A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy

by Wing-Tsit Chan

  102--Duke Chou (d. 1094 b.c.) helped found the Chou dynasty and was greatly admired by Confucius for his virtue.

  103--See above, ch. 30, comment on sec. 64.

  104--Pupil of the two Ch’engs, who first studied under Chang Tsai. He became a professor of the national university and an official but was eventually banished to South China because his recommendations offended those in power. He recorded the conversations in bk. 10 of the I-shu.

  105--The Mean, ch. 1,

  106--Lü yü-shu (Lü Ta-lin, 1044-1090), one of the Ch’engs’ outstanding pupils. He recorded the sayings in bk. 2 of the I-shu. For an account of him, see Forke, Geschichte der neueren chinesischen Philosophie, pp. 116-119, and Sung-Yüan hsüeh-an, ch. 31. This doctrine of his is found in 31:9a of the latter.

  107--The Mean, ch. 1.

  108--Chu Hsi said (Chu Tzu yü-lei, 96:9a) that “there is nothing” in the text should read “there is anything.” This is confirmed by Ts’ui-yen, 1:6a.

  109--The quotation is from Changes, commentary on hexagram no. 24, fu (to return). Cf. Legge, Yi King, p. 233. Wang Pi (226-249) is the chief exponent of the theory. See above, ch. 19, sec. 2.

  110--The text has i (moral principle) but Chu Hsi thought it should be “things.” In the Honan Ch’eng-shih i-shu (Surviving Works of the Ch’engs of Honan), another edition of the work, Kuo-hsüeh chi-pen ts’ung-shu (Basic Sinological Series) ed., p. 226, there is a note by Chu Hsi to this effect.

  111--Mencius, 6A:2-8.

  112--Legendary rulers (3rd millennium b.c.).

  113--Analects, 17:3.

  114--Analects, 17:2.

  115--Mencius, 6A:3. This is Kao Tzu’s doctrine.

  116--Analects. 17:3.

  117--Analects, 6:19.

  118--Mencius, 6A:2-8.

  119--Analects, 5:8.

  120--Chu Tzu yü-lei, 95:25a.

  121--See his Chin-ssu lu chi-chu, ch. 1, sppy, 1:16a. His reference to Chu Hsi is to Chu Tzu yü-lei, 95:25b.

  122--“Appended Remarks,” pt. 1, ch. 4. Cf. Legge, Yi King, p. 253.

  123--For a discussion of this term, see Appendix.

  124--Japanese sources (e.g., Daikanwa jiten or Great Chinese-Japanese Dictionary) maintain that the first half of the saying originated with Ch’eng-kuan (c.760-838) in his commentary on Hua-yen ching (Avataṁsaka sūtra, or Flower Splendor Scripture), but as Ōta Kinjō (1765-1825) has pointed out (Gimon roku, or Records of Questioning, 1831 ed., pt. 1, p. 6), it does not appear here or in any of Ch’eng-kuan’s works. It is possible that it was in the portion of his commentary which is now lost, but if so, no one has given any specific source. However, Ch’eng-kuan virtually said the same thing rather extensively, though in slightly different words, in his commentary (Zokuzōkyō, or Supplement to the Buddhist Canon, 1st collection, case 88, 3:35a-b). By the eleventh century, the saying was common among both Buddhists and Neo-Confucianists. As T’ang Shun-chih (1507-1560) said, “Both Buddhists and Confucianists said the same thing and none could tell whose words they were.” (T’ang Ching-ch’uan chi, or Collected Works of T’ang Shun-chih, 1553 ed., 6:2b.) As to the second half of the saying, Ōta said that it is Fa-tsang’s (643-712), but he gave no specific reference.

  125--Changes, commentary on hexagram no. 1, ch’ien (Heaven). Cf. Legge, p. 417.

  126--Quoting Changes, “Appended Remarks,” pt. 2, ch. 5. Cf. Legge, p. 389.

  127--Quoting Changes, “Appended Remarks,” pt. 1, ch. 5. Cf. Legge, p. 356.

  THE UNITY OF MIND AND PRINCIPLE IN LU HSIANG-SHAN

  1--Lu’s courtesy name was Tzu-ching. He obtained the “presented scholar” degree in 1.172 and in 1174 served as a district keeper of records (assistant magistrate). Three years later he and Chu engaged in one of the most famous debates in Chinese history (see sec. 31). In 1179 he was district keeper of records again and in 1182 he became a professor of the national university. For four years he lectured there and attracted much following. Minor posts followed. After he resigned he returned to his home in Kiangsi and lived in Hsiang-shan (Elephant Mountain) to teach and lecture. Hence the honorary title “Master Hsiang-shan.” In 1190 he was appointed a magistrate and gave an excellent account of himself. He died while he was in office. Throughout his life he mostly taught and lectured. He wrote no books, for his emphasis was not on them. Even the Classics, he said, were his footnotes only. (See sec. 20.) He died in the third year of the Shao-hsi period, which is ordinarily equated with 1192. But he died on the fourteenth day of the twelfth month, which happened to fall on January 10, 1193. This fact has been pointed out in Siu-chi Huang, Lu Hsiang-shan, p. 9, n.2.

  2--These two ways are taught in The Mean, ch. 27 as complementary.

  3--This is in thirty-six chapters, consisting of letters, short essays, poems, official documents, and recorded conversations. A selection from the letters and conversations has been made by Cady. See Bibliography.

  4--Analects, 4:15.

  5--Mencius, 3A:1.

  6--ibid., 4A:2.

  7--ibid., 6A:6.

  8--ibid., 5A:7.

  9--Ching is here not used in the sense of respect for people but in the sense of absolute equanimity and absolute steadfastness. See Appendix.

  10--Changes, commenting on hexagram no. 2, k’un (Earth). Cf. translation by Legge, Yi King, p. 420.

  11--Mencius, 7A:15.

  12--ibid., 6A:6.

  13--ibid., 7A:4.

  14--ibid., 6A:8.

  15--ibid., 6A:6.

  16--For the deviation from the Mean, see The Mean, ch. 4.

  17--This selection is part of a letter Lu Hsiang-shan wrote to Wang Po-shun.

  18--The Mean, ch. 30.

  19--Changes, “Appended Remarks,” pt. 1, ch. 4. Cf. Legge, Yi King, p. 354.

  20--For the layman, the four kindnesses are those of parents, all sentient beings, the king, and the Three Treasurers (Buddha, the Law, and the Order).

  21--Mencius, 4B:19.

  22--Chu Tzu yü-lei (Classified Conversations of Chu Hsi), 1880 ed., 124:11a.

  23--This is true of Tokiwa Daijō’s (1870-1945) Shina ni okeru bukkyō to jukyō dōkyō (Buddhism in Relation to Confucianism and Taoism in China), 1930, and Kubota Ryōon’s Shina judōbutsu kōshōshi (The Interrelations between Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism in China), 1943. However, the latter’s Shina judōbutsu sankyō shiron (Historical Discussion of the Three Systems of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism in China), 1931, brings out the Neo-Confucianists’ criticism of Buddhism rather fully.

  24--For Chou’s doctrine on the Great Ultimate, see ch. 28, sec. 1.

  25--This letter is found in the Chu Tzu wen-chi (Collection of Literary Works by Chu Hsi), cttc, 36:4b-5b.

  26--Pt. 1, ch. 12. Cf. Legge, Yi King, p. 377.

  27--Pt. 1, ch. 5. Cf. Legge, p. 355.

  28--See above, ch. 28, sec. 2.

  29--In Chu Hsi’s letter to Lu. See Chu Tzu wen-chi, cttc, 36:8a.

  30--ibid., 36:9a.

  31--Lao Tzu, ch. 1. Lu Hsiang-shan understood the sentences in this way because he followed a certain punctuation. See ch. 7, n.11.

  32--Mencius, 6A:15.

  33--Mencius, 4B: 19.

  34--ibid., 6A: 10.

  35--ibid., 4B: 12.

  36--ibid., 2A:6.

  37--Chu Tzu yü-lei, 124:4b.

  38--For a discussion of this term, see Appendix.

  39--The Books of Odes, History, Rites, Changes, the Chou-li (Rites of Chou), and the Spring and Autumn Annals. The ancient Six Classics had the Book of Music, now lost, instead of the Chou-li.

  40--Book of Rites, “Record of Music.” Cf. translation by Legge, Li Ki, p. 96.

  41--The term Principle of Nature of course does not appear in the Lao Tzu. Lu was evidently thinking of the general Taoist doctrine of having no or few desires in chs. 3, 19, 34, 37, 57.

  42--“Counsels of the Great Yü.” Cf. translation by Legge, Shoo King, p. 61.

  43--The Mean, ch. 27.

  44--ibid.

  45--Mencius, 6A:15.
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  46--Hsiang-shan Ch’üan-chi, 2:9a.

  47--He was a high official and a prominent scholar, to whom Chu Hsi wrote many letters discussing various philosophical problems. These letters are found in the Chu Tzu wen-chi, chs. 33-35. For an account of him, see Forke, Geschichte der neueren chinesischen Philosophie, pp. 226-229 or Huang Tsung-hsi et al., Sung-Yüan hsüeh-an (Anthology and Critical Accounts of the Neo-Confucianists of the Sung and Yüan Dynasties, 960-1368), ch. 51. Hu, Chu, and Lu represented the most outstanding currents of thoughts at this time. His system is a synthesis of Chu’s rationalism and Lu’s idealism.

  48--In present Kiangsi Province.

  49--Sung-Yüan hsüeh-an, sppy, 58:2a.

  50--Among Lu’s pupils, he studied with him for the longest period. He recorded the conversations in Hsiang-shan ch’üan-chi, 35:5a-11b.

  51--Mencius, 7A:4.

  52--So-called because the two Ch’eng brothers lived and taught in the I River area and Lo-yang. Later the term also applied to Chu Hsi, that is, the Ch’eng-Chu School as a whole.

  53--Analects, 1:6.

  54--One of the most outstanding pupils of the Ch’eng brothers and a prominent Neo-Confucianist. For an account of his philosophy see Forke, Geschichte der neueren chinesischen Philosophie, pp. 110-116, or Sung-Yüan hsüeh-an, ch. 24.

  55--Sung-Yüan hsüeh-an, sppy, 58:1a.

  56--Chu Tzu yü-lei, 124:1a.

  57--Hsiang-shan ch’üan-chi, 35:29a.

  58--Mencius, 7A:1.

  59--The Mean, ch. 25.

  60--Quoting Lao Tzu, ch. 1.

  61--Mencius, 7A:4.

  62--History, “Counsels of the Great Yü.” Cf. Legge, Shoo King, p. 62.

  63--Lu’s own insertion.

  64--Cf. Legge, Li Ki, vol. 1, p. 97.

  THE GREAT SYNTHESIS IN CHU HSI

  1--Chu Hsi was a native of Fukien. For several years he studied under his father who was head of various departments but eventually left the capital because he opposed accepting humiliating peace terms from the northern invaders. In 1154-57, Chu Hsi was a district keeper of records. But he preferred quiet study. From 1158 he studied under Li T’ung (Li Yen-p’ing, 1088-1163) who continued the tradition of the Neo-Confucianism of Ch’eng Hao and Ch’eng I. Most of his life, Chu Hsi was off and on a guardian of some temple, utilizing the peace and quiet to study, write, and talk with the most prominent scholars of the day. His official life, other than the guardianship, was intermittent and turbulent, for he strongly opposed concluding peace and repeatedly memorialized the throne to criticize officials and policies. Time and again he declined official positions. In 1179 he was appointed a prefect. In 1182 he was demoted to a minor post because he incurred the anger of the emperor by attacking the incompetency of officials on all levels. In 1188 he was appointed vice minister of the army department, but the vice-minister himself vigorously attacked him and he was shifted to a small position. Later in the year he was appointed a junior expositor in waiting to expound the Classics to the emperor, but he declined. In 1190 he became a prefect in Fukien and in 1194 a prefect in Hunan for one month. Later that year he became expositor in waiting but because he memorialized to attack the wicked but powerful officials he was dismissed and given the sinecure of a temple guardian. Two years later a censor accused him of ten crimes, including refusing to serve and spreading false learning, and someone even petitioned for his execution. All his posts were taken away. Although the attack on “false learning” was severe, almost a thousand people attended his funeral when he died. For greater details, see Wang Mou-hung (1668-1741), Chu Tzu nien-p’u (Chronological Biography of Chu Hsi), Kuo-hsüeh chi-pen ts’ung-shu (Basic Sinological Series), ed., Sung shih (History of the Sung Dynasty, 960-1279), ch. 429, and Bruce, Chu Hsi and His Masters, pp. 56-96.

  2--In his I-Lo yüan-yüan lu (Record of the Origin of the School of the Two Ch’engs), he placed Chou Tun-i ahead of the two Ch’engs, thus asserting that Chou was the founder of Neo-Confucianism and the two Ch’engs more or less transmitted his doctrines. For comments on this matter, see above, pp. 482, 520.

  3--See Appendix for a discussion of these two terms.

  4--For comment on this term, see ibid.

  5--See ibid. for a discussion of the term.

  6--This work, dated 1532, consists of letters, official documents, short essays, poems, and the like in 121 chapters (36 vols.). The sppy edition of 1930, entitled Chu Tzu ta-ch’üan (Complete Literary Works of Chu Hsi), is used.

  7--The 1714 edition is used. The title “Complete Works” is misleading, for actually it consists of selected passages from the Chu Tzu wen-chi and sayings from the Chu Tzu yü-lei (Classified Conversations of Chu Hsi) of 1270 which is in 140 chapters (40 vols.). It was compiled by imperial command in 1713 in a topical arrangement in 66 chapters (25 vols.) and published in 1714. It is worth noting that in the arrangement, moral cultivation comes first and metaphysics comes very much later. In practically all anthologies of Chu Hsi’s works in Chinese, this characteristic dominates. The best example is the Hsü Chin-ssu-lu (Supplement to the Reflections on Things at Hand) by Chang Po-hsing (1651-1725). Even sayings on metaphysics are selected with moral cultivation in mind, as can be seen by his annotations. In our selections, the original topical arrangement is followed simply to keep the original order.

  Chapters 42-48 of this work have been translated by Bruce into English, called The Philosophy of Human Nature, and ch. 49 has been rendered in European languages several times, the most recent in French by Pang Ching-Jen, in his L’idée de Dieu chez Malebranche et l’idée de Li chez Tchou Hi, pp. 73-119.

  8--Wai-shu (Additional Works), 3:1a, in eccs. There is no indication which of the two brothers said this. It is considered to be Ch’eng Hao’s in the Ming-tao ch’üan-shu (Complete Works of Ch’eng Hao) by Shen Kuei (of Ming, 1368-1644).

  9--Changes, commentary on hexagram no. 1, ch’ien (Heaven). Cf. translation by Legge, Yi King, p. 57.

  10--ibid., commenting on hexagram nos. 1 and 2, k’un (Earth). See Legge, pp. 213-214.

  11--Mencius, 6A:11.

  12--Analects, 12:1.

  13--ibid., 13:19.

  14--Both quotations from Book of Filial Piety, ch. 14. See Makre, trans., Hsiao Ching p. 31.

  15--This is not a quotation from early Confucian texts but Ch’eng I’s interpretation of the Confucian concept of altruism. See I-shu (Surviving Works), 11:5b, in ECCS.

  16--Analects, 7:14.

  17--When their father left the throne to Shu-ch’i, he declined in deference to his elder brother Po-i, but Po-i would not violate the order of his father and therefore chose to flee. Later, when King Wu (r. 1121–1116 b.c.) overthrew the Shang dynasty in spite of their remonstration, and founded the Chou dynasty, they would not eat the grains of Chou and starved to death.

  18--Analects, 15:8.

  19--Presumably Ch’eng I.

  20--I-shu, 18:1a.

  21--Referring to Yang Kuei-shan (Yang Shih, 1053-1135), in the Kuei-shan yü-lu (Recorded Conversations of Yang Shih), sptk, 2:28a.

  22--This is a reference to Hsieh Shang-ts’ai (Hsieh Liang-tso, 1050-1103), who described jen as consciousness. See Shang-ts’ai yü-lu (Recorded Conversations of Hsieh Liang-tso), Cheng-i-t’ang ch’üan-shu (Complete Library of the Hall of Rectifying the Way) ed., pt. 1, 2a-b. See also Forke, Geschichte der neueren chinesischen Philosophie, pp. 110-116.

  23--For the answer to Tzu-kung (520–c. 450 b.c.), see Analects, 6:28 (in ch. 2, above).

  24--I-shu, 24:3a.

  25--Quoting Mencius, 2A:2.

  26--Analects, 6:21.

  27--ibid., 15:32.

  28--Li-hsüeh tsung-ch’uan (Orthodox Transmission of Neo-Confucianism), 1880 ed., 6:17a-b.

  29--See above, ch. 30, comment on sec. A.

  30--These phrases appear separately in the treatise. However, they form one sentence in his Lun-yü chi-chu (Collected Commentaries on the Analects), ch. 1, commentary on Analects, 1:2. For a refutation of the theory that these phrases were borro
wed from a Buddhist, see Yamaguchi Satsujō, Jin no kenkyū (An Investigation on Jên), 1936, pp. 370-372.

  31--On jen, see above, ch. 30, sec. 1, ch. 31, comment on secs. 1 and 11, and ch. 32, comment on sec. 42.

  32--I-shu, 1:7b. In the beginning sentence, Ch’eng is quoting Kao Tzu (c.420–c.350 b.c.) See Mencius, 6A:3.

  33--I-shu, 1:7b.

  34--ibid.

  35--ibid., 2A:1b.

  36--ibid., 1:7b. The same for all the following quotations from Ch’eng Hao.

  37--Mencius, 2A:6.

  38--Legendary sage-emperor (3rd millennium b.c.)

  39--Paraphrasing Analects, 8:18.

  40--See above, ch. 30, sec. 41.

  41--See above, ch. 31, comments on secs. 7-8.

  42--According to Wang Mou-hung, Chu Tzu nien-p’u, p. 37, this letter was written in 1169 when Chu Hsi was forty. The Hunan friends included Chang Nan-hsien (Chang Shih, also called Chang Ching-fu and Chang Ch’ien-fu, 1133-1180), with whom Chu Hsi carried on extensive correspondence on equilibrium and harmony and other subjects. (Chu Tzu wen-chi, chs. 31-33). For an account of him, see Forke, Geschichte der neueren chinesischen Philosophie, pp. 260-264 or Sung-Yüan hsüen-an, ch. 50. Chang was a resident of Hunan. According to the Chu Tzu nien-p’u, in 1167 when Chu Hsi was thirty-eight, he and Chang visited Mount Heng in Hunan. The group also included Lin Tse-chih with whom Chu Hsi once visited Chang in Ch’ang-sha, Hunan, and with whom he also corresponded extensively, chiefly on equilibrium and harmony (Chu Tzu wen-chi, 43-17a-32b). In a letter to Lin, Chu Hsi mentioned “Human friends” and also Chang (ibid., 43:30b), who is also mentioned in other letters to Lin.

  43--The Mean, ch. 1.

  44--I-ch’uan wen-chi (Collection of Literary Works by Ch’eng I), 5:12a, in eccs.

  45--Generally stating the ideas in Changes, “Appended Remarks,” pt. 1, ch. 10. Cf. Legge, Yi King, p. 370.

  46--The discussions are found in I-shu, 18:14b-16a.

  47--ibid., 2A:23b.

  48--This word is added according to the I-shu.

  49--I-shu, 3:5b.

  50--ibid., 18:5b.

  51--I-ch’uan wen-chi, 5:12a. The insertions in parentheses are Ch’eng’s own.

  52--See Liu’s comment on this letter in the Sung-Yüan hsüeh-an, (Anthology and Critical Accounts of the Neo-Confucianists of the Sung and Yüan Dynasties, 960-1368), ed. by Huang Tsung-hsi (1610-1695) et al, sppy, 48:9a.