The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-02-03
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nature Some other maxims Of Confucius.
less well known. are as follows:
lie, loyalty and truth he paramount within YOU
In mourning IL is better 70 be sincere than
punctilious.
Man is born to be upright. If he he not So
ard yet live. he is lucky Ia have escaped
Riches and honcrs are what men desire; yet
except in accordance vita right these may not
be enjoNed.
Next in order ia education come the
seven books of Alencius. the disciple and
explainer of co, fucius. \ specimen of the
! logic of this t. cher is given in a dialogue
quoted from me of his books:
Rao Tzn said: Human nature is like rushing
water which flows east or west according an
outlet Ii made for il. For human nature makes
| ndiffcrpntly for good for evil, precisely as
water makes indiferently for the cast OF for the
Nest.'
! Mcncius replied: Water will indeed aox in
diffrrcntl, toward the east or west; but will u
/ iow indifcrenty up down? 1t will not; and
the tendency Of human nature toward good is IKE
tn, tendency OF water TO flow down. Every man
has this bias toward good, Just as all water flows
naturally downward. BY splashing water, YOU
/ may indeed cause it to fly over your head and by
turning its You may keep it fc- use
On the hillside; but YOU would hardly speak oil
such results a. The nature of water. They are
| the results of course. of force maieure. And
! So il is when the nature of is diverted to-
! ward evil
| Kao Tzu said; That which comes with ne is
nature
Mcncus replied: 30 you mean that there is
such thing as nature in the abstract just as
there is whtcness In the abstract
II do answered Kao TZu.
"Ju.t for instance" continued Mencius, as
the whteness of feather Is the same as INC
Nhiteness of snow, or the whiieness Of sn"" as
the whiteness of jsde7''
II do" answered Kao Thu again.
! ain that case retortcd Nencius. the nature
| of dog is the same as that of an OK. and the
/ 81. that nf al
A later philosopher, Hsun Tzu. however.
seems to have discovered the doctrine OF
! total depravity, and fatty asserts that by
| nature man is evil. and If he is good, that
| is an artificial result.
Taosm the faith founded by Lao-Tzu.
| is discussed in another chapter.
The writer's of the succeeding centuries
I receive in most cases brief notice. the linn
its of the book being too narrow to per-
nit an extended history or criticism of
| them Ii is interesting however, to trace
the various qualities of European litera-
| ture as they develop in that of China.
| Here and there are poets and philosophers
| who devote their time and energies to the
! consideration of precisely the same prob
lens. in almost the same forr as have
| been discussed by Western thinkers. One
| early Chinese writer argues strongly
1 against the Immortality of the soul: an
/ other was one of those royal devotees of
| belles-lettres. such as appear now and
/ then in the history of Europe. Women
have certain part in the production OF
early Chinese literature. and one. who
lived at about the beginning of the Chris
tan era, originated an expression current
among the people to this day-"Autumn
+! fan" meaning a deserted wife, who is cast
aside as a fan is laid on the shelf when
summer is over. In the fifth century we
find writer. Tao Chien, who Is sort
of Chinese Omar Khayyam, taking great
| er delight in the simple joys OF living, and
the cultivation of his chrysanthemums,
with which his name is inseparably asso-
| ciated than in the honors of office. All ne
wanted, to quote his own prayer was
length Of years and depths of wine. "
! Here We have an extract from piece
written on his retirement from Office,
! which is certainly akin TO passages of the
| Rubaiyat:
The times are out Of joint for me- and what
have TO seek from men? In the pure enjoy
ment Of the family circle ! will pass my days.
cheering my idle hours with lutte and hook.
Glad is this renewal Of life in due
son; but for me. | rejoice that my journey is
over. All. how short time II j. that we
hcTei Why, then. not set hearts at rest.
cessing 10 trouble whether remain goY
What boots II to wear out the soul with anxious
thoughts / want not wealth; ! want not power;
heaven is beyond my hopes Then let me stroll
B through the bright hours they pass, in my
garden among my flowers: ! will mount the
( hill ard sing nv song, OF weave my verse beside
( the iimpid brook
! There is a whimsical poet of the sey-
enth century Wang Chi, who was known
as the Five-Bottle Scholar. and who wrote
l a piece of inirnitable foolery called "A
| Visit to Drunk-I.and." fragment Of it
reads as follows:
This country is many thousand miles from, the
Middle Kingdom. IL is a vast, bomdeSs plain,
without mountains or undulations Of any kind.
The climate is equshle, there being neither
/ light. day. cold. nor heat The manners
/ and customs everywhere the same.
There are Villages congregations Of per
( sons. The inhabitants arc ethereal in DISPOSE
! ton. and know neither love hate ioy nor
anger They nhalc the breeze and zip the dew.
eating none Of the FIVE cereals calm in rcpOse
! slow OF gait they minglc with birds. beasts.
/ fishes. and scaly creatures, ignorant Of boats,
1 chariots, Weapons. or implements in general
Tie Yellow Emperor went visit to the
l capital Of Drunk Land. and when he baS6 he
was quite out Of conceit with the Empire the
/ Government OF which seemed 70 him but IaltTy
trifng with hnotted cords.
Yuan Chi. Tao Cli'ien. and some others about
ten in all. made trip together to Drunk Land.
! and sank never 20 rise again They were buried
| whore they fell. and now in the Middle Kingdom
I ther are dubbed Spirits Of Wine.
Alas could not bear that The pure and peace
! ful domain Of Drunk Land s.ohld come 20 be re-
{ garded preserve % the anccnts SO went
4 there myself.
! The Tank dynasty, which hourished at
about this time. is regarded as the loweFy
I period OF Chinese poetry. a complete col
! lection of the poetry Of that era--abOut
three hundred years-was published in
I 1907. and contains nearly fifty thousand
tspnems. and Ills thirty large volumes.
I MANY OF these are quoted. for there is no
Z such thing as an epic In Chinese poetry.
and most lyrics are short. In glancing
I through the very considerable collection OF
I TRANSACTIONS which the author has select
ed. one is still further impressed with
: their resemblance 10 Western poetry, so
( far as the thought and attitude toward
/ life are concerned. Here is one, by Ssu
] K'ung T'u. which strangely enough is
almost exactly identical in thought with
| Emcrsons Each and All:"
- THE NATURAL
| Stoop. aud there it is:
| Seek IL not right aud let.
! All roads lead thithe,
! One touch and YOU have snrirg-
| As though coming upon opening flowers.
| As though gazing upon The new year,
J Verify gill mol snatch It.
| For II will dwindle away.
| ! vii. be ike the hermit on the hill.
Lie duckWcad gathered on the stream,
And 0Hcn emotions crowd upon me,
| will leave tliGn TO the harnonics Of heaven.
A later poet. Wang Ah-shlh. is repre-
! sen.ed here by little lyric which ought
/ to provcto any reader thai there Is poetry