<Previous Section>	C. Physical. 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 XXVI. Miracles (Chi-kuai).

The Literati pretend that Sages are not born from human sperm, but that they are endowed with a special essence from Heaven. The mother of Yü swallowed pearl-barley, ¹ and gave birth to Yü,² whence the Hsia dynasty has its surname Sse.³Hsieh's mother consumed a swallow's egg, and was delivered of Hsieh,⁴ whence the Yin dynasty derived its surname Tse.⁵ The mother of Hou Chi walked in the foot-steps of a giant, ⁶ and bore Hou Chi,⁷ whence the Chou received their surname Chi.⁸ The Shiking says, "There was no rending and no tearing, thus Hou Chi was born." ⁹

They further state that Yü and Hsieh were born unnaturally, issuing from their mother's back, and that Hou Chi was born naturally. There was no rending and no tearing, the mother's body did not suffer, hence the expression:---no rending and no tearing. The descendants of those born unnaturally die an unnatural death, while the descendants of those born naturally die naturally. Therefore Chieh and Chou¹⁰ were executed, and Nan Wang¹¹ was deprived of his cities. These words seem to be self-consistent, therefore people believe them, and since, in addition evidence is given to establish their truth, they rely on these

The Chan-shu¹² also relates of the mother of Yao, Ching Tu, that she conceived from a red dragon, when she went out into the country, and gave birth to Yao. From the chronicle of Kao Tsu¹³ we learn that dame Liu was reposing on the banks of a large lake. In her dream she met with a spirit. At that time there was a tempest with thunder and lightning and a great darkness. T`ai Kung¹⁴ went near, and perceived a dragon above her. She became enceinte and was delivered of Kao Tsu. These instances of the supernatural action of spirits are not only narrated but also written down, and all the savants of the day swear by them. A thorough investigation, however, will show their futility.

The statement of the Shiking that there was no rending and no tearing viz. that the mother's body was much affected may be true, but the assertion that Yü and issued from their mother's back is irrational. When cicadas are born, they break forth from the back of the larvæ. Did Heaven in generating those sages follow the law of the larvæ?

Hares conceive by licking the pubescence of plants. When the leveret is born, it issues from the mouth of the hare. Since the mother of Yü swallowing the barley and that of Hsieh, who consumed the swallow's egg, were like hares the pubescence, their sons ought likewise to have issued from their mouths, and not from their backs. Consequently the statement about the back is preposterous.

In the world many persons die a sangninary death by the sword, and it is not necessary that their first ancestor should have had an unnatural birth. When the Ch`in lost the empire, Yen Yüeh<sup>15</sup> beheaded Hu Hai,<sup>16</sup> and Hsiang Yü<sup>17</sup> executed Tse Ying.<sup>18</sup> Was the forefather of the Ch`in, Po Yi¹⁹ born unnaturally? Ergo the thesis of natural and unnatural births based on the ancestors of the Three Dynasties is erroneous.

Moreover, pearl-barley is a plant, a swallow's egg a bird, and a giant's foot-prints are earth. These three things are bodies, but not a fluid, how could they procreate a man? With regard to Sages people suppose that they receive the essence of Heaven, which is an exceptionally fine fluid, wherefore their doings are so different from those of the masses. Now the progenitors of the Three Dynasties are born from a plant, a bird, and earth. Could these be regarded as very fine essences?

Since among the productions of Heaven and Earth man is the noblest, the others are common. Now, if the essence of those common things should be the sperm for the noblest creature, man, how could it be very fine?

Let us suppose that a pigeon or a sparrow emitted their fluid into a wild goose or a wild swan, it would never produce an egg. Why? Because a pigeon and a sparrow are too small, compared with a wild goose and a wild swan. Now, the body of a swallow measures but five inches, and the stalk of pearl-barley not more than several feet. How could the two women who swallowed the egg and the grain have begot a creature of seven feet? ²⁰

Supposing that one melts the copper required for a tripod and pours it into the mould of a cash, it is plain that one could not produce a tripod. Now the giant is the Spirit of Heaven, therefore his foot-prints were so big. ²¹ The man with the huge foot-prints is like the molten copper for a tripod, and Chiang Yuan's²² body like the mould of a cash. Should the giant emit his fluid into Chiang Yuan, her body would be much too small to receive the whole essence, and without this whole essence Hou Chi could not have been born.

If Yao and Kao Tsu were really the sons of dragons, their nature as sons ought to have been similar to that of their dragon fathers. Dragons can ride on the clouds, and Yao and Kao Tsu should have done the same.

All plants growing from earth resemble their own species, but not earth, for they are not produced by earth, which merely nourishes and feeds them. A mother with child is like the earth feeding plants. The mothers of Yao and Kao Tsu received the emissions of the dragons, as earth receives the seeds of plants. Since growing plants are similar to their own species, the two emperors also should have been like dragons.

Of animals with blood males and females pair. When they come together and see one of their own kind, their lust is excited, they wish to satisfy it, and then are able to emit their fluid. Should a stallion see a cow, or a male sparrow a hen, they would not couple, because they belong to different species. Now, dragons and man are of a different species likewise. How then could a dragon be moved by a human being so as to impart its fluid?

Some say ²³ that, when the Hsia dynasty was near its downfall, two dragons fought together in the court, and spat their saliva on the ground. When the dragons had disappeared, their saliva was preserved in a casket, until King Yu of the Chou²⁴ dynasty opened it. Then the saliva of the snakes changed into a black lizard, which slipped into the seraglio, where it had intercourse with a palace girl. The result was the birth of Pao Sse.²⁵

A black lizard belongs to another class than man, how could it become enamoured with a palace girl, and emit its fluid? The intercourse with the black lizard was vicious, therefore Pao Sse caused disasters, and overthrew the Chou dynasty. When different species recklessly mix together, their offspring becomes unprincipled and mischievous. Now, the mothers of Yao and Kao Tsu had illicit intercourse, ²⁶ why did the two emperors become wise and sage men, and were quite different from Pao Sse?

They say that Viscount Chien of Chao was sick and for five days did not know anybody. When he awoke, he said, "I have been to God's abode. There appeared a brown bear. God bade me shoot it; I hit the animal, and it died. Then came a spotted bear; I hit it also, and it died. After the two bears had died, I asked a ghost on the road. The ghost said:---"The brown and the spotted bears are the forefathers of two ministers of Chin." ²⁷

Bears are animals, and as such of a different class from man. How should they become of the same class and the ancestors of the two ministers? The time, when the ancestors of the two ministers, the brown and the spotted bears, killed by Viscount Chien, were doomed to die, was one of luck for the Viscount Chien. He saw them as in a dream. They were empty semblances and must not have been real. Should they really have existed, then perhaps the two bears were first metamorphosed into human beings, before they engendered the two ministers.

Niu Ai, Duke of Lu, was changed into a tiger during a sickness. ²⁸ Man can be transformed into an animal, as animals can become men. Probably the black lizard, which entered the harem, was also first changed into a man.

Between heaven and earth it does not happen that creatures of a different species mix and couple. Should Heaven have the same law as man, their likes and dislikes would also be similar. Man does not like different species, therefore Heaven would not consort with such either. Although man is created by Heaven, he is like the lice which are produced on man. Man does not love those lice, for what reason then should Heaven desire to beget through man? Different classes have different natures, and their sentiments and desires do not agree. Heaven and Earth are husband and wife. Heaven emits its fluid into Earth and produces the various things. Man is born by propagation. If Sages are formed of a very fine essence, yet they receive the fluid from their fathers, and are not endowed with a special essence from Heaven.

Should the recipients of a special essence become Sages, Hsieh and Hou Chi are not Sages, and, if it be necessary that all Sages should have received a special fluid, the Twelve Sages ²⁹ did not all meet this requirement. What fluid did the mothers of Huang Ti, Ti K`u, Chuan Hsü and Shun receive, and what did the mothers of Wên Wang, Wu Wang, Chou Kung, and Confucius swallow to become pregnant?

Perhaps the surnames of the Three Dynasties:---Sse, Tse, and Chi gave the impetus to the invention of those unfounded and marvellous stories, as the legend of Huang Ti's ascension to heaven originated from the local name of Ting-hu.³⁰ Not only are they irrational, but those names are also misinterpreted. When T`sang Hsieh<sup>31</sup> invented writing, he made the signs agree with the ideas. Chiang Yuan walked into the foot-prints of a giant. "Foot-print" (chi = ) means a "basis" (chi = ), therefore the surname should be "his" (ch`i = ) with "earth" (tu = ) below, but it is "woman" (nü = ) with "chin" (i = ) at its side. This is not the character chi = or chi = nor in accordance with the circumstances, ³² whence their truth becomes very doubtful.

Judging by the surname Chi of the Chou of those of the Hsia and Yin, we arrive at the conclusion that Tse and Sse have nothing to do with a swallow's egg or pearl-barley. May be that the mothers of Yü, Hsieh, and Hou Chi were just going to conceive, when they happened to swallow a grain of pearl-barley and a swallow's egg, or Illegal HTML character: decimal 156