mercredi 18 avril 2018

La Reine mère de l'ouest xiwang mu 西王母

Xiwangmu 西王母, Xi WangmuHsi Wang Mu, ou Reine-mère d’Occident, est un personnage de la mythologie chinoise antique devenu sous la dynastie Han une divinité taoïste. Elle réside dans un palais de jade situé sur le Kunlun céleste, lieu magique où pousseraient les herbes d’immortalité et les pêches de longue vie qui mûrissent tous les 3000 ou 9000 ans. Chef des immortelles, toutes les femmes aspirant à obtenir le Dao sont considérées comme ses disciples.

Noms divinsModifier

Comme toutes les divinités, elle possède de nombreuses appellations ; les plus fréquentes sont :

  • Reine-mère (王母 wangmu) ou Reine-mère aïeule (王母娘娘 wangmu niangniang), titres honorifiques donné aux grandes déesses ;
  • Mère d’or (金母 jinmu), l’ouest étant associé au métal selon la théorie des cinq éléments ; son homologue le Roi-père d’Orient devient alors le Père de bois (木公 mugong), élément associé à l’est.
  • Mère d’or du bassin de jaspe (瑤池金母 yaochi jinmu), d’après le nom du lieu où elle aurait reçu le roi Mu ;
  • Mère d’or du magnifique Occident résidant sur le Mont de la tortue (龜山西華金母 guishan xihua jinmu) ;
  • Vieille dame d’Occident (西姥 xilao) ;

Elle est associée au Roi-père d’Orient (東王公 ou 東王父) créé selon certains spécialement pour lui faire pendant. Ils sont chacun responsables des immortels de leur sexe. Selon certaines théories, ils sont aussi maîtres des souffles Yin et Yang et s’engendrent mutuellement. On lui prête parfois une messagère, sa disciple préférée, la Femme mystérieuse des neuf cieux (九天玄女 jiutianxuannu), identifiée avec qingniao (青鳥), l’oiseau à trois pattes du Livre des monts et des mers, ou avec xuanniao (玄鳥), l’"oiseau sombre" ancêtre des Yin.

D’après le Yongcheng jixianlu (墉城集仙錄), recueil de vies d’immortelles composé sous les Tang, elle serait apparue avec un corps d’oiseau et vêtue d’une peau de renard à Huangdi lors de sa bataille contre Chiyou pour lui remettre le talisman des Cinq pics. Sa messagère, la Femme mystérieuse, aurait fabriqué le char indiquant le sud qui permit à l’Empereur Jaune de guider son armée, c'est pourquoi elle est la patronne des carrossiers.

Sous le nom de Reine-mère aïeule, Xiwangmu forme parfois un couple avec l’Empereur de jade. Son anniversaire divin est le 3 du troisième mois ou le 18 du septième mois.

Dans le Livre des Han, annales officielles de la dynastie jusque l’an 9, on apprend qu’en l’an 4 de l’ère Jianping de l’empereur Aidi (-3 ou -2), une grande sécheresse sévit dans le Henan et le Shaanxi. Guidée par les oracles de Xiwangmu, la population des zones sinistrées migra jusqu’à la capitale Chang'an où on la vit danser et chanter en l’honneur de la déesse. Sous les Han son culte devient populaire et jouit d’une certaine reconnaissance officielle.

On a retrouvé sur les écrits oraculaires de la dynastie Shang le terme ximu (西母) « mère d'Occident », sans que l'on sache toutefois ce qu’il désigne. Comme il existait aussi une « mère d'Orient », on peut estimer que ces deux divinités formaient une paire contrastive. Son rapport avec Xiwangmu est ainsi douteux.

Le personnage de Xiwangmu est attesté à partir du ive siècle av. J.-C.. Elle est mise en rapport avec le roi Mu de la dynastie Zhou. Ce souverain aurait effectué une expédition militaire dans l'actuelle province du Xinjiangau xe siècle av. J.-C. contre des tribus appelées Quanrong. À cette occasion, il aurait rencontré Xiwangmu. En témoignent les Annales sur Bambou (Zhushu jinian), chroniques officielles du royaume de Wei. Elles ont été trouvées en 279 dans la tombe du roi Xiang. La période qu'elles couvrent va du règne mythique de Huangdi jusqu'à -299. Il y est écrit que « pendant la dix-septième année, le roi partit à l'Ouest vers le Kunlun, il eut une entrevue avec Xiwangmu; puis cette même année, Xiwangmu vint à la cour pour rendre hommage au roi Mu. En automne, au cours du huitième mois, le roi alla au Nord, passa les Sables Mouvants [sans doute le désert du Taklamakan] et le mont Jiyu, il attaqua les Quanrong, leur prit cinq rois; il arriva jusqu'où les oiseaux bleus muent, puis Xiwangmu le retint ». D'autres textes confirment ce lien de Xiwangmu avec les oiseaux.

Le voyage du roi Mu a été « romancé » dans la Chronique du Fils du Ciel Mu (穆天子傳 mutianzi zhuan). Selon Rémi Mathieu, qui a traduit et commenté cet ouvrage en français, il aurait été rédigé entre -400 et -350. Xiwangmu y est décrite comme une belle femme à qui le roi rend visite. Ils s’entretiennent sur une berge du lac Yao (jaspe). Lorsque Mu doit repartir vers son royaume situé à l’Est, Xiwangmu lui demande de revenir ; il promet de le faire après avoir mis son domaine en ordre.

Selon le manuel d'alchimie de maître Chonghe (cité par Robert van Gulik dans Sexuel life in ancient China), Xiwangmu est « une femme qui obtint la Voie (le dao) en nourrissant son propre yin », c'est-à-dire en ayant de nombreux rapports sexuels. Elle apprécie particulièrement les jeunes garçons

Il est encore question de Xiwangmu dans un ouvrage plus tardif, le Livre des monts et des mers (山海經 shanhaijing) entamé sous les Royaumes combattants et achevé sous les Han. Elle y apparait comme une créature rugissante d’aspect effrayant mi-humain mi-animal, aux fonctions sinistres : « Au sud de la mer occidentale, sur la rive des sables mouvants ... il y a un être portant un blason, avec des dents de tigre et une queue, il habite dans une grotte, on l’appelle Xiwangmu...il est responsable des maladies et des châtiments corporels ». D’autres passages précisent qu’elle habite sur le Mont de jade ou le mont Kunlun, lieu d'abondance ; sa queue est celle d’un léopard ; un oiseau bleu (ou noir) à trois pattes l’accompagne.

Dans le chapitre Dazongshi (大宗師) du Zhuangzi, c'est un être intemporel qui pénètre le Dao.

Dans le Huainanzi, on mentionne qu’elle détient les herbes d’immortalité qui transformèrent Chang'e en fée.

Une fiction historique, la Biographie de Han Wudi (漢武帝內傳 hanwudi neizhuan) de Ban Gu, mentionne les pêches d’immortalité, que Sun Wukong aurait dérobées dans Le Voyage en Occident (Ming).

Des historiens chinois modernes ont proposé que Xiwangmu soit la translittération d'un nom de tribu habitant à l'ouest de la Chine actuelle.

Le taoïsme lui associe parfois un Roi-père d’Orient.

Le banquet des pêches d'immortalité de xiwangmu

LES PÊCHES D’IMMORTALITÉ

Les Pêches d’Immortalité sont consommées par les immortels en raison de leur vertu mystique de conférer la longévité à tous ceux qui les mangent. Les pêches symbolisant l’immortalité (ou le désir d’une vie longue et saine) sont un symbole commun dans l’art chinois, apparaissant dans un certain nombre de fables, de peintures et d’autres formes d’art, souvent en association avec une iconographie thématique similaire, comme par exemples certaines divinités ou immortels ou d’autres symboles de longévité tels que les cerfs ou les grues.

LE BANQUET DES PÊCHES MAGIQUES

L’Empereur de Jade et sa femme Xi Wangmu (Reine Mère de l’Ouest) ont assuré l’existence éternelle des divinités en les nourrissant avec les pêches de l’immortalité. On dit que les immortels, résidant dans le palais de Xi Wangmu, célébreraient un banquet extravagant appelé «fête des pêches» sur terre en l’honneur de Xi Wangmu le 3ème jour du 3ème mois de pleine lune. Les immortels attendirent six mille ans avant de se réunir pour cette fête magnifique. Le pêcher prenait des feuilles une fois tous les mille ans et il fallait encore trois mille ans pour que le fruit mûrisse. Ainsi, une fois, les Huit Immortels ont traversé les mers pour assister au banquet. Mais ils étaient accompagnés, sans le savoir, de la femme cupide de l’un des Huit Immortels (l’histoire ne nous dit pas lequel, mais il s’agit probablement de Cao Guojiu)

JINCHAN…

…TENTE DE VOLER UNE PÊCHE ET DEVIENT UN CRAPAUD

Ainsi donc, alors qu’ils se rendaient à ce somptueux banquet, les Huit Immortels étaient sans le savoir accompagnés de la femme de l’un deux, probablement de Cao Guojiu, et dont la beauté n’avait d’égal que sa cupidité. En effet, celle-ci se cachait car son objectif véritable n’était pas d’accompagner son époux, mais de dérober l’une des pêches d’immortalité. Elle échoua dans sa quête et fut alors changée en crapaud en terme de punition. Liu Haichan, considéré comme la divinité taoïste de la santé et de la bonne fortune, est depuis accompagné de son mystérieux crapaud à trois pattes, le Chanchu Jinchan, qui est recouvert de pièces de monnaie (en lien avec la cupidité) et qui tient un écu dans sa bouche.

UN SYMBOLE DE BONNE FORTUNE…

Depuis lors, Jin Chan, que l’on trouve souvent sous l’appellation anglaise “Money Toad”, est en quelque sorte un charme, une amulette, de prospérité. C’est une créature mythique que l’on aurait souvent aperçue à la pleine lune roder autour de commerces qui ont ensuite reçu rapidement de bonnes nouvelles.

Le Jin Chu est généralement représenté comme une grenouille aux yeux rouges, des narines évasées et une seule patte arrière (pour un total de trois pattes), assis sur une pile de monnaie chinoise traditionnelle, avec une pièce de monnaie dans sa bouche. Sur son dos, il affiche souvent sept taches de diamant symbolisant la Grande Ourse, ou la Charrue, qui joue un rôle important dans l’astrologie chinoise. Il est souvent montré en compagnie de Liu Haichan, un célèbre alchimiste chinois du Xe siècle qui a appris le secret de l’immortalité du Chan Chu et est devenu un xian (mais ne fait pas parti du groupe des Huit, bien qu’il les ai côtoyés). En japonais, Liu Haichan est connu sous le nom de Gamma Sennin (le Sennin au crapaud).



















Origin of the Queen Mother of the West

The Queen Mother of the West ( 西王母 Xiwangmu ) is popularly called Auntie Queen Mother ( 王母娘娘 Wangmu Niangniang ), Granny of the West ( 西姥 Xilao ), Queen Mother ( 王母 Wangmu ), Golden Mother ( 金母元君 Jinmu Yaunjun ) and Golden Mother Primordial Sovereign ( 白玉龜台九靈太金母元君 Baiyu Guitai Jiuling Taizhen Jinmu Yuanjun ). Her complete names are 'Nine-Soul Supreme Perfect Golden Mother and Primordial Sovereign of the Jade Tortoise Platform' ( 太光九靈龜台金母元君 Taiguang Jiuling guitai Jinmu Yuanjun ), 'Nine-Phoenix Supreme Perfect Queen Mother of the West of the Jade Tortoise Platform', and 'Primordial Sovereign Golden Mother of the Supreme Numinous White Rays of the Tortoise Platform". The name 'Queen Mother of the West' was first seen in the Book of Mountains and Seas ( 山海經 Shanhai Jing ). West is the direction, and Queen Mother the name of the deity. The Queen Mother of the West is a condensation of the Subtlest Vital Breath of the Western Essence from the Vital Breath of Dao of the Original Chaos. The deity, surnamed Hou, is allocated the Western direction. The Intimate Biography of the Wu Emperor of the Han Dynasty says that 'when she entered a hall, the Queen Mother of the West wore bright gold ornaments, numinous cloud ribbons, a shadow-cutting sword, a supreme flower hair bun, a hat of supreme perfection, and black-brimmed phoenix-patterned shoes. She looked about thirty and was extremely beautiful." The Wu Emperor of Han accepted her instruction and orders with great respect. The figure of a human boy with tiger teeth and a cat's tail, mentioned in the Book of Mountains and Seas ( 山海經 Shanhai Jing ), was an envoy of the Queen Mother of the West and of the White Tiger spirit of the West, but was not the Queen Mother of the West herself.

Mistress of Female Immortals

As the ancestor of Female Immortals, the Queen Mother of the West lives in the Kunlun Mountains, in a city of one thousand miles with twelve jade mansions, green light halls, nine-storey primordial chambers, and purple and green elixir chambers. To the left is the Jade Lake, and to the right are the Green Mountains. According to the Jottings of Rarities and Miscellaneous Stories ( 博物志 Bowu Zhi ), there are peach trees by the Jade Lake which "bear fruit once every 3000 years". All women who have attained immortality in the three realms and ten directions, in Heaven or in the human world, are under the rule of the Queen Mother of the West.

Nourishing All Things

The Primordial Lord of Heaven ( 元始天尊 Yuanshi Tianzun ) granted the Queen Mother of the West the Register of the Tortoise Mountain's Nine Rays of the Original Unity of Heaven ( 方天元統龜山九光之籙 Fangtian Yuantong Guishan Jiuguang Zhi Lu ), in order to command all spirits and perfected saints, and put her in charge of the attendants of all heavens and the inspection of higher saints. The Queen Mother of the West and the Grandpa King of the East ( 東王公 Dongwang Gong ) are parents of the Yin and Yang Vital Breaths of Dao ( 道氣陰陽 Daoqi Yinyang ). They administer the two Vital Breaths together and nourish all things in Heaven and Earth. When the Yellow Emperor battled with the cruel Chiyou, who could cause wind and rain and puff out fog and smoke, the Queen Mother of the West sent the Mysterious Maiden of the Nine Heavens ( 九天玄女 Jiutian Xuannu ) to teach the Yellow Emperor the Strategy of the Three Palaces, Five Agents and Yin and Yang ( 三宮五意陰陽之略 Sangong Wuyi Yinyang Zhilue ), the Dipper Steps of Hidden Time and the Six Rens of Supreme Oneness ( 太乙遁甲六壬步斗之術 Taiyi Dunjia Liuren Budou Zhi Shu ), and the Writ of the Five Talismans and Five Victories of the Numinous Treasure ( 靈寶五符五勝之文 Lingbao Wufu Wusheng Wen ). Then the Yellow Emperor defeated Chiyou at middle Ji. After Yu Shun succeeded to the throne, the Queen Mother of the West sent envoys to grant him a white jade ring and a map, and Shun thus expanded the Yellow Emperor's nine prefectures to twelve perfectures.

Worship in Temples

Owing to the story of the Queen Mother of the West giving Emperor Wu big 3000-year peaches recorded in the Intimate Biography of Emperor Wu, the Queen Mother of the West's Peach Banquet ( 蟠桃會 Pantao Hui ) is well-known and popular among the people. The Queen Mother of the West, always seen as a symbol of longevity for Daoists and ordinary people, is the major divinity of the Golden Register Ritual for Prolonging Life ( 金籙延壽道場 Jinlu Yanshou Daochang ). On the Queen Mother of the West's holy birthday, the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month or the 18th of the 7th month, Daoists, especially women, gather in temples to hold birthday celebration rituals for the Queen Mother of the West and to pray for their own health and longevity.

Belief in the Golden Mother

The Golden Mother is also called the Golden Mother of the Jasper Lake, or the Queen Mother of the West. She is frequently called Auntie Queen Mother among the common people.


The Queen Mother of the West is an important deity in ancient Chinese legends. She was first recorded in the Book of Mountains and Seas. In the Han Dynasty, she was promoted to a higher position and connected to Immortality beliefs. The Han Daoist Book of the Master of Huainanmentioned that Yi asked the Queen Mother of the West for the drug of Immortality. But after he got it, his wife Chang'e stole it. After Chang'e swallowed the medicine, she flew to the moon. This story explains why the Queen Mother of the West was closely connected to the belief in Immortality. The Queen Mother of the West and the King Father of the East ( 東王公 Dongwang Gong ), surrounded by flying winged-people, appear together in the Han copper mirror. This signifies that she had become a center for those who aspire to Fly to Immortality ( 羽化登仙 Yuhua Dengxian ).


The Queen Mother of the West holds a high position in Daoism. Her position got higher after the masses gave her new interpretations.


The Queen Mother of the West has always been an important deity since Daoism came into being. Ge Hong's Book of Pillow Secrets says that the highest deity is the Primordial Celestial King, i.e., the Perfected Pangu. He existed before the creation of Heaven and Earth. After that, he lived in the center of Heaven -- the Jade Capital Mountain. The Vital Breath of Dao contracted and formed another deity, the Primordial Holy Mother. The Fushang Emperor and the Queen Mother of the West were their descendants. In later times, the Highest Clarity tradition regarded her highly and produced Daoist registers related to her. The Collected Records of Immortals ( 集仙錄 Jixian Lu ) states that the Queen Mother of the West is the Nine-Soul Great Sublimity Golden Mother of the Tortoise Mountain ( 九靈太妙龜山金母 Jiuling Taimiao Guishan Jinmu ), and is also called the Great Void Ninefold Glory Golden Mother of the Tortoise Platform ( 太虛九光龜台金母元君 Taixu Jiuguang Guitai Jinmu Yuanjun ). She was born out of the Most Perfect Vital Breath of the Eastern Essence ( 先天西華至妙之氣 Xiantian Xihua Zhimiao Zhiqi ), and works together with the King Father of the East, who was born out of the Most Sublime Pre-Existent Vital Breath of the Western Essence ( 東華至真之氣 Donghua Zhizhen Zhiqi ), to manage the two vital breaths of yin and yang. She dwells at the capital Kunlun Mountain. The Primordial Celestial Emperor awarded her the Register of the Nine Glories of Turtle Mountain ( 方天元統龜山九光之籙 Fangtian Yuantong Guishan Jiuguang Zhilu ) and enabled her to summon all the spirits. All the female Immortals in Heaven and on Earth, in the Three Realms and Ten Directions are under her authority. So she is generally regarded as the leader of Female Immortals.


Belief in the Queen Mother of the West has lasted for two thousand years, and has spread all over China. Queen Mother temples and halls are very popular. There are many Queen Mother temples in Guangdong Province where other female Immortals are also enshrined. One of them is the Golden Flower Lady ( 金花夫人 Jinhua Furen ), who is in charge of childbirth. Many people worship her to pray for children. Belief in the Golden Flower Lady has now spread to Southeast Asia, following the flow of Chinese migrants. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, belief in the Queen Mother of the West has changed somewhat among the common masses, with some people believing in the Unborn Venerable Mother ( 無生老母 Wusheng Laomu ) and regarding her as the highest goddess. This has influenced folk belief in the Queen Mother of the West, and led to the formation of other beliefs in some sects.


Belief in the Golden Mother has its own tradition in Taiwan. Its theogony is similar to that of Daoism. Belief in the Queen Mother of the West has split into two traditions since the Qing Dynasty; one is the Daoist tradition, the other is the folk tradition. The Daoist tradition retains her former position in Daoist theogony while the folk tradition is less systematic and it is not limited by Daoist theogony. The existence of Charity Halls ( 慈善堂 Cishantang ) all over Taiwan is a sign of the spread of Golden Mother beliefs in Taiwan.


According to the records of the Biography of Emperor Mu ( 穆天子傳 Mutianzi Zhuan ), people believe that the Heavenly Pool (Lake Tianchi) in Xinjiang is the Jasper Lake. So there are pilgrimages to Lake Tianchi to worship the Queen Mother of the West.

Ref:

http://en.daoinfo.org/wiki/The_Queen_Mother_of_the_West

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiwangmu


Liu Yuaming: Wudang taiji chuan

Démonstration de taiji chuan de Wudang lors du spectacle international des arts martiaux à Paris

https://www.pearvideo.com/video_1325272

Zhenwu

Aujourd'hui 3ème jour du 3ème mois lunaire: Anniversaire du guerrier mystérieux de wudangshan


Zhenwudadi (真武大帝, « Empereur Zhenwu ») ou Xuanwushangdi (玄武上帝, « Empereur Xuanwu ») est un dieu taoïste stellaire qui gouverne le ciel septentrional. Il a également une fonction militaire et est assimilé à l'Empereur du Nord Bei Di.

Comme beaucoup de divinités, sa naissance fut miraculeuse. Présenté comme le 82e avatar de Laozi, il serait né dans la famille royale du pays Sans désir ; sa mère le conçut dans un rêve où elle avalait le soleil, et le mit au monde à l'issue d'une grossesse exceptionnellement longue. Il abandonna son droit au trône pour se consacrer à l'ascèse sur le mont Wudang et devint immortel. L'Empereur de jade lui donna sa charge divine de gouverneur du ciel septentrional.


Les sept maisons astrales de Xuanwucomprennent le chariot de la Grande Ourse, appelé beidou (北斗) et l'astérisme nandou. Les astérismes dou ont une place particulière dans l'astrologie chinoise ancienne. On en distingue quatre, correspondant aux quatre orients, mais les deux réellement importants sont celui du sud, nandou (南斗) , situé dans le sagittaire, qui gouverne les naissances, et celui du nord, beidou, qui gouverne les décès. On prie Zhenwudadi, gouverneur du ciel septentrional et du chariot de la Grande Ourse, pour demander la longévité.


Le Nord est associé à l’eau ; le dieu est donc sollicité en cas d’inondation, mais aussi d’incendie. Sous les Ming, un temple de Zhenwudadi existait dans le palais impérial afin d’y solliciter la protection contre ces calamités.


Son anniversaire est le 3 du 3e mois lunaire.


Son nom d'origine, Xuanwu, est celui de l'ensemble des sept maisons astrales du nord dans le zodiaque chinois. C’est une combinaison de deux caractères : xuan(sombre) évoque le ciel ; wu, « militaire », vient du fait qu'on distingue dans les astérismesxuanwu la forme d’une tortue fantastique dont la carapace évoque une armure. Cette connotation n’est pas étrangère à la faveur que lui a accordée l’empereur Yongle des Ming qui l'appréciait comme dieu guerrier. Le caractère xuan fut par la suite changé pour ne pas enfreindre le tabou portant sur le nom de l’alchimiste divinisé Zhao Xuanlang (趙玄郎). On choisit pour le remplacer le caractère zhen, « véritable ».


La coutume voulait que les empereurs donnent un titre à leurs divinités de prédilection. Zhenwu reçut son titre d'empereur (dadi, « grand empereur ») en 1303 sous les dynastie Yuan.


L'empereur Yongle des Ming accorda sa faveur à Zhenwudadi. La divinité stellaire Wenchangdijun, dont le premier caractère peut se lire « littérature », avait été promu patron des lettrés et des examens impériauxpar les empereurs Tang et Song. L'administration impériale étant composée de deux catégories de fonctionnaires, civils et militaires, il était naturel qu'une autre divinité taoïste dont le nom comportait le caractère wu, « militaire », soit introduite au palais. Yongle ordonna que des oratoires consacrés à Zhenwudadi soient installés dans les administrations. En 1412, il décida la construction de temples sur le mont Wudang, siège de l'école taoïste Quanzhen du Sud depuis la dynastie Yuan. Plus de 200 000 soldats furent affectés à ce chantier sous la direction de Zhang Xin (張信), marquis de Longping (隆平).

Ref: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhenwudadi


Histoire du guerrier en image https://m.weibo.cn/2602402741/4229914229713274


mercredi 11 avril 2018

Wuwei et youwei selon le vieux maître Ren

Interview de Maitre Ren sur le Wuwei

Interview par Karine Martin, documentaire la Voie du Tao diffusée sur Arte

https://www.facebook.com/didier.rocton.9/videos/1612518432095594/



lundi 9 avril 2018

Équanimité du sage

Équanimité du sage:
«Par le charme de sa conversation, le Sage fait oublier aux siens les affres de la misère et les rend résignés. Par son ascendant moral, il fait oublier aux grands l’élévation de leur rang et les rend humbles. Il fraternise avec les petits, et converse avec les grands, donnant à chacun ce qu’il peut comprendre, et gardant le reste pour lui. Sans parler, il remplit son entourage de paix. Sans prêcher, il l’amende. Il ne dédaigne pas de demeurer par intervalles dans sa famille, pour y remplir son rôle de père et faire du bien aux siens. Simple, ferme, tranquille, il est étranger à toutes les préoccupations, et s’impose à tous. »

Ref: Zhuangzi 25.A (tr. Wieger)

故聖人,其窮也使家人忘其貧,其達也使王公忘其爵祿而化卑。其於物也,與之為娛矣;其於人也,樂物之通而保己焉。故或不言而飲人以和,與人並立而使人化。父子之宜,彼其乎歸居,而一閒其所施。其於人心者,若是其遠也

But the sagely man, when he is left in obscurity, causes the members of his family to forget their poverty; and, when he gets forward to a position of influence, causes kings and dukes to forget their rank and emoluments, and transforms them to be humble. With the inferior creatures, he shares their pleasures, and they enjoy themselves the more; with other men, he rejoices in the fellowship of the Dao, and preserves it in himself. Therefore though he may not speak, he gives them to drink of the harmony (of his spirit). Standing in association with them, he transforms them till they become in their feeling towards him as sons with a father. His wish is to return to the solitude of his own mind, and this is the effect of his occasional intercourse with them. So far-reaching is his influence on the minds of men.

(Ref: Zhuangzi, tr. Legge)

samedi 7 avril 2018

CBCT 5 le Yinfu jing

(traduction Philastre, Qi est traduit par éther)

I

Contempler la voie du ciel, saisir son action et s'y conformer : tout est là.

II

Le ciel contient cinq ennemis ; celui qui les voit les admire.

III

Les cinq ennemis sont dans le cœur ; ils étendent leur action au ciel ; le temps et l'espace sont contenus dans la main ; toutes les transformations naissent dans le corps.

IV

La nature du ciel, c'est l'homme ; le cœur de l'homme, c'est le mécanisme. Poser la voie du ciel pour déterminer l'homme.

V

Le ciel fait surgir le mécanisme destructeur ; il change les étoiles et les constellations. La terre fait surgir le mécanisme destructeur ; le Dragon et le Serpent montent sur le plateau élevé. L'homme fait surgir son mécanisme destructeur ; le ciel et la terre retiennent et recouvrent ; le ciel et l'homme font surgir, en se joignant, la base déterminée et fixe de toutes les transformations.

VI

La nature de l'homme comporte des différences d'habileté et d'incapacité ; il doit en faire abstraction

VII

Les illusions des neuf orifices résident dans les trois sens indispensables ; ils peuvent fonctionner ou demeurer inertes.

VIII

Le feu prend naissance dans le bois ; le malheur survient et l'emportera nécessairement. Le vice naît dans l'État ; avec le temps il agit et doit nécessairement tout submerger. Le savoir réformer, reprendre par des conseils, c'est ce qu'on appelle la sainteté de l'homme

IX

Le ciel donne la vie, le ciel tue ; c'est là la raison être des choses, telle qu'elle résulte de la voie (du ciel).

X

Le ciel et la terre sont les destructeurs de toutes choses ; la foule infinie des êtres et des choses est le destructeur de l'homme, et l'homme est le p.268  destructeur de la foule des êtres et des choses. Les trois destructeurs étant dans leurs conditions nécessaires, les trois causes efficientes étant en repos, c'est pour cela que l'on dit : « Profiter du moment, les cent os  seront en ordre, et en faisant agir le mécanisme, les mille transformations seront calmes ».

XI

L'homme connaît une sorte d'intelligence qu'il considère comme constituant l'intelligence ; il ne sait pas que l'absence d'intelligence est ce qui produit l'intelligence.

XII

Le soleil et la lune ont des nombres particuliers, la grandeur et la petitesse sont déterminées  ; l'œuvre de la sainteté naît, la clarté de l'intelligence jaillit. Ce mécanisme destructeur, l'univers est incapable de le voir, incapable de le connaître. L'homme doué  le comprend et en poursuit indéfiniment l'application avec fermeté ; l'homme inférieur le possède et se joue de sa destinée.

XIII

Les aveugles entendent bien, les sourds voient bien ; supprimer la source unique de l'avantage ; agir en maître qui enseigne, répéter dix fois et revenir à trois fois. De jour ou de nuit agir en maître qui enseigne, répéter dix mille fois.

XIV

Le cœur naît dans l'être, meurt dans l'être, le mécanisme est dans l'œil.

Variante. — Une copie porte : « se trouve dans l'œil ».

XV

Ce qui n'est pas un bienfait et constitue un grand bienfait du ciel, c'est la vie. La foudre rapide, le vent violent toujours agissant. Par l'extrême joie la nature s'épanouit ; par l'extrême inertie, elle se contracte.

XVI

L'extrême égoïsme du ciel a pour effet l'extrême désintéressement ; la détermination créatrice des animaux réside dans l'éther.

XVII

La vie est le principe de la mort, la mort est le principe de la vie ; le bienfait naît du mal causé, le mal causé naît du bienfait.

XVIII

L'homme ignorant arrive à la sainteté par (l'observation de) l'aspect et (de) la raison d'être (des phénomènes) du ciel et de la ferre ; moi, j'arrive au discernement  par l'aspect et la raison d'être des saisons et des êtres.

XIX

L'homme mesure la sainteté avec son ignorance ; moi, je me sers de ce que je ne suis pas ignorant pour mesurer la sainteté. L'homme croit que l'initiation à la sainteté constitue quelque chose de surnaturel ; moi, je participe à la sainteté par l'absence du surnaturel.

XX

Il s'immerge dans l'eau, entre dans le feu, et il est lui-même l'auteur de sa destruction et de sa perte.

XXI

La voie de la nature  est l'inertie, c'est pour cela que le ciel, la terre et toutes choses existent. La voie naturelle du ciel et de la terre est la continuité, aussi la négativité et la positivité s'élèvent. La négativité et la positivité se choquent, et la modification et la transformation suivent naturellement.

XXII

L'homme saint sait que la voie naturelle et spontanée ne peut être transgressée, et par suite il en fait sa règle. La voie de l'extrême inertie est ce que les lois sont incapables de lier ; elle entraîne l'existence d'instruments merveilleux : la vie, toutes les images, les huit Koua, les moments Kia et Tsé du cycle des douze Moments, le mécanisme des génies, l'absorption des esprits. Le système de la domination alternative de la négativité et de la positivité est lumineux ; il se manifeste dans l'image.

COMMENTAIRE

Commentaires de chaques paragraphes dans le reste du document ci-dessous
Traduction de Philastre

Premier chapitre : IIIIIIIVVVIVIIVIII

Deuxième chapitre : IXXXIXII

Troisième chapitre : XIIIXIVXVXVIXVIIXVIIIXIX XXXXIXXII.

TRADUCTION ANGLAISE

Sacred-Texts Taoism Index Previous Next

p. 49


THE YIN FU CHING.

PREFATORY NOTE.

THIS treatise is one of the most interesting and important in the Taoist canon. Tradition ascribes its authorship to the mythical Emperor Huang Ti, or one of his six Ministers; but although it of course appeared at a considerably later date than this, all scholars agree in attributing it to a very remote antiquity. The earliest Commentator who published an edition of the work is said to have been Chiang Tsze-ya, otherwise known as T‘ai Kung, ###, the famous Minister of Hsi Pŏ, and a reputed descendant of the Yellow Emperor; so, if this were true, we should be able to trace its existence at least as far back as the Shang dynasty, or say twelve hundred years before Christ.


   The aim of this ancient compilation, to quote the authority of Mr. Wylie, is to "reconcile the decrees of Heaven with the current of mundane affairs." It is supposed to contain the very root and essence of Taoism, and its entire freedom from all allusions to the later and baser developments of that philosophy appears to constitute a strong argument in favour of its distant origin. Our translation of the title, Yin Fu, ### is of course merely approximative, and may be criticised accordingly. Fu means a seal, divided into two parts. On one half of this seal we have the visible phenomena of the world around us; this we can all see, but, the diagram being incomplete, we require the other half of the seal, that bearing the ### of Heaven or the Unseen World, before we can understand the why and the wherefore of the existing order of things. In this book the two halves of the seal are professedly brought together, and we are thus enabled to perceive the hidden harmony which runs through all things where before we could see nothing but discord, and are presented with an explanation of all the mysteries of the world, the secret coincidences between the Seen and the Unseen, of which in our unenlightened state we are profoundly ignorant. The idea is a remarkably beautiful one, and the representation of such a 'Clue to the Unseen' by a divided seal, strikes us as singularly forcible and apt. The edition now translated bears the name of Chang Shih-ch‘un as editor, a scholar of Honan who lived in the reign of Ts‘ung Chêng, last Emperor of the Mings.


p. 50


TEXT.

I.

   To observe the TAO of Heaven, and grasp its method of operation, is the limit of all achievement.


   The root of Heaven is in TAO; and TAObeing fixed, Heaven secures it and so brings about its transmutations. Principles have their root in circumstances, or facts; and facts being determined, it is Principles by which they are modified or varied. Thus Principles have no unvarying course, and facts no essential uniformity; both belong to the region of the unlimited. It is only by observing the TAO of Heaven, and grasping that, that the limit can be reached.


   Thus Heaven has Five Despoilers: and he who perceives them will flourish.


   There is no benefit intended towards man when the Five Atmospheric Influences* are set in motion; how, then, can there be any intentional injury to things? Observing the nourishing and beneficial results of these Influences, men call it virtue; observing the injury and ruin they cause, men call it spoliation. As soon as we see a thing produced, it is destroyed; and having witnessed its destruction, we see it come into being again. The Afflatus of the East is antagonistic to the Centre; the Afflatus of the Centre is antagonistic to the North; the Afflatus of the North is antagonistic to the South; the Afflatus of the South is antagonistic to the West; the Afflatus of the West is antagonistic to the East. When these Five Afflati promote the growth of one another, they move freely; but the very ease with which they flow leads to their exhaustion. When they act in antagonism to each other, their motion is arrested; but if such arrest be counteracted they are re-established [in their course]. Man is in the centre of Heaven [and Earth]; the heart is in the centre of man. When anything occupies a central position, it may be removed to the outside. If one wishes to control much by means of a little, it is necessary to use contrivances—or, to employ one's faculty of contrivance—in manipulating the material under one's hand. Nevertheless, let the mind be once set in motion, everything under Heaven may be accomplished; while by using antagonistic agencies, that which is complete and permanent may be produced.


p. 51


   The Moral Nature of Heaven is Man: the Mind of Man embodies his motive power; and the Principle of Heaven being established, the destiny of Man is fixed.


   The Moral Nature is that entity which produces human genius; the region which contains, or holds in reserve, all mutations [of the mind]. Heaven has no Moral Nature of itself; Man is the Moral Nature of Heaven, just as the mind, which, located in the centre of the body, is united with that body and so completes the human shape. But the mind is the natural disposition of the body; the motive power within is the origin of spontaneous or voluntary action, and embodies the capacity of intelligentaction; and when a man avails himself of this motive power, its action may not be arrested. The mind has but a material seat—the heart; yet although this is but so much matter, it possesses certain capacities, and these capacities constitute the motive power of the man. When [these capacities] are located in a body which is incompatible with them, they cannot be said to constitute the true mind belonging to that body; and [the man himself], being thus placed in a position unconsonant with Heaven, cannot be regarded as constituting Heaven's true Nature.* The Principle of Heaven being established, the destiny of man is fixed.


   When Heaven sends forth its engines of destruction, the stars are moved out of their places and the constellations metamorphosed. When Earth sends forth its engines of destruction, dragons and snakes appear on the dry land. When Man puts forth his faculties of destruction, Heaven falls and Earth is overthrown. When Heaven and Man do so in concert, all the disorganised phenomena are re-established on a new basis.


   The stars and constellations are the countenance of Heaven. In like manner,when a man is angry, his countenance will surely change. Dragons and serpents are the breath and blood [the hidden agencies] of earth. In like manner, when a man is sick, his breath and blood will surge up, or overflow. Man, situated in the centre of the Universe, is as it were the abdomen of Heaven and Earth. When the viscera are injured, the effects are manifest from top to toe; everything, from the head down to the feet, is thrown into disorder. When Earth is in harmony with Heaven, Man occupies the same relation towards each. For Heaven to respond to human requirements, or affairs, it is necessary p. 52to wait until such affairs be brought to a state of completion. If any one such affair be uncompleted, even the Sage will be unable to undertake its achievement; but when it is perfected—q.d., in such a forward state as to be prepared for the co-operation or assistance of Heaven—the response of Heaven will come, as in former cases.* This may be compared to the capture of Wu by the Prince of Yueh.


   The Five Despoilers pertain to the Heart; but their operation is diffused all over the world. The Universe is in one's Hand; all transmutations take their rise from the body.


   Thieves, or despoilers, are so called because they are unseen; if, in acting as thieves, they are perceived, their depredations are put an end to. The antagonism which exists between Water and Fire is turned to advantage when brought into contact with matter, and eventual welfare is the result. The Five Despoilers of Heaven are identical with the Five Despoilers of men. These Five Despoilers residing in the human heart, their agency is diffused far and wide; but is Heaven within the range of my—i.e., any man's—activity? Now co-operation implies the same object being held in view by two persons. If the other man acts, it is as though I myself acted; just, for instance, as in riding,—the rider is identified with his horse; and where the horse arrives the rider arrives too. Therefore a journey of a thousand li may be said to be held in the hollow of one's hand; for if a desire arises in the mind to go, say, from Yen in the north to Yueh in the south, you will be able to reach your destination supposing you make proper use of your intellectual faculties.


   Sagacity and stupidity are both integral parts of Man's nature; and both may be concealed from view.


   The existence of dualism in things causes doubt; from this arises duplicity, and thus the nature of man becomes no longer homogeneous. This nature includes both sagacity and stupidity. If pretended sagacity be apparent outwardly—lit., in the teeth and heels—stupidity may be peaceably maintained [within]; while if the outward appearance be characterised by pretended stupidity, the real sagacity of the man will have free scope for action. This amounts to a mutual concealment, by the two qualities, of each other. Therefore genuineness consists in homogeneity, while duplicity is the result of dualism. These two are the outcome of the principles of Truth and Falsehood respectively; they may therefore be put into practice ad infinitum.


p. 53


   The Abuse of the Nine Openings of the Body having specially to do with the Three which are most important, action and rest are both possible.


   The Nine Openings are, all of them, the organs of intelligent perception; even those which have least capacity serving as passages for air. Eight of these openings are channels for the exercise of sagacity; it is only the private part behind, which is without any such faculty. The implication [in the text] that they are all liable to misuse, is simply made as applying to the majority, [the one exception] being wrongly included for the sake of convenience. But it is the Ear, the Eye, and the Month, which are the most liable to deception and abuse; therefore their action should be confined within certain limits, and subjected to the will of their owner. Then they may be made to act and abstain from action; by which means the body may be nourished and provision made [for any exigencies that may arise].


   The diseases to which men are subject are the result of abuse. It is only the Sage who knows how to value this abuse [of the bodily organs], for, when it becomes violent, it is only the Sage who is able to hinder its operation. Then [the man's] action becomes in accord with the principle Yang, and his repose in accord with the principle Yin; [the man himself] developing mental powers of superhuman excellence.


   Fire is produced from Wood; but in the case of any disaster arising [from fire] the wood will be overcome. Treacherous [Ministers] arise in States; as soon as they act, the result is disaster. Those who understand how to refine and discipline themselves are called Sages.


   Alas! the hiding-place of treachery is in my own body. If one is able to recognise its quality, or nature, it may be changed into goodness; if one is unable to do so, it will always remain treachery. It is the Five Elements who destroy me; it is the Five Elements to whom I owe my life. The process of refinement consists in discarding the redundant; that of discipline, in discarding the coarse or low.


II.

   The productive and destructive attributes of Heaven constitute a governing principle of TAO. Heaven and Earth are the plunderers of All Things; All Things are the plunderers of Man, and Man, also, is the plunderer of All Things. When the Three Plunderers are in mutual accord, the Three Powers will be settled in tranquility.


   Men all regard Heaven, Earth, and All Things as having been established for mutual production or support; but the Sage regards them as having been established with a view to mutual destruction. With respect to the productive attributes of Heaven and Earth: what p. 54 they produce to-day they afterwards destroy. Now to give life again to what they have once destroyed renders that destruction purposeless, and the life itself as though it had never been conferred; for which reason Heaven and Earth are the plunderers of All Things. Man is supported or nurtured by All Things, and yet incurs actual danger from them; for which reason All Things are the plunderers of Man. Man makes All Things,*and then lays them under contribution for his food and clothing; and thus he is the plunderer of All Things. These plunderers are such by reason of their ignorance that what they do is plunder. If each one sees only the life-giving process, and not the process of destruction, the Three Plunderers will be each in its proper sphere [quoad the other two], and the Three Powers enabled to hold permanent sway.


   Wherefore it may be said that when Sacrifices are partaken of [by Spirits] their bones will be at rest; and when the mainsprings [of the Universe] are set in motion, its various transmutations will go on undisturbed.


   When men lay violent hands on matter, the most honourable use they make of so doing is in offering food in sacrifice; when Heaven and Earth act as the plunderers of All Things, the most honourable use they make of so doing is in influencing and rectifying their springs of action. When the Three Plunderers are all prevented from overstepping their due prerogatives, they are then in their proper sphere.


   Days and months have their fixed numbers; greatness and smallness their due capacity—or measure. This proceeds from the merit of the Sages, and is produced by the intelligence of Spirits.


   Sacrifices are offered once every twelve years; in pursuance of which the Sage fixes a certain period [for the ceremony]. Bodies have their respective measures, or capacities; in pursuance of which the Sage establishes a regular standard, assigning the different degrees in which things may be used in the morning and evening respectively, and regulating the respective capacities of the breath and blood. When, in the world, the recurring intervals of sacrifices are estimated with precision, and things are employed with a due regard to their compatibility to the affair in hand, it results from the profundity of the merit of the Sages and the perspicacity of spiritual beings.


   The motive-power of the Three Plunderers is invisible and undiscoverable by men generally. When the Model Man obtains it, he is enabled to p. 55 fortify his body; but when the Mean Man obtains it, he sets light store by his life.


   To pilfer and use the motive-power of Heaven and Earth; to pilfer and employ the motive-power of creation at large; to pilfer and control the motive-power of my own body,—all constitute a robbery of motive-power. But there is a proper and an improper use to which such motive-power may be put; and from these two methods benefit and injury respectively result. Thus, there are those who avail themselves of it for the strengthening of their physical frame; who use both their own powers and the powers of the world around them for their own tranquillity. There are others who, having obtained it, set light store by their life; who perversely bring about their own destruction, and provoke destruction from the world around them; so that what they have obtained is far removed from them.


III.

   The blind are quick of hearing; the deaf are quick of sight. If all advantages be concentrated into a single source,* you will have ten times as many soldiers under your command as you would otherwise; and after the revolution of three days and nights you will have ten thousand times as many.


   When the human Spirit is contained in the Mind, it is complete in all its completeness, in the Mind. If it be divided into three, its strength will be no longer complete. For instance, sight is not hearing; but in exercising the faculty of sight, there really is a secret appropriation of the hearing power. Hearing is not sight; but in exercising the faculty of hearing, there is really a secret appropriation of the power of vision. How do we know that this participation takes place? Thus—that the blind are quick of hearing, and the deaf quick of sight; that is how we know it. If, of these two things, one be discarded, the remaining one will obtain just so much the more power; and thus we may know that, if anything be divided between two, both will have but little. Thus if one particular advantage be made exclusive use of, and gathered into a single source, the force at your command will be increased ten-fold. If, then, the advantage being all thus concentrated, you put forth greater energy, your force will be increased a hundred-fold, whether you be engaged in the employment of your own perceptive faculties or in that of soldiery.


p. 56


   The Mind is produced from matter and dies with matter; the working faculty resides in the Eye.*


   Man has no Mind [as existing apart from his body]; his Eye is his mind. What the eye sees, the mind acquires; what the eye cannot see the mind does not obtain. What the eye sees is matter; what the mind knows is simply whatever object is seen with the eye. How, then, can those who are born blind acquire knowledge? They acquire knowledge by depending on the eyes of others.


   Though Heaven has no benignity, the most benign results are produced by its operations; there is nothing to which even the crashing thunderclap and the cruel wind do not impart vitality.


   The very injury done to man and things is a source of benefit to them. The very death visited upon them leads to their revivification. Those who understand this law are able to govern both themselves and others.


   Perfect joy consists in one's nature having abundance, or being fully satisfied; perfect tranquillity, in being contented with little.


   If [man's] nature has not abundance, it is dissatisfied. Joy consists in the mind having abundance, more than it possesses capacity for Quiescence consists in the mind being as it were unsatisfied, having less than it possesses capacity for. One may use much or little according to the measure of one's faculty; and I understand the use that should be made of both.


   Heaven appears most partial; but in reality its dealings are most just.


   Heaven, in its relations with created beings, deals with them all differently; which seems partial in the extreme. But these differences are equalized, or harmonised, by virtue of their very differentiation,—or, harmony is evolved from these very inequalities; and thus their treatment on the part of Heaven is, in reality, most just.


   It is on account of this apparent partiality that things attain perfection; for although they are treated unequally, such treatment is really right and just. Jutice, or equity, consists in [equitable] distribution. p. 57Partiality, or selfishness, consists in the setting-up of one's self, and so apportioning [one's energies] as to become a match for the whole world. The selfish are such as are exclusively devoted to themselves; and exclusive devotion to any one thing results in the subtilization or refining [of the power thus cultivated]. Now all beings have their own special vitality, which is exercised by this refined or subtle faculty; thus individuality becomes lost,—[i.e., the body is as though it were not, being reduced to a mere passive instrument].* Individuality cannot be a factor in the equitable; what a man loses himself, another cannot make up to him. Great as is the Earth, there are yet men everywhere; wherefore the rain and dew descend, and overspread it. Earth gives birth to herbs, trees, birds and beasts, and receives them again at their death; the Sun and Moon shine upon her, and she is brought under the influence of their light and heat; in the course of a single year she derives in great abundance all that is thus diffused. Heaven has never yet conferred gifts, as such; but nothing that proceeds from it ever returns to it again. Thus it is that Heaven is perfectly equitable in its actions—i.e., just to all alike; but men only know that Heaven is equitable—they do not know the use made by it of partiality. The partiality, or inequitableness of Heaven is far removed from its capacity for self-sufficiency. Heaven has no affection for anything external to itself; in its exercise—or dealing with such things—it is sparing of its most subtle agencies and parsimonious of its vitalizing influences; it is only its superfluities that it dispenses abroad. It is for this reason that it is able to act without limit. The partiality of Heaven is far greater than that of the Earth, but its equity is also far greater than the equity of the Earth; for if Heaven were not avaricious of its own, its resources would in time be exhausted, and how could men or things rely upon it any more? Wherefore partiality is the very essence of TAO, and the height of partiality proves to be the height of justice.


   The Laws affecting the Animal Creation reside in the Breath, or Vital Fluid.


   All things in the world confer vitalityupon each other; and when the use made of the material form [thus produced] is great, the injury is small. When all things use their refined and subtle essence in competing p. 58 with each other, the Breath of Vital Fluid is not called much into play, and great consequences are obtained. It afterwards becomes known that the superiority of the great over the small results from the employment of the Vital Fluid, which, hidden in the body, enables the body to confer it in its turn on others; for what power to do so has the body of itself?


   Life is the root of Death; Death is the root of Life. Beneficence is produced from Injury and Injury from Beneficence.


   When men seek advantage where no advantage properly exists, any advantage so acquired will be utterly nullified—or, turned into injury. If injury is sought where no injury properly exists, injury will result from [what would otherwise be] advantage. If this theory be minutely investigated, and examined by the light of the past, we may arrive at an understanding of its intrinsic or essential truth. [For instance]: winter exercises a beneficial influence in heralding the spring, while summer exercises a pernicious influence in introducing autumn.


   If the stupid study the science of Heaven and Earth, they may become wise; I, by studying the science of Seasons and Things, become enlightened. Those who fear stupidity, become stupid; I, because I do not fear stupidity, am wise. Others use means with a view to becoming wise; I do not so. Wherefore it may be said that those who drown themselves in water in order to extinguish a fire, seek their own destruction.


   The minute investigation of the science of Heaven and Earth suffices to confer a knowledge of Height and Depth. The minute investigation of the science of Seasons and of Things suffices to confer a knowledge of what is Subtle and Diminutive. Though others always pursue their researches among the Distant, I pursue mine amid the Near. This is quite sufficient, the Near being the necessary condition of the Distant. Wherefore, those whom others call wise, I regard as stupid. In cases where the extreme summit of all Doctrine has been reached, the epithets 'wise' and 'stupid' should both be abjured. Thus there are, among men, those who desire stupidity and those who aim at wisdom; but I neither pursue the one nor seek the other. Abiding in neither stupidity nor wisdom, I also rest not in mere enlightenment [or cleverness]. The place where my body is at ease is outside both stupidity and wisdom; it is in [the contemplation of] Times and Things that I penetrate the mysteries of the Sublime. How, then, can I run counter to those mainsprings of action which exist in the world around me? Let the Outward manifestation [of wisdom and stupidity] be once seen, and the injury inherent in both will be experienced. The one will plunge men into water and the other throw them into fire, so that in either case they will come to an untimely end.


p. 59


   The Principle of Spontaneity* is quiescent; and from it Heaven, Earth, and All Things are produced.


   Spontaneity acts, yet acts not; its force, or influence, is silent. If we observe the growth of vegetation, we see that the process takes place secretly in the dead of night; when we rise next day we find suddenly that there is augmentation. By this it may be known that things are born of stillness, the verification of which fact is found in the stillness of the night. But there is stillness which belongs to the day, too; and the nature of this stillness is most recondite. Yet when its greatness is investigated, what part is it not found to have played in the production of Heaven and Earth?


   The Principle of Heaven and Earth is gradual in its working; so that the Yin and Yang flourish abundantly. When the Yin and Yang alternate with each other, the transmutations of the Universe flow smoothly on; for which reason the Sage knows that the Law of Spontaneity may not be opposed, and so he controls it [by gentle means].


   Cold may produce the congealment of water; heat will cause the fusion of metal. These two influences are mutually antagonistic. But both, in reaching their culminating points, progress by degrees, and this law of degrees implies a gradual process, extended over a long period of time. By such a protracted process water may be changed into fire, and winter into summer. Of those who originate, or embody, ideas, and those who carry such ideas into execution, the former are characterized by quiescence, while the latter work cautiously, or step by step; and where these two things exist, everything may be accomplished. I owe all the power I possess to them. The usefulness of an axe is fulfilled in thinning out a forest; a vessel speeds along only when its sails are filled with wind. All the strength I have, I derive from quiescence, and the habit of acting gradually; all my knowledge has been conferred upon me from the same source,


   The Sage acts by this Law of Gradation to transform both Things and Thoughts, and to change the expression of another's countenance; he acts by the Law of Quiescence to control all beings that move, and to fathom the motive principles of Heaven.


   The Yin is antagonistic to the Yang; but now, if the principle of gradualness be brought into play, the opposition between the two will be forgotten. The Yang is entered from the Yin, and the Yin from the Yang; for both are the same fundamentally. And how is this? It results from that Circularity to which Heaven conforms its external shape. Heaven is circular; circularity is the condition of its stability; and all p. 60 things thus revolving in a circle, with Heaven, pass through stages of decadence and decay. Now deteriorating, now compliant, now waning, and now dependent on one another, each gets nearer to the other the further each one goes. A superficial contemplation of what lies abroad enables one to distinguish the four points of the compass; but if a man pushes his investigations to the furthest possible limit, what does he find does not follow [the universal order]?


   Seeing that the Principle of Quiescence cannot be brought under the control of calendrical computations, it needs be that there is a mysterious Receptacle [in Nature];* and from this have sprung the Myriad Simulacra, the Eight Diagrams, the Sexagenary Cycle, the potent faculties of Spirits, and the invisibility of Demons. The mystery of the antagonism between the Yin and the Yang is clearly manifest, and enters into all forms of visible existence.


   The things recorded in calendars are recorded in the order of their progression; when this is not so, they are noted according to the spontaneity of their nature. Now Spontaneity is the highest form of Quiescence; what is recorded is the active, or working, phase of things; and this active phase being placed on record, the quiescent element becomes more absolutely hidden than ever. Wherefore quiescence is the mysterious Receptacle of Heaven; quiescence produces transmutation and change, and it is through this that Vital Force and Destiny exist. Destiny takes its rise from the two constellations Emptiness and Danger; and from it proceeds the Sexagenary Cycle. Days, months, years, and hours are all dated from the first stem of the Cycle, and the first of each is named Chia Tsze accordingly. The Chia Tsze being once established, the full number of the Sexagenary Cycle became completed, the four points of the compass and the four seasons were instituted, everything which has form was produced. But the root from which they all sprang was the One Spontaneous Quiescence; is not this wonderful—mysterious? We call it wonderful, but the epithet is insufficient. Wherefore it may be said, with reference to the potent faculties of spirits and the invisible element in demons, that it is from this that the spirits derive their powers inexhaustibly, and from this that demons derive their invisibility, without ceasing. Thus it may be known that the antagonism which exists between the Yin and the Yang takes its rise from this cause; and p. 61further we may know that this antagonism does not lie in outward, visible things. When a certain destination has been reached, and the person so reaching it then passes beyond it, that is called advancing. The alternation which takes place between the Yin and the Yang constitutes their present difference; and this comes from their spontaneous nature, which constituted their difference in the past.


SUMMARY.

   The Intelligent Faculty resides in the Mind; but its exercise is wholly dependent upon the existence of external objects. If there is nothing upon which to rest the thoughts, the thinking power will perforce remain unoccupied; if the intelligent faculty be not centred upon the abstruse or sublime, the thoughts will not be deep; if it be not employed upon the perplexing and that which has only the semblance of reality, the thoughts will not be able to branch off into side issues; from which it follows that this faculty must necessarily have its tally, in the shape of something objective to work upon, before it can begin to act. But if it borrows any of the foregoing objects of thought as a vehicle for itself, the faculty is still most certainly subjective—or, it still resides in me, and is at my own disposal; consequently contemplation can be pursued to the very furthest point. If one looks steadfastly at the empty air for any length of time, one begins to see tiny objects floating dimly before the eyes; if one peers into darkness for any length of time, one begins to distinguish a little light; but these appearances have no actual objectivity,—they are purely subjective, and exist only in myself. Wherefore this book, the 'Clue to the Unseen,' is intended to show men how to look for Correspondences in the Obscure; and here may be found [the explanation of] all that perplexes, and which has only the semblance of reality. Whether one desires to use this book to nourish the body, or to assist him in military tactics, both objects may be attained. If one holds a definite object in view, the course to attain it should be followed with a single mind; for a multiplicity of ideas will never agree with one another—they are mutually incompatible. Yet can it be said that this teaching is deceptive and far-fetched? The myriad changes and transformations which take place in the world are all included under one law; wherefore the Yî Ching deals with all existing simulacra as they are pourtrayed in the Ho-t‘u and the Lo-shu.* If a small portion [of this principle] be applied, or brought into coincidence, with created things, it is not that this will environ or comprehend them all equally; it is that p. 62 all things are really one [in their reception of the influences of Heaven]. Those who understand this cause, wherever their eyes and ears may reach, will all be able to recognise the hidden correspondences of Nature, and will not need to study the 'Clue to the Unseen' itself. Only let the doctrine here taught be brought face to face with [the phenomena of] Heaven and Earth, and it will prove to have sprung from the Radical, the Great, and the Primordial. Thus the Five Elements act with a view to beneficence; the Sage alone regards them in the light of robbers. The myriad transmutations take place with a view to utility; the Sage alone regards them as destructive. The nine openings exist with a view to what is right and proper; the Sage alone regards them as the means of abuse. All things contribute to each other's growth, or welfare; the Sage alone regards them all as plunderers. But in observing the immediate sequel of these phenomena, men fail to get a knowledge of their ultimate destiny or aim; so that the affairs of the world are some of them in good repute, while others are looked upon as evil, ordinary reason being pointed at as the essence of all knowledge! Therefore, I recognise good influences in robbery itself; I can distinguish utility in the midst of destruction; I can find advantage in the midst of plunder, and gather what is of real consequence out of the midst of abuses. An absence of all benignity (passionlessness) constitutes Law—or, the Principle of Nature; utter partiality constitutes super-excellence; while the Six Evils contain in themselves the gist and essence of this 'Clue to the Unseen.'


Next

Footnotes

p. 50


* Rain—which is the influence of the element Wood: Fine Weather—the influence of the element Metal: Heat—the influence of the element Fire: Cold—the influence of the element Water: and Wind—the influence of the element Earth.


 The Five Breaths or Afflati represent, in the order in which they stand, the Five so-called Elements of Nature—see above, Note.* Thus Earth, or that which is in the Centre, may be injured by Wood.—q.d., implements of husbandry; Water by Earth—the solid and fluid being mutually opposed; Fire by Water—the latter extinguishing the former; Metal by Fire—as being melted by it; while Wood is liable to be cut and spoiled by Metal.


p. 51


* Referring to the theory put forward in the italicised text, that Man is the Moral Nature of Heaven. I think I may claim to have translated this most enigmatical passage correctly. The Chinese runs as follows: ###.


 Invisible agents become supernaturally visible.


 That is, the stars and constellations, which are the countenance of Heaven, are all disturbed and thrown into confusion when Heaven is angry; just as the face of a man becomes distorted when the man is in a rage. Each of these short sections is simply an amplification of its heading.


p. 52


* According to the English proverb that Heaven only helps those who help themselves.


 For instance, the antagonism of water to fire is of great use to matter in the case of a conflagration; and matter thus reaps the benefit.


 The idea evidently is that ### and ### are the ### of which ### and ### are respectively the ###.


p. 54


* Possibly referring to the Holy or Ideal Man, who is said in some mystic sense to be the creator of the world. Or it may mean that many things owe their existence to the energies of man, as vegetable productions, which are sown and reared by human Instrumentality.


 The Chinese idiom is here puzzling in the extreme: ###.


 Here again the text is most difficult to make anything of. It runs ###.


p. 55


* This is the translation of a very obscure idiom in the original: ###. It occurs in the ### of Huang T‘ing-chien, where it is followed by the phrase ###.


 This reminds us of a scene in the Malade Imaginaire, where Toinette recommends Argan to poke out one of his eyes in order that he may see better with the other.


p. 56


* This short section is peculiarly interesting as embodying a bold denial of any future life or the existence of spirit apart from matter.


 All knowledge is objective; the mind has no subjective existence or perceptions. It is as it were, created by the object perceived, just as colour is produced by the rays of light which are thrown back from the object instead of being absorbed. Light is a necessary condition of colour; if there were no light, colour could not exist; and similarly if there were no external object of perception there would be no perceptive faculty—no mind. The same idea occurs in Chuang Tsze, where it is affirmed that a road has no actual objective existence; it is the act of walking which produces the road, and if no one walked the road would not exist.


 In other words, a law of compensation runs through the whole economy of Nature; the rigour of northern climates being accompanied by a plentiful supply of fur for the protection of the inhabitants—and so on. See the first chapter of Huai-nan Tsze, where this idea is gone into at some length.


p. 57


* This passage runs as follows: ###. It seems capable of another and less abstract rendering, in which would be synonymous with ###; but although I do not claim more than an approximation to accuracy for the translation given above, I hesitate to adopt the physiological interpretation, as irrelevant to the context.


 Its resources are never exhausted because always carefully husbanded; therefore the apparent parsimony of Heaven is really just and wise.


 Literally, the coarse; that is, the ###, in opposition to the ### or subtle essence.


p. 59


* Including both self-existence and spontaneous or natural action. The phrase in the original is ###.


 Or, accomplishes ends by not acting. Or again, acts as though not acting.


 In the text, "both belong to the same category or order."


p. 60


* Compare Tao Tê Ching, chap. LXII.


 For an example of the character ### being used in the sense of destiny, see the Shu Ching, where Yao addresses Shun, saying, ###. It means the appointment of Heaven, the unavoidabe lot.


 Two of the Twenty-eight Constellations or Stellar Mansions. "Emptiness" ### consists of two stars in a straight line, viz.Beta in the left shoulder of Aquarius and Alpha in the forehead of Equuleus. 'Danger' ### consists of three stars, in the shape of an obtuse-angle, viz.Alpha in the right shoulder of Aquarius, Epsilon or Enif, and Theta in the head of Pegasus.—MAYERS.


p. 61


* The mystic scrolls presented to Fu Hsi by the river-dragon in the guise of a tortoise. The sentence in question might perhaps be translated with considerable amplification, thus: "Wherefore the Yî Chingcomprehends, under this doctrine, all existing simulacra—[this doctrine] having been set forth in the Ho-t‘u and Lo-shu."