Zhong Shuo (中說) · Volume 7

大唐龍飛宇內樂業文中子之教未行扵時後進君子鮮克知之貞觀中魏文公有疾仲父太原府君問焉留宿宴語中夜而嘆太原府君曰何嘆也魏公曰大業之際徴也嘗與諸賢侍文中子謂徴及房杜等曰先輩雖聰明特達然非董薛程仇之比雖逢明王必愧禮樂徴扵時有不平之色文中子笑曰乆乆臨事當自知之及貞觀之始諸賢皆亡而徴也房李溫杜獲攀龍鱗朝廷大議未嘗不參預焉上臨軒謂群臣曰朕自處蕃邸及當宸極卿等每進諫正色鹹雲嘉言良策患人主不行若行之則三皇不足四五帝不足六朕誠虛薄然獨斷亦審矣雖徳非徇齊明謝濬哲至於聞義則服庶防乎古人矣諸公若有長乆之策一一陳之無有所隠房杜等奉詔舞蹈讃揚帝徳上曰止引群公內宴酒方行上曰設法施化貴在經乆秦漢已下不足襲也三代損益何者為當卿等悉心以對不患不行是時群公無敢對者徴在下坐為房杜所目因越席而對曰夏殷之禮既不可詳忠敬之化空聞其説孔子曰周監二代鬱郁乎文哉吾従週週禮公旦所裁詩書仲尼所述雖綱紀頽缺而節制具焉荀孟陳之於前董賈伸之扵後遺談餘義可舉而行若陛下重張皇墳更造帝典則非駑劣所能議及也若擇前代憲章發明王道則臣請以周典唯所施行上大悅翌日又召房杜及徴俱入上曰朕昨夜讀周禮真聖作也首篇雲惟王建國辨方正位體國經野設官分職以為人極誠哉深乎良乆謂徴曰朕思之不井田不封建不肉刑而欲行周公之道不可得也大易之義隨時順人周任有言陳力就列若能一一行之誠朕所願如或不及強希大道畫虎不成為將來所笑公等可盡慮之因詔宿中書省防議數日卒不能定而徴尋請退上雖不復揚言而閒宴之次謂徴曰禮壊樂崩朕甚憫之昔漢章帝眷眷於張純今朕急急於卿等有志不就古人攸悲徴跪奏曰非陛下不能行蓋臣等無素業爾何愧如之然漢文以清靜富邦家孝宣以章程練名實光武責成委吏功臣獲全肅宗重學尊師儒風大舉陛下明徳獨茂兼而有焉雖未冠三代亦千載一時惟陛下雖休勿休則禮樂度數徐思其宜教化之行何慮晚也上曰時難得而易失朕所以遑遑也卿退無有後言徴與房杜等並慙栗再拜而出房謂徴曰齡與公竭力輔國然言及禮樂則非命世大才不足以望陛下清光矣昔文中子不以禮樂賜予良有以也向使董薛在適不至此噫有元首無股肱不無可嘆也十七年魏公薨太原府君哭之慟十九年授餘以中説又以魏公之言告予因敘其事時貞觀二十年九月記

When the great Tang arose, all within the seas lived in peace and contentment. Wenzhongzi's teaching had not yet been put into practice then, and few gentlemen of the later generation could know it. In the Zhenguan years Wei Wengong (Wei Zheng) fell ill, and my uncle, Lord of Taiyuan, went to ask after him (the base text has a character lost in transcription, by sense "asked after his illness") and stayed overnight talking. At midnight Lord Wei sighed. The Lord of Taiyuan said: "Why do you sigh?" Lord Wei said: "In the Daye years, I, Wei Zheng, once served Wenzhongzi together with the worthies. Wenzhongzi said to Zheng, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui and others: 'You gentlemen, though intelligent and gifted, cannot compare with Dong Chang, Xue Shou, Cheng Yuan or Qiu Zhang. Even if you meet an enlightened king, you will surely be ashamed in matters of rites and music.' I then had a look of displeasure on my face. Wenzhongzi smiled and said: 'In time, when the matter comes, you will know it yourselves.' In the early Zhenguan years, those worthies had all died, while I, Wei Zheng, together with Fang Xuanling, Li Jing, Wen Daya and Du Ruhui, were able to cling to the dragon's scales, and there was no great court deliberation in which we did not take part. His Majesty, from his throne, said to the ministers: 'From my time in the princely residence to my taking the throne, each time you remonstrated your faces were stern, and you all said that fine words and good plans only fear the ruler not putting them into practice; if put into practice, even the Three Sovereigns would not suffice to make four and the Five Emperors would not suffice to make six. I am truly thin in virtue, but I am also careful in deciding alone. My virtue may not match swift sagacity, and my intelligence is inferior to deep wisdom, but in obeying righteousness when I hear it, I perhaps nearly match the ancients. If you gentlemen have a plan for the long term, state it one by one and hold nothing back.' Fang, Du and the others, receiving the order, danced and praised the emperor's virtue. His Majesty said: 'Enough.' He led the gentlemen into an inner banquet. When the wine had just gone round, His Majesty said: 'In establishing laws and applying transformation, what matters is lasting long. From Qin and Han onward there is nothing worth following. Of the gains and losses of the Three Dynasties, which is fitting? You gentlemen answer with all your hearts, and do not worry that I will not put it into practice.' At this time none of the gentlemen dared to reply. I sat in the lower seat, was signaled by Fang and Du, and left my place to answer: 'The rites of Xia and Yin can no longer be known in detail, and the teachings of loyalty and reverence are only heard of in empty words. Confucius said: Zhou looked back on two dynasties, how rich in culture it is, I follow Zhou. The rites of Zhou were set by the Duke of Zhou, the Songs and Documents were transmitted by Zhongni; though the bonds are fragmentary, the regulations are still complete. Xunzi and Mencius set it out before, Dong Zhongshu and Jia Yi extended it after, and the remaining talk and leftover meaning can be taken up and practiced. If Your Majesty wishes to expand again the tombs of the Three Sovereigns and make anew the canons of the Five Emperors, that is not something my dull and inferior talent can discuss. If Your Majesty chooses the institutions of a former dynasty and makes clear the kingly Way, then I ask to use the canon of Zhou and leave it to be carried out.' His Majesty was greatly pleased. The next day he summoned Fang, Du and me to come in together. His Majesty said: 'Last night I read the Rites of Zhou; it is truly the work of a sage. Its first chapter says: The king establishes the state, distinguishes the directions and fixes the positions, lays out the capital and divides the fields, sets up offices and divides duties, to be the pole for the people. Truly, how profound!' After a long time he said to me: 'I think: without the well-field system, without enfeoffing lords, without restoring mutilating punishments, yet wanting to practice the Way of the Duke of Zhou, cannot be done. The meaning of the Changes is to follow the times and accord with the people. Zhou Ren has a saying: exert strength and take one's place in the ranks. If it can be put into practice one by one, that is truly what I wish; if it cannot, to force a search for the great Way is like drawing a tiger and producing a dog, and will be laughed at in future. You gentlemen may consider with all your hearts.' So an edict was issued letting us stay overnight at the Secretariat to deliberate for several days (the base text's "fang yi" should be "ji yi"), but in the end it could not be decided, and not long after I asked leave to retire. Though His Majesty did not speak of it publicly again, at leisurely banquets he said to me: 'Rites are ruined and music has collapsed, and I deeply pity it. Formerly Emperor Zhang of Han fondly looked after Zhang Chun, and now I urgently look to you gentlemen. To have the aim and be unable to accomplish it is something the ancients also grieved over.' I knelt and replied: 'It is not that Your Majesty cannot do it, it is that we, your ministers, lack the learning of earlier days. What is more shameful than this? Yet Emperor Wen of Han made the state rich through quiet, Emperor Xuan tested names against reality by regulation, Emperor Guangwu demanded results and entrusted affairs to officials so that meritorious ministers were preserved, and Emperor Su valued learning and honored teachers so that Confucian customs greatly flourished. Your Majesty's bright virtue stands alone and combines all these. Though it has not yet crowned the Three Dynasties, it is a chance once in a thousand years. I only hope Your Majesty, though having fine virtue, will not rest on it; then rites, music and measures can be slowly considered for what suits, and why worry that the spread of transformation is late?' His Majesty said: 'The occasion is hard to get and easily lost, and that is why I am anxious. Withdraw, and do not have afterwords.' Fang, Du and I were all ashamed and trembling, and bowed twice and left. Fang Xuanling said to me: 'Xuanling and you have exhausted our strength in assisting the state, but when it comes to rites and music we are not great talents of the age and are not enough to look upon His Majesty's pure light. Formerly Wenzhongzi did not entrust rites and music to us, and there was truly a reason. If Dong Chang and Xue Shou were still alive, it would not have come to this. Alas, with a head but no limbs, one cannot help sighing!' In the seventeenth year Lord Wei died, and the Lord of Taiyuan wept bitterly. In the nineteenth year he gave the Zhongshuo to me and told me Lord Wei's words, hence I relate this matter. Recorded in the ninth month of the twentieth year of Zhenguan.

東臯先生諱績字無功文中子之季弟也棄官不仕耕於東臯自號東臯子貞觀初仲父太原府君為監察御史彈侯君集事連長孫太尉由是獲罪時杜淹為御史大夫密奏仲父直言非辜扵是太尉與杜公有隙而王氏兄弟皆抑而不用矣季父與陳尚書叔達相善陳公方撰隋史季父持文中子世家與陳公編之陳公亦避太尉之權藏而未出重重作書遺季父深言懃懇季父荅書其略曰亡兄昔與諸公逰其言皇王之道至矣僕與仲兄侍側頗聞大義亡兄曰吾周之後也世習禮樂子孫當遇王者得申其道則王業不墜其天乎其天乎時魏文公對曰夫子有後矣天將啟之徴也儻逢明主願翼其道無敢忘之及仲兄出胡蘓令杜大夫嘗扵上前言其朴忠太尉聞之怒而魏公適入奏事見太尉魏公曰君集之事果虛耶御史當反其坐果實耶太尉何疑焉扵是意稍解然杜與仲父抗志不屈魏公亦退朝黙然其後君集果誅且吾家豈不幸而為多言見窮乎抑天實未啟其道乎僕今耕於野有年矣無一言以禆於時無一勢以托其跡沒齒東臯醉醒自適而己然念先文中之述作門人傳受升堂者半在廊廟續經及中説未及講求而行嗟乎足下知心者顧僕何為哉願記亡兄之言庶防不墜足矣謹録世家既去餘在福郊面悉其意幸甚

Master Donggao, named Ji and styled Wugong, was Wenzhongzi's youngest brother. He abandoned office and did not serve, farmed at Donggao, and styled himself Donggaozi. In the early Zhenguan years, my uncle the Lord of Taiyuan, as Censor, impeached Hou Junji, and the matter involved Grand Commandant Changsun, so he was found guilty. At that time Du Yan was Censor-in-Chief and secretly reported that my uncle had spoken straight and had no fault, so the Grand Commandant and Lord Du fell out, and the Wang brothers were all suppressed and not employed. My youngest uncle was on good terms with Minister Chen Shuda. Lord Chen was then compiling the History of the Sui, and my uncle gave him the Family of Wenzhongzi to include. Lord Chen also avoided the Grand Commandant's power and kept it hidden without bringing it out, writing letter after letter to my uncle in earnest terms. My uncle replied, in brief: "My late brother formerly associated with the gentlemen, and what he spoke of as the Way of the august kings reached the utmost. I and my second brother attended him and heard much of the great meaning. My late brother said: 'I am a later descendant of Zhou, and our family has taught rites and music for generations. Our descendants should meet a true king and be able to make his Way plain, and then the kingly work will not fall. It is Heaven's will! It is Heaven's will!' At that time Lord Wei Wen replied: 'The Master has descendants, and Heaven is about to open the way for them. If I, Wei Zheng, meet an enlightened ruler, I wish to assist his Way and dare not forget.' When my second brother went out as magistrate of Husu, Censor-in-Chief Du once said before the emperor that he was plain and loyal. The Grand Commandant heard it and was angry. Lord Wei happened to enter to report a matter and saw the Grand Commandant. Lord Wei said: 'Is Junji's matter really false? Then that censor should be charged in return. Is it really true? Why does the Grand Commandant doubt?' So the Grand Commandant's mood eased somewhat. But Lord Du and my uncle held their ground and did not yield, and Lord Wei was silent as well on leaving court. Later Hou Junji was indeed executed. Moreover, was it not our family's misfortune to be impoverished by speaking too much? Or has Heaven really not yet opened that Way? I have farmed in the wilds for many years now, without a word of benefit to the times and without a bit of influence to rest my traces on, growing old at Donggao, content in drunkenness and sobriety. Yet I think of the works of our late Wenzhongzi, whose disciples transmitted and received them, and half of those who entered the hall are now in the court, but the continuation of the Classics and the Zhongshuo have not yet been studied and put into practice. Alas, you are a close friend; what do you see that I can still do? I hope you will record my late brother's words so that they do not fall, and that will be enough." I respectfully copied out the Family and sent it. After sending it off, Fujiao and I fully took in his meaning face to face, and felt honored.

闗朗字子明河東解人也有經濟大器妙極占筭浮沈鄉里不求官達太和末餘五代祖穆公封晉陽尚書署朗為公府記室穆公與談易各相歎服穆公謂曰足下竒才也不可使天子不識入言於孝文帝帝曰張彛郭祚嘗言之朕以卜筭小道不之見爾穆公曰此人道防言深殆非彛祚能盡識也詔見之帝問老易朗寄發明宗實陳王道諷帝慈儉為本飾之以刑政禮樂帝嘉嘆謂穆公曰先生知人矣昨見子明管樂之器豈占筭而已穆公再拜對曰昔伊尹負鼎於成湯今子明假占筭以謁陛下臣主感遇自有所因後宜任之帝曰且與卿就成筮論既而頻日引見際暮而出防帝有烏丸之役勑子明隨穆公出鎮幷州軍國大議馳驛而聞故穆公易筮往往如神先是穆公之在江左也不平袁粲之死恥食齊粟故蕭氏受禪而穆公北奔即齊建元元年魏太和三年也時穆公春秋五十二矣奏事曰大安四載防臣始生葢宋大明二年也既北逰河東人莫之知惟盧陽烏深竒之曰王佐才也太和八年徴為秘書郎遷給事黃門侍郎以謂孝文有康世之意而經制不立從容閒宴多所奏議帝虛心納之遷都雒邑進用王肅由穆公之潛策也又薦闗子明帝亦敬服謂穆公曰嘉謀長策勿慮不行朕南征還日當共論道以究治體穆公與朗欣然相賀曰千載一時也俄帝崩穆公歸洛逾年而薨朗遂不仕同州府君師之受春秋及易共隠臨汾山景明四年同州府君服闋援琴切切然有憂時之思子明聞之曰何聲之悲乎府君曰彥誠悲先君與先生有志不就也子明曰樂則行之憂則違之府君曰彥聞治亂損益各以數至苟推其運百世可知願先生以筮一為決之何如子明曰占筭幽防多則有惑請命蓍卦以百年為斷府君曰諾扵是揲蓍布卦遇夬之革【兊上幹下】【兊上離下】舍蓍而嘆曰當今大運不過一再傳爾従今甲申二十四歳戊申大亂而禍始宮掖有蕃臣秉政世伏其強若用之以道則桓文之舉也如不以道臣主俱屠地府君曰其人安出朗曰參代之墟有異氣焉若出其在並之郊乎府君曰此人不振蒼生何屬子曰當有二雄舉而中原分府君曰各能成乎朗曰我隙彼動能無成乎若無賢人扶之恐不能成府君曰請刻其歳朗曰始扵甲寅卒扵庚子天之數也府君曰何國先亡朗曰不戰徳而用詐權則舊者先亡也府君曰其後如何朗曰辛丑之歳有恭儉之主起布衣而並六合府君曰其東南乎朗曰必在西北乎大亂者未可以文治必須武定且西北用武之國也東南之俗其弊也剽西北之俗其興也勃又況東南中國之舊主也中國之廢乆矣天之所廢孰能興之府君曰東南之歳可刻乎朗曰東南運厯不出三百大賢大聖不可卒遇能終其運所幸多矣且辛丑明王當興定天下者不出九載己酉江東其危乎府君曰明王既興其道若何朗曰設有始有卒五帝三王之化復矣若非其道則終驕亢而晚節末路有桀紂之主出焉先王之道墜地乆矣苛化虐政其窮必酷故曰大軍之後必有凶年積亂之後必有兇主理當然也府君曰先王之道竟亡乎朗曰何謂亡也夫明王乆曠必有達者生焉行其典禮此三才五常之所繫也孔子曰文王既沒文不在茲乎故王道不能亡也府君曰請推其數朗曰乾坤之策隂陽之數推而行之不過三百六十六引而伸之不過三百八十四天之道也噫朗聞之先聖與卦象相契自魏已降天下無真主故黃初元年庚子至今八十四年更八十二年丙午三百六十六矣達者當生更十八年甲子其與王者合乎用之則王道振不用洙泗之教修矣府君曰其人安出朗曰其唐晉之郊乎昔殷後不王而仲尼生週週後不王則斯人生晉夫生扵周者周公之餘烈也生扵晉者陶唐之遺風也天地冥契其數自然府君曰厥後何如朗曰自甲申至甲子正百年矣過此未或知也府君曰先生説卦皆持二端朗曰何謂也府君曰先生毎及興亡之際必曰用之以道輔之以賢未可量也是非二端乎朗曰夫象生有定數吉凶有前期變而能通故治亂有可易之理是以君子之扵易動則觀其變而玩其占問之而後行考之而後舉欲令天下順時而進知難而退此占筭所以見重扵先王也故曰危者使平易者使傾善人少惡人多暗主眾明君寡堯舜繼禪厯代不逢伊周復辟近古亦絶非運之不可變也化之不可行也道悠世促求才實難或有臣而無君或有君而無臣故全之者鮮矣仲尼曰如有用我者吾其為東周乎此有臣而無君也章帝曰堯作大章一夔足矣此有君而無臣也是以文武之業遂淪扵仲尼禮樂之美不行扵章帝治亂之漸必有厥由而興廢之成終罕所遇易曰功業見乎變此之謂也何謂無二端府君曰周公定鼎於郟鄏卜世三十卜年八百豈亦二端乎朗曰聖人輔相天地凖繩隂陽恢皇綱立人極脩策迥馭長羅逺羈昭治亂扵未然算成敗扵無兆固有不易之數不定之期假使庸主守之賊臣犯之終不促已成之期於未衰之運故曰周徳雖衰天命未改聖人知明王賢相不可必遇聖謀睿策有時而弊故考之典禮稽之策即人事以申天命懸厯數以示將來或有已盛而更衰或過算而不及是故聖人之法所可貴也向使明王繼及良佐踵武則當億萬斯年與天無極豈止三十世八百年而已哉過算餘年者非先王之功即桓文之力也天意人事豈徒然哉府君曰防不出聖謀乎朗曰聖謀定將來之基防告未來之事遞相表裡安有異同府君曰大哉人謨朗曰人謀所以安天下也夫天下大器也置之安地則安置之危地則危是以平路安車狂夫審乎難覆乗奔馭朽童子知其必危豈有周禮既行厯數不延乎八百秦法既立宗祧能逾乎二世噫天命人事其同歸乎府君曰先生所刻治亂興廢果何道也朗曰文質遞用勢運相乗稽損益以驗其時百代無隠考防而研其慮千載可知未之思歟夫何逺之有府君蹶然驚起因書策而蔵之退而學易蓋王氏易道宗扵朗焉其後宣武正始元年歳次甲申至孝文永安元年二十四歳戊申而胡後作亂爾朱榮起幷州君臣相殘繼踵屠地及周齊分覇卒並扵西始扵甲寅終扵庚子皆如其言明年辛丑歳隋髙祖受禪果以恭儉定天下開皇元年安康獻公老扵家謂銅川府君曰闗生殆聖矣其言未來若合符契開皇四年銅川夫人經山梁履巨石而有娠既而生文中子先丙午之期者二載爾獻公筮之曰此子當之矣開皇六年丙午文中子知書矣厥聲載路九年己酉江東平髙祖之政始迨仁夀四年甲子文中子謁見髙祖而道不行大業之政甚扵桀紂扵是文中子曰不可以有為矣遂退居汾陽續詩書論禮樂江都失守文中寢疾嘆曰天將啟堯舜之運而吾不遇焉嗚呼此闗先生所言皆驗也

Guan Lang, style name Ziming, was a native of Jie in Hedong. He had the great capacity to order the world and relieve the people, and his skill in divination and calculation was exquisite in the extreme, but he drifted about the villages and did not seek office or distinction. In the last years of Taihe, my fifth-generation ancestor Duke Mu was enfeoffed at Jinyang, and the Secretariat appointed Guan Lang as a secretary in the duke's office. Duke Mu discussed the Book of Changes with him, and each admired the other. Duke Mu said to him: "You are a rare talent, and the Son of Heaven must not be left without knowing you." He went in and spoke to Emperor Xiaowen. The emperor said: "Zhang Yi and Guo Zuo have spoken of him before, but I consider divination a minor art, and I simply have not seen him." Duke Mu said: "This man's principles are subtle and his words are penetrating (the original reads 'dao fang yan shen', where 'fang' is probably an error for 'wei', meaning subtle), and probably neither Zhang Yi nor Guo Zuo could fully recognize him." An edict summoned him. The emperor asked about the Laozi and the Book of Changes, and Guan Lang, lodging his message in an exposition of the profound doctrine, set out the kingly way in practical terms, admonishing the emperor to take kindness and frugality as the root and then adorn it with punishments, government, ritual and music. The emperor praised and admired him, and said to Duke Mu: "You are a judge of men. When I saw Ziming yesterday, he had the capacity of Guan Zhong or Yue Yi; how could he be merely a diviner?" Duke Mu bowed twice and replied: "Long ago Yi Yin carried a cauldron on his back to meet Cheng Tang; now Ziming has used divination to present himself to Your Majesty. When ruler and minister meet in sympathy, each has his own reason, and afterward he should be employed." The emperor said: "For now, let me complete the discussion of divination with you." He then summoned him for audiences over many days, and he came out only at dusk. When the emperor went on the campaign against the Wuwan (the original has 'fang di', where 'fang' is an error for 'ji'), he ordered Ziming to accompany Duke Mu in garrisoning Bingzhou, and great decisions on military and state affairs were sent by courier horse to the court, so Duke Mu's Changes divinations were often like those of a spirit. Earlier, when Duke Mu was in Jiangzuo, he had been indignant at the death of Yuan Can and ashamed to eat the grain of the Qi dynasty, so when the Xiao house received the abdication, Duke Mu fled north, which was in the first year of Jianyuan of Qi and the third year of Taihe of Wei. At that time Duke Mu was fifty-two, and he reported: "In the fourth year of Da'an I was born." That would be about the second year of Daming of Song. After he traveled north to Hedong, people did not know him, except that Lu Yangwu was deeply astonished and said: "This is a talent fit to assist a king." In the eighth year of Taihe he was summoned as a secretary in the palace library and promoted to attendant gentleman of the Yellow Gate. He considered that Emperor Xiaowen had the intention of saving and aiding the world, yet regulations had not been established, so in relaxed and leisurely banquets he offered many proposals, and the emperor accepted them with an open mind. The moving of the capital to Luoyang and the employment of Wang Su all came from Duke Mu's quiet planning. He also recommended Guan Ziming, whom the emperor likewise respected, and the emperor said to Duke Mu: "With fine counsel and long strategy, there is no need to worry that it cannot be carried out. On the day I return from the southern campaign, we shall discuss the Way together to explore the essence of governance." Duke Mu and Guan Lang congratulated each other happily, saying: "This is a once-in-a-thousand-years moment." Soon the emperor died. Duke Mu returned to Luoyang and died a year later. Guan Lang then no longer held office. The Lord of Tongzhou took him as his teacher and received the Spring and Autumn Annals and the Book of Changes, and they lived in seclusion together on Mount Linfen. In the fourth year of Jingming, when the Lord of Tongzhou finished his mourning, he played the zither with a plaintive sound, with a mind troubled by the times. Ziming heard it and said: "Why is the sound so sad?" The Lord said: "I, Wang Yan, truly grieve that my late father and you, teacher, had a purpose that could not be accomplished." Ziming said: "When joyful, act; when anxious, withdraw." The Lord said: "I have heard that order and disorder, loss and gain each arrive according to number, and if one calculates that cycle, a hundred generations can be known. I wish you would decide it with the milfoil; how would that be?" Ziming said: "Divination is subtle (the original has 'you fang', where 'fang' is probably 'wei'), and too much of it leads to confusion. Let me cast the stalks and set up a hexagram, with a hundred years as the limit." The Lord said: "Good." So he counted the stalks and laid out the hexagram, and obtained Guai changing to Ge. [Dui above Qian below] [Dui above Li below] (the original had the two hexagram figures, lost in transcription). He set down the stalks and sighed, saying: "The great cycle of the present time will pass only one or two more generations. From now, the jiashen year, for twenty-four years until wushen, there will be great disorder, and the calamity will begin in the palace; a vassal minister will seize control of government, and the world will submit to his strength. If he uses the Way, it will be an undertaking like Duke Huan of Qi or Duke Wen of Jin; if he does not use the Way, ruler and ministers will all be slaughtered and destroyed." The Lord said: "Where will that man come from?" Guan Lang said: "In the old ruins of Shen and Dai there is a strange qi. If he comes out, it would probably be in the outskirts of Bingzhou?" The Lord said: "If this man does not rise, to whom will the common people belong?" Ziming said: "Two heroes will rise together, and the Central Plain will split." The Lord said: "Will each succeed?" Guan Lang said: "On my side there is a gap and on the other side there is movement; how could it not succeed? But without the support of worthy men, I fear it cannot be accomplished." The Lord said: "Please fix those years." Guan Lang said: "It begins with jiayin and ends with gengzi, which is Heaven's number." The Lord said: "Which state will perish first?" Guan Lang said: "The one that does not contend through virtue but uses deceit and power; the old one will perish first." The Lord said: "And what comes after that?" Guan Lang said: "In the xinchou year, a respectful and frugal ruler will rise from commoner status and swallow up the six directions." The Lord said: "In the southeast?" Guan Lang said: "It must be in the northwest. In a time of great disorder one cannot govern by culture; one must settle by arms, and the northwest is a state of arms. The weakness of southeastern customs is their lightness and recklessness; the rise of northwestern customs is sudden vigor. Moreover, the southeast was the former ruler of China. China has been in decay for a long time; what Heaven has abandoned, who can raise?" The Lord said: "Can the years of the southeast be fixed?" Guan Lang said: "The southeast's calendar will not exceed three hundred years. Great worthies and great sages cannot be met in haste, and being able to complete that cycle is already much good fortune. Moreover, an enlightened king will rise in xinchou, and the pacification of the world will take no more than nine years, and in jiyou the southeast of Jiangdong is probably in danger." The Lord said: "Since the enlightened king has risen, what will his Way be like?" Guan Lang said: "If he has a beginning and an end, the teaching of the Five Emperors and Three Kings will be restored. If it is not that Way, he will end in arrogance, and at the end of his course there will appear a ruler like Jie or Zhou. The way of the former kings has fallen to the ground for a long time, and harsh transformation and cruel government, when exhausted, must be severe. So it is said that after great armies there must be years of famine, and after accumulated disorder there must be a cruel ruler; the principle is just so." The Lord said: "Is the way of the former kings really lost?" Guan Lang said: "How can it be said to be lost? When an enlightened king does not appear for a long time, a man of penetration must be born who carries out those rites, and this is what is held together by the three powers and five constants. Confucius said: With King Wen gone, is culture not here? So the kingly way cannot be lost." The Lord said: "Please calculate that number." Guan Lang said: "The counting rods of Qian and Kun and the numbers of yin and yang, when extended and applied, do not exceed three hundred and sixty-six, and when drawn out and expanded do not exceed three hundred and eighty-four; this is the Way of Heaven. Ah, what I, Lang, heard from the former sages agrees with the hexagram images. Since Wei there has been no true ruler in the world, so from the first year of Huangchu, gengzi, to now is eighty-four years; eighty-two more years to bingwu makes three hundred and sixty-six, and the man of penetration should be born; eighteen years after that, jiazi, he will probably meet a king. If he is used, the kingly way will be revived; if not, the teaching of the Zhu and Si rivers will cultivate itself and become clear." The Lord said: "Where will that man come from?" Guan Lang said: "Probably in the outskirts of Tang and Jin. Formerly the descendants of Yin could not be kings, and Zhongni was born in Zhou; if the descendants of Zhou cannot be kings, then this man will be born in Jin. One born in Zhou was the remaining glory of the Duke of Zhou; one born in Jin carries the lingering ways of Tao and Tang. Heaven and earth agree in secret, and that number is natural." The Lord said: "And after that?" Guan Lang said: "From jiashen to jiazi is exactly a hundred years. Beyond this I may not know." The Lord said: "In speaking of hexagrams, you always grasp both ends." Guan Lang said: "What do you mean?" The Lord said: "At every moment of rise and fall, you always say that if one uses the Way and is assisted by the worthy, it cannot be measured. Is that not two ends?" Guan Lang said: "An image has its fixed number from birth, and fortune and misfortune have their advance periods; but change can lead to penetration, so there is a principle by which order and disorder can be altered. Therefore the gentleman, in regard to the Changes, when he moves observes its changes and savors its divination, acts after asking, and undertakes after examining, wishing the world to advance with the times and to retreat when it knows difficulty; this is why divination was valued by the former kings. So it is said: make the precarious secure, and overturn the negligent. Good people are few and bad people many, benighted rulers numerous and enlightened ones rare. Yao and Shun passed on the throne in succession, but later generations did not meet such; Yi Yin and the Duke of Zhou re-established rulers, but in recent times this too has vanished. It is not that the cycle cannot change, nor that teaching cannot be carried out; the Way is long and the age is short, and truly it is hard to find talent. Some have ministers but no ruler, some have a ruler but no ministers, so few are preserved. Zhongni said: If someone were to use me, would I not make an eastern Zhou? This is having a minister but no ruler. Emperor Zhang said: Yao made the Great Zhang music, and one Kui was enough. This is having a ruler but no minister. Therefore the work of Wen and Wu fell upon Zhongni, and the beauty of ritual and music could not be carried out under Emperor Zhang. The gradual change of order and disorder must have its cause, but the completion of rise and decline is rarely met with. The Book of Changes says: Achievement is seen in change. This is what it means. How can it be said there are not two ends?" The Lord said: "When the Duke of Zhou fixed the cauldrons at Jiaru, he divined thirty generations and eight hundred years; is that also two ends?" Guan Lang said: "The sage assists Heaven and earth, takes yin and yang as his rule, enlarges the imperial net, establishes the human ultimate, drives with a long whip from afar and casts a long net far away, showing order and disorder before they have formed and reckoning success and failure where there is no sign, and there are certainly numbers that cannot be altered and periods that cannot be fixed in advance. If a mediocre ruler holds to it and a rebel minister offends against it, in the end he will not hasten a period already formed onto a cycle that has not yet declined. So it is said that although Zhou's virtue declined, Heaven's mandate had not changed. The sage knows that an enlightened king and a worthy minister cannot necessarily be met, and that a sage's plans and wise strategies sometimes break down, so he examines them in ritual and canon, checks them with tortoise and milfoil, uses human affairs to set out Heaven's mandate, and hangs up the calendrical numbers to point to the future. Some have flourished and then declined, some have exceeded the calculation but could not catch up, so the sage's method is valuable. If enlightened kings continued to come and good assistants advanced one after another, then it should last ten thousand million years like Heaven with no end; how could it be only thirty generations and eight hundred years? The years beyond the calculation are either the merit of the former kings or the strength of Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin. Are Heaven's will and human affairs ever in vain?" The Lord said: "Do the tortoise and milfoil (the character for 'tortoise' was lost in transcription) not come out of the sage's plan?" Guan Lang said: "The sage's plan sets the foundation of the future, and the tortoise and milfoil announce what is to come; they serve as outside and inside to each other, so how could they differ?" The Lord said: "Great are human plans!" Guan Lang said: "Human plans are used to settle the world. The world is a great vessel; put in a safe place it is safe, put in a dangerous place it is dangerous. Hence a steady cart on a level road, even a madman understands, is hard to overturn; riding a galloping horse and driving with a rotten rope, even a child knows it must be dangerous. How could Zhou's ritual have been carried out and yet its calendar not extend to eight hundred years, or Qin's law have been established and yet its ancestral temple have lasted beyond the second generation? Ah, Heaven's mandate and human affairs probably come to the same end." The Lord said: "The order, disorder, rise and decline that you have fixed, what Way is it ultimately?" Guan Lang said: "Form and substance are used in turn, and force and cycle ride on each other. If you examine loss and gain to verify that time, in a hundred generations nothing is hidden; if you consult tortoise and milfoil to investigate that concern, a thousand years can be known. It is just that people have not thought about it; what is far about it?" The Lord rose abruptly in astonishment, and thereupon wrote down the plan and stored it. He withdrew and studied the Changes, and the Wang family's Changes tradition probably honors Guan Lang. Later, in the first year of Zhengshi of Emperor Xuanwu, the year jiashen; in the first year of Yong'an of Emperor Xiaoming, twenty-four years later, wushen, Empress Dowager Hu caused disorder, Erzhu Rong rose from Bingzhou, and rulers and ministers killed one another and were slaughtered in succession. When Zhou and Qi split and contended for supremacy, they were finally absorbed in the west, beginning with jiayin and ending with gengzi, all as he had said. The next year, xinchou, Emperor Gaozu of Sui received the abdication and indeed used respect and frugality to settle the world. In the first year of Kaihuang, the Duke Xian of Ankang, aged at home, said to the Lord of Tongchuan: "Master Guan was almost a sage; what he said about the future matches like a tally." In the fourth year of Kaihuang, the lady of Tongchuan crossed a mountain ridge, stepped on a great stone and became pregnant, and later gave birth to Wenzhongzi, two years earlier than the bingwu date. Duke Xian divined and said: "This child bears that number." In the sixth year of Kaihuang, bingwu, Wenzhongzi already knew books, and his voice filled the road. In the ninth year, jiyou, Jiangdong was pacified, and Gaozu's government began to press hard. In the fourth year of Renshou, jiazi, Wenzhongzi had an audience with Gaozu, but the Way could not be carried out. The government of Daye was worse than that of Jie and Zhou, and Wenzhongzi said: "Nothing can be done." So he retired to Fenyang, continued the Songs and Documents, and discussed ritual and music. When Jiangdu fell, Wenzhongzi lay ill and sighed, saying: "Heaven is about to open the cycle of Yao and Shun, and I do not meet it. Alas!" This is what Master Guan said, and all of it was fulfilled.

太原府君諱凝字叔恬文中子亞弟也貞觀初君子道亨我先君門人布在廊廟將播厥師訓施於王道遂求其書扵仲父仲父以編寫未就不之出故六經之義代莫得聞仲父釋褐為監察御史時御史大夫杜淹謂仲父曰子聖賢之弟也有異聞乎仲父曰凝忝同氣昔亡兄講道河汾亦嘗預扵斯然六經之外無所聞也淹曰昔門人鹹存記焉蓋薛收姚義綴而名曰中説茲書天下之昌言也防而顯曲而當旁貫大義宏闡教源門人請問之端文中行事之跡則備矣子盍求諸家仲父曰凝以喪亂以來未遑及也退而求之得中説一百餘紙大抵雜記不著篇目首卷及序則蠧絶磨滅未能詮次防仲父黜為胡蘓令嘆曰文中子之教不可不宣也日月逝矣歳不我與乃解印而歸大考六經之目而繕録焉禮論樂論各亡其五篇續詩續書各亡小序惟元經讃易具存焉得六百六十五篇勒成七十五卷分為六部號曰王氏六經仲父謂諸子曰大哉兄之述也以言乎皇綱帝道則大明矣以言乎天地之間則無不至焉自春秋以來未有若斯之述也又謂門人曰不可使文中之後不達扵茲也乃召諸子而授焉貞觀十六年餘二十一歳受六經之義三年頗通大略嗚呼小子何足以知之而有志焉十九年仲父被起為洛州録事又以中説授餘曰先兄之緒言也餘再拜曰中説之為教也務約致深言寡理大其比方論語之記乎孺子奉之無使失墜餘因而辨類分宗編為十編勒成十卷其門人弟子姓字本末則訪諸紀諜列扵外傳以備宗本焉且六經中説於以觀先君之事業建義明道垂則立訓知文中子之所為者其天乎年序寖逺朝廷事異同志淪殂帝閽攸邈文中子之教抑而未行籲可悲哉空傳子孫以為素業云爾時貞觀二十三年正月序

The Lord of Taiyuan was named Ning, style name Shuhuo, and was the second younger brother of Wenzhongzi. In the early years of Zhenguan, the way of the gentleman was prosperous, and the disciples of my late father were spread through the court, intending to spread the teacher's instruction and carry it into the kingly way, so they asked my uncle for the books. My uncle, because the compilation was not yet complete, did not bring them out, so in that age no one could hear the meaning of the Six Classics. When my uncle took off his commoner's garb and became a surveillance censor, the Censor-in-Chief Du Yan said to him: "You are the younger brother of a sage; have you heard anything special?" My uncle said: "I am unworthily a brother by the same mother. In the past when my late elder brother lectured on the Way at Hefen, I too took part. But apart from the Six Classics I heard nothing else." Du Yan said: "In the past the disciples all kept records, probably put together by Xue Shou and Yao Yi, called the Zhongshuo. That book is the world's wholesome speech, plain and clear, indirect and apt, penetrating the great principles all around and widely expounding the origin of teaching. The points the disciples asked about and the traces of what Wenzhongzi did are all there. Why do you not ask for it at home?" My uncle said: "Since the troubles of mourning and disorder I have not yet had leisure." Withdrawing, he searched for it and obtained over a hundred sheets of the Zhongshuo, mostly miscellaneous notes without chapter titles; the first volume and the preface had been eaten through by insects and worn away, and could not be arranged. When my uncle was demoted to magistrate of Husu, he sighed and said: "Wenzhongzi's teaching must be proclaimed. The sun and moon pass, and years do not wait for me." So he laid down his seal and returned, devoted himself to examining the chapters of the Six Classics and copying them. Of the Discourse on Ritual and the Discourse on Music, five chapters each were lost, and the Continuation of the Songs and the Continuation of the Documents each lost their short prefaces; only the Yuan Classic and the Praise of the Changes were fully preserved. In all he obtained six hundred and sixty-five chapters, compiled into seventy-five volumes, divided into six parts, called the Six Classics of the Wang family. My uncle said to his sons: "Great are my elder brother's writings! In regard to the imperial net and the emperor's way, they are already greatly clarified; in regard to what lies between Heaven and earth, there is nothing they do not reach. Since the Spring and Autumn Annals there has been no writing like this." He also said to the disciples: "The descendants of Wenzhongzi must not be left without understanding these." So he summoned his sons and taught them. In the sixteenth year of Zhenguan, when I was twenty-one, I received the meaning of the Six Classics, and in three years I had a fair grasp of the outline. Ah, how could a youth like me be worthy to know, but I had the will. In the nineteenth year my uncle was recalled as record clerk of Luozhou, and he also gave me the Zhongshuo, saying: "These are my elder brother's remaining words." I bowed twice and said: "As teaching, the Zhongshuo seeks brevity and reaches depth, with few words and great principles; it can probably be compared to the records of the Analects. I, a youth, will hold it and not let it fall." I therefore sorted it by kind and divided it by lineage, compiling ten books in ten volumes. The surnames, names and careers of the disciples I sought out in genealogies and listed in the outer biography, to complete the roots of the school. Moreover, from the Six Classics and the Zhongshuo one can see my late father's work: establishing great righteousness, making the great Way clear, handing down rules and fixing instruction. To know what Wenzhongzi did is probably Heaven's will! The years gradually grew distant, the court's circumstances changed, like-minded people died away, the palace gates were far off, and Wenzhongzi's teaching was suppressed and not carried out. Ah, how sad! It was merely handed down to descendants as an unadorned family heritage. Written as a preface in the first month of the twenty-third year of Zhenguan.