University of Virginia Library

4. Table of Contents of the Lun-hêng.

Book I.

1. Chap. I. Fêng-yü [OMITTED].

This chapter treats of the relation between officers and their
sovereign. To be appreciated and successful an official must find
the right prince, who understands him and puts him in the right
place. One must not make the successful responsible for their
success, or the unsuccessful for their failure, because not their talents,
but time and circumstances are decisive.

2. Chap. II. Lei-hai [OMITTED].

The difficulties and annoyances which people have to endure
come from abroad, and are not the result of their own works. Therefore
they must not be blamed. Fear and good conduct have no
influence on fortune or misfortune. "Fortune is what we obtain
without any effort of our own, and misfortune what happens to
us without our co-operation." The chief annoyances of officials at
the court and in the provinces are slanderous reports of envious
persons. Three kinds of calumnies are distinguished. The wise
do not feel troubled about this, and lead the life which most
suits them.

*3. Chap. III. Ming-lu [OMITTED] (On Destiny and Fortune).

Destiny predetermines the length of man's life, and whether
he shall be rich and honourable, or poor and mean. There is no
correspondence between human virtue and fate. The wicked and
the unintelligent are very often happy, whereas men endowed with
the highest faculties and the noblest character perish in misery,
as is shown by various examples from history. The knowing,
therefore, do not hunt after happiness, but leave everything to
Heaven, suffering with equanimity what cannot be avoided, and
placidly awaiting their turn. The opinions of several philosophers
holding similar views are given.

*4. Chap. IV. Ch`i-shou [OMITTED] (Long Life and Vital Fluid).

There are two kinds of fate, the one determining the events
of life, the other its length. The length of life depends on the

quantity of the vital fluid received at birth. Accordingly the body
waxes strong or weak, and a strong body lives longer than a
feeble one. The normal length of human life should be a hundred
years. The Classics attest that the wise emperors of the Golden
Age:—Yao, Shun, Wén Wang, Wu Wang, and others all lived over
hundred years.

Book II.

*5. Chap. I. Hsing-ou [OMITTED] (On Chance and Luck).

Happiness and misfortune are not the outcome of man's good
or bad actions, but chance and luck. Some have good luck, others
bad. Good and bad fortune are not distributed in a just way,
according to worth, but are mere chance. This is true of man
as well as of other beings. Even Sages are often visited with
misfortune.

*6. Chap. II. Ming-yi [OMITTED] (What is meant by Destiny?).

The school of Mé Ti denies the existence of Destiny. Wang
Ch`ung follows the authority of Confucius. There are various kinds
of destinies. The length of human life is regulated by the fluid
of Heaven, their wealth and honour by the effluence of the stars,
with which men are imbued at their birth. Wang Ch`ung rejects
the distinction of natural, concomitant, and adverse fate, but admits
contingencies, chances, and incidents, which may either agree with
the original fate and luck, or not. The fate of a State is always
stronger than that of individuals.

*7. Chap. III. Wu-hsing [OMITTED] (Unfounded Assertions).

At birth man receives the vital fluid from Heaven. This
fluid determines the length of his life. There are no means to
prolong its duration, as the Taoists pretend. Some examples from
history are shown to be untrustworthy. At death everything ends.
The vital force disperses, and the body is dissolved.

*8. Chap. IV. Shuai-hsing [OMITTED] (The Forming of Characters).

There are naturally good, and there are naturally bad characters,
but this difference between the qualities of low and superior
men is not fundamental. The original fluid permeating all is the
same. It contains the germs of the Five Virtues. Those who are

endowed with copious fluids, become vrituous, those whose fluid
is deficient, wicked. But by external influences, human nature can
turn from good into bad, and the reverse. Bad people can be improved,
and become good by instruction and good example. Therefore
the State cannot dispense with instructions and laws.

*9. Chap. V. Chi-yen [OMITTED] (Auspicious Portents).

Auspicious portents appear, when somebody is destined to
something grand by fate, especially, when a new dynasty rises.
These manifestations of fate appear either in the person's body,
or as lucky signs in nature, or under the form of a halo or a
glare. A great variety of instances from ancient times down to
the Han dynasty are adduced in proof.

Book III.

10. Chap. I. Ou-hui [OMITTED].

Fate acts spontaneously. There are no other alien forces at
work besides fate. Nobody is able to do anything against it.
Human activity is of no consequence.

*11. Chap. II. Ku-hsiang [OMITTED] (On Anthroposcopy).

The heavenly fate becomes visible in the body, and can be
foreseen by anthroposcopy. The Classics contain examples. The
physiognomists draw their conclusions from the osseous structure
and from the lines of the skin. The character can also be seen
from the features.

*12. Chap. III. Ch`u-ping [OMITTED] (Heaven's Original Gift).

Destiny comes down upon man already in his embryonic state,
not later on during his life. It becomes mind internally and body
externally. This law governs all organisms. Heaven never invests
virtuous emperors, because it is pleased with them, for this would
be in opposition to its principle of spontaneity and inaction. Utterances
of the Classics that Heaven was pleased and looked round,
etc. are to be taken in a figurative sense. Heaven has no human
body and no human qualities. Lucky omens are not sent by Heaven,
but appear by chance.

*13. Chap. IV. Pén-hsing [OMITTED] (On Original Nature).

The different theories of Chinese moralists on human nature
are discussed. Shih Tse holds that human nature is partly good,
partly bad, Mencius that it is originally good, but can be corrupted,
Sun Tse that it is originally bad, Kao Tse that it is neither good
nor bad, and that it all depends on instruction and development,
Lu Chia that it is predisposed for virtue. Tung Chung Shu and
Liu Hsiang distinguish between natural disposition and natural feelings.
Wang Ch`ung holds that nature is sometimes good and sometimes
bad, but essentially alike, being the fluid of Heaven, and
adopts the Confucian distinction of average people, people above,
and people below the average. The latter alone can be changed
by habit.

*14. Chap. V. Wu-shih [OMITTED] (The Nature of Things).

Heaven and Earth do not create man and the other things
on earth intentionally. They all grow of themselves. Had Heaven
produced all creatures on purpose, it would have taught them
mutual love, whereas now one destroys the other. Some have explained
this struggle for existence by the hypothesis that all creatures
are filled with the fluid of the Five Elements, which fight together
and overcome one another. Wang Ch`ung controverts this view and
the symbolism connected therewith.

*15. Chap. VI. Chi-kuai [OMITTED] (Miracles).

Wang Ch`ung proves by analogies that the supernatural births
reported of several old legendary rulers, who are said to have been
procreated by dragons or a special fluid of Heaven, are impossible.
The Spirit of Heaven would not consort with a woman, for only
beings of the same species pair. Saints and Sages are born like
other people from their parents.

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.

Book V.

18. Chap. I. Yi-hsü [OMITTED].

The impossibility of some miracles and supernatural events
is demonstrated, which have been handed down in ancient works,
and are universally believed by the people and the literati, e. g. the
birth of Pao Sse from the saliva of dragons.

19. Chap. II. Kan-hsü [OMITTED].

Wang Ch`ung contests that nature can be moved by man and
deviate from its course. Various old legends are critically tested:—
the alleged appearence of ten suns in Yao's time, the report that
the sun went back in his course, the wonders which happened
during the captivity of Tsou Yen and Tan, Prince of Yen.

The tenor of the last four chapters all treating of unfounded
assertions or figments "hsü" is very similar.

Book VI.

*20. Chap. I. Fu-hsü [OMITTED] (Wrong Notions about Happiness).

Happiness is not given by Heaven as a reward for good actions,
as the general belief is. The Mêhist theory that the spirits protect
and help the virtuous is controverted by facts. Wang Ch`ung
shows how several cases, adduced as instances of how Heaven recompensed
the virtuous are illusive, and that fate is capricious
and unjust.

*21. Chap. II. Huo-hsü [OMITTED] (Wrong Notions on Unhappiness).

The common belief that Heaven and Earth and the spirits
punish the wicked and visit them with misfortune, is erroneous,
as shown by examples of virtuous men, who were unlucky, and
of wicked, who flourished. All this is the result of chance and
luck, fate and time.

*22. Chap. III. Lung-hsü [OMITTED] (On Dragons).

The dragon is not a spirit, but has a body and lives in pools.
It is not fetched by Heaven during a thunderstorm, as people believe.
The different views about its shape are given:—It is represented
as a snake with a horse's head, as a flying creature, as a reptile
that can be mounted, and like earthworms and ants. In ancient
times dragons were reared and eaten. The dragon rides on the
clouds during the tempest, there being a certain sympathy between
the dragon and clouds. It can expand and contract its body, and
make itself invisible.

*23. Chap. IV. Lei-hsü [OMITTED] (On Thunder and Lightning).

Thunder is not the expression of Heaven's anger. As a spirit
it could not give a sound, nor could it kill a man with its
breath. It does not laugh either. Very often the innocent are
struck by lightning, and monsters like the Empress Lü Hou are
spared. The pictorial representations of thunder as united drums,
or as the thunderer Lei Kung, are misleading. Thunder is fire or
hot air, the solar fluid Yang exploding in its conflict with the Yin
fluid, lightning being the shooting forth of the air. Five arguments
are given, why thunder must be fire.

Book VII.

*24. Chap. I. Tao-hsü [OMITTED] (Taoist Untruths).

Man dies and can become immortal. The Taoist stories of
Huang Ti and Huai Nan Tse's ascension to heaven, of the flying
genius met by Lu Ao, and of Hsiang Man Tse's travel to the moon
are inventions. The magicians do not possess the powers ascribed
to them. The Taoist theory of prolonging life by quietism and
dispassionateness, by regulating one's breath, and using medicines
is untenable.

*25. Chap. II. Yü-tsêng [OMITTED] (Exaggerations).

Wang Ch`ung points out a number of historical exaggerations
e. g. that the embonpoint of Chieh and Chou was over a foot, that
Chou had a wine-lake, from which 3,000 persons sucked like cattle,
that Wên Wang could drink 3,000 bumpers of wine, and Confucius
100 gallons, and some mis-statements concerning the simplicity of
Yao and Shun, and the cruelty of Shih Huang Ti, and tries to reduce
them to the proper limits.

Book VIII.

*26. Chap. I. Ju-tsêng [OMITTED] (Exaggerations of the Literati).

Wang Ch`ung goes on to criticise some old traditions:—on the
abolition of punishments under Yao and Shun, on the wonderful
shooting of Yang Yu Chi and Hsiung Ch`ü Tse, on the skill of Lu Pan,
on Ching K`o's attempt upon Shih Huang Ti's life, on the miracles
connected with the Nine Tripods of the Chou dynasty, etc.

27. Chap. II. Yi-tsêng [OMITTED].

People are fond of the marvellous and of exaggerations, in
witness whereof passages are quoted from the Shuking, the Shiking,
the Yiking, the Lun-yü, and the Ch`un-ch`iu.

Book IX.

*28. Chap. I. Wên K`ung [OMITTED] (Criticisms on Confucius).

The Confucianists do not dare to criticise the Sages, although
the words of the Sages are not always true and often contradictory.
It is also, because they do not understand the difficult
passages, and only repeat what the commentators have said. Wang
Ch`ung vindicates the right to criticise even Confucius. Such criticisms
are neither immoral nor irrational. They help to bring out
the meaning, and lead to greater clearness. Wang Ch`ung then takes
up a number of passages from the Analects for discussion, in which
he discovers contradictions or other flaws, but does not criticise
the system of Confucius or his theories in general.

Book X.

*29. Chap. I. Fei Han [OMITTED] (Strictures on Han Fei Tse).

Han Fei Tse solely relies on rewards and punishments to govern
a State. In his system there is no room for the cultivation of
virtue. He despises the literati as useless, and thinks the world
to be so depraved and mean, that nothing but penal law can keep
it in check. Wang Ch`ung shows by some examples taken from Han
Fei Tse's work that this theory is wrong. Men of letters are as
useful to the State as agriculturists, warriors, and officials, for they
cultivate virtue, preserve the true principles, and benefit the State
by the good example they set to the other classes.

*30. Chap. II. T`se Mêng [OMITTED] (Censures on Mencius).

Wang Ch`ung singles out such utterances of Mencius, in which
according to his view his reasoning is defective, or which are conflicting
with other dicta of the philosopher.

Book XI.

*31. Chap. I. T`an-t`ien [OMITTED] (On Heaven).

The old legend of the collapse of Heaven, which was repaired
by Nü Wa, when Kung Kung had knocked with his head against
the "Pillar of Heaven," is controverted, as is Tsou Yen's theory
of the existence of Nine Continents. Heaven is not merely air,
but has a body, and the earth is a square measuring 100,000 Li
in either direction.

*32. Chap. II. Shuo-jih [OMITTED] (On the Sun).

A variety of astronomical questions are touched. Wang Ch`ung
opposes the view that the sun disappeares in darkness during the
night, that the length or shortness of the days is caused by the
Yin and the Yang, that the sun rises from Fu-sang and sets in
Hsi-liu, that at Yao's time ten suns appeared, that there is a raven
in the sun, and a hare and a toad in the moon. Heaven is not
high in the south and depressed in the north, nor like a reclining
umbrella, nor does it enter into or revolve in the earth. Heaven
is level like earth, and the world lying in the south-east. The sun
at noon is nearer than in the morning or in the evening. Wang
Ch`ung further speaks on the rotation of the sky, the sun, and the
moon, on the substance of the sun and the moon, on their shape,
the cause of the eclipses, meteors, and meteorological phenomena.

33. Chap. III. Ta-ning [OMITTED].

On the cunning and artful.

Book XII.

34. Chap. I. Ch`êng-t`sai [OMITTED].

The difference between scholars and officials is pointed out.
Wang Ch`ung stands up for the former, and places them higher than
the officials, because they are of greater importance to the State.
The people however think more of the officials.

35. Chap. II. Liang-chih [OMITTED].

The same subject as treated in the preceding chapter.

36. Chap. III. Hsieh-tuan [OMITTED].

Men of letters as well as officials have their shortcomings.
The former are interested in antiquity only, and neglect the present,
the Ch`in and Han time. They only know the Classics, but even
many questions concerning the age and the origin of the Classics
they cannot answer. The officials know their business, but often
cannot say, why they do a thing, since they do not possess the
necessary historical knowledge.

Book XIII.

37. Chap. I. Hsiao-li [OMITTED].

The chapter treats of the faculties of the scholars and the
officials, and of their energy and perseverance displayed in different
departments.

38. Chap. II. Pieh-t`ung [OMITTED].

There is the same difference between the learned and the
uncultivated as between the rich and the poor. Learning is a
power and more important than wealth.

39. Chap. III. Ch`ao-chi [OMITTED].

There are various degrees of learning. Some remarks are
made on the works of several scholars, e.g. the philosopher Yang
Tse Yün and the two historians Pan.

Book XIV.

40. Chap. I. Chuang-liu [OMITTED].

Scholars do not strive for office. As for practical success
they are outrivalled by the officials, who are men of business.

*41. Chap. II. Han-wên [OMITTED] (On Heat and Cold).

Wang Ch`ung contests the assertion of the phenomenalists that
there is a correspondence between heat and cold and the joy and
anger of the sovereign. He points out that the South is the seat
of heat, and the North of cold. Moreover the temperature depends
on the four seasons and the 24 time-periods.

*42 Chap. III. Ch`ien-kao [OMITTED] (On Reprimands).

The savants hold that Heaven reprimands a sovereign whose
administration is bad, visiting him with calamities. First the causes
extraordinary events. If the sovereign does not change then, he
sends down misfortunes upon his people, and at last he punishes
his own person. Heaven is represented like a prince governing
his people. These heavenly punishments would be at variance
with Heaven's virtue, which consists in spontaneity and inaction.
Heaven does not act itself, it acts through man, and speaks
through the mouths of the Sages, in whose hearts is ingrafted its
virtue. The utterances of the Classics ascribing human qualities
to Heaven are only intended to give more weight to those teachings,
and to frighten the wicked and the unintelligent.

Book XV.

*43. Chap. I. Pien-tung [OMITTED] (Phenomenal Changes).

Heaven influences things, but is not affected by them. All
creatures being filled with the heavenly fluid, Heaven is the master,
and not the servant. The Yang and the Yin move things, but are
not moved. The deeds and the prayers of a tiny creature like
man cannot impress the mighty fluid of Heaven, and the sobs of
thousands of people cannot touch it. Heaven is too far, and its
fluid shapeless without beginning or end. It never sets the laws
of nature aside for man's sake.

44. Chap. II. Chao-chih [OMITTED].

(This chapter has been lost.)

45. Chap. III. Ming-yü [OMITTED].

The rain sacrifice, which during the Ch`un-ch`iu period was
performed at times of drought, forms the subject of this essay.
People use to pray for rain and happiness, as they implore the
spirits to avert sickness and other evils. Some believe that rain
is caused by the stars, others that it depends on the government
of a State, others again that it comes from the mountains. The
last opinion is shared by Wang Ch`ung.

46. Chap. IV. Shun-ku [OMITTED].

The chapter treats of the religious ceremonies performed to
avert inundations, in which the beating of drums is very important.

Book XVI.

47. Chap. I. Luan-lung [OMITTED].

As a means to attract the rain by the sympathetic action of
similar fluids Tung Chung Shu had put up a clay dragon. Wang
Ch`ung attempts to demonstrate the efficacy of this procedure by
15 arguments and 4 analogies.

48. Chap. II Tsao-hu [OMITTED].

Wang Ch`ung controverts the popular belief that, when men
are devoured by tigers, it is the wickedness of secretaries and minor
officials which causes these disasters.

49. Chap. III. Shang-ch`ung [OMITTED].

The common belief that the eating of the grain by insects
is a consequence of the covetousness of the yamen underlings is
shown to be futile.

*50. Chap. IV. Chiang-jui [OMITTED] (Arguments on Ominous
Creatures).

Wang Ch`ung denies that the literati would be able to recognise
a phœnix or a unicorn, should they appear, nor would they
know a sage either. The phœnix and the unicorn are regarded
as holy animals and as lucky auguries. The old traditions about
their appearance at various times and their shape, which are very
conflicting, are discussed. Wang Ch`ung holds that these animals do
not only appear at the time of universal peace, that as ominous
creatures they are born of a propitious fluid, and do not belong
to a certain species, but may grow from dissimilar parents of a
common species of animals.

Book XVII.

51. Chap. I. Chih-jui [OMITTED].

The discussion on the phœnix and the unicorn is continued.
Wang Ch`ung impugns the opinion that these animals are not born
in China, but come from abroad, when there is a wise emperor.
They grow in China, even, when there is no sage.

52. Chap. II. Shih-ying [OMITTED].

This chapter treats of the various lucky omens of the Golden
Age:—the purple boletus, the wine springs, the sweet dew, the
Ching star, the monthly plant, the phœnix, the unicorn, and of
some other fabulous animals.

53. Chap. III. Chih-ch`i [OMITTED].

The praise of antiquity, its high virtue and happiness is unfounded.
There is nothing but fate. Human activity is powerless.

Book XVIII.

*54. Chap. I. Tse-jan [OMITTED] (Spontaneity).

Heaven emits its generating fluid spontaneously, not on purpose.
It has no desires, no knowledge, and does not act. These
qualities require organs:—a mouth, eyes, hands, etc., which it
does not possess. Its body must be either like that of Earth, or
air. Heaven's fluid is placid, desireless, and unbusied. This spontaneity
is a Taoist theory, but they did not sufficiently substantiate
it. Only Sages resembling Heaven can be quite spontaneous and
inactive, others must act, and can be instructed. Originally men
lived in a happy state of ignorance. Customs, laws, in short
culture is already a decline of virtue.

55. Chap. II. Kan-lei [OMITTED].

Natural calamities and unlucky events are not the upshot of
human guilt, as a thunderstorm is not a manifestation of Heaven's
anger.

*56. Chap. III. Ch`i-shih [OMITTED] (The Equality of the Ages).

People of old were not better, nor stronger, taller or longer
lived than at present. Heaven and Earth have remained the same,
and their creatures likewise. There is a periodical alternation of
prosperity and decline in all the ages. The present time is not
inferior to antiquity, but the literati extol the past and disparage
the present. Even sages like Confucius would not find favour with
them, if they happened to live now. And yet the Han dynasty is
quite equal to the famous old dynasties.

Book XIX.

57. Chap. I. Hsüan Han [OMITTED].

The scholars hold that in olden days there has been a Golden
Age, which is passed and does not come back owing to the badness
of the times. Wang Ch`ung stands up for his own time, the
Han epoch. He enumerates the lucky portents observed under the
Han emperors, and refers to the great achievements of the Han
dynasty in the way of colonising and civilising savage countries.

58. Chap. II. Hui-kuo [OMITTED].

Wang Ch`ung gives to the Han dynasty the preference over
all the others, and again discourses on the lucky auguries marking
its reign.

59. Chap. III. Yen-fu [OMITTED].

The discovery of gold under the Han dynasty, and of purple
boletus, the sweet-dew-fall in several districts, and the arrival of
dragons and phœnixes are put forward as so many proofs of the
excellence of the Han dynasty.

Book XX.

60. Chap. I. Hsü-sung [OMITTED].

This chapter is a variation of the two preceding.

61. Chap. II. Yi-wên [OMITTED].

The subject of this treatise is purely literary. It discusses
the discovery of the Classics in the house of Confucius, the Burning
of the Books under Ch`in Shih Huang Ti, and the literature of the
Han epoch, of which several authors are mentioned.

*62. Chap. III. Lun-sse [OMITTED] (On Death).

Man is a creature. Since other creatures do not become
ghosts after death, man cannot become a ghost either. If all the
millions that have lived, became spirits, there would not be sufficient
room for all the spirits in the world. The dead never give
any sign of there existence, therefore they cannot exist any more.
The vital fluid forming the soul disperses at death, how could it

become a ghost. A spirit is diffuse and formless. Before its birth
the -soul forms part of the primogenial fluid, which is unconscious.
When at death it reverts thereto, it becomes unconscious again.
The soul requires the body to become conscious and to act. If
sleep causes unconsciousness, and if a disease disorganises the mind,
death must do the same in a still higher degree.

Book XXI.

*63. Chap. I. Sse-wei [OMITTED] (False Reports about the Dead).

A number of ghost stories are quoted from the Tso-chuan and
other ancient works, where discontented spirits are reported to have
taken their revenge upon, and killed their enemies. Wang Ch`ung
either rejects these stories as inventions, or tries to explain them
in a natural way.

Book XXII.

*64. Chap. I. Chi-yao [OMITTED] (Spook Stories).

Several spook and ghost stories recorded in the Shi-chi and
the Tso-chuan are analysed. Wang- Ch`ung explains them in accordance
with his theory on the spontaneity of Heaven, and on the
nature of apparitions and portents.

*65. Chap. II. Ting-kuei [OMITTED] (All about Ghosts).

Wang Ch`ung sets forth the different opinions on the nature
of ghosts, propounded at his time. Some hold that ghosts are
visions of sick people, or the fluid of sickness. Others regard them
as the stellar fluid, or as the essence of old creatures, or as the
spirits of cyclical signs. After an excursion on the demous, devils,
and goblins mentioned in ancient books, Wang Ch`ung gives his own
views, according to which ghosts are apparitions and phantoms
foreboding evil, which have assumed human form, but are only
semblances and disembodied. They consist of the solar fluid, the
Yang, are therefore red, burning, and to a certain extent poisonous.

Book XXIII.

*66. Chap. I. Yen-tu [OMITTED] (On Poison).

Animal and vegetable poison is the hot air of the sun. All
beings filled with the solar fluid contain some poison. Snakes,
scorpions, and some plants have plenty of it. Ghosts, which consist

of the pure solar fluid, are burning poison, which eventually kills.
There is poison in some diseases, in a sun-stroke for instance and in
lumbago. Wang Ch`ung discovers real poison in speech, in beauty, and
in several tastes, which only metaphorically might be called poisonous,
and mixes up the subject still more by improper symbolism.

67. Chap. II. Po-tsang [OMITTED].

This chapter is directed against the extravagance in funerals,
on the score that the dead have no benefit from it.

68. Chap. III. Sse-wei [OMITTED].

There is a popular belief that four things are dangerous
and bring misfortune viz. to enlarge a house at the west side, to
allow a banished man to ascend a tumulus, the intercourse with
women, during the first month after they have given birth to a
child, and the rearing of children born in the 1st and the 5th months,
who will cause the deaths of their parents. Wang Ch`ung combats
these superstitions.

69. Chap. IV. Lan-shih [OMITTED].

Wang Ch`ung discourses on the common belief that in building
one must pay attention to an unpropitious time, which may be
warded off by amulets. He further speaks of the spirits of the
year, the months, etc.

Book XXIV.

70. Chap. I. Chi-jih [OMITTED].

Some more superstitions concerning unlucky years, months,
and days, which must be shunned to avoid misfortunes, are investigated.
For many actions the election of a proper time is
deemed to be of great importance, e. g. for a funeral, or for commencing
a building. Bathing on certain days, women become beautiful;
bathing on others makes their hair turn white. On the day
of T`sang Hsieh's death, who invented writing, one must not study
calligraphy, and on the day of the downfall of the Yin and Hsia
dynasties one does not make music.

*71. Chap. II. Pu-shih [OMITTED] (On Divination).

People often neglect virtue and only rely on divination.
They imagine that by means of tortoise shells and milfoil they

can interrogate Heaven and Earth about the future, and that they
reply by the signs of the shells and the straws. Wang Ch`ung
shows that such an opinion is erroneous, but, whereas Han Fei Tse
condemns divination altogether, he upholds this science. In his
idea visions, signs, and omens are true by all means, only they
are very often misunderstood or misinterpreted by the diviners.
The lucky will meet with good omens, which, however, are not the
response of Heaven, but happen by chance.

*72. Chap. III. Pien-sui [OMITTED] (Criticisms on Noxious Influences).

Most people are under the delusion that by disregarding an
unpropitious time viz. years, months, and days of dread, they will
have to suffer from noxious influences, falling in with evil spirits,
which work disaster. This is an error, as shown by experience,
but horoscopists and seers are silent on all cases contradicting their
theory. A vast literature has sprung up on this subject, and the
princes dare not take any important step in life, any more than
their people, without reference to it.

73. Chap. IV. Nan-sui [OMITTED].

Wang Ch`ung impugns the view that by moving one's residence
one may come into collision with the Spirit of the North Point,
Nan Sui, which would be disastrous.

Book XXV.

74. Chap. I. Ch`i-shu [OMITTED].

The chapter treats of the precautions which used to be taken
in building houses, special attention being paid to the family name,
the number of the house, the situation, etc.

*75. Chap. II. Chieh-ch`u [OMITTED] (On Exorcism).

By exorcism malignant spirits are expelled after having been
feasted. Exorcism and conjurations are of no use, for either would
the ghosts not yield to the force employed against them, and resent
the affront, or, if they are like mist and clouds, their expulsion
would be useless. In ancient times, sickness was expelled in this
way. The propitiation of the Spirit of Earth, after having dug up
the ground, is also useless, for Earth does not hear man nor
understand his speech. All depends upon man, not on ghosts.

*76. Chap. III. Sse-yi [OMITTED] (Sacrifices to the Departed).

Sacrifices are merely manifestations of the feelings of love
and gratitude, which the living cherish towards ghosts and spirits.
The latter cannot enjoy the sacrifices, which are presented to them,
because having no body, they are devoid of knowledge and cannot
eat or drink. If Heaven and Earth could eat or drink, they
would require such enormous quantities of food, that man could
never appease their hunger. Wang Ch`ung treats of the nature of
ghosts, and refers to the sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, to the
House, to the Gods of Wind, Rain, and Thunder, to the Sun, the
Moon, and the Stars, and to the Ancestors.

*77. Chap. IV. Chi-yi [OMITTED] (Sacrifices).

The various old sacrifices are described, those to Heaven and
Earth, to the Mountains and Rivers, to the Spirits of the Land
and Grain, to the Six Superior Powers, to the Seasons, Heat and
Cold, Water and Drought, the Rain Sacrifice, those to the Four
Cardinal Points, to the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars, the Five
Genii of the House, and to the Ancestors. All these sacrifices
saving the last were State sacrifices and reserved for the emperor,
the feudal princes, and their officials. They are thank-offerings for
kindness received. There are no spirits present to enjoy them, nor
can they bestow happiness on the sacrificers, or visit with misfortune
those who neglect them. Therefore sacrifices are a beautiful
custom, but of no great consequence.

Book XXVI.

78. Chap. I. Shih-chih [OMITTED].

Saints and Sages are credited with an extraordinary knowledge.
They need not learn or study, for they are cognisant of
everything intuitively, and know the past as well as the future.
This is a fallacy. There are no supernatural faculties, and even
those of the Sages follow the natural laws.

79. Chap. II. Chih-shih [OMITTED]

Confucius was not prescient and not a prophet, as has been
asserted. 16 examples are given, all showing his inability to foreknow
the future.

Book XXVII.

80. Chap. I. Ting-hsien [OMITTED].

The nature of the Worthies is defined. Examples are adduced
of what they are not. No exceptional talents are required,
but a certain amount of intelligence and honesty. Worthies belong
to the same class as Saints or Sages, but are somewhat inferior.

Book XXVIII.

*81. Chap. I. Chêng-shuo [OMITTED] (Statements Corrected).

This chapter contains critical remarks on the composition
and the history of the Shuking, the Shiking, the Ch`un-ch`iu, the
Yiking, the Liki, and the Analects. The meaning of the dynastic
names of T`ang, Yü, the Hsia, Yin, and Chou dynasties is explained,
and some hints as to how the Canons are to be interpreted are
added.

82. Chap. II. Shu-chieh [OMITTED].

The chapter deals with learning and erudition, with literary
composition, and with the various kinds of men of letters.

Book XXIX.

*83. Chap. I. An-shu [OMITTED] (Critical Remarks on Various
Books).

Wang Ch`ung criticises the famous authors of his time and
their works, beginning with some writers of the Chou epoch. He
finds fault with Mê Ti, the sophist Kung Sun Lung, and the speculative
philosopher Tsou Yen, and commends Tso Ch`iu Ming, the
author of the Tso-chuan and the Kuo-yü. He speaks with great
respect of the historians Sse Ma Ch`ien and Pan Ku, the philosopher
Yang Tse Yün, and Liu Hsiang, and in the highest terms of Lu
Chia, who published the Ch`un-ch`iu-fan-lu, and of Huan Chün Shan
and Huan K`uan, the authors of the Hsin-lun and the Yen-t`ieh-lun.

*84. Chap. II. Tui-tso [OMITTED] (Replies in Self-Defence).

Wang Ch`ung gives the reasons, why he wrote his principal
works, the Lun-hêng and the Chêng-wu, a treatise on government.
In the Lun-hêng he wishes to explain common errors, to point out

the exaggerations and inventions in literature, and thus deliver
mankind of its prejudices. The Lun-hêng weighs the words and
holds up a balance for truth and falsehood. Wang Ch`ung shows
the advantage which might be derived from different chapters,
and meets the objections which his opponents would perhaps raise.

Book XXX.

*85. Chap. I. Tse-chi [OMITTED] (Autobiography).

Wang Ch`ung is a native of Shang-yü-hsien in Chekiang. His
family originally lived in Chihli. He was born in a.d. 27, and already
as a boy was very fond of study. In his official career he was
not very successful. The highest post which he held about a.d. 86
was that of a sub-prefect. The equanimity of a philosopher helped
him over many disappointments. His ideal was to possess an extensive
knowledge, a keen intellect, and a noble mind. Besides his
chief work the Lun-hêng, he wrote 12 chapters on common morals
in a plain and easy style, and a treatise "Macrobiotics" in a.d. 91.
He defends the style, the voluminousness, and the contents of the
Lun-hêng against the attacks directed against it.