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Why [is the seasonal year] named sui? Sui means sui 'to follow' 1. In three hundred and sixty-six days Heaven makes one revolution, and the ten thousand things terminate and complete [their round]; therefore [this period] makes one seasonal year. The Shang shu says: "A round year consists of three hundred sixty-six days; by means of an intercalary month the four seasons are fixed, and the year is completed". 2
a. What are the seasons of the year? Spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Shih 'season' means 朞 ch'i 'period' 3, the period of rest and activity for the yin and the yang.
b. Why is it that in [each of] the four seasons Heaven is named differently? Heaven is exalted, and in each [of the seasons] it is named after what it shows in abundance. In spring and autumn the change of things is abundant, in winter and summer the change of climates is abundant. The Erh ya says: 4 "In spring we speak of 'Green Heaven' 5, in summer of 'Grand Heaven' 6, in autumn of 'Compassionate Heaven' 7, in winter of 'High Heaven' 8". Another opinion says 9: "In spring we speak of 'Grand Heaven', in summer of 'Green Heaven"' 10.
c. Why is it that the four seasons do not follow the change of the first month of the year? Because the seasons are named according to [the changes of] the [ten thousand] things 11. Spring is the time for birth, winter is the time for termination; in each case the season begins with the first [seasonal month].
a. Why do we sometimes speak of sui, sometimes of tsai, and sometimes of nien12? The sui 'seasonal year' is to mark the changes of things and climates; the Emperors and Kings, contributing [to its work], made [a division in] seasonal years on the basis of [the activities of] the sun. Nien 'calendrical year' means jêng13 'as before'. The calendrical year marks events, and it is on the basis of [the events in] the months that we speak of nien. The Ch'un ch'iu [repeatedly] speaks of the first calendrical year, first month; [or] twelfth month, the 'first day of the moon' shuo; [or ninth month, the 'last day of the moon' hui14. The words] shuo and hui are mentioned, by which we know that the calendrical year is formed by lunar divisions. Tsai 'full year' means ch'êng15 'to complete'; it is said with respect to the completion of the beginning and end of the ten thousand things.
b. The two 16 Emperors used the word tsai, the Three Dynasties used the word nien; in both cases there is a deficiency 17. Therefore the Shang shu says: "[After the death of Yao] for three 'full years' tsai the eight [kinds of] musical instruments were stopped and hushed within the four seas" 18. This refers to the two Emperors [Yao and Shun]. It is further said: "[Kao-tsung of the Yin] spent three 'calendrical years' nien in the mourning shed" 19. This refers to [a King of one of] the Three Dynasties. The Ch'un ch'iu chuan says: "The mourning term of three 'calendrical years' nien is in reality twenty-five months" 20; we know [by this that the actual period of mourning] fell short [of the expressed term of three years] 21.
Why is it that [with respect to] the sun we speak of yeh 'night', but [with respect to] the moon of hui 'last day of the moon'; [again with respect to] the moon of shuo 'first day of the moon', [but with respect to] the sun of chao 'morning' 22? Shuo means su 'to revive' 23; it expresses the idea [that the moon has] waned, [but has] returned to life again; therefore we speak of shuo. The sun is visible by day and is hidden by night; there is a morning and there is an evening, therefore we speak of chao.
1. 歲, 遂 .
2. Shang shu chu shu, Yao tien, 1.9a; L. 21. The word here rendered by 'round year' is chi.
3. 时, 期 .
4. Inserted by Lu.
5. 蒼 天 ts'ang-t'ien.
6. 昊 丨 hao-t'ien.
7. 旻 丨 min-t'ien.
8. 上 丨 shang-t'ien. Erh ya chu shu, Shih t'ien, 5.11a-b.
9. "The Erh ya says" is dropped by Lu.
10. Lu's emendation is here followed.
11. Cf. ch. IX, par. 78a-d, also ch. Hsiang yin chiu i of the Li chi (C. II. 665).
12. tsai 載 , nien年.
13. 仍 .
14. These words between brackets (cf. Hsi 15, Ch'êng 16) are inserted to make the following statement intelligible.
15. 成 .
16. Lu's reading is 'five', but in his Pu i, 10a, he (and so does Ch'ên, 9.21a) restores the original reading of 'two' (Yao and Shun referred to below). The 'Three Dynasties' were those of Hsia, Yin, and Chou. The Po hu t'ung statement is, however, not quite correct. The words sui, tsai, nien, and ssŭ 祀 for 'year' have been used indiscriminately.
17. 皆 有 虧 闕 , which is Hung I-hsüan's reading for the unintelligible 皆 謂 闚 ?(此字為外 “門”內 “俞”)(Tu shu ts'ung lu, 16.17b). See also n. 21.
18. Shang shu chu shu, Shun tien, 2.21a; L. 41.
19. Ibid., Wu i, 15.12a; L. 466. Cf. Vol. 1, p. 288, n. 153.
20. Kung yang chu shu, Min 2, 9.19b. Cf. ch. XLII, par. 277a.
21. The same emendation as supra (n. 17).
22. yeh 夜 shuo 朔, chao 朝.
23. See ch. XXVII, par. 176b.
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