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

I am of opinion that this story is like that of Hsün Yen. Although the eyes were not sick, they did not remain open for nothing. When King Ch‘êng died by strangulation, his vital fluid was still strong, and, when his life was suddenly cut off, his eyes still opened. Owing to this the epithet Ling ³ was given him. After a short while, the fluid relaxed, and the eyes were just going to close, when simultaneously his title was changed into Ch‘êng ⁴. It was by chance that the staring and the shutting of the eyes coincided with the selection of Ling as a posthumous title. The people of that time, noticing that the king shut his eyes as if in response to the title Ch‘êng, believed that it was the soul of King Ch‘êng. If he was really conscious, he ought never to have closed his eyes, for the murder committed by the heir-apparent upon his person was a heinous crime, whereas the selection of the word Ling as a posthumous title was only a small fault. He did not resent the great crime, but took offence at the small fault. That does not make the existence of a spirit probable, and would not seem a reliable utterance of his feelings. Of improper posthumous titles we have not only Ling but also Li ¹. In the annals many princes bearing the epithets Ling and Li are mentioned. They did not all keep their eyes open, before their bodies were shrouded. Did the dead princes of the various ages not resent the name, and was it King Ch‘êng alone who took umbrage ? How is it that there were so many of the name of Ling, and so few who did not close their eyes ?

*

Po Yu of Chêng was greedy and perverse, and his desires were many. Tse Hsi wished to rank before every one else. Both, of course, could not get on together. Tse Hsi assaulted Po Yu, who took to flight. Sse Tai led his countrymen against him, and defeated him. Po Yu died ². Nine years later [the people of Chêng took _p1.209 alarm owing to Po Yu. They said that Po Yu was coming. Consequently, they all ran away, not knowing where to go. In the following year, some people saw Po Yu in their dreams walking about in armour, and saying,

— On the day jên-tse, I will slay Sse Tai, and next year on jên-yin, I will slay Kung Sun Tuan.

When the jên-tse day arrived, Sse Tai died, and the fright of the citizens still increased. Afterwards, when the jên-yin day came, Kung Sun Tuan died also, and the citizens felt still more alarmed. Tse Ch‘an ³ promoted his descendant to soothe him, and he kept quiet ever since.] Po Yu appeared in dreams, and said,

— On the jên-tse day I will slay Sse Tai, and on jên-yin I will kill Kung Sun Tuan.

When the jên-tse day came, Sse Tai died, and when the jên-yin day arrived, Kung Sun Tuan breathed his last. [When subsequently Tse Ch‘an betook himself to Chin, Ching Tse of Chao questioned him saying,

— Could Po Yu still become a ghost ?

Tse Ch‘an rejoined,

— He could. When man is born, that which is first created, is called animal soul, and, when the animal soul has been formed, its yang becomes the mind. In case the substance and the elements are abundantly used, the soul and the mind grow very strong, and therefore show great energy, until they become spirits. Even the soul and the mind of an ordinary man, or an ordinary woman, who have met with a violent death, can attach themselves to men, as evil spirits, and fancy Po Yu, a descendant of a former sovereign of mine, Duke Mu ⁴, the grandson of Tse Liang, and the son of Tse Erh, who was governor of a small territory, the third of his family who held this post ! Although Chêng is not a rich country, and, as a saying of Chêng is, a small and unimportant State, yet three successive generations have ruled over it. The stuff Po Yu was made of was copious and rich, and his family great and powerful. Is it not natural that having met with a violent death, he should be able to become a ghost ?] ¹

My answer is, as follows. The man who lived at enmity with Po Yu was Tse Hsi. He attacked Po Yu, who fled. Sse Tai led his countrymen against Po Yu, and defeated him. Kung Sun Tuan merely followed Sse Tai, but did not settle his own dispute. His wrong was much smaller. Po Yu killed Sse Tai, but did not wreak his vengeance upon Tse Hsi. Since Kung Sun Tuan died along with Sse Tai, though his guilt was not worth speaking of, the soul of Po Yu was not conscious. Taking his revenge as a ghost, he did not make any distinction between a grave and a small offence, as he ought to have done.

Furthermore, Tse Ch‘an asserted that he who dies a violent death can become a ghost. What does a violent death mean ? Does it mean that according to fate Po Yu ought not yet to have died, when he was killed ? Or does it mean that Po Yu was guileless, but hardly dealt with ? If the idea is that he was slain, before the time of his death had arrived, there are many others who likewise died before their appointed time, and if it signifies that Po Yu was not guilty, but the victim of an outrage, then Po Yu was not alone outraged. If murdered men can become ghosts, Pi Kan and Tse Hsü did not.

During the ‘Spring and Autumn’ period thirty-six sovereigns in all were assassinated. Theirs were violent deaths par excellence. Their sway extended over entire States, the fine substance of which they were formed must have been very abundant, and they succeeded one another as lords of the soil, not only through three generations. The dignity of a reigning prince is not on a level with that of a governor. Their ancestors, who were first enfeoffed, were certainly the equals of Tse Liang, the son of Duke Mu. Since the sovereigns of States who suffered death at the hands of their treacherous subjects, were of the highest nobility, their souls as ghosts would have been more enlightened than Po Yu, who in taking his revenge and killing his enemies went so far as to destroy Sse Tai and Kung Sun Tuan. The thirty-six princes did not become ghosts, nor did their thirty-six subjects feel their vengeance. If the spirit of Po Yu possessed knowledge, because he was a reckless character, the world has never seen more desperate men than Chieh and Chou, yet, when Chieh and Chou were put to death, their souls did not become ghosts.

*

[Duke Huan of Ch‘in ¹ invaded Chin, and encamped himself at Fu-shih ². The Marquis of Chin had gathered his troops in Chi ³, to seize the land of the Ti ⁴, and restore the Marquis of Li ⁵. When he came back from this expedition, Wei K‘o defeated the army of Ch‘in at Fu-shih, and made Tu Hui prisoner. Tu Hui was the strongest man in Ch‘in. Previously Wei Wu Tse ⁶ had a favourite concubine, but no son by her. When he fell sick, he bade Wei K‘o to give his concubine to somebody in marriage. Afterwards, when his case became more serious, he ordered Wei K’o again to bury the concubine with him, but, when Wei Wu Tse’s death ensued, Wei K‘o did not bury her. Some people found fault with him, but Wei K‘o replied,

At the battle of Fu-shih, Wei K‘o perceived an old man plaiting grass with a view to ensnaring Tu Hui, who stumbled, and fell down, and thus was caught. In the night he beheld the old man in his dreams, who said to him,

— I am the father of the woman which you have given away. You have obeyed your father’s orders of the time, when he was still in his right mind, therefore I have paid you my debt of gratitude.] ⁷

The father of the favourite knew the virtue of Wei K‘o, therefore he appeared in the shape of a ghost, plaited grass, and helped _p1.212 him to win the battle. This clearly proves the enlightenment and the knowledge of the spirit.

I say that, provided that the father of the woman did know the virtue of Wei K‘o, and appeared as a ghost to help him in battle, he should have been able to reward those whom he liked during his life-time, and to destroy whom he hated, while alive. Human intercourse is amicable or otherwise. Kindness and unfriendliness must be requited, just as gratitude was to be shown for the sake of the woman. Now, the old man was unable to requite the kindness he had received, while alive, and only could show his gratitude for the goodness which he received after death. That is no proof of knowledge, or of the ability to become a ghost.

When Chang Liang walked on the banks of the river Sse, an old man presented him with a book ². Kuang Wu Ti ³ was sorely pressed in Ho-pei ⁴, when an old man gave his advice. One’s fate being grand, and the time lucky, one must meet with felicitous and pleasant auguries. Wei K‘o was to take Tu Hui prisoner, and to distinguish himself in battle, consequently the phantom of an old man appeared plaiting grass, where the hosts were passing.

*

Wang Chi ⁵ was buried at the foot of Mount Hua. The Luan river having undermined his tumulus, the front part of his coffin became visible. Wên Wang said,

— How pleasing ! Our old lord certainly wishes to see his officers and people once more, therefore he caused the Luan to bring his coffin to light.

Upon this, he held a court, and all the people could view him for three days. Then he had him buried again. — Wên Wang was a sage, who knew the true nature of things and principles. Seeing that Wang Chi’s coffin was visible, he knew that his spirit was desirous of seeing the people, therefore he took him out, and showed him.

I fancy that all the kings and emperors who from ancient times were entombed in the earth after their deaths, must be counted by thousands. They did not desire to see their people again, wherefore should Wang Chi alone have done so ? On the banks of the Yellow River and the Sse, many tombs have been built, and the coffins which by an inundation and a land-slip have been uncovered are _p1.213 innumerable. Did all those persons wish to see their people again? The undermining of the foot of Mount Hua by the Luan is like the inundations and the ruptures caused by the waters of the Yellow River and the Sse. Wên Wang perceiving the front part of the coffin exposed, commiserated the old lord, and felt sorry for him, and imagined that he wished to come out again. This is the natural sentiment of a devoted and filial son, and a natural feeling for the other’s well-being. As the wise man and the sage he was, he felt deeply touched, and did not take the time to reason and analyse his feelings. He treated a dead man, as though he were living, and therefore gave him a new tomb. The masses believe in the words of wise men and sages, hence they fancy that Wang Chi wished to see his people.

Duke Ching of Ch‘i ¹ was going to invade Sung. When his troops passed Mount T‘ai, the duke saw two old gentlemen in his dream, who stood there in a fit of passion. The duke told Yen Tse ², who replied,

— They are T‘ang ³ and Yi Yin ⁴, former worthies of Sung.

The duke was incredulous, and thought that they were the spirits of Mount T‘ai. Yen Tse said,

— Your Highness disbelieves me, allow me to describe the appearance of T‘ang and Yi Yin. T‘ang is pale and tall, and has a beard on the chin, which is pointed above, and full below. He keeps himself straight, and talks with a loud voice.

The duke said,

— Yes, so he is.

— Yi Yin is dark and short, and has dishevelled hair and whiskers, which are full above and pointed below. He has a stooping gait, and talks low.

The duke said,

— Yes, so he is, but what is to be done now?

— T‘ang, T‘ai Chia, Wu Ting, and Tsu Yi ¹ were excellent rulers of the empire. It is not right that they should have no offspring left. Now there remains only Sung, which Your Highness is going to invade ². Therefore T‘ang and Yi Yin are enraged, and ask you to dismiss your army, and keep peace with Sung ³.

The duke did not take heed, and invaded Sung _p1.214 after all, when his army was in fact beaten. T‘ang and Yi Yin possessed knowledge, and resented the attack of Duke Ching upon Sung, therefore they appeared to him in his dreams enraged, for the purpose of checking him, but Duke Ching did not stop, and his army met with a reverse.

They say that previously Duke Ching had already seen a comet in his dreams. At the time in question, the comet did not appear, which was unlucky. It may be so, but all this were dreams. Duke Ching saw a comet, but it was not a real comet, and he dreamt of T‘ang and Yi Yin, but they were not real. Perhaps they were inauspicious visions accompanying the defeat of his army. Yen Tse believed in the dream, and said that the figures were those of T‘ang and Yi Yin. Duke Ching accepted Yen Tse’s explanation as true. When the Chin united the empire, they destroyed the descendants of Yi Yin. From that time up to the present the sacrifices to T‘ang and Yi Yin have been discontinued, why did they not resent it ?

*

[Tse Chan of Chêng ⁴ was sent on a complimentary mission to Chin. The marquis of Chin ⁵ was sick. Han Hsüan Tse ⁶ went to meet the guest, and privately said to him,

— Since the prince is so enlightened, and your administration so grand, why should there be a malignant spirit ? Of yore Yao banished Kun ¹ for perpetuity to Mount Yü ². His spirit became a yellow bear, which entered into the deep holes of the Yü. It eventually became an object of veneration to the Hsia ³, and the Three Dynasties ⁴ sacrificed to it. The marquis of Chin is an allied prince ⁵, has he perhaps not sacrificed to it ?

That Kun was left to die on Mount Yü every one knows, but wherefrom should people learn that his spirit became a yellow bear, and entered the depths of the Yü ? If it was like Duke Niu Ai of Lu, who during a disease was transformed into a tiger ⁷, it could have been verified at the time of death. Now Kun died far away on Mount Yü, nobody was with him, where did the news come from then ? Moreover, it is expressly stated that his spirit became a bear, which implies that he died. That after death his spirit became a yellow bear, men had no means to ascertain.

People call a dead man a ghost. A ghost is like a living man in form, and does not look otherwise than a man, and yet it is not the spirit of the deceased. How much less a bear, which has no human form, and does not resemble man ! If really the spirit of Kun after death was transformed into a yellow bear, then the spirit of a dead bear might also eventually become a man. How could anybody dreaming of it know but that it was the spirit of a dead animal ? Those who believe that the bear was the spirit of Kun will also imagine that the ghosts which appear are the vital force of the dead. There is no proof that it is the vital force of human beings, and we cannot own that a yellow bear was the spirit of Kun.

Furthermore, dreams are visions. When good or bad luck are impending, the mind shapes these visions. Thus the sight of a bear will also admit of an interpretation ⁸. Now, in case that the spirit of Kun really became a yellow bear after death, must the yellow bear which appeared in the dream at all events have been the spirit of Kun ? The feudal princes were wont to sacrifice to the mountains and streams. Should the marquis of Chin have viewed mountains and streams in his dreams, would it not have been, because he had offered sacrifice to them, that those mountains and streams appeared to him ? ¹

When people are sick, they often see their deceased ancestors arriving and standing by their side ; are we again to suppose that these deceased ancestors show themselves for the purpose of asking _p1.216 for food ? What we see in our dreams is, moreover, being interpreted as having some other meaning, and is not real anyhow. How can we prove that ? When in a dream we have perceived a living man, this man, seen in our dream, does not meet us on the following day. Since the man seen in the dream, does not meet us, we know that the yellow bear of Kun did not pass through the bedroom door, as a matter of fact, and, since it did not, Kun did not ask for food either. Kun not having asked for food, the disease of the marquis of Chin was not a misfortune caused by his neglect of the Hsia sacrifice, and since it was not a calamity brought about by the non-observance of this ceremony, the relief of the marquis of Chin was not a lucky event caused by the performance of the sacrifice. There having been no real luck, it is evident that there was no consciousness on the part of Kun.

This is like the case of Liu An, Prince of Huai-nan ², who died charged with high-treason, and is nevertheless commonly reported to have ascended to heaven as an immortal ³. Whether Tse Ch‘an also had heard such a false rumour ⁴, we cannot make out now. By chance the force of the sickness of the marquis of Chin was just going to be broken of itself, when Tse Ch‘an happened to explain the appearance of the yellow bear. Thus the statement that the yellow bear was the spirit of Kun found credence.

*

The Emperor Kao Huang Ti ⁵ intended to make Ju Yi, Prince of Chao, his successor, because he was like him. The Empress Lü Hou was furious, and afterwards poisoned the prince of Chao. When, later on, Lü Hou went out, she beheld a grey dog, which bit her under her left arm. She thought it strange, and by divination found out that it had been Ju Yi, prince of Chao, who had haunted her. She then began to suffer from the wound under her arm, which did not heal, and died ⁶. People believe that the spirit of Ju Yi transformed itself into a grey dog to take his revenge.

If the dead possessed knowledge, nobody had more reason to hate Lü Hou than the Emperor Kao Tsu. He loved Ju Yi, whom the empress killed. The soul of Kao Tsu ought to have been like a peal of thunder in his wrath, and not have waited one day, before he called Lü Hou to account. Why was the spirit of Kao Tsu not like that of Ju Yi, and why did he dislike Ju Yi after his death, and acquiesce in the murder of the empress ?

*

When the report of a quarrel which the prime minister T‘ien Fên ¹, Marquis of Wu-an ², had had with the former generalissimo Kuan Fu over a glass of wine reached the emperor, Kuan Fu was imprisoned. Tou Ying ³ attempted to rescue him, but could not save him, and the consequence was that Kuan Fu brought down capital punishment upon himself, and that Tou Ying had to suffer death likewise. Subsequently, T‘ien Fên contracted a very painful disease, during which he cried, ‘Yes, yes’, and asked the by-standers to look. They beheld Kuan Fu and Tou Ying sitting by his side. T‘ien Fên’s sickness did not release, until he died ⁴.