The Chinese Classics, passage 684

Wherever the water in its overflow reaches, men take knowledge of it, while the fattening rain falls unobserved.' 10. Pu Shang, styled Tsze-hsia (卜商, 字子夏). It is not certain to what State he belonged, his birth being assigned to Wei (衛), to Wei (魏), and to Wan (溫). He was forty-five years younger than Confucius, and lived to a great age, for we find him, B.C. 406, at the court of the prince Wan of Wei ( 魏), to whom he gave copies of some of the classical Books.

The Chinese Classics, passage 673

If you cut it down and use it, you can send it through a rhinoceros's hide;-- what is the use of learning?' 'Yes,' said the master; 'but if you feather it and point it with steel, will it not penetrate more deeply?' Tsze-lu bowed ' twice, and said, 'I will reverently receive your instructions.' Confucius was wont to say, 'From the time that I got Yu, bad words no more came to my ears.' For some time Tsze-lu was chief magistrate of the district of P'u (蒲), where his administration commanded the warm commendations of the master.

The Chinese Classics, passage 364

A similar condition of things prevailed in each particular State. There there [sic] were hereditary ministerial families, who were continually encroaching on the authority of their rulers, and the heads of those families again were frequently hard pressed by their inferior officers. Such was the state of China in Confucius's time.

The Chinese Classics, passage 765

I have had occasion to consult principally those on the Literary Monuments, embraced in seventy-six Books, from the 174th to the 249th. 朱彝尊經義考, 'An Examination of the Commentaries on the Classics,' by Chu I-tsun. The author was a member of the Han-lin college, and the work was first published with an imperial preface by the Ch'ien-lung emperor.

The Chinese Classics, passage 464

The disciples were quite overcome with want, and Tsze-lu said to the master, 'Has the superior man indeed to endure in this way?' Confucius answered him, 'The superior man may indeed have to endure want; but the mean man l Ana. XVII. vii. 2 Tso Ch'iu-ming, indeed, relates a story of Confucius, on the report of a fire in Lu, telling whose ancestral temple had been destroyed by it. 3 Ana. V. xxi.

The Chinese Classics, passage 320

562, when serving at the siege of a place called Peh-yang [4], a party of the assailants made their way in at a gate which had purposely been left open, and no sooner were they inside than the portcullis was dropped. Heh was just entering; and catching the massive structure with both his hands, he gradually by dint of main strength raised it and held it up, till his friends had made their escape. Thus much on the ancestry of the sage.

The Chinese Classics, passage 127

These slabs we can trace down through the Sung dynasty, when they were known as the tablets of Shen [1]. They were in exact conformity with the text of the Classics adopted by Chang Hsuan in his commentaries; and they exist at the present day at the city of Hsi-an, Shen-hsi, still called by the same name. The Sung dynasty did not accomplish a similar work itself, nor did either of the two which followed it think it necessary to engrave in stone in this way the ancient Classics.

The Chinese Classics, passage 179

But even from the examination of them, we do not obtain the information which we desire on this momentous inquiry. 8. Indeed, the more I study the Work, the more satisfied I become, that from the conclusion of what is now called the chapter of classical text to the sixth chapter of commentary, we have only a few fragments, which it is of no use trying to arrange, so as fairly to exhibit the plan of the author.

The Chinese Classics, passage 698

Confucius commended him for refusing to take office with any of the Families which were encroaching on the authority of the princes of the States, and for choosing to endure the severest poverty rather than sacrifice a tittle of his principles. 19. Tsang Tien, styled Hsi (曾蒧[al. 點], 字皙). .He was the father of Tsang Shan. His place in the temples is the hall to Confucius's ancestors, where his tablet is the first, west. 20. Yen Wu-yao, styled Lu (顏無繇, 字路).

The Chinese Classics, passage 433

The spring was coming on, when the sacrifice to Heaven would be offered, and he determined to wait and see whether the 1 費. 2 郈. 3 成. 4 In connexion with these events, the 'Narratives of the School' and Sze-ma Ch'ien mention the summary punishment inflicted by Confucius on an able but unscrupulous and insidious officer the Shaou chang, Maou (少正卯). His judgment and death occupy a conspicuous place in the legendary accounts.

The Chinese Classics, passage 583

But it rests on the same authority as most other statements about him, and it is accepted as a fact by the people and scholars of China. It must have had, and it must still have, a very injurious influence upon them. Foreigners charge a habit of deceitfulness upon the nation and its government;-- on the justice or injustice of this charge I say nothing.

The Chinese Classics, passage 312

His great-grandson, the duke Min [3], was l See Mémoires concernant les Chinois, Tome XII, p. 447 et seq. Father Amiot states, p. 501, that he had seen the representative of the family, who succeeded to the dignity of 衍聖公 in the ninth year of Ch'ien- lung, A.D. 1744. The last duke, not the present, was visited in our own time by the late Dr. Williamson and Mr. Consul Markham.

The Chinese Classics, passage 605

All these regulations were adopted by the sages in harmony with the natures of man and woman, and to give importance to the ordinance of marriage [1].' With these ideas of the relations of society, Confucius dwelt much on the necessity of personal correctness of character on the part of those in authority, in order to secure the right fulfillment of the duties implied in them. This is one grand peculiarity of his teaching.

The Chinese Classics, passage 147

An ancient tradition attributes it to K'ung Chi, the grandson of Confucius.

The Chinese Classics, passage 141

The integrity of the text of Chang Hsuan is zealously maintained, and the simpler method of interpretation employed by him is advocated in preference to the more refined and ingenious schemes of the Sung scholars. I have referred several times in the notes to a Work published a few years ago, under the title of 'The Old Text of the sacred Ching, with Commentary and Discussions, by Lo Chung-fan of Nan-hai [7].' I knew the man many years ago.

The Chinese Classics, passage 690

On his connexion with 'The Great Learning,' see above, Ch. III. Sect. II. He was first associated with the sacrifices to Confucius in A.D. 668, but in 1267 he was advanced to be one of the sage's four Assessors. His title-- 'Exhibitor of the Fundamental Principles of the Sage,' dates from the period of Chia-ching, as mentioned in speaking of Yen Hui. 13. Tan-t'ai Mieh-ming, styled Tsze-yu (澹臺滅明, 字子羽).

The Chinese Classics, passage 280

It tells us of 'the five duties of universal application,'-- those between sovereign and minister, husband and wife, father and son, elder and younger brother, and friends; of 'the three virtues by which those duties are carried into effect,' namely, knowledge, benevolence, and energy; and of 'the one thing, by which those virtues are practised,' which is singleness or sincerity [1].

The Chinese Classics, passage 100

v is found, but with large additions, and no reference of quotation, in his treatise on 'Man in the World, associated with other Men [1].' In all those Works, as well as in those of Lieh and Mo, the references to Confucius and his disciples, and to many circumstances of his life, are numerous [2]. The quotations of sayings of his not found in the Analects are likewise many, especially in the Doctrine of the Mean, in Mencius, and in the Works of Chwang.

The Chinese Classics, passage 662

He was a native of Lu, fifteen years younger than Confucius, according to Sze-ma Ch'ien, but fifty years younger, according to the 'Narratives of the School,' which latter authority is followed in 'The Annals of the Empire.' When he first came to Confucius, we are told, he had a starved look [2], which was by-and-by exchanged for one of fulness and satisfaction [3]. Tsze-kung asked him how the change had come about.

The Chinese Classics, passage 482

We may suppose that 1 Ana. XIII. iii. In the notes on this passage, I have given Chu Hsi's opinion as to the time when Tsze-lu made this remark. It seems more correct, however, to refer it to Confucius's return to Wei from Ch'u, as is done by Chiang Yung. 2 Ana. VII. xiv. 3 Ana. XI. viii. In the notes on Ana. XI. vii, I have adverted to the chronological difficulty connected with the dates assigned respectively to the deaths of Yen Hui and Confucius's own son, Li.

The Chinese Classics, passage 125

I have related how the ancient Classics were cut on slabs of stone by imperial order, A.D. 175, the text being that which the various literati had determined, and which had been adopted by Chang Hsuan. The same work was performed about seventy years later, under the so-called dynasty of Wei, between the years 240 and 248, and the two sets of slabs were set up together.

The Chinese Classics, passage 590

When it does so, who can keep it back [2]?' Such, he contended, would be the response of the mass of the people to any true 'shepherd of men.' It may be deemed unnecessary that I should specify this point, for it is a truth applicable to the people of all nations. Speaking generally, government is by no device or cunning craftiness; human nature demands it. But in no other family of mankind is the characteristic so largely developed as in the Chinese.

The Chinese Classics, passage 731

Tsze-ch'in] (陳亢, 字子亢 [al. 子禽]), a native of Ch'an. See notes on Ana. I. x. 80. Hsien Tan [al. Tan-fu and Fang], styled Tsze-hsiang (縣亶 [al. 亶父 and 豐], 字子象), a native of Lu. Some suppose that this is the same as No. 53. The advisers of the present dynasty in such matters, however, have considered them to be different, and in 1724, a tablet was assigned to Hsien Tan, the 34th, west.

The Chinese Classics, passage 50

In the year after the burning of the Books, the resentment of the emperor was excited by the remarks and the flight of two scholars who had been favourites with him, and he determined to institute a strict inquiry about all of their class in Hsien-yang, to find out whether they had been making ominous speeches about him, and disturbing the minds of the people.

The Chinese Classics, passage 783

Religions of China, America, and Oceanica. Cambridge, 1858. INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF. CHINESE CHARACTERS. By J. Edkins, D.D. London, 1876. THE STRUCTURE OF CHINESE CHARACTERS, under 300 Primary Forms. By John Chalmers, M.A., LL.D. Aberdeen, 1882.

The Chinese Classics, passage 611

Now that Great Britain is the governing power over the masses of India and that we are coming more and more into contact with tens of thousands of the Chinese, this maxim of our sage is deserving of serious consideration from all who bear rule, and especially from those on whom devolves the conduct of affairs. His words on the susceptibility of the people to be acted on by those above them ought not to prove as water spilt on the ground.

The Chinese Classics, passage 53

No attempts have been made by Chinese critics and historians to discredit the record of these events, though some have questioned the extent of the injury inflicted by them on the monuments of their ancient literature [3]. It is important to observe that the edict against the Books did not extend to the Yi-ching, which was 1 御史悉案問諸生, 諸生傳相告引. 2 自除犯禁者, 四百六餘人, 皆阬之咸陽. The meaning of this passage as a whole is sufficiently plain, but I am unable to make out the force of the phrase 自除.

The Chinese Classics, passage 555

When he died, he would be bitterly lamented. How is it possible for him to be attained to [3]?' From these representations of Tsze-kung, it was not a difficult step for Tsze-sze to take in exalting Confucius not only to the level of the ancient sages, but as 'the equal of Heaven.' And Mencius took up the theme. Being questioned by Kung-sun Ch'au, one of his disciples, about two acknowledged sages, Po-i and I Yin, whether they were to be placed in the same rank with Confucius, he replied, 'No.

The Chinese Classics, passage 444

'You never did such a thing,' Tsze-kung remonstrated, 'at the funeral of any of your disciples; is it not too great a gift on this occasion of the death of an old host?' 'When I went in,' replied Confucius, 'my presence brought a burst of grief from the chief mourner, and I joined him with my tears. I dislike the thought of my tears not being followed by anything. Do it, my child [7].' On reaching Wei, he lodged with Chu Po-yu, an officer of whom 1 顏讎由. See Mencius, V. Pt. I. viii. 2. 2. 靈公.

The Chinese Classics, passage 702

Kung-po Liao, styled Tsze-chau (公伯僚, 字子周). He appears in the Analects, XIV. xxxiii, slandering Tsze-lu. It is doubtful whether he should have a place among the disciples. 25. Sze-ma Kang, styled Tsze-niu (司馬耕, 字子牛), follows Ch'i-tiao K'ai; also styled 黍耕. He was a great talker, a native of Sung, and a brother of Hwan T'ui, to escape from whom seems to have been the labour of his life. 26.

The Chinese Classics, passage 279

After all the study which I have directed to it, there are some points in reference to which I have still doubts and difficulties. The twentieth chapter, which concludes the third portion of the Work, contains a full exposition of Confucius's views on government, though professedly descriptive only of that of the kings Wan and Wu. Along with lessons proper for a ruler there are many also of universal application, but the mingling of them perplexes the mind.

The Chinese Classics, passage 627

long the government would have ranked them with the barbarous hordes of antiquity, and given them the benefit of the maxim about 'indulgent treatment,' according to its own understanding of it.

The Chinese Classics, passage 640

But the worth of the two maxims depends on the intention of the enunciators in regard to their application. Confucius, it seems to me, did not think of the reciprocity coming into action beyond the circle of his five relations of society. Possibly, he might have 1 History of China, vol. i. p. 209.

The Chinese Classics, passage 190

'As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.' This is the teaching alike of Solomon and the author of the Great Learning. Fourth.

The Chinese Classics, passage 186

After the exhibition which I have given, my readers will probably conclude that the Work before us is far from developing, as Pauthier asserts, 'a system of social perfectionating which has never been equalled.' 10. The Treatise has undoubtedly great merits, but they are not to be sought in the severity of its logical processes, or the large-minded prosecution of any course of thought.

The Chinese Classics, passage 276

This chapter is followed by two from Tsze-sze, to the effect that the superior man does what is proper in every change of his situation, always finding his rule in himself; and that in his practice there is an orderly advance from step to step,-- from what is near to what is remote.

The Chinese Classics, passage 598

Mencius has said that 'between father and son there should be affection; between sovereign and minister righteousness; between husband and wife attention to their separate functions; between old and young, a proper order; and between friends, fidelity [3].' Confucius, I apprehend, would hardly have accepted this account. It does not bring out sufficiently the authority which he claimed for the father and the sovereign, and the obedience which he exacted from the child and the minister.

The Chinese Classics, passage 91

There they were recorded, and afterwards came a first-rate hand, who gave them the beautiful literary finish which we now witness, so that there is not a character which does not have its own indispensable place [2].' We have seen that the first of these statements contains only a small amount of truth with regard to the materials of the Analects, nor can we receive the second.

The Chinese Classics, passage 437

How is it, O azure Heaven, From my home I thus am driven, Through the land my way to trace, With no certain dwelling-place? Dark, dark; the minds of men! Worth in vain comes to their ken. Hastens on my term of years; Old age, desolate, appears [2],' A number of his disciples accompanied him, and his sadness infected them.

The Chinese Classics, passage 333

On the top of his head was a remarkable formation, in consequence of which he was named Ch'iu, &c. See the 列國志, Bk. lxxviii.--Sze-ma Ch'ien seems to make Confucius to have been illegitimate, saying that Heh and Miss Yen cohabited in the wilderness (野合 ). Chiang Yung says that the phrase has reference simply to the disparity of their ages. 2 Sze-ma Ch'ien says that Confucius was born in the twenty-second year of duke Hsiang, B.C. 550.

The Chinese Classics, passage 172

he lays upon them, and in his selection of ministers, in such a way that he will secure the affections of his subjects, and his throne will be established, for 'by gaining the people, the kingdom is gained, and, by losing the people, the kingdom is lost [1].' There are in this part of the treatise many valuable sentiments, and counsels for all in authority over others.

The Chinese Classics, passage 548

Distant from the last by a long interval of time, he would have said that he was distant from him also by a great inferiority of character, but still he had learned the principles on which they all happily governed the country, and in their name he would lift up a standard against the prevailing lawlessness of his age. 5. The language employed with reference to Confucius by his disciples and their early followers presents a striking contrast with his own.

The Chinese Classics, passage 747

The middle division contains a critical analysis of the chapters and paragraphs; and above, there are the necessary biographical and other notes. 四書味根錄, 'The Four Books, with the Relish of the Radical Meaning.' This is a new Work, published in 1852.

The Chinese Classics, passage 264

Instead of showing us how virtue, or the path of duty is in accordance with our Heaven-given nature, they lead us to think of it as a mean between two extremes. Each extreme may be a violation of the law of our nature, but that is not made to appear. Confucius's sayings would be in place in illustrating the doctrine of the Peripatetics, 'which placed all virtue in a medium between opposite vices [8].' Here in the Chung Yung of Tsze-sze I have always felt them to be out of place. 5.

The Chinese Classics, passage 658

Tsze-lu began, and when he had done, the master said, 'It marks your bravery.' Tsze-kung followed, on whose words the judgment was, 'They show your discriminating eloquence.' At last came Yen Yuan, who said, 'I should like to find an intelligent king and sage ruler whom I might assist.

The Chinese Classics, passage 132

My object here is simply to mention the Chinese scholars wh have rendered themselves famous or notorious in their own country by what they hav done in this way. The first was Ch'ang Hao, a native of Lo-yang in Ho-nan Province, in the eleventh century [1]. His designation of Po-shun, but since his death he has been known chiefly by the style of Ming-tao [2], which we may render the Wise-in-doctrine.

The Chinese Classics, passage 274

Thus his words have respect to his actions, and his actions have respect to his words;-- is it not just an entire sincerity which marks the superior man?' We have here the golden rule in its negative form expressly propounded:-- 'What you do not like when done to yourself, do not do to others.' But in the paragraph which follows we have the rule virtually in its positive form.

The Chinese Classics, passage 520

195, visited his tomb and offered the three victims in sacrifice to him. Other sovereigns since then have often made pilgrimages to the spot. The most famous temple in the empire now rises near the place of the grave. The second and greatest of the rulers of the present dynasty, in the twenty-third year of his reign, the K'ang-hsi period, there set the example of kneeling thrice, and each time laying his forehead thrice in the dust, before the image of the sage.

The Chinese Classics, passage 207

We must place his birth therefore considerably later, and suppose him to have been quite young when his father died. I was talking once about the question with a Chinese friend, who observed:-- 'Li was fifty when he died, and his wife married again into a family of Wei. We can hardly think, therefore, that she was anything like that age. Li could not have married so soon as his father did. Perhaps he was about forty when Chi was born.' smiled and said, 'Now, indeed, shall I be without anxiety!

The Chinese Classics, passage 543

Rather we may recognise in them the expressions of a genuine humility. He was conscious that personally he came short in many things, but he toiled after the character, which he saw, or fancied that he saw, in the ancient sages whom he acknowledged; and the lessons of government and morals which he labored to diffuse were those which had already been inculcated and exhibited by them.