On the way, he passed a house where he had formerly lodged, and finding that the master was dead, and the funeral ceremonies going on, he went in to condole and weep. When he came out, he told Tsze-kung to take the outside horses from his carriage, and give them as a contribution to the expenses of the occasion. 'You never did such a thing,' Tsze-kung remonstrated, 'at the funeral of any of your disciples; is it not too great a gift on this occasion of the death of an old host?' 'When I went in,' replied Confucius, 'my presence brought a burst of grief from the chief mourner, and I joined him with my tears. I dislike the thought of my tears not being followed by anything. Do it, my child [7].' On reaching Wei, he lodged with Chu Po-yu, an officer of whom
1 顏讎由. See Mencius, V. Pt. I. viii. 2.
2. 靈公.
3 see the 史記, 孔子世家, p. 5.
4 陳國.
5. 匡.
6 Ana. IX. v. In Ana. XI. xxii, there is another reference to this time, in which Yen Hui is made to appear.
7 See the Li Chi, II. Sect. I. ii. 16.
honourable mention is made in the Analects [1]. But this time he did not remain long in the State. The duke was
[Sidebar] B.C. 495.
married to a lady of the house of Sung, known by the name of Nan-tsze, notorious for her intrigues and wickedness. She sought an interview with the sage, which he was obliged unwillingly to accord [2]. No doubt he was innocent of thought or act of evil, but it gave great dissatisfaction to Tsze- lu that his master should have been in company with such a woman, and Confucius, to assure him, swore an oath, saying, 'Wherein I have done improperly, may Heaven reject me! May Heaven reject me [3]!' He could not well abide, however, about such a court. One day the duke rode out through the streets of his capital in the same carriage with Nan-tsze, and made Confucius follow them in another. Perhaps he intended to honour the philosopher, but the people saw the incongruity, and cried out, 'Lust in the front; virtue behind!' Confucius was ashamed, and made the observation, 'I have not seen one who loves virtue as he loves beauty [4].' Wei was no place for him. He left it, and took his way towards Ch'an.
Ch'an, which formed part of the present province of Ho-nan, lay south from Wei. After passing the small State of Ts'ao [5], he approached the borders of Sung, occupying the present prefecture of Kwei-teh, and had some intentions of entering it, when an incident occurred, which it is not easy to understand from the meagre style in which it is related, but which gave occasion to a remarkable saying. Confucius was practising ceremonies with his disciples, we are told, under the shade of a large tree. Hwan T'ui, an ill-minded officer of Sung, heard of it, and sent a band of men to pull down the tree, and kill the philosopher, if they could get hold of him. The disciples were much alarmed, but Confucius observed, 'Heaven has produced the virtue that is in me; what can Hwan T'ui do to me [6]?' They all made their escape, but seem to have been driven westwards to the State of Chang [7], on arriving at the gate conducting into which from the east, Confucius found himself separated from his followers. Tsze-kung had arrived before him, and was told by a native of Chang that there was a man standing by the east gate, with a forehead like Yao, a neck like Kao- yao, his shoulders on a level with those of Tsze-ch'an, but wanting, below the waist, three
1 Ana. XIV. xxvi; XV. vi.
2 See the account in the 史記, 孔子世家, p. 6.
3 Ana. VI. xxvi.
4 Ana. IX. xvii.
5 曹.
6 ana. IX. xxii.
7 鄭.
inches of the height of Yu, and altogether having the disconsolate appearance of a stray dog.' Tsze-kung knew it was the master, hastened to him, and repeated to his great amusement the description which the man had given. 'The bodily appearance,' said Confucius, 'is but a small matter, but to say I was like a stray dog,-- capital! capital!' The stay they made at Chang was short, and by the end of B.C. 495, Confucius was in Ch'an.
All the next year he remained there, lodging with the warder of the city wall, an officer of worth, of the name of Chang [2], and we have no accounts of him which deserve to be related here [3].
In B.C. 494, Ch'an was much disturbed by attacks from Wu [4], a large State, the capital of which was in the present department of Su-chau, and Confucius determined to retrace his steps to Wei. On the way he was laid hold of at a place called P'u [5], which was held by a rebellious officer against Wei, and before he could get away, he was obliged to engage that he would not proceed thither. Thither, notwithstanding, he continued his route, and when Tsze-kung asked him whether it was right to violate the oath he had taken, he replied, 'It was a forced oath. The spirits do not hear such [6].' 'The duke Ling received him with distinction, but paid no more attention to his lessons than before, and Confucius is said then to have uttered his complaint, 'If there were any of the princes who would employ me, in the course of twelve months I should have done something considerable. In three years the government would be perfected [7].'