a Great officer; and the ruler had ten times that of a high minister. In a state of the second class, the emolument of a minister was three times that of a Great officer; and that of the ruler ten times that of a minister. In small states, a high minister had twice as much as a Great officer; and the ruler ten times as much as a minister.
6. The highest minister, in a state of the second class, ranked with the one of the middle grade in a great state; the second, with the one of the lowest grade; and the lowest, with a Great officer of the highest grade. The highest minister in a small state ranked with the lowest of a great state; the second, with the highest Great officer of the other; and the lowest, with one of the lower grade.
7. Where there were officers of the middle grade and of the lowest, the number in each was three times that in the grade above it[1].
8. Of the nine provinces embracing all within the four seas[2], a province was 1000 lî square, and there were established in it 30 states of 100 lî (square) each; 60 of 70 lî; 120 of 50 lî:—in all, 210 states. The famous hills and great meres were not included in the investitures[3].
The rest of the
- ↑ Some of the critics think that this sentence is out of place, and really belongs to paragraph 5 of next section. As the text stands, and simple as it appears, it is not easy to construe.
- ↑ The expression "the four seas" must have originated from an erroneous idea that the country was an insular square, with a sea or ocean on each side. The explanation of it in the R Ya as denoting the country surrounded by "The 9 Î, the 8 Tî, the 7 Zung, and the 6 Man," was an attempt to reconcile the early error with the more accurate knowledge acquired in the course of time. But the name of "seas" cannot be got over.
- ↑ That is, these hills and meres were still held to belong to all the people, and all had a right to the game on the hills and the fish of the waters. The princes could not deny to any the right of access to them; though I suppose they could levy a tax on what they caught.
P 2
