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CHINESE THOUGHT AN
EXPOSITION OF THE MAIN CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE CHINESE
WORLD-CONCEPTION
DR.
PAUL CARUS
BEING A CONTINUATION OF THE AUTHOR "CHINESE philosophy"
S
ESSAY
ILLUSTRATEP
CHICAGO THE OPEN COURT PUBLISHING COMPANY LONDON AGENTS KBGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER A 1907
CO., LTD.
Copyright by
The Open Court Publishing 1907.
Co.
——
TABLE OF CONTENTS. FAGK
Chinese Script
i
The Communication Thoughts,
of Thought,
2.
— Stock
Phrases and Staple
12.
Chinese Occultism.
25
—
—
The Yih System, 25. The Tablet of Destinj-, 33. Divination, 34. Urim and Thummim, 36. P'an-Ku, 40. The Five Elements, 41. Systems of Enumeration, 50. Feng-Shui, 55. Lo-Pan, 58. The Mariner's Compass a Chinese Invention, 64. The Personification of Stars, 66.
—
— Prehistoric
—
—
— —
—
Connections, 81.
Zodiacs of Different Nations
84
— Independent Parallels, — — Astrology and Kepler, 88-90. — Spread of the Babylonian Calendar, —Greek and Roman Calendars, —The Common Origin of All Zodiacs, — Sagittarius and Asur, 96-97. — Sagittarius, Scorpio and Mithras, 97-98. Ahura and Asur, 99-100. — Constellations Older Than the Twelve Mansions, 100-103. — Changes Names and Pictorial Representa103-107. — Christ, the Scarab of God, —The Chinese Zodiac, —The Twelve Mansions in China, 110-112.—The Twelve Primitive Interrelation of Mankind, 84. 84-86. Prehistoric Connections, 86-88.
90.
91.
94.
in
tions,
107.
108.
Double Hours, 111-112.
A
Throneless King AND His Empire. Confucius, 113.
—
113
.
Filial Piety, 122.
The Chinese Problem
136
—Rev. R. Morrison's Views, —China's National Novel,
Chinese Characteristics, 136. Glimpses of Chinese History, Social
Conditions,
164.
149.
—The Three Recognised Religions, —Western Insolence, —The Tai
Christian Missions, 169.
175.
140. 154.
166.
Ping
Rebellion, 178.—The Yellow Peril, 183.
Conclusion
187
CHINESE THOUGHT.
2
Herodotus informs us that King Darius when fighting the Scythians gave his orders to the lonians in the form of a leathern
thong with sixty knots in
in
it,
which they should expect
employed the
sians
thereby indicating the his return.
We
number of days
thus see that the Per-
same mnemo-technic means
that have been dis-
we
covered in several South Sea islands as well as in America, and
may
assume that the ancient Chinese knotted cords (chieh sheng)
also
were
in principle the same.
Knotted cords were replaced by notched bamboo
may
incised characters
in olden times
sticks,
and the
have been as primitive as are
mnemotechnic communications of the American Indians, such as prayer-sticks and such other pictorial writings as are
*
*
The
invention of writing in the proper sense of the
credited to Ts'ang
Hieh (^Sg),
also called Shih
the "Record Sovereign" because he saint of history in the
extant.
still
*
is
and archival documents.
twenty-eighth century B.
word
is
'Huang (^ ^),
the protector and patron
He
is
said to
have lived
C, and having ascended a mountain
overlooking the river Loh, he saw a divine tortoise rising from the water.
It
exhibited on
its
back mysterious tracings of
letters
which
"lay bare the permutations of nature to devise a system of written records,""
—a
report which imputes that he
saw the characters of
the five elements on the tortoise's back. It is
not impossible that Chinese writing has been introduced
from ancient Mesopotamia, a theory vigorously advocated by M. Terrien de Lacouperie, rejected by many, but, after probable to deserve serious consideration, for
many Chinese symbols
all,
sufficiently
we cannot deny
that
exhibit a remarkable similarity to the ideo-
grams of both ancient Babylonia and ancient Egypt, and remembering the fact that Chinese bottles have been discovered in Egyptian
tombs and also
in
Asia minor,
prehistoric days there
we cannot
must have been more
and a greater exchange of thought than
and
sufficiently difFerent to
II, p. 1780,
is
be easily deciphered.
help granting that in trade,
and more
The Standard
contains an illustration of the string alphabet.
•Mayers's Chinese Reader's Manual,
p. 228, I,
travel,
generally assumed.
No.
756.
Dictionary,
CHINESE
We
SCRIPT.
here reproduce from Garrick Mallery's work on Picture
Writing of the American Indians,^ a table of symbols which shows the cuneiform signs in three forms
;
pictorial, hieratic,
and
cursive,
the Chinese and the Eg}'ptian in parallel columns.
FictoridL HieraiiJC
Citrj^tve.,
Chinese, Egyptian
O
Siazc
HuncL.
=1 4
<><
!!< Corpse:.
^
-I
Wboct.
Cave^
,
illlB
K
T7cux.
W*
Bound-
ary
God
1-
Ear: IVater.
n
l?
1^)
Horn,.
III
+
^
T3~
MALLERY
A
Hair.
+
S
JDoor orGcctet
TABLE.
Comparison of the Cuneiform, Chinese, and Eg>'ptian Systems of Writing.
The words omitted
in the
Chinese column of Mr. Mallery's
''Ann. Rep. of the B. of Ethn., 1888-9, P- 675. from which it is taken. It may be
state the source
cawen, or M. T. Lacouperie.
Mr. Mallery does not from W. St. Chad, Bos-
CHINESE THOUGHT.
4
home) are not
table (God, ear,
less
remarkable instances than the
others.
to
The word "God"
is
judge merely from
its
well as in Egyptian
it
more
similar than
a
star,
appears
if
we were
In cuneiform writing as
external shape.
is
it
and the Chinese word shih
(^)
shows a horizontal dash and underneath three perpendicular wave This seems very different from the Babylonian and Egyptian
lines.
conceptions, but the Chinese character
from the sky" or
is
explained to
"celestial manifestation," the
mean
"light
dash on top meaning
"the heavens," and the three vertical lines depict the emanations in the form of rays.
The
character for "ear," in
its
present form Jp C^h), might
very well have originated from the Babylonian.
The same
is
true of
the Chinese character that denotes "field," or "farm land," which
may
very well be used in the sense of "homestead."
t'ien (
g
)
is in
principle the
same
The
character
as the pictorial Babylonian
and
the hieroglyphic Egyptian.
Further,
"corpse"
is
we have
to
explained as
Egyptian word for
add that the Chinese word meaning "body lying" and thus resembles the
"mummy" which
sented either as a standing or a lying
We
have to correct a mistake
"half" in Chinese
is
in
in different senses is repre-
mummy. Mr. Mallery's
table
;
the
word
not a cross, but either half a tree or the ideo-
gram "cow" combined with
the character "division."
means "completion" and the complete number of our
A
cross
fingers, viz.
ten.
Whether or not the theory of Lacouperie be is
tenable,
one thing
sure, that all three systems of writing, the Babylonian, the
tian,
and the Chinese, have begun with
Egyp-
pictorial representations of
the objects which, according to circumstances, were conventionalised in different ways.
The
writing material always influences the character of a script.
Thus, after the invention of brush and paper, the method of writing
down from
top to bottom
was
naturally retained, but the script
acquired that peculiar picturesque character of brush dashes which it still
possesses.
CHINESE SCRIPT.
The
hair brush
and tradition
states that General
writing with a brush,
tortoioc,
—a
^
kwei,
chi,
tsz',
Meng
T'ien
statement which
child,
chsriot,
(bamboo
called mao-pi, or simply pi
is
deer,
eleptutnt,
uang.
was
the inventor of
not impossible but
is
vase,
eye
hJU,
bo,
Inb,
pencil),*
shao,
muh.
PICTORIAL WRITING CONVENTION ALISED.t strange, for he
was the most
ordered
all
who on
the ancient books burned.
emperor who ruled from 259
until
Shih
is
the same
who
Hwang was
useless,
the laborers.
When
to
have committed
We
and General the
Emperor
Meng
rj
here reproduce a
Boundary (p)
revolve
* The character "brush" or "stylus."
t
time
Meng
and
at the
command T'ien
is
of
said
list
of ornamental Chinese characters rightly,
assumed to repre-
most ancient fonns of Chinese writing with a brush.
\QJ To
'
T'ien was in
died. General
first
suicide.*
which are commonly, and without doubt sent the
a warlike
under one scepter.
erected the great wall, so expensive
same time so
Ti,
punishment
capital
210 B. C, and for the
(in 222 B. C.) united the entire Chinese empire
He
Hwang
faithful servant of Shih
the great hater of ancient literature,
^
( 11] )
^J
To wrap
|]
Mountain
pi consists of the
J
radical
Reproduced from Williams's Middle Kingdom. See Mayers,
loc. cit.,
Nos. 597 and 497.
(-Q,)
(ilj)
"bamboo"' and the word
CHINESE THOUGHT.
\V,
J
Water (tK)
Grass
Grass River OH
)
Boy, Child (^^) iiii
Rain
m Rain
vi^
Constellation
S
Star
(later^
character)
Earth
(g)
(±)
A Elephant, Idea
Thread
(^) Thread
2>
(g)
Bird (.^)
9
/
^
(another fo'^m)
Wheat (^) Island 0>H)
^^
Tree
Wings
(
(;fc
Wood
(;^)
Forest
(^)
Wheel, Carriage ($)
rn
Field
)
^)
(ffl)
A L)
Boundary (3E)
h
One-half (half a tree)
(^)
CHINESE
f
Fruit
SCRIPT.
C
(^)
Q
Sun(0)
(:jf|)
Infant, Feeble
Weak
Moon (^ )
eh
Muscle
(infant
muscle) (^)
Male (muscle working Bright (Sun
in field)
and Moon) Bright (Moon shining in
""j" Complete, ten
window)
?
(^)
Evening (^)
Ci)
Many (^)
7
Middle
(cjj)
Above
(J^)
Below
(
I
Ear (5)
T)
I
Heart
(ȣ>)
Gate(n) Flesh
{^) Between (^)
Mouth (a)
Teeth
Teeth (later
form)
> ( /
\
^
Divide,
(A)
Eight
To
cut (-9.)
(^)
(-f-)
-
CHINESE THOUGHT.
Crooked (gg)
O—
^^n^^^^^css
Hatred (Crookedness
((((
W
Compare
r\ \^
Compare
W
Invert,
of heart) (3S)
:^ a»
-[-
Cow
it
Half (Cow divided) G^.)
•y^
Horns*
¥ ¥: S
(4.)
l\\^
¥
Sheep (^)
Justice
^|^(|
^she%) (^,
t?^
is
L ) '
change
Conversion
(
t.)
(>f|j)
Looking backward,
To
flee
before
enemy (North)
(;|b)
MuUitudef*)
Man(x)
Most of the symbols of the ary"
I
Manyf
(my sheep) (^)
^^^"'^
r\
(-f:;!)
list
a simple line of enclosure.
explain themselves.
"'Revolve"
is
a curve.
A
"bound-
The mean-
ing of the signs "to wrap," "mountain," "water," "river," "rain," "horns,"
"grass,"
"child,"
"constellation"
"wheat," "tree," "fruit," "sun," "moon,"
is
or
"star,"
"thread,"
symbols "elephant," "bird," "heart" require more imagination * This character does not exist in
t
Not used
in
modern Chinese.
The
obvious enough.
modern Chinese,
;
but
CHINESE SCRIPT. the original picture is
meant as a
slice
9 The word
recognisable in them.
is still
"flesh"
"Mouth," "teeth," "eye," are also
of meat.
The word "muscle"
tended to depict the objects.
in-
represents the
upper arm, and in connection with the word "weak" which originally
means
also "infant,"
acter consisting of
two
A
denotes "lack of strength."
it
representing two pieces cut
lines,
char-
means
off,
Later the character "knife," as the instrument by
"to divide."
which the division
to be
is
made, was added.
Crooked roads mean
"crooked" or "evil," and in combination with the word "heart"
have the word "hatred."
most prominent
we
In the symbol "cow" the horns form the
part, the
body being reduced
mere
to a
cross.
The
symbol "cow" combined with the symbol "division" means "half."
The
picture of a sheep
the rest
is
shows the symbol "horns" on the top while
scarcely recognisable.
The symbol "sheep"
combi-
in
nation with the symbol "mine" represents the character "justice,"
because the ancient Chinese were shepherds, and their main quarrels
were disputes about the ownership of sheep;
in courts of justice
and
their idea of beauty
The symbol "middle"
was expressed by "a sheep"
is
"below" and "above."
The
that
character "gate"
a picture of a
is
double doorway, and the character "between" shows a the
two posts of the
picture of a
the
window
The
gate.
"window" means it
world.
"bright," for
viz.,
The ideogram "moon,"
"evening," and
if
"moon"
The
or simply "many."
is
if
if
is
it
is
it
denotes "one-half," later on cel,"
and
The limiting
in the
is
is
read
represented by a horizontal line
If the tree it
in their
means "many evenings,"
is
of the earth
soil
the place on which to take a stand.
"wood," three trees "forest."
moon"
written in a special way,
on which a cross stands, implying that the stable;
the
the best light there
repeated
earth
mark between
"moon" and a moon shines into
character "sun" or
denotes "brightness," and "sun and
combination mean the same,
"great."
is
understood and so are the symbols
easily
Two
cut in two,
trees it
is
mean
originally
acquired the meaning "part or par-
finally "piece."
outline
two
map
fields
of a
mean
If the character
field
means
"field" or
"farm," and lines
"frontier" or "boundary."
"man," of which only the legs are
left,
has the
CHINESE THOUGHT.
lO
symbol "two" attached to
means the
it
it,
between two or several people,
relation
which obtains
"humanity," "humaneness," or
viz.,
One man or two men turned the other way means "to man upside down means "to invert," "to change." One man in his normal position, and the other upside down acquires the sense of "transformation" or "conversion." One man in a normal position and another man looking the other way means "kindness."
A
compare."
"north," for the Chinese determine directions by looking south; hence, to look backward three
character "eye," and thereby unit,"
i.
A
e.,
The symbol
means "north."
men means "many." To
symbol
this
is
consisting of
frequently attached the
acquires the meaning
it
"many
as a
"a multitude."
pretty instance of Chinese
word formation
is
the
word shu
(^), which means "book" or "treatise," and is composed of the characters "brush" and "speak," the idea being that it is a thing in
which "the brush speaks."
There are several
styles of
p.
Kingdom
here
(Vol.
II,
594) a table which shows at a glance their similarities and dif-
ferences. or, after
The most old-fashioned the name of the inventor,
official style,
style is called "the seal script,"
Chiien Shu.
The second
monly considered the most elegant form of writing.
most
is
the
or Lieh Shu, used for engrossing documents and com-
called the pattern or
is
we
Chinese script (shu), and
reproduce from Professor Williams's Middle
normal
style {Kiai
Shu)
;
because
clearly the essential' character of Chinese writing.
The it
third
is
preserves
The
fourth
a shorthand and demotic style called cursive script or Hing^'^ Shu,
much used in practical life. read, as many lines are run
It is
ness of the original character. script or
Tsao Shu.
It is
the most difficult for foreigners to
together, thus obliterating the distinct-
The
fifth style is called
the grass
almost an approach to the easy hand of
Under its name may be translated "fancy style." Sung dynasty a new style was adopted which is practically the same as the normal style, only showing more regularity, and it is
the Japanese, and the
"Hing means means "element."
"to walk," "to run";
and as a noun the same character
CHINESE SCRIPT.
II
Sung
Fancy
Cursive
Normal
Official
Seal
style
style
style
style
style
style
Writing
i^-^
^^
has
5?
m
styles,
-3?
^
VIZ.,
seal.
^ H
-^
1^
B
EJ
^i E7
M
VIZ.,
official.
VIZ.,
normal.
R
VIZ.,
2^^
If
13
5t "S5
NZ7
running or cursive.
El
R
!/'t
n
BJ
J^ f^ SIX DIFFERENT STYLES OF CHINESE WRITING. (Reproduced from Williams's Middle Kingdom.)
VIZ.,
grass or
fancy
VIZ.,
Sung.
CHINESE THOUGHT.
12
commonly
called
Sung Shu which has become
modem
the pattern of
Chinese print.
The
writing of Chinese requires eight different kinds of dashes,
and the word yung (^), "eternal," contains
become the
significant character accordingly has
which Chinese scholars %
^
Horizontal
Perpen-
•^
_J.
Hook Dash
the lines is
its
mark
lower end a dot
sweep
downward
in the
line is called
SCRIPT.
comma
a fat upward
is
is
A
line. is
added dash
Further there
by joining to
to the perpendicular is
a short horizontal
upward a
called a sweep,
Among
called dot.
horizontal and a perpendicular.
a hook, which latter
ing line
Curve
Spike
dicular
like
we have a
^
'
Sweep
THE ELEMENTS OF CHINESE little
-^^
Ji-
-i.
/
The
word with
typical
start their calligraphic lessons.
^<^ Dot
This
of them.
all
A taper-
line.
spike,
and a smaller
shape of a big downward comma, stroke.
A
crooked
a curve.
STOCK PHRASES AND STAPLE THOUGHTS. The Chinese
are in the habit of propounding their favorite
They
notions and beliefs in enumerations. the mathematical conception of
agree with Pythagoras
who
are so accustomed to
Yang and Yin
finds in
number
that they
would
the explanation of the
world.
The Chinese speak
of the Hang
i,
the
e.,
i.
two primary forms
representing the positive and negative principles.
speak of the two great luminaries, sun and presiding over
two
men
first
war and
peace, the
dynasties, viz., the
The number rations.
;
the
two emperors of
Hsia and Yin
that hailed the advent. of the
moon
Chow
;
Further they
two
divinities
antiquity, the
and the two venerable
dynasty,
etc.
"three" plays an important part in Chinese enume-
There are three systems of
religion
authorised by the
government: Confucianism, or the system of the Literati ((^)
;
Bud-
CHINESE SCRIPT. dhism, or the system of Shakya of
Lao Tze
sun, the
Muni (^)
13
Taoism or the system
;
There are three kinds of heavenly
(jf).
moon, and the
stars.
light: of the
In Chinese ethics there are three
forms of obedience: of a subject toward his sovereign, of the son
toward his father, of a wife toward her husband. mental qualities (fi
understanding
There are three
(H), memory (E)' gems worshipped by
of a student: application
)
There are the three
(^).
There are
Buddhists, the Buddha, the Dhaima, and the Sangha.
THE THREE GEMS OF BUDDHISM. three pure ones or precious ones worshipped in the Taoist temples,
probably in imitation of the Buddhist
monial rituals
;
one
in
There are three
trinity.
worshipping heavenly
spirits,
cere-
another in wor-
shipping spirits of the earth, and the third one in worshipping the spirits of ancestors.
goat, the pig.
There are three
sacrificial
There are three holy men
:
animals
:
the ox, the
Yao, Shun, and
Yii.
There are three auspicious constellations: the constellation of happiness,
the
constellation
of emolument, and the constellation of
:
CHINESE THOUGHT.
14
There are three kinds of abundance that
longevity.
is
desirable:
abundance of good fortune, abundance of years, abundance of sons
There are three powers
man (A)-
7t) of nature: heaven
(H
earth (j^),
(^),
There are three regions of existence, the heavens, the
There are three degrees of kinship.
earth and the waters.
Fur-
ther there are three penal sentences: the death penalty, corporeal
There are three tribunals of
punishment, and imprisonment.
board of punishments, the court of judicature or appellate
tice: the
and the censorate or supreme court.
court,
of taxation
and
jus-
:
land taxation, a service of twenty days labor each year,
There are three great rivers the Yellow
tithes of the produce.
:
River, the Loh, and the
Kwang Tung,
There are three great river
I.
Yang Tse Kiang, and
the Valley of the
Hi, Shen Nung, and
Fuh
defiles:
the defiles
There are three primordial
of the Si Ling on the Yellow River.
sovereigns:
There are three forms
Hwang
In addition
Ti.
there are innumerable sets of three in the literature of the Confucianists, the
Buddhists, the Taoists, and also in history.
The number "four"
is
not less frequent.
rants and four divisions of the heavens
;
We
the East
have four quadis
the division of
the azure dragon, the North of the somber warrior, the South of the Vermillion bird, and the
West
of the white tiger.
four supernatural creatures considered as endowed with
or unicorn, feng
(^)
lin
(E)
The
and lung (t|) or dragon.
(® )
:
ink
(
g
)
,
paper
(
or phoenix, kwei
or tortoise,
scholar possesses four treasures
f^) brush (gt ,
(^)
There are spirituality
)
,
and ink slab (x^) ."
There
are four figures which originate by combining the two primordial essences in groups of two, the great yang, the small yang, the great
There are four cardinal points and four
yin and the small yin.
members
of the
human
Instances of the
(5
ia)
:
ity (Ijt),
of
life
longevity the love
(^
"The
1^ •^).
frame.
number
"five" are above
all
the five blessings
a)» peacefulness ()^) and serenof virtue (i\Xt(f-Wi), and a happy consummation There are five eternal ideals ( i?;) humaneness
(M)>
riches
(
:
Chinese have no ink stand but use a slab upon which they rub it as does a painter from a palette.
their ink, taking
CHINESE SCRIPT. (il), uprightness (^), propriety fulness
(
^)
There are
five
There are
five
.
metal, earth.
,
insight
(^),
elements
(
£
^T
)
•
cardinal relations
(^
between sovereign and subject ( ;$^ If. )
1$
(^), and water,
There are
five genii
and of winter.
:
(^
ig
),
faith-
wood,
among mankind:
g), between father and son
between elder brother and younger brother
tween husband and wife
fire,
(^
f^), be-
between friend and friend
(^ ^).
of spring, of summer, of mid-year, of autumn,
There are
five beasts
There are
goat, the pig, the dog, the fowl.
azure, white, yellow.
used for offerings
There are
five
:
the ox, the
five colors: black, red,
classes of spiritual beings:
-^^ S,
* ,£< "T THE FIVE
THE
IDEALS.
•ghosts or disembodied
human
spirits,
tial
and
FIVE BLESSINGS.
spiritual
beings living in this world, deified spirits the material world
T
life in
five attributes of existence:
and knowledge.
five tastes, five five
notes of
There are
harmony
kinds of charioteering,
and the
celes-
heaven, There are five planets:
Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, and Saturn.
ness, action,
departed from
live in the islands of the blest,
gods who enjoy perpetual
enumerate
men, immortalised
who have
Further the Buddhists
form, perception, consciousfive
degrees of feudal rank,
in music, five sacred
five colors
mountains,
of clouds, five ancient em-
perors, five imperial courts, five kinds of
mourning,
etc., etc.
CHINESE THOUGHT.
i6
NORMAL
STYLE.
A NEW YEAr's CARD.*
GRASS STYLE.
THE CHARACTER ^BLESSING."
£ is THE FIVE
BATS.
(After a Tibetan picture.)
The deity Wen Ch'ang come from heaven.
points upward, indicating that
all
blessings
CHINESE SCRIPT.
The
characters which stand for the five blessings, and also the
five eternal ideals, are naturally the
China.
They
most popular symbols
all
over
are used for congratulations and are inscribed upon
Among them
wall pendants as ornaments. ity"
17
and "blessing" are most used of
all.
the characters "longev-
They appear upon
the
decanters of convivial meetings; they are written on the bottom of tea cups; they are
wrought
into artistic forms of furniture; they
\.
CHINESE SAUCER WITH PHOENIX AND DR.\GON. The centre contains the character fu "blessing." are used for buckles, on pins, on dresses, and as ornaments of every description.
Blessing
is
called
fxi
in Chinese,
which
is
of fu meaning "bat," and so the five blessings,
an exact homophone
wu
fu, are frequently
represented by five bats.
The word *
"longevity"
The diphthong eu
nental pronunciation, as
in
sheu
is
is
commonly to be
transcribed by sheu,* and
pronounced separately and
EngUsh ay and with following
m.
in conti-
Giles transcribes
i8
CHINESE THOUGHT.
means "old
age, years, a long and prosperous
dure, forever,"
etc.,
and
is
life,
birthday, to en-
also euphemistically used for "death."
.The popularity of the word exceeds every other perhaps language, and the character
and
in
is
in
any
conspicuous in China everywhere
innumerable variations.
As an
instance of this tend-
ency we reproduce the adjoined
=sr
v±'
^I'^l ifi «>*li
B€ DE
which
illustration,
-i-
^77
if^
ISv
ic^af
is
a photo-
graph of the upper part of one of three tablets containing speci-
mens
of ornamental characters
meaning 000
r:^
(^;
SOS
^
Wi ^(
~ ^.
sJien,
characters are over two inches
m m
mother of
±4±
a red background.
sc
3i^
The
"long life"
in
height,
and
are
made
pearl, in high relief,
On
different
m ^ mm m m m II m m us 1
The
characters.
on
the three
tablets there are altogether
h?\
of
i8o tab-
.#=.
ill
Ml
)Ǥ{
gi^l
lets
belonged to the leader of the
T'ai Ping, the Christian Chinese
who rebelled against the present Manchu dynasty and sect
were subdued with the
assist-
ance of General Gordon.
They
passed into the hands of Julius Saur,
who was
at
that time a
resident of Shanghai,
went to Nanking,
in
company with Captain Fishborn,
when he
to treat for
peace.
The meaning secular
of the symbol "longevity"
meaning of long
life
religious signification verging
is
not limited to the
in this world, but is
endowed with
on the idea of immortality among
Western peoples. the
word
"scholar")
The character consists of radical 33 (pronounced see, i. e., and eleven additional strokes made up of the words "old," "to
shou.
speak" and "word."
CHINESE SCRIPT.
The
star of longevity is
Ancient traditions of the West,
who
tell
Canopus, which
19 is
a of Argo.
Wang Mu, the Royal Mother Kwun Lun Mountains, possesses a
us that Si
lives in the
peach-tree bearing fruit but once in three thousand years.
From
the
m^ THE LONGEVITY SYMBOL peaches of this tree the elixir of reason
why
the peach
iiS
IN DIFFERENT STYLES.
life
can be
distilled,
symbolises longevity.
and
this is the
Other symbols of
longevity are the pine-tree, the crane, and the tortoise.*
*For 56-57-
special reference see
De
Groot's Religious Systems of China, pp.
CHINESE THOUGHT.
20
Of
enumerations
accomplishments
:
in sets of six
intelligence,
forms of writing: the style, the
will only
mention the six
humanity, holiness, sincerity, mod-
and benignity; further the
eration (keeping the middle path),
normal
we
six
seal character, the ancient official style, the
cursive style, the grass style, and the printer's
style.
There are fewer enumerations of seven than might be expected.
We mention the
seven sages in the
bamboo grove,
the seven
precious things (Sapta Ratna) of the Buddhists, the seven primary wy.'
THE CHARACTER
^ ON
CUFF BUTTON.
notes of music, the seven stars of Ursa
LONGEVITY PIN.
Major commonly
dipper," the seven apertures of the head
mouth; the seven luminaries:
sun,
:
called "the
ears, eyes, nostrils,
moon, and the
and
five planets; the
seven emotions: joy, anger, grief, fear, love, hatred, desire.
The most important The figure "nine" is one
in the center,
set of eight is the eight kzva or trigrams.
represented as the nine heavens, situated,
and the eight remaining ones
sions of the compass.
in the eight divi-
There are further nine degrees of
official
CHINESE
21
SCRIPT.
rank, and nine divisions of the Great Plan, an ancient Chinese state
document.
LONGEVITY
CANDELABRUM WITH LONGEVITY AND "happiness" SYMBOLS.
DECANTER.
LONGEVITY CHOPSTICK HOLDER-
There are ten canonical books the Book of Changes, the Book :
of History, the
Book of Odes,
the Record of Rites, the Ritual of the
^
CHINESE THOUGHT.
22
Chow
Dynasty, the Decorum Ritual, the Annals of Confucius, the
Three Commentaries, the Conversations of Confucius (Lun and the Book of
Filial Piety.
Yii),
There are ten commandments and ten
heinous offences.
Of
twelve
we have
the twelve animals of the duodenary cycle
called rat, ox, tiger, hare, dragon,
cock, dog,
and
pig.
They
serpent, horse, goat,
preside, each one over a special
monkey, hour of
the day and the night and are supposed to exercise an influence
There are further
peculiar to the character of the several animals.
'
--•
-;,
-.,
—
—
^
-,
BUCKLE WITH CHARACTERS
.;
,
.,
_.
^——
:
:
,
LONGEVITY
AND
BLESSING.
twelve months, corresponding to the twelve divisions of the
and the Buddhists speak of the twelve Nidanas or links
ecliptic,
in the chain
of causation.
The
figure "twenty-eight"
of a lunar month.
is
important as the number of days
Accordingly, the heavens are divided into twenty-
eight constellations or stellar mansions, and
it
is
noteworthy that
four days in the twenty-eight, corresponding to the Christian Sunday, have been signified as resting-days and are denoted by the
character
mi
(igg
Q) which
has been traced to the Persian Mitlira
CHINESE and proves
that, in
SCRIPT.
23
remote antiquity, Mithraism must have exercised
an influence upon Chinese
habits.^-
CRAXE AXD Symbols of long
life.
TORTOISE.'^
(Bronze candlestick.)
These enumerations are not accidental and indifferent notions, but form the staple thoughts of Chinese ethics. " See Mr. A. Wylie's article on the subject Foo Qiow, June and July numbers, 1871. *
The
tortoise drags along the
moss
that has
in
They have become the Chinese Recorder,
grown on
its
back.
CHINESE THOUGHT.
24
fundamental principles of Chinese morality and constitute the back-
bone of the convictions of every half-way educated inhabitant of
Whatever
China.
know
their station in life
these ideas, they bear
them
in
may
be, all
Chinese people
mind and allow
their lives to
be determined by the conception of the five eternal ideals, the virtues, the five blessings, etc.
They
five
recognise in nature the funda-
THE LONGEVITY GARMENT.* mental contrast of
Yang and Yin
as having originated
from the
great origin and believe that the moral world of social conditions is
all
governed by the same law. the
demands of
respected,
vance of
*
page
hsiao,
i.
Their highest ambition
e., "filial
piety."
and even the lower classes are punctilious
all
is
Scholarship
to is
fulfil
highly
in the obser-
rules of propriety.
Reproduced from Professor De Groot's Religious Systems of China, 60.
CHINESE OCCULTISM. BELIEF in the
in
mysterious agencies characterises a certain period
Even
rehgious development of every nation.
the Jews,
among the Semites by their soberness, consulted Yahveh through the Urim and Thummim, an oracle the nature of which Kindred institutions among most is no longer definitely known.
distinguished
nations are based in
upon primitive animism, or a
belief in spirits, but
China we have a very peculiar mixture of logical clearness with
fanciful superstitions.
Chinese occultism
is
based upon a rational,
nay a philosophical, or even mathematical, conception of existence.
An
original rationalism has here
engendered a most luxurious growth
of mysticism, and so the influence of occultism the Middle
upon the people of
Kingdom has been prolonged beyond measure.
THE YIH SYSTEM. Among
the ancient traditions of China there
of symbols called the yih
(^
),
i.
e.,
THE TWO PRIMARY FORMS* (lIANG
Old form
* It
is
a unique system
"permutations" or "changes," i).
THB YANG
THE VIH
o
•
the term Liang I. One might call the two word were not used in another sense. The two / are commonly referred to as "Elementary Forms" or "Primary Forms." De Groot speaks of them as "Regulators." is
difficult to translate
/ "elements," if that
CHINESE THOUGHT.
26 which consists of
all
Hang
e.,
i
(^ ^),
i.
possible combinations of
the
tive principle, yin (I^),
two elements,
called
two elementary forms, which are the negaand the positive
yang (^). The
principle,
four possible configurations of yang and yin in groups of two are called ssu shiang (gg |^),
i.
"the four [secondary] figures";
e.,
all
further combinations of the elementary forms into groups of three
or more are called
kwa (^).
In English, groups of three elementary
forms are commonly called trigrams, and groups of
The book corded,
was
in
six,
hexagrams.
which the permutations of yang and yin are
writing, a class of literature briefly called king in Chinese.
known under the title of Yih King. The Yih King is one of the most ancient, most
the book
re-
raised in ancient times to the dignity of a canonical
Hence
is
mysterious documents in the world.
curious,
and most
more mysterious than the
It is
pyramids of Egypt, more ancient than the Vedas of India, more curious than the cuneiform inscriptions of Babylon.
In the earliest writings, the yang a white disk and the yin as a black one
generally represented as
is ;
but later on the former
replaced by one long dash denoting strength, the latter by
two
dashes considered as a broken line to represent weakness. are
still
Map
used for diagrams, as in the
Loh, but the
later
of
Ho
is
short
Disks
and the Table of
method was usually employed, even before Con-
kwa combinations. The trigrams are endowed with symbolical meaning according the way in which yin and yang lines are combined. They apply
fucius, for picturing
to
and so
to all possible relations of life
their significance varies.
Since olden times, the yih system has been considered a philosophical and religious panacea to
yih
answer is
all
;
questions, to heal
it is
all
believed to solve ills.
He who
all
problems,
understands the
supposed to possess the key to the riddle of the universe.
The
yih
is
The elements
capable of representing of the yih,
yang
all
combinations of existence.
the positive principle
and yin the
Yang means Yang is the principle of heaven yin, the principle of the earth. Yang is the sun, yin is the moon. Yang is masculine and active yin is feminine and passive. The
negative principle, stand for the elements of being. "bright," and yin, "dark."
;
;
«
CHINESE CCCULTISM. ••_
1^ s
o§s
^u 3 Q
8 a
s X
CO
v
>»
3
(fl
H
Z
"H^
!« bo
5"
-o
27 u 2 a,
a
w !" l-i
^c3
"^
(a
bo
5 S
">,
'0
a
a
.a
"H.
J
3
3
3
II
a
< OS
Q
E o
m z < u & M
§ M
00
'a
>^
;5)
'C
^
c .2 '5
^
c
.$>
B
u 3
0:
CO
ts 0)
5
D
^
1!.
V
t:
« n n rt
OS
.Q
iS
•- -a - M
-
^^
^S —
to
>,
5? So u
S
3
a
«3 -"
oT'-^ •^ 3)
•o
-o
"5
^s
w ca c3
a >^
-5 >^
3 C
ii
S
©** o *
> b B 9
CO
•H
K
li) Q=
«^^
550-3 h.o c 2
2
Sega, >*>
tn
n 3 CO
Major NAME
1
1
^ ° n
"S
«
s
4>
5
Sm
s
^0
c Q
^
." O .; -^
—
;
"•
<0
c o o
. >.
-TS
i«
-
-" u
=*
C.2,
Yanj?
1
1
II
1
1
II
««« SYM
o
c _o
tj
«
;
CHINESE THOUGHT.
28 former yin
is
is
motion
;
the latter
Yang
is rest.
is
The
mild, pliable, submissive, wifelike.
and the different mixture
of, these
strong, rigid, lordlike
struggle between,
two elementary
contrasts, con-
dition all the differences that prevail, the state of the elements, the
nature of things, and also the character of the various personalities as well as the destinies of
The Yih King
human
{!^ Jf )
early as the year 1122 B.
dynasty, where
we
beings.
we
very old, for
is
C,
find
it
mentioned as
in the official records of the
read that three different recensions of the
Chou work
THE EIGHT KWA FIGURES AND THE BINARY SYSTEM. MEAMNGS OF THE CHINESE
TRANSCRIPTION
WORD*
(8 Si
%
01
< M
< D S5
to
ch'ien
^
at
come
out; to rise, sunrise;
vigr-
orous; (present meaning:) dry.
111
tui
to weigh; to barter; permeable.
no
li
to separate.
101
chan
to quake; to thunder.
100
sun
peaceful; a stand or pedestal.
on
k'an
a
pit; to
kan
a
limit; to stop; ijerverse.
001
kw'un
earth; to nourish; yielding.
000
dig a
010
pit.
* A native student of the Yih system does not connect the usual meaning of the word with the names of the eight Kwas, and we insert here a translation of the character only for the sake of completeness.
were extant, the Lien Shan, the Kwei Ts'ang and the Yih of Chou,^ of which, however, the last one alone has been preserved.
This Yih of Chou, our present Yih King, exhibits two arrange-
ments of the kwa
figures, of
which one
is
attributed to their origi-
*Lien Shan means "mountain range" and by some is supposed to be a de plume of Shen Nung (i. e. "divine husbandman"), the mythical ruler Others identify of ancient China (2737-2697 B. C), successor to Fuh-Hi. Lien Shan with Fuh-Hi. Kwei Ts'ang means "reverted hoard" and may have been simply an inversion of the Lien Shan arrangement. Its invention is assigned to the reign of Hwang Ti, "the Yellow Emperor," the third of the three rulers, (2697-2597 B. C), a kind of a Chinese Numa Pompilius. The Chou redaction of the Yih, which is the latest one, is named after the Chou
nom
dynasty.
CHINESE OCCULTISM. nator, the legendary Fuh-Hi,= the other to is
also called Feng,* "wind,"
and
and Tai
Wen
Fuh-Hi
Wang.'
Ho,"* "the great celestial,"
he lived, according to Chinese records, It
29
from 2852
to
2738 B. C.
speaks well for the mathematical genius of the ancient found-
ers of Chinese civilisation that the original order of the yih, attributed to
Fuh-Hi, corresponds closely to Leibnitz' Binary System of
metic.
we
If
let
the yin represent
o and the yang,
i,
that the eight trigrams signify the first eight figures
arranged
in their
upward.
Leibnitz
it
arith-
appears
from
0-7,
proper arithmetical order, and read from below
knew
the yih and speaks of
it
in
terms of high
FUH-HI. Indeed
appreciation.
it
is
not impossible that
it
suggested to him
his idea of a binary system.
While Fuh-Hi's system
Wang's
is
reason that
exhibits a mathematical order,
based upon considerations of occultism.
Fuh-Hi (by which name we understand
or founder of a school, that invented the yih)
may
It
Wen
stands to
that school,
not have grasped
the full significance of his symbols in the line of abstract thought
and especially
in
'i^
mathematics, but
'Xi
we must
grant that he was a
1
CHINESE THOUGHT.
30 mathematical genius,
if
further details our information
The
case
is
Wen Wang,
different with
The
personal
name
of
for his life
his character
Wen Wang
(i.
Hsi-Peh, which means "Western Chief."
e.,
1
is
inscribed
well-known.
is
the "scholar-king")
He was
Chou, one of the great vassals of the empire, and to
to
limited to legends.
is
on the pages of Chinese history and
is
As
not in fact, certainly potentially.
the
lived.
Duke
of
from 123
In his time the emperor was Chou-Sin, a degenerate
135 B. C.
debauche and a tyrant, the
last of the
Yin dynasty, who oppressed
the people by reckless imposition and provoked a just rebellion.
Wen Wang
offended him and was long kept in prison, but his son
THE TRIGRAMS AS FAMILY RELATIONS.
MOTHER
FATHER
Son
Second Son
==
——
Eldest
Fa, surnamed Sin,
Wu
Youngest Son
Eldest
Daughter
Youngest Daughter
——
== Wang, being
forced into a conflict with Chou-
overthrew the imperial forces.
his palace
Second Daughter
The
which had been ignited by
tyrant died in the flames of
his
own
hands.
assumed the government and became the founder of
Wu
Wang"
the. Chou dy-
nasty which reigned from 1122 until 225 B. C,
Wen Wang
was
a
man
a hankering after occultism,
of earnest moral intentions, but with
During
his
imprisonment he occupied
himself in his enforced leisure with the symbols of the yih, and
found much comfort cover in them.
•Wu Wang died
1 1
16 B. C.
in the divinations
When
which he believed
to dis-
he saw better days he considered that the
was born 1169 B.
C.
;
he became emperor
in 1122 B. C.
am!
CHINESE OCCULTISM. prophecies were
fulfilled,
came more and more
The
and
3I
meaning be-
his faith in their occult
firmly established.^
eight permutations of the trigrams apparently
They have been an
Yih King.
plation since time
immemorial and their significance
various ways.
The
form the
object of contem-
oldest part of the
is
set forth in
trigrams consisting of three yang lines are
called the unalloyed yang,
and of three yin
In the mixed groups the place of honor
is
lines,
the unalloyed yin.
at the bottom,
are conceived as family relations, the unalloyed
and
if
they
yang represents
N.
\^
^ W.
ARRANGEMENT OF TRIGRAMS ACCORDING the father
and the unalloyed
yin, the
mother.
TO*
FUH-HI.
The
three sons are
represented by the trigrams containing only one yang; the eldest
son having yang in the lowest place, the second in the middle, and the third
on
top.
The corresponding trigrams with same way the three daughters.
only one yin
line represent in the
The trigrams in
are also arranged both by FCih-Hi and
the form of a mariner's compass. Mayers, Chinese Reader's Manual,
In the system of
p. 177.
Wen Wang Fuh-Hi
the
CHINESE THOUGHT.
32
unalloyed yin stands at the north, the unalloyed yang at the south.
The
others are so arranged that those which correspond to
i,
2,
3,
of Leibnitz' Binary System proceed from north through west to
south in regular order, while
corresponding places in the
4,
5, 6,
east.
start
from south taking the
In this mathematical arrange-
ment we always have the opposed configurations so as to
have for each place
respond with a yin
line
in
every opposite
and vice versa; while
Winter
^.
in opposite quarters,
kwa
a yang line cor-
they are expressed
if
-
||(ra
^
^'
Summer s.
ARRANGEMENT OF TRIGRAMS ACCORDING TO WEN WANG. in
numbers of the binary system,
their
sums are always equal
to
seven.
Wen Wang
rearranged the trigrams and abandoned entirely
The following quo-
the mathematical order attributed to Fuh-Hi. tation
from the Yih King evinces the occultism which influenced
his thoughts: "All things
sponds to the
endowed with
east.
They are
corresponds to the southeast.
life
in
Li
have their origin
in chan, as
harmonious existence is
chan corre-
in siuen because siucn
brightness and renders
all
things visible
CHINESE OCCULTISM. to one another, being the
from which
all
mid-autumn.
Ch'ien
kwa which
is
kwa
the
Kan
is
the
kwa
K'an
of the northwest.
and unto
it
is
the earth
Tui corresponds to
receive food.
life
of the exact north representing distress, life reverts.
Kw'un
represents the south.
endowed with
things
33
water, the
is
kwa
of
endowed with
ever>'thing
of the northeast where living things both rise
and terminate."
Since this
new arrangement
absolutely dependent on occult
is
must appear quite arbitrary from the
considerations, the grouping
standpoint of pure mathematics.
It is
natural that with the growth
of mysticism this arbitrariness increases and the original system is
lost sight of.
The
yin and yang elements are supposed to be the product of
a differentiation
from the
t'ai
chih, "the
grand
limit,"
e.,
i.
the ab-
solute or ultimate reality of all existence, which, containing both
\ang and yin grand
in potential efficiency, existed in the beginning.
pure yang as ether or
limit evolved the
tated the
Milky Way, shaping the
while the yin coagulated and sank earth contained
visible
down
enough of the yang
to
air,
The
which precipi-
heaven or firmament;
form the
to produce heat
But the
earth.
and
life.
Some
unalloyed yang particles rose to form the sun, while correspondingly other unalloyed yin particles produced the moon, the naries,
which
in their turn
begot the fixed
two great lumi-
stars.
THE TABLET OF DESTINY. At the beginning of Chinese histor\' stands a tablet which in some mysterious way is supposed to be connected with an explanation of the universe.
thinkers and
of the
kwa
is
It
has been reconstructed by later Chinese
pictured in the hands of
Fuh-Hi as an arrangement
Yih King.
figures preserved in the
Considering the
several traces of Babylonian traditions in ancient Chinese literature
and folklore, would
not be justifiable to identify the tablet of
it
Fuh-Hi with the ancient Babylonian "Tablet of Destiny" mentioned in the Enmeduranki Text, a copy of which was discovered in the archives of Asurbanipal-** and of
was
said to contain the
Heaven and Earth?" * K2486 and K4364
;
cf
.
Zimmem, KAT*
533.
"Mystery
CHINESE THOUGHT.
34
Enmeduranki, king of Sippar,
is
the seventh of the aboriginal
kings, and he declares that he received the divine tablet
and
[Bel,
"from Anu,
Ea]."-^^
Chinese sages have their
own
interpretation of. the phrase "the
They would
mystery of heaven and earth."
at
once associate the
words "heaven" and "earth" with the two opposing principles yang and
yin,
and the question
was not a
there
whether among the ancient Sumerians
is
similar tendency prevalent.
It
possible that the Chinese tablet in the hands of
seems
Fuh-Hi
as the "Tablet of Destiny" of the Sumerians, and
of this mysterious tablet, he
on the
be not imis
the same
when some Assy-
informed himself of the primitive Chinese conception
riologist has
light
to
may
be able to throw some additional
subject.
DIVINATION.
An
explanation of the universe which derives
between things, conditions,
relations, etc.,
must have appeared very
ture,
China, and
we
appreciate their
all
distinctions
from differences of mix-
plausible to the ancient sages of
acumen when we consider
that even
to-day advanced Western scientists of reputation attempt to explain the universe as a congeries of force-centers, acting either by attraction or repulsion in analogy to positive
On
and negative
electricity.
the ground of this fact the educated Chinese insist with
more
than a mere semblance of truth, that the underlying idea of the Chinese world-conception
Western
results of
While scientific,
apply
it
it
we
is
is
fully
borne out and justified by the
science.
obvious that the leading idea of the yih
is
quite
observe that as soon as the Chinese thinkers tried to
a priori without a proper investigation of cause and effect,
they abandoned more and more the abstract (and
we may
purely mathematical) conception of the yang and yin, to occultism,
and used the yih for divination purposes.
fell
say, the
victims
When we
compare the vagaries of the occultism of the yih with the accom" Anu, Bel, and Ea are the Sumerian trinity. The words Bel and Ea are on the tablet and have been restored by an unequivocal emendation. A doubtful word of the tablet has been translated by "omen" which presupposes that the translator regards the tablet as a means of divination. illegible
CHINESE OCCULTISM.
3'5
we may feel very wise and superior, we should not forget that it was the same fallacious argument wrong analogy which produced in China the many superstitious
plishments of Western science, but of
practices of the yih,
and
alchemy, and magic. in the
in the histor}- of
our
civilisation, astrology,
These pseudo-sciences were taken seriously
world of thought throughout the Middle Ages and began to
be abolished only after the Reformation with the rise of genuine
astronomy, genuine chemistry, and genuine nature
science..
If the
A DIVINATION OUTFIT. Chinese are wrong
we must remember that there was we made the same mistake. The Chinese outfit for divination consists of fifty •
and six small oblong blocks
"divining-sticks"
a time
when
stalks called
to represent the hexa-
These blocks are not unlike children's building-blocks, but they bear on two adjoining sides incisions dividing the oblong faces grams.
into equal sections, so as to give the surface the
yin figure.
The
sticks are
mica sibirica) which
garded as sacred.
is
made
appearance of a
of stalks of the milfoil plant (ptar-
cultivated
on the tomb of Confucius and
re-
CHINESE THOUGHT.
36
Pious people consult the oracle on are
make themselv^
careful to
first
and places
it
in a holder
He
existence.
next
lifts
and then assume a calm
diviner then takes out one
on the center of the
grand limit"
stalk is called "the
important occasions. They
clean,
The
and reverential attitude of mind. stick
all
This single
table.
the Ultimate cause of
{t'ai chih),
the forty-nine remaining sticks above his
forehead with his right hand, and divides them at random into two parts, at the
same time holding
his breath
and concentrating
thoughts on the question to be answered.
The
hand are then placed on the
is
table,
and one
and placed between the fourth and
The
three groups are
hand group
is
now
taken out from them
fifth fingers of the left
called heaven, earth
This number
the oldest order of the eight trigrams,
viz.,
complement,
called the outer
After the hexagram
is
is
is
that of
sponding to the inverted binary arrangement.
Fuh-Hi
The upper
Having thus
cycles of six.
special line in
meaning
It is
pler
it,
and
corre-
trigram,
determined in the same way.
in the
same way
established the
is
selected
as before, except
that instead of counting in cycles of eight, the diviner
;
left-
counted after
determined, one special line
by the aid of the divining-sticks
single line
The
and man.
group yields the lower trigram of the
last
answer, called the inner complement.
definite
hand.
then counted with the right hand in cycles of eight,
and the number of the
in
his
sticks in the right
now
counts
hexagram and a
he next consults the Yih King which contains a for each
this
hexagram
meaning
is
made
as a whole,
and also for each
the basis of the divine answer.
obvious that this complicated process presupposes a sim-
one which, however, must have been
in use in pre-historic times,
for as far as Chinese history dates back the divining stalks
kwa system
and the
are referred to in the oldest documents.
URIM AND THUMMIM.
the
The Chinese method of divination may help us to understand Urim and Thummim of the Hebrews which are so ancient that
details of their
We
notice
method are first
practically forgotten.
that the
Urim and Thummim
are two sets of
symbols apparently forming a contrast similar to that of yin and
CHINESE OCCULTISM. yang.
It is
two
gems
not probable that they were a set of twelve
senting the twelve tribes of Israel. the
37
must have been a
sets
two symbols as
Secondly, like the yin and yang,
and not only
plurality of elements
sometimes assumed
is
repre-
;
and
thirdly, they served the
purpose of divination, for they are referred to in connection with
must have had something
the ephod which
do with the determin-
to
ing oracle.
The Urim and Thummim* by "manifestation and truth,"
and perfection,"
lish, "light
word
is
or, as It
has been rendered in Eng-
it
appears that the vowel in the
wrong, and we ought to read Orhn, which
form of Or, If
are translated in *the Septuagintf
"light,"
Thummim
the plural
and might be translated by "the shining things."
to be derived
is
sation ought to be
is
first
from the root
THAMA]M,
its
vocali-
thamim (not thummim) and would mean "the
completed things."
We trast,
cannot doubt that the
and
if
the
Urim
Urim and Thummim form
represent "light" or yang, the
would represent "darkness" or
a con-
Thummim
former being compared to
yin, the
the rise of the sun, the latter to the consummation of the day.
Sometimes the answer of the Urim and
two is
alternatives (as in
Sam.
i
xiv.
36
ff),
Thummim
some times a
is
between
definite reply
given which would presuppose a more or less complicated system
similar to the answers recorded in the
Yih King.
In the history
of Saul (i Sam. X. 22) the answer comes out, "Behold, he hath hid
himself XX.
28)
among
the stuff," and in the time of
the question
is
tlie
Judges (Judges
asked about the advisability of a raid
against the tribe of Benjamin, and the oracle declares,
to-morrow
I
will deliver
sions the oracle does not
them
answer
into thine hand." at all,f
and
"Go up
On
its silence is
;
for
other occainterpreted
as due to the wrath of God.
The answer was regarded voice of God.
received by consulting the
as the decision of God,
Urim and Thummim
and was actually called the
This view seems to have led in later times, when
the process of divination
was no longer understood,
t See Sam. xiv. 37 and xxviii.
6.
to the
assump-
CHINESE THOUGHT.
38
Yahveh's voice could be heard
tion that
misinterpretation which
is
(Num.
high priest Eleazar
Holy of Holies,
in the
vii.
The Urim and Thummim
89).
are frequently mentioned in close con-
much
nection with the ephod w^hich has been the subject of cussion.
It
commonly assumed
is
an
senses, first as
for
that the
Unless
is
used
two
in
and secondly as a receptacle
article of apparel
Urim and 'Thummim.
word
dis-
we can
an interpretation
find
which shows a connection between the two, we can be sure not have rightly understood the original significance of
The
article.
a
plainly recognisable in the story of the
description of the ephod in
tionably postexilic passage)
is
Exodus
ii.
this
to
mysterious
28, (an
unques-
irreconcilable with the appearance,
use or function which this curious object must have possessed ac-
cording to our historical sources, and the latter alone can be re-
garded as
ephod
is
After considering
reliable.
the passages in which the
all
mentioned we have come to the conclusion that
pouch worn by the diviner who hung
it
around
it
was
a
his loins using the
string as a girdle.
The
original
means "to put
meaning of ephod
on, to gird."
"girdle" and the verb aphad
is
David, a strong believer in the
Urim
and Thummim, danced before the Lord "girded with an ephod,"
and we must assume that according diviner his wife
shiping
was otherwise naked.
to the primitive fashion the
Hence he incurred the contempt
Michal whose piety did not go so far as the king's
Yahveh
The main
in this antiquated
significance of the
ephod
in
Thummim was
may
very well have become customary to
connection with the
to serve as a receptacle for the lots,
in the
wor-
manner.
and
and enduring- material
in
of
make
form of a vase.
those passages in which the ephod
is
it
Urim
and so
it
of a more costly
This
will explain
spoken of as being made of
gold and standing on the altar, as where
we
are informed that the
sword of Goliath had been deposited as a trophy wrapped
in a
mantle "behind the ephod."
There are other passages tical
with an
idol,
but
if
in
which "ephod" seems
to
be iden-
our interpretation be accepted there
is
no
CHINESE OCCULTISM.
very well have It
come
to be regarded as
an object of worship.
say whether the ephod
difficult to
is
Urim and Thummim may
of the
difficulty in this, for the receptacle
39
identical with the
is
khoshen, .the breastplate of the high priest, which in later postexilic
usage was ornamented with twelve precious stones representing the twelve tribes of Israel.
Thummim
cannot be
Hebrew words and not ncthan
The what
sure,
is
'al,
"to put into,"
We
worn around the more
would have
But the
same
to
age when the
seem
assume that the ephod was
first
and that
later
priests
were dressed
in sacerdotal
was suspended from the shoulders and hung upon
it
as
judgment," which
identification does not
loins after the fashion of a loin cloth
civilised
used
is
"to put upon."
called in Babylonian history the "tables of
is
robes,
el,
breastplate of the high priest seems to be the
convincing.
in a
were placed inside as into
8 the verb nathan
xiii.
were worn on the breast.
also
however, that the Urim and
with the twelve jewels, and the
plainly indicate that they
In Lev.
a pouch.
It
identified-
the
breast.
After Solomon's time there the use of the
is
no longer any
Urim and Thummim.
It
seems certain that
age the rabbis knew no more about
post-exilic
and regretted
(Esdras
to
ii.
63; Neh,
vii.
however,
tradition,
temple service after the
While Josephus twelve jewels that they
untenable, but
it
is
we do
fit
it
They sup-
to consult the oracle
had ceased.
iii.
8-9)
According
was never reintroduced
it
in the
to-day
into the
exile.
identified the
were pictures exhibited
fluenced by his
We
his time,
in the breastplate
plate representing the is
than
65) and Josephus states (Antiq.
two hundred years before
common
it
of this special evidence of grace.
the- loss
posed their high priests must be no longer
that
historical record of
Urim and Thummim with
the
of the high priest, Philo* claims in the
embroidery of the breast-
symbols of light and truth.
His conception
noteworthy because his view seems to be
in-
knowledge of the sacerdotal vestments of Egypt.
are told that the high priert in his capacity as judge used to
wear a breastplate bearing the image of truth or *
De
k
vita Mosis, p. 670
C;
671, D. E.
;
justice.
De Monatchia,
p. 824,
One A.
such
40
CHINESE THOUGHT.
shield has been found,
upon which were two
figures recognisable
by the emblems on their heads: one with a solar disk as Ra, the
sun-god or
light, the
Urim and Thummim were
we
did not
know
Maat or
other with a feather, as
too well that they were
placed in
and also the Septuagint were under Egyptian
While we do not exactly like the
believe that the
yang and yin we are
method of divination throws some and
practice
impossible, in their
an ephod, Philo's Perhaps he
itself.
influence.
Urim and Thummim were
fully convinced that the Chinese
light
upon the analogous Hebrew
historically connected,
we must assume
if
understand the meaning of the terms.
will help us to
two systems are
If the
If the
not plural and were not contrasts, and
would have much to recommend
interpretation
truth.
that they
which
is
not quite
were differentiated while yet
most primitive forms. P'AN-KU.
The
basic idea of the yih philosophy
was
so convincing that
most obliterated the Taoist cosmogony of P'an-Ku who chiseled the world out of the rocks of eternity.
not held in high honor by the interest
literati, it
is
Though
contains
it
al-
have
said to
the legend
is
some features of
which have not as yet been pointed out and deserve
at least
an incidental comment.
P'an-Ku
is
written in two ways: one®
lations, "basin ancient," the other "basin
phones,
i.
they are pronounced the same
e.,
means
solid. "^
way and ;
be preferred as the original and correct spelling.
name means
in literal trans-
Both are homothe former
may
Obviously the
"aboriginal abyss," or in the terser German, Urgrund,
and we have reason to believe
it
to be a translation of the Babylonian
Tiamat, "the Deep."
The Chinese legend rocks
;
his flesh to earth
hair to herbs and his four limbs
— which
is
trees
became
;
;
tells
his
us that P'an-Ku 's bones changed to
marrow, teeth and
his veins to rivers
pillars
;
nails to metals
his breath to
wind
;
;
his
and
marking the four corners of the world,
a Chinese version not only of the Norse
myth of
Giant Ymir, but also of the Babylonian story of Tiamat.
the
4I
CHINESE OCCULTISM. Illustrations of
P'an-Ku represent him
in the
company of super-
natural animals that symbolise old age or immortality,
viz.,
the
and the crane; sometimes also the dragon, the emblem of
tortoise
power, and the phenix, the emblem of *
*
When
bliss.
*
the earth had thus been shaped from the body of P'an-
Ku, we are told that three great rulers successively governed the world:
the celestial, then the terrestrial, and finally the
first
human
They were followed by Yung-Ch'eng and Sui-Jen
sovereign.
(i.e.,
who brought
fire-man) the latter being the Chinese Prometheus,
the
down from heaven and taught man its various uses. The Prometheus myth is not indigenous to Greece, where it received the artistically classical form under which.it is best known
fire
to us.
The name, which by an ingenious afterthought
as "the fore thinker,"
means "twirler" or produced
We
fire
being the rod of hard
"fire-stick,"
by rapid rotation
in a piece of soft
civilisation
and
wood which
wood.
cannot deny that the myth must have been
it
explained
'
Mesopotamia, the main center of Greece, and
is
originally the Sanskrit pramantha}^
is
known
also in
between India and
becomes probable that the figure Sui-Jen has been
derived from the same prototype as the Greek Prometheus.
THE FIVE ELEMENTS. Occultism dominated the development of thought during the
Middle Ages of China not
less
we
the conception of the elements in
than in Europe, and here again find traces of a
common
in
origin
both the East and West.
The Chinese speak
of five elements: water,
fire,
wood, metal,
and earth while, according to the ancient sages of Hellas and India, ;
there are but four: water,
"See
Steinthal's
"The
fire,
earth,
original
and
Form
air.
This
latter
view also
of the Legend of Prometheus'"
which forms and appendix to Goldziher's Mythology Among the Hebrews, translated by Russell Martineau, London. 1877. Mantha is derived from the same root as the German word mangeln, "to torture," and one who forces (viz. Agni, the god of fire) is called pramathyu-s "the fire-robber." The Sanskrit name in its Greek form is Prometheus, whose nature of fire-god is still recognisable in the legend.
CHINESE THOUGHT.
42 (although in
a later age) has migrated to China, where
it
is
monly accepted among the Buddhists, but has been modified
make
far as ether has been superadded so as to
Buddhist-Chinese conception equal tion
which we may
call
CHINESE.
in
number
comin so
the elements of the
to the older
enumera-
the Taoist view.
STUPA FORM.
EUROPEAN.
MEMORIAL
POLE.
DIFFERENT REPRESENTATIONS OF THE ELEMENTS. .
[The proportions of the several heights are deemed important, and are as
follows: the square, lo; the circle, 9; the triangle, 7; the crescent, 2; the gem, 6. When built in the form of a stupa, the square changes into a cube, the circle into a globe, the triangle into a four-sided pyramid,
also into solid bodies.
The
globe retains
its
were, pressed into the cube and the pyramid
changed into an is
artistically
carved roof.
and the crescent and gem
proper dimensions but ;
the pyramid
is
is,
as
it
frequently
The Mediaeval European conception
obviously not original.]
That the Buddhist conception of the ported to China from India,
is
five
elements has been im-
proved beyond question by the fact
CHINESE OCCULTISM.
TIBETAN STUPA. [This illustration is reproduced from The East of Asia, (June 1905), an illustrated magazine printed in Shanghai, China. The monument represents the five elements, but its shape is no
The upper part of the cube shows a formation of steps, not unlike the Babylonian zikkurat or staged tower. The globe is no longer a true sphere, and the pyramid has been changed into a pointed cone, so slender as to be almost a pole. The monument is probably longer exact.
used as a mausoleum.]
43
CHINESE THOUGHT.
44
that the Chinese diagrams are frequently skrit
terms.
It
is
marked with
their San-
strange that the symbolic diagrams are more
nearly identical than their interpretations.
by a square, water by a sphere,
fire
by a
Earth
triangle, air
is
represented
by a crescent,
GATEWAY TO BUDDHIST MONASTERY, PEKIN.
A
further development of the Stupa of the five elements.
[The cube has been changed into a roofed house; the sphere has assumed the shape of a Chinese cap, the pyramid is adorned with a peculiar ornament imitative of a cover, and the crescent has been changed into a flower-like knob, as has also the gem which surmounts the whole.]
CHINESE OCCULTISM,
45
The two upper symbols
and ether by a gem surmounting the whole.
are conceived as one in the treatises of the mediaeval alchemy of
common symbol
Europe, and serve there as the ether
commonly
is
means "gem," and
by
called in
of
air.
The symbol
Sanskrit term mani, which literally
its
popular imagination
endowed with magic
is
power.
The
five
elements are also represented by memorial poles which
on the Chinese All Souls' Day are erected on which occasion the grave torch
is lit
is
at the
ornamented with
All over the interior of Asia so far as
we
for
is
not,
meaning
is
and source of
The
in a materialistic sense,
life.
Mazdaism, the
is
faith of the Persians,
desire not to desecrate the elements causes
deposit their dead in the the vultures, fire is
and cremation as
Tower
They
offensive.
of Silence, leaving them there to
whereby the pollution by the corpse either of earth
avoided.
The Taoist view of conception, and
At any
the elements
we may regard
rate
it is
full
it
is
different
fire,
edge of these elements, legend
marks on the
from the Buddhist
as originally and typically Chi-
of occultism and constitutes an impor-
tant chapter in the mystic lore of China.
the five elements are water,
the
original elements.
its
frequently alluded to by Herodotus in his description of
Persian customs.
nese.
interpreted in the sense
noticeable that this reverence of the elements as divine
the Persians to regard burial
or of
dominated by Chi-
an absorption into the All and a return
to denote
a well-known feature of ancient
and
is
however, interpret this idea
meant
to the origin It is
and a
shape of the symbols
body of the dead has been reduced to
must it
it is
find stupas built in the
of the five elements, and their
We
lanterns,
at evening.
nese civilisation,
that the
tombs of the dead,
According to
this view,
wood, metal, and earth.* The knowltells us, is
shell of the sacred tortoise
somehow connected with which, having risen from
the river Loh, appeared to Ts'ang-Hieh (Mayers, Ch. R. M.,
Tsou-Yen, a philosopher who lived
**
in the fourth
A* ^
±
I,
756).
century B.
C,
CHINESE THOUGHT.
46
wrote a treatise on cosmogony
which the
in
important part (Mayers, Ch. R. M.,
The which
is
elements play an
five
746).
elements also figure prominently in "The Great Plan,"^^
five
an ancient imperial manifesto on the art of good govern-
There
ment.
I,
it is
stated that like everything else they are produced
by the y?ng and yin, being the natural results of that twofold breath
which
will operate favorably or
unfavorably upon the living or the
dead according to the combination
in
which they are mixed.
All
misfortunes are said to arise from a disturbance of the five elements
given situation, and thus the Chinese are very careful not to
in a
interfere with nature or cause
We
are told in
dammed up
any disturbance of natural conditions.
"The Great Plan"^^
K'wan
that "in olden times
the inundating waters and so disarranged the five ele-
The Emperor of Heaven was aroused to anger and would not give him the nine divisions of the Great Plan. In this way the ments.
several relations of society
were disturbed, and [for punishment]
he was kept in prison until he died."
K'wan's misfortune has
mained a warning example to the Chinese.
re-
In their anxiety not to
disturb the proper mixture in which the five elements should be
combined they pay great attention fessors
who determine
by studying
facts but
to those pseudo-scientific pro-
the prevalence of the several elements, not
by interpreting some of the most unessential
features, for instance, the external shape of rocks
crags
mean
"fire"
;
sugar-loaf rocks represent trees, and plateaus denote "earth"
;
but
if
would
it
would be
mean "wood"
difficult to
may
China have
lay
"A
still
down
more opportunity
chapter in the
5-.
Pointed
cones and
and square
stands for "water." ;
at the
same time
definite rules, as there is it is
much
certain that, while
for a great divergence of opinion.
are supposed to conquer one another according
Shu King,
B. E., vol. Ill, 137.
" See
;
;
disagree in the Western world, the geomancers of
The elements
i".
it
lead us too far to enter into further details
scope left to the play of the imagination, and doctors
plants.
the plateau be irregular in shape
so as to remind one of the outlines of a lake, It
and
gently rounded mountains, "metal"
B. E., Ill, 139.
translated into English by
James Legge.
CHINESE OCCULTISM.
We
to a definite law.
fire, fire
This rule which
conquers wood.
second century B. C.
wood conquers
are told that
conquers water, water conquers
is
justified
47 earth, earth
conquers metal, and metal
preserved by Liu
is
An
of the
by Pan Ku, a historian of the
second century A. D.,compiler of the books of the era of the
Han
dynasty, as follows:
"By wood can be produced
wood through
words,
metal
[i.
e.,
fire is
by mining]
;
When
fire
can be produced earth [in other
fire
;
from earth can be produced
from metal can be produced water [they can be
changed through heat to a liquid [plants].
by
fire,
changed to ashes]
heats metal,
state]
from water can be produced wood
;
makes
it
liquid
it
[i.
e.,
it
changes
it
into
THE FIVE ELEMENTS AND THEIR INTERRELATION. ELEMENTS
PARENT
FRIEND
PLANET
water's
metal
wood
earth
fire
Mercury
fire's
wood
earth
water
metal
Mars
wood's
water
fire
metal
earth
Jupiter
metal's
earth
water
fire
wood
Venus
earth's
fire
metal
wood
water
Satnm
When
the state of the element water].
versely upon the very element yet earth counteracts water. ena, for the is
ENEMY
CHILD
by which
No
water destroys it
is
produced.
fire
one can do an\-thing against these phenom-
power which causes the
five
elements to counteract each other
according to the natural dispensation of heaven and earth.
ties
operates ad-
it
Fire produces earth,
prevail over small quantities, hence
water conquers
Large quanti-
fire.
Spirituality
prevails over materiality, the non-substance over substance, thus fire conquers
metal; hardness conquers softness, hence metal conquers wood; density superior to incoherence, therefore, insolidity, therefore earth
wood conquers
earth
;
solidity
is
conquers
conquers water."
Besides being interrelated as parent and offspring, or as friend
and enemy, the
five
elements are represented by the five planets, so
that water corresponds to Mercury, fire to Mars,
metal to \'enus, and earth to Saturn.
wood
to Jupiter,
CHINESE THOUGHT.
48
The
yih system being cosmic in
its
nature, has been used by
the Chinese sages to represent the universe. this direction is
Fuh-Hi's diagram
in
The
first
attempt in
compass form representing
the four quarters and four intermediary directions.
The system was changed by Wen Wang who rearranged eight trigrams but retained the fundamental idea. to
have been revealed to Fuh-Hi on the back of a
sages superadded
to the
It
the
was supposed
tortoise,
but later
fundamental idea further characteristics
THE MYSTIC TABLET of the universe, according to their science
more complicated knowledge of
and occultism.
We
reproduce here a mystic tablet of Tibetan workmanship,
which, however, reflects the notions prevailing over the whole Chinese empire.
The kwa
tablet lies
on the back of the
tortoise, pre-
sumably the same as was supposed to have been present when P'an-
Ku
chiseled the world
from out of the rocks of eternity
— and
" The table has been reproduced from Waddell's Buddhism of Tibet, p. Students who take the trouble to enter into further details are warned 453. that in Waddell's table, by some strange mistake, the position of the trigrams tui and chan, in the east and in the west, has been reversed, a mistake which
we have
corrected in our reproduction.
CHINESE OCCULTISM. certainly the
same
tortoise
which made
river to reveal the secret of the
In the center of our
kwa
Tibetan characters, which
Loh.""
by the ox,
magic square written
in
that represented in dots
depicted as resting
It is also
tortoise.
both the twelve double-hours of the
months of the
year.
represented the rat which, in passing
in order
appearance in the Loh
surrounded by the twelve animals of the
cycle, representing
day, and the twelve is
is
its
Fuh-Hi.
same as
on the carapace of a smaller
This magic square
duodenary
to
tablet is the
the
is
in the so-called ''Writing of in its turn
kwa
49
tiger, hare,
In the
lower center
left
around to the
left, is
followed
dragon, serpent, horse, goat, monkey.
A TYPICAL CHINESE GRAVE. [The dead are protected against the evil influence of unfavorably mixed elements in the surroundings of the grave by a horseshoe-shaped wall.
Cf. pp. 56-57]
cock, dog,
and boar.
a crescent for planet
Mars)
;
The symbols
Monday;
of the days are
a red eye for
;
a sun for Sunday,
Tuesday (red
a hand holding a coin for
the function of the god Mercury)
:
The duodenary
;
(indicating
a thunderbolt for Thursday
(sacred to Marduk, Jupiter, Thor, the thunder-god)
Friday (day of Frigga or Venus)
light of the
Wednesday
;
a buckle for
and a bundle for Saturday.
cycle of animals
is
surrounded by various em-
blems indicating lucky and unlucky days.
Among
these
we can
discover gems, buckles, thunderbolts, various limbs of the body, triangles, five-spots, links of a chain, luck symbols,
" See the author's pamphlet, Chinese Philosophy,
p.
19.
and swastikas.
;
CHINESE THOUGHT.
50
They surround
the eight trigrams which are placed according to
the arrangement of
Wen Wang. The kwa
sents north
and winter
toward the
right,
in the
lower
left,
upper
west and autumn
The kwa
spring.
in the
;
;
lower part repre-
in the
part, the south
and toward the
and summer left,
east
and
lower right hand corner represents heaven
in the
mountain
;
the upper
left, air
or wind
;
and
in the
right .upper corner, earth.
SYSTEMS OF ENUMERATION. The twelve animals which
are pictured on our Tibetan tablet
are a curious relic of prehistoric civilisation.
They
represent at once
the twelve months, the twelve divisions of the zodiac, and the twelve
Kindred systems of designating duodeci-
double hours of the day.
mal divisions of the cosmos, both
in
time and space, by a cycle of
animals can be traced in Babylon, Egypt, primitive America, and
modern Europe, where
to the present
day the constellations along
the ecliptic are divided into twelve groups, called the Zodiac, or Thierkreis,
i.
e.,
the animal cycle.
The duodenary
cycle
is
an ancient method of counting, ex-
pressed by animal names, a custom which has only been abolished in
Japan since the Great Reform under the influence of Western
civilisation.
Up
to that time people spoke there of "the rat hour,"
"the ox hour," "the tiger hour," significance than in
Western
etc.,
and these terms had no other
countries, one o'clock,
two
o'clock, or
three o'clock.
The twelve animals called,
are affiliated with the twelve branches, so-
which practically possess the same
a duodenary cycle.
significance, being also
The twelve branches may be summarily
charac-
terised as the twelve months, beginning with the eleventh in
the
yang
year,
principle begins to prepare for
and ending
in the tenth
month of
its
which
appearance in the new
the ensuing year.
The twelve
branches are correlated not only to the twelve animals, but also to the five elements as indicated in our diagram.
"earth"
is
missing because
it
twelve branches are grouped.
The
fifth
element
represents the center around which the
CHINESE OCCULTISM.
51
i^^i^^^Ht*
>W)
zaa
u
a
B
~
t
s
«
u
o
>»
=
^
j:
-
=:
~
bt
"
^
iz
bt
i'
L
~
~
i
-
^
3
ass
< 2 o g O H
^^#{ffl;§ll^IL]^4K«BI^•|^
CHINESE THOUGHT.
52
There
and
is
older
is
another system of counting, which however
called "the ten stems"
and
;
it
appears that
method of counting the months of the
it
is
is
decimal,
simply an
In their original
year.
here also the explanation of the several symbols has reference to the progress of the year. It is
not impossible that the decimal system was the original and
indigenous Chinese method of counting, while the duodecimal system
THE TEN STEMS.
X
NO.
1
NAME TRANSCRIPTION
¥
Yang moving
chia
ELEMENT TO WHICH RELATED
SIGNIFICANCE
in the
East
fir
tree
sprouting.
2
Z.
way;
tendril; twig.
Growth
ping
3
wood
Plant growing in a crooked
yi
1^
in
southern
bamboo
heat; torch-flame
bloom. fire
4
S
T
Vegetation in
ting
warm
summer.
wu
It
Exuberance;
season; lamp-light
surcease
of
mountains
life.
earth
6
7
8
9
10
e
ki
Wintry
keng
ji
sleep; hibernation.
Fullness of crops; the West;
autumn
level
ground
weapon
fruit.
metal
^ i n
sin
Ripened fruit and its flavor; cauldron supposed to be metallic.
jen
Yin
kwei
Water absorbed by
at the height of function; pregnancy.
its
billow
water
was imported
earth; unruffled Yang preparing for spring. stream
at a very early date
from Accad or Sumer, the country
of the founders of Babylonian civilisation.
The
existence of these
two systems suggests the occurrence of
a calendar reform such as was introduced in Pompilius, and in
we
Rome under Numa
are confronted with the strange coincidence that
China as well as
in
Rome
the two additional months (January
CHINESE OCCULTISM. and February) were inserted
we
even to-day the
call
We
at the beginning as a result of
month of
last
53
the year December,
which
e.,
i.
"the
must leave the question as
to the plausibility of a his-
torical connection to specialists familiar
with the influence of Baby-
tenth."
lonian thought on the rest of the world.
It is
not impossible that
a Babylonian (perhaps Sumerian) calendar reform traveled in both directions, rapidly
toward the more
toward the West, producing
and very slowly
civilised East,
in these
remote countries and at
differ-
ent times this startling coincidence of a similar calendar reform.
We
might parenthetically
meaning of
state that the original
the ten stems and twelve branches has practically been lost sight of,
and both systems have become simply
from one
to ten, the latter
ical relations, the
from one
series of figures, the
former
to twelve; while their symbol-
former with the elements, the
latter
with the twelve
animals, are of importance merely to occultists.
The
ten stems are also called "the ten mothers," and the twelve
That the former
branches, "the twelve children."
rangement appears from another name which
is
the older ar-
"the ten hoary
is
characters.
By
a combination of the ten stems with the twelve branches in
groups of two in which the former are repeated six times and the latter five times,
called
a series of sixty
by sinologists the sexagenary
years as well as days. its
The
had
solicited this
work
cycle,
and
is
commonly
is
used for naming
invention of the sexagenary' cycle and
application to the calendar
of the prime ministers of
produced which
is
is
attributed to
Hwang
Ti, the
Nao
the Great, one
Yellow Emperor,^' who
in the sixtieth year of his reign.
Nao
the
Great, having accomplished the task, set the beginning of the newera in the succeeding year, 2637 B. C.
Accordingly
we
live
now
in
the seventy-sixth cycle which began in 1863 and will end in 1922.
A
convenient method of translating the properly Chinese names
of the sexagenary cycle would be to render the two characters by their equivalent relations to the twelve animals
"According 2597 B. C.
to traditional chronology,
Hwang
and the
five
elements.
Ti reigned from 2697 to
CHINESE THOUGHT.
54
THE SEXAGENARY
>^
1
1864
?$
2
yick'ou
^•M
ping yin
T^
/z«^
B
1865
3 1866 4
mao
1867 5
1868 6
ee,
chi ssu
^f
king wu
^* s* ^®
1869
T£
8
hsin wei 1871 9
y^« shen 1872
1873
1874
12
yi hai 1875
ping tzu 1876
14
ting ch'ou 1877
e^
chi
i^ ^*
yin
1878 16
mao
1879
king chin 1880
^^ is
23
ping shu 1886 24
ting hai 1887
41
chia chin 1904
z:e.
n^ T*
hsin ssu 1881
19
wu
1882 20
kwei wei 1883
yi ssu 1905 43
ping wu 1906 44
ting wet 1907
25
mou
45
tzu
1888 26
chi ch'ou 1889
kingyin 1890 28
hsin
mao
1891
29
jin shin 1892 30
ise
kwei ssu
¥^
chia
1893
)%^ e.1
^^ ^^ i^ ^2
mou shin 1908 46
chiyu 1909 47
king shu 1910 48
hsin hai 1911
49
jin tzu 1912 50
kwei ch'ou 1913 51
31
wu
1894
ffj^
chia yin
z,n
yi
1914 52
32
mao
z,*
yi wei
^ *
33
53
ping shin
ping chin
TS )^n,
e^ *^
1895
1896
34
ting yu 1897
tnou shu 1898 36
chi hai 1899
37
kins; tzu 1900
38
18
jin
1885
P^;g.
re
5j5il
iS ^%
hsin ch'ou 1901
i«^ e.*
^*
1902 40
kwei mao 1903
1916 54
ting ssu 1917
tnou
wu
1918 56
chi wei 1919 57
king shin 1920 58
?®
hsin
ij^
jin shu
wu
1921
59
39
jin yin
1915
55
35
17
fe
^1^
15
itt j^j^
n^ \% A^ ea
10
kweiyu
tnoti
¥M
42
yi yu
27
13
(*!?•
2.e
7
1870
11
¥;* ZL^
21
1884
22
z.ft
r^
CYCLE.
^^
1922
60
kwei hai 1923
CHINESE OCCULTISM. SO as to speak of the "fir-rat" year, the
55
"bamboo-ox"
year, the
"torch-tiger" year, etc.
FENG-SHUI* Chinese occultism has been reduced to a system in an occuh science (or better, pseudo-science) called fetig-shui which, literally translated,
means "wind and water," and the two words combined
denote atmospheric influence, or climate.
means a study of conditions, average Chinese
The
and private
of graves, tem-
Belief in the efficiency of feng-shui
very strong, and consequently
in public
site
and the
edifices so as to insure the auspicious in-
fluence of their surroundings. is
a science feng-shui
spiritual as well as physical,
very anxious to locate the
is
and private
ples, public
As
scholars play an important part
its
life.
science of feng-shui
fantastical, but its advocates claim
is
the authority of the ancient Yih King, which in chapter XIII,
i
to
12, reads as follows:
"By looking up looking
down
to
in
order to contemplate the heavenly bodies, and by
examine into the natural influences of the earth,
man may
acquire a knowledge of the cause of darkness and light."
Feng-shui
is
also called
and
ti-lif
translated by "geomancy."
Li,
k'an-yii.i
Ti-li
may
or "rational principle," means a system of the dominant
which govern nature.
fers to the sky in
which
all
and
be
maxims
Ti means "the earth" and so the two together
signify "the divining art as to
translated literally,
fitly
frequently translated by "reason"
terrestrial
means "canopy yii
conditions."
K'an-yii,
chariot," but k'an (canopy) re-
(chariot) refers to the earth as the vehicle
The term "canopy
living beings are carried.
then means the art which
chariot"
occupied with the conditions of man's
is
habitation.
The
professional diviners
who
sien-sheng,% "the elder born," which translated by "professor."
They
practise feng-shui is
a
title
are called
of respect and has been
are called either feng-shui sien-
sheng, "professors of divination," or
ti-li
sien-sheng, "geomancers,"
or k'an-yii sien-sheng, "masters of the canopied chariot."
*]a7K
t^^
tmm
§5fc4
CHINESE THOUGHT,
56
The two
application of the feng-shui
different professors
may
easily
is
naturally very loose, and
come
to opposite results accord-
ing to their individual interpretation of the correct balance of the
mixture of the elements and the several
may
be discovered in special
spiritual
influences that
Diviners use for their geo-
localities.
mantic investigations a peculiar instrument with a mariner's compass in the center the purpose of which De Groot explains as follows: "The
compass
chief use of the geomantic
is
to find the line in which,
according to the almanac, a grave ought to be made, or a house or temple Indeed, in this most useful of
built.
all
books
which two points of the compass the lucky point
is
absolutely inauspicious.
ponement of many answering to but
it
all
every year decided between year
lies,
and which
This circumstance not only entails a post-
burials, seeing
it
is
not always possible to find a grave,
the geomantic requirements, in the lucky line of the year;
regularly compels the owners of houses and temples to postpone re-
pairs or the rebuilding of the their properties are situate
reason alone are allowed to see
it is
line for that
whole
is
same
until a year in
fall to
streets simultaneously
which the
Many
declared to be lucky.
ruin for years, and
it
is
line
wherein
buildings for this
no rare thing to
demolished and rebuilt in years auspicious
which they were placed."
to the direction in
Considering the sacrifices which are expected of a good son in the selection
of the
graves,
we
ship
very heavy.
is
Chinese,
we
waste to which
Ts'ui
and the general equipment of the parental
While we must admire the
it
leads.
men who
Yuen
It is refreshing,
piety of the
however, to observe that
not without exceptions and
is
we
find that there
raise their voices in protest.
of the second century, a mandarin of high position,
died at Loh-Yang, the imperial metropolis.
tomary
filial
regret to see the uselessness of their devotion and the
the general rule are sensible
site
can easily understand that the burden of ancestral wor-
ritual, his
According to the cus-
son should have transported his remains to his
place of birth for burial in the family cemetery, but Ts'ui these instructions with his son Shih, which (loc. cit., pp.
" In
837-8)
we
quote from
Yuen left De Groot
:
his voluminous
'Disposal of the Dead."
work The Religious System of China, Vol. Part 3. "The Grave," p. 974.
Ill,
Bk.
i.
:
CHINESE OCCULTISM.
"Human they
and
live,
57
beings borrow from heaven and earth the breath upon which at the
end of their
terrestrial career they restitute the etherial
parts of that breath to heaven, giving their bones back to earth
what part of the earth can be unsuitable for concealing must not take me back to
my
presents, neither offerings of
The Chinese
place of birth, nor
;
consequently,
their skeletons
may you
?
You
accept any funeral
mutton or pork."
De Groot
authority from which Professor
quotes,
adds:" "Respectfully receiving these his last orders, Shih kept the corpse in
Loh-Yang and there buried
The satirical
spirit of Ts'ui
poem which
is
it."
Yuen
has not died out, as
is
attested
out the inconsistency of those mantics or soothsayers all
to
by a
current to-day, and which humorously points
who know
the conditions of the four quarters and promise their patrons
show them (for a due consideration) a spot
so auspicious for
a grave that the spirit of their ancestor will bestow
upon members
of the family the dignity of kings.
why have
not buried their
Chinese
is
own
If that
parents there?
were
true,
The poem
in
they
the original
as follows
ti li
hsien sheng
kwan shuo huang
chih nan chih pei chih hsi tung
shan chung je yu wang hou ti he pu hsin lai tsang nai weng.i*
This translation imitates the original as closely as possible
in
metre and meaning: Trash these mantics manifest. Point out south, north, east and west;
Know
graves royalty bestowing
Yet their own " Books of the Later
"In
Han
sires there
not
Dynasty, Chap. 82
the early Chinese form, the final
rest.
line 15.
words of the
first, second, and fourth lines were all pronounced as if ending in ong. Consequently, although the individual words have changed their form, the series is considered as containing one rhyme and, according to Chinese rules of rhyming, is still so
used in verse.
CHINESE THOUGHT.
58
LO-PAN. Collectors of curios
ment
may have
seen in Chinese stores the instru-
called lo-pan* (net-tablet), or lo-kingf (net-standard), or pan-
shih% (disk-norm). This
is
the geomancer's compass which incorpo-
w
-^ ^~
'"' \
'
LO-PAN OR NET TABLET. [The original
in the possession of Prof. Friedrich Hirth.]
is
rates the sum-total of feng-shui.
the instrument at
my
life
or more
and
tried to impress
wisdom
in the
request, a
The Chinese salesman who showed
man who must have
lived half his
United States, expressed great respect for
me
with the fact that
it
it
contained the deepest
of the ages.
The
lo-pan
is
a disk of lacquered wood, mostly of yellow color,
MM
t
tm^
CHINESE OCCULTISM. carrying in
its
59
Some
center under glass, a small mariner's compass.
of the characters written in the surrounding circles are red, and
some are
The
Different copies differ in details, but
black.
same
tically the
their general
in
all
are prac-
and most characteristic
features.
concentric circles of the net tablet are called ts'eng*
e.,
i.
"tiers," "stories," or "strata."
The
mariner's compass in the center represents
The
great origin."
circle contains the eight
first
t'ai
chih,f "tlie
trigrams in the
arrangement of Fuh-Hi, which denote the eight directions of the
compass and the virtues and properties attributed to them.
The second
circle contains the
The
makes
five
it
ten.
row represents twenty-four
third
in
being omitted as
Accordingly the sum of each two opposite
belongs in the center. figures always
numerals from one to nine
magic square, the
the arrangement of the
celestial
constellations,
each expressed in two characters, so that three names are registered in
each octant.
The
fourth circle represents in occult terms twenty-four di-
visions of the compass.
Southeast, southwest, northeast, and north-
west are written in their alternately
kwa names,
while the rest are designated
by the ten stems and twelve branches
;
two of the stems
are omitted, however, because referring to the element earth, they
are supposed to belong in the center.
numerals from one to a to m, and the four
ten, the
If
we
write the ten stems as
twelve branches in
kwa names
in
Roman
capitals
italic letters
A
to D,
the following arrangement, beginning in the southeast
4h'BiykSlCmgaiobDcid2e. cient for
it is
we have
A
This arrangement
/ 3 ^ is
an-
quoted as an established part of the divining method
by Sze-Ma Ch'ien Records, which
The
:
from
is
in
the
twenty-fifth
chapter of his Historical
devoted to the art of divination.
fifth circle is
divided into seventy-two parts each contain-
ing two characters of the sexagenary cycle, written one above the other,
and arranged in groups of
we again
five
divided by blank spaces.
If
express the ten stems in figures and the twelve branches
CHINESE THOUGHT.
6o in italics, the
scheme (starting with the
first
branch a standing
in
the north) reads as follows:
13
5 7 9
a a a a a 7 9
13
2 4 6 8 10
3 5 7 9 1
4 6 8 10 2
5 7 9
13
6 8 10 2 4
b b b b b
c c c c c
d d d d d
e e e e e
f f f f f
//
13
9
8 10 2 4 6
5
ggggg
h h h h
i i
5 7
i i
/
In the sixth row each octant
having
five
compartments
is
in the
divided into three sections, each
3
7
3
7
4
8
4
a
a
a
b Q b
Q b
4
8
3
Q
7
0^ 0^ 4
The
8
third
4
8
d
d
3
7
Q
Q
4
8
kO
k
b Q
3
7
3
7
e
0^0
e
h
Q
Q
8
0^0 4
0^ 0^0
0*0^0
Accordingly they are ar-
cycle.
following order, the blanks being expressed by zeros:
a
dO dO
\tn
second and fourth of which appear
in the
two characters of the sexagenary ranged
13579 24 6 8 10 // // m ni m m
10 2 4 6 8
i
4
8 Q
h
Q
Q
h
Q
3
7
3
7
0^0
c
c
c
4
8
4
8
0/0 fO
8
3
7
3
7
h
0/0
i
z
2
8
4
8
3
7
3
7
4
0/0
/
0/0
/
mO nt
and fourth stems refer
to fire
/"O /"O
mQm Q
and the seventh and eighth
to metal.
The seventh row which
in
devoted to the eight stars of the Dipper,
is
Chinese folklore
is
regarded with
much awe, because
this
most conspicuous constellation revolves around the polar star and seems to resemble the hand of a watch on the great
We
of the universe. its
luminous
a telescope.
from one is
must remember
satellite
If
we
:
that the seventh star
is
double,
being visible even without the assistance of
represent the
to eight, their
as follows
celestial dial
names of the
eight stars by
numbers
arrangement beginning with the southwest
185744623 578 3266475832. i
Beyond the seventh
circle
we have
i
a double line which divides
the seven inner rows from the nine outer ones. the eighth circle,
is
The
first
of these,
divided into twelve sections each having three
characters, the central ones written in red being the sun
and moon
CHINESE OCCULTISM.
6i
Beginning
together with the five elements twice repeated.
south with the character sun, and turning toward the read as follows: sun, moon, water, metal,
wood,
fire,
The
in the
left,
they
wood, earth, earth,
fire,
metal, water.
ninth row, consisting of twelve sections, represents the
twelve branches in regular succession, beginning in the north with the
and turning toward the
first
They
right.
coincide in position
with the twelve branches as they appear in the fourth row.
The
row
tenth
a repetition of the
is
with the exception
fifth,
that here the characters are distributed evenly over the
The
eleventh row consists of numerals only.
whole
The
circle.
circle is di-
vided into twelve sections, each being subdivided into five compart-
ments which contain the following scheme repeated twelve times: 3 7
!
I I
I
The
5
I
7 3 |. row is inscribed with the names of the
1
!
twelfth
sub-divisions
of the four seasons, beginning with early spring above the unalloyed
ym and
turning toward the right.
AUTUMN.
SPRING.
^ W ^ Rain
JL
^
^
Beginning of Spring. Water.
_IL
-^
fei
M" Limit
&L Resurrection of hibemat- E3
mg
nsects.
7J Vernal Equinox.
m ^ Pure
^ 1^
Beginning of Autumn.
^i- WTiite
^'J^
"li;^
P
Descent of Hoar Frost.
Rains over the Grain.
WINTER.
Summer.
of
Grain
filling
Grain
in Ear.
^ ^ Summer ^h M I y^ ^
L
Eqi lumox.
Cold
Brightness.
^ Beginning ^
^
Dew.
^ ^ Autumnal M Dew.
SUMMER. If.
of Heat.
a
little.
Solstice.
Slight Heat.
Great Heat.
^ Snow. yh 9 y^ ^ Heavy Snow. ^ ^ Winter ^ y^ ^ If.
Beginning of Winter.
Little
Solstice.
>J^
Little Cold.
Severe Cold.
CHINESE THOUGHT.
62
The The
row
thirteenth
which are
divided into seventy-two equal parts,
is
left blank.
fifteenth
row
divided into three hundred and sixty equal
is
blanks representing the degrees of a circle which method of division the Chinese as well as
we
of the Occident have inherited from the
Babylonians.
The
row contains
sixteenth
the
names of
the twenty-eight con-
stellations together
with the number of degrees whirh each covers.
These degrees are
specifically
marked
the fourteenth circle in
in
The
which the odd numbers only are expressed. the southeast and turning toward the right, 1.
The
horn, ii°
2.
The
neck, ii°; in Virgo.
3.
4.
The bottom, 18° The room, 5° in
Danger, 20°
The
house, 16°
14.
The
wall, 13°
15.
Astride, 11°; in
Andromeda and
16.
The hump,
in Aries.
17.
The stomach,
18. 19.
20.
;
;
;
;
;
The The The
22. 23. 24.
The The The
;
13°
end, 15° bill
in Pegasus.
;
in
;
12°
in
;
or beak,
Pegasus and Andromeda.
in
;
Musca
Pisces.
Borealis.
(In Chinese tnao.y
Hyades and Taurus. 1°
;
in Orion.
or mixture, 11°; in Orion.
well or pond, 31°; in Gemini. ghost, 5°
Chinese term
;
in Cancer.
willow, 17°
mao
of this constellation.
eit., p.
;
in
Hydra.
does not possess any other significance except This character is unfortunately misprinted in
Mayers, Chinese Reader's Manual. Groot, he.
Aquarius and Pegasus.
in
;
Pleiades, 9°.
21. Crossing,
De
Scorpio.
13.
10.
fessor
in Libra.
;
;
12.
9.
"The
in Virgo.
;
11.
7.
8.
name
as follows:
The heart, 8° in Scorpio. The tail, 15° in Scorpio. The sieve, 9° in Sagittarius. The measure, ^4° in Sagittarius. The ox, 8° in Aries and Sagittarius. The damsel, 11°; in Aquarius. The void, 10°; in Aquarius and Equuleus.
5.
6.
the
is
series starting in
972.
It is
correct in the enumeration of Pro-
CHINESE OCCULTISM. 25. 26. 27.
28.
63
The star, 8° in Hydra. The drawn bow, 18° in Hydra. The wing, 17° in Crater and Hydra. The back of a carriage seat, 13° in Corvus. ;
;
;
;
EUROPEAN COMPASS. (Presumably
The two the
plates are hinged together
Italian.)
and fold upon one another
same way as the European compasses shown
pages.
in
in the following
CHINESE THOUGHT.
64
THE MARINER'S COMPASS A CHINESE INVENTION. The
lo-pan or net tablet unquestionably serves superstitious pur-
poses, but
we must bear in mind that much genuine science is inmany of its details, and the latter no doubt has given
corporated in
countenance to the former.
This again
is
law of the evolution of mankind and finds
We
of European civilisation. occultists of the
must bear
according to the general parallel in the history
its
mind
in
that the great
Middle Ages, Paracelsus. Albertus Magnus, and
CHINESE POCKET COMPASS.
men
like
powerful
them down
to
Agrippa of Nettesheim, were the most
intellects of their
tangled in mysticism,
much
day; and though they were deeply enof their
life's
work was devoted
to the
furtherance of genuine scientific enquiry.
In the Chinese Middle Ages the leading thinkers were of the
same stamp, and so and the
it
is
natural that
much
of genuine astronomy
results of accurate observation of the stars are incorporated
in the lo-pan.
The most obvious
part of
it
which must have ap-
CHINESE OCCULTISM.
EUROPEAN COMPASS. (Presumably Nuremberg.)
65
CHINESE THOUGHT.
66
peared extremely mystifying in former centuries was, as the Chinese call
it,
the south-pointing needle
—the mariner's compass—
situ-
ated in the center of the lo-pan.
The for
south-pointing needle
some time seems
an ancient Chinese invention which
is
have been forgotten.
to.
Professor Friedrich
me
Hirth of Columbia University has privately communicated to facts
which prove that
was employed
it
in ancient times
through the desert, that the invention was
We
discovered.
known
in
lost
by
travelers
and had to be
re-
would add, too, that the Chinese invention became
Europe
Marco Polo where
after the time of
used as a mariner's compass.
The
incident
is
well
it
was soon
known and
can easily be established on the testimony of literary sources, but while sauntering through the National
Museum
writer discovered a palpable evidence in the hibited,
at
Washington, the
show
cases there ex-
which displayed the Chinese pocket instruments containing
south-pointing needles presumably a few centuries old, side by side
with European compasses. consist of
two
tablets
They
hinged
are of the
in the
same oblong shape and
same manner.
The European
instruments have sun-dials in addition and are decidedly more serviceable for practical use but
we can
not doubt that for the original
idea our ancestors are indebted to our
Mongol fellow-men.*
THE PERSONIFICATION OF To the
STARS.
Chinese (as also in some respects to the Babylonians) the
stars are actual presences
who sway
the destinies of mankind, and
we
reproduce here a series of illustrations from a Buddhist picture-book printed in Japan.
derived from
They
are based upon ancient traditions ultimately
Sumer and Accad, but we have
at present
no means to
determine the question of their history, especially as to their fate in China.
One
thing, however,
their traditional
may
be regarded as certain,
viz.,
forms are prior to the calendar reform of the
Hence we must assume
that they have been imported
that
Jesuits.
by the way on
wish to express here our indebtedness to the National Museum and and especially to Prof. Otis T. Mason and Mr. George C. Maynard. for the reproduction of characteristic specimens of this interesting collection. *
We
its officers,
CHINESE OCCULTISM.
67
land either by the Buddhists from India, or through some earlier civilising influences later
perhaps from ancient Babylon, or
times from Greece by
way
of Bactria and Tibet.
may be
An
in
historical
connection of some kind or other with Western astronomy which also derives
its
origin
from ancient Babylon, can scarcely be doubted
for the general similarities are too pronounced,
;
and the more par-
CHINESE THOUGHT.
68
ticular ones serve as obvious evidences
which cannot be
rejected,
while the differences afford suggestions in regard to their develop-
ment and
fate.
tiW^l^l
m^'B't
M^A^^
B
J
Jl-^
Mx^:^
According to the Chinese and Japanese custom, the gins in the right upper corners and the order proceeds
and
to the
The
series be-
downwards
left.
first
figure represents the sun
;
the second, the
moon.
In
CHINESE OCCULTISM. the next
row we
69
see the polar star seated (like
Buddha) on a
and holding in his hands a wheel to indicate that he the heavens.
As Buddha
.T^lRt
is
lotus
the hub of
in the spiritual world, so the polar star
^ ^mM^
^\m±,'^ n
If^fh^-^ tj^lJHt^
Bmmt
5j
among
the constellations
is
alone at rest while
universe whirl round in unceasing rotation. the star of twilight-brightness, which evening: star.
may
all
other things in the
In the same column
is
be either the morning or
CHINESE THOUGHT.
70
The
third
row of the same page begins the
constitute
Ursa Major, popularly
known
China as "the bushel."
in
series of stars that
called "the dipper" in
America and
#^^ *
^tH^^ 11
q 1
mM
mm^
(^ FT
J\
J*'
m "^mA H IftAi' f
w*-tl ^
The
satellite
as a smaller
of the seventh star in Ursa Major
companion
bigger brother.
in the right
hand comer
is
pictured
in the field of his
Since he stands at the very point of the constella-
.
CHINESE OCCULTISM. tion, his significance is in inverse
way
as
Tom Thumb
71
proportion to his
always takes the
initiative
size, in
in all
a similar
deeds and
proves to be the saviour of his seven brothers.
^#4-r^^ m$:'^k ^^ ^
m
+
^{'<^^y^
it
-^f^
^
%^ j^
^H^^
^{M.-A
^%%
\^.
^
x^
The seven
stars of
Ursa Major are very conspicuous
in the
northern firmament, and turn around in the sky like a big hand on the celestial dial pointing out the hour in the clock
work of the
CHINESE THOUGHT.
72 universe.
There
is
a proverbial saying in China which incorporates
the popular Chinese view as follows:
"When
the handle of the northern bushel
mn^
^
^ a %\^1\ ^
east at nightfall
south,
it
is
it
is
summer
;
^e. %y,
west,
it
is
autumn
-}j
lb
%^
'^{n}^
i\
spring throughout the land
when
Tao) points
(Pcli
;
;
when
it
points
and when north,
winter."
The
three stars
i,
k,
\ of Ursa Major are supposed to be the
CHINESE OCCULTISM.
73
residence of the three councilor spirits mentioned in the
Kan Ying
P'ien as recording the deeds of men, and thus our constellation
is
symbolically identified in the imagination of the Chinese, with divine justice.
-I
ti
^\w^^
n
^mf.
^
=^#{1^ Si
^t
^P^^
The seven planets are here increased after the precedence of Hindu astrology by two three-headed figures called Rahu and Ketu, the former being conceived as the head,
and the
latter as the tail of
c
CHINESE THOUGHT.
74 the dragon eclipses.
nodes
who
Rahu
is
supposed to be responsible for solar and lunar
represents the ascending and
Ketu the descending
in the ecliptic.
^
#1!
^
—
X3.
o
^ ^ -^{^^^ it
S '^lll^^^^ i
The Sun
;
ir9
14
% -^ m
>
nine personalities which correspond to the seven planets
Rahu and Ketu
plus
^Im-H
^
Chandra, the
haspati, Jupiter
;
are in
Hindu mythology
called:
Surya, the
moon Mangala, Mars Buddha, Mercury ;
Sukra, Venus
;
;
Sani, Saturn
;
while Ketu and
;
Vri-
Rahu
CHINESE OCCULTISM. are identified with stars in the Dragon. less
and Ketu as a trunkless head.
notion
found
is
in
A
75
Rahu
is
representation of this
It
shows Sur^a the sun
horses, with
Aruna
in the colored original is in gold, while
Aruna
Chandra
Hindu
Colonel Stuart's zodiac picture reproduced in
Moor's Hindu Pantheon, Plate XLVIII. in the center
represented head-
drawn by seven
rides an antelope.
as charioteer. Sur>a is
painted deep red.
Mangala a ram, Buddha
is
seated on a
A HINDU ZODIAC. carpet
;
Rahu and Ketu
here interrupt the regular order, the former
being represented as riding on an owl, while the is
placed on a divan.
that
may have been Next
in
\>ihaspati like
Buddha
is
latter,
a mere head,
seated on an animal
intended for a cat, while Sani rides on a raven.
order on our tables beginning with the second column
76
CHINESE THOUGHT.
n
CHINESE OCCULTISM.
of their fourth page, are the twenty-eight constellations mentioned
above which play an important part in Chinese occultism. proximate outline of the constellation the picture, and is
we
add here
why
see, for instance,
to
and Keng Niu, the
Nu
Chih
(star
It
the fifteenth constellation
ega and Aquila on either side of the
briefly thus:
is
Vega
weaving and her
ap-
our illustrations of stars a picture of Chih Nil stars ^
Milky Way, of which Chinese folklore tales of China.
The
indicated in each case above
and the twenty-sixth, a "drawn bow."
called "astride,"
We
is
=a
in
Lyre)
industrial habits.
tells
one of the prettiest
The sun-god had
fair\'-
a daughter
who excelled by her skill in To recompense her he had her
THE SPINNING DAMSEL AND COWHERD.
A
Chinese fairy
tale of the star
Vega.
A
native illustration
from
Williams's Middle Kingdom.
married to
herded his
As soon
Keng Niu cattle
on the
the
herdsman
silver
who Way).
(constellation Aquila),
stream of heaven (the Milky
as married, Chih Nii changed her habits for the worse:
she forsook her loom and gave herself up to merr\'-making and idleness.
Thereupon her father decided
to separate the lovers
by the
stream and placed them each on one side of the Milky the husband to meet his wife over a bridge of pies only once a year,
which
is
Way, allowing many thousand mag-
on the seventh day of the seventh month,
a holy day in China even now.
We
know
that the Chinese
government has kept an impe-
CHINESE OCCULTISM. rial
astronomer since prehistoric times, for the
in the eadiest
a
documents.
79 office is
mentioned
The famous emperor Kang Hi
new observatory which was
built
erected
according to the instructions
of the Jesuit fathers whose learning at that time
was highly
re-
8o
CHINESE THOUGHT.
CHINESE OCCULTISM.
The instruments remained
spected in China.
Boxer of
riots
8l
when
they were removed to
at
Peking
until the
at the
command
Germany
Emperor William.
Our
illustrations will enable the reader to
form a
clear con-
ception of the instruments as well as the style in which they have
been put up.
They stand on
surrounded by battlements general view
a high platform overlooking the city,
the style of an old
in
a reproduction of an old cut at the time of the
is
The
erection of the observatory under the Jesuit fathers.
one
is
One
fortress.
a photograph
made
modern times and showing the
in
other
instru-
mentSvtn situ before their removal to Potsdam.
The gem
of the collection
is
decidedly the spherical astrolabe
which has been made after the instructions of
Ko Chow
King,
astronomer royal of emperor Tai Tsu, of the Yiian dynasty, the founder of Peking. the general view
two
light
It is said to
we
columns
be a marvel of Chinese
In
notice a quadrant on the left-hand side between
in
French
style.
It is
a present of
XIV sent to the emperor Kang Hi in the Among the instruments preserved in the shed of great artistic and historical value. it
art.
King Louis
seventeenth century. there are
some curios
The whole observatory
as
stood has always been regarded as one of the most noteworthy
treasures of the Tartar capital of the Celestial Empire.
PREHISTORIC CONNECTIONS. The
evidences that indicate a Western origin of Chinese
and
sation are very strong,
must have come
it
seems that the
in prehistoric times
first
Chinese
from a country that was
connected with the founders of Babylonian culture.
civili-
settlers
closely
There
is
an
unmistakable resemblance between cuneiform writing and Chinese script, so as to
make
it
from a common source.
quite probable that they have been derived
We
have, further, the sexagenary cycle
corresponding to the use of the number sixty in Babylonia, and
many
similarities in astronomical
names and
notions.
the Chinese divide the circle into three hundred
Moreover,
and sixty degrees
as did the Babylonians, a system which has been adhered to in the
West down
to
modern
times.
82
CHINESE THOUGHT.
CHINESE OCCULTISM.
The Prometheus legend seems
to
83
come from
the
same source
(presumably Akkad) as the story of the Chinese "Fire Man," Sui-
The Babylonian
Jen.
world
is
story of
Tiamat as to the formation of the
repeated in the legend of P'an-Ku, the personification of
the ancient abyss. Finally the yih system of the
yang and the yin
paralleled
is
one Semitic tribe by the similar divining method of the
in at least
Urim and Thummim.
Though
in the latter case the loss of details
prevents us from having any evidence of a historical connection, the similarity of the purpose, as well as the duality of the elements
of the oracle cannot be denied.
none of these indications
If
we can
rately,
is
not disregard them
Further bearing
in
mind
when considered
conclusive
when
all
that there
is
sepa-
are taken together.
an ancient tradition
China of a settlement having been made by a
tribe
in
coming from the
Far West, we may very well assume the ancestors of the Chinese to be a detachment of the founders of the Babylonian civilisation, either
Sumerians or Akkadians, and that they
left
home
their
in
prehistoric times presumably even before the first Semitic invasion
or soon afterwards.
who would
exile to absorption
Our
They were perhaps
not submit to the
new
that portion of the people
condition of things and prefer'-ed
by a victorious enemy.
proposition that even in prehistoric times a connection
must have existed between
all civilised
nations of the East and of
the ^^'est, will be further borne out by the additional evidence fur-
nished by a comparative study of the several calendar systems, as
based upon the sun's course through the zodiac, and able that
subject
is
it
includes even the ^layas of Central America.
is
remark-
Since the
interesting but rather complicated, requiring considerable
space and the reproduction of it
it
in a special chapter.
many
illustrations,
we
shall discuss
ZODIACS OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. WITH REFERENCE TO CHINA.
TTOW ^^
close
must have been the
interrelation of primitive
man-
how keen their observation of nature, and considering limitations when compared with modern methods, how pro-
kind,
their
found after
all,
their physics, their
steamers, postal
philosophy, their science, their astronomy,
their
mechanics
service
!
In spite of the absence of railroads,
and telegraph, there must have been a
communication of thought which
is
as yet
little
appreciated.
Ideas,
the interpretation of nature, and the conception of things divine as well as secular,
must have traveled from place
to place.
Their
march must have been extremely slow, but they must have gone
They had
out and spread from nation to nation.
They had to be translated
deserts.
traveled in spite of
all
obstacles.
new
into
This
is
to cross seas
and
tongues, but they
certain because
we
find
among the most remote nations of the earth kindred notions the similarity of I will
which can scarcely be explained as a mere parallelism.
say here that
I
arrived at the theory of an interconnection
of primitive mankind not because
I
sought
it,
but because
I tried
to collect unequivocal instances to the contrary, and so I naturally
deem
it
a well-assured conclusion.
The human mind evolution and
man
will naturally pass
will necessarily,
and
through certain phases of
in different places in perfect
independence develop certain definite ideas of ghosts, of gods, of devils,
Devil,
of sacrifice, of prayer, of the contrast between
God and
of one omnipotent God, of a God-father, of a God-man, of
a Saviour, of an Avatar, of a Buddha, of a Messiah, of a Christ,
ZODIACS OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. of salvation, of immortality,
It
etc.
85
would be desirable
some information on the development and history of the beings on other planets, and
it
is
will
prove the same.
I
part of the parallelism between
independent origin, for
development
in
it
is
am
still
have
rational
probable that in spite of
differences all the essential features of their spiritual
growth
to
many
and religious
convinced that the greater
Buddhism and
certain that at
Christianity
is
of
any rate the church
both religions took place without any historical
THE ZODIAC ON THE MITHRAIC MONUMENT AT HEDDERNHEIM.
-^"
connection except in Tibet where the Nestorian faith had for a
And yet we have a Christian Doketism and a Buddhist Doketism we have Christian reformers who believe in the paramount efficacy of faith, and Buddhist preachers who protime taken deep root.
;
claim the doctrine almost in the same words as Luther, I believe that
and
etc.
the decimal system of numbers originated natur-
may
very easily have
developed simultaneously in perfect independence.
If the rational
ally
necessarily,
and
it
is
obvious that
it
CHINESE THOUGHT.
86
beings of some other planet have eight fingers, instead of ten, they will
with the same inevitable necessity develop an octonary system
which possesses many advantages over the decimal.
had twelve
Some
fingers, they
would count
in
features are universal, others depend
ditions, while all of
them are subject
Again,
if
they
dozens and dozens of dozens.
upon
definite con-
to local modifications in un-
MAYAN CALENDAR. Zejevary Manuscript.
Having gone
essential details.
in quest of
unequivocal evidences
of the independent development of the universal, I found myself
everywhere
am
baffled
by a possible
historical connection,
and now
forced to concede that an interconnection of prehistoric
kind in
its
I
man-
remotest corners can no longer be doubted.
Mr. Richard
II.
Geoghegan has published
in
The Monist (Oc-
87
ZODIACS OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. tober 1906) an interesting article
"On
the Ideograms of the Chinese
and Central American Calendars," in which he traces several most remarkable similarities between the Chinese and the Mayan calendars.
The
results of
Mr. Geoghegan's investigations suggest that
in
a prehistoric age there must have been an interconnection between
^^
death)
^tD?
MAYAN ASSIGNMENT OF ANIMALS the primitive civilisation of
be gainsaid
if
body
in
America and Asia, and
we but compare
mediaeval European
TO PARTS OF THE BODY.
the
interpretation
it
^"3
can scarcely
Mayan, the Chinese, and the of the
several
terms of the calendar or the zodiac, and
organs of the
we must
grant
that here are similarities of such a peculiarly intricate character
88
CHINESE THOUGHT.
that they can not be explained as intrinsic in it
human
nature, nor
is
likely that the parallelism is accidental.
There can be no doubt that the
entire
Western
civilisation
may
common source. The Egyptians, the Greeks, and Romans have inherited their mathematics, the division of the
be traced to one the
loannem Keppterum I
6
c8.
vm.
WALLENSTEIN
S
*'""
HOROSCOPE.
Credibly ascribed to Kepler.
day into twice twelve hours, and their calendars from ancient BabyIonia, the influence of
times,
which has been preserved down to modern
and can most palpably be recognised
Astrology
is
in astrology.
unquestionably of Babylonian origin.
It rests
on
— ZODIACS OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. the theory that the universe universal laws, is
is
89
a well-ordained whole governed by
and so the ancient sages assumed that
foreshadowed by the events
life
in the celestial regions
on earth
and these
;
notions adhered to the further development of astronomy with a persistence that
Even
is
truly surprising.
as late as the fourteenth century astronomers were
MEXICAN CALENDAR WHEEL.
still
4504
obliged to eke out a scant living with the help of astrolog}% and
Kepler himself had to increase his means of subsistence by casting
But he was great enough
horoscopes. ously,
a
and
foolish
in
one of his
little
letters
daughter,
but
we
to take the situation
read: "This astrology
lieber
—where
Gott!
mother, the highly rational astronomy, be,
if
is
humorindeed
would
her
she did not have this
CHINESE THOUGHT.
90 foolish offspring-?
People are even more foolish, so foolish in
that this sensible old
mother must for her own
benefit cajole
fact,
and
deceive them through her daughter's foolish, idle talk."*
Europe has inherited
its
calendar with
and superstitions from ancient Babylon.
many
incidental notions
But back of the
inter-
connection in historic ages there must have been a very intimate
exchange of thought between the incipient
civilisations of primitive
The American
China, of Babylon, and also of the American Maya.
Maya must have brought many
ideas along with
CHINESE ASSIGNMENT OF ANIMALS 4224
EUROPEAN CONCEPTION OF " SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC
^Q PARTS OF THE BODY.
new home which
settled in their
them when they
testifies to
the hoariness of their
culture.
At
the time of the discovery of
America they were
far behind
the Spaniards in the art of warfare, but they were their superiors in
a proper calculation of the calendar.
into eighteen epochs of
but they
knew
They divided
twenty days each with
their year
five intercalary days,
was only approximate and
also that this calculation
had the difference adjusted before Pope Gregory's reform of the Julian calendar. But the point
we wish
to
make here
is
not concerned
with the sundry accomplishments of the Maya, but the remarkable *
See
Cams
Sterne's article "Copernicus,
Open Court, XIV,
405.
Tycho Brahe, and Kepler," The
ZODIACS OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. similarities of detail
91
between their symbolism and that of mediaeval
Europe as well as China. In our researches
we have never
entered deeply into compara-
tive astronomy, but judging from suggestions of scholars
who have
X Vtl
•
X
V\ll •
>C
V(lil •
XX"
XX
•
X.XH
• •
XXIM
•
I
xxim. XX V • XXVI» XX>^H« XXvdit XX vniu
XXX ROMAN CALENDAR STONE From
IN
•
THE MUSEUM AT WURZBURG.
Weltall und Menschheit, Vol. Ill,
p.
19.
over the seven days of the week are picSaturn for Saturday with sickle in hand Mithra the sun-god, for Sunday; Diana, the moon-goddess, for Monday; Mars, (the Teutonic Tin) for Tuesday; Mercury (the Teutonic Wodan) for Wednesday; Jupiter (the Teutonic Thor) for Thursday; Venus (Teutonic Frigga or Freya) for Friday. The circle represents the crude picture of the zodiac beginning at the top with Aries, and running around to the left, each sign being accompanied by the initial of its name.]
[The
deities presiding
tured on the top
made
:
;
a specialty of this interesting branch of
human
lore,
we can
say positively that the Babylonian origin of the division and names of the zodiac has been firmly established. lected all pertinent material of
Prof. Franz Boll has col-
Greek texts and also
illustrations of
several ancient representations of the starr>' heavens in his book.
CHINESE THOUGHT.
92
Sphaera, neue griechische Texte und Untersuchungen
der Sternbildcr (Leipsic, Teubner, 1903).
method prevalent
2038
in
He
Eastern Asia, of counting
zxir
Gcschichte
also refers to the hoiirs,
months, and
KUDURRU OF NAZI MARADAH, KING OF BABYLON, SON OF KURIGALZAR
[Most of the emblems are the same as tion except that the goddess Gula
is
^"39
II.
in the
preceding illustra-
here represented in
full figure in
a typical attitude with both hands raised.]
years by the duodenary system of animals and points out larities to the
Babylonian system (pp. 326
flF.).
Our own
its
simi-
investi-
ZODIACS OF DIFFERENT NATIONS.
STAR EMBLEMS REPRESENTING BABYLONIAN DEITIES. CAP OF A KUDURRU.
[We see on the top sun, moon, and planet Venus, representing the Babylonian trinity of Shamash, Sin, and Istar. These three symbols are surrounded to the right of the moon by the lamp of the god Nusku, a goose-like bird, the scorpion, a double-headed symbol of unknown significance, a loop-like emblem and a stake bearing a tablet. The
outer margin shows on the top the emblem of the ancient god Ea, a goat ending in a fish, a throne and a ram-headed mace; then turning to the right, we have the emblem of Marduk, a lance on a throne and the dragon Tiamat; further down an eagle (or a falcon) perched on a forked pole, a dog (or lion), two thrones with tiaras resting on them, and another throne, beside it lying an unknown scaled monster. The forked tree is the sjTnbol of the goddess Nidaba, a form of Istar as the harvest goddess. The same deity is sometimes represented by an ear of wheat, in Hebrew shibboleth (from shabal, "to go forth, to sprout, to grow") and judging from the pictures on the monuments, worshipers carried ears of wheat in their hands on the festival of the goddess. It is the same word which was used by Jephtha of Gilead to recognise the members of the tribe of Ephrai'm who pronounced it sibboleth, because they were unaccustomed to the sibilant sh (Judges xii. 6). From shibboleth the Latin word Sybilla, the name of the prophetess, the author of the Sybilline oracles, is derived. Nidaba's star is Spica (i- e., "ear of wheat,") the brightest star in the constellation Virgo, i. e., the virgin goddess Istar.] ;
93
2031
CHINESE THOUGHT.
94
gations corroborate Professor Boll's theory, and
number
We
we owe
to
him
a
of the illustrations here reproduced.
complete the circle of evidences as to early prehistoric con-
nections, by furnishing additional instances of pictures of the zodiac
among other nations, that have been isolated for thousands of years. The names of our own zodiac are commemorated in a couplet of
two Latin hexameters
as follows:
"Sunt Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer Leo Virgo Libraque Scorpius^ Arcitenus' Caper^ Amphora* Pisces,
Ram,
or in English: (i) the
(2) the Bull, (3) the Twins, (4) the
Crab, (5) the Lion, (6) the Virgin, (7) the Balance, (8) the Scor-
Vase or Water-man,
pion, (9) the Archer, (10) the Goat, (11) the
and (12) the Fishes. All the zodiacs, together with their divisions into constellations,
must have one common origin which can only have been the
home
of ancient astronomy.
We
possess
among
inscriptions of the first or second century B. C.
in
Babylon,
the cuneiform
some astronomical
tablets which contain an enumeration of the Babylonian zodiac
abbreviations.
They read
1.
]^
2.
'!i<^y
as follows:^
{ku{sarikku))
(te{mennu))
+
{fnaiu)
3-
Hf-
4.
-J^^ (Julukku)
5.
T; {'^ru)
6.
][|I«- iserU)
7.
^J {zibanifu)
8.
•*
^^
(agrabu)
9- tiN U>°)
10.
\^^
11.
-^^
13.
Z'
{enzu)
{gu) (zib)
=
= = = = =
axies.
taurus.
gemini. cancer. leo.
virgo.
=s libra.
= = = = =
Scorpio.
arcitenens.
caper.
amphora
"Scorpius"
[aquarius].
pisces.
is commonly called Scorpio; made on account of the meter of the ' Also commonly called Sagittarius. * Also known under the name Capricorn. *Also named Aquarius. *
viously
in
the change in the ending verse.
is
ob-
ZODIACS OF DIFFERENT NATIONS.
The
identity of this series with our
most striking with "The
The
95
own and
other zodiacs
the beginning, which Hke our own
in
Ram," "The
and "The Twins."
Bull,"
on our
constellations as represented
so outlined as to
make
is
series starts
modem
globes are
the figures of the symbols cover the area
of the stars, and the illustrators have adroitly utilised the stars as
This method
part of the picture.
is
according to an ancient tradi-
which can be traced back to antiquity and has produced the
tion
impression that the names of the constellations are due to the con-
But while
figuration of the stars.
"Charles's in
Wain"
or "the
America "the Dipper")
Wagon" is
a
is
it
(in
true that such
names as
China called "the Bushel,"
name apparently invented on account
of the configuration of the stars, the same does not hold good for other constellations and least of
all
for the signs of the zodiac.
ancient Babylon, or even in ancient Akkad, certain starry heavens
were sacred to certain
deities,
names
In
in the
and the names repre-
sented the several deities that presided over that part of the heavens.
We
must assume
ration
is
that in
most cases the picture of a
a mere afterthought of the artist
the deity or
symbol.
its
We
have
who
stellar configu-
tried to trace in
and
in the zodiac
its
it
names a
grand religious world-conception which regards the entire cosmos as dominated 'by divine law, finding expression in divine
power
dominant according to a fixed constitution of the universe, rendering prominent in different periods definite divine influences represented as gods or archangels of notice one
rank
is
celestial
who
some
kind.
Among them we
appears as the omnipotent highest ruler, whose
analogous to a king of kings, for he governs the whole world, and this highest ruler has been represented by dif-
ferent nations in different ways,
and by kindred nations who
lowed kindred ideas
in a kindred
way.
of the highest god
among
Thus we
fol-
find the similarity
the Assyrians and the Persians, and a
close examination of the post-Exilic tendencies of Jewish history in-
dicates that the
Asur of the Assyrians so
the Persians,
in all
*
is
similar to
Ahura ^lazda
of
main features the same as Yahveh of the Jews.
See Epping and Strassmaier, Zeitschrift
cicle 4 (Oct. 1890, p. 351).
fiir
Assyriologie, Vol. V, Fas-
CHINESE THOUGHT.
96
The
idea that celestial conditions govern
brought out very strongly the highest
god Asur
in the
in the
earthly events
all
is
Assyrian standards, which show
most conspicuous
place,
and
in
com-
paring his effigy to representations of Asur on the monuments, as well as to the
modern
illustrations of Sagittarius,
pressed with a strong similarity in these pictures.
we will be imThe Assyrian
ANCIENT ASSYRIAN STANDARD. standards
commonly show Asur
4364
as standing above a bull.
One
very elaborate standard exhibits in addition to the god Asur, three
symbols of the zodiac, which for some unknown reason, perhaps simply for the sake of symmetry, are duplicated.
streams of water, two
bulls,
and two
lion heads,
There are two
and
an accident that these symbols represent the Colures
it
in
is
scarcely
about 3500
ZODIACS OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. B. C.
97
In the middle of the fourth millennium B. C. the
solstitial
Colures lay in Aquarius and Leo, and the equinoctial Colures in
Taurus and Scorpio." If the
Sagittarius,
god Asur, who
is
we may assume
represented as an archer, stands for
that the
two
signs,
Sagittarius and
Scorpio were originally one and became differentiated later on. shall present reasons, further
down, which
will
make
this
We
assumption
probable. See also Plunket, Ancient Calendars and Constellations, Plate VIII.
CHINESE THOUGHT.
98 Is is
it
perhaps a reminiscence of kindred traditions when Mithra
pictured in the Mithraic
We notice in the bull
monuments
as slaying the divine bull?
every one of the Mithra pictures the scorpion attacking
with Mithra, and depriving him of his
simultaneously
power of fecundation.
Scorpio stands in opposition to Taurus and
in winter nature loses its productivity. in the illustration of the crab
The same
idea
is
to the identification of the Assyrian
Persian Ahura,
we
will
incidentally
goes so far as to maintain that Asur
god Asur with the
say that Professor is
io6.
4243
ZODIAC OF DENDERA.
As
suggested
on the kudurru pictured on page
Hommel
merely the Assyrian pro-
nunciation of the Elamitic "Ahura," and corroborates his state-
ment by other examples. makes
this
The Honorable Emmeline Mary Plunket
view her own and argues with great
plausibility that
ZODIACS OF DIFFERENT NATIONS.
99
J3
J
u
^u
-*-'
r,
5. &
^a
O
^
0.
rt
n
$^
•
^
< « bJ Q ^ U Q b o u <
O
^^
N Q bJ J
CJ
u x:
"
,r;
M-^
vw 4>
C
•^
rt
bo
rt
V •a _o
E (O hfl
r
u rt
« /•^
(•3 «4-l
< H
^
W a
u CO
•0
>
oi in
*"
e nt 4>
3 > •0 4> U]
a
i_i
a ^
"^
O
CHINESE THOUGHT.
lOO
an Elamite or Aryan race might have been at the time before the
Semitic
and the Semitic
farther north,
in possession of
wave crowded settlers
Assyria
the Elamites back
worshiped the god of the
country in order to pacify his anger and keep on good terms with him.
We
know
that in the
same way the
settlers of
Samaria wor-
THE CONSTELLATION OF THE HAUNCH.*
ORION,
THE SPARROW HAWK AND THE COW
SOTHIS.
shiped the god of the Israelites in addition to their as not to offend the divine
power *
The *
*
Dawn
gods, so
that governed the land. *
constellations of the zodiac
Reproduced from Maspero,
own
*'"'•
were not invented simulta-
of Civilisation.
lOI
ZODIACS OF DIFFERENT NATIONS.
neously with the division of the ecliptic into twelve mansions, for constellations of the ancient ecliptic are very irregular
many
and
\
^^^
LATE ROMAN EGYPTIAN MARBLE PLAQUE.* [The center represents Apollo and Phoebe, the former with a solar crowned with a crescent. Surrounding this are two circles of twelve mansions each, the outer circle containing the signs of the Greek zodiac, and the inner tlie corresponding signs of the Egyptian zodiac. Beginning at the top the pictures run to the left as
halo, the latter
follows: Aries, cat (inner circle); Taurus, jackal; Gemini, serpent;
Cancer, scarab; Leo, ass; Virgo, lion; Libra, goat; Scorpio, cow; Sagittarius, falcon; Capricorn, baboon; Aquarius, ibis; Pisces, crocodile.]
reach in their bulk either above or below the exact path of the sun. In fact, Eudoxus, Aratus, and Hipparchus do not enumerate twelve, *
Described by
Egypt,
et Assyr.,
J.
Daressy, Recueil de travaux
XXIII, 126
f.
rel.
a
la philol, et
a Parch
IO3
ZODIACS OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. but only eleven constellations of the zodiac, and the Balance,
is
a later addition
;
and yet
among
that the constellations
and are
ecliptic,
ecliptic
had
commonly
older.
ecliptic,
mapped out
The
irregu-
accordingly,
names must have been imported
far to prove that their
China before the
is
must conclude therefore
of the Chinese constellations along the
would go into
We
the starry heavens were
without special reference to the larity
seems that Libra,
change also
this
supposed to have come from Babylon.
it
finally
been regulated into twelve
equal mansions, each of 30 degrees.
Babylonian wisdom migrated in both directions, toward the east to China,
China to us
at
and toward the west to Europe.
an early date
in prehistoric times,
from the Greeks who
It
and
must have reached it
has come
down
in their turn received their information
second hand through the Egyptians.
At every
stage in this continuous transfer of ideas, the mytho-
names were
logical
to them.
Istar
translated into those that
would best correspond
changed to Venus, or Virgo; Bel Marduk to Zeus
and Jupiter, and among the Teutons to Thor or Donar,
etc.
During the Napoleonic expedition some interesting representations of the zodiac
were discovered
Hathor
They
first
the
at
Dendera.
in the
are not as old as
temple of the great
was supposed
in the
enthusiasm of their discover)' for they were finished only under first
years of Nero
knowledge
many
in
;
but they well represent the astronomical
Egypt which looks back upon a slow development
centuries.
We
for
notice in the transition of the zodiac from
Babylon to Egypt, and from Eg>'pt to Greece, several changes of
names which are
unexplained.
still
and the Great Bear with Typhon,
The Hindu* and
Sirius
is
identified
with Orion,
etc.
the Arabian zodiacs are practically the
as ours, but the Chinese zodiac
same
shows some deviations which, how-
ever, are too inconsiderable not to
show
plainly a
common
origin
of the whole nomenclature.
The Arabian magic symbols of the zodiac
mirror, here reproduced, exhibits the twelve
in the outer circle,
and the angels of the seven
planets which preside also over the seven days of the week, appear
*For an
illustration
and description of the Hindu zodiacs see page
75.
CHINESE THOUGHT.
I04 in the inner circle.
The
center where
we would
expect some emblem
of the sun shows the picture of an owl. It is interesting to see
figure
is
preserved,
how sometimes
sometimes the name.
the external shape of a
We
find
for instance
the Archer (called Sagittarius or Arcitenus) represented as a double-
ANCIENT ARABIAN ZODIAC [Engraved on a magic mirror.
"To
*''*"'
(13th CENT.)
Dedicated as the inscription reads
the Sovereign Prince Abulfald, Victorious Sultan, Light of the
World."]
headed centaur drawing a bow
in almost the
same
outlines
on an
ancient Babylonian kudurru, as in modern charts of the heavens.
And
it
is
Teukros,
noteworthy that in Greece, too, is
spoken of a two-faced
this centaur, in a note of
(SiTrpocrwTros).
In the same
way
the scorpion-man holds the bow, and he again resembles the out-
IO5
ZODIACS OF DIFFERENT NATIONS.
bow has taken
lines of the scorpion, so as to indicate that the
Notice further that the ancient picture of the
place of the claws.
Babylonian Sagittarius possesses two the other of the the scorpion.
the
one
tails,
like that of
a horse,
same form as that of both the scorpion-man and
two emblems,
All this suggests that the
and Scorpio which are neighbors
in the zodiac,
may
Sagittariits
originally have
been one and were differentiated in the course of time, in order to
make
the mansions of equal length.
In this connection
we would
also
remind our readers of the
obvious similarity between the picture of the god Asur and Sagit-
But even differences are
tarius.
instructive
and there can be no
doubt that they suggest prehistoric connections between the far East and the West.
The symbol
of the ancient god
Ea
THE EMBLEM OF
is
a goat terminating in a
4198
EA.
[Babylonian Symbol of Capricorn.]
fish.
The corresponding
sign of the zodiac which in Europe
garded as a goat and called Caper or Capricorn, in
China and called "the Dolphin."
of the zodiac that
was
dation in Babylonia,
is
man
considered a fish
way
the division
originally connected with the annual inuncalled either
Aquarius or Amphora and
represented in the Chinese zodiac as a vase a
is
In a similar
is re-
;
in
is
Western charts as
holding an urn pouring forth water.
The astronomical knowledge of Egypt and Greece, to
of Babylon migrated west by
modern Europe, and on
its
way
east
it
way must
have reached China at a very early date. It is
not our intention to follow here
zodiac underwent in different countries.
all
the changes which the
It is sufficient to call atten-
tion to the undeniable similarity of all of them.
It
would take
io6
CHINESE THOUGHT.
the concentration of a specialist for every change to point out the
modifications which the several signs underwent in their transference
SAGITTARIUS AND SCORPIO ON A BABYLONIAN KUDURRU.
SCORPION-MAN AND SCORPION.
4341
from place to place and from nation to nation. One instance will be sufficient to show how the names with their peculiar associations
I07
ZODIACS OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. affected the interpretation of the several constellations
among
the
different nations.
Cancer was called "the scarab" by the Eg>ptians, and was en-
dowed with the scarab in
The
special sanctity for the deep religious significance of
Eg)pt
well
is
known.
scarab (ateuchus sacer)
is
an Egyptian bug which belongs
to the
same family as our June bug, the cockchafer, and the tumble-
bug.
In habits
it
most
is
shape of a
The
ball.
for like her the female
like the latter,
lump of mud which she reduces
scarab deposits her eggs in a
to the
ancient Eg}'ptians did not distinguish between
and the female scarab, and had not watched how they
the male
deposited and laid their eggs, so
it
nessed the mysterious bug rolling a
happened that when they wit-
mud
ball
along the road, they
were under the impression that the scarab renewed his existence by
some mysterious means, and possessed the divine power of rection in
from the dust of the
earth.
resur-
Accordingly the scarab became
Eg\ptian mythology the s>-mbol of creation and immortality.
The
sacredness of the sym.bol was for a long time preserved in the Christian
ancient
churches,
for
Christ
is
repeatedly
called
"the
Scarab."
The passages on
the subject have been collected
by Mr. Isaac
Myer, who says:* "After the Christian era the influence of the cult of the scarab
was
still felt.
St.
Ambrose, Archbishop of Milan,
good Scarabaeus, who
mud
of our bodies.'^"
of Christ: 'He likely that
is
rolled St.
calls,
Epiphanius has been quoted as sa>;ing
the Scarabaeus of God,' and indeed
what may be
Jesus, 'The
up before him the hitherto unshapen
called Christian
it
appears
forms of the scarab, yet
exist.
One
has been described as representing the crucifixion of
Jesus.
It is
white and the engraving
Many
two palm branches.
is
green, and on the back are
others have been found apparently en-
graved with the Latin cross."^^
While the Babylonian, or rather Akkadian, origin of the Chi'
Scarabs.
^*
Works,
London
:
D. Nutt.
Vol. I, c~>l. 1528, No. 113. Egyptian Mythology and Egyptian Christianity. By Samuel Sharpe, London, 1863, p. 3. "/4n Essay on Scarabs, by W. J. Loftie, B.A., F.S.A., pp. 58, 59. Paris, 1686.
CHINESE THOUGHT.
io8
nese zodiac must be regarded as an established that
it
possesses
some
peculiarities of
The Chinese begin
t ^1*1? J
fact,
we can
the enumeration of their zodiac with a
t\
mt^A 15
tiWra
not deny
own.
its
t\
^\^
IE
tm$'^
i±
IS
CHINESE ZODIAC. constellation called
"Twin Women," which corresponds
whence they count
in
(4)
Man
and
to our Virgo,
an inverse order, (2) the Lion, (3) the Crab,
Woman
(answering to our Gemini), (5) the Bull,
ZODIACS OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. (6) the
109
Ram,
(7) the Fishes, (8) the Dolphin (Capricorn), (9) the Vase (Aquarius), (10) the Bow (Sagittarius), (11) the Scorpion,
and (12) the Balance.
ft^^^^^iv.
+
tm^^t^ ti-^m^ m t
t^¥T^M
s'?'^!t^/t^
m
TS
t^fim^ ^
CHINESE ZODIAC. It is
noteworthy that the Chinese and Hindu zodiacs agree in man and woman, while in all Western
representing Gemini as a
:
no
CHINESE THOUGHT.
almanacs they are represented as brothers which to their identification with Castor
The
1.
and Pollux.
1^
called in
M
China as follows
4.
7.
BaF
IE.
5. 8.
Hjs;.
These names
7C
11-
6.
in a literal translation
mean:
I.
Descending misfortune,
7.
Longevity
2.
Large beam,
8.
Great
3.
Kernel sunk,
9.
Split
4.
Quail's head,
10.
5.
Quail's
fire,
6.
Quail's
tail,
THE TWELVE BRANCHES AND TWELVE ANIMALS REPRESENTING THE <2o6 TWELVE MANSIONS.
We
probably due
zodiac corresponds closely to the twelve mansions of the
which are
ecliptic
is
.
star,
fire,
wood,
Stellar era,
II.
Original hollow,
12.
Bride defamed.
CHINESE COIN REPRESENTING SYMBOLS OF THE FOUR QUARTERS.*
<*°7
have translated these names for the convenience of the
English reader, but must warn him that their significance has nothing to do with either the astronomical or astrological meaning of these terms. * We will add that the usual way of symbolising the four quarters is east by the azure dragon, north by the sombre warrior, south by the vermillion bird, and west by the white tiger. Compare Mayers, Ch. R. M. II, 91.
ZODIACS OF DIFFERENT NATIONS.
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CHINESE THOUGHT.
112
The twelve mansions
as well as the twelve double-hours are
closely related to the twelve animals, the rat representing north, or
midnight
The
;
the goat, south
the hare, east
;
;
the cock, west.
Chinese, like the Babylonians, divide the day into double
hours which according to the notions of Chinese occultism have definite relations to the twelve signs of the zodiac
mansions of the It
ecliptic, as
and the twelve
explained in the adjoined table.
seems strange to us that the wise
men
of the prehistoric ages
Babylonia and Egypt, in China and Central America, troubled
in
themselves so
much about
the zodiac and the calendar, but
we
will
understand their -solicitude when we consider that their world-
They thought
conception was based upon the idea of cosmic law. that the universe
was dominated by conditions which were
determined by the events that took place
would
some way be repeated
in
was the bottom rock on which and
The
their ethics.
in this
in the starry
and the nether world.
it,
its
This
rested their religion, their philosophy,
polytheistic
mythology
is
merely the poetic
exterior of this view, and the astrological superstitions that
from
pre-
heavens and
We
wild excrescences.
grow
need not be blind to the many
errors and absurdities of the ancient occultism to understand and
grant the truth that underlies is
the universality of law
;
its
system.
This fundamental truth
a firm belief that the world
an orderly whole dominated by
definite leading principles
viction that our destiny, the fate of both nations is
is
a cosmos, ;
the con-
and individuals
not a product of chance, but determined according to a divine
plan in systematic regularity.
Occultism
may now
views, but there tive
man
be an aberration, a survival of antiquated
was a time when
to a higher
it
was the stepping-stone of primi-
and deeper and truer interpretation of the
world.
We
would not possess astronomy to-day had not our ancestors
been given to astrology, and
in the
same way
all
our science, phir
losophy and religion has grown out of the past and
we
are
more
indebted to the half-truths of the antiquated world-conception than
we
are
commonly
inclined to admit.
A THRONELESS KING AND HIS EMPIRE. CONFUCIUS.
'T^HE
moral teacher of China, the
K'ung-tze. or fucius."
K'ung
his family
is
a
title
definite
form
fu tze, which has been Latinised into ''Con-
The word K'ling (which
is
man who gave
and has molded the character of the nation, was
to Chinese ethics
-*-
name,
literally translated
tze designates
means "hole")
him as a philosopher,
w^hile
//(
of respect.
Confucius was born in the year 550 B. C.^ in Tsou, a township of the district of Ch'ang-Ping, which the province
family of
Shantung.-
officers."*
He
is
is
the
His great grandfather had come from the
Sung during a feud with a powerful enemy, state
Lu, and his father whose
full
from a concubine, married again According to Sse
Ma
first
at the
T'sien, Confucius
year of duke Hsiang of Lu, which
is
in
state
to seek refuge in the
name was K'ung Shu Liang Ho,
having had nine daughters from his
*
modern Szu Shui
descended from a disting^iished
wife and a crippled son
advanced age of seventy
was born
twenty-second This statement is
in the
the year 550 B. C.
adopted by Chu Hsi in his Biography of Confucius which prefaces the standard edition of the Lun Yii, but there is no unanimity as to the exact date for the commentators Ku' Liang and Kung Yang place his birth in the year 552 B. C, and even they do not agree as to the month. Ku' Liang states that Confucius was bom on the twenty-first day of the tenth month of the twentyfirst year of the Duke Hsiang of Lu, which was the twentieth year of the Emperor Ling. While Kung Yang agrees in all other details, he states that it was the eleventh and not the tenth month. *
There
is
mentioned
as to the place of Confucius's birth. At present make rival claims for the honor. The other one not Yen Chou also situated in Shantung.
no unanimity
there are two towns that in the text is
Details of the family history of Confucius are reported by edition of The Chinese Classics, I, pp. 56 flF. '
Legge
in his
114
CHINESE THOUGHT.
:
A THRONELESS KING AND HIS EMPIRE. the youngest daughter of the
when
was
a son
bom
Yen
Cheng Tsai
family, called
to them, they called
him
II5
Ch'iu,
i.
e.,
and
;
"hill,"
because, as the legend relates, the babe's forehead bulged out in
a
This K'ung Ch'iu was destined to become
protuberance.
hill-like
the ideal of China, Confucius.
K'ung Shu,
the father, died three years after the birth of his
and the widow moved with her child to a
son, Ch'ii
village in the district
Fou.
Many
stories of miraculous occurrences are told of the birth
In one of them
of Confucius. mal, called
on which
lin,
this
"The son of
we
are told that the marvelous ani-
brought a tablet to Cheng Tsai, the sage's mother, prophecy was written the essence of water
forth at the decay of the
Most of the
show Buddhist
Chow
[i.
e.,
[d>Tiasty]
the principle of puritj] shall
and he
birthstories of the sage are of later origin
They were invented because
influence.
come
shall be a throneless king."
and
the followers
of Confucius did not want to see their founder outdone in honors,
and so they vied with Buddhist traditions
in
claiming a supernatural
origin for their great sage as well.
Nothing
known
is
of the childhood of Confucius except that
he was distinguished by a serious disposition and showed
games an extreme fondness At to
the age of nineteen he married,
him he
called
him
and when a son was born
which means "carp."
Li,
in his
and ceremonies.
for rituals
He
entered public
service as a controller of public graneries, while his virtuous deport-
ment, his admiration of the ancient sages, and his inclination to moralise, attracted general attention so as to surround
number it
of admirers
known
who
looked up to him as their master.
disciples that his principles
to his
to posterity
work on
ised himself as "a transmitter, not
owe
his doctrines,
Con-
and he character-
an originator,"* but his faithful
compiled a book of reminiscences which they published
under the
title
Lun
Yii,
"Conversations and Sayings," which
the English-speaking world *
We
and moral maxims became
and were cherished by the Chinese nation.
fucius himself never wrote a
disciples
him with a
Analects, VII,
I.
is
best
known
in
as Confucian Analects.
CHINESE THOUGHT.
ii6 It
has become one of the most important canonical books of China
and
is
regarded as a reliable authority for rules of conduct.
In 527
Cheng
Tsai, the
mother of Confucius,
died,
and he had
both his parents buried together in Fang, his father's former home,
under one tumulus.
The Confucian Analects
are not a systematic treatise on ethics,
but have the appearance of mere anecdotes, being sayings of the master, mostly introduced by the simple words
"The Master
said,"
and sometimes mentioning the occasion on which certain sayings
CONFUCIUS TEMPLE AT SHANGHAI. of his had been uttered.
man and
Confucius was an extremely conservative
his ideal lay in the past.
The
great patterns of conduct
were the sages of yore, and he selected from them as models of conduct the most famous
rulers,
such as Yao, Shun, the Duke of
Chou, and King Wan. Confucius
may
ligion, if
it
ations of
life.
is fully
is
frequently represented as a rationalist
be called
But
this is
so, consisted
whose
re-
purely of practical consider-
not quite true, for his belief in mysticism
demonstrated by his reverence for the Yih King, the canonical
A THRONELESS KING AND HIS EMPIRE. book of mystic
which he said
advanced age: "If some years could be added to
his
give I
lore of China, with reference to
of
fifty
them
II7
my
would
life, I
Book of Changes,
to the study of the
in
for then
would have avoided great errors." Confucius
to the
is
credibly believed to be the author of an appendix
Yih King, the Book of Changes, called *'The Ten Wings,"
which proves that as
it
remained to
this ancient all
document was
to
him as enigmatical
succeeding generations.
In order to study the archives of antiquity, Confucius went to the capital of the empire, the city of Lo, where the most famous
Lao Tan,
thinker of the age, (i.
e.,
The
archives.
a
better
known under
the
story has
was not
interview
it
two great representatives of
that these
opposed conception of
radically
met personally, but
life
Lao Tze
satisfactory to either.
plicity of the heart
insisted
and expected that manners and
genuine virtue and especially to
would
mankind
to
piety by punctilious observ-
filial
The
ance of the rules of propriety.
their
on sim-
rituals
adjust themselves, while Confucius proposed to train
Ma
Lao Tze
title
"the old philosopher") held the position of keeper of the
interview
is
recorded by Ssu
Hsien, and has been retold with literary embellishments by the
great Taoist litterateur
Chuang Tze.
Confucius taught the Golden Rule in these words: / so
"What ye
will not
pu
yii,
mo
shi yii jen.
have done to you, do ye not unto others."
The fame of Confucius had gradually spread throughout country',
and the sovereign of
made him
his native state,
chief magistrate of a
principles of government.
town
in
Duke Ting
the
of Lu,
which he was to try
his
Confucianists claim that he worked a
marv^elous reformation in the manners of the people, and so his
sovereign raised him to a higher position, entrusting him
with
first
the ministry- of works, and then with the ministry of justice.
In his fifty-seventh year Confucius
show The Confucianist
in order to
w ithdrew from
public office
his disapproval of the conduct of his sovereign.
report states that a neighboring prince, the
Duke
CHINESE THOUGHT.
Il8 of Ch'i, envied the in
of
Duke Ting because
of his famous minister, and
order to alienate his affections from the sage, he sent to the court
Lu
a present of eighty beautiful maidens and thirty spans of
and
horses, thereby reclaiming Ting's preference for sport
The
frivolities.
resignation of the sage did not, however, have the desired
The Duke appointed another
effect.
number
the great
from
minister of justice from
now
of office seekers, while the sage
hope of finding another dignified em-
in the
state to state
among
traveled
ployment as adviser to a ruler who would venture to introduce the principles of his system of morality,
and restore the
ideal of China's
glorious past in his government.
The time
of his travels
He was
to Confucius.
was a long
series of disappointments
received sometimes with honors and some-
times with indifference, but there was no prince give him the desired employment. utilised
in
writings stitute
willing to
leisure
was
well
Confucius collected a number of
which he deemed worthy of preservation.
now
They con-
the second portion of the canonical scriptures of China,
and have as such the books."
for
labors,
literary
who was
His enforced
The only
his native state
title
original
beginning
King,
i.
"canon," or "authoritative
e.,
work he ever composed in the
year 722 B.
"Spring and Autumn," being a poetical
title
is
a history of
C, which
is
called
to indicate the suc-
cession of the seasons and the events belonging thereto.
He was
not
a historian, however, for he simply chronicled successive happenings without pointing out their historical connection.
The
older Confucius
his life should
grew the more disappointed was he
have been spent
in vain.
We
that
Lun
Yii
make me
his
are told in the
that he said:
"Xo master.
wise ruler rises; no one in the empire will
My
time has come to die."
Saddened by the
fact that his
moral views were rejected by the
princes of the nation, he predicted the
and
civil
coming of turbulent times
wars, events which had indeed become unavoidable through
the degeneration of
many
welfare of the people.
petty courts and their disregard for the
!
A THRONELESS KING AND HIS EMPIRE.
Once
it
Kung Yang
happened (so
declared
Duke Ai
inspect the body and give
of Lu, and the
is
deemed a
In his despair Confucius
rare occurrence.
looked upon the death of this royal beast as a bad
exclaimed:
"My
teaching
is
omen and he
finished indeed."*
pathetic to observe the sage's despair at the end of his
It is
career; but such
is
the fate of reformers and this saying of Con-
much
fucius sounds ver\is
Confucius
his opinion.
to be that supernatural animal called Lin, the appearance
it
of which
"It
IQ
informs us)^ that a strange
creature had been killed on a hunt of the
sage was called to
I
like a literal version of Christ's last
word,
finished!"
Two
vears later Confucius
he walked
in front of his
^Jr in
^Hc
^^
j^ ^
A^
TTV
LlI
fi:
Jt
S
felt
house he muttered
These Confucius.
He
beams decay.
strongest
And
the sage like grass
.\Ias
Alas!"
fade.
[The original is quoted from Li Ki, "The Book of Ritual. ']
"y
lines of
this verse:
''^"^
_^
_^ "4
WTiile
'"Huge mountains wear away. Alas!
"
Must "5^
the approach of his end.
complaint are the Eli Eli, lama sabachthani of forsaken and fears that his work has been
feels
in vain.
Confucius died in 478 built a
tomb over
in retirement,
his remains,
and
his faithful followers
mourning on the spot
His most devoted admirer, Tze Kung,
built a hut
for three years.
and
lived there
for three years longer.
The fame
of Confucius did not spread beyond a limited circle
of disciples until a new* period of prosperity began to China, which took place in the rise of the the
first
Han
visited the sage's
memor\'.
Han
dynasty.
emperor, was an admirer of the Confucian
He had
tomb his
in
dawn on Kao Tsou, ideal.
He
195 and offered there sacrifices to his
books re-edited and ordered them to be care-
fully preserved. " Kung Yang is one of the three commentators of Kung Tse's historical book Spring and Autumn, the others being Tso Chi and Ku Liang. * This is a verbatim translation of the four words wu too ch'iung i.
!
CHINESE THOUGHT.
I20
Further honors were heaped upon Confucius when the emperor P'ing Ti had a temple erected to his dignity of a duke, conferring on the Perfect
and
memory and
him the
official
This occurred
Illustrious."
raised
him
to the
name, "Duke Ni,
in the
year one of the
Christian era.
In 739 the Emperor Hsiian T'sung canonised him under the title
"Prince of Illustrious Learning" and made him the object of
veneration in the
Twice a year a fucius,
and
it
ceremonies of the government.
official
special
day
is set
aside for the worship of Con-
an established custom that
is
at the imperial college
the emperor himself attends the festival in state.
invokes the
six times to the ground, he
spirit
Bowing
his
head
of the sage in a
kneeling position with these words (quoted in Legge's translation) "Great art thou,
Thy
O
:
perfect sage
thy doctrine complete. mortal men there has not been thine equal. All kings honor thee. Thy statutes and laws have come gloriously down. Reverently have the sacrificial vessels been set out. virtue
is full
;
Among
Full of awe,
we sound our drums and
bells."
In addition to the books which Confucius had compiled there are two
more writings on
Both breathe the
canonical authority.
and are written
his system of ethics, spirit
in a simple direct style of
the principles of
filial
metaphysical motives.
which have acquired of the great master
pure ethics founded upon
piety,
without any reference to religious or
They
are the "Great Learning"
(Ta Hsiao)
and "Middle Doctrine" (Chung Yu7ig). Children are taught from a tender age to reverence Confucius,
and every school
in
China possesses his picture before which teachers
and scholars pay homage to the sage.
Whatever opinion we may have of Confucius, one thing stands out clearly, indicated by the great significance he holds in the history of China, in Chinese literature, and in Chinese thought: that he has been
national character
and ;
still
is
viz.,
the greatest exponent of the Chinese
for his ideals as well as his attitude
toward
life
are typically Chinese.
Confucius was a throneless king indeed, and his empire
is
the
A THRONELESS KING AND HIS EMPIRE.
121
realm of moral aspirations wherever Chinese civilisation has taken root.
The emperor,
government
is
as well as the entire machiner\- of the Chinese
but the organ of the Chinese
spirit,
—the
executor
T
A CHILD WORSHIPING THE SAGE of ideas which determine the character of the nation, and this
spirit,
the genius of the Chinese nation,
is
social
is
Confucius.
His domain
order of the empire, the administration from the throne
the
down
CHINESE THOUGHT.
122 to
its
lowliest subject,
and especially the schools.
Confucius
is
wor-
shiped as the incarnation of morality.
FILIAL PIETY. Several years ago while sauntering through the Pan-American
Exposition at Buffalo, little
New
Chinese store where,
York,
among
my
eye was attracted by a
other Oriental curios, were dis-
played wall pendants, ornamental mottoes designed to be hung up as decorations in the sitting-rooms of the Celestials. ested in the subject of things Chinese
Archaic. 5081
and I
I
Being
inter-
secured copies of them,
Common HSIAO. CHARACTER THE
Script. BOM
since they are characteristic of the spirit of Chinese moralisni,
take pleasure in reproducing them here, for, indeed, our descrip-
tion of Chinese thought
to Chinese ethics in
would not be complete without a reference
which the
ideal of hsiao,
i.
e., filial
piety, plays
so prominent a part.
The paper and
art
work of
these pendants are crude
to allow the assumption that the prints
and designed for the common
must be very cheap
in
people and not for the rich.
enough China,
Prob-
A THRONELESS KING AND HIS EMPIRE. ably they cost not
more than one or two
Hong Kong, and
evidently serve the
12'
cents apiece in Peking or
two purposes of
instruction
and ornament.
The Chinese are
;
not filial
for while tire
we
much more
are
of a moralising people than
dislike abstract moralising, they delight in
of impressing
upon
it
we
and do
their children the praiseworthiness of
devotion.
The
character hsiao consists of
child supporting
two symbols representing a
an old man, which means that children should
honor and care for parents posed to be the basis of
and
in their old age,
all virtue.
The moral
filial
piety
is
sup-
relations are regarded
Ornamental.
Seal Style.
THE CHARACTER HSIAO.
as mere varieties of hsiao; and the original significance of the word,
which means
chiefly the devotional attitude of a child
toward
his
parents, includes such relations as the obedience of the subject to his ruler, of the wife to her husband, of the
elder brother, especially
and of any one's
younger brother to
his
relations to his superiors, including
man's relation to Heaven or the Lord on High, to God.
The Chinese ornament
their rooms, not as
of beaut>% but with moral sayings
;
we do
with pictures
and the two here reproduced
:
CHINESE THOUGHT.
124
The former
are typical of the national character of the Chinese.
two pendants,
of the
"When I
father
literally translated, reads:
and son
|
|
combine
j
their efforts
mountains
|
|
are changed
into gems."
The in
saying, however,
harmony with
The second pendant
reads
St
"When
elder brother
are harmonious
^ m^ ± #_^
and younger brother (or
|
in their hearts
|
not an admonition to parents to keep
is
their sons but to sons to be obedient to their parents.
|
the earth
|
briefly,
will be
when brothers)
changed
[
into
|
an Eldo-
rado."^ It will
be noticed that the letters are pictures containing figures
and Chinese characters
and we have here the Chinese
;
peculiarity
of utilising their script for illustrations which represent scenes from
well-known Chinese
stories of
from a famous book These
devotion
all
;
of
them being taken
called Tzventy-four Stories of Filial Devotion,
known
stories are
filial
to every
Chinaman, for they form the most
important text-book of their moral education.
The
first
who
Ngai,
character
{fii,
during the
lived
Wang
meaning "father") represents
Wei
dynasty (220-364 A. D.).
His
mother was much afraid of lightning and so during thunderstorms
The
stood greatly in need of her son's comfort.
Wang
after her death
visiting her tomb,
The
picture
tecting
it
story tells us that
show
to
his
devotion by
whenever a thunder-cap appeared on the horizon.
shows him bringing
oflferings to
against the fury of the thunder-god,
above him
The
Ngai continued
in the air.
(No. 805a,
her grave and pro-
who
is
seen hovering
p. 242.^)
inscription of the second character
{t::e,
meaning "son")
reads in one place "Tai Son's aged mother," and in another Ilsiang's daughter
The child
third
weeping over a sweet melon."
character
(hsicJi,
meaning "combine")
standing before an old gentleman.
'
Literally, gold.
*
The numbers and pages
Manual.
"Tan
in
The
pictures a
inscription
reads:
parentheses refer to Mayers, Chinese Reader's
A THRONELESS KING AND HIS EMPIRE.
125
hsiung
[When]
fu [When]
elder
brothers
father
[and] younger
brothers
t'ung [are]
harmoni-
ous
hsin
»i(\
[in their] hearts
t'u
the earth
fien is
changed
chin into an Eldorado (gold).
CHINESE THOUGHT.
126
"Keeping
in his
parent."
It
bag a crab apple he showed
Luh Sii. When a boy of six who gave him crab apples to eat but noticed
refers to the story of
years he visited
Yen
Yii
that the child kept one in his
The story of
his devotion to his
fourth character
Hwang Hiang
bag
(li,
father's
his pillow, in winter he kept
his mother's
In
comfijrt.
warm.
it
p. 140.)
illustrates the
who, as a boy of seven, after
death devoted himself unweariedly to his
summer he fanned
(No. 443,
for his mother.
meaning "strength")
(No. 217,
pp. 69-70.)
The
character
fifth
meaning "mountain") represents
(shan,
Kiang Keh, a Chinese Anchises of about 490 A. D.
Once he
res-
cued his mother during a disturbance of the peace by carrying her
many
Behind the fugitives
miles on his shoulders.
in
the center
of the character rages the spirit of rebellion and in the right-hand
corner
(No. 255,
seen a deserted house.
is
The
character
sixth
transforming") illustrates the story of self to the bites
The
p. 80.)
meaning "fashioning, shaping,
{ch'cng,
Wu
Meng who
exposes him-
of mosquitoes lest his mother be stung by them.
on a couch
picture of the hero of the story lying naked
not
is
very clear in the reproduction, but the comfort of his mother, re-
(No. 808,
clining in an easy chair finds a distinct expression.
The far as for
it
filial
last
character {yil) of the
first
It
other nourishment.
represents Ts'ui She
first
(No. 7910^
Wang
appetite for fresh fish in winter.
carp,
ice,
warming
it
with his
which he presented to
The next Emperor Yao pattern of
p.
who
p. 260.)
remarkable
in so
who was
character
{ti,
in the center
filial
her.
own
incapable of taking
(hsiung,
meaning
Siang, whose stepmother
He went own
out on
felt
the river, lay
an
down
body, and caught a couple of
(No. 816,
p.
241.)
"younger brother") shows the famous and before him
as well as royal virtues.
animals that helped him
nursed at her
238.)
character of the second pendant
"elder brother") relates to
on the
is
stands for the only instance of a woman's being praised devotion.
breast her toothless old mother-in-law
The
series
plow the fields,
his successor
The is
Shun, the
elephant, one of the
visible
above Shun on
A THRONELESS KING AND HIS EMPIRE. the
William Frederick Mayers
right-hand side.
Reader's Manual (Xo. 617, "Tradition
Chinese
his
in
189) says about him:
extremely discordant with reference to his origin
According to the Alain Records of the
and descent. his personal
is
p.
I27
name was Ch'ung Hwa, and he was
Chwan
a reputed descendant of the emperor designatipn Yii, which
is
Emperors,
five
the son of
Ku
(He had
Hii.
by some referred to a region
Sow,
also the
modern
in
Ho-nan, but by others to the territory of Yii Yao, in modern Chekiang, with one or the other of which
His
father,
Ku Sow
(lit.
it is
mother, took a second wife, by
whom
and preferring the offspring of
his second
he repeatedly sought to put the
sought to connect him.)
man') on the death of Shun's
'the blind old
he had a son named Siang;
union to his eldest son,
latter to death.
Shun, however,
while escaping this fate, in no wise lessened his dutiful conduct
toward
He
his father
and stepmother, or
occupied himself
ploughing
in
his fraternal regard for Siang.
Li Shan, where his
at
filial
was rewarded by beasts and birds who spontaneously came his
plough and to weed his
made and
He
fields.
fished in the
pottery on the banks of the Yellow River.
compass
his brother sought to
to
piety
drag
Lui Lake and parents
Still his
his death; but although they
endeavored to make him perish by setting
fire
and by
to his house
causing him to descend a deep well, he was always miraculously In his tw entieth year, he attracted by his
preserved.
notice of the wise
two daughters in order to
in marriage,
make Shun
and disinherited
his successor
year of his reign (B. C. 2287), in the
The Tsung
Yao
his son
Yao
associated his protege with latter
means "agree,"
of the third century A. D., WTiile he
him
succeeded on
was
began to put forth
whose mother loved
to eat
bam-
sorrowing because they do not sprout in
their sprouts,
(Xo. 499,
Meng
refers to
winter, the miracle happened that in spite of the frost the
mother's desire.
of Tan,
In the 71st
in B. C. 2258."
character t'ung, which
boo shoots.
piety the
Chu
upon the throne.
government of the empire, to which the
the death of
filial
and virtuous Yao, who bestowed upon him his
and so he was enabled
p. 155.)
which the dish of bamboo sprouts
is
The
picture
bamboos
to fulfil his
shows a
table
served, the face of his
on
mother
;
CHINESE THOUGHT.
128
hovering above
it.
the left-hand stroke
On is
the right hand a sprouting
Yen-Tze, the hero of the next "heart,"
Meng Tsung
bamboo
sits
sorrowing
stick.
story, depicted in the character
said to have ministered to his mother's preference for
is
the milk of the doe by disguising himself in a deer skin and mingling
with a herd of deer in the forest, where he succeeded in milking a
doe and side,
in spite of robbers, represented as attacking
he carried his mother's favorite food safely
home
him on
either
in a pail.
No.
(
916, p. 276.)
The
character
sacrifice of
"earth," depicts the touching story of the
t'u,
Yang Hiang, who saw
a tiger approaching his father
and threw himself between him and the In the reproduction
it
is difiicult
beast.
(No. 882,
p. 266.)
to recognise the crouching tiger,
which forms the stroke through the character.
The next to
Min Sun,
it
is
to the last character (pien,
him only
by his
father, the latter
Min Sun
entreated
became
filled
is
character (chin, meaning "gold") bears the inscription his
the rebellion of
Wang Meng
woods and brought
devotion to his mother."
filial
(25 A. D.) picked wild mulberries in
The
picture
was
shows a robber
In China even criminals have respect for the
devotion of children to their parents. piety the robber
It il-
the famine caused by
the black ones to his mother while he
with the unripe yelow ones.
watching the boy.
made him a
So
in recognition of his
filial
present of rice and meat.
here reproduce a series of illustrations representing the
twenty-four well-known stories of
we
'It
p. 156.)
last
Shun who during
We
him saying:
with affection toward him."
lustrates the story of Ts'ai
satisfied
was discovered
from cold than three children be
"With mulberries he shows
the
and
His magnanimous conduct so impressed the mind of
his stepmother that she
The
this
ill
became wroth and would have put away
better that one son should suffer
(No. 503,
When
in the leaves of plants.
the harsh stepmother, but
motherless!'
:
two children of her own, used him
clothed
refers
Mayers says "His stepmother,
a disciple of Confucius.
recorded, having
meaning "changes")
filial
devotion, which, however,
regret to say are not by a Chinese illustrator but by one of the
A THRONELESS KING AND HIS EMPIRE. most remarkable
artists of
129
Japan, Hokusai, the painter of the poor.
Crude woodcut reproductions of these pictures are known
all
over
the countr\- of the rising sun.
They represent (beginning always with the hand upper comer and proceeding downward)
:
picture in the right-
CHINESE THOUGHT.
I30 I.
Shun, the person mentioned above destined to become the
son-in-law and successor of
Emperor Yao,
assisted in his
plowing
by an elephant.
2.
Tseng Shen, a
a miraculous event.
disciple of Confucius.
When
The
picture illustrates
he was gathering fuel
in the
woods,
;
A THROXELESS KING AND HIS EMPIRE. his mother, in her anxiety to see him, bit her iinger
the
I3I
;
and such was
sympathy between the two that he was aware of
c'csire
Wen Ti,
3.
Kao Tsu, founder
natural son of
his mother's
(No. 739,
and at once appeared in her presence.
of the
p.
Han
223.)
dynasty,
Dow-
succeeded to the throne after the usurpation by the Empress
When
ager in 179 B. C.
mother
his
sick
fell
he never
left
her
apartment for three years and did not even take time to change his
He
apparel.
is
Min Sun,
4.
maltreated by his stepmother, has been mentioned
(Xo. 503,
above.
famous as a most humane monarch.
also
156.)
p.
Chung Yeo, another disciple martial accomplishments, who died a
of Confucius, famous for his
5.
hero's death in the suppression
He used to say: "In the days when I was poor I upon my back for the support of those who gave me
of a rebellion. carried rice birth
and now, for
:
them
recall 6.
Tung Yung was
neral rites with
woman who
all
I
would gladly do so again,
too poor to give his father a decent burial.
"When
propriety.
returning to his home, he met
oflFered herself as his wife,
together for a month,
when
was no other than the
star
Lord of Heaven, her
and saying 7.
this she
The
and who repaid the loan
9.
vanished from his sight."
story of Yen-Tze.
was
away
Luh
Sii
liberated
his mother.
(who
who
10.
'The
(No. 691,
filial
piety
p. 210.)
while dressed in a deer-skin,
(Xo. 916,
p.
(Xo. 255,
is
276.)
chief's permission to allow
him
p. 80.)
lived in the first century of the Christian era),
by his
jailer,
when imprisoned
conspiracy, on account of the devotion he
(No. 443,
pair lived happily
recompense an act of
father, to
Kiang Keh asking the robber
to carry
The
woman disclosed the fact that she Chih Xii,^ who had been sent down by the
here pictured as meeting a robber. 8.
cannot
for 10,000 pieces of cash to perform the fu-
he had incurred with 300 webs of cloth.
the
I
(Xo. 91. pp. 29-30.)
So he bonded himself a
that
all
to life!"
for complicity in a
showed toward
his mother.
p. 140.)
The star
story of Ts'ui She, nursing her husband's mother.
Vega, o
in Lyre.
connection with this star
is
The
fairy story
given on page
77.
which the Chinese
tell
in
CHINESE THOUGHT.
132 11.
Wii Meng (No. 868,
p.
260), exposing himself to mos-
quitoes. 12.
Wang
13.
The
Siang, thawing the ice to catch carp.
story of
Kwoh
K'ii,
who
"is said to
have Hved
in the
second century A. D., and to have had an aged mother to support,
A THRONELESS KING AND HIS EMPIRE.
own
besides his
for
sufficient
;
and
engaged
in
he proposed to his wife that they should bury
all,
this
Finding that he had not food
wife and children.
have the more for their mother's
their infant child in order to
wants
I33
devotedness was rewarded by his discovering, while
digging a
pit
for this purpose, a bar of solid gold
which placed him above the reach of poverty, and upon which were inscribed the words: 'A gift
deprive
him of
it!'
(No. 303,
"
14. 15.
Cho Show-ch'ang searched
Kwoh
offering himself to the tiger. fifty
none
K'ii; let
(No. 882,
p. 266.)
years for his mother
Having succeded
his father.
he served her the rest of her 16.
to
p. 95.)
Yang Hiang
had been divorced from
p.
from Heaven
in his
who
purpose
(No. 81, pp. 26-27.)
life.
(No. 950,
Yii K'ien-low, ministering unto his sick father.
286.) 17.
from
Lao Lai-Tze
plays like a child with his parents
who
suffer
senile childishness. 18.
The same
that he
was
visited
him when
story
troubles ensuing
is
Shun
told of Ts'ai
Tseng Shen,
as of
viz.,
from a distance by a sensation of pain which
recalled
mother
his
Wang
upon
her
bit
own
During the
finger.
Mang's usurpation, A.
D., 25,
when
a state of famine prevailed, he nourished his mother with wild berries, retaining only the unripe
ones for his
her death, while mourning beside her attendants
who exclaimed
to leave the spot,
and
his dwelling
mother had been greatly alarmed,
was heard, he made
in
cr>'
am
Our
!"
(No. 752,
a hunter in the
On
he was called away by
was on
fire
:
but he refused
remained unharmed.
As
his
her lifetime, whenever thunder
p. 226.)
out
:
19.
Huang Hiang,
20.
Kiang She
"Be not
afraid, mother,
illustration depicts
woods who gives him a
in
sustenance.
his duty, after death, to repair to her grave
it
during thunderstorms, and to here
coffin,
that the house
own
I
him meeting
piece of venison.
fanning his father's bed.
conjunction with his wife devoted himself to
waiting upon his aged mother, in order to gratify whose fancy he
went daily a long distance to draw drinking water from a river and to obtain fish for her table.
miracle.
A
This devotedness was rewarded by a
spring burst forth close by his dwelling, and a pair of
CHINESE THOUGHT.
134
carp were daily produced from
it
to supply his mother's wants.
(No.
256, p. 81.)
21.
Wang Ngai
comforting the
spirit
of his mother in a thunder-
storm. 22.
Ting Lan "flourished under the Han dynasty.
After his
A THRONELESS KING AND HIS EMPIRE.
I35
mother's death he preserved a wooden effigy representing her figure, to which he offered the
same forms of respect and duty as he had
One
observed toward his parent during Hfe. absent from home, his neighbor
household
article,
whether the
Hereupon
whereupon
on the features of
to his
and
facts thus
the State." 2;^.
24.
borrow some
to
by the divining-slips reply.
wooden
When
figure.
home he saw an expression
of displeasure
and on learning from
and beat the aggressor
stick
he was apprehended for
this
was
and received a negative
his mother's efiig}-,
what had passed, he took a
tears,
it,
the neighbor angrily struck the
Ting Lan returned
When
Chang Shuh came
his wife inquired
would lend
effig\-
day, while he
his wife
severely.
deed the figure was seen to shed
becoming known he received high honors from
(No. 670,
p.
204.)
-
Meng Sung reaping bamboo shoots for his mother Hwang T'ing-Kien (a celebrated poet of the Sung
performs menial services
in ministering to his parents.
in winter.
dynasty),
(No. 226,
P- 73-)
Some
of the stories seem
silly to
us
:
a pickax
better service in breaking the ice than the
with one's
own body and
would have done
method of thawing
it
up
catching cold; a mosquito-net would have
proved more useful than feeding the insects with the blood of a devoted child,
etc.
Moreover the
sacrifices of children is
stolidity of parents in accepting
with equanimity and as a matter of course
to our sense of propriety nothing short of criminal.
be wise for us whose habits of viz.,
life
suffer
Still, it will
from the opposite extreme,
irreverence for authority or tradition in any form, to recog-
nise that all of
them are pervaded with a noble
parents, which
though exaggerated
ought to command our admiration.
is
spirit
none the
less
of respect for
touching and
THE CHINESE PROBLEM. CHINESE CHARACTERISTICS.
T^HE -*-
Chinese are industrious, modest, easily
They
satisfied,
and meek.
are at a disadvantage in warfare and pohtics; but the
main struggle
for survival will be decided, not by
guns and
"®"
ISLAND IN THE YANGTZE RIVER. matic treaties, but by sociological conditions people will be drawn mercial interests, influence
felt,
we
and
;
and when the Chinese
into the great whirlpool of the world's shall discover that they will
the probability
is
diplo-
com-
soon make their
that their very virtues, their
PAGODA OF PEKING. Characteristic of China as exhibiting the state of decay into public buildings are suffered to fall.
which
CHINESE THOUGHT.
138
and tenacious
frugality
to the white
industrial habits will
man, who kindly
make them obnoxious
offers himself to bear the
burden of
governing the yellow race.
China its
and ores;
in coal
the prairies of Illinois, perhaps
curious; and nationality will be
it
is
more
landscapes are beautiful; its
so;
its
plains are as fertile as
national traditions are
probable that some time the currents of Chinese
and Western
civilisation
opened to Western
will slowly
The
an interesting country.
is
mountains are rich
will
civilisation,
China
be intermingled.
and perhaps the Chinese too
but steadily gain a foothold in the territories of the West.
m
.A.M.
fc.
t J7 mWc m^^^^
"'
'"
^^^mmmt.^
^J:-t--^v,^ jmmmmmamijm^mmm
IMPERIAL PALACE IN THE TIGER MOUNTAINS. It is difficult to
Western
Chinese will social
predict the result, but one thing
civilisation is
and
bound
to upset
is
sure, that while
and revolutionise China, the
in their turn affect the habits, opinions,
racial constitution of
action without reaction.
The
Western
culture.
and the
There
is
entire
never an
Chinese are not pugnacious, they
are not conquerors like the Saxons, but they possess qualities that in the struggle for existence are of greater importance
still,
viz.,
en-
durance, persistence, plodding patience, and industrious habits.
The Rev. R. Morrison was one
of the most prominent Christian
THE CHINESE PROBLEM.
139
missionaries and a close student of Chinese language, literature, history,
His opinion of the Chinese, as given
and customs.
conclusion of his book is
remarkable for
its
A
View
correctness and justice which
in the fact that the statement,
is
though made almost a
best evinced centur}-
THE PAVILION OF THE IMPERIAL PALACE AT PEKING (viz.. in
of
it
1817). might have been written yesterday and not a
would
lose its force.
in the
of China for Philological Purposes,
ago
^"
word
Since the works of Mr. Morrison have
presumably become inaccessible to most of our readers, we deem it
opportune to quote his views in
full.
;
CHINESE THOUGHT.
140
REV. "In China there
which to spirit is
learn.
A
is
R.
MORRISON'S VIEWS.
much
good
to blame,
writer^ has
very different from what
and perhaps something from remarked that the Christian
may
be called the heroic
spirit
THE PAGODA OF THE IMPERIAL PALACE AT PEKING.
it
is
of a
rci^ret
of
more tame,
how
little,
gentle,
and submissive
in this particular,
Europe, and how much we *Arch deacon Paley.
it
cast.
It is
matter of
has moulded the public feeling
yet overvalue a high, proud spirit,
THE CHINESE PROBLEM.
141
with a bold disregard of consequences, and prefer
meek, unaspiring, and humble
to a rational,
it
Nothing can be more un-
spirit.
christian than the stern resentment of insults cherished by Europeans.
"The Chinese
And
with them.
teach contempt of the rude, mstead of fighting
man who unreasonably insults him, whilst he who bears and
the
public opinion against aflFront,
"The Chinese adherence to reason
but
it,
They have no conception
side.
or shooting somebody
else,
and reasonableness of
his
"Even
the
words and
conduct
its
necessar}'.
To make
and prove the truth
actions.
make
the experience of
many
:
"Were
is
the
more
the religious
all
ages that
but granting them their
statement of facts, they never
fail
to prove that
wrong.
when an Eng-
lishman would knock him down, or an Italian stab him.
which
appear
nor are their reasons or premises such
;
Chinese would stand and reason with a man,
less to say
it
reasonable and benevolent on
is
those' whom they oppose are completely in the
"A
to prefer being shot,
the utmost pains to
Europeans would generally admit
own premises and
of that
out the argument, they are not nice about
a strict adherence to truth that
is at
They have found by
occasions.
man
rather than explain
Government
to the people, that
their
and who manifest a bold
right,'
such characters are at great pains to show
still
on their
is
They have
are fond of appealing to reason.
sullen notion of honor, that would lead a
it is
despises the
esteemed.
is
'men of a high-spirited sense of
that
another, has
rational
mode
It is
need-
of proceeding.
and moral writings of Europeans consid-
ered by a person living in China, as a faithful delineation of their character, if
how much would he be mistaken
he formed his opinion from the
daily papers, whilst he
be equally unfair.
by a part only= the Chinese teach,
follies
!
And on
the other hand,
and vices recorded
would form a quite opposite opinion,
We
it
in
the
would
should guard against judging of the whole
The European
student must not consider what
and what they do, as always the same.
Their moral maxims are as ineffectual in regulating their hearts and
conduct as the moral maxims of Christendom are with respect to
CHINESE THOUGHT.
142
Europeans,
knowing what
This,
is
right,
and doing what
can be accounted for only on the principle that depraved, or fallen from
"The
millions of China,
as children of the
blood
all
its
original purity
whom, on
and
human
is
wrong,
nature
is
rectitude.
we must recognise God hath made of one
principle,
same Almighty Father
(
for
nations of men), are rendered by the strong
arm
of power,
exerted by the magistrate, the parent, or guardian, more afraid of
Europeans.
telling truth than
They
are vastly prone to prevari-
THE PAILOO GATE AT AMOI.*
cate, to deceive, to
of true religion
;
lie.
Superstition and idolatry usurp the place
and, Chinese, like the rest of mankind, are in-
clined to be satisfied with external observances, instead of religious
and moral
"The
rectitude. affairs of
whatever to China not
;
Europe are of comparatively no importance
and on the other hand, the
much concern Europeans.
There
exists
affairs of
China do
mutual indifference.
* Pailoo gates are memorial structures built in honor of worthy widows or persons who have distinguished themselves by filial piety or other virtues. Pat means tablet, and loo, any building with an upper story.
THE CHINESE PROBLEM. *The Greeks and Romans were
The
143
the ancestors of Europeans.
scenes of their battles; the situation and antiquities of their
cities;
the birth-place of their poets,
orators, all possess
an acquired interest
historians, in the
minds of those whose But
education has led them to an early acquaintance with them.
would be
difficult for
and
legislators,
it
a Chinese of the best talents and education, to
acquire in the years of manhood, a similar interest.
3^
Jevef^e^.j'
•
4i"il<;%2='<
-^
TOMBS NEAR PEKING.
"The Chinese
also can point out the scenes of battles
thousands fought and died
tombs of monarchs
whose memory
is
;
;
where
the situation of splendid courts
;
the
the abodes of historians, moralists, and poets,
dear to them, and which interest their hearts in
the antiquities of their fathers.
But what they look on with
interest
and pleasure, can certainly have few charms for a foreigner, who excluded from
all
their families,
is
and passed from Peking to Canton
CHINESE THOUGHT.
144 in a boat,
under military
escort.^
Still
from
deny that the
this to
country does not possess any of the charms of Europe, does not
seem a
fair conclusion.
If the reality of things is to
be judged of
by the feelings of the inhabitants of a country, every region of the world, and every state of society, would in
Europe, which
of high superiority. the globe,
is
not yet free from
to a person placed
who
hears
little
is
turn assume the place
its
the most scientific portion of
selfish
and narrow prejudices
rumor of
of equity and justice to appeal
still
as
if
they possessed no great principles
to,
or were too selfish and barbarous
rancorous against each other, as
do
and
on the Eastern verge of the Asiatic Continent,
of the nations of Europe, but the distant
their perpetual wars, with all their advantages, they appear
to
;
so.
"There are certainly not many things worthy of imitation
:
there
is,
in
which the Chinese are
however, one benevolent cause, which
a Chinese would never think of opposing, but which has yet to
struggle with that of
much unreasonable
making education
opposition in
modern Europe,
as general as possible,
viz.,
and giving to moral
science a decided preference to physical science, in the education of
youth
;
to
honor virtue more than
talent.
It is
painful to hear a
smattering of astronomy and geography together with a
drawing, and dancing, which can be of very lation of the heart
tion in relative
and
little
use in the regu-
and religious
duties,
on which depend the peace and is
lightly esteemed.
a moral or religious sentiment anywhere but in the pulpit
amongst the poor of
more
his
own
called into exercise, than
utter
esteemed
it
to
generally
country, and to hear duty to parents,
with a rational and religious self-control, quite as in general
is
To
Every benevolent Englishman must wish
see the reasoning faculty is
music,
considered of great value, whilst instruc-
life,
happiness of families and of nations,
perfectly insufferable.
little
much honored
conversation as those attainments and accomplishments,
which may confer elegance on a dwelling and give grace to a person,
human action, morally heart-felt human bliss.
but which have no influence on the springs of considered, nor feed the sources of real
"The
writer, however,
This was
in 1817.
means not
to insinuate, that in morals
THE CHINESE PROBLEM.
145
: ;
CHINESE THOUGHT.
146
we
are inferior to the Chinese
the reverse.
and our pubhc morals are edged standards require. in
some
he believes the fact to be very far
still
greatly below
what our acknowl-
As, 'Fas est ab hoste doceri/ so probably
denominated Christian, may yet learn from
things, nations
heathens.
;
Their advantages indeed have not been equal to ours
As Confucius
taught, our dislike of a man's vices should
never be carried to such a height as to make us blind to what really
is
good about him.
'The good
traits in the
Chinese character, amongst themselves,
are mildness and urbanity; a wish to
show
that their conduct
is
STREET SCENE IN PEKING.
reasonable, and generally a willingness to yield to
what appears
so; docility; industry; subordination of juniors; respect
aged, and for parents
;
for the
acknowledging the claims of poor kindred
these are the virtues of public opinion, which, of course, are, in particular cases, often
more show than
reality.
For on the other
hand, the Chinese are specious, but insincere, jealous, envious, and distrustful to a
high degree. There
is
amongst them a considerable
prevalence of skepticism; of a Sadducean, and rather Atheistical spirit
;
and
their conduct
is
very generally such as one would natu-
THE CHINESE PROBLEM. rally expect
from a people whose minds
feel
147
not that sense of Divine
Authority, nor that reverence for the Divine Majesty and Goodness,
which
in
Sacred Scripture
denominated the 'Fear of God.'
is
science has few checks but the laws of the land ratiocination,
on the
;
and a
frigid
little
and propriety of things, which
fitness
Con-
not
is
when the selfish and vicious may be indulged with present impunity.
generally found effectual to restrain, propensities of our nature
The Chinese
are generally
selfish,
cold-blooded, and inhumane.
"Perhaps the behavior of no people amongst themselves and towards foreigners
is
exactly the same.
When
exceedingly different.
With
interest or fear
the Chinese
do not
it
is
dictate a dif-
ferent course, they are to strangers, haughty, insolent, fraudulent
A
and inhospitable. express
it),
merchant
will flatter a foreign devil
when he has something
be servile enough
:
particularly
if
he
is
(as they
from him; then he can
to gain
own countryown nation will
not seen by his
men for the presence of a menial servant make him more on his guard in yielding
of his
;
his fancied superiorit>'.
Europeans are secluded from general intercourse with natives of different ranks
;
tive domestics to
do.
Few
which affords great
facilities to
merchants and na-
combine and impose upon them, which they usually
instances of gratitude or attachment have ever occurred
on the part of servants to their European masters. study to get the better of those with
whom
by bringing the other party into a dilemma,
who their
is
reduced to checkmate
;
The Chinese
they have to contend, like the
king
in chess,
and they become apprehensive, when
opponents maintain calmness and an apparent indifference;
they remember their
own maxim. 'He
that has reason
on
his side,
need not talk loudly.'
"Love
to one's
own
olent feelings to all
country
mankind
with the prosperity of that.
attachment to one's
own
:
It
people
is
perfectly compatible with benev-
and the prosperity of
this nation,
seems quite a mistake to think that is
manifested by a violent dislike of
others.
"Will the day ever come when the various tribes of live
each other any more ?
men
shall
When they shall not hurt, nor destroy When truth and knowledge shall universally
tpgether as brothers?
CHINESE THOUGHT.
148 prevail?
Let ns
cherish the pleasing hope, that so desirable
still
a state of society will finally exist, and whilst cherishing this hope,
every serious mind will readily join in the King of Israel's Prayer to the Almighty, 'O
God
thy ways be
let
and thy saving health amongst
So
far
Mr. Morrison
;
all nations.'
institutions,
but he deems
is
in
mind
that he, as a
confessedly hostile to Chinese
advisable to learn from the
it
It
the Earth,
"
and we must bear
missionary of the Church militant,
to recognise their virtues.
known upon
would be interesting
enemy and
to contrast his
TYPICAL CHINESE TRAVELING CART.
views with those of an equally fairminded Chinese scholar.
We
do
not believe that any Asiatic would look upon the Christian nations
he did, he would presumably distinguish be-
as God-fearing, and
if
tween
and
and
their theories
practice,
between
their deeds, their professed principles
actually pursue.
Perhaps he,
too,
their religious doctrines
and the policy which they
would come
to the conclusion that
the glaring contradiction in their character can be explained only as due to the general depravity of mankind.
THE CHINESE PROBLEM.
149
GLIMPSES OF CHINESE HISTORY. The
history of China
and
tinuity
more than
is
distinguished by an uninterrupted con-
three thousand years. It begins with a legendary period at
myth stands
the head of which in the mists of
Fuh
civilisation,
Among
Hi, w'hose reign
the
first
and, after
Ti, the
"Yellow Emperor.''
He
some
is
Fuh
st>'led,
traditions
is
the one
Hi, most frequently referred
who
to,
is
best
is
Huang
His reign begins with the year 2697 B.
said to be the inventor of the
is
the founder of Chinese
counted from 2852 to 2737 B. C.
"Five Rulers," so
known C.
modern nations of Europe by
antedates the oldest of the
a rival of
Fuh Hi
wagon, and according to
to the honor of being regarded
Most important, however,
as the father of Chinese civilisation.
is
the fact that the Chinese calendar based upon the hexagenar\- cycle
begins under his reign.
The is
first
dynasty, the Hsia dynasty,
headed by the great
turies (2205-1766 B.
father of
C),
is
(1122-249) its
West," and
founder
^^'^
is
in history
still
legendary in
all details,
covering a space of over four cen-
succeeded by the Shang dynasty, also
Yin dynasty, which ruled
called the
dynasty
Yii, and,
the
Chou
begin to touch historical ground.
The
Si Peh,
1
commonly
known by
called the "Chief of the
posthumous
his
With
766-1 122.
title
which may be translated as "Literature King."
He
Wen Wang, is
praised as
a pattern of, and a martyr to royal virtues, for his stern integrity
gave offence to the debauched tyrant, Chou Hsin, the of the Yin dynasty.
He was thrown
into prison,
last
emperor
and while there
occupied himself in his enforced leisure with the mystic symbolism of the Yih, the
Duke
Book
Fa accomplished
senting a beautiful concubine and
then allowed
His brother. Chou Kung. (the
of Changes.
of Chou), and his son
Wen Wang
some horses
to return to his
he should make war on the frontier After
Wen
posthumous
title
his release
(i.
to the tyrant
home on
who
the condition that
tribes.
\\'ang*s death, his son Fa, best
"Wu Wang"
by pre-
e.,
wise counsel of his noble uncle, the
known under
his
"war king"), guided by the
Duke
of Chou, assumed the
leadership of the discontented nobles of the empire, crossed the
CHINESE THOUGHT.
150
Huang Ho
at the ford of
Meng
his palace, while the victorious
with an army, and overthrew the
The
Mu.
imperial forces in the plains of
Wu Wang
The Chou dynasty governed almost
tyrant burned himself in
became emperor. nine centuries and was
followed by the Ts'in dynasty (255-210 B. C.) which was of short duration.
It
reached
its
climax in Shi
ARCHWAY who, for the his scepter
first
IN
time, in 221 B.
and assumed the
Huang
Ti, a great conqueror,
THE GREAT WALL. C,
title
united the whole of China under
of "Emperor."
ereigns had been satisfied to be called "Rulers."
237
until
210 and
is
known
All previous sov-
He
governed from
as a despiser of literature.
the literati and issued an edict that on penalty of death ical
books should be burned (213 B. C).
He
persecuted
all
the canon-
For the protection of the
THE CHINESE PROBLEM. countr}' against the inroads of the Tartars,
now
151
whose
forms
territory
a part of the Chinese empire, he had the Great Wall erected
Meng
is
a colossal work worthy to
be compared to the pyramids of Gizeh.
Though more than two
through his general
thousand years
A
old,
it still
T'ien.
This
stands as a
monument
to
its
builders.
Chinese historian says that one-third of the population of the
empire had to be pressed into service for the completion of the work,
and more than 400,000 of the laborers died from maltreatment, overexertion,
and lack of food.
THE GREAT WALL. General ]^Ieng T'ien
is
supposed to be the inventor of the wri-
ting-brush which replaced the cruder methods of scratching the letters
on bamboo
Ti died,
Meng
sticks with a knife.
T'ien ended his
life
by
When
the tyrant Shi
Huang
suicide.
Tradition relates that the Great. Wall was built by Shi
Huang
Ti as the result of a prophecy that his empire was endangered by
Hu. which
is
the
name
of the Tartar tribes in the North.
prophecy was unexpectedly
which
befell his
fulfilled to the letter
The
through the ruin
house when his second and unworthv son
Hu
Hai
CHINESE THOUGHT.
152
usurped the throne.
Fu
Su, the rightful heir, died in banishment,
but the usurper was soon murdered (in 207 B. C.) by Chao Kao, the ambitious eunuch
The first
who had
Ts'in dynasty
helped him to ascend the throne.
was succeeded by the house of Han, whose
sovereign, Liu Pang, received universal recognition in 202 B. C. It is
not our intention to enumerate
successively held the figures
among
power
in
all
the dynasties which have
Cathay, but only to point out those
the sovereigns of the empire
who
referred to in the history of Chinese civilisation.
be
are most frequently
Therefore
will
brief.
HOME OF
A
WEALTHY CHINESE MERCHANT.
The Former Han dynasty
reigned from 206 B. C.
and was followed by the Later Han (25-221 A. D.), Western Han because
To
its
capital
Lo Yang was
till
reunited under the Western Ts'in
Wu.
also called the
is
again rent
the division between the North and the South. the Sui (589-618), the
Tang
Kingdoms
The whole empire
(265-317 A. D.)
Eastern Ts'in (317-420 A. D.), but China
25 A. D.
situated in the west.
the third century belongs the epoch of the Three
which are Minor Han, the Wei, and the is
we
in
and the twain by
Thereupon follow
(618-907) and the Five Dynasties (907-
THE CHINESE PROBLEM. 923; 923-936; 936-947; 947-951 (960-1127), the Southern
Sung
;
153
951-960) succeeded by the Sung
(i 127-1278), the Yiian (i 206-1 341)
and the Ming (1368-1628).
The Great Wall had been like it
Tartar
built in vain, for the ^lanchu, a
war-
took possession of the country and have governed
tribe,
to the present day.
In 1644 the Tartar army entered Peking and placed Shun Shih
upon the throne, whose family adopted the name Tai Tsing, "the Great Pure Ones." quished
Ming
KLNo misery
is
iLc.N.
in
and
after
in
THE COURT OF EXAMINATIONS AT PEKING.^ suicide.
But there were rumors
times of political unrest used to recur again and
again, that his descendants were place,
the last emperor of the van-
wandering about for some days
have committed
said to
which
afloat,
fled,
Tsung Ching,
still
living in
some sequestered
and would some day make themselves known to reclaim the
throne.
The Manchu dress, the in their
and,
forced upon the Chinese nation that peculiar hair-
queue on the shaven head, and the Tartar
tunic, but they
turn adopted rapidly the Chinese language and civilisation,
let it
be stated to their credit, furnished the nation with several
* This and the Middle Kingdom.
last
two pictures are reproduced from Wells Williams's
CHINESE THOUGHT.
154
good
rulers,
among whom, however, Kang-Hi (1661-1722) stands man of genius and a ruler who deserves to be ranked
foremost as a
with Charlemagne and Frederick the Great.
The
three most important epochs are the Han, the T'ang and
Sung dynasties. Under the Han
the
the national, social and religious institutions
have been molded and received
Han
founder of the
competitive examinations for tion
which
is
still
in
use
;
office,
a kind of civil service regula-
the old classical books were recovered,
and commentated upon
re-edited,
The
their typically Chinese form.
credited with having introduced the plan of
is
;
with distant countries, and for the
commerce was first
established even
time the country enjoyed a
high degree of prosperity. Dr. Wilhelm Grube, the sinologist of Berlin, characterises this period tersely in these words
"At
:
that time classical antiquity rose
again as a phenix from the ashes of the terrible burning of the books,
and the flames intended to destroy them now surrounded them with the aureole of martyrdom.
monuments
No wonder
of yore henceforth
became
that the venerable literary as
it
were a national sanc-
tuary and were regarded forever as ideal prototypes."
The T'ang dynasty marks it
the golden age of Chinese literature:
produced China's greatest poets, Li Pai,
Tu Mu, and
Pai
Lu
T'ien.
Sung dynasty philosophy reached its climax in the Chou T'ze and Chu Hsi. The renown of K'ang Hi's reign
Under illustrious
was of ity
the
a quite
modern
type, for he favored besides practical moral-
the introduction of Western sciences.
CHINA'S NATIONAL NOVEL.
The
period of the Three Kingdoms, which with
stitutions greatly resembles
most popular novels
in
our Middle Ages, gave
China
entitled
its
feudal in-
rise to
one of the
"The Story of the Three
Kingdoms," taking the place which the Homeric epics held Greece
;
and we here present a number of
illustrations of its
in
main
characters reproduced from a popular Chinese edition.
The most famous
scene and the basis upon which the whole
THE CHINESE PROBLEM. cycle of romantic events
founded,
is
Han
pledge their loyalt} to the
A
tall
reading an
the oath by which three heroes
is
dynasty and to each other.
man, measuring seven official poster, in
155
feet^ five inches in height,
which the government issued a
stood
call for
volunteers to fight the rebels of the Yellow Cap.
His name was
He was
poor, but being
Liu Pei and his appellative Hsiian Teh.
born of the imperial family of Han, he became emperor in the
name Chao Lieh
course of events and as such assumed the
He
read the placard and sighed
a loud voice behind him called out,
Teh turned back and saw
a
man
:
and as he sadly turned away
"Why do
eight feet
the head and round eyes of a panther, a bill,
and
like that
you sigh?"
tall at
like a
like the
of a race horse.-
my
appellative
and possess some
is
Yi Teh.
I
real estate in the
seeking the friendship of brave
:
"Though
of straw,
I
I
rumbling of
Teh
Hsiian
Fei
a butcher and a wine merchant province of
men and
But why do you sigh ?"
ing the poster. story
am
swallow's
am Chang
asked his interlocutor's name, and he answered, 'T
and
Hsiian
He had
his side.
mouth
His voice was
bristles like a tiger.
thunder and his strength
Ti.
Choh Chun.
I
am
noticed that you were read-
Then Hsuan Teh
told his
have to earn a living by braiding mats and sandals
belong to the
Han
family and grieve at
The two men together went
to an inn,
its
decay."
and while they were
discussing over a glass of wine the advisability of going to war,
a third man of gigantic stature entered, wheeling a barrow.
"He
stood nine feet three inches high and had a beard two feet long.
His face was brown
were
like dates, his lips
like cinnabar, his eyes
the eyes of the red phenix, and his bushy brows seemed to invite silk
wonns
and
his bearing
to nestle there.
awful and menacing."
and introduced himself as
Sheng which,
Stem and
Kwan
lofty
He
was
his countenance
joined their conference,
Yii, his appellative
ho\yever, he changed to Yiin Ch'ang.
the tyrant of his native countn,' and
being Chang
He had
slain
was now a refugee without
^The Chinese foot is somewhat smaller than the English measure of the same name. ^ These are t\T)ical Chinese similes for the characteristics of a warlike man.
CHINESE THOUGHT.
156 a home. three
He
too sympathised with the tottering Han, and so the
men agreed
in their patriotic convictions.
In their enthusiasm for the to the orchard of
There they
common
Chang Fei where
sacrificed a white horse to
Earth and made a covenant for
life
HSUAN TEH. The
of the story.
eldest of
the Three Covenant Brethren, afterwards king of Shuh.
in
families,
yet as
Kwan
and swore that
They ex-
joined in brotherhood with heart and
to secure peace to the
to have been born at the
dan-
Yii, and Ch'ang Fei, though of different
we have
Kingdom, and
in all
KWAN YUN CH'ANG. The second of the Covenant Brethren, now worshiped as Kwan Ti.
strength to succor distress and support the weak, to to the
to
which they pledged
gers they would be faithful to each other unto the end.
claimed: "Liu Pei,
men went
Heaven and a black cow
and death,
their allegiance to the legitimate dynasty,
The hero
cause the three
the peaches were in blossom.
common
show
loyalty
people, care not
same time, we would only
that
we might
THE CHINESE PROBLEM.
May
die together.
Heaven and Royal Mother Earth search
Then Hsiian Teh was elder brother, and
all
vow
traitor to the
may Heaven and men combine
grace
this
Imperial
and him who proves
truly our hearts,
157
or forgets
to slay."
greeted by his fellow covenanters as their
three went into the presence of his aged mother
prostrating themselves before her on the ground, a typical Chinese act of
of
whom
The
piety.
filial
money, gold and
offerings
silver paper,
made
at the sacrifice, consisting of
were distributed among the
three hundred of the bravest
A
expedition.
men
joined them in their
wealthy horse trader gave them
in
addition 500
ounces of silver and gold as well as a thousand pounds of iron besides fifty
arms for
their
The
war
little
horses,
and they began
villagers,
at
steel
and
once to manufacture
company.
Ling
legitimate ruler, the son of
Ti,
had ascended the
throne as a child, and he remained a weakling in the hands of his
Once when he had assembled
courtiers.
the dignitaries of the
em-
pire in audience, a storm suddenly swept through the palace bearing
away
part of the hall and exhibiting under the roof an
snake.
immense
Very soon afterwards an earthquake frightened the
and a Taoist magician Ch'ang Chio organised the
people,
rebellion of the
Yellow Caps.
Kwan Yu makes Hua
his debut in the imperial armies in a fight with
Hsiung, the rebel hero, which
champion,
Hua
princes were deliberating in
He had
against him.
and
is
Hsiung, was vaunting their
just slain
most vividly described. in front of the
tent
my
come.
If
army, and the
they should send
two bold heroes opposed
their hearts sank with misgiving.
"Alas,
whom The
The
to him,
general, Shao, said,
Yen Liang and Wen Chou, have not yet man here, we need not fear Hua Hsiung."
chief generals.
we
only had a
Before he had finished speaking, from the step which led into the tent a loud voice called out, 'T will go, will cut off
and present a
man who
They
all
Hua
Hsiung's head
looked at him and saw
stood nine feet in height, with a beard two feet long.
His face was like the red
before your tent."
it
like
brown
dates and his lips like cinnabar, with eyes
phenix, and his bushy brows seemed to invite silkworms
to nestle there.
Stern and lofty was his countenance, and his bear-
CHINESE THOUGHT.
158
ing awful and menacing.
His voice was
like the peal of a great
bell.^
While the stranger stood before the is
this?"
Kwan plied,
Kung Sun Tsan
"This
is
follows Hsiian
Then Yuan Shu
CHANG
Teh
as a
cried angrily
Tsan
tent,
"Do you wish
flaunt our 'princes with the
The
Moltke- Bismarck of Hsiien Teh, revered as the model of loyalty.
want of a general?
How
is
common bowman
dares to trifle in this presence ?"
hurriedly stopped
him saying: "He must be a brave man
so boldly, and methinks you will
would do well
'
Hua Hsiung
that a
But Ts'ao Ts'ao
to try him.
will
If
to speak
he does
we send
a mere
bowman
to
laugh at us."
Note here the repetition of the description of our hero, is also quite common in Homer.
narrative which
it
be time enough to rebuke him."
"But," Yiian Shao objected, "if fight.
to
CHU KO LIANG.
of the Covenant Brethren, a brave reckless warrior.
it
re-
mounted bowman."
from the
FEI.
The youngest
not succeed
"Who
Liu Hsiian Teh's brother,
Shao asked, "What rank does he hold?"
Yii."
"He
said,
Shao asked:
tent,
a feature of the
THE CHINESE PROBLEM.
159
Ts'ao Ts'ao replied, "This man's appearance and bearing are
uncommon. "If
How
do not
I
Hua Hsiung know he is only a bowman?" conquer let me be beheaded myself," said Kwan should
Yii.
Upon mounted before
I
this,
Ts'ao Ts'ao heated a cup of wine to give him as he
his horse.
"Pour out the wine,"
said
Kwan
Yii, "I
go
drink and shall be back directly."
»
SUN CHIEN
A baron who made kingdom
Kwan Yu
himself king of the of
left
Wu.
TS'AO TS*AO. man of strength and who in the story, however,
In history a
character, plays the part of the villain.
the tent, took his swora, flew on to his horse,
and the princes heard without the gate the thundering sound of
I
drums and the clamorous shouts
rising, as
though the heaven was
moved, as though the earth had
fallen in
it
of lofty peaks and downfall of mountains.
;
was
They
like the all
shaking
trembled with
alarm, but before they could inquire what had happened, the tinkling
I
:
CHINESE THOUGHT.
l6o
bells jingled as the horse
came back
into the ranks,
and Yiin Ch'ang
Hua Hsiung and threw it on the ground. warm. He had done it in the time which it
appeared with the head of
And
wine was
his
still
took the cup of wine, ponred out before he started, to be cool enough to drink.*
After the suppression of the rebellion, a
new danger
arose in
Ts'ao Ts'ao, hitherto a prominent councilor of the emperor,
usurped the power of the government. story and
He
king of Wei.
is
the villain of the
who made
himself the
proposes to suppress the Covenant Brethren and
Kwan
He
himself,
finally dies falling a victim to his suspicion of the
honesty
actually succeeds in having
however,
He
represented as a crafty intriguer
is
who
of the skilful surgeon
Hua
Yiin Ch'ang
slain.
T'o.
Hua T'o is an interesting character, a kind of Chinese who according to the legend employed anesthetics long
Dr.
^sculapius, before their
official
of a pear tree
The
stor}^
had been struck on the head by the
spirit
introduction into European medicine.
relates that Ts'ao Ts'ao
when he attempted
to
chop the tree down.
Suffering
agonies from the blow, an officer of his staff recommended to him
Hua
the famous physician, saying, "Dr.
and such a one as he
is
is
a mighty skilful physician,
not often to be found.
His administration of
drugs, and his use of acupuncture and counter-irritants are always
followed by the speedy recovery of the patient. suffering from
some
internal complaint
satisfactory result, then Dr.
Hua
will
If the sick
He now
and medicines produce no
Such
is
*
we
month or twenty days
the place has
into accounts of the supernatural skill of the
will only state that
he was called into the presence of
taken almost literally from the novel according to the Candhn in Chinese Fiction, pp. 24, 26. Chicago Court Publishing Co., 1898.
This passage
is
translation of Rev. Geo. T.
The Open
The washing
his extraordinary skill."
Without entering doctor,
in-
up the wound with medicated thread and puts over
a plaster, and by the end of a
healed up.
he were
patient's viscera with medicinal
but without causing him the slightest pain.
finished he sews it
if
takes a sharp knife and opens the
abdomen, proceeding to wash the liquids,
is
administer a dose of hashish,
under the influence of which the patient becomes as toxicated with wine.
man
THE CHINESE PROBLEM. Ts'ao Ts'ao and diagnosing his case, said ness's
:
i6i
"The pain
your High-
in
head arises from some wind, and the seat of the disease
where the wind
the brain,
is
collected, unable to get out.
are of no avail in your present condition, for which there
remedy.
You must
a sharp axe
Thus
out.
Drugs but one
swallow a dose of hashish, and then with
first
I will split
is
is
open the back of your head and
let
the wind
the disease will be exterminated."
HUA
TIAO CH'AN.
T'O.
The famous
The
surgeon.
beautiful slave-girl.
Ts'ao Ts'ao flew into a great rage, and declared that a plot
aimed
at his life
Highness heard of
:
to
Kwan
which Dr. Yii's
Hua
wound
replied,
it was "Has not your
in the right
shoulder?
I
scraped the bone and removed the poison for him without a single sign of fear on his part. affair;
why, then, so
"You may
Your Highness's much suspicion?"
scrape a
disease
sore shoulder-bone,"
is
said
but a trifling
Ts'ao Ts'ao,
l62
CHINESE THOUGHT.
"without matter. friend
much
risk; but to split
me now
It strikes
Kwan
that
open
my
skull
quite another
is
you are here simply to avenge your
Yii upon this opportunity."
that the doctor should be seized
He
thereupon gave orders
and cast into prison.
There the unfortunate surgeon soon afterwards fore very long Ts'ao Ts'ao himself
succumbed
son Ts'ao P'ei succeeded him on the throne of the
weak emperor
died, but be-
His
to his illness.
Wei and
then forced
to abdicate in his favor.
He now Han and held
This was the time for Hsiian Teh to come to the front. claimed the empire as a descendant of the house of his
own
strategist
as long as he had at his side
Chu Ko Liang,
the ablest
and diplomat of the age, a Moltke and Bismarck
in
one
person.
This statesman was the main support of the emperor, but
when he
died, the empire
Under for
was
lost.
the rule of the child-emperor the general
some time been omnipotent, but he misused
his
Tung Cho had
power
in the
most
outrageous way, torturing and executing the worthiest persons while he himself was banqueting with the horror-stricken magistrates of the government.
Then
a beautiful slave girl of
Wang
Yiin
named
Tiao Ch'an devised a plan to rid the empire of the monster.
She
entered the house of the bloodthirsty general and by her artful be-
Her
havior excited the passion of both son and father. succeeded, and General
The
story
is full
fell
a victim to his son's jealousy.
of thrilling episodes and extends over a period
of seventy-nine years.
Han and
Tung Cho It
relates the tragic
end of the house of
the division of the empire into the three
in the north,
Wu in the
east,
and Shuh
kingdoms of Wei After the death
in the west.
of Hsiian Teh, his son ascended the throne, but he was too assert himself
and
intrigue
finally
succumbed
the grandson of Ts'ao Ts'ao,
who
to Ts'ao
weak
to
Mao, king of Wei,
again united the three kingdoms
and established the Wei dynasty.
The author of the "Three Kingdoms" is Lo Euan Chung, but nothing is known of him, and his name is but an empty word. The story itself takes the place of a national epic, for
all its
are living presences in the imagination of the people.
Ch'ang has become
identified with
popular Chinese
characters
Kwan Yiin He is
deities.
THE CHINESE PROBLEM,
Kwan
worshiped as the god of war. in
any of the different
affairs of
Ti, but life,
is
163
invoked by
and there
and
the
considered the model of loyalty,
is still
name has become an emblem
his
people
all
no town or
Qiu Ko Liang,
village but possesses a temple in his honor.
great statesman and general,
is
of faithful performance of duty
in office.
among
Professor Giles says: "If a vote were taken of China as to the greatest
among
countless
their
'Story of the Three Kingdoms' would indubitably
A MANDARIN and the Rev. George T. Candlin its
He
author
Lo Kwan Chung
S
erous
;
in his
in these
terms: "This writer
;
and
Ch'ang, brave, generous
;
Hsiian Teh, thoughtful, kingly.
hating, striving, boastful,
distinct,
Ch'ang
They
is
great.
each has his
subtle, treach-
Fei, rash, coarse,
are
men
;
loving,
magnanimous, often doing generous deeds,
always their hearts throbbing with strong
how he
first,"
Chinese Fiction speaks of
and separate portraiture: Ts'ao Ts'ao,
Kwan Yun
but true
come out
the
HOUSEHOLD.
loves his characters, they are living
individuality
the people
novels,
has contrived to image
all
the
life
human
and
all
passion.
Then,
the manners of the
CHINESE THOUGHT.
164
age
How
!
fond he
is
of incidents and genealogies, and with
what
loving tenderness of reiterated mention he dwells on this and on
Hon Tun
own eyes, Yu Chi's priestcraft, Hua To's magic in surgery, Kung Min's harp, Yun Ch'ang's sword, Lu Pu's spear, and the famous horse, Red Hare, that 'would that!
Hsia
go a thousand
li
on even ground.'
in a
swallowing his
day and cross water and mount
hills
as
though
"
SOCIAL CONDITIONS. China tradition,
differs widely in its habits, history, language, literature,
and
religion
from any one of the European races
A MANDARIN
Old World as well as tween
rich
in
S
BANQUET.
America and Australia.
and poor, scholarly and
in the
illiterate,
The
contrast be-
the powerful and the
mild in Europe and even more so in America when
wretched,
is
compared
to the social differences of China.
Yet even the common
people have a high regard for culture, and China intellectual aristocracy called the
is
governed by an
mandarins, that have to paas very
severe state examinations and must
first
of
all
be scholars or
literati.
THE CHINESE PROBLEM. It
mav
be a mistake, but
and generals must prove
it
is
none the
to the
165
governors
less a fact, that
Commission of Examinations, not
that they are famihar with civics or warfare, but that they classics, write a
The
good
style
know
large masses of the population are very poor,
and there are
ENTRANCE TO THE ESTATE OF A WEALTHY MANDARIN. The
characters of the inscription on top read
everywhere innumerable individuals the point of starvation.
the
and can compose poetry.
This
is
who
"filial
piety"
and
^^
"chastity."
are almost constantly on
a condition produced by the lack
of system prevailing in China, for there are no high roads in the country, no
means of an easy exchange of commodities, no good
CHINESE THOUGHT.
l66
money
how
of intrinsic value,
to seek relief
from
The hungry
etc.
proletarians do not
know
and so they band themselves
their troubles,
together in secret societies whose avowed aim consists in the restitution of the
the
Ming
good old times as they are supposed
dynasty.
While the standard of morality there
comparatively high, while
is
a great respect for learning, for authority, for ideals of
is
noble ambitions, education
is
not so
much low
and the study of the
knowledge that
is
deemed worthy and
religions of
might have become
mind which
is
almost absolutely
is
literature of ancient China, the only
renders mandarins frequently
The
all
Knowl-
as one-sided.
edge of natural forces or of any practical kind absent,
have been under
to
much
great, costs
time and
unfit for practical business.
China are not lacking
in
noble aspirations and
But the
factors for good.
uncritical state of
— —renders the
produced by a one-sided education
of education but rather an over-education
tremely superstitious, so as to
it
not a lack
Chinese ex-
make Buddhist and Taoist
priests
The
literati
vie in their efforts to promote the general credulity.
whose doctrines are
as a rule are simply followers of Confucius,
system of morality based upon
is
a
the principle of authority, otherwise
neither affirming nor denying any religious truths as to God, the
and an
soul,
after
life.
THE THREE RECOGNISED RELIGIONS. Kircher's large
picture which ex-
work on China contains a
cellently represents the religious conditions of the Celestial Empire. It
has been copied from a Chinese drawing which
l)osal,
but must have been made more than two
is
not at our dis-
centuries ap-o. viz.,
before the appearance of Kircher's book.
We
see here, seated in the heaven, the three great teachers,
recognised as the highest authorities of truth
Confucius at his right,
and Lao Tze
the recognised State religion,
represented by Lao Tze,
Buddhism
is
is
if
:
Buddha
at his left.
religion
it
can be
in tiie center,
Confucianism called.
is
Taoism,
the indigenous faith of China, while
the hope for salvation, a doctrine that has been brought
to the country by Indian missionaries.
THE CHINESE PROBLEM.
THE THREE GREAT TEACHERS OF CHINA.
167
CHINESE THOUGHT.
l68
The dragon, and
the symbol of heaven, representing divine
authority, stands in the center of the picture (f).
of arms of the government, and of the tortoise, which
is
it
here carries on
that
it
Book
if
the coat
back the
shell
mysteriously connected in the old traditions
of China with the invention of writing. dress Confucius, and
It is
its
power
The dragon seems
this attitude is intentional
to ad-
can only mean
it
communicates to the sage the mysteries of the Yih King, the of Changes.
Above Confucius we
see three sages (d^ d, d,)
:
above Lao Tze
a crowned hero (e)^ holding in his hand a sword and dressed in a coat of mail.
The former seem
of the Confucian school. (the duke of
Chou)
to represent the great authorities
Wen Wang, Wu Wang,
and Chou
the military divinity must be
;
Kwan
Kung
Ti, the
god of war. Underneath Confucius we have a general and a
soldier (g, g.)
as personifications of the government, representing the mailed
fist
of Chinese paternalism.
Underneath Lao Tze there are
Fuh
his disciples
Chwang
At
the bottom of the picture
One
the waves of the sea.
we
see lower divinities rising
up a gem; another one, the ruler of the deep
(i) carries a trident, is
and behind him
While
in
is
an attendant (m).
Europe and America every one
one religion only,
in
China a
Buddha, and believe Japan
is in this
in
man may
Lao Tze
is
at the
same
respect like China, only that latter,
idealised patriotism,
the State religion.
is
expected to have
follow Confucius, have faith
by Shintoism, and the
time.
Taoism
Confucius
there
is
is
is
replaced
a kind of nature-cult combined with
Every family takes part
the several Shinto festivals, private as well as public.
life
the naga-
producing from the bottom of the ocean the Avatamsaka Books
raja,
in
from
of them, on the left-hand side (l), offers
while the middle figure in the group, on the right (k)
in
Tze, Lieh
Tze, and Liu Ngan, the great Taoist philosophers (h).
In school-
revered, and in both countries, China and Japan,
scarcely a house which has not a Buddhist shrine for the
satisfaction of the deeper yearnings of the soul.
THE CHINESE PROBLEM. There
is
a universality in this reHgious system which
us to understand, but
cult for
169
is
it
is diffi-
after all quite natural.
CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. The Western come
foreigners with their practical science might have
to the rescue of the Chinese,
and for a while
it
seemed as
if
they would become the leaven that should leaven the dough of this
stagnant civilisation.
Schaal, a
Shun Chih, and Kang Hi,
ear of
introduced Ricci
Adam
and
But an imlucky
Jesuit, gained the
the glorious son of the
many important reforms
others.
German
at the instigation of
latter,
Father
star rose over the Jesuit missions.
Jealousies between the Dominicans
and the Jesuits led to quarrels
on subjects concerning the Jesuit policy of yielding to the Chinese the right to regulate their
The
notions.
affairs according to their
condemn Confucius
Jesuits did not
own
as a pagan and
but suffered him to be regarded as a great moral teacher.
infidel
They
mundane
further translated the
word God according
to the ancient
Chinese fashion by ''Shang Ti," "the Lord on High," thus indicating that the ancient Chinese authorities
Jivine grace. inicans
had
The pope decided little
Dominican
spirit,
and drove even the Jesuit converts into
Among
Dom-
reason to enjoy their victory, for the Chinese
authorities, little relishing the tianity
had not been absolutely bare of
against the Jesuits, but the
the Protestant missionaries
proscribed Chris-
exile.
we must mention
a native Pomeranian, as especially successful.
He was
cated man, not a scholar, and scarcely a European.
betray a gross ignorance in for the cause of Christianity.
many
respects but
Gutzlaff,
not an edu-
His books
show a great
zeal
In spite of his shortcomings he must
have been a remarkable man, a missionary genius, for the traces of his activity can be recognised in the Tai Ping rebellion. certainly
must have understood how
to the Chinese.
If
we can
Yvan he was a Chinese assumed
in
to render Christianity palatable
trust the reports of
half-breed,
him a Chinese
He
MM.
Callen,-
and
and thus Christianity naturally
character.
Dwelling on the similarity of language used by the Christian
:
:
THE CHINESE PROBLEM. Tai Ping rebels and Gutzlaff's sermons, is
thus characterised by
"M.
:
remarkable missionary
Yvan
Gallery and
Gutzlaff had the art of inspiring the Ghinese people with
the greatest confidence. stout
MM.
this
I7I
his
He was
of a middle stature, and tolerably
prominent eyes sparkled beneath thick lashes, which were
His
overshadowed by long black and bushy eye-brows.
and
features the reverse of angular,
olive
light
its
face,
with
complexion,
seemed to belong to that variety of the human race which we
call
the Mongol.
In his Ghinese dress, he was so exactly like a native,
that he could
have gone through the
streets of the walled city of
Ganton without being recognised.
"One
evening, during our stay in Ghina,
we
spoke of him to the
mandarin Pan-se-tchen, who was much attached to him, and one of us expressed his astonishment at finding in a European the characteristics of the
Ghinese race.
The mandarin
" 'Nothing can be more natural.
quietly replied
Gutzlaff's father
was a native
we
should hesi-
of the Fo-Kien settled in Germany.'
"This fact appears to us so extraordinary', that tate to relate
was
"At laflF
who
it
if
Pan had not assured us
that
M.
Gutzlaff himself
his authority. all
events,
perfectly
whether his origin was Ghinese or
knew how
not,
M. Gutz-
to adapt himself to the ideas of a people
are at once sensual and mystical.
He
founded
in
Ghina a sort
of secret society called the "Ghinese Union," the object of which
was the conversion of the Ghinese
to Ghristianity
by the Ghinese
themselves."
The Ghinese
are not naturally averse to Ghristianity.
the Jesuit fathers or
might by lic.
this time
men
like Gutzlaff
have become
in the
in the latter Protestant Ghristian.
become entangled with
politics,
had had
their
former case
Roman
and the Ghristian religion
barbarians, the immoral foreigners
who
the most sacred traditions of the nation. is
Gatho-
Ghristianity in Ghina has
garded by the Ghinese as the religion of the red-haired
presented to the Ghinese
If either
way, Ghina
is
re-
devils, the
import opium and ridicule* Ghristianity as
commonly
not the Ghristianity of Jesus, but West-
ern Ghristianity of some sort or other, and to
all
outer appearance
CHINESE THOUGHT.
172
the rupture with Chinese tradition ity
of the Christian faith.
seem
to think that they
A
is
great
more important than
the moral-
number of Western missionaries
must change the Chinese
into Europeans,
otherwise their conversion would not be complete, and thus they in their efforts
of the
Rev.
toward Christianising the country.
wrong methods
Hampden
of missionarising
I
As an
fail
instance
quote a passage from the
C. DuBose's book The Dragon, Image, and Demon,
where he describes the Chinese traditions in ancestral halls,
institution of preserving the family
forming sacred centers for family
and though family traditions are sacred to
life,
our Christian mis-
us,
PROCESSION OF LADIES TO THEIR ANCESTRAL HALL.
sionaries proposed to destroy
converts to renounce them.
them as pagan
DuBose
China and request
in
says (pp. 81
"These buildings are not so conspicuous
ff.)
but they are very numerous, as any family or clan temple, generally tablets' of
marked by the funeral
:
as the idol temples,
may have
Here the
cedar.
its
'spirit
departed forefathers are kept, 'containing the simple leg-
end of the two ancestral names carved on a board,' and the family tablet
is
'to
a reality, the abode of a personal being
an influence over him that cannot be avoided, and as an individual than any of the popular gods.
is
far
the child
who
more
The gods
exerts to
him
are to be
—
THE CHINESE PROBLEM.
173
feared and their wrath deprecated, but ancestors represent love,
and kindly
care,
there
'in
is
do not own an ancestral
If the clan
interest.'
household a shrine, a
ever}-
an oratory, or a
tablet,
domestic temple,' according to the position of the family.
grand and solemn occasion when
hall,
It is
a
the males of a tribe in their
all
dress robes gather at the temple, perhaps a great 'country seat,' of
the dead, and the patriarch of the line, as a chief priest of the family, offers sacrifice.
"In these halls the genealogical tables are kept, and
many
of
the Chinese can trace their ancestry to ten, twenty, thirty, and some-
These registers are kept with great
times even to sixty generations.
and may be considered
care,
"Much
property
is
reliable.
entailed
upon these ancestral
up the worship, but as this expense
not great,
is
all
halls to
keep
the family have
shares in the joint capital, and the head of the clan sometimes comes
good
in for a
nounce
At baptism converts
living.
to the Christian faith re-
their claim to a share in this family estate because of its idol-
atrous connections. " 'Should a
worship,
all
man become
his ancestors
of perpetual beggary.
that act be consigned to a state
Imagine, too, the moral courage required
for an only or the eldest son to
become a
upon himself the anathemas not only of but of the spirits of
"When we
all his
and despise
phases of idolatry ever established
Christian, and call
his
if
at
home we taught
his mother.
'It
if
it
it
seems as
a child to disobey
forms one of the subtlest
—
essentially evil with the guise of "
among
down
friends,
ancestors.'
goodness
men.'
If Christian missionaries cannot find a
make
own iamVy and
preach against this form of paganism
heathenish to the Chinese, as his father
and repudiate ancestral
a Christian
would by
way
possible for converts to continue to
in
which they can
honor
their ancestors,
they are bent on destroying everything properly Chinese and
attempt to change their converts into imitations of European culture
and
habit, they
the Chinese
do not deserve success and we cannot blame
Government for regarding them as a public nuisance.
The author
is
not opposed to missions, nor does he believe that
CHINESE THOUGHT.
174 all
the missionaries of China are guilty of the errors here censured.
He knows for them.
several missionaries and cherishes the highest respect
He
has corresponded with some of them,
who he
believes
are a credit to their country and to the faith which they promulgate.
The
fact
remains nevertheless that there are great numbers of mis-
who who are
moved by
are not
those
pious Christians, yet lacking
cation, lacking in
influence
in tact,
lacking in edu-
wisdom, who. exercise perhaps the most injurious
and hurt both the cause of
whence they come.
their religion
and of the country
•
The missionary problem in
is
perhaps the gravest complication
China, but the hatred of the Chinese
is
not directed against
Western
Christianity as such but against the religion of the eigners.
there are passages in the
It is true
New
man come
to me,
and hate not his
my
he cannot be
A broad
father,
xiv. 26:
and mother,
own
words might surmount the
diffi-
sisters, yea,
and
disciple."
interpretation of these
culty, but Christianity as
Luke
his
and wife, and children, and brethren, and life also,
for-
Testament that
are extremely offensive to the Chinese, for instance
"If any
among them
the right spirit and
sionaries
commonly preached
to the Chinese implies
a rupture with their most sacred traditions, an abandonment of ancestor worship,
e.,
i.
ditions are kept up.
and the
the established forms in which family tra-
It
further implies a contempt for Confucius
institutions of the sages of yore together with the national
character of the Chinese.
Thus, only the lowest dregs of the nation
are converted and most of
them
these converts are criminals
who
against the severity of the law
for sinister purposes.
for as
;
Sometimes
thereby seek to shield themselves
many
missionaries in pious
innocence accept the statements of their converts
in
good
faith,
it
happens that burglars and thieves are baptised and then protected
by the interference of European consuls against the prosecution of the Chinese authorities which
on account of their
faith.
is
ingeniously assumed to be instituted
THE CHINESE PROBLEM.
175
WESTERN INSOLENCE. In addition to the missionary problem there
problem which serves to render the
The Western
tolerable to the poor. jurisdiction,
and although
Western residents and
is
the commercial
social conditions
trader
is
this is a necessity'
still
more
both in the interest of
in consideration of the barbaric
methods of
punishment as well as the summary ways of dispensing justice China, of
it
:
it
punished
;
br.t if
a
whom
the
to the
man who
beat
The wronged
ambassador or minister of the nation to
him or cheated him, belongs, but the am-
bassador has been sent to protect his countn^'men, not to
He
over them and punish them.
ment of plaintiff
his
is
court
sit in
apt to hear and accept the state-
countryman and cares very
goes away
The Chinese
severely
Chinaman be cheated by a European or perhaps
an American trader, he has no redress whatever.
Chinaman can go
in
Think
increases the hatred of foreigners in a high degree.
Chinaman cannot defraud a foreigner without being
a
in-
exempt from Chinese
little
whether or not the
satisfied.
are upon the whole \ery reliable in business
;
even
the coolie laborer keeps his word, and Chinese merchants stick to their contract
though
it
may
be merely oral, even
when by an un-
foreseen change of circumstances they should be the losers.
Maltreatment of the Chinese
common.
A
deckhand so
captain
who
m.ercilessly
in a
at the
German
that the
hands of Europeans
is
very
port had w^hipped a Chinese
latter
tore
himself loose, and
jumping over board drowned himself, declared before court that Chinese hands must receive the barbarous punishments to which they are accustomed in China, otherwise the)' would have no respect for their superiors. ilar
No
investigation
would be held
Chinese waters.
A
sim-
young bank employee whom the waiter met
traveling endorsed these views most emphatically.
Chinaman does not strike I
if
accidents or deaths on account of cruel treatment occurred in
him with
my
at
in
H^e said: "If a
me in the street I would "And that goes unpunished ?"
once make room for
cane in the face."
ventured to ask him.
"Should
I
break his nose or
kill
him, the
worst that can happen w^ould be that he or his people would
make
CHINESE THOUGHT.
176
A CHINESE COURT SCENE. It is
not an unusual occurrence that the sons of criminals beg the judgi' upon themselves the punishment that is to be inflicted
to he allowed to take upon their fathers.
THE CHINESE PROBLEM.
177
CHINESE THOUGHT.
178
complaints to the Consul, for misdemeanor, but
I
who might impose
the fine of a dollar
could always prove that
had just cause to
I
beat him."
The Chinese their patience
are possessed of extraordinary patience, but
exhausted, their rage knows no limits.
is
The
if
in-
dignation of the Chinese against foreigners has been smouldering for a long time
and the ambassadors
at
Peking received many warn-
meek Pekingese would ever
ings, but they could not believe that the
dare to attack them.
Under such
conditions
it
is all
people should have any respect,
Western
civilisation
;
but impossible that the Chinese
let
alone love or admiration, for
and yet on the other hand
that a great rebellion should break out
it
which was
is
quite natural
at the
same time
a national Chinese reaction against the Tartar tyrants and a Chris-
movement such
tian
as
was the Tai Ping
rebellion.
THE TAI PING REBELLION. The rebelHon
in China,
which broke out
in
1850 and was
suppressed in 1864 by General Gordon, was the product of factors that oppose the present Chinese Government.
Chinese as opposed to the Tartar usurpers
was a Chinese in
;
it
was
It
finally all
was national
Christian, but
it
Christianity after the fashion of Gutzlaff, not dressed
European broadcloth, and using the terms of the Protestant
lation of the
the
New
Testament.
There were several leaders
head of the movement, but two were of
transat the
special prominence,
Tien
Teh (Heavenly Virtue), a person who claimed to be a descendant of the ancient Ming dynasty, and Hung Hsiu Ch'iian, a Christian who called himself Tien Wang, or Heavenly King. The former was nominally the emperor-elect of
the rebels, but he seems to have
been a mere figure-head, and after his death the
latter,
of the rebellion, became the acknowledged head of
The Tai Ping lish
rebellion
might have succeeded had not the Eng-
Government, trying to ingratiate
ities,
Ping.
itself
offered their best general to help
The
fact
the real soul
all.
seems strange
with the Chinese author-
them
to suppress the Tai
at first sight that a Christian nation
should suppress a Christian movement
in
China with bayonets and
THE CHINESE PROBLEM. guns; but we must bear
Ping
mind
that the Christianity of the Tai
being the Europeanised Christianity of the EngHsh
rebels, not
missionaries,
in
179
was regarded as spurious, and thus the EngHsh gov-
ernment cherished grave doubts as to the advantages which she
would reap
if
in the place of the
hated Tartar dynasty the Chinese
would be governed by a Christian, but none the
An
less a
Chinese ruler.
indigenous dynasty would probably pursue a policy that would
be more hostile to foreign traders than the Tartar dynasty was,
who
1"^ y\^ TIEN TEH, THE PRETENDER OF THE TAI PING REBELLION.
on
might be taught how useful to them an English
this occasion
alliance
would
be.
On
the other hand, Christian China
would have
a claim to considerations such as no one thinks of granting the old
pagan China. Sir
George Bonham
their character
British
visited the rebels
and gave an account of
which seems to have had much weight with the
Government.
He
savs:
CHINESE THOUGHT.
i8o
"I found the insurgents had established a kind of government at
Nankin, consisting,
Ruler,
who
in the first place, of
Taeping, the Sovereign
supposed by the believers of the new sect
is
(if
such do
really exist) to hold the position or rank, either spiritually or in a
corporeal sense, of younger brother of little
Our
Saviour.
There was
attempt at mystery as to Taeping's origin on the part of the
insurgents,
—
it
was admitted by
several parties that he
was a
literary
graduate of Canton province, who, being disappointed in his literary
PORCELAIN TOWER AT NANKING.* honors, took to what the Chinese are in the habit of calling 'strange doctrine,' that
is,
he studied the missionary
were procured, there can be Union.
Taeping and
in this insurrection,
success, they
little
tracts, copies of
which
doubt, from the late Dr. Gutzlaff's
his small nucleus of adherents then
embarked
and, after three years' perseverance and general
ended by capturing Nankin and Chin-Keang, where
we found them now
in full force.
the five princes above alluded to,
Under first
this
Sovereign Ruler arc
and second ministers, and
a
* The famous tower, commonly counted among the seven wonders of tHe world, was destroyed by the Tai Ping Rebels who saw in it a monument of idolatry and regarded it as an abomination in the eyes of God.
:
THE CHINESE PROBLEM. host of so-called mandarins
—most of whom are Cantonese.
not estimate their force of real fighting
though
I
believe that of the original
Kouang-Si, not more than 7000 are Sir
I8l
men
at less
number who
now
I
should
than 25,000 started
from
with Taeping."
George Bonham translates also the answer which the leader
of the Tai Ping rebels gives to the English embassy sent to him,
and
this
answer, though
full
no doubt that according
of benevolence for the English, leaves
to the ancient Chinese tradition he, the
Tai Ping Emperor, regards
all
nations as his subjects.
PUNISHMENT OF SYMPATHISERS WITH THE
TAI PING.
"The Heavenly Father, the Supreme Lord, the Great God, the beginning created heaven and earth, land and sea, things, in six days
one family, and exist, then,
tinction
that the
:
all
from that time to
this the
whole world has been
how can there between man and man or how any dis-
within the four seas brethren
any difference
between principal and secondary birth?
human
in
men and
;
:
But from the time
race has been influenced by the demoniacal agency
which has entered into the heart of man, they have ceased to acknowledge the great benevolence of God the Heavenly Father
in giving
and
CHINESE THOUGHT.
l82"
sustaining
life,
and ceased
made by
piatory sacrifice
to appreciate the infinite merit of the ex-
and
Jesus, our Celestial Elder Brother,
have, with lumps of clay, wood, and stone, practised perversity in
Hence
the world.
it
is
and Elfin Huns so
that the Tartar hordes
fraudulently robbed us of our Celestial territory happily, our
Heavenly Father and
(China).
Celestial Elder Brother
But,
have from
an early date displayed their miraculous power amongst you English,
and you have long acknowledged the duty of worshiping God
the Heavenly Father and Jesus our Celestial Brother, so that the truth has been preserved entire, and the Gospel maintained.
"But now that you
deemed myriads
distant English 'have not
of miles too far to come,' and acknowledge our sovereignty, not only are the soldiers and officers of our Celestial dynasty delighted and gratified thereby, but even in high
and Elder Brother ity
and
will also
We
truth.
heaven
admire
itself
our Celestial Father
this manifestation of
you, the English chief, to lead your brethren out or
or forwards, in
full
your
fidel-
therefore issue this special decree, permitting
accordance with your
own
in,
to aid us in exterminating our impish foes, or to carry
mercial operations as usual
;
and
backwards
will or wish,
whether
on your com-
our earnest hope that you
it is
will,
with us, earn the merit of diligently serving our royal master, and,
with
recompense the goodness of the Father of
us,
"Wherefore we promulgate
this
new
Spirits.
decree of (our Sovereign)
Taeping for the information of you English, so that race
may
the
human
learn to worship our Heavenly Father and Celestial Elder
Brother, and that there
all
men
all
may know
that,
unite in congratulating
wherever our royal master
him on having obtained the
is,
de-
cree to rule.
"A
special decree, for the information of all
our seals)
this 26th
day of the 3d month
May, 1853), under the reign of the *
The
*
of.
men, given (under
the year
Kweihaon
(ist
Celestial dynasty of Taeping."
*
friendship of the Chinese authorities with the British
Gov-
ernment soon began to subvert the confidence of the Chinese their rulers,
and the secret
supporters even
among
societies again increased in
in
power, finding
the highest mandarins and princes of im-
the' CHINESE PROBLEM. perial blood.
Emperor Kwang
Hsii^
of Western civilisation, and the late
'
was suspected of being a
183
friend
Empress Dowager Hsi Tai
Hon
favored the partisans of national traditions.
According to the rules of
filial
piety so deeply engraved
hearts of the Chinese people, the highest virtue parents.
Thus
happens that the Emperor's
it
first
on the
obedience to
is
duty
respect
is
who stands in the relation why the Empress Dowager
for the wishes of his mother, or of her
of
mother to him.
so
This
is
the reason
long as she lived, was de facto ruler of China.
The Empress knew
that the dangers
which threaten the throne
of the Tartar dynasty through the secret societies at serious than the threats
home were more She
and attacks of the Western powers.
seems to have saved the throne by allying herself with the secret societies against the
Powers and thus demonstrating
that the Tartars are deyils.
An
solid
to her subjects
with the Chinese against the foreign
alliance with the
Powers, or merely a friendly entente
made an end
with them, might have roused the slumbering lion and of the Tai Tsing dynasty.
THE YELLOW
PERIL.
China possesses a peculiar attraction which problem of the past as of the future.
is
Western
much
not so
civilisation in its
constant expansion has taken possession of five continents.
only retains Europe, but It
it
has found a
new home
hands.
it
has
Hither India
finally is
invaded Asia.
British,
It
not
in both Americas.
has settled Australia and sways the fate of Africa.
over the world
a
Siberia
In is
and Further India
is
its
in
spread
Russian
practically
The Aryan race is now coming into contact with China and we are for the first time aware that we are here confronted with an old, respectable, albeit divided between the English and the French.
stagnant civilisation which will not so easily be assimilated as others,
and the inhabitants are both industrious and docile hence the yellow ;
race might refuse to be swallowed up and might even in exercise an influence ^
The
private
proper to use,
is
name
upon the white man's
civilisation
—a
of the Emperor, which however would be
Tsai T'ien.
its
ver\'
turn
un-
deemed im-
CHINESE THOUGHT.
184 pleasant prospect for
who
those
all
alone have been anointed by the grace of God,
has been called "the yellow peril."
own
believe that their
—a
souls
prospect which
we were just we would grant race is much greater than the
If
that the white peril to the yellow
"yellow peril" to the white race.
A
study of China
is
The laws
of practical importance.
guide mankind are everywhere the same.
All
men
that
are everywhere
confronted with the same problems and they try to solve them by
We have the
similar methods.
same
instincts
and even the successive
phases of our mental growth are everywhere analogous, tending
The
upward and onward.
constantly
heart of
There are sages and heroes
same everywhere.
There are high-spirited teachers, and powers of
work
evil at
man
at the
that darken the light
is
in
at
bottom the
every country.
same time there are
and impede the way of
progress.
Though we may be
the strongest race and be in possession of
the most accurate methods of science and also be blessed with the
most
we ought
liberal institutions, religious as well as political,
to
recognise that other and weaker nations are flesh of our flesh and
They
bone of our bone.
and religious is
are our brothers and their social, political
has developed according to the same laws and
life
bringing forth similar blossoms and similar
our boasted superiority
and if we want know them and The yellow
we may
still
to teach them,
learn
we must
fruits,
from them
and in
in spite of
many
not be too proud
details first
to
appreciate the good qualities they have. peril is
much a fear of the Our pessimists see in the
not so
sation as of the Asiatic race.
Asiatic civilidistant future
the world colonised by Chinamen, and an excited imagination repre-
them
sents
who more ;
shape of coolies and haggard-looking laundrymen,
are expected to pour in to take the place of Western laborers.
This fear
ers
in the
in so far justified, as
is
trusty,
and
if
more
industrious,
that be so, the
Chinese workmen are more frugal,
more
intelligent than
Western laborer
will not
Western laborbe able to com-
pete with the coolie.
But real
is
not the truth here rather a warning and a lesson than a
danger to the interests of humanity?
Our
fear
is
based not
THE CHINESE PROBLEM. upon a recognition of any a recognition of their
85
upon
fearful quality of the yellow race but
many
and so we believe that the future
virtues,
Perhaps we Western races
will take care of itself. if
1
will find
it
wise
the yellow races have learned from us, to learn in our turn also
Perhaps we may deem
from them.
it
best, instead of
having a con-
tempt for other races, to understand what gives them their strength,
and by appreciating
their
good
we may be
qualities
in a condition to
prevent future defeats by adopting their virtues. It is
true that the destinies of
mankind are not entrusted
one family or to any one race of any one of one special type of civilisation.
mankind has changed time
when
to
any
state or to the representatives
We
have seen how the lead of
dawn of civilisation. There was a Akkad and Sumer in lower ]Mesopota-
since the
the black-heads of
mia developed the foundation of
civilised life.
Of what
race they
were we know not we are only sure that they were neither Semites ;
nor Aryans, and
may have been Turanians
valley of the
two
or
members of
These primitive people who had
Mongolian family.
the great
settled in the
were not so numerous as the Semitic
rivers
tribes,
born of the Arabian desert, and they must have recognised the threatening danger
when Babylonians crowded them out
of their
homes, when they supplanted their language by a Semitic dialect
and
finally inherited their country'
the Semitic Babylonians
when
and
civilisation.
It
saw the threatening clouds of
the yellow-haired race of
may be
Ar\ans took possession
first
of Iran,
They
then Elam, and finally acquired dominion over Mesopotamia.
became acclimatised
in
pearance and habits of purely
Aryan Greeks.
Babylonia and became soon like them in aplife.
They again saw
when
a yellow peril in the
The Greeks again were defeated by
mans upon whom they looked pessimistic
as barbarians, and Tacitus
at the
American
is
very
However, when
mercy of the barbarians of the North, they took
Roman civilisation and carried it to a higher what is now called European civilisation.
hold of the veloping
the Ro-
pointing out the yellow peril of the North, where
the yellow-haired Teutons lived beyond the Rhine.
Rome was
that
a yellow peril
civilisation is considered as a purely
opment, and yet Europe
is
afraid of ''the
plane, de-
European devel-
American danger" that
CHINESE THOUGHT.
l86
threatens their holy institutions and
may
in
business and also their public and private
time Americanise their
life.
All these several fears are blind alarms, and whenever they
were well founded, the change that came was for the
god of history gives the lead struggle for
life
to those nations
calls
fell
its
when we
consider
them) were always for the better
Now
the
was
no nation that ever fate.
its
were small
not be alarmed, for China
mankind,
compared
is
is
sure, that there
is
danger only
make themselves
they should in the future really become the pre-
if
race, they can take the lead only
by excelling and sur-
passing the representative nations of the West. lies at
peril
too conservative to be transformed so
the yellow nations possess sufficient virtues to
ranted, but even
to
The West need
from East Asia.
suddenly, and then one other thing
assumption
if
Western world looks with fear upon the yellow
formidable, and
in
finally attained.
that might threaten the world
dominant
Changes
the conditions that lead to
in the general interest of
evils of the transitional periods
the progress that
if
all
ablest.
she refuses to learn,
is
dominant position but deserved
history (at least
and the
if
There
another one to take her place.
from
in the general
prove to be the best, the most energetic, the
If the leading nation ceases to be progressive,
he
which
The
better.
We believe that this
such a distance that the cry of alarm seems unwar-
if
there were an actual danger, a possible change in
the present balance of power, there
is
no need of
fear, since the sole
condition for the yellow race to rise into prominence would consist in the great task
(which
is
by no means an easy one) of outdoing
all
other nations, not only in military accomplishments, but also, and mainly, in the industrial pursuits of peace.
;
CONCLUSION.
THE Chinese way of thinking,
where
especially
it
occultism and mysticism, has serious faults, yet is
ment with some leading
principles of
Western science; and there
which has not
scarcely a superstition in Cathay
another prevailed in European countries, in
an analogous form.
so
we have no
We,
too,
one time or
at
not in the same, at least
if
had the measles
in
our childhood
reason to ridicule the Chinese because they (or at
least large classes of the population)
The
based upon
it is
not only rational but even in close agree-
a world conception which
is
clings to
still
have them
history of the relations between
still.
Europe and China exhibits
a series of blunders both on the side of the Chinese and the Euro-
pean governments and the root of the ;
evil
on either side
is
haughti-
ness.
Emperor Charles
reported that
It is
V
in his old
days used to
say:
mundus
"Qttantula sapicntia
[With what
How
true that
H
the
men
little
regitur!"
the world
that
now when
is
governed!!
the leading positions of
fill
discretion,
sense of a pious farmer or peasant
to be afraid to
than
!
wisdom
would only use a
the world
common
is
little
if it
who
were merely the
has religion enough
do wrong, how much better would the world fare diplomats claim that nations are not bound by the
moral maxims which individuals are obliged to respect.
wrongdoing might have been avoided by a in
modem
country'
:
history
the
!
money
Think only of the it
cost
slaves several times over.
War
would have
But the
little
Think what
dose of prudence
of Secession in our
sufficed to
real trouble
is
buy
own
off all the
that both parties
;
CHINESE THOUGHT.
l88
as a rule are impervious to reason,
wrong So
blameworthy.
commonly been another
in-
many
in
far,
respects, their adversaries are not less
the best argument of a belligerent party has
the street-boy's answer to his antagonist
:
"You
are
!"
The Chinese they
becomes
their conflict
having the advantage to declare that though they
evitable, each side
themselves be
and
know
European
are in possession of a very ancient civilisation
and are proud of
it
insolence,
But Chinese pride
it.
and thus resulted a lamentable
outdone by
is
state of affairs
The
which led to many misunderstandings, disturbances and wars. distrust, hatred,
affair but the
and contempt which are mutual are not a recent
product of centuries.
Some blame
the missionaries as being the cause of
others the greediness of the powers,
still
others would
Chinese for their haughtiness and stupidity. fault all around.
all
trouble,
condemn
Perhaps there
the
some
is
Neither the Chinese nor the Western people are
angels, the latter especially can not easily be whitewashed, as, for
no one would dare to defend or even
instance,
the
Opium War.
prove
it
if
we
first
of
all
many
us
superiority of
by a superiority of conduct.
It is certain
to study the Chinese char-
severe clashes and the spilling of innocent blood as well
as the expenditure of that far
let
—not merely by a
had our diplomats taken the trouble
acter,
an excuse for
claim to be the superior race
by superiority of behavior
our guns but that
Yet,
find
enormous sums of money
from redressing wrongs only served
to
in several bitter
wars
make matters worse,
might have been avoided. be easier to conquer China than to subdue
It will
a foreign
power succeed
in
taking
it
(which
is
task), the conquerors will find out that the easiest
the country
From
and should
way
of holding
would be by becoming Chinese themselves.
the standpoint of comparative ethnology and especially
ethnic psychology, a is
it,
by no means an easy
knowledge of the Chinese mode of thinking
of great importance
;
for the Chinese are so different
from
all
other existing nations in their world conception, and in their ways
of arguing, as well as living, that they seem to have developed a type of humanity of their own.
Yet the differences are only
in ex-
CONCLUSION.
189
lemals and their main logical as well as moral notions are practically the
Those
same as those which
prevail
among
the nations of Europe.
however, which are different are deeply rooted in the
traits,
aboriginal character of the Chinese nation and pervade their entire history.
These strange people have developed on different
lines,
and though they started with great promise, having made rapid strides at the very beginning of their civilisation, they exhibited a
most devout reverence toward the past which resulted
in
paralleled conservatism in their national institutions that
as a brake
upon progress, and rendered
almost stagnant.
Because of
when China had
should not forget that their entirety
further evolution
their
have been easily overtaken by
West who were
the younger nations of the
savages,
this they
an un-
worked
still
barbarians, nay,
We
attained a high grade of civilisation.
we owe
produced the
to
latest
China
all
the inventions which in
phase of our
civilisation, viz., the
invention of printing, the manufacture of paper, the use of the
mariner's compass, and last but not least, the invention of gun-
powder.
Reports of these inventions, not to mention others of
significance, such as the
manufacture of porcelain,
had reached Europe through travelers who believed, but the result
inventions and their
silk culture, etc.,
at first
were scarcely
was a rediscovery of these ancient Chinese
more systematic
application in practical
While the Chinese, almost since the days of Confucius, little
advance
in
less
the arts and sciences,
knowledge, wealth, and power, having
liave
life.
made
Europe grew rapidly
now
in
reached a stage which
might be called "the age of science." It is difficult for
us to-day to understand
be so impervious to progress,
own
We
civilisation, the
find
how
mode of
want to comprehend
we become
acquainted
speaking, writing, and thinking.
their errors
we must know
the reverse aspect of their proficiencies,
quently misapplied virtues. the Chinese
the Chinese can
imperfections of which appear obvious to us.
an answer to these problems when
with the Chinese
how
they can be so proud of their
when we study
We
shall
and
If
we
that these are but
their faults are fre-
be better able to deal with
their character as a
whole by contem-
plating the dark aspects of the picture as the shades that are pro-
CHINESE THOUGHT.
igo
duced by the light that
falls
upon
things.
In this sense and for the
purpose of furnishing the necessary material for a psychological appreciation of the Chinese,
we have
sketched the main characteristic
features of the ideas which dominate Chinese thought and inspire
Chinese morality. a
little
We hope that we have helped thereby to contribute
toward the realisation of the great
and good
will
among men.
ideal of peace
on earth
INDEX. Agrippa of Nettesheim,
Calendar comes from Babylon, 90;
64.
Ahura Mazda and Asur, Ai, Duke of Lu, 119. Albertus Magnus, 64.
reform, 52,
95, 98.
53.
Gallery and Yvan, 171.
Cancer and the scarab,
All Souls' Day, 45.
Candlin, Geo. T., 160
Ambrose,
St.,
Canopus,
Analects,
(Win
107.
Yii), 115, 116, 118.
forms of Qiinese writing,
Ancient 5-8.
Aquila,
The
89,
112;
Asur, and Ahura Mazda, 95, 98; and
Bats, Five, 16,
2.
149.
17.
The
mental use Blessings,
character, 16;
Orna-
Chu
Sir George, 181
T'ze, philosopher, 154.
;
on the Tai
Breastplate of high priest, 39. Brightness, 9. of, 4, 5,
113
n.,
107.
Biographer of Confucius,
Hsi,
154.
Chu Ko Liang, 158. Chuang Tze, 117. Chung Yung, 120.
Ping, 179-180.
Colors, Five,
151.
Buddha, 166. Buddhist monastery. Gateway to, Buddhists, Elements of, 42. Bushel, The. See Ursa Major.
of, 28.
Christ, "the Scarab,"
17.
ff.
Brush, Invention
Chou
Chou, The Yih
Five, 14,
Boll, Franz, 91
Bonham.
Chou-Sin, See Chou Hsin.
9.
of, 21, 22.
The
twelve, 53.
Chou, Duke of, 116, 149. Chou dj-nasty, 149. Chou Hsin, the tyrant, 30, 149. Chou Kung, (the Duke of Chou),
94.
notched,
Beauty, ("great sheep"), '"Blessing,"
The
Cliinese pocket compass, 64, 66. Ch'iu, ("hill"), 115.
67, 90.
sticks,
77-
Chinese zodiac, 108-109.
Sagittarius, 96, 97.
Attributes, Five. 15.
Bamboo
116.
Children,
Babylonian zodiac.
of Ea, 105.
Chieh sheng, I, 2. Chih Nil, 131; daughter of sun-god,
Babylonian, 88.
Babylon,
emblem
Fei, 155, 158.
Charles V, Emperor, 187. Cheng Tsai, Mother of Confucius, 115,
star, 77.
Arabian zodiac, 103-104. Assyrian standard, 96. Astrology, and astronomy,
19.
Capricorn,
Chang
Ancestral Hall, 172.
107.
n.
44.
15.
Commission of Examinations, Compass, 63, 64 ff. Confucius, to,
I,
120, 121
35, ii3ff., 168; ;
Temple
of, at
165.
Homage Peking,
CHINESE THOUGHT.
192 114; a transmitter, 115
Travels
;
of,
Three,
Constellations,
Twenty-
13;
eight, 62.
Councilor
spirits,
The
Court scene, 176. Cowherd, yy. Crab, Taurus and
Daressy,
David,
three, y^-
ff.
81
;
Zodiac
in, 94.
2.
Foreign embassies at Peking, 177. "Four," The number, 14; quarters, no. Fuh-Hi, 28 n., 29, 31, 2>z, 36, 48, 59.
Geoghegan, Richard H., 86 f. Geomancer's compass, 58. Giles, Herbert A., 17 n., 163. God, shih, 4. Goldziher, 41 n.
38.
Decimal system of numbers, 85. De Groot. See Groot, F. J. de. Dendera, Egyptian zodiac of, 98,
Gordon, General, Great Plan, 46. Great Wall, The 99,
103.
Groot, F.
M.
J.
18.
153.
de, 19 n., 24 n., 25
Destiny, Tablet of, 33-34.
Disk-norm,
Grube, Wilhelm,
See Ursa Major.
Gutzlaff,
169,
154.
171.
58.
Divination, 34 ff.. Outfit for, 35. Diviners, Professional, 55.
Han
Doketism,
Heaven and
Hairdress of the Manchu,
85.
DuBose, Rev. Hampden C, Duodenary cycle, 50, 51.
Herodotus,
172.
earth. 2,
Hexagram, 36. Hindu zodiac,
Mystery
75.
Eight kwa, 20. Elamites, The, 100. Elements, Five, 15, 41 ff. dhists, 42; of Chinese
Hoary
Enmeduranki, Ephod, 2>7> 38, Epiphanius,
2)2)^
of the
Bud-
script, 12.
f.
155, 156.
2.
Huang 53,
Fa, 149.
Ti, the
"Yellow Emperor,"
149-
Ti.
See Huang Ti,
Ideals, Five eternal, 14 in the trigrams, 30,
31-
f.,
17.
Interconnection, 84. Interrelation of elements, 47.
Father of Confucius, K'ung Shu, Feng-Shui, 55 ff.
The
115.
Invention of brush and paper, "It is finished." 119.
four, 27.
Filial piety, 24;
hsiao, 122
Twenty-four, 124 Fishborn, Captain, 18.
ff.
ff.
160,
161.
Hwang
Filials,
149.
Hsiian T'sung, Emperor, 120. Hua T'o, the famous surgeon,
12.
63, 65, 66.
Examinations, Court of, 153. Exchange of thought in prehistoric
Family relations
53.
98.
Hsiian Teh,
"Eternal," typical word,
ten,
to Confucius, 120, 121,
Hommel,
Hsiao, Character, 122
107.
European compass,
Homage
The
129.
Hsia dynasty,
34.
39-
St.,
characters.
Hokusai,
of, 33-34.
45.
Hirth, Friedrich, 66.
;
153.
dynasty, 119, 152, 154.
Ea, Symbol of, 105.
Figures,
n.,
57-
Dipper, The.
days,
The number,
;
rulers, 149.
;
149.
loi n.
J.,
elements, 41 ff.
the, 98.
Cuniform writings,
Darius,
Five, 14
118.
Japan, 168. Jesuit fathers, 79, 81. Justice,
("my sheep"),
9.
4.
28,
INDEX.
Kan Ying Kang Hi.
P'ien,
Maspero,
72>-
Mayan
79, 81.
KaoTsou, the first Han emperor, Keng Niu, the herdsman, 77.
119.
5,
Ko Chow
King, astronomer royal, 81. Krause, Ernst (Carus Sterne), 90 n. a,
93
;
of Nazi ^la-
1
13
Kwa, 26; The K'wan,
115.
10, 127.
inventor of the brush,
T'ien,
151-
Mexican calendar wheel, 89. Middle Ages, Pseudo-sciences of
the,
35-
174.
;
Moor, Edward, 183.
Kvvei Ts'ang, 28.
117,
Missionary Problem,
Mithra, 22 slaying the bull, 97, 98. Mithraic monument, 85.
eight, 20, 28.
Kwan Yiin Ch'ang, 155, 156. Kwang Hsii. Present emperor,
i,
1
n.
Missions, 169.
flf.
46.
Lao Tze,
P., 45, 46, 62,
Milfoil plant, 35.
radah, 92.
K'ung Shu, father of Confucius, K'ung-tze,
W.
Mayers,
Meng
i, 2.
Kudurru, Cap of
100.
calendar, 86, 90.
Maynard, George C, 66
Kepler, 88; on astrolog>', 89.
Knotted cords,
193
168.
Lacouperie, Terrien de, Legge, 113 n., 120.
2,
3,
4.
75.
Morrison, Rev. R., 138 ff. Mother of Confucius, Cheng Tsai, 115. "6. Mothers, The ten, Mystic tablet, 48.
53.
Leibnitz, ^2.
Nao
son of Confucius, 115. Liang i, 25, 26.
National
Lien shan, 28. Li Ki, Book of Ritual,
Net-standard, 58. Nine, the number, 20
Li,
119.
the Great, 53.
Museum
Net-tablet, 58
Washington,
at
f.
Lin, mar^^elous animal, 115, 119
Notched bamboo
Liu An, 47. Liu Pang, 152. Loh, River, 2. Lo-king, 58.
Notes, Five,
Lo Kwan Chung,
Occultism, Chinese, 25 ff. Occultism, The truth of, 112.
Novel,
Lo-pan, 58 fF. Longevity, Star
15.
China's national,
Oceania,
symbol in 19; symbol, Orna-
of,
different styles,
mental use of, 21, Louis XIV, 81. Lu, The state, 113.
19;
22, 24; tablet, 18.
Liin Yu, ("Analects"), 115, 116, 118.
Magic Square,
sticks, 2.
Obedience, Three forms
the author of the ''Three Kingdoms," 162 ,163.
49.
Mallery, Garrick,
3.
"Man," The character, 9 f. Manchu, The, 153. Mandarin's banquet, 164; estate, Entrance to 165; household, 163. Polo, 66.
Marco
Mariner's Compass, 64. Mason, Otis T., 66 n.
66.
ff.
154 of,
ff.
13.
i.
Outfit for divination, 35.
Pagoda
at Peking, 137
;
of palace, 140.
Pailoo gate, 142.
P'an-Ku, 40
f.,
47, 48.
Pan-shih, 58. Paper, Invention of, 4. Paracelsus, 64. Parallelism, 84.
Pavilion at Peking, 139.
Peh Tao, 72. Peking observatory, 76-82;- Pagoda at,
137;
scene
in,
Pavilion 146;
cius at, 114;
Pendants, 122,
at,
139;
Street
Temple of Confu-
Tombs 125.
near, 143.
CHINESE THOUGHT.
194
Persian reverence of the elements,
45.
Shun
Shih, 153.
Philo, 39.
Si Peh, "Chief of the West," 149.
P'ing Ti, Emperor, 120.
Six,
Planets, Five, 15.
South-pointing needle,
M.
Plunket, E.
97
Population, poor,
165.
Ma Ma
Porcelain tower of Nanking, 180.
Sse
Powers, Three,
Hsien, Ssu Ssu Shiang, 27.
Prehistoric
14.
The Exchange
days.
thought in, 2. Primary forms. The two,
Prometheus,
of
T'sien.
66.
118.
Ma
See Ssu
Hsien.
59, ii3n., 117.
Stalks, 35.
Stars,
25.
Personification of, 66
ff.
Steinthal, H., 41 n.
41, 83.
Pseudo-sciences in the Middle Ages,
Sterne,
See Krause,
Carus, pseud.
Ernst.
35-
Pure ones. Three,
Street scene in Peking, 146.
13.
String alphabet,
Quippu,
Sun Chi en, 25.
Relations, Five Cardinal, 15. Reliable,
The Chinese
Religions of China, 166
are,
Roman, calendar tian zodiac,
ff.
;
of,
107.
;
-Egyp-
globe of
ecliptic,
stone,
loi
91
159.
22.
Sung dynasty, 154. Sze-Ma Ch'ien. See Ssu
The
seven, 20.
and Asur,
Sagittarius,
97;
96,
and
Scorpio, 105, 106.
Sapta Ratna,
20.
Saur, Julius,
18.
Ta
Hsiao, 120.
T'ai chih ("grand limit"), 33, 36, 59.
105, 106.
Scorpion-man and scorpion, 106. Script, Ancient forms of, 5-8; Elements of, 12; Styles of, lO-ii. four, 61.
Septuagint, 37. Seven, Enumerations of, 20.
Sexagenary Shantung,
cycle, 59, 60, 81.
113.
See Shih
Hwang Ti.
Shih (God), 4. Shih Hwang Ti, hater of
literature,
Huang
Ti.
5, 150 f. Shintoism, 168.
Shu King, 116.
46.
;
rebellion, 178
ff.
T'ang dynasty, 154. Taoism, 168. Tartar tunic, The, 153. Taurus and the crab, 98. 145-
Scorpio and Sagittarius,
The
Hsien.
Temple of Confucius, 114; of Heaven,
Scarab, symbol of resurrection, 107.
Seasons,
Ma
Tablet of destiny, 33-34Tablet, Mystic, 48.
T'ai Ping, 18, 171
102.
Shun,
Sunday,
175.
Resurrection, Scarab symbol
Sages,
n.
i
Sui-Jen, 41.
I.
Rationalism of Chinese occultism, Recensions of Yih King, 28.
Shi
of, 20.
Spinning damself, 7. Spring and Autumn,
98.
n.,
Enumerations
Ten, canonical books, 21
stems. The,
;
52, 59-
"Three," in kingdoms,
enumerations,
The Story
Throneless king, Ii3ff.
12-14;
of the, 154
ff-
120-121..
;
Tiamat, 40, 83. Tiao Ch'an, the slave girl, 161-162. Tien Teh, of the Tai Ping, 179. Tiger Mountains, Palace in the, 138. Ting, Duke of Lu, 117. Tombs near Peking. 143.
Transmitter, Confucius
a,
115.
Traveling cart, 148. Travels of Confucius, 118. Treasures, Four, 14. Trigrams, Arrangements of,
Family relations
31,
in the, 30, 31.
32;
INDEX. Ts'ang Hieh, inventor of writing, Ts'ao Ts'ao, 159.
2.
Ts'eng, 59. Ts'in djniast}. 150.
Tsou-Yen,
116.
See also 50,
Wu
Wang.
149.
153 n.
Writing, Ancient forms of Chinese, the last Ming, 153.
Twenty-eight constellations, 62. Two-faced centaur on kudurru,
Two
Wan, King,
Wen Ch'ang, 16 n. Wen Wang, 32. 48, Williams, S. Wells,
45.
Tsung Ching,
195
5-8:
Invention
Six forms 104.
Wu
Wang,
of,
2; of Loh, 49;
of, 20.
149.
primar>' forms, 12.
Twelve animals, branches,
Table
50,
22, 49, 50, 51, 51,
no;
59,
no;
hours.
in; mansions, in Chino; The number,
of,
nese characters, 22.
Tze Kung, most devoted admirer of Confucius, 119.
Urim and Thummim, Ursa Major,
20, 60,
25,
70
36
fF.
flF.,
83.
Yahveh, 38. Yang and Yin, 12, 26 ff., 34, 37, 40. Yangtze River, Island in the, 136. Yao. Emperor, 116, 127, 130. Yellow peril, 181 ff. Yih, The, 25 ff., 34, 48. Yih King, Book of Changes, 26, 31, 32, 36, 37, 55, 116, n7. 149; Recensions of, 28.
Yin.
Ymir, Vega, The
See Yang. 40.
star, 77.
Zimmem, Waddell, 48
n.
Wallenstein's horoscope, 88.
Zodiac, 50
33 ;
n.
Names
of the, 95.
Zodiacs of different Nations, 84
ff.
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DaDel anO logical
lIlDle* Three Lectures on the Significance of AssyrioResearch for Religion, Embodying the most important Criticisms
and the Author's Replies. By Dr. Friedrich Delitzsch, Professor of Assyriology in the University of Berlin. Translated from the German. Pro1906. fusely illustrated. Pp. xv, 240. $1.00 net.
A new edition of "Babel and Bible," comprising the first, second and third lectures by Dr. Friedrich Delitzsch, complete with discussions and the author's replies, has been published by The Open Court Publishing Company, making a stately volume of 255 pages.
THE OPEN COURT PUBLISHING
CO., 1322 Wabash Ave.. Chicago
The Story •'
By Paul Cams.
80
Boards, Jl.OO net.
Samson
of
;^°<'
''=
p'^^'
™
'^:
^f^: Development of Mankind. Pp. 183. Comprehensive index.
illustrations.
lous
(4s. 6d. net.)
Dr. Carus contends that Samson's prototype is to be found in those traditions of all primHe believes that genuine tradition, no peoples which relate to a solar deity.
itive historical
matter how mythological, is more conservative than is at first apparent. Though the bibliSamson's deeds, like the twelve labors of Heracles, is the echo of an ancient solar epic which glorifies the deeds of Shamash in his migration through the tw^elve signs of the zodiac, there may have been a Hebrew hero whose deeds reminded the Israelites of Shacal account of
mash, and so his adventures were told with modifications which naturally made the solar legends cluster about his personality. References are fully given, authorities quoted and comparisons are carefully drawn between Samson on the one hand, and Heracles, Shamash, Melkarth and Siegfried on the other. The appendix contains a controversy between Mr. Geo. W. Shaw and the author in which is discossed at some length the relation between myth and history.
^1^|V|^f<^
'T'lir|11|¥llf An Exposition **
istic
of the Main CharacterFeatures of the Chinese World-
By Paul Carus. Being a continuation of the author's essay, Chinese Philosophy. Illustrated. Index. Pp.195. $1.00 net. (4s. 6d.)
Conception,
This book contains much that is of very great interest in the development of Chinese Beginning in the first chapter with a study of the earliest modes of thought-communication among primitive people of different parts of the world, and tracing the growth of the present system of Chinese caligraphy. In "Chinese Occultism" some interesting Oriental mystical ideas are explained as well as the popular methods of divination by means of trigrams and the geomancer's compass. In a special chapter the zodiacs of different nations are compared with reference to the Chinese zodiac and also to a possible common Babylon-
culture.
ian origin. all
known
This chapter contains many rare and valuable illustrations representing almost zodiacs from those of Egypt to the natives of the Western hemisphere
fluence of Confucius in
Chinese history
is
of a national epic.
and a hurried recapitulation
.
The
in-
most important points given together with a review of the long novel which stands in the place Chinese characteristics and social conditions have their place in this
is
discussed,
of the
volume as well as the part played in China by Christian missions, and the introduction of Western commercialism. The author's object is to furnish the necessary material for a psychological appreciation of the Chinese by sketching the main characteristic features of the ideas which dominate Chinese thought and inspire Chinese morality, hoping thereby to contribute a little toward the realization of peace and good will upon earth.
Chinese Ufe and Customs by Chinese This book as
much
artists.
is little
Pp. 114.
75c. net.
^Jt^tu:^^:-
(3s. 6d. net.)
more than a compilation of Chinese illustrations accompanied with only them, and what further material has been added is
text as will suffice to explain
merely in the way of quotations from Chinese literature. The intention is to make the Chinese people characterize themselves by word and picture. Child rhymes, love lyrics and songs of revelry are introduced in translation from Chinese poetry which is recognized as classical. The illustrations which form the great body of the book are from the most aathentic Chinese source of information concerning modern life in China unaffected by the aggressive Occidental foreigners. The book is divided into chapters on "Annual Festivals," "Industries and Foreign Relations," "Confucianism and Ancestor Worship," "Taoism and Buddhism," "Childhood and Education," "Betrothal and Marriage," "Social Customs and Travels," "Sickness and Death."
THE OPEN COURT PUBLISHING
CO.. 1522 Wabash Ave.. Chicago
Our Children Hints from Practical Experience for Parents and Teachers. By Paul Carus Pp. 207. $1.00 net. {4s. 6d. net) In the little book Our Children, Paul Carus offers a unique contribution to pedagogical literature. Without any theoretical pretensions it is a strong defense for the rights of the child, dealing with the responsibiHties of parenthood, and with the first inculcation of fundamental ethics in the child mind and the true principles of correction and guidance. Each detail is forcefully illustrated by informal incidents irom the author's experience with his own children, and his suggestions will prove of the greatest possible value to young mothers and kindergartners. Hints as to the first acquaintance with all branches of knowledge are touched upon mathematics, natural sciences, foreign languages, etc. and practical wisdom in regard to the treatment of money, hygiene and similar problems.
—
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PRESS NOTICES "Brigrhtly written, broad-minded, instructive, this book deserves serious perusal and praise."
—CHICAGO RECORD-HERALD.
" 'Our Children' has a value which it is difficult to exaggerate. The strong common sense of the book as a whole can better be judged from an extract than from any praise of it, however particularized. "It is difficult to conceive of anything coming up in relation of parent or teacher to a child which does not find discussion or suggestion in this compact and helpful little book. It will be an aid to parents and teachers everywhere — an education for them no less than for the child."
—THE CHICAGO DAILY NEWS.
"From my own
personal point of view I can only welcome this volume in our pedagogical literature and express the hope that it may become a household book in the library of every M. P. E. GROSZMANN, Pd. D., parent and teacher." Director Groszmann School for Nervous Children
"Mr. Carus writes in a most practical manner upon his subject, setting before the reader the various problems common to all parents in dealing with their offspring. This book is admirable throughout in the author's treatment of his subjects, as the book is built from the experiences of parents and teachers and, therefore, cannot fail to be practicable."
—THE BOSTON HERALD.
"For the training of children compass as in this."
I
know
of no book in which there
is
so
much
value in a small
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CO.
"Little things are recommended that will appeal to the child's understanding and add to his PLAIN DEALER. interest in his work."
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"Its author has given to the world a careful, loving, thoughtful set of rules with profit in the bringing up of the young."
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AND GRATE MONTHLY.
"We feel certain that any parent who thoughtfully reads and studies this book will be richly paid: and if the readers be parents with growing children they will keep the book by them for frequent consultation; not for iron rules but for sympathetic suggestion."
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"At once the reader knows that he is in touch with a mind that is accustomed to sincere and deep thinking. The whole book is a plea for a serious notion of parenthood. The author touches one topic after another with a fine sense of feeling for the 'warm spot' in it. "The use of money, square dealing, worldly prudence, sympathy with animals, treatment of a naughty
child, self criticism,
and punishment, are some of the more important themes of the
-THE SUBURBAN.
book."
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