Book IV.
16. Chap. I. Shu-hsü [OMITTED].
The chapter contains a refutation of a series of wrong statements
in ancient books. The assertion that Shun and Yü died in the
South is shown to be erroneous. Wang Ch`ung explodes the idea
that the "Bore" at Hang-chou is caused by the angry spirit of
Wu Tse Hsü, who was thrown into the Ch`ien-t`ang River, and remarks
that the tide follows the phases of the moon. (Bk. IV, p. 5v.)
17. Chap. II. Pien-hsü [OMITTED].
Wang Ch`ung points out that many reports in ancient literature
concerning extraordinary phenomena, not in harmony with the laws
of nature, are fictitious and unreliable, e. g. the story that touched
by the virtue of Duke Ching of Sung, the planet Mars shifted its
place, that Heaven rewarded the Duke with 21 extra years, or that
the great Diviner of Ch`i caused an earthquake.
