one hair they could advantage the empire, would not give it; but all would offer the whole body, which was not wanted. If no man ever lost a single hair, and no man ever advantaged the empire, the empire would enjoy good government. An enquirer then asked Yang Chu, saying, “If by sacrificing a single hair you could help the world, would you do it?” “The world,” replied Yang Chu, “could most certainly not be helped by a single hair.” “But if it could,” urged the enquirer, “would you do it?” To this, Yang Chu returned no answer, and the enquirer took his leave.
SELF-SACRIFICE.
Yang Chu said, The admiration of the empire is for Shun, Yü, Chou,[1] and Confucius; its detestation, for Chieh and Chou.[1]
Shun was engaged in ploughing and in making pottery. His four limbs never knew a moment's rest; his palate was never tickled and his belly never full; his parents ceased to love him, and his brothers and sisters ceased to care for him. He had lived for thirty years before he asked his parents' leave to be married; and when Yao resigned the throne to him (2255 b.c.[2]), he was already old, his mind was impaired, and his son was worthless, so he handed on the throne to Yü and dragged out a melancholy existence until the end. Here was a divine man who exhausted all the poisons of this life.
When K'un failed to reduce the waters of the flood[3] and was put to death, Yü (his son), ignoring the question of vengeance, took over the task and worked at it with great energy. A son was born to him, but he had no time to care for it; he even passed his own door without going into the house. He was paralysed on one side; his hands and feet became hard and horny; when he received the throne from Shun (2205 b.c.), his palace was a humble cottage, though his State regalia was magnificent; and thus he dragged out
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 These two words are quite distinct in Chinese; in speech, they are differently toned; and in writing, the characters used are differently formed.
- ↑ Since the discovery of the inscribed bones and their interpretation by Lo Chên-yü and L. C. Hopkins, these early dates are no longer regarded as legendary.
- ↑ A more or less local catastrophe, which has been foolishly identified with Noah's flood.
