Gems of Chinese Literature/Ch‘ing Dynasty
THE SACRED EDICT.
[In 1671, the great Manchu Emperor, K‘ang Hsi, published sixteen moral maxims for the guidance of his people, and gave orders for these to be read aloud by certain officials on the 1st and 15th of each month in every city and town in the empire. In 1724, his son and successor, Yung Chêng, caused short amplificatory essays on these maxims to be written by one hundred of the best scholars of the day; and from these were chosen for publication sixteen essays which the Emperor decided to be the best. Below will be found the seventh of K'ang Hsi's maxims, with its amplification by some unknown hand.]
GET RID OF HETERODOXY, IN ORDER TO GLORIFY THE TRUE DOCTRINE.
WE, desiring to improve public morals, must begin by reforming the heart of man; and in order to reform the heart of man, it is necessary first of all to place education upon a sound basis.
When man comes into being between Heaven and Earth, there are certain moral obligations in his daily life, which are for the learned and simple alike; to seek after the mysterious and to practice strange arts is not to follow the example of the wise and the worthy.
The Canon of Changes says, “Teach the young in order to bring them up as they should be; such is the function of the sage.” The Canon of History says, “Without deflection, without unevenness, without perversity, without onesidedness,―such was the Way of the ancient kings.” Both the above have their origin in the true doctrine.
With regard to uninspired books and uncanonical records, such as startle the age and astonish the vulgar herd, bringing confusion in their train and preying upon the substance of the people, all these are heterodox and should be abolished.
You soldiers and people are mostly willing to lead honest lives; but among you there may be some who have been led astray and who fall through ignorance into crime. These We greatly pity.
From of old three sets of doctrines have come down to us, there being, in addition to Confucianism, the systems of Taoism and Buddhism.
Chu Hsi (q.v.) says, “The teaching of Buddha takes no heed of anything between Heaven and Earth and the four points of the compass, beyond cultivation of the heart. The teaching of Lao Tzŭ aims solely at the conservation of vitality.” Such was the unbiased judgment of Chu Hsi, and shows what were the original aims of Buddhism and of Taoism.
But ever since penniless and homeless rascals have secretly usurped these names and degraded these cults,―mostly quoting calamities and blessings, evil fortune and happiness, to aid in circulating their visionary and baseless talk, beginning by wheedling money out of people in order to enrich themselves, and ending by bringing men and women together in meetings for burning incense,―ever since then the agriculturist and the artisan have neglected their callings, and on all sides are to be met men whose mouths are full of marvels. What is even worse, traitorous and evil-disposed persons lie concealed in the midst, organizing brotherhoods and swearing oaths, meeting at night and dispersing at dawn, breaking the law and failing in duty, disturbing society and imposing on the people. The day comes when all is discovered. They are seized with their accomplices; they are thrown into prison; and their wives and children are implicated. The head of the sect is punished most severely of all, and their source of happiness yields only misfortune. As in the case of the White-Lily and Smell-Incense sects, all of which may be warnings to you just as is a cart ahead (which gets overset).
So too those Western doctrines which teach the worship of the Lord of Heaven are also uncanonical. However, because the men understood mathematics, the State employed them.[1] It is important for you people to know this.
Now towards heterodoxy which disturbs the minds of the masses, the law shows no mercy; and for wizards and their evil tricks the State provides fixed punishments, the object of Our Imperial laws being simply to prevent the people from doing evil and to induce them to be good, to abolish heterodoxy and to glorify the true doctrine, to keep from danger and to court repose.
O ye soldiers and people, to take that body which your parents gave you, born in a peaceful and prosperous age, with clothes to wear and food to eat, and without troubles of any kind, and yet nevertheless to befog its ordinary nature and follow evil tendencies, violating the laws and opposing the authorities of your country,―is not this the height of folly?
Our sacred ancestor, the Humane Emperor, refined the people by his goodness and improved them by his sense of duty; he cultivated the (Five) Perfections and exhibited the (Five) Virtues. Glorious are the precepts by which he strove to lead men's hearts aright, yea, most profound.
You soldiers and people should respectfully sympathize with these Imperial wishes and reverently obey the Holy Doctrine. Drive out heterodoxy as though it were robbers, fire, or flood. These last indeed harm only the body, whereas heterodoxy harms the heart. And the heart is naturally upright, and with firmness of purpose will not suffer disturbance.
If in the future your behaviour is correct, all these evil influences will fail to turn you from the right path; and if within your homes you are peaceful and obedient, you may meet adversity in such a way as to change it into a blessing.
Those who serve their parents with piety and their sovereign with loyalty, and generally fulfil their duties as men, will assuredly surround themselves with divine favours; while those who seek not what is beyond their lot, and do not that which is improper to be done, are sure to meet with prosperity from the spirits.
Do you people attend to your agriculture, and you soldiers to your military affairs. Rest in the pursuit of cotton and silk and pulse and corn; follow the great and perfect principles (of Confucianism); there will then be no need to expel heterodoxy; it will die out of itself!
P‘U SUNG-LING.
17th century a.d.
[After taking his first or bachelor’s degree before he was twenty, this now famous writer, popularly known as “Last of the Immortals,” failed to secure the second and more important degree which would have brought him into official life; the reason being that he neglected the beaten track of academic study and allowed himself to follow his own fancy. His literary output consists of a large collection of weird fantastic tales, which might well have disappeared but for the extraordinarily beautiful style in which they are written, a style which has been the envy and admiration of authors for the past two hundred and forty years. They have been translated into English by the present writer under the title of “Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio.” All that we really know about him is given in the document translated below.]
AUTHOR’S OWN RECORD.
“CLAD in wistaria, girdled with ivy:” thus sang Ch‘ü P‘ing[2] in his Falling into Trouble. Of ox-headed devils and serpent Gods, he of the long nails[3] never wearied to tell. Each interprets in his own way the music of heaven; and whether it be discord or not, depends upon antecedent causes. As for me, I cannot, with my poor autumn fire-fly’s light, match myself against the hobgoblins of the age. I am but the dust in the sunbeam, a fit laughing-stock for devils. For my talents are not those of Kan Pao,[4] elegant explorer of the records of the Gods; I am rather animated by the spirit of Su Tung-P‘o,[5] who loved to hear men speak of the supernatural. I get people to commit what they tell me to writing, and subsequently I dress it up in the form of a story; thus in the lapse of time my friends from all quarters have supplied me with quantities of material, which, from my habit of collecting, has grown into a vast pile.[6]
Human beings, I would point out, are not beyond the pale of fixed laws, and yet there are more remarkable phenomena in their midst than in the country of those who crop their hair;[7] antiquity is unrolled before us, and many tales are to be found therein stranger than that of the nation of Flying Heads.[8] “Irrepressible bursts and luxurious ease,”[9]―such was always one enthusiastic strain. “For ever indulging in liberal thought,”[10]―thus spoke another openly without restraint. Were men like these to open my book, I should be a laughing-stock to them indeed. At the cross-road men will not listen to me, and yet I have some knowledge of the three states of existence spoken of beneath the cliff;[11] neither should the words I utter be set aside because of him that utters them.[12] When the bow was hung at my father's door,[13] he dreamed that a sickly-looking Buddhist priest, but half covered by his stole, entered the chamber. On one of his breasts was a piece of plaster like a cash; and my father, waking from sleep, found that I, just born, had a similar black patch on my body. As a child, I was thin and constantly ailing, and unable to hold my own in the battle of life. Our home was chill and desolate as a monastery; and working there for my livelihood with my pen, I was as poor as a priest with his alms-bowl. Often and often I put my hand to my head and exclaimed, “Surely he who sat with his face to the wall[14] was myself in a previous state of existence;” and thus I referred my non-success in this life to the influence of a destiny surviving from the last. I have been tossed hither and thither in the direction of the ruling wind, like a flower falling in filthy places; but the six paths of transmigration[15] are inscrutable indeed, and I have no right to complain. As it is, midnight finds me with an expiring lamp, while the wind whistles mournfully without; and over my cheerless table I piece together my tales, vainly hoping to produce a sequel to The Infernal Regions.[16] With a bumper I stimulate my pen, yet I only succeed thereby in “venting my excited feelings,”[17] and as I thus commit my thoughts to writing, truly I am an object worthy of consideration. Alas! I am but the bird that, dreading the winter frost, finds no shelter in the tree; the autumn insect that chirps to the moon, and hugs the door for warmth. For where are they who know me?[18] They are “in the bosky grove and at the frontier pass,”[19]―wrapped in an impenetrable gloom!
RAISING THE DEAD.
Mr. T‘ang P‘ing, who took the highest degree in the year 1661, was suffering from a protracted illness, when suddenly he felt, as it were, a warm glow rising from his extremities upwards. By the time it had reached his knees, his feet were perfectly numb and without sensation; and before long his knees and the lower part of his body were similarly affected. Gradually this glow worked its way up until it attacked his heart, and then some painful moments ensued. Every single incident of Mr. T‘ang's life from his boyhood upwards, no matter how trivial, seemed to surge through his mind, borne along on the tide of his heart's blood. At the revival of any virtuous act of his, he experienced a delicious feeling of peace and calm; but when any wicked deed passed before his mind, a painful disturbance took place within him, like oil boiling and fretting in a cauldron. He was quite unable to describe the pangs he suffered; however, he mentioned that he could recollect having stolen, when only seven or eight years old, some young birds from their nest, and having killed them; and for this alone, he said, boiling blood rushed through his heart during the space of an ordinary meal-time. Then when all the acts of his life had passed one after another in panorama before him, the warm glow proceeded up his throat, and entering the brain, issued out at the top of his head like smoke from a chimney. By-and-by Mr. T‘ang's soul escaped from his body by the same aperture, and wandered far away, forgetting all about the tenement it had left behind. Just at that moment a huge giant came along, and seizing the soul, thrust it into his sleeve, where it remained cramped and confined, huddled up with a crowd of others, until existence was almost unbearable. Suddenly Mr. T‘ang reflected that Buddha alone could save him from this horrible state, and forthwith he began to call on his holy name. At the third or fourth invocation he fell out of the giant’s sleeve, whereupon the giant picked him up and put him back; but this happened several times, and at length the giant, wearied of picking him up, let him lie where he was. The soul lay there for some time, not knowing in which direction to proceed; however, it soon recollected that the land of Buddha was in the west, and westwards accordingly it began to shape its course. In a little while the soul came upon a Buddhist priest sitting by the roadside, and hastening forwards, respectfully inquired of him which was the right way. “The Book of Life and Death for scholars,” replied the priest, “is in the hands of the God of Literature and Confucius; any application must receive the consent of both.” The priest then directed Mr. T‘ang on his way, and the latter journeyed along until he reached a Confucian temple, in which the Sage was sitting with his face to the south. On hearing his business, Confucius referred him to the God of Literature; and proceeding onwards in the direction indicated, Mr. T‘ang by-and-by arrived at what seemed to be the palace of a king, within which sat the God of Literature precisely as we depict him on earth. “You are an upright man,” replied the God, in reply to Mr. T‘ang's prayer, “and are certainly entitled to a longer span of life; but by this time your mortal body has become decomposed, and unless you can secure the assistance of a Bôdhisatva, I can give you no aid.” So Mr. T‘ang set off once more, and hurried along until he came to a magnificent shrine standing in a thick grove of tall bamboos; and entering in, he stood in the presence of the Bôdhisatva,[20] on whose head was the ushnisha,[21] whose golden face was round like the full moon, and at whose side was a green willow-branch bending gracefully over the lip of a vase. Humbly Mr. T‘ang prostrated himself on the ground, and repeated what Wên Ch'ang had said to him; but the Bôdhisatva seemed to think it would be impossible to grant his request, until one of the Lohans who stood by cried out. “O Bôdhisatva, perform this miracle. Take earth and make his flesh; take a sprig of willow and make his bones.” Thereupon the Bôdhisatva broke off a piece from the willow-branch in the vase beside him; and pouring a little water on the ground, he made clay, and casting the whole over Mr. T‘ang's soul, he bade an attendant lead the body back to the place where his coffin was. At that instant Mr. T‘ang's family heard a groan come from withing his coffin; and on rushing to it and helping out the lately deceased man, they found that he had quite recovered. He had then been dead seven days.
A CHINESE JONAH.
A man named Sun Pi-chên was crossing the Yang-tze when a great thunder-squall broke upon the boat and caused her to toss about fearfully, to the great terror of all the passengers. Just then, an angel in golden armour appeared standing upon the clouds above them, holding in his hand a scroll inscribed with certain words, also written in gold, which the people on the boat easily made out to be three in number, namely Sun Pi-chên. So, turning at once to their fellow-traveller, they said to him, “You have evidently incurred the displeasure of God; get into a boat by yourself and do not involve us in your punishment.” And without giving him time to reply whether he would do so or not, they hurried him over the side into a small boat and set him adrift; but when Sun Pi-chên looked back, lo! the vessel itself had disappeared.[22]
CHANG PU-LIANG.
A certain trader who was travelling in the province of Chih-li, being overtaken by a storm of rain and hail, took shelter among some standing crops by the wayside. There he heard a voice from the sky, saying, “These are Chang Pu-liang's fields; do not injure his crops!” The trader began to wonder who this Chang Pu-liang could be, and how, if he was pu liang (no virtue), he came to be under divine protection; so when the storm was over and he had reached the neighbouring village, he made inquiries on the subject and told the people there what he had heard. The villagers then informed him that Chang Pu-liang was a very wealthy farmer, who was accustomed every spring to make loans of grain to the poor of the district, and who was not too particular about getting back the exact amount he had lent,―taking in fact whatever they brought him without discussion; hence the sobriquet of pu liang “no measure” (i.e., the man who doesn't measure the repayments of his loans).[23] After that, they all proceeded in a body to the fields, where it was discovered that vast damage had been done to the crops generally, with the exception of Chang Pu-liang's, which had escaped uninjured.
LAN TING-YÜAN.
a.d. 1680-1733
[Also known as Lan Lu-chou. One of the most attractive writers of the Manchu dynasty, especially of State papers and judicial records, and known in his day as a just and incorrupt judge. He managed however to offend his superiors, and was impeached and thrown into prison. From this he was released by order of the Emperor, who loaded him with honours and appointed him to be Prefect in Canton. He died, however, a month later, of a broken heart.]
ON THE SOUTHERN BARBARIANS.
THE barbarians of the south can do no harm to China. The prohibition against trade should be cancelled and the people allowed to do business with them, supplying the deficiencies of the Middle Kingdom from the superabundance of the lands beyond the sea. There should be no delay in this matter.
Recently, a Lieutenant-Governor of Fuhkien presented a secret memorial to the Throne, stating that he suspected the merchants engaged in foreign trade of selling ships to the barbarians, and that the latter carried rice away to other countries, which practice might ultimately become a great loss to China. He also feared that foreign ships were addicted to piracy, and requested that all native vessels might be prohibited from going abroad and so lessen the risk of such calamities. This was but the shallow, narrow-minded opinion of a book-worm, the limited area of sky which appears to a man sitting at the botton of a well! He himself regarded it as the far-reaching foresight of a statesman, as an excellent plan laid at the feet of his sovereign;―but he was wrong. His Imperial Majesty K‘ang Hsi took it very much to heart, fearing that there was at any rate some chance of what he said turning out to be the case. Accordingly, he made enquiries both among high officials and private individuals; for he had his suspicions about those statements, and wished to get hold of some person who was acquainted with the affairs of these distant peoples, from whom he might learn the actual truth. However, at that time none of the officials had ever been beyond the seas, and it was impossible for private individuals to communicate direct with His Majesty; so that nothing was done and the prohibition came into force, contrary in fact to His Majesty's intentions. Now only those who are versed in the affairs of the maritime nations are competent to give an opinion on the desirability of encouraging their trade. The barbarian countries beyond the sea are thickly scattered about like stars. Of all of them Korea is nearest to the holy city (Peking), and there ceremonies and laws are observed. Of the eastern nations the Japanese are the fiercest and most important. Beyond Japan there are no barbarian nations of any magnitude. Descending a little we come to Lewchow, which consists of a number of islands of different sizes extending over about two thousand li. Their watercourses all debouch on the east coast, beyond which there are no other nations. The southern barbarians are many in number. Luzon and Singapore are among the largest; Brunei, Sulu, Malacca, Indragiri, Acheen, Johore, Banjermassin, the Carimon islands, and many others, are all infinitesimally small and not worth mentioning. They have never dared to entertain bad intentions towards China. Annam and Southern Cochin-China are connected together, like Kuang-tung and Kuang-si; and beyond these we have Cambodia, Ligor, Chiya, Patani, and other nations to the south-west, of all of which Siam is the most important. To the extreme west there are the red-haired and western foreigners, a fierce violent lot, quite unlike the other barbarians of the western islands. Among them there are the English, the Islamists, the French, the Dutch, the Spaniards, and the Portuguese. These are all very fierce nations; their ships are strong and do not fear typhoons; and their guns, powder, and munitions of war generally are superior to those of China. Their natures are dark, dangerous, and inscrutable; wherever they go they spy around with a view to seizing other people’s lands. Of all the island barbarians under the heaven the red-haired barbarians, the western barbarians and the Japanese are the three most deadly. Singapore originally belonged to the Malays, who were in the habit of trading with these red-haired barbarians. Subsequently, they were ousted by them, and the place became a barbarian harbour and emporium. Luzon also was a Malay colony, but because the Catholic religion was permitted there, it fell similarly into the hands of the western foreigners. During the Ming dynasty Japan rebelled, and many provinces were overrun by them, so that even now the people of those parts cannot mention the name of the robber dwarfs without a shudder. The numerous nations of southern barbarians have never yet given the slightest cause of trouble to China: their only business is trade and the circulation of goods. Now there is no prohibition against trade with Japan or with the red-haired barbarians, and the Catholic religion of the western foreigners is spreading all over the land, Canton and Macao being actually open to them as places of residence; only against these innocent southern barbarians has a prohibition been put forth which stops all intercourse with them. This surely requires some investigation. For the people of Fuhkien and Kuang-tung are very numerous in proportion to the area they inhabit; and as the land is not sufficient to supply their wants, some five or six out of every ten look to the sea for a livelihood. Articles paltry in our estimation acquire the value of jewels when carried across the sea to these barbarians; all the dwellers on the sea-bord send off their trifling embroidery, etc., in the foreign-going ships for sale, and receive annually from the barbarians many hundred thousand taels of silver, all of which comes into China. Thus no small issues depend upon the cancelment of the prohibition. Before trade with these southerners was stopped the people of Fuhkien and Kuang-tung were well-to-do, and the scum and riff-raff of their populations went off to try and enrich themselves among the barbarians. Few remained at home either to starve or to steal. But since the arrest of commerce, merchandise cannot circulate and the people daily find it more difficult to support life. The artisans complain that there is no market for their manufactures; the traders sigh that they are unable to carry them to those distant ports. For the four or five thousand taels which it takes to build a foreign-going junk are tied up in vessels which are rotting in a dock or upon the now desolate sea-shore. The occupation of these junks is gone. If put up for sale no purchaser could be found; and breaking them up to make smaller vessels would be like paring down the beam of a house to make a peg, or unpicking embroidered work to get a skein of silk. No one would willingly do that. Besides they hope that some day the clouds will break and the sun shine out, that the prohibition will be repealed and trade go on as before; and the loss of a single one of these large junks would reduce many families to misery and ruin. The present destitute state of the sea-bord population is entirely due to the stoppage of trade. Those of them who understand marine work and are accustomed to act as sailors are unable to adapt themselves to the duties of weight-carriers and earn their living as ordinary coolies. They prefer the dangers of the sea where piracy supplies them with their daily food. The rowdies and blackguards have still less before them. They go off in large numbers to Formosa, and there rebel against the Imperial Government as they actually did in the year 1721 under the leadership of Ch'en Fu-shou. It is a principle that nothing should be left undone which may turn out of the smallest advantage to the State and to the people; and, similarly, that everything likely to cause the least detriment to either should be incontinently cast away. Now to prohibit trade with the southern foreigners, so far from being advantageous, is very much the contrary. Of the sea-bord population the rich will be made poor, and the poor, destitute. Their artisans will be changed into loafing vagabonds, their loafing vagabonds into pirates and robbers. Further, Fuhkien has no silver mines and is dependent on the barbarians for its supply of that metal. But since the prohibition none has been forthcoming, and the result will be some such expedient as a paper, cloth, or leather issue, whereby great mischief will be done. The advantages of repealing the prohibition would be the circulation of goods and the absorption of our own bad characters; and thus the people would have the wherewithal to support their parents and rear their children. Hence it would follow that a larger revenue would be yielded by the Customs, and the country enriched by the wealth of the people. Surely this is no trifling advantage. As to selling their junks to the barbarians to carry rice out of the country, or cases of piracy committed by foreigners, such things have hitherto been quite unknown. To build a foreign-going junk in China costs from seven to eight thousand taels for a large one, from two to three thousand for a small one. How much could they get for these? A Chinese trader invests his money in a junk as a means of enriching himself; he intends to hand it down to his sons and grandsons. In case he ceases to care about trading abroad himself, he lets his junks out to somebody else and pockets so much per annum. He is not likely to wish to sell it. Besides, the barbarian wood is much stronger than our own; in fact our merchants buy quantities of it, a mast which costs there only one or two hundred taels being here worth as much as a thousand. The barbarians build their vessels much more strongly than we do, putting a whole tree where we should only use a plank, and where we use nails of a few inches they use nails of over a foot in length. Truly I do not think they would be overjoyed to receive our junks as gifts, to say nothing of paying a heavy price for them. Fuhkien and Kuang-tung produce but little rice, least of all Fuhkien. The people look to T‘aiwan for the half of their annual supply, or are partly furnished from Kiang-si and Cheh-kiang. Before the prohibition, a considerable quantity of rice was sent from the Philippines to Amoy. These barbarian countries produce plenty of rice and do not look to China for their supply. The merchants engaged in the foreign trade, being all men of means, would be hardly likely to risk running counter to the law; and under any circumstances, seeing they can get four or five taels per picul for conveying other goods, it is hardly likely they would accept the comparative trifle they would obtain for carrying rice, and offend against the law into the bargain. The biggest fool would scarcely be guilty of this. Hitherto our foreign-going junks have never been plundered on the high seas. Pirates hang about the coast and dodge in and out of islands, seldom going farther from land than two or at most three hundred li, for as but few junks go to a greater distance from the land than that, it would only be waste of time, to say nothing of their having no anchorage at hand, if it should chance to come on to blow. The foreign-going junks on the other hand leave the land thousands of li behind them, and being large vessels have no fear of the wind and the waves. No pirate junks could keep up with them. Besides the pirates have a fine field among the Cheh-kiang and Canton merchant vessels; there is no need for them to direct their attention to foreign-going junks. And even if they chanced to fall in with them, their own junks being so small, they would require a ladder to get up the sides. Pirate junks carry from twenty to thirty men; these sea-going junks at the very least over a hundred men. Neither would they wait for a hand to hand fight with the pirates, but would get to windward of them, and then bear right down on them and sink their junk. Piracy, therefore, is hardly a sufficient cause of alarm.,
That at the present moment, with His Majesty upon the throne and the empire at peace, and when all the human race are, as it were, but one family, we should prohibit trade only with the mild and gentle foreigners of the south, reflects somewhat upon those officials who know these things and yet do not speak them. Where is their loyalty, their patriotism, their care for men from afar and their solicitude for those who are near, their consideration for the prosperity of the Chinese people? Insignificant I, can only look on and sigh.
AGAINST BUDDHISM.
Of all the Eighteen Provinces Cheh-kiang is the one where Buddhist priests and nuns most abound. In the three prefectures of Hang-chow, Chia-hsing, and Hu-chow, there cannot be fewer than several tens of thousands of them, of whom, by the way, not more than one-tenth have willingly taken the vows. The others have been given to the priests when quite little, either because their parents were too poor to keep them, or in return for some act of kindness; and when the children grow up, they are unable to get free. Buddhist nuns are also in most cases bought up when children as a means of making a more extensive show of religion, and are carefully prevented from running away. They are not given in marriage―the desire for which is more or less implanted in every human breast, and exists even amongst prophets and sages. And thus to condemn thousands and ten thousands of human beings to the dull monotony of the cloister, granting that they strictly keep their religious vows, is more than sufficient to seriously interfere with the equilibrium of the universe. Hence floods, famines, and the like catastrophes; to say nothing of the misdeeds of the nuns in question.
When Wên Wang came to the throne (1122 b.c.) his first object was the proper disposition of the sexes, so that there should be no unmarried maids within, no unattached bachelors without. Thus was the good Government of that monarch displayed. And it is the duty of those who occupy high places to see to the due adjustment of the male and female elements; of those whose functions bring them into closer connexion with the people, to give their minds to the improvement of our national manners and customs―duties that should on no account be allowed to fall into neglect. When I passed through Soochow and Hangchow I saw many disgraceful advertisements that quite took my breath away with their barefaced depravity; and the people there told me that these atrocities were much practised by the denizens of the cloister, which term is simply another name for houses of ill-fame. These cloister folk do a great deal of mischief amongst the populace, wasting the substance of some and robbing others of their good name. “You, sir,” some of the people said to me, “being an official, and it being your business to look after public morals, will doubtless refuse to countenance such proceedings. Good government consists of carrying out the natural wishes of men and women to mate together. A clever man like you will necessarily pay attention to this.”
A DEAD BEGGAR GETS A WIFE AND SON.[24]
The wife of a man, named Chêng, once came before me to complain that her husband had been driven to commit suicide. She said that he had been beadle of a certain village, and that having had some trouble in collecting taxes from a man, named Hsiao, who withheld his title-deed and refused to listen to argument, the latter, on the 13th day of the moon, had collected a number of friends and wrecked the house, beating her husband so severely that, in despair, he threw himself into the river and was drowned. She further indicated the spot at which the body was to be found; and accordingly, though suspecting in my heart the truth of her story, I had no alternative but to hold the usual inquest. Her son got the corpse on board a boat and brought it along, and I proceeded forthwith to make an examination. No wounds were visible upon it; the finger-nails were full of mud and sand―a sure proof of suicide by drowning―though at the same time I felt confident that the persons accused, who were all honestly engaged in trade, would not thus causelessly set upon and beat another man. Further, deceased had been beadle of the place, and those now arraigned on this charge of murder had frequently complained on previous occasions to my predecessor in office, of the depredations of thieves, with a view to their losses from the beadle; and I, when I took over the seals, had gone so far as to fix a limit of time within which the missing articles were to be restored, but without success. Now, there was this story of attack and suicide; but the flesh on the face of the dead man was too far decomposed to admit of his identification, and I also thought it rather strange that no one should know anything about an affair which had happened eight days previously, and that there should have been such delay in making the charge. At the same time, as the inquest was held only eight days after death, it remained to be shown why the body should be then so far gone in decomposition as if the man had been dead for a fortnight or more. On my putting this last question to the prosecutrix, her son replied that bodies naturally decompose more rapidly in water than otherwise; and as for the accused, they none of them seemed to have a word to say for themselves, while mother and son stood there jabbering away, with their hempen garments and mourning staves, the one bemoaning the loss of her husband, the other of his father, in such affecting tones as would have drawn tears from the bystanders even had they been of iron or of stone. My own conviction was, however, unfavourable to their case, and I bade them go along home and bury the body themselves. At this, there was a general expression of astonishment; and then I called the accused and said to them, “Chêng is not dead; can you not manage to arrest him?” They all declared that they “didn’t know;” whereupon I railed at them, saying, “What! you can’t find out the affairs of those who live in the same village and draw from the same well as yourselves? This indolent careless behaviour is perfectly amazing. It’s all very well to be callous when other people are concerned; but now that you stand charged with this murder and your own necks are in peril, it being my duty to commit you to prison, do you mean to tell me that you are willing to take the consequences?” The accused men then burst into tears, and implored me to save them; to which I replied, “Here is this man Chêng, who was formerly an accomplice of thieves, alarmed by my appointment to office, disappears from the scene. Now, your cities of refuge are confined to some half-dozen or so; and if you separate and go to them in search of the missing man, I have no doubt but that you will find him.” Three days passed away, when back came one of them with Chêng, whom he had caught at the city of Hui-lai. They were followed by a large crowd of several thousand persons, who clapped their hands and seemed much amused; among them being the mother and son, overwhelmed with shame, and grovelling in the dust before me. I made the latter tell me the name of the legal adviser who had egged them on to act thus, and I punished all three according to law and to the great delight of the inhabitants of the district. As for the corpse, it was that of a drowned beggar, and no one came forward to claim it. However, as the pretended wife and son had worn sackcloth and carried funeral staves, interring the body with every outward demonstration of respect, the beggar’s soul must have had a good laugh over the whole affair down in the realms below.
VISITS TO STRANGE NATIONS.
17th century a.d.
[The following extracts from the Ching Hua Yüan give an imaginary account of some portions of the travels of a party of friends, undertaken in the year a.d. 684 as a protest against the frivolous and aggressive policy of the then reigning Empress, coupled with a strong flavour of commercial enterprise. They are included in this volume not because of any grace of style in the original text, but as specimens of literature akin to such works as “Gulliver’s Travels,” though lacking the philosophic motive which underlies Swift’s work.]
THE COUNTRY OF GENTLEMEN.
Imagine that, instead of preferring to buy things at low prices, men habitually preferred to give high prices for them; and imagine that, conversely, sellers rejoiced in getting low prices, instead of high ones.―Herbert Spencer.
THEY sailed along for many days until they arrived at the Country of Gentlemen, where they went on shore and proceeded at once to the capital city. There, over the city gate, T‘ang and his companions read the following legend:―
Virtue is man’s only jewel!
They then entered the city, which they found to be a busy and prosperous mart, the inhabitants all talking the Chinese language. Accordingly, T‘ang accosted one of the passers-by and asked him how it was his nation had become so famous for politeness and consideration of others; but to his great astonishment the man did not understand the meaning of his question. T‘ang then asked him why this land was called the Country of Gentlemen, to which he likewise replied that he did not know. Several other persons of whom they enquired giving similar answers, the venerable To[25] remarked that the term had undoubtedly been adopted by the inhabitants of adjacent countries, in consequence of the polite manners and considerate behaviour of these people. “For,” said he, “the very labourers in the fields and foot-passengers in the streets step aside to make room for one another. High and low, rich and poor, mutually respect each other’s feelings without reference to the wealth or social status of either; and this is after all the essence of what constitutes the true gentleman.”
“In that case,” cried T‘ang, “let us not hurry on, but rather improve ourselves by observing the ways and customs of this people.”
By-and-by they arrived at the market-place, where they saw an official servant[26] standing at a stall engaged in making purchases. He was holding in his hand the articles he wished to buy and was saying to the owner of the stall, “Just reflect a moment, Sir, how impossible it would be for me to take these excellent goods at the absurdly low price you are asking. If you will oblige me by doubling the amount, I shall do myself the honour of accepting them; otherwise, I cannot but feel that you are unwilling to do business with me to-day.”
“How very funny!” whispered T‘ang to his friends. “Here now is quite a different custom from ours, where the buyer invariably tries to beat down the seller, and the seller to run up the price of his goods as high as possible. This certainly looks like the ‘consideration for others’ of which we spoke just now.”
The man at the stall here replied, “Your wish, Sir, should be law to me, I know; but the fact is I am already overwhelmed with shame at the high price I have ventured to name. Besides I do not profess to adhere rigidly to ‘marked prices,’ which is a mere trick of the trade; and consequently it should be the aim of every purchaser to make me lower my terms to the very smallest figure. You, on the contrary, are trying to raise the price to an exorbitant figure; and although I fully appreciate your kindness in that respect, I must really ask you to seek what you require at some other establishment. It is quite impossible for me to execute your commands.”
T‘ang was again expressing his astonishment at this extraordinary reversal of the platitudes of trade when the would-be purchaser replied, “For you, Sir, to ask such a low sum for these first-class goods and then to turn round and accuse me of over-considering your interests, is indeed a sad breach of etiquette. Trade could not be carried on at all if all the advantages were on one side and the losses on the other; neither am I more devoid of brains than the ordinary run of people that I should fail to understand this principle and let you catch me in a trap.”
So they went on wrangling and jangling, the stall-keeper refusing to charge any more and the runner insisting on paying his own price, until the latter made a show of yielding and put down the full sum demanded on the counter, but took only half the amount of goods. Of course the stall-keeper would not consent to this, and they would both have fallen back upon their original positions had not two old gentlemen who happened to be passing stepped aside and arranged the matter for them by deciding that the runner was to pay the full price but to receive only four-fifths of the goods.
T‘ang and his companions walked on in silence, meditating upon the strange scene they had just witnessed; but they had not gone many steps when they came across a soldier[27] similarly engaged in buying things at an open shop window. He was saying, “When I asked the price of these goods, you, Sir, begged me to take them at my own valuation; but now that I am willing to do so, you complain of the large sum I offer, whereas the truth is that it is actually very much below their real value. Do not treat me thus unfairly.”
“It is not for me, Sir,” replied the shopkeeper, “to demand a price for my own goods; my duty is to leave that entirely to you. But the fact is that these goods are old stock and are not even the best of their kind; you would do much better at another shop. However, let us say half what you are good enough to offer; even then I feel I shall be taking a great deal too much: I could not think, Sir, of parting with my goods at your price.”
“What is that you are saying, Sir?” cried the soldier. “Although not in the trade myself I can tell superior from inferior articles and am not likely to mistake one for the other. And to pay a low price for a good article is simply another way of taking money out of a man's pocket.”
“Sir,” retorted the shop-keeper, “if you are such a stickler for justice as all that, let us say half the price you first mentioned, and the goods are yours. If you object to that, I must ask you to take your custom elsewhere. You will then find that I am not imposing on you.”
The soldier at first stuck to his text, but seeing that the shop-keeper was not inclined to give way, he laid down the sum named and began to take his goods, picking out the very worst he could find. Here, however, the shop-keeper interposed, saying, “Excuse me, Sir, but you are taking all the bad ones. It is doubtless very kind of you to leave the best for me; but if all men were like you, there would be a general collapse of trade.”
“Sir,” replied the soldier, “As you insist on accepting only half the value of the goods, there is no course open to me but to choose inferior articles. Besides, as a matter of fact the best kind will not answer my purpose so well as the second or third best; and although I fully recognise your good intentions, I must really ask to be allowed to please myself.”
“There is no objection, Sir,” said the shop-keeper, “To your pleasing yourself; but low-class goods are sold at a low price and do not command the same rates as superior articles.”
Thus they went on bandying arguments for a long time without coming to any definite agreement, until at last the soldier picked up the things he had chosen and tried to make off with them. The bystanders, however, all cried shame upon him and said he was a downright cheat, so that he was ultimately obliged to take some of the best kind and some of the inferior kind and put an end to the altercation.
A little farther on our travellers saw a countryman who had just paid the price of some purchases he had succeeded in making, and was hurrying away with them, when the shop-keeper called after him, “Sir! Sir! you have paid me by mistake in finer silver than we are accustomed to use here, and I have to allow you a considerable discount in consequence. Of course this is a mere trifle to a gentleman of your rank and position, but still for my own sake I must ask leave to make it all right with you.”
“Pray don't mention such a small matter,” replied the countryman, “but oblige me by putting the amount to my credit for use at a future date when I come again to buy some more of your excellent wares.”
“No, no,” answered the shop-keeper, “you don’t catch old birds with chaff. That trick was played upon me last year by another gentleman, and to this day I have never set eyes upon him again, though I have made every endeavour to find out his whereabouts. As it is, I can now only look forward to repaying him in the next life; but if I let you take me in in the same way, why, when the next life comes and I am changed, may be into a horse or a donkey, I shall have quite enough to do to find him, and your debt will go dragging on till the life after that. No, no, there is no time like the present; hereafter I might very likely forget what was the exact sum I owed you.”
They continued to argue the point until the countryman consented to accept a trifle as a set-off against the fineness of his silver and went away with his goods, the shop-keeper bawling after him as long as he was in sight that he had sold him inferior articles at a high rate and was positively defrauding him of his money. The countryman, however, got clear away, and the shop-keeper returned to his grumbling at the iniquity of the age. Just then a beggar happened to pass, and so in anger at having been compelled to take more than his due he handed him the difference. “Who knows,” said he, “but that the present misery of this poor fellow may be retribution for overcharging people in a former life?”
“Ah," said T‘ang, when he had witnessed the finale of this little drama, “truly this is the behaviour of gentlemen!”
THE COUNTRY OF GREAT MEN.
A voyage of a few days brought them to the Country of Great Men, where they would hardly have landed but for T‘ang's curiosity to see a people who he had heard used clouds as a means of locomotion. The omniscient To explained that the city lay at some distance from the shore behind a range of hills, and that it would be absolutely necessary to get as far as that if they wanted to see anything of the manners and customs of the people. So they set off to walk, meeting on the way a few people moving about on clouds of different colours about half a foot from the ground, but they soon lost themselves in a perfect labyrinth of paths and did not know which way to turn. Luckily, they spied out a small temple hidden in a grove of waving bamboos, and were on the point of knocking for admittance, when out came an old man of ordinary appearance, riding on a cloud, with a stoup of wine in one hand and a lump of pork in the other.[28] On seeing the strangers he turned back and put down the pork and wine, returning at once with a smile on his face to welcome them to his “rush hut.” T‘ang made him a low bow and enquired what might be the name of the temple. He replied that it was sacred to the goddess of mercy and that he was the officiating priest. The trader Lin opened his eyes at this and said, “But, my venerable Sir, how comes it then that you do not shave your head? And may we presume that there is a lady inside for whom you were about to prepare the pork and wine we saw just now?”
“There is, indeed, a lady within,” replied the priest, “but she is merely the insignificant wife of your humble slave. She and I have lived here ever since we were children, burning incense and candles daily before the shrine. For our countrymen, hearing that China during the Han dynasty had accepted the Law of Buddha and that priests and nuns with shaven heads had become quite common there, determined to adopt the same religion, dispensing however with the usual monastic vows.”
The old priest then asked them whence they came, and on learning that they had just arrived from China became anxious to shew them some hospitality; but T‘ang prayed him to excuse them, urging that they wished to hurry on to the city. He then added, “May I ask what is the explanation of the clouds I see underneath the feet of the inhabitants of this country? Are you born with them?”
“Sir,” answered the old priest, “these clouds are perfectly independent of the will of the individuals to whom they are attached. Their colour varies, and also changes, with the disposition of each particular person. The best clouds to have are striped like a rainbow; yellow is the second best, and black is the worst of all.” T‘ang then begged him to point out the way to the city, which he did, and our travellers forthwith proceeded on their way thither. At length they arrived, but found nothing very different from what they had previously seen in the Country of Gentlemen, except that all the inhabitants were moving about on clouds of various hues, green, red, yellow, blue, and black. Amongst others they noticed a filthy beggar riding on a striped or rainbow cloud; whereupon T‘ang remarked, “Why, the priest told us that the striped cloud was the best of all, and here is a dirty old beggar with one!”
“Don't you recollect,” said Lin, “that the wine-bibbing, meat-eating, wife-marrying ascetic had a striped cloud himself? You may be pretty sure that neither of them are men of very distinguished virtue.”
“When I was here before,” explained To, “I heard that the colour of a man's cloud was quite independent of his wishes, being regulated entirely by his natural disposition and actions, so that virtuous people shew good colours and wicked people bad ones whether they like or not; and that nothing short of change of disposition and conduct can possibly alter the hue of any man's cloud. Thus it happens that persons of high rank are sometimes seen on black clouds, while their poorer and humbler neighbours ride about on clouds of the very best colours. As it is, I would have you notice how few―scarcely two in a hundred―are seen on black clouds. For such are held in universal detestation by their fellow-countrymen, who avoid contact with them as much as they can; whereas, on the other hand, nothing gives more pleasure to the inhabitants of this region than the sight of a kindly and benevolent act. Neither are they always striving to get the better of one another, and therefore the people of the adjacent nations have named this the country of great men; not meaning thereby that physically speaking they are greater than the usual run of human beings, but that they are a high-minded and virtuous race.”
While they were thus talking, the people in the streets began to fall back to either side, leaving a clear passage in the middle; and by-and-by they saw an official pass in great state with his red umbrella, gongs, tablets, and other instrumental parts of his dignity, besides hosts of attendants on clouds of various hues. They noticed, however, that his own cloud was scrupulously concealed by a valance of red silk so that its colour could not possibly be seen; whereupon T‘ang observed, “Of course the high officials of this country have no need for horses or sedan-chairs, provided as they are with these convenient clouds upon which they can move about at their pleasure; but I should like to know why this gentleman keeps his cloud covered up in such a mysterious manner.”
“Well,” replied To, “the fact is that he, like too many others of his class, has a cloud of a peculiar colour. It is not exactly black but more of an ashen hue, shewing thereby that his hands are not nearly so clean as they ought to be. For although he puts on all the appearance of a virtuous member of society and conceals his misdeeds from the world at large, yet he cannot control his cloud which takes its hue from the real working of his inmost mind. Consequently, he covers it up; but he might as well ‘stuff his ears’ and ‘ring a bell’ for all the good that can do him. Other people will hear the bell if he doesn’t. Nothing on earth will change the colour of that cloud of his except a conscientious repentance and a thorough reformation of character. Besides there is every danger of the truth becoming bruited abroad, and then he is a lost man. Not only would he be severely punished by the king of the country, but he would further be shunned on all sides as a degraded and dishonourable man.”
“Great God!” cried the trader Lin, “how unjust are thy ways.”
“Why say you so?” asked T‘ang of his uncle, “and to what may you be particularly alluding?”
“I say so,” replied Lin, “inasmuch as I see these clouds confined to this nation. How useful it would be in our country to have some such infallible means of distinguishing the good from the bad. For if every wicked man carried about, so to speak, his own shop-sign with him wherever he went, surely this would act as a powerful deterrent from crime.”
“My dear friend,” said the aged To, “though the wicked in our part of the world carry about with them no tell-tale cloud, there is nevertheless a blackness in their looks by which you may know the colour of their hearts.”
“That may be so,” answered Lin, “but I for one am unable to perceive whether the blackness is there or not.”
“You may not detect it,” retorted To, “but God does, and deals out rewards and punishments accordingly.”
“Sir,” said Lin, “I will take your word for it;”―and there the discussion ended.
YÜAN MEI.
a.d. 1715-1797
[An official who got into trouble with his superiors and went into retirement at the early age of 40. Chiefly known as a poet, he wrote prose in a fascinating style, and his witty and amusing letters are widely read. He also composed a famous cookery-book, which amply entitles him to be regarded as the Brillat-Savarin of China.]
THE ART OF DINING.
EVERYTHING has its own original constitution, just as each man has certain natural characteristics. If a man’s natural abilities are of a low order, Confucius and Mencius themselves would teach him to no purpose. And if an article of food is in itself bad, the greatest chef of all ages could not cook a flavour into it.
A ham is a ham; but in point of goodness two hams will be as widely separated as sea and sky. A mackerel is a mackerel; but in point of excellence two mackerel will differ as much as ice and live coals. And other things in the same way. So that the credit of a good dinner should be divided between the cook and the steward,―forty per cent. to the steward, and sixty per cent. to the cook. Cookery is like matrimony. Two things served together should match. Clear should go with clear, thick with thick, hard with hard, and soft with soft. I have known people mix grated lobster with birds’-nest, and mint with chicken or pork! The cooks of to-day think nothing of mixing in one soup the meat of chicken, duck, pig, and goose. But these chickens, ducks, pigs, and geese, have doubtless souls; and these souls will most certainly file plaints in the next world as to the way they have been treated in this.
Let salt food come first, and afterwards food of a more negative flavour. Let the heavy precede the light. Let dry dishes precede those with gravy. No flavour should dominate. If a guest eats his fill of savouries, his stomach will be fatigued. Salt flavours must be relieved by bitter or hot-tasting foods, in order to restore the palate. Too much wine will make the stomach dull. Sour or sweet food will be required to rouse it again into vigour. In winter we should eat beef and mutton; in summer dried and preserved meats. As for condiments, mustard belongs specially to summer; pepper to winter.
Don't eat with your ears! By this I mean do not aim at having extraordinary out-of-the-way foods, just to astonish your guests. For that is to eat with the ears, not with the mouth. Beancurd, if good, is actually nicer than birds’-nest.[29] And better than sea-slugs (bêche-de-mer), if not first-rate, is a dish of bamboo shoots. The chicken, the pig, the fish, the duck,―these are the four heroes of the table. Sea-slugs and birds’-nest have no characteristic flavours of their own. They are but usurpers in the house. I once dined with a friend who gave us birds’-nest in bowls more like vats, holding each about four ounces of the plain-boiled article. The other guests applauded vigorously, but I smiled and said, “I came here to eat birds’-nest, not to take delivery of it wholesale.”
|text=Don't eat with your eyes! By this I mean do not cover the table with innumerable dishes and multiply courses indefinitely. For this is to eat with the eyes, not with the mouth.}} |text=To know right from wrong, a man must be sober. And only a sober man can distinguish good flavours from bad. It has been well said that words are inadequate to describe the various shades of taste. How much less then must a stuttering sot be able to appreciate them!}} |text=To make good tea, the water must be poured on at the moment of boiling. If allowed to go on boiling, the water will lose its flavour. If the water is allowed to go off the boil, the tea-leaves will float.}} |text=I am not much of a wine-drinker, but this makes me all the more particular. Wine is like scholarship. It ripens with age, and it is best from a fresh-opened jar. “The top of the wine-jar, the bottom of the tea-pot,” as the saying has it.}}
DID CONFUCIUS WRITE THE ANNALS OF LU?[30]
I have received a copy of your book, entitled “Some difficult points in the Annals,” which I regard as a specimen of accurate scholarship. Based upon the works of Tan Chu and Chao K‘uang, it certainly surpasses both of them; and as for the work of Hu An-ting, the less said the better. Nevertheless, my humble opinion, with which I invariably end up, is that the book we know as the Annals of Lu is not the work of Confucius.
Confucius said of himself,[31] “I edited, but did not write,”―the writing of Annals being the business of the official historiographers. Now Confucius was not an official historiographer, and “he who does not hold an office cannot direct its administration.”[31] How could he usurp the function of the historiographers, and without authority do their work for them? There is the saying, “By the Annals I shall be known, by the Annals I shall be blamed,”[32] as though Confucius was taking up the attitude of an uncrowned king, which not only the Master himself would not have done, but which the Prince and his Ministers, and the official historiographers, would not have tolerated. Further, Confucius said, “What I have written, I have written; what I have cut out, I have cut out. Tzŭ-yu and Tzŭ-hsia cannot add a single phrase;”[33] yet though he laid down his pen at the capture of the ch‘i lin,[34] the Annals continued to be written from the 14th to the 16th year of Duke Ai, when Confucius died and the record came to an end. Whose pen was it that provided the Annals of those three years? Whose were the additions? From this it is clear that the Lu State had its own historiographers, and that the preservation or loss of its Annals had nothing to do with Confucius.
Of all books in which we can put our trust, there is none like the “Discourses.” It contains the teaching of the Sage; and taken together with the Canons of History, Poetry, the Book of Rites, and the Canon of Changes,―in regard to which last Confucius said that were his life prolonged for fifty years, he would devote them all to its study,―it may be said that not one of these works makes the slightest reference to the Annals.
When Han Hsüan-tzŭ was invited to the Lu State, he saw the Canon of Changes with its diagrams, and also, the Annals. In the “Records of the Ch'u State” we read of Shên Shu-shih, tutor to the Heir Apparent of king Chuang, teaching his pupils the Annals and in the “Records of the Chin State” we read of Yang-shê Hsi being celebrated for his familiarity with the Annals. That is to say, before the age of Confucius all the various States had for a long period written Annals of their own.
There is a possibility that Confucius, on his return from Wei to Lu, in moments spared from his work on the “Odes,” may have read the Annals and perhaps have made some improvements. Whether Kung-yang or Ku-liang[35] quoted from the unimproved text or not, we cannot know; what is certain is that Confucius did no “writing.”
CHANG KÊNG.
18th century a.d.
[Author of the Kuo hua ch‘êng lu, published in 1739, a collection of short biographies of one hundred and thirty artists, exclusive of nine Buddhist priests, one Taoist priest, and ten women, followed by a supplement containing lives of seventy-two more artists, exclusive of six Buddhist priests and twelve women. The “Chiao,” mentioned below, is Chiao Ping-chên, who painted “according to the method of western foreigners,” and reproduced, with improved perspective, the pictures entitled “Agriculture and Weaving,” by Liu Sung-nien (a.d. 1195-1224.]
PERSPECTIVE.
UNDER the Ming dynasty there was Li Ma-tou (Matteo Ricci), a native of Europe, who, being able to speak Chinese, came to the southern capital (Nanking) and lived in the western camp at the Chêng-yang gate. He painted a picture of the Pope, and depicted a woman holding a little child, declaring that this last was a representation of God. The projection and colouring of these were very fascinating; and the artist himself maintained that the Chinese could only paint flat surfaces, consequently there was no projection or depression (relief) in their pictures. We in our country, he said, paint both the light and the dark, so that the result shows projection and depression. A man’s full face is light, and the side parts are dark. If the side parts are coloured dark in a picture, the face will appear in relief. Chiao acquired this art, and modified his style accordingly, but the result was not refined and convincing. Lovers of antiquity would do well not to adopt this method.
LIN TSÊ-HSÜ.
a.d. 1785-1850
[The famous Imperial Commissioner and Viceroy of Hupeh and Hunan, who seized and destroyed some ten million dollars' worth of foreign-owned opium and brought on war with Great Britain. For this he was recalled and disgraced, being subsequently banished to Ili. In 1845 he was restored to office, and once again rose to high rank. He was a fine scholar, a just and merciful official, and a true patriot. As "Commissioner Lin" he appeared for a time in Mme. Tussaud's collection of celebrities.]
A LETTER TO QUEEN VICTORIA.
THE ways of God are without partiality; it is not permissible to injure another in order to profit oneself. The feelings of mankind are not diverse; for is there any one who does not hate slaughter and love life? In your honourable nation, which lies 20,000 li away, separated by several oceans, these ways of God and feelings of mankind are the same; there is no one who does not understand the distinctions between death, life, profit, and injury. Our divine House reckons as its family all within the Four Seas; and our great Emperor, as though with the goodness of God, offers shelter to all alike, even distant wilds and far off countries sharing with us in life and in the means of nourishment.
Now, ever since the restrictions on sea-borne trade at Canton were relaxed―several decades back―and a free business intercourse followed, the people of the Inner Land and the barbarian ships from outside have been at peace in the enjoyment of their profits. It may be added that rhubarb, tea, silk, etc., are among the most precious products of the Middle Kingdom, and that if the Outside nations were unable to obtain these, they would be deprived of the necessaries of life. That our divine House, regarding all with equal goodness, allows these goods to be sold without stint for export beyond the sea, and extends its favours to sympathy with the foreigner, is solely to model its own feelings upon those of God and Mother Earth. There is, however, a class of treacherous barbarians who manufacture opium, smuggle it in for sale, and deceive our foolish people, in order to injure their bodies and derive profit therefrom. Formerly, smokers were few in number; but of late the contagion has spread, and its flowing poison has daily increased. In China, of those who are thus involved, a great many are wealthy persons, but there are also among the foolish masses some who cannot resist a whiff, and so injure their lives; in all such cases the penalty is self-inflicted, and there is really no room for pity. But ever since the great Ch'ing dynasty united the empire, its aim has been to regulate manners and customs with the view of rectifying the heart of man; how then can our House allow those who live within the girdle of the Seas to poison themselves at their own sweet will? Therefore, all who trade in or smoke opium in the Inner Land will be most severely punished, and the introduction and circulation of the drug will be for ever prohibited.
It appears that this particular form of poison is illegally prepared by scoundrels in the tributary tribes of your honourable country and in the devil-regions under your jurisdiction; but of course it is neither prepared nor sold by your sovereign orders. Further, that it is not all nations but only some which prepare this article; and that you do not allow your own people to smoke, under severe penalties for disobedience, evidently knowing what a curse it is and therefore strictly prohibiting the practice. But better still than forbidding people to smoke, would it not be to forbid the sale and also the preparation of opium? Surely this would be the method of purifying at the fountain-head. Not to smoke yourselves, but yet to dare to prepare and sell to and beguile the foolish masses of the Inner Land―this is to protect one's own life while leading others to death, to gather profit for oneself while bringing injury upon others. Such behaviour is repugnant to the feelings of human beings, and is not tolerated by the ways of God.
In view of the dominion exercised by our divine House over Chinese and barbarian alike, nothing would be easier than to put the guilty to death; but in respectful sympathy with the sacred intelligence and great leniency of our Emperor it is only fitting that orders should be issued beforehand. Hitherto, it has not been customary to send written communications to the princes of your honourable nation; and now, if suddenly there came this stringent prohibition, you might try to plead ignorance as an excuse. I now propose that we shall unite to put a final stop to this curse of opium; in the Inner Land by prohibiting its use, and in your dominions by prohibiting its preparation. As to the stocks already prepared, your country must at once issue orders that these shall be searched out and be consigned to the bottom of the sea, and never again allow this poisonous thing to appear between heaven and earth. Not only will the people of the Inner Land benefit thereby, but also the people of your honourable nation―for since they prepare it, who knows but that they smoke it?―if the manufacture is forbidden, will not suffer injury from its use. Will not this plan confer on both parties the blessings of perfect peace, and further manifest the sincerity of the respectful conciliatoriness of your honourable country? Having this clear perception of divine principles, Almighty God will not send down calamities upon you; and being thus in harmony with the feelings of mankind, you will receive the approbation of our Holy Sages.
Further, inasmuch as under strict penalties smoking opium is now forbidden in the Inner Land, even if prepared there will be no opportunity of selling it and therefore no profit to be made, rather than lose capital and toil in vain, why not direct one's energies into another line of business? Also, all opium discovered in the Inner Land will be totally destroyed by fire and burning oil; and if barbarian ships again smuggle in opium, it will only remain to burn them likewise, with the risk that they may have on board other goods, so that jade and pebbles perish alike. Thus, there would be no profit, with evident injury to self; a desire to injure others forestalled by injury to self. Our divine House controls the myriad nations by a spiritual majesty which is unfathomable; do not say that you were not warned in time! And on receipt of this letter, make haste to reply, stating the measures which have been adopted at all sea-ports for cutting off the supply. Do not falsely colour the matter nor procrastinate! Anxiously waiting; anxiously hoping.
2nd moon of the 19th year of Tao Kuang (1839).
TSÊNG KUO-FAN.
a.d. 1811-1872
[The famous statesman and general who was chiefly responsible for the suppression of the T‘ai P‘ing rebellion, fighting strenously in the cause of the Manchus from 1853 to the fall of Nanking in 1864. Ennobled as Marquis and raised to the rank of Viceroy, he lived incorruptible, and in spite of all the temptations to which a high Chinese official is exposed, died poor. “When his wardrobe was examined,” says the memorial submitted to the Throne, “to find some suitable garments for the last rites, nothing new could be discovered. Every article of dress had been worn many times; and this may be taken as an example of his rigid economy for himself and in all the expenditure of his family.” The Chinese government made provision for his family, and for the education of his brilliant son, afterwards popular Minister at the Court of St. James’s and known as the Marquis Tsêng.]
A FAMILY LETTER.
BROTHER Ch‘êng and others,
On former occasions when I sent family letters, they took thirty-five days to reach you. On the last occasion, a special messenger has not reached you, even after forty days. The rebels being just now round about Lo-p‘ing and Jao-chou,[36] I fancy that a circuitous route has been taken.
After the recapture of Hsiu-ning[37] on the 12th inst., Tso’s[38] army was divided into eight columns, and a small defeat was suffered at Chia-lu, forcing a retreat upon Ching-chên. Luckily, however, the rebels did not follow up their attack, and Tso obtained a few days’ grace for reorganization, the result being that the moral of the men was not greatly weakened.
Just now, Tso’s troops are advancing upon Lo-p‘ing and P‘o-yang. Pao’s[39] troops, because of the critical state of Fu-chou and Chien-ch‘ang, were to have been sent to Kiangsi, first of all to secure the general situation, and then to relieve the two cities in question; but recently both P‘o-yang and Ying-chên have been considered to be in such danger that Pao’s troops have been temporarily held back and were not allowed to leave hurriedly for Kiangsi. As for Hu,[40] I fear that the dogs of rebels have come down from Huang-chou[41] to attack An-ch'ing,[42] and brother Yüan’s troops have been sent to join Pao’s troops in bringing aid to the north bank. On the various ranges in the neighbourhood of Ch'i-mên,[43] the rebels managed, on the 23rd inst. to capture two positions, so that for several months past there has not been much leisure for supporting operations. Dangers have frequently broken out; the foreign devils have been giving trouble in all directions, and there is even talk of their threatening Ch'i-mên. Thus, it seems to me that the present year will be full of difficulties for us to deal with.
Well, ever since the winter of the 3rd year of Hsien Fêng (1853) I have devoted my body to my country's service, and I am willing to die stretched on the battle-field, but not willing to die “beside the window.”[44] Such was my original ambition, and of late years, during my career in the army, I have acted always to the best of my ability and to the limit of my strength. I have nothing to be ashamed of, and I shall close my eyes without regret.
It remains for the various members of my family, brothers and their sons and their nephews, to bear in mind the eight words of their grandfather: “Examine, value, early, sweep, books, vegetables, fish, pork.”[45] Also, with due reverence, bear in mind the three “Don't believes” of the same grandfather:―
Don't believe in genii of mountain, river, or tree!
Don't believe in doctors and their drugs!
Don't believe in priests of any faith!
In my own diary there are eight other fundamental principles:―
In your studies, make teaching your aim.
In verse or prose, make rhythm your aim.
In serving parents, make their happiness your aim.
In matters of health, make equanimity your aim.
In your career, make restraint of language your aim.
In home life, make getting up in good time your aim.
In official life, make honesty your aim.
In military life, make care for the people your aim.
These eight principles have all been carefully tested by me and found to be suitable for application. My brother, you too should teach your sons and nephews to bear them in mind. For no matter whether the times may be at peace or in rebellion, your family rich or poor, if you can adhere to the eight words of your grandfather and to the eight fundamental principles which I have laid down, you cannot possibly fail to be a man of the highest order. Whenever I write a letter home, it is my duty to impress these points upon you, and also because of the risks of military life, in anticipation of any thing that may happen.
Personally, I am in good health; and although the men's pay is four months in arrear, their moral has not seriously weakened. I think we can hold out, but it is impossible to say. The family must not give way to anxiety.
Dated 11th year of Hsien Feng (1861)
CHANG CHIH-TUNG.
a.d. 1835-1909
[One of the most distinguished officials of modern times, popularly known as the Incorruptible, who raised himself by his learning and ability to the highest posts in the empire. In early life he showed great animosity to the foreigner, and declared that “these outer barbarians are as ravenous as wolves;” yet in the Boxer crisis in 1900, it was he who most materially assisted in saving European and American lives. His literary style was brilliant to a degree surpassed only, perhaps, in these days by Liang Ch‘i-ch‘ao. His chief work was on education, extracts from which are given below.]
RELIGION.
IHAVE heard that those who wish to save us from the upheavals of the present age, arrange their advice under three heads, to wit: (1) Keep safe our State. (2) Keep safe our holy religion. (3) Keep safe our Flowery stock. Now these three points are in reality connected by a single thread, and that is unanimity. To keep safe our stock, we must first keep safe our religion; to keep safe our holy religion, we must first keep safe our State. How can the stock be preserved? Wisdom will preserve it; wisdom, which is another term for religion. How can religion prevail? Force can make it prevail; force, which is another name for militarism. Thus it is that in a State which does not command respect, religion will not obtain; and if the State be not prosperous, the stock will not be held in honour. There is the religion of Islam; it is not based upon right, yet because the Turks are a fierce, cruel, and courageous race, the religion retains its vitality. There is Buddhism; here we find an approximation to right, yet because the Indians are an unwarlike race, Buddhism has lost its hold. There is the “luminous” religion (Nestorianism) of Persia; because the State was weak, the religion was changed. The ancient religion of Greece may exist or it may not; the Roman Catholic and Protestant religions prevail over six-tenths of the earth’s surface, a result which is due to powerful militarism. Our holy religion prevails in the Middle Land, where for several thousand years it has undergone no change. The Five Emperors and the Three Kings made clear the Way (Tao) and handed down laws, adding the part of teacher to that of ruler.
The conflict of divers religions has been seen among ourselves for over two thousand years. Confucianists and the followers of Mo Tzŭ were in conflict, and so were the followers of Lao Tzŭ and Confucianists. Chuang Tzŭ was a Taoist, yet he was in conflict with other Taoists. Hsün Tzŭ was a Confucianist, yet he was in conflict with other Confucianists. Under the T‘ang dynasty (a.d. 618-905), Confucianists and Buddhists were in conflict; and during the next two hundred years Buddhists and the followers of Lao Tzŭ were in conflict. The object of Confucianists in attacking any other faith is to distinguish truth from falsehood; other religions attack one another for the sake of establishing pre-eminence. In our days, the rights and wrongs of these conflicts are clear. Confucius and Mencius have handed down to us a holy religion which is absolutely unvarying and a perfect standard of conduct, glowing brightly like the sun or moon in mid-sky; embodying the pure law of God above with the fullest recognition of human relationships; even in far-off lands, where customs are different, there are none to say a word in its disfavour.
EDUCATION.
Students of the present day should begin by making themselves acquainted with the Confucian Canon, in order to understand the aim of the inspired rulers and teachers of old in establishing the religion of the Middle Kingdom. They should examine the dynastic histories, in order to appreciate the various epochs of government and rebellion, as well as the manners and customs of the various parts of the empire. They should hunt through the body of general literature, in order to make themselves acquainted with the best examples of the learning of the Middle Kingdom. After that, they may choose any line in western learning which makes up for deficiencies in ours, and apply the same accordingly; they may also adopt points from the governments of the west which strengthen any weaknesses in our own government. Such action will conduce only to our advantage, and not to our harm.
Western learning should be preceded by Chinese learning. In all schools in foreign countries, there is a daily recitation from the Canon of Jesus, in honour of the religion. In the elementary schools, the study of the Latin language comes first, in honour of antiquity. In geography, students are first familiarized with the maps of their own country, and then proceed to the map of the whole world, thus showing a proper sequence. The books used in these schools mostly set forth the virtuous government of ancient rulers, and the songs sung in public and in private life mostly glorify the strength and prosperity of the nation, thus exhibiting a love of country. A scholar among us who should be unacquainted with our Chinese learning, would be like a man who did not know his own surname, like a horseman without a bridle, or a boat without a rudder. The deeper his knowledge of western learning, the more unfriendly would his attitude become towards China. Even if he were a man of great learning and much ability, of what use would such a man be in the government of his own country?
IN PRAISE OF THE MANCHUS.
For the past two hundred and fifty years, the officials and people within the boundaries of the Four Seas, daily marching between high Heaven and Mother Earth, have been nourished in their growth by unremitting care, down to the present day. If we compare the history of China for the past two thousand years with the histories of western countries for the past fifty years, have their governments shown the generosity, the charity of heart, the loyalty, the sincerity of ours? Although China is neither rich nor strong, nevertheless all her people, rich, noble, poor, and humble alike, can pass their days in comfort, and rejoice that they were born into this world. Now although the countries of the west are flourishing, the sorrows of the masses, their sufferings, and the poison of wrongs, which press them on all sides without redress, cause them to watch their opportunity for breaking out and murdering their sovereign or assassinating a Minister, examples of which deeds are recorded every year. Thus we know that their form of government is most certainly not equal to that we have here in China.
YÜAN SHIH-K‘AI.
1860-1916.
[A statesman with a singular record. He rose to the highest positions under the Manchu dynasty. His attitude towards the Boxers in 1900 was one which foreigners, saved thereby from what would probably have been a terrible massacre, must always remember with gratitude. He subsequently became a great favourite with the Empress Dowager; but in 1909, after attending a meeting of the Grand Council, he received an Edict which informed him that he “was unexpectedly suffering from an affection of the foot” and called upon him to resign. He obeyed at once, the explanation being that he had quarrelled with the Regent; and he remained in retirement until 1911, when he was recalled to deal with the revolutionaries. In 1912 he was elected President of the Republic, taking the oath given below. By 1915 he had engineered a movement in favour of himself as Emperor, which was disclosed and defeated principally by Liang Ch‘i-ch‘ao (q.v.); and after pretending to refuse, he actually fixed the date of his coronation for 9th February, 1916, and chose the style of his reign. But public opinion was too strong against him―the Chinese will forgive anything sooner than disloyalty―and the project was abandoned. He survived the disgrace only a few months.]
A BROKEN OATH.
[From a Photograph.]
IHEREBY make oath and say:
With reference to the establishment of government by the people and the various administrative measures to be drawn up, I am most anxious to exert my utmost strength in spreading and supporting the republican spirit; to scour out the flaws and filth of autocratic rule; to observe the constitutional laws in accordance with the will of the people; and to associate our State with peaceable and powerful countries, so that the five great members[46] of our nation may one and all derive happiness and profit therefrom. All these aims I swear to follow up without change; and so soon as the National Assembly has been called together and a President[47] has been duly elected for the first term of this office, I will resign my position and will reverently adhere with all sincerity to the oath which I now swear to my countrymen.
(Signed) YUAN SHIH-K‘AI.
LIANG CH‘I-CH‘AO.
[Born 1872. One of the most brilliant of the band of reformers who succeeded in establishing the Republic and later on in defeating the treacherous bid for monarchy by Yüan Shih-k‘ai. He has written extensively on politics, education, religion, and sociology, in a style which, for beauty and lucidity combined, may well rank with that of China’s masterpieces. It has in fact been said that “his style displays so classical a finish that the Chinese often shed tears over his compositions, simply from admiration of their beauty. He has been Minister of Justice, and also of Finance, under the Republic; and in 1919 he attended the Peace Conference at Paris as delegate.]
MY COUNTRY!
THE greatest country in the greatest of the five continents of the world,―which is it? My country, the Middle State, the Flowery Land! The people who number one-third of the human race,―who are they? My countrymen of the Middle State, the Flowery Land! Annals which extend back without a break for over four thousand years,―of what country are these? Of my country, the Middle State, the Flowery Land! My country contains four hundred million inhabitants, who all speak what is fundamentally the same language, and use the same script: of no other country can this be said. Her ancient books hand down events which have occurred during more than thirty centuries past: of no other country can this be said.
Of old, there were five States: China, India, Persia, Egypt, and Mexico. Of four of these the territory remains, but as States all four have disappeared. Wandering over the deserted sites, you see only traces of the ruins left by the ironclad horsemen, followers of Mahomet, or the arenas where once warlike Caucasian tribes gloried in the song and dance. But my country, the Middle State, the Flowery Land, stands proudly alone, having survived, in one unbroken line, ever increasing in size and brilliancy, down to the present day. And in the future it will spread into a myriad branches, to be fused together in one furnace. Ah, beautiful is my country! Ah, great are my countrymen! Now, ere inditing a rough outline of their story, I must purify myself thrice with perfume and the bath; then, looking up to heaven, with many prostrations, thank God that I was born in this lovely land, as one of the sons of this great people.
THE CIVILIZATION OF JAPAN.
The reception of foreign learning by the Chinese people differs from its reception by the Japanese. Japan is a small country, and moreover possesses no learning which is really its own. Therefore, if such learning arrives from without, the Japanese rush to it as though on galloping horses, change as rapidly as echo follows sound, and in the twinkling of an eye the whole nation is transformed. However, a careful estimate of their capacity shows that they are really nothing more than mere imitators; they are in no sense able to add anything of their own or anything they may have themselves initiated. Now China is not like that. China is a huge country with a learning of its own, which has been handed down for several thousand years and which is so well fortified by defences that foreign ideas do not easily find their way in. Even if they do get in, for many perhaps a hundred years their influence will not succeed in rumpling the hair of one’s head. It is like throwing ink into water. If the water is in a foot-wide bowl or in a ten-foot pool, the ink will very rapidly discolour it all; but if the same ink is thrown into a mighty rushing river or into the wide and deep ocean, can these be easily stained in the same way? Again, although China is not receptive of foreign learning, from what she does receive she makes a point of extracting all the excellences and adapting these to her own advantage. She transmutes the substance and etherializes its use, thus producing a new factor of civilization which is altogether her own. Her blue is thus bluer than the original indigo-blue of foreigners; her ice is colder than their water. Ah me! Deep mountains and wide marshes give birth indeed to dragons; but the footprints of our noble representative can never have been familiar to the small-sized gentlemen of the Country of Dwarfs.
CHINA’S NEED.
Just now, all China is under the influence of Yang Chu.[49] There are those whose talk is of Confucius but whose deeds are of Yang; there are others whose talk and deeds are both of Yang. The limit is reached by those whose talk is of Mo Ti[50] but whose deeds are of Yang; and there are even some who, recognizing neither Confucius, nor Yang, nor Mo, carry out the principles of Yang amid those of no understanding. Alas! Yang's teachings have been the ruin of China. They have indeed, and the only way to save her is to turn to the teachings of Mo Ti; not to the teachings of any other Mo but to the teachings of the real Mo, Mo the philosopher.
LIBERTY.
“Without Liberty, better die.” New words these! During the 18th and 19th centuries these words were the foundation on which States were established by the various peoples in Europe and the Americas,―will liberty in the same sense serve the purpose of the modern Chinese nation? I reply that liberty connotes equal rights for all; it is an important factor in human life, and there is no direction in which it will fail to serve such a purpose. At the same time it should be noted that a distinction must be made between real liberty, false liberty, complete liberty, partial liberty, the liberty of civilization, and the liberty of savages. “Liberty! Liberty!” has gradually become the pious catchword of our callow youth of to-day. But the leaders of our “new people” say, If China would forever enjoy the blessings of a complete civilization and of a genuine liberty, it is necessary to begin by defining exactly that in which liberty consists. Allow me then to discuss this question.
Liberty is diametrically opposed to slavery. If we examine the histories of the development of liberty in Europe and in the Americas, we shall find that the struggle was confined to the four following points: (1) administrative liberty, (2) religious liberty, (3) national liberty, and (4) economic liberty. The object of the first was to protect the people against their own government; of the second, to protect members of a church against the church; of the third, to protect one's own nation against foreign nations; and of the fourth, to protect the people against the operations of Capital and Labour. Administrative liberty may be further divided under three heads, the respective objects being (1) to secure the liberty of the masses in regard to officials, (2) to secure the liberty of the whole nation in regard to the government in power, and (3) to secure the liberty of colonies in regard to the mother country. The principles on which the practice of liberty depends are no more than these.
Liberty means that every man shall be free, except that he may not encroach upon the freedom of others. And since it is forbidden to each individual to encroach upon the freedom of others, it follows that such subjection of the individual is also a point of importance. How can this be regarded as a drag on liberty? Liberty connotes the freedom of the whole community and not the freedom of the individual. In the early ages of savagedom, individual liberty prevailed and the liberty of the community did not exist; whereas in civilized times the liberty of the community has predominated and the liberty of the individual has decreased. These two statements are indisputable and contain no shade of error. If the liberty of the individual is to be accounted true liberty, then of the inhabitants of the world who enjoy the blessings of liberty, none can be compared with the people of China at the present day.
The gentry, bullies of the countryside, gobble up their poorer neighbours like fish, and there are no means of resisting them; traders abscond, leaving their debts unpaid, and those who have been swindled have no means of redress. Now, it is open to all men to become gentry or traders; it follows, therefore, that the liberty of the community is also a point of importance. Is not this so? In the highest classes there are men and women who make a perfect cesspool of official life;―is this liberty? In the towns there are young and old who look on opium as a necessary food;―is this liberty? In a civilized State, there would be, for light offences of the kind, a money fine, and for grave offences, sequestration of property. Other points in like manner; but so many are they that, were I ten men, I could not reckon then all up. Viewed in this light, I ask you, “who are they who enjoy liberty,[51]―the people of China, or the people of other nations?”
- ↑ Adam Schall, Ferdinand, Verbiest, and Matteo Ricci.
- ↑ A celebrated statesman and poet, 332-295 b.c.
- ↑ Li Ho, a poet who lived a.d. 791-817, noted also for his small waist and joined eyebrows.
- ↑ 4th century a.d.
- ↑ The famous statesman, poet, and essayist, a.d. 1036-1101.
- ↑ The plan adopted by Charles Dickens.
- ↑ Southern savages of early ages.
- ↑ A fabulous race, whose heads leave their bodies at night and fly off in search of food.
- ↑ From the poet Wang Pieh, a.d. 648-676.
- ↑ ? The poet Li Po, d. a.d. 762.
- ↑ Referring to the story of an old priest who said that these states, present, past, and future, bore no relation to eternity.
- ↑ A Confucian maxim.
- ↑ A small towel announces the birth of a girl.
- ↑ Bôdhidharma, the Buddhist Patriarch who went as missionary to China and died there circa A.D. 535.
- ↑ Angels, men, demons, hungry devils, brute beasts, and tortured sinners.
- ↑ By Lin I-ch'ing.
- ↑ From the philosopher, d. 233 b.c.
- ↑ Confucius said, “Alas! there is no one who knows me (to be what I am).”
- ↑ That is, non-existent; like Li Po, whom his brother-poet, Tu Fu, saw coming to him in a dream.
- ↑ One who has fulfilled all the conditions necessary to the attainment of Buddhahood and Nirvâna, but from charity of heart continues voluntarily subject to reincorporation for the benefit of mankind.
- ↑ A fleshy protuberance on the head, which is the distinguishing mark of a Buddha.
- ↑ The point of this story is lost in translation. Pi-chên may mean to the ear either “must be struck” or “must be saved,” though in writing two different characters are used. That the other passengers misread chên “to be saved” for chên “to be struck”―Sun must be struck―is evident from the catastrophe which overtook their vessel, while Sun's little boat rode safely through the storm.
- ↑ The two phrases, “no virtue” and “no measure,” are pronounced alike.
- ↑ This is the record of an actual case.
- ↑ A sobriquet meaning “Much,” and referring to the old man’s learning.
- ↑ A class very much dreaded by shop-keepers in China for their avarice and extortion. Usually called “runners.”
- ↑ If possible a more deadly foe to Chinese tradesmen than the runners above mentioned. These ill-paid, and consequently brutal, vagabonds used to think nothing of snatching pastry or fruit from the costermongers’ stalls as they walked along the streets. Hence the delicacy of our author's satire, which is necessarily somewhat lost upon foreign readers.
- ↑ Evidencing a gross breach of the rule pasted at the door of every Buddhist temple―
No wine or meat shall enter here!
- ↑ Juvenal, too, contends that “magis illa juvant quae pluris emuntur.”
- ↑ See under K‘ung Fu-tzŭ (Confucius). It was Mencius who first attributed these Annals to Confucius, and he makes the Master say, “By these Annals alone will men know me; by these Annals alone will men blame me.” They were written at a time when morality was at a low ebb, and their object was, as Ssŭ-ma Ch‘ien tells us, to frighten rebellious Ministers and unfilial sons. They are known to the Chinese by the picturesque name of “Springs and Autumns,” which means nothing more than “Annals,” a more convenient term.
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 Thus recorded in the “Discourses.”
- ↑ Condensed here in the Chinese to four words, “Know me, blame me,” which could only be understood by those familiar with the quotation given above.
- ↑ The authority is the historian, Ssŭ-ma Ch‘ien (q.v.).
- ↑ A fabulous animal, known to collectors of curios as the kylin. It was regarded as an evil omen, and Confucius announced that his own end was at hand. Two years later he died (479 b.c.)
- ↑ Two writers of commentaries on the Annals of Lu. Inasmuch as their works were not committed to writing until perhaps two hundred years after the death of Confucius, their value is reduced considerably. Specimens of both have been given.
- ↑ In Kiangsi.
- ↑ In Anhui.
- ↑ Tso Tsung-t‘ang, one of the greatest generals of modern times―in any country.
- ↑ Pao Ch‘ao, who rose to the Commander-in-Chief in Hunan.
- ↑ Hu Lin-i, another general who greatly distinguished himself against the T‘ai P‘ings.
- ↑ In Hupeh.
- ↑ In Anhui.
- ↑ In Anhui.
- ↑ That is, “in my bed.” The allusion is to a visit by Confucius to a disciple who was dying. The Master went to the sick man’s house, and grasped his hand through a window, beside which the patient's bed had been placed.
- ↑ Such is the literal meaning of the Chinese characters employed; their application may perhaps be elucidated by some surviving descendant of the great Viceroy.
- ↑ Chinese, Manchus, Mongols, Mussulmans, and Tibetans.
- ↑ He himself was elected, with the consent of Sun Yat-sen, Provisional President in the south.
- ↑ “The biggest thing I have learned in writing the ‘Outline’ is the importance of Central Asia and China. They have been, and they are now still, the centre of human destiny.”
- ↑ Founder of the “selfish” school. See p. 18.
- ↑ Who taught the doctrine of “universal love.” See p. 14.
- ↑ Here, the evils, not the blessings, of too much liberty.