Balanced Discourses: A Bilingual Edition 0300092016, 9780300092011

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Senior Advisory Bo位d， Yale University Press FritzMote， Princeton University (emeritus) David Nivison， Stanford University (emeritus) G oranMalmqvist， University of Stockholm

Acknowledgemems Translator's Note on the Chinese Text

X

Introductions Dang Shengyuan JohnMakeham

x1 XXlX

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56

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r 、 ' 、 ' '， 、 J JI 3 f / ，〉7 J 書 J 5 7 o 2 1 yI /n d n 勻 II I

q K NM W K J 戶 秒 的J m 7 4 2 2 2 3 2 2

I Ordering Learning 2 Establishing Models and Exemplars 3 Cultivating the Fundamental The 防y ofHumility 協luing Proof 協luing'時rds 7 Ti昂'he F品b切F仰ment.叫alPr.加i仿nc.句伊必卸'soft，伽b衍eArts 8 AnEx，均切an仰? 9 wì訟:sd品'om andDeef，.彷 b IO Titles and Emoluments II Examiniηg Falsi.吵 I2 A Rebuke ofSoc.ial Connec.tiom 矽Astronomic.al苟且tems I4 Distinguishing Between Premature Death and Longevity I5 Attend to the Fundamentals I6 Examining the Selec.tion ofHigh Offic.ials I7 Be Car.φl of伽 Advic.e One Follows I8 Des.伽c.tion of伽 State 1歹 Rewards and Punishments 20 Population Figures 2I Reimtitute the Three-Year Mourning Period 22 Regulate the Allotment OfCorvée Laborers 4

Editorial Board， Yale University Press AndrewPl郎， Princeton University Michael Nyl甜， University of California， Berkeley Li Waiy.仗， H紅vard University Moss Roberts， New York University

lX

/I 7 Jf 93

Senior Advisory Board， China International Publishing Group Ji茲組lin， Beijing University Deng Shaoji， Chinese Academy of Social Sciences WangMe呵， formerMinister of Culture， Beijing ZhangDaini妞， Beijing University

Conten釘

277 2句

I Z J 7 L T t 4 J Q 句合 句、4 9、J

的﹒ ω 法

V4 .h p a q v i pb -他 m u 叫 h B h viii Contents

Ac，的owle，你叫 The work of translating and annotatin:g Xu G an's Zhonglun has occupied me， on and off， for many years. It is叫is有ring fìnally to be able to bring the task to a conclusion. It is also sobering to realize that Chinese text and facing English trans­ lation are now irretrievably open to public scrutiny. Many teachers and colleagues have generously guided me and given me invaluable feedback over the years. Rafe de Crespigny， K. H. J. G ardiner， Pierre Ryckmans， Chi-yun Chen，組d Roger Ames read early versions of the translation and provided criti­ cism and advice for improvement. Yoav Ariel generously sent me material on Zhonglun 也at he had been collecting in prepa­ ration for his own translation. The anonymous readers for Yale University Press， at v;位ious stages in the manuscript's evalua­ tion， öffered encouragement and corrections. Ning Chen kindly brought to my attention a number of inaccuracies in the translation. My manuscript editor at Yale University Press， D祖Heaton， has saved me from many infelicities of style and grammar. Not only has he professionally eclited the English text， but he has also had to deal with a host of problems pre­ sented by a bilingual edition. Jim Peck， executive director of The Culture and Civilization of China series， has overseen publi臼tion at all stages and arranged for ProfessorDang to write the introduction. My biggest debt is to Michael Nylan and Andrew Plaks for their painstaking corrections and de­ tailed suggestions for r，訊社.sion. Without their constructive cr隘， cal input 1 would have even greater cause to be walking in 2位組d trembling."

lX

Translator's Note on the Chinese Text The Chinese text accompanying the translatio n is based on the text in Lau 組d Chen， Concordance to Zhon�l仰， or CHANT text. Punctuation and paragraph breaks at 出les diι fer from those adopted in the CHANT text， reflecting my interpretation of the Chinese text. Round brackets ( ) signi命deletions; square brackets () 句nify additio瓜This de討ce is also used for emendations. An emendation of character 甲的character乙is indicated by (甲) (乙) . For example:

(倦)(倚)b立而思遠 Notes to the Chinese text give details of the authority伽缸， letions， additions， and emendations. In all cases， the CHANT readings are reproduced in the citation text. 1 have noted all instances in which the readings 1 follow differ from those adopted in the CHANT text. In the above example， 1 have not followed the CHANT emendation， preferring the origi­ nal reading. This is indicated in the corresponding note. A foornote callout appendedωa character or pass呼of 蹦出at is not marked by brackets indicates出at the readine: 1 have followed is not one reωrded in the CHANT text. F一 example:

志者、學之師d也 In this example，的is indicated in the corresponding note， 1 have followed the alternative reading of帥. In all 臼ses where 1 have followed 祖alternative r，αding or emendation， the位也15lation is based on that alternative reading or emendation. The corresponding note gives details叩d也e authority for the pre­ ferred alternative reading or emendation.

x

Introduction句， Dang Shengyuan Zhonglun (Balanced Discourse.古; hereafter Discourses) was writ­ ten by Xu G甜的0-217) at the end of the Eastern Han (25220) dynasty. Discourses is a work of political comment呵; the aim of which is “to expound normative principles， trace their sources in the classical teachings， and attribute these principles to the way of the sages and worthies."l Xu is thus classifìed under Confucian thinkers in the“p ' hilosophers" division of all bibliographical lists of the standard histories， except for that of Songshi， where he is listed among miscellaneous writers. Xu G組 (style Weichang) was a native of Ju prefecture in Beihai∞unty (the eastern part of the today's Lechang county in Shandong). As one of the SevenMasters of the Jianan reign period (196-220) he was a celebrated lite.阻y fìgure阻d也inker during the period of transition from the Han to the Wei. A gifted youth， he developed a deep love of learning. He was painstaking in his studies and skilled at reflective thought. While still very young， he read a wide range of books and was exceptionally fanlliiar with也e Confucian classiα. He was able to recite at length and had a natural talent for writing. He also had exceptional literary talents. After the rebel general Dong Zhuo (d. 192) staged his re­ bellion in 1卵， Xu G祖 left his residence in LinzÎ and went into hiding on the Jiaodong peninsula in 姐姐dong.2 Later he returned to Linzi組d resumed his life there in retirement and isolation. He continued to study and reflect， frequently de­ clining requ白白from∞mmandery and prefectural 0伍cials to take up office.3 In the Jianan reign period he served under the famous general Cao C宜。 (昕一220) in position$ on the staff of minister of works and was later appointed as insttuctor to the Leader of Court G entlemen for Miscellaneous Purposes.叮n 214 he was appointed as instructor of LinziDistrict. After也is he retired， pleading illness. When later he was 。在全red也e post of magistrate of Shang' ai District， he again declined on the xt

grounds of ill heal也Before this， he had served in several of Cao Cao's military campaigns and had frequented the sport­ i時and ba叫uet activities at Ye (alt. Yezhon訟，出e future Wei capital. Moreover， he composed poetηr and rhyme-prose to commemorate也ese experiences. Together with fellow “Jianan Masters" Ying Yang，Chen Lin，Liu Zhen， and Wang Can， he died in也e pestilence of 217. In the last ye位s of the Eastern Han， according to the au­ 也or of the prèface to

Discourses， “the canons of the state had

broken down and fallen into disuse. The younger male mem­ bers of families who held 0伍cial positions formed cliques血的 were aligned to powerful families. They formed social con­ nections wi出 these families and supported them so也at they might make a name for themselves， and they vied to better one another in the attainment of ranks and titles." On these groun益，XuG祖先ut offhis∞ntacts with others to guard his own integrity，having nothing to do with them， and derived his pleasures solely from the Six Classics." W hen he retired from o伍ce after serving Cao Cao，he became even more com­ mitted to “hiding himself away in a back street，nurturing his 甘ue aim，and keeping his genuineness intact. Leading a plain， simple existence， he initiated no unnecessary action.... He nourished his fl.oodlike vital energy and practiced the arts of longevity.叮He also began to write

Discourses.

Be臼use Xu Gan neither attached importance to 0伍ce 祖d emolurnents nor indulged in worldly honors， devoting him­ self instead to the pleas叮es of reading and writi嗯，he “com­ manded a reputation in Qingzhou" making him quite扭扭， fl.uential fìgure amongst scholar-literati.6 In the y'叫“lowing XuGan's d閃出，218， Cao Pi wrote the following evaluation of him:“When one takes a close look at ancient and modern

of commitment as Xu You.7 Indeed he can be called a well­ balanced gentleman.He wrote Discourses in twenty chapters， establishing a school of thought in its own right. The form and content of hi誌s literary style a臨r跨ecl站a泌ssi臼叫l扭d ele伊nt一welIIil wor吋th passing on to po臼st臼en句ty.λ: This gentleman will e凹ndur跨吋e!"

Mo位re臼OVI而e巳in his G∞omme扭n包r叮ytω05.品，an喀Igu仰oz劫hi， Pei Son乎hi (372451) cites a similar evaluation from Xianxian xingzhuang (AG∞unts of the Deeds ofFormer Worthies):“(Xu) Gan's em­

bodiment of the way was pure and mysterious (qing xuan) ， and his cultivation of the six types of virtuous conduct was complete. Discerning in his understanding and broadly in­

formed in his learning， he was an accomplished essay writer. He neither attached importance to 0且自and emolurnents nor

indulged in worldly honors.叫 The unsigned preface to Discourses relates that Xu Gan's “natural inclination was such that he constantly wanted to re­ duce that of which the age had a surplus and increase that in

which the ordinary people of the day were defìcient. He saw men of letters follow one another in the contemporary fad of writing belles lettres， but there was never one among them who elucidated the fundamental import of the classics to dissemi­ nate the teachings of the way; or who sought the sages' point

of balance to dispel the confusion of popular contemporary mores. For也i誌s r，鉛ea街son凡1， he abandoned the literary gen肛1叮re臼S oft也he ode

(妙5幼bμ紛i)札)， rh乃耶}

and encomium (zan份)，and wrote也e book Baltinced Discourses in twenty chapters." He thus decided no longer to practice writing in the fashionable literary genres but to live in sedu­ sion，far removed from the hubbub of the mundane wor1d，to

devote his energies to writing Discourses so也at he might “'seek 也e sages' point of balance."10 Discourses is也e sole位tant philo­

men of letters，most of them did not closely monitor the 缸，

sophical book written by any of the Seven Masters of the Ji甜甜

tails of their own behavior. Few of them would have been able

period.

to stand tall on the stren阱。f their mo叫integ肉F﹒Weichang was unique in possessing the qualities of cultural refìnement

(wen) and unadorned simplicity (zhi). He was indifferentω worldly success and had few desir臼. He had the same sense

xii n甜'oduction妙 Dang Shengyuan

Discourses is divided into two fascicles (juan) of ten chap­ (pian) each (or twelve chapters in the second fascicle if we

ters

include the two incomplete reconstructed chapters，“Reinsti­ tute the Three-Year Mourning Period" and “Regulate the Al-

lntroduction句I Dang Shengyuan xiù

lotment ofCorvée Laborers").Generally spea姐ng也e fìrst 缸， cicle is concerned wi也 moral cultivation and the second wi也

statecraft組d strategies for achieving political order. The form and content of the book's literary style are classical and ele­ gant. The book frequently takes the teachings of the former

kings，Confucius， and Mencius as models and gives expres­ sion to the pre臼pts of"inner羽geliness and outer kinglin臨﹒"11

The book may indeed be described as the successful realiza­ tion ofXuGan's位m of“ducidating也e fundamental import

of the classics to disseminate the teachings of the way， 今he sought也e sages' point of balance to dispel the confusion of pop叫M∞ntemporary mores."12

In titling the book Balanced Discourses， XuGan gave ex­ pr臼sion to the emphasis that he placed on the con臼pt of bal­

m臼 inConfucian thought and values. There are many pas­ sages in which he elaborates on the meaning of balance. In “Rewards and Punishments，" for example， he writes:“The former kings sought to clari有T the bearing of individual cir­ cumstances， and to be balanced when th可weighed up their judgments， thereby always maintaining a sense of appropriate m個sure."τrus shows也at balance means“maintaining a sense of appropriate measure." In “Valuing Words，" xuGan selects the two stories of Cangwu Bing and Wei Sheng to il1ustrate

this:“In由e past，Cangwu Bing took a wif忌， but because she was beautifu1， he gave her to his elder brother. It would have

been better not to have deferred to him at all than to have been deferential in this manner. Wei Sheng arranged to meet his wife at也e edge of a river. W hen the water suddenly rose， he would not leave and so drowned. It would have been better not to have kept his word to her at all出.an to have done so in this m組ner." ForXuGan the mistake these men made was to

carry matters to an extreme， losing proper measure， thus re­

sulting in them abandoning出.e principle of balance. For xun Gan balance was both a conceptual value and a methodologi­ 臼1 principle to be employed in the pro臼ss of thinking and recognition. This con臼pt was cl臼rly influenced by such id個S as appropriateness

XtV

(shi yi) and being in due measure ( you du)，

lntroduction鈔 Dang Shengyuan

which are featured in

Huangdi neijing and Huainanzi. The

concept also contains rudimentary dialectical elements. Against a background of political corruption and moral depravity at the end of the Eastern Han period， xuG組 wrote

Discourses to remedy也e ills of his day.The various arguments and opinions raised in the book are all directed at contempo­ rary social realities. Their political goal was to achieve order and stability. The desire expressed in the book to reestablish Confucian political ideals and ethical models is similarly mo­ tivated by the practical need to remove corrupt political prac­ tices and to remedy the degenerate state of social mores﹒For example， land ann血紅ion and slave ownership were two acute social problems in the Eastern Han period. They had set off a series of political crises and were also the fundamental cause of social instability. Addressing these issues，Xu Gan called for restrictions on也e land ann位ation and excessive slàve owner­ ship practices of high-ranking and “noble" families. He ar­ gued也at annexation and theftof land was responsible for the inequitable distribution of wealth in society and the impover­ ished state of many scholar-literati. His proposal to limit the number of slaves th位“nobles" could own was directed at en­ riching the state and alleviating social disparities so as to effect political order throughout the realm. His proposal is further­ more related to his insistence that“the people are of foremost importance (ren wei gui)，" a central tenet of the theory of“出e people as the foundation of the nation (minben)." Having 位­ pressed the view that“of all出e creatures in the world that live by breathing， none has greater awareness出叩m妞，"XuGan believed that slavl郎， born as humans， must therefore be ex­ tended the principle of“spreading loving concern

(bo ai)."13

Thus in“Regulate the Allotment ofCorvée Laborers" we read: “'Although slaves are base in rank， they nevertheless possess the fìve constant virtues﹒Originally they were the good people of emperors and kings， but they have been entered into the household registers of small men as their personal slaves﹒For­ lorn and destitute， they have lost也eir homes and yet have no one to tell of their plight. Have th叮not been wronged?"“

lntroduction by Dang Shengyuan

xv

In order ωbring a chaotic world to order and to remedy

would their purpose be served. The correct way to apply them

le紅m峙， hold ritual in esteem， and be strict 叩d impartial in

main-taining a sense of appropriate measure." This is a further

political order were ωbe effected throughout the rl目1m， then

balance."

social crisis，XuGan advocated that government encourage

is "to be balanced [in weighing up] judgments， thereby always

meting out rewards and punishments. He maintained that if

example of Xu's advocacy of the principle of“the w可of

the rit臼and laws of the sage kings must be followed，組d也at

The Eastern Han was the beginning of a period of extreme darkness and corruption， leading some scholar-literati to re­ gard politiωwith disdain. Some individuals came to adopt

according to these rites and laws“'the noble held positions that were always honored， while the lowly held positions that were

hierarchically ranked. The gentleman and the small man each served in a different 0伍ce." Only by upholding these distinc­

tions could there be “'no transgression by those below encroach­ ing upon the authority of those above them，組d so corvée

labor and the strength derived from wealth were able to be

supplied in su伍ciency."15 This sort of minds哎， reflecting a

staunch belief in Confucian political principles and social ide­ als， often was the guiding ideology whenXu Gan sought to

analyze and solve social problems.

XuGan attached great importance to the role of rewards

and punishments in governing a sta時， even elevating them to the

10丘y

status of市llldamental tenets of government."

Thus in“Rewards and Punishments" we read:“If rewards 阻d punishments are not made clear， this will not only affect how well ordered the people are， it could even lead to也e des叮uc­

tion of the state and the death of the r叫er. Can one afford

not to be careful?" Although it is natural for people to fe訂 punishments and to take pleasure in rewards， rewards and

pur世shments must be judiciously applied. In the same chap­ terXu Gan states:“Nor

can

rew紅ds and punishments be too

light or too heavy. If rewards are too light， then the people will not be encouraged to do good; while， if punishments

are too light， then the people will not be afraid. If rewards are too heavy， then people will benefìt gratuitously; while，

if punishments are too heavy， then people will be forced into

Dessi�istic and nihilistic attitudes toward society and history， developing decadent and hedonistic ou由oks o叫ife， such that th叮abandoned their individual social duties and also也eir

responsibility as scholar-literati to provide social criticism. XuG阻， however， was different. In addition to addressing contemporary social realities by advancing his own politiCal propositions， he also placed emphasis on the need for scholar­ literati to fìre their ambitions and to have the ∞urage to forge

ahead. A concentrated expression of this也inking is the chapter

“Titl臼and Emoluments" in which he proposes that individual scholar-literati should actively seek titles and emoluments on

the stren!rth of their virtue組d meritorious service. Thus the philosophical concepts and political propo叫s thatXu Gan elucidatES in Dbcount5arc in &ct representazivE of thE critical

social consciousness of a group of positive-minded scholar­ literati whose family backgrounds were of the commoner class. These concepts and proposals also represent the political 缸，

mands made by this group for social and political standing. Because the hereditary elite families monopolized the avenues toO伍ce， commoners who sought to gain 0伍ce and offìcial

Dromotion faced an arduous task. Accordingly， some of the anguish that welled ftom the deep記cesses ofXu Gar也mind UlSCOU府的 ln “Titles and Emolumen ts" he IS apparentt in III Discourses. wrItes:

a hopeless situation." Similarly， rewards and punishments

Hence a good farmer does not worry that the borders of

are too numerous， then m叩y people will receive them， while

and rains will not be in proper measure. Similarly， the

should be neither too numerous nor too few because“if they

his fìelds are not maintained， but rather that the winds

if too few， then many people

gentleman does not wotry that也e way and its power

will be left out." In nei由erωE

xví lntroduction句 Dang Shengyuan

lntroductíon by Dang Shengyuan xvíi

are not established， but rather出at he will not encoun­ ter the right times.The Book ofOdes says: 1 yoke my four sta1lions， My four stallions stretch也eir necks. 1 gaze to the four quarters， Frustrated that 1 have nowhere to drive He is hurt because he has not encountered the wav. Yet， is this so of one age on伊I s it so of one age only? The emotional frustration he feels at not being able to en­ counter the right times promptsXu Gan to express disorien ­ tation and grief. This tragic outlook on life results from the frustration that scholar-literati from commoner origins with inadequate social resources met in their plans to seek titles and emoluments and to render meritorious service.In the same chapterXu Gan maintains that in matters of titles and emolu­ ments one should adopt the attitude that“there is a way to be followed in seeking them and their attainment is a1so deter­ mined by conditions which lie beyond human control." He continues:“Shun， Yu， and Confucius may a11 be said to have had a way to seek them. Shun and Yu's successful attainment of them and Confucius's failure to have done so may be said to have been determined by conditions lying beyond human∞n­ trol. This is so not only for sages; the same applies to wor­ thies." Here he admits the existence of a destiny which con­ trols humans but which itself cannot be controlled， renderine: the human condition utterly helpl的﹒In“Examining Fa1sity" we read:“The gentleman is capable of perfecting his h臼rt and rnind. When his h且rt and rnind are perfected， then internally he becomes settled. W hen interna11y he is settled， then things cannot upset him. When things cannot upset him，出en he takes singular pleasure in his way."This passage may explain whyXuG油市ad the same sense of commitment as Xu You，" “llurtured his甘ue aim and kept his genuineness intact，"“was indifferent to worldly success and had few desires，"“embod­ ied the way in a pure and mysterious manner，" and cultivated

xviií lntrod.仰'on by Dang Shengyuan

“the紅臼of longevity."This passage a1so reflects the influence ofl駒-Zhuang thought onXu Gan's outlook on life， reveal­ ing that in some respects there was not complete consistency b戶戶附n his politica1 and mo叫principles and his outlook on

life. Because Xu Gan sought“ba1ance" and“appropriateness， his arguments in Discourses are，ωone might位pect， unem­ bellished祖d∞mpact.This is， of course， one of the strengths of the book. Excessive compromise， however， can influence 也e incisiveness of thought and theoretica1 critique. Compared with Chan肝仰， the work ofXu G姐�s∞ntemporary Zhong­ changTo缸"一叫， Dis仰rses is s恥的i…ms of the form and content of his literary style， but in terms of critical acuity it is less incisive. Precisely because of this? Discourses has been insu且ciently regarded in research on the history of tra­ ditiona1 Chinese thought. In many works on the history of Chinese philosophy or the history of Chinese thought， it is not even mentioned. In fact， Discourses boasts some unique intellectual qua1ities and in its approach to many philosophi­ cal problems it makes some defìnite advances. But it is of unique va1ue ω也e study of the transition in thought between the Han and Wei periods. B趾叫elo側，w 1 wil吶耐i且11s呻E句para帥a Ga吋n's views on t也he wa叮y of h目V羽en (t仰i切仰d仰na品b切0份')， name and actual­ ity (mingshi)， human talent (rencai)， and learning (xuexi)， to discuss some of my observations concetningXu G甜�s philo­ sophica1 thought as expressed in Discourses.

T加 以y ofheaven. Xu Gan's views on the way of heaven were cl間ly influenced by Wang Chong (27-c. 100)， who per­ 臼ived the operations of the way of heaven to be“so of itself " (ziran). Like Wang Chong，站1 Gan maintained that“the way d of hαven is distant， vast， dim風， 詛do吋bs氏C叮'e." Hewa鈴s mys仗t吋 if益le吋 b卸'vt也he fc品or，κ'ce臼s of na旭atur跨e 詛d societ守ywhi誼ich overrode t由he powe位r

0 f in吋吋div unan瓜1 a 缸 i廿甜創耐叫i迅idu仙 叩 design， no wi11， and certainly no control over human affairs. ForXu Gan， in both the natural world and in human society there exist a "constant way"組d“depart山es from re伊larities"

lntroduction by Da愕 Shengyuan

xix

只

ian shu). B叫1叫le pattern of things is a combination of 伽 constantwa)rand departurEshm r Flm帥，it would be mistaken to deny 出e位istence of either. For example，there i a relation between the le嗯th of a p戶ers叫品 human 1ife a詛nd h白 IS ch翻倪 α E閃 P 啊叫o唔哥g ical ma玖keu耶 an 組 d 吋 α叫Ùt伽卸 i vat吋 < t臼臼e閻闖m '甜 oeram叮呵、t. 叩 Conft品a弘恥M比叫叫叫ciu的1昀IS':正品's “蚓lum taken to be a "constant way.六It臼s valid也it守ys品ho u叫ùd not be denied s迢impl佇y because of s阻uch ind“iv叫id血u泌叫al depa甜r此rtur .1l es臼s f企仇t扣om 間閒叫 前the叫y d白白of his disciple Yan Yuan， d呻ite E plary quality of humanEness-xu Gmasserte d that goodbU and mistbrume are not mEEEd out by heave n but are the ∞nsequencmof human behavior.For Exam ple，BiFnmdMI Zixu resolutEiy adherEdmtfrir belie&out of a sense of moral principle. They acted contrary to the will of their rulers. Their utter rEmonstrBIKes with their ruiErs led to their being charged and then killed. This is what is meant by“kn owing血紅也eir deaths wEre inevitable y Et they were Still happy to do what they did. What fault rested with heaven?'嗎Fo r Xu Gan . ev□ if heave n w削ed to bestow good btm on people would be no way hr it to realize this aim.G iven that people t critical ofde naturai world when it comes to dE an pearance的時ular phenomena，出en they sh叫d resp. iIIEhrly to the random and blind manner in which mistbF tune and good fortune appear in the huma n world. There fore， Xu Gan pointed 0肌when one invest Îe:ates a m ;□ 司 詛叫aly阻及zse ap戶仰robl岫E位em風n，o恤ne s品伽houl刮dn∞叫O忱t be c∞ o 伽叩n r domne時es鉛so凹r blindn肘1峙es鉛s. R且E由he閃E ζ，one旭e must inv