1. Contextual setting.
The opening passage is badly preserved, but it seems to contain a dating
sequence that consists of the ritual cycle (year), month, and cyclical
day. In addition, there seems to be a mention of a lunar eclipse, a
natural omen that compels the king to deliver his instruction. The
identity of the king’s interlocutor remains unclear.
維三十有五祀，王念曰：多□，正月丙子拜望食無時。汝開後嗣謀。
In the thirty-fifth ritual cycle, the king said in contemplation: “The many ...”It is rather unusual for the dating pattern including the year, the month, and the cyclical day to be interrupted by other elements, and I suspect that the king's incomplete utterance inserted between these elements is caused by textual corruption. In the first month, on day bingzi (13/60), [they] venerated the eclipse of the full moon that occurred in an untimely fashion.
“You should induct the heir in planning!”
2. Reference to a past precedent.
In this section, the king cites a saying from the past. As observed by
Sun Yirang 孫怡讓 (1848–1908), the first four characters of this saying,
ming ming fei chang 明明非常 seem to be attested also in the
chapter “Lü xing” 呂刑 of the Shang shu, spelled slightly
differently: ming ming fei chang 明明棐常.Huang Huaixin 黃懷信, Tian
Xudong 田旭東, and Zhang Maorong 張懋鎔 (2007,
220). This observation appears the more interesting considering
the rhetorical similarity of “Lü xing” to royal colloquies (see the
discussion in chapter four of Mediation of Legitimacy).
Unfortunately, the interpretation of this phrase in the Shang
shu has been a matter of debate, and no fully satisfying reading
has been proposed.Gu Jiegang 顧頡剛 (1893–1980) and Liu Qiyu 劉起釪
(1917–2012) provide a convenient survey of opinions: (Gu
and Liu 2005, 1959–60). Their proposed
translation into contemporary Chinese is, however, questionable (Gu
and Liu 2005, 2078). The corresponding passage of “Lü xing” seems to have been
also preserved in the Mozi, but in a different rendering and in
a different context, pushing the scope of possible interpretations even
broader.Sun Yirang
孫詒讓 (2001, 69). The Shang shu passage ming ming fei
chang has been interpreted as a statement describing the
protagonist’s action, as in Karlgren’s translation: “clearly elucidated
the irregular practices.”Karlgren (1949,
179). The context of the “Xiao kai”, however, suggests that it
should be read rather as an aphoristic statement: “The bright luminosity
is not constant”. A similar reading may be possible for “Lü xing.”
Although one cannot exclude that “Xiao kai” is referring to “Lü xing”,
both texts probably rely on a shared body of aphoristic expressions.
曰：嗚呼！于來後之人。余聞In the edition by Huang Huaixin et al., which is based on the 1543 collated edition by Zhang Bo 章檗, this character is misspelled as kai 開 (Huang Huaixin et al. 2007, 219). However, in the earliest surviving 1354 blockprint edition, this character is written correctly as wen 聞 (Jizhong Zhou shu 汲冢周書 2005, 3.3b). According to Huang Huaixin et al. (2007, 219), other early editions also contain the correct character.在昔曰：明明非常，維德曰為明。食無時。
[The king] said: “Wuhu! Oh, the people who come thereafter!I read yu 于 as an exclamation xu 吁. I have heard that it was said of old:”The bright luminosity is not constant. It is only the De-virtue that is called luminous”.Ding Zongluo 丁宗落 (1771–1841) and Yu Chang 于鬯 (1862–1919) suggest that the character yue 曰 in this phrase is superfluous (Huang Huaixin et al. 2007, 219). This suggestion is plausible, but I do not follow it in my translation. … in an untimely fashion.The last three characters duplicate an identical sequence of characters at the beginning of the text and appear interpolated.
3. First set of rhetorical questions; reference to oral wisdom.
In “Xiao kai”, there are several sets of rhetorical questions employing
the pattern “何X非Y” typical of the Yi Zhou shu royal
colloquies and chapter “Lü xing” from the Shang shu. I do not
break this rather long fragment into smaller units because the notions
gong 躬 (person) and yan 言 (words) mentioned in the
first two rhetorical questions reoccur in a saying quoted by the king at
the end. Although there does not seem to be a narrative connection
between the rhetorical questions and the contents of the saying, I still
feel obliged to keep this possible argumentative unit undivided. This
section contains some of the least intelligible passages in the text,
and the proposed translation of the second half is tentative. Towards
the end of this section, an emphasis is made on the notion of
mou 謀 (plans) which is mentioned multiple times in “Xiao kai”.
The text seems to discourage the use of mou in persuasion and
warns against its leaking.
汝夜何脩非躬？何慎非言？何擇非德？嗚呼！敬之哉！
汝恭聞。不命，賈粥不讎。謀念之哉!
不索禍招，無曰不免。不庸不茂。不次人菑。不謀迷棄非人。
朕聞用人不以謀說。說惡謟言，色不知適，適不知謀，謀泄，汝躬不允。
[From morning till] night,In my translation, I follow Ding Zongluo who emends the text by inserting the character ri 日 before ye 夜, making it possible to read the passage as an exclamation regarding an activity that does not cease at any time (Huang Huaixin et al. 2007, 220). However, the compound riye 日夜 (day and night) does not occur in other royal colloquies, and perhaps the character su 夙 (morning) would be more suitable: unlike riye, suye 夙夜 (morning and night) is commonplace in royal colloquies. what would you refine if not [your own] person? What would you be cautious about if not the words? Who would you elect if not the virtuous?
Wuhu! Be reverent in this! You should respectfully heed [to
this]. If you are unruly, [you will be like someone who] offers wares
for sale and yet is not able to sell them.As observed by Chen Fengheng 陳逢衡 (1778–1855), this
phrase seems to be borrowed from the ode “Gu feng” 谷風 (East wind) from
the “Bei feng” 邶風 (Airs of Bei) subsection in the “Guo feng” 國風
(Airs of the states) section of the Shi jing 詩經 (Huang
Huaixin et al. 2007, 221). Here is this fragment with
James Legge’s translation (Legge
1871, 57–58):
不我能慉、反以我為讎。
既阻我德、賈用不售。
You cannot cherish me,
And you even count me as an enemy.
You disdain my virtues, -
A pedlar's wares which do not sell.
Although “Xiao kai” uses chou 讎 (enemy) and not shou
售 (to sell), these two words belong to the same phonetic series, and it
is likely that one is the loan character for the other. Baxter and
Sagart reconstruct chou as *[d]u, but they provide no
reconstruction for shou. Starostin reconstructs
chou as *dhu and shou as *dhus. Ponder on this!
If you do not reflect [on this], a disaster will be attracted. [In this case] do not say: it was unavoidable. If you do not have accomplishments, you will not flourish. If you are not orderly, people [will be led to] calamity. If you do not [make] plans, you will be lost and forsaken as if you were not human.This passage is one of the most problematic in the chapter. There are many ways to divide it into syntagms, which would result in different readings. My translation is influenced by the reading proposed by Zhu Youzeng, although I structure it differently in order to maintain the possible parallel between “disaster” and “human calamity” (Huang Huaixin et al. 2007, 222).
I have heard: when employing people, one should not [accept] persuasion through planning. If the persuasion is evil and there are false words, then, [enchanted with] appearance, one can no longer be aware of being lax; being lax, one can no longer be aware of plans; and if the plans leak, then your own person will not be sure.
4. Another reference to oral wisdom; on scarcity of talents.
This relatively brief section appears to contain a statement regarding
the difficulty of finding good companions for mou-planning.
嗚呼！敬之哉！後之人！
朕聞曰：謀有共軵，如乃而舍。
人之好佚而無窮，貴而不傲，富而不驕，兩而不爭，聞而不遙，遠而不絕，窮而不匱者鮮矣。
Wuhu! Be reverent towards this, o the people who come later!
I have heard that it was said: “In planning, there may be mutual pertinacity.I follow Duan Yucai’s 段玉裁 (1735–1815) interpretation of rong 軵 as an obstructing activity with an intention to receive a concession: see Xu Shen 許慎 and Duan Yucai 段玉裁 (1981, 729). If it is so, then you should withdraw.”
like being at ease and yet do not get exhausted;
are noble and yet not haughty;
are rich and yet not pretentious;
are paired [with someone] and yet do not contest;
listen and yet do not wander;
are afar off and yet do not break away;
are in extreme conditions and yet not destitute—
are rare.
5. Second set of rhetorical questions; on division/branching.
This section is structured around three rhetorical questions using the
pattern “何X非Y” and statements involving the notion of zhi 枳
(枝 *ke), which has a broad semantic scope, including “branch”, “limb”,
and “to support”. The semantic proximity between “branching” and
“support” seems to be played on consciously as zhi is discussed
as the fundamental underpinning of any hierarchical relations.
汝謀，斯何嚮非翼？
維有共枳，枳亡重，大害小，不堪柯引，維德之用，用皆在國謀，大鮮無害。
嗚呼！汝何敬非時？何擇非德？
德枳維大人，大人枳維卿，卿枳維大夫，大夫枳維士。登登皇皇。
□枳維國，國枳維都，都枳維邑，邑枳維家，家枳維欲無疆。
When you plan, where would do you direct [yourself] if not towards protection?
There is mutual branching and support. If the branching and support have lost their significance, then the big will harm the small, and it will be impossible to remove them [even] with an axe. As for the employment of the virtuous, if they are all employed in state planning, then the great will be few, and there will be no harm.
Wuhu! What would you revere if not time?Shi 時 could be understood as an indicative
pronoun: “What would you revere? Is it not this [what has just been
explained]?” However, considering that shi in “Xiao kai” is
also employed as a noun and that it occurs in rhetorically accentuated
positions, I prefer to translate it consistently as a noun in this
chapter.
Who would you elect if not the virtuous?
The De-virtue extends in support to the ruler,
the ruler extends in support to the ministers,
the ministers extend in support to the middle-ranking officials,
the middle-ranking officials extend in support to the noble men.
How sublime! How magnificent!
… extends in support to the state,
the state extends in support to the capital,
the capital extends in support to towns,
the towns extend in support to families,
the families extend in support to [their] needs without boundaries.The concluding part of this sequence is not
intelligible. Perhaps it is a result of an interpolation, because the
two confusing characters wu jiang 無疆 (no boundaries) from
this passage reappear later in the text.
6. Numerical lists and the third set of rhetorical questions.
This section mentions several numerical lists that occur in other
chapters of the Yi Zhou shu: “Da wu” 大武 (Great warfare), “Da
kai wu” 大開武 (The great instruction of King Wu), “Xiao kai wu” 小開武
(The lesser instruction of King Wu), “Cheng kai” 成開 (King Cheng’s
instruction). However, “Xiao kai” does not provide explicit enumerations
of the lists’ contents. It may be possible to supplement them with
information from other chapters, such as the expositions of the “three
extremities” (san ji 三極) in chapters “Xiao kai wu” and “Cheng
kai”. In “Xiao kai wu,” the “three extremities” are expounded as “nine
luminaries” (jiu xing 九星), “nine regions” (jiu zhou
九州), and “four limbs” (si zuo 四左), while in “Cheng kai”
they appear as “nine ranks” (jiu lie 九列), “nine regions”
(jiu zhou 九州), and “four limbs” (si zuo 四佐).
Unlike the “three extremities”, where there is not much contradiction
between “Xiao kai wu” and “Cheng kai”, the expositions of the “nine
causations” (jiu yin 九因), “four proximal relations” (si
qi 四戚) and “five harmonies” (wu he 五和) in “Da wu” and
“Da kai wu” are structured in different and incompatible ways.
動有三極，用有九因，因有四戚五私。極明與，與有畏勸。
汝何異非義？何畏非世？何勸非樂？
謀獲三極無疆。動獲九因無限。務用三德順攻。
奸□言彼翼翼在意仞時德。
In employment, there are nine causations;
the causations include four proximal relations and five harmonies.I follow Chen Fengheng, Ding Zongluo, Tang Dapei 唐大沛 and Zhu Youzeng who emend si 私 with he 和 in this passage (Huang Huaixin et al. 2007, 226). This makes “Xiao kai” more consistent with “Da wu” 大武 and “Da kai wu” 大開武, which contain a similar cluster of numerical lists: “nine causations”, “four proximal relations”, and “five harmonies”. The characters si and he are graphically similar in early imperial excavated texts, so I find this emendation unproblematic.
The extremities elucidate being together.
In being together, there is fear and encouragement.
How would you protectI read yi 異 (to differ) as yi 翼 (to
protect, to assist) to maintain consistency as yi 翼 occurs in
several other parts of this chapter. if not by righteousness?
Among whom would you inspire fear if not among the people of [the
present] generation?
How would you instill courage if not by music?
If, in planning, you acquire the three extremities, there will be no
boundaries.
If, in movement, you acquire the nine causations, there will be no
limits.
If, in affairs, you use the three virtues, this will facilitate your
accomplishments.Reading gong 攻 (attack) as gong 功
(accomplishment).
The crooked … discuss that protection, the protection is in the
intention to assess the seasonal De-virtue.This passage is badly preserved and cannot be
translated intelligibly.
7. Statements regarding timeliness/seasonality.
This section brings to the forefront the preoccupation with proper
timing. The notions of “seasonality” (shi 時) and “virtue” (De
德) that permeate the text appear interrelated.
春育生，素草肅，疏數滿；夏育長，美柯華，務水潦；秋初藝，不節落；冬大劉。
倍信何謀？本□時歲至天視。
the coarse grass strengthens, the dense and the sparse become replenished.
Summer fosters growth:
[this is the time] to enjoy the branches and the blossom, to prevent inundations.
Autumn is the time of the first mowing:I follow Sun Yirang who proposes to read yi 藝 (to plant, to cultivate) as a phonetic loan for yi 刈 (to mow), which better fits the context of seasonal autumn activities (Huang Huaixin et al. 2007, 222). Baxter and Sagart reconstruct these words as *ŋet-s and *ŋa[t]-s, respectively.
if [work] is not done during the right season, then [the fruits] will fall off.
Winter is the time of the great cutting.
If you turn your back on the trustworthy, how would you plan? The basic …
The seasons and years deliver heavenly manifestations.
8. Final set of rhetorical questions and concluding formulas.
In this final section, the text can be fruitfully compared with other
royal colloquies and chapter “Lü xing” of the Shang shu that
employ a similar set of formulaic expressions. Despite the imperfect
preservation of this passage, it is clearly related in its formulaic and
rhetorical features to other royal colloquies.
嗚呼！汝何監非時？何務非德？何興非因？何用非極？
維周于民，人謀競不可以後戒後戒，宿不悉日不足。
Wuhu! How would you exercise authority if not in a timely
manner?I follow Gu Jiegang and Liu Qiyu in my interpretation
of jian 監. While it is commonly understood as “to inspect”,
they propose to interpret it as “to look downwards” and by extension “to
govern”, following a gloss in the Shuowen jiezi (Gu Jiegang 顧頡剛 and Liu Qiyu 劉起釪 2005,
2069).
What would you exert yourself in if not in De-virtue?
How would you urge if not by causation?
How would you use if not by extremities?
Speaking of the relationship between Zhou and the commoners, when people plan, if they dissent, they cannot [prosper].In the translation, I follow what I believe is a better preserved rendition of the same formula in “Da kai”: 儆我後人謀，競不可以藏 (Forewarn my posterity about these plans. If they dissent, they cannot prosper). The last character is missing in “Xiao kai”, rendering the passage incomprehensible. Following Sun Yirang, I add the character zang 臧 (to prosper), by analogy with “Da kai”: (Huang Huaixin et al. 2007, 229–30). Posterity, beware! Posterity, beware! [Beware that] the nights are incomplete and the days are insufficient!