<Previous Section>	Translation of Chapters I-XLIII TOC Preface to Volume I Preface to Volume II Introduction Appendices Translation of Chapters I-XLIII Fragments of Po Hu T'ung Bibliography Index		<Next Section>

XXIV. The Eight Winds

165---The Periods of the Eight Winds, and the King's Government in Conformity with Them (III A. 20a-21a).

a. What does fêng 'wind' mean? Fêng means mêng "to sprout out' ¹. [The winds] nourish the [ten thousand] things until they have developed into maturity; therein they represent the Eight Trigrams ².

b. The yang arises in the fifth [month], and reaches its extremity in the ninth. [Every] five times nine, [that is] forty-five, days the atmosphere changes, and, changing, becomes wind; [every] blending of the yin with the yang causes wind ³.

c. Forty-five days after the winter-solstice the t'iao wind arrives; t'iao means shêng 'to grow' ⁴. After another forty-five days the ming-shu wind arrives; ming-shu means ying-chung 'to welcome the multitude' ⁵. Again after forty-five days the ch'ing-ming wind arrives; ch'ing-ming means ch'ing-mang 'green luxury' ⁶. Again after forty-five days the ching wind arrives; ching means ta 'great' ⁷; it means that the yang-fluid has grown and become nourishing. Again after forty-five days the liang wind arrives; liang means han 'cold' ⁸; the yin-fluid [begins to] operate. Again after forty-five days the ch'ang-ho wind arrives; ch'ang-ho⁹ means 'to warn for [the time of] harvesting and storing up'. Again after forty-five days the pu-chou wind arrives; pu-chou means pu-chiao 'not intermingled' ¹⁰; it means that the yin and the yang have not yet blended and influenced each other. Again after forty-five days the kuang-mo wind arrives; kuang-mo means ta-mo 'great and vast' ¹¹; it is the beginning of the yang-fluid ¹².

d. Therefore it is said: When the t'iao wind arrives the earth begins to warm up; when the ming-shu wind arrives the ten thousand things germinate; when the ch'ing-ming wind arrives the [ten thousand] things take on a dry appearance; when the ching wind arrives the jujube-shrubs ¹³ bear fruit; when the liang wind arrives the millet ripens; when the ch'ang-ho wind arrives the wheat grows; when the pu-chou wind arrives the insects hibernate; when the kuang-mo wind arrives the ten thousand things lie low.

e. For this reason the King takes his part by conforming himself to them. When the t'iao wind comes he sets free the minor culprits ¹⁴, releasing them out of their prisons ¹⁵. When the ming-shu wind comes he has the frontiers repaired and the fields put in order. When the ch'ing-ming wind comes he distributes money and silk, and gives audience to ¹⁶ the Feudal Lords. When the ching wind comes he raises in rank those who have spiritual power, and enfeoffs the meritorious. When the liang wind comes he gives thank- offerings to the earth for its [display of] spiritual power, and performs sacrifices to the Four Directions ¹⁷. When the ch'ang-ho wind comes he extends the punishments by images ¹⁸, and has the granaries restored ¹⁹. When the pu-chou wind comes he has palaces and houses built, and the city walls repaired. When the kuang-mo wind comes he pronounces capital sentences, and orders imprisonments to be carried out.

<Previous Section>	Translation of Chapters I-XLIII TOC Preface to Volume I Preface to Volume II Introduction Appendices Translation of Chapters I-XLIII Fragments of Po Hu T'ung Bibliography Index		<Next Section>

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