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Filsafat China.pdf

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THE GROWTH OF HUMANISM<br />

the Lord on High, forever refraining from thinking of the awe-inspiring<br />

power of Heaven. At the same time when the people do not complain,<br />

so long are there men [like you]! If our successors should prove utterly<br />

unable to reverence Heaven above and the people below, and so bring<br />

to an end the glory of their forefathers, could you, by remaining at<br />

home, be unaware of it?<br />

"The Mandate of Heaven is not easily [preserved]. Heaven is hard to<br />

depend on. Those who have lost the mandate did so because they could<br />

not practice and carry on the reverence and the brilliant virtue of their<br />

forefathers. As for the present, it is not that I, a little one, have a way of<br />

correcting our king. My way of leading him would be merely to make it<br />

possible to apply the glory of the forefathers to our young king."<br />

Duke Chou also said, "Heaven is not to be trusted. My way is<br />

simply to continue and extend the virtue of our peace-establishing king,<br />

and Heaven will not have occasion to remove the mandate received by<br />

King Wen. . . ." (Book of History, "Prince Shih")<br />

They (descendants of Yin) became subject to Chou.<br />

Heaven's Mandate is not constant.<br />

The officers of Yin were fine and alert.<br />

They assist at the libation in our capital.<br />

In their assisting in the libation,<br />

They always wear skirted robes and close caps [peculiar to Yin].<br />

Oh, you promoted servants of the king,<br />

Don't you mind your ancestors!<br />

Don't you mind your ancestors!<br />

Cultivate your virtue.<br />

Always strive to be in harmony with Heaven's Mandate.<br />

Seek for yourselves the many blessings.<br />

Before Yin lost its army,<br />

Its kings were able to be counterparts to the Lord on High.<br />

In Yin you should see as in a mirror<br />

That the great mandate is not easy [to keep].<br />

(Book of Odes, ode no. 235, "King Wen")<br />

Comment. The line "Don't you mind your ancestors" has given<br />

scholars a great deal of trouble. Because of the deep Chinese<br />

reverence for ancestors, they could not see how the advice not to<br />

mind the ancestors could be consonant with Confucianism. Therefore<br />

Legge had to drop the word "don't" ("Ever think of your<br />

ancestors"), 16 Karlgren had to turn it into a question ("Should<br />

16 Legge, trans., She King, p. 431.<br />

7

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