<Previous Section>	B. Metaphysical. TOC PREFACE. INTRODUCTION. A. Biographical. B. Metaphysical. C. Physical. D. Ethical. E. Critique (philosophical, literary and historical). F. Folklore and religion. INDEX OF SUBJECTS. INDEX OF PROPER NAMES. CHINESE WORKS QUOTED. ERRATA AND ADDENDA. ADDITIONAL NOTE. A. Metaphysical. B. Ethical. C. Critique. D. Folklore and Religion. POSTSCRIPT. Comparative Table of Contents. Quotations. APPENDIX I. The Theory of the Five Elements and the Classifications based thereon. APPENDIX II. The Cycle of the Twelve Animals. APPENDIX III. On Some Implements Mentioned by Wang Ch`ung. INDEX OF SUBJECTS. INDEX OF PROPER NAMES. ERRATA AND ADDENDA TO VOL. I.		<Next Section>

Chapter XVI. False Reports about the Dead (Sse-wei).

King Hsüan of the Chou dynasty ¹ is reported to have killed his minister, the Earl of Tu, who was innocent. When King Hsüan was going to hunt in his park, the Earl of Tu rose on the roadside with a red bow in his left hand. He shot an arrow at the king, who expired under the cover of his own bow-case. ² ---Duke Chien of Chao³ put his minister Chuang Tse Yi to death, although he was innocent. When Duke Chien was about to pass through the Huan gate, Chuang Tse Yi appeared on the road, a red cudgel in his left hand, with which he struck the duke, that he died under his carriage. This is considered as proving that two dead persons became ghosts, and as showing that ghosts are conscious, and can hurt people, and that there is no help against it.

I say that man is created as one of the ten thousand creatures. When these creatures die, they do not become ghosts, why then must man alone become a ghost after death? If it be owing to his superiority that man can become a ghost, then all the dead ought to be transformed into ghosts, wherefore then did the Earl of Tu and Chuang Tse Yi alone become ghosts? If those who have innocently suffered can become ghosts, there have been a great many ministers thus wronged. Men like Pi Kan and Tse Hsü⁴ did not become ghosts. Now, the Earl of Tu and Chuang Tse Yi were immoral. Full of spite and hate, they assassinated their sovereigns, out of revenge. There is no crime worse than the assassination of one's sovereign. Those who were deemed worthy to become ghosts, would again have to be executed. Therefore the Earl of Tu and Chuang Tse Yi would certainly not have dared to commit such a crime.

When one man injures another, he does not wish him to live, and hates to see his person. Therefore he does away with him. Then not only the family of the murdered man goes to the magistrate, and lodges a complaint against their enemy, but the victim also must hate to see him. Life and death are different spheres, and men and ghosts live in different places. If, therefore, the Earl of Tu and Chuang Tse Yi were grieved at King Hsüan and Duke Chien, they should not have killed them, for then they would also have become ghosts, and again have been together with them.

Princes have great power, and their officers, guards, and underlings are very numerous. Had the two ministers killed the two princes, their deaths would have been avenged. Therefore no intelligent man would have made such a scheme, or committed such an act in his wrath. If the two ministers were spirits, they must have been aware that the deaths of the two princes would be avenged upon them, and, if they were not aware of it, then they were not spirits either, and not being spirits, how could they have injured anybody? In the world many things seem real, which are not, and there are many falsehoods, which are taken for truths. Thus the stories of the Earl of Tu and Chuang Tse Yi have been handed down.

[Duke Hui of Chin removed the crown-prince Shên Shêng⁵ from his grave, and had him re-interred. When in autumn his charioteer Hu Tu went to Hsia-kuo,⁶ he met the crown-prince there. The crown-prince stepped upon his carriage, and spoke to him saying, "I Wu⁷ is a brute. I have asked God. He will give Chin over to Ch`in, and Ch`in will offer sacrifice to me."---Hu Tu replied, "I have been told that spirits enjoy only the offerings of their own kindred, and that people do not sacrifice but to their own clan. Would the sacrifice to Your Highness not be terminated then? Besides the people of Chin are not responsible. Their punishment would be unjust, and there would be the cessation of the sacrifice. Your Highness should take this into consideration."---The crown-prince said, "Well, I will pray again. Seven days hence, there will be a wizard west of the New City, through whom you shall have an interview with me." After Hu Tu had agreed to it, he vanished. At the fixed time, Hu Tu went to the hut of a wizard on the west side of the New City, and had a second interview with Shên Shêng. Shên Shêng told him. "God has promised to punish the guilty one. He will slay him in Han."] ⁸ ---Four years later Duke Hui fought with Duke Mu of Ch`in in the Han territory, ⁹ and was taken prisoner by Duke Mu, exactly as had been predicted. What else was this than the work of a spirit?

This story bears a great resemblance to those of the Earl of Tu and Chuang Tse Yi. How can we show that? The removal of a grave is a private grievance. God is a public spirit. Would a public spirit take heed of a complaint addressed to him on a private grievance? God is said to have promised to give Chin over to Ch`in. Hu Tu thought that this could not be. Shên Shêng following Hu Tu's words, was quite right, and therefore God's promise to Shên Shêng was wrong. It is evident that a spirit which as God would be inferior to Hu Tu, cannot be God.

Furthermore, a subject dares not implore a sovereign to consider his private affairs. A sovereign has such an exalted position in comparison with a humble subject, that the latter does not venture to trouble him with things that do not concern him. And was the distance between Shên Shêng and God not still greater than between a subject and his sovereign? He would not have vented his anger against Duke Hui for having removed his grave in the august presence of God.

Li Chi¹⁰ caused the death of Shên Shêng by her slander, and Duke Hui removed his corpse from his grave. The removal of a corpse is less wicked than a murder, and the guilt of Duke Hui less than that of Li Chi. If Shên Shêng prayed for the punishment of Duke Hui, and not for the death of Li Chi, then he resented the removal of his grave, but was not grieved at his own death.

By the advice of Li Sse, Ch`in Shih Huang Ti burned the books of poetry and history, and subsequently buried the scholars alive. The grievances of the literati against him were not of a less serious character than those of Shên Shêng, and the misery of being buried alive, much more pitiful than the removal of a corpse. Yet the dead scholars of Ch`in did not implore God, nor appear in the shapes of ghosts, and those savants did not conjointly accuse Ch`in Shih Huang Ti of viciousness, and Li Sse of depravity.

When King Wu of the Chou dynasty was sick and low-spirited, the Duke of Chou asked for Heaven's commands. He erected three altars with one platform for sacrifices, and with the jade sceptre and the baton in his hands, addressed T`ai Wang, Wang Chi and Wên Wang.¹¹ The annalist composed the prayer. In his address he said," I am benevolent like my ancestors, have many talents and abilities, and can serve the spirits. The great-grandson so-andso has not as many talents or abilities as Tan, and cannot serve the spirits." ¹² ---By spirits the three princes are meant. The dead are unconscious, and cannot become spirits, they say. However, the Duke of Chou was a sage; the words of a sage are true, and he finds out the reality of things that seem dark. Such being the case, the three princes must have been spirits.

I ask, can men really become spirits or not? Provided, they can, then one must know the opinions of the three princes, and not solely inquire, whether they were ghosts. The Duke of Chou asked for Heaven's commands, and the annalist composed the prayer. When the prayer was completed, and the address finished, the Duke of Chou did not know, whether the three princes gave their assent, and how. Upon this he consulted three tortoises. All three bearing lucky signs, he was pleased. He was able to know that the three princes were conscious and spirits, but not, whether they assented or not. To find out the truth, he was obliged to still consult the three tortoises. Yet in order to determine in an unmistakable way, whether they were spirits or not, it should have been possible to interrogate them. The question, whether the dead had knowledge or not, depended on the other, whether they could give their approval or not. If the Duke of Chou could know that the three princes did not grant his request, then the statement that they were ghosts is reliable, but if he could not, then his statement that the three princes were ghosts, would not have any more weight than one made by ordinary people. His knowledge would not reach further than that of the generality, and be inadequate to show us the real state of the dead.

Moreover, by what means did the Duke of Chou obtain Heaven's commands, by his perfect sincerity, or by the correctness of his address? If it was by his perfect sincerity, then his prayer was said with sincerity, and he did not care, whether his address to attract the spirits was correct or not. Tung Chung Shu's method of praying for rain consisted in putting up a dragon, made of earth, with a view to affecting the fluid. An earth dragon was not a real dragon, and could not attract rain. While making use of it, Tung Chung Shu showed perfect sincerity, and did not mind, whether the dragon was genuine or ficticious. The Duke of Chou's prayer for Heaven's commands was like Tung Chung Shu's prayer for rain. The three princes were not ghosts, as a heap of earth was not a dragon.

Hsün Yen of Chin¹³ invaded Ch`i, but had to return, before the campaign came to a close, for he was taken ill with ulcers, and a sore broke out on his head. When he reached the Cho-yung territory, his eyes protruded from their sockets, and when his death ensued, he went on staring, and his mouth could not receive anything. Fan Hsüan Tse washed him, and said by way of consolation, "To serve under Your Lordship was decidedly better than under Wu," but he still continued staring. Fan Hsüan Tse observing that he did not close his eyes, fancied that he was vexed with his son Wu, for vexation with one's own son is a very common human grievance. Therefore, he spoke of Wu to comfort him, but this was not the cause of his resentment, for he went on staring. Luan Huai Tse remarked, "Is it perhaps, because he did not complete his designs in Ch`i?", and he again comforted him by saying, "Your Lordship died an untimely death. The things which you did not bring to a close in Ch`i, are as vast as the Yellow River." Upon this, he closed his eyes, and received the gem into his mouth. <sup>14</sup> It was the incompleteness of his invasion of Ch`i which Hsün Yen regretted. Luan Huai Tse found it out, therefore the dead man closed his eyes, and received the gem into his mouth. Fan Hsüan Tse missed it, therefore his eyes remained wide open, and his mouth was locked.

I say that Hsün Yen's death by sickness was very painful, so that his eyes protruded. When his eyes came out, he firmly closed his mouth, and therefore could not receive anything in it. Immediately after death the fluid was still strong, and the eyes protruded owing to the pain caused by the disease. Fan Hsüan Tse soothed him too soon, therefore the eyes did not close, and the mouth not open. A short while afterwards, the fluid was weakened. Consequently, when Luan Huai Tse comforted him, his eyes closed, and his mouth received the gem. This was a sequence of Hsün Yen's sickness, and the soul of the deceased did not manifest his resentment in his mouth and his eyes.

All people have something to regret, when they die. A generous character regrets that he could not accomplish all the good works he intended, a scholar that his researches had still so many lacunæ a husbandman that he did not reap the grain he had sown, a merchant that he did not make a fortune, an official that he did not obtain the highest posts, and a brave that his attainments were not yet perfect. Every one on earth who has desires, has something to regret. If in every case regrets be considered the cause of the non-closing of the eyes, then all the dead on earth could not shut their eyes.

The souls of the dead are dissolved, and cannot hear any more what men say. This inability to hear what others say is called death. If after their separation from the body they became ghosts, and kept near to men, their connection with the body would already have been severed, and, though people addressed them, it would be impossible for them to again enter the body, and close the eyes, or open the mouth. If they could enter the body, and through the corpse express their dissatisfaction, then the inevitable consequence would be that they must have been preserved together with the body. Ordinary people hold that the spirits of the dead can, so to speak, re-animate the bodies, and show themselves so, that corpses would be like living men, which is a great mistake.

King Ch`êng of Ch`u¹⁵ set aside the heir-apparent Shang Chên, and wished to put Prince Chih in his place. When Shang Chên heard of it, he surrounded the king with the palace guards, and made him prisoner. The king desired eat bear's paws, before he was put to death, but Shang Chên did not grant this request, and the king died by strangulation. Shang Chên gave him the posthumous title Ling, but the king did not shut his eyes. Then he called him Ch`êng, and he closed his eyes. <sup>16</sup> This circumstance that he closed his eyes on being called Ch`êng, but not on being called Ling, proves that King Ch`êng had consciousness. The posthumous title Ling displeased him, therefore he did not shut his eyes. When it was altered into Ch`êng, his hurt feelings were mollified, whereupon he closed his eyes. His spirit heard people consult, and saw them change the title. This gave him such satisfaction, that he closed his eyes. They were not sick, and nobody soothed him. The eyes opened, and closed of their own accord; if that was not spiritual, what else was it?

I am of opinion that this story is like that of Hsün Yen. Although the eyes were not sick, they did not remain open for nothing. When King Ch`êng died by strangulation, his vital fluid was still strong, and, when his life was suddenly cut off, his eyes still opened. Owing to this the epithet Ling<sup>17</sup> was given him. After a short while, the fluid relaxed, and the eyes were just going to close, when simultaneously his title was changed into Ch`êng.¹⁸ It was by chance that the staring and the shutting of the eyes coincided with the selection of Ling as a posthumous title. The people of that time, noticing that the king shut his eyes as if in response to the title Ch`êng, believed that it was the soul of King Ch`êng. If he was really conscious, he ought never to have closed his eyes, for the murder committed by the heir-apparent upon his person was a heinous crime, whereas the selection of the word Ling as a posthumous title was only a small fault. He did not resent the great crime, but took offence at the small fault. That does not make the existence of a spirit probable, and would not seem a reliable utterance of his feelings. Of improper posthumous titles we have not only Ling but also Li.¹⁹ In the annals many princes bearing the epithets Ling and Li are mentioned. They did not all keep their eyes open, before their bodies were shrouded. Did the dead princes of the various ages not resent the name, and was it King Ch`êng alone who took umbrage? How is it that there were so many of the name of Ling, and so few who did not close their eyes?

Po Yu of Ch`êng was greedy and perverse, and his desires were many. Tse Hsi wished to rank before every one else. Both, of course, could not get on together. Tse Hsi assaulted Po Yu, who took to flight. Sse Tai led his countrymen against him, and defeated him. Po Yu died. <sup>20</sup> Nine years later [the people of Ch`êng took alarm owing to Po Yu. They said that Po Yu was coming. Consequently, they all ran away, not knowing where to go. In the following year, some people saw Po Yu in their dreams walking about in armour, and saying, "On the day. jê-tse, I will slay Sse Tai, and next year on jên-yin, I will slay Kung Sun Tuan."---When the jên-tse day arrived, Sse Tai died, and the fright of the citizens still increased. Afterwards, when the jên-yin day came, Kung Sun Tuan died also, and the citizens felt still more alarmed. Tse Ch`an<sup>21</sup> promoted his descendant to soothe him, and he kept quiet ever since.] Po Yu appeared in dreams, and said, "On the jên-tse day I will slay Sse Tai, and on jên-yin I will kill Kung Sun Tuan." When the jên-tse day came, Sse Tai died, and when the jên-yin day arrived, Kung SunTuan breathed his last. [When subsequently Tse Ch`an betook himself to Chin, Ching Tse of Chao questioned him saying, "Could Po Yu still become a ghost?"---Tse Ch`an rejoined, "He could. When man is born, that which is first created, is called animal soul, and, when the animal soul has been formed, its yang becomes the mind. In case the substance and the elements are abundantly used, the soul and the mind grow very strong, and therefore show great energy, until they become spirits. Even the soul and the mind of an ordinary man, or an ordinary woman, who have met with a violent death, can attach themselves to men, as evil spirits, and fancy Po Yu, a descendant of a former sovereign of mine, Duke Mu,<sup>22</sup> the grandson of Tse Liang, and the son of Tse Erh, who was governor of a small territory, the third of his family who held this post! Although Ch`êng is not a rich country, and, as a saying of Ch`êng is, a small and unimportant State, yet three successive generations have ruled over it. The stuff Po Yu was made of was copious and rich, and his family great and powerful. Is it not natural that having met with a violent death, he should be able to become a ghost?"] ²³

Po Yu killed both Sse Tai and Kung Sun Tuan, and did not miss the appointed time. That shows that he was really a spirit. When Tse Ch`an had raised his descendant, he kept quiet. Tse Ch`an understood the doings of ghosts, and therefore knew that they really existed. Since they are real, and not an illusion, Tse Ch`an answered the question addressed to him unhesitatingly. Tse Ch`an was a wise man who understood the nature of things. If Po Yu after death possessed no knowledge, how could he kill Sse Tai and Kung Sun Tuan? And if he could not become a ghost, why had Tse Ch`an not the slightest doubt about it?

My answer is, as follows. The man who lived at enmity with Po Yu was Tse Hsi. He attacked Po Yu, who fled. Sse Tai led his countrymen against Po Yu, and defeated him. Kung Sun Tuan merely followed Sse Tai, but did not settle his own dispute. His wrong was much smaller. Po Yu killed Sse Tai, but did not wreak his vengeance upon Tse Hsi. Since Kung Sun Tuan died along with Sse Tai, though his guilt was not worth speaking of, the soul of Po Yu was not conscious. Taking his revenge as a ghost, he did not make any distinction between a grave and a small offence, as he ought to have done.

Furthermore, Tse Ch`an asserted that he who dies a violent death can become a ghost. What does a violent death mean? Does it mean that according to fate Po Yu ought not yet to have died, when he was killed? Or does it mean that Po Yu was guileless, but hardly dealt with? If the idea is that he was slain, before the time of his death had arrived, there are many others who likewise died before their appointed time, and if it signifies that Po Yu was not guilty, but the victim of an outrage, then Po Yu was not alone outraged. If murdered men can become ghosts, Pi Kan and Tse Hsü did not.

During the "Spring and Autumn" period thirty-six sovereigns in all were assassinated. Theirs were violent deaths par excellence. Their sway extended over entire States, the fine substance of which they were formed must have been very abundant, and they succeeded one another as lords of the soil, not only through three generations. The dignity of a reigning prince is not on a level with that of a governor. Their ancestors, who were first enfeoffed, were certainly the equals of Tse Liang, the son of Duke Mu. Since the sovereigns of States who suffered death at the hands of their treacherous subjects, were of the highest nobility, their souls as ghosts would have been more enlightened than Po Yu, who in taking his revenge and killing his enemies went so far as to destroy Sse Tai and Kung Sun Tuan. The thirty-six princes did not become ghosts, nor did their thirty-six subjects feel their vengeance. If the spirit of Po Yu possessed knowledge, because he was a reckless character, the world has never seen more desperate men than Chieh and Chou, yet, when Chieh and Chou were put to death, their souls did not become ghosts.

Tse Ch`an's reasoning is a posteriori. Noticing that Po Yu met with a violent death, he held that all people dying an unnatural death can become ghosts. Had Po Yu become a ghost without having met with a violent death, he would have maintained that all people can become ghosts, unless they have died an unnatural death. What difference was there between Tse Hsi and Po Yu, while both were living in Ch`êng? Why should his death be otherwise than that of Po Yu? Both were killed by their contrymen for their lawlessness. Po Yu could become a ghost, and Tse Hsi could not. The argument on the violent death would suit in the case of Po Yu, but be inadmissible in that of Tse Hsi. The story of Po Yu is like the tale of the Earl of Tu. The tale of the Earl of Tu being unreliable, that of Po Yu cannot be regarded as true either.

[Duke Huan of Ch in²⁴ invaded Chin, and encamped himself at Fu-shih.²⁵ The Marquis of Chin had gathered his troops in Chi,²⁶ to seize the land of the Ti,²⁷ and restore the Marquis of Li.²⁸ When he came back from this expedition, Wei K`o defeated the army of Ch`in at Fu-shih, and made Tu Hui prisoner. Tu Hui was the strongest man in Ch`in. Previously Wei Wu Tse<sup>29</sup> had a favourite concubine, but no son by her. When he fell sick, he bade Wei K`o to give his concubine to somebody in marriage. Afterwards, when his case became more serious, he ordered Wei K`o again to bury the concubine with him, but, when Wei Wu Tse's death ensued, Wei K`o did not bury her. Some people found fault with him, but Wei K`o replied, "During his delirium the mind of my father was deranged, therefore I followed the orders he gave, when he was in his senses." At the battle of Fu-shih, Wei K`o perceived an old man plaiting grass with a view to ensnaring Tu Hui, who stumbled, and fell down, and thus was caught. In the night he beheld the old man in his dreams, who said to him, "I am the father of the woman which you have given away. You have obeyed your father's orders of the time, when he was still in his right mind, therefore I have paid you my debt of gratitude."] ³⁰

The father of the favourite knew the virtue of Wei K`o, therefore he appeared in the shape of a ghost, plaited grass, and helped him to win the battle. This clearly proves the enlightenment and the knowledge of the spirit.

I say that, provided that the father of the woman did know the virtue of Wei K`o, and appeared as a ghost to help him in battle, he should have been able to reward those whom he liked during his life-time, and to destroy whom he hated, while alive. Human intercourse is amicable or otherwise. Kindness and unfriendliness must be requited, just as gratitude was to be shown for the sake of the woman. Now, the old man was unable to requite the kindness he had received, while alive, and only could show his gratitude for the goodness which he received after death. That is no proof of knowledge, or of the ability to become a ghost.

When Chang Liang walked on the banks of the river Sse, an old man presented him with a book. ³¹Kuang Wu Ti³² was sorely pressed in Ho-pei,³³ when an old man gave his advice. One's fate being grand, and the time lucky, one must meet with felicitous and pleasant auguries. Wei K`o was to take Tu Hui prisoner, and to distinguish himself in battle, consequently the phantom of an old man appeared plaiting grass, where the hosts were passing.

Wang Chi³⁴ was buried at the foot of Mount Hua. The Luan river having undermined his tumulus, the front part of his coffin became visible. Wên Wang said, "How pleasing! Our old lord certainly wishes to see his officers and people once more, therefore he caused the Luan to bring his coffin to light." Upon this, he held a court, and all the people could view him for three days. Then he had him buried again.---Wên Wang was a sage, who knew the true nature of things and principles. Seeing that Wang Chi's coffin was visible, he knew that his spirit was desirous of seeing the people, therefore he took him out, and showed him.

I fancy that all the kings and emperors who from ancient times were entombed in the earth after their deaths, must be counted by thousands. They did not desire to see their people again, wherefore should Wang Chi alone have done so? On the banks of the Yellow River and the Sse, many tombs have been built, and the coffins which by an inundation and a land-slip have been uncovered are innumerable. Did all those persons wish to see their people again? The undermining of the foot of Mount Ku by the Luan is like the inundations and the ruptures caused by the waters of the Yellow River and the Sse. Wên Wang perceiving the front part of the coffin exposed, commiserated the old lord, and felt sorry for him, and imagined that he wished to come out again. This is the natural sentiment of a devoted and filial son, and a natural feeling for the other's well-being. As the wise man and the sage he was, he felt deeply touched, and did not take the time to reason and analyse his feelings. He treated a dead man, as though he were living, and therefore gave him a new tomb. The masses believe in the words of wise men and sages, hence they fancy that Wang Chi wished to see his people.

Duke Ching of Ch`i<sup>35</sup> was going to invade Sung. When his troops passed Mount T`ai, the duke saw two old gentlemen in his dream, who stood there in a fit of passion. The duke told Yen Tse,³⁶ who replied, "They are T`ang<sup>37</sup> and Yi Yin,<sup>38</sup> former worthies of Sung."---The duke was incredulous, and thought that they were the spirits of Mount T`ai. Yen Tse said, "Your Highness disbelieves me, allow me to describe the appearance of T`ang and Yi Yin. T`ang is pale and tall, and has a beard on the chin, which is pointed above, and full below. He keeps himself straight, and talks with a loud voice."---The duke said, "Yes, so he is." Yen Tse continued, "Yi Yin is dark and short, and has dishevelled hair and whiskers, which are full above and pointed below. He has a stooping gait, and talks low."---The duke said, "Yes, so he is, but what is to be done now?"---Yen Tse replied, "T`ang, T`ai Chia, Wu Ting, and Tsu Yi³⁹ were excellent rulers of the empire. It is not right that they should have no offspring left. Now there remains only Sung, which Your Highness is going to invade. ⁴⁰ Therefore T`ang and Yi Yin are enraged, and ask you to dismiss your army, and keep peace with Sung." <sup>41</sup> ---The duke did not take heed, and invaded Sung after all, when his army was in fact beaten.---T`ang and Yi Yin possessed knowledge, and resented the attack of Duke Ching upon Sung, therefore they appeared to him in his dreams enraged, for the purpose of checking him, but Duke Ching did not stop, and his army met with a reverse.

They say that previously Duke Ching had already seen a comet in his dreams. At the time in question, the comet did not appear, which was unlucky. It may be so, but all this were dreams. Duke Ching saw a comet, but it was not a real comet, and he dreamt of T`ang and Yi Yin, but they were not real. Perhaps they were inauspicious visions accompanying the defeat of his army. Yen Tse believed in the dream, and said that the figures were those of T`ang and Yi Yin. Duke Ching accepted Yen Tse's explanation as true. When the Ch`in united the empire, they destroyed the descendants of Yi Yin. From that time up to the present the sacrifices to T`ang and Yi Yin have been discontinued, why did they not resent it?

[Tse Ch`an of Ch`êng⁴² was sent on a complimentary mission to Chin. The marquis of Chin⁴³ was sick. Han Hsüan Tse⁴⁴ went to meet the guest, and privately said to him, "My prince is laid up three months already. Although we all have run about to sacrifice to the hills and streams, his sickness increases instead of improving. Now he has dreamt of a yellow bear passing through the door of his bedchamber. What devil can that be?"---Tse Ch`an replied, "Since the prince is so enlightened, and your administration so grand, why should there be a malignant spirit? Of yore Yao banished Kun⁴⁵ for perpetuity to Mount Yü.⁴⁶ His spirit became a yellow bear, which entered into the deep holes of the Yü. It eventually became an object of veneration to the Hsia,⁴⁷ and the Three Dynasties ⁴⁸ sacrificed to it. The marquis of Chin is an allied prince, ⁴⁹ has he perhaps not sacrificed to it?"---Han Hsüan Tse performed the sacrifice of the Hsia, and the marquis of Chin felt a relief.] ⁵⁰ The yellow bear was the spirit of Kun. The marquis of Chin had not sacrificed to it, therefore it passed through the door of his bedroom. When Chin knew it, and performed the sacrifice, the disease was interrupted. Does that not show that the dead are conscious?

That Kun was left to die on Mount Yü every one knows, but wherefrom should people learn that his spirit became a yellow bear, and entered the depths of the Yü? If it was like Duke Niu Ai of Lu, who during a disease was transformed into a tiger, ⁵¹ it could have been verified at the time of death. Now Kun died far away on Mount Yü, nobody was with him, where did the news come from then? Moreover, it is expressly stated that his spirit became a bear, which implics that he died. That after death his spirit became a yellow bear, men had no means to ascertain.

People call a dead man a ghost. A ghost is like a living man in form, and does not look otherwise than a man, and yet it is not the spirit of the deceased. How much less a bear, which has no human form, and does not resemble man! If really the spirit of Kun after death was transformed into a yellow bear, then the spirit of a dead bear might also eventually become a man. How could anybody dreaming of it know but that it was the spirit of a dead animal? Those who believe that the bear was the spirit of Kun will also imagine that the ghosts which appear are the vital force of the dead. There is no proof that it is the vital force of human beings, and we cannot own that a yellow bear was the spirit of Kun.

Furthermore, dreams are visions. When good or bad luck are impending, the mind shapes these visions. Thus the sight of a bear will also admit of an interpretation. ⁵² Now, in case that the spirit of Kun really became a yellow bear after death, must the yellow bear which appeared in the dream at all events have been the spirit of Kun? The feudal princes were wont to sacrifice to the mountains and streams. Should the marquis of Chin have viewed mountains and streams in his dreams, would it not have been, because he had offered sacrifice to them, that those mountains and streams appeared to him? ⁵³

When people are sick, they often see their deceased ancestors arriving and standing by their side; are we again to suppose that these deceased ancestors show themselves for the purpose of asking for food? What we see in our dreams is, moreover, being interpreted as having some other meaning, and is not real anyhow. How can we prove that? When in a dream we have perceived a living man, this man, seen in our dream, does not meet us on the following day. Since the man seen in the dream, does not meet us, we know that the yellow bear of Kun did not pass through the bedroom door, as a matter of fact, and, since it did not, Kun did not ask for food either. Kun not having asked for food, the disease of the marquis of Chin was not a misfortune caused by his neglect of the Hsia sacrifice, and since it was not a calamity brought about by the non-observance of this ceremony, the relief of the marquis of Chin was not a lucky event caused by the performance of the sacrifice. There having been no real luck, it is evident that there was no consciousness on the part of Kun.

This is like the case of Lin An, Prince of Huai-nan;⁵⁴ who died charged with high-treason, and is nevertheless commonly reported to have ascended to heaven as an immortal. ⁵⁵ Whether Tse Ch`an also had heard such a false rumour, <sup>56</sup> we cannot make out now. By chance the force of the sickness of the marquis of Chin was just going to be broken of itself, when Tse Ch`an happened to explain the appearance of the yellow bear. Thus the statement that the yellow bear was the spirit of Kun found credence.

The Emperor Kao Huang Ti⁵⁷ intended to make Ju Yi, Prince of Chao, his successor, because he was like him. The Empress Lü Hou was furious, and afterwards poisoned the prince of Chao. When, later on, Lü Hou went out, she beheld a grey dog, which bit her under her left arm. She thought it strange, and by divination found out that it had been Ju Yi, prince of Chao, who had haunted her. She then began to suffer from the wound under her arm, which did not heal, and died. ⁵⁸ People believe that the spirit of Ju Yi transformed itself into a grey dog to take his revenge.

I say that, when a valiant warrior fighting, flushed with anger, succumbs, sword in hand, and being hurt, sinks to the ground, and breathes his last, he sees with his eyes the adversary, who has hit him, yet, after death, his spirit is incapable of taking its vengeance. When Lü Hou poisoned Ju Yi, she did not step forward personally, but had instructed some one to administer the poison. First the prince was not aware of his being poisoned, and then in his anger did not know, who the murderer was. How then could he become a demon, and avenge himself upon Lü Hou?

If the dead possessed knowledge, nobody had more reason to hate Lü Hou than the Emperor Kao Tsu. He loved Ju Yi, whom the empress killed. The soul of Kao Tsu ought to have been like a peal of thunder in his wrath, and not have waited one day, before he called Lü Hou to account. Why was the spirit of Kao Tsu not like that of Ju Yi, and why did he dislike Ju Yi after his death, and acquiesce in the murder of the empress?

When the report of a quarrel which the prime minister T`ien Fên,<sup>59</sup> Marquis of Wu-an,<sup>60</sup> had had with the former generalissimo Kuan Fu over a glass of wine reached the emperor, Kuan Fu was imprisoned. Tou Ying<sup>61</sup> attempted to rescue him, but could not save him, and the consequence was that Kuan Fu brought down capital punishment upon himself, and that Tou Ying had to suffer death likewise. Subsequently, T`ien Fên contracted a very painful disease, during which he cried, "Yes, yes," and asked the by-standers to look. They beheld Kuan Fu and Tou Ying sitting by his side. T`ien Fên's sickness did not release, until he died. ⁶²

I reply that he was not the only man who killed another. Other murderers have not seen their victims, when they fell sick afterwards, whereas T`ien Fên beheld the two men whose deaths he had brought about. T`ien Fên alone did so, because he felt their anger, and in his delirium had hallucinations. Or maybe he perceived some other ghost, and the necromancer having heard of his former dispute with Kuan Fu and Tou Ying, and of his wish to learn the real name of the spirit, and seeing him crying, "Yes, yes," at random, gave the answer that Kuan Fu and Tou Ying were sitting near him.

The governor of Huai-yang,⁶³Yin Ch`i, was a very cruel and oppressive magistrate. When he had passed away, the people whom he had wronged intended to burn his body, but it disappeared, and reverted to its grave. He was conscious, therefore the people were going to burn him, and he was a spirit, therefore he could disappear.

I presume that the vanished spirit of Yin Ch`i has his analogies. During the Ch`in epoch three mountains disappeared. ⁶⁴ and about the end of the Chou dynasty the Nine Tripods were engulphed. ⁶⁵ Provided that things which can disappear are spirits, then the three mountains and the Nine Tripods must have had consciousness. Perhaps the then magistrate, apprised of the design of the angry populace, stealthily removed the corpse, and pretended that it had disappeared, and for fear, lest the out aged people should vent their wrath upon himself, declared that it had done so of its own accord. All persons who can disappear must have their feet to walk upon. Now, the circulation of the blood of the deceased had been interrupted, and his feet could not move any more. How should he have managed his flight?

In Wu, Wu Tse Hsü was cooked, ⁶⁶ and in Han, P`êng Yüeh<sup>67</sup> was pickled. Burning and pickling is the same torture. Wu Tse Hsü and P`êng Yüeh were equally brave. They could not escape the cooking, or avoid the pickling, and Yin Ch`i alone is said to have been able to return to his tomb. That is an untruth and an unfounded assertion.

Doomed ⁶⁸Wang Mang removed the empress Fu Hou, the wife of the emperor Yuan Ti,⁶⁹ from her tomb. He desecrated her coffin, and took from it boxes with jewels and seals. Afterwards he conveyed the corpse to Ting-t`ao,<sup>70</sup> where he had it buried again after the fashion of common people. When the coffin was taken out, a stench rose to heaven. The governor of Loyang on approaching the coffin smelled it, and dropped down dead. Wang Mang likewise disinterred the empress Ting Hou, wife to the emperor Kung Wang<sup>71</sup> in Tingt`ao, but fire issued from her crypt, and burned several hundred officials and scholars to death. The re-interment was done in a low style, and the dead were robbed of their valuables. These two insults induced them to cause the stench, and send the fire to destroy the offenders.

I say that the stench rose to heaven, because many eatable things had been placed into the grave. It is not passing strange that men could not stand the mephetic vapours, when the smell of the putrid matter came forth in abundance, but it is strange that flames should have flashed from the crypt. At all events, it was not the spirit of the empress Ting Hou, for the following reason. Must he who breaks open, and despoils graves not be much more hated than he who merely changes the tombs? Yet, during a year of scarcity, those who dig up tombs for the purpose of appropriating the garments of the dead must be counted by thousands. Provided that the departed know, when others strip them of their clothes, and leave their bodies naked, they cannot hinder it at that time, and, later on, have no means to take their revenge.

But these are people of small account, not worth mentioning. Ch`in Shih Huang Ti was buried near the Li-shan.⁷² At the close of Erh Shih Huang Ti's reign ⁷³ the robbers of the empire dug up his grave, and he could not send forth either stench or fire, nor kill a single man! He had been the Son of Heaven, and could not become a spirit. How then should Fu Hou and Ting Hou, two women, have been able to do miracles? They are believed to have become spirits, but not in the same way, and to have shown their powers in different places. People saw flames, and smelled bad odour. Consequently the assertion that both became spirits is erroneous.

<Previous Section>	B. Metaphysical. TOC PREFACE. INTRODUCTION. A. Biographical. B. Metaphysical. C. Physical. D. Ethical. E. Critique (philosophical, literary and historical). F. Folklore and religion. INDEX OF SUBJECTS. INDEX OF PROPER NAMES. CHINESE WORKS QUOTED. ERRATA AND ADDENDA. ADDITIONAL NOTE. A. Metaphysical. B. Ethical. C. Critique. D. Folklore and Religion. POSTSCRIPT. Comparative Table of Contents. Quotations. APPENDIX I. The Theory of the Five Elements and the Classifications based thereon. APPENDIX II. The Cycle of the Twelve Animals. APPENDIX III. On Some Implements Mentioned by Wang Ch`ung. INDEX OF SUBJECTS. INDEX OF PROPER NAMES. ERRATA AND ADDENDA TO VOL. I.		<Next Section>

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