The Sayings Of Confucius Part 1

The Sayings Of Confucius.

by Confucius.

INTRODUCTION

Confucius was born in the year 550 B.C.,[1] in the land of Lu, in a small village, situated in the western part of the modern province of Shantung. His name was K'ung Ch'iu, and his style (corresponding to our Christian name) was Chung-ni. His countrymen speak of him as K'ung Fu-tzu, the Master, or philosopher K'ung. This expression was altered into Confucius by the Jesuit missionaries who first carried his fame to Europe.

[Footnote 1: According to the great historian Ssu-ma Ch'ien. Other authorities say, 552 and 551 B.C.]

Since the golden days of the Emperors Yao and Shun, the legendary founders of the Chinese Empire, nearly two thousand years had pa.s.sed.

Shun chose as his successor Yu, who had been his chief minister, a man whose devotion to duty was such that when engaged in draining the empire of the great flood--a task that took eight years to accomplish--he never entered his home till the work was done, although in the course of his labours he had thrice to pa.s.s his door. He founded the Hsia dynasty, which lasted till 1766 B.C. The last emperor of this line, a vile tyrant, was overthrown by T'ang, who became the first ruler of the house of Shang, or Yin. This dynasty again degenerated in course of time and came to an end in Chou, or Chou Hsin (1154-22 B.C.), a monster of l.u.s.t, extravagance, and cruelty. The empire was only held together by the strength and wisdom of the Duke of Chou, or King Wen, to give him his popular t.i.tle, one of the greatest men in Chinese history. He controlled two-thirds of the empire; but, believing that the people were not yet ready for a change, he refrained from dethroning the emperor. In his day 'the husbandman paid one in nine; the pay of the officers was hereditary; men were questioned at barriers and at markets, but there were no tolls; fishgarths were not preserved; the children of criminals were sackless. The old and wifeless--the widower; the old and husbandless--the widow; the old and childless--the lone one; the young and fatherless--the orphan; these four are the people most in need below heaven, and they have no one to whom to cry, so when King Wen reigned his love went out first to them' (Mencius, Book II, chapter 5). After his death, his son, King Wu, decided that the nation was ripe for change. He overcame Chou Hsin by force of arms, and, placing himself on the throne, became the founder of the Chou dynasty.

In the time of Confucius the Chou dynasty still filled the throne. But it had long since become effete, and all power had pa.s.sed into the hands of the great va.s.sals. The condition of China was much like that of Germany in the worst days of the Holy Roman Empire. The emperor was powerless, the various va.s.sal states were independent in all but name, and often at war one with the other. These states again were disintegrated, and their rulers impotent against encroaching feudatories. In Confucius' native state, Lu, the duke was a mere shadow. The younger branches of his house had usurped all power. Three in number, they were called the Three Clans. The most important of the three was the Chi, or Chi-sun clan, whose chiefs Chi Huan and Chi K'ang are often mentioned by Confucius. But the power of the Chi, too, was ill-secured. The minister Yang Huo overawed his master, and once even threw him into prison. Nor was the condition of the other states of the empire better than that of Lu. Confucius thought it worse.

Into this turbulent world Confucius was born. Though his father was only a poor military officer, he could trace his descent from the imperial house of Yin. Confucius married at nineteen, and is known to have had one son and one daughter. Shortly after his marriage he entered the service of the state as keeper of the granary. A year later he was put in charge of the public fields. In 527 B.C. his mother died, and, in obedience to Chinese custom, he had to retire from public life. When the years of mourning were over, he did not again take office, but devoted himself instead to study and teaching.

As the years rolled by his fame grew, and a band of pupils gathered round him. In 517 B.C. the anarchy in Lu reached such a pitch that Confucius moved to the neighbouring land of Ch'i. Here he had several interviews with the reigning duke, but met with little encouragement (xviii. 3). So he soon returned to his native country, and resumed for fifteen years his work as student and teacher.

During these fifteen years the power of the duke sank lower and lower, and the Chi was menaced by his minister Yang Huo. In times so dark, men that loved quiet sought in the world of thought an escape from the gloom around them, whilst others that were less resigned turned over in their minds the causes of the realm's decay. Lao-tzu, the founder of the mystic Taoist philosophy, taught that in inaction alone peace can be found; Mo-tzu proclaimed the doctrine of universal love: that we should love all men as we love self, love the parents of others as we love our own parents. Upright men were driven or fled from the world. Confucius often met them in his wanderings, and was reproved for not doing as they did. But his practical mind told him that inaction could not help the world, and that to find a remedy for the nation's ills, their cause must first be learned. This could only be done by historical study. He therefore devoted himself to the study of past times, edited in later life the _Book of History_, and compiled the work called _Spring and Autumn_, a history of his native state from 722 to 481 B.C. To bring again the golden days of Yao and Shun a return must be made to the principles of Wen and Wu, the kings that had rebuilt the empire after tyranny and selfishness had laid it low.

Of impracticable ideals and renunciation of the world no good could come.

At last in 501 B.C. Yang Huo was forced to flee from Lu, and prospects brightened. A year later Confucius was appointed governor of a town.

So great was his success as governor that before long he was promoted to be Superintendent of Works, and then to be Chief Criminal Judge. He won great influence with his master, and did much to lighten the general misery. He so strengthened the power of the duke that neighbouring states grew jealous. To sow dissension between duke and minister the men of Ch'i sent the duke a gift of singing girls. Such joy they gave him that for three days no court was held. On this Confucius left the land, 497 B.C.

For the next thirteen years Confucius wandered from land to land, followed by his disciples, seeking in vain for a ruler that was willing to employ him, and whom he was willing to serve. At times he was exposed to danger, at other times to want. But as a rule he was treated with consideration, although his teachings were ignored. Yet thirteen years of homeless wandering, of hopes deferred and frustrated, must have been hard to bear. When he left office Confucius was already fifty-three years old, and his life so far seemed a failure. The sense of his wasted powers may well have tempted him now and again to take office under an unworthy ruler; but knowing that no good could come of it he refrained, and probably he never seriously thought of doing so.

In 483 B.C., when Confucius was sixty-six years old, through the influence of his disciple Jan Yu, who was in the service of the Chi, the Master was invited to return to his native land. Here he remained till his death in 479 B.C. He had many interviews with the reigning duke and the head of the Chi clan, but gained no influence over either of them. So he turned once more to his favourite studies; edited the _Book of Poetry_--perhaps the most interesting collection of ancient songs extant--and wrote _Spring and Autumn_. His closing years were darkened by the loss of those dearest to him. First his son died, then Yen Yuan, the disciple whom he loved best. At his death the Master was overcome by grief, and he left none behind him that loved learning.

Lastly Tzu-lu, the frank and bold, was killed in battle. A little later, in his seventy-first year, Confucius himself pa.s.sed away, 479 B.C.

This book of the Master's Sayings is believed by the Chinese to have been written by the disciples of Confucius. But there is nothing to prove this, and some pa.s.sages in the book point the other way. Book viii speaks of the death of Tseng-tzu, who did not die till 437 B.C., forty-two years after the Master. The chief authority for the text as it stands to-day is a ma.n.u.script found in the house of Confucius in 150 B.C., hidden there, in all likelihood, between the years 213 and 211 B.C., when the reigning emperor was seeking to destroy every copy of the cla.s.sics. We find no earlier reference to the book under its present name. But Mencius (372-289 B.C.) quotes seven pa.s.sages from it, in language all but identical with the present text, as the words of Confucius. No man ever talked the language of these sayings. Such pith and smoothness is only reached by a long process of rounding and polishing. We shall probably come no nearer to the truth than Legge's conclusion that the book was put together by the pupils of the disciples of Confucius, from the words and notebooks of their masters, about the year 400 B.C.

LEONARD A. LYALL.

AMALFI,

_January, 1909_

THE SAYINGS OF CONFUCIUS

BOOK I

1. The Master said, To learn and then do, is not that a pleasure? When friends come from afar do we not rejoice? To live unknown and not fret, is not that to be a gentleman?

2. Yu-tzu[2] said. Few men that are good sons and good brothers are fond of withstanding those over them. A man that is not fond of withstanding those over him and is yet fond of broils is nowhere found. A gentleman heeds the roots. When the root has taken, the Way is born. And to be a good son and a good brother, is not that the root of love?

[Footnote 2: A disciple.]

3. The Master said, Smooth words and fawning looks are seldom found with love.

4. Tseng-tzu[3] said, Thrice daily I ask myself: In dealing for others, have I been unfaithful? Have I been untrue to friends? Do I practise what I preach?

[Footnote 3: A disciple.]

5. The Master said, To guide a land of a thousand chariots, honour business and be true; spend little and love men; time thy calls on the people.

6. The Master said, The young should be dutiful at home, modest abroad, careful and true, overflowing in kindness for all, but in brotherhood with love. And if they have strength to spare they should spend it on the arts.

7. Tzu-hsia[3] said, If a man eschews beauty and honours worth, if he serves his father and mother with all his strength, if he is ready to give his life for his lord, and keeps faith with his friends, though others may say he has no learning, I must call him learned.

8. The Master said, A gentleman will not be looked up to unless he is staid, nor will his learning be sound. Put faithfulness and truth first; have no friends unlike thyself; be not ashamed to mend thy faults.

9. Tseng-tzu[4] said, Heed the dead, follow up the past, and the soul of the people will again grow great.

[Footnote 4: A disciple.]

10. Tzu-ch'in[5] said to Tzu-kung,[6] When he comes to a country the Master always hears how it is governed; does he ask, or is it told him?

[Footnote 5: A disciple.]

[Footnote 6: A disciple.]

Tzu-kung said, The Master gets it by his warmth and honesty, by politeness, modesty and yielding. The way the Master asks is unlike other men's asking.

11. The Master said, Whilst thy father lives look for his purpose; when he is gone, look how he walked. To change nothing in thy father's ways for three years may be called pious.

12, Yu-tzu[7] said, To behave with ease is the best part of courtesy.

This was the beauty of the old kings' ways; this they followed in small and great. But knowing this, it will not do to give way to ease, unchecked by courtesy. This too is wrong.

[Footnote 7: A disciple.]

13. Yu-tzu said, If pledges are close to right, word can be kept. If attentions are close to courtesy, shame will be kept far. If we do not choose our leaders wrong, we may worship them too.

14. The Master said, A gentleman that does not seek to eat his fill, nor look for ease in his home, who is earnest at work and careful of speech, who walks with those that keep the Way, and is guided by them, may be said to love learning.

15. Tzu-kung[8] said, Poor, but no flatterer; rich, but not proud: how would that be?

[Footnote 8: A disciple.]

It would do, said the Master; but better still were poor but merry; rich, but loving courtesy.

Tzu-kung said, When the poem says:

If ye cut, if ye file, If ye polish and grind,