存性編卷二

性圖

PRESERVATION OF THE NATURE, PART TWO.

Section One. Diagrams of the Nature.

竊謂宋儒皆未得孟子性善宗旨。故先繪朱子圖於前，而繪愚妄七圖於後，以請正於高明長者。

I maintain that none of the Song Confucians attained to [a good understanding of] the fundamental teaching of Mencius on the goodness of the Nature. Thus I will first reproduce Master Zhu's diagram of the Nature, and then hazard to draw my own seven diagrams in order to seek correction from my eminent elders.

朱子性圖

Section Two. Master Zhu's Diagram of the Nature.

              性善
Nature is Good
(性無不善。)
(Nature has nothing that is not good.)

善                                         惡
Good                                       Evil
(發而中節，無性不善。)         (惡不可謂從善中直下來，只是
不能善，則偏於一端而為惡。)

(Issuing forth they [all]      (Evil cannot be depicted
hit the center of the          as directly descending
interval, and there is no      from good; It is only the
Nature that is not good.)      inability to be or do good,
{ZZYL 55:3b/16}                and so is biased toward
one extreme and becomes evil.)

右圖解云：「發而中節，無性不善。」竊謂雖發而不中節，亦不可謂有性不善也， 此言外之弊也。「惡」字下云：「惡不可謂從善中直下來。」此語得之矣。則 「惡」字不可與「善」字相比為圖，此顯然之失也。

The above diagram explains: "Issuing forth [the emotions] hit the center of the interval [i.e., the mean]; there is no Nature that is not good." But I say that even though it were to issue forth without hitting the center of the interval, one still could not [on this account] say that there is a Nature that is not good. [The word "evil"] properly refers to external sources of harm. Beneath the word "evil" it says: "Evil cannot be said to derive directly from good." This utterance is correct. Thus the word "evil" cannot be compared diagrammatically with the word "good," and in this respect [Zhu Xi] obviously goes astray.

又云：「只是不能善。」此三字甚惑，果指何者不能為善也？上只有一性，若以性不能為善，則誣性也；若謂才或情不能為善，則誣才與情也；抑言別有所為而不能為善， 則不明也。

He also says: "[Evil] is only the inability to do good." These four words are exceedingly confused. What, after all, is being singled out as being unable to do good? There is only one "Nature" above it [in the diagram]. If it means that this Nature is unable to do good, then this statement slanders the Nature. If it means that (Capacity) or qing (Feeling) is unable to do good, then it defames cai or qing. Or if it means that there is something else that acts and yet is unable to do good, then the [statement] is unclear.

承此，云「則偏於一邊而為惡」，但不知是指性否？若指性則大非。「性善」二字，更無脫離。蓋性之未發，善也；雖性之已發，而中節與不中節皆善也；謂之有惡，又誣性之甚也。

Continuing from this [point] he says: "Thus one is biased to one extreme and does evil." But we do not know whether this statement refers to the Nature or not. If it refers to the Nature, it is a great wrong, for the words "Nature" and "good" are quite inseparable. That is to say, the Nature, being good before it issues forth [from the mind], remains good even though it may have already issued forth, and irrespective of whether or not it then hits the center of the interval [i.e., the mean]. To say that it has evil [at this time] is also a great slander of the Nature.

然則朱子何以圖也？反覆展玩，乃曉然見其意，蓋明天命之性與氣質之性之別，故上二字諸之曰「性無不善」，謂其所言天命之性也；下二字「善」 「惡」並列，謂其所言氣質之性也。噫！氣質非天所命乎？抑天命人以性善，又命人以氣質惡，有此二命乎？然則程、張諸儒氣質之性愈分析，孔、孟之性旨愈晦蒙 矣。此所以敢妄議其不妥也。

Then why did Master Zhu diagram it in this way? I mulled it over in my mind and then his intent suddenly dawned on me. It must have been to clarify the distinction between the Nature as given by the Mandate of Heaven and the Nature as found in materialized lifebreath. Therefore he annotates the above words ["Nature is good"] by saying "Nature has nothing not good," referring to the Nature said by him to be given by the Mandate of Heaven. The two words written side by side below, "Good" and "Evil," refer to what he calls the Nature as found in materialized lifebreath. Oh! Is not the materialized lifebreath given by the Mandate of Heaven? Or does Heaven mandate for humans that their Nature be good, and again mandate for them that their materialized lifebreath be evil? Are there indeed these two mandates? So the more the Chengs, Zhang, and the various other [Song] Confucians analyze the Nature found manifest in materialized lifebreath, the more the teaching of Confucius and Mencius on that Nature becomes obscured. This is why I dare to hazard criticism of their weak points.

妄見圖 (凡七)

Section Three. Diagrams Hazarded for Inspection (a total of seven)

僕自頗知學來，讀宋先儒書，以為諸先正真堯、舜、孔、孟也。故於通書稱其為二論後僅見之文；尊周子為聖人，又謂得太極圖則一以貫之；大程子似顏子；於小學稱朱子為聖人；於家禮尊如神明，曰如有用我者，舉此而措之；蓋全不覺其於三代以前之 學有毫釐之差也。

From the time I first had some acquaintance with learning, I read the books of the earlier Confucians of the Song, and thought that these several earlier [Confucians] were truly like Yao, Shun, Confucius, and Mencius. Thus I proclaimed the [Zhou yi] tong-shu (Penetrating the Book of Changes) to be the only book [worthy] to be read after the Two Discourses [i.e., the Analects of Confucius and the Mencius]. I revered Zhou [Dun-yi] as a sage, said that the Tai-ji tu [Tai-ji diagram] provides that by which things may be "linked together by one [principle]." and magnified Master Cheng to be like Master Yan [Hui]. On account of his Xiao-xue (Studies for Minors), I proclaimed Master Zhu to be a sage, and on account of his Jia-li (Family Ritual) I revered him like a spirit. I said that if "someone would employ me in public office," I would use these [texts] to manage affairs. I completely failed to perceive the slightest discrepancy between those texts and the learning from the third dynasty (i.e., the Zhou) and before.

惟至康熙戊申，不幸大故，一一式遵文公家禮，罔敢隕越；身曆之際，微覺有違於性情者，哀毀中亦不能辨也。及讀記中喪禮，始知其多錯誤。卒 哭，王子法幹來弔，謂之曰：「信乎，非聖人不可製作，非聖人亦不可刪定也！朱子之修禮，猶屬僭也。」蓋始知其非聖人也。至練後，哀相殺，又病， 不能純哀思，不若於哀不至時略觀書。於是檢性理一冊，至朱子性圖，反覆不能解。久之，猛思朱子蓋為氣質之性而圖也，猛思堯、舜、禹、湯以及周、孔諸聖皆未 嘗言氣質之性有惡也，猛思孟子性善、才、情皆可為善之論，誠可以建天地，質鬼神，考前王，俟百世， 而諸儒不能及也。乃為妄見圖凡七，以申明孟子本意。

It was only in the wu-shen year of the Kang Xi emperor [1668], when there was a death in my immediate family, that I carried out the provisions of the Jia-li (Family Ritual) of the Cultured Lord (Zhu Xi) one by one, not daring either to fall short or exceed their requirements, and during that personal experience had the faint feeling that there was something that went against the Nature and qing (Feelings) [therein]. But amid grief and its ravages I was unable to descry what it was. Only when I read the "Mourning Ritual" in the Li Ji (Book of Rites), did I first become cognizant of [the Jia Li's] many errors. When I had terminated my [ritually required] weeping period and Master Wang Fa-qian came to offer his condolences, I said to him: "Truly, he who is not a sage cannot institute [rituals], nor can one who is not a sage edit or emend. Master Zhu's act of revising the ritual seems to fall into the category of exceeding authority." It was in this way that I first realized that [Zhu Xi] was not a sage. After I had finished going through [the formal ceremony of mourning], and my grief was somewhat assuaged, I became ill in addition to everything else, and was unable to maintain the unadulterated presence of grief in my thoughts. Then, when grief could not be summoned, there was nothing better to do than to read a little. Thereupon I studied the Xing Li [Da Quan] (Great Compendium on Nature and Li), but when I came to Master Zhu's "Diagram of the Nature," I still could not comprehend it after repeated readings. After a long time it suddenly occurred to me that Master Zhu was making a diagram of the Nature of the materialized lifebreath (qi-zhi), and it [also] suddenly occurred to me that among the several sages, Yao, Shun, You, Tang, the Duke of Zhou, and Confucius, none had ever said that the Nature of the materialized lifebreath has evil. I [further] suddenly realized that Mencius' theory that the Nature is good, and that qing (Feelings) and cai (Capacity) can do good, truly can be {{used to set Heaven and Earth to rights and to confront ghosts and spirits//established in the world [without conflict], examined by ghosts and spirits [without falling suspect], tested against [the institutions of] the early kings [of the Three Dynasties] without discovering error, and can wait a hundred generations for the reappearance of a sage, who will find no fault with it.}} Whether one examines the kings prior [to Mencius] or those who came for a hundred generations [after him], none of the various Confucians can match [this teaching]. So I made my several diagrams in order to expand upon the basic meaning of Mencius and hazard to put them forth for inspection.

此則其總圖也。

This is the summary diagram:

DIAGRAM OF THE TWO QI (Lifebreaths) AND THE FOUR DE (Powers) AMIDST INCHOATE HEAVEN AND EARTH TRANSFORMING AND GENERATING THE MYRIAD CREATURES

The large circle represents the integral body of the Way of Heaven. The Lord on High rules at its center but cannot be diagrammed. The left is Yang and the right is Yin. Uniting them, there is no discontinuity between Yin and Yang. In their flux the Yin and Yang make the four De [Virtues]: Origination, Flourishing Penetration, Benefit, and Correct Firmness. (Yan Yuan's note: The earlier Confucians divided the four powers among spring, summer, fall, and winter. This is what the Lun Yu (Analects of Confucius) speaks of when it says: "The four seasons run their course." {17:17}) The [two] vertical and [two] horizontal lines [radiating from the center] are the loci (da 達, arrivals) of the normal[ly incident] lifebreath and the normal[ly incident] li of the four Virtues. The slanted lines from corner to corner are the images of intercourse. The small dots all over the surface are the images of the transformation and engendering (hua sheng) of the myriad creatures. There are none which are not in interaction, and none which are not transformed and engendered. There is nothing that is not this li and this lifebreath. When you know that the li and the lifebreath form a continuum, then you know that the two lifebreaths which are Yin and Yang are the "good potency" (liang neng) of the Way of Heaven; that the four Virtues called Origination, Flourishing Penetration, Benefit, and Correct Firmness are the "good potency" of the two lifebreaths which are Yin and Yang; that the transformation and engendering of the myriad creatures is the "good potency" of the four Powers, Origination, Flourishing Penetration, Benefit, and Correct Firmness. When you know concerning the two lifebreaths of the Way of Heaven, the four Powers of the two lifebreaths, and the transformation and engendering of the myriad creatures by the four Powers, that there is none which is not this "good potency," then you will be able to comprehend this diagram.

萬物之性，此理之賦也；萬物之氣質，此氣之凝也。正者此理此氣也，間者亦此理此氣也，交雜者莫非此理此氣也；高明者此理此氣也，卑暗者亦此 理此氣也，清厚者此理此氣也，濁薄者亦此理此氣也，長短、偏全、通塞莫非此理此氣也。至於人，則尤為萬物之粹，所謂「得天地之中以生」者也。二氣四德者， 未凝結之人也；人者，已凝結之二氣四德也。存之為仁、義、禮、智，謂之性者，以在內之元、亨、利、貞名之也；發之為惻隱、羞惡、辭讓、是非，謂之情者，以 及物之元、亨、利、貞言之也；才者，性之為情者也，是元、亨、利、貞之力也。謂情有惡，是謂已發之元、亨、利、貞，非未發之元、亨、利、貞也。謂才有惡， 是謂蓄者元、亨、利、貞，能作者非元、亨、利、貞也；謂氣質有惡，是元、亨、利、貞之理謂之天道，元、亨、利、貞之氣不謂之天道也。噫！天下有無理之氣 乎？有無氣之理乎？有二氣四德外之理氣乎？惡其發者，是即惡其存之漸也；惡其力者，是即惡其本之漸也；惡其氣者，是即惡其理之漸也。何也？人之性，即天之 道也。以性為有惡，則必以天道為有惡矣；以情為有惡，則必以元、亨、利、貞為有惡矣；以才為有惡，則必以天道流行幹幹不息者亦有 惡矣；其勢不盡取三才而毀滅之不已也。

The Natures of the myriad creatures are given (fu 賦) to them by li; the materialized lifebreath of the myriad creatures is the consolidation of this lifebreath. Those that are on the normal [lines of incidence] are of this li and this lifebreath. Those that are on [the slanted] median [lines] are also of this li and this lifebreath. Nothing produced by intercourse and mixture [between sectors] fails to be of this li and this lifebreath. What is eminent and bright is this li and this lifebreath. So is what is lowly and dark. What is clear and abundant is this li and this lifebreath. So is what is turbid and meager. Whether long or short, one-sided or well-rounded, in communication [with the center, the source of power and being] or blocked off, all are this li and this lifebreath. Coming now to humans, they are above all the purest among the myriad creatures. Of them it is said: "They are born by attaining to the center of Heaven and Earth." The two lifebreaths and four Virtues are the not-yet-consolidated humans, and humans are the already-consolidated two lifebreaths and four Virtues. As retained [within the body, the four Virtues] are Compassion, Justice, Propriety, and Wisdom, which are called [the four components of] the Nature, they being the names of Origination, Flourishing Penetration, Benefit, and Correct Firmness when these are yet within. When they have issued forth, they are compassion and sympathy, shame and dislike, modesty and yielding, and approval and disapproval, which are spoken of as the four qing (Feelings) since they are the names of Origination, Flourishing Penetration, Benefit, and Correct Firmness as these reach out to [external] things. Cai (Capacity) is the Nature in action as the qing; it is the motive power (li 力) of Origination, Flourishing Penetration, Benefit, and Correct Firmness. To say that qing (Feelings) has evil is to say that the already-issued Origination, Flourishing Penetration, Benefit, and Correct Firmness are not [the same as] Origination, Flourishing Penetration, Benefit, and Correct Firmness before they have issued forth. To say that cai (Capacity) has evil is to say that the stored-up Origination, Flourishing Penetration, Benefit, and Correct Firmness possessing the ability to act are not [the real] Origination, Flourishing Penetration, Benefit, and Correct Firmness. To say that materialized lifebreath has evil is to say that the li of Origination, Flourishing Penetration, Benefit, and Correct Firmness is the Way of Heaven, but the lifebreath of Origination, Flourishing Penetration, Benefit, and Correct Firmness is not the Way of Heaven. Oh! Under Heaven is there any lifebreath without li? Is there any li or lifebreath other than those of the two lifebreaths [Yin and Yang] and the four Virtues? To despise these when they have issued forth is just a delayed (i.e., indirect) way of despising them in their latent form. To despise them in their potency is just a delayed form of despising them in their fundamental form. To despise the lifebreath is just a delayed form of despising the li. Why? Because the Nature of human beings is precisely the Way of Heaven. If one maintains that the Nature has evil, then one must maintain that the Way of Heaven has evil. If one maintains that the qing (Feelings) have evil, then one must maintain that Origination, Flourishing Penetration, Benefit, and Correct Firmness have evil. If one maintains that the Capacity has evil, then one must maintain that the Way of Heaven's flowing and ceaselessly producing things has evil. Is not the effect of this finally to bring unceasing destruction upon the Three Realms [i.e., Heaven, Earth, and humans]?

Commentary:

Yan Yuan mentioned in Section Two of Part One that one or more virtues could "come to the aid of" another virtue that happened to be weak. In the above discussion we begin to see Yan's theoretical discussion of how this process of aiding could occur. -- PEM

嗚呼！漢、魏以來，異端昌熾，如洪水滔天，吾聖人之道如病蠶吐絲，迨於五季而倍微。當此時，而以惑於異端者誣聖曰「聖人之言性本如是也」， 必諸先正之所不忍；天道昭布現前如此，聖經賢傳指示親切如此，而必以惑於世俗者誣天曰「天生人之氣質，本有惡也」，亦必諸先正之所不敢。其為此論，特如時 諺所雲「習俗移人，賢者不免」耳。是圖也，正就程、張、朱發明精確者一推衍之，非敢謂於先儒之見有加也，特不雜於荀、揚、佛、老而已矣；正即氣質之性一訂 釋之，非謂無氣質之性也，特不雜以引蔽習染而已矣。意之不能盡者，仍詳說於各圖下。無非欲人共見乎天道之無他，人性之本善，使古聖賢性習之原旨昭然複明於 世，則人知為絲毫之惡，皆自點其光瑩之本體，極神聖之善，始自踐其固有之形骸；而異端重性輕形因而滅絕倫紀之說，自不得以惑人心，喜靜惡動因而廢棄六藝之 妄，自不得以蕪正道。諸先正之英靈，必深喜其偶誤頓洗而大快乎！聖道重光，僕或幸可以告無罪矣。其辭不副意，未足闡天人之秘，或反汩性理者，庸陋亦不敢自 保其無也，願長者其賜教焉！

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[A long polemical passage, the above passage, has been omitted.]

DIAGRAM OF THE TWO LIFEBREATHS AND THE FOUR DE (VIRTUES) TRANSFORMING AND GENERATING THE MYRIAD BEINGS: ACTING IN CONCERT AND ACTING IN OPPOSITION, INTERTWINING AND PENETRATING, MESHING AND INTERWEAVING, SMOKING AND STEAMING, MUTATING AND ALTERING, REACTING AND IMPACTING, CONSOLIDATING AND DISPERSING, UNCOILING AND COILING.14

(Yan Yuan's note: The following three diagrams are excerpts taken from the main diagram for [more specific] discussion.)

COMMENTARY: Yan Yuan has selected sixteen terms to represent what are apparently modes of interaction of the four Virtues. He has chosen many of these terms for their prominence in earlier philosophical texts such as the Appendices to the Yi Jing, but some terms seem to have Buddhist rather then Confucian associations. There is no practical interpretation given for most of these terms. There are eight pairs of terms in the text for this diagram, so by beginning with the terms used for the previous diagram we have a series of two, four, and now eight elements. But now rather than talking about cosmic forces themselves, Yan Yuan is talking about how these forces interact. -- PEM

陰陽流行而為四德。

Yin and Yang flow and make the four Virtues. [Then the four Virtues:]

順者，如春德與夏德，順也；

Act in concert (shun) like the Virtues of spring and summer; such is acting in concert, [the one continuing the growing activity of the other].

逆者，如春德與秋德，逆也。

Act in opposition (ni) like the powers of spring and autumn; such is acting in opposition, [the one fostering growth, the other destroying it.]

交者，二德合或三四合也；

Intertwine (jiao), such as when two of the Virtues come together, or three or four of them come together.

通者，自一德達一德，或中達正、間，正、間達中，正達間，間達正，正、正達， 間、間達之類也。

Penetrate (tong, to travel from one place to another as through a tube or channel), as when one Virtues impinges on (da, to arrive at) another Virtues -- whether it be the Virtues of the center impinging on the Virtues of [something at] a normal locus, or a locus of [equal] mixture; the Virtues of [something on] a normal locus, or a locus of mixture, impinging on the Virtues of the center; a Virtues of a normal locus impinging on the Virtues of a locus of mixture; the Virtues of a locus of mixture impinging on the Virtues of a normal locus; the Virtues of a normal locus impinging upon the Virtues of [another] normal locus; or the Virtues of a locus of mixture impinging upon the Virtues of another locus of mixture.

錯者，陰陽、剛柔彼此相對也；

Meshing/Negation (cuo): Yin and Yang, rigid and supple, each stands in direct opposition to the other [i.e., the elements of two things that are cuo are exactly opposite in terms of yin and yang, so that each is a negative image of the other like negative and positive images in photography.]

綜者，陰陽、剛柔上下相穿也。

Interweaving/Inversion (zong): Yin and Yang, rigid and supple, are exchanged for each other vertically [i.e., the elements of two cong things are inverted top to bottom in terms of yin and yang, so that each (hexagram or n-level figure) is an inverted image of the other like the image of a distant scene observed through a hand lens held at arms length.]

熏者，如香之熏物，居此及彼，以虛洽實，不必形接而臭至之也；

Smoking (xun): When fragrance "smokes" [i.e., perfumes] things, it stays here but reaches there, permeating solids (shi 實) across empty space, the scent reaching without the need for contact between physical forms.

烝者如烝食，如天地絪縕，下漸上也，一發而普遍也。

Steaming (zheng): Steaming is like steaming food, like the generative ethers (yin yun) of Heaven and Earth, which gently rise from below, but once they issue forth

everywhere. 變者，化也，有而無也，無而有也，或德相變，或正、間、斜相變也，如田鼠化鴽， 雀化為蛤之變也；

Mutation (bian): This is a [sudden] transformation from something to nothing, or from nothing to something. Perhaps the Virtues change among themselves, or perhaps the loci of the normal [incidence], the loci of intermixture, or the images of intercourse change. This is like the change of a field mouse into a quail, or of a sparrow into an oyster.

易者，神也，往來也，更代也，治也，陽乘陰，陰承陽也。

Altering (yi): This is something spiritlike, something that comes and goes, something that passes back and forth, something that creates an order, something wherein the Yang rides (cheng) the Yin, and the Yin takes from (cheng) the Yang.

感者，遙應也，如感月光，感蒼龍，感流星之類是也；

Reacting (gan): This is distant response, like reacting to the moon, reacting to the constellations of the Azure Dragon group, or reacting to shooting stars.

觸者，邂逅也，不期遇也，如一流複遇一流，舟行遇山，火發遇雨， 雲集遇風之類是也。

Impacting (chu): This is contingent encounter or unanticipated meeting, such as a stream rejoining [after having branched upstream], a boat running up against a mountain, a fire that having sprung up encounters rain, or clouds that having gathered encounter [a dispersing] wind.

聚者，理氣結也，一德聚，或二三四德共聚也；

Consolidating (ju): This is the uniting of li and lifebreath. One Virtue may consolidate or two, three, or four Virtues may consolidate.

散者，散其聚也；

Dispersing (san): This is the dispersal of what has been consolidated.

舒者，縷長直去也；

Uncoiling (shu): This is like a thin silk thread stretching out straight.

卷者，回其舒也。

Coiling (juan): This is the return of what was uncoiled.

十六者，四德之變也。德惟四而其變十六，十六之變不可勝窮焉。

These sixteen are the permutations (bian) of the four Virtues. There are only four Virtues, but their permutations number sixteen. Then the [further] permutations of the sixteen are inexhaustible.

為運不息也，止有常也，照臨、薄食也，燦列、流隕、進退、隱見也，吹噓、 震盪也，高下、平陂、土石、毛枯也，會分、燥濕、流止也，?老、雕菑、材灰 也，飛、潛、蠕、植，不可紀之狀也。

[The above-mentioned sixteen permutations] operate in ceaseless cycles whose periods of latency are constant. What radiates light becomes eclipsed. What gleams forth becomes a falling star. What advances and withdraws goes into hiding. There is huffing and puffing, shaking and quaking, high and low, level and sloping. There is soil and stones, sprouting and withering. There is union and division, dryness and dampness, flowing and stagnation, youth and old age, formation and destruction, wood and ash, flying and submerging, wriggling around and rooting to the spot. Such are the innumerable phenomena [which flow from the sixteen permutations]!

至於人，清濁、厚薄、長短、高下，或有所清，有所濁，有時厚，有時薄，大長小長，大短小短，時高時下，參差無盡之變，皆四德之妙所為也。世固有妖氛瘴癘，亦因人物有所激感而成，如人性之有引蔽習染，而非其本然也。

With respect to mankind, there are [variations as to] the clear and turbid, the generously and parsimoniously endowed, the long and short, the elevated and lowly. Some have that which is clear, and some have that which is turbid. There are times of generous and times of parsimonious endowment. This is a greater and lesser length, a greater and lesser shortness. There are times of height and times of lowness. These irregular and inexhaustible changes are all the acts of the inexplicable [power] of the four Virtues. And so the way in which miasmas and epidemics inevitably occur in the world because of emotional outbursts among humans and other creatures is like the way in which human Nature suffers from inducements, blindings, habituations, and stains that do not pertain to its original nature.

或謂既已感激而成妖瘴，則稟是氣而生者即為惡氣惡質。不知雖極污穢，及其生物，仍返其元，猶是純潔精粹二氣四德之人，不即污穢也。如糞中生五穀瓜蔬俱成佳品，斷不臭惡。穢朽生芝，鯀、瞍全聖，此其彰明較著者也。

Some say that since the miasmas and epidemics are formed after the occurrence of emotional outbursts, then what was produced after receiving that lifebreath was [itself] an evil lifebreath and an evil zhi (substance). Those [who would say this] do not know that although something be most filthy and unclean, when it gives birth to things it [in so doing] reverts to its primal state. Such is the case with a person: his two lifebreaths (Yin and Yang) and four Virtues being pure, clean, and refined [since no stain has been passed on from his parents] is not [as the Song Confucians would have it] filthy and unclean. This is like manure bringing forth the five grains, melons, and green vegetables that are all excellent products, and certainly not foul-smelling or bad. Dirty rotten wood produces the zhi fungus a fungus with a purplish stalk, valued because of it is believed to promote longevity and prosperity? Gun and Sou brought up perfect sages. The foregoing are some of the more striking and obvious examples [of pure things being produced from fouled sources].



DIAGRAM OF THE PRODUCTION BY TRANSFORMATION OF THE MYRIAD CREATURES FROM THE TWO LIFEBREATHS [YIN AND YANG], THE FOUR DE [AND THEIR ENSUING THIRTY-TWO THIRD-ORDER PERMUTATIONS]: CENTRALITY AND PERIPHERALITY, STRAIGHTNESS AND CROOKEDNESS, SQUARENESS AND ROUNDNESS, ACCESSIBILITY AND INACCESSIBILITY, EVENNESS AND SHARPNESS, DISPERSION AND ASSEMBLAGE, FARNESS AND NEARNESS, DIVERGENCE AND CONVERGENCE, GREATNESS AND SMALLNESS, GENEROSITY AND PARSIMONIOUSNESS, CLEARNESS AND TURBIDITY, STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS, HIGHNESS AND LOWNESS, LONGNESS AND SHORTNESS, FASTNESS AND SLOWNESS, COMPLETEDNESS AND DEFICIENCY.

Commentary: Does he mean to say that these thirty-two are characteristics of the Two Lifebreaths and the four Virtues? Or does he mean that they are entities that derive from them and yet have their own existence? The text below seems to indicate the first possibility is the correct one.

At this point in Yan Yuan's diagrams instead of "psychological" ways to interact, we find terms more suited to geometry and physics. This change to more concrete terms of reference is consonant with the way Zhu Xi's scheme seems to go from the transcendent to the merely invisible, and so on to more concrete things.

Later in this text, Yan Yuan explains that he might have continued to provide diagrams with more and more elements. -- PEM

四德之理氣，分合交感而生萬物。其稟乎四德之中者，則其性質調和，有大中之中，有正之中，有間之中，有斜之中，有中之中。

The li and the lifebreath of the four Virtues divide, unite, intertwine, and react, thereby producing the myriad creatures. Those creatures whose endowment comes from the center of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of harmony. There is the centrality of the great center, the centeredness of being on a line of normal incidence, the centeredness of being on an intermediary axis, the centeredness of being on a line of intercourse, and the centeredness of the center.

其稟乎四德之邊者，則其性質偏僻，有中之邊，有正之邊，有間之邊，斜之邊，邊之邊。其稟乎四德之直者，則性質端果，有中之直，正之直，間之直，斜之 直，直之直。

Those things whose endowment comes from the peripherality of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of one- sidedness and perversity. There is the peripherality of the center, the peripherality of the normals, the peripherality of being on an intermediary axis, the peripherality of being on a line of intercourse, and the peripherality of being on the periphery. Those things whose endowment comes from the straightness of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of decisiveness . . . .

其稟乎四德之屈者，則性質曲折，有中之屈，有正之屈，間之屈，斜之屈，屈之屈。

Those whose endowment comes from the crookedness of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of convolution . . . .

其稟乎四德之方者，則性質板棱，有中之方，正之方，間之方，有斜之方，方之方。

Those whose endowment comes from the squareness of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of immobility . . . .

其稟乎圓者，則性質通便，有中之圓，正之圓，間之圓，斜之圓，圓之圓。

Those whose endowment comes from the roundness of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of being penetrating and facile . . . .

其稟乎四德之衝者，則性質繁華，有中之衝，有正之衝，有間之衝，有斜之衝， 有衝之衝。

Those whose endowment comes from the accessibility of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of being luxuriant . . . .

其稟乎僻者，則其性質閒靜，有中之僻，正之僻，間之僻，有斜之僻，有僻之僻。

Those whose endowment comes from the inaccessibility of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of tranquility . . . .

其稟乎四德之齊者性質漸鈍，

Those whose endowment comes from the evenness of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of being gradual and dull.

稟乎四德之銳者性質尖巧，亦有中、正、間、斜之分焉。

Those whose endowment comes from the sharpness of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of being pointed and clever. Among these too there are differences among the center, the normals, and the lines of intercourse [et cetera].

稟乎四德之離者性質孤疏，

Those whose endowment comes from the divergence of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of being alone and distant.

稟乎四德之合者性質親密，亦有中、正、間、斜之分焉。

Those whose endowment comes from the convergence of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of being close and gregarious [literally, thick, the opposite of sparse]. Among those too there are differences among the center, the normals, and the lines of intercourse [et cetera].

稟乎四德之遠者則性質賓馳，

Those whose endowment comes from the farness of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of haste. Among those too there are differences among the center, the normals, and the lines of intercourse [et cetera].

稟乎四德之近者則性質拘謹，亦有中、正、間、斜之分焉。

Those whose endowment comes from the nearness of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of wariness. Among these too there are differences among the center, the normals, and the lines of intercourse [et cetera].

其稟乎違者性質乖左，

Those whose endowment comes from the divergence of the four Virtues have the innate characteristic of perversity.

稟乎遇者性質湊濟，亦有中、正、間、斜之分焉。

Those whose endowment comes from the convergence have the innate characteristic of tractability. Among these too there are differences among the center, the normals, and the lines of intercourse [et cetera].

稟乎大者性質廣闊，

Those whose endowment comes from the greatness have the innate characteristic of being broad and wide.

稟乎小者性氣狹隘，亦有中、正、間、斜之分焉。

Those whose endowment comes from the smallness have the innate characteristics of being narrow and constricted. Among these too there are differences among the center, the normals, and the lines of intercourse [et cetera].

至於得其厚者敦龐，

Those whose endowment comes from its generosity are fruitful.

得其薄者磽瘠，

Those whose endowment comes from its parsimoniousness are barren.

得其清者聰明，

Those whose endowment comes from its clearness are intelligent.

得其濁者愚蠢，

Those whose endowment comes from its turbidity are stupid.

得其強者壯往，

Those whose endowment comes from its strength are stout and outgoing.

得其弱者退諉，

Those whose endowment comes from its weakness are retiring and undependable.

得其高者尊貴，

Those whose endowment comes from its highness are respected and noble.

得其下者卑賤，

Those whose endowment comes from its lowness are base and cheap.

得其長者壽固，

Those whose endowment comes from its longness are long-lived and tough.

得其短者夭折，

Those whose endowment comes from its shortness are short-lived and fragile.

得其疾者早速，

Those whose endowment comes from its fastness are early and speedy.

得其遲者晚滯，

Those whose endowment comes from its slowness are late and slow.

得其全者充滿，

Those whose endowment comes from its completeness are filled-out and replete.

得其缺者破敗：亦莫不有中、正、間、斜之別焉。

Those whose endowment comes from its deficiency are tattered and broken. Of these too, there are none but have differences among the center, the normals, the mixtures/medians, the slanted lines of intercourse [et cetera].

此三十二類者，又十六變之變也，三十二類之變，又不可勝窮焉。然而不可勝窮者，不外於三十二類也，三十二類不外於十六變也，十六變不外四德 也，四德不外於二氣，二氣不外於天道也，舉不得以惡言也。昆蟲、草木、蛇蠍、豺狼，皆此天道之理之氣所為，而不可以惡言，況所稱受天地之中、得天地之粹者 乎！

These thirty-two kinds are permutations of the sixteen permutations. The [further] transformations of these thirty-two permutations are inexhaustible. And yet the inexhaustible does not go beyond these thirty-two transformations. The thirty-two transformations do not go beyond the sixteen permutations. The sixteen permutations do not go beyond the four Virtues. The four Virtues do not go beyond the Two Lifebreaths (Yin and Yang).

The Two Lifebreaths do not go beyond the Way of Heaven. None can be spoken of as evil. Insects, grasses and trees, snakes and scorpions, jackals and wolves are all made by this li and this lifebreath, and evil cannot be predicated of them, much less of [humans who are] proclaimed to have received the centrality of Heaven and Earth, and to have gained the purity of Heaven and Earth.

Commentary: Centrality refers to being near the metaphysical center of the universe, or to falling on or near the center of the diagram. Peripherality refers to being far from the metaphysical center of the universe, or to falling far from the center of the diagram. The other kinds of centeredness described seem to me to refer to points where the actions of the Four Powers are balanced in their impact on beings. For instance, some creature located on a diagonal in the NE direction received balanced impacts from the Powers of the north and the east, and also receive balanced impacts from the Powers of the south and west. However, there is an imbalance between the strengths of the Powers of north and east and the Powers of south and west, since the latter two are farther away.

既有萬物圖，複摘繪其一隅者，全圖意有所不能盡，複即一隅以盡其曲折也。此上黑點，亦象萬物，姑以 人之性質言之。如中角半大點，理氣會其大中，四德全體，無不可通，而元亨為尤盛。得其理氣以生人，則惻隱辭讓多；或?元而表亨，則中 惠貌莊之人也；或?亨而表元則中嚴貌順之人也。然以得中也，四德無不可通也，則有為聖人者焉，有為賢人者焉，有為士者焉；以通元亨之間，去利貞之濟遠也， 則亦有為常人者焉；皆行生之自然，不可齊也。仁之勝者，聖如伊尹，賢如顏子，士如黃憲，常人如?巷中溫厚之人；禮之勝者，聖如周公，賢如子華，士如樊英， 常人如?巷矜持之人。南邊一大點，則偏亨用事，禮勝可知也。準中之禮盛例，而達乎元者頗難，達乎利貞者尤難。然而可通乎中以及乎貞，可邊通乎元利，可斜通 乎利亨之交，可邊通乎亨利之間，而因應乎元貞之間，可邊通乎亨元之間；而因應乎貞利之間，可斜通乎亨元之交。故雖禮勝而四德皆通，無不可為樊英、子華、周 公也。東邊一大點，則偏元用事，仁勝可知也。準中之仁勝例，而達乎亨者難，達 乎貞利者更難。然而可通乎中以及於利，可邊通乎貞亨，可斜通乎貞元之交，可邊通乎元貞之間，而因應乎利亨之間，可邊通乎元亨之間；而亦因應乎利貞之間，可 斜通乎元亨之交。故雖仁勝而四德皆通，亦無不可為叔度、顏子、伊尹也。東南隅 一大點，元亨之間也，然直通元亨之斜以達於中，而與貞利之間為正應，雖間，而用力為之，亦無不可為黃、樊、顏、西、伊、周也。隅中一大點，居元亨斜間之 交，而似中非中。然斜中達於大中而通及貞利，雖間斜，而用力為之，亦無不可為黃、樊、顏、西、伊、周也。其隅中若干小點，或大，或小，或方，或圓，或齊， 或銳，或疏，或密，或衝，或僻，或近中，或近正，或近間，或近斜，或近元，或近亨，蓋亦莫不以一德或二德，總含四德之氣理而寓一中，所謂「人得天地之中以 生」也。是故通、塞、正、曲，雖各有不同，而盈宇宙無異氣，無異理。苟勉力為之，而勿刻以行其惻隱，不傲以行其恭敬，亦無不可為黃、樊、顏，西、伊、周 也。故曰「人皆可以為堯、舜」，而全體從可知矣。

Having already presented the diagram of the myriad creatures, I will now choose one quadrant of it to redraw. Since there are points concerning the full diagram which it has not yet been possible to explicate fully, I will address myself to a detailed explication of one quadrant in order to elucidate the finer details of the whole.

The black dots on this diagram also symbolize the myriad creatures, and, for the sake of convenience, I will speak of them [solely] in terms of the innate characteristics of human beings. In the case of the large quarter-dot in the central corner, here the li and the lifebreath meet at the exact center, and here are found the four Virtues in their totality, all available, but with Origination and Flourishing Penetration especially prevalent. A person constituted of this li and this lifebreath will [be characterized by] a preponderance of commiseration and yieldingness. Perhaps his external aspect will be [characterized by] Origination and his internal aspect by Flourishing Penetration. Then he will be a person of inner kindness and his mien will be serious. Perhaps he will be [characterized by] Flourishing Penetration internally and by Origination externally. Then he will be a man of inner strictness and his mien will be complaisant.

Commentary:

Note the Yin Yang duality involved when one characteristic of a pair is internal and latent or at least not readily apparent in its operation, and the other characteristic is external and gives the outer guise by which the individual concerned is known to observers. This duality is like that of the darkness at the center of a candle flame in comparison to the luminosity of the mantle of the flame.

But since such [a person] has attained to the center where all of the four Virtues are available, there will be some who are sages, some who are worthies, and some who are [merely] literati. But because [those in the remainder of this quadrant] also communicate with the mixed [Virtue of] Origination and Flourishing Penetration, and are remote from the aiding [Virtue of] Benefit and Correct Firmness, ordinary people [will also be produced]. This [process] all carries out the natural way of production, and it cannot be evened out. When there is a preponderance of Benevolence, a sage will be one such as Yi Yin, a worthy will be one such as Yan Zi, a literatus will be one such as Huang Xian, and a common person will be a warm and generous man in the community. When there is a preponderance of Propriety, a sage will be one such as the Duke of Zhou, a worthy will be one such as Zi Hua, a literatus will be one such as Fan Ying, and a common person will be one of firm dignity in the community.

Commentary: The individuals produced in a certain quadrant are alike in being characterized by a preponderance of the qualities of that quadrant, but because of their varying distances from the point of origin of the four Virtues, they receive these four Powers in greater and greater dilution as they depart from the center. -- PEM

At the large dot on the southern edge [i.e., the uppermost edge], [[Chinese map making convention was opposite to that of the West due to the custom of the emperor's always facing south when seated at court.]] Flourishing Penetration holds sway one-sidedly, and it may be known [from this fact] that Propriety predominates. Propriety is uncommonly preponderant at this point, and it is somewhat difficult to establish contact with (da, arrive at) Origination, and even more difficult to establish contact with Benefit and Correct Firmness. Nevertheless it is possible, by penetrating through the center, to get to Correct Firmness, and it is possible to go along the periphery to get to Origination and Benefit, and to pass diagonally to the point of intercourse of Benefit and Flourishing Penetration, to move along the periphery to the mixture of Flourishing Penetration and Benefit. Because it resonates with the mixture of Origination and Correct Firmness, it is possible to reach the mixture of Flourishing Penetration and Origination through the periphery. Because it resonates with the mixture of Correct Firmness and Benefit, it is possible to reach the point of intercourse of Flourishing Penetration and Origination along the slanted line that indicates intercourse. Thus although Propriety is preponderant, all four Virtues communicate [with that point]. Everyone can become a Fan Ying, Zi Hua, or Duke of Zhou.

Commentary: It is difficult to understand what Yan Yuan means in the above passage unless we remember that he has a psychological model in mind. He is thinking of a person of one character type trying to call on the resources that are more easily available to someone of another character type. For instance, one who is naturally little inclined to heed the requirements of etiquette and ritual because his share of Propriety is limited may need to call on his other virtues to access Propriety. So such a one may realize that in order to truly fulfill his tendencies for benevolence he must take account of the other person's need to be handled with proper ceremony and restraint. Once having gotten that far in his internal dialog his rather more sluggish natural feelings of Propriety will presumably be awakened and his behavior will be more ideal than if he had charged forward without first marshaling his internal resources.

In the large dot on the eastern [i.e., left] periphery, Origination holds sway one-sidedly, and it may be known [from this] that Benevolence predominates unprecedentedly in this place. Benevolence is uncommonly predominant here, and it is difficult to establish contact with Flourishing Penetration, and even more difficult to establish contact with Correct Firmness and Benefit. Nevertheless it is possible to penetrate through the center to get to Benefit, and it is possible to move along the periphery to get to Correct Firmness and Flourishing Penetration. It is possible to go diagonally to the point of intercourse of Correct Firmness and Origination. It is possible to reach the mixture of Origination and Correct Firmness through the periphery. Because it resonates with the mixture of Benefit and Flourishing Penetration, it is possible to reach the point of intercourse of Origination and Flourishing Penetration through the periphery. And because it also resonates with the mixture of Benefit and Correct Firmness, it is possible to reach the point of intercourse of Origination and Flourishing Penetration through the slanted image of intercourse. Thus although Benevolence is predominant, all four Virtues communicate [with that point]. Everyone can become a Shu Du, Yan Zi, or Yi Yin.

Commentary: We need to will and direct our inner resources more deliberately than one to whom these activities come easily. -- PEM

The large dot in the south-east [i.e., upper left] is the mixture of Origination and Flourishing Penetration. Thus it communicates directly with the [point of] intercourse of Origination and Flourishing Penetration in order to establish contact with the center. And it is in direct resonance with the mixture of Correct Firmness and Benefit. Although it is [an uneven] mixture, if effort is employed there are none who cannot become a Yellow Emperor, Fan [Ying], Yan [Hui], [Gong] Xi (Zi Hua), Yi [Yin], or [Duke of] Zhou.

The large dot in the middle of the sector rests at the point of intercourse of Origination and Flourishing Penetration, and seems to be a center [since it is a balance point between the adjacent Virtues of Origination and Flourishing Penetration, and also is a balance point between the more distant Virtues of Benefit and Correct Firmness] yet it is not truly so. Thus the center of the slanted line reaches to the true center [of the entire circle] and communicates thereby with Correct Firmness and Benefit. Although [an uneven] mixture and also along the line of intercourse between two forces, if effort is exerted there are none who cannot become a Yellow Emperor, Fan [Ying], Yan [Hui], [Gong] Xi (Zi Hua), Yi [Yin], or [Duke of] Zhou.

The many small dots within the sector, whether large or small, whether square or round, whether smooth or jagged, whether far or near, whether thick-set or thin, whether {{forward or backward}}, whether near the center or near a normal, whether near one of the mixtures or near a slanted image of intercourse, whether near Origination or near Flourishing Penetration, all assuredly, by means of one or two of the Virtues, embrace the lifebreath and li of all four Virtues and {{reside on one of the centers}}. The foregoing is what is meant by "Men are produced by attaining to what is central to Heaven and Earth." Therefore, although there are individual differences between the penetrating and the obstructed, the right and the crooked, there is no other lifebreath and no other li [than that] which fills the universe. If one strenuously exerts oneself, avoiding harshness so as to practice compassion and sympathy, and avoiding arrogance so as to practice dignity, there will be no one who cannot become a Yellow Emperor, Fan [Ying], Yan [Hui], Yi [Yin], or [Duke of] Zhou. Thus it is said: "Everyone can become a Yao or a Shun." {Mencius, 6b:2} And the entire (body =) substance [of the moral nature of the cosmos] can so be experienced.

DIAGRAM OF MENCIUS' SAYING THAT THE NATURE, QING, AND CAI ARE ALL GOOD

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圈，心也；仁、義、禮、智，性也；心一理而統此四者，非塊然有四件也。既非塊然四件，何由而名為仁、義、 禮、智也？以發之者知之也，則惻隱、羞惡、辭讓、是非也。發者情也，能發而見於事者才也；則非情、才無以見性，非氣質無 所為情、才，即無所為性。是情非他，即性之見也；才非他，即性之能也；氣質非他，即性、情、才之氣質也；一理而異其名也。若謂性善而才、情有惡，譬則苗 矣，是謂種麻而秸實遂雜麥也；性善而氣質有惡，譬則樹矣，是謂內之神理屬柳而外之枝幹乃為槐也。自有天地以來，有是理乎？後儒之言性也，以天道、人性攙而 言之；後儒之認才、情、氣質也，以才、情、氣質與引蔽習染者雜而言之。 以天道攙人性，未甚害乎性；以引蔽習染雜才、情、氣質，則大誣乎才、情、氣質矣。此無他，認接樹作本樹也，嗚呼，此豈樹之情也哉！

The circle is the mind. Benevolence, Justice, Propriety, and Wisdom are the Nature. The mind has a single li that unites these four [aspects], and it is not that there are four discrete entities [within the mind]. This being the case, how is it that [separate] names are given to Benevolence, Justice, Propriety, and Wisdom? They are known by what they cause to issue forth: compassion and sympathy, shame and dislike, modesty and yielding, and approval and disapproval. What issues forth is Feeling. What is able to cause these to issue forth so that they are seen in affairs is Capacity. Thus without Feeling and Capacity there would be nothing whereby to perceive the Nature. Without materialized lifebreath there would be nothing to the Feeling and the Capacity, so there would be nothing to be the Nature. This Feeling is none other than the manifestation of the Nature, and this Capacity is none other than the potency of the Nature. Materialized lifebreath is none other than the materialized lifebreath of the Nature, Feeling, and Capacity Ñ a single li although different names are given to [aspects of] it. If it be said that the Nature is good but that Feeling and Capacity have evil, then to make an analogy with sprouts of grain, this would be like getting some oats in the yield when [only] hemp had been sown. To say that the Nature is good but that materialized lifebreath is bad, to make an analogy with trees, would be like saying that the divine essence (shen li ) of the tree is that of a willow, but the external parts, the branches and trunk, are those of a locust tree. Was there ever anything like this since the beginning of Heaven and Earth?

The discussions of the later Confucians on Nature confuse the Way of Heaven and the Nature of human beings. In their discussions of the Feeling, Capacity, and materialized lifebreath, the later Confucians confuse the Capacity, Feeling, and the materialized lifebreath with inducement, obscuration, habituation, and staining [which are events that happen to the aforesaid Capacity, Feeling, and materialized lifebreath]. Confusing the Way of Heaven with the Nature of human beings does no great injury to [the concept of] the Nature [of human beings]. But to confuse Capacity, Feeling, and materialized lifebreath with inducement, obscuration, habituation, and staining is a great defamation of the Capacity, Feeling, and the materialized lifebreath.1 To do so is just the same as taking the grafted-on part of a tree to be the same tree as the root stock. Oh! How could this be the true character of the tree?

DIAGRAM ON MENCIUS'S TEACHING THAT NATURE, QING, AND CAI ARE ALL GOOD, AND THAT IT IS NOT THE FAULT OF CAI WHEN EVIL DEEDS ARE DONE ------------------------------- =============================== -------------------------------

中渾然一性善也。見當愛之物而情之惻隱能直及之，是性之仁；其能惻隱以及物者，才也。見當斷之物而羞惡能直及之，是性之義；其能羞惡以及物 者，才也。見當敬之物而辭讓能直及之，是性之禮；其能辭讓以及物者，才也。見當辨之物而是非能直及之，是性之智；其能是非以及物者，才也。不惟聖賢與道為 一，雖常人率性，亦皆如此，更無惡之可言，故孟子曰「性善」，「乃若其情，可以為善」，「若為不善，非才之罪也」。

In the center is the homogeneous, unitary Nature, which is good. The Benevolence (ren) of this Nature is such that on seeing what deserves to be loved the Feeling of compassion and sympathy reach directly to it. What makes it possible to feel compassion and sympathy, and so to reach to the object [of these sentiments], is its Capacity. The Sense of Right and Wrong (yi) of this Nature is such that on seeing what deserves to be excised the Feeling of shame and dislike reach directly to it. What makes it possible to feel shame and dislike, and so to reach to the object [of these sentiments], is its Capacity. The Sense of Ritual (li) of this Nature is such that on seeing what deserves to be respected the Feeling of modesty and yielding reach directly to it. What makes it possible to feel modesty and yielding, and so to reach to the object [of these sentiments], is its Capacity. The Wisdom of this Nature is such that on seeing what deserves to be judged on ethical grounds the Feeling of approval and disapproval reach directly to it. What makes it possible to feel approval and disapproval, and so to reach to the object [of these sentiments], is its Capacity.

It is not only sages and worthies who are at one with the Way. Even ordinary men, if they follow their Natures, are also all like this. Much less do they have any evil of which to speak. Therefore Mencius says: "The Nature is good," {6A:2} "As for their true and unsullied condition, they are able to do good," {6A:6} and "If someone does something that is not good, it is not the fault of the Capacity." {6A:6}

及世味紛乘，貞邪不一，惟聖人稟有全德，大中至正，順應而不失其則。下此者，財色誘於外，引而之左，則蔽其當愛而不見，愛其所不當愛，而貪 營之剛惡出焉；私小據於己，引而之右，則蔽其當愛而不見，愛其所不當愛，而鄙吝之柔惡出焉；以至羞惡被引而為侮奪、殘忍，辭讓被引而為偽飾、諂媚，是非被 引而為奸雄、小巧，種種之惡所從來也。然種種之惡，非其不學之能、不慮之知，必且進退齟齬，本體時見，不純為貪營、鄙吝諸惡也，猶未與財色等相習而染也。 斯時也，惟賢士豪傑，稟有大力，或自性覺悟，或師友提撕，知過而善反其天。又下此者，賦稟偏駮，引之既易而反之甚難，引愈頻而蔽愈 遠，習漸久而染漸深，以至染成貪營、鄙吝之性之情，而本來之仁不可知矣，染成侮奪、殘忍之性之情，而本來之義不可知矣，染成偽飾、諂媚之性之情與奸雄、小 巧之性之情，而本來之禮、智俱不可知矣。

When the tastes of the world become twisted and perverted and the depraved become separated from their [original] correctness, it is then only the sage, endowed with perfect virtue, who, being [produced from] the true center and being of supreme correctness, can respond harmoniously [to the things of the world] without lapsing from the [correct] design (ze ) [of Heaven]. As for those below this [level of ontological perfection], on being externally seduced by wealth and sexual desire and thus being drawn away to the left [on the diagram], what they ought to love becomes obscured so that they do not see it, and they love what they ought not to love. Thus there is produced in them the hard evil2 of greed for glory. On being grasped from within by selfish pettiness and thus drawn away to the right [on the diagram], what they ought to love becomes obscured so that they do not see it, and they love what they ought not to love. Thus there is produced in them the soft evil of {{vulgar miserliness??? }}. Furthermore, shame and dislike are drawn away to become arrogance or cruelty, modesty and yielding are drawn away to become villainous effrontery or petty toadying. These are the sources of the many kinds of evil.

These several kinds of evil, however, are not [the individual's] unlearned [i.e., innate] abilities, nor are they his innate knowledge. [Therefore] it is inevitable that in the course of everyday activity the fundamental constitution will from time to time show itself, for the person's behavior will not entirely be composed of greed for glory, selfish pettiness, etc., save that it shall have first been habituated and stained by wealth, sexual desire, etc. When things have arrived at this state, it is only the worthies and the heroes, those endowed with great powers, who either awakening [to the error of their ways] through their own Natures, or having it pointed out by teachers or friends, will thus know their own transgressions and admirably return to their true natures.3 Those on a level below these people, having endowments that are one-sided and contrary [lit., impure], are easily led astray. They find returning [to their true natures] extremely difficult. The more frequent the inducements, then the more complete the obscuration. The habituation builds up slowly and the stain deepens gradually. It reaches the point where the staining produces a nature and Feeling characterized by greed for glory or selfish pettiness, so that the original Benevolence can no longer be known. Or the staining produces a nature and Feeling characterized by arrogance or cruelty, so that the original Sense of Right and Wrong cannot be known. Again, the staining produces a nature and Feeling characterized by deception or flattery, or by villainous effrontery or petty toadying so that the original Sense of Ritual and [the original] Wisdom cannot be known.4

嗚呼！禍始於引蔽，成於習染，以耳目、口鼻、四肢、百骸可為聖人之身，竟呼之曰禽獸，猶幣帛素色，而既汙之後，遂呼之曰赤帛黑帛也，而豈其材之本然哉！然人為萬物之靈，又非幣帛所可倫也。幣帛既染，雖故質尚在而驟不能複素；人則極凶大憝，本體自在，止視反不反、 力不力之間耳。嘗言盜蹠，天下之極惡矣，年至八十，染之至深矣，儻乍見孺子入井，亦必有怵惕惻隱之心，但習染重者不易反也。蠡一吏婦，淫奢無度，已踰四旬，疑其習性成矣；丁亥城破，產失歸田，樸素勤儉，一如農家。乃知繫蹠囹圄數年，而出之孔子之堂，又數年亦可複善。 F吾故曰，不惟有生之初不可謂氣質有惡，即習染凶極之餘亦不可謂氣質有惡也。此孟子夜氣之論所以有功於天下後世也。程、朱未識此意，而甚快夜氣之說，則亦依稀之見而已矣！

Oh! Calamity is initiated by inducement and obscuration, and is culminated through habituation and staining. To take the ears, eyes, mouth, nose, four limbs, and hundred bones of what may be the body of a sage and nevertheless call them those of a bird or a beast5 is like calling a pure white presentational silk "red silk" or "black silk" after it has been stained. For how can this [condition] be held to be the original appearance of the cloth?

Yet "humans are the most spiritually responsive of the myriad creatures." {Shu Jing, Book of Documents, ______}, and should not be put on the same level [of being] as ceremonial presentation silk. For once the silk has become stained, even though the original material is still there, it cannot easily be made white again. In the case of humans, even though they be most fierce and evil, their original constitution is still present, so that it is only a question of whether or not they reverse their paths, and whether or not they exert effort.6 It has been said that Dao Zhi [“Robber Footpad”] was the most evil man in the world. But even at the age of eighty, when his stain would have been deepest, should he suddenly have seen a child about to fall into a well,7 he too would have had a heart that felt a sudden surge of compassion and sympathy. It is nevertheless true that those with a heavy accumulation of habituation and stain cannot easily reverse themselves.

The wife of an official of Li was immeasurably lascivious and extravagant. Having already exceeded the age of forty, one would expect that her habitual nature8 had been set. Yet in the year 1647, when the city was destroyed, she lost her property and returned to the fields to live simply and frugally just like a farmer.9 So it may be concluded that if [Dao] Zhi were to have been confined to prison several years and then remanded to the hall of Confucius, after a few more years he too could have reverted to [his original] goodness. Therefore I say, it is not only just after birth that the materialized lifebreath cannot be said to have evil, but even after having received the abundant harm inflicted by habituation and staining, the materialized lifebreath still cannot be said to have evil. This is the reason that Mencius' discussion of the nighttime [receipt of supplementary] lifebreath is of benefit to the later generations of this world.10 Cheng and Zhu never perceived the [true] meaning of this [teaching], and so the theory of the nighttime lifebreath very rapidly became [treated as] a mere vague idea.

DIAGRAM OF MISTAKES BY REASON OF GOING TO ONE EXTREME OR THE OTHER DUE TO INDUCEMENT, OBSCURATION, HABITUATION, AND STAINING

吾之論引蔽習染也，姑以仁之一端觀之。性之未發則仁，既發則惻隱順其自然而出。父母則愛之，次有兄弟，又次有夫妻、子孫則愛之，又次有宗 族、戚黨、鄉里、朋友則愛之。其愛兄弟、夫妻、子孫，視父母有別矣，愛宗族、戚黨、鄉里，視兄弟、夫妻、子孫又有別矣，至於愛百姓又別，愛鳥獸、草木又別 矣。此乃天地間自然有此倫類，自然有此仁，自然有此差等，不由人造作，不由人意見。推之義、禮、智，無不皆然，故曰「渾天地間一性善也」，故曰「無性外之 物也」。但氣質偏駁者易流，見妻子可愛，反以愛父母者愛之，父母反不愛焉；見鳥獸、草木可愛，反以愛人者愛之，人反不愛焉；是謂貪營、鄙吝。 以至貪所愛而弑父弑君，吝所愛而殺身喪國，皆非其愛之罪，誤愛之罪也。又不特不仁而已也；至於愛不獲宜而為不義，愛無節文而為無禮，愛昏其明而為不智，皆 《一》<不>誤為之也，固非仁之罪也，亦豈惻隱之罪哉？使篤愛於父母，則愛妻子非惡也；使篤愛於人， 則愛物非惡也。如火烹炮，水滋潤，刀殺賊，何咎！或火灼人，水溺人，刀殺人，非火、水、刀之罪也，亦非其熱、寒、利之罪也；手持他人物，足行不正塗，非手 足之罪也，亦非持行之罪也；耳聽邪聲，目視邪色，非耳目之罪也，亦非視聽之罪也，皆誤也，皆誤用其情也。 誤始惡，不誤不惡也；引蔽始誤，不引蔽不誤也；習染始終誤，不習染不終誤也。去其引蔽習染者，則猶是愛之情也，猶是愛之才也，猶是用愛之人之氣質也；而惻 其所當惻，隱其所當隱，仁之性複矣。義、禮、智猶是也。故曰「率性之謂道」也；故曰「道不遠人」也。程、 朱惟見性善不真，反以氣質為有惡而求變化之，是戕賊人以為仁義 」，「遠人以為道」矣。

In my discussion of inducement, obscuration, habituation, and staining, I will for the moment take as a point of departure one [of the four moral] Beginnings, that of Benevolence. Before the Nature has issued forth [in response to events in the outside world] there is Benevolence. When it issues forth, compassion and sympathy follow their natural course and are produced. Fathers and mothers are loved, and then successively older and younger brothers, and husbands and wives. Children and grandchildren are loved, and then successively the ancestral clan members, other relatives, neighbors, and friends. There is a distinction between the love for elder and younger brothers, husband or wife, children and grandchildren, and the love for one's parents. Again, there is a distinction between the love of ancestral clan members, other relatives, and neighbors, and the love for older and younger brothers, husband or wife, and children and grandchildren. And yet too, this [love] is distinguished from the love shown to birds and beasts, and plants and trees. This [differentiation] exists because there is a natural hierarchy of classes in the world. There is naturally this Benevolence, and there are naturally these gradations. They are neither the fabrications nor the opinions of human beings. The logical extension of this [idea] is that the Sense of Right and Wrong, Sense of Ritual, and Wisdom are all this way. Thus it is said: "Inchoate amid heaven and earth is the one good Nature," #####citation and again: "There is nothing outside the Nature." {XLDQ, 1:35a UPS} However, those with unbalanced and contrary materialized lifebreath are easily moved.11 Seeing their wives and children lovable, they contrarily apply to them the love appropriate to their parents, while failing to show love to their mother and father. Or seeing birds, beasts, plants, and trees lovable, they contrarily apply the love appropriate to human beings and contrarily do not love people. This [error] is called the greed for glory and {{vulgar miserliness}}. It may reach the point that people are so greedy for what they love that they may slay their father or assassinate their ruler. Or they may be so greedy for what they love that they bring death to their own bodies and destruction to their country. Yet none of this is the fault of love, but rather the fault of mistaken love.12

Again, it is not just that [people] are particularly unbenevolent. As to love that is inappropriate and therefore does what is against the Sense of Right and Wrong, love that is without proper bounds and therefore does what is contrary to the Sense of Ritual, love which beclouds one's intelligence and therefore does what is contrary to Wisdom Ñ these are all done by [i.e., as a result of] a single mistake, so they are certainly not the fault of Benevolence. How could they then be the fault of compassion and sympathy either? Providing that there is ample love of parents, there is nothing wrong with loving one's wife or children. Providing there is ample love of human beings, there is nothing wrong with loving other creatures. What fault is there in fire that cooks, water that moistens [the fields], or the knife that kills thieves. Should fire burn a human being, water drown a person, or a knife kill someone #####cai, it is not the fault of the fire, water, or knife; nor is it the fault of heat, cold, or sharpness.#####qing13 When hands seize other people's things, or feet walk improper paths, it is not the fault of the hands or feet, nor of seizing or walking. When ears listen to depraved sounds, or eyes watch depraved sights, it is not the fault of ears or eyes, nor the fault of listening or seeing. These [acts] are all errors. They are all mistaken exercises of the Feeling. Mistakes are the beginnings of evil; without mistakes there would be no evil. Inducement and obscuration are the beginnings of mistakes. Without inducement #####a "field" idea##### and obscuration there would be no mistakes. Habituation and staining are the beginnings of the consolidation of mistakes. Without habituation and staining, there would be no consolidation of mistakes. With the removal of inducement, obscuration, habituation, and staining, there is again the Feeling of love, the Capacity to love, and the materialized lifebreath of the person who exercises love. When compassion is shown to what should receive compassion, and sympathy is shown to what should receive sympathy, the Nature of Benevolence returns. The same is true of the Sense of Right and Wrong, the Sense of Ritual, and Wisdom. Therefore it is said: "Following the Nature is called the Way," {ZY, 1} and "The Way does not go far from human beings." {ZY, 13} Cheng and Zhu just saw the goodness of the Nature as unreal, and contrarily considered the materialized lifebreath to have evil, and so sought to change it. To do so is to "regard killing and violence done to people as Benevolence and Justice,"14 and to "regard what departs from the human as being the Way." xxx15

然則氣質偏駁者，欲使私欲不能引染，如之何？惟在明明德而已。存養省察，磨 勵乎詩、書之中，涵濡乎禮樂之場，周、孔教人之成法固在也。自治以此，治人 即以此。使天下相習於善，而預遠其引蔽習染，所謂「以人治人」也。若靜坐《閤》<闔>眼，但可供精神短淺者一時之葆攝；訓詁著述，亦止許承接 秦火者一時之補苴。如謂此為主敬，此為致知，此為有功民物，僕則不敢為諸先正黨也。故曰「欲粗 之於周、孔之道者，大管小管也；欲精之於周、孔之道者，大佛小佛也」。

Then what should people who have a one-sided and contrary materialized lifebreath do when they desire to prevent selfish desires from being able to induce and stain them? [The answer] lies simply in {{illuminating illustrious virtue}}, and nothing more. Preservation and cultivation [of the Nature], introspection,16 and [self-]inspection, gaining refinement and encouragement from the Shi Jing [Book of Poetry] and the Shu Jing [Book of Documents], immersion in the fields of ritual and music -- these, the established methods of the Duke of Zhou and Confucius for teaching people, are still extant.17 Both self governance and the governance of others is done by these means. "Governing humans by means of the human"18 makes the [people of the] world become mutually practiced in goodness, and forestalls inducement, obscuration, habituation, and staining. As to sitting in meditation with closed eyes, such activity can only provide a temporary respite to persons whose spirit is shallow and ill-developed. Textual criticism and writings [about the classics] likewise permit only temporary reinforcement to those who have inherited the fires of Qin.19 If it be said that these [methods] constitute emphasizing seriousness,20 extending knowledge, and making accomplishments for the benefit of the people, then I dare not place myself among the ranks of the legitimate earlier [Confucians]. Therefore I say: "Those who desire to make the Way more coarse than that of the Duke of Zhou and Confucius are greater and lesser Master Guans, and those who desire to make the Way more refined than the Way of the Duke of Zhou and Confucius are greater and lesser Buddhas.

又如仁之勝者，愛用事，其事亦有別矣。如士、庶人、卿、大夫、諸侯、天子之愛親，見諸孝經者，仁之中也。有大夫而奉親如士庶者不及，士庶如 大夫之奉親者過，而未失乎發之之正也。吾故曰，不中節亦非惡也。惟堂有父母而懷甘旨入私室，則惡矣；若甘旨進父母，何惡！室有妻媵而辱恩情於匪配，則惡 矣；若恩情施妻媵，何惡！故吾嘗言，竹節或多或少皆善也；惟節外生蛀乃惡也。然竹之生蛀，能自主哉？人則明德明而引蔽自不乘，故曰：「先立乎其大者，則其 小者不能奪也。」

Again, in the case of those in whom Benevolence is predominant, and in whom love functions powerfully, there are also differences among their activities. The love of scholars, commoners, high ministers, great officers, and the Son of Heaven for their respective parents as seen in the Xiao Jing [Classic of Filial Piety] is correct Benevolence. Those great officers who serve their relatives as would a scholar or commoner fall short, and those scholars and commoners who serve their relatives as would a great officer go beyond [the appropriate amount], yet there is no lapse in the correctness of the impulse [itself]. I therefore say: Not to strike the mean is not yet evil. It is only when the parents still live in the family home and [the son] cherishes a fond desire to establish a private home that there is evil. But if the fond desire is to enter [the home of] the parents, what is evil about that? Therefore I have said: "Whether the sections of bamboo may be many or few, they are all good. It is only when borer worms are produced in addition to the sections of bamboo that there is evil.21 But can the bamboo control the production of borer worms? In the case of humans, if they {{illuminate their illustrious virtue}}, then inducements and obscurations naturally will not take effect." Thus it is said: "First establish the great, and the small will not be vulnerable."22

THE SINGLE DEPICTION OF ONE QUADRANT, THAT OF ORIGINATION AND FLOURISHING PENETRATION, IN ORDER TO EXPLICATE ITS MEANING

全體者為全體之聖賢，偏勝者為偏至之聖賢，下至椿、津之友恭，牛宏之寬恕， 皆不可謂非一節之聖。宋儒乃以偏為惡；不知偏不引蔽，偏亦善也，未可以引 蔽之偏誣偏也。木火一隅圖中，仁勝之說可玩也。

Those with a complete constitution become sages and worthies. Those with one-sided and overpowering constitutions become one-sided, extremist sages and worthies. Descending to the level of the friendship and respect of Chun and Jin, or the broad altruism of Niu Hong, they cannot be denied to be sages of one dimension [of virtue]. The Song Confucians took one-sidedness to be evil, not knowing that if one-sidedness be without inducement and obscuration, then it too is good. It is not permissible to defame [ordinary] one-sidedness by [attributing to it the evil of] one-sidedness subjected to inducement and obscuration. [From the foregoing discussion] one can test the theory that Benevolence is preponderant in the quadrant bounded by wood [the phase correlated with Benevolence] and fire [the phase correlated with the Sense of Ritual].

Commentary: Yan Yuan's point is that one-sidedness is not sufficient in itself to produce evil. It is a weakness, and under certain environmental stresses it can lead to evil. The Song Confucians, Yan argues, see the opening provided for evil to develop and call the opening itself evil. -- PEM

或疑仁勝而無義，則泛濫失宜，將愛父母如路人，對盜賊而欷歔，豈不成其不宜之 惡乎？仁勝而無禮，則節文不敷，將養父母同犬馬，踰東家摟處子，豈不成其不 檢之惡乎？仁勝而不智，則可否無辨，將從井救人，莫知子惡，豈不成其迷惑之 惡乎？

Some suspect that should Benevolence be preponderant, so that the Sense of Right and Wrong would be absent, then [that Benevolence] would overflow [its proper bounds] with a loss of what is proper, and subsequently a person would love his parents no more than if they were strangers on the road, while sighing after thieves and robbers. Would, [they ask,] these [errors] not constitute the evils of inappropriateness? Or, [they suspect], should Benevolence be preponderant so that the Sense of Ritual would be absent, then there would be inadequate restraint and polish, and people would care for their parents as though they were dogs and horses, and go over the wall to the house on the east to seize the maiden there. Would, [they ask,] this [error] not constitute the evil of uninhibitedness? Or yet again [they suppose that] if Benevolence should be preponderant, and there should be no Wisdom so that there would be no discrimination between what is permissible and what is not, then such people would try to rescue people [i.e., their own reflections] from wells, and would not know the evils of their own children. Would, [they ask,] this [error] not constitute the evil of delusion?

Commentary:

Note that Yan Yuan regards Wisdom as the capacity to determine whether what people do is correct or incorrect, and that this includes matters of empirical knowledge. -- PEM

予以為此必不知性者之言也。夫性，則必如吾前仁之一端之說，斷無天生之仁而有視父母如路人諸惡者。蓋本性之仁必寓有義、禮、智，四德不相離也，但不盡如聖 人之全，相濟如攜耳。試觀天下雖甚和厚人，不能無所羞惡，無所辭讓，無所是非，但不如聖人之大中，相濟適當耳。其有愛父母同路人，對盜賊而欷歔等惡者，必 其有所引蔽習染，而非赤子之仁也。禮、義、智，猶是也。

But I maintain that these [doubts] must be the words of persons who do not know the Nature. As to this Nature, the situation must be as I maintained above in my discussion of the Beginning of Benevolence. There definitely cannot be a Benevolence engendered by Heaven that could yet [inherently] have the evil of regarding parents like strangers on the road or other such evils. That is to say, the Benevolence of the basic Nature invariably entails the Sense of Right and Wrong, the Sense of Ritual, and Wisdom. These four Virtues are inseparable; it is simply that they were not as complete as they are in the perfection of a sage. But still they aid each other as though linked hand to hand. Observe that even the most affable and generous man in the world cannot get along without [reactions of] shame and dislike, modesty and yielding, and approval and disapproval, but these [impulses] are not comparable to those of the great sage that derive from the highest centrality [of their source] in their aid to each other as though linked hand in hand. Such evils as regarding parents like strangers on the road and sighing after thieves and robbers must derive from inducement, obscuration, habituation, and stain; such is not the Benevolence of the infant. The same is true of the Sense of Right and Wrong, the Sense of Ritual, and Wisdom.

熟閱孟子而盡其意，細觀赤子而得其情，則孔、孟之性旨明，而心性非精，氣質非粗；不惟氣質非吾性之累害，而且舍氣質無以存養心性，則吾所謂 三事、六府、六德、六行、六藝之學是也。是明明德之學也，即謂為變化氣質之功，亦無不可。有志者倘實以是為學為教，斯孔門之博文約禮，孟子之存心養性，乃 再見於今日，而吾儒有學術，天下有治平，異端淨掃，複覩三代乾坤矣！

When the Mencius is thoroughly studied and its meaning exhaustively comprehended, when its [discussion of the mind of the] infant is minutely studied and his Feeling [i.e., the actual functioning of his Nature] is learned, then the teachings of Confucius and Mencius about the Nature become clear, and it is seen that neither are the mind and the Nature refined [above all else], nor is the materialized lifebreath grosser [than all else]. Not only is the materialized lifebreath not an encumbrance or injury, but were it to be discarded there would be nothing by which to preserve and cultivate the mind and the Nature. Thus is affirmed the study of the three responsibilities, six treasuries, six virtues, six patterns of conduct, and six liberal arts, of which I have [earlier] spoken. This is the discipline whereby {{illustrious virtue is illuminated}}, which may quite properly be called the task of transforming the materialized lifebreath. If determined persons would truly take these [goals] as their study and teaching, then the "broadening by literature and restraining by propriety" of the school of Confucius, and the preserving of the mind and nurturing of the Nature of Mencius would reappear today; we Confucians would have [true] learning, the world would be well governed and peaceful, heterodoxy would be swept away, and the [pure creative impulse represented by the cosmic Yin and Yang hexagrams,] Qian and Kun, would be seen once again.

圖跋

AFTERWORD

嗟乎！性不可以言傳也，而可以圖寫乎？雖果見孔、孟所謂性，且不可言傳圖寫，而況下愚不足聞性道如僕者乎！但偶爾一?悟機，似有髣?乎方寸者，此或僕一之 所謂性，尚非孔、孟所謂性，未可知也。況僕所見尚有不能圖盡者乎！語云，理之不可見者，言以明之；言之不能盡者，圖以示之；圖之不能畫者，意以會之。吾願 觀者尋其旨於圖間，會其意於圖外，假之以宣自心之性靈，因之以察僕心之愚見，庶不至以佛氏六賊之說誣吾才、情、氣質，或因此而實見孔、孟之所謂性，亦未可 知也。若指某圈曰此性也，某畫曰此情也，某點曰此氣質也，某形勢曰此性、情、才質之皆善無惡也，則膠柱鼓瑟，而於七圖無往不扞格背戾，且於僕所謂一?者而 不可得，又安望由此以得孔、孟所謂性乎！恐此圖之為性害，更有甚於宋儒之說者矣。

to page 177 line 1 Oh! As the [truth about the] Nature cannot be communicated by words, can it then be drawn in a diagram? If even someone who has actually seen the Nature described by Confucius and Mencius cannot communicate it by words or draw it in a diagram, how much less can a lowly, ignorant one such as I, who is inadequate [even] to hear about the Dao and the Nature? It is only because I occasionally get a thread of understanding of the hidden springs of things, as though I had some semblance of the [true] human mind [that I dare make this attempt]. Whether or not it may be that what I myself call the Nature is still not what Confucius and Mencius called the nature, it is impossible to know. Moreover, it has been impossible for me to express all that I have seen through drawings. It is said the li that cannot be immediately apprehended in vision may be illuminated through words. What cannot be fully expressed through words may be presented through diagrams. What cannot be fully expressed though diagrams is [only] to be intuited. It is my wish that my readers will seek the meaning of the diagrams, and will go beyond the diagrams to gain intuitive understanding, that they will make use of this [understanding] in order to manifest the inborn efficacy of their own minds, and [that they will] utilize it to examine the shallow views of my mind. Then perhaps they will avoid defaming our Capacity, Feeling, and materialized lifebreath by means of the Buddhist theory of the six thieves. And perhaps because of this [abstention] they will truly see what Confucius and Mencius call the Nature. This too it is impossible to know. If one were to point to a certain circle [in the above several diagrams] and call it the Nature, point to a certain line and call it Feeling, point to a certain dot and call it materialized lifebreath, or point to a certain configuration and call it the total goodness without evil of the Nature, Feeling, and Capacity, then such an act would be unduly inflexible, and every point would serve as a barrier to [a real understanding of] the seven diagrams. Moreover, if it be impossible to attain to an understanding of what I have called the one thread [of understanding], then what hope would there be of attaining to what Confucius and Mencius call the Nature? I fear that the damage to the Nature made by these diagrams would then be even greater than that done by the theories of the Song Confucians.

==================================================================

雖然，即使天下後世果各出其心意以會乎僕一?之意，遂因以見乎孔、孟之意， 猶非區區苦心之所望也。僕所望者，明乎孔、孟之性道，而荀、揚、周、程、張、 朱、釋、老之性道可以不言也，明乎孔、孟之不欲言性道，而孔、孟之性道亦可 以不言也，而性道始可明矣。

However, providing that future generations in this world really put forth their thoughts to comprehend the meaning of my "one thread," they will thereby perceive the meaning of Confucius and Mencius; this [position] is still not [taken with] any expectation of wracking people's minds at each point. My hope is that by throwing light on the Dao and Nature of Confucius and Mencius, there will be no need to speak of the Dao and Nature of Xun [Zi], Yang [Xiong], Zhou [Dun-yi], the Chengs, Zhang [Zai], Zhu [Xi], the Buddha, and Lao [Zi]; and that by understanding the Dao and the Nature concerning which Confucius and Mencius did not wish to speak, there will likewise be no need to speak of the Dao and Nature of Confucius and Mencius, and this Dao and Nature will then first become clear.

Commentary: Is Yan Yuan making an appeal to introspective mysticism here? -- PEM

或曰：孔子罕言矣；孟子動言性善，何言乎不欲言也？曰：有告子二或人之性道， 孟子不得已而言性善也，猶今日有荀、揚、佛、老、程、張之性道，吾不得已而 言才、情、氣質之善也。試觀答告子諸人，但取足以折其詞而止，初未嘗言性善 所由然之故，猶孔子之罕言也。宋人不解，而反譏其不備，誤矣！

It might be asked: "Confucius seldom spoke of it, and Mencius was moved [only by compelling reasons] to say that the Nature is good. So why talk about what they did not wish to speak?" [To this I] reply: There were the positions of Gao Zi and the two unidentified speakers concerning the Dao and the Nature, so Mencius had no way out but to [explicitly] teach that the Nature is good, just as today there are the positions of Xun [Zi], Yang [Xiong], the Buddha, Lao [Zi], the Chengs, and Zhang [Zai] about the Dao and Nature, so that I have no way out but to teach the goodness of that Capacity, Feeling, and the materialized lifebreath. Take a look at the answers to Gao Zi and others. [Mencius] only chose to say enough to shut them off, and in the beginning did not give any reasons for the Nature's being good, just as Confucius seldom spoke of it. The men of Song did not understand this [reticence] and to the contrary attacked [the teachings of Confucius and Mencius] as inadequate. What a mistake!

或曰：吾儒不言性道，將何以體性道，盡性道？余曰：吾儒日言性道而天下不聞 也，日體性道而天下相安也，日盡性道而天下相忘也。惟言乎性道之作用，則六 德、六行、六藝也；惟體乎性道之功力，則習行乎六德、六行、六藝也；惟各究 乎性道之事業，則在下者師若弟，在上者君臣及民，無不相化乎德與行藝，而此 外無學教，無成平也。如上天不言而時行物生，而聖人體天立教之意著矣，性情 之本然見，氣質之能事畢矣，而吾之七圖亦可以焚矣。故是編後次之以存學、存 治云。

It might be asked: "If we Confucians do not speak of the Dao and the Nature, then how will anybody embody this Dao and Nature? How will anyone develop to the utmost this Dao and Nature?" I reply: If we Confucians talk about the Dao and Nature every day, and the world does not listen, let us then daily embody it and then the world will be at peace with itself. Let us daily develop it to the utmost, and the world will forget [its theoretical interests that are of detriment to a true practice of the Dao]. When we speak about the functioning of the Nature and the Way, this means the six virtues, the six patterns of conduct, and the six liberal arts. When each of us plumbs the workings of the Nature and the Way, those below will imitate us like younger brothers, and those above will serve as ministers to the ruler [in succession] all the way down to the common people, so that all will transform each other with virtue and the practice of the liberal arts. Other than this [effort] there will be no need for schools or the establishment of gradations. Just as Heaven above does not speak, yet the seasons progress, just as creatures are produced and the sage embodies Heaven to establish his teaching, when the basic suchness of the Nature and Feeling is seen, then the ability use one's materialized lifebreath to serve will be brought to completion. Then my seven diagrams may be destroyed by fire. Therefore I have followed this book with the Cun Xue Bian (Preservation of Learning) and the Cun Zhi Bian (Preservation of Governance).

附錄同人語

YAN YUAN'S APPENDIX::CONVERSATIONS WITH VARIOUS PEOPLE

上谷石卿張氏曰：「性即是氣質底性，堯、舜底氣質便有堯、舜底性，呆獃底氣質 便有呆獃的性，而究不可謂性惡。」

Mr. Zhang Shi-qing of Shang-gu said: "The Nature is just the Nature of the materialized lifebreath. The materialized lifebreath of Yao and Shun had the Nature of Yao and Shun, and the materialized lifebreath of an idiot has the Nature of an idiot, yet in the final analysis it cannot be said that the Nature [in either case] is evil."

又曰：「人性無二，不可從宋儒分天地之性、氣質之性。」

He also said: "There is no duality to the human Nature. It is wrong to follow the Song Confucians and make a distinction between the Nature of Heaven and Earth [i.e., a transcendent Nature] and the Nature of the materialized lifebreath.

先生賜教，在未著存性前。惜當時方執程、朱之見，與之反覆辯難。及喪中悟性， 始思先生言性真確，期服闋入郡相質，而先生竟捐館矣！嗚呼！安得複如先生者 而與之言性哉！

The teachings which my elder brother bestowed upon me were received before I wrote the Preservation of Nature. Unfortunately, at that time I still maintained the opinions of the Cheng [brothers] and Zhu [Xi], and I argued with him repeatedly. When, during my period of mourning, I came to a realization of the Nature, I first realized that my elder's words about the Nature were correct., I planned to make my way to his district on the completion of my mourning in order to engage in mutual examination [of these matters], but he had already been lost [in death] from his school. Oh! How can I ever have someone like him with whom to discuss the Nature!

督亢介祺王氏曰：「氣質即是這身子。不成孩提之童性善，身子偏有不善。」

Wang Jie-qi of Du-kang said: "Materialized lifebreath is just this body. The Nature of an infant is good; his body is biased and contains what is not good."

又曰：「天生人來，渾脫是箇善。」

He also said: "When Heaven produces a human being he is completely good."

又曰：「氣質、天命，分二不得。」

He also said: "Materialized lifebreath cannot be separated from the Mandate of Heaven."

書後

Postscript

孟子曰性善，即魯論之「性相近」也，言本善也。晏子曰「汩俗移質，習染移性」，即魯論之「習相遠」也，言惡所由起也。後儒不解，忽曰氣質有惡，而性亂矣， 聖賢之言背矣。先生辭而辯之，功豈在禹下哉？

Mencius' saying that the Nature is good is just the same as the Lu [home state of Confucius] doctrine that the Natures are near [at birth]; they both say that the Nature is fundamentally good. Master Yan said: "Being immersed in customs modifies substance (zhi, the substrate to which ornamentation is applied), and habituation and staining modify the Nature," which is the Lu doctrine that by practice men become far apart; this is an explanation for the source of evil. The later Confucians did not understand and jumped to the conclusion that the materialized lifebreath has evil, thus disordering [the understanding of] the Nature, and going against the teachings of the sages and worthies. My master denied and contended against this belief. Can his merit then be said to be less than that of Yü?

特先生性圖，入「太極」「五行」諸說，則於後儒誤論，當時尚有未盡灑者。塨 後質先生曰：「周子太極圖，真元品道家圖也。‘易有太極兩儀’，指揲蓍言，非 謂太極為一物，而生天地萬物也。五行為六府之五，乃流行於世以為民物用者， 故箕子論鯀罪曰‘汩陳其五行’，非謂五行握自帝天而能生人生物也。生?乃鄒衍 以後方家?說，聖經無有。」先生曰：「然，吾將更之。」及先生卒後，披其編， 則更者十七而未及卒業，於是承先生意，而湔洗之如右。

Yet there was one point, where his [original] diagrams included the Tai-ji [Supreme Ultimate] and the five elements, that he had not completely purged himself of the mistaken teachings of the later Confucians. I later remonstrated with my master saying: "Master Zhou's Tai-ji Tu (Tai-ji Diagram) was from the Shang-fang da-dong zhen-yuan-miao-jing pin. [The sentence] in the Yi [Changes] there is the Tai-ji [Great Ultimate]...the two Emblems [Yin and Yang],' {Yi Jing, Xi Ci, 11} refers to taking up milfoil [stalks for divination], it does not mean that the Tai-ji is a thing which produces Heaven and Earth and the myriad creatures. The five elements are five of the six treasuries, which flow through this world so that they may be used by people and creatures. Therefore Master Ji said of the transgression of Gun that he "threw the five elements into disorder," which does not mean that the five elements are controlled by August Heaven and are able [thereby] to produce men and creatures. [The theory of succession] production and diminution [of the five elements by each other] is a valueless doctrine of the recipe gentlemen (i.e., Daoist magicians) who came after Zou Yan. It does not occur in the holy classics." My master said: "That is so. I will change it." After my master died, I opened his manuscripts and [found that] seventy percent were changed and that he had not reached the completion of his work. Thereupon I have taken up my master's intention and have expurgated [the heterodox material so that it appears as] above.

康熙乙酉三月上浣，蠡吾門人李塨書。

The third day of the third moon in the yi-you year of the Kang-xi reign period.

蠡吾門人李塨書。

-- Disciple Li Gong of Li-wu.

　　 康熙乙酉三月上浣，

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