University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER XXIII.

Falsehoods in Books (Shu-hsü).

The world trusts in delusive books, taking everything indited
on bamboo and silk for the records of wise and sage men and for
absolutely true. In this belief they uphold, hum, and read them.
When they see that really true records disagree with these fallacious
books, they regard those records as light literature[1100] unworthy
of faith. Recondite truth can still be found out, and profound or
abstruse meanings, be determined. By explaining the words and
elucidating the text, right and wrong are easily discovered. When
all is recorded indiscriminately, the authors do not investigate
things; they are not critical enough, and do not think of what
they say.

Those who transmit the sayings of scholars, mostly wish to
produce something wonderful and unprecedented. They will write
a book which causes ordinary readers to stand aghast and stare
in blank amazement, and compose a work unheard of, to win the
name of an uncommonly clever writer.

There is the following narrative:

When Chi Tse[1101] of Yen-ling[1102] was once travelling, he saw a
piece of gold left on the roadside. It was the fifth month of
summer, and there was a man who had put on a fur-coat and
was gathering fuel.[1103] Chi Tse shouted for the fuel-gatherer to
fetch him the gold on the ground.[1104]

The gatherer dropped his sickle, stared at him, and clapping
his hands exclaimed, "How haughty you are, and how you look
down upon others! Your outward appearance is that of a gentleman,

but you talk like a ruffian. Now, in the fifth month of
summer I have donned my fur to gather fuel. Why should I take
up gold?"[1105]

Chi Tse apologised and inquired after his name and style, but
the fuel-gatherer replied, "You are a student who of human features
knows nothing more than the skin. How could I tell you my name
and surname?", and he took no further notice of him.

The world believes in the truth of this story, but it is idle
talk, I dare say. Chi Tse was apprehensive of a revolution in Wu,
because its people would have him become their lord. He would
not consent, on any account, and proceeded to Yen-ling, never to
return. His unselfishness remained the same from first to last.

Hsü Yu[1106] yielded the empire, and he did not long for a marquisate.
Po Yi turned his back upon his country, and died of
hunger. He did not covet a crooked blade.[1107] In the matter of
disinterestedness we may draw an inference from great acts upon
small ones, but should not surmise great ones from small ones.

Chi Tse was able to resign the throne of Wu, — how should
he be covetous of gold lying on the ground? When Chi Tse went
on a mission to a powerful State, on his way he passed through
Hsü. The prince of Hsü was fond of his sword, but at that time
he did not yet give it him. On his return, the prince of Hsü was
no more. Then he unbuckled his sword, suspended it on a tree over
the grave, and went away. In his unselfishness he would not become
unfaithful to his former intention.[1108] How then should Chi Tse,
who remained faithful to a deceased person and parted with his
sword, out of greed call out to a living man to fetch the gold on
the ground?

Before Chi Tse had left Wu, he was a prince, and after he had
left it, he was the sovereign of Yen-ling. When a prince or a
sovereign goes out, he has his retinue in front and in the rear,
and carriages are following. It is plain that he cannot walk quite
alone on the highway. If he was not ashamed of taking the gold,

why did he not order his attendants to fetch it rather than to call
upon the man in the furcoat?

In regard to Liu Hsia Hui's behaviour, people say that even
left in the dark and unseen, he would still continue his purification.
The virtuous have the same conduct, and for a thousand years
maintain the same ideals. Confined to a dark place, Chi Tse would
still refrain from taking gold — how much less would he appropriate
it on the road in bright daylight, and in the presence of all his
men. That would not be like Chi Tse.

Perhaps it was thus that Chi Tse, seeing the gold lying about,
out of pity for the fuel-gatherer in the fur, desired to help him
with it, or at the time when he bade him take up the gold on the
ground, he wished to give it him, and did not want it for himself,
and then all the common traditions stated that Chi Tse wanted
the gold.

The books contain another report namely that Yen Yuan and
Confucius both ascended Mount T`ai in Lu. Confucius, looking out
to the south-east, saw that outside the palace gate of Wu a white
horse was attached. He pointed it out to Yen Yuan, asking him
whether he perceived the palace-gate of Wu.[1109] Yen Yuan having
replied in the affermative, Confucius said, "And what is outside
the gate?"

The other rejoined, "Something looking like suspended silk".

Confucius rubbed his eyes and corrected his error. Then both
descended together. Afterwards the hair of Yen Yuan turned white,
his teeth fell out, and, subsequently, he died of sickness.[1110] His spirit
was not on a par with that of Confucius. Having overstrained his
strength, all his brightness and vitality was consumed, therefore
he died early. All common people who have heard of this, believe
it, if, however, we go into the matter, we discover its futility.

In the text of the Analects there is no mention of this, neither
have the Six Classics recorded it. If Yen Yuan was able to see
farther than one thousand Li, he would have been equal to the
Sage — wherefore then were Confucius and all the other scholars
silent upon this?

The human eye can only see as far as ten Li, beyond this
limit it does not perceive anything. The cause of this inability
to distinguish is the distance. It is on record that Mount T`ai is
of imposing height, but that at a distance of a hundred Li it does
not appear as big as a snail, owing to the distance.

Between Lu and Wu the distance is over a thousand Li. If
Li Chu[1111] looked out for Wu, he would not perceive anything, and
Yen Yuan should be able to distinguish it? Provided that his
talents were nearly perfect, and his sight different from that of
other people, then the world ought to praise him as a second sage,
instead of speaking of Li Chu.

The sight of the human eye is such, that big things are
easily distinguished, whereas small ones are perceived with difficulty.
Were Yen Yuan placed outside the palace-gate of Wu and
turning his looks upon the shape of the T`ai-shan, it would be quite
impossible for him to descry it, and it is still much more evident that
viewed from the top of the T`ai-shan, the colour of the white horse
would remain invisible to him. Not only could Yen Yuan not see
it, even Confucius would be incapable of seeing it. How can we
establish this proposition?

The faculties of the ear and the eye are similar. As it is not
possible to command a view of a hundred Li, so the ear cannot
hear so far either. Lu Chia says that, notwithstanding his keen
sight, Li Lou[1112] could not discern what was behind a curtain, and
that the music-master K`uang, in spite of his keenness of hearing,
could not hear beyond a hundred Li. The space between the
palace-gate and Mount T`ai is more difficult to overlook than what
lies behind a screen, or beyond a hundred Li.

King Wu of Ch`in conjointly with Mêng Yüeh lifted a tripod,
which proved too heavy for him, for he burst a blood-vessel and
died.[1113] Lifting a tripod requires force, which issues from muscles
and arteries. If these cannot stand the effort, they break, and
death ensues. That is the natural course. Now Yen Yuan used his
eyes to look to a great distance. Provided that the pupils of his
eyes were unable to bear the strain, then he should have become
blind, but the discolouring of his hair, and the loss of his teeth
could not have been the consequence.

The hair may turn white, and the teeth fall out in consequence
of excessive study. If all the forces are strained without ceasing,
the vital energy is exhausted, and this may lead to death.

Po Chi was deported, and his hair soon became white. We
read in the Shiking that [by constant grief one becomes old].[1114] Po
Chi thus tortured his mind, but Yen Yuan used his eyes and
suddenly cast a glance at something for a moment. How could
this have such a result?

The books of the Literati state that Shun was buried in
Ts`ang-wu,[1115] and Yü in Kwei-chi.[1116] On their tours of inspection they
had become old, and died, on their journey, in the border land.
As sages they regarded the whole world as their home, and did
not draw a distinction between far and near, or make a difference
between inside and outside. Accordingly they where interred at
the place where they just halted.

To speak of Shun and Yü is right, but what they say about
their progress, imaginary:—Shun and Yao were both emperors
reigning over a territory of 5000 Li, which was situated between
the Four Seas. The mode of government of the two emperors
was continued uninterruptedly, and no change took place. According
to the Yao-tien,[1117] Shun, on his progress, went eastward as far as the
T`ai-tsung,[1118] southward to Mount Ho, westward to the T`ai-hua,
and northward to the Hêng-shan.[1119] These were considered to be
the Four Sacred Mountains. In the sphere within these four frontiers
the feudal lords came and assembled at the foot of the sacred
mountains. From far and near, and from the remotest out-of-theway
places they made their appearance.[1120] Whatever the Sage undertook,
he sought their welfare.

Yü was a ruler like Shun, and things did not change. The
places which he visited, on his inspections, were those where Shun
had been. That Shun went to Ts`ang-wu, and Yü arrived at Kuei-chi,
cannot be true.[1121]

It is a fact that at the time of Shun and Yü, the Great Flood
had not yet been regulated. Yao transmitted his power to Shun,
who received it, and thus become emperor. He entrusted part of
his work to Yü, viz. the regulation of the waters. After the
decease of Yao, Shun was already old, and he handed over the
empire to Yü. Shun regulated the waters in the south, and died
in Ts`ang-wu, Yü worked in the east, and expired in Kuei-chi.
Worthies and sages regard the world as their home, and they
are buried accordingly.

Wu Chün Kao[1122] asserts that Kuei-chi is originally the name of
a mountain. When, in the Hsia period, Yü made a tour of inspection,
a review was held on this mountain. Hence a circuit was named.
That would be the origin of Kuei-chi.

To say that a circuit received its name from a mountain is
possible, but the assertion that Yü, on a tour of inspection, held
a review on this mountain, is a fiction. On his tour he did not
come as far as Kuei-chi, how could he hold a review on this
mountain then? If the view of Wu Chün Kao were to be accepted,
and the meaning of Kuei-chi were really a review,[1123] how did Yü
hold his review, when he arrived in the south? In case Yü died
already on his first progress to the east in Kuei-chi, Shun also,
on his progress, arrived in Ts`ang-wu; how about his review there?

Provided that the many rulers, after having established their
government, set out on a tour of inspection, and then, at once, held a
review, then such reviews must have taken place on all the mountains
in the four directions. In times of universal peace these rulers
used to ascend Mount T`ai and sacrifice there. Of such sacrifices
on Mount T`ai there are records of seventy-two, and those monuments
which are obliterated and washed away, are innumerable. If really
the emperors, on their progress, at once had a review, the places
of such meetings round about must have been much more numerous
than the sacrifices on Mount T`ai.

The circuit cities have their names as things have theirs,
which do not admit of explanation.[1124] Should Kuei-chi alone make
an exception? In the Chou epoch its ancient name was Wu and
Yüeh.[1125] When these names originated, where did they come from?
When names were given during the time of the Six States, how
had they to be formed? The cities of the circuits of China are
over a hundred,[1126] the district cities exceed ten thousand, besides
villages, boroughs, and hamlets, all have their proper names. Even
sages would not be able to explain their meanings. Wu Chün Kao
could account for Kuei-chi, but would be unable to interpret all
the other geographical names, therefore his definition of Kuei-chi
cannot be accepted either.

The object of those inspections was to examine and correct
the methods of government. At Yü's time, Wu was a country
inhabited by naked savages, who cut their hair and tattooed their
bodies. There was no need for examining, and how could a review
have taken place?

It is on record that, when Shun was interred at Ts`ang-wu,
elephants tilled the ground for him, and that, when Yü was buried
at Kuei-chi, crows laboured in his field.[1127] This is believed to have
been the upshot of the virtues of the sages, Heaven causing birds
and animals to reward them by such blessings. There is nobody
on earth who does not share this view, but a critical test will
show the futility of the statement.

The virtues of Shun and Yü did not surpass that of Yao,
who was buried in Chi-chou,[1128] or, as some say, in Chung-shan.[1129] At
Chi-chou, birds and animals did not till for him. If they solely
worked for Shun and Yü, why did Heaven grant its favours with
such partiality?

Some hold that Shun and Yü, while controlling the floods,
had no resting-place, and that, therefore, Shun died in Ts`ang-wu,
and Yü in Kuei-chi. By their toils they displayed merit, therefore

Heaven recompensed them; and they were far away from China,
therefore it pitied them.

Now, if Heaven rewarded Shun and Yü, making the crows
labour and the elephants till, what profit did Shun and Yü derive
from it? In order to requite Shun and Yü, Heaven should have
caused Ts`ang-wu and Kuei-chi to offer sacrifices to them in perpetuity,
however it made birds and beasts work, and did not cause the
people to sacrifice. Oblations would have been made on the tombs
of Shun and Yü, whereas the cultivation of fields benefitted other
people only. How could Heaven, shedding its blessings on the
Sages, be so inconsistent, that it did not do them any good?

These reasons must convince us that it is not correct to
regard the labouring of the crows and the tilling of the elephants
as special blessings conferred upon Shun and Yü. The facts are
that Ts ang-wu was a country where elephants abound,[1130] and that
in Kuei-chi hosts of birds used to alight. We learn from the
Yü-kung that [the P`êng-li[1131] being confined to its proper limits,[1132] the
wild geese had places to settle on.][1133] The nature of Heaven and
Earth finds expression in the doings of birds and beasts. Elephants
stamp the ground of their own accord, and so do birds pick out
plants. When the earth has thus been pounded, and the weeds
are destroyed, it looks like a tilled field, and, when the soil has
been loosened and the clods have been turned, man can forthwith
proceed to plant.

There is a common saying that for Shun and Yü a grave
was cultivated at Hai-ling.[1134] A field tilled by a deer[1135] is like one
tilled by elephants, but how could the emperors have been buried
in Hai-ling?

It has been recorded that the king of Wu, Fu Ch`ai, put Wu
Tse Hsü to death, had him cooked in a cauldron, sewed into a

leathern pouch, and thrown into the River.[1136] Wu Tse Hsü incensed,
lashed up the waters, that they rose in great waves, and drowned
people. At present, temples for him have been erected on the
Yangtse of Tan-t`u[1137] in Kuei-chi as well as on the Chekiang river of
Ch`ien-t`ang,[1138] for the purpose of appeasing his anger and stopping
the wild waves. The allegation that the king of Wu put Wu Tse
Hsü to death and threw him into the River, is reliable, but it is
absurd to say that, out of spite, Wu Tse Hsü lashed the waters,
that they rose in waves.

Ch`ü Yuan full of disgust threw himself into the Hsiang,[1139] but
the waves of the Hsiang did not swell. Shên T`u Ti[1140] jumped into
the Yellow River and died, but the billows of the river did not rise.
People will certainly object that as to violence and wrath Ch`ü
Yuan and Shên T`u Ti did not equal Wu Tse Hsü. Now, in Wei,
Tse Lu was pickled, and P`êng Yüeh was cooked in Han.[1141] The
valour of Wu Tse Hsü did not exceed that of Tse Lu and P`êng Yüeh.
Yet these two men could not vent their anger, when they were
in the tripod and the cauldron, they did not bespatter the bystanders
with broth from the cooked flesh, or with sauce from the
minced meat.

Moreover, Wu Tse Hsü first was put into the cauldron, and
subsequently thrown into the river. Where was his spirit, when
he was in the cauldron? Wherefore was it so timourous in the
broth of the cauldron, and so bold in the water of the river? Why
was his indignation not the same at these different times?

Furthermore, when he was thrown into the river, which
river was it? There is the Yangtse of Tan-t`u, the Chekiang river
of Ch`ien-t`ang, and the Ling river of Wu-t`ung. Some maintain that
he was thrown into the river near Tan-t`u, but the Yangtse has no
great waves. Should any one say that he was thrown into the

Chekiang river of Ch`ien-t`ang, it must be borne in mind, that not
only the Chekiang river, but also the Shan-yin and the Shang-yü[1142]
rivers have waves.

Since all the three rivers have huge waves, was perhaps the
body in the pouch divided, and its parts cast into the three rivers?

For human hatred there is still some justification, as long as
the deadly enemy is alive, or some of his descendants are still left.
Now the Wu State is destroyed since long, and Fu Ch`ai has no
scions. Wu is the present Kuei-chi, which has been transformed
into a prefecture. Why does the spirit of Wu Tse Hsü still resent
the wrong once done him, and never cease to excite the waves?
What does he demand?

At the time of Wu and Yüeh, they had divided the Kuei-chi
circuit, so that Yüeh was governing Shan-yin,[1143] whereas Wu had
built its capital in the present Wu. South of Yü-chi,[1144] all the land
belonged to Yüeh, north of Ch`ien-t`ang, to Wu. The river of Ch`ient`ang
formed the frontier between the two kingdoms. Shan-yin
and Shang-yü[1145] were both situated in the territory of Yüeh. When
Wu Tse Hsü in the river of Wu caused the waves, they ought
to have come into the Wu territory; why did they enter the land
of Yüeh? That Wu Tse Hsü, harbouring a grudge against the king
of Wu, wreaked his malice on the Yüeh river, is contrary to reason,
and not the act of a spirit.

Besides, it is difficult to excite the waves, but easy to move
men. The living rely on the strength of their nerves, the dead
must use their soul. Alive, Wu Tse Hsü could not move the living,
or take care of his body, and himself caused its death. When
the strength of his nerves was lost and his soul[1146] evaporated and
dispersed, how could he still make waves?

There are hundreds and thousands in the predicament of
Wu Tse Hsü, who, crossing a river in a boat, did not reach the
other shore. But the body of Wu Tse Hsü alone was boiled in hot
water in a cauldron. When his bones and his flesh had been
cooked soft and become a stew with broth, could he still do
any harm?

King Hsüan of Chou killed his minister, the Earl of Tu, and
Viscount Chien of Chao, his officer Chuang Tse Yi. Subsequently, the

Earl of Tu shot King Hsüan, and Chuang Tse Yi smote Viscount
Chien.[1147] These events seem to be true, and yet they are fictitious.
Now not having his body intact, Wu Tse Hsü could not have acted
like the Earl of Tu or Chuang Tse Yi, taking his revenge upon the
king of Wu. How can the rolling to and fro of the waves be
considered a revenge or a proof of Wu Tse Hsü's consciousness?

Popular legends though not true, form the subjects of paintings,
and, by these pictures, even wise and intelligent men allow
themselves to be mystified.[1148]

The earth has numerous rivers just as man, his veins and
arteries. The blood flowing through them, these arteries throb
and pulsate, and have their own times and measures. So it is
with the rivers. Their flowing forwards and backwards in the
morning and the evening,[1149] is like human respiration i. e., the inhalation
and exhalation of air.

The nature of heaven and earth has remained the same from
the oldest time. The Classic says, ["The Yangtse and the Han
pursued their common course to the sea."][1150] So it was previous to Yao
and Shun already. When the waters fall into the ocean, they merely
accelerate their course, but, upon entering the three rivers,[1151] they
begin to roar and foam in their channel, which is usually shallow
and narrow, and thus rise as great waves.

The Ch`ü river of Kuang-ling[1152] has such great waves. A poet
wrote the verse:—"How majestic rolls the Yangtse, and lo! the
billows of the Ch`ü!"[1153] They are caused by the narrow passage.
If, after having been murdered in Wu, Wu Tse Hsü's spirit was
producing the great waves at Kuang-ling, this would certainly not
be a sign of its intelligence.[1154]

In deep channels the water flows quietly, but where there
are shallows, sands, or stones, it rushes through, swells, and forms
rapids. Billows and rapids are identical. If, as they say, Wu Tse
Hsü is responsible for the great waves, who lives in the torrents
to cause their rapids?

When the billows enter the three rivers, they boil and wallop
against the banks,[1155] while in the middle no sound is produced. If
Wu Tse Hsü is held to be the originator of these waves, then his
body must lie extended in the deep water of the banks.

The rising of the waves follows the growing and waning,
the bigness and smallness, the fulness and extinction of the moon.[1156]
If it is Wu Tse Hsü who causes the waves, his anger must be
regulated upon the phases of the moon.[1157]

Sometimes a storm excites[1158] the waters of the three rivers,
that they drown people. Consequently Wu Tse Hsü's spirit must
likewise cause the wind.

When Ch`in Shih Huang Ti was about to cross the Hsiang river,
he was overtaken by a storm. He inquired, which deities were
sacrificed to on Mount Hsiang. His attendants replied, the daughter
of Yao and the wife of Shun. Ch`in Shih Huang Ti, in a fit of rage,
ordered three thousand criminals to cut down the trees on Mount
Hsiang and trample upon it.[1159] The assertion that Wu Tse Hsü's
spirit caused the waves, is on a level with this statement that the
ghosts of the two women produced the wind.

The books say that, when Confucius was buried on the shore
of the river Sse, its waters flowed backwards.[1160] This is meant to
intimate that the virtue of Confucius was so excellent, that it made

the waters revert and not sweep away parts of the tomb. The
world puts faith in this, and in consequence the Literati in their
discussions hold that the descendants of Confucius should be appointed
to office, basing this claim on the alleged flowing backwards
of the Sse. But a careful consideration reveals the absurdity
of such utterances.

How can Confucius dead be the same as alive? While alive,
he could in his practices follow up the right principles and conform
to Heaven. But after death his actions ceased. Heaven rewards
the highest virtue, therefore the Five Emperors and the Three
Rulers attracted lucky presages, which they kept during their lifetime,
but not after their death. Confucius met with rebuffs during
his life, and no one wanted his services, wherefore he said, with
a sigh, "The phœnix does not come; the River sends forth no
Plan:—it is all over with me!"[1161]

Alive, he did not find favour, and after death, he was rewarded?
The death of Confucius does not differ from that of the Five
Emperors and the Three Rulers, on whom Heaven did not bestow
its blessings. If Confucius was alone the recipient of Heaven's grace
after death, his soul must have been holy, and the genius of the
Five Emperors did not possess such excellence.[1162]

The river Sse was not endowed with intelligence, that it might
flow backwards for Confucius' sake. If the Spirit of Heaven made
it do so, why did this Spirit not induce mankind to honour Confucius,
while he was alive?[1163] If, by the flowing backwards of the
Sse, Heaven wanted to secure appointments for the posterity of
Confucius, why did it not appoint Confucius himself, while alive,
whose merit and virtue were in accordance with Heaven, and
desired these appointments for his descendants?

That the Sse flowed backwards, is a hazard and a natural
phenomenon. It happens that rivers revert in their course, for
streams at times change their channels, or take a new course,
which is the same as flowing backwards.[1164] Therefore the flowing
backwards of the Sse cannot be looked upon as a prodigy.

Some records extolling the virtue of a prince of Wei, relate
that his kindness was not only bestowed upon scholars, but that
it even embraced birds and beasts. Once he was dining with some
guests, when a hawk pounced upon a pigeon. The latter escaped
under the prince's table, but the hawk pursued and killed it before
his eyes. The prince was shocked, and called upon his men
to spread nets everywhere. Several dozen hawks were caught.
The prince charged them with the crime of having hit a pigeon.
The one hawk which had done it bowed its head, and did not
dare to look up. Upon this, the prince killed it. The world, by
way of glorification, says that the prince revenged a pigeon, but
that is idle talk.

A hawk is a creature whose feelings are other, and whose
speech is different from ours. A sage would not be able to induce
birds and animals to a moral conduct. Who is this prince, that
he could cause a hawk to bow its head and accuse itself? Such
birds as hawks are counted by thousands, how could one single
hawk, which, having previously hit upon a pigeon, had flown away,
be caught again?

If it bowed its head and acknowledged its guilt, it must have
been a sage bird. Understanding the words of the prince, it must
have known his ways as well, and knowing his ways, it would
not have pounced upon a pigeon in his presence.

Even men cannot mend their faults. Birds differ from men;
to pretend that they can repent, is a prejudice of common people
and a misapprehension of the real nature of the various classes of
creatures.

Perhaps the prince really caught the hawk. Expecting that
some one would get hold of its head, it violently turned its neck
aside, which caused it such pain, that it inclined its head, and
therefore could not look up. Since the prince was a kind and
just man, people, by saying that the hawk admitted its guilt, meant
to belaud him. In the course of conversation many empty compliments
are made, and real deserts usually are embellished by all
sorts of fictions.

It has been recorded that Duke Huan of Ch`i[1165] married his
seven cousins. That cannot be true, for it would be incest and a
violation of the laws of consanguinity.[1166] It is the nature of birds

and beasts not to take heed of the relation between ascendants and
descendants, therefore they mix, unconscious of the laws of relationship.
Duke Huan united all the feudal princes and set the empire right, guiding
the masses with virtue, and ruling them with authority. For this
reason the lords followed him, and nobody dared to disobey. This
would not have been the case, if his private life had been so
flagitious, that he imitated the instincts of beasts and birds.

He prevailed upon the princes to do homage to the royal
house, for it was distasteful to him that the king should be deprived
of his power, and his subjects disrespectful to him. If before the
world he resented a want of decorum so much, how could he
degrade himself at home by such utter disregard of propriety? If
there had been such a discrepancy between his public and his
private life, he would never have distinguished himself or won
any influence.[1167]

As to the depravity of Chieh and Chou, they are not charged
with incestuous intercourse with their kin. Sober-minded critics are
of opinion that the wickedness of Chieh and Chou was less than
that of doomed Ch`in, and that the crimes of doomed Ch`in fell
short of those of Wang Mang. Incest has never been laid at their
charge. Had Duke Huan married his seven cousins, his viciousness
would have left behind that of Chieh and Chou and be worse than
that of Ch`in and Wang Mang.

The Ch un-ch`iu commends the smallest merit and condemns
the slightest wrong. For what reason then did it not condemn
the great crime of Duke Huan? Wên Chiang of Lu was a sister to
Duke Hsiang of Ch`i, who had intercourse with her, for we read
in the Ch`un-ch`iu under the second year of Duke Chuang:—["In
winter, the (deceased duke's) wife, the Lady Chiang, had a meeting
with the marquis of Ch`i in Kao."[1168] ][1169]

Why was the Ch`un-ch`iu so hard upon Duke Hsiang, recording
his lewdness, and why so lenient to Duke Huan, concealing his
crime and having no word of reproof for it? Should the passage
have been lost in the Classic, wherefore do the commentators, Tso
Ch`iu Ming, Kung Yang, and Ku Liang all hush it up?

The fault of Duke Huan consisted in his too great condescension
towards the ladies of his harem. Six concubines enjoyed his special

favour, and five princes contended to become his heirs.[1170] Ch`i was
thrown into confusion, and, when the duke died, it was not until
three months later that his death was officially announced.[1171] People
hearing of these six favourites, and that no distinction was made
between the sons of his wife and his concubines, then said that
he misbehaved himself with his seven cousins.

There is a notice in some books to the effect that Duke Huan
of Ch`i carried his wife, when he received the feudal princes in
audience. This would show that the duke's lust reached the last
degree of indecency. If Duke Huan carried his wife on his back
at great audience, how could he have outdone this feat at the
wildest Bacchanal?

He had refined the manners of the scholars, inspiring them
with awe and reverence by his majesty,—how could he, with his
wife on his back, have led on the princes to do homage to the
royal house?

At the meeting of K`uei-ch`iu,[1172] Duke Huan was very proud
and elated. The Heads of nine States then revolted from him.
His angry looks could not prevent the revolt of the nine States.
Now fancy the duke carrying his wife and affording them such a
spectacle of lascivity;—would that have induced them to stand
by him?

Some say that Kuan Chung informed the princes that his master
had ulcers on his back, which would not heal without the wife's
assistance. The princes believed Kuan Chung and therefore did
not rebel.

[Now in all places of ten families[1173] an honest man like Confucius
can be found.][1174] At that time, the princes had assembled over
a thousand men. There was, doubtless, one among them experienced
in the art of curing ulcers, so that the services of the duke's wife
could be dispensed with.

Kuan Chung concealed the duke's fault. Well aware that Kuan
Chung, by doing so, deceived the princes, the latter would, no doubt,
have become angry and revolted. How could the duke, under these
circumstances, have presided over their meetings for long, or been
successful as their leader?

Some hold that in reality Duke Huan was unprincipled, but
using able men and making Kuan Chung his minister, he acquired
supremacy.

An unprincipled man is not better than a tyrant. He would
believe slanderers, remove the virtuous, and injure the benevolent
and the righteous. How could such a one employ a man like Kuan
Chung, or keep officers to serve under him?

Chieh killed Kuan Lung Fêng,[1175] and Chou murdered the son of
the king,[1176] Pi Kan. An unprincipled sovereign cannot employ wise
men. Provided that Kuan Chung was wise, then Duke Huan could
not employ him, and if he did employ him, then Duke Huan cannot
have committed all those excesses.

When the sovereign is virtuous and intelligent, he has pure
and honest ministers. Virtuous ministers presuppose an enlightened
ruler. How, then, can Duke Huan be accused of wantonness?

An opponent might say that Duke Ling of Wei[1177] was a sovereign
without principles, who, all the same, knew virtuous ministers,
and whom Kuan Chung assisted. Then from what does it follow
that Duke Huan was not wanton?

Duke Ling was unprincipled indeed, but the fact that he
employed three able men, merely sufficed to preserve his life; he
did not achieve anything grand. Duke Huan honoured the arithmeticians[1178]
and raised Ning Ch`i[1179] from his cart. To punish Ch`u for
not having sent its tribute of reeds and grasses, he invested it with
all his forces.[1180] He united the feudal barons, and, quite alone, set
the empire in order. He is such a hero as appears only once in a

thousand generations. That he should have carried his wife on his
back, is nonsense.

The scholiasts to the Shuking relate that Duke Chou as a regent
wore the silken ribbons[1181] of the emperor and his hat, and that, his
back turned upon a screen and facing the south, he gave audience
to the princes.

A partition between the door and the window is called a
screen (i)[1182] Facing the south indicates the high dignity. If in sitting
one turns the back upon the screen and looks southward, the screen
is behind. Now, when Duke Huan held an audience of all the
princes, he was perhaps sitting with his face turned to the south,
and his wife stood behind. This has given rise to the popular
tradition that he carried his wife on his back. It is like the story
that K`uei had but one leg, or that Duke Ting of Sung, in digging
a well, found a man in it.

At the time of Yao and Shun, K`uei was a great officer. He
was by nature a great musician, and the tunes he played were most
plaintive[1183] and beautiful. People then used to say that playing like
K`uei was full perfection.[1184] Of this popular tradition made the phrase
that K`uei had but one leg.[1185]

The emperor Shun was seeking everywhere a candidate for the
post of president for sacrificial worship. Every one recommended Po Yi,
[but he made obeisance and declined in favour of K`uei and Lung].[1186]

The office of a minister of ancestral worship[1187] would correspond
to that of a tsung-chêng[1188] of the Han time. The cutting of one leg
would be an abnormity of the legs, and how could a man move
about with only one leg?

The Hsia emperor K`ung Chia was once hunting on the Tung-ming[1189]
mountain, when it began to rain and to become very dusky.
The emperor entered a private house, where the mistress was just
nursing a baby. Some said that a child to which an emperor had
come[1190] would be noble, but others urged that a child not born
for grandeur must needs remain mean. K`ung Chia said, "If it becomes
my son, who will make it mean?," and he took the child
with him. Once, when the boy was carving rafters, the axe cut
his legs, and he finally became a doorkeeper.[1191] Since K`ung Chia
wished to ennoble him as his son, he had the greatest expectations,
nevertheless, when he had cut his legs, he was of no use and
therefore made a doorkeeper.

Now K`uei could not walk about with one leg. He might
have made music even sitting, but for discharging the duties of a
minister of ancestral worship one leg would not do,[1192] as the doorkeeper,
after having lost his legs, could not obtain rank and honour.
K`ung Chia did not find a noble son, and Po Yi could not have
yielded the post to K`uei.

Duke Ting of Sung[1193] was a man of Sung. Before the well was
bored, somebody had always to be despatched to fetch water. It
was calculated that every day one man was thus occupied. After
digging the well, he was no more sent to carry the water, and
it could be reckoned that every day one man's day's work was
economized.[1194] Therefore they said that Duke Ting of Sung, digging

a well, found a man.[1195] Popular tradition went a step farther, pretending
that Duke Ting, digging the well, found a man in it.[1196]

Man is born from man and not from earth. Piercing the earth
and boring a well is not done with the object of finding a man.

In point of analogy, the story of Duke Huan carrying his wife
comes in the same category. He was sitting, his back turned upon
his wife, whence the statement that his wife was on his back.
Knowing that having one's wife on one's back is indecent, they
concocted the story of Kuan Chung curing ulcers through the wife.

If Duke Huan had laid aside his princely robe, when his wife
was on his back, perhaps the female fluid could remove the ulcers,
and his boils could be cured by his wife. But, on receiving the
lords, Duke Huan was clad in heavy garments, and his wife likewise
wore thick clothes. The female fluid thus being checked, of
what benefit would it have been to carry his wife?

Duke Huan bestowed much thought on the savants. He illuminated
his palace, and was sitting there at night. By his meditations
he attracted the scholars, and how should he have received
the princes with his wife on his back during the day?

It is recorded in some books that Nieh Chêng[1197] in Yen Wêng
Chung's[1198] service assassinated the king of the Han State. That is a
falsehood, for at Nieh Chêng's time Lieh was marquis of Han.[1199] In
the third year of his reign, Nieh Chêng stabbed Hsieh Lei, a minister
of Han.[1200] In his twelfth year, the Marquis Lieh died, seventeen
years[1201] after the assassination of Hsieh Lei by Nieh Chêng. The

notice that the latter assassinated the king of Han is an invention
of worthless books and unimportant chronicles, and not to be trusted.[1202]

There is another report that Tan, the heir-prince of Yen procured
a bravo, Ching K`o, to assassinate the king of Ch`in, but he
failed and was executed.[1203] Subsequently Kao Chien Li[1204] again went
to pay a visit to the king of Ch`in and play the harp for him. The
king was pleased, but knowing Kao Chien Li to be a partisan of
the prince of Yen, he had him blindfolded first, and then called
upon him to thrum the harp. Kao Chien Li had put lead into his
instrument, to make it heavy. While he was playing, the king of
Ch`in could not restrain his feelings and, on his knees, moved nearer.
Kao Chien Li then took his harp and struck him on the forehead.[1205]
The king began to sicken, and three months later died of the
wound.

The assertion that Kao Chien Li struck the king of Ch`in with
his harp is true, but the report that the king being struck, ailed three
months and died, is false.

The king of Ch`in is nobody else than Ch`in Shih Huang Ti.
In the 20th year of his reign, Tan, heir-prince of Yen, instigated
Ching K`o to stab Shih Huang Ti, but Shih Huang Ti put Ching K`o
to death; that is known. In his 21st year, he ordered his general
Wang Chien to attack Yen. He brought back the head of the crown-prince.
In his 25th year, a new invasion was made into Yen, and
its king Chia taken prisoner.[1206] . Later on—the year is not known—
Kao Chien Li struck at Shih Huang Ti, but missed him and was beheaded.
In his 27th year,[1207] the emperor made a journey through
the empire. He went to Kuei-chi and came to Lang-yeh. North

he went as far as the Lao and Ch`êng Mountains and the sea.
When in the west he arrived at P`ing-yuan Ferry, he was taken ill,
and having reached the P`ing terrace in Sha-ch`iu, he expired.[1208]

The Book of Prophecies[1209] writes that if the emperor returned
to Sha-ch`iu, he would come by his death. Some writers also state
that, having suffered from the bruises caused by the harp for three
months, he ended his life in Ch`in. Thus the same person is by
some believed to have died in Sha-ch`iu, by others in Ch`in, and
concerning his death, people say that he had always been ailing
from sores. The statements of this class of books is very often
irreconcilable with truth, but ordinary people are unable to settle
such questions.