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《初稟篇》

人生性命當富貴者，初稟自然之氣，養育長大，富貴之命效矣。

文王得赤雀，武王得白魚赤烏，儒者論之，以為雀則文王受命，魚烏則武王受命，文、武受命於天，天用雀與魚烏命授之也。天用赤雀命文王，文王不受，天復用魚烏命武王也。若此者，謂本無命於天，脩己行善，善行聞天，天乃授以帝王之命也，故雀與魚烏，天使為王之命也，王所奉以行誅者也。如實論之，非命也。

命、謂初所稟得而生也。人生受性，則受命矣。性命俱稟，同時並得，非先稟性，後乃受命也。何以明之？

棄事堯為司馬，居稷官，故為后稷。曾孫公劉居邰，後徙居邠。後孫古公亶甫三子：太伯、仲雍、季歷。季歷生文王昌。昌在襁褓之中，聖瑞見矣。故古公曰：「我世當有興者，其在昌乎！」於是太伯知之，乃辭之吳，文身斷髮，以讓王季。文王受命，謂此時也，天命在人本矣，太王古公見之早也。此猶為未，文王在母身之中已受命也。王者一受命，內以為性，外以為體。體者、面輔骨法，生而稟之。

吏秩百石以上，王侯以下，郎將大夫，以至元士，外及刺史太守，居祿秩之吏，稟富貴之命，生而有表見於面，故許負、姑布子卿輒見其驗。仕者隨秩遷轉，遷轉之人，或至公卿，命祿尊貴，位望高大。王者、尊貴之率，高大之最也。生有高大之命，其時身有尊貴之奇，古公知之，見四乳之怪也。夫四乳、聖人證也，在母身中，稟天聖命，豈長大之後，脩行道德，四乳乃生？以四乳論望羊，亦知為胎之時已受之矣。劉媼息於大澤，夢與神遇，遂生高祖，此時已受命也。光武生於濟陽宮，夜半無火，內中光明。軍下卒蘇永。謂公曹史充蘭曰：「此吉事也，毋多言！」此時已受命〔也〕。獨謂文王、武王得赤雀魚烏乃受命，非也。上天壹命，王者乃興，不復更命也。得富貴大命，自起王矣。何以驗之？富家之翁，貲累千金，生有富骨，治生積貨，至於年老，成為富翁矣。

夫王者、天下之翁也，稟命定於身中，猶鳥之別雄雌於卵殼之中也。卵殼孕而雌雄生，日月至而骨節彊，彊則雄，自率將雌。雄非生長之後，或教使為雄，然後乃敢將雌，此氣性剛彊自為之矣。夫王者、天下之雄也，其命當王，王命定於懷妊，猶富貴骨生，有鳥雄卵成也。

非唯人、鳥也，萬物皆然。草木生於實核，出土為栽，稍生莖葉，成為長短巨細，皆由實核。王者、長巨之最也。朱草之莖如鍼，紫芝之栽如豆，成為瑞矣。王者稟氣而生，亦猶此也。

或曰：「王者生稟天命，及其將王，天復命之。猶公卿以下，詔書封拜，乃敢即位。赤雀魚烏，上天封拜之命也。天道人事，有相命使之義。」自然無為，天之道也。命文以赤雀，武以白魚，是有為也。

管仲與鮑叔分財取多，鮑叔不與，管仲不求，內有以相知，視彼猶我，取之不疑。聖人起王，猶管之取財也。朋友彼我無有授與之義，上天自然，有命使之驗，是則天道有為，朋友自然也。

當漢祖斬大之時，誰使斬者？豈有天道先至，而乃敢斬之哉？勇氣奮發，性自然也。夫斬大，誅秦殺項，同一實也。周之文、武受命伐殷，亦一義也。高祖不受命使之將，獨謂文、武受雀魚之命，誤矣。

難曰：「《康（王）〔叔〕之誥》曰：『冒聞于上帝，帝休，天乃大命文王。』如無命（史）〔使〕，經何為言『天乃大命文王』？」所謂「大命」者，非天乃命文王也，聖人動作，天命之意也，與天合同，若天使之矣。《書》方激勸康叔，勉使為善，故言文王行道，上聞於天，天乃大命之也。

《詩》曰：「乃眷西顧，此惟予度。」與此同義。天無頭面，眷顧如何？人有顧睨，以人傚天，事易見，故曰「眷顧」。「天乃大命文王」，眷顧之義，實天不命也。何以驗之？

「夫大人與天地合其德，與日月合其明，與四時合其序，與鬼神合其吉凶，先天而天不違，後天而奉天時。」

如必須天有命，乃以從事，安得先天而後天乎？以其不待天命，直以心發，故有先天後天之勤；言合天時，故有不違奉天之文。

《論語》曰：「大哉！堯之為君！唯天為大，唯堯則之。」王者則天不違，奉天之義也。推自然之性，與天合同，是則所謂「大命文王」也。自文王意，文王自為，非天驅赤雀，使告文王，云當為王，乃敢起也。然則文王赤雀，及武王白魚，非天之命，昌熾祐也。

吉人舉事，無不利者。人徒不召而至，瑞物不招而來，黯然諧合，若或使之。出門聞（告）〔吉〕，顧睨見善，自然道也。文王當興，赤雀適來；魚躍烏飛，武王偶見，非天使雀至、白魚來也，吉物動飛，而聖遇也。白魚入于王舟，王陽曰：「偶適也。」光祿大夫劉琨，前為弘農太守，虎渡河，光武皇帝曰：「偶適自然，非或使之也。」故夫王陽之言「適」，光武之曰「偶」，可謂合於自然也。

Chapter VII. Heaven's Original Gift (Ch`u-ping).

A man predestinated at his birth for wealth and honour, is imbued with the spontaneous fluid from the beginning. After he has been brought up, and grown to manhood, his lucky fate manifests itself.

Wên Wang received a scarlet bird, Wu Wang, a white fish and a red crow. ¹ The scholars are of opinion that with the bird Heaven's decree was transmitted to Wên Wang, which in the case of Wu Wang was done by the fish and the crow. Thus Wên Wang and Wu Wang would have received their fate from Heaven, which used the bird, the fish, and the crow to pass it on to them. Heaven used a scarlet bird to invest Wên Wang, but Wên Wang did not receive the mandate of Heaven. ² Then Heaven took a fish and a crow, and enfeoffed Wu Wang. This would imply that primarily the two received no fate from above, and that it was not before they purified themselves, and did good, and the news thereof reached Heaven, that Heaven endowed them with imperial honours. The bird, the fish, and the crow would then be heavenly messengers carrying the investiture, which emperors must have received to have the power over life and death. However, a thorough investigation shows us that fate has nothing to do with these cases.

Fate is what comes over people at the beginning, when they are created. They then receive their mind as well as their fate. Mind and fate come together and at the same time. The mind does not precede, or fate follow. How can this be made clear?

Ch`i³ served under Yao as territorial official, became superintendant of agriculture, and therefrom received the title of Lord of Agriculture (Hou Chi). His great-grandson Duke Liu lived at T`ai, but later on moved to Pin.⁴ His great-great-grandson Tan Fu, the "Old Duke" had three sons:---T`ai Po, Ch`ung Yung and Chi Li. The son of Chi Li was Ch`ang, the later Wên Wang. When he was still in his swaddling clothes, there appeared portents indicative of his holiness. Therefore Tan Fa said:---"It is through Ch`ang that my family will become illustrious." When T`ai Po⁵ heard of it, he retired to Wu,⁶ tattooed himself, and cut his hair in order to make room for Chi Li. Wên Wang is believed to have met with his fate at that period. Yet Heaven's fate is already at work, when man comes into being. Tan Fu, the Old Duke, found it out very soon, but it was already there, before Wên Wang was even conceived by his mother. The fate which emperors acquire becomes their mind internally and their body externally. To the body belong the features and the osseous structure, which man gets at his birth.

Officials with a yearly income of more than a hundred piculs, but of a lower rank than princes and counts, such as lang-chiang,⁷ta-fu, and yuan-shih,⁸ or provincial officials like intendants and prefects, in short, all salaried functionaries have obtained a fate predestinating them for wealth and honour, which after their birth is apparent in their faces. Hsü Fu and Ku Pu Tse Ch`ing perceived these signs. ⁹ Officials rise in office, some to the ranks of lords and ministers. They are predestinated to grandeur and a very exalted position. An emperor possesses the highest dignity, and his rank is the most exalted. At his birth, he is endowed with a glorious fate, and his body shows peculiar signs of nobility at that time. The "Old Duke" was well aware of this, when he beheld the remarkable four nipples, ¹⁰ for these four nipples were the marks of a Sage. Wên Wang received the heavenly decree making him a sage, when he was still in his mother's womb, or did the four nipples grow only, after he had become a man, and practised virtue? As regards the four nipples, we know also that lambs have them already as embryos. Dame Liu sleeping by a big lake dreamt that she met with a genius, and thereupon gave birth to Kao-Tsu.¹¹ At that time, he had already obtained his fate: When Kuang Wu¹² was born in the Chi-yang palace, a brilliant light shone in the room at midnight, though there was no fire. One of the soldiers Su Yung said to the secretary Ch`ung Lan:---"This is a lucky thing," and nothing more. ¹³ At that time Kuang Wu had already got his destiny. The assertion that Wên Wang and Wu Wang received Heaven's decree together with the scarlet bird, the fish, and the crow is, therefore, erroneous. Heaven's order once being issued, an emperor arises, and there is no further need for another decree.

Favoured with a fate conferring the highest distinctions upon them, emperors are born as a matter of course, as will be seen from the following:---Old men of wealthy families hoard up thousands of chin.¹⁴ They come into the world with the physiognomies of rich men. They work, and produce, and amass wealth, until, in their old age, they have become rich old folks. Emperors are the old men in possession of the empire. Their fate is inherent to their bodies, precisely as with birds the distinction between cocks and hens exists already in the egg-shell. When the eggs are hatched, cocks and hens creep out. After days and months their bones wax stronger, and at last the cocks pair with the hens quite of their own accord. They are not taught to do so, after they have grown up so, that they would dare to pair only then. This is a spontaneous act, after their constitution has been strengthened. Now emperors are the cocks in the empire. They are destined to become emperors. This, their destiny comes down upon them, when they are still in an embryonic state in the same manner, as the future grandees get their peculiar physiognomies, which they possess at their birth, and as the cocks are formed in the egg.

This is not only true of men and birds, but of all organisms. Plants and trees grow from seeds. They pierce the earth as sprouts, by their further growth stem and leaves are formed. Their length and coarseness are developed from the seeds. Emperors are the aeme of greatness. The stalk of the "vermilion grass" is like a needle, the sapling of the "purple boletus" like a bean. Both plants are auspicious. There is something auspicious about emperors also, who come into existence, endowed with the heavenly fluid.

Some people believe that emperors have received Heaven's decree, when they are born, but that Heaven invests them again, when they assume the supreme power, just as lords, ministers, and the lower grades await the imperial brevet, before they dare to take charge of their post, and that the scarlet bird, the fish, and the crow were emblems of the investiture by august Heaven. That would mean that human affairs are ordered and regulated by Heaven's interference, whereas spontaneity and inaction are the principles of Heaven. To enfeoff Wên Wang by means of a scarlet bird, and Wu Wang through a white fish, would be on purpose.

Kuan Chung divided gain with Pao Shu¹⁵ and apportioned more to himself. ¹⁶Pao Shu did not give it him, and he did not ask for it. ¹⁷ That is, they knew each other, one regarded the other as his own self, and had no scruples about taking anything for himself. A Sage takes the empire, as Kuan Chung the property. ¹⁸ Amongst friends their is no question about giving or taking. August Heaven is spontaneous. ¹⁹ If it really issued orders, then its principle would be purpose, whereas friendship is spontaneous.

When Han Kao Tsu slew the big snake, ²⁰ who prompted him to do so? Did an order from Heaven arrive first, which encouraged him to do the deed? It was an outburst of his valour, a spontaneous impulse. The slaying of the big snake, the destruction of Ch`in,²¹ and the killing of Hsiang Yü,²² all amount to the same. That the two Chou emperors Wên Wang and Wu Wang received Heaven's decree, and defeated the Yin dynasty, must be understood in the same sense. If Kao Tsu took the reins of government without a special order, it cannot be true that Wên Wang and Wu Wang alone were invested through a bird and a fish.

The objection may be raised that in the "Announcement to K`ang Shu" it is stated that:---"God heard of it, and was pleased, and Heaven gave Wên Wang a great charge." ²³ If such a decree were impossible, how could the Annals and Classics speak of a great command given by Heaven to Wên Wang?---The expression great command does not signify that Heaven issued orders to Wên Wang. Whatever a Sage does, he fulfills the commands of Heaven. He agrees with Heaven, as if he had done what Heaven bade him. In the Shu-king K`ang Shu is just admonished and exhorted to do good, therefore it is mentioned that Heaven above heard of Wên Wang's good deeds, and thereupon gave him a great charge.

The Shi-king says:---"(God) sent his kind regards round to the west, and then gave an abode." ²⁴ This is the same idea. Heaven has no head and no face, how could it look about. Man can look around. Human qualities have been ascribed to Heaven. It is easy to see that. Thus one speaks of looking about. Heaven's command given to Wên Wang and his looking are very much the same. In reality Heaven gives no orders, which can be proved in this way:---

"The perfect man resembles Heaven and Earth in virtue, sun and moon in brightness, the four seasons in regularity, and ghosts and spirits with regard to lucky and unlucky omens. When he acts first, Heaven does not disagree with him, and, when he follows Heaven, he conforms to his periods." ²⁵

If in order to act there would always be a decree of Heaven required, how could there be actions preceding that of Heaven, and others following it. Since the Sage acts, without waiting for Heaven's decree, just on the impulse of his heart, sometimes he takes the initiative, sometimes he follows Heaven, which means that he is always in harmony with Heaven's periods. Hence it is said that Heaven does not disagree, and that the Sage conforms to Heaven.

The Analects²⁶ say:---"Great is Yao as a sovereign! Heaven is great, and Yao corresponded to him." Emperors correspond to Heaven, that is to say, they are not in opposition to, and obey Heaven. Bringing the spontaneous nature into harmony with Heaven, that is the meaning of the great command given to Wên Wang. Wên Wang had his own ideas, and acted by himself. He was not driven on by Heaven, nor was the scarlet bird commissioned to tell him that he should be emperor, whereupon he dared to assume the imperial sway. Wên Wang's scarlet bird and Wu Wang's white fish were not messengers bringing the assurance of Heaven's glorious help.

Whatever a lucky man begins, turns to his advantage. He finds adherents without seeking them, and auspicious objects without taking any trouble to get them. A latent sympathy pervades all things. If he be induced to come forth, and to hear and look, and he then sees something very propitious, it is mere spontaneity. When Wên Wang was going to stand up as emperor, the scarlet bird happened to appear. The fish jumped up, and the bird came flying, and Wu Wang chanced to perceive them. ²⁷ It was not Heaven which sent the birds and the white fish. The lucky objects were moving about, and the Sages met them. Of the white fish which jumped into the Emperor's boat, Wang Yang²⁸ said that it was a chance. At the time, when Liu K`un,²⁹ president of the Banqueting Office, was still governor of Hung-nung,³⁰ a tiger crossed the Yellow River. The emperor Kuang Wu Ti said that it was nothing but a curious coincidence, and a spontaneous act, and that nobody had sent the tiger. What Wang Yang called a chance and Kuang Wu Ti a coincidence, were all, so to speak, instances of spontaneity.

Notes

1. Cf. Shi-chi, chap. 4 p. 8 (Chavannes, Mém. Hist. Vol. I, p. 216 Note 1, and p. 226).

2. Wên Wang did not yet attain the imperial dignity, which subsequently devolved upon his son, Wu Wang.

3. The ancestor of the Chou dynasty.

4. T`ai and Pin were both situated in Shensi.

5. The Shi-chi chap. 4 p. 4 relates that T`ai Po as well as Ch`ung Yung, whom the Shi-chi styles Yü Ch`ung, retired to the barbarians out of regard for their younger brother Chi Li.

6. The kingdom of Wu, the modern province of Kiangsu, at that time still inhabited by aborigines, hence the tattooing.

7. Chamberlains of the Palace Guard.

8. These offices are mentioned by Mencius Bk. V, Pt. II, chap. 2, who informs us that a chief minister had four times as much income as a ta-fu, and a ta-fu twice as much as a yuan-shih. Legge translates "great officer" and "scholar of the first class," which does not say much. I would like to say "Director of a Department" and "First Clerk."

9. Two renowned physiognomists, cf. chap. XXIV.

10. A peculiarity of Wên Wang, cf. chap. XXIV.

11. See p. 177.

12. The first emperor of the Later Han Dynasty, 25-58 a.d.

13. Cf. p. 180.

14. Old coins.

15. Kuan Chung and Pao Shu Ya lived in the 6th cent. b.c. They were intimate friends, and are the Chinese Damon and Pythias.

16. The Shi-chi chap. 62 p. 1v, Biography of Kuan Chung, states that Kuan Chung cheated his friend. He there admits himself that in doing business with Pao Shu Ya, he took more than his share of the gain, but that he did it, because he was very poor, and not out of greed.

17. Kuan Chung took more than his share not on purpose, out of greed, but unintentionally.

18. The empire falls to the share of the Sage, he takes it as a matter of course, but does not long for it.

19. His actions are like those of intimate friends:---natural, unpremeditated, and spontaneous.

20. This incident is told more fully on p. 178.

21. The imperial house of Ch`in, which was dethroned by Han Kao Tsu.

22. Hsiang Yü committed suicide, when defeated by Han Kao Tsu.

23. Shu-king Pt. V, Book IX, 4.

24. Shi-king Pt. III, Book I, Ode VII, 1.

25. Quotation from the Yi-king, Ch`ien Hexagram (N. 1). The commentator says that the Sage and Heaven are always in accordance, no matter who acts first, because they both follow the same principles.

26. Analects VIII, 12.

27. Shi-chi chap. 4 p. 8.

28. A famous teacher and in later years a minister, of the 1st cent. a.d.

29. A native of Honan, died 57 b.c.Giles, Biogr. Dict. N. 1323.

30. A city in Honan.


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