1. The time was the grey dawn of the day kё?-tsze.On that morning the king came to the open country of Muh in the borders of Shang, and addressed his army.In his left hand he carried a battle-axe, yellow with gold, and in his right he held a white ensign, which he brandished, saying, "Far are ye come, ye men of the western regions!"
THE NAME OF THE BOOK.—牧誓, ＇The speech at Muh.＇ Muh [Keang Shing edits 坶 instead of Muh]was in the south of the pres. district of Ke (淇縣), dep.of Wei-hwuy, Ho-nan. It was a tract of open country,stretching into the pres. dis. of Keil (汲), and at no great distance from the capital of Show. King Woo had, no doubt, made choice of it as a favourable field for the decisive battle between him and the tyrant. I return here to the rendering of 誓 by ＇Speech,＇ as in the＇Counsels of the great Yu,＇ p. 20, and other places. It would have been well if the term ＇Declaration＇ had not been used instead of it in the last Book. The Speech at Muh is found in both texts. There is more of the martial spirit in it than in any other of the speeches of the Shoo.
CONTENTS. It is the morning of the day of battle,for which the king had prepared his host in the three speeches of the last Book. Once more he addresses the confederate princes, his officers, and his men.He sets forth, much as before, but more briefly, the intolerable wickedness of Show, and then instructs and warns the troops on how they should behave themselves in the fight. The speech proper begins with the 5th paragraph. The four parr. that precede may be considered as forming a preliminary chapter.
C h. 1. P p. 1-4. T H E T I M E A N D CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE SPEECH. 1. The time;and the appearance of the king. 時甲子昧爽,—the day甲子 was six days later than mow-woo (＇The Great Speech＇ Pt. ii., p. 1), which was, we saw, the 28th of the 1st month. The speech at Muh, therefore, is held to have been spoken on the 4th day of the second month.昧=冥, ＇dark＇; 爽=明, ＇light＇; 昧爽, ＇the dark and the light＇,= the grey dawn.
杖=持, ＇to hold in the hand.＇ Its tone in this sense was difft. at one time from that which it had in its more common signification of ＇a staff＇. It now seems to be used only with the 3d tone. 秉, (from a hand grasping stalks of grain) is of similar signification to 杖.
The ＇axe＇ is supposed to be called ＇yellow＇, from its having been ornamented with gold.
2. He added, "Ah! Ye hereditary rulers of my friendly States; ye managers of affairs, the ministers of instruction, of war, and of public works: the many officers subordinate to them: the master of my bodyguards: the captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds;
3. and ye, O men of Yung, Shuh, Kёang, Maou, Wei,Loo, P＇ang, and Pǒ;
4. —life up your lances, join your shields, raise your spears:—I have a speech to make."
The 旄 ensign consisted (according to the figures of it, which agree with the component parts of the character) of several ox-tails, suspended as streamers from a staff. By means of this Woo could intimate his wishes as to the order of their position, &c., to the troops, and therefore he carried it in his right hand. Gan-kw? says the axe was in the left hand and the fiag in the right, to show that Woo considered his work was not so much to kill as to teach. This is being absurd ingenious. We may be sure that Woo had his axe in his right hand in the battle. 逖=遠, ＇far＇, ＇distant＇. The ＇Daily Explanation＇ paraphrases the clause thus:—爾等皆西土之人, 我以伐暴救民之故, 率爾至此. 其行亦已遠矣. Ts＇ae observes that he spoke thus to comfort the men under their longtravel.
Pp. 2, 8. The different parties addressed.
2 .我友邦冡君, 御事,—see on the last Book, Pt. i., p. 2. The managers of affairs＇ were the officers immediately after specified, belonging to Woo＇s own govt.,—to the State of Chow. The 司徒, 司馬, and司空, were three of the ＇six ministers＇ (六卿) under the imperial govt. of Chow, when the dynasty was fully established, and whose duties are described in Bk XX., parr. 7-13. A great State, such as Chow was before the extinction of the Shang dyn., had only three principal ministers, whose names are here given. But we may inquire what the ministers of instruction and works had to do in the camp. Ying-tǎ says that the former superintended all orders given to the troops, and the latter all the business of intrenchments. Ts＇ae seems to have thought that they were there as the generals of the three armies of the State. This is not likely;—see Ch＇in Sze-k＇ae, in loc. We can only form a vague idea on this, as on many other points in the Shoo. 亞旅,—亞=次, ＇secondary＇, ＇of inferior rank＇; 旅=眾, ＇multitude＇, ＇many＇. I do not find it possible to say whether we are to understand by these characters the ＇multitude of inferior officers＇ generally, or two distinct classes of such. Gan-kw? had the former view.He says:—眾大夫, 其位次卿, ＇The phrase denotes all the great officers, whose posts were inferior to those of the ministers.＇ Ts＇ae on the other hand supposes that the 亞 were the 大夫 or ＇great officers,＇ below, but next in rank to the ministers, and five of whom filled up the space between each minister and his 士, or ＇officers＇ of whom there were 27, denoted in the text by the term 旅.
師氏,— ＇the Instructor＇. The functions of an officer thus designated are given at length in the 13th Book of the Chow Le (地官司徒第二之六). He was a ta-foo or great officer of the second grade, and the Tutor of the heir-apparent, at the same time executing various duties about the sovereign, and specially having charge of the guard of foreign-barbarian-mercenaries who kept watch outside the royal gate. In time of war, or when the sovereign went abroad for any other cause, he followed in attendance with the whole or a portion of that guard.
5. The king said, "The ancients have said, ＇The hen does not announce the morning. The crowing of a hen in the morning indicates the subversion of the family.＇
It must have been in this capacity that he was present at Muh;—If Indeed the 師氏 of the text was the same officer who is so designated in the Chow Le. Ts＇ae follows Gan-kw? in saying that the 師氏 were ＇the officers who guarded the gates＇ (以兵守門者). 千夫長, 百夫長,—we can only translate these designations literally as I have done. According to the Chow Le,five men formed a woo (伍); five woo, or 25 men,formed a lěang (兩); four l?ang, or 100 men, formed a tsuh (卒); five tsuh, or 500 men, formed a leu (旅);five leu, or 2500 men, formed a sze (師); and five sze, or 12500 men, formed a keun (軍). Gan-kw? and Wang Suh both say that the 百夫長 were ＇leaders of tsuh,＇ which of course is literally correct; but they say also that the 千夫長 were ＇leader of sze＇, commanded 2500 men each. K＇ang-shing agrees with them in this,but makes the 百夫長 to have been ＇leaders of leu＇(旅帥), commanding 500 men each. It seems absurd to insist on such explanations. The arrangements of Woo＇s army much more probably corresponded with the terms which he employed. 3. The names Yung,Shuh, &c., enumerated here, are said generally to be those of ＇eight kingdoms of the rude tribes on the west and south＇ (西南夷八國名). The first and last are found associated together in the 左傳, 文十六年, in an attack upon the great State of Ts＇oo. It is said that＇the people of Yung... led the hundred tribes of the P? to invade Ts＇oo;＇ and from this description of the P? by ＇hundreds＇ it is supposed that they were under no general Head or chieftain, but consisted of many clans, each acknowledging its own chief. The site of the Yung was in the pres. dis. of Chuh-shan (竹山), dep. of Yun-yang (鄖陽), Hoo-pih; that of the P?was in the same prov., dep. of King chow (荊州), dis. of Shih-show (石首). The country of Shuh was the pres. dep. of Shing-too (成都) in Sze-ch＇uen. West and north from this was the country of K?ang: while that of Maou and Wei was to the east, radiating from the pres. dis. of Pa (巴縣), dep. of Chung-k＇ing, as a centre. Loo is referred to the present dis. of Nan-chang(南漳), dep. of S?ang-yang (襄陽), in Hoo-pih. The name of P＇ang remains in P＇ang-shan dis., dep. of Mei(眉), Sze-ch＇uen. All these tribes, we may suppose,acknowledged the supremacy of the princes of Chow,and had been summoned to assist king Woo in his enterprise against Show. Some critics, like Wang Loochae (王魯齊; see his ＇Doubts about the Shoo＇, on the Speech at Muh), say that they had come to his banner of their own accord, without being called;—which is very unlikely.
[Gaubii says in a note on this par. (Le Chou-king,p. 157), that Yung, Shuh, &c., were the countries on the south-west,—e. g., in Sze-ch＇uen and Yun-nan. To this M. de Guignes appends a very bold and sweeping remark:—＇I will add,＇ he says, ＇that all the peoples in the text bear the name of 夷, or barbarians. Thus, this conquest of China, made by king Woo, was a conquest effected by the foreigners on the west of China.＇ The remark is unwarranted. So far as we learn from the Shoo, these tribes were only an inferior and auxiliary force on the occasion.]
4. Attitude in which the troops were required to listen. 稱=舉, ＇to lift up＇; apparently= ＇to bear aloft in the right hand＇. 立=立于地, ＇to erect on the ground,＇ i. e.,to rest the end on the ground, the points being shown above. There were three weapons of the nature of spears and lances, differing in the forms of their points which would be difficult to describe in brief space, but principally distinguished by their lengths, the 戈, the戟 and the 矛. Acc. to Wang Ts＇?aou, the handle of the戈 was 6 ft. 6 in. long; that of the 戟 16ft.; and of the 矛,21 feet. Medhurst translates 戈 by ＇javelin;＇ but I have not seen it anywhere stated that the instrument was thrown from the hand. The 干 or ＇shield＇ was long and comparatively narrow, so as to cover most of the body.
6. Now Show, the king of Shang, follows only the words of his wife. He has blindly thrown away the sacrifices which he should present, and makes no response for the favours which he has received; he has blindly thrown away his paternal and maternal relatives, not treating them properly. They are only the vagabonds of the empire, loaded with crimes,whom he honours and exalts, whom he employs and trusts, making them great officers and nobles, so that they can tyrannize over the people, exercising their villainies in the city of Shang.
Ch. II. THE SPEECH. Pp. 5, 6. The crimes or Show. 5. 晨, ＇the morning,＇ here = 晨鳴報曉, ＇crows in the morning to announce the day.＇ 索 is defined by Gan-kw? by 盡; and by Keang Shing, after K＇ang-shing, by散. The two definitions are much akin.
Woo＇s language may seem rather undignified; but it was, no doubt, suited to his audience. And we must bear in mind the character and deeds of Tǎ-ke against whom it was directed.
6. 昬 (i.g. 昏) 棄厥肆祀不答,—comp. the last Book, Pt. i., 6; Pt. ii., 5. =＇肆陳, to set forth＇; 厥肆祀=其所當陳之祭祀, ＇the sacrifices which he ought to offer＇.K＇ang-shing understood by 肆祀, ＇the name of asacrifice＇;—but incorrectly. 答, ＇to answer＇, ＇to make an acknowledgement for favours received＇, such being the common meaning of sacrifice with the Chinese;—Tung-po says, 祭所以報也, 故謂之答. Here also K＇ang-shing incorrectly defines 答 by 問; and 不答=不問, ＇without asking any questions, or thinking about them＇. 王父母弟,—Gan-kw? takes =王父, as祖 or ＇grandfather＇, saying that if he thus treated his grand-uncles, we may be sure he did not treat his uncles any better. Woo Ch＇ing says that 王父母弟=王之諸父, 諸母, 諸弟, ＇the royal uncles, royal aunts,royal cousins＇. I think we must join 王父 together, and agree with Wang Ts＇eaou that 王父母弟=王父弟與母弟. The general meaning is plain enough,—that Show separated himself from all his relatives, both by blood and by affinity, who would naturally have the interests of the imperial House at heart .不迪,—迪=道, and 不迪=不以道遇之, as in the translation. Keang Shing takes迪=進 or 登, and 不迪=不用, ＇does not employ them＇.The meaning is not unsuitable; but it is not so good as that which I have followed. 逋逃= ＇refugees＇. Woo Ch＇ing says:—四方多罪之人逃亡而歸紂, ＇the great criminals of all quarters make their escape, and betake themselves to Chow＇. 商邑,— ＇the city of Shang＇,probably meaning the capital of Show. We might translate 邑, however, in the plural. Keang Shing takes it as=國, ＇kingdom＇ or ＇State＇.
7. "Now I, F?, am simply executing respectfully the punishment appointed by Heaven. In today＇s business do not advance more than six or seven steps; and then stop and adjust your ranks:—my brave men, be energetic!
8. Do not exceed four blows, five blows, six blows,or seven blows; and then stop and adjust your ranks:—my brave men, be energetic!
9. Display a martial bearing. Be like tigers and panthers, like bears, and grisly bears;—here in the border of Shang. Do not rush on those who fly to usin submission, but receive them to serve our western land:—my brave men, be energetic!
10. If you are not thus energetic, you will bring destruction on yourselves."
Pp. 7—10. Directions about the rules to be observed in the impending battle. 7. The first part of this par. had better be joined to the one preceding. King Woo speaks in it of himself in contrast with Show;—of himself as engaged on behalf of Heaven to punish one who was an enemy to both Heaven and men. Ts＇ae and others, prefixing it to this and the succeeding parr., make a milder spirit breathe in them than the reader will easily perceive. The stopping at every seven steps and seven blows was, they think, that as few of the enemy as possible might be killed. In this way the tyrant would be overthrown and Heaven＇s justice would be satisfied with the sacrifice of comparatively few lives! The cautions were evidently given that the order of battle might be preserved unbroken.
衍=過, ＇to exceed＇. 步=進趨, ＇to advance hurriedly＇,齊=齊整, ＇to adjust and put in order＇. The paraphrase of the ＇Daily Explanation＇ is:—其進而迎敵, 不過于六步, 七步, 即便止駐, 以整齊部伍, 然後復從而伐之, ＇In advancing to meet the enemy, take no more than six orseven steps. Then stop and adjust your ranks, and go forward again to smite them.＇
夫子,—see the last Book, Pt. ii., p. 9.
8. 伐=擊刺, ＇to strike and thrust＇. They are thus admonished, it is said, lest they should be hurried on in their rage by a desire for slaughter. 9. 桓桓=威武貌＇the appearance of martial prowess＇. The 說文 quotes the passage with 狟 instead of 桓. 貔 is described as 豹屬, ＇a kind of panther＇. 弗迓克奔,—＇do not meet those who are able to—who really do—run＇. The meaning is as in the translation, K?ang Shing, however, edits禦 instead of 迓, after K＇ang-shing. Ma Yung also read禦, which he explains better than K＇ang-shing. Wang Suh read 禦, which is susceptible of being taken either for 禦 or 迓. The meaning is substantially the same, whether we adopt 迓 or 禦. 以役西土,—the translation of this is after K＇ang-shing. My Yung and Wang Suh took the clause as= ＇do your best to serve our western land＇. Gan-kw? understood it differently:— ＇It is thus you will make them submissively acknowledge the righteousness of our western land.＇ 10. 爾所不勗,—as勗哉夫子 has been repeated at the close of the several instructions or admonitions, we must suppose that the warning here belongs to each of them. The ＇Daily Explanation＇ paraphrases the 9th and 10th parr. thus:—過勇, 則不免于濫殺, 惟當于兇殘者取之, 抗拒者誅之,若有奔走來降者勿迎而擊之, 以勞役我西土之人, 勉哉爾將士, 其武勇是奮而殺降是戒可也, 爾將士若于我之命, 而有所不勉, 或輕進, 或貪殺, 或無勇而殺降, 是違號令, 而失紀律也, 則軍有常刑, 必戮及爾身, 罔有攸赦矣, 可不戒哉.