THE GREAT LEARNING
My master, the philosopher Ch'ing, says:—"The Great Learning is a book left by Confucius, and forms the gate by which first learners enter into virtue.That we can now perceive the order in which the ancients pursued their learning, is solely owing to the preservation of this work, the Analects and Mencius coming after it. Learners must commence their course with this, and then it may be hoped they will be kept from error."
TITLE OF THE WORK.—大学大学, 'The Great Learning'. I have pointed out, in the prolegomena,the great differences which are found among Chinese commentators on this Work, on almost every point connected with the criticism and interpretation of it. We encounter them here on the very threshold.The name itself is simply the adoption of the two commencing characters of the treatise, according to the custom noticed at the beginning of the Analects;but in explaining those two characters, the old and new schools differ widely. Anciently, 大 was read as 太, and the oldest commentator whose notes on the work are preserved, Ch'ing K'ang-shing, in the last half of the second century, said that the book was called 大学, 以其记博学, 可以为政, 'because it recorded that extensive learning, which was available for the administration of government'. This view is approved by K'ung Ying-tă (孔颖达), whose expansion of K'ang-shing's notes, written in the first half of the 7th century, still remains. He says—大学, 至道矣, '大学 means the highest principles.' Choo He's definition,on the contrary, is—大学者大人之学也, '大学 means the Learning of Adults.' One of the paraphrasts who follow him says—大是大人, 与小子对, '大 means adults, in opposition to children'. The grounds of Choo He's interpr. are to be found in his very elegant preface to the Book, where he tries to make it out, that we have here the subjects taught in the advanced schools of antiquity. I have contented myself with the title—'The Great Learning', which is a literal translation of the characters, whether read as 太学, or 大学.
THE INTRODUCTORY NOTE. —I have thought it well to translate this, and all the other notes and supplements appended by Choo He to the original text, because they appear in nearly all the editions of the work, which fall into the hands of students, and his view of the classics is what must be regarded as the orthodox one. The translation, which is here given,is also, for the most part, according to his views,though my own differing opinion will be found freely expressed in the notes. Another version, following the order of the text, before it was transposed by him and his masters, the Ch'ing, and without reference to his interpretations, will be found in the translation of the Le-ke.
1. What the Great Learning teaches, is—to illustrate illustrious virtue; to renovate the people; and to rest in the highest excellence.
2. The point where to rest being known, the object of pursuit is then determined; and, that being determined,a calm unperturbedness may be attained. To that calmness there will succeed a tranquil repose.
—子程子,—see note to the Ana. I. i. The Ch'ing here,is the second of the two brothers, to whom reference is made in the prolegomens. 孔氏, 'Confucius', the K'ung,as 季氏 is found continually in the Analects for the Ke,i.e ., the chief of the Ke family. But how can we say that 'The Great Learning' is a work left by Confucius?Even Choo He ascribes only a small portion of it to the Master, and makes the rest to be the production of the disciple Tsăng, and before his time, the whole work was attributed generally to the sage's grandson.I should be glad if I had authority for taking 孔氏 as=孔门, the Confucian school.
CHAPTER 1.THE TEXT OF CONFUCIUS.
Such Choo He, as will be seen from his concluding note, determines this chapter to be, and it has been divided into two sections (段), the first containing three paragraphs, occupied with the heads (纲领) of the Great Learning, and the second containing four paragraphs, occupied with the particulars (条目) of those.
Par. 1. The heads of the Great Learning. 大学之道,—'the way of the Great Learning', 道 being=修为之方法, 'the methods of cultivating and practising it',—the Great Learning, that is. 在, 'is in'. The first明 is a verb; the second is an adjective, qualifying德. The illustrious virtue is the virtuous nature which man derives from Heaven. This is perverted as man grows up, through defects of the physical constitution,through inward lusts,and through outward seductions;and the great business of life should be, to bring the nature back to its original purity.—'To renovate the people',—this object of the Great Learning is made out, by changing the character 亲 of the old text into新. The Ch'ing first proposed the alteration, and Choo He approved of it. When a man has entirely illustrated his own illustrious nature, he has to proceed to bring about the same result in every other man, till 'under heaven' there be not an individual, who is not in the same condition as himself.—'The highest excellence'is understood of the two previous matters. It is not a third and different object of pursuit, but indicates a perseverance in the two others, till they are perfectly accomplished.—Accordingto these explanations, the objects contemplated in the Great Learning, are not three, but two. Suppose them realized, and we should have the whole world of mankind perfectly good,every individual what he ought to be!
Against the above interpretation, we have to consider the older and simpler. 德 is there not the nature , but simply virtue, or virtuous conduct, and the first object in the Great Learning is the making of one's-self more and more illustrious in virtue, or the practice of benevolence, reverence, filial piety, kindness, and sincerity. See the 故本大学注辩, in loc . —There is nothing, of course, of the renovating of the people ,in this interpretation. The second object of the Great Learning is 亲民=亲爱于民, 'to love the people'.—The third object is said by Ying-tă to be 'in resting in conduct which is perfectly good (在止处于至善之行)', and here also, there would seem to be only two objects, for what essential distinction can we make between the first and third? There will be occasion below to refer to the reasons for changing 亲 into新, and their unsatisfactoriness. 'To love the people'is, doubtless, the second thing taught by the Great Learning.—Having the heads of the Great Learning now before us, according to both interpretations of it,we feel that the student of it should be an emperor, and not an ordinary man.
Par. 2. The mental process by which the point of rest may be attained. I confess that I do not well understand this par., in the relation of its parts in itself, nor in relation to the rest of the chapter. Choo He says:—'止 is the ground where we ought to rest;'—namely, the highest excellence mentioned above.
In that repose there may be careful deliberation, and that deliberation will be followed by the attainment ofthe desired end.
3. Things have their root and their completion.Affairs have their end and their beginning. To know what is first and what is last will lead near to what is taught in the Great Learning.
4. The ancients who wished to illustrate illustrious virtue throughout the empire, first ordered well their own States. Wishing to order well their States, they first regulated their families. Wishing to regulate their families, they first cultivated their persons. Wishing to cultivate their persons, they first rectified their hearts
But if this be known in the outset, where is the necessity for the 虑, or 'careful deliberation', which issues in its attainment? The paraphrasts make 知止to embrace even all that is understood by 格物致知below.—Ying-tă is perhaps rather more intelligible.He says:—'What it is known that the rest is to be in the perfectly good, then the mind has fixedness. So it is free from concupiscence, and can be still, not engaging in disturbing pursuits. That still leads to a repose and harmony of the feelings. That state of the feelings fits for careful thought about affairs (能思虑于事), and thence it results that what is in affairs is attained.'Perhaps, the par. just intimates that the objects of the G. L. being so great, a calm, serious,thoughtfulness is required in proceeding to seek their attainment.
Par. 3. The order of things and methods in the two preceding paragraphs. So, acc. to Choo He, does this par. wind up the two preceding. 'The illustration of virtue', he says, 'is the root , and the renovation of the people is the completion (lit., the branches ). Knowing where to rest is the beginning , and being able to attain is the end. The root and the beginning are whatis first . The completion and end are what is last. '—The adherents of the old commentators say, on the contrary, that this par. is introductory to the succeeding ones. They contend that the illustration of virtue and renovation of the people are doings (事), and not things (物). Acc. to them, the things are the person,heart, thoughts, &c., mentioned below, which are 'the root', and the family, kingdom, and empire, which are'the branches'. The affairs are the various processes put forth on those things.—This, it seems to me, is the correct interpretation.
Par. 4. The different steps by which the illustration of illustrious virtue throughout the empire may be brought about. 明明德于天下 is understood by the school of Choo He as embracing the two first objects of the Great Learning, the illustration, namely of virtue, and the renovation of the people. We are not aided in determining the meaning by the synthetic arrangement of the different steps in the next par.,for the result arrived at there is simply—天下平, 'the whole empire was made tranquil'.—Ying-tă's comment is—章明已之明德使偏于天下, 'to display illustriously their own illustrious virtue (or, virtues), making them reach though the whole empire'. But the influence must be very much transformative. Of the several steps described, the central one is 修身, 'the cultivation of the person', which, indeed, is called 本, 'the root', in par. 6.
Wishing to rectify their hearts, they first sought to be sincere in their thoughts. Wishing to be sincere in their thoughts, they first extended to the utmost their knowledge. Such extension of knowledge lay in the investigation of things.
5. Things being investigated, knowledge became complete. Their knowledge being complete, their thoughts were sincere.
This requires 'the heart to be correct', and that again'that the thoughts be sincere'. Choo He defines心 as身之所主, 'what the body has for its lord', and 意 as 心之所发, 'what the 心 sends forth'. Ying-tă says:—总包万虑谓之心, 'that which comprehends and embraces all considering is called the 心'; 为情所意念谓之意,'the thoughts under emotion are what is called 意'. 心is then the meta-physical part of our nature, all that we comprehend under the terms of mind or soul, heart,and spirit. This is conceived of as quiescent, and when its activity is aroused, then we have thoughts and purposes relative to what affects it. The 'being sincere'is explained by 实, 'real'. The sincerity of the thoughts is to be obtained by 致知, which means, acc. to Choo He, 'carrying our knowledge to its utmost extent, with the desire that there may be nothing which it shall not embrace'. This knowledge, finally, is realized在格物.The same authority takes 物, 'things', as embracing, 事,'affairs', as well. 格, sometimes=至, 'to come or extend to', and assuming that the 'coming to' here is by study,he makes it=躬究 'to examine exhaustively', so that '格物 means exhausting by examination the principles of things and affairs, with the desire that their uttermost point may be reached.'—We feel that this explanation cannot be correct, or that, if it be correct, the teaching of the Chinese sage is far beyond and above the condition and capacity of men. How can we suppose that, in order to secure sincerity of thought and our self-cultivation, there is necessarily that study of all the phenomena of physics and metaphysics, and of the events of history? Moreover, Choo He's view of the two last clauses is a consequence of the alterations which he adopts in the order of the text. As that exists in the Le-ke, the 7th par. of this chapter is followed by 此为知本, 此为知之至也, which he has transferred and made the 5th chapter of annotations. Ying-tă's comment on it is:—'The root means the person. The person (i.e.,personal character) being regarded as the root, if one can know his own person, this is the knowledge of the root; yes, this is the very extremity of knowledge.'If we apply this conclusion to the clauses under notice,it is said that wishing to make our thoughts sincere we must first carry to the utmost our self-knowledge,and this extension of self-knowledge 在格物. Now,the change of the style indicates that the relation of 致知 and 格物 is different from that of the parts in the other clauses. It is not said that to get the one thing we must first do the other. Rather it seems to me that the 格物 is a consequence of 致知, that in it is seen the other. Now, 式, 'a rule or pattern', and 正, 'to correct',are accepted meanings of 格, and 物 being taken generally and loosely as=things , 在格物 will tell us that, when his self-knowledge is complete, a man is a law to himself, measuring, and measuring correctly,all things with which he has to do, not led astray or beclouded by them. This is the interpretation strongly insisted on by 罗仲藩, the author of the 古本大学注辩.It is the only view into any sympathy with which I can place my mind. In harmony with it, I would print 致至在格物 as a par. by itself, between the analytic and synthetic processes described in par. 4, 5. Still there are difficulties connected with it, and I leave the vexed questions, regretting my own inability to clear them up.
Par. 5. The synthesis of the preceding processes.
Observe the 致 of the preceding par. is changed into至,and how 治 now becomes 治, low. 3rd tone.
Their thoughts being sincere, their hearts were then rectified. Their hearts being rectified, their persons were cultivated. Their persons being cultivated,their families were regulated. Their families being regulated, their States were rightly governed. Their States being rightly governed, the whole empire was made tranquil and happy.
6. From the emperor down to the mass of the people,all must consider the cultivation of the person the root of every thing besides.
7. It cannot be, when the root is neglected, that what should spring from it will be well ordered. It never has been the case that what was of great importance has been slightly cared for, and, at the same time, that what was of slight importance has been greatly cared for.
治 is explained by 攻理, 'the work of ruling', and 治 by理效, 'the result'. 后 is used for 後, as in p. 3.
Par. 6. The cultivation of the person is the prime,radical, thing required from all. I have said above that the Great Learning is adapted only to an emperor,but it is intimated here that the people also may take part in it in their degree. 天子, 'Son of Heaven', a designation of the emperor, 以其命于天, 'because he is ordained by Heaven'. 壹是=一切, 'all'. Ch'ing K'angshing, however, says:—壹是, 专行是也, '壹是 means that they uniformly do this.'
Par. 7. Reiteration of the importance of attending to the root. Choo He makes the root here to be the person, but accord. to the prec. par., it is 'the cultivation of the person' which is intended. By the末 or 'branches' is intended the proper ordering, of the family, the state, the empire. 厚薄, 'thick', and 'thin',—used here metaphorically. 所厚, acc. to Choo He,means 'the family', and 所薄, the state and the empire,but that I cannot understand. 所厚 is the same as the root . Mencius has a saying which may illustrate the second part of the paragraph.—于所厚者薄, 无所不薄, 'He, who is careless in what is important, will be careless in every thing.'
The preceding chapter of classical text is in the words of Confucius, handed down by the philosopher Tsăng. The ten chapters of explanation which follow contain the views of Ts ăng, and were recorded by his disciples. In the old copies of the work, there appeared considerable confusion in these, from the disarrangement of the tables. But now, availing myself of the decisions of the philosopher Ch'ing, and having examined anew the classical text, I have arranged it in order, as follows:— COMMENTARY OF THE PHILOSOPHER TSANG.