate to the circum- 
 stances of the three families. 
 
 3. Ceremonies and music vain without virtue. 
 
 4. The object of ceremonies should regulate them, against 
 formalism. Lin Fang was a man of Loo, supposed to have been a dis- 
 ciple of Confucius, and whose tablet is now placed in the outer court of 
 the temples. He is known only by the question in this chapter. 
 
 5. The anahchy of Confucius' time. 
 
 6. On the folly of usurped sacrifices. The T'ae mountain is the 
 first of the " five mountains " which are celebrated in Chinese literature, 
 and have always received religious honours. It was in Loo, or rather on 
 the borders between Loo and Ts'e, about two miles north of the present 
 district city of T'ae-gan, in the department of Tse-nan, in Shan-tung. 
 According to the ritual of China, sacrifice could only be offered to 
 these mountains by the emperor, and princes in whose States any of 
 them happened to be. For the chief of the Ke family, therefore, to 
 sacrifice to the T'ae mountain was a great usurpation. Yen Yew 
 
CH. VII.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 129 
 
 VII. The Master said, " The Student of virtue has no 
 contentions. If it be said he cannot avoid them, shall 
 this be in archery ? But he bows complaisantly to his 
 competitors; thus he ascends the platform, descends, and 
 exacts the forfeit of drinking. In his contention, he is 
 still the Keun-tsze." 
 
 VIII. 1. Tsze-hea asked, saying, " What is the mean- 
 ing of the passage — ' The loveliness of her artful smile ' 
 The well-defined black and white of her fine eyes ! The 
 plain ground for the colours ' V 3 
 
 2. The Master said, " The business of laying on the 
 colours follows the preparation of the plain ground." 
 
 3. " Ceremonies then are a subsequent thing!" The 
 Master said, "It is Shang who can bring out my mean- 
 ing ! Now I can begin to talk about the odes with him." 
 
 IX. The Master said, " I am able to describe the cere- 
 monies of the Hea dynasty, but Ke cannot sufficiently at- 
 test mv words. I am able to describe the ceremonies of 
 the Yin dynasty, but Sung cannot sufficiently attest my 
 words. They cannot do so because of the insufficiency of 
 their records and wise men. If those were sufficient, I 
 could adduce them in support of my words." 
 
 was one of the disciples of Confucius, and is now third among the " wise 
 ones " on the west.^ He was a man of ability and resources, and on one 
 occasion proved himself a brave soldier. 
 
 7. The superior man avoids all contentious striving. In Con- 
 fucius' time there were three principal exercises of archery : — the great 
 archery, under the eye of the emperor ; the guests' archery, at the visits of 
 the princes among themselves or at the imperial court ; and the festive 
 archery. The regulations for the archers were substantially the same in 
 them all. Every stage of the trial was preceded by " bowings and 
 yieldings," making the whole an exhibition of courtesies and not of 
 contention. 
 
 8. Ceremonies are secondary and ornamental. The sentences 
 quoted by Tsze-hea are from an old ode, one of those which Confucius did 
 not admit into the She-king. The two first lines, however, are found in it, 
 I. v. 3. The disciple's inquiry turns on the meaning of the last line, which 
 he took to be : " The plain ground is to be regarded as the colouring ; " 
 but Confucius, in his reply, corrects his error. 
 
 9. The decay op the monuments op antiquity. Of Hea and Yin, 
 see II. 23. In the small state of Ke (what is now the district of the same 
 name in K'ae-fung department in Ho-nan), the sacrifices to the emperors of 
 the Hea dynasty were maintained by their descendants. So with the Yin 
 dynasty and Sung, also a part of the present Ho-nan. But the "literary 
 monuments " of those countries, and their " wise men " had become few. 
 Had Confucius therefore delivered all his knowledge about the two dy- 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
130 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK III. 
 
 X. The Master said, " At the great sacrifice, after the 
 pouring out of the libation, I have no wish to look on." 
 
 XI. Some one asked the meaning of the great sacri- 
 fice. The Master said, " I do not know. He who knew 
 its meaning would find it as easy to govern the empire as 
 to look on this ; " — pointing to his palm. 
 
 XII. 1. He sacrificed to the dead, as if they were pre- 
 sent. He sacrificed to the spirits, as if the spirits were 
 present. 
 
 2. The Master said, " I consider my not being present 
 at the sacrifice, as if I did not sacrifice." 
 
 XIII. 1. Wang-sun Kea asked, saying, "What is the 
 meaning of the saying, ' It is better to pay court to the 
 furnace than to the south-west corner ' ? u 
 
 2. The Master said, "Not so. He who offends against 
 Heaven has none to whom he can pray." 
 
 nasties, he would have exposed his truthfulness to suspicion, which he would 
 not do. We see from the chapter how in the time of Confucius many 
 of the records of antiquity had perished. 
 
 10. The sage's dissatisfaction at the want of peopeiety of 
 AND in ceeemonies. The " great sacrifice " here spoken of could pro- 
 perly be celebrated only by the emperor. The individual sacrificed to in 
 it was the remotest ancestor from whom the founder of the reigning dynasty 
 traced his descendant. As to who were his assessors in the sacrifice, and 
 how often it was offered ; — these are disputed points. An imperial rite, its 
 use in Loo was wrong (see next chapter), but there was something in the 
 service after the early act of libation inviting the descent of the spirits, 
 which more particularly moved the anger of Confucius. 
 
 11. The peofound meaning- of the geeat saceifice. This chapter 
 is akin to ii. 21. Confucius evades replying to his questioner, it being 
 contrary to Chinese propriety to speak in a country of the faults of its 
 government or rulers. If he had entered into an account of the sacrifice, 
 he must have condemned the use of an imperial rite in Loo. 
 
 12. Confucius' own sinceeity in saceificing. By " the dead " 
 we are to understand Confucius' own forefathers, by iC the spirits" other 
 spirits to whom in his official capacity he had to sacrifice. 
 
 13. That theee is no eesouece against the consequences of 
 violating the eight. 1. Kea was a great officer of Wei, and having the 
 power of the state in his hands, insinuated to Confucius that it would be for 
 his advantage to pay court to him. The south-west corner was from the 
 structure of ancient houses the cosiest nook, and the place of honour. 
 Choo He explains the proverb by reference to the customs of sacrifice. 
 The furnace was comparatively a mean place, but when the spirit of the 
 furnace was sacrificed to, then the rank of the two place* was changed for 
 the time, and the proverb quoted was in vogue. But there does not seem 
 much force in this explanation. The door, or well, or any other of the 
 
CH. XIV.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 131 
 
 XIY. The Master said, " Chow had the advantage of 
 viewing the two past dynasties. How complete and ele- 
 gant are its regulations ! I follow Chow." 
 
 XV. The Master, when he entered the grand temple, 
 asked about everything. Some said, ' ' Who will say that 
 the son of the man of Tsow knows the rules of propriety? 
 He has entered the grand temple and asks about every- 
 thing." The Master heard the remark, and said, " This 
 is a rule of propriety." 
 
 XVI. The Master said, " In archery it is not going 
 through the leather which is the principal thing ; — because 
 people's strength is not equal. This was the old way." 
 
 XVII. 1. Tsze-kung wished to do away with the offer- 
 ing of a sheep connected with the inauguration of the 
 first day of each month. 
 
 2. The Master said, " Tsze, you love the sheep ; I love 
 the ceremony." 
 
 five things in the regular sacrifices, might take the place of the furnace. 
 2. Confucius' reply was in a high tone. Choo He says, " Heaven 
 means principle." But why should Heaven mean principle, if there were 
 not in such a use of the term an instinctive recognition of a supreme 
 government of intelligence and righteousness ? "We find the term explained 
 by " The lofty one who is on high." 
 
 14. The completeness and elegance of the institutions of the 
 Chow dynasty. 
 
 15. Confucius in the grand temple. " The grand temple" was the 
 temple dedicated to the famous Duke of Chow, and where he was worship- 
 ped with imperial rites. The thing is supposed to have taken place at the 
 beginning of Confucius' official service in Loo, when he went into the 
 temple with other officers to assist at the sacrifice. He had studied all 
 about ceremonies, and was famed for his knowledge of them, but he 
 thought it a mark of sincerity and earnestness to make minute inquiries 
 about them on the occasion spoken of. Tsow was the name of the town in 
 Loo, of which Confucius' father had been governor, who was known there- 
 fore as " the man of Tsow." We may suppose that Confucius would be 
 styled as in the text, only in his early life, or by very ordinary people. 
 
 16. HOW THE ANCIENTS MADE AECHERY A DISCIPLINE OF VIRTUE. 
 
 17. How Confucius cleaved to ancient rites. The emperor in 
 the last month of the year gave out to the princes a calendar for the first 
 days of the twelve months of the year ensuing. This was kept in their 
 ancestral temples, and on the first of every month they offered a sheep and 
 announced the day, requesting sanction for the duties of the month. The 
 dukes of Loo neglected now their part of this ceremony, but the sheep was 
 still offered : — a meaningless formality, it seemed to Tsze-kung. Con-- 
 fucius, however, thought tbat while any part of the ceremony was retainedj 
 there was a better chance of restoring the whole. 
 
 9 * 
 
132 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK III. 
 
 XVIII. The Master said, " The full observance of the 
 rules of propriety in serving one's prince is accounted by 
 people to be flattery." 
 
 XIX. The Duke Ting asked how a prince should em- 
 ploy his ministers, and how ministers should serve their 
 prince. Confucius replied, " A prince should employ his 
 ministers according to the rules of propriety ; ministers 
 should serve their prince with faithfulness." 
 
 XX. The Master said, " The Kwan Ts'eu is expressive 
 of enjoyment without being licentious, and of grief with- 
 out being hurtfully excessive." 
 
 XXI. 1. The Duke G-ae asked Tsae Wo about the altars 
 of the spirits of the land. Tsae Wo replied, " The Hea 
 sovereign used the pine tree ; the man of the Yin used 
 the cypress ; and the man of the Chow used the chestnut 
 tree, meaning thereby to cause the people to be in awe." 
 
 2. When the Master heard it, he said, " Things that 
 are done, it is needless to speak about ; things that have 
 had their course, it is needless to remonstrate about ; 
 things that are past, it is needless to blame." 
 
 XXII. 1 . The Master said, ' ' Small indeed was the capa- 
 city of Kwan Chung ! " 
 
 18. HOW PRINCES SHOULD BE SERVED. AGAINST THE SPIRIT OF THE 
 TIMES. 
 
 19. The guiding principles ln the regulation of prince and 
 minister. Ting, " Greatly anxious, tranquillizer of the people," was the 
 posthumous epithet of Sung, Prince of Loo, B.C. 508 — 494. 
 
 20. The praise of the first of the odes. Kwan Ts'eu is the 
 name of the first ode in the She-king, and may be translated, — " Kwan 
 Kwan go the King-ducks." 
 
 21. A RASH REPLY OF TSAE WO ABOUT THE ALTARS TO THE SPIRITS 
 
 OF THE LAND, AND LAMENT OF CONFUCIUS THEREON. 1. King Gae, See 
 
 II. xix. Tsae Wo was an eloquent disciple of the sage, a native of Loo. 
 His place is among the " wise ones." He tells the duke that the founders 
 of the several dynasties planted such and such trees about the altars. The 
 reason was that the soil suited such trees ; but as the word for the chest- 
 nut tree, the tree of the existing dynasty, is used in the sense of " to be 
 afraid," he suggested a reason for its planting which might lead the duke 
 to severe measures against his people to be carried into effect at the altars. 
 Compare Shoo-king, III. ii. 5, " I will put you to death before the altar to 
 the spirit of the land." 2. This is all directed against Wo's reply. He 
 had spokeu, and his words could not be recalled. 
 
 22. Confucius' opinion of Kwan Chung; — against him. l.Kwan 
 Chung is one of the most famous names in Chinese history. He was chief 
 minister to the Duke Hwan of Ts'e (B.C. 683 — 642), the first and great- 
 est of the five j/ l a leaders of the princes of the empire under the Chow 
 
CH. XXIII.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 133 
 
 2. Some one said, " Was Kwan Chung parsimonious ? " 
 "Kwan," was the reply, "had the San Kwei, and his 
 officers performed no double duties ; how can he be con- 
 sidered parsimonious ? " 
 
 3. " Then, did Kwan Chung know the rules of pro- 
 priety ? " The Master said, ' l The princes of States have 
 a screen intercepting the view at their gates. Kwan had 
 likewise a screen at his gate. The princes of States on 
 any friendly meeting between two of them, had a stand on 
 which to place their inverted cups. Kwan had also such 
 a stand. If Kwan knew the rules of propriety, who does 
 not know them ? " 
 
 XXIII. The Master instructing the Grand music-master 
 of Loo said, " How to play music may be known. At the 
 commencement of the piece, all the parts should sound 
 together. As it proceeds, they should be in harmony, 
 while severally distinct and yet flowing without break ; 
 and thus on to the conclusion. - " 
 
 XXIV. The border- warden at E requested to be intro- 
 duced to the Master, saying, "When men of superior 
 virtue have come to this, I have never been denied the 
 privilege of seeing them. - " The followers of the sage' in- 
 troduced him, and when he came out from the interview, 
 he said, " My friends, why are you distressed by your 
 master's loss of office ? The empire has long been with- 
 out the principles of truth and right ; Heaven is going 
 to use your master as a bell with its wooden tongue."" 
 
 XXV. The Master said of the Shaou that it was per- 
 
 dynasty. In the times of Confucius and Mencius, people thought more 
 of Kwan than those sages, no hero-worshippers, would allow. Most 
 foreign readers, however, in studying the history of Kwan's times, will 
 hesitate in adopting the sage's judgment about him. He rendered great 
 services to his State and to China. 
 
 23. On the playing of music. 
 
 24. A stranger's view of the vocation of Confucius. E was a 
 gmall town on the borders of Wei, referred to a place in the present district 
 of Lan-Yang, department K'ae-fung, Honan province. Confucius was retir- 
 ing from Wei, the prince of which could not employ him. The " wooden - 
 tongued bell" was a metal bell with a wooden tongue, shaken to call at- 
 tention to announcements, or along the ways to call people together. 
 Heaven, the warden thought, would employ Confucius to proclaim and 
 call men's attention to the truth and right. 
 
 25. The comparative merits of the music of Shun and Woo. 
 Shaou was the name of the music made by Shun, perfect in melody and 
 
134 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK IV. 
 
 fectly beautiful and also perfectly good. He said of the 
 Woo that it was perfectly beautiful but not perfectly good. 
 XXVI. The Master said, u High station filled without 
 indulgent generosity ; ceremonies performed without re- 
 verence ; mourning conducted without sorrow ; — where- 
 with should I contemplate such ways ? " 
 
 BOOK IY. 
 
 Chapter I. The Master said, (C It is virtuous manners 
 which constitute the excellence of a neighbourhood. If 
 a man in selecting a residence do not fix on one where 
 such prevail, how can he be wise ? w 
 
 II. The Master said, " Those who are without virtue 
 cannot abide long either in a condition of poverty and 
 hardship, or in a condition of enjoyment. The virtuous 
 rest in virtue ; the wise desire virtue." 
 
 III. The Master said, " It is only the truly virtuous 
 man who can love, or who can hate, others/' 
 
 IV. The Master said, " If the will be set on virtue, 
 there will be no practice of wickedness." 
 
 V. 1. The Master said, "Riches and honours are what 
 men desire. If it cannot be obtained in the proper way, 
 they should not be held. Poverty and meanness are what 
 
 sentiment. Woo was the music of King Woo, also perfect in melody, but 
 breathing the martial air, indicative of its author. 
 
 26. The disregard of what is essential vitiates all services. 
 
 Heading and subjects of this Book. — "Virtue in a neighbourhood." 
 The book is mostly occupied with the subject of jin, which is generally 
 translated by " benevolence." That sense, however, will by no means suit 
 many of the chapters here, and we must render it by " perfect virtue " or 
 "virtue." See II. i. 2. The embodiment of virtue demands an acquaint- 
 ance with ceremonies and music, and this is the reason, it is said, why the 
 one subject immediately follows the other. 
 
 1. Rules for the selection of a residence. 
 
 2. Only true virtue adapts a man for the varied conditions 
 
 OF LIFE. 
 
 3. Only ■ in the good man are emotions of love and hatred 
 RIGHT. This chapter, containing an important truth, is incorporated 
 with the Great Learning, comm. X. 15. 
 
 4. The virtuous will preserves from all wickedness. Compare 
 the apostle's sentiment, 1 John iii. 9, " Whosoever is born of God doth 
 not commit sin." * . 
 
 5. The devotion of the Keun-tsze to virtue. 
 
CH. VI.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 135 
 
 nien dislike. If it cannot be obtained in the proper way, 
 they should not be avoided. 
 
 2. " If a superior man abandon virtue,, how can he ful- 
 fil the requirements of that name ? 
 _ 3. " The superior man does not, even for the space of a 
 single meal, act contrary to virtue. In moments of haste, 
 he cleaves to it. In seasons of danger, he cleaves to it." 
 
 VI. 1 . The Master said, " I have not seen a person 
 who loved virtue, or one who hated what was not virtuous. 
 He who loved virtue would esteem nothing above it. He 
 who hated what is not virtuous, would practise virtue in 
 such a way that he would not allow anything that is not 
 virtuous to approach his person. 
 
 2. " Is any one able for one day to apply his strength 
 to virtue ? I have not seen the case in which his strength 
 would be insufficient. 
 
 3. " Should there possibly be any such case, I have 
 not seen it." 
 
 VII. The Master said, " The faults of men are cha- 
 racteristic of the class to which they belong. By observ- 
 ing a man's faults, it may be known that he is virtuous." 
 
 VIII. The Master said, " If a man in the moraine hear 
 the right way, he may die in the evening without regret." 
 
 IX. The Master said, « A scholar, whose mind is set 
 
 6. A LAMENT BECAUSE OF THE EAEITY OF THE LOVE OF VIETUE AND 
 ENCOURAGEMENT TO PEACTISE VIETUE. ' 
 
 7. A MAN IS NOT TO BE UTTEELY CONDEMNED BECAUSE HE HAS 
 
 faults. Such is the sentiment found in this chapter, in which we may 
 say, however, that Confucius is liable to the charge brought against Tsze- 
 hea, I. vii. The faults are the excesses of the general tendencies. Com- 
 pare Goldsmith's line, "And even his failings leant to virtue's side." 
 
 8. The impoetance of knowing the eight way. One is perplexed 
 to translate the " way," or " right way," here spoken. One calls it " the 
 path, —i.e. of action— which is in accordance with our nature. Man is 
 formed for this, and if he die without coming to the knowledge of it his 
 death is no better than that of a beast. One would fain recognize in such 
 sentences as this a vague apprehension of some higher truth or way than 
 Chinese sages have been able to propound.— Ho An takes a different view 
 of the whole chapter, and makes it a lament of Confucius that he was 
 likely to die without hearing of right principles prevailing in the world.— 
 '• Could I once hear of the prevalence of right principles, I could die the 
 same evening." 
 
 9. The .pursuit of truth should raise a man above being: 
 
 ASHAMED OF POVEETY. 
 
136 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK IV. 
 
 on truth, and who is ashamed of bad clothes and bad food, 
 is not fit to be discoursed with. - " 
 
 X. The Master said, " The superior man, in the world, 
 does not set his mind either for anything, or against any- 
 thing ; what is right he will follow." 
 
 XI. The Master said, "The superior man thinks of 
 virtue ; the small man thinks of comfort. The superior 
 man thinks of the sanctions of law; the small man thinks 
 of favours which he may receive." 
 
 XII. The Master said, ' ' He who acts with a constant 
 view to his own advantage will be much murmured 
 against. - " 
 
 XIII. The Master said, ft Is a prince able to govern 
 his kingdom with the complaisance proper to the rules of 
 propriety, what difficulty will he have ? If he cannot go- 
 vern it with that complaisance, what has he to do with 
 the rules of propriety ? " 
 
 XIV. The Master said, "A man should say, I am not 
 concerned that I have no place, — I am concerned how I 
 may fit myself for one. I am not concerned that I am not 
 known, — I seek to be worthy to be known." 
 
 XV. 1. The Master said, " Sin, my doctrine is that of 
 an^ll-pervading unity." Tsang the philosopher replied, 
 "Yes." 
 
 10. Righteousness is the rule of the Keun-tsze's practice. 
 
 11. The different mindings of the superior and the small man. 
 
 12. The consequence of selfish conduct. 
 
 13. The influence in government of ceremonies observed in 
 their proper spirit. 
 
 14. Advising to self-cultivation. Compare I. xvi. 
 
 15. Confucius' doctrine that of a pervading unity. This 
 chapter is said to be the most profound in the Lun Yu. To myself it occurs 
 to translate " my doctrines have one thing which goes through them," 
 but such an exposition has not been approved by any Chinese commenta- 
 tor. The second paragraph shows us clearly enough what the one thing or 
 unity intended by Confucius was. It was the heart, man's nature, of 
 which all the relations and duties of life are only the development and 
 outgoings. What I have translated by " being true to the principles of our 
 nature," and "exercising those principles benevolently," are in the 
 original only two characters both formed from sin, " the heart." The 
 former is compounded of chung, "middle," "centre," and sin, and the 
 latter of joo, "as," and sin. The "centre heart "= I, the ego, and the 
 " as heart "=the " I in sympathy " with others. One is duty-doing, on 
 a consideration, or from the impulse, of one's own self ; the other is duty- 
 doing, on the principle of reciprocity. The chapter is important, showing 
 
CH. XVI. J CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 137 
 
 2. The Master went out, and the other disciples asked, 
 saying, "What do his words mean?" Tsang said, "The 
 doctrine of our Master is to be true to the principles of our 
 nature and the benevolent exercise of them to others, — 
 this and nothing more." 
 
 XVI. The Master said, "The mind of the superior 
 man is conversant with righteousness; the mind of the 
 mean man is conversant with gain." 
 
 XVII. The Master said, " When we see men of worth, 
 we should think of equalling them ; when we see men of 
 a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine 
 
 ourselves." 
 
 XVIII. The Master said, " In serving his parents, a 
 son may remonstrate with them, but gently ; when he sees 
 that they do not incline to follow his advice, he shows an 
 increased degree of reverence, but does not abandon his 
 purpose ; and should they punish him, he does not allow 
 himself to murmur." 
 
 XIX. The Master said, " While his parents are alive, 
 the son may not go abroad to a distance. If he does go 
 abroad, he must have a fixed place to which he goes." 
 
 XX. The Master said, " If the son for three years does 
 not alter from the way of his father, he may be called 
 filial." 
 
 ! XXI. The Master said, " The years of parents may by 
 no means not be kept in the memory, as an occasion at 
 once for joy and for fear." 
 
 XXII. The Master said, "The reason why the an- 
 cients did not readily give utterance to their words, was 
 
 that Confucius only claimed to unfold and enforce duties indicated by- 
 man's mental constitution. He was simply a moral philosopher. 
 
 16. HOW RIGHTEOUSNESS AND SELFISHNESS DISTINGUISH THE SU- 
 perior man and the small man. 
 
 17. The lhssons to be learned from observing men of dif- 
 ferent CHARACTERS. 
 
 18. HOW A SON MAY REMONSTRATE WITH HIS PARENTS ON THEIR 
 faults. See the Le Ke, XII. i. 15. 
 
 19. A SON OUGHT NOT TO GO TO A DISTANCE WHERE HE WILL NOT 
 BE ABLE TO PAY THE DUE SERVICES TO HIS PARENTS. 
 
 20. A REPETITION OF PART OF I. xi. 
 
 21. What effect the age of the parents should have on 
 their children. 
 
 22. The virtue of the ancients seen in their slowness to 
 
 6FEAK. 
 
138 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK V. 
 
 that they feared lest their actions should not come up to 
 them." 
 
 XXIII. The Master said, " The cautious seldom err." 
 
 XXIV. The Master said, " The superior man wishes to 
 be slow in his words and earnest in his conduct." 
 
 XXV. The Master said, ' ' Virtue is not left to stand 
 alone. He ivho practises it will have neighbours." 
 
 XXVI. Tsze-yew said, " In serving a prince, frequent 
 remonstrances lead to disgrace. , Between friends, fre- 
 quent reproofs make the friendship distant." 
 
 BOOK V. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. The Master said of Kung-yay Ch'ang 
 that he might be wived ; although he was put in bonds, 
 he had not beenguilty of any crime, Accordingly, he gave 
 him his own daughter to wife. 
 
 2. Of Nan Yung he said that if the country were well 
 governed, he would not be out of office, and if it were ill 
 governed, he would escape punishment and disgrace. He 
 gave him the daughter of his own elder brother to wife. 
 
 23. Advantage op caution. Collie's version, which I have adopted, 
 is here happy. 
 
 24. eule of the kjeun-tsze about his words and actions. 
 
 25. The virtuous are not left alone ; — an encouragement to 
 
 VIRTUE. 
 
 26. A lesson to counsellors and friends. 
 
 Heading and subjects of this book. — "Kung-yay Ch'ang," 
 the surname and name of the first individual spoken of in it, heads this 
 book, which is chiefly occupied with the judgment of the sage on the 
 character of several of his disciples and others. As the decision frequently 
 turns on their being possessed of that j'm, or perfect virtue, which is so 
 conspicuous in the last book, this is the reason, it is said, why the one 
 immediately follows the other. As Tsze-kung appears in the book several 
 times, some have fancied that it was compiled by his disciples. 
 
 1. Confucius in marriage-making was guided by character, and 
 NOT by fortune. Of Kung-yay Ch'ang, though the son-in-law of 
 Confucius, nothing certain is known, and his tablet is only third on the 
 west among the 6t iroWoi. Silly legends are told of his being put in prison 
 from his bringing suspicion on himself by his knowledge of the language 
 of birds. Nan Yung, another of the disciples, is now fourth, east, in 
 the outer hall. The discussions about who he was, and whether he is to 
 be identified with Nan-Kung Kwoh, and several other aliases, are very 
 perplexing. We cannot tell whether Confucius is giving his impression 
 of Yung's character, or referring to events that had taken place. 
 
CH. II.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 139 
 
 II. The Master said, of Tsze-tseen, " Of superior virtue 
 indeed is such a man ! If there were not virtuous men in 
 Loo, how could this man have acquired this character ? n 
 
 III. Tsze-kung asked, "What do you say of me, Ts'ze?" 
 The Master said, " You are an utensil." " What utensil V* 
 (t A gemmed sacrificial utensil/'' 
 
 IY. 1. Some one said, "Yung is truly virtuous, but 
 he is not ready with his tongue." 
 
 2. The Master said, " What is the good of being ready 
 with the tongue ? They who meet men with smartnesses 
 of speech, for the most part procure themselves hatred. 
 I know not whether he be truly virtuous, but why should 
 he show readiness of the tongue ? " 
 
 V. The Master was wishing Tseih-teaou K'ae to enter 
 on official employment. He replied, " I am not yet able 
 to rest in the assurance of this." The Master was 
 pleased. 
 
 VI. The Master said, " My doctrines make no way. 
 I will get upon a raft, and float about on the sea. He 
 that will accompany me will be Yew, I dare to say." 
 
 2. The Keun-tsze formed by intercourse with other Keun- 
 tsze. Tsze-tseen, by surname Fuh, and named Puh-ts'e, appears to have 
 been of some note among the disciples of Confucius, both as an adminis- 
 trator and writer, though his tablet is now only second, west, in the. outer 
 hall. What chiefly distinguished him, as appears here, was his cultivation 
 of the friendship of men of ability and virtue. 
 
 3. Whereto Tsze-kung had attained. See I. x. ; II. xii. While 
 the sage did not grant to Tsze that he was a Keun-tsze (II. xii.), he made 
 him "a vessel of honour," valuable and fit for use on high occasions. 
 
 4. Of Yen Yung. Readiness with the tongue no part of virtue. 
 Yen Yung, styled Chung-Kung, has his tablet the second on the east of 
 Confucius' own tablet, among the " wise ones." His father was a worth- 
 less character (see VI. iv.), but he himself was the opposite. 
 
 6. Tseih-teaou K'ae's opinion of the qualifications necessary 
 to taking office. Tseih-teaou, now sixth on the east, in the outer 
 hall, was styled Tsze-jo. His name originally was K'e, changed into 
 Ka'e, on the accession of the Emperor Heaou-King, a.d. 155, whose name 
 was also K'e. In the chapter about the disciples in the " Family Sayings," 
 it is said that K'ae was reading in the Shoo-king, when Confucius spoke 
 to him about taking office, and he pointed to the book, or some particular 
 passage in it, saying, "I am not yet able to rest in the assurance of this" 
 It may have been so. 
 
 6. Confucius proposing to withdraw from the world :— a lesson 
 to Tsze-loo. Tsze-loo supposed his master really meant to leave the 
 world, and the idea of floating along the coasts pleased his ardent temper, 
 while he was delighted with the compliment paid to himself. But Confucius 
 
140 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK V. 
 
 Tsze-loo hearing this was glad, upon which the Master 
 said, " Yew is fonder of daring than I am ; hut he does 
 not exercise his judgment upon matters. " 
 
 VII. 1. Mang Woo asked about Tsze-loo, # whether 
 he was perfectly virtuous. The Master said, " I do not 
 
 know." 
 
 2. He asked again, when the Master replied, " In a 
 kingdom of a thousand chariots, Yew might be employed 
 to manage the military levies, but I do not know whether 
 he is perfectly virtuous." 
 
 3. " And what do you say of K'ew ? w The Master 
 replied, " In a city of a thousand families, or a House of a 
 hundred chariots, K r ew might be employed as governor, 
 but I do not know whether he is perfectly virtuous." 
 
 4. " What do you say of Ch'ih?" The Master replied, 
 * c With his sash girt and standing in a court, Ch f ih might 
 be employed to converse with the visitors and guests, but 
 I do not know whether he is perfectly virtuous." 
 
 VIII. 1. The Master said~ to Tsze-kung, "Which do 
 you consider superior, yourself or Hwuy ? " 
 
 2. Tsze-kung replied, "How dare I compare myself 
 with Hwuy ? Hwuy hears one point and knows all about 
 a subject ; I hear one point and know a second." 
 
 3. The Master said, " You are not equal to him. I 
 grant you, you are not equal to him." 
 
 IX. 1 . Tsae Yu being asleep during the day time, the 
 Master said, " Eotten wood cannot be carved ; a wall of 
 dirty earth will not receive the trowel. This Yu ! — what 
 is the use of my reproving him ? " 
 
 2. The Master said, " At first, my way with men was 
 ■to hear their words, and give them credit for their con- 
 only expressed in this way his regret at the backwardness of men to 
 receive his doctrines. 
 
 7. Of Tsze-loo, Tsze-yew, and Tsze-hwa. Mang Woo, see II. 
 vi. 3. K'ew, see III. vi. "A house of a hundred chariots," in opposition 
 to " A State of a thousand chariots," was the secondary fief, the territory ap- 
 propriated to the highest nobles or officers in a State, supposed also to 
 comprehend 1000 families. 4. Ch'ih, surnamed Kung-se, and styled Tsze- 
 hwa, having now the fourteenth place, west, in the outer hall, was famous 
 among the disciples for his knowledge of rules of ceremony, and those 
 especially relating to dress and intercourse. 
 
 8. Superiority op Yen Hwuy to Tsze-kung. 
 
 9. The idleness of Tsae Yu and its reproof. Tsae Yu is the 
 same individual as Tsae-wo in III. xxi. 
 
CH. X.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 141 
 
 duct. Now my way is to hear their words, and look at 
 their conduct. It is from Yu that I have learned to 
 make this change/' 
 
 X. The Master said, " I have not seen a firm and un- 
 bending man." Some one replied, " There is Shin 
 Ch/ang." " Ch/ang," said the Master, " is under the in- 
 fluence of his lusts, how can he be firm and unbending? " 
 
 XI. Tsze-kung said, "What I do not wish men to do to 
 me, I also wish not to do to men." The Master said, 
 " Ts'ze, you have not attained to that." 
 
 XII. Tsze-kung said, "The Master's personal displays 
 of his principles and ordinary descriptions of them may be 
 heard. His discourses about man's nature, and the way 
 of Heaven, cannot be heard." 
 
 XIII. When Tsze-loo heard anything, if he had not yet 
 carried it into practice, he was only afraid lest he should 
 hear something else. 
 
 XIV. Tsze-kung asked saying, " On what ground did 
 
 10. Unbending- virtue cannot co-exist with indulgence of 
 THE PASSIONS. Shin Ch'ang (there are several aliases, but they are dis- 
 puted,) was one of the minor disciples, of whom little or nothing is known. 
 He was styled Tsze-chow, and his place is thirty-first, east, in the outer 
 ranges. 
 
 11. The difficulty of attaining to the not wishing to do to 
 
 OTHERS AS WE WISH THEM NOT TO DO TO US. It is said, "This 
 chapter shows that the ' no I ' (freedom from selfishness) is not easily 
 reached." In the Doctrine of the Mean, XIII. 3, it is said, "What 
 you do not like when done to yourself, do not do to others." The differ- 
 ence between it and the sentence here is said to be that of "reciprocity," 
 and " benevolence," or the highest virtue, apparent in the two adverbs 
 used, the one prohibitive, and the other a simple, unconstrained, negation. 
 The golden rule of the Gospel is higher than both, — " Do ye unto others 
 as ye would that others should do unto you." 
 
 12. The gradual way in which Confucius communicated his 
 DOCTRINES. So the lesson of this chapter is summed up ; but there is 
 hardly another more perplexing to a translator. The commentators make 
 the subject of the former clause to be the deportment and manners of 
 the sage and his ordinary discourses, but the verb "to hear" is an in- 
 appropriate term with reference to the former. These things, however, 
 were level to the capacity of the disciples generally, and they had the 
 benefit of them. As to his views about man's nature, the gift of Heaven, 
 and the way of Heaven generally ; — these he only communicated to 
 those who were prepared to receive them ; and Tsze-kung is supposed 
 to have expressed himself thus, after being on some occasion so privileged. 
 
 13. The ardour of Tsze-loo in practising the Master's in- 
 structions. 
 
 14. An example of the principle on which honorary posthum- 
 
142 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK V. 
 
 Kung-wan get that title of wan?" The Master said, 
 {< He was of an active nature and yet fond of learning, and 
 he was not ashamed to ask and learn of his inferiors ! — 
 On these grounds he has been styled wan." 
 
 XV. The Master said of Tsze-ch'an that he had four 
 of the characteristics of a superior man : — in his conduct 
 of himself, he was humble ; in serving his superiors, he was 
 respectful ; in nourishing the people, he was kind ; in or- 
 dering the people, he was just. 
 
 XVI. The Master said, " Gran P'ing knew well how to 
 maintain friendly intercourse. The acquaintance might be 
 long, but he showed the same respect as at first" 
 
 XVII. The Master said, "Tsang Wan kept a large 
 tortoise in a house, on the capitals of the pillars of which 
 he had hills made, with representations of duckweed on 
 the small pillars above the beams sup-porting the rafters. — 
 Of what sort was his wisdom ? " 
 
 XVIII. 1. Tsze-chang asked, saying, " The minister 
 
 ous titles were conferred. " Wan," corresponding nearly to our 
 " accomplished," was the posthumous title given to Tszfi-yu, an officer 
 of the state of Wei, and a contemporary of Confucius. Many of his 
 actions had been of a doubtful character, which made Tsze-kung stumble 
 at the application to him of so honourable an epithet. But Confucius 
 shows that, whatever he might otherwise be. he had those qualities, which 
 justified his being so denominated. The rule for posthumous titles in 
 China has been, and is very much — " Be mortuis nil nisi bonum." 
 
 15. The excellent qualities of Tsze-ch'an. Tsze-ch'an, named 
 Kung-sun K'eaou, was the chief minister of the state of Ching — the 
 ablest perhaps, and most upright, of all the statesmen among Confucius' 
 contemporaries. The sage wept when he heard of his death. 
 
 16. How to maintain FRIENDSHIP. " Familiarity breeds contempt," 
 and with contempt friendship ends. It was not so with Gan P'ing, 
 another of the worthies of Confucius' times. He was a principal minister 
 of Ts'e, by name Ying. P'ing ("Kuling and averting calamity ") was 
 his posthumous title. 
 
 17. The superstition of Tsang Wan. Tsang Wan (Wan is the 
 honorary epithet) had been a great officer in Loo, and left a reputa- 
 tion for wisdom, Avhich Confucius did not think was deserved. He was 
 descended from the Duke Heaou (B.C. 794 — 7G7), whose son was styled 
 Tsze-Tsang. This Tsang was taken by his descendants as their surname. 
 This is mentioned to show one of the ways in which surnames were formed 
 among the Chinese. The old interpreters make the keeping such a tortoise 
 an act of usurpation on the part of Tsang Wan. Choo He finds the point 
 of Confucius' words, in the keeping it in such a style, as if to flatter it. 
 
 18. The praise of perfect virtue is not to be lightly ac- 
 corded. 1. Tsze-wan, the chief minister of the State of Tsoo, had been 
 
CH. XIX.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 143 
 
 Tsze-wan, thrice took office, and manifested no joy in his 
 countenance. Thrice he retired from office, and mani- 
 fested no displeasure. He made it a point to inform the 
 new minister of the way in which he had conducted the 
 government ; — what do you say of him ? " " The Master 
 replied, " He was loyal." " Was he perfectly virtuous ? " 
 " I do not know. How can he be pronounced perfectly 
 virtuous ? " 
 
 2. Tsze-chang proceeded, " When the officer Ts f uy killed 
 the prince of Ts'e, Chin Wan, though he was the owner 
 of forty horses, abandoned them and left the country. 
 Coming to another state, he said, ' They are here like our 
 great officer, Ts'uy/ and left it. He came to a second 
 state, and with the same observation left it also ; — what do 
 you say of him ? " The Master replied, " He was pure." 
 " Was he perfectly virtuous ? " " I do not know. How 
 can he be pronounced perfectly virtuous ? " 
 
 XIX. Ke Wan thought thrice, and then acted. When 
 the Master was informed of it, he said, i( Twice may do." 
 
 XX. The Master said, " When good order prevailed in 
 his country, Ning Woo acted the part of a wise man. 
 When his country was in disorder, he acted the part of a 
 stupid man. Others may equal his wisdom, but they can- 
 not equal his stupidity." 
 
 XXI. When the Master was in Chin, he said, " Let 
 me return ! Let me return ! The little children of my 
 
 noted for the things mentioned by Tsze-chang, but the sage would not 
 concede that he was therefore perfectly virtuous. 2. Ts'uy was a great 
 officer of Ts'e. Gran P'ing (ch. xvi.), distinguished himself on the occasion 
 of the murder (B.C. 547) here referred to. Ch'in Wan was likewise an 
 officer of Ts'e. 
 
 19. Prompt decision good. Wan was the posthumous title of Ke 
 Hing-foo, a faithful and disinterested officer of Loo. Compare Robert 
 Hall's remark, — " In matters of conscience first thoughts are best." 
 
 20. The uncommon but admirable stupidity of Ning Woo. Ning 
 Woo (Woo, hon. ep. See II. vi.), was an officer of Wei in the times of 
 Wan (b. c. 635—627), the second of the five p'a (See on III. xxii.). In 
 the first part of his official life, the State was quiet and prosperous, and he 
 " wisely " acquitted himself of his duties. Afterwards came confusion. 
 The prince was driven from the throne, and Ning Woo might, like other 
 wise men, have retired from the danger. But he "foolishly, "as it seemed, 
 chose to follow tbe fortunes of his prince, and yet adroitly brought it 
 about in the end, that the prince was reinstated and order restored. 
 
 21. The anxiety op Confucius about the training of his dis- 
 ciples. Confucius was thrice in Ch'in. It must have been the third time 
 
144 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK V. 
 
 school are ambitious and too hasty. They are accom- 
 plished and complete so far, but they do not know how 
 to restrict and shape themselves." 
 
 XXII. The Master said, " Pih-e and Shuh-ts'e did not 
 keep the former wickedness of men in mind, and hence 
 the resentments directed towards them were few/'' 
 
 XXIII. The Master said, "Who says of Wei-shang 
 Kaou that he is upright ? One begged some vinegar of 
 him, and he begged it of a neighbour and gave it him." 
 
 XXI V. The Master said, "Fine words, an insinuating 
 appearance, and excessive respect ; — Tso-k f ew Ming was- 
 ashamed of them. 1 also am ashamed of them. To con- 
 ceal resentment against a person, and appear friendly with 
 him ; — Tso-k'ew Ming was ashamed of such conduct. I 
 also am ashamed of it." 
 
 XXV. 1. Yen Yuen and Ke Loo being by his side, 
 
 when he thus expressed himself. He was then over sixty years, and being 
 convinced that he was not to see for himself the triumph of his principles, 
 he became the more anxious about their transmission, and the training of 
 the disciples in order to that. Such is the common view of the chapter. 
 Some say, however, that it is not to be understood of all the disciples. 
 Compare Mencius, VII. Pt II. xxxvii. By an affectionate way of speak- 
 ing of the disciples, he calls them his "little children." 
 
 22. The generosity of Pih-e and Shuh-ts'e, and its effects. 
 These were ancient worthies of the closing period of the Shang dynasty. 
 Compare Mencius, II. Pt I. ii. ix., etal. They were brothers, sons of the 
 king of Koo-chuh, named respectively Yun and Che. E and Ts'e are 
 their honourable epithets, and Pih and Shuh only indicate their relation 
 to each other as elder and younger. Pih-e and Shuh-ts'e, however, are 
 in effect their names in the mouths and writings of the Chinese. Koo- 
 chuh was a small state, included in the present department of Yung- 
 p'ing, in Pih-chih-le. Their father left his kingdom to Shuh-ts'e, who 
 refused to take the place of his elder brother. Pih-e in turn declined 
 the throne, so they both abandoned it, and retired into obscurity. When 
 King Woo was taking his measures against the tyrant Chow, they made 
 their appearance, and remonstrated against his course. Finally, they died 
 of hunger, rather than live under the new dynasty. They were celebrated 
 for their purity, and aversion to men whom they considered bad, but 
 Confucius here brings out their generosity. 
 
 23. Small meannesses inconsistent with utrightness. It is 
 implied that Kaou gave the vinegar as from himself. 
 
 24. Praise of sincerity, and of Tso-k'ew ming. Compare I. iii., 
 " excessive respect." The discussions about Tso-k'ew Ming are endless. 
 It is sufficient for us to rest in the judgment of the commentator, Ch'ing,. 
 that " he was an ancient of reputation." It is not to be received that 
 he was a disciple of Confucius, or the author of the Tso-chuen. 
 
 25. The different wishes of Yen Yuen, Tsze-loo, and Con- 
 
CH. XXVI.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 145 
 
 tlie Master said to them, <c Come, let eacli of you tell his 
 wishes. - " 
 
 2. Tsze-loo said, "I should like, having chariots and 
 horses, and light fur dresses, to share them with my 
 friends, and though they should spoil them, I would not 
 be displeased." 
 
 3. Yen Yuen said, " I should like not to boast of my 
 excellence, nor to make a display of my meritorious 
 deeds." 
 
 4. Tsze-loo then said, "I should like, sir, to hear your 
 wishes." The Master said, " They are, in regard to the 
 aged, to give them rest; in regard to friends, to show 
 them sincerity; in regard to the young, to treat them 
 tenderly." 
 
 XXVI. The Master said, " It is all over ! I have not 
 yet seen one who could perceive his faults, and inwardly 
 accuse himself." 
 
 XXVII. The Master said, " In a hamlet of ten fami- 
 lies, there may be found one honourable and sincere as I 
 am, but not so fond of learning." 
 
 BOOK VI. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. The Master said, " There is Yung! — 
 He might occupy the place of a prince." 
 
 FUCIUS. The Master and the disciples, it is said, agreed in heing devoid 
 of selfishness. Hwuy's, however, was seen in a higher style of mind and 
 object than Yew's. In the sage, there was an unconsciousness of self, and 
 without any effort, he proposed acting in regard to his classification of men 
 just as they ought severally to he acted to. 
 
 26. A lament over men's PERSISTENCE IN error. The remark 
 affirms a fact, inexplicable on Confucius' view of the nature of man. But 
 perhaps such an exclamation should not be pressed too closely. 
 
 27. The humble claim op Confucius for himself. Confucius 
 thus did not claim higher natural and moral qualities than others, but 
 sought to perfect himself by learning. 
 
 Heading and subjects of this book. " There is Yung ! " 
 commences the first chapter, and stands as the title of the book. Its 
 subjects are much akin to those of the preceding book, and therefore, it is 
 said, they are in juxtaposition. 
 
 1. The characters of Yen Yung and Tsze-sang Pih-tsze, as 
 
 REGARDS THEIR ADAPTATION FOR GOVERNMENT. 1. " Might Occupy the 
 
 place of a prince," is literally "Might be employed with his face to tho 
 vol. i. 10 
 
146 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK VI. 
 
 2. Chung-kung asked about Tsze-sang Pih-tsze. The 
 Master said, "He may pass. He does not mind small 
 matters." 
 
 3. Chung-kung said, " If a man cherish in himself a 
 reverential feeling of the necessity of attention to business^ 
 though he may be easy in small matters in his govern- 
 ment of the people, that may be allowed. But if he 
 cherish in himself that easy feeling, and also carry it out 
 in his practice, is not such an easy mode of procedure ex- 
 cessive t" 
 
 4. The Master said, " Yung's words are right." 
 
 II. The Duke Gae asked which of the disciples loved 
 to learn. Confucius replied to him, " There was Yen 
 Hwuy ; he loved to learn. He did not transfer his anger; 
 he did not repeat a fault. Unfortunately, his appointed 
 time was short and he died; and now there is not such 
 another. I have not yet heard of any one who loves to 
 learn as he did." 
 
 III. 1. Tsze-hwa being employed on a mission to Ts f e, 
 the disciple Yen requested grain for his mother. The 
 Master said, " Give her a foo." Yen requested more. 
 tc Give her an yu," said the Master. Yen gave her five pmgr. 
 
 south." In China, the emperor sits facing the south. So did the princes 
 of the states in their several courts in Confucius' time. An explanation 
 of the practice is attempted in the Yih-King. "The diagram Le conveys 
 the idea of brightness, when all things are exhibited to one another. It is 
 the diagram of the south. The custom of the sages (i. e. monarchs) to sit 
 with their faces to the south, and listen to the representations of the 
 empire, governing towards the bright region, was taken from this." 2. 
 Observe, Chung-kung was the designation of Yen Yung ; see V. iv. 3. Of 
 Tsze-sang Pih-tsze, we know nothing certain but what is here stated. 
 Choo He seems to be wrong in approving the identification of him with a 
 Tsze-sang Hoo. — " To dwell in respect," to have the mind imbued 
 with it. 
 
 2. The rarity of a true love to learn. Hwuy's superiority 
 TO the other disciples. " He did not transfer his anger," i. e. his 
 anger was no tumultuary passion in the mind, but was excited by some 
 specific cause, to which alone it was directed. The idea of " learning," 
 with the duke and the sage, was a practical obedience to the lessons 
 given. 
 
 3. Discrimination of Confucius in rewarding or salarying of- 
 ficers. 1. Choo He says the commission was a private one from Con- 
 fucius, but this is not likely. The old interpretation makes it a public one 
 from the court of Loo. ''Yen, the disciple; " see III. vi. Yen is here 
 styled "the philosopher," like Yew, in I. ii., but only in narrative, not as 
 introducing any wise utterance. A foo contained 6 torn and 4 shing, or 
 
CH. IV.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 147 
 
 2. The Master said, "When Ch/ih was proceeding to 
 Ts f e, he had fat horses to his carriage, and wore light furs. 
 I have heard that a superior man helps the distressed, but 
 does not add to the wealth of the rich." 
 
 3. Yuen Sze being made governor of his town by the 
 Master, he gave him nine hundred measures of grain, but 
 Sze declined them. 
 
 4. The Master said, " Do not decline them. May you 
 not give them away in the neighbourhoods, hamlets, towns, 
 and villages ? "■ 
 
 IV. The Master, speaking of Chung-kung, said, " If 
 the calf of a brindled cow be red and horned, although 
 man may not wish to use it, would the spirits of the moun- 
 tains and rivers refuse it ? " 
 
 V. The Master said, " Such was Hwuy that for three 
 months there would be nothing in his mind contrary to 
 perfect virtue. The others may attain to this once a day 
 or once a month, but nothing more/'' 
 
 VI. Ke K'ang asked, tc Is Chung-yew fit to be em- 
 ployed as an officer of government ? " The Master said, 
 " Yew is a man of decision ; what difficulty would he find 
 in being an officer of government ? " K ( ang asked, " Is 
 TVze fit to be employed as an officer of government ? " 
 
 64 shing. The yu contained 160 shing, and the ping 16 ho, or 1600 shing, 
 A siting of the present day is about one-fourth less than an Engijsh pint. 
 2. Ch'ih, i. e. Tsze-hwa ; see V. vii. 4. 3. Yuen Sze, named Heen, is now the 
 third, east, in the outer hall of the temples. He was noted for his pur- 
 suit of truth, and carelessness of worldly advantages. After the death of 
 Confucius, he withdrew into retirement in Wei. It is related that Tsze- 
 kung, high in official station, came one day in great style to visit him. 
 Sze received him in a tattered coat, and Tsze-kung asking him if he were 
 ill, he replied, " I have heard that to have no money is to be^ioor, and 
 that to study truth and not be able to find it is to be ill." This answer 
 sent Tsze-kung away in confusion. — The 900 measures (whatever they 
 were) was the proper allowance for an officer of Sze's station. 
 
 4. The vices op a father should not discredit a virtuous son. 
 " The father of Chung-kung (see V. iv.) was a man of bad character," 
 and some would have visited this upon his son, which drew forth Con- 
 fucius' remark. The rules of the Chow dynasty required that sacrificial 
 victims should be red, and have good horns. An animal with those 
 qualities, though it might spring frcm one not possessing them, would 
 certainly not be unacceptable on that account to the spirits sacrificed to. 
 
 5. The superiority of Hwuy to the other disciples. 
 
 6. The qualities of Tsze-loo, Tsze-kung, and Tsze-yew, and 
 their competency to assist in government. The prince is called 
 
 10* 
 
148 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK VI. 
 
 and was answered, Ts'ze is a man of intelligence ; what 
 difficulty would he find in being an officer of govern- 
 ment ? M And to the same question about K f ew, the 
 Master gave the same reply, saying, (i K'ew is a man of 
 various ability." 
 
 VII. The chief of the Ke family sent to ask Min Tsze- 
 k'een to be governor of Pe. Min Tsze-k f een said, te De- 
 cline the offer for me politely. If any one come again 
 to me with a second invitation, I shall be obliged to go and 
 Jive on the banks of the Wan." 
 
 VIII. Pih-new being sick, the Master went to ask for 
 him. He took hold of his hand through the window, and 
 said, "It is killing him. It is the appointment of Heaven, 
 alas ! That such a man should have such a sickness I 
 That such a man should have such a sickness ! " 
 
 IX. The Master said, "Admirable indeed was the 
 virtue of Hwuy ! With a single bamboo dish of rice, a 
 single gourd dish of drink, and living in his mean narrow 
 lane, while others could not have endured the distress, he 
 did not allow his joy to be affected by it. Admirable in- 
 deed was the virtue of Hwuy ! " 
 
 " the doe?' of government ; " his ministers and officers are styled " the 
 followers (officers) of government." 
 
 7. Min Tsze-k'een eefuses to serve the Ke family. The tab- 
 let of Tsze-k'een {his name was Sun) is now the first on the east among 
 " the wise ones " of the temple. He was among the foremost of the dis- 
 ciples. Confucius praises his filial piety ; and we see here, how he could 
 stand firm in his virtue, and refuse the proffers of powerful hut unprincipled 
 families of his time. Pe was a place belonging to the Ke family. Its 
 name is still preserved in a district of the department of E-chow, in Shan- 
 tung. The Wan stream divided Ts'e and Loo. Tsze-k'een threatens, if 
 he should be troubled again, to retreat to Ts'e, where the Ke family could 
 not reach him. 
 
 8. Lament op Confucius over the mortal sickness of Pih- 
 new. Pih-new, " elder or uncle New," was the denomination of Ten 
 Kang, who had an honourable place among the disciples of the sage. In 
 the old interpretation, his sickness is said to have been " an evil disease," 
 by which name leprosy is intended. Suffering from such a disease, Pih- 
 new would not see people, and Confucius took his hand through the 
 window. A different explanation of that circumstance is given by Choo 
 He. He saj 7 s that sick persons were usually placed on the north side of 
 the apartment, but when the prince visited them, in order that he might 
 appear to them with his face to the south (see ch. I.), they were moved to 
 the south. On this occasion, Pih-new's friends wanted to receive Confucius 
 after this royal fashion, which he avoided by not entering the house. 
 
 9- The happiness of Hwuy independent of poverty. 
 
CH. X.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 149 
 
 X. Yen K'ew said, ' ' It is not that I do not delight in 
 your doctrines, but my strength is insufficient." The 
 Master said, " Those whose strength is insufficient give 
 over in the middle of the way, but now you limit your- 
 self." 
 
 XI. The Master said to Tsze-hea, " Do you be a scho- 
 lar after the style of the superior man, and not after that 
 of the mean man." 
 
 XII. Tsze-yew being governor of Woo-shing, the 
 Master said to him, " Have you got good men there ? " 
 He answered, u There is Tan-fae Mee-ming, who never 
 in walking takes a short cut, and never comes to my 
 office, excepting on public business.''' 
 
 XIII. The Master said, " Mang Che-fan does not 
 boast of his merit. Being in the rear on an occasion of 
 flight, when they were about to enter the gate, he whipt 
 up his horse, saying, 'It is not that I dare to be-last. My 
 horse would not advance.'' >3 
 
 XIY. The Master said, cc Without the specious speech 
 of the litanist T'o, and the beauty of the prince Chaou of 
 Sung, it is difficult to escape in the present age. 
 
 )) 
 
 10. A HIGH AIM AND PERSEVERANCE PROPER TO A STUDENT. Confucius 
 would not admit K'ew's apology for not attempting more than he did. 
 " Give over in the middle of the way/' i. e. they go as long and as far as 
 they can, they are pursuing when they stop ; whereas K'ew was giving up 
 when he might have gone on. 
 
 11. HOW LEARNING SHOULD BE PURSUED. 
 
 12. The character of Tan-t'ae Mee-ming. The chapter shows, 
 according to Chinese commentators, the advantage to people in authority 
 of their having good men about them. In this way, after their usual 
 fashion, they seek for a profound meaning in the remark of Confuciu?. 
 Tan-t'ae Mee-ming, who was styled Tsze-yu, has his tablet the second 
 east outside the hall. The accounts of him are very conflicting. Accord- 
 ing to one, he was very good-looking, while another says he was so bad- 
 looking that Confucius at first formed an unfavourable opinion of him, 
 an error which he afterwards confessed on Mee-ming' s becoming eminent. 
 He travelled southwards with not a few followers, and places near Soo- 
 chow and elsewhere retain names indicative of his presence. 
 
 13. The virtue of Mang Che-fan in concealing his merit. But 
 where was his virtue in deviating from the truth 1 And how could Confu- 
 cius commend him for doing so ? These questions have never troubled the 
 commentators. Mang Che-fan was an officer of Loo. The defeat, after 
 which he thus distinguished himself, was in the 11th year of Duke Gae, 
 B.C. 483. 
 
 14. The degeneracy of the age esteeming glibness of tongue 
 AND BEAUTY OF person. T'o, the officer charged with the prayers in the 
 
150 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK VI. 
 
 XV. The Master said, "Who can go out but by the 
 door ? How is it that men will not walk according to 
 these ways ? M 
 
 XVI. The Master said, " Where the solid qualities 
 are in excess of accomplishments, we have rusticity ; 
 where the accomplishments are in excess of the solid 
 qualities, we have the manners of a clerk. When the 
 accomplishments and solid qualities are equally blended, 
 we then have the man of complete virtue/' 
 
 XVII. The Master said, "Man is born for upright- 
 ness. If a man lose his uprightness, and yet live, his 
 escape from death is the effect of mere good fortune." 
 
 XVIII. The Master said, " They who know the truth 
 are not equal to those who love it, and they who love it 
 are not equal to those who find delight in it." 
 
 XIX. The Master said, " To those whose talents are 
 above mediocrity, the highest subjects may be announced. 
 To those who are below mediocrity, the highest subjects 
 may not be announced." 
 
 XX. Fan Ch/e asked what constituted wisdom. The 
 Master said, " To give one's-self earnestly to the duties 
 due to mem, and, while respecting spiritual beings, to keep 
 aloof from them, may be called wisdom." He asked 
 
 ancestral temple. I have coined the word litanist, to come as near to the 
 meaning as possible. He was an officer of the state of Wei, styled Tsze- 
 yu. Prince Chaou had been guilty of incest with his sister Nan-tsze (see 
 ch. 26), and afterwards, when she was married to the Duke Ling of Wei,, 
 he served as an officer there, carrying on his wickedness. He was cele- 
 brated for his beauty of person. 
 
 15. A LAMENT OVER THE WAYWARDNESS OF MEN'S CONDUCT, " These 
 ways," — in a moral sense ; — not deep doctrines, but rules of life. 
 
 16. The equal blending op solid excellence and ornamental 
 accomplishments in a complete character. 
 
 17. Life without uprightness is not true life, and cannot be 
 calculated ON. " No more serious warning than this," says one com- 
 mentator, "was ever addressed to men by Confucius." We long here, as 
 elsewhere, for more perspicuity and fuller development of view. An 
 important truth struggles for expression, but only finds it imperfectly. 
 Without uprightness, the end of man's existence is not fulfilled, but his 
 preservation in such case is not merely a fortunate accident. 
 
 18. Different stages of attainment. 
 
 19. Teachers must be guided in communicating knowledge by 
 the susceptivity of the learners. 
 
 20. Chief elements ln wisdom and virtue. We may suppose from 
 the second clause that Fan Clre was striving after what was uncommon 
 
CH. XXI.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 151 
 
 about perfect virtue. Tlie Master said, "The man of 
 virtue makes the difficulty to he overcome his first busi- 
 ness, and success only a subsequent consideration ; — this 
 may be called perfect virtue." 
 
 XXI. The Master said, "The wise find delight in 
 water; the virtuous find delight in hills. The wise are 
 active ; the virtuous are tranquil. The wise are joyful ; 
 the virtuous are long-lived." 
 
 XXII. The Master said, " Ts'e, by one change, would 
 come to the state of Loo. Loo, by one change, would 
 come to a state where true principles predominated." 
 
 XXIII. The Master said, " A cornered vessel without 
 corners. — A strange cornered vessel ! A strange cornered 
 vessel ! " 
 
 XXIV. Tsae Wo asked, saying, " A benevolent man, 
 though it be told him, — ' There is a man in the well/ 
 will go in after him, I suppose." Confucius said, 
 "Why should he do so ? A superior man may be made 
 to go to the well, but he cannot be made to go down 
 into it. He may be imposed upon, but he cannot be be- 
 fooled." 
 
 and superhuman. The sage's advice therefore is — " attend to what are 
 plainly human duties, and do not be superstitious." 
 
 21. Contrasts of the wise and the virtuous. The wise or know- 
 ing are active and restless, like the waters of a stream, ceaselessly flowing 
 and advancing. The virtuous are tranquil and firm, like the stable 
 mountains. The pursuit of knowledge brings joy. The life of the virtuous 
 may be expected to glide calmly on and long. After all, the saying is not 
 very comprehensible. 
 
 22. The condition op the states Ts'e and Loo, Ts'e and Loo 
 were both within the present Shan-tung, Ts'e lay along the coast on the 
 north, embracing the present department of Ts'ing Chow and other territory. 
 Loo was on the south, the larger portion of it being formed by the present 
 department of Yen-chow. At the rise of the Chow dynasty, King Woo 
 invested " the great Duke Wang" with the principality of Ts'e ; while his 
 successor, King Ch'ing, constituted the son of his uncle, the famous duke of 
 Chow, prince of Loo. In Confucius' time, Ts'e had degenerated more 
 than Loo. 
 
 23. The name without the reality is folly.* This was spoken 
 with reference to the governments of the time, retaining ancient names 
 without ancient principles. The vessel spoken of was made with corners, 
 as appears from the composition of the character, which is formed from 
 Keo, " a horn," " a sharp corner." In Confucius' time, the form was 
 changed,while the name was kept. 
 
 24. The benevolent exercise their benevolence with pru- 
 dence. Tsae Wo could see no limitation to acting on the impulses of 
 
152 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK VI. 
 
 XXV. The Master said, " The superior mart, exten- 
 sively studying all learning, and keeping himself under 
 the restraint of the rules of propriety, may thus likewise 
 not overstep what is right." 
 
 XXVI. The Master having visited Nan-tsze, Tsze-loo 
 was displeased, on which the Master swore, saying, 
 " Wherein I have done improperly, may Heaven reject 
 me ! may Heaven reject me ! " 
 
 XXVII. The Master said, " Perfect is the virtue which 
 is according to the Constant Mean ! Rare for a long time 
 has been its practice among the people." 
 
 XXVIII. 1. Tsze-kung said, "Suppose the case of a 
 man extensively conferriug benefits on the people, and 
 able to assist all, what would you say of him ? Might 
 he be called perfectly virtuous ? " The Master said, 
 " Why speak only of virtue in connection with him ? 
 Must he not have the qualities of a sage ? Even Yaou 
 and Shun were still solicitous about this. 
 
 2. " Now the man of perfect virtue, wishing to be 
 established himself, seeks also to establish others ; wish- 
 ing to be enlarged himself, he seeks also to enlarge others. 
 
 3. " To be able to judge of others by what is nigh in 
 ourselves ; — this may be called the art of virtue." 
 
 benevolence. We are not to suppose, with modern commentators, that he 
 wished to show that benevolence was impracticable. 
 
 25. The happy effect of learning and propriety combined. 
 
 26. Confucius vindicates himself for visiting the unworthy 
 Nan-tsze. Nan-tsze was the wife of the duke of Wei, and sister of Prince 
 Chaou, mentioned chapter xiv. Her lewd character was well known, 
 and hence Tsze-loo was displeased, thinking an interview with her was 
 disgraceful to the Master. Great pains are taken to explain the incident. 
 " Nan-tsze," says one, " sought the interview from the stirrings of her 
 natural conscience." " It was a rule," says another, "that officers in a 
 state should visit the prince's wife." " Nan-tsze," argues a third, " had 
 all influence with her husband, and Confucius wished to get currency by 
 her means for his doctrine." 
 
 27. The defective practice of the people est Confucius' times. 
 See the Doctrine of the Mean, III. 
 
 28. The true nature and art of virtue. There are no higher 
 sayings in the Analects than we have here. 1. Tsze-kung appears to have 
 thought that great doings were necessary to virtue, and propounds a case 
 which would transcend the achievements of Yaou and Shun. From such 
 extravagant views the Master recalls him. 2. This is the description of 
 " the mind of the perfectly virtuous man " as void of all selfishness. 3. 
 It is to be wished that the idea intended by " being able to judge of others 
 
CH. I.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 153 
 
 BOOK VII. 
 
 Chapter I. The Master said, " A transmitter and not 
 a maker, believing in and loving the ancients, I venture to 
 compare myself with our old P'ang." 
 
 II. The Master said, "The silent treasuring up of 
 knowledge; learning without satiety; and instructing 
 others without being wearied : — what one of these things 
 belongs to me ? " 
 
 III. The Master said, " The leaving virtue without 
 proper cultivation ; the not thoroughly discussing what is 
 learned; not being able to move towards righteousness of 
 which a knowledge is gained ; and not being able to 
 change what is not good : — these are the things which 
 occasion me solicitude." 
 
 IV. When the Master was unoccupied with business, 
 his manner was easy, and he looked pleased. 
 
 by what is nigh in ourselves," had been more clearly expressed. Still we 
 seem to have here a near approach to a positive enunciation of " the 
 golden rule." 
 
 Heading and subjects of this book. — " A transmitter, and " 
 
 We have in this book much information of a personal character about 
 Confucius, both from his own lips and from the descriptions of his disci- 
 ples. The two preceding books treat of the disciples and other worthies, 
 and here, in contrast with them, we have the sage himself exhibited. 
 
 1. Confucius disclaims being an originator or maker. Com- 
 mentators say the master's language here is from his extreme humility. 
 But we must hold that it expresses his true sense of his position and work. 
 Who the individual called endearingly " our old P'ang " was, can hardly 
 be ascertained. Choo He adopts the view that he was a worthy officer of 
 the Shang dynasty. But that individual's history is a mass of fables. 
 Others make him to be Laou-tsze, the founder of the Taou sect, and others 
 again make two individuals — one this Laou-tsze, and the other that P'ang. 
 
 2. Confucius' humble estimate of himself. " The language," 
 says Choo He, "is that of humility upon humility." Some insert, " be- 
 sides me," in their explanations before ; ' what," — " Besides these, what is 
 there in me ? " But this is quite arbitrary. The profession may be in- 
 consistent with what we find in other passages, but the inconsistency 
 must stand rather than violence be done to the language. 
 
 3. Confucius' anxiety about his self-cultivation: — Another 
 humble estimate of himself. Here, again, commentators find only 
 the expressions of humility, but there can be no reason why we should 
 not admit that Confucius was anxious lest these things, which are only 
 put forth as possibilities, should become in his case actual facts. 
 
 4- The manner of Confucius when unoccupied. 
 
) 
 
 154 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK VII. 
 
 Y. ^ Tlie Master said, c ' Extreme is my decay. For a 
 long time I have not dreamed, as I was wont to do, that 
 I saw the Duke of Chow/'' 
 
 VI. .1. The Master said, " Let the will be set on the 
 path of duty. 
 
 2 " Let every attainment in what is good be firmly 
 grasped. 
 
 3. "Let perfect virtue be accorded with. 
 
 4. " Let relaxation and enjoyment be found in the polite 
 arts." 
 
 VII. The Master said, " From the man bringing his 
 bundle of dried flesh for my teaching upwards, I have never 
 refused instruction to any one." 
 
 5. HOW THE DISAPPOINTMENT OF CONFUCIUS' HOPES AFFECTED EVEN 
 
 His dreams. Chow was the name of the seat of the family from which 
 the dynasty so called sprang, and on the enlargement of this territory, 
 King Wan divided the original seat between his sons, Tan and Shih. Tan 
 was " the duke of Chow," in wisdom and politics what his elder brother, 
 the first emperor, Woo, was in arms. Confucius had longed to bring the 
 principles and institutions of Chow-kung into practice, and in his earlier 
 years, while hope animated him, had often dreamt of the former sage. 
 The original territory of Chow was what is now the district of K'e-shan, 
 department of Fung-tseang, in Shen-se. 
 
 6. Rules for the full maturing of character. See a note on 
 " The polite arts," I. vi. A full enumeration makes " six arts," viz. 
 ceremonies, music, archery, charioteering, the study of characters or lan- 
 guage, and figures or arithmetic. The ceremonies were ranged in five 
 classes : lucky or sacrifices, unlucky or the mourning ceremonies, military, 
 those of host and guest, and festive. Music required the study of the 
 music of Hwang-te, of Yaou, of Shun, of Yu, of T'ang, and of Woo. 
 Archery had a five-fold classification. Charioteering had the same. The 
 study of the characters required the examination of them, to determine 
 whether there predominated in their formation resemblance to the object, 
 combination of ideas, indication of properties, a phonetic principle, a 
 principle of contrariety, or metaphorical accommodation. Figures were 
 managed according to nine rules, as the object was the measurement of 
 land, capacity, &c. These six subjects were the business of the highest 
 and most liberal education ; but we need not suppose that Confucius had 
 them all in view here. 
 
 7. The readiness of Confucius to impart instruction. It was 
 the rule anciently that when one party waited on another, he should carry 
 some present or offering with him. Pupils did so when they first waited 
 on their teacher. Of such offerings, one of the lowest was a bundle of 
 " dried flesh." The wages of a teacher are now called " the money of the 
 dried flesh." However small the offering brought to the sage, let him 
 only see the indication of a wish to learn, and he imparted his instruc- 
 tions. 
 
CH. YIIT.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 155 
 
 VIII. The Master said, " I do not open up the truth 
 to one who is not eager to get knowledge, nor help out any- 
 one who is not anxious to explain himself. When I have 
 presented one corner of a subject to any one, and he can- 
 not from it learn the other three, I do not repeat my 
 lesson/-' 
 
 IX. 1. When the Master was eating by the side of a 
 mourner, he never ate to the full. 
 
 2. He did not sing on the same day in which he had 
 been weeping. 
 
 X. 1. The Master said to Yen Yuen, "When called 
 to office, to undertake its duties ; when not so called, to 
 lie retired ; — it is only I and you who have attained to 
 this." 
 
 2. Tsze-loo said, " If you had the conduct of the armies 
 of a great State, whom would you have to act with you V 
 
 3. The Master said, " I would not have him to act with 
 me, who will unarmed attack a tiger, or cross a river 
 without a boat, dying without any regret. My associate 
 must be the man who proceeds to action full of solicitude, 
 who is fond of adjusting his plans, and then carries them 
 into execution/-' 
 
 XI. The Master said, " If the search for riches is sure 
 to be successful, though I should become a servant 
 with whip in hand to get them, I will do so. As the 
 search mav not be successful, I will follow after that which 
 I love." 
 
 8. Confucius required a eeal desire and ability en his dis- 
 ciples. The last chapter tells of the sage's readiness to teach, which shows 
 that he did not teach where his teaching was likely to prove of no avail. 
 
 9. Confucius' sympathy with mourners. The weeping is under- 
 stood to be on occasion of offering his condolences to a mourner. 
 
 10. The attainments of Hwuy like those of Confucius. The 
 excessive boldness of Tsze-loo. The words "unarmed to attack a 
 tiger; without a boat to cross a river," are from the She King, Pt II., Bk 
 V. i. 6. . Tsze-loo, it would appear, was jealous of the praise conferred on 
 Hwuy, and pluming himself on his bravery, put in for a share of the 
 Master's approbation. But he only brought on himself rebuke. 
 
 11. The uncertainty and folly of the pursuit op riches. 
 It occurs to a student to understand the first clause — " If it be proper to 
 search for riches," and the third — " I will do it." But the translation is 
 according to the modern commentary, and the conclusion agrees better 
 with it. In explaining the words about " whip in hand," some refer us 
 to the attendants who cleared the street with their whips when the prince 
 went abroad, but we need not seek any particular allusion of the kind. 
 
156 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK VII. 
 
 XII. The tilings in reference to which the Master 
 exercised the greatest cantion were — fasting, war, and 
 sickness. 
 
 XIII. When the Master was in Ts'e, he, heard the 
 Shaou, and for three months did not know the taste of 
 flesh. " I did not think/' he said, " that mnsic could 
 have been made so excellent as this. - " 
 
 XIV. 1. Yen Yew said, <( Is our Master for the prince 
 of Wei ? " Tsze-kung said, " Oh ! I will ask him/' 
 
 2. He went in accordingly , and said, " What sort of men 
 were Pih-e and Shuh-ts f e ? " " They were ancient wor- 
 thies/' said the Master. u Did they have any repinings 
 because of their course ? " The Master again replied, 
 u They sought to act virtuously, and they did so ; what 
 
 An objection to the pursuit of wealth may he made on the ground of 
 righteousness (as in chapter xiv.) or on that of its uncertainty. It is the 
 latter on which Confucius here rests. 
 
 12. What things Confucius was particularly careful about. 
 The word used here for "fasting" denotes the whole religious adjust- 
 ment, enjoined before the offering of sacrifice, and extending over the ten 
 days previous to the great sacrificial seasons. Properly it means " to 
 equalize," and the effect of those previous exercises was "to adjust what 
 was not adjusted, to produce a perfect adjustment." Sacrifices presented 
 in such a state of mind were sure to be acceptable. Other people, it is 
 said, might be heedless in reference to sacrifices, to war, and to sickness, 
 but not so the sage. 
 
 13. The effect of music on Confucius. The shaou, — see III. 25. 
 This incident must have happened in the 3Gth year of Confucius, when he 
 followed the Duke Ch'aou in his flight from Loo to Ts'e. As related in 
 the " Historical Records," before the words " three months," we have " he 
 learned it," which may relieve us from the necessity of extending the 
 three months over all the time in which he did not know the taste of his 
 food. In Ho An's compilation, the " did not know " is explained by " he 
 was careless about and forgot." 
 
 14. Confucius did not approve of a son opposing his father. 
 1. The eldest son of Duke Ling of Wei had planned to kill his mother 
 (? stepmother), the notorious Nan-tsze (VI. xxvi.). For this he had to 
 flee the country, and his son, on the death of Ling, became duke, and 
 subsequently opposed his father's attempts to wrest the sovereignty from 
 him. This was the matter argued among the disciples, — Was Confucius 
 for the son, the reigning duke ? 2. In Wei it would not have been ac- 
 cording to propriety to speak by name of its ruler, and therefore Tsze- 
 kung put the case of Pih-e and Shuh-ts'e, see V. xxii. They having given 
 up a throne, and finally their lives, rather than do what they thought 
 wrong, and Confucius fully approving of their conduct, it was plain he 
 could not approve of a son's holding by force what was the rightful in- 
 heritance of the father. 
 
CH. XV.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 157 
 
 was there for tliem to repine about ? " On this, Tsze- 
 hung went out and said, " Our Master is not for hhn." 
 
 XV. The Master said, " With coarse rice to eat, with 
 water to drink, and my bended arm for a pillow ; — I 
 have still joy in the midst of these things. Riches and 
 honours acquired by unrighteousness are to me as a float- 
 ing cloud." 
 
 v XVI. The Master said, " If some^years were added to 
 my life, I would give fifty to the study of the Vih, and 
 then I might come to be without great faults/'' 
 
 XVII. The Master's frequent themes of discourse were 
 — the Odes, the Book of History, and the maintenance of 
 the Rules of propriety. On all these he frequently dis- 
 coursed. 
 
 XVIII. 1. The duke of She asked Tsze-loo about Con- 
 fucius, and Tsze-loo did not answer him. 
 
 2. The Master said, " Why did you not say to him, — 
 He is simply a man, who in his eager pursuit of know- 
 ledge forgets his food, who in the joy of its attainment 
 forgets his sorrows, and who does not perceive that old 
 age is coming on ? " 
 
 XIX. The Master said, " I am not one who was born in 
 
 15. The joy of Confucius independent of outwaed ciroum- 
 stances, however straitened. 
 
 16. The value which Confucius set upon the study of the Yih. 
 Choo He supposes that this was spoken when Confucius was about seventy, 
 as he was in his 68th year when he ceased his wanderings, and settled in 
 Loo to the adjustment and compilation of the Yih and other Jung. If the 
 remark he referred to that time, an error may well be found in the number 
 fifty, for he would hardly be speaking at seventy of having fifty years 
 added to his life. Choo also mentions the report of^a certain individual 
 that he had seen a copy of the Lun Yu, which made the passage read : — 
 "If I had some more years to finish the study of the Yih," &c. Ho An 
 interprets the chapter quite differently. Eeferring to the saying, II. iv. 1, 
 "At fifty, I knew the decrees of heaven," he supposes this to have been 
 spoken when Confucius was forty-seven, and explains — " In a few years J 
 more I will be fifty, and have finished the Yih, when I may be without 
 great faults." — One thing remains upon both views ; — Confucius never 
 claimed what his followers do for him, to be a perfect man. 
 
 17. Confucius' most common topics. 
 
 18. Confucius' description of his character as being- simply a 
 most earnest learner. She was a district of Ts'oo, the governor or 
 prefect of which had usurped the title of duke. Its name is still preserved 
 in a district of the department of Nan-yung, in the south of Ho-nan. 
 
 19. Confucius' knowledge not connate, but the result of his 
 
158 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK VII, 
 
 the possession of knowledge ; I am one who is fond of 
 antiquity, and earnest in seeking it there" 
 
 XX. The subjects on which the Master did not talk, 
 were, — prodigious things, feats of strength, disorder, and 
 spiritual beings. 
 
 XXI. The Master said, ' ' When I walk along with two 
 others, they may serve me as my teachers. .1 will select 
 their good qualities and follow them, their bad qualities 
 and avoid them." 
 
 XXII. The Master said, ' ' Heaven produced the virtue 
 that is in me. Hwan T'uy — what can he do to me ? " 
 
 XXIII. The Master said, " Do you think, my disciples, 
 that I have any concealments ? I conceal nothing from 
 you. There is nothing which I do that is not shown to 
 you, my disciples ; — that is my way." 
 
 XXIV. There were four things which the Master 
 taught, — letters, ethics, devotion of soul, and truthfulness. 
 
 XXV. 1. The Master said, "A sage it is not mine to 
 
 study of antiquity. Here again, according to commentators, is a won- 
 derful instance of the sage's humility disclaiming what he really had. 
 The comment of Yun Ho-tsing, subjoined to Choo He's own, is to the 
 effect that the knowledge born with a man is only " righteousness " and 
 " reason," while ceremonies, music, names of things, history, &c, must 
 be learned. This would make what we may call connate or innate know- 
 ledge the moral sense, and those intuitive principles of reason, on and by 
 which all knowledge is built up. But Confucius could not mean to deny 
 his being possessed of these. 
 
 20. Subjects avoided by Confucius in conversation. By ''dis- 
 order " are meant rebellious disorder, parricide, regicide, and such crimes. 
 For an instance of Confucius avoiding the subject of spiritual beings, 
 see XI. xi. 
 
 21. how a man may find instructors for himself. 
 
 22. Confucius calm in danger, through the assurance of 
 having A divine mission. According to the historical accounts, Con- 
 fucius was passing through Sung on his way from Wei to Ch'in, and was 
 practising ceremonies with his disciples under a large tree, when they were 
 set upon by emissaries of Hwan T ; uy, a high officer of Sung. These 
 pulled down the tree, and wanted to kill the sage. His disciples urged 
 him to make haste and escape, when he calmed their fears by these words. 
 At the same time, he disguised himself till he had got past Sung. Tbis 
 story may be apocryphal, but the saying remains, — a remarkable one. 
 
 23. Confucius practised no concealment with his disciples. 
 
 24. The common subjects of Confucius' teaching. I confess to 
 apprehend but vaguely the two latter subjects as distinguished from the 
 second. 
 
 25. The paucity of true men in, and the pretentiousness of 
 Confucius' time. We have in the chapter a climax of character : — 
 
CH. XXVI.l CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 159 
 
 see ; could I see a man of real talent and virtue, that would 
 
 satisfy me." 
 
 2. The Master said, " A good man it is not mine to see ; 
 could I see a man possessed of constancy, that would sat- 
 isfy me. 
 
 3. " Having not and yet affecting to have, empty and 
 yet affecting to be full, straitened and yet affecting to be 
 at ease : — it is difficult with such characteristics to have 
 
 a 
 
 constancy. 
 
 XXVI. The Master angled,— but did not use a net. He 
 
 shot, — but not at birds perching. 
 
 XXYII. The Master said, " There may be those who 
 act without knowing why. I do not do so. Hearing 
 much and selecting what is good and following it, seeing 
 much and keeping it in memory : — this is the second style 
 of knowledge/'' 
 
 XXVIII. 1. It was difficult to talk with the people of 
 Hoo-heang, and a lad of that place having had an inter- 
 view with the Master, the disciples doubted. 
 
 2. The Master said, " I admit people's approach to me 
 without committing myself as to ivhat they may do when 
 they have retired. Why must one be so severe ? If a 
 man purify himself to wait upon me, I receive him so puri- 
 fied, without guaranteeing his past conduct." 
 
 XXIX. The Master said, " Is virtue a thing remote ? 
 I wish to be virtuous, and lo ! virtue is at hand." 
 
 XXX. 1. The Minister of crime of Ch'in asked whether 
 
 the man of constancy, or the single-hearted, steadfast man ; the good 
 man, who on his single-heartedness has built up his virtue ; the lieun-tsze, 
 the man of virtue in large proportions, and intellectually able besides ; 
 and the sage, or highest style of man. Compare Mencius, VII. Pt II. xxv. 
 
 26. The humanity of Confucius. Confucius would only destroy 
 what life was necessary for his use, and in taking that he would not take 
 advantage of the inferior creatures. This chapter is said to be descriptive 
 of him in his early life. 
 
 27. Against acting heedlessly. Paou Heen, in Ho An, says that 
 this was spoken with reference to heedless compilers of records ; but this is 
 unnecessary. The paraphrasts make the latter part descriptive of Con- 
 fucius — " I hear much," &c. This is not necessary, and the translation 
 had better be as indefinite as the original. 
 
 28. The readiness of Confucius to meet appeoaches to him 
 though made by the unlikely. 
 
 29. Virtue is not far to seek. 
 
 30. How Confucius acknowledged his error. 1. Ch'in, one of 
 
160 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK VII • 
 
 the Duke Ch'aou knew propriety, and Confucius said, 
 " He knew propriety." 
 
 2. Confucius having retired, the minister bowed to 
 Woo-ina K'e to come forward, and said, " I have heard 
 that the superior man is not a partisan. May the superior 
 man be a partisan also ? The prince married a daughter 
 of the house of Woo, of the same surname with himself, 
 and called her, — ' The elder lady Tsze of Woo.'' If the 
 prince knew propriety, who does not know it ? " 
 
 3. Woo-nia K'e reported these remarks, and the Mas- 
 ter said, " I am fortunate ! If I have any errors, people 
 are sure to know them." 
 
 XXXI. When the Master was in company with a per- 
 son who was singing, if he sang well, he would make 
 him repeat the song, while he accompanied it with his 
 own voice. 
 
 XXXII. The Master said, " In letters I am perhaps 
 equal to other men, but the character of the superior man, 
 carrying out in his conduct what he professes, is what I 
 have not yet attained to/' 
 
 XXXIII. The Master said, " The sage and the man of 
 perfect virtue ; — how dare I raiik myself with them ? It 
 may simply be said of me, that I strive to become such 
 without satiety, and teach others without weariness." 
 Kung-se Hwa said, " This is just what we, the disciples, 
 cannot imitate you in/' 
 
 }) 
 
 the States of China in Confucius' time, is to be referred probably to the 
 present department of Ch'in-chow in Ho-nan province. Ch'aou was the 
 honorary epithet of Chow, duke of Loo, B.C. 541 — 509. He had a reputa- 
 tion for the knowledge and observance of ceremonies, and Confucius 
 answered the minister's question accordingly, the more readily that he 
 was speaking to the officer of another State, and was bound, therefore, to 
 hide any failings that his own sovereign might have had. 2. With all 
 his knowledge of proprieties, the Duke Ch'aou had violated an important 
 rule, — that which forbids the intermarriage of parties of the same sur- 
 name. The ruling houses of Loo and Woo were branches of the imperial 
 house of Chow, and consequently had the same surname, Ke. To conceal 
 his violation of the rule, Ch'aou called his wife by the surname Tsze, as if 
 she had belonged to the ducal house of Sung. Woo-ma K'e was one of 
 the minor disciples of Confucius. 3. Confucius takes the criticism of his 
 questioner very lightly. 
 
 31. The good fellowship of Confucius. . 
 
 32. Acknowledgment of Confucius in estimating himself. 
 
 33. What Confucius declined to be considered, and what he 
 claimed. 
 
CH. XXXIV.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 161 
 
 XXXIV. The Master being very sick, Tsze-loo asked 
 leave to pray for him. He said, " May such a thing be 
 done ? " Tsze-loo replied, " It may. In the Prayers it 
 is said, ' Prayer has been made to you, the spirits of the 
 upper and lower worlds.' " The Master said, " My pray- 
 ing has been for a long time." 
 
 XXXV. The Master said, ' ' Extravagance leads to in- 
 subordination, and parsimony to meanness. It is better 
 to be mean than to be insubordinate." 
 
 XXXVT. The Master said, "The superior man is 
 satisfied and composed ; the mean man is always full of 
 distress." 
 
 XXXVII. The Master was mild, and yet dignified; 
 majestic, and yet not fierce ; respectful, and yet easy. 
 
 BOOK VIII. 
 
 Chapter I. The Master said, " T'ae-pih may be said 
 to have reached the highest point of virtuous action. 
 
 31. Confucius declines to be prayed foe. The word here ren- 
 dered " prayers " means " to write a eulogy, and confer the posthumous 
 honorary title ;" also " to eulogize in prayer," i.e. to recite one's excellencies 
 as the ground of supplication. Tsze-loo must have been referring to some 
 well-known collection of such prayers. Choo He says, " Prayer is the 
 expression of repentance and promise of amendment, to supplicate the 
 help of the spirits. If there be not those things, then there is no need for 
 praying. In the case of the sage, he had committed no errors, and ad- 
 mitted of no amendment. In all his conduct he had been in harmony 
 with the spiritual intelligences, and therefore he said, — 'my praying has 
 been for a long time.' 1 " We may demur to some of these expressions, but 
 the declining to be prayed for, and concluding remark, do indicate the 
 satisfaction of Confucius with himself. Here, as in other places, we wish 
 that our information about him were not so stinted and fragmentary. 
 
 35. Meanness not so bad as insubordination. 
 
 36. Contrast in their feelings between the Keun-tsze and 
 the mean man. 
 
 37. how various elements modified one another in the 
 character of confucius. 
 
 Heading and subjects of this book. — "T'ae-pih." As in other 
 cases, the first words of the book give name to it. The subjects of the 
 book are miscellaneous, but it begins and ends with the character and 
 deeds of ancient sages and worthies ; and on this account it follows the 
 seventh book, where we have Confucius himself described. 
 
 1. The exceeding virtue of T'ae-pih. T'ae-pih was the eldest sen 
 of King T'ae, the grandfather of Wan, the founder of the Chow dynasty. 
 
 vol. i. 11 
 
162 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [liK VIII. 
 
 Thrice lie declined the empire, and the people in ignorance 
 of his motives could not express their approbation of his 
 conduct." 
 
 II. 1. The Master said, "Respectfulness, without the 
 rules of propriety, becomes laborious bustle ; carefulness, 
 without the rules of propriety, becomes timidity ; bold- 
 ness, without the rules of propriety, becomes insubordin- 
 ation; straightforwardness, without the rules of pro- 
 priety, becomes rudeness. 
 
 2. " When those who are in high stations perform well 
 all their duties to their relations, the people are aroused 
 to virtue. When old ministers and friends are not neg- 
 lected by them, the people are preserved from meanness/'' 
 
 III. Tsang the philosopher being sick, he called to 
 him the disciples of his, school, and said, " Uncover my 
 feet, uncover my hands. It is said in the Book of Poetry, 
 
 T'ae had formed the intention of upsetting the Yin dynasty, of which 
 T'ae-pih. disapproved. T'ae, moreover, because of the sage virtues of his 
 grandson Ch'ang, who afterwards became King Wan, wished to hand 
 down his principality to his third son, Ch'ang' s father. T'ae-pih observ- 
 ing this, and to escape opposing his father's purpose, retired with his 
 second brother among the barbarous tribes of the south, and left their 
 youngest brother in possession of the state. The motives of his conduct 
 T'ae-pih kept to himself, so that the people " could not find how to praise 
 him." There is a difficulty in making out the refusal of the empire three 
 times, there being different accounts of the times and ways in which he 
 did so. Choo He cuts the knot, by making " thrice " = " firmly," in 
 which solution we may acquiesce. There is as great difficulty to find out 
 a declining of the empire in T'ae-pih's withdrawing from the petty state of 
 Chow. It may be added that King Woo, the first emperor of the Chow 
 dynasty, subsequently conferred on T'ae-pih the posthumous title of Chief 
 of Woo, the country to which he had withdrawn, and whose rude in- 
 habitants gathered round him. His second brother succeeded him in the 
 government of them, and hence the ruling house of Woo had the same 
 surname as the imperial house of Chow, that namely of Tsze. See 
 YII. xxx. 
 
 2. The value of the rules of propriety ; and of example in 
 THOSE IN HIGH stations. r -. 1. We must bear in mind that the ceremonies, 
 or rules of propriety, spoken of in these books, are not mere convention- 
 alities, but the ordinations of man's moral and. intelligent nature in the 
 line of what is proper. 2. There does not seem any connection between 
 the former paragraph and this, and hence this is by many considered to 
 je a new chapter, and assigned to the philosopher Tsang. 
 
 3. The philosopher Tsang' s filial piety seen in his care of 
 his person. We get our bodies perfect from our parents, and should so 
 preserve them to the last. This is a great branch of filial piety with the 
 Chinese, and this chapter is said to illustrate how Tsang-tsze had made this 
 
C H. IV.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 163. 
 
 c We should be apprehensive and cautious, as if on the 
 brink of a deep gulf, as if treading on thin ice/ and so 
 have I been. Now and hereafter, I know my esape from 
 all injury to my person, ye, my little children." 
 
 IV. 1. Tsang the philosopher being sick, Mang King 
 went to ask how he was. 
 
 2. Tsang said to him, "When a bird is about to die, 
 its notes are mournful ; when a man is about to c^e, his 
 words are good. # _;.. 
 
 3. " There are three principles of conduct which the 
 man of high rank should consider specially important : — 
 that in his deportment and manner he keep from violence 
 and heedlessness; that in regulating his countenance he 
 keep near to sincerity ; and that in his words and tones 
 he keep far from lowness and impropriety. As to such 
 matters as attending to the sacrificial vessels, there are 
 the proper officers for them." 
 
 V. Tsang the philosopher said, " Gifted with ability, 
 and yet putting questions to those who were not so ; pos- 
 sessed of much, and yet putting questions to those pos- 
 sessed of little ; having, as though he had not ; full, and 
 yet counting himself as empty ; offended against, and yet 
 entering into no altercation :— formerly I had a friend who 
 pursued this style of conduct." 
 
 VI. Tsang the philosopher said, " Suppose that there 
 is an individual who can be entrusted with the charge 
 of a young orphan 'prince, and can be commissioned with 
 authority over a State of a hundred le, and whom no 
 emergency however great can drive from his principles : — 
 is such a man a superior man ? He is a superior man 
 indeed." 
 
 his life-long study. He made the disciples uncover his hands and feet, to 
 show them in what preservation those memhers were. The passage 
 quoted from the poetry is in Pt II. Bk V. i. 8. 
 
 4. The philosopher Tseng's dying counsels to a man of high 
 RANK. King was the honorary epithet of Chung-sun Tsee, a great officer 
 of Loo. and son of Mang-woo, II. vi. From the conclusion of this chapter, 
 we may suppose that he descended to small matters helow his rank. 
 
 5. The admirable simplicity and freedom from egotism of a 
 frif.nd of the philosopher Tsang. This friend is supposed to have 
 been Yen Yuen. 
 
 G. A combination of talents and virtue constituting a Keun- 
 tsze. 
 
 11 * 
 
164 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK VIII. 
 
 VII. 1. Tsang the philosopher said, " The scholar 
 may not be without breadth of mind and vigorous endur- 
 ance. His burden is heavy and his course is long. 
 
 2. " Perfect virtue is the burden which he considers it is 
 his to sustain ; is it not heavy ? Only with death does 
 his course stop; — is it not long?" 
 
 VIII. 1. The Master said, "It is by the Odes that 
 the mind is aroused. 
 
 2. " It is by the Rules of propriety that the character 
 is established. 
 
 3. " It is from Music that the finish is received." 
 
 IX. The Master said, ' l The people may be made to 
 follow a path of action, but they may not be made to un- 
 derstand it." 
 
 X. The Master said, " The man who is fond of daring 
 and is dissatisfied with poverty, will proceed to insub- 
 ordination. So will the man who is not virtuous, when 
 you carry your dislike of him to an extreme." 
 
 XI. The Master said, " Though a man have abilities 
 as admirable as those of the duke of Chow, yet if he be 
 proud and niggardly, those other things are really not 
 worth being looked at." 
 
 XII. The Master said, " It is not easy to find a man 
 who has learned for three years without coming tobegood. 
 
 )> 
 
 7. The necessity to the scholar of compass and vigour op 
 mind. The designation " scholar " here might also be translated " officer." 
 Scholar is the primary meaning ; but in all ages learning has been the 
 qualification for, and passport to, official employment in China, hence it is 
 also a general designation for "an officer." 
 
 8. The effects of poetry, proprieties, and music. 
 
 0. What may, and what may not, be attained to with the 
 people. This chapter has a very doubtful merit ; and the sentiment is 
 much too broadly expressed. Some commentators say, however, that 
 all which is meant is that a knowledge of the reasons and principles of 
 what they are called to do need not be required from the people. 
 
 10. Different causes of insubordination — a lesson to rulers. 
 
 11. The worthlessness of talent without virtue. 
 
 12. How quickly learning leads to good. I have translated here 
 according to the old interpretation of K'ung Gan-kwo. Choo He takes 
 the term for " good " in the sense of " emolument," which it also has, and 
 would change the character for " coming to," into another of the same 
 sound and tone, meaning " setting the mind on," thus making the whole 
 a lamentation over the rarity of the disinterested pursuit of learning. 
 But we are not at liberty to admit alterations of the text, unless, as 
 received, it be absolutely unintelligible. 
 
CH. XIII.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 165 
 
 XIII. 1. The Master said, " With sincere faith he 
 unites the love of learning ; holding firm to death, he is 
 perfecting the excellence of his course. 
 
 2. " Such an one will not enter a tottering state, nor 
 dwell in a disorganized one. When right principles of 
 government prevail in the empire, he will show himself; 
 when they are prostrated, he will keep concealed. 
 
 3. "When a country is well governed, poverty and a 
 mean condition are things to be ashamed of. When a 
 country is ill governed, riches and honour are things to 
 "be ashamed of." 
 
 XIV. The Master said, " He who is not in any parti- 
 cular office, has nothing to do with plans for the adminis- 
 tration of its duties." 
 
 XV. The Master said, " When the music-master, Che, 
 first entered on his office, the finish with the Kwan IVeu 
 was magnificent ; — how it filled the ears ! " 
 
 XVI. The Master said, ' ' Ardent and yet not upright ; 
 stupid and yet not attentive ; simple and yet not sincere : 
 — such persons I do not understand." 
 
 XVII. The Master said, ' ' Learn as if you could not 
 reach your object, and were always fearing also lest you 
 should lose it." 
 
 XVIII. The Master said, " How majestic was the man- 
 
 13. The qualifications of ax officer, who will always act 
 RIGHT IN ACCEPTING AND declining office. 1. This paragraph is to 
 be taken as descriptive of character, the effects of whose presence we have 
 in the next, and of its absence in the last.— The whole chapter seems to 
 want the warmth of generous principle and feeling. In fact, I doubt 
 whether its parts bear the relation and connection which they are sup- 
 Dosed to have. 
 
 14. Every man should mind his own business. So the sentiment 
 of this chapter is generalized by the paraphrasts, and perhaps correctly. 
 Its letter, however, has doubtless operated to prevent the spread of right 
 notions about political liberty in China. 
 
 15. The fraise of the music-master Che. 
 
 16. a lamentation oyer moral error added to natural de- 
 FECT. " I do not understand them," that is, say commentators, natural 
 defects of endowment are generally associated with certain redeeming 
 qualities, as hastiness with straightforwardness, &c. In the parties Con- 
 fucius had in view, those redeeming qualities were absent. He did not 
 understand them, and could do nothing for them. 
 
 17. With what earnestness and contlnuousness learnlng 
 should be pursued. 
 
 18. The lofty character of Shun and Yu. Shun received the 
 
166 . CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [bK VIII. 
 
 ner in which Shun and Yu held possession of the empire > 
 as if it were nothing to them ! " 
 
 XIX. 1. The Master said, " Great indeed was Yaou as 
 a sovereign ! How majestic was he ! It is only Heaven 
 that is grand, and only Yaou corresponded to it. How vast 
 leas his virtue I The people could find no name for it. 
 
 2. " How majestic was he in the works which he accom- 
 plished ! How glorious in the elegant regulations which 
 he instituted ! " 
 
 XX. 1. Shun had five ministers, and the empire was 
 well governed. 
 
 2. King Woo said, " I have ten able ministers." 
 8. Confucius said, "Is not the saying that talents are 
 difficult to fiud, true ? Only when the dynasties of T'ang 1 
 and Yu met, were they more abundant than in this of 
 Chow ; yet there was a woman among its able ministers. 
 There were no more than nine men." 
 
 4. " King Wan possessed two of the three parts of the 
 empire, and with those he served the dynasty of Yin. The 
 virtue of the house of Chow may be said to have reached 
 the highest point indeed." 
 
 empire from Yaou, B.C. 2254, and Yu received it from Shun, B.C. 2204. 
 The throne came to them not by inheritance. They were called to it hy 
 their talents and virtue. And yet the possession of empire did not seem 
 to affect them at all. 
 
 19. The praise of Yaou. 1. No doubt Yaou, as he appears in 
 Chinese annals, is a fit object of admiration, but if Confucius had had a 
 right knowledge of, and reverence for, Heaven, he could not have spoken 
 as he does here. Grant that it is only the visible heaven overspreading 
 all, to which he compai-es Yaou, even that is sufficiently absurd. 
 
 20. The scarcity of men of talent, and praise of the 
 HOUSE OF Chow. 1. Shim's five ministers were Yu, superintendent of 
 works, Tseih, superintendent of agriculture, See, minister of instruction, 
 Kaou-yaou, minister of justice, and Pih-yih, warden of woods and marshes. 
 Those five, as being eminent above all their compeers, are mentioned. 
 2. See the Shoo-king, V. Bk I. ii. G. Of the ten ministers, the most 
 distinguished of course was the duke of Chow. One of them, it is said in 
 the next paragraph, was a woman, but whether she was the mother of King 
 "Wan, or his Avife, is much disputed. 3. Instead of the usual " The 
 Master said," Ave have here " K'ung the philosopher said." This is ac- 
 counted for on the ground that the Avords of lung Woo having been quoted 
 immediately before, it Avould not have done to crown the sage with his 
 usual title of " the Master." The style of the whole chapter, however, is 
 different from that of any previous one, and we may suspect that it is 
 corrupted. " The dynasties of T'ang and Yu " were those of Yaou and 
 Shun. Yaou is called T'ang, having ascended the throne from the mar- 
 
CH. XXI.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 167 
 
 XXI. The Master said, ' ' I can find no flaw in the cha- 
 racter of Yu. He used himself coarse food and drink, but 
 displayed the utmost filial piety towards the spirits. His 
 ordinary garments were poor, but he displayed the_ ut- 
 most elegance in his sacrificial cap and apron. He lived 
 in a low mean house, but expended all his strength on the 
 ditches and water- channels. I can find nothing like a 
 flaw in Yu." 
 
 BOOK IX. 
 
 Chapter I. The subjects of which the Master seldom 
 spoke were— profitableness, and also the appointments of 
 Heaven, and perfect virtue. 
 
 II. 1. A man of the village of Ta-heang said, « Great 
 indeed is the philosopher K'ung ! His learning is exten- 
 sive, and yet he does not render his name famous by any 
 particular thing." 
 
 2. The Master heard the observation, and said to his 
 disciples, " What shall I practise ? Shall I practise cha- 
 rioteering, or shall I practise archery ? I will practise 
 charioteering." 
 
 III. 1. The Master said, " The linen cap is that pre- 
 
 quisate of that name, and Yu became the accepted surname or style of 
 Shun. 
 
 21. The praise of Yu. 
 
 Heading and subjects of this book. " The Master seldom." The 
 thirty chapters of this book are much akin to those of the seventh. They 
 are mostly occupied with the doctrine, character, and ways of Confucius 
 bimself. } . 
 
 1. Subjects seldom spoken of by Confucius. " Profitableness' is 
 taken here in a good sense ;— not as selfish gain, but as it is defined under 
 the first of the diagrams in the Yih-king, " the harmoniousness of all that 
 is righteous ;" that is, how what is right is really what is truly pro- 
 fitable. Compare Mencius, I. Pt I. i. Yet even in this sense Confucius 
 seldom spoke of it, as he would not have the consideration of the pro- 
 fitable introduced into conduct at all. With his not speaking of " perfect 
 virtue," there is a difficulty which I know not how to solve. The IVth 
 book is nearly all occupied with it, and it was a prominent topic in Con- 
 fucius' teachings. 
 
 2. Amusement of Confucius at the remark of an ignorant 
 man about him. Commentators, old and new, say that the chapter 
 shows the exceeding humility of the sage, educed by his being praised, 
 but his observation on the man's remark was evidently ironical. 
 
 3. Some common practices indifferent and others not. 1. The 
 
168 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK IX. 
 
 scribed by the rules of ceremony, but now a silk one 
 is worn. It is economical, and I follow the common 
 practice. 
 
 . 2. "The rules of ceremony prescribe the bowing 
 below the hall, but now the practice is to bow only after 
 ascending it. That is arrogant. I continue to bow below 
 the hall, though I oppose the common practice." 
 
 IY. There were four things from which the Master 
 was entirely free. He had no foregone conclusions, no 
 arbitrary predeterminations, no obstinacy, and no egoism. 
 
 V. 1. The Master was put in fear in K'wang. 
 
 2. He said, " After the death of king Wan, was not 
 the cause of truth lodged here in me ? 
 
 3. ' ' If Heaven had wished to let this cause of truth 
 perish, then I, a future mortal, should not have got such 
 a relation to that cause. While Heaven does not let the 
 cause of truth perish, what can the people of K'wang do 
 to me ? " 
 
 cap here spoken of was that prescribed to be worn in the ancestral 
 temple, and made of very fine linen dyed of a deep dark colour. It had 
 fallen into disuse, and was superseded by a simpler one of silk. Kather 
 than be singular, Confucius gave in to a practice, which involved no 
 principle of right, and was economical. 2. " In the ceremonial inter- 
 course between ministers and their prince, it was proper for them to bow 
 below the raised hall. This the prince declined, on which they ascended 
 and completed the homage." The prevailing disregard of the first part 
 of the ceremony Confucius considered inconsistent with the proper distance 
 to be observed between prince and minister, and therefore he would be 
 singular in adhering to the rule. 
 
 4. Frailties from which Confucius was free. 
 
 5. Confucius assured in a time of danger by his conviction of 
 A divine mission. Compare VII. xxii., but the adventure to which this 
 chapter refers is placed in the sage's history before the other, and seems 
 to have occurred in his fifty-seventh year, not long after he had resigned 
 office, and left Loo. There are different opinions as to what state 
 K'wang belonged to. The most likely is that it was a border town of 
 Ch'ing, and its site is now to be found in the department of K'ae-fung in 
 Ho-nan. The account is that K'wang had suffered from Yang Foo, an 
 officer of Loo, to whom Confucius bore a resemblance. As he passed by 
 the place, moreover, a disciple who had been associated with Yang 
 Foo in his operations against K'wang, was driving him. These cir- 
 cumstances made the people think that Confucius was their old enemy, 
 so they attacked him, and kept him prisoner for five days. The accounts 
 of his escape vary, some of them being evidently fabulous. The disciples 
 were in fear. The text would indicate that Confucius himself was so, but 
 this is denied. He here identifies himself with the line of the great sages, 
 to whom Heaven has intrusted the instruction of men. In all the six 
 
«CH. VI.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 169 
 
 VI. 1. A high officer asked Tsze-kung saying, " May 
 we not say that your Master is a sage ? 'How various is 
 his ability ! " 
 
 2. Tsze-kung said, " Certainly, Heaven has endowed 
 him unlimitedly ; — he is about a sage. And, moreover, 
 his ability is various." 
 
 3. The Master heard of the conversation and said, 
 '" Does the high officer know me ? When I was young, 
 my condition was low, and therefore I acquired my ability 
 in many things, but they were mean matters. Must the 
 superior man have such variety of ability ? He does not 
 need variety of ability." 
 
 4. Laou said, "'The Master said, c Having no official 
 ■employment, I acquired many arts.'' " 
 
 VII. The Master said, "Am I indeed possessed of 
 knowledge ? I am not knowing. But if a mean person, 
 who appears quite empty-like, ask anything of me, I set 
 it forth from one end to the other, and exhaust it." 
 
 VIII. The Master said, " The fung bird does not 
 come ; the river sends forth no map : — it is all over 
 with me." 
 
 centuries between himself and King Wan, he does not admit of such 
 another. 
 
 6. On the various ability op Confucius : — his sagehood not 
 therein. The officer had found the sagehood of Confucius in his 
 various ability. Tsze-kung, positively, and yet with some appearance 
 of hesitancy, affirms the sagehood, and makes that ability only an additional 
 circumstance. Confucius explains his possession of various ability, and 
 repudiates its being essential to the sage, or even to the Jteun-tsze. 4. 
 Laou was a disciple, by surname K'in, and styled Tsze-k'ae, or Tsze- 
 chang. It is supposed that when these conversations were being digested 
 into their present form, some one remembered that Laou had been in the 
 habit of mentioning the remark given, and accordingly it was appended 
 to the chapter. 
 
 7. Confucius disclaims the knowledge attributed to him, 
 and declares His earnestness IN teaching. The first sentence here 
 was probably an exclamation with reference to some remark upon him- 
 self as having extraordinary knowledge. 
 
 8. For want of auspicious omens, Confucius gives up the hope 
 of the triumph of his docbrines. The fung is the male of a fabulous 
 bird, which has been called the Chinese phoenix, said to appear when a 
 sage ascends the throne, or when right principles are going to triumph 
 through the empire. The female is called Tvwang. In the days of Shun, 
 they gambolled in his hall, and were heard singing on mount K'e, in the 
 time of King Wan. The river and the map carry us farther back still, — 
 to the time of Fuk-he, to whom a monster with the head of a dragon, and 
 
170 . CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BE IX. 
 
 IX. When the Master saw a person in a mourning 
 dress, or any one with the cap and upper and lower gar- 
 ments of full dress, or a blind person, on observing them 
 approaching, though they were younger than himself, he 
 would rise up, and if he had to pass by them, he would do 
 so hastily. 
 
 X. 1. Yen Yuen, in admiration of the Master's doctrines, 
 sighed and said, " I looked up to them, and they seemed 
 to become more high ; I tried to penetrate them, and they 
 seemed to become more firm ; I looked at them before me, 
 and suddenly they seemed to be behind. 
 
 2. "The Master, by orderly method, skilfully leads 
 men on. He enlarged my mind with learning, and taught 
 me the restraints of propriety. 
 
 3. " When I wish to give over the study of his doctrines, 
 I cannot do so, and having exerted all my ability, there 
 seems something to stand right up before me ; but though 
 I wish to follow and lay hold of it, I really find no way to 
 do so/' 
 
 XI. 1 . The Master being very ill, Tsze-loo wished the 
 disciples to act as ministers to him. 
 
 2. During a remission of his illness, he said, "Long has 
 the conduct of Yew been deceitful ! By pretending to 
 have ministers when I have them not, whom should I 
 impose upon ? Should I impose upon Heaven ? 
 
 3. " Moreover, than that I should die in the hands of 
 ministers, is it not better that I should die in the hands 
 of you, my disciples ? And though I may not get a great 
 burial, shall I die upon the road ? ;; 
 
 XII. Tsze-kung said, " There is a beautiful gem here. 
 Should I lay it up in a case and keep it ? or should I seek 
 
 the body of a horse, rose from the water, being so marked on the back as 
 to give that first of the sages the idea of his diagrams. Confucius 
 endorses these fables. 
 
 0. Confucius' sympathy with sorrow, respect for rank, and 
 pity for misfortune. 
 
 10. Yen Yuen's admiration of his master's doctrines, and his 
 own progress in them. 
 
 11. Confucius' dislike of pretension, and contbntment with 
 his condition. Confucius had been a great officer, and had enjoyed the 
 services of ministers, as in a petty court. Tsze-loo would have sur- 
 rounded him in his great sickness with the illusions of his former state, 
 and brought on himself this rebuke. 
 
 12. How the desire for office should be qualified by self- 
 
CH. XIII.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 171 
 
 for a good price and sell it ? " The Master said « Sell it ! 
 Sell it ! But I would wait till the price was offered. 
 
 XIII. 1. The Master was wishing to go and live 
 anions the nine wild tribes of the east. 
 
 2 Some one said, " They are rude. How can you do 
 such a thing ? " The Master said, " If a superior^ man 
 dwelt amoug them, what rudeness would there be ? " 
 
 XIV. The Master said, " I returned from Wei to Loo, 
 and then the music was reformed, and the pieces in the 
 Correct Odes and Praise Songs found all their proper 
 
 P XV. The Master said, " Abroad, to serve the high 
 ministers and officers ; at home, to serve one's father and 
 elder brother ; in all duties to the dead, not to dare not 
 to exert oneVself ; and not to be overcome of wine :— 
 what one of these things do I attain to t" 
 
 XVI. The Master standing by a stream, said, It 
 passes on just like this, not ceasing day or night ! ' 
 
 XVII. The Master said, " I have not seen one who 
 loves virtue as he loves beauty." 
 
 respect. The disciple wanted to elicit from Confucius why he declined 
 office so much, and insinuated the subject in this way. _ 
 
 13 How barbarians can be civilized. This chapter is to be 
 understood, it is said, like V. vi., not as if Confucius really wished to go 
 among the E (barbarians), but that he_ thus expressed his regret that his- 
 doctrine did not find acceptance in China. 
 
 14 Confucius' services in correcting the music of his native 
 STATE AND ADJUSTING- THE Book OF Poetry. Confucius returned from 
 Wei to Loo in his sixty-ninth year, and died five years after. The 
 " Correct Odes " and " Praise Songs " are the names of two, or rather 
 three, of the divisions of the She-king, the former being the "ele- 
 gant" or "correct" odes, to be used with music mostly at imperial 
 festivals, and the latter, celebrating principally the virtues of the 
 founders of different dynasties, to be used in the services of the ancestral 
 
 temple. „ TT 
 
 15. Confucius' very humble estimate of himself. Compare vn. 
 ii • but the things which Confucius here disclaims are of a still lower 
 character than those there mentioned. Very remarkable is the last, as 
 
 from the sage. . 
 
 16 How Confucius was affected by a running stream, vvnat 
 does the it in the translation refer to ? The construction of the sentence 
 indicates something in the sage's mind, suggested by the ceaseless move- 
 ment of the water. Choo He makes it " our course of nature. Others 
 say "events," "the things of time." Probably Choo He is correct. 
 Compare Mencius, IV. Pt II. xviii. 
 
 17. The rarity of a sincere love of virtue. 
 
172 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK IX. 
 
 XVIII. The Master said, " The prosecution of learning 
 may be compared to what may happen in raising a mound. 
 If there want but one basket of earth to complete the work, 
 and I stop, the stopping is my own work. It may be com- 
 pared to throwing clown the earth on the level ground. 
 Though but one basketful is thrown at a time, the advanc- 
 ing with it is my own going forward.'" 
 
 XIX. The Master said, " Never flagging when I set 
 forth anything to him ; — ah ! that is Hwuy." 
 
 XX. The Master said of Yen Yuen, " Alas ! I saw his 
 constant advance. I never saw him stop in his progress." 
 
 XXI. The Master said, " There are cases in which the 
 blade springs, but the plant does not go on to flower ! 
 There are cases where it flowers, but no fruit is subse- 
 quently produced ! " 
 
 XXII. The Master said, " A youth is to be regarded 
 with respect. How do we know that his future will not 
 be equal to our present ? If he reach the age of forty or 
 fifty, and has not made himself heard of, then indeed he 
 will not be worth being regarded with respect/' 
 
 XXIII. The Master said, " Can men refuse to assent 
 to the words of strict admonition ? But it is reforming 
 the conduct because of them which is valuable. Can men 
 
 18. That learners should not cease nor intermit their 
 labours. This is a fragment, like many other chapters, of some conversa- 
 tion, and the subject thus illustrated must be supplied, after the modern 
 •commentators, as in the translation; or, after the old, by " the following of 
 virtue." See the Shoo-king, Pt V. Bk V. ix., where the subject is vir- 
 tuous consistency. The lesson of the chapter is — that repeated acquisi- 
 tions individually small will ultimately amount to much, and that the 
 learner is never to give over. 
 
 19. hwuy the earnest student. 
 
 20. Confucius' fond recollection of Hwuy as a model 
 
 STUDENT. 
 
 21. IT IS THE END WHICH CROWNS THE WORK. 
 
 22. HOW AND WHY A YOUTH SHOULD BE REGARDED WITH RESPECT. 
 The same person is spoken of throughout the chapter. With Confucius* 
 remark compare that of John Trebonius, Luther's schoolmaster at 
 Eisenach, who used to raise his cap to his pupils on entering the school- 
 room, and gave as the reason — " There are among these boys men of whom 
 God will one day make burgomasters, chancellors, doctors, and magis- 
 trates. Although you do not yet see them with the badges of their dignity, 
 it is right that you should treat them with respect." 
 
 23. THE HOPELESSNESS OF THE CASE OF THOSE WHO ASSENT AND 
 APPROVE WITHOUT REFORMATION OR SERIOUS THOUGHT. 
 
CH. XXIV.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 173 
 
 refuse to be pleased with words of gentle advice ? But 
 it is unfolding their aim which is valuable. If a man be 
 pleased with these words, but does not unfold their aim, 
 and assents to those, but does not reform his conduct, I 
 can really do nothing with him." 
 
 XXIV. The Master said, " Hold faithfulness and sin- 
 cerity as first principles. Have no friends not equal to 
 yourself. When you have faults, do not fear to abandon 
 them.'" 
 
 XXY. The Master said, " The commander of the forces 
 of a large State may be carried off, but the will of even a 
 common man cannot be taken from him. - " 
 
 XXYI. 1 . The Master said, ' ' Dressed himself in a tat- 
 tered robe quilted with hemp, yet standing by the side of 
 men dressed in furs, and not ashamed ; — ah ! it is Yew 
 who is equal to this. 
 
 2. " ( He dislikes none, he covets nothing ! — what does 
 he do which is not good ? * " 
 
 3. Tsze-loo kept continually repeating these words of 
 the ode, when the Master said, " Those ways are by no 
 means sufficient to constitute perfect excellence." 
 
 XXVII. The Master said, " When the year becomes 
 cold, then we know how the pine and the cypress are the 
 last to lose their leaves." 
 
 XX VIII. The Master said, " The wise are free from 
 perplexities; the virtuous from anxiety; and the bold 
 from fear." 
 
 XXIX. The Master said, " There are some with whom 
 we may study in common, but we shall find them unable 
 to go along with us to principles. Perhaps we may go on 
 with them to principles, but we shall find them unable to 
 
 24. This is a repetition of part of I. viii. 
 
 25. The will unsubduable. 
 
 26. tsze-loo's brave contentment in poverty, but failure to 
 seek the highest aims. 2. See the She-king, Pt I. Bk III. viii. 4. 
 Tsze-loo was a man of impulse, with many fine points, but not sufficiently 
 reflective. 
 
 27. Men are known in times of adversity. " The last to lose 
 their leaves," may he regarded as a meiosis for their being evergreens. 
 
 28. Sequences of wisdom, virtue, and bravery. 
 
 29. how different individuals stop at different stages of 
 PROGRESS. More literally rendered, this chapter would be—" It may be 
 possible with some parties together to study, but it may not yet be pos- 
 sible with them to go on to principles," &c. 
 
174 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK X. 
 
 get established in those along with ns. Or if we may get 
 so established along with them, we shall find them unable 
 to weigh occurring events along with ns." 
 
 XXX. 1 . How the flowers of the aspen-plum flutter and 
 turn ! Do I not think of you ? But your house is 
 distant. 
 
 2. The Master said, " It is the want of thought about 
 it. How is it distant ? " 
 
 BOOK X. 
 
 Chaptee I. 1. Confucius, in his village, looked simple 
 and sincere, and as if he were one who was not able to 
 speak. 
 
 2. When he was in the prince's ancestorial temple, or 
 in the court, he spoke minutely on every point, but cau- 
 tiously. 
 
 II. 1 . When he was waiting at court, in speaking with 
 the officers of the lower grade, he spake freely, but in a 
 
 30. The necessity of reflection. 1. This is from one of the 
 pieces of poetry which were not admitted into the She-king, and no 
 more of it being preserved than what we have here, it is not altogether 
 intelligible. 2. With this paragraph Choo He compares VII. 30. — The 
 whole chapter is like the 20th of the last book, and suggests the thought 
 of its being an addition by another hand to the original compilation. 
 
 Heading and subjects of this book. "The village." This book 
 is different in its character from all the others in the work. It contains 
 hardly any sayings of Confucius, but is descriptive of his ways and de- 
 meanour in a variety of places and circumstances. It is not uninteresting, 
 but, as a whole, it does not heighten our veneration for the sage. We 
 seem to know him better from it, and to Western minds, after being 
 viewed in his bed-chamber, his undress, and at his meals, he becomes 
 divested of a good deal of his dignity and reputation. There is some- 
 thing remarkable about the style. Only in one passage is Confucius 
 styled " The Blaster.' 1 '' He appears either as " K'ung the philosopher," 
 or as "The superior man." A suspicion is thus raised that the chronicler 
 had not the same relation to him as the compilers of the other books. 
 Anciently, the book formed only one chapter, but it is now arranged 
 under seventeen divisions. Those divisions, for convenience in the 
 translation, I continue to denominate chapters, which is done also in 
 some native editions. 
 
 1 . Demeanour of Confucius in his village, in the ancestral 
 temple, and in the court. 
 
 2. Demeanour of confuctus at court with other officers, and 
 before the PRINCE. It was the custom for all the officers to repair at 
 
CH. III.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 175 
 
 straightforward manner ; in speaking with the officers of 
 the higher grade, he did so blandly, but precisely. 
 
 2. When the prince was present, his manner displayed 
 respectful uneasiness ; it was grave, but self-possessed. 
 
 III. I. When the prince called him to employ him in 
 the reception of a visitor, his countenance appeared to 
 •change, and his legs to bend beneath him. 
 
 2. He inclined himself to the other officers among whom 
 he stood, moving his left or right arm, as their position re- 
 quired, but keeping the skirts of his robe before and be- 
 hind evenly adjusted. 
 
 3. He hastened forward, with his arms like the wings of 
 a bird. 
 
 4. When the guest had retired, he would report to the 
 prince, " The visitor is not turning round any more." 
 
 daybreak to the court, and wait for the prince to give them audience. 
 " Great officer " was a general name, applicable to all the higher ministers 
 in a court. At the imperial court they were divided into three classes, — 
 "highest," " middle," and " lowest," but the various princes had only the 
 first and third. Of the first order there were properly three, the 
 Wing or nobles of the state, who were in Loo the chiefs of the " three 
 families." Confucius belonged himself to the lower grade. 
 
 3. Demeanour of Confucius at the official reception of a 
 visitor. 1. The visitor is supposed to be the prince of another state. 
 On the occasion of two princes meeting there was much ceremony. The 
 visitor having arrived, remained outside the front gate, and the host 
 inside his reception-room, which was in the ancestral temple. Messages 
 passed between them by means of a number of officers called keai, on the 
 side of the visitor, and phi, on the side of the host, who formed a zigzag 
 line of communication from the one to the other, and passed their question 
 and answers along, till an understanding about the visit was thus officially 
 effected. 2. This shows Confucius' manner when engaged in the trans- 
 mission of the messages between the prince and his visitor. He must 
 have occupied an intermediate place in the row of his prince's pin, bowing 
 to them on the right or the left, as he transmitted the messages to and 
 from the prince. 3. The host having come out to receive his visitor, 
 proceeded in with him, it is said, followed by all their internuncios in a 
 line, and to his manner in this movement this paragraph is generally 
 referred. But the duty of seeing the guest off, the subject of the next 
 paragraph, belonged to the pin who had been nearest to the prince, and 
 was of higher rank than Confucius sustained. Hence arises a difficulty. 
 Either it is true that Confucius was at one time raised to the rank of the 
 highest dignitaries of the state, or he was temporarily employed, for his 
 knowledge of ceremonies, after the first act in the reception of visitors, to 
 discharge the duties of one. Assuming this, the " hastening forward " is 
 to be explained of some of his movements in the reception-room. How 
 could he hurrv forward when walking in file with the other internuncios ? 
 
176 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BKX. 
 
 IY. 1. When lie entered the palace gate,, he seemed to 
 bend his body, as if it were not sufficient to admit him. 
 
 2. When he was standing, he did not occupy the middle 
 of the gate-way ; when he passed in or out, he did not 
 tread upon the threshold. 
 
 3. When he was passing the vacant place of the prince, 
 his countenance appeared to change, and his legs to bend 
 under him, and his words came like those of one who 
 hardly had breath to utter them. 
 
 4. He ascended the dais, holding up his robe with both 
 his hands, and his body bent ; holding in his breath also, 
 as if he dared not breathe. 
 
 5. When he came out from the audience, as soon as ho 
 had descended one step, he began to relax his countenance,, 
 and had a satisfied look. When he had got to the bottom 
 of the steps, he advanced rapidly to his place, with his 
 arms like wings, and on occupying it, his manner still 
 showed respectful uneasiness. 
 
 Y. 1 . When he was carrying the sceptre of his prince, 
 he seemed to bend his body, as if he were not able to- 
 bear its weight. He did not hold it higher than the posi- 
 tion of the hands in making a bow, nor lower than their 
 
 The ways of China, it appears, were much the same anciently as now. A 
 guest turns round and bows repeatedly in leaving, and the host can't 
 return to his place till these salutations are ended. 
 
 4. Demeanour op Confucius in the court at an audience. 1 » 
 The imperial court consisted of five divisions, each having its peculiar 
 gate. That of a prince of a State consisted only of three, whose gates. 
 were named foo, che, and loo. The " gate " in the text is any one of these. 
 The bending his body when passing through, high as the gate was, is- 
 supposed to indicate the great reverence which Confucius felt. 2. Each 
 gate had a post in the centre, by which it was divided into two halves, 
 appropriated to ingress and egress. The prince only could stand in the 
 centre of either of them, and he only could tread on the threshold or sill. 
 3. At the early formal audience at daybreak, when the prince came out 
 of the inner apartment, and received the homage of the officers, he occu- 
 pied a particular spot. This is the " place," now empty, which Confucius 
 passes in his way to the audience in the inner apartment. 4. He is now 
 ascending the steps to the " dais " or raised platform in the inner apart- 
 ment, where the prince held his council, or gave entertainments, and from 
 which the family rooms of the palace branched off. 5. The audience is- 
 now over, and Confucius is returning to his usual place at the formal 
 audience. 
 
 5. Demeanour of Confucius when employed on a friendly 
 embassy. 1. " Sceptre" here is in the sense simply of " a badge of 
 
CH. VI.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 177 
 
 position in giving anything to another. His countenance- 
 seemed to change, and look apprehensive, and he dragged 
 his feet along as if they were held by something to the 
 ground. 
 
 2. In presenting the presents tvith ivliich lie was charged y 
 he wore a placid appearance. 
 
 3. At his private audience, he looked highly pleased. 
 VI. 1. The superior man did not use a deep purple,. 
 
 or a puce colour, in the ornaments of his dress. 
 
 2. Even in his undress, he did not wear anything of a 
 red or reddish colour. 
 
 3. In warm weather, he had a single garment either of 
 coarse or fine texture, but he wore it dispjayed over an 
 inner garment. 
 
 4. Over lamb's fur he wore a garment of black; over 
 fawn's fur one of white ; and over fox's fur one of yellow. 
 
 5. The fur robe of his undress was lono\ with the right 
 sleeve short. 
 
 authority." It was a precious stone, conferred by the emperor on the 
 princes, and differed in size and shape, according to their rank. They 
 took it with them when they attended the imperial court, and, according 
 to Choo He, and the old interpretation, it was carried also by their re- 
 presentatives, as their voucher, on occasions of embassies among them- 
 selves. 2. The preceding paragraph describes Confucius' manner in the 
 friendly court, at his first interview, showing his credentials, and deliver- 
 ing his message. That done, he had to deliver the various presents with 
 which he was charged. After all the public presents were delivered, the 
 ambassador had others of his own to give, and his interview for that 
 purpose is here spoken of. — Choo He remarks that there is no record of 
 Confucius ever having been employed on such a mission, and supposes 
 that this chapter and the preceding are simply summaries of the manner 
 in which he used to say duties referred to in them ougbt to be discharged. 
 
 6. Kules of Confucius in regard to his dress. 1. The title of 
 " Superior Man," used here to denote Confucius, can hardly have come 
 from the hand of a disciple. " The ornaments," i.e. the collar and sleeves.. 
 The first colour, it is said, by Choo He, after K'ung Gan-kwo, was worn, 
 in fasting, and the other in mourning, on which account Confucius would 
 not use them. 2. There are five colours which go by the name of 
 "correct," viz., "azure, yellow, carnation, white, and black ; " others, 
 among which are red, and red-drop, go by the name " intermediate." 
 Confucius would use only the correct colours ; and moreover, Choo He 
 adds, red and reddish-blue are liked by women and girls. 8. This 
 single garment was made from the fibres of a creeping plant, the 
 doliclws. See the She-king, Pt I. Bk I. ii. 4. The lamb's fur belonged to 
 the court dress, the fawn's was worn on embassies, the fox's on occasions 
 of sacrifice, &c. The fur and the thin garment over it were of the same 
 colour. This was winter wear. 5. Confucius knew how to blend comfort 
 
 TOL. I. 12 
 
178 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK X. 
 
 6. He required his sleeping dress to be half as long 
 again as his body. 
 
 7. When staying at home, he used thick furs of the fox 
 or the badger. 
 
 8. When he put off mourning, he wore all the append- 
 ages of the girdle. 
 
 9. His under garment, except when it was required to 
 be of the curtain shape, was made of silk cut narrow 
 above and wide below. 
 
 10. He did not wear lamb's fur, or a black cap, on a 
 visit of condolence. 
 
 11. On the first day of the month, he put on his court 
 robes, and presented himself at court. 
 
 VII. 1. When fasting, he thought it necessary to have 
 his clothes brightly clean, and made of linen cloth. 
 
 2. When fasting, he thought it necessary to change his 
 food, and also to change the place where he commonly 
 sat in the apartment. 
 
 VIII. 1. He did not dislike to have his rice finely 
 cleaned, nor to have his minced meat cut quite small. 
 
 2. He did not eat rice which had been injured by heat 
 or damp and turned sour, nor fish or flesh which was gone. 
 He did not eat what was discoloured ; nor what was of a 
 bad flavour ; nor anything which was badly cooked ; nor 
 that which was not in season. 
 
 and convenience. . 6. This paragraph, it is supposed, belongs to the next 
 chapter, in which case it is not the usual sleeping garment of Confucius 
 that is spoken of, but the one he used in fasting. 7. These are the furs 
 of paragraph 5. 8. The appendages of the girdle were — the handkerchief, 
 a small knife, a spike for opening knots, &c. Being ornamental, they 
 were laid aside in mourning. 9. The lower garment reached below the 
 knees like a kilt or petticoat. For court and sacrificial dress, it was 
 made curtain-like, as wide at top as at bottom. In that worn on other 
 occasions, Confucius saved the cloth in the way described. So, at least, 
 says K'ung Gan-kwo. 10. Lamb's fur was worn black (paragraph 4), 
 but white is the colour of mourning in China, and Confucius would not 
 visit mourners but in a sympathizing colour. 11. This was Confucius' 
 practice, after he had ceased to be in office. 
 
 7. KULE3 OBSERVED BY CONFUCIUS WHEN FASTING. 1. The sixth 
 paragraph of last chapter should come in as the second here. 2. The 
 fasting was not from all food, but only from wine or spirits, and from 
 strong-flavoured vegetables. 
 
 8. Rules of Confucius about his food. 1. The " minced meat," 
 according to the commentators, was made of beef, mutton, or fish, uncooked. 
 One hundred shlng of paddy were reduced to thirty, to bring it to the state 
 
CH. IX.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 179 
 
 3. He did not eat meat which was not cut properly, nor 
 what was served without its proper sauce. 
 
 4. Though there might be a large quantity of meat, he 
 would not allow what he took to exceed the due proportion 
 for the rice. It was only in wine that he laid down no 
 limit for himself, but he did not allow himself to be con- 
 fused by it. 
 
 5. He did not partake of wine and dried meat bought 
 in the market. 
 
 6. He was never without ginger when he ate. 
 
 7. He did not eat much. 
 
 8. When he had been assisting at the ducal sacrifice, he 
 did not keep the flesh which he received over night. The 
 flesh of his family sacrifice he did not keep over three 
 days. If kept over three days, peoj^le could not eat it. 
 
 9. When eating, he did not converse. When in bed, 
 he did not speak. 
 
 10. Although his food might be coarse rice and veget- 
 able soup, he would offer a little of it in sacrifice with a 
 grave respectful air. 
 
 IX. If his mat was not straight, he did not sit on it. 
 
 X. 1 . When the villagers were drinking together, on 
 those who carried staves going out, he went out imme- 
 diately after. 
 
 2. When the villagers were going through their cere- 
 
 of finefy-cieaced vice. 4. It is said, that in other things he had a limit, but 
 the use of wine being t^ make glad, he could not beforehand set a limit 
 to the quantity of it. 8. The prk.:#, anciently (and it is still a custom), 
 distributed among the assisting ministei: the flesh of his sacrifices. Each 
 would only get a little, and so it could be used at once. 10. The " sacri- 
 ficing " refers to a custom something like our saying grace. The Master 
 took a few grains of rice, or part of the other provisions, and placed them 
 on the ground, among the sacrificial vessels, a tribute to the worthy or 
 worthies who first taught the art of cooking. The Buddhist priests in 
 their monasteries have a custom of this kind ; and on public occasions, as 
 when K-e-ying gave an entertainment in Hongkong in 1845, something 
 like it is sometimes observed, but any such ceremony is unknown among 
 the common habits of the people. However poor might be his fare, Con- 
 fucius always observed it. 
 
 9. Eule of Confucius about his mat. 
 
 10. Other ways of Confucius in his village. 1. At sixty, people 
 carried staves. Confucius here showed his respect for age. He would 
 not go out before the " fathers." 2. There were three of these 
 ceremonies every year, but that in the text was called " the great 
 no" being observed in the winter season, when the officers led all the 
 
 12* 
 
180 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK X. 
 
 monies to drive away pestilential influences, he put on his 
 court robes and stood on the eastern steps. 
 
 XI. 1. When he was sending complinientar y inquiries 
 to any one in another state, he bowed twice as he escorted 
 the messenger away. 
 
 2. Kg K'ang having sent him a present of physic, he 
 bowed and received it, saying, " I do not know it. I dare 
 not taste it." 
 
 XII. The stable being burned down, when he was at 
 court, on his return he said, " Has any man been hurt ? }X 
 He did not ask about the horses. 
 
 XIII. 1 . When the prince sent him a gift of cooked meat, 
 he would adjust his mat, first taste it, and then give it away 
 to others. When the prince sent him a gift of undressed 
 meat, he would have it cooked, and offer it to the spirits 
 of his ancestors. When the prince sent him a gift of a 
 living animal, he would keep it alive. 
 
 2. When he was in attendance on the prince and join- 
 ing in the entertainment, the prince only sacrificed ; but 
 he first tasted everything. 
 
 3. When he was sick and the prince came to visit him, 
 he had his head to the east, made his court robes be spread 
 over him, and drew his girdle across them. 
 
 people of a village about, searching every bouse to expel demons, and 
 drive away pestilence. It was conducted with great uproar, and little 
 better than a play, but Confucius saw a good old idea in kr } and when 
 the mob was in his house, lie stood on the eastern steps (the place of a 
 host receiving guests) in full dress, ivjme make the steps those of his 
 ancestral temple, and his standing there to be a to assure the spirits of 
 his shrine. 
 
 11. TRAITS OF CONFU^iUS' INTERCOURSE WITH OTHERS. 1. The t WO 
 bows, it is $a\ r i, were not to the messenger, but intended for the distant 
 friend t& whom he was being sent. 2. K'ang Avas Ke K'ang-tsze 
 of II. xx. ct al. Confucius accepted the gift, but thought it necessary 
 to let the donor know he could not, for the present at least, avail himself 
 of it. 
 
 12. How Confucius valued human life. A " stable " was fitted 
 to accommodate 216 horses. The term may be used indeed for a private 
 stable, but it is more natural to take it here for the State hew. This is 
 the view in the Family Sayings. 
 
 13. Demeanour of Confucius in relation to his prince. 1. 
 He would not offer the cooked meat to the spirits of his ancestors, not 
 knowing but it might previously have been offered by the prince to the 
 spirits of his. But he reverently tasted it, as if he had been in the prince's 
 presence. He "honoured" the gift of cooked food, "glorified" the 
 
CH. XIV.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 181 
 
 4. When the prince's order called him, without waiting 
 for his carriage to be yoked, he went at once. 
 
 XIY. When he entered the ancestral temple of the 
 state, he asked about everything. 
 
 XV. 1 . When any of his friends died, if he had no re- 
 lations who could be depended on for the necessary offices, 
 he would say, " I will bury him." 
 
 2. When a friend sent him a present, though it might 
 be a carriage and horses, he did not bow. The only 
 present for which he bowed was that of the flesh of sacri- 
 fice. 
 
 XVI. 1. In bed, he did not lie like a corpse. At home, 
 he did not put on any formal deportment. 
 
 2. When he savf any one in a mourning dress, though 
 it might be an acquaintance, he would change counten- 
 ance ; when he saw any one wearing the cap of full dress, 
 or a blind person, though he might be in his undress, he 
 would salute them in a ceremonious manner. 
 
 3. To any person in mourning he bowed forward to the 
 crossbar of his carriage ; he bowed in the same way to 
 any one bearing the tables of population. 
 
 4. When he was at an entertainment where there was 
 
 undressed, and " was kind" to the living animal. 2. The sacrifice here 
 is that in chapter viii. 10. Among parties of equal rank all performed 
 the ceremony, but Confucius, with his prince, held that the prince sacri- 
 ficed for all. He tasted everything, as if he had been a cook, it being 
 the cook's duty to taste every dish before the prince partook of it. 3. The 
 head to the east was the proper position for a person in bed ; a sick man 
 might for comfort be lying differently, but Confucius would not see the 
 prince but in the correct position, and also in the court dress, so far as he 
 could accomplish it. 4. He would not wait a moment, but let his car- 
 riage follow him. 
 
 14. A repetition of part of III. xv. Compare also chapter ii. These 
 two passages make the explanation, given at III. xv., of the questioning 
 being on his first entrance on office very doubtful. 
 
 15. Traits of Confucius in the relation of a friend. 2. Be- 
 tween friends there should be a community of goods. " The flesh of 
 sacrifice," however, was that which had been offered by his friend to the 
 spirits of his parents or ancestors. That demanded acknowledgment. 
 
 1G. Confucius in bed, at home, hearing thunder, &c. 2. Com- 
 pare IX. ix., which is here repeated, with heightening circumstances. 
 
 3. The carriage of Confucius's time was hardly more than what we call a 
 cart. In saluting when riding, parties bowed forward to the front bar. 
 
 4. He showed these signs, with reference to the generosity of the pro- 
 vider. 
 
182 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XI. 
 
 an abundance of provisions set before him, lie would change 
 countenance and rise up. 
 
 5. On a sudden clap of thunder, or a violent wind, he 
 would change countenance. 
 
 XVII. 1 . When he was about to mount his carriage, he 
 would stand straight, holding the cord. 
 
 2. When he was in the carriage, he did not turn his 
 head quite round, he did not talk hastily, he did not point 
 with his hands. 
 
 XVIII. I. Seeing the countenance, it instantly rises. 
 It flies round, and by-and-by settles. 
 
 2. The Master said, " There is the hen-pheasant on the 
 hill bridge. At its season ! At its season ! " Tsze-loo 
 made a motion to it. Thrice it smelt him and then rose. 
 
 BOOK XL 
 
 Chapter I. 1 . The Master said, " The men of former 
 times, in the matters of ceremonies and music, were rus- 
 tics, it is said, while the men of these latter times, in 
 ceremonies and music, are accomplished gentlemen. 
 
 2. " If I have occasion to use these thinsrs, I follow the 
 men of former times." 
 
 II. 1. The Master said, c: Of those who were with me 
 
 17. Confucius at and in his carriage. 1. The strap or cord was* 
 attached to the carriage to assist in mounting it. 
 
 18. A fragment, which seemingly has no connection with the rest of 
 the book. Various corrections of characters are proposed, and various- 
 views of the meaning given. Ho An's view of the conclusion is this. 
 " Tsze-loo took it and served it up. The Master thrice smelt it and 
 rose." 
 
 Heading and subjects of this Book. — " The former men — No. 
 XI.*' With this Book there commences the second part of the Analects,, 
 commonly called the Hea lain. There is, however, no classical authority 
 for this division. It contains twenty-five chapters, treating mostly of 
 various disciples of the Master, and deciding the point of their worthiness.. 
 Min Tsze-K'een appears in it four times, and on this account some attribute 
 the compilation of it to his disciples. There are indications in the style of 
 a peculiar hand. 
 
 1. Confucius' preference of the simpler ways of former, 
 times. 
 
 2. Confucius' regretful memory of his dtsciples' fidelity. 
 Characteristics of ten of the disciples. 1. This utterance must 
 have been made towards the close of Confucius' life, when many of his* 
 
CH. III.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 183 
 
 in Ch/in and Ts'ae, there are none to be found to enter 
 my door." 
 
 2. Distinguished for their virtuous principles and 
 practice, there were Yen Yuen, Min Tsze-k f een, Yen Pih- 
 new, and Chung-kung ; for their ability in speech, Tsae 
 Wo and Tsze-kung ; for their administrative talents, Yen 
 Yew and Ke Loo ; for their literary acquirements, Tsze- 
 yew and Tsze-hea. 
 
 III. The Master said, " Hwuy gives me no assistance. 
 There is nothing that I say in which he does not delight." 
 
 IV. The Master said, " Filial indeed is Min Tsze- 
 k f een ! Other people say nothing of him different from 
 the report of his parents and brothers." 
 
 V. Nan Yung was frequently repeating the lines about 
 a white sceptre-stone. Confucius gave him the daughter 
 of his elder brother to wife. 
 
 VI. Ke K'ang asked which of the disciples loved to 
 learn. Confucius replied to him, " There was Yen Hwuy ; 
 he loved to learn. Unfortunately his appointed time was 
 short, and he died. Now there is no one who loves to learn, 
 as he did. 33 
 
 disciples had been removed by death, or separated from him by other 
 causes. In his sixty-second year or thereabouts, as the accounts go, he 
 was passing, in his wanderings from Ch'in to Ts'ae, when the officers of 
 Ch'in, afraid that he would go on into Tsoo, endeavoured to stop his 
 course, and for several days he and the disciples with him were cut off 
 from food. Both Ch'in and Ts'ae were in the present province of Ho-nan, 
 and are referred to the departments of Ch'in-Chow and Joo-ning. 2. This 
 paragraph is to be taken as a note by the compilers of the book, enumer- 
 ating the principal followers of Confucius on the occasion referred to, with 
 their distinguishing qualities. They are arranged in four classes, and, 
 amounting to ten, are known as the ten wise ones. The " four classes " and 
 " ten wise ones " are often mentioned in connection with the sage's school. 
 
 3. HWUY'S SILENT RECEPTION OF THE MASTER'S TEACHINGS. A 
 
 teacher is sometimes helped by the doubts and questions of learners, which 
 lead him to explain himself more fully. Compare III. viii, 3. 
 
 4. The filial piety of Min Tsze-k'een. 
 
 5. Confucius' approbation of Nan Yung. Nan Yung, see V. i. 
 For the lines, see the She-king, Pt III. Bk III. ii. 5. They are — "A 
 flaw in a white sceptre-stone may be ground away ; but for a flaw in 
 speech, nothing can be done." In his repeating of these lines, we have, 
 perhaps, the ground-virtue of the character for which Yung is commended 
 in V. i. 
 
 6. How Hwuy loved to learn. See VI. ii., where the same question 
 is put by the Duke Gae, and the same answer is returned, only in a more 
 extended form. 
 
184 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XI. 
 
 VII. 1. When Yen Yuen died, Yen Loo begged the 
 carriage of the Master to get an outer shell for his son's 
 coffin. 
 
 2. The Master said, "Every one calls his son his son, 
 whether he has talents or has not talents. There "was 
 Le ; when he died, he had a coffin, but no outer shell. I 
 would not walk on foot to get a shell for him, because, 
 following after the great officers, it was not proper that 
 I should walk on foot." 
 
 VIII. When Yen Yuen died, the Master said, ' ( Alas ! 
 Heaven is destroying nie ! Heaven is destroying me ! " 
 
 IX. 1. When Yen Yuen died, the Master bewailed 
 him exceedingly, and the disciples who were with him 
 said, " Sir, your grief is excessive ? " 
 
 2. (i Is it excessive ? " said he. 
 
 3. iC If I am not to mourn bitterly for this man, for 
 whom should I mourn ? w 
 
 X. 1. When Yen Yuen died, the disciples wished to 
 give him a great funeral, and the Master said, <e You may 
 not do so." 
 
 2. The disciples did bury him in great style. 
 
 3. The Master said, "Hwuy behaved towards me as 
 his father. I have not been able to treat him as my 
 
 7. How Confucius would not sell his carriage to buy a shell 
 for Yen Yuen. 1. In the Family Sayings and in the History of Records, 
 Hwuy's death is represented as taking place before the death of Le. It is 
 difficult to understand how such a view could ever have been adopted, if 
 the authors were acquainted with this chapter. 2. " I follow in rear of 
 the great officers." This is said to be an expression of humility. Confu- 
 cius, retired from office, might still present himself at court, in the robes 
 of his former dignity, and would still be consulted on emergencies. He 
 would no doubt have a foremost place on such occasions. 
 
 8. Confucius felt Hwuy's death as if it had been his own. 
 The old interpreters make this simply the exclamation of bitter sorrow. 
 The modern, perhaps correctly, make the chief ingredient to be grief that 
 the man was gone to whom he looted most for the transmission of his 
 doctrines. 
 
 9. Confucius vindicates his great grief for the death of 
 Hwuy. 
 
 10. Confucius' dissatisfaction with the grand way in which 
 Hwuy was buried. The old interpreters take the disciples here as 
 being the disciples of Yen Yuen. This is not natural, and yet we can 
 hardly understand how the disciples of Confucius would act so directly 
 contrary to his express wishes. Confucius objected to a grand funeral as 
 inconsistent with the poverty of the family (see chapter vii.). 
 
CH. XI.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 185 
 
 son. The fault is not mine ; it belongs to you, disci- 
 ples." 
 
 XI. Ke Loo asked about serving the spirits of the 
 dead. The Master said, ' ' While you are not able to serve 
 men, how can you serve their spirits ? " Ke Loo added, " I 
 venture to ask about death ? " He was answered, " While 
 you do not know life, how can you know about death ? " 
 
 XII. 1. The disciple Min was standing by his side, 
 looking bland and precise; Tsze-loo, looking bold and sol- 
 dierly; Yen Yew and Tsze-kung, with a free and straight- 
 forward manner. The Master was pleased. 
 
 2. He said, " Yew there ! — he will not die a natural 
 death." 
 
 XIII. 1. Some" parties in Loo were going to take 
 down and rebuild the Long treasury. 
 
 2. Min Tsze-k'een said, " Suppose it were to be re- 
 paired after its old style ; — why must it be altered, and 
 made anew ? " 
 
 3. The Master said, " This man seldom speaks ; when 
 he does, he is sure to hit the point." 
 
 XIY. 1. The Master said, "What has the harpsichord 
 of Yew to do in my door ? " 
 
 2. The other disciples began not to respect Tsze-loo. 
 The Master said, "Yew has ascended to the hall, though 
 he has not yet passed into the inner apartments." 
 
 11. Confucius avoids answering questions about serving 
 spirits, and about death. Two views of the replies here are found in 
 commentators. The older ones say — " Confucius put off Ke Loo, and gave 
 him no answer, hecause spirits and death are obscure, and unprofitable 
 subjects to talk about." With this some modern writers agree, but others, 
 and the majority, say — " Confucius answered the disciple profoundly, and 
 showed him how he should prosecute his inquiries in the proper order. 
 The service of the dead must be in the same spirit as the service of the 
 living. Obedience and sacrifice are equally the expression of the filial 
 heart. ' Death is only the natural termination of life. We are born with 
 certain gifts and principles, which carry us on to the end of our course." 
 This is ingenious refining ; but, after all, Confucius avoids answering the 
 important questions proposed to him. 
 
 12. Confucius happy with his disciples about him. He warns 
 Tsze-loo. 
 
 13. Wise advice of Min Sun against useless expenditure. 
 
 14. Confucius' admonition and defence of Tsze-loo. 1. The form 
 of the harpsichord seems to come nearer to that of the sliih than any other 
 of our instruments. The sliih is a kindred instrument with the Win, 
 commonlv called " the scholar's lute." See the Chinese Repository, vol. 
 
186 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XI. 
 
 XV. 1. Tsze-kung asked which, of the two, Sze or 
 Shang, was the superior. The Master said, u Sze goes 
 beyond the due Mean, and Shang does not come up to it." 
 
 2. e< Then/ - ' said Tsze-kung, " the superiority is with 
 Sze, I suppose/'' 
 
 3. The Master said, " To go beyond is as wrong as to 
 fall short." 
 
 XVI. 1. The head of the Ke family was richer than 
 the duke of Chow had been, and yet K'ew collected his 
 imposts for him, and increased his wealth. 
 
 2. The Master said, "He is no disciple of mine. My 
 little children, beat the drum and assail him." 
 
 XVII. 1. Ch/ae is simple. 
 
 2. Sin is dull. 
 
 3. Sze is specious. 
 
 4. Yew is coarse. 
 
 XVIII. 1. The Master said, "There is Hwuy ! He 
 has nearly attained to perfect virtue. He is often in 
 want." 
 
 2. t( Tsze does not acquiesce in the appointments of 
 Heaven, and his goods are increased by him. Yet his 
 judgments are often correct." 
 
 VIII. p. 38. The music made by Yew was more martial in its air than 
 befitted the peace-inculcating school of the sage. 2. This contains a 
 defence of Yew, and an illustration of his real attainments. 
 
 15. Comparison of Sze and Shang. Excess and defect equally 
 wrong. 
 
 16. Confucius' indignation at the support of usurpation and 
 Extortion BY ONE OF His disciples. " Beat the drum and assail him ;" 
 this refers to the practice of executing criminals in the market-place, and 
 by beat of drum collecting the people to hear their crimes. Comment- 
 ators, however, say that the Master only required the disciples here to tell 
 K'ew of his faults and recover him. 
 
 17. Characters of the four disciples — Ch'ae, Sin, Sze, and 
 Yew. It is supposed " The Master said," is missing from the beginning 
 of this chapter. Admitting this, the sentences are to be translated in the 
 present tense, and not in the past, which would be required, if the chapter 
 were simply the record of the compilers. Ch'ae, by surname Kaou, 
 and styled Tsze-Kaou, has his tablet now the fifth, west, in the outer 
 court of the temples. He was small and ugly, but distinguished for his 
 sincerity, filial piety, and justice. Such Avas the conviction of his im- 
 partial justice, that in a time of peril he was saved, by a man whom he 
 had formerly punished with cutting off his feet. 
 
 18. Hwuy and Tsze contrasted. Hwuy's being brought often to 
 this state is mentioned merely as an additional circumstance about him, 
 
CH. XIX.l CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 187 
 
 XIX. Tsze-chang asked what were the characteristics 
 of the good man. The Master said, ' ' He does not tread 
 in the footsteps of others, but, moreover, he does not enter 
 the chamber of the sage" 
 
 XX. The Master said, "If, because a man's discourse 
 appears solid and sincere, we allow him to he a good man, 
 is he really a superior man ? or is his gravity only in ap- 
 pearance ? "' 
 
 XXI. 1 . Tsze-loo asked whether he should immediately 
 carry into practice what he heard. The Master said, 
 11 There are your father and elder brothers to be consulted ; 
 
 why should you act on that principle of immediately 
 
 carrying into practice what you hear ? 3i Yen Yew asked 
 the same, whether he should immediately carry into 
 practice what he heard, and the Master answered, " Im- 
 mediately carry into practice what you hear/''* Kung-se 
 Hwa said, "Yew asked whether he should carry imme- 
 diately into practice what he heard, and you said, ( There 
 are your father and elder brothers to be consulted' K f ew 
 asked whether he should immediately carry into practice 
 what he heard, and you said, ' Carry it immediately 
 into practice/ I, Ch'ih, am perplexed, and venture to 
 ask you for an explanation." The Master said. " KW 
 is retiring and slow ; therefore I urged him forward. Yew 
 has more than his own share of energy ; therefore I kept 
 
 him back." 
 
 XXII. The Master was put in fear in K'wang and 
 Yen Yuen fell behind. The Master, on his rejoining him, 
 
 intended to show that he was happy in his deep poverty. Ho An pre- 
 serves the comment of some one, which is worth giving here, and accord- 
 ing to which, " empty-hearted," free from all vanities and ambitions, was 
 the formative element of Hwuy's character. 
 
 19. The GOOD MAN. Compare VII. xxv. By a "good man" Choo 
 He understands " one of fine natural capacity, but who has not learned." 
 Such a man will in many things be a law to himself, and needs not to 
 follow in the wake of others, but after all his progress will be limited. 
 The text is rather enigmatical. 
 
 20. We may not hastily judge a man to be good fkom his- 
 discouese. 
 
 21. An instance in Tsze-loo and Yen Yew op how Confucius 
 
 DEALT WITH HIS DISCIPLES ACCOED1NG TO THEIR CHARACTERS. 
 
 22. Yen Yuen's attachment to Confucius, and confidence in 
 HIS mission. See IX, v. If Hwuy's answer was anything more than 
 pleasantry, we must pronounce it foolish. The commentators, however 
 
188 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XI. 
 
 said, ' ' I thought you had died." Hwuy replied, " While 
 vou were alive, how should I presume to die ? " 
 
 XXIII. 1. Ke Tsze-jeu asked whether Chung-yew 
 and Yen K f ew could be called great ministers. 
 
 2. The Master said, "I thought you would ask about 
 some extraordinary individuals, and you only ask about 
 Yew and K f ew ! 
 
 3. " What is called a great minister, is one who serves 
 his prince according to what is right, and when he finds 
 he cannot do so, retires." 
 
 4. " Now, as to Yew and K'ew, they may be called or- 
 dinary ministers." 
 
 5. Tsze-jen said, " Then they will always follow their 
 chief ; — will they ? " 
 
 6. The Master said, (l In an act of parricide or regicide, 
 they would not follow him." 
 
 XXIV. 1. Tsze-loo got Tsze-kaou appointed governor 
 of Pe. 
 
 2. The Master said, cc You are injuring a man's son." 
 
 3. Tsze-loo said, " There are (there) common people 
 and officers ; there are the altars of the spirits of the land 
 and grain. Why must one read books before he can be 
 considered to have learned ?" 
 
 expand it thus : — " I knew that you would not perish in this danger, and 
 therefore I would not rashly expose my own life, but preserved it rather, 
 that I might continue to enjoy the benefit of your instructions." If we 
 inquire *how Hwuy knew that Confucius would not perish, we are in- 
 formed that he shared his master's assurance that he had a divine mis- 
 sion. See VII. xxii., IX. v, 
 
 '23. A GREAT MINISTER. CHUNG-YEW AND YEN K'EW ONLY 
 -ORDINARY ministers. The paraphrasts sum up the contents thus : — 
 " Confucius represses the boasting of Ke Tsze-jen, and indicates an 
 acquaintance with his traitorous purposes." This Ke Tsze-jen was a 
 younger brother of Ke Hwan, who was the head of the Ke family spoken 
 of in III. i, ■ Having an ambitious purpose on the dukedom of Loo, he 
 was increasing his officers, and having got the two disciples to enter his 
 service, he boastingly speaks to Confucius about them. 
 
 2i. HOW PRELIMINARY STUDY IS NECESSARY TO THE EXERCISE OP 
 
 government : — A reproop of Tsze-loo. 1. Pe, — see VI. vii. This 
 .commandantship is probably what Min Sun there refused. Tsze-loo had 
 entered into the service of the Ke family (see last chapter), and recom- 
 mended Tsze-kaou as likely to keep the turbulent Pe in order, thereby 
 withdrawing him from his studies with the Master. 2. By denominating 
 Tsze-kaou " a man's son," Confucius intimates, I suppose, that the father 
 was injured as well. His son ought not to be so dealt with. 3. The 
 absurd defence of Tsze-loo. It is to this effect: — " The whole duty of 
 
CH. XXV. J CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 189 
 
 4. The Master said, "It is on this account that I hate 
 your glib-tongued people." 
 
 XXY. 1. Tsze-loo, Tsang Sili, Yen Yew, and Kung-se 
 Hwa ; were sitting by the Master. 
 
 2. He said to them, though I am a day or so older than 
 you, don't think of that. 
 
 3. "From day to day you are saying, 'We are not 
 known/ If some prince were to know you, what would 
 you do ? " 
 
 4. Tsze-loo hastily and lightly replied, " Suppose the 
 case of a state often thousand chariots ; let it be straitened 
 between other large states; let it be suffering from invad- 
 ing armies ; and to this let there be added a famine in 
 corn and in all vegetables ; — if I were intrusted with the 
 government of it, in three years' time I could make the 
 people to be bold, and to recognize the rules of righteous 
 conduct." The Master smiled at him. 
 
 5. Turning to Yen Yew, he said, " K'ew, what are your 
 wishes t" K'ew replied, " Suppose a state of sixty or 
 seventy le square, or one of fifty or sixty, and let me have 
 the government of it ; — in three years' time I could make 
 plenty to abound among the people. As to teaching tliem 
 the principles of propriety and music, I must wait for the 
 rise of a superior man to do that.' 3 
 
 6. "What are your wishes, Ch/ih, said the Master next 
 to Kung-se Siva. Gh'ih replied, I do not say that my 
 ability extends to these things, but I should wish to learn 
 them. At the services of the ancestral temple, and at 
 the audiences of the princes with the emperor, I should 
 like, dressed in the dark square-made robe and the black 
 linen cap, to act as a small assistant.'" 
 
 7. Last of all, the Master ashed T'sdng Sih, " Teen, what 
 are your wishes V 3 Teen, pausing as he was playing on 
 his harpsichord, while it was yet twanging, laid the in- 
 
 man is in treating other men right, and rendering what is due to 
 spiritual beings, and it may be learned practically without the study you 
 require." " On this account," — with reference to Tsze-loo's reply. 
 
 25. The aims of Tsze-loo, Tsang Sih, Yen Yew, and Kung-se 
 Hava ; and Confucius' eemarrs about them. Compare V. vii. and 
 xxv. 1. The disciples mentioned here are all familiar to us excepting 
 Tsang Sih. He was the father of the more celebrated Tsang Sin, and 
 himself by name Teen. The four are mentioned in the order of their age, 
 and Teen would have answered immediately after Tsze-loo, but that Con- 
 
J 90 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XII. 
 
 struinent aside, and rose. " My wishes/' he said, " are 
 different from the cherished purposes of these three gentle- 
 men." "What harm is there in that?" said the Mas- 
 ter ; (C do you also, as well as they, speak out your wishes." 
 Teen then said, " In this, the last month of spring, with 
 the dress of the season all complete, along with five or six 
 young men who have assumed the cap, and six or seven 
 boys, I would wash in the E, enjoy the breeze among the 
 rain-altars, and return home singing." The Master heaved 
 a sigh and said, " I give my approval to Teen." 
 
 8. The three others having gone out, Tsang Sih re- 
 mained behind, and said, " What do you think of the 
 words of these three friends ? " The Master replied, 
 " They simply told each one his wishes." 
 
 9. Teen pursued, " Master, why did you smile at Yew ?" 
 
 10. He was answered, " The management of a state de- 
 mands the rules of propriety. His words were not humble ; 
 therefore I smiled at him." 
 
 11. Teen again said, " But was it not a state which 
 K f ew proposed for himself ? " The reply ivas, " Yes ; did 
 you ever see a territory of sixty or seventy le } or one of 
 hf ty or sixty, which was not a state ? " 
 
 12. Once more Teen inquired, " And was it not a state 
 which Ch/ih proposed for himself ? " The Master again 
 replied, " Yes ; who but princes have to do with ancestral 
 temples, and audiences with the emperor ? If Ch/ih were 
 to be a small assistant in these services, who could be a 
 great one ? " 
 
 BOOK XII. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. Yen Yuen asked about perfect virtue. 
 The Master said, " To subdue one's self and return to 
 
 fucius passed him by, as he was occupied with his harpsichord. It does 
 not appear whether Teen, even at the last, understood why Confucius had 
 laughed at Tsze-loo, and not at the others. " It was not," say the com- 
 mentators, " because Tsze-loo was extravagant in his aims. They were 
 all thinking of great things, yet not greater than they were able for. 
 Tsze-loo's fault was in the levity with which he had proclaimed his 
 wishes. That was his offence against propriety." 
 
 Heading and subjects of this book. "Yen Yuen." It contains 
 twenty-four chapters, conveying lessons on perfect virtue, government, 
 
€H# n l CONFUCIAN AHALEOTE 
 
 propriety, is perfp- J virtu. &* °Tie day 
 
 subdue himsel .aid i to propriety, j 
 
 will as ie perfect vi ■> hxm. - per- 
 
 f f . from a ma ,it from others ? 
 
 bhe steps of that pro* 
 30k not at what is con- 
 not to what is contrary to pro- 
 , wbiu is contrary to propriety ; make no 
 ich is contrary to propriety." Yen Yuen 
 i, "Though I am deficient in intelligence and 
 3 our, I will make it my business to practise this lesson. 
 II Chuug-kung asked about perfect virtue. The Mas- 
 ter said, " It is, when you go abroad, to behave to every one 
 
 *nd other questions of morality and policy, addressed in conversation by 
 Confucius chiefly to his disciples. The different answers, given about the 
 <=ame subject to different questioners, show well how the sage suited his 
 instructions to the characters and capacities of the parties with whom he 
 
 htl l ^HOW TO ATTAIN TO PEEFECT VIETUE :— A CONVEESATION WITH 
 
 YEN YUEN. 1. In Ho An, "to subdue one's self" is explained by "to 
 restrain the body." Choo He defines the << subdue " by « to overcome and 
 the " self " by " the selfish desires of the body." In one commentary it 
 is said "self here is not exactly selfishness, but selfishness is what abides 
 bv being attached to the body, and hence it is said that selfishness is 
 self" And again, "To subdue one's self is not subduing and putting 
 away the self, but subduing and putting away the selfish desires in the 
 self' This " selfishness in the self " is of a three-fold character :— first, 
 what is said by Morrison to be " a person's natural constitution and dis- 
 position of mind;" it is, I think, very much the ^v X ^q fivGpwTroe, or 
 » animal man ; " second, "the desires of the ears, the eyes, the mouth, 
 the nose, i.e., the dominating influences of the senses; and third, 
 "Thou and I," i.e., the lust of superiority. More concisely, the selt is 
 *aid to be " the mind of man " in opposition to the " mind of reason, bee 
 the Shoo-king II. Bk II. xv. This refractory " mind of man, ' it is said, 
 is " innate," or perhaps « connate." In all these statements, there is an 
 acknowledgment of the fact-the morally abnormal condition of human 
 mature— which underlies the Christian doctrine of original sin. With 
 •reference to the above three-fold classification of selfish desires^ the second 
 paragraph shows that it was the second order of them— the influence of 
 the senses, which Confucius specially intended. We turn to propriety, 
 see note on VIII. ii. The thing is not here ceremonies. Choo He defines 
 -it "the specific divisions and graces of heavenly principle or reason 
 This is continually being departed from, on the impulse of selfishness, but 
 •there is an ideal of it as proper to man, which is to be sought— re- 
 turned to" — by overcoming that. 
 
 2 WHEEEIN PEEFECT VTETUE IS EEALIZED :— A CONVEESATION WITH 
 
 Chung-kung. From this chapter, it appears that reverence and reci- 
 -procity, on the largest scale, are perfect virtue. " Ordering the people is 
 
CO - T \N ANALECTS. [BK XII. 
 
 -ou were receivr -^st ; to employ the 
 
 pt,- x <g at a g • ^"fice; not to 
 
 do to oi^ as you wj not wish done to yourself,; to 
 
 have no murmu i a the country, and none 
 
 in the family." Chu I, Though I am defi- 
 
 cient in intelligence and vi b dh make it my busim 
 
 to practise this lesson/'' 
 
 III. 1. Sze-ina New asked about perfect virtue. 
 
 2. The Master said, " The man of perfect virtue is cau- 
 tious and slow in his speech." 
 
 3. " Cautious and slow in his speech ! " said New ; — " is 
 this what is meant by perfect virtue ? " The Master said, 
 " When a man feels the difficulty of doing, can he be other 
 than cautious and slow in speaking ? " 
 
 IV. 1. Sze-ma New asked about the superior man. The 
 Master said, " The superior man has neither anxiety nor 
 fear." 
 
 2. " Being without anxiety or fear ! " said New ; — u does 
 this constitute what we call the superior man ? " 
 
 3. The Master said, " When internal examination dis- 
 covers nothing wrong, what is there to be anxious about, 
 what is there to fear ? " 
 
 V. 1. Sze-ma New, full of anxiety, said, " Other men 
 all have their brothers, I only have not." 
 
 apt to be done with haughtiness. This part of the answer may be compared 
 with the apostle's precept — " Honour all men," only the "all men" is- 
 much more comprehensive there. — The answer, the same as that of Hwuy 
 in last chapter, seems to betray the hand of the compiler. 
 
 3. Caution in speaking a characteristic of perfect virtue : — 
 A conversation with Tsze-new. Tsze-new was the designation of Sze- 
 ma Kang. whose tablet is now the seventh, east, in the outer range of the 
 temples. He belonged to Sung, and was a brother of Hwan T'uy, VII. 
 xxii. Their ordinary surname was Heang, but that of Hwan could also be 
 used by them, as they were descended from the duke so called. The office 
 of " Master of the horse " had long been in the family, and that title 
 appears here as if it were New's surname. 
 
 4. How the Keun-tsze has neither anxiety nor fear, con- 
 scious RECTITUDE FREEING FROM THESE. 
 
 5. Consolation offered by Tsze-hea to Tsze-new anxious 
 about the peril of his brother. 1. Tsze-new's anxiety was occa- 
 sioned by the conduct of his eldest brother, Hwan T'uy, who, he knew, was 
 contemplating rebellion, which would probably lead to his death. " All 
 have their brothers," — i.e., all can rest quietly without anxiety in their 
 relation. 2. It is naturally supposed that the author of the observation 
 was Confucius. 4. One writer says that the expression : — " all within the 
 
CH. VI.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 193 
 
 2. Tsze-hea said to him, " There is trie following say- 
 ing which. I have heard : — 
 
 3. " ' Death and life have their determined appoint- 
 ment ; riches and honours depend upon Heaven/ 
 
 4. " Let the superior man never fail reverentially to 
 order his own conduct, and let him be respectful to others 
 and observant of propriety : — then all within the four seas 
 will be his brothers. What has the superior man to do 
 with being distressed because he has no brothers ? " 
 
 VI. Tsze-chang asked what constituted intelligence. 
 The Master said, " He with whom neither slander that 
 gradually soaks into the mind, nor statements that startle 
 like a wound in the flesh, are successful, may be called 
 intelligent indeed. Yea, he with whom neither soaking 
 slander, nor startling statements, are successful, may be 
 called far-seeing." 
 
 VII. 1. Tsze-kung asked about government. The- 
 Master said, " The requisites of government are that thero 
 be sufficiency of food, sufficiency of military equipment, 
 and the confidence of the people in their ruler ." 
 
 2. Tsze-kung said, "If it cannot be helped, and one of 
 
 four seas are brothers," "does not mean that all under heaven have the 
 same genealogical register." Choo He's interpretation is that, when a man 
 bo acts, other men will love and respect him as a brother. This, no doubt, 
 is the extent of the saying. I have found no satisfactory gloss on the 
 phrase — " the four seas." It is found in the Shoo-king, the She-king, 
 and the Le-ke. .In the Urh Ya, a sort of Lexicon, very ancient, which 
 was once reckoned among the king, it is explained as a territorial desig- 
 nation, the name of the dwelling-place of all the barbarous tribes. But 
 the great Yu is represented as having made the four seas as four ditches, 
 to which he drained the waters inundating "the middle kingdom." 
 Plainly, the ancient conception was of their own country as the great 
 habitable tract, north, south, east, and west of which were four seas or 
 oceans, between whose shores and their own borders the intervening space 
 was not very great, and occupied by wild hordes of inferior races. Com- 
 mentators consider Tsze-hea's attempt at consolation altogether wide of 
 the mark. 
 
 6. What constitutes intelligence: — addressed to Tsze-chang. 
 Tsze-chang, it is said, was always seeking to be wise about things lofty 
 and distant, and therefore Confucius brings him back to things near at 
 hand, which it was more necessary for him to attend to. 
 
 7. Requisites in government : — a conversation with Tsze-chang. 
 3. The difficulty here is with the concluding clause which is literally, 
 " No faith, not stand." Transferring the meaning of faith or confidence 
 from paragraph 1, we naturally render as in. the translation, " the state 
 will not stand." This is the view, moreover, of the old interpreters.. 
 
 vol. t. 13 
 
194 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XII. 
 
 these must be dispensed with, which of the three should 
 be foregone first ? " " The military equipment/' said 
 the Master. 
 
 3. Tsze-kung again asked, " If it cannot be helped, and 
 one of the remaining two must be dispensed with, which 
 of them should be foregone ? " The Master answered, 
 u Part with the food. From of old, death has been the 
 lot of all men; but if the people have no faith in their 
 riders, there is no standing for the State." 
 
 VIII. 1. Kill Tsze-shing said, " In a superior man it is 
 only the substantial qualities which are wanted; — why 
 should we seek for ornamental accomplishments ? " 
 
 2. Tsze-kung said, " Alas ! Your words, sir, show 
 you to be a superior man, but four horses cannot over- 
 take the tongue. 
 
 " Ornament is as substance ; substance is as orna- 
 ment. The hide of a tiger or leopard stript of its hair is 
 like the hide of a dog or goat stript of its hair." 
 
 IX. 1. The Duke Gae inquired of Yew Jo, saying, 
 u The year is one of scarcity, and the returns for expendi- 
 ture are not sufficient ; — what is to done ? " 
 
 2. Yew Jo replied to him, "Why not simply tithe the 
 people." 
 
 Choo He and his followers, however, seek to make much more of 
 "faith." On the first paragraph he comments, — "The granaries 
 being full, and the military preparation complete, then let the influence of 
 instruction proceed. So shall the people have faith in their ruler, and will 
 not leave him or rebel." On the third paragraph he says, — ' ; If the 
 people be without food, they must die, but death is the inevitable lot of 
 men. If they are without faith, though they live, they have not where- 
 with to establish themselves. It is better for them in such case to die. 
 Therefore it is better for the ruler to die, not losing faith to his people, so 
 that the people- will prefer death rather than lose faith to him." 
 
 8. Substantial qualities and accomplishments in the Keun- 
 tsze. 1. Tsze-shing was an officer of the state of Wei, and, distressed by 
 the pursuit in the times of what was merely external, made this not suffi- 
 ciently well-considered remark, to which Tsze-kung replied, in, according 
 to Cboo He, an equally one-sided manner. 3. The modern commentators 
 seem hypercritical in condemning Tsze-kung' s language here. He shows 
 the desirableness of the ornamental accomplish uients, but does not neces- 
 sarily put them on the same level with the substantial qualities. 
 
 9. Light taxation the best way to secure the government 
 
 FROM EMBARRASSMENT FOR WANT OF FUNDS. 2. By the statutes of the 
 
 Chow dynasty, the ground was divided into allotments cultivated in 
 common by the families located upon them, and the produce was divided 
 
CH. X.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 195 
 
 3. " With, two tenths," said the duke, " I find them 
 not enough ; — how could I do with that system of one 
 tenth ? 3i 
 
 4. Yew Jo answered, ' ' If the people have plenty, their 
 prince will not be left to want alone. If the people are 
 in want, their prince cannot enjoy plenty alone." 
 
 X. 1. Tsze-chang having asked how virtue was to be 
 exalted, and delusions to be discovered, the Master said, 
 "Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles, and 
 be moving continually to what is right ; — this is the way 
 to exalt one's virtue. 
 
 2. "You love a man" and wish him to live ; you hate 
 him and wish him to die. Having wished him to live, 
 you also wish him to die. This is a case of delusion. 
 
 3. " ' It may not be on account of his being rich, yet 
 you come to make a difference/ " 
 
 XI. 1. The Duke King, of Ts'e, asked Confucius about 
 government. 
 
 2. Confucius replied, " There is government, when the 
 
 equally, nine tenths being given to the farmers, and one tenth being 
 reserved as a contribution to the state. 3. A former duke of Loo, Seuen 
 (B.C. 601 — 590), had imposed an additional tax of another tenth from each 
 family's portion. 4. The meaning of this paragraph is given in the 
 translation. Literally rendered it is, — " The people having plenty, the 
 prince — with whom not plenty 1 The people not having plenty, with whom 
 can the prince have plenty ? " Yew Jo wished to impress on the duke, 
 that a sympathy and common condition should unite him and his people. 
 If he lightened his taxation to the regular tithe, then they would culti- 
 vate their allotments with so much vigour, that his receipts would be 
 abundant. They would be able, moreover, to help their kind ruler in 
 any emergency. 
 
 10. HOW TO EXALT VIRTUE AND DISCOVER DELUSIONS. 2. The 
 
 Master says nothing about the "discriminating," or " discovering," of 
 delusions, but gives an instance of a twofold delusion. Life and death, 
 it is said, are independent of our wishes. To desire for a man either the 
 one or the other, therefore, is one delusion. And on the change of our 
 feelings to change our wishes in reference to the same person, is another. 
 But in this Confucius hardly appears to be the sage. 3. See the She- 
 king, Pt II. Bk TV. iv. 3. I have translated according to the meaning in 
 the She-king. The quotation may be twisted into some sort of accord- 
 ance with the preceding paragraph, as a case of delusion, but the com- 
 mentator Ch'ing is probably correct in supposing that it should be trans- 
 ferred to XVI. xii. 
 
 11. G©OD GOVERNMENT OBTAINS ONLY "WHEN ALL THE RELATIVE 
 
 duties are MAINTAINED. 1. Confucius went to Ts'e in his thirty-sixth 
 year, and finding the reigning duke — styled King after his death — over- 
 shadowed by his ministers, and thinking of setting aside his eldest son 
 
 13 * 
 
196 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XII.. 
 
 prince is prince, and the minister is minister ; when the 
 Father is father, and the son is son/'' 
 
 3. " Good ! " said the duke ; u if, indeed, the prince 
 be not prince, the minister not minister, the father not 
 father, and the son not son, although I have my revenue, 
 can I enjoy it ? " 
 
 XII. 1. The Master said, u Ah ! it is Yew, who could 
 with half a word settle litigations ! " 
 
 2. Tsze-loo never slept over a promise. 
 
 XIII. The Master said, " In hearing litigations, I am 
 like any other body. What is necessary, is to cause the 
 people to have no litigations/'' 
 
 XIV. Tsze-chang asked about government. The Mas- 
 ter said, " The art of governing is to keep its affairs before 
 the mind without weariness, and to practise them with 
 undeviating consistency. - " 
 
 XV. The Master said, " By extensively studying all 
 learning, and keeping himself under the restraint of the 
 rules of propriety, one may thus likewise not err from 
 what is right." 
 
 XVI. The Master said, u The superior man seeks to per- 
 fect the admirable qualities of men, and does not seek to 
 perfect their bad qualities. The mean man does the 
 opposite of this.'" 
 
 XVII. Ke K'ang asked Confucius about government. 
 Confucius replied, " To govern means to rectify. If you 
 lead on the people with correctness, who will dare not to 
 be correct ? " 
 
 from the succession, he shaped his answer to the question ahout govern- 
 ment accordingly. 
 
 12. With what ease Tsze-loo could settle litigations. 1. We 
 translate here — " could," and not — " can," because Confucius is not 
 referring to facts, but simply praising the disciple's character. 2. This 
 paragraph is a note by the compilers, stating a fact about Tsze-loo, to 
 illustrate what the Master said of him. 
 
 13. TO PREVENT BETTER THAN TO DETERMINE LITIGATIONS. See 
 
 the Great Learning, Conmientary, IV. Little stress is to be laid on the 
 "I." The meaning simply=" One man is as good as another." Much 
 stress is to be laid on " to cause " as=" to influence to." 
 
 14. The art of governing. 
 
 15. Hardly different from VI. xxv. 
 
 16. Opposite influence upon others of the superior man and 
 the mean man. 
 
 17. Government moral in its end, and efficient by example. 
 
-CH. XVIII.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 197 
 
 XVIII. Ke K'ang distressed about the number of 
 thieves in the State, inquired of Confucius about hoiv to do 
 away with them.-xC011fu.cms said, "If you, sir, were not 
 covetous, although you should reward them to do it, they 
 would not steal. 
 
 XIX. Ke K'ang asked Confucius about government, 
 saying, " What do you say to killing the unprincipled for 
 the good of the principled ? " Confucius replied, " Sir, 
 in carrying on your government, why should you use kill- 
 ing at all ? Let your evinced desires be for what is good, 
 and the people will be good. The relation between 
 -superiors and inferiors is like that between the wind and 
 the grass. The grass must bend when the wind blows 
 across it." 
 
 XX. 1. Tsze-chang asked, <e What must the officer be, 
 who may be said to be distinguished ? " 
 
 2. The Master said, "What is it you call being dis- 
 tinguished ? " 
 
 3. Tsze-chang replied, " It is to be heard of through 
 the State, to be heard of through the Family." 
 
 4. The Master said, " That is notoriety, not distinction. 
 
 5. <c Now, the man of distinction is solid and straight- 
 forward, and loves righteousness. He examines people's 
 words, and looks at their countenances. He is anxious to 
 humble himself to others. Such a man will be dis- 
 tinguished in the country; he will be distinguished in the 
 Family. 
 
 6. " As to the man of notoriety, he assumes the appear- 
 ance of virtue, but his actions are opposed to it, and he 
 rests in this character without any doubts about himself. 
 Such a man will be heard of in the country ; he will be 
 heard of in the Family." 
 
 XXI. 1. Fan-ch'e rambling with the Master under 
 
 18. The people are made thieves by the example of their 
 RULEES. This is a good instance of Confucius' boldness in reproving men 
 in power. Ke K'ang had confirmed himself as head of the Ke family, and 
 entered into all its usurpations, by taking off the infant nephew, who 
 should have been its rightful chief. 
 
 19. Killing not to be talked of by rulers ; the effect of 
 their example. 
 
 20. The man of true distinction, and the man of notoriety. 
 
 21. How TO exalt virtue, correct vice, and discover delusions. 
 i Compare chapter x. Here, as there, under the last point of the inquiry, 
 
198 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XII* 
 
 the trees about the rain-altars, said, u I venture to ask how 
 to exalt virtue, to correct cherished evil,, and to discover 
 delusions/' 
 
 2. The Master said, " Truly a good question ! 
 
 3. " If doing what is to be done be made the first busi- 
 ness, and success a secondary consideration; — is not this 
 the way to exalt virtue ? To assail one's own wickedness 
 and not assail that of others ; — is not this the way to cor- 
 rect cherished evil ? For a morning's anger, to disregard 
 one's own life, and involve that of one's parents ; — is not 
 this a case of delusion ? " 
 
 XXII. 1. Fan Ch f e asked about benevolence. The 
 Master said, "It is to love all men." He asked about 
 knowledge. The Master said, " It is to know all men." 
 
 2. Fan Ch'edid notimmediately understand these answers. 
 
 3. The Master said, " Employ the upright and put aside 
 all the crooked; — in this way, the crooked can be made to 
 be upright." 
 
 4. Fan Ch/e retired, and seeing Tsze-hea, he said to 
 him, " A little ago, I had an interview with our Master, 
 and asked him about knowledge. He said, ' Employ the 
 upright, and put aside all the crooked; — in this way, 
 the crooked can be made to j be upright.' What did he 
 mean ? " 
 
 5. Tsze-hea said, " Truly rich is his saying ! 
 
 6. " Shun, being in possession of the empire, selected 
 from among all the people, and employed Kaou-yaou, on 
 which all who were devoid of virtue disappeared. T'ang 
 being in possession of the empire, selected from among all 
 the people, and employed E- Yin, and all who were devoid 
 of virtue disappeared." 
 
 XXIII. Tsze-kung asked about friendship. The Master 
 
 Confucius simply indicates a case of delusion, and perhaps this is the best 
 way to teach how to discover delusions generally. 
 
 22. About benevolence and wisdom; — how knowledge sub- 
 serves benevolence. Fan Ch'e might well deem the Master's replies 
 enigmatical, and, with the help of Tsze-hea's explanations, the student still 
 finds it difficult to understand the chapter. — Shun and T'ang showed their 
 wisdom — their knowledge of men — in the selection of those ministers. 
 That was their employment of the upright, and therefore all devoid of 
 virtue disappeared. That was their making the crooked upright ; — and 
 so their love reached to all. 
 
 23. Prudence in friendship. 
 
CH. XXIV.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 199 
 
 said, " Faithfully admonish, your friend, and kindly try to 
 lead him. If you find him impracticable, stop. Do not 
 disgrace yourself." 
 
 XXIV. The philosopher Tsang said, "The superior 
 man on literary grounds meets with his friends, and by 
 their friendship helps his virtue." 
 
 BOOK XIII. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. Tsze-loo asked about government. The 
 Master said, " Go before the people with your example, 
 and be laborious in their affairs." 
 
 2. He requested further instruction, and was answered, 
 " be not weary in these things." 
 
 II. 1. Chung-kung, being chief minister to the head of' 
 the Ke family, asked about government. The Master 
 said, " Employ first the services of your various officers,, 
 pardon small faults, and raise to office men of virtue and 
 talents." 
 
 2. Chung-~kung said, " How shall I know the men of 
 virtue and talent, so that I may raise them to office ? " 
 
 24. The friendship op the Keun-tsze. "On literary grounds," 
 — literally, "by means of letters," i.e., common literary studies and 
 pursuits. 
 
 Heading and subjects op this book. — " Tsze-loo." Here, as in the 
 last book, we have a number of subjects touched upon, all bearing more or 
 less directly on the government of the state, and the cultivation of the 
 person. The book extends to thirty chapters. 
 
 1. The secret of success in governing is the unwearied 
 example of the rulers : — a lesson to Tsze-loo. 1. To what under- 
 stood antecedents do the Che refer 1 For the first, we may suppose to 
 "people;" "precede the people," or "lead the people," that is, do 
 so by the example of your personal conduct. But we cannot in the 
 second clause bring Che in the same way under the regimen of laou, 
 " to be laborious for them ; " that is, to set them the example of diligence 
 in agriculture, &c. It is better, however, according to the idiom I 
 have several times pointed out, to take Che as giving a sort of neuter 
 and general force to the preceding words, so that the expressions are= 
 "example and laboriousness." — K ; ung Gan-kwo understands the meaning 
 differently : — " set the people an example, and then you may make them 
 labour." But this is not so good. 
 
 2. The duties chiefly to be attended to by a head minister : 
 — a lesson to Yen Yung. 1. Compare YIII. iv. 3. A head min- 
 ister should assign to his various officers their duties, and not be inter- 
 
200 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XIII. 
 
 He was answered, " Raise to office those whom you know. 
 As to those whom you do not know, will others neglect 
 them ? " 
 
 III. 1. Tsze-loo said, " The prince of Wei has been 
 waiting for you, in order with you to administer the 
 government. What will you consider the first thing to 
 be done ? n 
 
 2. The Master replied, " What is necessary is to rectify 
 names." 
 
 3. " So, indeed ! " said Tsze-loo. " You are wide of 
 the mark. Why must there be such rectification ? " 
 
 4. The Master said, " How uncultivated you are, Yew ! 
 A superior man, in regard to what he does not know, 
 shows a cautious reserve." 
 
 5. "If names be not correct, language is not in accord- 
 ance with the truth of things. If language be not in ac- 
 cordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried 
 on to success. 
 
 6. "When affairs cannot be carried on to success, pro- 
 prieties and music will not flourish. When proprieties and 
 music do not flourish, punishments will not be properly 
 
 fering in them himself. His business is to examine into the manner in 
 which they discharge them. And in doing so, he should overlook small 
 faults. 2. Confucius' meaning is, that Chung-kung need not trouble him- 
 self about all men of worth. Let him advance those he knew. There was 
 no fear that the others would be neglected. Compare what is said on 
 " knowing men," in XII. xxii. 
 
 3. The supreme importance op names being correct. 1. This 
 conversation is assigned by Choo He to the eleventh year of the Duke Gae 
 of Loo, when Confucius was sixty-nine, and he returned from his wander- 
 ings to his native state. Tsze-loo had then been some time in the service 
 of the Duke Ch'uh of Wei, who it would appear had been wishing to get 
 the services of the sage himself, and the disciple did not think that his 
 Master would refuse to accept office, as he had not objected to his doing 
 so. 2. " Names " must have here a special reference, which Tsze-loo did 
 not apprehend. Nor did the old interpreter, for Ma Yung explains the 
 counsel " to rectify the names of all things." On this view, the reply 
 would indeed be " wido of the mark." The answer is substantially the 
 same as the reply to Duke King of Ts'e about government in XII. xi., that 
 it obtains when the prince is prince, the father father, &c. ; that is, when 
 each man in his relations is what the name of his relation would require. 
 Now, the Duke Ch'uh held the rule of Wei against his father ; see VII. 
 xiv. Confucius, from the necessity of the case and peculiarity of the cir- 
 cumstances, allowed his disciples, notwithstanding that, to take office in 
 Wei; but at the time of this conversation, Ch'uh had been duke for 
 
OH. IV.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 201 
 
 awarded. When punishments are not properly awarded, 
 the people do not know how to move hand or foot. 
 
 7. "Therefore, a superior man considers it necessary 
 that the names he uses may be spoken appropriately, and 
 also that what he speaks may be carried out appropriately. 
 What the superior man requires, is just that in his words 
 there may be nothing incorrect." 
 
 IY. 1. Fan Ch/e requested to be taught husbandry. 
 The Master said, " I am not so good for that as an old 
 husbandman." He requested also to be taught garden- 
 ing, and was answered, " I am not so good for that as an 
 old gardener. - " 
 
 2. Fan Ch f e having gone out, the Master said, " A 
 small man, indeed, is Fan Seu ! " 
 
 3. " If a superior man love propriety, the people will 
 not dare not to be reverent. If he love righteousness, the 
 people will not dare not to submit to his example. If he 
 love good faith, the people will not dare not to be sincere. 
 Now, when these things obtain, the people from all 
 quarters will come to him, bearing their children on 
 their backs. What need has he of a knowledge of hus- 
 bandry ?" 
 
 V. The Master said, " Though a man may be able to 
 recite the three hundred odes, yet if, when intrusted with 
 a governmental charge, he kuows not how to act, or if, 
 when sent to any quarter on a mission, he cannot give his 
 Teplies unassisted, notwithstanding the extent of his learn- 
 ing, of what practical use is it ? " 
 
 nine years, and ought to have been so established that he could have taken 
 the course of a filial son without subjecting the state to any risks. On this 
 account, Confucius said he would begin with rectifying the name of the 
 duke, that is, with requiring him to resign the dukedom to his father, and 
 be what his name of son required him to be. This view enables us to 
 understand better the climax that follows, though its successive steps are 
 still not without difficulty. 
 
 4. A RULER HAS NOT TO OCCUPY HIMSELF WITH WHAT IS PROPERLY 
 
 the business of the people. It is to be supposed that Fan Ch'e was at 
 this time in office somewhere, and thinking of the Master, as the villager 
 and high officer did, IX, ii. and vi., that his knowledge embraced almost 
 every subject, he imagined that he might get lessons from him on the two 
 subjects he specifies, which he might use for the benefit of the people. The 
 last paragraph shows what people in office should learn. Confucius intended 
 ihat it should be repeated to Fan Ch'e. 
 
 5. Literary acquirements useless without practical ability. 
 
202 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [EK XIII. 
 
 VI. The Master said, " When a prince's personal con- 
 duct is correct, his government is effective without the 
 issuing of orders. If his personal conduct is not correct, 
 he may issue orders, but they will not be followed/ ' 
 
 VII. The Master said, " The governments of Loo and 
 Wei are brothers.-" 
 
 VIII. The Master said of King, a scion of the ducal 
 family of Wei, that he knew the economy of a family well. 
 When he began to have means, he said, " Ha ! here is a 
 collection ! " when they were a little increased, he said, 
 " Ha ! this is complete ! " when he had become rich, he 
 said, " Ha ! this is admirable ! " 
 
 IX. 1. When the Master went to Wei, Yen Yew acted 
 as driver of his carriage. 
 
 2. The Master observed, " How numerous are the 
 people ! " 
 
 3. Yew said, " Since they are thus numerous, what 
 more shall be done for them ? " " Enrich them/' was the 
 
 reply. 
 
 4. "And when they have been enriched, what more shall 
 be done ? " The Master said, " Teach them." 
 
 X. The Master said, " If there were any of the princes 
 who would employ me, in the course of twelve months, I 
 should have done something considerable. In three years, 
 the government would be perfected." 
 
 XI. The Master said, " e If good men were to govern a 
 country in succession for a hundred years, they would be 
 
 6. His personal conduct all in all to a ruler. 
 
 7. The similar condition of the states of Loo and Wei. Com- 
 pare VI. xxii. Loo's state had been so from the influence of Chow-kung, and 
 Wei was the fief of his brother Fung, commonly known as K'ang-shuh. 
 They had, similarly, maintained an equal and brotherly course in their 
 progress, or, as it was in Confucius' time, in their degeneracy. That por- 
 tion of the present Ho-nan, which runs up and lies between Shan-se and 
 Pih-chih-le, was the bulk of Wei. 
 
 8. The contentment of the officer King, and his indifference 
 IN gettlng rich. The commentators say that it is not to be understood 
 that King really made these utterances, but that Confucius thus vividly 
 represents how he felt. 
 
 9. A PEOPLE NUMEROUS, WELL-OFF, AND EDUCATED, IS THE GREAT 
 
 ACHIEVEMENT OF GOVERNMENT. 
 
 10. Confucius' estimate of what he could do, if employed to 
 administer the government of a state. 
 
 11. What a hundred years of good government could effect., 
 Confucius quotes here a saying of his time, and approves of it. 
 
CH. XII.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 203 
 
 able to transform the violently bad, and dispense with 
 capital punishments/ True indeed is this saying ! " 
 
 XII. The Master said, " If a truly royal ruler were to 
 arise, it would still require a generation, and then virtue 
 would prevail." 
 
 XIII. The Master said, l ( If a minister make his own 
 conduct correct, what difficulty will he have in assisting 
 in government ? If he cannot rectify himself, what had 
 he to do with rectifying others ? " 
 
 XIV. The disciple Yen returning from the court, the 
 Master said to him, " How are you so late ? " He re- 
 plied, " We had government business." The Master said* 
 " It must have been Family affairs. If there had been 
 government business, though I am not now in office, I 
 should have been consulted about it." 
 
 XY. 1. The Duke Ting asked whether there was a 
 single sentence which could make a country prosperous. 
 Confucius replied, "Such an effect cannot be expected 
 from one sentence. 
 
 2. " There is a saying, however, which people have — ■ 
 ' To be a prince is difficult ; to be a minister is not easy/ 
 
 12. In what time a royal ruler could transform the empire". 
 The character denoting " a king," " a royal ruler," is formed hy three 
 straight lines representing the three powers of Heaven, Earth, and Man, 
 and a perpendicular line going through and uniting them, and thus con-- 
 veys the highest idea of power and influence. Here it means the highest 
 wisdom and virtue in the highest place. — To save Confucius from the 
 charge of vanity in what he says, in chapter x., that he could accomplish 
 in three years, it is said that the perfection which he predicates there 
 would only be the foundation for the virtue here realized. 
 
 13. That he be personally correct essential to an officer of 
 government. 
 
 14. An ironical admonition to Yen Yew on the usurping 
 tendencies of the Ke family. The point of the chapter turns on the 
 opposition of the phrases " government business," and "family affairs; " 
 — at the court of the Ke family, that is, they had really been discussing 
 matters of government, affecting the State, and proper only for the prince's 
 court. Confucius affects not to believe it, and says that at the chiefs 
 court they could only have been discussing the affairs of his house. 
 Superannuated officers might go to court on occasions of emergency, and 
 might also be consulted on such, though the general rule was to allow them 
 to retire at seventy. See the Le Ke, I. i. 28. 
 
 15. HOW THE PROSPERITY AND RUIN OF A COUNTRY MAY DEPEND 01? 
 THE RULER'S VIEW OF HIS POSITION, HIS FEELING ITS DIFFICULTY, 
 OR ONLY CHERISHLNG A HEADSTRONG WILL. 1. I should Suppose that theSQ 
 
204 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XIII. 
 
 "If a ruler knows this, — the difficulty of being a 
 prince, — may there not be expected from this one sen- 
 tence the prosperity of his country ? " 
 
 4. The duke then said, ' ' Is there a single sentence which 
 can ruin a country ? " Confucius replied, " Such an 
 effect as that cannot be expected from one sentence. 
 There is, however, the saying which people have — ' I have 
 no pleasure in being a prince, only in that no one offer 
 any opposition to what I say ! ' 
 
 5. " If a ruler's words be good, is it not also good that 
 no one oppose them ? But if they are not good, and no 
 one opposes them, may there not be expected from this 
 .one sentence the ruin of his country ? " 
 
 XVI. 1. The duke of She asked about government. 
 2. The Master said, " Good government obtains, when 
 
 those who are near are made happy, and those who are 
 far off are attracted." 
 
 XVII. Tsze-hea, being governor of Keu-foo, asked 
 about government. The Master said, " Do not be desirous 
 to have things done quickly ; do not look at small advan- 
 tages. Desire to have things done quickly prevents their 
 being done thoroughly. Looking at small advantages 
 prevents great affairs from being accomplished." 
 
 XVIII. 1. The duke of She informed Confucius, say- 
 ing, " Among us here there are those who may be styled 
 upright in their conduct. If their father have stolen a 
 gheep, they will bear witness to the fact." 
 
 2. Confucius said, " Among us, in our part of the coun- 
 try, those who are upright are different from this. The 
 
 were commentators' sayings, about which, the duke asks, in a way to inti- 
 inate his disbelief of them. 
 
 16. Good government seen feom its effects. 1. She; — see VII. 
 xviii. 2. Confucius is supposed to have in view the oppressive and ag 
 gressive government of Tsoo, to which She belonged. 
 
 17. Haste and small advantages not to be desired in govern- 
 ing. Keu-foo was a small city in the western borders of Loo. 
 
 18. Natural duty and uprightness in collision. 1. We cannot 
 say whether the duke is referring to one or more actual cases, or giving his 
 opinion of what his people would do. Confucius' reply would incline us 
 to tbe latter view. Accounts are quoted of such cases, but they are 
 probably founded on this chapter. Citing seems to convey here the 
 Idea, of accusation, as well as of witnessing. 2. The concluding ex- 
 pression does not absolutely affirm that this is upright, but that in this 
 there is a better principle than in the other conduct. — Anybody but a 
 
CH. XIX. CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 205 
 
 father conceals the misconduct of the son, and the son 
 conceals the misconduct of the father. Uprightness is to 
 be found in this.-" 
 
 XIX. Pan Ch'e asked about perfect virtue. The Mas- 
 ter said, " It is, in retirement, to be sedately grave ; in 
 the management of business, to be reverently attentive ; 
 m intercourse with others, to be strictly sincere. Though 
 a man go among rude uncultivated tribes, these qualities 
 may not be neglected.-" 
 
 XX. 1. Tsze-kung asked, saying, "What qualities 
 must a man possess to entitle him to be called an officer ? " 
 The Master said, « He who in his conduct of himself main- 
 tains a sense of shame, and when sent to any quarter will 
 not disgrace his prince's commission, deserves to be called 
 an officer." 
 
 2. Tsze-kung pursued, "I venture to ask who may be 
 placed m the next lower rank ? " and he was told, < < He 
 whom the circle of his relatives pronounce to be filial, 
 whom his fellow- villagers and neighbours pronounce to be 
 fraternal." 
 
 3. Again the disciple asked, "I venture to ask about 
 the class still next in order." The Master said, « They 
 are determined to be sincere in what they say, and to carry 
 out what they do. They are obstinate little men. Yet 
 perhaps they may make the next class." 
 
 4 Tsze-kung filially inquired, « Of what sort are those 
 of the present day, who engage in government ? " The 
 Master said, " Pooh ! they are so many pecks and hampers, 
 not worth being taken into account." 
 
 XXI. The Master said, " Since I cannot get men pur- 
 suing the due medium, to whom I might communicate my 
 instructions, I must find the ardent and the cautiously- 
 decided. The ardent will advance and lay hold of truth ; 
 
 Chinese will say that both the duke's view of the subject and the sage's 
 were incomplete, 
 
 19. Chaeacteeistics of perfect virtue, even when associating 
 
 WITH BARBARIANS. 
 
 20. Different classes of men who in their several degrees 
 
 HAY BE STYLED OFFICERS, AND THE INFERIORITY OF THE MASS OF THE 
 
 officers of confucius' time. 
 
 21. Confucius obliged to content himself with the ardent 
 and cautious as disciples. Compare V. xxi., and Mencius, VII. Bk II 
 
 WWII ' ' 
 
 XXXVII. 
 
206 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [jBK XIII. 
 
 the cautiously-decided will keep themselves from what is 
 wrong." 
 
 XXII. 1. The Master said, " The people of the south 
 have a saying — ' A man without constancy cannot be 
 either a wizard or a doctor/ Good ! 
 
 2. " Inconstant in his virtue, he will be visited with 
 disgrace." 
 
 3. The Master said, u This arises simply from not prog- 
 nosticating." 
 
 XXIII. The Master said, " The superior man is affable, 
 but not adulatory ; the mean is adulatory, but not affable." 
 
 XXIV. Tsze-kung asked saying, " What do you say of 
 a man who is loved by all the people of his village ? " The 
 Master replied, " We may not for that accord our ap- 
 proval of him." " And what do you say of him who is 
 hated by all the people of his village ? " The Master said, 
 " We may not for that conclude that he is bad. It is bet- 
 ter than either of these cases that the good in the village 
 love him, and the bad hate him." 
 
 XXV. The Master said, " The 'superior man is easy to 
 serve and difficult to please. If you try to please him in 
 any way which is not accordant with right, he will not be 
 
 22. The importance of fixity and ' constancy of mind. 1. I 
 translate the word " wizard," for want of a better term. In the Chow Le, 
 Bk XXVI., the woo appear sustaining a sort of official status, regularly 
 called in to bring down spiritual beings, obtain showers, &c. They are 
 distinguished as men and women, though the term is often feminine, " a 
 witch," as opposed to another, signifying " a wizard." Confucius' use of 
 the saying, according to Choo He, is this ; — " Since such small people 
 must have constancy, how much more ought others to have it!" The 
 ranking of the doctors and wizards together sufficiently shows what was 
 the position of the healing art in those days. — Ching K'ang-shing inter- 
 prets this paragraph quite inadmissibly : — " wizards and doctors cannot 
 manage people who have no constancy." 2. This is a quotation from the 
 Yih-king, diagram xxxii. 3. This is inexplicable to Choo He. Some 
 bring out from it the meaning in the translation. — Ch'ing K'ang-shing 
 ga y S : — « By the Yih we prognosticate good and evil, but in it there is no 
 prognostication of people without constancy." 
 
 23. The different manners of the superior and the mean 
 MAN. Compare II. xiv. ; but here the parties are contrasted in their more 
 private intercourse with others. 
 
 24. How to judge of a man from the likings and dislikings 
 of others, we must know the characters of those others. 
 
 25. Difference between the superior and the mean man in 
 their relation to those employed by them. 
 
CH. XXVI.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 207 
 
 pleased. Bat in his employment of men, he uses them ac- 
 cording to their capacity. The mean man is difficult to 
 serve, and easy to please. If you try to please him, though 
 it be in a way which is not accordant with right, he may 
 be pleased. But in his employment of men, he wishes them 
 to be equal to everything." 
 
 XXVI. The Master said, " The superior man has a dig- 
 nified ease without pride. The mean man has pride with- f 
 out a dignified ease." 
 
 _ XXVII. The Master said, < ' The firm, the enduring, the 
 simple, and the modest, are near to virtue." 
 
 XXVIII. Tsze-loo asked saying, ' ( What qualities must 
 a man possess to entitle him to be called a scholar ? " The 
 Master said, " He must be thus, — earnest, urgent, and 
 bland: — among his friends, earnest and urgent; amono* 
 his brethren, bland. " 
 
 XXIX. The Master said, " Let a good man teach the 
 people seven years, and they may then likewise be em- 
 ployed in war." 
 
 XXX. The Master said, ' e To lead an uninstructed peo- 
 ple to war is to throw them away." 
 
 26. The different air and bearing of the superior and the 
 
 MEAN MAN. 
 
 27. Natural qualities which are favourable to virtue. 
 
 28. Qualities that mark the scholar in social intercourse. 
 This is the same question as in chapter xx. 1, but the subject is here " the 
 scholar," the gentleman of education, without reference to his being in 
 office or not. 
 
 29. HOW THE GOVERNMENT OF A GOOD RULER WILL PREPARE THE 
 
 people for WAR. " A good man," — spoken with reference to him as a 
 ruler. The teaching is not to be understood of military training, but of 
 the duties of life and citizenship ; a people so taught are morally fitted to 
 fight for their government. What military training may be included in 
 the teaching, would merely be the hunting and drilling during the people's 
 repose from the toils of agriculture. 
 
 30. That people must be taught, to prepare them for war. 
 Compare the last chapter. The language is very strong, and the instruc- 
 tion being understood as in that chapter, shows how Confucius valued 
 education for all classes. 
 
208 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [fiK XIV. 
 
 BOOK XIV. 
 
 Chapter I. Heen asked what might be considered 
 shameful. The Master said, " When good government 
 prevails in a State, to be thinking only of his salary; and, 
 when bad government prevails, to be thinking in the same 
 toay, only of his salary; — this is shameful." 
 
 II. 1. "When the love of superiority, boasting, resent- 
 ments, and covetousness are repressed, may this be deemed 
 perfect virtue ? " 
 
 2. The Master said, " This may be regarded as the 
 achievement of what is difficult. But I do not know that 
 it is to be deemed perfect virtue." 
 
 III. The Master said, f ' The scholar who cherishes the 
 love of comfbrt, is not fit to be deemed a scholar. " 
 
 IV. The Master said, te When good government pre- 
 vails in a State, language may be lofty and bold, and ac- 
 tions the same. When bad government prevails, the ac- 
 tions may be lofty and bold, but the language may be with 
 some reserve." 
 
 Heading and subjects of this book. — The glossarist Hing Ping 
 says, " In this Book we have the characters of the TJiree Kings, and Trvo 
 Chiefs, the courses proper for princes and great officers, the practice of 
 virtue, the knowledge of what is shameful, personal cultivation, and the 
 tranquillizing of the people ; — all subjects of great importance in govern- 
 ment. They are therefore collected together, and arranged after the last 
 chapter which commences with an inquiry about government. " Some 
 writers are of opinion that the whole book was compiled bv Heen or Yuen 
 Sze, who appears in the first chapter. 
 
 1. IT IS SHAMEFUL IN AN OFFICES TO BE CARING ONLY ABOUT HIS 
 EMOLUMENT. Heen is the Yuen Sze of VI. iii. ; and if we suppose Con- 
 fucius' answer designed to have a practical application to Heen himself, it 
 is not easily reconcileable with what appears of his character in that other 
 place. 
 
 2. The praise of perfect virtue is not to be allowed for the 
 EEPRESSION OF BAD feelings. In Ho An, this chapter is joined to the 
 preceding, and Choo He also takes the first paragraph to be a question of 
 Yuen Heen. 
 
 3. A SCHOLAR must be aiming at what is higher THAN COMFORT 
 OR pleasure. Compare IV. xi. 
 
 4. What one does must always be right ; what one feels 
 need not always be spoken : — A lesson of prudence. 
 
CH. V.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 209 
 
 Y. The Master said, " The virtuous will be sure to 
 speak correctly, but those whose speech is good may 
 not always be virtuous. Men of principle are sure to be 
 bold, but those who are bold may not always be men of 
 principle. " 
 
 VI. Nan-kung Kwoh, submitting an inquiry to Con- 
 fucius, said, " E was skilful at archery, and Ngaou could 
 move a boat along upon the land, but neither of them 
 died a natural death. Yu and Tseih personally wrought 
 at the toils of husbandry, and they became possessors 
 of the empire/'' The Master made no reply, but when 
 Nan-kuug Kwoh went out, he said, " A superior man in- 
 deed is this ! An esteemer of virtue indeed is this ! " 
 
 VII. The Master said, " Superior men, and yet not 
 always virtuous, there have been, alas ! But there never 
 has been a mean man, and, at the same time, virtuous/'' 
 
 VIII. The Master said, " Can there be love which, 
 does not lead to strictness with its object ? Can there 
 be loyalty which does not lead to the instruction of its 
 object ? " 
 
 5. We may predicate the external from the internal, but 
 not vice versa. 
 
 6. Eminent prowess conducting to ruin, eminent virtue. 
 
 LEADING TO EMPIRE. THE MODESTY OP CONFUCIUS. Nan-kung Kwoh 
 is said by Choo He to have been the same as Nan Yung in V. i. ; but this 
 is doubtful. See on Nan Yung there. Kwoh, it is said, insinuated in. 
 his remark an inquiry, whether Confucius was not like Yu or Tseih, and 
 the great men of the time so many Es and Ngaous, and the sage was 
 modestly silent upon the subject. E and Ngaou carry us back to the 
 twenty-second century before Christ. Tbe first belonged to a family of 
 princelets, famous, from the time of the Emperor Kuh (B.C. 2432), for 
 their archery, and dethroned the Emperor How Seang, B.C. 2145. E was 
 afterwards slain by his minister, Han Tsuh, who then married his wife,, 
 and one of their sons was the individual here named Ngaou, who was- 
 subsequently destroyed by the Emperor Shaou-k'ang, the posthumous son 
 of How-seang. Tseih was the son of the Emperor Kuh, of whose birth 
 many prodigies are narrated, and appears in the Shoo-king as the 
 minister of agriculture to Yaou and Shun, by name K'e. The Chow 
 family traced their descent lineally from him, so that though the empire 
 only came to his descendants more than a thousand years after his time,. 
 Nan-kung Kwoh speaks as if he had got it himself, as Yu did. 
 
 7. The highest virtue not easily attained to, and iNqoMPATi- 
 BLE with meanness. Compare IV. iv. We must supply the "always," 
 to bring out the meaning. 
 
 8. A LESSON FOR PARENTS AND MINISTERS, THAT THEY MUST BE, 
 
 STRICT AND DECIDED. 
 
 VOL. I. 14 
 
210 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XIV. 
 
 IX. The Master said, "In preparing the govern- 
 mental notifications, P f e Shin first made the rough 
 draught ; She-shuh examined and discussed its contents ; 
 Tsze-yu, the manager of Foreign intercourse, then im- 
 proved and polished it ; and, finally, Tsze-ch'an of Tung- 
 le gave it the proper softness and finish." 
 
 X. 1. Some one asked about Tsze-ch'an. The Master 
 said, " He was a kind man." 
 
 2. He asked about Tsze-se. The Master said, " That 
 man ! That man ! " 
 
 8. He asked about Kwan Chung. "For him," said 
 the Master, " the city of Peen, with three hundred families, 
 was taken from the chief of the Pih family, who did not 
 -utter a murmuring word, though, till he was toothless, he 
 had only coarse rice to eat." 
 
 XI. The Master said, " To be poor without murmur- 
 ing is difficult. To be rich without being proud is easy." 
 
 XII. The Master said, " Mang Kung-ch'o is more 
 than fit to be chief officer in the Families of Chaou 
 
 9. The excellence op the official notifications of Ch'ino, 
 
 OWING TO THE ABILITY OF FOUR OF ITS OFFICEES. The state of Ch'ing, 
 small and surrounded by powerful neighbours, was yet fortunate in having 
 able ministers, through whose mode of conducting its government it enjoyed 
 considerable prosperity. Tsze-ch'an (see V. xv.) was the chief minister 
 of the State, and in preparing such documents first used the services of 
 P'e Shin, who was noted for his wise planning of matters. " She-shuh " 
 shows the relation of the officer indicated to the ruling family. His name 
 was Yew-keih. 
 
 10. The judgment of Confucius concerning Tsze-ch'an, Tsze-se, 
 and Kwan. Chung. 1. See V. xv. 2. Tsze-se was the chief minister of 
 T'soo. He had refused to accept the nomination to the sovereignty of 
 the State in preference to the rightful heir, but did not oppose the 
 usurping tendencies of the rulers of T'soo. He had moreover opposed the 
 wish of King Ch'aou to employ the sage. 3. Kwan Chung, — see III. 
 xxii. To reward his merits, the Duke Hwan conferred on him the 
 domain of the officer mentioned in the text, who had been guilty of some 
 . offence. His submitting, as he did, to his changed fortunes was the best 
 tribute to Kwan's excellence. 
 
 11. IT IS HARDER TO BEAR POVERTY ARIGHT THAN TO CARRY RICHES. 
 This sentiment may be controverted. 
 
 12. The capacity of Mang Kung-ch'o. Kung-ch'6 was the head of 
 the Mang, or Chung-sun family, and according to the " Historical Re- 
 cords," was valued by Confucius more than any other great man of the 
 times in Loo. His estimate of him, however, as appears here, was not 
 -very high. In the sage's time, the government of the State of Tsin was 
 in the hands of the three Families, Chaou, Wei, and Han, which after- 
 
€H. XIII.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 211 
 
 and Wei, but lie is not fit to be minister to either of the 
 States T'ang or See. - " 
 
 XIII. 1. Tsze-loo asked what constituted a complete 
 man. The Master said, " Suppose a man with the know- 
 ledge of Tsang Woo-chung, the freedom from covetousness 
 of Kung-ch/o, the bravery of Chwang of Peen, and the varied 
 talents of Yen K*ew ; add to these the accomplishments 
 of the rules of propriety and music : — such an one might 
 be reckoned a complete man." 
 
 2. He then added, " But what is the necessity for a 
 complete man of the present day to have all these things ? 
 The man, who in the view of gain thinks of righteousness ; 
 who in the view of danger is prepared to give up his life; 
 and who does not forget an old agreement, however far 
 back it extends : — such a man may be reckoned a com- 
 plete man." 
 
 XIV. 1. The Master asked Kung-ming Kea about 
 Kung-shuh Wan, saying, " Is it true that your master 
 speaks not, laughs not, and takes not ? " 
 
 2. Kung-ming Kea replied, " This has arisen from the 
 reporters going beyond the truth. — My master speaks 
 when it is the time to speak, and so men do not get tired 
 of his speaking. He laughs when there is occasion to be 
 joyful, and so men do not get tired of his laughing. He 
 takes when it is consistent with righteousness to do so, 
 
 wards divided the territory among themselves, and became, as we shall 
 see, in the times of Mencius, three independent principalities. T'ang 
 was a small state, the place of which is seen in the district of the same 
 name in the department of Yen-chow, Shan-tung. See was another small 
 state adjacent to it. 
 
 13. Of the complete man : — a conversation with Tsze-loo. 1. 
 Tsang Woo-chung had been an officer of Loo in the reign anterior to that 
 in which Confucius was born. So great was his reputation for wisdom 
 that the people gave him the title of " sage." Woo was his honorary 
 epithet, and Chung denotes his family place, among his brothers. Chwang, 
 it is said, by Choo He, after Chow, one of the oldest commentators, whose 
 surname only has come down to us, was " great officer of the city of 
 Peen." In the " Great Collection of Surnames," a secondary branch of 
 a family of the state of T'saou having settled in Loo, and being gifted 
 with Peen, its members took their surname thence. 
 
 14. The character of Kung-shuh Wan, who was said neither 
 TO speak, NOR laugh, nor take. 1. Wan was the honorary epithet 
 of the individual in question, by name Che, or, as some say, Fa, an 
 officer of the state of Wei. He was descended from the Duke He'en, and 
 was himself the founder of the Kung-shuh family, being so designated, I 
 
 14 * 
 
212 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XIV, 
 
 and so men do not get tired of his taking." The Master 
 said, " So ! But is it so with him ? " 
 
 XV. The Master said, " Tsang Woo-chung, keeping 
 possession of Fang, asked of the duke of~Loo to appoint a 
 successor to him in his Family. Although it may be said 
 that he was not using force with his sovereign, I believe 
 he was." 
 
 XVI. The Master said, ( < The Duke Wan of Tsin was 
 crafty and not upright. The Duke Hwan of Ts'e was up- 
 right and not crafty." 
 
 XVII. 1. Tsze-loo said, " The Duke Hwan caused his 
 brother Kew to be killed, when Shaou Hwiih died with 
 his master, but Kwan Chung did not do so. May not I 
 say that he was wanting in virtue ? " 
 
 2, The Master said, " The Duke Hwan assembled all 
 the princes together, and that not with weapons of war 
 
 suppose, because of his relation to the reigning duke. Of Kung-rning; 
 Kea nothing seems to be known. 
 
 15. Condemnation of Tsang Woo-chung for forcing a favour 
 FROM HIS prince. Woo-chung (see chapter xiii.) was obliged to fly from 
 Loo, by the animosity of the Mang family, and took refuge in Choo. A& 
 the head of the Tsang family, it devolved on him to offer the sacrifices in 
 the ancestral temple, and he wished one of his half-brothers to be made 
 the head of the family, in his room, that those might not be neglected. 
 To strengthen the application for this, which he contrived to get made, he 
 returned himself to the city of Fang, which belonged to his family, and 
 thence sent a message to the court, which was tantamount to a threat that 
 if the application were not granted, he would hold possession of the place. 
 This was what Confucius condemned, — in a matter which should have 
 been left to the duke's grace. 
 
 16. The different characters of the dukes Wan of Tsin and 
 Hwan of Ts'e. Hwan and Wan were the two first of the five leaders of 
 the princes of the empire, who play an important part in Chinese history, 
 during the period of the Chow dynasty known as the Ch'un Ts'ew. Hwan 
 ruled in Ts'e, B.C. 683—640, and Wan in Tsin B.C. 635—627. Of Duke 
 Hwan, see tihe next chapter. The attributes mentioned by Confucius are 
 not to be taken absolutely, but as respectively predominating in the two 
 chiefs. 
 
 17. The merit of Kwan Chung : — a conversation with Tsze-loo. 
 1. " The duke's son Kew," but, to avoid the awkwardness of that render- 
 ing, I say — " his brother." Hwan and Kew had both been refugees in 
 different States, the latter having been carried into Loo, away from the 
 troubles and dangers of Ts'e, by the ministers Kwan Chung and Shaou 
 Hwuh. On the death of the prince of Ts'e, Hwan anticipated Kew, got to 
 Ts'e, and took possession of the State. Soon after, he required the duke 
 of Loo to put his brother to death, and to deliver up the two ministers, 
 
€H. XVIII.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 213 
 
 and chariots : — it was all through the influence of Kwan 
 Chuno*. Whose beneficence was like his ? Whose bene- * 
 
 D 
 
 ficence was like his t 3 ' 
 
 XVIII. 1. Tsze-kung said, " Kwan Chung, I appre- 
 hend, was wanting* in virtue. When the Duke Hwan 
 caused his brother Kew to be killed, Kwan Chung was 
 not able to die with him. Moreover, he became prime 
 minister to Hwan." 
 
 ' 2. The Master said, <( Kwan Chung acted as prime 
 minister to the Duke Hwan, made him leader of all the 
 princes, and united and rectified the whole empire. Down 
 to the present day, the people enjoy the gifts which he 
 conferred. But for Kwan Chung, we should now be wear- 
 ing our hair dishevelled, and the lappets of our coats but- 
 toning on the left side. 
 
 3. " Will you require from him the small fidelity of 
 common men and common women, who would commit 
 suicide in a stream or ditch, no one knowing anything 
 about them V 
 
 •when Shaou Hwuh chose to dash his hrains out, and die with his master, 
 while Kwan Chung returned gladly to Ts'e, took service with Hwan, 
 became his prime minister, and made him supreme arbiter among the 
 various chiefs of the empire. Such conduct was condemned by Tsze-loo. 
 2. Confucius defends Kwan Chung, on the ground of the services which he 
 rendered. 
 
 18. The merit op Kwan Chung: — a conversation with Tsze- 
 kung. 1. Tsze-loo's doubts about Kwan Chung arose from his not 
 dying with the Prince Kew ; Tsze-kung's turned principally on his subse- 
 quently becoming premier to Hwan. 2. Anciently the right was the posi- 
 tion of honour, and the right hand, moreover, is the more convenient for 
 use, but the practice of the barbarians was contrary to that of China in 
 both points. The sentence of Confucius is, that but for Kwan Chung, his 
 countrymen would have sunk to the state of the rude tribes about them. 
 •3. By " small fidelity " is intended the faithfulness of a married couple of 
 the common people, where the husband takes no concubine in addition to 
 his wife. The argument is this : — " Do you think Kwan Chung should 
 have considered himself bound to Kew, as a common man considers himself 
 bound to his wife ? And would you have had him commit suicide, as 
 common people will do on any slight occasion ? " Commentators say that 
 there is underlying the vindication this fact : — that Kwang Chung's and 
 Shaou Hwuh's adherence to Kew was wrong in the first place, Kew being 
 the younger brother. Chung's conduct therefore was not to be judged as 
 if Kew had been the senior. There is nothing of this, however, in Con- 
 fucius' words. He vindicates Cbung simply on the ground of his subse- 
 quent services, and his reference to " the small fidelity " of husband and 
 wife among the common people is very unhappy. 
 
214 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XIV. 
 
 XIX. 1. The officer, Seen, Avho had been /amity-minis- 
 ter to Knng-shuh Wan, ascended to the prince's court in 
 company with Wan. 
 
 2. The Master having heard of it, said, " He deserves 
 to be considered wan." 
 
 XX. 1. The Master was speaking about the unprin- 
 cipled course of the Duke Ling of Wei, when Kg K'ang 
 said, " Since he is of such a character, how is it he does 
 not lose his throne V 3 
 
 2. Confucius said, <c The Chung-shuh, Yu, has the su- 
 perintendence of his guests and of strangers ; the litanist, 
 T'o, has the management of his ancestral temple ; and 
 Wang- sun Kea has the direction of the army and forces : 
 — with such officers as these, how should he lose his 
 throne ? " 
 
 XXI. The Master said, " He who speaks without mo- 
 desty will find it difficult to make his words good." 
 
 XXII. 1. CiVin Ch f ing murdered the Duke Keen of 
 Ts'e. 
 
 2. Confucius bathed, went to court, and informed the 
 Duke Gae, saying, " Cb/in Hang has slain his sovereign. 
 I beg that you will undertake to punish him." 
 
 19. The mepjt of Kung-shuh Wan in recommending to office. 
 A MAN OF worth. Kung-shuh Wan, see chapter xiv. The paragraph is 
 to be understood as intimating that Kung-shuh, seeing the worth and 
 capacity of his minister, had recommended him to his sovereign, and after- 
 wards was not ashamed to appear in the same rank with him at court. 
 
 20. The importance of good and able ministers : — seen in the 
 STATE OF Wei. 1. Ling was the honorary epithet of Yuen, duke of 
 Wei, B.C. 533 — 492. He was the husband of Nan-tsze, VI. xxvi. 2. The 
 Chung-shuh, Yu, is the K'ung Wan of V. xiv. Chung-shuh expresses his 
 family position, according to the degrees of kindred. " The litanist, T'o," 
 — see VI. xiv. Wang-sun Kea, — see III. xiii. 
 
 21. Extravagant speech hard to be made good. Compare IV. 
 xxii. 
 
 22. How Confucius wished to avenge the murder of the duke 
 of Ts'e : — his righteous and public spirit. 1. Keen, — " indolent in 
 not a single virtue," and " tranquil, not speaking unadvisedly," are the 
 meanings attached to this as an honorary epithet ; while Ch l ing indi- 
 cates " tranquillizer of the people, and establisher of government." The 
 murder of the Duke Keen by his officer, Ch'in Hang, took place B.C. 480, 
 barely two years before Confucius' death. 2. " Bathing " implies all the 
 fasting and other solemn preparation, as for a sacrifice or other great occa- 
 sion. According to the account of this matter in the Tso Ch'uen, Confucius 
 meant that the Duke Gae should himself, with the forces of Loo, under- 
 take the punishment of the regicide. Some modern commentators cry- 
 
CH. XXIII.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 215 
 
 3. The duke said,, " Inform the chiefs of the three fami- 
 lies of it." 
 
 4. Confucius retired, and said, <{ Following, as I do, in 
 the rear of the great officers, I did not dare not to repre- 
 sent such a matter, and my prince says, ' Inform the chiefs 
 of the three families of it/ ,} 
 
 5. He went to the chiefs, and informed them, but they 
 would not act. Confucius then said, " Following in the 
 rear of the great officers, I did not dare not to represent 
 such a matter." 
 
 XXIII. Tsze-loo asked how a sovereign should be 
 served. The Master said, " Do not impose on him, and, 
 moreover, withstand him to his face." 
 
 XXIY. The Master said, " The progress of the supe- 
 rior man is upwards ; the progress of the mean man is 
 downwards." 
 
 XXV. The Master said, "In ancient times, men 
 learned with a view to their own improvement. Now-a- 
 days, men learn with a view to the approbation of others." 
 
 XXVI. 1. Keu Pih-yuh sent a messenger with friend- 
 ly inquiries to Confucius. 
 
 2. Confucius sat with him, and questioned him. 
 "What," said he, " is your master engaged in?" The 
 messenger replied, " My master is anxious to make his 
 faults few, but he has not yet succeeded." He then went 
 out, and the Master said, " A messenger indeed ! A 
 messenger indeed ! " 
 
 out against this. The sage's advice, they say, would have been that the 
 duke should report the thing to the emperor, and with his authority asso- 
 ciate other princes with himself to do justice on the offender. 3. This is 
 taken as the remark of Confucius, or his colloquy with himself, when he had 
 gone out from the duke. The last observation was spoken to the chiefs, 
 to reprove them for their disregard of a crime, which concerned every 
 public man. 
 
 23, HOW" THE MINISTER OF A PRINCE MUST BE SINCERE AND BOLDLY 
 UPRIGHT. 
 
 24. The different progressive tendencies of the superior man 
 and the mean man. 
 
 25. The different motives of learners in old times, and in 
 the times of Confucius. 
 
 26. An admirable messenger. Pih-yuh was the designation of Keu 
 Yuen, an officer of the state of Wei, and a disciple of the sage. His place 
 is now first, east, in the outer court of the temples. Confucius had lodged 
 with him when in Wei, and it was after his return to Loo that Pih-yuh 
 sent to inquire for him. 
 

 216 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XIV. 
 
 XXVII. The Master said, " He who is not in any par- 
 ticular office has nothing to do with plans for the admin- 
 istration of its duties." 
 
 XXVIII. 1 . The philosopher Tsang said, " The supe- 
 rior man, in his thoughts, does not go out of his place." 
 
 XXIX. The Master said, " The superior man is modest 
 in his speech, but exceeds in his actions." 
 
 XXX< 1. The Master said, " The way of the superior 
 man is threefold, but I am not equal to it. Virtuous, he is 
 free from anxieties ; wise, he is free from perplexities ; 
 bold, he is free from fear." 
 
 2. Tsze-kung said, " Master, that is what you yourself 
 say." 
 
 XXXI. Tsze-kung was in the habit of comparing men 
 together. The Master said, " Ts'ze must have reached a 
 high pitch of excellence ! Now, I have not leisure for 
 this." 
 
 XXXII. The Master said, " I will not be concerned at 
 men's not knowing me ; I will be concerned at my own 
 want of ability." 
 
 XXXIII. The Master said, "He who does not anti- 
 cipate attempts to deceive him, nor think beforehand of 
 
 27. A repetition of VIII. xiv. 
 
 28. The thoughts of a superior man in harmony with his 
 position. Tsang here quotes from the illustration of the fifty-second 
 diagram of the Yih-king, but he leaves out a character, and thereby alters 
 the meaning somewhat. What is said in the Yih, is— " The superior man 
 is thoughtful, and so does not go out of his place." — The chapter, it is 
 said, is inserted here, from its analogy with the preceding. 
 
 29. The superior man more in deeds than rN words. 
 
 30. Confucius' humble estimate of himself, which Tsze-kung 
 
 DENIES. 
 
 31. One's work is with one's self: — against making compari- 
 sons. 
 
 32. Concern should be about our personal attainment, and 
 not about the estimation of others. See I. xvi., et al. A critical 
 aanon is laid down here by Choo He : — " All passages, the same in mean- 
 ing and in words, are to be understood as having been spoken only once, 
 and their recurrence is the work of the compilers. Where the meaning is 
 the same and the language a little different, they are to be taken as having 
 been repeated by Confucius himself, with the variations." According to 
 this rule, the sentiment in this chapter was repeated by the master in four 
 different utterances. 
 
 33. Quick discrimination without suspiciousness is highly 
 meritorious. 
 
<5H. XXXIV.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 217 
 
 his not being believed, and yet apprehends these things 
 readily when they occur; — is he not a man of superior 
 worth ? " 
 
 XXXIY. 1. Wei-shang Mow said to Confucius, "K f ew, 
 how is it that you keep roosting about ? Is it not that 
 you are an insinuating talker ? " 
 
 2. Confucius said, "I do not dare to play the part of 
 such a talker, but I hate obstinacy." 
 
 XXXY. The Master said, " A horse is called a We, 
 not because of its strength, but because of its other good 
 qualities." 
 
 XXXVI. 1 . Some one said, " What do you say con- 
 cerning the principle that injury should be recompensed 
 with kindness ? " 
 
 2. The Master said, " With what then will you recom- 
 pense kindness ? 
 
 3. <c Recompense injury with justice, and recompense 
 kindness with kindness." 
 
 XXXVII. 1 . The Master said, ' ' Alas ! there is no one 
 that knows me." 
 
 M. Confucius not self-willed, and yet no glib-tongued 
 
 TALKER : — DEFENCE OF HIMSELF FROM THE CHARGE OF AN AGED 
 REPROVER. From Wei-shang's addressing Confucius by his name, it is 
 presumed that he was an old man. Such a liberty in a young man would 
 iiave been impudence. It is presumed, also, that he was one of those men 
 •who kept themselves retired from the world in disgust. " Rooster-er," as 
 a bird, is used contemptuously with reference to Confucius going about 
 among the princes, and wishing to be called to office. 
 
 35. Virtue, and not strength, the fit subject of praise. £?c j 
 was the name of a famous horse of antiquity who could run 1000 le in one 
 day. See the dictionary in. voc. It is here used generally for " a good horse." 
 
 36. Good is not to be returned for evtl ; evil is to be met 
 simply with justice. 1. The phrase " Recompense injury with kind- 
 ■ness " is found in Laou-tsze ; but it is likely that Confucius' questioner 
 simply consulted him about it as a saying which he had heard and was 
 inclined to approve himself. 2. How far the ethics of Confucius fall below 
 the Christian standard is evident from this chapter. The same expressions 
 are attributed to Confucius in the Le-ke, XXXII. 1 1 , and it is there 
 added, — " He who returns good for evil is a man who is careful of his 
 person," i. e., will try to avert danger from himself by such a course. 
 One author says, that the injuries intended by the questioner were only 
 trivial matters, which perhaps might be dealt with in the way he men- 
 tioned, but great offences, .as those against a sovereign, a father, may not 
 be dealt with by such an inversion of the principles of justice. The Master 
 himself, however, does not fence his deliverance in any way. 
 
 37. Confucius, lamenting that men did not know him, rests 
 
218 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XIV* 
 
 2. Tsze-kung said, " What do you mean by thus say- 
 ing — that no one knows you ? " The Master replied, " I 
 do not murmur against Heaven. I do not grumble against 
 men. My studies lie low, and my penetration rises high. 
 But there is Heaven ; — that knows me ! " 
 
 XXXVIII. 1 . The Kung-pih, Leaou, having slandered 
 Tsze-loo to Ke-sun, Tsze-fuh King-pih informed Con- 
 fucius of it, saying, " Our Master is certainly being led 
 astray by the Kung-pih, Leaou, but I have still power 
 enough left to cut Leaou off, and expose his corpse in the 
 market and in the court.'''' 
 
 2. The Master said, " If my principles are to advance, 
 it is so ordered. If they are to fall to the ground, it is so 
 ordered. What can the Kung-pih, Leaou, do, where such 
 ordering is concerned ? ,} 
 
 XXXIX. I. The Master said, " Some men of worth re- 
 tire from the world. 
 
 2. " Some retire from, particular countries. 
 
 3. " Some retire because of disrespectful looks. 
 
 4. " Some retire because of contradictory language." 
 
 in the thought that Heaven knew him. Confucius referred in his 
 complaint, commentators say, to the way in which he pursued his course, 
 simply, out of his own conviction of duty, and for his own improvement, 
 without regard to success, or the opinions of others. 2. " My studies lie 
 low, and my penetration rises high " is literally — " beneath I learn, above 
 I penetrate ; " — the meaning appears to be that he contented himself with 
 the study of men and things, common matters as more ambitious spirits 
 would deem them, but from those he rose to understand the high princi- 
 ples involved in them, — "the appointments of Heaven," according to one 
 commentator. 
 
 38. How Confucius rested, as to the progress of his 
 doctrines, on the ordering of Heaven : — on occasion of Tsze- 
 loo's being slandered. Leaou, called Kung-pih (literally, duke's 
 uncle), probably from an affinity with the ducal house, is said by some to 
 have been a disciple of the sage, but that is not likely, as we find him here 
 slandering Tsze-loo, that he might not be able, in his official connection 
 with the Ke family, to carry the Master's lessons into practice. Tsze- 
 fuh King-pih was an officer of Loo. Exposing the bodies of criminals was 
 a sequel of their execution. The bodies of " great officers " were so 
 exposed in the court, and those of meaner criminals in the market-place. 
 " The market-place and the court " came to be employed together, though 
 the exposure could take place only in one place. 
 
 39. Different causes why men of worth withdraw from 
 public life, and different extents to which they so withdraw 
 themselves. 
 
CH. XL.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 219 
 
 XL. Tlie Master said, " Those who have done this are 
 
 seven men." 
 
 XLI. Tsze-loo happening to pass the night in Shih- 
 mun, the gate-keeper said to him, " Whom do yon come 
 from ? " ' Tsze-loo said, " From Mr K'ung." "It is he, 
 — is it not ? " — said the other, " who knows the im- 
 practicable nature of the times, and yet will be doing in 
 them." 
 
 XLII. 1 . The Master was playing, one day, on a musical 
 stone in Wei, when a man, carrying a straw basket, passed 
 the door of the house where Confucius was, and said, 
 " His heart is full who so beats the musical stone." 
 
 2. A little while after he added, "How contemptible 
 is the one-idea obstinacy those sounds display ! _ When 
 one is taken no notice of, he has simply at once to give over 
 his tvisli for public employment. l Deep water must be 
 crossed with the clothes on ; shallow water may be waded 
 through with the clothes rolled up/ " 
 
 3. The Master said, " How determined is he in his pur- 
 pose ! But this is not difficult." 
 
 XLIII. 1. Tsze-chang said, "What is meant when the 
 shoo says that Kaou-tsung, while observing the usual im- 
 perial mourning, was for three years without speaking ?" 
 
 2. The Master said, "Why must Kaou-tsung be refer- 
 red to as an example of this ? The ancients all did so. 
 When the sovereign died, the officers all attended to their 
 
 40. The number of men of worth who had withdrawn from' 
 public life IN Confucius' time. This chapter is understood, both by 
 Choo He and the old commentators, in connection with the preceding, as 
 appears in the translation. Some also give the names of the seven men, 
 which, according to Choo, is " chiselling," i. e., forcing out an illustration 
 of the test. 
 
 41. Condemnation of Confucius' course in seeking to be 
 employed, by one who had withdrawn from public LIFE. The 
 site of Shih-mun is referred to the district of Ch'ang-ts'ing, department of 
 Ts'e-nan, in Shan-tung. The keeper was probably one of the seven worthies, 
 spoken of in the preceding chapter. We might translate Shih-mun by 
 " Stony-gate." It seems to have been one of the frontier passes between 
 Ts'e and Loo. 
 
 42. The judgment op a retired worthy on Confucius' course, 
 and remark of confucius thereon. 
 
 43. how government was carried on during the three years 
 OF silent mourning by the emperor. See the Shoo-king, IV. viii. 1, 
 but the passage there is not exactly as in the text. It is there said that 
 
220 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XIV. 
 
 several duties, taking instructions from the prime minister 
 for three years." 
 
 XLIV. The Master said, " When rulers love to observe 
 the rules of propriety, the people respond readily to the 
 calls on them for service. 1 " 
 
 XLV. Tsze-loo asked what constituted the superior 
 man. The Master said, " The cultivation of himself in 
 reverential carefulness." "And is this all ? " said Tsze- 
 loo. " He cultivates himself so as to give rest to others," 
 tsrfis the reply. u And is this all ? " again asked Tsze-loo. 
 The Master said, "He cultivates himself so as to give rest 
 to all the people. He cultivates himself so as to give rest 
 to all the people : — even Yaou and Shun were still solicit- 
 ous about this." 
 
 XLVI. Yuen Jang was squatting on his heels, and so 
 waited the abroach of the Master, who said to him : " In 
 youth, not humble as befits a junior; in manhood, doing 
 nothing worthy of being handed down ; and living on to 
 old age : — this is to be a pest." With this he hit him on 
 the shank with his staff. 
 
 Kaou-tsung, after the three years' mourning, still did not speak. Kaou- 
 tsung was the honorary epithet of the Emperor Woo-ting, B.C. 1323 — 1263. 
 — Tsze-chang was perplexed to know how government could be carried on 
 during so long a period of silence. 
 
 44. how a love of the rules op propriety in rulers facili- 
 tates government. 
 
 45. Reverent self-cultivation the distinguishing character- 
 istic of the Keun-tsze. " All the people " is literally, " the hundred 
 surnames, 1 ' which, as a designation for the mass of the people, occurs as 
 early as in the first Book of the Shoo. It is = " the surnames of the 
 hundred families," into which number the families of the people were per- 
 haps divided at a very early time. The surnames of the Chinese now 
 amount to several hundreds. A small work, made in the Sung dynasty, 
 contains nearly 450. We find a ridiculous reason given for the surnames 
 being a hundred, to the effect that the ancient sages gave a surname for 
 each of the five notes of the scale in music, and of the five great relations 
 of life and of the four seas; consequently, 5 X 5 X 4=100." It is to be 
 observed, that in the Shoo-king, we find "a hundred surnames," inter- 
 changed with "ten thousand surnames," and it would seem needless, 
 therefore, to seek to attach a definite explanation to the number. On the 
 concluding remark, — see VI. xxviii. 
 
 46. Confucius' conduct to an unmannerly old man of ma 
 acquaintance. Yuen Jang was an old acquaintance of Confucius, but 
 had adopted the principles of Laou-tsze, and gave himself extraordinary 
 license in his behaviour. — See an instance in the Le-ke, II. Pt II. iii. 24. 
 -The address of Confucius might be translated in the second person, but it 
 
CH. XLVII.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 221 
 
 XL VII. 1. A lad of the village of K'eueh was em- 
 ployed by Confucius to carry tlie messages between him 
 and his visitors. Some one asked about him, saying, " I 
 suppose he has made great progress." 
 
 2. The Master said, " I observe that he is fond of oc- 
 cupying the seat of a full-grown man ; I observe that he 
 walks shoulder to shoulder with his elders. He is not one 
 who is seeking to make progress in learning. He wishes 
 quickly to become a man." 
 
 BOOK XV. 
 
 Chapter I. 1 . The Duke Ling of Wei asked Confucius 
 about tactics. Confucius replied, " I have heard all about 
 sacrificial vessels, but I have not learned military matters." 
 On this, he took his departure the next day. 
 
 2. When he was in Ch/in, their provisions were ex- 
 hausted, and his followers became so ill that they were 
 unable to rise. 
 
 3. Tsze-loo, with evident dissatisfaction, said, "Has 
 the superior man likewise to endure in this ivay ? ,} The 
 
 is perhaps better to keep to the third, leaving the application to be under- 
 stood. 
 
 47. Confucius' employment of a forward youth. 1. There is a 
 tradition that Confucius lived and taught in the village of K'eueh ; but it 
 is much disputed. The inquirer supposed that Confucius' employment of 
 the lad was to distinguish him for the progress which he had made. 2. 
 According to the rules of ceremony, a youth must sit in the corner, the 
 body of the room being reserved for full-grown men. See the Le-ke, II. Pt 
 I. i. 17. In walking with an elder, a youth was required to keep a little 
 behind him. See the Le-ke, III. v. 15. Confucius' employment of the 
 lad, therefore, was to teach him the courtesies required by his years, as he 
 would not dare to give himself his usual airs with the sage's visitors. 
 
 Heading and subjects of, this book. " The duke, Ling, of Wei." 
 The contents of the Book, contained in forty chapters, are as miscellaneous 
 as those of the former. Kather they are more so, some chapters bearing 
 on the public administration of government, several being occupied with 
 the superior man, and others containing lessons of practical wisdom. "All 
 the subjects," says Hing Ping, " illustrate the feeling of the sense of shame 
 and consequent pursuit of the correct course, and therefore the Book 
 immediately follows the preceding one." 
 
 1. Confucius refuses to talk on military affairs. In the 
 midst of distress, he shows the disciples how the superior man 
 IS above distress. 1. " About sacrificial vessels" is literally, "about 
 
222 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XV. 
 
 Master said, " The superior man may indeed have to en- 
 dure want, but the mean man, when he is in want, gives 
 way to unbridled license. - " 
 
 II. 1. The Master said, " Ts'ze, you think, I suppose, 
 that I am one who learns many things and keeps them in 
 memory t" 
 
 2. Tsze-kung replied, " Yes, — but perhaps it is not 
 so?" 
 
 3. "No/' was the answer; "I seek a unity all-per- 
 vading." 
 
 III. The Master said, "Yew, those who know virtue 
 are few." 
 
 IV. The Master said, " May not Shun be instanced as 
 having governed efficiently without exertion ? What did 
 he do ? He did nothing but gravely and reverently oc- 
 cupy his imperial seat." 
 
 V. 1. Tsze-chang asked how a man might conduct 
 himself, so as to be everywhere appreciated. 
 
 the ' cJio' and 'taw,'" vessels with which Confucius, when a boy, was fond 
 of playing. He wished, by his reply and departure, to teach the duke that 
 the rules of propriety, and not war, were essential to the government of a 
 State. 2. From Wei, Confucius proceeded to Ch'in, and there met with 
 the distress here mentioned. It is probably the same which is referred to 
 in XI. ii. 1, though there is some chronological difficulty about the 
 subject. 
 
 2. How Confucius aimed at the knowledge of an all pervad- 
 ing unity. This chapter is to be compared with IV. xv. ; only, says 
 Choo He, " that is spoken with reference to practice, and this with refer- 
 ence to knowledge." But the design of Confucius was probably the same 
 in them both ; and I understand the first paragraph here as meaning — 
 " Ts'ze, do you think that I am aiming, by the exercise of memory, to 
 acquire a varied and extensive knowledge ? " Then the third paragraph 
 is equivalent to: — "I am not doing this. My aim is to know myself, — 
 the. mind which embraces all knowledge, and regulates all practice," 
 
 3. Few really know virtue. This is understood as spoken with 
 reference to the dissatisfaction manifested by Tsze-loo in chapter I. If he 
 had possessed a right knowledge of virtue, he would not have been so 
 affected by distress. 
 
 4. How Shun was able to govern without personal effort. 
 (t Made himself reverent " and " He gravely and reverently occupied his 
 imperial seat" is literally, " he correctly adjusted his southward face; " see 
 VI. i. Shun succeeding Yaou, there were many ministers of great virtue 
 and ability, to occupy all the offices of the government. All that Shun 
 did, was by his grave and sage example. This is the lesson — the influence 
 %>f a ruler's personal character. 
 
 5. Conduct that will be appreciated in all parts of the 
 
•CH. VI.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 223 
 
 2. The Master said, "Let his words be sincere and 
 ■.truthful, and his actions honourable and careful; — such 
 conduct may be practised among the rude tribes of the 
 South or the North. If his words be not sincere and 
 truthful, and his actions not honourable and careful, will 
 lie, with such conduct, be appreciated, even in his neigh- 
 bourhood ? 
 
 3. " When he is standing, let him see those two things, 
 as it were fronting him. When he is in a carriage, let 
 him see them attached to the yoke. Then may he subse- 
 quently carry them into practice." 
 
 4. Tsze-chang wrote these counsels on the end of his 
 sash. 
 
 VI. 1. The Master said, "Truly straightforward was 
 the historiographer Yu. When good government pre- 
 vailed in his state, he was like an arrow. When bad 
 government prevailed, he was like an arrow. 
 
 2. ' c A superior man indeed is Keu Pih-yuh i When 
 good government prevails in his state, he is to be found 
 in office. When bad government prevails, he can roll 
 his principles up, and keep them in his breast." 
 
 VII. The Master said, " When a man may be spoken 
 with, not to speak to him is to err in reference to the 
 man. When a man may not be spoken with, to speak to 
 him is to err in reference to our words. The wise err 
 neither in regard to their man nor to their words." 
 
 VIII. The Master said, " The determined scholar and 
 the man of virtue will not seek to live at the expense of 
 
 WORLD. 1. We must supply a good deal to bring out the meaning here. 
 Choo He compares the question with that other of Tsze-chang about the 
 scholar who may be called " distinguished ;" see XII. xx. 
 
 6. The admirable characters op Tsze-yu and Keu Pih-yuh. 1. 
 Tsze-yu was the historiographer of Wei. On his death-bed, he left a mes- 
 sage for his prince, and gave orders that his body should be laid out in a 
 place and manner likely to attract his attention when he paid the visit of 
 condolence. It was so, and the message then delivered had the desired 
 effect. Perhaps it was on hearing this that Confucius made this remark. 
 2. Keu Pih-yuh, — see XIV. xxvi. Commentators say that Tsze-yu's uni- 
 form straightforwardness was not equal to Pih-yuh's rightly adapting him- 
 self to circumstances. 
 
 7. There are men with whom to speak, and men with whom to 
 keep silence. The wise know them. 
 
 8. High natures value virtue more than life. " They will 
 sacrifice their lives " may be translated — " They will kill themselves." No 
 
224 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XV- 
 
 injuring their virtue. They will even sacrifice their 
 lives to preserve their virtue complete." 
 
 IX. Tsze-kung asked about the practice of virtue. The 
 Master said, " The mechanic, who wishes to do his work 
 well, must first sharpen his tools. When you are living 
 in any state, take service with the most worthy among its 
 great officers, and make friends of the most virtuous 
 among its scholars. " 
 
 X. 1. Yen Yuen asked how the government of a 
 country should be administered. 
 
 2. The Master said, "Follow the seasons of Hea. 
 
 3. " Ride in the state carriage of Yin. 
 
 4. " "Wear the ceremonial cap of Chow. 
 
 5. " Let the music be the Shaou with its pantomimes. 
 
 6. " Banish the songs of Ch f ing, and keep far from 
 specious talkers. The songs of Ch'ing are licentious ; 
 specious talkers are dangerous." 
 
 doubt suicide is included in the expression (see the amplification of Ho 
 An's commentary), and Confucius here justifies that act, as in certain cases 
 expressive of high virtue. 
 
 9. HOW INTERCOURSE WITH THE GOOD AIDS THE PRACTICE OF 
 VIRTUE. Compare Proverbs xxvii. 17, "Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man 
 Bharpeneth the countenance of his friend." 
 
 10. Certain rules, exemplified in the ancient dynasties, to 
 be followed in governing-: — a reply to yen yuen. 1. the 
 disciple modestly put his question with reference to the government of a 
 State, but the Master answers it according to the disciple's ability, as if it 
 had been about the ruling of the empire. 2. The three great ancient 
 dynasties began the year at different times. According to an ancient 
 tradition, "Heaven was opened at the time tsze ; Earth appeared at the 
 time ch'om ; and Man was born at the time yin. Tsze commences in 
 our December, at the winter solstice ; cli'orv a month later ; and yin a 
 month after ch'ow. The Chow dynasty began its year with tsze ; the- 
 Shang with. ch'o?v ; and the Hea with yin. As human life then com- 
 menced, the year in reference to human labours, naturally proceeds from 
 the spring, and Confucius approved the rule of the Hea dynasty. His 
 decision has been the law of all dynasties since the Ts'in. See the " Dis- 
 cours Preliminaire, Chapter I." in Gaubil's Shoo King. 3. The state 
 carriage of the Yin dynasty was plain and substantial, which Confucius 
 preferred to the more ornamented ones of Chow. 4. Yet he does not 
 object to the more elegant cap of that dynasty, "the cap," says Choo He, 
 " being a small thing, and placed over all the body." 5. The shaou was 
 the music of Shun ; see III. xxv. ; the " dancers," or " pantomimes." kept 
 time to the music. See the Shoo-king II. Bk II. 21. 6. " The sounds of 
 Ch'ing," meaning both the songs of Ch'ing and the appropriate music to 
 which they were sung. Those songs form the seventh book of the first 
 division of the She-king, and are here characterized justly. 
 
CH. XI.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 225 
 
 XI. The Master said, " If a man take no thoug*lit about 
 what is distant, he will find sorrow near at hand." 
 
 XII. The Master said, " It is all over ! I have not seen 
 one who loves virtue as he loves beauty.'" 
 
 XIII. The Master said, " Was not Tsang Wan like one 
 who had stolen his situation ? He knew the virtue and 
 the talents of Hwuy of Lew-hea, and yet did not procure 
 that he should stand with him in court" 
 
 XIV. The Master said, " He who requires much from 
 himself and little from others, will keep himself from being 
 the object of resentment." 
 
 XV. The Master said, " When a man is not in the habit 
 of saying— f What shall I think of this ? What shall I 
 think of this ? ' I can indeed do nothing with him ! " 
 
 XVI. The Master said, ' ' When a number of people are 
 together, for a whole day, without their conversation 
 turning on righteousness, and when they are fond of car- 
 rying out the suggestions of & small shrewdness ; — theirs is 
 indeed a hard case." 
 
 XVII. The Master said, ee The superior man in every- 
 thing considers righteousness to be essential. He per- 
 forms it according to the rules of propriety. He brings 
 it forth in humility. He completes it with sincerity. This 
 is indeed a superior man." 
 
 11. The necessity of forethought and precaution. 
 
 12. The rarity of a true love of virtue. " It is all over," — see 
 V. xxvi. ; the rest is a repetition of IX. xvii., said to have been spoken by 
 Confucius when he was in Wei, and saw the duke riding out openly in the 
 same carriage with Nan-tsze. 
 
 13. Against jealousy of others' talents; — the case of Tsang 
 Wan, and Hwuy of Lew-hea. Tsang Wan-chung, — see V. xvii. Tsang 
 Wan would not recommend Hwuy, because he was an abler and better m&n 
 than himself. Hwuy is a famous name in China. He was an officer of 
 Loo, styled Hwuy after death, and derived his revenue from a town called 
 Lew-hea, though some say that it was a lew or willow tree, overhanging 
 his house, which made him to be known as Lew-hea Hwuy — " Hwuy 
 that lived uuder the willow tree." See Mencius II. Bk. I. ix. 
 
 14. The way to ward off resentments. 
 
 15. Nothing can be made of people who take things easily, 
 not giving themselves the trouble to think. Compare VII. viii. 
 
 16. Agalnst frivolous talkers and superficial speculators. 
 " A hard case," i. c, they will make nothing out, and nothing can be 
 made of them. 
 
 17. The conduct of the superior man is righteous, courteous, 
 humble, and sincere. 
 
 VOL. I. 15 
 
226 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XV. 
 
 XVIII. The Master said, " The superior man is dis- 
 tressed by his want of ability. He is not distressed by 
 men's not knowing linn." 
 
 XIX. The Master said, " The superior man dislikes the 
 thought of his name not being mentioned after his death." 
 
 XX. The Master said, " What the superior man seeks, 
 is in himself. What the mean man seeks, is in others." 
 
 XXI. The Master said, i( The superior man is dignified, 
 but does not wrangle. He is sociable, but not a parti- 
 zan." 
 
 XXII. The Master said, " The superior man does not 
 promote a man simply on account of his words, nor does 
 he put aside good words because of the man." 
 
 XXIII. Tsze-kung asked, saying, " Is there one word 
 which may serve as a rule of practice for all one's life ? " 
 The Master said, ' ' Is not recipkocity such a word ? What 
 you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others." 
 
 XXIV. 1. The Master said, " In my writing or speak- 
 ing of men, whose evil do I blame, whose goodness do I 
 praise, beyond what is proper ? If I do sometimes ex- 
 ceed in praise, there must be ground for it in my examina- 
 tion of the individual. 
 
 18. Our own incompetency, and not our reputation, the 
 
 PROPER BUSINESS OP CONCERN TO US. See XIV. xxxii., et al. 
 
 19. The superior man wishes to be had in remembrance. Not, 
 say the commentators, that the superior man cares about fame, but fame 
 is the invariable concomitant of merit. He can't have been the superior 
 man, if he be not remembered. 
 
 20. His own approbation is the superior man's rule. The 
 Approbation of others is the mean man's. Compare XIV. xxv. 
 
 21. The superior man is dignified and affable, without the 
 
 FAULTS TO WHICH THOSE QUALITIES OFTEN LEAD. Compare II. xiv., and 
 
 VII. xxx. 
 
 22. The superior man is discriminating in his employment of 
 men and judging of statements. 
 
 23. The great principle of reciprocity is the rule of life. 
 Compare V. xi. It is singular that Tsze-kung professes there to act on the 
 principle here recommended to him. 
 
 24. Confucius showed his respect for men by strict truth- 
 fulness in awarding praisf OR censure. The meaning of this chap- 
 ter seems to be this : — First, Confucius was very careful in according praise 
 or blame. If he ever seemed to go beyond the truth, it was on the side of 
 praise ; and even then he saw something in the individual which made 
 him believe that his praise of him would in the future be justified. Second, 
 In this matter, Confucius acted as the founders of the three great dynasties 
 
CH. XXV.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 227 
 
 2. " This people supplied the ground why the founders 
 
 of the three dynasties pursued the path of straightforward- 
 
 ness/" 
 
 XXV. The Master said, " Even in my early days, a 
 liistoriographer would leave a blank in his text, and he 
 who had a horse would lend him to another to ride. Now, 
 alas ! there are no such things." 
 
 XXYI. The Master said, " Specious words confound 
 virtue. Want of forbearance in small matters confounds 
 great plans." 
 
 XXVII. The Master said, " "When the multitude hate 
 a man, it is necessary to examine into the case. When 
 the multitude like a man, it is necessary to examine into 
 the case." 
 
 XXVIII. The Master said, f ' A man can enlarge the 
 principles which he follows ; those principles do not en- 
 large the man." 
 
 liad done. Third, Those founders and himself were equally influenced by a 
 regard to the truth-approving nature of man. This was the rule for the 
 former in their institutions, and for him in his judgments. 
 
 25. Instances of the degeneracy op Confucius' times. The 
 appointment of the historiographer is referred to Hwang-te or " The 
 Yellow emperor," the inventor of the cycle. The statutes of Chow mention 
 no fewer than five classes of such officers. They were attached also to 
 the feudal courts, and what Confucius says, is, that, in his early days, a 
 historiographer, on any point about which he was not sure, would leave a 
 blank ; so careful were they to record only the truth. This second sen- 
 tence is explained in Ho An. — " If any one had a horse which he could not 
 tame, he would lend it to another to ride and exercise it ! " — The comment- 
 ator Hoo says well that the meaning of the chapter must be left in uncer- 
 tainty. 
 
 26. The danger of specious words and of impatience. The 
 subject of the second sentence is not "a little impatience," but impatience 
 in little things ; " the hastiness," it is said, " of women and small people." 
 
 27. In judging of a man we must not be guided by his being 
 generally liked or disliked. Compare XIII. xxiv. 
 
 28. Principles of duty an instrument in the hand of man. 
 This sentence is quite mystical in its sententiousness. One writer says — 
 " The subject here is the path of duty, which all men, in their various 
 relations, have to pursue, and man has the three virtues of knowledge, 
 benevolence, and fortitude, wherewith to pursue that path, and so he 
 enlarges it. That virtue, remote, occupying an empty place, cannot enlarge 
 man, needs not to be said." That writer's account of the subject here is 
 probably correct, and "duty unapprehended," "in an empty place," can 
 have no effect on any man ; but this is a mere truism. Duty apprehended 
 is constantly enlarging, elevating, and energizing multitudes who had pre- 
 
 15* 
 
228 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XV* 
 
 XXIX. The Master said, cc To have faults and not to 
 reform them, — this, indeed, should be pronounced having 
 faults." 
 
 XXX. The Master said, " I have been the whole day 
 without eating, and the whole night without sleeping : — 
 occupied with thinking. It was of no use. The better 
 plan is to learn." 
 
 XXXI. The Master said, " The object of the superior 
 man is truth. Food is not his object. There is plough- 
 ing ; — even in that there is sometimes want. So with 
 learning ; — emolument may be found in it. The superior 
 man is anxious lest he should not get truth ; he is not 
 anxious lest poverty should come upon him." 
 
 XXXII. 1. The Master said, "When a man's know- 
 ledge is sufficient to attain, and his virtue is not sufficient 
 to enable him to hold, whatever he may have gained, he 
 will lose again. 
 
 2. "When his knowledge is sufficient to attain, and he 
 has virtue enough to hold fast, if he cannot govern with 
 dignity, the people will not respect him. 
 
 viously been uncognizant of it. The first clause of the chapter may be 
 granted ; but the second is not in accordance with truth. 
 
 29. The culpability op not reforming known faults. Compare 
 
 I. viii. Choo He's commentary appears to make the meaning somewhat 
 different. He says: — "If one having faults can change them, he cornea 
 back to the condition of having no faults. But if he do not' change 
 them, then they go on to their completion, and will never come to be 
 changed." 
 
 30. The fruitlessness of thinking without reading. Compare 
 
 II. xv., where the dependence of acquisition and reflection on each other 
 is set forth. — Many commentators say that Confucius merely transfers the 
 things which he here mentions to himself for the sake of others, not that 
 it ever was really thus with himself. 
 
 31. The superior man should not be mercenary, but have 
 TRUTH FOR His object. " Want may be in the midst of ploughing," — 
 i. e., husbandry is the way to plenty, and yet despite the labours of the 
 husbandman, a famine or scarcity sometimes occurs. The application of 
 this to the case of learning, however, is not very apt. Is the emolument 
 that sometimes comes with learning a calamity like famine? — Ch'ing 
 K'ang-shing's view is : — " Although a man may plough, yet, not learn- 
 ing, he will come to hunger. If he learn, he will get emolument, and 
 though he do not plough, he will not be in want. This is advising men 
 to learn ! " 
 
 32. How knowledge without virtue is not lasting, and to 
 knowledge and virtue a ruler should add dignity and the 
 sules of propriety. 
 
-CR. XXXIII.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 229 
 
 3. "When his knowledge is sufficient to attain, and 
 he has virtue enough to hold fast; when he governs 
 •also with dignity, yet if he try to move the people con- 
 trary to the rules of propriety : — full excellence is not 
 reached." 
 
 XXXIII. The Master said, " The superior man cannot 
 foe known in little matters ; but he may be intrusted with 
 great concerns. The small man may not be intrusted 
 ■with great concerns, but he may be known in little 
 matters." 
 
 XXXIV. The Master said, "Virtue is more to man 
 than either water or fire. I have seen men die from 
 treading on water and fire, but I have never seen a man 
 •die from treading the course of virtue." 
 
 XXXV. The Master said, "Let every man consider 
 •virtue as what devolves on himself. He may not yield 
 the performance of it even to his teacher." 
 
 XXXVI. The Master said, " The superior man is cor- 
 rectly firm, and not firm merely." 
 
 XXXVII. The Master said, "A minister, in serving 
 his prince, reverently discharges his duties, and makes 
 his emolument a secondary consideration.'' 
 
 t> 
 
 33. HOW TO KNOW THE SUPERIOR MAN AXD THE MEAN MAN ; AND 
 their capacities. Choo He says, " The knowing here is our knowing 
 the individuals." The " little matters " are ingenious but trifling arts and 
 accomplishments, in which a really great man may sometimes be deficient 
 while a small man will be familiar with them. The " knowing " is not, 
 that the parties are keun-tsze and small men, but what attainments they 
 have, and for what they are fit. The difficulty, on this view, is with the 
 conclusion. Ho An gives the view of Wang Shuh : — " The way of the 
 Jteim-tsze is profound and far-reaching. He may not let his knowledge be 
 small, and he may receive what is great. The way of the seaou-jin is 
 shallow and near. He may let his knowledge be small, and he may not 
 .receive what is great." 
 
 3i. Virtue more to man than water or fire, and never hurt- 
 ful to him. " The people's relation to, or dependence on, virtue." The 
 case is easily conceivable of men's suffering death on account of their 
 rirtue. There have been martyrs for their loyalty and other virtues, as 
 well as for their religious faith. Choo He provides for this difference in 
 his remarks: — " The want of fire and water is hurtful only to man's 
 body, but to be without virtue is to lose one's mind (the higher nature), 
 .and so it is more to him than water or fire." See on IV. viii. 
 
 35. Virtue personal and obligatory on every man. 
 
 36. The superior man's firmness is based on right. 
 
 37. The faithful minister. 
 
230 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XVI. 
 
 XXXVIII. The Master said, " There being instruc- 
 tion, there will be no distinction of classes." 
 
 XXXIX. The Master said, " Those whose courses are 
 different cannot lay plans for one another." 
 
 XL. The Master said, " In language it is simply re- 
 quired that it convey the meaning." 
 
 XLI. 1. The Music-master, Meen, having called upon 
 him, when they came to the steps, the Master said, " Here 
 are the steps." When they came to the mat for the guest 
 to sit upon, he said, " Here is the mat." When all wero 
 seated, the Master informed him, saying, " So and so is 
 here ; so and so is here." 
 
 2. The Music-master, Meen, having gone out, Tsze- 
 chang asked, saying, " Is it the rule to tell those things to 
 the Music-masters ? " 
 
 3. The Master said, " Yes. This is certainly the rule 
 for those who lead the blind." 
 
 BOOK XVI. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. The head of the Ke family was going 
 to attack Chuen-vu. 
 
 38. The effect of teaching. Choo He says on this : — " The nature 
 of all men is good, hut we find among them the different classes of good 
 and bad. This is the effect of physical constitution and of practice. The 
 superior man, in consequence, employs his teaching, and all may be 
 brought back to the state of good, and there is no necessity of speaking, 
 any more of the badness of some." This is very extravagant. Teaching 
 is not so omnipotent. — The old interpretation is simply that in teaching 
 there should be no distinction of classes. 
 
 39. Agreement in principle necessary to concord ln plans. 
 
 40. Perspicuity the chief virtue of language. 
 
 41. Consideration of Confucius for the blind. Anciently, the 
 blind were employed in the offices of music, partly because their sense of 
 hearing was more than ordinarily acute, and partly that they might be 
 made of some use in the world. Meen had come to Confucius' house, 
 under the care of a guide, but the sage met him, and undertook the care 
 of him himself. 
 
 Heading and subjects of this book. " The chief of the Ke." 
 Throughout this book, Confucius is spoken of as " K'ung, the philosopher," 
 and never by the designation, " The Master. " Then, the style of 
 several of the chapters (IV. — XI.) is not like the utterances of Confucius 
 to which we have been accustomed. From these circumstances, one com- 
 mentator, Hung Kwoh, supposed that it belonged to the Ts'e recensus of. 
 
CH. I.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 231 
 
 2. Yen Yew and Ke Loo had an interview with Con- 
 fucius, and said, " Our chief, Ke, is going to commence 
 operations against Chuen-yu.-" 
 
 3. Confucius said, " K f ew, is it not you who are in fault 
 here ? 
 
 4. "Now, in regard to Chuen-yu, long ago, a former 
 king appointed it to preside over the sacrifices to the east- 
 ern Mung ; moreover, it is in the midst of the territory of 
 our State ; and its ruler is a minister in direct connection 
 with the emperor : — What has your chief to do with attack- 
 ing it ? " 
 
 5. Yen Yew said, " Our master wishes the thing ■ 
 neither of us two ministers wishes it." 
 
 6. Confucius said, " K'ew, there are the words of Chow 
 Jin, — 'When he can put forth his ability, he takes his 
 place in the ranks of office ; when he finds himself unable 
 to do so, he retires from it. How can he be used as a 
 guide to a blind man, who does not support him when 
 tottering, nor raise him up when fallen ? ' 
 
 these analects ; the other books belonging to the Loo recensus. This sup- 
 position, however, is not otherwise supported. 
 
 1. Confucius exposes the presumptuous and impolitic conduct 
 
 OF THE CHIEF OF THE Ke FAMILY LN PROPOSING- TO ATTACK A MLN0R 
 
 State, and rebukes Yen Yew and Tsze-loo for abetting the 
 design. 1. Chuen-yu was a small territory in Loo, whose ruler was of 
 the fourth order of nobility. It was one of the States called " attached," 
 whose chiefs could not appear in the presence of the emperor, excepting 
 in the train of the prince within whose jurisdiction they were embraced. 
 Their existence was not from a practice like the sub-infeudation, which 
 belonged to the feudal system of Europe. They held of the lord para- 
 mount or emperor, but with the restriction which has been mentioned, 
 and with a certain subservience also to their immediate superior. Its par- 
 ticular position is fixed by its proximity to Pe, and to the Mung hill. The 
 word "to attack " is not merely " to attack," but "to attack and punish," 
 — an exercise of judicial authority, which could emanate only from the 
 emperor. The term is used here, to show the nefarious and presumptuous 
 character of the contemplated operations. 2. There is some difficulty here, 
 as, according to the " Historical Records," the two disciples were not in 
 the service of the Ke family at the same time. We may suppose, how- 
 ever, that Tsze-loo, returning with the sage from "Wei on the invitation of 
 Duke Gae, took service a second time, and for a short period, with the 
 Ke family, of which the chief was then Ke K'ang. This brings the time 
 of the transaction to B.C. 483, or 482. 3. Confucius addresses himself 
 only to K'ew, as he had been a considerable time, and very active, in the 
 Ke service. 4. It was the prerogative of the princes to sacrifice to the 
 hills and rivers within their jurisdictions; — here was the chief of Chuen- 
 
232 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XVI. 
 
 7. (l And further, you speak wrongly. When a tiger 
 or wild bull escapes from his cage ; when a tortoise or 
 gem is injured in its repository : — whose is the fault ? " 
 
 8. Yen Yew said, " But at present, Chuen-yu is strong 
 and near to Pe; if our chief do not now take it, it will 
 hereafter be a sorrow to his descendants." 
 
 9. Confucius said, " K'ew, the superior man hates that 
 declining to say — ' I want such and such a thing/ and 
 framing explanations for the conduct. 
 
 10. " I have heard that rulers of states and chiefs of 
 families are not troubled lest their people should be few, 
 but are troubled lest they should not keep their 
 several places ; that they are not troubled with fears of 
 poverty, but are troubled with fears of a want of contented 
 repose among the people in their several places. For when 
 the people keep their several places, there will be no 
 poverty ; when harmony prevails, there will be no scarcity 
 of people; and when there is such a contented repose, 
 there will be no rebellious upsettings. 
 
 11. " So it is. Therefore, if remoter people are not 
 submissive, all the influences of civil culture and virtue are 
 to be cultivated to attract them to be so ; and when they 
 have been so attracted, they must be made contented and 
 tranquil. 
 
 yu, imperially appointed (the " former king " is probably Ch'ing, the 
 second emperor of the Chow dynasty) to be the lord of the Mung moun- 
 tain, that is, to preside over the sacrifices offered to it. This raised him 
 high above any mere ministers or officers of Loo. The mountain Mung 
 is in the present district of Pe, in the department of E-chow. It was 
 called eastern, to distinguish it from another of the same name in Shen-se, 
 which was the western Mung. " It is in the midst of the territory of our 
 State," — this is mentioned, to show that Chuen-yu was so situated as to 
 give Loo no occasion for apprehension. " Its ruler is a minister in direct 
 connection with the emperor " is, literally, " a minister of the altars to the 
 spirits of the land and grain." To those spirits only, the prince had the 
 prerogative of sacrificing. The chief of Chuen-yu having this, how dared 
 an officer of Loo to think of attacking him? The term "minister" is 
 used of his relation to the emperor. Choo He makes the phrase = " a 
 minister of the ducal house," saying that the three families had usurped 
 all the dominions proper of Loo, leaving only the chiefs of the " attached " 
 States to appear in the ducal court. I prefer the former interpretation. 
 6. Chow Jin is by Choo He simply called — " a good historiographer of 
 ancient times." Some trace him back to the Shang dynasty, and others 
 only to the early times of the Chow. There are other weighty utterances 
 of his in vogue, besides that in the text. From this point, Confucius 
 
€H# n 1 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 233 
 
 12. "Now, here are you, Yew and K'ew, assisting 
 your chief. Kemoter people are not submissive, and, even 
 with your help, he cannot attract them to him. In his 
 own territory there are divisions and downfalls, leav- 
 ings and separations, and, with your help, he cannot 
 
 preserve it. 
 
 13. « And yet he is planning these hostile movements 
 within our State.— I am afraid that the sorrow of the 
 Ke-sun family will not be on account of Chuen-yu, but 
 will be found within the screen of their own court." 
 
 II. 1. Confucius said, "When good government pre- 
 vails in the empire, ceremonies, music, and punitive mili- 
 tary expeditions, proceed from the emperor. When bad 
 government prevails in the empire, ceremonies, music, 
 and punitive military expeditions proceed from the princes. 
 When these things proceed from the princes, as a rule, 
 the cases will be few in which they do uot lose their power 
 in ten generations. When they proceed from the great 
 officers of the 'princes, as a rule, the cases will be few m 
 which they do not lose their power in five generations. 
 When the subsidiary ministers of the great officers hold in 
 their grasp the orders of the kingdom, as a rule, the cases 
 will be few in which they do not lose their power in three 
 
 generations. 
 
 2. "When right principles prevail in the empire, go- 
 vernment will not be in the hands of the great officers. 
 
 3. "When right principles prevail in the empire, there 
 will be no discussions among the common people." 
 
 eoeaks of the general disorganization of Loo under the management of the 
 three families, and especially of the Ke. 12. All this is to be understood 
 of the head of the Ke family, as controlling the government of Loo, and 
 as being assisted by the two disciples, so that the reproof falls heavily on 
 them 13 " Within the screen of their own court " is, literally, in tne 
 inside of the wall of reverence." " Officers, on reaching the screen, which 
 thev had only to pass, to find themselves in the presence of their head, 
 were supposed to become more reverential ; " and hence the expression in 
 the text — " among his own immediate officers." 
 
 2 The supreme authority ought ever to maintain its power. 
 The violation of this rule always leads to ruin, which is 
 speedier as the rank op the violator is lower. • In these utter- 
 ances, Confucius had reference to the disorganized state of the empire, 
 when " the son of Heaven" was fast becoming an empty name, the princes 
 of States were in bondage to their great officers, and those agam at the 
 mercy of their family ministers. 
 
234 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XVI. 
 
 III. Confucius said, " The revenue of the State has left 
 the ducal house, now for five generations. The govern- 
 ment has been in the hands of the great officers for four 
 generations. On this account, the descendants of the 
 three Hwan are much reduced. ^ 
 
 TV. Confucius said, " There are three friendships 
 which are advantageous, and three which are injurious. 
 Friendship with the upright ; friendship with the sincere ; 
 and friendship with the man of much observation : — these 
 are advantageous. Friendship with the man of specious 
 airs ; friendship with the insinuatingly soft ; and friend- 
 ship with the glib-tongued : — these are injurious." 
 
 V. Confucius said, <e There are three things men find 
 enjoyment in which are advantageous, and three things- 
 they find enjoyment in which are injurious. To find en- 
 joyment in the discriminating study of ceremonies and 
 music ; to find enjoyment in speaking of the goodness 
 of others ; to find enjoyment in having many worthy 
 friends : — these are advantageous, k To find enjoyment in 
 extravagant pleasures ; to find enjoyment in idleness and 
 sauntering ; to find enjoyment in the pleasures of feast- 
 ing : — these are injurious." 
 
 VI. Confucius said, " There are three errors to which 
 they who stand in the presence of a man of virtue and 
 station are liable. They may speak when it does not 
 come to them to speak ; — this is called rashness. They 
 
 3. Illustration of the principles of the last chapter. In the 
 year B.C. 608, at the death of Duke Wan, his rightful heir was killed, and 
 the son of a concubine raised to the dukedom. He is in the annals as 
 Duke Seuen, and after him came Shing, Seang, Ch'aou, and Ting, in 
 whose time this must have been spoken. These dukes were but shadows, 
 pensionaries of their great officers, so that it might be said the revenue 
 had gone from them. " The three Hwan " are the three families, as 
 being all descended from Duke Hwan ; see on II. v. Choo He appears to 
 have fallen into a mistake in enumerating the four heads of the Ke family 
 who had administered the government of Loo as Woo, Taou, P'ing, and 
 Hwan, as Taou died before his father, and would not be said therefore to 
 have the government in his hands. The right enumeration is Wan, Woo, 
 P'ing, and Hwan. 
 
 4. Three friendships advantageous, and three injurious. 
 
 5. Three sources of enjoyment advantageous, and three 
 injurious. 
 
 6. Three errors in regard to speech to be avoided tn the. 
 presence of the great. " Without looking at the countenance," — i.e. y 
 
CH. VII.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 235 
 
 may not speak when it comes to them to speak ; — 
 this is called concealment. They may speak without 
 looking at the countenance of their superior ; — this is 
 called blindness." 
 
 VII. Confucius said, " There are three things which 
 the superior man guards against. In youth, when the 
 physical powers are not yet settled, he guards against 
 lust. When he is strong, and the physical powers are 
 full of vigour, he guards against quarrelsomeness. When 
 he is old, and the animal powers are decayed, he guards 
 against covetousness." 
 
 VIII. 1. Confucius said, "There are three things of 
 which the superior man stands in awe. He stands in awe 
 of the ordinances of Heaven. He stands in awe of great 
 men. He stands in awe of the words of sages. _ 
 
 2. "The mean man does not know the ordinances of 
 Heaven, and consequently does not stand in awe of them. 
 He is disrespectful to great men. He makes sport of the 
 words of sages/'' 
 
 IX. Confucius said, "Those who are born with the 
 possession of knowledge are the highest class of men. 
 Those who learn, and so, readily, get possession of know-' 
 
 to see whether he is paying attention or not.— The general principle is- 
 that there is a time to speak. Let that be observed, and these three 
 errors will be avoided. 
 
 7. The vices which youth, manhood, and age have to guard 
 against. As to what causal relation Confucius may have supposed to 
 exist between the state of the physical powers and the several vices indi- 
 cated, that is not developed. Hing Ping explains the first caution thus : — 
 " Youth embraces all the period below 29. Then, the physical powers are 
 still weak, and the sinews and hones have not reached their vigour, and' 
 indulgence in lust will injure the hody." 
 
 8. Contrast of the superior and the mean man in regard to' 
 the three things of which the former stands rN awe. " The 
 ordinances of Heaven," according to Choo He, means the moral nature of 
 man, conferred by Heaven. High above the nature of other creatures, it 
 lays him under great responsibility to cherish and cultivate himself. _ The 
 old interpreters take the phrase to indicate Heaven's moral administra- 
 tion by rewards and punishments. The " great men " are men high in 
 position and great in wisdom and virtue, the royal instructors, who have 
 been raised up by Heaven for the training and ruling of mankind. So, 
 the commentators; but the verb employed suggests at once a more 
 general and a lower view of the phrase. 
 
 9. Four classes of men in relation to knowledge. On the first 
 clause, see on VII. xix., where Confucius disclaims for himself being. 
 
236 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XVI. 
 
 ledge, are the next. Those who are dull and stupid, and 
 yet compass the learning, are another class next to these. 
 As to those who are dull and stupid and yet do not learn ; 
 ■ — they are the lowest of the people." 
 
 X. Confucius said, ' ' The superior man has nine things 
 which are subjects with him of thoughtful consideration. 
 In regard to the use of his eyes, he is anxious to see 
 clearly. In regard to the use of his ears, he is anxious to 
 hear distinctly. In regard to his countenance, he is anx- 
 ious that it should be benign. In regard to his demean- 
 our, he is anxious that it should be respectful. In regard 
 to his speech, he is anxious that it should be sincere. In 
 regard to his doing of business, he is anxious that it 
 should be reverently careful. In regard to what he doubts 
 about, he is anxious to question others. When he is 
 angry, he thinks of the difficulties his anger may involve 
 him in. When he sees gain to be got, he thinks of right- 
 eousness." 
 
 XI. 1. Confucius said, " Contemplating good, and pur- 
 suing it, as if they could not reach it ; contemplating evil, 
 and shrinking from it, as they would from thrusting the 
 hand into boiling water : — I have seen such men, as I 
 have heard such words. 
 
 2. " Living in retirement to study their aims, and 
 practising righteousness to carry out their principles : — I 
 have heard these words, but I have not seen such men. ; 
 
 )> 
 
 ranked in the first of the classes here mentioned. In the concluding 
 words, "They are the lowest of the people," I suppose " the people "= 
 men. The term is elsewhere so used. 
 
 10. Nine subjects of thought to the superior man: — various 
 instances of the way in which he regulates himself. The con- 
 ciseness of the text contrasts here with the verbosity of the translation, 
 and yet the many words of the latter seem necessary. 
 
 11. The contemporaries of Confucius could eschew evil, and 
 follow after good, but no one of the highest capacity had ap- 
 PEARED among them. 1. The two first clauses here, and in the next 
 paragraph also, are quotations of old sayings, current in Confucius' time. 
 Such men were several of the sage's own disciples. 2. " To study their 
 aims " is, literally, " seeking for their aims ; " i.e., meditating on them, 
 studying them, fixing them, to be prepared to carry them out, as in the 
 next clause. Such men among the ancients were the great ministers 
 E-Yin and T'ac-kung. Such might the disciple Yen Hwuy have been, 
 but an early death snatched him away before he could have an oppor- 
 tunity of showing what Avas in him. 
 
CH. XII.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 237 
 
 XII. 1. The Duke King of Ts f e had a thousand teams, 
 each of four horses, but on the day of his death, the people 
 did not praise him for a single virtue. P'ih-e and Shuh-ts'e 
 died of hunger at the foot of the Show-yang mountain, 
 and the people, down to the present time, praise them. 
 
 2. " Is not that saying illustrated by this ? " 
 
 XIII. 1. Ch'in K'ang asked Pih-yu, saying, " Have 
 you heard any lessons from your fathet' different from ivhat 
 we have all heard ? " 
 
 2. Pih-yu replied, " No. He was standing alone once, 
 when I passed below the hall with hasty steps, and said 
 to me, ' Have you learned the Odes ? 3 On my replying 
 ' Not yet/ he added, ' If you do not learn the Odes, you 
 will not be fit to converse with/ I retired and studied 
 the Odes. 
 
 o. "Another day, he was in the same way standing 
 alone, when I passed by below the hall with hasty steps, 
 and he said to me, ' Have you learned the rules of Pro- 
 priety ? ' On my replying ' Not yet/ he added, ' If you 
 do not learn the rules of Propriety, your character cannot 
 be established.-' I then retired, and studied the rules of 
 Propriety. 
 
 4. " I have heard c:ily these two things from him.-" 
 
 5. Ch'in K'ang retired, and, quite delighted, said, "I 
 asked one thing, and I have got three things. I have 
 heard about the Odes. I have heard about the rules of 
 Propriety. I have also heard that the superior man 
 maintains a distant reserve towards his son." 
 
 12. Wealth without vietub and vietue without wealth : — 
 theie diffeeent appreciations. This chapter is plainly a fragment. 
 As it stands, it would appear to come from the compilers and not from 
 Confucius. Then the second paragraph implies a reference to something 
 ■which has heen lost. Under XII. x., I have referred to the proposal to 
 transfer to this place the last paragraph of that chapter, which might be 
 explained so as to harmonize with the sentiment of this. — The Duke 
 King of Ts ; e, — see XII. xi. Fih-e and Shuh-ts'e, — see VI. xxii. The 
 mountain Show-yang is to be found probably in the department of P'oo- 
 chow in Shan-se. 
 
 13. Confucius' insteuction of his son not different from his 
 instruction of his disciples geneeally. Ch'in K'ang is the Tsze- 
 k'in of I. x. When Confucius' eldest son was born, the duke of Loo sent 
 the philosopher a present of a carp, on which account he named the child 
 Le (the carp), and afterwards gave him the designation of Pih-yu (Fish, 
 the elder). 
 
238 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XVII. 
 
 XIV. The wife of the prince of a State is called by him 
 foo-jin. She calls herself seaou t'ung. The people of the 
 State call her keun foo-jin, and, to the people of other 
 States, they call her k'wa seaou keun. The people of 
 other States also call her keun foo-jin. 
 
 BOOK XVII. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. Yang Ho wished to see Confucius, but 
 Confucius would not go to see him. On this, he sent a 
 present of a pig to Confucius, who, having chosen a time 
 when Ho was not at home, went to pay his respects for 
 the gift. He met him, however, on the way. 
 
 2. Ho said to Confucius, " Come, let me speak with 
 you." He then asked, " Can he be called benevolent 
 who keeps his jewel in his bosom, and leaves his country 
 to confusion ? " Confucius replied, " No." <( Can he be 
 
 14. Appellations for the wife of a prince. This chapter may- 
 have been spoken by Confucius to rectify some disorder of the times, but 
 there is no intimation to that effect. The different appellations may be thus 
 explained : — "Wife" is "she who is her husband's equal." The designa- 
 tion foo-jin is equivalent to " help-meet." The wife modestly calls herself 
 Seaou-Vung, " the little girl." The old interpreters take — most naturally 
 — keun foo-jin as = " our prince's help-meet," but the modern commentators 
 take keun to be a verb, with reference to the office of the wife to " preside 
 over the internal economy of the palace." On this view keun foo-jin is 
 " the domestic help-meet." The ambassador of a prince spoke of him by 
 the style of k'wa-keun, "my prince of small virtue." After that ex- 
 ample of modesty, his wife was styled to the people of other States, " our 
 small prince of small virtue. " The people of other States had no reason 
 to imitate her subjects in that, and so they styled her — " your prince's 
 help-nieet," or " the domestic help-meet." 
 
 Heading and subjects of this book. " Yang Ho." As the 
 last book commenced with the presumption of the head of the Ke family, 
 who kept his prince in subjection, this begins with an account of an officer, 
 who did for the head of the Ke what he did for the duke of Loo. For 
 this reason — some similarity in the subject matter of the first chapters — 
 this book, it is said, is placed after the former. It contains twenty-six 
 chapters. 
 
 1. Confucius' polite but dignified treatment of a powerful, 
 but usurping and unworthy, officer. Yang Ho, known also as 
 Yang Hoo, was nominally the principal minister of the Ke family ; but 
 Its chief was entirely in his hands, and he was scheming to arrogate the 
 whole authority of the state of Loo to himself. He first appears in 
 the Chronicles of Loo about the year B.C. 514, acting against the exiled 
 
CH. II.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 239 
 
 called wise who is anxious to be engaged in public em- 
 ployment, and yet is constantly losing the opportunity of 
 being so ? " Confucius again said, " No." " The days 
 and months are passing away ; the years do not wait for 
 us." Confucius said, " Eight ; I will go into office." 
 
 II. The Master said, "By nature, men are nearly 
 alike ; by practice, they get to be wide apart/'' 
 
 III. The Master said, " There are only the wise of the 
 highest class, and the stupid of the lowest class, who can- 
 not be changed." 
 
 IY. 1. The Master having come to Woo-shing, heard 
 there the sound of stringed instruments and singing. 
 
 2. Well-pleased and smiling, he said, " Why use an ox- 
 knife to km a fowl ? " 
 
 3. Tsze-yew replied, u Formerly, Master, I heard you 
 
 Duke Ch'aou ; in b.c» 504, we find him keeping his own chief, Ke Hwan, 
 a prisoner, and, in B.C. 501, he is driven out, on the failure of his projects, 
 a fugitive into Ts ; e. At the time when the incidents in this chapter oc- 
 curred, Yang IIo was anxious to get, or appear to get, the support of a 
 man of Confucius' reputation, and finding that the sage would not call on 
 him, he adopted the expedient of sending him a pig, at the time when 
 Confucius was not at home, the rules of ceremony requiring that when a 
 great officer sent a present to a scholar, and the latter was not in his house 
 on its arrival, he had to go to the officer's house to acknowledge it. See 
 the Le-ke, XIII. iii. 20. Confucius, however, was not to be entrapped. 
 He also timed Hoo's being away from home, and went to call on him. 
 
 2. The differences in the characters of men are chiefly 
 owing TO habit. " Nature," it is contended, is here not the moral consti- 
 tution of man, absolutely considered, but his complex, actual nature, with 
 its elements of the material, the animal, and the intellectual, by association 
 with which the perfectly good moral nature is continually being led 
 astray. The moral nature is the same in all, and though the material 
 organism and disposition do differ in different individuals, they are, at 
 first, more nearly alike than they subsequently become. No doubt, it is 
 true that many — perhaps most— of the differences among men are owing 
 to habit. 
 
 3. Only two classes whom practice cannot change. This is a 
 sequel to the last chapter, with which it is incorporated in Ho An's edition. ' 
 The case of the " stupid of the lowest class " would seem to be inconsistent 
 with the doctrine of the perfect goodness of the moral nature of all men. 
 Modern commentators, to get over the difficulty, say that they are the 
 41 self violators," " self abaudoners," of Mencius, IV. Bk I. x. 
 
 4. However small the sphere of government, the highest 
 influences of proprieties and music should be employed. Woo- 
 shing was in the district of Pe. Tsze-yew appears as the commandant of 
 it, in VI. xii. We read, " The town was named Woo, from its position, 
 precipitous and favourable to military operations, but Tsze-yew had been 
 
9 A0 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XVII„ 
 
 say, — " When the man of high station is well instructed, 
 he loves men ; when the man of low station is well in- 
 structed, he is easily ruled/ " 
 
 4. The Master said, "My disciples, Yen's words are 
 right. What I said was only in sport." 
 
 V. 1. Kung-shan Fuh-jaou, when he was holding Pe, 
 and in an attitude of rebellion, invited the Master to visit 
 him, who was rather inclined to go. 
 
 2. Tsze-loo was displeased, and said, " Indeed you can- 
 not go ! Why must you think of going to see Kung- 
 shan ? " 
 
 3. The Master said, " Can it be without some reason 
 that he has invited me ? If any one employ me, may I 
 not make an eastern Chow ? " 
 
 VI. 1. Tsze-chang asked Confucius about perfect vir- 
 tue. Confucius said, " To be able to practise five things 
 everywhere under heaven constitutes perfect virtue." Ho 
 begged to ask what they were, and was told, " Gravity, 
 generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness. 
 If you are grave, you will not be treated with disrespect. 
 If you are generous, you will win all. If you are sincere, 
 people will repose trust in you. If you are earnest, you 
 will accomplish much. If you are kind, this will enable 
 you to employ the services of others." 
 
 VII. 1. Peih Heih inviting him to visit him, the Mas- 
 ter was inclined to go. 
 
 able, by his course, to transform the people, and make them change their 
 mail and helmets for stringed instruments and singing. This was what 
 made the Master glad." 
 
 5. The lengths to which Confucius was inclined to go, to get 
 his principles carried into PRACTICE. Kung-shan Fuh-jaou was a 
 confederate of Yang Ho (chapter I.), and, according to K'ung Gan-kwo, it 
 was after the imprisonment by them, in common, of Ke Hwan, that Fuh- 
 jaou sent this invitation to Confucius. Others make the invitation subse- 
 quent to Ho's discomfiture and flight to Ts'e. We must conclude, with 
 Tsze-loo, that Confucius ought not to have thought of accepting the in- 
 vitation of such a man. The original seat of the Chow dynasty lay west 
 from Loo, and the revival of the principles and government of Wan and 
 Woo in Loo, or even in Pe, which was but a part of it, might make an 
 eastern Chow ; so that Confucius would perform the part of King Wan. — 
 After all, the sage did not go to Pe. 
 
 6. Five things the practice of which constitutes perfect 
 
 VIRTUE. 
 
 7. Confucius, inclined to respond to the advances of an un- 
 worthy MAN, PROTESTS AGAINST HIS CONDUCT BEING JUDGED BY 
 
CH. VIII.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 241 
 
 2. Tsze-loo said, ( i Master, formerly I have heard you 
 say, f When a man in his own person is guilty of doing 
 evil, a superior man will not associate with him/ Peih 
 Heih is in rebellion, holding possession of Chung-mow ; 
 if you go to him, what shall be said ? " 
 
 3. The Master said, " Yes, I did use these words. But 
 is it not said, that, if a thing be really hard, it may be 
 ground without being made thin ? Is it not said, that, if 
 a thing be really white, it may be steeped in a dark fluid 
 without being made black ? 
 
 4. " Am I a bitter gourd ! How can I be hung up out 
 of the way of being eaten ? " 
 
 VIII. 1. The Master said, " Yew, have you heard the 
 six words to which are attached six becloudings ? u Yew 
 replied, u I have not." 
 
 2. " Sit down, and I will tell them to you. 
 
 3. " There is the love of being benevolent without the 
 love of learning ; — the beclouding here leads to a foolish 
 simplicity. There is fhe love of knowing without the love 
 of learning ; — the beclouding here leads to dissipation of 
 mind. There is the love of being sincere without the love 
 of learning; — the beclouding here leads to an injurious 
 disregard of consequences. There is the love of straight- 
 
 ordinary rules. Compare chapter V. ; but the invitation of Peih 
 Heih was subsequent to that of Kung-shan Fuh-jaou, and after Confucius 
 had given up office in Loo. 1. Peih Heih was commandant of Chung- 
 mow, for the chief of the Chaou family, in the State of Tsin. 2. There 
 were two places of the name of Chung-mow, one belonging to the State of 
 Ch'ing, and the other to the State of Tsin, which is that intended here, and 
 is referred to the present district of T'ang-yin, department of Chang-tih, in 
 Ho-nan province. 3. The application of the proverbial sayings is to 
 Confucius himself, as, from his superiority, incapable of being affected by 
 evil communications. 
 
 8. Knowledge, acquired by learning, is necessary to the 
 completion op virtue, by preserving the mind from being be- 
 CLOUDED. 1. " The six words" are the benevolence, knowledge, sincerity, 
 straight-forwardness, boldness, and firmness, mentioned below, all virtues, 
 but yet each, when pursued without discrimination, tending to becloud the 
 mind. 2. " Sit down." — Tsze-loo had risen, according to the rules of 
 propriety, to give his answer ; see the Le-ke, I. Pt I. iii. 21 ; and Con- 
 fucius tells him to resume his seat. 3. I give here the paraphrase of the 
 " Daily Lesson," on the first virtue and its beclouding, which may illus- 
 trate the manner in which the whole paragraph is developed : — " In all 
 matters, there is a perfect right and unchangeable principle, which men 
 ought carefully to study, till they have thoroughly examined and appre- 
 
 VOL. i. 16 
 
242 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XVII. 
 
 forwardness without the love of learning ; — the beclouding 
 here leads to rudeness. There is the love of boldness with- 
 out the love of learning ; — the beclouding here leads to 
 insubordination. There is the love of firmness without 
 the love of learning ; — the beclouding here leads to ex- 
 travagant conduct/'' 
 
 IX. 1. The Master said, "My children, why do you 
 not study the Book of Poetry ? 
 
 2. " The Odes serve to stimulate the mind. 
 
 3. " They may be used for purposes of self-contem- 
 plation. 
 
 4. " They teach the art of sociability. 
 
 5. " They show how to regulate feelings of resentment. 
 
 6. " From them you learn the more immediate duty of 
 serving one's father, and the remoter one of serving one's 
 prince. 
 
 7. <( From them we become largely acquainted with the 
 names of birds, beasts, and plants/' 
 
 X. The Master said to Pih-yu, (< Do you give yourself 
 to the Chow-nan, and the Shaou-nan. The man, who has 
 not studied the how-nan and the Shaou-nan, is like one 
 who stands with his face right against a wall. Is he not 
 so?" 
 
 XI. The Master said, " ' It is according to the rules 
 of propriety/ they say. — c It is according to the rules of 
 propriety/ they say. Are gems and silk all that is meant 
 
 hended it. Then their actions will be without error, and their virtue may- 
 be perfected. For instance, loving is what rules in benevolence. It is 
 certainly a beautiful virtue, but if you only set yourself to love men, and 
 do not care to study to understand the principle of benevolence, then 
 your mind will be beclouded by that loving, and you will be following a 
 man into a well to save him, so that both he and you will perish. Will 
 not this be foolish simplicity ? " 
 
 9. Benefits derived from studying the Book of Poetry. 
 
 10. The importance of studying the Chow-nan and Shaou-nan. 
 Chow-nan and Shaou-nan are the titles of the first two books in the 
 National Songs, or first part of the She-king. For the meaning of the 
 titles, see the She-king, Pt I. Bk I., and Pt I. Bk II. They are supposed 
 to inculcate important lessons about personal virtue and family govern- 
 ment. A man " with his face against a wall " cannot advance a step, nor 
 see anything. This chapter in the old editions is incorporated with the 
 preceding one. 
 
 11. It is not the external appurtenances which constitute 
 propriety, nor the sound of instruments which constitutes 
 
 MUSIC. 
 
 
CH. XII.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 243 
 
 by propriety ? f It is Music/ they say. ' It is Music/ 
 they say. Are bells and drums all that is meant by 
 Music ? " 
 
 XII. The Master said, ' c He who puts on an appear- 
 ance of stern firmness, while inwardly he is weak, is like 
 one of the small, mean people ; — yea, is he not like the 
 thief who breaks through or climbs over a wall ? n 
 
 XIII. The Master said, " Your good careful people of 
 the villages are the thieves of virtue." 
 
 XIV. The Master said, " To tell, as we go along*, what 
 we have heard on the way, is to cast away our virtue." 
 
 XV. 1. The Master said, "There are those mean 
 creatures ! How impossible it is along with them to 
 serve one's prince ! 
 
 2. "While they have not got their aims, their anxiety 
 is how to get them. When they have got them, their 
 anxiety is lest they should lose them. 
 
 3. "When they are anxious lest they should be lost, 
 there is nothing to which they will not proceed." 
 
 XVI. 1 . The Master said, " Anciently, men had three 
 failings, which now perhaps are not to be found. 
 
 2. " The high-mindedness of antiquity showed itself in 
 a disregard of small things ; the high-mindedness of the 
 present day shows itself in wild license. The stern dig- 
 nity of antiquity showed itself in grave reserve; the stern 
 dignity of the present day shows itself in quarrelsome 
 perverseness. The stupidity of antiquity showed itself in 
 straightforwardness; the stupidity of the present day 
 shows itself in sheer deceit. " 
 
 12. The meanness of presumption and pusillanimity conjoined. 
 The last clause shows emphatically to whom, among the low, mean 
 people, the individual spoken of is like, — a thief, namely, who is in con- 
 stant fear of being detected. 
 
 13. Contentment with vulgar ways and views injurious to 
 virtue. See the sentiment of this chapter explained and expanded by 
 Mencius, VII. Pt II. xxxvii., 7, 8. 
 
 14. Swiftness to speak incompatible with the cultivation of 
 virtue. It is to be understood that what has been heard contains some 
 good lesson. At once to be talking of it without revolving it, and striving 
 to practise it, shows an indifference to our own improvement. 
 
 15. The case of mercenary officers, and how it is impossible 
 to serve one's prince along with them. 
 
 16. The defects of former times become vices in the time of 
 Confucius. 
 
 16 * 
 
244 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XVII. 
 
 XVII. The Master said, " Fine words and an insinu- 
 ating appearance are seldom associated with virtue." 
 
 XVIII. The Master said, " I hate the manner in which 
 purple takes away the lustre of vermilion. I hate the way 
 in which the songs of Ch'ing confound the music of the 
 Ya. I hate those who with their sharp mouths overthrow 
 kingdoms and families." 
 
 XIX. 1 . The Master said, ' ' I would prefer not speak- 
 ing." 
 
 2. Tsze-kung said, " If you, Master, do not speak, what 
 shall we, your disciples, have to record ? " 
 
 3. The Master said, " Does Heaven speak? The four 
 seasons pursue their courses, and all things are continually 
 being produced, hut does Heaven say anything ? " 
 
 XX. Joo Pei wished to see Confucius, but Confucius 
 declined, on the ground of being sick, to see him. When 
 the bearer of this message went out at the door, he took 
 his harpsichord, and sang to it, in order that Pei might 
 hear him. 
 
 XXI. 1. Tsae Wo asked about the three years' mourn- 
 ing for parents, saying that one year was long enough. 
 
 17. A repetition of I. iii. 
 
 18. Confucius' indignation at the way in which the wrong 
 overcame the richt. On the first clause, — see X. vi. 2. " The songs 
 or sounds of Ch'ing," — see XV. x. " The Ya," — see on IX. xiv. 
 
 19. The actions of Confucius were lessons and laws, a*nd not 
 his words merely. Such is the scope of this chapter, according to Choo 
 He and his school. The older commentators say that it is a caution to 
 men to pay attention to their conduct rather than to their words. This 
 interpretation is far-fetched, but on the other hand, it is not easy to de- 
 fend Confucius from the charge of presumption in comparing himself 
 to Heaven. 
 
 20. How Confucius could be not at home, and yet give inti- 
 mation to the visitor of his presence. Of Joo Pei little is known. 
 He was a man of Loo, and had at one time been in attendance on Con- 
 fucius to receive his instructions. There must have been some reason — 
 6ome fault in him — why Confucius would not see him on the occasion in 
 the text, and that he might understand that it was on that account, and 
 not that he was really sick, that he declined his visit, the sage acted as 
 we are told. But what was the necessity for sending a false message in 
 the first place? In the notes to the E-le, III. 1, it is said that Joo Pei's 
 fault was in trying to see the master without using the services of an hi' 
 ternuncius. 
 
 21. The period of three years' mourning for parents ; it may 
 not on any account be shortened; the reason of it. 1. on the 
 three years' mourning, see the 31st book of the Le-ke. Nominally ex- 
 
CH. XXII.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 245 
 
 2. " If the superior man," said he, " abstains for three 
 years from the observances of propriety, those observances 
 will be quite lost. If for three years he abstains from 
 music, music will be ruined. 
 
 3. " Within a year, the old grain is exhausted, and the 
 new grain has sprung up, and, in procuring fire by friction, 
 we go through all the changes of wood for that purpose. 
 After a complete year the mourning may stop." 
 
 4. The Master said, <c If you were, after a year, to eat 
 good rice, and wear embroidered clothes, would you feel 
 at ease ? " " I should," replied Wo. 
 
 5. The Master said, " If you can feel at ease, do it. 
 But a superior man, during the whole period of mourning, 
 does not enjoy pleasant food which he may eat, nor derive 
 pleasure from music which he may hear. He also does 
 not feel at ease, if he is comfortably lodged. Therefore 
 he does not do tvhat you propose. But now you feel at 
 ease and may do it." 
 
 6. Tsae Wo then went out, and the Master said, " This 
 shows Yu's want of virtue. It is not till a child is three 
 years old that it is allowed to leave the arms of its parents. 
 And the three years' mourning is universally observed 
 throughout the empire. Did Yu enjoy the three years' 
 affection for his parents ? " 
 
 XXII. The Master said, " Hard is the case of him, 
 who will stuff himself with food the whole day, without 
 
 tending to three years, that period comprehended properly but twenty-five 
 months, and at most twenty-seven months. 2, Tsae Wo finds here a 
 reason for his view in the necessity of " human affairs. " 3. He finds here 
 a reason for his view in " the seasons of heaven." Certain woods were 
 assigned to the several seasons, to be employed for getting fire by 
 friction, the elm and willow, for instance, to spring, the date and almond 
 trees to summer, &c, so that Wo says, " In boring to get fire, we have 
 changed from wood to wood through the ones appropriate to the four 
 seasons." 4. Coarse food and coarse clothing were appropriate, though 
 in varying degree, to all the period of mourning. Tsae Wo is strangely 
 insensible to the home-put argument of the Master. 7. " This shows 
 Yu's want of virtue" responds to all that has gone before, and forms a 
 sort of apodosis. Confucius added, it is said, the remarks in this paragraph, 
 that they might be reported to Tsae Wo, lest he should "feel at ease " to 
 go and do as he said he could. Still the reason which the Master finds 
 for the statute -period of mourning for parents must be pronounced 
 puerile. 
 
 22. The hopeless case of gluttony and idleness. " Gamesters 
 
246 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [fiK XVII. 
 
 applying his mind to anything good ! Are there not 
 gamesters and chess-players ? To be one of these would 
 still be better than doing nothing at all." 
 
 XXIII. Tsze-loo said, " Does the superior man esteem 
 valour ? " The Master said, " The superior man holds 
 righteousness to be of highest importance. A man in a 
 superior situation, having valour without righteousness, 
 will be guilty of insubordination -, one of the lower 
 people, having valour without righteousness, will commit 
 robbery." 
 
 XXIV. 1. Tsze-kung said, "Has the superior man his 
 hatreds also ? " The Master said, " He has his hatreds. 
 He hates those who proclaim the evil of others. He 
 hates the man who, being in low station, slanders his 
 superiors. He hates those who have valour merely, and 
 are unobservant of propriety. He hates those who are 
 forward and determined, and, at the same time, of con- 
 tracted understanding." 
 
 2. The MastGr then inquired, " Ts'ze, have you also your 
 hatreds ? " Tsze-kung replied, " I hate those who pry out 
 matters, and ascribe the knowledge to their wisdom. I 
 
 and chess-players:" — Of the game of chess, the Chinese have two kinds. 
 There is what is called the "surrounding chess," which is played with 
 361 pieces, and is referred to the Emperor Yaou as its inventor. This is 
 still not uncommon, though I have never seen it played myself. There is 
 also what is called the " elephant chess," played with 32 pieces, and 
 having a great analogy to our game, which indeed was borrowed from 
 the East. " The elephant " is the piece corresponding to our " bishop," 
 though his movement is more like that of a double knight. The invention 
 of this is ascribed to the first emperor of the Chow dynasty (B.C. 1122), 
 though some date it a few hundred years later. " Gamesters " in the text 
 are different from the chess-players. The game specially intended was 
 one played with twelve dice, the invention of which is ascribed to the time 
 of one or other of the tyrants, with whom the dynasties of Hea and Shang 
 terminated. I have also seen it referred to a much later date, and said to 
 have been imported from India. If it were so, then we do not know what 
 game Confucius had in his mind. Commentators are much concerned to 
 defend him from the suspicion of giving in this chapter any sanction to 
 gambling. He certainly expresses his detestation of the idle glutton very 
 strongly. 
 
 23. Valour to be valued only in subordination to righteous- 
 ness ; ITS CONSEQUENCES APART FROM THAT. 
 
 24. Characters disliked by Confucius and Tsze-kung. Tsze- 
 kung is understood to have intended Confucius himself by " the superior 
 man." 
 
CH. XXV.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 247" 
 
 hate those who are only not modest, and think that they 
 are valorous. I hate those who make known secret s, and 
 think that they are straightforward." 
 
 XXV. The Master said, "Of all people, girls and 
 servants are the most difficult to behave to. If you are 
 familiar with them, they lose their humility. If you main- 
 tain a reserve towards them, they are discontented." 
 
 XXYI. The Master said, " When a man at forty is the 
 object of dislike, he will always continue what he is." 
 
 BOOK XVIII. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. The viscount of Wei withdrew from the 
 court. The viscount of Ke became a slave to Chow. Pe- 
 kan remonstrated with him, and died. 
 
 25. The difficulty how to treat concubines and servants. 
 The text does not speak here of women generally, as Collie has translated,, 
 hut of girls, i.e., concubines. The commentators find in the chapter a 
 lesson for the great in the ordering of their harems ; but there is nothing 
 in the language to make us restrict the meaning in any way. 
 
 26. The difficulty of improvement in advanced years. Ac- 
 cording to Chinese views, at forty a man is at his best in every way. — 
 Youth is doubtless the season for improvement, but the sentiment of the 
 chapter is too broadly stated. 
 
 Heading and contents of this book. — "The viscount of Wei." 
 This book, consisting of only eleven chapters, treats of various individuals 
 famous in Chinese history, as eminent for the way in which they dis- 
 charged their duties to their sovereign, or for their retirement from 
 public service. It commemorates also some of the worthies of Confucius' 
 days, who lived in retirement rather than be in office in so degenerate 
 times. The object of the whole is to illustrate and vindicate the course of 
 Confucius himself. 
 
 1. The viscounts of Wei and Ke, and Pe-kan : — three worthies- 
 of the Yen dynasty. 1 . Wei-tsze and Ke-tsze are continually repeated 
 by Chinese, as if they were proper names. But Wei and Ke were the 
 names of two small States, presided over by chiefs of the Tsze, or fourth^ 
 degree of nobility, called viscounts, for want of a more exact term. They 
 both appear to have been within the limits of the present Shan-se, Wei 
 being referred to the district of Loo-ch'ing, department Loo-gan, and Ke 
 to Yu-shay, department Leaou-chow. The chief of Wei was an elder 
 brother (by a concubine) of the tyrant Chow, the last emperor of the 
 Yin dynasty, B.C. 1153—1122. The chief of Ke, and Pe-kan, were both, 
 probably, uncles of the tyrant. The first, seeing that remonstrances 
 availed nothing, withdrew from court, wishing to preserve the sacrifices. 
 of their family, amid the ruin which he saw was impending. The second 
 
248 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XVIII. 
 
 2. Confucius said, " The Yin dynasty possessed these 
 three men of virtue." 
 
 II. Hwuy of Lew-hea being chief criminal judge, was 
 thrice dismissed from his office. Some one said to him, 
 " Is it not yet time for you, Sir, to leave this ? " He 
 replied, ' c Serving men in an upright way, where shall I go 
 to, and not experience such a thrice-repeated dismissal ? 
 If I choose to serve men in a crooked way, what ne- 
 cessity is there for me to leave the country of my 
 parents ? " 
 
 III. The Duke King of Ts'e, with reference to the 
 manner in which he should treat Confucius, said, " I can- 
 not treat him as I would the chief of the Ke family. I 
 will treat him in a manner between that accorded to the 
 chief of the Ke, and that given to the chief of the Mang 
 family." He also said, " I am old ; I cannot use his doc- 
 trines." Confucius took his departure. 
 
 IV. The people of Ts'e sent to Loo a present of female 
 
 was thrown into prison, and, to escape death, feigned madness. He was 
 used by Chow as a buffoon. Pe-kan, persisting in his remonstrances, 
 was put barbarously to death, the tyrant having his heart torn out, that 
 he might see, he said, a sage's heart. 
 
 2. How Hwuy of Lew-hea, though often dismissed from office, 
 STILL clave to his country. Lew-hea Hwuy, — see XV. xiii. The 
 office which Hwuy held is described in the Chow-le, XXXIV. iii. He was 
 under the minister of Crime, but with many subordinate magistrates under 
 him. — Some remarks akin to that in the test are ascribed to Hwuy's %vife. 
 It is observed by the commentator Hoo, that there ought to be another 
 paragraph, giving Confucius' judgment upon Hwuy's conduct, but it has 
 been lost. 
 
 3. How Confucius left Ts'e, when the duke could not appre- 
 ciate and employ him. It was in the year B.C. 516, that Confucius 
 went to Ts'e. The remarks about how he should be treated, &c, are to 
 be understood as having taken place in consultation between the duke 
 and his ministers, and being afterwards reported to the sage. The Mang 
 family (see II. v.) was, in the time of Confucius, much weaker than the 
 Ke. The chief of it was only the lowest noble of Loo, while the Ke was 
 the highest. Yet for the duke of Ts'e to treat Confucius better than 
 the duke of Loo treated the chief of the Mang family, was not dishon- 
 ouring the sage. We must suppose that Confucius left Ts'e, because of 
 the duke's concluding remarks. 
 
 4. How Confucius gave up official service in Loo. In the four- 
 teenth year of the Duke Ting, Confucius reached the highest point of his 
 official service. He was minister of Crime, and also, according to the gen- 
 eral opinion, acting premier. He effected in a few months a wonderful 
 renovation of the State, and the neighbouring countries began to fear that 
 
OH. V.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 249 
 
 musicians, which Ke Hwan received, and for three days 
 no court was held. Confucius took his departure. 
 
 V. 1. The madman of Ts'oo, Tsee-yu, passed by Con- 
 fucius, singing and saying, " Oh Fung ! Oh Fung ! How is 
 your virtue degenerated ! As to the past, reproof is useless; 
 but the future may be provided against. Give up your vain 
 pursuit. Give up your vain pursuit. Peril awaits those 
 who now engage in affairs of government." 
 
 2. Confucius alighted and wished to converse with him, 
 but Tsee-yu hastened away, so that he could not talk with 
 him. 
 
 VI. 1. Ch'ang-tseu and Kee-neih were at work in the 
 field together, when Confucius passed by them, and sent 
 Tsze-loo to inquire for the ford. 
 
 2. Ch'ang-tseu said, "Who is he that holds the reins 
 in the carriage there ? " Tsze-loo told him, " It is K'ung 
 K'ew." " Is it not K'ung K'ew of Loo ? " asked he. 
 " Yes," was the reply, to which the other rejoined, " He 
 knows the ford." 
 
 3. Tsze-loo then inquired of Kee-neih, who said to him, 
 " Who are you, Sir ? " He answered, " I am Chung 
 Yew." " Are you not the disciple of K'uug K'ew of 
 Loo ? " asked the other. " I am," replied he ; and then 
 Kee-neih said to him, "Disorder, like a swelling flood, 
 spreads over the whole empire, and who is he that will 
 change it for you ? Than follow one who merely with- 
 
 under his administration, Loo would overtop and subdue them all. To 
 prevent this, the duke of Ts'e sent a present to Loo of fine horses and of 
 eighty highly accomplished beauties. The duke of Loo was induced to re- 
 ceive these by the advice of the head of the Ke family, Ke Sze or Ke 
 Hwan. The sage was forgotten ; government was neglected. Confucius, 
 indignant and sorrowful, withdrew from office, and for a time, from the 
 country too. 
 
 5. Confucius and the madman of Ts'oo, who blames his not 
 retiring from the world. 1. Ts'ee-yu was the designation of one 
 Luh T'ung, a native of Ts'oo, who feigned himself mad, to escape being 
 importuned to engage in public service. It must have been about the 
 year B.C. 489, that the incident in the text occurred. By the fung or 
 phoenix, his satirizer or adviser intended Confucius ; see IX. viii. 
 
 6. Confucius and the two recluses, Ch'ang-tseu and Kee-neih ; 
 WHY HE would not withdraw from THE world. 1. The surnames 
 and names of these worthies are not known. It is supposed that they 
 belonged to Ts'oo, like the hero of the last chapter, and that the interview 
 with them occurred about the same time. The designations in the text 
 
250 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XVIII* 
 
 draws from this one and that one, had you not better fol- 
 low those who have withdrawn from the world altogether V* 
 With this he fell to covering up the seed, and proceeded 
 ivith his work, without stopping. 
 
 4. Tsze-loo went and reported their remarks, when his 
 master observed with a sigh, " It is impossible to associate 
 with birds and beasts, as if they were the same with us. 
 If I associate not with these people, — with mankind, — 
 with whom shall I associate ? If right principles prevailed 
 through the empire, there would be no use for me to 
 change its state." 
 
 VII. 1. Tsze-loo, following the Master, happened to 
 fall behind, when he met an old man, carrying, across his 
 shoulder on a staff, a basket for weeds. Tsze-loo said to 
 him, " Have you seen my master, Sir ! 3i The old man 
 replied, " Your four limbs are unaccustomed to toil ; you 
 cannot distinguish the five kinds of grain : — who is your 
 master ? " With this, he planted his staff in the ground, 
 and proceeded to weed. 
 
 2. Tsze-loo joined his hands across his breast, and stood 
 before him. 
 
 3. The old man kept Tsze-loo to pass the night in his 
 house, killed a fowl, prepared millet, and feasted him. 
 He also introduced to him his two sons. 
 
 4. Next day, Tsze-loo went on his way, and reported 
 his adventure. The Master said, " He is a recluse," and 
 sent Tsze-loo back to see him again, but when he got to 
 the place, the old man was gone. 
 
 are descriptive of their character, and=" the long Hester," and " the firm 
 Kecluse." What kind of field labour is here denoted cannot be deter- 
 mined. 2. The original of " he knows the ford," indicates that "he " is 
 emphatic, =he, going about everywhere, and seeking to be employed, ought 
 to know the ford. The use of " his Master " in the last paragraph is 
 remarkable. It must mean "his Master" and not "the Master." c The 
 compiler of this chapter can hardly have been a disciple of the sage. 
 
 7. TSZE-LOO'S RENCONTRE WITH AN OLD MAN, A RECLUSE : HIS VIN- 
 DICATION OF his master's course. The incident in this chapter was 
 probably nearly contemporaneous with those which occupy the two pre- 
 vious ones. Some say that the old man belonged to She, which was a 
 part of Ts'oo. " The five grains " are " rice, millet, sacrificial millet, 
 wheat, and pulse." But they are sometimes otherwise enumerated. 
 We have also " the six kinds," " the eight kinds," " the nine kinds," and 
 perhaps other classifications. 2. Tsze-loo, standing with his arms across 
 his breast, indicated his respect, and won upon the old man. 5, 
 
CH. VIII.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 251 
 
 5. Tsze-loo then said to the family, " Not to take office 
 is not righteous. If the relations between old and young 
 may not be neglected, how is it that he sets aside the 
 duties that should be observed between sovereign and 
 minister ? Wishing to maintain his personal purity, he 
 allows that great relation to come to confusion. A su- 
 perior man takes office, and performs the righteous duties 
 belonging to it. As to the failure of right principles to 
 make progress, he is aware of that.-" 
 
 VIII. 1. The men who have retired to privacy from 
 the world have been Pih-e, Shiih-ts'e, Yu-chung, E-yih, 
 Choo-chang, Hwuy of Lew-hea, and Shaou-leen. 
 
 2. The Master said, "Refusing to surrender their wills, 
 or to submit to any taint in their persons ; — such, I think, 
 were Pih-e and Shuh-ts f e. 
 
 3. "It may be said of Hwuy of Lew-hea, and of Shaou- 
 leen, that they surrendered their wills, and submitted to 
 taint in their persons, but their words corresponded with 
 reason, and their actions were such as men are anxious to 
 see. This is all that is to be remarked in them. 
 
 4. "It may be said of Yu-chung and E-yih, that, while 
 they hid themselves in their seclusion, they gave a license 
 to their words, but in their persons they succeeded in 
 preserving their purity, and in their retirement they 
 acted according to the exigency of the times. 
 
 Tsze-loo is to be understood as here speaking the sentiments of the 
 Master, and vindicating his course. By " the relations between old and 
 young," he refers to the manner in which the old man had intro- 
 duced his sons to him the evening before, and to all the orderly inter- 
 course between old and young, which he had probably seen in the 
 family. 
 
 8. Confucius' judgment of former worthies who had kept 
 
 FROM THE WORLD. HlS OWN GUIDING PRINCIPLE. 1. On the word 
 11 retired " with which this chapter commences, it is said : — " Retirement 
 here is not that of seclusion, but is characteristic of men of large souls, 
 who cannot be measured by ordinary rules. They may display their 
 character by retiring from the world. Tbey may display it also in the 
 manner of their discharge of office." The phrase is guarded in this way, 
 I suppose, because of its application to Hwuy of Lew-hea, who did not 
 obstinately withdraw from the world. Pih-e, and Shuh-ts'e, — see V. xxii. 
 Yu-chung should probably be Woo-chung. He was the brother of T'ae-pih, 
 called Chung-yung, and is mentioned in the note on VIII. i. He retired 
 with T'ae-pih among the barbarous tribes, then occupying the country of 
 Woo, and succeeded to the chieftaincy of them on his brother's death. 
 
252 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XVIII. 
 
 5. " I am different from all these. I have no course 
 for which I am predetermined, and no course against which 
 
 I am predetermined.-" 
 
 IX. 1. The grand music-master, Che, went to Ts f e. 
 
 2. Kan, the master of the band at the second meal, went 
 to Ts'oo. Leaou, the band-master at the third meal, went 
 to Ts'ae. Keueh, the band-master at the fourth meal, 
 went to Ts'in. 
 
 3. Fang-shuh, the drum-master, withdrew to the north 
 jofthe river. 
 
 4. Woo, the master of the hand-drum, withdrew to the 
 Han. 
 
 5. Yang, the assistant music-master, and Seang, mas- 
 ter of the musical stone, withdrew to an island in the sea. 
 
 X. The duke of Chow addressed his son, the duke of 
 Loo, saying, " The virtuous prince does not neglect his 
 relations. He does not cause the great ministers to re- 
 pine at his not employing them. Without some great 
 
 II E-yih and Choo-chang," says Choo He, " are not found in the classics 
 and histories. From a passage in the Le-ke, XXI. i. 14, it appears that 
 Shaou-leen belonged to one of the barbarous tribes on the east, but wa3 
 well acquainted with, and observant of, the rules of propriety, particularly 
 those relating to mourning. 4. " Living in retirement, they gave a license 
 to their words," — this is intended to show that in this respect they were 
 inferior to Hwuy and Shaou-leen. 5. Confucius's openness to act accord- 
 ing to circumstances is to be understood as being always in subordination 
 to right and propriety. 
 
 9. The dispersion of the musicians op Loo. The dispersion here 
 narrated is supposed to have taken place in the time of Duke Gae. When 
 once Confucius had rectified the music of Loo (IX. xiv.), the musicians 
 would no longer be assisting in the prostitution of their art, and so, as 
 the disorganization and decay proceeded, the chief among them withdrew 
 to other countries, or from society altogether. 1. "The music-master, 
 Che," — see VIII. xv. 2. The princes of China, it would appear, had 
 music at their meals, and a separate band performed at each meal, or 
 possibly, the band might be the same, but under the superintendence of 
 a separate officer at each meal. The emperor had four meals a day, and 
 the princes of States only three, but it was the prerogative of the duke of 
 Loo to use the ceremonies of the imperial household. Nothing is said 
 here of the band-master at the first meal, perhaps because he did not leave 
 Loo, or nothing may have been known of him. 3. "The river" is of 
 course " the Yellow Eiver." 5. It was from Seang that Confucius learned 
 to play on the lute. 
 
 10. Instructions of Chow- rung- to his son about government ; 
 A generous consideration of others to be cherished. See VI. v. 
 Jt would seem that the duke of Chow was himself appointed to the 
 
CH. XI.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 253 
 
 ■ 
 
 cause, he does not dismiss from their offices the members 
 of old families. He does not seek in one man talents for 
 every employment." 
 
 XI. To Chow belonged the eight officers, Pih-ta, Pih- 
 kwoh, Chung-tuh, Chung-hwuh, Shuh-yay, Shuh-hea, 
 Ke-suy, and Ke-kwa. 
 
 BOOK XIX. 
 
 Chapter I. Tsze-chang said, " The scholar, trained 
 for public duty, seeing threatening danger, is prepared to 
 sacrifice his life. When the opportunity of gain is pre- 
 sented to him, he thinks of righteousness. In sacrificing,, 
 his thoughts are reverential. In mourning, his thoughts 
 are about the grief ivhich he should feel. Such a man 
 commands our approbation indeed." 
 
 II. Tsze-chang said, " When a man holds fast virtue, 
 but without seeking to enlarge it, and believes right prin- 
 
 principality of Loo, but being detained at court by bis duties to the young 
 Emperor Ch'ing, he sent his son, here called "the duke of Loo," to that 
 State as his representative. 
 
 11. The fruttfulness of the early time of the Chow dynasty 
 IN able officers. The eight individuals mentioned here are said to 
 have been brothers, four pairs of twins by the same mother. This is 
 intimated in their names, the two first being primi, the next pair secundi, 
 the third tertii, and the last two idtimi. One mother, bearing twins four 
 times in succession, and all proving distinguished men, showed the vigour 
 of the early days of the dynasty in all that was good. — It is disputed to 
 what reign these brothers belonged, nor is their surname ascertained. 
 
 Heading and contents of this book. " Tsze-chang — No. XIX." 
 Confucius does not appear personally in this book at all. Choo He 
 says : — " This book records the words of the disciples, Tsze-hea being the 
 most frequent speaker, and Tsze-kung next to him. For in the Con- 
 fucian school, after Yen Yuen there was no one of such discriminating 
 understanding as Tsze-kung, and, after Tsang Sin no one of such firm 
 sincerity as Tsze-hea." The disciples deliver their sentiments very much 
 after the manner of their master, and yet we can discern a falliDg off 
 from him. 
 
 1. Tsze-chang's opinion of the chief attributes of the true 
 
 SCHOLAR. 
 
 2. Tsze-chang on narrow-mindedness and a hesitating faith. 
 Hing Ping interprets this chapter in the following way : — u If a man 
 grasp hold of his virtue, and is not widened and enlarged by it, although 
 he may believe good principles, he cannot be sincere and generous." But 
 
254 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XIX. 
 
 ciples, but without firm sincerity, what account can be 
 made of his existence or non-existence ? " 
 
 III. The disciples of Tsze-hea asked Tsze-chang about 
 the principles of intercourse. Tsze-chang asked, " What 
 does Tsze-hea say on the subject 1 U They replied, " Tsze- 
 hea says : — l Associate with those who can advantage 
 you. Put away from you those who cannot do so." Tsze- 
 chang observed, " This is different from what I have 
 learned. The superior man honours the talented and 
 virtuous, and bears with all. He praises the good, and 
 pities the incompetent. Am I possessed of great talents 
 and virtue ? — who is there among men whom I will not 
 bear with ? Am I devoid of talents and virtue ? — men 
 will put me away from them. What have we to do with 
 the putting away of others ? " 
 
 IV. Tsze-hea said, " Even in inferior studies and em- 
 ployments there is something worth being looked at, but 
 if it be attempted to carry them out to what is remote, 
 there is a danger of their proving inapplicable. There- 
 fore, the superior man does not practise them." 
 
 V. Tsze-hea said, (< He, who from day to day recog- 
 nizes what he has not yet, and from month to month does 
 not forget what he has attained to, may be said indeed to 
 love to learn. " 
 
 it is better to take the clauses as coordinate, and not dependent on each 
 other. 
 
 3. The diffeeent opinions of Tsze-hea and Tsze-chang on the 
 principles which should eegulate oue intercouese with 
 othees. It is strange to me that the disciples of Tsze-hea should begin 
 their answer to Tsze-chang with the designation Tsze-hea, instead of 
 saying " our Master." Ring Ping expounds Tsze-hea's rule thus : — " If 
 the man be worthy, fit for you to have intercourse with, then have it, but 
 if he be not worthy," &c. On the other hand, we find: — "If the man 
 will advantage you, he is a fit person ; then maintain intercourse with 
 him," &c. This seems to be merely carrying out Confucius' rule, I. viii. 3. 
 Choo He, however, approves of Tsze-chang's censure of it, while he 
 thinks also that Tsze-chang's own view is defective. — Paou Heen says : — 
 " Our intercourse with friends should be according to Tsze-hea's rule ; 
 general intercourse according to Tsze-chang's." 
 
 4. TSZE-HEA'S OPINION OF THE INAPPLICABILITY OF SMALL PUESUITS 
 TO GEEAT objects. Gardening, husbandry, divining, and the healing 
 art, are all mentioned by Choo He as instances of the "small ways," here 
 intended, having their own truth in them, but not available for higher 
 purposes, or what is beyond themselves. 
 
 5, The indications of a eeal love of learning :— by Tsze- hea 
 
CH. VI.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 255 
 
 VI. Tsze-hea said, "There are learning extensively, 
 and having a firm and sincere aim; inquiring with earnest- 
 ness, and reflecting with self-application : — virtue is in 
 such a course." 
 
 VII. Tsze-hea said, "Mechanics have their shops to 
 dwell in, in order to accomplish their works. The su- 
 perior man learns, in order to reach to the utmost of his 
 principles." 
 
 VIII. Tsze-hea said, " The mean man is sure to gloss 
 his faults." 
 
 IX. Tsze-hea said, " The superior man undergoes 
 three changes. Looked at from a distance, he appears 
 stern ; when approached, he is mild ; when he is heard to 
 speak, his language is firm and decided." 
 
 X. Tsze-hea said, "The superior man, having obtained 
 their confidence, may then impose labours on his people. 
 If he have not gained their confidence, they will think 
 that he is oppressing them. Having obtained the con- 
 fidence of his prince, he may then remonstrate with him. 
 If he have not gained his confidence, the prince will think 
 that he is vilifying him." 
 
 XI. Tsze-hea said, " When a person does not trans- 
 
 6. how learning should be puesued to lead to virtue '. — by 
 Tsze-hea. 
 
 7. Learning is the student's workshop : — by Tsze-hea. A cer- 
 tain quarter was assigned anciently in Chinese towns and cities for 
 mechanics, and all of one art were required to have their shops together. 
 A son must follow his father's profession, and, seeing nothing but the 
 exercise of that around him, it was supposed that he would not he led to 
 think of anything else, and would so become very proficient in it. 
 
 8. Glossing his faults the proof of the mean man : — by Tsze- 
 hea. Literally, " The faults of the mean man, must gloss," i.e. he is 
 Bure to gloss. 
 
 9. Changing appearances of the superior man to others : — 
 by Tsze-hea. Tsze-hea probably intended Confucius by the Xeun-tsze, 
 but there is a general applicability in his language and sentiments. — The 
 description is about equivalent to our "fortiter in re, suaxiter in modo." 
 
 10. The importance of enjoying confidence to the right 
 serving of superiors and ordering of inferiors [ — by tsze-hea. 
 
 11. The great virtues demand the chief attention, and the 
 small ones may be somewhat violated : — by Tsze-hea. The sen- 
 timent here is very questionable. A different turn, however, is given to 
 the chapter in the older interpreters. Hing Ping, expanding K'ung Gan- 
 kwo says : — " Men of great virtue never go beyond the boundary-line; it 
 is enough for those who are virtuous in a less degree to keep near to it, 
 
256 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XIX. 
 
 gress the boundary-line in the great virtues,, he may pass 
 and repass it in the small virtues." 
 
 XII. 1. Tsze-yew said, "The disciples and followers 
 of Tsze-hea, in sprinkling and sweeping the ground, in 
 answering and replying, in advancing and receding, are 
 sufficiently accomplished. But these are only the branches 
 of learning j and they are left ignorant of what is essential. 
 - — How can they be acknowledged as sufficiently taught V 
 
 2. Tsze-hea heard of the remark and said, " Alas ! 
 Yen Yew is wrong. According to the way of the superior 
 man in teaching, what departments are there which he 
 considers of prime importance, and therefore first delivers ? 
 what are there which he considers of secondary import- 
 ance, and so allows himself to be idle about ? But as in 
 the case of plants, which are assorted according to their 
 classes, so he deals with his disciples. How can the way of 
 a superior man be such as to make fools of any of them ? 
 Is it not the sage alone, who can unite in one the begin- 
 ning and the consummation of learning ? " 
 
 XIII. Tsze-hea said, " The officer, having discharged 
 all his duties, should devote his leisure to learning. The 
 student, having completed his learning, should apply him- 
 self to be an officer." 
 
 XIV. Tsze-hea said, u Mourning, having been carried 
 to the utmost degree of grief, should stop with that." 
 
 going beyond and coming back." We adopt tbe more natural interpreta- 
 tion of Choo He. 
 
 12. Tsze-hea's defence of his own graduated method of 
 teaching: — against Tsze-yew. 1. The sprinkling, &c, are the 
 things boys were supposed anciently to be taught, the rudiments of learn- 
 ing, from which they advanced to all that is inculcated in the " Great 
 Learning." But as Tsze-hea's pupils were not boys, but men, we should 
 understand, I suppose, these specifications as but a contemptuous refer- 
 ence to his instructions, as embracing merely what was external. The 
 general scope of Tsze-hea's reply is sufficiently plain, but the old inter- 
 preters and new differ in explaining the several sentences. After dwelling 
 long on it, I have agreed generally with the new school, and followed Choo 
 He in the translation. Tsze-hea did not teach what he taught as being 
 in itself more important than what he for the time left untouched. He 
 communicated knowledge as his disciples were able to bear it. 
 
 13. The officer and the student should attend each to his 
 proper work in the fost instance : — by tsze-yew. 
 
 14. The trappings of mourning may be dispensed with : — by 
 Tsze-yew. The sentiment here is perhaps the same as that of Confucius 
 in III. iv., but the sage guards and explains his utterance. — K'ung Gan- 
 
CH. XV.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 257 
 
 XV. Tsze-hea said, " My friend Chang can do things 
 which are hard to be done, but yet he is not perfectly 
 virtuous." 
 
 XVI. Tsang the philosopher said, " How imposing is 
 the manner of Chang ! It is difficult along with him to 
 practise virtue." 
 
 XVII. Tsang the philosopher said, " I have heard this 
 from our Master : — { Men may not have shown what is in 
 them to the full extent, and yet they will be found to do 
 so, on occasion of mourning for their parents/ n 
 
 XVIII. Tsang the philosopher said, " I have heard 
 this from our Master : — ( The filial piety of Mang Chwang, 
 in other matters, was what other men are competent to, 
 but, as seen in his not changing the ministers of 
 his father, nor his father's mode of government, it is 
 difficult to be attained to/ " 
 
 XIX. The chief of the Mang family having appointed 
 Yang Foo to be chief criminal judge, the latter consulted 
 the philosopher Tsang. Tsang said, "The rulers have 
 failed in their duties, and the people have consequently 
 been disorganized, for a long time. When you have found 
 
 kwo, following an expression in the " Classic of Filial Piety," makes the 
 meaning to be that the mourner may not endanger his health or life by 
 excessive grief and abstinence. 
 
 15. tsze-yew's opinion of tsze-chang, as minding too much 
 high things. 
 
 16. The philosopher Tsang's opinion of Tsze-chang, as too 
 high-pitched for friendship. 
 
 17. how grief for the loss of parents brings out the real 
 nature of man : — by tsang sln. 
 
 18. The filial piety of Mang Chwang :— by Tsang Sin. Chwang 
 was the honorary epithet of Sub, the head of the Mang family, not long 
 anterior to Confucius. His father, according to Choo He, had been a 
 man of great merit, nor was Chwang inferior to him, but his virtue espe- 
 cially appeared in what the text mentions. — Ho An gives the comment of 
 Ma Yung, that though there were bad men among his father's ministers, 
 and defects in his government, yet Chwang made no change in the one or 
 the other, during the three years of mourning, and that it was this which 
 constituted his excellence. 
 
 19. HOW A CRIMINAL JUDGE SHOULD CHERISH COMPASSION IN HIS 
 
 administration of justice : — by Tsang Sin. Seven disciples of Tsang 
 Sin are more particularly mentioned, one of them being this Yang Foo. 
 "Disorganized," literally "scattered," is to be understood of the moral 
 state of the people, and not, physically, of their being scattered from their 
 dwellings. 
 
 VOL. i. 17 
 
258 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [bK XIX. 
 
 out the truth of any accusation, be grieved for and pity 
 them, and do not feel joy at your own ability." 
 
 XX. Tsze-kung said, " Chow's wickedness was not so 
 great as that name implies. Therefore, the superior man 
 hates to dwell in a low-lying situation, where all the 
 jevil of the world will flow in upon him." 
 
 XXI. Tsze-kung said, "The faults of the superior 
 man are like the eclipses of the sun and moon. He has 
 his faults, and all men see them ; he changes again, and 
 all men look up to him." 
 
 XXII. 1. Kung-sun Ch'aou of Wei asked Tsze-kung, 
 saying, " From whom did Chung-ne get his learning ? " 
 
 2. Tsze-kung replied, "The doctrines of Wan and Woo 
 have not yet fallen to the earth. They are to be found 
 .among men. Men of talents and virtue remember the 
 great principles of them, and others, not possessing such 
 .talents and virtue, remember the smaller. Thus, all 
 possess the doctrines of Wan and Woo. From whom did 
 our Master not learn them ? And yet what necessity was 
 there for his having a regular master ? " 
 
 XXIII. 1. Shuh-sun Woo-shuh observed to the great 
 officers in the court, saying, " Tsze-kung is superior to 
 Chung-ne." 
 
 20. The danger op a bad name : — by Tsze-kung. " Not so bad 
 as the name implies," is, literally, "not so very bad as this; " — the this is 
 understood by Hing Ping as referring to the epithet Chow, which cannot 
 be called honorary in this instance. According to the laws for such 
 •terms, it means " cruel and unmerciful, injurious to righteousness." If 
 the this does not in this way refer to the name, the remark would seem 
 •to have occurred in a conversation about the wickedness of Chow. 
 
 21. The superior man does not conceal his errors, nor persist 
 IN them : — BY Tsze-kung. Such is the lesson of this chapter, as ex- 
 panded in the " Daily Lessons." The sun and the moon being here 
 spoken of together, the term must be confined to " eclipses," but it is also 
 applied to the ordinary waning of the moon. 
 
 22. Confucius' sources of knowledge were the recollections 
 and traditions of the principles on wan and woo : — by tsze- 
 KUNG. 1. Of the questioner here we have no other memorial. His sur- 
 name indicates that he was a descendant of some of the dukes of Wei. 
 Observe how he calls Confucius by his designation of Chung-ne or "Ne 
 secundus." (There was an elder brother, a concubine's son, who was called 
 Pih-ne.) The last clause is taken by modern commentators, as asserting, 
 Confucius' connate knowledge, but Gan-kwo finds in it only a repetition 
 of the statement that the sage found teachers everywhere. 
 
 23. Tsze-kung repudiates being thought superior to Confucius, 
 and, by the comparison of a house and wall, shows how ordin- 
 
£H. XXIV.] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 259 
 
 2. Tsze-fuh King-pih reported the observation to Tsze- 
 kung, who said, " Let me use the comparison of a house 
 and its encompassing wall. My wall only reaches to the 
 shoulders. One may peep over it, and see whatever is 
 valuable in the apartments. 
 
 3. "The wall of my master is several fathoms high. 
 If one do not find the door and enter by it, he cannot see 
 the ancestral temple with its beauties, nor all the officers 
 in their rich array. 
 
 4. " But I may assume that they are few who find the 
 door. Was not the observation of the chief only what 
 might have been expected ? " 
 
 XXIV. Shuh-sun "Woo-shuh having spoken revilingly 
 of Chung-ne, Tsze-kung said, ' ' It is of no use doing so. 
 Chung-ne cannot be reviled. The talents and virtue of 
 other men are hillocks and mounds, which may be stept 
 over. Chung-ne is the sun or moon, which it is not possible 
 to step over. Although a man may wish to cut himself 
 off from the sage, what harm can he do to the sun or 
 moon ? He only shows that he does not know his own 
 ■capacity." 
 
 XXV. 1. Tsze-k'in addressing Tsze-kung, said, "You 
 are too modest. How can Chung-ne be said to be superior 
 to you ? " 
 
 2. Tsze-kung said to him, et For one word a man is 
 
 ARY PEOPLE COULD NOT UNDERSTAND THE MASTER. 1. " Woo " was the 
 
 honorary epithet of Chow Kew, one of the chiefs of the Shuh-sun family. 
 From a mention of him in the " Family Sayings," we may conclude that 
 he was given to envy and detraction. The term rendered " house" is now 
 the common word for a " palace," but here it is to be taken generally for a 
 house or building. It is a poor house, as representing the disciple, and a 
 ducal mansion, as representing his master. Many commentators make 
 the wall to be the sole object in the comparison ; but it is better to take 
 both the house and the wall as members of the comparison. The wall 
 is not a part of the house, but one inclosing it. 
 
 24. Confucius is like the sun or moon, high above the reach 
 op depreciation : — by Tsze-kung. 
 
 25. Confucius can no more be equalled than the heavens can 
 re climbed : — by Tsze-kung. We find it difficult to conceive of the 
 buge's disciples speaking to one another, as Tsze-k'in does here to Tsze- 
 kung ; and Hing Ping says that this was not the disciple Tsze-k'in, but 
 another man of the same surname and designation. But this is inadmis- 
 sible, especially as we find the same parties, in I. x., talking about the 
 character of their master. I think it likely the conversation took place 
 
 17 * 
 
260 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [BK XX* 
 
 often deemed to be wise, and for one word lie is often 
 deemed to be foolish. We ought to be careful indeed in 
 what we say. 
 
 3. " Our Master cannot be attained to, just in the same 
 way as the heavens cannot be gone up to by the steps of 
 a stair. 
 
 4. " Were our Master in the position of the prince of 
 a State or the chief of a Family, we should find verified 
 the description which has been given of a sage's rule : — he 
 would plant the people, and forthwith they would be 
 established ; he would lead them on, and forthwith they 
 would follow him; he would make them happy, and forthwith 
 multitudes would resort to his dominions ; he would stimu- 
 late them, and forthwith they would be harmonious. While 
 he lived, he would be glorious. When he died, he would be 
 bitterly lamented. How is it possible for him to be 
 attained to ? M 
 
 BOOK XX. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. Yaou said, " Oh ! you, Shun, the 
 Heaven- determined order of succession now rests in your 
 person. Sincerely hold fast the due Mean. If there shall 
 be distress and want within the four seas, your Heavenly 
 revenue will come to a perpetual end." 
 
 2. Shun also used the same language in giving charge 
 to Yu. 
 
 after the sage's death, in which case the tenses in the translation would 
 in several cases have to be altered. Unfortunately the Chinese language 
 has no inflexions of any kind, and in concise composition such as that 
 of these Analects the adjunctive indications of mood and tense seldom 
 occur. 
 
 Heading and contents op this book. — " Yaou said." Hing Ping 
 says: — "This records the words of the two emperors, the three kings, 
 and Confucius, throwing light on the excellence of the ordinances of 
 Heaven, and the transforming power of government. Its doctrines are 
 all those of sages, worthy of being transmitted to posterity. On this 
 account, it brings 'jp the rear of all the other books, without any par- 
 ticular relation to the one immediately preceding." 
 
 1. Principles and ways of Yaou, Shun, Yu, T'anq, and Woo. 
 The first live paragraphs here are mostly compiled from different parts 
 of the Shoo-king. But there are many variations of language. The 
 compiler may have thought it sufficient, if he gave the substance of the 
 original in his quotations, without seeking to observe a verbal accuracy, 
 
<JH. I.J CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 261 
 
 3. T'ang said, " I, the child Le, presume to use a dark- 
 coloured victim, and presume to announce to Thee, O 
 most great and sovereign God, that the sinner I dare not 
 pardon, and thy ministers, God, I do not keep in ob- 
 scurity. The examination of them is by thy mind, O 
 God. If, in my person, I commit offences, they are not 
 to be attributed to you, the people of the myriad regions. 
 If you in the myriad regions commit offences, these offences 
 must rest on my person." 
 
 4. Chow conferred great gifts, and the good were 
 ♦enriched. 
 
 5. " Although he has his near relatives, they are not 
 equal to ray virtuous men. The people are throwing 
 blame upon me, the one man." 
 
 6. He carefully attended to the weights and measures, 
 examined the body of the laws, restored the discarded 
 officers, and the good government of the empire took its 
 course. 
 
 7. He revived States that had been extinguished, re- 
 stored families whose line of succession had been broken, 
 and called to office those who had retired into obscurity, 
 so that throughout the empire the hearts of the people 
 turned towards him. 
 
 or, possibly, the Shoo -king, as it was in his days, may have contained the 
 passages as he gives them, and the variations be owing to the burning 
 of most of the classical books by the founder of the Ts'in dynasty, and 
 their recovery and restoration in a mutilated state. 1 . We do not find 
 this address of Yaou to Shun in the Shoo-king, Pt I., but the different 
 sentences may be gathered from Pt II. Bk II. 14, 15, 17, where we 
 have the charge of Shun to Yu. Yaou's reign commenced B.C. 2356, 
 and after reigning 73 years, he resigned the administration to Shun. 
 He died, B.C. 2256, and, two years after, Shun occupied the throne, in 
 obedience to the will of the people. " The Heaven-determined order 
 of succession " is, literally, "the represented and calculated numbers 
 of heaven," i.e., the divisions of the year, its terms, months, and days, 
 all described in a calendar, as they succeed one another with deter- 
 mined regularity. Here, ancient and modern interpreters agree in giving 
 to the expression the meaning which appears in the translation. I may 
 observe here, that Choo He differs often from the old interpreters in ex- 
 plaining these passages of the Shoo-king, but I have followed him, leaving 
 the correctness or incorrectness of his views to be considered in the annot- 
 ations on the Shoo-king. 3. At the commencement of this paragraph 
 we must understand Tang, the founder of the Shang dynasty. The sen- 
 tences here may in substance be collected in a measure from the Shoo- 
 ting, Pt T V. Bk III. 4, 8. The sinner is Kee, the tyrant, and last emperor 
 
262 CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. [CK XX. 
 
 8. What lie attached chief importance to, were the food 
 of the people, the duties of mourning, and sacrifices. 
 
 9. By his generosity, he won all. By his sincerity, he- 
 made the people repose trust in him. By his earnest 
 activity, his achievements were great. By his justice, all 
 were delighted. 
 
 II. 1. Tsze-chang asked Confucius, saying, " In what 
 way should a person in authority act, in order that he may 
 conduct government properly ? " The Master replied,. 
 " Let him honour the five excellent, and banish away the 
 four bad, things ; — then may he conduct government pro- 
 perly. - " Tsze-chang said, " What are meant by the five 
 excellent things ? " The Master said, " When the person 
 in authority is beneficent without great expenditure - y 
 when he lays tasks on the people without their repining ; 
 when he pursues what lie desires without being covetous ; 
 when he maintains a dignified ease without being proud ; 
 when he is majestic without being fierce. - " 
 
 2. Tsze-chang said, " What is meant by being bene- 
 ficent without great expenditure ? M The Master replied, 
 " When the person in authority makes more beneficial to 
 the people the things from which they naturally derive 
 benefit ; is not this being beneficent without great ex- 
 penditure ? When he chooses the labours which are 
 proper, and makes them labour on them, who will repine? 
 When his desires are set on benevolent government, and 
 he realizes it, who will accuse him of covetousness ? 
 Whether he has to do with many people or few, or with 
 things great or small, he does not dare to indicate any 
 disrespect ; — is not this to maintain a dignified ease with- 
 
 of the Hea dynasty. " The ministers of God " are the able and virtuous 
 men, whom T'ang had called, or would call, to office. 4. In the Shoo- 
 king, Pt V. Bk III. 9, we find King Woo saying, " He distributed great 
 rewards through the empire, and all the people were pleased and sub- 
 mitted." 5. See the Shoo-king, Pt V. Bk I. sect. ii. 6, 7. The subject is 
 Chow, the tyrant of the Yin dynasty. The people found fault with King 
 Woo, because he did not come to save them from their sufferings, by 
 destroying their oppressor. The remaining paragraphs are descriptive of 
 the policy of King Woo, but cannot, excepting the eighth one, be traced 
 in the present Shoo-king. 
 
 2. HOW GOVERNMENT MAY BE CONDUCTED WITH EFFICIENCY, BY 
 HONOURING FIVE EXCELLENT THINGS, AND PUTTING AWAY FOUR BAD 
 
 things : — A conversation with Tsze-chang. It is understood that 
 
263 
 
 CH# III# ] CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 
 
 out any pride? He adjusts his clothes and cap, and 
 throws a dignity into his looks, so that, thus dignified, he 
 is looked at with awe ; is not this to be majestic without 
 
 being fierce ? " . _ 
 
 3 Tsze-chang then asked, " What are meant by the 
 four bad things ? " The Master said, " To put the people 
 to death without haviug instructed them ;— this is called 
 cruelty. To require from them, suddenly, the lull tale ol 
 work, without having given them warning ;— this is called 
 oppression. To issue orders as if without urgency, at first, 
 and when the time comes, to insist on them with seventy ; 
 —this is called injury. And, generally speaking, to give 
 pay or rewards to men, and yet to do it ma stingy way ;. 
 —this is called acting the part of a mere official 
 
 III. 1. The Master said, " Without recognizing the 
 ordinances of Heaven, it is impossible to be a superior 
 
 2 ' "Without an acquaintance with the rules of Pro- 
 priety, it is impossible for the character to be established. 
 
 3. " Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible 
 to know men." 
 
 this chapter, and the next, give the ideas of Confucius on government, as 
 a sequel to those of the ancient sages and emperors, whose principles aie 
 set forth in the last chapter, to show how Confucius was their proper 
 
 SUCCGS^Ol* 
 
 3. The ordinances of Heaven, the rules of Propriety, and th- 
 roacE of Words, all necessary to be known. 
 
THE GEEAT LEARNING. 
 
 My master, the philosopher Ch'ing, says : — " The Great 
 Learning is a booh left by Confucius, and forms the 
 gate by which first learners enter into virtue. That we 
 can now perceive the order in which the ancients pur- 
 sued their learning, is solely owing to the preservation 
 of this worh, the Analects and Mencius coming after it. 
 Learners must commence their course with this, and tlwn 
 it may be hoped they will be kept from error." 
 
 THE TEXT OP CONFUCIUS. 
 
 1. What the Great Learning teaches, is — to illustrate 
 illustrious virtue ; to renovate the people ; and to rest in 
 the highest excellence. 
 
 Title of the Work. — " The Great Learning." I have pointed out, in 
 the prolegomena, the great differences which are found among Chinese 
 commentators on this Work, on almost every point connected with the 
 criticism and interpretation of it. We encounter them here on the very 
 threshold. The name itself is simply the adoption of the two commencing 
 characters of the treatise, according to the custom noticed at the begin- 
 ning of the Analects; but in explaining those two characters, the old and 
 new schools differ widely. I have contented myself with the title — " The 
 Great Learning," which is a literal translation of the characters. 
 
 The introductory note. — I have thought it well to translate this, 
 and all the other notes and supplements appended by Choo He to the 
 original text, because they appear in nearly all the editions of the work 
 which fall into the hands of students, and his view of the classics is what 
 must be regarded as the orthodox one. The translation, which is here 
 given, is also, for the most part, according to his views, though my own 
 differing opinion will be found freely expressed in the notes. Another 
 version, following the order of the text, before it was transposed by him 
 and his masters, the Ch'ing, and without reference to its interpretations, 
 will be found in the translation of the Le-ke. The Ch'ing here is the 
 
THE GREAT LEARNING. 265 
 
 2. The point where to rest being known, the object of 
 pursuit is then determined; and, that being determined, 
 a calm unperturbedness may be attained. To that calm- 
 ness there will succeed a tranquil repose. In that repose 
 there may be careful deliberation, and that deliberation 
 will be followed by the attainment of the desired end. 
 
 3. Things have their root and their completion. Affairs 
 have their end and their beginning. To know what is 
 first and what is last will lead near to what is taught in 
 the Great Learning. 
 
 second of the two brothers, to whom reference is made in the prolegomena. 
 But how can we say that "The Great Learning" is a work left by Con- 
 fucius ? Even Choo He ascribes only a small portion of it to the Master, 
 and makes the rest to be the production of the disciple Tsang, and before 
 his time, the whole work was attributed generally to the sage's grandson. 
 
 Chapter I. The text of Confucius. Such Choo He, as will be 
 seen from his concluding note, determines this chapter to be, and it has 
 been divided into two sections, the first containing three paragraphs, 
 occupied with the heads of " the Great Learning," and the second contain- 
 ing four paragraphs, occupied with the particulars of those. 
 
 Par. 1. Tlie heads of the Great Learning. — " To illustrate illustrious 
 virtue," =the illustrious virtue is the virtuous nature which man derives 
 from Heaven. This is perverted as man grows up, through defects of the 
 physical constitution, through inward lusts, and through outward seduc- 
 tions ; and the great business of life should be, to bring the nature back 
 to its original purity. — " To renovate the people," — this object of " the 
 Great Learning" is made out, by changing the character in the text, which 
 means " to love," into another signifying " to renovate." The Ch'ing first 
 proposed the alteration, and Choo He approved of it. When a man has 
 entirely illustrated his own illustrious nature, he has to proceed to bring 
 about the same result in every other man, till "under heaven" there be 
 not an individual, who is not in the same condition as himself. — " The 
 highest excellence " is understood of the two previous matters. It is not 
 a third and different object of pursuit, but indicates a perseverance in the 
 two others, till they are perfectly accomplished. — According to these ex- 
 planations, the objects contemplated in "the Great Learning," are not three, 
 but two. Suppose them realized, and we should have the whole world of 
 mankind perfectly good, every individual what he ought to be ! 
 
 Against the above interpretation, we have to consider the older and 
 simpler. ** Virtue " is there not the nature, but simply virtue, or virtuous 
 conduct, and the first object in " the Great Learning " is the making of one's 
 self more and more illustrious in virtue, or in the practice of benevolence, 
 reverence, filial piety, kindness, and sincerity. There is nothing, of course, 
 of the renovating of the people, in this interpretation. The second object 
 of " the Great Learning " is " to love the people." — The third object is said 
 by Ying-ta to be " in resting in conduct which is perfectly good," and here, 
 also, there would seem to be only two objects, for what essential distinction 
 can we make between the first and third/ "To love the people" is f 
 
266 THE GREAT LEARNING. 
 
 4. The ancients who -wished to illustrate illustrious 
 virtue throughout the empire, first ordered well their own 
 States. Wishing to order well their States, they first 
 regulated their families. Wishing to regulate their fami- 
 lies, they first cultivated their persons. Wishing to culti- 
 vate their persons,they first rectified their hearts. Wishing 
 to rectify their hearts, they first sought to be sincere in 
 their thoughts. Wishing to be sincere in their thoughts, 
 they first extended to the utmost their knowledge. Such 
 extension of knowledge lay in the investigation of things. 
 
 5. Things being investigated, knowledge became com- 
 plete. Their knowledge being complete, their thoughts 
 were sincere. Their thoughts being sincere, their hearts 
 were then rectified. Their hearts being rectified, their 
 persons were cultivated. Their persons being cultivated, 
 their families were regulated. Their families being regu- 
 lated, their States were rightly governed. Their States 
 being righily governed, the whole empire was made tran- 
 quil and happy. 
 
 doubtless, the second thing taught by " the Great Learning." — Having the 
 heads of " the Great Learning " now before us, according to both interpreta- 
 tions of it, we feel that the student of it should be an emperor, and not an 
 ordinary man. 
 
 Par. 2. The mental process by which the point of rest may be attained. 
 I confess that I do not well understand this paragraph, in the relation of 
 its parts in itself, nor in relation to the rest of the chapter. Perhaps it 
 just intimates that the objects of "the Great Learning " being so great, a 
 calm, serious thoughtfulness is required in proceeding to seek their at- 
 tainment. 
 
 Par. 3. The order of things and methods in the two preceding para' 
 graphs. So, according to Choo He, does this paragraph wind up the two 
 preceding. " The illustration of virtue," he says, " is the root, and the 
 renovation of the people is the completion (literally, the branches). 
 Knowing where to rest is the beginning, and being able to attain is the 
 end. The root and beginning are what is first. The completion and 
 end are what is last.'" — The adherents of the old commentators say, on 
 the contrary, that this paragraph is introductory to the succeeding ones. 
 They contend that the illustration of virtue and renovation of the people 
 are doings, and not things. According to them the things are the person, 
 heart, thoughts, &c , mentioned below, which are " the root," and the 
 family, kingdom, and empire, which are " the branches." The affairs are 
 the various processes put forth on those things. — This, it seems to me, is 
 the correct interpretation. 
 
 Par. 4. TJie different steps by 7vhich the illustration of illustrious vir- 
 tue throughout the empire may be brought about. Of the several steps 
 described, the central one is " the cultivation of the person," which, in~ 
 
THE GREAT LEARNING. 267 
 
 6. From tlie emperor down to the mass of the people, 
 all must consider the cultivation of the person the root of 
 every thing besides. 
 
 7. It cannot be, when the root is neglected, that what 
 should spring from it will be well ordered. It never has 
 been the case that what was of great importance has been 
 slightly cared for, and, at the same time, that what was 
 of slight importance has been greatly cared for. 
 
 The preceding chapter of classical text is in the words of 
 Confucius, handed down by the philosopher Tsdng. 
 The ten chapters of explanation which follow contain the 
 views of Tsdng, and were recorded, by his disciples. In 
 the old copies of the work, there appeared considerable 
 confusion in these, from the disarrangement of the 
 tablets. But now, availing myself of the decisions of 
 the philosopher Ch ( ing, and having examined anew the 
 classical text, I have arranged it in order, as follows : — 
 
 deed, is called "the root," in paragraph 6. This requires "the heart to 
 be correct," and that again " that the thoughts he sincere." " The heart " 
 is the metaphysical part of our nature, all that we comprehend under the 
 terms of mind or soul, heart, and spirit. This is conceived of as quies- 
 cent, and when its activity is aroused, then we have thoughts and pur- 
 poses relative to what affects it. The " being sincere " is explained by 
 11 real." The sincerity of the thoughts is to be obtained by "carrying our 
 knowledge to its utmost extent, with the desire that there may be nothing 
 which it shall not embrace." This knowledge finally is realized, through 
 " exhausting by examination the principles of things and affairs, with the 
 desire that their uppermost point may be reached." — We feel that this ex- 
 planation cannot be correct, or that, if it be correct, the teaching of the 
 Chinese sage is far beyond and above the condition and capacity of men. 
 How can we suppose that, in order to secure sincerity of thought and our 
 self-cultivation, there is necessarily the study of all the phenomena of 
 physics and metaphysics, and of the events of history? 
 
 Par. 5. lite synthesis of the preceding processes. 
 
 Par. 6. Tlie cultivation of the person is the prime, radical thing re- 
 quired from all. I have said above that " the Great Learning " is adapted 
 only to an emperor, but it is intimated here that the people also may take 
 part in it in their degree. 
 
 Par. 7. Reiteration of tlie importance of attending to the root. 
 
 Concluding- note. It has been shown in the prolegomena that there 
 is no ground for the distinction made here between so much oracular 
 teaching attributed to Confucius, and so much commentary ascribed 
 to his disciple Tsang. The invention of paper is ascribed to Ts'ae Lun, 
 an officer of the Han dynasty, in the time of the Emperor Ho, A.D. 89 — 
 104. Before that time, and " long after also, slips of wood and of bamboo 
 were used to write and engrave upon. We can easily conceive how a- 
 
%68 THE GREAT LEARNING. 
 
 COMMENTARY OF THE PHILOSOPHER TSANG. 
 
 Chapter I. 1. In the Announcement to K'ang it is 
 fiaid, " He was able to make his virtue illustrious." 
 
 2. In the T'ae Kea, it is said, " He contemplated and 
 studied the illustrious decrees of Heaven." 
 
 3. In the Canon of the Emperor Yaou, it is said, " He 
 was able to make illustrious his lofty virtue." 
 
 4. These passages all show how those sovereigns made 
 themselves illustrious. 
 
 The above first chapter of commentary explains the illus- 
 tration of illustrious virtue. 
 
 II. 1. On the bathing-tub of T'ang, the following 
 words were engraved : — " If you can one day renovate 
 yourself, do so from day to day. Yea, let there be daily 
 renovation." 
 
 2. In the Announcement to K'ang, it is said, " To stir 
 up the new people." 
 
 3. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, " Although Chow 
 
 collection of them might get disarranged, but whether those containing 
 u the Great Learning" did do so is a question vehemently disputed. 
 Commentary of the philosopher Tsang. 
 
 1. The illustration of illustrious virtue. 1. See the Shoo-king, 
 Pt V. Bk ix. 3. The words are part of the address of King Woo to his 
 brother Fung, called also K'ang-shuh, on appointing him to the mar- 
 quisate of Wei. The subject is King Wan, to whose example K'ang-shuh 
 is referred. 2. See the Shoo-king, Pt IV. Bk V. i. 2. The sentence i» 
 part of the address of the premier, E Yin, to T'ae-kea, the second emperor 
 of the Shang dynasty, B.C. 1752 — 1718. The subject of " contemplated " 
 is T'ae-kea's grandfather, the great T'ang. 3. See the Shoo-king, Pt I. 2. 
 It is of the Emperor Yaou that this is said. 
 
 2. The renovation of the people. Here the character " new," " to 
 renovate," occurs five times, and it was to find something corresponding 
 to it at the commencement of the work, which made the Ch'ing change 
 the old text. But the terms here have nothing to do with the renovation 
 of the people. This is self-evident in the first and third paragraphs. The 
 heading of the chapter, as above, is a misuomer. 1. This fact about 
 T'ang's bathing-tub had come down by tradition. At least, we do not 
 now find the mention of it anywhere but here. It was customary among 
 the ancients, as it is in China at the present day, to engrave, all about 
 them, on the articles of their furniture, such moral aphorisms and lessons. 
 2. See the Book quoted, p. 7, where K'ang-shuh is exhorted to assist 
 the emperor " to settle the decree of Heaven, and to make the bad 
 people of Yin into good people, or to stir up the new people," i.e., new, 
 as recently subjected to Chow. 3. See the She-king, Pt III. Bk I. i. 1. 
 'The subject of the ode is the pra-ise of King Wan, whose virtue led to tho 
 
THE GREAT LEARNING. 269 
 
 wag an ancient State, the ordinance which lighted on it 
 was new." 
 
 4. Therefore, the superior man in everything uses his 
 utmost endeavours. 
 
 The above second chapt&r of commentary explains the reno- 
 vating of the people. 
 
 III. 1. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, " The imperial 
 domain of a thousand le is where the people rest." 
 
 2. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, "The twitter- 
 ing yellow bird rests on a corner of the mound." The 
 Master said, " When it rests, it knows where to rest. Is 
 it possible that a man should not be equal to this bird ? " 
 
 3. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, " Profound was 
 King Wan. With how bright and unceasing a feeling of 
 reverence did he regard his resting-places ! " As a sove- 
 reign, he rested in benevolence. As a minister, he rested 
 in reverence. As a son, he rested in filial piety. As a 
 father, he rested in kindness. In communication with his 
 subjects, he rested in good faith. 
 
 4. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, " Look at that 
 winding course of the K f e, with the green bamboos so 
 luxuriant ! Here is our elegant and accomplished prince I 
 
 possession of the empire by his house, more than a thousand years after 
 its first rise. 3. The " superior man " is here the man of rank and office 
 probably, as well as the man of virtue ; but I do not, for my own part, see 
 the particular relation of this to the preceding paragraphs, nor the work 
 which it does in relation to the whole chapter. 
 
 3. On resting in the highest excellence. 1. See the She-kin g f 
 Pt IV. Bk III. iii. 4. The ode celebrates the rise and establishment of 
 the Shang or Yin dynasty. A thousand le around the capital constituted 
 the imperial demesne. The quotation shows, according to Choo He, that 
 " everything has the place where it ought to rest." But that surely is a 
 very sweeping conclusion from the words. 2. See the She-king, Pt II. 
 Bk VIII. vi. 2, where we have the complaint of a down-trodden man, 
 contrasting his position with that of a bird. " The yellow bird " is known 
 by a variety of names. It seems to be a species of oriole. The " Master 
 said," is worthy of observation. If the first chapter of the classical 
 text, as Choo He calls it, really contains the words of Confucius, we 
 might have expected it to be headed by these characters. 3. See the 
 She-king, Pt III. Bk I. i. 4. 4. See the She-king, Pt I. Bk V. i. 1. The 
 ode celebrates the virtue of the Duke Woo of Wei, in his laborious en- 
 deavours to cultivate his person. The transposition of this paragraph by 
 Choo He to this place does seem unhappy. It ought evidently to come in 
 connection with the work of the seventh chapter. 5. See the She-king, Pt 
 
270 THE GEEAT LEARNING. 
 
 As we cut and then file ; as we chisel and then grind : so 
 has he cultivated himself. How grave is he and dignified ! 
 How majestic and distinguished ! Our elegant and ac- 
 complished prince never can be forgotten." That expres- 
 sion — " as we cut and then file," indicates the work of 
 learning. ' ' As we chisel and then grind/' indicates that 
 .of self-culture. " How grave is he and dignified ! " in- 
 dicates the feeling of cautious reverence. " How com- 
 manding and distinguished/' indicates an awe-inspiring 
 deportment. " Our elegant and accomplished prince 
 never can be forgotten/' indicates how, when virtue is 
 complete and excellence extreme, the people cannot for- 
 get them. 
 
 5. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, " Ah ! the former 
 kings are not forgotten." Future princes deem worthy 
 what they deemed worthy, and love what they loved. The 
 common people delight in what they delighted, and are 
 benefited by their beneficial arrangements. It is on this 
 account that the former kings, after they have quitted 
 the world, are not forgotten. 
 
 The above third chapter of commentary explains resting 
 in the highest excellence. 
 
 IV. The Master said, " In hearing litigations, I am 
 like any other body. What is necessary is to cause the 
 people to have no litigations ? " 8o } those who are de- 
 void of principle find it impossible to carry out their 
 speeches, and a great awe would be struck into men's 
 minds : — this is called knowing the root. 
 
 The above fourth chapter of commentary explains the root 
 and the issue. 
 
 II. Bk I. Sect. I. iv. 3. The former kings are Wan and Woo, the founders 
 of the Chow dynasty. According to Ying-ta, " this paragraph illustrates 
 the business of having the thoughts sincere." According to Choo He, it 
 tells that how the former kings renovated the people, was by their resting 
 in perfect excellence, so as to be able, throughout the empire and to future 
 ages, to effect that there should not be a single thing but got its proper 
 
 place. 
 
 4. Explanation op the hoot and the branches. See the Ana- 
 lects, XII. xiii., from which we understand that the words of Confucius ter- 
 minate at " no litigations," and that what follows is from the compiler. 
 According to the old commentators, this is the conclusion of the chapter 
 on having the thoughts made sincere, and that this is the root. But 
 
THE GREAT LEARNING. 
 
 271 
 
 Y. 1. This is called knowing the root. 
 
 2. This is called the perfecting of knowledge. 
 
 The above fifth chapter of commentary explained the 
 meaning of " investigating things and carrying know- 
 ledge to the utmost extent/' but it is now lost. I have 
 ventured to take the views of the scholar Ch'ing to sup- 
 ply it, as follows : — The meaning of the expression, 
 " The perfecting of knowledge depends on the investiga- 
 tion of things, 3 ' is this : — If we wish to carry our know- 
 ledge to the utmost, we must investigate the principles 
 of all things we come into contact with, for the intelli- 
 gent mind of man is certainly formed to know, and 
 there is not a single thing in which its principles do not 
 inhere. But so long as all principles are not investi- 
 gated, man's knowledge is incomplete. On this account, 
 the Learning for Adults, at the outset of its lessons, 
 instructs the learner, in regard to all things in the 
 world, to proceed from what knowledge he has of their 
 principles, and pursue his investigation of them, till lie 
 reaches the extreme point. After exerting himself in 
 this way for a long time, he will suddenly find himself 
 possessed of a wide and far-reaching penetration. Then, 
 the qualities of all things, whether external or internal, 
 the subtle or the coarse, will all be apprehended, and 
 the mind, in its entire substance and its relations to 
 things, will be perfectly intelligent. This is called the 
 investigation of things. This is called the perfection 
 of knowledge. 
 VI. 1. What is meant by "making the thoughts sin- 
 according to Choo He, it is the illustration of illustrious virtue which is 
 the root, while the renovation of the people is the result therefrom. Look- 
 ing at the words of Confucius, we must conclude that sincerity was the 
 subject in his mind. 
 
 5. On the investigation of things, and carrying knowledge 
 TO the utmost extent. 1. This is said by one of the Ch'ing to be 
 " superfluous text." 2. Choo He considers this to be the conclusion of a 
 chapter which is now lost. But we have seen that the two sentences come 
 in, as the work stands in the Le-ke, at the conclusion of what is deemed 
 the classical text. It is not necessary to add anything here to what has 
 been said there, and in the prolegomena, on the new dispositions of the 
 work from the time of the Sung scholars, and the manner in which Choo 
 He has supplied this supposed missing chapter. 
 
 6. On having the thoughts sincere. 1 . The sincerity of the 
 
272 THE QfcEAT LEARNING. 
 
 cere," is the allowing no self-deception, as ivhen we hate a 
 bad smell, and as when we love what is beautiful. This is 
 called self-enjoyment. Therefore, the superior man must 
 be watchful over himself when he is alone. 
 
 2. There is no evil to which the mean man, dwelling 
 retired, will not proceed, but when he sees a superior 
 man, he instantly tries to disguise himself, concealing 
 his evil, and displaying what is good. The other beholds 
 him, as if he saw his heart and reins ; — of what use is his 
 disguise? This is an instance of the saying — "What 
 truly is within will be manifested without/'' Therefore, 
 the superior man must be watchful over himself when he 
 is alone. 
 
 3. Tsang the philosopher said, " What ten eyes behold, 
 what ten hands point to, is to be regarded with rever- 
 ence ! " 
 
 4. Riches adorn a house, and virtue adorns the person. 
 The mind is expanded, and the body is at ease. There- 
 fore, the superior man must make his thoughts sincere. 
 
 TJie above sixth chapter of commentary explains making 
 the thoughts sincere. 
 
 thoughts obtains, wlwn they move without effort to what is right and 
 wrong ; and, in order to this, a man must be specially on his guard in his 
 solitary moments. 2. An enforcement of the concluding clause in the last 
 paragraph. " His heart and reins " is, literally, " the lungs and liver," but 
 with the meaning which we attach to the expression substituted for it. 
 The Chinese make the lungs the seat of righteousness, and the liver the seat 
 of benevolence. 3. The use of " Tsang the philosopher " at the beginning 
 of this paragraph (and extending, perhaps, over to the next) should suffice 
 to show that the whole work is not his, as assumed by Choo He. " Ten" 
 is a round number, put for many. The recent commentator, Lo Chung- 
 fan, refers Tsang's expressions to the multitude of spiritual beings, serv- 
 ants of Heaven or God, who dwell in the regions of the air, and are 
 continually beholding men's conduct. But they are probably only an 
 emphatic way of exhibiting what is said in the preceding paragraph. 
 4. This paragraph is commonly referred to Tsang Sin, but whether cor- 
 rectly so or not cannot be positively affirmed. It is of the same pur- 
 port as the two preceding, showing that hypocrisy is of no use. Com- 
 pare Mencius, VII. Pt. I. xxi. 4. It is only the first of these paragraphs 
 from which we can in any way ascertain the views of the writer on making 
 the thoughts sincere. The other paragraphs contain only illustration or 
 enforcement. Now, the gist of the first paragraph seems to be in " allow- 
 ing no self-deception." After knowledge has been carried to the utmost, 
 this remains to be done, and it is not true that, when knowledge has been 
 completed, the thoughts become sincere. This fact overthrows Choo He's 
 interpretation of the vexed passages in what he calls the text of Confucius. 
 
THE GREAT LEARNING. 273 
 
 VII. 1. What is meant by "The cultivation of the 
 person depends on rectifying the mind/' may be thus illus- 
 trated : — If a man be under the influence of passion, he 
 will be incorrect in his conduct. He will be the same, if 
 he is under the influence of terror, or under the influence 
 of fond regard, or under that of sorrow and distress. 
 
 2. When the mind is not present, we look and do not 
 see ; we hear and do not understand ; we eat and do not 
 know the taste of what we eat. 
 
 3. This is what is meant by saying that the cultivation 
 of the person depends on the rectifying of the mind. 
 
 The above seventh chapter of commentary explains recti' 
 fyincj the mind and cultivating the person. 
 
 VIII. 1. What is meant by " The regulation of one's 
 family depends on the cultivation of his person/'' is this : 
 — Men are partial where they feel affection and love; 
 partial where they despise and dislike ; partial where they 
 stand in awe and reverence ; partial where they feel sor- 
 row and compassion ; partial where they are arrogant and 
 rude. Thus it is that there are few men in the world who 
 love, and at the same time know the bad qualities of the 
 object of their love, or who hate, and yet know the excel- 
 lences of the object of their hatred. 
 
 2. Hence it is said, in the common adage, "A man does 
 not know the wickedness of his son; he does not know 
 the richness of his growing corn." 
 
 3. This is what is meant by saying that if the person 
 be not cultivated, a man cannot regulate his family. 
 
 The above eighth chapter of commentary explains cultivating' 
 the person and regulating the family. 
 
 IX. 1. What is meant by "In order rightly to govern: 
 
 Let the student examine his note appended to this chapter, and he will 
 see that Choo was not unconscious of this pinch of the difficulty. 
 
 7. On personal cultivation as dependent on the rectification 
 of the mind. 
 
 8. The necessity of cultivating the person, in order to the 
 regulation of THE family. The lesson here is evidently, that men 
 are continually falling into error, in consequence of the partiality of their 
 feelings and affections. How this error affects their personal cultivation, 
 and interferes with the regulating of their families, is not specially indi- 
 cated. 
 
 9. On regulating the family as the means to THE well-ordeb- 
 
 TOL. I. 18 
 
274 THE GREAT LEARNING. 
 
 his State, it is necessary first to regulate his family/' is 
 this : — It is not possible for one to teach others, while he 
 cannot teach his own family. Therefore, the ruler, without 
 going beyond his family, completes the lessons for the 
 State. There is filial piety : — therewith the sovereign 
 should be served. There is fraternal submission : — there- 
 with elders and superiors should be served. There is 
 kindness : — therewith the multitude should be treated. 
 
 2. In the Announcement to K'ang, it is said, " Act as 
 if you were watching over an infant.'" If a mother is 
 really anxious about it, though she may not hit exactly the 
 wants of her infant, she will not be far from doing so. 
 There never has been a girl who learned to bring up a 
 child, that she might afterwards marry. 
 
 3. From the loving example of one family, a whole 
 State becomes loving, and from its courtesies, the whole 
 State becomes courteous, while, from the ambition and 
 perverseness of the one man, the whole State may be led 
 to rebellious disorder ; — such is the nature of the influ- 
 ence. This verifies the saying, <( Affairs may be ruined 
 by a single sentence ; a kingdom may be settled by its one 
 man." 
 
 4. Yaou and Shun led on the empire with benevolence, 
 and the people followed them. Kee and Chow led on 
 the empire with violence, and the people followed them. 
 The orders which these issued were contrary to the prac- 
 tices which they loved, and so the people did not follow 
 them. On this account, the ruler must himself be pos- 
 sessed of the good qualities, and then he may require them 
 
 ing of the state. 1. TJiere is here implied the necessity of self-culti- 
 vation to the rule, both of the family and of the State ; and that being 
 supposed to exist, it is shown how the virtues that secure the regulation 
 of the family have their corresponding virtues in the wider sphere of the 
 Mate. 2. See the Shoo-king, Pt V. Bk IX. 9. Both in the Shoo-king and 
 here, some verb, like act, must be supplied. This paragraph seems de- 
 signed to show that the ruler must be carried on to his object by an in- 
 ward, unconstrained feeling, lilie that of the mother for her infant. Lo 
 Chung-fan insists on this as harmonizing with " to love the people," as 
 the second object proposed in the Great Learning. 3. How certainly and 
 rapidly the influence of the family extends to the State. Tbe " one man " 
 is the ruler. " I, the one man," is a way in which the emperor speaks 
 of himself; see Analects XX. i. 5. 4. An illustration of the last part of the 
 last paragraph. But from the examples cited, the sphere of influence is 
 •extended from the State to the empire, and the family, moreover, does not 
 
THE GEE AT LEARNING. 275 
 
 in the people. He must not have the bad qualities in 
 himself, and then he may require that they shall not be 
 in the people. Never has there been a man, who, not 
 having reference to his own character and wishes in deal- 
 ing with others, was able effectually to instruct them. 
 
 5. Thus we see how the government of the State de- 
 pends on the regulation of the family. 
 
 6. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, " That peach tree, 
 so delicate and elegant ! How luxuriant is its foliage ! 
 This girl is going to her husband's house. She will 
 rightly order her household.'''' Let the household be 
 rightly ordered, and then the people of the State may 
 be taught. 
 
 7. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, " They can dis- 
 charge their duties to their elder brothers. They can 
 discharge their duties to their younger brothers.'''' Let 
 the ruler discharge his duties to his elder and younger 
 brothers, and then he may teach the people of the State. 
 
 8. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, "In his deportment 
 there is nothing wrong ; he rectifies all the people of the 
 State." Yes ; when the ruler, as a father, a son, and a 
 brother, is a model, then the people imitate him. 
 
 9. This is what is meant by saying, " The government 
 of his kingdom depends on his regulation of the family.'''' 
 
 The above ninth chapter of commentary explains regulat- 
 ing the family, and governing the kingdom. 
 
 X. 1. What is meant by " The making the whole em- 
 pire peaceful and happy depends on the government of 
 
 intervene between the empire and the ruler. 6. See the She-king, Pt I. 
 Bk I. vi. 3. The ode celebrates the wife of King Wan, and the happy 
 influence of their family government. 7. See the She-king, Pt II. Bk II. 
 ix. 3. The ode was sung at entertainments, when the emperor feasted the 
 princes. It celebrates their virtues. 8. See the She-king, Pt I. Bk XIV. 
 iii. 3. It celebrates, according to Choo He, the praises of some lieun-tsze, 
 or ruler. 
 
 10. On the well-ordering op the state, and making the 
 WHOLE empire peaceful and happy. The key to this chapter is in 
 the phrase " a measuring square," the principle of reciprocity, the doing 
 to others as we would that they should do to us, though here, as elsewhere, 
 it is put forth negatively. It is implied in the fifth paragraph of the last 
 chapter, but it is here discussed at length, and shown in its highest ap- 
 plication. The following analysis of the chapter is translated freely from 
 a native work: — " This chapter explains the well-ordering of the State, and 
 
 18* 
 
276 THE GREAT LEARNING. 
 
 his State/' is this : — When the sovereign behaves to his 
 aged, as the aged should be behaved to, the people become 
 filial ; when the sovereign behaves to his elders, as elders 
 should be behaved to, the people learn brotherly submis- 
 sion ; when the sovereign treats compassionately the young 
 and helpless, the people do the same. Thus the ruler 
 has a principle with which, as with a measuring square, 
 he may regulate his conduct. 
 
 the tranquillization of the empire. The greatest stress is to be laid on the 
 phrase — tlie measuring square. That, and the expression in the general 
 commentary — loving and hating what the people love and hate, and not 
 thinking only of the profit, exhaust the teaching of the chapter. It is di- 
 vided into five parts. The first, embracing the two first paragraphs, teaches, 
 that the way to make the empire tranquil and happy is in the principle 
 of the measuring square. The second part embraces three paragraphs, and 
 teaches that the application of the measuring square is seen in loving, 
 and hating, in common sympathy with the people. The consequences of 
 losing and gaining are mentioned for the first time in the fourth paragraph 
 to wind up the chapter so far, showing that the decree of Heaven goes or 
 remains, according as the people's hearts are lost or gained. The third 
 part embraces eight paragraphs, and teaches that the most important 
 result of loving and hating in common with the people is seen in making 
 the root the primary subject, and the branch only secondary. Here, in 
 paragraph eleven, mention is again made of gaining and losing, illustrating 
 the meaning of the quotation in it, and showing that to the collection or 
 dissipation of the people the decree of Heaven is attached. The fourth 
 part consists of five paragraphs, and exhibits the extreme results of loving 
 and hating, as shared with the people, or on one's own private feeling, 
 and it has special reference to the sovereign's employment of ministers, 
 because there is nothing in the principle more important than that. The 
 nineteenth paragraph speaks of gaining and losing, for the third time, 
 showing that from the fourth paragraph downwards, in reference both to 
 the hearts of the people and the decree of Heaven, the application or non- 
 application of the principle of the measuring square depends on the mind 
 of the sovereign. The fifth part embraces the other paragraphs. Because 
 the root of the evil of a sovereign's not applying that principle, lies in his 
 not knowing how wealth is produced, and emplo)'S mean men for that 
 object, the distinction between righteousness and profit is here much in- 
 sisted on, the former bringing with it all advantages, and the latter leading 
 to all evil consequences. Thus the sovereign is admonished, and it is 
 seen how to be careful of his virtue is the root of the principle of the 
 measuring square ; and his loving and hating, in common sympathy with 
 the people, is its reality." 
 
 1. There is here no progress of thought, but a repetition of what has been 
 insisted on in the two last chapters. But it having been seen that the 
 ruler's example is so influential, it follows that the minds of all men are 
 the same in sympathy and tendency. He has then only to take his own 
 wind, and measure therewith the minds of others. If he act accordingly, 
 
THE GEE AT LEARNING. 277 
 
 2. What a man dislikes in his superiors, let him not dis- 
 play in the treatment of his inferiors ; what he dislikes in 
 inferiors, let him not display in the service of his superiors ; 
 what he hates in those who are before him, let him not 
 therewith precede those who are behind him; what he 
 hates in those who are behind him, let him not therewith 
 follow those who are before him ; what he hates to receive 
 •on the right, let him not bestow on the left ; what he hates 
 to receive on the left, let him not bestow on the right : — 
 this is what is called " The principle, with which, as with 
 & measuring square, to regulate one's conduct.'''' 
 
 3. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, " How much to be 
 rejoiced in are these princes, the parents of the people ! " 
 When a 'prince loves what the people love, and hates what 
 the people hate, then is he what is called the parent of the 
 people. 
 
 4. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, " Lofty is that 
 southern hill, with its rugged masses of rocks ! Full of 
 majesty are you, grand-teacher Yin, the people all look 
 Tip to you." Rulers of kingdoms may not neglect to be 
 careful. If they deviate to a mean selfishness, they will be 
 & disgrace in the empire. 
 
 5. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, " Before the sove- 
 reigns of the Yin dynasty had lost the hearts of the people, 
 they were the mates of God. Take warning from the 
 .house of Yin. The great decree is not easily preserved." 
 This shows that, by gaining the people, the kingdom is 
 gained, and, by losing the people-, the kingdom is lost. 
 
 6. On this account, the ruler will first take pains about 
 his own virtue. Possessing virtue will give him the people. 
 Possessing the people will give him the territory. Pos- 
 
 the grand result — the empire tranquil and happy — will ensue. 2. A 
 lengthened description of the principle of reciprocity. 3. See the She- 
 king, Pt II. Bk II. v. 3. The ode is one that was sung at festivals, and 
 celebrates the virtues of the princes present. 4. See the She-king, Pt II. 
 Bk IV. vii. 1. The ode complains of the Emperor Yew, for his employing 
 unworthy ministers. 5. See the She-king, Pt III. Bk I. i. 6. The 
 ode is supposed to he addressed to King Ch'ing, to stimulate him to 
 imitate the virtues of his grandfather Wan. " Yin,"=" the sovereigns of 
 the Yin djmasty." The capital of the Shang dynasty was changed to 
 Yin by P'wan-kang, B.C. 1400, after which the dynasty was so denominated. 
 •G. "Virtue" here, according to Choo He, is the "illustrious virtue " at 
 the beginning of the book. His opponents say that it is the exhibition of 
 ■^virtue ; that is, of filial piety, brotherly submission, &c. This is more in 
 
278 THE GREAT LEARNING. 
 
 sessing the territory will give him its wealth. Possessing 
 the wealth, he will have resources for expenditure. 
 
 7. Yirtue is the root ; wealth is the result. 
 
 8. If he make the root his secondary object, and the 
 result his primary, he will only wrangle with his people,, 
 and teach them rapine. 
 
 9. Hence, the accumulation of wealth is the way to* 
 scatter the people ; and the letting it be scattered among 
 them is the way to collect the people. 
 
 10. And hence, the ruler's words going forth contrary 
 to right, will come back to him in the same way, and 
 wealth, gotten by improper ways, will take its departure 
 by the same. 
 
 11. In the Announcement to K'ang, it is said, " The* 
 decree indeed may not always rest on us ; " that is, good- 
 ness obtains the decree, and the want of goodness loses it.. 
 
 12. In the Book of Ts'oo, it is said, " The kingdom of 
 Ts'oo does not consider that to be valuable. It values, 
 instead, its good men." 
 
 13. Duke Wcin's uncle, Fan, said, "Our fugitive does 
 not account that to be precious. What he considers 
 precious, is the affection due to his parent/' 
 
 14. In the Declaration of the duke o/Ts'in, it is said, 
 "Let me have but one minister, plain and sincere, not 
 pretending to other abilities, but with a simple, upright 
 mind ; and possessed of generosity, regarding the talents 
 
 harmony with the first paragraph of the chapter. 10. The " words " are 
 to be understood of governmental orders and enactments. Our proverb — 
 " Goods ill-gotten go ill-spent " might be translated by the characters in 
 the text. 11. See the Book quoted, p. 23. 12. The Book of Ts'oo is 
 found in the " Narratives of the States," a collection purporting to be 
 of the Chow dynasty, and, in relation to the other States, what Confucius* 
 " Spring and Autumn " is to Loo. The exact words of the text do not 
 occur, but they could easily be constructed from the narrative. An officer 
 of Ts'oo being sent on an embassy to Tsin, the minister who received 
 him asked about a famous girdle of Ts'oo, how much it was worth. The 
 officer replied that his country did not look on such things as its treasures, 
 but on its able and virtuous ministers. 13. " Uncle Fan ; " that is, uncle 
 to Wan, the duke of Ts'in. See Analects XIY. xvi. Wan is the " fugitive." 
 In the early part of his life he was a fugitive, and suffered many vicissi- 
 tudes of fortune. Once, the duke of Ts'in having offered to help him, when 
 he was in mourning for his father who had expelled him, to recover Tsin, 
 his uncle Fan gave the reply in the text. The that in the translation 
 refers to " getting the kingdom." 14. " The declaration of the duke of 
 
THE GREAT LEARNING. 279 
 
 of others as though he himself possessed them, and, where 
 he finds accomplished and perspicacious men, loving them 
 in his heart more than his mouth expresses, and really 
 showing himself able to bear and employ them : — such a 
 minister will be able to preserve my sons and grandsons, 
 and black-haired people, and benefits likewise to the 
 kingdom may well be looked for from him. But if it be 
 his character, when he finds men of ability, to be jealous 
 and hate them ; and, when he finds accomplished and per- 
 spicacious men, to oppose them and not allow their ad- 
 vancement, showing himself really not able to bear them : 
 — such a minister will not be able to protect my sons and 
 grandsons, and black-haired people ; and may he not also 
 be pronounced dangerous to the State ? " 
 
 15. It is only the truly virtuous man who can send away 
 such a man and banish him, driving him out among the 
 barbarous tribes around, determined not to dwell along 
 with him in the Middle kingdom. This is in accordance 
 with the saying, ' ' It is only the truly virtuous man who 
 can love or who can hate others/' 
 
 16. To see men of worth and not be able to raise them 
 to office ; to raise them to office, but not to do so quickly r 
 — this is disrespectful. To see bad men and not be able 
 to remove them ; to remove them, but not to do so to 
 a distance : — This is weakness. 
 
 17. To love those whom men hate, and to hate those 
 whom men love ; this is to outrage the natural feeling of 
 men. Calamities cannot fail to come down on him who 
 does so. 
 
 18. Thus ive see that the sovereign has a great course 
 to pur sue. He must show entire self-devotion and sin. 
 
 Ts'in is the last book in the Shoo-king. It was made by one of the dukes 
 of Ts'in to his officers, after he had sustained a great disaster, in conse- 
 quence of neglecting the advice of his most faithful minister. Between 
 the text here, and that which we find in the Shoo-king, there are some 
 differences, but they are unimportant. 17. This is spoken of the ruler not 
 having respect to the common feelings of the people in his employment of 
 ministers, and the consequences thereof to himself. 18. This paragraph 
 speaks generally of the primal cause of gaining and losing, and shorvs how 
 the principle of the measuring square must have its root in the ruler's mind. 
 The great course is explained by Choo He as — " the art of occupying the 
 throne, and therein cultivating himself and governing others." Ying-tS 
 Bays it is — " the course by which he practises filial piety, fraternal duty 
 
280 THE GREAT LEARNING. 
 
 cerity to attain it, and by pride and extravagance lie will 
 fail of it. 
 
 19. There is a great course also for the production of 
 wealth. Let the producers be many and the consumers 
 few. Let there be activity in the production, and eco- 
 nomy in the expenditure. Then the wealth will always be 
 sufficient. 
 
 20. The virtuous ruler, by means of his wealth, makes 
 himself more distinguished. The vicious ruler accumu- 
 lates wealth, at the expense of his life. 
 
 21. Never has there been a case of the sovereign loving 
 benevolence, and the people not loving righteousness. 
 Never has there been a case where the people have loved 
 righteousness, and the affairs of the sovereign have not 
 been carried to completion. And never has there been a 
 case where the wealth in such a State, collected in the 
 treasuries and arsenals, did not continue in the sovereign's 
 possession. 
 
 22. The officer Mang Heen said, " He who keeps horses 
 and a carriage does not look after fowls and pigs. The 
 family which keeps its stores of ice does not rear cattle or 
 sheep. So, the house which possesses a hundred chariots 
 should not keep a minister to look out for imposts that he 
 may lay them on the people. Than to have such a minister, 
 it were better for that house to have one who should rob 
 it of its revenues." This is in accordance with the saying : 
 — " In a State, 'pecuniary gain is not to be considered to 
 be prosperity, but its prosperity will be found in right- 
 eousness." 
 
 benevolence, and righteousness." 19. This is understood by K'ang-shing 
 as requiring the promotion of agriculture ; and that is included, but doea 
 not exhaust the meaning. The consumers are the salaried officers of the 
 government. The sentiment of the whole is good ; — where there is cheer- 
 ful industry in the people, and an economical administration of the 
 government, the finances will be flourishing. 20. The sentiment here is sub- 
 stantially the same as in paragraphs seven and eight. The old interpreta- 
 tion is different : — " The virtuous man uses his wealth so as to make his 
 person distinguished. He who is not virtuous, toils with his body to 
 increase his wealth." 21. This shows how the people respond to the influ- 
 ence of the ruler, and that benevolence, even to the scattering of his wealth 
 on the part of the latter, is the way to permanent prosperity and wealth. 
 22. Heen was the honorary epithet of Chung-sun Mee, a worthy minister 
 of Loo, under the two dukes, who ruled before the birth of Confucius. His 
 sayings, quoted here, were preserved by tradition or recorded in some 
 
THE GREAT LEARNING. 281 
 
 23. When lie who presides over a State or a family 
 makes his revenues his chief business, he must be under 
 the influence of some small, mean man. He may consider 
 this man to be good ; but when such a person is employed 
 in the administration of a State or family, calamities from 
 Heaven, and injuries from men, will befall it together, and, 
 though a good man may take his place, he will not be able 
 to remedy the evil. This illustrates again the saying, " In 
 a State, gain is not to be considered prosperity, but its 
 prosperity will be found in righteousness." 
 
 The above tenth chapter of commentary explains the govern- 
 ment of the State, and the making the empire peaceful 
 and happy. 
 
 There are thus, in all, ten chapters of commentary , the 
 first four of which discuss, in a general manner, the 
 scope of the principal topic of the Work; while the other 
 six go particularly into an exhibition of the worh re- 
 quired in its subordinate branches. The fifth chapter 
 contains the important subject of comprehending true 
 excellence, and the sixth, what is the foundation of the 
 attainment of true sincerity. Those two chapters de- 
 mand the especial attention of the learner. Let not the 
 reader despise them because of their simplicity. 
 
 work which is now lost. On a scholar's being first called to office, he 
 was gifted by his prince with a carriage and four horses. He was then 
 supposed to withdraw from petty ways of getting wealth. The high 
 officers of a State kept ice for use in their funeral rites and sacrifices. 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 
 
 My master, tlie philosopher Ch'ing, says, " Being without 
 inclination to either side is called chung; admitting of 
 no change is called yung." By chung is denoted the 
 correct course to be pursued by all under heaven; by 
 yung is denoted the fixed principle regulating all under 
 heaven. This work contains the law of the mind, tuhich 
 was handed down from one to another, in the Confucian 
 school, till Tsze-sze, fearing lest in the course of time 
 errors should arise about it, committed it to writing, 
 and delivered it to Mencius. The booh first speaks of 
 one principle ; it next spreads this out, and embraces 
 all things ; finally, it returns and gathers them all up 
 under the one principle. Unroll it, and it fills the uni- 
 verse ; roll it up, and it retires and lies hid in mysteri- 
 ousness. The relish of it is inexhaustible. The whole 
 of it is solid learning. When the skilful reader has ex- 
 plored it with delight till he has apprehended it, he may 
 carry ft into practice all his life, and will find that it 
 cannot be exhausted. 
 
 The title of the wokk. — Chung Yung, " The Doctrine of the Mean." 
 It is hardly possible amid the conflicting views of native scholars, and the 
 various meanings of which the terms are, capable, to decide categorically 
 on the exact force of the terms in the title. The Work treats of the 
 human mind : — in its state of chung, absolutely correct, as it is in itself ; 
 and in its state of harmony, acting ad extra, according to its correct nature* 
 — In the version of the Work, given in the collection of " Memoires concern- 
 ant I'histoire, les sciences, fyc, des Chinois," vol. I., it is styled — "Juste 
 Milieu.'" Remusat calls it " L 'invariable Milieu,'" after Ch'ing E. In- 
 torcetta, and his coadjutors, call it — " Medium const ansv el sempiternwn." 
 The book treats, they say, u De medio sempiterno, sive de aurea medi- 
 
THE DOCTRINE OP THE MEAN. 283 
 
 Chapter I. 1. What Heaven has conferred is called 
 the nature ; an accordance with this nature is called the 
 path of duty ; the regulation of this path is called in- 
 struction. 
 
 2. The path may not be left for an instant. If it could 
 be left, it would not be the path. On this account, the 
 superior man does not wait till he sees things, to be 
 cautious, nor till he hears things, to be apprehensive. 
 
 3. There is nothing more visible than what is secret, 
 and nothing more manifest than what is minute. There- 
 fore, the superior man is watchful over himself, when he is 
 alone. 
 
 4. While there are no stirrings of pleasure, anger, sor- 
 row, or joy, the mind may be said to be in the state of 
 equilibrium. When those feelings have been stirred, and 
 they act in their due degree, there ensues what may be 
 
 ocritate ilia, quce est, id ait Cicero, inter nimivm et parcinn, constanter et 
 omnibus in rebiistenenda" Morrison says, "Cluing Yvng, the constant 
 (golden) medium." Collie calls it — " The golden medium." The objection 
 ■which I have to all these names is, that from them it would appear as 
 if the first term were a noun, and the other a qualifying adjective, whereas 
 they are co-ordinate terms. 
 
 1. It has been stated, in the prolegomena, that the current division of 
 the Chung Yung into chapters was made by Choo He, as well as their 
 subdivision into paragraphs. The thirty-three chapters, which embrace 
 the work, are again arranged by him in five divisions, as will be seen 
 from his supplementary notes. The first and last chapters are complete in 
 themselves, as the introduction and conclusion of the treatise. The second 
 part contains ten chapters ; the third, nine ; and the fourth, twelve. 
 
 Par. 1. The principles of duty have their root in the evidenced will of 
 Heaven, and their full exhibition in the teaching of sages. What is 
 taught seems to be this : — To man belongs a moral nature, conferred on 
 him by Heaven or God, by which he is constituted a law to himself. But 
 as he is prone to deviate from the path in which, according to his nature, 
 he should go, wise and good men — sages — have appeared, to explain and 
 regulate this, helping all by their instructions to walk in it. 
 
 Par. 2. The path indicated by the nature may never be left, arid the 
 superior man — he who would embody all principles of right and duty — 
 exercises a most sedulous care that he may attain thereto. 
 
 Par. 3. It seems to me that the secrecy here must be in the recesses of 
 one's own heart, and the minute things, the springs of thought and stir- 
 rings of purpose there. The full development of what is intended here is 
 probably to be found in all the subsequent passages about " sincerity." 
 
 Par. 4. "This," says Choo He, "speaks of the virtue of the nature 
 and passions, to illustrate the meaning of the statement that the path 
 may not be left." It is difficult to translate the paragraph, because it is- 
 difficult to understand it. 
 
284 THE DOCTRINE OP THE MEAN. 
 
 called the state of harmony. This equilibrium is the great 
 root from which groiv all the hitman actings in the world, 
 and this harmony is the universal path which they all should 
 pursue. 
 
 5. Let the states of equilibrium and harmony exist in 
 perfection, and a happy order will prevail throughout 
 heaven and earth, and all things will be nourished and 
 flourish. 
 
 In the first chapter which is given above, Tsze-sze states 
 the views which had been handed down to him, as the 
 basis of his discourse. First, it shows clearly how the 
 path of duty is to be traced to its origin in Heaven, and 
 is unchangeable, while the substance of it is provided in 
 ourselves, and may not be departed from. Next, it 
 speaks of the importance of preserving and nourishing 
 this, and of exercising a watchful self-scrutiny with re- 
 ference to it. Finally, it speaks of the meritorious 
 achievements and transforming influence of sage and 
 spiritual men in their highest extent. The wish of Tsze- 
 sze was that hereby the learner should direct his thoughts 
 inwards, and by searching in himself there find these 
 truths, so that he might put aside all outward tempta- 
 
 Par. 5. On this Intorcetta and his colleagues observe : — " Quisnonvidet 
 eo dumtaxat collimasse philosophum, tit hominis naturam, quam ab ori- 
 gine sua rectum, sed deindelapsam et depravatam passim Sinenses decent, 
 ad XJrimcBViim innocentics statum rcducere? Ataxic ita reliquas res 
 creatas, hominijam rebelles, et in ejnsdem ruinam armatas, ad2?risthin>n 
 obsequiwm veluti revocaret. Hoc f. I. s. I. libri Ta Heo, Iwc item hie 
 et alibi non semel indicat. Etsi anient ncsci ret p>hilosop>hus nos a prima 
 felicitate ijropter pecc&tum primi parentis excidisse, tamen et tot rerum 
 qua adversantur et infestcs sunt homini, et ipsius nature liumancs ad 
 deteriora tarn pj'ona, longo vsu et contemplatione didicisse vidctur, non 
 posse hoc nniversum, quod homo vitiatus quodam modo vitiarat, conna- 
 tnrali sues integritati et ordini restitui, nisi 2^'ius ipse homo per victoriam 
 $ui ipsius, earn, quant amiserat, integritatent et ordinem recupcrarct." I 
 fancied something of the same kind, before reading their note. According 
 to Choo He, the paragraph describes the Work and influence of sage and 
 spiritual men in the highest issues. The subject is developed in the fourth 
 part of the Work, in very extravagant and mystical language. The study 
 of it will modify very much our assent to the views in the above passage. 
 There is in this whole chapter a mixture of sense and mysticism, — of what 
 may be grasped, and what tantalizes and eludes the mind. 
 
 Concluding note. The writer Yang, quoted here, was a distinguished 
 scholar and author in the reign of Ying-Tsung, A.D. 10G4 — 1085. He was 
 a disciple of Ch'ing Haou, and a friend both of him and his brother, E. 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 285 
 
 tions appealing to his selfishness, and fill up the measure 
 of the goodness which is natural to him. This chapter 
 is what the writer Yang called it, — " The sum of the 
 whole work." In the ten chapters which follow, Tsze- 
 sze Quotes the words of the Master to complete the mean* 
 ing of this. 
 
 II. 1. Chung-ne said,, " The superior man embodies the 
 course of the Mean; the mean man acts contrary to the 
 course of the Mean. 
 
 2. " The superior man's embodying the course of the 
 Mean is because he is a superior man, and so always main- 
 tains the Mean. The mean man's acting contrary to the 
 course of the Mean is because he is a mean nian, and has 
 no caution. - " 
 
 III. The Master said, " Perfect is the virtue which is 
 according to the Mean ! Rare have they long been among 
 the people, who could practise it ! " 
 
 IV. I. The Master said, " I know how it is that the 
 path of the Mean is not walked in : — The knowing go be- 
 yond it, and the stupid do not come up to it. I know how 
 it is that the path of the Mean is not understood : — The 
 men of talents and virtue go beyond it, and the worthless 
 do not come up to it. 
 
 2. "There is no body but eats and drinks. But they 
 are few who can distinguish flavours/'' 
 
 2. Only the superior man can follow the Mean; the mean 
 man is always violating it. 1. Why Confucius should here be 
 quoted by his designation, or marriage name, is a moot-point. It is said 
 by some that disciples might in this way refer to their teacher, and a 
 grandson to his grandfather, but such a rule is constituted probable on 
 the strength of this instance, and that in chapter xxx. Others say that it- 
 is the honorary designation of the sage, and = the "Father ne," which 
 Duke Gae used in reference to Confucius, in eulogizing him after his death, 
 See the Le-ke, II. Pt I. iii. 43. This, and the ten chapters which follow, 
 all quote the words of Confucius with reference to the Chung-yung, to 
 explain the meaning of the first chapter, and " though there is no con- 
 nection of composition between them," says Choo He, " they are all 
 related by tbeir meaning." 
 
 3. The rariiy, long existing in Confucius' time, of the prac- 
 tice of the mean. See the Analects VI. xxvii. K'ang-shing and Ying-ta 
 take the last clause as=" few can practise it long." But the view in the 
 translation is better. 
 
 4. How it was that few were able to practise the Mean. 
 2. We have here not a comparison, but an illustration which may help 
 
286 THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 
 
 V. The Master said, " Alas ! How is the path of the 
 Mean untrodden ! " 
 
 VI. The Master said, " There was Shun : — He indeed 
 was greatly wise ! Shun loved to question others, and to 
 study their words, though they might be shallow. He 
 concealed what was bad in them, and displayed what was 
 good. He took hold of their two extremes, determined 
 the Mean, and employed it in his government of the people. 
 It was by this that he was Shun ! ,} 
 
 VII. The Master said, " Men all say, ' We are wise ; ' 
 but being driven forward and taken in a net, a trap, or a 
 pitfall, they know not how to escape. Men all say, ' We 
 are wise ; ' but happening to choose the course of the 
 Mean, they are not able to keep it for a round month." 
 
 VIII. The Master said, "This was the manner of 
 
 to an understanding of the former paragraph, though it does not seem 
 very apt. People don't know the true flavour of what they eat and 
 drink, hut they need not go beyond that to learn it. So, the Mean 
 belongs to all the actions of ordinary life, and might be discerned and 
 practised in them, without looking for it in extraordinary things. 
 
 5. Choo He says : — " From not being understood, therefore it is not 
 practised." According to K'ang-shing, the remark is a lament that there 
 was no intelligent sovereign to teach the path. But the two views are 
 reconcileable. 
 
 6. How Shun pursued the couese of the Mean. This example 
 of Shun, it seems to me, is adduced in opposition to the knowing of 
 chapter iv. Shun, though a sage, invited the opinions of all men, and 
 found truth of the highest value in their simplest sayings, and was able to 
 determine from them the course of the Mean. " The two extremes " are 
 understood by K'ang-shing of the two errors of exceeding and coming 
 short of the Mean. Choo He makes them — " the widest differences in 
 the opinions which he received." I conceive the meaning to be that he 
 examined the answers which he got, in their entirety, from beginning to 
 end. Compare Analects IX. vii. His concealing what was bad, and dis- 
 playing what was good, was alike to encourage people to speak freely to 
 him. K'ang-shing makes the last sentence to turn on the meaning of Shu.i 
 when applied as an honorary epithet of the dead, = " Full, all-accom- 
 plished ; " but Shun was so named when he was alive. 
 
 7. Their contrary conduct shows men's ignorance of the 
 course and nature of the Mean. The first " We are wise " is to be 
 understood with a general reference, — " We are wise," i.e., we can very 
 well take care of ourselves. Yet the presumption of such a profession is 
 seen in men's not being able to take care of themselves. The application 
 of this illustration is then made to the subject in hand, the second " We 
 are wise," being to be specially understood, with reference to the subject 
 of the Mean. The conclusion in both parts is left to be drawn by the 
 reader for himself. 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 287 
 
 Hwuy : — lie made choice of the Mean, and whenever he 
 got hold of what was good, he clasped it firmly, as if 
 wearing it on his breast, and did not lose it." 
 
 IX. The Master said, " The empire, its States, and its 
 families may be perfectly ruled; dignities and emolu- 
 ments may be declined; naked weapons maybe trampled 
 nnder the feet ; but the course of the Mean cannot be 
 attained to." 
 
 X. 1. Tsze-loo asked about forcefulness. 
 
 2. The Master said, " Do you mean the forcefulness of 
 the South, the forcefulness of the North, or the forceful- 
 ness which you should cultivate yourself ? 
 
 3. "To show forbearance and gentleness in teaching 
 others ; and not to revenge unreasonable conduct : — this 
 is the forcefulness of Southern regions, and the good man 
 makes it his study. 
 
 4. " To lie under arms ; and meet death without regret : 
 — this is the forcefulness of Northern regions, and the 
 forceful make it their study. 
 
 8. How Hwuy held fast the course of the Mean. Here the 
 example of Hwuy is likewise adduced in opposition to those mentioned in 
 chapter iv. 
 
 9. The difficulty of attaining to the course of the Mean. 
 " The empire ; " we should say — " empires," but the Chinese know only of 
 one empire, and hence this name, "all under heaven," for it. The empire 
 is made up of States, and each State, of Families. See the Analects V. 
 vii. ; XII. xx. 
 
 10. On forcefulness in its relation to the Mean. In the Ana- 
 lects we find Tsze-loo, on various occasions, puttie g forward the subject of 
 his valour, and claiming, on the ground of it, such praise as the Master 
 awarded to Hwuy. We may suppose, with the old interpreters, that hear- 
 ing Hwuy commended, as in chapter viii., he wanted to know whether 
 Confucius would not allow that he also could, with his forceful character, 
 seize and hold fast the Mean. 1. I have ventured to coin the term " force- 
 fulness." Choo He defines the original term correctly — " the name of 
 strength, sufficient to overcome others." 3. That climate and situation 
 have an influence on character is not to be denied, and the Chinese 
 notions on the subject may be seen in the amplification of the ninth of 
 K'ang-he's celebrated maxims. But to speak of their effects, as Confucius 
 here does, is extravagant. The barbarism of the south, according to the 
 interpretation mentioned above, could not have been described by him in 
 these terms. The forcefulness of mildness and forbearance, thus described, 
 is held to come short of the Mean ; and therefore " the good man " is 
 taken with a low and light meaning, far short of what it has in paragraph 
 five. 4. This forcefulness of the north, it is said, is in excess of the 
 Mean, and the " therefore," at the beginning of paragraph five, =* 
 
288 THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAW. 
 
 5. " Therefore, the superior man cultivates a friendly 
 harmony, without being weak. How firm is lie in his 
 forcefulness ! He stands erect in the middle, without 
 inclining to either side. — How firm is he in his forceful- 
 ness ! When good principles prevail in the government 
 of his country, he does not change from what he was in 
 retirement. — How firm is he in his forcefulness ! " When 
 bad principles prevail in the country, he maintains his 
 course to death without changing. — How firm is he in 
 his forcefulness ! " 
 
 XL 1. The Master said, " To live in obscurity, and 
 yet practise wonders, in order to be mentioned with 
 honour in future ages ; — this is what I do not do. 
 
 2. <( The good man tries to proceed according to the 
 right path, but when he has gone half-way, he abandons 
 it; — I am not able so to stop. 
 
 3. " The superior man accords with the course of the 
 Mean. Though he may be all unknown, unregarded by 
 the world, he feels no regret. — It is only the sage who is 
 able for this.-" 
 
 u these two kinds of forcefulness being thus respectively in defect and 
 excess." This illustrates the forcefulness which is in exact accord with 
 the Mean, in the individual's treatment of others, in his regulation of' 
 himself, and in relation to public affairs. 
 
 11. Only the sage can come up to the kequtkements op the 
 Mean. 3. The name Keun-tsze has here its very highest signification, 
 and = the " sage," in the last clause. It will be observed how Confucius 
 declines saying that he had himself attained to this highest style. — 
 "With this chapter," says Choo He, " the quotations by Tsze-sze of the 
 Master's words, to explain the meaning of the first chapter, stop. The 
 great object of the work is to set forth wisdom, benevolent virtue, 
 and valour, as the three grand virtues whereby entrance is effected into 
 the path of the Mean, and therefore, at its commencement, they are 
 illustrated by reference to Shun, Yen Yuen, and Tsze-loo, Shun possessing 
 the wisdom, Yen Yuen the benevolence, and Tsze-loo the valour. If 
 one of these virtues be absent, there is no way of advancing to the path, 
 and perfecting the virtue. This will be found fully treated of in the 
 twentieth chapter." So, Choo He. The student forming a judgment 
 for himself, however, will not see very distinctly any reference to these 
 cardinal virtues. The utterances of the sage illustrate the phrase 
 Chung -Yung, showing that the course of the Mean had fallen out of 
 observance, some overshooting it, and others coming short of it. When 
 we want some precise directions how to attain to it, we come finally to 
 the conclusion that only the sage is capable of doing so. We greatly 
 want teaching more practical and precise. 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 289 
 
 XII. 1. The way which the superior man pursues, 
 reaches wide and far, and yet is secret. 
 
 2. Common men and women, however ignorant, may 
 intermeddle with the knowledge of it ; yet in its utmost 
 reaches, there is that which even the sage does not know. 
 Common men and women, however much below the or- 
 dinary standard of character, can carry it into practice ; 
 yet in its utmost reaches, there is that which even the sage 
 is not able to carry into practice. Great as heaven and 
 earth are, men still find some things in them with which 
 to be dissatisfied. Thus it is, that were the superior man 
 to speak of his way in all its greatness, nothing in the 
 world would be found able to embrace it; and were he 
 to speak of it in its minuteness, nothing in the world 
 would be found able to split it. 
 
 3. It is said in the Book of Poetry, " The hawk flies up 
 to heaven; the fishes leap in the deep/'' This expresses 
 how this iv ay is seen above and below. 
 
 4. The way of the superior man may be found, in its 
 simple elements, in the intercourse of common men and 
 women; but in its utmost reaches, it shines brightly 
 through heaven and earth. 
 
 The twelfth chapter above contains the ivords of Tsze-sze, 
 and is designed to illustrate what is said in the first 
 
 12. The couese of the Mean - reaches far astd wide, but yet is 
 SECRET. With this chapter the third part of the work commences, and 
 the first sentence may be regarded as its text. Mysteries have been found 
 in the terms of it ; but I believe that the author simply intended to say, 
 that the way of the superior man reaching everywhere, — embracing all 
 duties, — yet had its secret spring and seat in the Heaven-gifted nature,, 
 the individual consciousness of duty in every man. 2. I confess to be all at 
 sea in the study of this paragraph. Choo He quotes from the scholar 
 How, that what the superior man fails to know, was exemplified in Confu- 
 cius having to ask about ceremonies, and about offices ; and what he fails 
 to practise, was exemplified in Confucius not being on the throne, and in. 
 Yaou and Shun's being dissatisfied that they could not make every indi- 
 vidual enjoy the benefits of their rule. He adds his own opinion, that 
 wherein men complained of Heaven and Earth, was the partiality of their 
 operations in overshadowing and supporting, producing and completing, 
 the heat of summer, the cold of winter, &c. If such things were intended 
 by the writer, we can only regret the vagueness of his language, and the 
 want of coherence in his argument. See the She-king, Pt III. Bk I. v. 3. 
 The ode is in praise of the virtue of King Wan. The application of the 
 words of the ode does appear strange. 
 
 TOL. I. 19 
 
290 THE DOCTRINE OP THE MEAN. 
 
 chapter," that " The path may not he left." In the 
 eight chapters ivltich follow, he quotes, in a miscellaneous 
 way, the words of Confucius to illustrate it. 
 
 XIII. 1 . The Master said, ' ' The path is not far from 
 man. When men try to pursue a course, which is far 
 from the common indications of consciousness, this course 
 cannot be considered the path. 
 
 2. " In the Book of Poetry, it is said, f In hewing an 
 axe-handle, in hewing an axe-handle, the pattern is not 
 far off.' We grasp one axe-handle to hew the other, 
 and yet, if we look askance from the one to the other, we 
 may consider them as apart. Therefore, the superior man 
 governs men, according to their nature, with what is 
 proper to them, and as soon as they change what is wrong, 
 he stops. 
 
 3. "When one cultivates to the utmost the principles 
 of his nature, and exercises them on the principle of re- 
 ciprocity, he is not far from the path. What you do not 
 like, when done to yourself, do not do to others. 
 
 4. "In the way of the superior man there are four 
 things, to not one of which have I as yet attained. — To 
 serve my father as I would require my son to serve me : 
 to this I have not attained ; to serve my prince as I would 
 require my minister to serve me : to this I have not 
 attained; to serve my elder brother as I would require 
 my younger brother to serve me : to this I have not at- 
 tained; to set the example in behaving to a friend as I 
 would require him to behave to me : to this I have not 
 attained. Earnest in practicing the ordinary virtues, 
 and careful in speaking about them, if, in his practice, he 
 
 13. The path of the Mean is not far to seek. Each man has 
 the law of it in himself, and it is to be puesued with earnest 
 sincerity. 1. Literally Ave should read, — "When men practise a course, 
 and wish to he far from men." The meaning is as in the translation. 2. 
 See the She-king, Pt I. Bk XV. v. 2. The object of the paragraph seems 
 to be to show that the rule for dealing with men, according to the princi- 
 ples of the Mean, is nearer to us than the axe in the hand is to the one 
 which is to be cut down with, and fashioned after, it. The branch is hewn, 
 and its form altered from its natural one. Not so with man. The change 
 in him only brings him to his proper state. 3. Compare Analects, IV. xv. 4. 
 Compare Analects, VII. i., ii., xix., et al. The admissions made by Confucius 
 here are important to those who find it necessary, in their intercourse with 
 the Chinese, to insist on his having been, like other men, compassed with 
 
THE D0CTKINE OF THE MEAN. 291 
 
 has anything defective, the superior man dares not but 
 exert himself; and if, in his words, he has any excess, he 
 dare-s not allow himself such license. Thus his words 
 have respect to his actions, and his actions have respect 
 to his words ; is it not just an entire sincerity which 
 marks the superior man ? " 
 
 XIV. 1. The superior man does what is proper to the 
 station in which he is : he does not desire to go beyond 
 this. 
 
 2. In a position of wealth and honour, he does what is 
 proper to a position of wealth and honour. In a poor and 
 low position, he does what is proper to a poor and low 
 position. Situated among barbarous tribes, he does what 
 is proper to a situation among barbarous tribes. In a 
 position of sorrow and difficulty, he does what is proper 
 to a position of sorrow and difficulty. The superior man 
 can find himself in no situation in which he is not him- 
 self. 
 
 3. In a high situation, he does not treat with contempt 
 his inferiors. In a low situation, he does not court the 
 favour of his superiors. He rectifies himself, and seeks 
 for nothing from others, so that he has no dissatisfactions. 
 He does not murmur against heaven, nor grumble against 
 men. 
 
 4. Thus it is that the superior man is quiet and calm, 
 waiting for the appointments of Heaven, while the mean 
 man walks in dangerous paths, looking for lucky occur- 
 rences. 
 
 5. The Master said, "In archery we have something 
 like the way of the superior man. When the archer misses 
 the centre of the target, he turns round and seeks for the 
 cause of his failure in himself/'' 
 
 XV. 1. The way of the superior man maybe compared 
 
 infirmity. It must be allowed, however, that the cases, as put by him, are 
 in a measure hypothetical, his father having died when he was a child. 
 In the course of the paragraph, he passes from speaking of himself by his 
 name, to speak of the keun-tsze, and the change is most naturally made 
 after the last " I have not attained." 
 
 14. HOW THE SUPERIOR MAN, IX EVEEY VARYING SITUATION, PUR- 
 SUES the Mean, doing what is eight, and finding his rule in 
 
 HIMSELF. 
 
 15. In the practice of the Mean there is an orderly advance 
 fkom step to step. 2. See the She-king, Pt II. Bk I. iv. 7, 8. The ode 
 
 19* 
 
292 THE DOCTKTNE OP THE MEAN. 
 
 to what takes place in travelling, when to go to a dis- 
 tance we must first traverse the space that is near, and in 
 ascending a height, when we must begin from the lower 
 ground. 
 
 2. It is said in the Boek of Poetry, " Happy union with 
 wife and children is like the music of lutes and harps. 
 When there is concord among brethren, the harmony is 
 delightful and enduring. Tims may you regulate your 
 family, and enjoy the pleasure of your wife and children." 
 
 3. The Master said, " In such a state of things, parents 
 have entire complacence ! " 
 
 XVI. 1. The Master said, " How abundantly do spi- 
 ritual beings display the powers that belong to them ! 
 
 2. " We look for them, but do not see them ; we listen 
 to, but do not hear them ; yet they enter into all things, 
 and there is nothing without them. 
 
 celebrates, in a regretful tone, the dependence of brethren on one another,. 
 and the beauty of brotherly harmony. Maou says : — " Although there may 
 be the happy union of wife and children, like the music of lutes and harps, 
 yet there must also be the harmonious concord of brethren, with its ex- 
 ceeding delight, and then may wife and children be regulated and enjoyed. 
 Brothers are near to us, while wife and children are more remote. Thus 
 it is, that from what is near we proceed to what is remote." He adds 
 that anciently the relationship of husband and wife was not among the 
 five relationships of society, because the union of brothers is from heaven, 
 and that of husband and wife is from man ! 3. This is understood to be 
 a remai-k of Confucius on the ode. From wife, and children, and brothers, 
 parents at last are reached, illustrating how from what is low we ascend 
 to what is hig^i. — But all ihis is far-fetched and obscure. 
 
 16. An ili ustration, from the operation and influence of 
 
 SPIRITUAL BRINGS, OF THE WAT OF THE MEAN. What IS said of the 
 Ttwei-shin, or " ghosts and spirits " = spiritual beings, in this chapter, is 
 only by way of illustration. There is no design on the part of the sage 
 to develope his views on those beings or agencies. The key of it is to be 
 found in the last paragraph, where the language evidently refers to that 
 of paragraph 3, in chapter i. This paragraph, therefore, should be 
 separated from the others, and not interpreted specially of the Tiwci-shin. 
 I think that Dr Medhurst, in rendering it (Theology of the Chinese, p. 22) 
 — " How great then is the manifestation of their abstruseness ! Whilst 
 displaying their sincerity, they are not to be concealed," was wrong, not- 
 withstanding that he may be defended by the example of many Chinese 
 commentators. The second clause of paragraph 5 appears altogether 
 synonymous with the "what truly is within will be manifested with- 
 out," in the Commentary of the Great Learning, chapter vi. 2, to wdiich 
 chapter we have seen that the whole of chapter i. pp. 2, 3, has a remarkable 
 similarity. However we may be driven to find a recondite, mystical 
 meaning for " sincerity ," in the fourth part of this work, there is no ne- 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 293 
 
 3. " They cause all the people in the empire to fast and 
 purify themselves, and array themselves in their richest 
 dresses, in order to attend at their sacrifices. Then, like 
 overflowing water, they seem to be over the heads,, and 
 on the right and left of their worshippers. 
 
 4. " It is said in the Book of Poetry, ' The approaches 
 of the spirits, you cannot surmise; — and can you treat 
 them with indifference ? ' 
 
 5. " Such is the manifestness of what is minute ! Such 
 is the impossibility of repressing the outgoings of sin- 
 cerity ! " 
 
 cessity to do so here. With regard to what is said of the hvei-shin, it is 
 only the first two paragraphs which occasion difficulty. In the third par- 
 agraph the sage speaks of the spiritual beings that are sacrificed to. The 
 same is the subject of the fourth paragraph ; or rather, spiritual beings 
 generally, whether sacrificed to or not, invisible themselves and yet able to 
 behold our conduct. See the She-king, Pt III. Bk IV. ii. 7. The ode is 
 said to have been composed by one of the dukes of Wei, and was repeated 
 daily in his hearing for his admonition. In the context of the quota- 
 tion, he is warned to be careful of his conduct, when alone as when 
 in company. For in truth we are never alone. " Millions of spiritual 
 beings walk the earth," and can take note of us. What now are the 
 ktvei-shin in the first two paragraphs? Are we to understand by them 
 .something different from what they are in the third paragraph, to which 
 they run on from the first as the nominative or subject of the verb " to 
 cause " ? I think not. The precise meaning of what is said of " their 
 -entering into all things," and " there being nothing without them," cannot 
 be determined. The old interpreters say that the meaning of the whole 
 is — " that of all things there is not a single thing which is not produced by 
 the breath (or energy) of the Iimei-shin,." This is all that we learn from 
 them. The Sung school explain the terms with reference to their physi- 
 cal theory of the universe, derived, as the}' think, from the Yih-king. 
 Choo He's master, Ch'ing, explains : — " The hvei-shin are the energetic 
 operations of Heaven and Earth, and the traces of production and trans- 
 formation." The scholar Chang says: — "The hivei-shin are the easily 
 .acting powers of the two breaths of nature." Choo He's own account is : 
 " If we speak of two breaths, then b} r hvei is denoted the efficaciousness of 
 the secondary or inferior one, and by shin, that of the superior one. If 
 v,e speak of one breath, then by shin is denoted its advancing and de- 
 veloping, and by Jtwei, its returning and reverting. They are really only 
 one thing." It is difficult — not to say impossible — to conceive to one's- 
 self what is meant by such descriptions. And nowhere else in the Four 
 Books is there an approach to this meaning of the phrase. 
 
 Bemusat translates the first paragraph : — ; ' Que les vertus des esprits 
 sont sublimes!" His Latin version is: — " spirituum geniorumque est 
 virtus: ca capax ! " Intorcetta renders: — " spiritibus inest operative* 
 ■virtus et efficacitas, et hcec o quam pr a starts est ! quam multiplex ! quam 
 4ublimis I " In a note, he and his friends say that the dignitary of the 
 
294 THE DOCTEINE OP THE MEAN. 
 
 XVII. 1. The Master said,, "How greatly filial was 
 Shun ! His virtue was that of a sage ; his dignity was 
 the imperial throne ; his riches were all within the four 
 seas. He offered his sacrifices in his ancestral temple,, 
 and his descendants preserved the sacrifices to himself. 
 
 2. " Therefore having such great virtue,, it could not 
 but be that he should obtain the throne, that he should 
 obtain those riches, that he should obtain his fame, that he 
 should attain to his long life. 
 
 8. " Thus it is that Heaven, in the production of things, 
 is surely bountiful to them, according to their qualities. 
 Hence the tree that is flourishing, it nourishes, while that 
 which is ready to fall, it overthrows. 
 
 4. " In the Book of Poetry, it is said, ' The admirable, 
 amiable, prince, Displayed conspicuously his excelling 
 virtue, Adjusting his people, and Adjusting his officers. 
 Therefore, he received from Heaven the emoluments of 
 dignity. It protected him, assisted him, decreed him 
 the throne; Sending from heaven these favours, as it 
 were repeatedly.' 
 
 empire who assisted them, rejecting other interpretations, understood hy 
 kwei-shin here — " those spirits for the veneration of whom and imploring 
 their help, sacrifices were instituted." Shin signifies " spirits," " a spirit,' 
 " spirit ; " and hvei " a ghost," or " demon." The former is used for the 
 animus, or intelligent soul separated from the body, and the latter for the 
 anima, or animal, grosser, soul, so separated. In the text, however, they 
 blend together, and are not to be separately translated. They are together 
 equivalent to shin alone in paragraph four, " spirits," or " spiritual 
 beings." 
 
 17. The virtue of filial piety, exemplified in Shun as carried 
 
 TO THE HIGHEST POINT, AND REWARDED BY HEAVEN. 1. One does not 
 
 readily see the connection between Shun's great filial piety, and all the 
 other predicates of him that follow. The paraphrasts, however, try to- 
 trace it in this way: — "A son without virtue is insufficient to distinguish 
 his parents. But Shun was born with all knowledge, and acted without 
 any effort ; — in virtue, a sage. How great was the distinction which he 
 thus conferred on his parents ! " And so with regard to the other predi- 
 cate. 2. The whole of this is to be understood with reference to Shun. 
 He died at the age of one hundred years. The word " virtue " takes here 
 the place of "filial piety," in the last paragraph, according to Maou, be- 
 cause that is the root, the first and chief, of all virtues. 4. See the 
 She-king. Pt III. Bk II. v. 1. The prince spoken of is king Wan, 
 who is thus brought forward to confirm the lesson taken from Shun. 
 That lesson, however, is stated much too broadly in the last para- 
 agraph. It is well to say that only virtue is a solid title to eminence ;. 
 but to hold forth the certain attainment of wealth and position as an. 
 
THE DOCTKINE OF THE MEAN. 295 
 
 5. u We may say therefore that lie who is greatly vir- 
 tuous will be sure to receive the appointment of Heaven." 
 
 XVIII. 1. The Master said, "It is only king Wan 
 of whom it can be said that he had no cause for grief! 
 His father was king Ke, and his son was king Woo. His 
 father laid the foundations of his dignity, and his son 
 transmitted it. 
 
 2. "King Woo continued the enterprise of king T'ae, 
 king Ke, and king Wan. He only once buckled on his 
 armour, and got possession of the empire. He did not 
 lose the distinguished personal reputation which he had 
 throughout the empire. His dignity was the imperial 
 throne. His riches were the possession of all within the 
 four seas. He offered his sacrifices in his ancestral 
 temple, and his descendants maintained the sacrifices to 
 himself. 
 
 3. "It was in his old ao-e that kino- Woo received the 
 
 O O 
 
 appointment to the throne, and the duke of Chow com- 
 pleted the virtuous course of Wan and Woo. He carried 
 up the title of king to T'ae and Ke, and sacrificed to all 
 the former dukes above them with the imperial cere- 
 monies. And this rule he extended to the princes of the 
 empire, the great officers, the scholars, and the common 
 people. Was the father a great officer, and the son a 
 scholar, then the burial was that due to a great officer, 
 
 inducement to virtue is not favourable to morality. The case of Con- 
 fucius himself, who attained neither to power nor to long life, may be 
 adduced as inconsistent with these teachings. 
 
 18. On King- Wan, King Woo, and the duke of Chow. 1. Shun's 
 father was bad, and the fathers of Yaou and Yu were undistinguished. 
 Yaou and Shun's sons were both bad, and Yu's not remarkable. But to 
 Wan neither father nor son gave occasion but for satisfaction and happi- 
 ness. King Ke was the Duke Ke-leih, the most distinguished by his 
 virtues and prowess of all the princes of his time. He prepared the way 
 for the elevation of his family. 2. King T'ae — this was the Duke T'an- 
 foo, the father of Ke-leih, a prince of great eminence, and who, in the 
 decline of the Yin dynasty, drew to his family the thoughts of the 
 people. " He did not lose his distinguished reputation ; " that is, though 
 he proceeded against his rightful sovereign, the people did not change 
 their opinion of his virtue. 3. " When old ;" — Woo was eighty-seven when 
 he became emperor, and he only reigned seven years. His brother Tan, 
 the duke of Chow (see Analects, VI. xxii., VII. v.), acted as his chief minis- 
 ter. The house of Chow traced their lineage up to the Emperor Kuh, B.C. 
 2432 ; but in various passages of the Shoo-king, king T'ae and king K'e 
 are spoken of, as if the conference of those titles had been by king Woo. 
 
296 THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 
 
 and the sacrifice that due to a scholar. Was the father 
 a scholar, and the son a great officer, then the burial was 
 that due to a scholar, and the sacrifice that due to a great 
 officer. The one year's mourning was made to extend 
 only to the great officers, but the three years' mourning 
 extended to the emperor. In the mourning for a father 
 or mother, he allowed no difference between the noble 
 and the mean.'" 
 
 XIX. 1. The Master said, " How far extending was 
 the filial piety of king Woo and the duke of Chow ! 
 
 2. " Now filial piety is seen in the skilful carrying out 
 of the wishes of our forefathers, and the skilful carrying 
 forward of their undertakings. 
 
 3. " In spring and autumn, they repaired and beauti- 
 fied the temple-halls of their fathers, set forth their an- 
 
 On this there are very long discussions. The truth seems to be, that 
 Chow-kung, carrying out his brother's wishes by laws of state, confirmed 
 the titles, and made the general rule about burials and sacrifices which is 
 described. From " this rule," &c, to the end, we are at first inclined to 
 translate in the present tense, but the past with a reference to Chow-kung 
 is more correct. The " year's mourning " is that principally for uncles 
 and cousins, and it does not extend beyond the great officers, because their 
 uncles, &c, being the subjects of the princes and of the emperor, feelings 
 of kindred must not be allowed to come into collision with the relation 
 of governor and governed. On the " three years' mourning," see Analects 
 XVII. xxi. 
 
 19. The far-reaching filial piety of King Woo, and of the 
 duke of Chow. 2. This definition of " filial piety " is worthy of notice. 
 Its operation ceases not with the lives of parents and parents' parents. 3. 
 In spring and autumn ; the emperors of China sacrificed, as they still do, 
 to their ancestors every season, Though spring and autumn only are 
 mentioned in the text, we are to understand that what is said of the 
 sacrifices in those seasons applies to all the others. 4. It was an old in- 
 terpretation that the sacrifices and accompanying services, spoken of here, 
 were not the seasonal services of every year, which are the subject of the 
 preceding paragraph, but the still greater sacrifices (see one of them spoken 
 of in Analects, III. x., xi.) ; and to that view I would give in my adhesion. 
 The emperor had seven shrines, or apartments, in the hall of the ancestral 
 temple. One belonged to the remote ancestor to whom the dynasty traced 
 its origin. At the great sacrifices, his spirit-tablet was placed fronting the 
 east, and on each side were ranged, three in a row, the tablets belonging 
 to the six others, those of them which fronted the south being, in the 
 genealogical line, the fathers of those who fronted the north. As fronting 
 the south, the region of brilliancy, the former were called chaou, the 
 latter, from the north, the sombre region, were called mull. As th* 
 dynasty was prolonged, and successive emperors died, the old tablets were 
 removed, and transferred to what was called the " apartments of displaced 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 297 
 
 cestral vessels, displayed their various robes, and pre- 
 sented the offerings of the several seasons. 
 
 4. " By means of the ceremonies of the ancestral tem- 
 ple, they distinguished the imperial kindred according to 
 their order of descent. By ordering the parties present 
 according to their rank, they distinguished the more 
 noble and the less. By the arrangement of the services, 
 they made a distinction of talents and worth. In the 
 ceremony of general pledging, the inferiors presented the 
 cup to their superiors, and thus something was given 
 the lowest to do. At the concluding feast, places were 
 given according to the hair, and thus was made the dis- 
 tinction of years. 
 
 5. " They occupied the places of their forefathers, 
 practised their ceremonies, and performed their music. 
 They reverenced those whom they honoured, and loved 
 those whom they regarded with affection. Thus they 
 served the dead as they would have served them alive ; 
 they served the departed as they would have served them 
 had they been continued among them. 
 
 shrines," yet so as that one in the "bright line displaced the topmost of the 
 row, and so with the sombre tablets. At the sacrifices, the imperial 
 kindred arranged themselves as they were descended from a " bright " em- 
 peror, on the left, and from a "sombre "one. on the right, and thus a 
 genealogical correctness of place was maintained among them. The cere- 
 mony of "general pledging" occurred towards the end of the sacrifice. 
 To have anything to do at those services was accounted honourable, and 
 after the emperor had commenced the ceremony by taking " a cup of 
 blessing," all the juniors presented a similar cup to the seniors, and thus 
 were called into employment. 5. " They occupied their places," ac- 
 cording to K'ang-shing, is — "ascended their thrones; " according to Choo 
 He it is " trod on — i.e., occupied — their places in the ancestral temple." 
 On either view, the statement must be taken with allowance. The an- 
 cestors of king Woo had not been emperors, and their place in the 
 temples had only been those of princes. The same may be said of the four 
 particulars which follow. By " those whom they " — i.e., their progenitors 
 — "honoured" are intended their ancestors, and by " those whom they 
 loved," their descendants, and indeed all the people of their government. 
 The two concluding sentences are important, as the Jesuits mainly based on 
 them the defence of their practice in permitting their converts to continue 
 the sacrifices to their ancestors. We read in " Confucius Sinarum pkilo- 
 sojjhits" — the work of Intorcetta and others, to which I have made fre- 
 quent reference : — Ex plurvmis et clarissimis textibus Sinicis probari 
 potest, legitvmv/m prcedicti axiomatis sensum esse, quod eadem intentione 
 etforniaU viotivo Sinenses naturalem pietatem ct politicum, obseqnium 
 erga defunctos exerceant, sicuti erga cosdem adhuc super stites exercebant t 
 
298 THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 
 
 6. " By the ceremonies of the sacrifices to Heaven, 
 and Earth they served God, and by the ceremonies of tho 
 ancestral temple they sacrificed to their ancestors. He 
 who understands the ceremonies of the sacrifices to Hea- 
 ven and Earth, and the meaning of the several sacrifices 
 to ancestors, would find the government of a kingdom as 
 easy as to look into his palm ! " 
 
 XX. 1. The duke Gae asked about government. 
 
 2. The Master said, " The government of Wan and 
 Woo is displayed in the records, — the tablets of wood and 
 bamboo. Let there be the men, and the government will 
 flourish; but without the men, the government decays 
 and ceases. 
 
 ex quibus et ex infra dicendis prudens lector facile deducet, hos ritus- 
 circa defunctos ficisse mere civiles, institutes dumtaxat in lionorem et ob- 
 sequium pareJitum, etiam post mortem non intermittendum ; nam si quid 
 ill'ic divinum agnovissent, cur diceret Confucius — Priscos servire solitos 
 defunctis, iiti iisdem serviebant viventibus." This is ingenious reasoning, 
 but it does not meet the fact that sacrifice is an entirely new element in- 
 troduced into the service of the dead. 6. I do not understand how it is- 
 that their sacrifices to God are adduced here as an illustration of the filial 
 piety of king Wan and king Woo. What is said about them, however, 
 is important, in reference to the views which we should form about the 
 ancient religion of China. Both the old interpreters of the Han dynasty 
 and the more eminent among those of the Sung, understand the two sacri- 
 fices first spoken of to be those to Heaven and Earth, — the former offered 
 at the winter solstice, in the southern suburb of the imperial city, and the 
 latter offered in the northern suburb, at the summer solstice. They think, 
 however, that for the sake of brevity, the words for " and the sovereign 
 earth," are omitted after "God," literally, "supreme ruler." Some 
 modern interpreters understand that besides the sacrifices to Heaven and 
 Earth, those to tutelary deities of the soil are spoken of. But these 
 various opinions do not affect the judgment of the sage himself, that the 
 service of one being— even of God — was designed by all those ceremonies. 
 See my "Notions of the Chinese concerning God and Spirits," pp. 50 — 52. 
 20. On government: showing- principally how it depends on 
 the character of the officers administering it, and how that 
 
 DEPENDS ON THE CHARACTER OF THE SOVEREIGN HIMSELF. We have 
 here one of the fullest expositions of Confucius' views on this subject, 
 though he unfolds them only as a description of the government of the 
 kings Wan and Woo. In the chapter there is the remarkable intermin- 
 gling, which we have seen in " The Great Learning," of what is peculiar to 
 a ruler, and what is of universal application. From the concluding para- 
 graphs, the transition is easy to the next and most difficult part of the 
 Work. This chapter is found also in the " Family Sayings," but with, 
 considerable additions. 
 
 1. Duke Gae. The old commentators took what I have called an 
 "easily -growing rush" as the name of an insect (so it is defined in the 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 299 
 
 3. "With the right men the growth of government is 
 rapid, just as vegetation is rapid in the earth; and more- 
 over their government might be called an easily-growing 
 rush. 
 
 4. " Therefore the administration of government lies 
 in getting proper men. Such men are to be got by means 
 of the ruler's own character. That character is to be 
 cultivated by his treading in the ways of duty. And the 
 treading those ways of duty is to be cultivated by the 
 cherishing of benevolence. 
 
 5. "Benevolence is the characteristic element of human- 
 ity, and the great exercise of it is in loving relatives* 
 Righteousness is the accordance of actions with ivhat is right, 
 and the great exercise of it is in honouring the worthy. 
 The decreasing measures of the love due to relatives, and 
 the steps in the honour due to the worthy, are produced 
 by the principle of propriety. 
 
 6. "When those in inferior situations do not possess 
 the confidence of their superiors, they cannot retain the 
 government of the people. 
 
 7. "Hence the sovereign may not neglect the cultiva- 
 tion of his own character. Wishing to cultivate his 
 character, he may not neglect to serve his parents. In 
 order to serve his parents, he may not neglect to acquire 
 a knowledge of men. In order to know men, he may not 
 dispense with a knowledge of Heaven. 
 
 Urh Ya), a kind of bee, said to take the young of the mulberry cater- 
 pillar, and keep them in its hole, where they are transformed into bees. 
 So, they said, does government transform the people. This is in accord- 
 ance with the paragraph, as we find it in the "Family Sayings." But we 
 cannot hesitate in preferring Choo He's, as in the translation. The other 
 is too absurd. 5. " Benevolence is man." We find the same language in 
 Mencius, and in the Le-ke, XXXII. 15. This virtue is called MAN, 
 " because loving, feeling, and the forbearing nature belong to man, as he 
 is born. They are that whereby man is man." 6. This has crept into 
 the text here by mistake. It belongs to paragraph 17, below. We do 
 not find it here in the " Family Sayings," 7. I fail in trying to trace the 
 connection between the different parts of this paragraph. " He may not 
 be without knowing men." — Why? "Because," we are told, " it is by 
 honouring and being courteous to the worthy, and securing them as- 
 friends, that a man perfects his virtue, and is able to serve his relatives." 
 "He may not be without knowing Heaven." — Why? " Because," it is 
 said, " the gradations in the love of relatives and the honouring the 
 worthy, are all heavenly arrangements, and a heavenly order, natural, 
 necessary principles." But in this explanation, " Knowing men" has a 
 
300 THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 
 
 8. "The duties of universal obligation are five, and the 
 virtues wherewith they are practised are three. The 
 duties are those between sovereign and minister, between 
 father and son, between husband and wife, between elder 
 brother and younger, and those belonging to the inter- 
 course of friends. Those five are the duties of universal 
 obligation. Knowledge, magnanimity, and energy, these 
 three, are the virtues universally binding. And the 
 means by which they carry the duties into practice is 
 singleness. 
 
 9. " Some are born with the knowledge of those duties ; 
 some know them by study ; and some acquire the know- 
 ledge after a painful feeling of their ignorance. But the 
 knowledge being possessed, it comes to the same thing. 
 Some practise them with a natural ease ; some from a 
 jdesire for their advantages ; and some by strenuous effort. 
 But the achievement being made, it comes to the same 
 thing." 
 
 10. The Master said, "To be fond of learning is to be 
 
 rery different meaning from what it has in the previous clause. 8. From 
 .this down to paragraph 11, there is brought before us the character of the 
 ■" men" mentioned in paragraph 2, on whom depends the flourishing of 
 "government" which government is exhibited in paragraphs 12 — 15. " The 
 duties of universal obligation " is, literally, " the paths proper to be trodden 
 by all under heaven "== the path of the Mean. Of the three virtues, the 
 first is the knowledge necessary to choose the detailed course of duty ; the 
 second, is " benevolence," " the unselfishness of the heart " = magnanim- 
 ity (so I style it for want of a better term), to pursue it ; the third is the 
 valiant energy, which maintains the permanence of the choice and the 
 practice. The last clause is, literally, " Whereby they are practised is one," 
 .and this, according to Ying-ta, means — " From the various kings down- 
 wards, in the practising these five duties, and three virtues, there has been 
 but one method. There has been no change in modern times and ancient." 
 This, however, is not satisfactory. We want a substantive meaning for 
 " one." This Choo He gives us. He says : — " The one is simply sin- 
 cerity ; " the sincerity, that is, on which the rest of the work dwells with 
 such strange predication. I translate, therefore, the term here by single- 
 ness. There seems a reference in the term to the being alone in ch. i. p. 
 3. The singleness is that of the soul in the apprehension and practice of 
 the duties of the Mean, which is attained to by watchfulness over one's 
 .self, when alone. 9. Compare Analects, XVI. ix. But is there the three- 
 fold difference in the knowledge of the duties spoken of ? And who are 
 they who can practise them with entire ease? 10. Choo He observes 
 that " The Master said " is here superfluous. In the " Family Sayings," 
 however, we find the last paragraph followed by — " The duke said, Your 
 $yords are beautiful and perfect, but I am stupid, and unable to accom- 
 
THE D0CTKINE OF THE MEAN. 301 
 
 near to knowledge. To practise with vigour is to be near 
 to magnanimity. To possess the feeling of shame is to 
 be near to energy. 
 
 11 . " He who knows these three things knows how to 
 cultivate his own character. Knowing how to cultivate 
 his own character, he knows how to govern other men. 
 Knowing how to govern other men, he knows how to 
 govern the empire with all its States and famiiies. 
 
 12. " All who have the government of the empire with 
 its States and families have nine standard rules to follow ; 
 — viz. the cultivation of their own characters ; the honour-^ 
 ing of men of virtue and talents ; affection towards their 
 relatives ; respect towards the great ministers ; kind and 
 considerate treatment of the whole body of officers ; deal- 
 ing with the mass of the people as children ; encouraging" 
 the resort of all classes of artisans ; indulgent treatment 
 of men from a distance; and the kindly cherishing of 
 the princes of the States. 
 
 18. " By the ruler's cultivation of his own character, the 
 
 plish this." Then comes this paragraph — " Confucius said," &c. The' 
 words in question, therefore, prove that Tsze-sze took this chapter from 
 some existing document, that which we have in the " Family Sayings,'' 
 or some other. Confucius' words were intended to encourage and 
 stimulate the duke, telling him that the three grand virtues might be 
 nearly, if not absolutely, attained to. 11. "These three things" are the 
 three things in the last paragraph, which make an approximation at least 
 to the three virtues which connect with the discharge of duty attain- 
 able by every one. What connects the various steps of the climax is- 
 the unlimited confidence in the power of the example of the ruler, which 
 we have had occasion to point out so frequently in " The Great Learn- 
 ing." 12. These nine standard rules, it is to be borne in mind, constitute 
 the government of Wan and Woo, referred to in paragraph 2. Comment- 
 ators arrange the fourth and fifth rules under the second; and the 
 sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth, under the third, so that after " the 
 cultivation of the person," we have here an expansion of paragraph 5. 
 By " the men of talents and virtue " are intended the " three Kung " 
 and "three Koo," who composed the "Inner Council" of the Chow 
 emperors ) and by the " great ministers," the heads of the six departments 
 of their government : — of all of whom there is an account in the Shoo-King, 
 Tt V. Bk XX. 5 — 13. The emperors of China have always assumed to be 
 the "fathers of the people," and to deal with them as their children. 
 The eighth rule did not, probably, in Confucius' mind, embrace any but 
 travelling merchants coming into the imperial domains from the other 
 States of the empire ; but in modern times it has been construed as the 
 rule for the treatment of foreigners by the government of China, — which, 
 moreover, would affirm that it has observed it. 13. This paragraph describes 
 
302 THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 
 
 duties of universal obligation are set up. By honouring 
 men of virtue and talents, he is preserved from errors of 
 judgment. By showing affection to his relatives, there is 
 no grumbling nor resentment among his uncles and 
 brethren. By respecting the great ministers, he is kept 
 from errors in the practice of government. By kind and 
 considerate treatment of the whole body of officers, they 
 are led to make the most grateful return for his courtesies. 
 By dealing with the mass of the people as his children, 
 they are led to exhort one another to what is good. By 
 encouraging the resort of all classes of artisans, his re- 
 sources for expenditure are rendered ample. By indul- 
 gent treatment of men from a distance, they are brought, 
 to resort to him from all quarters. And by kindly cher- 
 ishing the princes of the States, the whole empire is 
 brought to revere him. 
 
 14. " Self-adjustment and purification, with careful re- 
 gulation of his dress, and the not making a movement 
 contrary to the rules of propriety : — this is the way for 
 the ruler to cultivate his person. Discarding slanderers, 
 and keeping himself from the seductions of beauty; mak- 
 ing light of riches, and giving honour to virtue : — this is 
 the way for him to encourage men of worth and talents. 
 Giving them places of honour and emolument, and sharing 
 
 iwith them in their likes and dislikes : this is the way for 
 him to encourage his relatives to love him. Giving them 
 numerous officers to discharge their orders and commis- 
 
 the happy effects of observing the above nine rules. We read in the " Daily- 
 Lessons : " " About these nine rules, the only trouble is, that sovereigns 
 are not able to practise them strenuously. Let the ruler be really able to 
 cultivate his person, then will the universal duties and universal virtues 
 be all-complete, so that he shall be an example to the whole empire, with 
 its States and families. Those duties will be set up, and men will know 
 what to imitate." On " the resources of expenditure being ample,' 1 Choo 
 He says : — " The resort of all classes of artisans being encouraged, there is 
 an intercommunication of the productions of laboui', and an interchange 
 of men's services, and the husbandman and the trafficker are aiding to 
 one another. Hence the resources for expenditure are sufficient." I 
 suppose that Choo He felt a want of some mention of agriculture in connec- 
 tion with these rules, and thought to find a place for ic here. 1L After 
 "The whole empire is brought to revere him," we have in the "Family 
 Sayings," "The duke said, How are these rules to be practised? '" and 
 then follows this paragraph, preceded by " Confucius said." The blend- 
 ing together, in the first clause, as equally important, attention to inward 
 
THE DOCTEINE OF THE MEAN. 303 
 
 sions : — this is the way for hhn to encourage the great 
 ministers. According to them a generous confidence, 
 and making their emoluments large : — this is the way to 
 ■encourage the body of officers. Employing them only at 
 the proper times, and making the imposts light : — this is 
 the way to encourage the people. By daily examinations 
 and monthly trials, and by making their rations in accord- 
 ance with their labours : — this is the way to encourage 
 the classes of artisans. To escort them on their depart- 
 ure and meet them on their coming ; to commend the 
 good among them, and show compassion to the incom- 
 petent : — this is the way to treat indulgently men from a 
 distance. To restore families whose line of succession 
 has been broken, and to revive States that have been 
 extinguished ; to reduce to order States that are in con- 
 fusion, and support those which are in peril; to have 
 fixed times for their own .reception at court, and the re- 
 ception of their envoys ; to send them away after liberal 
 treatment, and welcome their coming with small contri- 
 butions : — this is the way to cherish the princes of the 
 States. •■ 
 
 15. <c All who have the government of the empire with 
 its States and families have the above nine standard rules. 
 And the means by which they are carried into practice is 
 singleness. 
 
 16. "In all things success depends on previous pre- 
 paration, and without such previous preparation there is. 
 sure to be failure. If what is to be spoken be previously i 
 determined, there will be no stumbling. If affairs be pre- , 
 viously determined, there will be no difficulty with them. 
 If one's actions have been previously determined, there 
 will be no sorrow in connection with them. If principles 
 
 • 
 
 purity and to dress, seems strange enough to a western reader. The trials 
 and examinations, with the rations spoken of in the seventh clause, show 
 that the artisans are not to be understood of such dispersed among the peo- 
 ple, but as collected under the superintendence of the government. Am- 
 bassadors from foreign countries have been received up to the present 
 century, according to the rules in the eighth clause, and the two last regu- 
 lations are quite in harmony with the moral and political superiority that 
 China claims over the countries which they may represent. But in the 
 case of travellers, and travelling merchants, passing from one State to 
 another, there were anciently regulations, which may be adduced to illus- 
 trate all the expressions here. 16. The " all things " is to be understood 
 
304 THE DOCTEINE OF THE MEAN. 
 
 of conduct have been previously determined, the practice 
 of thern will be inexhaustible. 
 
 17. "When those in inferior situations do not obtain 
 the confidence of the sovereign, they cannot succeed in 
 governing the people. There is a way to obtain the con- 
 fidence of the sovereign; — if one is not trusted by his 
 friends, he will not get the confidence of his sovereign. 
 There is a way to being trusted by one's friends ; — if one 
 is not obedient to his parents, he will not be true to 
 friends. There is a way to being obedient to one's pa- 
 rents ; — if one, on turning his thoughts in upon himself, 
 finds a want of sincerity, he will not be obedient to his 
 parents. There is a way to the attainment of sincerity in 
 one's-self ; — if a man do not understand what is good, he 
 will not attain sincerity in himself. 
 
 18. " Sincerity is the way of Heaven. The attainment 
 of sincerity is the way of men. He who possesses sin- 
 cerity, is he who, without an effort, hits what is right, 
 and apprehends, without the exercise of thought; — he 
 is the sage who naturally and easily embodies the right 
 way. He who attains to sincerity, is he who chooses what 
 is good, and firmly holds it fast. 
 
 19. " To this attainment there are requisite the exten- 
 sive study of what is good, accurate inquiry about it, 
 careful reflection on it, the clear discrimination of it, and 
 the earnest practice of it. 
 
 20. "The superior man, while there is anything he 
 has not studied, or while in what he has studied there is 
 anything he cannot understand, will not intermit his 
 labour. While there is anything he has not inquired 
 
 with reference to the universal duties, the universal virtues, and the nine 
 standard rules. 17. The object of this paragraph seems to be to show 
 that the singleness, or sincerity, lies at the basis of that previous prepara- 
 tion, which is essential to success in any and every thing. The steps of 
 the climax conduct us to it as the mental state necessary to all virtues, 
 and this sincerity is again made dependent on the understanding of what 
 is good, upon which point see the next chapter. 19. There are 'here de- 
 scribed the different processes which lead to the attainment of sincerity. 
 20. Here we have the determination which is necessary in the prosecu- 
 tion of the above processes, and paragraph 21 states the result of it. 
 Choo He makes a pause at the end of the first clause in each part of the 
 paragraph, and interprets thus: — " If he do not study, well. But if he 
 do, he will not give over till he understands what he studies," and so on. 
 But it seems more natural to carry the supposition over the whole of every 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 305 
 
 about, or anything in what he has inquired about which 
 he does not know, he will not intermit his labour. While 
 there is anything which he has not reflected on, or any- 
 thing in what he has reflected on which he does not ap- 
 prehend, he will not intermit his labour. While there is 
 anything which he has not discriminated, or while his dis- 
 crimination is not clear, he will not intermit his labour. 
 If there be anything which he has not practised, or if his 
 practice fails in earnestness, he will not intermit his 
 labour. If another man succeed by one effort, he will use 
 a hundred efforts. If another man succeed by ten efforts, 
 he will use a thousand. 
 
 21. " Let a man proceed in this way, and, though dull, 
 he will surely become intelligent ; though weak, he will 
 surely become strong." 
 
 XXI. When we have intelligence resulting from sin- 
 cerity, this condition is to be ascribed to nature ; when 
 we have sincerity resulting from intelligence, this condi- 
 tion is to be ascribed to instruction. But given the 
 sincerity, and there shall be the intelligence , given the 
 intelligence, and there shall be the sincerity. 
 
 The above is the twenty-first chapter. Tsze-sze takes up 
 in it, and discourses from, the subjects of " the way of 
 
 part, as in the translation, which moreover substantially agrees with 
 Ying-ta's interpretation. Here terminates the third part of the "Work. 
 It was to illustrate, as Choo He told us, how " the path of the Mean 
 cannot be left." The author seems to have kept this point before him in 
 chapters xiii. — xvi., but the nex' three are devoted to the one subject of 
 filial piety, and the twentieth, to the general subject of government. Some 
 things are said worthy of being remembered, and others which require a 
 careful sifting ; but, on the whole, we do not find ourselves advanced in 
 an understanding of the argument of the Work. 
 
 21. The reciprocal connection of sincerity and intelligence. 
 "With this chapter commences the fourth part of the Work, which, as Choo 
 observes in his concluding note, is an expansion of the eighteenth paragraph 
 of the preceding chapter. It is, in a great measure, a glorification of the 
 sage, finally resting in the person of Confucius ; but the high character of 
 the sage, it is maintained, is not unattainable by others. He realizes the 
 ideal of humanity, but by his example and lessons, the same ideal is 
 brought within the reach of many, perhaps of all. The ideal of human- 
 ity, — the perfect character belonging to the sage, which ranks him on a 
 level with Heaven, — is indicated by a single character, and we have no 
 single term in English which can be considered as the complete equivalent 
 of it. The Chinese themselves had great difficulty in arriving at that 
 definition of it which is now generally acquiesced in. We are told that 
 vol. i. 20 
 
306 THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 
 
 Heaven " and " the way of men" mentioned in the 
 preceding chapter. The twelve chapters that follow 
 are all from Tsze-sze, repeating and illustrating the 
 meaning of this one. 
 
 XXII. It is only he who is possessed of the most com- 
 plete sincerity that can exist under heaven, who can give 
 its full development to his nature. Able to give its full 
 development to his own nature, he can do the same to 
 the nature of other men. Able to give its full develop- 
 ment to the nature of other men, he can give their full 
 
 " the Han scholars were all ignorant of its meaning. Under the Sung 1 
 dynasty, first came Le Pang- Chih, who defined it by freedom from all de- 
 ception. After him, Seu Chung-Keu said that it meant ceaselessness. 
 Then one of the Ch'ing called it freedom from all moral error ; and finally, 
 Choo He added to this the positive element of truth and reality, on which 
 the definition of the term was complete." Kemusat calls it — la perfec- 
 tion, and " la perfection morale.'''' Intorcetta and his friends call it — 
 vera solidaque perfeetio. Simplicity or singleness of soul seems to be 
 what is chiefly intended by the term ; the disposition to and capacity of 
 w 7 hat is good, without any deteriorating element, with no defect of intelli- 
 gence, or intromission of selfish thoughts. This belongs to Heaven, to 
 Heaven and Earth, and to the sage. Men, not naturally sages, may, by 
 cultivating the intelligence of what is good, raise themselves to this 
 elevation. 
 
 Here, at the outset, I may observe that, in this portion of the Work, 
 there are specially the three following dogmas, which are more than ques- 
 tionable: — 1st, That there are some men — sages — naturally in a state of 
 moral perfection ; 2nd, That the same moral perfection is attainable by 
 others, in whom its development is impeded by their material organiza- 
 tion, and the influence of external things ; and 3rd, That the understand- 
 ing of what is good will certainly lead to such moral perfection. 
 
 22. The results op sincerity; and how the possessor op it 
 PORMS A ternion with Heaven and Earth. What I have called 
 "giving full development to the nature," is, literally, "exhausting the 
 nature ; " but, by what processes and in what way, the character tells 
 us nothing. The " giving full development to his nature," however, 
 may be understood with Maou, as=" pursuing the path in accordance 
 with his nature, so that what Heaven has conferred on him is displayed 
 without shortcoming or let." The "giving its development to the nature 
 of other men " indicates the sage's helping them, by his examples and 
 lessons, to perfect themselves. " His exhausting the nature of things," i. e., 
 of all other beings, animate and inanimate, is, according to Choo He, 
 "knowing them completely, and dealing with them correctly," "so," add 
 the paraphrasts, " that he secures their prosperous increase and develop- 
 ment according to their nature." Here, however, a Buddhist idea appears 
 in Choo He's commentary. He says : — " The nature of other men and 
 things (= animals) is the same with my nature," which, it is observed in 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 307 
 
 development to the natures of animals and things. Able 
 to give their full development to the natures of creatures 
 and things, he can assist the transforming and nourishing 
 powers of Heaven and Earth. Able to assist the trans- 
 forming and nourishing powers of Heaven and Earth, he 
 may with Heaven and Earth form a ternion. 
 
 XXIII. Next to the above is he who cultivates to the 
 utmost the shoots of goodness in him. From those he 
 can attain to the possession of sincerity. This sincerity 
 becomes apparent. ^ From being apparent, it becomes 
 manifest. From being manifest, it becomes brilliant. 
 Brilliant, it affects others. Affecting* others, they are 
 changed by it."* ^Changed by it, they are transformed. It 
 is only he who is. possessed of the most complete sincer- 
 ity that can exist under heaven, who can transform. 
 
 Maou's work, is the same with the Buddhist sentiment, that " a dog has 
 the nature of Buddha," and with that of the philosopher Kaon, that " a 
 dog's nature is the same as a man's." Maou himself illustrates the 
 " exhausting the nature of things," by reference to the Shoo-king, IV. Bk 
 IV. 2, where we are told that under the first sovereigns of the Hea 
 dynasty, " the mountains and rivers all enjoyed tranquillity, and the bkds 
 and beasts, the fishes and tortoises, all realized the happiness of their 
 nature. It is thus that the sage " assists Heaven and Earth." K'ang- 
 shing, indeed, explains this by saying : — " The sage, receiving Heaven's ap- 
 pointment to the imperial throne, extends everywhere a happy tranquillity." 
 Evidently there is a reference in the language to the mystical paragraph 
 at the end of the first chapter. "Heaven and Earth " take the place here 
 of the single term — "Heaven," in chapter xx., paragraph 18. On this 
 Ying-ta observes: — "It is said above, sincerity is the way of Heaven, and 
 here mention is made also of Earth. The reason is, that the reference 
 above, was to the principle of sincerity in its spiritual aud mysterious 
 origin, and thence the expression simple, — The way of Heaven ; but here 
 we have the transformation and nourishing seen in the production of 
 things, and hence Earth is associated with Heaven." This is not very 
 intelligible, but it is to bring out the idea of a ternion, that the great, 
 supreme, ruling Power is thus dualized. The original term means " a 
 file 1 of three," and I employ " ternion " to express the idea, just as we use 
 " quarternion " for a file of four. What is it but blasphemy, thus to file 
 man with the supreme Power ? 
 
 23. The way of man ; — the development of perfect sincerity 
 in those not naturally possessed of it. There is some difficulty 
 here about the term which I have translated shoots. It properly means 
 "crooked," and, with a bad application, often signifies "deflection from 
 what is straight and right." Yet it cannot have a bad meaning here, for 
 if it have, the use of it will be, in the connection, unintelligible. One 
 writer uses this comparison : — " Put a stone on a bamboo shoot, or 
 where the shoot would show itself, and it will travel round the stone, and 
 
 20* 
 
308 THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 
 
 XXIY. It is characteristic of the most entire sincerity 
 to be able to foreknow. When a nation or family is 
 about to flourish, there are sure to be happy omens ; and 
 when it is about to perish, there are sure to be unlucky 
 omens. Such events are seen in the milfoil and tortoise, 
 and affect the movements of the four limbs. When 
 calamity or happiness is about to come, the good shall 
 certainly be foreknown by him, and the evil also. There- 
 fore the individual possessed of the most complete sin- 
 v cerity is like a spirit. 
 
 XXV. 1. Sincerity is that whereby self-completion is 
 effected, and its way is that by which man must direct 
 himself. 
 
 2. Sincerity is the end and beginning of things; with- 
 out sincerity there would be nothing. • On this account, 
 the superior man regards the attainment of sincerity as 
 the most excellent thing. 
 
 3. The possessor of sincerity does not merely accom- 
 plish the self- completion of himself. With this quality 
 
 come out crookedly at its side." So it is with the good nature, whose 
 free development is repressed. It shows itself in shoots, but if they be 
 cultivated and improved, a moral condition and influence may be at- 
 tained, equal to that of the sage. 
 
 24. That entire sincerity can foreknow. "Lucky omens;" 
 — these are intimated by two terms, denoting respectively unusual ap- 
 pearances of things existing in a country, and appearances of things new. 
 " Unlucky omens " are in the same way indicated by two terms, the 
 former being spoken of " prodigies of plants, and of strangely dressed boys 
 singing ballads," and the latter of prodigious animals. For the milfoil 
 and tortoise, see the Yih-king, Appendix I. xi. ; and the notes on the 
 Shoo-king, V. Bk. IV. 20—30. The "four limbs" are by K'ang-sbing 
 interpreted of the feet of the tortoise, each foot being peculiarly appropri- 
 ate to divination in a particular season. Choo He interprets them of the 
 four limbs of the human body. " Like a spirit " must be left as indefinite 
 in the translation as it is in the text. — The whole chapter is eminently 
 absurd, and gives a character of ridiculousness to all the magniloquent 
 teaching about "entire sincerity." The foreknowledge attributed to the 
 sage, — the mate of Heaven, — is only a guessing by means of augury, 
 
 H sorcery, and other follies. 
 
 25. HOW FROM SINCERITY COMES SELF-COMPLETION, AND THE COM- 
 PLETION OF OTHERS AND OF TiirNGS. I have had difficulty in translating 
 this chapter, because it is difficult to understand it. We wish that we had 
 the writer before us to question him ; but if we had, it is not likely that 
 he would be able to afford us much satisfaction. Persuaded that what he 
 denominates sincerity is a figment, we may not wonder at the extrava- 
 gance of its predica/es. 2. I translate the expansion of this in the "Daily 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 309 
 
 he completes oilier men and things also. The completing- 
 himself shows Ms perfect virtue. The completing other 
 men and things shows his knowledge. Both these are 
 virtues belonging to the nature, and this is the way by 
 which a union is effected of the external and internal. 
 Therefore, whenever he — the entirely sincere man — employs 
 them,- — that is, these virtues, — their action will be right. 
 
 XXVI. 1. Hence to entire sincerity there belongs 
 ceaselessness. 
 
 2. Not ceasing, it continues long. Continuing long, it 
 evidences itself. 
 
 3. Evidencing itself, it reaches far. Reaching far, it 
 becomes large and substantial. Large and substantial, it 
 becomes high and brilliant. 
 
 4. Large and substantial; — this is how it contains all 
 things. High and brilliant ; — this is how it overspreads 
 all things. Reaching far and continuing long; — this is 
 how it perfects all things. 
 
 5. So large and substantial, the individual possessing it 
 is the co-equal of Earth. So high and brilliant, it makes 
 
 Lesson : " — " All that fill up the space between heaven and earth are things. 
 They end and they begin again : they begin and proceed to an end ; every 
 change being accomplished by sincerity, and every phenomenon having 
 sincerity unceasingly in it. So far as the mind of man is concerned, if 
 there be not sincerity, then every movement of it is vain and false. How 
 can an unreal mind accomplish real things ? Although it may do some- 
 thing, that is simply equivalent to nothing. Therefore, the superior man 
 searches out the source of sincerity, and examines the evil of insincerity, 
 -chooses what is good, and firmly holds it fast, so seeking to arrive at the 
 place of truth and reality." Maou's explanation is: — " Now, since the 
 reason why the sincerity of spiritual beings is so incapable of being re- 
 pressed, and why they foreknow, is because they enter into things, and 
 there is nothing without them : — shall there be anything which is without 
 the entirely sincere man, who is as a spirit ? " I have given these speci- 
 mens of commentary, that the reader may, if he can, by means of them, 
 gather some apprehensible meaning from the text. 
 
 26. a parallel between the sage possessed of entire sincerity. 
 and Heaven and Earth, showing that the same qualities belong 
 TO them. The first six paragraphs show the way of the sage; the next 
 three show the way of Heaven and Earth ; and the last brings the two 
 ways together, in their essential nature, in a passage from the She-king. 
 The doctrine of the chapter is liable to the criticisms which have been 
 made on the twenty-second chapter. And, moreover, there is in it a sad 
 confusion of the visible heavens and earth with the immaterial power and 
 reason which govern them; in a word, with God. 1. Choo He is con- 
 demned by recent writers for making a new chapter to commence here. 
 
310 THE DOCTRINE OP THE MEAN. 
 
 him the co-equal of Heaven. So far-reaching and long- 
 continuing, it makes him infinite. 
 
 6. Such being its nature, without any display, it be- 
 comes manifested; without any movement, it produces- 
 changes; and without any effort, it accomplishes its 
 ends. 
 
 7. The way of Heaven and Earth may be completely 
 declared in one sentence. — They are without any double- 
 ness, and so they produce things in a manner that is- 
 unfathomable. 
 
 8. The way of Heaven and Earth is large and sub- 
 stantial, high and brilliant, far-reaching and long-en- 
 during. 
 
 9. The heaven now before us is only this bright shining" 
 spot; but when viewed in its inexhaustible extent, the 
 sun, moon, stars, and constellations of the zodiac are 
 suspended in it, and all things are overspread by it. The 
 earth before us is but a handful of soil; but when re- 
 garded in its breadth and thickness, it sustains mountains- 
 like the Hwa and the Yoh, without feeling their weight, 
 and contains the rivers and seas, without their leaking 
 away. The mountain now before us appears only a stone - r 
 but when contemplated in all the vastness of its size, we- 
 see how the grass and trees are produced on it, and 
 birds and beasts dwell on it, and precious things which 
 men treasure up are found on it. The water now before 
 us appears but a ladleful ; yet extending our view to its 
 unfathomable depths, the largest tortoises, iguanas, igaan- 
 adons, dragons, fishes, and turtles, are produced in them;, 
 articles of value and sources of wealth abound in them. 
 
 Yet the matter is sufficiently distinct from that of the preceding one.. 
 Where the " Hence " takes hold of the text above, however, it is not easy to- 
 discover. One interpreter says that it indicates a conclusion from all the 
 preceding predicates about sincerity. "Entire sincerity" is to be under- 
 stood, now in the abstract, now in the concrete. But the fifth paragraph 
 seems to be the place to bring out the personal idea, as I have done. The 
 last predicate is, literally, "without bounds,"= our infinite. Surely it is 
 strange — passing strange — to apply that term in the description of any cre- 
 ated being. 7. What I said was the prime idea in "sincerity," viz., " sim- 
 plicity," " singleness of soul," is very conspicuous here. It surprises us, 
 however, to find Heaven and Earth called "things" at the same time 
 that they are represented as by their entire sincerity producing all things. 
 9. This paragraph is said to illustrate the unfathomableness of Heaven, 
 and Earth in producing things, showing how it springs from their sin- 
 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 311 
 
 10. It is said in the Book of Poetry, " The ordinances 
 of Heaven, how profound are they and unceasing ! " The 
 meaning is, that it is thus that Heaven is Heaven. And 
 again, " How illustrious was it, the singleness of the 
 virtue of King Wan ! " indicating that it was thus that 
 King Wan was what he was. Singleness likewise is 
 unceasing. 
 
 XXVII. 1. How great is the path proper to the 
 sage ! 
 
 2. Like overflowing water, it sends forth and nourishes 
 all things, and rises up to the height of heaven. 
 
 3. All complete is its greatness ! It embraces the 
 three hundred rules' of ceremony, and the three thousand 
 rules of demeanour. 
 
 4. It waits for the proper man, and then it is trodden. 
 
 5. Hence it is said, " Only by perfect virtue can the 
 perfect path, in all its courses, be made a fact/'' 
 
 6. Therefore, the superior man honours his virtuous 
 nature, and maintains constant inquiry and study, seeking 
 to carry it out to its breadth and greatness, so as to omit 
 none of the more exquisite and minute points which it 
 embraces, and to raise it to its greatest height and bril- 
 liancy, so as to pursue the course of the Mean. He 
 cherishes his old knowledge, and is continually acquiring 
 new. He exerts an honest, generous earnestness, in the 
 esteem and practice of all propriety. 
 
 cerity, or freedom from doubleness. I have already observed how it is 
 only the material heavens and earth which are presented to us. And not 
 only so ; — we have mountains, seas, and rivers, set forth as acting with 
 the same unfathomahleness as those entire bodies and powers. The 
 " Complete Digest" says on this : — " The hills and waters are what Heaven 
 and Earth produce, and that they should yet be able themselves to produce 
 otliei" things, shows still more how Heaven and Earth, in the producing 
 of things, are unfathomable." The confusion and error in such representa- 
 tions are very lamentable. 
 
 27. The glorious path of the sage; and how the superior 
 MAN ENDEAVOURS TO ATTAIN TO IT. The chapter thus divides it- 
 self into two parts, one containing five paragraphs, descriptive of the 
 sage, and the other two, descriptive of the superior man, which two 
 appellations are to be here distinguished. 1. "This paragraph," says 
 Choo He, "embraces the two that follow." They are, indeed, to be 
 taken as exegetical of it. 3. By the " rules of ceremony," we are to 
 understand the greater and more general principles of propriety, ' : such 
 as capping, marriage, mourning, and sacrifice ; " and by those of " de- 
 meanour " are intended all the minuter observances of those. 300 and 
 
312 THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 
 
 7. Thus, when occupying a high situation, he is not 
 proud, and in a low situation, he is not insubordinate. 
 When the kingdom is well-governed, he is sure by his 
 words to rise ; and when it is ill-governed, he is sure by 
 his silence to command forbearance to himself. Is not 
 this what we find in the Book of Poetry, — " Intelligent 
 is he and prudent, and so preserves his person ? " 
 
 XXVIII. 1. The Master said, "Let a man who is 
 ignorant be fond of using his own judgment ; let a man 
 without rank be fond of assuming a directing power to 
 himself; let a man who is living in the present age go 
 back to the ways of antiquity ; — on the persons of all who 
 act thus calamities will be sure to come." 
 
 2. To no one but the emperor does it belong to order 
 ceremonies, to fix the measures, and to determine the 
 characters. 
 
 3. Now, over the empire, carriages have all wheels of 
 the same size ; all writing is with the same characters ; 
 and for conduct there are the same rules. 
 
 3000 are round numbers. Reference is made to these rules and their 
 minutiae, to show how, in every one of them, as proceeding from the sage, 
 there is a principle, to be referred to the Heaven-given nature. 4. Com- 
 pare chapter xx. 2. In " Confucius Sinarum Philosophus" it is suggested 
 that there may be here a prophecy of the Saviour, and that the writer may 
 have been " under the influence of that spirit, by whose moving the Sibyls 
 formerly prophesied of Christ." There is nothing in the text to justify 
 such a thought. 
 
 28. An illustration of the sentence in the last chapter — 
 "In A low situation he is not lnsubordinate." There does seem 
 to be a connection of the kind thus indicated between this chapter and 
 the last, but the principal object of what is said here is to prepare the 
 way for the eulogium of Confucius below, — the eulogium of him, a^age 
 without the throne. 1. The different clauses here may be understood 
 generally, but they have a special reference to the general scope of the 
 chapter. Three things are required to give law to the empire : virtue (in- 
 cluding intelligence) ; rank ; and the right time. The <; ignorant man " is 
 he who wants the virtue; the next is he who wants the rank; and the 
 last clause describes the absence of the right time. — In this last clause, 
 there would seem to be a sentiment which should have given course in 
 China to the doctrine of Progress. 2. This and the two next paragraphs 
 are understood to be the words of Tsze-sze, illustrating the preceding de- 
 clarations of Confucius. We have here the imperial prerogatives, which 
 might not be usurped. " Ceremonies " are the rules regulating religion 
 and society ; " the measures " are the prescribed forms and dimensions of 
 buildings, carriages, clothes, &c. The term translated "characters" is 
 6aid by Choo He, after K'ang-shing, to be " the names of the written 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 31? 
 
 4. One may occupy the throne, but if he have not the 
 proper virtue, he may not dare to make ceremonies or 
 music. One may have the virtue, but if he do not occupy 
 the throne, he may not presume to make ceremonies 
 
 or music. 
 
 5. The Master said, " I may describe the ceremonies 
 of the Hea dynasty, but Ke cannot sufficiently attest my 
 words. I have learned the ceremonies of the Yin dynasty, 
 and in Sung they still continue. I have learned the 
 ceremonies of Chow, which are now used, and I follow 
 
 Chow." 
 
 XXIX. 1. He who attains to the sovereignty of the 
 empire, having those three important things, shall be able 
 to effect that there shall be few errors under his govern- 
 ment. 
 
 2. However excellent may have been the regulations of 
 those of former times, they cannot be attested. Not 
 being attested, they cannot command credence, and not 
 being credited, the people would not follow them. How- 
 ever excellent might be the regulations made by one in 
 an inferior situation, he is not in a position to be honoured. 
 Unhonoured, he cannot command credence, and not being 
 credited, the people would not follow his rules. 
 
 characters." But it is properly the form of the character, representing, in 
 the original characters of the language, the figure of the object denoted ; 
 and in the text must denote both the form and sound of the character. 
 There is a long and eulogistic note here, in " Confucius Sinarum Phi' 
 losophus" on the admirable uniformity secured by these prerogatives 
 throughout the Chinese empire. It was natural for Roman Catholic 
 writers to regard Chinese uniformity with sympathy. But the value, or, 
 rather, no value, of such a system in its formative influence on the 
 characters and institutions of men may be judged, both in the empire of 
 China and in the Church of Rome. 3. " Now " is said with reference to 
 the time of Tsze-sze. The paragraph is intended to account for Confucius' 
 not giving law to the empire. It was not the time. 4. " Ceremonies or 
 music ;" — but we must understand also " the measures " and " characters," 
 in paragraph 2. The paragraph would seem to reduce most emperors to 
 the condition of rois faineants. 5. See the Analects, III. ix., xiv., which 
 chapters are quoted here ; but in regard to what is said of Sung, with an 
 important variation. This paragraph illustrates how Confucius himself 
 u occupied a low station, without being insubordinate." 
 
 29. An illustration of the sentence in the xxviith chapter — 
 " When he occupies a high situation, he is not proud : " or 
 rather, the sage and his institutions seen in their effect and 
 ISSUE. 1. Different opinions have obtained as to what is intended by the 
 
314 THE DOCTEINE OF THE MEAN. 
 
 3. Therefore, the institutions of the Ruler are rooted in 
 his own character and conduct, and sufficient attestation 
 of them is given by the masses of the people. He ex- 
 amines them hy comparison with those of the three kings, 
 and finds them without mistake. He sets them up be- 
 fore heaven and earth, and finds nothing in them con- 
 trary to their mode of operation. He presents himself 
 with them before spiritual beings, and no doubts about 
 them arise. He is prepared to wait for the rise of a sage,, 
 a hundred ages after, and has no misgivings. 
 
 4. His presenting himself with his institutions before 
 spiritual beings, without any doubts about them arising,, 
 shows that he knows Heaven. His being prepared, with- 
 out any misgivings, to wait for the rise of a sage, a hun- 
 dred ages after, shows that he knows men. 
 
 5. Such being the case, the movements of such a ruler, 
 illustrating his institutions, constitute an example to the 
 empire for ages. His acts are for ages a law to the em- 
 pire. His words are for ages a lesson to the empire. 
 Those who are far from him, look longingly for him ; and 
 those who are near him, are never wearied with him. 
 
 6. It is said in the Book of Poetry, — "Not disliked 
 
 " three important things." K : ang-shing says they are " the ceremonies 
 of the three kings," i.e. the founders of the three dynasties, Hea, Yin, 
 and Chow. This view we may safely reject. Choo He makes them to he 
 the imperial prerogatives, mentioned in the last chapter, paragraph 2. 
 This view may, possibly, be correct. But I incline to the view of the 
 commentator Luh, of the T'ang dynasty, that they refer to the virtue, 
 station, and time, which we have seen, in the notes on the last chapter r 
 to be necessary to one who would give law to the empire. Maou men- 
 tions this view, indicating his own approval of it. 3. By " the Ruler" is 
 intended the emperor sage of paragraph 1. "Attestation of his institu- 
 tions is given by the masses of the people ; " i.e. the people believe in 
 Buch a ruler, and follow his regulations, thus attesting their adaptation to 
 the general requirements of humanity. " The three kings," as mentioned 
 above, are the founders of the three dynasties, viz. the great Yu, T'ang, 
 the Successful, and Wan and Woo, who are so often joined together, and 
 spoken of as one. I hardly know what to make of ; ' He sets them up be. 
 fore Heaven and Earth." Choo He says : — " Heaven and Earth here simply 
 mean right reason. The meaning is — I set up my institutions here, and 
 there is nothing in them contradictory to right reason." This, of course, 
 is explaining the text away. But who can do anything better with it ? 
 I interpret " He presents himself with them before spiritual beings " with 
 reference to sacrificial institutions, or the general trial of a sovereign's 
 institutions by the efficacy of his sacrifice, in being responded to by the 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 315 
 
 there, not tired of here, from day to day and night to 
 night, will they perpetuate their praise." Never has 
 there been a ruler, who did not realize this description, 
 that obtained an early renown throughout the empire. 
 
 XXX. 1. Chung-ne handed down the doctrines of 
 Yaou and Shun, as if they had been his ancestors, and 
 elegantly displayed the regulations of Wan and Woo, 
 taking them as his model. Above, he harmonized with 
 the times of heaven, and below, he was conformed to the 
 water and land. 
 
 2. He may be compared to heaven and earth, in their 
 supporting and containing, their overshadowing and cur- 
 taining, all things. Re may be compared to the' four sea- 
 sons in their alternating progress, and to the sun and 
 moon in their successive shining*. 
 
 3. All things are nourished together without their injur- 
 ing one another. The courses of the seasons, and of the 
 sun and moon, are pursued without any collision among' 
 them. The smaller energies are like river currents ; the 
 greater energies are seen in mighty transformations. It 
 is this which makes heaven and earth so great. 
 
 XXXI. 1. It is only he, possessed of all sagely quali-^ 
 
 various spirits whom he worships. This is the view of Ho Ke-chen. and 
 is preferable to any other I have met with. 6. See the She-king, Pt IV. 
 Bk I. Sect. II, iii. 2. It is a great descent to quote that ode here, how- 
 ever, for it is only praising the feudal princes of Chow. " There " means 
 their own States ; and " here " is the imperial court. 
 
 30. The eulogium of Confucius, as the beau-ideal of the per- 
 fectly SINCERE MAN", THE SAGE, MAKING A TERNION WITH HEAVEN 
 and Earth. 1. Chung-ne — See chapter ii. The various predicates here 
 are explained by K ; ang-shing, and Ying-ta, with reference to the " Spring 
 and Autumn," making them descriptive of it, but such a view will not 
 stand examination. Chinese writers observe that in what he handed 
 down, Confucius began with Yaou and Shun, because the times of Fuh-he 
 and Shin-nung were very remote. "Was not the true reason this, tbat he 
 knew of nothing in China more remote than Yaou and Shun ? By ' ; the 
 times of heaven " are denoted the ceaseless regular movement, which 
 appears to belong to the heavens; and by the "water and the land," we 
 are to understand the earth, in contradistinction from heaven, supposed 
 to be fixed and immovable. The scope of the paragraph is, that the" 
 qualities of former sages, of Heaven, and of Earth, were all concentrated 
 in Confucius. 2. " This describes," says Choo He, " the virtue of the 
 sage." 3. The wonderful and mysterious course of nature, or — as the 
 Chinese conceive — of the operations of Heaven and Earth, are described 
 to illustrate the previous comparison of Confucius. 
 
 31. The eulogium of Confucius continued. Choo He says that- 
 
316 THE DOCTRINE OP THE MEAN. 
 
 ties, that can exist under heaven, who shows himself 
 quick in apprehension, clear in discernment, of far-reach- 
 ing intelligence and all-embracing knowledge, fitted to 
 exercise rule ; magnanimous, generous, benign, and mild, 
 fitted to exercise forbearance ; impulsive, energetic, firm, 
 And enduring, fitted to maintain a firm hold ; self-ad- 
 justed, grave, never swerving from the Mean, and correct, 
 fitted to command reverence; accomplished, distinctive, 
 concentrative, and searching, fitted to exercise discrim- 
 ination. 
 
 2. All-embracing is he and vast, deep and active as a 
 fountain, sending forth in their due seasons his virtues. 
 
 3. All-embracing and vast, he is like heaven. Deep 
 And active as a fountain, he is like the abyss. He is seen, 
 and the people all reverence him; he speaks, and the 
 people all believe him; he acts, and the people are all 
 pleased with him. 
 
 4. Therefore, his fame overspreads the Middle kingdom, 
 And extends to all barbarous tribes. Wherever ships and 
 .carriages reach ; wherever the strength of man pene- 
 trates ; wherever the heavens overshadow and the earth 
 
 this chapter is an expansion of the clause in the last paragraph of the 
 preceding, — "The smaller energies are like river currents." Even if it 
 he so, it will still have reference to Confucius, the subject of the preceding 
 .chapter. K'ang-shing's account of the first paragraph is : — " It describes 
 how no one, who has not virtue such as this, can rule the empire, being a 
 lamentation over the fact that while Confucius had the virtue, he did not 
 have the appointment," that is, of Heaven, to occupy tbe throne. Maou's 
 account of the whole chapter is : — " Had it been that Chung-ne pos- 
 sessed the empire, then Chung-ne was a perfect sage. Being a perfect 
 sage, he would certainly have been able to put forth the greater energies, 
 and the smaller energies of his virtue, so as to rule the world, and show 
 himself the coequal of Heaven and Earth, in the manner here described." 
 Considering the whole chapter to be thus descriptive of Confucius, I was 
 inclined to translate in the past tense, — " It was only he, who could," &c. 
 >Still the author has expressed himself so indefinitely, that I have preferred 
 translating the whole, that it may read as the description of the ideal 
 man, who found, or might have found, his realization in Confucius. 1. 
 The sage here takes the place of the man possessed of entire sincerity. 
 Collie translates : — " It is only the most HOLY man." Remusat : — " II n'y 
 a dans Vunivcrs axCuii SAINT, qui. . . So the Jesuits: " Hie commemorat 
 et commendat summc SANCTI virtiitcs." But holiness and sanctity are 
 terms which indicate the humble and pious conformity of human character 
 and life to the mind and will of God. The Chinese idea of the " sage 
 man" is far enough from this. 3. "He is seen;" — with reference, it 
 js said, to "the robes and cap," the visibilities of the ruler. "He 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 317 
 
 sustains; wherever the sun and moon shine; wherever 
 frosts and dews fall : — all who have blood and breath un- 
 feignedly honour and love him. Hence it is said, — u He 
 is the equal of Heaven." 
 
 XXXII. 1. It is only the individual possessed of the 
 most entire sincerity that can exist under heaven, who 
 can adjust the great invariable relations of mankind, 
 establish the great fundamental virtues of humanity, and 
 know the transforming and nurturing operations of Hea- 
 ven and Earth ; — shall this individual have any being or 
 anything beyond himself on which he depends ? 
 
 2. Call him man in his ideal, how earnest is he ! Call 
 him an abyss, how deep is he ! Call him Heaven, how 
 vast is he ! 
 
 3. Who can know liim, but he who is indeed quick in 
 
 speaks;" — with reference to his "instructions, declarations, orders." 
 " He acts ; " — with reference to his " ceremonies, music, punishments, and 
 acts of government." 4. This paragraph is the glowing expression of 
 grand conceptions. 
 
 32. The eulogium of Confucius concluded. "The chapter," 
 says Choo He, " expands the clause in the last paragraph of chapter xxix., 
 that the greater energies are seen in mighty transformations." The sage 
 is here not merely equal to Heaven : — he is another Heaven, an inde- 
 pendent being, a God. 1. King and Lun are processes in the manipu- 
 lation of silk, the former denoting the first separating of the threads, 
 and the latter the subsequent bringing of them together, according 
 to their kinds. — " The great invariabilities of the world." I translate 
 the expansion of the last clause which is given in " Confucius Sin* 
 arum Philosoplius : " "The perfectly holy man of this kind, therefore, 
 since he is such and so great, bow can it in any way be, that there is any- 
 thing in the whole universe on which he leans, or in which he inheres, or 
 on which he behoves to depend, or to be assisted by it in the first place, 
 that he may afterwards operate ? " 2. The three clauses refer severally 
 to the three in the preceding paragraph. The first it speaks of is virtuous 
 humanity in all its dimensions and capacities, existing perfectly in the 
 sage. Of the sage being " a deep," I do not know what to say. The old 
 commentators interpret the second and third clauses, as if there were an 
 "as" before "deep" and "heaven," against which Choo He reclaims, 
 and justly. In one work we read : — " Heaven and man are not originally 
 two, and man is separate from Heaven only by his having this body. Of 
 their seeing and hearing, their thinking and revolving, their moving and 
 acting, men all say — It is from ME. Every one thus brings out his SELF, 
 and his smallness becomes known. But let the body be taken away, and 
 all would be Heaven. How can the body be taken away 1 Simply by 
 subduing and removing that self-having of the ego. This is the taking 
 it away. That being done, so wide and great as Heaven is, my mind is 
 also so wide and great, and production and transformation cannot be 
 
318 THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 
 
 apprehension, clear in discernment, of far-reaching intelli- 
 gence, and all-embracing knowledge, possessing all hea- 
 venly virtue ? 
 
 XXXIII. 1. It is said in the Book of Poetry, « Over 
 Jier embroidered robe she puts a plain, single garment," 
 intimating a dislike to the display of the elegance of the 
 former. Just so, it is the way of the superior man to 
 prefer the concealment of his virtue, while it daily be- 
 comes more illustrious, and it is the way of the mean man 
 to seek notoriety, while he daily goes more and more to 
 ruin. It is characteristic of the superior man, appearing 
 insipid, yet never to produce satiety ; while showing a 
 simple negligence, yet to have his accomplishments re- 
 cognized; while seemingly plain, yet to be discriminating. 
 He knows how what is distant lies in what is near. He 
 knows where the wind proceeds from. He knows how 
 what is minute becomes manifested. Such an one, we 
 may be sure, will enter into virtue. 
 
 2. It is said in the Book of Poetry, " Although the fish 
 sinks and lies at the bottom, it is still quite clearly seen." 
 
 separated from me. Hence it is said — Horn vast is kbs Heaven." Into 
 such wandering mazes of mysterious speculation are Chinese thinkers 
 conducted by the text: — only to be lost in them. As it is said, in para- 
 graph 3, that only the sage can know the sage, we may be glad to leave 
 him. 
 
 33. The commencement and the completion of a virtuous 
 course. The chapter is understood to contain a summary of the whole 
 Work, and to have a special relation to the first chapter. There, a com- 
 mencement is made with Heaven, as the origin of our nature, in which are 
 grounded the laws of virtuous conduct. This ends with Heaven, and ex- 
 hibits the progress of virtue, advancing step by step in man, till it is 
 equal to that of High Heaven. There are eight citations from the Book 
 of Poetry, but to make the passages suit his purpose, the author allegorizes 
 them, or alters their meaning, at his pleasure. Origen took no more 
 license with tbe Scriptures of the Old and New Testament than Tsze-sze 
 and even Confucius himself do with the Book of Poetry. 1. The first 
 requisite in the 2^ursuit of virtue is, that the learner think of his own 
 improvement, and do not act from a regard to others. See the She-king, 
 Pt I. Bk V. iii. 1. The ode is understood to express the condolence of the 
 people with the wife of the duke of Wei, worthy of, but denied, the affec- 
 tion of her husband. 2. The superior man going on to virtue, is watchful 
 over himself when he is alone. See the She-king, Pt II. Bk IV. viii. 11. The 
 ode appears to have been written by some officer who was bewailing the dis- 
 order and misgovernment of his day. This is one of the comparisons which 
 he uses; — the people are like fish in a shallow pond, unable to save them- 
 selves by diving to the bottom. The application of this to the superior 
 
THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 319 
 
 Therefore, tlie superior man examines his heart, that there 
 may be nothing wrong there, and that he may have no 
 cause for dissatisfaction with himself. That wherein the 
 superior man cannot be equalled is simply this, — his ivork 
 which other men cannot see. 
 
 3. It is said in the Book of Poetry, " Looked at in 
 your apartment, be there free from shame, where you are 
 exposed to the light of heaven." Therefore, the superior 
 man, even when he is not moving, has a feeling of rever- 
 ence, and while he speaks not, he has the feeling of truth- 
 fulness. 
 
 4. It is said in the Book of Poetry, " In silence is the 
 offering presented, and the spirit approached to ; there is 
 not the slightest contention." Therefore, the superior 
 man does not use rewards, and the people are stimulated 
 to virtue. He does not show anger, and the people are 
 awed more than by hatchets and battle-axes. 
 
 5. It is said in the Book of Poetry, " What needs no 
 display is virtue. All the princes imitate it. Therefore, 
 the superior man being sincere and reverential, *the whole 
 world is conducted to a state of happy tranquillity. 
 
 man, dealing with himself, in the bottom of his soul, so to speak, and 
 thereby realizing what is good and right, is very far-fetched. 3. We 
 have here substantially the same subject as in the last paragraph. The 
 ode is the same which is quoted in chapter xvi. 4, and the citation is from 
 the same stanza of it. We might translate it : 
 
 " When looked at in your chamber, 
 Are you there as free from shame in the house's leak ?" 
 
 41 The house's leak," according to Choo He, was the north-west corner of 
 ancient apartments, the spot most secret and retired. But the single 
 panes, in the roofs of Chinese houses, go now by the name, the light of 
 heaven leaking in through them. Looking at the whole stanza of the 
 •ode, we must conclude that there is reference to the light of heaven, and 
 the inspection of spiritual beings, as specially connected with the spot 
 intended. 4. The result of the processes described in the two preceding 
 paragraphs. See the She-king, Pt IV. Bk III. ii. 2. The ode describes 
 the imperial worship of T'ang, the founder of the Shang dynasty. The 
 first clause belongs to the emperor's act and demeanour ; the second to the 
 effect of these on his assistants in the service. They were awed to rever- 
 ence, and had no striving among themselves. The "hatchet and battle-axe'' 
 were anciently given by the emperor to a prince, as symbolic of his in- 
 vestiture with a plenipotent authority to punish the rebellious and refrac- 
 tory. The second instrument is described as a large-handled axe, eight 
 catties in weight. I call it a battle-axe, because it was with one that king 
 Woo despatched the tyrant Chow. 5. The same subject continued. See 
 
320 THE DOCTRINE OP THE MEAN. 
 
 6. It is said in the Book of Poetry, " I regard with 
 pleasure your brilliant virtue, making no great display ot 
 itself in sounds and appearances." The Master said, 
 " Among the appliances to transform the people, sounds 
 and appearances are but trivial influences. It is said in 
 another ode, ' Virtue is light as a hair/ Still, a hair will 
 admit of comparison as to its size. ' The doings of the 
 supreme Heaven have neither sound nor smell.'' — That is 
 perfect virtue. " 
 
 The above is the thirty -third chapter. Tsze-sze having 
 carried his descriptions to the extremest 'point in the 
 preceding chapters, turns back in this, and examines 
 the source of his subject ; and then again from the 
 ivork of the learner, free from all selfishness, and 
 watchful over himself when he is alone, he carries out 
 his description, till by easy steps he brings it to the 
 consummation of the whole empire tranquillized by 
 simple and sincere reverentialness. He farther eulo- 
 gizes its mysteriousness, till he speaks of it at last as 
 without sound or smell. He here takes up the sum of 
 his whole Work, and speaks of it in a compendious 
 manner. Most deep and earnest was he in thus going 
 again over his ground, admonishing and instructing 
 men : — shall the learner not do his idmost in the study 
 of the Work ? 
 
 the She-king, Pt IV. Bk I. Sect. I. iv. 3. But in the She-king we must 
 translate, — " There is nothing more illustrious than the virtue of the sove- 
 reign, all the princes will follow it." Tsze-sze puts another meaning on 
 the words, and makes them introductory to the next paragraph. The 
 11 superior man " must here be " he who has attained to the sovereignty 
 of the empire," the subject of chapter xxix. Thus it is that a constant 
 shuffle of terms seems to be going on, and the subject before us is all at 
 once raised to a higher and inaccessible platform. 6. Virtue in its 
 highest degree and influence. See the She-king, Pt III. Bk I. viii. 7. 
 The " J" is God, who announces to king Wan the reasons why he had 
 called him to execute his judgments. Wan's virtue, not sounded nor em- 
 blazoned, might come near to the being without display of the last para- 
 graph, but Confucius fixes on the word " great " to show its shortcoming. 
 It had some, though not large exhibition. He therefore quotes again 
 from Pt III. Bk III. vi. G, though away from the original intention of the 
 words. But it does not satisfy him that virtue should be likened even to 
 a hair. He therefore finally quotes Pt III. Bk I. i. 7, where the imper- 
 ceptible working of Heaven, in producing the overthrow of the Yin 
 dynasty, is set forth as without sound or smell. That is his highest con- 
 ception of the nature and power of virtue. 
 
INDEXES. 
 
 INDEX I. 
 
 OF SUBJECTS IN THE CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 
 
 Ability, various of Confucius, IX. vi. 
 Able officers, eight, of Chow, XVIII. 
 
 xi. 
 Abroad, when a son may go, IV. xix. 
 Accomplishments come after duty, I. 
 
 vi. ; blended with solid excellence, 
 
 VI. xvi. 
 Achievement of government, the great, 
 
 XIII. ix. 
 Acknowledgment of Confucius in es- 
 timating himself, VII. xxxii. 
 Acting heedlessly, against, VII. xxvii. 
 Actions should always be right, XIV. 
 
 iv. ; of Confucius were lessons and 
 
 laws, XVII. xix. 
 Adaptation for government of Yen 
 
 Yung, &c, VI. i. ; of Tsze-loo, &c, 
 
 VI. vi. 
 Admiration, Yen Yuen's, of Confucius' 
 
 doctrines, IX. x. 
 Admonition of Confucius to Tsze-loo, 
 
 XI. xiv. 
 Advanced years, improvement difficult 
 
 in, XVII. xxvi. 
 Adversity, men are known in times of, 
 
 IX. xxvii. 
 Advice against useless expenditure, 
 
 XI. xiii. 
 Age, the vice to be guarded against in, 
 
 XVI. vii. 
 Aim, the chief, I. xvi. 
 Aims, of Tsze-loo, Tsang-sih, &c, XI. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 An all-pervading unity, the knowledge 
 of, Confucius' aim, XV. ii. 
 
 Anarchy of Confucius' time, III. v. 
 
 Ancient rites, how Confucius cleaved 
 to, III. xvii. 
 
 Ancients, their slowness to speak, IV. 
 
 xxu. 
 
 Antiquity, Confucius' fondness for 
 VII. xix. ; decay of the monument* 
 of, III. ix. 
 
 Anxiety of parents, II. vi. ; of Con- 
 fucius about the training of his dis- 
 ciples, V. ii. 
 
 Appearances, fair, are suspicious, I. 
 iii., and XVII. xvii. 
 
 Appellations for the wife of a prince, 
 XVI. xiv. 
 
 Appreciation, what conduct will in- 
 sure, XV. v. 
 
 Approaches of the unlikely, readily 
 met by Confucius, VII. xxviii. 
 
 Approbation, Confucius', of Nan Yung, 
 XI. v. 
 
 Aptitude of the Keun-tsze, II. xii. 
 
 Archery, contention in, III. vii. ; a 
 discipline of virtue, III. xvi. 
 
 Ardent and cautious disciples, Con- 
 fucius obliged to be content with, 
 XIII. xxi. 
 
 Ardour of Tsze-loo, V. vi. 
 
 Art of governing, XII. xiv. 
 
 Assent without reformation, a hopeless 
 case, IX. xxiii. 
 
 Attachment to Confucius of Yen Y uen, 
 XI. xxiii. 
 
 Attainment, different stages of, VI. 
 xviii. 
 
 Attainments of Hwuy, like those of 
 Confucius, VII. x. 
 
 Attributes of the true scholar, XIX. i. 
 
 Auspicious omens, Confucius gives up 
 hope for want of, IX. viii. 
 
 Avenge murder, how Confucius wished 
 to, XIV. xxii. 
 
 Bad name, the danger of a, XIX. xx. 
 Barbarians, how to civilize, IX. xiii. 
 
 21 
 
322 
 
 SUBJECTS IN THE ANALECTS. 
 
 INDEX I. 
 
 Becloudings of the mind, XVII. viii. 
 Bed, manner of Confucius in, X. xvi. 
 Benefits derived from studying the 
 
 Odes, XVII. ix. 
 Benevolence, to be exercised with pru- 
 dence, VI. xxiv. ; and wisdom, XII. 
 
 xxii. 
 Blind, consideration of Confucius for 
 
 the, XV. xli. _ 
 Boldness, excessive, of Tsze-loo, VII. 
 
 x. 
 Burial, Confucius' dissatisfaction with 
 
 Hwuy's, XI. x. 
 Business, every man should mind his 
 
 own, VIII. xiv., and XIV. xxvii. 
 
 Calmness of Confucius in danger, VII. 
 
 xxii. 
 Capacity of Mang Kung-ch'o, XIV. 
 
 xii. 
 Capacities of the superior and inferior 
 
 man, XV. xxxiii. 
 Careful, about what things Confucius 
 
 was, VII. xii. 
 Carriage, Confucius at and in his, X. 
 
 xvii. ; Confucius refuses to sell his, 
 
 to assist a needless expenditure, XI. 
 
 vii. 
 Caution, advantages of, IV. xxiii. ; 
 
 repentance avoided by, I. xiii. ; 
 
 in speaking, XII. xii-, and XV. 
 
 vii. 
 Ceremonies and music, XI. i. ; end of, 
 
 I. xii. ; impropriety in, III. x. ; in- 
 fluence of in government, IV. xiii. ; 
 regulated according to their object, 
 III. iv. ; secondary and ornamental, 
 
 III. viii. ; vain without virtue, III. 
 iii. 
 
 Character (s), admirable, of Tsze-yu, 
 &c, XV. vi. ; differences in, owing 
 to habit, XVII. ii. ; different, of 
 two dukes, XIV. xvi. ; disliked by 
 Confucius, and Tsze-kung, XVII. 
 xxiv. ; how Confucius dealt with dif- 
 ferent, XI. xxi. ; how to determine, 
 
 II. x. ; lofty, of Shun and Yu, VIII. 
 xviii. ; of four disciples, XI. xvii. ; 
 of Kung-shuh Wan, XIV. xiv. ; of 
 Tan-t'ae Meen-ming, VI. xii. ; vari- 
 ous elements of in Confucius, VII. 
 xxxvii. ; what may be learnt from, 
 
 IV. xvii. 
 
 Characteristics, of perfect virtue, XIII. 
 xix. ; of ten disciples, XI. ii. 
 
 Claimed, what Confucius, VII. xxxiii. 
 
 Classes of men, in relation to know- 
 ledge, four, XVI. ix. ; only two 
 whom practice cannot change, XVII. 
 iii. 
 
 Climbing the heavens, equalling Con- 
 fucius like, XIX. xxv. 
 
 Common practices, some indifferent 
 
 and others not, IX. iii. 
 Communications to be proportioned to 
 
 susceptibility, VI. xix. 
 Comparison of Sze and Shang, XI. xv. 
 Comparisons, against making, XIV. 
 
 xxxi. 
 Compass and vigour of mind necessary 
 
 to a scholar, VIII. vii. 
 Compassion, how a criminal-judge 
 
 should cherish, XVIII. xix. 
 Complete man, of the, XIV. xiii. ; 
 
 virtue, I. XIV., and VI. xvi. 
 Concealment, not practised by Con- 
 fucius with his disciples, VII. xxiii. 
 Concubines, difficult to treat, XVII. 
 
 xxv. 
 
 Condemnation of Tsang . Woo-Chung, 
 XIV. xv. ; of Confucius for seeking 
 employment, XIV. xli. 
 
 Condition, only virtue adapts a man 
 to his, IV. ii. 
 
 Conduct that will be everywhere ap- 
 preciated, XV. v. 
 
 Confidence, enjoying, necessary to serv- 
 ing and to ruling, XIX. x. 
 
 Connate, Confucius' knowledge not, 
 VII. xix. 
 
 Consideration, of Confucius for the 
 blind, XV. xli. ; a generous, of 
 others, recommended, XVIII. x. 
 
 Consolation to Tsze-new, when anxi- 
 ous about his brother, XII. v. 
 
 Constancy of mind, importance of, 
 XIII. xxii. 
 
 Constant Mean, the, VI. xxvii. 
 
 Contemporaries of Confucius described, 
 XVI. xi. 
 
 Contention, the superior man avoids, 
 III. vii. 
 
 Contentment in poverty of Tsze-loo, 
 IX. xxvi. ; of Confucius with his 
 condition, IX. xi. ; of the officer 
 King, XIII. viii. 
 
 Contrast of Hwuy and Tsze, XI. xviii. 
 
 Conversation, with Chung-kung, XII. 
 ii. ; with Tsze-chang, XII. vi., vii.; 
 XX. ii. ; with Tsze-kung, XIV. xviii.; 
 with Tsze-loo, XIV. xiii., xvii. ; 
 with Tsze-new, XII. iii. ; with Yen 
 Yuen, XII. i. 
 
 Countenance, the, in filial piety, I. 
 viii. 
 
 Courage, not doing right from want of, 
 II. xxiv. 
 
 Criminal judge, should cherish com- 
 passion, XIX. xix. 
 
 Culpability of not reforming known 
 faults, XV. xxix. 
 
 Danger, Confucius assured in time of 
 IX. v. 
 
INDEX 'I. 
 
 SUBJECTS IN THE ANALECTS. 
 
 323 
 
 Dead, offices to the, I. ix. 
 
 Death, Confucius evades a question 
 ahout, XI. xi. ; how Confucius felt 
 Hwuy's, XI. viii., ix. ; without re- 
 gret, IV. viii. 
 
 Declined, what Confucius, to be reck- 
 oned, VII. xxxiii. 
 
 Defects of former times become modern 
 vices, XVII. xvi. 
 
 Defence, of himself by Confucius, XIV. 
 xxxvi. ; of his own method of teach- 
 ing, by Tsze-hea, XIX. xii. ; of 
 Tsze-loo, by Confucius, XI. xiv. 
 
 Degeneracy, of Confucius' age, VI. 
 xiv. ; instance of, XV. xxv. 
 
 Delusions, how to discover, XII. x., 
 xxi. 
 
 Demeanour of Confucius, X. i. to v., 
 xiii. 
 
 Departure of Confucius, from Loo, 
 XVIII. iv.; from Ts'e, XVIII. 
 iii. 
 
 Depreciation, Confucius above the reach 
 of, XIX. xxiv. 
 
 Description of himself as a learner, by 
 Confucius, VII. xviii. 
 
 Desire and ability, requiredin disciples, 
 VII. viii. 
 
 Development of knowledge, II. xi. 
 
 Differences of character, owing to 
 habit, XVII. ii. 
 
 Dignity, necessary in a ruler, XV. 
 xxxii. 
 
 Disciples, anxiety about training, V. 
 xxi. 
 
 Discrimination of Confucius in reward- 
 ing officers, VI. iii. ; without sus- 
 piciousness, the merit of, XIV. 
 xxxiii. 
 
 Dispersion of the musicians of Loo, 
 XVIII. xi. 
 
 Distinction, notoriety not, XII. xx. 
 
 Distress, the superior man above, XV. i. 
 
 Divine mission, Confucius' assurance 
 of a, VII. xxii., IX. v. 
 
 Doctrine of Confucius, admiration of, 
 IX. x. 
 
 Dreams of Confucius affected by dis- 
 appointments, VII. v. 
 
 Dress, rules of Confucius in regard to 
 his, X. vi. 
 
 Dying counsels to a man in high sta- 
 tion, VIII. iv. 
 
 Dynasties, Yin, Hea, and Chow, VIII. 
 iv., III. xx. ; Yin and Hea, III. ix. ; 
 Chow, &c, III. xiv. ; certain rules 
 exemplified in the ancient ; eight 
 able officers of the Chow, XVIII. 
 xi. ; three worthies of the Yin, 
 XVIII. i. ; the three, XV. xxiv. 
 
 Earnest student, Hwuy the, IX. xix. 
 
 Earnestness in teaching of Confucius. 
 
 IX. vii. 
 Egotism, instance of freedom from, 
 
 VIII. v. 
 Eight able officers of the Chow dynasty, 
 
 XVIII. xi. 
 
 Emolument, learning for, II. xviii. , 
 shameful to care only for, XIV. i. 
 
 End, the, crowns the work, IX. xxi. 
 
 Enjoyment, advantageous and injuri- 
 ous sources of, XVI. v. 
 
 Equalled, Confucius cannot be, XIX. 
 xxv. 
 
 Error, how acknowledged by Confu- 
 cius, VII. XXX. 
 
 Essential, what is, in different services, 
 III. xxvi. 
 
 Estimate, Confucius' humble, of him- 
 self, VII. ii., iii., IX. xv., XIV. 
 xxx. ; of what he could do if em- 
 ployed, XIII. x. 
 
 Estimation of others, not a man's con- 
 cern, XIV. xxxii. 
 
 Example, better than force, II. xx. ; 
 government efficient by, &c, XII. 
 xvii., xviii., xix. ; the secret of 
 rulers' success, XIII. i. ; value of, 
 in those in high stations, VIII. ii. 
 
 Excess and defect equally wrong, XI. 
 xv. 
 
 Expenditure, against useless, XI. xiii. 
 
 External, the, may be predicated from 
 the internal, XIV. v. 
 
 Extravagant speech, hard to be made 
 good, XIV. xxi. 
 
 Fair appearances are suspicious, I. iii., 
 and XVII, xvii. 
 
 Fasting, rules observed by Confucius 
 when, X. vii. 
 
 Father's vices, no discredit to a virtu- 
 ous son, VI. iv. 
 
 Faults of men, characteristic of their 
 class, IV. vii. 
 
 Feelings, need not always be spoken, 
 XIV. iv. 
 
 Fidelity of his disciples, Confucius' 
 memory of, XI. ii. 
 
 Filial piety, I. xi., IV. xix., xx., xxi. ; 
 argument for, II. vi. ; cheerfulness 
 in, II. viii. ; the foundation of vir- 
 tuous practice, I. ii. ; of Meen Tsze- 
 keen, XI. iv. ; of Mang Chwang, 
 
 XIX. xviii. ; reverence in, II. vii. ; 
 seen in care of the person, VIII. iii. 
 
 Firmness of superior man, based on 
 
 right, XV. xxxvi. 
 Five excellent things to be honoured, 
 
 XX. ii. ; things which constitute 
 perfect virtue, XVII. vi. 
 
 Flattery of sacrificing to others' an- 
 cestors, II. xxiv. 
 
 21 * 
 
324 
 
 SUBJECTS IN THE ANALECTS. 
 
 INDEX I. 
 
 Food, rules of Confucius about his, X. 
 viii. 
 
 Foreknowledge, how far possible, II. 
 xxiii. 
 
 Forethought, necessity of, XV. xi. 
 
 Formalism, against, III. iv. 
 
 Former times, Confucius' preference 
 for, XI. i. 
 
 Forward youth, Confucius' employ- 
 ment of a, XIV. xlvii. 
 
 Foundation of virtue, I. ii. 
 
 Four bad things, to be put away, XX. 
 ii. ; classes of men in relation to 
 knowledge, XVI. ix. 
 
 Frailties from which Confucius was 
 free, IX. iv. 
 
 Fraternal submission, I. ii. 
 
 Friends, rules for choosing, I. viii., and 
 IX. xxiv. ; trait of Confucius in re- 
 lation to, X. xv. 
 
 Friendship, bow to maintain, V. xvi. ; 
 Tsze-chang's virtue too high for, 
 XIX. xvi. 
 
 Friendships, what, advantageous and 
 injurious, XVI. iv. 
 
 Frivolous talkers, against, XV. xvi. 
 
 Funeral rites, Confucius' dissatisfac- 
 tion with Hwuy's, XI. x. ; to pa- 
 rents, I. ix. 
 
 Furnace, the, and the S. W. Corner, of 
 a house, III. xiii. 
 
 Gain, the mean man's concern, IV. 
 xvi. 
 
 Generosity of Pih-e and Shuh-ts'e, 
 V. xxii. 
 
 Glib-tongued, Confucius not, XIV. 
 xxxiv. 
 
 Glibness of tongue and beauty, es- 
 teemed by the age, VI. xiv. 
 
 Glossing faults, a proof of the mean 
 man, XIX. viii. 
 
 Gluttony and idleness, case of, hope- 
 less, XVII. xxii. 
 
 God, address to, XX. i. 
 
 Golden rule, expressed with negatives, 
 V. xi., XV. xxiii. 
 
 Good fellowship of Confucius, VII. 
 xxxi. 
 
 Good, learning leads to, VIII. xii. 
 
 Good man, the, XI. xix. ; we must 
 not judge a man to be, from his dis- 
 course, XI. xx. 
 
 Governing, the art of, XII. xiv. ; with- 
 out personal effort, XV. iv. 
 
 Government, good, seen from its effects, 
 XIII. xvi. ; good, how only obtained, 
 XII. xi. ; may be conducted effi- 
 ciently, how, XX. ii. ; moral in its 
 end, XII. xvii. ; principles of, I. v. ; 
 requisites of, XII. vii. 
 
 Gradual progress of Confucius, II. iv.; 
 
 communication of his doctrine, V. 
 
 xii. 
 Grief, Confucius vindicates his, for 
 
 Hwuy, XI. ix. 
 Guiding principle of Confucius, XVIII. 
 
 viii. 
 
 Happiness of Confucius among his 
 disciples, XI. xii. ; of Hwuy in 
 poverty, VI. ix. 
 
 Haste, not to be desired in government, 
 X11I. xvii. 
 
 Heaven, Confucius rested in the order- 
 ing of, XIV. xxxviii. ; knew him, 
 Confucius thought that, XIV. 
 xxxvii. ; no remedy for sin against r 
 III. xiii. 
 
 Hesitating faith, Tsze-chang on, XIX. 
 ii. 
 
 High aim proper to a student, VI. x. ; 
 things, too much minding of, XIX. 
 xv. 
 
 Home, Confucius at, X. xvi.; how 
 Confucius could be not at, XVII. xx. 
 
 Hope, Confucius gives up, for want of 
 auspicious omens, IX. viii. 
 
 Hopeless case, of gluttony and idleness, 
 XVII. xxii. ; of those who assent 
 to advice without reforming, IX. 
 xxiii. ; of those who will not think, 
 XV. xv. 
 
 House and wall, the comparison of a, 
 XIX. xxiii. 
 
 Humble claim of Confucius for himself, 
 V. xxvii. ; estimate of himself, VII. 
 ii., hi., IX. xv., XIV. xxx. 
 
 Humility of Confucius, VII. xxvi. 
 
 Hundred years, what good govern- 
 ment could effect in a, XIII. xi. 
 
 Idleness of Tsae Yu, V. ix. ; case of r 
 hopeless, XVII. xxii. 
 
 Ignorant man's remark about Con- 
 fucius, IX. ii. 
 
 Impatience, danger of, XV. xxvi. 
 
 Imperial rites, usurpation of, III. i. ? 
 ii., vi. 
 
 Improvement, self, II. xviii. ; difficult 
 in advanced years, XVII. xxvi. 
 
 Incompetency, our own, a fit cause of 
 concern, XV. xviii. 
 
 Indifference of the officer King to 
 riches, XIII. viii. 
 
 Indignation of Confucius at the usurp- 
 ation of imperial rites, III. i., ii. ; at 
 the support of usurpation and extor- 
 tion by a disciple, XI. xvi. ; at the 
 wrong overcoming the right, XVII. 
 xviii. 
 
 Inferior pursuits, inapplicable to great 
 objects, XlX.iv. 
 
INDEX I. 
 
 SUBJECTS IN THE ANALECTS. 
 
 325 
 
 Instruction, how a man may find, 
 VII. xxi. 
 
 Instructions to a son about govern- 
 ment, XVIII. x. 
 
 Insubordination, worse than meanness, 
 
 VII. xxxv. ; different causes of. 
 
 VIII. x. 
 
 Intelligence, what constitutes, XII. vi. 
 Intercourse, character formed by, V. 
 
 ii. ; of Confucius with others, traits 
 
 of, X. xi. ; with others, different 
 
 opinions on, XIX. iii. 
 Internal, the, not predicable from the 
 
 external, XIV. v. 
 Ironical admonition, XIII. xiv. 
 
 Jealousy of others' talents, against, 
 XV. x., iii. 
 
 Joy of Confucius independent of out- 
 ward circumstances, VII. xv. 
 
 Judgment of Confucius concerning 
 Tsze-ch'an, &c, XIV. x. ; of retired 
 worthy, on Confucius, XIV. xlii. 
 
 JCevn-tsze. See Superior man. 
 Killing, not to be talked of by rulers, 
 
 XII. xix. 
 Knowing and not knowing, II. xvii. 
 Knowledge, disclaimed by Confucius, 
 
 IX. vii. ; four classes of men in re- 
 lation to, XVI. ix, ; not lasting with- 
 out virtue, XV. xxxii. ; of Confucius 
 not connate, VIII. xix. ; sources of 
 Confucius', XIX. xxii. ; subserves 
 benevolence, II. xxii. 
 
 Lament over moral error added to 
 natural defect, VIII. xvi. ; sickness 
 of Pih-new, Vi. viii. ; persistence 
 in error, V. xxvi. ; rarity of the love 
 of virtue, IV. vi. ; the rash reply of 
 Tsae Go, III. xxi. ; the wayward- 
 ness of men, VI. xiv. ; of Confucius, 
 that men did not know him, XIV. 
 xxxvii. 
 
 Language, the chief virtue of, XV. xl. 
 
 Learner, the, I. i., xiv. ; Confucius 
 describes himself as a, VII. xviii. 
 
 Learning and propriety combined, VI. 
 xxv. and XII. xv.; Confucius' fond-- 
 ness for, V. xxvii. ; different motives 
 for, XIV. xxv. ; end of, II. xviii. ; 
 how to be pursued, VI. xi. and 
 VIII. xvii.; in order to virtue, 
 XIX. vi. ; necessity of, to complete 
 virtue, XVII. viii. ; quickly leads 
 to good, VIII. xii. ; should not 
 •cease or be intermitted, IX. xviii. ; 
 substance of, I. vii. ; the indications 
 of a real love of, XIX. v. ; the stu- 
 dent's workshop, XIX. vii. 
 Lesson, of prudence, XIV. ix. ; to 
 
 parents and ministers, XIV. viii. ; 
 
 to rulers, VIII. x.; to Tsze-loo. 
 
 XIII, i. 
 Lessons and laws, Confucius' actions 
 
 were, XVII. xix. 
 Libation, pouring out of, in sacrifice, 
 
 III. x. 
 Life, human, valued by Confucius, X. 
 
 xii. ; without uprightness, not true, 
 
 VI. xvii. 
 
 Likings and dislikings of others, in 
 
 determining a man's character, 
 
 XIII. xxiv. and XV. xxvii. 
 Literary acquirements, useless without 
 
 practical ability, XIII. v. 
 Litigation, how Tsze-loo could settle, 
 
 XII. xii.; it is better to prevent, 
 
 XII. xiii. 
 Love of virtue rare, IV. vi. and IX. 
 
 xvii. 
 Love to learn, of Confucius, V. xxvii. ; 
 
 of Hwuy, XI. vi. ; rarity of, VI. 
 
 ii. 
 Loving and hating aright, IV. iii. 
 
 Madman, the, of Ts'oo, XVIII. v. 
 Man, in relation to principles of duty, 
 
 XV. xxviii. 
 Manhood, the vice to be guarded 
 
 against in, XVI. vii. 
 Manner of Confucius whenunoccupied, 
 
 VII. iv. 
 Marriage-making, Confucius in, V. i. 
 Mat, rule of Confucius about his, 
 
 X. ix. 
 Maturing of character, rules for, 
 
 VII. vi. 
 Mean man, glosses his facts, XIX. 
 
 viii. See Superior man. 
 Meanness of Wei-shang, V. xxiii. ; 
 
 not so bad as insubordination, VII 
 
 xxxv. 
 Mercenary officers, impossible to serve 
 
 along with, XVII. xv. 
 Merit of Kung-shuh Wan, XIV. xix.; 
 
 of Kwan Chung, XIV. xvii., xviii. ; 
 
 virtue of concealing, VI. xiii. 
 Messenger, an admirable, XIV. xxvi. 
 Military affairs, Confucius refuses to 
 
 talk of, XV. i. 
 Minding to* much high things, XIX. 
 
 xv. 
 Minister, the faithful, XV. xxxvii. 
 Ministers, great and ordinary, XI. 
 
 xxiii. ; importance of good and able, 
 
 XIV. xx. ; must be sincere and up- 
 right, XIV. xxiii. ; should be strict 
 
 and decided, XIV. viii. 
 Mission of Confucius, Yen Yuen's 
 
 confidence in, XI. xxii. 
 Model student, fond recollections of a, 
 
 IX xx. 
 
326 
 
 SUBJECTS IN THE ANALECTS. 
 
 INDEX I. 
 
 Moral appliances to be preferred in 
 government, II. iii. 
 
 Mourners, Confucius' sympathy with, 
 VII. ix., and X. xvi. 
 
 Mourning, three years for parents, 
 XVII. xxi. ; government, how car- 
 ried on in time of, XIV. xliii. ; the 
 trappings of, mav be dispensed with, 
 XIX. xiv. 
 
 Murder of the duke of Ts'e, XIV. 
 xxii. 
 
 Music, and ceremonies, vain without 
 virtue, III. iii. ; effect of, VIII. 
 viii. ; effect of, on Confucius, VII. 
 xii. ; influence of, in government, 
 XTVII. iv. ; of Shun and Woo com- 
 pared, III. xxv. ; on the playing of, 
 III. xxiii. ; service rendered to, by 
 Confucius, IX. xiv. ; the sound of 
 instruments does not constitute, 
 
 XVII. xi. 
 
 Musicians of Loo, the, dispersion of, 
 
 XVIII. ix. 
 
 Music-master, praise of a, VIII. xv. 
 
 Name, danger of a bad, XIX. xx. ; 
 
 without reality, VI. xxiii. 
 Names, importance of being correct, 
 
 XIII. iii. 
 Narrow-mindedness, Tsze-chang on, 
 
 XIX. ii. 
 
 Natural duty and uprightness in col- 
 lision, XIII. xviii. ; ease in cere- 
 monies to be prized, I. xii. ; qualities 
 which are favourable to virtue, XIII. 
 xxvii. 
 
 Nature of a man, grief brings out the 
 real, XIX. xvii. 
 
 Neighbourhood, what constitutes the 
 excellence of a, IV. i. 
 
 Nine subjects of thought to the supe- 
 rior man, XVI. x. 
 
 Notoriety, not true distinction, XII. 
 xx. 
 
 Ode (s), the Chow-nan and Shaou- 
 nan, XVII. x. ; the Kwan-ts'eu, 
 III. xx. ; the Yung, III. ii. ; Pih- 
 kwei, X. v. ; of Ch'ing, XV. x. ; the 
 Nga, IX. xiv. ; XVII. xviii. 
 
 Odes, the study of the Book of, XVI. 
 xiii. and XVlI. ix., x. ; quotations 
 from the, I. xv., III. xviii., IX. 
 xxvi., XII. x. ; the pure design of 
 the, II. ii. 
 
 Office, declined by Tsze-k'een, VI. vii.; 
 desire for, qualified by self-respect, 
 IX. xii. ; Confucius, why not in, II. 
 xxi.; when to be accepted, and when 
 to be declined, VIII. xiii. 
 
 Officers, classes of men who may be 
 styled, XIII. xx. ; mercenary, im- 
 
 possible to serve with, XVII. xv. ;. 
 
 personal correctness essential to, 
 
 XIII. xiii. ; should first attend to 
 
 their proper work, XIX. xiii. 
 Official notifications of Ch'ing, why 
 
 excellent, XIV. ix. 
 Old knowledge, to be combined with 
 
 new acquisitions, II. xi. 
 Old man, encounter with an, XVIII. 
 
 vii. 
 Opposing a father, disapproved of r 
 
 VII. xiv. 
 Ordinances of Heaven necessary to be 
 
 known, XX. iii. 
 Ordinary people could not understand 
 
 Confucius, XIX. xxiii. ; ordinary 
 
 rules, Confucius not to be judged by,. 
 
 XVII. vii. 
 Originator, Confucius not an, VII. i. 
 
 Parents, grief for, brings out the real 
 nature of a man, XIX. xvii. ; how a 
 son may remonstrate with, IV. xviii.;. 
 should be strict and decided, XIV. 
 viii. ; three years' mourning for, 
 XVII. xxi. ; their years to be remem- 
 bered, IV. xxi. 
 
 People, what may and what may not 
 be attained to with the, VIII. ix. 
 
 Perfect virtue, caution in speaking, 
 characteristic of, XII. iii. ; charac- 
 teristics of, XIII. xix. ; estimation 
 of, V. xviii. and VI. xx. ; five 
 things which constitute, XVII. vi.; 
 how to attain to, XII. i. ; not easily 
 attained, XIV. vii. ; wherein real- 
 ized, XII. ii. 
 
 Persistence in error, lament over, V. 
 xxvi. 
 
 Perseverance proper to a student, VI. x. 
 
 Personal attainment, a man's chief 
 concern, I. xvi. and XIV. xxxii. ; 
 conduct, all in all to a ruler, XIII.. 
 xvi. ; correctness, essential to an 
 officer, XIII. xiii. 
 
 Perspicuity the chief virtue of lan- 
 guage, XV. xl. 
 
 Pervading unity, Confucius' doctrine a, 
 IV. xv. ; how Confucius aimed at, 
 XV. viii. 
 
 Phoenix, the, IX. viii. and XVIII. v. 
 
 Piety, see Filial. 
 
 Pity of Confucius for misfortune, IX. 
 ix. 
 
 Plans, what is necessary to concord 
 in, XV. xxxix. 
 
 Poetry, benefits of the study of the 
 Book of, VIII. viii., and XVII. ix. r 
 x. ; and music, service rendered to- 
 by Confucius, IX. xiv. 
 
 Posthumous titles, on what principle 
 conferred, V. xiv. 
 
INDEX I. 
 
 SUBJECTS IN THE ANALECTS. 
 
 327 
 
 Poverty, happiness in, VI. ix. ; harder 
 to bear aright than riches, XIV. xi.; 
 no disgrace to a scholar, IV. ix. 
 
 Practical ability, importance of, XIII. 
 
 V. 
 
 Practice, Confucius' zeal to carry his 
 principles into, XVII. v. 
 
 Praise of the house of Chow, VIII. 
 xx. ; of the music-master Ch'e, VIII- 
 xv. ; of Yaou, VIII. xix. ; of Yu, 
 VIII. xxi. 
 
 Praising and blaming, Confucius' cor- 
 rectness in, XV. xxiv. 
 
 Prayer, sin against Heaven precludes, 
 III. xiii. ; Confucius declines, for 
 himself, VII. xxxiv. 
 
 Precaution, necessity of, XV. xi. 
 
 Preliminary study, necessity of, to 
 governing, XI. xxiv. 
 
 Presumption, &c, of the chief of the 
 Ke family, XVI. i. ; and pusillan- 
 imity conjoined, XVII. xii. 
 
 Pretence, against, II. xvii. ; Confucius' 
 dislike of, IX. xi. 
 
 Pretentiousness of Confucius' time, 
 
 VII. xxv. 
 
 Prince, and minister, relation of, III. 
 xix.; Confucius' demeanour before a, 
 X. ii. ; Confucius' demeanour in re- 
 lation to, X. xiii. 
 
 Princes, Confucius' influence on, I. x.; 
 how to be served, III. xviii. 
 
 Principles, agreement in, necessary to 
 concord in plans, XV. xxxix. ; and 
 ways of Yaou, Shun, &c, XX. i. ; 
 of duty, an instrument in the hand 
 of man, XV. xxviii. 
 
 Prompt decision good, V. xix. 
 
 Propriety, and music, influence of, 
 XVII. iv. ; combined with learning, 
 VI. xxv. and XII. xv. ; effect of, 
 
 VIII. viii. ; love of, facilitates go- 
 vernment, XIV. xliv. ; necessary to 
 a ruler, XV. xxxii. ; not in external 
 appurtenances, XVII. xi. ; rules of, 
 I. xii., III. xv.; rules of, necessary 
 to be known, XX. iii. ; value of the 
 rules of, VIII. ii. 
 
 Prosperity and ruin of a country, on 
 what dependent, XIII. xv. and 
 XVI. ii. 
 
 Prowess conducting to ruin, XIV. vi. 
 
 Prudence, a lesson of, XIV. iv. . 
 
 Pursuit of riches, against, VII. xi. 
 
 Pusillanimity and presumption, XVII. 
 xii. 
 
 Qualifications of an officer, VIII. 
 
 xiii. 
 Qualities that are favourable to virtue, 
 
 XIII. xxvii. ; that mark the scholar, 
 
 XIII. xxviii. 
 
 Rash words cannot be recalled, III. 
 xxi. 
 
 Readiness of Confucius to impart in- 
 struction, VII. vii. ; of speech, V. 
 iv. and XVII. xiv. 
 
 Reading and thought, should be com- 
 bined, II. xv. and XV. xxx. 
 
 Rebuke to Yen Yew, &c, XVI. i. 
 
 Receptivity of Hwuy, II. ix. and 
 XI. iii. 
 
 Reciprocity the rule of life, XV. xxiii. 
 
 Recluse, Tsze-loo's encounter with a, 
 XVIII. vii. 
 
 Recluses, Confucius and the two, 
 XVIII. vi. 
 
 Recollection of Hwuy, Confucius' fond, 
 XI. xx. 
 
 Reflection, the necessity of, IX. xxx. 
 
 Regretful memory of disciples' fidelity, 
 XI. ii. 
 
 Relative duties, necessity of maintain- 
 ing, XII. xi. 
 
 Remark of an ignorant man about 
 Confucius, IX. ii. 
 
 Remonstrance with parents, IV. xviii. 
 
 Repentance escaped by timely care, 
 I. xiii. 
 
 Reproof to Tsze-loo, XI. xxiv. 
 
 Reproofs, frequent, warning against 
 the use of, IV. xxvi. 
 
 Reputation not a man's concern, XV. 
 xviii. 
 
 Resentments, how to ward off, XV. 
 xiv. 
 
 Residence, rule for selecting a, IV. i. 
 
 Respect, a youth should be regarded 
 with, IX. xxii. ; of Confucius for 
 men, XV. xxiv. ; of Confucius for 
 rank, IX. ix. 
 
 Retired worthy's judgment on Confu- 
 cius, XIV. xiii. 
 
 Reverence for parents, II. vii. 
 
 Riches, pursuit of, uncertain of success, 
 VII. xi. 
 
 Right way, importance of knowing the, 
 IV. viii. 
 
 Righteous and public spirit of Con- 
 fucius, XIV. xxii. 
 
 Righteousness the Keun-tsze's concern, 
 IV. xvi. ; is his rule of practice, 
 IV. x. 
 
 Root of benevolence, filial and fraternal 
 duty is the, I. ii. 
 
 Royal ruler, a, could, in what time, 
 transform the empire, XIII. xii. 
 
 Ruin and prosperity dependent on what, 
 XIII. xv. and XVI. ii. 
 
 Rule of life, reciprocity the, XV. xxiii. 
 
 Ruler, virtue in a, II. i. 
 
 Rulers, a lesson to, VIII. x. ; personal 
 conduct all in all to, XIII. xvi; 
 should not be occupied with what ia 
 
328 
 
 SUBJECTS IN THE ANALECTS. 
 
 INDEX I. 
 
 the 'proper business of the people, 
 
 XIII. iv. 
 
 Ruling, best means of, II. iii. 
 Running stream, a, Confucius how af- 
 fected by, IX. xvi. 
 
 Sacrifice, Confucius' sincerity in, III. 
 
 xii. ; the great, III. x., xi. ; wrong 
 
 subjects of, II. xxiv. 
 Sagehood, not in various ability, IX. 
 
 vi. 
 Scholar, attributes of the true, XIX. i. ; 
 
 bis aim must be higher than comfort, 
 
 XIV. iii. 
 
 Self-cultivation, I. viii. and IX. xxiv. ; 
 
 a man's concern, IV. xiv. ; a charac- 
 teristic of the Keu?i-tsze, XIV. xlv. ; 
 
 Confucius' anxiety about. VII. iii. ; 
 
 steps in, I. xv. 
 Self-examination, I. iv. 
 Selfish conduct causes murmuring, IV. 
 
 xii. 
 Self-respect should qualify desire for 
 
 office, IX. xii. 
 Self-willed, Confucius not, XIV. xxxiv. 
 Sequences of wisdom, virtue, and 
 
 bravery, IX. xxviii. 
 Servants, difficult to treat, XVII. xxv. 
 Shame of caring only for salary, XIV. i. 
 Shaou, a name of certain music, III. 
 
 xxv. 
 Sheep, the monthly offering of a, III. 
 
 xvii. 
 Shoo-king, quotation from, II. xxi., 
 
 XlV.xliii.; compilation from, XX. i. 
 Silent mourning, three years of, XIV. 
 
 xliii. 
 Simplicity, instance of, VIII. v. 
 Sincerity, cultivation of, I. iv. ; ne- 
 cessity of, II. xxii. ; praise of, V. 
 
 xxiv. 
 Slandering of Tsze-loo, XIV. xxxviii. 
 Slowness to speak, of the ancients, IV. 
 
 xxii. ; of the Keun-tsze, IV. xxiv. 
 Small advantages not to be desired in 
 
 government, XIII. xvii. 
 Social intercourse, qualities of the 
 
 scholar in, XIII. xxiii. 
 Solid excellence blended with orna- 
 ment, VI. xvi. 
 Son, a, opposing his father, against, 
 
 VII. xiv. ; Confucius' instruction of 
 
 his own, XVI. xiii. 
 Sources of Confucius' knowledge, XIX. 
 
 xxii. 
 Specious words, danger of, XV. xxvi. 
 Speech, discretion in, XV. vii. 
 Spirit of the times, against, III. xviii. 
 Spirits, Confucius evades a question 
 
 about serving, XI. xi. ; of the land, 
 
 altars of, 111. xxi. 
 Stages of attainment, VI. xviii. ; of 
 
 progress, different persons stop at 
 different, IX. xxix. 
 
 States of Ts'e and Loo, VI. xxii. 
 
 Strange doctrines, II. xvi. 
 
 Strength, not a fit subject of praise, 
 XIV. xxxv. 
 
 Student's proper work, XIX. xiii. 
 
 Stupidity of Ning "Woo, V. xx. 
 
 Subjects, avoided by Confucius, VII. 
 xx. ; of Confucius' teaching, VII. 
 xxiv. See Topics. 
 
 Submission of subjects, how secured, 
 II. xix. 
 
 Substantial qualities, and accomplish- 
 ments, in the Keun-tsze, XII. viii. 
 
 Sun and moon, Confucius like the, 
 XIX. xxiv. 
 
 Superficial speculations, against, XV. 
 xvi. 
 
 Superior and mean man, II. xii., xiii., 
 xiv., IV. xi., xvi., VI. xi., VII. 
 xxxvi., XVI. viii. ; different air and 
 bearing of, XIII. xxvi. ; different in 
 their relation to those employed by 
 them, XIII. xxv. ; different manners 
 of, XIII. xxiii. ; different tendencies 
 of, XIV. xxiv. ; how to know, XV. 
 xxxiii. ; opposite influence of, XII. 
 xvi. 
 
 Superior man, above distress, XV. i. ; 
 changing appearances of, to others, 
 XIX. ix. ; cleaves to virtue, IV. v. ; 
 does not conceal, but changes, his 
 errors, XIX. xxi. ; firmness of, based 
 on right, XV. xxxvi. ; four charac- 
 teristics of, V. xv. ; is righteous, 
 courteous, humble, and sincere, XV. 
 xvii. ; more in deeds than in words, 
 
 XIV. xxix.; nine subjects of thought 
 to, XVI. x. ; rule about his words 
 and actions, IV. xxiv. ; self-cultiva- 
 tion, characteristic of, XIV. xlv. ; 
 talents and virtues of, VIII. vi. ; 
 thoughts of in harmony with his 
 position, XIV. xxviii. ; truth the ob- 
 ject of, XV. xxxi. ; various charac- 
 teristics of, XV. xx., xxii., xxiii. ; 
 wishes to be had in remembrance, 
 
 XV. xix. 
 
 Superiority of Hwuy, VI. ii., v. 
 Superstition of Tsang Wan, V. x^vii. 
 Supreme authority ought to maintain 
 
 its power, XVI. ii. 
 Susceptivity of learners, teachers to 
 
 be guided by, VI. xix. 
 Swiftness to speak, incompatible with 
 
 virtue, XVII. xiv. 
 Sympathy of Confucius with mourners, 
 
 VII. ix. ; with sorrow, IX. ix. 
 
 Talents, men of, scarce, VIII. xx. ; 
 worthless without virtue, VIII. xi. 
 
INDEX I. 
 
 SUBJECTS IN THE ANALECTS. 
 
 329 
 
 Taxation, light, advantages of, XII. 
 ix. 
 
 Teacher, qualification of a, II. xi. 
 
 Teaching, effect of, XV. xxxviii. ; Con- 
 fucius' earnestness in, IX. vii. ; 
 Confucius' subjects of, VII. xxiv. ; 
 graduated method of, XIX. xii. ; 
 necessary to prepare the people for 
 "war, XIII. xxix., xxx. 
 
 Temple, Confucius in the grand, XIII. 
 xv. and X. xiv. 
 
 Thieves made by the example of rulers, 
 XII. xviii. 
 
 Think, those who will not, the case of, 
 hopeless, XV. xv. 
 
 Thinking without reading, fruitless, 
 XV. xxx. 
 
 Thought and learning, to be combined, 
 II. xv. 
 
 Three, errors of speech, in the presence 
 of the great, XVI. vi. ; families, of 
 Loo, III. 11. ; friendships advantage- 
 ous, and three injurious, XVI. iv. ; 
 sources of enjoyment, id. id., XVI. 
 v. ; things of which the superior man 
 stands in awe, XVI. viii. ; years' 
 mourning, XIV. xliii.,XVII. xxi. ; 
 worthies of the Yin dynasty, XVIII. i. 
 
 Thunder, Confucius how affected by, X. 
 xvi. 
 
 Topics, avoided by Confucius, VII. xx. ; 
 most common of Confucius, VII. 
 xvii. ; seldom spoken on by Con- 
 fucius, IX. i. 
 
 Traditions of the principles of Wan 
 and Woo, XIX. xxii. 
 
 Training of the young, I. vi. 
 
 Transmitter, Confucius a, VII. i. 
 
 Trappings of mourning may be dis- 
 pensed with, XIX. xiv. 
 
 Treatment of a powerful but unworthy 
 officer by Confucius, XVII. i. 
 
 True . men, paucity of, in Confucius' 
 time, VII. xxv. 
 
 Truthfulness, necessity of, I. xxii. 
 
 Two classes only whom practice cannot 
 change, XVII. iii. ; recluses, Con- 
 fucius and the, XVIII. vi. 
 
 Unbending virtue, V. x. 
 
 Unchangeableness of great principles, 
 II. xxiii. 
 
 Unity of Confucius' doctrine, IV. xv. 
 and XV. ii. 
 
 Unmannerly old man, Confucius' con- 
 duct to an, XIV. xlvi. 
 
 Unoccupied, Confucius' manner when, 
 VII. iv. 
 
 Unworthy man, Confucius responds to 
 the advances of an, XVII. vii. 
 
 Uprightness, and natural duty in col- 
 lision, XIII. xviii. ; meanness incon- 
 
 sistent with, V. xxiii. ; necessary to 
 true virtue, VI. xvii. 
 
 Usurped rites, against, III. i., ii., vi. 
 
 Usurping tendencies of the Ke family, 
 XIII. xiv. 
 
 Utensil, Tsze-kung an, V. iii. ; the ac- 
 complished scholar not an, II. xii. 
 
 Valour subordinate to righteousness, 
 
 XVII. xxiii. 
 
 Various ability of Confucius, IX. vi. 
 Vice, how to correct, XII. xxi. 
 Vices, of a father, no discredit to a 
 
 good son, VI. iv. ; which youth, 
 
 manhood, and age have to guard 
 
 against, XVI. vii. 
 Village, Confucius' demeanour in his, 
 
 X. i., x. 
 Vindication, Confucius', of himself, 
 
 VI. xxvi. ; of Confucius by Tsze-loo, 
 
 XVIII. vii. 
 
 Virtue, alone adapts a man for his con- 
 dition, IV. ii. ; and not strength, a fit 
 subject of praise, XIV. xxxv. ; cere- 
 monies and music vain without, III. 
 iii. ; complete, I. i. ; contentment 
 with what is vulgar injures, XVII. 
 xiii. ; devotion of the Keun-tsze to, 
 IV. v.; exceeding, of T'ae-pih, VIII. 
 i. ; few really know, XV. iii. ; how 
 to exalt, XII. x., xxi. ; in conceal- 
 ing one's merit, VI. xiii. ; influence 
 of, II. i. ; knowledge not lasting 
 without, XV. xxxii. ; leading to em- 
 pire, XIV. vi. ; learning necessary 
 to the completion of, XVII. viii. ; 
 learning leading to, XIX. vi. ; love 
 of, rare, IV. vi., IX. xvii., XV. xii.; 
 natural qualities which favour, XIII. 
 xxvii. ; not far to seek, VII. xxix. ; 
 the highest* not easily attained, and 
 incompatible; with meanness, XIV. 
 vii. ; the practice of, aided by inter- 
 course with the good, XV. ix. ; to be 
 valued more than life, XV. viii. ; true 
 nature and art of, VI. xxviii. ; with- 
 out wealth, &c, XVI. xii. 
 
 Virtues, the great, demand the chief 
 attention, XIX. xi. 
 
 Virtuous men, not left alone, IV. xxv.; 
 only can love or hate others, IV. 
 iii. 
 
 Vocation of Confucius, a stranger's view 
 of, III. xxiv. 
 
 Vulgar ways and views, against con- 
 tentment with, XVII. xiii. 
 
 War, how a good ruler prepares the 
 
 people for, XIII. xxix., xxx. 
 Warning to Tsze-loo, XI. xii. 
 Waywardness, lament over, VI. xv. 
 Wealth without virtue, &c, XVI. xii. 
 
330 
 
 PROPER NAMES IN THE ANALECTS. 
 
 INDEX II. 
 
 Wickedness, the virtuous will preserves 
 from, IV. iv. 
 
 Wife of a prince, appellations for, XVI. 
 xiv. 
 
 Will, the virtuous, preserves from 
 wickedness, IV. iv. ; is unsubduable, 
 IX. xxv. 
 
 Wisdom and virtue, chief elements of, 
 VI. xx. ; contrasts of, VI. xxi., IX. 
 xxviii. 
 
 Wishes, different, of Yen Yuen, &c, 
 V. xxv. ; of Tsze-loo, &c, XI. xxv. 
 
 Withdrawing from public life, differ- 
 ent causes of, XIV. xxxix. ; of Con- 
 fucius, XVIII. v., vi.; of seven men, 
 
 XIV. xl. 
 
 Withdrawing from the world, Con- 
 fucius proposes, V. vi. ; Confucius' 
 judgment on, XVIII. viii. 
 
 Words, the force of, necessary to be 
 known, XX. iii. 
 
 Work, a man's, is with himself, XIV. 
 
 XXX. 
 
 Workshop, the student's, XIX. vii. 
 
 Young, duty of the, I. vi. ; should be 
 regarded with respect, IX. xxii. 
 
 Youth, the vice to be guarded against 
 in, XVI. vii. 
 
 INDEX II. 
 
 OF PROPER NAMES IN THE CONFUCIAN ANALECTS. 
 
 Names in Italics will be found in their own places in this Index, with additional 
 
 references. 
 
 Ch'ae, surnamed Kaou, and styled 
 Tsze-kaou, a disciple of Confucius, XI. 
 
 xvii. 
 Chang, Tsze-chang, XIX. xv., xvi. 
 Ch'ang-tseu, aworthy of Ts'oo, XVIII. 
 
 vi. 
 Chaou, a prince celebrated for his 
 
 beauty of person, VI. xiv. 
 Chaou, one of the three families which 
 
 governed the state of Tsin, XIV. 
 
 xii. 
 Ch'aou, the honourable epithet of Chow, 
 
 duke of Loo, b. c. 540—509, VII. 
 
 XXX. 
 
 Che, the Music-master of Loo, VIII. 
 
 xv., XVIII. ix. 
 Ch'ih, surnamed Kung-se, and styled 
 
 Tsze-hwa, a disciple of Confucius, V. 
 
 vii., VI. iii., XI. xxv. 
 Ch'in, the state of, V. xxi., VII. xxx., 
 
 XI. ii., XV. i. 
 Ch'in K'ang, Tsze-kHn, a disciple of 
 
 Confucius, XVI. xiii. 
 Ch'in Shing, or Ch'in Hang, an officer 
 
 of Keen, duke of Tsze, XIV. xxii. 
 Chin Wan, an officer of Ts'e, V. xxii. 
 Ch'ing, the State of, XV. x. 
 Choo-chang, a person who retired from 
 
 the world, XVIII. viii. 
 
 Chow dynasty, II. xxiii. III. xiv., 
 
 xxi., VIII. xx., XV. x., XVI. v., 
 
 XVIII. xi., XX. i. 
 Chow, the , last emperor of the Yin 
 
 dynasty, XVIII. i., XIX. xx. 
 Chow Jin, an ancient historiographer, 
 
 XVI. i. 
 Chow-kung, or the duke of Chow, VII. 
 VIII. xi., XI. xvi., XVIII. 
 
 x. 
 
 Chuen-yu, a small territory in Loo, 
 
 XVI. i. 
 Chung-hwuh, an officer of Chow, 
 
 XVIII. xi. 
 Chung-kung, the designation of Yen 
 
 Yung, a disciple of Confucius, VI. i., 
 
 iv., XI. ii., XII. ii., XIII. ii. 
 Chung-mow, a place in the state of 
 
 Tsin, XVII. vii. 
 Chung-ne, Confucius, XIX. xxii. — xxv. 
 Chung-shuh Yu, the name as K l ung 
 
 Wan, XIV. xx. 
 Chung Yeu, styled Tsze-loo, a disciple 
 
 of Confucius, VI. vi., XI. xxiii., 
 
 XVIII. vi. 
 Chwang of Peen, XIV. xiii. 
 
 E, a small town on the borders of the 
 State of Wei, III. xxiv. 
 
INDEX II. 
 
 PEOPEE NAMES IN THE ANALECTS. 
 
 331 
 
 E, a famous archer, B.C. about 2150, 
 
 XIV. vi. 
 
 E-yih, a person who retired from the 
 
 world, XVIII. viii. 
 E Yin, the minister of T'ang, XII. 
 
 xxii. 
 
 Fan Ch'e, byname Seu, and designated 
 Tsze-ch'e, adisciple of Confucius, II, 
 v., VI. xx., XII. xxi., xxii., XIII. 
 iv., xix. 
 
 Fan Seu, the sameas Fan C7i'e,XIII.iv. 
 
 Fang, a city in Loo, XIV. xv. 
 
 Fang-shuh, a musician of Loo, XVIII. 
 ix. 
 
 Gae, the honourable title of Tseang, 
 
 duke of Loo, B.C. 493—467, II. xix., 
 
 III. xxi., VI. ii., XII. ix. 
 Gan P'ing, posthumous title of Gan 
 
 Ying, principal minister of Ts'e, V. 
 
 xvi. 
 
 Han, the river, XVIII. ix. 
 
 Hea dynasty, II. xxiii., III. ix., xxi., 
 
 XV. x. 
 
 Heen, the name of Yuen Sze, a disciple 
 of Confucius, XVI. i. 
 
 Hwan, the three great families of Loo, 
 being descended from the Duke 
 Hwan, are called the descendants 
 of the three Hwan, II. v. note, 
 
 XVI. hi. 
 
 Hwan, the duke of T'se, B.C. 683—642, 
 
 XlV. xvi., xviii. 
 Hwan T'uy, a high officer of Sung, 
 
 VII. xxii. 
 Hwuy, Yen Hwuy, styled Tsze-yuen, 
 
 a disciple of Confucius, II. ix., V. 
 
 viii., VI. v., ix., IX. xix., XI. hi., x., 
 
 xviii., xxii. 
 Hwuy of Lew-Hea, posthumous title 
 
 of Chen Hwo, an officer of Loo, XV. 
 
 xiii., XVIII. ii., viii. 
 
 Joo Pei, a man of Loo, XVII. xx. 
 
 Ivan, the Master of the band at Loo, 
 XVIII. ix. 
 
 Kaou-tsung, the honourable epithet of 
 the Emperor Woo-ting, B.C. 1323 — 
 1263, XlV. xliii. 
 
 Kaou-yaou, a minister of Shun, XII. 
 xxii. 
 
 Ke, a small state in which sacrifices to 
 the emperors of the Hea dynasty 
 were maintained by their descend- 
 ants, III. ix. 
 
 Ke, a small state in Shan-se, XVIII. i. 
 
 Ke family, the family of Ke K'a?ig of 
 Loo, III. i., vi., VI. vii., XI. xvi., 
 XVI. i., XVIII. iii. 
 
 Ke-Hwan, or Ke Sze, the head of tho 
 
 Ke family in the latter days of Con- 
 fucius, XVIII. iv. 
 Ke K'ang, the honourable epithet of 
 
 Ke-sun Fei, the head of one of the 
 
 three great families of Loo, II. xx., 
 
 VI. vi., XI. vi., XIII. xvii., xviii., 
 
 xix., XIV. xx. 
 Ke-kwa, an officer of Chow, XVIII. 
 
 xi. 
 Ke Loo, the same as Tsze-loo, V. xxv., 
 
 XI. ii., xi., XIII. xiv., XVI.i. 
 Ke-sun, the same as Ke Rang, XIV. 
 
 xxxviii., XVI. i. 
 Ke-suy, an officer of Chow, XVIII. xi.- 
 Ke Tsze-jen, a younger brother of the 
 
 Ke family, XI. xxiii. 
 KeWan, posthumous title of Ke Hang- 
 
 foo, an officer of Loo, V. xix. 
 Kee-neih, a Avorthy of Ts'oo, XVIII. 
 
 vi. 
 Keen, a duke of Ts'e, XIV. xxii. 
 Keu-foo, a small city on the western 
 
 borders of Loo, XIII. xvii. 
 Keu Pih-yuh, the designation of Keu 
 
 Yuen, an officer of the State of Wei, 
 
 XIV. xxvi., XV. vi. 
 K'eueh, a name of a village, XIV. 
 
 xlvii. 
 Keuth, a musician of Loo, XVIII. iv. 
 Kew, brother of the Duke Hwan of 
 
 T'se, XIV. xvii., xviii. 
 K'ew, Confucius' name, XIV. xxxiv., 
 
 XVIII. vi. 
 K'ew, the name of Yen Yew, a disciple 
 
 of Confucius, V. vii., VI. vi., XI. 
 
 xvi.,xxi., xxiii., xxv., XVI. i. 
 Kih Tsze-shing, an officer of the State 
 
 of Wei, XII. viii. 
 King, a duke of Ts'e, XII. xi., XVI. 
 
 xii., XVIII. iii. 
 King, a scion of the ducal family of 
 
 Wei, XIII. viii. 
 K'ung, Confucius, IX. ii., XIV. xii., 
 
 XVIII. vi. 
 Kung-Ch'o, Mdng Kung-chu, XIV. 
 
 xiii. 
 Kung-ming Kea, XIV. xiv. 
 Kung-pih Leaou, a relative of the duke 
 
 of Loo, XIV. xxxviii- 
 Kung-se Hwa, Tsze-hica, a disciple of 
 
 Confucius, VII. xxxiii., XI. xxi., 
 
 xxv. 
 Kung-shan Fuh-jaou, a confederate of 
 
 Yang Ho, XVII. v. 
 Kung-shuh Wan, an officer of the State 
 
 of Wei, XIV. xiv., xix. 
 Kung-sun Ch'aou, of Wei, XIX. xxii. 
 K'ung Wan, posthumous title of Tsze- 
 
 yu, an officer of Wei, V. xiv. 
 Kung-yay Ch'ang, the son-in-law oi 
 
 Confucius, V. i. 
 
332 
 
 PROPER NAMES IN THE ANALECTS. 
 
 INDEX II. 
 
 Kwan Chung, by name E "Woo, chief 
 minister to the Duke Hwan of Ts'e, 
 B.C. 683—640, III. xxii., XIV. x., 
 xvii., xviii. 
 
 K'wang, the name of a town, IX. v., 
 XI. xxii. 
 
 Laou, surnamed K'in, and styled Tsze- 
 
 k : ae or Tsze-chang, a disciple of 
 
 Confucius, IX. vi. 
 Le, the name of T'ang, founder of the 
 
 Shang dynasty, XX. i. 
 Le, a son of Confucius, who died early, 
 
 XI. vii. 
 Leaou, a musician of Loo, XVIII. 
 
 ix. 
 Lin Fang, styled Tsze-k'ew, a man of 
 
 Loo, supposed to have been a disciple 
 
 of Confucius, III. iv., vi. 
 Ling, a duke of Wei, XIV. xx., XV. i. 
 Loo, the native State of Confucius, II. 
 
 v. note, III. xxiii., V. ii., VI. xxii., 
 
 IX. xiv., XI. xiii., XIII. vii., XIV. 
 
 xv., XVIII. iv., vi., x. 
 
 Hang Che-fan, named Ts"h, an officer 
 
 of Loo, VI. xiiL 
 Mang Chwang, the head of the Mang 
 
 family, anterior to Confucius' time, 
 
 XIX. xviii. 
 MangE, the posthumous title oiMang- 
 
 sun, the head of the Mang family, 
 
 II. v. 
 Mang family, one of the three great 
 
 families of Loo, XVIII. iii., XIX. 
 
 xix. 
 Mang King, honorary title of Chung- 
 sun Ts'ee, son of Mang Woo, VIII. 
 
 iv. 
 Mang Kung-ch'6, the head of the Mang 
 
 or Chung-sun family, in the time of 
 
 Confucius, XIV. xii. 
 Mang-sun, named Ho-ke, the same as 
 
 Mang E, II. v. 
 Mang Woo, honorary title of Che, the 
 
 son of Mang E, II. vi., V. vii. 
 Min, the music-master of Loo, XV. xli. 
 Min, Min Tsze-k'een, XI. xii. 
 Min, Tsze-k'een, named Sun, a disciple 
 
 of Confucius, VI. vii., XI. ii., iv., 
 
 xiii. 
 Mung, the eastern, the name of a 
 
 mountain, XVI. i. 
 
 Nan-kung K'woh, supposed to be the 
 
 same as Nan Yung, XIV. vi. 
 Nan-tsze, the wife of the duke of Wei, 
 
 aud sister of Prince Chaou, VI. xxvi. 
 Nan-yung, a disciple of Confucius, V. 
 
 i., XI. v. 
 Ngaou, the son of Han Tsuh (B.C. 
 
 2100), XIV. vi. 
 
 Ning Woo, honorary epithet of Ning 
 Yu, an officer of Wei, V. xx. 
 
 P'ang, an ancient worthy, VII. i. 
 Pe, a place in the state of Loo, VI. vii. 
 
 Xl.xxiv., XVI. i., XVII. v. 
 Pe-kan, an uncle of the tyrant Chow, 
 
 XVIII. i. 
 P'e Shin, a minister of the State of 
 
 Ch'ing, XIV. ix. 
 Peen, the name of a city, XIV. x. 
 Peen, a city in Loo, XIV. xiii. 
 Peih Heih, commandant of Chung 
 
 Mow, in the State of Tsin, XVII. 
 
 vii. 
 Pih family, XIV. x. 
 Pih-e, honorary epithet of a worthy 
 
 of the Shang dynasty, V. xxii., VII. 
 
 xiv., XVI. xii., XVIII. viii. 
 Pih-kwoh, an officer of Chow, XVIII. 
 
 xi. 
 Pih-new, the denomination of Tsae 
 
 Kang, surnamed Yen, a disciple of 
 
 Confucius, VI. viii., XI. ii. 
 Pih-ta, an officer of Chow, XVIII. xi. 
 Pih-yu, the eldest son of Confucius, 
 
 XVI. xiii., XVII. x. 
 
 Seang, a musician of Loo, XVIII. ix. 
 
 See, the State of, XIV. xii. 
 
 Seen, an officer under Kung-shuh Wan, 
 
 ^ XIV. xix. 
 
 Shang, name of Tsze-hea, a disciple of 
 Confucius, III. viii., XI. xv. 
 
 Shaou, the music of Shun, III. xxv., 
 
 ^ VII. xiii. 
 
 Shaou Hwuh, minister of Duke Hwan's 
 brother, Kew, XIV. xvii. 
 
 Shaou-leen, a person belonging to one 
 of the barbarous tribes of the East, 
 who retired from the world, XVIII. 
 viii. 
 
 She, a district in the State of Ts'oo,VII. 
 xviii., XIII. xvi. 
 
 She-shuh, named Yew-keih, an officer 
 
 ^ of Ch'ing, XIV. ix. 
 
 Shih-mun, one of the frontier passes 
 between Ts'e and Loo, XIV. xli. 
 
 Shin Ch'ang, styled Tsze-chow, a dis- 
 ciple of Confucius, V. x. < 
 
 Show-yang mountain, in Shan-se,XVI. 
 xii. 
 
 Shuh-hea, an officer of Chow, XVIII. 
 xi. 
 
 Shuh-sun, one of the three great fami- 
 lies of Loo, II. v., note. 
 
 Shuh-sun, Woo-shiih, a chief of the 
 Shuh-sun family, XIX. xxiii., xxiv. 
 
 Shuh-ts'e, honorary epithet of a 
 worthy of the Shang dynasty, V. 
 xxii., VII. xiv., XVI. xii., XVIII. 
 viii. 
 
INDEX II. 
 
 PROPER NAMES IN THE ANALECTS. 
 
 333 
 
 Sfiuh-yay, an officer of Chow, XVIII. 
 
 xi. 
 Shun, the emperor, VI. xxviii., VIII. 
 
 xviii., xx., XII. xxii., XIV. xlv., 
 
 XV. iv., XX. i. 
 Sin, Tsang-sin, a disciple of Confucius, 
 
 IV. xv., XI. xvii. 
 Sung, a State in which sacrifices to the 
 
 emperors of the Hea dynasty were 
 
 maintained by their descendants, 
 
 III. ix., VI. xiv. 
 Sze, the name of Tsze-chang, a disciple 
 
 of Confucius, XI. xv., xvii. 
 Sze-ma New, named Kang, a brother 
 
 of Hwan T'uy, and a disciple of Con- 
 fucius, XII, iii., iv., v. 
 
 Ta-heang, the name of a village, IX. ii. 
 
 T'ae mountain, on the border between 
 Loo and Ts'e, III. vi. 
 
 T'ae pih, the eldest son of King T'ae, 
 and grandfather of Wan the founder 
 of the Chow dynasty, VIII. i. 
 
 Tan-t'ae Mee-ming, styled Tsze-yu, a 
 disciple of Confucius, VI. xii. 
 
 T'ang, the dynastic name of the em- 
 peror Yaou, VIII. xx. 
 
 T'ang, the founder of the Shang dy- 
 nasty, XII. xxii., XX. i. 
 
 T'ang, the State of, XIV. xii. 
 
 Teen, the name of Tsang Sih, father 
 of Tsang Sin, and a disciple of Con- 
 fucius, XI. xxv. 
 
 Ting, the posthumous epithet of Sung, 
 prince of Loo, III. xix., XIII. xv. 
 
 T'o, an officer of the State of Wei, 
 styled Tsze-yu, VI. xiv., XIV. xx. 
 
 Tsae Go, by name Yu, and styled Tsze- 
 go, a disciple of Confucius, III. 
 xxi., VI. xxiv., XI. ii., XVII. xxi. 
 
 Tsae Yu, a disciple of Confucius, who 
 slept in the day time, the same as 
 the preceding, V. ix. 
 
 Ts'ae, the State of, XI. ii., XVIII. ix. 
 
 Tsang Sih, named Teen, the father of 
 Tsang Sin, and a disciple of Con- 
 fucius, XI. xxv. 
 
 Tsang Sin, styled Tsze-yu, a disciple 
 
 I. iv., ix. 
 
 XII. xxiv 
 
 IV. XV., 
 
 XIV. 
 
 of Confucius, 
 
 VIII. iii.— vh. 
 
 xxviii., XIX. xvi. — xix. 
 Tsang Wan, the honorary title of Tsang- 
 
 sun Shin, a great officer of Loo, V. 
 
 xvii., XV. xiii. 
 Tsang Woo-chung, an officer of Loo, 
 
 XIV. xiii., xv. 
 Ts'e, the State of, V. xviii., VI. iii., 
 
 xxii. ,V1I. xiii., XIV. xxii., XVI. iii., 
 
 XVIII. iii., iv., ix. 
 Tsee-yu, the designation of one Luh 
 
 T'ung, of Ts'oo, who feigned himself 
 
 madtoescapepublicservice,XVIII.v. 
 
 Tseih, How-tseih, the minister of agri* 
 culture to Yaou and Shun, XIV. vi. 
 
 Tseih-teaouK'ae, styled Tsze-jo, a dis- 
 ciple of Confucius, V. v. 
 
 Ts'in.the State of, XIV. xvi., XVIII, 
 ix. 
 
 Tso-k'ew Ming, an ancient man of re" 
 putation, V. xxiv. 
 
 Ts'oo, the State of, XVIII. v., ix. 
 
 Ts'uy, a great officer of Ts'e, V. xviii. 
 
 Ts'ze, the name of Tsze-kung, a dis- 
 ciple of Confucius, I. xv., 111. xvii., 
 
 V. viii., ix., VI. vi., XIV. xxxi., 
 XV. ii., XVII. xxiv. 
 
 Tsze-ch'an, named Kung-sun K'eaou, 
 the chief minister of the State o£ 
 Ch'ing, V. xv., XIV. ix., x. 
 
 Tsze-chang, the designation of Chuen- 
 sun Sze, a disciple of Confucius, II. 
 xviii., xxii., V. xviii., XI. xix., XII. 
 vi., xiv., xx., XIV. xliii., XV. v., 
 xli., XVII. vi., XIX. i, ii., iii., 
 XX. ii. 
 
 Tsze-fuh King-pih, an officer of Loo, 
 
 XIV. xxxviii., XIX. xxiii. 
 Tsze-hea, the designation of Puh Shang, 
 
 a disciple of Confucius, I. vii., II. 
 vii., III. viii., VI. xi., XI. ii., XII. 
 v., xxii., XIII. xxvii., xxviii., XIX. 
 iii. — xv. 
 Tsze-hwa, the designation of Kung-se,- 
 named ChHh, a disciple of Confucius, 
 
 VI. iii. 
 
 Tsze-kaou, the designation of Ch'ae, a 
 disciple of Confucius, XI. xxiv. 
 
 Tsze-kung, the designation of Twan- 
 muh Ts'ze, a disciple of Confucius, 
 I. x., xv., II. xiii., III. xvii., V. iii., 
 viii., xi., xii., xiv., VI. xxviii., VII. 
 xiv., IX. vi., xii., XI. ii., xii., xv., 
 XII. vii., viii., x., xxiii., XIII. xx., 
 xxiv., XIV. xviii., xxx., xxxi., 
 xxxvii., XV. ii., v., xxiii., XVII. 
 xix., xxiv., XIX. xx. — xxv. 
 
 Tsze-loo, the designation of Chung' 
 yeio, often named simply Yew, a 
 disciple of Confucius, II. xvii., V. 
 vi., vii., xiii., xxv., VI. xxvi., VII. 
 x., xxxiv., IX. xi., xxvi., X. xviii., 
 XI. xii., xiv., xxi., xxiv., xxv., XII. 
 xii., XIII. i., iii., xxviii., XIV. 
 xiii., xvii., xxiii., xxviii., xli., xlv., 
 
 XV. i., XVII. v,, vii., xxiii., XVIII. 
 vi., vii. 
 
 Tsze-sang Pih-tsze, VI. i., VII. xviii. 
 Tsze-se, the chief minister of Ts'oo, 
 
 XIV. x. 
 Tsze-ts'een,the designation of PeihPuh-' 
 
 ts'e, a disciple of Confucius, V. ii. 
 Tsze-wan, surnamed Tow, and named 
 
 Kuh-yu-t'oo, chief minister of Ts'oo- ; 
 
 V. xviii. 
 
334 
 
 SUBJECTS IN THE GREAT LEARNING. INDEX III. 
 
 Tsze-yew, or Yen Yeio, the designation 
 of Yen Yen, a disciple of Confucius, 
 
 II. vii., VI. xii., XI. ii., XVII. iv., 
 XIX. xii.fr. 
 
 Tsze-yu, a minister of the State of 
 
 Ch'ing, XIV. ix. 
 Tung-le, XIV. ix. 
 
 Wan, the king, VIII. xx., IX. v., 
 
 XIX. xxii. 
 Wan, a duke of Tsin, XIV. xvi. 
 Wan, a river dividing the States of 
 
 Ts'e and Loo, VI. vii. 
 Wang-sun Kea, a great officer of Wei, 
 
 III. xiii., XIV. xx. 
 We-shang Mow, XIV. xxxiv. 
 
 Wei, the State of, VII. xiv., IX. xiv., 
 XIII. hi., vii., viii., ix., XIV. xx., 
 xlii., XV. i.,XIX. xxii. 
 
 Wei, one of the three families which 
 governed the State of Tsin, XIV. 
 xii. 
 
 Wei-shang Kaou, V. xxiii. 
 
 Wei, a small State in Shan-se, XVIII. i. 
 
 Woo, the State of, VII. xxx. 
 
 Woo, the founder of the Chow dy- 
 nasty, VIII. xx., XIX. xxii. 
 
 Woo, the music of King Woo, III. 
 
 XXV. 
 
 Woo, a musician of Loo, XVIII. ix. 
 Woo-ma K'e, VII. xxx. 
 Woo-shing, the name of a city in Pe, 
 VI. xii., XVII. iv. 
 
 Yang, a musician of Loo, XVIII. 
 
 ix. 
 Yang Foo, a disciple of Tsang-sin, 
 
 XIX. xix. 
 Yang Ho, or Yang Hoo, the principal 
 
 minister of the Ke family, XVII. i. 
 Yaou, the emperor, VI. xxviii., VIII. 
 
 xix., XIV. xiv., XX. i. 
 Yellow river, XVIII. ix. 
 
 Yen, Yen Yew,YI. iii., XVII. iv. 
 
 Yen Hwuy, styled Tsze-yuen, a dis- 
 ciple of Confucius, VI. ii., XI. vi. 
 
 Yen K'ew, Yen Yew, VI. x., XI. 
 xxiii., XIV. xiii. 
 
 Yen-loo, the father of Hwuy, XI. vii. 
 
 Yen Pih-new, named Tsze Kang, a 
 disciple of Confucius, XL ii. 
 
 Yen Yew, named K'ew, and designated 
 Tsze-yeto,, a disciple of Confucius, 
 III. vi., V. vii., VI. iii., VII. xiv., 
 XL ii., xii., xxi., xxv., XIII. ix., 
 xiv., XVI.i., XIX. xii. 
 
 Yen Yuen, named Hwuy, and styled 
 Tsze-yuen, a disciple of Confucius, 
 V. xxv., VII. x., IX. x., xx., XL ii., 
 vii., viii., xix., xxii., XII. i., XV. x. 
 
 Yew, Chung Yew, styled Tsze-loo, a 
 disciple of Confucius, II. xvii., V. 
 vi., vii., VI. vi., IX. xi., xxvi., XL, 
 xii., xiw, xvii., xx., xxi., xxiii., XII. 
 xii., XIII. iii., XV. iii., XVI. i., 
 XVI. viii. 
 
 Yew Jo, styled Tsze-jo, and Tsze- 
 yew, a disciple of Confucius, I. ii., 
 xii., xiii., XII. ix. 
 
 Yin dynasty, II. xxiii., III. ix., xxi., 
 VIII. xx,. XV. x., XVIII. i. 
 
 Yu, the emperor, VIII. xviii., xxi., 
 XIV. vi., XX. i. 
 
 Yu, the dynastic name of the Emperor 
 Shun, VIII. xx. 
 
 Yu, the historiographer of Wei, XV. 
 vi. 
 
 Yu, Tsae Go, XVII. xxi. 
 
 Yu-chung, orWoo-chung,VIII. i. note, 
 XVIII. viii. 
 
 Yuen Jang, a follower of Laou-tsze, 
 XIV. xlvi. 
 
 Yuen Sze, named H'ten, a disciple of 
 Confucius, VI. iii. 
 
 Yun-yen Yung, styled Chung-hung^ a 
 disciple of Confucius, V. iv., VI. i. 
 
 INDEX III. 
 
 OF SUBJECTS IN THE GREAT LEARNING. 
 
 Ability and worth, importance of a 
 Ruler appreciating and using, comm., 
 x. 14, 16. 
 
 Analects, quotations from the, comm., 
 iv., x. 15. 
 
 Ancients, the, illustrated illustrious 
 virtue how, text, 4. j 
 
 Empire, the, rendered peaceful and 
 happy, text, 5, comm., x. 
 
INDEX IV. PROPEE NAMES IN THE GEEAT LEARNING. 
 
 335 
 
 Family, regulating the, text, 4, 5, 
 comm., "viii., ix. 
 
 Heart, the rectification of the, text, 4, 
 5, comm., vii. 
 
 Illustration of illustrious virtue, text, 1, 
 4, comm., i. 
 
 Kings, why the former are remem- 
 bered, comm., iii. 4, 5. 
 
 Knowledge, perfecting of, teatf, 4, 5, 
 comm., v. 
 
 Litigations, it is best to prevent, comm., 
 iv. 
 
 Master, the words of the, quoted, comm., 
 
 iii. 2, iv. 
 Measuring square, principle of the, 
 
 comm., x. 
 Middle kingdom, the, comm., x. 15. 
 Mind, rectifying the, text, 4, 5, comm., 
 
 vii. 
 
 Odes, quotations from the, comm., ii, 
 
 3, iii., ix. 6, 7, 8, x. 3, 4, 5. 
 Order of steps in illustrating virtue, 
 
 text, 3, 4, 5. 
 
 Partiality of the affections, comm., viii. 
 Passion, influence of, comm., vii. 
 People, renovation of the, text, 1, 
 comm., ii. 
 
 Perfecting of knowledge, the, teatf, 4, 
 
 5, comm., v. 
 Person, the cultivation of the, £&r£, 4, 
 
 5, 6, comm., vii., viii. 
 
 Renovation of the people, the, text, 1, 
 
 comm., ii. 
 llesting in the highest excellence, teatf, 
 
 1, 2, comm., iii. 
 Root, the, and branches, £e.r£, 3, comm., 
 
 iv. ; cultivation of the person the, 
 
 text, 6 ; virtue the, comm., x. 6, 7, 8. 
 
 Secret watchfulness over himself, cha- 
 racteristic of the superior man, 
 comm., vi. 1. 
 
 Shoo-king, the, quotations from, comm., 
 i. 1, 2, 3, ii. 2, ix. 2, x..ll, 14. 
 
 Sincerity of the thoughts, text, 4, 5, 
 comm., vi. 
 
 State, the government of the, text, 4, 5, 
 comm., ix., x. 
 
 Steps by which virtue may be illus- 
 trated, text, 4, 5. 
 
 Superior man, character of the, comm. y 
 ii. 4. 
 
 Superior, and mean man, comm., vi. 
 
 Virtue, illustrious, text, comm., ii. ; the 
 root, comm., x. 6, 7, 8. 
 
 Wealth a secondary object with a 
 ruler, comm., x. 7, &c. 
 
 INDEX IV. 
 
 OF PROPER NAMES IN THE GREAT LEARNING, 
 
 Ch'ing, the philosopher, Introductory 
 
 note, comm., v. note. 
 Chow, the State of, comm., ii. 3. 
 Chow, the tyrant, comm., ix. 4. 
 Confucius, concluding note to text. 
 
 Pan, the uncle of Duke W£n, comm., 
 x. 13. 
 
 K'ang, honorary epithet of Fung, 
 brother of King Woo, comm., i. 1, ii. 
 2, ix. 2, x. 11. 
 
 K'e, the name of a river, comm., iii. 4. 
 
 Kee, the tyrant, comm. ix. 4. 
 
 Mang Heen, honorary epithet of Chung- 
 sun Mee, a worthy minister of Loo, 
 comm., x. 22. 
 
 Mencius, concluding note to text. 
 
 Shun, the emperor, comm., ix. 4. 
 
 T'ae Kea, the second emperor of the 
 Shang dynasty, comm., i. 2. 
 
 T'ang, the emperor, comm., ii. 1. 
 
 Tsang,the philosopher, concluding note 
 to text, co?nm., vi. 3. 
 
 Ts'in, the State of, comm., x. 14. 
 
 Ts'oo, the State of, comm., x. 12. 
 
836 SUBJECTS IN THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. INDEX V. 
 
 Wan the king, comm., iii. 3. 
 
 Yaou, the emperor, comm., i. 3, ix. 4. 
 
 Yin dynasty, comm., x. 5. 
 Yin, an ancient officer mentioned in 
 the She-king, comm., x. 4. 
 
 INDEX Y. 
 
 OF SUBJECTS IN THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 
 
 Analects, quotations from the, iii., 
 
 xxviii. 5. 
 Ancestors, worship of, xviii. 2, 3, xix. 
 Antiquity, the regulations of, cannot 
 
 be attested, xxviii. 5, xxix. 2. 
 Archery,. illustrative of the way of the 
 
 superior man, xiv. 5. 
 
 Benevolence, to be cherished in tread- 
 ing the path of duty, xx. 4, 5. 
 Burial and mourning, xviii. 3. 
 
 Ceremonies, music, &c, can be ordered 
 
 only by the emperor, xxviii. 2, 3, 4. 
 Common men and women may carry 
 
 into practice the Mean in its simple 
 
 elements, xii. 2, 4. 
 Completion of everything effected by 
 
 sincerity, xxv. 
 
 Emperor, certain exclusive prerogatives 
 
 of the, xxviii. 2, 3, 4. 
 Emperor-sage, the, described, xxix. 
 Equilibrium, the mind in a state of, 
 
 i. 4, 5. 
 Eulogium of Confucius, xxx., xxxi., 
 
 xxxii. 
 
 Fame of Confucius universal, xxxi. 4. 
 
 Filial piety, of Shun, xvii. ; of King 
 Woo, and the duke of Chow, xix. 
 
 Five duties of universal obligation, 
 xx. 8. 
 
 Forcefulness, in its relation to the prac- 
 tice of the Mean, x. 
 
 Four things to which Confucius had 
 not attained, xiii. 4. 
 
 Government, easy to him who under- 
 stands sacrificial ceremonies, xix. 6 ; 
 dependent on the character of the 
 officers, and ultimately on that of the 
 sovereign, xx. 
 
 Harmony, the mind in a state of, i. 4, 
 
 5 ; combined with firmness, in the 
 superior man, x. 5. 
 
 Heaven, rewarding filial piety in the 
 case of Shun, and virtue in the case 
 of Wan, xvii. ; Confucius the equal 
 of, xxxi. 3. 
 
 Heaven and Earth, order of, dependent 
 on the equilibrium and harmony of 
 the human mind, i. 5 ; the perfectly 
 sincere man forms a ternion with, 
 xxii. ; Confucius compared to, xxx. 
 2. 
 
 Instruction, definition of, i. 1. 
 Insubordination, the evil of, xxviii. 
 Intelligence, how connected with sin- 
 cerity, xxi. 
 
 Knowledge of duties come by in three 
 different ways, xx. 9. 
 
 Lamentation that the path of the Mean 
 
 was untrodden, v. 
 Law to himself, man a, xiii. 
 
 Man has the law of the Mean in him- 
 self, xiii. 
 
 Mean, only the superior man can fol- 
 low the, ii. 1 ; the rarity of the prac- 
 tice of the, iii. ; how it was that few 
 were able to practise the, iv. ; how 
 Shun practised the, vi. ; men's ig- 
 norance of the, shown in their con- 
 duct, vii. ; how Hwuy held fast the 
 course of the, viii. ; the difficulty of 
 attaining to the, ix. ; on forcefulness 
 in its relation to the, x. ; only the 
 sage can come up to the requirements 
 of the, xi. 3; the course of the, 
 reaches far and wide, but yet is secret, 
 xii. ; common men and women may 
 practise the, xii. 2 ; orderly advance 
 in the practice of the, xv. ; Con- 
 fucius never swerved from the, xxxi. 
 1. 
 
INDEX V. SUBJECTS IN THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 337 
 
 Middle kingdom, Confucius' fame over- 
 spreads the, xxxi. 4. 
 
 Nature, definition of, i. 1. 
 
 Nine standard rules to be followed in 
 
 the government of the empire, xx. | 
 
 12, 13, 14, 15. 
 
 Odes, quotations from the, xii. 3, xiii. 
 2, xv. 2, xvi. 4, xvii. 4, xxvi., xxvii. 
 7, xxix. 6, xxxiii. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. 
 
 Passions, harmony of the, i. 4. 
 
 Path of duty, definition of, i. 1 ; may 
 
 not be left for an instant, i. 2 ; is not 
 
 far to seek, xiii. 
 Praise of Wan and Woo, and the duke 
 
 of Chow, xviii., xix. 
 Preparation necessary to success, xx. 
 
 16. 
 Principles of duty, have their root in 
 
 the evidenced will of Heaven, i. 1 ; 
 
 to be found in the nature of man, 
 
 xii. 
 Progress in the practice of the Mean, 
 
 xv. 
 Propriety, the principle of, in relation 
 
 to the path of duty, xx. 5. 
 
 Reciprocity, the law of, xiii. 3, 4. 
 Righteousness, chiefly exercised in 
 honouring the worthy, xx. 5. 
 
 Sacrifices, to spiritual beings, xvi. 3; 
 instituted by Woo and the duke of 
 Chow, xviii. 2, 3 ; to Heaven and 
 Earth, xix. 6; to ancestors, xviii., 
 xix. 
 
 Sage, a, only can come up to the re- 
 quirements of the mean. xi. 3 ; natur- 
 ally and easily embodies the right 
 ■way, xx. 18 ; the glorious path of, 
 xxvii.; Confucius a perfect, xxxi. 1. 
 
 Seasons, Confucius compared to the 
 four, xxx. 2, 3. 
 
 Secret watchfulness over himself cha- 
 racteristic of the superior man, i, 3. 
 
 Self-examination practised by the su- 
 perior man, xxxiii. 2. 
 
 Sincerity, the outgoing of, cannot be 
 repressed, xvi. 5; the way of Heaven, 
 xx. 17, 18 ; how to be attained, xx. 
 19 ; how connected with intelligence, 
 
 xxi. ; the most complete, necessary 
 to the full development of the nature, 
 xxii. ; development of, in those not 
 naturally possessed of it, xxiii. ; when 
 entire, can foreknow, xxiv. ; the 
 completion of everything effected by 
 xxv. ; the possessor of entire, is the 
 co-equal of Heaven and Earth, and 
 is an infinite and an independent 
 being — a God, xxvi., xxxii. 1. 
 
 Singleness, necessary to the practice of 
 the relative duties, xx. 8 ; necessary 
 to the practice of government, xx. 
 15, 17 I of King Wan's virtue, xxvi. 
 10. 
 
 Sovereign, a, must not neglect personal 
 and relative duties, xx. 7. 
 
 Spirit, the perfectly sincere man is like 
 a, xxiv. 
 
 Spiritual beings, the operation and in- 
 fluence of, xvi. ; the emperor-sage 
 presents himself before, without any 
 doubts, xxix. 3, 4. 
 
 Steps in the practice of the Mean, xv. 
 
 Superior man is cautious, and watchful 
 over himself, i. 2, 5 ; only can follow 
 the Mean, ii. 2 ; combines harmony 
 with firmness, x. 5 ; the way of, is 
 far-reaching and yet secret, xii. ; 
 distinguished by entire sincerity, xiii. 
 4 ; in every variety of situation pur- 
 sues the Mean, and finds his rule 
 in himself, xiv. ; pursues his course 
 with determination, xx. 20, 21 ; en- 
 deavours to attain to the glorious 
 path of the sage, xxvii. 6, 7 ; prefers 
 concealment of his virtue, while the 
 mean man seeks notoriety, xxxiii. 1. 
 
 Three kings, the founders of the three 
 
 dynasties, xxix. 3. 
 Three virtues, wherewith the relative 
 
 duties are practised, xx. 8. 
 Three things important to a sovereign, 
 
 xxix. i. 
 Three hundred rules of ceremony, and 
 
 three thousand rules of demeanour, 
 
 xxvii. 3. 
 
 Virtue in its highest degree and influ- 
 ence, xxxiii. 4, 5, 6. 
 
 Virtuous course, the commencement 
 and completion of a, xxxiii. 
 
 22 
 
338 
 
 INDEX VI. 
 
 OF PROPER NAMES IN THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN. 
 
 Ch'ing, the philosopher, Introductory 
 
 note. 
 Chow dynasty, xxviii. 5. 
 Chow, the duke of, xviii. 3, xix. 
 Chung-ne, designation of Confucius, ii. 
 
 1, XXX. 1. 
 
 Confucian school, Introductory note. 
 
 Gae, the duke of Loo, xx, 1. 
 
 Hea dynasty, xxviii. 5. 
 
 Hwa, the name of a mountain, xxvi. 9. 
 
 Hwuy, a disciple of Confucius, viii. 
 
 Ke, a small State in which sacrifices 
 were maintained to the emperors of 
 the Hea dynasty, xxviii. 5. 
 
 Ke-leih, the duke, who received from 
 "Woo the title of king, xviii. 2, 3. 
 
 Mencius, Introductory note. 
 
 Shun, the emperor, vi., xvii. 1, xxx. 1. 
 
 Sung, a State in which sacrifices were 
 maintained to the emperors of the 
 Yin dynasty, xxviii. 5. 
 
 T'ae, the duke, T'an-foo, who received 
 from Woo the title of king, xviii. 
 2,3. 
 
 Tsze loo, a disciple of Confucius, x. 1. 
 
 Tsze-sze, Introductory note ; concluding 
 notes to chapters i , xii., xxi., xxxiii. 
 
 W&n, the king, xvii. 4, xviii., xx. 2, 
 
 xxvi. 10, xxx. 1. 
 Woo, the king, xviii., xix., xx. 2, 
 
 xxx. 1. 
 
 Yaou, the emperor, xxx. 1. 
 
 Yin dynasty, xxviii. 5. 
 
 Yoh, the name of a mountain, xxvi. 9. 
 
 Yung, a distinguished scholar, a.d. 
 1064 — 1085, concluding note to chap- 
 ter i. 
 
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