Wang ch‘ung lun-hêng philosophical essays Traduits et annotés par Alfred forke

When Yi Yin ² was about to be born, his mother dreamt that she saw a man, who said to her :

— Water flows from the mortar ³. Forthwith travel eastward.

The mother took note of this, and, on the next morning, found out that really water came out from _p1.176 the mortar ⁴. She went 10 Li eastward. When she looked back to her native place, all was under water. Yi Yin’s destiny was not to be drowned, consequently his mother had a dream, and went away.

The same principle holds good for the city of Li-yang ⁵. Those whose fate was like that of Yi Yin, were certainly roused beforehand, and removed to another place before the catastrophe.

When Duke Hsiang of Ch‘i got into trouble, Duke Huan, the crown-prince, had to fight for his throne with Tse Chiu ⁶. Kuan Chung assisted Tse Chiu, Pao Shu ⁷ stood by Duke Huan. Kuan Chung in a combat against duke Huan, shot at him with arrows, and hit him on the buckle of his belt. Man is generally 7 feet high ⁸, the belt clasps the waist, and the buckle attached to the belt covers only a spot less than an inch wide. Its smallness makes it difficult to be hit. Moreover, the pointed edge is curbed on its polished surface. All the arrows hitting the buckle are deflected. Yet Kuan Chung just hit the buckle in the middle. The arrow struck against it, and then fell down without deviating into the flesh on either side. Duke Huan’s fate was wealth and honour, and a god helped him, so that the arrow hitting his buckle did not hurt him.

King Kung of Ch‘u ¹ had five sons : Tse Chao, Tse Yü, Tse Kan, Tse Hsi, and Ch‘i Chi, who all were much liked by him. But having no son from his first wife, whom he might make his successor, he sacrificed to the mountains and rivers, and invoked the decision of the gods. Together with his second wife Pa he buried a jade badge in the ancestral hall, and bade his five sons to enter after having feasted, and make obeisance. The later king K‘ang stepped over it, Tse Yü reached it with his elbow, Tse Kan and Tse Hsi both remained far from it. Ch‘i Chi was carried in as a baby. With each prostration he pressed on the top of the jade badge. When King Kung died, Tse Chao became King K‘ang ², but his son lost the kingdom. Tse Yü became King Ling ³, but was _p1.177 himself assassinated. Tse Kan reigned but ten odd days. Tse Hsi did not come into power, and even was afraid of being beheaded. All were exterminated and left no progeny. Ch‘i Chi mounted the throne later, and continued the sacrifices of the house of Ch‘u, for such had been the presage ⁴.

The duration of the reigns of these princes corresponded to the distance they kept from the jade badge, when prostrating themselves. The piece of jade was in the earth, while the five sons, unaware of it, entered one by one, and bowed nearer or farther off. When they pressed down the top of the jade ornament, they were, so to speak, induced by their spirits to kneel down.

T‘u An Ku of Chin ⁵ out of hatred destroyed the sons of Chao Tun ⁶. After the death of Chao So ⁷, his wife had a posthumous child. When T‘u An Ku heard of it, he sought it in the Palace ⁸. The mother put it into her pantaloons, and swore the following oath :

« The whole Chao family will be lost, if the child cries, it will not be so, if it does not utter a sound.

While being searched for, it did not cry at all. Then its escape could be effected, and its life be saved. Ch‘êng Ying Ch‘i ¹ carried it away, and concealed it on a mountain. During Duke Ching’s time ², Han Chüeh mentioned it to the duke, who together with Han Chüeh raised the orphan of Chao to his former rank, so that he could continue the sacrificial rites of his family under the name of Wên Tse. The orphan of Chao did not utter a sound, as though its mouth had been closed. Thus the elevation of Wên Tse was predetermined by fate.

The mother of Han Kao Tsu, dame Liu, reposed on the banks of a large lake. In a dream, she met with a spirit. At that time there was a tempest with thunder and lightning. In the darkness a dragon appeared on high. The son, of which she was delivered, had an excellent character, but was very fond of wine. He would buy wine on credit from Mrs. Wang and mother Wu. When he was drunk, he stopped, and lay down to sleep. Mrs. Wang and mother Wu then always saw some miraculous signs about him. Whenever he _p1.178 remained to drink wine, the price of the wine then sold was many times as much as usual.

Later on he walked into the lake, and cut a big snake into pieces with his hand. An old woman filled the roads with her wails, crying that the Red Emperor had killed her son. This miracle being very striking was much talked about ³.

Ch‘in Shih Huang Ti used to say that in the south-east there was the spirit of a son of heaven. Therefore he travelled eastward in order to suppress it. This was Kao Tsu’s spirit. Together with Lü Hou he concealed himself amidst the marshes in the Mang and T‘ang Mountains ⁴. When Lü Hou with other people went in search for him, they always saw a vapour rising in a straight line above him, and thus discovered where he was ⁵.

Later on Kao Tsu agreed with Hsiang Yü that whoever first entered the gates of Ch‘in, should be king. Kao Tsu arrived first, which was deeply resented by Hsiang Yü. Fan T‘sêng ⁶ said :

— I pray to look at his vapours. They all take the shape of a dragon, and have five colours : they are those of the son of heaven. He must be despatched forthwith.

When Kao Tsu went to thank Hsiang Yü, the latter and Ya Fu ⁷ hatched a plot to kill him. At their instigation Hsiang Chuang performed a dance with a drawn sword. Hsiang Po, who knew their intentions, began to dance together with Hsiang Chuang, and no sooner was the sword raised over Kao Tsu’s head, than Hsiang Po covered him with his own body so, that the sword did not fall, and the murderous plot was not carried out ¹. At one time, Kao Tsu was rescued by Chang Liang and Fan K‘uai ², and after all got off unhurt. Thereupon he swayed the whole empire.

When his mother conceived him, the spirit of a dragon made its appearance. When he grew up, peculiar clouds were seen about the wine shop. During the night, he killed a snake, and the snake’s old mother lamented, and cried. Ch‘in Shih Huang Ti and Lü Hou saw an aureole above him. Hsiang Yü planned his assassination, but Hsiang Po protected him, and the scheme fell through. _p1.179 He found such helpmates as Chang Liang and Fan K‘uai. For there being signs pointing to his future wealth and honour, all things obeyed him, and men lent him their help and support.

A younger brother of the Empress Dowager Tou ³, of the name of Kuang Kuo, was, at the age of 4 or 5 years, robbed from his poor family, and sold, his people not knowing his whereabouts. More than ten times he was sold again to other families, till he came to I-yang ⁴. There he went on the hills for his master to make charcoal : When it grew cold at night, over a hundred people lay down under the coal. The coal collapsed, and all were crushed to death, save Kuang Kuo, who managed to escape. He then divined himself, and ascertained that, after a certain number of days, he would be made a marquis. He left his home, and betook himself to Chang-an ⁵. There he learned that the Empress Tou had lately settled her family at Kuan-chin in Ch‘ing-ho ⁶. He reported himself to the emperor. The Empress Dowager prevailed upon Ching Ti to grant him an audience. What he replied to the questions about his origin proved true, and the emperor made him rich presents. At the accession of Wên Ti ⁷, Kuang Kuo was created a marquis of Chang Wu. When the coal heaps came down, more than a hundred people were killed, only Kuang Kuo escaped. Being preserved by fate for wealth and honour, he did not only keep alive, but was made a marquis to boot.

Yü Tse Ta, a native of Tung-kuan in Ch‘ên-liu ⁸ came into the world at night. His mother beheld something like a skein of silk over him, which went up to heaven. She asked other people’s advice about it. All were agreed that it was an auspicious fluid foreboding honour, which reached up to heaven. Yü Tse Ta, when grown up, became an official, and was promoted to the rank of Minister of Education.

Kuang Wên Po ¹ from P‘u fan ² in Ho-tung ³ was likewise born about midnight. At that time some one called his father’s name _p1.180 from without doors. The father went out, and replied, but nobody was to be seen, only a big wooden stick was planted next to the door. He understood well that it was different from common ones. The father took the stick into his house, and showed it to somebody, who prognosticated the future from it, saying :

— A lucky omen, indeed. When Kuang Wên Po is grown up, he will study, and in his official career be appointed prefect of Kuang-han ⁴.

On the day Chia-tse ⁵ in the twelfth moon of the first year Chien-p‘ing ⁶, when the Emperor Kuang Wu Ti saw the light in the second hall of the seraglio in the rear of the Chi-yang palace ⁷, his father was magistrate of Chi-yang ⁸. During the night this room was lighted of itself without there being any fire. His father summoned the secretary Ch‘ung Lan, and despatched him to consult a fortune-teller. For that purpose Ch‘ung Lan, accompanied by the groom Su Yung, went to Wang Ch‘ang Sun’s place. Wang Chang Sun said to the two :

— That is a lucky thing, I cannot say more.

That same year a blade of grain grew among house-leek and wall-pepper. It had three roots, one stalk, and nine ears, and was by one to two feet higher than a common one, it being an auspicious blade ⁹.

At the beginning of Yuan Ti’s ¹⁰ reign a phenix alighted on the Chi-yang kung. Hence there exists still to-day in the Chi-yang palace a phenix cottage. Yuan Ti together with Li Fu and others travelled into the region of Ch‘ai ¹¹. On the road they fell in with insurgents, and greatly alarmed, fled to the old cottage of Chi-yang. When they arrived, they beheld a red glare like fire just south from the road leading to the old cottage. A stream of light went up to heaven, and after a moment was gone.

_p1.181 At Wang Mang’s time, the Lord Marshal Su Po A could distinguish the currents of air. When, on an embassy, he passed through the suburb of Ch‘un-ling ¹, he found the air very brisk and fresh. Kuang Wu Ti came to Ho-pei ², where he had an interview with Su Po A. He put to him the question :

— How did you know that a lucky wind was blowing, minister, when you passed Ch‘un-ling ?

— Only because I saw the air brisk and fresh, was Su Po A’s reply.

Ergo, when by Heaven’s decree a new man is to rise, and a wise emperor to come forth, the manifestations of the original fluid before and after can clearly be made out ³. But, when there is only a succession of power, and a continuation of former institutions, insomuch as the latter serve as a basis, then the manifestations of the heavenly fluid are not worth mentioning ⁴. When there is a complete revolution, and a new dragon rises, he starts from very small beginnings, and passes first through all sorts of calamities, as in the case of Han Kao Tsu and Kuang Wu Ti ⁵. Were they not ushered in with wonderful signs from heaven, men, and spirits, and great splendour ?

CHAPTER XIV

On Divination

71. XXIV, II. Pu-shih

As a matter of fact, diviners do not ask Heaven and Earth, nor have weeds or tortoises spiritual qualifies. That they have, and that Heaven and Earth are being interrogated, is an idea of common scholars. How can we prove that ?

— A pig’s shoulder and a sheep’s leg can serve as omens, and from creepers, rushes, straws, and duckweed we can foreknow destiny. What need is there then for milfoil and tortoises ?

— That is not correct, said Confucius, for their names are essential. The milfoil’s name means old, and the tortoise’s, aged ¹. In order to elucidate doubtful things, one must ask the old and the aged.

According to this reply, milfoil is not spiritual, and the tortoise is not divine. From the fact that importance is attached to their names, it does not follow that they really possess such qualities. Since they do not possess those qualities, we know that they are not gifted with supernatural powers, and, as they do not possess these, it is plain that Heaven and Earth cannot be asked through their medium.

Moreover, where are the mouths and the ears of Heaven and Earth, that they may be questioned ? Heaven obeys the same laws _p1.183 as man. To form a conception of Heaven, we must start from human affairs. When we ask anybody, we cannot learn his opinion, unless we see him ourselves before us, and personally address him. If we wish to ask Heaven, Heaven is high, and its ears are far away from us. Provided that Heaven has no ears, it is incorporeal, and being incorporeal, it is air. How could air like clouds and fog speak to us ?

By milfoil they ask the Earth. Earth has a body like man, but, as its ears are not near us, it cannot hear us, and not hearing us, its mouth does not speak to us. In fine, if they speak of questioning Heaven, Heaven being air cannot send omens, and, if they address themselves to Earth, the ears of Earth are far, and cannot hear us. What reliable proofs are there for the assertion that Heaven and Earth speak to man ?

We are living between Heaven and Earth, as lice do on the human body. If those lice, desirous of learning man’s opinion, were emitting sounds near his ear, he would not hear them. Why ? Because there is such an enormous difference of size, that their utterances would remain inaudible. Now, let us suppose that a pigmy like a man puts questions to Heaven and Earth, which are so immense ; how could they understand his words, and how become acquainted with his wishes ?

Some maintain that man carries the fluid of Heaven and Earth in his bosom. This fluid in the body is the mind, I daresay. When man is going to divine by weeds and shells, he puts questions to the milfoil and the tortoise. The replies which he hears with his ears, his mind regards like its own thoughts. From the depth of the bosom and the stomach the mind hears the explanation. Thus, when the tortoise is cut to pieces ¹ and the divining stalks grasped, omens and signs appear. Man thinks with his mind, but when in his thoughts he cannot arrive at a decision, he consults the milfoil and the tortoise. In case their omens and signs harmonize with the thoughts, the mind may be said to have been a good adviser.

Yet it happens that the heart regards something as feasable, but the omens and signs are inauspicious, or these are felicitous, but the heart considers them as unlucky. Now, the thoughts are one’s own spirit, and that which causes the omens and signs is also one’s spirit. In the bosom, the spirit of a body becomes the mental power, and outside the bosom, omens and signs. It is, as _p1.184 if a man enters a house, and sits down, or goes out through the door. The walking and sitting makes no difference in his ideas, and entering or issuing does not change his feelings. Provided that the mind produces omens and signs, they would not be opposed to man’s thoughts.

Heaven and Earth have a body, therefore they can move. In so far as they can move, they are like living beings, and being alive, they resemble man. To ask a living man, we must use a living person, then we can be sure of a reply. Should we employ a dead man for this purpose, we would certainly not obtain an answer. Now, Heaven and Earth are both alive, and milfoil and tortoises are dead. How could we elicit a reply by asking the living through the dead ? The shell of a dried tortoise and the stalk of a withered weed are supposed to question living Heaven and Earth ! Ergo the common assertion that Heaven and Earth respond is quite erroneous.

If milfoil and tortoises be like tablets, omens and signs would represent the written characters thereon, and resemble the instructions emanating from a prince. But where would be the mouths and the ears of Heaven and Earth, that such instructions might be possible ?

— How can Heaven speak ? said Confucius. The four seasons roll on, and the various things are produced ¹.

Heaven does not speak, nor does it hear what men say. Heaven’s nature is said to be spontaneity and non-interference. Now, if people question Heaven and Earth, and they respond, this response would require that interference be coupled with spontaneity.

According to the text of the I-king, the art of grasping the straws consists in sorting them into two parcels to resemble Heaven and Earth, in grasping them by fours in imitation of the four seasons, and in returning the superfluous straws as an emblem of an intercalary month. ² These resemblances are marked with the object of forming the necessary number of diagrams, and not a word is said about Heaven and Earth conjointly replying to man. It is usual among men to answer, when asked, and not to reply, unless there be any question. Should anybody knock at other people’s door without any reason, not wishing anything, or make a useless discourse in their presence, without asking their opinion, the master of the house would laugh, but not reply, or he would become angry, and not give an answer. Now, let a diviner _p1.185 perforate a tortoise shell in sheer play, or sort the milfoil for nothing, and thus mock Heaven and Earth, he would obtain omens and signs all the same. Would Heaven and Earth then reply indiscriminately ? Or let a man revile Heaven, while divining by shells, or beat the Earth, while drawing the lots, which is the height of impiety, he would obtain omens and signs nevertheless. If omens and signs are the spirit of Heaven and Earth, why do they not extinguish the fire of the diviner ³, burn his hand, shake his fingers, disturb his signs, strike his body with painful diseases, and cause his blood to freeze and to boil, instead of still showing him omens and sending signs ? Do Heaven and Earth not fear the bother, and not disdain to take this trouble ? Looking at the problem from this point of view it becomes plain to us that the diviners do not ask Heaven and Earth, and that omens and signs are not the replies of the latter.

Besides, those who divine are sure to be either lucky or unlucky. Some are of opinion that good and bad luck correspond to the good and the bad actions of mankind. Thus bliss and felicity would accompany goodness, and calamitous changes follow in the rear of badness. Good or bad government is the result of goodness or badness, but I doubt that Heaven and Earth purposely reply, when questioned by diviners. When a lucky man cuts up a tortoise, he finds auspicious omens, whereas an unlucky one, grasping the milfoil, obtains contrary signs. This will be shown by the following examples.

Chou was the worst of rulers ; during his reign there was an abundance of calamitous events. Seventy times the tortoise was consulted, and the replies were always unlucky. Therefore Tsu Yi ¹ said,

— Excellent men and the great tortoise dare not know anything about happiness. The worthy are not called to office, and the large tortoise does not give good omens. A catastrophe is impending ².

When King Wu of Chou received the heavenly appointment, and Kao Tsu ascended the dragon throne, Heaven and men conjointly lent them their aid, and there were great numbers of wonders and miracles. The sons of Fêng and P‘ei ³ divined by shells, and _p1.186 they likewise received propitious replies. The omens which a lucky man attracts by his personality are invariably good, whereas those brought about by the doings of an unlucky person are always bad.

When Shih T‘ai ⁴ of Wei died, he had no rightful heir, but six illegitimate sons ⁵. They divined, who would be the successor, and made out that bathing and the wearing of gems would afford an omen. Five of the sons took a bath, and adorned themselves with precious stones, but Shih Ch‘i Tse ⁶ said,

— Who, being in mourning for a parent, can bathe and wear gems ?

Hence he did not bathe, nor wear any gems. It was he who hit the omen. The men of Wei divining confided in the wisdom of the tortoise ⁷, but it did not possess any wisdom, the wise one was Shih Ch‘i Tse himself. He governed his State well, and what he said was excellent, hence the felicitous auguries. Had no recourse been taken to divination at that time, and the people alone be consulted, they would nevertheless have declared in his favour. Why ? Because the heart and its feelings are nothing else than luck and mishap. If this be true, it disposes of the truth of divination. While the shells are being cut in pieces, and the straws sorted, omens and signs take place spontaneously, and while they appear, happiness and misfortune happen of their own accord, and the lucky as well as the unlucky fall in with them by chance.