The Wisdom of Confucius - 6 books in One Edition. Confucius

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СКАЧАТЬ to the north of the city, from the gate of which runs for 2,600 yards a noble avenue of two thousand old cypress or cedar and yew-trees, planted at intervals, about 500 years ago, by the Ming dynasty. Of course these trees are emblematic of immortality or imperishability. The road is beautified by numerous bridges and honorary portals, more, however, for ornament than to serve any useful purpose. Half-way up the avenue are two handsome pavilions, erected 300 years ago by the last Chinese dynasty. The cemetery, described 1,000 years ago as lying between the Rivers Sz and Chu, J-of a mile from the older city, is a densely-wooded enclosure of 50 acres, surrounded by high walls : the only gate is on the south side. A writer of the 5th century gives the then area as 1 6 English acres. For some unexplained reason the avenue of pines which runs north towards the tomb does not run directly from the gate, but turns round at a point a hundred yards or so from the gate to the west. This second avenue is lined on each side by stone figures of lions, elephants, leopards, unicorns, camels, and two human figures. At the north end of the pine-tree avenue the road turns west, and the second avenue begins where the road divides, at a small historical stream called the Chu, or Red River, into two bridges. Ordinary visitors are directed to dismount here, as they would do in approaching an imperial edifice. The easternmost bridge leads to the modern cemetery, in which each member of the six or seven thousand existing Confucian families has a right to be buried. The heads of the clan alone have mounds and stone figures : the others mere slabs. The western bridge leads to a large hall, without image or tablet, in which the family offer sacrifices twice a year, and the back door of which faces the tomb. The tomb enclosure is walled off from the general cemetery above mentioned, and contains only the graves of Confucius, his son, and his grandson. These are simply three mounds covered with brushwoods those of the son and grandson being west and east in front, and that of the philosopher occupying the further or north-west corner. The Sage’s mound was described 1,400 years ago, as being 50 feet by 75, and 12 feet high. It is now about thirty-five feet in diameter and twenty feet high ; in front of it are a carved stone table, a stone urn, and a stone tablet 25 feet high, the last inscribed in ancient character with the words “the most holy sage and princely disseminator of literature.” To the west is a neat but modest little house built to commemorate the reed hut in 1 which Confucius’ most faithful disciple (the one who painted his portrait, as will appear later on) mourned for his master six years.

      Readers of Marco Polo will remember that he often speaks of burning the dead in China. Buddhist priests are still cremated, but Confucius was properly buried, in accordance with the patriarchal customs then prevalent over the greater part of north and west Asia.

      Confucius’ own reigning duke set up a great lamentation for him when he died, and it is (somewhat doubtfully) said erected a temple to his memory for quarterly sacrifices of a bullock ; but no word of panegyric beyond the bald expression ” Father Ni” was conferred upon his memory. The royal or imperial dynasty took no notice whatever of his death. The people of the ducal state, who came from time to time to pay their respects to his memory, gradually formed a village round the tomb, and such relics as the Sage’s hat, clothes, cart, lute, and books were preserved in what seems to have been the shrine, or, if there was no temple, then in a museum or other commemorative building. During the disturbed period B.C. 225-200, when the old royal house gave place to usurping emperors, and the feudal system was practically abolished, Confucius’ memory naturally grew dim but the founder of the celebrated Han dynasty, which was the first truly historical dynasty to really rule over a united China and to open up political relations with Western Asia, personally visited Confucius’ grave in B.C. 195, and offered an ox, a hog, and a sheep to his memory ; this is exactly the suovetaurilia of the Romans ; that is, a sacrifice of a SMS, ovis y and taurus at what were called lustrations. About B.C. 145 a regularly constituted temple was erected at the Sage’s village, but apparently not by an Emperor. Several other emperors of this dynasty and of the subsequent branch known as the Later Han, took part in honouring Confucius, either by building temples, or by personally sacrificing to him and his disciples at the village or the tomb ; or, again, by conferring titles upon him. It is curious to notice that his first official posthumous title dates from the year A.D. i, when the Emperor added the word ” Disseminating ” to ” Father Ni ” ; this was changed by the founder of the Wei dynasty in A.D. 242 to the word ” Holy.” In the last quarter of the first century of our era music was introduced at the worship, and a century later, after the introduction of Buddhism, an image of the Sage was added. During the first half of the third century the temple underwent extensive repair at the hands of the local ruler, acting under imperial commands issued by the northern dynasty of Wei. China had now been split up into three separate empires, but was reunited towards the close of the third century : the founder of this new unifying Tsin dynasty ordered quarterly suovetaurilia, both at the imperial capital and at the village. In the fifth century China was again divided into northern and southern empires. Though the northerners were Tartars of nomadic origin, they it was who first erected a Confucian temple in their capital, which was near the Tenduc of Marco Polo’s time ; and they also conferred a new title upon the philosopher.

      It had now become the custom of women to visit the tomb in order to pray for children, but the Tartar rulers prohibited this vulgar practice. Confucius’ birthplace seems to have been in the dominions of the southerners, for the Nanking emperors rebuilt the temple, and added six bands of musicians, thus placing the sage on a footing with his prototype the Duke of Chow, to whom Confucius was so fond of pointing as a model, and whose grave lies near his own. About the middle of the sixth century there were rapid changes of dynasty in the north, and the founder of the Ts’i house of Tartars, who owed his empire partly to his obsequiousness towards the rising Turkish power, ordered Confucian temples to be erected in every first-class city, with monthly sacrifices. The great conquering Chinese dynasty of T’ang in the seventh century once more reunited the empire, and drove out the Tartars. After being degraded to a rank below that of Duke Chow, Confucius was confirmed by the T’ang dynasty in his title of ” Holy Man,” both words, ” Holy ” and ” Disseminating,” being added to ” Father Ni ” in A.D. 637. Temples were now ordered in all towns even of the second and third classes. The third emperor of this dynasty meddled a great deal with Confucius’ titles and privileges, amongst other things depriving him of his taurus, and leaving him only suovilia : after this monarch’s death, his usurping wife, the Chinese Catherine II., also conferred a separate title of her own upon the philosopher. Early in the eighth century Confucius was promoted to the rank of ” Literature Disseminating Prince or King ” ; provided with a robe and crown ; made to face south like a royal personage, instead of east as hitherto ; and given precedence over the Duke of Chow.

      A number of ephemeral Turkish or Tartar dynasties intervened between the fall of the Chinese T’ang house and the rise of that of the Chinese Sung. As may well be imagined, the Turks did nothing at all for Confucius. In A.D. 960 the founder of the Sung dynasty, the southern branch of which ruled over the so-called Manzi empire of Marco Polo, substituted clay figures for the wooden ones which had hitherto been used. About fifty years later the Emperor once more changed the title of Confucius, besides conferring high posthumous rank upon his father (who was given a special shrine), his mother, and his wife : in A.D. 1012 the same Emperor once more modified the title to what it long remained, i.e., ” Most Holy Literature Disseminating Prince.” In 1083 Mencius was associated with the Confucian worship : but we are not treating of him now. In the year i ic2 the son and grandson of Confucius were made posthumous marquesses, taking their titles from the Rivers Sz and I. The idea was that the Marquess of the Sz should protect the cemetery from the inundations of that river.

      The Cathayan Tartars ruled over Mongolia, Manchuria, and part of Peking province, but they are not recorded to have noticed Confucius in any way; although, after his raid upon the Turko-Chinese capital in 946, the second Cathayan Emperor died, on his way home, at a place not very far to the west of Confucius’ village. In 1031 Confucius of the 45th generation was sent as envoy to the Cathayans, who had the bad taste to invite him to a theatrical farce in which the sage came on the boards in a comic character. Confucius the 45th very properly left the theatre. Soon after this the Tungusic ancestors of the Manchus, known as the Golden Tartars, overcame the Gathayans and conquered North China ; the Sung or Manzi were driven across the River Yangtsze. The term mantsz means ” uncouth ones “; СКАЧАТЬ