Gems of Chinese Literature/Tso-Ch'iu Ming-A Tunnel

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How Yen-Tzŭ would not Die with his Prince

Gems of Chinese Literature
translated by Herbert Allen Giles

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TSO-CH‘IU MING.

PROBABLY 4TH AND 5TH CENTURIES B.C.

[Very little is known of this writer, whose very name is a matter of doubt. His important work, the Tso Chuan,^[1] was a so-called commentary on the Annals of the Lu State, mentioned on p. 1. Those annals consisted of bald statements of the principal events which took place in the successive years of each prince's reign. Tso-ch'iu Ming supplemented these by detailed accounts of the various incidents alluded to; and thus we have a vivid panorama of the wars and treaties, the intrigues and dissensions, the loves and hates, of China's feudal age. The style of the work is grand in the extreme, and is a perfect repertory of Chinese proverbs and familiar household words.]

1516437Gems of Chinese Literature — A TunnelHerbert Allen GilesTso-Ch'iu Ming

[In 721 b.c., the mother of Duke Chuang of the Ch'ing State conspired against him, with a view to put her younger son on the throne. The plot failed.]

Then the Duke placed his mother under restraint, swearing to her the following oath: “Until we meet in the Underworld, I will not look upon you again,” an oath of which he shortly repented. Later on, one of the frontier officials, who had heard the story, came to pay his respects. The Duke entertained him with a meal, and noticed that he put aside a portion of the meat served to him. On the Duke asking him why he did so, the official replied, “Your servant has a mother, who always shares his food; she has never tasted your Grace's meat, and I beg to be allowed to keep some for her.” The Duke said, “Ah, you have a mother to whom you can give things; alas! I have no mother.” The official ventured to ask how this could be; and the Duke told him, adding that he now repented of his oath. “This need not trouble your Grace,” said the official. It will be necessary only to dig down to the Underworld and form a tunnel in which the meeting can take place. Who shall say that this is not in accordance with your oath?” The Duke agreed, and entered the tunnel singing,

Herein we find
Our peace of mind,

while his mother came in singing,

Without, no more
Was joy in store,

and thus they became mother and son as before.

↑ This title has been taken by some to mean literally “Helping Commentary,” and the work has been attributed to Confucius himself.

[1] This title has been taken by some to mean literally “Helping Commentary,” and the work has been attributed to Confucius himself.

[1]