CHAPTER XLIV

CONFUCIUS

Confucius has hitherto appeared to many of us Westerners as a stiff, incomprehensible individual, resting his claim to immortality upon sententious nothingnesses directed to no obvious practical purpose; but, from the slight sketches of the manners of the times in which he lived given above, it will be apparent that he was a practical man with a definite object in view, and that both his barebones history and his jerky moral teachings were the best he could do with sorry material, and in the face of inveterate corruption and tyranny. It has been explained how the Warrior King who conquered China for the Chou family in 1122, about a dozen years later enfeoffed the elder brother of the last Shang dynasty emperor in the country of Sung, where he ruled the greater part of what was left of the late dynasty's immediate entourage, and kept up the sacrifices. This is what Confucius meant when he said: "There remain not in K'i sufficient indications of what the institutions of the Hia dynasty were; but I have studied in Sung what survives of the Shang dynasty institutions. In practice I follow the Chou dynasty institutions, as I have studied them at home in Lu." K'i was a very petty state of marquess rank situated near Lu, to which, indeed, it was subordinate; but just as Sung had, as representatives of the Shang dynasty, the privilege of carrying out certain imperial sacrifices, so had K'i, as representatives of the Hia dynasty (enfeoffed by Chou in 1122), an equal right to distinction. Confucius' ancestors were natives of Sung and scions of the ducal family reigning there; in fact, in 893 his ancestor ought to have succeeded to the Sung throne: in 710 B.C. the last of these ancestors to hold high official rank in Sung was killed, together with his princely master; and several generations after that the great-grandfather of Confucius, in order to avoid the secular spite of the powerful family who had so killed his ancestor, decided to migrate to Lu. In other words, he just crossed the modern Grand Canal (then the river Sz, which rose in Lu), and moved a few days' journey north-east to the nearest civilized state of any standing. Confucius' father is no mythical personage, but a stout, common soldier, whose doughty deeds under three successive dukes are mentioned in the Lu history quite in a casual and regular way. When still quite a child, Confucius disclosed a curious fancy for playing with sacrificial objects and practising ceremonies, just as English children in the nursery sometimes play at "being parson and sexton," and at "having feasts." When he grew up to manhood, a high officer of Lu foretold his future greatness, not only on account of his precociously grave demeanour, but also because he was in direct descent from the Shang dynasty, and because the intrigues that had taken place in Sung had deprived him of his succession rights there also. This high officer's two sons, both frequently mentioned by various contemporary authors, and one of whom subsequently went with Confucius to visit Lao-tsz at the imperial court, thereupon studied the rites under the man of whom their father had spoken so well. The only official appointment in Lu that Confucius was able to obtain at this period was that of steward to one of the "powerful families" then engaged in the task, so congenial in those times all over China, of undermining the ducal authority; this appointment was a kind of stewardship, in which his duties consisted in tallying the measures of grain and checking the heads of cattle. One of the two sons of the above-mentioned statesman who had foreseen Confucius' distinction, some time after this submitted a request to the ruler of Lu that he might proceed in company with Confucius to visit the imperial capital; and it is supposed by Sz-ma Ts'ien, the historian of 100 B.C., that this was the occasion on which took place the philosopher's famous interview with Lao-tsz. In this connection there are two or three remarks to make. In the first place, it is recorded of nearly all the vassal states that they either did pay visits to, or wished to visit, the metropolis; and that royal dukes and royal historians, either at vassal request or under imperial instruction, took part in advising vassal states. In the second place, as Confucius then held no high office, his visit, being a private affair, would not be considered worth mentioning in the Lu annals, and it would therefore almost follow as a matter of course that the young man who accompanied him, being of official status by birth, would count as the chief personage. In the third place, there is no instance in the Confucian histories of a mere archive-keeper or a mere philosopher being mentioned on account of his importance in that capacity. Such men as Tsz-ch'an, Shuh Hiang, Ki-chah, and the other distinguished "ritualists" of the time, are not mentioned so much on account of their abstract teachings as they are on account of their being able statesmen, competent to stave off the rising tide of revolutionary opinions. Even Confucius himself only appears in contemporary annals as an able administrator and diplomat; there is no particular mention of his "school," and, a fortiori, he himself does not mention Lao-tsz's "school," even if Lao-tsz had one; for he disapproved of Lao-tsz's republican and democratic way of construing the ancient tao. Finally, neither Confucius nor Lao-tsz, however great their local reputations, were yet universally "great"; they were consequently as little the objects of hero-worship as was Shakespeare when he was at the height of his activity; and of the living Shakespeare we know next to nothing. At this time Lu was in a quandary, surrounded by the rival great powers of Tsin, Ts'i, and Ts'u, all three of which absolutely ignored the Emperor, except so far as they might succeed in using him and his ritualistic prestige as a cat's-paw in their own selfish interests. When Confucius was thirty years of age (522 B.C.) the ruler of Ts'i, accompanied by his minister the philosopher Yen-tsz, paid a visit to Lu, and had a discussion with Confucius upon the question: "How did Ts'in, from beginnings so small and obscure, reach her present commanding position?" Besides this, the Ts'i ruler and his henchman Yen-tsz both took the opportunity to study the rites at Lu. This fact seems to support the (later) statement that Confucius had himself been to study the rites at the metropolis, and also to explain Confucius' own confession that he did not understand much about the Hia dynasty institutions that used to exist in K'i,—a state lying eastward of Ts'i. In 520 the last envoy ever sent from Lu to the Chou metropolis reported on his return that the imperial family was in a state of feud and anarchy: if, as it is stated, this was really the last envoy from Lu, then Confucius and his friend must have visited Lao-tsz before the former reached the age of thirty. Tsin and Lu were both now in a revolutionary condition, and a struggle with the "powerful families" was going on in each case; it was also beginning in Ts'i, and in principle seems to have been exactly akin to our English struggle between King John and his barons (as champions of popular rights) against the greed of the tax-collector. To avoid home troubles, Confucius at the age of thirty-five went to Ts'i, in order, if possible, to serve his friend the Marquess, who had a few years before consulted him about the rise of Ts'in. There perhaps it was that he found an opportunity to study the music of the Hia dynasty at the petty state of K'i, only one day's journey east of the Ts'i capital, on the north-east frontier of Lu; and then it must have been that he formed his opinion about the surviving Hia rites. His advice to the reigning prince of Ts'i was so highly appreciated that it was proposed to confer an estate upon him. It is interesting to note that the jealous Yen-tsz (who was much admired as a companionable man by Confucius) protested against this grant, on the ground that "men of his views are sophistical rhetoricians, intoxicated with the exuberance of their own verbosity; incompetent to administer the people; wasting time and money upon expensive funerals. Life is too short to waste in trying to get to the bottom of these inane studies." From this it will be seen that Lao-tsz was by no means alone in despising Confucius' conservative and ritualistic views, though it is quite possible that Yen-tsz may still have respected him as a man and a politician. Finally, Confucius, finding that the Ts'i ministers were all arrayed against him, and that the Marquess fain confessed himself too old to fight his battles for him, quitted the country and returned home. His own duke died in exile in 510 B.C., power remaining in the intriguing hands of an influential private family; and for at least ten years Confucius held no office in his native land, but spent his time in editing the Odes, the Book, the Chou Rites, and the Music; by some it is even thought that he not only edited but composed the Book (of History), or put together afresh such parts of the old Book as suited his didactic purposes. Meanwhile the private family intrigues went on more actively than ever; until at last, in 501, when Confucius was fifty years of age, the most formidable agitator of them all, finding his position untenable, escaped to Ts'i; it even seems that Confucius placed, or thought of placing, his services at the disposal of one of these rebel subjects. Possibly it was in view of such contingencies that the reigning duke at last gave Confucius a post as governor of a town, where his administration was so admirable that he soon passed through higher posts to that of Chief Justice, or Minister of Justice. Confucius' views on law are well known. He totally disapproved of Tsz-ch'an's publication of the law in the orthodox state of Cheng, as explained in Chapter XX., holding that the judge should always "declare" the law, and make the punishment fit the crime, instead of giving the people opportunities to test how far they could strain the literal terms of the law. He also said: "I am like others in administering the law; I apply it to each case; it is necessary to slay one in order not to have to slay more. The ancients understood prevention better than we do now; at present all we can hope to do is to avoid punishing unjustly. The ancients strove to save a prisoner's life; now we can only do our best to prove his guilt. However, better let a guilty man go free than slay an innocent one."

Confucius' old friend the ruler of Ts'i was still alive (he reigned fifty-eight years, one of the longest reigns on record in Chinese history), and he had just suffered serious humiliation at the hands of the barbarous King of Wu, to whose heir-apparent he had been obliged to send one of his daughters in marriage. The Protectorate of China was going a-begging for want of a worthy sovereign, and it looked at one time as though Confucius' stern and efficient administration would secure the coveted prize for Lu. The Marquess of Ts'i therefore formed a treacherous plot to assassinate both master and man, and with this end in view sent an envoy to propose a friendly conference. It was on this occasion that Confucius uttered his famous saying (quoted, however, from what "he had heard") that "they who discuss by diplomacy should always have the support of a military backing." A couple of generals accordingly accompanied the party to the trysting-place; and it is presumed that the generals had a force of soldiers with them, even though the indispensable common people be not worth mention in Chinese history. In conformity with practice, an altar or dai's was constructed; wine was offered, and the usual rites were being fulfilled to the utmost, when suddenly a Ts'i officer advanced rapidly and said: "I now propose to introduce some foreign musicians," a band of whom at once entered the arena, with brandished weapons, waving feathers, and noisy yells. Confucius saw through this sinister manoeuvre at once, and, hastily mounting the dais (except, out of respect, the last step), expostulated in the plainest terms. The ruler of Ts'i was so ashamed of his position that he at once sent the dancers away. But a second group of mountebanks were promptly introduced in spite of this check. Confucius was so angry, that he demanded their instant execution under the law (presumably a general imperial law) "providing the punishment of death for those who should excite animosity between princes." Heads and legs soon covered the ground; and Confucius played his other cards so well that he secured, in the sequel, a formal treaty, actually surrendering to Lu certain territories that had unlawfully been held for some years by Ts'i. On the other hand, Lu had to promise to aid Ts'i with 22,500 men in case Ts'i should engage in any "foreign" war—probably alluding to Wu. Two or three years after that stirring event there was civil war in Lu, owing to Confucius having insisted on the "barons" dismantling their private fortresses.

At the age of fifty-six Confucius left his post as Minister of Justice to take up that of First Counsellor: his first act was to put to death a grandee who was sowing disorder in the state. It was during these years of supreme administration that complete order was restored throughout the country; thieves disappeared; "sucking-pigs and lambs were sold for honest prices"; and there was general content and rejoicing throughout the land. All this made the neighbouring people of Ts'i more and more uneasy, even to the point of fearing annexation by Lu. The wily old Marquess therefore, again at the instigation of the man who had planned the attempted assassination of 500 B.C., made a selection of eighty of the most beautiful women Ts'i could produce, besides thirty four- horsed chariots of the most magnificent description. The reigning Marquess of Lu, as well as his "powerful family" friend against whom Confucius had once thought of taking arms (who, indeed, acted as intermediary) both fell into the trap: public duty and sacrifices were neglected; and the result was that Confucius at once threw up his offices and left the country in disgust. His first visit was to Wei (imperial clan), the capital city of which state then stood on the Yellow River, in the extreme north-east part of modern Ho Nan province; and through this capital the river then ran: the metropolis of one of the very ancient emperors previous to the Hia dynasty had nearly 2000 years before been in the immediate neighbourhood, as also had been the last capital of the Shang dynasty, of which, as we have seen, Confucius was a distant scion. After a few months' stay there, he was suspected and calumniated; so he decided to move on, although the ruler of Wei had generously appropriated to him a salary (in grain) suitable to his high rank. He accordingly proceeded eastwards to a town belonging to Sung (in the extreme south of modern Chih Li province): here he had the misfortune to be mistaken for the dangerous individual who had fled from Lu to Ts'i in 501, in consequence of which he returned to stay in Wei with his friend K'u-peh-yuh, who, as mentioned in Chapter XXVIII., had been visited by Ki-chah of Wu in 544 B.C. Here, as a distinguished traveller, he was asked (practically commanded) by one of the ruler's wives to pay her a visit; and, though the reluctant visit was paid with all propriety and reserve, the fact that this woman was at the time suspected of having committed incest with her own brother is considered by uncompromising native critics to leave a slight stain on Confucius' character. Worse still, the reigning prince took his wife out for a drive with a eunuch sitting in the same carriage, ordering the sage to follow the party in an inferior carriage. This was too much for Confucius, who then resumed his original journey through Sung, from which he had turned back, and proceeded to the small state of Ts'ao (imperial clan; still called Ts'ao-thou, extreme south-west of modern Shan Tung province). To-day he would have had to cross the Yellow River, but of course none is here mentioned, as Confucius had already left it behind at the Wei capital: in fact, he had been on the right bank ever since he left his own country. This was 495 B.C. After a short stay in Ts'ao, the philosopher proceeded south towards the capital of Sung (modern Kwei-teh Fu in the extreme east of Ho Nan). For some reason the Minister of War there wished to assassinate him—probably because the arch-intriguer whom Confucius had driven out of Lu in 501, and who had taken refuge first in Ts'i and then in Sung, had calumniated him there. Confucius thereupon made his way westwards, over the various headwaters of the River Hwai, to Cheng (imperial clan), the state which had been for a generation so admirably administered by Tsz- ch'an: in fact, a man outside the city gate observed "how like Tsz-ch'an" the stranger looked. Some accounts make out that Tsz- ch'an was then only just dead, but the better opinion is that he had already then been dead for twenty-seven years: in any case it is curious that Confucius, who was a very tall man, should twice be mistaken for other persons. Thence Confucius turned back south- east to the orthodox state of Ch'en (modern Ch'en-chou Fu in Eastern Ho Nan). This was one of the very oldest principalities in China, dating from even before the Hia dynasty (2205 B.C.); and the Warrior King of Chou, after conquering the empire in 1122 B.C., had industriously sought out the most suitable lineal descendant to take over the ancient fee of his remote ancestor, and continue the sacrifices.

Confucius remained in Ch'en over three years, and during that time the barbarian King of Wu annexed several neighbouring towns, whilst Tsin and Ts'u ravaged the surrounding country in turn, in their rival efforts to secure a predominant influence there. Here it was, too, that a bird of prey, pierced with a strange arrow, fell near the prince's palace: from the wood used in making the arrow and the peculiar stone barb employed to tip it, Confucius was able to explain that the bird must have flown from (modern) Manchuria. (This annual flight of bustards and geese, to and from the Steppes, may be observed any winter to-day.) He next turned north, and arrived once more at the spot in Sung he had visited in 496: here he was arrested, but set free on his solemn promise that he would not go to Wei, which state at the moment was considering the advisability of attacking that very Sung town. Confucius deliberately broke his plighted word, on the ground that "promises extorted by violence are void, and are not recognized by the gods." (These words, which, after all, are good English law, were quoted by the irate Chang Chf-tung when Russia "extorted" the Livadia Treaty from Ch'unghou.) On his arrival in Wei, he advised his old friend, the Wei duke, to attack the Sung town he had just left. But the duke thought it best to have the Yellow River between himself and the rival states of Ts'u and Tsin (this specific mention of the Yellow River as being west of a city in long. 114o 30' E. is interesting). The latter state, Tsin, then held most of the left bank. Confucius even thought of accepting the invitation of a Tsin rebel to go and assist him: this was just at the moment when the "six families" were gradually breaking up the once powerful northern orthodox state. He also hesitated whether he would not do better, as the prince of Wei would not employ him, to proceed west to Tsin in order there to serve one of the contending six families: in fact he actually got as far as the Yellow River (another proof that it must then have run on the west side of Wei-hwei Fu in Ho Nan); but turned back to Wei on hearing unfavourable news from the Tsin capital (in south Shan Si). As the Wei prince treated him somewhat cavalierly during an interview, he decided to go back once more due south to the ancient state of Ch'en. Here (492) he heard news of the destruction by fire of some of the Lu ancestral temples, and of the death of the "powerful family" minister whose disgraceful conduct with the singing girls had led to his departure from Lu in disgust. This minister was a sort of hereditary maire du palais, an arrangement which seems to have been customary in many states, and his last words to his son were: "When you succeed me, send for Confucius: my administration has failed: I did wrong in dismissing him." The son had not the courage to ask Confucius himself, but he sent instead for one of the philosopher's disciples, and it was arranged with Confucius' friends that this disciple on taking office should send for Confucius himself, who really wished to be employed in Lu again. Meanwhile Confucius decided to visit the orthodox state of Ts'ai (imperial clan), lying to the south of Che'n: the capital of this state had been originally a town on the upper waters of the Hwai River, right in the heart of modern Ho Nan province; but, under stress of the Tsin and T'su wars, it had twice moved its chief city eastwards, and owing to a Ts'u invasion, it was now (491) on the main Hwai River in modern An Hwei province, and was at the moment under the political influence of Wu; it is not clear, however, whether Confucius visited the old or the new capital. After a year's stay here, Confucius went further westwards to a certain Ts'u town (near Nan-yang Fu in Ho Nan), passing, on his way, near the place in which Lao-tsz was born. He soon returned to Ts'ai, where he stayed three years. It will be observed that ever since 700 B.C. it had been the deliberate policy of Ts'u to annex or overshadow as many of the orthodox states as possible, so that Ts'u's undoubtedly high literary output, in later years, is easily accounted for: in other words, Ts'u's northern population was now already orthodox Chinese. Moreover, it must not be forgotten that, even before the Chou conquest, one of the early Ts'u rulers was an author himself, and had been tutor to the father of the Chou founder: that means to say Ts'u was possibly always as literary as China.

Meanwhile Ts'u and semi-barbarian Wu were contesting possession of Ch'en, and the King of Ts'u tried to secure by presents the services of Confucius, who had prudently transferred himself to a safe place in the open country lying between Ch'en and Ts'ai The ministers of these two orthodox states, fearing the results to their own people should Confucius (as he seems in fact to have contemplated) decide to accept the Ts'u offer, with a police force surrounded the Confucian party; they were only able to escape from starvation by sending word to the King, who at once sent a detachment to free the sage. He would have conferred a fief upon Confucius, but his ministers advised him of the danger of such a proceeding, seeing that the Chou dynasty conquered the empire after beginning with a petty fief, and that the great kingdom of Ts'u itself had arrived at its present greatness after beginning with a still smaller fief. Accordingly the sage decided to return to Wei (489), where several of his disciples received official posts, and where Confucius himself seems to have acted as unofficial adviser, especially in the matter of a contested succession. All this competition for, or at least jealousy of, Confucius' services proves that his repute as an administrator (not necessarily as a philosopher) was already widely spread. The following year the King of Wu appeared before the Lu capital, and one of Confucius' former disciples holding office there (the one who went in advance in 492) just succeeded in moderating the barbarians' demands, which, however, only took the comparatively harmless "spiritual" form of orthodox sacrificial victims.

[Illustration: Map

1. The dotted line shows the present Grand Canal; the part between the Yang-tsz and Hwai Rivers was made by the King of Wu. The part north of the Hwai is chiefly the channel of the River Sz, flowing from the Lu capital into the Hwai.

2. The old Hwai embouchure, running from the Lake Hung-tseh to the sea, no longer exists; it dissipates itself in canals and salt flats.

3. From 1852 the Yellow River has flowed north as depicted in the other maps. For several centuries previous to 1851 it flowed as shown by the long-link-and-dot line, and took possession of the now extinct Hwai embouchure.

4. The crosses mark capitals. Ts'ai (two marked) and Hii (one marked) frequently shifted capitals.]

In 484 Confucius was still in Wei, for in that year he is stated to have declined to discuss there a question connected with making war. In the year 484 or 483 the disciple sent by Confucius to Lu, as stated, in 492 conducted an expedition against Ts'i: this was the shameful period when orthodox Lu, in compulsory league with barbarous Wu, was playing a double and treacherous game under stress, and the question of recalling Confucius to save his native country was on the tapis. Hearing of this, and despite the heavy bribes offered him to stay by the ruler of Wei, Confucius started with alacrity for Lu, where he arrived safely after fourteen years of wandering. He is often stated to have visited over forty states in all; but it must be remembered that each of the important countries he visited had in turn a number of satellites of its own; as, for instance, the extremely ancient "marquess state" of Ki, or K'i, subordinate to Lu, which, though possessing great spiritual authority, had no weight in lay policy. An interesting point to notice is that Confucius' travels almost exactly coincide with those of the Second Protector 150 years earlier (see Chapter XXXIX); both of them ignored the Emperor, and both of them visited Ts'i, Ts'ao, Sung, and Cheng on their way to the Ts'u frontiers; but Confucius was not able to get much farther west so as to reach the Ts'u capital; nor was he able to get to Tsin; not to say the still more distant Ts'in. In other words, the limited centre of orthodox China remained for many centuries the same, and the vast regions surrounding it were still semi- barbarian in the fifth century B.C. Now it was that Confucius, seeing that the imperial power had diminished almost to nothing; that the Odes and Book, the Rites, and the Music no longer possessed their former influence; employed himself in making systematic search for documents, in re-editing the Book (of History), and in endeavouring to ascertain the exact ritual or administration of the preceding dynasties. "Henceforth the Rites could be understood and transmitted,"—from which we may assume that, up to this time, they had been practically a monopoly of the princely caste. He did not go further back into the mythical period than the two emperors who preceded the Hia dynasty, nor did he bring the Book farther down than to the time of Duke Muh of Ts'in, which practically means the time of the first Protectors. He really did for rites and history what he had blamed Tsz-ch'an for doing with the law: he popularized it. He also attempted with persistent study to master the Changes, to which incomprehensible work he added features of his own—very little more understandable than the original texts. As to the Odes, 3000 in number, he used the pruning knife much more vigorously, and nine-tenths of them were rejected as unsuitable for the purposes of good didactic lessons or conservative precedents. If we substitute, as we are entitled to do, the vague word "religion" for the equally vague word "rites" (which in fact were the only ancient Chinese religion); if we substitute the empty Christian churches of to- day, and the too little scrupulous ambitions of rival European Powers, for the neglected tao of the Chou ideal, and for the savage rivalry of the great Chinese vassals; we obtain an almost precisely similar situation in modern Europe. If we can imagine a great Pope, or a great philosopher, taking advantage of a turn in the European conscience to bring back the simple ideals of Christianity, we can easily imagine this European Confucius being universally hailed in future times as the saviour of a parlous situation; which, in Europe now, as 2000 years ago in China, entails on the people so much misery and suffering. Confucius was, in short, in a way, a Chinese Pius X. declaiming against Modernism.

Confucius' only certain original work was the "Springs and Autumns," which is practically a continuation (with the necessary introductory years) of the ancient Book edited or, as some think, composed by him. He brought the former, this history of his, down from 722 to 481 B.C. and died in 479. His pupil Tso K'iu-ming, who was official historian to the Lu court, annotated and expounded Confucius' bald annals, bringing the narrative down from 481 to 468; and Tso's delightful work forms the chief, but by no means the sole, basis for what we have to say in the present book of sketches.



CHAPTER XLV

CONFUCIUS AND LAO-TSZ

Apart from the fact that reverence for rulers was the pivot of the Chou religious system, or, what was then the same thing, administrative system; official historiographers, who were mere servants of the executive, had to be careful how they offended the executive power in those capricious days; all the more had a private author and a retired official like Confucius carefully to mind the conventions. For instance, two historians had been put to death by a king-maker in Ts'i for recording the murder by him of a Ts'i reigning prince; and Ts'i was but next door to Lu. Hence we find the leading feature of his work is that he hints rather than criticizes, suggests rather than condemns, conceals rather than exposes, when it is a question of class honour or divine right; just as, with us, the Church prefers to hush up rather than to publish any unfortunate internal episode that would redound to its discredit. So shocked was he at the assassination of the ruler of Ts'i by an usurping family in 481, that, even at his venerable age, he unsuccessfully counselled instant war against Ts'i. His motive was perhaps doubtful, for the next year we find a pupil of his, then in office, going as a member of the mission to the same usurper in order to try and obtain a cession of territory improperly held. This pupil was one of the friends who assisted at the arrangement made in Wei in 492. Confucius' failings—for after all he was only a man, and never pretended to be a genius—in no way affect the truth of his writings, for they were detected almost from the very beginning, and have never been in the least concealed. Notable instances are the mission from Lu to Ts'u in 634; Confucius conceals the fact that, not courtesy to barbarian Ts'u, but a desire to obtain vengeance against orthodox Ts'i was the true motive. Again, in 632, when the faineant Emperor was "sent for" by the Second Protector to preside at a durbar; Confucius prefers to say: "His Majesty went to inspect his fiefs north of the river," thus even avoiding so much as to name the exact place, not to say describe the circumstances. He punishes the Emperor for an act of impropriety in 693 by recording him as "the King," instead of "the Heavenly King." On the other hand, in 598, even the barbarian King of Ts'u was "a sage," because, having conquered the orthodox state of Ch'en, he magnanimously renounced his conquest. In 529 the infamous ruler of the orthodox state of Ts'ai is recorded as being "solemnly buried"; but the rule was that no "solemn funeral" should be accorded to (1) barbarians, (2) rulers who lose their crown, (3) murderers. Now, this ruler was a murderer; but it was a barbarian state (Ts'u) that killed him, which insult to civilization must be punished by making two blacks one white, i.e. by giving the murdered murderer an orthodox funeral. Again, in 522, a high officer was "killed by robbers"; it is explained that there were no robbers at all, in fact, but that the mere killing of an officer by a common person needs the assumption of robbery. It is like the legal fiction of lunacy in modern Chinese law to account for the heinous crime of parricide, and thus save the city from being razed to the ground. Once more, at the Peace Conference of 546, Ts'u undoubtedly "bluffed" Tsin out of her rightful precedence; but, Tsin being an orthodox state, Confucius makes Tsin the diplomatic victor. We have already seen that he once deliberately broke his plighted word, meanly attacked the men who spared him; and, out of servility, visited a woman of noble rank who was "no better than she ought to have been." There is another little female indiscretion recorded against him. When, in 482, the Lu ruler's concubine, a Wu princess (imperial clan name), died, Confucius obsequiously went into mourning for an "incestuous" woman; but, seeing immediately afterwards that the powerful family then at the helm did not condescend to do so, he somewhat ignominiously took off his mourning in a hurry. All these, and numerous similar petty instances of timorousness, may appear to us at a remote distance trifling and pusillanimous, as do also many of the model personal characteristics and goody-goody private actions of the sage; but if we make due allowance for the difficulty of translating strange notions into a strange tongue, and for the natural absence of sympathy in trying to enter into foreign feelings, we may concede that these petty details, quite incidentally related, need in no way destroy the main features of a great picture. Few heroes look the character except in their native clothes and surroundings; and, as Carlyle said, a naked House of Lords would look much less dignified than a naked negro conference.

As a philosopher, Confucius in his own time had scarcely the reputation of Tsz-ch'an of Cheng, who in many respects seems to have been his model and guide. Much more is said of Tsz-ch'an's philosophy, of his careful definition of the ritual system, of his legal acumen, of his paternal care for the people's welfare; but, like his contemporaries and friends of Ts'i, Tsin, Cheng, Sung, Wei; and even of Wu and Yueh; he was working for the immediate good of his own state in times of dire peril; whereas Confucius from first to last was aiming at the restoration of religion (i.e., of the imperial, ritualistic, feudal system); and for this reason it was that, after the violent unification of the empire by the First August Emperor in 221 B.C., followed by his fall and the rise of the Han dynasty in 202 B.C., this latter house finally decided to venerate, and all subsequent houses have continued to venerate, Confucius' memory; because his system was, after Lao- tsz's system had been given a fair trial, at last found the best suited for peace and permanency.

Not only is Lao-tsz not mentioned in the "Springs and Autumns" of Confucius, as extended by his contemporary and latter commentators, but none other of the great writers and philosophers anterior to and contemporary with Confucius are spoken of except strictly in their capacity of administrators. Thus the Ts'i philosopher Kwan-tsz of the First Protector's time, 650 B.C.; the Ts'i philosopher Yen-tsz of Confucius' time; and the others mentioned in preceding chapters, notably in Chapter XV. (of whom each orthodox state of political importance can boast at least one); based their reputation on what they had achieved for the state rather than what they had taught in the abstract; and their economical and historical books, which have all come down to us in a more or less complete and authentic state, are valued for the expression they give to the definite theories by which they arrived at practical results, rather than for the preaching of the counsels of perfection, We have seen that Yen-tsz expressed rather a contempt for the (to him) out-of-date formalistic ideals of Confucius, though Confucius himself had a high opinion of Yen-tsz. Lao-tsz is first mentioned by the writers of the various "schools" brought into existence by the collapse of Tsin in 452 B.C., and its subdivision into three separate kingdoms, recognized as such by the puppet Emperor in 403 B.C. The diplomatic activity was soon after that quite extraordinary, and each of the seven royal courts became a centre of revolutionary thought; that is, every literary adventurer had his own views of what interpretation of ancient literature was best suited to the times: it was Modernism with a vengeance. There is ample evidence of Lao-tsz's influence upon the age, though Lao-tsz himself had been dead for a century or more in the year 403. Lao-tsz is spoken of and written about in the fourth century B.C. as though it were perfectly well known who he was, and what his sentiments were; but as, up to Confucius' time, state intercourse had been confined to traders, warriors, and officials of the princely castes; and as books had been unwieldy objects stored only in capitals and great centres; there is good reason to assume that philosophy had been taught almost entirely by word of mouth, and that something must have occurred shortly after his death to cheapen and facilitate the dissemination of literature. Probably this something was the gradual introduction of the practice of writing on silk rolls and on silk "paper," which practice is known to have been in vogue long before the discovery of rubbish paper A.D. 100. Confucius himself evidently made use of the old-fashioned bamboo slips, strung together by cords like a bundle of tickets; for we are told that he worked so hard in endeavouring to understand the "Changes," that he "wore out three sets of leather bands"; and it will be remembered from Chapter XXXV. how the Bamboo Books buried in 299 B.C., to be discovered nearly 600 years later, consisted of slips strung together in this way.

Confucius' movements during the fourteen years of his exile are very clearly marked out, and there seems to be no doubt that his visit to the Emperor's court took place when he was a young man; firstly, because Lao-tsz ironically calls him a young man, and secondly because he went to visit Lao-tsz with the son of the statesman who on his death-bed foretold Confucius' future distinction; and there was no Lu mission to the imperial court after 520. In the second century B.C., not only are there a dozen statesmen specifically stated to have studied the works of Lao- tsz, but the Empress herself is said to have possessed his book; and a copy of it, distinctly said to be in ancient character, was then stored amongst other copies of the same book in the imperial library. The two questions which the Chinese historians and literary men of the fifth, fourth, third, and second centuries B.C. do not attempt to decide are: Why is the life of Lao-tsz not given to us earlier than 100 B.C.? Why is that life so scant, and why does the writer of it allude to "other stories" current about him? Why is it that the book which Lao-tsz wrote at the request of a friend is not alluded to by any writer previous to 100 B.C.?

As not one single one of these numerous Taoists or students of Lao-tsz expresses the faintest doubt about Lao-tsz's existence, or about the genuineness of his traditional teachings, it is evident that the meagreness of Lao-tsz's life, as told by the historian, is rather a guarantee of the truth of what he says than the reverse, so far as he knows the truth; otherwise he would have certainly embellished. The essence of Lao-tsz's doctrine is its democracy, its defence of popular rights, its allusion to kings and governments as necessary evils, its disapproval of luxury and hoarding wealth; its enthusiasm for the simple life, for absence of caste, for equality of opportunity, for socialism and informality; all of which was, though extracted from the same Odes, Book, Changes, and Rites, quite contrary in principle to the "back to the rites" doctrine of Confucius. Therefore, there could be no possible inducement for Confucius, the pruning editor of the Odes, Book, etc., or for his admirers, to mention Lao-tsz in either his original work, the "Springs and Autumns," or in the other works (composed by his disciples) giving the original words and sentiments of Confucius. Besides, during the whole of Lao- tsz's life, the imperial court (where he served as a clerk) was totally ignored by all the "powers" as a political force; the only persons mentioned in what survives of Chou history are the historiographers, the wizards, the ritual clerks, the ducal envoys, now sent by the Emperor to the vassals, now consulted by the vassals upon matters of etiquette. Lao-tsz, being an obscure clerk in an obscure appanage, and holding no political office, had no more title to be mentioned in history than any other servant or "harmless drudge." That his doctrines were well known is not wonderful, for Tsz-ch'an, his contemporary, and this great man's colleagues of the other states, also had doctrines of their own which were widely discussed and, as we have seen, even Tsz-ch'an was severely blamed for the unheard-of novelty of committing the laws to writing, both by Confucius of Lu and by Shuh Hiang of Tsin (imperial clan states). It is reasonable to suppose, therefore, that the traditional story is true; namely, that Lao-tsz's doctrines were never taught in a school at all, and that he had no followers or admirers except the vassal envoys who used to come on spiritual business to the metropolis. We have seen how these men used to entertain each other over their wine by quoting the Odes and other ancient saws; when consulting the imperial library to rectify their own dates, they would naturally meet the old recluse Lao-tsz, and hear from his own mouth what he thought of the coming collapse anticipated by all. He is said to have left orthodox China in disgust, and gone West—well, he must have passed through Ts'in if he went to the west. At the frontier pass (it is not known precisely whether on the imperial frontier or on the Ts'in frontier) an acquaintance or correspondent on duty there invited him to put his thoughts into writing, which he did. Books being extremely rare, copies would be slowly transmitted. This was about 500 B.C., between which time and 200 B.C., when a copy of his book is first reported to be actually held in the hand by a definite person, the great protecting powers, and later the seven kings, were all engaged in a bloodthirsty warfare, which ended in the almost total destruction throughout the empire of the Odes, Rites, and the Book in 213 B.C. Remember, however, that the literary empire practically meant parts of the modern provinces of Ho Nan and Shan Tung. The "Changes" were not destroyed; and as the First August Emperor himself, his illegitimate father, several of his statesmen, and his visitors the travelling diplomats, were all either Taoists or imbued with Taoist doctrines (their sole policy being to destroy the old ritual and feudal thrones), there is ground to conjecture that Lao-tsz's book escaped too, and was deliberately suffered to escape. We know absolutely nothing of that; assuming the truth of the tradition that there was a book, we do not know what became of the first copy, nor how many copies were made of it during the succeeding 300 years. No attempt whatever has ever been made by the serious Chinese historians themselves to manufacture a story. It is, of course, unsatisfactory not to know all the exact truth; but, for the matter of that, the existence, identity, and authorship of Confucius' pupil and commentator Tso K'iu-ming, the official historian of Lu, is equally obscure; not to mention the history of the earliest Taoist critics who actually mention Lao-tsz, and quote the words of (if they do not mention) his book. When we read Renan's masterly examination into the origins of our own Gospels, and when we reflect that even the origin of Shakespeare's plays, and the individuality of Shakespeare's person, are open to everlasting discussion, we may not unreasonably leave Chinese critics and Chinese historians to judge of the value of their own national evidence, and accept in general terms what they tell us of fact, however imperfect it may be in detail, without adding hypothetical facts or raising new critical difficulties of our own. No such foreign criticisms are or can be worth much unless the original Chinese histories and the original Chinese philosophers have been carefully examined by the foreign critic in the original Chinese text.



CHAPTER XLVI

ORACLES AND OMENS

Consulting the oracles seems to have been a universal practice, and there are numerous historical allusions, made by statesmen of the orthodox principalities, to supposed interpretations attached to this or that combination of mystic signs or diagrams from the "Changes," together with arguments as to their specific meaning or omen in given circumstances. Doubtless the Chinese of those dates, like our own searchers for religious "analogies" and mysteries, examined with perfect good faith combinations of the Diagrams which to us appear arrant nonsense; and there can be no doubt of Confucius' own individual zeal, though the fact that he thought fifty years' study at least would be necessary for full comprehension points to the tacit confession that he had totally failed to understand much of the mystery. The Changes are supposed to have been developed by the father of the Warrior King when (about 1160 B.C.) he was in prison under the tyrannous suspicions of the last Shang emperor; and we have seen that the ruler of Ts'u was his tutor, at a time when Ts'u was not yet vassal to Chou. Like the Odes, Book, and Rites, the Changes were Chou literature, though possibly the unwritten traditions of earlier dynasties may have contributed to that literature; which, indeed, seems very likely, as Ts'u was already able to teach Chou.

Another form of augury was the examination of the marks on the carapax of a tortoise; thus the Martial King in 146 consulted, and found unfavourable, such marks—this was before attacking the last Shang emperor; and it was only at the earnest instigation of his chief henchman (afterwards vassal king and founder of Ts'i) that he was prevailed upon to proceed. Possibly he borrowed Eastern ideas from this founder of Ts'i too. Later on, the Martial King's younger brother, the Duke of Chou, consulted the oracle along with the same Ts'i adviser: this was done before the three ancestral altars of their father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, in order to ascertain if the Emperor (i.e. the Martial King) would recover from a sickness. In 1109 the Martial King's son and successor sent one of his uncles or near relatives to examine the site of modern Ho-nan Fu, with a view to transferring the metropolis thither, and, the oracles being favourable, the Nine Tripods were removed to that place, and it was afterwards called the "Eastern Metropolis" (the original or western capital was not moved for over 300 years after that). It was at the same time foretold that there would be thirty more reigns, of 700 years in all: this was "Heaven's decree." On the other hand, when the Duke of Chou died during a tempest, the young Emperor was advised not to consult the oracles as to what the storm signified, because his uncle's virtues were so manifest that Heaven itself had, by the agency of a tempest, spontaneously announced the fact.

Astrology was another form of soothsaying. In 780 B.C. the imperial astrologer (one of those two men, by the way, whom erroneous tradition 1000 years later confused with Lao-tsz) foretold the rise of Ts'i, Tsin, Ts'u, and Ts'in, upon the ruins of the imperial power; in 773 the same astrologer repeated the prophecy to the imperial prince then recently enfeoffed by his relative the Emperor in the state of CHENG. In 705 the imperial astrologer, when passing through the orthodox state of CH'EN, foretold from the diagrams that a scion of the CH'EN house would obtain the throne of Ts'i (which actually took place when the maire du palais, to the horror of Confucius, assassinated the last legitimate duke in 481 B.C.); this particular prophecy is doubly interesting, because the diagrams from the Changes, thus cited in detail in Confucius' history, correspond exactly with the diagrams of the Book of Changes as we have it now, since Confucius manipulated it—proof that no change has taken place in this part of the text at least.

The ruler of Ts'in in the year 762, nine years after receiving the western half of the Chou imperial domain, and being recognized as a first-class vassal, consulted the oracle as to whither he should move his own capital. In the year 677 the oracles once more decided the then reigning ruler to shift his capital to (the modern) Feng-siang Fu in West Shen Si; the oracles added: "And later you will water your steeds in the Yellow River"; which came to pass after the conquests and annexations of 643 B.C., as already related. In 374 B.C. the imperial astrologer (the second man whom tradition, 300 years later this time, erroneously confused with Lao-tsz) then on a visit to the now royal Ts'in court said: "After 500 years of separation Ts'in is reunited to our imperial house; in 77 years more a domineering monarch will arise." Seven years later the "raining down of metal" (probably some natural phenomenon not clearly understood at the time) was considered a good omen in connection with the new capital, now placed on the south bank of the River Wei. After Ts'in had conquered China, there are numerous other instances of oracles, omens, and so forth, all supposed to have had political significance.

In 645 the ruler of the neighbouring state of Tsin consults the oracles in order to ascertain who will be the most suitable war charioteer. A few years before that the court diviner foretold the future success of the petty Ngwei sub-principality of Tsin, which in 403 B.C. actually became a separate vassal kingdom. In 575 Tsin dared not, at the moment, accept the battle challenge of Tsu, because the particular day was a dies nefas, being the last day of the moon. Meanwhile the spies of the Ts'u army discerned that the Tsin leaders were consulting the oracles before the tablets of their ancestors in the field tent. In 535 the Ts'in administration consulted its own astrologer upon the point: "Will the state of Ch'en survive?" The answer was: "When it secures Ts'i, it will perish." As just explained, a scion of the Ch'en house did practically obtain Ts'i in 481 B.C., and the very next year Ch'en was annexed by Ts'u. In 510 the Tsin astrologer prophesied the destruction of Wu by Yiieh within forty years, and also the predominancy of the Lu private family so intimately connected with Confucius' troubles. There were not lacking sensible men, even in those days, who ridiculed the science of astrology: for instance, Shuh Hiang of Tsin—the man who so strongly disapproved Tsz-ch'an's written laws, and the man who discussed with the Ts'i envoy, the philosopher Yen-tsz, the worthlessness of their respective dukes—said on one occasion when the "course of the heavens towards north-west" was supposed to indicate a success for Tsin: "The course of the heavens, as that of our success, lies in the qualities of the prince, and not in the situation of the stars."

Tsz-ch'an of Cheng himself pooh-poohed oracular warnings, and said that he preferred to do his best, and leave omens to do their worst. On one occasion, outside the south gate of the Cheng capital, two snakes (one from the city, one from outside) were observed fighting; the one from the inside was defeated. Sure enough! the exiled duke six years after that returned to his own. So, in the state of Lu, the children sang: "When the thrushes come and make their nests, the ruler will go to a place on the Tsin frontier; when the thrushes settle here, the duke will be abroad"— in allusion to the future ejecting of the reigning prince by the powerful family above referred to. And, again (480 B.C.), in the state of Sung, whose terrestrial position was supposed to be "invaded" by the then peculiar celestial position of the planet Mars: it was suggested, however, to the ruling prince that he might "pass on" the threatened disaster to his ministers, to his people, or to their harvests—a solution the duke declined to avail himself of. 'Yours are indeed the words of a sage,' said the astrologer.

We now come to the semi-civilized state of Ts'u, which seems to have had its oracles with the best of them, at all events after 560 B.C. At that date it was explained to the King that "the ancient emperors would at times consult the oracles for five years before deciding upon an expedition, or fixing the date of it; they were content to await patiently the decrees of Heaven." In 537 the Ts'u king, having a prince of Wu in his power, sent to ask him ironically if he had duly consulted the oracles. "Yes," said the prince, "every ruler has his tortoise, and it is easy to demonstrate by our oracles how injurious it will be for you if any harm comes to me." This presence of mind saved his life. In 528 a Ts'u usurper invited a man who had once assisted him to name any post he would like. The man chose that of diviner, which, it appears, was an office of the first rank. The father of this king had secretly arranged with a concubine, notwithstanding the Ts'u rule (or possibly in accordance with it) that one of the youngest sons should succeed, to "sacrifice from a distance to the gods in general, and ask of them which of five sons should sacrifice to the spirits of the land"; then he buried a jade symbol of rule in the ancestral temple, and ordered the five sons to enter after proper purification; the three sons who happened to touch the spot reigned one after the other. In 489 the King of Ts'u, then engaged in assisting the orthodox state of Ch'en against the attacks of Wu, interrogated the imperial astrologer (who must have been there on a visit): "What is the meaning of that halo, like a bird's wings, on each side of the sun?" The astrologer replied: "It presages calamity, but you can transfer it to your generals." The generals then offered to consult the gods themselves, and even to sacrifice their own persons if necessary; but the King declined (on the same ground as the Duke of Sung above mentioned) because "my generals are my own limbs." It was then proposed to transfer the calamity to the Yellow River. "No, the Yellow River has never played me false: ever since we received our fief, we have never at full moon sacrificed beyond the River Han and Yang-tsz." Confucius registered his approval of this answer. It will be remembered that just at this time Confucius was hanging about Ch'Uen and coquetting with Ts'u, so that possibly this approval had something to do with his own prospects.

In recording these instances of prophecies and omens (which might be multiplied tenfold), it is desired to show how one main set of ideas pervaded the whole. We should not be too ready to ridicule them, or to hint at "after the event." Our own Scriptures are full of similar prophecies, and what is good for us is good for the Chinese. If the celestial movements can be foretold, why not corresponding terrestrial movements, each corner of the earth being on the meridian of something? In the infancy of science, it is rather a question of good faith than of truth; and even the truth, if we insist on expecting it, was rudely guessed at by such great thinkers as Tsz-ch'an and Shuh Hiang.



CHAPTER XLVII

RULERS AND PEOPLE

A feature of the times was the remarkably personal character of the wars, and the apparent utter indifference to humble popular interests; Quidquid delirant reges, plectuntur Achivi; stress is laid upon this point by the democratic philosopher Lao-tsz, who, however, in his book (be it genuine or not), is wise enough never to name a person or place; probably that prudence saved it from the flames in 213 B.C.

In 684 B.C. the ruler of Ts'ai (imperial clan) treated very rudely his own wife's sister, married to a petty prince (imperial clan) close by; the sister was simply passing through as a traveller; the result was that this petty prince, her husband, induced Ts'u to make war upon Ts'ai, whose reigning prince was captured, and died a prisoner. In 657 the ruler of Ts'ai had a sister married in Ts'i. The First Protector, offended at some act of playful disobedience, sent her back, but without actually divorcing her. Her brother was so angry that he found her another husband. On this Ts'i declared war, and captured the brother, who, however, at the intercession of the other vassal princes, was restored to his kingdom. In 509 and 506 B.C. Ts'ai induces Tsin to make war on Ts'u, and also assists Wu in her hostilities against Ts'u, because a Ts'u minister had detained the ruler of Ts'ai for refusing to part with a handsome fur coat. It is like the stealing of the Golden Fleece by Jason, and similar Greek squabbles. In 675 B.C. the Emperor, for the third time, had to fly from his capital, the immediate cause of the trouble being an attempt on his part to seize a vassal's rice-field for including in his own park—a Chinese version of the Naboth's vineyard dispute. Nothing could better prove the pettiness of the ancient state-horizon; no busily active great power could find time for such trifles.

When the Second Protector came to the throne, the orthodox states of Wei, Ts'ao, and Cheng (all of the imperial clan), which had treated him scurvily as a wanderer, had all three of them to pay dearly for their meanness. In 632, when the Protector had secured the Tsin throne, the ruler of Ts'ao was promptly captured, and part of his territory was given to Sung (where the wanderer had been well treated). The same year Tsin wished to assist Sung, and accordingly asked right of way through the state of Wei, which was curtly refused; the Tsin army therefore crossed the Yellow River to the south of Wei: as a punishment for this refusal, and also for the previous rude treatment, Wei also had to give part of her territory to the favoured Sung. In 630 Tsin induced Ts'in to join in an attack upon Cheng, the object being, of course, to revenge similar personal rudenesses; however, Cheng diplomacy was successful in inducing Ts'in to abandon Tsin in the nick of time: this was one of the very few cases in which Ts'in interfered, or was about to interfere, in "orthodox" affairs. In 592 Tsin sent a hunchback envoy to Ts'i; it so happened that at the same time Lu sent one who was lame, and Wei a third who was blind of one eye. The Ts'i ruler thereupon appointed an officer mutilated in some other way to do the duties of host to this sorry trio. The Tsin envoy swore: "If I do not revenge this upon Ts'i, may the God of the Yellow River take note of it!" Reaching his own country, he tried to induce the ruler to make war on Ts'i; but the prince said: "Your personal pique should hardly suffice for ground to trouble the whole country": and he refused.

The principle of the divinity that doth hedge a king was early established, but there are certainly more numerous evidences of royal absolutism in Ts'u than in orthodox China, where responsibility of rulers before Heaven and the People (symbolical of Heaven also) was an accepted axiom. For instance, in 522 B.C., an officer, knowing that the King of Ts'u was sending for him in order to kill him, said to his brother: "As the king orders it, one of us two must go, but you can avenge me later on." When the next Ts'u king was a fugitive, and it was a question in a subject's mind of killing him because his father had taken a brother's life, it was objected: "No! if the king slays one of his officers, who can avenge it? His commands emanate from Heaven. It is unpardonable to cut off the ancestral sacrifice of a whole house in this way."

In still more ancient times, when the last Emperor of the Shang dynasty was being warned of the rising popular feeling in favour of the rising Chou power, he remarked: "Have I not Heaven's mandate? What can they do to me?" When the Martial King achieved his conquest, he smeared the god of the soil with the sacrificial victims' blood, and announced the crimes of the dead tyrant to Heaven. In the war of 589 between Tsin and Ts'i, the ruler of Ts'i, who had changed places with his charioteer in order to escape detection, was hotly pursued; but his chariot caught in a tree. Seeing this, the Tsin captain prostrated himself before the chariot, and said: "My princely master's orders are to assist the states of Lu and Wei" (i.e. not to attack your person). Meanwhile the disguised charioteer ordered the disguised king to fetch a drink of water, and the king thus escaped even the humiliation of a favour from his generous victor. When in 548 a worthless Ts'i ruler was assassinated, the philosopher Yen-tsz said: "When the ruler dies or is exiled for the gods of the land and its harvests, one dies or is exiled with him; but if he dies or is exiled for private reasons, then only his personal friends die with him." He therefore contented himself with wailing, and with laying his head on the royal body. The same Tsin captain who was so tender to the Ts'i duke in 589 had an opportunity fourteen years later of taking prisoner the ruler of CHENG in battle; but he said: "Evil cometh to him who toucheth a crowned head! I have already committed sacrilege once against the ruler of Ts'i; preserve me from committing this crime a second time!" And he turned promptly back. During the same fight, the King of Ts'u's body-guard was attacked by the Tsin generalissimo, who, when he discerned the king in the centre of the guards, got out of his chariot, doffed his helmet, and fled in horror, "such was his respect for the person of royalty." It was a ritual rule in China for the distinguished men not to remove the official head-covering in death; for instance, in 481, when one of Confucius' pupils was killed in war, his last patriotic act was to tie his hat-strings tighter. Though rulers were supposed to owe duties to the gods in general, yet the power of the gods was limited. Thus when Tsz-ch'an of CHENG was sent as envoy to Tsin in 541, the sick Tsin ruler asked him: "How can the two gods who, they say, are responsible for my malady, be conjured?" Tsz-ch'an replied: "These particular gods cannot injure you; we sacrifice to them in connection with natural phenomena, such as drought, flood, or other disaster; just as in matters of snow, hail, rain, or wind we sacrifice to the gods of the sun, moon, planets, and constellations. Your illness is the result of drink, over-feeding, women, passionate anger, excessive pleasure." Shuh Hiang approved this common-sense view of the situation.

ANCIENT CHINESE LAW

APPENDIX I

In the spring of the year 536 B.C., Tsz-ch'an, one of the leading statesmen in the Chinese Federal Union, decided to publish for popular information the Criminal Law which had hitherto been simply "declared" by the various rulers and their officers according to the circumstances of each case. At this time the different premiers and ministers used to visit each other freely, generally in the suite of the reigning prince who happened to be either receiving or paying a visit from or to some other vassal prince. The Emperor himself, now shorn of his power, was only primus inter pares amongst these princes. Shuh Hiang, one of the ministers at the neighbouring court of Tsin, addressed the following remarkable letter to the colleague above mentioned who had introduced the legal innovation. It is published in exteso in Confucius' own history of the times, as expanded by one of his pupils:—

"At first I used to regard you as a guide, but now all this is at an end. Our monarchs in past times were wont to decide matters by specific ordinance, and had no prepared statutes, fearing lest the people should grow contentious. Yet even so it was impossible to suppress wrong-doing; for which reason they employed justice as a preventive, administration to bring things into line, external formality to secure respect, good faith as an abiding principle, and kindness in actual treatment. They appointed certain ranks and emoluments with a view to encouraging their officers to follow the course thus sketched out for them, and they fixed certain stern punishments and fines in order to fill these officers with a dread of arbitrariness, fearing that otherwise they might fail in their duty. Thus admonition was given with every loyalty; fear was inspired by personal example; instruction was conveyed as occasion required; employment in service was accompanied by suavity; contact with inferiors was marked by a respectful demeanour; the executive arm was firmly applied; and decisions were carried out with virility. Yet, with all this, it was never too easy to secure wise and saintly (vassal) princes, clever and discriminating ministers, loyal and trusty officials, or kind and affectionate instructors. Under these circumstances, however, it was possible to set the people going, and China was at least free from revolution and misery.

"But when the people themselves become cognizant of a written law, they will cease to fear their superiors, and, moreover, they will acquire a contentious spirit. Having book to refer to, they will employ every device to elude the letter of the law. This will not do at all. It was only in times of anarchical rule that the founders of the Hia and Shang dynasties (2200 B.C. and 1760 B.C.) found it necessary to issue (to their officers) the collections of laws which still bear their two respective names; and it was also only in anarchical times (1000 B.C.) that one Emperor of our present dynasty found it necessary to publish (for his officers) the so-called Nine Laws. In other words, the advent of written law has on all three occasions connoted a decay in government. You, sir, are the chief minister of CHENG state (part of modern Ho Nan); you made a few years ago some new regulations about the parcelling of land; next you placed the system of your taxation on a fresh basis; and you now proceed to embody the three special collections just cited in a new popular code, which you have had cast in metal characters. If you are doing it with a view to pacify the people, surely you will not find this an easy matter? The 'Book of Odes' says: 'King Wen (the virtual founder, 2200 B.C., of the then reigning Chou dynasty) took virtue as his guide, and thus gradually pacified the four quarters of the world.' It also says: 'The methods of King Wu (son of the virtual founder) secured the confidence of all the other countries.' Where were the written laws in those times? When people begin to get the contentious spirit upon them, they will have done with the principles of propriety, and only stickle for the letter; they will haggle upon every tiny point accessible to knife's edge or awl's tip. We shall witness a flood of litigious accusations; bribery and corruption will be rampant. Do you think the state of Cheng will last out your life? I have heard it said: 'When a country is about to collapse, there are many conflicting administrative changes.' Will this apply to present conditions?"

The reply returned was:-

"With regard to what my honourable friend has been pleased to say, I am afraid my humble capacities are not sufficiently great to take the interests of posterity; my action has been taken in the interests of the state as I find it, and as I have to govern it. Though, therefore, I cannot accept tour commands, I shall be careful not to forget your kindness in proffering advice."

Though the exact words of the above-mentioned Code in Brass have not come down to us, they are (like the Twelve Tables of Rome, eighty years later in date, were in relation to Roman jurisprudence) the foundation of Chinese Criminal Law as it exists to-day, modified, of course, dynasty by dynasty. At this time Confucius was a mere youth; but later on, as minister of a third vassal state, that of Lu, he also expressed his disapproval of a written code, much though he respected the author, whom he knew personally. Shuh Hiang's letter is of interest as showing the pitch of philosophy, common-sense, and international courtesy to which the statesmen of China had attained 2400 years ago.

APPENDIX II

In 539 B.C. the Ts'i statesman and philosopher Yen-tsz was sent on a mission to Tsin in order to negotiate a political marriage. At this period Han K'i, also called Han Suean-tsz, was the premier of Tsin, and he despatched the minister Shuh Hiang with a complimentary message to the Ts'i envoy, accepting the offer of a suitable wife. At this time the diplomatic relations of the Chinese states were particularly interesting, because, apart from the fact that intellectual premiers ruled all the great states, most of them were personal friends, acquaintances, or correspondents of Confucius, who has left on record his judgment upon each. After the official marriage negotiations were over, Shuh Hiang ordered refreshments, and he and Yen-tsz sat down to a nice quiet little chat by themselves.

Shuh Hiang. How is Ts'i going on?

Yen-tsz. These are bad times. I don't know what I can say about Ts'i, except that it appears to be falling into the hands of the CH'EN family. The prince neglects his people, and consequently they turn to the CH'EN family for protection. In former times Ts'i had three grain measures, each a four multiple of the other—etc. four pints, sixteen pints, sixty-four pints—and finally there was a large measure containing ten times the last, or 640 pints (or litres); but the three measures of the CH'EN family have each been raised by one unit, so that three successive fives multiplied by ten give 800 pints, and their plan is to make loans of grain with their private 8oo-pint measure, and then to take back payments in the prince's measure. The wood from the mountains is sold in the market-place as cheaply as on the mountains; fish, salt, clams, and cockles are sold in the market-place as cheaply as on the shore. On the other hand, two-thirds of the produce of the people's labour go to the prince, whilst only one-third remains for the sustenance of the producers. The prince's stores rot away, whilst our old men die of starvation. False feet are cheaper than shoes in the market-place (owing to the number of people punished with amputation of a foot); the people are smarting with a sense of wrong, and are longing for the advent (of the CH'EN family), whom they love as a parent, and towards whom they tend, just as water runs downhill. Under these circumstances, even if they did not want to gain the people over, how can they avoid it? The last surviving member of that branch of the CH'EN family who traced his descent to previous dynasties has still left his spirit in the land of Ts'i, though the representatives of the family are nominally subjects of Ts'i.

Shuh Hiang. Yes. And even our ruling house of Tsin has fallen on degenerate times. Armies are no longer equipped, and our statesmen are not ready for war. There is no one to lead the chariots, and our battalions have no competent commanders. The common people are utterly exhausted, whilst the extravagance of the palace is unbounded. The starving folk line the roads, whilst money is squandered upon female favourites. The commands of the prince are received by the people as though they longed to escape the clutches of a bandit. The representatives of the eight leading families who have served the state so long and faithfully are reduced to the most insignificant offices. Government is administered in certain private interests, and the people have no one to whom to appeal. The ruler shows no sign of amendment, and endeavours to drown his cares in excessive indulgence. When did the ruling house ever before reach the low depths of to-day? The warning oracle inscribed on the tripod says: "However early you may get to zealous work, your descendants may be lazy." How much more, in the case of a man who will not reform, is disaster likely to be impending soon!

Yen-tsz. What do you propose to do?

Shuh Hiang. The ruling house of Tsin is about exhausted. I have heard it said that when a ruling house is about to fall, its family members drop off first, like the branches and leaves of a stricken tree; and the ruler himself, like the trunk, follows suit. Take my own stock, for instance, which formerly contained eleven family or clan names. The Sheepstongue (cf, English Sheepshanks) clan is my clan, and the only one now left; and I myself have no son fit to be my heir. The ruling house is arbitrary and capricious, so that, even if I am fortunate enough to die in my bed myself, I shall have no one to perform the sacra for me.

In 513 B.C. two generals of the Tsin state carried their arms into the Luh-hun reservation (in modern Ho Nan province), whither, in 638 B.C., the Tartar tribe of that name had been brought to settle by agreement between the two Chinese powers whose territories (Ts'in and Tsin) ran with the Tartars; "and then they drew upon Tsin state for four cwt. of iron, in order to cast a punishment tripod upon which to inscribe the law-book composed by Fan Suean- tsz (a minister)." Confucius said:—

"It looks as though Tsin were about to perish, as it has made a mistake in its calculations. The state of Tsin ought to govern its people by maintaining the ancient laws and ordinances received by their ancestor who was first enfeoffed there (in 1120 B.C.), when the officers of state would each observe the same in their degree. Thus the people would know how to respect their superiors, and the ruling classes would be in a position to maintain their patrimonies. The proper balance between superior classes and commoners is what we call 'ordinance.' The ruling prince W&n (who assumed the Protectorship of China in 632 B.C.) for this reason established an official body of dignitaries, and organized the annual spring revision of the laws of his ancestors as Representative Federal Prince. Now Tsin abandons this system, and makes a tripod, which tripod—will henceforth govern the people's acts. How can they now respect their superiors (having book to go by)? How can the superiors maintain their patrimonies? If superiors and commoners confuse degree, how can the state go on? Moreover, Suean-tsz's punishments date from the spring revision (of 621 B.C.), when confusion and change was going on in Tsin state; how can they take this as a fit precedent?"

APPENDIX III

About twenty-five centuries ago—in 546 B.C., to be precise—the Chinese Powers had a "Hague Conference" with a view to the reduction of armaments. This is how Confucius' pupil, Tso K'iu- ming, tells the story in the "Tso Chwan," or expanded version of Confucius' "Springs and Autumns" (for convenience the names of the ancient States are changed to those of the modern provinces corresponding with them):—

"A statesman of Ho Nan, being on friendly terms with his colleagues of Shan Si and Hu P&h, conceived the idea of making a name for himself by proposing a cessation of armaments. He went first to Shan Si, and interviewed the Premier there; the Premier consulted his colleagues in the Shan Si ministry, and one of them said: 'War is ruinous to the people, and a fearful waste of wealth; it is the curse of the smaller Powers. Although the idea will come to nothing, we must consent to a conference; otherwise Hu P&h will consent to it first, in order to gain favour with the Powers, and thus we shall lose the predominant position we now occupy.' So Shan Si consented.

"Then (the narrative continues) Hu Peh was visited, and also consented. Then Shan Tung (the German sphere now). Shan Tung did not like the idea; but one of the Shan Tung Ministers said: 'Shan Si and Hu P&h have agreed, and we have no help for it. Besides, the world will say that there would be a cessation of armaments were it not for our refusal, and thus our own people will vote against us. What is the use of that?' So Shan Tung consented. Next Shen Si was notified. Shen Si also consented. Then the whole four great Powers notified the minor States, and a great durbar (of fourteen States) was held at a minor court in Ho Nan."

The curious part of it all is that the representative of the Emperor (whose political position was not unlike that of the Popes in Europe since 1870) did not appear at the Conference at all, though all the Great Powers maintained the fiction of granting precedence to the Emperor and his nuncios, and even went through the form of accepting investiture from him and taking tribute presents to the Imperial Court-when it suited them.

This celebrated Peace Conference closed the seventy-two years of almost incessant war that had been going on between Tsin and Ts'in (Shan Si and Shen Si), apart from the subsidiary war between Tsin and Ts'u (Hu Peh).



INDEX

Absorption, Chinese Accadian. See Babylonian Adams, Will Address, forms of Advisers, Chinese Advisers, Tartar African parallels Agriculture Ainus, people Alexander the Great Alienation of fiefs Alliances Alphabets, imperfection of Altars Altars, private Ambassadors. See Envoys; Missions American parallels Analects of Confucius Ancestral feeling Ancestral sacrifices Ancestral tablets Ancestral temples Anglo-Saxon civilization An Hwei, province Annals (see History and Bamboo Books) Annam, King of Annamese race Appanages, ducal Aquarius Archives Area of Ancient China Army organization Army provision Army, standing Arrows Arsenals Assassinations of princes Assyria. See Babylonia Astrology Astronomy Atlantic Augury. See Oracles Augustus, title August Emperor (see First); Second); (Both); (Third) Authorities consulted Axes as emblems Axles

Babel, Tower of Babylonian civilization "Babylonian women," Baghatur, the Khan Bamboo Books Banner garrisons Banquets, imperial Barbarian influences Barbarian kings (see King) Barbarians Barbarians, Eastern Barbarous gods Barbarous vassals Barons Bastards Battles, gigantic Beards Bears' paws Bells as music "Bible" of China Bismarck Blackwater, river Blood-drawing Blood-drinking Blood-smearing Boat travelling Boiling alive Book of Chou Book of Hia "Book, The" Books, wooden Bows and arrows "Boxer" troubles Bridges Britain Bronze documents Bruce, Major Brush for writing Buddhism Buffer states Builders, Chinese as Burials. See Funerals Burma

Cadastral surveys Cadiz Caesar, title Calendars Cambodgia Camels Canal, Grand Canals, early Canton Capitals, imperial Capitals, vassal Capricorn Caravans Cardinals Carlyle Carthage. See Phoenicians "Cash" Caste, none in China Caste, royal Caste, ruling Castration Casuistry Cattle trade Cavalry Cave-dwellers Celtic migration Celtic races Centralization Central Kingdom Ceremonial. See Rites Cessions of imperial territory Chan-Kwoh Ts'eh Ch'ang, personal name Chang, river Ch'ang-chon Fu Chang I, diplomatist Ch'ang-sha, modern Ch'ang-shuh, city Changes, Book of Chao, state Characters. See Writing Chariots Charities Charlemagne Chavannes, Professor Edouard Chefoo, port Cheh Kiang, province Ch'en Ch'ang (tabu form of Ch'en or T'ien H&g) Ch'en family and state Ch'en-chou Fu Cheng, imperial name Cheng, state Ch'eng-tu, city, Chih Li, province, China, ancient nucleus of, China, old name for, (see Hia), China, south, China unified, Chinese advisers, Chinkiang, port, Chivalry, Choh Chou, locality, Chou, collapse of, house, See Emperor Chou, Duke of, Chou dynasty, Chou dynasty, end of, Chou principality, Chou, Rites of, (see Rites), Christianity, Chronology, definite, Ch'ung-erh, prince, Ch'unghou, Manchu envoy, Ch'ung-k'ing, modern, Church, the, Churches, none in China, Chusan Island, Chwang, King of Ts'u, Chwang-tsz, philosopher, Cities, Citizenship, Civilian King, Civilization, advance of, Clan, or gem, Clan, imperial, Classic of poetry, Classic, Law, Classics, Classification of the people, Clay documents, Clerks, See Archives and Historiographers Clerks or precentors, Clients, Coast provinces, Cochin China, Cockfighting, Coffins, Colonization, Chinese, Colours, Comets, Compass, the, Concubines, Conference, See Peace Confucius, Confucius, his birthday, Confucius, his birthplace, Confucius, his family, Confucius, his History work, Confucius, his liquor, Confucius, his literary labours, Confucius, his tampering, Confucius, his wanderings, Confusion of Tongues, Conqueror (see Founder), Conquest of China, See China Constantinople, Continuity of history, Cooks, Copper, Corea, Coreans, Corpse mutilation, Cosmogony, Cotton, Couches, Country, definition of, Counts, 29 (see Earls), Court duty, Courtesans, Courtesy titles, Courts, vassal, Creation, the, Critics (see Historical), Croesus, Cromwell, Oliver, Cuba, Cultivators, Customs, foreign, Cycles of time, Cyclic dates, Cyrus,

Dancing women, Danube, the, Dates, definite, Dates, Julian and Gregorian, Dead, the, Democracy of Lao-tsz, Descent, rules of, Desert, Destruction of literature, Diagrams, Dialects, Dies nefas, Diplomatic adventurers, Diplomatic terms, Disciples of Confucius, (see Tso K'iu-ming), Divine right, Diviners, See Astrology Documents, Documents in bronze, Documents in stone, Documents in wood, Documents on silk, Dogs, zog, Dog-flesh, Dog Tartars, Door-keepers, Dress, Drums, Drums, stone, Drunkenness, Duke Muh of Ts'in (see Muh), Duke of Chou, Duke of Shao, Duke of Sung, Dukes, Dukes of Confucius, 35, 135 Durbars, Dynasties, first (Hia), Dynasties, inter-related, Dynasties, second (Shang), Dynasties, third (Chou),

Ears, amputation of, Ears, piercing of, Earls, See Counts Eastern Barbarians, Eastern metropolis, Eclipses, Ecliptic, Eden, garden of, Education, 89, Egret fights, Egyptian civilization, Elephants, Embassies, Japanese, Emperor, Emperor Above, or God, Emperor and Tartar marriages, Emperor's appanage, Emperor, collapse of, Emperor, early burial places, Emperor, flights from his capital, Emperor killed by barbarians, Emperor killed by Tartars, Emperor, suzerain, Emperor, title of, Emperor's court, Emperors, dual, "Empire," names for, Empire, struggle for, Empresses, Empresses—Dowager, Engineering, England, Envoys, Equinoxes, Etiquette, (see Rites), Eunuchs, Europe and China, ancient, European critics, Euphrates, river, Evidence, historical, Exchange currency, Exogamy, Expanded Confucian histories, Explorations, Early Chinese, Expresses, Exterminating punishments,

Facing north, south, east, and west, Fah Hien, pilgrim, Fah, personal name, Fairs, Families, branching off of, Families, great, Fan Suean-tsz, statesman, Fasting, Father of Chinese History, (see Sz-ma Ts'ien), Feasts, Federal princes, Fen River, Feng-siang Fu, Feudal system, Feudal system, destruction of, Fiefs, Fighting State Period, First August Emperor, Fish industry, Five Tyrants, Dictators, or Protectors, See Protectors Flags, use of, Flooding cities, Foochow, Food, Foot, length of, Football, Foot-squeezing, Fords, Foreign blood in China, Foreign critics, Foreign languages, Foreign princes, (see Barbarian), Foreign states (politically), Forke, Professor, Formosa, Founder of Chou dynasty, See Martial King Four seasons, Fowling, French, the, Frontiers, Frontiers, changing, Fu-ch'ai, King of Wu, Fuh Kien, province, Funerals, Fu-yung vassals,

Games, Genesis, Geography, ancient, Germans, (see Prussia), Germany, Emperors of, Ghosts, See Spirits God, notions of, Gods, See Spirits Gods of rivers, Gods of the harvest, Gods of the land, Gold, Golden Horn, Gordon, General, Gorges of Yang-tsz River, Gospels, the, Government, theory of, Grain trade, Grand Canal, Grants, See Fiefs Grapes, Great families, See Families Great River, (see Yang-tsz), Great Wall, Greece, Greek civilization, Guelph, the name, Gulf of "Pechelee," Gutchen, locality,

Hauge Conference, Hainan Island, Hair, dressing the, Hami, locality, Han dynasty, Han Emperor, Han K'i, statesman, Han, Pass of, Han River, Han, State of, Han Suean-tsz, Handicraft, Handmaids, Hangchow, modern, Hankow, modern, Harashar, locality, Harems, See Eunuchs Hats, rank in, Hawaii, Head-covering, Heaven, Heaven, Son of, See Tenshi Heaven, will of, Hegemons, Five. See Protectors Hegemony, official, Heirs, Helmets, Hemp, Hereditary offices, Herodotus, "Hia," meaning "Chinese," Hia dynasty, Hiang Sueh, statesman, Hen city, Hien, definition of, Hien-feng, Emperor, Hien-yang, locality, Hindoo trading colonies, Hindu Kush, Historical critics, Historical manipulations, Historiographers, History, discrepancies in, History, earliest dated, History, early Chinese, History, medieval Chinese, "History," names for, History, Japanese, History of Shuh, History of Sz Ch'wan, History of Tsin, History, romance of, Hiung-nu, Homage, Ho-nan Fu, Ho Nan Province, Hong Kong, "Horizontal and Perpendicular" Period, Horses, Horse-flesh, Hostages, House of Commons, House of Lords, Houses, Hue, state, Human origins, Human sacrifices, Hu Kwang, province, See Hu Peh Hu Nan, province, Hu Pfh, province, (see Hu Kwang), Hundred Yueeh, Hungarian migration, Huns, See Hiung-nu Hunts, Hwa, city, Hwai-k'ing Fu, Hwai-nan-tsz, author, Hwai River, Hwai savages, See Eastern Barbarians Hwai valley, Hwsn, Duke of Lu,

"I," the words for, I, River, Ich'ang, modern, I-thou Fu, Imagination and fact, Immortality defined, Imperial clan, Imperial residences, Imperial domain, See Dukes and Emperor Imperator, the title, Imprecation, Incest, India, Indo-China, Infanticide, Ink, Inscriptions, Intercalary months, International Law, Investiture, Iron trade, Irrigation, Islands, South Sea, Italy, See Roman civilization Ito, Prince or Duke, Ivory,

Jade, Japan, Japanese, Japanese civilization, Japanese history, Japanese language, Japanese types, Jehol, locality, Jesuits, Jews, Jimmu, Mikado, "Joints," twenty-four, of time, Journey, in days, Judge-made law, Julia, Lex, Jungle (see Ts'u state), Jung-tseh, city, Jurisprudence,

K'AI, city, Kakhyens, Kan-thou Fu, K'ang-hi, Emperor, Kashgaria, Keugu, country, (see Wu), Khan, Supreme Tartar, Khoten, Ki clan, K'i principality, Ki-chah, prince of Wu, Kia-ting Fu, Kiang Si, province, Kiang Su, province, Kiang-yin, locality, Kiao Chou, K'ien, River, King (see Ts'u state), King, title of, King-thou Fu, King River, Kings, Tartar, Kitchen middens, Kou-tsien, King, Kruger, President, Kublai Khan, Kuche, locality, Ku-ch'eng, locality, Kumiss, Kung-tsz, or son of reigning prince, K'ue-peh-yueh, Confucius' friend, K'ueh-fu, city, K'ueh Yuean, poet, Kwa Chou, locality, Kwan-tsz, philosopher, Kwan-tsz, his death, Kwei Chou, province, Kwei-teh Fu, Kwoh Hia, general, Kwoh Yue, history,