我有, 云云,—大事, ＇great affair＇, referring to the warlike expedition about to be proceeded with. It is said in the 左傳 that ＇the "great affairs" of a State are sacrificed and war,＇ (國之大事, 在祀與戎). 並吉,—＇alltogether are lucky＇. The king had divided; and the＇three men＇ who had operated with the three shells, or interpreted the threehold intimation of the one shell, all foretold a happy result;—see the ＇Great Plan＇, p. 24. Ts＇ae gives the connection of the two parts of the clause thus:—知我有戎事休美者, 以朕卜三龜而並吉也. We are not to suppose that this divining was the same as that mentioned in par. 2. That was earlier,before the rebellion had revealed itself; this was with reference to the expedition which was in progress. 6. 肆予至御事,—肆=故, ＇therefore＇. 尹氏, ＇the governors or directors,＇=庶官之正, ＇the heads of the various magisterial departments＇. Gan-kw? says they were the卿大夫, ＇nobles and great officers＇. Compare the 百尹of Bk. XXII., p. 3. We might bring out the meaning of the 氏 by saying—＇the directors, of the several surnames＇.
予得吉卜, 云云,—于, as in the last par.,=往. 逋播臣,—＇the absconded scattered ministers＇. Woo-kǎng and the old adherents of his House, who continued with him, are intended by this contemptuous language.There was enough in the circumstances of theircondition to afford a ground for so describing them.
Ch. III. Pp. 7—9. THE KING COMPLAINS OF THE RELUCTANCE OF THE PRINCES AND OFFICERS TO GO FORWARD WITH HIM TO THE EXPEDITION, AND REPLIES TO THEIR PROPOSAL TO GO CONTRARY TO THE DIVINATIONS. 7. The proposal of the princes and officers to go contrary to the oracles, and abandon the expedition. 罔不反,—＇there is not one who does not resort＇. K＇ang-shing says—無不反我之意, ＇all oppose my views＇. Keang Shing would take 反 as simply=復,＇to reply＇. The two ideas are here combined in the term.All the rest of the par. is to be taken as the language of the malcontents. Gan-kw?, indeed, takes only 艱大, ＇the difficulties will be great,＇ as their words, and makes out all the rest to be a portion of the king＇s reply.
"The hardships will be great, and that the people are not still has its source really in the king＇s palace, and in the mansions of those princes of the troubled State.We, little ones, and the old reverent men as well, think the expedition ill-advised. Why does your majesty not go contrary to the divination?
8. ＇I, in my youth, think also continually of the hardships, and say, Alas! These senseless movements will deplorably afflict widowers and widows!
But, to my mind, the text is altogether unmanageable on this view. The exegesis which I have followed, and which appears in the translation, is not attended with difficulties; but it gives an interpretation of the passage in harmony with the general tenour of the Announcement, and not harsher, as regards particular expressions, than we are obliged to admit in many other places. 民不靜至君室,—this is an allusion, as plain as the duke of Chow could permit himself to make, to the dissatisfaction of his three brothers charged with the oversight of Yin, the rumours which they had spread against himself, and the suspicions which those had awakened in the king＇s mind. The邦君 are S?en, Too, and Ch＇oo. 室, as opposed to 宮,I translate by ＇mansion＇. 越予小子, 考翼, 不可征, 云云,—this passage presents several difficulties, and no construction of it has been proposed, against which objections cannot be urged. 予小子 is taken by Gan-kw? of the king speaking of himself, and this is the one strong point in his construction mentioned above. In the translation the phrase is taken in the plural:—so the princes and officers, opposed to the expedition, describe themselves. 考 is taken as=老, ＇old＇, ＇fathers＇.翼=敬, ＇to be reverent＇, i.e., in the conduct of business.The character is thus used in the She King, as may be 4seen in the dict. th tone)=曷, ＇why＇考. The paraphrase o翼=父老之敬事者f. th害e w(read in the holeinthe＇Daily Explanation＇ is:—予等小子, 固無所知識, 至于敬事之父老, 乃老成練達之人, 皆以為不可, 人謀未協, 龜兆難憑, 曷不違卜, 而聽人乎.
Pp. 8, 9. How the king replies to the princes and officers, complaining of their want of sympathy with him, and urging again the authority of the oracles. 8.允蠢鰥寡, 哀哉,—＇indeed the senseless movements, widowers and widows, alas;＇ Gan-kw? brings out the meaning thus:—信蠢動天下, 使無妻無夫者受其害, 可哀哉. Woo Ch＇ing observes that the young and strong would be carried off to the expedition, and so thewidowers and widows would be left in their solitude without those whose duty it was to care for them. 予造天役=予所為之事, 皆天所役使, ＇the things which I do are all services required from me by Heaven＇. Keang Shing takes 造=遭, as in p. 1, which would give here a good enough meaning. 遺大, 投大于我身—Heaven is the nominative to the verbs 遺 and 投.
But I am the servant of Heaven, which has assigned me this great task, and laid this hard duty on my person. I therefore, the young one, do not pity myself,and it would be right in you, the princes of the States, and in you, the many officers, the directors of departments, and the managers of my affairs, to soothe me, saying, "Do not be distressed with sorrow. We shall surely complete the plans of your Tranquillizing father."
9. ＇Yes, I, the little one, dare not disregard the charge of God. Heaven, favourable to the Tranquillizing king,gave such prosperity to our small State of Chow. The Tranquillizing king divined and acted accordingly,and so he calmly received his great appointment. Now Heaven is helping the people;—how much more much I follow the divinations! Oh! The clearly-intimated will of Heaven is to be feared:—it is to help my great inheritance.＇ "
The ＇Daily Explanation has:—天實以甚大者遺于吾之身, 甚艱者投于吾之身. 不卯自恤,—卯=我 or 身, ＇I＇,＇myself＇. The uncaning is that the king would do his duty, without considering the risks and troubles to which it would expose him. 義爾至圖功,—義=以義言之, ＇speaking of the case with reference to what is right＇. 毖=勞, ＇to labour＇, ＇to distress one＇s-self＇. 無 (=毋) 毖于恤=君毋勞于憂, ＇Let not your Majesty distress yourself about this matter of sorrow.＇ The princes and officers are then supposed to say that they would dispose of the revolt for him.—凡我為臣者, 不可不共矢其力, 聲罪致討, 成乃寧考所圖之功.
9. 已,—as in p. 2. 不敢替上帝命,—替=廢, ＇to disregard＇, ＇to make of none effect＇. ＇The charge of God＇ is that implied in p.5, when the divination were all favourable, and the king was thus instructed to go forward with the expedition against Woo-kǎng and his associates. 天休至茲命,—the divinations of king Woo referred to are those mentioned in ＇The Great Speech＇,Pt. ii., p. 5, 朕夢協朕卜, 襲于休祥.
今天其相民,—How was Heaven now helping the people? Gan-kw? replies—＇By the coming forward of the ten men of worth to support the king.＇ Possibly the king, or the duke rather, may have had this in mind.
矧亦惟卜用=況我亦惟卜是用. 天明, 云云,—the translation here follows Ts＇ae. The 天明, ＇intelligence of Heaven,＇ is that mentioned in p. 3, as conveyed by the ＇great tortoise＇. Thus clearly intimated, it was to be reverenced. Opposition to it could only entail disaster.
10. "The king says, ＇You, who are the old ministers,are fully able to examine the long-distant affairs;—you know how great was the toil of the Tranquillizing king. Now where Heaven shuts up and distresses us is the place where I must accomplish my work;—I dare not but do my utmost to complete the plans of the Tranquillizing king. It is on this account that I use such efforts to remove the doubts and carry forward the inclinations of the princes of my friendly States.Heaven also assists me with sincere expressions of attachment, which I have ascertained among the people;—how dare I but aim at the completion of the work formerly begun by the Tranquillizer?
How much more should they be forward to obey it, when it was to establish the dynasty! K?ang Shing takes 畏=威, and the whole= ＇The brilliant majesty of Heaven is aiding me to enlarge this great inheritance.＇
Ch. IV. Pp. 10—12. THE KING ADDRESSES HIMSELF MORE PARTICULARLY TO THE OLD MINISTERS OF HIS HOUSE; SETS FORTH HIS OWN WISH TO DO HIS DUTY AS A SON AND A SOVEREIGN, AND COMPLAINS OF THEIR WANT OF SYMPATHY WITH HIM 10 ..王曰,—see on 王若曰, p. 1. It is one of the peculiarities of the Announcements in the Books of Chow, that they are broken up into many parts by the recurrence of these phrases. 爾惟至勤哉,—by 舊人 we are to understand the old ministers of king Woo, (武王之舊臣),—the考翼 of p. 7, who are there quoted as opposed to the expedition .遠省,—＇to examine the remote,＇ i.e., the affairs of past days.
天悶至圖事,—this is an instance of what Choo He calls the ＇long sentences＇ of the ＇Great Announcement＇.悶者否塞不通之意, ＇悶 means shut up, without thoroughfare.＇ 毖者艱難不易之意, ＇毖 means difficult and not easy.＇ These are the definitions given by Ts＇ae, who adds—天之所以否閉艱難, 國家多難者, 乃我成功之所在. The above definition of 悶 is not given in the dictionary, the it may be very reasonably derivedfrom the explanation of the term in the 說文 as=閉門. The dict. makes it=慎, after Gan-kw?, and with reference to this passage. K?ang Shing defines it by勞, which makes it simply a synonym of 毖. Ts＇ae took his definition from Lin Che-k＇e. ＇The place where king Ching had to accomplish his work,＇ was the east, where the revolt was going on; but the 所 does not indicate the locality simply, but all the circumstances of the case. 肆予至邦君,—化者, 化其固滯, ＇by 化 ismeant dissolving their obstinate obstructions;＇ 誘者, 誘其順從, ＇by 誘 is meant inducing them to follow him with accordance＇. These again are the definitions of Ts＇ae,—very good. 天棐至攸終,—棐 is taken by Gan-kw? and most other critics as=輔, ＇to aid＇. 忱=誠信,＇sincere＇.
Heaven moreover is thus toiling and distressing my people, so that it is as if they were suffering from disease;—how dare I allow the appointment which the Tranquillizer, my predecessor, received, to be without its happy fulfilment?＇ "
11. "The king says, ＇Formerly, at the initiation of this expedition, I spoke of its difficulties, and revolved them daily. But when a deceased father, wishing to build a house, had laid out the plan, if his son be unwilling to raise up the hall, how much less will he be willing to complete the roof! Or if the father had broken up the ground, and his son is unwilling to sow the seed, how much less will he be willing to reap the grain!
Heaven does not speak;—where were the ＇expressions＇of its regard? The ten men of worth, who had come forward to encourage the king, might be considered as giving utterance to the ＇voice of the people＇,=the ＇voice of God＇. Choo He was dissatisfied with this interpretation of 棐. He said that ＇though all the elder scholars concurred in it, it made the passage＇unintelligible＇. He himself, on the authority chiefly of Yen Sze-koo, made the charcter synonymous with匪, ＇not＇, so that the meaning is—＇Heaven really does not utter words, but its mind may be ascertained from the mind of the people.＇ This brings out substantially the same meaning as the other view of 棐. By 寧人I understand king Woo. It is only a variation of the phrase 寧王. Ts＇ae takes it as=寧臣, ＇the tranquillizing ministers,＇ meaning those who had cooperated with king Woo in his great work, and adds that this description of them would cover with shame those of them who were dissuading king Ching from the expedition. See a note from Ch＇in Leih on this point in the 附錄. 天亦云云,—here is another consideration,which determined the king＇s resolution. His father＇s object was to give repose and happiness to all the people. This revolt was distressing them,—a fever,a serious disease in the State. He must secure the realization of his father＇s purpose by putting the revolt down. 11. How his sense of filial duty impelled the king to the expedition. 若昔日朕其逝=初欲東征之時,＇when I first wished to undertake this expedition to the east＇. So, Ts＇ae and Woo Ch＇ing. Then the 言 and思 of the next clause are to be taken in the past tense.Woo, indeed, is half disposed to take 言 simply as an expletive or exclamation, but there is no necessity for having resource to such a construction. Thinking of the difficulties which the expedition was pressed with, the king might have wished to abandon it; but to prevent his doing so, there came in the consideration of his duty to his father which are set forth in the rest of the paragraph. In this way we get a consistent meaning from the whole. Gan-kw? and K?ang Shing, instead of taking 若昔 as=昔日, or 昔者, give 若 a full verbal force,=順, ＇to accord with＇. The former then interprets—＇In accordance with ancient principles, I must proceed with this expedition to the east (順古道,我其往東征矣). I have spoken quite enough about the difficulties and hardships of the empire, and I daily think of them.＇ The latter says:—＇In accordance with the example of the king my predecessor, I ought to go and punish these revolters (順昔前王之事, 則我其當往征).
In such a case will the father, who had himself been so reverently attentive to his objects, be willing to say, "I have an heir who will not abandon the patrimony?"—How dare I, therefore, but use all my powers to give a happy settlement to the great charge entrusted to the Tranquillizing king?
12. ＇If a father have those among his friends who attack his child, will the elders of his people encourage the attack, and not come to the rescue?＇
Of the hardships connected with the expedition I have spoken, and I daily think of them.＇ The view which I have followed seems to me much preferable to either of these. 若考作室, 既厎法,—考 is ＇a father deceased＇.We must take it so here, king Woo being intended,while Ching is the son on whom it devolves to carry out and finish his father＇s undertakings. 既厎法,—＇has settled the plan,＇ i.e., has laid out the foundation, and defined all the dimensions,—the length, breadth and height. For 堂 Woo Ch＇ing says 築基, ＇to build up on the foundation＇. The meaning evidently is to proceed with the building, according to the plan. 構=蓋, ＇to cover＇ here= ＇to construct the roof＇.
[Immediately after 構, K＇ang-shing read 厥考翼其肯曰, 子有後弗棄基, which thus occurred with him twice in the paragraph.] 菑,—反土去草曰菑, ＇turning over the earth and removing the grass is called 菑＇. It denotes the first steps taken to bring waste land or virgin soil into cultivation. 考翼至棄基.—Are we to take 考翼 in the singular, referring to the 考 and 父 in the preceding clauses, or in the plural, like the same phrase in p. 7?Gan-kw? and Ts＇ae take it in the singular. Ts＇ae says:—＇The spirit of king Woo in heaven would not be willing to say that he had a son and successor who would not let his inheritance fall to the ground.＇ The paraphrase in the ＇Daily Explanation＇ takes the phrase in the plural,=其家敬事之父老, ＇the old and reverent elders of the family＇. This is the view also of Woo Ch＇ing,who has:—其父之輔翼者, ＇the assistants of his father＇.I must understand the phrase in the singular. 肆予, 云云,—越卬=於我身, ＇in my person＇. It is a strange and unsatisfactory expression; but all the critics explain it thus.
Q. 12. The king reproaches the princes and officers who would let the revolt take its course. A short paragraph, and all but unintelligible. The view which Gan-kw? gives may be seen in the 註疏. I cannot make it out, even with the help of Ying-tǎ. Ts＇ae says that he does not understand what is meant by the phrase 民養. He takes it, however, after Soo Tung-po as=人之臣僕, or 民長, as in the translation. ＇By 兄考,＇he says, ＇is intended king Woo; by 友, Woo-kǎng and his confederates, the king＇s uncles: by 子, ＇the people;and by 民養, the princes of the States, and the officers＇.I would only differ from him in taking 子 not of the people, but of king Ching himself.
13. "The king says, ＇Oh! Take heart, ye princes of the various States, and ye managers of my affairs. The enlightening of the country was from the wise, even from the ten men who obeyed and knew the decree of God,＇ and the sincere assistance given by Heaven. At that time none of you presumed to change the royal appointments. And now, when Heaven is sending down calamity on the State of Chow, and the authors of these great distresses appear as if the inmates of a house were mutually to attack one another, you are without any knowledge that the decree of Heaven is not to be changed!
Ch. V. Pp. 13—15. THE KING CONTRAST THE PRESENT CONDUCT OF THE PRINCES AND OFFICERS WITH THE PAST, AND TRIES TO STIMULATE THEM TO CARRY OUT THE WISH OF HE**EN. HE THEN STATES HIS OWN DETERMINATION, AND CONCLUDES BY VINDECATING HIS FOLLOWING THE ORACLES OF DIVINATION. 13. Ts＇ae Ch＇in, in interpreting this par., struck out a new path for himself, in which I have followed him. The par. mentions ＇ten men who obeyed and knew the mind of God＇. Were they the＇ten men of worth, mentioned in par. 5, who came forward to support king Ching against the revolt of Yin? All the old interpreters say so, and Woo Ch＇ing and K?ang Shing, still hold to that view. This is to be said for it, that in the compass of a short Book, we can hardly expect two references to ＇ten men＇ of the same purport and yet that they should be difft. men. I would willingly accept Gan-kw?＇s view, if it did not make all attempts to explain the context not only troublesome but to my mind vain. Ts＇ae decided that the ten men here were not the ten men of par. 5, but king Woo＇s ＇virtuous men＇, his ＇ten ministers capable of govt.＇ celebrated in ＇The Great Speech＇. He contends that the predicates of the ＇ten men＇ here are too great for the ten men of the people who came forward to encourage king Ching, and tries to fortify his view by referring to the duke of Chow＇s language in Bk. XVI., p. 14, where he is speaking of king Wǎn＇s e able ministers, as he speaks of the tea men here. The editors of Yung-ching＇s Shoo accept his view, but with some misgivings, and think it necessary to preserve the other also .肆=放心, ＇put your hearts at ease＇. 爽邦由哲,—爽=明, as in 爽厥師, Pt. IV., Bk. II., p. 3. KingWoo put an end to the ＇dark ways＇ (昏德) of Show, and displayed the mind of Heaven to the empire, ＇by means of the wise men＇ (由哲), who were his counsellors and helpers,—＇the ten men who walked in (迪) and knew the commands of God＇. 越天棐忱,—棐=輔, as in p. 10.This clause is collateral with 上帝命, and under the regimen of 迪知. 爾時=爾於是時, ＇you at that time＇.Among those who followed Woo to the conquest of Shang, there were many of the princes and officers who were now shrinking from the expedition against Woo-kǎng. 矧今, 云云—it is difficult to render 矧 here by ＇how much more,＇ in the usual way; yet its force extends to the end of the par., and may be indicated by a point of exclamation. The allusion in 天降戾于周邦is to the death of king Woo.
14. ＇I even think and say, Heaven in destroying Yin is doing husbandman＇s work;—how dare I but complete the business of my fields! Heaven will thereby show its favour to the former Tranquillizer.
15. ＇How should I be all for the oracle of divination,and presume not to follow your advice? I am following the Tranquillizer, whose purpose embraced all the limits of the land. How much more must I proceed,when the divinations are all favourable! It is on these accounts that I make this expedition in force to the east. There is no mistake about the decree of Heaven.The indications of the divinations are all to the same effect.＇ "
By 惟大艱人 we are to understand the king＇s uncles, confederate with Woo-kǎng. For ＇誕鄰胥伐 Tsae gives 大近相伐, and the ＇Daily Explanation＇ has 相逼相攻. 厥室 is taken by Woo Ch＇ing of 其邦君之室, and he supposes the meaning of the whole to be that the rebel-uncles were endeavouring to force others of their brothers in their neighbourhoods to join them in the revolt. The meaning I have given is preferable, though the 誕鄰 is difficult to manage. Gan-kw? says that when the king＇s uncles took arms against him, it was truly like the inmates of one house fighting with each other. If king Woo had been commissioned to destroy Show for his wickedness, much more must it be Heaven＇s will that tin revolt should be suppressed; and yet the princes and officers were telling the king not to proceed with the expedition.
Wang Ts＇?aou traces the course of thought in the par. on Ts＇ae＇s view very clearly:—迪知上帝命者, 心與天通, 自然合理者也, 知天命不易者, 未能真知而不敢不信者也, 在武王時, 商罪貫盈, 不可不討, 天命如此, 眷佑有周, 夢卜協吉, 天之棐忱又如此, 在今日武庚作亂, 不可不討, 天命亦如此, 民獻予翼, 朕卜並吉, 天之棐忱亦又如此, 是今昔之事, 理一也, 然在昔有十人之輔, 而爾舊人, 亦不敢易武王之法, 今考翼不可征, 則不惟易我之法,而言害不違卜, 則亦不知天命不可易也, 以昔時奉法之心, 為今日順天之義, 則與迪知者惟有間, 而與爽邦者實同功矣.
P. 14. 穡夫is a ＇reaper＇, but the phrase is here used for a husbandman generally. A husbandman＇s work is thoroughly to clear his ground of weeds:—he must not let their roots remain. King Woo had spared Show＇s son, but it was plain that he must now be made an end of. So would king Ching complete the business of his fields. And when he had done so, the favour of Heaven to king Woo would be more fully displayed:—the empire would be made sure to his posterity. 15. 予曷其極不, 敢弗于從,=予何敢盡欲用卜, 而不從爾勿征之言乎. The answer to this is given in the next clause. It was not merely a question between the oracles and thecontrary opinions of many of the princes and officers. There was the example of king Woo and his ministers; and there was the duty of Ching to accomplish the work which his father had begun. These were potent considerations to go into the scale. They would determine in favour of the expedition, even if the oracles were not so decided. As the oracles were so entirely in favour of it however, there could be—there ought at least to be—no hesitation in going forward.率寧人有指疆土=循文王有指意, 以安疆土. This is Gan-kw?＇s explanation of the words, and I have notmet with any other so satisfactory. His only error is in referring 寧人 to king Wǎn, instead of king Woo. 天命卜僭,—comp. 天命弗僭, in the ＇Announcement of T＇ang,＇ p. 5.
[We have thus got to the end of ＇The Great Announcement,＇ the style of which is at least as rugged and difficult as that of ＇The Pwan-kǎng＇. Notwithstanding the uncertainty which attaches to the interpretation of particular passages, however, I cannot but believe that the translation gives, with tolerable correctness, the general meaning of the Book. In the year B.C. 7, when Mang, the duke of Han (漢公莽), was acting as regent of the empire, and designed to usurp the throne, he published an announcement modelled upon that of the duke of Chow. He incorporated the text of the Show with his own statements in a very remarkable way. K?ang Shing and some others undertake to correct the text of the Shoo from Mang＇s Announcement, which ought not, however, to be appealed to for that purpose. It answers very well to show the general view which Mang and the scholars about him took of our Book. Mang＇s Anouncement is preserved in the 前漢書, 第五十四卷, 翟方進傳.]