Shen Jian (申鑑) · Volume 3

或曰仁義性也好惡情也仁義常善而好惡或有惡故有情惡也曰不然好惡者性之取捨也實見於外故謂之情爾必本乎性矣仁義者善之誠者也何嫌其常善好惡者善惡未有所分也何恠其有惡凡言神者莫近於氣有氣斯有形有神斯有好惡喜怒之情矣故人【人當作神】有情由氣之有形也氣有白黑神有善惡形與白黑偕【形之白黒隨氣而有】情與善惡偕【情之善惡隨神而彰即劉向性情相應之説】故氣黒非形之咎情【情當作神】惡非情之罪也【悅言形之黒本於氣情之惡本於性也】

Someone said: humaneness and righteousness are nature, while liking and disliking are feelings. Humaneness and righteousness are always good, while liking and disliking are sometimes bad, so there are bad feelings. The answer: not so. Liking and disliking are the choices of the nature, and only when actually expressed outwardly are they called feelings, which must be rooted in the nature. Humaneness and righteousness are the sincerity of the good; why object that they are always good? Liking and disliking are good and bad not yet separated; why blame them for being bad? Of all things spoken of as spirit, none is closer than qi: when there is qi there is form, and when there is spirit there are feelings of liking, disliking, joy and anger. So spirit (the source text has "person" here, which should read "spirit") has feelings just as qi has form. Qi may be white or black, and spirit may be good or bad. Form follows white and black (the whiteness or blackness of the form follows the qi), and feelings follow good and bad (the goodness or badness of the feelings shows according to the spirit, which is Liu Xiang's doctrine of correspondence between nature and feelings). So when qi is black, it is not the form's fault, and when spirit (the source text has "feelings," which should read "spirit") is bad, it is not the fault of the feelings. (Xun Yue means that the blackness of the form is rooted in qi, and the badness of the feelings is rooted in nature.)

或曰人之於利見而好之能以仁義為節者是性割其情也性少情多性不能割其情則情獨行為惡矣曰不然是善惡有多少也非情也有人於此嗜酒嗜肉肉勝則食焉酒勝則飲焉此二者相與爭勝者行矣【行謂食飲】非情慾得酒性慾得肉也有人於此好利好義義勝則義取焉利勝則利取焉此二者相與爭勝者行矣【行謂取義取利】非情慾得利性慾得義也其可兼者則兼取之其不可兼者則只取重焉若苟只好而已雖可兼取【當有闕文】矣若二好鈞平無分輕重則一俯一仰乍進乍退【相持不定】或曰請折於經曰易稱乾道變化各正性命是言萬物各有性也【幹彖曰乾道變化各正性命保合太和乃利貞】觀其所感而天地萬物之情可見矣是言情者應感而動者也【鹹彖曰天地感而萬物化生聖人感人心而天下和平觀其所感而天地萬物之情可見矣】昆蟲草木皆有性焉不盡善也【此復申情不獨惡之説】天地聖人皆稱情焉不主惡也【此復申性不獨善之説】又曰爻彖以情言亦如之【易繫辭曰八卦以象告爻彖以情言】凡情意心志者皆性動之別名也情見乎辭是稱情也【易繫辭曰聖人之情見乎辭】言不盡意是稱意也【易繫辭曰書不盡言言不盡意】中心好之是稱心也【詩彤弓曰我有嘉賔中心好之】以制其志是稱志也惟所宜各稱其名而已情何主惡之有故曰必也正名

Someone said: when people see profit they like it, and those who can restrain it by humaneness and righteousness are those whose nature cuts off their feelings. Nature is slight and feelings are many; when nature cannot cut off feelings, feelings act alone and do evil. The answer: not so. This is a matter of how much good and bad there is, not a question of feelings. Suppose someone is fond of both wine and meat: when meat prevails he eats meat, and when wine prevails he drinks wine; the two contend with each other, and whichever prevails is carried out (carrying out means eating and drinking), and it is not that the feelings want wine and the nature wants meat. Suppose someone likes both profit and righteousness: when righteousness prevails he takes righteousness, and when profit prevails he takes profit; the two contend with each other, and whichever prevails is carried out (carrying out means taking righteousness or taking profit), and it is not that the feelings want profit and the nature wants righteousness. What can be taken together is taken together, and what cannot be taken together, he takes only the weightier. If it is only a matter of liking alone, even if both could be taken (there seems to be missing text here). If the two likings are equal and one cannot tell which is weightier, then one bends and rises, advances and retreats by turns (remaining deadlocked). Someone said: please judge by the classics. The answer: the Book of Changes says that the Way of Qian transforms and changes and each sets its nature and destiny right, which means that all things have their own nature (the Commentary on the Judgment of Qian says: the Way of Qian transforms and changes, each sets its nature and destiny right, preserving and joining great harmony, and thus is it fitting and firm). Observe what they are moved by, and the feelings of heaven, earth and all things can be seen, which means that feelings move in response to stimulus (the Commentary on the Judgment of Xian says: heaven and earth are stimulated and all things are transformed and born; the sage stimulates people's hearts and the world is at peace; observe what they are stimulated by, and the feelings of heaven, earth and all things can be seen). Insects, grasses and trees all have nature, and not all are perfectly good (this reaffirms the thesis that "feelings are not bad alone"). Heaven, earth and the sage are all spoken of in terms of feelings, and these are not exclusively bad (this reaffirms the thesis that "nature is not good alone"). It is also said that the line statements and judgments speak in terms of feelings, and this is the same (the Appended Phrases of the Book of Changes say: the eight trigrams announce through images, and the line statements and judgments speak through feelings). Feelings, intent, heart and will are all other names for the movement of nature. "Feelings are revealed in the words" is calling it feelings (the Appended Phrases say: the feelings of the sage are revealed in the words). "Words do not exhaust the intent" is calling it intent (the Appended Phrases say: writing does not exhaust speech, and speech does not exhaust intent). "In the heart he loves them" is calling it heart (the Book of Songs, "The Red Bow," says: I have fine guests, and in my heart I love them). What is used to restrain one's aim is called will. They are simply each named according to what is suitable to them; how can feelings be exclusively bad? Therefore it is said that names must be rectified.

或曰善惡皆性也則法教何施曰性雖善待教而成性雖惡待法而消唯上智下愚不移【論語文】其次善惡交爭於是教扶其善法抑其惡得施之九品從教者半畏刑者四分之三其不移大數九分之一也一分之中又有防移者矣然則法教之於化民也幾盡之矣及法教之失也其為亂亦如之

Someone said: if good and bad both belong to nature, then what use are law and teaching? The answer: though nature may be good, it awaits teaching to be completed; though nature may be bad, it awaits law to be eliminated. Only the highest wisdom and the lowest folly do not change (a saying from the Analects). Next are those in whom good and bad contend, and so teaching helps the good and law restrains the bad. Of the nine grades that can be acted upon, half follow teaching, three quarters fear punishment, and those who do not change are about one ninth. Within one part there are also (the source text has a rare character here, lost in transcription) those who do not change. Thus law and teaching, as regards transforming the people, are almost exhaustive. When law and teaching are lost, the disorder it causes is also of this kind.

或曰法教得則治法教失則亂若無得無失縱民之情則治亂其中乎曰凡陽性升隂性降升難而降易善陽也惡隂也故善難而惡易縱民之情使自由之則降於下者多矣【若無法教則為惡者易故多】曰中焉在曰法教不純有得有失則治亂其中矣純徳無慝其上善也伏而不動其次也動而不行行而不逺逺而能復又其次也【動謂惡之萌動行則見之於外逺則行而不返】其下者逺而不近也凡此皆人性也制之者則心也動而抑之【遏於隱防】行而止之【禁於履踐】與上同性也行而弗止逺而弗近與下同終也

Someone said: when law and teaching are appropriate there is order, and when law and teaching are lost there is disorder. If there is neither gain nor loss and the people's feelings are given free rein, are order and disorder then in the midst of this? The answer: in general, the yang nature rises and the yin nature descends, and rising is hard while descending is easy. Good is yang and bad is yin, so good is hard and bad is easy. Therefore, when the people are left to do as they like, those who sink to the bottom are many (if there is no law and teaching, doing bad is easy, hence there are many). Asked: where is the middle? The answer: when law and teaching are not pure, with both gain and loss, order and disorder lie in the midst of this. Pure virtue without evil is the highest good; lying hidden without stirring is next; stirring but not acting, acting but not going far, going far but able to return, is again next (stirring refers to the stirring of the bad, acting is its manifestation outwardly, and going far is acting without return). The lowest is going far and not coming near. All these are human nature, and what restrains it is the mind. If it stirs, restrain it (stop it at the hidden place; the source text has a rare character here, lost in transcription), and if it acts, stop it (forbid it at the point of practice), then one is the same as the highest in character; if it acts without being stopped and goes far without coming near, one is the same as the lowest in outcome.

君子嘉仁而不責惠尊禮而不責意貴徳而不責怨其責也先已而行也先人淫惠曲意私怨此三者實枉貞道亂大徳然成敗得失莫匪由之救病不給其竟奚暇於道徳哉此之謂末俗故君子有常交曰義也有常誓曰信也交而後親誓而後故狹矣太上不異古今其次不異海內同天下之志者其盛徳乎大人之志不可見也浩然而同於道【大人之志渾合造化故不可窺量】眾人之志不可掩也察然而流於俗【眾庶之志流順世俗故易於昭鹽】同於道故不與俗浮沉【言大人合道故超俗】

The exemplary person commends humaneness but does not criticize generosity, honors ritual but does not criticize intention, values virtue but does not criticize resentment. His criticism begins with himself, and his action begins with others. Excessive generosity, bent intention and selfish resentment: these three truly warp the upright Way and disrupt great virtue. Yet success and failure, gain and loss all come from them, and when one cannot even cure illness in time, how can there be leisure to attend to morality? This is called the decadent custom. So the exemplary person's constant friendship is called righteousness, and his constant oath is called trustworthiness. To befriend first and then be close, or to swear first and then be intimate, is narrow. At the highest, one does not distinguish past from present; next, one does not distinguish within the seas. One who can unite the aims of the world has abundant virtue. The aim of the great person cannot be seen; it is vast and the same as the Way (the great person's aim merges with the work of creation, so it cannot be peered into or measured). The aim of the multitude cannot be hidden; it is plain and flows with the vulgar (the aim of the common crowd flows along with convention, and so is easily revealed). Being the same as the Way, he does not float and sink with the vulgar. (This says that the great person is in accord with the Way and so surpasses the vulgar.)

或曰脩行者不為人恥諸神明其至也乎曰未也自恥者本也恥諸神明其次也恥諸人外矣夫唯外則慝積於內矣故君子審乎自恥【能自愧恥則必能脩行而幽明無怍矣】

Someone said: one who cultivates conduct is not ashamed before others but ashamed before the spirits; is that the utmost? The answer: not yet. Shame before oneself is the root, shame before the spirits is next, and shame before others is external. Only when it is external does evil accumulate within. So the exemplary person examines his own sense of shame. (One who can feel shame before oneself will surely cultivate conduct, and so will be without shame before both the visible and the invisible.)

或曰恥者其志者乎曰未也夫志者自然由人何恥之有赴谷必墜失水必溺人見之也赴穽必陷失道必沈人不見之也不察之故君子慎乎所不察不聞大論則志不不聴至言則心不固思唐虞於上世瞻仲尼於中古而知夫小道者之足羞也想伯夷於首陽省四皓於商山而知夫穢志者之足恥也存張騫於西極【張騫漢中人建元中為郎應募使月氐與堂邑氏奴甘父俱出隴西徑匈奴匈奴得之傳詣單于留騫十餘嵗騫亡至大宛為發譯道抵康居康居傳致大月氐至大夏留嵗餘還並南山欲從羌中歸復為匈奴所得留嵗餘單于死國中亂騫與胡妻及堂邑父俱亡歸漢拜騫大中大夫初騫行時百餘人去十三嵗惟二人得還】念蘇武於朔埀【朔北方也】而知懷閭室者之足鄙也推斯類也無所不至矣德比於上【上謂聖賢】欲比於下【下謂貧賤】徳比於上故知恥欲比於下故知足恥而知之則聖賢其可幾知足而已則固陋其可安也聖賢斯幾況其為慝乎【必無邪慝】固陋斯安況其為侈乎【必無放侈】是謂有檢純乎純哉其上也其次得概而已矣莫匪概也得其概苟無邪斯可矣君子四省其身怒不亂德喜不【缺一字】義也

Someone said: is shame the aim? The answer: not yet. The aim comes naturally from a person, so what is there to be ashamed of? One who runs toward a valley will surely fall, and one who leaves the water will surely drown, and people can see this; one who runs toward a pit will surely fall into it, and one who loses the right way will surely sink, and people cannot see this. Because they do not perceive it, the exemplary person is careful about what is not perceived. If one does not hear great discourses, one's aim is not broad; if one does not hear supreme words, one's heart is not firm. Think of Yao and Shun in the high antiquity, look up to Confucius in the middle ancient age, and you will know that those who walk small paths have reason to be ashamed; think of Boyi at Shouyang and examine the Four Hoary Elders of Mount Shang, and you will know that those whose aims are foul have reason to feel shame; picture Zhang Qian in the far west (Zhang Qian was from Hanzhong, and in the Jianyuan years became a gentleman of the court; answering a call, he went as envoy to the Yuezhi, going out of Longxi together with Ganfu, a slave of the Tangyi family; passing through the Xiongnu, they were seized and sent to the Chanyu, who held Zhang Qian for more than ten years. Zhang Qian escaped to Dayuan, which sent men to translate and guide him to Kangju; Kangju sent him on to the Greater Yuezhi, and he stayed more than a year in Daxia before returning; following the Southern Mountains and hoping to return through the Qiang lands, he was again seized by the Xiongnu and kept for more than a year. When the Chanyu died and the state fell into turmoil, Zhang Qian fled back to Han with his Xiongnu wife and Tangyi Fu, and was appointed Grand Palace Grandee. When they first set out there were more than a hundred men; of those who went, in thirteen years only two returned), and think of Su Wu on the northern frontier (shuo means north), and you will know that those who only long for village lanes and home chambers are worthy of contempt. By analogy, there is nowhere this does not reach. Compare your virtue upward (upward means sages and worthies) and your desires downward (downward means the poor and lowly). Comparing virtue upward, one knows shame, and comparing desires downward, one knows contentment. Knowing shame, one can draw near to the sages and worthies; knowing contentment, one can be at ease in plainness. If one can draw near to the sages and worthies, how much less will one do evil (there will surely be no wickedness)! If one can be at ease in plainness, how much less will one be extravagant (there will surely be no excess)! This is called self-restraint. The purest is the highest, and next is to grasp the general outline only. There is nothing that is not an outline; if one grasps the general outline and has no wickedness, that is enough. The exemplary person examines himself four times: anger does not disorder virtue, and joy does not (one character missing) righteousness.