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XV. Pi-Yung

115---The Meaning of Entering the School and Respecting the Teacher (II B. 9a-b).

a.Why is it that anciently a boy enters the Great College ¹ at the age of fifteen? Because at the age of eight he loses his [milk-] teeth, and his [capacity for] apperception begins; he enters [the Junior] School to study writing and arithmetic. Seven and eight make fifteen, [which represents] the completion of [the interaction of] the yin and the yang. Therefore at fifteen [the child] becomes an adolescent, and his understanding becomes clear; he enters the Great College to study the Classical Disciplines ². b.Hsüeh 'to study' means chüeh 'to awake' ³; to awake to what one did not know. Therefore one studies in order to regulate one's nature, concerned [as he is] to transform his emotions; for "an uncut jade will not form a vessel for use, and an uninstructed man will not know the Way" ⁴. Tzŭ-hsia says: "The craftsmen dwell in their workshops to accomplish their art, a Noble Man studies to accomplish his Way" ⁵. Therefore the Ch'ü li says: "At the age of ten one is said to be tender; he is at school" ⁶. The Lun yü says: "At fifteen I had my mind bent on learning; at thirty I stood firm" ⁷. Again: "Highest are those who are born wise, next are those who become wise by learning" ⁸. c.For this reason a man, even if he has a natural aptitude [for wisdom], must always have a teacher. The Lun yü ch'an says: "The Five Emperors [each] appointed a teacher [for themselves], the Three Kings made [of learning] an institution". d.The Chuan says: "Huang-ti had Li Mu as teacher, Chuan-hsü had Lu T'u as teacher, Ti-k'u had Ch'ih-sung-tzŭ as teacher, Ti-yao had Wu-ch'êng-tzŭ as teacher, Ti-shun had Yin Shou as teacher, Yü had Master Kuo as teacher, T'ang had I Yin as teacher, King Wên had Lü Wang as teacher, King Wu had Shang Fu as teacher, the Duke of Chou had Kuo-shu as teacher, Confucius had Lao Tan as teacher" ⁹. e.The Heir of the Son of Heaven and that of a Feudal Lord go out to their teacher as a sign of respect to him, and to honour the Way of the Ancient Kings. The Ch'ü li says: "I have heard that one comes to learn, not that one goes out to teach" ¹⁰. The I says: "It is not I who seeks the young and stupid [to teach them], the young and stupid seek me [to instruct them]" ¹¹. The Wang chih says: "The Junior School was on the south of the Duke's palace to the left of it, the Great College was in the suburb" ¹². Further it says: "The Heir of the King, his [other] sons, the Heirs of the Feudal Lords, the principal sons of the Ducal Ministers, of the Ministers, of the great officers, and of the common officers, all go [to the Junior School and the Great College]" ¹³. f.The Junior School is the building where the 'Classical Arts' ¹⁴ are taught, the Great College is the building where the pi-yung [is situated] and the district archery [is held].

116---A Father does not Teach His Son (II B. 9b-10a).

Why does a father not teach his son himself? Because it would be too intimate [a relation]. In the instruction ¹⁵ of the Way he would have to explain to him minutely such things as the interaction of the yin and the yang, [and connected therewith] that of husband and wife, which are things that ought not be to explained by a father to his son ¹⁶.

117---The Three Kinds of Relationship Between Teacher and Pupil (II B. 10a).

There are three kinds of relationship between teacher and pupil. What is said in the Lun yü: "[Is it not a case for joy when] friends come from distant quarters" ¹⁷ refers to the relation [between teacher and pupil] as friends. When further the Lun yü says: "[Yen] Hui behaved towards me as his father" ¹⁸ [this refers to] the relation [between teacher and pupil] as [if they were] father and son. [Lastly when the pupil] receives his instruction according to the principles between Lord and subject there is [between teacher and pupil] this relation of Lord and subject.

118---The Pi-Yung and the P'an-Kung (II B. 10a-b).

a.Why does the Son of Heaven erect a pi-yung¹⁹? [It is the place where] rites and music are practised, and whence his spiritual influence is proclaimed. b.Pi means pi²⁰ 'jade disk'; it imitates the roundness of the jade disk, which models itself on Heaven. Yung means that it is 'dammed up' yung²¹ with water; it represents [the King's] reforming influence flowing forth. c.Pi [also] means chi²² 'to accumulate'; to accumulate the spiritual power [proceeding from the prevalence] of the Way in all under Heaven. Yung means yung 'to dam'; to dam the vices and evil ²³ in all under Heaven. Therefore it is called pi-yung. d.The Wang chih says: "The Son of Heaven [has a building] called pi-yung, the Feudal Lords [have a building] called p'an-kung" ²⁴. e.On the outside [the pi-yung is] round, so that visitors have the same view of it [from all sides]. Being round outside and square inside it also expresses the idea that one's spiritual power should be [perfect] as a circle, and one's conduct should be square. f.Why is it not called yüan 'round' [-yung], but pi [-yung] ²⁵? It takes its example from the jade disk, which is charged with spiritual power ²⁶. How do we know that it is round? Because it is called pi [-yung]. How do we know that there is water [surrounding it]? The Shih says: "How pleasant is the water of the p'an [-kung], let us gather the cress about it" ²⁷. The Shih hsün says: "[The moat containing] the water is round like a jade disk" ²⁸. g.With the Feudal Lords we speak of p'an-kung because [its size is] half that of the [pi-yung] palace of the Son of Heaven. It means that there should be distinction between the high and the lowly, and that the scope of the reforming influence of a Feudal Lord is smaller. The semi [-circular shape of the p'an-kung] resembles the 'semi-circular jade' huang²⁹. There is only water on the southern side, the region [towards which the subject is to perform his] ritual duties ³⁰. The other [sides] are provided with a dam, called 'dike' yüan³¹. The name of the building indicates the distinction between the high and the lowly; it means [that a Feudal Lord is] not competent to exercise his reforming influence upon all the four quarters. h.Why is it not called p'an-yung? To avoid [the statement] that it simply [represents] half of the measures of the institutions of the Son of Heaven. The Shih says: "Admirable is the Marquis of Lu, making his spiritual power illustrious. When he has built his p'an-kung the Huai barbarians submit to him" ³².

119---The Hsiang and the Hsü (II B. 11a-b).

a.In a district [the school is] called hsiang, in a hamlet [it is] called hsü³³. In the hsiang the meaning of the ritual is studied 'minutely' hsiang³⁴; in the hsü [emphasis is laid on] the 'ranking' hsü³⁵ of old and young. The Li wu ti chi says: "If you, Emperor, [pay attention to] the teaching in the hsiang and the hsü there will be affection between father and son, and distinction between old and young. The orders for enlightenment which you have so beautifully decided upon must [,however,] be followed by [a realization] outwards, so that afterwards [their results] can be placed before the people" ³⁶. [Men by their own knowledge are] not acquainted with [the duty of having] consideration for others, therefore the hsiang and the hsü are erected to give them guidance. b.With regard to the teaching of the people in ancient times, in every hamlet there was a teacher. Those elders in the hamlet who possessed the spiritual power [proceeding from their possession] of the Way were the hamlet's Teachers of the Right ³⁷. Those who followed upon them were the Teachers of the Left ³⁸. They taught the pupils of the hamlet the Way, the disciplines, filial piety, fraternal love, consideration for others, and social duties c.At the beginning of spring ³⁹ [everybody] has to attend to his duties. In the morning [the elders] sit down at the gate of the hamlet; when the younger men ⁴⁰ all have gone out to their work of husbandry they retire; in the evening the same thing happens: when all have returned they retire ⁴¹. When there are those who do not start out and return in time, or are not [otherwise] regular in the morning and in the evening, they [are considered to] have committed a fault. Therefore [the elders are] employed to admonish them with words ⁴² [because otherwise] their hearts would not have anything to rouse them. d.When the crop has been reaped all [the younger men] enter school. Those who possess ability, are of good stuff, and know how to learn, are worth having their hearts opened; even the blunt and stupid people must be distinguished from the beasts, so that they may have knowledge of human relationships. Therefore there are no uninstructed people. Confucius said: "To lead an uninstructed people to war is to throw them away" ⁴³. It means that there are no people left uninstructed.

120---The Ling-T'ai and the Ming-T'ang (II B. 11b-12a).

a.Why has the Son of Heaven a ling-t'ai⁴⁴? It is [the place where] to investigate the nature of Heaven and Man, to observe the unison of the yin and the yang, to study the evidences of the stars and planets, and to gather for the ten thousand things the bounties from ⁴⁵ the limitless primeval [sources]. The Shih says: "[King Wên] plans the commencement of [the building of] the ling-t'ai" ⁴⁶. b.The Son of Heaven erects the ming-t'ang⁴⁷, that he may enter into communication with the spiritual forces, undergo [the influences of] Heaven and Earth, keep the four seasons in the right track, put forth his reforming teachings, honour those who have spiritual power, give due weight to those who walk in the right Way, make illustrious the capable, and reward those who practise good conduct. c.The ming-t'ang is round at the top and square at the bottom. It has eight windows and four doors. It is the building whence the orders of the state proceed, and it is situated south of the capital. d.The top is round in imitation of Heaven, the bottom is square in imitation of Earth. The eight windows represent the Eight Winds, the four doors the Four Seasons; the nine compartments the Nine Provinces, the twelve seats the Twelve Months, the thirty-six single doors the Thirty-six Rains, the seventy-two window-openings the Seventy-two Winds ⁴⁸.

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Published by The Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, © Copyright 2003 by Anne Kinney and the University of Virginia