The Grand Scribe's Records, Volume XI

The Memoirs of Han China, Part IV

Ssu-ma Ch'ien, William H. Nienhauser, William Nienhauser, Jr.

• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9780253048462
• Topic: Historia
• Subtopic: Historia antigua

Part of the extraordinary multi-volume portrait of ancient China written by a court official of the Han Dynasty. The Grand Scribe's Records, Volume XI presents the final nine memoirs of Ssu-ma Ch'ien's history, continuing the series of collective biographies with seven more prosopographies on the ruthless officials, the wandering gallants, the artful favorites, those who discern auspicious days, turtle and stalk diviners, and those whose goods increase, punctuated by the final account of Emperor Wu's wars against neighboring peoples and concluded with Ssu-ma Ch'ien's postface containing a history of his family and himself. Praise for the series: "[An] indispensable addition to modern sinology." — China Review International "The English translation has been done meticulously." — Choice

Sequence of his Honor, the Grand Scribe’s Own [History], Memoir 70

Translated by Hans van Ess

[130.3285] Formerly, Chuan-hsü 顓頊¹ during his reign ordered the Regulator of the South Chung 重 to administer Heaven and the Regulator of the North Li 黎 to administer Earth.² At the threshold marked by the times of T’ang 唐 and Yü 虞³ they caused the descendants of Chung 重 and Li 黎 to carry on and employed them to manage this again, [and they did so] until the times of the Hsia and the Shang. Therefore, the clans of Chung and Li for generations laid out the sequences of heavenly and earthly [developments]. As far as their presence under the Chou was concerned, Hsiu-fu 休甫, the Earl of Ch’eng 程伯, was their descendant.⁴ At the time of King Hsüan 宣 of Chou (827–781 BC) they lost their profession and became the Ssu-ma 司馬 (Marshal) Clan.⁵ The Ssu-ma Clan for generations managed the scribes of the Chou.⁶ During the time of [kings] Hui 惠 (678–652 BC) and Hsiang 襄 (651–619 BC), the Ssu-ma Clan left Chou and went to Chin 晉.⁷ When the commandant Sui Hui 隨會 of the middle army of Chin fled to Ch’in, the Ssu-ma Clan entered Lesser Liang 少梁.⁸

[3286] Since the Ssu-ma Clan had left Chou and gone to Chin [its members] separated and dispersed, some were in Wey 衞, some in Chao 趙, and some in Ch’in 秦.[One] of those who was in Wey became chancellor in Chung-shan 中山.⁹ Those who were in Chao became famous by transmitting discussions on swordmanship.¹⁰ K’uai-k’uei 蒯聩 was a descendant of them.¹¹ Among those in Ch’in there was one called [Ssu-ma] Ts’o 錯 who disputed with Chang Yi 張儀.¹² Thereupon, King Hui 惠王 (356–311 BC, r. since 337) sent Ts’o as a commander to attack Shu 蜀 which he finally routed. As a consequence he became governor of it.¹³ Ts’o’s grandson Chin 革 served Po Ch’i 白起, the Lord of Wu-an 武安.¹⁴ And Lesser Liang had been renamed Hsia-yang 夏陽.¹⁵ Together with the Lord of Wu-an [Ssu-ma] Chin trapped the Everlasting Peace army of Chao.¹⁶ When they returned home together with him he was granted death at Tu-yu 杜垂¹⁷ and was buried at Hua-ch’ih 華池 (Flowery Pond).¹⁸ [Ssu-ma] Chin’s grandson was [Ssu-ma] Ch’ang 昌. Ch’ang became head of the office in charge of iron of the Ch’in.¹⁹ At the time of the First Emperor, K’uai-k’uei’s great-grandson Ang 卬 became commander of the Lord of Wu-hsin 武信 and [Ssu-ma Ang] followed him on his patrol to Chao-ko 卓月歌.²⁰ When the feudal lords were made chancellors and kings, Ang was made King in Yin 殷.²¹ When the Han attacked Ch’u, Ang turned to the Han and his territory was converted into the province of Ho-nei 河內.²²

[Ssu-ma] Ch’ang begot Wu-tse 無澤. Wu-tse became Chief of the Markets of the Han.²³ Wu-tse begot Hsi 喜. Hsi became Dignitary of the Fifth Rank.²⁴ When they passed away, they were all buried at Kao-men 高門.²⁵ [Ssu-ma] Hsi begot T’an 談. T’an became “His Honor the Grand Scribe.”²⁶

[3288] His Honor the Grand Scribe studied astronomy²⁷ with T’ang Tu 唐都,²⁸ received the Changes from Yang Ho 楊何,²⁹ and practiced the discussions on the right way with Master Huang 黄.³⁰ His Honor the Grand Scribe served during the times of the reign periods chien-yüan 建兀 (140–135)³¹ and yüan-feng 兀封 (110–105). He felt pity that scholars did not grasp their intentions while they became mislead by [clinging] to their teachers.³² For this reason he discussed the central guidelines of the six types [of scholarship]³³:

The Great Tradition to the Changes [says]: “There is one common goal in this world, but a hundred considerations, there is the same [point] that everybody turns to, but distinct paths.”³⁴ Now [specialists] of Yin and Yang, Confucians,³⁵ Mohists, Rhetorists, Legalists or [specialists of] Way and Virtue, all are devoted to [*3289*] creating order. It is just that what they follow are different ways to express it, there are only [some parts] that have to be observed or not to be observed.³⁶ I once caught a glimpse of the techniques of the [specialists] of Yin and Yang. Although [what they say] may be greatly auspicious³⁷

the crowd avoids taboos [because of them],

and this leads men to be constrained and increases what they fear.

But their way of laying out the great smoothness³⁸ of the four seasons is not to be given up. The Confucians are

so broad that they lack what is essential,

they take painstaking efforts yet with little success.

Therefore, it is

hard to completely follow their practices.

Yet

their laying out the rules of propriety between lord and subject, father and son,

their ranking husband and wife, adult and young according to their differences

is not to be changed.

The Mohists are

so frugal that [it is] difficult to comply [with their rules].

Therefore,

one should not exclusively accept their practices.

Yet

their strengthening of the roots³⁹ and being economical with resources

should not be done away with.

The Legalists

are stern and know little mercy,⁴⁰

but their rectifying of lord and subject,

above and below the portions

is something that surely should not be altered.

The Rhetorists

cause one to be frugal

but they like to veer from truth.

But it is inadmissible not to look into their rectification of names and actualities.

The Taoists cause man to unify essence and spirit, in action to conform to being without form and to satisfy the ten thousand beings. The technique that they apply is to rely on the great smoothness of the Yin and Yang specialists, to select the good aspects from Confucians and Mohists, to grasp the essential parts of the Rhetorists and the Legalists,

to shift with the situation,

in reaction to beings to change and evolve,

to stand amidst worldly things and carry on services

so that there is nothing that should not be so.

Pointing to the concise, their [advice] is easy to handle,

their services are few, but their successes many.⁴¹

The Confucians are not like that. They think that the ruler over mankind is the ceremonial standard of all under Heaven, that the ruler takes the lead while the subjects join in, the ruler precedes while the subjects follow. In this way the ruler gets tired while the subjects are at ease. Arriving at the essentials of the great way you should do away with strength and the admirable, weaken the bright and intelligent, dissolve these and rely on techniques.⁴²

Now if the spirit is greatly used it gets exhausted, if the form is greatly tired it gets used up. If form and spirit move agitatedly and you want at the same time to persist eternally as Heaven and Earth, that this [could be done successfully] is not something I have heard of.

[3290] Now the Yin and Yang specialists have instructions and orders for each of the four seasons, the eight directions, the twelve measures and the 24 sections [of the year].⁴³ [They say that] those who obey them prosper, and if those who act contrary to them do not die [in person, their states] will perish. [But] since [what they say] is not necessarily true we say: “This leads men to be obstinate and in fear of many things.” Now spring gives birth, summer growth, autumn harvest, and winter closure. This is the great rule of the Heavenly Way. If one does not obey it, then one does not possess any means to provide a framework for All Under Heaven. Therefore, we say: “The great fitting order of the four seasons is not to be given up.”⁴⁴

Now the Confucians take the six disciplines as their model. Scriptures and [attached] traditions of the six disciplines number to the thousands and ten-thousands so that “in several generations one is not able to penetrate their teachings and in one’s [own] years not able to explore their rules of propriety.”⁴⁵ Therefore, we say: “They are broadly [educated] but have little that is essential, they take painstaking efforts yet with little success.” As far as their arrangement of the proper rules for the relation between ruler and servant, father and son, their giving order to the differentiation between husband and wife,...