Very little mention of ancient writing or education—Baked inscribed bricks unknown to the loess region—Cession of land inscribed upon metal—The Nine Tripods—Ts'u claims them— Instances of written grants and prayers—Proof of teaching—A written public notice—Probable use of wood—Conventions upon stone—Books in sixth century B.C.—Maps, cadastre, and census records—A doubtful instance—A closed letter—Indentures—A military map—Treaties—Ancient theory of juvenile education for office—Invention of new-written script 827 B.C.—Patriarchal rule inconsistent with enlightenment—Unification of script, weights, measures, and axle-breadths by the First August Emperor Further invention of script and first dictionary—Facility of Chinese writing for reading purposes— Chinese now in a state of flux.
CHAPTER XVIII
TREATIES AND VOWS
Treaties and imprecations—Smearing with blood of victims— Squabble re precedence in the treaty-making—Shuh Niang's philosophy—Confucius' tampering with history condoned—Care of Chinese in preserving first-hand evidence—Emperor ignored by treaty-makers—Form of a treaty, with imprecation—Mesne lords and their vassals—Negotiations and references for instructions— Ts'u's first protectorate in 538—Ts'u's difficulty with Wu—The Six Families of Tsin—Sacrificing cocks as sanction to vows— Drawing human blood as sanction—Pigs for the same purpose—Kwan- tsz's honourable behaviour in keeping treaty—Confucius not so honourable: instances given—Casuistry backed up by a proverb.
CHAPTER XIX
CONFUCIUS AND LITERATURE
Life-time of Confucius—Secret of his influence—Visit of the Wu prince to Confucius' state—Lu's "powerful" family plague—Lu's position between Tsin and Ts'u influences—Ts'i studies the ritual in Lu: Yen-tsz goes thither—Sketch of Lu history in its connection with Confucius—What were his practical objects?— Authorities in support of what Confucius' Annals tell us—Original conception of natural religion—Spread of the earliest patriarchal Chinese state—No other people near them possessed letters—The way in which the Chinese spread—Lines of least resistance—The spiritual emperor compared with some of the Popes—Lu's spiritual position—Confucius of Sung descent, and at first not an influential official in Lu—Lu's humiliation—Ts'i's intrigues to counteract Confucius' genius—Travels of Confucius and his history—His edited works.
CHAPTER XX
LAW
Original notion of law—War and punishment on a level—Secondary punishments—Judgment given as each breach occurs—No distinction between legislative and judicial—Private rights ignored by the State—Public weal is Nature's law—First law reform for the Hundred Families—Dr. Legge's translation of the Code— Proclamation of the Emperor's laws—Themistes or decisions— Capricious instances: boiling alive by Emperor—Interference of Emperor in Lu succession—Tsang Wen-chung's coat—Barbarity of the Ts'u laws—Lu's influence with the Emperor—Tsin's engraved laws—Tsz-ch'an's laws on metal in Cheng—Confucius disapproves of published law—English judge-made law—All rulers accepted Chou law—Reading law over sacrificial victim—Laconic ancient laws— Command emanates from the north—Definition of imperial power—The laws of Li K'wei in Ngwei state (part of old Tsin)—Direct influence on modern law.