THE GREAT LEARNING AND JUST MEDIUM.
The first of the Four Books is the Ta Hioh, i.e., ‘Superior’ or ‘Great Learning,’ which originally formed one chapter of the Book of Rites. It is now divided into eleven chapters, only the first of which is ascribed to the sage, the remainder forming the comment upon them; the whole does not contain two thousand words. The argument of the Ta Hioh is briefly summed up in four heads, “the improvement of one’s self, the regulation of a family, the government of a state, and the rule of an empire.” In the first chapter this idea is thus developed in a circle peculiarly Chinese:
The ancients, who wished to illustrate renovating virtue throughout the Empire, first ordered well their own states. Wishing to order well their states, they first regulated their families. Wishing to regulate their families, they first cultivated their persons. Wishing to cultivate their persons, they first rectified their hearts. Wishing to rectify their hearts, they first sought to be sincere in their thoughts. Wishing to be sincere in their thoughts, they first extended their knowledge to the utmost. Such extension of knowledge lay in the investigation of things. Things being investigated, knowledge became complete: knowledge being complete, their thoughts were sincere: their thoughts being sincere, their hearts were then rectified: their hearts being rectified, their persons were cultivated: their persons being cultivated, their families were regulated: families being regulated, states were rightly governed; and states being rightly governed, the Empire was made tranquil.
From the Son of Heaven to the man of the people, all must consider the cultivation of the person to be the foundation.
The subsequent chapters mainly consist of the terse sayings of ancient kings and authors gathered and arranged by Tsăng and afterward by Chu Hí, designed to illustrate and enforce the teachings of Confucius contained in the first. One quotation only can be given from Chapter X.
In the Declaration of [the Duke of] Tsin, it is said: “Let me have but one minister plain and sincere, not pretending to other abilities, but with a simple upright mind; and possessed of generosity, regarding the talents of others as though he possessed them himself, and where he finds accomplished and perspicacious men, loving them in his heart more than his mouth expresses, and really showing himself able to avail himself of them; such a minister will be able to preserve my descendants and the Black-haired people, and benefits to the kingdom might well be looked for. But if it be, when he finds men of ability, he is jealous and hateful to them; and when he meets accomplished and perspicacious men, he opposes them and will not allow their advancement, showing that he is really not able to avail himself of them; such a minister will not be able to protect my descendants and the Black-haired people. May he not even be pronounced dangerous?”
It will be willingly allowed, when reading these extracts, that, destitute as they were of the high sanctions and animating hopes and promises of the Word of God, these Chinese moralists began at the right place in their endeavors to reform and benefit their countrymen, and that they did not fully succeed was owing to causes beyond their reforming power.
The second of the Four Books is called Chung Yung, or the ‘Just Medium,’ and is, in some respects, the most elaborate treatise in the series. It was composed by Kung Kih, the grandson of Confucius (better known by his style Tsz’-sz’), about ninety years after the sage’s death. It once also formed part of the Lí Kí, from which it, as well as the Ta Hioh, were taken out by Chu Hí to make two of the Sz’ Shu. It has thirty-three chapters, and has been the subject of numerous comments. The great purpose of the author is to illustrate the nature of human virtue, and to exhibit its conduct in the actions of an ideal kiun tsz’, or ‘princely man’ of immaculate propriety, who always demeans himself correctly, without going to extremes. He carries out the advice of Hesiod:
“Let every action prove a mean confess’d;
A moderation is, in all, the best.”