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

The soul is the vital fluid ; the movement of the vital fluid is like that of clouds and fog, and cannot be very quick. Even if the soul moved like a flying bird, it would not be very rapid. Sometimes people dream that they are flying ; the flying is done by the soul, but it could not be quicker than the flight of a bird. That fluid of heaven and earth which possesses the greatest speed is the storm, yet a storm does not blow a whole day. Provided that the soul were flying like the storm, its speed would not last longer than one day, and it would be unable to reach heaven.

*

When Viscount Hsiang of Chao had been appointed ¹, the Earl of Chih became more and more arrogant. He asked land of Han and Wei ², which Han and Wei gave him. Then he made the same demand to Chao, but Chao refused. This roused his anger to such a degree, that with troops of Han and Wei he assaulted Hsiang Tse of Chao. Viscount Hsiang alarmed fled to Chin-yang ³, and sought shelter there. Yuan Kuo followed him. When he had arrived at the post-town of T‘o p‘ing ⁴, he beheld three men, who from the belt upwards were visible, but invisible from the belt downwards. They handed two joints of bamboo, still unopened, to Yuan Kuo saying,

Upon this he told Hsiang Tse. Hsiang Tse first having fasted three days, personally cut open the bamboo, which contained a red letter reading as follows :

« Wu Hsü of Chao ! We are the Huo-T‘ai Mountain ⁶, the Marquis of Yang, and the Son of Heaven ⁷. On the ping-hsü day of the third moon, we will cause you to destroy Chih, and, provided that you sacrifice to us in a hundred cities, we will also give the _p1.230 territory of the Lin Hu ⁸ to you.

Hsiang Tse made obeisance again, and accepted the commands of the spirits.

What does that mean ? This was an augury of Hsiang Tse’s future victory. The three States were beleaguering Chin-yang for over a year. They diverted the Fên ¹ and flooded the town, so that only three blocks ² of the city wall were not submerged. Viscount Hsiang frightened sent his minister Chang Mêng T‘an to open secret negotiations with Han and Wei. They made an agreement with him, and on the ping-hsü day of the third month they completely annihilated Chih, and divided his country among them ³. — Therefore the fluid of the supernatural portent was shaped like a man, and called itself the spirit of the Huo-t‘ai Mountain, as the apparitions in the Hsia palace had the form of dragons, and called themselves Princes of Pao ⁴. Chien Tse’s omen had human shape, and pretended to be an envoy of God.

How do we know that it was not the spirit of the Huo-t‘ai Mountain ? Because a high mountain is a formation of the earth just as bones and joints are of the human body. How can bones and joints be spiritual ? If the high mountain had a spirit, it should be shaped like a high mountain. What people call ghosts is the essence of the departed, in appearance they are formed like living men. Now the high mountain was broad and long, and not at all like a man, but its spirit did not differ from a man. Such being the case, the ghost resembled a man, and since it was like a man, it must have been the fluid of a supernatural portent.

*

In the 36th year of the reign of Ch‘in Shih Huang Ti ⁵ Mars offuscated the constellation of the Heart, and a star fell down.. When it reached the earth, it became a stone, on which were engraved the following words :

When his ambassador, coming from Tung-kuan ⁶, had passed Hua-yin ⁷ at night-time, and come into the open country, a man with a jade badge in his bands happened to block his passage.

— Transmit this to the prince of the Hao Lake ¹ for me’, said the man,

and went on saying,

— This year the dragon ancestor will die.

The ambassador was just going to ask him for particulars, when the man disappeared, leaving his badge. This the ambassador took, and apprized the emperor of everything. Ch‘in Shih, Huang Ti kept silent for a long while, then he exclaimed,

— The spirit of the mountain knows only the affairs of one year. The dragon ancestor, of whom he speaks, must be a forefather, however.

He then gave orders to the imperial household to examine the badge. They ascertained that it was a badge which had been thrown into the Yangtse, while it was crossed in the 28th year of the emperor’s reign ². The next year, the 37th of his reign, he had a dream that he was fighting with the spirit of the ocean, which was shaped like a man ³.

What does this mean ? All these were auguries of Ch‘in Shih Huang Ti’s impending death. Having dreamt that he was trying conclusions with the spirit of the ocean, he entered into the sea in high dudgeon, waiting for the spirit, and shot at a huge fish. From Lang-yeh ⁴ to the Lao and Ch‘êng Mountains ⁵ he did not perceive any, but having arrived at the Chefoo Mountain ⁶, he again came _p1.232 in view of enormous fishes, of which he killed one by a shot with his arrow ⁷. Hence he proceeded along the sea-shore as far as P‘ing-yuan ⁸ ford, where he was taken ill. When he had reached Sha-ch‘iu ⁹, he collapsed and breathed his last.

At the time of the falling star, Mars provoked the unlucky augury, therefore the people dwelling near the stone cut characters into it, as though they had done so purposely. The inscription was to the effect that Ch‘in Shih Huang Ti was going to die or to be killed. The queer sayings of children, of which we hear sometimes, are likewise not of their own invention, but they have been inspired by some force. All such supernatural apparitions are either ghosts shaped like men, or men behaving like ghosts ¹. The principle is the same in both cases.

— This is very auspicious. Heaven grants you earth and land ⁵.

Subsequently the prince reconquered his country, and was re-instated upon his soil, as Chiu Fan ⁶ had predicted.

T‘ien Tan of Ch‘i ⁷, defending the city of Chi-mo ⁸, wished to deceive the army of Yen, therefore he said that the Spirit of Heaven had come down to help him. A man stepped forward and declared that he could act as the Spirit. T‘ien Tan then went and still made obeisance before him. And, in fact, the rumour that a spirit had come down, spread among the soldiers of Yen. They believed in the spirit, and, when still further they had viewed the oxen shining in five colours, they became so alarmed by this belief, that the army _p1.233 was discomfited, and the soldiers routed ⁹. T‘ien Tan gained the victory, and could recover the lost territory. In these apparitions there were men resembling ghosts.

When the ambassador passed Hua-yin, an individual, with a jade badge in his hands, blocked his passage, and went away, leaving him the badge. This was a ghost in human shape. The jade badge had been thrown into the Yangtse for the purpose of praying for happiness. Now, the badge was returned, which showed that the offer was not accepted, and that happiness could not be obtained.

The badge was like that which formerly had been submerged, but it was not really the same for the following reason. When a ghost appears in human shape, it is not a genuine man. If people, after having seen a ghost looking like a living man, thoroughly question other living men, they will find out that none of them have come to see them. Consequently a supernatural force has appeared to them in human form. Since this force has merely taken human shape, the things carried by the apparition cannot be real things either.

By the dragon ancestor, which was to die, Ch‘in Shih Huang Ti was designated. Ancestors are the root of mankind, and a dragon is an image of a sovereign. If there be a resemblance between man and other creatures, a disaster concerning one part likewise affects the other ¹.

*

In the year of Ch‘in Shih Huang Ti’s death the Emperor Han Kao Tsu was a village-elder in Sse-shang ². As such he had to escort convicts to the Li ³ Mountain, but most of them escaped on the road. Kao Tsu then allowed those he had still in his power to run away, which they did never to return. Kao Tsu, who was under the influence of liquor, was continuing his journey through _p1.234 a marsh at night, and had ordered a man to keep in front. This man came back and reported that there was a big snake in front, obstructing the way, and besought him to go back.

and he went forward, drew his sword, and with one stroke cut the snake in two. The path was free then. After he had proceeded still several miles, his intoxication caused him to fall asleep.

When Kao Tsu’s companions arrived at the place, where the snake was lying, they found there an old woman crying over it in the silence of night. They asked her, wherefore she cried.

— A man has killed my son, replied the old woman.

— How was your son killed ?, asked the men.

— My son, said the woman, the son of the White Emperor, was transformed into a snake to keep watch on the path. Now the son of the Red Emperor has slain him, therefore I cry.

The men thought that the old woman was telling spook stories, and were going to give her a flogging, when the old woman suddenly disappeared ⁴.

What does this signify ? It was a felicitous omen of Kao Tsu’s rising to power. The old woman suddenly vanished. Since she became invisible, she cannot have been a human being, and not being human, she must have been a spectre. Since the old dame was not human, it is plain that the slain serpent was not a snake. The old woman spoke of it as the son of the White Emperor, but why did he become a snake, and block the road at night ? She asserted that the serpent was the son of the White Emperor and Kao Tsu that of the Red Emperor. Thus the son of the White Emperor would have become a snake, and the son of the Red Emperor, a man, whereas the Five Planetary Emperors ¹ are all heavenly spirits. In one case the son would have grown a serpent, in the other, a man. Men and snakes are different creatures, whereas the Emperors all belong to the same class of beings. The human state of those sons would not be conformable to the laws of heaven.

And further, if the snake was the son of the White Emperor, was the old woman the White Empress perhaps ? An empress must have her suite in front and behind, and an imperial prince, a large _p1.235 retinue of officials. Now, the snake died on the pathway, and an old woman cried on the road ! This makes it evident that her statement about the son of the White Emperor was not true. Not being a real prince, it was a semblance, and being a semblance, it was an apparition. Consequently, everything seen was not genuine and net being genuine, it was a fluid. The serpent slain by Kao Tsu was not a serpent.

When Duke Li of Chêng ² was on the point of entering into his dukedom ³, a snake in the city was fighting with one outside the city ⁴, but they were not genuine snakes. It was a supernatural force marking Duke Li’s entrance into Chêng under the form of contending snakes. The fighting serpents of the Chêng State were not snakes, hence we infer that the two dragons in the Hsia palace ⁵ were merely images of dragons likewise. Such being the case, we are convinced that the dragons, which were fighting during Tse Ch‘an of Chêng’s time ⁶, have not been dragons.

The ways of Heaven are hard to understand. There are apparitions, when things are all right, and there are also some, when things go wrong.

*

Chang Liang, Marquis of Liu, dealt a blow at Ch‘in Shih Huang Ti with a club, but by mistake hit one of the chariots of his retinue ¹. Ch‘in Shih Huang Ti, infuriated, gave orders to search for Chang Liang everywhere, but he changed his name and concealed himself in Hsia-pei ², where he had always leisure to stroll about at pleasure. Up the river Sse ³, there was an old man in coarse clothes, who came to Chang Liang’s place. He had just lost one shoe down the river, therefore he said to Chang Liang,

— Go down, and fetch me my shoe, my boy.

Chang Liang grew angry, and was going to give him a _p1.236 beating, but noticing, how strong the old man looked, he repressed his feelings, and went down to fetch the shoe, which he offered him on his knees. The old man slipped it on his foot, and went away laughing. Chang Liang felt greatly excited.

When the old man had gone to about a Li’s distance, he returned.

— You can be taught, my boy, he said. Five days hence, at sunrise, meet me here.

Chang Liang bewildered, knelt down and assented. After five days, at sunrise Chang Liang went, but the old gentleman had already arrived before him.

— Why must you come later, when you have an appointment with an old man ?, asked he angrily. Five days after my departure, very early, we will meet again.

After five days Chang Liang went again at cockcrow, but again the old man had arrived before, and repeated his angry question, wherefore he had arrived later.

— Five days after I have left, said he, come again very early.

On the fifth day Chang Liang went before midnight, and after a short while the old gentleman arrived.

— So you are right, said he, very pleased.

He then produced a pamphlet, which he gave him saying,

— Read it, and you will become preceptor to an emperor. After thirteen years you will see me. A yellow stone at the foot of Mount Ku-ch‘êng in Ch‘i-pei ⁴ that is I.

Whereupon he went away, saying nothing further, and was not seen again. At dawn Chang Liang looked at the book. It was ‘T‘ai Kung’s ⁵ Strategy’. Chang Liang amazed, studied it very thoroughly ⁶.

What was this ? An augury of Kao Tsu’s elevation by Chang Liang’s assistance. Chang Liang lived ten years at Hsia-pei as a knight and a hero. When Ch‘ên Shé ¹ and his confederates rose in revolt, and the Governor of P’ei ² visited Hsia-pei, Chang Liang joined them. Subsequently, he was made a general and ennobled with the title Marquis of Liu. Thirteen years later, when with Kao Tsu he crossed the Ch‘i pei territory, he found a yellow stone at the foot of Mount Ku-ch‘êng. He took it, stored it away, and worshipped it, and, when he died, it was buried with him.

Some one might ask, whether the yellow stone was really an old man, and the old man really a yellow stone. A yellow stone cannot become an old man, nor an old man a yellow stone. The appearance of a supernatural portent made it look so.

During the time of Duke P‘ing of Chin ³ a stone spoke in Wei-yü ⁴. The duke asked the music-master K‘uang, why the stone had spoken.

— A stone cannot speak, was the reply. Perhaps it was possessed by a spirit, otherwise the people have heard wrong ⁵.

A stone cannot utter human speech, and so it cannot take human shape. The speaking of the stone is not different from the falling down of the stone in Tung-chün ⁶ in Ch‘in Shih Huang Ti’s time, which was engraved by the people ⁷. Engraving gives an inscription, and talking, speech. Script and speech fall under the same law. The people engraved the inscription, and a force made the speech. The nature of the people and the force is the same. A stone cannot engrave itself, nor can it talk, and not being able to talk, it cannot become a man either. ‘T‘ai Kung’s Strategy’ was formed by the force. How do we know that it was not real ? Be-cause the old man was not a man, whence we infer that the book was not T‘ai Kung’s Strategy either. Since the force could take the likeness of a living man, it could liken itself to T‘ai Kung’s Strategy too.

The question may be raised, how a force could write characters, having neither knife nor pencil. — When Chung Tse, wife to Duke Hui of Lu, was born, she had on her palm the words : ‘Future princess of Lu’. T‘ang Shu Yü of Chin bore on his hand the character Yü, and Ch‘êng Chi Yo of Lu the character Yo ¹. These three inscriptions have been written by a spontaneous nature, and thus the force had composed the old man’s book of itself. The spontaneous nature and the self-producing force must be classed together with the self-speaking queer sayings of children. When children utter such strange things, they do not know, where they got them _p1.238 from, their mouths speak of themselves. The self-speaking mouths and the self-produced writing are the active agents so to say. This argument may serve as a cue for the better understanding of other events.

« Lü Shang ² will be invested with Ch‘i.

At Wu Wang’s time, one caught a white fish, marked under its throat with the words,

« Give it to Fa ³.

There was truth in all this. In fine, the ‘Plan of the Yellow River’ and the ‘Scroll of the Lo’ ⁴ indicated the rise and fall, the progress and the decline, and the opportunities of emperors and kings. There certainly have been such writings. They were apparitions caused by a supernatural force and lucky or unlucky omens.

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CHAPTER XVIII

All about Ghosts

65. XXII, II. Ting-kuei

When sick people have a severe attack, and feel much pain in their bodies, they believe that ghosts with bamboos and sticks beat them _; and have the impression that ghosts with hammers, locks, and cords are standing by their side, watching. These are empty visions caused by pain and fear. When they first feel ill, they become alarmed, and see ghosts coming. When their disease grows more violent, that they fear to die, they see the ghosts incensed, and, when they feel pain, they have the idea that the ghosts are beating them. It is nothing but the effect of too much pondering, but there is no reality.

When the vital fluid ³ is thinking or meditating, it flows into the eyes, the mouth, or the ears. When it flows into the eyes, the _p1.240 eyes see shapes, when it flows into the ears, the ears hear sounds, and, when it flows into the mouth, the mouth speaks something. At day-time ghosts appear, at night, during sleep, they are heard in dreams. If a person sleeping quite alone in a lonely house is nervous, he will see ghosts in his dreams, and, if anybody puts his hands on him, he will scream. What we see, while awake, or hear, while asleep, is all the work of our spirit, of fears and thoughts, which amounts to the same.