Dong Zhongshu,

a ‘Confucian’ Heritage and the Chunqiu fanlu

China Studies

Published for the Institute for Chinese Studies

University of Oxford

Editors

Glen DudbridgeFrank Pieke

VOLUME 20

Dong Zhongshu,

a ‘Confucian’ Heritage and

the Chunqiu fanlu

By

Michael Loewe

LEIDEN • BOSTON2011

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Loewe, Michael. Dong Zhongshu, a “Confucian” heritage and the Chun qiu fan lu / by Michael Loewe. p. cm. — (China studies, ISSN 1570-1344 ; v. 20) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-19465-6 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Dong, Zhongshu, 2nd cent. B.C. 2. Confucianism—China—History. 3. Dong, Zhongshu, 2nd cent. B.C. Chunqiu fanlu. 4. Confucius. Chun qiu. I. Title. II. Series. B128.T824L64 2011 181’.112—dc22

2011006722

ISSN 1570-1344ISBN 978 90 04 19465 6

Copyright 2011 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing,IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP.

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CONTENTS

Prefatory note ..................................................................................... ixAbbreviations ...................................................................................... xi

Introduction ........................................................................................ 1Appendix: Evaluations of Dong Zhongshu in

Western writings ........................................................................ 6

Chapter One The historical and intellectual background ......... 19

Chapter Two Dong Zhongshu’s life and reputation ................... 43Accounts in primary sources ........................................................ 45Dong Zhongshu as seen in subsequent writings ....................... 57Dong’s reactions to his own times and his subsequent

influence ..................................................................................... 73Summary ......................................................................................... 75Appendix ......................................................................................... 76 1. Chronological problems ...................................................... 76 2. A passage in the Lunheng .................................................... 80

Chapter Three Dong Zhongshu’s writings ................................... 83The Three Rescripts and Responses ............................................. 86Agriculture and taxation ............................................................... 101Relations with the Xiongnu .......................................................... 106Dong Zhongshu’s fu ....................................................................... 109A letter addressed to Gongsun Hong .......................................... 110The imperial cults .......................................................................... 111Decisions in legal cases ................................................................. 115Summary ......................................................................................... 117Appendix ......................................................................................... 118 1. The three responses; Ban Gu’s part .................................... 118

2. Treatment of the three responses in the Qian Han ji and the Zizhi tongjian ................................................................. 121

3. The Gu wen yuan .................................................................. 122 4. Land holdings ....................................................................... 123

vi contents

Chapter Four Subjects discussed in Dong Zhongshu’s writings ............................................................................................ 125The explanations of abnormalities ............................................... 125The recruitment of officials; training ........................................... 136The foundation of schools ............................................................. 143The academicians and their pupils .............................................. 144The Chunqiu ................................................................................... 149Continuity and change: past and present ................................... 152Dong Zhongshu’s attack on certain figures ................................ 156The promotion of Kongzi .............................................................. 159Control of the rain ......................................................................... 165Su wang 素王 .................................................................................. 172Yitong 一統 ..................................................................................... 177Summary ......................................................................................... 182Appendix ......................................................................................... 183 1. Zhufu Yan’s treatment of Dong Zhongshu ........................ 183 2. Dong Zhongshu and the kings ........................................... 184 3. The authenticity of Lunheng 16 (47 ‘Luan long’) .............. 187 4. Seasonal differences in the ritual for seeking rain ........... 190

Chapter Five Textual transmission and authenticity of the Chunqiu fanlu ................................................................................. 191The term fanlu ................................................................................ 191Authorship and textual validity ................................................... 192Prints and editions ......................................................................... 214Hypothesis ...................................................................................... 221Appendix ......................................................................................... 222 1. Huang Zhen’s examples of flawed argumentation ........... 222 2. Readily available editions .................................................... 224

Chapter Six The chapters of the Chunqiu fanlu and their contents ................................................................................................ 225Diversity of subject matter ............................................................ 225Summary of subjects of pian nos. 1 to 82 ................................... 228Appendix ......................................................................................... 259 1. Pian 32 ‘Dui Jiaoxi wang Yue dafu bu de wei ren’ ............ 259 2. The terms quan 權 and jing 經 ........................................... 261

contents vii

Chapter Seven Subjects and problems of the Chunqiu fanlu .... 263Yin Yang and Wu xing .................................................................... 264The imperial cults (jiao 郊) .......................................................... 267Substance (zhi 質) and pattern (wen 文) .................................... 275The term yu ying 玉英 ................................................................... 286The natural order (shu 數) of heaven .......................................... 289Summary ......................................................................................... 289

Chapter Eight Pian no. 23 of the Chunqiu fanlu ‘San dai gai zhi zhi wen’ 三代 改制質文 ......................................................... 291San tong 三統 ................................................................................. 296The rulers of mythological history: San wang 三王,

Wu di 五帝 and Jiu huang 九皇 .............................................. 302The Gongyang zhuan and Woo Kang’s interpretation ............... 307The Baihu tong ................................................................................ 309The Wei shu 緯書 ........................................................................... 310Titles and ranks .............................................................................. 315An ordinance and its date ............................................................. 316Summary ......................................................................................... 317Appendix: Translation of Chunqiu fanlu 23 ‘San dai gai zhi

zhi wen’ ........................................................................................ 317

Chapter Nine Conclusion .............................................................. 335

List of works cited .............................................................................. 343Index .................................................................................................... 357

PREFATORY NOTE

I am indebted to many colleagues and friends for their encouragement to continue with this work. In particular I would like to thank Charles Aylmer, Anne Cheng, Glen Dudbridge, Geoffrey Lloyd, Göran Malmqvist, David McMullen, John Moffett, Michael Nylan, Edward Shaughnessy and Roel Sterckx. I am deeply grateful to Anthony Green for correcting a number of my errors and inconsistencies.

References to classical texts are to the Shisan jing zhushu of Ruan Yuan (1815); for the Standard Histories they are to the punctuated editions of the Zhonghua shuju of Beijing, with references to other editions where this is desirable. Figures follow proper names, as given in my Biographi-cal Dictionary, so as to distinguish, e.g., between three men called Wang Shang 王商; Wang Shang (1), Chancellor 29, died 25 BCE; Wang Shang (2), Marshal of State, died 12 BCE; and Wang Shang (3), author of fu, dates unknown.

ABBREVIATIONS

AM Asia Major (third series)BD Loewe, A Biographical DictionaryBHT Bo hu tong, Baihu tongBMFEA Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern AntiquitiesBSS Basic Sinological SeriesChronicle to Canon Queen, From chronicle to canonCrisis and conflict Loewe, Crisis and Conflict in Han ChinaCHOAC Loewe and Shaughnessy (eds.), The Cambridge

History of Ancient ChinaCHOC Twitchett and Loewe (eds.), The Cambridge

History of China. Volume ICQFL Chunqiu fanlu CSJC Congshu jicheng DMM Loewe, Divination, mythology and monarchy ECTBG Loewe (ed.), Early Chinese Texts A Bibliographical

Guide HFHD Dubs, History of the Former Han Dynasty HHS Hou Han shu HHSJJ Hou Han shu jijie HNZ Huainanzi HS Han shuHSBZ Han shu buzhu LH Lunheng MH Chavannes, Mémoires historiques Men who Governed Loewe, Men who Governed Han China MSOS Mitteilungen des Seminars für orientalischen

sprachenQFL Qianfu lun SBBY Sibu beiyao SBCK Sibu congkan SCC Needham et al., Science and civilisation in ChinaSGZ San guo zhi Shuihudi Shuihudi Qin mu zhujianSJ Shiji

xii abbreviations

TP T’oung PaoTPYL Taiping yulan WW Wen wuXTS Xin Tang shu YTL Yantie lun Zhangjiashan Zhangjiashan Han mu zhujian ZZTJ Zi zhi tong jian

INTRODUCTION

On arrival to take up my first academic appointment fifty years ago I had had but little personal acquaintance with historians of China, let alone specialists in the early empires. Very shortly I found myself listening to colleagues and graduate students who were quite certain that the key to understanding the whole of China’s history lay in its economic developments; that the many centuries that preceded the foundation of the Republic in 1912 were all to be characterised by an unquestioned predominance of Confucianism; and that the immedi-ate means of understanding China, past and present, lay in a study of the ‘gentry’.

In such circumstances a raw newcomer to the profession preferred not to display his shortcomings by asking directly what a speaker meant by ‘Confucianism’; rather did he hearken carefully to what his learned colleagues let slip during seminars; and he soon came to the conclusion that there was no acknowledged agreement as to what the term implied; and that vague descriptions, loose references or nega-tive statements such as ‘different from Daoism, Legalism’ were being voiced in place of attempts at positive or precise definitions. Nor was there any attempt to explain how Confucianism of the later centu-ries was dependent on the man known as Confucius. It seemed that a blanket assumption ‘Chinese empires were Confucian’ was being used imprecisely and with as little validity as a statement that ‘Western Europe was Christian’.

When, in later stages, it became possible to look more closely at the history of China’s early empires I found that great emphasis was being placed on the part played by Dong Zhongshu 董仲舒, the ‘great Confucian’. Such assumptions were at times coupled with a nodding reference to doubts regarding his authorship of the Chunqiu fanlu, the major work that bears his name; but no such doubts inhibited some senior scholars from quoting that work as testimony of a strong Con-fucianism that prevailed in Han times and of which Dong Zhongshu was a major protagonist. Clearly these subjects aroused questions; the general statements and conclusions that were to be read required care-ful scrutiny; and equally clearly such investigations would have to be grounded in wide reading. It is only in later years that I have felt ready

2 introduction

to ask in what ways ‘Confucianism’ existed in Han times and how far Dong Zhongshu’s reputation as a ‘Confucianist’ may be validated. In doing so, in no way do I wish to assert that some of the ideas and prac-tices that may be regarded as integral elements of a ‘Confucianism’ of Song, or even Tang, times did not exist in some measure in Han times. Such elements included a belief in the overall powers of heaven; the performance of religious services to ancestors; the importance attached to hierarchies and their requisite rules of conduct; a respect for the ideals of Kongzi; and an idealised view of Western Zhou. But it is too early to conceive of these ideas as forming a systematic, let alone ‘orthodox’ framework for living or thinking in Western Han.

For such reasons I have attempted as far as possible to avoid using terms such as Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism and Huang-Lao.1 Other writers are ready to assume the existence of such identifiable and mutually exclusive schools of thought with their pronounced antagonisms from Western Han times, but such an assumption eludes me.2 Nor can I see the existence of an interplay of imperial policies and decisions that rested on the rise or fall of officials who were tied inextricably to one or other of these modes of thought. This difference in opinion is of particular significance as against the view that Huang-Lao was in favour during the reign of Jingdi (reigned 157–141 BCE),3 rather than the more restricted recognition of, or even devotion to, its ideals by some persons, including the Empress Dowager Dou; nor do I suppose that Dong Zhongshu and others of his time were propagat-ing ‘Confucianism’, whatever that term may imply. As in many writ-ings, a straight translation of ru 儒 or ruzhe 儒者—which signifies specialists in traditional writings—as ‘Confucian’ has begged too many questions.4

1 By way of exception, see the title of an article published in 1990 ‘The failure of the Confucian ethic in Later Han times’, reprinted in Loewe, Divination, mythology and monarchy in Han China (1994). I argued there that it is difficult to see how the ideals associated with ‘Confucianism’ were being put into practice in Eastern Han.

2 For select contributions and views that have been expressed by recent writers, see the Appendix below, pp. 6–18.

3 Sarah A. Queen, From chronicle to canon: the hermeneutics of the Spring and Autumn, according to Tung Chung-shu (1996), pp. 19, 76.

4 Lionel M. Jensen, in Manufacturing Confucianism (1997) writes of Confucianism as a ‘largely Western invention’ (p. 5), and considers the growth of a cult of Kongzi or Confucius, the creation of ‘Confucianism’ and the various purposes to which such concepts have been put. In his review article of that book, Nicolas Standaert points out that the Jesuits did not invent the term or concept of ‘Confucianism’, which seems

introduction 3

Sima Tan’s 司馬談 well known list of six specialities of contem-poraneous thought has normally been interpreted as naming estab-lished groups or schools or ‘parties’, held together by their members’ shared devotion to a particular set of beliefs or ideals, but it has yet to be shown that cohesive groups of such a type existed in Western Han times. Nor was there a circulation of tracts or ‘pamphlets’ that set out such a group’s attitudes in relation to the cogent and ever present problems of the day. For the nature and importance of those problems we can turn to a few imperial pronouncements, or the essays of Lu Jia 陸賈 (ca. 228–ca. 140 BCE) or Wang Fu 王符 ca. 90–165 CE), and the memorials that officials presented to the throne; and it is from such incomplete sources that we may draw our inferences.

There was a need to assert and support a claim that Qin or Han emperors stood possessed of a right to rule in succession to rulers depicted in mythology or featuring in history; and this right must be strong enough to withstand the claims of others. To some, this ques-tion might bring with it the one of how far a ruler should take an active part in government, or how far his duty lay in refraining from initia-tive and leaving his ministers to take decisions. Behind some minds there lurked the question of a choice between adherence to traditional schemes of organising mankind, and the need to accept innovation so as to meet changed circumstances. In practical terms a ruler or his advisors must choose between co-ordinating the activities and work of the population by means of enforced controls, or adopting a laissez-faire attitude that sought to reduce such impositions to a minimum. High-ranking officials could rarely ignore the problems of security of the empire, together with the recurrent question of whether to appease a non-Han leader with gifts or to challenge him with force.

Literate men and women could turn to a variety of teachers of Zhan guo times whose writings had arisen at a call to seek eternal values, or to establish a peaceful and orderly way of living on earth, or to pursue wealth and strength as the proper goal of a ruler. This heritage could lead to active discussion over academic matters, such as the validity and interpretation of certain writings acclaimed as old and authoritative, sometimes with the active participation of an emperor;

to have been manufactured in the nineteenth century; see Standaert, ‘The Jesuits Did NOT Manufacture “Confucianism” (1999), especially pp. 116–18 [capitals as in the original].

4 introduction

or it might lead to a ban laid on certain texts that were deemed to be a threat to dynastic power. How effective such a measure was is open to question.

Other differences of view concerned the purpose of the religious cults of the emperor and the rituals whereby these were conducted. Hopes for a continued existence beyond the grave inspired a variety of ways of searching for immortality, expressed both in literature and art. The occurrence of rare and perhaps disastrous events of nature stimu-lated a variety of explanations, some with implications for the survival of the dynasty. At a personal level, the stresses, trials and uncertainties of life had long produced ways of searching for wisdom or knowledge from occult sources with a trust in specialists who understood the means of procuring such a consolation in times of distress.

At a broader level, there were men of learning who explained the processes of change as seen in the heavens, on earth and in the lives of mankind as stages in a major, universal cycle of being. Differing concepts and forms of such a cycle were applied variously to account for visible phenomena, the destiny of human beings or perhaps the ordering of daily life. Specialists who saw themselves as masters of astronomy produced different ways of registering the passage of time, in calendars that required official approval and adoption.

Attention to these problems varied throughout Qin and Han times. Ideas were presented, accepted or dropped; faith in the teachings of one master or another grew and lapsed; promotion of a project or plan might bring with it unpopularity or even a danger of death. Overall, a sense of hierarchy seems to have imposed itself on the ways in which thinkers framed their conclusions, rulers conducted their government or individuals ordered their family relationships.

Accompanying the marked institutional, social and economic changes witnessed over four hundred years there ran major changes in religious and intellectual movements, whose extent may not always have been recognised by historians, particularly those who have emphasised a continuity in China’s traditions. But the differences that arose between Qin, Western Han and Eastern Han times were of a radical nature, such that leading figures of Western Han Might well have been astonished or even shocked, had an occult source shown them a preview of later times. We may reflect or speculate on the astonishment with which Li Si 李斯 (executed 207 BCE), Shusun Tong 叔孫通 ( fl. 200 BCE) or Lu Jia (ca. 228–ca. 140 BCE) would have viewed the institutions and practices of Chengdi’s reign (33–7 BCE).

introduction 5

Liu Xiang 劉向 (79–8 BCE) or Liu Xin 劉歆 (46 BCE–23 CE) might well have been puzzled by the teachings of the Buddha, and distrusted their implications. The desecration of an emperor’s tomb would have been profoundly shocking;5 and they might well have deplored the call of at least one writer for a return to the disciplines and severities of Qin.6

In all this we are drawn to the part played by Dong Zhongshu in intellectual choice and the practical decisions of the second century BCE. Despite the problems that are involved and which will be dis-cussed below, a number of scholars who write about Dong Zhong-shu have been ready to cite various chapters of the Chunqiu fanlu 春秋繁露 as deriving from his hand, or to show him to have been a leader of a Confucian mode of thought (see the Appendix below). Many of the secondary writings that are now considered here bring out what may be termed a traditional view of Dong Zhongshu as one of the prime leaders of Confucianism. Possibly those of Anne Cheng, Wallacker, Bujard, Arbuckle, and Queen are among the most valuable, being written critically on the basis of research, rather than as general opinions.

In these circumstances it is clearly necessary to place Dong Zhong-shu and his reputation within the context of the historical and intellec-tual development of Han times, for which a brief summary is offered in Chapter One below. Subsequent chapters consider the circum-stances of his life, the position that he took in public affairs and the views of his achievements that were taken from Han to Qing times. An account of his writings other than the Chunqiu fanlu is followed by a discussion of the subjects treated and ideas voiced therein. Four sub-sequent chapters which are concerned with the Chunqiu fanlu address the problems of its textual transmission and authenticity, the contents expressed in the book, its ideas and the problems that they raised.

From the appendix which follows it may be seen that, with some notable exceptions, a number of Western and some Chinese writers have been ready to accept a description of Dong Zhongshu as ‘Confu-cian’ together with the assumption that a system or mode of thought that is called ‘Confucianism’ was recognised in Western Han times.

5 The tomb of Shundi was desecrated three months after his death in 144 CE; HHS 6, p. 276.

6 For Cui Shi 崔寔, see Balazs, Chinese Civilization and Bureaucracy (1964), pp. 205–13.

6 introduction

The chapters which follow question how far such assertions can be validated.

Where it is appropriate detailed evidence has been relegated to the appendices of some of the chapters. Readers who wish for a summary of the arguments may prefer to proceed directly to the conclusions that are set out in Chapter Nine.

Appendix: Evaluations of Dong Zhongshu in Western writings

It was probably Otto Franke (writing in 1917) who first drew the atten-tion of readers of the Western world to the person of Dong Zhong-shu. His work, which may be described as a pioneering study, calls for the greatest admiration, attending as it does to nearly all the major questions raised when examining Dong Zhongshu and the Chunqiu fanlu.7 He sees Dong Zhongshu as being dedicated to the learning of Confucius (‘Die Lehre des Konfuzius’) (p. 99) and carefully notes his dependence on the Chunqiu 春秋 and Gongyang zhuan 公羊傳 rather than the Lunyu (p. 115). Franke discusses the likely loss of Dong’s writings during the turbulent fates that Chang’an and Luoyang suf-fered, and the possibility that a copy of the Chunqiu fanlu was avail-able in Sui times thanks to the search for literature that Niu Hong 牛弘 instituted in 583 (pp. 143–4);8 and he regards the possibility that some text was inserted at times later than Dong as being of little sig-nificance (p. 146).

A second early reference to Dong Zhongshu’s teachings to be pre-sented to the Western reader is seen in an essay of Hu Shih 胡適 (1929) in which he wrote of the establishment of Confucianism as a state religion.9 In doing so he took for granted the existence of ‘Con-fucian scholars’ known in the early days of the empire and indeed

7 The first part of his work was published in 1917, and re-published with the second part in 1920, these being times when aids to help westerners in sinological studies were extremely rare. See Mitteilungen des Seminars für Orientalistische Sprachen XXI (1917); and Otto Franke, Studien zur Geschichte des Konfuzianischen Dogmas und der chinesischen Staatsreligion: das Problem des Tsch’un-ts’iu und Tung Tschung-schu’s Tsch’un-ts’iu fan lu (1920).

8 Sui shu 32, p. 908. Whether or not such a copy, as listed in Sui shu 32, p. 930, survived the loss of the imperial library when shipped by water in 622 cannot be known.

9 Hu Shih, ‘The establishment of Confucianism as a state religion during the Han dynasty’ (1929).

introduction 7

previously and of Daoism as the dominating school of thought. He described the religious cults and practices that were prevalent in Qin and early Han and saw Confucianism emerging as an ‘orthodox’ sys-tem of teaching’ (p. 34) into which elements of popular superstition were fused together with the approved cults of state worship. This was a religion which included six elements; and it depended on a trust in heaven which was the ultimate arbiter of human destinies and whose intentions could be fathomed and understood. Dong Zhongshu, the ‘greatest representative of Confucian thought of the dynasty’ (p. 34) contributed by providing philosophical elements to support this new mode of belief.

Hu Shih’s article raises problems and calls for comment. He saw Han Confucianism as owing its motivation to a desire to check an absolute rule by the monarch (p. 40), yet such a view requires consid-erable support, and it would be difficult to find traces of it in Dong’s authentic writings. In addition, it was still too early, in Dong Zhong-shu’s time, to think of imperial cults that were devoted to the wor-ship of heaven. The process of introducing these started only from 31 BCE, and involved considerable hesitation, opposition and delay.10 Also, of the six elements that Hu Shih identifies as parts of the new religion, three can hardly be found in Dong’s authentic writings, i.e., a belief in a personal God or Heaven, a belief in the gods and spirits of the dead, and a belief in the idea of retribution of good and evil. We read (pp. 36–7) that ‘The Chun Chiu [sic] teaches the subjection of the people to the ruler and the subjection of the ruler to God’, with the explanation that this is Han Confucianism put in a nutshell. This statement is based on a short passage in the Chunqiu fanlu.11

Kang Woo (1932) writes of the veneration that Kang Youwei 康有為 (1858–1927) felt for Dong Zhongshu as ‘le plus grand savant de l’école

10 See Loewe, in Crisis and Conflict in Han China 104 BC to AD 9 (1974), Chapter 5, and Chapter Seven below pp. 267–75.

11 Chunqiu fanlu 2 (‘Yu bei’ 玉杯), p. 31. The subservience (sui 随) of human beings to their ruler and of their ruler to heaven is enunciated in commenting on the Chunqiu’s criticism of a marriage that took place within the three years’ period of mourning (Chunqiu and Zuo zhuan 18 (Wen gong 2).7b, 11b; Gongyang zhuan 13.3b; Guliang zhuan 10.2b, where the point of criticism lies in the delay in making the memorial tablet for Xi Gong). The title Yu bei 玉杯 is included as one of the pieces of writing that the biography ascribes to Dong Zhongshu (HS 56, p. 2525). For doubts regarding the validity of this as the title of the pian no. 2 of Chunqiu fanlu, see Su Yu’s note (CQFL p. 23), where he writes that its text was not present in the copy seen by Wang Yinglin 王應麟 (1223–96).

8 introduction

confucéenne’.12 Despite his forthright rejection of certain other texts as being unauthentic, Kang Youwei evidently harboured no doubts that the Chunqiu fanlu derived from Dong Zhongshu’s ideas. Being fully aware of the problems of transmission and authenticity that attend the Chunqiu fanlu, he was prepared to accept at least parts of our received text, e.g. pian no. 1 ‘Chu Zhuang wang’, as authentic evidence of Dong Zhongshu’s views—in particular those that conveyed the interpreta-tions of the Gongyang zhuan’s tradition.13

Fung Yu-lan’s comprehensive account of Chinese philosophy was first published in Chinese in 1934, to be followed by Derk Bodde’s translation into English in 1937. The English version refers to Tung Chung-shu’s ‘dominating position among the Confucian scholars of the Former Han period’ and his ‘embellishments and interpretations before its [i.e., the Chunqiu’s] alleged “subtle language” and “great meaning” received a systematic exposition’.14 Fung Yu-lan added that Dong’s writings on the Chunqiu are comparable in importance with the appendices added to the Zhou yi. He does not state how far he based this conclusion on the Chunqiu fanlu.

It is possible that it was an essay of H.H. Dubs of 1938, which does not refer to Franke or Hu Shih, that has been most influential in form-ing ideas about Confucianism.15 He quite rightly points out that it is incorrect to date what he terms a ‘victory of Confucianism’ to Wudi’s reign; rather should it be seen as a slow process that was not complete until a century and a half afterwards. However the very term ‘vic-tory’ arouses questions and cannot pass without criticism. By tracing how certain individuals propounded their ideas and perhaps brought them to bear on an emperor’s mind and on decisions of imperial pol-icy, Dubs presents a tale of intellectual development that he sees as affecting public life from the time of the Qin empire to that of Wang Mang. In doing so, like Hu Shih, he assumes the existence from the

12 Kang Woo, Les trois théories politiques du Tch’ouen Ts’ieu interprétées par Tong Tchong-chou d’après les principes de l’école de Kong-yang (1932), pp. 164–7. See Kang Youwei Chunqiu Dong shi xue 春秋董氏學, juan 2 and 5 (first printed 1897; found best in Jiang Guilin 蔣貴麟 (ed.) Kang Nanhai xiansheng yishu huikan 康南海先生遺著彙刊 4 (rpt. Taipei: Hongye shuju, 1976).

13 Kang Woo, op. cit.; see pp. 39, 52. And see Chapter Six below, p. 230.14 Fung Yu-lan, A History of Chinese Philosophy, translated by Derk Bodde, (1953),

Vol. II, pp. 18–9. 15 ‘The victory of Han Confucianism’; first published in Journal of the American

Oriental Society 58:3 (1938), pp. 435–449; reprinted with modifications in Homer H. Dubs, The History of the Former Han Dynasty, volume two (1944), pp. 341–53.

introduction 9

Qin empire onwards, or even earlier, of certain distinct and exclusive schools of thought that included Confucianism, Legalism and Daoism, with their defined principles and professional adherents. This could result in the ability of a Confucian ‘party’ to control the government and may be considered along with the views expressed by Hu Shih on the control of absolute monarchy. At the same time Dubs implies that Wudi and indeed other emperors should be credited with the power of implementing their own personal ideas and initiatives; such an assumption may not necessarily be valid.16 More recently Michael Nylan published a notable challenge to the concept of a ‘victory of Confucianism’.17

Dubs mentions the effect of Dong Zhongshu’s responses to Wudi’s rescripts and, probably correctly, omits mention of the Chunqiu fanlu. However, his statement that ‘Emperor Hsüan [r. 74–48 BCE] was undoubtedly reminded of Tung Chung-shu’s proposal and cer-tainly recognized the advantages of this policy’—i.e., of intellectual unification—is a proposition that requires support.18

Yet before blaming pioneer scholars such as Hu Shih or Dubs for writing in generalities we may reflect that they were in many ways re-iterating elements of a long tradition that was embedded in Chi-nese scholarship. To some extent they were drawing on the divisions and categories seen in Sima Tan’s writings and elaborated in those of Liu Xiang 劉向 and Liu Xin 劉歆. How far Sima Tan had in mind the writers of his own time rather than those of the past may not be known; and the prime purpose of the lists that Liu Xiang and Liu Xin produced was not that of analyzing Han ways of thought. It may be remembered that the expressions used by these writers are ru zhe 儒者 and ru jia 儒家, but not ru jiao 儒教, which is seen but once in the Shiji and Han shu without implying a coherent set of views.19

In his fine introduction to his translation of the Baihu tong of 1949, Tjan Tjoe Som wrote of Dong Zhongshu as bringing ‘the new Confu-cian system to its fullest development’ and as making ‘the speculation on the yin and the yang the principle for Confucian studies’. On the

16 See Loewe, The Men Who Governed Han China Companion to A Biographical Dictionary of the Qin, Former Han and Xin Periods (2004), Chapter Seventeen.

17 Nylan, ‘A Problematic Model: The Han “Orthodox Synthesis,” Then and Now’ (1999).

18 Dubs, op. cit., p. 353.19 SJ 124, p. 3184, HS 92, p. 3699.

10 introduction

basis of the Chunqiu fanlu and the three responses,20 he saw Dong as the first great Chinese theologian, thanks to his view that the Chunqiu included a ‘sacred message that was valid for all times’; and he wrote of him as constructing an impressive system which combined cosmology, ethics, history and a political programme, as applied to the interpreta-tion of the Classics. In addition, and presumably on the basis of the Chunqiu fanlu alone, Tjan saw the Chunqiu as ‘revealing the order of the Five Elements, and therewith the principle of heaven’.21

In the first of his volumes, published in 1954, Needham accepted the concept of the ‘victory of Confucianism’, quoting a passage from the biography of Dong Zhongshu in the Han shu. In his volume on the his-tory of scientific thought, published in 1956, he refers repeatedly to Dong Zhongshu whom he once categorises as a ‘Confucian greatly influenced by Taoism’. Throughout he calls on the evidence of the Chunqiu fanlu and expresses no reservations regarding its authenticity, dating it to Dong’s own lifetime.22 In an account of the government of the Ming dynasty, Hucker writes about the supremacy of Confucianism ‘as expounded originally by such ancient thinkers as Confucius and Mencius, [and] as related systematically to government by Tung Chung-shu in the second century B.C. . . .’23

In the brief terms that are suitable for a chronological table, de Bary (1960) described Dong Zhongshu as ‘leading Confucian philosopher’. He amplifies this in his main text, where he writes of the growth of Confucianism during Wudi’s reign, accepting the idea of its ‘victory’ over other schools.24

This was largely due to the efforts of scholars like Tung Chung-shu who, equally eclectic25 in their ideas, were able to produce a system better suited to the needs of the imperial government and its rapidly expanding

20 For the three responses, probably delivered in 134 BCE, see Chapter Two below Appendix (1) and Chapter Three below pp. 86–100 and Appendix 1.

21 Tjan Tjoe Som, Po Hu T’ung the comprehensive discussions in the White Tiger Hall (1949–52), vol. I, pp. 97–9.

22 Needham et al., Science and Civilisation in China, volume I Introductory orienta-tions, and volume II. History of scientific thought (1954 and 1956); see vol. I, p. 104, vol. II, p. 26 and passim.

23 Charles O. Hucker, The Traditional Chinese State in Ming Times (1368–1644) (1961), pp. 60–1.

24 Wm. Theodore de Bary, Wing-tsit Chan, Burton Watson, Sources of Chinese Tra-dition (1960), pp. xx, 184–5.

25 The comparison is with the Huainanzi and Sima Tan’s description of the Six Schools.

introduction 11

bureaucracy. Though this new philosophy of Tung Chung-shu and his successors is commonly described as Confucian, it is far removed from the simple ethical doctrines of Confucius and his immediate followers. Its inspiration and the core of its ideas undoubtedly derive from the Confucian school of Chou times, but these have been expanded by bor-rowings from other schools to embrace many areas of speculation that were hardly touched upon in early Confucianism. For only by offering a complete philosophy of man and the universe was Han Confucianism able to supplant its rivals and achieve, as it did, a position of state- supported orthodoxy.

De Bary cites from the Chunqiu fanlu to illustrate Dong’s political ideas and discusses his views on creation and Yin Yang (p. 191), and Wu xing (pp. 201–6).26 For land reform he quotes from his memorial that is included in Han shu 24, but he does not mention Dong’s three responses. In a later volume he writes of Dong with fulsome praise as ‘a key figure in the establishment of the Confucian classics as the basis of public instruction, but he was also widely respected as a person of great integrity and as an outspoken advocate of political and economic reforms’.27

Wing-tsit Chan (1963) likewise evidently saw no reason to ques-tion the validity of the Chunqiu fanlu as expressing Dong’s views; and he takes the conventional view of Confucianism being one of several schools and Dong as being its protagonist. In his major study of Chi-nese philosophy (1963) he wrote:28

On the surface, Tung Chung-shu (c. 179–c. 104 BC) seems to be of only minor philosophical interest, but historically he is of the utmost impor-tance. He was chiefly instrumental in making Confucianism the state doctrine in 136 BC. This supremacy excluded other schools, and lasted until 1905.

Wing-tsit Chan then gives credit to Dong for his treatment of the uni-verse as an organic whole and writes of his view of history as ‘going in a cycle of three periods, symbolized by black, white and red. This in

26 CQFL 18, 19, 43, 44, 35, 30 (for political ideas); 58 and 59 for Yin yang and Wu xing.

27 Wm. Theodore de Bary, East Asian Civilizations: a Dialogue in Five Stages (1988), p. 15; pp. 16–7 for citation from CQFL 19.

28 Wing-tsit Chan, A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy (1963) pp. 271–2; see also p. 287, for translation of a part of Chunqiu fanlu, pian 23 ‘San dai gai zhi zhi wen’, and p. 279 for part of pian 42 ‘Wu xing zhi yi’.

12 introduction

itself is not much different from Tsou Yen’s (305?–240 BC?) theory of the revolution of the Five Powers’.

The view that these two systems were ‘not much different’ can hardly be acceptable, as is apparent from a comparison of the classic state-ment of Zou Yan,29 pian 23 of the Chunqiu fanlu and the chapters of that work that are specifically concerned with the Wu xing. Chan’s fur-ther statement (p. 272) that Dong Zhongshu was twice a chief minister can hardly be sustained, in so far as the highest posts that he achieved were those as chancellor to two of the kings, removed at a safe distance from a chance of interfering in imperial policy in Chang’an. Chan adds that Dong was ‘the greatest Confucianist of his time and for several hundred years afterward’. Ranking Dong as superior in this respect to others such as Liu Xiang, Liu Xin and Yang Xiong 揚雄 or the scholars of Eastern Han, let alone those of Tang and Song and the exponents of li xue 理學, may perhaps appear to be questionable; it may also be contrasted with the view taken by Kang Woo.

Apart from Michael Nylan, very few writers of recent times mention Yang Xiong 揚雄 as being among those who contributed to intellec-tual development during the last years of Western Han. An example of a ready acceptance of the traditionalist view of Dong and his achieve-ments may be seen in writings that are not immediately concerned with the intellectual developments of Han times.30 Somewhat excep-tionally, we find at least one instance in which Dong’s name and teach-ing were exploited for purposes of political propaganda. In the virulent campaign to criticise Lin Biao 林彪 and Kongzi (1974), the former is castigated as being a loyal follower of Dong Zhongshu. Dong, we are told, had promoted the principle of San gang wu chang 三綱五常, on which the land-owning class and others based their oppression of the Chinese people, and it may well be questioned how far such a charge is justified.31 The two chapters from the Chunqiu fanlu (pian nos. 53 and 70) that are cited hardly give support to the writer’s arguments; and the assumption that a principle of San gang wu chang was formulated and recognised in Dong’s life time is difficult to sustain.

29 Lü shi chunqiu ‘Youshi lan’ 1 (2 ‘Ying tong’); Chen Qiyou, Lü shi chunqiu jiaoshi (1988) p. 677; translated Loewe, Men who Governed, pp. 466–7.

30 Liu Qingzhu and Li Yufang, Xi Han shiyi ling (1987), p. 55.31 Yu Bingwen, Li Shaorong and Huang Derong, ‘Han mu huaxiang yu Dong

Zhongshu de “San gang wu chang” ’ (1974).

introduction 13

In his major study of the intellectual history of Western and Eastern Han, Hsü Fu-kuan 徐復觀 took the view that as opposed to earlier thought, that of Han times was moulded by Dong Zhongshu. The deep impact that Yin Yang and its theories made can be traced to Dong, who developed the ideas of the Lüshi chunqiu to form a universal phil-osophical system, into which the ideas of the Gongyang zhuan and the Hong fan had been included.32

By contrast with other writers, Benjamin Wallacker (1978) takes a highly sceptical view of the thesis that Dong made an effective con-tribution to public affairs or to a growth of Confucianism.33 He calls only once on the evidence of Dong’s three responses, where he pro-poses the suppression of teachings other than those of the liu yi 六藝 and Kongzi;34 and he never cites from the Chunqiu fanlu. Wallacker cannot see that Dong’s statements brought about major changes in his lifetime, whatever their effect may have been later,35 and he writes ‘Han Confucianism, as we have seen, did not assert a clear command of official thinking in Former Han’.36 He recognises that it was Gong-sun Hong 公孫弘 to whom were due some of the measures, such as the training of officials, that are usually seen as characteristic, or even essential, elements of a Confucian way of public life. He sees Gongsun Hong as ‘the crucible in which began the amalgamation between Con-fucian tradition and Legalistic pragmatism’; and he ponders whether Dong Zhongshu’s real contribution lay in the ‘wedding of Legalistic methods and Confucian historicism’.37 Throughout his article there is an acceptance that distinctions between identifiable modes of thought or approaches to life prevailed in Western Han along with a recogni-tion that Kongzi was a great teacher.

Kung-chuan Hsiao, as translated by F.W. Mote in 1979, regards Dong Zhongshu as being effective at a time when Confucians were taking a prominent place in public life. He summarises Dong as ‘the one who greatly expanded the concept of heaven’s authority so as to impose restrictions upon the ruler and he became the dominant figure

32 Hsü Fu-kuan, Liang Han sixiang shi, vol. II (1976), p. 295.33 Benjamin E. Wallacker, ‘Han Confucianism and Confucius in Han’, in David T.

Roy and Tsuen-hsuin Tsien (eds.), Ancient China Studies in Early Civilization (1978), pp. 215–28.

34 Wallacker, ibid., p. 216; HS 56, p. 2523.35 Wallacker, ibid., p. 216.36 Wallacker, ibid., p. 223.37 Wallacker, ibid., pp. 226–27.

14 introduction

among Confucians of the Western [Former] Han period’.38 He writes at length on Dong’s views of the Mandate and sees acceptance of the-ory as part of Dong’s intellectual make-up. In expressing these views Hsiao calls on the Chunqiu fanlu and the Three Responses (which he terms Examination Essays) as possessing the same degree of validity and authenticity. Henderson (1984) includes Dong among the ‘politi-cally oriented Han cosmologists’.39 He observes that the Chunqiu fanlu is attributed to his authorship and seems to accept him as the origina-tor of some of its ideas.40 Schwartz (1985) writes of Dong Zhongshu’s effort to ‘fuse correlative cosmology with Confucian values in partic-ular’ and of his ‘architechtonic Confucianized system of correlative cosmology’,41 and pays considerable attention to Dong’s concepts of heaven.42 In doing so he refers in general terms to the chapters of the Chunqiu fanlu, without questioning its authenticity, while at times specifying a passage. In one instance he cites from pian no. 36, which is thought to include later interpolations43 but he does not cite from the Three Responses.

In an extremely valuable chapter (1985) Professor Anne Cheng provides an analysis of Dong’s ideas, seeing him as a link between original or early Gongyang thought and He Xiu 何休 (129–82) as a leader of jin wen interpretations. While recognising doubts regard-ing the authenticity of the Chunqiu fanlu she accepts the work as a source which carries Dong’s ideas.44 In the rather broad context of a chronological scheme that shows the growth of the ideas of the Lunyu, Nishikawa Tōru writes that in accordance with Dong Zhongshu’s

38 Kung-chuan Hsiao, A History of Chinese Political Thought Volume One: From the Beginnings to the Sixth Century A.D. (translated F.W. Mote 1979; original Chi-nese publication Chung-kuo cheng-chih ssu-hsiang-shih 1945–1946), pp. 484–503; see p. 487.

39 John B. Henderson, The Development and Decline of Chinese Cosmology (1984), pp. 22, 199.

40 Ibid., pp. 3, 24. 41 Benjamin I. Schwartz, The World of Thought in Ancient China (1985), pp. 363,

370.42 Ibid., pp. 370–1, 376, 381, 403–4.43 Ibid., p. 459 note 41, referring to pian no. 36, whose authenticity is doubted by

Su Yu (Chunqiu fanlu yizheng, 1992, p. 313). See also notes on p. 456 for references to pian nos. 4–6, which refer to the Chunqiu and may derive from Dong, and to pian nos. 69, 70 which may well be questionable.

44 Anne Cheng, Étude sur le Confucianisme Han: l’élaboration d’une tradition exé-gétique sur les classiques; (1985). See chapter I ‘Dong Zhongshu et la formation du courant jinwen’, p. 27.

introduction 15

responses, rujiao was established as the ‘nation’s teaching’ (guo jiao 國教) in 136 BCE.45

While ready to accept that Dong Zhongshu may be described as ‘A Former Han Confucian philosopher’, Gary Arbuckle (1992) treats the Chunqiu fanlu to rigorous criticism, regarding the work as a collection of essays with ‘ragbag contents’ that derive from different writers.46 In a carefully researched article, Marianne Bujard (1992) examines the evidence for dating particular events of Dong’s lifetime, principally on the basis of the Shiji, Han shu and Zizhi tongjian.47 She mentions the Chunqiu fanlu twice48 and takes account of recent writings, includ-ing those discussed by Queen. Accepting 198 as the date of Dong’s birth and 134 for his presentation of the Three Responses, she places Dong’s condemnation to death and subsequent reprieve between 128 and 126; and while doubting whether 104 was the year of his death she concludes that there is no certain evidence about this date or any others that have been proposed. Hans van Ess (1993) accepts Dong’s authorship of the Chunqiu fanlu.49

All scholars are indebted to Professor Queen’s full-scale and highly important study (1996), which examines in some detail most of the questions that arise in connection with Dong Zhongshu’s life, writ-ings and achievements, and the value and authenticity of the Chunqiu fanlu. She sees Dong as playing a major and distinctive part in the promotion of ‘Han Confucianism’, in the development of a new idea of imperial sovereignty and in the establishment of the Chunqiu as an essential element in China’s scholarly and educational disciplines. While differing in some fundamental ways from the assumptions of her book I find myself in agreement with many of her conclusions. She is however able to write with an assurance regarding the motives and opinions of individuals, not only of Dong Zhongshu but others

45 Nishikawa Tōru, ‘Rongo no shisō shi nenbyō’ (1994), p. 511.46 Gary Arbuckle, ‘Some remarks on a new translation of the Chunqiu fanlu’

(1992, pp. 215–38). The article is a review of Robert H. Gassmann, Tung Chung-shu Ch’un-ch’iu Fan-lu. Űppiger Tau des Frühling-und-Herbst-Klassikers: Űbersetzung und Annotation der Kapitel eins bis sechs (1988). See also G. Arbuckle, ‘A Note on the Authenticity of the Chunqiu fanlu; the date of Chunqiu fanlu 73 “Shan Chuan song” (1989). (Gassmann’s translation has not been available to the present writer).

47 Marianne Bujard, ‘La vie de Dong Zhongshu: enigmes et hypothèses’ (1992), 145–217. For the dating of Dong Zhongshu’s life, see Chapter Two below, p. 76.

48 Bujard, ibid., footnotes 97, 119.49 Hans van Ess, Politik and Gelehrsamkeit in der Zeit der Han (202 v. Chr.–220 n.

Chr.) Die Alttext/Neutext—Kontroverse (1993), pp. 55, 80.

16 introduction

such as Zhufu Yan 主父偃, which eludes me, as does a certainty in relating particular events or reports of the histories to a fully under-stood political situation. In company with other writers she accepts, or assumes, that full power lay in the hands of emperors such as Jingdi (r. 157–141 BCE) or the young Wudi (reigned 141–87) immediately after his accession, or perhaps with the Empress Dowager, and later Grand Empress Dowager, Dou 竇. Such may well be the way in which Sima Tan, Sima Qian 司馬遷 and Ban Gu 班固 represented an ideal of imperial sovereignty and intended their tale to be understood, but the situation would seem to be far more complex. Certainly there is reason to show that Jingdi was capable of ruthless actions. If so, and if he enjoyed full power, one can hardly see how the Empress Dowager’s predilection for Huang-Lao exercised an influence on the highly active or even forceful policies of his reign. There is little to show that the decrees of 141 to 87 BCE derived from the mind of the young Wudi or that he played a leading role in the activities that marked his reign. The part that he played in the crisis that beset the dynasty in 91–90 can hardly argue that he was a man of forceful personality or decisive character.

One further matter of importance concerns the writings ascribed to Dong Zhongshu. More cautiously than others may deem to be neces-sary, the present writer is in no way convinced that the Chunqiu fanlu, whatever its date, necessarily represents Dong Zhongshu’s teaching.50 The biography records that there were in total 123 pian of his expressed interpretations of the jing 經 and the memorials that he had submit-ted, and the bibliographical list of Han shu chapter 30 duly enters an item as Dong Zhongshu bai er shi san pian 董仲舒百二十三篇 in precisely the same form as for other persons such as Gongsun Hong 公孫弘 and Zhuang Zhu 莊助.51 Such mentions would seem to refer to no more than a collection of miscellaneous writings, rather than to an ordered series of chapters on identified and cohesive themes. Hsü Fu-kuan writes that no such work had been made in Dong’s life-time, but in her repeated references to ‘the Tung Chung-shu’, Profes-sor Queen leaves the impression of a duly authored and completed ‘book’.52 A publication of 2005, which is designed as a ‘reader on

50 See Anne Cheng, ibid., p. 27.51 HS 56, p. 2525, 30, p. 1727, HSBZ 30.31b.52 Hsü Fu-kuan, ibid. p. 307; Queen, ibid., pp. 39–41.

introduction 17

traditional Chinese culture’ repeats the generally accepted view with-out a caveat, including the statement that Wudi ‘under the influence of Dong Zhongshu, adopted Confucianism as the state ideology’.53 Two contributors to a recent corporate work on Chinese religion are ready to accept Dong’s authorship of the Chunqiu fanlu as against the highly cautious and critical view of another.54 For his part, Mark Csik-szentmihalyi carefully avoids applying the term ‘Confucian’ to Dong Zhongshu.55

We may now turn to the attention paid to Dong Zhongshu recently, as and when his name appears in connection with the recent promo-tion of the idea that a ‘New Confucianism’ plays a prominent role in the intellectual authority of post Maoist China. In a series of studies of the way the idea has been fostered in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries, Dr Sylvia Chan writes (2003):56

Li [Zehou] contends that the development of Confucianism made by Confucians in the Han dynasty, particularly by Dong Zhongshu, was the second period. The daotong theory, however, does not recognise them as authentic transmitters of Confucianism at all. This view is, of course, hard to justify on historical grounds, for Han Confucians were responsi-ble for elevating Confucianism to state orthodoxy in the reign of the Han Emperor Wu Di (漢武帝 r. 141–87 BC), in which position Confucian-ism remained for the next two thousand years. Dong Zhongshu’s eclec-ticism, however, had drawn criticism from Confucians even before the daotong theory had become established. His cosmology borrows heavily from the pseudo-scientific theory of yin-yang and the five elements, and even includes superstitious beliefs such as portents, while his social and political theory is extremely authoritarian. One may well wonder what

53 Jan L. Hagman, in Victor H. Mair, Nancy S. Steinhardt and Paul R. Goldin (eds.), Hawai’i Reader in Traditional Chinese Culture (2005), p. 494. The author likewise credits Dong with establishing the Taixue and starting the systematic recruitment of civil servants through recommendations and written examinations.

54 See John Lagerwey and Marc Kalinowski (eds.), Early Chinese Religion Part One: Shang through Han (1250 BC–220 AD) (2009), vol. 1, p. 692 for the views of Jean Levi; and vol. 2, p. 1118 for Li Jianmin, as against vol. 2, pp. 823–32 for those of Joachim Gentz.

55 See his Readings in Han Chinese Thought (2006).56 “Li Zehou and New Confucianism”, in John Makeham (ed.), New Confucian-

ism: a Critical Examination (2003), pp. 120–1. Dr Chan writes (p. 128, note 56) that her discussion of Dong Zhongshu is based on Li Zehou 李澤厚, “Qin Han sixiang jianyi” 秦漢思想簡議 and “Xun Yi Yong jiyao” 荀易庸記要. These two essays were first published in 1985 and 1984 respectively and are reprinted in Li Zehou shi nian ji: Zhongguo gudai sixiang shi lun (1985 nian), 1994, pp. 107–76; see particularly pp. 145–52 (revised edition, with Jindai 近代 sixiang shi lun, 1990, pp. 106–76).

18 introduction

it is in Dong’s philosophy that attracts the rationalist-materialist and liberal Li Zehou. There is however no denying that Dong was the first Confucian to assimilate and to “Confucianize” many influential schools of thought in his time—including Legalism, Daoism, and the yin-yang school—to construct a coherent and all-embracing metaphysical system to try to explain everything in the natural and human worlds.

The writer goes on to explain Li Zehou’s high opinion of Dong’s syn-thesis or ‘creativeness’ and his belief that ‘New Confucianism should attach greater importance to this legacy, which is a healthy antidote to the quietist inward-looking tendency of Song-Ming Confucian-ism’. Li Zehou writes on Dong Zhongshu’s contributions to political thought on the basis of the Chunqiu fanlu, which he is evidently ready to accept as authentic, while recognising that it is not to be taken as a systematic treatise. He elaborates his view (p. 146) that Dong assimi-lated and ‘Confucianized’ the other schools of thought that are named extensively; yet it remains open to question how far this conclusion, which draws on the Chunqiu fanlu, is reliable.

CHAPTER ONE

THE HISTORICAL AND INTELLECTUAL BACKGROUND

The differences of approach described in the introduction are substan-tial enough to warrant a re-assessment of some of the major questions that arose in Han times. In the absence of a direct means of identifying the outstanding problems that engaged the minds of those prominent in public life, we can but turn to the ideas and protests voiced in those of their utterances that have been preserved. And here we are beset by difficulties. Such opinions may have been matured over long periods of thought; they may equally well have derived from an immediate, or even emotional, reaction to events of the time. In addition we are at the mercy of the historian compilers, their choice of subjects for inclusion or rejection, and the lenience or severity with which they edited an original text or speech. For our part the subtle nuances of the accounts in the histories may pass us by all too easily, while our own conclusions may not be free of speculation. In such circumstances we can but note here some of the problems that seem to have been inherent in the concept and practice of imperial government and to have aroused some disquiet and criticism of what was passing during the early decades of the Han dynasty.

In the first instance, the means whereby the dynasty had come into being could not be judged as deriving from high and mighty ethical principles and might well be compared with some of the less savoury examples of earlier times. The issue carried with it the major question of the basis from which imperial power was derived and on which it rested. That some persons were aware of this problem is seen in the account of the discussion held between Huang Sheng 黃生 and Yuan Gu 轅固 during Jingdi’s reign, to which a further allusion may perhaps be seen in the Chunqiu fanlu.1

1 See SJ 121, pp. 3122–3, HS 88, p. 3612, CQFL 25, pp. 220–1, Queen, From chronicle to canon the hermeneutics of the Spring and Autumn, according to Tung Chung-shu (1996), pp. 18–9, 82. Queen is correct to point out the parallel between the second part of CQFL 25 and the accounts of the discussion held by Huang Sheng and Yuan Gu in the presence of Jingdi, but whether the author of that part of the CQFL (which does not name those two) had the accounts of that incident in mind may not be certain. The second part of the CQFL

20 chapter one

Secondly, however comforting it might be to claim or pretend that current imperial practice derived from the examples of a golden past over which men of holiness had presided, the differences between the strong and perhaps ruthless style of imperial Han, little different from that of Qin, on the one hand, and the ideals ascribed to rulers of days gone by on the other, would have been all too apparent. Furthermore there was a third problem. There was no single golden rule of conduct or single means of practising sovereignty to which the saintly kings had subscribed, and if the ways of each one of these had been so per-fect, why had changes been necessary between the ways of Yao 堯 and Shun 舜, or those of Xia 夏, Yin 殷 and Zhou 周.

Early in Dong Zhongshu’s life, Jia Yi 賈誼 (201–169) had given voice to a warning, which however does not seem to have affected official attitudes. He argued that, if it was to survive, the new impe-rial government should avoid the mistakes or excesses committed by its immediate and short-lived predecessor. His essay perhaps reveals the underlying question of the ways by which Han could claim moral superiority over Qin and expect to set up a framework that would be more permanent.2

For indeed imperial government was still a relatively new and untried concept. If, as is likely, Dong Zhongshu was born during the reign of Gaozu, little time had elapsed since centralised imperial rule had been established under the authority of a man who was entitled huangdi 皇帝, with no contending rivals ready to dispute his rule throughout the land. Not only was the institution new; it had yet to prove itself to be effective and successful, and as likely to be long-lasting. In addition, the events that had accompanied the transfer of rule from one huangdi

chapter directs the argument to an unnamed dignitary worthy of address as Zuxia 足下 who can hardly be the emperor. Whereas the account in the two histories questions directly whether the actions of Tang and Wu amounted to murder of a monarch, the CQFL describes their actions in the term fa 伐, which however Lu Wenchao and Su Yu (Chunqiu fanlu yizheng, p. 220) suspected to be in error for dai 代; regicide is mentioned only in the concluding words of the pian. While the debate between Huang Sheng and Yuan Gu concerned specifically the probity whereby Han had achieved power, the CQFL concentrates on the characteristics of kingship and their possession by individual rulers. Su Yu (pp. 219, 221) believed that the chapter did not derive from Dong but was a later interpolation. For Huang Zhen’s criticism of a point of faulty argument in the chapter, see Chapter Five below, Appendix 1.

2 The title of Jia Yi’s essay ‘Guo Qin lun’ has been mistranslated by some as ‘The faults of Qin’, and is interpreted by Queen as ‘Surpassing Ch’in’ (p. 6). My own inter-pretation is ‘An essay which identifies Qin’s excesses and faults’.

the historical and intellectual background 21

to a successor could hardly give grounds for optimism; for so far from being smooth, such changes had been accompanied by the dangers of disruption or separatist attempts. Even in Jingdi’s reign (157–141 BCE) it required no feat of outstanding memory to recall the violence and deception that had accompanied the deaths of the two emperors of Qin, the bid for power and its exercise by the Empress Lü and the attempt of Liu Xiang (2) 劉襄, grandson of Gaozu, to take the throne at her demise, only to be foiled by Gaozu’s son, known to us as Wendi. We may wonder if, at the death of Jingdi in 141, there may have been some who were asking themselves whether the survival of the house of Liu was necessarily assured. It rested now under the aegis of the young, untried Liu Che 劉徹 (posthumous title Wudi, reigned 141–87 BCE), who had not been named as the first choice to follow Jingdi and whose familiarity with palace and government cannot have been extensive.

If the rule and ways of the holy kings (sheng wang 聖王) were the ideal, could it be claimed that the contemporary rulers of Han were aspiring to emulate their example? The positive, forceful policies that had been implemented in the days of Jingdi and Wudi had resulted in bloodshed and the growth of the powers of senior officials at the expense of the latitude extended to close members of the imperial fam-ily. Measures to co-ordinate the working effort of the population and to control their ways of life were giving greater power to provincial officials and interfering more frequently in the daily lives of farming families, whose standard of living was not necessarily being improved. Military ventures were taking their toll, demanding service spent in campaigning in strange climes, inflicting casualties and disrupting the seasonal work of the fields. Observers might well ask in what ways Han imperial government was in fact seeking to improve the welfare of the subjects of Jingdi or Wudi. And whatever supplications the rul-ers of mankind made to superior powers of the universe or to their ancestors, whatever the rites they practised, these brought no relief from the sufferings brought about by the rough side of nature that could destroy a livelihood at a blow.

The three responses of Dong Zhongshu of perhaps 134 BCE,3 and some of his other writings, suggest that he was aware of at least some of these problems. Perhaps it is too much to see him as a critical, dissatis-

3 For the dating of these responses see Chapter Two Appendix (1).

22 chapter one

fied and sceptical observer of contemporary affairs who saw through some of the pretensions of the day. On the positive side his reaction was to cite Kongzi with greater regularity and persistence than that seen in other writings of the time, and to search for an ordered system or unity, praised in the Chunqiu as yi tong 一統. On the negative side he hoped to eliminate the teachings that had led to the current state of affairs. Clearly, the life, opinions and writings of Dong Zhongshu, together with the influence that he may have exercised in his own time and later, can be examined only within the broad context of the history of Western Han, and it will appear from the summary that follows that some fifty years elapsed before any sign can be traced that his ideas were likely to be acceptable.

As is shown elsewhere,4 the dynasty witnessed major and consistent changes—both in religious observances and intellectual developments, and in the view of the correct objectives to be sought by imperial gov-ernment. From the outset of its reign, Han had adopted the purpose and methods of Qin’s government, striving for security and backed by a firm control of the people and the land. Its laws were no less multifarious, their punishments no less severe. A few men such as Jia Yi gave warning that Qin’s trust in its forceful or even ruthless imposition of official authority had led to its ruin and should not be followed, but as yet the example of the Qin empire remained domi-nant. Han adopted the greater part of Qin’s institutions, and contin-ued to maintain the same cults of state worship, albeit with two major changes.5 The reign of Jingdi saw the adoption of strong measures to strengthen the authority of the emperor and his officials as against the ambitions of others and their potential dissidence; and it would seem that Jingdi himself was ready to take ruthless action to attain his ends. Sima Tan 司馬談 and Sima Qian 司馬遷 seem to have been aware of such propensities. We have no clue, however, to show whether they had reached Dong Zhongshu’s knowledge.

In this way the Han dynasty acquired strength and enriched its resources, to the point that from ca. 130 BCE the government could embark on expansionist moves to extend its influence ever more widely. Such moves intensified and accentuated the existing sense of purpose

4 See Loewe, Crisis and Conflict in Han China (1974) pp. 11–3, Twitchett and Loewe (eds.), The Cambridge History of China volume I (1986), pp. 103–10.

5 The major immediate changes were those of the institution of the kingdoms in the provinces and the inclusion of the worship of the fifth di symbolised as ‘Black’ (see Chapter Three below, p. 114).

the historical and intellectual background 23

that had been inherited from Qin. Fifteen or twenty years after 130 new religious cults were established, with provision for a more regular attendance by the emperor. In terms of political thought, Qin remained the ideal. Dong Zhongshu lived when these events were taking place and may have realised, with others, that the days of expansion could not continue for ever, for the resources of the empire were limited and Han armies were no longer achieving their objectives. From perhaps 90 BCE defensive policies and retrenchment replaced the expansionist policies of the earlier years of Wudi, and perhaps thanks to the active promotion of talent that was now bearing fruit and bringing men of ability into public service, there arose a criticism, perhaps severe, of the purposes sought and methods practised by the governments of Qin and Han. Somewhat slowly a major change was setting in.

The governments of Qin and of the first century of Han had striven to co-ordinate and control the work of the population; a move to leave the people to work without restrictions was now being voiced. Instead of seeing Qin’s example as the best way of controlling an empire, some of those in public life were looking for guidance in the ways ascribed to the kings of Zhou in the long centuries before the idea of empire had dawned. Possibly Dong Zhongshu had been one of the avant-garde observers who saw the need for the change; and a move from Qin to Zhou involved a change in the religious practices of the emperor. By 31 BCE the cult of the wu di 五帝 that Wudi had worshipped gave way to that of heaven, the god of Zhou. Concurrently and significantly, beliefs in an afterlife were shifting from the paradise of the east where the First Qin Emperor had sought the elixir of immortality to that of the west over which its Queen Mother presided.

As early as the reign of Gaozu, Lu Jia 陸賈 (ca. 228–ca. 140 BCE) set out to describe the most commendable way of government. Much later his work was to draw marked praise from scholars of the Qing dynasty. They wrote that the Xin yu 新語 was the work of the purest and most correct of the traditional scholars of Han times other than Dong Zhongshu.6 As those scholars were elsewhere casting their doubts on the authenticity of all or some parts of the Chunqiu fanlu it would seem that their opinion of Dong Zhongshu rested on other evidence.7 In Wendi’s reign Jia Yi had urged the importance of moral values in

6 Siku quanshu zongmu tiyao (edited by Ji Yun 紀昀, 1724–1805 and others) 18, p. 1878.

7 Siku quanshu zongmu tiyao 6, p. 598.

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maintaining a disciplined social order and warned against the dan-gers of excessively severe methods of government. Dong Zhongshu’s lifetime saw major developments in literary and intellectual terms. Sima Tan 司馬談 (d. ca. 110 BCE) and Sima Qian 司馬遷 (?145–?86 BCE), his contemporaries, fashioned the forms in which dynastic his-tory was being and would be recorded, though Dong did not see their work; Sima Xiangru 司馬相如 (ca. 179–117 BCE) and others were composing fu 賦 in which they could both express their admiration and voice their criticisms of certain practices. Wendi’s Empress Dou 竇, who was given to a mystical view of life as symbolised by Laozi and Huangdi, brought those views to the fore in public life. In the course of his promotion of scholarship Liu De 劉德 (1) (died 130 or 129) collected copies of writings some of which were beginning to be singled out for special treatment as ‘Classics’; Liu An 劉安 (2) (d. 122) had likewise assembled a coterie of learned men who wrote on how they saw the natural world and its rhythms operating. Changes intro-duced right at the end of Dong’s life brought in a new calendar and the choice of a different month with which the count of the years began. Zhang Tang 張湯 re-organised the existing Statutes and Ordinances, now written up in perhaps twice as many chapters as formerly. It was in Wudi’s reign that a new emphasis was placed on the cults of state, now addressed not only to the Five Powers (Wu di 五帝), but also to Hou tu 后土 and Tai yi 泰一. During Dong Zhongshu’s lifetime they were not addressed to heaven.

To some of those who witnessed dynastic events of the end of Wudi’s reign and thereafter, changes and contrasts spoke only of decline, and it might well have seemed that Han imperial government was in an unstable and vulnerable condition. Thirty years or so had passed since the proud expansionist policies of Wudi’s time and the victories of Han arms under generals such as his consorts’ relatives Huo Qubing 霍去病 and Wei Qing 衛青 by 119 BCE. More recently Li Ling 李陵, honourably defeated, had deserted to the enemy (99); Li Guangli 李廣利 had needed major reinforcements to save his expedition to the north-west (from 104 BCE) from an ignominious failure. A new era had been triumphantly inaugurated in 105 with the regnal title of Taichu 太初. But the severe fighting that broke out in Chang’an city between the emperor’s forces and those of his son the Heir Apparent in 91–90 ended in the latter’s death and the empress’ suicide. Endangered by alleged involvement in these affairs, Li Guangli, brother of Wudi’s secondary consort Li Furen 李夫人, made over to the Xiongnu (90).

the historical and intellectual background 25

Wudi was now some seventy years old and for the first time for some thirty years there was no acknowledged heir to the throne who could claim respect as the son of the Empress. In 86, two days before Wudi’s death, Liu Fuling 劉弗陵 was named Heir Apparent. Seven years old and the only son of another secondary consort, he duly became the emperor who is known as Zhaodi. Huo Guang 霍光 (d. 68) the highly powered official who had brought this about was a man of severe and regular habits who had taken a prominent part in public life, and it was he who retained control over the country and scotched the oppo-sition of his rivals. He had secured his own position and kept his hand on the young emperor by marrying him to his granddaughter.

An account of a major debate that took place in 81 BCE, named the Yantie lun 鹽鐵論 and compiled perhaps forty years later, brings to light some of the major questions of principle and policy that were under discussion and subject to controversy.8 But by way of warning it must be stressed that the Yantie lun was in all probability compiled some three decades after the debate took place and may be portray-ing some of the issues and their reactions anachronistically. These concerned the proper place of ideal as against expedient in the con-duct of government; the moral values attached to Zhou as against the strength of Qin’s regime; the force of traditions of the past as against the demands of modern needs; the place of clemency as against severe implementation of the laws; and the freedom of an individual’s occu-pation as against a control of enterprise by officials. These issues were argued out in respect of the qualities to be sought in officials; eco-nomic practice; the benefits of expansionist ventures; relations with non-Han peoples; and the application of the punishments set out in the Statutes and Ordinances (lü 律 and ling 令).

A mere dozen years passed between Zhaodi’s accession and his death, childless in 74. Once again Huo Guang proved his dominance by contriving the accession, and the deposal twenty-seven days later, of a dissolute prince named Liu He 劉賀 (7). Huo Guang’s choice of his successor lay in a young man of some 16 years who had in no way been trained to expect a call to such an onerous and honourable posi-tion. He is known under the title of Xuandi and Huo Guang had him marry his daughter.

8 For an account of the debate, see Loewe, Crisis and Conflict (1974), Chapter 3; for the date of the account, see Chapter Four below, p. 160 note 176.

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Liu He’s rise and rapid fall could hardly re-assure those who feared for the stability of the throne, for dangers still beset the control of the empire. Huo Guang had no lack of adversaries and the rivalries of different families of imperial consorts could provoke evil deeds, such as the murder of the pregnant Empress Xu 許 by poison (71 BCE). Huo Guang’s death in 68 proved to be a turning point in the new reign, arousing disputes in which his antagonists succeeded in driving the Huo family out of public life. Xuandi himself now took a hand in directing the government, and the survival of the dynasty in integrity perhaps owed something to his strong character and power of deci-sion, or perhaps to the sound advice and loyal support of his minis-ters, such as Wei Xiang 魏相 (Chancellor 67–59), Zhang Anshi 張安世 (entitled Da Sima 大司馬 with the direction of the Secretariat, Shang shu 尚書, 67) or Bing Ji 邴吉 (Imperial Counsellor 67–59). One somewhat exceptional series of decisions taken during the reign may reflect a desire to advertise that, after a period of danger, the reign was being blessed by occult forces. This is seen in the choice of a series of regnal titles for the years 61 to 49 that called to mind auspicious events such as the roosting of divine or supernatural birds, or the fall of sweet dew.9 Hitherto nianhao, first introduced retrospectively for 116 BCE, had included allusions to imperial activities or achievements of which the emperor’s government could boast.

Developments that took place towards the end of Xuandi’s reign and during the reign of Yuandi (48–33) were of major significance in this process and we might well expect that some would have called for support by citing Dong Zhongshu’s opinions, but evidence is not to be found and the silence is deafening. Two events that took place in 51 BCE may be singled out for their importance. The assembly of scholars at the Pavilion of the Stone Conduit (Shiqu ge 石渠閣) gave rise to the promotion of certain texts such as the Guliang zhuan 榖梁傳, the emergence of various schools of interpretation, such as the three principal exponents of the Changes,10 and recognition of cer-tain named scholars as the approved masters of the Shang shu, such as Xiahou Sheng 夏侯勝, and others for the works on Li. It was dur-

9 See HS 8, p. 259 for the terms of a decree of 61 which named a number of auspicious portents that had taken place and instituted the nianhao of Shen jue (61–58); this was followed by Wu feng (57–54), Gan lu (53–50) and Huang long (49).

10 I.e., of Shi Chou, Meng Xi and Liangqiu He, who had been trained during Xuan-di’s reign.

the historical and intellectual background 27

ing Xuandi’s reign that Yang Yun 楊惲, grandson of Sima Qian, was bringing forward the Shiji for attention. The Han shu writes: ‘With the recruitment of men of intelligence (xianliang 賢良) and men of learning (wenxue 文學)11 during Zhaodi’s reign, the quota of pupils of the academicians was increased to 100, and this was doubled towards the close of Xuandi’s reign. Under Yuandi, who loved traditional texts and learning, all persons capable of interpreting one of the classical works were exempted from statutory obligations of tax and service; but owing to the expense the number of such privileged persons was reduced to 1000 after a few years; and posts of zushi 卒史, graded at 100 shi, were established in the commanderies and kingdoms.’12

The second event of 51 was the state visit paid to Chang’an by Huhanye 呼韓邪, Shanyu 單于 of the Xiongnu 匈奴. Part of its significance lay in the agreement reached after some discussion, and due to the strong support of Xiao Wangzhi 蕭望之, that this ‘foreigner’ should be treated to the same degree of honours as that due to the kings of the empire. The importance of the incident was not isolated, as he paid further visits in 49 and 33. Its significance lies in its reflection of a re-assessment of the proper relations that the Han empire should maintain with other communities. Some high officials of the day were ready to forego an adamant claim that Han was the superior party, but this view did not necessarily gain general acceptance.

In some respects Yuandi’s reign was comparatively uneventful. His empress Wang Zhengjun 王政君 was a forceful and masterly woman who retained a firm control of the palace until her death, much later, in 18 CE. It was an age that was apparently free of the discords that could rage among the palaces of the imperial consorts and that had beset the reigns of earlier emperors and would vex the later mon-archs. The reign was free of the disturbances and expenses entailed in positive and military involvement with non-Han leaders; Yuandi’s government showed itself reluctant to expend sufficient force to bring a swift end to troubles started by the Qiang 羌 tribes (42) and it was an age of retrenchment and withdrawal from some outlying territo-ries such as Hainan (46). The years witnessed a number of practical attempts to reform the activities of government, such as the temporary

11 For the Xianliang and Wenxue, see Chapter Four below pp. 137, 141.12 HS 88, p. 3596; the precise functions and duties of these clerks are not stated;

see Bielenstein, The Bureaucracy of Han times (1980), pp. 94, 98, 99, 167 note 145, 185 note 76.

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abandonment of the salt and iron monopolies (44 to 41); economies, including the reduction of imperial extravagances (48 and 44); the reduction of staff in the Bureau of Music (48); proposals and steps to reduce the number of imperial shrines and their expenses (from 44).13 Certainly the reign did witness the first appearance of eunuchs in important positions in public life, in the persons of Hong Gong 弘恭 and Shi Xian 石顯, with consequent disaster for at least one high ranking official. This was Xiao Wangzhi 蕭望之, Imperial Counsellor (59–57). Thanks to his antagonism against these two eunuchs, he was forced to commit suicide in 47.

Yuandi was an easy-going emperor whose inclination towards the ideals ascribed to the kings of Zhou had aroused his father’s dis-trust of his fitness for the throne and, for almost the first time in Western Han, we know something of the education of an emperor. Brought up out of the confines of the imperial palace and outside the influences, beneficial or malevolent, of the court, his predeces-sor Xuandi had been trained in the Book of Songs, the Analects and the Classic of Filial Piety.14 For Yuandi we have more information. His teachers included Zhou Kan 周堪, who had been trained in the Shang shu by Xiahou Sheng 夏侯勝 and had at one time been Yuandi’s Junior Tutor (Taizi shaofu 太子少傅); Kong Ba 孔霸, descendant of Kongzi in the thirteenth generation; Xiao Wangzhi who gave the Heir Apparent instruction in the Analects and Li, being at one time demoted to be his Senior Tutor (Taizi taifu 太傅); Zhang You-qing 張游卿 who instructed him in the Songs; and Ouyang Diyu 歐陽地餘 who instructed him in the Shang shu. Three of these men, Zhou Kan, Xiao Wangzhi and Ouyang Diyu, took part in the discussions of the Pavilion of the Stone Conduit (51 BCE).

It is thus clear that some at least of the prominent officials of Yuandi’s reign who advocated the policies that were adopted, had been trained in classical learning and that they called on the ideas of the past as models for the government of the day. On his deathbed Xuandi had entrusted the care and control of the empire to three men—Xiao Wangzhi, Shi Gao 史高 and Zhou Kan. As Senior Tutor to the Heir Apparent, Xiao Wangzhi may be assumed to have been able to exercise some influence

13 See HS 9, pp. 280, 285; Loewe, Crisis and Conflict (1974) Chapter 6; Divination, mythology and monarchy in Han China (1994), Chapters 11 and 13.

14 HS 8, p. 238.

the historical and intellectual background 29

over the new emperor, and he shortly became Superintendent of the Palace (Guangluxun 光祿勳). As a relative of Xuandi’s father, Shi Gao enjoyed a certain measure of respect and at Xuandi’s death he received the titles of Da Sima 大司馬 and Director of the Secretariat (Shang shu ling 尚書令).

There were others who had been instructed in these ways and who came to prominence. Wei Xuancheng 韋玄成 held high posts from 48 onwards, ending as Chancellor from 42 to 36. He was an expert in the Lunyu, known for his proposal to eliminate some of the imperial shrines and for his hope of restoring adherence to the Zhaomu 昭穆 system for the choice of their sites.15 Gong Yu 貢禹 (2) who also proposed the abolition of some of those shrines and looked for ways of reducing public expenditure had been trained in the Gongyang zhuan 公羊傳 and was a proponent of the Qi ver-sion of the Analects. As Imperial Counsellor from 44 he is known for his hope of restoring moral standards and for suggesting social and economic reforms that concerned money, tax and slaves. Kuang Heng 匡衡, instructed in the Songs and Li by Hou Cang 后蒼 and Chancellor from 36, urged attention to the ways of the early kings of Zhou and to maintenance of li. In a memorial presented early in the reign he made a telling reference to the Tian ming. His insistence that it was right to suspend services at some of the imperial shrines ran counter to Yuandi’s own views.

It was Xiao Wangzhi and Zhou Kan who had brought forward the name of Liu Xiang 劉向 who would in time be seen as the most famous exponent of traditional values and writings in Western Han.16 His early career had been far from free from danger, thanks to his interest in occult writings and alchemy and his opposition to the enjoyment of power by eunuchs and some of the families of imperial consorts. The memorials that he presented in Yuandi’s reign stress his praise of the days of Zhou and the importance to be attached to the lessons of past history; his most significant work was dated in Chengdi’s reign.

A new style of thinking is illustrated in the type of decrees that were being proclaimed, in Yuandi’s reign, with their self deprecation,

15 For the Zhaomu system, see note 24 below, and Chapter Eight below p. 299.16 HS 36, p. 1929; for Liu Xiang, of whom a full study is yet to be made, see HS 36,

pp. 1929–66, and Loewe, A Biographical Dictionary of the Qin, Former Han and Xin Periods (221 BC–AD 24) (2000), p. 372.

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frequency of references to the balance or imbalance of Yin Yang, and their evocation of the past.17

A major contrast may be noticed between the later years of Xuandi’s reign and those of Yuandi on the one hand, and those of earlier reigns such as that of Wudi, on the other: for probably the first time, major figures in public life are known to have received what may perhaps be termed a ‘classical education’.18 It may also be noticed that whereas in Wudi’s reign the promotion of learning and literature depended on the initiative of individuals such as Liu An and Liu De, who were acting in their private capacity, from 51 onwards imperial government was taking a hand in these matters.

If the years of Yuandi may be regarded as being relatively calm, in many ways the reigns of Chengdi, by no means an exemplary character,19 and his two successors were stressful and marred: there was no nominated heir to the throne; court and government were marked by disputes between the imperial consorts and their families; two boys sired by the emperor were murdered within the palace;20 and in the absence of an heir borne to an empress, arguments ranged over a choice of Chengdi’s successor.21 Major issues were under discussion, such as the choice of powers to whom the cults of state should be addressed—whether to the Five Powers and others, or to heaven—and the number of shrines and devotions that should be retained in dedi-cation to former emperors.22 This latter question involved the correct titles for some of them, and the degree of honour to be accorded to Wudi.23 The situation of Chengdi’s tomb—whether at Yanling 延陵 as planned, or at Changling 昌陵—had raised questions, and the pro-posal to build an expensive edifice at Changling had been abandoned.24

17 See Loewe BD, p. 358, and The Men Who Governed Han China: Companion to A Biographical Dictionary of the Qin, Former Han and Xin Periods (2004), p. 154.

18 E.g., Wei Xiang, whose career as an official had started in Zhaodi’s reign, had been trained in the Changes.

19 See Loewe, Men who Governed, p. 624.20 See BD, pp. 246, 717, sv Liu Ao and Zhao Zhaoyi.21 See BD, p. 378.22 See Crisis and Conflict Chapter 5, DMM Chapter 13 (1992).23 DMM pp. 297–8 [1992].24 For the abortive plan to build a tomb for Chengdi to be named Changling,

see HS 70, pp. 3023–4 and 71, p. 3050, and BD p. 611 sv Xie Wannian 解萬年. Changling, situated in Xinfeng County (HS 10, p. 316), is placed by Liu Qingzhu 劉慶柱 and Li Yufang 李毓芳, Xi Han shiyi ling 西漢十一陵 (1987) p. 118, east of Chang’an. If this is correct, the situation would not have accorded with the Zhaomu principle which, it has been suggested, affected the choice of

the historical and intellectual background 31

It is probable, or even likely, that it was during these years that the theory of the Wu xing was gaining recognition in official circles.

In 36 BCE, shortly before Chengdi’s accession, a military officer named Chen Tang 陳湯 and Gan Yanshou 甘延壽, Protector Gen-eral of the Western Regions, had forged a decree that would empower them to take effective action against Zhizhi 郅支, one of the leaders of the Xiongnu. This duly involved them in judicial procedures but it was some years into Chengdi’s reign before they were exonerated and duly credited with the success of their initiative.25 In 30 BCE the fear of floods had led to panic, with talk of the emperor and other members of the imperial family having to take to the boats for safety; and the coin-cidence of an eclipse and an earthquake, on a day corresponding with 5 January 29 BCE, struck a note of alarm, with outspoken criticism of the emperor that was also voiced by a highly original thinker named Yang Xiong 揚雄.26 A treasonable suggestion that the Han dynasty had run its course and required re-dedication had originated in Chengdi’s reign.27 In literary terms the reign saw the completion of a project that was to affect the growth of traditional ideas for centuries: this was the collection of written material from all parts of the empire; the collation of different versions of works so as to provide a definitive text; and the classification of Chinese writings into groups, as needed in the course of cataloguing the books and shelving them in the imperial library.28 Dong Zhongshu’s name is seen twice in the surviving summary of that catalogue, though the Chunqiu fanlu is not recorded in that list.29 The year 7 BCE saw the highly symbolical act of reforming the calendar so as to ensure that dynastic authority did not run counter to the ordered way of the cosmos.30 Discussion about the division of the twelve hours

sites for imperial tombs after Yuandi. For Zhaomu, see DMM pp. 276–9 [1992], Nylan and Loewe (eds.), China’s Early Empires, pp. 215–6 (2010).

25 Crisis and Conflict, Chapter 7.26 For the danger of floods at Chang’an, see Crisis and Conflict, pp. 154–5; for the

eclipse and earthquake, see Men who Governed, p. 443. For Yang Xiong’s fu that pro-tested against Chengdi’s behaviour, see Men who Governed, p. 627.

27 This had probably been originated by Gan Zhongke 甘忠可; see Crisis and Con-flict, p. 279.

28 For the accomplishment of this work by Liu Xiang, Liu Xin and others, see P. van der Loon, ‘On the transmission of Kuan-tzŭ’, (1952), pp. 357–93.

29 HS 30, p. 1714 lists 16 pian of his judicial decisions; p. 1727 lists 123 pian of his writings under ru.

30 I.e., the introduction of the Santong li, compiled by Liu Xin.

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of the day and night into 100 or 120 parts may also have arisen from ideological motives.31

For many years the Wang family held a monopoly of power. To support the authority of his position, and to re-establish the idea and hope of strong trustworthy imperial government Wang Mang 王莽 deliberately and effectively called on the support of well known scholars such as Liu Xiang and Liu Xin 劉歆 who were well versed in traditional learning. It was just such intellectual authority that would support a claim that in his early stages he had been acting as a second Zhou Gong, i.e., as a legitimate supporter for a rightful ruler who was below adulthood. For the force of traditional learning would buttress his claim that imperial government now rested on the ideals and prac-tices of the kings of Zhou. In religious terms that concerned devotions to his ancestors, he drew a new scheme of the descent of the mythical figures of pre-history.32 As previously, there is a conspicuous absence of an attempt to call on the authority of Dong Zhongshu, never a high-ranking official, and hardly known.

For the first time in imperial history we have a definite attempt by an emperor to invoke the theory of the Wu xing in his ordering of government.33 In the closing decades of Western Han this theory had evidently gained sufficient strength to merit mention in official docu-ments or pronouncements but it was perhaps during Wang Mang’s time that it was attracting a new and enthusiastic response. Whereas two centuries previously, for Qin, the theory would have run counter to a boast or claim of sovereignty that would last for all time, it fit-ted admirably as a support for Wang Mang’s claim to be a successor who followed a defunct house. The many exquisite TLV mirrors whose inscriptions refer to ‘The Xin Dynasty’s possession of fine copper’ pro-claimed the link between the New House and the cosmic cycle of the Five.34

Wang Mang had been ready or even glad to call on the appear-ance of strange events as omens that predicted his rise to power and

31 See Crisis and Conflict, p. 281.32 See Loewe, ‘Wang Mang and his forbears: the making of the myth’ (1994), pp.

197–222, and Chapter Eight below, Figure 2.33 For doubts regarding Qin’s adoption of this theory, see Men who Governed, pp.

495–505; for the question in Western Han, pp. 505–15; for treatment by Wang Mang, pp. 515–6.

34 See Loewe, Ways to Paradise the Chinese Quest for Immortality (1979) Chapter Three.

the historical and intellectual background 33

provided testimony of its authority. Such events formed the subject of some of the books later classified as wei 緯, chen 讖 or tu 圖 and we find that early in Guangwudi’s reign Yin Min 尹敏 and Xue Han 薛漢 received orders to collate such writings and fix a definite text.35 The motives behind such orders are not clear; possibly they were intended to eliminate precisely the support that they may have given to Wang Mang’s cause. In what were apparently contradictory orders, right at the end of Guangwudi’s reign, in 56, the tu and chen material was promulgated empire wide, being accompanied by decisions to erect several edifices—the Ming tang 明堂, Ling tai 靈臺 and Bi yong 辟雍—that were intended to foster links between the dynasty and unseen spiritual powers.36 On this occasion the collection of writings had pre-sumably been purged appropriately, being intended to provide support for the restoration of the Han house, now effected and confirmed. The importance of the chen and wei writings is in no way to be discounte-nanced during Eastern Han; they attracted the interest and comments of notable scholars such as He Xiu 何休 (129–182) and Zheng Xuan 鄭玄 (127–200), while being subject to criticism by Li Yu 李育 (5).37 Effective steps to ban them altogether started in 267.38

Discussion of the value to be attached to certain texts such as the Zuo zhuan and one of the interpretations of the Zhou yi are reported for the year 28 CE, at the Yuntai 雲臺 hall of the Southern Palace.39 These and more general questions were the subjects of discussions that are better known, being held in the Hall of the White Tiger (Bai hu 白虎) in 79. To Ban Gu’s account of these discussions there may be added the expressed preference that the emperor showed for a Gu wen way of thought rather than the currently accepted Jin wen mode, but in effect a case for Gu wen failed to gain acceptance.40

As is shown elsewhere, marked differences may be seen in religious and intellectual ideas and practice as between Western and Eastern Han,41 but a full analysis of how political ideas changed and affected practice during Eastern Han awaits investigation. A number of symp-toms of inferior or ineffective government called for attention and

35 HHS 79B, pp. 2558, 2573.36 HHS 1B, p. 84.37 HHS 35, p. 1212, 79B, pp. 2582–3.38 See Chapter Eight below p. 310.39 See HHS 36, pp. 1228–32, and Chapter Four below p. 162.40 See Anne Cheng, ibid., pp. 96–108.41 Loewe, ‘The failure of the Confucian ethic in Later Han times’ (1991).

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protest, e.g., the practice by officials of oppression or their addiction to corruption; imperial extravagance; failings in the recruitment and training of officials; and the unwillingness of some men to serve in public life. In discussion of his own times, Ban Gu (32–92) decried the failure to maintain traditional theory and practice of li as enunciated in Western Han.42 Prominent persons who voiced their criticism of imperial government, such as Zuo Xiong 左雄 (Director of the Secre-tariat ca. 125; d. 138), Huang Qiong 黃瓊 (Supreme Commander, 154) or Chen Fan 陳蕃 (Supreme Commander, 165), had not necessarily been grounded in the wu jing or Lunyu;43 some, who may be cred-ited with some but no special degree of learning, reached high office, such as Diwu Lun 第五倫 (Imperial Counsellor, 75), Yuan An 袁安(Chancellor, 87), Chen Chong 陳寵 (Superintendent of Trials, 94) and Chen Zhong 陳忠 (Director of the Secretariat, 123, 124); others such as Zong Jun 宗均 (d. 76), Cao Bao 曹褒 (d. 102) and He Chang 何敞 (d. ca. 105) did not. Perhaps exceptionally two scholars, Lu Gong 魯恭 (Chancellor, 101) and Yang Zhen 楊震 (Supreme Commander, 122), did so, but men of eminence such as Jia Kui 賈逵 (30–101), Ma Rong 馬融 (79–166), Zheng Xuan 鄭玄 (127–200), He Xiu 何休 (129–82) or Cai Yong 蔡邕, who left a heritage to which their successors of Qing times looked in their bid to restore ‘Han learning’ (Han xue 漢學), did not serve as high ranking officials. Nor did the authors of long literary tracts that expressed clear criticism of the state of the empire, such as Wang Fu 王符 (ca. 90–165), Cui Shi 崔寔 (d. ca. 170), Xun Yue (148–209), Xu Gan 徐幹 (170–217) and Zhongchang Tong 仲長統 (180–220).

While a full analysis of intellectual developments in Eastern Han has yet to be made, attention is due to two matters. It would seem that conditions of the early years of Zhangdi’s reign (75–88) gave rise to the most conspicuous occasion in Eastern Han when discussion of some of the problems mentioned in Western Han took place, at least as far as our surviving records allow us to infer. The record of the dis-cussions of 79 CE, which probably gives a particularist account of their conclusions, shows that although they were directed to the values and interpretations of one old text, the Chunqiu, they were also concerned

42 HS 22, p. 1035.43 Li Gu 李固 (94–147) is reported as being an expert in the classics and apocrypha.

the historical and intellectual background 35

with some of the fundamental questions that lay behind dynastic sur-vival and imperial practice and ritual.44

Secondly, it was in the first half of Eastern Han that one of the most radical of those thinkers whose works have survived was composing his highly critical and perhaps provocative essays. Wang Chong 王充 (27—ca. 100), never a high-ranking official, was bold enough to question the validity of many of the assumptions accepted by those around him in Luoyang. By trying to understand the fundamental principles of creation and the workings of nature, and to dispel those fears which, he thought, had no basis or reason with which to afflict the human race, he might well deserve acclaim as a Lucretius of the Han empire, whatever the effect of his views on his contemporaries might have been.

The surviving writings of the second of Eastern Han’s centuries moved towards a criticism of current social and political conditions, as may be seen in works such as the Qianfu lun of Wang Fu 王符 (ca. 90–165), the Fengsu tongyi of Ying Shao 應劭 (ca. 140-before 2006) and the Zhong lun of Xu Gan 徐幹 (171–217/8). Similarly, many of the submissions entered by officials and others took the form of protests at the state of current affairs rather than discussions of principles, as seen in Western Han. Such protests were directed at the corruption and abuse of power, or the weakness and failures of the monarch, while some men of learning concentrated on scholarly matters such as the minutiae of li. At the outset of Zhangdi’s reign (75–88), Diwu Lun and Chen Chong had already been protesting against the oppression and severities of government, and extravagance had drawn the criticism of Zhongli Yi 鍾離意 ( fl. 60) and would recur subsequently, as in the utterances as by Zhou Ju 周舉 (d. 149) in 134. Zhongli Yi had also been bold enough to criticize Mingdi for his severities. Ca. 116 Chen Zhong 陳忠 (d. 125) was complaining about the laxity of officials, and others such as Zuo Xiong wrote on the poor way in which officials were being selected. An earthquake in 133 gave Li Gu 李固 (94–147) and Zhang Heng 張衡 (78–139) the opportunity to criticise the uses to which imperial authority was being put. Zhang Gang 張綱 (109–44), Chen Fan 陳蕃 (d. 168), Liu Yu 劉瑜 (d. 193) and Xiang Kai 襄楷

44 The best account of these discussions is to be found in Tjan Tjoe Som, Po Hu T’ung The comprehensive discussions in the White Tiger Hall (1949–52). See also the entry for Jia Kui in de Crespigny, A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23–220 AD) (2007), p. 366.

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(d. ca. 189) were among those who expressed strong views on these and other comparable matters.45 It was in such an atmosphere that the teachings of the Buddha began to be heard and in which some persons may have sought refuge in a search for the mysteries of dao.

The ideas and changes that are outlined above are perhaps at times represented as moves towards a ‘Confucian’ way of government, stem-ming from Dong Zhongshu’s thought. That such assumptions call for scrutiny in the light of recent scholarship requires no defence; that Dong’s name is sometimes mentioned in connection with the promo-tion of Confucianism in recent decades adds to the need to clarify what principles he did promote.

Of necessity in framing the re-assessment of Dong Zhongshu that follows, the present writer has also been re-assessing the views that he had expressed previously, and it would be strange, and perhaps cul-pable, if he were to adhere rigidly without modification to the ideas expressed and the emphasis placed in writings of 1974 or 1991. Like many others, in those earlier days he was ready to accept the conclu-sions reached by his elders and teachers with greater respect than is sometimes apparent to-day, and it would have been extremely rash at that time to question the statements that one read in the works of one’s well experienced masters. It is with considerable deference that he is venturing here to examine some of the accepted assumptions on matters such as the paramount place taken by Confucius in Han thought or Dong Zhongshu’s trust in the theory of the Wu xing.

Traditionally Qin has been described and even denigrated as being ‘legalist’, relying on a profusion of laws and the severe punishments that they prescribed and which were applied mercilessly. On the basis of the early claim of Liu Bang that the laws were being reduced to no more than three articles, Han has been regarded as a tolerant and humane, i.e., a ‘Confucian’, regime.46 A number of scholars, however,

45 References for these are as follows: Diwu Lun (HHS 41, p. 1400); Chen Chong (HHS 46, p. 1549); Zhongli Yi (HHS 41, pp. 1408, 1409); Zhou Ju (HHS 61, p. 2025); Chen Zhong (HHS 46, p. 1559); Zuo Xiong (HHS 61, p. 2015); Li Gu (HHS 63, p. 2076); Zhang Heng (HHS 59, p. 1910); Zhang Gang (HHS 56, pp. 1816–9); Chen Fan (HHS 66, pp. 2159–71); Liu Yu (HHS 57, pp. 1854–7); and Xiang Kai (HHS 30B, pp. 1075–85; de Crespigny, Portents of protest in the Later Han Dynasty the memorials of Hsiang K’ai to Emperor Huan, 1976).

46 See HS 23, p. 1096, Hulsewé, Remnants of Han Law (1955), pp. 333, 368, note 143. The claim for a long lasting reduction is immediately contradicted in the text by the statement that Xiao He established nine such articles.

the historical and intellectual background 37

have been unable to accept this simplistic view. It has long been weak-ened by the realisation that Han rule followed on immediately from the means of government of Qin and that the new dynasty adopted its institutions with little change.47 More recently the finds of legal docu-ments from Zhangjiashan 張家山, dated 186 BCE, have reinforced this conclusion, showing how, right from the start, Han likewise depended on a large number of complex laws for its exercise of authority and how these provided for punishments that were hardly less harsh than those of Qin. Only gradually did mitigations soften some of the meth-ods of imperial administration.48 So far from reducing the extent, scope and complexity of the laws, major additions were made on various occasions from the time of Shusun Tong to that of Ying Shao.49

Western scholars have long been concerned with Dong Zhongshu and the part that he played in moulding Chinese thought. To some, perhaps conditioned by the use of the term ‘the victory of Confucian-ism’ in respect of Han China, he has appeared to be the founder of what has been seen as the Confucian order of imperial times, i.e., the meld that provided legitimacy for a dynasty within the cosmic system, maintenance of religious rites, promotion of the teachings of Kongzi, a sustained ideal structure of a disciplined society and reliance on ancient texts and teachings that were accordingly approved and promoted as suitable for the purpose. In such circumstances a number of scholars have seen him as the founder of ‘Han Confucianism’ and the present writer has at times been no exception to those who have at times been ready to accept such an assessment.50 Perhaps we may claim that we had taken to heart the opinion of one of the contributors to the Siku quanshu zongmu tiyao 四庫全書總目提要, as mentioned above, that

47 See Édouard Chavannes, Mémoires historiques de Se-ma Ts’ien (vol. II, p. 513); Hulsewé, ibid., p. 14, CHOC, p. 467. For the principal change, in the institution of the kings (Zhuhouwang), see CHOC, pp. 123–7.

48 E.g., some of the mutilating punishments, which were withdrawn 167 BCE; but such clemency did not prevent the punishment of Sima Qian by castration.

49 See Nylan and Loewe (eds.), China’s Early Empires (2010), pp. 255–6 for additions by Shusun Tong 叔孫通 (ca. 190; 18 pian), Zhang Tang 張湯 (ca. 120; 27 pian); Zhao Yu 趙禹 (ca 110; 6 pian); we hear of a compilation of Ying Shao 應劭 (ca. 140—before 204) which ran to 250 pian.

50 See the Appendix to the Introduction above, pp. 6–18, for assessments by Franke (1917), Hu Shih, Kang Woo, Fung Yu-lan (translated Derk Bodde), Dubs, Tjan Tjoe Som, Needham, de Bary, Wing-tsit Chan, Hsü Fu-kuan, Wallacker, Hsiao Kung-ch-uan (translated F.W. Mote), Henderson, Schwartz, Anne Cheng, Arbuckle, van Ess, Queen, Csikszentmihalyi, Nylan, Sylvia Chan and Li Zehou.

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of the scholars of traditional learning of Han times (ru 儒), for purity and correctness, Lu Jia was second to none barring Dong Zhongshu.51

Possibly there may have been a tendency, among both Chinese and Western writers, to apply the opinions of Liu Xiang and Liu Xin ret-rospectively and anachronistically, thus classifying Dong Zhongshu as ‘Confucian’. Such conclusions may well derive from the advice that he gave—that texts to be used in training officials should exclude anything that was not within the provisions of the Six Choice Works (liu yi 六藝) and the methods of Kongzi. They may also depend on his successful proposal for the recruitment of men described as xiaolian 孝廉—those possessing a sense of family responsibility and integrity—for appoint-ment as officials.52 Yet whereas it is legitimate to see some of Dong’s ideas taking an integral place in a system later to be formed and known as ‘Confucianism’, it is anachronistic to see such thoughts as being put forward as part of a system that had already been developed in his time.

For a number of reasons doubts have arisen and modifications of such a general appreciation have been suggested. Dong’s imme-diate effect on decisions of state has yet to be traced. The views that he expressed in documents that may be regarded as authen-tic53 hardly conformed with the decisions that were being taken by the emperor and his government during his lifetime. He never held high office in the central government and for some periods of his life he was relegated to a position where he was open to danger out-side the capital city, finally to retire (perhaps ca. 125 BCE or later) and seek refuge in privacy. With no prominent position in imperial government his influence on public life may not have been strong. As he may well have drawn some of his teachings from Lu Jia 陸賈 (c. 228–c. 140) perhaps he should not be credited as being the sole ‘ancestor’ of some elements of Han thought. Beginning with scholars such as Cheng Dachang 程大昌 (1123–95) and Zhu Xi 朱熹 (1130–

51 Siku quangshu zongmu tiyao, 18, p. 1878.52 HS 6, p. 160 and 56, pp. 2512–3, 2523.; see Chapter Four below p. 138. 53 The three responses to the imperial rescripts (HS 56, pp. 2498–2523), and memo-

rials or expressions of view on the principles of proper government (HS 56, p. 2502, duplicated in HS 22, p. 1031), disparities of land holdings, and the monopolies of salt and iron (HS 24A, p. 1137), and dealings with the Xiongnu (HS 94B, pp. 3830–1). It is not known what source provided the many interpretations of abnormal events that are included, in good faith, under Dong Zhongshu’s name in HS 27.

the historical and intellectual background 39

1200) the authenticity of the main work that bears his name, the Chun-qiu fanlu, has been subject to doubt.54 Dong Zhongshu was well known, and perhaps best known, as a proponent of the Gongyang zhuan, but it cannot be shown that, as a result, this work achieved greater promi-nence than the Guliang zhuan.55 While it may be recognised that part of his contribution was that of placing imperial sovereignty within a recognised cosmic system, this should not be taken to comprise that of the Wu xing 五行; it is more than doubtful whether such a mode of thought was influencing public life and public decisions at the time. No reference to Wu xing appears in his authentic writings and grave doubts have been cast in particular on the authenticity of those chap-ters of the Chunqiu fanlu that are concerned with Wu xing.56

In all these considerations there arises the question of how far, if at all, a writer or thinker of Western Han would have seen himself as expressing views that were identified as those of a particular type or school. In this connection it seems likely that too much has sometimes been made of the well-known passage in chapter 130 of the Shiji, by taking it as a classification of the modes of thought that were prevail-ing in perhaps 150 BCE, and by assuming them to be exclusive of one another. The passage is better seen as Sima Tan’s 司馬談 list of texts or subjects or activities to which some scholars were directing their main attention and could be thought of as specialists; it would seem highly doubtful that Sima Tan’s intention was to draw up a definitive list of schools or lineages, each with its own traditions and followers.

Some century and a half later Liu Xiang and Liu Xin, together with some others, compiled a far longer and more complex list of the books that they had collected from all parts of the empire for retention in the imperial library. They collated copies of one and the same text with a view to producing a single reliable copy, and they compiled a list of those items. Probably most of these took the form of rolls of strips with tags that carried their titles hanging down from the shelves on which they would rest; the list that they drew

54 See Sarah A. Queen, From chronicle to canon: the hermeneutics of the Spring and Autumn, according to Tung Chung-shu (1996) and Davidson and Loewe, in ECTBG, pp. 77–87.

55 See Tjan Tjoe Som, op. cit., pp. 89–94, including his translation of HS 88 (‘Rulin zhuan’), pp. 3617–18, HSBZ 88.23a–24b.

56 See Queen, op. cit., pp. 101–4. For the growth and acceptance of the Wu xing theory, see Men who Governed, chapters Fourteen and Fifteen, and Nylan, in China’s Early Empires, chapter Sixteen.

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up was perhaps intended to guide the officials who would be respon-sible for shelving and maintaining this ‘library’. The list thus identi-fied items which should be placed together, concerning, for example, the Chunqiu, or collections of poems, or treatises on medical mat-ters. Retained in abbreviated form in the Han shu, it follows in part the divisions of Sima Tan, with some refinements, and it adds other categories. In all this, Liu Xiang and Liu Xin were by no means neces-sarily setting out to fit their list to existing schools of thought of which some writers claimed to be members or to which their predecessors could be assigned. What cannot be known is how far, if at all, Liu Xiang and Liu Xin realised that their lists could or would be used to formulate the idea that schools such as ‘Confucianism’, ‘Daoism’ or ‘Legalism’ existed.

Certain elements that are later seen as features of ‘Confucianism’, as opposed to other systems or doctrines, are certainly to be found in some of Dong’s writings, such as the Three Responses. Yet it would be premature and anachronistic to assume that they sprang from the existence of such a systematic, coherent body of thought in Western Han, or to imagine that Dong Zhongshu or any other person was deliberately propagating such a scheme. It is only to Eastern Han, perhaps some fifty years after its foundation, that the growth of such a system may be properly traced, to reach its full power of influence during the Tang Dynasty. There is a noticeable absence in those of Dong’s writings that we may accept as reliable of an emphasis on some of the ideas seen to form the basis of ‘Confucianism’. These include li and xiao with their inbuilt layers of a legitimate political authority and an acknowledged system of social and family relationships and hierarchies, though they are seen in parts of the Chunqiu fanlu.57 Nor is there any deliberate attempt to offset ideals that would run counter to those of an organised and carefully controlled society, such as those of non-interference or the independence of the individual as seen in writings such as the Zhuangzi and Laozi.

Certainly in all this tale there may be recognised the beginnings of certain features that were to form characteristic elements in the way of life that scholars of the Tang, Song, Ming and Qing dynasties regarded as ideal. These included a respect for the ethical principles and sayings of Kongzi and his pupils, but as yet hardly a claim that they formed the background against which the institutions of empire were grounded.

57 E.g., pian nos. 33, 38.

the historical and intellectual background 41

They included the adoption of certain age-old texts as a basic means of educating and training officials, but the exegesis of these texts can hardly have reached the lengths of pedantry that were to colour some scholarly writings. Social hierarchies were certainly apparent in the conduct of members of a family and in the emerging ranks of officials, together with a reverence for ancestors and its attendant modes of proper behaviour. But it would be difficult to show how, in Han times, these elements had been drawn together to form a generally accepted pattern or system to which the ordering of society was dedicated.

By way of summary it may be said that a simplistic view of either Western or Eastern Han as depending on an existing and unchanging set of ideas and practices can hardly be sustained. The memorials of officials and the texts of imperial edicts reveal not only the incidence of dynastic rivalries and disputes, but also the promotion of different measures to govern the empire, the adoption of different intellectual concepts and a trust in different religious beliefs. Dong Zhongshu was by no means the only person to express protests against current prac-tice; he cannot be seen to have exercised a unique or paramount influ-ence on his contemporaries; nor can he be seen as a founder of a system described as ‘Han Confucianism’.

CHAPTER TWO

DONG ZHONGSHU’S LIFE AND REPUTATION

The table of events drawn up by Su Yu 蘇輿, which is entitled Dongzi nian-biao 董子年表, runs from Wendi yuan nian 文帝元年 (180–179 BCE) to Taichu yuan nian 太初元年 (104)1 and the dates of ca. 179 to 104 have usually been accepted as marking Dong Zhongshu’s birth and death, although Su Yu claims no certainty. Su Yu dates two crucial events—Dong’s presentation of his Three Responses,2 and his condemnation to death followed by a reprieve—at 141 and 135. However, more recently other scholars have propounded different views which Queen sum-marises, i.e., Shi Zhimian 施之勉, who dates his birth between 194 and 180; Li Weixiong 李威熊, between 187 and 180; and Yue Qing-ping 岳慶平 and Zhou Guidian 周桂鈿 who independently date his birth during the reign of Gaozu (206–195). She concludes that a date of around 195 is ‘far more plausible’ than 179, and cites Zhou Gui-dian’s arguments that he died before 104 but after 107. Bujard takes 198 as the date of his birth, 134 for his responses and 128–126 for his condemnation and reprieve.3 Li Weixiong cites Yang Shuda 楊樹達 as dating Dong’s death between 118 and 116, himself preferring 129 and 114.4 The dates accepted here are ca. 198 to ca. 107 BCE.

If Dong Zhongshu was indeed born in the reign of Gaozu ca. 198 and died ca. 107 he would have lived to a very ripe old age. It would not be too much to expect that within his first twenty years he might well have met personally some of the officials who had served the imperial gov-ernment of Qin and some of those who had been obliged to respond to their demands or who had suffered the punishments inflicted for crime.

1 Su Yu, Chunqiu fanlu yizheng, pp. 475–93.2 For the Three Responses, see Chapter Three below, p. 86 and the Appendix.3 See Queen, From chronicle to canon The hermeneutics of the Spring and Autumn,

according to Tung Chung-shu (1996), pp. 241–8, citing Shi Zhimian, ‘Dongzi nianbiao dingwu 董子年表訂誤’ (1945), 50–2; Li Weixiong, Dong Zhongshu yu Xi Han xueshu (1978); Yue Qingping ‘Dong Zhongshu sheng nian kao (1988), 58–9; and Zhou Gui-dian, Dong xue tanwei (1989); Bujard, ‘La vie de Dong Zhongshu enigmes et hypothèses’ (1992), pp. 183–203.

4 Li Weixiong, op. cit., pp. 2–3, citing Yang Shuda, Han shu kuiguan (1955), p. 342.

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Yet there does not appear to be a note, either in the Three Responses or the Chunqiu fanlu of upbraiding Qin on moral grounds or for its poli-cies and practices, or of warning of the results of its excesses, as may be seen in the essays of Jia Yi 賈誼 (201–169 BCE).

As a young man Dong may have seen or heard of steps that were being taken to enhance the status of the emperor, such as the encour-agement of attention to mannered behaviour at court. From within Chang’an city he could have seen the high mound that towered over the grave of Gaozu; and a little later he may have seen those that surmounted the tombs of Huidi and Jingdi to its west and east. He would also have lived through the times when the Empress Lü is said to have been dominant, when two infants were nominal emperors, and when Liu Heng 劉恆 (Wendi) took his place on the throne, despite an attempt to place Liu Xiang 劉襄 (2) there. In Wendi’s reign he would have known of the approach of Xiongnu outriders very close to the city in 166 and the potential threat to the dynasty. In what ways, if any, he responded to such events may not be known. It cannot be discounted that they affected his view of the function and powers of the emperor, but there seems nothing to show that he voiced a direct criticism of rule by an Empress or of the excessive rise of yin, as is seen in the writings of others. Nor is there any sign that he was ever looking back nostalgically to the days before empire had been created.

The brief statement of Sima Qian 司馬遷 that he had ‘heard Master Dong say’, or ‘learnt of his saying’ is not supported elsewhere and can-not be take to imply that the two men had been in direct contact with each other.5 There is a considerable difference in the treatment given to Dong Zhongshu in the Shiji and the Han shu. The Shiji includes a short biographical notice in the chapter entitled Rulin zhuan,6 fol-lowing its account of the exposition of the Yi 易, and followed by reference to two scholars who were concerned with the Chunqiu and Guliang zhuan, Hu Wu Sheng 胡毋生 and Jiang Sheng 江生, of Xiaqiu 瑕丘.7 The Han shu gives Dong Zhongshu a full, independent biogra-phy (chapter 56) which, as will be seen, duplicates that of the Shiji with

5 SJ 130, p. 3297 yu wen Dong sheng yue 余聞董生曰; see Li Weixiong op. cit., pp. 167–8, who takes the view that whether or not Sima Qian had been in personal contact with Dong Zhongshu, the latter had influenced his attitude towards the Chunqiu.

6 SJ 121, pp. 3127–8. 7 Hu Wu is sometimes given as Hu Mu 母 or Hu Wusheng 胡毋生 where, accord-

ing to Hsü Fu-kuan, who regards Mu as erroneous, sheng should be taken as a cour-tesy title. Hsü Fu-kuan, Liang Han sixiang shi, p. 431 note 21.

dong zhongshu’s life and reputation 45

some highly significant and lengthy additions including the responses that he gave to three rescripts early in Wudi’s reign. In their discus-sions of the place taken by li during Wudi’s reign, the Shiji makes no mention of Dong, while the Han shu includes a passage from one of his responses which is not immediately relevant.8 Apart from the account in the Rulin zhuan, the Shiji refers to Dong no more than four times, as against some thirty mentions in the Han shu. In addi-tion, the Han shu incorporates other writings or expressions of view ascribed to Dong, on the place and duty of the sovereign, injustices in the economy and policy vis-à-vis the Xiongnu.9 The Han shu also includes numerous citations of the interpretations that he offered for strange phenomena or abnormalities but none of these are seen in the Shiji, and there is an assessment of his character and achievements, as is usual at the close of all the biographical chapters. Bujard suggests that the Shiji included comparatively short notices, as Dong was not a man of sufficient importance to warrant greater attention, while the writer of the Han shu was deliberately building up his reputation.10

Accounts in primary sources

Attention is first due to the biographical accounts in the Shiji and Han shu.

Shiji 121, pp. 3127–8, Takigawa 121, pp. 26–8.

A man of Guangchuan 廣川 [present-day Hebei], Dong Zhongshu studied the Spring and Autumn Annals, becoming an Academician11 during Jingdi’s reign. He read his books in seclusion and his pupils received (受) his teachings from one another in order according to their seniority, possibly never seeing him face to face; and for three years he was never seen in the garden of his residence (不觀於舍園), so intent was he on his work. His deportment was correct in every

8 SJ 23, pp. 1160–1; HS 22, pp. 1031–2. 9 HS 22, p. 1031 (also in HS 56, p. 2502), 24A, p. 1137, 94B, p. 3831. 10 Bujard, op. cit., p. 160.11 The posts for Academicians (boshi) that had been established in Qin and existed

in early Han times were distinct from those specially set up for the study of the wu jing in 136 BCE; see HS 19, p. 726, Bielenstein, The Bureaucracy of Han times (1980), p. 138.

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conceivable way, such that he earned the respect of scholars who treated him as their master. At the present emperor’s (今上) accession, he became Chancellor (xiang 相) of Jiangdu 江都 kingdom [parts of present-day Jiangsu, Fujian].12

In administering the kingdom, by noting the changes wrought by way of disaster and abnormality, as recorded in the Chunqiu, [Dong] Zhongshu predicted how aberrations come about thanks to Yin and Yang. Thus, in seeking a fall of rain, he had all [entries to] Yang closed and opened all those to Yin; in seeking to stop rain from falling he took the opposite steps. This was practised throughout the kingdom and he never failed to get the results for which he hoped.

Dismissed at some point he was appointed Counsellor of the Pal-ace (Zhong Dafu 中大夫)13 and compiled his record of disasters and abnormal events while living in the residence of his office. It was at this time (是時) that fires broke out in the shrine dedicated to Gaozu in Liaodong. Zhufu Yan 主父偃, who hated Dong Zhongshu, secured possession of his writings and submitted them to the emperor who showed them to a number of scholars whom he had summoned, to see if there was anything there to criticize or blame. They included a man named Lü Bushu 呂步舒, who was one of Dong’s own pupils.14 Without realising that it was the work of his master, he took the view that it was quite absurd (下愚). So Dong was sent down for investiga-tion by officials and deemed worthy of the death penalty, but thanks to an imperial decree he was reprieved. From this point on (於是) Dong Zhongshu never dared to say anything more about disasters and abnormal events.

Dong Zhongshu was man of pure integrity. This was a time when punitive expeditions against non-Han peoples were being planned. In his study of the Spring and Autumn Annals, Gongsun Hong 公孫弘 lagged behind Dong Zhongshu but it was Gongsun Hong who, as a man of a type rarely seen in his times, attained high office. Dong Zhongshu saw Gongsun Hong as no more than a flatterer, thereby incurring the latter’s hatred and his suggestion to the emperor that Dong Zhong-

12 For the dating of this appointment, see note 35 below.13 HS 36, p. 1930 gives this as Tai zhong dafu 太中大夫 Grand Counsellor of the

Palace. 14 For different versions of this name, see HSBZ 56.20a note. Yantie lun 5 (25 ‘Xiao

yang’), p. 309 carries the statement that Lü Bushu was put to death in disgrace for loose talk (nong kou 弄口). There is nothing to show whether or not this followed a justification of Dong’s writings and a consequent charge and punishment of Lü Bushu

dong zhongshu’s life and reputation 47

shu was the one and only person fit to be appointed chancellor to the king of Jiaoxi 膠西.15 For his part the king of Jiaoxi had indeed learnt something of Dong’s qualities and treated him generously. But Dong Zhongshu was for long afraid that he would be charged with crimes and on a plea of sickness gave up his post and retired to his home. Until he died he never saw to maintaining his family, devoting himself to study and writing.

This is how it came about that in the whole period from the foun-dation of Han until the fifth of its emperors it was only Dong Zhong-shu who gained a reputation for exposition of the Spring and Autumn Annals. It was he who transmitted the explanations of Gongyang Shi 公羊氏.

Han shu 56, pp. 2495–2526 Han shu buzhu 56.1a–21b

A man of Guangchuan [present-day Hebei], Dong Zhongshu stud-ied the Spring and Autumn Annals, becoming an Academician dur-ing Jingdi’s reign. He read his books in seclusion and his pupils transmitted (授) his teachings to one another in order, accord-ing to their seniority,16 possibly never seeing him face to face; and for three years he was never seen in the garden of his residence (窺園), so intent was he on his work. His deportment was correct in every conceivable way, such that he earned the respect of scholars who treated him as their master. When, at his accession, Wudi sum-moned something like a hundred men of intelligence and fine qual-ity (xianliang 賢良) and men of learning (wenxue 文學), Zhongshu answered the imperial rescript, in his capacity as a xianliang. [The Han shu follows with the texts of three rescripts and Dong’s answers (pp. 2495–2523), which are summarised below17].

When his responses were concluded, the emperor appointed Zhong-shu Chancellor of Jiangdu, to serve the king who was posthumously

15 See HS 58, p. 2621, for Ban Gu’s repeated assertion that it was Gongsun Hong who was responsible for the death of Zhufu Yan and the removal of Dong to Jiaoxi.

16 Apart from Lü Bushu, his pupils included Yuqiu Shouwang 吾丘壽王, sent to Dong by imperial command for instruction in the Chunqiu (HS 64A, p. 2794); and Chu Da 褚大 of Lanling, and Duan [or Yin] Zhong 段 [殷] 忠 (SJ 121, p. 3129, HS 88, p. 3616). For Lanling as a centre of learning, see Loewe, Men who Governed, p. 90.

17 Chapter Three, pp. 86–100; for Lü Bushu, see p. 46 above. For the xianliang and wenxue see Chapter Four below, pp. 137, 141.

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entitled Yi 易.18 This was Wudi’s elder brother, a man of long-standing arrogance and given to a show of bravery. Zhongshu corrected his faults and set him straight in accordance with the principles of conventional and rightful behaviour, and the king came to respect him. [The text includes Dong Zhongshu’s answers to questions that the king raised concerning the activities and qualities of Gou Jian 句踐 king of Yue 粵 and others (pp. 2523–4)].19

In administering the kingdom, by noting the changes wrought by way of disaster and abnormality, as recorded in the Chunqiu, [Dong] Zhongshu predicted how aberrations come about thanks to Yin and Yang. Thus, in seeking a fall of rain, he had all [entries to] Yang closed and opened all those to Yin; in seeking to stop rain from falling he took the opposite steps. This was practised throughout the kingdom and he never failed to get the results for which he hoped.

Dismissed at some point he was appointed Counsellor of the Palace (Zhong Dafu). Previously (先時) fires had broken out in the shrine dedicated to Gaozu in Liaodong, and in the chamber[s] of the estate surrounding Gaozu’s tomb at Changling. Living at home, Zhongshu had propounded his opinions, writing them up as a draft, which he did not submit to higher authority.20 Zhufu Yan had been keeping a watch over Zhongshu, and had seen the draft, in secret. Hating Dong, he managed to get hold of it and submitted it to the throne. The emperor summoned a number of scholars of traditional learn-ing and showed them the work. Lü Bushu was one of Dong’s own pupils, and without realising that it was the work of his master took the view that it was grossly absurd (大愚). So Dong was sent down for investigation by officials and deemed worthy of the death penalty, but thanks to an imperial decree he was reprieved. From this point on (遂) Dong Zhongshu never dared to say anything more about disasters and abnormal events.

Dong Zhongshu was man of pure integrity. It was a time when punitive expeditions against non-Han peoples were being planned. In his study of the Spring and Autumn Annals, Gongsun Hong lagged behind Dong Zhongshu but it was Gongsun Hong who, as a man of a type seen rarely in his times, attained high office. Dong Zhongshu

18 Liu Fei 非 was appointed king of Jiangdu in 153, died 127.19 See Chapter Six below, p. 259 for this incident and its reporting.20 For the problems about dating these events, see HSBZ 56.20a notes and the

Appendix below.

dong zhongshu’s life and reputation 49

saw Gongsun Hong as no more than a flatterer, thereby incurring the latter’s hatred.

Now the king of Jiaoxi [Liu Duan 劉端 (1)] was the elder brother of the Emperor, given to a particularly ill-disciplined way of life, and a man who had frequently wrought harm on officials of the senior rank of 2,000 shi 石. [Gongsun] Hong thereupon suggested to the emperor that Dong Zhongshu was the one and only person fit to be appointed Chancellor to the king of Jiaoxi. For his part the king had learnt that Dong was a great scholar of traditional texts and he treated him gen-erously. But Dong Zhongshu was for long afraid that he would be charged with crimes and on a plea of sickness gave up his post.

Altogether Dong had been chancellor in two kingdoms. He served a proud king with devotion, regulating his own conduct so as to reduce the king’s arrogance, and submitting his own opinions by way of remonstrance. His instructions ran throughout the kingdom; wherever he dwelt the place was in good order. When he gave up his appoint-ment and retired, until the end he never asked how his family was being maintained.21

Zhongshu was living at home, and whenever the court was dis-cussing a matter of major importance, they sent commissioners, even including Zhang Tang 張湯, Superintendent of Trials (Tingwei 廷尉), to consult him.22 His answers always showed that he was fully familiar with the approved course to be followed. From the time of Wudi’s accession, while [the Noble of] Weiqi 魏其 and [the Noble of] Wuan 武安23 held office as chancellor, traditional learning was given a low priority. Following Zhongshu’s responses to the imperial rescripts, explanation of [the teaching of] Kong Shi 孔氏 was promoted and many other types of learning suppressed. The establishment of offices for teaching, recruitment of men of flourishing talent (maocai 茂材) and of men with a sense of family responsibility and integrity (xiaolian 孝廉) from the regional groups and commanderies all derived from

21 Wang Xianqian (HSBZ 56.20b) notes the difference with the text of the Shiji which he prefers, on the basis of comparison with a passage in the Qianfu lun.

22 For Zhang Tang, see HS 59, p. 2637, Loewe Biographical dictionary, p. 692. For an account of such a consultation, see Chapter Three below, p. 25 for Jiao si dui. See also HHS 48 p. 1612, where Ying Shao 應劭 (ca. 140 to before 204) mentions Dong’s offering of advice in this way.

23 Dou Ying, noble of Weiqi, and Tian Fen, noble of Wuan held office as chancellor 140–139 and 135–131.

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Zhongshu’s instigation.24 Advanced in years he died at a ripe old age at home, his family being moved to Maoling 茂陵. His sons and grand-sons reached high office thanks to their learning.

Dong’s writings all explained the meaning of the classical writings and their methods, and together with the items of opinion that he sub-mitted they amounted to 123 pian. Together with his explanations of the successes and failures in incidents related in the Chunqiu, and his essays such as Wenju 聞舉, Yubei 玉杯, Fanlu 蕃 [sic] 露, Qingming 清明 and Zhulin 竹林, a further twenty or thirty pian of some 100,000 words, these were all transmitted to later generations. Those that were of particular significance to the times or application to the court were selected for inclusion in this pian.

Later works mention the existence of services or a shrine in memory of

Dong Zhongshu and the situation of his grave.25 An anecdote recorded in

the Fengsu tongyi tells how Dong Zhongshu escaped unscathed by impre-

cations uttered by shamans (wu 巫).26 We possess an account of one mat-

ter in which Zhang Tang was sent to seek Dong’s opinion. This concerned

the conduct of the cults of worship at the bounds of the city (see Chapter

Three below p. 113 under Jiaosi dui 郊祀對).

Dong Zhongshu thus came from Guangchuan, which lay at a con-siderable distance to the east of Chang’an, in present-day Hebei. At the time of his birth this area had been within the kingdom of Zhao, to be formed as the separate kingdom of Guangchuan in 155. We are not informed in what circumstances Dong made his way to the capital city or how he attracted attention or received a training to achieve an entrance into public life, and doubts have been expressed on the belief that he had been a pupil of Hu Wu Sheng.27 We are not told from which masters he received instruction; nor are we given any details about his progenitors or the names of those of his descendants

24 An anachronism is involved here as the arrangement of regional groups (zhou 州, as inspected by the cishi 刺史) was hardly operative during Dong’s lifetime.

25 For services held at Xiu 脩 (Bohai), see Wei shu 106A, p. 2465. The Shuijing zhu (10.23b) records the existence of a shrine (miao 廟) where, according to Wang Xianqian, services were held every spring and autumn. For the site of his grave, see note 29 below.

26 Fengsu tongyi 9 (‘Guai shen’), p. 423; see also Wu Shuping, Fengsu tongyi jiaoshi (1980), p. 350.

27 See Hsü Fu-kuan, op. cit., pp. 317–9, who argues against this suggestion, being put forward by Ling Shu.

dong zhongshu’s life and reputation 51

who, we are told, rose to high office. Nor are we certain as to where and when he died. After consultation of a number of local histories, Zhou Guidian concludes that he died in Chang’an rather than at Mao-ling, whither he believes the family did not move until the managed migration of 96 BCE.28 According to a note to a chapter of the Wei shu (compiled by Wei Shou 魏收, 506–572) his tomb was situated at Lingyi 淩儀 as were the tombs of a number of other famous persons such as Zhang Er 張耳; but it is doubtful whether the statement is more than an indication of a claim made by the residents. Lingyi is in no way close to his place of origin in Guangchuan, where he might perhaps have been taken for burial.29 Any association of Dong Zhong-shu with the place has yet to be found.

The standard histories do not often include the text of the written works of the subject of a biography, and such treatment may well reveal the priorities that the compilers either wished or thought fit to assign to particular persons or subjects.30 The two biographies give rise to a number of difficulties. Dong Zhongshu’s appointment to a position as high as chancellor of one of the kingdoms immediately after pre-sentation of his responses would seem to have been somewhat excep-tional, and the circumstances in which he was relieved of that post, either by demotion or dismissal, are far from clear. There are prob-lems in the chronological sequence of four events as they are related, i.e., Dong Zhongshu’s presentation of his responses; the outbreak of fires in the Gaozu’s shrine at Liaodong and in the ancillary buildings by his tomb; Zhufu Yan’s acquisition of Dong Zhongshu’s draft on phenomena, followed by the incrimination, sentencing, and reprieve of Dong Zhongshu; and the reduction of Dong Zhongshu from being

28 Zhou Guidian, op. cit., pp. 33–6.29 Lingyi was situated in Chenliu commandery, slightly to the north of Kaifeng. For

Dong’s grave, see Wei shu 106B, p. 2532 for his tomb, in 浚儀 (Chenliu). Liu Qing-zhu and Li Yufang, Xi Han shiyi ling (1987), p. 56, cite the Taiping huanyu ji of Yue Shi, 樂史, fl. 980–1000, (preface 1803) 27.3b for mention of a grave to the north-east of Xingping xian 興平縣, 250 metres south-east of present-day Xiangce 鄉策 village, 652 metres north-east of Maoling 茂陵, traditionally believed to be that of Dong. A formidable statue of Dong Zhongshu stands in Zaoqiang 枣強 county Hebei (for pho-tograph, see Zhou Guidian, Dong xue tanwei, after the title page). Zhou Guidian con-cludes that Dong was possibly buried at Xiama ling 下馬陵, later named 蝦蟆陵, or possibly returned for this purpose to his native li. See HSBZ 56.21a for a note by Wang Xianshen 王先慎 (1859–1918), including the anecdote that the name Xiama ling 下馬陵 had arisen after Han Wudi had once dismounted when reaching the tomb.

30 E.g., the Shiji includes writings of Jia Yi and Sima Xiangru as does the Han shu which also carries those of those of Dongfang Shuo and Yang Xiong.

52 chapter two

Chancellor of Jiangdu to be Counsellor of the Palace (Zhong Dafu), presumably of the central government rather than of that kingdom. Other questions are seen in the dating of events mentioned in the responses, i.e., the establishment of the posts of academician, the call for the presentation of candidates for office from the provinces, and in the mention of Han relations with Yelang 夜郎 and Kangju 康居. There is also one further matter to be considered. In the text of the Han shu the three rescripts and Dong’s responses follow one another immediately and they reappear in that way in the Zi zhi tong jian.31 There remains the question of whether they should be seen as deriv-ing from one event, as is implied, or as originating on three separate occasions.

From the considerations given in the appendix to this chapter, and with acceptance of the text of the Han shu rather than that of the Shiji, it would seem that the events should be dated separately, and in the following order: the outbreak of the fires in 135; Dong Zhongshu’s responses to the rescript thereafter; the subsequent theft of his draft and his incrimination; and his demotion to be Counsellor of the Palace. A completely different order however is given in the Zizhi tong jian, which places Dong’s response in 140, with the fires in Liaodong at 135.32

With doubts cast by at least one eminent scholar, Wang Xianqian 王先謙,33 on the historian’s skill and a lack of precise information about timing, I suggest that a number of problems about these responses may be solved by seeing the account in Han shu 56 as an abbrevi-ated amalgam of three occasions when leading men were invited or ordered to express their opinions on the problems of empire, with Dong’s responses, as received, leading without separation from one to the next. There may be good reason to doubt whether any of the three could be dated as early as 140 and it must remain open to ques-tion at what times in or after 134 they were submitted. In considering the possible dates when the rescripts were promulgated and Dong’s responses framed, Queen concludes that these resulted from Dong’s participation in imperial enquiries that were instituted both in 140 and 134, with the results of both occasions being included in the Han shu.34 Discrimination between three incidents in this way is perhaps

31 Zi zhi tong jian 17 pp. 549–56.32 ZZTJ 17, pp. 549, 567–8.33 See HSBZ 56.8a.34 Queen op. cit., pp. 249–54.

dong zhongshu’s life and reputation 53

supported by close examination of the tone and purpose of the three rescripts, which may reflect changes in Wudi’s outlook and experience or the contemporary events of the reign.

We cannot expect the biographies to reveal the importance of Dong Zhongshu in his own time or the extent of the influence that he exerted over his contemporaries. We may take the Shiji as giving a bare account of his life story, with its absence of a spectacular career in public life. Thereafter we have Ban Gu’s treatment of Dong’s opin-ions. How accurately that represented Dong’s own views may be open to question. Unfortunately we have no dates for the various moves and phases of Dong’s life and can have no certain knowledge as to the year when he was sent to be Chancellor of Jiangdu kingdom.35 We can presume with some confidence that he was sent to Jiaoxi very shortly after Gongsun Hong’s appointment as Chancellor in 124; and it is suggested below that there is reason to show that he was back in Chang’an by 119.36

A somewhat different account of Dong Zhongshu’s career as an offi-cial, which is mentioned in the preamble to the Han shu’s biographies of the obedient officials, is careful to point out that he never reached a position of the highest responsibility.37

Wudi’s time was engaged with resisting non-Han peoples abroad and the changing of institutions at home. The people’s resources were exhausted and criminal activities went unchecked. There were few persons to be praised at the time for their cultured administration, and it is only Dong Zhongshu, as Chancellor of Jiangdu, Gongsun Hong, as Metropolitan Superintendent, and Ni Kuan 兒寬 whose tenures of office are fit to be recorded. These three men were all scholars of traditional texts, well versed in the duties of their times and conversant with literature and the models of government. They imbued their actions as officials with their knowledge of the traditional texts and their methods; and they drew the admiration of their emperor. On a number of occasions Zhongshu excused himself on the grounds of ill health and withdrew from his office, while Hong and Kuan reached the highest positions in the service.

35 There can be little precision in the statement of the Shiji 121, pp. 3127–8 ‘When the present emperor acceded to the throne, he [Dong Zhongshu] was chancellor of Jiangdu’. Sima Guang (ZZTJ 17, p. 556) and Su Yu (p. 479) date this at 140.

36 Chapter Three below p. 102.37 HS 89, p. 3623.

54 chapter two

A further anecdote may be added to these biographical accounts. The Shen xian zhuan 神仙傳 relates how Li Shaojun 李少君, master of the occult arts, successfully dosed Dong Zhongshu with curative medi-cines.38 There are also brief references to Hu Wu 胡毋 and Xiaqiu Jiang Gong 瑕丘江公.39 Dong Zhongshu evidently praised Hu Wu Sheng 胡毋生 who, like Dong, was a protagonist of the Gongyang zhuan, had been an academician in Jingdi’s time and had given instruction to Gongsun Hong.40 Xiaqiu Jiang Gong 瑕丘江公, i.e., Jiang Gong of Xiaqiu county (Shanyang commandery), had been trained in the Guliang Chunqiu and other texts and was called by Wudi to take part in a discussion with Dong Zhongshu. Unfortunately he stuttered and failed to give as good a performance as Dong, with the result, as we are told, that imperial preference was given to the Gongyang zhuan.41 If we ask why considerably more attention was paid to Dong during Eastern Han than Western Han it may be suggested that he may have been seen by some in Eastern Han as a protagonist of the Gongyang tradition, and as a counterweight to the prevailing attention to the Zuo zhuan.42

The foregoing biographical accounts and notes bring out a number of points.

Dong Zhongshu is not said to have gone through the stages that came to be usually attendant on an official career. These could include selection as being suitable for service, appointment to a junior posi-tion, advancement to a place in the central government, promotion to be magistrate of a county (perhaps of the grade of 1000 shi 石), return for high office in the central government, promotion to be governor of a commandery (grade of 2,000 shi) and then, possibly, to one of the senior positions of the Nine Ministers ( jiu qing 九卿). Curiously enough he is recorded as first being an academician (boshi 博士) in Jingdi’s reign, and subsequently, early in the reign of Wudi, as being selected as a xianliang, but we have no date for this step.43 Abruptly,

38 Taiping yulan 724.5a. Dong Zhongshu is mistakenly described as Gentleman Consultant (Yi lang 議郎); Zhongshu may be in error for Zhonggong 仲躬; see Chap-ter Three below p. 85.

39 See Chapter Four below, pp. 150–1. 40 HS 88, p. 3615. For Hu Wu, see note 7 above.41 HS 88, p. 3617.42 See Bujard op. cit., pp. 162–3 who adds ‘as a jin wen man’.43 By Wudi’s time, the stages of appointment had come to be in the reverse order,

that of boshi being followed by that of xianliang, but Dong’s appointment as a boshi may have preceded a general introduction for a call for xianliang; see Men who Gov-erned, pp. 119–23.

dong zhongshu’s life and reputation 55

after presentation of his responses he was appointed chancellor to one of the kingdoms (grade of 2,000 shi). He is never shown as holding a senior position with weighty responsibilities, or enjoying a successful career as an official in high office at the centre; the only possibility that he had of influencing the emperor or senior officials was when he held the title of Counsellor of the Palace, being as such subordinate to the Superintendent of the Palace (Langzhong ling 郎中令).

For much of his life Dong Zhongshu was not active in official circles in Chang’an, whether he was teaching pupils in his home and in a self-chosen seclusion from the world, or serving as Chancellor in Jiangdu, after presentation of what was presumably the first of his responses, and later in Jiaoxi. He nevertheless aroused the animosity of at least two senior officials—Zhufu Yan 主父偃 and Gongsun Hong 公孫弘. Of these, Zhufu Yan had had a hard life in poverty and had made his way on the lower levels of the civil service as Gentleman of the Palace (Langzhong 郎中) and Imperial Messenger (Yezhe 謁者).44

Fuller attention is due to Gongsun Hong, who was a close contem-porary (ca. 200 to 121 BCE). As a prison officer he had been dismissed for some crime and, being himself poor, had made a living by herding pigs.45 At the call for advice of the xianliang and wenxue in 141 or 134, Gongsun Hong presented a long response, in which he insisted on the need to find capable officials, stressed the value of harmony, including that of Yin Yang, and wrote of the values of ren 仁, yi 義 and li 禮.46 His response was graded low by the Superintendent for Ceremonial (Taichang 太常)—possibly Xu Chang 許昌 or Zhao Zhou 趙周47—but, we are told, he was placed at the head of the list by the Emperor. At the time Wudi was some twenty years old and it is difficult to dismiss the thought that he had not come to this conclusion in person. Be this as it may be, Gongsun Hong was appointed an Academician and rose to senior posts in the government (Metropolitan Superintendent of the Left, Zuo Neishi 左內史 in 130; Imperial Counsellor, Yushi dafu

44 HS 64A, p. 2798. For the fate that overcame Zhufu Yan and Lü Bushu, see Yantie lun 5 (25 ‘Xiao yang’), pp. 309, 316–7 notes 41, 42 and 5 (27 ‘Li yi’), p. 324.

45 HS 58, p. 2613.46 HS 58, pp. 2615–7. For the xianliang and wenxue see Chapter Four below,

pp. 137, 141. For Ban Gu’s classification of Gongsun Hong as ru, see HS 81, p. 3366, 89, p. 3623.

47 Xu Chang held the post from 141, to be promoted Chancellor in 139; Zhao Zhou from 139 until dismissal for unknown reasons in 135. He was then followed by a man with the given name of Ding 定.

56 chapter two

御史大夫 in 126). He became Chancellor (Chengxiang 丞相) in 124 and died in office in 121. As seen he is said to have been at enmity with Dong Zhongshu and he was probably responsible for ensuring that the latter was kept out of Chang’an. Gongsun Hong’s animosity also appears against Ji An 汲黯, whom he had appointed to the dif-ficult and possibly dangerous post of Metropolitan Superintendent of the Right; and against Ning Cheng 寧成 and Zhufu Yan, on whose execution he insisted.

It may be asked whether one reason why Dong aroused such feel-ings in Zhufu Yan and Gongsun Hong lay in their jealousy towards the comparative ease of his way of life and their resentment of the way in which he had made his mark so easily. Possibly the same disadvantage may have attached earlier to Jia Yi 賈誼. Appointment to be Chancel-lor of Jiaoxi may be seen as a determined attempt by Gongsun Hong to prevent Dong from rising to high office or eminence.48 Removal to Jiaoxi itself, far away in present-day Shandong, would suffice to keep him away from taking part in the deliberations of the central govern-ment. But Gongsun Hong may well have been harbouring an ulterior motive. Liu Duan 劉端 (1), King of Jiaoxi, was known as a man who did not hesitate to treat his subordinates with cruelty, sometimes lead-ing to their deaths, and there was a fair chance that by expressing some of his ideas Dong would fall a victim, as indeed Dong himself realised.

In addition, there may be reason to question whether, at the time of his death, Dong Zhongshu was actually living in Chang’an city, in a position where he might be in contact with senior officials or even the palace. We are told that those who were sent to consult him on impor-tant matters of public concern ‘went to his family home’ ( jiu qi jia 就其家).49 Following the next statement, that he died in old age at his family home, the Han shu tells us that the family home was moved to Maoling ( jia xi Maoling) 家徙茂陵; it is not entirely clear whether this

48 A comparable case in which powerful officials were able to have an intelligent critic removed from Chang’an, without incurring disgrace, is seen when Jing Fang 京房 (2) was appointed Governor of Weijun (37 BCE) at the instigation of Shi Xian 石顯 and others; HS 75, p. 3163.

49 HS 56, p. 2525.

dong zhongshu’s life and reputation 57

implies that the move had taken place before or after his death.50 Mao-ling lay west of Chang’an at a distance of some eighty kilometres.

However fine a reception had greeted Dong’s three responses, some of the ideas that he expressed induced scorn, as is recorded in connec-tion with his interpretation of strange phenomena. But the biographies may include a contradiction. If his explanation of the Chunqiu was dismissed as crazy, one may ask how it was that, as the Shiji has it, he was the only exponent of that text to win a reputation?51

It has been observed earlier there can be no certainty that Sima Qian was ever in personal contact with Dong Zhongshu, but at least one writer takes the view that he had been subject to his intellectual influence; consideration of references in the Shiji to Dong Sheng fol-lows below.52

Dong Zhongshu as seen in subsequent writings

The Han shu includes several references that later scholars or officials made to Dong. Probably the earliest is that of Sui Meng 眭孟 who interpreted some of the strange phenomena that were reported for 78 BCE as presaging the rise of a commoner to become emperor, such boldness or rashness costing him his life. In doing so he had cited a saying of his former teacher, Dong Zhongshu, to the effect that even though there may be a prince in due line to succeed who will maintain cultural values ( ji ti shou wen 繼體守文) this would not stop a holy man from accepting the charge.53 The statement that he ascribed to Dong is not seen in the Han shu; neither is it apparently seen in the Chunqiu fanlu.

50 If the move had taken place already, before his death, one would expect the text to have included a graph such as yi 已. It was Dong’s adversary Zhufu Yan who had successfully proposed that excessively powerful or potentially disruptive persons should be moved to the newly established county of Maoling but it cannot be shown that he contrived to have Dong and his family involved; SJ 112, p. 2961, HS 64A, p. 2802.

51 SJ 121, p. 3128. This statement is not seen in the Han shu. For Dong’s part in the study and dissemination of the traditions of the Chunqiu, see Chapter Four below p. 149. HS 88, p. 3593 places his exposition of the Chunqiu in Zhao i.e., in his early days before reaching Chang’an. (Guangchuan, Dong’s place of domicile, had origi-nally been within Zhao).

52 See Li Weixiong, op. cit., p. 168; for Dong Sheng see p. 62 below.53 HS 75, p. 3154; see Chapter Four below, p. 131.

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Wei Xiang 魏相 was appointed Chancellor in 67. He was a man who was ready to cite Kongzi54 and he was well acquainted with the Changes. He noted that there were different institutions in the past and the present, and took the view that one’s duty lay simply in enacting the practices of the past; and he frequently cited the sayings of Jia Yi, Chao Cuo 鼂錯 and Dong Zhongshu.55 In Chengdi’s reign, Ping Dang 平當 mentioned the recognition of the value of music on the part of Gongsun Hong and Dong Zhongshu. His views were expressed in the context of the revival of cultural values during Han, and he described them both as ‘Great men of traditional learning (da ru 大儒)’.56

About a century after the death of Dong Zhongshu 董仲舒, two of Han China’s most notable scholars and men of letters were referring to him with fulsome praise. Liu Xiang 劉向 (79–8 BCE) recounted the tale of his incrimination thanks to the machinations of Zhufu Yan 主父偃, his pardon and subsequent appointments; and he wrote that Dong Zhongshu was the ‘ancestor of contemporary devotion to tradi-tional teachings and texts’ (Zhongshu wei shi ru zong 仲舒為世儒宗).57 Liu Xin 劉歆 (46 BCE–23 CE) wrote that he brought it about that later men of letters possessed a systematic scheme, and that he was the leader of groups of scholars who specialised in traditional ideas and writings (ling hou xuezhe you suo tongyi wei qun ru ru shou 令後學者有所統壹為羣儒首); but he criticised as excessive a statement of Liu Xiang to the effect that Dong Zhongshu was superior to other famous advisers who had supported kings; and one of Liu Xiang’s later descendants, Liu Gong 劉龔, agreed with Liu Xin’s view.58

The praise expressed by Liu Xiang and Liu Xin was not for a founder of ‘Han Confucianism’ but for a person who was upholding traditional values as seen in traditional texts and seeking guidance from the past. Such praise should perhaps be set against the highly practical and materialist motives of the Qin and Han governments, seen as far for-ward as Wudi’s time. Liu Xin was careful to avoid an overt criticism of Wudi, and indeed his support for granting Wudi the posthumous title of Shizong 世宗 would in any event absolve him from a charge

54 HS 74, p. 3136.55 HS 74, p. 3137.56 HS 22, p. 1071. Ping Dang became Chancellor in 5 BCE.57 HS 36, p. 1930. Alternatively, for ‘contemporary’ read ‘in his own time’. 58 HS 56, p. 2526 describes Liu Gong as a great-grandson of Liu Xiang; HHS 30A,

p. 1041 as Liu Xin’s nephew; see HSBZ 56.21b.

dong zhongshu’s life and reputation 59

of doing so.59 Liu Xiang’s appreciation of Dong’s search for wisdom from the past is perhaps mirrored in his own writings such as the Shuo yuan 說苑 or Xin xu 新序. While Dong’s attitude to abnormalities was shared by Liu Xiang, different explanations were being put forward, e.g., by Jing Fang 京房 (2) and there is nothing to show that Dong’s views prevailed. The catalogue of the imperial library that was being drawn up at that time includes two entries for Dong Zhongshu, the one under Chunqiu, the other under Ru jia.60

The name of Dong Zhongshu is seen once in the Yantie lun.61 The man of learning (wenxue 文學) answers the question of what was the basis on which a number of ideas including the cycle of Yin Yang originated by calling on Dong, who, he says, promoted discussion of Yin Yang (tui yan yin yang 推言陰陽). Dong writes about Yin Yang in the first of his responses to Wudi’s rescript and five pian of the Chunqiu fanlu are devoted to the subject.62 There is a recurrent theme of associating Yang with de 德 and Yin with xing 刑.63 Zhou Guidian64 cites a number of passages in the Yantie lun which he sees as deriving from Dong’s teaching, and he believes that these show the widespread influence that Dong exercised over one party to the debate on govern-mental policies of 81 BCE. Whether or not such an influence affected speakers who took an actual part in the debate or whether it sim-ply affected Huan Kuan 桓寬 (of Xuandi’s reign) who compiled the account some time later is perhaps questionable. There is no record of a call for Dong’s opinions in discussion of the controversial issues of Yuandi and Chengdi’s reigns, i.e., the authorization for military action against Zhizhi 郅支 (36 BCE), the reduction in the number of the ancestral shrines, and the establishment of state cults addressed to Heaven.

The Han shu names a number of men who promoted one of the two versions of the Lunyu but Dong Zhongshu is not included. Four of those who are mentioned, of whom three took part in official life, may well have shared Dong’s views but in no case are they recorded

59 See HS 73, p. 3125; DMM pp. 293, 295 [1992] for Wudi’s title.60 HS 30, pp. 1714, 1727.61 Yantie lun 9 (54 ‘Lun zai’), p. 556.62 HS 56, p. 2502. Chunqiu fanlu 11 (43 ‘Yang zun yin bei’);11 (47 ‘Yin yang wei’); 12

(48 ‘Yin yang zhong shi’); 12 (49 ‘Yin yang yi’); 12 (50 ‘Yinyang churu shangxia’). See Chapter Six below, under pian nos. 43–52, 56–7, 80–1, and Chapter Seven p. 264.

63 HS 56, p. 2502; YTL p. 556; CQFL pp. 327–8, 338, 341.64 Zhou Guidian, op. cit., pp. 372–80.

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as calling on his name in support of their views.65 He is not mentioned in Liu Xiang’s Xin xu or Shuoyuan; but there are three references to him in the Fa yan of Yang Xiong 揚雄 (53 BCE–18 CE). In one he is singled out for praise along with Gongyi Xiu 公儀休;66 elsewhere he is named with Xiahou Sheng 夏侯勝 and Jing Fang 京房 (2) for their ability to interpret disasters and strange phenomena.67 In the third, which compares his merits with those of Gongsun Hong 公孫弘 as a governor, neither person is said to have been successful.68 Somewhat later Ban Gu 班固 (32–92) grouped Dong Zhongshu with Mengzi and Xunzi before him, and Sima Qian 司馬遷, Liu Xiang and Yang Xiong after him as ‘well informed and highly knowledgeable, fully conversant with matters past and present, men whose sayings are of support to their contemporary world.’ (bowu qiawen tongda gujin qi yan you bu yu shi 博物洽聞通達古今其言有補於世).69 In his editorial remarks that follow the biography of Dong Zhongshu in the Han shu, Ban Gu mentions ‘the great achievement of his mind that lies unseen’ (qian xin da ye 潛心大業), with reference to the time when he had closed his doors to would-be students. Possibly he was also pointing to the stages of Dong’s career when he was ‘exiled’ from Chang’an with no public outlet for his thoughts.

It is not possible to say on which of Dong Zhongshu’s writings or expressions of thought these appreciations depended, and subsequent texts of the next few centuries do not seem to include comparable statements. Nor can an assumption that Liu Xiang, Liu Xin or Ban Gu had seen the Chunqiu fanlu as received to-day be supportable. What-

65 HS 30, p. 1717. Wei Xian 韋賢 (Chancellor from 71–67), was one of Zhaodi’s teachers; Wang Ji 王吉 (2) (d. ca. 48) cited Kongzi in one of his submissions to the throne, and wished to end the system whereby officials could sponsor their sons for appointment; Xiao Wangzhi 蕭望之 (Imperial Counsellor 59; suicide 47, thanks to enmity with two eunuchs) shared Dong’s regret for the wealth disparities between rich and poor, and his preference for negotiation with non-Han leaders rather than mili-tary confrontation; and he brought forward the name of Liu Xiang for notice; Gong Yu 貢禹 (Imperial Counsellor 44) who had been instructed in the Gongyang tradition criticised imperial extravagance and sought to improve moral standards.

66 Fa yan 3.2a (SBBY); Wang Rongbao 汪榮寶, Fa yan yi shu 法言義疏 (1933; rpt., with punctuation, by Chen Zhongfu 陳仲夫, 1987), 5, p. 91. For Gongyi Xiu see SJ 119, p. 3101.

67 Fa yan 11.4a (SBBY), Fa yan zhu 17, p. 450. Xiahou Sheng is better known for his scholarly work with the Shang shu.

68 Fa yan 11.5a (SBBY); Fa yan zhu, 17 p. 471.69 Appreciation to HS 36, which presents the biographies of Liu Xiang and Liu Xin,

p. 1972.

dong zhongshu’s life and reputation 61

ever the basis for these views may be, it will be seen below70 that in 330 CE it was evidently desirable or even necessary to explain to read-ers why Dong Zhongshu deserved respect. In the meantime Mingdi’s Empress Ma 馬 (died 79 CE)71 is said to have enjoyed reading Dong Zhongshu’s writings, whichever ones of these may have been available to her.72 Possibly, by way of contrast we may find one note of doubt or perhaps recrimination in parts of the Lunheng as is seen below, but this is by no means certain.73 It might well be expected that in writing his extensive commentary to the Gongyang zhuan, He Xiu 何休 (129–182) would have seen fit to cite Dong Zhongshu’s ideas but in fact he never mentions his name and it cannot be proved that he adopted them.74

There is no direct encomium on Dong in the Hou Han shu, and only a few references to his name. Huan Tan 桓譚 (43 BCE–28 CE), author of the Xin lun 新論, cites one of Dong’s best known statements that gov-erning a country may be compared with tuning a zither.75 In a memorial submitted towards the end of Guangwudi’s reign, Feng Yan 馮衍 referred to Dong’s talk of ethical principles and of how he was hated by Gong-sun Hong.76 Ying Shao 應劭 (ca. 140 to before 204) repeats the tale of how dignitaries including Zhang Tang went to consult him after his retirement.77 Perhaps the nearest notes of praise are seen in two pas-sages where his talents and ability were grouped with those of Jia Yi, Liu Xiang, Wang Ji 王吉 (2) or Yang Xiong.78

On a few occasions Dong Zhongshu is mentioned as Dong Sheng 生 but the term does not necessarily imply recognition of his position or reputation as a master or teacher. Rather is he seen as a person who

70 See below p. 66 and Chapter Three below, p. 116.71 For the Empress Ma (Mingdi’s Empress from 60 to 79; daughter of Ma Yuan 馬援) and the rivalry between the Ma and the Dou clans, see Bielenstein, in CHOC pp. 279–81.

72 HHS 10A, p. 409.73 See p. 63 and Appendix (2) below.74 Li Weixiong, op. cit., p. 168.75 HHS 28A, p. 957; see HS 22, p. 1032, 56, p. 2504. The remark was also cited in a

memorial by Wei Yuanzhong 魏元忠 in 676–9 (Jiu Tang shu 92, p. 2949). 76 HHS 28B, p. 983.77 HHS 48, p. 1612.78 See the compiler’s comment to the biography of Cao Bao 曹裦 (HHS 35, p. 1205),

which evokes a passage in HS 22, p. 1075. Zhongchang Tong 仲長統 (180–220) was said by one of his friends after his death to have possessed talents fit to make him a worthy successor of Dong Zhongshu, Jia Yi, Liu Xiang and Yang Xiong (HHS 49, p. 1646).

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was denied his proper place thanks to ill-fortune or the enmity of oth-ers. Two usages of Dong Sheng by the Taishi gong 太史公 may suggest the possibility that Sima Qian may have been in direct contact with Dong Zhongshu. He writes of the popular and exaggerated accounts of Taizi Dan 太子丹 of Yan 燕 and the statement that Jing Ke 荊軻 had wounded the king of Qin. Both tales were incorrect, he writes, for so he had been informed by Gongsun Jigong 公孫季功, Dong Sheng and Xia Wuju 夏無且 who knew all about the latter incident.79 In the second instance the postface of the Shiji includes the question of the motives that had led Kongzi to compose the Chunqiu, as put by Hu Sui 壺遂. In answer the Taishi Gong cited a statement that he had heard Dong Sheng make, or learnt that he had made. A source has yet to be identified for this.80

The term Dong Sheng is seen twice in the Han shu’s account of the commentaries and interpretations of the Chunqiu.81 Elsewhere Ban Gu uses the term Dong Sheng once—in the fictional discussion between host and guest that he includes in his last, personal chapter. He refers to how Dong Sheng taught in obscurity but shed forth elegance among scholars of traditional learning; in this way he grouped Dong Zhong-shu with Lu Jia, Liu Xiang and Yang Xiong.82 Feng Yan, as cited above, refers to him first as Dong Zhongshu and then as Dong Sheng. A fur-ther reference to Dong Sheng is seen on an occasion shortly after the foundation of the kingdom of Wu (222 CE) and here he is seen as enjoying a reputation as an acknowledged person of merit. In a homily that was drawn up by way of rebuke for indulgence in gaming, he is held up as a paragon of determined application (du 篤) who thereby became imbued with virtue and ethical principles.83

Wang Chong would appear to be one of the few writers of Eastern Han known to have paid attention to Dong Zhongshu as an author or man of learning. He refers to him on a number of occasions, once at least to the profusion of his writings.84 In a passage concerning the respective duties and functions of scholars and civil officials, he wrote

79 SJ 86, p. 2538; Gongsun Jigong and Xia Wuju are not known otherwise. 80 SJ 130, p. 3297, HS 62, p. 2717.81 HS 88, pp. 3616, 3617.82 HS 100A, p. 4231, HSBZ 100A.23b.83 SGZ 65, p. 1460.84 Lunheng 30 (85 ‘Zi ji’), p. 1202. For Wang Chong’s criticism of Dong Zhongshu’s

attempts to procure rain, see Chapter Four below, p. 166.

dong zhongshu’s life and reputation 63

that Dong Zhongshu expounded the meaning of the Chunqiu and if that exposition was compared with the Statutes there was nothing that was divergent.85

The following passage in the Lunheng requires careful consideration:86

The fact that in his writings Dong Zhongshu is not termed ‘master’ (zi 子) is because he all but speaks of himself as being superior to the many masters (zhu zi 諸子). Of the many writers of Han times, Sima Zichang 司馬子長 [i.e., Sima Qian] and Yang Ziyun 楊 [sic] 子雲 [i.e. Yang Xiong] are like the He 河 and the Han 漢 rivers; the rest are like the Jing 涇 and the Wei 渭 rivers. It is in these circumstances that Zichang very rarely expresses his personal opinions; Ziyun has no talk of what is commonly thought; and Dong Zhongshu’s discussion of dao and its methods is highly unusual and he is superior when compared with the other two.87

The statement in chen 讖 writings that ‘Dong Zhongshu is confusing my writings’ 董仲舒亂我書 is presumably a saying of Kongzi. Those who read it either believe that luan wo shu means throwing Kongzi’s writings into confusion; or they take luan to be li 理 i.e., putting Kongzi’s writings into order.88 In each case they are concerned with the single character luan and there is a very wide difference between taking this to mean ‘confuse’ or ‘put into order’. In these circumstances it is the intellectual application of the readers that varies; they do not look at the facts, with the result that what they say is in error. Talk of ‘throwing Kongzi’s writ-ings into disorder’ are the sayings of a man whose ability was high; talk of ‘putting Kongzi’s writings in order’ are the words of a man89 whose understanding was highly unusual.

There is no such saying as ‘frequenting the courts of the holy men, putting Kongzi’s writings into confusion or order’, in the [writings of ] Zichang and Ziyun.90 Where the intellectual application of those of a common way of thought lacks substance and where a view of a situa-tion loses sight of its real nature the terms ’confusion’ and ‘putting in order’ are not definite; they are moved around from one side to another without stability. My own view is that Zhongshu’s writings do not run

85 LH 12 (34 ‘Cheng cai’), p. 542. 86 LH 29 (83 ‘An shu’), pp. 1170–1, translated Forke, Part I, p. 466. See the appendix

to this chapter below.87 Reading bi fang er 比方二 as suggested by Huang Hui and accepted by others.88 For interpretation of luan as zhi 治 or li 理, see Shang shu 4 (‘Gaoyao mo’).19a; 9

(‘Pan Geng’ zhong).14a; 9 (‘Pan Geng’ xia).17a; 11 (‘Tai shi’).9b; Lunyu 8 (‘Tai bo’).6b; Zuo zhuan 38 (Xiang Gong 28).30a. Both meanings are given in Erya, Yu pian and Shuowen 14B.20a.

89 Forke takes these statements to refer to Dong Zhongshu himself.90 Forke renders this as ‘Nobody ever said of Sse Ma Ch’ien or Yang Tse Yün that

they belonged to the school of the Sage or not, or that they disturbed or adjusted the works of Confucius’.

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counter to the specialists in traditional texts (rujia 儒家) and they are not in opposition to those of Kongzi.91 Talk of confusing Kongzi’s writ-ings is wrong—those writings are not in confusion—and talk of putting them in order is likewise wrong.

In the view of the present writer luan should be taken to mean ‘putting the finishing touch’ rather than ‘confuse’ (see the Appendix below). However, complete understanding of the passage may be subject to doubt, as is that of how far the question that is raised may be taken as representing different assessments of Dong’s abilities. But there seems to be no statement of protest or of claim that Dong took prime place in fostering a tradition of Kongzi’s value or importance. The pian of the Lunheng subsequently praises what Dong Zhongshu had to say about moral virtues and values and the administration of empire, but compares it adversely with the discussion of mundane problems by Huan Tan 桓譚 (ca. 43 BCE–28 CE).92

For Eastern Han, Zhou Guidian sees evidence in the Baihu tong for the influence that Dong exerted in official circles.93 Zhou’s belief that Dong’s influence had a widespread popular appeal rests on similarities with Dong’s way of argument that he sees in the Shuowen jiezi of Xu Shen 許慎 (completed 100 CE). He discusses at length the question of whether Dong Zhongshu and Wang Chong supported completely opposing intellectual attitudes and concludes that they did not.94

In two passages of the Qianfu lun where Wang Fu 王符 (ca. 90–165) refers to Dong Zhongshu’s refusal to ask about the welfare of his fam-ily he is doubtless alluding to the habits that are described in his biog-raphy. In the first of these this is linked with the general principle that dao develops from the study of books.95 The second passage sets out the true values of the junzi 君子, i.e., those attached to ethical behaviour rather than a longing for material luxuries, and it continues with suggestions for the correct training that parents should give their

91 Reading fan 反 in place of ji 及, i.e., ‘do not reach up to those of Kongzi’.92 LH 29 (83 ‘An shu’), p. 1172.93 Zhou Guidian, op. cit., pp. 381–2.94 Zhou Guidian, op. cit., pp. 382–6, cites the opinions of three of his colleagues

who had all reached the same conclusion independently.95 Qianfu lun 1 (1 ‘Zan xue’ ) p. 6.

dong zhongshu’s life and reputation 65

children.96 A further passage refers to the ill treatment he received at the hands of Gongsun Hong.97

Xun Yue 荀悅 (148–209), who wrote as anything but as an histo-rian and who was anxious to please or support the court and emperor of his day, referred to Dong Zhongshu rarely in his Qian Han ji. He mentioned his view that it would be right to restrict the extent of land holdings;98 and he wrote of him as one who promoted Kong Shi and suppressed the teachings of others 推崇孔氏抑絀百家, to be followed by Liu Xiang.99 That he writes of his promotion for Kong Shi rather than as an ancestral founder of traditional writings (ruzong 儒宗) is worthy of note. Dong Zhongshu does not feature with any promi-nence in Xun Yue’s Shen jian, the Bai hu tong of Ban Gu, the Zhong-lun 中論 of Xu Gan 徐幹 (171/186—218/226), or the Kongzi jia yu as received.

As is noted above,100 Dong Zhongshu is reported as enunciating a simile whereby government of a realm is like tuning a zither,101 and one speaker of Eastern Han, Huan Tan, quoted this, naming Dong as his source;102 another, Chen Chong 陳寵 (d. 106)103 who was writing shortly after 76 may have been drawing on Dong’s simile, whether consciously or not, and without acknowledgement; and there may be a similar evocation in the appreciation attached to one of the chapters of the Hou Han shu.104 On two occasions citations from Dong Zhongshu are seen in the Hou Han shu, but with no acknowledgement of their

96 QFL 1 (3 ‘Xie li’) p. 30 (in some editions this passage is given in 1, 2 ‘Wu ben’). Dong’s behaviour is coupled with the refusal of Shu Guang 疏廣 (lived in Xuandi’s reign) to leave his children any money HS 71, p. 3040.

97 QFL 1 (5 ‘Xian nan’) p. 44. 98 Qian Han ji 8.3b. For Xun Yue, see Chi-yun Chen, Hsün Yüeh (A.D. 148–209)

The Life and Reflections of an Early Medieval Confucian (1975), and Ch’i-yün Ch’en, Hsün Yüeh and the Mind of Late Han China A Translation of the Shen-chien with introduction and annotations (1980).

99 Qian Han ji 25.5a.100 See p. 61, note 75.101 HS 22, p. 1032 and 56, p. 2504 (first response).102 HHS 28A, p. 957.103 HHS 46, p. 1549.104 HHS 49, p. 1660.

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source.105 The Xu Han zhi cites him twice—once for his explanation of meteorites and once for floods.106

The Tong dian includes a set of documents that arose from a legal case of 330 CE concerning the question of an adopted child and his right to inheritance.107 One of the protagonists cites the opinion expressed by Dong Zhongshu in connection with a sim-ilar case, and it is of some interest to note that he found it neces-sary to explain why Dong should be regarded as an authority. ‘Dong Zhongshu was a scholar of integrity, well known in his own generation’ (Dong Zhongshu ming dai chun ru 董仲舒命代純儒), he wrote; and referred to him later as ‘a man of wide learning (bo xue 博學).’ It is difficult to see how such a description would have been necessary for a person who enjoyed an acknowledged reputation for learning and leadership.

In a poem which is perhaps to be dated at 403, Tao Yuanming 陶淵明 (365–427) calls on the examples of Kongzi and Dong Zhong-shu as scholar officials who set an example for others such as the farm-ers, but who resolutely did not engage in such work, perhaps despising it as menial.108 The poem is perhaps to be interpreted as a criticism of such an unworldly attitude. In his fu ‘Gan shi bu yu’ 感士不遇, Tao Yuanming is referring specifically to Dong Zhongshu’s own fu ‘Shi bu yu’;109 he expresses his sorrow that persons with talents such as Jia Yi and Dong Zhongshu did not enjoy successful official careers.110 It may be noted that, perhaps being constrained by writing in the genre of a four word poem, Tao Yuanming refers to the two figures whom he cites simply as Kong and Dong.

105 HHS 34, p. 1184, where Yuan Zhu 袁著 is flattering his emperor (Huandi) ca. 151; he summarises a passage from HS 56, p. 2503 (first response); HHS 52, p. 1703, where Cui Zhuan 崔篆 is refusing to enter service under Wang Mang; he cites from advice that Dong gave to the king of Jiangdu (HS 56, p. 2523).

106 HHS (tr.) 12 p. 3262 and 15, p. 3309; for the Dong’s interpretation of meteorites, see HS 27C(2), p. 1518; for floods, HS 27A, pp. 1344, 1345.

107 Du You (735–812), Tong dian 69 (preface 801), pp. 1907–16; see pp. 1911 and 1918 note 21. For this incident, see Chapter Three below, p. 116.

108 See his poem Quan nong 勸農 in Jingjie xiansheng ji 靖節先生集 (SBBY) 1.9b, A.R. Davis, T’ao Yüan-ming (AD 365–427) his works and their meaning (1983), vol. I, p. 25, vol. II, pp. 20–1.

109 See Chapter Three below, p. 109.110 Davis, op. cit., vol. I, pp. 176, 179, 181, II, . 20–1. Dong Zhongshu’s fu is seen in

Yi wen leiju 30, .541; translated in Davis, vol. I, pp. 181–3.

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There are not many references to Dong Zhongshu in the standard histories for the San guo, Jin or the northern and southern dynasties that preceded Sui.111 In a citation from the Wu lu 吳録, Kan Ze 闞澤 is said to have been the Zhongshu of Wu, thanks to his learning and virtuous conduct.112 In its preamble to the treatise on Wu xing, the Jin shu (compiled by Fang Xuanling 房玄齡 578–648) includes a word of praise, ‘In the time of Jingdi and Wudi, Dong Zhongshu put the Gongyang Chunqiu in order, propounded Yin Yang and was ances-tor or leader of the scholars concerned with traditional writings (ru zhe zhi zong 儒者之宗)’.113 Elsewhere the same history remarks on the inability of Dong to prevent the steps taken against specialists in tradi-tional learning, thereby countering any suggestion that this had been promoted during the reign of Wudi;114 and there is an appreciation of Dong in the context of abnormalities that required explanation.115

The Song shu, compiled somewhat earlier by Shen Yue 沈約 (441–513) had already noted Dong’s high opinion of Gongyang Gao 公羊高.116 The same work records Wudi’s acceptance of Dong Zhongshu’s advice and his order of 134 BCE to recruit men of xiaolian qualities for office.117 Liu Lan 劉蘭, an official of Northern Wei ca. 510, held somewhat original opinions on the meanings of some texts. He took a highly critical view of the Gongyang zhuan and believed that Dong Zhongshu was incorrect.118 Ca. 560 Dong is mentioned along with his adversary Gongsun Hong, as persons who were capable of speaking out with plain advice to a sovereign.119

111 For another man renamed Dong Zhongshu who was active in 485 CE, see Nan Qi shu 1, pp. 50, 65 (note 14) and 15, p. 305.

112 San guo zhi 53, p. 1250 note 1. Kan Ze (d. 243) had served Sun Quan of Wu. Authorship and date of ‘Wu lu’ are unknown.

113 Jin shu 27 (treatise 17), p. 799.114 Jin shu 22, p. 676. Fang Xuanling summarises important stages of Western Han

history with the statement that Gaozu was engaged in forming the empire; Wendi spared himself in no way, in his work of encouraging moral change; Wudi was set on framing institutions. The Empress Dowager Dou rejected the principles of the ru jia; senior officials thrust aside Jia Yi’s sayings, to the great distress of the men of letters, but even Liu Xiang and Dong Zhongshu were unable to stop the trend.

115 Jin shu 87, p. 2269.116 Song shu 14, p. 362.117 Song shu 40, pp. 1257–8. Sui shu 33, p. 981 records that Wudi set up recruit-

ment of Xianlang and Wenxue thanks to Dong’s advice, but this is incorrect (for the institution of Xianlang, see Loewe, Men who Governed, pp. 119–21).

118 Wei shu 魏書, compiled by Wei Shou 魏收 (506–572), 84, p. 1851, Bei shi 北史, compiled by Li Yanshou 李延壽 (early Tang period) 81, p. 1716.

119 Bei shi 81, p. 2730.

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In its biography of Kong Xiuyuan 孔休源, the Liang shu (compiled by Yao Silian 姚思廉 d. 637) cites the judgment of Xu Xiaosi 徐孝嗣 (described as Taiwei 太尉) that neither Dong Zhongshu nor Hua Lingsi 華令思 (i.e. Hua Tan 華譚 244–322) could be seen as his supe-rior. This judgement referred to the ability that all three men showed in the responses that they proffered to questioning;120 Hua Lingsi, for his part, had at one time (280–9 CE) been asked to explain why Dong never reached office at Wudi’s court and had replied that this was due to the monarch’s failure to recognise his ability.121 In his discus-sion with Hu Sui 壺遂 on historical writing, Sima Qian had cited a statement by Dong Sheng 董生 concerning Kongzi. This is evoked in enumerating the differences between Wei Shou and Wei Dan 魏澹 (ca. 570) in their approaches to the history of the Wei dynasty.122 A memorial submitted by Yu Zhining 于志寧 (588–655) cites Dong on the need for a true king to look to the dao of heaven and conform with the respective characteristics of Yang and Yin for rewarding and punishing, as is seen in one of his responses to Wudi’s rescripts.123

The Song shu includes an entry for a drought of 349 CE at which officials put Dong Zhongshu’s methods into operation; it does not mention steps taken to conform with the wu xing.124 In a discussion held at the Song court in 429 regarding the correct colours for cloth-ing and headgear that the emperor should wear, Xun Wanqiu 荀萬秋, an academician at the Taixue, cited Dong Zhongshu’s Zhi yu shu 止雨書.125

In none of these references does there appear to be an under-lying assumption of Dong Zhongshu’s contribution to Chinese thought and statecraft. Perhaps a more positive, and sometimes criti-cal, attitude may be seen in references made by scholar officials of the Tang Dynasty or the historians who wrote about them.126 In a

120 Liang shu 36, p. 519; also Nan shi 60, p. 1471. For Hua Tan see Jin shu 52, p. 1448; for the text of the imperial rescript and the responses in question see Jin shu 52, pp. 1449–52.

121 Jin shu 52, pp. 1448–9.122 HS 62, p. 2717, Sui shu 58, p. 1419.123 Jiu Tang shu 78, p. 2698; see HS 56, p. 2502. For a rather different treatment of

this theme, see Chunqiu fanlu 17 (80 ‘Ru tian zhi wei’), pp. 463–8.124 Song shu 31, p. 909; Dong’s methods are not included in the entry for this

drought in Jin shu 28, p. 841.125 Song shu 15, p. 385; CQFL 16 (75 ‘Zhi yu’), p. 438.126 No inference can be drawn from the appearance of Zhongshu as the given name

or style of a few persons in Tang (surnames Wang 王, Wu 吳 and Gao 高) and Song times (surname Wen 溫).

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memorial that he submitted early in his career Zhang Jiuling 張九齡 (673–740) cited the Xiao jing and views expressed by Kuang Heng 匡衡 (d. 30 or 29 BCE) and Dong Zhongshu to show the importance of the jiao 郊 sacrifices. The views of Kuang Heng 匡衡 are certainly seen in the Han shu, and the Chunqiu fanlu includes several chapters on the subject. Whether those pian stemmed from Dong Zhongshu’s pen may be in question.127 There is an opening statement in the biography of Han Yu 韓愈 that ‘in the Dali 大歷 and Zhenyuan 貞元 periods (766–779 and 785–804) literature showed a respect for old learning ( gu xue 古學) with imitations of the writings of Yang Xiong and Dong Zhongshu’.128

It is of considerable interest that on one occasion the Tang com-mentator to the Hou Han shu who is known under the name of Li Xian 李賢 (651–84) found it necessary to provide his readers with a summarised biography of Dong Zhongshu, as seen in the Shiji.129 Li Xian’s notes cite Dong, twice as Dong Zhongshu yue 曰; three times specifying the source as the Chunqiu fanlu; and once from the third response.130 Perhaps significantly, he relates a reference to Dong’s writ-ings on Du zhi 度制 (moderation and regulation) not to pian no. 27 of that title in the Chunqiu fanlu but to a passage in Dong’s third response.131 The commentary to the Xu Han zhi of Liu Zhao 劉昭 (ca. 510) cites twice from the Chunqiu fanlu.132

127 Jiu Tang shu 99, p. 3097, Xin Tang shu 126, p. 4425; for Kuang Heng, see HS 25B, pp. 1253–4; see Chunqiu fanlu 15 (65, 66 and 67 ‘Jiao yu’, ‘Jiao yi’ and ‘Jiao ji’). For the authenticity of these pian, see Chapter Six below under pian no. 65.

128 Jiu Tang shu 160, p. 4195 (not included in the biography of Han Yu in the Xin Tang shu 176, p. 5255).

129 HHS 28B, p. 983–4 note 3; for the named scholars who compiled the commen-tary at the direction and under the name of Li Xian (651 to 684, when he died by suicide; Heir Apparent to the Tang Emperor 675–80), see Bielenstein, The Restoration of the Han Dynasty, vol. I (1954), p. 17.

130 (a) HHS 4, p. 186–7 note 4 (preceded by ‘Dong Zhongshu yue’ 董仲舒曰; not found in the Chunqiu fanlu); (b) HHS 52, p. 1703 note 1 (preceded Qian shu Dong Zhongshu yue 前書董仲舒曰); see CQFL 9 (32 ‘Dui Jiaoxi wang Yue dafu bu de wei ren’), p. 267; (c) 11, p. 481 note 2 (CQFL 7 (23 ‘San dai gai zhi zhi wen’), p. 193, and 16 (75 ‘Zhi yu’), p. 438); (d) 30B, p. 1075 note 2 (CQFL 16 (74 ‘Qiu yu’), pp. 428, 432, 433, 435); (e) 53, p. 1743 note 1 (CQFL 16 (72 ‘Zhi zhi’ p. 419); (f) HHS 62, p. 2056 note 3 (HS 56, p. 2515).

131 HHS 62, p. 2056.132 (a) HHS (tr.) 5, p. 3118, note 2, as Dong Zhongshu yun 云; see CQFL 16 (74

‘Qiu yu’), p. 426; (b) HHS (tr.) 30, p. 3671 note 1, where the citation is said to be from Dong Zhongshu’s Zhi yu shu, as it is also said to be in TPYL 687.3b; see CQFL 16 (75 ‘Zhi yu’) p. 438.

70 chapter two

Mention of Dong in the Tang histories is rare. The biography of Liu Zongyuan 柳宗元 (773–819) relates how Liu Xiang and Dong Zhongshu had both been put into prison, with charges said to merit the death penalty, but had become ancestors of Han traditional schol-arship; they were examples of persons who were able to explain them-selves.133 In one of his own writings that is cited there (‘Zhen fu’ 貞符), Liu Zongyuan criticises the way in which Dong Zhongshu followed the tradition as ludicrous; for he was evoking portents of olden times and pairing them with the acceptance of the ming 命 by the three dynasties of Xia, Yin and Zhou.134 In doing so, Liu Zongyuan groups Dong Zhongshu with Sima Xiangru, Liu Xiang, Yang Xiong, Ban Biao 班彪 and Ban Gu. In an answer to examination questions in 828, Liu Fen 劉蕡 mentioned the explanations of the Chunqiu that Dong gave to Wudi.135 The appreciation at the end of the biography of Liu Fen observes that in his responses to Wudi’s three rescripts, Dong Zhong-shu set out the relationship of heaven and man in general but in insuf-ficiently sharp terms.136 Elsewhere the Tang histories do not bring out an acknowledgement of Dong Zhongshu’s qualities or of his literary contributions. Han Yu 韓愈 (768–824) does not mention Dong in his résumé of traditional Chinese ethical teaching in ‘Yuan dao’.

References to Dong Zhongshu in the Song shi are rare. On the occa-sion of an outbreak of fire, Wang Shu 王曙 ( fl. 1000) recalled Dong’s observation that the shrine dedicated to Gaozu should not have been situated by the side of the grave—hence the fire.137 In a memorial sub-mitted after the accession (1064) and illness of Yingzong, Wang Chou 王疇 cited Dong’s remarks about the relationship of heaven and man with a citation that is not seen in the Han shu or Chunqiu fanlu.138 Shortly after his accession in 1068, Shenzong named Dong and Yang Xiong as the only two junzi of old who combined scholarship and a talent for writing.139 As will be seen below,140 in 1037 Ouyang Xiu

133 Xin Tang shu 168, p. 5135.134 Xin Tang shu 168, p. 5136.135 Jiu Tang shu 190B, p. 5068, Xin Tang shu 178, p. 5297.136 Xin Tang shu 178, p. 5307, presumably written by Ouyang Xiu (1007–72), or

Song Qi 宋祁 (998–1061). 137 Song shi 286, p. 9633.138 Song shi 291, p. 9747,139 Song shi 336, p. 10762.140 See Chapter Five, p. 195.

dong zhongshu’s life and reputation 71

歐陽修 expressed some critical comments on Dong Zhongshu, based on the incomplete text of the Chunqiu fanlu that he had before him.

Elsewhere Ouyang Xiu praised Dong Zhongshu for achievements comparable with those of none other than Mengzi; by concentrating on ren and yi, Mengzi had brought an end to studies of Mo Di and Yang Zhu; in the same way Dong Zhongshu’s cultivation of Kong Shi displaced the scholarship of the many schools that had grown up during Han.141 In other contexts he groups his writings together with those of Chao Cuo 鼂錯 (executed 154 BCE); or he writes of his liter-ary skills and works along with those of Jia Yi, Sima Xiangru and Yang Xiong. He is also mentioned along with Jia Yi for the promotion of tra-ditional teachings in early Han times.142

In an essay in which he attacks Buddhism with some vigour, Ouyang Xiu 歐陽修 deplored the fact that in Han times the many schools of thought flourished, one alongside the other. He wrote that, distressed at this, Dong Sheng retired to cultivate the teachings of Kongzi.143

In Southern Song times, Huang Zhen 黃震 (1213–80) praised Dong Zhongshu fulsomely. ‘Following the death of Mengzi, of those men who studied the learning of the holy men Zhongshu was quite excep-tional; his brilliant talents were of the finest, his intentions of the pur-est, matched by very few scholars of Han and Tang times. Had be been an attendant at Kong Shi’s door to receive personally his saintly instruction, he would surely have been the equal of those who excelled in his quadrivium’.144 He also drew a distinction between Dong the traditional scholar and Ouyang Xiu 歐陽修, the man of letters.145

Recognition of Dong Zhongshu as a revered master is seen in vari-ous infrequent incidents in Yuan, Ming and Qing times, e.g., by cita-tion of his pronouncements or opinions, or by rendering religious services in his memory. In two passages the Yuan shi quotes directly

141 ‘Ou Gong ben lun’ 歐公本論 (B), in Ouyang Wenzhong quan ji 17.2b.142 Ouyang Wenzhong quan ji, ‘Ji Wu da zi’ 祭吳大資 50.6b; ‘Dai ren shang Wang

Shumi qiu xianji ji xu shu’ 代人上王樞密求先集序書 67.1b; ‘Shen dao bei’ 神道碑 (SBBY fu lu) 3.12a.

143 ‘Ben lun’ 本論, in Ouyang Wenzhong quan ji 歐陽文忠公集 17.3b. 144 Huang shi ri chao 黃氏日抄 47.1a (Si ku quan shu), included with some vari-

ants by Su Yu (note on p. 498). For the four categories of training or learning (i.e., de xing 德行 virtuous conduct; speech yan yu 言語; administration zheng shi 政事; and culture and learning wen xue 文學) and those who excelled therein at Kongzi’s door, see Lunyu 11 (‘Xian jin’).1b, Legge p. 237.

145 See Chapter Five below p. 206.

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from his views on natural phenomena.146 In 1669 Xu Sanli 許三禮 called attention to his exposition of the Six Choice Works (Liu yi 六藝) and his principles, but no grant of recognition followed.147 In response to a decree that followed a drought, Chu Linzhi 儲麟趾 (Jin-shi degree 1739) cited text seen in one of Wudi’s rescripts and duly repeated from there in Dong’s response.148 As is observed above, the learned editors of the Siku project rated Dong as the purest and most correct of ru writers.149 This remark stands in some contrast with their doubts regarding Dong’s authenticity of the Chunqiu fanlu, and they may perhaps be taken to refer to the three responses seen in Han shu chapter 56.150

A legal case arose in Ming times when Cui Jian 崔鑑, aged 13, was angered by the way in which his father’s concubine was insulting his own mother and stabbed her with his own hands. Wu Guifang 吳桂芳 (jinshi degree 1544; died 1578) argued that the boy should be pardoned, thereby eliciting the comment ‘This is like Dong Zhong-shu’s judgements of a criminal case, or Liu Zihou 柳子厚 (i.e., Liu Zongyuan)’s essay on vengeance’; Cui Jian duly received a pardon. Ma Guohan’s collection of the few surviving fragments of Dong’s legal pronouncements includes one case which might have been relevant. This was that of Jia 甲, who saw her husband or partner beating her mother and killed him. Liu Zongyuan’s essay on vengeance is entitled Bo fu chou yi 駁復讎議.151

While other services that were being performed at various rites which did not meet with official approval were being suspended, at the advice of Lü Sicheng 呂思誠 (1293–1357), those addressed to Dong Zhongshu were retained.152 In formal and imperial terms, from 1330

146 Yuan shi 50, p. 1064, 53 p. 1158; see HS 27A, p. 1329, 27C(2), p. 1491.147 Qing shi gao 266, p. 9950.148 Qing shi gao 306, p. 10,542; see HS 56, pp. 2513, 2516 and, for a later citation,

HS 75, p. 3188.149 See Chapter 1 above p. 38.150 See Chapter Five below, p. 217.151 Ming shi 223, p. 5873; Ma Guohan 馬國翰 (in Yu han shan fang ji yi shu

玉函山房輯佚書 of 1853; Chunqiu jue shi 春秋決事 1b) cites this case from the com-mentary of Kong Yingda孔穎達 (574–648) to Li ji 10 (‘Tan gong xia’), 23b. There is however no direct link there with Dong Zhongshu, who is not cited as the authority for giving judgement, and there is no statement that Jia received a pardon. For the fragments of Dong’s legal pronouncements, see Loewe, ‘Dong Zhongshu as a consult-ant’ (2009).

152 Yuan shi 185, p. 4248.

dong zhongshu’s life and reputation 73

Dong Zhongshu was included among the scholars to whom sacrifices were offered at the shrine dedicated to Kongzi.153 In 1395, while ser-vices to Yang Xiong were discontinued, those to Dong Zhongshu were retained.154 Imperial recognition of Dong in a religious context was renewed in Qing times, e.g., 1705.155

Two other incidents are worthy of mention. At the orders of Wang Sicheng 王思誠, ca. 1350 a library was built in the village of Dong Zhong-shu’s domicile, in Guangchuan; and the title of Guangchuan bo 廣川伯 was conferred on Dong in 1466.156

Dong’s reactions to his own times and his subsequent influence

If he is judged in the light of the circumstances prevailing dur-ing his lifetime, Dong may be seen as a man who found the ways of life and purposes of government far from his own liking and who was courageous enough to express arguments by way of pro-test. Such courage exposed him to the near danger of a death pen-alty and the animosity of some of his colleagues. His protests at the current practices of government may be seen against the intensive control of the population as advocated by Han Fei 韓非 and Li Si 李斯 and as given a new strength in the early years of Wudi’s reign. The severe penalties laid down in documents such as the statutes and ordinances found at Zhangjiashan 張家山 show ample reason why a man, such as Dong, who was intent on the pursuit of humani-tarian values, would wish to revert to principles that he believed to be enshrined in writings such as the Chunqiu. It is understandable that he took exception to the methods of taxation on the grounds that they were oppressive; and that he would look with disapproval on the rigid attitude towards the laws as is related of persons such as Zhang Tang, and a growing imbalance of wealth that the repeated conferment of jue perhaps encouraged. At no long distance away from Chang’an

153 Yuan shi 34, p. 770, 76, p. 1893.154 Ming shi 50, p. 1297, 150, p. 4166. Yang Di 楊砥 had pointed out the contrast

between Yang Xiong, who had served Wang Mang to his eternal criticism, and Dong whose views on the relation of heaven and man and whose responses to the imperial rescripts and principles were sufficient to sustain universal instruction. Yang Di was clearly referring to the text of the responses as given in HS 56. See also Ming shi 50, p. 1301.

155 Qing shi gao 8, p. 267; see also 84, p. 2533, 2537. 156 Yuan shi 183, p. 4214; Ming shi 50, p. 1297.

74 chapter two

(166 BCE) he had perhaps been well aware of the injury and damage that the penetration of Xiongnu could bring about; possibly he under-stood how military measures that Han initiated could affect the living conditions of the countryside; and it would be understandable that he would wish to eliminate such suffering.

Zhou Guidian puts forward at some length the case that Dong’s influence was of major importance throughout the succeeding cen-turies. On the basis of a submission made by Su Chuo 蘇綽 in 544, under six headings, Zhou concludes that even though there are no direct references therein to Dong, it was his ideas that lay behind polit-ical thinking from Nanbei chao times until Sui or even Tang.157 Yet, to the present writer it would seem that had Dong been as influential as is supposed, a speaker of the sixth century would hardly have failed to mention his name so as to support his own contentions. It is notice-able that Zhou Guidian does not follow this by references to show how Dong’s thought influenced the minds of the Tang dynasty but proceeds immediately to Song times.

For that long period he cites glowing references in one of the poems of Sima Guang 司馬光 (1019–86) and in writings of the Cheng broth-ers (Cheng Hao 程顥 1032–85 and Cheng Yi 程 頤 1033–1107) to show the respect in which Dong was held in Northern Song.158 He then argues that Dong’s influence is seen in the ideas expressed by Chen Liang 陳亮 (1143–94);159 he cites the opinion of Zhu Xi 朱熹 (1130–1200) that Dong was a scholar of purity (chun ru 醇儒)160 and discusses the views expressed by Lu Jiuyuan 陸九淵 (Xiangshan 象山 1139–93)161 on the basis of Dong’s three responses. Finally Zhou Gui-dian writes of the glowing views of Dong’s pre-eminence as expressed by protagonists of the Gongyang tradition, such as Wei Yuan 魏源 (1794–1856), Kang Youwei 康有為 (1858–1927), Pi Xirui 皮錫瑞 and Tang Yan 唐晏.162 Another scholar, Jin Chunfeng 金春峰, writes even

157 Zhou shu 23, pp. 382–91, as cited by Zhou Guidian, op. cit., pp. 386–8.158 Sima Guang’s poem ‘Du shu tang’ 讀書堂; Sima Wengong wen ji 12, p. 283

(CSJC); Er Cheng quan ji 1.5b (SBBY). 159 ‘Shang Xiaozong Huangdi di yi shu’ 上孝宗皇帝第一書; Chen Liang ji (1974),

pp. 2, 8.160 See Zhu Xi’s ‘Zhuo zhai ji’ 拙齋記 (dated 1176), in Chen Junmin 陳俊民 (ed.)

Zhu zi wen ji (2000), 78, p. 3896.161 Xiangshan xiansheng quan ji 30.17a (SBCK).162 Zhou Guidian cites Wei Yuan, Dong zi Chunqiu fa wei xu 董子春秋發微序, in

Wei Yuan ji A, p. 135; Kang Youwei, Chunqiu Dong shi xue 春秋董氏學 (1893); Pi

dong zhongshu’s life and reputation 75

more forcefully that the course and spirit of Dong’s fundamental ideas were inherited by the lijia of Song and Ming.163 Here again the pres-ent writer must declare his doubts, believing that the evidence that Zhou Guidian and Jin Chunfeng cite shows an incidental rather than a generally accepted appreciation. For the Qing period, he refers readers to the opinions of scholars of that time regarding the Chunqiu fanlu (see Chapter Five below p. 208).

Summary

Dong Zhongshu never held a high ranking position in imperial gov-ernment that would have enabled him to see his ideas put into prac-tice. He did not achieve a reputation that commanded respect during his lifetime; nor did he earn a high measure of praise in subsequent writings. A moralist rather than a statesman given to materialist aims or personal ambitions, and in no way a dreamer of the mysteries of the universe, Dong held views that ran counter to those of others, such as the Grand Empress Dou and other devotees of the sayings of Laozi and Huangdi. After citing from one of his responses of 134, Ban Gu points out that the government of the day had no leisure to attend to li and matters of culture that are inherent therein.164 His proposed peaceful ways of negotiating with the Xiongnu were utterly different from those of the men who formed and activated an aggressive policy, such as Wang Hui 王恢 (1), and his wish to redress the poverty of many at the expense of others could hardly have made him popular with persons such as the nobles, whose imposts provided not only for the government’s tax but also for their own emoluments. That he aroused animosities and anger, followed by indictment and effective banishment need hardly surprise us.

Xirui, Jingxue tonglun: Chunqiu: lun Dong zi zhi xue cui chun, wei yan dayi zun yu Dong zi zhi shu, bu bi liang wei feichang yi yi 經學通論 春秋 論董子之學最醇 微言大義存于董子之書 不必惊爲非常異義 (1907) 4, p. 4; Tang Yan, Liang Han San guo xue an 兩漢三國學案 preface 1914; in Longxi jingshe congshu 龍谿精舍叢書 8.21b-28a, with Zhou’s citation on 27a; rpt. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1996, p. 422.

163 Jin Chunfeng, Han dai sixiang shi (1987), p. 214.164 HS 22, p. 1032.

76 chapter two

Appendix

1. Chronological problems

a. Stages of Dong’s life and activities

The chronological difficulties seen in the biographical accounts are due in part to a small textual difference between the Shiji and the Han shu, and the different dating that is given in those histories, the Zi zhi tong jian and the Qian Han ji.

According to the Shiji165 it was while he was Chancellor of Jiangdu that Dong Zhongshu actively submitted advice and views that called on the warnings occasioned by phenomena, as reported in the Chun-qiu; that in the course of this he was demoted and became Counsellor of the Palace. He then wrote his Zai yi zhi ji 災異之記; and it was at this time (shi shi 是時) that the fires broke out at Liaodong. Zhufu Yan acquired his writings, thereby bringing about the incrimination of Dong Zhongshu and his restraint, in some fear, from mentioning phenomena subsequently.

The Han shu166 reads xian shi 先時 in place of 是時, thus placing the incidents in Liaodong and at Gaozu’s tomb and the incrimination of Dong Zhongshu before his demotion to Counsellor of the Palace.

The dating for the two outbreaks of fire is given variously in the Han shu. In the imperial annals, they are entered for the first at Jianyuan 建元 sixth year (135), second month, Yiwei 乙未 (corresponding with 9 March); and for the second at the fourth month Renzi 壬子 (corre-sponding with 25 May); the treatise on phenomena dates the first out-break at 135 sixth month Dingyou 丁酉 (corresponding with 9 July).167

In commenting on these differences, Wang Xianqian 王先謙 (1842–1918) writes that at the time of the incidents, Dong Zhongshu had not yet presented his response to the rescripts. He suggests that Ban Gu was aware of the error in the Shiji, and therefore changed the text of 是時 to read 先時. Wang Xianqian thus dates the rescript to after 135. Qian Daxin 錢大昕 (1728–1804) points out a further discrepancy in the timing, as elsewhere the Han shu reports that Zhufu Yan came

165 SJ 121, p. 3128.166 HS 56, p. 2524; HSBZ 56.20a.167 HS 6, p. 159; 27A, p. 1331. The Zi zhi tong jian follows HS 6; the Qian Han ji

(10.9b) gives sixth year third month Yiwei.

dong zhongshu’s life and reputation 77

into the capital city only in 134.168 Wang Xianqian re-iterates that the correct sequence was for the fires in 135, followed by the theft of Dong Zhongshu’s draft Zai yi zhi ji 災異之記 and the consequences.

b. Dating of the three responses

References within the text of the rescripts have also called into ques-tion the dates when the three responses were presented. In the first of these, Dong Zhongshu remarks on the seventy years or more in which it had been hoped to establish orderly government 願治七十餘歲.169 In arguing that the dates of 140 and 134 are respectively too early and too late for the presentation of the responses, Qi Shaonan 齊召南 (1703–1768) took the expression ‘seventy years or more’ to point to 136 BCE, i.e., exactly seventy years after Liu Bang’s receipt of the title of king of Han, which took place four years before he assumed that of emperor. Qi Shaonan adds that 136 was the year in which the posts of academician for the five approved texts were established; and 134 saw the order given to the provinces to put forward the names of persons with qualities (xiao lian 孝廉) that fitted them for office.170 He was apparently referring to the statement in the biography of Dong which attributes these measures to the advice that he tendered.171 Qi Shaonan accordingly excludes 140 as a possible date, and adopts 136.

Wang Xianqian 王先謙 (1842–1918) disagrees with Qi Shaonan’s view that 134 was too late a date for presentation of the responses and opts for that year as the correct date. He writes that the idea of establishing the posts for the academicians and/or recruiting men of special talent from the provinces had existed before the two measures to do so had actually been taken (136 and 134). Either it was thanks to Dong that the scope of these ideas was widened; or it was thanks to later opinion that the idea and the practice were linked together, but Ban Gu had failed to discriminate between them. Shi Zhimian 施之勉 expresses his agreement with Wang Xianqian’s choice of 134, regard-ing Qi Shaonan as being incorrect.172

168 HSBZ note to 56.20a; see HS 64A, p. 2798.169 HS 56, p. 2505, HSBZ 56.7b.170 HS 6, pp. 159, 160.171 HS 56, p. 2525; HSBZ 56.21a.172 Shi Zhimian, Han shu buzhu bianzheng, p. 256. Zhou Guidian, op. cit., pp. 9–19, opts

for 134.

78 chapter two

The second response mentions Kangju 康居 and Yelang 夜郎 with the implication that Han had received the loyal submission of the leaders of those distant lands.173 On the face of it this raises difficul-ties as Kangju (Bactria, extending to Samarkand) did not come into formal relations with Han until Yuandi’s reign,174 and the leader of Yelang first came to court in 111 BCE.175 However it is unlikely that the mention of these two places has a bearing on the date when the response was formulated. Yelang and Kangju are coupled together in an imperial message which Sima Xiangru 司馬相如 delivered to the governors of Ba and Shu commanderies perhaps ca. 131.176 As with the case of the response, the implication is that Han rule extended to those lands and that Han received tribute from them. In both cases the mention is best explained as loose talk of an exaggerated nature such as would find its place with little demur in imperial propaganda, with the proud message that ‘tribute comes in from the ends of the earth’.177 It is quite possible or even likely that the names of these places with unconfirmed accounts of their situation and nature had filtered through to Chang’an by the time of Dong Zhongshu and Sima Xiangru. The fact that the histories do not record unofficial visits or contacts that may have taken place need not occasion surprise.178 The possibility that those names were inserted during Ban Gu’s editorial work is considered below (Chapter Three, p. 121).

173 HS 56, p. 2511.174 For Kangju, see HS 96A, p. 3891, HSBZ 96A.33a, Hulsewé, China in Central

Asia: the early stage 125 B.C.–A.D. 23 (1979), pp. 123–4, 126.175 A county named Yelang was founded before 126 in what was later organised as

Zangke commandery, at a time when advances to the south were being halted so as to allow concentration on the north (SJ 116, p. 2995; Yelang xian is not mentioned in HS 95, p. 3840, where the name seems to have been omitted fortuitously). At the time when Zangke’s conmmandery was established (111) the leader of Yelang presented himself at court and received the grant of the title of wang (SJ 116, p. 2996; HS 95, pp. 3841–2).

176 SJ 117, p. 3044, HS 57B, p. 2577. Hervouet, Un poète de cour sous les Han: Sseu-ma Siang-jou (1964), p. 89; and Le chapitre 117 du Che-ki (Biographie de Sseu-ma Siang-jou) (1972), p. 145. Bujard, ‘La vie de Dong Zhongshu: enigmes et hypothèses’, p. 190 likewise suggests that mention of Kangju and Yelang should not be taken liter-ally.

177 See Wang Xian’s comment to HSBZ 57B.1b; Hulsewé op. cit., p. 124 for ‘every-day talk’; Shi Zhimian op. cit., p. 262 does not believe that Sima Xiangru was exag-gerating.

178 Sima Guang 司馬光 (1019–1086), who fastened on 140 as the date for the responses, does not include the passage that mentions Kangju and Langye (Zi zhi tong jian 17, pp. 549–56).

dong zhongshu’s life and reputation 79

Shen Qinhan 沈欽韓 (1775–1832) pointed out that according to Han shu 56 the recruitment of xiaolian originated from Dong Zhong-shu. However the text of Han shu 6 records that the first measure to do so was dated in the eleventh month of Yuanguang 1 (134), followed by the implication that it was in responses made to such a call, in the fifth month, that Dong Zhongshu and Gongsun Hong distinguished themselves.179 In his Rongzhai suibi 容齋随筆, as cited by Shen Qin-han, Hong Mai 洪邁 (1123–1202) points to the claims and anguish expressed in the second rescript to the effect that the emperor’s deter-mined efforts to preclude evil occurrences and the prevailing distress had been of no avail, and to the attention paid to this sentiment in Dong’s response.180 He believed that this statement could not have applied to the first year of Wudi’s reign.

Han shu 22 includes a summary of the first of the responses, prefaced by the statement that thanks to the influence of the Grand Empress Dowager Dou 竇 suggestions to build the Mingtang 明堂 and to reg-ulate the use of robes were dropped; and Dong’s response followed thereafter. The suggestion to set up the Mingtang was made by Wang Zang 王臧 and Zhao Wan 趙绾 and it may be presumed that they were in high positions when they did so. Wang Zang became Super-intendent of the Palace (Langzhong ling), perhaps in 140; Zhao Wan became Imperial Counsellor (Yushi dafu 御史大夫) again perhaps in 140; incurring the wrath of the Grand Empress Dowager, they were imprisoned and committed suicide in the 10th month of 139.181 This may suggest that Dong’s responses were presented subsequently. Dai Junren 戴君仁 dates the responses at between 133 and 131.182

From the foregoing opinions, it may be thought that Hong Mai’s remark supports the idea that there were indeed several occasions to which Dong was responding, and the mention of Yelang and Kangju could well date from a second rather than an initial such occasion. Possibly it may be suggested that the decree of 134 as reported in the imperial annals of the Han shu183 is in fact a simplification of the first rescript as given in Dong Zhongshu’s biography (Han shu 56). One

179 HS 6, p. 160. Dubs, HFHD II, p. 38 suspects that the note about Dong and Gongsun is an interpolation.

180 HS 56, pp. 2507, 2512; Rongzhai xu bi 續筆 6.4b. 181 SJ 12, p. 452, 121, p. 3121; HS 6, p. 157, 25A, p.1215, 88, p. 3608.182 Li Weixiong, op. cit., p. 158, citing Kong Meng xuebao; see also Dai Junren, ‘Han

Wudi yichu bai jia fei fa zi Dong Zhongshu kao’ (1968), pp. 171–8.183 HS 6, p. 160.

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further point may affect the dating of events in the biography. The Han shu credits Dong Zhongshu with the initiative which led to the presentation of persons characterised as maocai 茂材 and xiaolian from the commanderies of the regional groups (zhou 州).184 As the zhou did not come into existence until 106 BCE, at the end of Dong’s life, the statement can refer only to developments that took place thereafter, and the circumstances of the proposal that he made require review in the light of various steps taken to recruit candidates for offi-cial service.

2. A passage in the Lunheng

Huang Hui 黃暉 (20th century) comments on the passage seen in the Lunheng ‘that the statement in Chen shu 讖書 writings “Dong Zhong-shu is confusing my writings” is presumably a saying of Kongzi’.185 He finds it difficult to reconcile this with a passage seen elsewhere in the Lunheng, where Wang Chong argues strongly that the statement of the Chen shu did not derive from Kongzi.186 I am indebted to Professor Lloyd for discussing this and other issues and for his personal commu-nication in which he raises the question of how far the texts represent Wang Chong’s own convictions. His conclusion, with which I agree, is that there is no contradiction between the two passages of the Lunheng in so far as Wang Chong does not express his agreement with the view that the statement in the Chen shu did in fact derive from Kongzi. A close view of the text supports this conclusion. This reads 讖書云董仲舒亂我書蓋孔子言也, where gai 蓋 is to be taken to mean ‘presum-ably was’ or ‘has been presumed to be’; the sentence does not convey Wang Chong’s own view.187

The statement about Dong Zhongshu is also seen in a citation in the commentary of Liu Zhao 劉昭 ( fl. 510) to the Xu Han zhi, from a text named Han Jin Chunqiu 漢晉春秋. In repairing the shrine dedicated to Zhong Ni 仲尼, Zhongli Yi 鍾離意 (died before 70 CE) discovered

184 HS 56, p. 2525.185 LH 29 (83 ‘An shu’), p. 1170; see p. 63 above.186 LH 26 (78 ‘Shi zhi’ ), pp. 1069–71. The argument runs that the statement that

this saying derived from Kongzi is to be believed no more than those that he is alleged to have made regarding the First Qin Emperor and the ruin of Qin under Huhai.

187 See the renderings in the edition of the Lunheng in the series Shinshaku Kambun taikei 新譯漢文大集 (Tokyo: Meiji shoin, 1984) vol. 94, ed. Yamada Katsumi 山田勝美, (pp. 1781, 1782).

dong zhongshu’s life and reputation 81

a document which read ‘It is Dong Zhongshu who is throwing my writings into confusion (luan), Zhongli Yi who is putting my hall in order (zhi 治)’.188 In a yet further version,189 when Zhongli Yi took up his appointment as Chancellor of Lu, one of seven vases that were discovered was said to have belonged to ‘The Master’, which nobody had dared to open. Undaunted Zhongli Yi did so, to discover a piece of writing which read ‘In later times it will be Dong Zhongshu who will set my writings straight (xiu 修), and Zhongli Yi who will preserve my carriage, clean my sandals and open my packages’. In whichever way the word luan is taken, the anecdote serves to praise Zhongli Yi, either as being superior to Dong Zhongshu, who had confused Kong-zi’s writings, or as being in the same category, albeit inferior and fit for humble tasks only.

There is however one way in which the difficulty of the contradic-tory meanings of luan may be solved. This is by taking it in the sense of yet another meaning—that of the final stanza or verse of a poem or piece of music, and by extension a concluding summary. This usage is seen in the Chu ci and three times in the Han shu.190 One may sus-pect that where the foregoing passage reads xiu 修 we have a case of ‘simplification’ by a copyist, and that a reading of luan, which might be described as the lectio difficilior, is to be preferred. In both of these citations the meaning would thus be ‘it is Dong Zhongshu who is put-ting finishing touches to my writings’. As is seen above, there is at least one passage in the Lunheng in which Wang Chong used the term in this way.191

188 HHS (tr.) 20, p. 3430, note 3. Zhongli Yi was well known for his integrity, and for his courage in reprimanding Mingdi. (HHS 41, 1406–11).

189 HHS 41, p. 1410 note 6 includes this from ‘a separate biography of Zhongli Yi’.

190 Chu ci 1 (‘Li sao’) 36b; see Hawkes, The Songs of the South: an Anthology of Ancient Chinese Poems by Qu Yuan and Other Poets (1985), p. 95; and HS 87A, p. 3533; 97A, p. 3954; 100A, p. 4224.

191 See also LH, p. 1171.

CHAPTER THREE

DONG ZHONGSHU’S WRITINGS

To the account of his writings that is given in Dong Zhongshu’s biog-raphy in the Han shu, as above, there may be added the references to the following items:1

1. The bibliographical list in the Han shu includes the entry 董仲舒百二十三篇.2 Wang Xianqian comments by citing the account given of his writings in Han shu 56 and concluding that the 123 pian mentioned here had been lost at an early time and were not included in the various Fanlu writings.

2. Gongyang Dong Zhongshu zhiyu shiliu pian 公羊董仲舒治獄十六篇; Han shu 30, p. 1714 HSBZ 30.16b (under Chunqiu); see p. 115 below.

3. The Xi jing za ji, dated not earlier than the third century and per-haps finalized with late texts from 500 CE, includes a short state-ment that Dong Zhongshu wrote (zuo 作) the words (ci 詞) of the Chunqiu fanlu after dreaming that a reptile had made its way into his breast.3

1 See Chapter Two above, p. 50. For an account of Dong Zhongshu’s writings, see Queen, Chronicle to Canon, Chapter 3.

2 HS 30, p. 1727, HSBZ 30.31a. The entry is to be distinguished from that of Dongzi yi pian 董子一篇 under Rujia which is taken to refer to Dong Wuxin 董無心 of pre-imperial times; HS 30, p. 1726, HSBZ 30.30b.

3 Zhou Tianyou, Xi jing za ji 2 (2006), p. 96. For the vexed question of the author-ship of the Xi jin za ji, see Si ku quan shu zongmu tiyao, 27, p. 2882, and Zhang Xincheng, Wei shu tongkao (revised edition 1957), pp. 649–59. The editors of the Siku quanshu zongmu tiyao consider carefully the ascription to Ge Hong 葛洪 (283–343), on the basis of the statements of Liu Xin 劉歆 (46 BCE to 23 CE), and to other writ-ers such as Wu Jun 吳均 (469–520); although they placed the names of Liu Xin and Ge Hong at the book’s title they clearly harboured considerable doubts in doing so, while stating that the work was of value and should not be dismissed. Zhang Xincheng concludes (p. 653, repeated p. 582) that Ge Hong gave the book its form, partly on the basis of items seen in an incomplete Han shu of Liu Xin but not found in Ban Gu’s Han shu.

In his preface Zhou Tianyou names four writers to whom authorship of the work has been ascribed, together with the possibility that it was written by another person, unknown. He takes citations from the Xiao shuo 小說 of Yin Yun 殷蕓 (471–529) and the Qimin yaoshu 齊民要術 of Jia Sixie 賈思勰

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4. The entry Chunqiu fanlu 春秋繁露 17 juan, in Suishu 32, p. 930, where it is placed under Chunqiu with appended notes ‘Han; com-piled by Dong Zhongshu Jiaoxi xiang 膠西相’; see also Jiu Tang shu 46, p. 1979,

5. The entry Dong Zhongshu Chunqiu fanlu 17 juan, in Tang shu 57, p. 1437 and Song shi 202, p. 5057.

6. The entry Chunqiu jueshi 春秋決事 10 juan, in Sui shu 32, p. 930, placed under Chunqiu, with an appended note ‘Han; compiled by Zhongshu’; for five other writings of this type, see p. 115 below.

7. Qingdao tu 請禱圖 3 juan; named in the note to Za zhan meng shu 雜占夢書 (Sui shu 34, p. 1038) as extant in Liang times but lost; under Wu xing.

8. The following items are ascribed to Dong Zhongshu in the Gu wen yuan 古文苑, for which see the Appendix below (p. 122).

a. A fu entitled Shi bu yu fu 士不遇賦 (3.3a; see p. 109 below).4

b. A shu 書 entitled Yi chengxiang Gongsun Hong ji shi shu 詣丞相公孫 弘記室書 (10.4a; see p. 110 below).

c. Jiao si dui 郊祀對, a response concerning the regular cults of worship (pian no. 71 of the Chunqiu fanlu; 11.1b; see Chapter Six below p. 254).

d. Yu bao dui 雨雹對, a response concerning the nature of hail (11.3b; see Chapter Four p. 167 below).

e. The Shan chuan song 山川頌 (pian no. 73 of the Chunqiu fanlu; 12.1b; see Chapter Six below p. 255).

f. Dong Zhongshu ji shu 董仲舒集叔; a biographical account includ-ing text seen in Han shu 56, pp. 2495, 2525 with some variants (17.1a).

(Northern Wei, 386–533) to show that the book was in existence before the sixth century. He excludes Wu Jun and Xiao Ben 蕭賁 (ca. 495–ca. 552) as possible authors and believes that attribution to Liu Xin cannot be sustained. Zhou Tianyou accepts Ge Hong 葛洪 as the author, without excluding the possibility that he might have made use of some of Liu Xin’s writings. See also the preface of Xiang Xinyang 向新陽 and Liu Keren 劉克任, ed., Xijing za ji jiaozhu (1991). A preface under the name of Ge Hong, which William H. Nienhauser (The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature, second, revised edition 1986, p. 406) regards as spurious, claims that the received text had survived in Ge Hong’s family from remnants of Liu Xin’s writings. Nienhauser writes ‘Actually, the work in its present form dates from around A.D. 500, possibly from the hand of Hsiao Pen (c. 495–c. 552). Yet to speak of an “author” for this work is misleading, since much of it is copied from earlier sources’. For fuller treatment, see Nienhauser, ‘Once again, the Authorship of the Hsi-ching tsa-ji (Miscel-lanies of the Western capital) (1978).

4 References are to the SBCK edition.

dong zhongshu’s writings 85

9. A collection (ji 集) of Dong Zhongshu’s writings appears in various ways. (a) As Han Jiaoxi xiang Dong Zhongshu ji 漢膠西相董仲舒集, 1 juan, in Sui shu 35, p. 1056 (2 juan in Liang times); (b) As Dong Zhongshu ji in Jiu Tang shu 47, p. 2053, Tang shu 60, p. 1576, 2 juan; Song shi 208, p. 5328, 1 juan. A note to two items of writings thatare mentioned in the Wen xuan refers to two poems (Qi yan qin ge 七言琴歌) in Dong Zhongshu ji. A collection of that title, in one juan, is listed in the contents of the Han Wei liuchao zhu jia wenji 漢魏六朝諸家文集 of Wang Shixian 汪士賢 (Ming period).5 (c) As Han Jiaoxi ji 漢膠西集 in 3 ce 冊, in Han Wei liu chao baisan ming jia 漢魏六朝百三名家 (ed. Zhang Bo 張薄, Ming period; rpt. 1873); also under the title of Dongzi wen ji 董子文集 in the Jifu congshu 畿輔叢書 (ed. Wang Hao 王灝, 1879) and copied therefrom in the Congshu jicheng series. The last named item, with no preface, colophon or date of compilation, includes the Shi bu yu fu; the three responses; Dong’s memorial on economic measures (as in HS 24; see p. 101 below); the Yi chengxiang Gongsun Hong ji shi shu (see p. 110 below); Dong’s comments on the fires of 135 (as in HS 27; see Chapter Four below p. 126); Yu bao dui; Jiao si dui; the Shan chuan song; and Dong’s interpretations of select abnormalities (as in HS 27).

10. Pian no. 2 (‘Lun xian’ 論仙) of the Baopuzi (nei) refers to a text entitled Li Shao jun jia lu 李少君家錄 compiled by Dong Zhong-shu.6 Wang Ming 王明 suggests that the reference should be to a text named Li Shaojun zhuan 傳 by Dong Zhonggong 躬, included in the Shenxian zhuan 神仙傳.7 Dong Zhonggong is not named as the author of that item.8 Described as a Gentleman Consultant (Yilang 議郎) he appears in the text as a person with whom Li Shaojun had been friendly and whose illness she had treated.

11. The note of Liu Zhao 劉昭 (ca. 510 CE) to Xu Han zhi9 cites a memorial addressed by Dong Zhongshu to the king of Jiangdu on the means of procuring a downfall of rain. This does not appear to be found in other sources.10

5 Wenxuan 43 Bei shan yi wen, p. 1959. Wang Shixian’s collection has not been available for consultation.

6 Baopuzi (nei pian) 2 (‘Lun xian’) 2.6a. 7 Wang Ming, Baopuzi neipian jiaoshi (revised edition 1985), p. 38, note 170. 8 Shenxian zhuan 6.1a, 1b (in Shuo ku 說庫); Fukui Kōjun, Shinsen den (1983),

pp. 203, 206. 9 HHS (tr.) 5, p. 3118.10 For a possible reference, see Chapter Four below, p. 38.

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12. In addition to citations from the Chunqiu fanlu, the Chu xue ji of Xu Jian 徐堅 (659–729) quotes a passage that concerns Yin Yang that is close to passages in that text.11 Two others entitled respec-tively Dong Zhongshu yun 云 and Dong Zhongshu dawen 答問 are not traced elsewhere.12

13. A saying of Dong Zhongshu, headed Dong Zi yue 董子曰 which concerns the composition of the character wang 王 is carried in the Yiwen leiju.13

14. A fu entitled Shi bu yu fu 士不遇賦 is included in the Yiwen leiju 藝文類聚 compiled by Ouyang Xun 歐陽詢 (557–641).14

15. Various sources such as the Tong dian and the Taiping yulan include some eight fragments of decisions pronounced by Dong in legal cases that had aroused difficulty; these are treated else-where.15

Attention follows below to the historical and literary circumstances in which some of these writings should be placed.

The Three Rescripts and Responses

Despite the problems that they present and the likelihood that the received text of the three responses results from an editorial hand, as may be seen below,16 they may yet be regarded as the most authentic statement of Dong Zhongshu’s views. In general the three rescripts may reflect differences of attitude or even matters of controversy that were affecting public decisions. The three responses are perhaps to be interpreted as Dong Zhongshu’s protest against some of the prevailing conditions that were colouring public life and had been doing so during his impressionable years, i.e., during the reign of Wendi and perhaps more certainly that of Jingdi. He is seen as taking the injunctions of the rescripts seriously and doing so as fearlessly as was requested. In addi-

11 Chu xue ji 14 (‘Hunyin’ 7), p. 355; CQFL 16 (77 ‘Xun tian zhi dao’), pp. 446, 450.

12 Chu xue ji 4 (‘Han shi’ 5), p. 67 (on the nature of the heart and gender distinctions); and 30 (‘Chan’ 12), p. 748 (on the use of the term qi nü 齊女 to denote chan 蟬.

13 Yiwen leiju 11 (‘Di wang bu’), p. 198.14 Yiwen leiju 30 (‘Ren bu’ 14), p. 541 (Shanghai: Guji chubanshe), p. 541.15 See Loewe, ‘Dong Zhongshu as a consultant’ (2009), 163–82; for a summary see

p. 115 below. 16 See the Appendix to this chapter below pp. 118–21.

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tion to his protests he is mouthing a recommendation to the new young emperor to take active steps to eliminate some of the existing inequities and restore a government that would be beneficial to the whole empire, as had been achieved previously.

In a number of ways Dong Zhongshu’s proposals were new or even radical and they could hardly commend themselves to those of Wudi’s ministers who were set to intensify the forward looking, expansionist policies of earlier years. His criticism of the contemporary scene would naturally induce opposition or even hatred, as would his indictment of the ways in which officials were chosen and how they behaved. In such circumstances it is not surprising that there is little to show that his views gained a following in his own time; nor may we wonder that his failure to embark on a successful career as an official was coupled with his effective banishment to the provinces. In expounding his views he seeks the support of an intellectual authority of a type that was not being seen so frequently: that is, in the sayings of Kongzi and the records of the Chunqiu.

One slight but significant item of evidence shows that some parts at least of Dong Zhongshu’s responses were available for consultation, perhaps for only a few persons, during Xuandi’s reign. Following the death of Sima Qian the Shiji appeared only rarely. Only two copies of the work had been made, and it was Yang Yun 楊惲, a grandson of Sima Qian, who is credited with having the work published (xuanbu 宣布).17 Yang Yun himself had a somewhat chequered career, which ended in his execution. To explain his conduct, shortly after 56 he addressed a letter to Sun Huizong 孫會宗, in which he cited a passage that appears in the third response: ‘In an exclusive search for human values and right conduct one is constantly afraid of failing to influence the people; such are the thoughts of senior officials; in an exclusive search for monetary profit, one is constantly aware of its deficiency; such is the practice of the common man’.18 This would seem to be the only case wherein a scholar or official of Western Han cites from the sayings of Dong Zhongshu that are recorded as being within his responses to Wudi. For the part played by Ban Gu in editing these texts, see the Appendix pp. 118–21 below.

17 HS 62, p. 2737.18 HS 66, p. 2896 and 56, p. 2521. HS 66 reads 明明 (miâng/miwong); HS 56 reads 皇皇 (g’wâng/ γwâng). See Karlgren, Grammata Serica Recensa (1964) nos. 760, 708.

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Whatever the exact date when the first rescript and its response were formulated, it was shortly after the accession of a young emperor, following the death of a somewhat ruthless one. Is the rescript asking for the encouragement that a new, young ruler needs? Is the response that of an older man, about sixty, who is calling on his own experience and remembrances of the reigns of Wendi and Jingdi to advise their successor and give him due warning? The second rescript perhaps reflects the existence of differences of opinion that were being voiced at the time as between two different attitudes to government—the one advanced by the Grand Empress Dowager Dou 竇 and perhaps Sima Tan 司馬談, the other by senior officials such as Chao Cuo 鼂錯.

A paraphrase of the three rescripts and responses follows.19

First rescript

[2495] Fully conscious of the gravity of the charge that he bears, the emperor seeks the services of the xianliang and others in the hope of hearing their wise advice on some major issues. [2496] The world ruled by the monarchs of Xia, Shang and Zhou was in order, though they changed their institutions and created their own music. This music survived the holy kings, but the proper way of kingship was lost by Jie 桀 and Zhou 紂. Many attempts were made in the ensuing five hun-dred years to take the models of the former kings, but without success. It cannot be that the principles to which they clung had gone awry or lost their unity. Is the great charge imparted by heaven bound to end in decay? Is it useless to take the ancient ways as a model? Where were the portents that showed that those three dynasties would receive the charge, why did disasters and abnormalities arise? What is the way to achieve a prosperous and blessed rule? The emperor asks his advisors to speak without fear of any harm that would come to them as a result and to conceal nothing.

First response20

[2498] You ask about the charge imparted by heaven and the impact of human nature. I can only suggest looking at the Chunqiu to find

19 For a complete translation of these texts, see Wilhelm Seufert, ‘Urkunden zur staatlichen Neuordnung unter der Han-Dynastie’ (1922), pp. 11–50.

20 HS 22, pp. 1031–2 includes extracts from this response as seen on pp. 2502–4, with the addition of two short passages from response no. 3; see notes 29, 31 below.

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guidance from the past. Heaven conveys its warning to decadent poli-ties by way of disasters in the hope that those who manage them will reform their ways and with the intention that those regimes will be saved from destruction thanks to the encouragement of learning and of the right sort of action, as noted in the Songs and Documents.21

[2499] Ren 仁, yi 義, li 禮 and yue 樂 are the instruments of dao, and it was by cultivating these values that successors to the holy kings lasted for several centuries. Before a king had composed his own music he adopted that of his predecessor as a means of eliminating bad cus-toms and engendering those of a higher standard. For the value of music is so strong that it survives intact despite the decline of the ways of the true kings; and that is how Kongzi heard some of that music centuries later when he was in Qi 齊.

The ruin of a regime has occurred when the incumbent was not of the right type and when he failed to rely on the right sort of princi-ples. Those principles had not disappeared in the time of kings You 幽 (r. 781–771) and Li 厲 (857/53–842/28); those kings had simply not followed them, and king Xuan 宣 (827/25–782) is to be praised for try-ing to restore them. [2500] Note Kongzi’s remark that human beings can expand dao; it is not dao that expands human beings.22

Kings charged with a great mission by heaven are necessarily sup-ported by a strength that is super-human: all human beings turn to them in loyalty, and auspicious signs from heaven appear in response, as is suggested by statements in the Documents and those made by Zhou Gong and Kongzi.23 These show how effective the cumulative results of good deeds can be. The decline of the later ages brought on an inability to retain loyalties, with an abandonment of moral teaching and a reliance on the force of punishments. Feelings of hatred arose, with a loss of harmony between upper and lower ranks of the com-munity, resulting in the upset of Yin and Yang. Therein lay the cause of disasters and abnormalities.

[2501] Human beings may live for a long or for a short time, and they may be imbued with philanthropic feelings or those of an inferior

21 See Shi jing 18.3 (‘Song gao’).14b; Shang shu 4 (‘Da Yu mo’).22a.22 Lunyu 15 (‘Wei Ling Gong’).8b; Legge, The Chinese Classics (second edition;

1893) vol. I p. 302; D.C. Lau, Confucius The Analects (Lun yü) translated with an introduction (1979), p. 136.

23 Yan Shigu identifies the two citations from the Shang shu as coming from the Jin wen text of the Tai shi 泰誓; Lunyu 4 (‘Li ren’). 5b; Legge, op. cit., vol. I, p. 172.

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nature, depending on the destiny ordered by heaven, the substance of their personalities and the strength of their hopes. Cast as it were in a mould they are yet in no way uniform—as Kongzi put it, like the wind, the better ones influence the lower ones; like the grass, the lower ones bend to the wind.24 The fine deeds of Yao and Shun led to popular morality and happiness; the violence practised by Jie and Zhou left the people in a low condition and due for short lives, as is suggested in the Lunyu.25

The sequence of the terms chun 春, as made by heaven, wang 王, and zheng 正, [2502] as made by kings, that is seen in the Chunqiu, implies acceptance of heaven’s gifts above and regulation of personal conduct below. The major aspects of heaven’s ways are immanent in Yin and Yang—Yang comprising positive deeds and their recom-pense (de 徳) and the gift of life, as seen at the height of summer; Yin comprising punishment (xing 刑) and the closure of life, as seen in the depths of winter. Heaven thus depends on de and not on xing. It ensures that Yang takes the upper position and controls the work-ing results of the year, and that Yin lies hidden below, in due season giving Yang the assistance on which it relies for bringing a successful conclusion to the year.

Such is heaven’s intention and true kings follow this pattern by choosing to rely on de rather than xing, for xing is no way of keep-ing order in a realm and none of the kings of old saw fit to adopt it. Abandonment of the offices that convey the moral teachings of the kings of old with sole appointment of officials who rely on models of prescribed behaviour can only mean reliance on xing. Kongzi pointed out the iniquity of practising government by means of cruelty, without a prior teaching of morals, and the difficulty of trying to spread such teaching world wide.26

By choice of the term yuan 元 to denote the first year of a rul-er’s reign the Chunqiu linked a view of the origin of creation with an attempt to set fundamentals straight.27 Rulers first set their own motives in order and then proceed to do so for their court [2503], their offices and their population, thereby eliminating dissidence. Yin

24 Lunyu 12 (‘Yan yuan’).8b; Legge, op. cit., vol. I, p. 259.25 Lunyu 19 (‘Zi Zhang’).7b; Legge, op. cit., vol. I, p. 349.26 Lunyu 20 (‘Yao yue’).4a, Legge, op. cit., vol. I, p. 353.27 I follow the reading ben 本 as in Qian Han ji 11.2b rather than 大 da as in HS

56, p. 2502.

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and Yang are in harmony and nature prospers, as is shown by auspi-cious signs.

Kongzi reproached himself with his inability to bring about such signs.28 “Despite your own strong position and suitability as a ruler, neither heaven nor earth has manifested a response in praise and this is because, without arrangements for teaching, the minds of the popu-lation have not been set straight, such teaching being essential to stem their desire simply to follow their own interests.” The kings of old realised the importance of teaching in keeping the world in order and they set up major and minor schools, such as the Da xue 大學, the xiang 庠 and the xu 序. They were hoping to inculcate the principles of ren, yi 誼 and li [2504] and by using the lightest of punishments to prevent crime.

Faced with the task of taking over a corrupt state the holy kings eliminated all traces of evil and set about the promotion of cultural teaching, such that this endured for some five or six hundred years.29 Succeeding to the final and decadent years of Zhou, Qin made mat-ters worse by proscribing learning and literature, and abandoning the values of the past in the hope of destroying the ways of the kings of old. The Qin empire lasted a mere fourteen years, but the evil that it engendered has not yet disappeared, preventing as it did the expres-sion of loyal thoughts or ethical concepts. Kongzi spoke of the impos-sibility of carving wood that was rotten or using soiled clay to build a wall.30 As a successor to Qin, Han faced the impossible task of put-ting just such a situation right, as the issue of commands could only be counter-productive. The exercise of government is like playing a zither, [2505] which is only possible when the instrument is tuned—the finest musicians cannot do so otherwise. Han’s failure to set the world in a fine state of order, from its foundation onwards, is due to its failure to reform where reform is necessary.31 There is an old saying

28 Lunyu 9 (‘Zi han’).4b, Legge, op. cit., vol. I, p. 219.29 The summary of this response as seen in HS 22, p. 1032 adds two short passages

that appear in the third response (HS 56, p. 2515), to the effect that (a) in Zhou times, there was not a single case of a prison charge (Hulsewé, Remnants of Han Law (1955), p. 434, 435 renders as ‘lawsuit’); whereas (b) nowadays these are numbered by the ten thousand or thousand in one year.

30 Lunyu 5 (‘Gongye chang’).5a; Legge, op. cit., vol. I, p. 176.31 HS 56, p. 2505 reads bu ke shan zhi 不可善治; HS 22, p. 1032 reads bu neng sheng

can qu sha 不能勝殘去殺 ‘not able to stop cruelty and do away with killing’ (trs. Hulsewé, op. cit., p. 435), as seen in Lunyu 13 (‘Zi Lu’).5a, Legge, op. cit., vol. I, p. 267.

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‘rather than hang around a pond hoping for a fish, better to go home and sew up some nets’.32 The introduction of reforms, by far the best course of action, will bring good fortune in place of natural disasters. See what the Songs say about a government which is suitable for the governed and brings the blessing of heaven.33 To get that you must cultivate the five constant values of ren, yi, li, zhi 知 and xin 信.

Second rescript

[2506] The second rescript reads as a request for advice on a choice between two conflicting points of view. It may be asked whether, by calling explicitly on major differences seen in the past, it is pointing to two different attitudes that were prevalent at Wudi’s court. Such differences are spelt out in three types of contrast; between Shun who governed without conscious effort but attained a time of perfect peace, and Wen Wang whose untiring efforts led to a state of good order; between the value of displaying the trappings of sovereignty, as in Zhou, and a trust of unadorned simplicity;34 and between a depen-dence on punishments to put down crime, as by Yin [2507] and a forbearance from ordering severe penalties as by Cheng Wang 成王 and Kang Wang 康王. The emperor claims that he has been making efforts to encourage agriculture, promote family solidarity and attend to the needy. Nevertheless Yin and Yang are upset; there is general dissatisfaction and distress and a loss of true values. It seems to be useless to follow examples of the past when these are so diverse, or to be shackled by such restrictions without any power of innovation. The emperor therefore requests an outspoken, fearless answer.

Second response

[2508] Dong Zhongshu sets out to explain the difference between the two ways of government—positive and laissez-faire—each of which had been practised by highly esteemed monarchs. Yao had been obliged to take active steps to eliminate wrongdoers and to assem-

32 See slightly different text in Wenzi A (6 ‘Shang de’).39a (SBBY ed.).33 Shi jing 17(3) (‘Jia le’).1a. 34 A display of sovereignty is exemplified in the ornamentation of coloured

emblems and pennants, simplicity in the beauties of unworked jade. The distinction between simplicity and ornamentation is treated more fully elsewhere; see Chapter Seven below, pp. 275–86.

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ble assistants who possessed the right qualities, such as Shun; and he achieved highly successful results. [2509] But Shun, for his part, was able to rely on the support left over thanks to his predecessor’s rule and to maintain order in the world without the need to take concerted action to do so. Whereas, following the cruelty practised by Zhou of Yin and the refusal of men of worth to serve him, Wen Wang of Zhou called a number of excellent men to his court, and was obliged to make strenuous efforts to put matters right. So, depending on the circum-stances and state of the world at the time, a monarch may either have to work hard, or be able to take his ease.

To support his case, Dong Zhongshu cited Kongzi three times.35 He also referred to the way in which Kongzi had compiled the Chun-qiu, thereby displaying the cultural quality [wen 文] of the men who ruled without the full title to do so [su wang 素王].36 [2510] Dong then turned to the question of thrift or expenditure, explaining that a systematic use of colours had a purpose in distinguishing between dif-ferent social ranks and in encouraging those blessed with the virtues. This is to be seen in the Chunqiu’s regulations for the calendar and for the correct colours of the robes, and also in a statement of Kongzi: ‘Extravagance means ostentation, frugality means shabbiness; I would rather be shabby than ostentatious’.37 Dong adds that the best jade needs no treatment and refers to Xiang Tuo 項槖, who was said to have possessed a number of qualities including that of self-knowledge, such that at the age of seven he was acting as Kongzi’s teacher.38 By contrast the common types of jade and the usual type of mind do require embellishment or training.

Dong then wrote on the contrast between the ways of Zhou and Qin. The kings of Zhou conferred appointments according to merit, with marks of rank and salaries to encourage the virtues, and punishments

35 Lunyu 13 (‘Zi Lu’).5a, Legge, op. cit., vol. I, p. 267 and 3 (‘Ba yi’).15a, Legge, op. cit., vol. I, p. 164.

36 The passage is by no means easy to understand; see the interpretations by Honda Wataru, Kanjo, Go Kanjo, Sangoku shi retsuden sen (1968), p. 22, and Otake Takeo 小竹武夫, Kanjo 漢書 vol. II (1978), p. 289. See also the statement by Liu Xiang to the same effect; Shuo yuan 5 (‘Gui de’).2a (SBCK ed.); and see HSBZ 56.10b note for Kongzi not applying the term su wang to himself. For su wang, see Chapter Four below, pp. 172–7.

37 Trs. D.C. Lau, op. cit., p. 91; Lunyu 3 (‘Ba yi’).3a, Legge, ibid., vol. I, p. 155; 7 (‘Shu er’). 12a, Legge, op. cit., vol. I, p. 207.

38 For Xiang Tuo, see SJ 71, p. 2319; Huainanzi 19 (‘Xiu wu’).16b; Zhanguo ce 7 (Qin 5) p. 63; Xin xu 5 (‘Za shi’ 5).15a (SBCK ed.); Lunheng 26 (‘Shi zhi’), p. 1076.

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to overcome evil; there followed a general growth of cultural values and a law-abiding state of affairs. Qin took Shen Buhai 申不害, Shang Yang 商鞅 and Han Fei 韓非 as its masters, giving rise to greed, a fail-ure to punish criminals, and deception on the part of officials, some of whom were known for their oppressive methods. [2511] Uncontrolled taxation, failure to work the land, crime and punishment followed. Once again Dong Zhongshu cited Kongzi.39

He then expatiated on the great success of imperial rule, extended as it was over the whole known world, attracting loyal adherence from the most remote places, and being an accomplished state of taiping 太平. However such success did not register with the general population who had yet to feel the benefit of the imperial will, and he asked Wudi to take to heart the injunction of Zengzi to put good intentions into effect.40

[2512] ‘While your personal example and efforts are comparable with the intentions of Yao and Shun they fail to produce the right results of nurturing men of ability. The essential need is for a Daxue; the provinces are not able to find the right persons for office,41 and a Daxue, staffed by the right sort of teachers who are proved to be doing their best, is the best way to bring excellence to the fore’. There follows an indictment of provincial and local officials, from governors and magistrates down, for their failure to provide the right sort of leader-ship, instruction or example for the population under their charge, while they treat them to cruelty and engage in the pursuit of profit. The resulting poverty, unjustified suffering and loss of occupation are far from the emperor’s own wishes. The disordered state of Yin and Yang, the prevailing anger and wretched state of the people are due to the ineptitude of the provincial and local officials.

39 Lunyu 2 (‘Wei zheng’).1b, Legge, op. cit., vol. I, p. 146; Lau, op. cit., p. 63 renders the citation as ‘Guide them by edicts, keep them in line with punishments, and the common people will stay out of trouble but will have no sense of shame’. The text does not include the immediately following passage of the Lunyu, ‘Guide them by virtue, keep them in line with the rites, and they will, besides having a sense of shame, reform themselves’.

40 See Da Dai li ji 5 (‘Zengzi jibing’), p. 89.41 Dui wang ying shu zhe 對亡應書者. Yan Shigu takes this to mean those respond-

ing to shu, i.e., the decrees calling for men of talent; Wang Xianqian believes it to mean that those who respond do not comply with the meaning of the jing.

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‘Many of the senior officials42 are drawn from the ranks of the Gen-tlemen;43 other officials are sponsored nominees, being sons or younger brothers of the highest ranking officials; or they have acquired appoint-ment by payment of large sums of money.44 In the past, records of good merit depended on suitability for duties and not simply on length of service in a post, [2513] with the result that an official would exert his powers and stretch his intellect to the utmost; but this is not the case now when it is length of service that is honoured and that leads to high office, to the exclusion of distinctions of quality. I therefore think it right to order the nobles, governors of the commanderies and highest ranking officials of the central government45 to choose two46 men of ability annually to fill the ranks of the guardsmen at the palace47 for observation of their capacity to serve in senior positions. There should be rewards for sending up men with real ability, punishments for the reverse. This is how to get competent persons into the offices and to attain a reputation such as that of Yao or Shun. Ability must be judged and appointments made in accordance with merit so as to distinguish the good from the bad’.

It may be noted that Dong does not blame the existing arrange-ments for producing officials whose honesty or loyalty might be in question.

42 Extensive notes to this part of the response by Wang Mingsheng (1722–98) and Wang Xianqian (1842–1918) are found in HSBZ 56.12b–13a; Wang Mingsheng takes zhangli 長吏 as governors of the commanderies and magistrates of the counties; Wang Xianqian as the magistrates of the counties.

43 There were various categories of lang ‘Gentlemen’ who were subordinated to the ‘Superintendent of the Palace (Langzhong ling 郎中令) (later named Guangluxun 光祿勳); see HS 19A, p. 727 and Bielenstein, Bureaucracy, pp. 24, 27. The text men-tions the Langzhong (Gentlemen of the Palace, ranked at 300 shi) and Zhonglang (Gentlemen of the Household, ranked at 600 shi). They served as armed guardsmen who were responsible for the security of the imperial palaces.

44 Ru Chun 如淳 (fl. 221–265) cites the statement of the Han [yi] zhu 漢儀注, with reference to the time of Wendi, that the sum of five million cash secured appoint-ment as Gentleman in Permanent Attendance (Changshi lang 常侍郎); see HS 50, p. 2307, HSBZ 50.1a. For a somewhat different approach to the assessment of officials from that voiced here, see Chapter Six below p. 235, under Chunqiu fanlu, pian no. 21 ‘Kao gong ming’.

45 The text of the Han shu and the Zizhi tongjian reads Zhu liehou junshou erqian-shi; as the junshou were themselves ranked at 2,000 shi it seems that it was the 2,000 shi salaried officials of the central government who were intended. However, the Qian Han ji (11.3b) reads jun guo, thus excluding the central government.

46 Qian Han ji 11.3b reads one; ZZTJ 17, p. 553 reads two.47 Su wei 宿衛.

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Third rescript

The third rescript betrays a dissatisfaction with the answers submit-ted so far and seeks a deeper consideration of the basic issues that are involved. Citing a saying in the Xunzi,48 without acknowledgement, the emperor asks directly for an answer that will bear on the basic relationship between the realms of heaven and man, the relevance of the past to the present and the gradual way in which one state of affairs develops into another. [2514] He finds the answers given hitherto to be incomplete and without direct concern to the present, hinting or perhaps even suggesting that they had been prepared for a somewhat unintelligent mind. Finally he reverts to the major fundamental prob-lem that has been raised; whether adherence to a precedent of the past is essential or whether there is room for differing views.

Third response

In reply, Dong Zhongshu apologises for the shortcomings of his earlier responses and sets out [2515] an orderly reply to the basic questions raised, calling for support from the Chunqiu and Kongzi, as hitherto. He frames his answer in general terms, without putting forward prac-tical measures to be adopted but finally suggesting a new direction for intellectual activity. At times he calls on the very terms of the rescript.

Heaven is the creator, working through the medium of Yin and Yang. The holy rulers take it as their model with which to act uni-versally without personal considerations, and they follow the varying moves of heaven by reacting appropriately so as to impart kindness, foster growth or bring matters to their proper end. Such is the prin-ciple that unites heaven and man, past and present, just as is seen in Kongzi’s compilation of the Chunqiu. For that text looks both to heaven’s own ways and man’s own nature, calling both on the past and the present. Where the Chunqiu expresses criticism, or castigates, or records the faults of a community, it is there that natural disasters strike or abnormalities occur. All this shows how, while human activi-ties and the extreme points reached in human behaviour run in full

48 Beginning 善言天者; Xunzi 23, p. 332; Knoblock, Xunzi A Translation and Study of the Complete Works vol. III (1994), p. 156; Le Blanc and Mathieu, Philosophes con-fucianistes (2009), p. 1179.

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accord with the events that take place in heaven or on earth, they duly respond to those of past and present. This is just one aspect of explain-ing what heaven is.

Dong Zhongshu turned to one important contrast between past and present. In the past offices had been set up to provide teaching of a moral type, with a resulting absence of crime. Abandonment of such institutions in recent times had led to the pursuit of profit and a prolif-eration of criminal cases; the Chunqiu had therefore railed against the alteration or abolition of ancient practice. In a further consideration of the relation between heaven and man, he distinguished between ming 命, the destiny or commands imparted by heaven, which is safe only in the hands of a saintly character; xing 性, human character which achieves its end only by teaching; and qing 情, human emotions and passions which are modified only by rules and regulations. This is why true kings look to receive heaven’s instructions, strive to bring moral teaching to bear on their people and set the right patterns for action, distinguishing between the upper and lower orders of society. In this way they try to obey the charge that they have received, allow people to fulfil their character and stem the outbreak of undue desire. [2516] ‘Human beings receive their charge or destiny from heaven. They are pre-eminently superior to other living creatures, with their close rela-tionships of kin, acceptance of the correct scheme of governors and governed, and recognised distinctions between old and young. They treat one another in a polite, civil manner; their fellow feelings are imbued with pleasure. Herein lies their nobility. Heaven provides them with food, clothing and stock animals, and they themselves tame cattle, ride horses and keep wild beasts under control.

‘With heaven’s blessing human beings are superior to the animals, and being conscious of heaven’s nature they recognise their own degree of superiority. There follow the pursuit of the human values of morality, and only then the attention paid to due formality and restraint, with a peaceful way of living and a joy in an ordered way of life. Persons who have achieved this may be termed ‘Men of Quality’ (junzi 君子)’.

The third rescript seems to reflect a difficulty in understanding how, given the contrast between Yao and Shun on the one hand and Jie and Zhou on the other, they won their reputation for good or acquired their notoriety for evil in a gradual and cumulative way. [2517] Dong Zhongshu explains that change is indeed gradual. Neither Yao nor Shun rose to pre-eminence in a day. They could do so only by concen-trating on minutiae, whether of word or deed, in the same way that a

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man’s body grows in length without him realising it, or a fire melts fat without him being aware. He added that good and evil are interrelated and follow one another in the same way as body and shadow, sound and echo. Along with the violence of Jie and Zhou, evil flourished and the land fell into ever greater turmoil. Evil does not disappear in a day, and despite their loss of principle, Jie and Zhou continued to be in power for some ten years. Here again we have a cumulative pro-cess taking place. [2518] Addressing the problem of the apparent con-tradiction between an immutable order of the best kings of old and the need for alterations in their ways, Dong Zhongshu explained that there were no differences in the principles on which they worked or the ideas that they entertained; changes had been necessary to correct flaws and repair deficiencies in the ways in which their ideas were being implemented in action, such changes simply according with heaven’s charges. Changes of institution (zhi 制) had indeed taken place but there had been no abolition of principle (dao 道). He noted how in turn Xia, Yin and Zhou had laid emphasis on three differ-ent values, concentration on basics (zhong 忠), respect for precedent (jing 敬) and cultural improvement (wen 文).49 [2519] His conclusion may well have included a veiled criticism of the contemporary state of affairs, ‘For those who take on from a regime of good order, its prin-ciples remain unaltered; for those who take on from a regime that has been subject to disruption, its principles are removed by change. Han inherited an aftermath of major disruption; it is time to reduce the degree of attention paid to the Zhou ideal of wen and to concentrate on Xia’s ideal of zhong’.50

Writing in a manner that might be deemed to be insincere or even disingenuous, Dong Zhongshu referred to the emperor’s full appre-ciation of the values of true kingship, his regret that these were not conspicuous in public life and his recognition of the need for moral improvement. So far he, Dong, had simply set forth what he had been told and what he had learnt; it was up to the senior officials to discuss and advise on the successes and failures as witnessed in government and to identify its good points and its failings.

49 For the choice of these three ideals, see Baihu tong 8 (‘San jiao’), pp. 369, 372, Tjan Tjoe Som, Po Hu T’ung: the comprehensive discussions in the White Tiger Hall, pp. 552, 557. For the distinction between wen ‘pattern’ and zhi ‘substance’, see Chapter Seven below, pp. 275–86.

50 See Lunyu 2 (‘Wei zheng’).8a; Legge, ibid., vol. I, p. 153; Lau, ibid., p. 66.

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However, there was one matter that he found odd; and here Dong Zhongshu actually appended a sharp criticism of the contemporary scene that could cost him nothing but the resentment and antago-nism of some of his contemporaries. He asked why, [2520] in a world that was fundamentally one and the same, there was such a marked difference between past and present practice. The old world was marked by orderly government, with its amity between the higher and the lower orders of society, a fine way of life and an effortless exercise of authority. There were no outbreaks of crime, the prisons lay empty, the works of nature flourished, there were fine auspices of a good way of life. How come it that there was such a wide disparity with present conditions? Has there been such a long interval between past and present? Has the decline been due to gross error? Has some-thing of the ways of old been abandoned? Is there something that is running counter to the ordained way of heaven? By way of answer Dong fastened on aspects of a matter that he seems to have regarded as scandalous: the gross imbalance of wealth.

Nature, he wrote, provides the animals and birds with the faculties and limbs that they require for their livelihood, be it their teeth or wings, but it does so in a way that prevents those with great resources from taking things from those with less. Precisely the same type of controls should apply, Dong wrote, to salaried officials, who were in a position to exploit their position so as to engage in profitable under-takings of industry and trade. There was a striking difference between the rich and the poor, and the divide was growing ever wider. [2521] It was quite wrong to allow such officials to grow rich in this way and to compete with the common people for material gain on these levels. He cited the example of Gongyi Xiu 公儀休 or Gongyi Zi 公儀子 who, as Chancellor of Lu, was furious at finding that members of his family were weaving silk cloth; he dismissed his wife from her home; and while taking to a diet of mean vegetables that he ate in his official quarters, he ordered the vegetables that were growing in his own plot to be pulled out. ‘I earn a salary’, he said, ‘why should I take away the profit from the market gardeners and the weaving women?’51

51 The few references to Gongyi Zi or Gongyi Xiu are seen as follows: (a) SJ 119, pp. 3101, 3103 (Taishi gong yue); (b) Yantie lun 5 (20 ‘Xiang ci’), p. 254; (c) a fragment of Liu Xiang’s Xin xu, preserved in Taiping yulan 174.6b; see Xin xu shuzheng 新序疏證, annotated Zhao Shanyi 趙善詒 (1999) p. 302; (d) Zhang Song’s 張竦 praise of Wang Mang (HS 99A, p. 4059); (e) Liu Xiang’s Shuo yuan 7 (‘Zheng li’).10b, 13

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Dong Zhongshu pointed to the decline of Zhou as the time when high-ranking officials started to relax in a search for moral values and to bend all their energies to profiteering. The emperor’s counsellors, he wrote, provide an example for the common people to emulate, whether they are near at hand or far away. Those people who are at the top ride in carriages and must in no way act like commoners who carry loads on their backs.52 Disaster follows an abandonment of these differences of behaviour.

The last three lines of the response form a climax to Dong’s opin-ions and advice. [2523] ‘The “unique thread” (yi tong一統) or Single Dispensation that the Chunqiu extols is the constant thread running through heaven and earth; it is the common principle running through past and present.53 Nowadays the teachers hold to their diverse ideas, ordinary persons put their different arguments forward, the special-ists of different types of opinion have their different methods; in all these, there are different objectives. That is why in the upper reaches of society there is no means of supporting that unique thread securely; models of action and organs of state are all too often abandoned; and the lower reaches of society have no comprehension of what should be kept safe. In my own opinion, for what it is worth, the way for-ward for any ideas that are not included in the Six Choice Works or Kongzi’s methods should be cut so as to prevent them from making any advance. Only when the perverse and wicked opinions have been eliminated will it be possible, with the threads woven into one, for models of action and organs of state to be clearly understood and for the general public to realise what they should follow’.

Consideration of some of the ideas expressed in these responses fol-lows in Chapter Four below.

(‘Quan mo’).20b, 17 (‘Za yan’).5b (SBCK ed.); (f) Li Xian’s comments to HHS 27B, p. 1825, and 82A, p. 2715. There are some discrepancies; (i) the YTL mentions him as chancellor of Mu Gong 穆公 of Lu; (ii) the fragment of the Xin xu has him repri-manding Lu Ai 哀 Gong for building too large a house. The same anecdote is carried in Huainanzi 18.29a, but it is told of Gongxuan 宣 Zi and not Gongyi Zi; (iii) the tale of Gongyi Xiu’s dismissal of his wife is included only in (f).

52 To support his argument, Dong cites from the Xiang to Zhou yi 4 (‘Jie’) 25b and Xi ci zhuan A.19b.

53 Gongyang zhuan 1 (Yin gong 1).8b.

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Agriculture and taxation

Dong Zhongshu’s references in his responses to uncontrolled taxa-tion and the imbalance of wealth54 are amplified in the two statements on wider economic issues that are included in the Han shu’s treatise on these matters.55 They are preceded by an account of steps taken in earlier times to encourage agriculture and to raise revenue. In 155 BCE the rate of tax levied on the produce of the land had been reduced to one thirtieth part of the yield; subsequently, along with several steps such as those to increase the use of horses, officials were being enjoined to encourage greater attention to agriculture. As a result, so we read, the seventy years preceding Wudi’s accession had been blessed with prosperity and abundance, to the point that it was not possible to count the coins delivered as tax and much of the grain sent in for this purpose lay rotting; and there was a far wider use of horses.

However, there followed the expeditions undertaken against non-Han peoples, with greatly increased calls for service and a tendency to leave the work of the fields abandoned, and it is in this context that Dong’s statements are placed. In the first, short, statement he cites the authority of the Chunqiu to call for an imperial decree. This should be addressed to the Superintendent of Agriculture (Da Sinong 大司農) with orders for the plantation of wheat in the metropolitan area. The second statement recalls the days of old with tax at no more than one tenth and statutory service being for no more than three days [in the year].56 It was under the changes introduced in Qin by Shang Yang that the jing tian 井田 system had been abolished, with permission to buy and sell land. There followed a major disparity between the rich landowners and the poor peasantry who had next to no land on which they could make a living. In addition, profits from the waterways and the mountains lay concentrated in the hands of a few persons, who could ignore official controls; there were the estates (yi 邑) made over to female members of the imperial family, possessed by persons who

54 HS 56, pp. 2511 (second response) and 2520 (third response). For land tenure, see the Appendix (4) p. 123 below.

55 HS 24A, p. 1137; for a complete translation, see Swann, Food and Money in Ancient China the Earliest Economic History of China to A.D. 25 (1950), pp. 177–83.

56 It is not clear from the text whether Dong saw a tax of one thirtieth or one tenth as the ideal.

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were treated with the respect due to a ruler of mankind; and there were the villages (li 里) that formed the wealth of the nobles ( gong hou 公侯). In such circumstances it was impossible for the lesser folk not to suffer distress. Add to this the imposition of statutory services that were in total thirty times57 more than those demanded in ancient times, and land tax, poll tax and profits from salt and iron that were twenty times more severe. Those working as hired labourers on other persons’ lands could retain no more than half of what they grew. Gross poverty followed, with the oppression of cruel officials; people turned to crime; and punishment untold followed.

Han had maintained existing practice without change. Certainly a sudden reversion to the jing tian system would be impractical, but some steps could be taken to approximate to the ways of old, such as a limitation on the extent of land holdings; a prevention of the means of accumulating large estates; the return of salt and iron workings to the people, abolition of [some aspects of] slavery; the removal of the right of life and death that some persons exercised; and a reduction of taxes and terms of statutory labour.

There are difficulties in accepting Swann’s date of ca. 100 for these statements. Su Yu’s chronology for Dong’s life and career enters his death at 104, but Bujard prefers to date this between 118 and 104 BCE.58 A problem is seen in Dong’s suggestion that the Superintendent of Agriculture, Da Sinong, should be addressed in an imperial decree, as it was only in 104 that the title Da Sinong replaced that of Da Nong ling, which had been in use since 143.

Dong refers twice to ‘the profits of salt and iron’. These are in fact the first references to salt and iron in Han shu 24A; the account of the measures to bring them under government’s control is given in Han shu 24B59 where Swann dates them at 117–115. Both the Qian Han ji and the Zizhi tongjian date them and Dong’s statements at 119.60 However his call for the return of these industries to the people implies a date after the steps to take these under government control (probably in 120 or 119) had become fully operative.

57 Qian Han ji 13.5b gives forty rather than thirty.58 Su Yu p. 486; Bujard, ‘La vie de Dong Zhongshu enigmes et hypothèses’ (1992)

pp. 183–202.59 HS 24B, 1165–6; Swann, op. cit., pp. 275–8.60 Qian Han ji 13.5a; Zizhi tongjian 19, p. 639; Nishijima, ‘The economic and social

history of Former Han’ (CHOC. 1986, p. 582) accepts 119; see also Katō Shigeshi, Shina keizaishi kōshō vol. 1 (1952), p. 49.

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Unfortunately we are given no dates for the changes that affected Dong’s life and career and the opportunities that he had for voic-ing opinions such as those expressed here. It is likely that his move to be chancellor of Jiaoxi took place shortly after Gongsun Hong’s appointment as chancellor in 124, and Su Yu dates it in that year.61 It is unlikely that, far removed from Chang’an, he would have been in a position to offer advice directly to the emperor; possibly he may have done so on these matters after his retirement from public life. Su Yu dates this in 121;62 and it was in those years that Dong was open to consultation by government officials; possibly he conveyed his views to Zhang Tang, Imperial Counsellor (Yushi dafu) 120–114), who is named as one of those who sought Dong’s advice. In this way, the date of 119 could be justified.

The Han shu records Dong’s suggestions in the terms shuo shang yue 說上曰 and you yan 又言, i.e., not in the terms used for submit-ting a memorial, such as shang shu 上書 or zou 奏. Without an offi-cial title to his name Dong was in no position to forward a memorial suggesting that Wudi should issue a decree. But it would presumably have been possible for him to make the suggestion when speaking in a consultative capacity to the Imperial Counsellor and advising that it should be one of the latter’s inferiors, named as Da Sinong, who should receive the appropriate orders.

Dong’s mention of sales of land and the consequent growth of large estates raises the question of who was involved in such transactions and what lands were open for purchase. Since the early days of the dynasty officials had kept a permanent check on the circumstances of land tenure, as is shown by the elaborate sets of registers that were being maintained.63 It may be unlikely that those persons who had received allocations of land by virtue of the orders of honour ( jue 爵) would have been in a legal position to sell off parts; but there remains the possibility that those at the top of the scale who had received very large allocations which they were not able to work themselves might well have wished to do so.64 Similarly, those who had been able, on

61 Su Yu, p. 482.62 Su Yu, p. 484.63 See Zhangjiashan Han mu zhujian (Statutes) strip no. 331 for the five sets of

registers. 64 E.g., the Guannei hou 關內侯, with order no. 19, were entitled to 95 qing 頃;

those who received the lowest order (no. 1) received 1 qing. See Zhangjiashan Han mu zhujian (Statutes) strip nos. 310–12.

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their own initiative, to reclaim unworked or barren land and put it to cultivation might have wished to sell some of it. This complex question, together with that of the extent of hired labour, still awaits research.

At much the same time as the salt and iron industries were being brought under official control, certain unnamed officials voiced their views (gong qing yan 公卿言). These included the suggestion that mer-chants who were registered as such, together with their families and dependants, should not be entitled to possess land under their own names (ming tian名田).65 This certainly implies that up to that time (ca. 119) merchants had been able to possess land, acquired presum-ably by purchase, and this is confirmed by a statement that concerned some of the men who had possessed great wealth.66 Whether or not the requisite orders followed the suggestion is not recorded. Nor is there a specific indication that Dong was a party to it. Cho-yun Hsu concludes that such a provision was in force only during Wudi’s reign.67

The authorised power of life and death that a parent could exercise over a relative is mentioned in a comment made by Kong Yingda 孔穎達 (574–648) to the Liji.68 One of the strips from Shuihudi 睡虎地 (dated ca. 217 BCE) refers to the unauthorised killing of children, or slaves, by a parent, thus implying that an authorised power to do so did exist in some circumstances.69 At least one example from later times shows that in certain circumstances a father felt justified in kill-ing his son.70

As elsewhere, so in these statements Dong Zhongshu was evidently protesting at the conditions of life that he saw around him and deem-ing imperial government to be remiss in failing to put matters right. Some of the matters that he mentions here are also seen in the three

65 SJ 30, p. 1430, HS 24B, p. 1166; Swann, op. cit., p. 282, Hsu Cho-yun, Han Agri-culture (1980), pp. 41–2.

66 SJ 129, pp. 3281–2; not included in full in HS 91, p. 3694. For the the possession of large land holdings, see the appendix below p. 124.

67 Hsu Choyun, op. cit., pp. 41–2.68 Liji (‘Tan gong xia’) 10.23b.69 Shuihudi (Questions and answers), strip no. 103; Hulsewé, Remnants of Ch’in

law (1985), p. 148. 70 HS 68, p. 2933; at Wudi’s death in 87, Wang Mang 王莽 (1) put his son Wang

Hu 王忽 to death for spreading rumours that Wudi could not possibly have been able to issue the decrees which conferred nobilities on Jin Midi 金日磾, Shangguan Jie 上官桀 (2) and Huo Guang 霍光. Wang Mang’s action followed the reprimand he received from Huo Guang.

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responses, e.g., the authority of the Chunqiu and the failure to reform the practices that dated from Qin. The degree to which the opinions expressed derived from Dong Zhongshu himself and how much from Ban Gu’s work can only remain open, but a few points call for atten-tion. The reference to the Da Sinong, as seen, should be judged to be an anachronism, which was presumably due to Ban Gu’s editor-ship; the same anachronism being seen twice in Han shu chapter 24B.71 The statement that in the seventy years up to Wudi’s accession the empire had been free of disruptive incidents is somewhat difficult to sustain.72 A basic contradiction may be observed as between the glow-ing account that the treatise gives of the state of the Han economy at Wudi’s accession and previously, and the picture of distress that Dong Zhongshu paints.

No steps were taken immediately to implement Dong’s sugges-tions regarding the salt and iron industries. It is not until 81 that we hear of any discussion of the subject and the debate of that year did not result in the abolition of the monopolies. There were apparently no references to his opinions that are recorded when the monopo-lies were temporarily withdrawn in 44. We have to wait until ca. 7 BCE for a repetition of his other proposal, to limit the extent of land holdings73 when this was voiced ineffectively by Shi Dan 師丹.74 In neither of these two matters did any official see fit to call on Dong Zhongshu’s name, reputation or views to support his contentions. A fragment of the Zhong lun 中論 of Xu Gan 徐幹 (170–217/8) calls for a limitation on the extent of land holdings and of privately owned slaves but, while citing Shi Dan’s proposals, the author of that text did not mention Dong Zhongshu’s views.75 At a much later date Huang Zongxi 黃宗羲 (1610–95) did so.76

71 HS 24B, pp. 1168 (with reference to 115 BCE) and 1159 (with reference to 123 BCE).

72 HS 24A, p. 1135.73 For land tenure, see Nishijima op. cit., pp. 556–9, Hsu Cho-yun op. cit., 164–6.

Ch’ü T’ung-tsu, Han Social Structure, p. 175, Swann, op. cit., pp. 200–4; Crisis and Conflict, 267–9.

74 For Shi Dan’s proposals, early in Aidi’s reign, see HS 24A, p. 1142.75 For this fragment, whose source is not stated, see Lau, Zhong lun zhu zi suoyin, p.

32; and John Makeham, Balanced Discourses: A Bilingual Edition (2002), pp. 286–7.76 Mingyi daifang lu 明夷待訪錄 ‘Tian zhi er’ 田制二 (SBBY ed. 20a).

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Relations with the Xiongnu

In his appreciation at the end of the Han shu’s chapter on the Xiongnu 匈奴, Ban Gu names ten men who expressed their opinions on the relations that Han should seek to establish and the most suitable way of treating those peoples.77 He observed that, for all their differences, these men could be classified in two groups: those who were devoted to the traditions, had achieved a position of prominence ( jinshen zhi ru 縉紳之儒), and whose views rested firmly on retention of a heqin 和親 policy; and secondly the militarists (jiezhou zhi shi 介冑之士) who talked of armed expeditions. In each case they were simply look-ing at the advantages and disadvantages of a particular time; they had not examined the historical implications as these affected the Xiongnu. Their views favoured either appeasement, with its marked attention to civic values, or conquest, by dependence on the heroism of the war-rior. Some of them were ready to accommodate to the realities of a situation, at the price of self-abasement; others argued for domination by the imposition of force.

The ten men started with Lou Jing 婁敬, who advocated appease-ment in the hope of preserving peace at the borders. This was in Gao-zu’s time (ca. 200), and his advice was accepted.78 In the time of Huidi and the Empress Lü, Han had kept to its agreement but the Xiongnu had not desisted from their raids; Fan Kuai 樊噲 had proposed a show of force in answer to the insults sent to the empress, but this view had been opposed by Ji Bu 季布. In Wendi’s time, Han had opened up markets, sent the Xiongnu a princess and increased the payments that it was making, but the Xiongnu had broken their promises. Furi-ous at the harm inflicted at the borders, Wendi had put full military preparations in hand.79 Jia Yi 賈誼 had criticised the policy of seek-

77 HS 94B, p. 3830.78 For clarification, I have added details here that are seen in other chapters of the

Han shu than HS 94B. For Lou Jing, see SJ 99, p. 2719, HS 43, p. 2122; Fan Kuai and Ji Bu, SJ 100, p. 2730, HS 37, p. 1976; Jia Yi, Xin shu 4.2b–6a, and HS 48, p. 2265 (note 3), and Yü Ying-shi, Trade and Expansion in Han China (1967), pp. 36–7; Chao Cuo, HS 49, pp. 2279–81; Wang Hui (1) and Han Anguo (1), HS 52, pp. 2398–2403; Zhu Maichen, SJ 112, p. 2949, HS 58, p. 2619; Gongsun Hong, SJ 116, p. 2995; HS 95, p. 3840.

79 There is an anachronism in the text. As stated these measures included calling up forces from the six commanderies of the north-west, i.e. Longxi, Tianshui, Anding, Beidi, Shangjun, and Xihe, but four of these had not been founded until later (Beidi in 148, Xihe in 125, and Tianshui and Anding in 114). The text mentions Wendi’s

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ing a treaty of amity (heqin) and advocated corrupting the Xiongnu through the lure of material luxuries. Chao Cuo 鼂錯 had possessed a clear appreciation of the tactical uses of armed forces of different types, such as infantry, cavalry or bowmen in different types of terrain, and of the value of setting up permanent establishments at the fron-tier. Under Wudi, Wang Hui 王恢 (1) had argued against a renewal of the treaty of amity in 135, while Han Anguo 韓安國 (1) pressed for it. Zhu Maichen 朱買臣 and Gongsun Hong 公孫弘 had each expressed their views on the best strategy to adopt, by deploying the Han effort so as to secure different objectives.

In none of these cases does Ban Gu cite the direct sayings or pro-posals put forward by these nine men. He noted that the Shanyu’s arrogance had not abated during the time of Huidi and the Empress Lü, and that the gifts made in Wendi’s time had not prevented the Xiongnu from frequently breaking their promises. So the conclusion was plain; there was nothing to be gained by appeasement in the form of a Heqin treaty. He then introduces Dong Zhongshu’s opinions. He does not cite directly from advice that Dong had tendered, either ver-bally or in writing, and there is no indication of the time at which he had expressed these views.80 Although he writes that Dong Zhongshu had observed what had been going on during four reigns, it cannot be told how far Dong Zhongshu was assumed to have been aware of some of the opinions expressed above and of the attempts made to secure a heqin treaty; or how he had reacted earlier in his life at the news of the incursions made by Xiongnu forces into the interior, in 177, 170, 166 (when their mounted scouts reached the emperor’s summer retreat of Ganquan) and 158.81

Dong Zhongshu is reported as entertaining several ideas that may not have been expressed previously; that while it is principles that move a man of quality (junzi), it is material gain that moves a man given to avarice.82 Peoples such as the Xiongnu are not likely to be persuaded by talk of human values or moral principles. All one can do is to talk to them of fine profits and to get them to acknowledge a link with

encampment at Guangwu, which is evidenced in the report made by Han Anguo (1) in 135 (HS 52, p. 2400).

80 Bujard, op. cit., pp. 179–181 considers various possibilities and opts for 118 BCE as the date for presentation.

81 HS 4, pp. 119, 123, 125, 130 and 94A, p. 3761; and 94B, p. 3831 for Dong’s views.

82 This is also seen in Lienü zhuan 4.4b in respect of Xi jun furen 息君夫人.

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heaven. So, give them fat profits to overwhelm their thoughts; bind them by oath to heaven, so as to give substance to their promises; take their dearly loved children in charge as hostages, to see that their emo-tions are deeply involved. However much the Xiongnu might be open to changing their ways, would they forfeit the chance of securing a fat profit? Would they practise deceit on heaven on high? Would they be willing to see their dear children put to death? Taxes and the delivery of gifts are not as high as the cost of an army, and the strength of a city’s walls is not as effective as a promise agreed by men of integrity. What a benefit it would be to all if adults close to the borders could loosen their belts and if their infants could be suckled in peace; if, with no enemy horse spying out what they could find at the defence lines, there would be no call to send emergency despatches up and down the empire.

Ban Gu clearly felt that Dong Zhongshu was being too naïve, and commented that his views simply did not fit the situation, either in his own time or later. His comment continues by observing that however successful Wudi’s campaigns had been, the rate of casualties of men and horse had been much the same on both sides. Despite opening up lands south of the Yellow River and setting up Shuofang 朔方 com-mandery, some 900 li 里 (or village settlements) north of Zaoyang 造陽 had been abandoned.83 Whenever Xiongnu persons made over to Han, the Shanyu detained Han envoys by way of reprisal. How could one expect them to be ready to allow their ‘dear children’ to be made into hostages? With no arrangement for hostages, a hollow treaty of amity would lead to regrets such as those seen in Wendi’s reign and increase the Xiongnu’s never-ending readiness to practise deception. Failure to take effective military steps would simply lay the perimeter open to raids; taxation and delivery of gifts over long distances would denude the populace and arouse hatred. How could one hope that no enemy horse would be there on the prowl, just by trusting to sweet words and keeping an empty treaty?

As seen with other matters, so here Dong was protesting against the policies that were being adopted by Han governments; and as else-where there is nothing to show that his opinions met with a favourable

83 Shuofang commandery was set up in 127 at the same time as the renovations were made to the defence lines of Meng Tian 蒙恬, and the abandonment of the salient of Zaoyang (on the border of Shanggu commandery) to the Xiongnu; SJ 110, p. 2906, HS 94A, p. 3767.

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reception or influenced the policies and decisions of his own time. Faute-de-mieux Han policies changed to the defensive in ca. 90 BCE, when it was apparent that imperial strength was on the wane. It was only in Xuandi’s time, and particularly in 51 BCE, that a real attempt was made to come to terms with a leader of the Xiongnu peoples, and in Yuandi’s reign that a new style of policy was adopted. There is nothing to show that the protagonists for these policies quoted Dong Zhongshu in support.

Dong Zhongshu’s fu

The collected works of Tao Yuanming 陶淵明 (365 to 427) include a fu 賦 which is entitled Gan shi bu yu fu 感士不遇賦; the preface declares that it was inspired by Dong Zhongshu’s fu ‘Shi bu yu fu’ and by writings of Sima Qian.84 Dong’s fu of that name is included in the Yiwen leiju 藝文類聚 compiled by Ouyang Xun 歐陽詢 (557–641) and it is available in the Gu wen yuan 古文苑 and Yan Kejun’s 嚴可均 collection of Han litera-ture. Neither of these fu is found in the Wenxuan; A.R. Davis provides a translation, commentary and text of both of them and of a compa-rable piece of Sima Qian.85

The theme of Dong’s fu is seen elsewhere, notably in the Li sao 離騷 of Qu Yuan 屈原. The writer bemoans his own fate as the com-piler in living in times in which his abilities were not appreciated and takes comfort in the claim that his choice of obscurity and his refusal to compromise with his integrity, rather than seek fame, had been matched by men from Yin times onwards, and more recently by Qu Yuan. Writing for the same cause, Tao Yuanming referred to ‘Dong the Chancellor’ (Dong xiang 董相) alongside ‘Jia the Tutor’ (Jia fu 賈傅; i.e., Jia Yi). As is to be expected Dong’s fu is written in an entirely different style from the prose items ascribed to him. By contrast with the three responses and memorials, where sources of the sayings of

84 Gong Bin 龔斌, ed., Tao Yuanming ji jiaojian (1996), p. 365. 85 Yiwen leiju 30 (‘Ren bu’ 14), p. 541 (1965); Gu wen yuan 3.3a–4b (SBCK ed.). The

Gu wen yuan is based on a collection said to have been made in Tang times of items not seen in historical writings or the Wenxuan. It includes a note, presumably by Zhang Qiao 章樵 (1237–40) in which Sima Guang explains the historical background to the fu. See also Yan Kejun, Quan Han wen 23.1a,b (p. 468 in the reprint of 1997); A.R. Davis, T’ao Yüan-ming (AD 365–427) his works and their meaning (1983), vol. I, pp. 176–185, vol. II, pp. 133–5.

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Kongzi and of citations from the Book of Songs, Revered Documents and Analects are acknowledged, readers of this fu are expected to rec-ognise allusions to such works and the Zhou yi or Xici zhuan without prompting, and to need no explanation of historical or mythical fig-ures such as Boyi 伯夷 or Shuqi 叔齊.86

A letter addressed to Gongsun Hong

This letter bears the title of Yi chengxiang Gongsun Hong ji shi shu 詣丞相公孫弘記室書, ‘A written communication addressed to the reg-istry of the Chancellor, Gongsun Hong’. Zhang Qiao 章樵 (1228–33) suggests87 that it was addressed to Gongsun Hong by Dong Zhongshu, Chancellor of Jiangdu kingdom, at the time when Gongsun Hong was Imperial Counsellor (Yushi dafu 御史大夫), i.e., 126–124. Curiously Zhang Qiao misdates his appointment to that post in 126 and the sug-gestion conflicts with the title as this is given.

Writing in a singularly abject manner with fulsome repetition of the formulae of modesty that were suitable but are rarely seen to such lengths in other documents, Dong Zhongshu stresses that he has had no personal experience of administration nor held an appointment vested with high responsibility. He notes the need felt by leading offi-cials for assistants of intelligence and honesty and suggests the adop-tion of the means of recruiting such persons that had been initiated by Xiao He 蕭何 early in the dynasty, ‘to open wide the door to such selection’. He further suggests that it would be right to treat such per-sons, once found, with the utmost deference, as practised by Zhou Gong 周公.88 This would provide all the skills needed at the court and lead to a principled way of life and spread of culture.

This plea is supported by two citations from the Chunqiu, not found in that text itself or in the Gongyang zhuan. The writer then stresses the importance of ren and yi as seen in the achievements of Yao, Shun and the three sovereign kingdoms, and how the practice of ren applies to the government of the empire. He then points to the failure of the

86 For these references and allusions, see Davis, op. cit., vol. I, p. 182.87 Gu wen yuan 10.4b; Dong zi wen ji (Congshu jicheng ed.), p. 14.88 The text alludes to Zhou Gong’s habits of interrupting his meals and his times of

washing his hair so as to show his respect; see SJ 33, p. 1518, Chavannes, MH, vol. IV, p. 93.

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harvest in the east (Guandong 關東) with resulting deaths and the rise of crime; and he blames his own incompetence as the cause of this dis-tress and as reason why he himself stood open to a charge. The essay ends with a plea for officials, empire wide, to attend to their duties so as to eliminate traces of corruption.

This item cannot be seen as revealing any part that Dong Zhongshu played in influencing the decisions or conduct of government. Use of the term jishi 記室 which appears in the title may arouse doubts regarding its authenticity, as it is seen only once in documents that concern Western Han, with reference to 1 BCE.89 The rendering that is adopted here of ‘registry’, i.e., ‘mail box’, depends on a note within the treatise of officials of the Xu Han zhi, compiled by Sima Biao 司馬彪 (240–306). This states that the lingshi 令史 of the jishi were respon-sible for seeing that memorials were submitted to the throne and for replying to incoming correspondence (zhu shangzhang biao bao shu ji 主上章表報書記). There are also several references to officials thus named for Eastern Han times.90 There is also one further possibility that cannot be proved. This is that despatch to Gongsun Hong’s ‘mail-box’ was correct for a private communication, as sent by a person who held no office, rather than for despatch by one official to the office of another.

The imperial cults91

An item in the Gu wen yuan, which is entitled Jiao si dui 郊祀對—‘a response concerning the cults of worship conducted at the bounds of the city’—is included with a few textual variants as pian no. 71 in the Chunqiu fanlu,92 giving an account of an incident in which Dong Zhongshu acted as a consultant after his retirement. It is framed as a

89 HHS (tr.) 24, p. 3561 note cites the Han jiu yi 漢舊儀 attributed to Wei Hong 衛宏 (fl. 25–57).

90 HHS (tr.) 24, p. 3559. For officials of the jishi, or those ordered to attend to its business, see HHS 45, p. 1527 (citation from the lost Hou Han shu of Xie Cheng 謝承 of ca. 222); 70, p. 2278 (citation from Dian lüe 典略; 80A, p. 2613, dated 89; coupled with appointment of an official to take responsibility for records zhubu 主簿); for the provinces, see HHS (tr.) 28, p. 3621. See Bielenstein, Bureaucracy, pp. 14, 15, 17 for jishi lingshi ‘Secretary Foreman Clerk’ as subordinates to senior officials of the central government, and pp. 98, 102 for zhu jishi shi ‘Secretary clerks’, subordinate to provincial officials.

91 For the term and subject of jiao, see Chapter Seven below, p. 267.92 Gu wen yuan 11.1b; CQFL 15, pp. 414–8, under the title Jiao shi dui 郊事對.

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set of questions and answers exchanged between Zhang Tang 張湯 as Superintendent of Trials (Tingwei 廷尉; from 126–120) and Dong Zhongshu who is described as the former Chancellor of Jiaoxi. Zhang Tang presented his question, about the performance of the worship at the bounds (jiao), after receipt of an imperial decree ordering him to do so.

As is shown below considerable attention is paid to the jiao in the Chunqiu fanlu, where five pian are concerned with the purpose and practice of those rites (nos. 65, 66, 67, 68 and 69; see Chapter Six below, pp. 251–3, Chapter Seven below, pp. 267–75). The item discussed here duplicates many of the points that are made in those pian and, as will be seen below, the question arises whether those several pieces of writ-ing all devolved from a single essay, which was composed in response to proposals made to abandon the jiao in 14 (or 16) BCE.

Dong Zhongshu replied to Zhang Tang as follows:

It is said of the past that of the rites performed by the Son of Heaven none was of greater importance than the worship at the bounds of the city. That these acts were always and regularly performed on the first day to be noted as xin 辛 in the first (zheng 正) month was the means whereby, by giving priority to the many spirits, first place was accorded to the one situated at the fore.93 According to the provisions of li, while in the three years of mourning no sacrifices were made to the ances-tors, none would venture to suspend the worship at the bounds; for the bounds are of greater importance than the ancestral shrines and heaven is to be respected more than man.94

Dong Zhongshu went on to cite the prescriptions of the Li ji that concerned the different types of calves to be used for the sacrifices to heaven and earth and then to the ancestral shrines, and finally for entertaining guests.95 The passage is rendered as follows by Couvreur:

Les cornes des jeunes taureaux offerts au Ciel et à la Terre étaient de la grosseur de la forme d’un cocon ou d’une châtaigne. Celles des jeunes taureaux offerts dans le temple des ancêtres pouvaient être tenues dans

93 For performance on the xin day, see Li ji 26 (‘Jiao te sheng’).2a where the custom is ascribed to Zhou; Zheng Xuan (127–200) however thought that it had originated in Lu; see the extensive notes and sub-commentary to Li ji 26. 2a–4b. The rendering given here for zui ju qian 最居前 is tentative. See also Zhang Qiao’s note (Gu wen yuan 11.1b).

94 The source for this rule has yet to be found. 95 Li ji 12 (‘Wang zhi’).21b; Couvreur, Li Ki ou mémoires sur les bienséances et les

cérémonies (1913) vol. I, p. 292.

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la main. Celles des taureaux tués pour traiter les hôtes et les étrangers étaient longues d’un palme (20 centimètres).

Dong then cited passages on the same theme as from the Chunqiu which are found, perhaps not in identical form, in the Gongyang zhuan:96

When those of Lu sacrificed to Zhou Gong they used white bulls, the colour white being a mark of honour and purity. Sacrificial animals des-tined for di 帝 are purified for three months. While it is of importance that sacrificial animals are kept fully fed and pure, there is no forceful wish for them to be of large size. In all principal ways of rearing sacri-ficial animals, one’s duty lies solely in keeping them well fed and pure. If colts or calves are unable to feed off hay and grains the best way is to have them feed from their mothers.97

Zhang Tang raised the question of the performance of the jiao rites by Lu 魯 and of the correct choice of animals for the purpose. Dong Zhongshu answered with the hierarchical scheme which regulated this by Zhou Gong, his predecessors and successors. He did not contradict a saying in the Gongyang zhuan which may have been lurking behind this exchange, to the effect that it was not li for Lu to perform the jiao.98

In the course of the discussion, Zhang Tang raised the question of whether it was correct for Lu to sacrifice to Zhou Gong with white calves, to be answered that it was quite in accordance with li. Zhang Tang persisted by pointing out that for sacrifice to the Son of Heaven of Zhou, red calves were chosen; for all others of the rank of gong 公 animals that were not of a single colour were used; Zhou Gong was of just such a rank; how then was he entitled to receive sacri-fices of a single colour? Dong replied with a detailed account of Zhou Gong’s achievements, which were such that Cheng Wang sacrificed to him with pure white animals. In this way he was bringing out the correct distinctions; as compared with usage for the higher rank, Zhou

96 Gongyang zhuan 14 (Wen gong 13).6b–7a and 15 (Xuan gong 3).15.7a; see also Li ji 26.(‘Jiao te sheng).6b.

97 Gu wen yuan (2a) reads: wei neng chu zhi zi shi 未能芻秩之食, where zhi is best explained as an error for mo 秣. CQFL (p. 415) reads wei neng sheng chu huan zhi shi 未能勝芻豢之食; chu huan is seen in one if the prescriptions for the middle month of autumn, in the two versions of the Monthly Ordinances; Li ji 16 (‘Yue ling’).22a; Huainanzi 5 (‘Shi ze’).11b.

98 Gongyang zhuan 12 (Xi gong 31).19b; see also 18 (Cheng gong 17).13b (sub-commentary).

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Gong was not entitled to have animals of the same colour as the Son of Heaven; as compared with those of lower rank, his entitlement was different from that due to the other leaders (zhuhou 諸侯).

The passage is of interest for two reasons. First, it replicates part of a passage in the Gongyang zhuan, also seen partly in the Shiji;99 sec-ondly it shows that a full appreciation of the virtues and work of Zhou Gong, mentioned also in Dong’s responses,100 could not necessarily be taken for granted. The steady increase from the time of Wang Mang onwards in the attention paid to Zhou Gong and the invocation of his example is discussed elsewhere.101

Zhang Tang turned to the performance of sacrifices at the ancestral shrines and asked whether it was correct to deem wild ducks fit for use as an equivalent for domestically reared ducks. Dong replied by refer-ring to Kongzi’s practice of making enquiries before entering the T’ai miao 太廟, presumably to ensure that all was in order. ‘His Imperial Majesty takes scrupulous care by way of vigil, fasting and purification so as to treat the ancestral shrines with respect, and it remains to be asked why in view of their differences wild ducks should be allowed to be taken as being equivalent to domestic ones’. Dong believed that it was not right to do so. He then referred to his own weaknesses and inabilities; and observed that while His Majesty had sent102 one of his most senior ministers to ask him about court procedure he, aged and retired as he was, was simply not fit to provide an answer.

The final words of the item, including the terms mao si 冒死 and bixia 陛下 make it clear that we have before us something written as an account or report of a consultation, compiled by Dong for submis-sion to the imperial throne. The conduct of the jiao had given rise to questions before Wudi’s reign, and it was to feature as a major issue of public life thereafter. Under Qin, the rites had been addressed to four of the powers, identified by the colours that symbolised their activi-ties, i.e., green, red, yellow and white, and the fifth, of black, had been added under Gaozu. A more fundamental question which was raised from ca. 30 BCE onwards was that of whether they should continue to

99 Gongyang zhuan (Wen gong 13).6b; Shiji 60, p. 2108. For the retention of origi-nal source material in this chapter of the Shiji, see Loewe, Men who Governed, Chapter Twelve.

100 HS 56, pp. 2500, 2510.101 See Loewe, The Men who governed Han China, pp. 340–56.102 Gu wen yuan (3a) reads feng shi 奉使; CQFL reads xing shi 幸使 (p. 417).

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be so addressed and performed at the shrines already determined, or whether they should be addressed to heaven, and perhaps earth, and moved to new sites in the immediate vicinity of Chang’an.

If the item is to be accepted as an account of a consultation with Dong that actually occurred, it is to be dated between 126 and 120, perhaps at the time when imperial cults to the Wu di 五帝 (Five Powers) were being re-inforced (from 123) but before the major steps that were taken in Wudi’s reign to establish the cults to Hou tu 后土 (114) and Taiyi 泰一 (113).103 Dong Zhongshu’s preoccupation with the niceties of li is not seen elsewhere in the writings or views that are ascribed to him. At one point he cites from the Songs.104 Two small details perhaps bear on the authenticity of the item: the retention in the Gu wen yuan of the duplication marks, as if reflecting immediately a manuscript of Han times; and the use of 飛 to do duty for the homophone 非.105 Possibly of greater significance is the use of the expression mao si, which is not seen in Western Han writings.106

Decisions in legal cases

The titles of the following works that are ascribed to Dong Zhongshu but are now lost concern matters of legal judgment:

Gongyang Dong Zhongshu zhi yu 公羊董仲舒治獄十六篇; Han shu 30, p. 1714 (under Chunqiu)107

Chunqiu jueyu 春秋決獄十卷; Jiu Tang shu 47, p. 2031; Song shi 205, p. 5202 (under Fa jia)

Chunqiu jueyu 春秋決獄二百三十二事; mentioned by Ying Shao 應劭 (HHS 48, p. 1612)

103 It was intended in 134 that the emperor would attend services to the Wu di every three years, but this is not recorded until 123; see Loewe, Crisis and Conflict, pp. 167–9.

104 ‘Wu de bu bao’; Shi jing 18(1) (‘Yi’).13a.105 Gu wen yuan 11.3a; Karlgren, GSR nos. 579a and 580a. In the CSJC edition, and

in CQFL 非 replaces 飛.106 CQFL reads 昧死. Mao si (not found in the Shiji or Han shu) is not seen in Western

Han usage, and appears only rarely; e.g., in a submission put forward by Huan Tan 桓譚 (43 BCE to 28 CE) shortly before his death, and thereafter in memorials dated ca. 90, 100, 165, 180 and 220; HHS 28A, p. 959; 43, p. 1485; 47, p. 1583; 64, p. 2109; 78, p. 2528; San guo zhi 12, p. 385 (addressed to the ruler of the newly established Wei).

107 For the suggested association of this work with the Chunqiu fanlu, see Chapter Five below, p. 207.

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Chunqiu jueshi 春秋決事一卷董仲舒撰 and Chunqiu yilun 春秋疑論一卷; Sui shu 32, p. 930 (under Chunqiu)

Dong Zhongshu Chunqiu jueshi 董仲舒春秋決獄十卷 黃氏正; Tang shu 57, p. 1531 (under Fa jia)

Chunqiu duanyu shi 春秋斷獄事十卷 in Fujiwara no Sukeyo 藤原佐世, Nihon koku genzai sho mokuroku 日本國見在書目錄 (of 889–98) under Chunqiu

Six fragments that may have derived from such writings and have been retained in works such as the Tong dian and the Taiping yulan have been assembled by Wang Mo 王謨 and eight by Ma Guohan 馬國翰 (1794–1857).108

In just two of these fragments is it possible to place the citations of Dong’s judgment firmly within its context.109 This is a case of adoption and inheritance that came under dispute, as was reported in 330 CE. Dong Zhongshu’s judgement is recorded in respect of two questions: first, whether a father had a right to conceal his son while knowing him to be a criminal and, on the basis of the Chunqiu, Dong pro-nounced that he was so entitled. The second case concerned the rather odd circumstances in which Dong judged that a son was entitled to beat his father. In neither of these cases is Dong reported as calling on the principles of xiao 孝. It is of interest that whoever framed the long and highly detailed account of this dispute at this time found it necessary to explain the grounds on which Dong’s authority carried weight. This explanation ran:

Dong Zhongshu was a scholar of integrity, well known in his generation. Whenever the Han court was engaged in deliberating a matter of doubt, they invariably sent commissioners to ask his advice, and speaking as he did without hesitation he cut right through to the crux of the problem.

108 Wang Mo, Han Wei yishu chao 漢魏遺書鈔 (1798; preface by Zhang Dunren 張敦仁1800); see ‘Chunqiu jue shi’ 春秋決事. Ma Guohan, Yu han shan fang ji yi shu 玉函山房輯佚書 (1853); see Chunqiu jue shi 春秋決事. For a translation, see Jean Escarra, Le Droit Chinois (1936), pp. 279–82. For the view that in these decisions Dong Zhongshu is applying historical cases to the processes of jurisdiction, see Gentz ‘Language of Heaven, exegetical skepticism and the re-insertion of religious concepts in the Gongyang tradition’, in John Lagerwey and Marc Kalinowski (eds.), Early Chi-nese Religion: Part One: Shang through Han (1250 BC–220 AD) (2009), pp. 828–30; for a detailed study of these fragments and their problems, and for their place in the context of legal documentation, see Loewe, ‘Dong Zhongshu as a consultant’ (2009), pp. 163–82.

109 Tong dian, preface 801 CE, 69 (‘Li’) 29, p. 1911. Wang Mo 4a, Ma Guohan 1a.

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It is evident that as Dong’s reputation required an explanation, it may not have been universally acknowledged in 330.

A further case concerned a counsellor’s disobedience of his ruler’s orders, which Dong accepted as being correct in the circumstances.110 Elsewhere he judged that according to an existing statute, which has not been traced, a conscript serviceman who had stolen a bowstring from the arsenal was punishable.111 On the basis of the principles of the Chunqiu he declared that a son who had inadvertently injured his father was not.112 There also arose the question of the circumstances in which a widow’s remarriage was permissible; on the basis of the same authority Dong Zhongshu pronounced that it was.113

Dong Zhongshu’s judicial pronouncements are not seen in the col-lections of legal cases that were assembled by Song scholars such as the Yi yu ji 疑獄集 of He Ning 和凝 (898–955) and He Meng 和㠓 (951–995), the Zhe yu gui jian 折獄龜鑑 of Zheng Ke 鄭克 (ca. 1130) and the Tang yin bi shi 棠陰比事 of Gui Wanrong 桂萬榮 (ca. 1200 to ca. 1260). The latter collection includes some material that derived from the Fengsu tongyi.114

Summary

The three responses to Wudi’s rescripts, probably of 134 BCE, are the most reliable accounts that we possess of Dong Zhongshu’s basic ideas, despite some effects of editing. The principles that he enunciates there for the conduct of public affairs are supplemented by other writ-ings that concern his views on economic practice and relations with the Xiongnu. A discussion in which he propounded his views on the imperial cults may not necessarily be authentic. No more than a few fragments survive of the opinions he expressed over certain legal cases that were in doubt.

110 Bai Kong liu tie 26.30b note; Wang Mo 4b; Ma Guohan 1b.111 Bai Kong liu tie 91.18a note; Wang Mo 3b; Ma Guohan 2a.112 Taiping yulan 640.8a; Wang Mo 3a; Ma Guohan 2a.113 Taiping yulan 640.8a; Wang Mo 3a; Ma Guohan 2b.114 For these works, see R.H. van Gulik, Crime and punishment in ancient China,

Bangkok: Orchid Press, 2007; first published as T’ang-yin-pi-shih, “Parallel Cases from under the Pear Tree: a 13th century Manual of Jurisprudence and Detection” (1956).

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Appendix

1. The three responses; Ban Gu’s part

Perhaps the most probable explanation of the way in which the three rescripts and responses found their present form in the Han shu is to assume that they are the result of Ban Gu’s broad editorship. Ban Gu 班固, some twenty-two years old, started his work of revising the texts left by Ban Biao 班彪, his father, after the latter’s death in 54. We are told that Ban Gu was denounced by an unnamed person to Mingdi for introducing changes in the history of the dynasty on his own private initiative; that he was imprisoned, and that it was only at the interven-tion of his brother Ban Chao 班超 that Mingdi relented and granted his release.115 Subsequently he was engaged in writing up the history of the early years of Eastern Han, before being ordered to complete the partly finished Han shu.

Ban Gu was ordered to undertake his literary work in the middle of the Yongping 永平 period, which ran from 58 to 75 and we are told that it took twenty years before it was completed in the middle of the Jianchu 建初 period, which ran from 76 to 83. Ban Gu died in 92, and there were still some chapters that required completion, by his sister Ban Zhao 班昭 (48–?116) and Ma Xu 馬續 ( fl. 141). We are not told the order in which he set about his various tasks, starting from perhaps 65 or so; and in addition to those that are mentioned, at some time he was compiling the account of the Baihu tong conference which was held in 79. A passage which recounts his comments on Jia Yi’s 賈誼 essay ‘Guo Qin lun’ 過秦論 derives from a statement made by Mingdi in 74.116 We may suggest, but cannot prove, that it was in the early 80s that Ban Gu put his finishing touches to the Han shu, if indeed he was not doing so later, in the years before his death.

A number of features shed light on the intellectual atmosphere of the 80s. As will be seen below, this was a time when, quite exception-

115 HHS 40A, p. 1334; for the work of Ban Biao and Ban Gu, see Hulsewé, ‘Notes on the historiography of the Han period’ (in Beasley and Pulleyblank, eds., Historians of China and Japan pp. 37–9). It may be asked whether his imprisonment was due to the intervention by the Ma family, in so far as Ban Gu seems to have favoured the Dou family (Ma Yuan was disgraced in 49, but his daughter became Mingdi’s consort in 60. The Ma family lost out to the Dou family in 82).

116 SJ 6, p. 290, where text derived from Ban Gu starts Xiao Ming huangdi 孝明皇帝. Whether drafted by Ban Gu or later, this passage, including that expression, could not have been formulated before Mingdi’s death in 75.

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ally for both Western and Eastern Han, a few imperial edicts were citing or alluding to the sayings of Kongzi.117 The Baihu tong confer-ence itself is testimony to the interest in traditional textual problems that was being felt in these years; Jia Kui 賈逵 (30–101) was a senior scholarly figure who may well have been influential at court; Zhangdi (acceded 75) himself was concerned with these matters; and contribu-tions by Ma Rong 馬融 (79–166) would come a little later.118 In such circumstances we may note the absence of reference on that occasion to Dong Zhongshu’s citations, opinions and written words; inclusion would have been securely in conformity with the times, being far more in accord with contemporary thought than it would have been when the Shiji was being compiled. We may further suggest that the texts of the rescripts and responses included in our received chapter 56 of the Han shu, and of which a part is duplicated in Chapter 22,119 derived from Ban Gu’s historical approach; and that, thanks to his literary skills and editorship, Dong’s three responses are presented as a fine and accomplished piece of literature. How far Ban Gu took liberties with the records that were at his disposal we may ask but can never know; but the following two examples demonstrate that he was ready to be selective in his treatment of earlier material.

The first example is seen by comparing the ways in which the three parts of Jia Yi’s essay ‘Guo Qin lun’ are handled in the Shiji, Han shu and Xin shu; the Taishi gong’s comments in the Shiji include all three parts, but in an order that is different from that given in the Xin shu;

117 For intellectual moves in the reign of Zhangdi, see Chapter One above, p. 34. There are no direct citations of Kongzi’s sayings in the decrees of Western Han. Citations of Kongzi, introduced as Kongzi yue 曰, are incorporated in the narrative or other chapters of the Shiji by the compiler, being seen very frequently in SJ 47 (‘Kongzi jia yu’) and 67 (‘Zhongni di’). On a few occasions they are included in the comments of the Taishi gong (SJ 3, p. 109; 55, p. 2049 and 126, p. 3197); they are not seen as supporting an argument put forward by a memorialist. Allusions, without acknowledgement of a source, are carried in a decree of 7 BCE (HS 11, 335) and a statement of the emperor in 5 BCE (HS 11, p. 339), which includes a citation from the Shi jing. Acknowledged quotations are seen in decrees or rescripts of 25 CE (HHS 16, p. 601), 43 (HHS 18, p. 695), 79 (HHS 3, p. 138) and 80 (HHS 3, p. 140); there are allusions in decrees of 70 and 82 (HHS 2, p. 117, 3, p. 143) and later (106 CE; HHS 4, p. 197). There are possible allusions in the pronouncements or decrees of an empress dowager in 79, 88 and 108 (HHS 10A, p. 414, 4, p. 166 and 76, p. 2469).

118 See HHS 36, p. 1236. For the intellectual climate at Zhangdi’s court, see Anne Cheng, Étude sur le Confucianisme Han l’élaboration d’une tradition exégétique sur les classiques (1985), pp. 104–5.

119 HS 22, p. 1031.

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and the first part is repeated in a comment added by Chu Shaosun.120 The Han shu includes no more than the first part; and from a different source we learn that Ban Gu had his reservations and criticism about Jia Yi.

This is in a passage that derived from Ban Gu’s hand which is attached at the end of Shiji chapter 6,121 and makes it all too clear that Ban Gu’s selection of a part only of the Guo Qin lun was quite delib-erate. He criticises both Jia Yi and Sima Qian for their statement that had Zi Ying 子嬰 been possessed of the qualities of no more than an average ruler Qin would not have come to its disastrous end. Ban Gu writes that those two writers were quite erroneous, as the collapse of Qin was due to its accumulated weaknesses. Jia Yi’s view of Zi Ying appears in part of the Guo Qin lun that Ban Gu did not include in the Han shu,122 and we may surely ask whether in this case he was delib-erately omitting material that he regarded as unsuitable.123 Such treat-ment would be in diametrically opposite fashion from his handling of Dong’s responses.

The second example is seen in the inclusion of parts of Jia Yi’s proposals and of Dong’s first response in Han shu 22, the treatise on ceremonial and music.124 The chapter recounts a series of failed or incomplete attempts to invigorate the ways and teachings of the ru. In Gaozu’s time, Shusun Tong 叔孫通 had died before finishing his work of determining the requisite steps to set ceremonial and music in order. In Wendi’s reign, Jia Yi’s drafts aroused objections from Zhou Bo 周勃 (1), Chancellor of the Right 179–177 and Guan Ying 灌嬰, Chancellor 177–176 and they were therefore not implemented.125At the outset of Wudi’s reign there were moves to use the services of men of eminence and high quality, to establish the Ming tang 明堂 and to set up regulations for the robes to be used in ceremonial practices.

120 For the first part, see SJ 6, pp. 278–82 and 48, pp. 1962–5, and HS 31, pp. 1821–5; for the second, part, see SJ 6, pp. 283–4; for the third part SJ 6, 276–8. See Xin shu (SBBY ed.) 1.1a–3a (first part), 3a–5a (second part), 5a–6b (third part).

121 SJ 6, pp. 291–3, Takigawa Shiki kaichū kōshō 6, pp. 110–5, Chavannes, MH vol. I, pp. 241–6.

122 It is seen in SJ 6, p. 276, i.e., in the initial part of Jia Yi’s essay; in the Xin shu it is seen at the end, in the third part. See Xin shu 1.5b.

123 The extent to which Ban Gu was dependent on the Shiji for his account of Jia Yi may be subject to question.

124 HS 22, pp. 1031–2 and HS 56, pp. 2502–5.125 HS 22, p. 1030 includes extracts from Jia Yi’s proposals as seen in HS 48, pp.

2244–6 and 2222. See Hulsewé, Remnants of Han Law, p. 433; For opposition of Zhou Bo and Guan Ying, see SJ 84, p. 2492, HS 22, p. 1030.

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However, the Grand Empress Dowager Dou, who loved the sayings of Huangdi and Laozi, actively disliked the ways of the ru and these projects foundered.

It is at this point that Ban Gu inserts part of the text of Dong Zhong-shu’s first response, which reads as a protest against the point of view and perhaps the activities of the Grand Empress Dowager. The passage that is included emphasises the debt that sovereignty owes to heaven and the essential part that man must take, on his own initiative, to establish the ordered norms of a regulated society. It is a protest at the failures in seventy years or more; governments had not rejected the ways of Qin, nor had they tried to introduce a reformed way of life, by reducing punishments or other means. Ban Gu records that Wudi was too far occupied with his operations against non-Han groups to have any leisure to follow Dong’s advice, and he proceeds to write about activities in Xuandi’s reign. Ban Gu is thus including here his criticism of Han policies both before and during Wudi’s reign.

We may then suppose, from these examples of handling textual matter, that Chapter 56 of the Han shu does not necessarily include Dong Zhongshu’s ipsissima verba, but what Ban Gu saw as being his opinions and which suited the intellectual climate of the time and Ban Gu’s own purposes. Possibly the careful crafting of the three rescripts as received may have owed something to Ban Gu’s hand. This suppo-sition would explain the mention of Kangju and Yelang, an anachro-nism for a comment written in 134 BCE, but incorrectly, and indeed understandably, inserted in the 80s CE.126 Dong Zhongshu, a Chinese Pericles, may not himself have been as impressive a writer as his biog-rapher, a Thucydides.

2. Treatment of the three responses in the Qian Han ji and the Zizhi tongjian

In their presentation of a strictly chronological account of Han history, both Xun Yue 荀悅 (148–209) and Sima Guang 司馬光 (1019–86) found themselves obliged to give a precise date to the three responses; Xun Yue chose 134, Sima Guang 140. The Zizhi tongjian places Wei Wan’s 衛綰 request to ban the writings of Shen Buhai and Han Fei after Dong’s response; Han shu 6, p. 156 dates this request to between the tenth and the second months of Jianyuan 1 (140).

126 See Chapter Two above, p. 78.

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Xun Yue’s summary is mostly devoted to the first of the three responses; short parts of the second and third follow, being separated by the expression you yue 又曰. The text of the responses in the Han shu includes a total of fifteen statements (six, five and four in the three responses respectively) and one act ascribed to Kongzi; Xun Yue omits the four that appear in that part of response no. 1 that he summarises, retaining merely the one in which Kongzi decries the failure of the auspicious birds to appear and of the He 河 to render up its plans.127 He includes no more than one other reference to Kongzi; this is seen at the close of the third response, in his injunction to prevent the pro-motion of material that was not based on his teachings.128 In addi-tion, while including Dong’s explanation that the failure of auspicious omens to appear was due to the absence of efforts to raise cultural standards, Xun Yue omits his account of how the kings of old took the steps that were necessary, setting up organs of instruction that included a Daxue 大學.129

While the Qian Han ji includes a summary of the first section of the first response, there are several striking omissions in the account of the Zizhi tongjian, i.e., the need to consult the Chunqiu and look to the past and the part played by heaven; the need for super-human power, the direct results of monarchic decline and reasons for abnormali-ties and omens. For the second response, the Qian Han ji (11.3a,b) and the Zizhi tongjian pp. 551–3 include one passage which concerns appointment by merit rather than length of service, and the call for the presentation of candidates for office from the provinces (HS 56, pp. 2512–3). The Zizhi tongjian also includes the contrast drawn between Zhou and Qin, and the need for a Daxue (p. 550) which, perhaps sur-prisingly, is omitted in the Qian Han ji.

The following are among the textual differences which may be seen between the version in the Han shu and Xun Yue’s excerpts, suggest-ing that the Qian Han ji may not be too accurate (see p. 123).

3. The Gu wen yuan

The Gu wen yuan 古文苑 is said to have been found by Sun Zhu 孫洙 (style Juyuan 巨源), in a storage chamber of a Buddhist temple that

127 HS 56, p. 2503.128 HS 56, p. 2523; Qian Han ji 11.4a.129 HS 56, p. 2503; Qian Han ji 11.3a.

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contained classical writings, and it was thought to be a collection made in Tang times. An original text of nine juan was later expanded into one of 21 juan, as now received, perhaps thanks to the work of Han Yuanji 韓元吉 (1237–40). Zhang Qiao 章樵 made up some defective passages from other sources, and added the last of the juan and an annotation of the whole work (1228–33), and the Gu wen yuan was printed in 1482.130 In his preface Zhang Qiao observes that the work includes writings not recorded in historical works or in the Wen xuan 文選. The editors of the Siku quanshu zongmu tiyao express their doubts about the authenticity and accuracy of parts of the text but do not comment on any of those that are of immediate concern here.

4. Land holdings

As is well known Dong voiced a protest against the imbalance of wealth as seen in the possession of large landed estates by the rich and the all but lack of any land by the poor.131 His views raise the questions of how such estates had come into being and the attitude of officials towards them.

During Dong Zhongshu’s time, as indeed both previously and later, it was in the interest of the government to see as much land as possible being worked under the plough and yielding as much produce as was possible, provided that it was able to raise tax from the extension of these

130 See Siku quanshu zongmu tiyao 37, p. 4134. This cites the Zhizhai shulu jieti 直齋書錄解題 of Chen Zhensun 陳振孫 (ca. 1190–after 1249) as the source for the general belief that the book had been found by Sun Zhu. For Sun Zhu, see Song shi 321, p. 10,422.

131 HS 24A, p. 1137.

HS Qian Han ji

2501 綏之斯倈動之斯和 2a 綏之斯安動之斯來 (Lunyu 19 (‘Zi Zhang’).7b reads 綏之斯來動之斯和)2502 所謂大也 2b 所謂本也2503 以正百官 2b omitted (retained in ZZTJ p. 550)2503 自悲可致此物 2b 自傷不能致此物

(ZZTJ p. 550 follows HS)2512 差 3a 美 (ZZTJ p. 552 follows HS)2513 諸列侯君守二千石 3b 郡國 (ZZTJ p. 553 follows HS)2513 歳貢各二人 3b 歳貢一人 (ZZTJ p. 553 follows HS)

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activities. As we now know from the provisions found at Zhangjiashan 張家山, the conferment of orders of honour (jue) carried with it grants of land tenure to varying extents. That such grants were possible can perhaps be explained on the premise that they were directed at land that had never before been farmed or had been abandoned and lay barren. Reclamation or recovery of such land would be achieved under official direction and would carry with it the settlement of households (hu 戶) to do the work, their registration and taxation, probably in kind. Possibly land granted together with the orders was found in those households whose tenant had died and which had been left unworked.

The effect of repeated conferments of the orders of honour could possibly lead to the effectual occupation by some persons of large areas which they were unable to work themselves; if these indeed remained subject to official control it is difficult to see what advantages lay to the beneficiary. If they were not subject to such control the beneficiary may have been able to sell some of the land. In addition the orders of honour themselves were at one time made available for rich men to buy, and the attraction of doing so may well have lain in the tenure of land that went with them.

As against these legitimate and approved ways of expanding agri-cultural effort, leading to the production of grain and textiles and the collection of revenue, there were doubtless other ways whereby pow-erful and resourceful individuals, helped by their retainers, could take their own steps to increase their land holdings, officials remaining in a blissful ignorance of what was taking place. For officials could not be on watch over all parts of the areas for which they were responsible, and that were perhaps in regions that were distant from the capital, that were sparsely inhabited or too far removed from commandery or county headquarters to be kept under close supervision. Such oppor-tunities for private reclamation or occupation of land may again have led the way to sale and purchase for which there is clear evidence towards the end of Western Han.132 It may be noted that Dong Zhong-shu traced the imbalance of wealth in the first instance to Shang Yang’s abolition of the jing tian system and permission to sell land.133

132 See HS 24A, pp. 1143–4 for the drop in land prices in Aidi’s reign and the failed attempts of Wang Mang to abolish the practice of sale of land.

133 HS 24A, p. 1137.

CHAPTER FOUR

SUBJECTS DISCUSSED IN DONG ZHONGSHU’S WRITINGS

The extent to which it may be claimed that Dong Zhongshu intro-duced new modes of thought, affected existing institutions or left a heritage for his successors may be judged only in relation to the views and practices currently in vogue at the time when he was writing, and the part taken by his contemporaries when addressing the same issues. It need hardly be said that full information with which to conduct such a study is not available. Readers who wish to avoid a detailed examination of the questions considered here may wish to turn to the summary at the end of the chapter.

The explanations of abnormalities

The sources upon which Ban Zhao 班昭 (48–?116), or any other com-piler, drew for including the views of Dong Zhongshu, Liu Xiang 劉向 (79–8 BCE), Liu Xin 劉歆 (46 BCE–23 CE), or passages from the Jing Fang yi zhuan 京房易傳 in HS 27 ‘Wu xing zhi’ 五行志 cannot be named, and it can only be presumed that these were records which were available in the depository of official documents in Luoyang.1 Altogether the chapter includes seventy-four citations of, or refer-ences to, the explanations that Dong put forward for events such as fires, droughts or eclipses. In thirty-five of these they are coupled with those of Liu Xiang, or stated to be in agreement with his pronounce-ments. In fourteen he explains disasters or abnormalities as being due

1 Citations from the Jing Fang yi zhuan, presumably the work of Jing Fang the Younger who was executed in 37 BCE, are to be distinguished from the surviving Jing fang yi zhuan, or Jing shi 氏 yi zhuan that is included in the Han Wei congshu, and which is in all probability not authentic (see note 31 below). The citations in HS 27, which sometimes name a hexagram or call directly on the Zhou yi, are applied to events of pre-imperial and Han times, and to years after Jing Fang’s death. They could thus not derive from a compilation of Jing Fang’s interpretations of abnormal events, such as the one which Dong Zhongshu wrote, at least in draft (SJ 121, p. 3128 shu zai yi zhi ji 著災異之記; HS 56, p. 2524 gao 稾) but presumably came from a work on the sixty-four hexagrams, from which the compiler of HS 27 drew selections.

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to heaven’s warnings, with the formula Tian jie ruo yue 天戒若曰. He does not allude to the willingness of heaven to reward good deeds, as had been expressed by at least one of his contemporaries, Jia Shan 賈山.2

Except for the explanation of the fires that broke out in Gaozu’s shrine in Liaodong and near to his tomb at Changling 長陵 in 135 BCE, all citations of Dong’s interpretations refer to incidents of Chun-qiu times. As seen above the biography of Dong in the Han shu relates how he had written a draft of his views on these two events; how it had been criticised as absurd, and how its delivery to the throne had all but cost Dong his life.3 The biography also states that thereafter he did not dare to express any opinions on abnormalities. That HS 27 includes entries for twenty incidents that occurred between 129 and 91 and twelve eclipses between 139 and 101 with no comments by Dong per-haps lends support to this statement. In these circumstances, it would at first sight seem to be unlikely that Dong’s draft, or a text substituted in its place by Zhufu Yan 主父偃, would have been retained in the imperial archives and made available for Ban Gu or others to consult in Luoyang, some two centuries later.

Han shu chapter 64 records that there were two outbreaks of fire—one in the shrine dedicated to Gaozu in Liaodong 遼東, on the day Yiwei乙未 of the second month (9 March 135),5 and one in the Cham-ber of Rest (bian dian 便殿) in the park that surrounded his tomb, lying to the north of Chang’an, on the day Renzi 壬子 of the fourth month (25 May 135). According to the biography in the Han shu6 the fires took place and Dong’s opinion was brought to the notice of the throne before his demotion to be Counsellor of the Palace (Zhong dafu 中大夫). As observed above, it would make good sense that that demotion indeed followed the disclosure of his draft and took the place of the death penalty from which he had been reprieved. For this

2 HS 51, p. 2335.3 Chapter Two above, pp. 46, 48.4 HS 6, p. 159, HSBZ 6.3b.5 HS 27A, p. 1331 incorrectly dates this, out of sequence, on Dingyou 丁酉, sixth

month, 9 July 135; Qian Han ji 10.9b reads Yiwei third month, again incorrectly as no day identified as Yiwei existed in that month. Zizhi tongjian 17, p. 567 follows HS 6.

6 HS 56, p. 2524.

subjects discussed in dong zhongshu’s writings 127

reason the reading xian shi 先時 of the Han shu is preferable to the less precise shi shi of the Shiji.7

In his treatment of abnormalities of Chunqiu times, Dong Zhong-shu’s usual method is that of referring to events that occurred prior to the incident in question and showing how these merited heaven’s actions. Not all that frequently he alludes to the forces of Yin or Yang—seven times8 where he saw Yin as being excessively strong and in two other cases where he shared this view with Liu Xiang.9 In his thirty-five comments on eclipses he does not call on heaven’s warn-ings or on the force of Yin or Yang. Liu Xiang calls on the warnings of heaven independently for at least two incidents of Chunqiu times,10 for a number that occurred in Han times11 and for one dated in the 26th year of Ying Zheng 嬴政, i.e., the year of the foundation of the Han empire.12 Elsewhere in the treatise the same explanation was occa-sionally included with no attribution to a named source, perhaps by the compiler.13 The treatise cites directly from the Guliang zhuan on ten occasions, from the Gongyang zhuan on five and from the Zuo zhuan on twenty-five. Dong Zhongshu does not personally invoke the authority of the Gongyang zhuan.

In his refutation of a belief that disasters and abnormalities were brought about by heaven by way of warning, Wang Chong does not mention Dong Zhongshu as propounding this notion.14 To the pres-ent writer it seems that HS 27 hardly supports a supposition that, in his interpretation of the incidents of Chunqiu times, Dong Zhong-shu was placing excessive trust on the workings or aberrations of Yin and Yang;15 and it is difficult to see how his references to the events of 135 BCE could be regarded as ‘absurd’ let alone subversive, thus

7 This sequence is seen in Liu Xiang’s account of the incident (HS 36, p. 1930); see also Wang Xianqian’s note, HSBZ 56.20a. See Chapter Two, p. 76 above.

8 HS 27A(1), pp. 1326, 1327, 1329, 1339, 1343, 1344, 1407. 9 HS 27A(1), p. 1345, HS 27B(2), p. 1414.10 HS 27B(1), pp. 1455, 1471.11 HS 27A, pp. 1331, 1335, 1336, 27B(1), p. 1376. 12 HS 27B(1), p. 1472.13 HS 27B(2), p. 1416, 27C(1), p. 1474.14 Lunheng 14 (42 ‘Qiangao’), pp. 634–5.15 By contrast, Sagawa writes that the theory that abnormalities were due to the

messages that heaven sent by way of warning to a ruler predated Dong Zhongshu who added two aspects; first the place taken by Yin Yang and their imbalances in the process; and secondly the concept of resonance (ganying 感應) see Sagawa Osamu, Shunjū gakuron kō, (1983), pp. 213–8.

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warranting the death penalty. In his explanation of the events of 135 as in our received text, he does not mention Yin Yang but it could be possible that such references might have been deemed to be subver-sive. This would be so if they suggested that thanks to the cycle of Yin and Yang the period of Han’s dynastic rule would be limited, and it is not inconceivable that such references may have been expurgated at some point in time. Had Dong brought in to his views an explana-tion in terms of the Wu xing he would surely have been open to such charges. A possible reason why the explanations in his draft excited antagonism is mentioned below (see p. 129).

Despite the criticisms raised by Lü Bushu 呂步舒, and perhaps others, and the pronouncement of the death penalty, and whatever doubts there may be whether an original record of Dong’s interpreta-tion survived, the Han shu includes an account of the meaning that he thought the fires of 135 had proclaimed.16 It is in fact probably the longest of all explanations of events to be recorded in Dong’s name, setting out the principles which guided his interpretation. He writes of the value to be placed in the Chunqiu’s way of calling on the past to explain what was yet to come; should untoward events take place, one should look for comparable events mentioned in the Chunqiu, and the subtle way in which that record recounted them would make it possible to recognise what was taking place in the body politic. He then cites events that had occurred in Lu; if only Ding Gong 定公 (r. 509–495 BCE) and Ai Gong 哀公 (r. 494–468) had paid them proper attention they would have been recognised as conveying heaven’s warnings, that certain men should be removed from positions of public importance. Dong Zhongshu reads into the record that the warnings were given at a time when the necessary action could have taken place, and not previously in the time of Zhao Gong 昭公 (r. 541–510 BCE) when the evil behaviour that it was castigating was actually taking place; for no action to repair the situation was possible at that time. He draws a direct comparison between these events and the two that are recorded for 135, in the belief that the installation of shrines for Gaozu in all commanderies, and the situation of a Chamber of Rest beside the tomb, had been improper. These measures had in fact been ordered

16 HS 27A, pp. 1331–2.

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previously,17 when it was not possible to ameliorate the situation. The warning fires of 135 were conveyed at a time when the necessary action could be taken.

Dong then moves to another subject—the need for the emperor to punish by death (zhu 誅) those of his relations, his consorts’ relations and close, prominent officials whose behaviour was grossly arrogant or improper, in just the same way as heaven had seen fit to set fires alight in the two places mentioned. It may be suggested that of all the opinions expressed by Dong Zhongshu in connection with these two incidents, it is perhaps this one which is the most likely to have aroused antagonism and given rise to his accusation and condemna-tion to death.18

HS 27 goes on to recount the malicious activities of some of the kings that had taken place before the fires of 135, and Dong Zhongshu’s interpretation. These began with the visit that Liu An 劉安 (2) the king of Huainan paid to court, presumably in 146 or 139,19 and ended with the disclosure of the plots of Liu An and the king of Hengshan 衡山 in 123. Attention will be paid below (see the Appendix below p. 184) to the opportunities that Dong might have had for observing the kings and their activities in person.

Dong Zhongshu’s interpretations of abnormalities and in particular his long explanation for the fires of 135 should be placed in the context of other interpretations that are recorded for strange events. For those that took place in Han times, the treatise records the abnormality with its date and then the incidents that took place subsequently in public life, with the implications that these were the consequences to which the abnormality pointed. Sometimes the treatise relates events that took place before the abnormality. In some cases the text adds that the abnormality was a sign (xiang 象) sent by heaven; in these cases the comments are not ascribed to a named master such as Liu Xiang.20

17 See HS 2, p. 88 for the order to erect shrines to Gaozu empire wide, presumably in 194 BCE. For the propriety of erecting buildings of this type in Chunqiu times, see HSBZ 27A.11b note; for practices in Han times, see HSBZ 6.3b note. For views expressed after Dong’s time regarding the maintenance or dismantlement of shrines and their buildings, by Gong Yu and Kuang Heng, see Loewe, DMM pp. 286–93 [1992].

18 For the part taken by Zhufu Yan in judging Dong’s work, see the Appendix (1) below p. 183.

19 SJ 17, pp. 849, 853.20 E.g., HS 27A, p. 1336 for 32 BCE, and for 18 BCE; p. 1337 for 13 BCE; and

p. 1338 for 5 CE.

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Dong’s comment on the fires of 135 is unique as being his only com-ment for events in Han times, and for the precise correlation that he draws between events of the Chunqiu and Han.

Liu Xiang’s own comments are cited; he recalls previous events and explains the abnormality as tian jie ruo yue 天戒若曰. The text then relates subsequent events but it is not always possible to determine whether it was Liu Xiang who referred to them or the compiler who added a note to them.21 As stated above, Dong Zhongshu’s interpreta-tions, as seen for Chunqiu times, usually take the form of citing events prior to the abnormality, implying that this occurred in response to their enormities. While the occurrences are due to heaven, the expres-sion tian jie ruo yue is not used; instead we read tian zai 天災. It would seem that Dong is not cited as calling on heaven’s warnings unless Liu Xiang is also said to have done so.22 The decrees and memo-rials that followed a series of abnormal events early in Yuandi’s reign do not insist that they had been purposely contrived by heaven.23 In the telling strictures that he submitted to the throne in 133 CE, Lang Yi 郎顗 observed that he had been informed (chen wen 臣聞) that strange phenomena were brought about by way of warning; he does not mention Dong Zhongshu or Liu Xiang.24

Qian Daxin 錢大昕25 (1728–1804) takes the text of the treatise to mean that the compiler took the views of Dong Zhongshu and Liu Xiang as the main source, to which he appended the views of Sui Meng 眭孟 and others, i.e., Xiahou Sheng 夏侯勝, Jing Fang 京房, Gu Yong 谷永 and Li Xun 李尋. In fact, except for Gu Yong these names appear very rarely. As will be seen, it was not only Dong Zhongshu

21 E.g., HS 27A, p. 1330 for 187, 191; p. 1335 for 77, 53, 46; p. 1338 for 5 CE (after Liu Xiang’s death).

22 In HS 27A, p. 1322 the text reads tai zai 太災 or dazai 大災 in different editions; it would perhaps be likely that the original reading was tian zai.

23 Heaven’s warnings are not mentioned in a decree of 48 (HS 9, p. 280). The decree of 47 that followed earthquakes and other events (HS 9, p. 281 and, more fully 75, p. 3172) refers to disasters sent by heaven as a means of frightening the emperor, but this explanation does not feature in three memorials that followed, by Gong Yu 貢禹 (HS 72, p. 3069), in which he drew attention to the need to reduce expenditure; Yi Feng 翼奉 (HS 75, p. 3167) who explained the events in cosmological terms; and Kuang Heng 匡衡 (HS 81, p. 3337) in response to the question of where imperial government was at fault.

24 HHS 30B, p. 1954.25 HSBZ 27B.2a note.

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who faced risks in presenting his views, as it was comparatively easy for these to be seen to be treasonable or seditious.

In 78 BCE Sui Meng, who had been trained in the Gongyang tradi-tion, had been highly forthright. He interpreted the inexplicable sound of human voices as predicting the rise of a commoner to become emperor and was sentenced to death for his pains. Quite soon, indeed, (74 BCE) Liu Bingyi 劉病已 who had been brought up outside the court did indeed become emperor (known as Xuandi) and by way of recompense summoned Sui Meng’s son to be a ‘gentleman’ (lang 郎).26 Xiahou Sheng, a specialist in the Shang shu and li, took occasion of the darkened skies with no sight of the sun or moon in 74 BCE to reprimand Liu He 劉賀 (4), the short lived emperor of 27 days, only to be arrested for his plain speaking.27 Gong Sui 龔遂, praised for his familiarity with approved texts (ming jing 明經), had likewise brought heaven’s warning to the attention of Liu He (4) before he was emperor. His words had had little effect but his record of having expressed his views saved him from the death penalty.28 In 5 BCE Li Xun, trained in the Shang shu and astronomy, relied on the unexplained sound of bells to tender advice to the throne to dismiss the Chancellor and Imperial Counsellor.29

Gu Yong (d. ca. 9 BCE), of whose training we know nothing, is seen more frequently. His interpretations are cited for ten events of which only one was dated before his own time.30 Like the others whose inter-pretations have just been mentioned he does not call on comparable events in Chunqiu times to explain those that he had witnessed. While referring to heaven twice, he does not spell out the message of heav-en’s warnings with the definitive clarity expressed by Dong Zhongshu. As elsewhere, he does not fear to voice his criticisms of the emperor’s activities and the behaviour of his consorts and seems to do so without inhibition or restriction.

The seventy or so quotations that the compiler of the treatise inserted from the Jing Fang Yi zhuan 京房易傳 are usually short statements

26 HS 27B(1), pp. 1400, 1412; HS 75 3154, HSBZ 75.1a,b.27 HS 27B(1), p. 1367; 27C(2), p. 1459.28 HS 27B(1), pp. 1367, 1396.29 HS 27B(2), p. 1429.30 HS 27B(1), pp. 1368, 1401; 27B(2), p. 1425; 27C(2), pp. 1500, 1504, 1505, 1505,

1510, 1517, 1518. HS 1500 carries his views on an eclipse of 188 BCE; the reference in HS 1425 concerns events that are mistakenly dated there at 35 in place of 29 BCE (see HSBZ 27B(2).13b–14a note for this and other errors in dating).

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such as ‘Punishment by death without finding out the basic facts; the prodigy (yao 妖) for this is rats dancing in the gates’ (27B(1) p. 1374); or ‘First joy then grief; the prodigy is a rain of feathers from heaven’, and ‘wicked men are advanced; fine men flee; the prodigy is a rain of wool’ (HS 27B(1), p. 1401).31 The treatise of the Xu Han zhi includes seven citations of this usual type32 and two that are more elaborate.33 The Jing Fang Yi zhuan is also seen in the Hou Han shu.34 Some forty similar quotations, from the same source, are seen in the treatise on Wu xing of the Jin shu (compiled by Fang Xuanling 房玄齡 578–648).35

The compiler of the treatise of the Han shu points out (p. 1317) that there were variations as between the interpretations of Dong Zhong-shu and Liu Xiang, and between those two and Liu Xin, rather associ-ating such differences with the ways in which the three men called on the Gongyang zhuan, Guliang zhuan and Zuozhuan.

With one exception, Liu Xin’s comments refer to incidents that are recorded for Chunqiu times; the exception being the occurrence of two moons in 32 BCE (the only occurrence of such a phenomenon to be reported), for which the compiler also supplied a citation from the Jing Fang yi zhuan and Liu Xiang’s explanation.36 In all of his remarks, Liu Xin cites or refers to the Zuo zhuan perhaps four times;37 he calls on Yin Yang perhaps three times38 and on heaven’s warning

31 This work, presumably by Jing Fang (2), died 37 BCE, is to be distinguished from a text named Jing shi 氏 yi zhuan, with comments by Lu Ji 陸績 (188–219) which is included in the Han Wei congshu of Cheng Rong. The first two juan of that work set out to explain some of the hexagrams and lines; the third juan discourses on the nature of the yi, methods of divination and the relationship to heaven, earth, man and ghosts; it is said that the use of coins as a means of consulting the hexagrams derived from this text. See Siku quanshu zongmu tiyao 108, pp. 2252–3. For the question of the authenticity of the book, see de Crespigny, Portents of protest in the Later Han Dynasty: the memorials of Hsiang K’ai to Emperor Huan (1976), pp. 70–1.

32 E.g., HHS (tr.) 13 p. 3272.33 HHS 14 (tr.) p. 3297, 15, p. 3308.34 HHS 30B, 1080, where it is cited by Xiang Kai 襄楷 (d. ca. 188); Cui Yuan 崔瑗

(77/8–142/3) is said to have familiarised himself with the text (HHS 52, p. 1722).35 E.g., Jin shu 27, pp. 827, 829 for short statements; 28, p. 866 where the message is

spelt out at greater length; and 27, pp. 811–12 and 28, p. 837 for even longer statements. A writer of Tang times whose work appears under the name of Li Xian 李賢 (Heir Apparent 675–80) cited from the work in his notes to the Hou Han shu; in two cases these citations are seen elsewhere (HHS 8, pp. 342, 344; HS 27C(1), pp. 1469, 1473).

36 HS 27C(2), p. 1506.37 HS 27B(1), p. 1388, HS 27 B(2), p. 1442, HS 27C(2), pp. 1479, 1497.38 HS 27B(2), p. 1433, HS 27C(2), pp. 1497, 1519.

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once.39 Liu Xin’s comments on eclipses40 are regularly of the form x y fen 分 (where x and y denote states such as Chu), which he sets out to explain. There are two cases where either he or the compiler blames the astronomers’ office for failures or errors.41

The foregoing consideration of the treatment of abnormalities by a number of commentators as recorded in the Han shu may serve to show how far Dong Zhongshu’s views and methods were unique or how far they were shared or adopted by his contemporaries or imme-diate followers. He himself singles out two factors whereby the mean-ing of strange events can be comprehended, the part played by the voice of heaven and a comparison with similar events as recorded in the Chunqiu. A third factor, as was alleged, was association with the aberrations of Yin and Yang.

Dong Zhongshu’s opinion that abnormalities derived from the anger and warnings of heaven and his call to look at occurrences in the Chunqiu are re-iterated in the first of the responses that he gave to Wudi’s rescript shortly after his accession, and the theme appears in the Chunqiu fanlu.42 This was at a time when the state cults were directed not to tian 天 but to the five powers (wu di 五帝). Of the commentators who are cited in Han shu chapter 27 the only one to repeat or agree with Dong’s principle is Liu Xiang who, as is seen in Dong’s biography, had a high and, as some thought, exaggerated opin-ion of his merits. None of the other commentators except Liu Xiang seek to compare strange incidents of Han times with those recorded in the Chunqiu; nor is there any direct association with the cycles of Yin and Yang. However, some of these ideas were voiced by Du Qin 杜欽 in his strictures on the conduct of the young, newly acceded Chengdi. In his comments on the coincidence of the eclipse and earthquake in 29 BCE he called on the forces of Yin and Yang to assert the correct places of minister and ruler, wife and husband; and he referred in a general way to the Chunqiu’s record of eclipses and earthquakes and the circumstances in which these events had occurred.43

The evidence of subsequent writings shows few signs that Dong’s approach was adopted by others. The treatise on Wu xing that

39 HS 27B(1), p. 1445.40 From HS 27 B(2), p. 1482 onwards.41 HS 27C(1), p. 1479 HS 27C(2), p. 1516.42 HS 56, p. 2498; CQFL 6 (15 ‘Er duan’), p. 156, 30, p. 261.43 HS 60, p. 2671.

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is included in the Xu Han zhi, compiled by Sima Biao 司馬彪 (ca. 240–ca. 306), is said to have been based on the lists of abnor-malities drawn up by Ying Shao 應劭 (ca. 140 to before 204), Dong Ba 董巴 (academician ca. 220) and Qiao Zhou 譙周 (199–270).44 The telling expression tian jie ruo yue is seen there perhaps in no more than three passages.45 Dong’s explanations are cited by name once, and once in the treatise on astronomy;46 there is no regular or even automatic citation of events seen in the Chunqiu; nor is there a call on the general forces of Yin and Yang. The expression is seen three times in fragments of the Fengsu tongyi 風俗通義 of Ying Shao 應劭 (ca. 140 to before 204).47

The treatise on the Wu xing in the Jin shu enters abnormal incidents in much the same way as the treatises of the Han shu and Xu Han zhi, adding by way of elucidation events that took place either before or after them. On a very few occasions it calls to mind abnormalities of a comparable or similar type that occurred in Chunqiu times and very occasionally in Han times. There are frequent citations of the views of Gan Bao 干寶 (ca. 317); less frequently those of Liu Xiang, Liu Xin, Gong Sui or Ban Gu. Some forty incidents are ascribed to the warnings of heaven, with the usual expression tian jie ruo yue. The Jing Fang Yi zhuan is quoted on at least forty occasions. Dong Zhongshu’s views are quoted three times, as follows.48

1. Jin shu 27, p. 805; HS 1331–2. The outbreak of fires at Gao yuan ling 高原陵 is interpreted as a warning from heaven that certain persons in public or offical life should be eliminated. This is very similar to part of Dong’s explanation of the fires of 135 BCE, as the text of the Jin shu points out.

2. Jin shu 27, p. 812 and HS 27A, p. 1343 for identical comments on floods; in the Han shu these are voiced by Dong and by Liu Xiang on those of 711 BCE.

44 See B.J. Mansvelt Beck, The Treatises of Later Han Their author, sources, contents and place in Chinese historiography (1990), pp. 164–5.

45 HHS (tr.) 13, p. 3272; (tr. 14), pp. 3297, 3301.46 HHS (tr.) 12, p. 3262; HHS (tr.) 15, p. 3309.47 See Wang Liqi, Fengsu tongyi jiaozhu (1981), fragments (‘Fu yao’) pp. 567, 569,

572.48 For one further occasion, according to one version of the text, see Jin shu 29,

pp. 893 and 912 note 25.

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3. Jin shu 29, p. 872 and HS 27B(2), p. 1423 carry near identical com-ments on acute wintry weather conditions.

The preamble to the treatise on Wu xing of the Song shu (com-piled by Shen Yue 沈約 441–513) reiterates the place taken by heaven without specifying the term ‘warning’, and it then notes the meanings and intention of the Chunqiu. The text records the contributions made to interpretation by Liu Xiang and Ban Gu but it does not mention Dong Zhongshu.49 The treatise itself records fifteen incidents for San guo and Jin times and explains them with the expression tian jie ruo yue.50 In the same treatise the Song shu cites opinions expressed by Dong Zhongshu on six occasions, being seen also in the Han shu or the Jin shu.51 For one incident the Song shu ascribes an explanation to Dong Zhongshu while the Jin shu cites it as heaven’s warning.52 Up to thirteen incidents appear in the Sui shu of Wei Zheng 魏徵 (580–643) as being due to heaven. The key phrase tian jie ruo yue is not seen in the Nan Qi shu, Liang shu or Chen shu. Throughout these accounts of abnormalities comparison with incidents recorded in the Chunqiu is conspicuously lacking. Much later, Ouyang Xiu 歐陽修 (1007–72) refers to Dong’s view that disasters were warnings sent by heaven.53

From the foregoing considerations we are left to conclude that Dong initiated some ways of interpreting abnormalities; and that while Liu Xiang approved of some of those ways and adopted some of his meth-ods, these made very little impact on the minds of others who were at the time commenting on the strange aberrations of the natural world. Thereafter his ideas surface again in the Jin shu of Fang Xuanling, the Song shu of Shen Yue, the Wei shu of Wei Shou 魏收 (506–572) and the Sui shu of Wei Zheng; only once do they appear in the histories of the Tang dynasty.54 But however scarce or slender Dong’s following may have been he deserves credit for facing the problem of explaining

49 Song shu 30, p. 879.50 No reference to these incidents of San guo times are found in the San guo zhi;

four of those of Jin times are seen in the Jin shu (Song shu 30, pp. 892, 31, p. 898, 32, p. 934 and 34, p. 1003 and Jin shu 27, pp. 827, 810, 805 and 29, p. 905).

51 Song shu 32, pp. 932, 934, 935; 33, pp. 952, 959 and 990; Han shu 27A, p. 1329 (see also HS 27B(2), p. 1426), Jin shu 27, p. 805, 814; Han shu 27B(2), p. 1427 and 27C(1), p. 1452. The preamble of this treatise (Sui shu 22, p. 617) mentions Dong along with Fu Sheng, Jing Fang and Liu Xiang as being capable of talking about abnormalities.

52 Song shu 31, p. 921; Jin shu 28, p. 850.53 ‘Zai lun shui zai zhuang’ 再論水災狀, in Ouyang Wenzhong quan ji 110.4b.54 Xin Tang shu (compiled by Ouyang Xiu) 34, p. 883.

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untoward events and suggesting reasons for their occurrence. No con-temporary voice, other than that of Lü Bushu, and perhaps of Zhufu Yan, is recorded as opposing or rejecting his views outright, or sug-gesting other causes.

That Dong Zhongshu spoke as he did at a time when the state cults were addressed not to heaven but to other powers may well have mil-itated against a general acceptance of his ideas. By the time of Liu Xiang the objective of those cults had moved from the Wu di 五帝 or Five Powers to heaven, but worship thereto was restricted to the very highest in the land. One may perhaps question how far Dong’s twin points of explanation, the part played by heaven and comparison with the remote past, would have had much appeal at a time when the many methods of divination that were in practice attracted respect and trust. Predictions such as those attached to the illustrations of comets, as seen in one of the manuscripts from Mawangdui 馬王堆, might well have been more meaningful and persuasive than literary refer-ences to events of long, long ago.

The recruitment of officials; training

Dong Zhongshu certainly played a part in the means adopted for recruiting, training and testing officials, and such institutions would in due course become one of the characteristics of imperial govern-ment. Incomplete as our information is, we would be right to conclude that three new ideas were being activated early in Wudi’s reign: the recognition that candidates for office were to be distinguished by qual-ity; the requirement for testing their abilities; and the establishment of special training for a fixed quota of candidates of high grades. A distinction should be drawn between the schools set up in the prov-inces as the xuexiao zhi guan 學校之官 to recruit candidates in large numbers, and the superior institution founded at the capital for select pupils only, as the Academy or Taixue 太學. It is also necessary to distinguish between the proposals made by Dong Zhongshu and those of his adversary Gongsun Hong 公孫弘.55

55 For an appreciation of the part played by Gongsun Hong see Benjamin E. Wallacker, ‘Han Confucianism and Confucius in Han’ (1978), pp. 224–7, and below pp. 145–8.

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Calls for service were addressed to persons who were characterised by distinctive terms and entitled in four ways. The first of these groups were those persons of intelligence and fine quality (xianliang 賢良), together with those of upright character ( fangzheng 方正) and those capable of direct speech and delivering frank remonstrance (neng zhi yan ji jian 能直言極諫). The xiaolian 孝廉, those marked with a sense of family responsibility and integrity, formed the second type; the third were the men of flourishing talent or excellence (maocai 茂材). Pupils chosen for study and training by the academicians formed the fourth type. All those in these categories were in a superior position to the young men put forward for testing in literacy or technical skills as required for service as clerks, or as diviners or prayer reciters, and as ordered by statute.56 The difference was between the status of officials and the subordinates, or clerks, who took their orders.

a. The xianliang

There may be reason to doubt the authenticity of the decree of 178 BCE, which includes the first reference to the recruitment of xianliang, fang-zheng and those capable of speaking their minds directly.57 A decree of 165 ordered the kings, senior officials of the central government and the governors of the commanderies to recruit such persons, who were to receive questions personally from the emperor.58 It was at this point that the name of Chao Cuo 鼂錯 was put forward. Chao Cuo, who already held official appointment as Director, Household of the Heir Apparent (Taizi jia ling 太子家令), responded, to be promoted Coun-sellor of the Palace (Zhong dafu).59 The next recorded call for candidates of this type, dated at 140, was addressed both more widely and more specifically (to the Chancellor, Imperial Counsellor, nobles, officials of zhong 中 2,000 and 2,000 grade and chancellors of the kings) and was the occasion when specialists in the teachings of Shen Buhai 申不害, Shang Yang 商鞅 and others were not to be included.60 A decree of

56 See Zhangjiashan ‘Statutes’ strips nos. 474–80, HS 30, p. 1721, Shuowen jiezi gulin 15a. (p. 6710b); Hulsewé, ‘The Shuo-wen Dictionary as a Source for Ancient Chinese Law’ (1959); Loewe, Men who Governed Han China (2004), p. 117.

57 SJ 10, p. 422, HS 4, p. 116; see Loewe, Men who Governed, pp. 152–4.58 HS 4, p. 127; not in the Shiji.59 HS 49, pp. 2291–2, 2299; Qian Han ji 8.13a and ZZTJ 15, p. 501 date this in

165. 60 HS 6, p. 155.

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the fifth month of 134 addressed the xianliang with an order for their advice, which the emperor would scrutinise personally; and we read of the responses by Dong Zhongshu, Gongsun Hong (who was con-sequently made an academician) and Zhuang [Yan] Zhu 莊 [嚴] 助, who was the only one of some hundred candidates to be appointed Counsellor of the Palace as a result.61 The next recorded calls for xian-liang were in Zhaodi’s reign (86 BCE) with their engagement in the discussions on the salt and iron monopolies (in 81).62 Thereafter they were summoned in the reigns of Xuandi, Yuandi, Chengdi and Aidi,63 and on fifteen occasions in Eastern Han between 30 and 167 CE.64 On one of these (76 CE) some hundred candidates presented responses.65

It would seem likely that a call for xianliang depended on the issue of particular orders to do so rather than taking place regularly at stated periods of time, but there are two references which mention their fre-quent occurrence in the early stages of Wudi’s reign.66 We have no information about a regular means or occasions of testing candidates for their ability other than that for the emperor’s personal scrutiny in 134. Nor can we judge how successful the scheme was, or how often presentation resulted in appointment or disappointment. Chao Cuo seems to have been the only person known to have been named as xianliang prior to Wudi’s reign; though from Zhaodi’s reign onwards the description appears more frequently.67 The Hou Han shu names some forty persons who were recommended as xianliang or fangzheng; not all took up an official appointment.

b. The xiaolian

In his second response, Dong Zhongshu remarked on the deficien-cies of appointing officials thanks to sponsorship by their relatives or

61 HS 6, pp. 160–1; SJ 112, p. 2949, HS 58, p. 2613; HS 64A, p. 2775.62 HS 7, pp. 220, 223; a xianliang takes part in the Yantie lun’s account of the dis-

cussions in pian nos. 28–31 only. Pian no. 60 (p. 613) and HS 66, p. 2903 name Tang sheng 唐生 of Maoling as a participant but he is not otherwise identified.

63 HS 8, pp. 245 (70 BCE), 249, 264; 9, p. 289; 10, pp. 305, 307 (with scrutiny by the emperor); and 11, p. 343 (2 BCE).

64 HHS 1B, p. 50 and 7, p. 319.65 HHS 25, p. 883.66 HS 56, p. 2495, 58, p. 2651; for other references, see SJ 30, p. 1424, HS 24B,

p. 1160, 25A, p. 1215, 65, p. 2841.67 Deng Gong 鄧公 and Yuan Gu 轅固 were named xianliang after Wudi’s acces-

sion; HS 49, p. 2303, 88, p. 3612; for twenty men who reached public positions there-after up to Wang Mang’s time, see Men who Governed, pp. 138–42.

subjects discussed in dong zhongshu’s writings 139

payment of money. As yet there is little to show that those responsible for recruiting officials were looking for any qualities other than those of efficiency and readiness to impose authority. He proposed that the nobles, governors of the commanderies, and officials of 2,000 shi grade should each select those officials or civilians who were men of intel-ligence and probity (xian 賢) and present two such persons to the throne annually. His motive for doing so may have been his realisation that existing arrangements were failing to ensure that appointments were falling to persons with the right qualities and his wish to improve the standard.68 A short entry in the imperial annals of Wudi records that in the eleventh month of 134 for the first time the commanderies and kingdoms were ordered to recommend one person with the quali-ties of xiaolian, and even though Dong Zhongshu is not mentioned in connection with this order these two references form the basis for the statement of Ban Gu that it was he who initiated the call for such per-sons.69 A further decree of 128 noted the failure to do so and approved punitive measures to enforce the order.70

There are no references to xiaolian in the Shiji; Bielenstein writes that about 200 of these candidates were recommended each year, ris-ing to 250–300 from 101 CE onwards.71 At least fifteen persons who had been named xiaolian and took part in public life between ca. 80 BCE and the time of Wang Mang can be named.72 Thus, whereas little action seems to have been taken in the decades immediately following Dong’s proposal, there were noticeable results during the reigns of Zhaodi and his successors. We have no record to show that Dong’s advice was being invoked at that time or that his views were being respected; if we may perhaps speculate, we may wonder whether it was due to the influence of Liu Xiang (79–8 BCE) that calls were being made for candidates who possessed xiaolian qualities.

For Eastern Han, over 150 such men are known between ca. 50 and 175, presumably sent up as nominees by the governors of the

68 HS 56, pp. 2512–3. 69 HS 6, p. 160; Yu Yue 俞樾 (1821–1907) rejects the view that the order was for

one person, with the combined qualities, each year, and argues in favour of two per-sons, one as xiao and one as lian; see HSBZ 6.5b. It is however noticeable that indi-viduals chosen in this way are described not as xiao or lian but as xiaolian. Ban Gu’s statement is seen in HS 56, p. 2525.

70 HS 6, pp. 166–7.71 Bielenstein, The Bureaucracy of Han times, pp. 134–5.72 See Men who Governed, pp. 142–4.

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commanderies, but some of those nominated did not respond by accepting the charge.73 A decree of Guangwudi enjoined a rigorous choice of persons with suitable qualities, and one of 76 referred to the annual presentation of maocai and xiaolian men by the hundred, somewhat indiscriminately, resulting in valueless appointments to office.74

c. The maocai

The term xiucai 秀才 (or 材) is used in Gongsun Hong’s memorial of 124 along with yideng 異等 to denote marks of excellence on the part of persons suitable for recommendation to office.75 Maocai 茂才 replaced the term so as to avoid use of the personal name of the first emperor of Eastern Han. A decree of 106 BCE ordered a search for men of these qualities in the provinces; senior officials were ordered to do so in 47; and commissions were despatched with this object in 62 and 35.76 For Eastern Han, the Han guan yi 漢官儀 of Ying Shao 應劭 (ca. 140 to before 204) cites a decree that is dated variously to the time of Shizu 世祖, i.e., Guangwudi, and to 83, enjoining the careful selec-tion of the best persons.77 The first persons named as maocai seem to have been Xin Qingji 辛慶忌, in Yuandi’s reign and Chen Tang 陳湯 a little later,78 to be followed by some eight others in Western Han and Xin. Ban Gu’s father Ban Biao 班彪 was recommended as maocai by Dou Rong 竇融; his ancestor Ban Hui 回 had been appointed magis-trate of Changzi 長子county (Shangdang 上黨 commandery) thanks

73 E.g., HHS 29, p. 1031, 71, p. 2308; and HHS 56, p. 1823. See Bielenstein, Bureauc-racy, p. 134.

74 HHS (tr.) 24, p. 3559; and HHS 3, p. 133.75 SJ 121, p. 3119, HS 88, p. 3594.76 HS 6, p. 197; 8, p. 258, 9, pp. 281–2, 295.77 The note to HHS (tr.) 24, p. 3559 mentions Shizu 世祖; that to HHS 4, p. 176

specifies Jianchu ba nian shier yue Jiwei 建初八年十二月己未 (32 CE) as the date for the decree. As the month in question started on the day Wuzi 戊子 it cannot have included a day Jiwei. A possible way to resolve this difference and difficulty would be to suggest a reading of Jianwu 建武 ba nian, but here again the month did not include the day that is mentioned. In addition, the note to HHS 4, p. 176 serves to explain part of a decree of 93 CE which itself refers to activities some nine years previously, i.e., 83 CE. There is no entry for the decree in the Hou Han ji. The note to HHS (tr.) 24, p. 3559 includes a further citation, from the Han guan mulu 漢官目錄 which gives the text of the decree, dated at Jianwu shier nian ba yue Yiwei 乙未 which may be identified as 12 September 36 CE (not entered in HHS 1B, p. 60 or in Hou Han ji 6, p. 168). There was no twelfth year in the Jianchu period.

78 HS 69, p. 2996, 70, p. 3007.

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to his excellence.79 As seen, a decree of 76 refers to the recommenda-tion of maocai and xiaolian by the hundred, each year.80 Some thirty men are known to have been recommended for service as maocai in Eastern Han, in a number of cases by senior officials such as the Chan-cellor (Situ 司徒) or one of the Regional Inspectors (Cishi 刺史).

There is nothing to show that Dong Zhongshu specified a need to recruit persons of this type of excellence or that the recruitment of such persons originated from him.

d. The wenxue

The wenxue 文學, men of learning, are frequently coupled with the xianliang in calls for presenting men of ability to serve the empire, and there are a number of references to men of early Western Han who stood possessed of this ability, or were thought to do so, and were thereby summoned for or gained an appointment.81 For some time, however, the expression does not seem to signify a particular criterion whereby potential candidates were first judged and after careful selec-tion admitted into official life in quite the same way as the terms which have been considered above.

Definite summons of wenxue are mentioned for the early days of Wudi’s reign.82 They appear in two decrees of Zhaodi’s and Xuandi’s time83 and they are probably best known for the part they are said to have taken in the discussions on Salt and Iron of 81 BCE, as the spokesmen who were challenging the policies represented the govern-ment of Sang Hongyang 桑弘羊 or Huo Guang’s 霍光.84 Wang Mang was perhaps the first monarch to include wenxue as a criterion for the choice of officials85 and we have a reference to the selection (xuan 選)

79 HS 100A, pp. 4198, 4213.80 HHS 3, p. 133.81 E.g., Shusun Tong 叔孫通 (Gaozu’s time), SJ 99, p. 2720, HS 43, p. 2124; Chao

Cuo (Wendi), SJ 101, p. 2745; Zhao Wan 趙綰 and Wang Zang 王臧 (early Wudi), HS 25A, p. 1215; Ni Kuan 兒寬 (Wudi), SJ 121, p. 3125; Chu Shaosun 褚少孫, SJ 63, p. 2114. Others such as Wang Jun 王駿 (1), Jing Fang 京房 (2), Ge Kuanrao 蓋寬饒 and Du Ye 杜鄴 are named in the same way as Xiaolian (HS 72, p. 3066, 75, p. 3160, 77, p. 3243 and 85, p. 3473), and Gungsun Hong and Shu Shou 疏受 as Xianliang (SJ 112, p. 2949, HS 58, p. 2613 and 71, p. 3039).

82 SJ 30, p. 1424; HS 24B, p. 1160; 56, p. 2495; 58, p. 2613. See also p. 146 below.83 HS 7, p. 223 (82 BCE) and 8, p. 255 (65 BCE).84 HS 24B, p. 1176, 89, p. 3624; see also the opening statement of the Yantie lun.85 In 11 CE; HS 99B, p. 4125.

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of xianliang and wenxue for the first time in Eastern Han times in a submission of Cai Yong 蔡邕, probably in 177 CE.86

In addition, for the last century or so of Western Han there are a number of references to ‘the men of learning of the commandery’ ( jun wenxue), perhaps implying that they enjoyed an established office or at least an acknowledged position there.87 Occasionally a commandery is named as boasting of them.88 Wenxue are also occasionally mentioned as being attached to certain officials, such as the Da Honglu 大鴻臚 (Superintendent of State Visits) or the King of Jiyin 濟陰;89 and the Han guan漢官, which cannot be related to a particular period in Han times, lists an establishment of between three and twenty wenxue on the staff of high powered officials such as the Weiwei 衛尉 (Superin-tendent of the Guards).90 Training of students or wenxue was started at the School of the Gate of the Vast Capital (Hongdu men 鴻都門 in 178 CE, but the practice of that organ to select candidates aroused criticism.91

It would seem that Dong Zhongshu was not concerned with placing the wenxue in public life.

86 HHS 60B, p. 1996.87 HS 67, p. 2917 (Mei Fu 梅褔, Chengdi’s time); 71, p. 3035 (Juan Buyi 雋不疑,

late Wudi); 76, pp. 3210 and 3227 note 4 (Han Yanshou 韓延壽, Zhaodi); 77, p. 3243 (Ge Kuanrao, Xuandi); 77, p. 3248 (Zhuge Feng 諸葛豐, Xuandi); 77, p. 3254 (Zheng Chong 鄭崇, Chengdi); 81, pp. 3331, 3332 (Kuang Heng 匡衡; Yuandi); 81, p. 3347 (Zhang Yu 張禹 (2), Xuandi); 84, p. 3411 (Zhai Fangjin 翟方進, Chengdi); HHS 22, p. 785 (Deng Yu 鄧禹); 52, p. 1703 (Cui Zhuan 崔篆, Wang Mang).

88 HHS 52, p. 1724, for Nanyang; 79B, p. 2581, for Hongnong; 81, p. 3332, for Pingyuan.

89 HS 71, p. 3048 (Ping Dang 平當) and HHS 79B, p. 2571 (Wei Ying 魏應); see also HS 58, p. 2628 and notes in HSBZ 58.11a for Ni Kuan as Tingwei zu shi 廷尉卒史.

90 See Sun Xingyan (ed.), Han guan (in Han guan liu zhong) 2b–4b for three attached to the Weiwei; eight to the Taipu (Superintendent of Transport); sixteen to the Tingwei (Superintendent of Trials); five to the Da Xing [ling] (Superintendent of State Visits); twenty to the Da Sinong (Superintendent of Agriculture); and three to the Zhijinwu (Superintendent of the Capital). The use of titles named here causes some difficulties that may concern dating; Da Xingling was in use from 144 to 104, when it was changed to Da Hunglu; Zhijinwu was adopted from 104.

91 See HHS 8, p. 340, HHSJJ 8.7b for the establishment of the Hongdu men xueshi in 178 CE and 77, p. 2499; see also HS 76, p. 3227 for a reference to the ‘Office of the wenxue’ (wenxue guan); Bielenstein, Bureaucracy, p. 141.

subjects discussed in dong zhongshu’s writings 143

The foundation of schools

It is difficult to verify Ban Gu’s statement92 that the establishment of premises for schools (xuexiao zhi guan 學校之官) derived from Dong’s initiative or as a result of his responses, or to support it with hard evi-dence.93 Of the few references to xuexiao in Western Han, the earliest are to the work of his contemporary Wen Weng 文翁. As part of his attempt to improve cultural standards in Shujun 蜀郡 (Sichuan), he set up these buildings in Chengdu 成都,94 probably towards the close of Wendi’s reign and presumably before Dong’s advice could have had any influence. We may read that it was thanks to Wen Weng’s exam-ple that these schools were set up in the provinces, and empire wide, in Wudi’s time.95 In the second reference96 xiao guan 校官, which may have been offices for teaching, are mentioned in connection with the work of Han Yanshou 韓延壽 (executed 56 BCE). As governor he was trying to raise the standard of living and quality of life in the small, densely populated commandery of Yingchuan 穎川 (Henan) during Zhaodi’s reign.97

For Eastern Han we read of the establishment of schools in 66 CE98 and how they were ‘like a forest’ at a time during Mingdi’s reign when strenuous efforts were being made to introduce a regime of plain liv-ing and high thinking.99 In 59 Mingdi performed the ritual drinking ceremony in the schools of the districts (xiang 鄉), with services being paid to Zhou Gong 周公 and Kongzi, but not to Dong Zhongshu.

92 HS 56, p. 2525.93 For guan with the meaning of buildings, see HSBZ 30.11b note, Yan Shigu’s note

to HS 89, p. 3626; Loewe, ‘The organs of Han imperial government: zhongdu guan, duguan, xianguan and xiandao guan’ (2008), p. 511; and immediately below for activ-ity in 59 CE.

94 HS 89, p. 3626; see also Huayang guozhi 3, 4b, Liang Han jin shi ji 14.4b. For Wen Weng’s academy and illustrations in the buildings, see Farmer, ‘Art, Education and Power: Illustrations in the stone chamber of Wen Weng’ (2000).

95 HS 89, p. 3626.96 HS 76, p. 3210.97 Yingchuan included the county and town of Yangdi 陽翟 (113.25E, 34.15N)

which is one of the five only counties for which figures are given for the registered households and individuals, i.e., 41,650 and 109,000 (these figures may be suspect, in so far as that for individuals is rounded up and the ratio of households to individuals is at the low level of 1:2.6); HS 28A, p. 1560.

98 HHS 2, p. 113.99 This somewhat rhetorical statement is seen in the Rhapsody on the Eastern Capi-

tal of Ban Gu; HHS 40B, p. 1368; Knechtges, Wen xuan, or Selections of Refined Lit-erature, vol. I (1982), p. 171.

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As seen previously in the achievements of Wen Weng, a number of officials set up schools in the peripheral areas as part of their efforts to advance cultural standards.100 We also hear of steps taken by well known scholars to do so, e.g., Fu Gong 伏恭, governor of Changshan 常山 who paid special attention to keeping schools in good order ca. 41;101 Zhao Qi 趙岐 (commentator to the Mengzi; died 201), as magistrate of Pishi 皮氏 (in Hedong);102 Kong Rong 孔融, ca. 190, by way of resettling inhabitants of Beihai who had been misled by the Yellow Turbans.103 In none of these references is there a mention of Dong Zhongshu’s advice.

The academicians and their pupils

The term Taixue 太學 is seen once only in the Shiji, in a passage that is cited directly from the treatise on music of the Liji.104 In his fulsome praise of Wudi, Ban Gu includes the foundation of the Taixue among his achievements, as does a decree of Xuandi in 72 BCE. There is a ref-erence to its foundation ‘as of old’ in a decree of Chengdi (23 BCE).105

In urging Wendi to take action so as to improve the quality of pub-lic life, Jia Shan 賈山 urged a number of measures including the con-struction of a Taixue.106 In his second response, Dong Zhongshu put forward the specific request to do so, with teachers, as the best means of promoting scholars at a time when calls for xianliang were not proving to be effective.107 The statement of Jin Zhuo 晉灼 (fl. 208) that there was no Taixue in the capital of Western Han drew a refutation by a number of commentators, principally Wu Renjie 吳仁傑 ( jinshi degree between 1174 and 1189).108 They took Ban Gu’s reference to

100 Li Zhong 李忠 in Danyang (ca. 30), HHS 21, p. 756; Zong (Song) Jun 宗(宋)均, Ying Feng 應封 and Liu Biao 劉表 in Wuling (ca. 50, 153 and 198), HHS 41, p. 1411, 48, p. 1608, 74B, p. 2421; Liu Biao and Luan Ba 欒巴 in Guiyang (ca.130–40), HHS 57, p. 1841; Xi Guang 錫光 and Ren Yan 任延 in Jiaozhi and Jiuzhen (ca. 25), HHS 86, p. 2836; Wang Zhui, 王追 in Yizhou (ca. 85), HHS 856, p. 2847.

101 HHS 79B, p. 2571.102 HHS 64, p. 2122, note 1, which cites from the San fu jue lu 三輔決錄 of

Zhao Qi.103 HHS 70, p. 2263.104 SJ 24, p. 1230; SJ (Takigawa) 24, p. 2; Liji 39 (‘Yue ji’).14a.105 HS 6, p. 212; 8, p. 243; 10, p. 313.106 HS 51, p. 2336. 107 HS 56, p. 2512, HSBZ 56.12a; I follow the interpretation of Yan Shigu despite its

rejection by Wang Xianqian.108 Liang Han kan wu buyi 兩漢刊誤補遺 (preface 1189) 5.12a.

subjects discussed in dong zhongshu’s writings 145

Dong’s foundation of xiaoxue to be to the Taixue, which is stated there incorrectly to have been set up in Yuanshuo 3 (i.e. 126 BCE).

Zhou Shouchang 周壽昌 (1814–84) cites the Sanfu huangtu 三輔黃圖 for the situation of the Taixue seven li north-west of Chang’an.109 Two incidents show it to have been a place or site that could attract attention. In Xuandi’s time He Wu 何武 and other students chose that location to draw attention to their talents by showing how well they could sing.110 About 2 BCE a pupil of the academicians named Wang Xian 王咸 (3) hoisted a banner close to the Taixue calling on all those who wished to save Bao Xuan 鮑宣 from the death penalty to meet there to stage a demonstration.111 Wang Mang’s measures to promote cultural standards included the construction of ten thousand (sic) quarters for pupils (4 CE).112

In Eastern Han, the Taixue was built at Luoyang in 29 CE, to be rebuilt in 131, and there is no mention of Dong Zhongshu or Gong-sun Hong in this connection. Bielenstein observes that, despite the statement that it was attended by 30,000 pupils during Huandi’s reign, according to his count only 49 are mentioned by name. As noted, a comparable institution named the Hongdu men 鴻都門 with pupils was established in 178.113

Some of Dong Zhongshu’s remarks indicate that he was realis-ing that the existing means of recruiting men to hold official posts were insufficient and even vitiated, and that it was for this reason that he put forward his proposals, for xiaolian, to remedy the situation.114 However, his measures were evidently not effective, as was seen in 128. In 124 some six months after his appointment as Chancellor his antagonist Gongsun Hong set out more elaborate proposals, he too realising that the existing systems of recruitment, being largely in the hands of provincial officials, were too haphazard.115 In doing so he set up precedents that would have a bearing on public life in China until

109 HS 56, p. 2525; San fu huang tu (variously dated from the sixth to the ninth century) p. 64.

110 HS 64B, p. 2821.111 HS 72, p. 3093.112 HS 99A, p. 4069.113 HHS 1A, p. 40, 8, p. 340, 48, p. 1606; Bielenstein, Bureaucracy, pp. 139–41;

Loyang in Later Han Times (1976), pp. 68–70.114 HS 56, p. 2512. See p. 138 above. 115 SJ 121, p. 3118; HS 88, p. 3593; HS 6, pp. 171–2. These references write of setting

up a quota of pupils, or a quota of fifty pupils, for the boshi or boshi guan 官 but they do not mention the Taixue. For the retention of guan see Zizhi tongjian 19, p. 617.

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the twentieth century; for they allowed for careful selection, according to merit, at three different levels, of which the highest was by a high official of the central government; the establishment of an imperial institution for training; a regular means of testing candidates; and a distinction between those candidates who enjoyed support of the gov-ernment and those who did not.

Pupils had sat at the feet of the academicians before the time of Gongsun Hong. What was new was the establishment of a fixed quota. The proposal of 124 provided for the Superintendent of Ceremonial (Taichang 太常) to choose fifty men aged eighteen or more who would become pupils of the academicians (boshi dizi 博士弟子) and as such be relieved of obligations for rendering state service. It also provided that when men of appropriate abilities were known to offices of the central government which were situated in the provinces, the magistrates of the counties and the senior assistants of the nobles should forward their names to their superiors, i.e., the governors of the commanderies. After deciding whether or not they were fit persons, the governors should regularly send these candidates to the Superintendent of Ceremonial, at Chang’an, in company with the officials sent each year to present the commandery’s accounts. Once there they would be entitled to receive a training as pupils; they would be tested each year; assigned to appoint-ments as wenxue 文學 (man of learning) or zhanggu 掌故 (recorder of precedent), those of the highest standard reaching the position of langzhong 郎中 Gentleman of the Palace; and promotion or demotion would follow according to their performances. Failure to master one ‘choice text’ (yi 藝) resulted in dismissal.

As seen, the selection of candidates for the civil service depended mainly on the judgement of senior officials; and if they followed the injunctions of their emperors, the candidates would be recommended or not mainly on the grounds of their character and promise. It would seem that it was not until the time of Yuandi that the idea of testing or judging officials who had held office on the basis of their success or failure was suggested; voiced by Jing Fang 京房 (2), executed in 37 BCE, it did not gain acceptance at the time. At a lower level statutory arrangements provided for training and testing young men who hoped for appointment as junior officials or in a technical capacity as diviners of prayer reciters.116

116 See p. 137 above, note 56.

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Some of these features had been seen already in the way in which Wen Weng had been setting up schooling in the west during Wendi’s reign.117 It is clear that it was Gongsun Hong rather than Dong Zhong-shu who was responsible for the steps taken. As Chancellor, Gongsun Hong was able to do so; Dong Zhongshu, reprieved from the death penalty, could do no more than proffer advice. Probably some ten years elapsed between the time when Dong did so and Gongsun Hong took action, possibly at a time when Dong was no longer in Chang’an. How far he was borrowing Dong’s ideas or trying to make capital of the failure of Dong’s proposal for xiaolian may not be known, but in any case his proposals were radical. They were dated some twelve years after the establishment of posts for academicians who specialised in the ‘Five Classics’ (wu jing 五經) in 136, but it cannot necessarily be assumed that it was to them rather than to other academicians that the training of the fifty pupils would be assigned.118 The complement of fifty was raised to 100 in Zhaodi’s reign and to 200 under Xuandi. After a further increase it was to be fixed at 1,000 in 41 BCE, and raised to 3,000 for a short time under Aidi. Relief of 3,000 men from the need to render statutory service can hardly be dismissed as hav-ing negligible results. The number is said to have reached over 30,000 during Huandi’s reign (147–167), as many as the estimated number of officials of the central government of Western Han.119 After review-ing these developments, Bielenstein writes: ‘By the middle of the sec-ond century AD, annual enrolment at the Academy had exceeded 30,000. . . . It follows that hundreds of thousands must have attended the Academy in the course of Later Han, but only about half a hun-dred are mentioned by name in HHS and its sources. The overwhelm-ing majority never reached the national importance which would have caused them to be recorded by the ancient historian’.120

Gongsun Hong offered an incentive to become a candidate for pub-lic service; the failure of the xiaolian system had spelt punishment for officials who had not been able to comply with its needs. While

117 See HS 89, p. 3626 for the establishment of pupils to attend his schools, with exemption from statutory obligations, followed by appointment according to their accomplishments.

118 HS 6, p. 159, 19A, p. 726.119 SJ 121, p. 3118, HS 6, pp. 171–2; 9, pp. 285, 291; 88, p. 3593; HSBZ 88.3b–6a;

HHS 67, p. 2186, 79A, p. 2547; Bielenstein, Loyang in Later Han Times’ (1976), p. 70; for the number of officials, see Men who Governed, pp. 124–7.

120 Bielenstein, Bureaucracy, p. 139.

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it is dangerous to draw conclusions from the scant and irregular sup-ply of statistics that is available, it could be that the lower number of the dizi to have reached government posts as compared with that of the xiaolian corresponds with a difference in ability as between those trained at the capital city and those sent up from the provinces of the empire. One is perhaps tempted to compare this with the different standards of undergraduates who, in bygone days, had won their bur-saries at an Oxford or Cambridge college competitively as ‘scholars’, and those who were admitted there on their own means, as ‘com-moners’. The figures that we have may suggest that during Ban Gu’s lifetime the xiaolian were more apparent in public life than the dizi; and it is for this reason that he chose to credit Dong Zhongshu with having brought this class into being. He does not extend such praise to Gongsun Hong for setting up a quota of pupils of the academicians.

Dong Zhongshu introduced recruitment of the xiaolian but with scant success and his efforts to bring men of merit into the service in this way were shortly eclipsed by those of Gongsun Hong, drawing as he may have done on ideas first enunciated by Dong. Both in the decrees which gave rise to these steps and in the terms used to denote their ideal qualities there may be seen values that were esteemed for their own worth and which later came to be basic elements, or even hallmarks, of what is termed ‘Confucianism’. These values are seen in the very use of the terms xian and xiao; in the encouragement of honourable family relationships in the second rescript to which Dong Zhongshu responded; and in the decree cited by Gongsun Hong which stressed the importance of guiding the people by means of li and music and inculcating the habits of civilized living.121 As yet these ideals and values emerge independently and by no means in a co-ordinated man-ner that was designed to impose an identifiable mode of thought. The steps suggested to recruit officials were intended to strengthen the gov-ernment of the empire; they were not adopted solely as a means of encouraging an ethical way of life.

121 HS 56, p. 2507, 88, p. 3593.

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The Chunqiu

The references that we have to Dong Zhongshu’s understanding of the Chunqiu and his attitude to its authority are not entirely consistent and may perhaps elude full comprehension; and they require con-sideration in the light of Gongsun Hong’s training in this text. One possible reason why Gongsun Hong was envious of Dong Zhongshu may lie in the circumstances of their early lives. Gongsun Hong was of a poor family, spending his early years as a farmhand, and it was only at the age of forty or so that he learnt something of the differ-ent explanations of the Chunqiu.122 Dong Zhongshu, by contrast, had been working on that text from the time when he was young, to attain the privileged title of academician during Jingdi’s reign, when he was perhaps forty years old. For his part, Gongsun Hong had to wait until he was about sixty to be so named.

In his second and third responses Dong Zhongshu informed, or perhaps reminded, his emperor that Kongzi had compiled (zuo 作) the Chunqiu. This statement is also attributed to Sima Tan and Sima Qian and others, and later to Ban Gu.123 In two references Kongzi is said to have done so by relying on the historical records of Lu 因 [魯] 史記.124 The statement is in no way verifiable and can only be accepted as showing that this was a general and unquestioned belief, at least in the time of Sima Tan and perhaps earlier; it does not appear to be mentioned in the Xin yu 新語 of Lu Jia 陸賈 (ca. 228–ca.140) or the Xin shu 新書 of Jia Yi 賈誼 (201–169).

According to the Shiji, in their study (zhi 治) of the Chunqiu, Gong-sun Hong was not as good as Dong Zhongshu. It was Gongsun Hong however who rose to high office. Dong’s opinion that he had done so thanks to flattery caused Gongsun to hate him, with the result that he recommended Dong’s virtual banishment, as being ‘the one and only person fit to be Chancellor of Jiaoxi’. We also read that, tak-ing as he did to a life of retirement, Dong devoted himself to study, with the result that up to five generations following the foundation of

122 SJ 112, p. 2949, HS 58, p. 2613.123 For Sima Tan, see SJ 130, p. 3295, HS 62, p. 2716; for Sima Qian, see SJ 130,

pp. 3297, 3299, HS 62, pp. 1717, 2719, 2735. The belief is also stated by Zhang Chang 張敞 (1), shortly after 68 BCE (HS 76, p. 3217); Yang Xiong (HS 87B, p. 3578); and Wang Mang in 9 CE (HS 99B, p. 4109).

124 SJ 121, p. 3115, HS 62, p. 2737.

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Han, Dong Zhongshu was the only person who gained a reputation for familiarity with the Chunqiu; he transmitted [the interpretations of] Gongyang Shi.125

According to one statement, the Gongyang tradition started with Gongyang Gao, 公羊高 a pupil of Zi Xia 子夏; and after several stages of oral transmission it was committed to writing by Gongyang Shou 壽 and Hu Mu 胡母 (i.e., Hu Wu 胡毋) in the reign of Jingdi.126 The question of whether Gongyang zhuan or the Guliang zhuan was the earlier composition has been subject to debate. One recent scholar who believes that the Gongyang was earlier raises the question of whether what are apparent citations in the Xunzi and Shiji drew on a written text or simply on oral transmission, with the possibility that it was not until the reign of Jingdi, i.e., during Dong Zhongshu’s own lifetime, that the text reached the form of a book.127 The Shiji and Han shu write that Hu Wu, of Qi, studied Gongyang’s Chunqiu, becoming an acade-mician during Jingdi’s reign. [He was engaged in the same occupation as Dong Zhongshu who, in his writings, praised his qualities].128 He returned to Qi when he was old, where those who talked about the Chunqiu revered him, Gongsun Hong receiving considerable instruc-tion. At the same time, Dong as Chancellor of Jiangdu, had his own teachings to transmit.

Nothing more is known of Huwu Sheng.129 Gongsun Hong was a man of Zichuan which was at one time part of the Han kingdom of Qi;

125 SJ 121, p. 3128. The final passage, which may be incomplete, reads 其傳公羊氏也. There is no reference to Dong’s pre-eminence or to his transmission of Gongyang shi in the corresponding passage of the Han shu (HS 56, p. 2525) or in HS 88, 3615–6.

126 For the beginning and development of Gongyang tradition, see Li Weixiong, Dong Zhongshu yu Xi Han xueshu (1978), pp. 166–9, citing the preface to the Gong-yang zhuan of Dai Hong 戴宏 (Gongyang zhuan preface, 2a).

127 Sagawa Osamu, op. cit., pp. 82–4 and 87–110. On pp. 89 to 105 he sets out the arguments put forward by Chen Li 陳澧 (1810–82) to show that the Gongyang was earlier and those of Liu Chang 劉敞 (1884–1919) who contends this view. See Chen Li (1810–82), Dong shu du shu ji 東塾讀書記 10.12b; Liu Chang (1019–68), Chunqiu quan heng 春秋權衡 (preface by Zhu Yizun 朱彝尊, 1674) 145,2a,b.

128 For the work of Hu Wu in promoting the Chunqiu in Qi and perhaps Lu, where many exponents of that text arose thanks to his teaching, see SJ 121, pp. 3118, 3128, HS 88, p. 3593, and HS 88, p. 3615 (as Hu mu Sheng); the passage in parenthesis does not appear in the Shiji.

129 See HS 88, p. 3593 for the simple statement that following Han’s foundation, Huwu Sheng expounded the Chunqiu in Qi and Dong Zhongshu in Zhao (Dong’s place of domicile, of Guangchuan, was at one time within the Han kingdom of Zhao).

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we are not told how he was able to escape from his occupation as a pig herder to take instruction from Huwu Sheng in the latter’s old age.

References to Jiang Sheng 江生 and the part played by Gongsun Hong are somewhat enigmatic. According to the short note of the Shiji, Jiang Sheng of Xiaqiu 瑕丘 (in Shanyang commandery) was a Guliang Chunqiu [man]; from the time when Gongsun Hong attained employment in office, he collected and compared his interpretations; in the end those of Dong Zhongshu were adopted.130 The somewhat fuller note of the Han shu reads:131

Jiang Gong 公 of Xiaqiu received instruction in the Guliang Chunqiu and the Songs from Shen Gong 申公 of Lu, transmitting this to his sons and grandsons and becoming an academician.132 In the time of Wudi, Jiang Gong was in a situation that was equal with that of Dong Zhongshu. Zhongshu was conversant with the Five Classics, capable of sustaining an argument and accomplished at written composition; Jiang Gong suf-fered from stuttering. The emperor ordered him to engage in discussion with Dong Zhongshu whom he did not match.

Gongsun Hong the Chancellor was basically a student of Gongyang and compared and collected his interpretations; in the end those of Dong Sheng were adopted. Thereupon the emperor respected the Gong-yang specialists and decreed that his Heir Apparent should be instructed in Gongyang Chunqiu. From this point onwards the Gongyang was pro-moted on a large scale.

The foregoing passages allow the conclusion that Dong proved himself superior to other scholars, with the result that it was thanks to a delib-erate decision that the Gongyang was placed in the favoured situation. While the Shiji seems to suggest that Gongsun Hong’s prime interest was with the Guliang Chunqiu, the Han shu writes of him as basically a Gongyang man. However there remains one difficulty: if Dong was stopped from voicing certain interpretations of the Chunqiu in con-nection with disasters and abnormalities, how did it come about that, as the Shiji tells us, he was the only person to be credited with familiar-ity with that text for the first century of the Han empire?

130 SJ 121, p. 3129.131 HS 88, p. 3617, HSBZ 88.23a.132 For problems in identifying Shen Gong, see Shen Qinhan’s note in HSBZ.

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Continuity and change: past and present

It is hardly surprising that, as in other societies and at other times, so in Western Han there prevailed a tension between adherence to tradi-tional practice and acceptance of new initiatives. As is seen, on several occasions the rescripts and responses refer to an apparent anomaly; as against an acceptance that the principles and institutions of the holy kings of old were of an everlasting value, there was the plain fact that considerable differences could be discerned in the ways in which these operated. A decree of 123 refers to the same problem by noting differ-ences of principle and practice in the mythical past of the Wu di 五帝 and San dai 三代; and it cites Kongzi as giving different answers when asked the same question about the means of government (zheng 政).133 In addressing the difficulty Dong Zhongshu had written ‘As is gener-ally agreed, the world of the past is likewise the world of the present, the world of the present is likewise the world of the past, all in all it was and is the world’.134 The same insistence, that past and present are one and the same, had been voiced earlier in the Xunzi.135 Dong’s explanation, that while the principles remained unaltered, changed circumstances called for changed measures of governing, is seen in another text with which he may also have been familiar, the Lü shi chunqiu. It is also seen in the Huainanzi.136 Ouyang Xiu (1007–72) expressed his agreement with Dong that while there had been nominal changes in the emphasis on substance (zhi 質) and pattern (wen 文) and of institutions during the three dynasties of Xia, Yin and Zhou, there had been no actual change away from principle (wu bian dao zhi shi 無變道之實).137

These questions had already been voiced in Qin times when, in face of the praise that Zhou Qing 周青 lavished on the First Emperor (213 BCE), Chunyu Yue 淳于越 of Qi replied that he knew of no case wherein a regime had survived for a long period if it had not looked to the teachers and lessons of the past. Li Si 李斯, the Chancellor, dis-missed this view as that of no more than a laudator temporis acti who

133 HS 6, p. 173.134 HS 56, pp. 2519–20.135 Xunzi 5 (‘Fei xiang’), pp. 53–4.136 Lü shi chunqiu 15 (8 ‘Cha jin’), pp. 934–6; Huainanzi 13 (‘Fan lun xun’). 3b

et seq.137 ‘Wen jinshi ce si shou’ 問進士策四首, in Ouyang Wenzhong quan ji 48.6b. For

‘substance’ and ‘pattern’, see Chapter Seven below, p. 275.

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simply could not accept the accomplished fact of unification.138 The difference of view survived long, as may be seen, for example, at the outset of the arguments put forward by Fan Sheng 范升 for refusing to give priority to the Zuo zhuan.139

Several problems may have been apparent to those who were con-cerned with the ways and means of imperial government. First, if the examples of the regimes and rulers of Xia, Yin and Zhou had all been praiseworthy why had two of them found it necessary to alter the ways of their predecessor? Secondly, granted that differing styles or degrees of emphasis, or even purpose, may have lain behind the ways cho-sen by these three, which of them was the one whose example should be emulated or adopted in Han times? Thirdly, was it appropriate to make any changes in the heritage bequeathed from the paragon rulers of the past, so as to suit the conditions of the present?

These matters involved not only a choice of ritual or details of administration, such as the colour of the court robes or the precise calendar to be used, but also one of the type of government to be prac-tised. Necessarily they also lay at the root of an overriding question—that of the survival or permanency of a dynastic house’s rule—and in this context attention is due to the doctrine of the Wu xing 五行. While the received text of the Shiji may suggest that Qin had seen itself as ruling under the patronage of one of these five it is unlikely that it would have done so. The certainty of that way of thought that one phase or regime is bound to give way to another, would have conflicted sharply with the First Emperor’s claim for the everlasting existence of his dynasty.140 Wang Mang, on the other hand, had every reason to see his own regime as being blessed by one such agent or phase, as it accorded him legitimacy over the dynasty that he had replaced.141 Possibly chapter 23 of the Chunqiu fanlu, to be considered below,142 sought to solve the problem of continuity and change with its theory of the san tong 三統; but this can hardly be attributed to Dong Zhongshu with any certainty.

138 SJ 5, pp. 254–5, 87, p. 2546.139 In 28 CE; HHS 36, 1228.140 For Qin’s supposed adoption of Water, see Men who Governed, pp. 496–505.141 For treatment of the wu xing in the Chunqiu fanlu, see Chapter Seven below,

p. 264.142 See Chapter Eight below.

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Mention of these problems early in Wudi’s reign may perhaps reflect some of the views that were being expressed at the time and which may have been giving cause for argument in high places, as they concerned the actual means of implementing imperial govern-ment. Hitherto Han had seen a few somewhat exceptional changes made to the institutions adopted by Qin, such as the establishment of the kingdoms. Attention paid at the advice of Shusun Tong 叔孫通 (died ca. 188 BCE) to the need for ritual procedure at the court and the regulation of the statutes and ordinances143 followed shortly within the opening decades of the empire. Such innovations or changes fitted within the compass of the ideal of universal imperial sovereignty of both Qin and Han. They were not intended to emend the ways of the holy kings of the pre-imperial age; rather were they intended, as were further changes in administering the empire under Wendi and Jingdi, to tighten the government’s control over the people and the land.

The reasons why these questions took a prominent place in the three rescripts of Wudi’s early years are not entirely clear. At the time the Grand Empress Dowager Dou 竇 may well have been influential within the precincts of the palaces; but it does not seem that her espousal of the ideals of the Laozi and of Huangdi, with their opposition to the exercise of an authoritarian imperial government, had any effect on the formulation of Han policies or the imposition of officials’ powers over nature or human beings. Whether the motive force behind the questions put in Wudi’s three rescripts derived from such thoughts may not be known; possibly it derived from the expression of views by some who believed that the time had come for radical change, so as to strengthen the will of government and intensify its modes of opera-tion yet further. The rescripts recognised that the ways of Xia, Yin and Zhou had not been identical; if two of these great dynasties had been entitled to change away from the example of a predecessor, was Han entitled to do so in order to accommodate to its own needs, or must it remain obliged to follow the existing practices that it had inherited?

At much the same time as when Dong was presenting his responses, Wang Hui 王恢 (1) wrote of there being ‘no need to follow the past’ in his arguments in favour of setting an ambush to catch the Xiongnu

143 Such changes did not result in reducing the complexities of the laws or the severity of their punishments as was claimed; some of the mutilating punishments may have been abolished during Wendi’s reign, but not entirely, as Sima Qian had good reason to know.

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(shortly after 135).144 There is good reason to believe that the choice between adhering to the ideals and practices of the past or of setting out to provide for current needs was a question that was clearly at issue in the years after Wudi. It intrudes in many parts of the account of the debate of 81 BCE;145 it could not be avoided in considering the introduction of different religious cults in Chengdi’s reign and later; and it concerned the proposals to dismantle some of the Han imperial shrines.146 The question arose in Xuandi’s reign when his heir apparent (the future Yuandi) criticised the severity with which government was being conducted and pleaded for attention to the traditional masters, presumably of Zhou.147 Xuandi answered in almost the exact terms attributed to Li Si in 213, ‘Those commonplace traditionalists do not understand the needs of the time; they simply love to praise the past and denigrate the present’. Kuang Heng 匡衡 (died 30 or 29 BCE) made the same point as that suggested by Wang Hui, but in somewhat different circumstances.148

In his responses Dong Zhongshu gives advice over the question of how far change from a respected practice is justifiable in order to meet newly arisen circumstances. He would appear to have had in mind changes that concerned the ephemeral concerns of government that were perhaps under dispute and to have related these to the perma-nent lessons of hallowed teachers. Whether or not the first pian of the Chunqiu fanlu derived from his hand,149 the subject of continuity or change is inherent therein, yet in other parts of that text there is a very different treatment of the theme, perhaps most significantly in pian 23. Although the extent to which that chapter derived from Dong Zhongshu personally may well be in question, it is cited frequently150

144 HS 52, p. 2400.145 See especially YTL 6 (29 ‘San bu zu’).146 For the extravagance seen in funerary arrangements, see YTL (6 29 ‘San buzu’)

p. 353; for religious changes and dismantlement of shrines, see Loewe, Crisis and Conflict in Han China (1974), chapter Five and DMM Chapter 13 [1992].

147 HS 9, p. 277.148 This was in a memorial that followed the coincidence of the eclipse and earth-

quake in 29 BCE; HS 81, p. 3333.149 CQFL 1 (1 ‘Chu Zhuang wang’), pp. 15–19.150 E.g., by Kang Youwei, as cited by Kang Woo Les trois théories politiques du

Tch’ouen Ts’ieu interprétées par Tong Tchong-chou d’après les principes de l’école de Kong-yang (1932), p. 165; Kang Woo himself (op. cit., p. 143); Chan Wing-tsit (Wing-tsit Chan, A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy (1963) pp. 287; Sagawa Osamu, op. cit., and Li Weixiong, op. cit., p. 87.

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as evidence for his reliance on the Gongyang zhuan and his interpre-tation of history.151 The chapter was perhaps written in answer to the tacit question of why, if the regimes of the holy rulers of old were so exemplary, there was ever any need for change. Possibly the writer of the pian drew on material that was later banned as being ‘apocryphal’ (wei 緯); he saw past, present and future as parts of an integrated whole, of a system that overrides the particular requirements of a par-ticular moment in time. Change is seen as part of an eternal cycle whose stages are marked by their own characteristics; acceptance of these changes is shown by conformity with such characteristics, in a manner that is reminiscent of the minute prescriptions for behaviour as in li 禮 or in the yue ling 月令.

It is perhaps not surprising that there were some who sought support for their views on the question by looking at the opinions voiced and the institutions practised in the past or, perhaps more accurately, what they believed those opinions and institutions to have been. A case for innovation could be strengthened by showing that it had taken place legitimately in earlier times. Possibly some persons had access to texts of the Lunyu and the Zhong yong which recorded Kongzi’s recognition that Yin and Zhou had depended on the li of their predecessors and of how it might be understood why they had suppressed some elements and added others;152 or of his deliberate preference for adopting the li of Zhou rather than that of Xia or Yin.153

Dong Zhongshu’s attack on certain figures

Dong Zhongshu closed his interpretation of the fires that broke out in 135 by suggesting that they were a message sent by heaven with an injunction such as the following:154

151 For a translation, see Chapter Eight below.152 Lunyu 2 (‘Wei zheng’).8a; see Chapter Seven below p. 276.153 Li ji 53 (‘Zhong yong’).9b, 10a. The question of making additions to accepted

li or removing elements therefrom is seen in the Xunzi’s essay ‘Li lun’ (Xunzi 17, p, 260), where Knoblock renders the passage 立隆以為極而天下莫能損益也 ‘Estab-lish them and exalt them [i.e., the rites], make of them the ridgepole, and nothing in the world can add to or subtract from them’ (Knoblock, vol. III, p. 60). The passage also appears in the final comment of Shiji 23, p. 1171, as from the Tai shi gong. In his appreciation at the end of Han shu 22, p. 1075, Ban Gu cites Kongzi’s remarks on his comprehension of Yin’s dependence on the li of Xia, and the additions and removals (Lun yu) 2 (‘Wei zheng’).8a.

154 HS 27A, p. 1332.

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Look to find which of those among the members of the imperial family and their affines and those who are honoured and those attached to the kings (zhuhou 諸侯) have distanced themselves from what is right in extreme ways and bring yourself to punish them by death.

Look to find which of those ministers close to the throne and those further removed who, while having reached positions of honour, do not practise what is right, and bring yourself to punish them by death.155

The passage raises the question whether it is possible to identify par-ticular persons whom Dong may have had in mind when rendering this advice, whether they were concerned in public life at the time of the fires in 135 or previously. In his article on the establishment of Confucianism in Han times, Hu Shih does not hesitate to name two persons as the obvious victims should Dong’s advice be followed, i.e., Tian Fen 田蚡, half-brother of Jingdi’s Empress Wang 王 and of Wudi’s mother, and Liu An 劉安 (2), king of Huainan.156 However for reasons that are given below these suggestions may not be supported, and we have to conclude that our sources are such that no direct or certain answer to the question is possible; for they give us no more than selected scraps of information about the leading characters of the day. Such fragments may be contradictory, or perhaps subject to a biased selection. Details that are given below (see Appendix 2) show that there may have been opportunity for Dong Zhongshu to have met or heard of kings known for very different qualities or types of behav-iour, but we have no definite record of any personal encounters prior to his relegation to be Chancellor of the king of Jiangdu after 135.

Nor can we be any more definite about other personalities. It would seem to be unlikely that he had in mind the Grand Empress Dowager Dou 竇 who died in the month after the fires; her devotion to the val-ues of the Laozi and Huangdi would hardly have qualified her for clas-sification as lacking ideas of what is right. Her cousin Dou Ying 竇嬰 who had taken part in public life during Jingdi’s reign was perhaps a questionable character. He had once incurred her anger over a matter of the succession to the imperial throne but, by 143, she had recovered from such feelings sufficiently to hope that he would be made chan-cellor. In fact he did not attain that position until 140 (sixth month),

155 The punctuation and consequent rendering of this passage is by no means cer-tain. The use of zhuhou for zhuhouwang is not rare.

156 Hu Shih, ‘The establishment of Confucianism as a state religion during the Han dynasty’ (1929), p. 38.

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to be dismissed four months later (139 tenth month) and retire into private life, before Dong had formulated his advice.

Dou Ying’s adversary Tian Fen might well have qualified for Dong’s criticism. However as he was appointed chancellor in the sixth month of 135 and after Dong had written about the fires, any hopes that Dong might have had of incriminating him would have been unsuccessful. It may also be noted that both Dou Ying and Tian Fen are described as being proponents of traditional learning, a preference which, if known, might well have saved them from Dong’s criticism. Tian Fen’s view that Han should not send a punitive expedition against Min Yue 閩越 (138) might well have conformed with Dong’s own ideas.157

Chao Cuo 鼂錯 was perhaps one of the most forceful officials to have taken a part in imperial decisions during Dong’s lifetime. It was he who, as Imperial Counsellor from 155, had been responsible for facing the potential threat that the kings posed to imperial authority and contriving that their powers would be reduced after their rebel-lion (154). Such actions might well have commended themselves to Dong Zhongshu, but Chao Cuo had been trained in the political ideas of Shen Buhai 申不害 and Shang Yang 商鞅 that Dong would reject. Chao Cuo had been executed in 154, and there is nothing to show that Dong Zhongshu had him in mind when he formulated his views. Perhaps he might have recalled that Shentu Jia 申屠嘉 (Chancellor 162–155) had suggested the establishment of shrines to the emperors in the provinces, to which he himself evidently took exception.158 He would surely not have included Wei Wan 衛綰 (Imperial Counsellor 147–143, Chancellor 143–40) in his list of those who merited severe punishment; for it was Wei Wan who, shortly after Wudi’s accession, had proposed that a training in the writings of Shen Buhai, Shang Yang, Han Fei 韓非, Su Qin 蘇秦 and Zhang Yi 張儀 should dis-qualify candidates from appointment to office.159 Xu Chang 許昌 held the post of chancellor at the time when the fires took place (from the third month 139 to the sixth month 135) but he can hardly have fitted Dong’s category of those who had distanced themselves from what is right; he is included among the chancellors who simply held the office and lacked the means or opportunity of leaving a fine reputation

157 For details of the somewhat complex relationship between Dou Ying (executed, probably in 131) and Tian Fen (died as chancellor in 131), see entries in BD.

158 HS 27A, p. 1332.159 HS 6, p. 156.

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behind them.160 Han Anguo 韓安國 (1) who had bribed his way into high office, becoming Imperial Counsellor in 135, had received an early training in Han Fei’s teachings, but he had nonetheless twice advised against taking positive military action against the Xiongnu.

It has yet to be shown that either Wudi or his ministers were suf-ficiently well impressed by Dong Zhongshu’s advice to take prompt action so as to eliminate unworthy persons, or potentially disloyal per-sons from public life. Liu An (2) was not removed until 122, and there is nothing to show that his removal could be traced to Dong; and we read that it was only then that Wudi remembered what Dong’s advice had been.161

The promotion of Kongzi

The Han shu includes Ban Gu’s observation that ‘Following Zhongshu’s responses to the imperial rescripts, explanation of [the teaching of] Kong Shi 孔氏 was promoted and other types of learning suppressed’.162 Perhaps this is to be taken as an assertion of the exceptional way in which Dong treated Kongzi’s sayings, when compared with others, but this cannot be put to a refined or rigorous test. There is however one way, perhaps somewhat crude, in which Dong’s attitude to Kongzi is revealed, in the citations that he makes from the master’s sayings, for these are seen, somewhat remarkably, no less than twelve times in the three responses, together with three other references, once from the Lunyu.163 Kongzi hardly appears in earlier statements that are recorded for Western Han times, and we must wait until the reign of Yuandi before they become frequent. Not surprisingly Wang Mang called upon Kongzi repeatedly; citations and allusions became more com-mon in Eastern Han.

As might well be expected there are any number of citations of Kongzi in the two chapters of the Shiji that are directly concerned with him with their anecdotes mainly of Chunqiu times,164 but other-wise they are rare. On a few occasions they are included in the Taishi

160 HS 42, p. 2102.161 HS 27A, p. 1333.162 HS 56, p. 2525.163 HS 56, pp. 2499, 2509, and 2514.164 SJ 47 ‘Kongzi shijia’ and 67 ‘Zhongni dizi’.

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Gong’s 太史公 comments at the end of a chapter and once in the additions of Chu Shaosun (?104–?30 BCE).165 They are not seen as supporting an argument put forward by a memorialist. For the early years of Western Han, the Xin yu 新語 of Lu Jia 陸賈 (ca. 228–140) cites Kongzi’s sayings five times; the Han shu records two citations by Jia Yi 賈誼.166 A decree of 128 BCE incorporates the well known say-ings that loyal feelings are to be found not all that rarely and a teacher may be encountered frequently enough,167 and Kongzi’s actions, with an allusion to the Lunyu, are mentioned in a decree of 123.168 There are possible allusions (i.e., inclusion of a phrase that is seen in the Lunyu or elsewhere but which is not introduced by the words Kongzi yue) by Dongfang Shuo 東方朔 (ca. 130);169 and there is one direct cita-tion by Yuqiu Shouwang 吾丘壽王 before 113 BCE, Yuqiu Shouwang having received instruction in the Chunqiu from Dong Zhongshu.170 Zou Yang 鄒陽 called on Kongzi once in the plea which gained him deliverance from prison (ca. 154).171

Following Dong Zhongshu by some thirty years, Wang Ji 王吉 (2) cited Kongzi and his association with yitong 一統 and this suggests that he may have had some of Dong’s teachings in mind.172 Yuandi’s reprimand to Liu Yu 劉宇 (1) king of Dongping (reigned 52–20) called on Kongzi.173 More remarkably, during Chengdi’s reign a man known only by his given name of Xing 興, who held the order of Gongcheng 公乘 and was a Sanlao 三老 in the county of Hu 湖174 did so.175 In the Yantie lun, compiled probably not before Yuandi’s reign,176 Huan

165 SJ 3, p. 109, 55, p. 2049; and 13, p. 505 (Chu Shaosun).166 Xin yu A (‘Wuwei’).8a; (‘Bian huo’).9b; (‘Zhen wei’) 11a and 12a; B (‘Si wu’).10a

(SBBY ed.); HS 48, pp. 2248, 2253; Xin shu 5 (2 (‘Bao fu’).3b; the Xin shu also includes three other citations, 1(8 ‘Deng qi’).13a and 13b; 2 (4 ‘Shen wei’).4b.

167 HS 6, p. 166; Lunyu 5 (‘Gongye chang’).12a; 7 (‘Shu er’).7a.168 HS 6, p. 173.169 HS 65, pp. 2860, 2866. 170 HS 64A, p. 2769.171 HS 51, p. 2355.172 HS 72, p. 3063; see p. 180 below. 173 HS 80, p. 3321.174 In the division that was under the control of the Governor of the Capital

( Jingzhao yin 京兆尹).175 HS 76, p. 3234.176 The posthumous imperial title Xuandi is seen in Zhang Dunren’s edition of

the Yantie lun which derives from a print of 1501 (YTL 6 (29 ‘San bu zu’), p. 356); in the edition of Zhang Zhixiang (1554) this is replaced by Bixia (YTL 7 29 ‘San bu zu’).31a). It seems to me more likely that an editor or copier who realised that the debate was dated in the reign of Wudi changed Xuandi into Bixia, than that an editor

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Kuan 桓寬 retrospectively recorded or perhaps inserted twenty cita-tions into the mouths of the critics of the government and five into those of its defendants.

From Yuandi’s time and later, we find more and more citations by a number of high ranking and prominent officials including Kuang Heng 匡衡, Liu Xiang, Du Qin 杜欽, Zhai Fangjin 翟方進 and Liu Xin 劉歆.177 There are ten citations in Liu Xiang’s Xin xu and they are legion in his Shuo yuan, as are the allusions or references in the works of Yang Xiong 揚雄, particularly the Fa yan 法言. It is perhaps not surprising that Kongzi is invoked frequently, either by direct quotation or by way of allusion, in documents of between 1 and 20 CE which call for the praise of Wang Mang or give him special powers, and in his own memorials or pleas.178 The first time that a direct citation from Kongzi is seen in an imperial decree is in one issued by the Empress Dowager in 1 CE.179

There are at least twenty-five direct citations of Kongzi’s sayings to be found in the Hou Han shu and perhaps forty allusions. These range from the time of Guangwudi to that of Xiandi. In addition to those thus dating from Eastern Han, a number of citations derive from the hand of Fan Ye 范曄 the compiler (398–446).180 In a number of instances the allusions are short, consisting of a phrase or a few telling characters only, and the Tang dynasty commentator was at pains to point out the connection. At times, it might seem that the association which he draws is rather far-fetched. However, that some writers of Eastern Han times, noticeably Ban Gu, did not find it necessary to specify that they were citing from ‘The Master’ may suggest that they

took the reverse decision. Huan Kuan we are told was trained in the Gongyang zhuan in Xuandi’s reign (74–48); it is not unlikely that he lived on after Xuandi’s death.

177 Examples are seen as follows; in Yuandi’s reign, by Jia Juanzhi 賈捐之 (HS 64B, p. 2831); Kuang Heng (HS 67, p. 2926, 81, pp. 3334, 3343); Mei Fu 梅福 (HS 67, p. 2919); Gong Yu 貢禹 (HS 72, p. 3070 in a direct reference to the Lunyu, 3072 by allusion). In Chengdi’s reign, Liu Xiang (HS 36, p. 1959); Du Qin (HS 60, pp. 2668, 2672 on the occasion of the earthquake and eclipse of 29); Xue Xuan 薛宣 (HS 83, p. 3388); Zhai Fangjin (HS 84, pp. 3418, 3419); Ban Bo 班伯 (great uncle of Ban Gu; HS 100A, p. 4201). In Aidi’s reign, Wang Shun 王舜 and Liu Xin (HS 73, p. 3126); Li Xun 李尋 (HS 75, p. 3190); Yang Xiong 揚雄 (HS 87B, p. 3568); Du Ye 杜鄴 (HS 85, p. 3477).

178 See HS 99A, pp. 4054, 4056, 4057, 4058, 4083, 4089, 4091, 4094; HS 99B, p. 4111; HS 99C, p. 1470. These include memorials framed by Zhang Song 張竦 for presenta-tion by others. See also HS 25B, p. 1264.

179 HS 99A, p. 4049.180 E.g., HHS 39, p. 1293, 64, pp. 2120, 2125 and 67, p. 2183.

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expected their readers to require no reminder of the literature that they had in mind.

Invocation of Kongzi’s authority and support in a number of impe-rial pronouncements of part of Eastern Han may be contrasted with its absence in those of Western Han. Such calls are seen in a decree of Mingdi (70 CE), in five of the decrees issued by Zhangdi (between 79 and 87) and one of 106.181 They are seen three times in statements ascribed to Guangwudi182 and twice in those of an Empress Dowager (79 and 88 CE).183 It may be asked whether the frequency of these citations during Zhangdi’s reign was not entirely coincidental with the attention that was being paid to scholarly matters at the time, as seen in the discussions concerning the virtues of texts such as the Zuo zhuan and other such documents, the assembly of the Baihu tong con-ference (79 CE), and the influence exerted by men of letters such as Jia Kui 賈逵 (30–101).184

Ban Gu or the other compilers of the Han shu very often include allusions to Kongzi’s sayings, e.g., at the outset of a chapter and in the appreciations at its end, and occasionally there is a direct citation.185 Direct citations are also seen not infrequently in the treatises of the Han shu.186 There are allusions in one of Ban Gu’s own fu and in his explanatory notes to seven chapters of the Han shu.187 The Hou Han shu includes an allusion in Ban Gu’s Rhapsody on the Eastern Capital and two in his Dianyin pian 典引篇.188

Both citations and, more frequently, allusions are seen in the say-ings of a number of persons who took a prominent place in Eastern Han history and its literary and scholarly development. At the Yun-tai 雲臺 discussions of 28 CE Fan Sheng 范升 cited Kongzi over the

181 HHS 2, p. 117; 3, pp. 138, 140, 143, 155; 14, p. 553; and 4, p. 197.182 HHS 16, p. 601, 20, p. 741, 18, p. 696.183 HHS 10A, p. 414, 4, p. 166.184 See HHS 36, p. 1236.185 As a citation, HS 29, p. 1698; as allusions 36, p. 1973; 67, p. 2928; 49, p. 2303;

66, p. 2904; 71, p. 3053; 72, p. 3097; 75, p. 3195; 90, p. 3645; 92, p. 3697; 93, p. 3741 (attributed to Zhongni).

186 E.g., HS 22, pp. 1028, 1075; 23, p. 1091; 24A, p. 1123; 27A, p. 1320; 30, pp. 1711, 1780. HS 27A, p. 1338 alludes to Kongzi’s choice of frugality rather than ostentation, which is also included in Dong’s second response (HS 56, p. 2510); see Chapter Three above p. 93.

187 For the fu see HS 100A, p. 4214; for notes on chapters of the Han shu, see HS 100B, pp. 4237, 4258, 4259, 4260, 4261, 4266 (twice).

188 HHS 40B, pp. 1371, 1377, 1379. For an allusion in an earlier fu on the theme of the capital city by Du Du 杜篤, dating from Guangwudi’s reign, see HHS 80A, p. 2607.

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propriety of establishing academicians’ posts to specialise in the Fei 費 version of the Changes and the Zuo zhuan; at the same time Chen Yuan 陳元 cited him when the questions arose of the scope of author-ity of the Sili xiaowei 司隸 校尉.189 Others seen to have alluded to the master included: Feng Yan馮衍 (ca. 50; in his ‘Xian zhi’ 顯志); Lang Yi 郎顗 (133); Yue Hui 樂恢 (late 80s); Ban Zhao 班昭 (83); Ma Rong 馬融 (115); Chen Zhong 陳忠(120); Zhang Heng 張衡 (126, 133); Zuo Xiong 左雄 (132); Wang Fu 王符 (ca. 90–165); Cai Yong 蔡邕 (160); Chen Fan 陳蕃 (168); Ying Shao 應劭 (185); and, at an unstated time, the unnamed wife of Yue Yangzi 樂羊子, in insisting that her husband should not deviate from the dutiful course of his studies.190

The fragments of the Xin lun 新論 of Huan Tan 桓譚 (43 BCE to 28 CE) include two citations of the sayings of Kongzi, both of which are seen in the Lunyu. No direct citations of Kongzi or from the Lunyu are seen in the Fa yan 法言 of Yang Xiong 揚雄 (53 BCE–18 CE), despite the way in which the author had taken the Lunyu as his model.191 The extent of citation in the writings of Eastern Han is varied. Ban Gu’s Baihu tong, compiled in Zhangdi’s reign immediately after the conference of 79 CE, quotes liberally from the Lunyu and from some twenty sayings ascribed to the master; very few of the latter are seen in the Lunyu; perhaps four are in the Liji, and several take their place in discussions between Kongzi and Zengzi 曾子.

Of fifteen citations of Kongzi’s sayings in the Qianfu lun 潛夫論 of Wang Fu 王符 (90–165), ten are from the Lunyu, one being coupled with a citation from the Songs, and one from the Shang shu; one is seen in the Yili, three in the Xici and Wenyan, but the Lunyu itself is not cited. That text is not mentioned in the Shen jian 申鑒 of Xun Yue 荀悅 (148–209), but one saying of Kongzi is quoted. Of the six citations in the Fengsu tongyi of Ying Shao (ca. 140 to before 204), one

189 HHS 36, pp. 1228, 1231, 1233. For Fei Zhi 費直, see HS 88, p. 3602; the reading ‘Fei’ follows the note of Yan Shigu.

190 HHS 28B, pp. 988, 992, 994 (Feng Yan); 30B, p. 1055 (Lang Yi); 43, p. 1479 (Yue Hui); 84, p. 2791 (Ban Zhao); 60A, pp. 1954, 1957, 1969 (Ma Rong); 46, p. 1558 (Chen Zhong); 59, pp. 1899, 1915, 1916 (Zhang Heng); 61, p. 2020 (Zuo Xiong); 49, pp. 1631, 1636, 1640 (Wang Fu); 60B, pp. 1981, 1983, 1988 (Cai Yong); 66, pp. 2167, 2169 (Chen Fan); 84, p. 2793 (Yue Yangzi’s wife).

191 For Yang Xiong’s adoption of the Lunyu as a model for this work, see Yuhazu Kazuyori ‘Yō Yū “Hōgen” to “Rongo”—mokō no ito’ (1994), pp. 28–34. It may be noticed that in the volume where that article appears (Matsukawa Kenji,‘Rongo no shisō shi’, 1994) there is no chapter devoted to Dong Zhongshu’s citation or use of the Lunyu.

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is coupled with Mengzi, one is taken from the Lüshi chunqiu and one is seen in the Lunyu. In proportion to the size of the work, the Zhong lun 中論 of Xu Gan 徐幹 (170–217) cites Kongzi very frequently, no less than nineteen times; nine of these passages are in the Lunyu, one in the Liji, one in the Xici; seven are not found.

There remains to consider the Lun heng 論衡 of Wang Chong 王充 (27–ca. 100), possibly the longest work other than the Han shu to be compiled in Eastern Han. In general Kongzi is cited in the works that are mentioned above as an authority to give strength to a principle or to explain a proposition. By contrast Wang Chong tends to quote his sayings by way of criticism, so as to show contradictions or weaknesses in the conclusions attributed to his name. This is seen particularly in pian no. 28 ‘Wen Kong’ 問孔, a somewhat long pian which sets out to question Kongzi’s views. Referring to incidents in which he features and discussions that he held with others, it includes ten direct citations which are introduced by Kongzi yue 孔子曰 and a number of others that are not so specified; the majority of these can be traced to the Lunyu. There are sixty-seven other quotations headed Kongzi yue in the other pian of the Lunheng.

From all this evidence, it seems that we may be correct to note that in his time it was with exceptional frequency that Dong Zhong-shu cited Kongzi. To this we may add that it was only later that an emperor paid reverent attention to him. Doubts are raised regarding the statement that Gaozu performed a major sacrifice to him when he was passing through Lu in 195 BCE.192 At the end of Chengdi’s reign (33–7 BCE) Mei Fu 梅福 was noting the infrequency with which this type of service was being enacted, and urging that some of Kongzi’s descendants should be honoured with nobilities.193 When he was visit-ing Lu in 29 CE Guangwudi ordered the Da Sikong to render sacrifice; whether this was an innovation or whether it followed a precedent may not be known.194 It may be added that it was not until long after Han times that the Lunyu was treated as one of the jing.195

192 HS 1B, p. 76; Dubs, HFHD vol. I, pp. 139–40 note (3).193 HS 67, p. 2925. Men who Governed, pp. 336–9.194 HHS 1A, p. 40.195 For an early reference to the Lunyu as being one of the ‘Seven Classics’, see the

note to HHS 35, p. 1196 by Li Xian 李賢 (651–684); it is included in the jing in Sui shu, ‘Jingji zhi’ 32, pp. 935–7.

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Control of the rain

Three methods of affecting the fall of rain are ascribed to Dong Zhong-shu; first by controlling the influence of Yin and Yang; second by the exposure of clay dragons; and third by an elaborate ritual of prayer and dance based on conformity with the Wu xing. Stimulation of Yin Yang and the use of dragons are mentioned briefly in one pian (no. 57) of the Chunqiu fanlu, with far more elaborate treatment in two others (nos. 74, 75).

The first one of these methods is described briefly in the Shiji and Han shu.196

In administering the kingdom,197 by noting the changes wrought by way of disaster and abnormality, as recorded in the Chunqiu, [Dong] Zhong-shu predicted how aberrations come about thanks to Yin and Yang. Thus, in seeking a fall of rain, he had all [entries to] Yang closed and opened all those to Yin; in seeking to stop rain from falling he took the opposite steps. This was practised throughout the kingdom and he never failed to get the results for which he hoped.

A further and longer reference to Dong’s belief that causes of climatic conditions could be found in the operation of Yin and Yang will be seen below (see pp. 166, 170).

Neither the Shiji nor the Han shu mention a different method used by Dong to induce rain to fall, which arose from completely different assumptions than those of Yin Yang, and it seems that we depend exclusively on references in several chapters of the Lunheng for this account. The method may be traced, perhaps anachronistically, to the belief that it is when the dragon mounts the clouds that rain will fall.198 From this there followed a practice that can perhaps be described as one of sympathetic magic; dragons fashioned of clay would be set out in the fields in the expectation that their presence would induce the clouds to respond. It is not known whether this method was practised in the course of the great ceremonies for rain (Da yu 大雩) that are frequently recorded in the Chunqiu; and while no date can be given for its inception, it is mentioned in a number of passages in the Huainanzi

196 SJ 121, p. 3128, HS 56, p. 2524.197 I.e., Jiangdu.198 See Zhou yi 1 (‘Qian’), 15a (Wen yan); for later references, e.g., by Han Yu, see

Loewe, DMM, pp. 142–4 [1987].

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which ascribes its origin to figures of ancient mythology.199 Use of clay dragons for this purpose should not be seen as an isolated example of this type of method to control nature. Clay oxen were displayed in the last month of winter with a view to wafting away the great cold.200 The semi-historical hero Li Bing 李冰 is said to have had five stone buffalo carved with which to confront the danger of floods.201

Wang Chong wrote about this practice at length in a pian which is entitled Luan long 亂龍, and which starts ‘In expounding the yu cer-emony of the Chunqiu, Dong Zhongshu set up clay dragons to induce the rain to fall, his thoughts being that clouds and dragons attract each other’.202 As explained at the close of the chapter and repeated in the comment of Huang Hui 黃暉 (1938), luan is to be taken as mean-ing ‘bring to a close’ or ‘conclusion’ (zhong 終), and Forke translates the title as ‘A last word on dragons’.203 Somewhat questionably the authenticity of the chapter has been held in doubt (see the Appendix below, p. 187).

Two other references in the Lunheng deserve mention. Wang Chong writes of Dong upholding the means of prayer as advocated in the Chunqiu, and of his construction of an altar and setting out clay drag-ons, on the principle that as dragons and clouds attract one another, clouds would duly form and the rain would drop.204 Elsewhere205 he links Dong’s practice with the influence of Yin and Yang, as he is

199 E.g., Chunqiu 30 (Xiang gong 5).1b; 42 (Zhao gong 3).6b; 51 (Zhao gong 25).5a. HNZ 4.8a; 11.11b; 16.13b; 17.1a, 19b. The sub-commentary to Zhou li 26.11a (‘Nü wu’ 女巫) quotes Dong Zhongshu’s explanation of the Da yu rite for invoking rain with the singing of songs from the Guo feng and other parts of the Shi jing. This citation is not seen in the Chunqiu fanlu.

200 Xu Han zhi 5, p. 3129. 201 See Taiping yulan 890.3a, citing Shu wang ben ji 蜀王本紀; Mao ting ke hua

茅亭客話 1.3b (Jin dai bi shu 津逮祕書). For tales of Li Bing’s success in controlling the Min river, see Loewe, ‘He Bo Count of the River, Feng Yi and Li Bing’, in Rachel May and John Minford (eds.), A Birthday Book for Brother Stone for David Hawkes, at Eighty (2003), pp. 197–206, esp. pp. 202–4.

202 LH 6 (47 ‘Luan long’), p. 693. For further consideration of Wang Chong’s views about Dong Zhongshu, see the Appendix to this chapter, p. 187 below.

203 See LH 16 (47 ‘Luan long’), p. 706 and p. 693 for Huang Hui’s note; Forke, Lun-heng, vol. II (1911), p. 349. For luan as bring to a close, see Chapter Two above, Appendix p. 80.

204 LH 6 (22’ Long xu’) p. 290; 15 (45 ‘Ming yu’), pp. 668, 693; see also p. 680 where Kongzi is said not to have criticized, and Dong to have recounted, the rites for invoking rain. See Loewe, ‘The cult of the dragon and the invocation for rain’, DMM, pp. 142–59 [1987].

205 LH 18 (55 ‘Gan lei’), p. 786.

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stated to have done in his biography.206 Wang Chong makes no refer-ence to the elaborate way in which the rites that are described in the Chunqiu fanlu207 adhered strictly to the cyclical requirements of the Wu xing.

Dong’s interest in climatic conditions is possibly seen in an item included in the Xi jing za ji that is entitled Yu bao dui 雨雹對.208 This is repeated in the Gu wen yuan古文苑, but whether it was present in the original collection of that name or derived from a later insertion cannot be known for certain.209 While two passages from this text are cited in the Taiping yulan as sayings of Dong Zhongshu that were recorded in the Xi jing za ji the authenticity of the item Yu bao dui must remain a matter of doubt.

The item starts ‘In the seventh month of the first year of Yuan guang [134 BCE] there was rain and hail in the capital city’. No such phe-nomenon is recorded in Han shu 6 or 27 or in the Qian Han ji or Zizhi tongjian. The item continues with questions addressed to Dong Zhongshu by a man named Bao Chang 鮑敞, who is not known else-where.210 Bao Chang asks what sort of a thing is hail and from what type of qi is it created. Dong Zhongshu’s long answer goes through the rise and fall of Yin and Yang during the months and the circum-stances in which rain, cloud, mist, thunder, lightning, snow and hail occur, according to the state and movement of qi 氣. He sets forth the climatic results of the varying strength of the qi of Yin and that of Yang, as seen at different points of the year. He refers to certain months as those when the jian 建 day fell on a day whose sexagenary term included no. 6 ( yi 已) and no. 12 (hai 亥) of the Twelve Earthly

206 HS 56, p. 2524.207 CQFL 16 (74 ‘Qiu yu’); the nearest possible allusion to the wu xing to be seen in

the rites for preventing rain is the provision for wearing clothing that was appropriate to the season (CQFL 16 (75 ‘Zhi yu’), p. 437; see Loewe, DMM p. 156 [1987].

208 Xi jing za ji, p. 240; Xiang Xinyang and Liu Keren, Xi jing za ji jiaozhu (1991), p. 238. For the authorship of the Xi jing za ji see Chapter Three above, p. 83, note 3.

209 For the Gu wen yuan and inclusion of this item in Dong’s collected works, see Chapter Three above, Appendix (3).

210 There are no references in the histories from the Shiji to the Jin shu.

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Branches.211 The item concludes ‘Chang withdrew, slowly standing up with his back turned to the wall and bowing’.212

Other texts, such as those described above, write of Dong’s concern with nature’s abnormalities and the means of inducing or preventing a fall of rain. From such evidence it could well be supposed that Bao Chang had good reason to expect him to be able to answer his ques-tion. But the way in which he does so is fundamentally different from what we have in Dong Zhongshu’s other writings or words on the subject. The treatment of Yin and Yang varies markedly from that seen in his first response, and is far more elaborate than the brief mention that the histories give in their account of Dong’s attempts to control the climate.213 Whereas his explanations of abnormal events that are given in HS 27 are characterised by evocation of the Chunqiu, there are no such references here.

The source of information for the third method of seeking and pre-venting rain is far more extensive than that for the other two, but whether or not it can be ascribed to Dong is somewhat, or perhaps highly, questionable. It is described in two chapters214 of the Chunqiu fanlu, whose authenticity will be discussed below, but the main text of neither chapter specifically relates that Dong adopted the method. His name is mentioned only in an addition that is appended to the second

211 Jian 建 and chu 除 are the first items in a series of twelve terms, being twelve imma-terial forces that alternatively convey good or evil fortune ( jian and five others for evil, chu and five others for good). This series repeated itself cyclically, being applied to twelve successive years or days, and perhaps being seen as following the twelve directions whereby the movements of the year’s star (sui 歳) were traced, or, alternatively, the movements of the moon. References to these terms and their cycle are seen, e.g., in the Huainanzi and the Shiji. In calendrical terms, the twelve find their places attached to successive years, or days that are notated by the Twelve Branches. They identify years whose days are set out in tabular form in the almanacs from Shuihudi of Qin times and they mark certain days in the calendars of Han times.; see Loewe, ‘The Almanacs (Jih-shu) from Shui-hu-ti: a preliminary survey’ (DMM, pp. 221–6 [1988]).

212 For this gesture of respect, see Li ji 51 (29 ‘Kongzi jian ju’ 孔子閒居).7b. 213 HS 56, p. 2503; see also pp. 2515, 2524. Dong Zhongshu does not mention or

refer to the Wu xing.214 CQFL 16 (74 ‘Qiu yu’) and (75 ‘Zhi yu’), pp. 426–37 and 437–9. The Taiping

yulan includes eight citations that are ascribed to Dong of which five concern his attempts to induce or prevent rain; TPYL 11.6b (as written, this is given as a citation from the Huainanzi but it is not found there); 35.9a (headed Dong Zhongshu yue 曰, with some of the prescriptions for inducing rain in spring and summer); 526.3a (from the Han jiu yi); 687.3b (from Dong Zhongshu zhi yu shu); 956.4a (from Dong Zhong-shu qing yu shu). For a longer description of the two chapters of the Chunqiu fanlu, see Loewe, ‘The cult of the dragon and the invocation for rain’ in DMM Chapter 7 [1987].

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of the chapters and this does not relate that he had performed the actions that are described in such detail. As will be seen, in addition the chapters mention the two other methods that have been discussed above, that of seeking conformity with Yin and Yang and that of dis-playing dragons made of clay.

The ritual for seeking rain is treated at much greater length than that designed to prevent it, describing how it was to be performed, with differing details for each of the five seasons; and the ritual for spring is treated more extensively than that for the other four. It included services to deities, particular and universal; steps designed to move the forces of Yin and Yang into action or to lull them into passivity; and attention to conformity with the Wu xing. It combined prayer, sacrifice, dance, the reactions of frogs, closure of the village gates and attempts to open the courses whereby water could be induced to flow. Seasonal bans were imposed, such as hewing down trees in spring,215 or melting metal implements in autumn. A shaman or shamaness (wu 巫) was exposed to the full heat of the sun, in the hope that he or she would thus be persuaded to bring about the desired result. Altars were set up to the measurements appropriate for the season with their entrance posts covered with silk of the seasonal colour. And offerings were rendered to the appropriate major deity. The shaman or shama-ness, chosen for the gift of a fine power of delivery, and dressed in the colour of the season, would pray and fast, keeping to the set stages of the ritual, before uttering the great invocation, which ran:

Almighty heaven that hath given growth to the five crops to sustain mankind, the withering of these crops by drought that we now suffer is such that they are unlikely to grow to their due fulfilment. We rever-ently bring forth our offerings of pure beer and dried meats and twice prostrate ourselves in entreaty for the rain, that it may fall in abundance in its due season.

There followed the dance of the dragons, probably made in wooden frames that were covered by a fabric of the right colour. Their size varied as did their number; they were accompanied by men of an age that was suited to the season, such as adults of good health for the summer, veterans for the winter; and officials of the county or of

215 The Statutes of 217 BCE included a ban on hewing down trees in the second month of spring (Shuihudi, ‘Statutes’ strip no. 4); those of 186 BCE (Zhangjiashan, ‘Statutes’ strip no. 249) in the spring and summer.

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the lower reaches took part. Frogs had been collected in tanks whose dimensions were correct for the season; it was probably believed that they would croak when rain was due to fall and hoped that they could be induced to do so. The southern gates of the village were closed and water placed outside them; the sites of springs were opened up and all blocks to waterways removed. Sacrifice and offerings followed once the rain had duly fallen. At the close of the chapter we are told of the manufacture of dragons from pure clay, and of the injunction that couples should engage in sexual intercourse.

The table that is given in the Appendix below shows some of the differences prescribed for the five seasons, but it is incomplete as full information is not provided in the text for all five. Some elements of the ritual that is described in the Chunqiu fanlu appear in a memorial that Dong addressed to the king of Jiangdu, as recorded by Liu Zhao 劉昭 (ca. 510). These do not include measures to conform with the cycle or influence of the Wu xing; and the memorial pleads for the exemption from tax for women of Guangling 廣陵 who were acting as invocators.216

The ritual for stopping rain from falling does not prescribe different procedures according to the seasons, except for the colour of the robes of some of those who took part. Access to all sources of water was blocked, and there was a ban on women going to market. Officials of the county and below, robed in their appropriate colours, led the fast and the prayers, with due offerings. Drums were beaten for three days and the invocation paid full attention to Yin and Yang and heaven’s benevolence to mankind. It read:

Whereas heaven hath created the five crops to sustain mankind, the abundant measure of rain that now falls is too great such that the five crops are not in harmony with their surroundings. We reverently proffer our fattened animals and pure beer in our entreaty to the divine powers of the shrine that they will cause the rain to cease from falling and will relieve the people from suffering. May they see that Yin may not destroy Yang, or Yang destroy Yin, for in that way they would not obey heaven whose constant will is to bring benefit to mankind.

216 Note to Xu Han zhi 5, p. 3118.

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No songs were heard while the drums were being beaten, and when the music stopped the rite was at an end.217 The shrine was surrounded with ten circlets of red silk.218

The chapter ends with an account of a particular incident in which Dong Zhongshu, as Chancellor of Jiangdu kingdom, was concerned. This is dated on the day Bingwu 丙午 of the eighth month, whose first day was Jiashen 甲申, of the twenty-first year, which is difficult to identify. It may possibly refer to the year 134 or 139 BCE.219

As Chancellor of the kingdom, Dong Zhongshu notified the Metro-politan Superintendent (Nei shi 內史) and the Superintendent of the Capital (Zhongwei 中尉) that the rains of Yin had been falling for too long thus giving rise to the fear that the five crops of the fields would be subject to damage. He therefore ordered them to take immediate steps to stop the rain, by stemming the forces of Yin and arousing those of Yang, and the orders were passed to officials of seventeen counties and eighty districts, and also to officials of the central govern-ment who were posted locally.220 Wives of officials were to be sent back to their places of origin; women would not be allowed to go to the markets; there would be no access to the wells, which were to be cov-ered. They were to beat the drums, sacrifice to the shrine dedicated to the soil, and recite the prescribed invocation, which was almost identi-cal to the one given above. The account records that officials of county

217 Alternatively: the rain stopped falling.218 See Han jiu yi buyi B.5a (TPYL 526.3a).219 The reconstructed calendar for Western Han includes no eighth month starting

on Jiashen during Wudi’s reign. There are two possibilities, neither of which is entirely convincing. (1) The day in question might be taken as being in the intercalary month (which followed the ninth month and started on Jiashen) of Yuanguang 1. This would correspond with 10 November 134. (2) The eighth month of Jianyuan 2 is calculated as starting on the day Guiwei 癸未; this month followed the seventh month whose length is given as twenty-nine days. If however that month had been long, with thirty days, the eighth month would have started on Jiashen; and the day in question would cor-respond with 7 October 139. There is however a further difficulty. The year in question is stated to be the twenty-first, i.e., of Wudi’s reign, reckoned by Su Yu to correspond with Yuanshou 4, 119 BCE. Such enumeration is acceptable as the use of nianhao did not predate the Yuanding period (116–111); but by that year Dong Zhongshu would either have been moved to be king of Jiaoxi, or, as Su Yu suggests, been living in retirement. Neither 139 nor 134 can be identified as Wudi’s twenty-first year. The date given does not accord with the imperial calendar if the year 21 is taken to refer to the twenty-first year of the reign of Liu Fei 劉非, king of Jiangdu, i.e., 132 BCE.

220 For the du guan as offices of the central government that were stationed in the provinces, see Loewe, ‘The organs of Han imperial government: zhongdu guan, duguan, xiangguan and xiandao guan’ (2008).

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level and below carried out these instructions and after three days the rain stopped falling. The Wu xing do not feature in the account of this ritual, unless mention of the five crops is taken to refer to that theory.

There is little to show that the detailed description of the rite to produce rain matched the ideas that Dong expressed elsewhere. It is difficult to imagine that by the time of Dong Zhongshu attention paid to the Wu xing had developed to the extent and degree required to perform the ritual of seeking rain as it is described, and there is one passage elsewhere in the Chunqiu fanlu which reads in a contrary sense to parts of it. This refers to the use of dragons to induce rain and to do so by arousing Yin, or to stop it by arousing Yang; but the main content of the passage is to show that it is misguided to expect rain to be controlled by the spirits (shen 神).221 The account of the rite to bring rainfall to a close seems to be more in accord with the beliefs and ideas of Dong’s time and may perhaps be accepted as a report, whose dating as given is inaccurate, of action that he took or was deemed to have taken.

None of the three methods and practices that are described above can lend support to a description of Dong Zhongshu as ‘Confucian’.

Su wang 素王222

Dong Zhongshu’s reference to su wang 素王 calls for attention, as the meaning of the expression and its consequent translation are by no means free of problems. In his second response, he wrote: ‘when Kongzi created the Chunqiu, by first setting correctly the affairs of the king [zheng wang 正王], he linked all manner of events thereto, bring-ing into view the refined character (wen 文) of a su wang’ 先正王而繫萬事見素王之文焉.223 For a passage in the Shiji, Chavannes rendered

221 CQFL 13 (57 ‘Tong lei xiang dong’), pp. 359–60.222 I am greatly indebted to Professor Hans van Ess for showing me his as yet

unpublished article on su wang, which reached me after completion of the pages which follow here. He examines the evidence more fully and deeply, and on a wider scale, than is done here, with conclusions that in many ways are in parallel with my own views.

223 HS 56, p. 2509; HSBZ 56.10b, Chapter Three above, p. 93. For an explanation of the form of the character wang as in the Chunqiu fanlu, see Chapter Six below, under pian no. 44.

subjects discussed in dong zhongshu’s writings 173

su wang ‘le Roi simple’;224 Woo Kang has it as ‘roi non couronné’, and the term ‘uncrowned king’ has been frequently adopted in subsequent writings, and indeed in one instance by Chavannes himself.225 Profes-sor Cheng alludes to the use of the expression as ‘le Sage quasi divinisé par Dong Zhongshu’.226

It would perhaps be preferable to hold more closely to the metaphor that is inherent in the character su, i.e., that of white silk unadorned with patterning, colour or wen 文, and unstained by impurities. Su wang is thus the one who possesses the true qualities of a king though they are not displayed, rather than one who possesses them without carrying a recognised rank, title or appointment. As will be seen below, the term wen is used in contrast to zhi 質 and the two expressions are rendered as ‘pattern’ and ‘substance’.227 In pian no. 23 of the Chunqiu fanlu, the term wen would thus signify the direct opposite of what it appears to mean in Dong’s response as cited here.

A well known passage of the Zhuangzi dilates on the qualities and practices that mark wuwei 無爲.228 We read ‘To hold them [i.e., empti-ness, stillness, silence, inaction] in high station is the Virtue of emper-ors and kings, of the Son of Heaven; to hold them in lowly station is the way of the dark sage [xuan sheng 玄聖], the uncrowned king’.229 Whether or not these last two are one and the same or are seen as two types may be in question. Guo Xiang 郭象 (d. 312) explains su wang as those who, receiving the loyalty of all the world, have not the relevant marks of honour attached to them. They are su wang endowed with their own honours. Xuan sheng is seen in the Dian yin 典引 of Ban Gu and is explained as referring to Kongzi.230

Su wang is not seen in the Lü shi chunqiu. In warning how the Qin empire had come to grief, Jia Yi observed that the leaders who arose to destroy Qin did not act in the manner of a su wang.231 An

224 SJ 3, p. 94, MH vol. I, p. 179.225 Kang Woo, op. cit. (1932), p. 175; see note 231 below. 226 Anne Cheng, Étude sur le Confucianisme Han l’élaboration d’une tradition

exégétique sur les classiques (1985), p. 85.227 See Chapter Seven below, pp. 11–20.228 Zhuangzi 5B (‘Tian dao’ 13), p. 457.229 Translation follows Burton Watson, The Complete Works of Chuang

tzu (1968) p. 143. For xuan sheng, see Wen xin diao long 1 (‘Yuan dao’).23b 玄聖創典素王述順.

230 HHS 40B, p. 1376.231 SJ 6, p. 277; MH vol. II, p. 221, where the term is rendered ‘un roi non

couronnée’.

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anachronistic reference is seen in an unnamed source, which is cited in the Shiji; when finally Yi Yin 伊尹 agreed to present himself to Tang 湯 of Yin, he discussed the su wang and the Nine Rulers jiu zhu 九主.232

Chapter 9 of the Huainanzi, which concerns the methods that a ruler adopts, mentions qualities of Kongzi that are not seen elsewhere, i.e., the superior powers of intelligence, courage, speed and strength that he possessed as compared with others. Nonetheless his bravery passed without being recognised and his skills went unacknowledged. By concentrating on teaching the dao he became the king—unmarked as such (su wang)—while his activities were rare.233

The Huainanzi can hardly be reckoned to be a ‘Confucian’ text. Thereafter the earliest mention of su wang after Dong’s time is to be found in the Shuo yuan 説苑 of Liu Xiang (79–8 BCE).234 This pas-sage discusses how the best of rulers treat those whom they govern with the care due to infants. It cites the example of Shao Gong 召公 of Zhou who took deliberate steps to avoid detracting from the regular occupations of the people such as the production of silk, and therefore removed himself from where such work was taking place. In addition, such rulers cannot tolerate oppression of the weak by the strong. It was in the absence of such idealized conditions that Kongzi withdrew from public life and compiled the Chunqiu to explain the ways of the su wang. This same motive is ascribed to Kongzi in the Lunheng. In a further reference in that text Wang Chong wrote that Kongzi did not rule as a king; the work and duties of a su wang lie in the Chunqiu.235

232 SJ 3, p. 94, MH vol. I, pp. 178–9. The Jijie comment of Pei Yin (fifth century CE) cites Liu Xiang’s Bie lu which lists nine categories of rulers, concluding fan jiu pin tu hua qi xing 凡九品圖畫其形. A text written on silk, now entitled ‘Jiu zhu’ was included in the documents buried at Mawangdui, being attached to the end of copy A of the Laozi; see Mawangdui Han mu boshu (1980), vol. I, columns 352–403, transcriptions pp. 29–33. This text, with a fragment of an illustration of the nine that is given on. p. 32, in many ways corroborates Liu Xiang’s account and counters the negative comments of the Suoyin commentary of Sima Zhen (early eighth century). Jiu zhu are to be distinguished from the Jiu huang as mentioned by name or title in CQFL 23 (see Chapter Eight below, pp. 302–7).

233 HNZ 9.31a. the text reads jiao dao 教道, with a variant reading of 教孝; Ames (The Art of Rulership: a Study in Ancient Chinese Political Thought, 1983, p. 205) renders: ‘Solely through practicing [sic] the way of filial piety he became the uncrowned king’.

234 Shuo yuan 5 (‘Gui de’).2a.235 LH 13 (39 ‘Chao ji’), p. 609; 27 (80 ‘Ding xian’), p. 1122.

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Su wang is not mentioned in the Baihu tong. The Zhong lun 中論 of Xu Gan 徐幹 (171–217/218) notes that, although a commoner, Zhongni was styled su wang,236 and the Fengsu tongyi of Ying Shao (ca. 140– before 204) carries the tale that on return to Lu 魯 from Wei 衛, Kongzi wrote up the theory of the su wang (著素王之法).237 How-ever, according to the Baopuzi 抱朴子 of Ge Hong 葛洪 (283–343) ‘the person who is capable of establishing the heritage of the su wang is not necessarily Qiu 丘 of Eastern Lu’.238 The Wen xin diao long 文心雕龍 of Liu Xie 劉勰 (ca. 465–ca. 520) refers to Kongzi as the su wang.239

A reference in the spurious Kongzi jia yu 孔子家語240 adds nothing to this enquiry. The zhengyi comment to the preface of the Zuo zhuan identifies four questions implied in that text.241 The second of these is whether the general belief of earlier scholars that Kongzi had styled himself su wang is true or false, and the commentator shows that it had no foundation. He describes Dong’s statement about su and wen in the terms shi su wang zhi wen yan 是素王之文焉 and concludes that the views expressed by Jia Kui 賈逵 (30–101), Zheng Xuan 鄭玄 (123–200) and Lu Qin 盧欽 (d. 278) to the effect that Kongzi had formulated the idea of su wen and styled himself such were incor-rect. The same view is taken in Huang Hui’s note to a passage in the Lunheng.242

References to su wang in the wei shu 緯書, of which at least one includes the term in its title, are somewhat enigmatic. He has no rewards such as rank or salary and no weapons with which to admin-ister punishments. At least two fragments identify Zhongni 仲尼 as the su wang.243

236 Zhong lun A (5 ‘Gui yan’).20a.237 Fengsu tong yi 7 (‘Qiong tong’), p. 315.238 Baopuzi (Wai pian) 38 (‘Bo yu’).5a.239 Wen xin diao long as cited in note 229 above.240 Kongzi jia yu 9 (39 ‘Ben xing jie’).11a–12a (SBCK ed.).241 See notes to Zuo zhuan xu 22b.23b, 27a for rejection of the view that Kongzi was

concerned with the concept of su wang.242 Zheng Xuan, Liu yi lun 六藝論 p. 5; Jia Kui, Chunqiu Zuo shi zhuan jie gu

春秋左氏傳解詁 A.1a (in Yu han shan fang ji yi shu 32); for Lu Qin see Jin shu 44, p. 1255, and 20, p. 619, Song shu 15, p. 392 for his views on items of mourning rites; LH 13 (39 ‘Chao ji’), pp. 609–10, where the note dismisses the views ascribed to Jia Kui, Zheng Xuan and Lu Qin as deriving from the Kongzi jia yu.

243 Xiao jing gou ming jue 孝經鉤命決, Lunyu su wang shou ming chen 論語素王受命讖, Lunyu zhai fu xiang 論語摘輔象 and Lunyu chong jue chen 論語崇爵讖; see Yasui Kōzan 安居香山 and Nakamura Shōhachi 中村璋八, Chōshū isho

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In commenting on the passage of Dong Zhongshu’s second response that is given above, Wang Xianshen 王先慎 (1859–1918) began with the explanation of su as kong 空.244 He wrote that su wang was used with reference to a person of low rank, being applied to those of lower status than that of king. He cited passages from the Zhuangzi, Jia Yi’s Guo Qin lun and the Shiji that are given above and questioned how the term could be applied to Kongzi. Wang Xianshen wrote that Dong, living in Western Han, had not thought that Kongzi used the expres-sion of himself,245 such an idea having originated in the wei shu and being taken up and accepted as authentic during Eastern Han; consid-erable errors abounded, involving Dong Zhongshu. Wang Xianshen does not specify the sources in the wei shu that he had in mind, and evidence that Kongzi applied the term to himself is tenuous. It could perhaps have included a fragment of a work entitled Xiao jing gou ming jue 孝經鉤命訣 in which Kongzi is reputed as saying that he had compiled the xiaojing by virtue of being a su wang and without any rewards such as orders of honour ( jue 爵) or salary (lu 祿) and without suffering any dire punishments.246

From the foregoing it may be concluded that there is no evidence to support the view that Kongzi took part in the formulation and use of the concept of su wang, which appears in texts that can in no way be categorised as ‘Confucian’. He did not style himself as su wang; and Dong Zhongshu’s use of the term need in no way imply a reference

shūsei 重修緯書集成, vol. 5 (1973), pp. 71, 126; and pp. 122, 127. For the treatment of Kongzi in the wei shu and references to su wang there, see Tjan Tjoe Som, Po Hu T’ung The comprehensive discussions in the White Tiger Hall. Two volumes. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1949–52 op. cit., pp. 113, 119.

244 HSBZ 56.10b. For this explanation, see also Morohashi 27,300, meaning 12. It may be asked whether in identifying su as kong 空, scholars may have had in mind an association, thanks to the phonetic identity, with 孔 (see Karlgren, GSR 1172h and 1174a k’ung/k’ung/ k’ung). However, Tjan (op. cit., p. 113 note 386) rightly draws attention to the need for caution in making such suggestions. For a reference to kong wang in an entirely different sense, see the manuscript cited in note 232 above, col-umn 374.

245 To prove this point, he calls, perhaps unwisely, on negative evidence in two chapters of the Chunqiu fanlu.

246 TPYL 610.8a, cited LH 13 (39 ‘Chao qi’), p. 610. For a further reference to su wang in the wei shu, see Lunyu zhai fu xiang 論語摘輔象 in Lunyu chen 論語讖 3.3b (Yu han shan fang ji yi shu 58), where Zi Xia 子夏 is quoted as saying ‘Zhongni was a su wang’; Morohashi 27300.335 gives this as Zi Yue 子曰 rather than Zi Xia yue.

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to Kongzi or his own belief that Kongzi had applied the term to himself.247

Yitong一統

The final plea in Dong Zhongshu’s third response raises a number of questions, not least the idiosyncratic way in which he uses the term yitong. Subject to the interpretation of the opening passage, which will be discussed below, the text may be rendered as follows:248

The yitong that the Chunqiu exalts249 is the constant cord running through heaven and earth, the principle that pervades past and present. Nowadays teachers follow strange paths, others support strange argu-ments, the many schools of thought have their different views, their ideas are not identical. That is why in the upper reaches of society there is no means of upholding yitong, and institutions are subject to frequent disruption, and those of the lower reaches do not understand what is being preserved.250

I venture to submit that all those things that are not within the pro-visions of the six choice texts [liu yi 六藝] and the methods of Kongzi should be eliminated and steps taken to prevent their circulation. It is only when incorrect and pernicious theories are suppressed that, the strands of that cord being brought into one, the models and criteria of conduct may be made clear and the people will understand what is to be followed.

Of the two ways in which Qin’s unification is described in other texts, one is perhaps pejorative, the other somewhat complimentary. Jia Yi wrote of how Qin had brought the different parts and leaders of the world together alongside one another (Qin bing jian zhuhou 秦并兼諸侯 and Qin bing hai nei jian zhuhou 秦并海內兼諸侯).251 Qin’s achievement, with the take-over of the lands of other kingdoms under its own authority, is described perhaps most simply as Qin chu bing tian xia 秦初并天下.252 Yitong, to draw together into a single cord,

247 For the appearance of su wang in the wei shu, see Tjan, op. cit., p. 119, where he is described as the ‘Uncrowned King, who only prepared the way for the real king to come’.

248 HS 56, p. 2523.249 For this rendering, see p. 179 below.250 Alternatively ‘what is to be preserved’.251 In Guo Qin lun, SJ 6, pp. 276, 283.252 SJ 6, p. 235.

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is first seen in the encouragement that Li Si 李斯 gave to the king of Qin to complete the conquest of the other kingdoms;253 in the orders that he gave to his chancellor which resulted in the adoption of the title Huangdi the king of Qin wrote that all under the skies were now settled (tian xia da ding 大定). All but repeating this phrase (ping ding tian xia), his ministers added that the models of government and their ordinances now derived from a unified system (yitong); and we read shortly in the Shiji ‘Now all within the seas depend on Your Majesty’s divine powers; and under a unified system all areas are administered as commanderies and counties’.254

Lu Jia wrote of yitong as a worthy objective, in a political sense,255 as opposed to Jia Yi’s description of Qin’s unification elsewhere as a process of ‘swallowing up other units’.256 Subsequently we find the term used regularly with reference to the unification of co-existing kingdoms or others under a single dynastic authority, whether of Qin or Han;257 and immediately after its foundation in 9 CE Wang Mang used the term in respect of his own regime. He was ordering the sup-pression of the title wang, as conferred by Han emperors, in so far as it ran counter to the idea of yitong.258 In the Shuo yuan, Liu Xiang used the term in the context of the priority that the Chunqiu gave to the ruling centre of the land as against other leaders or communities and their hopes.259

Yitong is not seen in the Lunyu or the Xunzi. The reference to unity in the Mengzi, simply as ding yu yi 定于一, is too imprecise to have a bearing on the term.260 Yitong is also seen in other ways, either gen-eral or particular. In the imaginary discussion that Dongfang Shuo 東方朔 gives between the king of Wu and an official named Fei You

253 SJ 87, p. 2540.254 SJ 6, pp. 236, 239.255 Xin yu B (9 ‘Huailu’).5a. 256 See ‘Guo Qin lun’, in SJ 6, p. 280.257 SJ 10, p. 759, HS 13, p. 364 of Qin; SJ 20, p. 1027, 130, p. 3295 of Han; in

HS 6, p. 173, a decree of 123 BCE points with pride to the state of yitong of Zhongguo while deploring the insecurity at the borders; see also HS 86, p. 3505. In Yantie lun 2 (12 ‘You bian’), p. 161, the critic of the government writes of Tian xia yitong by con-trast with the conditions that prevailed in Chunqiu and Zhanguo times. Another critic complains that despite the present unification the imposition of corvée labour denies a peaceful way of life to the population of the interior; YTL 9 (49 ‘Yao yi’), p. 520.

258 HS 99B, p. 4105. 259 Shuo yuan 15 (‘Zhi wu’), p. 498.260 Mengzi 1B (‘Liang Hui wang’).1a.

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Xiansheng 非有先生, the latter includes zong yuan fang yitong lei 總遠方一統類 ‘a type of yitong that binds far distant regions together’ among the properties or faculties of correctly appointed monarchs.261 More significantly, in a statement made to Wudi, unnamed officials spoke about the discovery of a single treasured tripod (bao ding 寶鼎) by Taidi 泰帝 of old; they said that in so far as there was just one tri-pod, this signified yitong, whereby all creatures of heaven and earth are bound together.262 The officials drew attention to the nine and three tripods also known in mythological history and stressed how the dis-covery of the one conveyed universal sovereignty. In an angry rebuke which Aidi administered in 3 BCE to Wang Jia 王嘉 (1), the chancel-lor, he included systematic control of all manner of things yitong wan lei 一統萬類 among the duties of so highly powered an official.263 In a somewhat different way, in an address to the Grand Empress Dowa-ger that concerned the dynastic succession in the house of Liu, Wang Mang wrote yi ming yitong zhi yi 宜明一統之義, rendered by Dubs as ‘it is proper to make plain the principle of [only] a single line of [imperial descent].264

Chunqiu da yitong, as seen in Dong Zhongshu’s response, is ren-dered above as ‘The yitong that the Chunqiu exalts’, and this writer has to plead guilty to an earlier interpretation, or perhaps mistranslation, in which however he is not alone.265 Yitong is not seen in the Chun-qiu as received. It seems to be taken as ‘the yitong that the Chunqiu exalts’ in the Gongyang zhuan, the notes of He Xiu 何休 (129–82) to that passage and by the unknown sub-commentator there; and it is inherent in Yan Shigu’s note to yitong.266 This same interpretation

261 HS 65, p. 2871.262 SJ 12, p. 465, 28, p. 1392, Chavannes, MH vol. III, p. 483. For a further reference

to a tripod with a sacred power, see Chapter Seven below p. 286. 263 HS 86, p. 3500.264 HS 99A, p. 4065; Dubs, HFHD vol. III, p. 180.265 Loewe, DMM, p. 135 [1987] ‘The grand co-ordinating unity that is mentioned

in the Spring and Autumn Annals’. See Woo Kang, p. 106, note (1). Tjan, op. cit., p. 99 takes Da yitong as ‘The Great Unity’; Hsü Fu-kuan, Liang Han sixiang shi (1976) pp. 295f., as ‘the great unification’, as does Zhou Guidian, Dong xue tanwei (1989), p. 320. See Kang Youwei in Chunqiu Dong shi xue 6, p. 173, as cited by Zhou, p. 322.

266 Gongyang zhuan 1.9a, where He Xiu explains tong as shi 始; this explanation is repeated in the notes to Gongyang zhuan 18.8a and 25.1a. For Yan Shigu’s explana-tion, see HS 56, p. 2523: ‘yitong is the reversion to the one by the threads of all manner of things’; he cites the passage from the Gongyang zhuan which he takes to mean the link that binds the nobles or kings (zhuhou) to the son of heaven. In his postface to the Chunqiu fanlu, Ouyang Xiu refers to Dong’s concern with Da yiyuan 元 which is not

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is followed by at least one Japanese translator of the text of Dong’s response,267 and two other passages may be called by way of support. In a memorial that he presented early in Xuandi’s reign, Wang Ji 王吉 (2) wrote Chunqiu suoyi da yitong zhe 所以大一統者 ‘the reason why the Chunqiu extolled yitong was for the uniformity that it imparted universally, as commonly practised through the nine provinces of the world’.268 Whatever passage of the Chunqiu it was that Wang Ji had in mind, he could hardly have taken it to be referring to the unification achieved by Qin and inherited by Han; nor can it be said whether he had in mind a unification supposedly existing under Zhou. In addition yitong occurs by itself in a pian of the Chunqiu fanlu.269 In discussing the likely date when the Gongyang zhuan reached the form of a book, Sagawa Osamu cites the views of Honda Shigeyuki and Tsuda Sōkichi that emphasis was placed on the idea of yitong as a background to the imperial unification of Qin and Han.270

Lu Wenshu 路溫舒 called on the idea of yitong in a submission that he presented to the throne shortly after Xuandi’s accession in 74.271 A specialist in legal matters, Lu Wenshu had been trained in the Chun-qiu and he was writing on the need to reduce the severities of some of the existing punishments. He wrote Chen wen Chunqiu zheng jiwei da yitong er shen shi ye 臣聞春秋正即位大一統而慎始也 ‘I am informed that it was by the Chunqiu’s treatment of a ruler’s accession as correct and its exaltation of yitong that it brought out the truth of how matters started’. As with Wang Ji’s statement, so here it is not clear to which passages of the Chunqiu Lu Wenshu had in mind. Possibly he may be seen to reflect the substance of explanations offered by the Guliang zhuan, which however nowhere mentions the term yitong.272

seen in Dong’s writings (see Chapter Five below, p. 195); this expression could lend some support to an understanding of Da yitong as ‘grand co-ordinating unity’.

267 Otake Takeo, Kanjo 3 vols. (1977–9), vol. 2 p. 296. Sagawa Osamu, op. cit., pp. 84, 132 also follows this interpretation.

268 HS 72, p. 3063.269 CQFL 6 (16 ‘Fu rui’), p. 158.270 Sagawa Osamu, op. cit., pp. 82–4; he cites Honda Shigeyuki, Shina keigaku shi

ron and Tsuda Sōkichi, Saden no shisōteki kenkyū (neither of these items available to the present writer).

271 HS 51, p. 2369. Otake (op. cit.), vol. 2, p. 234. 272 Guliang zhuan 1.2a, 10 1a. Lu Wenshu began his memorial by calling on two

incidents of pre-imperial times; the rise of Huan gong after the disasters occasioned by Wuzhi in 686 BCE; see Zuo zhuan 8 (Zhuang gong 8).17b and SJ 32, pp. 1484–5; and Wen Gong’s overlordship following the difficulties of Li Ji; see SJ 39 p. 1645. These incidents are not recorded in the Chunqiu itself.

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A fragment of the Baihu tong that is found in the Chu xue ji includes the term yitong with reference to co-ordinating the ways in which a ruler is honoured. Otherwise the term does not apparently occur in what are certainly Eastern Han writings.273 Of two occurrences in the Chunqiu fanlu one appears in a discussion of the Chunqiu’s formula wang zheng yue 王正月; where the establishment of yitong for all under the skies is included among the achievements and functions of the true king.274 Li Weixiong sees Da yitong as comprehending a num-ber of ideas—the basic beginning; the constant and regular order of nature, including the point of origin for the government of man with the moral standard to be hoped therein; the correct occupation of the leading position of a guo; and intellectual unity.275

The passage that is cited above (p. 177) makes it clear that in calling on yitong Dong Zhongshu was not referring to a type of unification achieved by dynastic means. He was enjoining a means of establishing a uniform body of intellectual authority, presumably to be used for the purposes of training officials. The distinction is abundantly clear in the terms of a passage in his second response which starts ‘The situation now is that Your Majesty holds possession of all that is below the skies’ (Jin Bixia bing you tianxia 今陛下并有天下), followed by an account of the receipt of loyal obedience and extension of imperial authority worldwide.276 That he refers277 to the liu yi and not the wu jing brings out that there was as yet no ‘Confucian canon’ that had been adopted officially. The failure to mention which texts were to be regarded as carrying ‘incorrect and pernicious theories’ stands in contrast to the proposals of Wei Wan 衛綰, the Chancellor, in 140, which specified those of Shen Buhai 申不害, Shang Yang 商鞅, Han Fei 韓非, Su Qin 蘇秦 and Zhang Yi 張儀.278 It remains open to question whether Dong had the same texts in mind or whether he was thinking more of those that told of the teachings of the Laozi and Huangdi to which the Grand Empress Dowager was devoted.

273 See Chen Li (1809–69), Baihu tong shu zheng (preface 1832, rpt. 1994), p. 581 (‘Chao ping’).

274 CQFL 7 (23 ‘San dai gai zhi zhi wen’), p. 185; the second occurrence is in an incomplete and possibly corrupt pian (CQFL 6, 16 ‘Fu rui’, p. 158).

275 Li Weixiong, op. cit., pp. 109–12; see also pp. 158–63 for moves to suppress certain doctrines that did not necessarily begin with Dong.

276 HS 56, p. 2511.277 HS 56, p. 2523.278 HS 6, p. 156.

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Sagawa takes yitong as signifying unification brought about thanks to the respected rule of a monarch; it is exalted for that reason by the Chunqiu, whose pronouncements do not conflict with the idea of the supreme place taken by the monarch.279 Zhou Guidian writes on Dong as taking Da yitong as meaning intellectual unification and credits him with establishing that that was based on the teachings of the ru zhe.280 While the term yitong is not specifically mentioned, the principle of intellectual uniformity recurs in the strong arguments presented by Fan Sheng 范升 in 28 CE for refusing recognition and priority to the Zuo zhuan. ‘The reason why the affairs of the world are treated in different, or even strange, ways is that they do not rest on a unified base’ 天下之事所以異者以不一本也. Fan Sheng did not cite Dong Zhongshu in support for his views.281

Finally, it is clear that whatever ideas were conveyed in the term yitong, the meaning of tong in that expression differed widely from that carried in the expression San tong, which features as one of the two main subjects of Chunqiu fanlu chapter 23 (see Chapter Eight below).

Summary

Dong Zhongshu’s explanation of abnormalities as the warnings of heaven, to be interpreted in the light of the Chunqiu was exceptional, being adopted only by Liu Xiang in Western Han times and rarely thereafter. There were no immediate results from his attempts to introduce merit as a criterion for the selection of officials nor is there evidence to show that he can be credited with a general establishment of schools. By all appearances he comes out as a superior exponent of the Gongyang zhuan. It was not only in the time of Wudi that the question of continuity as against change was voiced, but later refer-ences do not call on the views of this problem that Dong expressed in his responses.

It is not possible to identify with certainty which particular per-sons Dong had in mind in his injunction to seek out potential evil doers. The references to Kongzi in the three responses are exceptional

279 Sagawa, op. cit., p. 132.280 Zhou Guidian, op. cit., pp. 322–37.281 HHS 36, p. 1228.

subjects discussed in dong zhongshu’s writings 183

in so far as very few calls had been made on this teacher previously in Han times, whereas from the time of Yuandi his support was cited with growing frequency. Dong is mentioned in connection with three methods of seeking or stopping a fall of rain, but it cannot be said that he personally took part in any rite that depended on conformity with the Wu xing. There is nothing to show that Kongzi styled himself su wang or that Dong believed that he had done so. By his use of the expression yitong, Dong Zhongshu had in mind intellectual uniformity rather than dynastic unification. There is nothing to show that Dong Zhongshu’s views formed part of an accepted attitude that should be termed ‘Confucianism’.

Appendix

1. Zhufu Yan’s treatment of Dong Zhongshu

The tale of Zhufu Yan’s part in this story has raised doubts in the minds of several commentators. Liang Yusheng 梁玉繩 (1745–1819) questioned why Zhufu Yan had hated Dong Zhongshu.282 He cites the account of the incident as given in his biography, whereby Zhufu Yan stole what was only a draft that was being composed in Dong’s own home (HS 56, p. 2524). He points out that, as against the account in that chapter, HS 27 simply records that Dong submitted a response to the events; and he suggests that the record in HS 56 cannot avoid being biased and warped (eci qushuo 阿詞曲說). He asks how Dong could have encouraged the emperor to eliminate his kindred and yet himself remain a true upholder of pure teachings (chunru 醇儒), and suggests that his pupil’s criticism of the draft would have been only right. He further suggests that Zhufu Yan stole the draft and put another text in its place before presenting it to the throne; if he had not done so, could it have been consistent with his own advice to reduce the powers of the kings and removing some of the powerful families to Maoling?283 Liu Xiang however had evidently been content to accept an account such as that given subsequently in the Han shu.284 Qian Daxin 錢大昕 (1728–1804) questions the timing that is involved in the tale, as Zhufu

282 Shiji zhi yi 史記志疑 (preface dated 1783); rpt. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1981, pp. 1439–40; cited Takigawa, Shiki kaichū kōshō 121, p. 27.

283 See Zhufu Yan’s proposals in SJ 112, p. 2961, HS 64A, p. 2802.284 HS 36, p. 1930.

184 chapter four

Yan is said to have made his way to Chang’an only in 134, after the outbreak of the fires and submission of comments.285 Wang Xianqian 王先謙 (1842–1918) suggests that it was only in 129 that Zhufu Yan presented his first memorials. Much earlier Xu Guang 徐廣 (352–425) had commented that it was in that year that he delivered Dong’s draft to the throne.286

2. Dong Zhongshu and the kings

We have no definite knowledge of how long Dong Zhongshu stayed in his native Guangchuan before appearing in Chang’an. Nor do we know what opportunity he had, if any, of observing the activities of the officials and kings of that small kingdom. In his early years Guangchuan had been part of the kingdom of Zhao, three of whose kings had previously fallen victims of the Empress Lü.287 These were followed in 179 by Liu Sui 遂 (1) who had been deprived of part of his territories and was to join the revolt led by the kings of Wu and Chu in 154; he was condemned to death or committed suicide in that year. Possibly Dong may have met or heard talk of Liu Pengzu 劉彭祖 (1), king of Guangchuan when this was set up as a separate kingdom in 155. Transferred to be king of Zhao in 152, according to our accounts Liu Pengzu was a man of an unsavoury character, ready to undertake questionable measures in his own interests. Dong is perhaps more likely to have been able to observe his successors, Liu Yue 劉越 (1) and Liu Qi 劉齊 (1), who reigned 148 to 136 and 136 to 91. Nothing is known of Liu Yue, other than his composition of a number of fu 賦. Liu Qi had been denounced for incest and accused of crimes that amounted to gross disrespectful conduct (da bujing 大不敬). Dong Zhongshu did not live to know of Liu Qu 劉去 (reigned 91–69), per-haps one of the most evil-minded members of the imperial family of Liu; but he may well have had direct knowledge of the misdeeds or evil ways of some of the other kings.

The kings of the empire spent the greater part of their time in their kingdoms. By virtue of their appointment they were obliged to pay statutory visits to Chang’an every few years to render homage to the

285 SJ 112, p. 2953; HS 64A, p. 2798.286 SJ 121, p. 3128 note; Takigawa, op. cit., SJ 121, p. 27 note.287 Liu Ruyi 劉如意 (1) 198–195; Liu You (1) 劉友 (194–181); Liu Hui (1) 劉恢

(1) 181.

subjects discussed in dong zhongshu’s writings 185

emperor, and one of the tables of the Shiji enters the occasions when they did so.288 These range between 198 and 101 BCE but there is no means of ascertaining how completely these visits were recorded there. They tell us that some sixty kings came to Chang’an for this purpose during Dong Zhongshu’s lifetime, sometimes several times, but a number of questions remain unanswered. We do not know whether Dong had any encounters with the kings; nor can we match up precisely the dates when Dong was known to be in Chang’an with the recorded visits of any of the kings. We can only imagine that hearsay accounts of their characters and activities may have reached his ears, and we can only speculate on how far such contacts or infor-mation affected the view that he formulated about the kings, perhaps leading to the severe advice that he gave in his comments on the fires of 134.289

Had Dong Zhongshu met Liu De 劉德 (1), king of Hejian 155–130, during his visits of 154, 148, 143 and 130 he would perhaps have found a man of kindred spirit who made a practice of collecting texts such as the Zhou guan, Shang shu, Liji, Mengzi or Laozi and who was later to earn a reputation for his devotion to music.290 As king of Dai (179–175), Huaiyang (175–168) and finally Liang (168–143), Liu Wu 劉武 (2) visited Chang’an more frequently than nearly all other kings (165, 161, 158, 155, 154, 150, 148 and 144) and was at one time given special permission to protract his sojourn there. He promoted the cause of literature at his court, entertaining Sima Xiangru and oth-ers. He showed marked loyalty to Jingdi by keeping a firm control of Liang, which occupied a strategic position that thwarted the seven rebel kings of 154; and he was treated with all honours at the impe-rial court. Possibly Liu Wu may have seen himself as the successor emperor to his brother Jingdi, and he narrowly escaped a charge of complicity in subversive activities. Liu Xiang 劉向 (79–8 BCE) judged him to be arrogant.

Sparse records survive of many of the other kings who visited Chang’an in Dong Zhongshu’s time, but some of them are well known. Liu An 劉安 (2) king of Huainan 164–122 was in the city in 158, 152, 146 and finally in 139 when he presented the text of the Huainanzi. He

288 SJ 17, pp. 809–75.289 HS 27A, p. 1332.290 For fuller information and references for the kings mentioned here readers are

referred to the entries in Loewe, BD.

186 chapter four

had refused to join the rebels in 154; his advice to the throne against sending a punitive expedition against Min Yue 閩越 in 135 might well have accorded with Dong’s views; and he received special privileges from the emperor in 127. Liu Sheng 劉勝 (1) of Zhongshan (154–112), who is best known for burial in a jade-suit, paid homage to his father Jingdi in 150 and 146, and to Wudi in 138, 133, 132, 126, 120 and 114. A man who chose to indulge his bodily pleasures rather than attend to the business of administration, he argued with some success that the kings were being mistreated by officials of the central government. Liu Yu 劉餘 (1) of Lu (154–128) visited Chang’an in 153, 149 and 139 likewise had extravagant tastes as did his successor Liu Guang 劉光 (2) (128–88). Liu Fa 劉發 (1), king of Changsha 155–127 was at court in 138, and may have been a man who encouraged literary composition.

But there were other kings whose records were not free of suspicion or blemish. Liu Zhi 劉志, king of Jibei 164–153 who visited the capital city in 160 and 155 was a man of questionable loyalty, as was Liu Ji 劉寄, of Jiaodong (153–120) who was there in 145, 141, 134 and 124. Liu Fei 劉非 to whom, as has been seen, Dong was sent as chancel-lor, visited Chang’an in 137. In other instances the histories tell of the licentiousness or wanton cruelty of some of the kings. Liu Dingguo 劉定國 (1), king of Yan 151–127 who was in Chang’an in 142, prac-tised incestuous relationships and murdered one of his own accusers, eventually choosing suicide rather than face the death penalty. Liu Duan 劉端 (1) of Jiaoxi (154–108), to whose tender care Dong was sent as Chancellor and who had paid homage to Wudi in 135 and 127, flouted the provisions of the law, putting to death any of his officials who stood in his way; but he lived to evade punishment. Liu Pengli 劉彭離 (king of Jidong 143–114) was in Chang’an in 131, 125 and 119; he used to consort with young ruffians in acts of violence and murder, to be punished by demotion to commoner status and banishment.

Five of the seven kings who took part in the revolt of 154 had paid their statutory visits, i.e., Liu Pi 劉濞 (king of Wu 195–154) in 188 and 177; Liu Wu 劉戊 (king of Chu 175–154) in 167 and 155; Liu Sui 劉 遂 (1) (king of Zhao 179–154) in 173, 168, 160 and 155; Liu Biguang 劉辟光 (king of Ji’nan 164–154) in 161 and 159; and Liu Ang 劉卬 (king of Jiaoxi 164–154) in 159.291 Two kings who ruled

291 There are no records of visits paid by Liu Xian 劉賢 (1) or Liu Xiongqu 劉熊渠, kings of Zichuan and Jiaodong since 164.

subjects discussed in dong zhongshu’s writings 187

over Guangchuan, Dong Zhongshu’s place of origin, visited Chang’an as was required. They were Liu Pengzu (1), who has been mentioned above, in 154; and Liu Qi 劉齊 (1) (king of Guangchuan 136–91) in 116 and 112. The latter was accused of perjury and deception, thereby meriting punishment for gross disrespectful conduct.

Measures taken to reduce the strength of the kings in 145 included transfer of the appointment of their senior ministers into the hands of the central government, and it was after this change that Dong became Chancellor of Jiangdu, then ruled by Liu Fei (153–127), to be followed by Liu Jian 劉建 (3) who reigned from 127 to 121. Liu Fei is said to have indulged in considerable extravagance and to have harboured a liking for warfare, but he seems to have listened to Dong Zhongshu’s remonstrances. Had Dong still been chancellor in the days of Liu Jian he would have found himself serving a king known for his lusts and cruelty. As Chancellor of Liu Duan 劉端 (1), king of Jiaoxi 154–108, he served a master who took little note of the provisions of the laws or the requirements of government.

3. The authenticity of Lunheng 16 (47 ‘Luan long’)

Huang Hui points out that some scholars, whom he does not name, took the view that this chapter was not authentic, their view being based on an apparent contradiction. For the chapter sets out fifteen reasons, based on analogy, to show why a belief in the practice was valid. It also includes by way of support four examples of compara-ble practice where symbolical performances take the place of realistic actions, such as the devotion and respects that a descendant pays to the wooden memorial tablet (zhu 主) of an ancestor rather than to the ancestor himself.292 As arguments of this type were utterly inconsistent with Wang Chong’s search for evidence so as to dispel misconcep-tions, these scholars concluded that the chapter cannot be regarded as his work.

It would seem however that such a view fails to understand the purpose of the chapter, which was not to show how Dong’s belief in this practice could be validated but to show with a multiplicity of examples that it had no sound basis and that he had gone astray in his belief. Wang Chong’s purpose is seen both early in the chapter and

292 LH 16 (47 ‘Luan long’), pp. 703–4.

188 chapter four

at its close.293 At the outset he observes that Liu Xin 劉歆 (46 BCE to 23 CE), a highly intelligent and learned man, had seen to it that clay dragons took their appropriate place in the ceremonies to induce rain, but he had been quite unable to answer Huan Tan’s objections and his question of why he did so.294 Wang Chong returns to Liu Xin at the end of the chapter, where he writes, perhaps ironically, of Dong Zhongshu’s deep powers of observation (lan jian shen hong 覽見深鴻). Dong, he writes, certainly had his reasons for believing in the efficacy of the method but these were superficial, depending on coincidence. Liu Xin’s inability to answer Huan Tan was one of weakness. No con-clusion had been brought to bear on Dong’s theory and it was for this reason that he, Wang Chong, had written the chapter, under the title of Luan long, where luan 亂 signifies zhong 終.

It may well be asked how far Wang Chong was representing views that could really have been present in the mind of Dong Zhongshu and how far he was guilty of a post facto rationalisation. It is diffi-cult to see how, if Wang Chong had had before him the two chapters of the Chunqiu fanlu on the subject, he would have failed to handle them; and it may also be asked whether there was any written record of Dong’s use of clay dragons that had induced him to compile the chapter.

The foregoing interpretation of the chapter Luan long is supported by other passages in the Lunheng where Wang Chong refers to Dong’s beliefs and practice and makes it quite clear that he himself rejects them. He writes: ‘The method used by Dong Zhongshu to request rain was to set out clay dragons so as to move the qi to act. Now, as is well known, dragons made of clay are not real and cannot produce rain. Dongshu made use of them in all sincerity without taking account of the difference between what is real and what is false.’295 Another passage concerns the use of false measures to achieve real results and compares some of these with Dong’s belief that clay dragons can produce rain. The passage ends with the all important word gai ‘it is to be presumed that here too there was a reason’ 蓋亦有以也.296

293 LH 16 (47 ‘Luan long’), pp. 695, 705–6.294 See a fragment of the Xin lun cited in Liu Zhao’s note to HHS (tr.) 5, p. 3120

(note 2); Pokora, Hsin-lun (New Treatise) and other writings by Huan T’an (43 B.C.–28 A.D.) (1975), pp. 121 and 135–6 note 70.

295 LH 21 (63 ‘Si wei’), p. 892.296 LH 27 (‘Ding xian’), pp. 1105–6.

subjects discussed in dong zhongshu’s writings 189

At one point Wang Chong complains that, as compared with the completed state of the writings of Lu Jia 陸賈, those of Dong’s sayings that concern the ways in which the invocations and sacrifices for rain respond to heaven, and the possibility that clay dragons may produce rain, are obscure. In the same chapter, after reviewing the sayings of Kongzi and Dong Zhongshu he acknowledges that it is not surprising that some meaning may be seen in the latter’s treatment of the yu rite and the use of dragons.297 Wang Chong may have had in mind the final passage of the Chunqiu fanlu’s chapter on rain (pian no. 74, p. 436). It is perhaps more likely that his source might have been the memorial that Dong addressed to the king of Jiangdu.298

297 LH 29 (83 ‘An shu’), pp. 1169, 1171.298 This memorial is mentioned only in an early sixth century note to the Xu Han

zhi; see Chapter Three above, p. 85, item no. 11.

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CHAPTER FIVE

TEXTUAL TRANSMISSION AND AUTHENTICITY OF THE CHUNQIU FANLU

Attention has been paid above to the writings of Dong Zhongshu that may generally be accepted as authentic. These are seen principally in the pages of the Han shu and have been subject to the editorial work and skills of Ban Gu. There remains the somewhat vexed question of the Chunqiu fanlu to consider, and the conclusions reached here may be summarised as follows:

Probably it may be accepted that a work thus named, along with other texts that concerned the Chunqiu and whose titles started with that term, existed at least from the time of the Xi jing za ji, which may be dated not before the third century and which was completed ca. 500 CE.1 Included in such a Chunqiu fanlu, whose length and con-tents cannot be known, there was probably a variety of material drawn from different sources. Therein there lay some essays that may well have originated from Dong, but there was also other material of later times; some of that may have been of the type that was later clas-sified as chen 讖 or wei 緯, to be suppressed in 267 and later. At a time which cannot be known, authorship of this work was ascribed to Dong Zhongshu, for reasons that require elucidation, and it is per-haps possible that this was because he was known as a proponent of the Gongyang tradition,2 such a qualification saving the work from being banned. Several different versions of this text, some of indiffer-ent quality, existed in Song times.

The term fanlu

Several explanations have been suggested for the term fanlu 繁露, such as the strings of threaded jewels suspended from the headgear

1 For the date of the Xi jing za ji, see Chapter Three above, p. 83 note 3.2 See Chapter Four above, pp. 149–51.

192 chapter five

of those of high rank, or a line of dewdrops.3 Whatever the precise implications may have been, perhaps the term may be best taken as meaning ‘trappings of ’, or ‘thoughts inspired by’. It should be seen in the context of the very large number of texts of differing ages whose titles begin with the term Chunqiu and which merited remarks by the editors of the Siku quanshu zongmu tiyao 四庫全書總目提要. In addition there survive fragments of a number of writings whose titles indicate modifications of or additions to the Chunqiu, or suggestions of how its statements should be applied to particular circumstances. These are collected in the Wei shu ji cheng 緯書集成 and the work of Yasui and Nakamura.4 Hsü Fu-kuan took the term Chunqiu to refer to the first section of the work (pian nos. 1–17) which explain the Chunqiu according to the Gongyang zhuan, and fanlu to refer to the second section (thirty-four of pian nos. 18–61) that concern Yin Yang and Wu xing.5

Authorship and textual validity

Two inter-related and basic questions concern the authenticity of the Chunqiu fanlu; that of the textual transmission and reliability of the received version, and that of ascription of its authorship, either in whole or part, to Dong Zhongshu. Such questions require an exami-nation of the notices of scholars and bibliographers from Sui and Tang times onwards, of which a summary is given below (p. 209).

Whatever doubts there may be about the authenticity of our received text, it is evident that a work entitled Chunqiu fanlu was available for consultation in Sui and Tang times at least, as may be seen from the citations which several writers make, with due acknowl-

3 See Su Yu, Chunqiu fanlu yizheng, p. 1 (introductory note to juan no. 1); Li Weixiong, Dong Zhongshu yu Xi Han xueshu (1978), p. 15 cites Jia Gongyan’s 賈公彥 ( fl. 650) sub-commentary to the Zhou li 22.7a and notes to Jizhong Zhou yi 7 (59 ‘Wang Hui jie’).5b, 6a (SBCK ed.) and other sources. Jia Gongyan explains fan as meaning many (duo 多) and lu as well watered (run 潤). See also the remarks of Cheng Dachang and those in the Nan Song guan ge shu mu (CQFL, p. 495); pp. 198, 204 below.

4 In a comment to the Hou Han shu (82A, p. 2721) Li Xian 李賢 (651–84) gave the titles of thirteen wei shu texts that concern the Chunqiu and whose titles possibly began with those two characters; Yasui Kōzan and Nakamura Shōhachi, Chōshū isho shūsei 重修緯書集成 (1971–1992) present fragments of no less than twenty-nine.

5 Hsü Fu-kuan, Liang Han sixiang shi, (1976–9), pp. 309–11. He writes of fanlu as a symbol of the arts of royal or imperial rule.

transmission and authenticity of the chunqiu fanlu 193

edgement. These include Liu Zhao 劉昭 (ca. 510) in a note to the Xu Han zhi;6 Ouyang Xun 歐陽詢 (557–641) compiler of the Yiwen leiju 藝文類聚;7 Yu Shinan虞世南 (558–638), compiler of the Bei tang shuchao 北堂書鈔;8 Xu Jian徐堅 (659–729), compiler of the Chu xue ji;9 and Du You 杜佑 (735–812), compiler of the Tong dian.10 How far the text that was available to such scholars was identical with our received copy may well be subject to question. Some of these cita-tions are extracts rather than complete passages, or they may consist of several extracts that are separated by other text; and there are some textual variants.11 Failure to cite from a particular pian of the Chunqiu fanlu can in no way be taken as a reason for assuming that it was not available at the time. The surviving text of the Yi lin 意林 (prefaces 787 and 804) of Ma Zong 馬總 (died 823) does not include extracts from the Chunqiu fanlu.12 A memorial presented by Xu Daoyu 徐道娛 in 429 includes a brief citation that is introduced as Dong Zhongshu zhi yu shu 董仲舒止雨書 and which varies from text found in pian

6 HHS (tr.). 5, p. 3117; see CQFL 3 (5 ‘Jinghua’), p. 85.7 The Yiwen leiju cites from pian nos. 22, 23, 24, 44, 57, 60, 62, 65, 72 of the CQFL.

In addition to its citations as from CQFL, this work includes one as from Dong Zi 董子 and one as from Dong Sheng shu 董生書 whose sense is comparable but not identical with text in the CQFL; see Yiwen leiju 11, p. 198 and 38, p. 675; CQFL 11 (44 ‘Wang dao tong san’), p. 328, 82, p. 469. One citation in the Yiwen leiju (61, p. 1095) from Dong Sheng shu is not found in CQFL. Citations marked Dong Zhongshu yue 董仲舒曰 in Yiwen leiju 100, pp. 1726–7 concern the actions of intermediaries and others in the rites for invoking rain, and may be compared with text in CQFL 16 (74 ‘Qiu yu’), p. 432.

8 While the Yiwen leiju and Chu xue ji include quotations from the text of the Chunqiu fanlu, the Bei tang shu chao lists terms and phrases that would help young writers and candidates for the examinations in their compositions, and does so with-out naming the sources on which Yu Shinan was drawing. These are now identified in the notes of Kong Guangtao 孔廣陶 which are dated in 1888. He names pian nos. 14, 19, 23, 24, 49, 63, 64, 66, 68, 75 and 77 of the Chunqiu fanlu, five passages in Han shu 56 and Dong’s jue yu 決獄 as including the terms that are listed.

9 The Chu xue ji cites from pian nos. 14, 23, 60, 64, 65, 68, 72 and 77 of the CQFL. One citation which is prefixed Dong Zhongshu Chunqiu fanlu (Chu xue ji 13, p. 323) is found in CQFL 15 (68 ‘Si ji’), p. 406; another which is similarly prefixed (27, p. 661) is not seen in the received text, nor are two which are prefixed Fanlu (29, p. 720, and 30, p. 726).

10 Tong dian 43 (‘Li’ 3), p. 1203; see CQFL 3 (5 ‘Jinghua’), p. 85.11 Liu Shipei calls on these and other works in his notes on the text of the Chunqiu

fanlu.12 The Yi lin, which is an abbreviated version of the Zi chao 子鈔 of Yu Zhongrong 庾仲容 (476–549), includes extracts from writings that date from Zhanguo times and earlier. CQFL is not included in the appendix to the Zi chao by Gao Sisun 高似孫 ( jin shi degree 1184); see van der Loon, ‘On the transmission of Kuan-tzŭ’ (1952), p. 367.

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no. 75 (named Zhi yu 止雨) of the Chunqiu fanlu. It cannot be known whether Xu Daoyu was citing from an independent piece of writing or from a work entitled Chunqiu fanlu.13

The Taiping yulan 太平御覽, completed by Li Fang 李昉 in 983, is the richest source for citations that are attributed to the Chunqiu fanlu or to Dong Zhongshu by name. Thirty-eight are seen in almost identi-cal terms in the Chunqiu fanlu as received, nine others in a somewhat different form, perhaps from a variant text, or possibly more as an allusion than a direct citation. Three, and perhaps one more, that are ascribed to Dong Zhongshu, and one, ascribed to Dong Zi, are seen in that text as received.14 The Taiping yulan also cites two of Dong’s judicial decisions,15 and quotes two citations as coming from the Xi jing za ji.16 Three statements that are attributed to the Chunqiu fanlu, two to Dong Zhongshu, three to Dong Zi and one to Dongsheng shu 董生書 have yet to be traced.17 One citation which appears three times and which is not to be found in the Chunqiu fanlu is actually seen in the Xunzi and Da Dai li ji.18 The citations of the Taiping yulan are drawn from twenty-four different pian of the received text.19 In at least one instance the Taiping yulan records material that is actually seen in the Chunqiu fanlu but attributes it elsewhere, in this case to a memorial submitted by a well known but unnamed official (ming chen 名臣), said to be in the Han shu.20 These citations suggest that

13 Song shu 15 (‘Li’ 2), p. 385.14 TPYL 35.9a, 883.6b, 956.4a and possibly 687.3b, ascribed to Dong Zhongshu;

76.6b ascribed to Dong Zi.15 TPYL 640.8a, both ascribed to Dong Zhongshu; see Chapter Three above,

p. 116.16 TPYL 10.5a; Xi jing za ji 5, p. 240, Xiang Xinyang and Liu Keren (ed.), Xi jing

za ji jiaozhu 5, pp. 238–9 where the CQFL is not mentioned. The two passages, not seen in CQFL, occur in the text entitled Yu bao dui, for which see Chapter Four above p. 167.

17 TPYL 26.6a; 76.6b; 77.2b; 467.2b; 523.6b; 621.6a; 687.3b; 910.2a. 18 TPYL 474.8a (ascribed to Dong Zi); 822.9a (to Dong Sheng shu) and 823.4a (to

Dong Zhongshu); Liang Qixiong, Xunzi jianshi (1956) 27 (‘Da lüe’), p. 369; Knoblock, Xunzi A Translation and Study of the Complete Works (1994) vol. III p. 214 ‘When Yu saw farmers working as a team of plowmen, he would halt and salute them from the front bar of his chariot. When he passed by a hamlet of ten houses, he was certain to descend’. For authorship of this part of the Xunzi, see Knoblock, op. cit., p. 205. The passage appears also in Da Dai li ji 5 (‘Zhengzi zhi yan’) 5.5a,b.

19 Nos. 5, 6, 14, 22, 23, 24, 31, 43, 44, 56, 57, 60, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 71, 72, 74, 77, 78.

20 TPYL 10.4b; the statement concerns the attraction of like for like, as seen in the impact of Yin and human reactions; see CQFL 13 (57 ‘Tong lei xiang dong’), p. 359. The citation as given is not found in the Han shu.

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at times the compilers of these collections were drawing a distinction between the Chunqiu fanlu and the sayings or writings ascribed to Dong Zhongshu.

As is seen above (Chapter Three, p. 84 and Appendix 3), the Gu wen yuan, parts of which may date from Tang times, included two items now in the Chunqiu fanlu (Jiaosi dui 郊祀對 and Shanchuan song 山川頌; Chunqiu fanlu, pian nos. 71, 73). Inclusion there raises the question of whether they were present in copies of that text that were available in Tang times.

To the somewhat questionable reference to the Chunqiu fanlu in the Xi jing za ji that is cited above there may be added the unequiv-ocal assertion of Sima Zhen 司馬貞 (early eighth century) that the work had been written by Dong Zhongshu.21 Evidently copies of a text entitled Chunqiu fan lu or Fanlu were rare in the twelfth century and when one such piece of writing fell into the hands of an erudite and highly critical scholar of Song times his first reaction might well have been to determine whether or not it was genuine and original, or a fabrication of later impostors. Such a reaction, of caution, would not appear strange today to those confronted with manuscripts said to have derived from recent excavations. Similar doubts may have arisen, or might well arise, in the case of other cultures, as with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls; or with a sudden appearance of a text that was identified as part of the lost decades of Livy.

Under a note to the Chunqiu fanlu in 17 juan, Wang Yaochen 王堯臣 (1001–56) cites the statement of Han shu 56, pp. 2525–6 that names five of the pian that Dong wrote and he observes that the list of juan as given in the bibliographical chapters of the Sui shu and Tang shu was identical with that received. However the order of the pian was disarranged and there was no way to correct it, the titles Yu bei 玉杯 and Zhu lin 竹林 being a later addition.22

In 1037 Ouyang Xiu 歐陽修 (1007–72) wrote that the titles listed in the Han shu were those of particular pian and that the use of the title Chunqiu fanlu for the whole collection that lay before him, and which consisted of no more than 40 pian, was far from correct.23 While

21 See Chapter Three above p. 83; Shiji 14, p. 511 note 17.22 Chongwen zongmu (1041) 1, p. 23. The version given here follows the text as

cited by CQFL (p. 494).23 ‘Shu Chunqiu fanlu hou’, in Ouyang Wenzhong quan ji 73.3a (SBBY), and avail-

able as Liu yi ti ba 六一題跋 11, p. 499; CQFL, p. 495.

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working in his office24 he had seen a copy that had 80 or more pian, many of which were in a state of disarray, and some of which were in duplicate. In addition a copy of 3025 or more pian which had been produced in response to a general call for the presentation of books to the throne26 included some pian other than those present in the copy of 80 pian. It was thus evident that Dong Sheng’s writings had been dispersed and were not complete.27

While engaged in editorial work Ouyang Xiu found himself facing a criminal charge,28 and although Tian Wenchu 田文初, a xiucai of Yiling,29 had shown him the copy of eighty pian, he had had no leisure to read it until the spring of the following year. While acknowledging that Dong Sheng probed the meaning of the Chunqiu very deeply, he criticised him for being misled over the question of calendar reform;30 his statement about true kings being Da yi yuan 大一元31 was tied to the opinions of his teachers, and it was to be deeply regretted that he was not able to take those theories any higher with a view to clarifying the ways of the sages. Ouyang Xiu’s note is dated on the fourth day of the fourth month of Jingyou 4 (22 May 1037). When he criticizes Dong for a simple acceptance of his teachers’ views, he is presumably referring to those of the Gongyang tradition.

In his entry for the Chunqiu fanlu of 17 juan in the Junzhai dushu zhi郡齋讀書志, Chao Gongwu 鼂公武 (d. 1171) copies the brief state-ment in the Han shu.32 His note continues; ‘Being now expanded the work consists of 82 pian; and it is moreover under the general title of

24 Zai guan 在館; presumably this refers to his activity as guan ge jiao kan 館閣校勘 (Song shi 319, p. 10,375).

25 One variant of the text reads 20 in place of 30.26 For such a call that was made in 1034, see Song huiyao 1742 (‘Chong ru’ 崇儒)

4.18b.27 See Chapter Four p. 152 above for Ouyang Xiu’s references to changes of insti-

tutions and of zhi and wen; whether or not these reflect a knowledge of pian no. 23 cannot be told.

28 Presumably this was the incident of 1036 in which he was demoted for speaking in favour of Fan Zhongyan 范仲淹; Franke (ed.), Sung biographies, p. 810.

29 For a communication addressed by Ouyang Xiu to Tian Hua, style Wenchu, and entitled Song Tian Hua xiucai Ningqin Manzhou xu 送田畫秀才寧親萬州序, see Ouyang Wenzhong quan ji 42.3a.

30 This subject is handled in CQFL pian nos. 1 (‘Chu Zhuang Wang’), 15 (‘Er duan’) and 23 (‘San dai gai zhi zhi wen’).

31 This expression is not seen in the Chunqiu fanlu; for Da yi tong 統 as in one of the responses, see Chapter Four above, pp. 177, 179.

32 CQFL, p. 494.

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Fan lu; all these matters are unexplained. The account of the contents that is given in the Sui shu and Tang shu is the same as that of today but there is a considerable amount of corruption.33

Another early surviving preface or postface to the Chunqiu fanlu is the one written by Lou Yu 樓郁 (Wenzi; 子文; jinshi degree 1053).34 In tracing the course of classical learning in Han times, he noted the survival of three only of the five specialist schools of the Chunqiu. He wrote of the diligent work that Dong had put into his study of the Gongyang zhuan, of his responses to Wudi and his compositions and their highly significant subtlety that was deeply imbued with the Chun-qiu.35 Lou Yu contrasted the deficiencies of scholarship in Han times with the quality of Dong’s writings. The text of these that he had was of ten juan, and he left it to others to determine whether or not it was right to append Fanlu, one of the several titles mentioned in the Han shu, as a general title for the whole work. He added ‘Mr Wang 王 of Taiyuan36 whose family had kept the book had always said that Dong Zhongshu’s learning had long been kept hidden without disclosure and he was hoping to widen its circulation throughout the empire; so he approached me with a request to write a preface’. Lou Yu dated this at the second month of the seventh year of Qingli (1047).

Cheng Dachang 程大昌 (Taizhi 泰之; 1123–95; jinshi degree 1141 or 1151),37 at one time Vice-Inspector of the Imperial Library (Bishu shao jian 袐書少監) is one of the earliest scholars known to have expressed his rejection of a copy of the Chunqiu fanlu in seventeen juan that lay before him as not being an authentic piece of writing by Dong Zhongshu.38 This was a work entitled Fanlu that had been brought forward by a certain Mr Dong (Dong Mou 董某) during the Shaoxing period (1131–47). Cheng Dachang thought its contents to be shallow, interspersed with citations from Dong’s responses that were

33 Junzhai dushu zhi 3, p. 104.34 CQFL, p. 500; he moved from Fenghua 奉化 to Yinxian 鄞縣 (Zhejiang), and

was appointed to office 1041–8.35 Gai shen yu chun qiu zhe ye 蓋深於春秋也. Alternatively: was in fact deeper

than the Chunqiu.36 Unidentified.37 Of Xiuning 休寧 (Anhui: 118° 10’, 29° 55’), in an earlier administrative area of

Xin’an新安, whereby Cheng Dachang identifies himself. See Franke, Sung biographies (1976), p. 179. References to Cheng Dachang and other scholar bibliophiles of Song times will be found in Song zhuan ji ziliao suoyin (1973).

38 In Xue jin tao yuan 學津討原 collection XII (ed. Zhang Haipeng in 1805); CQFL p. 500.

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not necessarily relevant; he therefore suspected that the work was not an original piece of writing by Dong Zhongshu.

Cheng Dachang also noted that Ban Gu had written of Dong’s explanation of the Chunqiu in some tens of pian; but he thought that his mention of the titles ‘Yu bei’ 玉杯, ‘Fan lu’ 蕃 [sic; as given in the Han shu] 露 ‘Qing ming’ 清明 and ‘Zhu lin’ 竹林 did not apparently imply a single complete text ( yi shu 一書). In the text that lay before him the term ‘Fan lu’ was at the head of the book, with ‘Yu bei’, ‘Qing ming’ and ‘Zhu lin’ singled out, each taking its place as first in the volume ( juan) of pian,39 and this simply reinforced his doubts. Two passages of the Fan lu that he had seen cited in the Taiping huanyuji 太平寰宇記 of Yue Shi 樂史 (930–1007) and the Tong dian 通典 of Du You 杜佑 (735–812) were not present in the book that he held, some of them being in markedly differing styles of writing; so he ven-tured to believe that the text that he had was not authentic.40

Cheng Dachang discussed the meaning of the term ‘Fan lu’— seemingly a ‘string of dewdrops hanging as it were down from a hat’; Du You and Yue Shi had made use of them to bring out their own ideas—rather in the form of drops of dew that had fallen and been frozen. He concluded that ‘Yu bei’ and ‘Zhu lin’ were later additions rather of the type of ‘string of pearls’ (Lianzhu 連珠) writings of Han and Wei times. It may be noted that Cheng Dachang did not refer to a piece of writing named ‘Wen ju’ 聞舉 that is included in the biography of the Han shu;41 neither a pian thus named, nor one named ‘Qing ming’ are included in the received version of the Chunqiu fanlu.

In 1175 when Cheng Dachang had been an assistant at an institute named the Pengjian guan 蓬監館 the books held there included a copy of the Chunqiu fanlu. He had recorded what he had seen in the table of contents, and affirmed the view that what he had seen elsewhere was not an ancient text.42

Later, when he was reading the Taiping yulan he saw that there were many citations from the Chunqiu fanlu in all its sections, such as ‘when the grain grows to its fullness in the fields, the millet goes short

39 Te ge ju qi pian juan zhi yi 特各居其篇卷之一. Rendering doubtful.40 The passage from the Tong dian starting jian zhi zai zuo 劍之在左 occurs with

slight variations in CQFL 6 (14 ‘Fu zhi xiang’), pp. 151–2.41 HS 56, p. 2525.42 This was presumably the copy produced by Dong Mou.

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in the granary’; all these were rather odd things which nobody would have imagined; and this served to confirm his views.43

Cheng Dachang cited three other passages which he regarded as instances of unreliable additions and which confirmed yet further that he had not been wrong in the correction that he had voiced.44 He added his regrets that the Fanlu that had been extant when the Taiping yulan was being compiled (976–83) had not been transmitted.

Cheng Dachang was not the only scholar of his time to harbour such doubts as these. Zhu Xi 朱熹 (1130–1200) cited the view of You Mao 尤袤 (Yanzhi 延之, 1124–93; jinshi degree 1148)45 that the book was not authentic and added that when he looked at it it did not seem to be like Dong Zi’s writings.46 Unfortunately we lack information here that is crucial, such as the date and context in which Zhu Xi expressed these views and the nature of the text that he had in front of him. We may perhaps surmise that when he and other critics of Song times doubted that the ideas of the Chunqiu fanlu sprang from Dong Zhong-shu they were comparing them with those expressed in other writings that they took to be authentic, such as the three responses.

We get a more complex tale told by another of these early scholar bibliophiles of Southern Song, namely Lou Yue 樓鑰 (Dafang 大防, also Gongkui 攻媿, 1137–1213; jinshi degree 1163) of the Si ming 四明.47 Following his rejection of three versions of the book and final acceptance of a fourth version as being authentic, Lou Yue was able to

43 Reading ke zheng ye 可證也. Su Yu records variant readings of Cheng Dachang’s text.

44 (a) The saying, or perhaps proverb, ‘when metal disturbs earth, the five field crops suffer; when earth interferes with metal the five field crops do not grow’; (b) Dong Zhongshu’s remarks to Zhang Tang regarding the use of different types of duck in ancestral sacrifices (see CQFL 15 (71 ‘Jiao shi dui’, p. 417, and Chapter Three above, p. 114); (c) the special place given to red head bands (CQFL 7 (23 ‘San dai gai zhi zhi wen’), p. 194; see Chapter Eight, below, pp. 320, 322, 323).

45 Of Wuxi 無錫 (in 常州); Magistrate of Wuzhou 婺州 in 1190.46 Cited from Zhu Zi yu lu 朱子語錄 [not yu lei 類] included in Wu Mianxue

吳勉學 (ed.) Heke Song Ming si xiansheng yulu 合刻宋明四先生語錄 which is dated in the terms of a Japanese nengō at Keian 慶安 5, i.e. 1652; a copy that is held in the University Library Kyoto is available at the following site: http://edb.kulib.kyoto.ac.jp/exhibit/kichosearch/src/tani1580.html.

47 See Song shi 395 (biography 154), p. 12,045, and Lou Yue, Gongkui ji 77.1a (SBCK), p. 1045 (Congshu jicheng). Lou Yue, a descendant of Lou Yu, was of the well-known Lou family of Yinxian 鄞縣 (Zhejiang: south-east of Ningbo; 121°30’, 29°35’). The Si ming was a range of mountains to the south-west of Yinxian. Lou Yue’s notice is in CQFL, p. 502.

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come to a different opinion from that of Cheng Dachang.48 He wrote that all four versions carried a commentary (zheng yi 正議) and pref-ace written by his ancestor.49 Acquiring the first copy, either in manu-script or more probably as a tracing of one (xie ben 寫本), from an unnamed source in the country, he had devoured it at full speed only to find it to be full of errors. To his regret there was no other copy with which it could be compared. A second copy, in print, which came from the capital city must, he thought, be better, but in fact it was little different, and he suspected that titles such as ‘Zhu lin’ and ‘Yu bei’ had no connection with the text itself.

It was later that Lou Yue saw the remarks in Cheng Dachang’s post-face, which likewise threw doubts on the presence of those terms as titles. In addition Cheng Dachang had noted the absence in the text of citations seen in the Tong dian, Taiping yulan and Taiping huanyu ji and concluded that the work was not an original piece of writing by Dong. On the basis of the titles, Cheng had said that the work must be in the category of Xiao shuo 小說 and he had later himself compiled a record of sundry items of many types, which was circulated under the title of ‘Yan fanlu’ 演繁露.50 Lou Yue continues:

In the year Kaixi 3 [1207] I am now editing the copy from Mr Luo 羅’s Fine Hall (Lantang 蘭堂), that Hu Ju 胡榘 (Zhongfang 仲方) mag-istrate of Pingxiang 萍鄉 acquired and printed locally, with consider-able annotation.51 As the citations from the three works which Cheng

48 See his ‘Ba Chunqiu fanlu’ 跋春秋繁露 in Gongkui ji 77 ‘Tiba’ 題跋 (SBCK 1a; CSJC, p. 1045). This is included in the Han Wei congshu (Cheng Rong)’s text of the Chunqiu fanlu, with a number of different readings, some of which appear to be more accurate. It is reprinted by Su Yu, with some textual variations from the Gongkui ji. The Congshu jicheng does not include the final passage with the date and Lou Yue’s signature. Chang Bide et al. (eds.) Song ren zhuanji ziliao suoyin (1975) vol. V, p. 3646 cites this postface as being the work of Pan Jingxian (for whom see note 55 below).

49 The text reads Yu gaozu 余高祖 and then Xiansheng 先生, presumably referring to Lou Yu.

50 Both this work (preface 1180) and a Yan fanlu xu ji 續集 (postface 1220) also by Cheng Dachang are included in Xuejin taoyuan 學津討原 12. See Siku quanshu zongmu tiyao 117 (‘Zi bu’ 27), p. 2481.

51 I follow the reading of the Han Wei congshu and the Gongkui ji as against that of Su Yu’s text; i.e., 蘭堂本刻之 rather than 蘭臺本刊之. The reading Lantang is supported by the description of the print made by movable type, held in the Seikadō library, reading Lanxue tang 蘭雪堂 (see p. 214 below, s.v. no. 2). Hu Ju, grandson of Hu Quan 胡銓 (1102–82; jinshi degree 1128), was appointed to a senior post in Qingyuan fu 慶元府 in 1226. Mr Luo may probably be identified as Luo Jun 羅濬, whom Hu Quan had admired. See Song zhuan ji ziliao suoyin, pp. 1573, 4273; Xu

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had mentioned are all present in this version,52 I have realised that the copies seen by Cheng were far from extensive, and that to classify the work as Xiao shuo is incorrect. However, the copy closed with 37 pian,53 being thus at variance with the figure of 82 pian as seen in the Chong-wen zongmu 崇文總目and the copy preserved by Ouyang Wenzhong 歐陽文忠.54

Old as I was, I still hoped to find a good copy. When I learnt that Pan Jingxian 潘景憲 of Wunü, styled Shudu 叔度, who achieved the degree of jinshi in the same year as I did [1163],55 held a large number of rare books, he [or I] commissioned his [or the latter’s] sons and young broth-ers to make a search, and it was then that for the first time I acquired this copy. Sure enough it has the 82 pian, so that we know that the ‘ Pingxiang’ copy of Hu Ju does not extend to even half of the work.

It is with inexpressible joy that I have been editing and printing the book, in each case choosing the superior readings and adding correc-tions, retaining the interpretations of both texts. Inconsistencies had arisen in the course of transmission. In addition interpretations could not be forced for some of the old expressions. The Chunqiu huijie . . . .56

The thirteen citations from the Fanlu that [Hu] Zhongfang picked up are all now present in the text. I also took account of the statement of Dong Zhongshu that the Shuowen jiezi carries under the character wang 王: “when characters were being formed in olden times, three horizontal strokes joined in the centre constituted wang. The three were heaven, earth and man, with the line running through and connecting them being the king”.57 Xu Shuzhong 許叔重58 lived in Later Han during

Shidong, Song Yuan Si ming liu zhi jiaokan ji (1854 ed.) 7.3b and 7b; and Luo Jun, Baoqing Si ming zhi (1854 ed.) 1.29a.

52 The rendering follows Su Yu’s text of xian Cheng gong suo yin 先程公所引; The Gongkui ji and Han Wei congshu read fan 凡 in place of xian 先, i.e., ‘all the citations’.

53 Presumably Hu Ju’s copy.54 I.e., Ouyang Xiu 修 (1007–72). 55 婺女潘同年叔度景憲. Pan Jingxian (1134–90), known as a collector of rare

books, was of Jinhua xian (Zhejiang; 119° 40’ 29° 10’) south-east of Lanqi 蘭谿. See Chang Bide, as cited in note 48 above. Wunü, sometimes used as the name of the ninth Lunar Lodge that is usually known as Nü 女 or Xu nü 須女, is used to signify Pan Jingxian’s place of domicile; Jinhua xian lay close to Wugang 婺港 Mountain. I am indebted to Ms Zhiyi Yang for the suggestion that the reference is to present-day Wuyuan, where there is a village named Wunü.

56 A comment in the Gongkui ji notes that a text of this title is unknown, and men-tions a Chunqiu huiyi 會義, a collection made by Du E 杜諤 during the Huangyu period (1049–53). Su Yu adds that the text here is defective. The Han Wei congshu reads Chun-qiu huijie yi shu □□□ nian □□ suo ji 春秋會解一書□□□ 年□□ 所集.

57 For formation of the character wang, see Chapter Six below, p. 243 s.v. pian no. 44.

58 I.e., Xu Shen 慎, died after 120, compiler of the Shuowen jiezi. See Shuowen 1A, 18a.

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Hedi’s reign [88–106] and the passage will be found in [Chunqiu fanlu] pian no. 44 ‘Wang dao tong’ 王道通.59

The biography of Dong Zhongshu [in the Hanshu] mentions his reply concerning the king of Yue and the three men of human feelings; the way in which the court sent commissioners, and even Zhang Tang 張湯, Superintendent of Trials, to visit him at his home so as to seek his advice over weighty matters; and his closure of all channels to Yang and open-ing of those to Yin when seeking a fall of rain, and the contrary steps to prevent it.60 In his [responses to the] three rescripts he speaks of heaven’s love for the ruler of mankind, of the immanence of heaven’s ways in Yin Yang; of Yang as the symbol of gifts or blessings and Yin as one of punishments; and of how the true king, while depending on the lessons implied by the gift of blessings, does not trust to types of punishment.61 All these subjects are found in this text [of the Chunqiu fanlu]. I con-clude that there is no doubt that it was the work of [Dong] Zhongshu; and I add that later generations could not have attained its style and expressions.

The Zuo zhuan was not yet in circulation at his time, and many of Dong Zhongshu’s remarks about the Chunqiu derive from the explana-tions of the Gongyang zhuan. Sadly, when Han took over from the ruins left by Qin a wide-ranging search was made for persons conversant with traditional learning and of literary talent; but of the very many who spe-cialised in the jing 經 only Zhongshu earned a reputation as a scholar of integrity. You need but observe “the great achievement of his mind that lies unseen”, with “nothing done that was inappropriate”,62 to realise that his responses stand first in everything, old and new.

I venture to suggest that it is only a man of truly human feelings who responds to questions by saying “It is a man of such feelings who sets his own principles straight without reckoning how he will benefit, who com-prehends the rule of life that is involved without counting what success will follow”.63 There is also his saying “A victory won without reliance on dao is of less value than defeat by so doing.”64 These are by no means the sole examples of this type of saying. They all capture the mind and models of our master and indeed are deeply imbued with the Chunqiu.

59 P. 328.60 See Pian nos. 32, 71 and 74 of the CQFL; Chapter Two above pp. 46, 48, and

below p. 205 for the men of Yue; Chapter Two above, p. 49, for Zhang Tang’s visit and above Chapter Two p. 46 and Chapter Four p. 165 for rain.

61 Response to the first rescript; see HS 56, p. 2502.62 These are citations from Ban Gu’s appreciation of Dong and his introductory

statement in the biography; HS 56, pp. 2526, 2495.63 For slightly different versions of this saying see Dong Zhongshu’s reply to the

king of Jiangdu (HS 56, p. 2524) and CQFL 9 (32 ‘Dui Jiaoxi wang Yue dafu bu de wei ren’), p. 268.

64 See CQFL 6 (17 ‘Yu xu’), p. 162.

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Beginning even with Yang Ziyun 揚子雲 there have been those who have been put to shame by these words, let alone others.65 In modern times there is only one person who has got close to getting hold of these ideas in their purity and that is the “Taishi” 太史 Fan Tangjian 范唐鑑.66 For praise or blame and critical assessment this is the only model to fol-low, never mind whether it is important to win or lose.

In the copy received from Mr Pan, the pian entitled ‘Chu Zhuang Wang’ 楚莊王 is placed as no. 1 but this is not present in other copies. Altogether there are an extra 42 pian, for three of which the text is miss-ing. There is no way of confirming the two titles “Yu bei” and “Zhu lin”, and we must await further thought. When [Hu] Zhongfang obtained this copy he too believed that it had not been seen previously. Following my editorial work he will be sending it to his eldest brother, Academician in the imperial archives, Transport Commissioner Jiangyou, for printing for the public,67 saying that I am writing a postface.

Written by Lou Yue 鑰 of the Si ming 四明, at the Gongkui Stu-dio 攻媿齋 on the Zhong fu 中伏 day of the third year of Jiading 嘉定 [20 July 1210].68

In his postface to the Chunqiu fanlu,69 Hu Ju (see p. 200 above) wrote that some time ago he had had that book printed at Pingxiang 萍鄉. This was a copy of ten juan, 37 pian which, although not complete, was rare, and he had been glad to share it with his colleagues. Five years later when he held office in the capital city he got hold of a fine copy from Mr Lou, of 82 pian, 17 juan, precisely as stated in the bib-liographical lists of the Sui and Tang histories and in the Chongwen zongmu, but with the text of three pian missing. With Mr Lou’s notes and corrections there was now a complete book, which he was having registered and he was making his second printing of the text. Hu’s postface was dated in 1211.

65 Yang Xiong 53 BCE–18 CE; for his references to Dong Zhongshu, see Chapter Two above, p. 60.

66 Fan Zuyu 范祖禹 (1041–98), best known for his work as a senior official, was also an historian compiler as is seen in the complementary use of the term Taishi, although that did not correspond with the posts that he held; see Franke, op. cit., pp. 338–45.

67 Jiang you caotai chang xiong bige gong 江右漕臺長兄祕閣公, otherwise referred to as Jiangdong caotai 江東漕台. The reference is to Hu Ju’s elder brother Hu Gui 胡槻.

68 Ι.e., the the fourth Geng day after the summer solstice of 1210; see Bodde, Fes-tivals in Classical China: New Year and other annual observances during the Han Dynasty 206 B.C.–A.D. 220 (1975), pp. 317–9.

69 CQFL p. 503.

204 chapter five

Su Yu includes a passage from the Nan Song guan ge shu mu 南宋館閣書目 which repeats the brief statement of the Han shu.70 It notes the existence of the two pian named Yu bei and Zhu lin, and the men-tion of seventeen juan in the treatises of the Sui and Tang histories and their earlier drafts,71 as against the existing ten juan. The passage continues ‘no earlier scholars explained the term fan lu. The Yi Zhou shu72 writes “when the Son of Heaven takes his stand facing south, there are no fan lu whatsoever”; a comment takes fan lu to be items suspended from the headdress in the form of being strung together. It is a simile belonging to the Chunqiu; when Zhongshu was establishing his reputation he probably chose the term from that source’.

Chen Zhensun 陳振孫 (ca. 1190–until after 1249) voiced a more pronounced doubt on the authenticity of the work.73 He took note of the developments as expressed by the scholars just named, including the appearance of Hu Ju’s ‘Pingxiang’ text of 37 pian and the version that Lou Yue had acquired from Mr Pan. ‘Even these are not the basic writings of the age in question ran yi fei dang shi ben shu 然亦非當時本書 and the doubts raised by earlier scholars are clear’. He re-iterated that the most doubtful point concerned the general use of fanlu as the title with Yu bei and Zhu lin as its pian: ‘this is certainly not a true version of the book’ ci jue fei qi ben zhen 此決非其本真; and he added the doubts raised by the absence of citations seen in the Tong dian and the Taiping yulan. ‘It is rare to find old books surviving from their own period and one can but take account of their transmission and question whether survival is possible’.

Chen Zhensun then refers to a manuscript copy in 18 [sic] juan with only 79 pian; their order was in accord with that of other versions with the exception that ‘Chu Zhuang Wang’, seen there at the beginning of juan no. 1, appeared here at the end, being separated as a different juan; and, with three pian missing, there were only 79.

70 CQFL, p. 495; the citation is from HS 56, pp. 2525–26.71 I.e., the Guo shi 國史 (‘National histories’); for these writings, see Lien-sheng

Yang ‘The organization of Chinese official historiography: principles and methods of the Standard Histories from the T’ang dynasty through the Ming dynasty’; in Beasley and Pulleyblank, Historians of China and Japan (1961) pp. 44–59; see p. 45.

72 Yi Zhou shu 7 (59 ‘Wang hui jie’).6a; see also CSJC, which reproduces Lu Wenchao’s edition, first published in the Bao jing tang cong shu, p. 239. This passage sees the wearing of fanlu as a mark of status and respect; for Shaughnessy’s observa-tion that this pian is not included in the core chapters of Yi Zhou shu, see ECTBG, pp. 229–30.

73 CQFL, p. 496; Zhi zhai shu lu jie ti 3, p. 53.

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Huang Zhen 黃震 (1213–80; jinshi degree 1256) first recounts the statement to be found in the Han shu.74 He then calls on the remarks of the Chongwen zongmu; he adds that the table of contents in the Zhongxing guange 中興館閣75 stops at 10 juan, 37 pian; and he sum-marises the tale told by Cheng Dachang. On the basis of these three witnesses he concludes that in Sui, Tang and early Song times the Fanlu had not necessarily been altogether Dong Zhongshu’s own text; and that since the establishment of Southern Song the Fanlu had not been identical with the text known in Sui Tang and early Song.

He now gives a slightly different account from that of Lou Yue. He records Hu Ju’s print of the ‘Pingxiang’ version of 37 pian; his later acquisition of Lou Yue’s editing of an old text of 17 juan, 82 pian that his brother Hu Gui 胡槻 had printed (at the Jiangdong caosi 江東漕司). This was later reprinted by Yue Ke 岳珂 (at the Jiahe jun zhai 嘉禾郡齋) and was taken to be the definitive version. Lou Yue had said that, there being no doubt that the text was written by Zhongshu, he had taken ‘Chu Zhuang Wang’ as pian no. 1 as it was present in the copy produced by Mr Pan. The pian ‘Tiao jun’ 調均76 had been placed as no. 35 in the Pingxiang print, and it was unknown why Lou Yue’s second printing did not extend to including this pian’. Huang Zhen could not understand why Cheng Dachang had stated that one of the citations of the Fanlu in the Tong dian was not to be found in the text, as it was indeed present in the pian no. 14 ‘Fu zhi xiang’.

He continues: ‘In my opinion, in the received text it is only in the response to the king of Jiaoxi in regard to the counsellors of Yue that the expression is restrained and the meaning pristine; but this is set forth in Dong Zhongshu’s biography.77 In the remainder there is much that is disorderly to the point that there are cases in which the reason-ing is not consistent.’ He then cites eight examples to support this statement.78 In a number of these cases Su Yu appears to be rejecting

74 Huang shi ri chao 56.43b–54a, CQFL, p. 496.75 Chen Kui 陳騤 (1128–1203), Zhongxing guange shumu ji kao 1.19a (1933;

rpt. 1987).76 Evidently an alternative title for pian no. 27, known as ‘Du zhi’ 度制 in our

received text. Huang shi ri chao 56.46b includes notes on text in the pian ‘Tiao jun’ seen in ‘Du zhi’ (CQFL p. 232); the Yu hai 40.12a gives the title as ‘Du zhi’.

77 CQFL 9 pian 32 ‘Dui Jiaoxi wang Yue dafu bu de wei ren’; HS 56, p. 2523. Huang Zhen ignores the difficulty in that in the account of the Han shu the responses are given to the king of Jiangdu. Wang Yingling was evidently aware of the problem; see Yu hai 40.12a which cites a reading of Jiangdu in place of Jiaoxi.

78 See the Appendix, p. 222 below.

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Huang Zhen’s objections (pp. 222–4 below, nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8) or pos-sibly explaining Dong’s real intentions.

Finally Huang Zhen writes ‘Of traditional scholarship of Han times only the ren and yi and the three responses79 of Zhongshu shine forth for all generations; are these present when there is mention of the Fanlu of Zhongshu? When Ouyang Xiu read the Fanlu he did not speak of its authenticity but criticised it on the grounds that Dong Zhongshu was not able to take those theories any higher with a view to clarifying the ways of the sages; and he added his regrets. Dongshu was a pure man of traditional scholarship, Ouyang Xiu was a ‘litterateur’. Hsü Fu-kuan, it may be noted, rejects the arguments put forward by Cheng Dachang and Huang Zhen directly, affirming that his argu-ments, per contra, serve to prove that Dong was the author.80

In his comments to the entry in the bibliographical list of the Han shu, Wang Yinglin 王應麟 (1223–96), like others, reproduced the text in Han shu’s biography that concerns Dong’s writings.81 He noted the existing records of a work of 17 juan, including one in the now lost Qi lu 七録 of Ruan Xiaoxu 阮孝緒 (479–536) and believed that the use of the terms Yu bei and Zhu lin as titles of pian was a later addition. A note to this entry refers to Dong’s ‘collection’, which included the Shi bu yu fu 士不遇賦, answers to the rescripts and the communication addressed to Gongsun Hong’s registry.82 In the Yu hai Wang Yinglin provides what may be the earliest existing list of titles of the pian as these appear in the seventeen numbered juan, though there are slight variations from the titles given in the received text.83 Finally he writes ‘There is no means of confirming or correcting Yu bei and Zhu lin as titles of pian’.

Three centuries later Hu Yinglin 胡應麟 (ca. 1590) wrote more forcefully than his predecessors, with some positive ideas.84 He rejected the view that the Fanlu as seen in the bibliographical list of the Sui shu

79 Ren yi san ce 仁義三策 meaning not clear.80 Hsü Fu-kuan, op. cit., p. 312.81 CQFL, p. 498; HS 30, p. 1727; 56, pp. 2525–6; Ershiwu shi bubian p. 24.82 For these items see Chapter Three above pp. 109, 110.83 Yu hai 40.10a.13a; e.g., pian no. 25 is entitled Yao Shun Tang Wu 堯舜湯武;

no. 52 as Nuan yu shu duo 暖燠孰多. 84 Shao shi shan fang bi cong 少室山房筆叢 28C ‘Jiu liu xu lun zhong’ 九流緒論中

(first published 1784; rpt. 1958, pp. 360–1).

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is to be identified with the Gongyang zhi yu 公羊治獄 of 16 pian;85 he noted the absence of an entry for the ‘123 pian of Dong Zhongshu’ in that bibliography; and he took the view that no more than a half, if as much, of the extant Fanlu of 17 juan originated as explanations of the Chunqiu. He added that a number of other pian that he named, such as Wang dao 王道 (no. 6), are marked by ill defined argument and composition; others such as the many that concerned Yin Yang and the Wu xing, with their sullied statements about the prevalence of ‘conquest’ or ‘growth’, were highly inconsistent with the Chunqiu. Not only was the addition of fanlu as a title subject to doubt; the adoption of the term Chunqiu was simply not a true record.

Hu Yinglin’s own view was that the text of the 82 pian is in fact that of the 123 pian listed in the bibliography of the Han shu under rujia.86

Zhongshu’s studies had concentrated heavily on the subjects of heaven and mankind and he had liked to explain disasters and the abnormali-ties of nature; as is seen in all the pian, this was Dong’s own self. Of course, from Eastern Han times onwards the order of the parts of the text had been lost. Some of those persons who were interested in these matters thought that the sixteen pian of the Gongyang zhi yu fitted the book and wantonly saddled the work with the title of Fanlu as recorded by Ban Gu. In these circumstances the Dong Zi of the Rujia came to be unrecognised.

Later scholars did not examine how the 123 pian had been lost, nor did they probe the origin of the 82 pian, simply indulging in muddled and indecisive arguments about the titles of the pian, and thus losing out entirely. The right course of action is to split off those parts that discuss the Chunqiu and restore Dongzi 董子 as the title of the work.’

Jin Dejian 金德建 expressed his disagreement with Hu Yinglin on various grounds, believing that the Chunqiu fanlu deserves its rightful place in Dong’s works, there being no proof of fabrication to be found therein.87 He does not consider the content of any of the chapters in this connection, and he dates the appendage of the title Chunqiu fanlu to a time after Wang Chong and Ban Gu and before Wu Jun 吳均 (469–520).

85 I.e., Gongyang Dong Zhongshu zhi yu as in Han shu 30, p. 1714, under Chunqiu; see Chapter Three above, pp. 84, 115.

86 HS 30, p. 1727; HSBZ 30.31b.87 Gu ji cong kao 古籍叢考 (1941), pp. 108–13, especially 112–3 and 110.

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At the outset of their notice, the editors of the Si ku quan shu zong mu ti yao accept the name of Dong Zhongshu as the compiler (zhuan 撰).88 They believed that while the work did not entirely originate from him, its many pithy sayings could not have derived from a later writer. They pointed out where large omissions of text occurred, with their conclusion that no complete version had been seen for three or four centuries. They adopted the version of Lou Yue, as preserved in the Yongle dadian.

It may be noticed that, apart from Lu Wenchao 盧文弨 and Ling Shu凌曙, none of the highly learned scholars of the Qing dynasty who were engaged in the movement to return to Han learning evidently thought fit to set about a critical interpretation of the Chunqiu fanlu. Possibly this lack of attention to the text may be regarded as insignifi-cant, such a view being based on negative evidence; possibly it may be seen as betraying a general refusal of the scholarly world to accept the Chunqiu fanlu as being valid. This latter possibility is perhaps strengthened by the rarity with which the Chunqiu fanlu is cited by the Qing scholars who commented on Dong’s three responses as given in the Han shu.89 When the editors of the Siku quanshu zongmu tiyao praised Dong as the purest of the Han ruzhe, we do not know whether they had in mind the Chunqiu fanlu or his three responses.90

Sun Yirang 孫詒讓 (1848–1908) evidently took at least some pian, e.g., no. 23, as deriving from Dong.91 In his wide-ranging account of the intellectual movements of Han times, Fung Yu-lan does not question that Dong Zhongshu was the author of the Chunqiu fanlu and he therefore does not hesitate to cite from that text in order to explain his views.92 In the preface to his meticulous study of the text, Liu Shipei (1884–1919) took the view that the 82 pian did not include the entire text.93 He drew attention to inaccuracies such as omission, interpolation or mistaken characters, being sometimes due to errors in

88 Si ku quan shu zong mu ti yao 6, p. 588.89 See the comments to HS 56 that Wang Xianqian cites from He Chuo 何焯

(1661–1722), Qi Shaonan 齊召南 (1703–1768), Wang Mingsheng 王鳴盛 (1722–1798), Qian Dazhao 錢大昭 (1744–1813), Wang Niansun 王念孫 (1744–1832), Shen Qinhan 沈欽韓 (1775–1832), and Zhou Shouchang 周壽昌 (1814–1884). Wang Niansun cites from the Chunqiu fanlu in HSBZ 56.17b, and Qian Dazhao does so in HSBZ 56.20a.

90 Siku quanshu zongmu tiyao 91, p. 1878.91 CQFL 7 (23 ‘san dai gaizhi zi wen’).14b (p. 197).92 See Fung Yu-lan (translated Bodde), A History of Chinese Philosophy, p. 19

et passim.93 Liu Shipei, ‘Chunqiu fanlu jiaobu fu yiwen jibu’ (1912).

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transmission. He also observed variant readings when comparing pas-sages of Chunqiu fanlu with those of other works, whether longstand-ing, such as the Xunzi, or written after Dong’s own lifetime, such as the Shuo yuan and Xin xu of Liu Xiang. But Liu Shipei does not voice any doubts regarding Dong’s authorship of the work, and he certainly took some pian of the Chunqiu fanlu as representing Dong’s ideas.94 Zhou Guidian’s frequent citations of the Chunqiu fanlu as doing so indicate that he harboured no doubts regarding the authorship of the work.95

These enquiries lead to the following conclusions. Probably the stron-gest support for Dong’s authenticity is to be found in the writings of Hsü Fu-kuan, who considers the arguments that have been raised and concludes by affirming his belief that while the received text is defec-tive, it does not include any spurious additions.96 In particular he does not accept that treatment of the Wu xing, as against the absence of mention of this subject in the other writings of Dong, is a valid rea-son for rejecting Dong’s authorship. A somewhat different conclusion, which is partly shared by Professor Queen, is reached below.

Further research is needed in two ways; first an examination of how accurately the Chunqiu fanlu cites from other writings; and secondly an analysis of linguistic usage and its consistencies in the various parts of the work. Li Weixiong 李威熊 expresses the view that Dong’s writ-ings such as the pian named in the Han shu and those pian that con-cern the Chunqiu were collected by scholars after Eastern Han, and made into a book, to which fanlu was appended as the title.97 This suggestion allows Li Weixiong to cite from the Chunqiu fanlu as rep-resenting Dong’s views, where the present writer would be more cau-tious; otherwise it does not vary substantially from his conclusions.

None of these doubts affect the supposition that the Chunqiu fanlu was a collection of writings and opinions of various origins, some deriving from Dong Zhongshu and others from later times, to which Dong’s name became fastened as the author. If we ask for the motive

94 See his comments in ‘Dong Zhongshu’ (Zhongguo min yue jing yi 2.1a–3a) to passages from pian nos. 25, 6, 7, 20, 33 and 35, where he writes that Dong’s main prin-ciples were based on the Gongyang zhuan and were very close to those of Mengzi.

95 Zhou Guidian, Dong xue tanwei (1989).96 Hsü Fu-kuan, op. cit., pp. 312–6.97 Li Weixiong, Dong Zhongshu yu Xi Han xueshu (1978), p. 15.

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for so doing, we can only speculate. Conceivably it could have resulted from a movement to re-direct attention to the Gongyang school of which Dong was an acclaimed protagonist. The work does not feature in writings of Eastern Han when attention was fastening on the Guliang and Zuo zhuan rather than the Gongyang. In later bibliographical lists98 it takes its place along with extensions of Chunqiu learning, but not in the category writings of traditional learning (ru). To these supposi-tions there may be added a further consideration of the attitudes of some of the Song scholars.

To scholars of Song times who were devoting themselves to the col-lection and study of earlier literature, the records of texts as seen in the bibliographical lists of the Han shu, Sui shu and Tang shu, the Chongwen zongmu 崇文總目99 and possibly other works that are no longer extant would have formed the foremost and immediate refer-ences against whose testimony they would judge new material that found its way into their hands. For the Chunqiu fanlu of Dong Zhong-shu their initial assumption would have been of a text that ran to sev-enteen juan. They would also have been aware of citations ascribed to that text or to Dong in the great compilations of Tang times or slightly earlier or later, such as the Bei tang shu chao, Yiwen leiju, Chu xue ji, Tong dian, Taiping yulan or Taiping huanyuji. Their concept of Dong Zhongshu himself, as the author, would presumably have rested principally on the account of his life and career in the Han shu and the three responses included there, and perhaps on the assessment of Ban Gu.

The doubts that arose in the minds of the Song scholars concerned the use and meaning of the term fan lu as a title for the whole book; the authenticity and value of the various versions of the text that were known; and the questions whether the style of expression therein could have dated from Dong’s time and whether the ideas expounded therein were properly to be accepted as those of Dong Zhongshu. The first of these difficulties arose from the obvious and perplexing incon-sistency between the statement of the Han shu and the titles as seen

98 E.g., Sui shu 32, p. 930.99 Chongwen zong mu 1.29b (rpt. from Yueya tang congshu in Zhongguo lidai shumu

congkan 中國歷代書目叢刊 (1987). This work, presented in 1041 by Wang Yaochen 王堯臣, survives now only partially; see van der Loon, Taoist books in the libraries of the Sung period (1984), p. 6. For the contribution of Ouyang Xiu to this work, see James T.C. Liu, Ou-yang Hsiu An Eleventh-Century Neo-Confucianist (1967), p. 102.

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in the newly found copies of the work. The Han shu had mentioned ‘his essays such as Wen ju 聞舉, Yu bei 玉杯, Fan lu 蕃露 [sic], Qing ming 清明 and Zhu lin 竹林’;100 the copies of the text carried pian which were named with some of these titles, but not with Fanlu and they applied that term as a title for the whole collection. Yan Shigu 顏師古 (581–645) in his time took all these terms to be titles of the pieces of writing that Dong had composed. That he does not mention a work entitled ‘Chunqiu fanlu’ perhaps suggests that he had not seen or heard of a text thus named.

The critical opinions voiced by several distinguished scholars such as some of those whose views are cited above rest on the assumption that Dong Zhongshu was the author of the received Chunqiu fanlu, though this assumption is coupled with a reluctance to explain how some of the chapters therein accorded with what is known of Dong Zhongshu from other sources and a realisation that some parts of the work had been interpolated at unknown date.

These difficulties are eliminated if an entirely different supposition is accepted: that the book was initially formed of a collection of append-ages, concerned in some way or other with passages or expressions seen in the Chunqiu and comparable, in a jocose way, with the strings of beads that hang down from a hat; that authorship of that collec-tion was not stated and was subject to question in perhaps the fourth or fifth century; that by the time when the bibliographical chapter of the Sui shu (completed 656)101 and the Chongwen zongmu (1041) were written Dong Zhongshu’s name had been firmly and permanently given not as the compiler of the collection but as the author of the book; and that this book thereafter took its place with other elabora-tions or explanations of the Chunqiu.

A number of indications support this supposition. Whereas the term fanlu is first seen as the title of a piece of writing by Dong, no such piece exists independently and no pian of the Chunqiu fanlu is thus entitled. Secondly, the account that the Xi jing za ji gives of Dong Zhongshu’s authorship of the Chunqiu fanlu may well be dismissed as a flight of fancy. However, it may nonetheless reveal that at the time when the Xi jing za ji was being written an author of a text called Chunqiu fanlu

100 HS 56, pp. 2525–6.101 See the postface to the 1024 edition of the Sui shu (reprinted in the Zhongguo

shuju ed., p. 1903) and Denis Twitchett, The Writing of Official history Under the T’ang (1992), p. 87.

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had yet to be named.102 The earliest associations of Dong’s name with the Chunqiu fanlu to be seen elsewhere appear in the seventh or eighth century Chu xue ji, the Suoyin 索引 comment to the Shiji by Sima Zhen 司馬貞 (early eighth century) and the sub-commentary to the Zhou li of Jia Gongyan 賈公彥 ( fl. 650).103 Following the Sui shu and the Chongwen zongmu (1042) this association is seen in the Tang shu and Song shi and other writings of Song times.

In addition, the Taiping yulan, completed 983, makes a clear dis-tinction between passages that it cites from the Chunqiu fanlu, many of which are present in the received text, and those ascribed to Dong Zhongshu, Dong Zi and Dongsheng shu. Of the eight ascribed to Dong Zhongshu, two concern the invocation for rain, and it is possible that these appeared in a separate document other than the Chunqiu fanlu; one is seen in the Xunzi and Da Dai li ji but not in the Chunqiu fanlu; one is seen in pian no. 60 of the Chunqiu fanlu; two are from his judi-cial pronouncements; and two are untraced in Dong’s writings. Of the four ascribed to Dong Zi, one is seen in the Xunzi and Da Dai li ji;104 one in pian no. 44 of the Chunqiu fanlu; two are not traced; the one citation ascribed to Dongsheng shu is not traced. This suggests that the editors or compilers of the Taiping yulan did not necessarily identify Chunqiu fanlu as a work written by Dong Zhongshu.

Notes on the subject matter, dates and authenticity of individual pian follow in Chapter Six below. The supposition that the Chun-qiu fanlu was formed as a collection that was independent of Dong Zhongshu is supported strongly by the inclusion therein of material of a variety of contents, origins and perhaps dates. As is suggested below (Chapter Eight, pp. 310–15), some parts are comparable in their thought with writings that came to be banned as apocryphal in Song, Liang and Sui times. At least one pian (no. 23) reads as if it is of the same type and origin as the account of the discussions held in 79 CE that is reported in the Baihu tong. No less than five pian105 are entitled and concern the concepts of Wu xing which are hardly if ever appar-ent in Dong’s own time and are not seen in his other writings. As is

102 For the dating of the Xi jing za ji, see Chapter Three above, p. 83 note 3.103 For Chu xue ji see p. 193 above; SJ 14, p. 510; Zhou li 22 (‘Da si yue’).7a.104 This is the same as the one cited again as from in TPYL 474.8a (ascribed to Dong

Zi); in 823.4a (to Dong Zhongshu); and in 822.9a ascribed to Dongsheng shu.105 Nos. 38, 42, 58, 59, 60. In addition the content of pian no. 74 ‘Qiu yu’ is based

inextricably on Wu xing and its practical associations.

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seen below (Chapter Seven, pp. 267–75), it is questionable whether some of the statements or questions raised in the chapters on the state cults ( jiao 郊) would have been relevant during Dong’s lifetime. Fung Yu-lan, however, was ready to accept the chapters on Wu xing, and pian no. 23 as being valid expressions of Dong’s views.

Some scholars who are cited above have identified parts of the Chun-qiu fanlu as representing the explanations and ideas of the Gongyang school, of which Dong was said to be a master, but which did not enjoy official patronage in Eastern Han times. While there are reasons to doubt whether Dong enjoyed the general acclaim with which he is credited, it could well be that his reputation as a scholar of the Gong-yang school survived his death; and it may therefore be possible that his name was attached to the Chunqiu fanlu so as to give it the cred-ibility of a well-known scholar of that tradition. However if we may take account, with some caution, of negative evidence, He Xiu, writing in the second century CE, apparently saw no reason to cite his views or acknowledge that he had adopted them. In addition, as is argued above (Chapter Two) it is questionable to what extent, or from when, Dong came to enjoy a reputation that would have made him worthy of citation as an authority.

The foregoing notices of scholars of Song times and later leads to the following conclusions. The title Chunqiu fanlu, which is first seen in the Xi jing za ji, was affixed to the text some time in the third to sixth centuries and a work thus named of seventeen juan was known in Sui, Tang and early Song times.106 Many of the citations from the Chunqiu fanlu that are thus named in the Taiping yulan (in the tenth century) can be traced in twenty four pian of the received text, but some have not been found; possibly the text that was available to the editors of that work ran to 82 pian, perhaps with the text of three of these being missing. A text of that length may well have been seen by Ouyang Xiu (1007–72) and Wang Yaochen 王堯臣 (1001–56), but by the time of Cheng Dachang (1123–95) and Lou Yue (1137–1213) it was a rarity. At that time there were several incomplete and perhaps inaccurate copies of the book in circulation, some no longer than ten juan with 37 pian, and it was only the copy which Lou Yue acquired from the Pan family that ran to 82, less three pian. The critical scholars of Song, Ming and Qing times knew this text, which is present on our

106 Title also seen in Suoyin commentary (early eighth century) to SJ 14, p. 510.

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shelves today, subject to errors in textual transmission.107 But overall, the text that was available in Sui and Tang times differed from an original version of the time of Dong Zhongshu; and the copies avail-able in Southern Song differed from those of Sui and Tang times.

Prints and editions

Following one print of 1211 two principal editions were printed in Ming times, with comments or postfaces added later by scholars of the Qing dynasty. The register of rare books held in some eight hundred institutes or other collections in China in 2005 lists the following cop-ies (numbers such as 300 are those of the items listed there).108

1. No. 300 A Song print of 1211, format 10 × 18. It is not known whether no. 327, which is described as ‘A facsimile 影 of a Song trac-ing 抄本 by Jigu ge 汲古閣, of Mr Mao 毛, at the start of the Qing period’, was derived from this print.

2. No. 301 A movable type print of 1516, format 14 × 13. This may be identified with an item held in the Seikadō bunko and described as Lanxue tang ben Chunqiu fanlu 蘭雪堂本春秋繁露. This copy included Lou Yu’s preface of 1047, the notices of the Chongwen zongmu, Zhong xing guan, Ouyang Xiu and Cheng Dachang, and an unattributed postface of 1175.109 The text is pronounced to be superior to that of the Yongle Dadian (compiled 1403–07) and thus of the Si ku

107 The statement in Siku quanshu zongmu tiyao 117 (‘Zi bu’ 27), p. 2481 that the Chunqiu first made its appearance in the Shaoxing period evidently takes the account of Cheng Dachang and Lou Yue as being valid.

108 Weng Lianji, ed., Zhongguo gu ji shan ben zongmu seven volumes (2005), vol. I, pp. 101, 102, 114. For further notes on extant copies, see Huang Peilie, Raopu cang shu ti zhi (1919) 1.8a (this includes a note of 1804 to a tracing of a Song print in the hands of Qin Dunfu 秦敦夫 i.e., Yangzhou Qin Taishi 揚州秦太史); Mo Youzhi Lü ting zhi jian zhuan ben shu mu (1873).22b; Ye Dehui, Xiyuan du shu zhi (1928; this particular notice is dated 1917) 2.2b; Fu Zengxiang, (a) Cang yuan qun shu ti ji in 8 juan (original date 1943; rpt. Shanghai Guji chubanshe, 1989), pp. 35–6; and (b) Cang yuan qun shu jing yan lu (produced by his descendant Fu Xinian 傅熹年 on the basis of drafts made by Fu Zengxiang early in the twentieth century; Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1980), pp. 88–9; Queen, From Chronicle to Canon, pp. 264–8.

109 Seikadō bunko Kanseki bunrui mokuroku (1930), p. 18.

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(e.g., by the inclusion of the two characters 母 which is omitted in such versions).110

3. No. 302 A print of 1554, format 9 × 17; no. 303 with annotation, postface by Kong Jihan 孔繼涵 (1739–84); no. 304 with annotation and postface by Huang Peilie 黃丕烈 (1763–1825); no. 305 with post-face by Zhang Yuanji 張元濟 (b. 1868), annotation and postface by Fu Zengxiang 傅增湘 (1872–1949); and presumably nos. 306, (with intercolumnar notes), no. 307 (with annotation by Fu Zengxiang); no. 308; no. 309 (with postface by Deng Bangshu 鄧邦述, jinshi degree 1898); copies are also held in the Library of Congress, Washington, the National Central Library, Taipei and the Institute of History and Philology, Taipei; available on microfilm at the University Library, Cambridge.

4. No. 310 A print of the Wanli period, format 9 × 20; in Cheng Rong 程榮 1447–1520 (ed.) Han Wei congshu, annotation by Zhang Shouyong 張壽鏞, b. 1876, (after Kong Jihan, who takes the Yongle dadian); no. 311 (unnamed annotation); nos. 312, 313 and 314 of 1592 in the Guang Han Wei congshu (no. 312 with annotation by Lu Wenchao 盧文弨 1717–96); no. 313 (annotation and postface by Xu Shidong 徐時棟 1814–73); and no. 314 (annotation and postface by Chen Shuhua 陳樹華 and Hui Dong 惠棟 1697–1758; postface by Wang Dalong 王大隆).111

5. No. 315 Entitled Dong zi Chunqiu fanlu shiqi juan fu lu yi juan 董子春秋繁露十七卷附錄一卷; a print of 1625, format 9 × 18; edited by Wang Daokun 王道焜 et al. (Ming); no. 316 with postface by Luo Zhenchang 羅振常 (sic; unknown); copies are also held in the Jinbun kagaku kenkyūjo, Kyoto and the Library of Congress.

6. No. 317 Entitled Chunqiu fanlu shiqi juan fu lu yi juan; a print of 1625 with critical notes by Sun Kuang 孫礦 (late Ming); format 9 × 20 with intercolumnar notes; no. 318 with postface by Xu Zhidong; no. 319 with postface by Jin Cheng 金成 (Qing period); foregoing

110 CQFL 16 (74 ‘Qiu yu’), p. 433, following qi shen Hou Ji 其神后稷.111 Cheng Rong’s Han Wei congshu follows original collections by He Tang 何鏜

(Ming) and Du Long 屠隆 and includes the latter’s preface dated 1592.

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printed by Shen ding xin hua zhai 沈鼎新花齋 both with one juan attached; no. 320 printed by Xi shan shushe 西山書舍 in Tianqi period (1621–7) without the supplement; no. 321, printed, end of Ming, by Jugui lou 聚奎樓; no. 322, dated 1638 with one juan attached, com-ments and postface by ‘The Veteran of Zhoushan’ (Zhoushan Laoren 舟山老人; Qing). Two other items, in format 9 x 20, may also perhaps be derivatives of this edition: no. 323, printed at the end of Ming, and no. 324 with postface by Weng Fanggang 翁方綱 (1733–1818), notes and postface by Ji Yun 紀昀 (1724–1805) and Hui Dong. Copies of this edition are also held in the National Central Library, Taipei, and in the Sonkeikaku bunko 尊經閣文庫.

To these there is added item no. 337 entitled Zhu dajia tong ding Chunqiu fanlu zhushi da quan shiqi juan shou yi juan fu lu yi juan 諸大家同訂春秋繁露注釋大全十七卷首一卷附錄一卷, with Sun Kuang’s critical notes, printed at the end of Ming, format 10 × 20 with intercolumnar notes. It has not been possible to ascertain whether this edition in fact took over the prints in format 9 × 20 that were included in the Han Wei congshu (see above under (4)).

The list of rare books held in China includes two tracings of Ming times (nos. 325, 326) together with several copies of Lu Wenchao’s edition that was published in the Baojingtang congshu 抱經堂叢書 (printed 1782–97); a print of 1873 of the annotated edition of Ling Shu 凌曙 (1775–1829; preface dated 1815) and a draft of that work; and a draft of Su Yu’s edition.

Copies of the following editions are held in Taipei:112

a. A print dated in the Zhengtong period (1436–49); National Central Library.

b. An edition described as Ming jin chang yong wan tang 明金閶擁萬堂; the Old Imperial Palace.

c. Zhao Weiyuan 趙維垣 ( jinshi degree 1532); National Central Library; and the Institute of History and Philology.

d. Hu Weixin 胡維新 ( jinshi degree 1559); National Central Library.

112 See Taiwan gongcang shan ben shumu shu ming suoyin (1971), p. 804; Taiwan gongcang shan ben shumu renmin suoyin (1972), pp. 889–90; Guoli zhongyang tushu-guan shan ben shumu ding ben (1986), p. 48.

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e. Song Yingchang 宋應昌 ( jinshi degree 1587); National Central Library.

The editors of the Siku project chose to work on the text of the Yongle Dadian (compiled 1403–07), which followed the print made by Lou Yue, and they included their own intercolumnar notes. The notice to the movable type edition held in the Seikadō library suggests that the Yongle Dadian drew from Hu Gui’s 胡槻 print of the Jiangdong caotai 江東漕台 [sic], and that the movable type edition itself, which was superior, drew from the print of Yue Ke 岳珂 (1183–1240) at the Jiahe jun zhai 嘉禾郡齋. The notice that the editors of the Siku wrote appears in several versions with minor variations, principally in the figures that are given for the lengths of certain passages of the text.113 It refers to the Yongle Dadian; notes the interchanging use of 繁 and 蕃; and cites the explanation of the difficult expression fanlu as given in the Zhongxing guange 中興館閣 catalogue. The editors remark that many of the inferences that the book draws from the Chunqiu derive from Gongyang learning and that there are frequent mentions of Yin Yang and Wu xing. They cite the views of the Chongwen zongmu 崇文總目 and Cheng Dachang and continue:

While the text of the book is not necessarily entirely derived from Dong Zhongshu, there is much that is based on his most essential sayings and cannot have been attributed to him by later writers.

There were four copies in Song times of differing lengths; Lou Yue’s edited version forms the definitive text, originally with three pian being defective; there are reprints of Ming times, with text missing as follows: pian no. 55; 396 characters at the start of pian no. 56;114 180 characters in pian no. 75;115 24 missing in pian no. 48;116 and one page ( ye 頁 i.e.,

113 (a) The memorial of 1773 (see CQFL, p. 505); (b) The preface to the text itself in the Siku collection, dated 1777, signed by Ji Yun 紀昀, Lu Xixiong 陸錫熊, Sun Shiyi 孫士毅 and Lufei Chi 陸費墀; (c) In the Siku quanshu zongmu tiyao 29, p. 84 (598), CQFL p. 504. There is also an additional note dated 1785 (CQFL, p. 506).

114 See Siku 13.2a–3a; Han Wei congshu 13.1a; CQFL, p. 354.115 Given as 179 in the Siku quanshu zongmu tiyao. See Siku 17.7b–8a; Han Wei

congshu 16.6b; CQFL, p. 437. The omission as seen in the Han Wei congshu is followed there by 50 characters which duplicate text in pian no. 6 (Siku 4.6b; Han Wei congshu 4.6a; CQFL, p. 121).

116 Siku 12.1b, Han Wei congshu 12.1b, CQFL, p. 339. The missing text is shown in the Han Wei congshu and as noted in the Siku in separated passages of 6, 5, 6, 6 and 1 character; the last four of these omissions follow text of 12, 13, 11 and 16 characters, thereby suggesting the possibility of a column length of 18. Precisely the same omis-sions are seen in the Zengding Han Wei congshu of Wang Mo (1791), 12.1a,b.

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half-folio) placed in reverse order in pian no. 35,117 such that it cannot be read; and there are numerous other errors and omissions. Some three or four hundred years have elapsed since a complete text has been seen.

We have examined and corrected Lou Yue’s text as preserved in the Yongle Dadian in some detail, restoring altogether some 1,100 charac-ters, deleting some 110 and emending 1,820.118

The notice closes with thanks to and flattery of the emperor. One can-not help but wonder whether this was a way in which Lufei Chi 陸費墀 expressed his appreciation of the way in which he had been treated, despite a number of mishaps or charges levelled against him as a participant in the Siku project.119 An additional note in the tiyao, which is not seen in the memorial or the preface to the text in the Siku collection, com-pares the Chunqiu fanlu with the Shang shu da zhuan and the Han shi wai zhuan. This is on the grounds that although in many instances it is based on the arguments of the Chunqiu there are many parts which have no connection with the meaning of the jing, and classification among explanations of those works has been incorrect; it is for that reason that the editors of the tiyao placed the work among the supple-mentary texts to the Chunqiu.

It can only be assumed that in seeking to correct the defective text of the Yongle Dadian the editors would have turned to existing copies of pre-Ming prints. The figures that are given above for the lengths of passages that were omitted leads to the possibility that they had before them a copy whose columns ran to 18 characters; such a text, of 1211 with format 10 × 18 and of which one copy is known in China today, is described above under (1). The omissions in the text of the Han Wei congshu that are also seen in the Yongle Dadian lead to the conclusion that those versions likewise may have depended on a copy of 10 × 18 format. It would seem likely, but cannot be proved, that the Han Wei congshu itself drew directly from the Yongle Dadian.

Lu Wenchao 廬文弨 appends a note, dated 1785, that follows the text of the memorial of 1773.120 He expresses his joy that a complete

117 The passage that is misplaced in Han Wei congshu 10.4b–6a runs 言無驗之說 to 正名名非. This is found in the Siku text at the closing part of the pian (6b–8a) and in CQFL, pp. 303–05, to be followed by the eleven characters 所始如之何謂未善已善也; these close the pian also in the Han Wei congshu.

118 Given as 1,121, 121 and 1829 in the tiyao.119 For Lufei Chi, see note 113 above and Hummel, Eminent Chinese of the Ch’ing

Period (1644–1912) (1943–4), pp. 542–3.120 CQFL, p. 506.

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text of the Chunqiu fanlu now exists, but this does not deter him from remarking on textual deficiencies (e.g., at the end of pian nos. 28 and 53; see CQFL, pp. 248, 352). He also remarks that there are still several pian such as Kao gong 考功 and Jue guo 爵國 that defy interpretation.

Lu Wenchao took the print that was derived from the Siku text (Siku quanshu zhenben 四庫全書珍本) as his basis and notes that he consulted the Han Wei congshu and Guang Han Wei congshu, and, in addition, a copy from Shu (Sichuan) printed by Weiyang Zhou Dafu 潙陽周大夫 in 1554. This included a preface by Zhao Weiyuan 趙維垣 of Yongning 永寧, stating that it was of Song origin.121 Lu then names thirteen collaborators with whom he had worked.

In the preface to his annotations to the text of 1815,122 Ling Shu 凌曙 (1775–1829) wrote of the value of the Gongyang in the early days of Han as providing a completion for Kongzi (Gongyang wei quan Kong jing 公羊爲全孔經) and the classical writings, and of the ser-vices rendered by Dong Zhongshu in understanding that way of inter-preting the Chunqiu. He traced the transmission of this style or branch of learning from Gongyang Gao 公羊高 to Huwu Sheng 胡毋生 and then to Dong Zhongshu. Ling Shu noted that the Chunqiu fanlu of 17 juan was the sole surviving piece of Dong’s writings and enumer-ated the principal subjects that he had treated; and he wrote about the efforts made to suppress some types of learning, and to promote schools and recruit men of talent, for which Dong had been respon-sible. Ling Shu then recounted Dong’s steadfast criticism of the degen-erate way of life that was current in Wudi’s reign and Liu Xiang’s high opinion of Dong’s qualities.

He then turned to the corrupt state of the received text of the book. Having obtained a rarely seen copy, which he does not identify, he had added his own comments with a view to collecting the opinions of earlier scholars and variant readings seen in citations from the work in Sui, Tang and later writings. There follow five points regarding his annotation, presumably by Su Yu; he had taken the officially approved version, i.e., the print based on the text of the Siku, as his basis; indicated the source of the notes he was repeating from Wang Daokun 王道焜

121 See the preface to those parts of CQFL that are included in the Liang jing yi bian 兩京遺編 (preface 1582) of Hu Weixin 胡维新 ( jinshi degree 1559), 2b.

122 Included in CQFL, pp. 507–09, but neither the preface nor the notes on Ling Shu’s editorial methods are seen in the Huang qing jing jie xu bian 皇清經解續編.

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and Lu Wenchao廬文弨; supplemented defective text, as in the print made from the Siku; corrected text where strips had been misplaced;123 and noted the single occurrence where the text cites from or refers to the Guliang zhuan rather than the Gongyang zhuan. He had also added the notes of Du Yu 杜預 (222–84) to the Zuo zhuan where these bore on personal names and place names without affecting an interpretation of the text.

Sun Xinghua 孫星華 writes (1894–5) that for reasons that are not known, the Chunqiu fanlu was not always available in the prints of the rare works that derived from the Siku, and that it was only thanks to Ding Bing’s丁丙 possession of a copy that included it that he was able to have it reprinted.124

Wei Yuan 魏源 (1794–1856) argues vociferously in favour of Dong’s contribution to Gongyang learning, being greatly superior to that of other interpreters such as He Xiu 何休 and Hu Wu 胡毋生, or more recent scholars such as Kong Guangsen 孔廣森 (1752–86) and Liu Fenglu 劉逢祿 (1776–1829). He does so without questioning the authenticity of the Chunqiu fanlu, while rejecting the use of the term fanlu as part of the title of the whole work.125

That many scholars of the Qing period do not appear to have regarded Chunqiu fanlu as worthy of intensive study may betray their doubts as to its authenticity, though these are not expressed as explic-itly as are the views of the Song scholars. The editors of the Siku did indeed express some reserve, but this does not appear in the notes, prefaces or colophons of Lu Wenchao (1773, 1785), Ling Shu (1815), Sun Xinghua (1895) or Wei Yuan, except in respect of particular items of text.

Textual losses whose extent cannot be known occur elsewhere, such as at the end of pian no. 53; this is immediately before the loss of the whole of pian nos. 54 and 55, the latter being recovered by the Siku editors. Some of the textual losses in individual chapters, as taken from Su Yu and others, are noted in Chapter Six below.

123 He had consulted ‘Wu jin gao wen’ 武進皋文, i.e., the drafts of Liu Fenglu 劉逢祿 (1776–1829) of Wujin, mentioned also by Wei Yuan (see Wei Yuan ji 魏源集, preface 1982; first published 1976, p. 135). For Liu Fenglu’s work on the Gongyang and Zuo zhuan, see Hummel, op. cit., p. 518.

124 For the rescue by Ding Bing (1832–99) of books that were being used as wrap-ping paper, see Hummel, op. cit., p. 726.

125 Wei Yuan ji, pp. 134–6.

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The Chunqiu fanlu is not entered in the list of Chinese books avail-able in Japan that was compiled by Fujiwara Sukeyo 藤原佐世 (died 898). Two copies, one being the edition of Sun Kuang, are known to have been imported into Japan in the Edo period.126

Hypothesis

As has been seen scholars of Song times knew of copies of the Chunqiu fanlu that were of different lengths and included textual difficulties, such that they voiced their doubts regarding Dong Zhongshu’s author-ship of all or parts of the versions at their disposal. The book is best judged to be a collection of writings of which some originated from Dong’s expressions of his ideas, while others were added at later times, some perhaps being records of the discussions held in 79 CE. Dong’s name was attached as author of the collection for reasons that cannot be determined.

To the comments and opinions of traditional Chinese scholar-ship there may be added an idea that can as yet be no more than an unproven hypothesis. This is that the positions at which major breaks occur in the text, with some long passages being omitted, occur at points where what were once different portions, perhaps scrolls, of text were assembled to form a unity; such a unity being seen for certain in the Yu hai of Wang Yinglin, which carries a list of the titles of the 82 pian as appearing in the seventeen numbered juan.

The largest omissions of text are those of pian nos. 39 and 40, and no. 54, and also in some early editions of no. 55.127 The hypothesis rests partly on the thought that the most likely place both where extra passages can be added and where loss of text might be sustained is either at the start or the end of a scroll. In this way juan nos. 1–10, which at present include 38 pian, may be seen as deriving from one of the earlier versions of the Chunqiu fanlu which were known in Song times and were recorded as running to 10 juan and 37 pian.128 At least

126 See Ōba Osamu, Edo jidai ni okeru Karafune jitosho no kenkyū (1967), pp. 414A, 730D.

127 See pp. 217–8 above.128 See p. 197 above for the copy in ten juan that drew Lou Yu’s comments, and Lou

Yue’s reference to a copy of 37 pian (p. 201 above). The difference between 37 and 38 can perhaps be explained by Lou Yue’s further statement of the absence of pian no. 1 in copies other than the one received from Mr Pan.

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one scholar noted that ‘Chu Zhuang Wang’ which occurs now as no. 1 pian was present in only one of the Song copies and the possibility remains that it may have been an addition. Pian nos. 39 and 40 might well have been omitted if they took their place at some time as the initial text of a second and different scroll, which included juan nos. 11 and 12, with pian nos. 39, 40 and as now 41 to 53. A third scroll of juan nos. 13 to 17 had in this way originally included pian nos. 54 to 82 from which the initial pian, nos. 54 and 55, were dropped.

To this there may be added a further speculative suggestion, again awaiting proof. It may be noticed that the pian which are particularly concerned with interpretations of the Gongyang zhuan and the Chun-qiu (nos. 1–13, 15–17, 33–34) are included in juan nos. 1 to 9. Of all subjects treated in the Chunqiu fanlu it is this which is the most likely to have derived from Dong Zhongshu’s personal teaching. This gives rise to the possibility that the most original version of the work con-sisted of ten juan and that this may have started as an assembly of some of Dong’s own writings to which other essays were later attached.

I am indebted to Professor Nylan (personal communication) for pointing out that the title of pian no. 17 Yu xu 俞序 may indicate the closing point of what was at one time an integral part of the text, or possibly of what was a complete text.

Appendix

1. Huang Zhen’s examples of flawed argumentation129

1. ‘While following the right principles, Song Xiang Gong 宋襄公 met ruin; the Chunqiu treated him with honour’. Surely it cannot be that he followed the right principles?130

2. ‘Zhou being without the right principles, Qin vanquished [that kingdom]’. The text thus puts this on a parallel with Zhou’s van-quishment of Yin. Did Qin therefore vanquish a kingdom that lacked the right principles?131

129 Cited by CQFL, pp. 497–8, from Huang Shi dong fa ri chao 黃氏東發日鈔.130 CQFL 6 (17 ‘Yu xu’), p. 162. 131 CQFL 7 (25 ‘Yao shun bu shan yi Tang Wu bu zhuan sha’) p. 220. For Su Yu’s

rejection of this pian as being an authentic part of Dong Zhongshu’s writings, see p. 219.

transmission and authenticity of the chunqiu fanlu 223

3. ‘A will [zhi 志] like dead ashes [si hui 死灰], taking not to question as asking a question and not to answer as asking a question’. I fear that this is not a saying of a man of traditional learning [ruzhe].132

4. ‘The king in the expression wang zheng yue is taken to be Wen Wang’. I fear that the Chunqiu does not carry this meaning.133

5. ‘For Huangdi the posthumous title came first, for the four sover-eigns it came last’. I fear that there were no posthumous titles in the glorious days of old.134

6. ‘Shun took heaven as the master and Shang as the model; Yu took earth as the master and Xia as the model; Tang took heaven as the master and substance as the model; Wen Wang took earth as the master and pattern as the model’. I do not see how these statements are consistent with any reasoning (li).135

7. ‘Chu Zhuang Wang, while taking the view that heaven had not shown forth a disastrous event [and earth has not produced a sign of ill luck], prayed for deliverance to the mountains and rivers’. It is understandable that, with no warnings given by heaven, he was afraid. But offers of prayer to the mountains and rivers to seek deliv-erance from heaven’s disasters can hardly be a human reaction.136

8. ‘Human nature has the appearance of being good but cannot be good; only after awaiting training can it be good’. To say that human nature is already good is tantamount to there being no training. Kongzi said that he had not had the opportunity to see a good man; Mengzi’s statement that human nature is universally

132 CQFL 6 (19 ‘Li yuan shen’), p. 166. Comparison of the heart and mind (xin 心) with dead ashes is seen in the Zhuangzi and Huainanzi. (Guo Qingfan, Zhuangzi jishi 1B (2 ‘Qi wu lun’), p. 43; 7B (22 ‘Zhi bei you’), p. 738 (seen also in HNZ 12 ‘Dao ying’.4b); 8A (23 ‘Geng sang chu’), p. 790; 8B (24 ‘Xu wu gui’), p. 848; and HNZ 7 (‘Jing shen’).7b.

133 CQFL 7 (23 ‘San dai gai zhi zhi wen’), p. 184; see Su Yu’s notes. He notes here that identification with Wen Wang comes from the Gongyang zhuan.

134 CQFL 7 (23 ‘San dai gai zhi zhi wen’).16b. See Li ji 26 (‘Jiao te sheng’).16a; Yi li 3 (‘Shi guan li’).14b, with repeated references in the sub-commentaries; Baihu tong 2 (‘Hao’), p. 68 where the citation is introduced as from the Li ji.

135 CQFL 23.20a–23b, pp. 205–211 does not specify the four sovereigns whom Huang Zhen mentions.

136 CQFL 8 (30 ‘Bi ren qie zhi’), pp. 260–1. Rendering uncertain, with text from CQFL in parenthesis. Su Yu writes ‘This is not Dong’s invention’; see Shuo yuan 1 (‘Jun dao’).18b.

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good is excessive.137 Moreover this is not clear from ben ran zhi xing 本然之性.

2. Readily available editions

The text of the Chunqiu fanlu is most easily available in the following prints.

1. Si bu cong kan 四部叢刊; reprint of the text in the Si ku quan shu zhen ben 四庫全書珍本 (1773, or 1775); i.e., the text of Lou Yue, as preserved in the Yongle dadian.

2. Si bu bei yao 四部備要; reprint of the annotated edition of Lu Wenchao 盧文弨 (1717–96), first published in the Bao jing tang cong shu 抱經堂叢書, preface 1785. With the text of the Si ku as his basis, Lu Wenchao took due note of other early prints.

3. Text, based on that of the Si ku, with notes by Lu Wenchao and extensive commentary by Ling Shu 凌曙, preface 1815; included in the Huang Qing jingjie xu bian 皇清經解續編 of Ruan Yuan 阮元 (1829). and Long xi jing she congshu 龍谿精舍叢書 (of Zheng Guoxun 鄭國勳; 1917); reprinted with punctuation in Cong shu ji cheng (1991).

4. Su Yu 蘇輿, Chunqiu fanlu yizheng 春秋繁露義證; first pub-lished 1914, reprinted in facsimile, Taipei: Heluo tushu chubanshe, 1973; reprinted with punctuation (by Zhong Zhe 鐘哲) Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1992. This book includes a chronological table of Dong Zhongshu’s life and the text of the most important biblio-graphical notices about the work.

5. Lai Yanyuan 賴炎元, Chunqiu fanlu jin zhu jin yi 春秋繁露今註今譯 Taipei: Taiwan Shangwu yinshuguan, 1984; annotation and version in modern Chinese.

The Chunqiu fanlu is included in the Han Wei congshu 漢魏叢書 (1592) of Cheng Rong 程榮 (1447–1520); the Guang Han Wei congshu 廣漢魏叢書 (Ming) of He Yunzhong 何允中 (16th, 17th century) and the Zengding Han Wei congshu 增訂漢魏叢書 of Wang Mo 王謨 ( jin-shi degree 1778), the latter (1791) with a punctuated text. A text of eight juan only, with four pian missing (nos. 20, 24, 28, 29) is included in the Liang jing yi bian 兩京遺編 of Hu Weixin 胡維新 (preface 1582).

137 CQFL 10 (36 ‘Shi xing’) p. 311; see Lunyu 7 (‘Shu er’).8a; Mengzi 11A (‘Gaozi). 6b–7a.

CHAPTER SIX

THE CHAPTERS OF THE CHUNQIU FANLU AND THEIR CONTENTS1

Diversity of subject matter

The great variety in the subject matter and content of the Chunqiu fanlu does not always receive the attention that is its due. The chapters range over (a) explanations of the wording to be seen in the Chunqiu with its implications and lessons (e.g., pian nos. 11–17); (b) a thesis on historical processes as seen in the turn and turn about of the seat of rulership (e.g., pian no. 23); (c) a detailed account of rituals enacted to produce results that are beneficial to mankind (e.g., pian nos. 72, 74, 75); and (d) a review of the forces and rhythms whereby the universe maintains its eternal operation (e.g., pian nos. 58–64). There is no rigid adherence throughout the book to the precepts of a named school of philosophers nor is there a concentration on illustrating a particular theme, as may be seen in works such as the Zhuangzi, or the Xin yu of Lu Jia. A number of pian or chapters would seem to include two or more discrete sections that are not necessarily connected together closely (e.g., nos. 6, 8, 13).

Hsü Fu-kuan 徐復觀2 sees the Chunqiu fanlu as concerning three types of subject: expatiations or interpretations of the Chunqiu accord-ing to the Gongyang tradition; Dong Zhongshu’s concepts of heaven; and respect and services to heaven and sacrificial rituals in general. More recently Joachim Gentz has distinguished between different ways in which the Gongyang tradition is seen in the first sixteen pian of the book.3 Professor Queen, while not disagreeing with Hsü Fu-kuan,

1 Four scholars have made conspicuous contributions to the textual study of the Chunqiu fanlu and its interpretation, i.e., Lu Wenchao (1785) and Ling Shu (1815) for whom see Chapter Five pp. 218–9 above; Su Yu, whose Chunqiu fanlu yizheng (1914; facsimile reprint 1973; punctuated edition 1992) takes account of the two predeces-sors; and Liu Shipei, ‘Chunqiu fanlu jiaobu’ (1912).

2 Liang Han sixiang shi (1976), pp. 309–11.3 For the Gongyang tradition, see Chapter Eight below, p. 307. See Gentz, as cited

in note 6 below.

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identifies five ‘units’ of the text, which include exegetical chapters; Huang-Lao chapters; Yin-yang chapters; Five-phase chapters; and Ritual chapters.4

While no certain or comprehensive answer can be made to the fun-damental question of what parts of the Chunqiu fanlu and which of its ideas can be authentically traced to Dong Zhongshu, it is possible to identify certain pian which can probably or perhaps certainly be ascribed to different sources of various types. These include:

a. Pian which draw directly on the explanations of the Gongyang zhuan. In his study of the Gongyang zhuan, Joachim Gentz traces the development of certain concepts, such as correlative thought, or types of exegesis of the Chunqiu, as seen in the Gongyang zhuan, Chunqiu fanlu and some of the apocryphal texts.5 He sets out three different approaches towards the Gongyang tradition as seen in Chunqiu fanlu (pian nos. 1 to 17) as being those parts of that work that are most likely to be the authentic work, or represent the authentic views, of Dong Zhongshu.6 He distinguishes three stages of types of explanation of passages in the Chunqiu that may be seen in these chapters. (i) pian nos. 1 to 9, which seek to solve contradictions in the Gongyang tradi-tion and introduce certain new concepts such as those of zhi 質 and wen 文, and those of Tian; (ii) pian nos. 10 to 12 which define the principles of the Chunqiu, taking account of metaphysical concepts and omenology; (iii) pian nos. 13–16 which are of a mixed type and include reference to the Wu xing in one pian (no. 14). No. 17 is a postface.

b. Pian which concern the Wu xing. The extent of the attention paid to the Wu xing in the book is remarkable, amounting to nine pian that set out theory and one that describes its application to a matter of

4 Queen, From Chronicle to Canon (1996), pp. 76–112.5 For the wei texts, see Tjan Tjoe Som, Po Hu T’ung The comprehensive discussions

in the White Tiger Hall vol. 1 (1949), pp. 100–20; Anne Cheng, Étude sur le Confu-cianisme Han l’élaboration d’une tradition exégétique sur les classiques (1985), p. 87; and Chapter Eight below, p. 310.

6 Joachim Gentz, ‘The Past as a Messianic Vision: Historical Thought and Strategies of Sacralization in the Early Gongyang Tradition’ (2005), pp. 245–7; and more fully in ‘Language of Heaven, Exegetical Skepticism and the re-insertion of religious concepts in the Gongyang Tradition’ (2009), pp. 825–6, 833–4.

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ritual (no. 74). Hsü Fu-kuan7 draws attention to a statement in another text that is in parallel with a passage in Chunqiu fanlu (pian no. 38 ‘Wu xing dui’, p. 315). This is in Yantie lun 9 (54 ‘Lun zi’), p. 556, which cites Dong Sheng, Chancellor of Jiangdu, as expressing the same ideas, which concern the relationship and functions of father, son and mother. This is quoted by the Man of Learning (Wenxue 文學) with no reference to the Wu xing, as is conspicuous in the passage of the Chunqiu fanlu. How far this difference affects the authorship of either of these passages may be in question. Hsü Fu-kuan then cites the views of Tanaka Masami 田中麻紗8 on nine of the chapters that concern the Wu xing. Tanaka regards pian nos. 38, 42, 58, 59, which concern the two orders of mutual growth and conquest, as being Dong’s work; but he thinks that it is difficult to see how nos. 60, 61, 62, 63 and 64, which do not do so, are to be connected with Dong. Hsü Fu-kuan dis-agrees, arguing that the last five mentioned pian are just as authentic as the others. Dai Junren 戴君仁 argued against Dong’s authorship, as is summarized by Queen9. See also Chapter Seven below p. 264.

c. Pian 74 where the rites with which to induce a fall of rain depend basically on a belief in Wu xing and where the treatment of the ‘correct colours’ follows that cycle, as distinct from the principle for a choice of colours in pian no. 23. Pian no. 75, on seeking to prevent rain, does not refer to Wu xing or prescribe procedures that accord with that scheme; and the chapter bears a note that may show that Dong was personally concerned.

d. Pian no. 23 some of whose ideas relate much more to those of the time of the Baihu conference of 79 CE than to those of Wudi’s reign. For a translation, see the Appendix to Chapter Eight below.

e. Some pian relate to particular incidents in which Dong was con-cerned or said to have participated; e.g., no. 32 (see the Appendix p. 259), ‘Response to the king of Jiaoxi as to whether the counsellors of

7 Op. cit., pp. 314–5.8 Tanaka Masami, ‘Dui Chunqiu fanlu Wu xing zhu pian di yi kaocha’ (original

publication not traced; rpt. Ryō Kan shisō no kenkyū (Tokyo: Kembun shuppansha, 1986 but not available to the present writer).

9 Dai Junren, ‘Dong Zhongshu bu shuo wuxing kao’ (1968), pp. 9–19; Queen, op. cit., pp. 101–3.

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Yu deserved to be regarded as possessing ren’; no. 71 ‘Response on the conduct of sacrifices’; no. 75 ‘Prevention of rain’ (but not no. 74 ‘Invo-cation for rain’). No. 38 (‘Response on the Wu xing’) is presented as a dialogue between Liu De 劉德 (1) king of Hejian (155–130/129) and Dong Zhongshu; the two men might have met in 154, 148, 143 or 130 when the king attended the court at Chang’an, but there is no record of them so doing and it is at least questionable whether Wu xing would have formed an important topic of discussion at that time.

Summary of subjects of pian nos. 1 to 82

Distinctions may be drawn between the subjects that are treated in the different pian as follows.

1. Citation or explanation of particular passages or expressions of the Chunqiu, presumably according to Gongyang teaching. Nos. 1–8; parts of 13; 28; 29; 33; 34

2. Explanation of the methods or lessons of the Chunqiu. Nos. 9–12, parts of 13; 15, 16. 17

3. The relationship of heaven and earth, ruler and ruled and wuwei 無爲. Nos. 18, 19, 20, 35, 37, 38, 78

4. The quality of officials. No. 215. The ruler’s methods or qualities. No. 226. Continuity and change. No. 237. The cosmic cycle. Nos. 24, 778. Sovereignty, in theory and practice. Nos. 24, 25, 359. Sumptuary restrictions, wealth and poverty. Nos. 26, 27

10. Grades and ranks. No. 2811. Ethical values. Nos. 29, 30, 31, 32, 3312. Heaven’s warnings and disasters. Nos. 30, 3413. Human nature and its position in the cosmos. Nos. 35, 36, 8114. Correct terminology. Nos. 35, 3615. The Wu xing. Nos. 38, 42, 46, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 8116. Heaven and Yin Yang. Nos. 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 56,

57, 80, 8117. Heaven’s ideals and human practice. Nos. 44, 45, 7018. Heaven’s unitary system. No. 5119. Heaven and the ruler. Nos. 55, 7920. Heaven’s shu 數. No. 56

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21. The jiao 郊 services. Nos. 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 7122. Ritual details: ceremonial presents 72; of dress 14; for invoking or

stopping rain 74, 7523. Offerings to the gui 鬼 and shen 神. No. 76

It is possible that the treatment of each pian in the manner with which Arbuckle handled no. 73 might reveal conclusions regarding the dat-ing and authenticity of each one.10 Only a few of the pian concern sub-jects discussed by Dong Zhongshu elsewhere (i.e., heaven’s warnings; the choice of terms in the Chunqiu; the explanations of the Gongyang zhuan). Good reasons have been expressed to reject some pian (e.g., the nine which concern the Wu xing and no. 25) from Dong’s own writings and the present writer would find it hard to believe that nos. 23, 25, 26 derived from Dong Zhongshu himself: Doubts may also be cast on some other pian, including nos. 23, 28, 33, 35, 36 which, as is tentatively suggested, may have been written as accounts of the discus-sions of 79 CE. This suggestion, which can be no more than specula-tive, concerns only those pian which discuss topics that also feature in the Baihu tong, and it arises from the possibility that those pian may represent some of the ‘Gongyuan’ ideas that were voiced in the discus-sions but which the author of the received Baihu tong chose to omit.11

In the following summaries of the subject matter of the seventy-nine extant pian, Professor Queen’s classification is as given on p. 77 of her From Chronicle to Canon. SBCK refers to the version followed there, i.e., that of Lou Yue, as in the Yong le da dian and adopted by the Si ku editors; SBBY copies the text of Lu Wenchao. References given here are to the pagination of Su Yu’s edition (reprint). An aster-isk indicates that the text includes material set in the form of question and answer.

10 G. Arbuckle, ‘A Note on the Authenticity of the Chunqiu fanlu the date of Chun-qiu fanlu 73 “Shan Chuan song” ’ (1989), 226–34. See p. 255 below.

11 For the question of how far the received version of the Baihu tong may be accepted as an account of the discussions, see Tjan, op. cit., pp. 65, 175. For the cor-respondence of themes and ideas as between pian no. 23 and the San zheng chapter of the Baihu tong, see Chapter Eight below, p. 309.

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Juan no. 1Pian no. 1 p. 2; ‘Chu Zhuang Wang’ 楚莊王; Queen ‘Exegetical’This pian includes two parts. (a) pp. 1–13, which set out to explain the Chunqiu’s treatment of certain individual cases, with reference to the Gongyang; and (b) pp. 14–23 which concern the major question of why and how changes of institution are necessary and are not incon-sistent with a veneration for the ideals of the past, as is discussed at length in the Three Rescripts and Three Responses. In its handling of the succession of mythical monarchs and their different measures, as seen in the forms of music, part of the chapter may be compared and contrasted with the text of pian no. 23.

Pian no. 2* p. 23; ‘Yu bei’ 玉杯; Queen ‘Exegetical’From the Chunqiu’s criticism of certain events on the grounds of their timing, the text proceeds to discuss the distinction between zhi 質 and wen 文 and then the relationship of mankind, rulers and heaven. One section (Chunqiu lun shi er shi zhi shi 春秋論十二世之事 pp. 32–4) draws Su Yu’s rejection of authorship by Dong Zhongshu on six counts, and he further doubts the following section (Wen gong bu neng fu sang 文公不能服喪, pp. 34–5).12 A further passage, which concerns the liu yi 六藝 is judged to be misplaced; the accuracy of a citation from the Shang shu is subject to question. For the treatment of zhi and wen, see Chapter Seven below p. 275.

Juan no. 2Pian no. 3* p. 46 ‘Zhu lin’ 竹林; Queen ‘Exegetical’In a series of examples the chapter examines and explains the careful choice of expressions by the Chunqiu and its reasons together with the moral implications. One passage (p. 53) concerns the book’s distinc-tion between chang 常 and bian 變, which is also seen in pian no. 45 (p. 333).

For the probability that the titles Yu bei and Zhu lin were a later addition, see Chapter Five above p. 195.

12 See his notes, CQFL, pp. 34, 35.

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Juan no. 3Pian no. 4* p. 67 ‘Yu ying’ 玉英; Queen ‘Exegetical’The chapter treats a number of subjects and usages of the Chunqiu, such as the use of yuan 元 to denote the first year of a reign, the folly of seeking material profit, different values assigned to li and the avoid-ance of certain terms as a means of bringing out moral issues. It shows the consistency of the Chunqiu’s usages and expressions.

For the possible omission of 51 characters, see under pian no. 15 below. The title Yu ying is discussed in Chapter Seven below pp. 286–9.

For the absence of pian nos. 2, 3 and 4 from the text of the book seen by Wang Yinglin, (Yu hai 40.12a) see Su Yu’s note, CQFL, p. 23.

Pian no. 5* p. 85 ‘Jing hua’ 精華; Queen ‘Exegetical’The Chunqiu’s careful choice of expressions is seen in its explanation of the steps taken in the face of climatic excesses, prescriptions for human behaviour, the account of Huan Gong’s 桓公 dependence on Guan Zhong管仲 and its attention to motives where judicial cases are concerned. The Chunqiu shows how a single incident applies to other circumstances.

Juan no. 4Pian no. 6 p. 100 ‘Wang dao’ 王道; Queen ‘Exegetical’An initial statement in this very long pian concerns the Chunqiu’s use of the term yuan 元. This precedes an account of the blissful ages of the Wu di 五帝 and San wang 三王, followed by the enormities and natural disasters of the ages of Jie 桀 and Zhou 紂, and then the disruptions and disorderly conduct of Chunqiu times. In a prescrip-tion of the means whereby the supreme seniority of the Tianzi 天子 is maintained and the activities of lesser leaders restricted, the text is often resonant with passages of the Baihu tong. A large number of incidents recorded in the Chunqiu then set out items of correct con-duct at different social grades and degrees of kinship, so as to illustrate the maintenance of correct relationships and the motives of rulers and their reverse. There is a summary of the lessons to be learnt from these incidents.

Su Yu suspects that the final passage of the pian (p. 131, starting Gu ming wang 故明王) is text from pian no. 19 ‘Li yuan shen’ 立元神. Lu Wenchao (CQFL, p. 132) writes that the pian is disorderly, being probably a later addition to the Chunqiu fanlu.

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Juan no. 5Pian nos. 7 and 8 pp. 133, 135 ‘Mie guo’ shang, xia’ 滅國上下; Queen ‘Exegetical’The position of the ruler of all mankind is individual and unchallenged by others; that of lesser leaders may be helpless, as seen in the inci-dents of murdered rulers and destroyed states that are related in the Chunqiu.

Some text is missing and Qian Tang13 believes that this should form one pian. Su Yu believes that the text includes a separate section, start-ing at Qi Huan wei Yu zhi hui 齊桓爲幽之會 until the close of the pian (p. 136).

Pian no. 9 p. 137 ‘Sui ben xiao xi’ 随本消息; Queen ‘Exegetical’The sayings of Kongzi show that destiny is inexorable, as is known by the holy men and demonstrated in incidents recorded in the Chunqiu. Su Yu remarks that the text does not correspond to the title.

Pian no. 10 p. 140 ‘Meng hui yao’ 盟會要; Queen ‘Exegetical’A disquisition on the needs and ways of eliminating the evils that beset the whole world. (The Chong wen zong mu gives the title as ‘Hui meng yao’; Yu hai as ‘Meng hui yao’; SBCK as ‘Hui meng’; SBBY as ‘Meng hui yao’ as in the Ji tai 計臺 copy).

For comments on pian nos. 10, 11 and 12, and textual losses there, see Hsü Fu-kuan, Liang Han sixiang shi, pp. 334–8.

Pian no. 11 p. 142 ‘Zheng guan’ 正貫; Queen ‘Exegetical’An attempt to determine the moral principles upon which the Chunqiu is based, with some reference to the Six Categories ‘Liu liao’ 六料. Lu Wenchao (CQFL p. 144) expresses his difficulty in comprehending the text.

Pian no. 12 p. 144 ‘Shi zhi’ 十指; Queen ‘Exegetical’The ten ways in which the Chunqiu indicates the importance of certain incidents and their implications.

Hsü Fu-kuan, op. cit., p. 336, writes on a special characteristic of Dong Zhongshu’s interpretation of the Chunqiu. This is seen in his

13 In his list of copies of the Chunqiu fanlu, Lu Wenchao includes the item Jiading Qian Tang xue yuan jiao 嘉定錢唐學源校 (Jiading ran from 1208–24).

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use of zhi 指 to signify both the meaning expressed by the text and the ideas that the text cannot express, in the one case going beyond and in the other breaking down the framework of the Gongyang zhuan.

Pian no. 13 p. 147 ‘Chongzheng’ 重政; Queen ‘Exegetical’This pian would seem to be a collection of four unrelated sections; Su Yu observes that the first two do not correspond with the title and he believes that no. 4, whose text is defective, is comparable with pian no 9. (1) The Chunqiu’s change of yi 一 to yuan 元 and its use of the expression chun zheng yue 春正月. (2) Concentration of the holy man’s discussion on moral values and their subtle distinctions. (3) The importance of careful regulations to maintain human survival. (4) Incomplete.

The content of (2) is comparable with that of pian no. 4 ‘Yu ying’.

Juan no. 6Pian no. 14 p. 151 ‘Fu zhi xiang’ 服制像 [sometimes given as 象]; Queen ‘Exegetical’The symbolical meaning of forms of dress, as exemplified in the four symbolic animals of dragon, tiger, scarlet bird and black warrior. Lu Wenchao noted interpolations (pp. 153–4) and Su Yu suggested that the passage that introduces evidence from the Chunqiu is likewise an addition.

Pian no. 15 p. 154 ‘Er duan’ 二端; Queen ‘Exegetical’The two guiding principles (duan 端) of the Chunqiu and their rela-tionship to disasters and abnormalities and the development of minor into major matters. The Chunqiu records natural disasters as the minor indications of disorder that can be prevented, demonstrating the duan of heaven and the strength of heaven’s warnings. The ini-tial passage is marred by textual corruption, and Qian Tang14 (pp. 71, 155–6) suggests that a passage of 51 characters, which record a series of five stages in the Chunqiu’s methods, had been omitted from pian no. 4 ‘Yu ying’.

14 For Qian Tang, see note 13 above.

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Pian no. 16 p. 157 ‘Fu rui’ 符瑞; Queen ‘Exegetical’The Chunqiu reveals the significance of the changes in institutions; its principles apply universally.

The text is incomplete, possibly including passages omitted from other pian. Su Yu notes the appearance here of the idea of Tian rong 天容, as in pian no. 45.

Pian no. 17 p. 158 ‘Yu xu’ 俞序; Queen ‘Exegetical’Su Yu sees this pian as being highly valuable, taking the part of a preface, which discloses the order of Dong Zhongshu’s ideas. The text describes Kongzi’s methods and principles in compiling the Chunqiu, giving priority to actual events over unproved reports. The ruin of rulers arose from a failure to read the Chunqiu, which brings out the proper practice of sovereignty with its critique of the reverse. There are frequent references to the sayings of Kongzi’s disciples.

For the possibility that this pian marks a break in the collection of pian of the book, see Chapter Five above, p. 222.

Pian no. 18 p. 164 ‘Li he gen’ 離合根; Queen ‘Huang-Lao’The title does not correspond with the content of the pian. The ruler of mankind takes heaven’s activities as his model, thereby maintaining his high position, ruling without emotional prejudice. By wuwei 無為 he attracts support, thereby achieving results. A ruler’s servant takes earth’s manner of action as his model, enabling the ruler to act by tak-ing heaven as his model.

Su Yu draws attention to the comparable and partly duplicated con-tent of pian no. 78.

Pian no. 19 p. 166 ‘Li yuan shen’ 立元神; Queen ‘Huang-Lao’The content is similar to that of pian no. 18.

The ruler practises wuwei, achieving results with the help of men of ability, and being dependent on popular support. The success of the ruler and the ruled relies on the ideals of family relationships, as imparted by heaven, food and clothing as provided by earth, and the conventional conduct and music created by man. The ruler takes steps to respect these basic needs, acquiring men of ability together with a general concurrence and an appreciation of unseen, immaterial values.

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Pian no. 20 p. 172 ‘Bao wei quan’ 保位權; Queen ‘Huang-Lao’The power of a ruler rests on his ability to encourage, the fear that he can arouse and his ability to prevent certain types of action. While relying on his position of wuwei he must take care to apply rewards and punishments where they are appropriate.

Su Yu draws attention to comparable content in the Han Feizi.

Juan no. 7Pian no. 21 p. 177 ‘Kao gong ming’ 考功名; Queen ‘Huang-Lao’The correct ways of examining and testing (kao shi 考試) and of awarding rewards or exacting punishments are dependent on reality rather than reputation. There was a schedule for the tests carried out by the Zhuhou 諸侯, Bo 伯 and the Son of Heaven, and a system of classification of successful ability in three and nine grades.

Lu Wenchao and Su Yu remark on some obscurity in the pian and observe that the system of kao ji 考績 as mentioned was not practised in Han times. There is nothing to show that a system of nine grades was in operation then.15 For kaoji see Chapter Seven below p. 263.

Pian no. 22 p. 182 ‘Tong guo shen’ 通國身; Queen ‘Huang-Lao’Fulfilment of a person is seen in storing the essential elements; mainte-nance of a realm is seen in storing abilities, the heart being the basis of the self, the ruler being the regulator of the realm. These results follow from cultivating quietude and self-abasement.

The opening sentence Qi zhi qing zhe wei jing 氣之清者為精 is cited (with shen 神 in place of jing) as a well known saying, in a memorial presented by Li Gu 李固 in 143 CE (HHS 63, p. 2080).

Pian no. 23, p. 183 ‘San dai gai zhi zhi wen’ 三代改制質文; Queen ‘ Exegetical’Dynastic change takes place in a rhythm of three stages and there are four models whereby monarchs conduct their affairs. There is a regu-lar alternation between attention to substance (zhi 質) and pattern (wen 文).

15 For initiation of the system by Chen Qun 陳羣 in the kingdom of Wei, in 220, see SGZ 22, p. 635, Tong dian 14, p. 326 and Miyakawa Hisayuki, Rikuchō shi kenkyū: seiji shakai hen ( 1956), pp. 263–4.

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See Chapter Eight below for the subject matter and a translation of this pian, which may possibly be seen as an account of some of the dis-cussions held in 79 CE. Sagawa accepts the pian as representing Dong Zhongshu’s views.16 The Yu hai (40.12a) gives the title as ‘San dai gai zhi’, with the note ‘Given as “Wen zhi” in one copy’. SBCK and SBBY give ‘San dai gai zhi’.

Pian no. 24, p. 213 ‘Guan zhi xiang tian’ 官制象天; Queen ‘ Exegetical’The scheme of officials with their different titles and complements cor-responds with the figures that underlie the system of the heavens and the cycle of the four seasons, each with their three months. The da jing 大經 of heaven operates by the production of one from three, and the system of four. Heaven possesses ten guiding principles (duan 端) including those of the Wu xing. In the same way the composition of the human body corresponds with the numbers inherent in the system of heaven.

Pian no. 25, p. 219 ‘Yao Shun bu shan yi Tang Wu bu zhuan sha’ 堯舜不擅移湯武不專殺; Queen ‘Exegetical’The charge or gift of sovereignty is conferred or removed by heaven. The actions of Tang and Wu are defended in so far as those possessing dao conquer ( fa 伐), or take the place (dai 代 as read by Lu Wenchao), of those without it. Yu hai 40.12a gives the title as ‘Yao Shun Tang Wu’, as in SBCK and SBBY.

Su Yu (pp. 219, 221) states flatly that this was not written by Dong, adducing five reasons. He suggests that we have an account of the discussion held between Yuan Gu 轅固 and Huang Sheng 黃生 in the presence of Jingdi (SJ 121, p. 3122, HS 88, p. 3612), which was later inserted into the Chunqiu fanlu. Queen (pp. 18, 36, 82) dates the pian to Jingdi’s reign, evidently regarding it as authentic. See Chapter One above p. 19.

Pian no. 26, p. 221 ‘Fu zhi’ 服制; Queen ‘Exegetical’Sumptuary restrictions on matters such as dress, housing, or type of carriages accord with grade and rank and are not to be ignored simply thanks to a possession of wealth.

16 Sagawa, Shunjū gakuron kō (1983), p. 150.

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There are nine characters interpolated at the start of the pian. The text is almost identical with that of Guanzi 1 (4 ‘Li zheng 立政’: Fu zhi 服制.16a.b, and Luo Genze 羅根澤, Guanzi tan yuan 管子探源, Bei-ping: Zhonghua shuju, 1931, pp. 6, 24). Su Yu believes that the CQFL copied much of its text therefrom; for the authenticity of the received Guanzi, see W. Allyn Rickett, Kuan-tzu: a Repository of Early Chinese Thought (1965), pp. 13–6.

Juan no. 8Pian no. 27, p. 226 ‘Du zhi’ 度制; Queen ‘Exegetical’Moderation and regulation are necessary so as to limit excessive wealth and poverty; just as heaven does not provide more bounties than those that are needed, human beings should refrain from an unrestricted search for profit. Distinctions of dress simply serve the purpose of marking social distinctions.

The title of this pian is given as Tiao jun 調均 in some editions, as is noted in the Liang jing yi bian (8.1a); Yu hai reads Du zhi (see Chapter Five above p. 205). The subject matter is seen in other texts, and paral-lels are seen in Dong’s second and third responses (HS 56, pp. 2510, 2515). In addition its style resembles that of the three responses. In a statement of 166 CE (HHS 62, p. 2056), Xun Shuang 荀爽 refers to Dong Zhongshu’s zhi du zhi bie 制度之別, which both Li Xian 李賢 (651–84) and Su Yu relate to passages in the third response (HS 56, p. 2515); it seems more likely to relate to parts of the second response (HS 56, p. 2510). The SBBY carries a note, presumably by Lu Wenchao, ‘In the Pingxiang copy as no. 35’.

Pian no. 28, p. 233 ‘Jue guo’ 爵國; Queen ‘Exegetical’The use of titles ( jue 爵) and their allocation of estates in pre-imperial times, as seen in the Chunqiu and the numbers or complement of per-sons thus honoured. There are a number of citations from or allusions to the Chunqiu and the Gongyang zhuan.

Reference may be made to Chunqiu fanlu 23 for the distinctions between these jue during various pre-imperial dispensations. The sub-ject is discussed in Baihu tong 1 (‘Jue Zhi jue wu deng san deng zhi yi’ 爵制爵五等三等之異, p. 6. Pian no. 28 might possibly be seen as an account of the discussions held in 79 CE.

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Pian no. 29, p. 248 ‘Ren yi fa’ 仁義法; Queen ‘Exegetical’The distinction between ren (love of mankind) and yi is seen in the Chunqiu’s recognition of acts of ren as being exercised in respect of others and those of yi in correcting oneself, with love (ai 愛) as an element of ren, and suitability (yi 宜) as part of yi.

Pian no. 30, p. 256 ‘Bi ren qie zhi’ 必仁且智; Queen ‘Exegetical’The principle that courage or talent when practised without the love of mankind and wisdom can only be destructive, both of those being necessary to each other, is followed by a wide definition of ren and zhi. A second section gives a full exposition of the belief that heaven delivers warnings to mankind by way of major natural abnormalities (yi 異) and calamities (zai 災), these being the consequences of human error and showing heaven’s love for mankind.

The second sentence of the pian is seen in almost identical terms in Huainanzi 9 (‘Zhu shu shun’). 33b; Ames (Roger T. Ames, The Art of Rulership: a Study in Ancient Chinese Political Thought, 1983, p. 208) ‘For this reason, to be lacking in benevolence while being courageous and bold is a madman holding a sharp sword’; Jean Levi, (in Charles le Blanc and Rémi Mathieu, Philosophes taoïstes II Huainan zi, 2003, p. 413) ‘Un homme vaillant et audacieux dépourvu de compassion est un forcené armé d’un couteau tranchant’. Yu hai, SBCK and SBBY read 知 for 智.

Juan no. 9Pian no. 31, p. 263 ‘Shen zhi yang chong yu yi’ 身之養重於義; Queen ‘Exegetical’There is both a need for material gain to nurture the body and moral principle to nurture the heart and mind, that of moral principle being of paramount significance, superior to the possession of wealth. Real values may not be easily recognised but a voluntary popular apprecia-tion of the qualities and conduct of the former kings may result in an ordered way of life.

Possibly the character mo 莫 should precede chong 重. Yu hai 40.12a, SBCK and SBBY give the title as ‘Shen zhi yang’.

Pian no. 32, p. 266 ‘Dui Jiaoxi wang Yue dafu bu de wei ren’ 對膠西王越大夫不得為仁; Queen ‘Exegetical’In reply to a question raised by Liu Duan 劉端 (1) king of Jiaoxi (154–108 BCE) regarding the moral character of some of the counsellors

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of Yue who had advised their king to attack Wu, Dong Zhongshu, who is named, replied that there was no call for them to be regarded as men who possessed a love of mankind.

This incident is recorded in the biography of Dong Zhongshu (HS 56, pp. 2523–4) in slightly shorter form and with one major difference, in that this named Liu Fei 劉非, king of Jiangdu (153–127), rather than Liu Duan as the questioner. For the likelihood that this should better be ascribed to Liu Fei, see the Appendix below p. 259 below.

Yu hai 40.12a, SBCK and SBBY give the title as ‘Dui Jiaoxi’, with note ling zuo Jiangdu 令作江都.

Pian no. 33, p. 269 ‘Guan de’ 觀德; Queen ‘Exegetical’A general statement of the universal influence of heaven’s qualities and earth’s ways precedes a series of historical examples recorded in the Chunqiu and the Gongyang zhuan, showing (a) how inferiors and successors are not entitled to run counter to the decisions of their superiors and predecessors; (b) that there is a careful use of terminol-ogy with a choice of some expressions and avoidance of others that conveys the implicit meaning of the records of such incidents; (c) in particular there is a distinction between the non assimilated peoples (Yi 夷 and Di 狄) and those of the Zhong guo 中國 on the grounds of li and de; and (d) the Chunqiu makes clear the intentions behind certain actions.

For examples, see Chunqiu 50.18a and 54.11b with Gongyang zhuan 24.2a and 25.14b; and a direct citation from the Gongyang zhuan which concerns the nomination of an heir and the consequent status of his mother (母以子貴, CQFL 33, p. 273; Gongyang zhuan 1.12a). This subject is also treated in Baihu tong 4 ‘Li Taizi’ 立太子, p. 148 Lu Wenchao thought that parts of the text are corrupt. Possibly the pian might be seen as an account of some of the discussions held in 79 CE.

Pian no. 34 p. 275 ‘Feng ben’ 奉本; Queen ‘Exegetical’A somewhat disjointed pian. The same patterns are seen in the ordered conventions and hierarchies of li, the array of the heavenly bodies and features of the earth, based on multiplicity and permanency. Honour is due to heaven and earth, with acceptance of the occurrence of disas-ters as heaven’s warnings. Examples of the careful wording seen in the Chunqiu follow.

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There are many allusions to or even citations from the Gongyang zhuan (e.g., p. 278, to 3.1b and 22.4a,b; p. 279 to 11.12a).

Juan no. 10Pian no. 35* p. 2844 ‘Shen cha ming hao 深察名號’; Queen ‘ Exegetical’The importance of correct use of terminology lies in its determina-tion of distinctions, thereby leading to an understanding of heaven’s intentions. The ming 名 sort out minor differences, the hao 號 estab-lish major categories, as is seen in the five terms ranging from Tianzi 天子 to min 民, those used for seasonal sacrifices, or the two sets of five categories (ke 科) that illustrate the qualities of the king (wang 王) and the ruler ( jun 君). Ming are needed to distinguish right and wrong and as a means of maintaining the basic elements of a person’s charac-ter. Like heaven, human beings respond to two complementary urges, each bringing its own inhibitions. There is a long discussion of human nature and its power of taking good (shan 善) action. This is not able to develop without encouragement or help, which heaven provides by the establishment of kings. Different views of human nature include those of Mengzi and Kongzi, Mengzi’s view of the general goodness of human nature not being correct.

Part of the argument is set in question and answer form. Inclusion of a reference to Mengzi is seen in the Chunqiu fanlu only here, in pian no. 36 (p. 311) and 77 (p. 447); it does not appear in the Baihu tong, which includes attention to the question of terminology (e.g., BHT 2 ‘Hao’). Possibly the pian might be seen as an account of some of the discussions held in 79 CE. For the possibility that part of the text has been placed in pian no. 82, see the notes to that pian (p. 258 below).

Pian no. 36 p. 310 ‘Shi xing’ 實性; Queen ‘Exegetical’Much of this pian is a duplication or elaboration of the text of pian 35 and it is judged by Su Yu to be an addition by a later hand. Possibly it may be considered as a draft, or other version, of pian 35, likewise deriving from an account of the discussions of 79 CE.

Pian no. 37 p. 313 ‘Zhuhou’ 諸侯; Queen ‘Exegetical’Heaven’s will is not expressed but it is understood by the holy men as being beneficial to mankind. The purpose of establishing rulership is to bring benefit to all, and local rulers are set up to achieve this result.

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Zhuhou is explained as 諸候, with hou as ‘keeping watch’ and report-ing to the Tianzi.

At 117 characters this short piece may well be incomplete.

Pian no. 38* p. 314 ‘Wu xing dui’ 五行對; Queen ‘Five-phase chapter’The pian is framed as questions raised by Liu De 劉德 (1), king of Hejian (reigned 155 to 130/129), concerning the nature of xiao 孝 and answered by Dong Zhongshu who is named. In reply Dong sets out the Wu xing in the order of wood, fire, earth, metal and water, each one being associated with its respective season and forming the order ( jing 經) of heaven. The order of earth produces rain and wind, ascribing these successful results to heaven. Earth is the most highly honoured of the five, providing a model for loyalty and a son’s respon-sibility. The five are associated with musical notes (sheng 聲), tastes and colours.

There is some similarity with views ascribed to Dong Zhongshu by the Man of learning (wenxue) who remarks on Dong’s promotion of Yin Yang thought; he does not mention Wu xing; see YTL 9 (54 ‘Lun zi’), p. 556. Hsü Fu-kuan (op. cit., p. 382) writes about the supremacy accorded to tu土 and its qualities of xiao 孝 and zhong 忠.

Pian nos. 39, 40; no text preserved.

Juan no. 11Pian no. 41, p. 318 ‘Wei ren zhe tian’ 爲人者天; Queen ‘Yin-yang chapter’The creation of man, his body, blood, vital energy, conduct and emo-tions derive from heaven’s intentions and manifestations, the emo-tions fitting the four seasons. The ruler must understand that his origin derives from heaven. There follow three statements of the zhuan which do not appear to have been placed: (1) the fate and happiness of human beings depend on the conduct of one man, the ruler; (2) the government of man requires that the ruler loves them and instructs them in the human virtues; and (3) the people follow the ruler’s prac-tice of the virtues.

Possibly a passage of fifty-three characters includes text of strips misplaced from pian no. 70; see Su Yu’s note, p. 319.

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Pian no. 42, p. 320 ‘Wu xing zhi yi’ 五行之義; Queen ‘Five-phase chapter’The Five Phases are set out as the ‘sequence of heaven’ (Tian ci zhi xu 天次之序) with their relative spatial situations as the ‘sequence of father and son’ ( fu zi zhi xu 父子之序). Such a sequence is seen in each phase’s transmission to its successor, and the movements, activities of the five are in effect those of the loyal minister and the responsible son. Wood, Fire, Metal and Water, each in their appropriate positions, control the creative movements of the seasons; human beings must follow that sequence so as to accord with heaven’s way. Being in the centre, Earth acts as heaven’s richness and, as it were, its limbs; earth, whose beauties are not limited to one season, acts as the controller of the other four phases.

Pian no. 43 p. 323 ‘Yang zun Yin bei’ 陽尊陰卑; Queen ‘Yin-yang chapter’The superior position of Yang as compared with Yin corresponds with the relationship of heaven and earth and the growth of nature’s crea-tures. The treatment of certain events and the choice of expression of the Chunqiu brings out this principle. Yang is positive, moving in due order, Yin negative, moving against the due order, each with its appropriate qualities as determined by heaven, which keeps Yang close and Yin distant. The ruler must accord with heaven’s choice of favour-ing Yang.

There are parallels to parts of this pian in Dong Zhongshu’s first response (HS 56, p. 2502) and in the speech of the man of learning (wenxue) in Yantie lun 9 (54 ‘Lun zi’), p. 557. There is one possible reference to the behaviour of the Wu xing (p. 326).

The pian also brings out the distinction between quan 權 and jing 經, stating that ‘heaven takes yin as being quan and yang as being jing’ (p. 327). Jing may be taken as a set of permanently accepted prin-ciples, quan as expedients whose validity depends on circumstance; for further details, see the Appendix below, p. 261. The opening passage, which concens Tian zhi da shu is explained variously. For Tian shu 天數 and Da shu 大數, see pian nos. 53 and 56 and Chapter Seven below p. 289.

The notion of Yang arising from a full (shi 實) situation and resid-ing there and of Yin entering a situation that is void (kong 空 or xu 虛) is seen in this pian (p. 327) and recurs in a number of others, e.g., 46, p. 336, 47, p. 338, 48, p. 340, 49, p. 341, 52, p. 348. See Hsü Fu-

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kuan (op. cit., p. 377) for the supremacy of Yang over Yin rather than a duality in which both are equal.

Pian no. 44 p. 328 ‘Wang dao tong san’ 王道通三; Queen ‘Yin-yang chapter’The character wang was drawn up to depict the unifying figure of heaven, earth and man. Heaven creates the wang who follows heav-en’s charge (ming 命), order of being (shu 數), ways (dao 道) and intention (zhi 志). Heaven produces all manner of creation and exer-cises a limitless love of human beings. Human relationships and ideal qualities derive from heaven, and the ruler’s emotions are paralleled by the four seasons and correspond with the climatic conditions cre-ated by heaven. [These four types of energy are conferred on man by heaven and cannot be stopped, human emotions deriving from the four seasons, all set in their appropriate situations. An enlightened king so controls his emotions that they fit the season with their respec-tive natural processes of creation, maturity, sustenance and closure]. A ruler’s decisions and emotions follow the processes, rhythms and creations of heaven.

Part of the content of this pian is similar to that of pian no. 41. In some texts the passage whose summary is enclosed here in brackets (‘These four types . . . and closure’; from 夫喜怒哀樂, p. 330, to 人飺資諸天, p. 332), which includes an explicit reference to Yin-Yang’s part in the cosmic processes, appears in pian no. 43 ‘Yang zun yin bei’. See Hsü Fu-kuan (op. cit., p. 375) for the association of Yang with jing 經 and Yin with quan 權. For shu 數, see Chapter Seven below, p. 289.

Pian no. 45 p. 333 ‘Tian rong’ 天容; Queen ‘Yin-yang chapter’Heaven is characterized by order and comprehends opposing ideas, such as those of change (bian 變) and permanence (chang 常), the general and the particular, that yet operate collectively. The holy man seeks to match his emotions to the appropriate season as set by heaven and to fit his activities to the patterns of heaven.

Su Yu notes that the idea of Tian rong is also seen in pian nos. 16 ‘Fu rui’ and 56 ‘Ren fu tian shu’. For the distinction between change and permanence, see pian no. 3 ‘Zhu lin’, p. 53.

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Pian no. 46, p. 334 ‘Tian bian zai ren’ 天辨在人; Queen ‘Yin-yang chapter’To the question why the second of the yearly congresses of Yin and Yang takes place in mid-winter, the answer is that the forces of Yin and Yang rely on the powers of four of the Wu xing to activate the seasonal changes. The emotions appropriate to each of the seasons are both felt in mankind and are active in heaven; the seasonal forces of Yang and Yin are likewise apparent in mankind. The situation of Yin in the ‘void’ and Yang in the ‘full’ positions surely marks the partiality for Yang and de 德 as against Yin and xing 刑. While Yin serves to assist Yang, Yang leads the growth of living matter; the sequence of Three Kings follows Yang as do the distinctions of honour, with rulers and fathers fit to face Yang, servants and sons fit to face Yin. It is part of heaven’s system to accord priority to Yang over Yin.

Part of the content is comparable with that of pian no. 45. For the distinction between the ‘void’ and the ‘full’ (p. 336), see under pian no. 43 above. The sequence of Three kings (p. 336) probably accords with the idea of the San tong 三統 that is the subject of pian no. 23. Li Weixiong accepts the pian as deriving from Dong Zhongshu.17

Pian no. 47* p. 337 ‘Yin Yang wei’ 陰陽位; Queen ‘Yin-yang chapter’The movements of Yang and Yin to their respective situations of south and north where they operate effectively, heaven opting for Yang and its positive qualities (de 德).

Juan no. 12Pian no. 48 p. 339 ‘Yin Yang zhong shi’ 陰陽終始; Queen ‘Yin-yang chapter’The cyclical pattern of heaven’s ways is seen in the movements of Yin and Yang, with their expansion and contraction; change occurs with the growth of qi as regulated by heaven; Yin and Yang repair to their respective situations. The way of heaven is characterised by lun 倫, jing 經 and quan 權.

See Hsü Fu-kuan (op. cit., p. 381) for the division of the Yin Yang cycle into four stages of Tai Yang 太陽 and Shao Yin 少陰 etc.

17 Li Weixiong, Dong Zhongshu yu Xi Han Xueshu (1978), p. 69.

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Pian no. 49 p. 340 ‘Yin Yang yi’ 陰陽義; Queen ‘Yin-yang chapter’The theme replicates that of pian no. 48 with parallels drawn between heaven’s rhythms and human behaviour, and between the operation of the seasons and human emotions. A ruler’s conduct must follow the ways of heaven.

Pian no. 50 p. 342 ‘Yin Yang chu ru shang xia’ 陰陽岀入上下; Queen ‘Yin-yang chapter’Activated by Yin and Yang, movements take place in a complementary manner as is seen in seasonal changes. Such is the intention of heaven. Yin and Yang are thus positioned appropriately. For example, at the vernal equinox Yang is due east, Yin is due west, to be followed by their spatial movements and climatic changes, through the summer solstice, autumnal equinox and onset of winter.

There are no references to the Wu xing.

Pian no. 51 p. 345 ‘Tian dao wu er’ 天道無二; Queen ‘Yin-yang chapter’The complementary opposites that form heaven’s system of perma-nency are seen in the march of the seasons and the alternate move-ments, backwards and forwards, within the one system; Yang and Yin each has its function, Yang that of fulfilment, Yin that of attendance in the lower position. The processes that affect the creatures of nature take place within heaven’s unitary system and its recurring cycle. The same principle of a unitary system controls movements of the organs of the human body. It is also apparent in the characters 忠 zhong and huan 患, where the single 中 signifies a concentration of loyalty, the two-fold 中 spells duplicity.

Parts of the contents are seen in pian nos. 46, 50. The movements of the body are illustrated as ‘one hand draws the square, one the circle, neither being able to complete the figure’ (p. 346). The same example is seen in Hanfei zi 28 (‘Gong ming’), p. 223 and 33 (‘Wai chu shuo’ zuo xia), p. 304; and Lunheng 28 (82 ‘Shu jie’), p. 1155. For the authen-ticity of those chapters of the Han Fei Zi, see Bertil Lundahl, Han Fei Zi the Man and the Work (1992) pp. 100, 102–3 (for ‘Gong ming’) and 99, 147 (for ‘Wai chu shuo’ zuo xia).

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Pian no. 52 p. 347 ‘Nuan yu chang duo’ 暖燠常多; Queen ‘Yin-yang chapter’Heaven uses Yang to create growth and Yin to create purity, as may be seen by the seasonal and climatic changes wrought during the course of the year and in the fulfilment of nature’s processes by the tenth month. Thereafter Yin is in the void, supported, all unconsciously, by Yang. Abnormalities are the response to the loss of balance among mankind and between Yin and Yang, as may be seen in the events recorded during the days of the early rulers.

Su Yu suggests that the title should read Nuan qing shu duo 煖清孰多, as is given in the Yu hai (40.12a) SBCK and SBBY. A citation ascribed to the Shang shu (p. 349) varies from the text as received (Shang shu 3.18b) and is explained as deriving from the Jin wen ver-sion of that book. An inscription on a recently found pottery jar which is dated in 149 CE may suggest the idea of Yin Yang acting at the behest of heaven (see WW 2009.12, pp. 82–6).

Pian no. 53 p. 349 ‘Ji yi’ 基義; Queen ‘Yin-yang chapter’All manner of things inevitably have their complementary opposites, such as upper and lower, early and late, pleasure and anger, cold and hot, Yin and Yang, wife and husband, minister and ruler. All such combinations derive from the ways of Yin and Yang, each one of a pair operating with and affecting the activity of the other. The alter-nation of Yin and Yang is seen in Yang’s positive action and Yang’s adherence to the void, thus demonstrating heaven’s preference for Yang over Yin. The holy man’s choices follow the patterns set by heaven, for example bestowing the fruits of his virtues lavishly and punishments with moderation. Heaven’s major order (da shu 大數) of ten operates without sudden changes; human actions should likewise avoid extremes. See under pian nos. 44 above and 56 below, for Tian shu and Chapter Seven below, p. 289.

For a comparable classification of pairs of opposites, see HS 60, p. 2671 (in a response submitted by Du Qin 杜欽 29 BCE) and Shuo yuan 18 (‘Bian wu’).4b. Much of the contents of this pian, such as the alternate functions of Yin and Yang, is seen in other pian. Text appears to be missing at the end.

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Pian no. 54; no text preserved.

Juan no. 13Pian no. 55 p. 353 ‘Si shi zhi fu’ 四時之副; Queen ‘Yin-yang chapter’The various processes of warming, heating, purifying and storage that are achieved in the four seasons are all parts of heaven’s creation; in a comparable way the ruler’s actions of qing 慶 celebration, shang 賞 reward, fa 罰 castigation and xing 刑 punishment correspond with the seasons as a creation of its de 德. Both these processes and actions are unavoidable and must take place in their due seasons, without con-flicting with one another. The Chunqiu criticises a ruler’s actions if they take place out of season.

The text of this pian survived only in the print derived from the Siku collection. Su Yu refers readers to pian no. 79; see also nos. 44, 49.

Pian no. 56 p. 354 ‘Ren fu tian shu’ 人副天數; Queen ‘Yin-yang chapter’The pian concerns the interlocking character and function of heaven, earth and man and the growth of matter. Man is pre-eminent thanks to his practice of ren and yi, the parts of his body corresponding with heaven’s series, or natural order (Tian shu), features of the earth and the heavenly bodies. By standing upright man is distinguished from all creatures, the upper and lower halves of his body being of the nature of Yang and Yin respectively. The parts of the body and their functions conform with the divisions and enumerations of heaven and the Wu xing, whether by number or by category.

Lu Wenchao points out that there were 396 characters missing at the start of this pian in all copies of the text except the one drawn from the Siku.18 There are comparisons with text seen in Baihu tong 4 (‘Wu xing pian’ 五行) p. 198 and 8 (‘Xing qing pian’ 性情), pp. 382–3. For Tian shu see Chapter Seven below, p. 289.

Pian no. 57 p. 357 ‘Tong lei xiang dong’ 同類相動; Queen ‘Yin-yang chapter’All manner of creation, all items attract items to which they are alike, as may be seen when musical notes are struck. In like manner, portents

18 Text of 396 characters would fill one complete folio of the Song print of 1211 (at 10 × 18) and two further columns.

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both auspicious and inauspicious precede the rise and fall of rulers; dragons are used to bring rain; fans to dispel heat. The forces of Yin and Yang operate on the same principle, corresponding with heaven’s intentions and affecting human actions, the rise and fall of their qi 氣 fitting their appropriate categories in the three realms of heaven earth and man. Rain is induced to fall or to desist falling by stimulating Yin and Yang, but not by action of the spirits (shen 神); disaster and good fortune arise in the same way. Responses by like things to like, as with musical notes, take place without physical manifestation and are mis-takenly thought to arise spontaneously (ziran 自然), whereas they are in fact due to a positive action.

The basic idea that is expressed here and its phraseology are seen in a number of other texts, including Zhuangzi 24 ‘Xu wugui’, p. 839, ‘Yufu’, p. 1027; Huainanzi 6 (‘Lan ming’), 3a; Xunzi 27 ‘Da lue’, p. 382; Lü shi chunqiu, You shi lan (‘Ying tong’), pp. 677–8; Li ji 53 (‘Zhong yong’).4a; and a fragment of the Chunqiu yuanming bao (cited by Su Yu, p. 358).

Pian nos. 58–64: see p. 227 above and Chapter Seven p. 264 below

Pian no. 58 p. 361 ‘Wu xing xiang sheng’ 五行相生; Queen ‘Five-phase chapter’A preamble, which applies to pian nos. 58 and 59 writes that the Wu xing result from the divisions that follow the unity of the qi of heaven and earth. They are the five offices of state; while when acting together they produce one another, when separated they overcome one another;19 compliance with them brings about order, counter movements bring chaos.

The pian sets out the activities and associations of the five in the order of wood, fire, earth, metal and water, each with its spatial situa-tion; ideal values or purposes; senior dignitary of state (e.g., the Sinong司農 for wood) with his responsibilities; and the representative ruler or moral leader of antiquity with his achievements, each giving rise to the succeeding phase. Just as the senior dignitaries give rise to one another in sequence (e.g., Sinong to Sima, or Situ to Sikou), so does each phase produce its successor.

19 Rendering doubtful for bi xiang sheng er jian xiang sheng 比相生而間相勝. See Lai Yanyuan, Chunqiu fanlu jin zhu jin yi (1984) p. 334, Li Weixiong, op. cit., p. 70.

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In the list of titles given in the Yu hai that of pian no. 59 precedes that of no. 58, where the two characters Wu xing are missing. SBBY notes that the order has been corrected.

Pian no. 59 p. 366 ‘Wu xing xiang sheng’ 五行相勝; Queen ‘Five-phase chapter’The five are equated or identified with one of the senior dignitaries of state, such as the Sinong, exactly as in pian no. 58. Historical anec-dotes, of Chunqiu times, exemplify how, if such a dignitary misbehaves or misuses his authority so as to achieve the wrong purposes with evil results, he is punished by a colleague. For example, the Situ 司徒 of Metal is punished by the Sima 司馬 of Fire; in like manner the phase of Fire overcomes that of Metal.

Pian no. 60 p. 371 ‘Wu xing shun ni’ 五行順逆; Queen ‘Five-phase chapter’Each one of the Five phases is marked by abundance, and the benefi-cent conduct of the ruler leads to contentment and prosperity, full growth in the natural world and the occurrence of auspicious omens. But behaviour in a manner that runs counter to the character of the phase in an oppressive or extravagant way leads to disaster.

The theme of the disastrous results of activities that are out of sea-son is spelt out in the versions of the ‘Yue ling’ in the Lü shi chunqiu, Liji and Huainanzi.20 Yu hai 40.12a, SBCK and SBBY give the title as ‘Wu xing ni shun’.

Pian no. 61 p. 381 ‘Zhi shui Wu xing’ 治水五行; Queen ‘Five-phase chapter’The Five phases operate each for a period of seventy-two days and each with its appropriate activities and ban on certain others. Parts of the text are duplicated in pian no. 60. For a similar view of the year in periods of seventy-two days, see Huainanzi 3 (‘Tian wen’)16b.

The meaning of the title is not clear. Ling Shu explains it by the suggestion of the commentary and sub-commentary to the Shang shu, that if water, first of the Wu xing, loses its function, the other four are

20 Versions of the Yue ling are given in Lü shi chun qiu (initial parts of juan 1–12), Liji 14–17, and HNZ 5 ‘Shi ze’, the latter being translated in John S. Major, Heaven and Earth in Early Han Thought Chapters Three, Four, and Five of the Huainanzi (1993) pp. 224–68. See Loewe (2004), Men who Governed Han China pp. 464, 468.

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similarly affected. Huang Zhen’s reading of the title as Shui zhi wu xing may add some support to this.

Juan no. 14Pian no. 62 p. 383 ‘Zhi luan Wu xing’ 治亂五行; Queen ‘Five-phase chapter’There are brief notes on the harmful results that follow when one phase throws another into confusion.21

Much of this is seen in Huainanzi 3 ‘Tian wen’, where the results are linked to particular days as denoted by the terms of the sexagenary cycle.

Pian no. 63 p. 384 ‘Wu xing bian jiu’ 五行變救; Queen ‘Five-phase chapter’Natural upsets that occur in each of the seasons or periods of the Five phases, such as excessive rain in spring, follow from human misbehav-iour or severities, such as excessive demands for service or taxation. The ensuing popular distress may be alleviated by human action such as mitigation of such burdens. Some of these upsets follow from a human failure to promote men of integrity, or from extravagance, or a lack of attention to ethical values.

Pian no. 64 p. 387 ‘Wu xing wu shi’ 五行五事; Queen ‘Five-phase chapter’The treatment of the subject in this pian varies considerably from that of the other pian that concern the Wu xing and is comparable with that seen in the Shang shu da zhuan.22 It is the only pian where they are listed in the order of Wood, Metal, Fire, Water and Earth, i.e., each one being succeeded by its ‘conqueror’.

The pian follows the list of five activities or duties (wu shi 五事) that are specified in the ‘Hong fan’ 洪範 chapter of the Shang shu as the properties that attend the five phases, i.e., mao 貌, yan言, shi 視, ting 聽 and si 思. Failure of the king to comply with the character of each one results in natural disorders such as storms in the summer. Explanations or elaborations of the five activities are given in terms of

21 Gan 干; rendered ‘se heurte’ by Mathieu, in Charles Le Blanc and Rémi Mathieu, Philosophes taoïstes II Huainan zi (2003), p. 122. The meaning is perhaps that of the misplacement of activities appropriate for one phase to another.

22 Shang shu da zhuan 3.9a; see Men who Governed, pp. 461, 475–6.

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the good results that follow from a king’s compliance and the untow-ard climatic events that follow his activities if they are not suitable for the season.

Pian nos. 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 71; for the relationship of these pian and possibility that parts of the received text have been misplaced, see Chapter Seven below p. 274.It is suggested below that these chapters cannot be dated to Dong Zhongshu’s own time. However, Marianne Bujard accepts that they represent Dong’s views, and cites Arbuckle who sets forth reasons to believe in their authenticity.23 Bujard has also provided a translation of these chapters.24

Pian no. 65, p. 394 ‘Jiao yu’ 郊語; Queen ‘Ritual chapter’.Huang Zhen observed that the text was deficient in the ideas of this pian regarding service to heaven.

The pian takes the form of a defence of the jiao services to heaven, explicitly raising the question of the grounds upon which they should be abolished. As is seen below (Chapter Seven, p. 267), the state cults of the time of Wendi, Jingdi and Wudi did not take the form of jiao, performed at the bounds of Chang’an and addressed to heaven and earth. Such services were introduced only in the reign of Chengdi, and the question of abolishing them arose only in 14 (or possibly 16) and 4 BCE. It would thus seem that pian no. 65 was appropriate, not to the period of Dong Zhongshu’s lifetime, but only to one when reten-tion or abolition was an active issue in public life. For this reason it seems extremely doubtful whether the pian can have derived from Dong Zhongshu himself. It is more likely that it was composed to suit the circumstances of either 14 (or 16) or 4 BCE, and that at some time, possibly much later, authorship was attributed to Dong Zhongshu so as to lend it weight. The reasons put forward by Arbuckle for believing in Dong’s authorship do not seem to invalidate the possibility that the chapters were written by another hand for the occasion of 14 BCE.25

23 Bujard, La sacrifice au ciel dans la Chine antique théorie et pratique sous les Han occidentaux (2000), pp. 30, 39; she cites a ‘Preliminary work’ of 1991 by Gary Arbuckle, The jiao “suburban” sacrifice in the Chunqiu Fanlu, which is not available to me.

24 Bujard, op. cit., pp. 43-61.25 These are as summarised by Bujard, op. cit., p. 40. Arbuckle comments on the

use of the expression mei si 昧死 as seen in the Chunqiu fanlu and notes that it was abandoned during Wang Mang’s reign; its appearance here is therefore evidence of

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The pian names eight activities which are inexplicable and give rise to fear, and Kongzi’s identification of three objects of fear, respect and service. These include the sayings of the holy men who were capable of seeing some matters that elude other mortals, and who laid great stress on the jiao services. Why should these be abolished, with the calamities that would follow? Kings of the past paid great attention to the services to heaven, highest of all spirits, at the jiao. Zhou and Qin, who had each attained the position of Son of Heaven, worshipped heaven in different ways and Qin did not succeed in winning heaven’s blessing in the same way as Zhou had. It is high time to decide which ceremonies are suitable. The ‘Son of Heaven’ should treat his father with the behaviour due from a son or forfeit any kind treatment by heaven. The reason why calamities are occurring in a world that lacks harmony is that the teachings of a Son of Heaven are not being put into effect.

Juan no. 15Pian no. 66, p. 402 ‘Jiao yi’ 郊義; Queen: ‘Ritual chapter’.The model set in the Chunqiu provides for a king to worship heaven once at the start of the year, at the jiao, and to sacrifice at his ancestral shrines four times annually, in the due seasons. Heaven, being lord of all the spirits and the one to be most highly honoured by the king, is worshipped with the change of the sui 歳 on the first xin 辛 day of the zheng正 month.

Notes to the pian consider the difficulty in reconciling two tradi-tions, which prescribe either the first xin day of the zheng month, or the day of the winter solstice for performance of the jiao.

Pian no. 67, p. 404 ‘Jiao ji’ 郊祭; Queen ‘Ritual chapter’.According to the principles of the Chunqiu, sacrifices at ancestral shrines were suspended at the time of mourning for a parent, but those at the jiao were not, such was their importance. It is a prime error for scholars and officials to question whether, in the present state of popular penury and distress, there are sufficient resources to maintain the jiao. In order to bear his title correctly, the Son of Heaven must worship heaven in the same way as a son must nourish his father. That

composition of the piece before then; see Su Yu p. 418. The text that is given in the Gu wen yuan reads mao si 冒死.

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is why he first performs the jiao at the start of the year, and only then renders his duty to earth, as the correct procedure for a son; and when about to raise armed forces, he must first perform the jiao so as to inform heaven, before daring to engage in battle. Wen Wang behaved in this way, as may be seen in interpreting a passage of the Songs.

The citation is from Shi jing ‘Da ya’ 13(3).1a ‘Yu pu’ 棫樸.

Pian no. 68, p. 406 ‘Si ji’ 四祭; Queen ‘Ritual chapter’.The four seasonal sacrifices, each with its own name, were the occa-sions for the service that a son must necessarily pay to his ancestors and parents, with offerings of the earth’s produce as this became mature for each season. Such is the principle of heaven and the sig-nificance of earth.

As presented, the pian here includes 63 characters 地之萊茹 . . . 免於罪矣 (pp. 407–8) that were placed originally in pian no. 70 ‘shun ming’ 順命. This passage observes that an auspicious day was chosen for presentation of these offerings, with fasting and purifica-tion. The passage that follows, starting yi shou ming 已受命 and con-tinuing to the end of the pian, largely duplicates the final part of pian no. 67, with Wen Wang’s example and the citation from the Songs.

Pian no. 69, p. 408 ‘Jiao si’ 郊祀; Queen ‘Ritual chapter’.A citation from the Shi jing, which mentions the services of the jiao, illustrates the way in which heaven gives orders to the leader of a rul-ing house as his son and how the son is thereby obliged to maintain that relationship. Sacrifices to heaven take priority over those offered to other deities, as is shown in the Chunqiu; in addition the jiao to heaven depend on the auspicious results of divination, whereas the jiao to other spirits do not; moreover, unlike other services, the jiao are not suspended by the incidence of mourning.

The pian concludes with the text of an invocation to almighty heaven at the jiao, emended by Lu Wenchao in the light of passages in the Da Dai Li ji 13 (‘Gong guan’ 公冠; usually given as ‘Gong fu’ 公符), p. 213 and Bo wu zhi 5.3b (SBBY ed.). A brief final note alludes to the nine sentences ( ju 句) of the invocation, nine being a Yang number.

See Shi jing 18(2).12b, Da ya, ‘Yun han 雲漢’.

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Pian no. 70, p. 410 ‘Shun ming’ 順命; Queen ‘Ritual chapter’.This is perhaps the most unsatisfactory pian of the Chunqiu fanlu, with somewhat disjointed contents, textual corruption and displace-ment. The text is mainly concerned with the fear and respect due to heaven and the all-powerful human authorities. There is no direct mention of the jiao which are implicit in allusions, rather than cita-tions, to two passages in the Chunqiu 21 (Xuan 3).14a, Legge, p. 292; and 26 (Cheng 7).15a, Legge, p. 362. It seems likely that the pian has been incorrectly placed among those others which are specifically con-cerned with the jiao.

Heaven is the progenitor of all manner of creation; Yin and Yang do not give rise to creation by themselves; they do so only by co-operation with heaven and earth. A hierarchy, marked by grades or jue 爵, runs from the Tianzi, Zhuhou, sons, and ministers, and to wives, with their receipt of orders from their superiors; the consequences if they do not accept those orders are exemplified; such are the crimes of failure to comply with heaven.

The passage which follows is introduced by Kongzi’s statement of the three matters worthy of fear (Tian ming; men of power and authority; and the sayings of the holy men) also stated in those terms in pian no. 65 (p. 396). It is thought to have been misplaced, being disconnected with the text that precedes it.

A passage of 63 characters 地之萊茹 . . . 免於罪矣 originally in this pian has been moved to pian no. 68 pp. 407–8 (see above); a passage of 53 characters 傳曰唯天子受命 . . . 此之謂也 originally here has been moved to pian no. 41 (p. 319).

Pian no. 71, p. 414 ‘Jiao shi dui’ 郊事對; Queen ‘Ritual chapter’.The text of this pian was included in the collection Gu wen yuan, as one of Dong Zhongshu’s writings and has been discussed above. It reduplicates much of the content of the preceding pian and like them fits the occasion of 14 BCE rather than questions at issue during Dong’s lifetime. See Chapter Three above, p. 211.

Juan no. 16Pian no. 72 p. 419 ‘Zhi zhi’ 執贄; Queen ‘Ritual chapters’.This pian is best seen in comparison with Baihu tong 8 Rui zhi 瑞贄 ‘Jian jun zhi zhi 見君之贄’ (p. 355; Tjan, op. cit., p. 543), which is con-cerned with precisely the same subject, i.e., the distinctions between the items that took their place as ceremonial presents, fragrant wine

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given by the Tianzi, jade by the Gong 公 and the Hou 侯, lambs by the senior officials (qing 卿), wild geese by the counsellors (da fu 大夫). Each one of these has its own qualities and virtues, appropriate to the status and function of the persons concerned. The pian does not include prescriptions for officials (shi 士) and commoners (shu ren 庶人) as are seen in the Baihu tong and in Li ji (5 ‘Qu li’).25a that is cited there. For this reason Su Yu regards the Chunqiu fanlu version as being defective. That the Baihu tong does not include prescriptions for the Tianzi is understandable in view of the title ‘Jian jun zhi zhi’ that is given to the passage. The Shuo yuan (19 ‘Xiu wen 修文’) 7b–9a runs through the scheme from the Son of Heaven to commoners.

The similarities of treatment between this pian and the passage in the Baihu tong suggest that it derived from an account of the discus-sions of 79 CE, as an explanation of existing conventional practices whose niceties were no longer being understood.

Pian no. 73 p. 423 ‘Shan chuan song’ 山川頌; Queen ‘Ritual chapters’.A praise of the qualities of hills and rivers in so far as they correspond with the capabilities of men blessed with fine characteristics.

On the basis that expressions seen in this pian are also seen in the Shuo yuan of Liu Xiang (79–8 BCE), Arbuckle concludes that ‘We may thus say with a fair degree of assurance that the “Shan Chuan song” predates the Shuo yuan, and has a decent chance of being what it purports to be—an authentic text from the hand of Dong Zhongshu’ (G. Arbuckle, ‘A Note on the Authenticity of the Chunqiu fanlu; the date of Chunqiu fanlu 73 “Shan Chuan song”; see p. 234.

Pian no. 74 p. 429 ‘Qiu yu’ 求雨; Queen ‘Ritual chapters’.

Pian no. 75 p. 437 ‘Zhi yu’ 止雨; Queen ‘Ritual chapters’.For these two pian see Chapter Four above, pp. 165–72, and a more extended study in Loewe, DMM Chapter 7. In view of its references to the Wu xing, pian no. 74 can hardly be seen to have derived from Dong Zhongshu’s time. Liu Shipei, ‘Chunqiu fanlu jiaobu fu yiwen jibu’ C.7a–13b takes account of Ling Shu’s notes on these pian. He draws attention to a passage of 128 characters retained in Yiwen leiju 100 but not in the received text, and to variant readings for other pas-sages as seen there and in Tong dian 43 (‘Li’ 3), notes to Hou Han shu (tr.) 5, p. 3118, Song shu (‘li’ 2), p. 385 and Taiping yulan 762. He gives

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his own preferential readings, pointing out at least once (10b) an error that was made by commonplace scholars.

Pian no. 76 p. 439 ‘Ji yi’ 祭義; Queen ‘Ritual chapters’.Different offerings of natural produce, as appropriate for the seasons, are presented to the ancestral shrines in acknowledgement that these are the gifts bestowed by heaven on these four occasions, thereby honouring heaven and the ancestral shrines. By these offerings a man of quality expresses his sincerity seeking to communicate with those beings that are most to be revered and according suitable treatment to those that are neither seen nor heard, the gui 鬼 and the shen 神. By means of offerings it is possible to see the invisible; those who can do so understand both the commands of heaven, and the gui and the shen.

Kongzi’s words and the practices of the holy men have shown the importance of taking a personal part in making these offerings and the Songs includes an injunction to that effect.

See Lunyu 3 (9 ‘Ba yi’).7a and Shi jing ‘Xiao ya’ 13(1) ‘Xiao ming’.25a. The argument of the pian includes a play on words between ji 祭 and cha 察.

Pian no. 77 p. 443 ‘Xun tian zhi dao’ 循天之道; Queen ‘Huang-Lao’The cosmic cycle is seen operating in heaven and earth according to Yin Yang. It is dependent on points of change, namely the two calen-drical points of he 和 and the two of zhong 中, and on the growth of qi in the various stages of the seasons. Heaven’s information to man is conveyed in the changes of nature’s creations; man’s survival depends on his own activities. There is no call on the Wu xing.

In a note cited at the start of the pian, Zhang Huiyan 張恵言 (1761–1802) observes that there is considerable corruption from here and in the pian that follow. The two he are explained as the equinoxes, the two zhong as the solstices.

Juan no. 17Pian no. 78 p. 458 ‘Tian di zhi xing’ 天地之行; Queen ‘Huang-Lao’Lu Wenchao writes of textual omission close to the beginning and has changed the situation of a passage of 124 characters (see p. 460); Qian Tang26 sees the pian as including two sections.

26 For Qian Tang, see note 13 above.

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Heaven’s activities and the ruler’s adoption of them are described in the same, but somewhat fuller, terms as they are in pian no. 18, together with a reference to Yin Yang. Earth’s manner of action is described at greater length, as are the corresponding duties of a ruler’s servants, with reference to the ideals of loyalty and good faith. A sepa-rate section draws a detailed comparison between the place of the ruler in the realm with that of the heart in the human body. Abstinence from purposeful action brings complete peace.

One short passage starting Tian zhe wu gang 天者務剛 (p. 459) is seen in a remonstrance submitted by Huang Qiong 黃瓊 in 160 CE; HHS 61, p. 2037.

Pian no. 79, p. 462 ‘Wei de suo sheng’ 威德所生; Queen ‘Yin-yang chapters’Heaven is imbued with the four functions or qualities of harmony (he 和), moral strength (de 德), equity (ping 平) and authority (wei 威) that correspond with cold and heat and the four seasons and take effect in their due order. Human beings must call on those qualities so as to moderate their passions and may only then take positive action such as bestowing rewards or ordering punishments.

A ruler of mankind stands possessed of these heavenly powers with which he may influence his people. His authority and moral strength correspond with cold and heat, winter and summer. In the same way joy and anger each have their correct season for expression. The Chun-qiu verifies these principles.

There is no direct reference to incidents in the Chunqiu. The forces of Yin and Yang are not specified in this pian whose contents is com-pared by Su Yu with that of no. 55 ‘Si shi zhi fu’.

Pian no. 80, p. 463 ‘Ru tian zhi wei’ 如天之爲; Queen ‘Yin-yang chapters’The text of this pian, which is one of the more intractable of those in the Chunqiu fanlu, may include a passage detached from a differ-ent pian or possibly a passage that belongs elsewhere. It treats of a potential contradiction. This is between the need to comply with the unalterable pattern of the four seasons, that cannot be held back and which is seen in the workings of heaven, and the activities, emotions and intentions of mankind. The influence of Yin and Yang is imma-nent in heaven and mankind and in the continuous processes of emo-tional and climatic movements.

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Lu Wenchao (p. 465) has included 140 characters starting yi dai si shi ye 義待四時也 (p. 464) from pian no, 78. See also Su Yu’s note on p. 464.

Pian no. 81, p. 465 ‘Tian di yin yang’ 天地陰陽; Queen ‘Yin-yang chapter’Nine items, which are specified as heaven, earth, yin, yang, wood, fire, earth, metal and water, together with man, form ten to make up the complete series for heaven. Of these man is the most highly honoured of all manner of creation. The changes of heaven and earth and the growth and contraction of Yin Yang exercise a pervasive effect on the stability of mankind, whose situation is comparable with that of fish in water. It is essential for the king to understand heaven’s ideas and intentions, to be achieved by watching the movements of Yin Yang and the course of the Wu xing.

There is a possibility that parts of this text are misplaced from the following pian; see the notes to pian no. 82 (p. 473).

Pian no. 82, p. 468 ‘Tian dao shi’ 天道施; Queen ‘Yin-yang chapters’There are several disjointed themes. There is a comprehensive under-standing whereby the holy man takes a universal view; the hope of material profit leads to civil disturbance; the man of quality always acts with li, thereby eliminating discord. The holy man understands the dangers of corruption by external matters and retains his integ-rity. Terminology is important so as to maintain distinctions, such as between those closely and those distantly related, or between pattern (wen) and substance (zhi). Moral values are imparted by the holy men, from heaven.

A number of suggestions have been made, and partly accepted, regarding the placement of parts of the text. (1) The passage following gong guo 功過 on p. 466 should be linked to a disordered strip shen ming luan shi 神明亂世 in the previous pian; (2) The passage from ming zhe suo yi bie wu ye 名者所以別物也 (p. 471) was originally in pian no. 81, following gong guo (p. 466); alternatively it may have been part of pian no. 35; see p. 473 note (3). The final sentence le er bu luan 樂而不亂 is seen in Dong’s third response (HS 56, p. 2518).

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Appendix

1. Pian 32 Dui Jiaoxi wang Yue dafu bu de wei ren 對膠西王越大夫不得為仁

At the close of Dong Zhongshu’s three responses, the biography of the Han shu includes an anecdote in which the emperor (Tianzi 天子) subsequently appointed him to be chancellor in the kingdom of Jiangdu, where he served the king known later as Yi Wang 易王.27 This was Liu Fei 劉非, a son of Jingdi and a half-brother of Wudi. Liu Fei became king of Jiangdu 江都 in 153 and died in 127. Mention by his posthumous title shows that this item cannot have been recorded before that date.

The biography writes how Dong brought the lessons of li and yi to bear on a king known for his arrogance and valour, and succeeded in winning his respect. The king then consulted him in a somewhat veiled fashion. He cited the examples in the past of how Goujian 勾踐, king of Yue, had attacked Wu with the help of three noble supporters, and he claimed that he himself was likewise supported by men of fine qualities; and he added that just as Huan Gong 桓公 of Qi had been able to rely on Guan Zhong 管仲 to solve his problems, so too did he, king of Jiangdu, have Dong Zhongshu upon whom he could depend for the same purpose.

The veiled reference seems to be clear; Liu Fei was surely posed as asking whether he should embark on an attack on one or more of his neighbours. Dong’s answer made it clear that he was aware of the intentions that the king harboured and was taking the opportunity to voice his criticism. He successfully dissuaded him from putting them into effect, by recalling how the lord of Lu had been dissuaded from attacking Qi.

The anecdote is seen also in Chunqiu fanlu 32 with some differences.28 It is entitled Dui Jiaoxi wang Yue dafu bu de wei ren 對膠西王越大夫不得為仁 ‘Reply to the king of Jiaoxi: the counsellors of Yue did not merit to be taken as men of human feelings’, and Yang Shuda29 took this to show that the incident should be told of the king of Jiaoxi. This was Liu Duan 劉端 (1) who, according to the Han shu was one of the

27 HS 56, p. 2523.28 CQFL 9 pian no. 32, p. 266.29 Yang Shuda, Han shu kui guan (1955) p. 341.

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most vile and ruthless kings in Western Han times.30 The view that the anecdote should refer to the king of Jiaoxi is perhaps supported by one item that may be similar; Dong Zhongshu cited the abortive plan of the ruler of Lu to attack Qi; and Jiaoxi, like Lu, was a small kingdom situated as an enclave in the Shandong peninsula. But while the intended victim of attack by the king of Jiaoxi is not specified, it can hardly have been a kingdom of the same importance and size that Qi possessed during the Chunqiu period.

However there is one further consideration. The king had started his request for advice by citing the case of Goujian of Yue. In Chunqiu times, Yue had been situated to the south of Wu, which was where the Han kingdom of Jiangdu lay. There was one false note in a comparison that a king of Jiangdu was perhaps drawing; in the case of Goujian it was the kingdom of the south that attacked its northern neighbour, and not the reverse. Similarly we are not told who would be attacked by the king of Jiangdu, but it could hardly have been his neighbour to the north. If the object of attack had been the area to the immedi-ate south of Jiangdu it would have comprised the lands which were formed as commanderies of the Han empire from 112 BCE. According to the Chunqiu fanlu, the king of Jiaoxi was referring explicitly to the plans of Yue and Yue’s success in wiping out the disgrace of its earlier defeat by Wu and retirement to Kuaiji 會稽.31

On balance it seems that it is more likely that the anecdote refers to the king of Jiangdu rather than Jiaoxi; and that the compiler of the Chunqiu fanlu had been gilding the lily by this change, so as to make the incident fit the more evil Liu Duan than Liu Fei. A further sign of his editorial work may perhaps be seen in the use of more formal terms than those seen in the Han shu, e.g., in reply to the king’s orders Dong Zhongshu bowed to the ground and made his gesture of obedi-ence twice.32

30 Reigned 154–108; see Loewe, BD, p. 293.31 For the fighting between Wu and Yue in Chunqiu times, see Guo yu (‘Yue yu

A’) p. 631; Zuo zhuan 53 (Zhao gong 32).22b; 56 (Ding gong 14).16b–17b; 57 (Ai gong 1).2b–3a; 60 (Ai gong 20).15a–16a; SJ 41, pp. 1739–46 and 31, pp. 1468–75; Lewis, in CHOAC p. 564. In 496 the king of Wu had died during his invasion of Yue; in 493 Fuchai 夫差, king of Wu, defeated Yue, forcing Goujian to retire to Kuaiji; in 473 Goujian attacked and defeated Wu, and received nomination with the title of bo 伯 from the king of Zhou.

32 Fu di zai bai 伏地再拜; the use of fu di in this way is rare.

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There is more detail given in the fuller account of the Chunqiu fanlu than in the biography of the Han shu, which is believed by Yang Shuda to be defective at one point.33 The Chunqiu fanlu also has Dong Zhongshu call on the general principles of the Chunqiu to support his argument.

2. The terms quan 權 and jing 經

Quan 權 and jing 經 are applied to heaven’s attitude to Yin and Yang in pian no. 43. In Shuo wen (Ding Fubao, Shuowen jiezi gu lin p. 2427) quan is explained as fan chang 反常, and the term is seen in the well-known passage in the Mengzi which concerns the conduct between a man and a drowning woman. Rescue by a man who touches her with his hands is regarded as quan rather than li. Legge renders quan as ‘a peculiar emergency’; Lau as ‘discretion’ (Mengzi 7b (‘Li lou A’).6b; Legge p. 307; Lau, Mencius p. 124). The Gongyang zhuan (5.9a) defines quan as follows: Quan zhe he quan zhe fan yu jing ran hou you shan zhe ye 權者何權者反於經然後有善者也. See also Chunqiu fanlu 4, pp. 74–5 for the distinction between jing li 經禮, which is of permanent application, and bian li 變禮 when li suffers change, or even abandonment, to meet circumstance, and the mention of quan in that connection. Further references to the distinction between jing and quan are seen in pian no. 48, p. 340.

33 Yang Shuda, op. cit., p. 341.

CHAPTER SEVEN

SUBJECTS AND PROBLEMS OF THE CHUNQIU FANLU

It will be clear from the foregoing account of its contents that some of the chapters of the Chunqiu fanlu are concerned with major issues that were in question in both Western and Eastern Han times, some of these being treated in writings such as Dong Zhongshu’s three responses. To name but three examples, these subjects included that of permanence and change (chang 常 and bian 變), as in pian nos. 3 and 45;1 dynastic legitimacy (pian no. 25);2 and the qualifications of officials, as seen in the need for kaoji 考績 (pian no. 21). As an exami-nation of achievements every third year, the last named subject is seen in an account of the idealised past,3 and the pian may be compared with Dong’s criticism of the assessment of officials according to their length of service (Han shu 56, p. 2512).4

Tian, which features frequently throughout the Chunqiu fanlu, is shown as the single unifying factor or element in the universe, work-ing through the agency of Yin and Yang and their appointed schedules and sequences. This may be contrasted with the prime place that dao takes in other writings and teachings. In his first response Dong modi-fies this view somewhat, with the observation that the regulation and ordering of human society will not be brought about by heaven but depends on human initiative (HS 56, p. 2500). In addition, a number of topics are treated in the account of the discussions of 79 CE as given in the Baihu tong, e.g., dynastic change (pian no. 23); titles (jue 爵, in pian no. 28); nomination of heirs (pian no. 33); terminology (pian nos. 35, 36); types of ceremonial present (pian no. 72).5

1 See Chapter Four above p. 152.2 See Chapter Six above p. 236.3 See Shang shu 3 (‘Yu shu’).28b, to which reference was made not infrequently in

late Western Han, Eastern Han and San guo times (e.g., HS 24A, p. 1123, 75, p. 3188, 85, p. 3448; HHS 24, p. 860, 54, p. 1778; SGZ 16, p. 500, 21, p. 623, 22, pp. 648, 651).

4 Records from Juyan and Yinwan show the part played by length of service in records of officials’ service; see Loewe, RHA (1967), vol I, pp. 119–20, vol. II, pp. 169–74 and 176–9; and Men who Governed (2004), pp. 71–2; Yinwan Han mu jiandu, tran-scriptions pp. 93, 94.

5 See also p. 264 below.

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Particular attention is drawn below to three major subjects—those of Yin Yang and Wu xing, the religious cults that the emperor per-formed, and the subject of substance (zhi 質) and pattern (wen 文). There follow notes on the term Yu ying 玉英, as the title of one pian, and the meaning of Tian shu 天數. The complex contents of pian no. 23 requires treatment in Chapter Eight below, where atten-tion will be paid to San tong, the rulers of mythological history, the Gongyang zhuan, the Baihu tong, the Wei shu, titles and ranks, and an ordinance.

Yin Yang and Wu xing

There are six pian (nos. 43, 47, 48, 49, 50, 81) which bear Yin Yang in the title and of these, pian no. 43 is perhaps the most sophisticated. The subject is also seen in a number of other pian (e.g., nos. 77, 78). Queen categorises nos. 41, 43–57 and 79–82 as ‘Yin-yang chapters’. While the two types of energy are each seen as taking an essential part in the rhythms and cycles of creation, destruction and rebirth, on occasion Yang is assigned a superior place over Yin. For the positions of Yang and Yin in full and empty situations, see Chapter Six above p. 242, s.v. pian no. 43.

There are altogether nine pian whose titles include the expression Wu xing (nos. 38, 42, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63 and 64). Some of these treat much the same aspects of the Wu xing (e.g., nos. 38 and 42), thereby raising the possibility that they were each framed as separate accounts of the same subject. It is also possible that some of them may have been framed as reports of the discussions of 79 CE, as may be suggested by comparison with the chapter of the Baihu tong entitled Wu xing. In all the pian except no. 64 the five are set out in the order of successive production (see Chapter Six above, p. 250). The subject is also mentioned in some of the chapters that are concerned princi-pally with Yin Yang (e.g., pian nos. 43, 46, 48, 81). Dai Junren has set forth arguments to show that Dong did not express views on the Wu xing, and these have been endorsed by Sarah Queen.6 By contrast Li Weixiong treats the chapters as being authentic writings of Dong.7 To

6 Dai Junren, ‘Dong Zhongshu bu shuo Wu xing kao’ (1968), pp. 319–34; Queen, From Chronicle to Canon, pp. 101–2.

7 Li Weixiong, Dong Zhongshu yu Xi Han xueshu (1978), pp. 66–72.

subjects and problems of the chunqiu fanlu 265

these views there may be added that of the present writer, that the Wu xing did not feature in imperial claims to sovereignty or take a major part in the forefront of intellectual discussions before Yuandi’s reign (48 to 33 BCE).8

A sharp distinction, which cannot be ignored, prevails between the meaning and implications of the term Wu xing as used in some pre-imperial texts, and those that derived from Han times and later, as is known from two recently found manuscripts. Of two versions of a piece of writings, of which one was entitled ‘Wu xing’, the earlier one from Guodian 郭店 had been buried by perhaps 300 BCE; the second, from Mawangdui 馬王堆, which includes comments to an original text, in 168 BCE. Professor Csikszentmihalyi suggests that ‘The com-plex and, at times, confusing structure of the Wuxing reveals that, as old as the text is, it may actually be a composite of even older texts’.9 As his detailed study of the two versions shows, in these early writings Wu xing signified five types of behaviour or characteristics of human nature, or virtues; and these five may be associated with the physical conditions, reactions or emotions of the human person or body.

Although Wu xing thought did not take a place in public writings of Han times until the reigns of Yuandi and Chengdi, its principles would certainly have suited the claims made by Wang Mang to be a rightful successor to the house of Liu 劉 and it was during his reign that the theme appears regularly in the iconography and inscriptions of certain mirrors.10 It is an open question whether some of the chap-ters of the Chunqiu fanlu on Wu xing may have been composed to add intellectual support to such claims. Somewhat later, association of the withdrawal or gift of the tian ming with the Wu xing is seen in a daring speech that Wang Li 王立 (Palace Attendant and Direc-tor of Astronomy; Shizhong Taishi ling 侍中太史令) delivered to the last of the Eastern Han emperors in 196. Wang Li was urging that the

8 Loewe Men who Governed, Chapters 14, 15; see also Nylan, ‘Yin-yang, Five Phases, and qi’ (Nylan and Loewe, eds., China’s Early Empires (2010), p. 404; and Chapter Eight below p. 291. I am indebted to Professor Nylan for reference to Guo Yu, Jing shi Yi yuan liu (2007) (not available to me), where the author suggests that Jing Fang (2) may have been the first person to articulate the theory of the Wu xing. Jing Fang was executed in 37 BCE, during Yuandi’s reign, at the age of forty-one.

9 Mark Csikszentmihalyi, Material Virtue Ethics and the Body in Early China (2004), p. 65.

10 See Loewe, Ways to Paradise (1979), Chapter Three.

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moment for dynastic change had arrived.11 Perhaps more forcefully, in suggesting the need to change the calendar to accompany a change of dynasty, officials described the accession of the house of Zhou in 557 CE as the succession of wood after water.12

In his discussion of the place taken by Yin Yang and Wu xing in Dong Zhongshu’s thought, Fung Yu-lan accepts as authentic the pian of the Chunqiu fanlu that concern this subject.13 Hsü Fu-kuan pays considerable attention to the relationship between heaven, Yin Yang and the Wu xing as this appears in several pian, such as nos. 38, 42, 46, 48, 50 and 52.14 He discusses the differences as between the ideas of these pian, which he firmly ascribes to Dong Zhongshu, and those of the Hong fan, Zou Yan and the Lü shi chunqiu. In particular he notes the division of the cycle of Yin Yang into four stages, i.e., Tai Yang 太陽, Shao Yin 少陰 etc., as in pian no. 48; contradictions as seen in accounts of the rise and fall, dominance and retreat of the two forces; and a view of the function of tu 土 and its value as an exemplar of xiao 孝 and zhong 忠.

Hsü Fu-kuan believed that the Baihu tong had been subject to the receipt of Dong’s ideas in respect of Yin Yang and Wu xing, as is seen in the absence of special chapters of the Baihu tong that are entitled Yin Yang.15 It is perhaps equally valid to see the differences between the Chunqiu fanlu and the Baihu tong as arising independently from two different points of view, which were each voiced at the discussions.

Li Weixiong likewise pays considerable attention to the treatment of Yin Yang and Wu xing in the Chunqiu fanlu, noting that the idea of the superiority of Yang, as seen there, is also evident elsewhere, as in some of the Ten Wings attached to the Zhou yi.16 He also notes the important place assigned to tu and considers this in the light of the great difficulty of explaining how the Wu xing could be made to cor-respond on terms of equality with the seasons, numbering only four, as they did.17 Li Weixiong further traces the effect of Yin Yang and Wu xing theories on Han scholarship and literature and on many aspects of daily life, but it would seem far-fetched, as he wishes, to trace these

11 Note to San guo zhi 1, pp. 13–4, which cites the Han ji of Zhang Fan 張璠.12 Zhou shu 3, p. 46.13 Fung Yu-lan (translated Bodde, 1953), A History of Chinese Philosophy, pp. 19–23.14 Hsü Fu-kuan, Liang Han sixiang shi (1976), especially pp. 375–84.15 Op. cit., p. 384.16 Li Weixiong, Dong Zhongshu yu Xi Han xueshu (1978), pp. 67–8.17 Li Weixiong, op. cit., pp. 70, 140.

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developments to Dong Zhongshu.18 His view that changes suggested or enacted in the Han imperial succession likewise drew on Dong’s teaching is not convincing.19 That seven of the nine pian that are enti-tled Wu xing are clustered together (nos. 58–64) possibly supports the suggestion that they were an addendum from a separate work.

The imperial cults (jiao 郊)

The Chunqiu fanlu devotes considerable attention to the jiao 郊, which forms part of the title of five pian (nos. 65, 66, 67, 69 and 71), with one other pian (no. 68) bearing on the same subject. It is first necessary to consider what the term signified in Han times.20

Perhaps basically, jiao signified the areas that surrounded a walled city, including a close zone that was within 50 li and a distant zone that was within 100 li. According to a statement of the Shiji, it was the practice of the kings of old to offer sacrifices to various deities in the inner zone, and the term came to be used to denote precisely those rites.21 It is not possible to identify the date or occasion when this extended use came into fashion.

The question arises of identifying the deity to whom these rites were addressed. A passage in the Zuo zhuan reads fan si qi zhe er jiao 凡祀啟蛰而郊, which Legge renders ‘With regard to the sacrifices in gen-eral, at the season of K’ë–chih [‘the emergence of insects from their burrows;’—the 1st month of Hëa, and the 3d of the Chow year], the border sacrifice [to heaven] was offered’.22 Legge does not indicate his reasons for adding ‘to heaven’, but this seems to be assumed by the traditional commentators. For imperial times, there are records of the performance, by Wendi and Jingdi, of the rites described as jiao. According to the Basic Annals, Wendi inaugurated them at Yong 雍 in the fourth month of 165 and repeated them in the following year

18 Li Weixiong, op. cit., pp. 176–81.19 Li Weixiong, op. cit., p. 177. He cites the suggestion of Sui Hong (Meng) that the

time was ripe for the accession of a commoner as emperor; Ge Kuanrao’s suggestion that Xuandi should abdicate; and Wang Mang’s invocation of the authority of the Wu xing that qualified him to receive his charge to govern.

20 For pian no. 71, see Chapter Three above, p. 111.21 SJ 10, p. 430; MH vol. II, p. 480. Karlgren, GSR 1166n notes the meaning of

‘suburban altar and sacrifice’ in the Shi jing (no reference is given; possibly see Shi jing 1(4).13a, sub-commentary following wo shuo 我說).

22 Zuo zhuan 6 (Huan gong 5).11b; Legge, The Chinese Classics Vol. V (1893) p. 46.

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at Weiyang 渭陽; Yong lay some 150 kilometres west of Chang’an, Weiyang could in no way be described as being within the bounds of Chang’an. On both occasions the services were rendered to the Wu di 五帝.23

Differences in the accounts of these events are worthy of note. The Basic Annals of the Shiji tell us that at the appearance of a Yellow Dragon at Chengji 成紀, to the north-west, in the 15th year (165) the emperor summoned Gongsun Chen 公孫臣 and appointed him an Academician. Following his explanation of the ‘characteristics of earth’ (tu de 土德) a decree noted the phenomenon together with the rich harvest and continued ‘We shall personally perform the jiao sac-rifice to Shangdi and many other spirits 上帝諸神; the office of rites shall deliberate on how to do so’. The reply, as stated, was to the effect that in ancient times the Son of Heaven personally carried out rites and sacrifice to Shangdi in the outer area, with the result that they were called the ‘Jiao’. This was followed by Wendi’s progress to Yong. Xinyuan Ping 新垣平 persuaded the emperor to set up Five Shrines at Weiyang. The link thus drawn between the appearance of an auspi-cious event and worship of deities other than heaven would hardly have pleased Dong Zhongshu.

The Basic Annals of the Han shu give a largely similar account, with the additional statement, in a decree of the 14th year 166, stating that the emperor had rendered service to Shangdi and the Ancestral Shrines for fourteen years. To these bare accounts there may be added the details that are seen in the treatises of the Shiji and Han shu.24

In 144 Jingdi offered service to the Five Shrines (wu zhi 五畤) of the Wu di at Yong.25

There are slight but perhaps significant, differences in the wording of the way in which these incidents are recorded for Wudi’s reign. The Basic Annals of the Han shu uses the expression xing xing yong si wu zhi 行幸雍祀五畤, without the term jiao, as it also does for the reigns of Xuandi and Yuandi;26 and we can only presume that the wu zhi were shrines dedicated to the Wu di. According to the treatise of the Shiji, in 134, the year following the death of the Grand Empress

23 SJ 10, p. 430, HS 4, p. 127.24 SJ 28, pp. 1381–3, HS 25A, pp. 1212–14.25 SJ 11, p. 446, HS 5, p. 148.26 HS 6, pp. 174, 175, 183, 193, 195 and 207, for various dates between 122 and 93; HS 8,

p. 265 for 56 BCE and HS 9, pp. 291, 293 for 40 and 38 BCE.

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Dowager Dou 竇, Wudi summoned men of learning such as Gong-sun Hong 公孫弘; and in the next year (133) for the first time he progressed to Yong to perform the jiao at the Five Shrines. This was followed by the regular performance of the jiao once every three years. The same treatise records the performance of the jiao at Yong in 122 and again in 114, when it was followed by the institution of services to Houtu 后土 at Fenyin 汾陰.27 Services were instituted to Tai yi 泰一, at Ganquan 甘泉, in 113.

Gongsun Hong is not mentioned in the account of these incidents in the treatise of the Han shu.28 If the establishment of regular services to the Wu di at the wu zhi followed the advice of Gongsun Hong, this might well have constituted a point of variance between him and Dong Zhongshu in view of the latter’s choice of services to heaven.

Further attention to the elaboration of these state cults during Wudi’s reign may be found elsewhere, as well as to the developments that took place subsequently. A summary follows.29

Wudi was present when the rites were performed at Yong in 122, 121, 114, 113, 109, 107 and 92; at Fenyin in 107, 105, 103 and 100; and at Ganquan in 106, 104, 100 and 89. Zhaodi took no part in the rites at any of the sites, possibly because he had not attained manhood. Xuandi worshipped at Yong in 56, Fenyin in 61 and 55 and Ganquan in 61, 57, 53, 51 and 49. Yuandi presented himself at Yong in 44, 40 and 38, at Fenyin in 45, 39 and 37 and at Ganquan in 47, 45, 43, 39 and 37.

A major change took place shortly after the accession of Chengdi (33 BCE), when Kuang Heng 匡衡, the Chancellor, and Zhang Tan 張譚, the Imperial Counsellor, presented a memorial proposing that the state cults should be removed from their present sites and estab-lished at Chang’an. In doing so they referred to Zhou Cheng Wang’s 周成王 practice of the jiao at Luoyang.30 Chengdi duly gave his con-sent, but the proposal was opposed by eight officials, including Xu Jia 許嘉, who was Chengdi’s father-in-law, Marshal of State (Da Sima 大司馬), and General of Chariots and Cavalry (Juji jiangjun 車騎將軍). However fifty other officials supported Kuang Heng, citing the Li ji

27 SJ 28, pp. 1384, 1387, 1389; and 12, pp. 452, 457 and 461.28 HS 25A, pp. 1215–6; HSBZ 25A.21b.29 Loewe, Crisis and Conflict in Han China (1974) Chapter 5.30 HS 25B, p. 1253; Loewe, op. cit., p. 171.

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and the Shang shu, and spelling out the need for service to heaven in the south and that to earth in the north.

In a second memorial Kuang Heng and Zhang Tan cited the Shi jing;31 the Son of Heaven followed the advice that it was fitting to set up the Southern and Northern jiao at Chang’an, to be a foundation for ten thousand generations. Kuang Heng proceeded by arguing for removal of the trappings that had attended the state cults, in favour of concentrating on what was the substance (zhi 質); and following the emperor’s first sacrifice at the southern bounds, on a date correspond-ing with 17 February 31 BCE,32 he successfully suggested the aboli-tion of worship to a host of services to other deities, including some that were situated at Yong.33 The existing practices, partly inherited from Qin and performed long distances away from Chang’an, were displaced by the sacrifices to heaven and earth at its bounds.

This radical change did not pass without opposition, as is seen in the forceful reply that Liu Xiang 劉向 made in answer to Chengdi’s wor-ries.34 These had been occasioned by the fierce storm that had broken out the very day when the services at the southern bounds were inau-gurated. Liu Xiang’s impressive plea for the retention of the traditional practices of Wudi’s time, which had been shown to be successful in attracting the blessings of the spirits, is undated. The doubts that it sowed in the mind of Chengdi and perhaps others were increased by the failure of the emperor to produce an heir to the throne. In 14, or perhaps 16, BCE a decree issued in the name of the Empress Dowager Wang35 ordered the restoration of the rites to Yong, Fenyin and Gan-quan, and they were attended in person by Chengdi in 14, 12, 10 and 8 (at Yong), 13, 11, 9 and 7 (at Fenyin and Ganquan).

Perhaps about 12 BCE Du Ye 杜鄴 advised the restoration of the jiao services at Chang’an.36 At some point towards the end of Chengdi’s reign, Gu Yong 谷永, Superintendent of Agriculture from 9 BCE, expressed the gravest doubts regarding the powers ascribed

31 HS 25B, p. 1254; Loewe, op. cit., p. 173.32 HS 10, p. 305; this was on the day ‘Xin si’ 辛巳, being the third day to be denoted

by Xin in the month.33 HS 25B, pp. 1256–7; Loewe, op. cit., p. 174. 34 HS 25B, p. 1258.35 Wang Zhengjun, Yuandi’s Empress, aunt of Wang Mang. For the question of the

date, see Loewe, op. cit., p. 178, note 75.36 Du Ye was responding to Wang Shang (2) who held the position of Marshal of

State and General of Defence from 15 to 12 BCE.

subjects and problems of the chunqiu fanlu 271

to certain deities, as against the value of service to heaven and earth. After Chengdi’s death (17 April 7 BCE) the Grand Empress Dowager, former Empress Dowager, Wang issued a decree that countered her earlier one, by restoring the jiao to Chang’an. In 4 BCE, however, a further decree ordered that the rites should be re-opened at Ganquan and Fenyin, those at Yong not being mentioned. In the final change in Western Han, in 5 CE Wang Mang 王莽, Marshal of State, submitted a memorial in which he set out how the services had been changed and changed about, citing Kongzi, the Li ji and the Guliang zhuan and pleading for restoration of the jiao. The memorial was put forward in the names of sixty-seven officials, including Liu Xin 劉歆; and, as they suggested, once again the state cults to heaven and earth were to take place at Chang’an.

Shortly after the establishment of Eastern Han, in 26, Guangwudi set up sites of worship with a circular altar in eight stages south of Luoyang. These are described as jiaozhao 郊兆 and as taking the rites of the Yuanshi 元始 period (1–5 CE) as their precedent. They included the worship of heaven and earth and services to the Wu di.37 In 57 a square altar was set up with four stages to the north of Luoyang and the jiao performed on the day Xin wei 辛未 of the zheng month (cor-responding with 2 March).38

There is nothing in these accounts to show that emperors of West-ern Han before Chengdi offered services to heaven.39 However, a sug-gestion to that effect appears in a citation from the Han jiu yi 漢舊儀 of questionable authorship,40 according to which services of the trien-nial cycle were offered to heaven in the first, earth in the second and at the wu zhi in the third year.41 Such a pattern could hardly have applied to Wudi’s reign, when it would have been more likely to regulate the services at the wu zhi, to Hou tu and to Tai yi. It may also be noted that in none of these cases were the rites conducted at sites that might be termed the outer parts of the city, although they may be denoted under the term jiao.42 As stated, Yong lay some 150 kilometres west

37 HHS (tr.) 7, p. 3159 and HHS 1A, p. 27.38 HHS (tr.) 8, p. 3181.39 Marianne Bujard has also noted this; see her La sacrifice au ciel dans la Chine

antique théorie et pratique sous les Han occidentaux (2000), p. 29.40 See preface, for attribution to Wei Hong 衛弘 (Jingzhong 敬仲; first century CE),

or Hu Guang 胡廣 (91–172).41 See the Suoyin note to SJ 28, p. 1384.42 SJ 12, p. 452, HS 25A, p. 1216.

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of Chang’an in the area that was under the jurisdiction of the You Fufeng 右扶風; Ganquan, the site of services to Taiyi, was some 70 kilometres to the north-west of Chang’an, under the jurisdiction of the Zuo Pingyi 左馮翊; and Fenyin, where services were set up to Hou tu, lay nearly 200 kilometres to the east in Hedong commandery. One basic principle reverberates through the pian that are concerned with the jiao: that those services, which were rendered to heaven, were of unquestioned superiority and priority as compared with those offered to other deities.

Identification of the gods or spirits to whom the jiao services were rendered clearly concerned Su Yu, who wrote at length on the sub-ject in an introductory note to Chunqiu fanlu 65 ‘Jiao yu’ 郊語. He took this pian to represent Dong Zhongshu’s own views, and began by distinguishing the Gu wen and Jin wen traditions. According to the Gu wen tradition, the di 禘 were services addressed to Tiandi 天地, the jiao 郊 were prayers for agricultural work, the di being of greater importance. Su Yu interprets a reference in the Zhou li to the rite conducted on the circular mound (yuan qiu 圜丘) as being made to di and not as the jiao.43 He continues with the statement that only rarely did the scholars of Western Han mention the circular mound.44 On the basis of references in the Chunqiu, Dong Zhongshu took jiao to be a special term for the services to heaven, and di as the services and sacrifices in the ancestral shrines.45 Such was the Jin wen tradition.

A somewhat doubtful citation, with some textual variants, is ascribed to the Han jiu yi, but how far it should be taken to refer to Han prac-tice may be in question.

When the emperor sacrifices to heaven he resides in the Yunyang Palace 雲陽宮; he fasts for an hundred days and ascends the ‘Tower that leads to heaven’ Tong tian tai 通天臺 at Ganquan for 300 feet, to await the descent of the Spirit of heaven, whose appearance is that of running fire.

43 Zhou li, Chun guan (‘Da Si yue’) 22.17b.44 This statement may be borne out by the existence of only two references in the

Shiji, which are in contexts other than the one in question here. SJ 22, p. 1367 men-tions it in connection with the service to earth by the First Qin Emperor, and SJ 28, p. 1389 with reference to Wudi’s service to Hou tu. The sole reference in the Han shu (22, p. 1045) concerns practice adopted after the appointment of Li Yannian 李延年 as Xie lü duwei 協律都尉 for the emperor’s services to Tai yi, on the first Xin day of the first month, at the circular mound at Ganquan. For restoration of the yuan qiu and worship thereto by the monarch of Wei in 237, see Jin shu 19, p. 583.

45 Su Yu mentions Chunqiu 11 (Min Gong 2).5a, for sacrifices to Zhuang Gong; and Chunqiu 13 (Xi Gong 8).6a for the di performed in the Tai miao.

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There are 300 young female dancers all aged eight years. When the Spirit of heaven descends to the site of the altar, beacon signals are raised. The emperor moves to within the Bamboo Palace 竹宮 but does not go as far as the site of the altar.

The Tower that leads to heaven at Ganquan is 300 li distant from Chang’an, giving a view of its walls. This is the circular mound at which the emperor sacrifices to heaven.46

While there are numerous references to ritual activities, including the services of feng and shan, in the fragments of the Wei shu that we pos-sess there would not appear to be a mention of the jiao.47

Su Yu believed that there was some confusion in the views of Wang Su 王肅 (195–256) who had followed Dong Zhongshu’s identification of the di 禘. Here it may be necessary to bear in mind an implicit distinction between general references to services performed on a circular mound and those which denote specifically those performed on a circular mound at the winter solstice. He then cited the opinion expressed by Sun Xingyan孫星衍 (1753–1818):48 ‘Zhang Rong 張融 [444–497], in agreement with Wang Su, added further confusion by citing arguments of Dong Zhongshu, Liu Xiang and Ma Rong 馬融 to the effect that the circular mound of the Zhou li was what the Xiao jing termed the jiao. Two statements in the Fanlu are evidence that Dong Zhongshu did not take the jiao to be the services conducted at the circular mound at the winter solstice.49 Wang Su and others were incorrect in this respect and they also misrepresented Liu Xiang and Ma Rong. In fact, in their frequent discussions of the jiao services, Han persons did not discuss the “circular mound”. The assumption that jiao signified services at the circular mound is based on a misap-prehension, as there had been no winter solstice service at the circular mound in Qin or Han. Qin took the tenth month to be the start of the

46 Han jiu yi bu yi B.1b, citing from Yiwen leiju 38, p. 682, and Taiping yulan 527.6a, and referring to Taiping huanji. The Sanfu huangtu (ed. Sun Xingyan et al. 1785), p. 23 states that the Ganquan Palace was also called the Yunyang Palace, and that the Zhu Gong was the palace for worship at Ganquan (ibid. p. 33). For Huangdi, the Yiwen leiju reads Huandi 桓帝 thus invalidating, if correct, authorship of the passage by Wei Hong. For ‘view of its walls’, the Taiping huanji reads ‘view of the Ganquan palace’.

47 See Tjan Tjoe Som, Po Hu T’ung. The comprehensive discussions in the White Tiger Hall. Two volumes (1949–52), pp. 109–10.

48 As from Liu tian 六天 and Gan sheng di bian 感生帝辨.49 CQFL 15 (66 ‘Jiao yi’), p. 402 ‘The jiao depended on the beginning of the new

year’; and 69, p. 409 ‘The jiao depended on previous acts of divination; if there were no signs of good fortune none dared to perform the jiao’.

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year and consequently it was in the tenth month that the ruler took up his post for the jiao, and certainly not because this was the winter solstice’.

Su Yu agreed with Sun Xingyan, pointing out the great complexity of the jiao in Han institutions. When, he continued, Kuang Heng and others were discussing how to fix the jiao sacrifices, in Chengdi’s time, they were the first to give weight to Dong’s opinions, with jiao being a special term for service to heaven and not signifying a joint sacrifice to heaven and earth. This was performed on the first Xin day of the zheng month, and not at the winter or summer solstice. The jiao was limited to one occasion, and not extended to two or four occasions. The institutions fixed by Kuang Heng were the jiao of the south and the north, being at variance with the ideas of Dong.

From the foregoing accounts it seems clear that it is only exception-ally, in the cases of services rendered by Wendi, Jingdi and once by Wudi (114 BCE), that services to the Wu di are called jiao; that ser-vices to deities at the bounds of Chang’an were not inaugurated until after 33 BCE and not maintained permanently thereafter; that there is nothing to show that an emperor took part in state cults addressed to heaven before then; and that references to the jiao in Chunqiu fanlu 65 concern services to heaven. For Eastern Han times the sites of the sacrifices to heaven and earth were indeed situated in the southern and northern suburbs, and it may be asked why it was deemed suitable to situate them in an area of low social status.50

Various views have been put forward regarding the order or divi-sion of the pian in the received text. According to Qian Tang 錢唐:51

a. (p. 394) pian no. 65 ‘Jiao yu’ should follow pian no. 68 ‘Si ji’.b. (p. 399) the passage beginning suo wen yue 所聞曰 (p. 401) should

be placed in pian no. 69 ‘Jiao si’, to follow the passage Zhou Xuan wang shi 周宣王時 (p. 408).

c. Pian no. 66 ‘Jiao yi’ should be the first of the pian that concern the jiao, forming one pian with no. 67 ‘Jiao ji’.

50 See Bielenstein, ‘Loyang in Later Han Times’ (1976), pp. 44–5, and 57–8, and the map of Luoyang on p. 124.

51 For Qian Tang, see Chapter Six above note 13.

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Yu Yue 俞樾 (1821–1907) believed (p. 399) that nos. 65, 66, 67 and 69 formed one pian, being arranged as they are now so as to conform with the figure of 82 pian as given in the Chongwen zongmu.

In a long note (pp. 399–401) Su Yu gives a reconstruction of the text that appears in different pian in the received version, taking account of the corrections and suggestions of Lu Wenchao 廬文弨 (1717–96). Su Yu notes that the initial characters of pian no. 66, i.e., 郊義, are treated with prominence, as is not the case in other pian. Qian Tang com-ments (p. 402) that these two characters formed the genuine title of the pian, whereas the titles of other pian were created by later writers and were not part of the original text. This feature perhaps supports Qian Tang’s idea as in (c) above that pian no. 66 stood at the start of a long pian on the subject of jiao. As with the pian that are entitled Wu xing, so here the assembly of most of those that concern jiao (65–69) together may argue that they came from a separate document.

Substance (zhi 質) and pattern (wen 文)

It will be seen below52 that Dong Zhongshu drew attention to the dif-ferent degrees of importance of three ideas, i.e., loyalty, respect and pattern. At the same time it is evident that a distinction between pat-tern and substance formed a perhaps more frequent matter of dis-cussion, both in Han dynasty writings and in certain chapters of the Chunqiu fanlu. The two themes are best handled together.

As is noticed above,53 in two chapters the Shiji cites extensively from the sayings of Kongzi, somewhat exceptionally and conspicuously. In one important instance the compiler adds significant amplification, introducing the subject of wen 文 and zhi 質, which are rendered here with some hesitation as pattern and substance.54

52 P. 276.53 Chapter Four above, p. 159.54 Translation of these terms is difficult. Joachim Gentz, ‘Language of heaven, Exe-

getical Skepticism and the Re-insertion of Religious Concepts in the Gongyang Tra-dition’, (2009), pp. 813–38, renders these terms as ‘cultivated’ and ‘simple’ (p. 825); Tjan, op. cit., p. 449, as ‘substance’ and ‘form’; Fung Yu-lan (translated Bodde), A History of Chinese Philosophy (1952), as ‘refinement’ and ‘simplicity’ (p. 49). After due consideration of these terms and of ‘elaboration’ for wen, the present writer has chosen ‘pattern’ as the best compromise.

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The Lunyu reads:55

子曰夏禮吾能言之杞不足徵也殷禮吾能言之宋不足徵也文獻不足故也足則吾能徵之矣

Legge renders this as follows:

The Master said, ‘I could describe the ceremonies of the Hsiâ dynasty, but Chî cannot sufficiently attest my words. I could describe the ceremo-nies of the Yin dynasty, but Sung cannot sufficiently attest my words. (They cannot do so) because of the insufficiency of their records and wise men. If those were sufficient, I could adduce them in support of my words.’

The Shiji adds a new dimension—that of wen and zhi—whose signi-ficance may not always have been recognised. It adds: 觀殷夏所損益曰後雖百世可知也以一文一質周監二代郁郁乎文哉吾從周 which Chavannes renders as follows:56

Considérant les suppressions et les additions faites par les Yn et les Hia, il disait :[“Même dans cent générations on pourra les connaître]. Tant pour la forme que pour le fond [les Tcheou ont observé les deux dynas-ties. Très achevée est la perfection (de leurs rites). Je me conformerai aux (rites des) Tcheou”].

The Shiji is here bringing in a further allusion to the Lunyu. ‘The Master said, “Yin depended on the rites of Xia, and whatever was removed or added thereto (sun yi 損益) may be comprehended; Zhou depended on the rites of Yin, and whatever was removed or added thereto may be comprehended; they may be comprehended for the one, whoever it may be, that takes on from Zhou, even after a hundred generations” ’.57

In his third response Dong Zhongshu puts a different construction on these ideas. He writes that it is indeed true that those who are real kings reform their institutions (gai zhi 改制) in name; but it is not true that they emend (bian 變)58 existing principles (dao 道) in fact. In these circumstances, Xia gave highest priority to loyalty (zhong 忠), Yin to respect (jing 敬) and Zhou to pattern (wen). Any steps that they took to repair deficiencies in what they inherited were due to these

55 Lunyu 3 (‘Ba yi’).5b; Legge, op. cit., vol. I (1893), p. 158.56 Shiji 47, p. 1936; Chavannes, MH vol. V pp. 392–5.57 Lunyu 2 (‘Wei zheng’).8a, Legge, op. cit., vol. I, p. 153.58 Here and below ‘emend’ represents the term bian which implies change by aboli-

tion of something that exists and its replacement.

subjects and problems of the chunqiu fanlu 277

principles. He then cites from the passage from the Lunyu that is given immediately above.59

Dong continues: ‘Where there is mention of the usages of the hun-dred kings it depends on these three. Xia depended on Yu 虞 [i.e., Shun] but this is the only case where there is no talk of suppressions or additions. This is because their ways (dao) were identical and what they honoured was one and the same. The main source of their ways derived from heaven; heaven does not suffer emendment; its ways likewise are not emended. In this way Yu 禹 followed on from Shun, and Shun had followed on from Yao 堯. By imparting and receiving these ways one from the other these three holy kings preserved the one way, with no steps taken to repair any deficiencies; this is why there is no mention of suppressions or additions in this case. From this we may observe that for those who follow on from a time when order is maintained, the ways of a predecessor remain the same; for those who follow on from a time of disorder the ways of a predecessor are emended. In our present situation, Han has followed on after a period of great disorder. It would seem to be appropriate to eliminate some-thing of the extreme attention that Zhou paid to pattern and to attend to the loyalty on which Xia fastened’.

A somewhat different approach is seen in the Shiji.60 The Taishi gong starts his assessment of Gaozu by referring to the sequence of zhong, jing and wen as characterising the three ages of Xia, Yin and Zhou; attention to those values was the means of correcting three types of degradation to which lesser mortals were prone, i.e, ye 野—uncouth ways, gui 鬼—trust in spirits, and sai 僿—laxity. The three kingdoms concentrated on those three qualities in turn, in cyclical fashion. In a comment that perhaps betrays his scepticism, Chavannes begins with the words ‘Dans ce bizarre passage, Se-ma Ts’ien admet une sort de cycle mystique’.61 Liu Xiang sets out the same scheme as that of the Shiji, replacing sai with bo 薄, as is done in a comparable passage in

59 HS 56, p. 2518; Lunyu 2 (‘Wei zheng’).8a; see Legge, op. cit., vol. I, p. 153. For Liu Xiang’s similar remarks about the different emphasis on loyalty, respect and pattern, see p. 281 below. See also Yantie lun 1 (4 ‘Cuo bi’), p. 56, where the three are mentioned for Xia, Yin and Zhou, and Baihu tong 8 (‘San jiao’), p. 369; and Fung Yu-lan (trans-lated Bodde), A History of Chinese Philosophy, p. 69.

60 SJ 8, p. 393.61 MH vol. II, p. 404.

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the Baihu tong.62 Li Weixiong takes Sima Qian’s reference to these three values as being due to Dong’s influence.63

As a contemporary of Dong Zhongshu and as Imperial Counsellor (Yushi dafu 110–102 BCE), Ni Kuan 兒寛 took note of the reforms of institutions (gai zhi 改制) of the Three Dynasties, partly by way of flattery of Wudi, or perhaps to encourage him to take a personal decision.64 The distinction between wen and zhi is seen in one of the pian of the Chunqiu fanlu that is likely to represent Dong’s views. The eighth of the ten ‘points of guidance’ (zhi 指) of that text runs ‘fol-lowing the respect given to wen in Zhou times, to restore the respect due to zhi’.65

A considerable difference is apparent in Western and Eastern Han texts in the way in which zhi and wen are mentioned and in their significance. In the passage to be cited immediately below, from the Lunyu, these two terms had been seen as attributes or characteristics that pertain to human beings. In the Yantie lun they refer to the dif-ferent aims or types of a government’s policy and are linked with the question of past or present, with a general criticism of excessive attention to wen. There are also references to an alternation between the two. In the Baihu tong, zhi and wen are treated as a pair of items or even doctrines that characterised governmental practice in accor-dance with cosmic rhythms; and we read of jia 家 a school, lineage or group of specialists of the two. Spokesmen in the Yantie lun criticise excessive attention to wen as detracting from a view of realities; by the time of the Baihu tong, wen is a partner, which alternates with zhi with equal credit.

In the following passage the Lunyu treats zhi and wen as pertain-ing to the characteristics of human beings, spelling out the need for the two to be present together in equal measure. The text reads: 子曰質勝文則野文勝質則史文質彬彬然後君子. Of various translations, possibly that of Anne Cheng is the clearest: ‘Le Maître dit: Nature qui l’emporte sur culture est fruste, culture qui l’emporte sur nature est pédante. Seule leur combinaison harmonieuse donne l’homme de

62 Shuo yuan 19 (‘Xiu wen).1b–2a; Baihu tong 8 (‘San jiao’), p. 396; Tjan, op. cit., p. 555.

63 Li Weixiong, op. cit., p. 93, citing Sima Qian’s assessment of Gaozu’s reign (SJ 8, p. 393).

64 HS 58, p. 2632.65 CQFL 5 (12 ‘Shi zhi’), pp. 145–6. For references in chapters of the Chunqiu fanlu

that probably did not derive from Dong Zhonhgshu, see p. 284 below.

subjects and problems of the chunqiu fanlu 279

bien.’66 This saying is cited in the Xin shu 新書 of Jia Yi 賈誼 (201–169 BCE).67 In an article on the theory of wen and zhi in Han traditional learning, Harada Masami draws attention to mentions of this pair, or a comparable pair, of terms, in pre-imperial writings, e.g., the Lunyu, Xunzi, Hanfeizi and Zhuangzi,68 sometimes with emphasis on the value of zhi or on wen, or on the need for the two to be in balance.69

An addendum by Chu Shaosun 褚少孫 (?104 to ?30 BCE) to the Shiji, which is not carried in the Han shu, includes a reference made by Yuan Ang 袁盎 to zhi and wen, when advising Jingdi on the prefer-ence expressed by the Grand Empress Dowager regarding the acces-sion to the imperial throne. He contrasted Yin’s rule, marked by zhi with heaven as its model, and Zhou’s rule, marked by wen with earth as its model.70 A report has it that in 139 BCE the Grand Empress Dowager Dou 竇, no friend of those who sponsored traditional learn-ing, once expressed the view that to the ruzhe there pertained plenty of wen but scant zhi.71 The Taishi Gong refers twice to the subject of zhi and wen. One of these notes concerns the alternation of the two (yi zhi yi wen 一質一文) in the world of nature with no implication that

66 Lunyu 6 (‘Yong ye’).7a; Anne Cheng, Entretiens de Confucius (1981), p. 58. Legge, op. cit., vol. I, p. 190 ‘Where the solid qualities are in excess of accomplishments, we have rusticity; where the accomplishments are in excess of solid qualities, we have the manners of a clerk. When the accomplishments and solid qualities are equally blended, we then have the man of virtue’. D.C. Lau, Confucius: The Analects (1979), p. 83 ‘The Master said, ‘When there is a preponderance of native substance over acquired refinement, the result will be churlishness. When there is a preponderance of acquired refinement over native substance, the result will be pedantry. Only a well-balanced admixture of these two will result in gentlemanliness’. Le Blanc and Mathieu, Phi-losophes confucianistes textes traduits, présentés et annotés (2009), p, 83 render the passage much as Lau does. An allusion to this passage is seen in the comment of the Taishi Gong to SJ 122, p. 3154 and in Qianfu lun 8 (30 ‘Jiao ji’), p. 354.

67 Xin shu 6 (37 ‘Rong jing’).7a.68 Harada Masami ‘Kan ju no bunshitsu setsu’ (1938, pp. 451–511; complete text not

available to me), pp. 454–9 cites from Lunyu 12 (‘Yan Yuan’).4a, Legge, op. cit., vol. I, p. 254; Xunzi 13 (‘Chen dao’), p. 181 (Liang Qixiong, Xunzi jianshi (1956) and 5 (‘Fei xiang’), p. 55 (where wen is contrasted with shi 實); Hanfeizi 3 (‘Nan yan’), p. 21 (Liang Qixiong, Hanzi qianjie (1960); Zhuangzi (Wai pian) 16 (‘Shan xing’), p. 552.

69 For stress on zhi, see Liji ‘Jiao te xing’, on wen, see Liji ‘Li qi’, as cited in note 81 below.

70 SJ 58, p. 2091. In Song times, Huang Zhen doubted whether the dichotomy netween zhi and wen could be identified with ancient kings of old (for Huang Zhen, see Chapter Five above, pp. 205, 222).

71 SJ 103, p. 2765.

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dynastic rule was involved.72 The second remarks on the function of li in adding wen to the zhi that is inherent in human beings.73

In the opening speech of the Yantie lun, where the man of learn-ing (wenxue 文學) sets off his criticism of the government, he asserts that excessive pattern brings a decay of the substance. On at least two other occasions in the account of the debate, the defendants of Wudi’s government make much the same point. The Counsellor (Dafu 大夫) remarks on the alternation between wen and zhi, as seen when Tang 湯 of Yin and Wen Wang of Zhou succeeded to periods of decline; and he then proceeds to stress the need for change rather than adher-ence to the models of the past. At a later point in the debate, when one of the spokesmen for the government has been reduced to silence, the Counsellor calls for help from one of the members of the Chancellor’s staff. The latter draws a close link between the alternation of zhi and wen and the question of present needs or past models: ‘unquestioned adherence to the past, and maintenance of a tradition without reform would amount to making no changes between a stress on pattern or on substance’.74

Fortunately we have one passage which gives some idea of the dis-tinction between zhi and wen in practice. In his proposals for religious reforms early in Chengdi’s reign, Kuang Heng urged the removal of certain features that had characterised the conduct of the state rituals at Yong 雍 and elsewhere and specified them in some detail. They included the use of a highly decorated, eight pointed altar, in stone; the use of polychrome patterned draperies, and of jades; and the par-ticipation by a girls’ choir. He emphasised the contrast between such ceremonies, whose adornments and trappings could not be seen in ancient practice, and those that were marked by simplicity and purifi-cation, with priority being given to zhi. ‘Full attention must be given to zhi’ he thundered, ‘ we should not dare to put its decoration (wen) in order’.75

72 SJ 30, p. 1442.73 SJ 130, p. 3304.74 Yantie lun 1 (1 ‘Ben yi’), p. 1; 1 (4 ‘Cuo bi’), pp. 56–7; 5 (23 ‘Zun dao’), pp.

291–2.75 HS 25B, p. 1256. See also HS 22, p. 1057, for Kuang Heng’s steps to remove

precisely the same details from mention in some of the songs sung on state occasions, and replace them with more prosaic sentiments. Interpretation of the passage and its textual arrangement are by no means certain, as is seen in the extensive notes in HSBZ 22.24a; see also Kern, Die Hymnen der chinesischen Staatsopfer (1997), pp. 211,

subjects and problems of the chunqiu fanlu 281

Attention to zhi and wen appears some seventy years after the death of Dong Zhongshu when an event took place that might well have seemed to be a cataclysm to those who experienced it. This was the coincidence of a solar eclipse and an earthquake that was felt inside the Weiyang Palace 未央宮 in Chang’an, on a day that corresponded with 5 January 29 BCE.76 The decree which followed conveyed the alarm that the emperor felt and called for the assembly of all those who would express their views directly. Du Qin 杜欽, who held no office at the time, was one of those who gave his opinion. Later, in the summer, such men were duly summoned to attend in the Bai hu dian 白虎殿,77 to hear a rescript that was couched in general terms and was somewhat reminiscent of those to which Dong Zhongshu had given an answer. They were to advise on the correct way of dynastic rule in a cosmic context, and to answer in the light of the ‘Six Classics’ (liu jing 六經).78 Du Qin replied in terms of the qualities and ideal values that were necessary to ensure a correct way of ruling. These included zhong and jing together with xiao 孝, and he cited Kongzi no less than three times. He continued, in a manner that may be com-pared and contrasted with that of Dong Zhongshu: ‘Yin carried on from Xia and held substance in honour; Zhou carried on from Yin and held pattern in honour. Now that the house of Han has inherited the evil left behind by Zhou’s [decline] and Qin, it is right and fitting to suppress attention to pattern and to accord importance to substance. Extravagance should be abolished in place of frugality, with an out-ward show of attention to what is true (shi 實) and avoidance of what is pretence (wei 偽)’.

Like Du Qin, Liu Xiang attached the idea or qualities of zhi and wen to dynastic regimes.79 He wrote of Shang as being constant (chang 常), constancy being in substance, and as looking to heaven as the master; Xia was great (da 大), greatness being in pattern, and Shang looked to earth as the master. Liu Xiang then writes of the reversion of the

218, 299. Kuang Heng is also known for what might appear to be contradictory views, first that it would be incorrect to restore honours to the house of Song as being the survivors of Yin; and second that recognition should be given to Kongzi’s family as being descendants of Yin. Possibly, in addition to the arguments as recorded (HS 67, p. 2926), the one case was to be dismissed as wen and the second retained, as zhi.

76 HS 10, p. 307, 27C(2), p. 1504, 60, p. 2673; Crisis and Conflict, p. 154.77 Yan Shigu states that this was in the Weiyang Gong.78 HS 60, p. 2673.79 Shuo yuan 19 (‘Xiu wen’).1b; see also 20 (‘Fan zhi’).2a.

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cycle of two after Shang and Xia and applies this principle to other matters such as the inculcation of loyalty (zhong 忠) by Xia, respect (jing 敬) by Yin, and wen 文 by Zhou, thus re-echoing Dong Zhong-shu.80 Harada also cites from other Western Han writings, such as the Huainanzi, Fa yan and Liji, where zhi and wen are in contrast.81

To Yang Xiong (53 BCE–18 CE), zhi and wen are applicable to human beings. In one passage he uses a simile—that of a sheep wear-ing a tiger’s pelt—to illustrate the distinction between substance, that is real, and pattern, that can be assumed meretriciously to no effect.82 Elsewhere, in a passage which may be subject to different interpretations, he adds a further thought, writing shengren wen zhi zhe ye 聖人文質者也 ‘The holy man is the one who brings pattern to bear on substance’. The same use of wen zhi in this way is seen in the Yantie lun.83

The accretions to and suppressions from zhi and wen are mentioned in the catalogue of the imperial library, in a comment that follows the list of works on li,84 and from now on, a different emphasis on or interpretation of zhi and wen is seen in a number of contexts. In advising Wei Ao 隗囂 to set up shrines to the Western Han emperors (23 CE), Fang Wang 方望 reminded him of the suppressions from and additions made to li, and added that there was no constancy in zhi and wen.85 Lu Gong 魯恭 referred to these differences in a memorial of 107, which concerned the correct timing for ordering capital sentences; and he recalled

80 For Dong Zhongshu’s remarks on loyalty, respect and pattern, see p. 276 above.81 Harada, op. cit., pp. 463–4, 469; Huainanzi 8 (‘Ben jing’).14b; 10 (‘Miu cheng’).4b;

14 (‘Quan yan’).8a; Fa yan 1 (‘Xue xing’).1b; 2 (‘Wu zi’).3a; 9 (‘Xian zhi’).2a; (SBBY); Liji 23 (‘Li qi’). 2a, where ben 本 and wen are in contrast; 14a, where wen and su 素 are in contrast; 26 (‘Jiao te xing’).12a,b; see also 6a.

82 Yang Xiong, Fa yan 2 (‘Wu zi juan’).3b, (SBBY), Wang Rongbao, Fa yan yishu 4, p. 71.

83 Fa yan 9 (‘Xuan wen’).2a (SBBY), Wang Rongbao, Fa yan yishu 12, p. 291. Wang Rongbao refers to a variant reading that is seen in Li Xian’s comment to HHS (tr.) 30, p. 3663 (HHSJJ 30.2a) where he cites Zheng Xuan with text of Shengren wen zhi bei 備 ye. Wang Rongbao regards this as a mistaken alteration by a copyist, pointing out that the Shaoxing edition of HHS reads zhe. The punctuated edition of HHS (1965) in fact reads zhe and not pei, HHSJJ reads bei. See YTL 4 (18 ‘Duan xue’), p. 230 (Dafu’s speech) ‘Li is the means of bringing wen to bear on conduct of a low grade, . . . li thereby brings pattern to bear on substance’.

84 HS 30, p. 1710. After a citation from the Xugua 序卦 of the Yi jing (9.12b–13a) the writer continues ‘In such circumstances the zhi and the wen of the monarchs and the kings suffered losses and gained accretions throughout the ages’.

85 HHS 13, p. 514.

subjects and problems of the chunqiu fanlu 283

Kongzi’s understanding of the changes made during the process of continuation from Xia to Zhou.86

The duality, combination or contrast of zhi and wen is seen in a number of passages of the Baihu tong, with new implications and for the first time a mention of specialists for each one. One of these con-cerns the two systems of rankings (jue 爵), one of five and one of three grades; the system of five is said to take the Wu xing as its model, and was espoused by specialists, or proponents of wen (i.e., wen jia 文家); that of three was modelled on the Three Luminaries of the heavens (San guang 三光) and was espoused by specialists or proponents of zhi (zhi jia 質家).87 The distinction between wen jia and zhi jia is seen elsewhere.88 As in the remark attributed to Yuan Ang 爰盎 (see p. 279 above), we read of heaven being the model for zhi, and earth for wen.89 Another passage begins ‘Why is it that those who are kings must nec-essarily uphold zhi and then uphold wen?90 The text then explains that zhi and wen succeed one another in the same way as Yang and Yin alternate with each other, citing the Shang shu da zhuan 尚書大傳, and the Li San zheng ji 禮三正記.91 A further passage in the Baihu tong distinguishes the two as follows, as translated by Tjan Tjoe Som, who renders zhi as Substance and wen as Form:92

86 HHS 25, p. 881; see Hulsewé, Remnants of Han Law (1955), p. 106. The reference is to Lunyu 2 (‘Wei zheng’).8a.

87 Baihu tong 1 (‘Jue’), p. 6, Tjan, op. cit., p. 219. The term jue is used here not to designate the series of eighteen and then twenty orders of honour of Qin and Han, but to denote the two systems of five (Gong 公, Hou 侯, Bo 伯, Zi 子, and Nan 男) and of three (Gong, Hou and Bo/Zi/Nan) ranks of pre-imperial times. In this connec-tion The Baihu tong cites the Han wen jia 含文嘉, one of the wei texts to be banned later, and considers at length the questions of titles and the size of the estates proper to each system.

88 Baihu tong 8 (‘San zheng’), p. 361, Tjan, op. cit., p. 549. See also Baihu tong 2 (‘Shi’), pp. 69–71, Tjan, p. 370 for wen zhe and zhi zhe. The terms zhi jia and wen jia are not seen in the Shiji, Han shu, Hou Han shu and San guo zhi. They occur in the note by He Xiu (129–82) to Gongyang zhuan 4.8a (Huan gong 2).

89 Baihu tong 8 (‘San zheng’), p. 365, Tjan, op. cit., p. 551.90 Baihu tong 8 (‘San zheng’), p. 368, Tjan, op. cit., p. 553, ‘Why must a King, after

[the Principle of] Substance has been adhered to follow [the Principle of] Form?’.91 The citation from the Shang shu da zhuan, which is not seen in the SBCK text,

is retained, as from BHT, in D.C. Lau, Shang shu da zhuan zhu zi suo yin (1994), p. 10. Tjan Tjoe Som refers to another wei text, Chunqiu wei yuan ming bao (Yu han shan ji yi shu 57.6a).

92 Baihu tong 5 (‘San jun’), p. 204, Tjan, op. cit., p. 449. For translation of other passages from the Baihu tong, see Fung Yu-lan op cit., p. 63.

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Why is it that when a King has received the command [from heaven to found a new Dynasty] the first thing he does is to destroy [the reigning Dynasty] when he is an adherent of [the Principle of] Substance, whereas when he is an adherent of [the Principle of] Form the first thing he does is to change the first month of the year [as a sign of the new reign]? An adherent of [the Principle of] Substance says: “Since heaven has man-dated me, and ordered me to slay him who does not follow the way, I am now slaying him that I may be King”. Therefore the slaying is put first. An adherent of [the Principle of] Form says: “heaven has mandated me to accomplish my kingship before I have the right to slay the King”; therefore the changing of the first month of the year is put first. Besides, by the change of the first month of the year [the Principle of] Substance is substituted for [that of] Form.93 The [Principle of] Form puts form first; the [Principle of] Substance puts substance first.

Zhi and wen are treated at some length in a passage of the Chun-qiu fanlu that almost has a metaphysical approach, but which Su Yu believes did not derive from Dong Zhongshu.94 The text, whose mean-ing is by no means certain, emphasises the importance that li places on the purpose, intention or will (zhi 志) behind certain actions. ‘Will or purpose are/make [wei 爲] the substance; material things (wu 物) are/make the pattern. The pattern is made manifest in the substance; the substance does not exist in the pattern. How can the pattern be brought to bear on the substance?95 Only when both substance and pattern are together in their complete state [bei 備] is the appropri-ate order of li accomplished. If pattern and substance each act in its own way, it is not possible for there to be the names [to distinguish] ‘Me’ and ‘You’ [wo er zhi ming 我爾之名]. If, when they cannot both be together in their complete state, they act in their own ways, with substance existing there would be no pattern’. The text then refers to the way in which the Chunqiu records two incidents, in one case giving grudging assent to an action, in the other condemning it as wrong.96 The text of pian 2 reaches the conclusion that in its account of the priorities that obtain in dao, the Chunqiu places zhi in front and

93 Translation as given for 文代其質也.94 Pian no. 2 ‘Yu bei’, p. 27; see Chapter Six above p. 230.95 Wen an shi zhi 文安施質. Su Yu, followed by Lai Yanyuan (p. 21) takes this to

mean that as wen is the means of making zhi manifest, if zhi did not exist to what would wen be attached?

96 Chunqiu 17.1a (Xi 29th year); Legge, op. cit., vol. V, p. 213; Gongyang zhuan 12.16a; and Chunqiu 6.8b (Huan 5th year); Legge, op. cit., vol. V, p. 45; Gongyang 4.16a.

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wen behind, with purpose, will or intention on the right and material things on the left.

Zhi and wen also feature in a major way in pian no. 23 of the Chunqiu fanlu, which can hardly be ascribed to Dong, particularly in connec-tion with the ‘Four Models’ (Si fa 四法); and they are also mentioned in other chapters.97 They do not seem to appear in a number of other writings, such as the Lü shi chunqiu, Xin shu, Xin yu, or Shen jian, but as seen above Yang Xiong 揚雄 mentioned the distinction between wen and zhi, as also did Wang Chong 王充, on several occasions, and Xu Gan 徐幹.98 A decree issued by Wei in 230 CE remarked on the changes between the two over the generations.99

It is thus clear that a distinction between zhi and wen was recog nised in at least one text of pre-imperial times. The significance attached to the two terms in Chunqiu fanlu 2 and 23, supported by other refer-ences in other pian of that text, does not seem to be evident in West-ern Han writings until well after the time of Dong Zhongshu; we must wait until the time when the Yantie lun was being compiled, or Du Qin and Liu Xiang were expressing their opinions and ideas, before the distinction is seen again. Considerable importance had accrued to it in the highly charged intellectual atmosphere of 79 CE.

In addition some of the texts later categorised as wei 緯 refer to this subject. They draw several points of contrast between the zhi jia, who are seen as giving priority to worship at family shrines and to ties of kinship, and the wen jia who give priority to worship at the shrines of the soil and the crops, and to honouring those who are in high places.100 The reason why the zhi jia regulate for three degrees of rank is that they take heaven’s possession of the three luminaries as their model; the wen jia, with their five degrees of rank, take earth’s possession of the Wu xing as their model.101 The cycle of zhi and wen

97 CQFL 1 (1 ‘Chu Zhuang Wang’), p. 20; 2, pp. 27, 36; 3, p. 55; 6, p.123; 21, p. 178. In pian no. 12, pp. 145–6 the acceptance of the wen of Zhou with reversion to zhi is one of the ten ‘fingers’ whereby the development of hua 化 is promoted. See also CQFL 17 (82 ‘Tian dao shi’), p. 471 for the respect given to wen over zhi.

98 Fa yan 2 (‘Wu zi’).3b, 9 (‘Xian zhi’).2a; Lunheng 14 (42 ‘Qian gao’), p. 643; 18 (55 ‘Ganlei’), p. 794; 18 (56 ‘Qi shi’), p. 808; 26 (78 ‘Shi zhi’), p. 1083; and 28 (82 ‘Shu jie’), p. 1149; Zhong lun 7 (‘Yi ji’).18a.

99 San guo zhi 3, p. 97.100 Chunqiu wei 春秋緯 and Yue ji yao jia 樂稽耀嘉; Yasui Kōzan and Nakamura

Shōhachi, Chōshū isho shūsei, vol. 4B (1992), p. 137 and vol. 3 (1971), p. 96.101 Chunqiu yuan ming bao 春秋元命包, Yasui and Nakamura, op. cit., vol. 4A

(1988), p. 59. For the appearance of these ideas in the Baihu tong, see above p. 283.

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changes when the one who is king receives the mandate; and while the calendar changes on a series of three occasions, wen and zhi revert to their places on a rhythm of two.102 A contrast between zhi and wen is drawn in connection with Fu Xi’s achievements; and we may read that the ‘holy tripod’ (shen ting 神鼎), i.e., the ruler, is the essence of zhi and wen.103

On a number of occasions the Heshang Gong 河上公 commentary to the Laozi, which may be dated between the end of Han and Sui, draws attention to the contrast between zhi and wen, between that which has real substance and that which is superimposed by way of decoration. The notes stress the importance of treating the one as real and the other as false.104

Attention is also due to a passage in the Song shu, compiled by Shen Yue, which sees a sequence of Wu xing, San tong and the existence of zhi and wen.105

The foregoing may be summarised with the statement that in addi-tion to the distinction between the values of zhong, jing and wen, as seen in Dong Zhongshu’s third response, there was also a marked attention to a polarity between zhi and wen. Such a distinction is per-haps of greater importance than is generally recognised, appearing, as it does, in a number of writings.

The term yu ying 玉英

The title of pian no. 4 Yu ying 玉英 calls for comment both because of the various explanations that have been offered for the term and its appearance in wei texts. It is seen as follows;

102 Chunqiu yuan ming bao, and Li wei 禮緯, Yasui and Nakamura, op. cit., vol. 4A, p. 53 vol. 3 (1971), p. 81.

103 Li han wen jia 禮含文嘉, Yasui and Nakamura, op. cit., vol. 3 (1971), p. 53. For another example of the power held by a ‘Treasured tripod’ (bao ding 寶鼎) see Chapter Four above p. 179. For the production of the Shen ding from the lakes in answer to the growing influence of an emperor’s power, see Baihu tong 6 (‘Feng shan’), p. 284, Tjan, op. cit., p. 242 and 337 note 337. Shen ding was used as the nianhao for Hou Liang, one of the Sixteen Kingdoms (401–3).

104 See Laozi 3 (‘An min’). 2a; 15 (Xian de’).7b; 18 (‘Su bo’).9a; 20 (‘Yi su’).9b; 64 (‘Shou wei’).14a (SBCK ed.). For the authenticity and date of the Heshang Gong com-mentary, see Boltz, in ECTBG, pp. 273–7.

105 Song shu 20, p. 573; see Chapter Eight below, p. 302.

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a. Chu ci, Jiu zhang 九章 (‘She jiang’ 涉江) 4.8a, Hawkes, Ch’u Tz’u The Songs of the South an ancient Chinese anthology (1959), p. 63; and The Songs of the South: An Anthology of Ancient Chinese Poems by Qu Yuan and other Poets (1985), p. 159. The mystic traveller ‘Climbed up K’un-lun and ate of the flower of jade’ 登崑崙兮食玉英. The commentary of Wang Yi 王逸 (second century CE) cites the Yuan shen qi 援神契 as defining yu ying as 玉有英華之色 jade, which is coloured ying hua. The Yuan shen qi features in the list of Wei shu given in the commentary of Li Xian 李賢 (651–84) to Hou Han shu 82A, p. 2721. See also Tiziana Lippiello, Auspicious Omens and Miracles in Ancient China Han, Three Kingdoms and Six Dynasties (2001), p. 139.

b. Shiji 10, p. 430, Chavannes, MH vol. II, p. 481. In his proposal to establish the Five Shrines of worship at Weiyang 渭陽 in 165 BCE, Xinyuan Ping 新垣平 hoped that by so doing he would bring forth the tripods of Zhou (yu bei 玉杯) and that the action would be matched by the appearance of yu ying. These details are not included in the corresponding passages of the Han shu (25A, p. 1213). The Jijie 集解 commentary of Pei Yin 裴駰 (5th century CE) cites from another wei text, the Rui ying tu 瑞應圖, of Sun Rouzhi 孫柔之 ‘The yu ying appears when the five constant relationships are maintained in due order simultaneously wu chang bing xiu 五常并修 (see Ma Guohan 馬國翰, Yu han shan fang ji yi shu 玉函山房輯佚書 77.8a, which reads xun 循 in place of xiu). Chavannes renders yu ying as ‘perfection du jade’ in an inscription on a stone sculpture of Eastern Han times,106 and refers to a representation in Eastern Han sculpture. In addition he identifies yu ying with the jade goblet (yu bei 玉杯) discovered in 163 BCE (SJ 10, p. 430).

c. Two other wei texts, Shi han shen wu 詩含神霧 and Chunqiu zuo zhu qi 春秋佐助期 tell of a red pearl inscribed Yu ying sheng Han huang 玉英生漢皇 possibly swallowed by the mother of the first Han emperor before giving birth.107

106 La sculpture sur pierre en Chine au temps des deux dynasties Han (1893), p. 34, Plate VIa. ‘La perfection du jade apparait lorsque les cinq virtues sont toutes practiquées’.

107 Shi han shen wu and Chunqiu zuo zhu qi; see Yasui Kōzan and Nakamura Shōhachi, Chōshū isho shūsei vol. 3 (1971), p. 25 and vol. 4B (1992), p. 71. In the list of wei shu given by Li Xian in a note to the Hou Han shu 82A, p. 2721, the title of one of these texts reads You zhu qi 佑助期.

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d. Yu ying appears in two other such texts, to record that one of the habits of the lin 麟 animal is to drink yu ying and that yu ying appears if the one who is king takes certain precautions in regard to his dress.108

e. Yu ying appears in the list of signs and auguries (fu rui 符瑞) that is included in the Song shu (29, p. 851), compiled by Shen Yue 沈約 (441–513). The entry is not complete and there are no recorded dates of when this particular augury appeared, as there are for oth-ers. The text includes the note about the five constant relationships, as seen in the Jijie commentary to the Shiji, but it does not give a source for that explanation.

f. Su Yu’s note to yu ying, as the title of pian no. 4 of the Chunqiu fanlu (p. 67) cites: (i) from the Shizi 尸子 ‘The Dragon’s pool pro-duces yu ying’ 龍淵生玉英; the same statement is seen in Huai nanzi 4 (‘Di xing’).7a; and (ii) from the Shang shu wei di ming yan 尚書緯帝命驗 (Yu han shan fang ji yi shu 53.5b; rpt. Wei shu jicheng, xia, 1994, p. 1217) 有人雄起戴玉英 ‘When men of courage arise they wear yu ying on their heads’.109 Zheng Xuan’s 鄭玄 (127–200) explanation of yu ying is as the name of a treasured article (bao wu zhi ming 寶物之名).

g. Yu ying is also seen in Wang Yi’s poem Ji shi 疾世 in the Chu ci (‘Jiu si’ 九思 17.6a; Hawkes pp. 174 and p. 311) as bing yu ying 秉玉英 ‘Clasping the Flower jade’; Huainanzi 17 (‘Shuo lin’ 說林).15b tong ying qing jin ying huang yu ying 銅英青金英黃玉英 (Le Blanc and Mathieu, Philosophes taoïstes II Huainan zi, 2003 p. 828); and in Yang Xiong’s 揚雄 Gan quan fu 甘泉賦 (HS 87A, p. 3530) Knecht-ges, Wen xuan or Selections of Refined Literature Volume Two (1987), p. 31 ‘nephrite petals’.

Yu ying, the title of pian no. 4 is thus seen in a number of contexts and is understood in various ways. Two matters are of significance; its appearance in three texts that have been classified as wei; and along with the adoption of Yu ying as the title of pian. no. 4, yu bei was cho-sen as the title of pian no. 2. As is seen above yu ying and yu bei are

108 Lunyu su wang shou ming chen 論語素王受命讖, and Luo shu 洛書; see Yasui and Nakamura, op. cit. vol. 5 (1973), p. 126.

109 This idea is seen in various other wei texts, such as Shang shu wei 尚書緯, Chun-qiu yan Kong tu 春秋演孔圖, Luo shu ling zhun ting 洛書靈準聽; see Yasui and Naka-mura, op. cit., vol. 2 (1975), p. 69, vol. 4A (1988), p. 17 and vol. 6 (1978), p. 174.

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mentioned in the same context in the Shiji. HS 56 names Yu bei but not yu ying among Dong Zhongshu’s writings. While the Song writers saw difficulties in some of these titles they do not seem to have been worried about yu ying.

For the appearance of Yu ying as a favourable omen in the decora-tion of the Wu Liang shrine, see Wu Hung, The Wu Liang Shrine, The Ideology of Early Chinese Pictorial Art (1989), p. 239.

The natural order (shu 數) of heaven

Pian no. 43 opens with the sentence Tian zhi da shu bi yu shi xun 天之大數畢於十旬. For the significance of ten as denoting heaven’s complete series, see under pian no. 53, p. 352 and no. 81, where its items are named. Pian no. 44, p. 329, reads that the one who is king takes heaven’s shu as his model. See also pian 56 p. 354. As well as denoting the five odd numbers 1 to 9, tian shu 天數 signifies heaven’s natural order; see Liang Qixiong, Xunzi Jian shi 9 (‘Wang zhi’ 王制), p. 102, Chen Qiyou, Lü shi chun qiu jiao shi 8 (‘Zhong qiu ji’ 仲秋紀), p. 422 (where the corresponding passage in Liji 16.25a reads Da shu 大數; the passage does not appear in the version of the Yue ling in the Huainanzi or in the decree issued by the Grand Empress Dowager in 5 CE; (see Wenwu 2000.5, p. 35).

Summary

The considerable attention paid to the Wu xing and the defence at some length of the performance of the jiao throw doubts on Dong Zhongshu’s authorship of a number of pian of the Chunqiu fanlu. Other pian discuss the different values of substance and pattern, and-texts such as the Yantie lun and the Baihu tong show the importance attached to this duality, but it is not mentioned in other writings that are ascribed to Dong Zhongshu. There are various ways of interpreting the term yu ying, which is the title of one pian.

CHAPTER EIGHT

PIAN NO. 23 OF THE CHUNQIU FANLU‘SAN DAI GAI ZHI ZHI WEN’ 三代改制質文

This chapter, whose title may be rendered ‘Reform of institutions in the Three Dynasties; and substance and pattern’1 presents a view of China’s pre-imperial dynastic history together with a scheme that explains the correct way in which types of government legitimately vary from one another and accommodate change. The first of these themes is denoted by the expression San tong 三統 with its interpretation of China’s history and scheme of dynastic rule of the distant, mythical past. The second theme—that of the Si fa 四法—sets out four patterns for a monarch’s activities, to be adopted in cyclical fashion as is comparable with the four seasons. The theme of the San tong is entirely independent, and different, from a scheme based on the Wu xing, which is not mentioned in the pian; that of the Si fa shows some affinity with models of the four seasons that are perhaps seen in the Yue ling 月令. The chapter gives its own lines of descent of the mythical rulers, and it appears to have fea-tures in common with some of the apocryphal writings (wei shu 緯書). It treats some matters or problems that are also treated in the Baihu tong, thus giving rise to the possibility that, like that text, it gives its own account of the proceedings and conclusions of the officially spon-sored meeting of 79 CE, for which Ban Gu’s account was approved. Neither the two schemes of San tong and Si fa nor the contrast drawn in the chapter between zhi, substance, and wen, pattern, match what we know of Dong Zhongshu’s thoughts from other writings.

As suggested elsewhere,2 while the concept of the Wu xing had originated and been in circulation from Zhanguo times, it has yet to

1 Alternatively: Reform of institutions, substance and elaboration in the Three Dynasties. In Yu hai 40.12a, Wang Yinglin 王應麟 (1223–96) gives the title as ‘San dai gai zhi’, and notes the addition of wen zhi [sic] in one version. SBCK and SBBY give San dai gai zhi. For Woo Kang’s consideration of this chapter, see p. 307 below; see also Anne Cheng, Étude sur le Confucianisme Han L’élaboration d’une tradition exégétique sur les classiques (1985), pp. 44–5.

2 See Men who Governed Chapters 14 ‘The Wu xing: concept and theory’, and 15 ‘The Wu xing: practice and application’, and Nylan, in Nylan and Loewe (eds.), Chi-na’s Early Empires (2010) Chapter 16 ‘Yin-yang, Five Phases and qi’.

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be shown that its grand theory of creation and universal activities had reached official acceptance in Western Han until perhaps ca. 50 BCE. It was Zou Yan 騶衍 (ca. 305–240 BCE), as far as we know, who had enunciated a theory of dynastic rule and succession based on the Wu xing, combined with the active participation of heaven, and this would have been anathema to the First Emperor of Qin who saw his empire as lasting for eternity rather than as being due to end in favour of a successor. There is nothing to show that the Han emperors would have welcomed the theory any more favourably, and it is noticeable that when, in the last years of Western Han, there were at least two occasions at which its re-dedication was being envisaged, succession in accordance with wu xing was not mentioned as a call for a change of dynasty.3 It is however quite understandable that the theory had a great appeal to Wang Mang as showing his own rightful and legitimate place as a successor to a defunct Han.

‘San dai gai zhi zhi wen’ insists that true rulership devolves from heaven, being imparted and operated with requisite changes of prac-tice and symbol that follow the sequences of time. The process is seen in a cycle whereby three bonds or dispensations (San tong) follow one another, each with its own personalities, characteristics and symbolical colour. The San tong were realised in Yin, being symbolised by white, in Zhou, being symbolised by red and in Lu 魯, in Chunqiu times, being symbolised by black. Each one of these houses affirmed its own ancestry, adopted its own music, displayed its colour in its activities and chose the correct starting point of the calendar year. By identify-ing Lu, with black, as the third bond or dispensation, the text conveys a measure of respect and even legitimacy to Han; for Han is thereby seen as the successor of a renowned authority of Chunqiu times; it is not seen as a successor of Qin, who is excluded from taking a place in the ordered, cosmological order of being. Further attention to the San tong appears below (see p. 296).

Succession to rulership in this way required that with each change in the cycle, the most remote ancestor in the new line is ceremonially and honourably removed from the sequence and placed in a higher, perhaps transcendent, category. The descendants of those ancestors who have

3 See HS 11, p. 340, 75, p. 3192, 99A, p. 4094 and Loewe, Crisis and Conflict, p. 279 for the suggestions put forward by Gan Zhongke 甘忠可 and Xia Heliang 夏賀良 and others in the time of Chengdi and later.

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been extruded in this way are provided with their own estates and the title of gong 公. The procedure rested on the correct use and allocation of the titles di 帝, wang 王 and huang 皇, these being limited to five, three and nine holders of the title. In their various ways, cycles of two, three, four, five and nine take their place in this major cosmic system, which is subject to heaven. Further consideration of these categories of monarchs is given below under ‘The rulers of mythological history: San huang, Wu di and Jiu huang (see p. 302).

Much of this pian is couched in terms of question and answer as seen in the Gongyang zhuan. One further concept which is seen is that of the distinction between zhi 質 and wen 文, rendered here as substance and pattern. These alternate in the cycle of two that has just been mentioned and play a fuller part in the second part of pian no. 23, which sets out the Four Models (Si fa). While Woo Kang argues that the concept of San tong as described here derives from Dong Zhongshu’s interpretation of the Gongyang zhuan, he deliberately excludes the description of the four models from his consideration as not deriving from such a source.

The four models comprise two pairs, based on (a) attention to heaven and Shang; (b) attention to earth and Xia; and (c) attention to heaven and substance; and (d) attention to earth and pattern. The text of the chapter sets out in precisely parallel terms the characteristics of these four styles, with regulations that concern a king’s treatment of his kins-folk; the habits of behaviour that distinguish relationships of kin; the conduct of sacrifices and the type of equipment used; the style of build-ing of the Mingtang 明堂; the form of the robes; the performance of music and dance;4 and the conduct of punishments. The prescriptions may be compared with the detailed regulations seen in the treatises on li and also in one version of the Ordinances for the Months.5 The association of substance with Yin and of pattern with Zhou and the alternation of these two characteristics is seen in a statement ascribed to Yuan Ang 袁盎 in Jingdi’s time. These ideas recur in the Shiji, Yan-tie lun, advice offered to the throne by Du Qin杜欽 in 29 BCE and in some of the writings of Liu Xiang 劉向.6

The final passage of the pian relates these four models to the sea-sons and their recurring cycle. In regulating this, heaven had bestowed

4 For direct relation of two of the dances that are mentioned with the seasons, as drawn in the Li ji, see pp. 330, 331, 333 and p. 330 note 170.

5 See the version dated 5 CE (WW 2000.5, 34–6).6 For fuller attention to zhi and wen, see Chapter Seven above, pp. 275–86.

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kingship on Shun 舜, Yu 禹, Tang 湯 and Wen Wang 文王, each with his own ancestral name, bodily features and character.

Pian no. 23 thus provides a highly sophisticated answer to the ques-tions raised in the three rescripts of Han shu 56 to which Dong Zhong-shu responded. As against Dong’s comparatively simple answers and reassurances, the chapter sets out a scheme of dynastic history that allows for major changes as parts of a cosmic cycle of three phases, and couples these with an account of regular changes in a sovereign’s conduct of government and emphasis on particular aspects, that take place regularly in a cycle of four, as seen in the changes of seasons.7 As such this was in contrast with any application of the Wu xing to dynastic matters. Wang Mang’s adherence to the Wu xing may per-haps have precluded acceptance of that theory in Eastern Han times, and the scheme as set forth in this chapter of the Chunqiu fanlu may perhaps be seen as a major intellectual attempt to take its place.

Su Yu’s notes draw attention to a number of instances where the ideas of pian no. 23 resonate with those seen in texts such as the Liji, including the ‘Yue ling’, and the Baihu tong. The pian does not include some of the ideas ascribed to Zou Yan or of those expressed in Dong’s responses or elsewhere that might well be relevant to its theme, e.g., heaven’s preparatory portents that ushered in a dynasty, or heaven’s warnings of a ruler’s misdeeds and his likely fall into ruin.

The provisions for the correct forms for the Bonds of Black, White and Red include a consistent retrograde movement in the cycles of the Twenty-eight Lodges, the months, the Twelve Branches and the hours of the day and night. Similarly, the situations for lying in state of the corpse move from east to west. It may also be observed that the order in which the three colours are treated would, if applied to the cycle of the Wu xing, likewise be retrograde. The principle of retrograde order is seen in the Baihu tong.8

The attention paid to choosing the correct colour so as to follow the will of heaven conflicts with an intention of doing so in order to con-form with the cycle of the Wu xing, as is set out in pian no. 74 (‘Qiu yu’). The adoption of and respect for the colours of black, white and

7 See the adoption of the Si shi yue ling as an official edict, as in 5 CE (see note 5 above).

8 Baihu tong 8 (‘San zheng’), p. 364, Tjan Tjoe Som, Po Hu T’ung The comprehen-sive discussions in the White Tiger Hall (1949–52), p. 551.

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yellow by Xia, Yin and Zhou is mentioned on a number of occasions in commentaries to the Li ji, Chunqiu and Gongyang zhuan.9

From the foregoing considerations, particularly those that refer to the treatment of San tong in the Baihu tong together with the remarks of Chen Chong 陳寵 to be considered below, it may be tentatively suggested that the content of pian 23 of the Chunqiu fanlu derives from an intellectual framework that was developing in the first or sec-ond century CE rather than from the time of Dong Zhongshu.10 In fact, many of the controversial questions that feature in this pian and elsewhere in the Chunqiu fanlu are also treated in the Baihu tong, at times in somewhat different fashion.11 This suggestion is borne out by the frequency with which Su Yu seeks to elucidate the text by citation from the Baihu tong (‘Hao’ ‘Jue’ ‘San zheng’) and Fengsu tongyi (an even later work). There is also one hint that some officials in Eastern Han were aware of the chapter’s discussion of one theme—that of the correct choice of the month in which the year should start. In advice offered to the throne in 85 CE, Chen Chong, who was serving in the Secretariat (Shangshu 尚書), spelt out the adoption of the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth months as spring, i.e., zheng 正, by Zhou, Yin and Xia, in the context of the San tong.12

In his final comment to this pian Su Yu observed that it was based on the theory of gan sheng 感生 i.e., the miraculous birth of sovereigns as seen in the Shuo wen under xing 姓 (12B.1a–b) and in some of the wei shu and sayings of the jin wen specialists.13 He concludes that the pian did not derive from Dong’s original work. However, it is clear from his note to a passage14 that Sun Yirang 孫詒讓 (1848–1908) took Dong Zhongshu to be the author of this chapter. So also, and again as against Su Yu, both Fung Yu-lan and Hsü Fu-kuan saw no reason to

9 Li ji 6 (‘Tang Gong shang’).11b, 12a; 31 (‘Ming tang wei’).13a,b; commentaries or sub-commentaries to Li ji 23 (‘Li qi’).23a,b; and to Chunqiu 2.5b, Gongyang zhuan 1.8a.

10 Queen, From chronicle to canon, p. 81, cites the view of Harada Masaota that the chapter could not have been written earlier than Eastern Han; Harada Masaota, ‘Kan ju no bunshitsu setsu’ (1958).

11 E.g., dynastic succession and calendar change; a series of three cycles (san zheng 三正, rather than San tong); the correct treatment of the descendants of a defunct dynasty; the choice of correct animals for different sacrifices.

12 HHS 46, p. 1551.13 See the extensive notes in Morohashi s.v. Gan sheng di shuo 感生帝說 (10,953.140;

on the basis of Liji 34 (‘Da fu’).1a), and Tianzi gan sheng shuo 天子 (5833.666).14 Pian no. 23, 14b, p. 197.

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doubt Dong Zhongshu’s authorship.15 Hsü Fu-kuan took the references to gaizhi 改制, which is not seen in the Chunqiu, and the ‘New King’ xin wang 新王 both in that pian and elsewhere (e.g., pian nos. 1 and 2) to be at distinct variance from the ideas of the Gongyang zhuan. He thought that in the Chunqiu fanlu these expressions do not indicate a renewal of the ways of the kings of old, but point to the establishment of Kongzi as the New King, i.e., as the ruler of Lu, as the su wang, and as a commoner rather than as a scion of an established monarchy. Hsü Fu-kuan saw a further difference. This was between the progression from the receipt of the ming to establishment of a Xin wang and a ruler of Lu, and from rulership of Lu on the one hand, and the degrading of Xia and the acceptance of Song as forebear and Zhou as parent on the other; these concepts are not to be found in the Gongyang zhuan. He believed that the correspondence drawn between the dispensation of the three colours and the three dynastic houses derived from Zou Yan and the Lü shi chunqiu’s ideas of zhong shi 五行終始.

San tong 三統

The idea of the San tong as three repetitive stages whereby the rule of the world was maintained in due order and continuity is seen in several statements made towards the close of Western Han. In the forthright and critical views that he expressed in 12 BCE, Gu Yong 谷永, Governor of Beidi, mentioned transmission of the San tong as one of the features of a comprehensive rule whereby all beneath the skies was kept in order.16 At much the same time Mei Fu 梅福 entered a plea for practical means to be taken to assert the principle; he sug-gested a formal recognition that the descendants of Kongzi traced their ancestry to the house of Yin.17 An imperial statement of 8 BCE ran 蓋聞王者必存二王之後所以通三統也:18

We are informed that a true king must keep safe the heritage of the two [earlier] kings as a means of maintaining the connection of the San tong.

Precisely the same idea, expressed in identical terms, is seen elsewhere. It is ascribed to Kuang Heng 匡衡 (d. 30 or 29) at an earlier time that

15 Fung Yu-lan (translated Bodde), A History of Chinese Philosophy (1952), pp. 58–64; Hsü Fu-kuan, Liang Han sixiang shi (1976), pp. 345–9.

16 HS 85, p. 3467.17 HS 67, pp. 2924–5; see Men who Governed, p. 336.18 HS 10, p. 328.

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is not stated.19 It is included in a memorial submitted by Liu Xiang 劉向 when costly work was being resumed on preparation of the tomb for Chengdi at Yanling 延陵 (16 BCE).20 He cited from the Xi ci 繫辭 on the need to keep a constant watch on the potential weak-nesses of person or dynasty, ‘Those ones who are kings must neces-sarily pass through (tong 通) the San tong, realising that those upon whom heaven’s charge is bestowed are many and various and not simply those of a single clan’. From this he proceeds to show how the end of certain regimes cannot be precluded.

San tong is perhaps known best in its connection with the calendar. Towards the end of Wudi’s reign, Ni Kuan 兒寬 as Imperial Counsel-lor (Yushi dafu 御史大夫110–102) had cited the principle over the need for calendar reform.21 But it was not until some time later that the term was used with specific reference to a particular calendar, as is seen in the Santong li 暦 ‘ Triple Concordance System’ that was com-piled by Liu Xin 劉歆 probably in 8 or 7 BCE.22 In a passage that concerns the significance of the San tong in the system of the Twelve pitch-pipes (Shi er lü 十二律), San tong is defined as the link or links between the gifts (shi 施) of heaven, the transformations or growth (hua 化) of earth, and the activities (shi 事) of man. Tian tong 天統, Di tong 地統 and Ren tong 人統 are explained in terms of three of those Twelve, and with reference to some of the statements of the Ten Wings of the Yi jing.23

San tong is seen in an essay on the calendar by Jia Kui 賈逵 (30–101), in a discussion of the calendar of 123 CE and in a reference by Lang Yi 郎顗 of 133.24 Zheng Zhong 鄭眾 (died 83) and Zheng Xuan 鄭玄 (127–200) were well familiar with the Santong li.25

Pian no. 23 of the Chunqiu fanlu clearly laid considerable stress on tracing the lineages of the dynastic houses of pre-imperial times. It

19 HS 67, p. 2926.20 HS 36, p. 1950; see Chapter One above, p. 30.21 HS 21A, p. 975. For the part played by Ni Kuan in calendrical reform and other

matters, possibly to the discomfiture or even discredit of Sima Qian, see Men who Governed, Chapter Three.

22 HS 21A, pp. 979–80, 1013–17; HHS (tr.) 3, p. 3082. The term ‘Triple Concord-ance System’ is coined by Sivin (Cosmos and computation in early Chinese mathemati-cal astronomy; 1969) who examines at length the principles and calculations on which it was based; for the question of Liu Xin’s originality, see p. 11, note 1. For the part taken by Zheng Xing, see HHS 36, p. 1217. Needham, Science and Civilisation in China volume 3, p. 407 note (a), renders Santong li as ‘Three Sequences Calendar’.

23 HS 21A, pp. 959–61.24 HHS (tr.) 2, pp. 3030, 3034; 30B, p. 1061.25 HHS 36, pp. 1224, 1207.

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does so in a significantly different manner from that seen elsewhere, first in the Shiji, where the sequences of the generations are far from consistent, and secondly as adopted by Wang Mang. Of two lines of descent that the Shiji traces from Huangdi, one split into two collateral branches, leading respectively to (a) Shun, and (b) Xia; the second line led to Yao. Wang Mang traced these monarchs in a single line from Huangdi, leading to Yao, Shun and Xia. The three dispensations of the Chunqiu fanlu maintained a direct link from Yao to Shun and took the three lines further; but with the succession of the genera-tions they extruded the prime originators of the line to the remote past where they were of no immediate account. These different schemes are shown in Figures 1–3.26

26 See also Loewe, ‘Wang Mang and his forbears: the making of the myth’ (1994).

Huangdi

黃帝

Chang Yi

昌意

Zhuan Xu (Gao Yang)

顓頊高陽Jiao Ji

蟜極

Di Ku (Gao Xin)

帝嚳高辛Qiong Shan

窮蟬Gun

鯀

Jing Kang

敬康Zhi

摯Hou Ji

后稷Xie

契Di Yao

帝堯(Tao Tang)

陶唐

Xia Yu

夏禹(Wen Ming)

文命Gou Wang

句望

Jiao Niu

橋牛

Gu Sou

瞽叟

Yu Shun (Chong Hua)

虞舜 重華

Xuan Xiao (Qing Yang)

玄嚻青陽

Figure 1 The descendants of Huangdi according to the Shiji 1 and 2.

pian no. 23 of the chunqiu fanlu 299

Huangdi 黃帝│

Di Shao Hao 帝少昊│

Di Zhuan xu 帝顓頊│

Di Ku 帝嚳│

Di Yao 帝堯│

Di Shun 帝舜│

Di Xia Yu 帝夏禹│

Gao Yao 皋陶│

Yi Yin 伊尹

Figure 2 The succession of sovereigns according to Wang Mang (HS 99B, p. 4105)

[Yao 堯]...Shun 舜 [Yu 禹]│ . . .Xia 夏 Xia 夏 [Xia 夏]│ │ . . .Yin 殷 Yin 殷 Song宋 │ │ Wen Wang 文王 Zhou 周 │ Lu 魯

Figure 3 The succession of sovereigns according to the San tong

A parallel for extrusion of the most remote ancestor to a position that lay beyond immediate concern but yet required and retained the high-est honour is seen in the Zhaomu 昭穆 system which, as some scholars and the present writer believe, controlled the choice of the situations

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for some of the shrines dedicated to Han emperors and their tombs.27 Pian no. 23 itself shows how it was evidently correct to take account of this system of preference and priority at somewhat more remote stages of history. It is of immediate interest that the Chunqiu fanlu omits all mention of and makes no provision for the period of time that followed the Chunqiu, i.e., both the Zhan guo and the Qin empire. Su Yu explains this28 as a wish to avoid the shame of having to admit that Qin had received the charge and that Han was Qin’s successor. This was to be achieved by maintaining that it was none other than the author of the Chunqiu who represented that Han was the successor of the Chunqiu period.

Other considerations entered in. In a memorial of 85 CE, which concerned the timing of sentences for certain types of crime, Chen Chong 陳寵 referred to the characteristics of the seasons as seen in the Yue ling. Somewhat anachronistically he described the arrangements whereby Zhou, Yin and Xia took the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth month as the start of the natural year in spring. The sequences of those three regimes passed through the San tong, with Zhou taking heaven, Yin taking earth and Xia taking man as the point of origin (yuan 元).29 On two occasions the Baihu tong carries a direct statement, ‘Why does the King preserve the descendants of the last two Dynasties? To hon-our the Ancient Kings, and to represent with them the Three Reigns in all under heaven.’30 In an imperial rescript of 134, Shundi wrote of his reverential succession to (cheng 承) the San tong.31 Somewhat later, in a passage of the Jin shu, San tong seems to be used as a general expres-sion that denotes dynastic change.32

27 See Loewe, China’s Early Empires (2010), pp. 215–6, and p. 12 below. The Zhaomu system seems to have applied to the choice of sites for Gaozu, Huidi and Jingdi, to be started again for Wudi and Yuandi. Exceptionally, and for cogent reasons, it did not apply to Wendi and Xuandi, who were buried south of Chang’an city. For those two, conformity with Zhaomu would have been in direct conflict with the correct sequence of kin relationships, as Wendi would have merited treatment on a par with his half-brother Huidi, rather than as a junior as he would have been under Zhaomu; and it would have been incorrect to treat Xuandi, a great grandson of Wudi, as a direct descendant of Zhaodi. See also note 165 below.

28 See Su Yu’s comments, pp. 187–8, where he observes that Zhu Yixin 朱一新 (1848–94) had held this view.

29 HHS 46, p. 1551.30 Baihu tong 7 (‘Wang zhe bu chen’), p. 316; translation as in Tjan, op. cit., p. 515;

see also Baihu tong 8 (‘San zheng’), p. 366, Tjan, p. 552.31 HHS 61. p. 2025.32 Jin shu 130, p. 3210.

pian no. 23 of the chunqiu fanlu 301

Recognition of the San tong is seen in a decree issued by Mingdi, ruler of Wei, in 237 CE, of which we have two accounts.33 This fol-lowed reports of the appearance of golden dragons, and memorials submitted by officials urging that Wei had reached the position of di tong and that the necessary calendrical changes should follow. Such changes were duly made. While the text of the San guo zhi includes only a short reference to this matter, a passage from the lost Wei shu supplements this by citing the ruler of Wei’s decree. This began ‘As is well known, the Supreme Ultimate (Tai ji 太極) keeps the Three Luminaries and the Five Planets revolving on high and the Original Force of Nature (Yuan qi 元氣) turns the cycles of the San tong and the Wu xing below’.34 The decree acknowledges that Wei had achieved the position of di tong in due sequence of the order of the San tong, and ordered the calendar changes as prescribed, together with the intro-duction of the nianhao ‘Jing chu’ 景初 to replace ‘Qing long’ 青龍. In other instances we find that Tian tong rather than Di tong signifies authority to rule.35

The relationship between the San tong, calendrical stages and the processes of nature is spelt out in the longer version of the decree, before the citation just mentioned. This is cited from the Li zhi 曆志

33 San guo zhi 3, p. 108. Song shu 14, pp. 330–1 carries a much longer version of the decree.

34 This initial statement of the decree, as in the lost Wei shu, is already seen in HS 21A, p. 985 and it recurs in Song shu 14, p. 331. The meaning of Yuan qi is far from certain. It is seen in combination with Taiji in the expressions Taiji yuanji han san wei yi 太極元氣函三爲一 (HS 21A, p. 964; Jin shu 16, p. 477; Jiu Tang shu 22, p. 858) and Taiji zhongyuan yuan qi 太極中央元氣 (HS 21A, p. 981). Yuan qi da tong 元氣大同, which occurs in the address presented to Wang Mang (‘Charter Bestowing the Nine Distinctions’), is rendered by Dubs as ‘The grand [cosmological] principles are universally concordant’ (HS 99A, p. 4074; Dubs, HFHD vol. III, p. 207). The term is also seen in company with various ways of making enquiry or practising divination, such as Feng jiao 風角, Dun jia 遁甲, Qi zheng 七政, and is used by Li Xian as means of explaining Yin and Yang (HHS 82A, pp. 2703–4 note 10; see also p. 2716). Ca. 685 Chen Zi’ang 陳子昻 provided a long description of yuan qi in reply to the Empress Wu’s question of how best to regulate and keep it in harmony (Xin Tang shu 107, pp. 4068–9).

It would seem that the expressions yuan qi and xuan qi are to be distinguished and that it is unlikely that yuan substitutes for xuan so as to conform with the imperial taboo. For xuan qi, see Chu ci 17.13a ‘Ai sui’ (in Jiu si of Wang Yi, fl. 115 CE) xuan qi xi gao lang 玄氣兮高朗, rendered by Hawkes ‘high and bright the deep blue ether’ (Hawkes, The Songs of the South, p. 316); HS 22, p. 1065 (Hymn no. 13, dated 109 BCE) xuan qi zhi jing 玄氣之精, explained by Yan Shigu as the essence of the qi of heaven; see also Zhou shu 3, p. 46, Nan Qi shu 52, p. 908.

35 See Jin shu 21, p. 667, 32, p. 975, 87, p. 2260 and Song shu 3, p. 52.

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(untraced): ‘the correct situation for the dispensation, or bond, of heaven is in zi 子; when nature’s creatures sprout [the characteristic] is Red; the correct situation for the dispensation, or bond, of earth is in chou 丑; when nature’s creatures are transformed [the characteristic] is White; the correct situation for the dispensation, or bond, of man is in yin 寅; when nature’s creatures are fully formed [the characteristic] is Black’. A description of cosmic perfection in the Song shu,36 which is by no means clear, reads ‘The San tong succeeded the Wu xing and only then there existed zhi 質 and wen 文’.

Li Weixiong sees the idea and cycle of the San tong as deriving from the wu de cycle, to part of which he sees it corresponding; and he sees Dong Zhongshu as identifying the regime of Han with the dispensa-tion of Black, under which Xia had ruled.37 The present writer sees San tong as being of an independent origin that had no connection with the Wu xing. At some point it became associated with the cyclical suc-cession of the three idealised virtues of loyalty zhong 忠, respect jing 敬 and pattern wen 文 and was symbolised by three colours that are not identical with those of the Five Phases.38 It also seems that there is a considerable difference between the ideas of San tong as expressed systematically in pian no. 23 of the Chunqiu fanlu and those seen in passages from both Western and Eastern Han times. It is difficult to see how that pian could have been composed by Dong Zhongshu.

The rulers of mythological history: San wang 三王, Wu di 五帝 and Jiu huang 九皇

Pian no. 23 of the Chunqiu fanlu brings to the fore the question, whether raised in Han times or later, of the concepts of rulers whose existence was posited for the remote past. That the question bore an importance in dynastic terms is seen in the existence of several ways in which a line of ancestors was portrayed and the order in which its members were placed. As is shown above, the scheme of ancestry of monarchs as stated in the Shiji, for all the difficulties of chronological adjustment, varies basically from the scheme of descent claimed by

36 Song shu 20, p. 573.37 Li Weixiong, Dong Zhongshu yu Xi Han xueshu (1978), pp. 87–9.38 For these three virtues, see Chapter Seven above, p. 276.

pian no. 23 of the chunqiu fanlu 303

Wang Mang. The fragments of the Wei shu show considerable interest in the question of the correct line of succession of monarchs.39

Pian no. 23 spells out a prevailing hierarchy of the three grades of wang 王, huang 皇 and di 帝 in ascending order. It also shows how a limitation might be imposed on the number of rulers who could properly be entitled huang and di, three in the one case and five in the other, with discrete and honourable means whereby these numbers were maintained. In addition it brings in the concept of the Jiu huang, hardly seen elsewhere, and it presents a parallel with the means adopted in imperial times to regulate and control the number of shrines dedi-cated to the memory of the emperors of Western Han.

The interpretation of historical processes as the sequence of three dispensations or regimes is maintained by grouping earlier monarchs, to the number of five, within one and the same category, as di, and another group, numbering three, as wang; the current dynasty thus constitutes the third of the three dispensations. This interpretation, which varies from that given in Shiji 1, p. 44 is ascribed to Gongyang theory.40 It is paralleled in comments of Zheng Xuan 鄭玄 (127–200) and passages in the Baihu tong 41 and Gou ming jue 鉤命決; see also Liu Xiang.42 Fu Qian 服虔 (ca. 125–195) as cited in the sub- commentary to Zuo zhuan 2.5b was evidently also familiar with an interpretation of the past according to the theme of the San tong.

The advice tendered to Ying Zheng 嬴政 immediately after the uni-fication of 221 BCE referred to the rule exercised by five di, who are not named, and the existence of Tian huang, Di huang and Tai huang (天 地 泰). The advisors to the throne suggested that Ying Zheng should adopt the title of Tai huang, but this was rejected, in favour of forming a superior and so far unknown title of Huangdi, with a ban on the assignment of posthumous titles.43

In addition to the passage of the Shiji that is cited above, The San huang are identified variously as (a) Fu Xi 伏羲, Nü Gua 女媧 and Shen Nong 神農; (b) Fu Xi, Shen Nong and Zhu Rong 祝融; (c) Sui Ren 燧人, Fu Xi and Shen Nong; and (d) Fu Xi, Shen Nong and

39 See Tjan, op. cit., pp. 110–1.40 See CQFL 7 (23), p. 198.41 Baihu tong (7 ‘Wang zhe bu chen’, p. 316).42 HS 36, p. 1950.43 SJ 6, p. 236.

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Huangdi.44 Wang Fu 王符 (ca. 90–165) wrote of the different ways in which the three are identified and expressed himself at a loss to know which one was right.45 There seems to be general agreement that Yu, of the Xia Dynasty, Tang, of Yin, and Wen Wang, or perhaps, Wu Wang of Zhou constituted the San wang.

References to the Nine Sovereigns Jiu huang raise difficulties. They are not to be equated with the jiu zhu 九主 ( fa jun 法君 etc.), said to have been listed in the Bie lu 別錄 of Liu Xiang.46 The expression is seen in very few passages, none of which can qualify to be setting forth ‘Confucian’ ideals; and they may even derive from texts that are classi-fied as Wei shu. The sole occurrence of the expression in the standard histories for the early empires occurs in the accounts of Wudi’s visit to perform rites of worship at Taishan.47 We are told there that Wudi’s desire to emulate Huangdi included his wish to rise above the tempo-ral world and attain virtues or powers that would be comparable with those of the Jiu huang. In a passage that is subject to differing inter-pretations, Zhang Yan 張晏 (3rd, 4th century) comments that prior to the Three Sovereigns (San huang), you ren huang jiu shou 有人皇九首. Comparable text is seen in the spurious chapter of the Shiji entitled San huang ben ji and compiled by Sima Zhen 司馬貞 (early eighth century) as ren huang jiu tou 頭, which Chavannes renders as ‘Les neuf souverains de l’homme’.48 Chavannes dismisses the notion that

44 (a) Fengsu tongyi 1 (‘Huang Ba’), p. 2 (Wang Liqi, Fengsu tongyi jiaozhu (1981), citing from the wei text Chunqiu yun dou shu 春秋運斗樞. (b) Li wei hao shi ji 禮緯號諡記. (c) Shang shu da zhuan 5 (‘Lue shuo’).1a and Baihu tong 2 (‘Hao’), p. 49 (in a different order). (d) Kong Anguo’s preface to the Shang shu (see Morohashi s.v. San huang 三皇 12. 369 for references).

45 Qianfu lun 8 (34 ‘Wu de zhi’), p. 383.46 SJ 3, p. 94, note 3. For the Bie lu, see van der Loon, P., ‘On the transmission of

Kuan-tzŭ’ (1952), pp. 365–6. A text that follows copy A of the Laozi from Mawangdui, now entitled Jiu zhu carries a discussion between Tang, of Yin, and Yi Yin on the qualities and functions of rulers, with a fragment of illustrations; see Mawangdui Han mu boshu vol. I, transcriptions, pp. 29–33; see Chapter Four p. 174, note 232.

47 SJ 12, p. 473; 28, p. 1397; HS 25A, p. 1233; Chavannes, MH vol. III, p. 498; HSBZ 25A.35b. In the later histories, Jiu huang is mentioned in a memorial put forward by Zhao Pu 趙普 (922–92); Song shi 256, p. 8936.

48 For Sima Zhen’s contribution to the Shiji, see Chavannes, MH vol. I, Chapter Five, pp. ccxiii–cccxvi, where he explains the motives behind the compilation of the chapter and unreliable nature of its account. The text of San huang ben ji is repro-duced in Takigawa Kametarō, Shiki kaichū kōshō, p. 5, but not in the punctuated edition of Zhonghua shuju; translated in MH vol. I, pp. 1–22.

pian no. 23 of the chunqiu fanlu 305

the text is referring to a monster with nine heads,49 but it seems that Zhang Yan took it to do so; Wei Zhao 韋昭 (197–273) on the other hand takes it to mean nine men, and Yan Shigu 颜師古 (581–645) supports Wei Zhao.50 Liu Chang 劉敞 (1019–68)51 explains the passage by citing from Dong Zhongshu’s statement that the men of Zhou gave veneration and promotion to Shen Nong to form the Nine Sovereigns; such an account is duly seen in the Chunqiu fanlu.52

Shen Qinhan 沈欽韓 (1775–1832) refers to a statement of the Shiji that after the demise of Jiu huang shi 氏 the sixty–four peoples arose; and that, after their demise the San huang arose. He then compares this with the scheme set out in pian no. 23, whereby Yin, under White, together with Xia and Yu (Shun) constituted the three generations (san dai); Tang (Yao) was relegated to be in company with Gao Xin 高辛 (Di Ku 帝嚳), Gao Yang 高陽 (Zhuan Xu 顓顼頊), Huangdi and Shen Nong to form the Wu di; these together with Fu Xi formed the Jiu huang. He concludes that such is not the meaning of the passage in the Han shu which records Wudi’s wish to visit Mount Tai.53 In his comment to the Zhou li, Jia Gongyan 賈公彥 ( fl. 650) notes that according to the Shiji, prior to Fu Xi there were the Jiu huang and the sixty-four peoples, without the existence of named and titled rulers in antiquity.54

In no way do these comments show that the concept of Jiu huang took its place in an established, traditional view of historical sequences. Nor does it do so in a reference in He guan zi 鶡冠子55 where the notes by Lu Dian 陸佃 (1042–1102) refer readers to a wei 緯 text ‘Chunqiu

49 MH vol. I, p. 19, note 1. Chavannes’ doubts are confirmed by the context in which an animal bearing nine human heads features frequently in stone sculptures of Eastern Han, mainly in Shandong; see Finsterbusch, Verzeichnis und Motivindex der Han-Darstellungen, Band IV (2004) nos. 120, 171, 189 see WW 1974.12, 83; 1983.5, 23 (2); 1986.5, 33 (2); and nos. 298, 357, 405, 495, 508, 539, 594; see Shandong Han huaxiang shi xuanji (1982) Plates 29 (60), 60 (131), 85 (192), 129 (296), 134 (309, 310), 154 (344), 176 (399).

50 For comparable ideas seen elsewhere, such as the Tian huang, with 13 heads, Di huang with twelve and Ren huang with nine, see a fragment of San wu li ji 三五歷記 2a (compiled by Xu Zheng 徐整 third to fourth century; in Yu han shan fang ji yi shu 63).

51 For Liu Chang, see Franke (ed.), Sung biographies (1976), pp. 622–4.52 CQFL 23.15b.53 HSBZ 25A.35b; other references to this account are given in note 47 above.54 Zhou li 27.21a.55 He guan zi A (4 ‘Tian ze’).8b (SBCK ed.); for the date and authenticity of this

text, see Knechtges, in ECTBG, pp. 137–8.

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wei’. This writes that the nine brethren who were the Ren 人 huang divided the rule of the world between them, and asks whether the expression Jiu huang derived from them.

According to the scheme of the San tong as set out in CQFL 23, Tang, of Yin, Wen Wang of Zhou and the ruler of Lu each established their immediate descent from two generations of predecessors, thereby creating a bond or dispensation (tong 統); this comprised three par-ticipants, with a previous ancestor being removed to take his place prior to and outside this sequence. In addition, Wen Wang of Zhou set up the concept or scheme of the Nine Sovereigns (Jiu huang) who included Shen Nong 神農, Huangdi 黃帝, Di Zhuanxu 帝顓頊, Di Ku 帝嚳, and Di Yao 帝堯, with Yu 虞 (Shun 舜) being removed from the sequence, and the San huang. Of these, Huangdi, Di Zhuanxu, Di Ku, Di Yao and Di Shun were recognised as the Wu di in the Da Dai li ji and the Shiji; other texts name other figures as forming this group.56

In ordering the institution of sacrifices to the rulers of old, Wang Mang chose a different selection of nine pre-eminent men, i.e., Huangdi, Di Shaohao 帝少昊, Di Zhuanxu, Di Ku, Di Yao, Di Shun, Di Xia Yu 帝夏禹, Gaoyao 皐陶 and Yi yin 伊尹. The figure of nine also appears in the set of nine—later twelve—shrines that Wang Mang set up south of Chang’an.57

The parallel case that is mentioned above concerns the limitation on the number of shrines that were to be maintained to house the memo-rial tablets (zhu 主) of deceased emperors. The question arose towards the end of Western Han when Aidi was on the throne, preceded by nine incumbents, and the cost of the upkeep of the ten existing shrines and the propriety of retaining them all was under discussion. It had therefore been suggested that some of these shrines should be disman-tled, so as to reduce the number. In such circumstances the memorial tablet would be moved ‘upstairs’ from the shrine where it had been housed to take its place in one of the senior shrines, dedicated to that particular emperor’s ancestors. The procedure may be seen as compa-rable with that of relegating an early monarch to take his place prior to that of the Wu di.

56 Da Dai liji 7 (62 ‘Wu di de’), pp. 115–7 and Shiji 1; in the Yue ling they are named as Dai Hao, Yandi, Shao Hao, and Zhuanxu, for spring, summer autumn and winter. These, together with Huangdi, are seen in a different order, in Han shu 74, p. 3139.

57 HS 99B, p. 4105; Dubs, HFHD vol. III, p. 274; see Loewe, ‘Wang Mang and his forbears: the making of the myth’.

pian no. 23 of the chunqiu fanlu 307

Shortly after the accession of Aidi (7/8 BCE) a group of fifty-three officials proposed that the number of shrines to be maintained should not exceed five; in response Wang Shun 王舜, who was a relative of Wang Mang, and Liu Xin 劉歆, known as one of Wang Mang’s emi-nent supporters, called on the Li ji and the Guliang zhuan to show that the Son of Heaven was entitled to maintain seven shrines, while the zhuhou had to be content with five, the dafu with three and the shi with two. They added that they knew of no written authority for restricting the number of shrines kept by the Son of Heaven to five.58

It is now necessary to consider how far these ideas correspond with those expressed in the Gongyang zhuan and the Baihu tong.

The Gongyang zhuan and Woo Kang’s interpretation

While acknowledging that the Chunqiu fanlu had not been compiled until after the close of Eastern Han, Woo Kang was ready to take at least parts of that text as being authentic expressions of Dong Zhong-shu’s views and conclusions.59 Hsü Fu-kuan points out the differences between the Chunqiu fanlu and the Gongyang zhuan but this does not necessarily prove that the differences were due to Dong Zhongshu’s personal views.60 Woo Kang draws attention to three ways in which Dong, as evidenced mainly in pian no. 23, drew on the Gongyang zhuan and elaborated its ideas. The subjects were those of the three ages as discerned in the Chunqiu, the new kingdom of Lu, and the changing institutions of the three dynastic reigns.

Woo Kang considers the Gongyang zhuan’s account of the history of the Chunqiu period, particularly in relation to Chunqiu fanlu (pian 1 ‘Chu Zhuang wang’).61 This rests on the division of the reigns that the Chunqiu covers into three periods or more strictly grades (deng 等); first that of which the compiler, Kongzi, knew only by tradi-tional accounts; second that of which he had heard tell; and third that which he had witnessed personally. This division was combined with a view of the world as comprising an interior and an exterior part, the

58 HS 73, p. 3126, HSBZ 73.17a; Loewe DMM, pp. 294–5.59 For his consideration of the authenticity of the text, see Woo, Les trois théories

politiques du Tch’ouen Ts’ieu interprétées par Tong Tchong-chou d’après les principes de l’école de Kong-yang (1932), p. 39.

60 Hsü Fu-kuan, Liang Han sixiang shi (1976), pp. 345, 348, 356, 362.61 Woo, op. cit., pp. 88–106.

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interior being the centre of civilized life as existing in Lu 魯. With the passage of time the influence of the interior part had grown to cover more and more of the exterior part; the care that the ruler took over his people developed by degrees; and the influence that he exercised led eventually to unity.

In present-day terms such an account of the history of two and a half centuries might well be termed a ‘Whig’ interpretation. How far it derived from Dong himself and how well it may be traced to the Gong-yang school may well be in question.62 In any case it may be question-able how far the Gongyang scholarship of later times included Dong’s ideas; He Xiu 何休 (129–82) never mentions Dong, but at least one scholar takes the view that on one occasion at least, Dong’s ideas are to be seen in his writings.63

Secondly, Woo Kang cites the principle of the interior and exte-rior zones, as seen in the Gongyang zhuan, with Lu being the cen-tral power whose rule would extend over the rest of the world.64 He draws on pian 23 of the Chunqiu fanlu to show how Dong Zhongshu took account of the scheme of dynastic sequences, such as the Wu di and San wang, with their changeable titles and hierarchies and their symbolical colours, as on the basis of the Gongyang zhuan. Dong also saw Kongzi, as author of the Chunqiu, creating a new system under the name of Wang Lu 王魯, where Lu stood as a symbol for an ideal empire that would be seen to exist in the new epoch of the Chunqiu.

It seems unlikely that any trace of this interpretation of pre- imperial history can be found in Dong Zhongshu’s responses or other writings.

Finally, the principle of adhering to fundamentals but modifying institutions to match changing circumstances is mentioned in Dong’s responses and in other texts. Woo Kang refers to the Gongyang zhuan’s interpretation of the opening words of the Chunqiu, Yuan nian chun wang zheng yue 元年春王正月, as the source for this principle, sym-bolising the receipt of the mandate to rule and showing that the first duty of the ruler of a newly established regime lay in regulating the calendar. Dong Zhongshu’s elaboration of this principle includes con-siderable details of appropriate procedures, according to a cycle of the San tong 三統 of black, white and red.

62 For other views on the Gongyang tradition, see Chapter Six above, p. 225.63 Li Weixiong, op. cit., pp. 14 and 21 note 10.64 Woo, op. cit., pp. 107–35. See Gongyang zhuan 3 (Yin 5).1a,b and 3b, and 18

(Cheng 15).7a,b.

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The passage raises immediately two questions: that of what exactly the author of the text had in mind when writing of rulers who had received the mandate (shou ming 受命), without specifying that this was a charge imposed by heaven; and secondly, how far the argument depends on acceptance of the scheme of the Wu xing. Woo Kang notes how Dong Zhongshu’s works suffered neglect from Eastern Han times onwards.65 He observes that we must wait for scholars of the Qing dynasty such as Liu Fenglu 劉逢祿 (1776–1829), Ling Shu 凌曙 (1775–1829), commentator to the Chunqiu fanlu, Gong Zizhen 龔自珍 (1792–1841) and Wei Yuan 魏源 (1794–1856) to pay atten-tion to the San tong of the Gongyang zhuan and Dong Zhongshu, and how, more recently, Kang Youwei 康有為 (1858–1927) saw the three subjects named as a political doctrine of Confucianism that would be perfectly capable of leading to progress. It was these ideas that inspired Kang Youwei to launch his political reforms; such was the influence of the Chunqiu Gongyang zhuan and Dong Zhongshu.

The Baihu tong

The nearest approximation to the principal subjects that are explained in this pian is seen in the Baihu tong.66 This sets out the principles of the San tong and the deliberate, or even obligatory, choice of a type of ‘rectification’ (zheng) by a monarch on receipt of his charge. The zheng shuo 正朔 i.e., determination of the correct start of the month, changes every three times; the wen 文 and zhi 質 revert every second time. Determination of the correct month for the start of the year also follows a pattern, with a cycle whereby the eleventh, twelfth and thir-teenth months were chosen by Zhou (honouring red), Yin (honouring white) and Xia (honouring black) respectively.

In particular pian no. 23 mentions the following subjects or themes that are seen with perhaps greater elaboration in the Baihu tong: san zheng: Tang’s establishment of zhi and Wen Wang’s establishment of wen; and the two series of five and three ranks of nobility, as fol-lowed by Wu Wang and Lu. These correspondences add weight to the suggestion that pian no. 23 of the Chunqiu fanlu was composed as an account of the discussions held in 79 CE.

65 Woo, op. cit., pp. 163–7.66 Baihu tong 8 ‘San zheng’; see especially pp. 362–3; Tjan, op. cit., pp. 549–51.

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The Wei shu 緯書67

It is remarkable how frequently, in order to explain passages in the Chunqiu fanlu, Su Yu or others cite from certain texts which were clas-sified in this way as wei after Han times,68 and it will be recalled that some of these have featured above in consideration of zhi and wen, yu ying 玉英 and su wang 素王. Su Yu calls on them more frequently in connection with the San tong than the Si fa, and the following case may serve as an example.

In his notes to CQFL 23.10b, 12a, 12b (pp. 191, 193, 194) he draws attention to a passage which is included in one of the Wei shu texts. This is entitled Chunqiu gan jing fu 春秋感精符69 and while having some similarities with the text of the Chunqiu fanlu, it is significantly different. This runs:

Under the dispensation of heaven, in the eleventh month the jian 建 day70 falls on zi 子, the start of heaven’s initial gifts; being termed heaven’s dispensation, Zhou took it as being correct. Under the dispensation of earth, in the twelfth month the jian day falls on chou 丑, the start of earth’s assistance to growth; being termed earth’s dispensation, Shang took it as being correct. Under the dispensation of man, in the thirteenth month the jian day falls on yin 寅, the start of the creation of living matter; being termed the dispensation of mankind, Xia took it as being correct.

Texts, ideas and myths that were to be classified and denigrated as Wei shu, Chen shu 讖書 or Tu chen 圖讖 are believed to have taken shape in the closing years of Western Han from the time of Chengdi

67 For the origins and contents of the Wei shu, and the distinction from Chen, see Tjan op. cit., pp. 100–20.

68 For the association of Wei shu with the Jin wen traditions, see Anne Cheng, Étude sur le Confucianisme Han L’élaboration d’une tradition exégétique sur les classiques (1985), p. 87. For the first general statement concerning the Wei shu see Sui shu 32, p. 941. The following texts are cited: in the section of CQFL 23 on the San tong: Dou wei yi 斗威儀 (6b, p. 185); Chunqiu gan jing fu 春秋感精符 (10b, 12a, 12b; pp. 191, 193, 194); Shi wei tui du zai 詩緯推度災 (13b, p. 195); [Xiaojing] gou ming jue[孝經] 鉤命決 (15b, 17b; pp. 198, 202); Chunqiu yuan ming bao 春秋元命包 (17a, p. 201); and in notes to the section of Si fa: Han wen jia 唅文嘉 (twice in 19b, p. 204); Yue ji yao jia 樂稽耀嘉 (25b, p. 213).

69 See Sun Jue 穀王㲄 (Ming period), Gu wei shu 古微書, preface by Fan Jingwen 范景文 1587–1644; in Zhang Haipeng 張海鵬 Mohai jin hu 墨海金壶 (1817).10.1a, as available in the Congshu jicheng series, and Wei shu jicheng 緯書集成 (1994) 1, p. 203, which includes other texts.

70 For the jian day, see Chapter Four, p. 168, note 211.

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to Pingdi,71 and even from the scarce material that survives it is pos-sible to see something of the extent and variety of these writings.72 The subjects to which they refer include the relationship between heaven and earth; the features and creatures of earth; the form of the human body and characteristics of human beings; ritual and music; history and myth; omens; and Kongzi, classical texts and the house of Han.73 We may perhaps surmise that while the ideas of those texts had been circulating previously it was only in the latter part of Western Han that they came to reach written form,74 and they may have derived in part from the confusion or amalgam of teachings that concerned the wu jing and those that derived from Yin Yang and Wu xing theories.75 Some of these beliefs may have received a favourable reception from persons in high places, such as Guangwudi himself. Later they were quoted by notable and accredited scholars such as He Xiu 何休 (129–82) and Zheng Xuan 鄭玄 (127–200) to explain the meaning of what were known as the wu jing 五經.76 As a result, perhaps, of the intensive attention paid to the ‘Classical writings’ in Eastern Han and later, and the emergence of the new attitudes and modes of thought of Buddhism and those known as ‘Daoism’, measures were taken to collect and ban chen and wei teachings or writings. The first recorded instance of such a ban is dated to 267, immediately after the estab-lishment of the Western Jin Dynasty, in the terms of jin xing qi chen wei zhi xue 禁星氣讖緯之學; other steps followed in Song, Liang and, more forcefully, in Sui times.77 Such measures took place after Fan

71 See the statement of Zhang Heng (HHS 59, pp. 1911–2) that is quoted below (p. 313); Siku quanshu zongmu tiyao 7, p. 689 for attribution of the same opinion to Xun Yue in Shen jian 3 (‘Su xian’ 俗 嫌); and Wang Lingyue 王令樾, Weixue tanyuan 緯學探原 (1984) pp. 59–66 for other views. See Tjan, op. cit., p. 118 for the view that the contents of the wei ‘on the whole were already current during the second century B.C.’, reaching written form later.

72 For the titles of works classified as wei, see Tjan, op. cit., pp. 102–06.73 This summary derives from the full account that appears in Tjan, op. cit.,

pp. 108–17.74 For this surmise, see Li Weixiong, op. cit., p. 191.75 Li Weixiong, op. cit., p. 181. For various views expressed regarding the time when

wei shu originated and were circulated, see Tjan, op. cit., pp. 100–101.76 Siku quanshu zongmu tiyao 7, p. 690. 77 Jin shu 3, p. 56; Sui shu 32, p. 941 refers to a total of 81 pian of these writings

that survived, and of orders to prescribe them under XiaoWudi of Song (during the period Daming, 457–64) and Wudi of Liang (Tianjian, 502–19), after the acccession of Gaozu of Sui and again in Sui Yangdi’s time. For details of the steps taken to ban these writings, see Tjan, op. cit., p. 105.

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Ye 范曄 (398–446) had completed his work now known as the Hou Han shu.

Considerable attention was paid to these texts in Eastern Han, both officially and by some greatly renowned scholars. As early as 26 CE Yin Min 尹敏, well versed in the Ouyang traditional teaching of the Shang shu and a fine scholar of the Mao shi, Guliang zhuan and Zuo shi Chunqiu, was ordered to collate the Tu chen. Su Jing 蘇竟, a scholar of the Changes and an Academician during Pingdi’s reign, had been known for his speciality in tu and wei and his interest con-tinued under Eastern Han. Early in Guangwudi’s reign Xue Han 薛漢 had been accustomed to explain abnormalities and chenwei and was commanded to collate tuchen writings; and in 56 tuchen these were promulgated empire wide.78 In Mingdi’s reign Jia Kui 賈逵 had writ-ten on the conformity between the Zuo zhuan and Tu chen writings.79 Somewhat later Yin Zhen 尹珍 received instruction in these matters from Xu Shen 許慎 (died after 120) and Ying Feng 應奉 (died ca. 170, father of Ying Shao 應劭 (who lived ca. 140 to before 204).80 Ma Rong 馬融 (79–166) assembled some of his pupils to discuss Tu wei and Fan Ying 樊英 ( fl. 125) gave instruction in these texts.81 Liao Fu 廖扶 (after 108), Zhai Fu 翟 輔 [or 酺] (fl. 125), Wei Lang 魏朗 (died 169), and Han Yue 韓説 ( fl. 175) are also mentioned in this connection;82 towards the end of Eastern Han, Wang Yun 王允 included Tu wei in the documents that he had transported from Luoyang to Chang’an.83 Shentu Pan 申屠蟠 is named as an expert at this time.84 Passages from many of the texts to which Su Yu draws attention are cited in the

78 HHS 1B, p. 84, 30A, pp. 1041, 1046, 79B, pp. 2558, 2573. For the official atten-tion paid to Tu chen texts and other writings in 56 CE and their preservation in the ‘Stone chamber’ during Eastern Han, see HHS 1B, p. 84 and 61, p. 2033; and Hans Bielenstein, The Restoration of the Han Dynasty; volume IV The Government (1979), p. 197. For the place taken by the Wei shu in Eastern Han, see Anne Cheng, op. cit., pp. 100–1.

79 HHS 36, p. 1237.80 HHS 86, p. 2845.81 HHS 30B, p. 1207, 82A, p. 2724, 48, p. 1602, 67, p. 2201 and 82B, p. 2733.82 HHS 82A, p. 2719.83 HHS 66, p. 2174.84 HHS 53, p. 1751.

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Baihu tong itself,85 and Ying Shao cited from at least two of these writ-ings in the Fengsu tongyi.86

There were however at least three men who voiced their criticism of the interpretations or clarifications that these texts provided. Wang Chong 王充 (27–ca. 100) argued that they were unreliable.87 Aware of the popularity and growth of chen shu from Guangwudi’s time, Zhang Heng 張衡 (78–139) believed them to be basically false and submitted a memorial some time after 132 in which he reviewed the various means of determining the type of fortune one might meet.88 He did not know when chen shu had originated, but noted their absence in the accounts of Xiahou Sheng 夏侯勝, specialist in the Shang shu ( fl. 74 BCE) or Sui Meng 眭孟 (or Hong 弘; ca. 78 BCE),89 or in the records made by Liu Xiang and Liu Xin. He concluded that these writings took shape in the time of Chengdi, Aidi and later, and cited passages from texts such as the Chunqiu yuan ming bao 春秋元命包 which were inconsistent or anachronistic. Dwelling on the misconceptions that had arisen, Zhang Heng called for the collection of Tu chen writings and a complete ban on their circulation. In 196 Sun Ce 孫策 referred to what he regarded as the false beliefs in tuwei that were prevalent at the time.90

But despite the calls to ban these texts both in Han times and later, the editors of the encyclopaedias of Tang times and subsequently were ready to include passages in their works, as may be seen in the Yiwen leiju 藝文類聚 of Ouyang Xun 歐陽詢 (557–641) and the Chu xue ji 初學記 of Xu Jian 徐堅 (659–729), and then in the Taiping yulan 太平御覽 of the tenth century. Probably the first serious attempt to collect remnants was that of Sun Jue 穀王㲄, of Ming times, whose Gu

85 E.g., Chunqiu gan jing fu, in BHT 9 (‘Ri yue’), p. 424; Gou ming jue, in BHT 1 (‘Jue’), p. 2; 2 (‘Hao’), p. 45; and 8 (‘Qing xing’), p. 381; Yuan shen qi, in BHT 1 (‘Jue’), p. 2; Yuan ming bao, in BHT 4 (‘Wu xing’), p. 169, and 8 (‘Qing xing’), p. 386; Han wen jia in BHT 1 (‘Jue’), p. 6; 5 (‘Xiangshe’), p. 243; 8 (‘San gang liu ji’), p. 373; 9 (‘Ri bao’), p. 423; and 11 (‘Beng hong’), p. 559; Yue ji yao jia in BHTi 6 (‘Zai bian’), p. 269; 8 (‘San jiao’), p. 370.

86 Chunqiu yundou shu 春秋運斗樞 and Han wen jia 唅文嘉; Fengsu tongyi 1 (‘Huang ba’), pp. 2, 3.

87 Lunheng 3 (15 ‘Qiguai’), pp. 156–9, 26 (78 ‘Shi zhi’), p. 1069.88 HHS 59, p. 1911.89 In 78 BCE Sui Meng cited Dong Zhongshu in his interpretation of certain phe-

nomena as forecasting the rise of a commoner to be emperor. He forfeited his life for making such a prediction, only to be proved right in 74.

90 HHS 75, p. 2441.

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wei shu 古微書 of thirty-six juan consisted originally of four parts of which one only, entitled Shan wei 刪微, now survives. His collection was based on material that was available at a popular level rather than in official circles and includes interpretations of passages from the wu jing, the treatise on music, Lun yu, Xiao jing, He tu and Luo shu. Some of these passages had been included in the Baihu tong and it would seem reasonable to suppose that parts at least of these texts were being read in Eastern Han times.91

Su Yu cites from a number of these texts by way of elucidating the meaning of the schemes set out in pian no. 23, mainly that of the San tong, and it may well be that the author of that pian was able to peruse or consult Wei shu and comparable texts. He might however just as well have been familiar with ideas that were expressed there thanks to oral rather than literary sources. If Zhang Heng’s view is to be accepted, it would not have been possible for Dong Zhongshu to have written pian 23 on the basis of writings that did not take shape until nearly a century after his death.

Two references suggest that it is not too much to suggest a con-nection between Dong Zhongshu and some of the writings that were later to be banned. Xu Yan 徐彥, of Tang or perhaps earlier times, cites the opinion expressed in a preface to the Gongyang zhuan by Dai Hong 戴宏, who may be dated to the reigns of Andi and Shundi (106–194); this suggested that Hu Wu 胡毋 and Dong Zhongshu are seen in tu and chen writings.92 Secondly, a remark seen in the Siku quanshu zongmu tiyao buzheng, which takes its place in a discussion of the origins and differences between the chen and the wei writings, is of interest. The authors observe that the literary style of the Shang-shu dazhuan and Dong Zhongshu’s writings on the Chunqiu and Yin Yang is that of the Wei shu.93 In one particular instance, Li Weixiong draws attention to the similarity of ideas expressed in Chunqiu fanlu and the Li wei han wen jia 禮緯含文嘉.94 Other writers would go even further, as is seen in two instances. Tjan Tjoe Som writes that ‘Judged

91 For a list of Wei shu in various collections, see Yasui Kōzan and Nakamura Shōhachi, Isho no kisoteki kenkyū (1966), pp. 356–71, and their Chōshū isho shūsei.

92 Gongyang zhuan preface 2a (sub-commentary).93 Siku quanshu zongmu tiyao buzheng, ed. Hu Yujin and Wang Xinfu (1964), pp.

65–6; cited by Anne Cheng, op. cit., pp. 90–1.94 Li Weixiong, op. cit., p. 193; CQFL pian no. 53 ‘Ji yi’ 基義; comparable text is

not seen in Yasui and Nakamura, Chōshū isho shūsei, among fragments of the wei text that is mentioned.

pian no. 23 of the chunqiu fanlu 315

by its contents, Tung Chung-shu’s work may be called a wei, as also the Shang shu ta chuan, which is ascribed to Fu-sheng, though nei-ther of these works was presented as such’.95 Even more forcefully Carl Leban writes, ‘Most prestigious of the apocrypha, and for that reason probably the only such work to escape intact the literary persecutions which by Sung times all but obliterated this tradition, was the Ch’un-ch’iu fan-lu by the great scholar Tung Chung-shu’.96

Titles and ranks

The author of pian no. 23 was well aware of the apparent discrepancy between the number of the ranks of nobility that are recorded for pre-imperial times, as also were those who took part in the discussions of the Baihu tong. Use of the term jue 爵 to denote these titles is to be distinguished from its use in imperial times when it referred to a com-pletely different system. Pian no. 23 treats the subject in two ways.

In the description of the San tong, the institution of jue is not men-tioned for Tang, 湯, progenitor of Yin under the dispensation of White, or for Wen Wang, of Zhou, under that of Red. Wu Wang of Zhou, also under Red, instituted the series of five.97 However the subject is not mentioned for the Chunqiu, under the dispensation of Black.

The subject recurs in a somewhat different way in arguments that follow the proper treatment of the descendants of those monarchs who have been removed from the sequence, and the question of the small extent of their estates. Along with the major hierarchy of one tianzi, three wang, five di and nine huang we read of the five jue in Zhou and three in Chunqiu, where these are formed by (a) Gong 公 (b) Hou 侯 and (c) Bo, Zi and Nan 伯子男, which are treated as being of one rank.98 In answering the question of why there were three in Chunqiu, the text launches into its description of the four models and their pre-scriptive rules. The king who takes heaven as the master and Shang 商 as the model institutes three ranks of jue and two grades of emolument

95 Tjan, op. cit., p. 101, where he is clearly referring to the Chunqiu fanlu. However, as stated above, elsewhere Tjan writes that it was only later than Dong’s time that wei texts achieved written form. See Tjan, p. 118.

96 Carl Leban, ‘Managing heaven’s mandate: coded communications in the acces-sion of Ts’ao P’ei, A.D. 220’ (1978), p. 318.

97 CQFL 7 (pian 23).8a, p. 187.98 CQFL 7 (pian 23).18a, p. 202.

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for the shi (zhi jue san deng lu shi er pin 制爵三等祿士二品); the king who takes earth as the master and Xia 夏 as the model institutes five ranks of jue and three grades of emolument; the other two types of king follow the same pattern.99

The Baihu tong makes it clear that the question of the appropriate number of jue was a live issue in the discussions of 79 CE and that these concerned a number of points that are brought forward in this pian of the Chunqiu fanlu; i.e., the existence of five in Zhou and three in Chunqiu; the existence of estates of different sizes and the reasons for this; and the differing emphasis on substance and pattern.100 For highly elaborate schemes of titles, see Chunqiu fanlu ‘Jue guo’ (pian no. 28). A citation from one of the Wei shu notes the preference of the zhi jia 質家 for three, and that of the wen jia 文家 for five ranks.101

An ordinance and its date

In a note to a passage in Chunqiu fanlu 23, Su Yu comments that the provision that pregnant women and those with young children should not be subjected to punishments derives from a decree of 85 CE.102 This cites an ordinance, which is not dated, and which specifies the kindness to be shown to certain persons in this category. A second decree, fol-lowing immediately, ordered that so as to comply with the natural order of the universe trials for crimes other than those that were for capi-tal offences should not be held during the growing season of the year. Other evidence brings out the principle that judicial processes should fit the rhythm of Yin and Yang.103 Mention of the clemency to be shown to pregnant women and mothers, as stated in the Chunqiu fanlu, has yet to be found in the legal provisions of which we have evidence. If Su Yu’s suggestion is to be accepted, it implies that parts at least of the pian do not date from Dong Zhongshu’s own time.

99 CQFL 7 (pian 23).21b, 23a (pp. 207, 210); and 23a, 24a (pp. 209, 211). 100 See Baihu tong 1 (‘Jue’), pp. 6–16.101 See Chapter Seven above p. 285 and pp. 328, 329 below. 102 Su Yu’s note to CQFL 7 (pian 23).11a (p. 192); HHS 3, p. 148; Hulsewé, Rem-

nants of Han Law (1955), p. 45.103 See Hulsewé, op. cit., pp. 103–9.

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Summary

Pian no. 23 sets out two schemes for the transmission of ruling author-ity, which are in no way alike to others, and with attention to the different series of monarchs known in mythological history and the different numbers of ranks in the nobility. The extent to which Dong Zhongshu was re-iterating the views of the Gongyang zhuan may be subject to doubt. That some of the questions raised in the pian are also seen in Ban Gu’s account of the discussions of 79 CE may suggest that no. 23 was drawn up for the same purpose. There are notable similari-ties with passages in the apocryphal writings.

Appendix Translation of Chunqiu fanlu 23 ‘San dai gai zhi zhi wen’104

[6a: 184] To the Chunqiu’s words wang zheng yue 王正月 the [Gong-yang] zhuan comments105 ‘Who is mentioned as wang? The text is sig-nifying Wen Wang. [185] Why does the text first write wang and then zheng yue? It refers to the zheng or first month of the royal calendar’. Why does it write of the zheng month of the royal calendar? It is stat-ing that the person who is king of necessity first receives his charge thereafter becoming king. The one who is king must reform the desig-nation of the first month of the year and the first days of the months, change the colours of the robes, and set up institutions for ritual and music, thereby making a unifying bond [yi tong 一統] for all beneath the skies. It is by this means that he makes clear that the family of rulers has been changed and that he is not succeeding from another individual; and to communicate that he has personally received [his

104 In his extensive notes to various questions in the CQFL, Zhu Yixin (1846–94) comments on some of the difficulties raised in this chapter; see Wu xie tang da wen 1.22b, Su Yu, pp. 511–24. Parts of this pian are translated in Fung Yu-lan (translated Bodde), op. cit., pp. 58–62, 72–75. In rendering this pian, I am greatly indebted to the masterly works of Su Yu, Chunqiu fanlu yizheng (1914) and Lai Yanyuan, Chun-qiu fanlu jin zhu jin yi (1984). Su Yu incorporates the notes of Lu Wenchao 廬文弨 (1717–96) and Ling Shu 凌曙 (1775–1829; preface to annotated text 1815), usu-ally, but not always, specifying their origin, and sometimes with his own alterations or supplementation. He also cites notes of Yu Yue 俞樾 (1821–1907). Lai Yanyuan includes valuable notes. For the more important passages where the translation may seem to diverge from the received text of Su Yu, I have drawn attention to the sug-gestions of these scholars.

105 Chunqiu 2 (Yin 1).5a; Gongyang zhuan 1.5a, 7a.

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charge] from heaven. It is by receipt of his charge [6b] that the person who is wang rules; he designates the zheng or first month in order to respond to the changes wrought by heaven; he thus compiles regula-tions [ke 科] in order to respect the authority of heaven and earth; that is why the text of the Chunqiu writes wang zheng yue.

Why does the one who is king change the institutions and compile regulations? So as to fit with the twelve colours [as appropriate for each of twelve months]. It is according to the cycle of time that he sets his models in each case, thereby setting the colour that is cor-rect. Designation of the first month of the year takes the sequence of months in reverse three times before being repeated.106 [7a; 186]. Before the three who were degraded there were those who were termed the Five Sovereigns [Wu Di 五帝] who in turn chose what was to be the prime colour. By according with the sequence five times they took one another’s place.107 Ritual and music each followed the models to represent what was suitable, and by according with the sequence four times they took one another’s place.108

In all these cases [the ruling houses] created their own titles, moved their palaces and settlements, changed the names of their offices, insti-tuted rituals and created their own music. So, when after receiving the charge Tang 湯 became king, in response to heaven he abolished109 the title ‘Xia’ and adopted that of ‘Yin’ and at that point in time he set up the White Dispensation [bai tong 白統] correctly. He took Xia 夏 as his parent [qin 親], Yu 虞 [i.e. Shun 舜] as his forebear [gu 故] and degraded Tang 唐, whom he termed Di Yao 帝堯. He styled Shen nong 神農 as Sovereign of the Red; [7b] he built his palace and settle-ment [yi 邑] on the Yang side of Xialuo 下 洛 and adopted the title

106 Ni shu san er fu 逆數三而復. The rendering follows the explanation given by Su Yu (p. 185), who cites Baihu tong 8 (‘San zheng’) 360–8, Tjan, op. cit., vol. II, pp. 548–54. According the Xia calendar, it was the thirteenth month that was taken as the first one (zheng) of the new year; the twelfth was taken according to the Yin calendar and the eleventh according to the Zhou calendar.

107 Ling Shu’s 凌曙 note cites a passage from the Gu jin zhu which recounts a discussion of these matters between Cheng Ya 程雅 and Dong Zhongshu, but the reference may be discounted owing to the spurious nature of that text. See Cui Bao (Jin dynasty), Gu jin zhu C, p. 21; Siku quanshu zongmu tiyao 23, p. 2470, Zhang Xincheng, Wei shu tongkao (1957), p. 1021.

108 Explained by Su Yu as referring to the four rules of Xia, Shang, zhi (substance) and wen (pattern); see the section of this pian on Si fa, p. 328–33 below.

109 Bian 變—change by abolition of something that exists, as contrasted with hua化—change by transformation into something new.

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of Yin 尹 for his most high-ranking official.110 He created the Huo 濩 music and instituted [187] the appropriate procedures for the sub-stance [zhi 質], thereby showing his respect for heaven.111

When after receiving the charge Wen Wang became king, in response to heaven he abolished the title ‘Yin’ and adopted that of ‘Zhou’ and at that point in time he set up the Red Dispensation [chi tong 赤統] as being correct. He took Yin 殷 as his parent, Xia 夏 as his forebear and degraded Yu 虞, whom he termed Di Shun 帝舜.112 He styled Xuanyuan 軒轅 as Sovereign of the Yellow; he brought forward Shen Nong to be [one of] the Nine Sovereigns [Jiu huang 九皇];113 he built his palace and settlement at Feng 豐, and adopted the title of zai 宰 for his most high-ranking official. He created the Wu 武 music and instituted the appropriate procedures for the pattern [wen 文], thereby showing his respect for heaven.

When after receiving the charge Wu Wang became king, [8a] he built his palace and settlement at Hao 鄗. He instituted the five degrees of ranking, created the Xiang 象 music and continued from Wen [Wang], thereby showing his respect for heaven. Zhou Gong supported Cheng Wang who, when he received the charge, built his palace and settlement at Luoyang. He completed the institutions of Wen Wang and Wu Wang and created the Zhuo 汋 music, thereby showing his respect for heaven. That the descendants of Tang, of Yin, were styled as a settlement shows114 how heaven abolished the charge laid on one house and returned it to another. So we see that there is no permanent place where heaven’s charge is conferred: it is only the merits of the incumbent that deserve praise.115

110 Xiang 相, i.e., Chancellor as in Qin and Han times; rendering as such for pre-imperial regimes would be anachronistic.

111 The established forms of music named here for Tang, Wen Wang, Wu Wang and Zhou Gong may be compared with those named in CQFL 1 (1 ‘Chu Zhuang Wang’), pp. 20–22, i.e., Shao 韶 set up by Shun, Xia 夏, by Yu; Hu 頀 by Tang; and Wu 武 by Wen Wang.

112 Text emended, according to Lu Wenchao; see Liu Shipei, ‘Chunqiu fanlu jiaobu’, A.10b–11a.

113 For Jiu huang, see p. 308 above.114 Yi 邑 Lai Yanyuan explains this as the investiture of the descendants of the

defeated Yin house at Song 宋.115 The rendering follows Su Yu. Woo Kang (p. 125, note 2) omits text, referring to

Otto Franke, Studien zur Geschichte des Konfuzianischen Dogmas und der chinesischen Staatsreligion das Problem des Tsch’un-tsiu und Tung Tschung-schu’s Tsch’un-ts’iu fan lu (1920) p. 232.

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When, in response to heaven, [the compiler of] the Chunqiu created the tale [zuo 作] of the events that accompanied the start of a new king, for that point of time he set up the Black Dispensation [hei tong 黑統] as being correct; he treated Lu 魯 as the one that reigned;116 he held black in honour, [9a; 189], and degraded Xia, treating Zhou as his parent and Song 宋 as his forebear. [10a; 191] For music, it was fitting that he adopted the Zhao wu 招武 as parent,117 thereby marking Yu 虞 [Shun] as a forebear; in instituting its order of social ranks,118 [10b] he adopted [those of] Shang 商 as fitting, thereby classing Bo 伯 Zi 子 and Nan 男 all together in one grade.119

In these circumstances what was the general idea in mind? Of the three correct stages, that of the dispensation of Black is placed at the start.

[How is the dispensation of Black to be taken as the correct one? With the dispensation of Black being taken as correct according to the cycle of time],120 the first day of the first month falls in the domain of Yingshi 營室, with the handle of the Plough pointing to Yin 寅 as the position of jian 建. Under the dispensation of heaven, vital energy starts to inform created matter; the new sprouts of growth appear in created matter;121 its proper colour is black. Hence, at court, the cor-rect colour of the robes is black; formal headgear is multi-coloured and black; the material substance of the carriages is black, the horses are black; black is the colour that takes first place for tallies, the sashes of seals, and head bands; [192] flags, the great jewels, and the jades are black; [11a] the animals sacrificed at the bounds of the city are

116 For a different treatment of Lu, as being isolated, see CQFL 5 (8 ‘Mian guo, xia’), p. 136.

117 I.e., Shao wu 韶舞; see Lunyu 15 (‘Wei Ling Gong’).4b.118 The rendering follows the emendation sugested by Lu Wenchao, i.e., 制爵 in

place of 樂制. 119 Cf. Baihu tong 1 (‘Jue’), p. 12.120 Text inserted as suggested by Yu Yue (1821–1907), Zhu zi ping yi (‘Chunqiu

fanlu 1’), p. 516. See Su Yu’s notes for identification as the dispensation of man, with yin as the jian day, as adopted by Xia as being correct. Yingshi was the thirteenth of the Twenty-eight Lodges of the Heavens (see Needham, Science and Civilisation in China: volume 3 Mathematics and the sciences of the heavens and the earth (1959) Table 4 pp. 234–7; For jian see Chapter Four above note 211, and Loewe, DMM, pp. 221–6.

121 Wu jian [or xian] meng da 物見萌達; see Baihu tong 8 (‘San zheng’), p. 363, which cites from Li San zheng ji, described by Tjan (op. cit., p. 550) as ‘An untrans-mitted chapter of the collection of rites’. The distinction between meng da as here and ya 芽 as below (for the White Dispensation) is not clear.

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black; the horns of the calves offered for sacrifice are like eggs. The ceremony of the heir donning his cap of manhood takes place in the east portico;122 at marriages, the groom receives the bride in the court [ting 庭]; at funerals, the encoffined corpse lies by the eastern steps.123 For sacrificial animals black calves are chosen and the prime offering is that of the liver. The musical instruments are of a black substance. According to the model regulations, pregnant women and those with newly born infants are not subject to punishments; [11b] and in the closing day of the month124 the death penalty is not carried out. [193] Activities for the month are reviewed;125 [capital] sentences are can-celled; rewards for fine conduct are distributed, in these cases preserv-ing the legacy of the two previous kingdoms.126 The dispensation of Red is taken as the parent; thus the days divide at the hour of Pingming 平明;127 and at the hour of Pingming the start of the first day of the month [zhao 朝] is set correctly.128

[12a] How is the dispensation of White to be taken as the correct one? With the dispensation of White being taken as correct, according

122 Guan yu zuo 冠于阼; see Yi li 3 (‘Shi guan li’).12a, where this applies to the established heir.

123 See Li ji 7 (‘Tan gong shang’).12b and SJ 47, p. 1944 for different sites used in Xia, Yin and Zhou.

124 Shi yue bu sha 是月不殺 presents difficulties. Lu Wenchao takes shi 是 as 提 (also read shi) and meaning the intercalary month; Yu Yue as meaning the closing day of the month. Su Yu cites a decree of Zhangdi dated in 85 (HHS 3, p. 152) ordering that the trial of prisoners (bao qiu 報囚) should not take place in the eleventh and twelfth months and implies that the text of the Chunqiu fanlu follows therefrom. Lai Yanyuan (op. cit., p. 186) takes shi yue to signify zheng yue. See also HHS 46, p. 1550 for a memorial presented by Jia Zong 賈宗, also in 85, with certain similar proposals that were not accepted.

125 Ting shuo 聽朔. The rendering is doubtful; it is not clear whether the review is for the month just ending or for the one about to start.

126 Su Yu identifies these as Yao and Shun. Lai Yanyuan interprets the text as mean-ing ‘invests the descendants of the Two Kings with land’.

127 I.e., the hour at which the first day of the month is reckoned to start. For the various terms used in official documents to denote the twelve hours of the day and night, see Lao Gan, Juyan Han jian kaozheng (1960), pp. 67–8, and Loewe, Records of Han Administration vol. II (1967), pp. 20, 105, 221, 252. Pingming, also known as Pingdan 平旦, was the third hour. For a different system, of sixteen hours, see Huai-nanzi 3 (‘Tian wen’).18a–19b; Major, Heaven and Earth in Early Han Thought: Chap-ters Three, Four and Five of the Huainanzi (1993), p. 102; Le Blanc and Mathieu, Philosphes Taoïstes II Huainan zi (2003), pp. 124–5. See also Gu Yanwu (1613–82), Ri zhi lu 20 (‘Gu wu yi ri fen wei shi er shi’ 古無一日分爲十二時).11b–15b.

128 In his notes to zhao both here and subsequently, Su Yu calls on passages from the Shang shu da zhuan, He Xiu’s comments to the Gongyang zhuan and other sources which suggest that they prefer 朔 to 朝.

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to the cycle of time, the first day of the first month falls in the domain of Xu 虛 with the handle of the Plough pointing to Chou 丑 as the position of jian 建.129 Under the dispensation of heaven, vital energy starts to cast off created matter; the new sprouts of growth [ya 芽] appear in created matter; its proper colour is white. [194] Hence at court the correct colour of the robes is white; formal headgear is multi-coloured and white;130 the material substance of the carriages is white, the horses are white; white is the colour that takes first place for tallies, the sashes of seals, and head bands; flags, the great jewels, the jades are white; the animals sacrificed at the bounds of the city are white; the horns of the calves offered for sacrifice are like cocoons. The ceremony of the heir donning his cap of manhood takes place in main hall [tang 堂]; at marriages, the groom receives the bride in the main hall; at funerals, the encoffined corpse lies between the two pillars.131 For sac-rificial animals white calves are chosen and [12b] the prime offering is that of the lungs. The musical instruments are of a white substance. According to the model regulations, pregnant women and those with newly born infants are not subject to punishments; and in the closing day of the month the death penalty is not carried out. Activities for the month are reviewed; [capital] sentences are cancelled; rewards for fine conduct are distributed—in these cases preserving the legacy of the two previous kingdoms.132 The dispensation of Black is taken as the parent. Thus the days divide at the hour of Mingchen 鳴晨;133 and at the hour of Mingchen the start of the first day of the month is set correctly.

How is the dispensation of Red to be taken as the correct one? With the dispensation of Red being taken as correct, [according to the cycle of time, the first day of the first month falls in the domain of Qian 牽134 with the handle of the Plough pointing to Zi 子 as the posi-tion of jian 建. Under the dispensation of heaven, vital energy starts to bring a transformation to created matter; created matter begins

129 Xu was the eleventh of the Twenty-eight Lodges. Su Yu refers to the Yue ling (Lü shi chunqiu 12 (‘Ji dong ji’), p. 615, and to Chunqiu gan jing fu, one of the Wei texts.

130 See Baihu tong 8 (‘San zheng’), p. 363.131 Reading liang ying 兩楹, as in Li ji 7 (‘Tan gong shang’).12b.132 Su Yu identifies these as Shun and the monarch of Xia (i.e., Yu 禹). 133 Mingchen, also known as Jiming 鷄鳴, was the second of the twelve hours of

the day and night.134 Qian is the ninth of the Twenty-eight Lodges.

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to move; its proper colour is red. Hence at court the correct colour of the robes is red; formal headgear is multi-coloured and red; the material substance of the carriages is red, the horses are red];135 red is the colour that takes first place for tallies, the sashes of seals, and head bands; flags, the great jewels, the jades are red; the animals sac-rificed at the bounds of the city are red calves; the horns of the calves offered for sacrifice are like millet seeds. The ceremony of the heir donning his cap of manhood takes place in the side chamber [ fang 房]; at marriages, the groom receives the bride at the doors; [195] at funerals, [13a] the encoffined corpse lies by the western steps. For sacrificial animals red calves are chosen and the prime offering is that of the heart. The musical instruments are of a red substance. Accord-ing to the model regulations, pregnant women are not subjected to punishments; special care is taken of an unborn child to promote the growth of the young, and in the closing day of the month the death penalty is not carried out. Activities for the month are reviewed; [capi-tal] sentences are cancelled; rewards for fine conduct are distributed; in these cases preserving the legacy of the two previous kingdoms.136 The dispensation of white is taken as the parent. Thus the days divide at the hour of Yeban 夜半,137 at which hour the start of the first day of the month is set correctly.

The significance of changing the month that was to be taken as the first of the year arose from the respect due to heaven.138 In the past, those who were kings reigned as such thanks to the charge they had received. They reformed the institutions, adopted their dynastic title, chose what was to be the first month and determined the colour of the robes. Only then did they offer their worship [ jiao 郊] and make their declaration to heaven, earth and all the spirits. Only when they had made sacrifice to their grandfathers and fathers did they proclaim their declaration to all under the skies. The many leaders attended at the shrine [to learn what was to be the first month and its first day],139 therewith to declare this at the shrines of the soil and the grain, of

135 Text of forty characters supplemented by Lu Wenchao.136 Su Yu identifies these as those of Xia and Yin. 137 Yeban was the first hour.138 Reading Tian rather than Yuan, as suggested by Su Yu.139 Addition as suggested by Su Yu.

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the mountains and the rivers; and [13b] only then was there a general acknowledgement and acceptance of one and the same calendar.140

The changes wrought by means of the Three Dispensations141 are such that neither the non-Han peoples close at hand nor those in far distant areas have the means of bringing them about or ending them; this exists solely in the lands of the centre. But when the Three Dynas-ties changed the starting month of the year it was necessarily through the Three Dispensations that they controlled all beneath the skies.142

[196] It is said that the Three Dispensations and the Five Initiations [wu duan 五端]143 are the root means whereby the four areas of the world are transformed. Heaven starts the processes of abolition and renewal; earth of necessity holds still, in wait in the centre. For these reasons the Three Dynasties of necessity took their abode in the realms of the centre; they took heaven as their model, and they respected the roots. By adhering to the essential points of the Five Initiations they established control under the skies, they brought the leaders of the lands to their courts.

At the court which is held in the first month, the Son of Heaven wears robes that are exclusively of the correct colour—of black; [14a] the leaders of the land wear robes that are exclusively the right colour, with borders and fastenings in light red;144 the counsellors [dafu 大夫] and officers [shi 士] are distinguished by their headdresses. [197] At meetings of the court the non-Han peoples close at hand are dis-tinguished by the decorations on their headdress; [14b] those of far

140 gan ying yi qi si 感應一其司; the rendering follows Su Yu and Lai Yanyuan.141 Fung Yu-lan, op. cit., p. 64 renders San tong as ‘Three sequences’.142 The rendering follows a repetition of tong as suggested by Su Yu and followed

by Lai. Su Yu (13b, p. 195) cites HS 21A, p. 961, Shi wei tui du zai 詩緯推度災, and Shang shu zhong tiao 尚書中條 (as quoted in Tong dian 55, p. 1543) to show that the san zheng 三正 existed before Xia and Shang; Sun Sheng 孫盛 (ca. 302–373) ‘Jin yang qiu’ 晉陽秋 (as quoted in Tong dian 55, p. 1546) who criticizes Jin’s adoption of jin 金 and Red as being anachronistic and incorrect; and Cheng Yi 程頤 (1033–1107; no reference given) who notes the contradiction between Three kingships and a system of Four (e.g., of the seasons). Su Yu’s conclusion is that these indicate that the San Tong scheme excludes Qin, thereby showing that it would be inappropriate to regard Han as a successor to Qin. For Shi wei tui du zai, see Yasui and Nakamura, op. cit., vol. 3 (1971), pp. 29–38 and Wei shu jicheng 1a–5b (pp. 1219–21); for Shang shu zhong tiao, see Yasui and Nakamura, op. cit., vol. 2 (1975), pp. 73–91; for Sun Sheng, see Jin shu 82, pp. 2147–9.

143 Su Yu explains wu duan as wu shi 五始.144 This passage is subject to some doubt and has called for considerable annotation;

see Su Yu 13b-14a, where commentators have identified the colours that are named, and the rendering of Lai Yanyuan.

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distant areas in each case wear the clothes of their own sort when attending at court. It is by this means that the principle of the Dispen-sation of heaven is made clear.

In the expression Tong san zheng 統三正, zheng 正 indicates the first month of the year; tong 統 brings its unseen influence to bear on all created things and in response they are set right. When this dis-pensation is set right, all other matters are right. The most important matter in the whole year lies in the choosing the first month correctly. When that which is right is taken as the model, with the roots set right, the branches respond; with the interior set right the exterior responds; when no action or activity fails to be changed and trans-formed in accordance with the trend, it may be said that that which is right is being taken as the model. [15a] This is why the man of quality says that Wu Wang was to be compared with the first month, correctly designated.145

[198] The Chunqiu writes ‘Qi Bo 杞伯 came to attend at court’. The descendant of a king is termed gong 公; so why was the ruler of Qi termed bo? Proceeding backwards towards the past, the Chunqiu was degrading Xia; and proceeding forward to the future it was maintain-ing Zhou in its rightful place and taking the Chunqiu period as fit to be regarded as a new kingship. How is the Chunqiu period fit to be regarded as a new kingship? The answer is that, according to the model that those who are kings should follow, they must necessarily see that there is a rectification of titles; they must degrade those termed wang and entitle them di 帝; they must invest the descendants of such regimes with small domains with which to render services of respect and sacrifice to the memory of their ancestors. Going forward to the future they must preserve the descendants of the two earlier kingships with large domains, having them wear the robes of their own style and practise the rites and the music of their own time, and they are to be styled guests [ke 客] when they visit the court.146

145 Su Yu explains this as follows: while it was Wen Wang who founded and expanded Zhou, it was Wu Wang who brought this to a correct state of affairs by eliciting a response from all under the skies.

146 At Wu Wang’s conquest of Shang, the surviving descendants of Xia were settled at Qi, to maintain sacrifices to the Xia line; Chunqiu and Zuo zhuan 10 (Zhuang 27; 667 BCE).10a refers to Qi’s master as Qi Bo. To explain and provide support for the argument and theme of this passage, Su Yu, p. 198, draws extensively on He Xiu’s comment to Gongyang zhuan 2.9a–10a, Zheng Xuan, the Baihu tong and the Gou ming jue 鈎命決 (usually classified as a Wei shu) and the memorial of Liu Xiang (HS

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[15b] So, during one and the same period, those monarchs who are entitled di number five, and those who are entitled wang number three. This is the way in which light is cast on the Five Initiations and passage through the Three Dispensations is achieved.147 [199] So we find that by adopting the style of wang the men of Zhou gave venera-tion and promotion to Shen nong as one of the Nine Sovereigns [Jiu huang 九皇], and emended the style and title of Xuanyuan 軒轅 to be Huangdi 黃帝.148 [16a] Thereby they preserved the title of di in di Zhuan Xu 顓頊, di Ku 嚳 and di Yao; they degraded Yu 虞, styling Shun as di Shun. They marked out the Five di by means of small ter-ritories. Going forwards to the future they preserved the descendants of Yu 禹 [Xia] at Qi 杞; they preserved the descendants of Tang 湯 [Yin] in Song with lands of an hundred li and with the rank and title of gong; and in all cases they had them wear the clothes of their own sort and practise the rites and the music of their own time, and styled them Former Royal Guests [xian wang ke 先王客] when they visited the court.

In relating the activities of the New Kings the Chunqiu removed the institutions of Zhou and thought it fitting to adopt the [16b] Dispensa-tion of Black, with Yin and Zhou being treated as the descendants of former kings.149 [200] Degrading Xia it styled Yu 禹 as Di Yu, marking out his descendants by means of small territories. Thus the statement ‘degrade Xia and preserve Zhou’ was due to the Chunqiu’s concept of the New Kingdom as being correct. That it did not treat Qi as bearing the title of hou [sic] was because it was not treating Xia’s descendants in the same way as descendants of kings. Why was Qi termed zi 子 and also bo 伯? The reason was to show that it was a small domain of a special type.

Why does the posthumous title come first for Huangdi but last for the other four? [17a] The answer is that the title of di must necessarily

36, p. 1950). Liu Xiang’s memorial (HS 36, p. 1950), as seen on p. 297 above, reads: ‘Those ones who are kings must necessarily pass through (tong 通) the San tong, realis-ing that those upon whom heaven’s charge is bestowed are many and various and not simply those of a single clan’.

147 See He Xiu’s comment, Gongyang zhuan 2.6a; Baihu tong 7 (‘Wang zhe bu chen’), p. 316.

148 The nine were formed of Shen nong, the San huang and Wu di. 149 Su Yu cites the suggestion made by Sui Meng, which cost him his life, and points

out that as yet the descendants of Yin and Zhou had not been singled out for recogni-tion. See Chapter Two above, p. 57.

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be retained five times; [in Huangdi, huang is foremost of the colours of heaven, di is foremost of the titles of heaven].150 After five occasions the titles resume their cycle. In the way that the men of Zhou took the title of wang, Xuanyuan was best fitted to take the first of heaven’s titles and was therefore termed Huangdi.151 For the use of di, while the title is of high honour, the posthumous title is lower; and it is for this reason that the posthumous title is placed last for the four di.

If the titles of the di were high, why were they marked out with small territories? The answer is that for the rulers of long ago the titles were high, the lands confined; for those of more recent times the titles were low, and the lands were extensive; such is the way that differences of kinship are shown.

For those kings who do not change from the right ways, there are resumptions of the cycle after two, [201] three, four, five and nine times.152 A man who comprehends this and is familiar with the work-ings of heaven and earth, Yin and Yang, the four seasons, the sun and moon, the stars and planets, the mountains and the rivers and human values, and whose qualities match those of heaven and earth is termed Huangdi.153 [17b; 202] Thanks to the way in which heaven helps him and treats him as a child he is termed ‘Son of Heaven’.

[18a] So, while they are alive, the holy kings are termed Tianzi.154 Once they are dead and departed, they are known as the San wang; and when degraded and rejected, they are known as the Wu di. Reach-ing the next stage as adjuncts (fuyong 附庸)155 they are degraded to become the Jiu huang; and at the extreme stage they become com-moners (min 民). [18b] They are also termed the ‘previous genera-tions’.156 So, despite the contraction of their lands, the situation of their

150 Rendering doubtful.151 For suggested textual changes and the interpretation, see Su Yu’s note.152 These cycles are explained as those of wen and zhi (two); correct designation of

the first day of the month (three, as seen in occurrence of the jian day); Shang, Xia, zhi, wen (four); the Wu di (five); the Jiu huang (nine).

153 In long notes, Su Yu seeks to elucidate the use of this terms wang, huang and di by citing from the Baihu tong 2 (‘Hao’), p. 43, and Fengsu tongyi 1 (‘Huang ba’), p. 2, citing Chunqiu yundou shu 春秋運斗樞.

154 For Tianzi, see the opening passage of Baihu tong 1 (‘Jue’), pp. 1–2, which cites from wei shu such as Yuan shen qi 援神契 and Gouming jue 鈎命決.

155 I.e., vested with smaller estates of an inferior rank to that of the hou or oth-ers, and as exemplified above in the case of the descendants of Xia at Qi and Yin at Song.

156 有一謂之三代 The rendering follows Su Yu’s suggestions, reading xian 先 in place of san 三. Liu Shipei, op. cit., suggests that san had been interpolated.

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memorial shrines, the prayers and sacrifices on their behalf are classed with the jiao 郊; [203] they are revered as ancestors at the Daizong 代宗 ceremony.157 It is thus said that reputation and fame, the hun 魂 and the po 魄 [return to?] the void. Extreme long life knows no bounds.

[19a] Why is it said ‘reversion [fu 復] after two, reversion after four’? Why does the Chunqiu specify Hu 忽 as the name of [Zhao Gong 昭公] of Zheng? While the Chunqiu treats Bo, Zi and Nan as being in one category, there is nothing that is intended as a detraction in the expression.158 [204] Why are they placed together as one? The reason is because there were five ranks in Zhou times, and three in the Chunqiu.159

[19b] Why does the Chunqiu have three ranks? In the institutions for kings there is one occasion for Shang, one for Xia, one for sub-stance, and one for pattern. Shang, with substance, looked to heaven as the master; Xia, with pattern, looked to earth as the master; the Chunqiu looked to man as the master.160 Hence there were the three grades.

[20a; 205] For a ruler who becomes king by taking heaven as the master and Shang as the model, his ways are marked by the full growth

157 See Su Yu’s notes (p. 203) for the explanation of 代 as 岱; he draws on Baihu tong 6 (‘Fengshan’), pp. 281–2 (see Tjan op. cit., vol. II, pp. 240 and 331 note 318) and Fengsu tongyi 2 ‘Zheng shi’ (Feng Tai Shan shan Liang fu), p. 68 and 10 ‘Shan ze’ (Wu yue) pp. 447, 455.

158 This passage is a direct quotation from Gongyang zhuan 5.10a; see Chunqiu 7 (Huan Gong).9a. Zhao Gong of Zheng, named Hu, held the title from 696–5. The question that is raised is that of whether the use of the personal name, rather than the title of rank, was intended as a deliberate degradation. This is linked with the question of treating the three titles of ranks within one and the same category as is considered in Baihu tong 1 (‘Jue’), pp. 6–13, Tjan op. cit., pp. 218–21. That text discusses at some length the significance of taking the ranks as comprising five or three members, with those who favoured substance (zhi jia) depending on heaven and taking the three luminaries as their model, those who favoured pattern (wen jia) depending on earth and taking the Wu xing as their model.

159 In their plea for the nomination of three of Wudi’s sons to be kings, in 117 BCE, the Chancellor and the Imperial Counsellor cited the difference of the five ranks under Zhou and the three in the Chunqiu as a means of distinguishing degrees of honour according to the circumstances of the time (Shiji 60, p. 2109; see Men who Governed, p. 410). In 8 CE, before his elevation as Emperor, Wang Mang called for a restoration of the five ranks of Zhou and the four grades of territorial holdings, there being talk, but no textual authority, to support the idea that three ranks of jue existed in Yin (HS 99A, p. 4089).

160 For the elaboration of this theme in the Shuo yuan (19 ‘Xiu wen’ 1a,b) of Liu Xiang, see Chapter Seven above, p. 281.

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[佚] of Yang 陽; close relatives are treated with love, and he pays great attention to human values and sincerity.161 Hence in establishing his acknowledged heir, he grants this to his son with a truly generous treatment of his own brethren [20b; 206] and it is thanks to the son that the consort is honoured.162 At the ceremonies of marriage and assumption of virility, the style assigned to the son follows the wish of the father and the distinctions between man and wife are minute.163 [21a] It is while seated opposite each other that they eat a meal; at funerals they are buried separately.164 [207] In the ritual for sacrifices, first place is given to the raw meat; and [the memorial tablets of] hus-band and wife follow the Zhaomu 昭穆 sequence 165 in their separate positions. [21b] Rules provide for three ranks of jue 爵 and two grades of emolument for the shi 士; the buildings of worship at the outskirts of the settlements and the Mingtang are to be circular, the roof high, sharply pitched with extensive coverage and circular.166 The vessels used in sacrifices are round; the jades, nine fen 分 thick, are threaded by five white and multi-coloured cords.167 The robes are to be broad at the top, the headdress high, steeply pitched and round. To the tin-kling carriage of the ruler there is a splendid canopy, modelled on the glorious sights arrayed in the heavens, with four bells hanging down.168

161 Cf. He Xiu’s note to Gongyang zhuan 5.10a and Baihu tong 8 (‘San zheng’), p. 368, Tjan op. cit., p. 554, for the preference given by newly arisen monarchs for zhi over wen. 佚 is explained as 溢.

162 Su Yu cites Chunqiu 4 (Yin 7).4a, Gongyang zhuan 3.9b and Kong congzi to show how the difference between Yin’s choice of zhi and Zhou’s choice of wen affected the choice of their heirs and treatment of their kin. See also Gongyang zhuan 1.12a for the related question of the honour acquired by a mother thanks to a son.

163 Bie miao fu fu 別眇夫婦, not entirely clear; Su Yu, followed by Lai, takes bie with fu fu.

164 Su Yu endeavours to show that these practices were traced back to Shang; for the question of when joint burials were introduced, see the commentary to Li ji 7 (‘Tan gong shang’).2b–3a.

165 The Zhaomu system provided for alternate situations for the memorial tablets and the ancestral shrines where they were reverently preserved, thereby maintaining the correct kin relationships. See Loewe, ‘Imperial tombs’, in Nylan and Loewe (eds.), China’s Early Empires (2010) for the situation of the imperial tombs, and thus the tablets, of Western Han. The present passage brings out the existence of memorial tablets for women as well as for men. See note 27 above.

166 The graph wei 惟, which follows, has been rejected by Lu Wenchao (1717–96) as an interpolation. Sun Yirang (1848–1908) took it as an error for 楕 or tuo 橢, that described the shape of the buildings, and as seen below; it is omitted in this rendering.

167 The fen was the tenth part of the Han inch (cun) 寸 of 23 cm. 168 See Da dai li ji 3 (‘Baofu’ 保傅), p. 41 (CSJC ed.). Lai ignores gai 蓋.

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When the music is playing, the drums are set out in a row;169 they dance the dance of the decorated pole, the dancers fill out a ring.170 [22a; 208] At sacrifices the hair and the blood are first offered, and only then are the songs of the music heard. In regulating punishments, there are many ways in which they are withheld; for kith and kin there are many exemptions.171 For the feng and shan rites the situation is at the top.172

For a ruler who becomes king by taking earth as the master and Xia as the model, his ways are marked by the advance of Yin (陰); he treats the respected ones with respect; and he thinks highly of the principles of righteousness and of moderation. Hence, in establish-ing his acknowledged heir, he grants this to his grandson with a truly generous treatment of the line of succession (shi zi 世子),173 [22b] and a secondary consort is not given a title of honour by virtue of her son. [209] At the ceremonies of marriage and assumption of virility, the style assigned to the son follows the wish of the mother and the dis-

169 Zai 載; i.e., as opposed to other arrangements such as hanging them, as seen in the following passages. For different ways of handling drums by Xia, Yin and Zhou, see Shi jing 20(3) (‘Shang song’).5a notes; Han practice followed that of Yin.

170 None of the four dances that are mentioned in this pian are related specifically to the seasons. Both here and in the other three models, the dances are distinguished by the objects which the dancers brandish. Two of these are mentioned in Li ji 20 (‘Wen wang shi zi’).4b, that of the decorated pole for summer and that of the feathered flute for winter. Xi 錫 is explained as decorating the backs of the figures with white metal; 溢 is identified with 佾; see HS 22, p. 1058, Baihu tong 3 (‘Li yue’), p. 105, Tjan, op. cit., p. 395.

171 This is taken by Lai to refer to the relatives of the wang and gong. See Liji 20 (‘Wen wang shizi’).25b; Gongyang zhuan 14.14a.

172 The text reads 封禪于尚位, where shang is taken to be 上; the subsequent pas-sages read 封壇於下, or 左 and again 左, being regarded in the second instance as an error for 右. Possibly the differences reflect the conduct of the feng sacrifices at the summit and the shan sacrifices at the foot of the mountain. Lai takes the first and the third cases, i.e., for those following the model of heaven, as referring to sacrifices, and the second and the fourth cases, i.e., for those following the model of earth, as referring to the rituals (li).

173 This concerns the highly vexed question of whether, on the death of a nominated and established heir, it is correct to establish his younger brother, as argued by the zhi jia 質家 on the basis of the principle of qin qin 親親, or his son, as argued by the wen jia 文家 on the basis of the principle of zun zun 尊尊. Kongzi’s view that the grandson should succeed is said to have followed Xia practice and to be exemplified in the way in which Huan Wang of Zhou (r. 719–697 BCE) succeeded Ping Wang (r. 770–720). See Li ji 6 (‘Tan gong’).1b; Kongzi jia yu (SBCK ed.) 10.12a and 12.22b; He Xiu’s note to Gongyang zhuan 1.12a. For a different treatment of the question of the succession, see Baihu tong 4 (‘Lun li Taizi’), pp. 147–9, Tjan, op. cit., pp. 419–21. Questions of correct succession arose most notably in the cases of Wendi, Liu He, Xuandi, Aidi and some of the emperors of Eastern Han.

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tinctions between man and wife are minute. It is while seated on the same side that they eat a meal; at funerals they are buried conjointly. In the ritual for sacrifices, first place is given to the cooked meat; [the memorial tablet of] the wife follows that of the husband to form the Zhaomu sequence. [23a] Rules provide for five ranks of jue, and three grades of emolument for the shi 士; the buildings of worship at the outskirts of the settlements and the Mingtang are to be square, the roof low and square. The vessels used in sacrifices are square; the jades, eight fen thick, are white and multi-coloured, threaded by four cords. The robes are to be broad at the lower part, the headdress low at the front. The tinkling carriage of the ruler is low, modelled on all manner of creation on earth, with two bells hanging down. When the music plays, the drums are set out;174 they dance the dance of the black oxtail, the dancers fill out a square. At sacrifices the cooked foods are first offered, and only then are the songs of the music heard. Regulation of the punishments follows the models of heaven.175 For the feng the altar is situated below.

[210] For a ruler who becomes king by taking heaven as the master and substance as the model, his ways are marked by the full growth of Yang; close relatives are treated with love, he pays great attention to substance and love and protection [zhi ai 多質愛].176 Hence in estab-lishing his acknowledged heir, he grants this [23b] to his son with a truly generous treatment of his own brethren, and it is thanks to the son that the consort is honoured. At the ceremonies of marriage and assumption of virility, the style assigned to the son follows the wish of the father and the distinctions between man and wife are minute. It is while seated opposite each other that they eat a meal; at funerals they are buried separately. In the ritual for sacrifices, first place is given to the cereals; [the memorial tablets of] husband and wife follow the Zhaomu sequence in their separate positions. Rules provide for three ranks of jue, two grades of emolument for the shi 士; the buildings of worship at the outskirts of the settlements and the Mingtang are to be circular within, elliptical without, the roofs connected together and elliptical. The vessels used in sacrifices are elliptical; the jades, seven

174 She 設; the precise meaning is not clear.175 正刑天法 Su Yu suggests ‘with no exemptions for relatives of the rulers’.

Liu Shipei, op. cit., A.11b cites Ling Shu’s note to text below. (See Su Yu’s note on p. 211).

176 Liu Shipei, op. cit., A.11b takes 質 as equivalent with 摯.

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fen thick, are threaded by three white and multi-coloured cords. The robes are to be comparatively long at the folds in front, the head-dress perfectly round. To the tinkling carriage of the ruler there is a splendid canopy, setting out the glorious sights arrayed in the heavens, with four bells hanging down. When the music plays, the drums are fitted to pillars;177 they dance the dance of the feathered flute, [24a] the dancers fill out an ellipse. At sacrifices the jade stones are first played, and only then are the cooked foods offered. [211] In regulat-ing punishments, there are many cases in which a pardon is granted; for kith and kin there are many exemptions. For the feng the altar is at the left side.

For a ruler who becomes king by taking earth as the master and pattern as the model, his ways are marked by the advance of Yin; he treats the respected ones with respect, he pays great attention to li and pattern. Hence in establishing his acknowledged heir, he grants this to his grandson with a truly generous treatment of the line of succession (shi zi 世子), and a secondary consort is not given a title of honour by virtue of her son. At the ceremonies of marriage and assumption of virility, the style assigned to the son follows the wish of the mother and the distinctions between man and wife are minute. It is while seated on the same side that they eat a meal; at funerals they are buried conjointly. In the ritual for sacrifices, first place is given to the flavoured liquor;178 [the memorial tablet of] the wife follows that of the husband to form the Zhaomu sequence. Rules provide for five ranks of jue, three grades of emolument for the shi 士; the buildings of worship at the outskirts of the settlements and the Mingtang are to be square within, rectangular 衡 without, the roofs overlapping and rectangular. The vessels used in sacrifices are rectangular;179 the jades, six fen thick, are threaded by three white and multi-coloured cords. The robes are to be comparatively long at the folds behind, the head-dress layered, with hangings attached. [24b] The tinkling carriage of the ruler is low, setting out all manner of creation on earth, with two bells hanging down. When the music is playing, the drums are set to

177 This rendering takes 桯 to be read as ying; alternatively the character is read ting ‘cross timbers’; see the notes by Su Yu, p. 210.

178 Ju chang 秬鬯, liquor distilled with black grain and fragrant herbs.179 The text follows with tong zuo zhi ji 同作秩機, which is not understood, and

appears to be intrusive in what is otherwise a perfectly symmetrical text. One edition reads 佚 for zhi. Lu Wenchao thought zhi to be in error for xuan 旋. Lai Yanyuan identifies heng 衡 with 橫; but see Karlgren, GSR 748 h and 707m.

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hang; they dance the dance of the shield and spear, the dancers fill out a rectangle. At sacrifices the cooked foods are first offered, and only then is the music heard. Regulation of the punishments follows the models of heaven.180 For the feng the altar is at the left [sic] side.

[212] These four models follow181 from precedents and trace their ancestry to the earlier sovereigns. [25a] So the four models are like the four seasons, reaching their completion and reverting to their start, running through their entire course and returning to their point of origin. The four models follow heaven, which dispenses its portents and bestows the models of kingship on men of holiness. Nature and destiny take their form from the previous ancestors and are fully appar-ent in rulers. So, when heaven intended to bestow on Shun the gift of kingship by taking heaven as the master and Shang as the model, it had given his ancestors the name of Yao 姚. When it came to Shun 舜, his body was large in the upper part, his head was round; his eyes each had two pupils. In his nature he was fully familiar with the pat-terns of heaven, and sincere in his responsibility for his family and in his compassion.

When heaven intended to bestow on Yu 禹 the gift of kingship by taking earth as the master and Xia as the model, it had given his ances-tors the name of Si 姒; when it came to Yu, he was born from the back; his body was long; his long leg was high,182 so that he walked with a disability, his left moving first, followed by his right, the left one working hard, the right one being inactive. In his nature he was well suited for action, well familiar with the land and understanding of the waters.

When heaven intended to bestow on Tang 湯 the gift of kingship by taking heaven as the master and substance as the model, it had given his ancestors the name of Zi 子. It was said that the mother of Qi had swallowed the egg of a black bird and given birth to him, being born from the breast, and in his nature he was fully familiar with human relationships. When it came to Tang, his body was fat and short, with the left foot withered and the right foot active, [25b] the right one

180 Liu Shipei, op. cit., A.11b disagrees with Ling Shu’s emendation of the text to read tian fa in place of wen gong 文公 and takes fa to be in error for gong.

181 The rendering follows Liu Shipei’s reading of 循 in place of 修 (op. cit., 11b).182 Chang zu qi 長足肵. Rendering uncertain. Liu Shipei, op. cit., A.11b cites a read-

ing of 昕 (read xin, and xuan) in place of 肵, with the meaning of 軒 xuan.

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being worked hard and the left one at ease. In his nature he was well familiar with the luminaries183 of the heavens; his basic substance was at rest, and he was sincere in his love for human beings.

When heaven intended to bestow on Wen Wang the gift of kingship by taking earth as the master and pattern as the model, it had given his ancestors the name of Ji 姬. By treading in footprints left by heaven Jiang yuan 姜原,184 mother of Hou Ji, gave him birth; he grew up in Tai 邰 and sowed the land with the five crops of the fields. When it came to Wen Wang [213] his body was fat and tall. Born with four nipples he had large feet. In his nature he was well familiar with the features of the earth.185

So the lord sovereign186 ordered Yu 禹 and Gao 皋 [Yao 陶] to deliberate on the matter of names. When it was realised that Yin’s 殷 powers were those of Yang 陽, Zi 子 was adopted as the name; when it was realised that Zhou’s powers were those of Yin 陰, Ji 姬 was adopted as the name. So the kings of Yin changed their style, taking the male, and wrote Zi; the kings of Zhou taking the female wrote Ji.

Thus we see that the ways of heaven each operate according to its kind. Except a man of holiness, who can understand them?

183 For textual reading tian guang 天光, Lai Yanyuan suggests tian wen 天文.184 Or 嫄; see Shi jing 17(1) (‘Sheng min’).1b; Shuo wen 12B.11b. Accounts of the

miraculous conception of a true king or his ancestors are seen in two forms. (a) By contact with one of the five spiritual beings known, at least in Tang times, as Da wei wu di 大微五帝. This idea was developed from Western Han times and was subject to the influence of Wu xing thought; it included the tale of Yao’s birth thanks to the agency of Chi biao nu 赤熛怒, who was named by Zheng Xuan (note to Zhou li 19.1b). For Da wei wu di, see the sub-commentary to Li ji 34 (‘Da zhuan’).1b, and pos-sibly Zheng Xuan’s note to Li ji 14 (‘Yue ling’).20a. (b) Conception followed contact with the spirit of heaven, being brought about in one of four ways; (i) contact with spiritual phenomena of the heavens; e.g., Fu Bao 附寶, who bore Huangdi, thanks to a flash of lightning (see TPYL 79.1b, citing from Di wang shi ji 帝王世紀, and 79.2b, citing from Xiaojing gou ming jue 孝經鉤命決); (ii) contact with spiritual phenomena on earth; e.g., Jiang Yuan, mother of Hou Ji 后稷 who trod in the footprints of a giant (Shi jing 17(1) (‘Sheng min’).1b); (iii) by swallowing an egg; e.g., Jian Di 简狄, who gave birth to Qi 契, ancestor of the Shang house (Shi jing 20(3) (‘Shang song’).14b; (iv) by union with a dragon; e.g., Qing Du 慶都, who gave birth to Yao (TPYL 80.3a, citing from Chunqiu he cheng tu 春秋合誠圖). For a sceptical view of the latter account, see Lunheng 3 (15 ‘Qiguai), p. 158.

185 性長於地文勢 Liu Shipei, op. cit., A.12a believes 文 to be interpolated.186 Di 帝 interpreted by Lai to signify Shun.

CHAPTER NINE

CONCLUSION

Dong Zhongshu, to be dated from ca. 198 to ca. 107 BCE, is best seen as a man who had reason to criticize much of what he saw around him and who had the courage to raise a protest against some of the ways in which public life was being organised and argue against decisions that affected large numbers of persons. As with other prophets his voice fell on deaf ears.

There is nothing in Western Han records to warrant a belief that in his time ‘Confucianism’ existed as an ideal or an established way of controlling and enriching mankind, or that it had vanquished other modes of thought by a ‘victory’. As yet the elements seen in a such named concept for later years were in no sense formalised into a set of ideals propounded by established leaders or authorities to offset the influence of other schools. Certainly it is true that certain ideas, prin-ciples or propositions that can be identified in writings of Western Han times and are seen conspicuously in the memorials and writings of those centuries, e.g., those of Lu Jia 陸賈 (c. 228–c. 140 BCE), Jia Yi 賈誼 (201–169 BCE) and Liu Xiang 劉向 (79–8 BCE), recur in later dynastic history. But whereas in later times, perhaps from Tang onwards, these may be seen as a hallmark of the officially approved system or plan of regulating human society which is sometimes known as ‘Confucianism’, it cannot be shown that in Western Han these ele-ments formed part of a unified and accepted concept of imperial gov-ernment and social order, to the exclusion of other theories or modes of thought. The initial moves towards such a concept may possibly be traced to deliberate choices made during Wang Mang’s dynasty, to be developed from Eastern Han onwards.

In Western Han there are very few cases in which Kongzi’s sayings were cited as authority to support a point of view or a proposal. Excep-tionally, in the edited account that we have of his responses of proba-bly 134 BCE, Dong Zhongshu is recorded as quoting him with marked frequency. Thereafter we must wait until the reigns of Yuandi (48–33) and Chengdi (33–7 BCE) for comparable citations. Dong Zhongshu himself cited Kongzi to support his own views, but he did not call on

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statements of human organisation that Kongzi had formulated and which he himself deemed capable and worthy of adoption.

There is strong evidence to show that the date of Dong Zhongshu’s birth can be put back to the reign of Gaozu (202–195), but nothing to show that he was an influential figure who held high office and could control imperial policies. He did not run through the stages of an offi-cial career; he never held a high position in the central government of Chang’an; and he was, in effect, for some time banished to the prov-inces to be kept at a distance from palace, court and offices of state. He expressed ideas that concerned some of the interests and problems of government, such as those of agriculture, taxation and relations with the Xiongnu, but it has yet to be shown how far the decisions and poli-cies that were implemented in his time corresponded with his ideas or were modified in the light of his proposals. There is likewise little to show that his ideas were adopted or repeated by his contemporar-ies and we have to wait for some fifty years after his death, at a time when the whole tone and purpose of government had been changing somewhat radically, to see them re-emerge. This was in the last years of Xuandi (reigned 74–48) and the reign of Yuandi (48–33), a time of particular importance in intellectual and political terms, being subject to Liu Xiang’s influence, and as demonstrated in the choice of nianhao 年號 between 61 and 49 and the terms of Yuandi’s decrees.1

The three essays that Dong Zhongshu presented in response to impe-rial rescripts are probably to be taken as some of the most authentic expressions of his views. However there are signs of editorial work that was presumably accomplished by Ban Gu and there is no neces-sity to assume that the three were all offered on one and the same occasion. The most important question to be addressed was that of finding reason for changes from practices of the past which, by all accounts, had been so glorious and successful. The approach to this question is somewhat different from that seen in parts of the Chunqiu fanlu. While Dong Zhongshu’s responses included propositions for improving the training of officials, it seems that it was due to Gongsun Hong 公孫弘 that appropriate action followed, and in some cases a considerable time elapsed before Dong’s own ideas were implemented.

1 Somewhat exceptionally a series of nianhao was chosen for these years to propa-gate the idea of the supernatural blessings that the dynasty was receiving; Shenjue 神爵 (61–58), Wufeng 五鳳 (57–54), Ganlu 甘露 (53–50) and Huanglong 黃龍 (49).

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His call to recruit men of xiaolian 孝廉 qualities for service does not seem to have been effective until after his death; and while the Han shu praises Dong for inaugurating the establishment of schools, his success in so doing awaits demonstration. It is also not possible to identify any of the kings or other high dignitaries whom he may have had in mind with a view to eliminating disruptive influences. Dong Zhongshu is sometimes cited in connection with the idea of the su wang 素王—the ‘uncrowned king’—but there is nothing to show that Kongzi had styled himself as such or that Dong thought that he had done so. His references to the idea of yi tong 一統 do not concern dynastic or political unification.

In the account of the Han shu, the one important figure who admired Dong’s views, perhaps excessively, was Liu Xiang 劉向 (79–8 BCE). Somewhat exceptionally Liu Xiang followed his method of interpreting strange phenomena very closely, i.e., as the warnings sent by heaven, explained and validated in the Chunqiu. Liu Xiang’s own writings, of the Shuo yuan and Xin xu, match his praise of Dong for upholding the values of the ru and looking to the lessons of the past for guidance. It is only rarely that subsequent writings, includ-ing those of Eastern Han and the later standard histories up to the Qing period, mention Dong Zhongshu as an acknowledged teacher or as an originator of a scheme or of ideas. Of all writers of East-ern Han, Wang Chong 王充 (27–ca. 100) refers to him most fre-quently. By contrast, in one particular instance a little later (330 CE), a speaker found it necessary to explain who Dong had been.2 Despite a statement in the Han shu in which he showed himself to be the superior to a rival protagonist of the Gongyang zhuan, we must wait until Eastern Han for full attention to be paid to that text. Except for material in the Chunqiu fanlu, he seems to have concentrated on the Chunqiu’s own brief text rather than on its expositions such as the Zuo zhuan, if indeed that text had been available in his time. His view of strange phenomena as the warnings of heaven are not voiced again, except by Liu Xiang.

Right up to Qing times praise of Dong Zhongshu as an intel-lectual leader is rare. References can hardly be taken as a general acknowledgement of his place as such, and they rather seem to

2 See Loewe, ‘Dong Zhongshu as a consultant’ (2009) pp. 174–5 and Chapter Two above, p. 66.

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represent the particular view of a particular writer. As against the assumption or conclusion that Dong’s influence was of paramount importance even during his own lifetime, it seems more likely that it was to Liu Xiang and Liu Xin rather than Dong Zhongshu that the Chunqiu came to acquire the intellectual authority that it was to exercise. Whether or not those pian of the Chunqiu fanlu that set out to interpret the Chunqiu did derive from Dong’s hand, they cannot be regarded as unique attempts to do so. Other explanations were being formulated or possibly circulated, later to be banned and subsequently lost. More steps towards what has incorrectly been termed the ‘Victory of Confucianism’ can be traced to the times of Yuandi and Chengdi (reigned 48–33 and 33–7 BCE) than to those of Jingdi (157–141), when Dong was an Academician, and of Wudi.

There are several elements that take their place as integral parts of a later ‘Confucianism’ that are conspicuous by their absence from Dong’s authentic writings; e.g., an idealised view of Zhou Gong; the concept of Tian ming 天命 as determining the rise and fall of a dynasty; the importance of xiao 孝, family relationships and seniorities; religious dues to ancestors; and the stress laid on preserving ordered ranks of society. There is at least one belief and activity which is ascribed to Dong and which could hardly find its place in a ‘Confucian’ way of empire or private life, i.e., the attempts that are described to procure rainfall. Where some texts, beginning with the Lunheng of Wang Chong, refer to Dong as bringing luan 亂 to Kongzi’s writings, the term does not mean bringing confusion but ‘adding the final touches’. Ban Gu per-haps sees Dong as an idealist with little sense of reality; there are no real inconsistencies in Wang Chong’s remarks about Dong.

It is extremely difficult to sustain a claim that Dong Zhongshu was the author of the whole of the received text of the Chunqiu fanlu that is before us, when it is considered in the light of some general criteria that are applicable to any piece of ancient writing. The line of textual transmission is tenuous and cannot reach earlier than Song times. The existence of copies, some defective, of different lengths, raises the possibility of sizeable interpolations at late stages; the best text to be known, that dates from Ming times, was incomplete; in no case can the length of these copies be seen to correspond with early accounts of Dong’s writings. Citations seen in some of the collections of Tang times and later, such as the Taiping yulan, are not sufficiently conclu-sive to prove Dong’s authorship of the entire text, in so far as they may distinguish between sayings specifically attributed to him and passages

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acknowledged as being from the Chunqiu fanlu. Statements that Dong was the author or compiler seem to date first from between the fourth and the sixth centuries and to have been accepted no earlier than Tang times. It is perhaps striking that Liu Xiang, fervent admirer of Dong as he may have been, does not mention a Chunqiu fanlu, and there is no entry for that work in the summarised version of the catalogue of books that he and his son drew up. Application of the term fanlu as a title of a complete work is subject to question.

Deficiencies that are all too obvious in the text of the Chunqiu fanlu may have been due to poor or haphazard editing or to the errors and accidents of textual transmission; there are occasions of duplication, or near duplication and some passages may have been misplaced. Dif-fering copies of the book existed in the eleventh and thirteenth centu-ries and the received text may be dated to early in the fifteenth century, but doubts regarding its authenticity and authorship that have been raised since Song times have yet to be allayed. The book is best seen as a collection of writings that was assembled at some date, which must surely be later than Western Han, perhaps between the fourth and the sixth centuries CE, with additions that were made from time to time. Some parts, such as those that directly concern the Chunqiu or the Gongyang zhuan, may well have derived from Dong Zhongshu or his ideas; other pieces of writing found their way into the text from time to time. There is nothing to show that the title Chunqiu fanlu was used to denote his writings in his own time and it has yet to be shown when precisely that title emerged.

At some date that cannot be determined authorship of the work was ascribed to Dong Zhongshu for reasons that we can only conjecture. While doubts have been cast on the reputation that Dong had enjoyed, if it were that of a specialist in the Gongyang tradition, this may have served to make it worthwhile to append his name to an existing col-lection of writings. Possibly it was intended thereby to prevent inclu-sion of the collection among works which were categorised as chen 讖 or wei 緯 and thereby subjected to proscription; for on a number of occasions ideas that are implicit in the Chunqiu fanlu are also seen in fragments of such writings.3 In such a case, the ascription might be dated to times when such a ban was introduced (i.e., in 267, 457–64,

3 Most obviously in pian no. 23; see Chapter Eight above, p. 310.

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or 502–19).4 Possibly it was intended as a means of countering a grow-ing influence of Buddhist ideas, many of which conflicted with those of Dong.

Some of the chapters of the Chunqiu fanlu may reasonably be seen to accord with the views advocated or expressed by Dong in other writings or contexts. These would include those that concern the over-riding part played by heaven in human affairs and that of Yin and Yang (nos. 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 54, [56?, 57], 80, 81). In addition, those that set forth an explanation of the Chunqiu and its application to events, or that elaborated the interpretations of the Gongyang zhuan, could well stem from Dong’s teachings, but whether directly or indirectly may not be known. But it would be difficult to see how some other pian would have sprung from an intellectual or religious context in which Dong lived or to which he subscribed. These would include those that dilate on the operation and cycle of the Wu xing (nos. 38, 42, 46, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 81), for there is nothing to show that the ideas of Wu xing were exerting a marked influence in Dong’s time. The pian (nos. 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 71) which are devoted to a defence of the jiao 郊 sacrifices are unlikely to have been apposite to Dong’s own time, as there is no record of a proposal to dismantle them then. Introduced, or perhaps re-introduced, from ancient lore, in c. 30 BCE they aroused opposition and led to discontinuation in 14 or 16 BCE, and it is to that date that these chapters fit more appropri-ately. Reference to a scale of nine divisions for grading the perform-ance of officials, as seen in pian no. 21, could not apply to Han times and should be regarded as anachronistic.

Other pian call for careful assessment. Chunqiu fanlu 23 sets out an explanation of change as part of a process or cycle known as the San tong 三統 and a sequence known as Si fa 四法. This is markedly dif-ferent from ideas on that matter that are set out in the three responses and it is difficult to see how that chapter could have derived from Dong’s thought. Both there and in other chapters a forceful distinc-tion is drawn between the proper place of zhi 質, substance, and wen 文, pattern, that is seen rarely elsewhere and can hardly be recognised as an element of ‘Confucian’ teaching. The categorisation of some of China’s mythical rulers as Nine Sovereigns (Jiu huang) is as yet hardly seen outside pian no. 23.

4 See Chapter Eight above, p. 311.

conclusion 341

Pian no. 74 is subject to doubt. Of three known ways of inducing rain to fall, one relied heavily on Wu xing theory and practice or mime, as is elaborately described there. For reasons that are stated above it is unlikely that this can have stemmed from Dong. The account in pian no. 32 of an incident in which Dong Zhongshu is said to have tendered advice to one of the kings is in one important respect less accurate than that which is given in the Han shu. Some of the chap-ters which seek to explain existing practices, e.g., the ritual of giving presents (e.g., pian no. 72), treat subjects that also feature in Ban Gu’s record of the discussions held in 79 CE. Similarly the ideas of pian no. 23 are comparable with some of those seen in the Baihu tong and there remains the possibility that some pian of the Chunqiu fanlu or parts thereof (nos. 33, 35, 36, 72, and especially no. 23) had originated as accounts of those discussions, that differed from the one which we have received and which bears the name of Ban Gu as the author. Fur-ther research is required to examine how far the ideas or passages of the Chunqiu fanlu correspond with those of writings later stigmatised as apocryphal. Perhaps the discovery of some hitherto unknown texts of Han times may shed light where it is needed.

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ability, tests of, 235abnormalities, explanation of, 125academicians, posts of, 45n; and their

pupils, 27, 146, 147academy see Taixueadoption, legal case of, 116agriculture, promotion of, 101alchemy, 29anachronism, in Chunqiu fanlu, 235; in

Han shu, 106nancestral tablet (zhu), 187anecdote, about Dong Zhongshu, 50apochryphal writings, see Wei shuappeasement, of Xiongnu, 106Arbuckle, 251, 255; critic of Chunqiu

fanlu, 229; view of Dong Zhongshu, 15attraction, of like for like, 247

Baihu tong, 33; and Chunqiu fanlu, 231, 254, 255, 263, 291, 303, 309; cites Kongzi, 163; compilation of, 118; and Dong Zhongshu’s influence, 64; fragment of, 181; validity of, 229n; and zhi and wen, 283

Ban Biao, as maocai, 140Ban Gu, assesses Dong Zhongshu,

53, 107, 159; cites Kongzi, 162; as compiler, editor, 105, 118, 119; critic of Jia Yi, Sima Qian, 120; criticism of government, 34; groups Dong Zhongshu with Mengzi, Xunzi, 60

Ban Zhao, 118; alludes to Kongzi, 163ban, on apochryphal books, 311Bao Chang, 167bao ding, 179Bao Xuan, 145Baopuzi, as source for Dong Zhongshu’s

writings, 85; and su wang, 175Bei tang shuchao, citations from

Chunqiu fanlu, 193Bi yong, 33bian, meaning of, 318nbielu, 304Bing Ji, 26bixia, use of term, 114black, dispensation of, 320bo, use of title, 325bonds, of black, white and red, 292

books, classification of, 39Buddha, teachings of, 36Buddhism, 5buffalo, of stone, 166Bujard, and dates of Dong Zhongshu, 43Bureau of Music, 28

Cai Yong, alludes to Kongzi, 163; and call for xianliang, maocai, 142; and Han learning, 34; calendar, 41, 171n, 196, 297

calves, used in sacrifices, 112, 113candidates, testing of, 146Cao Bao, as critic of government, 34ceremonial presents, 254Chan Wing-tsit, view of Dong

Zhongshu, 11Chan, Sylvia, view of Dong Zhongshu, 17Chancellor, duties of, 179chang and bian, 230, 243, 263Chang’an city, fighting in, 24change, cycle of, 156; and permanence,

243; points of, 256; process of, 97Changling (tomb of Chengdi), 30Chao Cuo, 158; appointment of, 137;

and Xiongnu, 107Chao Gongwu, and Chunqiu fanlu, 196Chu Zhuang Wang, title of a pian, 203,

222Chunqiu, authority of, 105, 117;

compilation of, 96; criticises rulers, 247; and designation of early ruling houses, 325; Dong Zhongshu and, 149; and institutions, 234; invoked by Dong Zhongshu, 88; methods of, 128; and natural disasters, 233; wording of, 90, 225, 230, 231; and Yin Yang, 242

Chunqiu da yi tong, meaning of, 179Chunqiu fanlu, authorship of certain

chapters, 192, 226, 227, 338; available editions, 224; and Baihu tong, 231, 254, 255; breaks in text, 220; classified as Xiao shuo, 200; as a collection of pieces of writing, 212; and discussions of 79 CE, 236, 237, 239, 240, 255, 263, 316; editions of, 214; movable type edition, 217; not in imperial library, 31; and rainmaking, 168–72; subject

INDEX

358 index

matter of, 225; textual history, 191; and Wei shu, 314

Chunqiu gan jing fu, 310, 322nChunqiu wei, 285n, 305Chunqiu wei yuan ming bao, 283Chunqiu yan Kong tu, 288nChunqiu yuan ming bao, 248, 285n, 310,

313Chunqiu yun dou shu, 304n, 327nChunqiu zuo zhu qi, 287Chunyu Yue, 152circular mound, in Shiji, Han shu, 272n,

273civilization, distinction of, 239classification of thought, 39commoner, as successor to emperor,

267ncomplement, of pupils at academy, 147conception of kings, miraculous, 334n‘Confucianism’, assumption of, 5, 36;

elements of, 338; existence of, 335; of Kang Youwei, 309; not a coherent system, 40; as ‘orthodox’, 7; in twentieth century and later, 17; use of term, 1; ‘Victory’ of, 8, 9, 37, 338

continuity and change, 152criticism, of emperor, 35criticism, of government, 34Cui Shi, 34cults of state see jiao

da shu, 246Da yu (rain ceremony), 165Dai Junren, 264dances, named, 330ndao, 243dates, of events in Dong Zhongshu’s life,

51; incorrect in Han shu, 126n; 171nDaxue see Taixuede (reward), 244, 247de Bary, Wm, view of Dong Zhongshu, 10demonstration, of protest, 145Deng Bangshu, and text of Chunqiu

fanlu, 215descendants, of Huangdi, as in Shiji,

298; according to Wang Mang, 299Di wang shi ji, 334nDian yin, 162, 173Ding Bing, 220disobedience, of ruler’s orders, 117diviners, 146; recruitment of, 137Diwu Lun, as critic of government, 34, 35documents, moved from Luoyang to

Chang’an, 312Dong Ba, 134

Dong Sheng, 61, 193n, 212Dong Zhongshu, adoption of views

of, 336; attack on certain figures, 156; authentic writings, 38n, 336; as author of Chunqiu fanlu, 338; career of, 54; as Chancellor of Jiangdu, 47; as Chancellor of Jiaoxi, 47, 49, 103; and the Chunqiu, 149; consulted by officials, 49; dates of, 43, 51, 76, 335; early life of, 43; evaluations of, 6–18, 57, 337; explanation of abnormalities, 125; fu of, 109; grave of, 51n; and Gongyang zhuan 54; ‘the Great Confucian’, 1; and ‘Han Confucianism’, 40; hatred of, 46, 48, 55, 56, 129; and imperial cults, 112; on institutional change, 276; and the jiao, 272; and king of Yue, 259; and the kings, 184; legal judgements, 116; letter to Gongsun Hong, 110; at Maoling, 56; modification of traditional view, 38; name attached to Chunqiu fanlu, 211; named in Chunqiu fanlu, 241; and promotion of learning, 49; protests of, 73, 101, 104; and rain, 46, 48, 165–72; relations with Gongsun Hong, 46, 48; sacrifices to, 73; seclusion of, 45, 47; sent for trial, 46, 48; shrine to, 50; subject to death penalty, 46, 48; and su wang, 172; and Taixue, 144; Three Responses of, 14, 21, 40, 88; tomb of, 51; as treated in the two histories, 44; and values of the past, 152, 155; and ‘victory’ of Confucianism, 37; and Wei shu, 314; writings of, 16, 50, 83; and Wu xing, 39; as xianliang, 47, 138; and Xiongnu, 107; and Yin Yang, 46, 48, 59; and yitong, 177, 181

Dong Zhongshu, name of man active ca. 485 CE, 67n

Dong Zi, 19n, 194, 199, 212, 215Dongfang Shuo, 160, 178Dou wei yi, 310Dou Ying, 157Dou, Wendi’s Empress, see Grand

Empress Dowager Doudragons, of clay, 165, 187; and clouds, as

rainmakers, 165, 166, 188; dance of, and rain making, 169

dress, symbolism of, 233du guan, 171nDu Qin, 133, 246, 293; cites Kongzi,

161; and ways of ruling, 281Du Ye, 270

index 359

Du You, 193Du zhi, title of a pian, 237Duan Zhong, 47nDubs, H.H., view of Dong Zhongshu, 8ducks, used in sacifices, 114Dun jia, 301nduplicating marks, in text, 115duplicity, 245dynastic change, 235; legitimacy, 263;

succession, 292; as in San tong, 299; according to Wang Mang, 299

dynastic threat, by kings, 158

Earth, function and character of, 242, 266earthquake, of 133 CE, 35; with eclipse,

of 29 BCE, 33, 133, 281Eastern Han, officials’ corruption in, 35eclipse and earthquake, of 29 CE, 31,

133, 281emperor, criticism of, 31Empress Dou, see Grand Empress

Dowager DouEmpress Dowager Wang, 270Empress Lü, 21Empress Ma, view of Dong Zhongshu, 61Empress Xu, murder of 26equinoxes, 256eunuchs, in Yuandi’s reign, 28examining, means of, 235extravagance, in funerals, 155n;

imperial, 28

fa (castigation), 247Fa yan, mention of Dong Zhongshu, 60Fan Kuai, and Xiongnu, 106Fan Sheng, 153; cites Kongzi, 162; and

unity, 182; and Zuo zhuan, 182Fan Ying, and Wei shu, 312Fan Zhongyan, 196nFan Zuyu, 203Fang Wang, and zhi and wen, 282fangzheng, 137fanlu, meaning of term, 191, 198, 204,

210father’s protection of son, 116feng and shan sacrifices, 330nFeng jiao, 301nFeng Yan, 61; alludes to Kongzi, 163Fengsu tongyi, 35; cites Kongzi, 164; and

su wang, 175Fenyi, situation of, 272Five Initiations, 324Five Phases, see Wu xingFive Powers see Wu difloods, of 30 BCE, 31

former kings, as a model, 89Franke, Otto, view of Dong Zhongshu, 6frogs, and rain making, 169Fu Gong, 144Fu Zengxiang, and text of Chunqiu

fanlu, 215fu, of Dong Zhongshu, 109Fujiwara Sukeyo, 221full and empty positions, of Yang and

Yin, 242, 244Fung Yu-lan, 295; view of Dong

Zhongshu, 8; and Wu xing, 266

gai zhi, 276, 278Gan Bao, 134gan sheng, 295Gan shi bu yu fu, 66, 109Gan Yanshou, 31Gan Zhongke, 292nGanquan, situation of, 272Gaozu, shrine of, 128; fire in shrines to,

46, 48, 126Gentz, Joachim, 116n; and subject

matter of Gongyang zhuan, 226golden past, 20Gong Sui, 134; and abnormalities, 131Gong Yu, 29, 60n, 130nGongchuan bo, title of Dong Zhongshu,

73Gongsun Chen, 268Gongsun Hong, 53, 269, 336; and call

for officials, 146, 147; career of, 55; and choice of officials, 147; and the Chunqiu, 149; and frontier policy, 107; letter to, 110; and relations with Dong Zhongshu, 46, 48ְ; as xianliang, 138

Gongyang Gao, 150Gongyang school, 210; and Chunqiu

fanlu, 213Gongyang theory, of monarchy, 303Gongyang zhuan, 29, 39, 150; as seen

in Chunqiu fanlu, 202, 222; cited in Chunqiu fanlu, 328n; cited in treatise of Han shu, 127; historical coverage, 307; ideas of, 296; on sacrifices, 113

Gongyi Xiu, 99Gongyi Zi, 99Gou ming jue, 303, 325, 327ngrades, after testing, 235Grand Empress Dowager Dou, 2, 24,

157, 268; anger of, 79; attitude to government, 88; dislike of ru, 121; influence of, 154; and zhi and wen, 279

360 index

Gu wen, 33Gu wen tradition, 272Gu wen yuan, 195; compilation of,

109; as source for Dong Zhongshu’s writings, 84; treatment of Three Responses, 121

Gu Yong, 270, 296; and abnormalities, 130, 131

Guanzi, 237gui, services to, 256Guliang zhuan, 26, 39, 150; cited in

treatise of Han shu, 127Guo Qin lun, 20n, 118Guo shi, 204n

hail, origin of, 167Han Anguo, 159; and Xiongnu, 107Han Chengdi, reign of, 30; tomb of, 30,

30n, 297Han empire, expansion of, 22;

government, 22; use of laws, 37; retrenchment of, 23

Han Fei, 94, 158, 181Han guan yi, 140Han Guangwudi, and sacrifices to

Kongzi, 164; and state cults, 271Han imperial shrines, situation of, 300Han jiu yi, 271, 272Han Mingdi, criticism of, 35Han shi wai zhuan, 218Han shu, anachronism in, 106n;

bibliographical chapter, 84; biography of Dong Zhongshu, 47;compilation of, 118; treatment ofDong Zhongshu, 44

Han songs, 280nHan wen jia, 283, 310Han Wudi, 25; title of, 58Han Xuandi, accession of, 131; character

of, 26; severity of, 155; training of, 28Han Yanshou, 143Han Yuandi, character of, 28; reign of,

27; training of, 28Han Yue, and Wei shu, 312Han Zhangdi, discussions in reign of, 34hao, meaning of term, 240He Chang, as critic of government, 34He guan zi, 305He Wu, and Taixue, 145He Xiu, 33, 61, 308He Xiu, and Han learning, 34; ignores

Dong Zhongshu, 213; and Wei shu, 311

head bands, 199n

heaven, cycles in, 245; functions of, 257; and human nature, 90; and kingship 89, 236, 257, 293; as a model, 234; natural order of, 289; respect, worship of, 23, 133, 252, 253; series of elements, 258; services to, 271; ten principles of, 236; as unifying factor, 263; and Yin Yang, 96, 246, 254; warnings of, 127, 130, 238; will of, 240

heaven, earth and man, 247heir to the throne, absence of, 30heir, choice of, 239, 330nHenderson, John B., view of Dong

Zhongshu, 14heqin policy, 106hierarchies, force of, 4; of mankind, 239,

254histories, compilation of, 24holy man, the, 258holy tripod, 286Hong fan, 250Hong Gong, 28Hongdu men, 142Hou Cang, 29Hou Han shu, cites Kongzi, 161Hou tu, 115, 269hours of day, denotion of, 321n; division

of, 31Hsiao Kung-chuan, view of Dong

Zhongshu, 13Hsü Fu-kuan, and Chunqiu fanlu,

206, 209, 225; and gai zhi, 295; and Wu xing, 227, 266; view of Dong Zhongshu, 13

Hu Gui, 205Hu Ju (Zhongfang), 200, 201, 203, 205Hu Shih, 157; view of Dong Zhongshu, 6Hu Weixin, and text of Chunqiu fanlu,

216Hu Wu Sheng, 44n, 50, 54, 150; and Wei

shu, 314Hu Yinglin, and Chunqiu fanlu, 206Huainanzi, 238, 248, 249; and change,

152; and Kongzi, 174; and su wang, 174; and yu ying, 288

Huan Kuan, cites Kongzi, 160Huan Tan, 61, 65Huang Peilie, and text of Chunqiu fanlu,

215Huang Qiong, 257; as critic of

government, 34Huang Sheng, 19, 236Huang Zhen, and authenticity of

Chunqiu fanlu, 205; and errors in

index 361

Chunqiu fanlu, 222; and praise of Dong Zhongshu, 71

Huang Zongxi, 105Huangdi, 24Huang-Lao, 2Huhanye, visits to Chang’an, 27Hui Dong, and text of Chunqiu fanlu, 216Hulsewé, A.F.P., 118n; on Han

historiography, 118nhuman values, 97Huo Guang, 104n, 141; and imperial

succession, 25Huo Qubing, 24

immortality, hopes of, 4imperial cults, see jiaoimperial power, basis of, 19imperial shrines, reduction of, 28imperial succession, 25individual, freedom of, 25inheritance, disputed, 116innovation, need for, 3institutions, changes of, 98, 230, 291,

308, 318Institute of History and Philology,

Taipei, 215intellectual atmosphere, of Zhangdi’s

reign, 118intention, stressed by li, 284interior, exterior parts of world, 308

Jensen, Lionel, on ‘Confucianism, 2nJi Bu, and Xiongnu, 106Ji Yun, and text of Chunqiu fanlu, 216Jia Gongyan, 212, 305Jia Kui, 119; and Han learning, 34; and

san tong, 297; and su wang, 175; and Wei shu, 312

Jia Shan, 144Jia Yi, and moral values, 23; and Qin

unification, 177; and su wang, 173; warnings of, 20, 22; and Xiongnu, 106

Jian and chu series, 168njian day, 167, 168n, 310Jiang Sheng, 151jiao, changes in services, 251; meaning

of term, 267, 273; move to Chang’an, 270; objective of, 267; performance of, 267; sacrifices at, 112; under Wudi, 115

jiao si dui, 111Jiaoxi, king of, 47, 49Jin Cheng, and text of Chunqiu fanlu, 215Jin Chunfeng, view of Dong Zhongshu, 74Jin Dejian, and Chunqiu fanlu, 207

Jin Midi, 104nJin shu, and abnormalities, 134;

reference to Dong Zhongshu, 67Jin wen tradition, 33, 272; and Wei shu,

310nJin Zhuo, 144Jinbun kagaku kenkyūjo, 215Jing Fang (2), 56n, 59; and

abnormalities, 130, 131; and testing of officials, 146; and Wu xing, 265n

Jing Fang yi zhuan, 125, 131; cited in Jin shu, 134

Jing shi yi zhuan, 125n, 132njing tian system, 101jishi, use of term, 111Jiu huang, 302jiu zhu, 304; text at Mawangdui, 174njue, and estates, 103, 124, 237; for

pre-imperial times, 283n, 315

Kang Youwei, 309; view of Dong Zhongshu, 7, 74

Kangju, 52, 78; inclusion of mention, 121

kaoji, 235, 263kings, miraculous conception of, 334;

qualities of, 240; kings, reduction of strength of, 187; visits to Chang’an, 184

kingship, bestowed by heaven, 293Kong Ba, 28Kong Guangsen, 220Kong Jihan, and text of Chunqiu fanlu,

215Kong Rong, 144Kong Yingda, 72n, 104Kongzi, 240; and the Chunqiu, 234;

as compiler of the Chunqiu, 149; descendants of, 296; frugality of, 162n; honours to family, 281n; and li, 156; mentioned in decree of 123 BCE, 160; methods of, 100, 177; and objects of fear, 252, 254; promotion of, 159; respect for ideals of, 40; sacrifices to, 164; sayings of, 234; self reproachment of, 91; services to, 143; sources of his knowledge, 307; words of, 256

Kongzi, citations of, 159–64, 335; by Dong Zhongshu, 90, 91, 93, 94, 96; by Du Qin, 281; in Eastern Han, 162–3; in imperial decree, 161; in praise of Wang Mang, 161; in Shiji, Han shu 119, 159, 275; variously, 160

362 index

Kongzi jiayu, 175Kuang Heng, 29, 69, 130; cites Kongzi,

161; and san tong, 296; and state cults, rituals 269, 280; and text of songs, 280n; and values of the past, 155

laissez-faire policy, 3land tenure, and sales, 101, 103, 123Lang Yi, 130; alludes to Kongzi, 163;

and calendar, 297lang, categories of, 95nLanling, 47nLaozi, 24Laozi, from Mawangdui, 304nlarge landed estates, 103laws, complexity of, 154n; in Qin and

Han, 36; severity of, 25Leban, Carl, and Wei shu, 315legal cases 115,length of service, 263nli (rules of conduct), 40Li Bing, 166Li Fang, 194Li Furen, 24Li Gu, 34n, 235Li Guangli, 24Li han wen jia, 286, 286nLi Ling, 24Li san zheng, 283Li sao, 109Li Shaojun, 54Li Si, 4, 152; and traditionalists, 155; and

yi tong, 178Li wei han wen jia, 314Li wei hao shi ji, 304nLi Weixiong, 266, 302; and Chunqiu

fanlu, 209; and dates of Dong Zhongshu, 43

Li Xian, 69Li Xun, and abnormalities, 130, 131Li Yannian, 272nLi Yu, 33Li Zehou, view of Dong Zhongshu, 17li, ordering of, 120; training in, 29;

writings on, 26Liang shu, reference to Dong Zhongshu,

68Liang Yusheng, 183Liao Fu, and Wei shu, 312Liaodong, Gaozu’s shrine in, 126Library of Congress, Washington, 215life and death, powers of, 104Liji, 249Lin Biao and Kongzi, criticism of, 12

lin, animal, 288lineages, dynastic, 297–99Ling Shu, and Chunqiu fanlu, 208, 216,

219; and Gongyang tradition, 219Ling tai, 33literature, collection in 26 BCE, 31Liu An (2), 24, 30, 157; visits to

Chang’an, 129, 185Liu Ang, 186Liu Buguang, 186Liu Chang, 305Liu Che, accession of the young, 21Liu De (1), 24, 30, 228, 241; visits to

Chang’an, 185Liu Dingguo, 186Liu Duan (1), 49, 56, 259; answers to,

238; visits to Chang’an, 186Liu Fei, 239, 259; visits to Chang’an, 186Liu Fenglu, 220Liu Fuling, 25Liu He (4), 25, 26Liu He, 131Liu Heng, 44Liu Jian, visits to Chang’an, 187Liu Jiuyuan, view of Dong Zhongshu, 74Liu Pengli, 186Liu Pengzu, 184, 187Liu Pi, 186Liu Qi, 184, 187Liu Qu, 184Liu Sheng, visits to Chang’an, 186Liu Shipei, 193n; and Chunqiu fanlu,

208Liu Sui, 184, 186Liu Wu, visits to Chang’an, 185Liu Xiang, 5, 293; and abnormalities,

130; and circular mound, 273; cites Kongzi, 161; and classification of books, 39; on Dong Zhongshu, 58, 337, 339; early career, 29; explanation of abnormalities, 127; and san tong, 297; and state cults, 270; and su wang, 174; writings of, 9; and xiaolian, 139; and zhi and wen, 281; on Zhufu Yan, 183

Liu Xiang (2), and bid for throne, 21, 44Liu Xin, 5; and abnormalities, 132; and

calendar, 297; and classification of books, 39; on Dong Zhongshu, 58; cites Kongzi, 161; and state cults, 271; and Wang Mang, 32; writings of, 9

liu yi, 38, 72, 100, 177Liu Yu, king of Dongping, 160Liu Yu, critic of government, 35

index 363

Liu Yu, king of Lu, visits Chang’an, 186Liu Yue, 184Liu Zhao, 193Liu Zhi, visits to Chang’an, 186Liu Zongyuan, reference to Dong

Zhongshu, 70Lloyd, Geoffrey, 80Lou Jing, and Xiongnu, 106Lou Yu, note to Chunqiu fanlu, 197Lou Yue, and Chunqiu fanlu, 199, 213loyalty, 245Lü Bushu, 46, 48, 128Lu Gong, 282; and Han learning, 34Lu Jia, 3, 4, 38; reputation of, 23; and

yitong, 178Lu Qin, and su wang, 175Lü shi chunqiu, 248, 249; and change,

152; and Tian shu, 289Lu Wenchao, and Chunqiu fanlu, 208,

215, 218Lu Wenshu, and yitong, 180Lu, taken as ruler, 320luan, applied to Dong Zhongshu’s

writings, 63; meaning of, 63; as ‘a conclusion’, 81; in Lunheng passage, 80

Lufei Chi, 218Lunheng, authenticity of a passage,

187; on Dong Zhongshu, 63; passage about luan, 80; references to Dong Zhongshu, 63

Lunyu, citations from, 163; on li, 276; training in, 29; and zhi and wen, 278

Lunyu su wang shou ming chen, 288nLuo shu ling zhun ting, 288nLuo Zhenchang, and text of Chunqiu

fanlu, 215Luo, Mr., and text of Chunqiu fanlu, 200Luoyang, documents at, 125

Ma family, 118nMa Rong, 119; alludes to Kongzi, 163;

and circular mound, 273; and Han learning, 34; and Wei shu, 312

Ma Xu, 118Ma Zong, 193mankind, organisation of, 3mao si, use of term, 114, 115n, 252nmaocai, 137; call for, 140Mawangdui, text entitled Jiu zhu, 174nMei Fu, 164, 296mei si, expression, 251nmemorial tablets, of Han emperors, 306;

positions of, 329n

Mengzi, 178, 240; on li, 261Min River, control of, 166nMin Yue, 158ming (name), 240ming (destiny), 97, 243ming jing, 131Ming shi, reference to Dong Zhongshu,

72Ming tang, 33, 79, 121, 293, 329, 331,

332ming tian, 104miracles, 334nmirrors, TLV, 32model animals, to bring rain etc., 165,

166moderation, 237monopolies, abolition of, 105months, designation of, 317, 323; as

first of the year, 300; starting point of, 321n

moral principles, 238mythical past, 152mythological monarchs, 230, 291, 306

National Central Library, Taipei, 215Needham, Joseph, view of Dong

Zhongshu, 10New king (Xin wang), 320Ni Kuan, 53, 278; and calendar, 297nine-headed creatures, 304Nishikawa Tōru, view of Dong

Zhongshu, 14nobility, titles of, 315non-assimilated peoples, 239non-Han leaders, 27Nylan, Michael, 222; and ‘Victory of

Confucianism’, 9

offices, purchase of, 95n, 139officials, choice of, 95; complement of,

236; controls on, 99; criticism of, 95; laxity of, 35; qualifications of, 263; qualities of, 25; recruitment, training of, 34, 136; wealth of, 99

omens, exploited by Wang Mang, 32opposites, complementary, 245Ordinances, 24, 25Ouyang Diyu, 28Ouyang Xiu, and abnormalities, 135;

and change, 152; and Chunqiu fanlu, 195, 206, 213; and Dong Zhongshu, 70

Ouyang Xun, 193oxen, of clay, 166

364 index

Pan Jingxian, 201panic, in Chang’an, 31past, lessons of, 92; and present, 96, 98,

152, 154, 281past values, problems with, 153Pengjian guan, 198permanence and change, 263Pi Xirui, view of Dong Zhongshu, 74pian no. 23, and Baihu tong, 291, 294;

and the Three Rescripts, 294Ping Dang, opinion of Dong Zhongshu,

58Pingxiang, copy of Chunqiu fanlu, 200,

203, 204, 205population, control of, 23posthumous titles, 326prayer reciters, 146; recruitment of, 137prayers, for rain, 169; to stop rain, 170princess, sent to Xiongnu, 106principles, retention of, 98punishment, severity of, 154n; of

women, 316pupils of academicians, 27; quota of, 145npurchase, of official posts, 139

Qi lu, 206Qi zheng, 301nqi, 248; and climatic change, 167; of

heaven and earth, 248; seasonal growth of, 256

Qian Daxin, 130, 183Qian Han ji, treatment of Three

Responses, 121Qian Tang, 232n, 274Qianfu lun, 35; cites Kongzi, 163;

references to Dong Zhongshu, 64Qiang tribes, 27Qiao Zhou, 134Qin, and adoption of Water, 153n; and

contrast with Zhou 93; denigration of, 36; as the ideal, 23; strength of, 25; unification of, 177

Qin Emperor, title of, 303qing (celebration), 247qing (human emotions), 97Qing ming, 198, 211Qing scholars, and Chunqiu fanlu, 208Quan and jing, 242, 243, 261Queen, Sarah, 264; classification of

Chunqiu fanlu chapters, 229; and dates of Dong Zhongshu, 43; view of Dong Zhongshu, 15

question and answer form of writing, 241quota, of pupils of academicians, 146

rain, control of, 165; in Chunqiu fanlu, 168–72; inducement of, 188, 190, 227; means of stopping, 170

ranks, number of, 315red, dispensation of, 319, 322reform, need of, 92registers, five sets of, 103nregnal titles, 26; choice of, 336relations, with non-Han leaders, 27relief from obligations, for candidates

for office, 146, 147ren and yi, 110, 238, 247ren, and other virtues, 89retrenchment, of Yuandi’s reign, 27retrograde order, 294reversion, concept of, 328right to rule, 3rituals, to benefit mankind, 225robes, distinctions of, 324ru, as ‘Confucian’ 2; use of term, 9Ruan Xiaoxu, 206Rui ying tu, 287rujiao, 15ruler, function of, 241; position of, 231;

qualities of, 257; success of, 234; ways of, and heaven, 257

rulers, of mythology, 302rulership, and historical processes, 225

salt and iron industries, 102salt and iron monopolies, abandonment

of, 28San dai gai zhi zhi wen, 291san tong, 153, 235, 244, 291, 296–302;

and dynastic succession, 299San wang, 302san zheng, 295nSanfu huangtu, 145Sang Hongyang, 141schools, establishment of, 91; foundation

of, 143; provincial, 136Schwartz, Benjamin, view of Dong

Zhongshu, 14seasonal sacrifices, 25seasons, created by heaven, 247selection (xuan) of officials, 141service, calls for, 137Seufert, Wilhelm, 88nseventy-two days, periods of, 249severities, of emperor, 35shaman, and rain making, 169Shan wei, 314shang (reward), 247Shang shu da zhuan, 218, 250, 283

index 365

Shang shu wei, 288nShang shu zhong tiao, 324nShang shu, exponents of, 26Shang Yang, 94, 137, 158, 181; and land

ownership, 124Shangguan Jie (2), 104nShen Buhai, 94, 137, 158, 181Shen ding, 286Shen jian, cites Kongzi, 163Shen Qinhan, 305Shen xian zhuan, 54shen, services to, 256Sheng wang, ideal of, 21Shentu Jia, 158Shentu Pan, and Wei shu, 312Shi bu yu fu, 86, 109Shi Dan, and limit on land holdings, 105Shi Gao, 28Shi han shen wu, 287, 287nShi qu ge see Stone Conduit PavilionShi wei tui du zai, 310, 324nShi Xian, 28Shi Zhimian, and dates of Dong

Zhongshu, 43Shiji, attention to, 27; biography of

Dong Zhongshu, 45; circulation of, 87; and classification of thought, 39; and dynastic lineage, 298; spurious chapter in, 304; treatment of Dong Zhongshu, 44

shrines, of Han emperors, 306Shu Guang, 65nshu, of heaven, 289Shuihudi strips, 104Shun, methods of, 92Shundi, desecration of tomb, 5nShuo yuan, 59, 246, 255Shuofang commandery, 108nShuowen jiezi, 64Shusun Tong, 4, 120, 154si fa, 235, 291, 328, 333Si ku quan shu, and text of Chunqiu

fanlu, 214, 217Si ku quan shu zong mu ti yao, 37; and

Chunqiu fanlu, 208Sima, 248, 249Sima Biao, 134Sima Guang, treatment of Three

Responses, 121; view of Dong Zhongshu, 74

Sima Qian, 24; and calendar reform, 297n; contacts with Dong Zhongshu, 62; report of Dong Zhongshu’s sayings, 44

Sima Tan, 3, 24; and six schools, 39; writings of, 9

Sima Xiangru, 24, 78, 185Sima Zhen, 212, 304; and Chunqiu

fanlu, 195simplicity versus ornamentation, 93Sinong, 248,Situ, 248, 249Six Choice Works, see liu yisolstices, 256son’s injury of father, 117Song shi, reference to Dong Zhongshu, 70Song shu, and abnormalities, 135;

reference to Dong Zhongshu, 67Song Yingchang, and text of Chunqiu

fanlu, 217Song, honours to house of, 281nsongs, emended by Kuang Heng, 280nSonkeikaku bunko, 216sovereignty, as gift of heaven, 236sponsorship, of officials, 138Standaert, Nicolas, 2nStatutes, 24, 25Stone Conduit Pavilion, 26, 28Su Jing, and Wei shu, 312Su Qin, 181su wang, 93, 172–6Su Yu, citation of Wei shu, 310; and

dates of Dong Zhongshu, 43su, meaning of, 173subject matter, of Chunqiu fanlu, 225substance and pattern, see zhi and wen,Sui Meng, 267n, 313; and abnormalities,

130, 131; cites Dong Zhongshu, 57Sui shu, and abnormalities, 135sumptuary restrictions, 237Sun Ce, and Wei shu, 313Sun Kuang, and text of Chunqiu fanlu,

215Sun Xinghua, and text of Chunqiu fanlu,

220Sun Yirang, 295; and Chunqiu fanlu, 208

Tai ji, 301Tai Yang, 244, 266Tai yi, 24, 115; services to, 269Taichu, regnal title of, 24taiping, 94Taiping huanyuji, 198Taiping yulan, 213; and Chunqiu fanlu,

198; citations from Chunqiu fanlu, 194Taixue, 91, 94, 136; establishment of,

144; at Luoyang, 145; number of pupils, 145, 147

366 index

Tanaka Masami, 227Tang dynasty, Confucianism in, 335Tang histories, reference to Dong

Zhongshu, 70Tang Yan, view of Dong Zhongshu, 74Tang, as king, 318Tao Yuanming, 109; reference to Dong

Zhongshu, 66taxation, 101ten, in heaven’s natural order, 289ten principles, of heaven, 236terminology, importance of, 239, 240testing, means of, 235textual omissions, in Chunqiu fanlu,

220, 221Three dispensations, see san tong,Three Rescripts, Responses, paraphrase

of, 88Three Responses, of Dong Zhongshu,

14, 40; Ban Gu as editor, 118; content of, 86; dating of, 52, 77, 121; textual variants, 123

thrift versus expenditure, 93Tian Fen, 157, 158tian jie ruo yue, 126, 130, 134, 135Tian ming, 254, 338Tian shu, 246, 247, 258, 289Tian Wenchu, and copy of Chunqiu

fanlu, 196Tianzi, use of term, 327Tiao jun, title of a pian, 205, 237titles, for rulers, 293, 303, 325titles, of ruling houses, 318Tjan Tjoe Som, and Wei shu, 314; view

of Dong Zhongshu, 9Tong dian, 198; and case of adoption,

66; citations from Chunqiu fanlu, 193Tong san zheng, 325Tong tian tai, 272Tong wood, 190tradition, force of, 3training, of candidate officials, 146; four

categories of, 71n; of officials, 28trees, ban on hewing, 169nTriple Concordance System, 297tripod, holy, 286n; the single one, 179tu, studied in early Eastern Han, 33

unification, terms for, 177universe, rhythms of, 225University Library, Cambridge, 215

van Ess, Professor, 172n‘Victory of Confucianism’, 8, 9

Wallacker, B., view of Dong Zhongshu, 13Wang Chong, 35; arguments of, 187;

citation of Kongzi, 164; on Dong Zhongshu, 62, 63, 187, 337; on rain inducement, 166; and Wei shu, 313

Wang Daokun, and text of Chunqiu fanlu, 215

Wang family, power of, 32Wang Fu, 3, 34, 35; alludes to Kongzi,

163Wang Hui, 154; and Xiongnu, 107Wang Ji, 60; cites Kongzi, 160 and

yitong, 180Wang Jia, 179Wang Li, 265Wang Mang, and dynastic lineage,

298, 299; and early monarchs, 306; and figures of pre-history, 32; rise to power, 32; and state cults, 271; and wenxue, 141; and Wu xing, 153, 265, 292, 294; and yitong, 178

Wang Mang (1), 104nWang Shun, 307Wang Su, 273Wang Xian (3), 145Wang Xianqian, and historians’ skills,

52; and dating of Zhufu Yan, 184; and su wang, 176

Wang Yaochen, and Chunqiu fanlu, 195, 213

Wang Yi, 287, 288Wang Yinglin, 206Wang Yun, and Wei shu, 312wang zheng yue, 317Wang Zhengjun, influence of, 27wang, formation of graph, 172n, 243;

symbolic meaning of, 201wealth, imbalance of, 99, 101Wei Ao, 282Wei Lang, and Wei shu, 312Wei Mingdi, and san tong, 301Wei Qing, 24Wei shu see also Chunqiu wei, Chunqiu

yuan ming bao, Chunqiu zuo zhu qi, Li han wen jia, Rui ying tu, Shi han shen wu, Yuan Shen qi

Wei shu, and Chunqiu fanlu, 291; 310; composition of, 310; emergence of, 310; in encyclopaedias, 313; and ritual practices, 273; and san tong, 314; studied in early Eastern Han, 33; and su wang, 175; and succession of monarchs, 303; texts, 156, 191; texts listed, 192n

index 367

Wei Wan, 158, 181Wei Xian, 60nWei Xiang, Chancellor, 26; cites Dong

Zhongshu, 58Wei Xuancheng, 29Wei Yuan, and text of Chunqiu fanlu,

220; view of Dong Zhongshu, 74Wei Zhao, 305Weiyang, 268wen jia, 283; and number of ranks, 316,

328nWen Wang, steps of, 319Wen Weng, 143, 147Wen xin diao lun, and su wang, 175Weng Fanggang, and text of Chunqiu

fanlu, 216Wenju, 211wenxue, call for, 141Western Han, differences with Eastern

Han, 4wheat, planting of, 101White Tiger Hall, see Baihu tongwhite, dispensation of, 318, 321Woo Kang, and Chunqiu fanlu

authorship, 307; view of Dong Zhongshu, 7

writings, collections of, 24Wu di (Five Powers), 23, 24, 30, 133, 302wu jing, 147Wu Jun, 207Wu Renjie, 144Wu shi, of the Hong fan, 250Wu Wang, steps of, 319Wu xing, in Chunqiu fanlu, 207, 209,

226, 236, 242, 248, 249, 250, 255; and dynastic change, 32, 153, 292; emergence of, 291; in Guodian, Mawangdui manuscripts, 265; not in Dong Zhongshu’s writings, 39; and rain making, 167, 190; theory of, 31; and Tian ming, 265; and Wang Mang, 265;

wuwei, 173, 234Wu and Yue, fighting between, 260n

Xi jing za ji, 83, 191, 194, 211; authorship of, 83n

Xia calendar, 318nXia Heliang, 292nXiahou Sheng, 26, 28; and abnormalities,

130, 131Xiama ling 51nXiang Kai, critic of government, 35xianliang, call for, 137

xiao (family responsibility), 40, 241; invoked by Dong Zhongshu, 116

Xiao He, 110Xiao Wangzhi, 60n; and promotion of

Liu Xiang, 29; and visit of Shanyu, 27; suicide of, 28

Xiaojing gou ming jue, 310, 334nxiaolian, 137, 147; call for, 138, 337;

recruitment of, 79Xiaqiu Jiang Gong, 54xin day, as date for rituals, 112, 112n,

252, 272n, 274Xin lun, 61; cites Kongzi, 163Xin Qingji, as maocai, 140xin wang, 296Xin xu, 59xing (punishment), 244, 247xing, human character, 97Xinyuan Ping, 268, 287Xiongnu, 27, 31; close to Chang’an, 44;

relations with, 106Xu Chang, 158Xu Daoyu, 193Xu Gan, 34, 35; and limit on land

holdings, 105Xu Guang, 184Xu Han zhi, and abnormalities, 134Xu Jia, and state cults, 269Xu Jian, 193Xu Shen, 201Xu Shen, and Wei shu, 312Xu Shidong, and text of Chunqiu fanlu,

215xuan (selection), of officials, 141xuan qi, 301nXuan sheng, 173Xue Han, 33; and Wei shu, 312Xun Yue, 34, 311n; treatment of

Three Responses, 121; view of Dong Zhongshu, 65

Xunzi, 248; cited in imperial rescript, 96; on li, 156n; and Tian shu, 289

Yan Shigu, 305Yang Di, 73nYang Shuda, and dates of Dong

Zhongshu, 43Yang Xiong, 12, 203; cites Kongzi, 161;

criticises emperor 31; and Lunyu, 163n; service to Wang Mang, 73n; view of Dong Zhongshu, 60; and wen jia, 285; and zhi and wen, 282

Yang Yun, 27, 87Yang Zhen, and Han learning, 34

368 index

Yang, superior to Yin, 242, 244, 246Yanling (tomb of Chengdi), 30Yantie lun, 227; compilation of, 25;

date of, 160, 160n; mention of Dong Zhongshu, 59

Yao, methods of, 92Yelang, 52, 78; foundation of, 78n;

inclusion of mention, 121Yellow dragon, 268Yi Feng, 130nYi jing, citation of, 100nYi lin, 193, 193nyitong, 22, 100; 160; 177–82; in Chunqiu

fanlu (pian 8), 317; in fragment of Baihu tong, 181

Yin Min, 33; and Wei shu, 312Yin Yang, 90; and abnormalities, 133; in

Chunqiu fanlu, 263; and fall of rain, 165, 166; and heaven and earth, 254; and points of change, 256; discussion of, 59; disorder of, 94; full and empty positions, 242, 244; influence of, 258; meetings of, 244; in prayers to stop rain, 170; used by heaven, 246

Yin Zhen, and Wei shu, 312Ying Feng, and Wei shu, 312Ying Shao, 35, 61, 134; alludes to

Kongzi, 163Yiwen leiju, 193n; citations from

Chunqiu fanlu, 193; source for Dong Zhongshu’s writings, 86

Yong, cults at, 267; situation of, 271Yongle dadian, 214; and text of Chunqiu

fanlu, 218You Mao, 199You zhu qi, 287nYu bao dui, 167Yu bei, title of a pian, 7n, 195, 198, 203,

204, 211Yu hai, 206n, 221Yu Shinan, 193Yu xu, position in Chunqiu fanlu, 222yu ying, title of a pian, use of term 286Yu Yue, 275yuan, as first year of a reign, 231; use of

term, 90; as used in Chunqiu, 231, 233Yuan An, as critic of government, 34Yuan Ang, 279Yuan Gu, 10, 236Yuan qi, 301Yuan shen qi, 287, 327nYuan shi, reference to Dong Zhongshu, 71Yuan Zhu, 66nYue Hui, alludes to Kongzi, 163

Yue ji yao jia, 310Yue Ke, 205; and text of Chunqiu fanlu,

217Yue, king of, 259Yue ling, 249, 291, 293, 294Yue Qingping, and dates of Dong

Zhongshu, 43Yue Shi, 198Yue Yangzi, wife of, alludes to Kongzi,

163Yuntai hall, discussions in, 33, 162Yunyang palace, 273nYuqiu Shouwang, 47n; cites Kongzi, 160

Zaoyang, abandonment of, 108Zhai Fangjin, cites Kongzi, 161Zhai Fu, and Wei shu, 312Zhan guo, writings of, 3Zhang Anshi, 26Zhang Feng, 266Zhang Gang, critic of government, 35Zhang Heng, alludes to Kongzi, 163;

critic of government, 35; and Wei shu, 313

Zhang Jiuling, reference to Dong Zhongshu, 69

Zhang Shouyong, and text of Chunqiu fanlu, 215

Zhang Tan, and state cults, 269Zhang Tang, 24, 202; consults Dong

Zhongshu, 49; and imperial cults, 112Zhang Yan, 304Zhang Yi, 181Zhang Youqing, 28Zhang Yuanji, and text of Chunqiu

fanlu, 215Zhangdi’s reign, intellectual activity in,

119Zhangjiashan, legal documents, 37, 73,

137nZhao Qi, 144Zhao Weiyuan, and text of Chunqiu

fanlu, 216Zhaomu system, 29, 299, 300n, 329nZheng Xuan, 33; and calendar, 297; and

Han learning, 34; and Wei shu, 311;Zheng Xun, and su wang, 175Zheng Zhong, and calendar, 297zhi, 243; concentration on, 270zhi jia, 283; and number of ranks, 316,

328nzhi and wen, 152, 230, 235, 275, 293,

319; in Baihu tong, 283; in catalogue of imperial library, 282; in Chunqiu

index 369

fanlu, 284; cited by Heshang Gong, 286; translation of terms, 275n; in various texts, 278, 280; in Wei shu, 285

Zhi yu shu, of Dong Zhongshu, 68Zhizhi, Xiongnu leader, 31Zhong lun, 35; and su wang, 175; cites

Kongzi, 164zhong, 245zhong, jing and wen, 276, 277, 282, 302;

in Dong Zhongshu’s response, 98Zhongchang Tong, 34Zhongli Yi, 80; critic of Mingdi, 35Zhongshu, as given name, style, 68nZhou and Qin, contrast between, 93Zhou Gong, 110, 338; attention paid to,

114; deference of, 110n; as model for Wang Mang, 32; sacrifices to, 113; services to, 143

Zhou Guidian, and dates of Dong Zhongshu, 43; and Dong Zhongshu’s influence, 74

Zhou Kan, 28Zhou Qing, 152Zhou Shouchang, 145Zhou yi, 33Zhou, ideals of, 25; praise by Liu Xiang,

29; seen as ideal, 23

zhu (ancestral tablet), 187Zhu lin, 195, 198, 203, 204, 206, 211Zhu Maichen, and frontier policy, 107Zhu Xi, 38; doubts regarding Chunqiu

fanlu, 199; view of Dong Zhongshu, 74Zhu Yixin, 317nZhuang Zhu, as xianliang, 138Zhuangzi, and wuwei, 173Zhuangzi, 248Zhufu Yan, 46, 48, 126; treatment of

Dong Zhongshu, 183Zi chao, 193nZi zhi tong jian, treatment of the Three

Responses, 52, 121zither, simile of tuning, 61, 65, 91Zong Jun, as critic of government, 34Zou Yan, 292Zou Yang, cites Kongzi, 160Zuo Xiong, alludes to Kongzi, 163; as

critic of government, 34; critic of officials, 35

Zuo zhuan, 33, 54, 182; cited by Liu Xin, 132; cited in treatise of Han shu, 127; Fan Sheng and, 153

zushi, establishment of, 27