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SECTION III.

PART I.

In the first month of autumn, the sun is in Yî; the constellation culminating at dusk being Kien-hsing, and that culminating at dawn Pî ¹.

Its days are kang and hsin.

Its divine ruler is Shâo Hâo, and the (attending) spirit is Zû-shâu ².

Its creatures are the hairy.

Its musical note is Shang; its pitch-tube is Î Zeh ³.

Its number is nine. Its taste is bitter. Its smell is rank.

Its sacrifice is that at the gate; and of the parts of the victim the liver has the foremost place.

Cool winds come; the white dew descends ⁴; the cicada of the cold chirps ⁵. (Young) hawks at this time sacrifice birds, as the first step they take to killing (and eating) them ⁶.

The son of Heaven occupies the apartment on the left of the Zung-kang (Fane); rides in the war chariot, drawn by the white horses with black manes, and bearing the white flag. He is clothed in the white robes, and wears the white jade. He eats hemp-seeds and dog's flesh. The vessels which he uses are rectangular, and going on to be deep ⁷.

In this month there takes place the inauguration of autumn. Three days before the ceremony, the Grand recorder informs the son of Heaven, saying, 'On such-and-such a day is the inauguration of the autumn. The character of the season is fully seen in metal.' On this the son of Heaven devotes himself to self-adjustment; and on the day he leads in person the three ducal ministers, the nine high ministers, the princes of states (at court), and his Great officers, to meet the autumn in the western suburb, and on their return he rewards the general-in-chief, and the military officers in the court.

The son of Heaven also orders the leaders and commanders to choose men and sharpen weapons, to select and exercise those of distinguished merit, and to give their entire trust only to men whose services have been proved;--thereby to correct all unrighteousness. (He instructs them also) to make enquiries about and punish the oppressive and insolent;--thereby making it clear whom he loves and whom he hates, and giving effect to (the wishes of) the people, even the most distant from court.

In this month orders are given to the proper officers to revise the laws and ordinances, to put the prisons in good repair, to provide handcuffs and fetters, to repress and stop villainy, to maintain a watch against crime and wickedness, and to do their endeavour to capture criminals. Orders are (also) given to the managers (of prisons) to look at wounds, examine sores, inspect broken members, and judge particularly of dislocations. The determination of cases, both criminal and civil, must be correct and just. Heaven and earth now begin to be severe;--there should be no excess in copying that severity, or in the opposite indulgence ⁸.

In this month the husbandmen present their grain. The son of Heaven tastes it, while still new, first offering some in the apartment at the back of the ancestral temple.

Orders are given to all the officers to begin their collecting and storing the contributions (from the husbandmen); to finish the embankments and dykes; to look to the dams and fillings up in preparation for the floods, and also to refit all houses; to strengthen walls and enclosures; and to repair city and suburban walls.

In this month there should be no investing of princes, and no appointment of great ministers. There should be no dismemberment of any territory, no sending out on any great commission, and no issuing of great presents.

If, in this first month of autumn, the proceedings of government proper to winter were observed, then the dark and gloomy influence (of nature) would greatly prevail; the shelly insects would destroy the grain; and warlike operations would be called for. If the proceedings proper to spring were observed, there would be droughts in the states; the bright and growing influence would return; and the five kinds of grain would not yield their fruit. If the proceedings proper to summer were observed, there would be many calamities from fire in the states; the cold and the heat would be subject to no rule; and there would be many fevers among the people.

PART II.

In the second month of autumn the sun is in Kio, the constellation culminating at dusk being Khien-niû, and that culminating at dawn Dze-hsî.

Its days are kang and hsin. Its divine ruler .

Its number is nine. Its taste is bitter. Its smell is rank. Its sacrifice is that of the gate; and of the parts of the victim the liver has the foremost place.

Sudden and violent winds come. The wild geese arrive ⁹. The swallows return (whence they came) ¹⁰. Tribes of birds store up provisions (for the future) ¹¹.

The son of Heaven occupies the Zung-kang Grand Fane; rides in the war chariot, drawn by the white horses with black manes, and bearing the white flag. He is clothed in the white robes, and wears the white gems. He eats hemp-seed and dog's flesh. The vessels which he uses are rectangular or cornered, and rather deep.

In this month they take especial care of the decaying and old; give them stools and staves, and distribute supplies of congee for food.

Orders are given to the superintendent of robes to have ready the upper and lower dresses with their various ornaments. For the figures and embroidery on them there are fixed patterns. Their size, length, and dimensions must all be according to the old examples. For the caps and girdles (also) there are regular rules.

Orders are given to the proper officers to revise with strict accuracy (the laws about) the various punishments. Beheading and (the other) capital executions must be according to (the crimes) without excess or defect. Excess or defect out of such proportion will bring on itself the judgment (of Heaven).

In this month orders are given to the officers of slaughter and prayer to go round among the victims for sacrifice, seeing that they are entire and complete, examining their fodder and grain, inspecting their condition as fat or thin, and judging of their looks. They must arrange them according to their classes. In measuring their size, and looking at the length (of their horns), they must have them according to the (assigned) measures. When all these points are as they ought to be, God will accept the sacrifices ¹².

The son of Heaven performs the ceremonies against pestilence, to secure development for the (healthy) airs of autumn.

He eats the hemp-seed (which is now presented) along with dog's flesh, first offering some in the apartment at the back of the ancestral temple.

In this month it is allowable to rear city and suburban walls, to establish cities and towns, to dig underground passages and grain-pits, and to repair granaries, round and square.

Orders are given to the proper officers to be urgent with the people, and (to finish) receiving their contributions and storing them. They should do their best to accumulate (large) stores of vegetables and other things.

They should (also) stimulate the wheat-sowing. (The husbandmen) should not be allowed to miss the proper time for the operation. Any who do so shall be punished without fail.

In this month day and night are equal. The thunder begins to restrain its voice. Insects stop up the entrances to their burrows. The influence to decay and death gradually increases. That of brightness and growth daily diminishes. The waters begin to dry up.

At the equinox, they make uniform the measures of length and capacity; equalise the steel-yards and their weights; rectify the weights of 30 and 120 catties; and adjust the pecks and bushels.

In this month they regulate and reduce the charges at the frontier gates and in the markets, to encourage the resort of both regular and travelling traders, and the receipt of goods and money; for the convenience of the business of the people. When merchants and others collect from all quarters, and come from the most distant parts, then the resources (of the government) do not fail. There is no want of means for its use; and all things proceed prosperously.

In commencing great undertakings, there should be no opposition to the great periods (for them) as defined (by the motion of the sun). They must be conformed to the times (as thereby marked out), and particular attention paid to the nature of each ¹³.

If in this second month of autumn the proceedings proper to spring were observed, the autumnal rains would not fall; plants and trees would blossom; and in the states there would be alarms. If those proper to summer were observed, there would be droughts in the states; insects would not retire to their burrows; and the five grains would begin to grow again. If those proper to winter were observed, calamities springing from (unseasonable) winds would be constantly arising; the thunder now silent would be heard before its time; and plants and trees would die prematurely.

PART III.

In the last month of autumn the sun is in Fang, the constellation culminating at dusk being Hsü ¹⁴, and that culminating at dawn Liû.

Its days are kang and hsin. Its divine ruler is Shâo Hâo, and the (attending) spirit is 3û-shâu. Its creatures are the hairy. Its musical note is Shang, and its pitch-tube is Wû Yî ¹⁵.

Its number is nine. Its taste is bitter. Its smell is rank. Its sacrifice is that at the gate; and of the parts of the victim the liver has the foremost place.

The wild geese come, (and abide) like guests ¹⁶. Small birds enter the great water and become mollusks ¹⁷. Chrysanthemums show their yellow flowers. The khâi sacrifice larger animals, and kill (and devour) the smaller ¹⁸.

The son of Heaven occupies the apartment on the right of the Zung-kang (Fane); rides in the war chariot, drawn by the white horses with black manes, and bearing the white flags; is dressed in the white robes, and wears the white jade. He eats hemp-seeds and dog's flesh. The vessels which he uses are rectangular, cornered, and rather deep.

In this month the orders are renewed and strictly enjoined, charging the various officers (to see) that noble and mean all exert themselves in the work of ingathering, in harmony with the storing of heaven and earth. They must not allow anything to remain out in the fields.

Orders are also given to the chief minister, after the fruits of husbandry have all been gathered in, to take in hand the registers of the produce of the different grains (from all the country), and to store up the produce that has been gathered from the acres of God in the granary of the spirits; doing this with the utmost reverence and correctness ¹⁹.

In this month the hoar-frost begins to fall; and all labours cease (for a season).

Orders are given to the proper officers, saying, 'The cold airs are all coming, and the people will not be able to endure them. Let all enter within their houses (for a time).'

On the first ting day orders are given to the chief Director of music to enter the college, and to practise (with his pupils) on the wind instruments.

In this month an announcement is made to the son of Heaven that the victims for the great sacrifice to God, and the autumnal sacrifice in the ancestral temple ²⁰ are fit and ready.

The princes of the states are assembled, and orders given to the officers of the various districts (in the royal domain). They receive the first days of the months for the coming year ²¹, and the laws for the taxation of the people by the princes, both light and heavy, and the amount of the regular contribution to the government, which is determined by the distance of the territories and the nature of their several productions. The object of this is to provide what is necessary for the suburban sacrifices and those in the ancestral temple. No private considerations are allowed to have place in this.

In this month the son of Heaven, by means of hunting, teaches how to use the five weapons of war, and the rules for the management of horses.

Orders are given to the charioteers and the seven (classes of) grooms ²² to see to the yoking of the several teams, to set up in the carriages the flags and various banners ²³, to assign the carriages according to the rank (of those who were to occupy them), and to arrange and set up the screens outside (the royal tent). The minister of Instruction, with his baton stuck in his girdle, addresses all before him with his face to the north.

Then the son of Heaven, in his martial ornaments, with his bow in one hand, and the arrows under the armpit of the other, proceeds to hunt. (Finally), he gives orders to the superintendent of Sacrifices, to offer some of the captured game to (the spirits of) the four quarters.

In this month the plants and trees become yellow and their leaves fall, on which the branches are cut down to make charcoal.

Insects in their burrows all try to push deeper, and from within plaster up the entrances. In accordance with (the season), they hurry on the decision and punishment of criminal cases, wishing not to leave them any longer undealt with. They call in emoluments that have been assigned incorrectly, and minister to those whose means are insufficient for their wants.

In this month the son of Heaven eats dog's flesh and rice, first presenting some in the apartment at the back of the ancestral temple.

If, in this last month of autumn, the proceedings proper to summer were observed, there would be great floods in the states; the winter stores would be injured and damaged; there would be many colds and catarrhs among the people. If those proper to winter were observed, there would be many thieves and robbers in the states; the borders would be unquiet; and portions of territory would be torn from the rest. If those proper to spring were observed, the warm airs would come; the energies of the people would be relaxed and languid; and the troops would be kept moving about.

Notes

1. Yî corresponds to Crater. Kien-hsing comprehends stars in Sagittarius (see page 257). Pî corresponds to the Hyades.

2. Shâo Hâo follows Hwang Tî, whose eldest son he was, as the fourth in the list of the five Tî, or divine rulers (B.C. 2594). His capital was at Khü-fâu, the city of Confucius; and I have seen, at a little distance from it, perhaps the only pyramid in China, which is in memory of him, and said to be on or near his grave. His personal appellation is Kin-thien (金天) or Thien-kin, the element to which he and his reign are assigned being kin, or metal. Zû-shâu was one of his sons.

3. Î Zeh, 'the equalization of the Laws,' is the tube giving the fifth of the upper musical accords.

4. White dew is a name for hoar-frost.

5. This cicada (Williams thinks the cicada viridis) is called 'the dumb.' Now it begins to chirp. Its colour is 'green and red.'

6. Compare what is said about the otter, page 251.

7. Zung-kang is made out to mean, 'all bright,' and the apartment was on the west; with mystical reference to the maturity and gathering of all things in the autumn, or season of the west. The vessels were rectangular, having sharp corners in harmony with the sharp weapons made of metal, to which element the season of autumn is referred; and they were deep, to resemble the deep bosom of the earth, to which things now begin to return.

8. Nan Lü, 'the southern spine,' is the tube that gives the fifth of the lower musical accords.

9. The wild geese are now returning to their winter quarters, from which they had come in the first month of spring; see page 251. So with the swallows, who had appeared in the second month of spring; see page 259.

10. The wild geese are now returning to their winter quarters, from which they had come in the first month of spring; see page 251. So with the swallows, who had appeared in the second month of spring; see page 259.

11. This sentence is hardly translatable or intelligible. Some would read as in paragraph 95 of 'the Brief Calendar of Hsiâ' (單鳥羞白鳥), translated by Professor Douglas: 'The red birds (i.e. fire-flies) devour the white birds (i.e. mosquitoes),' which he ingeniously supports by a reference to the habits of the fire-fly from Chambers' Encyclopædia. But his translation of hsiû by 'devour' is inadmissible. Wang Thâo says that this view is 'chisseling.' 'Sparrows and other birds,' he says, 'now collect seeds of grapes and trees, and store them in their nests and holes against the time of rain and snow.'

12. Kang says here: 'And if God accept them, of course there is no other spirit that will not do so.'

13.

Callery translates this paragraph by: 'Toute personne ayant une chose importante à accomplir ne doit pas se mettre en opposition avec les grands principes (yin et yang); il doit se conformer au temps (propre à agir; mais il doit aussi) bien examiner la nature même de l'entreprise.' He appends to this the following note:--'Les deux principes yin et yang auxquels se rapportent tous les êtres, ayant tour-à-tour la prédominance dans certaines époques de l'année, le temps convenable pour une chose quelconque est celui auquel prédomine le principe dont cette chose dépend par son affinité naturelle. Ainsi, par exemple, les travaux de terrassement et de construction conviennent en automne, parce que le principe yin dont ils dépendent est en progrès pendant l'automne. Néanmoins, de ce que cette époque de l'année est favorable sous ce point de vue, il ne s'ensuit pas que toute entreprise de construction faite en automne soit avantageuse en elle-même; une foule de circonstances peuvent la rendre ruineuse, et c'est à l'entrepreneur de bien l'examiner, abstraction faite de la saison.'

The text rendered by Callery, 'les deux principes (yin et yang),' is simply tâ shû, 'the grand numbers,' the meaning of which I have endeavoured to bring out by the supplements in my version. The yin and yang are not mentioned in the text of the paragraph. They are simply a binomial phrase for the course of nature, with special reference to the weather and its conditions, as regulated by the action of the sun on the earth in the course of the seasons.

14. Fang comprehends {beta}, {delta}, {pi}, {rho} Scorpio. Hsü corresponds to {beta} Aquarius; and Liû comprehends {delta}, {epsilon}, {zeta}, {eta}, {rho}, {sigma}, {phi} Hydra.

15. Wû Yî, 'the unwearied,' is the tube giving the sixth upper musical accord.

16. The addition of guests here is a difficulty. It is said on the previous month that 'the wild geese come;' are these here the same as those, or are they others,--the younger birds, as some suppose, which had waited after the former, and still found it necessary to remain on their passage to recruit their strength?

17. Professor Douglas has made it more than probable that the 'small birds' here are sand-pipers. What is said about them, however, will, not admit of his version, that they 'go into the sea or lakes for crustaceae.' His 'crustaceae' should be 'mollusks.' According to all rules of Chinese composition, what he renders 'for' must be taken verbally,='to become.' It is not merely the Chinese 'commentators,' who consider the sentence to mean, 'Sparrows go into the sea and become crustaceae (? mollusks);' it is what the text says. It is indeed an absurd statement, but a translator is not responsible for that. The Khien-lung editors observe that there is no mention here of the little birds being 'transformed,' as in the paragraph about the 'hawks' on page 258, and hence they argue that we cannot understand the notice here metaphorically. They accept the fact (?). The marine Ko, which is mentioned here, as figured in the plates of the Pan Zhâo Kang-mû, is the Calyptroida Trochita.

18. Compare what is said. about the otter, page 251. Professor Douglas argues that the khâi is the polecat. But this identification cannot yet be received as certain. The khâi is 'dogfooted,' 'hunts in troops,' and has 'a voice like that of the dog.' In Japanese plates it is not at all like 'the polecat.' An English naturalist, to whom I submitted a Japanese work illustrative of the Shih King, many years ago, has written over the khâi, 'a wild dog or wolf.'

19. 'This,' says Hsü sze-zang (Ming dynasty), 'is the great rule of making provision for the sustenance of men and for serving spiritual beings,--two things demanding the utmost inward reverence and outward reverential vigour.' I suppose that the 'spirit-granary' contained the grain for all governmental sacrifices, as well as that gathered from 'the acres of God,' and to be used specially in sacrifices to Him.

20. This paragraph gives great trouble to the Khien-lung editors; but we need not enter on their discussions.

21. This last month of autumn, the ninth from the first month of spring, was the last month of the year with the dynasty of Zhin, when it was high time to give out the calendar for the months of the next year.

22. The sovereign's horses were divided into six classes, and every class had its own grooms, with one among them who had the superintendence of the rest. See a narrative in the Zo Kwan, under the eighteenth year of duke Khang.

23. Two of these insignia are mentioned in the text;--the Zing, which was only a pennant, and the Kâo, a large banner with a tortoise and serpent intertwined. No doubt the meaning is, 'the various banners.'


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