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別通篇

富人之宅,以一丈之地為內。內中所有,柙匱所〔贏〕,縑布絲〔帛〕也。貧人之宅,亦以一丈為內。內中空虛,徒四壁立,故名曰貧。夫 通人猶富人,不通者猶貧人也。俱以七尺為形,通人胸中懷百家之言,不通者空腹無一牒之誦。貧人之內,徒四所壁立也。慕料 貧富不相如,則夫通與不通不相及也。

世人慕富不榮通,羞貧,不賤不賢,不推類以況之也。夫富人可慕者,貨財多則饒裕,故人慕之。夫富人不如儒生,儒生不如通人。

通人積文,十篋以上,聖人之言,賢者之語,上自黃帝,下至秦、漢,治國肥家之術,刺世譏俗之言,備矣。使人通明博見,其為 可榮,非徒縑布絲〔帛〕也。

蕭何入秦,收拾文書,漢所以能制九州者,文書之力也。以文書禦天下,天下之富,孰與家人之財?

人目不見青黃曰盲,耳不聞宮商曰聾,鼻不知香臭曰癰。癰聾與盲,不成人者也。人不博覽者,不聞古今,不見事類,不知然否,猶 目盲、耳聾、鼻癰者也。儒生不覽,猶為閉暗,況庸人無篇章之業,不知是非,其為閉暗,甚矣!此則土木之人,耳目俱足,無聞見也。

涉淺水者見蝦,其頗深者察魚鱉,其尤甚者觀蛟龍。足行跡殊,故所見之物異也。入道淺深,其猶此也,淺者則見傳記諧文, 深者入聖室觀秘書。故入道彌深,所見彌大。人之遊也,必欲入都,都多奇觀也。

入都必欲見市,市多異貨也。百家之言,古今行事,其為奇異 ,非徒都邑大市也。遊於都邑者心厭,觀於大市者意飽,況遊於道藝之際哉?

汙大川旱不枯者,多所疏也。潢汙兼日不雨,泥輒見者,無所通也。是故大川相間,小川相屬,東流歸海,故海大也。 海不通於百川,安得巨大之名?夫人含百家之言,猶海懷百川之流也,不謂之大者,是謂海小於百川也。夫海大於百川也,人 皆知之,通者明於不通,莫之能別也。

潤下作咸,水之滋味也。東海水咸,流廣大也;西州鹽井,源泉深也。人或無井而食,或穿井不得泉,有鹽井之利乎?不 與賢聖通業,望有高世之名,難哉!

法令之家,不見行事,議罪不審。章句之生,不覽古今,論事不實。

或以說一經為〔足〕,何須博覽。夫孔子之門,講習《五經》。《五經》皆習,庶幾之才也。 顏淵曰:“博我以文。”才智高者,能為博矣。顏淵之曰博者,豈徒一經哉?

我不能博《五經》,又不能博眾事,守信一學,不好廣觀,無溫故知新之明,而有守愚不覽之暗。其謂一經〔足 〕者,其宜也。

開戶內日之光,日光不能照幽,鑿窗啟牖,以助戶明也。夫一經之說,猶日明也,助以傳書,猶窗牖也。百家之言令 人曉明,非徒窗牖之開日光之照也。是故日光照室內,道術明胸中。

開戶內光,坐高堂之上,眇升樓臺,窺四鄰之廷,人之所願也。閉戶幽坐,向冥冥之內,穿壙穴臥,造黃泉之際,人之 所惡也。夫閉心塞意,不高瞻覽者,死人之徒也哉!

孝武皇帝時,燕王旦在明光宮,欲入所臥,戶三盡閉,使侍者二十人開戶,戶不開,其後旦坐謀反自殺。夫戶閉, 燕王旦死之狀也。死者,凶事也,故以閉塞為占。

齊慶封不通,六國大夫會而賦詩,慶封不曉,其後果有楚靈之禍也。夫不開通於學者,屍尚能行者也。

亡國之社,屋其上、柴其下者,示絕於天地。《春秋》薄社,周以為城。夫經藝傳書,人當覽之,猶社當通氣於天地也。故人之不通覽者,薄社之類也。是故氣不通者,強壯之人死,榮華之物枯。

東海之中,可食之物,集糅非一,以其大也。夫水精氣渥盛,故其生物也眾多奇異。故夫大人之胸懷非一,才高知大,故其於道術 無所不包。學士同門高業之生,眾共宗之。何則?知經指深,曉師言多也。夫古今之事,百家之言,其為深,多也,豈徒師門高業之生哉 ?甘酒醴不酤飴蜜,未為能知味也。

耕夫多殖嘉穀,謂之上農夫;其少者,謂之下農夫。學士之才,農夫之力,一也。能多種谷,謂之上農,能博學問,〔不〕 謂之上儒,是稱牛之服重,不譽馬速也。譽手毀足,孰謂之慧矣!

縣道不通於野,野路不達於邑,騎馬乘舟者,必不由也。故血脈不通,人以甚病。 夫不通者,惡事也,故其禍變致不善。是故盜賊宿於穢草,邪心生於無道,無道者,無道術也。

醫能治一病謂之巧,能治百病謂之良。是故良醫服百病之方,治百人之疾;大才懷百家之言,故能治百族之亂。扁鵲之眾方 ,孰若巧〔醫〕之一伎?

子貢曰:“不得其門而入,不見宗廟之美,百官之富。”蓋以宗廟百官喻孔子道也。孔子道美,故譬以宗廟,眾多非一,故喻以百官。由此言之,道達廣博者,孔子之徒也。

殷、周之地,極五千里,荒服、要服,勤能牧之。漢氏廓土,牧萬里之外,要荒之地,褒衣博帶。夫德不優者,不能懷遠, 才不大者,不能博見。故多聞博識,無頑鄙之訾;深知道術,無淺暗之毀也。

人好觀圖畫者,圖上所畫,古之列人也。見列人之面,孰與觀 其言行?置之空壁,形容具存,人不激勸者,不見言行也。古賢之遺文,竹帛之所載粲然,豈徒牆壁之畫哉?

空器在廚,金銀塗飾,其中無物益於饑,人不顧也。肴膳甘醢,土釜之盛,入者鄉之。古賢文之美善可甘,非徒器中之物也,讀觀 有益,非徒膳食有補也。故器空無實,饑者不顧,胸虛無懷,朝廷不禦也。

劍伎之家,鬥戰必勝者,得曲城、越女之學也。兩敵相遭,一巧一拙,其必勝者,有術之家也。孔、墨之業,賢聖之書,非 徒曲城、越女之功也。成人之操,益人之知,非徒戰鬥必勝之策也。故劍伎之術,有必勝之名;賢聖之書,有必尊之聲。

縣邑之吏,召諸治下,將相問以政化,曉慧之吏,陳所聞見,將相覺悟,得以改政右文。聖賢言行,竹帛所傳,練人之心,聰人之知,非徒縣邑之吏對向之語也。

禹、益並治洪水,禹主治水,益主記異物,海外山表,無遠不至,以所聞見作《山海經》。非禹、益不能行遠,《山海》不 造。然則《山海》之造,見物博也。董仲舒睹重常之鳥,劉子政曉貳負之屍,皆見《山海經》,故能立二事之說。 使禹、益行地不遠,不能作《山海經》;董、劉不讀《山海經》,不能定二疑。

實沉、台台,子產博物,故能言之;龍見絳郊,蔡墨曉占,故能禦之。

父兄在千里之外,且死,遺教戒之書,子弟賢者,求索觀讀,服臆不舍,重先敬長,謹慎之也;不肖者輕慢佚忽,無原察之 意。古聖先賢,遺後人文字,其重非徒父兄之書也,或觀讀採取,或棄捐不錄,二者之相高下也,行路之人,皆能論之,況辯照然否者不能別之乎?

孔子病,商瞿卜期日中,孔子曰:“取書來,比至日中何事乎?”聖人之好學也,且死不休,念在經書,不以臨死之故, 棄忘道藝,其為百世之聖,師法祖修,蓋不虛矣!

自孔子以下,至漢之際,有才能之稱者,非有飽食終日無所用心也,不說《五經》則讀書傳。書傳文大,難以備之。

卜卦占射凶吉,皆文、武之道。昔有商瞿能占爻卦;末有東方朔、翼少君,能達占射覆。道雖小,亦聖人之術也。

曾又不知人生稟五 常之性,好道樂學,故辨於物。今則不然,飽食快飲,慮深求臥,腹為飯坑,腸為酒襄,是則物也。

倮蟲三百,人為之長,“天地 之性人為貴,貴其識知也。今閉暗脂塞,無所好欲,與三百倮蟲何以異?而謂之為長而貴之乎!

諸夏之人所以貴於夷狄者,以其通仁義之文,知古今之學也。如徒〔任〕其胸中之知以取衣食,經厲年月,白首沒齒,終 無曉知,夷狄之次也。觀夫蜘蛛之經絲以罔飛蟲也,人之用作,安能過之?任胸中之知,舞權利之詐,以取富壽之樂,無古今之學,蜘蛛之類也。

含血之蟲,無餓死之患,皆能以知求索飲食也。人不通者,亦能自供,仕官為吏,亦得高官,將相長吏,猶吾大夫高子也 ,安能別之?隨時積功,以命得官,不曉古今,以位為賢,與文〔人〕異術,安得識別通人,俟以不次乎?

將相長吏不得若右扶風蔡伯偕、郁林太守張孟嘗、東萊太守李季公之徒,心自通明,覽達古今,故其敬通人也如見大賓 。燕昭為鄒衍擁彗,彼獨受何性哉?東成令董仲綬知為儒梟,海內稱通,故其接人,能別奇〔偉〕。是以鍾離產公以編戶之民,受圭璧之敬, 知之明也。故夫能知之也,凡石生光氣;不知之也,金玉無潤色。

自武帝以至今朝,數舉賢良,令人射策甲乙之科,若董仲舒、唐子高、穀 子雲、丁伯玉,策既中實,文說美善,博覽膏腴之所生也。使四者經徒能摘,筆徒能記疏,不見古今之書,安能建美善於聖王之庭乎?

孝明 之時,讀《蘇武傳》,見武官名曰《栘中監》,以問百官,百官莫知。夫《倉頡》之章,小學之書,文字備具,至於無能對聖國之問者,是皆 美命隨牒之人多在官也。“木”旁“多”文字且不能知,其欲及若董仲舒之知重常,劉子政之知貳負,難哉!

或曰:“通人之官,蘭台令史,職校 書定字,比夫太史、太柷,職在文書,無典民之用,不可施設。是以蘭台之史,班固、賈逵、楊終、傅毅之徒,名香文美,委積不泄,大用於 世。”

曰:此不繼。周世通覽之人,鄒衍之徒,孫卿之輩,受時王之寵,尊顯於世。董仲舒雖無鼎足之位,知在公卿之上。周 監二代,漢監周、秦然則蘭台之官,國所監得失也。以心如丸卵,為體內藏;眸子如豆,為身光明。令史雖微,典國道藏,通人所由 進,猶博士之官,儒生所由興也。

委積不絏,豈聖國微遇之哉,殆以書未定而職未畢也。

Chapter XI. On Intelligence (Pieh-t`ung).

In the houses of the wealthy, a space of ten feet serves as the inner appartment, and in this room are boxes and trunks all filled with lustres and other silk fabrics. 1 The poor likewise use a space of ten feet as inner appartment, but it is completely empty, merely consisting of four bare walls, whence they are called poor. The intelligent are like the wealthy, the unintelligent like the poor. Both are provided with a body seven feet high, but whereas the intelligent harbour the words of all the philosophers 2 in their bosoms, the hearts of the unintelligent are empty, for they have never read a single tablet, like the interior of poor people, four bare walls.

In the general appreciation, the poor and the rich are not equal, and thus the sharp and the blunt-witted cannot be placed on a level. However the world holds the rich in affectionate esteem, and does not honour the clear-headed, it feels ashamed of the poor, and does not despise the unwise; a treatment not warranted by the principles of analogy. As for the deference shown to rich people, they live in luxury because of their wealth, and therefore are held in respect. But rich men are not like scholars, and scholars fall short of strong-minded individuals.

The latter have more then ten chests crammed full of letters:--- the words of the sages, the utterances of worthies, as far back as Huang Ti, and down to the Ch`in and Han, methods of government, and for increasing the national wealth, criticisms on the age, and strictures on low class people, all is there. A man with a bright intellect, and large views has a better claim on our consideration, I should say, than lustres and silk stuffs.

Hsiao Ho3 went to Ch`in to collect official papers, and it was by the force of these documents that the Han could sway the Nine Provinces. 4 With documents they extended their rule over the entire empire, and how much greater is the wealth of empires than that of private persons?

A man whose eyes cannot see green and yellow, is called blind. If his ears cannot hear the first and second notes, 5 he is deaf, and if his nose has no perception of perfumes and stenches, he is without the sense of smell. 6 Any one without the sense of smell, deaf, or blind is not a perfect man. Now a person without a vast knowledge, ignorant of past and present, not conversant with categories, insensible of right and wrong, is like a blind or deaf man, or one without the olfactory senses. Even scholars who do not study must be considered beclouded, and fancy common people never reading a book and not knowing truth and untruth. Theirs is the height of narrow-mindedness. They are like dummies made of clay or wood, which have ears and eyes quite complete, and yet are insensible.

Wading through shallow water, people find crabs, in greater depth they discover fish and turtles, and in the deepest recesses they fall in with water snakes and dragons. As the steps taken are different, so the animals met with vary. The same rule applies to those who make more or less progress in science. Those remaining on the surface read stories and pleasant books, those entering deeper come to the school of the Sage, where they learn to know works of profound wisdom. The farther they penetrate into the doctrine, the more insight they acquire.

On a journey, people always want to visit the capital, because it has so many sights worth seeing, and in the capital they desire to see the market, where so many rare things are exposed for sale. The dicta of all the thinkers of the divers schools and the history of ancient and modern times are likewise very wonderful, even more so than the capital with its big market place. By a visit to the capital, the traveller's intention is accomplished, and the sight of the big market satisfies his desires. How much more must this be true of a journey into the realms of thought and science?

Big rivers do not dry up in times of drought owing to their many tributaries. Pools, on the other hand, show the mud already, when it has not rained for several days, because they have no affluents. The big rivers are connected, and the small ones linked together, so they flow eastward into the ocean. 7 Hence the greatness of the ocean. Unless the ocean were in connexion with all the rivers, it could not be termed immense. A man harbouring the sayings of all the philosophers is like the ocean receiving the water of all the rivers. If he is not deemed great, then the ocean must be declared to be smaller than the rivers likewise. That the ocean exceeds all the rivers in size is generally known by men, but they cannot comprehend that the intelligent are brighter than the unintelligent.

Moisture trickling down becomes salt, a taste produced by water. The water of the eastern ocean is briny and extends to a great distance. In Hsi-chou8 there are salt-wells, which are very deep. Can a person have the benefit of a salt-well that either wishes to consume salt without possessing a well, or bores a well, but does not find a spring? He who has no commerce with sages and wise men can hardly expect to win a name above all others.

The jurists 9 are in the habit of neglecting practical life, and, when called upon, are unable to give judgment in a case. The students of clauses and paragraphs do not study old and modern literature, and are unfit thoroughly to argue a point.

Some people contend that to comment upon one Classic is the right thing, 10 for what is the use of extensive knowledge? The school of Confucius takes up all the Five Canons, and no one but has mastered them all is accounted almost perfect. Yen Yuan said that the master extensively filled his mind with learning. 11 Only men of exceptional knowledge are worthy the name of well-read scholars, for could the term "extensively" used by Yen Yuan refer to one single Classic only?

I cannot embrace all the Five Canons in my studies, nor can I trouble myself with all sorts of things. Reposing confidence in one doctrine, I do not like to enlarge my views. I am not clever enough to be well acquainted with antique lore or familiar with modern times, but am so stupid, that I cherish my stupidity and do not wish to learn. Thus any one who is satisfied with one Classic only should speak.

We open the door to let the sunlight in, and since this does not suffice to illuminate all the dark places, we pierce the walls to make windows and sky-holes, and thus add to the light penetrating through the door. The explanation of one Classic is like the light of the sun, the records used to assist it, are the windows and sky-holes. The words of the philosophers enlighten us even in a higher degree than windows and sky-holes afford a passage to the sunshine. As sunshine lights the interior of a room, so scientific researches enlighten the heart.

To open the door and let the light in, and to sit in a raised hall, or even to ascend a balcony to have a look at the surrounding buildings, is what people like to do. To shut the door and sit in obscurity, turned towards a pitch dark room, or to dig a mine and, lying on the back, work in the vicinity of the yellow springs, 12 is distasteful to everybody. They who shut their hearts and close their minds, never viewing things from a higher standpoint, are like dead men.

In the time of the emperor Hsiao Wu Ti,13 the king of Yen, Tan, staying in the Ming-kuang palace wished to go to his sleeping appartments, but all the three hundred doors were tightly closed. He ordered twenty of his attendants to open them, but they did not succeed. Subsequently Tan became involved in an insurrection and committed suicide. The closing of the doors was a presage of the death of King Tan of Yen. Dying is a calamitous event, hence the closing was referred to it.

Ch`ing Fêng of Ch`i was a dullard. When the high officers of six States at a meeting recited the Odes, he did not understand them. 14 Later on a catastrophe was brought about by Ling of Ch`u.15 He who does not let in the light of science is a corpse still walking about.

When a State has ceased to exist, its altar of the land is roofed above and fenced in below, to indicate that its connexion with Heaven and Earth has been interrupted. 16 The Chou took care lest in spring and autumn such altars should be treated with disrespect. People should read classical and profane books in the same manner as the altars of the land must be in communication with the fluids of Heaven and Earth. Those who do not study are like persons disregarding the altars of the land. The communication with the air being checked, even the strongest man dies, and luxuriant plants wither.

Eatable things in the eastern sea are manifold 17 on account of its vastness. The procreative power of the water being exuberant, a great variety of very strange things is produced. Thus a great man has many treasures, enshrined in his bosom:---great talents and great knowledge, and there are no principles or methods but he embraces them. Students with similar views and men of great learning all come to him, because he understands the profound meaning of the Classics and knows so many words of teachers. Things of the past and the present time and utterances of various philosophers he remembers a great many, and is not merely a man of learning of a certain school. No one can know the taste of sweet wine, if he has not purchased it, and merely used sugar. 18

Peasants producing excellent grain in abundance are looked upon as superior husbandmen, and those whose crops are small, as inferior. The talents of men of letters correspond to the faculties of husbandmen. Those able to produce plenty of grain are called superior husbandmen, and the others apt to collect a vast amount of knowledge, are superior scholars. To praise the ox for carrying a heavy burden, and not to belaud the swiftness of the horse, to extol the hand, and revile the foot, who would think that reasonable?

Unless a district road communicates 19 with the country, or a country road leads 20 to town, a traveller on horseback or in a boat would not take it. Unless veins and arteries are in connexion, 21 a man contracts a dangerous disease, for the cessation of this connexion is a very bad thing, a misfortune with the worst consequences. As robbers have their haunts in rank grass, wicked thoughts grow in unprincipled hearts. 22 Unprincipled means devoid of maxims and principles. 23

A physician qualified to cure one disease is considered clever, and if he can treat a hundred maladies, he is called excellent. Such an excellent physician gives prescriptions for a hundred diseases, and heals the ailments of a hundred patients. A genius imbued with the teachings of the divers schools of thought can settle the quarrels of a hundred clans. How could the numerous prescriptions of a Pien Ch`io be put on a par with the single ability of a clever physician?

Tse Kung said, ["If one do not find the door and enter by it, he cannot see the ancestral temple with its beauties, nor all the officers in their rich array."] 24 The ancestral temple and all the officers here serve to illustrate the teachings of Confucius. They are so excellent, that they may be compared with the ancestral temple, and so numerous, that they bear resemblance to the hosts of all the officers. Therefore a man of comprehensive information and deep erudition is a follower of Confucius.

The land of the Yin and Chou dynasties extended as far as 5 000 Li, and even the wild and fortified dependencies were governed with the utmost care. Over 10 000 Li fell under the dominion of the vast territory of the house of Han, and in the fortified and wild tracts, people were wearing wide state-robes and broad girdles. 25 Without exceptional virtue nobody can be affectionately solicitous for distant countries, and in default of great talents one cannot enlarge one's views. Therefore men of great experience and deep erudition are not taxed with obtuseness, and those well versed in all the sciences are not charged with narrowness of mind.

People like to see paintings. The subjects reproduced in these pictures are usually men of ancient times. But would it not be better to be informed of the doings and sayings of these men than to contemplate their faces? Painted upon the bare wall, 26 their shapes and figures are there, the reason why they do not act as incentives, is that people do not perceive their words or deeds. The sentiments left by the old sages shine forth from the bamboos and silks, where they are written, which means more than mere paintings on walls.

If an empty vessel in the kitchen be gilt or silvered and, having nothing in it, be placed before a hungry person, he would not even cast a look at it. But suppose that dainty food and savory viands be served in an earthen pot, people would forthwith turn to it. The delicious and sweet words of old sages are more than food in vessels. The benefit derived from study is not merely that of eating. Thus the hungry do not care for empty vessels without contents, and the government does not employ men with empty heads without thoughts.

When swordsmen fight together, he wo possesses the knowledge of the girl of Yüeh27 in Ch`ü-ch`êng28 gains the victory. Two adversaries meeting, one is cleverer than the other, and the one possessing greater ability becomes victor. The systems of Confucius and Mê Ti, and the books of worthies and sages are of greater value than the accomplishments of the girl of Yüeh in Ch`ü-ch`êng, and to improve human transactions and increase human knowledge, is more than a mere device to win in a contest. By the art of swordplay one acquires the repute of being ever victorious, and by virtue of the books of worthies and sages, one becomes exalted.

When the officers of the district cities are summoned before their superiors to be questioned on administrative reforms, the intelligent and well informed will communicate their experiences, and provided that the high officers are impressed thereby, the administration can be reformed and learning, cultivated. When the doings and sayings of worthies and sages, handed down on bamboo and silk, transform the heart and enlighten the mind, the result is more momentous than the replies of the district officers on the questions addressed to them.

and Yi together regulated the Great Flood; took care of the water, whereas Yi recorded all strange things. The border mountains beyond the seas were not held to be too far to go there, and from what they had heard and seen they composed the "Mountain and Sea Classic". 29 If and Yi had not travelled so far, the Shan-hai-king would not have been written. Its production testifies to the great multitude of things seen by them. Tung Chung Shu beheld the Chung-ch`ang30 bird, and Liu Tse Chêng knew the body of Erh Fu.31 Both had read the Shan-hai-king, and therefore could utter themselves on these two things. Had and Yi not reached those distant lands, they could not have edited the Shan-hai-king, and without reading this book Tung Chung Shu and Liu Tse Chêng would not have been in a condition to verify the two doubtful questions.

A fruit fell down and sank into the steps leading up to a terrace(?). Tse Ch`an, with his great knowledge of things, could discourse on it. When a dragon made its appearance in the suburbs of Chiang,32T`sai Mê33 knew how to account for it, so that the necessary precautions could be taken.

When a father or an elder brother on the point of death, more than a thousand Li distant from home, leave a testament with admonitions, dutiful sons and brothers are eager to read it, and never will dismiss it from their affectionate thoughts. Such is their solicitude in honouring a parent, and paying respect to an elder. Undutiful sons slight and disregard a testament, and do not care to examine its contents. The scripts of old sages and former worthies, left to posterity, are of much greater importance still than documents left by a father or a brother. Some read these writings and make abstracts of them, others throw them away and do not copy them. Even a man from the street could tell us, which of the two courses is preferable, and those whose business it is to distinguish between right and wrong, should not be fit to draw the line?

When Confucius was taken ill, Shang Ch`ü34 divined that at noon his time would come. Confucius said, "Bring me a book, 35 for what will be the matter, when it is noon?" So fervent was the Sage's love of study, that it did not even cease at the point of death. His thoughts were in the Classics, and he did not renounce his principles, because he was near his end. Therefore it is not without reason that he is regarded as the Sage for a hundred generations, who himself took pattern by the institutions of the ancients.

From Confucius down to the Han there have been many persons famous for their talents and not solely such as `stuff themselves with food the whole day, without applying their minds to anything good.' 36 Either did they explain the Five Canons, or read the Classics and other works, which are very voluminous, so that it is difficult to master them all.

Divination by diagrams, and fortune-telling are arts of the time of Wên and Wu Wang. Of youre, there was Shang Ch`ü who could interpret the diagrams, and more recently 37Tung Fang So38 and Yi Shao Chün,39 who were able to guess hidden objects. Though of no great importance, these arts are also derived from the sages, which has often been overlooked. 40

Human nature is endowed with the Five Virtues, open to reason and prone to learning, which distinguishes it from that of all other creatures. But now it is different. People stuff themselves with food, and are given to drink, and to escape their remorses they wish to sleep. Their bellies are larders, and their bowels, wine-skins, and they are nothing better than inanimate things.

Among the three hundred naked creatures, 41 man takes the first place, for of all the productions issued from the nature of Heaven and Earth he is the noblest, a superiority which he owes to his knowledge. Now those addle-headed, obese fellows do not care for knowledge. How do their desires differ from those of the other two-hundred and ninety-nine naked creatures, that they should lay claim to superiority and precedence?

The people of China are superior to the savages, for understanding the words benevolence and righteousness, and acquiring the sciences of ancient and modern times. If they merely use their brains for procuring themselves food and raiment, living on months and years, until they are white-headed and toothless, without ever cultivating their minds, they rank lower than savages. Look at the spiders, how they knit their webs with a view to entrapping flying insects. How are the transactions of those men superior to theirs? Using their brains, they work out their selfish and deceitful schemes with the object of acquiring the amenities of wealth and long life, paying no heed to the study of the past or the present. They behave just like spiders.

Creatures with blood in their veins are not liable to die of starvation, for they all are possessed of the necessary astuteness to find food and drink. Even the unintelligent are able to support themselves. They make their living as officials, and even become high dignitaries. Governors, ministers, and those in authority are like our high officer Kao Tse;42 how can they discern them? In the course of time they distinguish themselves, for it is their fate to be called to office. Knowing neither the past nor the present time, they are still looked upon as very clever owing to their position. How should the superior officers, by their unscientific methods, be able to find out men of intellect and treat them with due consideration, irrespective of rank and precedence? Ministers and high dignitaries are unqualified for this.

If there be men like Ts`ai Po Chieh, governor of Yu Fu-fêng,43 the prefect of Yü-lin,44Chang Mêng Ch`ang, or the prefect of Tung-lai,45Li Chi Kung, they are all endowed with an enlightened mind and conversant with the past as well as the present. 46 Consequently they hold intelligent persons in the same respect as distinguished guests. What sort of a character must have been Chao of Yen,47 who plyed the broom for Tsou Yen's sake! Tung Chung Shou, magistrate of Tung-ch`êng48 was held to be the chief of the scholars in knowledge, and everywhere reputed for his intelligence. Receiving somebody, he could discover his exceptional rank. 49 Thus he knew quite well that Mr. Ch an of Chung-li,50 a simple, registered citizen was to be solemnly invested with the jade bâton and the jade disk. For the knowing, every stone has its splendour, whereas the unknowing do not even remark the brilliancy of gold and gems.

From Wu Ti down to our dynasty, at various times very clever men have been promoted. If they were to be questioned at some examination, the replies of men like Tung Chung Shu, T`ang Tse Kao, Ku Tse Yün,51 and Ting Po Yü would not only be perfectly correct, but their compositions would also be most brilliant, as the result of their extensive reading and diligent study. In case these four could only use their pen, commenting on the Classics, and that they had not perused old as well as modern books, they would not be able to establish their fame in the palace of the holy emperor.

When Hsiao Ming Ti52 was reading the biography of Su Wu, he hit upon the name of a military officer called:---yi chung chien (master of the horse 53 ). He asked all his officers about the meaning, but none of them knew it. The words in the institutions of T`sang Hsieh and in the books of elementary learning are universally known, but when nobody is able to reply to the questions of His Imperial Holiness, it becomes evident that the majority of the officials were nothing but bureaucrats 54 owing their position to good luck only. What was signified by the character to combined with mu,55 they could not tell. It would have been rather hard for them to explain the word "chung-ch`ang," as Tung Chung Shu did, or to know the word "erh-fu" like Liu Tse Chêng.56

It might be urged that intelligent men are appointed chancellors of the imperial library, whose business it is to revise books, and fix the texts like the grand historiographer or the grand supplicant, whose office is likewise purely literary. They are not employed to govern the people, or on other business. Therefore such officers of the library, men like Pan Ku, Chia K`uei,57Yang Chung,58 and Fu Yi,59 enjoy a great popularity, and their writings are much admired. Though they remain at their posts, and are not entrusted with other offices, they still render great services to the world.

I beg to reply that this is not proceeding on the lines of the Chou period, when sharp-witted men like Tsou Yen and Sun Ch`ing60 stood in high favour with their sovereigns, and all the honours and distinctions of the age were bestowed upon them. Although Tung Chung Shu did not hold a premier's post, he was well known to rank higher than all the ministers. The Chou looked up to the two preceding dynasties, and the Han followed in the wake of the Chou and Ch`in. From the officers of the library the government sees whether it prospers or not. The heart is like a ball or an egg, but it constitutes the most precious part in the body; the pupil of the eye resembles a pea, but it illumines the whole body. Thus the chancellors may be petty officials, yet they secretly direct the principles governing the whole State. Learned men make this career, as the academicians are recruited from the scholars.

"They remain at their posts, and are not entrusted with other offices," does that mean that His Imperial Holiness has no confidence in them? Perhaps they had not yet completed their works or discharged their duties.

Notes

1. Even to-day the Chinese do not use their silks and curios for decorating their poorly furnished rooms, but keep their treasures in trunks and boxes, whence they are seldom removed, to be shown to some good friend.

2. .

3. Cf. p. 94.

4. The Han took over the bulk of the administration of the Ch`in dynasty, for which purpose Hsiao Ho collected their official papers.

5. .

6. yung. Kanghi quotes this passage and suggests that this character may be a variant of "carbuncles" or extuberances viz. in the nose.

7. In China of course.

8. Ed. A. and C.: , Ed. B.: . According to the T`ai-p`ing yü-lan chap. 165 Hsi-chou would be identical with Kao-ch`ang or Karakhodjo in Turkestan. Rock-salt is mentioned as a produce of this country, brought as tribute to China under the Liang dynasty (T`ai-p`ing-yü-lan chap. 865, p. 6r.). But perhaps Wang Ch`ung refers to a Hsi-chou in Ssechuan (Playfair No. 2619, 4°), which province was famous for its salt-wells already in the Han time. See T`ai-p`ing-yü-lan chap. 189, p. 1v., where a passage from the Han-shu is quoted.

9. .

10. See p. 75, Note 3.

11. Analects IX, 10.

12. The Styx of the Chinese.

13. b.c. 140-87.

14. This fact is mentioned in the Tso-chuan, Duke Hsiang 27th and 28th year (Legge, Classics Vol. V, Part II, pp. 532 and 542).

15. King Ling of Ch`u executed Ch`ing Fêng, who had fled to Wu in b.c. 537. See Ch`un-ch`iu, Duke Chao, 4th year. According to the Tso-chuan King Ling reproached Ch`ing Fêng with having murdered his ruler. So his ignorance was not the direct cause of his death.

16. This rule is set forth in the Liki, Chiao-t`ê-shêng (Legge, Sacred Books Vol. XXVII, p. 425).

17. Ed. A. and C.: , B.: which is better.

18. . In Ed. B.: should be replaced by . The meaning is somewhat obscure. I take it to be that it is not sufficient to sugar common wine to have the taste of sweet wine, which is a special quality. Sugar symbolises the learning of one school, sweet wine, that of all combined.

19. .

20. .

21. .

22. , literally "no road."

23. It is impossible to bring out the full meaning of this paragraph in English. In Chinese the principal words pointed out in Notes 1-3 have all a double meaning:--- to communicate, to connect, a road on one side and on the other:---intelligent, clever, principle. The general purport is that intelligence, and good principles cannot be dispensed with just as good roads and communications are necessary.

24. Analects XIX, 23 (Legge, Classics Vol. I, p. 347).

25. Even the natives of the colonies had assumed Chinese dress and Chinese civilisation.

26. These must have been paintings in fresco, perhaps of a similar kind as those recently unearthed in Turkestan.

27. A virgin living in the "southern forest," skilled in swordplay and recommended to the king of Yüeh by Fan Li (5th cent. b.c.). She became the instructor of the king's best soldiers. I cannot explain why a place in Shantung is coupled with her name here. Was she invited there too?

28. A place in Shantung.

29. . This book has most likely not the age ascribed to it by Chinese critics and is not older than the 4th cent. b.c.

30. .

31. .

32. Capital of the Chin State. Cf. Vol. I, p. 308, Note 7.

33. Historian of the Chin State, 6th cent. b.c.

34. styled Tse Mu a disciple of Confucius.

35. . This phrase shows that the peculiar use of the auxiliary verb , generally believed to be a characteristic feature of the vernacular, had commenced already in the Han time. may also mean the Shuking here.

36. Quoted from Analects XVII, 22.

37. The of Ed. A. must be corrected into .

38. A magician on whom see Vol. I, p. 346.

39. generally known as Li Shao Chün, his style being Yün Yi. Cf. Vol. I, p. 343 seq.

40. The Chinese regard divination as a science for which the Yiking is the standard work.

41. In Vol. I, p. 528 Wang Ch`ung speaks of three hundred and sixty naked creatures.

42. . This might be an allusion to Analects V, 18:--- "They are like our high officer Ch`ui" i.e., as bad. is either a misprint or another reading of the Analects.

43. The modern Fêng-hsiang-fu in Shênsi.

44. In the province of Kuangsi.

45. In Lai-chou-fu, Shantung.

46. The three persons named seem to be contemporaries of Wang Ch`ung.

47. Prince Chao of Yen, who employed Tsou Yen and treated him with great consideration.

48. . I suppose that should be written, a district in Fêngyang-fu, Anhui, during the Han time.

49. . Cf. Couvreur's Dict.

50. A district likewise in Fêng-yang-fu, Anhui.

51. Cf. p. 86, Note 2.

52. The Han emperor, 58-76 a.d.

53. . Ed. A. and C. write instead of . The expression occurs in the biography of Su Wu in the Ch`ien Han-shu (Couvreur).

54. .

55. = .

56. See above p. 103.

57. Chia K`uei, eminent scholar, a.d.30-101, who together with the historian Pan Ku was appointed historigrapher:

58. Cf. Vol. I, p. 469.

59. A scholar who left a collection of poetry in 28 chapters. With Pan Ku and Chia K`uei he was attached to the Imperial Library and entrusted with editorial work.

60. The philosopher, ef. Vol. I, p. 387, Note 4.

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