University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER XVIII.

Praise of the Han Dynasty (Hsüan Han).

The Literati contend that the Five Emperors and the Three
Rulers brought the empire the blessings of universal peace, and
that since the accession of the Han dynasty there has not yet been
general peace. By saying that the Five Emperors and Three Rulers
brought about a time of uninterrupted tranquillity, and that the
Han have not yet enjoyed such a state, they imply that the Five
Emperors and Three Rulers were sages, for only the virtue of
sages can have such an effect, and the allegation that the Han have
not had such a peaceful time means to say that there were no
sage emperors, because the influence of worthies is not sufficient.[830]

Furthermore, they remember the words of Confucius saying:—
"The phœnix does not come; the River sends forth no Plan:—it
is all over with me!"[831] At present, we have no phœnix and no
Plan of the River, and numerous are the omens that persist in not
coming. Wherefore they say that we are not living in a period
of general peace. This view is preposterous.

Universal peace manifests itself by the establishment of government,
when the people respond, by being cheerful and at ease.
Confucius teaches that one renders the people happy by cultivating
one's own self.[832] The fact that Yao and Shun were toiling for the
welfare of their people proves that at that time there was universal
peace. For governing others the individual must be the starting
point. The people being at ease, the Yin and the Yang are in
harmony, and when they harmonize all things grow and develop;
such being the case, strange omens come forth. How about our
empire? Is it at ease or in jeopardy?

Being at ease, it is at peace, and then even the absence of
omens would not be hurtful to the peaceful state. The style of
government becomes manifest from its institutions and appears from
the real state of affairs. When these manifestations are not visible
the true conditions cannot be ascertained. Sometimes[833] all may be

in perfect order, but there are no witnesses to prove it. Therefore,
as regards the principles of government, provided that its institutions
be true and real, it is not requisite that they should all be manifest.
A wise ruler in his administration aims at universal peace, and it
is not indispensable that there should be corresponding omens.

The omens of universal peace are like the features of sage
sovereigns. Since the physiognomies of sage rulers must not of
necessity be similar, wherefore should those portents always be of
the same type? The scholars know that in the time of Yao and
Shun a phœnix as well as a "brilliant star"[834] became visible, and
there were issued the Plan of the River and the Scroll of the Lo.
Do they imagine that future monarchs, ruling the empire, must
again have this kind of thing, in order to bring about universal
peace? If they go so far, they likewise ought to require of Yao
again to possess joined teeth[835] and of Shun again to have eight
eyebrows.[836]

The holy features of emperors and rulers have not been the
same at various times, consequently there is no reason why the
portents obtained of yore and at present should be identical, and
it is erroneous to assert that we have no period of general peace,
because the present sovereigns have no phœnix and no Plan of
the River. Confucius speaking of the phœnix and the Plan merely
used former prodigies for exemplification, but does not intend to
say that every age must again have its phœnix and its Plan.

The omens of the emperors and rulers were manifold and not
only a single one, either a phœnix and a unicorn, or the Plan of
the Yellow River and the Scroll of the Lo, or sweet dew and wine
springs, or the harmonious blending of the Yin and the Yang, or
the excellent order and the tranquillity[837] of the people. The present
omens must not agree with the old ones, nor must the latter be
conformable to the former. It is not necessary that there should
be an unbroken chain of the portents met with, and this will become
evident from the following:

When emperors and rulers arose, their fate and luck were
by no means the same. The Chou encountered a crow[838] and a

fish,[839] the Han destroyed a big snake,[840] and we may be sure that
the sovereigns of T`ang and Yü were in a similar position as those
of Chou and Han. The events and circumstances of their rise and
accession to the throne were not homogeneous; why then should
the presages of universal peace be identical? To infer future auguries
from those omens which happened would be like watching
the trunk of a tree in wait for a hare[841] and hiding oneself, after
having destroyed the nets.[842]

When peace reigns throughout the empire, the omens and
presages may be very different; as when a man is wealthy his goods
are not the same. Some hoard up rice and grain, others collect
silks and others, fabrics, others breed cattle and horses, or they
acquire landed property and houses. Those partial to rice and
grain do not care for silks and fabrics, and the cattle and horse-breeders
do not appreciate land and buildings. Therefore they
will say that rice and grain are better than fabrics, or that cattle
and horses have a greater value than lots of land and houses.
Now, provided that the people live at peace and there are omens,
those who object that the old omens viz. the Plan of the River
and the phœnix did not appear, and that therefore there cannot
be peace, those who say so are like rice-eaters that, upon arriving
in a country where everybody eats millet, and no rice is to be
seen, declare millet not to be any grain.

As a matter of fact, the empire enjoys universal peace. But
unless there be sages, how could this be effected? And how can
the truth of this assertion be borne out in the absence of a phœnix?
If we ask the scholars of our age[843] they do not know a sage; then
how do they know whether there are no sages at present? How
could our contemporaries, on perceiving a phœnix, recognise it as
such? Since they do not know it, how can they be sure that
there are no phœnixes now? They really ignore whether there
are sages or not, nor are they able to distinguish a genuine phœnix

from a false one. Consequently they are unqualified to ascertain
whether the present time may boast of universal peace or not.

Confucius said, ["If there is a true emperor it would still require
a generation, and then virtue would prevail"];[844] after thirty
years, the world is at peace. From the beginning of the Han
dynasty up to Wên Ti there were upwards of twenty years.[845] Then
Chia Yi was the first to suggest that, in view of the harmony pervading
the empire, the first day of the first moon, the colour of
dresses, and several customs should be changed. The official titles
should be fixed, and rites and music receive a new impetus. When
Wên Ti ascended the throne he was ever yielding and accommodating.[846]
According to Chia Yi's proposals, in the time of Wên Ti, there was
already general peace.

These more then twenty years after the rise of the Han would
agree with the dictum of Confucius that a generation would be
required before virtue prevailed. The number of years making up
one generation being already completed, universal peace must have
been established. Chia Yi was aware of it, and fancy now nearly
three hundred years later[847] to say that there is not yet general
peace! A big mistake, indeed.

The generation alluded to by Confucius is thirty years. The
house of Han has reigned three hundred years, ten emperors[848] have
become illustrious by their virtues, and should not the time of
universal peace have already come?

The era of Wên Ti was, no doubt, perfectly peaceful already.
The following ages kept up the peace, until under P`ing Ti the
former Han dynasty was extinguished.[849] Kuang Wu Ti restored it,[850]
and again it arrived at universal peace.

The following question might be put:—Wên Ti had omens,
and his reign deserves to be termed a time of universal peace. But
Kuang Wu Ti had no such omens, how then could he be credited
with universal peace?

My answer is that omens and auguries of emperors and rulers
are dissimilar at different periods. Even though there should be no
ominous things at all, yet the peaceful gathering of the people and
the harmonious blending of wind and air would likewise be ominous.
How can we show this to be the case?

When emperors and rulers had pacified the empire they were
in the habit of ascending Mount T`ai, to offer the hill-sacrifice and
announce the peace. Ch`in Shih Huang Ti also did so, but encountered
a violent thunderstorm with rain, because his government was anything
but peaceful, and the air by no means harmoniously
mixed. When Kuang Wu Ti, however, went up the mountain to
sacrifice, the sky was bright and cloudless,[851] a phenomenon attending
universal peace. His government was peaceful and the air corresponding.
Under Kuang Wu Ti's reign the air was harmonious,
the people at peace, and ominous creatures appeared of various
kinds. But, notwithstanding these proofs afforded by the people
and the air, those critics still cherish their doubts.

In the second year of Yuan-k`ang[852] of Hsiao Hsüan Ti's time,
a phœnix alighted on Mount T`ai and subsequently, also, in Hsinp`ing.[853]
In the fourth year,[854] spiritual birds perched on the Ch`ang-lo
palace and some in the Shang-lin park, and the Chiu-chên[855] brought
a unicorn as a present. In the second year of Shên-chio,[856] a phœnix
and sweet dew descended on the capital, in the fourth year[857] a
phœnix alighted in Tu-ling[858] and in the Shang-lin park. In the
third year of Wu-fêng,[859] when the emperor was offering sacrifice in
the southern suburb, a divine splendour appeared simultaneously,
or it rose in a valley[860] and illuminated the feasting hall for at least
ten days.[861] In the following year, when the emperor was sacrificing
to the manes of Hou Tu, the glamour appeared again in the
same manner as when he went to the southern suburb. Sweet

dew and a spiritual bird descended on the Yen-shou and the Wan-sui
palaces. In the third month of the same year, a luan and a
phœnix alighted on a tree within the eastern gate of the Ch`ang-lo
palace. In the first year of Kan-lu,[862] a yellow dragon arrived and
was seen in Hsin fêng,[863] and wine springs flowed abundantly.[864]

Those phœnixes arrived five or six times, and either it was
the same bird appearing several times, or each time it was a different
bird coming independently. The unicorn, the spiritual birds, the
yellow dragon, the luan bird, the sweet dew, the wine springs,
the divine splendour and supernatural light occurring at the sacrifices
to Hou Tu and to Heaven and Earth, all these omens must
be admitted to be very numerous, nay superabundant. Though
the reign of Hsiao Ming Ti[865] could not boast of a phœnix, yet it
was distinguished by a unicorn, sweet dew, wine springs, spiritual
birds, white pheasants, purple boletus, and auspicious grain. Gold
was found, and tripods turned up. Separated trees again grew
together.

The presages of the Five Emperors and Three Rulers mentioned
in the Classics and the Records are not more numerous than those
of Hsiao Ming Ti. If universal peace be measured by presages, the
years of Hsiao Ming Ti must have been twice as peaceful as those of
the Five Emperors and Three Rulers. Accordingly, the eras of
Hsiao Hsüan Ti and Hsiao Ming Ti deserve to be called ages of
universal peace.

Those apt to bring about general peace are sages. Why do
the scholars of the present time contend that our age has no sages?
Was the fluid derived from Heaven so copious during former generations
and is it so scanty in later times?

The Chou had three sages:—Wên Wang, Wu Wang, and Chou
Kung all flourishing simultaneously. Why must the Han, being a
dynasty as well, rank below the Chou in this respect, and why
must the wise emperors of the Chou be more numerous than those
of the Han? The Han emperors Kao Tsu and Kuang Wu Ti would
correspond to Wên Wang and Wu Wang of the Chou dynasty, and
Wên Ti, Wu Ti, Hsüan Ti, Hsiao Ming Ti and the reigning emperor[866]
surpass the Chou kings Ch`êng, K`ang, and Hsüan. Not that, because
I am personally living in the Han epoch, I am prone unduly to

extol and eulogize them, trying to coax and flatter, my only aim
being to explain how matters stand, and how far the views held
by scholars are justified.

Usually people incline to praise what is distant and belaud
antiquity. In regard to omens they admire those of remote ages,
and as to government they regard the old kings as worthies.
Noticing something wonderful at the present time, they do not
believe in it. Should Yao and Shun be re-born now, I am afraid
that they would not be styled sages.

When hunters are chasing wild animals, lookers-on take a
keen interest in the hunt, but do not care for fishing, which they
have not seen. Thus those people look to Ch`i, but are indifferent
to Lu, or they ramble through Ch`u and have no regard for Sung.[867]
Of Yao and Shun, the Hsia, and the Yin dynasty there are records
on tablets of two feet four inches.[868] It is those that the Literati
pore on, studying from morning till night, whereas they do not
look at the books of the Han time, saying that the productions
of the Han are worthless and not up to those of the ancients.
Just so the spectators of the hunt do not care for fishing, and
those roaming over Ch`i and Ch`u pay no heed to Sung and Lu.
If a great literary genius should arise and put on record the
history of the Han time, his work would become a Shuking or a
Ch`un-ch`iu. The scholars would take it up and study it most
carefully, and, by adding it to the six old Classics, they would
have seven.[869]

From our most illustrious sovereign up to Kao Tsu all were
sage emperors. According to the panegyrics on the Han, presented
by Tu Fu and Pan Ku,[870] their achievements, virtues, and omens
flowed forth as a mighty stream whose waters rushing on are immeasurable.
When we pass Yao and Shun and enter the sphere
of the first emperors, the three dynasties are like remote narrow
gorges with very deep waters. The Yin era is not so very far
from the time of the Hsia dynasty. But leaving alone Yao and

Shun, the Hsia and the Yin and solely comparing the merits and
accomplishments of the Han with those of the house of Chou, being
the nearest to us, by weighing the pros and cons, we find that
the Chou come short of the Han for the following reason:

The rulers of the Chou dynasty who received Heaven's command
are Wên Wang and Wu Wang, in the Han time there are
Kao Tsu and Kuang Wu Ti, but the miracles happening at the investiture
of Wên Wang and Wu Wang are inferior to the auguries
attendant on the accession of Kao Tsu and Kuang Wu Ti, and the
omens of Hsiao Hsüan Ti and Hsiao Ming Ti are more conspicuous
than those of the Chou sovereigns Ch`êng, K`ang, and Hsüan Wang.
The portents of Hsiao Hsüan Ti and Hsiao Ming Ti may be said
to have been the finest since the days of Yao and Shun.

When our present emperor came to power he took over the
State in perfect order with everything in abundance: The Four
Seas[871] were united, the empire well settled, the omens were of the
highest order, and mankind submitted to the glorious institutions.
The black-haired people of the time of T`ang lived in harmony,
and at present, likewise, benevolence is practised throughout the
empire. When the year is not prosperous and the crop fails, yet
we do not see the principles of morality trodden down in distant
regions, or out-of-the-way places infested by bands of desperadoes.
Under the Chou dynasty the Yüeh-ch`ang presented a white pheasant,[872]
in our time the Hsiung-nu, the Shan-shan,[873] and the Ai-lao[874] bring
cattle and horses as tribute. The domain of the Chou was confined
to less than five thousand Li, the Han territory is so vast, that it
extends beyond the uncultivated dependencies.

Cattle and horses are more valuable than white pheasants,
and things near at hand not like the productions of distant countries.
The territory of the ancient Jung and the Ti now forms part of
China, the former Naked People now use court dress, the bareheaded
people put on the caps, and the bare-footed people wear the
shoes of the Shang dynasty. Barren and stony ground has been
transformed into fertile soil, and truculent bandits have become
law-abiding citizens. The roughness of the savages has been

smoothed down, and rebels have become peaceful people. If this
is not universal peace, what else is it?

As far as the transformations effected by virtue are concerned,
the Chou do not outvie the Han, in the matter of omens and
presages, however, the Han surpass the Chou dynasty. If their
respective territories be measured, that of the Chou is much more
limited than that of the Han; why then should the Han not be
equal to the Chou? They pretend that the Chou had more sages,
and that their administration brought about universal peace. The
Literati in speaking of sages go much too far, placing them so
high, that they leave no traces behind. They, likewise, make too
much of government, so that they cut off universal peace, a continuation
of which thus becomes an impossibility.