of government say, " When they anticipate the time,
let them be put to death without mercy ; when (their
^ A similar practice existed in the A^'au dynasty.
'^ See the Introduction, p. 13.
^ Similar observances are still practised on occasion of an
eclipse of the sun. See Biot's Etudes sur I'Astronomie Indienne
et Chinoise, pp. 357-360.
BOOK IV. THE PUNITIVE EXPEDITION OF YIN. 83
reckoning) is behind the time, let them be put to
death without mercy."
' Now I, with you all, am entrusted with the exe-
cution of the punishment appointed by Heaven.*
Unite your strength, all of you warriors, for the
royal House. Give me your help, I pray you, reve-
rently to carry out the dread charge of the Son of
Heaven.
'When the fire blazes over the ridee of Khwan\
gems and stones are burned together ; but if a
minister of Heaven exceed in doing his duty, the
consequences will be fiercer than blazing fire. While
I destroy, (therefore), the chief criminals, I will not
punish those who have been forced to follow them ;
and those who have long been stained by their
filthy manners will be allowed to renovate them-
selves.
* Oh ! when sternness overcomes compassion,
things are surely conducted to a successful issue.
When compassion overcomes sternness, no merit
can be achieved. All ye, my warriors, exert your-
selves, and take warning, (and obey my orders) ! '
^ Khwan is perhaps a part of the Khwan-lun mountain in the
west of the Ko-ko-nor, where the Ho has its sources. The
speaker evidently thought of it as volcanic.
G 2
PART IV. THE BOOKS OF SHANG.
Book I. The Speech of Thang.
Shang was the name under which the dynasty that superseded
Hsia (b. c. 1766) held the kingdom for fully 300 years. Yin
then began to be used as well as Shang, and the dynasty was
called indifferently Shang or Yin, and sometimes Yin-Shang by
a combination of the two names. The ruling House traced its
origin into the remote times of antiquity, through Hsieh, whose
appointment by Shun to be Minister of Instruction is related in
the Canon of Shun. For his services Hsieh was invested with
the principality of Shang, corresponding to the present small
department of the same name in Shen-hsi. From Hsieh to
Thang, the founder of the dynasty, there are reckoned fourteen
generations, and we find Thang, when he first becomes prominent
in history, a long way from the ancestral fief, in ' the southern
Po,' corresponding to the present district of Shang-ZV/iii, depart-
ment Kwei-teh, Ho-nan. The title of the dynasty, however, was
derived from the original Shang.
There were in the Shu, when the collection was formed, thirty-one
documents of Shang in forty Books, of which only eleven remain
in seventeen Books, two of them containing each three parts or
sections. The Speech of Thang, that is now the first Book in
the Part, was originally only the sixth. Thang was the designa-
tion of the hero, whose surname, dating from Hsieh, was 3ze,
and name Li. Thang may be translated, 'the Glorious One.'
His common style in history is as -^/zang Thang, ' Thang the
Completer,' or ' Thang the Successful.'
He had summoned his people to take the field with him against
-ff'ieh, the cruel and doomed sovereign of Hsia, and finding
them backward to the enterprise, he sets forth in this Book his
reasons for attacking the tyrant, argues against their reluctance,
using in the end both promises and threats to induce them to
obey his orders.
BOOK I. THE SPEECH OF THANG. 85
The king said, ' Come, ye multitudes of the
people, listen all to my words. It is not I, the
little child ^ who dare to undertake a rebellious
enterprise; but for the many crim.es of the sovereign
of Hsia, Heaven has given the charge to destroy
him.*
' Now, ye multitudes, you are saying, "Our prince
does not compassionate us, but (is calling us) away
from our husbandry to attack and punish Hsia."
I have indeed heard (these) words of you all ; (but)
the sovereign of Hsia is guilty, and, as I fear God,
I dare not but punish him.*
' Now you are saying, " What are the crimes of
Hsia to us?" The king of Hsia in every way
exhausts the strength of his people, and exercises
oppression in the cities of Hsia. His multitudes
are become entirely indifferent (to his service), and
feel no bond of union (to him). They are saying,
" When wilt thou, O sun, expire ? We will all
perish with thee ^." Such is the course of (the
sovereign) of Hsia, and now I must go (and punish
him).
' Assist, I pray you, me, the One man, to carry
out the punishment appointed by Heaven. I will
greatly reward you. On no account disbelieve me ; ā
I will not eat my words. If you do not obey the
words which I have thus spoken to you, I will put
^ ' The little child' is a designation used humbly of themselves
by the kings of Shang and ^au. It is given also to them and
others by such great ministers as I Yin and the duke of ^au.
^ A'ieh, it is said, had on one occasion, when told of the danger
he was incurring by his crueldes, pointed to the sun, and said that
as surely as the sun was in the heavens, so firm was he on the
throne.
86 THE SHU KING.
PART IV.
your children to death with you ; ā you shall find no
forgiveness.'
Book II. The Announcement of A^ung-hui.
This Book is the first of the ' Announcements,' which form a large
class of the documents in the Shu. They are distinguished
from the Speeches, as being made in a general assembly, or
published, for the information of all, whereas the Speeches were
made to an army.
-ffung-hui, of an old family, whose surname was Zan, with its seat in
the territory of Hsieh, corresponding to the present district of
Thang, department Yen-/('au, Shan-tung, was a minister of Thang.
Thang has been successful against ^ieh, and dethroned him, but
is haunted by some feeling of remorse, and afraid that what he
has done may be appealed to in future ages as an apology for
rebellion. This gives occasion to the Announcement, in which
^ung-hui vindicates the proceeding of the king, showing, first,
that he had only obeyed the guidance of Heaven, and, then, that
men consented with Heaven in the matter. He concludes with
various counsels addressed to the king.
1. When Thang the Successful was keeping A'ieh
in banishment in Nan-Z'/^ao ^ he had a feeling of
shame on account of his conduct, and said, ' I am
afraid that in future ages men will fill their mouths
with me, (as an apology for their rebellious pro-
ceedings.) '
2. On this A\ing-hui made the following announce-
ment : ' Oh ! Heaven gives birth to the people with
(such) desires, that without a ruler they must fall
into all disorders ; and Heaven again gives birth
^ Nan-/{'/^ao is identified with the present district ofiT/mo, depart-
ment Lu-X'au, An-hui.
BOOK 11. THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF ^UNG-HUI. 87
to the man of intelligence to regulate them.* The
sovereign of Hsia had his virtue all-obscured, and
the people were (as if they had fallen) amid mire
and (burning) charcoal. Heaven hereupon gifted
(our) king with valour and prudence, to serve as
a sign and director to the myriad regions, and
to continue the old ways of Yti. You are now
(only) following the proper course, honouring and
obeying the appointment of Heaven, The king
of Hsia was an offender, falsely and calumniously
alleging the sanction of supreme Heaven, to spread
abroad his commands among the people. On this
account God viewed him with disapprobation,
caused our Shang to receive his appointment, and
employed (you) to enlighten the multitudes (of the
people).' *
3. * Contemners of the worthy and parasites of
the powerful, ā many such followers he had indeed ;
(but) from the first our country was to the sovereign
of Hsia like weeds among the springing corn, and
blasted grains among the good. (Our people), great
and small, were in constant apprehension, fearful
though they were guilty of no crime. How much
more was this the case, when our (prince's) virtues
became a theme (eagerly) listened to! Our king
did not approach to (dissolute) music and women ;
he did not seek to accumulate property and wealth.
To great virtue he gave great offices, and to great
merit great rewards. He employed others as if
(their excellences) were his own ; he was not slow
to change his errors. Rightly indulgent and rightly
benevolent, from the display (of such virtue), con-
fidence was reposed in him by the millions of the
people.
88 THE SH^ KING.
PART IV,
' When the earl of Ko ^ showed his enmity to the
provision-carriers, the work of punishment began
with Ko. When it went on in the east, the wild
tribes of the west murmured ; when it went on in
the south, those of the north murmured : ā they said,
" Why does he make us alone the last ? " To what-
ever people he went, they congratulated one another in
their families, saying, " We have waited for our prince ;
our prince is come, and we revive." The people's
honourinor our Shano^ is a thins: of Ions: existence.'
4. ' Show favour to the able and right-principled
(among the princes), and aid the virtuous; distinguish
the loyal, and let the good have free course. Absorb
the weak, and punish the wilfully blind ; take their
states from the disorderly, and deal summarily with
those going to ruin. When you (thus) accelerate
the end of what is (of itself) ready to perish, and
strengthen what is itself strong to live, how will
the states all flourish ! When (a sovereign's) virtue
is daily being renewed, he is cherished throughout
the myriad regions ; when his mind is full (only) of
himself, he is abandoned by the nine branches of
his kindred. Exert yourself, O king, to make your
virtue (still more) illustrious, and set up (the standard
of) the Mean before the people. Order your affairs
^ Ko was a principality corresponding to the present district of
Ning-ling, department of Kwei-teh, Ho-nan. It was thus near the
southern Po, which belonged to Thang. Mencius tells us (III, ii,
ch. 3) that Thang sent a multitude of his people to assist the farmers
of Ko, about the poor produce of which their chief had lamented
to him. That chief, however, instead of showing any gratitude,
surprised and robbed those who were carrying provisions from Po
to the labourers in the field, and committed various atrocities upon
them. This aroused Thang's indignation, and he made him the
first object of his punitive justice.
BOOK in. THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THANG. 89
by righteousness ; order your heart by propriety ; ā
so shall you transmit a grand example to posterity.
I have heard the saying, " He who finds instructors
for himself, comes to the supreme dominion ; he
who says that others are not equal to himself,
comes to ruin. He who likes to put questions,
becomes enlarged ; he who uses only his own
views, becomes smaller (than he was)." Oh ! he
who would take care for the end must be attentive
to the beofinnino;. There is establishment for the
observers of propriety, and overthrow for the blinded
and wantonly indifferent. To revere and honour
the path prescribed by Heaven is the way ever to
preserve the favouring appointment of Heaven.' *
Book HI. The Announcement of Thang.
Thang had made an end of the dynasty of Hsia, and returned to
Po, when he issued this Announcement, which may be con-
sidered as a solemn inauguration of the new dynasty. He
shows how he had taken possession of the throne in reverent
submission to the will of Heaven, what appreciation he had of
the duties devolving on him, and the spirit in which he would
discharge them. In the end he calls on the princes and the
people to sympathize and co-operate with him.
1. When the king returned from vanquishing
Hsia and came to Po, he made a (jrand announce-
ment to the myriad regions.
2. The king said, ' Ah ! ye multitudes of the
myriad regions, listen clearly to the announcement
of me, the One man \ The great God has conferred
' ' The One man ' has occurred before, in the Songs of the
Five Sons, as a designation of the sovereign. It continues to be
so to the present day.
90 THE SHU KING. PART IV.
(even) on the inferior people a moral sense, com-
pliance with which would show their nature invaria-
bly right."' To make them tranquilly pursue the
course which it would indicate is the work of the
sovereign.
* The king of Hsia extinguished his virtue, and
played the tyrant, extending his oppression over you,
the people of the myriad regions. Suffering from
his cruel injuries, and unable to endure the worm-
wood and poison, you protested with one accord
your innocence to the spirits of heaven and earth."'^
The way of Heaven is to bless the good, and make
the bad miserable. It sent down calamities on (the
House of ) Hsia, to make manifest its guilt. Therefore
I, the little child, charged with the decree of Heaven
and its bright terrors, did not dare to forgive (the
criminal). I presumed to use a dark-coloured victim-
bull, and, making clear announcement to the Spiritual
Sovereign in the high heavens ^, requested leave to
deal with the ruler of Hsia as a criminal. * Then
I sought for the great Sage ^ with whom I might
unite my strength, to request the favour (of Heaven)
for you, my multitudes. High Heaven truly showed
its favour to the inferior people, and the criminal
has been degraded and subjected. What Heaven
appoints is without error ; ā brilliantly (now), like
the blossoming of plants and trees, the millions of
the people show a true reviving.' *
3. 'It is given to me, the One man, to secure the
1 For ' the Spiritual Sovereign in the high heavens,' we have in
the Confucian Analects, XX, i, professing to quote this passage,
' the most great and Sovereign God.'
2 'The great Sage' must be I Yin, Thang's chief adviser and
minister, who appears prominently in the next Book.
BOOK III. THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THANG. 9 1
harmony and tranquillity of your states and clans ;
and now I know not whether I may not offend
against (the Powers) above and below.* I am fearful
and trembling, as if I were in danger of falling into
a deep abyss. Throughout all the regions that
enter on a new life under me, do not, (ye princes),
follow lawless ways ; make no approach to insolence
and dissoluteness ; let every one be careful to keep
his statutes ; ā that so we may receive the favour
of Heaven.'" The good in you I will not dare
to keep concealed ; and for the evil in me I will
not dare to forgive myself. I will examine these
things in harmony with the mind of God.* When
guilt is found anywhere in you who occupy the
myriad regions, let it rest on me, the One man \
When guilt is found in me, the One man, it shall
not attach to you who occupy the myriad regions.
' Oh ! let us attain to be sincere in these things,
and so we shall likewise have a (happy) consum-
mation.'
^ There was a tradition in the ^au dynasty, given with varia-
tions by Hsiin-jze, Sze-ma Khicxx, and others, which may be quoted
to illustrate these noble sentiments of Thang. For seven years
after his accession to the throne, b. c. i 766-1 760, there was a great
drought and famine. It was suggested at last that some human
being should be oifered in sacrifice to Heaven, and prayer made for
rain. Thang said, 'If a man must be the victim, I will be he.' He
fasted, cut off his hair and nails, and in a plain carriage, drawn by
white horses, clad in rushes, in the guise of a sacrificial victim, he
proceeded to a forest of mulberry trees, and there prayed, asking
to what error or crime of his the calamity was owing. He had not
done speaking when a copious rain fell.
92 THE SHU KING. PART IV.
Book IV. The Instructions of t.
Thang died in b.c 1754 or 1753, and was succeeded, so far as the
evidence of the Shu goes, by his grandson, known as Thdi KiL
The chief minister of Thang had been I Yin, who delivers these
Instrucdons to his young sovereign soon after his accession.
I was a great and wise man, ' a great sage,' as Thang calls him
in the last Book, and is classed by Mencius among other
celebrated ministers as 'the one most inclined to take office.'
He reasons thus : ā ' Heaven's plan with mankind is that they
who are first informed should instruct those who are later in
being informed, and they who first apprehend principles should
instruct those who are later in doing so.' He thought he was
one of the former class, and a fire burned within him, impelling
him to seek for office with a view to benefit the ignorant and
erring. There were many legends about him in the times of
A'au. He was surnamed I, from having been born near the
river of that name, an affluent of the Ho. His name is said to
have been -ff'ih, and also A-hang (see the beginning of next
Book). Yin was his designation. Thang had, probably, entrusted
to him the guardianship of his grandson, and so he now went
over the history of the kingdom from Yii, till it was transferred
from the line of Hsia to that of Shang, celebrated the virtues of
Thang and his government, and warned the young king of the
fate that he must incur, if he neglected the instructions given to
him.
I. In the twelfth month of the first year, on (the
day) Yi-^/ia.u, I Yin sacrificed to the former king,
and presented the heir-king reverently before (the
shrine of) his grandfather.* All the princes from
the domain of the nobles and the royal domain were
present ; all the officers (also), each continuing to
discharge his particular duties, were there to receive
the orders of the chief minister. I Yin then clearly
described the complete virtue of the Meritorious
Ancestor for the instruction of the (young) king.
BOOK IV. THE INSTRUCTIONS OF 1 93
2. He said, 'Oh! of old the former kings of Hsia
cultivated earnestly their virtue, and then there
were no calamities from Heaven. The spirits of
the hills and rivers likewise were all in tranquillity;
and the birds and beasts, the fishes and tortoises, all
enjoyed their existence according to their nature.*
But their descendant did not follow (their example),
and great Heaven sent down calamities, employing
the agency of our (ruler) who was in possession of
its favouring appointment.* The attack (on Hsia)
may be traced to (the orgies in) Ming-thiao^, but our
(rise) began in Po. Our king of Shang brilliantly
displayed his sagely prowess ; for oppression he sub-
stituted his generous gentleness ; and the millions
of the people gave him their hearts. Now your
Majesty is entering on the inheritance of his
virtue ; ā all depends on (how) you commence your
reign. To set up love, it is for you to love (your
relations) ; to set up respect, it is for you to respect
(your elders). The commencement is in the family
and the state ; the consurnmation is in (all within)
the four seas.'
3, ' Oh ! the former king began with careful
attention to the bonds that hold men together.
He listened to expostulation, and did not seek to
resist it ; he conformed to (the wisdom of) the
ancients ; occupying the highest position, he dis-
played intelligence ; occupying an inferior position,
he displayed his loyalty ; he allowed (the good
qualities of) the men (whom he employed), and did
^ Ming-thiao was a place not far from the capital of A^eh (in the
present district of An-yi, Hai A'au, Shan-hsi). He had a palace
there, where the vilest orgies were celebrated that alienated the
minds of the people from him.
94 THE SHU KING. PART IV.
not seek that they should have every talent ; in the
government of himself, he seemed to think that he
could never (sufficiently) attain. It was thus he
arrived at the possession of the myriad regions. ā
How painstaking was he in these things !
* He extensively sought out wise men, who should
be helpful to you, his descendant and heir. He
laid down the punishments for officers, and warned
those who were in authority, saying, " If you dare
to have constant dancing in your palaces, and
drunken singing in your chambers, ā that is called
the fashion of sorcerers ; if you dare to set your
hearts on wealth and women, and abandon your-
selves to wandering about or to the chase, ā that
is called the fashion of extravagance ; if you dare
to despise sage words, to resist the loyal and up-
right, to put far from you the aged and virtuous,
and to seek the company of procacious youths, ā
that is called the fashion of disorder. Now if a
high noble or officer be addicted to one of these
three fashions with their ten evil ways^ his family
will surely come to ruin ; if the prince of a country
be so addicted, his state will surely come to ruin.
The minister who does not (try to) correct (such
vices in the sovereign) shall be punished with
branding." These rules were minutely inculcated
(also) on the sons of officers and nobles in their
lessons.'
4. ' Oh ! do you, who now succeed to the throne,
revere (these warnings) in your person. Think of
^ The 'ten evil ways' are those mentioned in connexion with
the three evil fashions ; ā two under the sorcerers' fashion, and four
under each of the other two fashions.
BOOK V. THE THAI A'lA. 95
them ! ā sacred counsels of vast importance, admira-
ble words forcibly set forth ! (The ways) of God
are not invariable: ā on the eood-doer he sends
down all blessings, and on the evil-doer he sends
down all miseries.* Do you but be virtuous, be it
in small things (or in large), and the myriad regions
will have cause for rejoicing. If you be not vir-
tuous, be it in large things (or in small), it will bring
the ruin of your ancestral temple.'
Book V. The ThIi Kik.
This Book also belongs to the class of ' Lessons or Instructions,' and
is called ' the Thai Ala,' because the Instructions were addressed
to the young monarch so named. It is divided into three sec-
tions or parts. I Yin finds the young sovereign disobedient to his
counsels, and proceeds to a high-handed measure. He removes
him from his palace and companions, and keeps him in a sort of
easy confinement, near the grave of his grandfather, all the period
q\ mourning ; and Thai -ffla becomes sincerely penitent and vir-
tuous. This is related in the first section. In the second, I Yin
brings the king back with honour to Po, to undertake the duties
of the government, and congratulates him on his reformation.
The king responds suitably, and asks the minister to continue to
afford him his counsels, which the other at once proceeds to do.
The third section is all occupied with further and important
counsels.
Section 1.
I. The king, on succeeding to the throne, did not
follow (the advice of) A-hang\ (A-hang or) I Yin
^ A-hang, it is said by Sze-md Khxen, was the name of I. Others
make it the title of the chief minister under the dynasty of Shang, =
* the Support and Steelyard,' ' the Buttress and Director.'
96 THE SHU KING. PART IV.
then made the following writing^ : ā ' The former
king kept his eye continually on the bright require-
ments of Heaven, and so he maintained the worship
of the spirits of heaven and earth, of those presiding
over the land and the grain, and of those of the
ancestral temple ; ā all with a sincere reverence. *
Heaven took notice of his virtue, and caused its
great appointment to light on him, that he should
soothe and tranquillize the myriad regions.* I, Yin,
then gave my assistance to my sovereign in the
settlement of the people ; and thus it is that you,
heir-king, have received the great inheritance.
1 have seen it myself in Hsia with its western
capital^, that when its rulers went through a pros-
perous course to the end, their ministers also did
the same, and afterwards, when their successors
could not attain to such a consummation, neither
did their miinisters. Take warning, O heir-king.
Reverently use your sovereignty. If you do not
play the sovereign, as the name requires, you will
disgrace your grandfather.'
2. The king would not think (of these words),
nor listen to them. On this I Yin said, ' The
former king, before it was light, sought to have
large and clear views, and then sat waiting for
the dawn (to carry them into practice). He (also)
sought on every side for men of ability and virtue,
to instruct and guide his posterity. Do not frus-
trate his charge (to me), and bring on yourself your
own overthrow. Be careful to strive after the virtue
^ This is the first direct statement in the Shu of a communica-
tion made in writing.
2 An-yi, the capital of Hsia, might be described as 'western,'
from the standpoint of Po.
BOOK V. THE THAI ^lA. 97
of self-restraint, and cherish far-reaching plans. Be
like the forester, who, when he has adjusted the
spring, goes to examine the end of the arrow,