University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER XXV.

Lost Texts (Yi-wên).

The emperor Hsiao Wu Ti conferred upon his younger brother
the title of Prince Kung of Lu. Prince Kung, while demolishing
the house of Confucius, for the purpose of building a palace, discovered
there a Shuking in a hundred chapters, a Li(ki) in three
hundred, a Ch`un-ch`iu in thirty,[1252] and a Lun-yü in twenty-one.
When the wall was opened sounds of singing and guitar-playing
were heard. The prince alarmed caused the hole again to be
closed and plastered, and sent word to Wu Ti, who despatched an
official, to fetch the old Canons and the Lun-yü. At this time they
all were brought to light.[1253] When the Classics were taken out
from the hole, there were sounds of singing, and playing of guitars.
The texts were to be recovered by the Han, and the gay music
was a portent accompanying the happy event. They had to be
transmitted to the Han, and therefore lay concealed in the wall.
Prince Kung pierced it, and the holy emperor occasioned the
magical music, for the old texts were not to remain hidden, and
the Han were expecting them as felicitous signs.

The emperor Hsiao Ch`êng Ti wishing to read the hundred
chapters of the Shuking, and none of the professors and secretaries[1254]
understanding it, an invitation was issued to every one in the
empire who could adjust the Shuking. Chang Pa of Tung-hai was
well versed in the Ch`un-ch`iu of Tso Ch`iu Ming. Following the
order of the hundred chapters, he elucidated them with the help
of the Tso-chuan, and thus produced one hundred and two chapters,
which he presented to the emperor, when they were completed.
Ch`êng Ti took the Shuking that had been stored away, to compare
and examine the new book, but not one character was the same.
Then he handed Chang Pa over to the judges, who investigated his
offence and pronounced it to be a case of great disrespect and
irreverence. But Ch`êng Ti being a great admirer of Chang Pa's

talents, pardoned him, nor did he distroy his work. Consequently
the one hundred and two chapters became current among the people.[1255]

Confucius said that [talents are difficult to find.][1256] He whom
his genius and his imagination enabled to write a Classic in one
hundred chapters, must have been endowed with quite remarkable
gifts, and been an exceptional man, such as is seldom met with.
Ch`êng Ti forgave him in appreciation of his writings, for although
they were spurious and not true, yet, by following the order of
the chapters and sections and adhering to the subjects, they made
the impression of being genuine, and therefore were not burned.

In a box of memorials a book is often circulated consisting
of ten and more documents, memorials and reports to the throne,
the productions of high officials and well worth reading. Their
reading gives great pleasure, and not one out of a hundred officials
is able to write such documents.[1257] Chang Pa was so ingenious, that
he composed a hundred chapters. The Han era is in fact so like
antiquity, that Ch`êng Ti did well to forgive Chang Pa.

When Yang Tse Shan[1258] was chi-li[1259] in a circuit, he saw that the
san-fu were unable to write a record on the Ai-lao.[1260] He transmitted
a report to his chief, who sent it up to the emperor. Hsiao Ming
Ti[1261] was struck with it and summoned him to the imperial library.[1262]
The officers of the san-fu, in spite of the great amount of their
united talents, could not complete a single chapter, so that Yang
Tse Shan wrote it, of which the emperor took cognisance. But
was this record quite correct? Yang Tse Shan wrote it, according
to his informations, which the officers of the san-fu were incapable
of, with all the documents at their disposal. Since Yang Tse Shan
could do it, the thing must not have been very difficult for him.
Was, therefore, Ch`êng Ti not justified in pardoning Chang Pa?

Under the reign of Hsiao Wu Ti,[1263] all the officials were convoked
to a literary competition, when the essay of Tung Chung Shu won
the prize. In the time of Wang Mang the secretaries of the various

boards were called upon to send in reports, and the memorial of
Liu Tse Chün[1264] was the best. An elegant form, provided it be not
a cover for emptiness, reveals great talent and profound knowledge.
The Yiking says that the feelings of a sage appear from his expressions.[1265]
From his good or bad style we may make an inference
on a man's talent.

In the Yung-p`ing period,[1266] flocks of spiritual birds alighted.
Hsiao Ming Ti issued instructions that panegyrics on these birds be
presented to him. All the officials sent in their productions, but
they were no better than stones and tiles, only the five eulogies
of Pan Ku, Chia K`uei,[1267] Fu Yi,[1268] Yang Chung,[1269] and Hou Fêng[1270] were
gold and gems. Hsiao Ming Ti read them. Must it not have been
a matter of surprise for him that among the great host of officials,
the numerous secretaries included, five men only produced good
compositions?

Hsiao Wu Ti[1271] was partial to works of fiction and poetry and
therefore invited Sse-Ma Hsiang-Ju,[1272] Hsiao Ch`êng Ti[1273] delighted in
voluminous writings and favoured Yang Tse Yün. Even at his
hunting parties Yang Tse Yün followed in a carriage. Had Sse-Ma
Hsiang-Ju, Huan Chün Shan, and Yang Tse Yün[1274] been officers unable
to fill up their documents or to connect their words to phrases,
how would Wu Ti have liked, or Ch`êng Ti have appreciated them?
Therefore I say that to read Yang Tse Yün's chapters affords a
greater pleasure than to be an official with a thousand piculs a
year, and holding the book of Huan Chün Shan in one's hands, one
is richer than having heaped up treasures.

The work of Han Fei Tse was current in the court of Ch`in,
and Ch`in Shih Huang Ti said with a sigh:—"Alas! that I cannot
live together with this man!"[1275] Each time that Lu Chia[1276] presented
a new chapter of his "New Words," the attendants of Kao Tsu
exclaimed "Ten thousand years!"[1277] Can this passionate remembrance
of a man and the enthusiastic exclamation "Ten thousand
years" have been for nothing? They were outbursts of joy from
the innermost heart, upon clearly seeing the excellence of these
persons.

Meteorologists[1278] look up to the sky, but not on the earth,
for they derive their information from the heavenly signs. Upper
and lower garments cover the body, but the embroidery is on the
upper, not on the lower ones. So far dresses resemble heaven.
Palmisters examine the left[1279] palm, and do not look at the right
one, because the lines on the left are decisive. Contrariwise, diviners
turn to the right side, and neglect the left, for the signs
at the right are conclusive. The Yiking says:—["The great man
changes as the tiger (changing its stripes), his signs are brilliant,
the superior man changes as the panther (changing its spots), his
signs are elegant."][1280] And further:—["We look at the signs of
Heaven, and look at the signs of man."][1281] That means:—Heaven
and man are to be judged by their signs, and the actions of the
great man and the superior man depend on their signs.

When Kao Tsu was still in his mother's womb, she reposed
on the banks of a lake. Then a scaly dragon appeared on high,
emitting a glare of brilliant light. When Kao Tsu started from
Ch`u, to meet the army of Han, a fluid formed five colours, and
when he was about to enter Hsien-yang, five stars united near the
"Eastern Well,"[1282] and these stars had five different colours.[1283] Perhaps
Heaven was indignant at the destruction of literature by Ch`in and

wished the Han to renew it, and therefore first invested Kao Tsu
and used those signs as omens.[1284]

The designs of wicked people, at different periods, are inconsistent.
Ch`in Shih Huang Ti first sighed over the work of Han
Fei Tse and afterwards, at the instigation of Li Sse, caused the
text of the Five Classics to be burned, and enacted a law restricting
the use of books. The scholars of the Five Canons took the
Classics and concealed them; men like Fu Shêng stealthily buried
them in the earth.[1285] Wiping out the texts of sages and worthies
is a most heinous crime, and the descendancy of the culprit was
already cut off with his grandsons.[1286] Li Sse who deviced this plan,
had to suffer one of the Five Punishments.[1287] The Han dynasty,
after its accession, changed the rules of doomed Ch`in and obliterated
the traces of Li Sse. Kao Tsu first ordered Lu Chia to write books,
but the Five Canons did not yet come to light at that time. From
Hui Ti and Ching Ti[1288] downward to Yuan Ti and Ch`êng Ti[1289] the
Canons and the books were simultaneously revised. The glory of
the Han dynasty and what we hear of its declarations are quite
something else than those of doomed Ch`in.

Owing to the perversity of Wang Mang,[1290] the armies of the
Han began swarming about. Halls and palaces fell into ruin, and
books and manuscripts were scattered about. After Kuang Wu Ti
arose,[1291] the preservation of old books was not yet very careful.
The era of Hsiao Ming Ti[1292] was very favourable for men of letters,
officers were appointed to the imperial library, and the heroes of
literature assembled. When our present sovereign had taken the
reins of government,[1293] the search for lost antiquities was authorised
by edict, and they were bought with gold. Can this age not lay
a claim to the fame of being a literary one?

The period of Yao and Shun being so remote,[1294] the books of
that time which existed are lost.[1295] The Yin and the Chou dynasties,[1296]
however, are so near, that their writers have been preserved.[1297]
The works handed down since the commencement of the Han[1298]
do not reach very far, but the experiences made are five times as
many as those of Yao and Shun, and ten times those of the Yin and
Chou dynasties. There has never been a more delightful and a
more glorious time than the present. The sky is bright and clear,
the stars glow with brilliant light,[1299] the characters of the people
are excellent, and they handle literature with a sublime elegance.
The Han are now at their acme, whence the profuseness of literary
productions.

Confucius said, ["Wên Wang is no more, but have we not
here his writings?"][1300] The writings of Wên Wang were transmitted
to Confucius. He composed his works for the Han, to whom they
came down.

Literary men receive their writings from Heaven and should,
therefore, be held in respect. The Five Canons and the Six Arts
form one class of literature, the records of the various writers are
another, essays and treatises are one class, memorials and reports
are one, and so are the descriptions of generous and virtuous actions.
The representatives of these five classes of literature are all worthies.
The composition of essays and the writing of discourses requires
the greatest efforts, for to give expression to the thoughts of one's
heart and to discuss the events of life, is a more arduous task then
to comment upon old Classics, or to supplement old texts. Arguments
are one's own ideas, for which the signs are formulated by
the hand. That exceeds the faculties of the expositors of the
Classics and arts.

In the periods of the Chou and Ch`in, a great many philosophical
writers were busy, but they all took up other subjects,
neither praising the sovereign nor profiting the State nor promoting
civilisation. The essayists eulogise the emperor and exalt the State,

so that its dignity is upheld for a thousand years, and the sovereign's
virtue equals sun and moon. That is what the writings of
the philosophers cannot accomplish.[1301]

Memorials[1302] suggest practical measures, and reports[1303] recommend
officers, the first are in one's own interest, the second in that of
others.[1304] The style may be rich and refined, but the memorials do
not mention meritorious deeds. He who cultivates his moral self
has his own interests in view and not those of the ruler. Consequently,
among the five classes of literature, essays have the highest
value and should be estimated accordingly.[1305]

Confucius remarked respecting the Chou, ["The time of the
dynasties of T`ang and Yü is outshone now; the virtue of the
house of Chou may be said to have reached the highest point
indeed"].[1306]

Confucius was a literary man of the Chou epoch. Had he
lived in the Han time, he would also have pronounced the virtue
of the Han to have reached the highest point.

Chao T`o as king of the southern Yüeh revolted from his lord,
disregarded his commands, and did not observe the institutions of
the Han. He would squat down, his hair bound into a tuft, and
completely abandon himself to the customs of the savages. Lu
Chia spoke to him of the virtue of the Han and so overawed him
with the emperor's majesty, that his conscience awoke, he felt
remorse, and suddenly rose up from his seat.[1307]

The narrow-minded scholars of our age live under the same
delusion as Chao T`o, and the remonstrances of great writers are
like the reproofs of Lu Chia, which rouse those who hear them
from their lethargy.

Chao T`o's conversion was not owing to extraordinary reports
about the glory of the house of Han, but the placid serenity of a
man of letters[1308] were signs of the prosperity of the State. From
their magnificent buildings we recognise noble families, and high

trees indicate an old capital. The fact that eminent literary men
live in a State[1309] proves that it is the age of a sage.

Mencius would judge people from the pupils of their eyes:[1310]
—the heart being pure, the pupils are bright, viz. the colour of
the eyes is bright. The prognostics for a State and the divination
for an individual give the same result:—when the ruler of a State
is a sage, men of letters assemble, and when the heart is kind,
the eyes are brilliant.

An exquisite silk embroidery being dragged through the mire,
every spectator feels shocked. To be able to pity a piece of embroidery,
and to have no idea of the worth of a man of letters,
discloses a great ignorance of analogies.

As regards the signs of Heaven and the signs of man, does
their writing merely consist in mixing the ink and plying the pen,
with the object of producing beautiful and elegant pictures? No,
these signs record men's actions and give publicity to their names.
Honest men desire to be taken notice of and strive for virtue;
wicked ones, on the other side, dislike publicity and do all they
can to frustrate it. Thus the pencil of men of letters encourages
the good and censures the depraved. This is the manner in which
posthumous titles illustrate virtue and stigmatise crime.

Even by the addition of a posthumous name in one character,
people may be praised or censured, and knowing this,[1311] every one
is on his guard. Much greater still is the power of pen and ink,
which determines goodness and badness. All the sayings and
doings are put on record, perhaps in thousands of words, handed
down from generation to generation, and giving a picture of the
deceased, therefore not to be despised.

When Yang Tse Yün was writing his Fa-yen,[1312] a rich man of
Shu sent him an enormous sum of money, to the end that he might
be mentioned in the book, but Yang Tse Yün refused, for a rich
man neither benevolent nor righteous, is but like a stag in a fence,
or an ox in a hurdle; why should he be mentioned without reason?

Pan Shu P`i,[1313] in continuing the work of the Grand Annalist,
also mentioned his fellow-citizens as a warning for wicked people,

for the iniquitous and unprincipled thus clearly marked out and
signalised, could not eschew the shame. As Yang Tse Yün did not
belaud for wealth, so Pan Shu P`i was not disturbed by sympathies,
for the pen of a writer cares for nothing but justice. Worthies
and sages having confided their thoughts to the pen, many strokes
of the pen form a word, and a number of words bring out a
sentiment, the reading of which enables later ages to distinguish
between right and wrong, for why should a false statement be made?

Feet walking on the ground leave prints that may be nice
or ugly, and the words formed of strokes[1314] may indicate a good
or a bad character. Therefore, by explaining the foot-prints, one
gets an idea of the feet, and from reading the words, one learns
to know the character of the person described. [Should one
sentence express the purport of all the 300 Odes of the Shiking it
would be:—"Do not harbour wicked thoughts,"][1315] and for ten and
more chapters of the Lun-hêng one device might be chosen, viz.
"Hate fictions and falsehoods."