Table des matières
LUN-HÊNG [LUNHENG]. Part I, Philosophical essays

A. Biographical.

1. Autobiography. Tse-chi. Bk. XXX, Chap. I.

Wang Ch‘ung is a native of Shang-yü-hsien in Chekiang. His family originally lived in Chihli. He was born in A. D. 27, and already as a boy was very fond of study. In his official career he was not very successful. The highest post which he held about A. D. 86 was that of a sub-prefect. The equanimity of a philosopher helped him over many disappointments. His ideal was to possess an extensive knowledge, a keen intellect, and a noble mind. Besides his chief work the Lun-hêng, he wrote 12 chapters on common morals in a plain and easy style, and a treatise ‘Macrobiotics’ in A. D. 91. He defends the style, the voluminousness, and the contents of the Lun-hêng against the attacks directed against it.

2. Replies in Self-Defence. Tui-tso. Bk. XXIX, Chap. II.

Wang Ch‘ung gives the reasons, why he wrote his principal works, the Lun-hêng and the Chêng-wu, a treatise on government. In the Lun-hêng he wishes to explain common errors, to point out the exaggerations and inventions in literature, and thus deliver mankind of its prejudices. The Lun-hêng weighs the words and holds up a balance for truth and falsehood. Wang Ch‘ung shows the advantage which might be derived from different chapters, and meets the objections which his opponents would perhaps raise.

B. Metaphysical.

3. Spontaneity. Tse-jan. Bk. XVIII, Chap. I.

Heaven emits its generating fluid spontaneously, not on purpose. It has no desires, no knowledge, and does not act. These qualities require organs : a mouth, eyes, hands, etc., which it does not possess. Its body must be either like that of Earth, or air. Heaven’s fluid is placid, desireless, and unbusied. This spontaneity is a Taoist theory, but they did not sufficiently substantiate it. Only Sages resembling Heaven can be quite spontaneous and inactive, others must act, and can be instructed. Originally men lived in a happy state of ignorance. Customs, laws, in short culture is already a decline of virtue.

4. The Nature of Things. Wu-shih. Bk. III, Chap. V.

Heaven and Earth do not create man and the other things on earth intentionally. They all grow of themselves. Had Heaven produced all creatures on purpose, it would have taught them mutual love, whereas now one destroys the other. Some have explained this struggle for existence by the hypothesis that all creatures are filled with the fluid of the Five Elements, which fight together and overcome one another. Wang Ch‘ung controverts this view and the symbolism connected therewith.

5. Phenomenal Changes. Pien-t’ung. Bk. XV, Chap. I.

Heaven influences things, but is not affected by them. All creatures being filled with the heavenly fluid, Heaven is the master, and not the servant. The Yang and the Yin move things, but are not moved. The deeds and the prayers of a tiny creature like man cannot impress the mighty fluid of Heaven, and the sobs of thousands of people cannot touch it. Heaven is too far, and its fluid shapeless without beginning or end. It never sets the laws of nature aside for man’s sake.

6. On Reprimands. Ch‘ien-kao. Bk. XIV, Chap. III.

The savants hold that Heaven reprimands a sovereign whose administration is bad, visiting him with calamities. First he causes extraordinary events. If the sovereign does not change then, he sends down misfortunes upon his people, and at last he punishes his own person. Heaven is represented like a prince governing his people. These heavenly punishments would be at variance with Heaven’s virtue, which consists in spontaneity and inaction. Heaven does not act itself, it acts through man, and speaks through the mouths of the Sages, in whose hearts is ingrafted its virtue. The utterances of the Classics ascribing human qualities to Heaven are only intended to give more weight to those teachings, and to frighten the wicked and the unintelligent.

7. Heaven’s Original Gift. Ch‘u-ping. Bk. III, Chap. III.

Destiny comes down upon man already in his embryonic state, not later on during his life. It becomes mind internally and body externally. This law governs all organisms. Heaven never invests virtuous emperors, because it is pleased with them, for this would be in opposition to its principle of spontaneity and inaction. Utterances of the Classics that Heaven was pleased and looked round, etc. are to be taken in a figurative sense. Heaven has no human body and no human qualities. Lucky omens are not sent by Heaven, but appear by chance.

8. What is meant by Destiny ? Ming-yi. Bk. II, Chap. II.

The school of Mê Ti denies the existence of Destiny. Wang Ch‘ung follows the authority of Confucius. There are various kinds of destinies. The length of human life is regulated by the fluid of Heaven, their wealth and honour by the effluence of the stars, with which men are imbued at their birth. Wang Ch‘ung rejects the distinction of natural, concomitant, and adverse fate, but admits contingencies, chances, and incidents, which may either agree with the original fate and luck, or not. The fate of a State is always stronger than that of individuals.

9. On Destiny and Fortune. Ming-lu. Bk. I, Chap. III.

Destiny predetermines the length of man’s life, and whether he shall be rich and honourable, or poor and mean. There is no correspondence between human virtue and fate. The wicked and the unintelligent are very often happy, whereas men endowed with the highest faculties and the noblest character perish in misery, as is shown by various examples from history. The knowing, therefore, do not hunt after happiness, but leave everything to Heaven, suffering with equanimity what cannot be avoided, and placidly awaiting their turn. The opinions of several philosophers holding similar views are given.

10. On Chance and Luck. Hsing-ou. Bk. II, Chap. I.

Happiness and misfortune are not the outcome of man’s good or bad actions, but chance and luck. Some have good luck, others bad. Good and bad fortune are not distributed in a just way, according to worth, but are mere chance. This is true of man as well as of other beings. Even Sages are often visited with misfortune.

11. Wrong Notions about Happiness. Fu-hsü. Bk. VI, Chap. I.

Happiness is not given by Heaven as a reward for good actions, as the general belief is. The Mêhist theory that the spirits protect and help the virtuous is controverted by facts. Wang Ch‘ung shows how several cases, adduced as instances of how Heaven recompensed the virtuous are illusive, and that fate is capricious and unjust.

12. Wrong Notions on Unhappiness. Huo-hsü. Bk. VI, Chap. II.

The common belief that Heaven and Earth and the spirits punish the wicked and visit them with misfortune, is erroneous, as shown by examples of virtuous men, who were unlucky, and of wicked, who flourished. All this is the result of chance and luck, fate and time.

13. Auspicious Portents. Chi-yen. Bk. II, Chap. V.

Auspicious portents appear, when somebody is destined to something grand by fate, especially, when a new dynasty rises. These manifestations of fate appear either in the person’s body, or as lucky signs in nature, or under the form of a halo or a glare. A. great variety of instances from ancient times down to the Han dynasty are adduced in proof.

14. On Divination. Pu-shih. Bk. XXIV, Chap. II.

People often neglect virtue and only rely on divination. They imagine that by means of tortoise shells and milfoil they can interrogate Heaven and Earth about the future, and that they reply by the signs of the shells and the straws. Wang Ch‘ung shows that such an opinion is erroneous, but, whereas Han Fei Tse condemns divination altogether, he upholds this science. In his idea visions, signs, and omens are true by all means, only they are very often misunderstood or misinterpreted by the diviners. The lucky will meet with good omens, which, however, are not the response of Heaven, but happen by chance.

15. On Death. Lun-sse. Bk. XX, Chap. III.

Man is a creature. Since other creatures do not become ghosts after death, man cannot become a ghost either. If all the millions that have lived, became spirits, there would not be sufficient room for all the spirits in the world. The dead never give any sign of^. their existence, therefore they cannot exist any more. The vital fluid forming the soul disperses at death, how could it become a ghost. A spirit is diffuse and formless. Before its birth the soul forms part of the primogenial fluid, which is unconscious. When at death it reverts thereto, it becomes unconscious again. The soul requires the body to become conscious and to act. If sleep causes unconsciousness, and if a disease disorganises the mind, death must do the same in a still higher degree.

16. False Reports about the Dead. Sse-wei. Bk. XXI, Chap. I.

A number of ghost stories are quoted from the Tso-chuan and other ancient works, where discontented spirits are reported to have taken their revenge upon, and killed their enemies. Wang Ch‘ung either rejects these stories as inventions, or tries to explain them in a natural way.

17. Spook Stories. Chi-yao. Bk. XXII, Chap. I.

Several spook and ghost stories recorded in the Shi-chi and the Tso-chuan are analysed. Wang Ch‘ung explains them in accordance with his theory on the spontaneity of Heaven, and on the nature of apparitions and portents.

18. All about Ghosts. Ting-kuei. Bk. XXII, Chap. II.

Wang Ch‘ung sets forth the different opinions on the nature of ghosts, propounded at his time. Some hold that ghosts are visions of sick people, or the fluid of sickness. Others regard them as the stellar fluid, or as the essence of old creatures, or as the spirits of cyclical signs. After an excursion on the demons, devils, and goblins mentioned in ancient books, Wang Ch‘ung gives his own views, according to which ghosts are apparitions and phantoms foreboding evil, which have assumed human form, but are only semblances and disembodied. They consist of the solar fluid, the Yang, are therefore red, burning, and to a certain extent poisonous.

C. Physical.

19. On Heaven. T’an-t’ien. Bk. XI, Chap. I.

The old legend of the collapse of Heaven, which was repaired by Nü Wa, when Kung Kung had knocked with his head against the ‘Pillar of Heaven’, is controverted, as is Tsou Yen’s theory of the existence of Nine Continents. Heaven is not merely air, but has a body, and the earth is a square measuring 100,000 Li in either direction.

20. On the Sun. Shuo-jih. Bk. XI, Chap. II.

A variety of astronomical questions are touched. Wang Ch‘ung opposes the view that the sun disappears in darkness during the night, that the length or shortness of the days is caused by the Yin and the Yang, that the sun rises from Fu-sang and sets in Hsi-liu, that at Yao’s time ten suns appeared, that there is a raven in the sun, and a hare and a toad in the moon. Heaven is not high in the south and depressed in the north, nor like a reclining umbrella, nor does it enter into or revolve in the earth. Heaven is level like earth, and the world lying in the south-east. The sun at noon is nearer than in the morning or in the evening. Wang Ch‘ung further speaks on the rotation of the sky, the sun, and the moon, on the substance of the sun and the moon, on their shape, the cause of the eclipses, meteors, and meteorological phenomena.

21. On Heat and Cold. Han-wên. Bk. XIV, Chap. II.

Wang Ch‘ung contests the assertion of the phenomenalists that there is a correspondence between heat and cold and the joy and anger of the sovereign. He points out that the South is the seat of heat, and the North of cold. Moreover the temperature depends on the four seasons and the 24 time-periods.

22. On Thunder and Lightning. Lei-hsü. Bk. VI, Chap. IV.

Thunder is not the expression of Heaven’s anger. As a spirit it could not give a sound, nor could it kill a man with its breath. It does not laugh either. Very often the innocent are struck by lightning, and monsters like the Empress Lü Hou are spared. The pictorial representations of thunder as united drums, or as the thunderer Lei Kung, are misleading. Thunder is fire or hot air, the solar fluid Yang exploding in its conflict with the Yin fluid, lightning being the shooting forth of the air. Five arguments are given, why thunder must be fire.

23. On Poison. Yen-tu. Bk. XXIII, Chap. I.

Animal and vegetable poison is the hot air of the sun. All beings filled with the solar fluid contain some poison. Snakes, scorpions, and some plants have plenty of it. Ghosts, which consist of the pure solar fluid, are burning poison, which eventually kills. There is poison in some diseases, in a sun-stroke for instance and in lumbago. Wang Ch‘ung discovers real poison in speech, in beauty, and in several tastes, which only metaphorically might be called poisonous, and mixes up the subject still more by improper symbolism.

24. On Anthroposcopy. Ku-hsiang. Bk. III, Chap. II.

The heavenly fate becomes visible in the body, and can be foreseen by anthroposcopy. The Classics contain examples. The physiognomists draw their conclusions from the osseous structure and from the lines of the skin. The character can also be seen from the features.

25. Long Life and Vital Fluid. Chi-shou. Bk. I, Chap. IV.

There are two kinds of fate, the one determining the events of life, the other its length. The length of life depends on the quantity of the vital fluid received at birth. Accordingly the body waxes strong or weak, and a strong body lives longer than a feeble one. The normal length of human life should be a hundred years. The Classics attest that the Wise emperors of the Golden Age : Yao, Shun, Wên Wang, Wu Wang, and others all lived over hundred years.

26. Miracles. Chi-kuai. Bk. III, Chap. VI.

Wang Ch‘ung proves by analogies that the supernatural births reported of several old legendary rulers, who are said to have been procreated by dragons or a special fluid of Heaven, are impossible. The Spirit of Heaven would not consort with a woman, for only beings of the same species pair. Saints and Sages are born like other people from their parents.

27. Unfounded Assertions. Wu-hsing. Bk. II, Chap. III.

At birth man receives the vital fluid from Heaven. This fluid determines the length of his life. There are no means to prolong its duration, as the Taoists pretend. Some examples from history are shown to be untrustworthy. At death everything ends. The vital force disperses, and the body is dissolved.

28. Taoist Untruths. Tao-hsü. Bk. VII, Chap. I.

Man dies and can become immortal. The Taoist stories of Huang Ti and Huai Nan Tse’s ascension to heaven, of the flying genius met by Lu Ao, and of Hsiang Man Tse’s travel to the moon are inventions. The magicians do not possess the powers ascribed to them. The Taoist theory of prolonging life by quietism and dispassionateness, by regulating one’s breath, and using medicines is untenable.

29. On Dragons. Lung-hsü. Bk. VI, Chap. III.

The dragon is not a spirit, but has a body and lives in pools. It is not fetched by Heaven during a thunderstorm, as people believe. The different views about its shape are given : It is represented as a snake with a horse’s head, as a flying creature, as a reptile that can be mounted, and like earth-worms and ants. In ancient times dragons were reared and eaten. The dragon rides on the clouds during the tempest, there being a certain sympathy between the dragon and clouds. It can expand and contract its body, and make itself invisible.

30. Arguments on Ominous Creatures. Chiang-jui. Bk. XVI, Chap. IV.

Wang Ch‘ung denies that the literati would be able to recognise a phœnix or a unicorn, should they appear, nor would they know a sage either. The phœnix and the unicorn are regarded as holy animals and as lucky auguries. The old traditions about their appearance at various times and their shape, which are very conflicting, are discussed. Wang Ch‘ung holds that these animals do not only appear at the time of universal peace, that as ominous creatures they are born of a propitious fluid, and do not belong to a certain species, but may grow from dissimilar parents of a common species of animals.

D. Ethical.

31. The Forming of Characters. Shuai-hsing. Bk. II, Chap. IV.

There are naturally good, and there are naturally bad characters, but this difference between the qualities of low and superior men is not fundamental. The original fluid permeating all is the same. It contains the germs of the Five Virtues. Those who are endowed with copious fluids, become virtuous, those whose fluid is deficient, wicked. But by external influences, human nature can turn from good into bad, and the reverse. Bad people can be improved, and become good by instruction and good example. Therefore the State cannot dispense with instructions and laws.

32. On Original Nature. Pên-hsing. Bk. III, Chap. IV.    

The different theories of Chinese moralists on human nature are discussed. Shih Tse holds that human nature is partly good, partly bad, Mencius that it is originally good, but can be corrupted, Sun Tse that it is originally bad, Kao Tse that it is neither good nor bad, and that it all depends on instruction and development, Lu Chia that it is predisposed for virtue. Tung Chung Shu and Liu Hsiang distinguish between natural disposition and natural feelings. Wang Ch‘ung holds that nature is sometimes good and sometimes bad, but essentially alike, being the fluid of Heaven, and adopts the Confucian distinction of average people, people above, and people below the average. The latter alone can be changed by habit.

E. Critique (philosophical, literary and historical).

33. Criticisms on Confucius. Wên K’ung. Bk. IX, Chap. I.        

The Confucianists do not dare to criticise the Sages, although the words of the Sages are not always true and often contradictory. It is also, because they do not understand the difficult passages, and only repeat what the commentators have said. Wang Ch‘ung vindicates the right to criticise even Confucius. Such criticisms are neither immoral nor irrational. They help to bring out the meaning, and lead to greater clearness. Wang Ch‘ung then takes up a number of passages from the Analects for discussion, in which he discovers contradictions or other flaws, but does not criticise the system of Confucius or his theories in general.

34. Censures on Mencius. T‘se Mêng. Bk. X, Chap. II.

Wang Ch‘ung singles out such utterances of Mencius, in which according to his view his reasoning is defective, or which are conflicting with other dicta of the philosopher.

35. Strictures on Han Fei Tse. Fei Han. Bk. X, Chap. I.

Han Fei Tse solely relies on rewards and punishments to govern a State. In his system there is no room for the cultivation of virtue. He despises the literati as useless, and thinks the world to be so depraved and mean, that nothing but penal law can keep it in check. Wang Ch‘ung shows by some examples taken from Han Fei Tse work that this theory is wrong. Men of letters are as useful to the State as agriculturists, warriors, and officials, for they cultivate virtue, preserve the true principles, and benefit the State by the good example they set to the other classes.

36. Statements Corrected. Chêng-shuo. Bk. XXVIII, Chap. I.

This chapter contains critical remarks on the composition and the history of the Shuking, the Shiking, the Ch‘un-ch‘iu, the Yiking, the Liki, and the Analects. The meaning of the dynastic names of T‘ang, Yü, the Hsia, Yin, and Chou dynasties is explained, and some hints as to how the Canons are to be interpreted are added.

37. Critical Remarks on Various Books. An-shu. Bk. XXIX, Chap. I.

Wang Ch‘ung criticises the famous authors of his time and their works, beginning with some writers of the Chou epoch. He finds fault with Mê Ti, the sophist Kung Sun Lung, and the speculative philosopher Tsou Yen, and commends Tso Ch‘iu Ming, the author of the Tso-chuan and the Kuo-yü. He speaks with great respect of the historians Sse Ma Ch‘ien and Pan Ku, the philosopher Yang Tse Yün, and Liu Hsiang, and in the highest terms of Lu Chia, who published the Ch‘un-ch‘iu-fan-lu, and of Huan Chün Shan and Huan K‘uan, the authors of the Hsin-lun and the Yen-t‘ieh-lun.

38. The Equality of the Ages. Ch‘i-shih. Bk. XVIII, Chap. III.

People of old were not better, nor stronger, taller or longer lived than at present. Heaven and Earth have remained the same, and their creatures likewise. There is a periodical alternation of prosperity and decline in all the ages. The present time is not inferior to antiquity, but the literati extol the past and disparage the present. Even sages like Confucius would not find favour with them, if they happened to live now. And yet the Han dynasty is quite equal to the famous old dynasties.

39. Exaggerations. Yü-tsêng. Bk. VII, Chap. II.

Wang Ch‘ung points out a number of historical exaggerations e. g. that the embonpoint of Chieh and Chou was over a foot, that Chou had a wine-lake, from which 3,000 persons sucked like cattle, that Wên Wang could drink 3,000 bumpers of wine, and Confucius 100 gallons, and some mis-statements concerning the simplicity of Yao and Shun, and the cruelty of Shih Huang Ti, and tries to reduce them to the proper limits.

40. Exaggerations of the Literati. Ju-tsêng. Bk. VIII, Chap. I.

Wang Ch‘ung goes on to criticise some old traditions : on the abolition of punishments under Yao and Shun, on the wonderful shooting of Yang Yu Chi and Hsiung Ch‘ü Tse, on the skill of Lu Pan, on Ching K‘o’s attempt upon Shih Huang Ti’s life, on the miracles connected with the Nine Tripods of the Chou dynasty, etc.

F. Folklore and religion.

41. Sacrifices to the Departed. Sse-yi. Bk. XXV, Chap. III.

Sacrifices are merely manifestations of the feelings of love and gratitude, which the living cherish towards ghosts and spirits. The latter cannot enjoy the sacrifices, which are presented to them, because having no body, they are devoid of knowledge and cannot eat or drink. If Heaven and Earth could eat or drink, they would require such enormous quantities of food, that man could never appease their hunger. Wang Ch‘ung treats of the nature of ghosts, and refers to the sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, to the House, to the Gods of Wind, Rain, and Thunder, to the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars, and to the Ancestors.

42. Sacrifices. Chi-yi. Bk. XXV, Chap. IV.

The various old sacrifices are described, those to Heaven and Earth, to the Mountains and Rivers, to the Spirits of the Land and Grain, to the Six Superior Powers, to the Seasons, Heat and Cold, Water and Drought, the Rain Sacrifice, those to the Four Cardinal Points, to the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars, the Five Genii of the House, and to the Ancestors. All these sacrifices saving the last were State sacrifices and reserved for the emperor, the feudal princes, and their officials. They are thank-offerings for kindness received. There are no spirits present to enjoy them, nor can they bestow happiness on the sacrificers, or visit with misfortune those who neglect them. Therefore sacrifices are a beautiful custom, but of no great consequence.

43. Criticisms on Noxious Influences. Pien-sui. Bk. XXIV, Chap. III.

Most people are under the delusion that by disregarding an unpropitious time viz. years, months, and days of dread, they will have to suffer from noxious influences, falling in with evil spirits, which work disaster. This is an error, as shown by experience, but horoscopists and seers are silent on all cases contradicting their theory. A vast literature has sprung up on this subject, and the princes dare not take any important step in life, any more than their people, without reference to it.

44. On Exorcism. Chieh-ch‘u. Bk. XXV, Chap. II.         

By exorcism malignant spirits are expelled after having been feasted. Exorcism and conjurations are of no use, for either would the ghosts not yield to the force employed against them, and resent the affront, or, if they are like mist and clouds, their expulsion would be useless. In ancient times, sickness was expelled in this way. The propitiation of the Spirit of Earth, after having dug up the ground, is also useless, for Earth does not hear man nor understand his speech. All depends upon man, not on ghosts.