34--An ancient famous gourmet, chef of Duke Huan (r. 685–643 b.c.) of Ch’i.
35--An ancient expert on music, concert master for Duke P’ing (r. 557-532 b.c.) of Chin.
36--An ancient handsome man.
37--A similar idea is expressed in Mencius, 4B:28 and 32.
38--Outside the capital of the state of Ch’i.
39--Probably King Hsüan of Ch’i (r. 342–324 b.c.).
40--Cf. Analects, 15:8.
41--According to Chu Hsi, this is the original mind of shame and dislike.
42--This interpretation is according to Sun Shih (962-1033), subcommentary on Chao Ch’i’s commentary in the Meng Tzu chu-shu (Subcommentary and Commentary on the Book of Mencius) in the Thirteen Classics Series.
43--The meaning of the phrase is obscure.
44--See below, ch. 33, secs. 8 and 24.
45--A high official of the Chin state.
46--Ode no. 247.
47--This is Chiao Hsün’s interpretation. Chao Ch’i and Chu Hsi, however, interpret yü not as “the same as” but as “to help,” that is, it greatly helps (encourages) the inhumane.
48--An ancient famous archer.
49--Insertion according to Chao Ch’i.
50--Mencius arrived in Liang in 320 b.c.King Hui (r. 370–319 b.c.) assumed the title of king by usurpation.
51--One-third of a mile.
52--One-sixth of an acre.
53--See below, 7B:14; 4B:3; 5A:5.
54--Founder of Shang dynasty (r. 1751–1739 b.c.).
55--A wicked king (r. 1802–1752 b.c.), who was responsible for the fall of the Hsia dynasty (2183–1752 b.c.).
56--See below, Additional Selections, comment on 4B:3.
57--Mencius’ pupil.
58--“I understand people’s feelings from their words,” according to Chao Ch’i, or “I understand the principles of things as expressed in words,” according to Chu Hsi.
59--Waley, Three Ways of Thought in Ancient China, p. 118.
60--Fung, History of Chinese Philosophy, vol. 1, p. 130.
61--Tung Chung-shu fc.179–c.104 b.c.) saw in the phrase “the force of harmony in the universe.” For Yen Shih-ku (581-645), it meant the force of purity and unity. To Liu Liang (1st century), it was the spirit of abandonment and leisure. (See Chiao Hsün, Meng Tzu cheng-i.) Chiao, like many others, understood it merely as “great,” and Chu Hsi understood it as “strong and moving.”
62--Analects, 2:4.
63--Chiao Hsün read cheng (“to correct”) as chih (“to stop”). I am following Chu Hsi, who interprets cheng to mean to expect or to calculate.
64--It is possible to punctuate after “the mind” so that it reads “stop the mind.” However, nothing is gained by this change.
65--Ch’uan-hsi lu (Instructions for Practical Living), secs. 147, 163, 186. See Chan, trans., Instructions for Practical Living.
66--Ode no. 244.
67--See above, Additional Selections, 1A:1, 5; and below, Additional Selections, 2A:5, 3A:3-4, 7A:13.
68--The contrast is strongly brought out in 1A: 1.
69--According to Chao Ch’i, “cannot bear to do evil to others.”
70--See below, ch. 39, sec. 3.
71--Nothing is known of him.
72--R. 546–489 b.c.
73--Confucius’ most favorite pupil, (521–490 b.c.).
74--A worthy of the state of Lu.
75--Younger brother of King Wu (d. 1094 b.c.).
76--History, “Charge to Yüeh.” Cf. Legge, trans., Shoo King, p. 252.
77--Ode no. 154.
78--A minister of the Ch’i family of Lu in the sixth century b.c.
79--Ode no. 212. Lung Tzu was an ancient worthy.
80--Ode no. 235.
81--The land was divided into nine squares, with eight families each cultivating its own square and together cultivating the ninth, public square for the government. The shape of the division resembles the Chinese character for “well” and the system was therefore so named.
82--Pupil of a Confucianist.
83--A theorist on agriculture.
84--Old sayings.
85--See below, Additional Selections, comment on 7A:4.
86--Chu Hsi interpreted the phrase to mean that man possesses moral nature.
87--See The Mean, ch. 20; Great Learning, ch. 3.
88--Mo Tzu’s pupil.
89--Chao Ch’i considered the last sentence not Mencius’ words but a statement saying that I Chih did not go.
90--Probably paraphrasing the Book of History, “Announcement of K’ang.” Cf. Legge, Shoo King, p. 389.
91--See below, Additional Selections, comment on 3B:9.
92--Nothing is known of him.
93--Once a prime minister of Ch’in. He was Chang I’s contemporary.
94--Chang I (d. 309 b.c.) was an expert on diplomacy who exerted tremendous influence on the various warring states.
95--See below, ch. 9, and ch. 18, Introduction.
96--See Mencius, 2B:13, 7B:38.
97--In his comment on 7A:45. See also 7A:46.
98--This is the point in 3A:5.
99--For a lengthy discussion on this question, see Chan, “The Evolution of the Confucian Concept of Jen,” Philosophy East and West, 4 (1955), 300-302, and Fung, Spirit of Chinese Philosophy, pp. 37-40.
100--Ode no. 255.
101--The word yü is used here in the sense of “for,” not “to give.”
102--See above, ch. 2, comment on Analects, 4:15.
103--The passage up to this point also appears with slight variation in The Mean, ch. 20.
104--A famous debater of Ch’i.
105--This injunction is found in Book of Rites, “Records of Prevention.” See Legge, trans., Li Ki, vol. 2, p. 299.
106--Another illustration is found in Mencius, 4A:26. See also above, ch. 2, comment on Analects, 4:10.
107--According to Chao Ch’i, the first is to obey parents blindly and cause them to fall into immorality, and the second is not to serve in the government when one’s parents are old and poor.
108--Cf. Mencius, 5A:2.
109--The word ku may mean reason, natural course, or what has happened, that is, facts.
110--Founder of the Hsia dynasty, r. 2183–2175 b.c.(?).
111--A man of Ch’i.
112--Pupil of Mencius.
113--History, “Declaration of Ch’in.” cf. Legge, Shoo King, p. 292.
114--A similar saying is found in Mencius, 7B:33.
115--See below, ch. 9, C.
116--For an excellent discussion on this question, see Fu Szu-nien (1896-1950), Hsing-ming ku-hsün pien-cheng (Critical Studies of the Classical Interpretations of the Nature and Destiny), 1950, 2:14b-24a. See also Mencius, 7A:2, 7B:24, 33; The Mean, ch. 14.
117--Cf. above, 4A:10.
118--See above, comment on 6A:7.
119--See also Mencius, 2A:9; 3A:1; 5B:1; and Analects, 9:25.
120--Chung-kuo che-hsüeh shih ta-kang (Outline of the History of Chinese Philosophy), 1919, p. 296.
121--Cf. above, 2A:3.
122--Chao Ch’i said that liang meant “very,” with which Chiao Hsün agreed. Neo-Confucianists understood it to mean “innate.”
123--See below, ch. 35.
124--A worthy in the state of Lu.
125--These despots were: Duke Huan of Ch’i (r. 685–643 b.c.), Duke Wen of Chin (r. 636–628 b.c.), Duke Mu of Ch’in (r. 659–619 b.c.), King Chuang of Ch’u (r. 613–589 b.c.), and Duke Hsiang of Sung (r. 650–635 b.c.).
126--See above, comment on 3A:4.
127--On the Book of History, see ch. 1, n.4.
128--Literally “slabs.” Ancient books consisted of bamboo slabs.
129--Actually, according to the Book of History, the bloodshed was caused by King Chou’s own troops turning against one another. See Legge, Shoo King, p. 315. Commentators have said that Mencius may have thought that there should have been no bloodshed at all, since in his own philosophy, people flocked to a man o
f humanity as water flows downward. See above, Additional Selections, 4A:9.
130--Cf. above, Additional Selections, 4B:3; 5A:5.
131--See comment on The Mean, ch. 20, where a similar saying appears.
132--See above, Additional Selections, comment on 7A:1.
133--A man of Ch’i.
134--An official of Lu.
135--Fung, History of Chinese Philosophy, vol. 1, pp. 129-131. See also his Spirit of Chinese Philosophy, pp. 24-27.
136--See above, comment on 7A:1.
MORAL AND SOCIAL PROGRAMS: THE GREAT LEARNING
1--See Analects, 4:15. The word jen has been variously translated as benevolence, love, human-heartedness, true manhood, etc. For a discussion of jen, see Appendix.
2--Ta-hsüeh chang-chü (Commentary on the Great Learning), ch. 5.
3--Ch’uan-hsi lu (Instructions for Practical Living), sec. 129, 135-137, 172-175, and 201. See Chan, trans., Instructions for Practical Living.
4--His philosophy is summed up in his “Inquiry on the Great Learning.” See below, ch. 35.
5--The Great Learning is originally ch. 42 of the Li chi (Book of Rites). Not much attention was paid to it until the time of Ssu-ma Kuang (1019-1086), who wrote a commentary on it, treating it as a separate work for the first time. This commentary is now lost. Ch’eng Hao (Ch’eng Ming-tao, 1032-1085) and his younger brother Ch’eng I (Ch’eng I-ch’uan, 1033-1107) each rearranged the text. Chu Hsi did the same and, moreover, added a “supplement.” He further divided the work into one “text” and ten “chapters of commentary,” and contended that the former was Confucius’ own words handed down by his pupil Tseng Tzu (505–c.436 b.c.) and that the latter were the views of Tseng Tzu recorded by his pupils. There is no evidence for this contention. Recent scholars, equally without evidence, have dated the work as late as around 200 b.c. Regardless of its date and authorship, which has also been attributed to Confucius’ grandson Tzu-ssu (492–431 b.c.), it was Chu Hsi who made it important in the last 800 years. He grouped it with the Analects, the Book of Mencius, and the Doctrine of the Mean as the “Four Books” and wrote commentaries on them. Since then they were honored as Classics, and from 1313 till 1905 they were the basis of civil service examinations. Thus they replaced the other Classics in importance and influence.
The Chinese title, Ta-hsüeh, literally means education for the adult. In contrast to the education for the young, which consisted of good manners, daily behavior, etc., education for the adult involves moral cultivation and social order. It means, therefore, education for the good man or the gentleman, or using the word in the sense “great,” education for the great man.
Among Western translations, that by Hughes in his The Great Learning and the Mean-in-Action follows the ancient text, the one used by Cheng Hsüan (127-200) in his annotation, which is the one in the Thirteen Classics Series and not rearranged by Chu Hsi. Those by Legge, “The Great Learning,” and by Lin Yutang, “The Great Learning,” follow Chu Hsi’s text. This text is called Ta-hsüah chang-chü, literally “Punctuation and redivision of the Great Learning into Chapters.” It contains Chu Hsi’s own “Remarks.” In the following translation, Chu Hsi’s text is used.
6--What follows is a paraphrase of Ch’eng’s words. See his I-shu (Surviving Works), 2A:4a, 22A:la and Ts’ui-yen (Pure Words), 1:25a, both in eccs.
7--This and the rest of the “Remarks” on the Great Learning are by Chu Hsi.
8--According to Ch’eng I, the character ch’in (to love) should be read hsin (to renovate). See his revision of the text of the Great Learning in Ching-shuo (Explanation of the Classics), 5:3a, in eccs.
9--The word chih is used in this work in its various meanings of abiding, staying, and resting.
10--Ch’eng I’s rearrangement of the work is found in Ching-shuo, 5:3a-5b. His elder brother Hao’s rearrangement, which is different from his, is found in 5:1a-3a. Actually, Chu Hsi’s rearrangement is different from both.
11--History, “Announcement of K’ang.” Cf. translation by Legge, Shoo King, p. 383.
12--ibid., “T’ai-chia.” Cf. Legge, p. 199.
13--ibid., “Canon of Yao.” Cf. Legge, p. 17.
14--Founder of the Shang dynasty (r. 1751–1739 b.c.?)
15--History, “Announcement of K’ang.” Cf. Legge, p. 388.
16--Ode no. 235.
17--About one-third of a mile.
18--Ode no. 303.
19--Ode no. 230.
20--Ode no. 235. King Wen was the founder of the Chou dynasty. He reigned 1171-1122 b.c.
21--Ode no. 55 .
22--Ode no. 269 .
23--Analects, 12:13.
24--In the Cheng Hsüan text these two sentences come at the end of the “text.” Then come sections on sincerity of the will, rectification of the mind, cultivation of the personal life, regulation of the family, order of the state, and peace throughout the world. The first two items, on the investigation of things and perfection of knowledge, are thus missing. This is the reason why Chu Hsi moved the two sentences here and asserted that they are on the investigation of things and the extension of knowledge, and offered a “supplement” to fill in the ideas. Thus he put the investigation of things ahead of sincerity of the will, which is the subject of the next chapter. Chu Hsi’s revision here makes the work much more logical, although the revision is arbitrary.
25--Cheng Hsüan in his commentary on the Book of Rites (see the Li chi cheng-i or Correct Meaning of the Book of Rites, in the Thirteen Classics Series) interprets ko to mean to teach, that is, when one has the knowledge of good, good things will reach him. Chu Hsi, in his Ta-hsüeh chang-chü, also interprets ko as to reach, but according to him, it means to reach things, that is, to get at the principle of things to the utmost. See below, ch. 32, comment on sec. 44 and ch. 34, B, 1g, comment on sec. 30.
26--History, “Announcement of K’ang.” Cf. Legge, Shoo King, p. 389.
27--Legendary rulers of the 3rd millennium b.c.
28--They (r. 1802–1752 b.c.? and r. 1175–1112 b.c.) caused the downfall of the Hsia and Shang dynasties, respectively.
29--Cf. Analects, 15:20.
30--Ode no. 6.
31--Ode no. 173.
32--Ode no. 152.
33--Odeno. 172.
34--Ode no. 191.
35--1384–1112 b.c.
36--Heaven will accept their sacrifice, according to Cheng Hsüan, or can face Heaven, according to Chu Hsi.
37--Ode no. 235.
38--History, “Announcement of K’ang.” Cf. Legge, Shoo King, p. 397.
39--For this story see Book of Rites, “T’an-kung,” pt. 2. Cf. Legge, trans. Li Ki, vol. 1, p. 166.
40--History, “Declaration of Ch’in.” Cf. Legge, Shoo King, pp. 629-630.
41--Analects, 4:3.
42--The word ming, ordinarily meaning fate, here denotes negligence, according to Cheng Hsüan.
43--A worthy officer-in-chief of Lu.
44--This interpretation follows Cheng Hsüan’s commentary.
SPIRITUAL DIMENSIONS: THE DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN
1--The word “nature” appears only once in the Great Learning (ch. 10) and the word “mind” is not found in The Mean at all, except in Chu Hsi’s and Ch’eng I’s remarks.
2--Cf. The Mean, ch. 20 and Mencius, 4A:12; 7B:16.
3--Analects, 5:12.
4--The Mean, chs. 20-26, 32. Strangely enough, the subject of ch’eng is not discussed in the Analects.
5--For example, Fung Yu-lan. See his History of Chinese Philosophy, vol. 1, pp. 363, 370.
6--Originally a chapter in the Li chi (Book of Rites), evidently it existed in the early Han dynasty (206 b.c.–a.d. 220) independently. Moreover, commentaries in the Han and Liang (502-557) times were written on it as an independent work, although these commentaries are no longer extant. As in the case of the Great Learning, great interest in it arose in the Sung period (960-1279). Both Ssu-ma Kuang (1019-1086) and Ch’eng Hao (Ch’eng Ming-tao, 1032-1085) wrote commentaries on it
. But it was Chu Hsi who brought it into prominence. He redivided the old text, the one used in Cheng Hsüan’s (127-200) commentary, the Li chi cheng-i or Correct Meanings of the Book of Rites (in the Thirteen Classics Series), into thirty-three sections without altering the order of the text. Thus the text became much clearer. He accepted the account in Ssu-ma Ch’ien’s Shih-chi (Records of the Historian), ch. 47. (See French translation by Chavannes, Les mémoires historiques, vol. 5, p. 431), that Confucius’ grandson Tzu-ssu (492–431 b.c.) was the author. Many modern scholars refuse to accept the theory; some have dated it around 200 b.c. The work is not consistent either in style or in thought. It may be a work of more than one person over a considerable period in the fifth or fourth centuryb.c.English translations by Legge, “The Doctrine of the Mean,” and Ku Hung-ming, “Central Harmony,” follow Chu Hsi’s sectioning, while Hughes, “The Mean-in-Action,” follows the Cheng Hsüan text. In our translation, Chu Hsi’s arrangement is followed.
7--The term hsin-fa is Buddhist, meaning transmission from mind to mind without the use of words. Ch’eng borrowed the term but used it in an entirely different sense, taking hsin (mind) to mean “central,” and emphasizing the use of words.
8--I-shu (Surviving Works), 7:3b, 14:1a, 18:30a; Wai-shu (Additional Works), 11:1b, both in eccs.
9--Interpretation according to Cheng Hsüan, Chung-yung chu (Commentary on the Doctrine of the Mean).
10--Although none of the commentators in the Chung-yung chang-chü (Commentary on the Doctrine of the Mean) in the Ssu-shu ta-ch’üan (Great Collection of Commentaries on the Four Books) mentioned the name of the man, this refers to Yang Shih (Yang Kuei-shan, 1053-1135). In his Chung-yung huo-wen (Questions and Answers on the Doctrine of the Mean), Chu Hsi repeatedly commented on Yang’s theories. The particular remark in question, however, is not found in the Yang Kuei-shan chi (Collected Works of Yang Shih). It was probably transmitted orally and was well known to scholars.
11--The term chung-yung, literally “centrality and universality,” has been translated as moderation, the Mean, mean-in-action, normality, universal moral order, etc. According to Cheng Hsüan, yung means the ordinary and chung-yung means using the Mean as the ordinary way. According to Chu Hsi, it means neither onesided nor extreme but the ordinary principle of the Mean. The Mean is the same as equilibrium and harmony in ch. 1.
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