The Online Library of Liberty

A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.

• Preface.
• Preliminary Essays.
• Chapter I.: Of the Chinese Classics Generally.
• Section I.: Books Included Under the Name of the Chinese Classics.
• Section II.: The Authority of the Chinese Classics.
• Chapter II.: Of the Confucian Analects.
• Section I.: Formation of the Text of the Analects By the Scholars of the Han Dynasty.
• Section II.: At What Time, and By Whom, the Analects Were Written; Their Plan; and Authenticity.
• Section III.: Of Commentaries Upon the Analects.
• Chapter III.: Of the Great Learning.
• Section I.: History of the Text; and the Different Arrangements of It Which Have Been Proposed.
• Section II.: Of the Authorship, and Distinction of the Text Into Classical Text and Commentary.
• Section III.: Its Scope and Value.
• Chapter IV.: The Doctrine of the Mean.
• Section I.: Its Place In the Le Ke, and Its Publication Separately.
• Section II.: Its Author; and Some Account of Him.
• Section III.: Its Scope and Value.
• Chapter V.: Confucius; His Influence and Doctrines.
• Section I.: Life of Confucius.
• Section II.: His Influence and Opinions.
• II.: The Classics
• Confucian Analects *
• Book I **
• Book Ii *
• Book Iii *
• Book Iv *
• Book V. *
• Book VI. *
• Book VII. *
• Book VIII. *
• Book IX. *
• Book X. *
• Book XI. *
• Book XII. *
• Book XIII. *
• Book XIV. *
• Book XV. *
• Book XVI. *
• Book XVII. *
• Book XVIII. *
• Book XIX. *
• Book XX. *
• The Great Learning. * **
• The Text of Confucius. ***
• Commentary of the Philosopher Tsang.
• The Doctrine of the Mean. *

COMMENTARY OF THE PHILOSOPHER TSANG.

ChapterI.1. In the Announcement to K‘ang it is said, “He was able to make his virtue illustrious.”

2. In the T‘ae Keă, it is said, “He contemplated and studied the illustrious decrees of Heaven.”

3. In the Canon of the Emperor Yaou, it is said, “He was able to make illustrious his lofty virtue.”

4. These passages all show how those sovereigns made themselves illustrious.

II.1. On the bathing-tub of T‘ang, the following words were engraved:—“If you can one day renovate yourself, do so from day to day. Yea, let there be daily renovation.”

2. In the Announcement to K‘ang, it is said, “To stir up the new people.”

3. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, “Although Chow was an ancient State, the ordinance which lighted on it was new.”

4. Therefore, the superior man in everything uses his utmost endeavours.

III.1. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, “The imperial domain of a thousand le is where the people rest.”

2. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, “The twittering yellow bird rests on a corner of the mound.” The Master said, “When it rests, it knows where to rest. Is it possible that a man should not be equal to this bird?”

3. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, “Profound was King Wăn. With how bright and unceasing a feeling of reverence did he regard his resting-places!” As a sovereign, he rested in benevolence. As a minister, he rested in reverence. As a son, he rested in filial piety. As a father, he rested in kindness. In communication with his subjects, he rested in good faith.

4. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, “Look at that winding course of the K‘e, with the green bamboos so luxuriant! Here is our elegant and accomplished prince! As we cut and then file; as we chisel and then grind: so has he cultivated himself. How grave is he and dignified! How majestic and distinguished! Our elegant and accomplished prince never can be forgotten.” That expression—“as we cut and then file,” indicates the work of learning. “As we chisel and then grind,” indicates that of self-culture. “How grave is he and dignified!” indicates the feeling of cautious reverence. “How commanding and distinguished,” indicates an awe-inspiring deportment. “Our elegant and accomplished prince never can be forgotten,” indicates how, when virtue is complete and excellence extreme, the people cannot forget them.

5. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, “Ah! the former kings are not forgotten.” Future princes deem worthy what they deemed worthy, and love what they loved. The common people delight in what they delighted, and are benefited by their beneficial arrangements. It is on this account that the former kings, after they have quitted the world, are not forgotten.

IV. The Master said, “In hearing litigations, I am like any other body. What is necessary is to cause the people to have no litigations?” So, those who are devoid of principle find it impossible to carry out their speeches, and a great awe would be struck into men’s minds:—this is called knowing the root.

V.1. This is called knowing the root.

2. This is called the perfecting of knowledge.

VI.1. What is meant by “making the thoughts sincere,” is the allowing no self-deception, as when we hate a bad smell, and as when we love what is beautiful. This is called self-enjoyment. Therefore, the superior man must be watchful over himself when he is alone.

2. There is no evil to which the mean man, dwelling retired, will not proceed, but when he sees a superior man, he instantly tries to disguise himself, concealing his evil, and displaying what is good. The other beholds him, as if he saw his heart and reins;—of what use is his disguise? This is an instance of the saying—“What truly is within will be manifested without.” Therefore, the superior man must be watchful over himself when he is alone.

3. Tsăng the philosopher said, “What ten eyes behold, what ten hands point to, is to be regarded with reverence!”

4. Riches adorn a house, and virtue adorns the person. The mind is expanded, and the body is at ease. Therefore, the superior man must make his thoughts sincere.

VII.1. What is meant by “The cultivation of the person depends on rectifying the mind,” may be thus illustrated:—If a man be under the influence of passion, he will be incorrect in his conduct. He will be the same, if he is under the influence of terror, or under the influence of fond regard, or under that of sorrow and distress.

2. When the mind is not present, we look and do not see; we hear and do not understand; we eat and do not know the taste of what we eat.

3. This is what is meant by saying that the cultivation of the person depends on the rectifying of the mind.

VIII.1. What is meant by “The regulation of one’s family depends on the cultivation of his person,” is this:—Men are partial where they feel affection and love; partial where they despise and dislike; partial where they stand in awe and reverence; partial where they feel sorrow and compassion; partial where they are arrogant and rude. Thus it is that there are few men in the world who love, and at the same time know the bad qualities of the object of their love, or who hate, and yet know the excellences of the object of their hatred.

2. Hence it is said, in the common adage, “A man does not know the wickedness of his son; he does not know the richness of his growing corn.”

3. This is what is meant by saying that if the person be not cultivated, a man cannot regulate his family.

IX.1. What is meant by “In order rightly to govern his State, it is necessary first to regulate his family,” is this:—It is not possible for one to teach others, while he cannot teach his own family. Therefore, the ruler, without going beyond his family, completes the lessons for the State. There is filial piety:—therewith the sovereign should be served. There is fraternal submission:—therewith elders and superiors should be served. There is kindness:—therewith the multitude should be treated.

2. In the Announcement to K‘ang, it is said, “Act as if you were watching over an infant.” If a mother is really anxious about it, though she may not hit exactly the wants of her infant, she will not be far from doing so. There never has been a girl who learned to bring up a child, that she might afterwards marry.

3. From the loving example of one family, a whole State becomes loving, and from its courtesies, the whole State becomes courteous, while, from the ambition and perverseness of the one man, the whole State may be led to rebellious disorder;—such is the nature of the influence. This verifies the saying, “Affairs may be ruined by a single sentence; a kingdom may be settled by its one man.”

4. Yaou and Shun led on the empire with benevolence, and the people followed them. Këĕ and Chow led on the empire with violence, and the people followed them. The orders which these issued were contrary to the practices which they loved, and so the people did not follow them. On this account, the ruler must himself be possessed of the good qualities, and then he may require them in the people. He must not have the bad qualities in himself, and then he may require that they shall not be in the people. Never has there been a man, who, not having reference to his own character and wishes in dealing with others, was able effectually to instruct them.

5. Thus we see how the government of the State depends on the regulation of the family.

6. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, “That peach tree, so delicate and elegant! How luxuriant is its foliage! This girl is going to her husband’s house. She will rightly order her household.” Let the household be rightly ordered, and then the people of the State may be taught.

7. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, “They can discharge their duties to their elder brothers. They can discharge their duties to their younger brothers.” Let the ruler discharge his duties to his elder and younger brothers, and then he may teach the people of the State.

8. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, “In his deportment there is nothing wrong; he rectifies all the people of the State.” Yes; when the ruler, as a father, a son, and a brother, is a model, then the people imitate him.

9. This is what is meant by saying, “The government of his kingdom depends on his regulation of the family.”

X.1. What is meant by “The making the whole empire peaceful and happy depends on the government of his State,” is this:—When the sovereign behaves to his aged, as the aged should be behaved to, the people become filial; when the sovereign behaves to his elders, as elders should be behaved to, the people learn brotherly submission; when the sovereign treats compassionately the young and helpless, the people do the same. Thus the ruler has a principle with which, as with a measuring square, he may regulate his conduct.

2. What a man dislikes in his superiors, let him not display in the treatment of his inferiors; what he dislikes in inferiors, let him not display in the service of his superiors; what he hates in those who are before him, let him not therewith precede those who are behind him; what he hates in those who are behind him, let him not therewith follow those who are before him; what he hates to receive on the right, let him not bestow on the left; what he hates to receive on the left, let him not bestow on the right:—this is what is called “The principle, with which, as with a measuring square, to regulate one’s conduct.”

3. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, “How much to be rejoiced in are these princes, the parents of the people!” When a prince loves what the people love, and hates what the people hate, then is he what is called the parent of the people.

4. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, “Lofty is that southern hill, with its rugged masses of rocks! Full of majesty are you, O grand-teacher Yin, the people all look up to you.” Rulers of kingdoms may not neglect to be careful. If they deviate to a mean selfishness, they will be a disgrace in the empire.

5. In the Book of Poetry, it is said, “Before the sovereigns of the Yin dynasty had lost the hearts of the people, they were the mates of God. Take warning from the house of Yin. The great decree is not easily preserved.” This shows that, by gaining the people, the kingdom is gained, and, by losing the people, the kingdom is lost.

6. On this account, the ruler will first take pains about his own virtue. Possessing virtue will give him the people. Possessing the people will give him the territory. Possessing the territory will give him its wealth. Possessing the wealth, he will have resources for expenditure.

7. Virtue is the root; wealth is the result.

8. If he make the root his secondary object, and the result his primary, he will only wrangle with his people, and teach them rapine.

9. Hence, the accumulation of wealth is the way to scatter the people; and the letting it be scattered among them is the way to collect the people.

10. And hence, the ruler’s words going forth contrary to right, will come back to him in the same way, and wealth, gotten by improper ways, will take its departure by the same.

11. In the Announcement to K‘ang, it is said, “The decree indeed may not always rest on us;” that is, goodness obtains the decree, and the want of goodness loses it.

12. In the Book of Ts‘oo, it is said, “The kingdom of Ts‘oo does not consider that to be valuable. It values, instead, its good men.”

13.Duke Wăn’s uncle, Fan, said, “Our fugitive does not account that to be precious. What he considers precious, is the affection due to his parent.”

14. In the Declaration of the duke of Ts‘in, it is said, “Let me have but one minister, plain and sincere, not pretending to other abilities, but with a simple, upright mind; and possessed of generosity, regarding the talents of others as though he himself possessed them, and, where he finds accomplished and perspicacious men, loving them in his heart more than his mouth expresses, and really showing himself able to bear and employ them:—such a minister will be able to preserve my sons and grandsons, and black-haired people, and benefits likewise to the kingdom may well be looked for from him. But if it be his character, when he finds men of ability, to be jealous and hate them; and, when he finds accomplished and perspicacious men, to oppose them and not allow their advancement, showing himself really not able to bear them:—such a minister will not be able to protect my sons and grandsons, and black-haired people; and may he not also be pronounced dangerous to the State?”

15. It is only the truly virtuous man who can send away such a man and banish him, driving him out among the barbarous tribes around, determined not to dwell along with him in the Middle kingdom. This is in accordance with the saying, “It is only the truly virtuous man who can love or who can hate others.”

16. To see men of worth and not be able to raise them to office; to raise them to office, but not to do so quickly:—this is disrespectful. To see bad men and not be able to remove them; to remove them, but not to do so to a distance:—This is weakness.

17. To love those whom men hate, and to hate those whom men love; this is to outrage the natural feeling of men. Calamities cannot fail to come down on him who does so.

18. Thus we see that the sovereign has a great course to pursue. He must show entire self-devotion and sincerity to attain it, and by pride and extravagance he will fail of it.

19. There is a great course also for the production of wealth. Let the producers be many and the consumers few. Let there be activity in the production, and economy in the expenditure. Then the wealth will always be sufficient.

20. The virtuous ruler, by means of his wealth, makes himself more distinguished. The vicious ruler accumulates wealth, at the expense of his life.

21. Never has there been a case of the sovereign loving benevolence, and the people not loving righteousness. Never has there been a case where the people have loved righteousness, and the affairs of the sovereign have not been carried to completion. And never has there been a case where the wealth in such a State, collected in the treasuries and arsenals, did not continue in the sovereign’s possession.

22. The officer Măng Heen said, “He who keeps horses and a carriage does not look after fowls and pigs. The family which keeps its stores of ice does not rear cattle or sheep. So, the house which possesses a hundred chariots should not keep a minister to look out for imposts that he may lay them on the people. Than to have such a minister, it were better for that house to have one who should rob it of its revenues.” This is in accordance with the saying.—“In a State, pecuniary gain is not to be considered to be prosperity, but its prosperity will be found in righteousness.”

23. When he who presides over a State or a family makes his revenues his chief business, he must be under the influence of some small, mean man. He may consider this man to be good; but when such a person is employed in the administration of a State or family, calamities from Hearen, and injuries from men, will befall it together, and, though a good man may take his place, he will not be able to remedy the evil. This illustrates again the saying, “In a State, gain is not to be considered prosperity, but its prosperity will be found in righteousness.”

THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN.*

ChapterI.1. What Heaven has conferred is called the nature; an accordance with this nature is called the pathof duty; the regulation of this path is called instruction.

2. The path may not be left for an instant. If it could be left, it would not be the path. On this account, the superior man does not wait till he sees things, to be cautious, nor till he hears things, to be apprehensive.

3. There is nothing more visible than what is secret, and nothing more manifest than what is minute. Therefore, the superior man is watchful over himself, when he is alone.

4. While there are no stirrings of pleasure, anger, sorrow, or joy, the mind may be said to be in the state of equilibrium. When those feelings have been stirred, and they act in their due degree, there ensues what may be called the state of harmony. This equilibrium is the great root from which grow all the human actings in the world, and this harmony is the universal path which they all should pursue.

5. Let the states of equilibrium and harmony exist in perfection, and a happy order will prevail throughout heaven and earth, and all things will be nourished and flourish.

II.1. Chung-ne said, “The superior man embodies the course of the Mean; the mean man acts contrary to the course of the Mean.

2. “The superior man’s embodying the course of the Mean is because he is a superior man, and so always maintains the Mean. The mean man’s acting contrary to the course of the Mean is because he is a mean man, and has no caution.”

III. The Master said, “Perfect is the virtue which is according to the Mean! Rare have they long been among the people, who could practise it!”

IV.I. The Master said, “I know how it is that the path of the Mean is not walked in:—The knowing go beyond it, and the stupid do not come up to it. I know how it is that the path of the Mean is not understood:—The men of talents and virtue go beyond it, and the worthless do not come up to it.

2. “There is no body but eats and drinks. But they are few who can distinguish flavours.”

V. The Master said, “Alas! How is the path of the Mean untrodden!”

VI. The Master said, “There was Shun:—He indeed was greatly wise! Shun loved to question others, and to study their words, though they might be shallow. He concealed what was bad in them, and displayed what was good. He took hold of their two extremes, determined the Mean, and employed it in his government of the people. It was by this that he was Shun!”

VII. The Master said, “Men all say, ‘We are wise;’ but being driven forward and taken in a net, a trap, or a pitfall, they know not how to escape. Men all say, ‘We are wise;’ but happening to choose the course of the Mean, they are not able to keep it for a round month.”

VIII. The Master said, “This was the manner of Hwuy:—he made choice of the Mean, and whenever he got hold of what was good, he clasped it firmly, as if wearing it on his breast, and did not lose it.”

IX. The Master said, “The empire, its States, and its families may be perfectly ruled; dignities and emoluments may be declined; naked weapons may be trampled under the feet; but the course of the Mean cannot be attained to.”

X.1. Tsze-loo asked about forcefulness.

2. The Master said, “Do you mean the forcefulness of the South, the forcefulness of the North, or the forcefulness which you should cultivate yourself?

3. “To show forbearance and gentleness in teaching others; and not to revenge unreasonable conduct:—this is the forcefulness of Southern regions, and the good man makes it his study.

4. “To lie under arms; and meet death without regret:—this is the forcefulness of Northern regions, and the forceful make it their study.

5. “Therefore, the superior man cultivates a friendly harmony, without being weak. How firm is he in his forcefulness! He stands erect in the middle, without inclining to either side.—How firm is he in his forcefulness! When good principles prevail in the government of his country, he does not change from what he was in retirement.—How firm is he in his forcefulness!” When bad principles prevail in the country, he maintains his course to death without changing.—How firm is he in his forcefulness!”

XI.1. The Master said, “To live in obscurity, and yet practise wonders, in order to be mentioned with honour in future ages;—this is what I do not do.

2. “The good man tries to proceed according to the right path, but when he has gone half-way, he abandons it;—I am not able so to stop.

3. “The superior man accords with the course of the Mean. Though he may be all unknown, unregarded by the world, he feels no regret.—It is only the sage who is able for this.”

XII.1. The way which the superior man pursues, reaches wide and far, and yet is secret.

2. Common men and women, however ignorant, may intermeddle with the knowledge of it; yet in its utmost reaches, there is that which even the sage does not know. Common men and women, however much below the ordinary standard of character, can carry it into practice; yet in its utmost reaches, there is that which even the sage is not able to carry into practice. Great as heaven and earth are, men still find some things in them with which to be dissatisfied. Thus it is, that were the superior man to speak of his way in all its greatness, nothing in the world would be found able to embrace it; and were he to speak of it in its minuteness, nothing in the world would be found able to split it.

3. It is said in the Book of Poetry, “The hawk flies up to heaven; the fishes leap in the deep.” This expresses how this way is seen above and below.

4. The way of the superior man may be found, in its simple elements, in the intercourse of common men and women; but in its utmost reaches, it shines brightly through heaven and earth.

XIII.1. The Master said, “The path is not far from man. When men try to pursue a course, which is far from the common indications of consciousness, this course cannot be considered the path.

2. “In the Book of Poetry, it is said, ‘In hewing an axe-handle, in hewing an axe-handle, the pattern is not far off.’ We grasp one axe-handle to hew the other, and yet, if we look askance from the one to the other, we may consider them as apart. Therefore, the superior man governs men, according to their nature, with what is proper to them, and as soon as they change what is wrong, he stops.

3. “When one cultivates to the utmost the principles of his nature, and exercises them on the principle of reciprocity, he is not far from the path. What you do not like, when done to yourself, do not do to others.

4. “In the way of the superior man there are four things, to not one of which have I as yet attained.—To serve my father as I would require my son to serve me: to this I have not attained; to serve my prince as I would require my minister to serve me: to this I have not attained; to serve my elder brother as I would require my younger brother to serve me: to this I have not attained; to set the example in behaving to a friend as I would require him to behave to me: to this I have not attained. Earnest in practising the ordinary virtues, and careful in speaking about them, if, in his practice, he has anything defective, the superior man dares not but exert himself; and if, in his words, he has any excess, he dares not allow himself such license. Thus his words have respect to his actions, and his actions have respect to his words; is it not just an entire sincerity which marks the superior man?”

XIV.1. The superior man does what is proper to the station in which he is: he does not desire to go beyond this.

2. In a position of wealth and honour, he does what is proper to a position of wealth and honour. In a poor and low position, he does what is proper to a poor and low position. Situated among barbarous tribes, he does what is proper to a situation among barbarous tribes. In a position of sorrow and difficulty, he does what is proper to a position of sorrow and difficulty. The superior man can find himself in no situation in which he is not himself.

3. In a high situation, he does not treat with contempt his inferiors. In a low situation, he does not court the favour of his superiors. He rectifies himself, and seeks for nothing from others, so that he has no dissatisfactions. He does not murmur against heaven, nor grumble against men.

4. Thus it is that the superior man is quiet and calm, waiting for the appointments of Heaven, while the mean man walks in dangerous paths, looking for lucky occurrences.

5. The Master said, “In archery we have something like the way of the superior man. When the archer misses the centre of the target, he turns round and seeks for the cause of his failure in himself.”

XV.1. The way of the superior man may be compared to what takes place in travelling, when to go to a distance we must first traverse the space that is near, and in ascending a height, when we must begin from the lower ground.

2. It is said in the Book of Poetry, “Happy union with wife and children is like the music of lutes and harps. When there is concord among brethren, the harmony is delightful and enduring. Thus may you regulate your family, and enjoy the pleasure of your wife and children.”

3. The Master said, “In such a state of things, parents have entire complacence!”

XVI.1. The Master said, “How abundantly do spiritual beings display the powers that belong to them!

2. “We look for them, but do not see them; we listen to, but do not hear them; yet they enter into all things, and there is nothing without them.

3. “They cause all the people in the empire to fast and purify themselves, and array themselves in their richest dresses, in order to attend at their sacrifices. Then, like overflowing water, they seem to be over the heads, and on the right and left of their worshippers.

4. “It is said in the Book of Poetry, ‘The approaches of the spirits, you cannot surmise;—and can you treat them with indifference?’

5. “Such is the manifestness of what is minute! Such is the impossibility of repressing the outgoings of sincerity!”

XVII.1. The Master said, “How greatly filial was Shun! His virtue was that of a sage; his dignity was the imperial throne; his riches were all within the four seas. He offered his sacrifices in his ancestral temple, and his descendants preserved the sacrifices to himself.

2. “Therefore having such great virtue, it could not but be that he should obtain the throne, that he should obtain those riches, that he should obtain his fame, that he should attain to his long life.

3. “Thus it is that Heaven, in the production of things, is surely bountiful to them, according to their qualities. Hence the tree that is flourishing, it nourishes, while that which is ready to fall, it overthrows.

4. “In the Book of Poetry, it is said, ‘The admirable, amiable, prince, Displayed conspicuously his excelling virtue, Adjusting his people, and Adjusting his officers. Therefore, he received from Heaven the emoluments of dignity. It protected him, assisted him, decreed him the throne; Sending from heaven these favours, as it were repeatedly.’

5. “We may say therefore that he who is greatly virtuous will be sure to receive the appointment of Heaven.”

XVIII.1. The Master said, “It is only king Wăn of whom it can be said that he had no cause for grief! His father was king Ke, and his son was king Woo. His father laid the foundations of his dignity, and his son transmitted it.

2. “King Woo continued the enterprise of king T‘ae, king Ke, and king Wăn. He only once buckled on his armour, and got possession of the empire. He did not lose the distinguished personal reputation which he had throughout the empire. His dignity was the imperial throne. His riches were the possession of all within the four seas. He offered his sacrifices in his ancestral temple, and his descendants maintained the sacrifices to himself.

3. “It was in his old age that king Woo received the appointment to the throne, and the duke of Chow completed the virtuous course of Wăn and Woo. He carried up the title of king to T‘ae and Ke, and sacrificed to all the former dukes above them with the imperial ceremonies. And this rule he extended to the princes of the empire, the great officers, the scholars, and the common people. Was the father a great officer, and the son a scholar, then the burial was that due to a great officer, and the sacrifice that due to a scholar. Was the father a scholar, and the son a great officer, then the burial was that due to a scholar, and the sacrifice that due to a great officer. The one year’s mourning was made to extend only to the great officers, but the three years’ mourning extended to the emperor. In the mourning for a father or mother, he allowed no difference between the noble and the mean.”

XIX.1. The Master said, “How far extending was the filial piety of king Woo and the duke of Chow!

2. “Now filial piety is seen in the skilful carrying out of the wishes of our forefathers, and the skilful carrying forward of their undertakings.

3. “In spring and autumn, they repaired and beautified the temple-halls of their fathers, set forth their ancestral vessels, displayed their various robes, and presented the offerings of the several seasons.

4. “By means of the ceremonies of the ancestral temple, they distinguished the imperial kindred according to their order of descent. By ordering the parties present according to their rank, they distinguished the more noble and the less. By the arrangement of the services, they made a distinction of talents and worth. In the ceremony of general pledging, the inferiors presented the cup to their superiors, and thus something was given the lowest to do. At the concluding feast, places were given according to the hair, and thus was made the distinction of years.

5. “They occupied the places of their forefathers, practised their ceremonies, and performed their music. They reverenced those whom they honoured, and loved those whom they regarded with affection. Thus they served the dead as they would have served them alive; they served the departed as they would have served them had they been continued among them.

6. “By the ceremonies of the sacrifices to Heaven and Earth they served God, and by the ceremonies of the ancestral temple they sacrificed to their ancestors. He who understands the ceremonies of the sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, and the meaning of the several sacrifices to ancestors, would find the government of a kingdom as easy as to look into his palm!”

XX.1. The duke Gae asked about government.

2. The Master said, “The government of Wăn and Woo is displayed in the records,—the tablets of wood and bamboo. Let there be the men, and the government will flourish; but without the men, the government decays and ceases.

3. “With the right men the growth of government is rapid, just as vegetation is rapid in the earth; and moreover their government might be called an easily-growing rush.

4. “Therefore the administration of government lies in getting proper men. Such men are to be got by means of the ruler’s own character. That character is to be cultivated by his treading in the ways of duty. And the treading those ways of duty is to be cultivated by the cherishing of benevolence.

5. “Benevolence is the characteristic element of humanity, and the great exercise of it is in loving relatives. Righteousness is the accordance of actions with what is right, and the great exercise of it is in honouring the worthy. The decreasing measures of the love due to relatives, and the steps in the honour due to the worthy, are produced by the principle of propriety.

6. “When those in inferior situations do not possess the confidence of their superiors, they cannot retain the government of the people.

7. “Hence the sovereign may not neglect the cultivation of his own character. Wishing to cultivate his character, he may not neglect to serve his parents. In order to serve his parents, he may not neglect to acquire a knowledge of men. In order to know men, he may not dispense with a knowledge of Heaven.

8. “The duties of universal obligation are five, and the virtues wherewith they are practised are three. The duties are those between sovereign and minister, between father and son, between husband and wife, between elder brother and younger, and those belonging to the intercourse of friends. Those five are the duties of universal obligation. Knowledge, magnanimity, and energy, these three, are the virtues universally binding. And the means by which they carry the duties into practice is singleness.

9. “Some are born with the knowledge of those duties; some know them by study; and some acquire the knowledge after a painful feeling of their ignorance. But the knowledge being possessed, it comes to the same thing. Some practise them with a natural ease; some from a desire for their advantages; and some by strenuous effort. But the achievement being made, it comes to the same thing.”

10. The Master said, “To be fond of learning is to be near to knowledge. To practise with vigour is to be near to magnanimity. To possess the feeling of shame is to be near to energy.

11. “He who knows these three things knows how to cultivate his own character. Knowing how to cultivate his own character, he knows how to govern other men. Knowing how to govern other men, he knows how to govern the empire with all its States and families.

12. “All who have the government of the empire with its States and families have nine standard rules to follow;—viz. the cultivation of their own characters; the honouring of men of virtue and talents; affection towards their relatives; respect towards the great ministers; kind and considerate treatment of the whole body of officers; dealing with the mass of the people as children; encouraging the resort of all classes of artisans; indulgent treatment of men from a distance; and the kindly cherishing of the princes of the States.

13. “By the ruler’s cultivation of his own character, the duties of universal obligation are set up. By honouring men of virtue and talents, he is preserved from errors of judgment. By showing affection to his relatives, there is no grumbling nor resentment among his uncles and brethren. By respecting the great ministers, he is kept from errors in the practice of government. By kind and considerate treatment of the whole body of officers, they are led to make the most grateful return for his courtesies. By dealing with the mass of the people as his children, they are led to exhort one another to what is good. By encouraging the resort of all classes of artisans, his resources for expenditure are rendered ample. By indulgent treatment of men from a distance, they are brought to resort to him from all quarters. And by kindly cherishing the princes of the States, the whole empire is brought to revere him.

14. “Self-adjustment and purification, with careful regulation of his dress, and the not making a movement contrary to the rules of propriety:—this is the way for the ruler to cultivate his person. Discarding slanderers, and keeping himself from the seductions of beauty; making light of riches, and giving honour to virtue:—this is the way for him to encourage men of worth and talents. Giving them places of honour and emolument, and sharing with them in their likes and dislikes: this is the way for him to encourage his relatives to love him. Giving them numerous officers to discharge their orders and commissions:—this is the way for him to encourage the great ministers. According to them a generous confidence, and making their emoluments large:—this is the way to encourage the body of officers. Employing them only at the proper times, and making the imposts light:—this is the way to encourage the people. By daily examinations and monthly trials, and by making their rations in accordance with their labours:—this is the way to encourage the classes of artisans. To escort them on their departure and meet them on their coming; to commend the good among them, and show compassion to the incompetent:—this is the way to treat indulgently men from a distance. To restore families whose line of succession has been broken, and to revive States that have been extinguished; to reduce to order States that are in confusion, and support those which are in peril; to have fixed times for their own reception at court, and the reception of their envoys; to send them away after liberal treatment, and welcome their coming with small contributions:—this is the way to cherish the princes of the States.

15. “All who have the government of the empire with its States and families have the above nine standard rules. And the means by which they are carried into practice is singleness.

16. “In all things success depends on previous preparation, and without such previous preparation there is sure to be failure. If what is to be spoken be previously determined, there will be no stumbling. If affairs be previously determined, there will be no difficulty with them. If one’s actions have been previously determined, there will be no sorrow in connection with them. If principles of conduct have been previously determined, the practice of them will be inexhaustible.

17. “When those in inferior situations do not obtain the confidence of the sovereign, they cannot succeed in governing the people. There is a way to obtain the confidence of the sovereign;—if one is not trusted by his friends, he will not get the confidence of his sovereign. There is a way to being trusted by one’s friends;—if one is not obedient to his parents, he will not be true to friends. There is a way to being obedient to one’s parents;—if one, on turning his thoughts in upon himself, finds a want of sincerity, he will not be obedient to his parents. There is a way to the attainment of sincerity in one’s-self;—if a man do not understand what is good, he will not attain sincerity in himself.

18. “Sincerity is the way of Heaven. The attainment of sincerity is the way of men. He who possesses sincerity, is he who, without an effort, hits what is right, and apprehends, without the exercise of thought;—he is the sage who naturally and easily embodies the right way. He who attains to sincerity, is he who chooses what is good, and firmly holds it fast.

19. “To this attainment there are requisite the extensive study of what is good, accurate inquiry about it, careful reflection on it, the clear discrimination of it, and the earnest practice of it.

20. “The superior man, while there is anything he has not studied, or while in what he has studied there is anything he cannot understand, will not intermit his labour. While there is anything he has not inquired about, or anything in what he has inquired about which he does not know, he will not intermit his labour. While there is anything which he has not reflected on, or anything in what he has reflected on which he does not apprehend, he will not intermit his labour. While there is anything which he has not discriminated, or while his discrimination is not clear, he will not intermit his labour. If there be anything which he has not practised, or if his practice fails in earnestness, he will not intermit his labour. If another man succeed by one effort, he will use a hundred efforts. If another man succeed by ten efforts, he will use a thousand.

21. “Let a man proceed in this way, and, though dull, he will surely become intelligent; though weak, he will surely become strong.”

XXI. When we have intelligence resulting from sincerity, this condition is to be ascribed to nature; when we have sincerity resulting from intelligence, this condition is to be ascribed to instruction. But given the sincerity, and there shall be the intelligence, given the intelligence, and there shall be the sincerity.

XXII. It is only he who is possessed of the most complete sincerity that can exist under heaven, who can give its full development to his nature. Able to give its full development to his own nature, he can do the same to the nature of other men. Able to give its full development to the nature of other men, he can give their full development to the natures of animals and things. Able to give their full development to the natures of creatures and things, he can assist the transforming and nourishing powers of Heaven and Earth. Able to assist the transforming and nourishing powers of Heaven and Earth, he may with Heaven and Earth form a ternion.

XXIII. Next to the above is he who cultivates to the utmost the shoots of goodness in him. From those he can attain to the possession of sincerity. This sincerity becomes apparent. From being apparent, it becomes manifest. From being manifest, it becomes brilliant. Brilliant, it affects others. Affecting others, they are changed by it. Changed by it, they are transformed. It is only he who is possessed of the most complete sincerity that can exist under heaven, who can transform.

XXIV. It is characteristic of the most entire sincerity to be able to foreknow. When a nation or family is about to flourish, there are sure to be happy omens; and when it is about to perish, there are sure to be unlucky omens. Such events are seen in the milfoil and tortoise, and affect the movements of the four limbs. When calamity or happiness is about to come, the good shall certainly be foreknown by him, and the evil also. Therefore the individual possessed of the most complete sincerity is like a spirit.

XXV.1. Sincerity is that whereby self-completion is effected, and its way is that by which man must direct himself.

2. Sincerity is the end and beginning of things; without sincerity there would be nothing. On this account, the superior man regards the attainment of sincerity as the most excellent thing.

3. The possessor of sincerity does not merely accomplish the self-completion of himself. With this quality he completes other men and things also. The completing himself shows his perfect virtue. The completing other men and things shows his knowledge. Both these are virtues belonging to the nature, and this is the way by which a union is effected of the external and internal. Therefore, whenever he—the entirely sincere man—employs them,—that is, these virtues,—their action will be right.

XXVI.1. Hence to entire sincerity there belongs ceaselessness.

2. Not ceasing, it continues long. Continuing long, it evidences itself.

3. Evidencing itself, it reaches far. Reaching far, it becomes large and substantial. Large and substantial, it becomes high and brilliant.

4. Large and substantial;—this is how it contains all things. High and brilliant;—this is how it overspreads all things. Reaching far and continuing long;—this is how it perfects all things.

5. So large and substantial, the individual possessing it is the co-equal of Earth. So high and brilliant, it makes him the co-equal of Heaven. So far-reaching and long-continuing, it makes him infinite.

6. Such being its nature, without any display, it becomes manifested; without any movement, it produces changes; and without any effort, it accomplishes its ends.

7. The way of Heaven and Earth may be completely declared in one sentence.—They are without any doubleness, and so they produce things in a manner that is unfathomable.

8. The way of Heaven and Earth is large and substantial, high and brilliant, far-reaching and long-enduring.

9. The heaven now before us is only this bright shining spot; but when viewed in its inexhaustible extent, the sun, moon, stars, and constellations of the zodiac are suspended in it, and all things are overspread by it. The earth before us is but a handful of soil; but when regarded in its breadth and thickness, it sustains mountains like the Hwa and the Yoh, without feeling their weight, and contains the rivers and seas, without their leaking away. The mountain now before us appears only a stone; but when contemplated in all the vastness of its size, we see how the grass and trees are produced on it, and birds and beasts dwell on it, and precious things which men treasure up are found on it. The water now before us appears but a ladleful; yet extending our view to its unfathomable depths, the largest tortoises, iguanas, iguanadons, dragons, fishes, and turtles, are produced in them; articles of value and sources of wealth abound in them.

10. It is said in the Book of Poetry, “The ordinances of Heaven, how profound are they and unceasing!” The meaning is, that it is thus that Heaven is Heaven. And again, “How illustrious was it, the singleness of the virtue of King Wăn!” indicating that it was thus that King Wăn was what he was. Singleness likewise is unceasing.

XXVII.1. How great is the path proper to the sage!

2. Like overflowing water, it sends forth and nourishes all things, and rises up to the height of heaven.

3. All complete is its greatness! It embraces the three hundred rules of ceremony, and the three thousand rules of demeanour.

4. It waits for the proper man, and then it is trodden.

5. Hence it is said, “Only by perfect virtue can the perfect path, in all its courses, be made a fact.”

6. Therefore, the superior man honours his virtuous nature, and maintains constant inquiry and study, seeking to carry it out to its breadth and greatness, so as to omit none of the more exquisite and minute points which it embraces, and to raise it to its greatest height and brilliancy, so as to pursue the course of the Mean. He cherishes his old knowledge, and is continually acquiring new. He exerts an honest, generous earnestness, in the esteem and practice of all propriety.

7. Thus, when occupying a high situation, he is not proud, and in a low situation, he is not insubordinate. When the kingdom is well-governed, he is sure by his words to rise; and when it is ill-governed, he is sure by his silence to command forbearance to himself. Is not this what we find in the Book of Poetry,—“Intelligent is he and prudent, and so preserves his person?”

XXVIII.1. The Master said, “Let a man who is ignorant be fond of using his own judgment; let a man without rank be fond of assuming a directing power to himself; let a man who is living in the present age go back to the ways of antiquity;—on the persons of all who act thus calamities will be sure to come.”

2. To no one but the emperor does it belong to order ceremonies, to fix the measures, and to determine the characters.

3. Now, over the empire, carriages have all wheels of the same size; all writing is with the same characters; and for conduct there are the same rules.

4. One may occupy the throne, but if he have not the proper virtue, he may not dare to make ceremonies or music. One may have the virtue, but if he do not occupy the throne, he may not presume to make ceremonies or music.

5. The Master said, “I may describe the ceremonies of the Hea dynasty, but Ke cannot sufficiently attest my words. I have learned the ceremonies of the Yin dynasty, and in Sung they still continue. I have learned the ceremonies of Chow, which are now used, and I follow Chow.”

XXIX.1. He who attains to the sovereignty of the empire, having those three important things, shall be able to effect that there shall be few errors under his government.

2. However excellent may have been the regulations of those of former times, they cannot be attested. Not being attested, they cannot command credence, and not being credited, the people would not follow them. However excellent might be the regulations made by one in an inferior situation, he is not in a position to be honoured. Unhonoured, he cannot command credence, and not being credited, the people would not follow his rules.

3. Therefore, the institutions of the Ruler are rooted in his own character and conduct, and sufficient attestation of them is given by the masses of the people. He examines them by comparison with those of the three kings, and finds them without mistake. He sets them up before heaven and earth, and finds nothing in them contrary to their mode of operation. He presents himself with them before spiritual beings, and no doubts about them arise. He is prepared to wait for the rise of a sage, a hundred ages after, and has no misgivings.

4. His presenting himself with his institutions before spiritual beings, without any doubts about them arising, shows that he knows Heaven. His being prepared, without any misgivings, to wait for the rise of a sage, a hundred ages after, shows that he knows men.

5. Such being the case, the movements of such a ruler, illustrating his institutions, constitute an example to the empire for ages. His acts are for ages a law to the empire. His words are for ages a lesson to the empire. Those who are far from him, look longingly for him; and those who are near him, are never wearied with him.

6. It is said in the Book of Poetry,—“Not disliked there, not tired of here, from day to day and night to night, will they perpetuate their praise.” Never has there been a ruler, who did not realize this description, that obtained an early renown throughout the empire.

XXX.1. Chung-ne handed down the doctrines of Yaou and Shun, as if they had been his ancestors, and elegantly displayed the regulations of Wăn and Woo, taking them as his model. Above, he harmonized with the times of heaven, and below, he was conformed to the water and land.

2. He may be compared to heaven and earth, in their supporting and containing, their overshadowing and curtaining, all things. He may be compared to the four seasons in their alternating progress, and to the sun and moon in their successive shining.

3. All things are nourished together without their injuring one another. The courses of the seasons, and of the sun and moon, are pursued without any collision among them. The smaller energies are like river currents; the greater energies are seen in mighty transformations. It is this which makes heaven and earth so great.

XXXI.1. It is only he, possessed of all sagely qualities, that can exist under heaven, who shows himself quick in apprehension, clear in discernment, of far-reaching intelligence and all-embracing knowledge, fitted to exercise rule; magnanimous, generous, benign, and mild, fitted to exercise forbearance; impulsive, energetic, firm, and enduring, fitted to maintain a firm hold; self-adjusted, grave, never swerving from the Mean, and correct, fitted to command reverence; accomplished, distinctive, concentrative, and searching, fitted to exercise discrimination.

2. All-embracing is he and vast, deep and active as a fountain, sending forth in their due seasons his virtues.

3. All-embracing and vast, he is like heaven. Deep and active as a fountain, he is like the abyss. He is seen, and the people all reverence him; he speaks, and the people all believe him; he acts, and the people are all pleased with him.

4. Therefore, his fame overspreads the Middle kingdom, and extends to all barbarous tribes. Wherever ships and carriages reach; wherever the strength of man penetrates; wherever the heavens and the earth sustains; wherever the sun and moon shine; wherever frosts and dews fall:—all who have blood and breath unfeignedly honour and love him. Hence it is said,—“He is the equal of Heaven.”

XXXII.1. It is only the individual possessed of the most entire sincerity that can exist under heaven, who can adjust the great invariable relations of mankind, establish the great fundamental virtues of humanity, and know the transforming and nurturing operations of Heaven and Earth;—shall this individual have any being or anything beyond himself on which he depends?

2. Call him man in his ideal, how earnest is he! Call him an abyss, how deep is he! Call him Heaven, how vast is he!

3. Who can know him, but he who is indeed quick in apprehension, clear in discernment, of far-reaching intelligence, and all-embracing knowledge, possessing all heavenly virtue?

XXXIII.1. It is said in the Book of Poetry, “Over her embroidered robe she puts a plain, single garment,” intimating a dislike to the display of the elegance of the former. Just so, it is the way of the superior man to prefer the concealment of his virtue, while it daily becomes more illustrious, and it is the way of the mean man to seek notoriety, while he daily goes more and more to ruin. It is characteristic of the superior man, appearing insipid, yet never to produce satiety; while showing a simple negligence, yet to have his accomplishments recognized; while seemingly plain, yet to be discriminating. He knows how what is distant lies in what is near. He knows where the wind proceeds from. He knows how what is minute becomes manifested. Such an one, we may be sure, will enter into virtue.

2. It is said in the Book of Poetry, “Although the fish sinks and lies at the bottom, it is still quite clearly seen.” Therefore, the superior man examines his heart, that there may be nothing wrong there, and that he may have no cause for dissatisfaction with himself. That wherein the superior man cannot be equalled is simply this,—his work which other men cannot see.

3. It is said in the Book of Poetry, “Looked at in your apartment, be there free from shame, where you are exposed to the light of heaven.” Therefore, the superior man, even when he is not moving, has a feeling of reverence, and while he speaks not, he has the feeling of truthfulness.

4. It is said in the Book of Poetry, “In silence is the offering presented, and the spirit approached to; there is not the slightest contention.” Therefore, the superior man does not use rewards, and the people are stimulated to virtue. He does not show anger, and the people are awed more than by hatchets and battle-axes.

5. It is said in the Book of Poetry, “What needs no display is virtue. All the princes imitate it. Therefore, the superior man being sincere and reverential, the whole world is conducted to a state of happy tranquillity.

6. It is said in the Book of Poetry, “I regard with pleasure your brilliant virtue, making no great display of itself in sounds and appearances.” The Master said, “Among the appliances to transform the people, sounds and appearances are but trivial influences. It is said in another ode, ‘Virtue is light as a hair.’ Still, a hair will admit of comparison as to its size. ‘The doings of the supreme Heaven have neither sound nor smell.’—That is perfect virtue.”

john childs and son, printers.

[1. ]The illustration of illustrious virtue. 1. See the Shoo-king, Pt V. Bk ix. 3. The words are part of the address of King Woo to his brother Fung, called also K‘ang-shuh, on appointing him to the marquisate of Wei. The subject is King Wăn, to whose example K‘ang-shuh is referred. 2. See the Shoo-king, Pt IV. Bk V. i. 2. The sentence is part of the address of the premier, E Yin, to T‘ae-keă, the second emperor of the Shang dynasty, bc 1752—1718. The subject of “contemplated” is T‘ae-kea’s grandfather, the great T‘ang. 3. See the Shoo-king, Pt I. 2. It is of the Emperor Yaou that this is said.

[2. ]The renovation of the people. Here the character “new,” “to renovate,” occurs five times, and it was to find something corresponding to it at the commencement of the work, which made the Ch‘ing change the old text. But the terms here have nothing to do with the renovation of the people. This is self-evident in the first and third paragraphs. The heading of the chapter, as above, is a misnomer. 1. This fact about T‘ang’s bathing-tub had come down by tradition. At least, we do not now find the mention of it anywhere but here. It was customary among the ancients, as it is in China at the present day, to engrave, all about them, on the articles of their furniture, such moral aphorisms and lessons. 2. See the Book quoted, p. 7, where K‘ang-shuh is exhorted to assist the emperor “to settle the decree of Heaven, and to make the bad people of Yin into good people, or to stir up the new people,” i.e., new, as recently subjected to Chow. 3. See the She-king, Pt III. Bk I. i. 1. The subject of the ode is the praise of King Wăn, whose virtue led to the possession of the empire by his house, more than a thousand years after its first rise. 3. The “superior man” is here the man of rank and office probably, as well as the man of virtue; but I do not, for my own part, see the particular relation of this to the preceding paragraphs, nor the work which it does in relation to the whole chapter.

[3. ]On resting in the highest excellence. 1. See the She-king, Pt IV. Bk III. iii. 4. The ode celebrates the rise and establishment of the Shang or Yin dynasty. A thousand le around the capital constituted the imperial demesne. The quotation shows, according to Choo He, that “everything has the place where it ought to rest.” But that surely is a very sweeping conclusion from the words. 2. See the She-king, Pt II. Bk VIII. vi. 2, where we have the complaint of a down-trodden man, contrasting his position with that of a bird. “The yellow bird” is known by a variety of names. It seems to be a species of oriole. The “Master said,” is worthy of observation. If the first chapter of the classical text, as Choo He calls it, really contains the words of Confucius, we might have expected it to be headed by these characters. 3. See the She-king, Pt III. Bk I. i. 4. 4. See the She-king, Pt I. Bk V. i. 1. The ode celebrates the virtue of the Duke Woo of Wei, in his laborious endeavours to cultivate his person. The transposition of this paragraph by Choo He to this place does seem unhappy. It ought evidently to come in connection with the work of the seventh chapter. 5. See the She-king, Pt II. Bk I. Sect. I. iv. 3. The former kings are Wăn and Woo, the founders of the Chow dynasty. According to Ying-tă, “this paragraph illustrates the business of having the thoughts sincere.” According to Choo He, it tells that how the former kings renovated the people, was by their resting in perfect excellence, so as to be able, throughout the empire and to future ages, to effect that there should not be a single thing but got its proper place.

[4. ]Explanation of the root and the branches. See the Analects, XII. xiii., from which we understand that the words of Confucius terminate at “no litigations,” and that what follows is from the compiler. According to the old commentators, this is the conclusion of the chapter on having the thoughts made sincere, and that this is the root. But according to Choo He, it is the illustration of illustrious virtue which is the root, while the renovation of the people is the result therefrom. Looking at the words of Confucius, we must conclude that sincerity was the subject in his mind.

[5. ]On the investigation of things, and carrying knowledge to the utmost extent. 1. This is said by one of the Ch‘ing to be “superfluous text.” 2. Choo He considers this to be the conclusion of a chapter which is now lost. But we have seen that the two sentences come in, as the work stands in the Le-ke, at the conclusion of what is deemed the classical text. It is not necessary to add anything here to what has been said there, and in the prolegomena, on the new dispositions of the work from the time of the Sung scholars, and the manner in which Choo He has supplied this supposed missing chapter.

[6. ]On having the thoughts sincere. 1. The sincerity of the thoughts obtains, when they more without effort to what is right and wrong, and, in order to this, a man must be specially on his guard in his solitary moments. 2. An enforcement of the concluding clause in the last paragraph. “His heart and reins,” is, literally, “the lungs and liver,” but with the meaning which we attach to the expression substituted for it. The Chinese make the lungs the seat of righteousness, and the liver the seat of benevolence. 3. The use of “Tsăng the philosopher” at the beginning of this paragraph (and extending, perhaps, over to the next) should suffice to show that the whole work is not his, as assumed by Choo He. “Ten” is a round number put for many. The recent commentator, Lo Chung-fan, refers Tsăng’s expressions to the multitude of spiritual beings, servants of Heaven or God, who dwell in the regions of the air, and are continually beholding men’s conduct. But they are probably only an emphatic way of exhibiting what is said in the preceding paragraph. 4. This paragraph is commonly referred to Tsăng Sin, but whether correctly so or not cannot be positively affirmed. It is of the same purport as the two preceding, showing that hypocrisy is of no use. Compare Mencius, VII. Pt. I. xxi. 4. It is only the first of these paragraphs from which we can in any way ascertain the views of the writer on making the thoughts sincere. The other paragraphs contain only illustration or enforcement. Now, the gist of the first paragraph seems to be in “allowing no self-deception.” After knowledge has been carried to the utmost, this remains to be done, and it is not true that, when knowledge has been completed, the thoughts become sincere. This fact overthrows Choo He’s interpretation of the vexed passages in what he calls the text of Confucius. Let the student examine his note appended to this chapter, and he will see that Choo was not unconscious of this pinch of the difficulty.

[7. ]On personal cultivation as dependent on the rectification of the mind.

[8. ]The necessity of cultivating the person, in order to the regulation of the family. The lesson here is evidently, that men are continually falling into error, in consequence of the partiality of their feelings and affections. How this error affects their personal cultivation, and interferes with the regulating of their families, is not specially indicated.

[9. ]On regulating the family as the means to the well-ordering of the state. 1. There is here implied the necessity of self-cultivation to the rule, both of the family and of the State; and that being supposed to exist, it is shown how the virtues that secure the regulation of the family have their corresponding virtues in the wider sphere of the State. 2. See the Shoo-king. Pt V. Bk IX. 9. Both in the Shoo-king and here, some verb, like act, must be supplied. This paragraph seems designed to show that the ruler must be carried on to his object by an inward, unconstrained feeling, like that of the mother for her infant. Lo Chung-fan insists on this as harmonizing with “to love the people,” as the second object proposed in the Great Learning. 3. How certainly and rapidly the influence of the family extends to the State. The “one man” is the ruler. “I, the one man,” is a way in which the emperor speaks of himself, see Analects XX. i. 5. 4. An illustration of the last part of the last paragraph. But from the examples cited, the sphere of influence is extended from the State to the empire, and the family, moreover, does not intervene between the empire and the ruler. 6. See the She-king, Pt I. Bk I. vi. 3. The ode celebrates the wife of King Wan and the happy influence of their family government. 7. See the She-king, Pt II. Bk II. ix. 3. The ode was sung at entertainments, when the emperor feasted the princes. It celebrates their virtues. 8. See the She-king, Pt I. Bk XIV. iii. 3. It celebrates, according to Choo He the praises of some keun-tsze, or ruler.

[10. ]On the well-ordering of the state and making the whole empire peaceful and happy. The key to this chapter is in the phrase “a measuring square,” the principle of reciprocity, the doing to others as we would that they should do to us, though here, as elsewhere, it is put forth negatively. It is implied in the fifth paragraph of the last chapter, but it is here discussed at length, and shown in its highest application. The following analysis of the chapter is translated freely from a native work;—“This chapter explains the well-ordering of the State, and the tranquillization of the empire. The greatest stress is to be laid on the phrase—the measuring square. That, and the expression in the general commentary—loving and hating what the people love and hate, and not thinking only of the profit, exhaust the teaching of the chapter. It is divided into five parts. The first, embracing the two first paragraphs, teaches, that the way to make the empire tranquil and happy is in the principle of the measuring square. The second part embraces three paragraphs, and teaches that the application of the measuring square is seen in loving, and hating, in common sympathy with the people. The consequences of losing and gaining are mentioned for the first time in the fourth paragraph to wind up the chapter so far, showing that the decree of Heaven goes or remains, according as the people’s hearts are lost or gained. The third part embraces eight paragraphs, and teaches that the most important result of loving and hating in common with the people is seen in making the root the primary subject, and the branch only secondary. Here, in paragraph eleven, mention is again made of gaining and losing, illustrating the meaning of the quotation in it, and showing that to the collection of dissipation of the people the decree of Heaven is attached. The fourth part consists of five paragraphs, and exhibits the extreme results of loving and hating, as shared with the people, or on one’s own private feeling, and it has special reference to the sovereign’s employment of ministers, because there is nothing in the principle more important than that. The nineteenth paragraph speaks of gaining and losing, for the third time, showing that from the fourth paragraph downwards, in reference both to the hearts of the people and the decree of Heaven, the application or nonapplication of the principle of the measuring square depends on the mind of the sovereign. The fifth part embraces the other paragraphs. Because the root of the evil of a sovereign’s not applying that principle, lies in his not knowing how wealth is produced, and employs mean men for that object, the distinction between righteousness and profit is here much insisted on, the former bringing with it all advantages, and the latter leading to all evil consequences. Thus the sovereign is admonished, and it is seen how to be careful of his virtue is the root of the principle of the measuring square; and his loving and hating, in common sympathy with the people, is its reality.”

1. There is here no progress of thought, but a repetition of what has been insisted on in the two last chapters. But it having been seen that the ruler’s example is so influential, it follows that the minds of all men are the same in sympathy and tendency. He has then only to take his own mind, and measure therewith the minds of others. If he act accordingly, the grand result—the empire tranquil and happy—will ensue. 2. A lengthened description of the principle of reciprocity. 3. See the She-king, Pt II. Bk II. v. 3. The ode is one that was sung at festivals, and celebrates the virtues of the princes present. 4. See the She-king, Pt II. Bk IV. vii. 1. The ode complains of the Emperor Yew, for his employing unworthy ministers. 5. See the She-king, Pt III. Bk I. i. 6. The ode is supposed to be addressed to King Ch‘ing, to stimulate him to imitate the virtues of his grandfather Wăn. “Yin.”=“the sovereigns of the Yin dynasty.” The capital of the Shang dynasty was changed to Yin by P‘wan-kang, bc 1400, after which the dynasty was so denominated. 6. “Virtue” here, according to Choo He, is the “illustrious virtue” at the beginning of the book. His opponents say that it is the exhibition of virtue; that is, of filial piety, brotherly submission, &c. This is more in harmony with the first paragraph of the chapter. 10. The “words” are to be understood of governmental orders and enactments. Our proverb—“Goods ill-gotten go ill-spent” might be translated by the characters in the text. 11. See the Book quoted, p. 23. 12. The Book of Ts‘oo is found in the “Narratives of the States,” a collection purporting to be of the Chow dynasty, and, in relation to the other States, what Confucius’ “Spring and Autumn” is to Loo. The exact words of the text do not occur, but they could easily be constructed from the narrative. An officer of Ts‘oo being sent on an embassy to Tsin, the minister who received him asked about a famous girdle of Ts‘oo, how much it was worth. The officer replied that his country did not look on such things as its treasures, but on its able and virtuous ministers. 13. “Uncle Fan:” that is, uncle to Wăn, the duke of Ts‘in. See Analects XIV. xvi. Wăn is the “fugitive.” In the early part of his life he was a fugitive, and suffered many vicissitudes of fortune. Once, the duke of Ts‘in having offered to help him, when he was in mourning for his father who had expelled him, to recover Tsin, his uncle Fan gave the reply in the text. The that in the translation refers to “getting the kingdom.” 14. “The declaration of the duke of Ts‘in is the last book in the Shoo-king. It was made by one of the dukes of Ts‘in to his officers, after he had sustained a great disaster, in consequence of neglecting the advice of his most faithful minister. Between the text here, and that which we find in the Shoo-king, there are some differences, but they are unimportant. 17. This is spoken of the ruler not having respect to the common feelings of the people in his employment of ministers, and the consequences thereof to himself. 18. This paragraph speaks generally of the primal cause of gaining and losing, and shows how the principle of the measuring square must have its root in the ruler’s mind. The great course is explained by Choo He as—“the art of occupying the throne, and therein cultivating himself and governing others.” Ying-tă says it is—“the course by which he practises filial piety, fraternal duty, benevolence, and righteousness.” 19. This is understood by K‘ang-shing as requiring the promotion of agriculture; and that is included, but does not exhaust the meaning. The consumers are the salaried officers of the government. The sentiment of the whole is good;—where there is cheerful industry in the people, and an economical administration of the government, the finances will be flourishing. 20. The sentiment here is substantially the same as in paragraphs seven and eight. The old interpretation is different:—“The virtuous man uses his wealth so as to make his person distinguished. He who is not virtuous, toils with his body to increase his wealth.” 21. This shows how the people respond to the influence of the ruler, and that benevolence, even to the scattering of his wealth on the part of the latter, is the way to permanent prosperity and wealth. 22. Heen was the honorary epithet of Chung-sun Meĕ, a worthy minister of Loo, under the two dukes, who ruled before the birth of Confucius. His sayings, quoted here, were preserved by tradition or recorded in some work which is now lost. On a scholar’s being first called to office, he was gifted by his prince with a carriage and four horses. He was then supposed to withdraw from petty ways of getting wealth. The high officers of a State kept ice for use in their funeral rites and sacrifices.

[* ]The title of the work.—Chung Yung. “The Doctrine of the Mean.” It is hardly possible amid the conflicting views of native scholars, and the various meanings of which the terms are capable, to decide categorically on the exact force of the terms in the title. The Work treats of the human mind:—in its state of chung, absolutely correct, as it is in itself, and in its state of harmony, acting ad extra, according to its correct nature.—In the version of the Work, given in the collection of “Mémoires concernant l’histoire, les sciences, &c., des Chinois,” vol. I., it is styled—“Juste Milieu.” Remusat calls it “L‘invariable Milieu,” after Ch‘ing E. Intorcetta, and his coadjutors, call it—“Medium constans vel sempiternum.” The book treats, they say, “Demedio sempiterno,sive de aurea mediocritateilla, quæ est, ut ait Cicero, inter nimium et parvum, constanter et omnibus in rebus tenenda.” Morrison says. “Chung Yung, the constant (golden) medium.” Collie calls it—“The golden medium.” The objection which I have to all these names is, that from them it would appear as if the first term were a noun, and the other a qualifying adjective, whereas they are co-ordinate terms.

[1. ] It has been stated, in the prolegomena, that the current division of the Chung Yung into chapters was made by Choo He, as well as their subdivision into paragraphs. The thirty-three chapters, which embrace the work, are again arranged by him in five divisions, as will be seen from his supplementary notes. The first and last chapters are complete in themselves, as the introduction and conclusion of the treatise. The second part contains ten chapters; the third, nine, and the fourth, twelve.

[Par. 1. ]The principles of duty have their root in the evidenced will of Hearen, and their full exhibition in the teaching of sages. What is taught seems to be this—To man belongs a moral nature, conferred on him by Heaven or God, by which he is constituted a law to himself. But as he is prone to deviate from the path in which, according to his nature, he should go, wise and good men—sages—have appeared, to explain and regulate this, helping all by their instructions to walk in it.

[Par. 2. ]The path indicated by the nature may never be left, and the superior man—he who would embody all principles of right and duty—exercises a most sedulous care that he may attain thereto.

[Par. 3. ] It seems to me that the secrecy here must be in the recesses of one’s own heart, and the minute things, the springs of thought and stirrings of purpose there. The full development of what is intended here is probably to be found in all the subsequent passages about “sincerity.”

[Par. 4. ] “This,” says Choo He, “speaks of the virtue of the nature and passions, to illustrate the meaning of the statement that the path may not be left.” It is difficult to translate the paragraph, because it is difficult to understand it.

[Par. 5. ] On this Intorcetta and his colleagues observe:—“Quis non videt eo dumtaxat collimasse philosophum, ut hominis naturam, quam ab origine sua rectam, sed deinde lapsam et depravatam passim Sinenses docent, ad primæium innocentiæ statum reducere? Atque ita reliquas res creatas, homini jam rebelles, et in ejusdem ruinam armatas, ad pristinum obsequium veluti revocaret. Hoc f. I. s. I. libri Ta Heŏ, hoc item hic et alibi non semel indicat. Etsi autem nesciret philosophus nos a prima felicitate propter peccatum primi parentis excidisse, tamen et tot rerum quæ adversantvr et infestæ sunt homini, et ipsius naturæ humanæ ad deteriora tam pronæ, longo usu et contemplatione didicisse videtur, non posse hoc universum, quod homo vitiatus quodam modo vitiarat, connaturali suæ integritatvet ordini restitui, nisi prius ipse homo per victoriam sui ipsius, eam, quam amiserat, integritatem et ordinem recuperaret.” I fancied something of the same kind, before reading their note. According to Choo He, the paragraph describes the Work and influence of sage and spiritual men in the highest issues. The subject is developed in the fourth part of the Work, in very extravagant and mystical language. The study of it will modify very much our assent to the views in the above passage. There is in this whole chapter a mixture of sense and mysticism,—of what may be grasped, and what tantalizes and eludes the mind.

[** ]Concluding note. The writer Yang, quoted here, was a distinguished scholar and author in the reign of Ying-Tsung, ad 1064-1085. He was a disciple of Ch‘ing Haou, and a friend both of him and his brother, E.

[2. ]Only the superior man can follow the Mean; the mean man is always violating it. 1. Why Confucius should here be quoted by his designation, or marriage name, is a moot-point. It is said by some that disciples might in this way refer to their teacher, and a grandson to his grandfather, but such a rule is constituted probable on the strength of this instance, and that in chapter xxx. Others say that it is the honorary designation of the sage, and = the “Father ne,” which Duke Gae used in reference to Confucius, in eulogizing him after his death. See the Le-ke, II. Pt I. iii. 43. This, and the ten chapters which follow, all quote the words of Confucius with reference to the Chung-yung, to explain the meaning of the first chapter, and “though there is no connection of composition between them,” says Choo He, “they are all related by their meaning.”

[3. ]The rarity, long existing in Confucius’ time, of the practice of the mean. See the Analects VI. xxvii. K‘ang-shing and Ying-tă take the last clause as=“few can practise it long.” But the view in the translation is better.

[4. ]How it was that few were able to practise the Mean. 2. We have here not a comparison, but an illustration which may help to an understanding of the former paragraph, though it does not seem very apt. People don’t know the true flavour of what they eat and drink, but they need not go beyond that to learn it. So, the Mean belongs to all the actions of ordinary life, and might be discerned and practised in them, without looking for it in extraordinary things.

[5. ] Choo He says:—“From not being understood, therefore it is not practised.” According to K‘ang-shing, the remark is a lament that there was no intelligent sovereign to teach the path. But the two views are reconcileable.

[6. ]How Shun pursued the course of the Mean. This example of Shun, it seems to me, is adduced in opposition to the knowing of chapter iv. Shun, though a sage, invited the opinions of all men, and found truth of the highest value in their simplest sayings, and was able to determine from them the course of the Mean. “The two extremes,” are understood by K‘ang-shing of the two errors of exceeding and coming short of the Mean. Choo He makes them—“the widest differences in the opinions which he received.” I conceive the meaning to be that he examined the answers which he got, in their entirety, from beginning to end. Compare Analects IX. vii. His concealing what was bad, and displaying what was good, was alike to encourage people to speak freely to him. K‘ang-shing makes the last sentence to turn on the meaning of Shun when applied as an honorary epithet of the dead, = “Full, all-accomplished,” but Shun was so named when he was alive.

[7. ]Their contrary conduct shows men’s ignorance of the course and nature of the Mean. The first “We are wise” is to be understood with a general reference,—“We are wise,” i.e., we can very well take care of ourselves. Yet the presumption of such a profession is seen in men’s not being able to take care of themselves. The application of this illustration is then made to the subject in hand, the second “We are wise,” being to be specially understood, with reference to the subject of the Mean. The conclusion in both parts is left to be drawn by the reader for himself.

[8. ]How Hwuy held fast the course of the Mean. Here the example of Hwuy is likewise adduced in opposition to those mentioned in chapter iv.

[9. ]The difficulty of attaining to the course of the Mean. “The empire,” we should say—“empires,” but the Chinese know only of one empire, and hence this name, “all under heaven,” for it. The empire is made up of States, and each State, of Families. See the Analects V. vii.; XII. xx.

[10. ]On forcefulness in its relation to the Mean. In the Analects we find Tsze-loo, on various occasions, putting forward the subject of his valour, and claiming, on the ground of it, such praise as the Master awarded to Hwuy. We may suppose, with the old interpreters, that hearing Hwuy commended, as in chapter viii., he wanted to know whether Confucius would not allow that he also could, with his forceful character, seize and hold fast the Mean, 1. I have ventured to coin the term “forcefulness.” Choo He defines the original term correctly—“the name of strength, sufficient to overcome others.” 3. That climate and situation have an influence on character is not to be denied, and the Chinese notions on the subject may be seen in the amplification of the ninth of K‘ang-he’s celebrated maxims. But to speak of their effects, as Confucius here does, is extravagant. The barbarism of the south, according to the interpretation mentioned above, could not have been described by him in these terms. The forcefulness of mildness and forbearance, thus described, is held to come short of the Mean: and therefore “the good man” is taken with a low and light meaning, far short of what it has in paragraph five. 4. This forcefulness of the north, it is said, is in excess of the Mean, and the “therefore,” at the beginning of paragraph five, = “these two kinds of forcefulness being thus respectively in defect and excess.” This illustrates the forcefulness which is in exact accord with the Mean, in the individual’s treatment of others, in his regulation of himself, and in relation to public affairs.

[11. ]Only the sage can come up to the requirements of the Mean. 3. The name Keun-tsze has here its very highest signification, and = the “sage,” in the last clause. It will be observed how Confucius declines saying that he had himself attained to this highest style.—“With this chapter,” says Choo He, “the quotations by Tsze-sze of the Master’s words, to explain the meaning of the first chapter, stop. The great object of the work is to set forth wisdom, benevolent virtue, and valour, as the three grand virtues whereby entrance is effected into the path of the Mean, and therefore, at its commencement, they are illustrated by reference to Shun, Yen Yuen, and Tsze-loo, Shun possessing the wisdom, Yen Yuen the benevolence, and Tsze-loo the valour. If one of these virtues be absent, there is no way of advancing to the path, and perfecting the virtue. This will be found fully treated of in the twentieth chapter.” So, Choo He. The student forming a judgment for himself, however, will not see very distinctly any reference to these cardinal virtues. The utterances of the sage illustrate the phrase Chung-Yung, showing that the course of the Mean had fallen out of observance, some overshooting it, and others coming short of it. When we want some precise directions how to attain to it, we come finally to the conclusion that only the sage is capable of doing so. We greatly want teaching more practical and precise.

[12. ]The course of the Mean reaches far and wide, but yet is secret. With this chapter the third part of the work commences and the first sentence may be regarded as its text. Mysteries have been found in the terms of it; but I believe that the author simply intended to say, that the way of the superior man reaching everywhere,—embracing all duties,—yet had its secret spring and seat in the Heaven-gifted nature, the individual consciousness of duty in every man. 2. I confess to be all at sea in the study of this paragraph. Choo He quotes from the scholar How, that what the superior man fails to know, was exemplified in Confucius having to ask about ceremonies, and about offices; and what he fails to practise, was exemplified in Confucius not being on the throne, and in Yaou and Shun’s being dissatisfied that they could not make every individual enjoy the benefits of their rule. He adds his own opinion, that wherein men complained of Heaven and Earth, was the partiality of their operations in overshadowing and supporting, producing and completing, the heat of summer, the cold of winter, &c. If such things were intended by the writer, we can only regret the vagueness of his language, and the want of coherence in his argument. See the She-king, Pt III. Bk I. v. 3. The ode is in praise of the virtue of King Wăn. The application of the words of the ode does appear strange.

[13. ]The path of the Mean is not far to seek. Each man has the law of it in himself, and it is to be pursued with earnest sincerity. 1. Literally we should read,—“When men practise a course, and wish to be far from men.” The meaning is as in the translation. 2. See the She-king, Pt I. Bk XV. v. 2. The object of the paragraph seems to be to show that the rule for dealing with men, according to the principles of the Mean, is nearer to us than the axe in the hand is to the one which is to be cut down with, and fashioned after, it. The branch is hewn, and its form altered from its natural one. Not so with man. The change in him only brings him to his proper state. 3. Compare Analects, IV. xv. 4. Compare Analects, VII. i., ii., xix., et al. The admissions made by Confucius here are important to those who find it necessary, in their intercourse with the Chinese, to insist on his having been, like other men, compassed with infirmity. It must be allowed, however, that the cases, as put by him, are in a measure hypothetical, his father having died when he was a child. In the course of the paragraph, he passes from speaking of himself by his name, to speak of the keun-tsze, and the change is most naturally made after the last “I have not attained.”

[14. ]How the superior man, in every varying situation, pursues the Mean, doing what is right, and finding his rule in himself.

[15. ]In the practice of the Mean there is an orderly advance from step to step. 2. See the She-king, Pt II. Bk I. iv. 7, 8. The ode celebrates, in a regretful tone, the dependence of brethren on one another, and the beauty of brotherly harmony. Maou says:—“Although there may be the happy union of wife and children, like the music of lutes and harps yet there must also be the harmonious concord of brethren, with its exceeding delight, and then may wife and children be regulated and enjoyed. Brothers are near to us, while wife and children are more remote. Thus it is, that from what is near we proceed to what is remote.” He adds that anciently the relationship of husband and wife was not among the five relationships of society, because the union of brothers is from heaven, and that of husband and wife is from man! 3. This is understood to be a remark of Confucius on the ode. From wife, and children, and brothers, parents at last are reached, illustrating how from what is low we ascend to what is high.—But all this is far-fetched and obscure.

[16. ]An illustration, from the operation and influence of spiritual beings, of the way of the Mean. What is said of the kwei-shin, or “ghosts and spirits”=spiritual beings, in this chapter, is only by way of illustration. There is no design on the part of the sage to develope his views on those beings or agencies. The key of it is to be found in the last paragraph, where the language evidently refers to that of paragraph 3, in chapter i. This paragraph, therefore, should be separated from the others, and not interpreted specially of the kwei-shin. I think that Dr Medhurst, in rendering it (Theology of the Chinese, p. 22)—“How great then is the manifestation of their abstruseness! Whilst displaying their sincerity, they are not to be concealed,” was wrong, notwithstanding that he may be defended by the example of many Chinese commentators. The second clause of paragraph 5 appears altogether synonymous with the “what truly is within will be manifested without,” in the Commentary of the Great Learning, chapter vi. 2, to which chapter we have seen that the whole of chapter i. pp. 2, 3, has a remarkable similarity. However we may be driven to find a recondite, mystical meaning for “sincerity,” in the fourth part of this work, there is no necessityto do so here. With regard to what is said of the kwei-shin, it is only the first two paragraphs which occasion difficulty. In the third paragraph the sage speaks of the spiritual beings that are sacrificed to. The same is the subject of the fourth paragraph; or rather, spiritual beings generally, whether sacrificed to or not, invisible themselves and yet able to behold our conduct. See the She-king, Pt III. Bk IV. ii. 7. The ode is said to have been composed by one of the dukes of Wei, and was repeated daily in his hearing for his admonition. In the context of the quotation, he is warned to be careful of his conduct when alone as when in company. For in truth we are never alone. “Millions of spiritual beings walk the earth,” and can take note of us. What now are the kwei-shin in the first two paragraphs? Are we to understand by them something different from what they are in the third paragraph, to which they run on from the first as the nominative or subject of the verb “to cause”? I think not. The precise meaning of what is said of “their entering into all things,” and “there being nothing without them,” cannot be determined. The old interpreters say that the meaning of the whole is—“that of all things there is not a single thing which is not produced by the breath (or energy) of the kwei-shin.” This is all that we learn from them. The Sung school explain the terms with reference to their physical theory of the universe, derived, as they think, from the Yih-king. Choo He’s master, Ch‘ing, explains:—“The kwei-shin are the energetic operations of Heaven and Earth, and the traces of production and transformation.” The scholar Chang says:—“The kwei-shin are the easily acting powers of the two breaths of nature.” Choo He’s own account is “If we speak of two breaths, then by kwei is denoted the efficaciousness of the secondary or inferior one, and by shin, that of the superior one. If we speak of one breath, then by shin is denoted its advancing and developing, and by kwei, its returning and reverting. They are really only one thing.” It is difficult—not to say impossible—to conceive to one’s-self what is meant by such descriptions. And nowhere else in the Four Books is there an approach to this meaning of the phrase.

Rémusat translates the first paragraph:—“Que les certus des esprits sont sublimes!” His Latin version is:—“spirituum geniorumque est virtus: ea capax!” Intorcetta renders:—“spiritibus inest operativa virtus et efficacitas, et hæc o quam præstans est! quam multiplex! quam sublimis!” In a note, he and his friends say that the dignitary of the empire who assisted them, rejecting other interpretations, understood by kwei-shin here—“those spirits for the veneration of whom and imploring their help, sacrifices were instituted.” Shin signifies “spirits,” “a spirit,” “spirit:” and kwei “a ghost,” or “demon.” The former is used for the animus, or intelligent soul separated from the body, and the latter for the anima, or animal, grosser, soul, so separated. In the text, however, they blend together, and are not to be separately translated. They are together equivalent to shin alone in paragraph four, “spirits,” or “spiritual beings.”

[17. ]The virtue of filial piety, exemplified in Shun as carried to the highest point, and rewarded by Heaven. 1. One does not readily see the connection between Shun’s great filial piety, and all the other predicates of him that follow. The paraphrasts, however, try to trace it in this way:—“A son without virtue is insufficient to distinguish his parents. But Shun was born with all knowledge, and acted without any effort;—in virtue, a sage. How great was the distinction which he thus conferred on his parents!” And so with regard to the other predicate. 2. The whole of this is to be understood with reference to Shun. He died at the age of one hundred years. The word “virtue” takes here the place of “filial piety,” in the last paragraph, according to Maou, because that is the root, the first and chief, of all virtues. 4. See the She-king, Pt III. Bk II. v. 1. The prince spoken of is king Wăn, who is thus brought forward to confirm the lesson taken from Shun. That lesson, however, is stated much too broadly in the last paraagraph. It is well to say that only virtue is a solid title to eminence; but to hold forth the certain attainment of wealth and position as an inducement to virtue is not favourable to morality. The case of Confucius himself, who attained neither to power nor to long life, may be adduced as inconsistent with these teachings.

[18. ]On King Wan, King Woo, and the duke of Chow. 1. Shun’s father was bad, and the fathers of Yaou and Yu were undistinguished, Yaou and Shun’s sons were both bad, and Yu’s not remarkable. But to Wăn neither father nor son gave occasion but for satisfaction and happiness. King Ke was the Duke Ke-leih, the most distinguished by his virtues and prowess of all the princes of his time. He prepared the way for the elevation of his family. 2. King T‘ae—this was the Duke T‘an-foo, the father of Ke-leih, a prince of great eminence, and who, in the decline of the Yin dynasty, drew to his family the thoughts of the people. “He did not lose his distinguished reputation,” that is, though he proceeded against his rightful sovereign, the people did not change their opinion of his virtue. 3. “When old:”—Woo was eighty-seven when he became emperor, and he only reigned seven years. His brother Tan, the duke of Chow (see Analects, VI, xxii., VII. v.), acted as his chief minister. The house of Chow traced their lineage up to the Emperor Kub, bc 2432; but in various passages of the Shoo-king, king T‘ae and king K‘e are spoken of, as if the conference of those titles had been by king Woo. On this there are very long discussions. The truth seems to be, that Chow-kung, carrying out his brother’s wishes by laws of state, confirmed the titles, and made the general rule about burials and sacrifices which is described. From “this rule,” &c., to the end, we are at first inclined to translate in the present tense, but the past with a reference to Chow-kung is more correct. The “year’s mourning” is that principally for uncles and cousins, and it does not extend beyond the great officers, because their uncles, &c., being the subjects of the princes and of the emperor, feelings of kindred must not be allowed to come into collision with the relation of governor and governed. On the “three years’ mourning,” see Analects XVII. xxi.

[19. ]The far-reaching filial piety of King Woo, and of the duke of Chow. 2. This definition of “filial piety” is worthy of notree. Its operation ceases not with the lives of parents and parents’ parents. 3. In spring and autumn; the emperors of China sacrificed, as they still do, to their ancestors every season. Though spring and autumn only are mentioned in the text, we are to understand that what is said of the sacrifices in those seasons applies to all the others. 4. It was an old interpretation that the sacrifices and accompanying services, spoken of here, were not the seasonal services of every year, which are the subject of the preceding paragraph, but the still greater sacrifices (see one of them spoken of in Analects, III. x., xi.); and to that view I would give in my adhesion. The emperor had seven shrines, or apartments, in the hall of the ancestral temple. One belonged to the remote ancestor to whom the dynasty traced its origin. At the great sacrifices, his spirit-tablet was placed fronting the east, and on each side were ranged, three in a row, the tablets belonging to the six others, those of them which fronted the south being, in the genealogical line, the fathers of those who fronted the north. As fronting the south, the region of brilliancy, the former were called chaou, the latter, from the north, the sombre region, were called muh. As the dynasty was prolonged, and successive emperors died, the old tablets were removed, and transferred to what was called the “apartments of displaced shrines,” yet so as that one in the bright line displaced the topmost of the row, and so with the sombre tablets. At the sacrifices, the imperial kindred arranged themselves as they were descended from a “bright” emperor, on the left, and from a “sombre” one, on the right, and thus a genealogical correctness of place was maintained among them. The ceremony of “general pledging” occurred towards the end of the sacrifice. To have anything to do at those services was accounted honourable, and after the emperor had commenced the ceremony by taking “a cup of blessing,” all the juniors presented a similar cup to the seniors, and thus were called into employment. 5. “They occupied their places,” according to K‘ang-shing, is—“ascended their thrones,” according to Choo He it is “trod on—i.e., occupied—their places in the ancestral temple.” On either view, the statement must be taken with allowance. The ancestors of king Woo had not been emperors, and their place in the temples had only been those of princes. The same may be said of the four particulars which follow. By “those whom they”—i.e., their progenitors—“honoured” are intended their ancestors, and by “those whom they loved,” their descendants, and indeed all the people of their government. The two concluding sentences are important, as the Jesuits mainly based on them the defence of their practice in permitting their converts to continue the sacrifices to their ancestors. We read in “Confucius Sinarum philosophus,”—the work of Intorcetta and others, to which I have made frequent reference:—Ex plurimis et clarissimis textibus Sinicis probari potest, legitimum prædicti axiomatis sensum esse, quod eadem intentione et formali motivo Sinenses naturalem pietatem et politicum obsequium erga defunctos exerceant, sicuti erga eosdem adhuc superstites exercebant, ex quibus et ex infra dicendis prudens lector facile deducet, hos ritus circa defunctos fuisse mere civiles, institutos dumtaxat in honorem et obsequium parentum, etiam post mortem non intermittendum; nam si quid illic divinum agnovissent, cur diceret Confucius—Priscos servire solitos defunctis, uti usdem serviebant viventibus.” This is ingenious reasoning, but it does not meet the fact that sacrifice is an entirely new element introduced into the service of the dead. 6. I do not understand how it is that their sacrifices to God are adduced here as an illustration of the filial piety of king Wăn and king Woo. What is said about them, however, is important, in reference to the views which we should form about the ancient religion of China. Both the old interpreters of the Han dynasty and the more eminent among those of the Sung, understand the two sacrifices first spoken of to be those to Heaven and Earth,—the former offered at the winter solstice, in the southern suburb of the imperial city, and the latter offered in the northern suburb, at the summer solstice. They think, however, that for the sake of brevity, the words for “and the sovereign earth,” are omitted after “God,” literally, “supreme ruler.” Some modern interpreters understand that besides the sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, those to tutelary deities of the soil are spoken of. But these various opinions do not affect the judgment of the sage himself, that the service of one being—even of God—was designed by all those ceremonies. See my “Notions of the Chinese concerning God and Spirits,” pp. 50-52.

[20. ]On government: showing principally how it depends on the character of the officers administering it, and how that depends on the character of the sovereign himself. We have here one of the fullest expositions of Confucius’ views on this subject, though he unfolds them only as a description of the government of the kings Wăn and Woo. In the chapter there is the remarkable intermingling, which we have seen in “The Great Learning,” of what is peculiar to a ruler, and what is of universal application. From the concluding paragraphs, the transition is easy to the next and most difficult part of the Work. This chapter is found also in the “Family Sayings,” but with considerable additions.

1. Duke Gae. The old commentators took what I have called an “easily-growing rush” as the name of an insect (so it is defined in the Urh Ya), a kind of bee, said to take the young of the mulberry caterpiller, and keep them in its hole, where they are transformed into bees. So, they said, does government transform the people. This is in accordance with the paragraph, as we find it in the “Family Sayings.” But we cannot hesitate in preferring Choo He’s, as in the translation. The other is too absurd. 5. “Benevolence is man.” We find the same language in Mencius, and in the Le-ke, XXXII. 15. This virtue is called man, “because loving, feeling, and the forbearing nature belong to man, as he is born. They are that whereby man is man.” 6. This has crept into the text here by mistake. It belongs to paragraph 17, below. We do not find it here in the “Family Sayings.” 7. I fail in trying to trace the connection between the different parts of this paragraph. “He may not be without knowing men”—Why? “Because,” we are told, “it is by honouring and being courteous to the worthy, and securing them as friends, that a man perfects his virtue, and is able to serve his relatives.” “He may not be without knowing Heaven”—Why? “Because,” it is said, “the gradations in the love of relatives and the honouring the worthy, are all heavenly arrangements, and a heavenly order, natural, necessary principles.” But in this explanation, “Knowing men” has a very different meaning from what it has in the previous clause. 8. From this down to paragraph 11, there is brought before us the character of the “men,” mentioned in paragraph 2, on whom depends the flourishing of “government,” which government is exhibited in paragraphs (illegible) “The duties of universal obligation” is literally “the paths proper to be trodden by all under heaven”=the path of the Mean. Of the three virtues, the first is the knowledge necessary to choose the detailed course of duty; the second, is “benevolence,” “the unselfishness of the heart”=magnanimity (so I style it for want of a better term), to pursue it, the third is the valiant energy, which maintains the permanence of the choice and the practice. The last clause is, literally. “Whereby they are practised is one,” and this, according to Ying-tă, means—“From the various kings downwards in the practising these five duties, and three virtues, there has been but one method. There has been no change in modern times and ancient.” This, however, is not satistactory. We want a substantive meaning for “one.” This Choo He gives us. He says:—“The one is simply sincerity:” the sincerity, that is, on which the rest of the work dwells with such strange predication. I translate, therefore, the term here by singleness. There seems a reference in the term to the being alone in ch. i. p. 3. The singleness is that of the soul in the apprehension and practice of the duties of the Mean, which is attained to by watchfulness over one’s self, when alone. 9. Compare Analects, XVI. ix. But is there the threefold difference in the knowledge of the duties spoken of? And who are they who can practise them with entire ease? 10. Choo He observes that “The Master said” is here superfluous. In the “Family Sayings,” however, we find the last paragraph followed by—“The duke said, Your words are beautiful and perfect, but I am stupied, and unable to accomplish this.” Then comes this paragraph—“Confueius said,” &c. The words in question, therefore, prove that Tsze-sze took this chapter from some existing document, that which we have in the “Family Sayings,” or some other. Confucius’ words were intended to encourage and stimulate the duke, telling him that the three grand virtues might be nearly if not absolutely, attained to. 11. “These three things” are the three things in the last paragraph, which make an approximation at least to the three virtues which connect with the discharge of duty attainable by every one. What connects the various steps of the climax is the unlimited confidence in the power of the example of the ruler, which we have had occasiou to point out so frequently in “The Great Learning.” 12. These nine standard rules, it is to be borne in mind, constitute the government of Wăn and Woo referred to in paragraph 2. Commentators arrange the fourth and fifth rules under the second, and the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth, under the third, so that after “the cultivation of the person,” we have here an expansion of paragraph 5. By “the men of talents and virtue” are intended the “three Kung” and “three Koo,” who composed the “Inner Council” of the Chow emperors, and by the “great ministers,” the heads of the six departments of their government:—of all of whom there is an account in the Shoo-King, Pt V. Bk XX. 5—13. The emperors of China have always assumed to be the “fathers of the people,” and to deal with them as their children. The eighth rule did not, probably, in Confucius’ mind, embrace any but travelling merchants coming into the imperial domains from the other States of the empire; but in modern times it has been construed as the rule for the treatment of foreigners by the government of China,—which, moreover, would affirm that it has observed it. 13. This paragraph describes the happy effects of observing the above nine rules. We read in the “Daily Lessons.” “About these nine rules, the only trouble is, that sovereigns are not able to practise them strenuously. Let the ruler be really able to cultivate his person, then will the universal duties and universal virtues be all-complete so that he shall be an example to the whole empire with its States and families. Those duties will be set up, and men will know what to imitate.” On “the resources of expenditure being ample,” Choo He says:—“The resort of all classes of artisans being encouraged, there is an intercommunication of the productions of labour, and an interchange of men’s services, and the husbandman and the trafficker are aiding to one another. Hence the resources for expenditure are sufficient.” I suppose that Choo He felt a want of some mention of agriculture in connection with these rules, and thought to find a place for it here. 14. After “The whole empire is brought to revere him,” we have in the “Family Sayings.” “The duke said, How are these rules to be practised?” and then follows this paragraph, preceded by “Confucius said.” The blending together, in the first clause, as equally important, attention to inward purity and to dress, seems strange enough to a western reader. The trials and examinations, with the rations spoken of in the seventh clause, show that the artisans are not to be understood of such dispersed among the people, but as collected under the superintendence of the government. Ambassadors from foreign countries have been received up to the present century, according to the rules in the eighth clause, and the two last regulations are quite in harmony with the moral and political superiority that China claims over the countries which they may represent. But in the case of travellers, and travelling merchants, passing from one State to another, there were anciently regulations, which may be adduced to illustrate all the expressions here. 16. The “all things” is to be understood with reference to the universal duties, the universal virtues, and the nine standard rules. 17. The object of this paragraph seems to be to show that the singleness, or sincerity, lies at the basis of that previous preparation, which is essential to success in any and every thing. The steps of the climax conduct us to it as the mental state necessary to all virtues, and this sincerity is again made dependent on the understanding of what is good, upon which point see the next chapter. 19. There are here described the different processes which lead to the attainment of sincerity. 20. Here we have the determination which is necessary in the prosecution of the above processes, and paragraph 21 states the result of it. Choo He makes a pause at the end of the first clause in each part of the paragraph, and interprets thus:—“If he do not study, well. But if he do, he will not give over till he understands what he studies,” and so on. But it seems more natural to carry the supposition over the whole of every part, as in the translation, which moreover substantially agrees with Ying-tă’s interpretation. Here terminates the third part of the Work. It was to illustrate, as Choo He told us, how “the path of the Mean cannot be left.” The author seems to have kept this point before him in chapters xiii.—xvi., but the next three are devoted to the one subject of filial piety, and the twentieth, to the general subject of government. Some things are said worthy of being remembered, and others which require a careful sifting but, on the whole, we do not find ourselves advanced in an understanding of the argument of the Work.

[21. ]The reciprocal connection of sincerity and intelligence. With this chapter commences the fourth part of the Work which, as Choo observes in his concluding note is an expansion of the eighteenth paragraph of the preceding chapter. It is, in a great measure, a glorification of the sage, finally resting in the person of Confucius: but the high character of the sage, it is maintained, is not unattainable by others. He realizes the ideal of humanity, but by his example and lessons the same ideal is brought within the reach of many, perhaps of all. The ideal of humanity,—the perfect character belonging to the sage, which ranks him on a level with Heaven,—is indicated by a single character, and we have no single term in English which can be considered as the complete equivalent of it. The Chinese themselves had great difficulty in arriving at that definition of it which is now generally acquiesced in. We are told that “the Han scholars were all ignorant of its meaning. Under the Sung dynasty, first came Le Pang-Chih, who defined it by freedom from all deception. After him, Seu Chung-Keu said that it meant ceaselessness. Then one of the Ch‘ing called it freedom from all moral error; and finally, Choo He added to this the positive element of truth and reality, on which the definition of the term was complete.” Rémusat calls it—la perfection, and “la perfection morale.” Intorcetta and his friends call it—vera solidaque perfectio. Simplicity or singleness of soul seems to be what is chiefly intended by the term; the disposition to and capacity of what is good, without any deteriorating element, with no defect of intelligence, or intromission of selfish thoughts. This belongs to Heaven, to Heaven and Earth, and to the sage. Men, not naturally sages, may, by cultivating the intelligence of what is good, raise themselves to this elevation.

Here, at the outset, I may observe that, in this portion of the Work, there are specially the three following dogmas, which are more than questionable:—1st, That there are some men—sages—naturally in a state of moral perfection; 2nd, That the same moral perfection is attainable by others, in whom its development is impeded by their material organization, and the influence of external things; and 3rd, That the understanding of what is good will certainly lead to such moral perfection.

[22. ]The results of sincerity; and how the possessor of it forms a ternion with Heaven and Earth. What I have called “giving full development to the nature,” is, literally, “exhausting the nature,” but, by what processes and in what way, the character tells us nothing. The “giving full development to his nature,” however, may be understood with Maou, as=“pursuing the path in accordance with his nature, so that what Heaven has conferred on him is displayed without shortcoming or let.” The “giving its development to the nature of other men” indicates the sage’s helping them, by his examples and lessons, to perfect themselves. “His exhausting the nature of things,” i. e., of all other beings, animate and inanimate, is, according to Choo He, “knowing them completely, and dealing with them correctly,” “so,” add the paraphrasts, “that he secures their prosperous increase and development according to their nature.” Here, however, a Buddhist idea appears in Choo He’s commentary. He says:—“The nature of other men and things (= animals) is the same with my nature,” which, it is observed in Maou’s work, is the same with the Buddhist sentiment, that “a dog has the nature of Buddha,” and with that of the philosopher Kaou, that “a dog’s nature is the same as a man’s.” Maou himself illustrates the “exhausting the nature of things,” by reference to the Shoo-king, IV. Bk IV. 2, where we are told that under the first sovereigns of the Hea dynasty, “the mountains and rivers all enjoyed tranquillity, and the birds and beasts, the fishes and tortoises, all realized the happiness of their nature. It is thus that the sage “assists Heaven and Earth.” K‘ang-shing, indeed, explains this by saying:—“The sage, receiving Heaven’s appointment to the imperial throne, extends everywhere a happy tranquillity.” Evidently there is a reference in the language to the mystical paragraph at the end of the first chapter. “Heaven and Earth” take the place here of the single term—“Heaven,” in chapter xx., paragraph 18. On this Ying-tă observes:—“It is said above, sincerity is the may of Heaven, and here mention is made also of Earth. The reason is, that the reference above, was to the principle of sincerity in its spiritual and mysterious origin, and thence the expression simple.—The may of Heaven; but here we have the transformation and nourishing seen in the production of things, and hence Earth is associated with Heaven.” This is not very intelligible, but it is to bring out the idea of a ternion, that the great, supreme, ruling Power is thus dualized. The original term means “a file of three,” and I employ “ternion” to express the idea, just as we use “quarternion” for a file of four. What is it but blasphemy, thus to file man with the supreme Power?

[23. ]The way of man;—the development of perfect sincerity in those not naturally possessed of it. There is some difficulty here about the term which I have translated shoots. It properly means “crooked.” and, with a bad application, often signifies “deflection from what is straight and right.” Yet it cannot have a bad meaning here, for if it have, the use of it will be, in the connection, unintelligible. One writer uses this comparison:—“Put a stone on a bamboo shoot, or where the shoot would show itself, and it will travel round the stone, and come out crookedly at its side.” So it is with the good nature, whose free development is repressed. It shows itself in shoots, but if they be cultivated and improved, a moral condition and influence may be attained, equal to that of the sage.

[24. ]That entire sincerity can foreknow. “Lucky omens;”—these are intimated by two terms, denoting respectively unusual appearances of things existing in a country, and appearances of things new. “Unlucky omens” are in the same way indicated by two terms, the former being spoken of “prodigies of plants, and of strangely dressed boys singing ballads,” and the latter of prodigious animals. For the milfoil and tortoise, see the Yih-king, Appendix I. xi.; and the notes on the Shoo-king, V. Bk. IV. 20—30. The “four limbs” are by K‘ang-shing interpreted of the feet of the tortoise, each foot being peculiarly appropriate to divination in a particular season. Choo He interprets them of the four limbs of the human body. “Like a spirit” must be left as indefinite in the translation as it is in the text.—The whole chapter is eminently absurd, and gives a character of ridiculousness to all the magniloquent teaching about “entire sincerity.” The foreknowledge attributed to the sage,—the mate of Heaven,—is only a guessing by means of augury, sorcery, and other follies.

[25. ]How from sincerity comes self-completion, and the completion of others and of things. I have had difficulty in translating this chapter, because it is difficult to understand it. We wish that we had the writer before us to question him; but if we had, it is not likely that he would be able to afford us much satisfaction. Persuaded that what he denominates sincerity is a figment, we may not wonder at the extravagance of its predicates. 2. I translate the expansion of this in the “Daily Lesson:”—“All that fill up the space between heaven and earth are things They end and they begin again; they begin and proceed to an end; every change being accomplished by sincerity, and every phenomenon having sincerity unceasingly in it. So far as the mind of man is concerned, if there be not sincerity, then every movement of it is vain and false. How can an unreal mind accomplish real things? Although it may do something, that is simply equivalent to nothing. Therefore, the superior man searches out the source of sincerity, and examines the evil of insincerity, chooses what is good, and firmly holds it fast, so seeking to arrive at the place of truth and reality.” Maou’s explanation is:—“Now, since the reason why the sincerity of spiritual beings is so incapable of being repressed, and why they foreknow, is because they enter into things, and there is nothing without them:—shall there be anything which is without the entirely sincere man, who is as a spirit?” I have given these specimens of commentary, that the reader may, if he can, by means of them, gather some apprehensible meaning from the text.

[26. ]A parallel between the sage possessed of entire sincerity, and Heaven and Earth, showing that the same qualities belong to them. The first six paragraphs show the way of the sage; the next three show the way of Heaven and Earth; and the last brings the two ways together, in their essential nature, in a passage from the She-king. The doctrine of the chapter is liable to the criticisms which have been made on the twenty-second chapter. And, moreover, there is in it a sad confusion of the visible heavens and earth with the immaterial power and reason which govern them; in a word, with God. 1. Choo He is condemned by recent writers for making a new chapter to commence here. Yet the matter is sufficiently distinct from that of the preceding one. Where the “Hence” takes hold of the text above, however, it is not easy to discover. One interpreter says that it indicates a conclusion from all the preceding predicates about sincerity. “Entire sincerity” is to be understood, now in the abstract, now in the concrete. But the fifth paragraph seems to be the place to bring out the personal idea, as I have done. The last predicate is, literally, “without bounds,”= our infinite. Surely it is strange—passing strange—to apply that term in the description of any created being. 7. What I said was the prime idea in “sincerity,” viz., “simplicity,” “singleness of soul,” is very conspicuous here. It surprises us, however, to find Heaven and Earth called “things,” at the same time that they are represented as by their entire sincerity producing all things. 9. This paragraph is said to illustrate the unfathomableness of Heaven and Earth in producing things, showing how it springs from their sincerity, or freedom from doubleness. I have already observed how it is only the material heavens and earth which are presented to us. And not only so;—we have mountains, seas, and rivers, set forth as acting with the same unfathomableness as those entire bodies and powers. The “Complete Digest” says on this:—“The hills and waters are what Heaven and Earth produce, and that they should yet be able themselves to produce other things, shows still more how Heaven and Earth: in the producing of things, are unfathomable.” The confusion and error in such representations are very lamentable.

[27. ]The glorious path of the sage; and how the superior man endeavours to attain to it. The chapter thus divides itself into two parts, one containing five paragraphs, descriptive of the sage, and the other two, descriptive of the superior man, which two appellations are to be here distinguished. 1. “This paragraph,” says Choo He, “embraces the two that follow.” They are, indeed, to be taken as exegetical of it. 3. By the “rules of ceremony,” we are to understand the greater and more general principles of propriety, “such as capping, marriage, mourning, and sacrifice;” and by those of “demeanour” are intended all the minuter observances of those. 300 and 3000 are round numbers. Reference is made to these rules and their minutiæ, to show how, in every one of them, as proceeding from the sage, there is a principle, to be referred to the Heaven-given nature. 4. Compare chapter xx. 2. In “Confucius Sinarum Philosophus,” it is suggested that there may be here a prophecy of the Saviour, and that the writer may have been “under the influence of that spirit by whose moving the Sibyls formerly prophesied of Christ.” There is nothing in the text to justity such a thought.

[28. ]An illustration of the sentence in the last chapter—“In a low situation he is not insubordinate.” There does seem to be a connection of the kind thus indicated between this chapter and the last, but the principal object of what is said here is to prepare the way for the eulogium of Confucius below,—the eulogium of him, a sage without the throne. 1. The different clauses here may be understood generally, but they have a special reference to the general scope of the chapter. Three things are required to give law to the empire: virtue (including intelligence); rank; and the right time. The “ignorant man” is he who wants the virtue; the next is he who wants the rank; and the last clause describes the absence of the right time.—In this last clause, there would seem to be a sentiment which should have given course in China to the doctrine of Progress. 2. This and the two next paragraphs are understood to be the words of Tsze-sze, illustrating the preceding declarations of Confucius. We have here the imperial prerogatives, which might not be usurped. “Ceremonies” are the rules regulating religion and society: “the measures” are the prescribed forms and dimensions of buildings, carriages, clothes, &c. The term translated “characters” is said by Choo He, after K‘ang-shing, to be “the names of the written characters.” But it is properly the form of the character, representing, in the original characters of the language, the figure of the object denoted; and in the text must denote both the form and sound of the character. There is a long and eulogistic note here, in “Confucius Sinarum Philosophus,” on the admirable uniformity secured by these prerogatives throughout the Chinese empire. It was natural for Roman Catholic writers to regard Chinese uniformity with sympathy. But the value, or, rather, no value, of such a system in its formative influence on the characters and institutions of men may be judged, both in the empire of China and in the Church of Rome. 3. “Now” is said with reference to the time of Tsze-sze. The paragraph is intended to account for Confucius’ not giving law to the empire. It was not the time. 4. “Ceremonies or music,”—but we must understand also “the measures” and “characters” in paragraph 2. The paragraph would seem to reduce most emperors to the condition of rois faineants. 5. See the Analects III. ix., xiv., which chapters are quoted here; but in regard to what is said of Sung, with an important variation. This paragraph illustrates how Confucius himself “occupied a low station, without being insubordinate.”

[29. ]An illustration of the sentence in the xxviith chapter—“When he occupies a high situation, he is not proud:” or rather, the sage and his institutions seen in their effect and issue. 1. Different opinions have obtained as to what is intended by the “three important things.” K‘ang-shing says they are “the ceremonies of the three kings,” i.e. the founders of the three dynasties. Hea, Yin, and Chow. This view we may safely reject. Choo He makes them to be the imperial prerogatives, mentioned in the last chapter, paragraph 2. This view may, possibly, be correct. But I incline to the view of the commentator Luh, of the T‘ang dynasty, that they refer to the virtue, station, and time, which we have seen, in the notes on the last chapter, to be necessary to one who would give law to the empire. Maou mentions this view, indicating his own approval of it. 3. By “the Ruler” is intended the emperor sage of paragraph 1. “Attestation of his institutions is given by the masses of the people;” i.e. the people believe in such a ruler, and follow his regulations, thus attesting their adaptation to the general requirements of humanity. “The three kings,” as mentioned above, are the founders of the three dynasties, viz. the great Yu, T‘ang, the Successful, and Wăn and Woo, who are so often joined together, and spoken of as one. I hardly know what to make of “He sets them up before Heaven and Earth.” Choo He says:—“Heaven and Earth here simply mean right reason. The meaning is—I set up my institutions here, and there is nothing in them contradictory to right reason.” This, of course, is explaining the text away. But who can do anything better with it? I interpret “He presents himself with them before spiritual beings” with reference to sacrificial institutions, or the general trial of a sovereign’s institutions by the efficacy of his sacrifice, in being responded to by the various spirits whom he worships. This is the view of Ho Ke-chen, and is preferable to any other I have met with. 6. See the She-king, Pt IV. Bk I. Sect. II. iii. 2. It is a great descent to quote that ode here, however, for it is only praising the feudal princes of Chow. “There” means their own States; and “here” is the imperial court.

[30. ]The eulogium of Confucius, as the beau-ideal of the perfectly sincere man, the sage, making a ternion with Heaven and Earth. 1. Chung-ne—See chapter ii. The various predicates here are explained by K‘ang-shing, and Ying-tă, with reference to the “Spring and Autumn,” making them descriptive of it, but such a view will not stand examination. Chinese writers observe that in what he handed down Confucius began with Yaou and Shun, because the times of Fuh-he and Shin-nung were very remote. Was not the true reason this, that he knew of nothing in China more remote than Yaou and Shun? By “the times of heaven” are denoted the ceaseless regular movement, which appears to belong to the heavens: and by the “water and the land,” we are to understand the earth, in contradistinction from heaven, supposed to be fixed and immovable. The scope of the paragraph is, that the qualities of former sages, of Heaven, and of Earth, were all concentrated in Confucius. 2. “This describes,” says Choo He, “the virtue of the sage.” 3. The wonderful and mysterious course of nature, or—as the Chinese conceive—of the operations of Heaven and Earth, are described to illustrate the previous comparison of Confucius.

[31. ]The eulogium of Confucius continued. Choo He says that this chapter is an expansion of the clause in the last paragraph of the preceding.—“The smaller energies are like river currents.” Even if it be so, it will still have reference to Confucius, the subject of the preceding chapter. K‘ang-shing’s account of the first paragraph is:—“It describes how no one, who has not virtue such as this, can rule the empire, being a lamentation over the fact that while Confucius had the virtue, he did not have the appointment,” that is, of Heaven, to occupy the throne. Maou’s account of the whole chapter is:—“Had it been that Chung-ne possessed the empire, then Chung-ne was a perfect sage. Being a perfect sage, he would certainly have been able to put forth the greater energies, and the smaller energies of his virtue, so as to rule the world, and show himself the coequal of Heaven and Earth, in the manner here described.” Considering the whole chapter to be thus descriptive of Contucius, I was inclined to translate in the past tense,—“It was only he, who could.” &c. Still the author has expressed himself so indefinitely that I have preferred translating the whole, that it may read as the description of the ideal man, who found, or might have found, his realization in Confucius. 1. The sage here takes the place of the man possessed of entire sincerity. Collie translates:—“It is only the most holy man.” Rémusat:—“Il n’y a dans l’univers qu’un saint, qui (illegible) So the Jesuits: “Hic commemorat et commendat summesanctivirtutes.” But holiness and sanctity are terms which indicate the humble and pious conformity of human character and life to the mind and will of God. The Chinese idea of the “sage man” is far enough from this. 3. “He is seen;”—with reference, it is said, to “the robes and cap,” the visibilities of the ruler. “He speaks,”—with reference to his “instructions, declarations, orders.” “He acts;”—with reference to his “ceremonies, music, punishments, and acts of government.” 4. This paragraph is the glowing expression of grand conceptions.

[32. ]The eulogium of Confucius concluded. “The chapter,” says Choo He, “expands the clause in the last paragraph of chapter xxix., that the greater energies are seen in mighty transformations.” The sage is here not merely equal to Heaven:—he is another Heaven, an independent being, a God. 1. King and Lun are processes in the manipulation of silk, the former denoting the first separating of the threads, and the latter the subsequent bringing of them together, according to their kinds.—“The great invariabilities of the world.” I translate the expansion of the last clause which is given in “Confucius Sinarum Philosophus:” “The perfectly holy man of this kind, therefore, since he is such and so great, how can it in any way be, that there is anything in the whole universe on which he leans, or in which he inheres or on which he behoves to depend, or to be assisted by it in the first place, that he may afterwards operate?” 2. The three clauses refer severally to the three in the preceding paragraph. The first it speaks of is virtuous humanity in all its dimensions and capacities, existing perfectly in the sage. Of the sage being “a deep.” I do not know what to say. The old commentators interpret the second and third clauses, as if there were an “as” before “deep” and “heaven” against which Choo He reclaims, and justly. In one work we read:—“Heaven and man are not originally two, and man is separate from Heaven only by his having this body. Of their seeing and hearing, their thinking and revolving, their moving and acting, men all say—It is fromme. Every one thus brings out his self, and his smallness becomes known. But let the body be taken away, and all would be Heaven. How can the body be taken away? Simply by subduing and removing that self-having of the ego. This is the taking it away. That being done, so wide and great as Heaven is, my mind is also so wide and great, and production and transformation cannot be separated from me. Hence it is said—How vast is his Heaven.” Into such wandering mazes of mysterious speculation are Chinese thinkers conducted by the text,—only to be lost in them. As it is said, in paragraph 3, that only the sage can know the sage, we may be glad to leave him.

[33. ]The commencement and the completion of a virtuous course. The chapter is understood to contain a summary of the whole Work, and to have a special relation to the first chapter. There, a commencement is made with Heaven, as the origin of our nature, in which are grounded the laws of virtuous conduct. This ends with Heaven, and exhibits the progress of virtue, advancing step by step in man, till it is equal to that of High Heaven. There are eight citations from the Book of Poetry, but to make the passages suit his purpose, the author allegorizes them, or alters their meaning, at his pleasure. Origen took no more license with the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament than Tsze-sze and even Confucius himself do with the Book of Poetry. 1. The first requisite in the pursuit of virtue is, that the learner think of his own improvement, and do not act from a regard to others. See the She-king, Pt I. Bk V. iii. 1. The ode is understood to express the condolence of the people with the wife of the duke of Wei, worthy of, but denied, the affection of her husband. 2. The superior man going on to virtue, is watchful over himself when he is alone. See the She-king, Pt II. Bk IV. viii. 11. The ode appears to have been written by some officer who was bewailing the disorder and misgovernment of his day. This is one of the comparisons which he uses;—the people are like fish in a shallow pond, unable to save themselves by diving to the bottom. The application of this to the superior man, dealing with himself, in the bottom of his soul, so to speak, and thereby realizing what is good and right, is very far-fetched. 3. We have here substantially the same subject as in the last paragraph. The ode is the same which is quoted in chapter xvi. 4, and the citation is from the same stanza of it. We might translate it:

“The house’s leak,” according to Choo He, was the north-west corner of ancient apartments, the spot most secret and retired. But the single panes, in the roofs of Chinese houses, go now by the name, the light of heaven leaking in through them. Looking at the whole stanza of the ode, we must conclude that there is reference to the light of heaven, and the inspection of spiritual beings, as specially connected with the spot intended. 4. The result of the processes described in the two preceding paragraphs. See the She-king, Pt IV. Bk III. ii. 2. The ode describes the imperial worship of T‘ang, the founder of the Shang dynasty. The first clause belongs to the emperor’s act and demeanour; the second to the effect of these on his assistants in the service. They were awed to reverence, and had no striving among themselves. The “hatchet and battle-axe” were anciently given by the emperor to a prince, as symbolic of his investiture with a plenipotent authority to punish the rebellious and refractory. The second instrument is described as a large-handled axe, eight catties in weight. I call it a battle-axe, because it was with one that king Woo despatched the tyrant Chow. 5. The same subject continued. See the She-king. Pt IV. Bk I. Sect I. iv. 3. But in the She-king we must translate,—“There is nothing more illustrious than the virtue of the sovereign, all the princes will follow it.” Tsze-sze puts another meaning on the words, and makes them introductory to the next paragraph. The “superior man” must here be “he who has attained to the sovereignty of the empire,” the subject of chapter xxix. Thus it is that a constant shuffle of terms seems to be going on, and the subject before us is all at once raised to a higher and inaccessible platform. 6. Virtue in its highest degree and influence. See the She-king, Pt III. Bk I. viii. 7. The “I” is God, who announces to king Wăn the reasons why he had called him to execute his judgments. Wăn’s virtue, not sounded nor emblazoned, might come near to the being without display of the last paragraph, but Confucius fixes on the word “great” to show its shortcoming. It had some, though not large exhibition. He therefore quotes again from Pt III. Bk III. vi. 6, though away from the original intention of the words. But it does not satisfy him that virtue should be likened even to a hair. He therefore finally quotes Pt III. Bk I. i. 7, where the imperceptible working of Heaven, in producing the overthrow of the Yin dynasty, is set forth as without sound or smell. That is his highest conception of the nature and power of virtue.