Mj^ 810 3L18/0 .He55 ♦^ V A JAM ^-^'^'^ STATE E E L I G I O N ^Mfkld Libraiy OF .-<^ Of Pf?' ■'\ o li I ]sr ja.. BY I N Q IM R E R SHANGHAI: AMERICAN PRESBYTKRIAN M I S i? I O X P H K S 1881. THE STATE RELIGION OF CHINA. y-\ Lncjuirer. 1. The Chinese licpository. 20 Vols. Canton: 1832-51. 2. The Chinese; A gnieral Dcscnptinn of China and its Inhabitants. By John Francis Davis, Esq., V.R.S. London : 1840. 3. China; its State and Prospect.^. By W. H. Medharst, of the London Missionary Society. London : 1840. 4. The Middle Kingdom; A Snrren of the Chinese Empire and its Inhabitants. By S. Wells Williams. New York : 1847. r>. lieJiginn in China ; A brief account of the three Religions of the Chinese. By Joseph Edkins, D.D. Second Edition. London : 1878.- 6. Confucianism and Taoism. By llobert K. Douglas, of the Brit ish Museum, and Prof, of Chinese at King's College Loudon. London : 1879. 7. The Religions of China. ]?y James Legge, Professor of the Chinese Language and Literature in the University of Oxford. London : 1880. ■J^YEIvY thing connected with an ancient and populous Empire, is a matter of great interest to all students of the institutions that arc found among the various nations of tlie world. It is a generally accepted proposition tluit uo iu.stitution exerts so great an iufluenc'o upon the character of a people as the prevailing religion. Tlicse several works on the general \mi(ny and institutions of China, have devoted some chapters to the special consideration of the rcIitjionH of this people; while the otlier volumes are exclusively occupied with this subject. It is not my purpose at this time to con- sider the three religions of China. I restrict myself to the considera- tion of The State Hrligion of this kingdom. It would appear to most Ix.Tsons, that, when the religion of a people is set forth in a series of liooks, which have come down from the earliest ages of that people ; that, when there is a ritual for the regulation of the services which are established by Imperial authority; and, when this religion is oj)en to the observation and study of all its ceremonies and worship, which are thus authoritatively prescribed, there would be no difference of (lisa'^tron^ consequences, has a Ingli claim to bo rognvdeJ as one given from a deep conviction of its justice and righteousness for if the (K'cision had been given with a view to promote the worldly success and outward enlargement of the missions in China, it would have been just the opposite from what it was. This decision was not only- accepted by all the missionaries of the Homan Catholic and Greek Church, but by all the early Protestant missionaries, as the Rev. Drs. Morrison, ]\[ilnc, Medhurst, Bridgeman, xVbeel, Boone and others, after full cxainination of the question by themselves ; and also by other sin(jIogists as the Hon. J. B. Morrison, Sir John Davis, and S. AV. Williams, LL.D. The distinguished Lexicographer and Translator, \)i\ ^[orrison, in the last year of his life, published, from the collected statutes of this Dynasty, a statement in Vol. iii. page 49 of tho Chinese liepodtonj, a list of the objects of state worship. No mission- ary since his time has had a better opportunity of studying the subject than Dr. Morrison had. lie had access to nearly all the publications of the Jesuits : he had a better Chinese Library than acy one has liad since. His linguistic studies in the preparation of his Dictionary, imd in his work as Translator to the East Lidia Company, and to the Embassy to Poking under Lord Amherst, all afforded him great facilities of investigation. lie states that the whole number of objects worshipped arc thiHij, of which the first and chief is the Heaven or sky. They are divided into three classes. The imperial ritual pre- scribes the sacrifices that are to be offered to each class, and to each object of each class. In the first class there are four objects. These are entitled to receive tho great Sacrifices. " The first of these is" Tien, the heaven or sky. This object is otherwise called tlie azure heavens ; and the imperial concave expanse. The 2nd is the Earth ; the 3rd is the Imperial Ancestors; the 4th are the gods of the land and the grain." The objects which receive the medium sacrifices are 5th, the sun ; 6th, the moon ; 7th, the manes of the Kings and Emperors of former ages ; 8th, the ancient master Confucius ; 9th, the Patron of agriculture ; 10th, tho ancient Patron of the manufacture of silk; 11th, the heaven- gods ; 12th, the earth-gods; 13th, the god of the pas^sing year. Those who receive the small sacrifice are 14th, the ancient Patron of tho healing art and other benefactors of the race; loth, the stars ; 16th, the clouds; 17th, the rain; 18th, the wind ; 19th, the thunder; 20th, the four great mountains of China ; 21st, the four seas ; 22nd, the four Bivcrs; 23rd, the famous hills; 24th, the great streams of water; 25th, military flags and banners ; 26th, the god of the road where an army may pass ; 27th, the god of cannon ; 28th, the gods of the gates ; 29th, the quoeu goddess of tho ground ; 30th, tho north pole &c." sir John Davis in liis Work on Oliina copies from this statement and accepts this statement, thus cxti-acted from the collected statutes, of the objects of state worsliip as correct. The Rev. Dr. ]Mcdhurst, in the chapter of his book which relates to religion, while he docs not refer specifically to the state religion says: " There are, in the works of Confucius some allusions to heaven, as the presiding power of nature, and to fate as the determiner of all things; but he does not appear to attribute originality to the one, nor rationality to the other ; and thus his system remains destitute of the main tiuth, which lies at the basis of all truth, viz: the existence of a self-existent, eternal and all wise God." p. 186. "This expression " equal to heaven " is oft repeated by the Chinese with reference to Confucius ; and there can be no doubt that they mean thereby to place their favorite sage on a level with the powers of nature, and in fact to deify him." p. 152-8. Dr. Williams in his work, which lias come to be considered as the standard work on China, pp. 233-*4 of Yol. ii. accepts the state- ment as translated by Dr. Morrison in regard to the objects of state worship, as the official and (uithoritutive statement. Thus it appears that the decision of the Congregation which was appointed to consider the question of rites was accepted as correct by Roman Catholics, Grreek Catholics and Protestant Missionaries and Historians till 1852. In his ]5ook " The notions of the Chinese concerning God and spirits," the Rev. Dr. Legge expressed himself as follows : after quoting some of the prayers and odes which were used at the sacrifice offered to Heaven at the winter solstice, as given in the collected statutes of the Ming dynasty, he says, "Let the descriptions which are contained in these sacred songs be considered without pre- judice, and I am not apprehensive as to the answer which will be mado to the question * "Who is he whom the Chinese thus worship ? ' I am confident the Christian world will agree with me in saying ' This God is our God.'" And in his recent letter to Prof. Miiller, he says "My own view in opposition to Inquirer is that Tien is the name, not of the chief god of the Chinese, but the name by which they speak of Him, who is the one Supreme Being over all. I maintain that when they use the name in this way, they do not think of the material heavens at all." See Chinese Recorder 1881, p. 39. Thus Dr. Legge expresses his views. As I understand his language, he holds the same view in reference to the object worshipped as the Ricci school. He defended this view in his book on " The Notions of the Chinese " &c. He has reproduced and dcfr tlio dcsigtrntioTi of Heaven; and second, is their worsliij) inonotlieisfic ? For in con- nection witli tlie opiin'on tliat hy Heaven is nu-ant the true God. J")r. J/e;:jge hohls tlic opinion that the worsliip hy tlie Oliinese Emperor is monotheistic. As the view of the second question will help to arrive at a conclusiun on the first question, I will consider the latter question first. At p. IG of his iJook on Hie Koligions of China, Dr. Lcf^gc says "Five thousand years ago the Chinese were monotheists ;" at p. 23 the heading of a paragraph reads " The Slui King and its evidence concerning the worshi]) of Yao and 8hun is a monotheism, with an inferior worship of spirits." At p. 51 " The original monotheiwi of the Chinese remains in the fitntc icors^tip of to-dai/." In opposition to these statements I will show that the Chinese are Polytheistic, and that in their state religion they worship a plurality of objects. It is hero necessary to define the terms in use. I\ronotheism is defined in "Webster's Dictionary thus " The doctrine or belief in the existence of one God only." In Chambers' Dictionary it is defined thus " The belief in only one God." Polytheism is thus defined by Webster quoting Stillingflcet " The doctrine of a plurality of gods, or invisible beings, superior to man and having an agency in the government of the world." A distinguished writer in Johnson's Cyclopedia defines ])olytheism thus, "Polytheism distributes the perfections and functions of the infinite (xod among many limited gods." Vol. it. p. 587. Let lis see Mhat the Chinese themselves sny in regard to this matter. 1'he ritual of this dynasty, as established by Imperial authority as quoted above says, there f//r thirtif persons or filings, that are to be sacrificed to. Sacrifice is considered the highest act of worship. Of these,. /b?<;- are entitled to equal honors, and receive the great saerificc. The worsliip of these many objects has come down from the very earliest times. The inauguration of Shun, who succeeded Yao "took place in the temple of the accomplished ancestor." This implies the existence of ancestral worship at thait time. Tlicn, after his accession to the throne, " He saci-iflfre:l specially, but with the oidinary forms to Shang-ti ; sacrificed to the six objects of Honor ; offered the appro- priate sacrifices to tlie hills and rivers, and extended his worship to the host of the shin." The Shu King, as quoted by Dr. Legge in his Lectures p. 24 reads " Thereafter in his tours of inspection, he sacrificed, "presenting a burnt sacrifice to Heaven, and sacrificed in order to the hills and rivers." On his return therefrom "he went to the temple of the Cultivated Ancestor, and offered a single bullock." p. 20. Notwltlistandlng these explicit statements of the authori/ed Ritual, aiul of the Shu King as to the plurality of objects which are worshipped, Dr. Loggc appears to hold to a monotheism different from that implied by the meaning of the word as given above. lie says " The Shu King, and its evidence concerning the worship of Yao and Shun as a monotheism, with an inferior worship of spirits." It is not clear what is his meaning in this sentence ; but it would appear that he holds that where there is the worship of a chief Power with a worship to ■suhonJinafe objects it is still a monotheism, especially if he withholds the name gods from the subordinate objects. This view of the meaning ot monotheism is of course different from the definition given above fr. King Woo) fell ill, and was quite disconsolate. The two dukes said 'let us reverently consult the tortoise concerning the King;' but the duke of Chow said, 'you may not so distress our former King.' He then took the business on himself, and made three altars on the same cleared space.* * * The convex symbols were put on their altars, and he himself held his mace, while he addressed the Kings T^ae, Ko and Wan. The grand historian, by his order, wrote on tablets the prayer to the following effect: — A. B. your chief descendant is suffering a severe and dangerous sickness; if you three Kings have in heaven the charge of watching over him. Heaven's great son, let me. Tan, be a substitute for his person.* * * Oh do not let the Heaven-conferred appointment fall to the ground [i.e. by his death] and all our former kings will also have a perpetual reliance and resort. I will now seek for your orders from the great tortoise. If you grant ichat I request, I will take these symbols and this mace, and return and wait for the issue. If you do not grant it, I will put them by. The King then divined by the three tortoises, and all were favorable. He took a key, opened and looked at the oracular responses which were also tavorable. He said according to the form of the prognostic, the King will take no injury. I, who am but a child, have got Ids appointment rctiencd hy the three hings, by whom a long futurity has been consulted f'T. I have to wait the issue. They can provide for our one man." Till-; passage throws great light on this whole subject. The apjmnt- 11 mcnt of the Hulcr or King is constantly spoken of as made by Heaven; here the rcneical of the appointment is ascribed to those ancestors the three kings. This shows what is meant by their association with Heaven in managing the affairs of the Empire. The recovering of the King is also ascribed to them. If this narrative does not bring to us the statement of divine worship rendered to the souls of the deceased kings, then language cannot convey the idea. In Livy's History, book 1. chap. 32, as quoted by Dr. Medhurst in his "Inquiry &c.," page 75, we have an example of prayer addressed to the deified Ptomulus, designated Quirinus, in conjunction with other gods. The statement reads thus "Audi, Jupiter et tu Juno, Quirine, Diique omnes coelestes, vosque terrestres, vosque infcrni audite." Was this praying to these various gods together with a deified mortal, the founder of the city of Eome, the worship of many gods, even though Jupiter was the chief god and the patron god of Rome ? The general consent of historians so considers it. For the same reasons which lead to this conclusion in reference to the Roman worship, this joint worship of Heaven, the Earth and the imperial ancestors must be regarded as a worship of a plurality of gods by the Chinese. The distinguished Emperor Kang Hi, the most enlightened one that ever occupied the throne of China, in his will and testament, ascribed all the prosperity of his long and prosperous reign to the " invisible help of Heaven, Earth, his Ancestors and the gods of the land and the grain." * Each Emperor of this dynasty as he ascended the throne announced his ascension to the throne to "Heaven, Earth, the Imperial Ancestors, and to the gods of^the land and grain."! (Jiee pamp/ilct on "S/icni(j-ti" by Inquirer, p. 33). How widely different is all this from the monotlieiani of Western nations. Their Rulers say " By the grace of God, Emperor, &c." The national anthem sounds clear " God save the Queen," and the other declaration " In God we trust, &c." No, no, according to the common and generally accepted use of language the Imperial worship of China is not monotheistic hnt jtolyt/ieistic. It cannot be compared with the nnHiothcism of Mohammedism any more than it can be with that of Christianity. At page 30 of the "Lectures" Dr. Legge attempts to explain away the statement of the Classics that the Chinese regard Heaven and Earth as two divinities, quoting a passage from the Shu at p. 283 as follows: — "Its first Sovereign (n.c. 1122) in a Great Declaration made to his adherents when he had taken the *7fl ?i.j ^it^.m It W: m f*. M.mB±m. ~~ 12 ikUl against the last Ruler of Yin, said " ncavcu and Earth is the Parent (lit. the father and the motlier) of all creatures, and of all creatures, man is the most intelligent. The sincerel}- intelligent (among men) becomes the great sovereign, and the great sovereign is the Parent (lit. the father and mother) of the people. But now, Shaw, the King of Shang, does not reverence Heaven above, and inflicts calamities on the people below." Heaven and Earth pass immediately, you perceive, into the one name Heaven; notwithstanding the dualistic form of the expression, it is only one that is the parent of all." In a note he adds " Heaven and Earth is no more plural than is the sovereign who is also the father and mother of the people." This must appear to all readers as very special pleading in advocacy of an opinion. Heaven and Earth nominatives to a verb in the singular, &c., &c. But let us see how the Chinese understand the matter ; whether they consider Heaven and Earth are two distinct gods or only one. At p. 280 of Chi. C!as., Vol. i., we read: "When the completely sincere man is able to assist the transforming and nourish- ing powers of Heaven and Earth, he may with Heaven and Earth form a tcrnion."* The function of Heaven, as one of the Parents of all things, is stated to be that of transforming: the function of Earth is nourishing. The man who can assist them in their functions forms with Heaven and Earth a trio. According to common arithmetic it requires two and one to make three. But according to Dr. Legge's reasoning as above given — that Heaven and Earth are only one, — one and one make three, a conclusion from which the Prof, of Mathe- matics in Oxford, would probably dissent. The explanation to this passage of "The Mean" reads: "The sincere man, with Heaven and ]uirth, stands even and makes f/iree. Heaven's place is above, Earth's jilacc is below, tlie sincere man's place is between ; therefore it is said they stand even and make three." f The distinct duality of ][cavcn and Earth as two objects of worship is clearly expressed in an ode which is sung during the sacrifice to Earth at the Summer solstice, which reads thus: "The brilliant flags follow the cloudy way; the flying dragon mounts the high heaven ; the virtues and actions of Earth are perfect ; by thy care over all within the four seas there are no troubles; the Compeer of the Imperial Arch, thou art [one of] the Two great Ones; thou dost keep in peace the people of the Earth below." J * p.ii ^ y:}.m^ i^ 4^ ^^ ng li: 4. g. ' 13 Having thus proved, by these incontrovertible proofs, that the worship of the state religion of China is polytheistic, I proceed to consider what Being or object is referred to in this worship by the designation Tien or Heaven. Dr. Legge says in his letter to Prof. Miiller (sec Chinese Eecorckr. for 1881, p. 38) ''let the reader of this letter be aware that all he was entitled to say in giving an account of my belief as to Thien was, that the Being indicated by that name was the true God." And again at p. 39 he says " My own view is, — that Thien is the name, not of the chief god of the Chinese, but the name by which they speak of Him, who is the One Supreme Being over all. I maintain that when they use the name in this way, they do not think of the 'material Heavens' at all." Here I join issue with the learned Doctor fair and square, and say that when they speak of the Ruling Power by the designation Heaven, they ahcni/s think of the visible Heavens deified, and of nothinfj else. That this is what they think of and refer to, I will prove by their own statements and declarations. But before proceeding to quote these statements, there are some points that I wish to refer to as preliminary to a full and clear understanding of the matter. First, I remark that Dr. Legge's opinion is very improbable from the fact that no other nation, of either ancient or modern times, since the dispersion of mankind, have had the knowledge of the true God except as they have received it from the Revelation given to men in the S. S. of the Old and New Testaments. These Scriptures state that, at the time of Abraham, all nations had become idolaters having lost the knowledge of the true God. St. Paul in his. epistle to the Romans explains how this sad result came to pass. " Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful ; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to bo wise, they became fools. And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and t'> birds, and four- footed beasts, and creeping things." Rom. i. : 21-23. The opinion which I maintain, that Tien refers to deified Heaven, is supported by this fact. In other lands the word for Heaven in three several languages has been used to designate a controlling Power, an object of worship. This use of the word Heaven has existed among the Hindus, the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Egyptians, &c. In the history and mythology of all these nations the Avord Heaven has been understood to designate the material Heaven as the object of worship. It is only in the lands where the Revelation, which has been given to men in the S. S., has changed the former use of the language, that Heaven has come to be used as a symbol of tho 14 Spiritual Being, who is the Creator and Preserver of Heaven and of all things. I wish all my readers to hear in mind that this is not a discussion of the so-called "term question." While I prefer to use Shin, in connection with the distinctive name Jehovah, in making known the true God to this people, many of those who prefer to use Shang-ti for that purpose, agree with me in the matter now under discussion. One of the most earnest and able advocates of the use of Shang-ti, in teaching the Chinese the knowledge of the true God, says " Shang-ti is the word we find in the language for the Highest. It is not the Jehovah of the Jews, nor the Theos of the Greeks, nor the God of English Christians ; and at the same time, it is not the Jove of the ]loinans, or the Baal of the Canaanites, or the Great Spirit of the Red Indians." p. 5G. And again "Confucius, on the other hand, did not initiate the practice of calling Heaven personified Shang-ti. The usage came down with the language from unfathomable antiquity. Heaven, Ti and Shang-ti were used almost synonymously in the old Ballads which he recited, and which he cherished as perhaps the most precious heritage of antiquity." (See " The Question of Terms Simpli- fied, hy Reo. Jo/m Chalmers,". LL.D., p. 58.) From these quotations it appears that Dr. Chalmers agrees with me on both points of this controversy, viz., that Heaven in the Chinese Classics means the visible heavens deified; for "Heaven personified " is the same as Heaven regarded as a god, and in this also, that Shang-ti is not the Jehovah of the Jews nor the God of Christians. Another point which I advert to is this. The matter to be con- sidered is what being or object is referred to by the designation Heaven. In connection with this, it is to be considered what is the relation of the term Shang-ti to this object or being. I)r. Legge, iu the Index of Chinese Characters and Phrases in Shu King, under the word Thien, says ",The most common use of Heaven is for the supreme governing Power. It is employed in this way more than 150 times." It is used in this way also about 100 times iu the Shi King. Dr. Legge says in the preface to the Sacred Books of China, Oxford, 1879 : "The term Heaven, Thien, is used everywhere in the Chinese Classics for the Supreme Power, ruling and governing all the affairs of men w'ith an omnipotent and omniscient righteousness and goodness." p. xxiv. In his Lectures he says " The application of Thien must have been to the visible sky, but all along the course of history it has been used as we use Heaven, where we intend the ruling Power, whose providence embraces all. p. 8. In his letter to Prof. Miiller he says, " My own view is, that Thien is the name by which they speak of Him who is 15 the One Supreme Being over all." ChincM Recorder, p. 39. From these quotations it appears that Dr. Legge and I agree that Heaven is the name, ihe diaiinctive name of the Being who exercises the chief power, and who is referred to in the Sacrad Books of China. Heaven is also the distinctive name of the Being referred to in tlie Imperial ritual and the worship of the state religion. The sacrifices are designated the sacrifices to Tien or Heaven. The altar is called the Altar to Heaven. The Emperor from his being appointed by this Power is styled the Son of Heaven. The throne as being assigned to him by this Power is designated the Heaven-conferred seat. The punishment of a bad ruler by displacing him, is spoken of as the Heaven-appointed punishment. I hope my readers will excuse this enlargement npon this point which appears so self evident and so universally admitted, because it is one of very great importance. See further proofs in letter to Prof. Mliller, Chhme Recorder, 1880, pp. 166-7. The next poiiU to this, is to state what is the relation of the designa- tions Ti and Shang-ti to the Being who is styled Heaven. Kang Hi's Dictionary and the Bor.k of History defines it thus, "Shang-ti is Heaven."* The Fung-shen Book says "Shang-ti is another name for Heaven."! In the commentaries on the Classics these definitions are repeated very frequently — sometimes in one form, and sometimes in the other. "Shang-ti is Heaven." "Shang-ti and Heaven are one and the same." " Shang-ti is another name for Heaven." In his Lectures, at p. 10, Dr. Legge says " Heaven is styled Shang-ti, and as frequently Ti alone, without the Shang." Throughout the Shu and the Shih, the ancient Books of History and Poetry, the names Thien, Ti and Shang- ti are constantly interchanged, in the course of the same chapter or paragraph, often in the same sentence. Dr. Chalmers says "Confucius did not initiate the practice of calling Heaven personified Shang-ti. The usage came down with the language from unfathomable antiquity." "Terms Simplified," p. 58. Dr. Medhurst says,."Ti or Shang-ti is said to be synonymous with Heaven." See Inquiry, p. 19. I concur entirely in this general co)iscnf>n.'i of the usage of Shang-ti as another name for or the synonym of Heaven. Heaven is the name of the Being, and Ti and Shang-ti are used as other names to designate that Being. I call attention to the fact that it is not once intimated in any book, or stated by any native or foreign authority that Heaven is another name for Shang-ti. t J: ^ ^. 5^ i sij ^ 4, ^Mmmm^^-^^nmrnJ^^t I 16 Tills usa^'C of the words ma}- be shewn by a familiar illiistra" tion. During the time that the late distinguished prelate, the Right Rev. Pr. Samuel Wilhcrforce was the Bishop of Oxford, the name of the prolate was Dr. ^Vilborforce. . In all liis diocese the Bishop was the synonym, or another name for Dr. Wilbcrforce, and everywhere the Bishop of Oxford referred disiiuctivclij to Dr. Wilberforce. Hence Dr. AVilberforcc, the Bishop, and the Bishop of Oxford could be, and they were, used intci-chaiigcahJij, often in the same chapter, or paragraph, and even the same sentence. It could be said during his incumbency, that " the Bishop of Oxford spoke in the House on this question with that fervent energy which Dr. Wilberforce knows so well how to put into his speeches ; and we need not say the Bishop was listened to with the greatest attention." Whatever duties or official acts Dr. Wilberforce might engage in or perform, in speaking of them, the name Bishop might everywhere be used instead of his proper name ; as, the Bishop ordained Mr. Blank as a Deacon ; the Bishop ordained Mr. Blank as a Priest ; the Bishop suspended Mr. Blank from being a Priest for immoral conduct. In all such sentences this title is used referring to Dr. Wilberforce. In using this name nothing could be said to be done by the Bishop which would not apply if the proper name Dr. Wilberforce was used instead of the synonym. It could not be said under the circumstances referred to, that, the Bishop ordained Dr. Wilberforce; the Bishop officiated at the marriage of Dr. Wilberforce. Because it could not be said that Dr. Wilberforce ordained Dr. Wilberforce, meaning himself. From this illustration it is evident that the name Bishop, or the Bishop of Oxford, referred only to Dr. Wilberforce, and that it had no applica- tion, during his incumbency, to any one except Dr. Wilberforce. Nor could the Bishop be understood to have any separate existence or position, separate or independent of the designated person Dr. Wilber- force. So in the other case. Heaven is the proper name of the Being referred to in the Classics, and the Imperial worship ; and Ti and Shang-ti are used in speaking of, and referring to, that Being. When they are thus used, in the Classics and the rituals, they have no other use or aj)pIication but to designate Heaven, as " another name for Heaven." I have dwelt thus long on this point because, notwith- standing the general consent in stating the fact, that "Heaven is styled Shang-ti," as Dr. Legge expresses it, and Shang-ti is another name for Heaven as others say, yet, it is often spoken of and referred to, as if Shang-ti is some Being different from and entirely independent of the Being or object named Heaven. I wish to make one more preliminary remark, and then I will 17 enter (lirpctly on the dl.scu.ssion of tlic mtiin question. In considering tlie ancient writings we are to inquire wliat was the meaning of the ii-oy(h in the ])a.s.s:igcs under con.sideration, bj' the writers thereof; not wliat ideas do they suggest to readers now, or what meaning can be put into tlieni. The Writers would only have used the words to express the ideas that were in their own minds — to express the views of that subject which were known to themselves. "What were the prevailing views and opinions at tlje time of the writing may be leairned, of course, from the history of the times, from the statements made by commentators, and by the ideas which are embodied in the ceremonies and representations referring to the matter. It is the place of those Avho would know these views to learn them from these sources, and so to get at the meaning of the words as used by the writer and not to seek to put into the language of ancient writers such ideas of the matter as may be present in their own minds from other sources. I now proceed to establish my main proposition, which is, that in the Chinese Classics, and in the Rituals and the state worship, where i leaven is used as a designation of the chief Power, the risible Heaven, regarded as a god, is the object always referred to. In all the Classics and Rituals, prayers atid hymns. Heaven is spoken of by many synonyms, as, the "Sky,"* as^the "Canopied Azure"t indicating both its shape and color, the "High Canopy,"+ the "Imperial Canopy,"|| the "Azure Canopy, "§ the "Azure Above,"1I the "Glorious Azure."** Tlie altar to ]-reavcn is made high and round expressly to represent Heaven. The building, in which the tabled to Heaven is deposited for safe keeping, is designated the " Circular Hall of the Imperial (Janopy."tt 1'he jade stone gem which is presented at the time of the sacrifice to Heaven, is required to be "round and azure to resemble Heaven.'' The imposing building, in the northern part of the grounds connected with the altar to Heaven, in which prayer is oii'ered to Heaven for a fruitful year, is dome^shaped and azure in color to resemble heaven < " Heaven is said to cover, while earth contains all things ; and therefore the merit of earth is equal to that of Heaven." The one corresponds to the other. Heaven covers what tlie earth contains. Beyond all contradictions it is the visible Heaven which covers what the earth contains. I now quote various pas-siiges in proof of my position. In the Confucian Analects at p. 23y of Chi. Clas., Vol. i., we have the oft quoted passage ; " He who offends against Heaven has none to whom * ^ ^ ^ ^- mm- X ±^- II # ^• i'M%- ^f ^ ^- ** ^%- ft M ^ ^- 18 he mil prny." Tlic commentary reads: " Heaven means principle, that is, the Azure Ilcaceu. That Avith which Heaven abides is principle; therefore Ave use principle to explain Heaven."* At p. 110 of the 8hi Kinf» an ofhccr seeing the desolation exclaims : " Oh distant and azure Heaven, hy what man was this [brought ahout] ?" The explanation says, " That azure Heaven. Looking at it from a distance it appears azure." He says, "I sorrowing over the Chow dynasty no man knows thereof. Though man does not know, Heaven cannot be deceived. There is nothing which that distant azure Heaven does not pity."t Here omniscience and universal compassion are ascribed to the azure ."^ky. At p. 182 the text reads, "Oh tliou distant and azure Heaven, when shall we be in our places again ?" The explanation says, "The distant and azure Heaven considers the love of the people to be a virtue : when will you permit me to demit the duties of the King and return to the cultivation of the fields and the nourishing of my jjaren ts, «.'^c."+ Here also the love of the people and the appointing of Eulers are ascribed to the azure sky. At p. 200 we read, " Thou azure Heaven there, Thou art destroying our good men." The commentary reads, " That which is azure, the sky, makes happy the good and .sends misery on the wicked — this is the constant principle. Why do you not protect our good people, but on tljc contrary destroy their life?"|| Here too divine power in punishing the wicked and rewarding the good is ascribed to the azure sky. At p. 311 we read, "Oh unpitying greatHeaven."§ The word here translated "great" is as truly descriptive of Heaven as azure is. *It is composed of the words for Heaven and sun and refers to the - glorious and great appearance of heaven when the summer sun is shining. Ivang Hi defines it thus,^" In summer is *m¥^iiiji.nBimJiL. mm mm- .i£ fj?. 5c m s 4. m ^ '^^ji.^pjii^mMy:xmw\±. £ mum- 1 1& /i^ !■■ 5e jb f^r A m. w m b- ^i m. m rs. m^.^n ^. m T-^n.ifD 5c m T> ^ m^.m^^r^ %*i^ ^ t^ ti ^- 4. ^ f# a rs m- n f-s ^- 4. ^^ n 11^- 1 ^ m hl i i?, *^ ^ if m ^ ii m ^i ^m^. £ It $1 frr m- II ®^^5cjj^M A, !#im- ^^mM^^HM^m 19 the glorious neaveii." The cxplanahon say?, its substance is great uihI wide and here meafls "that the original substance has a wide and great appearance." . This designation of great Heaven was conferred upon Ileaven by Great Shun B.C. 2255 and it continued to be the iiuthorized designation till it was replaced by the title Imperial, or Sovereign, in a.d. 15:j8. At p. 325 we find the passage, "Great and wide ITeaveu ! how is it you have contracted your kindness." The conunentary says, " that wide and great Heaven regards the complete covei-ing of things as a virtue, &c. I low is it, you exercise no fore- tliought nor care."* At p. 326 the text reads, "Compassionate Heaven," literally Aufitmnal Heaven, referring to the mild and soft ap[)('!u'anec of the sky in the autumn, as if it looked with compassion on the decay of vegetable life. The explanation reads, " that mild iind distant autumnal Heaven kindly covers and compassionates all the things which are below, &c."t At p. 348 the text reads, "Oil azure Heaven ! Oh azure Heaven ! Look on these proud men." " The azure Heaven makes liappy and sends misery on the wicked, it does not forget this principle, &.Q."t At p. 523, the text reads, "I have no strength, I think of tht- concave Azure." The explanation says, "The concave Azure means Heaven. Concave speaks of its shape and azure of its color. It means that Heaven has sent desolation and disturbance, &c."l| lu the passage on p.. 316 of the Shi King where it reads " There is the great Shang-ti." The explanation reads, "Hwang means great, Shang-ti is the Heaven-god. (.'hing-tsze says, "On account of its form and substance it is designated Heaven ; by reason of its lordship and rule it is designated Ruler. "§ . The words here translated "form and substance " are words which are used in describing man's body, ' , ^' 4> ^ 75 :7 ic :]i; 1. w r^ lit ^ f! z'i^k.yixmi^^m'Z Kum^ m -$ s a i^ i^^5^ B. r^m- ^ 4. B (/^ il ^ i -ii 5;.* 1 1 n T '^ JiL.^ m i^ M i: ^. m t m m. 7> m i^ m^^. e i# is rr m- 20 The Rev. E. Faber, in Chinese Recorder for 1880, at p. 5, in a note, renders " the animated bodily organism " of men by those two words. If this is a correct rendering of those two words, and we adopt this form of expression instead of the one above given, the sentence would read : That the Heaven-god '* on account of its animated bodily organism is styled Heaven." Dr. Williams in his Dictionary gives person as the equivalent of these two words. In connection with these various expressions use^ by the Chinese to express their conception of the matter, is it not evident that their conception is this ; they conceive of the material Heaven as animated by a living intelligent spirit, and tlierefore a god of extensive power and rule, as its substance covers all things ; and that this god by reason of its bodily form or substance is styled Heaven, and because it exercises lordship and rule it is called Ruler. The taking of an oath is one of the most solemn acts in re- cognition of the overruling Power. It is very common for men to appeal to Heaven. The following sentence is one of several instances where in taking an oath the Sun is joined to Heaven. The joining of Sun to Heaven makes it clear that it is the visible Heaven. ** They, weeping, pointed to the Heaven and the Sun, and mutually made oath, that living or dying they would, not desert each other."* The following passage is very interesting and important because it makes clear that it refers to the visible Heaven, that which covers China, and that this Heaven wns the special patron of the T^ang dynasty having given to it all within the four seas "Heaven, because the l^aiig cli/ncisfi/ was able to imitate its virtue, and its pious children and godly grand-children did not weary in revering and obeying, gave all which it covered to them. Tlio four seas and nine provinces had no within or without, but all acknowledged them as Lord and themselves as scrvitors."f A hand-book for readers of the Chinese Classics of the highest authority coming down from the third century, in the section which explains the word Heaven, has these remarks. An edition of the Spring and Autumn Clussic says, "Heaven is conspicuous. It dwells on high and rules the behjw, for men it regulates and governs. There- fore the character T4en is one and great. "."1; In explanation of the designation Shang T'ien, the I Nga says, t ^'c ^ ;^ j^ i'f ft fi, ^ ^ fi^ ^..m^f^ T> M. ^ # ^ 1. P3 fg :fL i^^. f^ ^ ^ ^h, B i.m^. E n :t. ¥ m w m- 21 " to Le above and take care of tiling's below." After many other remarks as tx) the varying modes of speaking of Heaven as the azure Heaven, the great Heaven, the autumnal Heaven, &c., it says " The azure Heaven is in reference to its substance, honoring Heaven and regarding it as a Ruler or Sovereign, then it is styled Imperial Heaven."* In this sentence the word 'VKitni " is used as a verb to regard as a Sovereign or Ruler ; and because T'ien is so regarded it is styled Imperial Heaven. It also explains the expression to sacrifice to Heaven " to offer the burnt offering, at the great altar is styled sacrificing to Heaven." The vi'hole tenor of the book makes it evident, beyond all possibility of doubt, that the sacrifice is offered to the visible Heaven. In the face of all these statements, the names of the object, its characteristics and functions, which might bo added to indefinitely, it is liard to conceive of a more unwarranted and untenable statement than that made by Dr. Legge as quoted above, " I maintain that "svlien they use the name in this way they do not tltiiik of the material Heavens at all.'' Let us see how Dr. Legge sets aside these statements of the Chinese writers, in which they express their meaning and thoughts in relation to the subject. At p. 200 of the Shi King where the Poet says " that which is azure, the sky," Dr. Legge says, after giving this .translation, "but we must understand the appeal is really to the Power dwelling in the Heavens." At p. 316 he quotes the explanation "which is given "by Ching E and which is accepted by Choo, and by all sub- ficquent uriters" thus: "With reference to its form we speak of Heaven, M'ith reference to its lordship and rule we speak of Shang-ti." Instead of accepting this general consent of writers as settling the question of what is their meaning in the use of the word, Dr. Legge says, " this meaning is (ib.siinl. We arc as good judges of what is meant by Heaven as a name for the Supreme Power, as Ching was." Thus Dr. J>egge forgetting that the object of the inquiry is, to find out what ■was the idea which the Chinese wished to express, and not what was the correct doctrine about the matter, refuses to accept the statement of the best commentators of the Chinese Classics as to what was their inulerstanding of the words of their own language ; and declares his own competency to judge what the words meant. At p. 530 when discussing a clause in which his translation differed from that of a previous translator, he gives, as the reason for rejecting that of the other, that the meaning the other gave "is to my mind exceedingly 22 unuaturiir' and " iberefure lie coidd not translate the pa^isage otlicnvise than he had done." The meaning the other traushitor gave was, that Ileavou is the chief Ruler. Ou the same passage he expresses himself thus in his "Lectures" at page 65 in note K. "So I mud nnck'r- .stnnd tlie title," though the literal translation of it, ^Yhich he gives, rxpressos a very different and indeed a quite opposite meaning to the one which he gives. The reason he mud underdand the title in his wax", :uid not according to the literal rendering of it, is, because the literal translation gives a different meaning from what he thinks it ought to have. AVc leave our readers to form their own opinion on this point, how far a translator or annotator, who expresses himself as refusing to accept the statements of the Chinese as to their own sentiments and opinions, and who says he must understand the words in a sense that accord with his own previously-expressed opinion, can be accepted as a reliable interpreter of the books he translates. To proceed with the discussion, I go further and say that the Chinese not only ahcaifs think of the material Heaven as exercising the lordship and rule, but that they think of no other Being as doing so. While the late Dr. Hobson was resident at Canton, some objectors to Christianity sent to him a criticism on some Christian books, which criticisms Dr. Hobson sent to Dr. Legge. He publishes one passage of these objections at p. 38 of "Xotions, &.t." which reads thus, "You [/.(?. Christians] say, the azure Heaven has no ruling power. "W^heu we say " Thank Heaven " you require that we should write pkiinly the name and surname of the Being, or that wo say Shang-ti, and then you will understand us. These are "the views of a stupid man. No man who has read books [/.c. no literary person] would write thus. To explain summaril\- the word Heaven is used first as we speak of the I'impcror, calling him his sacred Highness and not daring directly to speak out his naniu."* Here the point taken against Christian books is that they say "The azure heaven has no ruling power." The ('hiu(.'se fur azure heaven is the most explicit expression to designate the material huaveu that can be used. In charging it against Chris- tians that they say, the material heaven has no ruling power, the pai)cr implies that the objectors held that it had, and they say " no literary inan would write as the Christians had done ou that point." "\\ itli this agrees an incident which happened within my own cognizance. Nome disputants came into a chapel and charged against the Christian speakers, that they were disloyal and unfilial, in that they did not ' 'I'^.'i'i^^^.n^.^^Z MM 5c ^ >i5 ^ ^ 0B U ^% n 23 wor.sljip the national gods of Cliina, mentioning Heaven and Eartli, liulers, Parents and Teachers. The Cliristians defended tlieir positions explaining, that while they did not ivorship their Kuler, Parents or Teachers, yet, they iionored them hy following their teachings, showing them respect, and cherishing tlieir memories, &c., &c. They said, since ]rcaven and Ivirth arc mecc dead matter, they, of course, did not worship them ; hut they worshipped the Lord and Creator of }[eaven and Earth. At this expression, the ohjectors hrokc out into a furious passion saying there wa* no Lord of Heaven, that lloavon is the Lord and Ruler; and would not discuss the point further. Several of the Protestant missionaries in, and near Peking, who in preachinc^, use the term T'ien Chu for God, have told me that frequently after preaching, in conversation with some of the hearers, they would sav, "yes, we helieve as you do. We helieve that Heaven is Lord," thus showing that they understood the words T'ieti Chu, not as meaning }{eaven's Lord, but Pleaven is Lord ; as Dr. Chalmers' translates that term in his letter in the China Reciew for Nov.-Dec, 1880. One of these missionaries also told me, that he had the same Chinese teacher in his employ for ten years, ]Ie was a man of good talents and literary acquirements. After he was thus under Christian influence for eight years he professed his faith in Christianity. Ife told the missionary that for six years of the time he was with him, in reading the Christian Scriptures and tracts, he understood T^ieu Chu in the sense of Heaven /« Lord. From these repeated experiences it would appear that many of the Confucianists arc so accustomed to think of Heaven as the liord and Ruler, that their minds cannot readily accept of any other moaning of the words. It is a matter of history that the Emperor Kang Hi was greatly enraged hccause some of the Catholic missionaries referred the question of the rites in China to tliQ Pope at Rome. It" those, who have the opportunity of examining the full accounts i the discussion of this question, during the years 1680 to 1704, will do so, I venture to express the surmise, that it will be found that one great cause of Kang Hi's displeasure was this, the arrogance, ris he considered it, of those who advocated the use of T'ien Chu in the sense of Lord of Heaven ; thus claiming that the God of Christians is the Lord of the chief god of the Chinese state religion. At p. 43 of his " Lectiircs " Di\ Leggc refers to a change in the uljective prefexed to Heaven in the ritual, in the year a.d. 1038, by the :hen reigning Emperor of the ]\[ing dynasty. The adjective used had litherto been "great" or "glorious"; by this Emperor it was changed to 'imperial." Before considering the moaning of this change I wish to con- 24 sider tlic circumstances wlicii the first adjective of dignity or lionor was conferred. It was conferred upon Heaven by the Emperor Shun soon after lie ascended the throne. He was very unwilling to accede to the wishes of Yao and accept the honor ; hut his objectitons were overcome 1)V observing the appearance of the stars. The conferring of this title is thus stated in the book called The Gvtieral Mirror of Goih and Genii. Great Shun, having observed the regular arrangement of the seven rt"^ulators {i.e. the Sun, ]\roon, and five planets) knew that there was a decree of Heaven (in his favor). Thus having commenced to dis- charge the duties of the Son of Heaven, and to manage all the affairs, lie sacrificed to Heaven and Earth at the Hound Hillock; and at the sacrifice, he anntnmced the reasons for undertaking the government. At that time, looking up to the azure heaven, its original substance so iircat and vast, he considered in there not indeed a Lord and Huler to manarje the decrees ? Therefore he presented an honorable designa- tion, styling it "Great Heaven, Euler Above"; also styling it Heaven- Tiord, the Great llulcr — designations corresponding to that of Heaven above."* This is a very important passage, both because it refers to an act done by one of the first Emperors ; and because it has criteria, -which can be used to make clear its proper meaning. The passage refers to Heaven all through from beginning to end. The appearance of the .sun and the stars is one of those " appearances " which Heaven uses to teach men its will. The Great Shun therefore uses this mode of getting instruction ; and finding the appearances favorable he knew that the decree of Heaven had appointed him Ermperor — -and he there- fiu-o accepts the important trust. His objections being thus removed, he enters upon the duties pertaining to the " Son of Heaven.*' One of them is to sacniice to Heaven at the Hound Hillock ; which is the uiimc given to the altar to Heaven in the Hitual. When engaged in this duty he most naturally looks up to what? to a spiritual Eeing? no, but to the object to which he was offering sacrifice, the azure sky. AVhat strikes his attention, or arouses his thoughts ? la it any thing pertaining to a spiritual Being ? no, it is the vastness and greatness of the original aKh.sfance of the azure sky^ and when thus impressed with its greatness lie thinks "is there not indeed a Lord and Iluler to manage the decrees ? " referring apparently to the decree appointing liim to be Emperor. This combination of two negatives in this sentence 25 is an elegant, and at tlic same time, a very positive affirmative. There is indeed a Ijord and Ruler to manage the decrees, viz., the azure Heaven. Therefore he presents an honorable designation to "what? why most obviously to the object which he contemplated when he looked upward, and he gave to Heaven the designation great, which expressed the idea impressed upon his mind as he looked up to the great and vast sky. This word translated great is descriptive of the risih/e heaven. Karig Hi first defined it as "the appearance of tlie heaven in summer, representing its substance as vast and large, or again, the word means " the appearance of the original substance as wide and great."* The meaning of the word given as the honorable designation, clearly implies that it was given to the visible heaven, which is "the Ruler above." He conferred also jinotlier designation, viz., " Heaven-Lord, the Great Ruler"! both of which designations col-respond to the former and common designation "Heaven above." I am well aware that other translations have been made of this pas-.-fiage; but I submit it to the consideration of sinologists that thi.-^ translation is consistent with the grammatical construction of the pivotal clause of the passage, which I have italicized ; and with both the antecedent and subsequent context. Heaven is the subject of consideration from the beginning to the end of the passage. And what is meant by Heaven is expressed in the specific and distinctive phrase "tlic azure sky." The title is prefixed to Heaven ; and by this translation alone, is the meaning of the passage consistent throughout. I now come to the time when the honorable designation thus given, and which continued in common use for nearly 3000 years was changed by Kea Tsing, of the Ming dynasty. This Emperor with great parade changed Haou to Hwang, i.e. Great Heaven to Imperial Heaven. Dr. Legge, in his "Lectures," and elsewhere, writes as if this was conferring an honorable designation upon Shang-ti, which is only another name for Heaven instead of upon Heaven itself. The very designation which was conferred by the Great Shun, indicates the object to which it was given, as is shown above ; and, of course, when Kea Tsing changed the honorable designation he continaed it to the same object. The honorable title was not conferred upon Shang-ti at nil, for that title remained unchanged, while the prefix to Heaven was changed. The passage from I Xga says, " that regarding Heaven as 26 a Sovereign, therefore it was styled Imperial ITuaven." It was to Heaven as tlic Ruler over all, that he gave the designation Imperial. Hence the translation which Dr. Logge gives of the four characters, Hwang Tien, Shang-ti, viz., "the Supreme God, dwelling in the Imperial Heaven " is utterly untenable. For, not only have we the admission of Dr. IjCggc himself that the literal translation of these four characters is "Imperial Heaven, Supreme God }" hut we have the express statement of Chu Fu-tsze, in the Chow Book of Rites, when discussing about the term Ti being applied to the Rulers of the five parts of heaven, "that Haou Tien, Shang-ti is Heaven.''* We liave shown above that Heaven is the distinctive name of the Being worshipped, and that, as Dr. Legge himself says, it is Heaven which is styled Shang-ti ; but by his translation he displaces Heaven from being the distinctive name of the Being, and puts Shang-ti, the synonym of Heaven, in its place. This is just as incongruous in this place, and as inconsistent with the fact that "Shang-ti is another name for Heaven/'' as it would be to say in regard to Dr. Wilberforce, in the illustration given above, " Oxford Bishop of Dr. Wilberforce." That would be a complete change of the proper relation of the words; for it is Dr. Wilberforce who is the Bishop »f Oxford ; and so it is Imperial Heaven who is the Ruler above. As in the one case we cannot say Oxford Bishop of 1 )r. Wilberforce, no more can we say in the other, the Supreme Ruler of the Imperial Heaven. That it was Heaven and not Shang-ti upon whom the honorable designation was conferred, may be made clear by another illustration. When a few years ago the then Prime Minister of Great Britain, Lord Beacons- Held, wished to confer an honorable designation upon Queen Victoria, as the Ruler of India, he did not propose to honor the rnler of India by conferring a dignified title upon the coiintn/ over which she ruled, and say " the Queen of Imperial India ;" but he changed the title of the ruler herself making it to be " the Enipresa of India." Had the Prime Minister of England proposed that the designation should read "the Queen of ////yww/ India," he would have made himself the laugh- ing stock of l-luropc. When the Emperor Kea Tsing, wishing to confer an honorable designation upon the chief Power makes it read ''Imperial J leaven, Shang-ti," is it \\oi clear that Heaven was the Being that he intended to honor, and that therefore the construction is " Imperial Heaven who is the Ruler above ?" If the purpose had been to confer a title of honor upon Shang-ti, as Dr. Logge says it was, and he simply changed the prefix before Heaven, over which Shang-ti rules, making it r&ad "Shang-ti of the Imperial YLadi^an" 27 iiistoatl of " Imperial Shang-ti," be would have subjected himself to ridicule among his own people. Moreover, we saw above, that the Great Shun conferred two separate designations, viz., " Haou Tien Shaug-ti " and " Tien Chu Tai Ti." Every one will see that the two phrases are of the same construction, and, while Dr. Legge has translated the first four characters in regimen "Shang-ti of the great Heaven " the otlier four characters do not admit of that construction. We cannot say, The Great Ruler of the Ileaven-Lord. Heaven is still the subject of remark. Heaven is Lord, and Heaven-Lord is the Great Ruler ; and so, also, it is Imperial Heaven, in the phrase under discussion, who is the Ruler above. That this is the grammatical construction, I am happy to be able to cite Dr. Legge himself ; see "Lectures," p. Go, note K., where referring to the translation, as given in the text in p. 40, he says " So I mufit understand the title Hwang Thien Shang-ti, literallij, Sovereign Heaven, Supreme God." Now, every linguist knows that, in order to get the exact meaning of an author, we must take his meaning according to the literal tramlation of his words. We may vary the form of the expression to suit the idiom of the language into which any one is translating, provided we do not change the meaning from that which is given by the literal construc- tion. But Dr. Legge, in this passage, not only departs from what he liimself gives as the literal translation, but he changes the manner of expression so as to give a sense directly the opposite from that which the literal translation gives. The literal translation makes Heaven the subject of the v^rb, which is implied and states that Imperial Heaven is the Ruler above. Dr. Legge's translation makes Shang-ti the subject of this verb, and thus makes it to be " Supreme Ruler dwelling in the Imperial Heavens." The reason he gives for thus translating it is "So I must understand it," in order to maintain his view that the Being which was honored was Shang-ti, a Being separate from Heaven ; which view, tlie considerations presented above show to be utterly untenable. The very word imperial or sovereign is incongruous if prefixed to Heaven as a name of a ])lace, but it is entirely applicable to personified Heaven as exercising imperial sway and dominion. Here I may properly notice Dr. Legge's strictures on my trans- lation of this phrase made in his letter to Prof. Miiller at p. 42. The passage, as he quotes it, is equally pertinent to my purpose. The object sacrificed to is Heaven ; it is performed by the Son of Heaven. *>Now when we designate the Heaven * god,' we say Sovereign Heaven, the Ruler Above, the Great One, and we call its altar the Great Terrace." This translation is called for not only by the literal translation of the phrase, as Dr. Legge admits it ta be, but by the whole connection 28 find meaning of the context. What is the object spoken of ? It is Heaven. What is the epithet applied'to it ? Sovereign ; which means supreme in power, possessing supreme dominion. How could this 1)0 applied to Heaven if, in this sentence, it was only a place ? The Son of Heaven is to render service to Heaven as a god — or to Heaven spiritualized, as Dr. Legge prefers to say — but to Heacen ; and that Heaven is styled " Imperial Heaven, the Ruler Above, the Great One." It is Heaven wljich is "the Great One," and it is Heaven's altar that is called the Broad Terrace. Dr. Legge's translation of this passage is as faulty in its theology as it is in its grammar, and its want of connection with the context. He says " it is the Spirit or soul of Heaven which is styled Shang-ti or God dwelling in the Sovereign Heaven." As he says "Shang-ti is our God," he thus makes his God to be the same as the soul of Heaven, from which assertion all Christians will dissent. To resume the translation, " And the earth-god we designate Sovereign Earth, being the same as the yellow spirit of the Centre." I readily admit that the phrase about the yellow spirit is in regimen, and the reason is obvious. As in their mythology there axQ five parts or phices spoken of as earth, he wished to make it clear which one of the five was referred to. The statement that it was the central part which was animated by the yellow spirit is concurrent with my statement that the Chinese conceive of these objects of nature as animated by a living spirit; and hence the very common expression " The living Heaven and the living Earth." But the construction of this intervening and explanatory sentence is very different from the sentence in rchvtion to Heaven which precedes, and the sentence about the Earth which follows it. Heaven and Earth are spoken of as oomidete animated objects, by the name of the visible object ; hence those sentences are not affected by the construction of the intervening sentence. For according to this construction alone would it be proper to stylo the Earth-god Sovereign Earth. " The altar [to earth], at the north of the city, has not yet any honorable designation. It is proper that orders be given to designate the Earth-god, Imperial Karth, the Sovereign X^roducer, and to call its altar the Broad Terrace." For the Chinese text see above, p. 42. The object to which the Emperor was to pay the service due to a mother is the Earth, and hence the Eartii is the subject referred to on the whole subsequent part of the passage, without any reference to its component parts, VIZ., the visible earth, or the animating spirit. According to the amount of the worship of Earth, as given in the Book of Rites, the names, by which it has been designated at different times, are these, 29 viz : tlie Eartli-god, the divine or spiritual Sovereign, tlic S(jvereigu Earth. In the T'so-cliuen, by Confucius, we read that, " The Earth is styled the Sovereign Earth." In the explanation to this remark it is said, " The earth is the Lord of all things, therefore it is styled Sovereign."* In the explanation of one of the minor odes it is said that the " Earth-god is able to produce all things," Since Earth is thus spoken of as, " the mother of all things " as "able to produce all things,"t it is very strange that Dr. Lcgge should speak of the use of the word "Producer" to translate K'i as a mistranslation of K.'i. For further discussion of this point see C/iincse Recorder 1880, p. 177. At page 4o of the Recorder, in his letter to Prof. Miiller, Dr. Legge gives the translation of an explanation by a celebrated Chinese scholar, of the eleventh century A.D., Ivhang I, thus : — " K\k Hsi says : — ' Shang Ti is the Spirit of heaven. As K/mng I says, "With reference to Its form, wo speak of Heaven; with refer- ence to Its lordship and rule, we speak of Ti." ' " I invite tlie attention of sinologists to this translation. By this translation Dr. Legge makes Shang-ti to be the spirit or soul of heaven. But what does he make *'Its" with a capital I, in the subsequent clauses refer to ? As he prints the passage, Spirit with a capital S and heaven with a small h the obvious way of construing " Its " would be to refer it to Spirit, and the first clauses will read, " with reference to the Spirit's form we speak of Heaven." ])ut how can we speak of the form of a Spirit ? Pleuce that can not be the proper understanding. Then " Its" must refer to Shang-ti. And the clause will read, "With reference to Shang-ti's form we speak of Heaven." If then, with reference to Shang-ti's form, we speak of Heaven, what does that mean, but that Ilearen is Shang-ti's form, i.e. that the visiljlc Heaven is Shang-ti. And f/iis is wliat all writers agree in saying, "that Shang-ti is another name for Heaven." But I would propose another translation, thus, "Shang-ti is the Heaven-god. With reference to Its (the god's) form we speak of Heaven ; with reference to Its (the god's) lordship and rule we speak of Ti, Puler." This translation makes the construction all plain, and it is in accord with all the other presentation of the subject, by the Chinese writers. So also with respect to the other passage quoted by him on the same page, which reads, Ti is "the honorable designation of lordship and rule. Hence Heaven is called Shang T\." Wliat is the obvious meaning ot this passage? The writer defines Ti as all other Chinese writers do. It is a designation of lordship and rule. And because Heaven exercises lordship and rule, therefore it is 30 crillod The Ruhr. IIusv can any one hereafter contend, that Ruler is not the proper translation of the word Ti, when it is used referring to Heaven as the cliiof Power ? I now refer to a very important passage which I quoted, without imv remark, in the appendix to my "Letter to Prof. Miiller," see Chinese liccovdcv for 1S80, p. 187. " Ti is one of the names of Heaven. The reason why it is named Ti is that Ti means to judge. Since that Heaven is houndles.sly impartial, does not distinguisli between itself and others ; that Heaven examines and judges with the ntmost justice and intelligence ; on these accounts, Heaven is styled Ti. The five Ti {i.e. the five ancient ]']mperors) had the same princi- ples as these ; they were able to examine and judge, therefore they had the designation Ti. Heaven and Ti arc one. The lords of men cim be designated Ti, but they cannot be designated Heaven, for Heaven is so designated because of its suhxtance. The lords of men cannot be of the same substance as Heaven."* This important pas- sage, as Dr. Legge tells us, to whom I am indebted for it, is quoted from a commentary on the Shu in an edition of the Classics published during the T'ang Dynasty. Here, as everywhere else, the subject of the passage is Heaven. Ti is one of the names of Heaven. And here is given a clear statement of the reasons why JFeuven is styled Ti — because it, Heaven, exercises the function of examining and judging with justice and intelligence. As human Kulers exercise this function iiniong men in the same way, they .may be, and are called Ti. But they cannot bo called Heaven because the chief Power has its name Heaven from its substance. What words could more explicitly state that the Chief Power among the Chinese is the visible Heaven ; for wluit other object is named Heaven because of its substance but the visible Heaven ? The Pible makes known to us that God created all things, and we call him the Creator. The Bible also makes known that God exercises supreme control over all the works of his hands ; and lience we style him the Supreme Ruler. As kings and princes exercise rule and lordship over their subjects, they are also designated rulers— rulers of men in contradistinction to the Supremo Ruler. This statement of the Chinese writer makes it clear, that the designation Ti, i.s common to the Ptuler above, i.e. Heaven, and the Rulers on earth, because of the resemblance of the function exercised 1^^ ^ ^^-^ ^ ^mm m m.^ m :t ^ JiL. 3i ^ '^m M ,31 l)V them id tliclr rcspccfivo positions. If Dr. Lcgge'.s translation is correct that Ti is God, tlicn it \Tould follovr tliat liiiman rulers are gods. But the Chinese have no such idea, What* this passage makes dear is this; when human ruh^rs practice justice and intelligence in the e^iercise of tlieir function, as Heaven doei? in the exercise of a similar function, they may be called Ti, i.e. llulcrs. There is not a trace of the meaning divine in the word. The nature and cliaracter of the other ohjects, which are sacri- ficed to in the imperial or state wor.^hip, makes it clear that the object flesignated Heaven is the visible heaven deified. The other objects to which sacrifice is offered, as stated in the Imperial ritual, are the earth, the sun, moon and stars, the wind, the clouds, the rain and thunder. There is no doubt but that these words refer to the objects of nature so named. It is a rule of exposition, that the same principle of interpretation should be applied to all the same kind of words which occur in the same sentence and paragraphs of the same book. J leaven is of the same class of words os earth, sun and moon. Since then earth, sun and moon are by all understood in the Ritual to refer to these ol)jocts of nature, it follows according to this rule, that Heaven should also be understood to refer to this object of nature. It would be utterly incongruous to understand Heaven to refer to a spiritual Being when all the other words are understood to refer to the natunil objects. There are, however, some passages of the Shi King which have been understood as representing Shang-ti as a spiritual Being, before Avhora the spirits of good kings go a.nd come. It is proper to consider these several passage. At page 428 of the Shi we find this passage "King Wan ascends and destn^nds on the i-ight and left of Shang-ti." These words have, to many persons re-called the words of our Lord in John's Gospel, Chap. 1: 51, "the angels of God ascending and des- cending upon the Son of Man ;" and the vision of Jacob at Bethel. But let us see how the Chinese critics understand these words. In the native commentary the great authority Chu Fu-tsze explains them thus, " liecauae that King Wan's soul in Heaven, is ascending and descending, there' is not a moment that he is not at Shaug- ti's right and left. Having virtue equal to (or united with), that of Heaven, he tcith it revolves, and with it proceeds ivith equal nfepx ; therefore his descendants enjoyed the advantages of his blessing and obtained the empire."* In considering this sentence, we are to 32 rcmcnibor Uiat Shang-ti is simply another name for Heaven. Hence tlie words " on the riglit and left of Shang-ti " means simply on the ricrht and left of Heaven. This meaning of the phrase is made clear in the explanation where the words Heaven and Shang-ti are Used interchangeahlv in the same sentence. Being "on the right and the left," is explained thus, King Wan having as a Ruler of men acted iu«^tly "his merit is equal with that of Heaven" and "he revolves Avitli and proceeds with Pleaven with even pace." The two words translated "revolves with and proceeds with" are those commonly used by Chinese writers in referring to the movement of Heaven and the heavenly bodies. Their use in this connection makes it evident that it is the visible heaven which is referred to. This explanation of the commentator dissipnfes all the idea, which some have entertained, that these words imply, that the Chinese had some such idea of Heaven as a place of happiness as the Bible reveals to us, with the souls of tlie good being in the presence of a Spiritual Being. Again at page 458 of the Shi it reads, " the three sovereigns were in Heaven." The three referred to are the Kings T'ae, Ke and AVan. They were three successive Kings of the same family, being grandfather, son and grandson respectively. At page 428 of the Shi it only spoke of King Wan being in Heaven. We have seen above how the master Chu understood the expression in reference to him. In the passage quoted in the early part of this paper from pages 352-4 of the Shu King, we have seen that Duke Chow regarded them as associated with Heaven in the administration of the Empire, there- fore he prayed to them for the prolongation of the life of the King, his elder lirother; and having obtained a favorable answer to his prayer said, " I have got his appointment renewed by the three Kings." The first appointment of this brother as King was by the decree of Heaven; the renewal thereof was from the three Kings. The explanation of the above passage from the Shi stated that it was from the virtue of King Wan that his descendants had the Empire. J)ocs not all this teach that these deceased kings were associated with Heaven in the administration of the affairs of the kingdom ? Yen Ts'an's explanation of the former passage of the Shi, as quoted by ]")r. Lcgge at page 428, says, "King Wan's virtue was in accordance with Heaven. He asceuded and descended, advanced and retired, as if he was always on the right and left of Shang-ti [/.e. Heaven], so that not a single movement of his was other than the action of Heaven. From this presentation of the ideas of Chinese writers, it would appear, that the translation of Chinese prepositions by "m" does not convey to English readers the meaning of the original; bat that 83 ir'ilir in tlic sense of " associated with" noavcn would bettor convey tli(j idea tliat tlio Chinese have in regard to it. Dr.Leggo, in liis notes on the passage about tlic three Kings, on page 458, says, ''The expression " in Heaven," simple enough to a Christian reader, is to the Chinese cu-itics full of perplexity ; and where their ideas' arc utterly confused, it is impossible they should express themselves clearly." Why is this expression "inKeaven" simple enough to Christian readers ? It is b(^c;iuso it is an expression which the Bible has made familiar to Christians as descriptive of the state of the righteous in happiness. 15 tit can any (mo, for a moment, suppose or maintain that the idea whicli is ■'iif;/i/('slctf to the mind of (Jhristian readers, and which they dei'Lved from tlie Word of God, is the idea which the Chinese writers, wlio had no knowledge of that revelation, had in their minds P I think not. I think that the writers meant to express the ideas which wiTc in tlicir own minds, not those which are in the minds of Christian n'aders. Dr. Leggo's remark, that the idei}s of the Chinese are utterly confused as to the state of the dead in another world, is just what wo 7night expect them to be; and tlicse considerations preclude us from accepting the statements, which have been put forward in. connection with these passages, as presenting the ideas held by the Chinese themselves. Biit Dr. r«cggc rests his opinion, that Shang-ti designates a spiritual ]}cing entirely apart from Heaven, on somo passages from Chinese authors which I now proceed to consider successively. One of these is from " the Doctrine of the ^fean." He prints it on the sec^Mid page of his '^ Lectures" as a most incontrovertible proof of this opinion. It reads thus, " In the ceremonies at the altars of llcaveu and J'^arth they served Shang-ti." In a fornier part (»f tins article I have shown that by general consent of all writers, both Cliinese and foreign, Shang-ti is but another name f(?r Heaven; and that, as *Shang~ti is the synonym of J leaven, we can always substitute ireaven for.Shaug-ti. AVhen we do that in this passage it reads that '*in these ceremonies at the altars of Heaven and Earth the}'' served Heaven," * which has been shown to be the visible Heaven. Hence the passage does not atford any proof to the proposition that Shang-ti is a spiritual Being apart from Heaven. It is stated in the Book of Itites by an accepted commentator that "to sacrifice to ♦Shiing-ti is to sacrifice to Heaven." But besides this what is. the most generally received explanatitni of this passage by Chinese critics ? Dr. liCgge has given it in Chi. Clas., Vol. 1, page 268, thus : '' K^.ing-hing took ^ to be the sacrifice to Heaven, offered, at 34 llio vr'mtcr solstice, in tlio soutlicrn siiLurb (^) of tlic imperial city; jiiul It to be that offered to the Earth, at the summer solstice, in tlie northern. Choo He agrees with him. Both of them, however, add that after J: ^ we are to understand ^ ±, * Sovereign Earth'"* saying, that the omission of Sovereign Earth is an abbreviated text. This view is supported by tlie whole usage in regard tO' these sacrifices, as given in the Book of Kites, and in the ritual, where "shie" is con- stantly spoken of as the sacrifice to Earth, as distuidiveh/ as " kiau " is spoken of as the sacrifice to Heaven. See Chinese Recorder, 1880, p. 175. Other commentators say " that Sovereign Earth is included in Shang-ti, just as the wife is included in the hufsband," &c. To which others rejoin "why resort to any other explanation when the Master Choo says that it is an abbreviated text." The immediate context of the passage implies that Sovereign Earth is included. For from the earliest records as given in the Book of Rites,, and continued in the Imperial Eitual of ea,ch successive dynasty to the present one, it has been the incumbent duty . of each Emperor to sacrifice to Heaven, to Earth and to the Imperial ancestors. The immediate- context reads thiis, "By the ceremonies of the sacrifices to Heaven and Earth they served Shaug-ti and by the ceremonies of the ancestral temple they sacrificed to their ancestors. He who understands the ceremonies of the sacrifices to Heaven and E(nih, and the meaning of the several sacrifices to ancestors, would find the goverament of a kingdom as easy as to look into his palm." This context thus makes it clear that there was worship of Earth also. But as so much stress is laid upon the- fact, that the above pas- sage from the Doctrine of the ^lean, is from a work which passed uiider the immediate care of Confucius himself, the great sago of China, let us see what we can learn from other books that had his editorial supervision, if not compilation. The Spring and Autumn Classic is credited to him. In the part styled the Tso Tseuen we find this passage, " Tsun's great oificer thrice bowed and kneeled and said, * The Prince treads the Sovereign Earth and u-cars the Imperial Heaven ; Imperial Heaven, and Sovereign Earth certainly hears the King's words."t The word rendered " wears/' is used in speaking of wearing a hat. What form of expression could more explicitly say, that it is the animated Heaven and Earth which heard the words of the King, than to speak of the Earth as that upon which he treads, mid of the Heaven as that which covers his head as a hat ? The t # i: ^ H # II? # . a 1 ^ ± M 1^^ :i 5c> 1 5c ^ ± . K fel 35 eivcum.'^tancos under which tlicse words were spoken were tliesc. Two countries were at war. The victor took the conquered king captive. Wlien the captive king came into the presence of the victor, lie was followed b}- a high officer, who manifested great sorrow at the unfor- tunate fate of his .chief. The victor consoled him by promising to liberate his king. The officer therefore kneeled before the generous victor giving him thanks, and to remind him of the sanctity of his promise, ho spoke these words. When afterwards the victor's officers urged him not to lilwi'rate this captive, the victor said, "Heaven and Earth have agreed thereto with me." The commentary says, "Tsun's great officer having said that Imperial Heaven and Sovereign Earth had heard the Prince's words indicated that Heaven and Earth wore witnesses, and therefore were with me joint cousenters to the engagement."* In this same book we find the passage " Earth is styled Sovereign" on which the commentator remarks "Earth is called the Lord of all things therefore it is styled Sovereign." xVnd again we read, " The good Ruler rewards the good and punishes the bad, he nourishes the people as children, covering them as Heaven does, containing them as Earth does.''*f And again, "When Heaven reverses the seasons it is a calamity ; wlien Earth reverses the things it is a distress. The meaning of the expression, ' Heaven reverses the seasons aud Earth the things,' is that Heaven fails to manifest its covering benevolence and Earth its containing goodness ; therefore it is said to be a calamity."+ These passages from the Classic which is said to have been compiled by himself, manifest that Con- fucius held the same sentiments as did his countrymen, and that he regarded Heaven aud Earth as the chief divinities of the country. At page 43 of his "Lectures," Dr. Legge heads a paragraph thus, '^ Prayers to Shang-ti at a special solstitial sacrifice in a.d. 1538." We have seen above that the sacrifice at the winter solstice is to Heaven. As Shang-ti is another name for Heaven these prayers arc of course addressed to Heaven. They are iu praise of Heaven and tln^y contain ascriptions of power and rule to Heaven. But Dr. Legge apjiears to forget this essential point, and writes as if Shang-ti was some l>eing separate fr ^ :^. ^ ii^ ^\ %-&%'M.ik. 36 Kin"- we rcatl, "When T'an,:,', tlic siiccos^ful, Lad f^ccurrd ilie favor- iii'>- decree he hiad witli him Yin, making his virtue like that of great ][eavcn. T*ac Mow had J'^ Chih and Chin Hoc, through whom liis virtue was made to affect Shang-ti." This is an example where in Iho immediate context Sliang-ti is used as anotlier name for Heaven. In exphmation of thiss usage tlie commentate- on this passage says, " When we speak of its [i.e. Heaven] covering all things we call it Heaven ; when we speak of its ruling and governing we call it Ti, Pvuler. In the books, whether it is styled Heaven or liuler, the one or the other is used according to that which is nfcyred to, and these designations are alike liouorable."* At page 10 of his ''Lectures" Dr. liCggc says, "Heaven is styled Shang-ti." But at page 84 he writes as if Shang-ti was some other Being ; quoting from Dr. Edkins' Book at p. 18 thus, " I, the son of Heaven, of the Great Pare Dynasty, humbly, as a subjix-t, dare to make the announcement to Imperial Heaven and Sovereign Earth. Throughout the vast world Shang-ti looks on all without partiality." Shang-ti is here only another name for Heaven to which he was making the announcement of his accession to the throne of Chin*. It is Heaven which looks on all i with impartiality and from whicli he had received the appointmei>t. Bearing this usage of the words in mind, we come to consider the odes which are sung at the time of the sacrifice to Heaven, as quoted by Dr. Legge from the " Collected Statutes of the Ming Dynasty." I shall take the first one, the translation of which is given in tho " l>ecturos," at p. 48. thus, " When Ti, the liord, had so decreed. He called into existence the thiee powers, heaven, earth and man. Between heaven and earth, ]Ie separately disposed of men and things all overspread by the heavens. I, his small servant, beg his decree to enlighten me his vassal, so may I forever appear before Hinr in tho empyrean. "t In considering this ode, t remark first that it is an ode addressed to Heaven, therefore Heaven is the object or Being addressed. In the first sentence therefore Ti is but the synonym nf Heaven. Hwang, which is translated, the Loid, by Dr. Legge, is the honorable designation which was conferred upon Heaven by the Ihnperor at this very time and which is here ap])lied to Ti as the 0' her mune of Heaven, but placed after the noun Ti for rhythm ; n ]ilinn prose it should therefore read Imperial Ti and not " Ti, the * fit H'l W ^ # P. # Ifk ^ 3fc, «# RiJ ^ ^ J5ff 1'$- ^jgM i-^ ±¥» 37 Lord." To malvO decrees is tlio prerog-atlvo of Heaven, liencc tliis .seutencc is addressing Heaven as the maker of decrees, or the Bceree- er. There arc two other designations of the Power addressed in the ode, viz., Heaven which covers all tilings, and the Impoi'ial Can(>])y, of which mora anon. But the word on Avhich tlio meaning of tho passage turns is the one Dr. Legge translates " called into existence." i^et us examine this word to see if this is the correct meaning of it. Dr. Legge gives tAvo references as authority for so translating it. But these are hoth foreign authorities, viz., "Williams' Dictionary, and "its use by those who translated the Bible into Chinese to translate hara, to create, cither alone or in connection with another word." Using- ])r. Young's xVnalytical Concordance for reference to the passages in which bara is found, I have failed to find any instance in which this word " shau " is used alone as a translation of hara. I have examined the three most generally known translations, , viz., that made by the late llev. Dr. ]\[edhurst and others, the one known as ]}ridgman and Culbertson's, and the Mandarin version made by the ]tt. Rev. Bishop Schereschewsky. In two passages, viz.. Is. xliii: I and xliii: 7, I tind it in combination with another word used to trans- late Inira, but the meaning to "bring into existence" is in the other word which means to make. I prefer to get the meaning of Chinese words from' Chinese dictionaries, aud from their use in standard Chinese writings. Kang Hi defines this word by ch'i, a word which means, " the begiiniing ; to begin, there, was, at that time ;" without any element of the idea "to bring into existence." This word is found several times in the Shu King both by itself and in combination with other words. Let us examine these passages to .see what is the manner in which it is used in these pa.ssagos. At page 3S3 of the Shu, it is used in combination with the word to make — shau tsaou, which Dr. liOgge translates " laid the J^rd heyinniiujs of the empire," making it a noun " the beginnings." At page 179, Dr. Legge translates this word " from the first." At page 162, he translates it " commenced," but in a note he says that it would be better to understand a verb and render .shau by chi .//r.sY, ascended the thro"ne ;" and with this rendei'ing, the native commentary agrees. At page 195, where it is joined to the vcib sin. Dr. Legge renders it "began ;" but the native critics render it by "first" which gives a better sense, thus "first eori'coted the bonds which hold n)en together." At i)agc 38 Dr. Legge tran.slates this word "instituted." This passage is the rr/v/ one to M'hich Kang Hi's Dictionary refers as one in which it has the mean- ing '\firsf." The native critics so render it supplying the word to diviih; and making the passage to read thus, " Shun Jirat divided it 38 [the coiiutrv] into twelve provinces," which any ono who examines the passage will see is a better rendering than to say " Shun instituted the division of the empire into twelve provinces." Thus Kang Hi's JJiclionary and these passages from the 8hu give the meaning of shau to be " first," " in the beginning." This is also the meaning of the word as given in the Imperial Thesaurus. Following these authorities in the meaning of this word, and the example of the critics on the »Shu text in supplying a verb after it, this sentence will read, "At the /ii:'the same page. Page 27, in line 18th from the foot change the comma after the word "verb" to the place after "implied." Page 28, in second line from the foot, for " amount " read "account." Page 38y in the eleventh line from the foot supply the word "that" after the word claim, thus — I claim that, etc. 30 Dr. Lrgge docs to mean the Emperor, who was offering the sacrifice, but to mean the deceased Emperors, wlio were mates of Heaven, or Ti, in receiving the sacrifice : and the meaning is that they receiving the decree of ] leaven, would thereby forever be associated with Heaven, here styled the " Imperial Canopy." This understanding of the pas- sage is required by the usual meaning of the words. The Emperor when offering the sacrifice to Heaven could not designate himself as the mate of Ti ; nor would he ask for himself the honor of being for- ever associated with the Imperial Canopy.. We have seen above that this is the meaning of pei (^£). Dr. Legge, in a note to this passage, in his letter to Prof. j\[iiller, Chi. Rec, p. 41, lays great stress on the fact that the preposition yu is found before the words Imperial Canopy. It is true that yu sometimes means in, as to place. It is also used in the sense of with, as to comparison with, or to be associated with. It is also nsed in cases where in English "\ve would not translate it at all, as in the example given by Promare in his Grammar f^ jj/^ fj^ " he asked me." The prefixing of the honorable designation Iinpe.ridl to Canopy, the verij designation which was con- ferred upon the Heaven at this time, makes it evident that it was not with heaven as a place, that the ancestors were to be associated, but with personified Heaven, the recipient of the sacrifice. The Chinese say, " honoring Heaven and regarding it as a Sovereign, therefore it is styled Imperial Heaven." In this ode we have Ti hwan^^ ; Ti I explain as the other name of Heaven. At p. 185, of the Shu King, we have the phrase " Hwang Shang-ti " which one of the commen- tators explains thus, " hwang is great, Shang-ti is Heaven." I therefore present the following as the correct translation of this difficult ode : — " Imperial Kulur, the Decrec-er ah ! At the first, there were the three powers. In the between, men and things were disposed, ah ! Heaven covering all. Thy small servant asks a decree to glorify Ti's associates [^i.e. the deceased ancestors], so that they may forever be associated with the Imperial Canopy." I ask for it an im- partial examination as I claim that it is consistent with every principle of grammar and mythology that is connected with the meaning thereof. In the prayer which was presented at the same time with the ode, we have the same word shati (3|) occur in connection with a verb. " I look up to Thee, mysterious Changer ah ! Thou, Imperial great Canopy, this is the time when frut the masculine energies go forth ah !" * According to the Chinese philosophy, the masculine principle, which is connected with Heaven, or as others would understand it, the principle of light, first goes forth at the winter solstice. This is the ^n\t n n ^»i55 1^ ?-^;.B^ ^mm^. ~~ 40 reason wliv Uic saorlficc to TTcavcn is ofFcrod at tliat time. The ti-nnsformation of iiaturo which is effected by the going fortli of the masculine energies is ascribed to ireavcn, hence the name hero applied to Heaven, mysterious Changer or Transformer. We also find the same designation here applied to Heaven as occurs in the ode, " Im- perial great Canojiy," thus applying the former designation (jrcai to it as well as the newly conferred one Inipcn'a/. The meaning I give to "sbau" AViV, gives the proper meaning to this clause of the prayer and thus evidences that it- is the correct meaning. The use of the word " vang " as a verb is not very common, but the sense requires it, and Kang Hi defines "yang" as sometimes a verb with the sense of " to spread out." The ottier odes which Dr. Lcggo quotes from the Statutes of tho ;Ming dynasty, also derive much of their thcistic meaning from tho coloriu"- imparted to them by their Christian translator. When translated into English without such coloring they accord with the statement made by the late llev. ])r. ]\[edhurst that tho Chinese had no idea of a creation out of nothing. The ode wdiich is on tho 46th page of the "Lectures" may read thus "Of old, in the beginning, there was the great chaos, without form and dark. The five elements had not begun to. revolve, nor the sun and moon to shine. In the midst thereof there existed, ah, neither form nor sound. Thou, Spiritual or divine, Sovereign \_i.(\ Heaven] came forth as a Sovereign; and first, the grosser parts were separated from the purer. Heaven, Earth and 'yinn existed or were established. All things continued to be repro- duced."* The word which Dr. Loggc translates " madest," in the sentence " madest Heaven," is the same which in a preceding sentence says " in the void nothing Texistcd." There is nothing to indicate that the existence of Heaven, Ivarth and Man is ascribed to the creating ])o\ver of ] leaven to whom the ode is addressed. It nM?rely asserts the fact of the existence of Heaven, Earth and Man. The ode which is given on page 47 is also to Heaven and may read thus: " Ti urrantjed the yin and yang, ah. Tho production and cliango proceedfMl. The Shin, [/.r. Heaven] produced the sun, moon and five plaiu-ts, ah, and their light was pure and beautiful. Tho round covered and the square contained, and all things were happy. I, servant, presume reverently to thank, ah. Worshipping I offer to Ti tlio designation, Sovereign." f The characters " tsaou hwa," which ^ f,- m '^ >- v\^M n. Ti n ^^ m ^. ^ m ^^ m. n ^ m '\k m. ui & ^ 4u ^>. ^ a ^^ H ^. 41 Dr. Legge translates "making work," Dr. McJliurst says "should not be translated creation and transformation. The Chinese do not mean by it the original formation of all things, but the constant production of things observable every day." But apart from all question of translation, or how far some idea of creation may have existed among the Chinese, I remark that whatever is said in these odes is written in reference to Heaven to which the sacrifice at that time was offered ; and the ascription of any of the works or attributes of the true God to it does not make it to be the true God. Idolatry consists in the ascription of the attributes, worship or works which belong to God only to any other object or Being. I translate the designation Shaug-ti " the Huler Above," for the following reasons : Ti is explained Ruler by all the Chinese diction- aries and commentators. It is also translated Ruler by all Western translations for these three hundred years ; as into Latin, Imperator or Dominator; into French, Empereur, and into English, Ruler. It is also translated Ruler by the Mauchu translators, who translated the Chinese Classics into Mauchu, The examples of this meaning of the word Ti are found throughout this article, and in the letter to Prof. Max Mi'iUer, and in the pamphlet on Shang-ti. That the prefix Shang is properly rendered above, I maintain for these reasons : Heaven and Earth are correlates, the one of the other. The one is above, the other is below. Hence the curreut expression " Heaven is above and Earth is below."* The early and long continued usage is to designate Heaven as Shdmj T'icn — the Heaven above. Dr. I-iegge often so translates this expression. In assigning different parts of nature to the care of different Beings it was not the idea of the Chinese to consider any one as supreme ; but that each one should discharge the function which was assigned to it • hence the expression Shang T'ien simply referred to the location of Heaven as above — above the Earth and all other things. .Since Ti is the synonym of, or another name for, Heaven, when Shang is prefixed to Ti, it has properly the .same meaning, and simply relicvs to its locality. Again Heaven and Earth are constantly referred to as apud, as the tivo great objects. They are said to be equal in merit, equal in the sacrifice offered to them. They are said conjointly to produce all things. AVhilc Heaven, or Ti, is said to rule all things, Earth is said to nourish all things. It would therefore be incongruous with this usage, to translate Shang T^icn otherwise than as Heaven above. And so when Shang is pi'ofixed to Ti it is congruous to translate it there also by the word abp^'o, the Ruler above. The fact that Ti alouc is as often used as the synoaym 42 of llcavcu as Sliang-ti is, shows that there is no special significance in the prefix Shang, it is simply used in reference to its location. To this agree the express words of the Chinese Commentator on the Chau Book of Eitcs. " Heaven and Ti arc one, Heaven speaks of its substance and Ti speaks of its lordship."* In explanation of the phrase, " Great Heaven, The Ruler above " as it occurs in the text, the Commentator says, " By reason of the greatness of its substance, it is called great Heaven ; because the seat of its lordship is above, there- fore it is called The Ruler above."t The translation of this term by Supreme Ruler would appear to have been given by those mission- aries of the Society of Jesus who contended that Heaven meant the true God, and therefore its synonym meant the Supreme Ruler. And thus from its being similar to the phrase Supreme Ruler in English, which is used by many in speaking of God it has become a current, though incorrect, translation of the Chinese term Shang-ti. There is another use of the words Ti and Shang-ti, besides their use as another name for Heaven, to which I have not yet adverted. Sometimes they are used in referring to the soul, or the spiritual part of the animated Heaven, as in these passages : " Ti is the Ruler of Heaven. The lord and Ruler of Heaven is designated Ti. The lord and ruler of the body is called the heart."+ In this passage the idea is evidently to speak of the animated Heaven as composed of the visible Heaven and the animating soul or spirit. As the soul, which animates the human body, is styled the lord and ruler of the body, so the soul of Heaven, here styled Ti, is in that sense the Lord and Ruler of Heaven. But this does not conflict with the statement that the animated Heaven is the Lord and Ruler of all tJiiags, any more thau the fact that the soul of man is the ruler of , the body conflicts with the statement, that God gave to man "dominion over all the creatures." And this statement that Ti, when used in speaking of the soul of Heaven, is the Lord of Heaven does not support Dr. Legge's statement that Ti when used as another name for Heaven is the Lord of Heaven. For wlien we say, the soul guides and rules the actions of the body, we do nut mean, tluit the soul is a separate and independent Being from the body, nor do we mean that it is the ruler of the body as Jehovah is the Lord and Ruler of Heaven and Earth and all things. 43 Here is another example of this use of the word. " Heaven and Ti are one. The starry appearance is not Heaven, therefore Heaven cannot be sought in the appearance. To seek Heaven in the appear- ance differs in what respect from this, viz., to know that man has form, color, mien and appearance, and not to know there is the more honorable part, the ruling soul."* This passage refers to Heaven as animated by an intelligent soul, just as man's body is animated by a living soul. But it does not mean that the visible Heaven is no part of the chief Power designated Heaven, any more than it means that the body is no part of man. I have met with this expression in a prayer offered by the Emperor Tien Hing of Northern Wei dynasty, A.D. 398. Having prepared the sacrifice he prayed thus, " The Emperor, thy servant, Kwei, using the blackish bull, clearly states to the soul of Imperial Heaven and Sovereign Earth. Heaven Above has sent down the decree, &c."t In this passage then is a clear and distinct reference to the two component parts of the animated Heaven and Earth, viz. the substance or visible part, and the spirit or soul of each. But it is also clear that the visible object is that to which the sacrifice is offered, while it is also made plain that it is the intelligent soul, which animates the object, that understands the prayer of the worshipper. Just as in worshipping an idol, the worshipper bows before the risible imafjc, but he supposes it is the intelligent soul animating the image that receives his prayer. It is also clear in this passage that it is the visible objects that are styled Imperial Heaven, and Sovereign Earth; for the spiritual part is called their soul; just as it is the imcifjcs of the respective idols the goddess of mercy and the war-god that are called Ivwaiig-yin and Kwau-ti. The Chinese word Hug iu Ihis passage refers to the same part of Heaven-god that Ti does in •;he other passages. I have thus presented from Chinese authors their testimony, as >o what object is meant when they speak of a ruling power by the word Heaven. The testimony is uniform and the same. Everywhere it is the visible Heaven which is referred to. In recapitulation, I only refer to the two honorable designations which were conferred by Imperial authority. They have continued in use more than 3000 years. The title "great" is stated to have been conferred "in reference * 5c ^ - ■&. M m # ^. 7c s 7 w 1:1 m >^ 4> j« m « 5? ^u H 1J^ ^ A ;t fj- ^I? ei 1^ 1. "^iX-^^ >C-1&i.n 4. \Wi±M.^^i\:^.^n^ iiLtP ^ ^ tt, jiM ills ^^ 5^ M» 44 the greatness of its substance ;" the reason for conferring the title Imperial is thus stated, "honoring Heaven and regarding it as a Sovereign, therefore it is -styled Imperial Heaven." I have collected nearly a thousand passages in which a ruling power is designated Heaven. In many passages it is spoken of by some one of the many appearances of shape or color which Heaven presents at various times. I have, in this paper, referred to a number of the passages, which have been brought forward, as suggesting the idea of a Spiritual Being to man's minds. I have shown that such passages are not understood in that sense by the Chinese themselves. I have shown that when they refer to a spirit or soul connected with Heaven they refer to an intelligent soul animating the visible Heaven, as the soul animates the body of man. Their conception of the greatness and power of Heaven as a ruling power is taken from its visible greatness as high, and wide and covering all things ; its virtue and moral attributes are conceived of, or ascribed to it largely from considering the blessings and mercies which come to mankind from heaven, as the means or second cause thereof ; as its covering all things on the earth, its sending the rain and the sunshine, and fruitful seasons. Judgments come to mankind from it, as famine, destructive storms, drought and floods. Hence in the state religion the Emperor offers sacrifices and prayers to Heaven, at the altar to Heaven, to obtain the blessings which it co uf ers upon mankind, and to avert the calamities which it sends upon the wicked. In this discussion I have had no other object than to present fairhj and clearly what the Chinese themselves say in regard to the matter. I have printed the Chinese text of the passages I have quoted, that all who are interested in the subject may judge of the faithfulness of the translation presented. I am, by this repeated examination of the subject, more fully convinced that the opinion, in regard to the object worshipped in the state religion of China under the designation Heaven, heing the visible Semen deified, which has been held so long, and by so many writers of all creeds, is most certainly correct. I leave those who have read these pages to form their own opinions in regard to the matter. I feel assured that, with the spread of the Gospel, this the most ancient form of idolatry will perish from ofi the earth, with all other forms of idolatry, and that the one living and true God, who is indeed the lluler over all, will be worshipped in the place of Heaven, by the Kuler of this people. 1 Date Due r "V." " >N,. ^ ^^ (f