<Previous Section>
<Next Section>

異虛篇

殷高宗之時,桑穀俱生於朝,七日而大拱。高宗召其相而問之,相曰:“吾雖知之,弗能言也。”問祖己,祖己曰:“夫桑穀者,野草也,而生於朝,意朝亡乎?”

高宗恐駭,側身而行道,思索先王之政,明養老之義,興滅國,繼絕世,舉佚民。桑穀亡。三年之後,諸侯以譯來 朝者六國,遂享百年之福。

高宗,賢君也,而感桑穀生。而問祖己,行祖己之言,修政改行。桑谷之妖亡,諸侯朝而年長久。修善之義篤,故瑞應之福渥。此虛言也。

祖己之言“朝當亡”哉!夫朝之當亡,猶人當死。人欲死,怪出。國欲亡,期盡。人死命終,死不復生,亡不復存。祖己之言政,何 益於不亡?高宗之修行,何益於除禍?夫家人見凶修善,不能得吉;高宗見妖改政,安能除禍?除禍且不能,況能招致六國,延期至百年乎!

故人之死生,在於命之夭壽,不在行之善惡;國之存亡,在期之長短,不在於政之得失。案祖己之占,桑穀為亡之妖,亡象已見,雖修孝行,其何益哉!何以效之?

魯昭公之時,瞿鵒來巢。師己采文、成之世童謠之語,有瞿鵒之言,見今有來巢之驗,則占謂之凶。其後,昭公為 季氏所逐,出於齊,國果空虛,都有虛驗。故野鳥來巢,師己處之,禍竟如占。

使昭公聞師己之言,修行改政為善,居高宗之操,終不能消。何則?瞿鵒之謠已兆,出奔之禍已成也。瞿鵒之兆,已 出於文、成之世矣。根生,葉安得不茂?源發,流安得不廣?

此尚為近,未足以言之。夏將衰也,二龍戰於庭,吐漦而去,夏王櫝 而藏之。夏亡,傳於殷;殷亡,傳於周,皆莫之發。至幽王之時,發而視之,漦流於庭,化為玄黿,走入後宮,與婦人交,遂生褒姒。

褒姒歸周,曆王惑亂,國遂滅亡。幽、曆王之去夏世,以為千數歲,二龍戰時,幽、厲、褒姒等未為人也。周亡之妖,已出久矣。

妖出,禍安得不就?瑞見,福安得不至?若二龍戰時言曰:“餘褒之二君也。”是則褒姒當生之驗也。龍稱褒,褒姒不得不生, 生則厲王不得不惡,惡則國不得不亡。征已見,雖五聖十賢相與卻之,終不能消。

善惡同實:善祥出,國必興;惡祥見,朝必亡。謂惡異可以善行除,是謂善瑞可以惡政滅也。

河源出於昆侖,其流播於九河。使堯、禹卻以善政,終不能還者,水勢當然,人事不能禁也。河源不可禁,二龍不可除 ,則桑穀不可卻也。

王命之當興也,猶春氣之當為夏也。其當亡也,猶秋氣之當為冬也。見春之微葉,知夏有莖葉。睹秋之零實,知冬之枯萃。桑 穀之生,其猶春葉秋實也,必然猶驗之。今詳修政改行,何能除之?

夫以周亡之祥,見於夏時,又何以知桑穀之生,不為紂亡出乎!或時祖己言之,信野草之占,失遠近之實。高宗問祖己之後,側 身行道,六國諸侯偶朝而至,高宗之命自長未終,則謂起桑穀之問,改行修行,享百年之福矣。

夫桑穀之生,殆為紂出,亦或時吉而不凶,故殷朝不亡,高宗壽長。祖己信野草之占,謂之當亡之征。

漢孝武皇帝之時,獲白麟戴兩角而共牴,使謁者終軍議之。軍曰:“夫野獸而共一角,象天下合同為一也。”

麒麟野獸也,桑穀野草也,俱為野物,獸草何別?終軍謂獸為吉,祖己謂野草為凶。

高宗祭成湯之廟,有蜚雉升鼎而雊。祖己以為遠人將有來者,說《尚書》家謂雉凶,議駁不同。且從祖己之言,雉來吉也,

雉伏於野草之中,草覆野鳥之形,若民人處草廬之中,可謂其人吉而廬凶乎?民人入都,不謂之凶,野草生朝,何故不吉?

雉則民人之類。如謂含血者吉,長狄來至,是吉也,何故謂之凶?如以從夷狄來者不吉,介葛盧來朝,是凶也。如以草木者為 凶,硃草、蓂莢出,是不吉也。

硃草、蓂莢,皆草也,宜生於野,而生於朝,是為不吉。何故謂之瑞?一野之物,來至或出,吉凶異議。硃草莢 善草,故為吉,則是以善惡為吉凶,不以都野為好醜也。

周時天下太平,越嘗獻雉於周公。高宗得之而吉。雉亦草野之物,何以為吉?如以雉所分有似於士,則麏亦仍有似君子;

公孫術得白鹿,占何以凶?然則雉之吉凶未可知,則夫桑穀之善惡未可驗也。

桑穀或善物,象遠方之士將皆立於高宗之朝,故高宗獲吉福,享長久也。

說災異之家,以為天有災異者,所以譴告王者,信也。夫王者有過,異見於國;不改,災見草本;不改,災見 於五穀;不改,災至身。

左氏《春秋傳》曰:“國之將亡,鮮不五稔。”災見於五穀,五穀安得熟?不熟,將亡之征。災亦有且亡五穀不熟之應。天不 熟,或為災,或為福。禍福之實未可知,桑谷之言安可審?

論說之家著於書記者皆雲:“天雨穀者凶。”傳書曰:“蒼頡作書,天雨穀,鬼夜哭。”此方兇惡之應。和者,天用成穀之 道,從天降而和,且猶謂之善,況所成之穀從雨下乎!極論訂之,何以為凶?夫陰陽和則谷稼成,不則被災害。陰陽和者,穀之道也,何以 謂之凶?

絲成帛,縷成布。賜人絲縷,猶為重厚,況遺人以成帛與織布乎?夫絲縷猶陰陽,帛布猶成穀也。賜人帛,不謂之惡,天與之谷何,故謂之凶?夫雨穀吉凶未可定,桑穀之言未可知也。

使暢草生於周之時,天下太平,人來獻暢草。暢草亦草野之物也,與彼桑谷何異?如以夷狄獻之則為吉,使暢草生 於周家,肯謂之善乎?

夫暢草可以熾釀,芬香暢達者,將祭灌暢降神。設自生於周朝,與嘉禾、硃草、蓂莢之類不殊矣。

然則桑亦食蠶,蠶為絲,絲為帛,帛為衣。衣以入宗廟為朝服,與暢無異。何以謂之凶?

衛獻公太子至靈台,蛇繞左輪。禦者曰:“太子下拜,吾聞國君之子,蛇繞車輪左者速得國。”太子遂不下,反乎舍。

禦人見太子,太子曰:“吾聞為人子者,盡和順於君,不行私欲,共嚴承令,不逆君安。今吾得國,是君失安 也。見國之利而忘君安,非子道也。得國而拜,其非君欲。廢子道者不孝,逆君欲則不忠。而欲我行之,殆欲吾國之危明矣。”

投殿將死,其禦止之,不能禁,遂伏劍而死。

夫蛇繞左輪,審為太子速得國,太子宜不死,獻公宜疾薨。今獻公不死,太子伏劍,禦者之占,俗之虛言也。

或時蛇為太子將死之妖,禦者信俗之占,故失吉凶之實。夫桑穀之生,與蛇饒左輪相似類也。蛇至實凶,禦者以為吉。桑谷實吉,祖己以為凶。

禹南濟於江,有黃龍負舟。舟中之人五色無主。禹乃嘻笑而稱曰:“我受命於天,竭力以勞萬民。生,寄也;死 ,歸也。何足以滑和,視龍猶蝘蜓也。”

龍去而亡。案古今龍至皆為吉,而禹獨謂黃龍凶者,見其負舟,舟中之人恐也。

夫以桑谷比於龍,吉凶雖反,蓋相似。野草生於朝,尚為不吉,殆有若黃龍負舟之異。故為吉而殷朝不亡。

晉文公將與楚成王戰於城濮,彗星出楚。楚操其柄,以問咎犯,咎犯對曰:“以彗鬥,倒之者勝。”

文公夢與成王博,成王在上,盬其腦。問咎犯,咎犯曰:“君得天而成王伏其罪,戰必大勝。”

文公從之,大破楚師。向令文公問庸臣,必曰不勝。何則?彗星無吉,搏在上無凶也。

夫桑穀之占,占為凶,猶晉 當彗末,博在下為不吉也。然而吉者,殆有若對彗見天之詭。故高宗長久,殷朝不亡。

使文公不問咎犯,咎犯不明其吉,戰以大勝,世人將曰:“文公以至賢之德,破楚之無道。天雖見妖,臥有凶夢,猶滅妖消凶以獲福。”殷無咎犯之異知,而有祖己信常之占,故桑谷之文,傳世不絕,轉禍為福之言,到今不實。

Chapter XVI. Fictitious Prodigies (Yi-hsü).

At the time of the emperor Kao Tsung of the Yin dynasty a mulberry and a paper-mulberry tree 1 grew together in his court. 2 After seven days, they were so thick already, that they would take two hands to span them. Kao Tsung summoned his physiognomist and asked him about it. The physiognomist replied that, though he knew, he could not tell it. Then Tsu Chi was questioned, who said, "The mulberry and the paper-mulberry are wild plants; their growing in the court denotes the down-fall of the dynasty."

Kao Tsung terrified began to practise virtue with stooping body. He would ponder over the government of former kings, illustrate the principle of feeding the old, regenerate extinguished States, re-establish the succession of extinct princely houses, and raise obscure scholars. Upon this the two trees died. Three years later, the princes of six States appeared at his court with interpreters, 3 and subsequently he enjoyed a hundred years of happiness. 4

Kao Tsung was a wise sovereign. Alarmed at the growth of the two trees, he interrogated Tsu Chi. Following his counsel, he reformed his administration and personally changed his proceedings. The prodigy of the two trees then disappeared, the princes offered their allegiance, and he reigned many years. Owing to the earnestness of his reforms, plenty of lucky auguries and blessings came down upon him. This is a fiction.

Tsu Chi declared that the down-fall of the dynasty was impending. The ruin of a dynasty is like the death of an individual. A man being about to die, miracles appear. When a dynasty is on the verge of ruin, its time is up, and when a man expires, his fate is fulfilled. After his death he does not live again, nor does he continue to exist after his departure. How could Tsu Chi's reference to the government 5 have averted the ruin, or how could Kao Tsung's reforms have helped to avoid the disaster? A private person, beholding horrid signs, does not obtain luck by doing good; how then should Kao Tsung, on perceiving the prodigy, be able to avert the misfortune by changing his government? It being impossible to avert misfortune, how can the six States have been attracted, and how the king's life been prolonged up to a hundred years?

Human life and death depend on the length of the span, not on good or bad actions, and so is the subsistence and decay of a State determined by the duration of its time, 6 not by the management or mismanagement of affairs. Tsu Chi explained the mulberry and paper-mulberry as an augury of decay. When this sign of ruin had already appeared, the discharge of filial duties was of no avail. What evidence can we adduce?

Under Duke Chao of Lu a mainah appeared and built its nest. 7Shi Chi traced up a queer ditty of boys of the time of Wên and Ch`êng referring to the mainah, and seeing that now it really had come and built its nest, he explained it as a bad omen. Subsequently Duke Chao was expelled by the Chi family and retreated to Ch`i. His dukedom in fact became empty and desolate, and his capital deserted. The appearance of the wild bird, which built its nest, was in Shi Chi's opinion indicative of misfortune, and so he explained it.

If Duke Chao, upon hearing Shi Chi's interpretation, had reformed and improved his administration, following Kao Tsung's example, he would, after all, not have succeeded in breaking the spell, because the portent of the queer saying concerning the mainah had already appeared, and the calamity of the duke's flight was already completed, for this portent of the mainah had become manifest during the time of Duke Wên and Ch`êng. If a branch has leaves, why should it not blossom? And if a' spring pours out its water, why should it not grow? 8

But this event is of comparatively recent date and may not suffice to bear out our thesis. When the downfall of the Hsia dynasty was imminent, two dragons fought together in the court. They spat their saliva and vanished. The king of Hsia preserved it in a casket. The Hsia were destroyed and succeeded by the Yin, and the Yin were destroyed and succeeded by the Chou. They all did not open the casket, until under king Yu9 it was opened and inspected. The saliva oozed out in the court and was transformed into a black lizard, which slipped into the seraglio, where it had commerce with a woman. This, later on, resulted in the birth of Pao Sse.10

When Pao Sse was introduced into the palace of Chou, King Li11 became stultified by her, and the State went to rack and ruin. The time from the age of Kings Yu and Li to the Hsia epoch was more than a thousand years; 12 when the two dragons struggled, Yu, Li, and Pao Sse were not yet born. The presage of the destruction of the Chou dynasty already appeared long before it came to pass.

When a bad augury comes forth, the calamity cannot but be completed, and when a lucky sign appears, felicity is sure to arrive. If the two dragons, at the time of their contest, said that they were two princes of Pao,13 this was a proof of the future birth of Pao Sse. The dragons bearing the name of Pao, Pao Sse could not help being born, and she being born, King Li could not help being depraved, and he being depraved, the State could not avoid being ruined. The signs were there, and even if the Five Sages 14 and the Ten Worthies 15 had interceded to remove them, all their endeavours to blot them out would have been in vain.

Good and evil are similar so far. When good omens come forth, a State is sure to flourish, and when evil ones become visible, a dynasty must needs perish. To say that evil portents can be removed by good actions, is like affirming that good auspices can be wiped away by bad government.

The Yellow River springs from the K`un-lun, and then branches off into nine channels. Should Yao and have attempted to turn the waters back by their excellent administration, they would have been utterly powerless to make them revert, for such is the nature of water, that human force cannot stop it. The springs of the Yellow River could not be stopped, and the two dragons not be removed. Accordingly, it was impossible to prevent the mulberry and the paper-mulberry trees from growing.

A king's life about to prosper is like the breath of spring becoming summer, and his death like the autumnal air becoming winter. Beholding the leaflets of spring, one knows that in summer there will be stalked leaves, and viewing the dropping fruit in autumn, one foresees the dried branches of winter. A propos of the growth of the mulberry and the paper-mulberry, it is also quite plain that they must be like the vernal leaves and the autumnal fruit. How could they be removed by a thorough overhauling of the government and personal reforms?

Now, the presage of the down-fall of the Chou dynasty appeared already in the Hsia epoch; how do we know but that the growth of the two trees was denoting the fall of King Chou?16 Perhaps Tsu Chi believed in the explanation of wild plants which he gave, but did not estimate the distance of time correctly. Kao Tsung, having questioned Tsu Chi, took to doing good, his body bent down, and accidentally the princes of the six States arrived at his court. Kao Tsung's life was naturally long and not yet near its close; then people said that, after the inquiry concerning the two trees, he changed his government, reformed his own conduct, and enjoyed a hundred years of happiness.

The mulberry and paper-mulberry grew most likely for Chou's sake, or perhaps they were lucky and not inauspicious, wherefore the Yin dynasty did not decline, and Kao Tsung's life lasted long. Tsu Chi, however, trusting in his interpretation that they were wild plants, declared them to be signs of an impending catastrophe.

At the time of the Han emperor, Hsiao Wu Ti, a white unicorn was caught. It had two horns, but they touched. The gentleman-usher Chung Chün was called upon to give his opinion. "It is a wild animal," he said, "its horns joined together as the land under heaven unites and forms one whole." 17

The unicorn is a wild animal, and the mulberry and paper-mulberry trees are wild plants. Both being wild, what difference is there between the animal and the plants? Chung Chün pronounced the animal to be auspicious, but Tsu Chi held the wild plants to be inauspicious.

When Kao Tsung was sacrificing in the temple of Ch`êng T`ang, a pheasant came flying along, alighted on the tripod, and screamed. Tsu Chi saw in it the announcement of the arrival of men from distant lands. 18 The commentators of the Shuking, on the other hand, regard pheasants as inauspicious. Both views are conflicting. According to Tsu Chi's statement the arrival of pheasants is propitious.

Pheasants hide amidst wild plants, which screen the bodies of wild birds. If people live in a straw hut, can they be said to be auspicious, but their cottage to be inauspicious? When such people go into the capital, they are not held to be inauspicious. 19 Why then cannot wild plants growing in a court be propitious? Pheasants must, in this respect, be treated like men. 20

If living creatures with blood in their veins are held to be auspicious, then the arrival of a tall Ti21 would be so as well, why then call it unlucky? Should all that comes from the I and the Ti22 not be auspicious, the visit of Ko Lu of Chieh23 at court must have been unlucky. If, however, plants and trees are believed to be unpropitious, then the appearance of the "vermilion grass" and of the "monthly plant" were not auspicious.

The vermilion grass and the monthly plant are both herbaceous; they should grow in the country and, if they grow in court, it is not auspicious. Why then are they looked upon as lucky omens? According as a wild growing thing comes or goes, it is treated either as lucky or unlucky. If the vermilion grass and the monthly plant are believed to be auspicious, owing to their excellence, then the presage depends on goodness or badness, and their quality is not influenced by the site of their growth, whether it be in the capital or in the country.

During the Chou period, universal peace reigned throughout the empire. The Yueh-ch`ang24 presented the Duke of Chou with pheasants. Kao Tsung likewise obtained one, which he regarded as lucky. A pheasant is also a creature living in the grass and in the country, for what reason is it considered to be a good omen? If it is on account of a portion of the character chih (pheasant) 25 bearing a resemblance to shih (a scholar), 26 then there is also a likeness between a deer, chün,28 and a superior man, chün.29

Kung-Sun Shu30 got a white stag; wherefore did he explain it as an unlucky augury? Ergo we come to the conclusion that it is impossible to know whether a pheasant be propitious or not, nor can we prove whether the meaning of a mulberry and a paper-mulberry be good or bad.

Perhaps they were something good, intimating that scholars from afar would walk into the temple of Kao Tsung, therefore the latter obtained luck and happiness, which he enjoyed ever so long.

Those arguing on calamitous prodigies stand convinced that Heaven makes use of calamitous phenomena for the purpose of rebuking the emperor. When the emperor has faults, prodigies appear in the State. If he does not change, calamities become visible on plants and trees, if he does not change then, they manifest themselves on the Five Grains, and should he not reform even then, they attain his own person. 31

The "Spring and Autumn" of Tso Ch`iu Ming says that there are few States which have not five harvests, when they are going to perish. Calamities become visible on the Five Grains; how then can they grow ripe? Their not ripening is a sign of impending ruin, for ruin is likewise a feature of calamity, to which the not ripening of the Five Grains corresponds. When Heaven does not mature them, this may be a calamity or a blessing, 32 happiness and misfortune are therefore difficult to distinguish, and what is said about the mulberry and the paper-mulberry cannot be correct.

The theorists all write in their books 33 and their notes that, when Heaven rains grain, this is an ill omen, and in various books and chronicles we read that, [when Tsang Hsieh invented writing, Heaven rained grain, and the ghosts cried during the night.] 34 This must be accounted a lugubrious prodigy; why did Heaven use something so harmonious to produce it? The production of grain is a kind gift from Heaven, very harmonious and also looked upon as something excellent. And the grain produced came down following upon rain? If we thoroughly go into the matter, for what reason must it be an ill omen? When the Yin and the Yang harmonise, the harvest grows, otherwise it is spoiled by calamities and disasters. The harmony of Yin and Yang resulting in the production of grain, how can it be called inauspicious?

Raw silk is wrought into pongees, and of hempen threads cloth is made. To present a man with silk and hemp is already conferring a valuable gift upon him, but how much more precious would be silken fabrics and woven cloth? Silk and hemp correspond to the Yin and the Yang, pongees and cloth are like the ripe grain. A present of pongees cannot be called bad, why then should grain, this heavenly gift, be considered unlucky? Since the good or bad presage of raining grain cannot be made out, the statement about the mulberry and the paper-mulberry must also remain doubtful.

If "fragrant grass" grew in the Chou epoch, at times of universal peace people would have brought presents of this grass with them. It also grows in the open country exactly like the mulberry and the paper-mulberry. If the I and the Ti had presented it, it would have been lucky, but should it have grown in the court of Chou, would it also have been deemed good?

Fragrant grass can be used for the distillation of spirits, its perfume being very intensive. By pouring out this perfumed wine at sacrifices, the spirits are called down. Provided that this grass had spontaneously grown in the court of Chou, it would not have been different from auspicious grain, vermilion grass, or the monthly plant. 35

Furthermore, mulberry trees feed the silk-worms, which make silk. This silk is worked into pongees, and these pongees, into dresses. Clad in these robes, people enter the ancestral temple, using them as court-dresses. The evolution is similar to that of the fragrant grass, why then are those trees held to be a bad augury?

When the heir-son of Duke Hsien of Wei36 arrived at the Spirit Tower, a snake wriggled round the left wheel of his chariot. The charioteer said to him, "Prince descend and pay your respects. I have heard say that, when a snake curls round the left cartwheel of the son of the chief of a State, he will soon be seated on the throne." --- But the Prince did not descend and returned to his residence.

The charioteer called upon him, and the prince said, "I have heard say that a man's son lives in perfect accord with his master. He does not cherish selfish desires and receives his commands with reverence and awe. He does nothing which might impair the health of the sovereign. If I now come into possession of the State, the sovereign must lose his health. To see only the lustre of the crown and forget the welfare of the ruler is not what a son ought to do. That I prostrate myself, in order to come to the dukedom, would hardly be according to the sovereign's wishes. He who disobeys the duties of a son, is undutiful, and he who acts contrary to the wishes of his sovereign, is not loyal. And yet you desire me to do it? The dangers of my wishing to assume the reins of government are evident enough."

Then he tried to commit suicide by jumping down from the palace. His charioteer attempted to stop him, but in vain. He threw himself into his sword and gave up his ghost. 37

If the curling of a snake round the left wheel really implied the speedy accession of the prince, he ought not to have died, and Duke Hsien should have expired at once. Now the duke did not die, but the crown-prince fell into his sword. Therefore the explanation of the charioteer was the idle talk of common people.

Perhaps the snake foreshadowed the imminent death of the prince, and the charioteer, placing confidence in the popular interpretation, failed to grasp the real meaning of the portent. The growth of the mulberry and paper-mulberry resembles the snake curling round the left wheel. As a matter of fact, its arrival was unlucky, but the charioteer fancied it to be lucky, and so the two trees were in fact auspicious, but Tsu Chi thought them of ill omen.

[When Yü, on his journey south, crossed the Yangtse, a yellow dragon carried his boat on its back. The men in the boat turned pale as ashes, 38 but was amused and said laughing, "I have received the decree of Heaven and harrass myself to succour the thousands of people. My life lasts awhile, and death is a return. It being but a return, how can it upset my serenity? I look upon a dragon as a lizard." Then the dragon disappeared.] 39

In ancient and modern times the arrival of a dragon is commonly regarded as something very lucky, alone declared a yellow dragon to be a bad presage, and when they saw it lifting the boat, the men in the boat took fright.

The mulberry and the paper-mulberry may be compared with the dragon, for, though their auguries be reversed, there is still a similarity. Wild plants growing in court are held to be unlucky, but, there being an extraordinary case like the yellow dragon carrying the boat, they became lucky, and the Yin dynasty did not perish.

Duke Wên of Chin was going to try issues with King Ch`êng of Ch`u at Ch`êng-p`u,40 when a "broom star" 41 proceeded from Ch`u, which held its stick. 42 The matter was referred to Chiu Fan,43 who replied, "In fighting with brooms he who turns them round wins."

Duke Wên dreamt that he was wrestling with King Ch`êng, who gained the upper hand, and sucked his brains. Chiu Fan being questioned, rejoined, "Your Highness could look up to Heaven, while Ch`u was bending down under the weight of its guilt. The battle will prove a great victory." 44

The duke followed his advice and completely defeated the army of Ch`u. Had Duke Wên consulted an ordinary officer previously, he would certainly have denied the possibility of a victory, for a broom star is inauspicious, and the upper hand in wrangling not an adverse prognostic.

The mulberry and the paper-mulberry were pronounced ill-omened, as the fact of Chin being opposite to the besom and the duke's succumbing in the struggle, were deemed bad auguries. These trees were significant of luck all the same, like the curious phenomena of being over against the broom star and looking up to Heaven, whence Kao Tsung's long reign and the salvation of the Yin dynasty.

If Duke Wen had not asked Chiu Fan, if the latter had not been aware of the lucky augury, and if then a great victory had been won, the people would have urged that, by virtue of his extreme wisdom, Duke Wên had worsted iniquitous Ch`u, and that, in spite of the prodigy appearing in the sky and of the horrible dream, the adverse presage and the unfavourable portent were wiped out and dispersed, and happiness secured. The Yin could not boast of a man with Chiu F`an's extraordinary knowledge, having only their Tsu Chi, who shared the common prejudices. Accordingly the narrative of the two trees has been handed down without ceasing, and up to the present day the notion that misfortune can be transmuted into happiness has not yet been rectified.

Notes

1. . For the last character, Giles No. 6229, (Giles 6228) = Broussonetia papyrifera should be written.

2. Cf. Vol. I, p. 328, Notes 1 and 2.

3. They were non-Chinese States requiring interpreters to offer their submission.

4. The same legend is referred to in the Preface to the Shuking, 22 (Legge, Classics Vol. III, Part I, p. 6), in the Bamboo Annals, and in the Shi-chi chap. 3, p. 7r. and chap. 28, p. 2r. But in all these texts the phenomenon is said to have happened under the reign of T`ai Mou, 1637-1563 b.c. who consulted his minister Yi Chih. In the Shi-chi the two trees got a circumference of two spans in one evening.

5. Ed. B.: , ed. A. and C. have: .

6. Which is fixed beforehand.

7. See p. 3, Note 1.

8. The queer ditty portending the duke's disaster had developed, so to speak, and become realised as naturally as leaves blossom, and water flowing from a spring swells and grows.

9. This seems to be a mistake. The Shi-chi writes king Li (Chavannes Mêm. Hist. Vol. I, p. 282). He reigned from 878-828 b.c., king Yu from 781-771.

10. Cf. Vol. I, p. 321.

11. This must be king Yu, whose favourite Pao Sse became.

12. That is not quite correct. The Hsia dynasty came to a close in b.c. 1766.

13. See Vol. I, p. 230, Note 5.

14. The Five Sages are:---Yao, Shun, Yü, T`ang, and Wên Wang.

15. Ten Worthies are mentioned in Chinese literature but for more recent times, and we do not know whom Wang Ch`ung had in view.

16. , the last ruler of the Hsia dynasty.

17. Cf. chap. XXVIII.

18. See chap. XXVIII.

19. Pheasants cannot be looked upon as inauspicious because they hide among wild plants, as men do not become so, by living in a cottage and in the country.

20. They are not to be taken for bad omens.

21. Cf. Vol. I, p. 486, Note 3.

22. Wild tribes in the West and the North.

23. Cf. p. 122, Note 2. The homage of this chieftain to the Duke of Lu was, on the contrary, believed to be a good augury.

24. See Vol. I, p. 505, Note 2, where this people is called instead of .

25. .

26. . There being no resemblance of shape, Wang Ch`ung presumably means to say that the two phonetics and , both = shih27 , are similar.

27. .

28. .

29. .

30. A Han general of the 1st cent. b.c. who conquered Ssechuan and proclaimed himself emperor of Shu, and took white as his imperial colour.

31. This theory is explained and combatted in the chapter "On Reprimands" in Vol. I, p. 119 seq.

32. Five harvests being foreboding the ruin of a State, the not ripening of cereals ought to be a lucky augury; conversely, an impending calamity affects the grain, so that is does not ripen. Then its not ripening is a bad augury as well. Such contradictions should have shown Wang Ch`ung the futility of such researches.

33. (Ed. B.) better than (Ed. C.).

34. See Vol. I, p. 244, Note 3. The passage is quoted from Huai Nan Tse VIII. 5r.

35. All these plants pass for auspicious portents.

36. 576-559 b.c.

37. This story is referred to in the Hsin-hsü of Liu Hsiang (T`aip`ing-yü-lan).

38. .

39. Quoted from Huai Nan Tse VII, 8v. See also Vol. I, p. 352, Note 1. Huai Nan Tse has the following conclusion: "He did not change countenance. Then the dragon dropped its ears, wagged its tail, and fled".

40. The site is not certain. It was either in the prefecture of K`ai-fêng-fu (Honan) or in Ts`ao-chou-fu (Shantung). The battle took place in b.c. 632. Cf. Ch`unch`iu, Duke Hsi 28th year.

41. , a comet.

42. I. e., the stick or the tail of the comet was turned towards the kingdom of Ch`u.

43. An officer of Chin.

44. Cf. Vol. I, p. 189, Note 6.

<Previous Section>
<Next Section>
IATHPublished by The Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, © Copyright 2003 by Anne Kinney and the University of Virginia