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BOOK VII. DUKE XUAN.

I. First year.

1. In his first year, in spring, in the king's first month, the duke came to the [vacant] seat.

2. Duke [Zhuang's] son, Sui, went to Qi, to meet the [duke's] bride.

3. In the third month, Sui arrived with the [duke's] wife, the lady Jiang, from Qi.

4. In summer, Jisun Hangfu went to Qi.

5. Jin banished its great officer, Xu Jiafu, to Wey.

6. The duke had a meeting with the marquis of Qi in Pingzhou.

7. Duke [Zhuang's] son, Sui, went to Qi.

8. In the sixth month, a body of men from Qi took the lands of Jixi.

9. In autumn, the viscount of Zhu came to Lu on a court-visit.

10. The viscount of Chu and an officer of Zheng made an incursion into Chen, and went on to make one into Song.

11. Zhao Dun of Jin led a force to relieve Chen.

12. The duke of Song, the marquis of Chen, the marquis of Wey, and the earl of Cao, joined the army of Jin at Feilin, and invaded Zheng.

13. In winter, Zhao Chuan of Jin led a force, and made an incursion into Chong.

14. A body of men from Jin and one from Song invaded Zheng.

COMMENTARY

Title of the Book.—Duke Xuan's rule lasted for 18 years, from B. C. 607 to 590. His name was Jie (接), or, according to Sima Qian, Tui (倭). He was a son of duke Wen by his favourite concubine, Jing Ying (敬嬴). His honorary title Xuan (宣) denotes—Fond of asking, and universally informed (善 問 周 達 曰 宣).'

His first year synchronized with the fifth of king Kuang (匡王); the 13th of Ling (靈) of Jin; the 1st of Yuan, duke Hui of Qi (惠公元); the 27th of Cheng of Wey; the 4th of Wen (文) of Cai; the 20th of Mu of Zheng; the 10th of Wen, (文) of Cao; the 6th of Ling (靈) of Chen; the 29th of Huan of Qi; the 3d of Wen (文) of Song; the 1st year of Dao, duke Kong (共公稻) of Qin, and the 6th of Zhuang (莊) of Chu.

Par. 1. This record of Xuan's accession is the same as that in II. i. 1. His marquisate and Huan's were both the fruit of murder, and, according to the canon for such a case, we should not have the 即位. See on II. i. 1.

Parr. 2,3. The transactions recorded here were hurried on 'contrary to all rule,' through the urgency of the duke's circumstances, and his anxiety to make his ill-got position good by an alliance with the powerful House of Qi. The Zhuan on p. 5 of last year tells us how Sui had obtained the sanction of Qi to the coup which he contemplated in Lu; and though it says nothing on p. 8, it is understood that Hangfu, when he went to Qi, after the coup, obtained a contract of marriage between the duke and a daughter of Qi; and now no time was lost in the accomplishment of it. On 逆女, see I. ii. 5; and on the term 婦, see V. xxv. 3. But I do not see how the canon about the appellation 婦, which is there given, can apply here. Mao says, 'In her father's house the lady was called 婦; on the way to the State where she was to be married, she was called 婦; in that State she was called 夫人.

Zuoshi says:——'Sui is here (in p. 2) called "duke's son,'—to do honour to the ruler's command; and in p. 3 only Sui,—to do honour to the wife.' I confess that I do not clearly understand this.

Par. 4. The alliance with Qi had been accomplished, but it was necessary the marquis should be acknowledged as the ruler of Lu at a conference with one or more great States; and to effect this was the object of Hangfu's mission. Zuoshi says:——'In summer Ji Wen went to Qi, and with the offer of bribes begged [the marquis] to give [the duke] a meeting.'

Par. 5. 放. may be translated 'banished,' but it denotes 'banishment to a certain place, where the criminal must remain (安 置 此地,不 得 他 適,曰 放).' After the affair at Hequ, Zhao Chuan and Xu Jiafu, who was then assistant-commander of the 3d army, frustrated, as the Zhuan relates [VI. xii. 7] the design of Zhao Dun to attack the army of Qin while crossing the He. The crime had been allowed to slumber for nearly 8 years, and is now visited on Xu Chen, but not on Zhao Chuan, the leader in the offence. The Zhuan says:——'The people of Jin, to punish him for his disobedience to orders, banished Xu Jiafu to Wey, and appointed [his son], Xu Ke, to his command. Xian Xin fled to Qi.'

Par. 6. Pingzhou was in Qi, in the pres. dis. of Laiwu (萊 蕪), dep. Tai'an. Zuo says the meeting was 'to establish the duke's seat in Lu.'

Par. 7. Zuoshi here calls Sui-Dongmen Xiangzhong,' i.e., Xiangzhong who lived near the eastern gate, where 東門 becomes a sort of surname; and says he now went to Qi 'to express [the duke's] acknowledgments for the settlement [of his position].' See on V. xxvi. 5.

Par. 8. Jixi tian,—see V. xxxi. 1. It seems a strange action on the part of the marquis of Qi, after all the favours he had done to duke Xuan, now to proceed to appropriate part of his territory. We must suppose that the bribe mentioned in the Zhuan on p. 4, had only been offered and not paid, and that Qi lost no time in securing it (if these lands were the bribe), or at least an equivalent for it. The Zhuan says: —'These fields were taken, because of the service in the establishment of the duke, in order to bribe Qi.'

Par. 9. All through the times of dukes Xi and Wen, Zhu and Lu had been in bad relations. Perhaps the viscount of Zhu came now to Lu, thinking the time was opportune for the healing of their differences, in which, however, he was deceived;—see below in the 10th year. Many critics think he made his visit through fear of Qi.

Par. 10. The Zhuan says:——'When the people of Song murdered duke Zhao (VI. xvi. 7), Xun Linfu of Jin, with the armies of [several other] States, invaded Song; but Song and Jin made peace (VI. xvii. 1; the Zhuan); and duke Wen of Song was subsequently admitted to a covenant with Jin. [Jin], moreover, assembled the States at Hu (VI. xv. 10), intending, in behalf of Lu, to punish Qi; but on that occasion as well as the other, it took bribes and withdrew, [without doing anything]. Duke Mu of Zheng [on this] said, "Jin is not worth having to do with;" and he was thereafter admitted to a covenant by Chu. On the death of duke Gong of Chen [In Wen's 12th year], the people of Chu did not behave courteously, and duke Ling of Chen obtained a covenant from Jin. The viscount of Chu, [therefore], now made an incursion into Chen, and proceeded to make one into Song.'

Par. 11. Zuo says:——'To relieve Chen and Song.'

Par. 12. For 棐 Kungyang has 斐. Feilin was in Zheng,—in the pres. dis. of Xinzheng, dep. Kaifeng. The Zhuan says:——'They met at Feilin to invade Zheng, but Wei Jia of Chu came to its relief, met the allies at Beilin, and took Xie Yang of Jin prisoner; on which the troops of Jin returned to their own State.'

Par. 13. In the Zhuan on VI. xvii. 4, we find Zhao Chuan going to Zheng as a hostage. He had not remained there long, as the peace between Jin and Zheng, patched up by the letter of Zijia of Zheng, had soon come to an end.

Chong was a small State, acknowledging the jurisdiction of Qin. Its territory aforetime had been the State of Feng 酆, in the pres. dis. of Hu 鄠, dep. Xi'an, Shaanxi. The Zhuan says:——'Jin wanted to ask peace from Qin, when Zhao Chuan said, "I will make an incursion into Chong, and Qin, urgent in its behalf, is sure to go to its relief, when I can take the opportunity to ask for peace." He acted accordingly, but Qin would not make peace with Jin.'

Par. 14. The Zhuan says:——'The people of Jin invaded Zheng, to repay the affair at Beilin [See on p. 12]. At this time the marquis of Jin was giving way to all extravagance, and Zhao Xuan, in whose hands the government was, offered repeated remonstrances without effect. In consequence of this, [Jin] could not make itself strong against Chu.

II. Second year.

1. In the [duke's] second year, in spring, in the king's second month, on Renzi, Hua Yuan of Song, at the head of a force, and duke [Wen's] son, Guisheng of Zheng, [also] at the head of a force, fought at Daji, when the army of Song was shamefully defeated, and Hua Yuan was made prisoner.

2. An army of Qin invaded Jin.

3. In summer, a body of men from Jin, one from Song, one from Wey, and one from Chen, made an incursion into Zheng.

4. In autumn, in the ninth month, on Yichou, Zhao Dun of Jin murdered his ruler, Yigao.

5. In winter, in the tenth month, on Yihai, the king [by] Heaven's [grace] died.

COMMENTARY

Par. 1. Daji was in Song,—at a bend in the west of the pres. Suizhou (睢州), dep. Guide. Some refer it to a place, not far from this, in the dis. of Ningling. The Zhuan says:——'In the 2d month of this year, Gongzi Guisheng of Zheng received orders from Chu to invade Song. Hua Yuan and Yue Lü of Song met him; and on Renzi of the 2d month they fought at Daji. when the army of Song received a disgraceful defeat, Hua Yuan being made prisoner, and Yue Lü captured [Yue Lü was probably put to death as well, for so only can we make a distinction between 囚 and 獲. [The army of Zheng also took] 460 chariots of war, 250 men, and the left ears of 100. Kuang Jiao engaged a man of Zheng, who jumped into a well, from which the other brought him out with the end of his spear,—[only] to be captured by him. The superior man will say that Kuang Jiao transgressed the rule of war, and was disobedient to orders, deserving to be taken. What is called the rule of war is to be having ever in the ears that in war there should be the display of boldness and intrepidity. To slay one's enemy is boldness, and to show the utmost boldness is intrepidity; and he who does otherwise deserves death.

'When the battle was impending, Hua Yuan slaughtered sheep to feed the soldiers, and did not give any to Yang Zhen, his charioteer. When the battle came on, Zhen said, "In the matter of the sheep yesterday, you were the master; in the business of today, I am the master." With this he drove with him into the army of Zheng, which caused the defeat. The superior man will say that Yang Zhen did very wrong. For his private resentment he brought defeat on his State, and destruction on [many of] the people. No crime could deserve greater punishment. May we not regard the words of the ode, about "people without conscience (Shi, II. vii., ode IX. 4)," as applicable to Yang Zhen? He occasioned the death of many to gratify his own feeling.

'The people of Song ransomed Hua Yuan from Zheng with 100 chariots of war and 400 piebald horses. When the half of them had been sent, he made his escape back to Song; and when he arrived at the capital, he stood outside the gate, and announced himself before he entered. When he saw Shuzang [The designation of Yang Zhen], he said to him, "It was the horses that did so;" but the other replied, "It was not the horses; it was myself." Having given this answer, he fled to Lu.

'Song was repairing the wall of its capital, and Yuan had the superintendence of the work. As he was going a round of inspection, the builders sang, [as he passed],

"With goggle eyes and belly vast, The buff-coats left, he's back at last. The whiskers long, the whiskers long, Are here, but not the buff-coats strong." Yuan made [one of] them ride with him in his carriage, and said to him, "Bulls still have skins; rhinoceroses and wild bulls still are many. The throwing away the buff-coats was not such a great thing." The workman said, "There may be the skins, but what about the red varnish for them?" Hua Yuan said, "Go away. Those men have many mouths, and I am alone."

Parr. 2, 3. The Zhuan says:——'The army of Qin invaded Jin, in return for the attack of Chong [P.13 of last year], and besieged Jiao. In summer, Zhao Dun of Jin relieved Jiao; and then, going on from Yindi, he proceeded, along with the armies of [several] States, to make an incursion into Zheng, in order to repay the action at Daji. Dou Jiao of Chu [came to] relieve Zheng, saying, "Can we wish to get the adherence of the States, and shrink from the difficulties in the way of doing so?" He halted therefore in Zheng to wait for the army of Jin. Zhao Dun said, 'Jiao's clan is so strong in Chu, that it is likely to come to ruin. Let us for a time [give way, and] increase its malady." He accordingly withdrew before it.'

Par. 4. The Zhuan says:——'Duke Ling of Jin conducted himself in a way unbecoming a ruler. He levied heavy exactions, to supply him with means for the carving of his walls, and shot at people from the top of a tower to see how they tried to avoid his pellets. Because his cook had not done some bears' paws thoroughly, he put him to death, and made some of his women carry his body past the court in a basket. Zhao Dun and Shi Ji [Hui, of whose return from Qin we have an account in the Zhuan after VI. xiii. 2] saw the man's hands, [appearing through the basket], and asked about the matter, which caused them grief. [Dun] was about to go and remonstrate with the duke, when Shi Ji said to him, "If you remonstrate and are not attended to, no one can come after you. Let me go first; and if my remonstrance do not prevail, you can come after." Accordingly, Hui entered the palace, and advanced, through the first three divisions of it, to the open court before the hall, before he was seen by the duke, who then said, "I know my errors, and will change them." Hui bowed his head to the ground, and replied, "Who is without errors? But there can be no greater excellence than for a man to reform and put them away. There are the words of the ode (Shi, III. iii. ode I. 1.),

'All have their [good] beginnings, But few are able to carry them out to the end.' From them we see that few are able to mend their errors. If your lordship can carry out your purpose to the end, the stability of the altars will be made sure, and not your ministers only will have reliance on you. Another ode (Shi, III. i. ode VI. 6) says,

'The defects in the king's duties Only Zhong Shanfu can repair.' [showing how that minister] could mend the errors of the king. If your lordship can repair your faults, your robe will never cease to be worn."

Notwithstanding this interview, the marquis made no change in his conduct, and [Zhao] Xuan made repeated remonstrances, till the marquis was so vexed that he employed Xu Ni to kill him. This Ni went to Xuan's house very early in the morning, but the door of the bedchamber was open, and there was the minister in all his robes ready to go to court. It being too early to set out, he was sitting in a sort of half sleep. Ni retired, and said, with a sigh, "Thus mindful of the reverence due to his prince, he is indeed the people's lord. To murder the people's lord would be disloyalty, and to cast away from me the marquis's command will be unfaithfulness. With this alternative, before me, I had better die;" and with these words he dashed his head against a cassia tree, and died.

'In autumn, in the 9th month, the marquis called Zhao Dun to drink with him, having first concealed soldiers who should attack him. Dun's retainer, who occupied the place on the right in his chariot, Timi Ming, got to know the design, and rushed up to the hall, saying, "It is contrary to rule for a minister in waiting on his ruler at a feast to go beyond three cups." He then supported his master down the steps. The marquis urged on an immense dog which he had after them, but Ming smote the brute and killed him. "He leaves men, and uses dogs!" said Dun. "Fierce as the creature was, what could it do?" [In the meantime, the soldiers who were concealed made their appearance, but] Dun fought his way out, Timi Ming dying for him.

'Before this, once when Xuan was hunting on mount Shou, he rested under a shady mulberry tree, and noticed one, Ling Zhe, lying near in a famishing condition. Xuan asked what was the matter with him, and he said that he had not eaten for three days. When food was given him, however, he set the half of it apart; and when asked why he did so, he said, "I have been learning abroad for three years, and do not know whether my mother is alive or not. Here I am not far from home, and beg to be allowed to leave this for her." Zhao Dun made him eat the whole, and had a measure of rice and meat put up for him in a bag, which was given to him. This man was now present among the duke's soldiers, but, turning the head of his spear, he resisted the others, and effected the minister's escape. Dun asked him why he thus came to his help, and he replied, "I am the famishing man whom you saw at the shady mulberry tree;" but when further asked his name and village, he made no answer, but withdrew, disappearing afterwards entirely.

'On Yichou, Zhao Chuan attacked [and killed] duke Ling in the peach garden, and Xuan, who was flying from the State, but had not yet left its hills behind him, returned to the capital. The grand historiographer wrote this entry,—"Zhao Dun murdered his ruler," and showed it in the court. Xuan said to him, "It was not so;" but he replied, "You are the highest minister. Flying from the State, you did not cross its borders; since you returned, you have not punished the villain. If it was not you who murdered the marquis, who was it?" Xuan said, "Ah! the words (? Shi, I. iii. ode VIII. 1),

'The object of my anxiety Has brought on me this sorrow,' are applicable to me."

'Confucius (?) said "Dong Hu was a good historiographer of old time:—his rule for writing was not to conceal. Zhao Xuan was a good great officer of old time:—in accordance with that law he accepted the charge of such wickedness. Alas! if he had crossed the border, he would have escaped it."

'Xuan then sent Zhao Chuan to Zhou to meet duke [Wen's] son Heitun, whom he raised to the marquisate. On Renshen, Heitun presented himself in the temple of duke Wu [the first marquis of Jin].

The words of Confucius quoted above by Zuoshi are nowhere else to be found. Perhaps Zuo had heard them from the sage, or they had been reported to him. Some even think that he put his own view here into the sage's lips to give it more weight. Dun's conduct in employing the real murderer to go to Zhou for duke Ling's successor cannot be justified; but on the whole, the reader will probably conclude that he received hard measure, first from the historiographer of Jin, and then from the sage as the compiler of the Chunqiu.

[The Zhuan appends here a further narrative about the affairs of Jin:——'At the time of the troubles occasioned by Li Ji [See the Zhuan on V.iv. 8, et al.], an oath was taken [in Jin] that they would not maintain in the State any of the sons of their marquises; and from that time they had no families in it which were branches of the ruling house. When duke Cheng [The above Heitun], however, succeeded to the State, he gave offices to the eldest sons by their wives of the high ministers, and assigned them lands, so that they should form the branch-families of his House. He gave offices also to the other sons of the ministers by the same mothers, and recognized them by that designation [as the Heads of their families]. Their sons by concubines were made leaders of the duke's columns [of chariots]. Thus Jin came to have ducal families, other sons, and leaders of the duke's columns. Zhao Dun begged that [his half-brother] Kuo might be made [Head of] their branch of the ducal families, saying, "He was the loved son of our ruler's (duke Wen's) daughter, and but for her I should have been a Di [See the Zhuan at the commencement of V. xxiv.]." The duke granted his request. In winter, Dun declared himself head of the flags-men of the chariots, and caused Ji of Ping [The above Kuo], to whom he surrendered all his old adherents, to be made the great officer of their one among the ducal families.]'

III. Third year.

1. In the [duke's] third year, in spring, in the king's first month, the bull for the border sacrifice received some injury in its mouth. It was changed, and the tortoise-shell consulted about the [other] bull. That died, and so the border sacrifice was not offered.

2. Still [the duke] offered the sacrifices to the three objects of Survey.

3. There was the burial of king Kuang.

4. The viscount of Chu invaded the Rong of Luhun.

5. In summer, a body of men from Chu made an incursion into Zheng.

6. In autumn, the Red Di made an incursion into Qi.

7. An army of Song laid siege to [the capital] of Cao.

8. In winter, in the tenth month, on Bingxu, Lan, earl of Zheng, died.

9. There was the burial of duke Mu of Zheng.

COMMENTARY

Parr. 1, 2. See on V. xxxi. 3—. The border sacrifice, here, however, was probably that at the winter-solstice to Heaven. Guliang and other critics think that the characters,—牛 之 口 傷, indicate that the bull had itself become ill, without receiving any external injury (緩 辭 也, 傷 自 牛 作 也). Du say that the creature is here called 牛, and not 牲 or 'victim,' because the day for the sacrifice had not yet been divined for. Zuoshi says:——'The giving up the border sacrifice, and yet offering those to the objects of Survey, were both contrary to rule. The latter were adjuncts of the former, and, if it were not offered, they might be omitted.' He does not say how the giving up the border sacrifice in the circumtances mentioned in the text was 'contrary to rule.' Mao thinks the fault was in giving it up so suddenly, without divining for another victim; but then he contends that the sacrifice was that offered at the beginning of summer, like the one in V. xxxi.

Par. 3. This burial must have been hurried on for some reason which we do not know. King Kuang was succeeded by his brother, king Ding (定 王).

[The Zhuan appends here:——'The marquis of Jin invaded Zheng, and penetrated as far as Yan. Zheng then made peace with Jin, and Shi Hui entered its capital, and made a covenant.]

Par. 4. The Rong of Luhun were a tribe of the Little Rong (小戒), whose original seat lay in the extreme west of the present Gansu; but, as related under the 22d year of duke Xi, they were removed by Qin and Jin to Yichuan,—in the north of the pres. dis. of Song (嵩 縣), dep. Henan; which brought them within the reach of Chu. They were also called the Yin Rong (陰 戎). For 渾 Gong has 賁; and both he and Gu omit the (之) before 戎. The Zhuan says:—-'The viscount of Chu invaded the Rong of Luhun and then went on as far as the Luo, where he reviewed his troops on the borders of Zhou. King Ding sent Wangsun Man [See the former mention of him in the Zhuan on V.xxxiii. 1] to him with congratulations and presents, when the viscount asked about the size and weight of the tripods. Man replied, "[The strength of the kingdom] depends on the [sovereign's] virtue, and not on the tripods. Anciently, when Xia was distinguished for its virtue, the distant regions sent pictures of the [remarkable] objects in them. The nine pastors sent in the metal of their provinces, and the tripods were cast, with representations on them of those objects. All the objects were represented, and [instructions were given] of the preparations to be made in reference to them, so that the people might know the sprites and evil things. Thus the people, when they went among the rivers, marshes, hills, and forests, did not meet with the injurious things, and the hill-sprites, monstrous things, and water-sprites, did not meet with them [to do them injury]. Hereby a harmony was secured between the high and the low, and all enjoyed the blessing of Heaven. When the virtue of Jie was all-obscured, the tripods were transferred to Shang, for 600 years. Zhou of Shang proved cruel and oppressive, and they were transferred to Zhou. When the virtue is commendable and brilliant, the tripods, though they were small, would be heavy; when it gives place to its reverse, to darkness and disorder, though they were large, they would be light. Heaven blesses intelligent virtue;—on that its favour rests. King Cheng fixed the tripods in Jiaru, and divined that the dynasty should extend through 30 reigns, over 700 years. Though the virtue of Zhou is decayed, the decree of Heaven is not yet changed. The weight of the tripods may not yet be inquired about."'

Par. 5. The reason of this incursion was, says Zuoshi, 'because Zheng had joined the party of Jin.' See the Zhuan appended to par. 3. The utter mercenariness of Ling of Jin had alienated Zheng from it; but the earl seems to have hasted, on his death, again to join the side of the north against Chu.

Par. 6. This is the first appearance of the Red Di in the classic. They are supposed to have been so called, because they wore clothes of a red colour, as the White Di preferred white. There were many tribes of them,—the Lushi (潞 氏), Keahshe (甲 氏), etc. Their seats were in the pres. dep. of Lu'an (潞 安), Shanxi.

Par. 7. The Zhuan says:——'Three years after the accession of duke Wen of Sung, he put to death his full brother, Xu, and the son of duke Zhao, because of the schemes of the Head of the Wu clan about them. He then made the clans of Dai and Huan attack Wushi in the court-house of Zibo, the minister of War, and drove out of the State the clans of Wu and Mu. They [fled to Cao], and with an army from it invaded Song. In autumn, an army of Song laid siege to the capital of Cao, in return for the disorders occasioned by the officer Wu.

Par. 8. The Zhuan says:——'In winter, duke Mu of Zheng died. [His father], duke Wen, had a concubine of mean position, who was called Yan Ji [As belonging to the House of the southern Yan], who dreamt that Heaven sent and gave her a lan flower, saying, "I am Bochou [The founder of that House]; I am your ancestor. This shall be [the emblem of] your child. As the lan is the most fragrant flower of a State, so shall men acknowledge and love him." After this, when duke Wen saw her, he gave her a lan flower, and lay with her. She wished to decline his approaches, saying, "I am but a poor concubine, and should I be fortunate enough to have a son, I shall not be believed. I will venture to prove it by this lan." The duke agreed, and she bore a son, [who became] duke Mu, and named him Lan.

'Now duke Wen had had an intrigue with Chen Gui, the wife of [his uncle] Zi[yi], and she bore to him Zihua and Zizang, the latter of whom for some offence left the State. His father by a deception put Zihua to death in Nanli [See the 3d Zhuan after V. xvi. 4], and he made some ruffians kill Zizang between Chen and Song [See the 1st narrative in the Zhuan after V. xxiv. 2].

'Wen also took a wife from the House of Jiang, who bore him Shi; but he having gone to the court of Chu, was poisoned there, and died on his way back at She.

'He also took a wife from the House of Su, who bore him Xia, and Yumi. Yumi died early; and both his father and Xie Jia hated Xia, so that he was not appointed to succeed to the State. The duke then drove out all his own and his predecessors' sons, when Lan fled to Jin, from which he attended duke Wen in his invasion of Zheng [See the Zhuan on V. xxx. 5]. Shi Gui said, "I have heard that when Ji (姞) and Ji (姞) make a match, their descendants are sure to be numerous. The Jis (姞) are lucky;—the great wife of Houji was one. Now, the duke's son Lan is the child of a Ji. Heaven has perhaps opened the way for him. He must become our ruler, and his descendants will be numerous. Let us take the lead in receiving him, and we shall enjoy the greatest favour." Accordingly, with Kong Jiangchu and Hou Xuanduo, he received Lan, and brought him to Zheng, when they made a covenant with him in the grand temple, and had him appointed successor to the State;—thereby obtaining peace from Jin.

'When duke Mu was ill, he said, "When the lan die, I will die. It is by them I live." When they cut the lan, he died.'

Par. 9. Something must have hurried on this burial, but the critics cannot tell what. For 穆 Kungyang has 繆.

IV. Fourth year.

1. 四 年,春,王 正 月,公 及 齊 侯 平 莒 及 郯,莒 人 不 肯,公 伐 莒 取 向。

1. In his fourth year, in spring, in the king's first month, the duke and the marquis of Qi [tried to] reconcile Ju and Tan. The people of Ju were not willing [to be reconciled], and the duke invaded Ju and took Xiang.

2. 秦 伯 稻 卒。

2. Dao, earl of Qin, died.

3. 夏,六 月,乙 酉,鄭 公 子 歸 生 弒 其 君 夷。

3. In summer, in the sixth month, on Yiyou, duke [Wen's] son, Guisheng of Zheng, murdered his ruler, Yi.

4. 赤 狄 侵 齊。

4. The Red Di made an incursion into Qi.

5. 秋,公 如 齊。

5. In autumn, the duke went to Qi.

6. 公 至 自 齊。

6. The duke arrived from Qi.

7. 冬,楚 子 伐 鄭。

7. In winter, the viscount of Chu invaded Zheng.

COMMENTARY

Par. 1. Tan was a small State, of the same surname as Ju [Si, 巳] which has left its name in the dis. of Tancheng 郯 城), dep. Yizhou. Xiang is, no doubt, that mentioned in I. ii. 2. Zuoshi says that the duke acted wrongly, in now attacking Ju. 'States must be reconciled by the rules of propriety, and not by disorder. To attack Ju, without regulating [the difference by those rules], was creating disorder. By disorder to attempt to reconcile disorder, left no room for the [proper] regulation; and without such regulation, how could any rule of propriety be carried out?'

Par. 3. Yi was the eldest son of duke Mu, who died in the 10th month of the last year. He enjoyed his earldom, therefore, but a very short time. The Zhuan says:——"A large turtle had been presented from Chu to duke Ling of Zheng. Gongzi Song and Zijia were going [soon after] to have an audience of the duke, when Zigong's [The Gongzi Song] forefinger began to move. He showed it to Zijia, saying, "On other occasions, when my finger has done this, I have been sure to taste [soon] some extraordinary dish." When they entered the palace, the cook was about to cut up the turtle, and they looked at each other, and laughed. The duke [saw it, and] asked the reason, which Zijia told him. When the duke, however, was feasting the [other] great officers on the turtle, he invited Zigong, but did not give him any. Zigong was angry, dipped his finger into a dish, tasted the turtle, and went out, which so enraged the duke that he wished to kill him. Zigong then consulted with Zijia about their first killing the duke; but Zijia said, "Even an animal which you have long kept about you, you shrink from killing; how much more should you shrink from killing your ruler!" The other turned round, and threatened to bring a charge against Zijia, who then agreed, through fear, to let him take his course; and Zigong murdered duke Ling in the summer.

'The text says that Guisheng murdered his ruler, because his power was not sufficient [to prevent the deed, as it ought to have been]. The superior man may say that a man who is benevolent, but has not prowess, cannot carry out his benevolence. In cases of the murder of a prince, when he is mentioned [by name], it indicates that he was without principle (?), and the mention of the name of the minister indicates his guilt.

'The people of Zheng wanted to raise Ziliang [A son of duke Mu by a concubine] to be earl, but he declined the dignity, saying, "If it is to be given to the worthiest, I, Quji am not fit to receive it. If it is to be given according to natural order, my brother Jian is the oldest." On this [Jian, known as] duke Xiang was appointed. He wished to drive away all the sons of duke Mu excepting Ziliang, who remonstrated against the proposed measure, saying, "The sons of Mu should all be allowed to remain, and this is what I wish. If you banish them, then I will go into banishment with the rest;—what should I do, [remaining here alone]?" On this the duke let them alone, and they all became great officers.'

The Kangxi editors reject from their text all the remarks of his own, which Zuoshi has interjected in the above Zhuan, seeing in them only matter for question and condemnation. Guisheng certainly was more blameworthy for his share in the murder of his ruler than Zhao Dun for his part in the murder of Ling of Jin.

Par. 4. See on p. 6 of last year.

Parr. 5, 6. [The Zhuan gives here a long narrative relating to Chu, 'Before this, Ziliang, the minister of War in Chu, had a son born to him,—Ziyue Jiao. [When] Ziwen [Ziliang's elder-brother] [saw the child], he said 'You must put him to death. He has the appearance of a bear or a tiger, and the voice of a wolf. If you do not kill him, he will cause the extinction of our Ruo'ao family. There is the common saying, 'A wolf-like child will have an evil heart.' This is a wolf, and should he be brought up in your family?" Ziliang rejected this proposal,—to the great grief of Ziwen, who collected all his family, when he was about to die, and said to them, "When Jiao is entrusted with the govt., do you quickly leave the State, so as to avoid the misfortunes he will occasion." He then wept, and said, "If ghosts must be seeking for food, will not those of our Ruo'ao clan be famished?" When Ziwen, who was the chief minister of Chu, died, the office was given to Dou Ban [Ziwen's son, designated Ziyang]. Ziyue was then minister of War, and Wei Jia minister of Works. The latter made a false charge against Ziyang and procured his death, when Ziyue was made chief minister, and Jia himself became minister of War, but was hated by Ziyue, who, with the help of all the branches of the Ruo'ao clan, imprisoned him—Boying—in Liaoyang, and put him to death. Jiao then took up his quarters in Zhengye, and threatened to attack the king, who offered to place the sons of his three predecessors (Wen, Cheng, and Mu) with him as hostages. The other, however, would not receive them, and encamped with his army on the banks of the Zhang.

'In autumn, in the 7th month, the viscount of Chu and the Ruo'ao fought at Gaohu. Bofen [Jiao] shot an arrow at the king, which skirted the curved pole of his chariot, reached the frame of the drum in it, and hit the metal jingle. A second arrow skirted in the same way the curvature of the pole, and then pierced the bamboo screen above the wheel. The troops became frightened and retired. The king made it be circulated through the army, that when the former ruler, king Wen, subdued Xi, he had got three [great] arrows, two of which had been stolen by Bofen, but had now been both discharged. He then made the drums be beaten again, and urged his men on, so that he [gained a complete victory, and] extinguished the clan of Ruo'ao.

'Before this, Ruo'ao [Ruo'ao was viscount of Chu from B.C. 789 to 763] took to his harem a daughter of the House of Yun, who bore to him Dou Bobi [See the Zhuan at the beginning of II. xiii.] but, on his father's death, this son followed his mother, and was brought up in Yun. He had an intrigue with a daughter of the viscount of Yun, the fruit of which was a son, afterwards styled Ziwen. Her mother caused the child to be thrown away in the [marsh of] Meng. There a tigress suckled him. The thing was seen by the viscount of Yun, when hunting; and when he returned home in terror, his wife told him the whole affair, on which he sent for the child and had it cared for. The people of Chu called suckling gou, and a tiger they called wutu; hence the child was named Gouwutu [See his first appearance in the Zhuan after III.xxx.2, where he is called Gouwutu instead of Gouwutu], and his mother was married to Bobi. The child subsequently became the chief minister of Chu, Ziwen. His grandson, Kehuang, was minister of Remonstrance, and was absent on a mission to Qi [when the above rebellion took place]. He heard of it in Song, on his way back, when his people said to him, "You must not enter the State." But he replied, "If I abandon the king's commission, who will receive it? My ruler is Heaven;—can Heaven be fled from?" He accordingly returned to Chu, reported the discharge of his mission, and then delivered himself a prisoner to the minister of Crime. The king thought of Ziwen's govt. of Chu, and said, "If I leave Ziwen without any posterity, how shall I encourage men to good?" He made Kehuang return to his office, and changed his name to Sheng.'

Par. 7. Zuoshi says the reason of this invasion was that Zheng had not yet submitted, notwithstanding that Chu had attacked it in the summer of last year.

V. Fifth year.

1. In his fifth year, in spring, the duke went to Qi.

2. In summer, the duke arrived from Qi.

3. In autumn, in the ninth month, Gao Gu of Qi came to meet [his bride], the duke's second daughter.

4. Shusun Dechen died.

5. In winter, Gao Gu of Qi and the duke's second daughter came to Lu.

6. A body of men from Chu invaded Zheng.

COMMENTARY

Par. 1. The Zhuan says that, on this visit, Gao Gu [A minister of Qi] made the marquis of Qi detain the duke, and ask him to give Gu his second daughter in marriage.

Part. 2. The Zhuan says that this entry shows how the duke 'exceeded,' in the ceremony which is implied. What that ceremony was has been described on II. ii. 9. Now on this occasion the duke had been forcibly detained in Qi, and obliged to consent to marry his daughter to a man of rank inferior to his own, compromising his own character and that of his ancestors. But should he therefore have refrained from the ceremony 'proper,' on his own safe return to his State?

Par. 3. The Zhuan says that Gao Gu came himself to meet his bride, but that we have not 逆 女, the lady being mentioned by her designation, because the case was that of a minister meeting her for himself. Du calls attention to there being on further entry about her going to Qi (歸 于 齊), because such entries were only made when the daughters of Lu married princes of States. Zuoshi does not have the 子 before 叔 姬. There can be no doubt as to its meaning here. Comp. VI. xii. 3; xiv. 12; xv. 11.

Par. 4. Du needlessly finds a reason for the day of Dechen's death not being given. Dechen is often mentioned as Zhuangshu (莊叔), Zhuang being his posthumous epithet. He was succeeded by his son Qiaoru (僑 如; given from the Souman giant whose death is mentioned in the Zhuan on VI. xi. 6), known as Xuanbo (宣伯).

Par. 5. The Zhuan says:——'They came to Lu in winter, returning the horses:'—which needs explanation. On the marriage of a lady to a great officer or a husband of higher rank, she was escorted to her home with a carriage and horses;—one or many. Three days after, the carriage was sent back, but the horses were detained for 3 months, in case there should be need of them for the lady's return to her parents, the experiment of marriage not proving satisfactory. If it did prove so, then they also were sent back by a messenger. Here the husband himself accompanies his wife on her visit to her parents, and takes charge of the horses, to show his satisfaction with her. Still the critics all insist on the impropriety of the lady's visit to Lu;—it was too early for it, and the time had not come. Then, again, it was contrary to rule for her on such an occasion to be accompanied by her husband.

Par. 6. The Zhuan says:——'On this invasion, Chen and Chu made peace, when Xun Linfu relieved Zheng, and invaded Chen.'

VI. Sixth year.

1. In the [duke's] sixth year, in spring, Zhao Dun of Jin and Sun Mian of Wey made an incursion into Chen.

2. It was summer, the fourth month.

3. In autumn, in the eighth month, there were locusts.

4. It was winter, the tenth month.

COMMENTARY

Par. 1. Sun Mian,—there was a clan with the surname Sun in Wey, descended from a son of duke Wu, who died B. C. 757, a little before the commencement of the period of the Chunqiu. Zuoshi says here that the reason of this incursion by Jin and Wey was Chen's adherence to Chu. The invasion of it by Xun Linfu the previous winter had failed to alter Chen's policy.

Gongyang gives here in a long note an account of the murder of duke Ling of Jin, substantially the same as that in Zuoshi's Zhuan on II. 4; and seems to think that the re-appearance of Zhao Dun in this par. is a sort of condoning him for his connection with the deed.

Par. 2. See on I. vi. 3. [The Zhuan introduces two brief notices:——'In summer, king Ding sent Zifu to ask a queen for him from Qi.' 'In autumn, the Red Di invaded Jin, when they besieged Huai and Xingqiu The marquis of Jin wished to invade their country [in return], but the officer Huan of the middle column said to him, "Let [their chief first] make his people hate him [for his incessant warfare], filling up the measure of his practices, and then he may be utterly destroyed. The language in one of the Books of Zhou,—Exterminate the great Yin (Shu, V. ix. 4),' is applicable to this kind of people."']

Par. 3. See II. v. 8.

Par. 4 [The Zhuan appends here:—1st, 'In winter, duke Huan of Shao met the king's bride in Qi.' 2d, 'A body of men from Chu invaded Zheng, took conditions of peace, and returned to Chu.' 3d, 'Gongzi Manman of Zheng spoke to the king's son Boliao, [who was serving in Zheng], about his wish to become a high minister. Boliao told another person, saying, "The case of one who covets [a high position] without the proper virtue appears from the Zhou yi, and is like the diagram Feng's (䷶) becoming Li (䷝). [Manman] will not live beyond the time thereby indicated." After the interval of a year, the people of Zheng put Manman to death.']

VII. Seventh year.

1. In his seventh year, in spring, the marquis of Wey sent Sun Liangfu to Lu, to make a covenant [with the duke].

2. In summer, the duke joined the marquis of Qi in invading Lai.

3. In autumn, the duke arrived from the invasion of Lai.

4. There was great drought.

5. In winter, the duke had a meeting with the marquis of Jin, the duke of Song, the marquis of Wey, the earl of Zheng, and the earl of Cao, in Heirang.

COMMENTARY

Par. 1. The Zhuan says that this mission of the officer Huan 桓 was the posthumous title of Sun Liangfu] was the first intercourse between Wey and Lu since the duke's accession, and that the object was to consult about the duke's attending a meeting to be called by Jin. For these purposes a friendly mission of inquiry (聘) would have been sufficient; but it is to be understood that Wey was acting in the interest of Jin, the new ruler of which wished to assert what he considered his claim to be the leader of the States. Duke Xuan had, since his accession, been a devoted adherent of Qi, and had stood aloof from Jin; and now Wey required from him the engagement of a covenant, to clear itself with Jin, should the duke after all not attend the meeting.

Par. 2. Lai was a small State, held by Jiangs, with the title of viscount,—in the pres. dis. of Huang (黃 縣), dep. Dengzhou, Shandong. Zuoshi here gives his canon regarding the use of 及 and 會, in the case at least of military expeditions, saying that the 會 here implies that Lu had not been a party in planning the expedition:——In all military expeditions, where Lu had previously acted in the planning of them, 及 is used; where it had not done so, we have 會.' The Kangxi editors accept the canon with a slight reservation.

Par. 4. See on V. xxi. 3. Du observes here that 'the sacrifice for rain had had no effect, or perhaps it had not been offered.' [The Zhuan appends:——'The Red Di made an incursion into Jin, and cut down and carried off the growing grain of Xiangyin'].

Par. 5. Heirang was in Jin,—40 li northwest from the pres. dis. of Qinshui, dep. Zezhou, Shanxi.

The Zhuan says:——'Peace had been brought about between Zheng and Jin by means of the counsels of Gongzi Song, who therefore now attended the earl of Zheng, as his assistant, to this meeting. In winter, a covenant was made at Heirang, when the king's uncle, the duke of Huan, was present, to consult on the case of discordant States. On the accession of the marquis of Jin, [in the duke's 2d year], the duke had not paid a court-visit to him, nor had he since sent any great officer to Jin with friendly inquiries. The people of Jin therefore now detained him at the meeting, and when the covenant was made at Huangfu [i. q. Heirang], he did not take part in it. He got away to Lu, however, by means of bribes; and the text does not mention the covenant at Heirang, to conceal the duke's disgrace in connection with it.'

VIII. Eighth year.

1. In his eighth year, in spring, the duke arrived from the meeting [at Heirang].

2. In summer, in the sixth month, duke [Zhuang's] son, Sui, went to Qi. When he had got to Huang, he returned.

3. On Xinsi, there was a sacrifice in the grand temple; and Zhong Sui died at Chui.

4. On Renwu, the sacrifice was repeated for the next day; but when the pantomimes entered, they put away their flutes.

5. On Wuzi, [duke Wen's] wife, the lady Ying, died.

6. An army of Jin and the White Di invaded Qin.

7. A body of men from Chu extinguished Shuliao.

8. In autumn, in the seventh month, on Jiazi, the sun was totally eclipsed.

9. In winter, in the tenth month, on Jichou, we [had arranged to] bury our duchess, Jing Ying.

10. Because of rain the interment was not effected; but on [the next day] Gengyin, at mid-day, it was completed.

11. [The duke] walled Pingyang.

12. An army of Chu invaded Chen.

COMMENTARY

Par. 1. See on V. 1, 2. The Zhuan has here an entry, which terminates very strangely, and which the Kangxi editors do not give, looking on it, no doubt, as incredible:——'This spring, the White Di made peace with Jin, and in the summer they joined it in an invasion of Qin. The people of Jin caught a spy of Qin, and put him to death in Jiang, in the market place, but on the 6th day he came alive again!'

Par. 2. Huang,—see II. xvii. 1. Guliang seems to take 復 in the sense of 復 命, 'reported the execution of his mission,' which is evidently incorrect. The meaning must be that given in the translation. From the mention of Sui's death in the next par., we must conclude that, when he got to Huang, he felt himself too ill to proceed farther, and began to retrace his steps to Lu. The critics are hard upon him for doing so. Du says it was 'contrary to rule,' for, having received his ruler's commission, he should have gone on till he died, and arranged that his corpse should be carried to the capital of Qi!

Parr. 3,4. Chui was in Qi,—somewhere in the borders of the pres. dis. of Pingyin (平陰), dep. Yanzhou. The phrase 有事=有 祭事,'there was a sacrifice.' This is certain from the usage in the Chunqiu;-comp. 大 事 in VI.ii.6, and 有 事, in X.xv.2. But what particular sacrifice is intended in the text is a matter of controversy. Yingda and many other critics think it was the Di (禘) sacrifice;—see on V.viii.4. Wu Cheng and others hold that it was merely the summer seasonal sacrifice. The discussion of this question is not important to the elucidation of the text.

The sacrifice was offered on Xinsi, and that same day the Gongzi Sui died at Chui. The two events are chronicled together, though it is not likely the news of Sui's death reached Lu before the offering of the sacrifice. It reached it, however, before the following day, when the previous sacrifice was repeated;—see the note on the name of the 9th Book in the 4th part of the Shu. That repetition was comparatively unimportant, and the news of Sui's death should have prevented it. Hence Zuoshi says that it was 'contrary to rule,' and we have the same decision regarding it, as from Confucius himself, in the Li ji, II., Pt.II.ii. 20.

In p.4, 萬 is the name for the pantomimic performers at the sacrifice. There were civil pantomimes (文舞)) and martial pantomimes (武舞); and the term 萬 was used to cover them both. Here we are to think only of the civil. The martial pantomimes carried in their right hand an axe, and in the left a shield; the civil carried in their right a pheasant's feather, and in their left a flute, on which they played. The flutes were put away on this occasion, their sound being thought inconsistent with the feelings which the news of Sui's death should produce. It remains only to speak of the characters 仲 遂 in p.3, the former of which has occasioned the critics great trouble. The 公子 of p. 2 give place here, it will be seen, to 仲, which was only Sui's designation as having been the second among his brothers. It became the surname of his descendants; and the simplest way of accounting for its employment here is to suppose, with Mao, that duke Xuan at once gave it to his deceased relative and minister as the clan-name (氏) of himself and his posterity.

Par. 5. This was duke Xuan's mother. Though only a concubine of duke Wen, she appears here as his wife,—raised to that rank by her son. Gu and Gong have 熊 instead of 嬴, making the lady thereby to have been of the House of Chu, and not of that of Qin.

Par. 6. See on III. 6. This is the first appearance of the white Di in the Classic. See the Zhuan at the commencement of this year.

Par. 7. 蓼 is with Gongyang 鄝. Shuliao was a small State,—in the pres. dis. of Lujiang (盧江), dep. Luzhou, Anhui. The other Shu States were near to it. Du Yu says erroneously that Shu and Liao were two States. The Zhuan says:——'Chu, because the various Shu States had revolted from it, attacked Shuliao and extinguished it. The viscount of Chu laid out anew its boundaries, as far as the banks of the Hua, took a covenant from Wu and Yue, and returned [to Ying].'

Par. 8. 既=盡, 'completely,' as in II.iii.4. There is an error in the text in the record of this eclipse. It was total about half past 3 o'clock in the afternoon of Sept. 12, B. C. 600, thus corresponding to the 1st day of the tenth moon, which would on that year be Jiazi (甲子), as in the text. Wang Tao supposes that the 七 in the text should be 十, and would cast out the 秋, transferring the 冬 from the next par. to the head of this. But in that way we should have no entry in this year under the season of autumn;—which is contrary to the rule of the classic. Perhaps we should read 秋七月 as a paragraph, simply saying—It was autumn, the 7th month.' Then this par. will begin 冬十月 which characters must be removed from p. 9, the day 己丑 of which would still be in the tenth month,—the 26th day of it.

[The Zhuan appends here:—Xu Ke of Jin had an illness which unsettled his mind. Xi Que became chief minister of the State. In autumn Xu Ke was discharged from his office, and Zhao Shuo was appointed assistant-commander of the 3d army.']

Parr. 9,10. Gong and Gu for 敬嬴 have 頃熊. But 頃 as a posthumous title is evidently wrong. 敬 so used denotes—Day and night reverently attentive to duty (日夜敬事曰敬).'

Zuoshi records that, at this burial, there being no flax in consequence of drought, they first used ropes made of the fibres of the dolichos, to draw the bier. As the burial did not take place till the day after Jichou, we must understand 己丑葬 as in the translation. That day had been determined on for the ceremony, after consulting the tortoise-shell, according to the rule mentioned in the Li ji, I. Part I. v. 23, that the day should be determined at least ten days before. At the interment of a person of rank, however, the number of persons employed and observances to be attended to was so great, that we can easily understand how the business would be stopt by rain, though such delay was not allowed in the case of the burial of a common person. Zuoshi says:——'Not to complete the burial because of the rain was according to rule. The rule required that the tortoise-shell should be consulted about an interment on a distant day, [not less than ten days], before it took place, to avoid the charge of not being affectionately solicitous in the case of such a duty.' The Kangxi editors, however, strongly condemn the delay in the interment, thinking, with Gong and Gu, that it was occasioned by the want of sufficient care and diligence in making the necessary preparations, even after the day had been fixed so long before.

Par. 11. Pingyang was 4 li to the northwest of the pres. dis. city of Xintai (新泰), dept. Ji'nan. Zuoshi says the record was made to show the seasonableness of the undertaking.

Par. 12. The Zhuan says:——'Chen and Jin had made peace. An army of Chu, [therefore], invaded Chen, took terms of submission from it, and returned.'

IX. Ninth year.

1. In his ninth year, in spring, in the king's first month, the duke went to Qi.

2. The duke arrived from Qi.

3. In summer, Zhongsun Mie went to the capital.

4. The marquis of Qi invaded Lai.

5. In autumn, [we] took Genmou.

6. In the eighth month, the viscount of Teng died.

7. In the ninth month, the marquis of Jin, the duke of Song, the marquis of Wey, the earl of Zheng, and the earl of Cao, had a meeting in Hu.

8. Xun Linfu of Jin led the armies [of the above States], and invaded Chen.

9. On Xinyou, Heitun, marquis of Jin, died in Hu.

10. In winter, in the tenth month, on Guiyou, Zheng, marquis of Wey, died.

11. A body of men from Song laid siege to [the capital of] Teng.

12. The viscount of Chu invaded Zheng; [and] Xi Que of Jin led a force, and relieved it.

13. Chen put to death its great officer Xie Ye.

COMMENTARY

Parr. 1, 2. Zuoshi says nothing on these two parr. Fan Ning, Sun Fu, and other critics, remark on the duke's throwing on one side the mourning for his mother, and going away to Qi; but we have seen that during all his rule the duke was reduced to a miserable subserviency to that State.

Par. 3. This Zhongsun Mie was the grandson of Gongsun Ao, whose name occurs so often in Books V. and VI. Of course he was the great-grandson of Qingfu, who died, or was obliged rather to strangle himself, in the 2d year of duke Min. Mie's posthumous title was Xian (獻), He was 孟獻子;—see the Zhuan on VI.xv.4.

The Zhuan says:——'In spring, the king had sent to Lu demanding from the duke a mission of friendly inquiries. In summer, [therefore], Meng Xian went on such a mission to Zhou, and the king, considering that he conducted it according to the rules of propriety, gave him rich gifts.' Du observes that the king's previous mission is not mentioned in the text, as a gentle condemnation of the king's conduct.

Par. 4. Lai,—see p. 3 of last year.

Par. 5. Acc. to Du Yu, Genmou was a State belonging to one of the Yi or wild tribes of the east;—in the south of the pres. dis. of Yishui (沂水), dep. Yizhou. This identification is better than that of Gongyang, who would make it out to be a town of Zhu (邾婁之邑). Zuoshi thinks the 'took' (取) denotes the ease with which the capture was made. More likely is the opinion of Wang Kekuan (汪克寬), that the term is a gentle one for 'extinguished,' partially concealing the lawlessness of Lu.

Par. 6. This was duke Zhao (昭公) of Teng. See on I.vii.2; but in Yin's time the lords of Teng were marquises. They had now descended two steps, and were only viscounts.

Parr. 7—. Hu—see III.xxiii. 10, et al. Du, in assigning the situation of Hu, always says it belonged to Zheng. Gongyang, however, here says it belonged to Jin; and the Kangxi editors adduce the Bamboo books, under the reign of king Zhending, to show that, though the place originally belonged to Zheng, it ultimately became a possession of Jin. At this time, however, it still belonged to Zheng.

The Zhuan says:——'The meeting at Hu was to punish discordant States. The marquis of Chen did not attend it [See on p. 12 of last year], and Xun Linfu, with the armies of the States, invaded Chen; but, on the death of the marquis of Jin at Hu, he returned.'

Acc. to Du, there was no Xinyou day in the 9th month. Guiyou in next par. was the 16th of the 10th month; and Xinyou therefore must have been the 6th.

Par. 10. In this attack of Teng, Song, says Zuoshi, took advantage of the death of the viscount in the 8th month.

Par. 12. The Zhuan says:——'The viscount of Chu, because of the affair at Li [What affair this was is not known. Du finds it in connection with the 2d Zhuan at the end of the 6th year], invaded Zheng, which was relieved by Xi Que of Jin. The earl of Zheng defeated an army of Chu at Liufen, to the joy of all the people. Ziliang, however, was sad, and said, "This [victory] will prove a calamity to the State. We shall die before very long."'

Par. 13. The Zhuan says:——'Duke Ling of Chen, with [his two ministers] Kong Ning and Yi Hangfu, all had an intrigue with Xia Ji [A daughter of the House of Zheng, surnamed Ji, the widow of an officer of Chen, surnamed or designated Xia], and each of the three of them wore an article of her under clothing, with which they made game with one another in the court. Xie (Gong and Gu have 泄 for 洩) Ye remonstrated with the duke, saying, 'When ruler and ministers thus proclaim their lewdness, the people have nothing good to imitate. The report of such things is not good;—let your lordship put that article away." The duke said he would change his conduct, but he told the other two what Xie Ye had said; and when they asked leave to kill him, he did not forbid them. Ye thereon was killed. Confucius said, "The words of the ode, (Shi, III.ii. ode X. 6),

'When the people have many perversities Do not you set up your own perversity before them,' are applicable to the case of Xie Ye."'

This cannot be the decision of Confucius upon the fate of Xie Ye, though we find it expanded in the Jia yu 家 語, Bk. XIX. (the 子路初見).

X. Tenth year.

1. In his tenth year, in spring, the duke went to Qi. The duke arrived from Qi,

2. The people of Qi restored to us the lands of Jixi.

3. In summer, in the the fourth month, on Bingchen, the sun was eclipsed.

4. On Jisi, Yuan, marquis of Qi, died.

5. The Head of the Cui family of Qi left the State, and fled to Wey.

6. The duke went to Qi.

7. In the fifth month, the duke arrived from Qi.

8. On Guisi, Xia Zhengshu of Chen murdered his ruler, Pingguo.

9. In the sixth month, an army of Song invaded Teng.

10. Gongsun Guifu went to Qi, to the burial of duke Hui of Qi.

11. A body of men from Jin, one from Song, one from Wey, and one from Cao, invaded Zheng.

12. In autumn, the king [by] Heaven's [grace] sent his youngest brother to Lu on a mission of friendly inquiries.

13. Gongsun Guifu led a force to invade Zhu, and took Yi.

14. There were great floods.

15. Jisun Hangfu went to Qi.

16. In winter, Gongsun Guifu went to Qi.

17. The marquis of Qi sent Guo Zuo to Lu on a mission of friendly inquiries.

18. There was famine.

19. The viscount of Chu invaded Zheng.

COMMENTARY

Parr. 1,2. This was now the 4th time that the duke had repaired to the court of Qi. The Zhuan says:——'In spring, the duke went to Qi; and the marquis of Qi, in consideration of the submission and service of the duke, restored the lands of Jixi.' Those lands were taken by Qi, it will be remembered, in the duke's first year, being the price which Lu paid for Qi's support of the duke's usurpation.

Par. 3. This eclipse was visible at sunrise, on the 26th February, B. C. 598. Bingchen was the 1st day of the moon.

Parr. 4,5. The Cui family or clan was one of the most powerful in Qi. It was descended from a son of one of the ancient princes of the State,—duke Ding (丁公), who died B. C. 1052. To that son the lands of Cui had been assigned, and Cui became the surname of his descendants. We have met with a Cui Yao, who was present at the battle of Chengpu, in the 28th year of duke Xi. The head of the clan at this time was, acc. to Zuoshi, Cui Shu (崔杼), and it is to him the text refers. We find him (?) long after this, in IX.xxv.2. in Qi again, and murdering his ruler.

The Zhuan says:——'In summer, duke Hui of Qi died. Cui Shu had been a favourite with him; and [the ministers], Gao and Guo, being afraid of Cui's exercising a pressure upon them, drove him out;—when he fled to Wey. The language of the text,—'The Head of the Cui family,' shows that he was not driven out for any fault of his (?); moreover, the announcement was made to Lu about him as the Head of his clan, and not by his name. When a great officer of any State fled from it, or was banished, the announcement of it ran,—"Our subject, so and so, Head of the clan so and so, has failed to maintain the charge of his ancestral temple; and we presume to announce the fact." Such announcement was made to other States in the case of one who had been sent with the mission-jade aud offerings of silk (i.e., on missions of friendly inquiries) to them; but not in the case of other officers.'

The reason why we have 崔氏 here, and not 崔杼, if indeed the officer was really Zhu, need not be anxiously sought. Zuoshi's canon about it is inadmissible; so is Gongyang's, that it is to condemn the principle and the practice in Qi of hereditary offices (世卿); and so is Guliang's, that it indicates that the clan, as well as the individual, was driven from the State.

Parr. 6,7. 'The duke,' says Zuoshi, 'hurried away to Qi, to be present at the earliest ceremonies to the deceased marquis.' After this he paid no more visits to Qi.

Par. 8. The Zhuan says:——'Duke Ling of Chen, with Kong Ning and Yi Hangfu, was drinking in the house of the Xia family [See the Zhuan on the last par. of last year], when the duke said to Hangfu, "Zhengshu [The son of Xia Ji, and Head of the family, as his father was dead] is like you." "He is also like your lordship," was the reply. Zhengshu [overheard these remarks, and] was indignant at them; and when the duke was [trying to] escape [from the house] by the stable, he shot, and killed him. The two officers fled to Chu.' This is a case in which 'executed' would be a better rendering really of 弑 than 'murdered.'

Par. 9. The siege of the capital of Teng by Song in the past year [p. 10] had, we may presume, been fruitless Now, again, as the Zhuan says, 'the people of Teng, relying upon Jin, would not do service to Song; and in the 6th month, an army of Song invaded Teng.'

Par. 10. Guifu was the son of Zhong Sui, and of course was himself a Gongsun, 'grandson' of duke Zhuang. The burial of duke Hui took place before the proper time. Hui Zhengxian observes that when we consider how the head of the Cui clan was driven out of the State immediately after the duke's death, how the burial was hastened, and how his son is styled marquis (p. 17) before the year was expired, there must have been troubles in Qi, of which we have not any record.

Par. 11. The Zhuan says:——'Zheng had made peace with Chu [After the events related on p. 12 of last year]. The armies of these States, [therefore], invaded Zheng, took from it terms of submission, and returned.'

Par. 12. Gongyang says that 'the king's youngest son' here introduced was the reigning king's full brother. His father therefore was king Qing (頃王). The prince's descendants were dukes of Liu, and the Zhuan here calls him 'duke Kang of Liu,' adding that his visit was in return for that of Meng Xian to the court, in p. 3 of last year.

Par. 13. Yi was a city of Zhu,—in the pres. dis. of Zou (鄒 縣), dep. Yanzhou. But in the Zhuan on VI.xiii.3 the capital of Zhu appears removed to Yi; and the taking of Yi would be equivalent to extinguishing Zhu, which, we know, was not the case. On this account, the Kangxi editors incline to adopt the reading of Gongyang,—of 蘱 for 繹.

Par. 14. See II.i. 5, et al.

Par. 15. Zuoshi says:——'Ji Wen went on a friendly mission to Qi,—for the 1st time, since the accession of the new marquis.'

Par. 16. Zuoshi says:——'In winter Zijia (Gongsun Guifu's designation) went to Qi, with reference to our invasion of Zhu.'

Par. 17. Zuoshi says:——'Guo Wu's (武 was the posthumous title of Guo Zuo) mission was in return for that of Ji Wen, in p. 15.

Par. 18. Sun Fu defines the term 'famine' as descriptive of the crops not coming to maturity, 'the five kinds of grain not ripening (五穀不成).'

Par. 19. The Zhuan says:——'The viscount of Chu invaded Zheng [See the reason on p. 11]. Shi Hui of Jin relieved it, and drove the army of Chu to the north of the Ying. Zijia [The Gongzi Guisheng] died, and the people proceeded to punish the authors of the disorder in which duke You died. They broke open the coffin of Zijia, and drove all the branches of the family from the State. They changed the grave of duke You, and gave him the posthumous title of Ling.'

XI. Eleventh year.

1. It was the [duke's] eleventh year, the spring, the king's first month.

2. In summer, the viscount of Chu, the marquis of Chen, and the earl of Zheng, made a covenant in Chenling.

3. Gongsun Guifu joined an officer of Qi in invading Ju.

4. In autumn, the marquis of Jin had a meeting with the Di in Cuanhan.

5. In winter, in the tenth month, the people of Chu put to death Xia Zhengshu of Chen.

6. On Dinghai, the viscount of Chu entered [the capital of] Chen.

7. He restored Gongsun Ning and Yi Hangfu to Chen.

COMMENTARY

Par. 2. The Zhuan says:——'This spring, the viscount of Chu invaded Zheng [Because of the action in the Zhuan on par. 12 of the 9th year], and advanced, as far as Li. Ziliang (Quji of the Zhuan on IV. 3) said, "Jin and Chu make no effort to show kindness [to smaller States], but keep struggling for the superiority;—there is no reason why we should not take the side of the [first] comer. They have no faith;—why should we show good faith?" Accordingly, Zheng accepted the demands of Chu; and in summer, Chu took a covenant in Cheling, when Chen and Zheng make their submission to it.'

Chenling was in Chen,—40 li to the northwest of the dep. city of Chenzhou, Henan. Gu has 夷陵. This was the 2d time at which the chief of Chu presided over a meeting of other princes. The 1st time was in the 27th year of duke Xi.

[The Zhuan adds here:——'Zichong, minister of the Left, of Chu, made an incursion into Song, while the king (i.e., the viscount) waited at Yan. Wei Ailie, the chief minister, undertook the walling of Yi, and appointed the border-warden to make the arrangements and calculations for the business. He then gave these to the superintendent of the work, who estimated the labour to be done, and the number of days; gave out all the money that was necessary for it; adjusted the frames, and provided the baskets and stampers, and other articles for raising the walls; apportioned equally their tasks, according to the distance of the labourers from the place; marked out with his feet the foundations; supplied the provisions; and determined the inspectors. The work was completed in 30 days, exactly in accordance with the previous calculations.']

Par. 3. Notwithstanding the operations of Qi and Lu against Ju in the duke's 4th year, that State, it would appear, continued to maintain a hostile attitude, which led to the invasion in the text.

Par. 4. We have here probably the issue of the policy towards the Di, recommended to the marquis of Jin in the Zhuan appended to VI. 4. The Zhuan says here:——'Xi Cheng [Xi Que] of Jin sought for terms of peace from the Di; and all the rest of their tribes, being, distressed and indignant at the services required from them by the Red Di, made submission to Jin. The meeting this autumn was on the occasion of their doing so. In regard to the marquis's going to them, all the great officers wished to call [the chiefs of] the Di [to Jin], but Xi Cheng said, "Where there is not virtue, the next best thing is to show earnest diligence. Without such diligence, how can we seek for the adherence of others? If we can show it, however, [success] will follow. Let the marquis go to them.' It is said in the ode (Shi, IV. i. [iii.] X.), 'King Wen did indeed labour earnestly.'

[If king Wen did so, how much more ought we, who are of such inferior virtue!"'

Cuanhan was in the territory of the Di, but its site has not been more exactly determined.

Parr. 5—. See IX. 13, and X. 8, with the Zhuan on them. The Zhuan says here:——'In winter, the viscount of Chu, because of the deed perpetrated by the head of the Xia family, invaded Chen, publishing a notice to the people that they should make no movement, as he wished to punish only the head of the Shaoxi 少西 was the name of the grandfather of Zhengshu. His designation was Zixia]. Forthwith he entered [the capital of] Chen, and put to death Xia Zhengshu, having him torn in pieces by chariots [See the 1st Zhuan, appended to II. xviii. 3] at the Li gate. He then proceeded to make Chen a district [of Chu].

'At this time, the marquis of Chen was in Jin; and Shu of Shen had been sent [by the viscount] to Qi. When Shu returned, he reported the discharge of his mission, and withdrew, [without saying anything about the affairs of Chen]. The king sent to reprove him, saying, "Xia Zhengshu acted very wickedly, murdering his ruler. With [the forces of my own and] other-States I have punished and executed him. The princes of those States and the dukes of our districts have all congratulated me; what is the reason that you alone have offered no congratulation?" "May I still explain myself?" replied Shu. "You may," said the king; and Shu continued, "The crime of Xia Zhengshu in murdering his ruler was great, and you performed a righteous deed in punishing and executing him. But the people have a saying, "He led his ox through another man's field, and the ox was taken from him." Now he that so led his ox to trample on another man's field indeed committed an offence; but when his ox was taken from him, the punishment was too severe. The princes followed you in this enterprise, saying it was to punish a criminal; but now you have made Chen one of your districts, desiring its riches. You called out the princes to punish an offender, and you are sending them away after satisfying your covetousness;—does not this seem improper?" The king replied, "Good! I had not heard this view of the case! Can I still give Chen back?" "That," said Shu, "will be an instance of what we small men call "Taking a thing from one's breast and giving it [back].'"

'The viscount accordingly restored the State of Chen; but from each of its villages he took a man, and carried them with him to Chu, where he settled them in a place which he called Xiazhou. Hence what the text says,—"The viscount of Chu entered Chen, and restored Gongsun Ning, and Yi Hangfu," is worded to show how the viscount observed the rules of propriety.'

The viscount of Chu did right in not appropriating Chen to himself; but most western readers will form a very different judgment from Zuoshi on his execution of Xia Zhengshu and his restoration of the two villains, Kong Ning and Yi Hangfu. Here, as elsewhere, Gongyang has 甯 for 寧..

[The Zhuan adds here:——'After the affair at Li [See on IX. 12], the earl of Zheng made his escape home, and [the viscount of] Chu was not able subsequently to obtain his desire. And though Zheng accepted a covenant [from Chu] this year at Chenling, it kept trying to strengthen itself by doing service to Jin.']

XII. Twelfth year.

1. In the duke's twelfth year, in spring, there was the burial of duke Ling of Chen.

2. The viscount of Chu laid siege to [the capital of] Zheng.

3. In summer, in the sixth month, on Yimao, Xun Linfu of Jin led a force, and fought with the viscount of Chu at Bi, when the army of Jin was disgracefully defeated.

4. It was autumn, the seventh month.

5. In winter, in the twelfth month, on Wuyin, the viscount of Chu extinguished Xiao.

6. An officer of Jin, one of Song, one of Wey, and one of Cao, made a covenant together at Qingqiu.

7. An army of Song invaded Chen, [but] a body of men from Wey relieved it.

COMMENTARY

Par. 1. Twenty-two months had elapsed since the death of duke Ling at the hands of Xia Zhengshu. We can hardly suppose that his body had been unburied all that time. Perhaps the rites of interment were now performed in a more regular and solemn manner, the coffin being deposited in a new grave.

Par. 2. The Zhuan at the end of last year was preparatory to this par., to supply the reason for the fresh invasion of Zheng by Chu. We have here the following narrative:——'In spring, the viscount of Chu had held the capital of Zheng in siege for 17 days, when the people divined whether it would be well for them to accept conditions of peace, but the answer was not favourable. They then divined whether they should weep in the grand temple, and bring forth their chariots into the streets [i.e., probably, to be ready for removing where Chu might direct]; and the reply was favourable. The people of the city then made a great weeping, and the keepers of the parapets all cried aloud, so that the viscount of Chu withdrew his men, till the people repaired the wall. He then advanced and renewed the siege, when the place was reduced at the end of three months. He entered the city by the Huang gate, and proceeded to the principal street, where he was met by the earl of Zheng, with his flesh exposed, and leading a sheep. "Uncared for by Heaven," said the earl, "I could not serve your lordship, and aroused your anger, till it has been discharged upon my city. The offence is all mine; and I dare do nothing now but wait for your commands. If you carry us away to the south of the Jiang, to occupy the land by the shores of the sea, be it so. If you take the State and give it to some other as its ruler, to whom I shall be as in the position of a handmaid, be it so. If you kindly regard former relations of friendship between our States, and to obtain blessing from [the kings] Li and Xuan, and from [the dukes] Huan and Wu, you do not extinguish our altars, so that I may change my course, and serve your lordship equally with the governors of the nine [new] districts [which you have established], that will be your kindness, and it is my desire, but it is what I do not dare to hope for. I have presumed to disclose to you all my heart; your lordship will take your measures accordingly.'"

'His attendants urged the viscount not to grant [the earl's request], urging that, having got the State, he ought not to forgive him; but the king replied, "Since the ruler of Zheng can humble himself thus, he must be able to secure the faith of his people; how can I hope to obtain the State?" With this he retired 30 li, and granted peace. Pan Wang entered the city and made a covenant; and Ziliang left it to be a hostage [with Chu].'

Par. 3. Bi was in Zheng,—6 li to the east of Zhengzhou, dep. Kaifeng.

The Zhuan says:——'In summer, in the 6th month, the armies of Jin [marched to] relieve Zheng. Xun Linfu commanded the army of the centre [In place of Xi Que], with Xian Hu as his assistant [In room of Linfu]. Shi Hui commanded the first army, with Xi Ke as his assistant [In room of Zhao Shuo]. Zhao Shuo commanded the 3d army, with Luan Shu as his assistant. Zhao Kuo and Zhao Yingqi were the great officers of the army of the centre; Gong Shuo and Han Chuan, those of the 1st army; and Xun Shou and Zhao Tong, those of the 3d. Han Jue was marshal of the host.

'When they reached the He, they heard that Zheng had made peace with Chu, and Huanzi [Huan was Linfu's posthumous title] wished to return, saying, "We are too late for the relief of Zheng; what will be the use now of perilling the lives of our people? Let us wait till Chu has retired, and then make a movement [against Zheng]."

'Wuzi of Sui (Shi Hui) approved of this view, and said, "According to what I have heard, military enterprizes should be undertaken only when there is an opportunity of prosecuting them with advantage. An enemy who cultivates, without changing, kindness in his virtue, justice in his punishments, the ordering of his government, the right regulation of different affairs, and the statutes and rules of his State, is not to be contended with; it is not against such an one that we conduct punitive expeditions. Now when the army of Chu punished Zheng, there was anger because of its double dealing, and compassion when the earl humbled himself. When it revolted from him, [the viscount] invaded it. When it submitted, he forgave it:——his kindness and justice were established. There was the justice of punishment in the attack of revolt; there was the kindness of virtue in the gentle dealing with submission. Both these things were shown.

'[Again], last year Chu entered the capital of Chen, and this year it entered that of Zheng; but its people have not complained of the fatigue and toil, nor murmured against their ruler: —showing how well its government is ordered. [Then], throughout Chu, when its forces are called out according to its system, its travelling merchants, husbandmen, mechanics, and stationary traders, have not their several occupations injuriously interfered with, and the footmen and chariotmen act in harmony with one another: —showing how collision is avoided in its ordering of affairs.

'[Further], when Wei Ao became chief minister, he selected the best statutes of Chu. When the army is marching, the [footmen of the] right keep on either side of the chariot, and those of the left go in quest of grass and rushes. The bearers of the standards of the mao keep in advance, looking out anxiously that nothing occur for which there is not preparation. The troops in the centre are ready to act as occasion may require, while behind them is the strength of the army. The different officers move according to the signals displayed, and the ordering of the army is ready for any emergency, without special orders for it being given. Thus is Chu able to carry out its statutes.

[Lastly], When the viscount of Chu raises individuals to office, they are of the same surname with himself, chosen from among his relatives, and of other surnames, chosen from the old servants of the State. But offices are given with due respect to the necessary qualifications, and rewards are conferred according to the service performed, while at the same time additional kindness is shown to the aged. Strangers receive gifts, and enjoy various exemptions. Officers and the common people have different dresses to distinguish them. The noble have a defined standard of honour; the mean have to comport themselves according to different degrees. Thus are the rules of propriety observed in Chu.

'Now why should we enter on a struggle with a State which thus manifests kindness, carries out justice, perfects its government, times its undertakings, follows its statutes, and observes so admirably the rules of propriety? To advance when you see advance is possible, and withdraw in face of difficulties, is a good way of moving an army; to absorb weak States, and attack those that are wilfully blind, is a good rule of war. Do you for the present order your army accordingly, and follow that maxim. There are other States that are weak and wilfully blind; why must you deal with Chu, [as if it were so]? There are the words of Zhong Hui [Shu, IV. ii. 7], 'Take their States from the disorderly, deal summarily with those that are going to ruin, absorb the weak.' The Zhuo ode (Shi, IV. i. [iii.] VIII.) [also] says,

'Oh! powerful was the royal army, But he nourished it in obedience to circumstances, while the time was yet dark;—the king's object was to deal with the blind. [Again], in the Wu (She, IV. i. [i] IX.) it is said,

'Irresistible was his ardour.' If you soothe [for a time] the weak, and bring on the wilful blindness, aiming at ardour [like that of Wu], you will pursue the proper course."

'Zhizi (Xian Hu) then said, "This counsel is not good. Jin obtained the leadership of the States by the prowess of its armies and the strength of its leaders. But now it is losing the States, and its strength cannot be spoken of. If, when the enemy is before us, we do not follow him, we cannot be said to have prowess. If we are to lose our chief place among the States, the best thing we can do is to die. Moreover, we marched out with our armies in array; if, because the enemy is strong, we retire, we shall not be men. To begin with our ruler's charge to a command in the army, and to end with not being a man:—you all may play that part, but I will not do so." Upon this with [the portion of] the army of the centre [under his command], he crossed the He.

'Zhuangzi of Zhi (Xun Shou) said, "This army is in great peril. The case is that indicated in the change of the diagram Shi (師, ䷆) into Lin (臨, ䷒). (On Shi) it is said, 'A host must be led forth according to the rules of service. If these be not good, there will be be evil.' When the commanders all observe their proper harmony, the rules are good; if they oppose one another, they are not. [The change of ☵ into ☱ indicates] the separation of the host producing weakness; it is the stopping up of a stream so as to form a marsh. The rules of service are turned into each one's taking his own way. Hence the words,—'the rules become not good;'—they are as it were dried up. The full stream is dried up; it is stopped and cannot have its course:—consequently evil must ensue. Lin [moreover] is the name for what does not proceed. When a commander does not follow the orders of his leader, what greater want of ongoing could there be? and it is the case we now have. If we do meet the enemy we are sure to be defeated; and the calamity will be owing to Zhizi. Though he should now escape, yet, on his return to Jin, great evil will await him."

'Han Xianzi (Han Jue) said to Huanzi, 'Zhizi with his portion of the army has committed a grave offence. But you are commander-in-chief;—whose offence is it that the generals do not obey your orders? You have lost our subject State (Zheng); and if you lose that army, your offence will indeed be heavy;—you had better advance. If the affair do not prove successful, there will be others to share the blame. Will it not be better for you to bear the blame as one of six than to bear it alone?"

'The whole army then crossed the He. The viscount of Chu was halting, with his army looking northwards, at Yan. The governor of Shen commanded the centre; Zichong, the left; and Zifan, the right. The viscount meant to water their horses at the He, and then return to Chu. When he heard that the army of Jin had crossed, he wanted to withdraw before it; but his favourite, Wu Can, wished to fight. Sunshu Ao, the chief minister of Chu, did not wish [to fight], and said, "Last year we entered Chen, and this year we have entered Zheng;—it cannot be said that we have accomplished nothing. If we fight and do not succeed, will the eating Can's flesh be sufficient to atone for the result?" Can replied, "If the battle be gained, you will be proved to have been incapable of planning. If it be lost, my flesh will be in the army of Jin, and you will not get it to eat."

'The chief minister then turned his chariot to the south, and ordered the great standard to be carried back. But Wu Can said to the king, "Jin's chief minister is new, and cannot make his commands obeyed. His assistant commander, Xian Hu, is violent and headstrong, without any benevolence, and unwilling to obey the other's commands. The generals of the three armies would each take the chief controul, but not one of them can do so. In council there is no supreme Head; whom can the multitudes follow? In this expedition Jin cannot fail to be defeated. Moreover, if your majesty flee before a subject of Jin, what becomes of the honour of our altars?" The king felt powerfully these representations, and told the chief minister to change the course of the chariots, and proceed northwards. He then halted at Guan to await the army of Jin, which was between Ao and Qiao.

'[In the meantime], Huang Xu of Zheng came on a mission to the army of Jin, saying, "Zheng has submitted to Chu only to preserve its altars, and does not waver in its preference for your State. The army of Chu is proud with repeated victories, and weary with the length of its service. Nor does it make preparations for an engagement. If you attack it, the army of Zheng will second you; and Chu is sure to be defeated." Zhizi said, "The defeat of Chu, and the securing the adherence of Zheng, both depend on this action. We must agree to the envoy's proposal." Luan Wuzi (Luan Shu), however, urged," Since the time when Chu subdued Yong [See VI.xvi.6], its ruler has let no day pass without training and instructing his people, saying, 'Ah! the people's welfare is not easily secured. Calamity may come without a day's warning. You must be cautious and apprehensive, never giving way to idleness.' In the army [also], he has not been a day without looking after the weapons, and admonishing the men, saying, 'Ah! victory cannot be made sure of. There was Zhou, who, after a hundred conquests, yet left none to succeed him.' He has also inculcated on them the examples of Ruo'ao and Fenmao, who laboured in wooden carts and tattered hempen clothes to bring the hills and forests under cultivation. He made this proverb for them also, 'People's weal depends on diligence; with diligence there is no want.' His army cannot be said to be elated. A former great officer [of our State], Zifan, said, 'When an army has right on its side, it is strong; when the expedition is wrong, the army is weary and weak.' In this case we cannot plead our virtue, but are bent on a quarrel with Chu. We are in the wrong, and Chu is in the right;—its army cannot be said to be weary and weak. Its ruler's own chariots are divided into two bodies of 15 each. To each of them are attached 100 men, and an additional complement of 25 men. The body on the right is harnessed early, and kept on duty till mid-day, when that on the left takes its place till dusk. The officers in immediate attendance on the ruler keep watch by turns during the night. Thus provision is made against any surprise, and the army cannot be said to be without preparation. Ziliang is the best man of Zheng and Shishu [Pan Wang] is highly honoured in Chu. Shishu entered [the capital of Zheng] and made a covenant; and Ziliang is [a hostage] with Chu. Chu and Zheng are in friendly relations; and Zheng advises us to fight! If we conquer, it will come to us; if we do not conquer, it will draw off. According as I should divine, the counsel of Zheng is not to be followed."

'Zhao Kuo and Zhao Tong said, "We have led our host thus far, seeking for the enemy. We have to conquer the enemy, and recover our subject State;—what more do we wait for? We must follow Zhizi.'

'Ji of Zhi [Zhuangzi; Xun Shou] said, "Yuan [Zhao Tong] and Ping [Zhao Kuo are partizans of our evil counsellor [Zhizi]." Zhao Zhuangzi [Chao Shuo] said, "Luan Bo [Wuzi; Luan Shu] has spoken well! Let him make his words good, and he will take the chief command in Jin."

'[After these discordant counsels], the sub-administrator of Chu went to the army of Jin, and said, 'Our ruler, when young, met with sorrowful bereavement, and was not able to cultivate the accomplishments of learning. But he has heard that his two predecessors [the kings Cheng and Mu] went backwards and forwards by this path. His only aim has been to instruct and settle Zheng, without seeking to give offence to Jin. You, the officers of Jin, should not remain here long." Ji of Sui (Shi Hui) replied, "Long ago king Ping gave charge to our former ruler, the marquis Wen, saying, 'Along with Zheng support the House of Zhou, and do not disregard the king's charge.' Now Zheng is showing no regard for it, and our ruler sent us to ask it the reason; we do not presume to inflict any disgrace on you who have met us. Let me acknowledge the condescension of your ruler in this message." Zhizi thought this reply was fawning, and sent Zhao Kuo to follow the envoy with a different one, saying, "Our messenger gave you a wrong reply. Our ruler sent his servants to remove from Zheng every foot-print of your great State, telling us not to evade any enemy. We will not slink away from any commands you may lay on us."

'The viscount of Chu, however, sent another message to ask for peace with Jin, which was agreed to on the part of Jin; and a day was set for a covenant.

'[In the meantime], Xu Bo of Chu drove Yue Bo, with She Shu on the right of the chariot, to flout and provoke the army of Jin. Xu Po said, "I have heard that when an army is flouted, the driver urges his chariot, with the flag shaking, close to the entrenchments, and then returns." Yue Bo said, "I have heard that the archer on the left discharges a strong arrow, and then takes the reins, while the charioteer descends, dusts the horses, and adjusts the martingales, and then they return." She Shu said, "I have heard that the spearman on the right enters the entrenchments, cuts off an ear, takes another man prisoner, and returns." They all three did as they had heard, and were returning, pursued by the men of Jin, who came after them like two horns, from the left, and the right. Yue Bo shot the horses on the left, and the men on the right, so that the pursuers could not advance. He had but one arrow left, when a stag rose up before the chariot, which he shot right in the hump. Bao Gui of Jin was right behind him, when he made She Shu take the stag, and present it to the pursuer, saying, "It is not the season of the year for such a thing, the time for presenting animals has not arrived, but I venture to offer this to feast your followers." Bao Gui stopped the pursuit, saying, "He on the left shoots well; he on the right speaks well;—they are superior men." So they got off. Wei Yi [A son of Wei Chou; see the Zhuan on V. xxvii., p. 4 and xxviii., p. 4] of Jin had asked to be appointed among the ducal clans [See the Zhuan at the end of the 2d year], and been refused. In his resentment he wished to bring on the defeat of the army, and now asked [the commander-in-chief] to allow him to flout the army [of Chu]. This was refused; but his further request to be sent with a message to it was granted; so he went, challenged Chu to battle, and was returning. Pan Dang of Chu pursued him; but when Yi had got to the marsh of Ying, he saw six stags, and shot one of them. Then turning round, he presented it to Dang, saying, "Amid the business of the army, your hunters may have failed to supply you with fresh meat, and I venture to present this for your followers." On this Shudang gave orders to leave off the pursuit.

'Zhao Zhan [a son of Zhao Chuan] had asked to be made a minister [in Jin], and been refused. He was angry, moreover, at the escape of the party of Chu which had flouted the army, and begged to be allowed to go and provoke a battle. This was refused, but he was allowed to go and call Chu to a covenant. So he and Wei Yi both went to the army of Chu on their several missions.

'Xi Xianzi [Xi Ke] said, "These two dissatisfied spirits are gone. If we do not make preparations, we are sure to be defeated." Zhizi said, "The people of Zheng advised us to fight, and we do not dare to follow their counsel. Chu asked for peace, and we are not able to come to terms with it. There is no acknowledged authority in the army;—what can many preparations do?" Shi Ji [Shi Hui] said, "It is well to be prepared. If those two enrage Chu, and its army come suddenly upon us, we shall lose our army in no time. Our best plan is to make preparations [for a battle]. If Chu do not make an attempt upon us, we can remove our preparations, and make a covenant, without there being any injury to a good understanding. If it do make an attempt, being prepared for it, we shall not be defeated. Even in the case of an interview between two princes, they take the precaution not to dispense with a guard of troops."

'Zhizi [still] refused to agree to this proposal, and Shi Ji sent Gong Shuo and Han Chuan to place 7 ambushments in front of Ao. By this means the 1st army was saved from the defeat [which ensued]. Zhao Yingqi sent a party to prepare boats at the He; and in this way, though he shared in the defeat, he and his men were the first to cross the river.

'When Pan Dang had driven away Wei Yi, Zhao Zhan came that same night to the army of Chu; and having spread his mat outside the gate of the camp, he sent his followers in. There were the two bodies of the viscount's own chariots, drawn up on the right and left. Those on the left had stood with the horses yoked from daybreak till midday; and those on the left had then been similarly harnessed until sundown. Xu Yan was charioteer to the king in the body on the right, with Yang Youji as spearman; while Peng Ming performed the same duty on the left, with Qu Dang as spearman.

'On Yimao, the king at the head of the chariots of the left, drove out to pursue Zhao Zhan, who abandoned his chariot, and ran into a wood, pursued by Qu Dang, who got his buff-coat and lower garment. [Meanwhile], being afraid in the camp of Jin that the two officers would enrage the army of Chu, they had sent some large chariots to meet them. Pan Dang, seeing at a distance the dust raised by these, sent a horseman with all speed to tell the king that the army of Jin was advancing. The men of Chu, [on their side], were also afraid lest the king should enter the army of Jin, and issued from their camp in order of battle. Sun Shu said, "Let us advance. It is better that we set upon them than let them set upon us. The ode says (Shi, II. iii. ode III., 4),

'Ten large war chariots Led the van;'—the object was to be beforehand with the enemy. The 'Art of War' [also] says, 'Anticipate your enemy, and you take away his heart.' Let us press on them." Accordingly he hurried on the army. The carriages dashed along, and the footmen seemed to fly; and so they fell on the army of Jin. Huanzi did not know what he was doing, but ordered the drums to be beaten in the army, crying out, "A reward to those who first recross the river!" The army of the centre and the 3d army struggled for the boats, till the fingers [of those trying to get in, and that were cut off by those who had already got possession] could be taken up with both hands at once. The other armies moved to the right of the 1st, which alone held its place without moving. Qi, minister of Works [in Chu], led the troops which had occupied the left front to pursue the 3d army [At the same time], the viscount sent Tang Jiao and Cai Jiuju with a message to the marquis Hui of Tang, saying, "All unworthy I am, and in my ambitious desires I have encountered a great enemy. I acknowledge my offence; but if Chu do not conquer, it will be your lordship's disgrace. I venture to depend on your powerful influence to complete the victory of my army." While sending this message, he ordered Pan Dang, with 40 of the chariots of reserve, to follow the marquis of Tang, and to act on the left by following the 1st army [of Jin]. Ju Bo, (Xi Ke) said, "Shall we await their onset?" Ji of Sui replied, "The army of Chu is in the flush of its might. If it now collect around us, we are sure to be destroyed. Our best plan is to gather in our troops, and retreat. We shall share the reproach of the other armies, but we shall save the lives of the people." He then placed his own troops in the rear of the retreating forces, and retired without being defeated.

'The king, seeing his own chariots of the right, wished to continue the pursuit in one of them; but Qu Dang stopped him, saying, "You began with this, and you must end with this." From this time in Chu the chariots of the left got the precedence.

'[In the flight], a chariot belonging to Jin sank in a rut, and could not proceed. A man of Chu told its occupant to take out the frame for weapons. After this, it advanced a little, and then the horses wanted to turn. The same man advised to take out the large flag-staff, and lay it crosswise. When this was done, the carriage got out of the hole, when its occupant turned round and said to his helper, "We are not so accustomed to fly as the soldiers of your great State!"

'Zhao Zhan gave his two best horses to assist his elder brother and his uncle, and was going back with the others, when he met the enemy, and was unable to escape them. He abandoned his chariot therefore, and ran into a wood. The great officer Feng was driving past with his two sons, and [catching sight of Zhan], he told them not to look round. They did so, however, and said, "The old great officer Zhao is behind us." He was angry with them, and made them dismount, pointing to a tree, and saying, "Let me find your bodies there." He then gave the reins to Zhao Zhan, who thus made his escape. The other, next day, found his sons' bodies at the spot which he had marked.

'Xiong Fuji of Chu took Ying of Zhi prisoner; and when [Ying's father], Zhuangzi knew it, he returned to the battle-field with the soldiers of his own clan, Wuzi of Chu [Wei Yi] acting as his charioteer, and many soldiers of the 3d army following him. Whenever he drew out an arrow, though it seemed to be strong, he placed it in the quiver of Wuzi, till the latter was angry, and said, "Are you not looking for your son? And do you grudge your arrows? Will it be possible to exhaust the willows of the Dong marsh?" Zhuangzi replied, "If I do not get some one's son, shall I be able to recover mine? I must not shoot an arrow that I cannot be sure of." He then shot the Liayin, Xiang Lao, killed him, and took the body into the carriage. Another arrow hit the Gongzi Guchen, whom he made prisoner; and these two trophies obtained, he returned to the army of Jin. When it was dusk, the army of Chu encamped in Bi, while what remained of that of Jin could not encamp anywhere, but kept crossing the He all the night, the noise of its movements never ceasing.

'On Bingchen, the heavy waggons of Chu were brought to Bi, and the viscount went on to Hengyong. Pan Dang said to him, 'Why should your lordship not signalize your triumph by making a mound, and collect in it the bodies of the Jinites so as to form a grand monument? I have heard that succeessful battles should be shown to posterity, so that the prowess of them may not be forgotten." The viscount said, "You do not know what you are talking about. The character for 'prowess' is formed by those for 'to stay' and 'a spear' (武=至 and 戈). When king Wu had subdued Shang, he made the ode, which says (Shi, IV.i. [i.] VIII.),

'He has called in shields and spears; He has returned to their cases bows and arrows. I will seek true virtue, And display it throughout the great land, That as king I may indeed preserve our appointment.' He also made the Wu (武; Shi, IV. i. [ii.] X.), of which the last stanza says,

'So he firmly established his merit.' The 3d stanza says (see Shi, IV. i. [iii.] X. This is not now a part of the Wu song),

'We wish to develope the purposes [of king Wen], And go to seek the settlement of the kingdom.' The 6th stanza says (Shi, IV. i. [iii.] IX.),

'He gave repose to all the States, And there ensued several years of plenty.' Thus military prowess is seen in the repression of cruelty, the calling in of the weapons of war, the preservation of the great appointment, the firm establishment of one's merit, the giving repose to the people, the harmonizing all [the States], and the enlargement of the general wealth; and king Wu took care by those stanzas that his posterity should not forget this. Now I have caused the bones of the soldiers of two States to lie bleaching on the earth:—an act of cruelty; I display my weapons of war to awe the States:—thus unable to call them in. Cruel and not calling in the weapons of war, how can I preserve the great appointment? And while still the State of Jin remains, how can I firmly establish my merit? There are many things by which I oppose what the people desire, and how can they get repose from me? Without the practice of virtue, striving by force for supremacy among the States, how can I produce harmony among them? I have made my gain from the perils of others, and found my safety in their disorders;—these things are my glory, but what enlargement of the general wealth is there in them? Not one of the seven virtues belonging to military prowess attaches to me;—what have I to display to my posterity? Let us simply make here a temple for the tablets of my predecessors, and announce to them our success. The merit of military prowess does not belong to me.

'[Moreover], in ancient times, when the intelligent kings punished disrespectful and disobedient States, they took the greatest criminals among them, and buried them under a mound as the greatest punishment. Thus it was that grand monuments were made for the warning of the unruly and bad. But now when it is not certain to whom the guilt can positively be ascribed, and the people have all with the utmost loyalty died in fulfilling their ruler's commands, what grounds are there for rearing a grand monument?"

'After this the viscount offered sacrifice at the He, reared a temple for the tablets of his predecessors, announced to them the successful accomplishment of his enterprise, and returned to Chu.

'At this time, Shi Zhi of Zheng entered the army of Chu, and proposed to divide Zheng into two States, and appoint the Gongzi Yuchen over one of them. On Xinwei, Zheng put to death Pushu (Yuchen) and Zifu (Shi Zhi). The superior man may say that what the historiographer Yi remarked about not taking advantage of people's troubles was applicable to such parties. The ode says (Shi, II. v. ode X. 2),

'In such distress of disorder and separation, Whither can I betake myself?' They betook themselves to those who would have taken advantage of the trouble and disorder!'

Par. 4. [The Zhuan appends here:—1st, 'The earl of Zheng and the baron of Xu went to Chu.' 2d, 'In autumn, the army of Jin returned, and Huanzi (Xun Linfu) requested that he might be put to death. The marquis was about to accede to the request, when Shi Zhenzi [A member of the Shi clan. His name was 渥濁, Wozhuo] said, "Do not do so. After the battle of Chengpu [In the 28th year of duke Xi], the army of Jin fed for 3 days on the grain [of the enemy], but there was still sorrow on the countenance of duke Wen. His attendants said to him, "On an occasion of such joy you are still sorrowful; would you be joyful in a time of sorrow?" The duke replied, "While Dechen is still alive, my sorrow cannot cease. A wild beast in the toils will still fight; how much more the chief minister of a State!" When Chu put Ziyu [Dechen] to death, the joy of the duke could then be seen by all. He said, "There is now none to embitter my peace." In fact [the death of Dechen] was a second victory to Jin, and a second defeat to Chu; and through the time of two rulers Chu could not again show itself strong. Now Heaven has, it may be, given a great warning to Jin; but if you now proceed to put to death Linfu, thereby giving a second victory to Chu, will not Jin be reduced for a long time to a state of weakness? Linfu's service of his ruler has been of this character, that, in an advance, his thought has been how to display his loyalty, and, when obliged to withdraw, his thought has been how to retrieve his errors;—he is a bulwark to the altars of Jin, and on what ground can you put him to death? His defeat is like an eclipse of the sun or moon; what injury does an eclipse do to those bodies?" On this, the marquis of Jin ordered Huanzi to resume his office.']

Par. 5. Xiao,—see V. xxx. 6. Du observes that there was no Wuyin day in the 12th month of this year. Wuyin was the 9th day of the 11th month. The Zhuan says:——'In winter the viscount of Chu invaded Xiao, which Hua Jiao of Song, with a body of men from Cai, endeavoured to relieve. The people of Xiao held as prisoners Xiongxiang Yiliao and the Gongzi Bing. The king said, "Do not put them to death, and I will retire." They put them to death, however, which enraged the king, so that he laid siege to their city; when the people dispersed. Wuchen, duke of Shen, said to the king, "Many of the soldiers are suffering from the cold;" on which the king went round all the host, comforting the soldiers and encouraging them, which made them feel as if they were clad in quilted garments. They then approached Xiao, when Xuan Wushe spoke with the marshal Mao, and asked him to call Shuzhan of Shen to him. Shuzhan said, "Have you any wheaten cakes made with leaven?" "No," said the other. "Have you any spirits made from the hill grass?" "No," was the reply again. "What then will you do when your belly is pained with the fish from the river?" asked Shuzhan. The other replied, "Look into a dry well, and save me out of it." "If you place a band of rushes on it," [said Shuzhan, "I will know it]. And when you hear the sound of weeping near the well, it will be I."

'Next day, the people of Xiao dispersed. Shu of Shen looked for the well, and there was the rushband at it. He then wept, and brought out [his friend] Wushe.'

Par. 6. The Kangxi editors observe that here for the first time we have the great officers of States covenanting together about the affairs of their States. Qingqiu was in Wey, 70 li to the southeast of the present Kaizhou, dep. Daming. Zhili. Zuoshi says:——'Hu of Yuan (Xian Hu), Hua Jiao of Song, Da of Wey, and an officer of Cao, covenanted together at Qingqiu, to the effect that they would compassionate States which were in distress, and punish those that were disaffected.' He adds, 'The names of the ministers are not recorded, because they did not make their words good.'

Par. 7. Chen had taken the side of Chu, and was therefore a 'disaffected State,' against which the States mentioned in the preceding par. should have acted in common, whereas we have Wey going to its help.

The Zhuan says:——'In accordance with the covenant, Song invaded Chen, but the people of Wey went to its help. Kong Da said, "Our former ruler had a treaty with Chen; if the great State [of Jin] come to punish us [for helping it], I will die on account of the affair."

XIII. Thirteenth year.

1. In the [duke's] thirteenth year, in spring, an army of Qi invaded Ju.

2. In summer, the viscount of Chu invaded Song.

3. In autumn, there were locusts.

4. In winter, Jin put to death its great officer, Xian Hu.

COMMENTARY

Par. 1. Gongyang has Wey (衛) here instead of Ju; but the latter is no doubt the correct reading. Nowhere in the Chunqiu have we any account of hostilities between Qi and Wey, whereas from the 4th year of duke Xuan there seems to have been a state of chronic hostility between Ju on the one part, and Lu and Qi on the other [See IV. 1; XI. 3]. Zuoshi says that the reason for the invasion in the text was because Ju, depending on the protection of Jin, would not do service to Qi.

Par. 2. Zuoshi says:——'The viscount of Chu invaded Song, because it had endeavoured to relieve Xiao. The superior man may say that, in [the account of] the covenant of Qingqiu, Song might have escaped [the disapprobation indicated by the suppression of the name of its minister].'

Par. 3. Here again Gongyang has * for 螽.

Par. 4. For 縠 Guliang has 榖. Xian Hu deserved to die, for the great defeat at Bi was mainly owing to his insubordination; and he had since engaged in other nefarious plotting. The Zhuan says:——'In autumn, the Red Di, at the invitation of Xian Hu, invaded Jin, and advanced as far as Qing. In winter, Jin, to avenge the defeat at Bi and this advance of the Di to Qing, laid the blame of both affairs on Xian Hu, and put him to death, exterminating also all the branches of his clan. The superior man may say that the maxim, "When evil comes on a man, it has been brought on by himself," found an illustration in Xian Hu.'

[The Zhuan appends here:——'In consequence of the covenant at Qingqiu, Jin sent to demand from Wey an account of its relieving Chen. The messenger would not go away, and said, "If the offence be not laid on some one, my mission will be followed up by an army of attack." Kong Di said, "If it will be of advantage to the State, please lay the blame on me. The ground of criminating me lies in the fact that from me proceeded the movement which has excited the great State to demand reparation? I will die for this matter.']

XIV. Fourteenth year.

1. In the [duke's] fourteenth year, in spring, Wey put to death its great officer, Kong Da.

2. In summer, in the fifth month, on Renshen, Shou, earl of Cao, died.

3. The marquis of Jin invaded Zheng.

4. In autumn, in the ninth month, the viscount of Chu laid siege to [the capital of] Song.

5. There was the burial of duke Wen of Cao.

6. In winter, Gongsun Guifu had a meeting with the marquis of Qi at Gu.

COMMENTARY

Par. 1. This is the sequel to the narrative at the end of the last year. The Zhuan says:——'In the duke's 14th year, in spring, Kong Da strangled himself, which the people of Wey represented so as to satisfy Jin, and escape [further proceedings from that State]. They then announced the thing to the States, saying, "Our ruler had a bad minister, Da, who brought our poor city into collision with the great State. The minister has suffered for his crime, and we venture to inform you of it." But considering the services which Da had performed in pacifying [the State], they gave his son [a daughter of the marquis] to wife, and made him continue in his father's position [as a great officer].'

Par. 3. Zheng had acknowledged the supremacy of Chu, after Jin's defeat at Bi; hence this invasion of it. It is strange the Kangxi editors should find the sage's approval of the invasion in the words of the text,—the marquis of Jin.' The marquis conducted the expedition in person, and the fact is so stated. The right or wrong of it is to be determined by other considerations.

The Zhuan says:——'In summer, the marquis of Jin invaded Zheng, because of the defeat at Bi. He announced his doing so to the various States, held a review of his troops, and returned. This was by the counsel of Zhonghang Huanzi [Xun Linfu. Zhonghang here becomes his surname. For the origin of the denomination, see the Zhuan at the end of V. xxviii], who said, "Show them our array, and let them consult about it, and come to us." The people of Zheng were afraid, and sent Zizhang to take the place of Ziliang in Chu [See the Zhuan on XII. 2]. The earl also went to Chu, to consult about Jin; and the State, considering with what propriety Ziliang had behaved [in formerly declining the marquisate], recalled him.'

Par. 4. This invasion of Song and siege of its capital was a further movement of Chu to weaken Jin. How it was brought about is related in the Zhuan:——'The viscount of Chu sent Shen Zhou on a friendly mission to Qi, telling him that he should go through Song without asking a right of way. At the same time he sent the Gongzi Ping on a friendly mission to Jin, without asking permission to pass through Zheng. Shen Zhou, remembering how he had incurred the resentment of Song in the affair at Mengzhu [See the Zhuan on VI. x. 6. 7. Zhou here is the Wuwei there], said, "Zheng is clear-sighted, but Song is deaf. The messenger to Jin will suffer no harm, but I am sure to meet with my death." The king said, "If Song put you to death, I will invade it." Zhou then introduced [his son], Xi, to the king, and went on his journey.

'When he came to Song, they detained him there. Hua Yuan said, "To pass through our State without asking our permission, is to treat our State as if it were a border of Chu,—is to deal with it as if Song were not a State. If we put to death its messenger, Chu is sure to invade us, and Song will perish. In either case Song ceases to be a State." Accordingly, Shen Zhou was put to death. When the viscount heard of it, he shook down his sleeves and rose from his seat. His shoes were brought to him when he had reached the threshold of his chamber; his sword was brought to him outside the door of the chamber; and his carriage reached him when he had got to the marketplace called Puxu. In autumn, in the 9th month, he laid siege to the capital of Song.'

Par. 6. Gu,—see III. vii. 4, et al. Gongsun Guifu,—see on X. 10. Wang Bao and other critics strongly condemn Guifu as having been the first great officer who did according to his own pleasure in the administration of the government of Lu. The Zhuan says:——'At this meeting, when Guifu saw Yan Huanzi, he spoke with him about the affairs of Lu, rejoicing [in his own position there]. Huanzi told Gao Xuanzi [the Gao Gu of V. 3] about it, saying, "Zijia [The designation of Guifu] is sure to come to ruin. He is all intent on [the dignities of] Lu. Being so, he is sure to cherish a covetous ambition, and then to be scheming against others. But when one schemes against others, they will scheme against him; and when a whole State schemes against a man, how can he escape going to ruin?'

[The Zhuan appends here:——'Meng Xianzi [See the Zhuan on VI. xv. 4] said to the duke, "I have heard that the way in which a small State escapes [being incriminated by] a great one is by sending to it friendly missions and making various offerings, on which there are the hundred things set forth in the court-yard. Or if the prince go himself to the court [of the great State] to show his services, then he assumes a pleased appearance, and makes elegant and valuable presents, even beyond what could be required of him. He acts thus lest he should not escape [being incriminated]. If, after being reprimanded, he present rich offerings, it is too late. Chu is now in Song; let your lordship consider what should be done." The duke was pleased.']

XV. Fifteenth year.

1. In the [duke's] fifteenth year, in spring, Gongsun Guifu had an interview with the viscount of Chu in Song.

2. In summer, in the fifth month, the people of Song made peace with the people of Chu.

3. In the sixth month, on Guimao, an army of Jin extinguished the Lu tribe of the Red Di, and carried Ying'er, viscount of Lu, back with it to Jin.

4. A body of men from Qin invaded Jin.

5. The king's son Zha put to death the earls of Shao and Mao.

6. In autumn, there were locusts.

7. Zhongsun Mie had a meeting with Gao Gu of Qi in Wulou.

8. For the first time an [additional] tithe was levied from the acre.

9. In winter, the larvæ of locusts were produced.

10. There was famine.

COMMENTARY

Par. 1. It is said at the end of the concluding Zhuan of last year, that the duke was pleased with the suggestion of Meng Xian that he should send a friendly mission to the viscount of Chu. Here we are told how he proceeded to do so.

Par. 2. 宋 人 及 楚 人 平 = 宋 及 楚 平, 'Song made peace with Chu.' In accounts of peace made between States, only the names of the States are given, without the addition of 人 as here;—see X. vii. 1; XI.x.1, et al. But no stress is to be laid on the 人 here, as if it indicated the princes or ministers by whom the treaty peace was made. The use of it is merely a variation of the usual style (史 異 辭 而);—see the gloss of Yingda, in loc.

The Zhuan relates:——'The people of Sung sent Yue Yingqi to announce to Jin how hard they were pressed, and the marquis of Jin wished to proceed to their relief. Bozong, however, said, 'No. The ancients had a saying that, however long the whip was, it did not reach the horse's belly. Heaven is now giving [the power] to Chu, and we cannot contend against it. Strong as Jin is, can it resist Heaven? There are the common sayings, 'The mind must determine how high or how low it can go;' 'the rivers and meres receive [much] filth;' 'the hills and thickets hide noxious things;' 'the finest gems have flaws;' 'princes of States must [at times] take dirt in their mouths.' This is the way of Heaven; let your lordship wait [for another opportunity]." The marquis then desisted from his purpose, and sent Xie Yang to Song, to advise [the duke] not to surrender to Chu, saying, "Jin is raising all its forces, and they will [soon] be with you." The people of Zheng took him prisoner, and delivered him to Chu, when the viscount offered him large bribes to induce him to convey a message of a contrary character. He refused at first, but finally agreed to do so. He was then mounted on a turreted carriage; and having called the attention of the people of Song, he delivered the message with which the marquis had entrusted him. The viscount was going to put him to death, and sent him a message, saying, "Why did you thus violate the promise which you made to me? I do not break my faith with you;—it is you who have cast [our agreement] away. Go quickly, and receive your punishment." Xie Yang replied, "I have heard that when a prince gives out his command, it is a righteous act which he discharges, and when a minister receives that command, he is bound in fidelity to fulfil it. The faithful fulfilment of the righteous command is beneficial to the State, and he who lays his plans so that that benefit shall be secured for the defence of the altars is the people's friend. The righteous command does not admit of two fidelities; fidelity does not recognize two commands. When your lordship tried to bribe me, you knew not the nature of a command. I came forth with the command which I had received; and though I die, it has not fallen to the ground. To die in fulfilling the command is my happiness;—[it will be seen that] my prince had a faithful servant. I have been able to accomplish my task;—though I die, what more should I seek for?" [On hearing this reply], the viscount let him go to return [to Jin].

'In summer, in the 5th month, the army of Chu was about to withdraw from Song, when Shen Xi bowed with his head to the ground before the king's horses, and said, "Though Wuwei [Shen Zhou, Xi's father] knew it would cost him his life, he did not dare to decline your majesty's commission; and your majesty is breaking your word!" The king could not answer him. His charioteer, Shen Shushi, said, "If you build houses here, and send half the army back to till the ground, Song will receive your commands and submit to them." [The king followed the counsel], and the people of Song were afraid, and sent Hua Yuan by night into the army of Chu. He went up to the couch of Zifan, and roused him, saying, "My master has sent me to inform you of our distress. In the city we are exchanging our children and eating them, and splitting up their bones for fuel. Notwithstanding, if you require us to make a covenant with you under the walls, we will not do so, though our city should be utterly overthrown. Withdraw from us 30 li, and then we will accept your commands." Zifan was afraid, made a covenant with Yuan, and informed the king, who retired 30 li, when Song and Chu made peace, Hua Yuan remaining as a hostage with Chu. The words of their covenant were, "We [of Chus] will not deceive you; do not you doubt us."'

Par. 3. 赤 狄 潞 氏;—see on III. 6. We see from this par. that the chiefs of the Lu tribes had the title of viscount. The Zhuan relates:——'The wife of Ying'er, viscount of Lu, was an elder sister of duke King of Jin. The power of the tribe was in the hands of Feng Shu, who put this lady to death, and injured one of the viscount's eyes. The marquis of Jin wished to attack the tribe, but the great officers all advised against such an undertaking, saying that Feng Shu possessed three extraordinary endowments, and that Jin had better wait for a future opportunity to deal with the Lushi. Bozong, however, said, "We must attack them [now]. [That] Di is chargeable with five crimes, and of what help will his many extraordinary endowments be to him? His first crime is that he does not offer sacrifices; his second, that he is given to drunkenness; his third, that he abandoned Zhong Zhang, and took away the territory of the chief of Li; his fourth, that he dealt so cruelly with the eldest daughter of our State; and his fifth, that he injured the eye of his ruler. His reliance on his extraordinary endowments, to the neglect of all virtue, only increases his guilt. His successor will perhaps reverently addict himself to the cultivation of virtue and righteousness, so as to serve both Spirits and men, thereby strengthening his title to the country;—how will it be, if we should wait for such an one? If we do not punish the present criminal, but say, 'Let us wait for his successor,' and then proceed to punish him, who may have reasons to allege why he should not be touched at all, will not our course be unreasonable? To rely on one's endowments and numbers is the way to ruin;—Zhou of Shang followed it, and his utter ruin was the consequence. When the seasons of heaven are reversed, we have calamities; when the productions of the earth are reversed, we have prodigious things; when the virtues of men are reversed, we have disorders. It is those disorders which give rise to the calamities and prodigious things, just as the character for correctness, when reversed, produces that for failure [See the 說 文 解 字 注, in the 皇 清 經 解, Ch. 642, , art. 1). All these things are predicable of the Di."

'The marquis of Jin followed this counsel; and in the 6th month, on Guimao, Xun Linfu defeated the Red Di at Quliang. On Xinhai he extinguished Lu. Feng Shu fled to Wey, the people of which sent him to Jin, where he was put to death.'

Par. 4. There had been no hostilities between Qin and Jin, since the invasion of Jin mentioned in the duke's 2d year. We do not know what led to the invasion in the text, though, from the Guo yu, Bk. XIII. art. 1, we may suppose that Qin was jealous of Jin's acquisition of the Lushi. The Zhuan says:——'In autumn, in the 7th month, duke Huan of Qin invaded Jin, and halted with his army at Fushi. On Renwu, the marquis of Jin led a body of troops and exercised them at Ji, to secure the annexation of the territory of the Di. He then restored the marquis of Li, and had got as far as Luo on his return, when Wei Ke defeated the army of Qin at Fushi, taking prisoner Du Hui, who was [known as] the strong man of Qin. Before this, [Wei Ke's father], Wei Wuzi had a favourite concubine, who brought him no child. When he was ill, he charged Ke that he should marry her to some one; but afterwards, when he had become very ill, he told him that he must bury her alive in his grave. After his father's death, Ke provided her with a husband, saying, "When my father was so very ill, his senses were disordered; I will follow the charge he gave when his mind was right." At the battle of Fushi, he saw an old man who was making ropes of grass in the way of Du Hui, against which the strong man tript, so that he fell and was taken. In the night, Ke dreamt that the old man said to him, "I am the father of the woman whom you provided with a husband. Because you followed the charge which your father gave you when in his senses, I have thus recompensed you."

Par. 5. 王 札 子 is simply =王 子 札, 'the king's son, Zha.' Why the characters are so inverted it is difficult to say. What the paragraph relates shows that the court of Zhou must have been in as disorderly and lawless a condition as the courts of the difft. States. Zha was probably a brother of the reigning king. The Zhuan says:——'Wangsun (i. e., A grandson of some former king) Su had a contention with the chiefs of Shao and Mao about the chief sway in the government, and made the king's son Zijie [The designation of Zha) put to death duke Dai of Shao and Wey, earl of Mao. Afterwards, Xiang of Shao was appointed [in his father's place].'

Par. 6. [The Zhuan here relates:—1st, 'The marquis of Jin rewarded Huanzi with the revenues of a thousand families with which the Di ministers had been endowed, and he also rewarded Shi Bo [The Shi Zhenzi of the 2d narrative appended to XII. 4] with the district of Guayan, saying, "That I have got the territory of the Di is all owing to you. But for you, I should have lost Boshi [Xun Linfu; See the Zhuan just referred to]. Yangshe Zhi, speaking of these rewards, said "The words in [one of] the Books of Zhou (Shu, V. ix. 4), 'He employed the employable, and revered the reverend,' are applicable to such a case as this. Shi Bo advised the employment of Zhonghang Bo. The marquis confided in him, and followed his advice. This may be called a case of 'intelligent virtue.' The virtue by which king Wen raised the House of Zhou did not go beyond this. Hence the ode (Shi, III. i. ode I.2) says,

'Vast were the gifts of Zhou,' and thus it was that [king Wen] could perpetuate [his fortune]. It is impossible that he should not succeed who follows this way.'" 2d. 'The marquis of Jin sent Zhao Tong to present the spoils of the Di at the court of Zhou, where he behaved disrespectfully. Duke Kang of Liu said, "In less than ten years Shu of Yuan (Zhao Tong) will be sure to meet with great calamity. Heaven has taken his wits away from him."']

Par. 7. Zhongsun Mie is the Meng Xianzi, with whom we have met already. Gao Gu is the minister of Qi, whose marriage with one of the duke's daughters is related in the 5th year. Du says that Wulou was a town of Qi (杞邑); but Gongyang has 牟 for 無, and the place would thus be the Moulou which Ju took from Qi in the 4th year of duke Yin. We do not know what the two ministers met about, and need not occupy ourselves with the conjectures of the critics.

Par. 8. Zuoshi says:——This enactment was contrary to rule. The grain contributed by the people should not have exceeded the tithe from the system of mutual dependence [See Mencius, III. Pt. I. iii. 6], having respect to the enlargement of the people's wealth.' It would appear then, acc. to this view, that, besides the produce of every tenth acre, cultivated by the common labour of the farmers round it, and the property of the State, duke Xuan now required another 10th from the produce of the other 9 acres which every family cultivated for itself. And this is probably correct. From the Analects, XII. ix. 3, we learn that, in Confucius' time, two tenths of the produce of the land were levied by the State, and it is most likely that we have in the text the first imposition of the second of these. Gong and Gu, however, think that the text only speaks of the abandonment of the ancient system of the cultivation of the public tenth of the land by the common labour of the husbandmen in the different plots around it, and the dividing it among them, and then requiring from each family a tenth of the produce of its allotment. The Kangxi editors merely say that Hu An'guo maintains this view, while Zhu Xi preferred that of Du Yu, founded on Zuoshi's remarks, without giving any opinion of their own.

Parr. 9,10. * is the name for the locust in the grub or caterpillar state (始 生 曰 *, 大 曰 螽). I cannot understand the note of Zuoshi on these paragraphs. He says: —'In winter the larvæ were produced, and there was famine. The language shows thankfulness for the luck.' Acc. to Du, his idea is that those larvæ were produced in the winter when they could not do much harm; but the winter of Zhou was only the natural autumn of the year. In the natural summer there had been a plague of locusts; and now towards the end of autumn came these caterpillars to devour what the locusts had left. There was no 'luck' to be thankful for, but terrible calamity, and famine was the consequence.

XVI. Sixteenth year.

1. In the [duke's] sixteenth year, in spring, in the king's first month, a body of men from Jin extinguished the Jia and Liuyu tribes of the Red Di.

2. In summer, the archery-court of [king] Xuan at Chengzhou was set on fire.

3. In autumn, the duke's eldest daughter, who had been married to [the viscount of] Tan, returned to Lu [divorced].

4. In winter, there was a very plentiful year.

COMMENTARY

Par. 1. The Jiashi and the Liuyu were, after the Lushi, the principal tribes of the Red Di; the former having their site in the pres. dis. of Jize (鶏 澤), dep. Guangping, Zhili, while that of the second, was in the dis. of Tunliu (屯 留), dep. Lu'an, Shanxi. The Zhuan mentions another tribe,—that of the Duochen, which appears to have been a branch of the Liuyu. On the extinction of these tribes, all the territory of the Red Di came into the possession of Jin.

The Zhuan says:——'In spring, Shi Hui of Jin led a force, and extinguished the Jia tribe of the Red Di, and also the tribes of Liuyu and Duochen. In the 3d month he presented the spoils of the Di [to the king]. The marquis of Jin requested [the robes of appointment for him] from the king, and on Wushen, with the apron and cap he appointed Shi Hui to the command of the army of the centre, and also to be grand-guardian. After this the thieves of Jin all fled into Qin. Yangshe Zhi said, "I have heard that when Yu promoted good men, the bad men all disappeared; and here is an instance of the same. The words of the ode (Shi, II. v. ode II. 6).

'Be fearful and cautious, As if approaching a deep abyss, As if treading on thin ice,' are descriptive of a good man in a high situation. When that is the case, there are no people in the State trusting to luck. 'When there are many people trusting to luck,' the common saying goes, 'that is unlucky for the State.' That is applicable to a time when there are no good men.'"

Par. 2. Gongyang has 謿 for 榭; and both Gong and Gu have 災 for 火. Zuoshi says that in all accounts of fires, 火 denotes that the fire was caused by men, and 災 that it was from Heaven. Chengzhou is the same as Luoyang, the eastern or 'lower' capital of Zhou;—see the Shu, V.xxiv. 1. Du defines 榭 by 講 武 屋, 'a house for the practice of military exercises,' archery being specially intended. Gongyang and, recently, Mao understand the term in the meaning of 'temple;' but the other signification is ably vindicated by Yingda. 宣 is probably =宣 王, though the meaning cannot be said to be well ascertained. Xuan was a distinguished king, and might well have left a court or pavilion at Chengzhou, called by his name.

Par. 3. Tan,—see IV. 1. When the duke's daughter was married to the earl of Tan, we are not told. What is related in the 4th year shows that there were friendly relations between Lu and Tan; but Zuoshi says that the lady's coming back to Lu here was in consequence of her being divorced, or sent away from Tan (出 也).

[The Zhuan appends here:—1st, 'In consequence of the troubles about [the earls of] Shao and Mao [See p. 5 of last year], the royal House was again thrown into confusion. Wangsun Su fled to Jin, by which he was restored.' 2d, 'In winter, the marquis of Jin sent Shi Hui to pacify the royal House, when king Ding feasted him, duke Xiang of Yuan directing the ceremonies. The meat was brought in cut on the platters. Wuzi (Shi Hui) privately asked the reason of this arrangement; and when the king heard that he did so, he called him, and said, 'Mr. Ji (季 was Hui's designation), have you not heard this;—when the king feasts the princes, the animals are brought in, not cut up; but when he entertains their ministers, the meat is served cut up on the platters. This is the rule of the royal House." When Wuzi returned to Jin, he examined all its statutes [affecting entertainments], to regulate correctly its various rules.']

Par. 4. The critics cannot be content with accepting this paragraph as the simple statement of a fact by way of contrast to the suffering in the last quarter of the previous year; but cast about to find some moral reason for the record. See on II. iii. 10, where we have 有年 for 'a good year.' Here we have 大有年, 'a very good year.'

XVII. Seventeenth year.

1. In the [duke's] seventeenth year, in spring, in the king's first month, on Gengzi, Xiwo, baron of Xu, died.

2. On Dingwei, Shen, marquis of Cai, died.

3. In summer there were the burials of duke Zhao of Xu, and of duke Wen of Cai.

4. In the sixth month, on Guimao, the sun was eclipsed.

5. On Jiwei, the duke had a meeting with the marquis of Jin, the marquis of Wey, the earl of Cao, and the viscount of Zhu, when they made a covenant together in Duandao.

6. In autumn, the duke arrived from the meeting.

7. In winter, in the eleventh month, on Renwu, the duke's younger brother, Shuxi, died.

COMMENTARY

Parr. 1—. Ji Ben (季 本; Ming dynasty), says:——At this time Xu and Cai were of the party of Chu. Their announcing the death of their princes to Lu, and Lu's messages to them of condolence, show that it also inclined to the same side.

Par. 4. Here for the second time there is a serious error in these records of eclipses. The 1st day of the 6th month in this year was Jiachen (甲 辰), the day after Guimao, and there was no eclipse upon it. This was ascertained by Jiang Ji (姜 岌), of the eastern Jin dynasty. He and the Buddhist priest Yihang (一 行) of the Tang dynasty, made out an eclipse to have been possible on Yihai (乙 亥), the 1st day of the 5th month; but that was in the southern hemisphere. There was one on Xinwei, in the 11th month; but it was not visible in Lu. There was, however an eclipse in Xuan's 7th year in the 6th month, when the day Guimao was the new moon; and I have no doubt it is that which is entered here by some displacement of the tablets.

Par. 5. Duandao was in Jin,—in the east of the pres. Qinzhou (沁 州), Shaanxi. The Zhuan says:——'In spring, the marquis of Jin having sent Xi Ke to require the marquis of Qi to attend a meeting, duke Qing placed his mother and her attendants [婦 人 simply=='his women'] behind a curtain so that they might see the envoy, [who had some bodily defect]; and as he ascended the steps, they were heard laughing in their apartment. Xianzi [The posthumous title of Xi Ke] was indignant, and swore, "If I do not revenge this insult, may I not cross the He again!" He then returned himself first to Jin, making Luan Jinglu wait behind till he should have something to report from Qi, and charging him not to bring him any word till he had got some charge against it. On his arrival [at Jiang] he asked that Qi might be invaded, which the marquis refused. He then begged leave to invade it with his own adherents, which was also denied him.

'[By and by], the marquis of Qi sent Gao Gu, Yan Ruo, Cai Zhao, and Nanguo Yan to the meeting which had been called; of whom Gao Gu fled back to Qi from Lianyu. The meeting was held in summer at Duandao, when it was resolved to punish the disaffected; and a covenant was made at Juanchu, to which the officers of Qi were not admitted. The people of Jin seized and held Yan Ruo in Yewang; Cai Zhao in Yuan; and Nanguo Yan in Wen. Fenhuang of Miao [This was a son of Dou Jiao of Chu, who had taken refuge in Jin, after the events related in the Zhuan after VII. iv. 6] was sent to have an interview with Yan Huanzi; and on his return, he said to the marquis of Jin, "What crime is the officer Yan chargeable with? Formerly, the States all served your predecessors, as if they could not be prompt enough in doing so. [Now], they all say that the ministers of Jin do not treat them with good faith, and, therefore, their minds are disaffected. The marquis of Qi was afraid he would not be received courteously, and did not come to the meeting, but sent four of his officers to attend it. Some of his attendants tried to stop his doing so, saying, 'If your lordship does not go out, Jin will seize and hold our messengers.' It was on this account that Gaozi ran away at Lianyu. The three other officers, however, said, 'That will destroy the friendship between our ruler and Jin; we had rather die on our return [than do that].' On this account they came on at the risk of all suffering. If we had received them well, it would have been the way to encourage others to come to us. But have we not done wrong in seizing and holding them so as to justify those who tried to prevent their being sent? What advantage can we gain by long persisting in the wrong, so as to make them regret that they came on? We only supply him who fled back with an excuse for his conduct; and of what use is it to frighten the States by injuring those who come to us?" On this the people of Jin treated Yanzi gently, and allowed him to get away.'

On the force of the 'together (同),' in the account of this covenant, the critics seem to differ, some holding that it indicates the 'common' purpose of the States to punish Qi, others their common opposition to Chu. The Kangxi editors would extend the meaning to both those objects.

[The Zhuan appends here:—1st, 'In autumn, in the 8th month, the army of Jin returned.' 2d, 'Fan Wuzi [Shi Hui. At first he was invested with Sui (隨), and is thence call Sui Wuzi; afterwards he received the city of Fan, which became the surname of his descendants] being about to withdraw from the public service on account of his age, he called to him [his son] Wenzi, and said, "Xie [The son's name], I have heard that they are few whose satisfaction or whose anger rests on its proper object, while with many the feeling passes to other objects. The ode (Shi, II. v. ode IV. 2) says,

'If the king were to be angry [with slanderers] The disorder would probably be quickly abated. If he were to show his joy [in the good], The disorder would probably quickly cease! Thus a superior man's being either made pleased or angry leads to the stopping of disorder. If that be not stopt, it goes on to increase. Perhaps Xizi wishes to bring the disorder he is producing to an end by an invasion of Qi. If he do not succeed in that, I am afraid he will increase the disorder. I will declare myself too old, and let him obtain his wish, which may perhaps lead to the dispersion [of the present evil]. Do you follow the other officers, and be careful of your conduct." On this he asked liberty to retire on the ground of his age, and Xi Xianzi became the chief administrator of the government.']

Par. 7. Zuoshi says that Shuxi was a full brother of the duke, and then he gives the following canon:——'All the full brothers of the eldest son, while their father is alive, are called Gongzi (duke's sons); and when he is dead, Gongdi (duke's brothers). The appellation "younger brother" always denotes a full brother of the ruling duke.'

XVIII. Eighteenth year.

1. In the [duke's] eighteenth year, in spring, the marquis of Jin and Zang, heir-son of Wey, invaded Qi.

2. The duke invaded Qi.

3. It was summer, the fourth month.

4. In autumn, in the seventh month, an officer of Zhu murdered the viscount of Zeng in his capital.

5. On Jiaxu, Lü, viscount of Chu, died.

6. Gongsun Guifu went to Jin.

7. In winter, in the tenth month, on Renxu, the duke died in the State-chamber.

8. Guifu was returning from Jin; but when he got to Sheng, he fled to Qi.

COMMENTARY

Par. 1. The Zhuan says:——'When the invading armies had reached Yanggu, the marquis of Qi had a meeting with the marquis of Jin, when they made a covenant in Zeng, the former agreeing that his son Jiang should go to Jin as a hostage. On this the army of Jin returned, and Cai Zhao and Nanguo Yan made their escape back to Qi.'

Hu An'guo thinks this invasion of Qi was brought about by Xi Ke, to gratify his resentment against that State. The Kangxi editors argue that it was a public movement on the part of the marquis of Jin to punish Qi, because its marquis had kept away from the meeting at Duandao. Certainly the growth of the power of Chu was mainly owing to Qi's standing aloof from Jin as the chief among the northern States.

Par. 3. [The Zhuan appends here:——'In summer, the duke sent to Chu, to ask the assistance of an army;—wishing to invade Qi.']

Par, 4. Guliang has 繒 for 鄫. Acc. to Zuoshi, 戕 is the character employed to denote the murder of the prince of a State by some one of another State, just as 弒 indicates that the perpetrator was one of the prince's own subjects. Zeng,—see V.xiv.2. In V. xix. 4 we have an account of a terrible outrage by the people of Zhu on a former prince of Zeng. Wang Kekuan (汪 克 寬) thinks that by 邾 人 in the text we should understand the 邾 子, 'the viscount of Zhu;' but this seems inconsistent with the use of the character 戕. 邾 人, however, may denote—'a party of men from Zhu.'

Par. 5. Here for the first time we have the death of one of the viscounts of Chu recorded. His burial, however, is not mentioned, and there would have been a difficulty in recording it, as the deceased viscount must have then received the title which he claimed of 'king.' The Zhuan says:——'In consequence of the death of king Zhuang, the army [The help of which Lu had asked] did not come forth. Afterwards Lu availed itself of an army of Jin [See VIII. ii.2], in consequence of which Chu had the meeting and covenant at Shu (VIII. ii. 10].'

Par. 6. The object of this visit is given in the Zhuan:——'Gongsun Guifu was a favourite with the duke, whose elevation was due to [Guifu's father], Xiangzhong. Wishing to remove the three clans descended from duke Huan, and thereby increase the power of the ducal House, he consulted with the duke, and went on a friendly mission to Jin, hoping to accomplish his object by means of the people of Jin.'

Par. 7. See on III. xxxii. 4. Par. 8. The Zhuan says:——'In winter, on the death of the duke, Ji Wenzi [Jisun Hangfu] said in the court, "It was Zhong who made us kill the son of the proper wife, and set up the son of another, so as to lose the great helper we might have calculated on." Xuanshu [Zang Xu; son of Zang Wenzhong, or Zangsun Chen in III.xxviii. 6], was angry, and said, "Why did you not deal with him at the time? What offence is his son chargeable with? But if you wish to send their clan away, allow me to do it." Accordingly he drove the Dongmen clan out of the State. Zijia had then returned from Jin as far as to Sheng. He there cleared a space of ground, and raised a tent on it, where he delivered the account of his mission to his assistant, [that it might be transmitted to Lu]. Having done so, he took off his upper garment, bound his hair up with sackcloth, went to the place for it and wept, gave three leaps, and left the tent. He then fled to Qi. The style of the paragraph,—"Guifu returned from Jin," is commendatory of him.' For 笙 Gong and Gu have 檉. The place was in Lu.

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