<h2><SPAN name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></SPAN>CHAPTER IV</h2>
<p class="smaller">Lao-Tsze and Confucius compared—The appearance of
Kilin, the fabulous dragon, to the father of Confucius—Early
life of the Philosopher—The death and funeral of his mother—His
views on funeral ceremonies—His visit to the King of
Lu and discourse on the nature of man—Confucius advocates
gymnasium exercises—His love of music—His summary of
the whole duty of woman—He describes the life of a widow—He
gives a list of the classes of men to be avoided in
marriage—The seven legitimate reasons for the divorce of a
wife—The three exceptions rendering divorce illegal—The
missionary Gutzlaff's opinion of Confucius' view of woman's
position—The Philosopher meets a man about to commit
suicide—He rescues him from despair—He loses thirteen of
his own followers.</p>
<p><span class="smcap">Under</span> the continued influence of Lao-Tsze,
China would probably have become in course of
time crowded with monasteries, in which numerous
bonzes would have devoted their lives to sterile
contemplation, which would have profited their
country not at all. Fortunately, however, the old
philosopher was succeeded by the more practical
Confucius, who made China what he meant it to
be during his life-time, enforcing respect for tradition
with the strict observance of the worship of
<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</SPAN></span>
ancestors. Devoted to agriculture, he did much to
promote its scientific practice; an inexorable lover
of justice, he had no mercy on the abuses and
peculations of the mandarins. He knew how to
turn to account every incident which could redound
to his fame, and about his name gathered many
romantic legends such as serve to fix on their hero
the love and admiration of the populace. In this
he differed, as did all the other great leaders of
thought in the East, from Lao-Tsze, who owed his
celebrity to the culte of pure reason alone, a
doctrine too abstract for the apprehension of the
general public, who ever delight in the marvellous.
The earlier philosopher appeared and disappeared
with absolutely no <i>éclat</i>, and his most ardent
admirers never associated his birth or death with
anything supernatural. It was far otherwise with
Buddha, Confucius, Mahomet, and our Saviour,
who one and all were credited with the power of
working miracles, though those of Christ alone
have been authenticated.</p>
<p>It could only detract from the real glory of
Confucius to dwell on the many extraordinary
phenomena which are said by his disciples to have
accompanied his entrance into the world. The
great Chinese dragon called <i>Kilin</i>, who never
comes down to earth from his home in heaven
except to foretell marvellous events, failed not to
appear in the garden of the house of the future
hero's father, where he vomited forth a stone of
jade bearing the following inscription:</p>
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</SPAN></span></p>
<p>"A child as pure as the crystalline wave will be
born when the dynasty of Tcheu is in its decline;
he will be king, but without any kingdom."</p>
<div class="fig_center" style="width: 327px;"><SPAN name="Fig_24"></SPAN><br/>
<ANTIMG src="images/fig24.png" width-obs="327" height-obs="452" alt="" />
<div class="fig_caption">FIG. 24.—THE HOUSE IN WHICH CONFUCIUS WAS BORN.<br/>
(<i>Univers Pittoresque.</i>)</div>
</div>
<div class="sidenote">BIRTH OF CONFUCIUS</div>
<p>According to the most trustworthy accounts
Confucius was born in the village of Ch'ieh in the
present province of Shantung in <span class="smcap">B.C.</span> 551. The
only child of his parents, he lost his father when
he was but three years old, and was brought up by
<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</SPAN></span>
his mother, who was left with very little money.
To quote the philosopher's own words, he could
from the first "do whatever his heart prompted,
and his mind was set on learning from the age of
fifteen."</p>
<div class="fig_center" style="width: 383px;"><SPAN name="Fig_25"></SPAN><br/>
<ANTIMG src="images/fig25.png" width-obs="383" height-obs="380" alt="" />
<div class="fig_caption">FIG. 25.—PORTRAIT OF CONFUCIUS.<br/>
(<i>Univers Pittoresque.</i>)</div>
</div>
<p>Before he was twenty he had attracted the
general attention of his neighbours through the
skill with which he rendered fertile districts which
had long been considered barren. He was equally
successful in the breeding of flocks, and the land
under his care supported thousands of animals, so
that the farmers who before could scarcely eke out
<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</SPAN></span>
a miserable subsistence, now found themselves rich
and well-to-do.</p>
<div class="sidenote">QUOTATION FROM CONFUCIUS</div>
<div class="fig_center" style="width: 501px;"><SPAN name="Fig_26"></SPAN><br/>
<ANTIMG src="images/fig26.png" width-obs="501" height-obs="266" alt="" />
<div class="fig_caption">FIG. 26.—A FUNERAL PROCESSION IN CHINA.</div>
</div>
<p>On the death of his mother he had her body
transported to the
grave of his father,
saying: "Those
who were united
in life should not
be separated after
death." The two
were therefore
buried together
with their heads
towards the north
and their feet towards
the south.
The remains were
protected from
wild beasts by
being placed in
strongly constructed
wooden
coffins, made of
planks four inches
thick and smeared
with oil and varnish.
To ensure
their preservation as long as possible mounds of earth
forming regular little hills were piled up above them.</p>
<p>During the three years of mourning which
succeeded his sad loss, when, according to a custom
<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</SPAN></span>
still observed, he could do no public work, Confucius
devoted himself to the study of ancient
usage in everything connected with the death of a
father or a mother.</p>
<div class="sidenote" id="Fig_27">A CHINESE TOMB</div>
<div class="fig_center_hh" style="width: 395px;">
<ANTIMG src="images/fig27.png" width-obs="395" height-obs="469" alt="" /></div>
<div class="fright_tp"><span class="fig_caption">FIG. 27.—CHINESE TOMBS.</span><br/>
<ANTIMG src="images/fig27a.png" width-obs="387" height-obs="256" alt="" /></div>
<div class="fright_bt"><ANTIMG src="images/fig27b.png" width-obs="177" height-obs="209" alt="" /></div>
<p>"As man," he wrote, "is
the most perfect being
under heaven, that of
which he is made up is
worthy of the very greatest
respect; as he is by nature
the king of the earth,
every other creature upon
that earth is subject to his
laws and bound to do him homage; to be indifferent
to what becomes of his remains when the breath
of life no longer animates those remains, is to a
certain extent to degrade him from his dignity,
<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</SPAN></span>
and to reduce him to the level of the brutes. The
honours you render to those you replace upon the
earth will be rendered to you in your turn by those
who succeed you."</p>
<div class="sidenote">BURIAL CUSTOMS IN CHINA</div>
<p>During a long sojourn in the Philippine Islands,
which have recently been so very much before
the public in consequence of the results of the war
between America and Spain, I was surprised to
notice that the cemeteries were as a rule situated
in the most barren and uncultivated districts.
Once a year plates of rice were brought and
placed upon the graves by the relatives of those
interred in them. When I arrived in China, however,
I found the same peculiarity the fashion
there, and the last resting-places of the dead who
had once resided in Canton, Macao, and other
large Chinese towns were far away from the haunts
of the living. The reason was explained by the
sentence quoted below from the books of the great
philosopher which is translated from Father Amiot's
version.</p>
<p>It appears that some agents of Confucius had
been sent by him to survey certain districts in the
kingdom of Lu, and on their return they reported
to him that wealthy inhabitants were in the habit
of erecting sepulchres on lands which might be
made very fertile.</p>
<p>"That is a strange abuse," cried Confucius, "and
one which I mean to remedy. Burial-places should
not resemble gardens of pleasure and amusement,
they should be the scene of sobs and tears; it was
<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</SPAN></span>
thus that they were regarded by the ancients. To
enjoy magnificent and sumptuous repasts where
everything is suggestive of luxury and joy, near
the tombs containing the bones of those to whom
we owe our lives, is a kind of insult to the dead.
These tombs must no longer be surrounded by
walls, they must no longer be encircled by trees
symmetrically
planted. When
deprived of all
these frivolous
ornaments, the
homage which
all will hasten to
pay to those who
have ceased to
live will be sincere
and pure.
If, then, we desire
to perform
funeral rites in
the spirit of their
first founders we must remain true to the traditions
of the sages of the remote past."</p>
<div class="fig_left" style="width: 277px;"><SPAN name="Fig_28"></SPAN><br/>
<ANTIMG src="images/fig28.png" width-obs="277" height-obs="289" alt="" />
<div class="fig_caption">FIG. 28.—A CHINESE CEMETERY.</div>
</div>
<p>For the twenty-three centuries which have
elapsed since this protest was written, Chinese
sepulchres have always been placed on high ground
of a dreary, desolate aspect, with nothing to mark
them but a plain unsculptured slab of stone.</p>
<p>Philosophers very seldom become real friends,
and the more they are thrown together the less
<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</SPAN></span>
cordial become their relations. The story goes that
Confucius as a young man went to pay his respects
to Lao-Tsze, but that the latter gave his visitor very
haughtily to understand that he considered him
wanting in humility, by which he probably meant
that Confucius was too much occupied with the
things of this world, and not enough with those of
heaven. The fact is, that the younger reformer
was interested in everything that was going on
wherever he happened to be, and was ready to talk
to everybody. For all that, however, he studied
the most abstruse psychological problems, and I do
not suppose that even Lao-Tsze himself could have
made a better answer than Confucius did to the
King of Lu when he asked the difficult question
quoted below.</p>
<div class="sidenote">THE KING OF LU</div>
<p>It must be remembered that in the time of
Confucius, China was divided into little kingdoms,
all of which the sage, who was fond of travelling,
visited in turn. When he arrived at Lu, the king,
who was already an old man, received him at once,
and is reported to have thus addressed him:</p>
<p>"I have been expecting you with impatience, for
I want you to explain certain things to me about
nature and man. Man, our sages tell us, is
distinguished from all other visible beings by the
intellectual faculty which renders him capable of
reasoning, and all our wise men agree in adding
that man derives this valuable faculty direct from
Heaven. Now is it not true that we derive our
whole nature from our parents, even as other beings
<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</SPAN></span>
are reproduced by generation? I entreat you to
enlighten me on this point."</p>
<p>"It is not easy," replied Confucius, "to explain
clearly to you a matter of which so little is really
known. To obey you, however, I will give you in
a few words a <i>résumé</i> of all I know on the subject,
and your own penetration will find out the rest.</p>
<p>"A portion of the substance of the father and
the mother placed in the organ formed for its
reception is the cause of our existence and the
germ of our being. This germ would, however,
remain inert and dead without the help of the two
contrary principles of the Yang and the Yin.<SPAN name="FNanchor_3" id="FNanchor_3"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</SPAN>—These
two universal agents of nature, which are in all
things and everywhere, act reciprocally on it, developing
it, insensibly extending and continuing it,
and causing it to assume definite form.</p>
<div class="footnote">
<p><SPAN name="Footnote_3" id="Footnote_3"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></SPAN> "In the order of living beings," says M. G. Pauthier, in the section
on China of <i>L'Univers Pittoresque</i>, "the Yang and the Yin are the male
and female principles; in the order of the elements they are the luminous
and the dark principles; in the order of natural substances the strong and
the weak principles."</p>
</div>
<p>"The germ has now become a living being, but
this living being is not yet promoted to the dignity
of a man; it does not become one until it is united
with that intellectual substance which Heaven
bestows on it to enable it to understand, to compare,
and to judge. So long as this being, thus animated
and endowed with intelligence, continues to combine
the two principles necessary to the development,
extension, the growth and the perfection of its
<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</SPAN></span>
form, it will enjoy life; it ceases to live as soon as
these two principles cease to combine. It does
not attain to the fulness of life except by degrees,
and by means of expansion; in the same way
it is only finally destroyed by gradual decay.
Its destruction is not, however, destruction properly
so called, it is a decomposition into its original
elements; the intellectual substance returns to
the heaven whence it came; the animal breath,
or the <i>Khi</i>, becomes united with the aërial fluid,
whilst the earthly and liquid substances become
once more earth and water.</p>
<div class="sidenote">THE NATURE OF MAN</div>
<p>"Man, say our ancient sages, is a unique being,
in whom are united the attributes of all other beings.
He is endowed with intelligence, with the power of
attaining perfection, with liberty, and with social
qualities; he is able to discriminate, to compare, to
work for a definite aim, and to take the necessary
measures for the attainment of that aim. He may
become perfect or depraved according to the good
or evil use he makes of his liberty; he is
acquainted alike with virtue and vice, and feels that
he has duties to perform towards Heaven, himself,
and his fellow-men. If he acquit himself of these
various duties, he is virtuous and worthy of
recompense; he is culpable and merits punishment
if he neglects them. This is a very short <i>résumé</i>
of all I can tell you of the nature of man."</p>
<p>The King of Lu, it is said, was delighted with
this reply, as how could he fail to be? Some years
later the monarch made his sage adviser prime
<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</SPAN></span>
minister of his realm, and the philosopher remained
in power for three years, administering justice so
rigorously that, says one of his biographers, "if
gold or jewels were dropped on the highway they
would remain untouched until the rightful owner
appeared to claim them." The story goes that
under Confucius, Lu became so prosperous as to
arouse the jealousy of the neighbouring King of
Tse, who, with a wonderful insight into human
nature, sent not an army, but a troop of beautiful
dancing-girls to the court of the rival monarch.
The manœuvre was successful; the King of Lu
neglected the affairs of state to watch the posturing
of the sirens, and Confucius fell into disgrace.
When he proudly told his sovereign to choose
between him and the dancers, the old king promptly
replied that he preferred the latter; so Confucius
went forth with his followers to seek his fortunes
elsewhere.</p>
<div class="sidenote">CONFUCIUS ON THE ARTS</div>
<p>Many are the anecdotes told of the wanderings
of the sage after this tragic end to his work of
reformation in his native state. In some districts
he was gladly welcomed; in others he was often in
danger of his life. At the court of Yen, where
the king questioned him much as the monarch
of Lu had done, he held forth less on abstruse
doctrine than on education. "Young men," he is
reported to have said, "should travel and become
acquainted with many lands, so as to be able to
judge the customs of different nations, and the
peculiar characteristics of various races. I am so
<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</SPAN></span>
penetrated by this truth," he added, "that I will
not fail to put it in practice whenever I get the
opportunity. I would recommend the exercises of
the gymnasium to all adolescents, and the study
of what are called the liberal arts: Music, civil
and religious ceremonial, arithmetic, fencing, and
the art (<i>sic</i>) of managing skilfully a carriage of
any kind drawn by horses or oxen." To his son,
who asked him if he ought to devote himself to
poetry, he replied: "You will never know how to
speak or write well unless you make verses."</p>
<p>One day he met a party of hunters, and, to the
great surprise of his own followers, he asked to be
allowed to join them, explaining that the first inhabitants
of the earth lived by the chase alone, and
adding that the reason he wished to be a hunter
was to impress upon those about him once more
how great a respect he had for the traditions of
olden times.</p>
<p>He learnt music when very young, and found in
it a rest and recreation after his arduous and varied
avocations. He became, it is said, so wonderfully
skilful in the art of music, that when he had once
heard the work of a composer, he could draw a
faithful portrait of him, bringing out alike his
physical and moral characteristics, which was
indeed going to the very root of the matter. As
for me, I do not think it is by any means necessary
to be able to perform on an instrument in order
to form a very good idea of the character of such
composers as Rossini, Berlioz, and Wagner, after
<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</SPAN></span>
hearing <i>Il Barbiere di Siviglia</i>, <i>Les Troyens</i>, or
<i>Die Meistersinger</i>; but as for giving portraits of
their personal appearance, that would truly be
difficult!</p>
<p>Confucius, who took to himself a wife at the
age of nineteen, was in favour of early marriages,
and placed the limit of age for a woman at twenty,
and for a man at thirty. He founded his arguments
on the fact that in China a boy is considered
to have become a man directly he enters
his twentieth year, and that as soon as a girl is
fifteen the management of the house is entrusted
to her during the winter, whilst in the spring, when
ploughing begins, she is sent to look after the mulberry
trees. At the respective ages of twenty and
fifteen, a boy and girl may become the head of a
family, "if," discreetly adds the sage, "the parents
give permission."</p>
<div class="sidenote">MEANING OF THE PHŒNIX</div>
<p>I take a real pleasure in recalling the kindly
sayings of this old-world sage, who, it must be
remembered, lived 600 years before the birth of
our Lord, a fact which ought to silence those who
are accustomed to speak flippantly of the barbarism
of past centuries. Moreover, the laws and
customs advocated by Confucius had really been
in force, in what was then called the "Middle State,"
for no less than 2500 years before the Christian
era, but they had fallen into abeyance. The great
philosopher was not so much an innovator as a
restorer, for so lofty was the morality of the
ancient laws that the Chinese people never dreamt
<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</SPAN></span>
of modifying them. Hence the extraordinary immobility
of the manners and customs of the
Orient, which contrasts so forcibly with the constant
eagerness in the West for meaningless novelties.
To give an account of the doctrines of Confucius is
really to revive the traditions of the remote past,
for which the Celestials have so deep a reverence.
To give but one case in point: noticing that all
mandarins have a phœnix with outspread wings
embroidered on their robes, I inquired what it
meant, and learnt to my astonishment that in the
year 500 <span class="smcap">B.C.</span> an Emperor had ordered this
design to be worn by his chief officers on their
breasts. The fabulous phœnix, the herald of good
fortune so often seen in China, had appeared to
this Emperor on his ascent to the throne; a sure
symbol in the eyes of the Chinese of a prosperous
reign, and the conservative Mandarins have kept
up the custom of wearing a representation of the
bird with outstretched wings ever since.</p>
<p>For the benefit of those who do not rightly
reverence antiquity, I will quote a speech on the
subject of marriage, addressed by Confucius to
the King of Lu before the great philosopher was
exiled from the kingdom he had ruled over so
wisely.</p>
<p>"Marriage," said the sage, "is the right state for
man, because it is only through marriage that he
can fulfil his destiny upon earth; there is therefore
nothing more honourable, nothing more worthy
of his serious consideration than his power of
<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</SPAN></span>
fulfilling exactly all duties. Amongst these are
some shared in common by both sexes, others
which are to be performed by each sex in particular.
The man is the head, it is for him to command;
the woman is subject to him, it is for her to obey.
It is the function of both together to imitate those
operations of the heaven
and the earth which combine
in the production, the
support, and the preservation
of all things. Reciprocal
tenderness, mutual
confidence, truthfulness and
respect, should form the
foundation of their conduct;
instruction and direction on
the part of the husband,
docility and complaisance
on the part of the woman,
in everything which does
not interfere with the requirements
of justice, propriety,
and honour.</p>
<div class="fig_left" style="width: 172px;"><SPAN name="Fig_29"></SPAN><br/>
<ANTIMG src="images/fig29.png" width-obs="172" height-obs="333" alt="" />
<div class="fig_caption">FIG. 29.—A YOUNG CHINESE MARRIED LADY.</div>
</div>
<div class="sidenote">CHINESE WIDOWS</div>
<p>"As society is now constituted, the woman owes
all that she is to her husband. If death takes him
from her, it does not make her her own mistress.
As a daughter, she was under the authority of her
father and mother, or failing them of the brothers
older than herself; as a wife she was ruled by her
husband as long as he lived; as a widow she is
under the surveillance of her son, or if she has
<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</SPAN></span>
several sons, of the eldest of them, and this son,
whilst ministering to her with all possible affection
and respect, will shield her from all the dangers
to which the weakness of her sex might expose
her. Custom does not permit second marriage to
a widow, but prescribes on the contrary that she
should seclude herself within the precincts of her
own house, and never leave it again all the rest of
her life. She is forbidden to attend to any business,
no matter what, outside her home. As a result
she ought not to understand any such business;
she will not even meddle in domestic matters
unless compelled to do so by necessity, that is to
say, whilst her children are still young. During the
day she should avoid showing herself, by refraining
from going from room to room, unless obliged to
do so. And during the night the room in which
she sleeps should always be lit up. Only by
leading a retired life such as this will she win
amongst her descendants the glory of having
fulfilled the duties of a virtuous woman."</p>
<p>It would indeed be difficult for a widow to live
up to such an ideal as this, and that the Chinese
themselves realize the fact, is proved by their
raising monuments to the memory of those who
succeed.</p>
<p>"I have already said," adds Confucius, "that
between fifteen and twenty is the age at which a
girl should change her state by marriage. As on
this change of state depends the happiness or
misery in which she will pass the rest of her days,
<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</SPAN></span>
nothing should be neglected to procure for her a
proper establishment, and the most advantageous
one permitted by circumstances. Special care
should be taken not to allow her to enter a family
which has taken part in any conspiracy against
the State, or in any open revolt, or into one whose
affairs are in disorder, or which is agitated by
internal dissensions. She should not have a
husband chosen for her who has been publicly
dishonoured by any crime bringing him under the
notice of the law; to a man suffering from any
chronic complaint, any mental eccentricity, any
bodily deformity, such as would make it difficult
to get on with him, or render him repulsive or
disagreeable, or to a man who is the eldest of a
family but has neither father nor mother. With
the exception of these five classes of men, a husband
may be chosen for her from any rank of society,
with whom it will depend on herself alone whether
she passes her life happily or not. She has but to
fulfil exactly all the duties of her new state to
enjoy the portion of bliss destined for her."</p>
<p>It is the parents who decide who their children
shall marry, and a young Chinaman does not
know his <i>fiancée</i> until the day of his wedding.
This explains why Confucius thought it necessary
to go into all these details on the subject of suitable
husbands.</p>
<div class="sidenote">REASONS FOR DIVORCE</div>
<p>"A husband," he adds, "has the right to put
away his wife, but he must not use this right in an
arbitrary manner; he must have some legitimate
<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</SPAN></span>
cause for enforcing it. The legitimate causes of
repudiation reduce themselves to seven: The first
when a woman cannot live in harmony with her
father- or mother-in-law; the second, if she is
unable to perpetuate the race because of her
recognized sterility; the third, if she be justly
suspected of having violated conjugal fidelity, or
if she gives any proof of unchastity; the fourth, if
she bring trouble into her home by calumnious
or indiscreet reports; the fifth, if she have; any
infirmity such as every man would naturally shrink
from; the sixth, if it is difficult to correct her of
the use of intemperate language; the seventh, if
unknown to her husband she steals anything
secretly in the house, no matter from what motive.</p>
<p>"Although any one of these reasons is sufficient
to authorize a husband to put away his wife, there
are three circumstances which forbid him to use
his right: the first, when his wife has neither father
nor mother, and would have nowhere to go to;
the second, when she is in mourning for her father-
or mother-in-law, for three years after the death of
either of them; the third, when her husband, having
been poor when he married her, has subsequently
become rich."</p>
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</SPAN></span></p>
<div class="fig_center" style="width: 677px;"><SPAN name="Fig_30"></SPAN><br/>
<ANTIMG src="images/fig30.png" width-obs="677" height-obs="435" alt="" />
<div class="fig_caption">FIG. 30.—A MARRIAGE PROCESSION.</div>
</div>
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</SPAN></span></p>
<p>Truly there is much wisdom in the counsels of
Confucius on the vexed subject of marriage, but it
is impossible to help feeling that the very low view
he took of the position of women detracts greatly
from the merit of the discourse quoted above. We
are, in fact, inclined to endorse the opinion of the
missionary Gutzlaff, who, speaking of the revered
sage, remarks: "By not giving a proper rank in
society to females, by denying to them the privileges
which are their due as sisters, mothers, wives, and
daughters ... he has marred the harmony of social
life, and put a barrier against the improvement of
society. The regeneration of China will, in fact,
never take place, unless the females be raised from
the degraded state which Confucius assigned to
them."</p>
<div class="sidenote">SUICIDE</div>
<p>On yet another exciting topic, that of suicide, it
will perhaps be salutary to relate one anecdote
illustrating the view the reformer took of the
matter, now that so many despairing souls have
lost the aids and consolations of religious faith in
struggling with the difficulties of their life on earth;
when followers of the stoical and heroic Zeno are
becoming rarer and rarer, and so many young men
and women resort to the fumes of charcoal, or to
the waters of the nearest river, to put an end to
the woes they have not the courage to face. We
must premise, however, that there is really far more
excuse for an Asiatic to take his own life than
for a European, there being nothing unreasonable
about it according to the doctrine of Buddha, whose
disciples believe firmly in the transmigration of
souls. They do not, it is true, profess to know
whether, if they commit suicide they will become
animals, but they are firmly convinced that they
will continue to live, whereas the atheist has faith
in nothingness alone.</p>
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</SPAN></span></p>
<div class="fig_left" style="width: 198px;"><SPAN name="Fig_31"></SPAN><br/>
<ANTIMG src="images/fig31.png" width-obs="198" height-obs="305" alt="" />
<div class="fig_caption">FIG. 31.—A DESPERATE MAN.</div>
</div>
<p>In one of his many journeys Confucius and his
disciples met a man who was trying to strangle
himself with a rope. When asked what his motives
were for wishing to commit suicide, he replied that
he had been a bad son, a bad father, and a bad
citizen. The remorse he felt for the terrible
character his self-examination revealed him to be
from all these three points
of view, had made his
life odious to him, and he
had come out to a lonely
place to put an end to it.</p>
<p>Greatly shocked, Confucius
reproved him, addressing
him in the following
terms: "However
great the crimes you have
committed, the worst of
all of them is yielding to
despair. All the others
may be allowed, but that
is irremediable. You
have, no doubt, gone
astray from the very first steps you took upon
earth. You should have begun by being a man
of ordinary worth before attempting to distinguish
yourself You cannot attain to being an
eminent person until you have strictly fulfilled
the duty imposed by nature on every human
creature. You ought to have begun by being a
good son; to love and serve those to whom you
<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</SPAN></span>
owed your being was the most essential of your
obligations; you neglected to do so, and from that
negligence have resulted all your misfortunes.</p>
<div class="sidenote">SPEECH OF CONFUCIUS</div>
<div class="fig_center" style="width: 306px;"><SPAN name="Fig_32"></SPAN><br/>
<ANTIMG src="images/fig32.png" width-obs="306" height-obs="435" alt="" />
<div class="fig_caption">FIG. 32.—THE TOMB OF CONFUCIUS.<br/>
(<i>Univers Pittoresque.</i>)</div>
</div>
<p>"Do not, however, suppose that all is lost; take
courage again, and try to become convinced of a
truth which all past centuries have proved to be
incontestable. This is the truth I refer to; treasure
it up in your mind, and never lose hold of it: <i>As long
as a man has life, there is no reason to despair of him;</i>
<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</SPAN></span>
he may pass suddenly from the greatest trouble
to the greatest joy, from the greatest misfortune to
the greatest felicity. Take courage once more,
return home, and strive to turn to account every
instant, as if you began to-day for the first time to
realize the value of life."</p>
<p>Then turning to the younger of his disciples,
Confucius said to them: "What you have heard
from the lips of this man is an excellent lesson for
you—reflect seriously upon it, every one of you."</p>
<p>After this remonstrance it is said that thirteen
of the followers of the sage left him to return home
and perform their filial duties. The Celestials, in
fact, all agree in saying that filial piety was alike
the groundwork of the Confucian philosophy and
the foundation of Chinese society. In spite of
much that is strange to European ideas, might
we not well follow many of the precepts of the
enlightened pre-Christian teacher?</p>
<hr class="chap" />
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</SPAN></span></p>
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