AN ANNOTATED TRANSLATION OF ZHONG LUN
DISCOURSE ON THE MEAN BY
xu
GAN
'f M'f OR
Xftt (170-217
A.D.)
by
John T. Makeham
A dissertation submitted inJ!IIIIIIIIIIilllllilllill.fulfilment of the
requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Asian
Studies) in the Australian National University
April 1985
PREFACE
With the establishment of
the
five Confucian
classics
as
the
orthodox state teachings in the reign of Emperor Wu (r.l4l-87 B.C.) of
Han
)~d\~
major
focus
(206 B.C.-220 A.D.), classical studies
of
Han
~. 1~/'!{ became the
scholarship until the end of the dynasty.
result of the establishment of Han classical studies, two
scholarship
As a
schools
of
- the New Text School and the Old Text School - came into
being and influenced the specific directions intellectual activity was
to take in this period.
xf
The New Text School ,as exemplified by the work of Dong Zhongshu ~
'i'i' 1;fcc.l79-c.l04 B.C.), became increasingly typified by its use of
calendrical
associated
these
calculations,
with
yin-yang
developments,
devoted
to
the
numerological
ft f~
correlations
interpretations.
individual
schools
under
In conjunction with
particular
masters
study of a specific classical text were established,
and more often than not, their legacy was a proliferation of
'chapter-and-verse' ~~
commentaries.
(r.9-23 A.D.) and Guangwu
commentary
ideas
and
tradition
gave
1
ungainly
By the time of Wang Mang
;!) fJ
(r.25-57 A.D.), the growth of
rise
to
,J
I
~fr
this
apocryphal and prognostic texts
which housed a huge corpus of omenistic lore and yin-yang theories.
The beginning of the Ancient ·Text Schooi can 'be traced to K 1 ung An-kuo, a
descendent of Confucius, in the time of the realm of Emperor Ching. This
school was much more scholastic, humanistic and critical
and
its
exponents
scorned
the
'chapter-and-verse' commentaries, 2
in
outlook,
needlessly long-winded and pedantic
as
well
as
the
superstitious
aspects of the New Text School's numerology, yin-yang associations and
ii
omenistic lore.
Yang
Xiong
representatives
a~ ~1i
of
the
(53 B.C.-18 A.D.),
one
Old
in
Text
School,
naturalistic world view, foreshadowed a swing
daring
away
earliest
the
of
to propose a
from
the
cosmic
speculations and yin-yang associations of the New Text School.
In his
own words:
Since things which have their waxing, have their waning,
So too for human affairs which reach a peak.3
Others after him such as Wang Chong
Xu an
(c.27-100 A.D.),
Zheng
~f J:
(127-200 A.D.) and the scholars under the patronage of Liu
~Lk
(d.208 A.D.)
'1(
Biao
:f. fv
"'
at
Jingzhou
11 4
while
continuing
to
criticise superstitions, were even more determined in their opposition
to the ungainly commentaries, for it was believed that such peripheral
and
pedantic
endeavours
bad
diverted scholarship from its true and
meaningful course. 4 These men rejected the sectarian scholarship and
ossified
scholasticism
of
the
New Text School which had now become
little more than a stepping stone for those seeking office and instead
remained much more eclectic in their interests.s The attraction this
school had for intellectuals in the E.
simplicity
and
have been
thinking
an
and
underlying
almost
unity,
exponential
Han was the order it sought in
shunning what must have seemed to
growth
in
eccentric
correlative
superstition that proceeded in the path of the New Text
School tradition.
Yet despite the contributions the Old Text
clearing
the
way
for
School
had
made
a more rational approach to philosophical and
political thought, and indeed scholarship in general, it still
an
overall
synthesis.
in
The
school
was
rich in both ideas and the
spirit of reform, yet the catalyst needed to effect such
iii
lacked
a
synthesis
would not be forthcoming until the advent of the Wei-Jin xuanxue ~~
metaphysicians.
philosophical
This, however, did
thought
was
to
not
remain
mean
that
in
the
interim
shackled to the Ran Confucian
tradition or be the monopoly of some
variation
inspired
philosophy.
period
about 180 A.D.
to
240 A.D.
was one of transition in the history of Chinese thought.
It
shared
Rather,
the
of
a
from
hybrid
Daoist
affinities with both the trends that immediately preceeded and
proceeded from it, yet at the same time possessed
necessarily short-lived character of its own.
· d tat
h
h a lf o f tis
h
perlo
Xu
affinity
with
the
Gan
il.k f~
'I~
~·1
a
distinctive,
if
It was during the first
(170-217 A.D.)
lived.
His
spirit that typified the Old Text School is quite
manifest as the opening chapter of Zhong lun attests to:
In learning, the great principles are the most important
thing, whilst the nomenclature is secondary. Once the great
principles have been ascertained, the nomenclature will
follow.
On the other hand, the 'wide learning' of the
debased Confucians was concerned only with nomenclature.
They were thorough in their accounts of the working and
functions of details,
and
paid
much
attention
to
explanations of particular words. Yet, whilst picking out
aspects of 'chapter-and-verse' punctuation, they could not
put together the full account of the great principles.6
Also in keeping with Old Text School tradition was
history
as
originally
a
influenced
discussed
concentrate
use
of
a guide for the present, seeing it as an impeccable guide
to human behaviour and
undoubtedly
Xu's
on
storehouse
his
by
the
intellectual
of
ethical
precedents.
This
paying considerable attention to matters
pre-Qin
rather
philosophers
developments
in
the
Ran.
than
(This
is
understandable for another reason as many of the contributions made by
the
Old
Text
School were of a negative nature, concentrating on the
criticism of the New Text School tradition.
illustration of this.)
iv
Wang
Chong
is
a
good
As to his association with developments in Wei-Jin thought, while
he
remained
too
close
to
the Ran Confucian tradition to attempt a
formulation of any new
philosophical
proposed
~ E~iJ
by
Wang
Bi
principles
(226-249 A.D.),
such
as
the
nevertheless
kind
he
did
contribute to trends in this general direction with his discussion
the
relationship
between
Names and Principles mingli
the
./0
and 'actuality' shi
of
'J , or
'name'
ming
Z,} ~
A parallel to Xu's description
of
relationship between 'name' and 'actuality' might be seen in Wang
Bi's treatment of 'non-being' wu );f
("
'substance-function'
tiyong
·~t if\
'being'
and
relationship,
yet
commitment to identifying an underlying philosophical
viz.
'r~
qingtan r·~ ~~
was
it
also contributed to early developments in
a
his
principle
Other issues such as his views on talent cai ~
is germane.
nature xing
~
you
that
and moral
'pure
talk'
discussions.
The following introduction begins with biographical details of Xu
Gan's life, the nature and content of Zhong lun and the type of man Xu
was.
its
This is followed by an investigation of
political
and
the discussion on
examination
of
human nature.
Names
and
Principles,
philosophical background and Xu's contribution to
'name'
his
and
'actuality'.
Following
this
is
an
moral theory and its background in the debate on
The introduction concludes with an examination
of
the
history of the text.
Xu Gan's Names and Principles and moral theories form the nucleus
of
his
thought
as
reflected in Zhong lun and it is for this reason
that I have chosen to describe and analyse them in the introduction.
Finally, I
wish
Dr. K. Gardiner
and
University, who
to
between
thank
my
supervisors
Dr. P. Ryckmans
them,
v
have
Dr. R. deCrespigny,
of
the
Australian
National
read
the
drafts
all
of
the
translated
chapters,
pointing
out numerous errors in both style and
content and directing me to many useful sources,
Common Abbreviations
by J.
CC
Chinese Classics, 5 vols.
Legge.
See Bibliography.
BMFEA-
Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm.
MH
Les memoires historiques de Se-rna Ts'ien, by
See Bibliography.
QSZY
Qunshu zhiyao
SBBY
Sibu beiyao
SBCK
Sibu congkan
SKSB
Siku shanben
SMXB
Shumu xubian
See Bibliography.
vi
E.
Chavannes.
CONTENTS
Page
l
INTRODUCTION
TRANSLATION OF ZHONG LUN:
Ordering Learning ~h (~
64
/ V- l (
76
The Precepts and Models of Correct Behaviour·{
I
l' ~ k'
Cultivating Fundamentals
107
;Y-~
t
In Praise of the Verifiable
\~
tl:,
A Memorial on the
-<~
92
ft. 't
The Way of Humility
Valuing Words
A
-~11
120
;.
-'v-/
Arts
131
139
148
An Examination of Disputation ,;r
"_..
0 v >,.. >.~ -'J,.
{/.. :;v l
Wisdom and Action
Titles and Emoluments
1/~
r~
Examining Falsity
1: :'r;.
1
168
1 _..,)'
..f, / ,p
7 I,(g
178
A Rebuke of Socializing .{, :!'·
y ~£-
Calendrical Calculations
153
H
191
l· ~
207
/"'-
ifi--
. l"':J
/If.)~
215
Dying Young and Longevity .!; 1;- /,. j''
:j,?( ](._~
Devoting Attention to Fundamentals "'t!-',,
i ;1'---"
228
;jJ . I
Examining [the Selection of] Chief Officials /~;? .Y '~­
/:;.'- i\
Be Careful of the Advice You Follow
'/
The Demise of the State --v
Rewards and Punishments
Population Figures
·)-~ ~ {1 ?~/·
1>~1
""::.. . I u~----
237
247
255
/
_.,"' vJ
267
I~ ~}j
'II vi
~\j '4_}._
271
Re-institute the Three Year Mourning Period
Regulate the Ownership of Slaves }~~
r
1:Z
/ft -:;
276
281
APPENDIX
285
BIBLIOGRAPHY
289