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PART V. THE BOOKS OF KÂU.

BOOK I. THE GREAT DECLARATION.

KÂU is the dynastic designation under which king Wû and his
descendants possessed the throne from B. C. 1122 to 256, a period of
861 years. They traced their lineage up to Khî, who was Minister of
Agriculture under Shun. He was invested with the principality of Thâi,
the present district of Fû-fang, department of Fang-hsiang, Shen-hsî.
Long afterwards Than-fû, claiming to be one of his descendants,
appears in B.C. 1326, founding the state of Kâu, near mount Khî, in
the same department of Fang-hsiang. This Than-fû was the
great-grandfather of king Wû. The family surname was Kî.

When the collection of the Shû was complete, it contained thirty-eight
different documents of the Kâu dynasty, of which twenty-eight remain,
twenty of them being of undisputed genuineness.

This first Book, 'the Great Declaration,' is one of the contested
portions; and there is another form of it, that takes the place of
this in some editions. It has appeared in the Introduction that the
received text of the Shû was formed with care, and that everything of
importance in the challenged Books is to be found in quotations from
them, while the collection was complete, that have been gathered up by
the industry of scholars.

King Wû, having at last taken the field against Kâu-hsin, the tyrant
of Shang, made three speeches to his officers and men, setting forth
the reasons for his enterprise, and urging them to exert themselves
with him in the cause of humanity and Heaven. They are brought
together, and constitute ' the Great Declaration.'

'In the first Part,' says a Chinese critic,' king Wû addresses himself
to the princes and nobles of inferior rank; in the second, to their
hosts; and in the third, to his officers. The ruling idea in the first
is the duty of the sovereign,--What he ought to be and to do; with
this it begins and ends. There is not the same continuity of thought
in the second, brut the will and purpose of Heaven is the principal
thing insisted on. The last Part shows the difference between the good
sovereign and the bad, and touches on the consent that there is
between Heaven and men. There is throughout an unsparing exhibition of
the wickedness of Kâu-hsin.

Section 1.

In the spring of the thirteenth year[1] there was a great assembly at
Mâng-king[2]. The king said, 'Ah! ye hereditary rulers of my friendly
states, and all ye my officers, managers of my affairs, hearken
clearly to my declaration.

'Heaven and earth is the parent of all creatures; and of all creatures
man is the most highly endowed. * The sincerely intelligent (among
men) becomes the great sovereign; and the great sovereign is the
parent of the people. But now, Shâu, the king of Shang, does not
reverence Heaven above, and inflicts calamities on the people below. *
Abandoned to drunkenness and reckless in lust, he has dared to
exercise cruel oppression. He has extended the punishment of offenders
to all their relatives. He has put men into offices on the hereditary
principle. He has made it his pursuit to have palaces, towers,
pavilions, embankments, ponds, and all other extravagances, to the
most painful injury of you, the myriads of the people. He has burned
and roasted the loyal and good. He has ripped up pregnant

[1. The thirteenth year is reckoned from king Wû's succeeding to his
father as 'the Chief of the West.'

2 Mâng-king, or 'the Ford of Mang,' is still the name of an district
in the department of Ho-nan, Ho-nan.]

women. Great Heaven was moved with indignation, and charged my
deceased father Wan to display its terrors; but (he died) before the
work was completed.*

'On this account, I, Fâ, the little child, have by means of you, the
hereditary rulers of my friendly states, contemplated the government
of Shang; but Shâu has no repentant heart. He sits squatting on his
heels, not serving God nor the spirits of heaven and earth, neglecting
also the temple of his ancestors, and not sacrificing in it.* The
victims and the vessels of millet all become the prey of wicked
robbers, and still he says, "The people are mine; the (heavenly)
appointment is mine," never trying to correct his contemptuous mind.*

'Heaven, for the help of the inferior people, made for them rulers,
and made for them instructors, that they might be able to be aiding to
God, and secure the tranquillity of the four quarters (of the
kingdom). In regard to who are criminals and who are not, how dare I
give any allowance to my own wishes? *

'"Where the strength is the same, measure the virtue of the parties;
where the virtue is the same, measure their righteousness." Shâu has
hundreds of thousands and myriads of officers, but they have hundreds
of thousands and myriads of minds; I have (but) three thousand
officers, but they have one mind. The iniquity of Shang is full.
Heaven gives command to destroy it. If I did not obey Heaven, my
iniquity would be as great.*

'I, the little child, early and late am filled with apprehensions. I
have received the command of my deceased father Wan; I have offered
special sacrifice to God; I have performed the due services to the
great earth; and I lead the multitude of you to execute the punishment
appointed by Heaven. * Heaven compassionates the people. What the
people desire, Heaven will be found to give effect to.* Do you aid me,
the One man, to cleanse for ever (all within) the four seas. Now is
the time!--It should not be lost.'

Section 2.

On (the day) Wû-wû [1], the king halted on the north of the Ho. Men
all the princes with their hosts were assembled, the king reviewed the
hosts, and made the following declaration:--'Oh! ye multitudes of the
west, hearken all to my words.

'I have heard that the good man, doing good, finds the day
insufficient; and that the evil man, doing evil, also finds the day
insufficient. Now Shâu, the king of Shang, with strength pursues his
lawless way. He has driven away the timeworn sires, and cultivates
intimacies with wicked men. Dissolute, intemperate, reckless,
oppressive, his ministers have become assimilated to him; and they
form combinations and contract animosities, and depend on their power
to exterminate one another. The innocent cry to Heaven. The odour of
such a state is felt on high.*

'Heaven loves the people, and the sovereign should reverently carry
out (this mind of) Heaven. Kieh, the sovereign of Hsiâ, would not
follow the

[1. In Book iii we are told that Wû commenced his march to attack
Kâu-hsin, on Kwei-kî, the 2nd day of the moon. Calculating on to the
day Wû-wû, we find that it was the 28th day of the same moon.]

example of Heaven, but sent forth his poisonous injuries through. the
states of the kingdom:--Heaven therefore gave its aid to Thang the
Successful, and charged him to make an end of the appointment of
Hsiâ.* But the crimes of Shâu exceed those of Kieh. He has degraded
from office the greatly good man[1]; he has behaved with cruel tyranny
to his reprover and helper [2]. He says that with him is the
appointment of Heaven; he says that a reverent care of his conduct is
not worth observing; he says that sacrifice is of no use; he says that
tyranny is no harm.* The beacon for him to look to was not far
off;--it was that king of Hsiâ. It would seem that Heaven is going by
means of me to rule the people. My dreams coincide with my
divinations; the auspicious omen is double.* My attack on Shang must
succeed.

'Shâu has hundreds of thousands and millions of ordinary men, divided
in heart and, divided in practice;--I have of ministers, able to
govern, ten men[3], one in heart and one in practice. Though he has
his nearest relatives with him, they are not like my virtuous men.
Heaven sees as my people see; Heaven hears as my people hear.* The
people are blaming me, the One man, for my delay;--I must now go
forward. My military prowess is displayed, and I enter his territories
to take the wicked tyrant. My punishment (of evil) will be great, and
more glorious than that executed by Thang. Rouse ye,

[1. The count of Wei.

2 Pî-kan.

3. Confucius tells us, in the Analects, VIII, xx, that one of these
ten was a woman; but whether the lady was Wû's wife or mother is
disputed.]

my heroes! Do not think that he is not to be feared;--better think
that he cannot be withstood. (His) people stand in trembling awe of
him, as if the horns were falling from their heads. Oh! unite your
energies, unite your hearts;--so shall you forthwith surely accomplish
the work, to last for all ages!'

Section 3.

The time was on the morrow, when the king went round his six hosts in
state, and made a clear declaration to all his officers. He said, 'Oh
I my valiant men of the west, from Heaven are the illustrious courses
of duty, of which the (several) requirements are quite plain. And now
Shang, the king of Shang, treats with contemptuous slight the five
regular (virtues), and abandons himself to wild idleness and
irreverence. He has cut himself off from Heaven, and brought enmity
between himself and the people.

He cut through the leg-bones of those who were wading, in the
morning[1]; he cut out the heart of the worthy man[2]. By the use of
his power, killing, and murdering, he has poisoned and sickened all
within the four seas. His honours and confidence are given to the
villainous and bad. tie has driven from him his instructors and
guardians. He has thrown to the winds the statutes and penal laws. He
has imprisoned and enslaved the upright officer[3]. He neglects the
sacrifices to heaven and earth. He

[1. This was in winter. Observing some people then wading through a
stream, Kâu-hsin caused their legs to be cut through at the
shank-bone, that he might see their marrow.

2 Pî-kan.

3. The count of Khî; see Book iv.]

has discontinued the offerings in the ancestral temple. He makes
contrivances of wonderful device and extraordinary cunning to please
his wife[1].--God will no longer indulge him, but with a curse is
sending down on him this ruin.* Do ye with untiring zeal support me,
the One man, reverently to execute the punishment appointed by Heaven.
The ancients have said, "He who soothes us is our sovereign; he who
oppresses us is our enemy." This solitary fellow Shâu, having
exercised great tyranny, is your perpetual enemy. (It is said again),
"In planting (a man's) virtue, strive to make it great; in putting
away (a man's) wickedness, strive to do it from the roots." Here I,
the little child, by the powerful help of you, all my officers, will
utterly exterminate your enemy. Do you, all my officers, march forward
with determined boldness to sustain your prince. Where there is much
merit, there shall be large reward; where you do not so advance, there
shall be conspicuous disgrace.

'Oh! (the virtue of) my deceased father Wan was like the shining of
the sun and moon. His brightness extended over the four quarters of
the land, and shone signally in the western region. Hence it is that
our Kâu has received (the allegiance of) many states. If I subdue
Shâu, it will not be from my prowess but from the faultless (virtue
of) my deceased father Wan. If Shâu subdue me, it will not be from any
fault of my deceased father Wan, but because I, the little child, am
not good.'

[1. The notorious Tâ-ki, the accounts of whose shameless wickedness
and atrocious cruelties almost exceed belief.]

BOOK II. THE SPEECH AT MÛ.

IT is the morning of the day of battle, for which the king has
prepared his host by the three speeches of the last Book. Once more he
addresses his confederate princes, his officers, and his men. He sets
forth more briefly the intolerable wickedness of Shâu, and instructs
and warns his troops how they are to behave in the fight.

Mû was in the south of the present district of Khî, department
Wei-hui, Ho-nan, a tract of open country stretching into the district
of Kî, and at no great distance from the capital of Shâu.

1. The time was the grey dawn of the day Kiâ-dze. On that morning the
king came to the open country of Mû, in the borders of Shang, and
addressed his army. In his left hand he carried a battle-axe yellow
with gold, and in his right he held a white ensign, which he waved,
saying, 'Far are ye come, ye men of the western regions!' He added,
'Ah! ye hereditary rulers of my friendly states; ye managers of
affairs,--the Ministers of Instruction, of War, and of Works; the
great officers subordinate to these, and the many other officers; the
master of my body-guards; the captains of thousands and captains of
hundreds; and ye, O men of Yung, Shû, Kiang, Mâo, Wei, Lû, Phang, and
Pho[1], lift up your lances, join your shields, raise your spears:--I
have a speech to make.'

[1. These are the names of eight different tribes or confederations of
tribes of the south and west. We are to look for their sites in
Sze-khüan, Yün-nan, and Hû-pei. They were, no doubt, an important
portion of Wû's army, but only as auxiliaries. It is too much to
ascribe, as some have done, the overthrow of Shang to an irruption of
barbarous people from the west.]

2. The king (then) said, 'The ancients have said, "The hen does not
announce the morning. The crowing of a hen in the morning (indicates)
the subversion of the family." Now Shâu, the king of Shang, follows
only the words of his wife. In his blindness he has neglected the
sacrifices which he ought to offer, and makes no response (for the
favours that he has received);* he has also cast off his paternal and
maternal relations, not treating them properly. They are only the
vagabonds from all quarters, loaded with crimes, whom he honours and
exalts, whom he employs and trusts, making them great officers and
high nobles, so that they can tyrannize over the people, and exercise
their villainies in the cities of Shang.

'Now, I, Fâ, am simply executing, respectfully the punishment
appointed by Heaven.* In to-day's business do not advance more than
six or seven steps, and then stop and adjust your ranks;--my brave
men, be energetic! Do not exceed four blows, five blows, six blows, or
seven blows, and then stop and adjust your ranks;--my brave men, be
energetic! Display a martial bearing. Be like tigers and panthers,
like bears and grisly bears, (here) in the borders of Shang. Do not
rush on those who fly (to us in submission), but receive them to serve
our western land;--my brave men, be energetic! If you be not energetic
(in all these matters), you will bring destruction on yourselves.'

BOOK III. THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE WAR.

I HAVE divided this Book into three chapters:--one, consisting of
brief historical notes of the commencement and close of Wû's
expedition; a second, giving the address (or a part of it) delivered
by Wû to his nobles and officers on occasion, we may suppose, of their
recognition of him as king, and his confirming some of them in their
old states or appointments, and giving new ones to others; the third
again historical, and relating several incidents of the battle between
Wû and Shâu, and going on to subsequent events and important
governmental measures of the new dynasty.

Most Chinese critics hold that portions of the Book are lost, and that
the paragraphs of it are, besides, erroneously arranged. In what
division of the documents of the Shû it should be classified, it is
not easy to say. It is more like a 'Canon' than anything else.

1. In the first month, the day Zan-khan immediately followed the end
of the moon's waning. The next day was Kwei-kî, when the king, in the
morning, marched from Kâu to attack and punish Shang. In the fourth
month, at the first appearance of the moon, the king came from Shang
to Fang [2], when he hushed all the movements of war, and proceeded to
cultivate the arts of peace. He sent back his horses to the south of
mount Hwâ,

[1. Kâu is, probably, Wû's capital, called Hâo, about ten miles south
of the present district city of Khang-an, and not quite so far from
his father's capital of Fang. The river Fang ran between them.

2 In Fang there was the ancestral temple of the lords of Kâu, and
thither from the capital of Shang, Wû now repaired for the purpose of
sacrificing.]

and let loose his oxen in the open country of Thâo-lin [1], showing to
all under heaven that he would not use them (again).

On the day Ting-Wei, he sacrificed in the ancestral temple of Kâu,
when (the princes) of the royal domain, and of the Tien, Hâu, and Wei
domains, all hurried about, carrying the dishes." The third day after
was Kang-hsü, when he presented a burnt-offering to Heaven, and
worshipped towards the hills and rivers, solemnly announcing the
successful completion of the war.*

After the moon began to wane, the hereditary princes of the various
states, and all the officers, received their appointments from Kâu
[2].

2. The king spoke to the following effect:--'Oh! ye host of princes,
the first of our kings [3] founded his state, and commenced (the
enlargement of) its territory. Kung Liû, [4] was able to consolidate
the services of his predecessor. But it was the king Thâi who laid the
foundations of the royal inheritance. The king Kî was diligent for the
royal House; and my deceased father, king Wan, completed his merit,
and grandly received the appointment

[1. The country about the hill of Mû-niû or Khwâ-fû, in the southeast
of the present department of Thung-kâu. Thâo-lin may be translated
'Peach-forest.'

2 The new dynasty of Kâu was now fully inaugurated.

3. By 'the first of our kings,' we must understand Khî, Shun's
Minister of Agriculture; and his state was that of Thâi.

4. Kung Lîu, perhaps 'duke Lîu,' appears in Pin, the present Pin Kâu
of Shen-hsî, about the beginning of the eighteenth century B.C.,
reviving the fallen fortunes of the House of Khî. History is then
silent about the family for more than four centuries, when we find
Than-fû, called here 'king Thâi,' founding the state of Kâu.]

of Heaven, to soothe the regions of our great land.* The great states
feared his strength; the small states thought fondly of his virtue. In
nine years, however, the whole kingdom was not united under his rule,
and it fell to me, the little child, to carry out his will.

'Detesting the crimes of Shang, I announced to great Heaven and the
sovereign Earth, to the famous hill I and the great river I by which I
passed, saying.

'I, Fâ, the principled, king of Kâu by a long descent, am about to
administer a great correction to Shang. Shâu, the present king of
Shang, is without principle, cruel and destructive to the creatures of
Heaven, injurious and tyrannical to the multitudes of the people, lord
of all the vagabonds under heaven, who collect about him as fish in
the deep, and beasts in the prairie. I, the little child, having
obtained (the help of) virtuous men, presume reverently to comply with
(the will of) God, and make an end of his disorderly ways.* Our
flowery, and great land, and the tribes of the south and north,
equally follow and consent with me. Reverently obeying the determinate
counsel of Heaven, I pursue my punitive work to the east, to give
tranquillity to its men and women. They meet me with their baskets
full of dark-coloured and yellow silks, thereby showing (the virtues)
of us, the kings of Kâu. Heaven's favours stir them up, so that they
come with their allegiance to our great state of Kâu. And now, ye
spirits, grant me your aid, that I may relieve the millions of the
people, and nothing turn out to your shame."'*

[1. Probably mount Hwâ and the Ho.]

3. On the day Wû-wû, the army crossed the ford of Mâng, and on
Kwei-hâi it was drawn up in array in the borders of Shang, waiting for
the gracious decision of Heaven. On Kiâ-dze, at early dawn, Shâu led
forward his troops, (looking) like a forest, and assembled them in the
wild of Mû. But they offered no opposition to our army. Those in the
front inverted their spears, and attacked those behind them, till they
fled; and the blood flowed till it floated the pestles of the mortars.
Thus did (king Wû) once don his armour, and the kingdom was grandly
settled. He overturned the (existing) rule of Shang, and made
government resume its old course. He delivered the count of Khî from
prison, and raised a mound over the grave of Pî-kan. He bowed forward
to the cross-bar of his carriage at the gate of Shang Yung's village
[1]. He dispersed the treasures of the Stag Tower[2], and distributed
the grain of Kü-khiâo [3], thus conferring great gifts on all within
the four seas, so that the people joyfully submitted to him.

He arranged the nobles in five orders [4], assigning the territories
to them according to a threefold

[1. Shang Yung must have been some worthy in disgrace with Shâu, and
living in the retirement of his village.

2. The Stag Tower was the name of a place in the present department of
Wei-hui, Ho-nan, where Shâu had accumulated great treasures. He fled
to it after his defeat, and burned himself to death; but it would
appear he had not succeeded in consuming at the same time all his
wealth.

3. Kü-khiâo was in the present district of Khü-kâu, department
Kwang-phing, Kih-lî, where Shâu had collected great stores of grain.

4. Dukes, marquises, earls, counts, and barons.]

scale[1]. He gave offices only to the worthy, and employments only to
the able. He attached great importance to the people's being taught
the duties Of the five relations of society, and to measures for
ensuring a sufficient supply of food, attention to the rites of
mourning, and to sacrifices.* He showed the reality of his
truthfulness, and proved clearly his righteousness. He honoured
virtue, and rewarded merit. Then he had only to let his robes fall
down, and fold his hands, and the kingdom was orderly ruled.

BOOK IV. THE GREAT PLAN.

THE Great Plan, ordinarily classed among the 'Counsels' or among the
'Instructions' of the Shû, might as well have a place among the
'Canons.' It is a remarkable production, and though it appears among
the documents of the Kâu dynasty, there is claimed for the substance
of it a much greater antiquity. According to the introductory
sentences, king Wû, the founder of Kâu, obtained it from the count of
Khî in the same year, the thirteenth of his dignity as Chief of the
West, that he took the field against the tyrant of Shang. The count of
Khî, it is understood, was the Grand-Master at the court of Shang, who
appears in the concluding Book of the last Part. He says there, that,
when ruin overtook the House of Shang, he would not be the servant of
another dynasty. Accordingly, he refused to acknowledge the
sovereignty of king Wû, who had delivered him from the prison in which
he had been confined by Kâu-hsin, and fled--or purposed perhaps to
flee to Corea. Wû respected and admired his fidelity to the fallen
dynasty, and invested him with that territory. He then, it is said,
felt constrained to appear at the court of Kâu, when the king
consulted

[1. Dukes and marquises had the same amount of territory assigned to
them, and counts and barons also.]

him on the principles of government; and the result was that he
communicated to him this Great Plan, with its nine divisions. When we
read the Book, we see that it belonged originally to the time of Hsiâ,
and that the larger portion of it should be ascribed to the Great Yü,
and was as old, indeed, as the reign of Yâo. How it had come into the
possession of the count of Khî we cannot tell. Nor does it appear how
far the language of it should be ascribed to him. That the larger
portion of it had come down from the times of Hsiâ is not improbable.
The use of the number nine and other numbers, and the naming of the
various divisions of the Plan, are in harmony with Yü's style and
practice in his Counsels in the second Part of our Classic, and in the
second Part also of the Tribute of Yü. We are told in the introductory
sentences, that Heaven or God gave the Plan with its divisions to Yü.
To explain the way in which the gift was made, there is a tradition
about a mysterious tortoise that appeared in the waters of the Lo,
bearing well-defined marks on its back from one to nine, and that
thereupon Yü determined the meaning of those marks and of their
numbers, and completed the nine divisions of the Plan. Of this legend,
however, it is not necessary to speak in connexion with the Shû, which
does not mention it; it will come up in connexion with the translation
of the Yî King.

The Great Plan means the great model for the government of the
nation,--the method by which the people may be rendered happy and
tranquil, in harmony with their condition, through the perfect
character of the king, and his perfect administration of government.

P. Gaubil says that the Book is a treatise at once of physics,
astrology, divination, morals, politics, and religion, and that it has
a sufficiently close resemblance to the work of Ocellus the Lucanian.
There is a shadowy resemblance between the Great Plan and the curious
specimen of Pythagorean doctrine which we have in the treatise on the
Universe; but the dissimilarities are still greater and more numerous.
More especially are the differences between the Greek mind,
speculative, and the Chinese mind, practical, apparent in the two
works. Where the Chinese writer loses himself in the sheerest follies
of his imagining, he yet gropes about for a rule to be of use in the
conduct of human affairs.

The whole of the treatise is divided into three chapters. The first is
introductory, and relates bow the Great Plan with its nine divisions
was first made known to Yü, and came at this time to be communicated
to king Wû; the second contains the names of the nine divisions of the
Plan; and in the third we have a description of the several divisions.
'The whole,' says a Chinese writer, 'exhibits the great model for the
government of the nation.' The fifth or middle division on royal
perfection is the central one of the whole, about which the Book
revolves. The four divisions that precede it show how this royal
perfection is to be accomplished, and the four that follow show how it
is to be maintained.

1. In the thirteenth year[1], the king went to enquire of the count of
Khî, and said to him, Oh! count of Khî, Heaven, (working) unseen,
secures the tranquillity of the lower people, aiding them to be in
harmony with their condition [2]. I do not know how the unvarying
principles (of its method in doing so) should be set forth in due
order.'

The count of Khî thereupon replied, 'I have heard that in old time
Khwan dammed up the inundating waters, and thereby threw into disorder
the arrangement of the five elements. God was consequently roused to
anger, and did not give him the Great Plan with its nine divisions,
and thus the unvarying principles (of Heaven's method) were allowed to
go to ruin.* Khwan was therefore

[1. See the commencement of Book i.

2. Khung Ying-tâ of the Thang dynasty says on this:--'The people have
been produced by supreme Heaven, and both body and soul are Heaven's
gift. Men have thus the material body and the knowing mind, and Heaven
further assists them, helping them to harmonize their lives. The right
and the wrong of their language, the correctness and errors of their
conduct, their enjoyment of clothing and food, the rightness of, their
various movements;--all these things are to be harmonized by what they
are endowed with by Heaven.']

kept a prisoner till his death, and his son Yü rose up (and entered on
the same undertaking). To him Heaven gave the Great Plan with its nine
divisions, and the unvarying principles (of its method) were set forth
in their due order.'*

2. '(Of those divisions) the first is called "the five elements;" the
second, "reverent attention to the five (personal) matters;" the
third, "earnest devotion to the eight (objects of) government;" the
fourth, "the harmonious use of the five dividers of time;" the fifth,
"the establishment and use of royal perfection;" the sixth, "the
discriminating use of the three virtues;" the seventh, "the
intelligent use of (the means for) the examination of doubts;" the
eighth, "the thoughtful use of the various verifications;" the ninth,
"the hortatory use of the five (sources of) happiness, and the awing
use of the six (occasions of) Suffering."'

3. i. 'First, of the five elements[1].--The first is

[1. Gaubil gives here 'les cinq hing,' without translating the Chinese
term, English sinologists have got into the habit of rendering it by
'elements,' but it hardly seems possible to determine what the Chinese
mean by it, We intend by 'elements' 'the first principles or
ingredients of which all things are composed.' The Pythagoreans, by
their four elements of earth, water, air, and fire, did not intend so
much the nature or essence of material substances, as the forms under
which matter is actually presented to us. The character hsing, meaning
'to move,' 'to be in action,' shows that the original conception of
the Chinese is of a different nature; and it is said in the Khang-hsî
Dictionary, 'The five hsing move and revolve between heaven and earth,
without ever ceasing, and hence they are named.' The editors of the
latest imperial edition of the Shû say, 'Distributed through the four
seasons, they make "the five dividers of time;" exhibited in
prognostications, they give rise to divination by the tortoise-shell
and the reeds; having lodgment in the human body, they produce "the
five personal matters;" moved by good fortune and bad, they produce
"the various verifications" communicated to organisms, they produce
the different natures, hard and soft, good and evil; working out their
results in the changes of those organisms, they necessitate--here
benevolence and there meanness, here longevity and there early
death:--all these things are from the operation of the five hsing. But
if we speak of them in their simplest and most important character,
they are what mans life depends on, what the people cannot do
without.' After all this, I should still be sorry to be required to
say what the five hsing are.]

water; the second is fire; the third, wood; the fourth, metal; and the
fifth, earth. (The nature of) water is to soak and descend; of fire,
to blaze and ascend; of wood, to be crooked and straight; of metal, to
yield and change; while (that of) earth is seen in seed-sowing and
in-gathering. That which soaks and descends becomes salt; that which
blazes and ascends becomes bitter; that which is crooked and straight
becomes sour; that which yields and changes becomes acrid; and from
seed-sowing and in-gathering comes sweetness.'

ii. 'Second, of the five (personal) matters[1].--The first is the
bodily demeanour; the second, speech; the third, seeing; the fourth,
hearing; the fifth, thinking. (The virtue of) the bodily appearance is
respectfulness; of speech, accordance (with reason); of seeing,
clearness; of hearing distinctness; of thinking, perspicaciousness.
The respectfulness becomes manifest in gravity; accordance (with
reason), in orderliness; the clearness, in wisdom; the distinctness,
in deliberation; and the perspicaciousness, in sageness.'

iii. 'Third, of the eight (objects of) government [2].--

[1. These five 'matters' are represented as being in the human person
what the five hsing are in nature. Demeanour is the human
correspondency of water, speech that of fire, &c.

2. Medhurst calls the eight (objects of) government 'the eight
re(yulators,' and Gaubil calls them 'les huit règles du gouvernement.'
The phrase means the eight things to be attended to in
government,--its objects and departments.]

The first is food; the second, wealth and articles of convenience; the
third, sacrifices; the fourth, (the business of) the Minister of
Works; the fifth, (that of) the Minister of Instruction; the sixth,
(that of) the Minister of Crime; the seventh, the observances, to be
paid to guests; the eighth, the army.'

iv. 'Fourth, of the five dividers of time[1].--The first is the year
(or the planet Jupiter); the second, the moon; the third, the sun; the
fourth, the stars and planets, and the zodiacal spaces; and the fifth,
the calendaric calculations.'

V. 'Fifth, of royal perfection [2].-The sovereign, having established
(in himself) the highest degree and pattern of excellence,
concentrates in his own person the five (sources of) happiness, and
proceeds to diffuse them, and give them to the multitudes of the
people. Then they, on their part, embodying your perfection, will give
it (back) to you, and secure the preservation of it. Among all the
multitudes of the people there will be no unlawful confederacies, and
among men (in office) there will be no bad and selfish
combinations;--let the sovereign

[1. 'The five dividers of time' are with Medhurst 'the five
arrangers,' and with Gaubil 'les cinq périodes.' This division of the
Great Plan is substantially the same as Yâo's instructions to his
astronomers.

2 By 'royal perfection' we are to understand the sovereign when he is,
or has made himself, all that he ought to be. 'Perfection' is 'the
utmost point,' the extreme of excellence, realized in the person of
the sovereign, guiding his administrative measures, and serving as an
example and attractive influence to all below, both ministers and
people.]

establish in (himself) the highest degree and pattern of excellence.

'Among all the multitudes of the people there will be those who have
ability to plan and to act, and who keep themselves (from evil):--do
you keep such in mind; and there will be those who, not coming up to
the highest point of excellence, yet do not involve themselves in
evil:--let the sovereign receive such. And when a placid satisfaction
appears in their countenances, and they say, "Our love is fixed on
virtue," do you then confer favours on them;-those men will in this
way advance to the perfection of the sovereign. Do not let him oppress
the friendless and childless, nor let him fear the high and
distinguished. When men (in office) have ability and administrative
power, let them be made still more to cultivate their conduct; and the
prosperity of the country will be promoted. All (such) right men,
having a competency, will go on in goodness. If you cannot cause them
to have what they love in their families, they will forthwith proceed
to be guilty of crime. As to those who have not the love of virtue,
although you confer favours (and emoluments) on them, they will (only)
involve you in the of employing the evil

Without deflection, without unevenness,
Pursue the royal righteousness.
Without selfish likings,
Pursue the royal way.
Without selfish dislikings,
Pursue the royal path.
Avoid deflection, avoid partiality;--
Broad and long is the royal way.
Avoid partiality, avoid deflection;--
Level and easy is the royal way.
Avoid perversity, avoid one-sidedness;--
Correct and straight is the royal way.
(Ever) seek for this perfect excellence,
(Ever) turn to this perfect excellence.'

He went on to say, 'This amplification of the royal perfection
contains the unchanging (rule), and is the (great) lesson;-yea, it is
the lesson of God.* All the multitudes of the people, instructed in
this amplification of the perfect excellence, and carrying it into
practice, will thereby approximate to the glory of the Son of Heaven,
and say, "The Son of Heaven is the parent of the people, and so
becomes the sovereign of all under the sky."'

vi. 'Sixth, of the three virtues[1].--The first is correctness and
straightforwardness; the second, strong rule; and the third, mild
rule. In peace and tranquillity, correctness and straightforwardness
(must sway); in violence and disorder, strong rule; in harmony and
order, mild rule. For the reserved and retiring there should be (the
stimulus of) the strong rule; for the high(-minded) and distinguished,
(the restraint of) the mild rule.

'It belongs only to the sovereign to confer dignities and rewards, to
display the terrors of majesty, and to receive the revenues (of the
kingdom). There should be no such thing as a minister's conferring
dignities or rewards, displaying the terrors of majesty, or receiving
the revenues. Such

[1. 'The three virtues' are not personal attributes of the sovereign,
but characteristics of his rule, the varied manifestations of the
perfection described in the preceding division.]

a thing is injurious to the clans, and fatal to the states (of the
kingdom); smaller affairs are thereby managed in a one-sided and
perverse manner, and the people fall into assumptions and excesses.'

vii. 'Seventh, of the (means for the) examination of
doubts[1].--Officers having been chosen and appointed for divining by
the tortoise-shell and the

[1. The practice of divination for the satisfaction of doubts was thus
used in China from the earliest times. In the Counsels of Yü, p. 50,
that sage proposes to Shun to submit the question of who should be his
successor on the throne to divination, and Shun replies that he had
already done so. Gaubil says that according to the Great Plan
divination was only used in doubtful cases; but if such was the
practice of the sages, diviners and soothsayers must have formed, as
they do now, a considerable and influential class in society. The old
methods of divination have fallen into disuse, and we do not know how
far other methods are employed and sanctioned by the government. Those
old methods were by means of the tortoise-shell, and the stalks of the
Khî plant. 'The tortoise,' says Kû Hsî, 'after great length of years
becomes intelligent; and the Khî plant will yield, when a hundred
years old, a hundred stalks from one root, and is also a spiritual and
intelligent thing. The two divinations were in reality a questioning
of spiritual beings, the plant and the shell being employed, because
of their mysterious intelligence, to indicate their intimations. The
way of divination by the shell was by the application of fire to
scorch it till the indications appeared on it; and that by the stalks
of the plant was to manipulate in a prescribed way forty-nine of them,
eighteen different times, till the diagrams were formed.'

The outer shell of the tortoise was removed, leaving the inner portion
on which were the marks of the lines of the muscles of the creature.
This was smeared with a black pigment, and, fire being applied
beneath, the pigment was examined, and according as it had been
variously dried by the heat, presented the indications mentioned in
the text. The Khî plant was probably the Achillea millefolium. It is
cultivated largely on the mound over the grave of Confucius. I brought
from that two bundles of the dried stalks in 1873.]

stalks of the Achillea, they are to be charged (on occasion) to
execute their duties. (In doing this), they will find (the appearances
of) rain, of clearing up, of cloudiness, of want of connexion, and of
crossing; and the inner and outer diagrams. In all (the indications)
are seven;--five given by the shell, and two by the stalks; and (by
means) of these any errors (in the mind) may be traced out. These
officers having been appointed, when the divination is proceeded with,
three men are to interpret the indications, and the (consenting) words
of two of them are to be followed. *

'When you have doubts about any great matter, consult with your own
mind; consult with your high ministers and officers; consult with the
common people; consult the tortoise-shell and divining stalks. If you,
the shell, the stalks, the ministers and officers, and the common
people, all agree about a course, this is what is called a great
concord, and the result will be the welfare of your person and good
fortune to your descendants. If you, the shell, and the stalks agree,
while the ministers, and officers, and the common people oppose, the
result will be fortunate. If the ministers and officers, with the
shell and stalks, agree, while you and the common people oppose, the
result will be fortunate. If the common people, the shell, and the
stalks agree, while you, with the ministers and officers, oppose, the
result will be fortunate. If you and the shell agree. while the
stalks, with the ministers and officers, and the common people,
oppose, internal operations will be fortunate, and external
undertakings unlucky. When the shell and stalks are both opposed to
the views of men, there will be good fortune in being still, and
active operations will be unlucky.'*

viii. 'Eighth, of the various verifications[1].--They are rain,
sunshine, heat, cold, wind, and seasonableness. When the five come,
all complete, and each in its proper order, (even) the various plants
will be richly luxuriant. Should any one of them be either excessively
abundant or excessively deficient, there will be evil.*

There are the favourable verifications[2]:--namely,

[1. P. Gaubil renders by 'les apparences' the characters which I have
translated 'the various verifications,' observing that he could not
find any word which would cover the whole extent of the meaning. He
says, 'In the present case, the character signifies meteors,
phenomena, appearances, but in such sort that these have relation to
some other things with which they are connected;--the meteor or
phenomenon indicates some good or some evil. It is a kind of
correspondency which is supposed, it appears, to exist between the
ordinary events of the life of men and the constitution of the air,
according to the different seasons;--what is here--and supposes--I
know not what physical speculation of those times. It is needless to
bring to bear on the text the interpretation of the later Chinese, for
they are. full of false ideas on the subject of physics. It may be
also that the count of Khî wanted to play the physicist on points
which he did not know! There seems to underlie the words of the count
that feeling of the harmony between the natural and spiritual worlds,
which occurs at times to most men, and strongly affects minds under
deep religious thought or on the wings of poetic rapture, but the way
in which he endeavours to give the subject a practical application can
only be characterised as grotesque.

2. Compare with this what is said above on the second division of the
Plan, 'the five (personal) matters.' It is observed here by Zhâi Khan,
the disciple of Kû Hsî, and whose commentary on the Shû has, of all
others, the greatest authority:--'To say that on occasion of such and
such a personal matter being realized, there will be the favourable
verification corresponding to it, or that, on occasion of the failure
of such realization, there will be the corresponding unfavourable
verification, would betray a pertinacious obtuseness, and show that
the speaker was not a man to be talked with on the mysterious
operations of nature. It is not easy to describe the reciprocal
meeting of Heaven and men. The hidden springs touched by failure and
success, and the minute influences that respond to them:--who can
'know these but the man that has apprehended all truth?' This is in
effect admitting that the statements in the text can be of no
practical use. And the same thing is admitted by the West imperial
editors of the Shû on the use which the text goes on to make of the
thoughtful use of the verifications by the king and others.]

of gravity, which is emblemed by seasonable rain; of orderliness,
emblemed by seasonable sunshine; of wisdom, emblemed by seasonable
heat; of deliberation, emblemed by seasonable cold; and of sageness,
emblemed by seasonable wind, There are (also) the unfavourable
verifications:--namely, of recklessness, emblemed by constant rain; of
assumption, emblemed by constant sunshine; of indolence, emblemed by
constant heat; of hastiness, emblemed by constant cold; and of
stupidity, emblemed by constant wind.' *

He went on to say, 'The king should examine the (character of the
whole) year; the high ministers and officers (that of) the month; and
the inferior officers (that of) the day. If, throughout the year, the
month, the day, there be an unchanging seasonableness, all the grains
will be matured; the measures of government will be wise, heroic men
will stand forth distinguished; and in the families (of the. people)
there -will be peace and prosperity. If, throughout the year, the
month, the day, the seasonableness be interrupted, the various kinds
of grain will not be matured; the measures of government will be dark
and unwise; heroic men will be kept in obscurity; and in the families
(of the people) there will be an absence of repose.

'By the common people the stars should be examined. Some stars love
wind, and some love rain. The courses of the sun and moon give winter
and summer. The way in which the moon follows the stars gives wind and
rain.'

ix. 'Ninth, of the five (sources of) happiness[1].--The first is long
life; the second, riches; the third, soundness of body and serenity of
mind; the fourth, the love of virtue; and the fifth, fulfilling to the
end the will (of Heaven).* Of the six extreme evils, the first is
misfortune shortening the life; the second, sickness; the third,
distress of mind; the fourth, poverty; the fifth, wickedness; the
sixth, weakness [2].'

BOOK V. THE HOUNDS OF LÜ.

Lü was the name of one of the rude tribes of the west, lying beyond
the provinces of Kâu. Its situation cannot be more exactly defined.
Its people, in compliment, to king Wû, and impressed by a sense of his
growing power, sent to him some of their hounds, and he having
received them, or intimated that be would do so, the Grand-Guardian
remonstrated with him, showing that to receive such animals would be
contrary to precedent, dangerous to the virtue of the sovereign, and
was not the way to deal with outlying tribes and nations. The
Grand-Guardian, it is supposed, was the duke of Shâo, author of the
Announcement which forms the twelfth Book of this Part. The Book is
one of the 'Instructions' of the Shû.

[1. It is hardly possible to see how this division enters into the
scheme of the Great Plan.

2 'Wickedness' is, probably) boldness in what is evil, and 'weakness,'
feebleness of will in what is good.]

1. After the conquest of Shang, the way being open to the nine tribes
of the Î [1] and the eight of the Man[1], the western tribe of Lü sent
as tribute some of its hounds, on which the Grand-Guardian made 'the
Hounds of Lü,' by way of instruction to the king.

2. He said, 'Oh! the intelligent kings paid careful attention to their
virtue, and the wild tribes on every side acknowledged subjection to
them. The nearer and the more remote all presented the productions of
their countries,-in robes, food, and vessels for use. The kings then
displayed the things thus drawn forth by their virtue, (distributing
them) to the (princes of the) states of different surnames from their
own, (to encourage them) not to neglect their duties. The (more)
precious things and pieces of jade they distributed among their uncles
in charge of states, thereby increasing their attachment (to the
throne). The recipients did not despise the things, but saw in them
the power of virtue.

'Complete virtue allows no contemptuous familiarity. When (a ruler)
treats superior men with such familiarity, he cannot get them to give
him all their hearts; when he so treats inferior men, he cannot get
them to put forth for him all their strength. Let him keep from being
in bondage to his cars and eyes, and strive to be correct in all his
measures. By trifling intercourse with men, he ruins his virtue; by
finding his amusement in things (of mere pleasure),

[1. By 'the nine Î and eight Man' we are to understand generally the
barbarous tribes lying round the China of Kâu. Those tribes are
variously enumerated in the ancient. books. Generally the Î are
assigned to the east, the Zung to the west the Tî to the north, and
the Man to the south.]

he ruins his aims. His aims should repose in what is right; he should
listen to words (also) in their relation to what is right.

'When he does not do what is unprofitable to the injury of what is
profitable, his merit can be completed. When he does not value strange
things to the contemning things that are useful, his people will be
able to supply (all that he needs). (Even) dogs and horses that are
not native to his country he will not keep. Fine birds and strange
animals be will not nourish in his state. When he does not look on
foreign things as precious, foreigners will come to him; when it is
real worth that is precious to him, (his own) people near at hand will
be in a state of repose.

'Oh! early and late never be but earnest. If you do not attend
jealously to your small actions, the result will be to affect your
virtue in great matters;--in raising a mound of nine fathoms, the work
may be unfinished for want of one basket (of earth). If you really
pursue this course (which I indicate), the people will preserve their
possessions, and the throne will descend from generation to
generation.'

BOOK VI. THE METAL-BOUND COFFER.

A CERTAIN chest or coffer, that was fastened with bands of metal, and
in which important state documents were deposited, plays an important
part among the incidents of the Book, which is therefore called 'the
Metal-bound Coffer.' To what class among the documents of the Shû it
should be assigned is doubtful.

King Wû is very ill, and his death seems imminent. His brother, the
duke of Kâu, apprehensive of the disasters which such an event would
occasion to their infant dynasty, conceives the idea of dying in his
stead, and prays to 'the three kings,' their immediate progenitors,
that he might be taken and king Wû left. Having done so, and divined
that he was heard, he deposits the prayer in the metal-bound coffer.
The king gets well, and the duke is also spared; but live years later,
Wû does die, and is succeeded by his son, a boy only thirteen years
old. Rumours are spread abroad that the duke has designs on the
throne, and he withdraws for a time from the court. At length, in the
third year of the young king, Heaven interposes. He has occasion to
open the coffer, and the prayer of the duke is found. His devotion. to
his brother and to the interests of their family is brought to light.
The boy-monarch weeps because of the unjust suspicions be had
harboured, and welcomes the duke back to court, amid unmistakeable
demonstrations of the approval of Heaven.

The whole narrative is a very pleasing episode in the history Of the
times. It divides itself naturally into two chapters:-the first,
ending with the placing the prayer in the coffer; and the second,
detailing how it was brought to light, and the consequences of the
discovery.

It is in this Book that we first meet in the Shû with the duke of Kâu,
a name in Chinese history only second to that of Confucius. He was the
legislator and consolidator of the dynasty of Kâu, equally mighty in
words and in deeds,--a man of counsel and of action. Confucius
regarded his memory with reverence, and spoke of it as a sign of his
own failing powers, that the duke of Kâu no longer appeared to him in
his dreams. He was the fourth son of king Wan; his name was Tan, and
he had for his appanage the territory of Kâu, where Than-fû, canonized
by him as king Thâi, first placed the seat of his family in B.C. 1327,
and hence he is commonly called 'the duke of Kâu.'

1. Two years after the conquest of Shang[1], the king fell ill, and
was quite disconsolate. The two (other great) dukes[2] said, 'Let us
reverently consult

[1. B.C. 1121.

2. These were the duke of Shâo, to whom the preceding Book is
ascribed, and Thâi-kung, who became the first of the lords of Khî.]

the tortoise-shell about the king;' but the duke of Kâu said, 'You
must not so distress our former kings[1].' He then took the business
on himself, and reared three altars of earth on the same cleared
space; and having made another altar on the south of these, and facing
the north, he took there his own position. Having put a round symbol
of jade (on each of the three altars), and holding in his bands the
lengthened symbol (of his own rank), he addressed the kings Thâi, Kî,
and Wan. *

The (grand) historiographer had written on tablets his prayer, which
was to this effect:--'A. B., your great descendant, is suffering from
a severe and violent disease;--if you three kings have in heaven the
charge of (watching over) him, (Heaven's) great son, let me Tan be a
substitute for his person [2]. I was lovingly obedient to my father; I
am possessed of many abilities and arts, which fit me to serve
spiritual beings. Your great descendant, on the other hand, has not so
many abilities and arts as I, and is not so capable of serving
spiritual beings. And moreover he was appointed in the hall of God to
extend his aid all over the kingdom, so that he might establish your
descendants in this lower earth. The people of the four quarters all
stand in reverent

[1. He negatives their proposal, having determined to take the whole
thing on himself.

2 Two things are here plain:--first, that the duke of Kâu offered
himself to die in the room of his brother; and second, that he thought
that his offer might somehow be accepted through the intervention of
the great kings, their progenitors. He proceeds to give his reasons
for making such an offer, which are sufficiently interesting. It was
hardly necessary for Chinese scholars to take the pains they have done
to free the duke from the charge of boasting in them.]

awe of him. Oh! do not let that precious Heaven-conferred appointment
fall to the ground, and (all the long line of) our former kings will
also have one in whom they can ever rest at our sacrifices. * I will
now seek for your determination (in this matter) from the great
tortoise-shell. If you grant me (my request), I will take these
symbols and this mace, and return and wait for your orders. If you do
not grant it, I will put them by [1].'*

The duke then divined with the three tortoise-shells, and all were
favourable. He opened with a key the place where the (oracular)
responses were kept, and looked at them, and they also were
favourable. He said, 'According to the form (of the prognostic) the
king will take no injury. I, the little child, have got the renewal of
his appointment from the three kings, by whom a long futurity has been
consulted for. I have now to wait for the issue. They can provide for
our One man.'*

When the duke returned, he placed the tablets (of the prayer) in a
metal-bound coffer [2], and next day the king got better.

2. (Afterwards), upon the death of king Wû, (the duke's) elder
brother, he of Kwan, and his younger brothers, spread a baseless
report through the kingdom,

[1. I suppose that the divination took place before the altars, and
that a different shell was used to ascertain the mind of each king.
The oracular responses would be a few lines, kept apart by themselves,
and consulted, on occasion, according to certain rules which have not
come down to the present day.

Many scholars think that it was this coffer which contained the
oracles of divination mentioned above. It may have been so; but I
rather suppose it to have been different, and a special chest in which
important archives of the dynasty, to be referred to on great
emergencies, were kept.]

to the effect that the duke would do no good to the (king's) young
son. On this the duke said to the two (other great) dukes, 'If I do
not take the law (to these men), I shall not be able to make my report
to the former kings[1].'*

He resided (accordingly) in the east for two years[2], when the
criminals were taken (and brought to justice). Afterwards he made a
poem to present to the king, and called it 'the Owl[3].' The King on
his part did not dare to blame the duke.

In the autumn, when the grain was abundant and ripe, but before it was
reaped, Heaven sent a great storm of thunder and lightning, along with
wind, by which the grain was all broken down, and great trees torn up.
The people were greatly terrified; and the king and great officers,
all in their caps of state, proceeded to open the metal-bound coffer
and examine the writings in it, where they found the words of the duke
when he took on himself the business of being a substitute for king
Wû. The two (great) dukes and the king asked the historiographer and
all the other officers (acquainted with the transaction) about the
thing, and they replied, 'It was really thus; but ah! the duke charged
us that we

[1. Wû died in B. C. 1116, and was succeeded by his son Sung, who is
known in history as king Khang, or 'the Completer.' He was at the time
only thirteen years old, and his uncle, the duke of Kâu, acted as
regent. The jealousy of his elder brother Hsien, 'lord of Kwan,' and
two younger brothers, was excited, and they spread the rumour which is
referred to, and entered into a conspiracy with the son of the tyrant
of Shang, to overthrow the new dynasty.

2 These two years were spent in military operations against the
revolters.

3 See the Book of Poetry, Part I, xv, Ode 2.]

should not presume to speak about it.' The king held the writing in
his hand, and wept, saying, 'We need not (now) go on reverently to
divine. Formerly the duke was thus earnest for the royal House, but I,
being a child, did not know it. Now Heaven has moved its terrors to
display his virtue. That I, the little child, (now) go with my new
views and feelings to meet him, is what the rules of propriety of our
kingdom require.'*

The king then went out to the borders (to meet the duke), when Heaven
sent down rain, and, by virtue of a contrary wind, the grain all rose
up.

The two (great) dukes gave orders to the people to take up the trees
that had fallen and replace them. The year then turned out very
fruitful.*

BOOK VII. THE GREAT ANNOUNCEMENT.

THIS 'Great Announcement' was called forth by the emergency referred
to in the second chapter of the last Book. The prefatory notice says,
'When king Wû had deceased, the three overseers and the wild tribes of
the Hwâi rebelled. The duke of Kâu acted as minister for king Khang,
and having purposed to make an end of the House of Yin (or Shang), he
made 'the Great Announcement.' Such was the occasion on which the Book
was composed. The young king speaks in it the words and sentiments of
the duke of Kâu; and hence the style in which it commences, 'The king
speaks to the following effect.'

The young sovereign speaks of the responsibility lying on him to
maintain the kingdom gained by the virtues and prowess of his father,
and of the senseless movements of the House of Shang to regain its
supremacy. He complains of the reluctance of many of the princes and
high officers to second him in putting down revolt, and proclaims with
painful reiteration the support and assurances of success which he has
received from the divining shell. His traitorous uncles, who were
confederate with the son of the tyrant of Shang, are only alluded to.

1. The king speaks to the following effect:--'Ho! I make a great
announcement to you, (the princes of) the many states, and to you, the
managers of my affairs.--We are unpitied, and Heaven sends down
calamities on our House, without the least intermission[1].* It
greatly occupies my thoughts that I, so very young, have inherited
this illimitable patrimony with its destinies and domains. I cannot
display wisdom and lead the people to prosperity; and how much less
should I be able to reach the knowledge of the decree of Heaven!* Yes,
I who am but a little child am in the position of one who has to go
through a deep water;--I must go and seek where I can cross over. I
must diffuse the elegant institutions of my predecessor and display
the appointment which he received (from Heaven);--so shall I not be
forgetful of his great work. Nor shall I dare to restrain the majesty
of Heaven in sending down its inflictions (on the criminals)[2].' *

2. 'The Tranquillizing king [3] left to me the great precious
tortoise-shell, to bring into connexion with me the intelligence of
Heaven. I divined by it, and it told me that there would be great
trouble in the region of the west [4] and that the western people
would not be still[4].* Accordingly we have these senseless movements.
Small and reduced as Yin

[1. With reference, probably, to the early death of his father, and
the revolt that followed quickly upon it.

2. The duke had made up his mind that he would deal stern justice even
on his own brothers.

3 King Wû.

4 The troubles arose in the east, and not in the west. We do not know
the facts in the state of the kingdom sufficiently to explain every
difficulty in these Books, Perhaps the oracular response had been
purposely ambiguous.]

now is, (its prince) greatly dares to take in hand its (broken) line.
Though Heaven sent down its terrors (on his House), yet knowing of the
evils in our kingdom, and that the people are not tranquil, he says,
"I will recover (my patrimony);" and so (he wishes to) make our Kâu a
border territory again.

'One day there was a senseless movement, and the day after, ten men of
worth appeared among the people, to help me to go forward to restore
tranquillity and perpetuate the plans (of my father)[1]. The great
business I am engaging in will (thus) have a successful issue. I have
divined (also) by the tortoise-shell, and always got a favourable
response. * Therefore I tell you, the princes of my friendly states,
and you, the directors of departments, my officers, and the managers
of my affairs,--I have obtained a favourable reply to my divinations.
I will go forward with you from all the states, and punish those
vagabond and transported ministers of Yin.'

3. '(But) you the princes of the various states, and you the various
officers and managers of my affairs, all retort on me, saying, "The
hardships will be great, and that the people are nut quiet has its
source really in the king's palace and in the mansions of the princes
in that (rebellious) state[2]. We little ones, and the old and
reverend men as well, think the expedition ill-advised;--why does your
Majesty not go contrary to the divinations?" I, in my youth, (also)
think continually of these hardships, and say,

[1. Who these 'ten men of worth' were, we do not know, nor the
circumstances in which they came forward to help the government.

2. Here is an allusion, as plain as the duke could permit himself to
make, to the complicity of his brothers in the existing troubles.]

Alas! these senseless movements will deplorably afflict the wifeless
men and widows! But I am the servant of Heaven, which has assigned me
this great task, and laid the hard duty on my person.* I therefore,
the young one, do not pity myself; and it would be right in you, the
many officers, the directors of departments, and the managers of my
affairs, to comfort me, saying, "Do not be distressed with sorrow. We
shall surely complete the plans of your Tranquillizing father."

'Yes, I, the little child, dare not disregard the Charge of God[1].*
Heaven, favourable to the Tranquillizing king, gave such prosperity to
our small country of Kâu. The Tranquillizing king divined and acted
accordingly, and so he calmly received his (great) appointment. Now
when Heaven is (evidently) aiding the people, how much more should we
follow the indications of the shell! Oh! the clearly intimated will of
Heaven is to be feared:--it is to help my great inheritance

4. The king says, 'You, who are the old ministers, are fully able to
remember the past; you know how great was the toil of the
Tranquillizing king. Where Heaven (now) shuts up (our path) and
distresses us, is the place where I must accomplish my work; I dare
not but do my utmost to complete the plans of the Tranquillizing king.
It is on this account that I use such efforts to remove the doubts and
carry forward the inclinations of the princes of my friendly states.
And Heaven assists me with sincere expressions (of sympathy), which I
have ascertained among

[1. Probably the charge understood to be conveyed by the result of the
divinations spoken of above.]

the people;--how dare I but aim at the completion of the work formerly
begun by the Tranquillizer? Heaven, moreover, is thus toiling and
distressing the people;--it is as if they were suffering from disease;
how dare I allow (the appointment) which my predecessor, the
Tranquillizer, received, to be without its happy fulfilment?' *

The king says, 'Formerly, at the initiation of this expedition, I
spoke of its difficulties, and thought of them daily. But when a
deceased father, (wishing) to build a house, had laid out the plan, if
his son be unwilling to raise up the hall, how much less will he be
willing to complete the roof! Or if the father had broken up the
ground, and his son be unwilling to sow the seed, how much less will
he be willing to reap the crop! In such a case could the father, (who
had himself) been so reverently attentive (to his objects), have been
willing to say, "I have a son who will not abandon his patrimony?" How
dare I therefore but use all my powers to give a happy settlement to
the great charge entrusted to the Tranquillizing king? If among the
friends of an elder brother or a deceased father there be those who
attack his son, will the elders of the people encourage (the attacker,
and not (come to the) rescue?'

5. The king says, 'Oh! take heart, ye princes of the various states,
and ye managers of my affairs. The enlightening of the country was
from the wise, even from the ten men[1] who obeyed and knew the

[1. 'The ten men' here can hardly be the 'ten men of worth' above in
the second chapter. We must find them rather in the 'ten virtuous men,
one in heart and one in practice, capable of good,' mentioned by king
Wû, in the second Part of the Great Declaration.]

charge of God,* and the real assistance given by Heaven. At that time
none of you presumed to change the rules (prescribed by the
Tranquillizing king). And now when Heaven is sending down calamity on
the country of Kâu, and the authors of these great distresses (make it
appear on a grand scale as if) the inmates of a house were mutually to
attack one another, you are without any knowledge that the decree of
Heaven is not to be changed!*

'I ever think and say, Heaven in destroying Yin was doing husbandman's
work[1];--how dare I but complete the work on my fields? Heaven will
thereby show its favour to my predecessor, the Tranquillizer. How
should I be all for the oracle of divination, and presume not to
follow (your advice)?* I am following the Tranquillizer, whose purpose
embraced all within the limits of the land. How much more must I
proceed, when the divinations are all favourable! It is on these
accounts that I make this expedition in force to the east. There is no
mistake about the decree of Heaven. The indications given by the
tortoise-shell are all to the same effect.'*

BOOK VIII. THE CHARGE TO THE COUNT OF WEI.

THE count of Wei was the principal character in the eleventh Book of
the last Part, from which it appeared that he was a brother of the
tyrant Kâu-hsin. We saw how his friends advised him to withdraw from
the court of Shang, and save

[1. That is, thorough work,--clearing the ground of weeds, and not
letting their roots remain.]

himself from the destruction that was impending over their House. He
had done so, and king Wû had probably continued him in the possession
of his appanage of Wei, while Wû-kang, the son of the tyrant, had been
spared, and entrusted with the duty of continuing the sacrifices to
the great Thang and the other sovereigns Of the House of Shang. Now
that Wû-kang has been punished with death for his rebellion, the duke
of Kâu summons the count of Wei to court, and in the name of king
Khang invests him with the dukedom of Sung, corresponding to the
present department of Kwei-teh, Ho-nan, there to be the representative
of the line of the departed kings of Shang.

The king speaks to the following effect:--'Ho! eldest son of the king
of Yin, examining into antiquity, (I find) that the honouring of the
virtuous (belongs to their descendants) Who resemble them in worth,
and (I appoint) you to continue the line of the kings your ancestors,
observing their ceremonies and taking care of their various relics.
Come (also) as a guest to our royal House[1], and enjoy the prosperity
of our kingdom, for ever and ever without end.

'Oh! your ancestor, Thang the Successful, was reverent and sage, (with
a virtue) vast and deep. The favour and help of great Heaven lighted
upon him, and he grandly received its appointment, to soothe the
people by his gentleness, and remove the wicked oppressions from which
they were suffering.* His achievements affected his age, and his
virtue was transmitted to his posterity. And you are the one who
pursue and cultivate his plans;--this praise

[1. Under the dynasty of Kâu, the representatives of the two previous
dynasties of Shang and Hsiâ were distinguished above the other princes
of the kingdom, and denominated 'guests' of the sovereign, coming to
his court and assisting in the services in his ancestral temple,
nearly on a footing of equality with him.]

has belonged to you for long. Reverently and carefully have you
discharged your filial duties; gravely and respectfully you behave to
spirits and to men.* I admire your virtue, and pronounce it great and
not to be forgotten. God will always enjoy your offerings; the people
will be reverently harmonious (under your sway).* I raise you
therefore to the rank of high duke, to rule this eastern part of our
great land[1].

' Be reverent. Go and diffuse abroad your instructions. Be carefully
observant of your robes and (other accompaniments of) your
appointment[2]; follow and observe the proper statutes;-so as to prove
a bulwark to the royal House. Enlarge (the fame of) your meritorious
ancestor; be a law to your people;--so as for ever to preserve your
dignity. (So also) shall you be a help to me, the One man; future ages
will enjoy (the benefit of) your virtue; all the states will take you
for a pattern;--and thus you will make our dynasty of Kâu never weary
of you.

Oh! go, and be prosperous. Do not disregard my charge.'

[1. Sung lay east from Fang and Hâo, the capitals of Wan and Wû, which
were in the present department of Hsî-an, Shen-hsî.

2 Meaning probably that he was to bear in mind that, however
illustrious his descent, he was still a subject of the king of Kâu.]

BOOK IX. THE ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE PRINCE OF KHANG.

OF the ten sons of king Wan, the ninth was called Fang and is
generally spoken of as Khang Shû, or 'the uncle, (the prince of)
Khang.' We must conclude that Khang was the name of Fang's appanage,
somewhere in the royal domain. This Book contains the charge given to
him on his appointment to be marquis of Wei (the Chinese name is quite
different from that of the appanage of the count of Wei), the chief
city of which was Kâu-ko, that had been the capital of Kâu-hsin. It
extended westward from the present Khâi Kâu, department Tâ-ming.
Kih-lî, to the borders of the departments of Wei-hui and Hwâi-khing,
Ho-nan.

The Book is called an 'Announcement,' whereas it properly belongs to
the class of 'Charges.' Whether the king who speaks in it, and gives
the charge be Wû, or his son king Khang, is a point on which there is
much difference of opinion among Chinese critics. The older view that
the appointment of Fang to be marquis of Wei, and ruler of that part
of the people who might be expected to cling most tenaciously to the
memory of the Shang dynasty, took place after the death of Wû-kang,
the son of the tyrant, and was made by the duke of Kâu, in the name of
king Khang, is on the whole attended with the fewer difficulties.

The first paragraph, which appears within brackets, does not really
belong to this Book, but to the thirteenth, where it will be found
again. How it got removed from its proper place, and prefixed to the
charge to the prince of Khang, is a question on which it is not
necessary to enter. The key-note of the whole charge is in what is
said, at the commencement of the first of the five chapters into which
I have divided it, about king Wan, that 'he was able to illustrate his
virtue and be careful in the use of punishments.' The first chapter
celebrates the exhibition of these two things given by Wan, whereby he
laid the foundations of the great destiny of his House, and set an
example to his descendants. The second inculcates on Fang how he
should illustrate his virtue, as the basis of his good government of
the people entrusted to him. The third inculcates on him how he should
be careful in the use of punishments, and sets forth the happy effects
of his being so. The fourth insists on the influence of virtue, as
being superior in government to that of punishment, and how
punishments should all be regulated by the ruler's virtue. The last
chapter winds the subject up with a reference to the uncertainty of
the appointments of Heaven, and their dependance for permanence on the
discharge of the duties connected with them by those on whom they have
lighted.

[On the third month, when the moon began to wane, the duke of Kâu
commenced the foundations, and proceeded to build the new great city
of Lo, of the eastern states. The people from every quarter assembled
in great harmony. From the Hâu, Tien, Nan, Zhâi, and Wei domains, the
various officers stimulated this harmony of the people, and introduced
them to the business there was to be done for Kâu. The duke encouraged
all to diligence, and made a great announcement about the performance
(of the works).]

1. The king speaks to this effect:--'Head of the princes[1], and my
younger brother[2], little one[2], Fang, it was your greatly
distinguished father, the king Wan, who was able to illustrate his
virtue and be careful in the use of punishments. He did not dare to
treat with contempt (even) wifeless men and widows. He employed the
employable, and revered the reverend; he was terrible to those who
needed to be awed:-so getting distinction among the people. It was
thus he laid the foundations of (the sway of) our small portion of the
kingdom [3], and the one

[1. Fang had, no doubt, been made chief or leader of all the feudal
lords in one of the Kâu or provinces of the kingdom.

2 The duke of Kâu, though speaking in the name of king Khang, yet
addresses Fang from the standpoint of his own relation to him.

3 Referring to the original principality of Kâu.]

or two (neighbouring) regions were brought under, his improving
influence, until throughout our western land all placed in him their
reliance. The fame, of him ascended up to the high God, and God
approved. Heaven accordingly gave a grand charge to king Win, to
exterminate the great (dynasty of) Yin, and grandly receive its
appointment, so that the various countries belonging to it and their
peoples were brought to an orderly condition.* Then your unworthy
elder brother[1] exerted himself; and thus it is that you Fang, the
little one, are here in this eastern region.'

2. The king says, 'Oh! Fang, bear these things in mind. Now (your
success in the management of) the people will depend on your
reverently following your father Wan;-do you carry out his virtuous
words which you have heard, and clothe yourself with them. (Moreover),
where you go, seek out among (the traces of) the former wise kings of
Yin what you may use in protecting and regulating their people.
(Again), you must in the remote distance study the (ways of) the old
accomplished men of Shang, that you may establish your heart, and know
how to instruct (the people). (Further still), you must search out
besides what is to be learned of the wise kings of antiquity, and
employ it in tranquillizing and protecting the people. (Finally),
enlarge (your thoughts) to (the comprehension of all) heavenly
(principles), and virtue will be richly displayed in your person, so
that you will not render nugatory the king's charge.'

[1. Is it strange that the duke should thus speak of king Wû? Should
we not think the better of him for it?]

The king says, 'Oh! Fang, the little one, be respectfully careful, as
if you were suffering from a disease. Awful though Heaven be, it yet
helps the sincere.* The feelings of the people can for the most part
be discerned; but it is difficult to preserve (the attachment of) the
lower classes. Where you go, employ all your heart. Do not seek
repose, nor be fond of ease and pleasure. I have read the
saying,--"Dissatisfaction is caused not so much by great things, or by
small things, as by (a ruler's) observance of principle or the
reverse, and by his energy of conduct or the reverse." Yes, it is
yours, O little one,--it is your business to enlarge the royal
(influence), and to protect the people of Yin in harmony with their
feelings. Thus also shall, you assist the king, consolidating the
appointment of Heaven, and renovating the people.'*

The king says, 'Oh! Fang, deal reverently and intelligently in your
infliction of punishments. When men commit small crimes, which are not
mischances, but purposed, they of themselves doing what is contrary to
the laws intentionally, though their crimes be but small, you may not
but put them to death. But in the case of great crimes, which were not
purposed, but from mischance and misfortune, accidental, if the
transgressors confess their guilt without reserve, you must not put
them to death.'

The king says, 'Oh! Fang, there must be the orderly regulation (of
this matter). When you show a great discrimination, subduing (men's
hearts), the people will admonish one another, and strive to be
obedient. (Deal firmly yet tenderly with evil), as if it were a
disease in your own person, and the people will entirely put away
their faults;. (Deal with them) as if you were protecting your own
infants, and the people will be tranquil and orderly. It is not you, O
Fang, who (can presume to) inflict a (severe) punishment or death upon
a man;--do not, to please yourself, so punish a man or put him to
death.' Moreover, he says, 'It is not you, O Fang, who (can presume to
inflict a lighter punishment), cutting off a man's nose or ears;--do
not, to please yourself, cause a man's nose or ears to be cut off.'

The king says, 'In things beyond (your immediate supervision), have
laws set forth which the officers may observe, and these should be the
penal laws of Yin which were rightly ordered.' He also says, 'In
examining the evidence in (criminal) cases, reflect upon it for five
or six days, yea, for ten days or three months. You may then boldly
come to a decision in such cases[1].'

The king says, 'In setting forth the business of the laws, the
punishments will be determined by (what were) the regular laws of Yin.
But you must see that those punishments, and (especially) the penalty
of death, be righteous. And you must not let them be warped to agree
with your own inclinations, O Fang. Then shall they be entirely
accordant with right, and you may say, "They are properly ordered;"
yet you must say (at the same time), "Perhaps they are not yet
entirely accordant with right." Yes, though you are the little one,
who has a heart like you, O Fang? My heart and my virtue are also
known to you.

[1. This is supposed to refer to a case where guilt would involve
death, so that there could be no remedying a wrong decision.]

'All who of themselves commit crimes, robbing, stealing, practising
villainy and treachery, and who kill men or violently assault them to
take their property, being reckless and fearless of death;--these are
abhorred by all.'

The king says, 'O Fang, such great criminals are greatly abhorred, and
how much more (detestable) are the unfilial and unbrotherly!--as the
son who does not reverently discharge his duty to his father, but
greatly wounds his father's heart, and the father who can (no longer)
love his son, but hates him; as the younger brother who does not think
of the manifest will of Heaven, and refuses to respect his elder
brother, and the elder brother who does not think of the toil of their
parents in bringing up their children, and is very unfriendly to his
junior. If we who are charged with government do not treat parties who
proceed to such wickedness as offenders, the laws (of our nature)
given by Heaven to our people will be thrown into great disorder and
destroyed. You must resolve to deal speedily with such according to
the penal laws of king Wan, punishing them severely and not pardoning.

'Those who are disobedient (to natural principles) are to be thus
subjected to the laws;--how much more the officers employed in your
state as the instructors of the youth, the heads of the official
departments, and the smaller officers charged with their several
commissions, when they propagate other lessons, seeking the praise of
the people, not thinking (of their duty), nor using (the rules for
their offices), but distressing their ruler! These lead on (the
people) to wickedness, and are an abomination to me. Shall they be let
alone? Do you speedily, according to what is right, put them to death.

'And you will be yourself ruler and president;--if you cannot manage
your own household, with your smaller officers, and the heads of
departments in the state, but use only terror and violence, you will
greatly set aside the royal charge, and be trying to regulate your
state contrary to virtue. You must in everything reverence the
statutes, and proceed by them to the happy rule of the people. There
were the reverence of king Wan and his caution;--in proceeding by them
to the happy rule of the people, say, "If I could only attain to
them--." So will you make me, the One man, to rejoice.'

4. The king says, 'O Fang, when I think clearly of the people, I see
that they should be led (by example) to happiness and tranquillity. I
think of the virtue of the former wise kings of Yin, whereby they
tranquillized and regulated the people, and rouse myself to make it my
own. Moreover, the people now are sure to follow a leader. If one do
not lead them, he cannot be said to exercise a government in their
state.'

The king says, 'O Fang, I can not dispense with the inspection (of the
ancients),;and I make this declaration to you about virtue in the use
of punishments. Now the people are not quiet; they have not yet
stilled their minds; notwithstanding my leading of them, they have not
come to accord (with my government). I clearly consider that severe as
are the inflictions of Heaven on me, I dare not murmur. The crimes (of
the people), though they were not great or many, (would all be
chargeable on me), and how much more shall this be said when the
report of them goes up so manifestly to heaven!'

The king says, 'Oh! Fang, be reverent! Do not what will cause
murmurings; and do not use bad counsels and uncommon ways. With the
determination of sincerity, give yourself to imitate the active virtue
(of the ancients). Hereby give repose to your mind, examine your
virtue, send far forward your plans; and thus by your generous
forbearance you will make the people repose in what is good, and I
shall not have to blame you or cast you off.'

5. The king says, 'Oh! you, Fang, the little one, (Heaven's)
appointments are not unchanging." Think of this, and do not make me
deprive you of your dignity. Make illustrious the charge which you
have received; exalt (the instructions) which you have heard, and
tranquillize and regulate the people accordingly.'

The king speaks to this effect: 'Go, Fang. Do not disregard the
statutes you should reverence; hearken to what I have told you;-so
shall you among the people of Yin enjoy (your dignity), and hand it
down to your posterity.'

BOOK X.

THE ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT DRUNKENNESS.

THIS Announcement was, like the last, made to Fang, the prince of
Khang, about the time when he was invested with the principality of
Wei. Mention has often been made in previous documents of the Shû of
the drunken debauchery of Kieh as the chief cause of the downfall of
the dynasty of Hsiâ, and of the same vice in Kâu-hsin, the last of the
kings of Shang. The people of Shang had followed the example of their
sovereign, and drunkenness, with its attendant immoralities,
characterised both the highest and lowest classes of society. One of
Fang's most difficult tasks in his administration would be, to correct
this evil habit, and be is called in this Book to the undertaking. He
is instructed in the proper use and the allowable uses of spirits; the
disastrous consequences of drunkenness are set forth; and be is
summoned to roll back the flood of its desolation from his officers
and people.

I have divided the Book into two chapters:--the, one preliminary,
showing the original use and the permissible uses of ardent spirits;
the other, showing how drunkenness had proved the ruin of the Shang
dynasty, and bow they of Kâu, and particularly Fang in Wei, should
turn the lesson to account.

The title might be translated--'The Announcement about Spirits,' but
the cursory reader would most readily suppose that the discourse was
about Spiritual Beings. The Chinese term Kiû, that is here employed,
is often translated by wine, but it denotes, it seems to me, ardent
spirits. As Gaubil says, 'We have here to do with le vin du riz, the
art of which was discovered, according to most writers, in the time of
Yü, the founder of the first dynasty. The grape was not introduced to
China till that of the first Han.'

[Since the above sentences were in manuscript, the Rev. Dr. Edkins of
Pekin has stated at a meeting of the North-China branch of the Royal
Asiatic Society, and in a letter to myself (April 24th), that he has
lately investigated the question whether the Kiû of the ancient
Chinese was spirits or not, and found that distillation was first
known in China in the Mongol or Yüan dynasty (A. D. 1280-1367), so
that the Arabs must have the credit of the invention; that the process
in making Kiû was brewing, or nearly so, but, as the term beer is
inadmissible in a translation of the classics, he would prefer to use
the term wine; and that Kiû with Shâo ('fired,' 'ardent') before it,
means spirits, but without Shâo, it means wine.

If the whole process of Dr. Edkins' investigation were before me, I
should be glad to consider it, and not hesitate to alter my own view,
if I saw reason to do so. Meanwhile, what he says makes me glad that I
adopted 'the Announcement about Drunkenness' as the title of this
chapter. It is drunkenness, by whatever liquor occasioned, that the
king of Kâu condemns and denounces.

What we commonly understand by wine is never intended by Kiû in the
Chinese classics, and therefore I cannot use that term. After
searching as extensively as I could do in this country, since I
received Dr. Edkins' letter, I have found nothing to make me think
that the Chinese term is not properly translated by 'spirits.'

Dr. Williams, in his Syllabic Dictionary of the Chinese Language
(Shanghai, 1874), gives this account of Kiû:--'Liquor; it includes
spirits, wine, beer, and other drinks. The Chinese make no wine, and
chiefly distil. their liquors, and say that Tû Khang, a woman of the
Tî tribes, first made it.' This account is to a considerable extent
correct. The Chinese distil their liquors. I never saw beer or porter
of native production among them, though according to Dr. Edkins they
had been brewing 'or nearly so' for more than 3000 years. Among his
examples of the use of Kiû, Williams gives the combinations of 'red
Kiû for claret, 'white Kiû' for sherry, and 'pî (simply phonetical)
Kiû' for beer, adding that they 'are all terms of foreign origin! What
he says about the traditional account of the first maker of Kiû is not
correct. It is said certainly that this was Tû Khang, but who he was,
or when he lived, I have never been able to discover. Some identify
him with to, said by Williams to have been 'a woman of the Tî tribes.'
The attributing of the invention to Î-tî is probably an independent
tradition. We find it in the 'Plans of the Warring States' (ch. xiv,
art. 10), a work covering about four centuries from the death of
Confucius:--'Anciently, the daughter of the Tî ordered Î-tî to make
Kiû. She admired it, and presented some to Yü, who drank it, and found
it pleasant. He then discarded Î-tî, and denounced the use of such
generous Kiû, saying, "In future ages there are sure to be those who
by Kiû will lose their states' According to this tradition
intoxicating Kiû was known in the time of Yü--in the twenty-third
century B.C. The daughter of the Tî would be Yü's wife, and Î-tî would
probably be their cook. It does not appear as the name of a woman, or
one from the wild Tî tribes.

With regard to the phrase Shâo Kiû, said to be the proper term for
ardent spirits, and unknown in China till the Yüan dynasty, a
reference to the Khang-hsî Tonic Thesaurus of the language will show
instances of its use as early at least as the Thang dynasty (A.D.
618-906).]

1. The king speaks to the following effect:--'Do you clearly make
known my great commands in the country of Mei[1].

'When your reverent father, the king Wan, laid the foundations of our
kingdom in the western region, he delivered announcements and cautions
to (the princes of) the various regions, and to all his (high)
officers, with their assistants, and the managers of affairs, saying,
morning and evening, "At sacrifices spirits should be employed."* When
Heaven was sending down its favouring decree, and laying the
foundations of (the eminence of) our people, (spirits) were used only
at the great sacrifices. When Heaven sends down its terrors, and our
people are thereby greatly disorganized and lose their virtue, this
may be traced invariably to their indulgence in spirits; yea, the ruin
of states, small and great, (by these terrors), has been caused
invariably by their guilt in the use of spirits [2].

[1. There is a place called 'the village of Mei,' in the north of the
present district of Khî, department Wei-hui, Ho-nan;--a relic of the
ancient name of the whole territory. The royal domain of Shang, north
from the capital, was all called Mei. Fang's principality of Wei must
have embraced most of it.

2 Kû Hsî says upon the meaning of the expressions 'Heaven was sending
down its favouring decree' (its order to make Kiû, as he understood
the language), and 'when Heaven sends down its terrors,' in this
paragraph:--'Kang Nan-hsien has brought out the meaning of these two
statements much better than any of the critics who went before him, to
the following effect:--Kiû is a thing intended to be used in offering
sacrifices and in entertaining guests;--such employment of it. is what
Heaven has prescribed. But men by their abuse of Kiû come to lose
their virtue, and destroy their persons;--such employment of it is
what Heaven has annexed its terrors to. The Buddhists, hating the use
of things where Heaven sends down its terrors, put away as well the
use of them which Heaven has prescribed. It is not so with us of the
learned (i.e. the Confucian or orthodox) school;--we only put away the
use of things to which Heaven has annexed its terrors, and the use of
them, of which it approves, remains as a matter of course.']

'King Wan admonished and instructed the young nobles, who were charged
with office or in any employment, that they should not ordinarily use
spirits; and throughout all the states, he required that such should
drink spirits only on occasion of sacrifices, and that then virtue
should preside so that there might be no drunkenness[1].'

He said, 'Let my people teach their young men that they are to love
only the productions of the soil, for so will their hearts be good.
Let the young also hearken wisely to the constant instructions of
their fathers; and let them look at all virtuous actions, whether
great or small, in the same light (with watchful heed).

'(Ye people of) the land of Mei, if you can employ your limbs, largely
cultivating your millets, and hastening about in the service of your
fathers and elders; and if, with your carts and oxen, you traffic
diligently to a distance, that you may thereby filially minister to
your parents; then, when your parents are happy, you may set forth
your spirits clear and strong, and use them [2].

'Hearken constantly to my instructions, all ye my (high) officers and
ye heads of departments, all ye, my noble chiefs;--when ye have
largely done your

[1. In sacrificing, the fragrant odour of spirits was supposed to be
acceptable to the Beings worshipped. Here the use of spirits seems to
be permitted in moderation to the worshippers after the sacrifices.
Observe how king Wan wished to guard the young from acquiring the
habit of drinking spirits.

2. Here is another permissible use of spirits;--at family feasts, with
a view especially to the comfort of the aged.]

duty in ministering to your aged, and serving your ruler, ye may eat
and drink freely and to satiety. And to speak of greater things:--when
you can maintain a constant, watchful examination of yourselves, and
your conduct is in accordance with correct. virtue, then may you
present the offerings of sacrifice,* and at the same time indulge
yourselves in festivity. In such case you will indeed be ministers
doing right service to your king, and Heaven likewise will approve
your great virtue, so that you shall never be forgotten in the royal
House.'*

2. The king says, 'O Fang, in our western region, the princes of
states, and the young (nobles), sons of the managers of affairs, who
in former days assisted king Wan, were all able to obey his lessons,
and abstain from excess in the use of spirits; and so it is that I
have now received the appointment which belonged to Yin.'

The king says. 'O Fang, I have heard it said, that formerly the first
wise king of Yin manifested a reverential awe of the bright principles
of Heaven and of the lower people, acting accordingly, steadfast in
his virtue, and holding fast his wisdom.* From him Thang the
Successful, down to Tî-yî[1], all completed their royal virtue and
revered their chief ministers, so that their managers of affairs
respectfully discharged their helping duties, and dared not to allow
themselves in idleness and pleasure;--how much less would they dare to
indulge themselves in drinking! Moreover, in the exterior domains,
(the princes of) the Hâu, Tien.,

[1. Tî-yî was the father of Kâu-hsin, the twenty-seventh Shang
sovereign. The sovereigns between Thang and him had not all been good,
but the duke of Kâu chooses here to say so.]

Nan, and Wei (states)[1], with their presiding chiefs and in the
interior domain, all the various officers, the directors of the
several departments, the inferior officers and employés, the heads of
great houses, and the men of distinguished name living in retirement,
all eschewed indulgence in spirits. Not only did they not dare to
indulge in them, but the), had not leisure to do so, being occupied
with helping to complete the sovereigns virtue and make it more
illustrious, and helping the directors of affairs reverently to attend
to his service.

'I have heard it said likewise, that the last successor of those kings
was addicted to drink, so that no charges came from him brightly
before the people, and he was (as if) reverently and unchangingly bent
on doing and cherishing what provoked resentment. Greatly abandoned to
extraordinary lewdness and dissipation, for pleasure's sake he
sacrificed all his majesty. The people were all sorely grieved and
wounded in heart; but lie gave himself wildly up to drink, not
thinking of restraining himself. but continuing his excess, till his
mind was frenzied, and lie had no fear of death His crimes
(accumulated) in the capital of Shang: and though the extinction of
the dynasty (was imminent), this gave him no concern, and he wrought
not that any sacrifices of fragrant virtue might ascend to Heaven.*
The rank odour of the people's resentments, and the drunkenness of his
herd of creatures, went loudly up on high, so that Heaven sent down
ruin on Yin,

[1. These were the first, second, third, and fifth domains or
territorial divisions of the land under Kâu, counting back from the
royal domain. It appears here that an arrangement akin to that of Kâu
had been made in the time of Shang.]

and showed no love for it,--because of such excesses. There is not any
cruel oppression of Heaven; people themselves accelerate their guilt,
(and its punishment.))

The king says, 'O Fang, I make you this long announcement, not (for
the pleasure of doing so); but the ancients have said, "Let not men
look into water; let them look into the glass of other people." Now
that Yin has lost its appointment, ought we not to look much to it as
our glass, (and learn) how to secure the repose of our time? I say to
you,--Strenuously warn the worthy ministers of Yin, and (the princes)
in the Hâu, the Tien, the Nan, and the Wei domains; and still more
your friends, the great Recorder and the Recorder of the Interior, and
all your worthy ministers, the heads of great Houses; and still more
those whom you serve, with whom you calmly discuss matters, and who
carry out your measures; and still more those who are, as it were,
your mates,--your Minister of War who deals with the rebellious, your
Minister of Instruction who is like a protector to the people, and
your Minister of Works who settles the boundaries; and above all, do
you strictly keep yourself from drink.

'If you are informed that there are companies that drink together, do
not fail to apprehend them all, and send them here to Kâu, where I may
put them to death. As to the ministers and officers of Yin who were
led to it and became addicted to drink, it is not necessary to put
them to death (at once);-let them be taught for a time. If they follow
these (lessons of mine), I will give them bright distinction. If they
disregard my lessons, then I, the One man, will show them no pity. As
they cannot change their way, they shall be classed with those who are
to be put to death.'

The king says, 'O Fang, give constant heed to my admonitions. If you
do not rightly manage the officers, the people will continue lost in
drunkenness.'

BOOK XI.

THE TIMBER OF THE ROTTLERA.

'THE wood of the Dze tree'--the Rottlera Japonica, according to Dr.
Williams-is mentioned in the Book, and was adopted as the name for it.
The Dze was esteemed a very valuable tree for making articles of
furniture and for the carver's art. The title perhaps intimates that
the administrator of government ought to go about his duties carefully
and skilfully, as the cabinet-maker and carver deal with their
materials.

The Book is wanting in unity. Divided into two chapters, the first may
be taken as a charge to 'the prince of Khang.' He is admonished of his
duty to promote a good understanding between the different classes in
his state, and between them all and the sovereign; and that, in order
to this, his rule must be gentle, eschewing the use of punishments.
The second chapter is of a different character, containing not the
charges of a sovereign, but the admonitions or counsels of a minister,
loyally cautioning him, and praying for the prosperity of his reign.
We might suppose them the response of Fang to the previous charge, but
the text does not indicate the introduction of a new speaker.

1. The king says, 'O Fang, to secure a good understanding between the
multitudes of his people and his ministers (on the one hand), and the
great families (on the other); and (again) to secure the same between
all the subjects under his charge, and the sovereign:-is the part of
the ruler of a state.

'If you regularly, in giving out your orders, say, "My instructors
whom I am to follow, my Minister of Instruction, my Minister of War,
and my Minister of Works; my heads of departments, and all ye, my
officers, I will on no account put any to death oppressively[1]"---.
Let the ruler also set the example of respecting and encouraging (the
people), and these will (also) proceed to respect and encourage them.
Then let him go on, in dealing with villainy and treachery, with
murderers and harbourers of criminals, to exercise clemency (where it
can be done), and these will likewise do the same with those who have
assaulted others and injured their property. When sovereigns appointed
overseers (of states), they did so in order to the government of the
people, and said to them, "Do not give way to violence or oppression,
but go on to show reverent regard for the friendless, and find helping
connexions for (destitute) women[2]." Deal with all according to this
method, and cherish them. And when sovereigns gave their injunctions
to the rulers of states, and their managers of affairs, what was their
charge? It was that they should lead the people) to the enjoyment of
plenty and peace. Such was the way of the kings from of old. An
overseer is to eschew the use of punishments.'

(The king) says, 'As in the management of a field, when the soil has
been all laboriously turned up, they have to proceed by orderly
arrangements to make its boundaries and water-courses; as in building
a house, after all the toil on its walls. they have to plaster and
thatch it; as in working with the wood of the rottlera, when the toil
of the coarser and finer operations has been completed, they have

[1. The sentence here is incomplete. Many of the critics confess that
the text is unintelligible to them.

2. It is difficult to say what the exact meaning here is.]

to apply the paint of red and other colours;--(so do you finish for me
the work which I have begun in the state of Wei.)'

2. Now let your majesty say, 'The former kings diligently employed
their illustrious virtue, and produced such attachment by their
cherishing (of the princes), that from all the states they brought
offerings, and came with brotherly affection from all quarters, and
likewise showed their virtue illustrious. Do you, O sovereign, use
their methods to attach (the princes), and all the states will largely
come with offerings. Great Heaven having given this Middle Kingdom
with its people and territories to the former kings, do you, our
present sovereign, display your virtue, effecting a gentle harmony
among the deluded people, leading and urging them on;--so (also) will
you comfort the former kings, who received the appointment (from
Heaven).

'Yes, make these things your study. I say so simply from my wish that
(your dynasty) may continue for myriads of years, and your descendants
always be the protectors of the people.'

BOOK XII.

THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE DUKE OF SHÂO.

SHÂO was the name of a territory within the royal domain,
corresponding to the present district of Hwan-khü, Kiang Kâu,
Shan-hsî. It was the appanage of Shih, one of the ablest of the men
who lent their aid to the establishment of the dynasty of Kâu. He
appears in this Book as the Grand-Guardian at the court of king Khang,
and we have met with him before in the Hounds of Lü and the
Metal-bound Coffer. He is introduced here in connexion with one of the
most important enterprises of the duke of Kâu, the building of the
city of Lo, not very far from the present city of Lo-yang, in Ho-nan,
as a new and central capital of the kingdom. King Wû had conceived the
idea of such a city; but it was not carried into effect till the reign
of his son, and is commonly assigned to Khang's seventh year, in B.C.
1109.

Shih belonged to the royal House, and of course had the surname Kî. He
is styled the duke of Shâo, as being one of the 'three dukes,' or
three highest officers of the court, and also the chief of Shâo, all
the country west of Shen being under him, as all the east of it was
under the duke of Kâu. He was invested by Wû with the principality of
'the Northern Yen,' corresponding to the present department of
Shun-thien, Kih-lî, which was held by his descendants fully nine
hundred years. It was in Lo--while the building of it was
proceeding--that he composed this Book, and sent it by the hands of
the duke of Kâu to their young sovereign.

The whole may be divided into three chapters. The first contains
various information about the arrangements for the building of Lo,
first by the duke of Shâo, and then by the duke of Kâu; and about the
particular occasion when the former recited the counsels which he had
composed, that they might be made known to the king. These form the
second chapter. First, it sets forth the uncertainty of the favour of
Heaven, and urges the king to cultivate the 'virtue of reverence,' in
order to secure its permanence, and that he should not neglect his
aged and experienced ministers. It speaks next of the importance and
difficulty of the royal duties, and enforces the same virtue of
reverence by reference to the rise and fall of the previous dynasties.
Lastly, it sets forth the importance, at this early period of his
reign, of the king's at once setting about the reverence which was
thus described. There is a concluding chapter, where the duke gives
expression to his loyal and personal feelings for the king, and the
purpose to be served by the offerings, which he was then sending to
the court.

The burden of the Announcement is 'the virtue of reverence.' Let the
king only feel how much depended on his attending reverently to his
duties, and all would be well. The people would love and support the
dynasty of Kâu, and Heaven would smile upon and sustain it.

1. In the second month, on the day Yî-wei, six n the second month, on
the days after full moon, the king proceeded in the morning from Kâu
to Fang[1]. (Thence) the Grand Guardian went before the duke of Kâu to
survey the locality (of the new capital); and in the third month, on
the day Wû-shan, the third day after the first appearance of the moon
on Ping-wû, he came in the morning to Lo. He divined by the
tortoiseshell about the (several) localities, and having obtained
favourable indications, he set about laying out the plan (of the
city). * On Kang-hsü, the third day after, he led the people of Yin to
prepare the various sites on the north of the Lo; and this work was
completed on Kiâ-yin, the fifth day after.

On Yî-mâo, the day following, the duke of Kâu came in the. morning to
Lo, and thoroughly inspected the plan of the new city. On Ting-sze,
the third day after, he offered two bulls as victims in the (northern
and southern) suburbs[2]; and oil the morrow, Wû-wû, at the altar to
the spirit of the land in the new city, he sacrificed a bull, a ram,
and a boar.* After seven days, on Kiâ-dze, in the morning, from his
written (specifications) he gave their several orders to the people of
Yin, and to the presiding chiefs of the princes from the Hâu, Tien,
and Nan domains. When the people of Yin had thus received their
orders, they arose and entered with vigour on their work.

('When the work was drawing to a completion),

[1. That is, from Wû's capital of Hâo to king Wan's at Fang.

2 By the addition to the text here of 'northern and southern,' I
intimate my opinion that the duke of Kâu offered two sacrifices, one
to one to Heaven at the altar in the southern suburb, and one to Earth
in the northern suburb.]

the Grand-Guardian went out with the hereditary princes of the various
states to bring their offerings (for the king) [1]; and when he
entered again, he gave them to the duke of Kâu, saying, 'With my hands
to my head and my head to the ground, I present these to his Majesty
and your Grace [2]. Announcements for the information of the
multitudes of Yin must come from you, with whom is the management of
affairs.'

2. 'Oh! God (dwelling in) the great heavens has changed his decree
respecting his great son and the great dynasty of Yin. Our king has
received that decree. Unbounded is the happiness connected with it,
and unbounded is the anxiety:--Oh! how can he be other than reverent?
*

'When Heaven rejected and made an end of the decree in favour of the
great dynasty of Yin, there were many of its former wise kings in
heaven.* The king, however, who had succeeded to them, the last of his
race, from the time of his entering into their appointment, proceeded
in such a way as at last to keep the wise in obscurity and the vicious
in office. The poor people in such a case, carrying their children and
leading their wives, made their moan to Heaven. They even fled away,
but were apprehended again. Oh! Heaven had compassion on the people of
the four quarters; its favouring

[1. These 'offerings' were the 'presents of introduction,' which the
feudal princes brought with them to court, when they, were to have
audience of the king. This has led many critics to think that the king
was now in Lo, which was not the case.

2 The original text here is difficult and remarkable;--intended
probably to indicate that the king's majesty was revered in the person
of the duke of Kâu, who was regent.]

decree lighted on our earnest (founders). Let the king sedulously
cultivate the virtue of reverence. *

Examining the men of antiquity, there was the (founder of the) Hsiâ
dynasty. Heaven guided (his mind), allowed his descendants (to succeed
him), and protected them. * He acquainted himself with Heaven, and was
obedient to it. But in process of time the decree in his favour fell
to the ground.* So also is it now when we examine the case of Yin.
There was the same guiding (of its founder), who corrected (the errors
of Hsiâ), and (whose descendants) enjoyed the protection (of Heaven).
He (also) acquainted himself with Heaven, and was obedient to it.* But
now the decree in favour of him has fallen to the ground. Our king
has' now come to the throne in his youth;--let him not slight the aged
and experienced, for it may be said of them that they have studied the
virtuous conduct of the ancients, and have matured their counsels in
the sight of Heaven.

'Oh! although the king is young, yet he is the great son (of God).*
Let him effect a great harmony with the lower people, and that will be
the blessing of the present time. Let not the king presume to be
remiss in this, but continually regard and stand in awe of the
perilous (uncertainty) of the people's (attachment).

'Let the king come here as the vice-gerent of God, and undertake (the
duties of government) in this centre of the land.* Tan [1] said, "Now
that this great city has been built, from henceforth he may

[1. Tan was the name of the duke of Kâu, and his brother duke here
refers to him by it, in accordance with the rule that 'ministers
should be called by their names in the presence of the sovereign.'
King Khang, indeed, was not now really present in Lo, but he was
represented by his uncle, the regent.]

be the mate of great Heaven, and reverently sacrifice to (the spirits)
above and beneath; from henceforth he may from this central spot
administer successful government." Thus shall the king enjoy the
favouring regard (of Heaven) all-complete, and the government of the
people will now be prosperous.*

'Let the king first subdue to himself those who were the managers of
affairs under Yin, associating them with the managers of affairs for
our Kâu. This will regulate their (perverse) natures, and they will
make daily advancement. Let the king make reverence the resting-place
(of his mind);--he must maintain the virtue of reverence.

'We should by all means survey the dynasties of Hsiâ and Yin. I do not
presume to know and say, "The dynasty of Hsiâ was to enjoy the
favouring decree of Heaven just for (so many) years," nor do I presume
to know and say, "It could not continue longer."* The fact simply was,
that, for want of the virtue of reverence, the decree in its favour
prematurely fell to the ground. (Similarly), I do not presume to know
and say, "The dynasty of Yin was to enjoy the favouring decree of
Heaven just for (so many) years," nor do I presume to know and say,
"It could not continue longer." * The fact simply was, that, for want
of the virtue of reverence, the decree in its favour fell prematurely
to the ground. The king has now inherited the decree,--the same
decree, I consider, which belonged to those two dynasties. Let him
seek to inherit (the virtues of) their meritorious (sovereigns);-(let
him do this especially) at this commencement of his duties.

'Oh! it is as on the birth of a son, when all depends on (the training
of) his early life, through which he may secure his wisdom, in the
future, as if it were decreed to him. Now Heaven may have decreed
wisdom (to the king); it may have decreed good fortune or bad; it may
have decreed a (long) course of years;--we only know that now is with
him the commencement of his duties. Dwelling in this new city, let the
king now sedulously cultivate the virtue of reverence. When he is
all-devoted to this virtue, he may pray to Heaven for a long-abiding
decree in his favour. *

'In the position of king, let him not, because of the excesses of the
people in violation of the laws, presume also to rule by the violent
infliction of death;--when the people are regulated gently, the merit
(of government) is seen. It is for him who is in the position of king
to overtop all with his virtue. In this case the people will imitate
him throughout the kingdom, and he will become still more illustrious.

'Let the king and his ministers labour with a mutual sympathy, saying,
"We have received the decree of Heaven, and it shall be great as the
long-continued years of Hsiâ;--yea, it shall not fail of the
long-continued years of Yin." I wish the king, through (the attachment
of) the lower people, to receive the long-abiding decree of Heaven.'*

3. (The duke of Shâo) then did obeisance with his hands to his head
and his head to the ground, and said, 'I, a small minister, presume,
with the king's (heretofore) hostile people and all their officers,
and with his (loyal) friendly people, to maintain and receive his
majesty's dread command and brilliant virtue. That the king should
finally obtain the decree all-complete, and that he should become
illustrious'--this I do not presume to labour for. I only bring
respectfully these offerings to present to his majesty, to be used in
his prayers to Heaven for its long-abiding decree.' *

BOOK XIII.

THE ANNOUNCEMENT CONCERNING LO.

THE matters recorded in this Book are all connected, more or less
nearly with Lo, the new capital, the arrangements for the building of
which are related at the commencement of the last Book. According to
the summary of the contents given by the commentator Zhâi Khan, 'The
arrangements for the building having been made, the duke of Kâu sent a
messenger to inform the king of the result of his divinations. The
historiographer recorded this as the Announcement about Lo, and at the
same time related a dialogue between the king and his minister, and
how the king charged the duke to remain at Lo, and conduct the
government of it.' Passing over the commencing paragraph, which I have
repeated here from the ninth Book 'Zhâi divides all the rest into
seven chapters. Ch. 1 contains the duke's message concerning- his
divinations; and the next gives the king's reply. Ch. 3 is occupied
with instructions to the king about the measures which he should
pursue on taking up his residence at Lo. In ch. 4, the king charges
the duke to remain at Lo, and undertake its government. In ch. 5, the
duke responds, and accepts the charge, dwelling on the duties which
the king and himself would have to perform. Ch. 6 relates the action
of the duke in reference to a message and gift from the king intended
for his. special honour. In ch. 7, the historiographer writes of
sacrifices offered by the king in Lo, and a proclamation that he
issued, and tells how long the duke continued in his
government;--showing how the duke began the city and, completed it,
and how king Khang, after offering the sacrifices and inaugurating the
government, returned to Hâo, and did not, after all, make his capital
at Lo.

Many critics make much to do about the want of historical order in the
Book, and suppose that portions have been lost, and other portions
transposed; but the Book may be explained without resorting to so
violent a supposition.]

[In the third month, when the moon began to wane, the duke of Kâu
commenced the foundations and proceeded to build the new great city of
Lo of the eastern states. The people from every quarter assembled in
great harmony. From the Hâu, Tien, Nan, Zhâi, and Wei domains, the
various officers stimulated this harmony of the people, and introduced
them to the business that was to be done for Kâu. The duke encouraged
all to diligence, and made a great announcement about the performance
(of the works)[1].]

1. The duke of Kâu did obeisance with his hands to his head and his
head to the ground', saying 'Herewith I report (the execution of my
commission) to my son my intelligent sovereign. The king appeared as
if he would not presume to be present at Heaven's founding here the
appointment (of our dynasty), and fixing it, whereupon I followed the
(Grand-) Guardian, and made a great survey of this eastern region,
hoping to found the place where he should become the intelligent
sovereign of the people. On the day Yî-mâo, I came in the morning to
this capital of Lo. I (first) divined by the shell concerning (the
ground about) the Lî-water on the north of the Ho. I then divined
concerning the east of the Kien-water, and the west of the Khan, when
the (ground near the) Lo was indicated. Again I

[1. See the introductory note to Book ix.

2. In sending his message to the king, the duke does obeisance as if
he were in the presence of his majesty. The king responds with a
similar ceremony.]

divined concerning the east of the Khan-water when the (ground near
the) Lo was also indicated. I (now) send a messenger with a map, and
to present the (result of the) divinations.'*

2. The king did obeisance with his hands to his head and his head to
the ground, saying, 'The duke did not presume not to acknowledge
reverently the favour of Heaven, and has surveyed the locality where
our Kâu may respond to that favour. Having settled the locality, he
has sent his messenger to show me the divinations, favourable and
always auspicious. We two must together sustain the responsibility. He
has made provision for me (and my successors), for myriads and tens of
myriads of years, there reverently to acknowledge the favour of
Heaven.* With my hands, to my head and my head to the ground, (I
receive) his instructive words.'

3. The duke of Kâu said[1], 'Let the king at first employ the
ceremonies of Yin, and sacrifice in the new city,* doing everything in
an orderly way, but without display. I will marshal all the officers
to attend you from Kâu, merely saying that probably there will be
business to be done (in sacrificing). Let the king instantly issue an
order to the effect that the most meritorious (ministers) shall have
the first place in the sacrifices; and let him also say in an order,
"You, in whose behalf the above order is issued, must give me your
assistance with sincere earnestness." Truly display the record of
merits, for

[1. We must suppose that the duke of Kâu, after receiving the reply to
his message, had himself returned to Hâo, to urge upon the king the
importance of his repairing in person to Lo, and solemnly inaugurating
the new city as the capital of the kingdom.]

it is you who must in everything teach the officers. My young son, can
you indulge partiality? Eschew it, my young son. (If you do not), the
consequence hereafter will be like a fire, which, a spark at first,
blazes up, and by and by cannot be extinguished. Let your observance
of the constant rules of right, and your soothing measures be like
mine. Take only the officers that are in Kâu with you to the new city,
and make them there join their (old) associates, with intelligent
vigour establishing their merit, and with a generous largeness (of
soul) completing (the public manners);--so shall you obtain an endless
fame.'

The duke said, 'Yes, young as you are, be it yours to complete (thc
work of your predecessors). Cultivate (the spirit of) reverence, and
you will know who among the princes (sincerely) present their
offerings to you, and who do not. In connexion with those offerings
there are man), observances. If the observances are not equal to the
articles, it must be held that there is no offering. When there is no
service of the will in the offerings (of the princes), all the people
will then say, "We need not (be troubled about) our offerings," and
affairs will be disturbed by errors and usurpations.

'Do you, my young son, manifest everywhere my unwearied diligence, and
listen to my instructions to you how to help the people to observe the
constant rules of right. If you do not bestir yourself in these
things, you will not be of long continuance. If you sincerely and
fully carry out the course of your Directing father, and follow
exactly my example, there will be no venturing to disregard your
orders. Go, and be reverent. Henceforth I will study husbandry[1].
There do you generously rule our people, and there is no distance from
which they will not come to you.'

4. The king spoke to this effect[2], 'O duke, you are the enlightener
and sustainer of my youth. You have set forth the great and
illustrious virtues, that I, notwithstanding my youth, may display a
brilliant merit like that of Wan and Wû, reverently responding to the
favouring decree of Heaven; and harmonize and long preserve the people
of all the regions, settling the multitudes (in Lo); and that I may
give due honour to the great ceremony (of recording) the most
distinguished (for their merits), regulating the order for the first
places at the sacrifices, and doing everything in an orderly manner
without display.

'But your virtue, O duke, shines brightly above and beneath, and is
displayed actively throughout the four quarters. On every hand appears
the deep reverence (of your virtue) in securing the establishment of
order, so that you fail in nothing of the earnest lessons of Wan and
Wû. It is for me, the youth, (only) to attend reverently, early and
late, to the sactifices.'

The king said, 'Great, O duke, has been your merit in helping and
guiding me;--let it ever continue so.'

[1. By this expression the duke indicates his wish and intention now
to retire from public life, and leave the government and especially
the affairs of Lo in the king's hands.

2 From the words of the king in this chapter, we receive the
impression that they were spoken in Lo. He must have gone there with
the duke from Hâo. He deprecates the duke's intention to retire into
private life; intimates his own resolution to return to Hâo; and
wishes the duke to remain in Lo, accomplishing all that was still
necessary to the establishment of their dynasty.]

The king said, 'O duke, let me, the little child, return to my
sovereignty in Kâu, and I charge you, O duke, to remain behind (here).
Order has been initiated throughout the four quarters of the kingdom,
but the ceremonies to be honoured (by general observance) have not yet
been settled, and I cannot look on your service as completed. Commence
on a great scale what is to be done by your remaining here, setting an
example to my officers and greatly preserving the people whom Wan and
Wû received;--by your good government you will be a help to the whole
kingdom.'

The king said, 'Remain, O duke. I will certainly go. Your services are
devoutly acknowledged and reverently rejoiced in. Do not, O duke,
occasion me this difficulty. I on my part will not be weary in seeking
the tranquillity (of the people);--do not let the example which you
have afforded me be intermitted. So shall the kingdom enjoy for
generations (the benefit of your virtue).'

5. The duke of Kâu did obeisance with his hands to his head and his
head to the ground, saying, 'You have charged me, O king, to come
here. I undertake (the charge), and will protect the people whom your
accomplished grandfather, and your glorious and meritorious father,
king Wû, received by the decree (of Heaven). I will enlarge the
reverence which I cherish for you. (But), my son, come (frequently),
and inspect this settlement. Pay great honour to (old) statutes, and
to the good and wise men of Yin. Good government (here) will make you
(indeed) the new sovereign of the kingdom, and an example of (royal)
respectfulness to all your successors of Kâu.'

(The duke) proceeded to say, ' From this time, by the government
administered in this central spot, all the states will be conducted to
repose; and this will be the completion of your merit, O king.

'I, Tan, with the numerous officers and managers of affairs, will
consolidate the achievements of our predecessors, in response to (the
hopes of) the people. I will afford an example of sincerity to (future
ministers of) Kâu, seeking to render complete the pattern intended for
the enlightenment of you, my son, and thus to carry fully out the
virtue of your accomplished grandfather.'

6. (Afterwards, on the arrival of a message and gifts from the king,
the duke said[1]), '(The king) has sent messengers to admonish (the
people of) Yin, and with a soothing charge to me, along with two
flagons of the black-millet herb-flavoured spirits, saying, "Here is a
pure sacrificial gift, which with my hands to my head and my head to
the ground I offer for you to enjoy its excellence!"* I dare not keep
this by me, but offer it in sacrifice to king Wan and king Wû.' (In
doing so, he prayed), 'May he be obedient to, and observant of your
course! Let him not bring on himself any evil or illnes! Let him
satisfy his descendants for myriads of years with your virtue! Let
(the people of) Yin enjoy prolonged (prosperity)!'* (He also said to
the messengers), 'The king has sent you to Yin,

[1. We must suppose that the king had returned to Hâo, and now sends a
message to the duke with an extraordinary gift, doing honour to him as
if be were a departed spirit, continuing in heaven the guardianship of
the dynasty which he bad so long efficiently discharged on earth. This
gives occasion for the duke to exhibit anew his humility, piety, and
loyalty.]

and we have received his well-ordered charges, (sufficient to direct
us) for myriads of years, but let (the people) ever (be able to)
observe the virtue cherished by my son.'

7. On the day Wû-khan, the king, being in the new city[1], performed
the annual winter sacrifice, offering (moreover) one red bull to king
Wan and another to king Wû.* He then ordered a declaration to be
prepared, which was done by Yî [2] in the form of a prayer, and it
simply announced the remaining behind of the duke of Kâu. The king's
guests[3], on occasion of the killing of the victims and offering the
sacrifice, were all present. The king entered the grand apartment, and
poured out the libation.* He gave a charge to the duke of Kâu to
remain, and Yî, the preparer of the document, made the
announcement;--in the twelfth month. (Thus) the duke of Kâu grandly
sustained the decree which Wan and Wû had received through the space
of seven years [4].

[1. The duke had asked the king to come frequently to the new city; he
is there now accordingly.

2 Yî was the name of the Recorder who officiated on the occasion.

3 All the princes present and assisting at the sacrifices, and
especially the representatives of the previous dynasties.

4 These seven years are to be calculated from the seventh year of king
Khang, after the duke had served as administrator of the government
seven years from the death of king Wû. Many think, however, that the
'seven years' are only those of the duke's regency.]

BOOK XIV. THE NUMEROUS OFFICERS.

WE have in this Book another 'Announcement,' addressed to the people
of Yin or Shang, and especially to the higher classes among
them,--'the numerous officers,'--to reconcile them to their lot as
subjects of the new dynasty. From the preceding two Books it appears
that many of the people of Yin had been removed to the country about
the Lo, before the dukes of Shâo and Kâu commenced the building of the
new city. Now that the city was completed, another and larger
migration of them, we may suppose, was ordered; and the duke of Kin
took occasion to issue the announcement that is here preserved.

I have divided it into four chapters. The first vindicates the kings
of Kâu for superseding the line of Shang, not from ambition, but in
obedience to the will of God. The second unfolds the causes why the
dynasty of Yin or Shang had been set aside. The third shows bow it bad
been necessary to remove them to Lo, and with what good intention the
new capital had been built. The fourth tells how comfort and
prosperity were open to their attainment at Lo, while by perseverance
in disaffection they would only bring misery and ruin upon themselves.

1. In the third month, at the commencement (of the government) of the
duke of Kâu in the new city of Lo, he announced (the royal will) to
the officers of the Shang dynasty, 'saying, 'The king speaks to this
effect:--"Ye numerous officers who remain from the dynasty of Yin,
great ruin came down on Yin from the cessation of forbearance in
compassionate Heaven, and we, the lords of Kâu, received its favouring
decree.* We felt charged with its bright terrors, carried out the
punishments which kings inflict, rightly disposed of the appointment
of Yin, and finished (the work of) God.* Now, ye numerous officers, it
was not our small state that dared to aim at the appointment belonging
to Yin. But Heaven was not with (Yin), for indeed it would not
strengthen its misrule. It (therefore) helped us;--did we dare to seek
the throne of ourselves? God was not for (Yin), as appeared from the
mind and conduct of our inferior people, in which there is the
brilliant dreadfulness of Heaven."' *

2. 'I have heard the saying, "God leads men to tranquil security," *
but the sovereign of Hsiâ would not move to such security, whereupon
God sent down corrections, indicating his mind to him. (Kieh),
however, would not be warned by God, but proceeded to greater
dissoluteness and sloth and excuses for himself. Then Heaven no longer
regarded nor heard him, but disallowed his great appointment, and
inflicted extreme punishment. Then it charged your founder, Thang the
Successful, to set Hsiâ aside, and by means of able men to rule the
kingdom. From Thang the Successful down to Tî-yî, every sovereign
sought to make his virtue illustrious, and duly attended to the
sacrifices. * And thus it was that, while Heaven exerted a great
establishing influence, preserving and regulating the House of Yin,
its sovereigns on their part were humbly careful not to lose (the
favour of) God, and strove to manifest a good-doing corresponding to
that of Heaven. * But in these times, their successor showed himself
greatly ignorant of (the ways of) Heaven, and much less could it be
expected of him that he would be regardful of the earnest labours of
his fathers for the country. Greatly abandoned to dissolute idleness,
he gave no thought to the bright principles of Heaven, and the
awfulness of the people.* On this account God no longer protected him,
but sent down the great ruin which we have witnessed. Heaven was not
with him, because he did not make his virtue illustrious.* (Indeed),
with regard to the overthrow of all states, great and small,
throughout the four quarters of the kingdom, in every case reasons can
be given for their punishment.'

The king speaks to this effect:--"Ye numerous officers of Yin, the
case now is this, that the kings of our Kâu, from their great
goodness, were charged with the work of God. There was the charge to
them, 'Cut off Yin.' (They proceeded to perform it), and announced the
execution of their service to God. In our affairs we have followed no
double aims;--ye of the royal House (of Yin) must (now simply) follow
us."' *

3. '"May I not say that you have been very lawless? I did not (want
to) remove you. The thing came from your own city[1]. When I consider
also how Heaven has drawn near to Yin with so great tribulations, it
must be that there was (there) what was not right."

'The king says, "Ho! I declare to you, ye numerous officers, it is
simply on account of these things that I have removed you and settled
you here in the west [2];--it was not that I, the One man, considered
it a part of my virtue to interfere with your tranquillity. The thing
was from Heaven; do not offer resistance; I shall not presume to have
any subsequent (charge concerning you); do not murmur against me. Ye
know that your fathers of the Yin dynasty had their archives and
statutes, (showing

[1. That is, your conduct in your own city.

2. Lo is often called 'the eastern capital,' as being east from Hâo,
the capital of king Wû; but it was west from Kâo-ko, the capital of
Yin.]

how) Yin superseded the appointment of Hsiâ. Now, indeed, ye say
further, '(The officers of) Hsiâ were chosen and employed in the royal
court (of Shang), and had their duties among the mass of its
officers.' (But) I, the One man, listen only to the virtuous, and
employ them; and it was with this view that I ventured to seek you in
your capital of Shang (once sanctioned by) Heaven, (and removed you
here to Lo.) I thereby follow (the ancient example), and have pity on
you. (Your present non-employment) is no fault of mine;--it is by the
decree of Heaven." *

'The king says, "Ye numerous officers, formerly, when I came from
Yen[1], I greatly mitigated the penalty and spared the lives of the
people of your four states[2] . At the same time I made evident the
punishment appointed by Heaven, and removed you to this distant abode,
that you might be near the ministers who had served in our honoured
(capital)[3], and (learn) their much obedience."

'The king says, "I declare to you, ye numerous officers of Yin, now I
have not put you to death, and therefore I reiterate the declaration
of my charge [4]. I have now built this great city here in

[1. Yen was the name of a territory, corresponding to the present
district of Khü-fâu, in Shan-tung. The wild tribe inhabiting it, had
joined with Wû-kang and the king's uncles a few years before; and the
crushing of the Yen had been the last act in the suppression of their
rebellion.

2. The royal domain of Yin, which had been allotted to Wû-kang and the
kings three uncles.

3. Hâo. There were, no doubt, at this time many ministers and officers
from Hâo in Lo; but the duke had intended that they should in the mass
remove from the old to the new capital.

4. The charge which had been delivered on the first removal of many of
them to the neighbourhood of Lo.]

Lo, considering that there was no (central) place in which to receive
my guests from the four quarters, and also that you, ye numerous
officers, might here with zealous activity perform the part of
ministers to us, with the entire obedience (ye would learn). Ye have
still here, I may say, your grounds, and May still rest in your duties
and dwellings. If you can reverently obey, Heaven will favour and
compassionate you. If you do not reverently obey, you shall not only
not have your lands, but I will also carry to the utmost Heaven's
inflictions on. your persons. Now you may here dwell in your villages,
and perpetuate your families; you may pursue your occupations and
enjoy your years in this Lo; your children also will prosper;--(all)
from your being removed here."

'The king says--[1]; and again he says, "Whatever I may now have
spoken is on account of (my anxiety about) your residence here."'

BOOK XV. AGAINST LUXURIOUS EASE.

THE name of this Book is taken from two characters in the first
sentence of it, which are the key-note of the whole. It is classified
among the 'Instructions' of the Shû, and was addressed to king Khang
by the duke of Kâu soon after he had resigned the administration of
the government into his hands.

There are six pauses in the course of the address, which is resumed
always with 'The duke -of Kâu said, "Oh."' This suggests a division
into seven chapters.

In the first, the duke suggests to the king to find a rule for himself
in the laborious toils that devolve on the husbandman. In the second,
he refers to the long reigns of three of the Yin sovereigns,

[1. There are probably some sentences lost here.]

and the short reigns of others, as illustrating how the blessing of
Heaven rests on the diligent monarch. In the third, the example of
their own kings, Thâi, Ki, and Wan, is adduced with the same object.
In the fourth, the duke addresses the king directly, and exhorts him
to follow the pattern of king Wan, and flee from that of Kâu-hsin. In
the fifth, he stimulates him, by reference to ancient precedents, to
adopt his counsels, and shows the evil effect that will follow if he
refuse to do so. In the sixth, he shows him, by the cases of the good
kings of Yin and of king Wan, how he should have regard to the
opinions of the common people, and gird himself to diligence. The
seventh chapter is a single admonition that the king should lay what
had been said to heart.

1. The duke of Kâu said, 'Oh! the superior man rests in this,--that he
will indulge in no luxurious ease. He first understands how the
painful toil of sowing and reaping conducts to ease, and thus he
understands how the lower people depend on this toil (for their
support). I have observed among the lower people, that where the
parents have diligently laboured in sowing and reaping, their sons
(often) do not understand this painful toil, but abandon themselves to
ease, and to village Slang, and become quite disorderly. Or where they
do not do so, they (still) throw contempt on their parents, saying,
"Those old people have heard nothing and know nothing."'

2. The duke of Kâu said, 'Oh! I have heard that aforetime Kung Zung,
one of the kings of Yin[1], was grave, humble, reverential, and
timorously cautious. He measured himself with reference to. the decree
of Heaven, and cherished a reverent apprehension in governing the
people, not daring

[1. Kung Zung was the sacrificial title of Thâi-wû, the seventh of the
kings of Shang or Yin, who reigned B.C. 1637-1563]

to indulge in useless ease.* It was thus that he enjoyed the throne
seventy and five years. If we come to the time of Kâo Zung [1], he
toiled at first away from the court, and was among the lower people
[2]. When he came to the throne, and occupied the mourning shed, it
may be said that he did not speak for three years. (Afterwards) he was
(still inclined) not to speak; but when he did speak, his words were
full of harmonious (wisdom). He did not dare to indulge in useless
ease, but admirably and tranquilly presided over the regions of Yin,
till throughout them all, small and great, there was not a single
murmur. It was thus that he enjoyed the throne fifty and nine years.
In the case of Zû-kiâ [3], he refused to be king unrighteously, and
was at first one of the lower people. When he came to the throne, he
knew on what they must depend (for their support), and was able to
exercise a protecting kindness towards their masses, and did not dare
to treat with contempt the wifeless men and widows. Thus it was that
he enjoyed the throne thirty and three years. The kings that arose
after these, from their birth enjoyed ease. Enjoying ease from their
birth, they did not know the painful toil of sowing and reaping, and
had not heard of the hard labours of the lower people. They sought for
nothing but excessive pleasure; and so not one of them had long life.
They (reigned) for ten years,

[1. Kâo Zung was the sacrificial title of Wû-ting, the nineteenth
sovereign of the Yin line, who reigned B.C. 1324-1266. He has already
appeared in the 8th and 9th Books of Part IV.

2 Compare Part IV, viii, sect. 3, ch. 1.

3. Zû-kiâ was the twenty-first of the Yin sovereigns, and reigned B.C.
1258-1226.]

for seven or eight, for five or six, or perhaps (only) for three or
four.'

3. The duke of Kâu said, 'Oh! there likewise were king Thâi and king
Kî of our own Kâu, who were humble and reverentially cautious. King
Win dressed meanly, and gave himself to the work of tranquillization
and to that of husbandry. Admirably mild and beautifully humble, he
cherished and protected the inferior people, and showed a fostering
kindness to the wifeless men and widows. From morning to mid-day, and
from mid-day to sundown, he did not allow himself leisure to
eat;--thus seeking to secure the happy harmony of the myriads of the
people. King Win did not dare to go to excess in his excursions or his
hunting, and from the various states he would receive only the correct
amount of contribution. The appointment (of Heaven) came to him in the
middle of his life [1], and he enjoyed the throne for fifty years.'*

4. The duke of Kâu said, 'Oh! from this time forward, do you who have
succeeded to the throne imitate Win's avoiding of excess in his
sight-seeing, his indulgence in ease, his excursions, his hunting; and
from the myriads of the people receive only the correct amount of
contribution. Do not allow yourself the leisure to say, "To-day I will
indulge in pleasure." This would not be holding out a lesson to the
people, nor the way to secure the favour of Heaven. Men will on the
contrary be prompt to imitate you and practise evil. Become not like

[1. This can only be understood of Wan's succeeding to his father as
duke of Kau and chief of the West in B.C. 1185. He died in 1135,
leaving it to his son Wû to overthrow the dynasty of Shang.]

Shâu the king of Yin, who went quite astray, and, became abandoned to
drunkenness.'

5. The duke of Kâu said, 'Oh! I have heard it said that, in the case
of the ancients, (their ministers) warned and admonished them,
protected and loved them, taught and instructed them; and among the
people there was hardly one who would impose on them by extravagant
language or deceiving tricks. If you will not listen to this (and
profit by it), your ministers will imitate you, and so the correct
laws of the former kings, both small and great, will be changed and
disordered. The people, blaming you, will disobey and rebel in their
hearts;-yea, they will curse you with their mouths.'

6. The duke of Kâu said, 'Oh! those kings of Yin,--Kung Zung, Kâo
Zung, and Zû-kiâ, with king Wan of our Kâu,--these four men carried
their knowledge into practice. If it was told them, "The lower people
murmur against you and revile you," then they paid great and reverent
attention to their conduct; and with reference to the faults imputed
to them they said, "Our faults are really so," thus not simply
shrinking from the cherishing of anger. If you will not listen to this
(and profit by it), when men with extravagant language and deceptive
tricks say to you, "The lower people are murmuring against you and
reviling you," you will believe them. Doing this, you will not be
always thinking of your princely duties, and will not cultivate a
large and generous heart, You will confusedly punish the guiltless,
and put the innocent to death. There will be a general murmuring,
which will be concentrated upon your person.'

7. The duke of Kâu said, 'Oh! let the king, who has succeeded to the
throne, make a study of these things.'

BOOK XVI. THE PRINCE SHIH.

THE words 'Prince Shih' occur at the commencement of the Book, and are
taken as its title. Shih was the name of the duke of Shâo, the author
of Book xii. To him the address or announcement here preserved was
delivered, and his name is not an inappropriate title for it.

The common view of Chinese critics is that the duke of Shâo had
announced his purpose to withdraw from office on account of his age,
when the duke of Kâu persuaded him to remain at his post, and that the
reasons which lie set before him were recorded in this Book. It may
have been so, but the language is far from clearly indicating it. A
few expressions, indeed, may be taken as intimating a wish that Shih
should continue at court, but some violence has to be put upon them:

I have divided the whole into four chapters, but the two principal
ideas In the address are these:-that the favour of Heaven can be
permanently secured for a dynasty only by the virtue of its
sovereigns; and that -that virtue is secured mainly by the counsels
and help of virtuous ministers. The ablest sovereigns of Shang are
mentioned, and the ministers by whose aid it was, in a great measure,
that they became what they were. The cases of Wan and Wû of their own
dynasty, similarly aided by able men, are adduced in the same way; and
the speaker adverts to the services which they--the two dukes--had
already rendered to their sovereign, and insists that they must go on
to the end, and accomplish still greater things.

1. The duke of Kâu spoke to the following effect:--'Prince Shih,
Heaven, unpitying, sent down ruin on Yin. Yin has lost its appointment
(to the throne), which our House of Kâu has received. I do not dare,
however, to say, as if I knew it, "The foundation will ever truly
abide in prosperity. If Heaven aid sincerity,"--[1]* Nor do I dare to
say, as if I knew it, "The end will issue in our misfortunes." Oh! you
have said, O prince, "It depends on ourselves." I also do not dare to
rest in the favour of God, not forecasting at a distance the terrors
of Heaven in the present time, when there is no murmuring or
disobedience among the people;*--(the issue) is with men. Should our
present successor to his fathers prove greatly unable to reverence
(Heaven) above and (the people) below, and so bring to an end the
glory of his predecessors, could we in (the retirement of) our
families be ignorant of it? The favour of Heaven is not easily
preserved; Heaven is difficult to be depended on. Men lose its
favouring appointment, because they cannot pursue and carry out the
reverence and brilliant virtue of their forefathers.* Now I, Tan, the
little child, am not able to make (the king) correct. I would simply
conduct him to the glory of .his fathers, and make him, who is my
young charge, partaker of that.' He also said, 'Heaven is not to be
trusted. Our course is only to seek the prolongation of the virtue of
the Tranquillizing king, that Heaven may not find occasion to remove
its favouring decree which king Wan received.'*

2. The duke said, 'Prince Shih, I have heard that aforetime, when
Thang the successful had received the appointment (to the throne), he
had with him Î Yin, making (his virtue) like that of great Heaven;*
that Thâi Kiâ had (the same

[1. The text is here. defective; or perhaps the speaker purposely left
his meaning only half expressed.]

Î Yin), the Pâo-hang [1]; that Thâi-Wû [2] had Î Kih [2] and Khan Hû
[2], through whom (his virtue) was made to affect God,* and Wû Hsien
[3] who regulated the royal House; that Zû-yî [3] had Wû Hsien's son;
and that Wû-ting had Kan Phan [4]. (These ministers) carried out
(their principles), and displayed (their merit), preserving and
regulating the dynasty of Yin, so that, while its ceremonies lasted,
(those sovereigns), when deceased, were assessors to Heaven[5],* and
its duration extended over many years. Heaven thus determinately
maintained its favouring appointment, and Shang was replenished with
men. The various heads of great surnames and members of the royal
House, holding employments, all held fast their virtue, and showed an
anxious solicitude (for the kingdom). The smaller ministers, and the
guardian princes in the Hâu and Tien domains, hurried about on their
services. Thus did they all exert their virtue and aid their
sovereign, so that whatever affairs he, the One man, had in hand,
throughout the land, an entire faith was reposed in their justice as
in the indications of the shell or the divining stalks.' *

The duke said, 'Prince Shih, Heaven gives length of days to the just
and the intelligent; (it was thus

[1. See Part IV, v, sect. 1, ch. 1, where Î Yin is called A-hang,
nearly = Pâo-hang.

2. Thâi-wû is the Kung Zung of last Book. Î Kih would be a son or
grandson of Î Yin. Of Khan Hû we know only what is stated here.

3 Zû-yi was the eleventh Yin sovereign, reigning B.C. 1525-1507. We
know of Wû Hsien only that he was Zû-yî's minister.

4. See Part IV, viii, sect. 3, ch. 1.

5. That is, they were associated with Heaven in the sacrifices to it.]

that those ministers) maintained and regulated the dynasty of Yin.* He
who came last to the throne granted by Heaven was extinguished by its
terrors. Do you think of the distant future, and we shall have the
decree (in favour of Kâu) made sure, and its good government will be,
brilliantly exhibited in our newly-founded state.'

3. The duke said, 'Prince Shih, aforetime when God was inflicting
calamity (on Yin), he encouraged anew the virtue of the Tranquillizing
king, till at last the great favouring decree was concentrated in his
person. (But) that king Wan was able to conciliate and unite the
portion of the great kingdom which we came to possess, was owing to
his having (such ministers) as his brother of Kwo, Hung Yâo, San
Î-shang, Thâi Tien, and Nan-kung Kwo.'

He said further, 'But for the ability of those men to go and come in
his affairs, developing his constant lessons, there would have been no
benefits descending from king Wan on the people. And it also was from
the determinate favour of Heaven that there were these men of firm
virtue, and acting according to their knowledge of the dread majesty
of Heaven, to give themselves to enlighten king Wan, and lead him
forward to his high distinction and universal rule, till his fame,
reached the ears of God, and he received the appointment that had been
Yin's.* There were still four of those men who led on king Wû to the
possession of the revenues of the kingdom, and afterwards, along with
him, in great reverence of the majesty of Heaven, slew all his
enemies.* These four men, moreover, made king Wû so illustrious that
his glory overspread the kingdom, and (the people) universally and
greatly proclaimed his virtue. Now with me Tan, the little child, it
is as if I were floating on a great stream;--With you, O Shih, let me
from this time endeavour to cross it. Our young sovereign is
(powerless), as if he had not yet ascended the throne. You must by no
means lay the whole burden on me; and if you draw yourself up without
an effort to supply my deficiencies, no good will flow to the people
from our age and experience. We shall not hear the voices of the
phœnixes [1], and how much less can it be thought that we shall
be able to make (the king's virtue) equal (to Heaven)!

The duke said, 'Oh! consider well these things, O prince. We have
received the appointment to which belongs an unlimited amount of
blessing, but having great difficulties attached to it. What I
announce to you are counsels of a generous largeness.--I cannot allow
the successor of our kings to go astray.'

4. The duke said, 'The former king laid bare his heart, and gave full
charge to you, constituting you one of the guides and patterns for the
people, saying, "Do you with intelligence and energy second and help
the king; do you with sincerity support and convey forward the great
decree. Think of the virtue of king Win, and enter greatly into his
boundless anxieties." '

The duke said, 'What I tell you, O prince, are my sincere. thoughts. O
Shih, the Grand-Protector, if you can but reverently survey with me
the decay and great disorders of Yin, and thence consider the

[1. As a token of the goodness of the government and the general
prosperity. See Part II, iv, ch. 3.]

dread majesty of Heaven (which warns) us!--Am I not to be believed
that I must reiterate my words? I simply say, "The establishment (of
our dynasty) rests with us two." Do you agree with me? Then you (also)
will say, "It rests with us two." And the favour of Heaven has come to
us so largely:--it should be ours to feel as if we could not
sufficiently respond to it. If you can but reverently cultivate your
virtue (now), and bring to light our men of eminent ability, then when
you resign (your position) to some successor in a time of established
security, (I will interpose no objection.)

'Oh! it is by the earnest service of us two that we have come to the
prosperity of the present day. We must both go on, abjuring all
idleness, to complete the work of king Wan, till it has grandly
overspread the kingdom, and from the corners of the sea, and the
sunrising, there shall not be one who is disobedient to the rule (of
Kâu).'

The duke said, 'O prince, have I not spoken in accordance with reason
in these many declarations? I am only influenced by anxiety about (the
appointment of) Heaven, and about the people.'

The duke said, 'Oh! you know, O prince, the ways of the people, how at
the beginning they can be (all we could desire); but it is the end
(that is to be thought of). Act in careful accordance with this fact.
Go and reverently exercise the duties of your office.'

BOOK XVII. THE CHARGE TO KUNG OF ZHÂI

ZHÂI was the name of the small state or territory, which had been
conferred on Tû, the next younger brother of the duke of Kâu. The name
still remains in the district of Shang-zhâi, department Zû-ning,
Ho-nan. Tû was deprived of his state because of his complicity in the
rebellion of Wû-kang; but it was subsequently restored to his son Hû
by this charge. Hû is here called Kung, that term simply denoting his
place in the roll of his brothers or cousins. King Khang, and Hû were
cousins,--'brothers' according to Chinese usage of terms, and Hû being
the younger of the two, was called Zhâi Kung, 'the second or younger
brother,--of Zhâi.'

The Book consists of two chapters. The former is of the nature of a
preface, giving the details necessary to explain the appointment of
Hû. The second contains the king's charge, delivered in his name by
the duke of Kâu, directing Hû how to conduct himself, so that he might
blot out the memory of his father's misdeeds, and win the praise of
the king.

1. When the duke, of Kâu was in the place of prime minister and
directed all the officers, the (king's) uncles spread abroad an (evil)
report, in consequence of which (the duke) put to death the prince of
Kwan in Shang [1]; confined the prince of Zhâi in Kwo-lin [2], with an
attendance of seven chariots; and reduced the prince of Hwo [3] to be
a private man, causing his name to be erased from the registers for
three years. The son of the prince

[1. The prince of Kwan--corresponding to the present Khang Kâu,
department Khâi-fang, Ho-nan--was the third of the sons of king Wan,
and older than the duke of Kâu. The Shang where he was put to death
was probably what had been the capital of the Shang kings.

2 We do not know where Kwo-lin was.

3. The name of Hwo remains in Hwo Kâu, department Phing-yang,
Shan-hsî. The prince of Hwo was the eighth of Wan's sons.]

of Zhâi having displayed a reverent virtue, the duke of Kâu made him a
high minister, and when his father died, requested a decree from the
king, investing him with the country of Zhâi.

2. 'The king speaks to this effect:--"My little child, Hû, you follow
the virtue (of our ancestors), and have changed from the conduct (of
your father); you are able to take heed to your ways;--I therefore
appoint you to be a marquis in the east. Go to your fief, and be
reverent!

"In order that you may cover the faults of your father, be loyal, be
filial [1]. Urge on your steps in your own way, diligent and never
idle, and so shall you hand down an example to your descendants.
Follow the constant lessons of your grandfather king Wan, and be not,
like your father, disobedient to the royal orders.

"Great Heaven has no partial affections;--it helps only the virtuous.*
The people's hearts have no unchanging attachment;--they cherish only
the kind. Acts of goodness are different, but they contribute in
common to good order. Acts of evil are different, but they contribute
in common to disorder. Be cautious!

In giving heed to the beginning think of the end;--the end will then
be without distress. If you do not think of the end, it will be full
of distress, even of the greatest.

"Exert yourself to achieve your proper merit. Seek to be in harmony
with all your neighbours.

[1. Hû's father had not been filial. When he is told to be filial,
there underlies the words the idea of the solidarity of the family.
His copying the example of his grandfather would be the best service
he could render to his father.]

Be a fence to the royal House. Live in amity with your brethren.
Tranquillize and help the lower people.

"Follow the course of the Mean, and do not by aiming to be intelligent
throw old statutes into confusion. Watch over what you see and hear,
and do not for one-sided words deviate from the right rule. Then I,
the One man, will praise you.

'The king says, "Oh! my little child, Hû, go, and do not idly throw
away my charge."'

BOOK XVIII. THE NUMEROUS REGIONS.

THE king has returned to his capital in triumph, having put down
rebellion in the east, and specially extinguished the state or tribe
of Yen. The third chapter of Book xiv contained a reference to an
expedition against Yen. Critics are divided on the point of whether
the expedition mentioned in this Book was the same as that, or
another; and our sources of information are not sufficient to enable
us to pronounce positively in the case. If we may credit what Mencius
says, the Records of the Shû do not tell us a tithe of the wars
carried on by the duke of Kâu to establish the new dynasty:--'He smote
Yen, and after three years put its ruler to death. He drove Fei-lien
to a corner by the sea, and slew him. The states which he extinguished
amounted to fifty' (Mencius, III, ii, ch. 9).

However this point be settled, on the occasion when the announcement
in this Book was delivered, a great assembly of princes and
nobles--the old officers of Yin or Shang, and chiefs from many
regions--was met together. They are all supposed to have been
secretly, if not openly, in sympathy with the rebellion which has been
trampled out, and to grudge to yield submission to the rule of Kâu.
The king, by the duke of Kâu, reasons and expostulates with them. He
insists on the leniency with which they had been treated in the past;
and whereas they might be saying that Kâu's overthrow of the Yin
dynasty was a usurpation, he shows that it was from the will of
Heaven.

The history of the nation is then reviewed, and it is made to appear
that king Wû had displaced the kings of Yin or Shang, just as Thang,
the founder of the Shang dynasty, had displaced those of Hsiâ. It was
their duty therefore to submit to Kâu. If they did not avail
themselves of its leniency, they should be dealt with in another way.

Having thus spoken, the duke turns, in the fourth of the five chapters
into which I have divided the Book, and addresses the many officers of
the states, and especially those of Yin, who had been removed to Lo,
speaking to them, as 'the Numerous Officers,' after the style of Book
xiv. Finally, he admonishes them all that it is time to begin a new
course. If they do well, it will be well with them; if they continue
perverse, they will have to blame themselves for the consequences.

1. In the fifth month, on the day Ting-hâi, the king arrived from Yen,
and came to (Hâo), the honoured (capital of) Kâu. The duke of Kâu
said, 'The king speaks to the following effect: "Ho! I make an
announcement to you of the four states, and the numerous (other)
regions. Ye who were the officers and people of the prince of Yin, I
have dealt very leniently as regards your lives, as ye all know. You
kept reckoning greatly on (some) decree of Heaven, and did not keep
with perpetual awe before your thoughts (the preservation of) your
sacrifices[1].*

'"God sent down correction on Hsiâ, but the sovereign (only) increased
his luxury and sloth, and would not speak kindly to the people. He
showed himself dissolute and dark, and would not yield for a single
day to the leadings of God:--this is what you have heard.* He kept
reckoning on the

[1. The extinction of the sacrifices of a state was its utter
overthrow. None were left--or if some might be left, none of them were
permitted--to continue the sacrifices to its founder and his
descendants.]

decree of God (in his favour), and did not cultivate the means for the
people's support.* By great inflictions of punishment also he
increased the disorder of the states of Hsiâ. The first cause (of his
evil course) was the internal misrule[1], which made him unfit to deal
well with the multitudes. Nor did he endeavour to find and employ men
whom he could respect, and who might display a generous kindness to
the people; but where any of the people of Hsiâ were covetous and
fierce, he daily honoured them, and they practised cruel tortures in
the cities. Heaven on this sought a (true) lord for the people, and
made its. distinguished and favouring decree light on Thang the
Successful, who punished and destroyed the sovereign of Hsiâ.*
Heaven's refusal of its favour (to Hsiâ) was decided. The righteous
men of your numerous regions were not permitted. to continue long in
their posts of enjoyment, and the many officers whom Hsiâ's (last
sovereign) honoured were unable intelligently to maintain the people
in the enjoyment (of their lives), but, on the contrary, aided one
another in oppressing them, till of the hundred ways of securing
(prosperity) they could not promote (one).

'"In the case indeed of Thang the Successful, it was because lie was
the choice of your numerous regions that he superseded Hsiâ, and
became the lord of the people. He paid careful attention to the
essential virtue (of a sovereign)[2], in order to stimulate the
people, and they on their part imitated him

[1. The vile debaucheries of which Kieh was guilty through his
connexion with the notorious Mei-hsî.

2 That is, to benevolence or the love of the people.]

and were stimulated. From him down to Tî-yî, the sovereigns all made
their virtue illustrious, and were cautious in the use of
punishments;--thus also exercising a stimulating influence (over the
people). When they, having examined the evidence in criminal cases,
put to death those chargeable with many crimes, they exercised the
same influence, and they did so also when they liberated those who
were not purposely guilty. But when the throne came to your (last)
sovereign, he could not with (the good will of) your numerous regions
continue in the enjoyment of the favouring decree of Heaven."'*

2. 'Oh! the king speaks to the following effect:--I announce and
declare to you of the numerous regions, that Heaven had no set purpose
to do away with the sovereign of Hsiâ or with the sovereign of Yin.
But it was the case that your (last) ruler, being in possession of
your numerous regions, abandoned himself to great excess, and reckoned
on the favouring decree of Heaven, making trifling excuses for his
conduct. And so in the case of the (last) sovereign of Hsiâ; his plans
of government were not of a tendency to secure his enjoyment (of the
kingdom), and Heaven sent down ruin on him, and the chief of the
territory (of Shang) put an end (to the line of Hsiâ). In truth, the
last sovereign of your Shang was luxurious to the extreme of luxury,
while his plans of government showed neither purity nor progress, and
thus Heaven sent down such ruin on him[1].*

[1. There must have been something remarkable in the closing period of
Kâu-hsin's history, to which the duke alludes in the subsequent
specification, of five years. We do not know the events of the times
sufficiently to say what it was.]

'"The wise, through not thinking, become foolish, and the foolish, by
thinking, become wise. Heaven for five years waited kindly, and
forbore with the descendant (of Thang), to see if he would indeed
prove himself the ruler of the people; but there was nothing in him
deserving to be regarded. Heaven then sought among your numerous
regions, making a great impression by its terrors to stir up some one
who would look (reverently) to it, but in all your regions there was
not one deserving of its favouring regard. But there were the kings of
our Kâu, who treated well the multitudes of the people, and were able
to sustain the burden of virtuous (government). They could preside
over (all services to) spirits and to Heaven.* Heaven thereupon
instructed us, and increased our excellence, made choice of us, and
gave us the decree of Yin, to rule over your numerous regions."'*

3. '"Why do I now presume to make (these) many declarations? I have
dealt very leniently as regards the lives of you, the people of these
four states. Why do you not show a sincere and generous obedience in
your numerous regions? Why do you not aid and co-operate with the
kings of our Kâu, to secure the enjoyment of Heaven's favouring
decree? You now still dwell in your dwellings, and cultivate your
fields;--why do you not obey our kings, and consolidate the decree of
Heaven? The paths which you tread are continually those of
disquietude;--have you in your hearts no love for yourselves? do you
refuse so greatly to acquiesce in the ordinance of Heaven? do you
triflingly reject that decree? do you of yourselves pursue unlawful
courses, scheming (by your alleged reasons) for the approval of
upright men? I simply instructed you, and published my
announcement[1]; with trembling awe I secured and confined (the chief
criminals):--I have done so twice and for three times. But if you do
not, take advantage of the leniency with which I have spared your
lives, I will proceed to severe punishments, and put you to death. It
is not that we, the sovereigns of Kâu, hold it virtuous to make you
untranquil, but it is you yourselves who accelerate your crimes (and
sufferings)."'

4. 'The king says, "Oh! ho! I tell you, ye many officers of the.
various regions, and you, ye many officers of Yin, now have ye been
hurrying about, doing service to my overseers for five years. There
are among you the inferior assistants, the chiefs, and the numerous
directors, small and great;--see that ye all attain to the discharge
of your duties. Want of harmony (in the life) rises from (the want of
it in) one's (inner) self;--strive to be harmonious. Want of concord
in your families (arises from the want of it in your conduct);--strive
to be harmonious. When intelligence rules in your cities, then will
you be proved to be attentive to your duties. Do not be afraid, I pray
you, of the evil ways, (of the people); and moreover, by occupying
your offices with a reverent harmony, yon will find it possible to
select from your cities individuals on whose assistance you can
calculate. You may thus long continue in this city of Lo[2],
cultivating your fields. Heaven will favour and compassionate you, and
we,

[1. Referring probably to 'the Great Announcement' in Book vii.

2 It would almost seem from this that the announcement was made in Lo;
and some critics have argued that Lo was 'the honoured capital' in the
first sentence.]

the sovereigns of Kau, will greatly help you, and confer rewards,
selecting you to stand in-our royal court. Only be attentive to your
duties, and you may rank among our great officers."

'The king says, "Oh! ye numerous officers, if you cannot exhort one
another to pay a sincere regard to my charges, it will further show
that you are unable to honour your sovereign; and all the people will
(also) say, 'We will not honour him.' Thus will ye be proved slothful
and perverse, greatly disobedient to the royal charges. Throughout
your, numerous regions you will bring on yourselves the terrors of
Heaven, and I will then inflict on you its punishments, removing you
far from your country."'

5 'The king says, "I do not (wish to) make these many declarations,*
but it is in a spirit of awe that I lay my commands before you." He
further says, "You may now make a (new) beginning. If you cannot
reverently realize the harmony (which I enjoin), do not (hereafter)
murmur against me."'

BOOK XIX. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF GOVERNMENT.

THE phrase, 'the Establishment of Government,' occurs several times in
the course of the Book, and is thence taken to denominate
it,--appropriately enough. The subject treated of throughout, is how
good government may be established.

Some Chinese critics maintain that the text as it stands is very
confused, 'head and tail in disorder, and without connexion,' and
various re-arrangements of it have been proposed, for which, however,
there is no manuscript authority. Keeping to the received text, and
dividing it into six chapters, we may adopt a summary of its contents
approved by the editors of the Shû, which was published in the
Yung-kang reign of the present dynasty.--In government there is
nothing more important than the employment of proper men; and when
such men are being sought, the first care should be for those to
occupy the three highest positions. When these are properly filled,
all the other offices will get their right men, and royal government
will be established. The appointment of the officers of business, of
pastoral oversight, and of the law, is the great theme of the whole
Book, and the concluding words of chapter 1 are its pulse,--may be
felt throbbing everywhere in all the sentiments. Chapters 2 and 3
illustrate the subject from the history of the dynasties of Hsiâ and
Shang; and in chapter 4 it is shown how kings Wan and Wû selected
their officers, and initiated the happy state which was still
continuing. In chapter 5 there is set forth the duty of the king to
put away from him men of artful tongues; to employ the good,
distinguished by their habits of virtue; to be always well prepared
for war; and to be very careful of his conduct in the matter of
litigations. Chapter 6 seems to have hardly any connexion with the
rest of the Book, and is probably a fragment of one of the lost Books
of the Shû, that has got tacked on to this.

The Book belongs to the class of 'Instructions,' and was made, I
suppose, after the duke of Kâu had retired from his regency.

1. The duke of Kâu spoke to the following effect:--'With our hands to
our heads and our heads to the ground, we make our declarations to the
Son of Heaven, the king who has inherited the throne.' In such manner
accordingly all (the other ministers) cautioned the king, saying, 'In
close attendance on your majesty there are the regular presidents[1],
the regular ministers[2], and the officers of justice;--the keepers of
the robes (also), and the guards.' The duke of Kâu said, 'Oh!
admirable are these (officers). Few, however, know to be sufficiently
anxious about them.'

[1. We must understand by these the chiefs or presidents who had a
certain jurisdiction over several states and their princes.

2. The high ministers of Instruction, War, Works, &c.]

2. 'Among the ancients who exemplified (this anxiety) there was the
founder of the Hsiâ dynasty. When his House was in its greatest
strength, he sought for able men who should honour God (in the
discharge of their duties).* (His advisers), when they knew of men
thoroughly proved. and trustworthy in the practice of the nine virtues
[1], would then presume to inform and instruct their sovereign,
saying, "With our hands to our heads and our heads to the ground, O
sovereign, we would say, Let (such an one) occupy one of your high
offices: Let (such an one) be one of your pastors: Let (such an one)
be one of your officers. of justice. By such appointments you will
fulfil your duty as sovereign. If you judge by the face only, and
therefrom deem men well schooled in virtue, and appoint them, then
those three positions will all be occupied by unrighteous
individuals." The way of Kieh, however, was act to observe this
precedent. Those whom he employed were cruel men;--and he left no
successor.'

3. 'After this there was Thang the Successful, who, rising to the
throne, grandly administered the bright ordinances of God.* He
employed, to fill the three (high) positions, those who were equal to
them; and those who w ere called possessors of the three kinds of
ability [2] would display that ability.

[1. See chapter 2 of 'the Counsels of Kao-yâo' in Part II.

2. Some suppose that men are intended here who possessed 'the three,
virtues' of 'the Great Plan.' I think rather that men are intended who
had talents and virtue which would make them eligible to the three
highest positions. Thang had his notice fixed on such men, and was
prepared to call them to office at the proper time.]

He then studied them severely, and greatly imitated them, making the
utmost of them in their three positions and with their three kinds of
ability. The people in the cities of Shang[1] were thereby all brought
to harmony, and those in the four quarters of the kingdom were brought
greatly under the influence of the virtue thus displayed. Oh! when the
throne came to Shâu, his character was all violence. He preferred men
of severity, and who deemed cruelty a virtue, to share with him in the
government of his states; and at the same time, the host of his
associates, men who counted idleness a virtue, shared the offices of
his court. God then sovereignly punished him, and caused us to possess
the great land, enjoy the favouring decree which Shâu had (afore)
received, and govern all the people in their myriad realms."

4. 'Then subsequently there were king Wan and king Wû, who knew well
the minds of those whom they put in the three positions, and saw
clearly the minds of those who had the three grades of ability. Thus
they could employ them to serve God with reverence, and appointed them
as presidents and chiefs of the people. In establishing their
government, the three things which principally concerned them were to
find the men for (high) offices, the officers of justice, and the
pastors. (They had also) the guards; the keepers of the robes; their
equerries; their heads of small departments; their personal
attendants; their various overseers; and their treasurers. They had
their governors of the larger and smaller cities assigned in the royal
domain to the

[1. That is, within the royal domain.]

nobles; their men of arts[1]; their overseers whose offices were
beyond the court; their grand historiographers; and their heads of
departments;--all good men of constant virtue.

'(In the external states) there were the Minister of Instruction, the
Minister of War, and the Minister of Works, with the many officers
subordinate to them. Among the wild tribes, such as the Wei, the Lû,
and the Khang[2], in the three Po, and at the dangerous passes, they
had wardens.

'King Wan was able to make the minds of those in the (three high)
positions his own, and so it was that he established those regular
officers and superintending pastors, so that they were men of ability
and virtue. He would not appear himself in the various notifications,
in litigations, and in precautionary measures. There, were the
officers and pastors (to attend to them), whom he (simply) taught to
be obedient (to his wishes), and not to be disobedient. (Yea), as to
litigations and precautionary measures, he (would seem as if he) did
not presume to know about them. He was followed by king Wû, who
carried out his work of settlement, and did not presume to supersede
his righteous and virtuous men, but entered into -his plans, and
employed, as before, those men. Thus it was that they unitedly
received this vast inheritance.'

[1. All who employed their arts in the service of the government;
officers of prayer, clerks, archers, charioteers, doctors, diviners,
and the practisers of the various mechanical arts, &c.

2. Compare what is said in 'the Speech at Mû,' ch. i. The Khang are
not mentioned there. It would seem to be the name of a wild tribe. The
three Po had all been capitals of the Shang kings, and their people
required the special attention of the sovereigns of Kâu.]

5. 'Oh! young son, the king, from this time forth be it ours to
establish the government, appointing the (high) officers, the officers
of the laws, and the pastors;--be it ours clearly to know what courses
are natural to these men, and then fully to employ them in the
government, that they may aid us in the management of the people whom
we have received, and harmoniously conduct all litigations and
precautionary measures. And let us river allow others to come between
us and them. (Yea), in our every word and speech, let us be thinking
of (these) officers of complete virtue, to regulate the people that we
have received.

'Oh! I, Tan, have received these excellent words of others', and tell
them all to you, young son, the king. From this time forth, O
accomplished son (of Wû), accomplished grandson (of Wan), do not err
in regard to the litigations and precautionary measures;--let the
proper officers manage them. From of old to the founder of Shang, and
downwards to king Wan of our Kâu, in establishing government, when
they appointed (high) officers, pastors, and officers. of the laws,
they settled them in their positions, And allowed them to unfold their
talents;--thus giving the regulation of affairs into their hands. In
the kingdom, never has there been the establishment of government by
the employment of artful-tongued men; (with such men), unlessoned in
virtue, never can a government be distinguished in the, world. From
this time forth, in establishing government, make no use of
artful-tongued men,

[1. Probably all the other officers or ministers referred to in ch. 1.
They are there prepared to speak their views, when the duke of Kâu
takes all the discoursing on himself.]

but (seek for) good officers, and get them to use all their powers in
aiding the government of our country. Now, O accomplished son (of Wû),
accomplished grandson (of Wan), young son, the king, do not err in the
matter of litigations;--there are the officers and pastors (to attend
to them).

'Have well arranged (also) your military accoutrements and weapons, so
that you may go forth beyond the steps of Yü, and traverse all under
the sky, even to beyond the seas, everywhere meeting with
submission:--so shall you display the bright glory of king Wan, and
render more illustrious the great achievements of king Wû[1].

'Oh! from this time forth, may (our) future kings, in establishing the
government, be able to employ men of constant virtue!'

6. The duke of Kâu spoke to the following effect:--'O grand
historiographer, the duke of Sû, the Minister of Crime, dealt
reverently with all the criminal matters that came before him, and
thereby perpetuated the fortunes of our kingdom. Here was an example
of anxious solicitude (for future ministers), whereby they may rank
with him in the ordering of the appropriate punishments[2].'

[1. At the close of his address to prince Shih, Book xvi, the duke of
Kâu breaks all at once into a warlike mood, as be does here.

2. I have said in the introductory note that this chapter does not
seem to have any connexion with the rest of the Book. From a passage
in the Zo Kwan, under the eleventh year of duke Khang, we learn that a
Sû Fan-shang, or Fan-shang of Sû, was Minister of Crime to king Wû. It
is probably to him that the duke here alludes.]

BOOK XX. THE OFFICERS OF KÂU.

'THE Officers of Kau' contains a general outline of the official
system of the Kâu dynasty, detailing the names and functions of the
principal ministers about the court and others, to whom, moreover,
various counsels are addressed by the king who speaks in it,-no doubt,
king Khang. Chinese critics class it with the 'Instructions' of the
Shû, but it belongs rather to the 'Announcements.'

There is no mention in it of the duke of Kâu; and its date must
therefore be in some year after he had retired from the regency, and
resigned the government into the king's own hands.

The Book has a beginning, middle, and end, more distinctly marked than
they are in many of the documents in the Shû. The whole is divided
into five chapters. The first is introductory, and describes the
condition of the kingdom, when the arrangements of the official system
were announced. In the second, the king refers to the arrangements of
former dynasties. In the third, he sets forth the principal offices of
state, the ministers of which had their residence at court, and goes
on to the arrangements for the administration of the provinces. The
two other chapters contain many excellent advices to the ministers and
officers to discharge their duties so that the fortunes of the dynasty
might be consolidated, and no dissatisfaction arise among the myriad
states.

1. The king of Kâu brought the myriad regions (of the kingdom) to
tranquillity; he made a tour of inspection through the Hâu and Tien
tenures; he punished on all sides the chiefs who had refused to appear
at court; thus securing the repose of the millions of the people, and
all the (princes in the) six tenures acknowledging his virtue. He then
returned to the honoured capital of Kâu, and strictly regulated the
officers of the administration.

2. The king said, 'It was the grand method of former times to regulate
the government while there was no confusion, and to secure the country
while there was no danger.' He said, 'Yâo and Shun, having studied
antiquity[1], established a hundred officers. At court, there were the
General Regulator and (the President of) the Four Mountains; abroad,
there were the pastors of the provinces and the princes of states.
Thus the various departments of government went on harmoniously, and
the myriad states all enjoyed repose. Under the dynasties of Hsiâ and
Shang, the number of officers was doubled, and they were able still to
secure good government. (Those early) intelligent kings, in
establishing their government, cared not so much about the number of
the offices as about. the men (to occupy them). Now I, the little
child, cultivate with reverence my virtue, concerned day and night
about my deficiencies; I look up to (those) former dynasties, and seek
to conform to them, while I instruct and direct you, my officers.'

3. 'I appoint the Grand-Master, the Grand-Assistant, and the
Grand-Guardian. These are the three Kung [2]. They discourse about the
principles

[1. It is the same phrase here, which occurs at the beginning, of the
Canons of Yâo and Shun, and of some other Books. It may be inferred,
as P. Gaubil says, that Yâo and Shun had certain sources of knowledge,
that is to say, some history of the times anterior to their own.

2 That is, 'the three dukes;' but the term is here a name of office,
more than of nobility, as is evident from the name of the three M, who
were next to them. Kû was not used as a term expressing any order of
nobility. It would seem to indicate that, while the men holding the
office were assistant to the Kung, they yet had a distinct standing of
their own. The offices of Grand-Master &c. had existed under the Shang
dynasty; see Book xi, Part IV.]

of reason[1] and adjust the states, harmonizing (also) and regulating
the operations (in nature) of heaven and earth[2]. These offices need
not (always) be filled; there must (first) be the men for them.

'(I appoint) the junior Master, the junior Assistant, and the junior
Guardian. These are called the three Kû[3]. They assist the Kung to
diffuse widely the transforming influences, and display brightly with
reverence (the powers of) heaven and earth,--assisting me, the One
man.

'(I appoint) the Prime Minister, who presides over the ruling of the
(various) regions, has the general management of all the other
officers, and secures uniformity within the four seas; the Minister of
Instruction, who presides over the education in the states, diffuses a
knowledge of the duties belonging to the five relations of society,
and trains the millions of the people to obedience; the Minister of
Religion, who presides over the (sacred) ceremonies of the country,
regulates the services rendered to the spirits and manes, and makes a
harmony between high and low[4];* the Minister of War, who presides
over the (military) administration of the

[1. Meaning, I suppose, the courses or ways, which it was right for
the king, according to reason, to pursue.

2. That is, probably, securing the material prosperity of the kingdom,
in good seasons, &c.

3. See note 2 on the preceding page.

4. The name here for 'the Minister of Religion' is the same as that in
the Canon of Shun. 'The spirits and manes' are 'the spirits of heaven,
earth, and deceased men.' All festive, funeral, and other ceremonies,
as well as those of sacrifices, came under the department of the
Minister of Religion, who had therefore to define the order of rank
and precedence. This seems to be what is meant by his 'making a
harmony between high and low.']

country, commands the six hosts, and secures the tranquillity of all
the regions; the Minister of Crime, who presides over the prohibitions
of the country, searches out the villainous and secretly wicked, and
punishes oppressors and disturbers of the peace; and the Minister of
Works, who presides over the land of the country, settles the four
classes of the people, and secures at the proper seasons the produce
of the ground[1].

'These six ministers with their different duties lead on their several
subordinates, and set an example to the nine pastors of the provinces,
enriching and perfecting the condition of the millions of the people.
In six years (the lords of) the five tenures appear once at the royal
court; and after a second six years, the king makes a tour of
inspection in the four seasons, and examines the (various) regulations
and measures at the four mountains. The princes appear before him each
at the mountain of his quarter; and promotions and degradations are
awarded with great intelligence.'

4. The king said, 'Oh! all ye men of virtue, my occupiers of office,
pay reverent attention to your charges. Be careful in the commands you
issue; for, once issued, they must be carried into effect, and cannot
be retracted. Extinguish all selfish aims by your public feeling, and
the people will have confidence in you, and be gladly obedient. Study
antiquity as a preparation for entering on

[1. Out of these six ministers and their departments have grown the
Six Boards of the Chinese Government of the present day:--the Board of
Civil Office; the Board of Revenue; the Board of Rites; the Board of
War; the Board of Punishment; and the Board of Works.]

your offices. In deliberating on affairs, form your determinations by
help (of such study), and your measures will be free from error. Make
the regular statutes of (our own) dynasty your rule, and do not with
artful speeches introduce disorder into your offices. To accumulate
doubts is the way to ruin your plans; to be idle and indifferent is
the way to ruin your government. Without study, you stand facing a
wall, and your management of affairs will be full of trouble.

'I warn you, my high ministers and officers, that exalted merit
depends on the high aim, and a patrimony is enlarged only by
diligence; it is by means of bold decision that future difficulties
are avoided. Pride comes, along with rank, unperceived, and
extravagance in the same way with emolument. Let reverence and economy
be (real) virtues with you, unaccompanied with hypocritical display.
Practise them as virtues, and your minds will be at ease, and you will
daily become more admirable. Practise them in hypocrisy, and your
minds will be toiled, and you will daily become more stupid. In the
enjoyment of favour think of peril, and never be without a cautious
apprehension;--he who is without such apprehension finds himself
amidst what is really to be feared. Push forward the worthy, and show
deference to the able; and harmony will prevail among all your
officers. When they are not harmonious, the government becomes a mass
of confusion. If those whom you advance be able for their offices, the
ability is yours; if you advance improper men, you are not equal to
your position.'

5. The king said, 'Oh! ye (charged) with the threefold, business (of
government)[1] and ye great officers, I reverently attend to your
departments, and conduct well the affairs under your government, so as
to assist your sovereign, and secure the lasting happiness of the
millions of the people;--so shall there be no dissatisfaction
throughout the myriad states.'

BOOK XXI. THE KÜN-KHAN.

KÜN-KHAN was the successor in 'the eastern capital' of the duke of
Kâu, who has now passed off the stage of the Shû, which he occupied so
long. Between 'the Officers of Kâu' and this Book, there were, when
the Shû was complete, two others, which are both lost. We must greatly
deplore the loss of the second of them, for it contained an account of
the death of the duke of Kâu, and an announcement made by king Khang
by his bier.

Who Kün-khan, the charge to whom on entering on his important
government is here preserved, really was, we are not informed. Some
have supposed that he was a son of the duke of Kâu; but we may be
sure, from the analogy of other charges, that if he had been so, the
fact would have been alluded to in the text. Kün-khan might be
translated 'the prince Khan,' like Kün Shih in the title of Book xvi,
but we know nothing of any territory with which he was invested.

The following summary of the contents is given by a Chinese
critic:--'The whole Book may be divided into three chapters. The first
relates Kün-khan's appointment to the government of the eastern
capital. The concluding words, "Be reverent,"

[1. 'The threefold business of government' is the appointment of the
men of office, the officers of law, and the pastors, 'the three
concerns of those in the three highest positions,' as described in the
last Book, ch. 4. The king probably, intends the Kung, the Kû, and the
six ministers, whose duties he has spoken of. The 'great officers'
will be all the officers inferior to these irk their several
departments.]

are emphatic, and give the key-note to all that follows. The second
chapter enjoins on him to exert himself to illustrate the lessons of
the duke of Kâu, and thereby transform the people of Yin. The third
requires him to give full development to those lessons, and instances
various particulars in which his doing so would appear;--all
illustrative of the command at the commencement, that he should be
reverent.'

1. The king spake to the following effect:--'Kün-khan, it is you who
are possessed of excellent virtue, filial and respectful. Being
filial, and friendly with your brethren, you can display these
qualities in the exercise of government. I appoint you to rule this
eastern border. Be reverent.'

2. 'Formerly, the duke of Kâu acted as teacher and guardian of the
myriads of the people, who cherish (the remembrance of) his virtue. Go
and with sedulous care enter upon his charge; act in accordance with
his regular ways, and exert yourself to illustrate his lessons;--so
shall the people be regulated. I have heard that he said, "Perfect
government has a piercing fragrance, and influences the spiritual
intelligences.* It is not the millet which has the piercing fragrance;
it is bright virtue." Do you make this lesson of the duke of Kâu your
rule, being diligent from day to day, and not presuming to indulge in
luxurious ease. Ordinary men, while they have not yet seen a sage,
(are full of desire) as if they should never get a sight of him; and
after they have seen him, they are still unable to follow him. Be
cautioned by this! You are the wind; the inferior people are the
grass. In revolving the plans of your government, never hesitate to
acknowledge the difficulty of the subject. Some things have to be
abolished, and some new things to be enacted;--going out and coming
in, seek the judgment of your people about them, and, when there is a
general agreement, exert your own powers of reflection. When you have
any good plans or counsels, enter and lay them before your sovereign
in the palace. Thereafter, when you are acting abroad in accordance
with them, say, "This plan or this view is all due to our sovereign."
Oh! if all ministers were to act thus, how excellent would they be,
and how distinguished!'

3. The king said, 'Kün-khan, do you give their full development to the
great lessons of the duke of Kâu. Do not make use of your power to
exercise oppression; do not make use of the laws to practise
extortion. Be gentle, but with strictness of rule. Promote harmony by
the display of an easy forbearance.

'When any of the people of Yin are amenable to punishment, if I say
"Punish," do not you therefore punish; and if I say "Spare," do not
you therefore spare. Seek the due middle course. Those who are
disobedient to your government, and uninfluenced by your instructions,
you will punish, remembering that the end of punishment is to make an
end of punishing. Those who are inured to villainy and treachery,
those who violate the regular duties of society, and those who
introduce disorder into the public manners:--those three classes you
will not spare, though their particular offences be but small.

'Do not cherish anger against the obstinate, and dislike them. Seek
not every quality in one individual. You must have patience, and you
will be successful; have forbearance, and your virtue will be great.
Mark those who discharge their duties well, and also mark those who do
not do so, (and distinguish them from one another.) Advance the good,
to induce those who may not be so to follow (their example).

'The people are born good, and are changed by (external) things,* so
that they resist what their superiors command, and follow what they
(themselves) love. Do you but reverently observe the statutes, and
they will be found in (the way of) virtue; they will thus all be
changed, and truly advance to a great degree of excellence. Then shall
I, the One man, receive much happiness, and your excellent services
will be famous through long ages!'

BOOK XXII. THE TESTAMENTARY CHARGE.

THIS Book brings us to the closing act of the life of king Khang,
whose reign, according to the current chronology, lasted thirty-seven
years, ending in B.C. 1079. From the appointment of Kün-khan to his
death, the king's history is almost a blank. The only events
chronicled by Sze-mâ Khien are a coinage of round money with a square
hole in the centre,--the prototype of the present cash; and an
enactment about the width and length in which pieces of silk and cloth
were to be manufactured.

King Khang, feeling that his end is near, calls his principal
ministers and other officers around his bed, and commits his son Kâo
to their care and guidance. The record of all these things and the
dying charge form a chapter that ends with the statement of the king's
death. The rest of the Book forms a second chapter, in which we have a
detailed account of the ceremonies connected with the publication of
the charge, and the accession of Kâo to the throne. It is an
interesting account of the ways of that distant time on such
occasions.

1. In the fourth month, when the moon began to wane, the king was
indisposed. On the day Kiâ-Dze, he washed his hands and face; his
attendants put on him his cap and robes[1]; (and he sat up), leaning
on a gem-adorned bench [2]. He then called together the Grand-Guardian
Shih, the earls of Zui and Thung, the duke of Pî, the marquis of Wei,
the duke of Mâo, the master of the warders, the master of the guards,
the heads of the various departments, and the superintendents of
affairs[3].

The king said, 'Oh! my illness has greatly increased, and it will soon
be over with me. The malady comes on daily with more violence, and
maintains its hold. I am afraid I may not find (another opportunity)
to declare my wishes about my successor, and therefore I (now) lay my
charge upon you with special instructions. The former rulers, our
kings Wan and Wû, displayed in succession their equal glory, making
sure provision for the support of the people, and setting forth their

[1. The king's caps or crowns and robes were many, and for each there
was the appropriate occasion. His attendants, no doubt, now dressed
king Khang, as the rules of court fashions required.

2 In those days they sat on the ground upon mats; and for the old or
infirm benches or stools were placed, in front of them, to lean
forward on. The king had five kinds of stools variously adorned. That
with gems was the most honourable.

3. The Grand-Guardian Shih, or the duke of Shâo, and the other five
dignitaries were, no doubt, the six ministers of the 20th Book. Zui is
referred to the present district of Kâo-yî, department Hsî-an; and
Thung to Hwâ Kâu, department Thung-kâu;--both in Shen-hsî. The earl of
Zui, it is supposed, was Minister of Instruction, and he of Thung
Minister of Religion. Pi corresponded to the present district of
Khang-an, department Hsî-an. The duke of Pî was Minister of War,
called Duke or Kung, as Grand-Master. It is not known where Mâo was.
The lord of it was Minister of Works, and Grand-Assistant. The marquis
of Wei,--see on Book ix. He was now, it is supposed, Minister of
Crime.]

instructions. (The people) accorded a practical submission, without
any opposition, and the influence (of their example and instructions)
extended to Yin, and the great appointment (of Heaven) was secured *.
After them, I, the stupid one, received with reverence the dread
(decree) of Heaven, and continued to keep the great instructions of
Wan and Wû, not daring blindly to transgress them.*

'Now Heaven has laid affliction on me, and it seems as if I should not
again rise or be myself. Do you take clear note of these my words, and
in accordance with them watch reverently over my eldest son Kâo, and
greatly assist him in the difficulties of his position. Be kind to
those who are far off, and help those who are near. Promote the
tranquillity of the states, small and great, and encourage them (to
well-doing). I think how a man has to govern himself in dignity and
with decorum;--do not you allow Kâo to proceed heedlessly on the
impulse of improper motives.' Immediately on receiving this charge,
(the ministers and others) withdrew. The tent[1] was then carried out
into

[1. The tent had been prepared when the king sent for his ministers
and officers to give them his last charge, and set up outside his
chamber in the hall where he *as accustomed to hold 'the audience of
government.' He had walked or been carried to it, and then returned to
his apartment when he had expressed his last wishes, while the
tent--the curtains and canopy--was carried out into the courtyard.

The palace was much more long or deep than wide, consisting of five
series of buildings continued one after another, so that, if all the
gates were thrown open, one could walk in a direct line from the first
gate to the last. The different parts of it were separated by courts
that embraced a large space of ground, and were partly open overhead.
The gates leading to the different parts had their particular names,
and were all fronting the south. Outside the second was held 'the
outer levee,' where the king received the princes and officers
generally. Outside the fifth was held 'the audience of government,'
when he met his ministers to consult with them on the business of the
state. Inside this gate were the buildings which formed the private
apartments, in the hall leading to which was held 'the inner
audience,' and where the sovereign feasted those whom he designed
specially to honour. Such is the general idea of the ancient palace
given. by Kû Hsî. The gateways included a large space, covered by a
roof, supported on pillars.]

the court; and on the next day, (being) Yî-khâu, the king died.

2. The Grand-Guardian then ordered Kung Hwan[1] and Nan-Kung Mâo[2] to
instruct Lü Ki, the marquis of Khî[2], with two shield-and-spearmen,
and a hundred guards, to meet the prince Kâo outside the south
gate[3], and conduct him to (one of) the side-apartments (near to that
where the king lay), there to be as chief mourner[4].

On the day Ting-mâo, (two days after the king's death), he ordered
(the charge) to be recorded on

[1. We know nothing more of these officers but what is here related.

2. The marquis of Khî was the son of Thaî-kung, a friend and minister
of king Wan, who had been enfeoffed by king Wû with the state of Khî,
embracing the present department of Khing-Kâu, in Shan-tung, and other
territory. His place at court was that of master of the guards.

3. All the gates might be called 'south gates.' It is not certain
whether that intended here was the outer gate of all, or the last
immediately in front of the hall, where the king had given his charge.
Whichever it was, the meeting Kâo in the way described was a public
declaration that he had been appointed successor to the throne.

4. 'The mourning shed,' spoken of in Part IV, viii, ch. i, had not yet
been set up, and the apartment here indicated---on the east of the
hall of audience--was the proper one for the prince to occupy in the
mean time.]

tablets, and the forms (to be observed in publishing it). Seven days
after, on Kwei-yû, as chief (of the west) and premier, he ordered the
(proper) officers to prepare the wood (for all the requirements of the
funeral) [1].

The salvage men [2] set out the screens[3], ornamented with figures of
axes, and the tents. Between the window (and the door), facing the
south, they placed the (three)fold mat of fine bamboo splints, with
its striped border of white and black silk, and the usual bench
adorned with different-coloured gems. In the side-space on the west,
which faced the east, they placed the threefold rush mat, with its
variegated border, and the usual bench adorned with beautiful shells.
In the side-space on the east, which faced the west, they placed the
threefold mat of fine grass, with its border of painted silk, and the
usual bench carved, and adorned with gems. Before the western
side-chamber, and facing the south, they placed the threefold mat of
fine bamboo, with its dark mixed border, and the usual lacquered
bench[4].

[1. On the seventh day after his death the king had been shrouded and
put into his coffin. But there were still the shell or outer coffin,
&c., to be provided.

2. These 'salvage men' were, I suppose, natives of the wild Tî tribes,
employed to perform the more servile offices about the court. Some of
them, we know, were enrolled among the guards.

3. The screens were ornamented with figures of axe-heads, and placed
behind the king, under the canopy that overshadowed him.

4 All these arrangements seem to have been made in the hall where king
Khang had delivered his charge. He had been accustomed to receive his
guests at all the places where the tents, screens, and mats were now
set. It was presumed he would be present in spirit at the ceremony of
proclaiming his son, and making known to him his dying charge; and as
they could not tell at what particular spot the spirit would be, they
made all the places ready for it.]

(They set forth) also the five pairs of gems (or jade), and the
precious things of display. There were the red knife, the great
lessons, the large round-and-convex symbol of jade, and the rounded
and pointed maces,--all in the side-space on the west; the large piece
of jade, the pieces contributed by the wild tribes of the east, the
heavenly sounding-stone, and the river-Plan,--all in the side-space on
the east; the dancing habits of Yin, the large . large tortoise-shell,
and the large drum,--all in the western apartment; the spear of Tûi,
the bow of Ho, and the bamboo arrows of Khui,--all in the eastern
apartment [1].

The grand carriage was by the guests' steps, facing (the south); the
next was by the eastern (or host' s) steps, facing (the south). The
front carriage was placed before the left lobby, and the one that
followed it before the right lobby[2].

[1. The western and eastern apartments were two rooms, east and west
of the hall, forming part of the private apartments, behind the side
rooms, and of large dimensions. The various articles enumerated were
precious relics, and had been favourites with king Khang. They were
now displayed to keep up the illusion of the king's still being
present in spirit. 'They were set forth,' it is said, 'at the
ancestral sacrifices to show that the king could preserve them, and at
the ceremony of announcing a testamentary charge to show that he could
transmit them.' About the articles themselves it is not necessary to
append particular notes. They perished thousands of years ago, and the
accounts of them by the best scholars are little more than
conjectural.

2. The royal carriages were of five kinds, and four of them at least
were now set forth inside the last gate, that everything might again
be done, as when the king was alive. On the west side of the hall were
the guests, steps (or staircase), by which visitors ascended, and on
the east were those used by the host himself. If one of the royal
carriages was absent on this occasion, it must, have been that used in
war, as not being appropriate at such a time.]

Two men in brownish leather caps, and holding three-cornered halberts,
stood inside the gate leading to the private apartments. Four men in
caps of spotted deer-skin, holding spears with blades upturned from
the base of the point, stood, one on each side of the steps east and
west, and near to the platform of the hall. One man in a great
officer's cap, and holding an axe, stood in the hall, (near the steps)
at the east (end). One man in a great officer's cap, and holding an
axe of a different pattern, stood in the hall, (near the steps) at the
west end. One man in a great officer's cap, and holding a lance, stood
at the front and east of the hall, close by the steps. One man in a
great officer's cap, and holding a lance of a different pattern, stood
in the corresponding place on the west. One man in a great officer's
cap, and holding a pointed weapon, stood by the steps on the north
side of the hall.

The king, in a linen cap and the variously figured, skirt, ascended by
the guests' steps, followed by the high ministers, (great) officers,
and princes of states, in linen caps and dark-coloured skirts [1].
Arrived in the hall, they all took their (proper) places. The
Grand-Guardian, the Grand-Historiographer, and the Minister of
Religion were all in

[1. All was now ready for the grand ceremony, and the performers, in
their appropriate mourning and sacrificial array, take their places in
the hall. Kâo is here for the first time styled 'king;' but still he
goes up by the guests' steps, not presuming to ascend by the others,
while his father's corpse was in the hall.]

linen caps and red skirts. The Grand-Guardian bore the great mace. The
Minister of Religion bore the cup and the mace-cover. These two
ascended by the steps on the east'. The Grand Historiographer bore,
the testamentary charge. He ascended by the guests' steps (on the
west), and advanced to the king with the tablets containing the
charge, and said, 'Our royal sovereign, leaning on the gem-adorned
bench, declared his last charge, and commanded you to continue (the
observance of) the lessons, and to take the rule of the kingdom of
Kin, complying with the great laws, and securing the harmony of all
under the sky, so as to respond to and display the bright instructions
of Wan and Wû.'

The king twice bowed (low), and then arose, and replied, 'I am utterly
insignificant and but a child, how should I be able to govern the four
quarters (of the kingdom) with a corresponding reverent awe of the
dread majesty of Heaven!'* He then received the cup and the
mace-cover. Thrice he slowly and reverently advanced with a cup of
spirits (to the east of the coffin); thrice he sacrificed (to the
spirit of his father);* and thrice he put the cup down. The Minister
of Religion said, 'It is accepted[2].'*

[1. The Grand-Guardian and the Minister of Religion ascended by the
eastern steps, because the authority of king Khang was in their
persons, to be conveyed by the present ceremony to his son. 'The great
mace' was one of the emblems of the royal sovereignty, and 'the cup'
also must have been one that only the king could use. 'The mace-cover'
was an instrument by which the genuineness of the symbols of their
rank conferred on the different princes was tested.

2. According to Khung Ying-tâ, when the king received the record of
the charge, he was standing at the top of the eastern steps, a little
eastwards, with his face to the north. The Historiographer stood by
king Khang's coffin, on the south-west of it, with his face to the
east. There he read the charge, after which the king bowed twice, and
the Minister of Religion, on the south-west of the king, presented the
cup and mace-cover. The king took them, and, having given the cover in
charge to an attendant, advanced with the cup to the place between the
pillars where the sacrificial spirits were placed. Having filled a
cup, he advanced to the east of the coffin, and stood with his face to
the west; then going to the spot where his father's spirit was
supposed to be, he sacrificed, pouring out the spirits on the ground,
and then he put the cup on the bench appropriated for it. This he
repeated three times. At the conclusion the Minister of Religion
conveyed to him a message from the spirit of his father, that his
offering was accepted.]

The Grand-Guardian received the cup, descended the steps, and washed
his hands[1]. He then took another cup, (placed it on) a half-mace
which he carried, and repeated the sacrifice[2]. * He then gave the
cup to one of the attendants of the Minister of Religion, and did
obeisance. The king returned the obeisance. The Grand-Guardian took a
cup again, and poured out the spirits in sacrifice.* He then just
tasted the spirits, returned to his place, gave the cup to the
attendant, and did obeisance. The king returned the obeisance. The
Grand Guardian descended from the hall, after which the various
(sacrificial) articles were removed, and the princes all went out at
the temple gate [3] and waited.

[1. Preparatory, that is, to his offering a sacrifice.

2. That is, probably, repeated the sacrifice to the spirit of king
Khang, as if to inform him that his charge had been communicated to
his son. The half-mace was used as a handle for the sacrificial cup.
This ceremony appears to have been gone through twice. The Grand-
Guardian's bowing was to the spirit of king Khang, and the new king
returned the obeisance for his father.

3. Meaning the fifth or last gate of the palace. The private
apartments had for the time, through the presence of the coffin and by
the sacrifices, been converted into a sort of ancestral temple.]

BOOK XXIII.

THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF KING KHANG.

KHANG was the honorary sacrificial title conferred on Kâo, the son and
successor of king Khang. His reign lasted from B.C. 1078 to 1053.
Khang, as an honorary title, has various meanings. In the text it
probably denotes--'Who caused the people to be tranquil and happy.'

Immediately on his accession to the throne, as described in the last
Book, king Khang made the Announcement which is here recorded. Indeed
the two Books would almost seem to form only one, and as such they
appeared in the Shû of Fû, as related in the Introduction.

The princes, with whose departure from the inner hall of the palace
the last Book concludes, are introduced again to the king in the court
between the fourth and fifth gates, and do homage to him after their
fashion, cautioning also and advising him about the discharge of his
high duties. He responds with the declaration which has given name to
the Book, referring to his predecessors, and asking the assistance of
all his hearers, that his reign may be a not unworthy sequel of
theirs. With this the proceedings, terminate, and the king resumes his
mourning dress which he had put off for the occasion. The whole thus
falls into three chapters.

I. The king came forth and stood (in the space) within the fourth gate
of the palace, when the Grand-Guardian led in the princes of the
western regions by the left (half) of the gate, and the duke of Pî
those of the eastern regions by the right (half) [1]. They then all
caused their teams of light bay horses, with their manes and tails
dyed red, to be exhibited;--and, (as the king's) guests, lifted up
their rank-symbols, and (the other) presents (they had brought) [2],

[1. See note on these ministers, p. 235.

2. These presents were in addition to the teams of horses exhibited in
the courtyard;--silks and lighter productions of their various
territories.]

saying, 'We your servants, defenders (of the throne), venture to bring
the productions of our territories, and lay them here.' (With these
words) they all did obeisance twice, laying their heads on the ground.
The king, as the righteous successor to the virtue of those who had
gone before him, returned their obeisance.

The Grand-Guardian and the earl of Zui, with all the rest, then
advanced and bowed to each other, after which they did obeisance
twice, with their heads to the ground, and said, 'O Son of Heaven, we
venture respectfully to declare our sentiments. Great Heaven altered
its decree which the great House of Yin had received, and Wan and Wû
of our Kâu grandly received the same, and carried it out, manifesting
their kindly government in the western regions. His recently ascended
majesty,* rewarding and punishing exactly in accordance with what was
right, fully established their achievements, and transmitted this
happy state to his successors. Do you, O king, now be reverent.
Maintain your armies in great order, and do not allow the rarely
equalled appointment of our high ancestors to come to harm.'*

2. The king spoke to the following effect:--'Ye princes of the various
states, chiefs of the Hâu, Tien, Nan, and Wei domains, I, Kâo, the One
man, make an announcement in return (for your advice). The former
rulers, Wan and Wû, were greatly just and enriched (the people). They
did not occupy themselves to find out people's crimes. Pushing to the
utmost and maintaining an entire impartiality and sincerity, they
became gloriously illustrious all under heaven. Then they had officers
brave as bears and grisly bears, and ministers of no double heart, who
(helped them) to maintain and regulate the royal House. Thus (did they
receive) the true favouring decree from God, and thus did great Heaven
approve of their ways, and give them the four quarters (of the land).*
Then they appointed and set up principalities, and established
bulwarks (to the throne), for the sake of us, their successors. Now do
ye, my uncles[1], I pray you, consider with one another, and carry out
the service which the dukes, your predecessors, rendered to my
predecessors. Though your persons be distant, let your hearts be in
the royal House. Enter thus into my anxieties, and act in accordance
with them, so that I, the little child, may not be put to shame.'

The dukes and all the others, having heard this charge, bowed to one
another, and hastily withdrew. The king put off his cap, and assumed
again his mourning dress.

BOOK XXIV. THE CHARGE TO THE DUKE OF PÎ.

THE king who delivers the charge in this Book was Khang, and the only
events of his reign of twenty-six years of which we have any account
in the Shû and in Sze-mâ Khien are it and the preceding announcement.

Book xxi relates the appointment of Kün-khan, by king Khang to the
charge which was now, on his death, entrusted to the duke of Pi, who
is mentioned at the commencement of 'the Testamentary Charge.' By the
labours of the duke of Kâu and Kün-khan a considerable change had been
effected in the character of the people of Yin, who had been
transferred to the new capital and its neighbourhood; and king Khang
now

[1. Meaning the various princes, and especially those bearing the same
surname as himself.]

appoints the duke of Pî to enter into and complete their work.

After an introductory paragraph, the charge, in three chapters,
occupies all the rest of the Book. The first of them speaks of what
had been accomplished, and the admirable qualities of the duke which
fitted him to accomplish what remained to be done. The second speaks
of the special measures which were called for by the original
character and the altered character of the people. The third dwells on
the importance of the charge, and stimulates the duke, by various
considerations, to address himself to fulfil it effectually.

1. In the sixth month of his twelfth year, the day of the new moon's
appearance was Kang-wû, and on Zan-shan, the third day after, the king
walked in the morning from the honoured capital of Kâu to Fang[1], and
there, with reference to the multitudes of Khang-kâu[1], gave charge
to the duke of Pî[3] to protect and regulate the eastern border.

2. The king spoke to the following effect:--'Oh! Grand-Master, it was
when Wan and Wû had diffused their great virtue all under heaven, that
they therefore received the appointment which Yin had enjoyed.* The
duke of Kâu acted as assistant to my royal predecessors, and
tranquillized and established their kingdom. Cautiously did he deal
with the refractory people of Yin, and removed them to the city of Lo,
that they might be quietly near the royal House, and be transformed by
its

[1. That is, he went from Hâo, founded by king Wû, to Fang the capital
of Wan. The king wished to give his charge in the temple of king Wan,
because the duke of Pî had been one of his ministers.

2. Khang-kâu was a name of the new or 'lower' capital of Lo, perhaps
as giving 'completion,' or full establishment to the dynasty.

3. The duke of Pî had succeeded the duke of Kâu, in the office of
Grand-Master, under king Khang.]

lessons. Six and thirty years have elapsed[1]; the generation has been
changed; and manners have altered. Through the four quarters of the
land there is no occasion for anxiety, and I, the One man, enjoy
repose.

'The prevailing ways now tend to advancement and now to degeneracy,
and measures of government must be varied according to the manners (of
the time). If you (now) do not manifest your approval of what is good,
'the people will not be led to stimulate themselves in it. But your
virtue, O duke, is strenuous, and you are cautiously attentive to the
smallest things. You have been helpful to and brightened four
reigns[2]; with deportment all correct leading on the inferior
officers, so that there is not one who does not reverently take your
words as a law. Your admirable merits were many (and great) in the
times of my predecessors; I, the little child, have but to let my
robes hang down, and fold my hands, while I look up for the complete
effect (of your measures).'

3. The king said, 'Oh! Grand-Master, I now reverently charge you with
the duties of the duke of Kâu. Go! Signalize the good, separating the
bad from them; give tokens of your approbation in their neighbourhoods
[3], making it ill for the evil by such distinction of the good, and
thus establishing the influence and reputation (of their virtue). When
the people will not obey your lessons and statutes,

[1. Probably, from the death of the duke of Kâu.

2. Those of Wan, Wû, Khang, and the existing reign of Khang.

3. Setting up, that is, some conspicuous monument, with an inscription
testifying his approbation. All over China, at the present day, such
testimonials are met with.]

mark off the boundaries of their hamlets, making them fear (to do
evil), and desire (to do good). Define anew the borders and frontiers,
and be careful to strengthen the guard-posts through the territory, in
order to secure tranquillity (within) the four seas. In measures of
government to be consistent and constant, and in proclamations a
combination of completeness and brevity, and valuable. There should
not be the love of what is extraordinary. Among the customs of Shang
was the flattery of superiors; sharp-tonguedness was the sign of
worth. The remains of these manners are not yet obliterated. Do you, O
duke, bear this in mind. I have heard the saying, "Families which have
for generations enjoyed places of emolument seldom observe the rules
of propriety. They become dissolute, and do violence to virtue,
setting themselves in positive opposition to the way of Heaven. They
ruin the formative principles of good; encourage extravagance and
display; and tend to carry all (future ages) on the same stream with
them." Now the officers of Yin had long relied on the favour which
they enjoyed. In the confidence of their prideful extravagance they
extinguished their (sense of) righteousness. They displayed before men
the beauty of their robes,--proud, licentious, arrogant, and
boastful;--the natural issue was that they should end in being
thoroughly bad. Although their lost minds have (in a measure) been
recovered, it is difficult to keep them under proper restraint. If
with their property and wealth they can be brought under the influence
of instruction, they may enjoy lengthened years, virtue, and
righteousness!--these are the great lessons. If you do not follow in
dealing with them these lessons of antiquity, wherein will you
instruct them?'

4. The king said, 'Oh! Grand-Master, the security or the danger of the
kingdom depends on those officers of Yin. If you are not (too) stern
with them nor (too) mild, their virtue will be truly cultivated. The
duke of Kâu exercised the necessary caution at the beginning (of the
undertaking); Kün-khan displayed the harmony proper to the middle of
it; and you, O duke, can bring it at last to a successful issue. You
three princes will have been one in aim, and will have equally pursued
the proper way. The penetrating power of your principles, and the good
character of your measures of government, will exert an enriching
influence on the character of the people, so that the wild tribes,
with their coats buttoning on the left[1], will all find their proper
support in them, and I, the little child, will long enjoy much
happiness. Thus, O duke, there in Khang-kâu will you establish for
ever the power (of Kâu), and you will have an inexhaustible fame. Your
descendants will follow your perfect pattern, governing accordingly.

'Oh! do not say, "I am unequal to this;" but exert your mind to the
utmost. Do not say, "The people are few;" but attend carefully to your
business. Reverently follow the accomplished achievements of the
former kings, and complete the excellence of the government of your
predecessors.'

[1. Confucius once praised Kwan Kung, a great minister of Khî, in the
seventh century B.C., for his services against the wild tribes of his
time, saying, that but for him they in China would be wearing their
hair dishevelled, and buttoning the lappets of their coats on the left
side. See Analects, XIV, xviii. The long robes and jackets of the
Chinese generally, stretch over on the right side of the chest, and
are there buttoned.]

BOOK XXV. THE KÜN-YÂ.

ACCORDING to the note in the Preface to the Shû, the charge delivered
in this Book to Kün-yâ, or possibly 'the prince Yâ,' was by king Mû;
and its dictum is not challenged by any Chinese critic. The reign of
king Khâo, who succeeded to Khang, is thus passed over in the
documents of the Shû. Mû was the son and successor of Khâo, and
reigned from B.C. 1001 to 947.

Kün-yâ's surname is not known. He is here appointed to be Minister of
Instruction, and as it is intimated that his father and grandfather
had been in the same office, it is conjectured that he was the
grandson of the earl of Zui, who was Minister of Instruction at the
beginning of the reign of king Khang.

The Book is short, speaking of the duties of the office, and
stimulating Yâ to the discharge of them by considerations drawn from
the merits of his forefathers, and the services which he would render
to the dynasty and his sovereign.

1. The king spoke to the following effect: 'Oh! Kün-yâ, your
grandfather and your father, one after the other, with a true loyalty
and honesty, laboured in the service of the royal House, accomplishing
a merit that was recorded on the grand banner[1]. I, the little child,
have become charged by inheritance with the line of government
transmitted from Wan and Wû, from Khang and Khang; I also keep
thinking of their ministers who aided them in the good government of
the kingdom; the trembling anxiety of my mind makes me feel as if I
were treading on a tiger's tail, or walking upon spring ice. I now
give you charge to assist me;

[1. The grand banner was borne aloft when the king went to sacrifice.
There were figures of the sun and moon on it, and dragons lying along
its breadth, one over the other, head above tail. The names of
meritorious ministers were inscribed on it during their lifetime,
preparatory to their sharing in the sacrifices of the ancestral temple
after their death.]

be as my limbs to me, as my heart and backbone. Continue their old
service, and do not disgrace your grandfather and father.

'Diffuse widely (the knowledge of) the five invariable relations (of
society), and reverently seek to produce a harmonious observance of
the duties belonging to them among the people. If you are correct in
your own person, none will dare to be but correct. The minds of the
people cannot attain to the right mean (of duty);--they must be guided
by your attaining to it. In the heat and rains of summer, the inferior
people may be described as murmuring and sighing. And so it is with
them in the great cold of winter. How great are their hardships! Think
of their hardships in order to seek to promote their ease; and the
people will be tranquil. Oh! how great and splendid were the plans of
king Wan! How greatly were they carried out by the energy of king Wû!
All in principle correct, and deficient in nothing, they are for the
help and guidance of us their descendants. Do you with reverence and
wisdom carry out your instructions, enabling me to honour and follow
the example of my (immediate) predecessors, and to respond to and
display the bright decree conferred on Wan and Wû;--so shall you be
the mate of your by-gone fathers.'

2. The king spoke to the following effect: 'Kün-yâ, do you take for
your rule the lessons afforded by the courses of your excellent
fathers. The good or the bad order of the people depends on this. You
will thus follow the practice of your grandfather and father, and make
the good government of your sovereign illustrious.'

BOOK XXVI. THE CHARGE TO KHIUNG.

THE charge recorded here, like that in the last Book, is assigned to
king Mû. It was delivered on the appointment of a Khiung or Po-khiung
(that is, the eldest Khiung, the eldest brother in his family,) to be
High Chamberlain. Of this Khiung we know nothing, more than we learn
from the Shû. He was no high dignitary of state. That the charge to
him found a place in the Shû, we are told, shows how important it was
thought that men in the lowest positions, yet coming into contact with
the sovereign, should possess correct principles and an earnest desire
for his progress in intelligence and virtue.

King Mû represents himself as conscious of his own incompetencies, and
impressed with a sense of the high duties devolving on him. His
predecessors, much superior to himself, were yet greatly indebted to
the aid of the officers about them;--how much more must this be the
case with him!

He proceeds to appoint Khiung to be the High Chamberlain, telling him
how he should guide correctly all the other servants about the royal
person, so that none but good influences should be near to act upon
the king;--telling him also the manner of men whom he should employ,
and the care he should exercise in the selection of them.

The king spoke to the following effect:-'Po-khiung, I come short in
virtue, and have succeeded to the former kings, to occupy the great
throne. I am fearful, and conscious of the peril (of my position). I
rise at midnight, and think how I can avoid falling into errors.
Formerly Wan and Wû were endowed with all intelligence, august and
sage, while their ministers, small and great, all cherished loyalty
and goodness. Their servants, charioteers, chamberlains, and followers
were all men of correctness; morning and evening waiting on their
sovereign's wishes, or supplying his deficiencies. (Those kings),
going out and coming in, rising up and sitting down, were thus made
reverent. Their every warning or command was good. The people yielded
a reverent obedience, and the myriad regions were all happy. But I,
the One man, am destitute of goodness, and really depend on the
officers who have places about me to help my deficiencies, applying
the line to my faults, and exhibiting my errors, thus correcting my
bad heart, and enabling me to be the successor of my meritorious
predecessors.

'Now I appoint you to be High Chamberlain, to see that all the
officers in your department and my personal attendants are upright and
correct, that they strive to promote the virtue of their sovereign,
and together supply my deficiencies. Be careful in selecting your
officers. Do not employ men of artful speech and insinuating looks,
men whose likes and dislikes are ruled by mine, one-sided men and
flatterers; but employ good men. When these household officers are
correct, the sovereign will be correct; when they are flatterers, the
sovereign will consider himself a sage. His virtue or his want of it
equally depends on them. Cultivate no intimacy with flatterers, nor
get them to do duty for me as my ears and eyes;-they will lead their
sovereign to disregard the statutes of the former kings. If you choose
the men not for their personal goodness, but for the sake of their
bribes, their offices will be made of no effect, your great want of
reverence for your sovereign will be apparent, and I will hold you
guilty.'

The king said, 'Oh! be reverent! Ever help your sovereign to follow
the regular laws of duty (which he should exemplify).'

BOOK XXVII.

THE MARQUIS OF LÜ ON PUNISHMENTS.

THE charge or charges recorded in this Book were given in the
hundredth year of the king's age. The king, it is again understood,
was Mû; and the hundredth year of his age would be B.C. 952. The title
of the Book in Chinese is simply 'Lü's Punishments,' and I conclude
that Lü or the marquis of Lü, was a high minister who prepared, by the
king's orders, a code of punishments for the regulation of the
kingdom, in connexion with the undertaking, or the completion, of
which the king delivered to his princes and judges the sentiments that
are here preserved.

The common view is that Lü is the name of a principality, the marquis
of which was Mû's Minister of Crime. Where it was is not well known,
and as the Book is quoted in the Lî Kî several times under the title
of 'Fû on Punishments,' it is supposed that Lü and Fû (a small
marquisate in the present Ho-nan) were the same.

The whole Book is divided into seven chapters. The first is merely a
brief introduction, the historiographer's account of the circumstances
in which king Mû delivered his lessons. Each of the other chapters
begins with the words, 'The king said.' The first two of them are an
historical resumé of the lessons of antiquity on the subject of
punishments, and an inculcation on the princes and officers of justice
to give heed to them, and learn from them. The next two tell the
princes of the diligence and carefulness to be employed in the use of
punishments, and how they can make punishments a blessing. The fourth
chapter treats principally of the commutation or redemption of
punishments, and has been very strongly condemned by critics and
moralists. They express their surprise that such a document should be
in the Shû, and, holding that the collection was made by Confucius,
venture to ask what the sage meant by admitting it. There is, in fact,
no evidence that the redemption of punishments on the scale here laid
down, existed in China before Mû's time. It has entered, however, into
the penal code of every subsequent dynasty. Great official corruption
and depravation of the general morality would seem to be inseparable
from such a system. The fifth chapter returns again to the reverence
with which punishments should be employed; and the sixth and last is
addressed to future generations, and directs them to the ancient
models, in order that punishments may never be but a blessing to the
kingdom. A Chinese critic says that throughout the Book 'virtue' and
'exact adaptation' are the terms that carry the weight of the meaning.
Virtue must underlie the use of punishments, of which their exact
adaptation will be the manifestation.

1. In reference to the charge to the marquis of Lü:--When the king had
occupied the throne till he reached the age of a hundred years, he
gave great consideration to the appointment of punishments, in order
to deal with (the people of) the four quarters.

2. The king said, 'According to the teachings of ancient times, Khih
Yû was the first to produce disorder, which spread among the quiet,
orderly people, till all became robbers and murderers, owl-like and
yet self-complacent in their conduct, traitors and villains, snatching
and filching, dissemblers and oppressors[1].

Among the people of Miâo, they did not use the power of goodness, but
the restraint of punishments. They made the five punishments engines
of oppression [2], calling them the laws. They

[1. Khih Yû, as has been observed in the Introduction, p. 27, is the
most ancient name mentioned in the Shû, and carries us back, according
to the Chinese chronologists, nearly to the beginning of the
twenty-seventh century B.C. P. Gaubil translates the characters which
appear in the English text here as 'According to the teachings of
ancient times' by 'Selon les anciens documents,' which is more than
the Chinese text says.--It is remarkable that at the commencement of
Chinese history, Chinese tradition placed a period of innocence, a
season when order and virtue ruled in men's affairs.

2 I do not think it is intended to say here that 'the five
punishments' were invented by the chiefs of the Miâo; but only that
these used them excessively and barbarously. From two passages in the
Canon of Shun, we conclude that that monarch was acquainted with 'the
five great inflictions or punishments,' and gave instructions to his
minister Kâo-yâo as to their use.]

slaughtered the innocent, and were the first also to go to excess in
cutting off the nose, cutting-off the ears, castration, and branding.
All who became liable to those punishments were dealt with without
distinction, no difference being made in favour of those who could
offer some excuse. The people were gradually affected by this state of
things, and became dark and disorderly. Their hearts were no more set
on good faith, but they violated their oaths and covenants. The
multitudes who suffered from the oppressive terrors, and were (in
danger of) being murdered, declared their innocence to Heaven. God
surveyed the people, and there was no fragrance of virtue arising from
them, but the rank odour of their (cruel) punishments.*

'The great Tî[1] compassionated the innocent multitudes that were (in
danger of) being murdered, and made the oppressors feel the terrors of
his majesty. He restrained and (finally) extinguished the people of
Miâo, so that they should not continue

[1. Here is the name--Hwang Tî--by which the sovereigns of China have
been styled from B.C. 221, since the emperor of Khin, on his
extinction of the feudal states, enacted that it should be borne by
himself and his descendants. I have spoken of the meaning of Tî and of
the title Hwang Tî in the note on the translation of the Shû appended
to the Preface. There can be no doubt that it was Shun whom king Mû
intended by the name. A few sentences further on, the mention of Po-î
and Yü leads us to the time subsequent to Yâo, and there does not
appear to be any change of subject in the paragraph. We get from this
Book a higher idea of the power of the Miâo than from the Books of
Part II.]

to future generations. Then he commissioned Khung and Lî [1] to make
an end of the communications between earth and heaven; and the
descents (of spirits) ceased[1]. From the princes down to the

[1. Khung and Lî are nowhere met with in the previous parts of the
Shû, nor in any other reliable documents of history, as officers of
Shun. Zhâi Khan and others would identify them with the Hsî and Ho of
the Canon of Yâo, and hold those to have been descended from a Khung
and a Lî, supposed to belong to the time of Shâo Hâo in the
twenty-sixth century B.C.

2. Whoever they were, the duty with which they were charged was
remarkable. In the Narratives of the States (a book of the Kâu
dynasty), we find a conversation on it, during the lifetime of
Confucius, between king Khâo of Khû (B.C. 515-489) and one of his
ministers, called Kwan Yî-fû. 'What is meant,' asked the king, 'by
what is said in one of the Books of Kâu about Khung and Lî, that they
really brought it about that there was no intercourse between heaven
and earth? If they had not done so, would people have been able to
ascend to heaven?' The minister replied that that was not the meaning
at all, and gave his own view of it at great length, to the following
effect.--Anciently, the people attended to the discharge of their
duties to one another, and left the worship of spiritual beings--the
seeking intercourse with them, and invoking and effecting their
descent on earth--to the officers who were appointed for that purpose.
In this way things proceeded with great regularity. The people minded
their own affairs, and the spirits minded theirs. Tranquillity and
prosperity were the consequence. But in the time of Shâo Hâo, through
the lawlessness of Kîu-lî, a change took place. The people intruded
into the functions of the regulators of the spirits and their worship.
They abandoned their duties to their fellow men, and tried to bring
down spirits from above. The spirits themselves, no longer kept in
check and subjected to rule, made their appearance irregularly and
disastrously. All was confusion and calamity, when Kwan Hsü (B.C.
2510-2433) took the case in hand. He appointed Khung, the Minister of
the South, to the superintendency of heavenly things, to prescribe the
laws for the Spirits, and Lî, the Minister of Fire, to the
superintendency of earthly things, to prescribe the rules for the
people. In this way both spirits and people were brought back to their
former regular courses, and there was no unhallowed interference of
the one with the other. This was the work described in the text. But
subsequently the chief of San-miâo showed himself a Kiû-lî redivivus,
till Yâo called forth the descendants of Khung and Lî, who had not
forgotten the virtue and functions of their fathers, and made them
take the case in hand again.]

inferior officers, all helped with clear intelligence (the spread of)
the regular principles of duty, and the solitary and widows were no
longer overlooked. The great Tî with an unprejudiced mind carried his
enquiries low down among the people, and the solitary and widows laid
before him their complaints against the Miâo. He awed the people by
the majesty of his virtue, and enlightened them by its brightness. He
thereupon charged the three princely (ministers)[1] to labour with
compassionate anxiety in the people's behalf. Po-î delivered his
statutes to prevent the people from rendering themselves obnoxious to
punishment; Yü reduced to order the water and the land, and presided
over the naming of the hills and rivers; Kî spread abroad a knowledge
of agriculture, and (the people) extensively cultivated the admirable
grains. When the three princes had accomplished their work, it was
abundantly well with the people. The Minister of Crime[2]exercised
among them the restraint of

[1. According to Yî-fû's statements Khung's functions were those of
the Minister of Religion, and Lî's those of the Minister of
Instruction; but Hsî and Ho were simply Ministers of Astronomy and the
Calendar, and their descendants continue to appear as such in the Shû
to the reign of Kung Khang, long after we know that men of other
families were appointed to the important ministries of Khung and Lî.

2. Those immediately mentioned,--Po-î, Yü, and Kî. See the Canon of
Shun and other Books of Part II.

3. Kâo-yâo.]

punishment in exact adaptation to each offence, and taught them to
reverence virtue. The greatest gravity and harmony in the sovereign,
and the greatest intelligence in those below him, thus shining forth
to all quarters (of the land), all were rendered diligent in
cultivating their virtue. Hence, (if anything more were wanted), the
clear adjudication of punishments effected the regulation of the
people, and helped them to observe the regular duties of life. The
officers who presided over criminal cases executed the law
(fearlessly) against the powerful, and (faithfully) against the
wealthy. They were reverent and cautious. They had no occasion to make
choice of words to vindicate their conduct. The virtue of Heaven was
attained to by them; from them was the determination of so great a
matter as the lives (of men). In their low sphere they yet
corresponded (to Heaven) and enjoyed (its favour)'. *

3. The king said, 'Ah! you who direct the government and preside over
criminal cases through all the land, are you not constituted the
shepherds of Heaven?* To whom ought you now to look as your pattern?
Is it not to Po-î, spreading among the people his lessons to avert
punishments? And from whom ought you now to take warning? Is it not
from the people of Miâo, who would not examine into the circumstances
of criminal cases, and did not make choice of good officers that
should see to the right apportioning of the five punishments, but
chose the violent and bribe-snatchers, who determined and administered
them, so as to oppress the innocent, until God would no longer hold
them guiltless, and sent down calamity on Miâo, when the people had no
plea to allege in mitigation of their punishment, and their name was
cut off from the world?' *

4. The king said, 'Oh! lay it to heart. My uncles, and all ye, my
brethren and cousins, my sons and my grandsons[1], listen all of you
to my words, in which, it may be, you will receive a most important
charge. You will only tread the path of satisfaction by being daily
diligent;--do not have occasion to beware of the want of diligence.
Heaven, in its wish to regulate the people, allows us for a day to
make use of punishments.* Whether crimes have been premeditated, or
are unpremeditated, depends on the parties concerned;--do you (deal
with them so as to) accord with the mind of Heaven, and thus serve me,
the One man. Though I would put them to death, do not you therefore
put them to death; though I would spare them, do not you therefore
spare them. Reverently apportion the five punishments, so as fully to
exhibit the three virtues [2]. Then shall I, the One man, enjoy
felicity; the people will look to you as their sure dependance; the
repose of such a state will be perpetual.'

5. The king said, 'Ho! come,. ye rulers of states and territories[3],
I Will tell you how to make punishments a blessing. It is yours now to
give repose to the people;--what should you be most concerned

[1. Meaning all the princes of the same surname as himself. As he was
a hundred years old, there might well be among them those who were
really his sons and grandsons.

2. 'The three virtues' are those of the Great Plan; those of
correctness and straightforwardness,' of 'strong government,' and of
'mild government.'

3. 'Meaning all the princes;-of the king's own and other surnames.]

about the choosing of? Should it not be the proper men? What should
you deal with the most reverently? Should it not be punishments? What
should you calculate the most carefully? Should it not be to whom
these will reach?

'When both parties are present, (with their documents and witnesses)
all complete, let the judges listen to the fivefold statements that
may be made[1]. When they have examined and fully made up their minds
on those, let them adjust the case to one of the five punishments. If
the five punishments do not meet it, let them adjust it to one of the
five redemption-fines; and if these, again, are not sufficient for it,
let them reckon it among the five cases of error [2].

'In (settling) the five cases of error there are evils (to be guarded
against);--being warped by the influence of power, or by private
grudge, or by female solicitation, or by bribes, or by applications.
Any one of these things should be held equal to the crime (before the
judges). Do you carefully examine, and prove yourselves equal to
(every difficulty).

'When there are doubts as to the infliction of any of the five
punishments, that infliction should be forborne. When there are doubts
as to the

[1. That is, the statements, with the evidence on both sides, whether
incriminating or exculpating. They are called fivefold, as the case
might have to be dealt with by one or other of 'the five punishments.'

2. That is, the offences of inadvertence. What should ensue on the
adjudication of any case to be so ranked does not appear. It would be
very leniently dealt with, and perhaps pardoned. In 'the Counsels of
Yü,' Kâo-yâo says to Shun, 'You pardon inadvertent offences however
great.']

infliction of any of the five fines, it should be forborne. Do you
carefully examine, and prove yourselves equal to overcome (every
difficulty). When you have examined and many things are clear, yet
form a judgment from studying the appearance of the parties. If you
find nothing out on examination, do not listen (to the case any more).
In everything stand in awe of the dread majesty of Heaven.*

'When, in a doubtful case, the punishment of branding is forborne, the
fine to be laid on instead is 600 ounces (of copper); but you must
first have satisfied yourselves as to the crime. When the case would
require the cutting off the nose, the fine must be double this;--with
the same careful determination of the crime. When the punishment would
be the cutting off the feet, the fine must be 3000 ounces;--with the
same careful determination of the crime. When the punishment would be
castration [1], the fine must be 3600 ounces;-witli the same
determination. When the punishment would be death, the fine must be
6000 ounces;--with the same determination. Of crimes that may be
redeemed by the fine in lieu of branding there are woo; and the same
number of those that would otherwise-incur cutting off the nose. The
fine in lieu of cutting off the feet extends to 500 cases; that in
lieu of castration, to 300; and that in lieu of death, to 200.
Altogether, set against the five punishments, there are 3000 crimes.
(In the case of others not exactly defined), you must class them with
the (next) higher or (next) lower offences, not

[1. Or solitary confinement in the case of a female.]

admitting assumptive and disorderly pleadings, and not using obsolete
laws. Examine and act lawfully, judging carefully, and proving
yourselves equal (to every difficulty).

'Where the crime should incur one of the higher punishments, but there
are mitigating circumstances, apply to it the next lower. Where it
should incur one of the lower punishments, but there are aggravating
circumstances, apply to it the next higher. The light and heavy fines
are to be apportioned (in the same way) by the balance of
circumstances. Punishments and fines should (also) be light in one
age, and heavy in another. To secure uniformity in this (seeming)
irregularity, there are certain relations of things (to be
considered), and the essential principle (to be observed).

'The chastisement of fines is short of death, yet it will produce
extreme distress. They are not (therefore) persons of artful tongues
who should determine criminal cases, but really good persons, whose
awards will hit the right mean. Examine carefully where there are any
discrepancies in the statements; the view which you were resolved not
to follow, you may see occasion to follow; with compassion and
reverence settle the cases; examine carefully the penal code, and
deliberate with all about it, that your decisions may be likely to hit
the proper mean and be correct;--whether it be the infliction of a
punishment or a fine, examining carefully and mastering every
difficulty. When the case is thus concluded, all parties will
acknowledge the justice of the sentence; and when it is reported, the
sovereign will do the same. In sending up reports of cases, they must
be full and complete. If a man have been tried on two counts, his two
punishments (must be recorded).'

6. The king said, 'Oh! let there be a feeling of reverence. Ye judges
and princes, of the same surname with me, and of other surnames, (know
all) that I speak in much fear. I think with reverence of the subject
of punishment, for the end of it is to promote virtue. Now Heaven,
wishing to help the people, has made us its representatives here
below.* Be intelligent and pure in hearing (each) side of a case. The
right ordering of the people depends on the impartial hearing of the
pleas on both sides;--do not seek for private advantage to yourselves
by means of those pleas. Gain (so) got by the decision of cases is no
precious acquisition; it is an accumulation of guilt, and will be
recompensed with many judgments:--you should ever stand in awe of the
punishment of Heaven.* It is not Heaven that does not deal impartially
with men, but men ruin themselves. If the punishment of Heaven were
not so extreme, nowhere under the sky would the people have good
government.'

7. The king said, 'Oh! ye who shall hereafter inherit (the dignities
and offices of) the present time, to whom are ye- to look for your
models? Must it not be to those who promoted the virtue belonging to
the unbiassed nature of the people? I pray you give attention to my
words. The wise men (of antiquity) by their use of punishments
obtained boundless fame. Everything relating to the five punishments
exactly hit with them the due mean, and hence came their excellence.
Receiving from your sovereigns the good multitudes, behold in the case
of those men punishments made felicitous!'

BOOK XXVIII.

THE CHARGE TO THE MARQUIS WAN.

THE king to whom this charge is ascribed was Phing (B.C. 770-719).
Between him and Mû there was thus a period of fully two centuries, of
which no documents are, or ever were, in the collection of the Shû.
The time was occupied by seven reigns, the last of which was that of
Nieh, known as king Yû, a worthless ruler, and besotted in his
attachment to a female favourite, called Pâo-sze. For her sake he
degraded his queen, and sent their son, Î-khiû, to the court of the
lord of Shan, her father, 'to learn good manners.' The lord of Shan
called in the assistance of some barbarian tribes, by which the
capital was sacked, and the king slain; and with him ended the sway of
'the Western Kâu.' Several of the feudal princes went to the
assistance of the royal House, drove away the barbarians, brought back
Î-khiû from Shan, and hailed him as king. He is known as king Phing,
'the Tranquillizer,' His first measure was to transfer the capital
from the ruins of Hâo to Lo, thus fulfilling at length, but under
disastrous circumstances, the wishes of the duke of Kâu; and from this
time (B.C. 770) dates the history of 'the Eastern Kâu.'

Among king Phing's early measures was the rewarding the feudal lords
to whom he owed his throne. The marquis of Kin was one of them. His
name was Khiû, and that of Î-ho, by which he is called in the text, is
taken as his 'style,' or, designation assumed by him on his marriage.
Wan, 'the Accomplished,' was his sacrificial title. The lords of Kin
were descended from king Wû's son, Yü, who was appointed marquis of
Thang, corresponding to the present department of Thâi-yüan, in
Shan-hsî. The name of Thang was afterwards changed into Kin. The state
became in course of time one of the largest and most powerful in the
kingdom.

The charge in this Book is understood to be in connexion with Wan's
appointment to be president or chief of several of the other princes.
The king begins by celebrating the virtues and happy times of kings
Wan and Wû, and the services rendered by the worthy ministers of
subsequent reigns. He contrasts with this the misery and distraction
of his own times, deploring his want of wise counsellors and helpers,
and praising the marquis for the services which he had rendered. He
then concludes with the special charge by which be would reward the
prince's merit in the past, and stimulate him to greater exertions in
the future.

1. The king spoke to the following effect:--Uncle Î-ho, how
illustrious were Wan and Wû! Carefully did they make their virtue
brilliant, till it rose brightly on high, and the fame of it was
widely diffused here below. Therefore God caused his favouring decree
to light upon king Wan.* There were ministers also (thereafter), who
aided and illustriously served their sovereigns, following and
carrying out their plans, great and small, so that my fathers sat
tranquilly on the throne.

'Oh! an object of pity am I, who am (but as) a little child. just as I
have succeeded to the throne, Heaven has severely chastised me.*
Through the interruption of the (royal) bounties that ceased to
descend to the inferior people, the invading barbarous tribes of the
west have greatly (injured) our kingdom. Moreover, among the managers
of my affairs there are none of age and experience and distinguished
ability in their offices. I am (thus) unequal (to the difficulties of
my position), and say to myself, "My grand-uncles and uncles, you
ought to compassionate my case." Oh! if there were those who could
establish their merit in behalf of me, the One man, I might long enjoy
repose upon the throne.

'Uncle Î-ho, you render still more glorious your illustrious ancestor.
You were the first to imitate the example of Wan and Wû, collecting
(the scattered powers), and continuing (the all but broken line of)
your sovereign, Your filial piety goes back to your accomplished
ancestor, (and is equal to his.) You have done much to repair my
(losses), and defend me in my difficulties, and of you, being such, I
am full of admiration.'

2. The king said, 'Uncle Î-ho, return home, survey your multitudes,
and tranquillize your state. I reward you with a jar of spirits,
distilled from the black millet, and flavoured with odoriferous herbs
[1], with a red bow, and a hundred red arrows[2]; with a black bow,
and a hundred black arrows; and with four horses. Go, my uncle. Show
kindness to those that are far off, and help those who are near at
hand; cherish and secure the repose of the inferior people; do not
idly seek your ease; exercise an inspection and (benign) compassion in
your capital (and all your borders);-thus completing your illustrious
virtue.'

BOOK XXIX. THE SPEECH AT PÎ.

THE Speech at Pî carries us -back from the time of Phing to that of
king Khang. In the Preface to the Shû it is attributed to Po-khin, the
son of the duke of Kâu; and there is a general acquiescence of
tradition and critics in this view. We may account for its position
out of the chronological order from

[1. Compare king Khang's gift to the duke of Kâu, in the Announcement
concerning Lo, ch. 6.

2. The conferring on a prince of a bow and arrows, invested him with
the power of punishing throughout the states within his jurisdiction
all who were disobedient to the royal commands, but not of taking life
without first reporting to the court. The gift was also a tribute to
the merit of the receiver. See the Book of Poetry, 11, iii, ode x.]

the Book's being the record not of any royal doings, but of the words
of the ruler of a state.

The speech has reference to some military operations against the wild
tribes on the Hwâi river and in other parts of the province of Hsü;
and we have seen that they were in insurrection many times during the
reign of Khang. We thus cannot tell exactly the year in which the
speech was delivered. Po-khin presided over his state of Lû for the
long period of fifty-three years, and died B.C. 1063.

The name of Pî is retained in the district still so called of the
department of Î-kâu. At first it was an independent territory, but
attached to Lû, and under the jurisdiction of its marquises, by one of
whom it had been incorporated with Lû before the time of Confucius.

Po-khin appears at the head of his host, approaching the scene of
active operations. Having commanded silence, he issues his orders,
first, that the soldiers shall have their weapons in good order; next,
that the people of the country shall take care of the oxen and horses
of the army; further, that the troops on no account leave their ranks
or go astray; and finally, he names the day when he will commence
operations against the enemy, and commands all the requisite
preparations to be made.

The duke said, 'Ah! ye men, make no noise, but. listen to my commands.
We are going (to punish) those wild tribes of the Hwâi and of Hsü,
which have risen up together.

'Have in good repair your buff coats and helmets; have the laces of
your shields well secured;--presume not to have any of them but in
perfect order. Prepare your bows and arrows; temper your lances and
spears; sharpen your pointed and edged weapons;--presume not to have
any of them but in good condition.

'We must now largely let the oxen and horses loose, and not keep them
in enclosures;--(ye people), do you close your traps and fill up your;
pitfalls, and do not presume to injure any of the animals (so let
loose). If any of them be injured, you shall be dealt with according
to the regular punishments.

'When the horses or cattle are seeking one another, or when your
followers, male or female, abscond, presume not to leave the ranks to
pursue them. But let them be carefully returned. I will reward you
(among the people) who return them according to their value. But if
you leave your places to pursue them, or if you who find them do not
restore them, you shall be dealt with according to the regular
punishments.

'And let none of you presume to commit any robbery or detain any
creature that comes in your way, to jump over enclosures and walls to
steal (people's) horses or oxen, or to decoy away their servants or
female attendants. If you do so, you shall be dealt with according to
the regular punishments.

'On the day Kiâ-hsü I will take action against the hordes of
Hsü;--prepare the roasted grain and other provisions, and presume not
to have any deficiency. If you have, you shall suffer the severest
punishment. Ye men, of Lû, from the three environing territories and
the three tracts beyond[1],

[1. Outside the capital city was an environing territory called the
Kiâo, and beyond the Kiâo was the Sui. The Kiâo of the royal domain
was divided again into six Hsiang, which furnished the six royal
hosts, while the Sui beyond furnished subsidiary hosts. The Kiâo and
Sui of a large state furnished three hosts, and if need were,
subsidiary battalions. The language of the text is equivalent, I
conceive, simply to 'ye men of the army of Lû;' but, as P. Gaubil
observes, it is difficult at the present day to get correct ideas of
what is meant by the designations, and to account for the mention Of
three Kiâo and three Sui.]

be ready with your posts and planks. On Kiâ-hsü I will commence my
intrenchments;--dare not but be provided with a supply of these. (If
you be not so provided), you shall be subjected to various
punishments, short only of death. Ye men of Lû, from the three
environing territories and the three tracts beyond, be ready with the
forage, and do not dare to let it be other than abundant. (If you do),
you shall suffer the severest punishment.'

BOOK XXX.

THE SPEECH OF (THE MARQUIS OF) KHIN.

THE state of Khin, at the time to which this speech belongs, was one
of the most powerful in the kingdom, and already giving promise of
what it would grow to. Ultimately, one of its princes overthrew the
dynasty of Kâu, and brought feudal China to an end. Its earliest
capital was in the present district of Khang-shui, Khin Kâu, Kan-sû.

Khin and Kin were engaged together in B.C. 631 in besieging the
capital of Kang, and threatened to extinguish that state. The marquis
of Min, however, was suddenly induced to withdraw his troops, leaving
three of his officers in friendly relations with the court of Kang,
and under engagement to defend the state from aggression. These men
played the part of spies in the interest of Khin, and in B.C. 629, one
of them, called Khî-dze, sent word that he was in charge of one of the
gates, and if an army were sent to surprise the capital, Kang might be
added to the territories of Khin. The marquis--known in history as
duke Mû--laid the matter before his counsellors. The most experienced
of them--Pâi-lî Hsi and Khien-shû were against taking advantage of the
proposed treachery; but the marquis listened rather to the promptings
of ambition; and the next year he sent a large force, under his three
ablest commanders, hoping to find Kang unprepared for any resistance.
The attempt, however, failed; and the army, on its way back to Khin,
was attacked by the forces of Kin, and sustained a terrible defeat. It
was nearly annihilated, and the three commanders were taken prisoners.

The marquis of Kin was intending to put these captives to death, but
finally sent them to Khin, that duke Mû might himself sacrifice them
to his anger for their want of success. Mû, however, did no such
thing. He went from his capital. to meet the disgraced generals, and
comforted them, saying that the blame of their defeat was due to
himself, who had refused to listen to the advice of his wise
counsellors. Then also, it is said, he made the speech here preserved
for the benefit of all his ministers, describing the good and bad
minister, and the different issues of listening to them, and deploring
how he had himself foolishly rejected the advice of his aged
counsellors, and followed that of new men;--a thing which he would
never do again.

The duke[1] said, 'Ah! my officers, listen to me without noise. I
solemnly announce to you the most important of all sayings. (It is
this which) the ancients have said, "Thus it is with all people,--they
mostly love their ease. In reproving others there is no difficulty,
but to receive reproof, and allow it to have free course,--this is
difficult." The sorrow of my heart is, that the days and months have
passed away, and it is not likely they will come again, (so that I
might pursue a different course.)

'There were my old counsellors[2].--I said, "They will not accommodate
themselves to me," and I hated them. There were my new counsellors,
and I would for the time give my confidence to them [3]. So indeed it
was with me; but hereafter I will

[1. The prince of Khin was only a marquis; but the historiographers or
recorders of a state always gave their ruler the higher title. This
shows that this speech is taken from the chronicles of Khin.

2 Pâi-lî Hsî and Khien-shû.

3. Khî-dze and others.]

take advice from the men of yellow hair, and then I shall be free from
error. That good old officer!--his strength is exhausted, but I would
rather have him (as my counsellor). That dashing brave officer!--his
shooting and charioteering are faultless, but I would rather not wish
to have him. As to men of quibbles, skilful at cunning words, and able
to make the good man change his purposes, what have I to do to make
much use of them?

'I have deeply thought and concluded.--Let me have but one resolute
minister, plain and sincere, without other ability, but having a
straightforward mind, and possessed of generosity, regarding the
talents of others as if he himself possessed them; and when he finds
accomplished and sage men, loving them in his heart more than his
mouth expresses, really showing himself able to bear them:--such a
minister would be able to preserve my descendants and people, and
would indeed be a giver of benefits.

'But if (the minister), when he finds men of ability, be jealous and
hates them; if, when he finds accomplished and sage men, he oppose
them and does not allow their advancement, showing himself really not
able to bear them:--such a man will not be able to protect my
descendants and people; and will he not be a dangerous man?

'The decline and fall of a state may arise from one man. The glory and
tranquillity of a state may also arise from the goodness of one man.'
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