BOOK II. WEI CHING

CHAPTER 1

The Master said, "He who exercises government by means of his virtue, may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it."

HEADING OF THIS BOOK. —为政第二 . This second book contains twenty four chapters, and is named 为政 , 'The practice of government'. That is the object to which learning, treated of in the last book, should lead, and here we have the qualities which constitute, and the character of the men who administer, good government.

1. THE INFLUENCE OF VIRTUE IN A RULER. 德 is explained by 得 , but the old comm. say 物得以生谓之德 , 'what creatures get in order to their birth is called their virtue', while Choo He makes it= 行道而有得于心 , 'the practice of truth and acquisition thereof in the heart'. Choo's view of the comparison is that it sets forth the illimitable influence which virtue in a ruler exercises without his using any effort. This is extravagant. His opponents say that virtue is the polar star, and the various departments of government the other stars. This is far-fetched. We must be content to accept the vague utterance without minutely determining its meaning. 北辰 is, no doubt, 'the north polar star', anciently believed to coincide exactly with the place of the real people. 共 is up.2d tone, used for 拱 , 'to fold the hands in saluting', here= 'to turn respectfully towards'.

CHAPTER 2

The Master said, "In the Book of Poetry are three hundred pieces, but the design of them all may be embraced in one sentence — 'Have no depraved thoughts.'"

CHAPTER 3

1. The Master said, "If the people be led by laws, and uniformity sought to be given them by punishments, they will try to avoid the punishment, but have no sense of shame.

2. "If they be led by virtue, and uniformity sought to be given them by the rules of propriety, they will have the sense of shame, and moreover will become good."

CHAPTER 4

1. The Master said, "At fifteen, I had my mind bent on learning.

2. "At thirty, I stood firm.

3. "At forty, I had no doubts.

2. THE PURE DESIGN OF THE BOOK OF POETRY. The number of compositions in the Sheking is rather more than the round number here given. 一言 = 一句 , 'one sentence'. 蔽 = 盖 , 'to cover', 'to embrace'. 思无邪 , see She-king, IV.ii.1.st.4. The sentence there is indicative, and in praise of the duke He, who had no depraved thoughts. The sage would seem to have been intending his own design in compiling the She. Individual pieces are calculated to have a diff. effect.

3. HOW RULERS SHOULD PREFER MORAL APPLIANCES. 1. 道 , as in I.5. 之 , 'them', ref. to 民 , below. 政 , as oppos. to 德 ,= laws and prohibitions. 齐 , 'corn earing evenly'; hence, what is level, equal, adjusted, and here with the corresponding verbal force. 民免 , 'The people will avoid', that is, avoid breaking the laws thro. fear of the punishment. 2. 格 has the signif. of 'to come to', and 'to correct' from either of which the text may be explained, — 'will come to good', or 'will correct themselves'. Obe. the diff. of 且 and 而 in p.1. 而 = 'but'; 且 = 'moreover'.

4. CONFUCIUS' OWN ACCOUNT OF HIS GRADUAL PROGRESS AND ATTAINMENTS. Chin. comm. are perplexed with this ch. Holding of Confucius that 生而知之 , 安而行之 , 'he was born with knowledge, and did what was right with entire ease', they say that he here conceals his sagehood, and puts himself on t he level of common men, to set before them a stimulating example. We may believe that the compilers of the Analects, the sage's immediate disciples, did not think of him so extravagantly as later men have done. It is to be wished, however, that he had been more definite and diffuse in his account of himself. 1. 有 , in low. 3d tone,= 'and'. The 'learning', to which, at 15, Conf. gave himself, is to be understood of the subjects of the 'Superior Learning'. See Choo He's preliminary essay to the Ta He ̈ o ̆ . 2. The 'standing firm' probably indicates that he no more needed to bend his will. 3. The 'no doubts' may have been concerning what was proper in all circumstances and events. 4. 'The decrees of Heaven',=the things decreed by Heaven, the constitution of things making what was proper to be so. 5. 'The ear obedient' is the mind receiving as by intuition the truth from the ear. 6. 矩 , 'an instrument for determining the square'. 不逾矩 , 'without transgressing the square'.

4. "At fifty, I knew the decrees of heaven.

5. "At sixty, my ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth.

6. "At seventy, I could follow what my heart desired, without transgressing what was right."

CHAPTER 5

1. Ma ̆ ng E asked what filial piety was. The Master said, "It is not being disobedient."

2. Soon after, as Fan Ch'e was driving him, the Master told him, saying, 'Ma ̆ ng-sun asked me what filial piety was, and I answered him, — 'not being disobedient.'

3. Fan Ch'e said, "What did you mean?" The Master replied, "That parents, when alive, should be served according to propriety; that, when dead, they should be buried according to propriety; and that they should be sacrificed to according to propriety."

5. FILIAL PIETY MUST BE SHOWN ACCORDING TO THE RULES OF PROPRIETY. 1. Mang E was a great officer of the state of Loo, by name Ho-ke( 何忌 ), and the chief of one of the three great families by which in the time of Conf. the authority of that state was grasped. Those families were descended from three brothers, the sons by a concubine of the duke Hwan (B.C. 710-693), who were distinguished at first by the prenomens of 仲 , 叔 , and 季 . To these was subsequently added the character 孙 , 'grandson', to indicate their princely descent, and 仲孙 , 叔孙 , and 季孙 , became the respective surnames of the families. 仲孙 was changed into 孟孙 , by the father of Mang E, on a principle of humility, as he thereby only claimed to be the eldest of the inferior sons or their representatives, and avoided the presumption of seeming to be a younger full brother of the reigning duke. 懿 , 'mild and virtuous', was the posthumous honorary title given to Ho-ke. On 子 , see I.1.1. Fan, by name 须 , and designated 子迟 , was a minor disciple of the sage. Conf. repeated his remark to Fan, that he might report the explanation of it to his friend Mang E, or Mang-sun, and thus prevent him from supposing that all the sage intended was disobedience to parents.

CHAPTER 6

Ma ̆ ng Woo asked what filial piety was. The Master said, "Parents are anxious lest their children should be sick."

CHAPTER 7

Tsze-yew asked what filial piety was. The Master said, "The filial piety of now-a-days means the support of one's parents. But dogs and horses likewise are able to do something in the way of support; — without reverence, what is there to distinguish the one support given from the other?"

CHAPTER 8

Tsze-hea asked what filial piety was. The Master said, "The difficulty is with the countenance. If, when their elders have any troublesome affairs, the young take the toil of them, and if, when the young have wine and food, they set them before their elders, is THIS to be considered filial piety?"

6. THE ANXIETY OF PARENTS ABOUT THEIR OHILDREN AN ARGUMENT FOR FILIAL PIETY. This engmatical sentence has been interpreted in two ways. Choo He takes 唯 (= 惟 ) not in the sense of 'only', but of 'thinking anxiously'. — 'Parents have the sorrow of thinking anxiously about their-i.e their children'sbeing unwell. Therefore children should take care of their persons.' The old comm. again take 唯 in the sense of 'only'. — 'Let parents have only the sorrow of their children's illness. Let them have no other occasion for sorrow. This will be filial piety.' Mang Woo (the hon. epithet,= 'Bold and of straightforward principle') was the son of Mang E, and by name 彘 . 伯 merely indicates that he was the eldest son.

7. HOW THERE MUST BE REVERENCE IN FILIAL DUTY. Tsze-yew was the designation of 言偃 , a native of 吴 ,and distinguished among the disciples of Conf. for his knowledge of the rules of propriety, and for his learning. He is now 4 th on the west among 'the wise ones'. 养 is in low. 3d tone,= 'to minister support to', the act of an inferior to a superior. In low.2d tone, it= 'to nurish', 'bring up', Choo He gives a different turn to the sentiment. — 'But dogs and horses likewise manage to get their support.' The other and older interpr. is better. 至于 , 'Coming to',=as to, quoad. 别 , up.4 th tone, 别 = 'to leave', 'separate from'.

8. THE DUTIES OF FILIAL PIETY MUST BE PERFORMED WITH A CHEERFUL COUNTENANCE. 色 , here, nearly analogous to I.3. 事 followed by 劳 , =the 'troublesome affairs' in the transl. 弟子 , as in I.6. The use of the phrase here extents filial duty to elders generally, — to the 父兄 as well as to the 父母 . We have in transl. to supply their respective nom. to the two 有 . 食 , read tsze, 'rice', and then, food generally. 先生馔 , = 与先生 (earlier born=elders) 馔之 . 曾 , low.1 st tone,= 则 , 'then', a transition particle. To these diff. interrogatories about filial duty, the sage, we are told, made answer according to the character of the questioner, as each one needed instruction.

CHAPTER 9

The Master said, "I have talked with Hwuy for a whole day, and he has not made any objection to any thing I said; — as if he were stupid. He has retired, and I have examined his conduct when away from me, and found him able to illustrate my teachings. Hwuy! — He is not stupid."

CHAPTER 10

1. The Master said, "See what a man does.

2. "Mark his motives.

3. "Examine in what things he rests.

4. "How can a man conceal his character! How can a man conceal his character!"

CHAPTER 11

The Master said, "If a man keeps cherishing his old knowledge, so as continually to be acquiring new, he may be a teacher of others."

9. THE QUIET RECEPTIVITY OF THE DISCIPLE HWUY. Yen Hwey ( 颜回 ), styled 子渊 , was Confucius' favorite disciple, and is now honoured with the first place east among his four assessors in his temples, and with the title of 复圣颜子 , 'The second sage, the philosopher Yen'. At 29 his hair was entirely white, and at 33 he died to the excessive grief of the sage. The subject of 退 is 回 , and that of 省 (as in 1.4.) is 吾 . 其私 , 'his privacy', not meaning his conduct in secret, but only his way when not with the master. 亦 'also', takes up 如愚 , — He was so, and also so. 回也 , see I.15.

10. HOW TO DETERMINE THE CHARACTERS OF MEN. 1. 以 is explained as= 行 , or 行用 , 'does'. The same, tho'not its comm. meaning, is the first given to it in the Dict. For the noun to which the three 其 refer, we must go down to 人 in the 4 th par. There is a elimax in 所以 , 所由 ('what from'), and 所安 , and a corresponding one in the verbs 视 , 观 , and 察 . 4. 焉 , gen. a final particle, in low.1 st tone, is here in up.1 st ., an interrogative,=how? Its interrog. force blends with the exclamatory of 哉 at the end.

11. TO BE ABLE TO TEACH OTHERS ONE MUST FROM HIS OLD STORES BE CONTINUALLY DEVELOPING THINGS NEW. 温 is exp. in the Dict. by 燖 , and with ref. to this very pass. It is said, 'one's old learning being thorough, again constantly to practice it, is called 温 '. Mod. comm. say that the 'new learning is in the old'. The idea probably is that of assimilating old acquisitions and new, the mind's harmonizing them. Comp. 中庸 , XXVII.1.

CHAPTER 12

The Master said, "The accomplished scholar is not a utensil."

CHAPTER 13

Tsze-kung asked what constituted the superior man. The Master said, "He acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his actions."

CHAPTER 14

The Master said, "The superior man is catholic and not partisan. The mean man is partisan and not catholic."

CHAPTER 15

The Master said, "Learning without thought is labour lost; thought without learning is perilous."

CHAPTER 16

The Master said, "The study of strange doctrines is injurious indeed!"

12. THE GENERAL APTITUDE OF THE KEUNTSZE. This is not like our Eng. saying, that 'such a man is a machine', — a blind instrument. A utensil has its particular use. It answers for that and no other. Not so with the superior man, who is ad omnia paratus.

13. HOW WITH THE SUPERIOR MAN WORDS FOLLOW ACTIONS. The reply is literally; — 'He first acts his words and afterwards follows them'. A translator's diffic. is with the latter clause. What is the antecedent to 之 ? It would to be 其言 , but in that case there is no room for words at all. Nor is there according to the old comm. In the interpretation I have given, Choo He follows the famous Chow Leen-k'e, ( 周濂溪 ).

14. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE KEUNTSZE AND THE SMALL MAN. 比 , here low. 3d tone, 'partial', 'partizanly'. The sent. is this — 'With the Keun-tsze, it is principles not men; with the small man, the reverse'.

15. IN LEARNING, READING AND THOUGHT MUST BE COMBINED. 罔 , 'a net', used also in the sense of 'not', as an adverb, and here as an adj. The old comm. makes 殆 , 'perilous', simply= 'wearisome to the body'.

16. STRANGE DOCTRINES ARE NOT TO BE STUDIED. 攻 , often 'to attack', as an enemy, here= 'to apply one's-self to', 'to study'. 端 , 'correct'; then, 'beginnings', 'first principles'; here= 'doctrines'. 也已 , as in I.14. In Conf. time Buddhism was not in China, and we can hardly suppose him to intend Taouism. Indeed, we are ignorant to what doctrines he referred, but his maxim is of gen. application.

CHAPTER 17

The Master said, "Yew, shall I teach you what knowledge is? When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it; — this is knowledge."

CHAPTER 18

1. Tsze-chang was learning with a view to official emolument.

2. The Master said, "Hear much and put aside the points of which you stand in doubt, while you speak cautiously at the same time of the others: — then you will afford few occasions for blame. See much and put aside the things which seem perilous, while you are cautious at the same time in carrying the others into practice: — then you will have few occasions for repentance. When one gives few occasions for blame in his words, and few occasions for repentance in his conduct, he is in the way to get emolument."

17. THERE SHOULD BE NO PRETENCE IN THE PROFESSION OF KNOWLEDGE, OR THE DENIAL OF IGNORANCE. 由 , by surname 仲 , and generally known by his designation of Tsze-loo ( 子路 ), was one of the most famous disciples of Confucius, and now occupies in the temples the 4 th place east in the sage's own hall. He was noted for his courage and forwardness, a man of impulse rather than reflection. Conf. had foretold that he would come to an untimely end, and so it happened. He was killed through his own rashness in a revolution in the state of Wei. The tassel of his cap being cut off when he received his death-wound, he quoted a saying — 'The superior man must not die without his cap', tied on the tassel, adjusted the cap, and expired. This action —结缨礼全 , is much lauded. Of the six 知 , the 1 st and 6 th are knowledge subjective, the other four are knowledge objective. The first 知之 = 知之之道 . In the other two cases, 之 = 'any one thing'. 为 = 以为 , 'to take to be', 'to consider', 'to allow'. 女 , thus marked with a tone, is used for 汝 , 'you'.

18. THE END IN LEARNING SHOULD BE ONE'S OWN IMPROVEMENT, AND NOT EMOLUMENT. 1. Tsze-chang, named 师 , with the double surname 颛孙 , a native of Ch'in( 陈 ), was not undistinguished in the Confucian school. Tsze-kung praised him as a man of merit without boasting, humble in a high position, and not arrogant to the helpless. From this ch., however, it would appear that inferior mot. did sometimes rule him. 学 = 'was learning', i.e., at some particular time. 干 = 求 , 'to seek for'. 2. 阙 is explained in the comm. as in transl., —姑舍置 , but this mean. of it is not found in the Dict. 禄在其中 , 'Emolument is herein', i.e. it will come without seeking; the individual is on the way to it. The lesson is that we are to do what is right, and not be anxious about temporal concerns.

CHAPTER 19

The duke Gae asked, saying, "What should be done in order to secure the submission of the people?" Confucius replied, "Advance the upright and set aside the crooked, then the people will submit. Advance the crooked and set aside the upright, then the people will not submit."

CHAPTER 20

Ke K'ang asked how to cause the people to reverence their ruler, to be faithful to him, and to urge themselves to virtue. The Master said, "Let him preside over them with gravity; — then they will reverence him. Let him be filial and kind to all; — then they will be faithful to him. Let him advance the good and teach the incompetent; — then they will eagerly seek to be virtuous."

CHAPTER 21

1. Someone addressed Confucius, saying, "Sir, why are you not engaged in the government?"

19. HOW A PRINCE BY THE RIGHT EMPLOYMENT OF THIS OFFICERS MAY SECURE THE REAL SUBMISSION OF HIS SUBJUECTS. Gae was the honorary epithet of 蒋 , duke of Loo (B.C. 494-367). Conf. died in his 16 th year. Accord. To the laws for posthumous titles, 哀 denotes 'the respectful and benevolent, early cut off'. 哀公 = 'The to-be-lamented duke'. 错 , up.3d tone,= 置 , 'to set aside'. 诸 is partly euphonious, but also indicates the plural. 孔子对曰 , 'The philosopher K'ung replied'. Here, for the first time, the sage is called by his surname, and, 对 is used, as indicating the reply of an inferior to a superior.

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20. EXAMPLE IN SUPERIORS IS MORE POWERFUL THAN FORCE. K'ang, 'easy and pleasant, people-soother', was the honorary epithet of Ke-sun Fei( 肥 ), the head of one of the three great families of Loo; see ch. 5. His idea is seen in 使 , 'to cause', the power of force; that of Conf. appears in 则 , 'then', the power of influence. In 以劝 , 以 is said to= 与 , 'together with', 'mutually'. 劝 , 'to advise', 'to teach', has also in the Dict. the meaning – 'to rejoice to follow', which is its force here, 为善 , 'the practice of goodness', being understood.

21. CONFUCIUS' EXPLANATION OF HIS NOT BEING IN ANY OFFICE. 1. 或谓孔子 , — The surname indic. that the questioner was not a disciple. Conf. had his reason for not being in office at the time, but it was not expedient to tell. He replied therefore, as in par.2.2. See Shoo-king xxii.1. But the text is neither correctly applied nor exactly quoted. The old inter. read in one sentence 孝乎惟孝 , 'O filial piety! Nothing but filial piety!' Choo He, however, pause at 乎 , and commences rightly the quotation with 惟孝 . A western may think that the philosopher might have made a happier evasion. 奚其为为政 , the 1 st 为 = 以为 , and 其 referring to the thought in the man's question, that office was necessary to one's being in government.

2. The Master said, "What does the Shoo-king say of filial piety? — 'You are final, you discharge your brotherly duties. These qualities are displayed in government.' This then also constitutes the exercise of government. Why must there be THAT to make one be in the government?"

CHAPTER 22

The Master said, "I do not know how a man without truthfulness is to get on. How can a large carriage be made to go without the cross bar for yoking the oxen to, or a small carriage without the arrangement for yoking the horses?"

CHAPTER 23

1. Tsze-chang asked whether the affairs of ten ages after could be known.

2. Confucius said, "The Yin dynasty followed the regulations of the Hea: wherein it took from or added to them may be known. The Chow dynasty has followed the regulations of the Yin: wherein it took from or added to them may be known. Some other may follow the Chow, but though it should be at the distance of a hundred ages, its affairs may be known."

22. THE NECESSITY TO A MAN OF BEING TRUTHFUL AND SINCERE. 輗 and 軏 are explained in the Dict. in the same way – 'the cross bar at the end of the carriage pole'. But there was a difference. Choo He says, 'In the light carriage, the end of the pole cured upwards, and the cross bar was suspended from a hook.' This would give it more elasticity.

23. THE GREAT PRINCIPLES GOVERNING SOCIETY ARE UNCHANGEABLE. 1. 世 may be taken as an age= 'a century', or as a generation=30 years, which is its radical meaning, being formed from three tens and one ( 卅 and 一 ). Both meanings are in the Dict. Conf. made no pretension to supernatural powers, and all comm. are agreed that the things here asked about were not what we would call contingent or indifferent events. He merely says that the great principles of morality and relations of society had continued the same and would ever do so. 也 = 乎 2. The Hea, Yin, and Chow are now spoken of as the 三代 , 'The three changes', i.e., the three great dynasties. The first Emperor of the Hea was 'The great Yu', B.C. 2204, of the Yin, T'ang, B.C. 1765, and of Chow, Woo, B.C. 1121.

CHAPTER 24

1. The Master said, "For a man to sacrifice to a spirit which does not belong to him is flattery."

2. "To see what is right and not to do it is want of courage."

24. NEITHER IN SACRIFICE NOR IN OTHER PRACTICE MAY A MAN DO ANYTHING BUT WHAT IS RIGHT. 1. 人神曰鬼 , 'The human spirit (i.e., of the dead) is called 鬼 '. The 鬼 of which a man may say that they are his, are those only of his ancestors, and to them only he may sacrifice. The ritual of China provides for sacrifices to three classes of objects —天神 , 地示 , 人鬼 , 'spirits of heaven, of the earth, of men'. This ch. is not to be extended to all the three. It has reference only to the manes of departed men.