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MEMOIRS AND REMAINS OF EMINENT PERSONS.

MEMOIRS of the LIFE and WORKS of

CONFUCIUS.

[AMONG other literary gratifications which have resulted from the recent cultivation of Oriental Literature may be named, the publication of the original Text of the Works of CONFUCIUS, and of a translation of the same by Mr. JAMES MARSHMAN. Nor is it the least interesting fact attending the appearance of this work that it was printed at SERAMPORE, in Bengal, at a printing-press set up by the ENGLISH MISSIONARIES. We treat it therefore as a foreign work, although printed in the English Language, and presume we shall gratify our readers by presenting them with the prefatory Memoirs of this great philosopher as they are read and received among his countrymen.]

HE See-khee says, that Khoong

his literary name Choong-ni. His ancestors were originally of the Soong country; but his father, whose name was Sook-leong-guit, was a mandarine of considerable rank in the kingdom of Loo. His mother's name was Guansee. In the twenty-second year of Syong-koong, the sovereign of Loo, (the forty-seventh year of the cycle,) was Khoong-chee born, in Chhong peng, a town in the district of Chhoa, of which his father was mandarine. This, according to Du Halde, was in the reign of Ling-wong, (or cang, as he writes it,) the twenty-third emperor of the Chou (Tcheou) dynasty, and 551 years before the Christian era.

The paternal name of the sage was Khoong, and his proper name Hyaou, (or Haou--for the Chinese, through respect, forbear to pronounce the real name) Chee, properly a son, is a term of respect originally applied, according to the Imperial Dictionary, to a man possessing real virtue; when added to quun, a ruler, &c.; it forms the appellation quun-chee, which, according to the same authority, is applied to a man eminent or complete in virtue; and, is translated, the honourable man.' Hoo or Fhoo, lord, chief, &c. prefixed to chee, forms an appellative usually given to a teacher, and applied to Confucius by way of eminence. Khoong-fhoo-chee, therefore, or Con-fu-ci-us, is literally, The As this master, or teacher, Khoong.' title, incorporated with his paternal name, is now current among Europeans a the sage's proper name, Fhoo, or

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Hoo-chce, is sometimes rendered as a
proper name where it occurs as an ap-
pellation of the sage, although it real-
ly means the great master or teacher.
Khoong-chee is the sage's most common
appellative.

When quite a child, Confacias was
modest, grave, and courteous in his de-
portment, and delighted in imitating, in
his puerile way, the ceremonies of wor-
ship used in the temples. He was also
exceedingly fond of inquiring into the
nature of things, which inquisitive tem-
per is said to have exposed him, on a
certain occasion, to censure, when in-
quiring about the nature of things in his
paternal temple. At the age of fifteen
he gave himself up to more serious stut-
dies, making the maxims and examples

jects of his contemplation. He acknow.
ledges, that in his youth he was reduced
to great straits, and that this gave occa-
siou for his acquiring skill in horseman-
ship, archery, and various other arts.

When he was little more than twenty,
he was appointed to superintend the dis-
tribution of grain; and afterwards made
superintendent of cattle, in which em-
ployments he acquitted himself with
great reputation. After some time,
however, he went into the Chou coun-
try, to profit from the instructions which
Laou-chee-tou-kwun, an aged and cele-
brated teacher, then gave on manners
and morals; and, on his return to his
own country, soon found himself sur-
rounded by a great number of disciples.

Chee-koong, the son of Syong-koong, being compelled, in the twenty-fifth year of his reign, (and the twenty-first year of the cycle,) to fly to the Chhi country, because his own kingdom Loo was in a state of insurrection, Khoong-chee himself, who was now thirty-five years of age, left Loo, and went into the Chhi country, where he was employed by Kou-cheu-chee, a mandarine of the second order; and at length introduced to Kung-koong, the petty sovereign of Chhi. This prince wished to bestow on Koong-chee a place of high trust, but, An-yun, his principal minister, dissunding him from it, he laid aside his design. Yet Khoong-chee praises this minister, as a man truly virtuous, inasmuch as he was constant in his attachment to his friends. After an absence of more than seven years, Khoong-chee, in the first year of

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Tung-koong, and the thirty-ninth year of the cycle, returned to his own country, Loo. He was then in his forty-third

year.

We may here begin the second period of the sage's life, which extends to his voluntary exile in the fifty-seventh year of his age, and embraces a period of thirteen years. During this time he had to contend with a wicked and powerful faction in his own country, over whom his virtue and wisdom at length completely triumphed, and placed him at the head of affairs, dispensing happiness around as a father and benefactor. Quisee, the youngest of three brothers, and a mandarine of the same rank with the sage's father, had at this time usurped all authority; and, some time after, his minister, Yong-fhoo, raised an insurrection, set up for himself, and for a considerable time managed affairs in the most unjust and oppressive manner. This Qui-see, or more properly Quisuen-see, and his two elder brothers, Mung-suen-see, Sook-suen-see, formed the three houses whose pride the sage reprobates in the third book of the Lungnee. With the vanity, extravagance, and folly, of these three brothers, the sage seems to have had perpetually to contend.

In this state of things, Khoong-chee declined all share in the management of public affairs; and, retiring into obscurity, employed himself in revising, correcting, and arranging, the See, the Sew, and the Ly, three of the five king or classical books, held in the highest veneration by the Chinese, and, by Du Halde, termed their "Livres Canoniques du premier Ordre." Disciples, however, flocked around him again in multitudes, whom he instructed with the utmost diligence and condescension. In the ninth year after his return, the thirty-seventh year of the cycle, and the fifty-first of his age, Koong-san-put-gneu, a mandarine of Pay, raised great disturbances in Loo; upon which Qui-see called the sage to assist him with his advice and talents. The philosopher felt a strong desire to lend him his aid in this time of distress, notwithstanding his past conduct; but Chee-loo, his disciple, opposed it so strongly, that he laid aside his design.

Soon after this, Tung-koong, the king of Loo, appointed Confucius mandarine of Choong-too, a small district; and, within a year, a reformation of manuers was visible, among the people in all the

parts around. The sage was soon advanced to a higher station, and quickly after to one still superior. In the thirtyeighth year of the cycle, he concluded a treaty of alliance with the chief of the Chhi country, who, in consequence, restored all the places he had taken from Loo.

In Tung-koong's fourteenth year, Confucius, who was now fifty-six years of age, accepted the office of chief minister of Loo, and discharged the various duties of his station with such ability, diligence, and impartiality, that, in three months, the affairs of Loo assumed a totally different aspect; peace and tranquillity were restored throughout the whole country, and every thing wore the appearance of prosperity and happiness.

The petty sovereign of the Chhi country, beholding the prosperous state of Loo, was filled with jealousy and envy; and, at length, collecting a number of dancing-girls, versed in all the arts of allurement, sent them into the country of Loo. The dissipated Qui-see, the ancient enemy of his country, and of the sage, gladly received them, and introduced them to the court; and feasting, excess, and riot, quickly turned the attention of both prince and people from the instructions of the sage, and the duties of morality and religion. Every attempt to stem the torrent of vice and dissipation proving fruitless, Khoongchee at length quitted the scene; and sought, in the neighbouring provinces of China, those who would lend a more willing ear to his instructions.

This introduces the third period of Confucius's life, in which we behold the venerable sage wandering from province to province, for the space of nearly twelve years, exposed to poverty and insult, and often in the most imminent danger of his life. He first went into the Wy country, where he remained for some time in the house of Gnan-chokchou, the brother-in-law of Chee-loo: from thence he went into the province of Chun, where he found every thing so inimical to his views and wishes, that he quickly passed from thence to that of Hong. Here, however, the men of Hong imagining him to be Yong-fhoo, the iniquitous minister of Qui-see, whom he very much resembled in countenance, detained the aged sage in confinement, and threatened to take away as life. It was on this occasion that he supported himself with those reflections on Divine Providence

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Providence which occur in the fifth book of the Lun-gnee. The men of Hong, at length, perceiving their mistake, dismissed the philosopher unhurt.

Chhoo, venerating his age and his wisdom, wished to give him a quiet asylum, and employ him to instruct his people. The envy of Chee-si, however, one of his principal officers, prevented his giving Confucius the encouragement due to his merit, and constrained him at length to dismiss him; on which the venerable and aged sage departed again for the Wy country.

Confucius, after this, returned to the Wy country again, and remained for some time at the house of Kheu-pak-yok, a mandarine of the second order. It was here that he, at her earnest and repeated request, visited Nam-chee, the wife of Lung-koong, the sovereign of that country. This was the woman, respecting whom Chee-loo, his faithful and affectionate, but rash and precipitate, pupil, was so displeased with him, that the sage was constrained to attest his inno-ingly to detain him in the Wy country, cence by appealing to heaven.

From Wy he departed to the province of Soong, from whence his ancestors originally came. Here Hoon-khooi, a mandarine, who hated philosophy and all knowledge, attempted to kill the venerable sage; but was by some means prevented. Destitute of an asylum, he, after this, returned again to the Chun country, and remained in the house of See-kun-cheng-chee, where he continued three years, practising every virtue. From thence, however, he returned to Wy, where Lung-koong would gladly have employed him in the mandarineship; but the jealousy of his other mandarines would not permit him.

About this time the sage went west ward, with the view of paying a visit to Cheu-kan-chee; but, coming to the river which parted the two districts, he was unable to obtain a conveyance over it, which compelled him to return again to the Wy country. Here he remained with Khee-pak-yok; till one day, Lungkoong, the sovereign of Wy, asking the sage respecting war, he made no answer, and the next day departed to the Chun country.

Qui-hong-chee, or Qui-see, who had conducted affairs so long in Loo, died about this time; but, before his death, he charged his son, Hong-chee, to send for the sage, and govern himself wholly by his counsels; but Hong-chee, on the death of Qui-see, found the dislike of his chief officers to the sage so strong, that he was unable to effect his recal. He, however, sent for Nim-khou, one of the disciples of Confucius, a man somewhat more to their taste. The philosopher, about this time, went into the Chhi country; and from thence to Chhoo, when he remained for some time in the district of Ip. The petty sovereign of

Lung-koong, the former sovereign of Wy, was now dead, and Chup, his grandson, had taken the reins of government. This young man was greatly attached to the sage, and wished exceed

in order to obtain his assistance in governing. But, about this time, a war broke out between the countries of Loo and Chhi, the management of which, Hong-chee, who seems to have succeeded to the authority and influence of his father, Qui-see, committed to Nim-khou, the disciple of the sage before mentioned. Nim-khou conducted the war with such ability and success, that he, in a little time, subjugated the Chhi country. This put an end to the influence of the Chhi faction in Loo, and enabled Hong-chee to restore the sage to his own country again. He, on the first invitation, left Wy, and returned to his, native province, Loo, after an absence of nearly twelve years. This event happened in the eleventh year of Oi-koong, and in the sixty-eighth year of the philosopher's age.

Yet even, at last, the ruler of Loo did not avail himself of the talents of the sage. Such, indeed, was the state of things, that Khoong-chee, after his return, felt no inclination to engage in public affairs; but employed himself in completing the Chinese classics already mentioned.

About the fourteenth year of Oi-koong, Confucius wrote the Chun-chou, which is esteemed one of the five king. The next year died, in the Wy country, Cheeloo, the disciple much esteemed by his master for his ardour of mind, and so often blained for haste and inconsideration; and the year after, namely, in the. sixteenth year of Oi-koong, (in the fourth month,) his beloved master followed him, in the seventy-third year of his age. He was buried in his own province, near. the river, on the east side of the palace of Oi-koong. His disciples mourned for. him three years; after which they all returned to their respective places of abode, except Chee-koong, who, erecting a..

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small house over his beloved master's tomb, mourned for him three years longer.

Confucius had one son, named Pakgnee, who died before his father. His grandson, however, whose name was Chee-see, closely imitated the example of his grandfather, and became almost equally illustrious for knowledge and wisdom. He was instructed by Chungchee, the most eminent of his grandfather's disciples, who survived him: he compiled the Choong-yoong, from his grandfather's papers, and had for his pupil the famous Mung-chee, whose work forms the fourth of the See-seu, or the second order of the Chinese classics.

His disciples amounted to THREE THOUSAND, among whom there were seventy-two who entered in the most intimate manner into the doctrine and views of their master. Among these, Hooi, or Gnan-in, whose death Confucius so pathetically laments in the Lungnee, appears to have possessed the esteem of his master in the highest degree, on account of his superior proficiency in virtue and wisdom. The philosopher often commends him for his docility and attention, his love of learning and virtue, and his contempt of poverty. After Hooi, the most eminent of the sage's pupils was Chung-chee. He had the principal hand in compiling the Lun-gnee; he also instructed Confucius's grandson, as before mentioned, and seems to have been considered, by his fellow-pupils, as almost equal to the sage himself. Several of his sayings, as well as anecdotes respecting him, are interspersed in the Lun-gnee; which were probably inserted by Yaou-chee, his fellow-pupil, who assisted in compiling this work.

Among the other pupils of Confucius, seven appear most prominent, namely, Chee-koong, who expressed such affection for the sage after his death; he appears to have been highly valued by his master Chee-loo, so much esteemed by the sage for his ardour and sincerity, and so often blamed by him for his rashness. He, on several occasions, served his country, Loo, in a military capacity, with great reputation, although the envy of Mung-suensee, one of the three brothers with whose vices the sage had to contend, prevented his rendering her that service which he desired.-Yaou-chee, the coadjutor of Chung-chee, in compiling the anecdotes and sayings of the sage, Nim-yaou, or

Nim-khou, who was employed by Quihong-chee, and who ultimately procured the recal of his master to his native province.-Choy-gno, and Choong-koong.. The conversation of the sage with these pupils, principally on the social virtues, with their relation of his acts and say ings, constitute the substance of the Lun-gnee; which might therefore, with propriety, be termed, "The Life and Sayings of the Chinese Sage."

We now come to the works of Confucius. As the sage, however, so frequently refers to the classical books of the first order, generally termed, by the Chinese, kung, or king, on account of their supposed excellence, it may not be improper previously to take a very brief view of them, particularly as he himself was the author of one of them, (the Chunchow,) and, if he did not compile the Ly, the largest of the other four, he so modelled it, that it might be truly esteemed his own work. These king, or classics of the first order, are five in number; the first of which is,

The UK-king (by Du Halde termed the Y-king). This work contains the Trigrams, or enigmatic lines of Fo-hi, said to be the first emperor of China, These consist of three lines, varied by one or more of them being broken in the midst. Two of these trigrams, forming six lines, are placed in sixtyfour different positions. In the first position, the two upper lines and the sixth are broken in two; in the second, only the fifth line is broken; in the third position, the second, third, and sixth, are broken; and in the fourth, the second and third only. After each position follows a short sentence, and then a comment by Confucius, deducing from, or rather affixing certain ideas to, each of these positions. It is highly probable that these trigrams preceded the invention of the Chinese characters, and that they were the first attempt to express, in writing, ideas relative to hea ven, earth, man, &c. Only the trigrams, or broken lines, are ascribed to Fo-hi; the sentences are supposed to be added by some one who lived prior to Confucius; and the explanatory obser vations, which form by far the greatest, as well as the most intelligible, part of the work, by the sage himself. The work consists of three very thin octavo volumes, and is comprised in 208 pages. The sage was extremely fond of it: "his observations,

observations, however, on what he conceived to be the ideas conveyed therein, probably constitute its most valuable part. One of Mr. Marsham's Chinese assistants said, that he fully understood it; but the only idea he affixed to it was, that, by studying it, persons may be able to detect thieves, and recover stolen goods.

The second is the SEU-king (by Du Halde termed the Chu). Seu is the term commonly used to denote a book. This work is in reality a collection of records relative to the first four dynasties of the Chinese emperors: it is comprised in two small octavo volumes, which, together contain 214 pages. It is divided into four parts; the first relates to the Gne dynasty, which includes only two emperors, Gueu and Sun; (the Yao and Chun of Du lialde;) the former is said to have reigned seventy years, and the latter thirty-three. He was adopted by Gueu, on account of his superior virtues. Considerations of the same nature induced Sun to adopt Ee (the Yu of Du Halde) in preference to his own children. This part contains twenty-four pages. The second part treats of the dynasty of Ha, of which Ee was the founder. It is comprised in twenty pages. The third part treats of the dynasty of Syong, of which Thong was the founder; and consists of forty pages: this concludes the first volume. The second volume treats of the dynasty of Chou, founded by the famous Moo-wong, the son of the Mun-wong, whom Confucius celebrated by the name of Chou, and proposed as a model for his own imitation. This part occupies the whole of the second volume, which contains 130 pages. The study of this book, and the See, or the book of ancient poems, seems to have been the constant and delightful employ of Confucius; and to have formed him, in a great measure, to that real greatness of mind which appeared in the whole course of his life.

The third is the SEE. This word denotes poetry in general, and is probably applied to this work by way of eminence. The See is a collection of poems and odes, written partly on men eminent for their virtues, or notorious for their vices, and partly on miscellaneous subjects. The first book opens with an ode in praise of the celebrated Munwong. These odes, which are in number three hundred and eleven, Confucius selected from a great number of others

which he judged of pernicious tendency. They are divided into six books: the first, which is the largest, contains a hundred and sixty odes; the second, eighty; the third, thirty-one; the fourth, a like number; the fifth, only four; and the sixth, five. These six books, however, the Chinese have divided into thirty-one smaller sections, the largest of which contains twenty-one odes, and the smallest four. They have further numbered the stanzas in each ode, and even the lines in each stanza. There is a considerable diversity of measure in these odes, the lines containing from three to seven characters, which is the highest number of feet contained in one line; four characters in a line, however, is their most common measure. A great variety is also introduced into the stanzas; some consist only of two lines, some contain four, others five, and some include eight. In most of them a degree of rhyme is observable, though greatly diversified; in some the first, third, and fourth, lines harmonize; in others, the first and the fourth; in others, the third and the sixth. Some of these odes are of a most curious structure, and must have cost the author considerable pains. In several of those which consist of three stanzas, these three (which, in the Chinese mode, are placed in perpendicular lines,) contain the same identical characters, varying only the third foot in. the second line, (or the seventh in the couplet,) in which, variation the point and beauty of the couplet chiefly consist. To such a pitch is this carried in some of them, that in an ode of three stanzas, each of which contains four lines of four feet each, the whole twelve lines, have no more than eleven different characters! This work consists of four very thin volumes, all of which include only $18 octavo pages.

The CHUN-CHOU, written by the sage` himself in his old age, forms the fourth of the king; Chun denotes the spring, and Chou autumn. Under these names the sage describes the affairs, both prosperous and adverse, of the different petty states of which China was then composed, principally with reference to the kingdom of Loo. It embraces a period of 243 years, giving a succinct account of twelve kings of Loo; the last of which is Oi-koong, in whose fourteenth year it is written. This work consists of two volumes, and is comprised in 264 octavo', pages,

The

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