The Chinese in early ages
Were regarded by God;
Together with the foreign states
They walked in one way.
From the time of Pwan-koo,[88]
Down to the three dynasties,[89]
They honoured God,
As history records.
T'hang of the Shang dynasty,[90]
And Wan of the Chow,[91]
Honoured God
With the intensest feeling.
The inscription on T'hang's bathing-tub
Inculcated daily renovation of mind;
And God commanded him
To assume the government of the empire.
Wan was very respectful
And intelligently served God;
So that the people who submitted to him
Were two out of every three.
When Tsin obtained the empire[92]
He was infatuated with the genii,
And the nation has been deluded by the devil
For the last two thousand years.
Suen and Woo of the Han dynasty[93]
Both followed this bad example,
So that the mad rebellion increased
In imitation of Tsin's misrule.
When Woo arrived at old age,
He repented of his folly,
And lamented that from his youth up
He had always followed the wrong road.
Ming of the Han dynasty[94]
Welcomed the institutions of Buddha,
And set up temples and monasteries
To the great injury of the country.
But Hwang of the Sung dynasty
Was still more mad and infatuated,
For he changed the name of Shang-te (God)
Into that of Yuh-hwang (the pearly emperor).[95]
But the Great God
Is the supreme Lord
Over all the world,
The Great Father in heaven.
His name is most honourable,
To be handed down through distant ages;
Who was this Hwuy,
That he dared to alter it?
It was meet that this same Hwuy
Should be taken by the Tartars,
And together with his son
Perish in the northern desert.
From Hwuy of the Sung dynasty
Up to the present day,
For these seven hundred years
Men have sunk deeper and deeper in error.
With the doctrine of God
They have not been acquainted,
While the king of Hades
Has deluded them to the utmost.
The Great God displays
Liberality deep as the sea;
But the devil has injured man
In a most outrageous manner.
God is therefore displeased
And has sent his Son[96]
With orders to come down into the world
Having first studied the classics.
In the Ting-yeu year (1837)
He was received up into Heaven,
Where the affairs of Heaven
Were clearly pointed out to him.
The great God
Personally instructed him,
Gave him odes and documents,
And communicated to him the true doctrine.
God also gave him a seal,
And conferred upon him a sword
Connected with authority
And majesty irresistible.
He bade him, together with the elder brother,
Namely Jesus,
To drive away impish fiends
With the co-oporation of angels.
There was one who looked on with envy,
Namely, the king of Hades,
Who displayed much malignity
And acted like a devilish serpent.
But the great God,
With a high hand,
Instructed his Son
To subdue this fiend,
And having conquered him,
To show him no favour;
And in spite of his envious eye
He damped all his courage.
Having overcome the fiend,
He returned to Heaven,
Where the great God
Gave him great authority.
The celestial mother was kind
And exceedingly gracious,
Beautiful and noble in the extreme,
Far beyond all compare.
The celestial elder brother's wife
Was virtuous and very considerate,
Constantly exhorting the elder brother
To do things deliberately.
The great God,
Out of love to mankind,
Again commissioned his Son
To come down into the world.
And when he sent him down,
He charged him not to be afraid;
I am with you, said he,
To superintend everything.
In the Mow-shin year (1848)
The Son was troubled and distressed,
When the great God
Appeared on his behalf.
Bringing Jesus with him,
They both came down into the world,
Where he instructed his Son
How to sustain the weight of government.
God has set up his Son
To endure for ever,
To defeat corrupt machinations
And to display majesty and authority.
Also to judge the world,
To divide the righteous from the wicked,
And consign them to the misery of hell,
Or bestow on them the joys of heaven.
Heaven manages everything,
Heaven sustains the whole;
Let all beneath the sky
Come and acknowledge the new monarch.
Little children,
Worship God,
Keep his commandments,
And do not disobey.
Let your minds be refined,
And be not depraved,
The great God
Constantly surveys you.
You must refine yourselves well,
And not be depraved:
Vice willingly practised
Is the first step to misery.
To insure a good end,
You must make a good beginning:
An error of a hair's breadth
May lead to a discrepancy of a thousand li.
Be careful about little things,
And watch the minute springs of action:
The great God
Is not to be deceived.
Little children,
Arouse your energies:
The laws of high heaven
Admit not of infraction.
Upon the good blessings descend,
And miseries on the wicked;
Those who obey Heaven are preserved,
And those who disobey perish.
The great God
Is a spiritual Father;
All things whatever
Depend on him.
The great God
Is the Father of our spirits:
Those who devoutly serve him
Will obtain blessings.
Those who obey the fathers of their flesh
Will enjoy longevity;
Those who requite their parents
Will certainly obtain happiness.
Do not practise lewdness,
Nor any uncleanness;
Do not tell lies,
Do not kill and slay.
Do not steal,
Do not covet:
The great God
Will strictly carry out his laws.
Those who obey Heaven's commands
Will enjoy celestial happiness;
Those who are grateful for divine favours
Will receive divine support.
Heaven blesses the good
And curses the bad:
Little children!
Maintain correct conduct.
The correct are men,
The corrupt are imps:
Little children!
Seek to avoid disgrace.
God loves the upright,
And he hates the vicious:
Little children!
Be careful to avoid error.
The great God
Sees everything;
If you wish to enjoy happiness,
Refine and correct yourselves.