SECT. III.
THE LÎ YUN.
381
forces of nature, the union of the animal and intelligent (souls), and the finest subtile matter of the five elements[1].
2. Heaven exercises the control of the strong and light force, and hangs out the sun and stars. Earth exercises the control of the dark and weaker force, and gives vent to it in the hills and streams. The five elements are distributed through the four seasons, and it is by their harmonious action that the moon is produced, which therefore keeps waxing
for fifteen days and waning for fifteen[2].
- ↑ Callery's translation of this paragraph is the following:—" L'honme émane, (pour le moral), de la vertu du Ciel et de la Terre; (pour le physique il émane) de la combinaison des (deux principes) Yin et Yang; (pour la partie spirituelle, il émane) de la réunion des esprits et des Dieux; et pour la forme qui lui est propre, il émane de l'essence la plus subtile des cinq éléments." To this he subjoins the following note:—"II m'est difficile de croire que les Chinois eux-mêmes aient jamais rien compris à ces théories androgénésiques, dont tout le mérite git dans le vague de l'énoncé." The Khien-lung editors say:—"The characteristic attributes of Heaven and Earth are blended and hid in the two forces of nature; and this is called the truth that is unlimited. If we speak of those forces in their fundamental character, we call them the Yin and Yang. If we speak of them as they develop their power, we call them Kwei and Shǎn. If we speak of them as they become substantial, we call them the five elements. And this is what is called the essence of what is meant by the second and fifth lines of the Khien hexagram," &c. &c.
- ↑ Callery says here:—"C'est toujours l'application de la théorie des affinités naturelles dont nous avons parlé (see note, p. 281) et dont il importe de bien se pénétrer lorsqu'on veut comprendre quelque chose aux dissertations philosophiques des Chinois." But after the student has done his best to get hold of the theory, he will often be baffled in trying to follow the applications of it. For example, I cannot get hold of what is said here about the genesis of the moon. Much of the next four paragraphs is very obscure.
