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說日篇
儒者曰:“日朝見,出陰中;暮不見,入陰中。陰氣晦冥,故沒不見。
”如實論之,不出入陰中。何以效之?。
夫夜,陰也,氣亦晦冥,或夜舉火者,光不滅焉。夜之陰,北方之陰也;朝出日,入所舉之火也。
火夜舉,光不滅;日暮入,獨不見,非氣驗也
夫觀冬日之出入,朝出東南,暮入西南。東南、西南非陰,何故謂之出入陰中?且夫星小猶見,日大反滅,世儒之論,竟虛妄也。
儒者曰:“冬日短,夏日長,亦複以陰陽。夏時,陽氣多,陰氣少,陽氣光明,與日同耀,故日出輒無鄣蔽。冬,陰氣晦冥,
掩日之光,日雖出,猶隱不見,故冬日日短,陰多陽少,與夏相反。
”如實論之,日之長短,不以陰陽。何以驗之?複以北方之星。北方之陰,
日之陰也。北方之陰,不蔽星光,冬日之陰,何故〔獨〕滅日明?由此言之,以陰陽說者,失其實矣。
實者,夏時日在東井,冬時日在牽牛,牽牛去極遠,故日道短,東井近極,故日道長。夏北至東井,冬南至牽牛,故冬夏節極
,皆謂之至,春秋未至,故謂之分。
或曰:“夏時陽氣盛,陽氣在南方,故天舉而高;冬時陽氣衰,天抑而下。高則日道多,故日長;下則日道少,故日短也。
”夏日陽氣盛,天南方舉而日道長;月亦當複長。案夏日長之時,日出東北,而月出東南;冬日短之時,日出東南,月出東北。
如夏時天舉南方,日月當俱出東北,冬時天複下,日月亦當俱出東南。由此言之,夏時天不舉南方,冬時天不抑下也。然則夏日之長也,
其所出之星在北方也;冬日之短也,其所出之星在南方也。
問曰:“當夏五月日長之時在東井,東井近極,故日道長。今案察五月之時,日出於寅,入於戌。日道長,去人遠,何以
得見其出於寅入於戌乎?”日東井之時,去人極近。夫東井近極,若極旋轉,人常見之矣。使東井在極旁側,得無夜常為晝乎?日晝行十
六分,人常見之,不復出入焉。
儒者或曰: “日月有九道,故曰:“日行有近遠,晝夜有長短也。”夫複五月之時,晝十一分,夜五分;六月,晝十分,夜六分;從六月往至十一月,月減一分:此則日行,月從一分道也,歲,日行天十六道也,豈徒九道?
或曰:“天高南方,下北方。日出高,故見;入下,故不見。天之居若倚蓋矣,故極在人之北,是其效也。極其天下之中,
今在人北,其若倚蓋,明矣。”
日明既以倚蓋喻,當若蓋之形也。極星在上之北,若蓋之葆矣;其下之南,有若蓋之莖者,正何所乎?夫取蓋倚於地不能運,
立而樹之,然後能轉。今天運轉,其北際不著地者,觸礙何以能行?由此言之,天不若倚蓋之狀,日之出入不隨天高下,明矣。
或曰:“天北際下地中,日隨天而入地,地密鄣隱,故人不見。” 然天地,夫婦也,合為一體。天在地中,地與天合,天地並氣,
故能生物。北方陰也,合體並氣,故居北方。天運行於地中乎,不則,北方之地低下而不平也。
如審運行地中,鑿地一丈,轉見水源,天行地中,出入水中乎,如北方低下不平,是則九川北注,不得盈滿也。實者,
天不在地中,日亦不隨天隱,天平正,與地無異。然而日出上,日入下者,隨天轉運,
視天若覆盆之狀,故視日上下然,似若出入地中矣。然則日之出,近也;其入遠,不復見,故謂之入,運見於東方近,故謂之出。
何以驗之?系明月之珠於車蓋之,轉而旋之,明月之珠旋邪?
人望不過十裏,天地合矣,遠非合也。今視日入,非入也,亦遠也。當日入西方之時,
其下民亦將謂之日中。從日入之下,東望今之天下,或時亦天地合。如是方〔今〕天下在南方也,故日出於東方,入於北方之地,日出北
方,入於南方。各於近者為出,遠者為入。實者不入,遠矣。
臨大澤之濱,望四邊之際與天屬;其實不屬,遠若屬矣。日以遠為入,澤以遠為屬,其實一也。澤際有陸,人望而不見,陸在,
察之若〔亡〕,日亦在,視之若入,皆遠之故也。
太山之高,參天入雲,去之百里,不見埵塊。夫去百里不見太山,況日去人以萬里數乎?太山之驗,則既明矣。
試使一人把大炬火夜行於道,平易無險,去人不一裏,火光滅矣,非滅也,遠也。今日西轉不復見者,非入也。
問曰:“天平正與地無異,今仰視天,觀日月之行,天高南方下北方,何也?”
曰:方今天下在東南之上,視天若高,日月道在人之南,今天下在日月道下,故觀日月之行,若高南下北也。何以驗之?
即天高南方,之星亦當高,今視南方之星低下,天複低南方乎?夫視天之居近者則高,遠則下焉,極北方之民以為高,南方為下。
極東極西,亦如此焉。皆以近者為高,遠者為下。從北塞下,近仰視鬥極,且在人上。
匈奴之北,地之邊陲,北上視天,天複高北下南,日月之道,亦在其上。立太山之上,太山高,去下十裏,
太山下。夫天之高下,猶人之察太山也。
平正,四方中央高下皆同,今望天之四邊若下者,非也,遠也。非徒下,若合矣。
儒者或以旦暮日出入為近,日中為遠;或以日中為近,日出入為遠。其以日出入為近,日中為遠者,見日出入時大,日中時小也。
察物近則大,遠則小,故日出入為近,日中為遠也。其以日出入為遠,日中時為近者,見日中時溫,日出入時寒也。夫火光近人則溫,遠人則寒,
故以日中為近,日出入為遠也。
二論各有所見,故是非曲直未有所定。如實論之,日中近而日出入遠,何以驗之?以植竿於屋下,夫屋高三丈,竿於屋棟之下,
正而樹之,上扣棟,下抵地,是以屋棟去地三丈。如旁邪倚之,則竿末旁跌,不得扣棟,是為去地過三丈也。
日中時,日正在天上,猶竿之正樹去地三丈也。日出入,邪在人旁,猶竿之旁跌去地過三丈也。夫如是,日中為近,出入為遠,
可知明矣。
試複以屋中堂而坐一人,一人行於屋上,其行中屋之時,正在坐人之上,是為屋上之人,與屋下坐人相去三丈矣。
如屋上人在東危若西危上,其與屋下坐人相去過三丈矣。
日中時猶人正在屋上矣,其始出與入,猶人在東危與西危也。日中,去人近,故溫,日出入,遠,故寒。然則日中時日小,其出入時大者,日中光明故小,其出入時光暗故大,猶晝日察火光小,夜察之火光大也。既以火為效,又以星為驗,晝日星不見者,光耀滅之也,夜無光耀,星乃見。夫日月,星之類也。平旦、日入光銷,故視大也。
儒者論日旦出扶桑,暮入細柳。扶桑,東方地;細柳,西方野也。桑、柳,天地之際,日月常所出入之處。
問曰:歲二月八月時,
日出正東,日入正西,可謂日出於扶桑,入於細柳。今夏日長之時,日出於東北,入於西北;冬日短之時,日出東南,入於西南,冬與夏日之出入,
在於四隅,扶桑、細柳,正在何所乎?所論之言,猶謂春秋,不謂冬與夏也。如實論之,日不出於扶桑,入於細柳。何以驗之?隨天而轉,近則見,
遠則不見。當在扶桑、細柳之時,從扶桑、細柳之民,謂之日中之時,從扶桑、細柳察之,或時為日出入。
〔皆〕以其上者為中,旁則為旦夕,安得出於扶桑,入細柳?
儒者論曰:“天左旋,日月之行,不系於天,各自旋轉”。難之曰:使日月自行,不系於天,日行一度,月行十三度,當日月出時,當進而東旋,何還始西轉?系於天,隨天四時轉行也。其喻若蟻行於磑上,日月行遲天行疾,天持日月轉,故日月實東行而反西旋也。
或問:“日、月、天皆行,行度不同,三者舒疾,驗之人、物,〔何〕以〔為〕喻?”曰:天,日行一周。
日行一度二千里,日晝行千里,夜行千里,〔騏驥〕晝日亦行千里。然則日行舒疾,與〔騏驥〕之步,相似類也。
月行十三度,十度二萬里,三度六千里,月一〔日〕〔一〕夜行二萬六千里,與晨鳧飛相類似也。
天行三百六十五度,積凡七十三萬里也,其行甚疾,無以為驗,當與陶鈞之運,弩矢之流,相類似乎?
天行已疾,去人高遠,視之若遲,蓋望遠物者,動若不動,行若不行。何以驗之?乘船江海之中,順風而驅,近岸則行疾,
遠岸則行遲,船行一實也,或疾或遲,遠近之視使之然也。
仰視天之運,不若〔騏驥〕負日而馳,〔比〕〔日〕暮,而日在其前,何則?〔騏驥〕近而日遠也。遠則若遲,近則若疾,六萬里之程,難以得運行之實也。
儒者說曰:“日行一度,天一日一夜行三百六十五度,天左行,日月右行,與天相迎。”
問:日月之行也,系著於天也,
日月附天而行,不〔自〕行也。何以言之?《易》曰:“日月星辰麗乎天,百果草木麗於土。”麗者,附也。附天所行,若人附地而圓行,
其取喻若蟻行於上焉。
問曰:“何知不離天直自行也?” 如日能直自行,當自東行,無為隨天而西轉也。月行與日同,亦皆附天。何以驗之?驗之〔以〕雲。
雲不附天,常止於所處,使不附天,亦當自止其處。由此言之,日行附天明矣。
問曰:“日,火也。火在地不行,日在天,何以為行?”
曰:附天之氣行,附地之氣不行。火附地,地不行,故火不行。
難曰:“附地之氣不行,水何以行? ”曰:水之行也,東流入海也。西北方高,東南方下,水性歸下,猶火性趨高也。使地不高西方,則水亦不東流。
難曰:“附地之氣不行,人附地,何以行?”
曰:人之行,求有為也。人道有為,故行求。
古者質樸,鄰國接境,雞犬之聲相聞,終身不相往來焉。
難曰:“附天之氣行,列星亦何以不行?”曰:列星著天,天已行也,隨天而轉,是亦行也。
難曰:“人道有為故行,天道無為何行?”曰:天之行也,施氣自然也,施氣則物自生,非故施氣以生物也。不動,氣不施,氣不施,物不生,與人行異。日月五星之行,皆施氣焉。
儒者曰:“日中有三足烏,月中有兔、蟾蜍。”夫日者,天之火也,與地之火無以異也。地火之中無生物,天火之中何故有烏?
火中無生物,生物入火中,燋爛而死焉,烏安得立?
夫月者,水也。水中有生物,非兔、蟾蜍也。 兔與蟾蜍久在水中,無不死者。日月毀於天,螺蚌汨於淵,同氣審矣,所謂兔、
蟾蜍者,豈反螺與蚌邪?
且問儒者:烏、兔、蟾蜍死乎?生也?如死,久在日月,燋枯腐朽。如生,日蝕時既,月晦常盡,烏、兔、蟾蜍皆何在?
夫烏、兔、蟾蜍,日月氣也,若人之腹髒,萬物之心膂也。月尚可察也,人之察日無不眩,不能知日審何氣,
通而見其中有物名曰烏乎?審日不能見烏之形,通而能見其足有三乎?此已非實。
且聽儒者之言,蟲物非一,日中何為有烏,月中何為有“兔”、“蟾蜍” ?
儒者謂:“日蝕、月蝕也”。彼見日蝕常於晦朔,晦朔月與日合,故得蝕之。夫春秋之時,日蝕多矣。《經》曰:“某月朔,日有蝕
之”。日有蝕之者,未必月也。知月蝕之,何諱不言月?
說日蝕之變,陽弱陰強也,人物在世,氣力勁強,乃能乘淩。案月晦光既,朔則如盡,微弱甚矣,安得勝日?夫日之蝕,月
蝕也。日蝕,謂月蝕之,月誰蝕之者?無蝕月也,月自損也。以月論日,亦如日蝕,光自損也。
大率四十一二月,日一食,百八十日,月一蝕,蝕之皆有時,非時為變,及其為變,氣自然也。日時晦朔,月複為之乎?夫日當實滿,
以虧為變,必謂有蝕之者,山崩地動,蝕者誰也?
或說:“日食者,月掩之也,日在上,月在下,障於〔月〕之形也。日月合相襲,月在上日在下者,不能掩日。日在上,
月在日下,障於日,月光掩日光,故謂之食也,障於月也,若陰雲蔽日月不見矣。
其端合者,相食是也。其合相當如襲〔璧〕者,日既是也。”日月合於晦朔,. 天之常也。日食,月掩日光,非也。何以驗之
?
使日月合,月掩日光,其初食崖當與旦複時易處。假令日在東,.月在西,月之行疾,東及日,掩日崖, 須臾過日而東,西崖初掩之處
光當複,東崖未掩者當複食。今察日之食,西崖光缺,其複也,西崖光復,過掩東崖複西崖,謂之合襲相掩障,如何?
儒者謂:“日月之體皆至圓”。彼從下望見其形,若鬥筐之狀,狀如正圓,不如望遠光氣,氣不圓矣。夫日月不圓,視若圓者,〔去〕人遠也。何以驗之?夫日者,火之精也;月者,水之精也。在地,水火不圓;在天水火何故獨圓?日月在天猶五星,五星猶列星,列星不圓,光耀若圓,去人遠也。何以明之?春秋之時,星霣宋都,就而視之,石也,不圓。以星不圓,知日月五星亦不圓也。
儒者說日及工伎之家,皆以日為一。禹、〔益〕《山海經》言日有十,在海外東方有湯穀,上有扶桑,十日
浴沐水中,有大木,九日居下枝,一日居上枝。
《淮南書》又言:“燭十日。堯時十日並出,萬物焦枯,堯上射十日。”以故不並一日見也。世俗又名甲乙為日,甲至癸凡十日,
日之有十,猶星之有五也。通人談士,歸於難知,不肯辨明。是以文二傳而不定,世兩言而無主。誠實論之,且無十焉。何以驗之?
夫日猶月也,
日而有十,月有十二乎?星有五,五行之精,金、木、水、火、土各異光色。如日有十,其氣必異。今觀日光無有異者,察其小大前後若一。
如審氣異,光色宜殊;如誠同氣,宜合為一,無為十也。
驗日陽遂,火從天來,日者、大火也,察火在地,一氣也,地無十火,
天安得十日?然則所謂十日者,殆更自有他物,光質如日之狀,居湯谷中水,時緣據扶桑,禹、益見之,則紀十日。
數家度日之光,數日之質,刺徑千里,假令日出是扶桑木上之日,扶桑木宜覆萬里,乃能受之。何則?一日徑千里,十日宜萬里也。
天之去人萬里餘也,
仰察之,日光眩耀,火光盛明,不能堪也。使日出是扶桑木上之日,禹、益見之,不能知其為日也。何則?
仰察一日,目猶眩耀,況察十日乎?當禹、益見之,若鬥筐之狀,故名之為日。夫火如鬥筐,望六萬之形,非就見之,即察之體也。由此言之,禹
、益所見,意似日非日也。
天地之間,物氣相類,其實非者多。海外西南有珠樹焉,察之是珠,然非魚中之珠也。夫十日之日,猶珠樹之珠也,
珠樹似珠非真珠,十日似日非實日也。淮南見《山海經》,則虛言真人燭十日,妄紀堯時十日並出。
且日,火也;湯谷,水也。水火相賊,則十日浴於湯穀,當滅敗焉。火燃木,扶桑,木也,十日處其上,宜燋枯焉。
今浴湯穀而光不滅,登扶桑而枝不燋不枯,與今日出同,不驗於五行,故知十日非真日也。
且禹、益見十日之時,終不以夜,猶以晝也,則一日出,九日宜留,安得俱出十日?如平旦日未出,
且天行有度數,
日隨天轉行,安得留扶桑枝間,浴湯谷之水乎?留則失行度,行度差跌,不相應矣。如行出之日與十日異,是意似日而非日也。
《春秋》“莊公七年夏四月辛卯,夜中恆星不見,星如雨。”
《公羊傳》曰 “如雨者何?非雨也。非雨則曷為謂之如雨?不修《春秋》曰:雨星,不及地尺而複。君子修之曰:
星霣如雨。”
不修《春秋》者,未修《春秋》時《魯史記》,曰“雨〔星〕,不及地尺而複”。君子者,孔子,孔子修之曰“星
霣如雨”孔子之意,以為地有山陵樓臺,雲不及地尺,恐失其實,更正之曰如雨。如雨者,為從地上而下,星亦從天霣而複,與同,故曰如。
夫孔子雖雲不及地尺,但言如雨,其謂霣之者,皆是星也。.孔子雖定其位,著其文,謂霣為星,與史同焉。
從平地望泰山之巔,鶴如烏,烏如爵者,泰山高遠,物之小大失其實。天之去地六萬余裏,高遠非直泰山之巔也;
星著於天,人察之,失星之實,非直望鶴烏之類也。數等星之質百里,體大光盛,故能垂耀,人望見之,若鳳卵之狀,
遠失其實也。
如星霣審者天之星霣而至地,人不知其為星也。何則?霣時小大,不與在天同也。今見星霣如在天時,是時星霣也;
非星,則氣為之也。人見鬼如死人之狀,其實氣象聚,非真死人。然則星之形,其實非星。孔子雲正霣者非星,而徙,
正言如雨非雨之文,蓋俱失星之實矣。
《春秋左氏傳》:“四月辛卯,夜中恆星不見,夜明也;星霣如雨,與雨俱也。”其言夜明,故不見,
與《易》之言日中見鬥相依類也。日中見鬥,幽不明也;夜中星不見,夜光明也。事異義同,蓋其實也。
其言與雨俱之集也。
夫辛卯之夜明,故星不見,明則不雨之驗也,雨氣陰暗安得明?明則無雨,安得與雨俱?夫如是言與雨俱者非實,且言夜明不見,安得見星
與雨俱?
又僖公十六年正月戊申,霣石於宋五,《左氏傳》曰:“星也。”夫謂霣石為星,則霣謂為石矣。辛卯之夜,星霣,
為星,則實為石矣。辛卯之夜,星霣如是石,地有樓臺,樓臺崩壞。孔子雖不合言及地尺,雖地必有實數,魯史目見,不空言者也,
雲與雨俱,雨集於地,石亦宜然。至地而樓臺不壞,非星明矣。且左丘明謂石為星,何以審之?當時石霣輕然。何以其從天墜也?
秦時三山亡,亡〔者〕不消散,有在其集下時必有聲音,或時夷狄之山,從集於宋,宋聞石霣,則謂之星也。左丘明省,則謂之星。
夫星,萬物之精,與日月同。說五星者,謂五行之精之光也。五星眾星同光耀,獨謂列星為石,恐失其實。實者,辛卯之夜,霣星若雨而非星也,與彼湯穀之十日,若日而非日也。
儒者又曰:“雨從天下”,謂正從天墜也。如〔實〕論之,雨從地上,不從天下,見雨從上集
,則謂從天下矣,其實地上也。然其出地起於山。何以明之?《春秋傳》曰:“觸石而出,膚寸而合,不崇朝而遍天下,
惟太山也。”太山雨天下,小山雨一國,各以小大為近遠差。雨之出山,或謂雲載而行,雲散水墜,名為雨矣。夫雲則雨,
雨則雲矣,初出為雲,雲繁為雨。猶甚而泥露濡汙衣服,若雨之狀。非雲與俱,雲載行雨也。
或曰:“《尚書》曰:‘月之從星,則以風雨。’《詩》曰:“月麗於畢,俾滂沲矣。”二經鹹言,所謂為之非天,如何?”
夫雨從山發,月經星麗畢之時,麗畢之時當雨也。時不雨,月不麗,山不雲,天地上下自相應也。月麗於上,山烝於下,氣體偶合,自然道也。雲霧,雨之征也,夏則為露,冬則為霜,溫則為雨,寒則為雪。雨露凍凝者,皆由地發,不從天降也。
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Chapter XX. On the Sun (Shuo-jih).
The Literati say that the sun, when he becomes
visible in the morning, comes forth from darkness, and that, when he disappears
in the evening, he re-enters darkness. The Yin fluid of
darkness is obscure, they say, therefore the sun disappears in it, and becomes
invisible.
In reality the sun neither leaves nor re-enters
darkness, but how can we prove that?
Night is darkness; its fluid is also obscure.
1 But if a fire is made during the night, its light is
not extinguished by the night. The darkness of night is the darkness of the
north. The setting sun, which rises in the morning, is the kindled fire. The
light of a fire, kindled at night-time, is not extinguished, that shows that,
when the sun sets in the evening, a fluid
2
cannot be the cause of his disappearance.
Observing the sun-rise and the sun-set in winter,
we remark that, in the morning, he rises in the south-east, and, in the
evening, he sets in the south-west. The south-east and the south-west are not
the region of the Yin or darkness.
3 How then can it be said that the sun proceeds from and
reverts to darkness? Furthermore, the stars notwithstanding their smallness
remain visible, and the sun is extinguished in spite of his greatness? The
reasoning of the scholars of to-day is thoughtless and shallow.
They again say that the shortness of the days in
winter, and their length in summer are also brought about by the
Yin and the Yang. In summer, the
Yang fluid abounds, and the Yin
fluid falls short. The Yang fluid shines with the same
splendour as the sun. Consequently, when the sun comes forth, there is nothing
to obscure him. In winter, the Yin fluid is dusky, and
overshadows the sun-light. Therefore, although the sun rises, he remains dark
and invisible. Thus in winter the days are short. The Yin is paramount, and the Yang is
scarce, just the reverse of what takes place in summer.
However, if we consider the question seriously, we
will find that the Yin and the Yang are not responsible for the length or the shortness of
the days. This is made evident by the northern stars. The Yin of the north is the Yin of the
sun. The Yin of the north does not overshadow the
sparkling of the stars, why then should the Yin in
winter obfuscate the brightness of the sun? Hence those who speak about the
Yin and the Yang miss the
truth.
As a matter of fact, in summer the sun stands in
Gemini, in winter in Aquila.
4 Aquila is far from
the pole, therefore the curve described by the sun is short. Gemini being near
the pole, the solar curve is long then. In summer the sun proceeds northwards
as far as Gemini, in winter southwards as far as Aquila. Therefore the extreme
solar points in winter and summer are called "winter" and "summer limit."
5
Because in spring and autumn those extremes are not reached, one speaks of
"vernal" and "autumnal division."
6
Some people hold that in summer, when the
Yang fluid abounds, it is in the south, and that in
consequence heaven rises and becomes high. In winter the Yang fluid decays, and heaven sinks down, and becomes
depressed. When heaven is high, the course of the sun increases in length, and
the days are lengthened; when heaven is low, the solar curve decreases, and the
days are short.
Now, if owing to the exuberance of the solar
Yang fluid, heaven rises in the south, and the course of
the sun is lengthened, the same increase ought to take place in regard to the
moon. In summer, when the days are long, the sun rises in the north-east, but
the moon in the south-east. In winter, when the days are short, the sun rises
in the south-east, whereas the moon rises in the north-east. If in summer
heaven were raised in the south, sun and moon ought equally to rise in the
north-east, and, if in winter heaven were lowered, sun and moon should both
rise in the south-east. It results from this, that in summer heaven does not
rise in the south, and that in winter it is not depressed. On the contrary, in
summer, when the days are long, the stars from which the sun rises are in the
north, and in winter, when the days are short, these stars are in the
south.
The following question may be raised. In summer, in
the fifth moon, when the days are long, the sun stands in Gemini, which are
near the pole, therefore the course of the sun is long. Now, we see that in the
fifth moon the sun rises in the sign Yin7 and sets in
Hsü.8 The solar curve being so long and far from men, how is
it that we see the sun rise in Yin and set in
Hsü? When the sun stands in Gemini, he is very near to
men. Gemini are near the pole, hence, when the pole turns round, they ought to
remain always visible.
9 Provided that Gemini are by the side of the pole, ought we
not to have no night, but continuous day?
10
Some scholars assert that sun and moon have nine
different courses, therefore, they say, the sun in his course is near or far,
and day and night are long or short.---However, in the fifth month day-time
makes up 11/16 and night-time 5/16, and in the sixth month the day is 10/16 and
the night 6/16. From the sixth month to the eleventh month every month the day
decreases by 1/16. That means that to the course of the sun every month 1/16 is
added. In the lapse of a year the sun takes 16 different courses on heaven and
not 9 only.
Another idea is that heaven is high in the south
and depressed in the north. When the sun rises into the higher region, he
becomes visible, and when he sets into the lower one, he disappears. Heaven is
believed to be like a reclining umbrella, which is shown by the fact that the
pole, as seen from us, is in the north. The pole is the centre of the world.
Since it is north from us, heaven must evidently resemble a reclining
umbrella.
If to illustrate the shining of the sun the analogy
of a reclining umbrella be used, heaven must really have the shape of an
umbrella. The polar star in the north of the upper part would correspond to the
top of the umbrella, the south in the lower part would be like the stick of the
umbrella, but where would that be? An umbrella reclining on the earth cannot
turn round, but raise it straight, and it rotates. Now, provided that heaven
revolves, its northern edge cannot touch the earth, for how could it revolve,
if it knocked against the earth? We see from this that heaven cannot be shaped
like a reclining umbrella, and that the sun rising or setting does not follow
the elevation, and the depression of heaven.
Some people maintain that the northern edge of
heaven sinks down into the earth, and that the sun following heaven enters into
the earth. The earth being massive, obscures him, so that men cannot see him.
But heaven and earth are husband and wife. They unite in one body, heaven is in
earth, and earth joined to heaven. Their fluids mix and produce things. The
north is Yin. When both are coupled, and their fluids
mingle, it is in the north therefore,
11 but does heaven revolve in the earth? If not, the earth in
the north would be depressed,
12 and not even.
Let us suppose that heaven really is revolving in
the earth. On digging up the earth ten feet deep we find springs. Does then
heaven revolving in the earth plunge into the water, and then come out again?
If the north were depressed and not level, the Nine Streams
13 ought to flow north without ever filling it up. In reality
heaven does not revolve in the earth, nor does the sun become obscured, because
he follows heaven. Heaven is quite as level as earth, and the sun rises, and
sets, being turned round along with heaven.
Heaven appears to us in the shape of a bowl turned
upside down. Therefore the sun rising and setting looks like coming from and
entering into the earth. When the sun rises, he is near, when he sets, he is
far, and becomes invisible, hence the term setting or entering. When in his
rotation the sun appears in the east, he is near, hence we say that he is
rising or coming out. But what proof have we? If you attach a moonlight pearl
to the bow over a cart, and turn the cart round, the pearl will also turn.
To men heaven and earth seem to unite at a distance
of no more than ten Li. That is the effect of the distance, for they do not
come together in fact. When we behold the sun setting, he does not set either,
it is also the distance. At the time, when the sun sets in the west, the people
living there will perhaps say that he is culminating, and looking from the
point, where the sun is setting, eastward to our world, heaven and earth may
appear to the beholder joined together. Our world is in the south,
14 therefore the sun rises in the east, and
disappears in the northern regions.
15 If the sun
rose in the north, he would set in the south,
16 for everywhere,
what is near seems to rise, and what is far, to set. In reality there is no
setting, but it is the distance.
If standing on the shore of a big lake, you look
out to its limits in the four directions, they are blended with heaven. As a
matter of fact, they are not blended, but the distance gives this impression.
Through distance the sun seems setting, and through distance the lake seems to
be blended with heaven. It is the same in both cases. The lake is bordered by
land, but we do not see it, for to the observer it looks, as if it were blended
17 with heaven. The sun also looks like setting. All
this is brought about by distance.
The height of Mount T`ai
equals that of heaven, and is lost in the clouds, yet from a distance of one
hundred Li the mountain does not appear as big as a clod of earth. At a
distance of one hundred Li Mount T`ai disappears, how
much more the sun, whose distance from us is counted by ten thousands of Li!
The example of the T`ai-shan gives an explanation.
Let a man take a big torch, and walk at night on a
level road, where there are no gaps. He will not have walked to a distance of
one Li from us, before the light of the fire is gone out.
18 It does not go out, it is the distance. In the
same manner the sun revolving westward and disappearing does not set.
19
The following question may be asked:---Heaven is
level as much as the earth. Now, looking up to heaven and regarding the
movements of the sun and the moon, it seems as though heaven were high in the
south and low in the north.
20 How is that to be
explained?
The answer is this:---Our actual world
21 is lying in the southeast. Seen from below, heaven looks,
as if it were elevated, and the courses of the sun and the moon are south of
us. Now, our world lies beneath the courses of the sun and the moon, therefore
it seems to us, as if in their motions they rose in the south, and descended in
the north. How shall we account for that?
If heaven were elevated in the south, the southern
stars should be elevated likewise. However, we see them going down. Is then
heaven again depressed in the south? The celestial bodies which are near appear
high, those which are distant, low. To people north of the pole it seems high,
and the south they regard as low. The same holds good for the regions east and
west of the pole. All regard as high, what is near, and as low, what is far
from them.
He who from beneath the Northern
Passes22 looks up,
sees the polar constellation above him. The north of the Hsiung-nu is the border-land of the earth. Seen in the
north, heaven still appears high in the north and low in the south, and sun and
moon in their courses ascend heaven there also. For a man standing on Mount
T`ai it is high, whereas ten Li from its foot it appears
low. The height of heaven is like that of Mount T`ai as
seen by men.
The four quarters and the centre, which are level,
are of the same height, if, therefore, heaven seems to be depressed at the four
cardinal points, this must be an illusion caused by the distance. Heaven does
not only seem depressed there, but joined to the earth.
Some savants hold that at
sunrise and sunset, in the morning and in the evening, the sun is near, and
that while in the zenith he is far away. Conversely, others maintain that the
sun in the zenith is near, whereas at sunrise and sunset he is a long way off.
Those who believe that the sun is near, when he rises or sets, and far off,
when he culminates, have remarked the large size of the sun rising or setting,
and his smallness at noon. We find that things are large, when they are near
us, and small, when seen from a distance. Therefore the rising and setting sun
is considered to be near, and the sun in the zenith to be far distant. Those
who believe that at sunrise and sunset the sun is far off, and at noon near us,
have on the other hand made the observation that at noon the sun is warm, and
that he is cool, while rising or setting. When a fire comes near us, we feel
hot, whereas, when it is at a distance, we feel cold. Hence the idea that the
sun at noon is near, while he is at a distance, when he is rising or setting.
23
Both views are well-founded, and it has not yet
been ascertained, which is right, and which is wrong. If we consider the
question seriously, we arrive at the conclusion that the sun in the zenith is
near, and at sunrise and sunset far off, as the following experiment will show.
Place a pole upright in a room. The room is 30 feet high. The pole placed
vertically under the roof-beam knocks against the latter above, and reaches to
the bottom below. The beam then is 30 feet distant from the bottom. When the
pole is inclined a little sidewards, its top diverges sidewards, and cannot
touch the beam anymore, because the distance from the bottom is more than 30
feet.
When the sun is culminating, he just reaches the
highest point on heaven, exactly like the pole standing upright so, that the
distance from the bottom measures 30 feet. The sun rising or setting is
deflected to our right or left like the pole inclining to one side, whereby the
distance from the bottom exceeds 30 feet. We learn from this that the sun in
the zenith is near, and the rising or setting sun more distant.
Let again a man be seated in the central hall of a
house, and another walk on its roof. When he has reached the centre of the
house, he is just above the man seated, and the distance from the man on the
roof to the man sitting in the house, is 30 feet. When he is at the eastern or
the western corner of the roof, his distance from the man in the house is
greater than 30 feet.
The sun in the zenith is like the man standing in
the middle of the roof, when the sun is just rising or setting, he resembles
the man at the eastern or western corner. The sun in the zenith is near us,
therefore warm, at the time of his rising or setting, he is far, and
consequently cool. However, when the sun stands in the zenith, he is small,
whereas at sunrise and sunset he is large. That is because, when the sun is
culminating, the brightness of daylight
24 makes him appear small, and when the sun is rising or
setting, daylight is fading, and he looks larger in consequence. In the same
manner a fire looks small at day-time, but big at night. What is shown by fire,
can be proved by the stars also. The stars are not visible during the day,
because the brightness of the day eclipses them. At night there is no light,
and the stars become visible. Now the sun and the moon are stars. When the sun
approaches the horizon, and is about to set, his light fades, and he appears
bigger.
The scholars argue that in the morning the sun
rises from Fu Sang,25 and in the
evening sets in Hsi Liu.26Fu
Sang is the eastern region, Hsi Liu the western
desert, both are the confines of heaven and earth, and the places where the sun
and the moon use to rise and set.
I beg to put the following question:---Every year
in the second and the eighth months the sun rises exactly in the east, and sets
exactly in the west.
27 We might say then that the sun rises in Fu
Sang, and sets in Hsi Liu. But in summer, when the
days are long, the sun rises in the north-east, and sets in the northwest.
28 In winter, when the days are short, the sun rises in the
south-east and sets in the south-west. In winter and summer rising and setting
take place in four different corners. In which place exactly are
Fu Sang and Hsi Liu situated
then? The above statement, therefore, is true for spring and autumn, but not
for winter and summer. Yet, after all, the sun does not rise in
Fu Sang nor set in Hsi Liu for
the reason that he revolves with heaven and is visible, when near, and
invisible, when far off. While he is in Fu Sang or
Hsi Liu, the people there, from their standpoint, will
say that the sun is in the zenith. At other times it may appear from
Fu Sang and Hsi Liu, as though
the sun were rising or setting. When he is above people's heads, they call it
noon, when he is on one side, they call it morning or evening. How can the sun
under these circumstances rise in Fu Sang, and set in
Hsi Liu?
The Literati again assert that heaven is revolving
from right to left,
29 and that the sun and the moon in their courses are
not attached to heaven, but have each their own movement. It might be objected
that, in case the sun and the moon had their proper movements, and were not
attached to heaven, the sun would proceed one degree, and the moon thirteen.
After their rise, both ought to go on and turn from west to east, how is it
that nevertheless they commence to turn westward? They are attached to heaven,
and follow its movements during the four seasons. Their movement may be
compared to that of ants crawling on a rolling mill-stone. The movements of the
sun and the moon are slow, whereas heaven moves very fast. Heaven carries the
sun and the moon along with it, therefore they really move eastward,
30 but are turned westward.
Perhaps the following question might be
raised:---The sun, the moon, and heaven have their movement each, but the
number of degrees which they traverse is not the same. To what can their
velocity be compared, if referred to the things of this world?
I would reply that heaven makes one circumvolution
every day. The sun moves on one degree equal to 2,000 Li, of which he makes
1,000 during the day-time and 1,000 during the night. The unicorn
31 also runs 1,000 Li during
the day, therefore the speed of the sun is very much like the pace of the
unicorn.
The moon moves on 13 degrees. 10 degrees being
equal to 20,000 Li, and 3 degrees to 6,000, the distance made by the moon in
one day and one night is 26,000 Li, which is like the flight of a wild
duck.
Since heaven turns round 365 degrees, the
multiplication gives 730,000 Li. This movement is very fast, and there is
nothing like it. It can be compared to the rotation of a potter's wheel or the
speed of an arrow, shot from a cross-bow.
But although the rotation of heaven be so very
fast, it appears to us slow, because heaven is so high, and far away, for
distant objects in motion look motionless, and things shifting their place,
stationary, as the following observation will show. If any body is on board a
ship, sailing with the wind, in a river or on sea, her speed is fast, while she
is near the shore, and slow, while she is far off. The ship's real speed
remains the same, its quickness or slowness merely depending on the distance
from which she is seen.
When we look up to heaven, its movement does not
appear as quick as that of the unicorn. With the sun over it the unicorn
hastens on, but when darkness falls, the sun is in front, why? Because the
unicorn is near, whereas the sun is far. Distance conveys the impression of
slowness, and proximity that of speed: If a journy extends over 60,000 Li, it
is difficult to form an adequate idea of the real movement.
The Literati assert that the sun moves one degree,
and heaven 365 during one day and one night, that heaven turns to the left, and
the sun and the moon to the right, and that they meet
heaven.
The following question may be asked:---The
movements of the sun and the moon depend on heaven, they move, attached to
heaven, not straight on. How shall we describe it? The Yiking says:---"The sun, the moon, and the stars rely on
heaven. Fruits, grasses, and trees rely on earth."
32 Relying means that they are attached. The movement
attached to heaven is like that of men walking round on the earth. The simile
is like that of the ants crawling on the rolling mill-stone.
There is the question:---How do we know that the
sun does not detach himself from heaven, nor move straight on independently? If
the sun could do so, he ought to turn eastward of himself, and not share
heaven's movement to the west. The movement of the moon is the same as that of
the sun, both being attached to heaven. This is proved by a comparison with the
clouds.
The clouds are not attached to heaven, they always
remain in their place. Provided the sun and the moon were not attached to
heaven, we would expect them to keep their places likewise. From this it is
evident that the sun's movement is connected with that of heaven.
Another question arises:---The sun is fire. On
earth fire does not move, why then does the sun move on heaven?
The fluid attached to heaven has motion, that
attached to the earth has not. If fire be attached to the earth, the earth does
not move, consequently the fire does not move either.
Some one might object, how could water move, if the
fluid attached to earth had no motion. The reply is that the water flows
eastward into the ocean, because the north-western region is high, and the
south-eastern low. It is the nature of water to seek the low places, whereas
fire will rise. If the earth were not high in the west, the water would not run
eastward either.
We will have to meet another objection as to how
men, being attached to the earth, can move, if the fluid attached to the earth
is motionless.
Human actions and desires all have an aim. Since
purpose is at the root of human nature, man works and strives.
The ancients were plain and simple-minded. Though
on the frontier of a neighbouring country they heard the cocks crow and the
dogs bark, they never had any intercourse with that country.
Somebody will ask perhaps, why the stars do not
move, if the fluid attached to heaven is in motion. I reply that the stars are
fixed in heaven. Heaven moves, and since they are turned round along with
heaven, they move also.
An opponent might urge that human nature is based
on purpose, and therefore acts, but how could heaven move, since its principle
is absence of purpose?---Heaven's movement consists in the spontaneous emission
of fluid. The fluid being emitted, things are produced of themselves, but the
fluid is not emitted on purpose, in order to produce things. Without movement
the fluid cannot be emitted, and unless the fluid be emitted, things cannot be
created. It is different from the movement of man. The movements of the sun,
the moon, and the five planets all consist in the emission of fluid.
The Literati hold that there is a three-legged
raven in the sun, and a hare and a toad in the moon. However, the sun is the
heavenly fire which does not differ from the fire on earth. In the fire on
earth there are no living beings, how could there be a raven in the heavenly
fire? There are no living creatures in the fire, when they enter it, they are
burnt to death. How could a raven remain unscathed?
The moon is water.
33 There are living beings in the
water, but not hares or toads. When a hare or a toad remain long in the water,
they inevitably die. The sun and the moon are attached to heaven just as shells
and oysters swim in the deep, evidently because they belong to the same fluid.
Are perhaps that what we call a hare and a toad, shells or oysters?
And let us ask the Literati whether the raven, the
hare, and the toad are living or dead. If they be dead, and remain for a long
time in the sun and the moon, they must become charred, decay and putrefy. If
they be alive, where are they at the time of a total eclipse of the sun or,
when on the last day of a month the moon totally disappears?
The raven, the hare, and the toad must be the fluid
of the sun and the moon, as the intestines of man, or the heart, and backbone
of animals are the fluid of these creatures. It is still possible to examine
the moon, but, when we look at the sun, our eyes are dazzled, and we cannot
make out what fluid really pervades the sun, yet we should be able to
distinguish an object in the sun, and call it a raven? In fact, we cannot see
the entire body of a raven, and we should remark that it has three legs? This
is certainly not true.
Moreover, we hear the Literati speak of many
animals, why then is there only one raven in the sun, and one hare and a toad
in the moon?
The savants maintain that the eclipse of the sun is
caused by the moon. They have observed that the eclipses of the sun always fall
on the last and the first day of a month. At that time the moon is united with
the sun, therefore she must eclipse him, they think. Many eclipses of the sun
have occurred during the "Spring and Autumn" period. The Classic records that
on the first day of such and such a moon the sun has been eclipsed, but it does
not follow that the moon has any thing to do with these eclipses. If the
chroniclers had known that the sun was eclipsed by the moon, why have they been
silent on this point, and did not speak of the moon?
They say that, when an eclipse of the sun takes
place, the Yang is weak and the Yin strong. When a man possesses great strength, he can
subdue others in this world. Now, on the last day of a month, the light of the
moon is extinguished, and, on the first day of the new moon, it is gone so to
say, which is the highest degree of weakness. How could it vanquish the sun,
for the eclipse of the sun is said to be caused by the moon? If, in an eclipse
of the sun, the moon is believed to eclipse it, where is the moon? The eclipse
is not caused by the moon, since the moon herself is destroyed. If we regard
the sun from the same point of view as the moon, his light at an eclipse is
destroyed of itself.
On an average, an eclipse of the sun occurs every
41 or 42 months, and an eclipse of the moon, every 180 days. These eclipses
have their fixed time, and these changes do not always take place. When they
happen, it is through the spontaneous action of the fluid. The last and the
first day of a month recur very often, but does the moon cause an eclipse then?
The sun being in his full, the change is brought about by his shrinking
together. Must we suppose something that consumes (eclipses) the sun? What
consumes the mountains or the earth, when the mountains collapse and the earth
shakes?
Some say that, when the sun is eclipsed, the moon
covers him. The sun being above, the moon below, her shadow falls on the sun's
body. When the sun and the moon are united, but the moon is above, and the sun
below, the moon cannot cover the sun, whereas, when the sun is above, and the
moon underneath him, she casts her shadow on him. The light of the moon then
covers the light of the sun, hence the expression:---eclipse.
34 The shadow of the moon is like that of the clouds which cover
the sky in such a way that the sun and the moon are invisible.
Provided that both unite with their extremities,
they must eclipse one another, and if both, when they come together, are joined
like two pieces fitting one into the other, the sun must disappear as a matter
of course. That the sun and the moon meet on the last and the first day of the
month is a very common celestial phenomenon, but it is wrong to say that at an
eclipse the moon covers the light of the sun for the following reason:---
In case that, when the sun and the moon unite, the
moon covers the light of the sun, the edges of the two luminaries must fall
together at the beginning of the eclipse, and they must change their places,
when the sun comes out again. Now, let us suppose that the sun stands in the
east, the moon in the west. The moon moves quickly eastward, where she falls in
with the sun. She covers the edge of the sun, and after a short time she passes
the sun and proceeds eastward. The western edge of the sun has been covered
first, its light must then come back. The eastern edge has not yet been
overshadowed, it will be eclipsed next. Thus we see that during an eclipse of
the sun the light of the western edge is extinguished, and that, when the sun
comes back, the light of the western edge returns. Then the moon goes on, and
covers the eastern edge, while the western edge returns. Can we say then that
the sun and the moon are joined together, and that one covers and overshadows
the other?
35
The scholars assert that the shape of the sun and
the moon is quite round. When they look up to them, they appear shaped like a
peck, or a round basket. Their shape is a regular circle, they are not like the
fluid of a fire seen from afar, for a fluid is not round.---In reality the sun
and the moon are not round, they only appear so through the distance, as will
be seen from the following:---The sun is the essence of fire, the moon the
essence of water. On earth fire and water are not round, why should they be
round in heaven alone? The sun and the moon in heaven are like the Five
Planets, and the Five Planets like the other stars. The stars are not round,
only their radiance appears round, because they are so far from us. This will
become evident from the following fact:---During the "Spring and Autumn" period
stars fell down in the capital of Sung.36 When people went near to examine
them, they found that they were stones, but not round. Since the stars are not
round, we know that the sun, the moon, and the planets are not round
either.
The scholars discoursing on the sun, and the
mechanics hold that there is only one sun, whereas in the "Tribute of Yü" and in the Shan-hai-king it is stated that there are ten suns. Beyond
the ocean in the east there is the "Hot Water Abyss,"
37 over which rises Fu-sang. The ten suns bathe in the water. There is a huge
tree. Nine suns remain in its lower branches, while one sun stays on the upper
branch.
38Huai Nan Tse also writes in
his book about ten suns which were shining. During the time of
Yao the ten suns came out together, and scorched
everything, whereupon Yao shot at them.
39
Hence they never were seen together any more on the same day.
40
Commonly the "celestial stems"
41
are called suns. From the first to the last stem there are ten suns. There are
ten suns, as there are five planets. Intelligent people and disputing scholars
are at a loss, how to find out the truth, and do not wish to decide in favour
of either opinion. Thus the two antagonistic statements are transmitted without
criticism, and neither of the two opinions meets with general approval. Yet, if
we examine the question thoroughly, there are not ten suns.
The sun is like the moon. If there be ten suns, are
there twelve moons? There are five planets, but the five elements:
42 --- metal, wood, water,
fire, and earth all burn with a different light. Should there be ten suns,
their fluids ought to be different. Now, we do not discover any difference in
the light of the sun, and we find that his size is the same at different times.
If there were really different fluids, the light would certainly be different.
If, on the other hand, the fluid is identical, it must be united into one sun,
and there cannot be ten.
We see that with a sun-glass fire is drawn from
heaven, the sun being a big fire. Since on earth fire is one fluid, and the
earth has not ten fires, how can heaven possess ten suns? Perhaps the so called
ten suns are some other things, whose light and shape resembles that of the
sun. They are staying in the "Hot Water Abyss," and always climb up
Fu-sang. Yü and Yi43 saw them, and
described them as ten suns.
Some people have measured the light of the sun, and
calculated his size. They found the diameter to be 1,000 Li long. Provided that
the rising sun is the sun on the Fu-sang tree, this tree
must overhang 10,000 Li to cover the sun, for the diameter of one sun being
1,000 Li, ten suns will require 10,000 Li.
Heaven is more than 10,000 Li distant from us.
When we look up at the sun, his brilliancy is so
dazzling, and his glare so bright, that it becomes unbearable. If the rising
sun was the sun from the Fu-sang tree, Yü and Yi would not have been able to
recognise him as the sun. A look at one sun would have sufficed to dazzle the
eyes, how much more so, if there were ten suns. When Yü
and Yi saw the suns, they appeared to them like pecks
and round baskets, therefore they called them suns. The fires looked like pecks
and baskets, but an object seen at a distance of 60,000 Li appears different
from one looked at and examined quite near. Consequently what Yü and Yi saw they took for suns, but
were not suns.
Among the things of heaven and earth many resemble
one another in substance, yet they are not the same in fact. Beyond the ocean
in the south-west there is a pearl-tree.
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