CHAPTER XXX. Arguments on Ominous Creatures (Chiang-jui).
The scholars in their essays claim for themselves the faculty
of knowing the phoenix and the unicorn, when they see them.
They, of course, rely on the pictures of the phoenix and the unicorn. Besides there is a passage in the Ch'un-ch'iu concerning the
capture of a unicorn to the effect that it was a sort of a deer with
a horn.1 Hence a deer with a horn must be a unicorn. When they
see a bird like a phoenix, they take it for a phoenix.
Huang Ti, Yao, Shun, and the sovereigns of the Chou dynasty,
when it was flourishing, all caused the phoenix to make its appearance. Under the reign of Hsiao Hsüan Ti 2 a phoenix alighted in
the Shang-lin park, and afterwards also on a tree at the east-gate
of the Chang-lo palace. It was five feet high, and had a beautiful
variegated plumage. The unicorn caught by the people of Chou
resembled a deer, and had a horn; the unicorn of Wu Ti was also
like a deer with a horn. If there be a huge bird with a variegated plumage, or an animal shaped like a deer having one horn
on its head, it is possible, they fancy, to determine, whether it be
a phoenix or a unicorn, by referring to drawings and pictures, and
to ancient and modern traditions.
Now the phoenix is the holy bird, and the unicorn the holy
animal as the Five Emperors, the Three Rulers, Kao Yao, and Confucius are the holy ones among men. The Twelve Holy Men3 vary
considerably in their appearance, can we then call a deer with a
horn a unicorn, or a bird resembling a phoenix by this name? Between the hair and the colour of the holy birds and the holy
animals there is as much difference as between the osseous structure
of the twelve holy men.
The horn is like the character " wu " worn on the front. Chuan
Hsü had this character on his brow, but Yao and Shun were not
necessarily marked in the same way. If the unicorn caught in Lu
1 The last paragraph of the Ch'un-ch'iu, Duke Ai 14th year, merely mentions
the capture of a lin. That it was a deer with one horn is recorded in the " Family
Sayings " of Confucius. See Legge's transl. Vol. II, p. 834, Note.
2 73-48 B.C.
3 Cf. p.304.
360 Lun-hêng: C. Physical.
had a horn, it does not follow anyhow that the unicorns observed
later on had all a horn. Should we be desirous to learn to know
the unicorn of the present day by using the unicorn caught in Lu
as a prototype, we may be sure to fail in our endeavour. The
fur, the bones, and the horn vary. Notwithstanding their difference,
there may be a certain resemblance, but that does not mean identity.
Shun had double pupils, and Wang Mang also, Duke Wen of
Chin had his ribs all in one piece, and Chang Yi likewise. If a
resemblance be based on the osseous structure, the hair and the
complexion, then Wang Mang 1 was a Shun, and Chang Yi 2 a Duke
Wen of Chin. 3
Yu Jo in Lu bore a striking resemblance to Confucius. After
the death of the latter, his disciples all made Yu Jo sit down and
questioned him on some points of the doctrine, but Yu Jo could
not answer. Why? Because there was only a likeness of his external appearance, whereas his mind was different. Thus, variegated birds and animals with one horn may sometimes look like a
phoenix or a unicorn, but, as a matter of fact, they are not real
ones. Therefore it is a mistake to distinguish a phoenix or a
unicorn by their shape, their hair, or their colour.
In this manner did Yen Yuan 4 almost equal Confucius, but he
was not like him, whereas Yu Jo, quite an ordinary type of man,
looked like a sage. Consequently a real phoenix or a real unicorn
may perhaps not look like it, in its outward shape and, on the
other hand, quite common birds and animals resemble the real
phoenix and unicorn by their hair and colour. How can they be
distinguished? The literati who maintain that they are able to
recognise a phoenix or a unicorn, when they see them, must also
say of themselves that they know a holy man, when they per-
ceive him.
Kao Yao had a horse mouth, and Confucius' arms were turned
backwards.5 If, later on, their wisdom far exceeded that of other
people, still they could not be called sages on account of the horse
mouth or the concave forehead, for as the features of the Twelve
Holy Men differed from those of former sages, they cannot be
characteristics either for future sages. The configuration of the
bones differs, as do their names and their physical frame: and they
1 The usurper.
2 A political adventurer, cf. p. U.S.
3 An enlightened sovereign, cf. p. 162.
4 Disciple of Confucius.
5 Cf. p.304.
Arguments on Ominous Creatures. 361
are born in different places. Therefore, how could a sage be
known, provided that one were born again?
Huan Chün Shan 1 said to Yang Tse Yün,2 "If in future generations there should be again a man like the sages, people would
be well aware that his talents surpassed theirs by far, but they
would not be able to know, whether he really was a holy man
or not." Yang Tse Yün replied, " So it is, indeed."
It is difficult to know a sage. Even men like Huan Chün
Shan and Yang Tse Yün, who could judge the excellence and the attainments of a sage, felt incompetent. The scholars of the age
represent mediocrity. The knowledge of mediocrity consists in the
combination of ordinary observations, but we can be sure that, on
seeing a sage, they would not be in a position to recognise him
as such. Being unable to recognise a sage, they could not know
a phoenix or a unicorn either. Why must people at the present day,
who are speaking of the phoenix and the unicorn, pretend that
they have such a knowledge?
In former generations people used the words phoenix and unicorn merely upon hearing of the queerness of a bird or an animal.
If those had a peculiar plumage or horn, and if they did not fly
at random, or wildly roam about, struggling for their food with
other birds or animals, they were called phoenix or unicorn. The
knowledge which the men of to-day have of the sages is of very
much the same kind. They have been told that sages are wonderful men. Therefore, when a man's body shows some peculiarity
of the bones, and his wisdom is profound and extensive, they call
him a sage. Those who really know what a sage means, do not
give that name at first sight, and when they have heard a man
for the first time. They first bow to him, hear his lectures, and
receive his instruction, and afterwards learn to know him. This
will become more clear from the following facts.
When Tse Kung had served Confucius one year, he thought
himself to be superior to Confucius, after two years he thought
himself to be his equal, but after three years he had learned that
he could never come up to him. During the space of one and
two years, he did not yet know that Confucius was a sage, and it
was not until three years had elapsed, that he became aware of
it. If Tse Kung required three years to find this out, our scholars
1 Huan Tan = Huan Chün Shan lived in the 1st cent. b.c. and a.d. He
was a man of wide learning. Of his works the " Hsin-lun " " New Reflections "
have been preserved.
2 The Confucian philosopher, cf. p. 391.
362 Lun-hêng: C. Physical.
must be in error, when they imagine they know a sage, for they are
less gifted than Tse lumg, they see a sage, but do not study under
him, nor have they three years intercourse with him, a sudden
glance is all they rely upon.
In Lu, Shao Chêng Mao 1 was placed on a level with Confucius.
The school of Confucius was three times full, and three times empty.
Only Yen Yuan did not leave him. Yen Yuan alone knew that Confucius was a sage. The other pupils abandoned Confucius, and returned to Shao Chêng Mao. Not only did they not understand the
sagehood of Confucius, but they did not even know Shao Chêng Mao.
The disciples were all imposed upon, so that Tse Kung asked Confucius saying, " Shao Chêng Mao is a famous man in Lu, how can
you know more about government than he? " Confucius replied,
" Tse Kung! You had better leave this, for you are not up to it."
Only the intelligent can distinguish the artificial. Since a man
like Tse Kung was unable to know a sage, it is nonsense, if our
scholars claim to know a sage upon seeing him. From their in-
ability to know a sage we may infer that they do not know a
phoenix or a unicorn either.
Let us suppose that a phoenix has long and broad feathers,
and that the body of a unicorn is high and big. Then the beholder would regard them as a big bird or a huge animal, but by
what should he distinguish them? If their big size were to be
taken as a criterion, then one ought to know a sage by his size
also. During the " Spring and Autumn " period there arrived a bird
and remained, but it could not be considered a phoenix, and, when
the tall Ti 2 made their appearance, they could not be taken for
sages either. The phoenix and the unicorn being like other birds
or animals, what can people do to know them?
Should these creatures not live in China and come across the
desert, they would be like the " mainah,"3 which is not a Chinese
bird; nor would the phoenix and the unicorn be Chinese animals then. Why then do the Literati decry the "mainah," and
applaud the phoenix and the unicorn, if none of them is of Chinese origin?
1 Shao Chêng Mao, a high officer of Lu, was later on executed by Confucius
for high treason, when Confucius was assistant-minister (Shi-chi chap. 47, p. 9v.).
Some say that Hsao-Chêng is the official title and Mao the cognomen. Shao-chêng
might mean a subdirector, or an assistant-judge. (Cf. Huai Nan Tse XIII, 22 comm.)
See also Chavannes, Mém. Hist. Vol. V, p. 326, Note 7.
2 Cf. Chap. XXXIX.
3 Acridotheres cristatellus.
Arguments on Ominous Creatures. 3()3
Some one may say that, when at the time of Hsiao Hsüan Ti
a phoenix alighted in the Shang-lin park, 1 flocks of birds crowded
around it on the trees, thousands and ten thousands. They reverently followed the phoenix, because it surpassed all the other birds
by its size as well as by the holiness of its spirit. Provided that
a large bird around which, when it alights, all the multitudes of
birds gather, is a phoenix, then we would know what a phoenix
really is. Now the phoenix has the same character as the unicorn.
If, when a phoenix appears, all the birds follow it, then all the
animals ought to accompany the unicorn, when it shows itself,
likewise. But in regard to the unicorn of the "Spring and Autumn"
no mention is made of all the animals following it. Hsüan Ti and
Wu Ti both got a unicorn, but nothing is said about animals accompanying it.
Should anybody be of opinion that the train of the unicorn
disperses, when it is caught by man, whereas the phoenix is never
caught, and that the birds following it become visible, when it is
flying about, I refer to the Shuking. There we read that, when
the nine parts of the imperial music were performed, the male and
female phoenix came gambolling.2 The Ta-chuan 3 speaks of a phoenix
on the trees, but does not mention that flocks of birds were following
it. Was the phoenix attracted by Hsilan TI of another kind perhaps?
One might suggest that this is an omission on the part of
the chronicler, that under Yü's reign the phoenix was really accompanied by other birds, that the time of remote antiquity is so
far away, that the chroniclers might well have omitted to mention
it, and that the text of the Classics cannot be a proof. Of course,
it may happen that something has really taken place, which the
historians have dropped, but, in the same way, it can be the case
that something really never happened, and was invented by the
historians. Therefore it is difficult to find out the truth from the
text of the works of the Literati, and our attempts to know a
phoenix from its following are in vain.
Moreover, there are cunning; fellows among- men. who succeed
in winning followers, as there are wily birds, which assemble others
around themselves. Was the phoenix of the time of Yü honest
then, and that of Hsüan Ti's time a trickster? How is it possible
that they were both endowed with the virtue of holy men, and
that still their actions should be so dissimilar?
1 Vtd. p. 359.
2 Shuking, Ti-chi Pt. U, Bk. IV, 9 (Leffpe Vol. EI, Pt. I, p.
3 大传. This must be the name of an ancient work.
364 Lun-Hêng: C. Physical.
A bird may perhaps be a phoenix, although there are no
birds following it, or it may not be a phoenix, notwithstanding the
great number of birds flocking around it. The superior man leads
a pure life. He preserves his integrity, and does not care to have
many adherents. In his doings and dealings he has not many
followers. A cunning intriguer, on the other hand, uses all his energy,
and bustles about so much, that the scholars gather around him
like clouds. The phoenix is like the superior man. If the number
of followers were to decide, whether a bird is a phoenix or not,
then a cunning impostor ought to be considered a superior man.
The more refined a song is, the fewer are the persons who
can sing to the tune, and the more disinterested one's actions are,
the fewer are one's sympathisers. The same holds good for birds and
animals. To find out a phoenix by the number of its followers would
be like calling a song a good one, because it can be sung by many.
The dragon belongs to a similar class of animals as the
phoenix. Under the reign of Hsüan Ti 1 a yellow dragon came out
at Hsin-fêng,2 but the snakes did not accompany it. The " spirit
bird" and the "luan'" take a prominent place among the common
birds. Although their goodness and their holiness be not as developed as that of the phoenix, still they ought to have a suite of
at least some ten birds.
Hsin Ling and Mêng Ch'ang 3 entertained three thousand guests,
and were called wise and superior men. The Han general Wei
Ch'ing 4 and the general Ho Ch'ü Ping 5 had not a single guest in
their houses, famous generals though they were. The Grand Annalist notes that robber Chê, in spite of all his misdeeds, had several
thousand partisans, whereas Po Yi aud Shu Ch'i 6 lived in concealment on Mount Shao-yang.
The actions of birds and animals are like those of man. A
man may win the crowd, but that is not sufficient to characterize
him as a wise man. Thus the fact that other birds follow it, is
not a sufficient testimony for a phoenix either.
Some say that the phoenix and the unicorn are omens of universal peace, and that at a time of universal peace one sees them
1 73-48 B.C.
2 A locality in Shensi province.
3 The princes of Hsin Ling and of Mêng Ch'ang, cf. chap. XL.
4 Vid. p. 308.
5 A celebrated commander, who gained many brilliant victories over the
Hsiung-nu. Died 117 b.c.
6 Cf. p. 168.
Arguments on Ominous Creatures. 365
arrive. However, they also appear, when there is not universal
peace. By their quaint plumage and extraordinary bones they
distinguish themselves from the ordinary birds and animals, and
can be known. Provided that the phoenix and the unicorn usually
arrive at a time of general peace, then the unicorn of the Spring
and Autumn period must have disliked to appear during the reign
of Confucius. When the Emperor Kuang Wu Ti 1 was born in the
Chi-yang palace, a phoenix came down. Kuang Wu Ti's birth fell in
the time of Chêng Ti 2 and Ai Ti, 3 by no means a time of universal
peace, nevertheless the phoenix made its appearance. If it did so,
because it knew Kuang Wu Ti's wisdom and virtue, then it was an
omen of the birth of a holy emperor, but not a sign of universal
peace. Lucky omens may correspond to universal peace or happen
to mark a special birth. It is difficult to find out the real cause.
Therefore it would not be proper to think of a period of universal
peace only.
Some say that the phoenix and the unicorn are born as
members of a certain species of animals, just as the tortoise and
the dragon belong to a certain species. For this reason a tortoise
will always beget a tortoise, and a dragon will always beget a
dragon. In shape, colour, and size the offspring does not differ
much from the progenitors. Why should it not be possible for
us to know these animals, seeing the father and beholding the son
and the grand-son?
For the following reason. Common creatures have their species,
but ominous creatures have not; they are born by accident. Therefore they say that the tortoise and the dragon are endowed with
virtue. How can people distinguish a spiritual tortoise or a divine
dragon, when they perceive them?
At the time of King Yuan of Sung 4 fishermen caught a spiritual
tortoise in their nets, but they did not know that it was a spirit.
The scholars of our days are like those fishermen. Since the
fishermen did not know a spiritual tortoise, we may be sure that
the people of to-day do not know a divine dragon either.
Sometimes a dragon is like a snake, and sometimes a snake
resembles a dragon. Han Fei Tse remarks that a horse resembling
a stag is worth one thousand chin. An excellent horse resembles
a stag, and a spiritual dragon sometimes looks like a snake. If
1 25-58 A.D.
2 32-6 B.C.
3 6 B.C.- 1 A.D.
4 530-515 B.C.
366 Lun-hêng: C. Physical.
those creatures really belonged to a certain species, there would
be no discrepancy in shape or colour.
During the time of Wang Mang 1 there was an enormous bird,
as big as a horse, with variegated plumage adorned with dragon
like ornaments, which, together with several ten other birds, alighted
in Ch'i-hsien in the State of P'ei.2 The phoenix, which during the
time of Hsüan Ti sat down on the ground, was 5 feet high, which
would correspond to the size of a horse afore-mentioned. Its
plumage was multicoloured, which would be like the variegated
colour with dragon ornaments, and the several tens of birds would
be like the flocks of birds all alighting at the same time. If at
Hsüan Ti's time it was a phoenix in shape and colour, accompanied
by all the other birds, how do we know that it was one? Provided it was, then the bird attracted by Wang Mang was a phoenix
likewise. That being the case, it cannot have been an omen, since
Wang Mang caused its appearance, and if it was not a phoenix,
how is it that in shape and colour and, as regards the following,
it was exactly like it?
All ominous things originate from a propitious fluid. Born
in an ordinary species, they have their peculiar character, and
therefore become omens. Thus the arrival of a phoenix is
like the appearance of the "red crow."3 If the phoenix is said
to belong to a species, is there a distinct species of " red crows "
also?
As regards the auspicious grain, the wine springs, and the
sweet dew, the auspicious grain grows amidst other grain, but it
has its peculiar spikelets, wherefore it is called auspicious grain.
The wine springs and the sweet dew flow forth sweet and nice.
They come from sources and dew, but there is not a special kind
of sweet dew in heaven, or a certain class of wine springs on
earth. During the just reign of a wise ruler the sweet dew falls
down, and the wine comes up.
The "felicitous plant" 4 and the "vermilion grass" also grow
on earth along with other plants, but they do not always sprout
from the same root, they come forth for a certain time and after
ten days or a month they wither and fall off. Hence they are
1 9 B.C.-23 A.D.
2 In modern Anhui.
3 A propitious bird which appeared to Wu Wang, cf. p. 130.
4 The felicitous plant, " ming chia " 蓂荚 , was found in the court-yard of
the emperor Yao. With the waxing moon it grew one new leaf every day, with
the waning moon one leaf dropped every day.
Arguments on Ominous Creatures. 367
considered as omens. The phoenix and the unicorn are omens as
well. Why should they form a distinct species?
When there was perfect peace under the Chou dynasty, the
people of Yüeh-ch'ang 1 brought white pheasants as a present. These
white pheasants were short-lived and of white colour, but there
was not a special class of white pheasants. When the people of
Lu caught a deer with one horn, and called it a unicorn, it descended perhaps from a deer, and there was no species of unicorns.
Accordingly the phoenix is perhaps also born from a snow
goose or a magpie, but differing so much from the majority of
birds by its quaint plumage and peculiar feathers, it is given the
name phoenix. Wherefore must it belong to quite another class
than the other birds?
Yu Jo 2 said, "The position the unicorn takes among quadrupeds,
the phoenix takes among flying birds. Mount T'ai among hills, and
the Yellow River and the Ocean among water-courses." Consequently
the phoenix and the unicorn are to be classed together with birds
and animals, only their shape and colour is exceptional. They
cannot constitute a separate class. Belonging to the same category,
they have their anomalies, by these anomalies they fall out of the
common run, and owing to this irregularity the distinction becomes
difficult.
Yao begot Tan Chu, and Shun, Shang Chün. Shang Ch ün and
Tan Chu belonged to the same species as Yao and Shun, but in body
and mind they were abnormal. Kun begot Yü, and Ku Sou, Shun.
Shun and Yü were of the same class as Kun and Ku Sou, but differed from them in wisdom and virtue. If we try to sow the seed
of auspicious grain, we cannot reap auspicious grain thereby, but
we may frequently find millet with abnormal stalks or ears. People
beholding Shu Liang Ho could not know that he was the father of
Confucius, nor could they see in Po Yü the son of Confucius. The
father of Chang T'ang 3 was 5 feet high, Chang T'ang himself 8, and
his grand-son 6. The phoenix of Hsiao Hsüan Ti measured 5 feet.
The bird from which it was born perhaps measured but 2 feet,
and the own offspring of the phoenix only 1 foot, for why should
a species be quite stereotype? Since classes and species are not
stereotype, Tsêng Hsi had a son, Tsêng Shên, 4 whose character was
1越常 . In chap. XL we read Yüeh-shang 越裳 , which were a people
near the Annamese frontier.
2 See above p. 360.
3 Chang T'ang lived at the beginning of the 1st cent. a.d. Vid. chap. XXXV III.
4 Tsêng Tse, the well known disciple of Confucius, cf. p. 104.
368 Lun-hêng: C. Physical.
unique, and Yen Lu was father to Yen Hui, who outshone every
one in ancient and modern times. A thousand Li horse must not
be the colt of a unicorn, and a bird may be benevolent and wise
without being the fledgeling of a phoenix.
The brooks on the mountain tops are not connected with
rivers and lakes, still they are full of fish. The generative power
of the water has produced them independently. On the terraces
of ruined palaces and crumbling halls grows grass, sent forth by
the force of the soil of itself. The fish in the brooks and the
grass on the terraces of the halls have no progenitors of their own
species. In the same manner an omen corresponding to something
happens spontaneously, there is not a special class for it in the
world.
An omen corresponds in the same way, as a calamitous event
supervenes. The omen corresponds to something good, a calamity
to something bad. Good and bad are opposites, it is true, but
the corresponding is the same. As a calamitous revolution does
not belong to a class, an omen corresponding to something has
no species. The fluids of the Yin and the Yang are the fluids of
Heaven and Earth. Falling in with something good, they harmonize
with it, and meeting something bad, they suddenly turn. Do Heaven
and Earth in addition to the government which they exercise over
good and evil still produce a harmonious and a suddenly changing
fluid? By no means: — when an omen corresponds to something,
it is not of a certain class or category, but it comes forth along
with something good, and grows from the harmony of the fluids.
Sometimes during a peaceful administration and, while the
fluids are in harmony, various creatures undergo a metamorphosis.
In spring e. g. the eagle changes into a pigeon, and in autumn the
pigeon becomes an eagle. Snakes, mice, and the like are transformed into fish and turtles, frogs into quails, sparrows into clams.1
These creatures change in accordance with their fluids. Their
existence cannot be denied. Huang Shih 2 became an old man, presented Chang Liang with a book, and then became a stone again.
The Literati know this. Perhaps at the time of universal peace,
when all the fluids are in harmony, a deer might be transmuted
into a unicorn, and a snow-goose into a phoenix. In this way the
nature of animals would be changed at times, but there would not
be a stereotype species.
1 Cf. p. 336 Note 2.
2 i. e. " Yellow Stone."
Arguments on Ominous Creatures. 369
Pao Sse 1 was the daughter of a black lizard, and born from
the saliva of two snakes. 2 Two ministers of Chin were the progeny
of a brown and a spotted bear. 3 The stories about the eating
of the swallow's egg, 4 and the pearl-barley, 5 and the walking upon
an enormous foot-print 6 are likewise accepted by the people of
to-day, why then shall the omens belong to a stereotype species?
If we consider the question from the point of view that creatures
have not a well-defined species, nor men a separate class, and that
a body can be metamorphosizod, then the phoenix and the unicorn
are not born from an unchangeable species. But wherefore must
they be alike then in shape and colour?
We read in the chapter on omens in the Liki 7 that the male
phoenix is called " Fêng'' and the female "Huang,'' and that the
male sings " chi, chi," and the female " tsu, tsu." 8 In the Shi-king we find the following verses: — "The oil tree is growing on
yonder high hill, and the male and female phoenix is singing there
in the morning sun-shine. Luxuriant and flourishing is the tree,
"yung, yung, chieh, chieh" sing the phoenixes. 9 — The chapter on omens
as well as the Shiking describe the singing of the phoenix, the
one as " chi chi, tsu tsu," the other as " yung, yung, chieh, chieh."
These sounds differ. Provided that they are really like this, then
the shape of the birds cannot be the same, and if it is, then there
is a discrepancy between the Shiking and the Liki. Consequently
the common traditions about the singing of the phoenix are
suspicious.
Of the unicorn caught in Lu it is said that it was a deer
with a horn, that means that its colour was like that of a deer.
The colour of a deer is invariable, as the colour of birds is. At
the time of Wu Wang a stream of light appeared in the form of
a crow. Its colour is said to have been red. Red not being the
colour of crows, it is expressly stated that the colour was red.
1 The favourite consort of the Emperor Yu Wang, 781-771 b.c.
2 On this legend, see p. 321.
3 Fan Wên Tse and Ch'ung Hang Chao Tse, of. p. 225.
4 The mother of Hsieh, the ancestor of the Yin dynasty swallowed an egg
dropped by a swallow, and thereupon conceived. Cf. p. 318.
5 The mother of Great Yü is said to have conceived after having eaten
pearl-barley. See p. 318.
6 Vid. p. 318.
7 There is no chapter on omens, " Jui-ming," in the Liki now.
8 A similar passage occurs in the Han-shih-wai-chuan (T'ai-ping-yu-lan) 2nd
cent. B.C.
9 shiking Pt. III, Bk. II, Ode VIII (Legge Vol. IV, Pt. H, p. 494).
870 Lun-Hêng: C. Physical.
If the unicorn resembled a deer, but had a different colour, it would
certainly have been added that its colour was white or black. Now
the colour was the usual one, therefore they merely say that it
was a deer. A deer is hornless.1 Since the deer in question was
different from the ordinary ones in this respect, it is said that it
had a horn. In this manner the unicorn caught in Lu was shaped
like a deer.
During the time of Wu Ti a hunting party in the west caught
a white unicorn with one horn and five feet. The horn was then
as in other cases, but the reference to the five feet shows that it
had not the same number of legs. The unicorn found in Lu is
described as a deer. The colour not being mentioned, it must
have been a deer of no unusual colour. Wu Ti is reported to have
got a white unicorn. White colour does not agree with a unicorn.
The statement that a unicorn is a deer, means therefore that it is
an ordinary one, whereas the allegation that it is a white unicorn,
shows that its colour is unusual.
Under the reign of Hsiao Hsüan Ti the Ch'iu-chen 2 sent as a
tribute a unicorn shaped like a deer, but with two horns. It thus
differed from the unicorn of Hsiao Wu Ti, to which one horn is
ascribed. During the Spring and Autumn Period the unicorn was
like a deer, that of the emperor Hsüan Ti is described as resembling
a stag. A stag is double the size of a deer, and differently shaped.
The unicorns which appeared under the reigns of those three
emperors vary very much, as regards the colour of their hair, the
horn, the feet, and the size of the body. If we infer the future
from these instances, it is quite evident that the unicorns eventually
appearing at the present time will not be like those of former
generations. In this respect the unicorn is like the phoenix. The
unicorns varied at different periods in shape and colour. If we
were to start from the phoenix seen at the time of Hsüan Ti, measuring five feet and being multicoloured, and to foretell the future from
the past, it would be a mistake to maintain that a phoenix
appearing later on must be like that one. There can be no doubt
that phoenixes and unicorns, which will appear later on, will not
resemble those observed formerly. How can the scholars assert
that on seeing them they would know them?
When the people of Lu caught the unicorn, they dared not
straightway call it a unicorn, but said that it was a horned deer.
1 China possesses several varieties of hornless deer.
2 A tribe in Annum.
Arguments on Ominous Creatures. 371
At that time in fact they did not know it, Wu Ti called upon the
censor Chung Chün to give his opinion about the unicorn. Chung
Chün replied that it was a wild animal with joined horns, showing
that the whole empire had grown from the some root. He did
not at once style it a unicorn, but declared it to be a wild animal.
Chung Chün had his doubts as well, and did not know it. The
knowledge of the scholars of our age does not exceed that of the
people of Lu or of Chung Chün. Should they see a phoenix or a
unicorn, they would certainly have the same doubts as the latter.
How is it possible to find out a phoenix and a unicorn among
uncommon birds and animals? If shape and colour be taken as a
criterion, they are not always alike. If there be a big train of
birds and animals following them, this is not always a proof of
their excellence. If their rarity be regarded as a characteristic,
there is the " mainah " also, and if importance be attached to
peculiarities, then sages as well as wise men have strange physical
features. Both sages and wise men are abnormal, and there is no
means to distinguish between them.
Taking wisdom and sageness as a starting point, we find that
sage birds and sage animals do not possess more peculiarities than
ordinary birds or common animals. The wisdom of sage or wise
men may be quite extraordinary, whereas their bones show no
anomaly. Thus sage and wise birds and animals can be endowed
with benevolence, honesty, unselfishness, and purity, though there
be nothing remarkable in their physical constitution. Sometimes
there are rich and noble persons who have not the body of a sage,
and the osseous structure of many points to wealth and honour,
who do not prove to be sage or wise. Accordingly some birds
are multicolour, and some animals have a horn, but are devoid of
benevolence or sageness. How do we know then but that the
phoenixes and unicorns, seen in olden days, were common birds or
animals, and the magpies and deer seen at present are phoenixes
and unicorns? The present holy age is the result of the reforms
emanating from Yao and Shun, why should no benevolent or wise
creatures be born?
It may happen that phoenixes and unicorns are mixed with
snow-geese, magpies, deer or stags, so that our people cannot
distinguish them. When precious jade was hidden in a stone, the
governor of the king of Ch'u did not know it, which distressed
the owner so much, that he wept tears of blood. 1 Perhaps now-
1 Cf. p. 113.
372 Lun-hêng: C. Physical.
a-days the phoenixes and unicorns also little their benevolent and
wise heart under a common plumage and ordinary fur, and have
neither a single horn nor five colours as a distinctive mark, so that
our people know them no more, than the jade in the stone was
known. How can we prove that? By a reference to the plants,
which at the commencement of the Yung-p'ing period 1 were always
presenting omens. When the emperor Hsiao Ming Ti was manifesting his kindness, all sorts of omens happened at the same time.
At the Yuan-ho and Chang-ho epochs, 2 when Hsiao Chang Ti's virtue
was shining, perfect harmony pervaded the world, and auspicious
omens and strange things corresponded. Phoenixes and unicorns
came forth one after the other, and were observed on many
occasions, much more than at the time of the Five Emperors. This
chapter was already completed, therefore I could not mention
it then. 3
It might be objected that arguing on omens, I have declared
that the phoenix and the unicorn are hard to know, and that the
omens of our age cannot be distinguished, whether, therefore, the
phoenixes and the unicorns attracted now by Hsiao Chang Ti could
not be known? — I say that according to the " Records on the Five
Birds'' 4 there are big birds in the four regions and the centre
which, when they roam about, are accompanied by all the other
birds. In size, and the colour of the plumage they resemble a
phoenix, but are difficult to know indeed.
Since the omens of our age do not allow of distinction, how
can we find them out? By the government of the empire. Unless
the virtue of the reigning emperor equalled that of Yü, we would
not perceive phoenixes and unicorns with our own eyes. The
omens of Yü were undoubtedly genuine, and Yao's excellence is
evident. Under Hsiao Hsüan Ti the world enjoyed a still more
universal peace than at the time of Yao and Shun, as far as ten
1 Style of the reign of the Emperor Ming Ti, 58-76 a.d.
2 Styles of the Emperor Chang Ti, 84-87 and 87-89.
3 This chapter must have been written prior to 84 a.d., so that the auspicious
reign of the Emperor Chang Ti could not yet be referred to. The author made
this addition later i. e. after 89, for it was not before this year that the emperor
received his posthumous title Hsiao Chang Ti.
4 By the Five Birds perhaps the Five Phoenixes " Wu Fêng," five different
kinds of phoenixes, which differ by their colours, are meant. The " Fêng " is red,
the : " Yuan chu"' yellow, the " Luan"' blue, the " Yü tsu " purple, and the " Ku"
white. Whereas " Fêng " and " Luan " are still used as names for the phoenix,
one understands by " Yuan chu " a kind of peacock or pheasant, by " Yu-tsu " a
kind of duck, and by "Ku" the snow-goose or swan.
Arguments on Ominous Creatures. 373
thousand Li, people were anxious for reforms and progress, and
the moral laws found an echo everywhere. Affected by this state
of things, the benevolent birds and animals made their appearance,
only the size, the colour of the hair, the feet and the wings of
those auspicious creatures were not always the same. Taking the
mode of government and the intelligence of the rulers as a criterion
for the various omens, we find them all to be genuine. That
means that they are hard to know, but easy to understand.
The sweet dew may also serve us as a key. The sweet dew
is produced by the harmonious fluid, it has no cause in itself
which could make it sweet; this can only be done by the intervention of the harmonious fluid. When the harmonious fluid
appears, the sweet dew pours down, virtue permeates everything,
and the various omens come forth together. From the Yung-ping
down to the Chang-ho period the sweet dew has continually been
falling. Hence we know that the omens are all true, and that
phoenixes and unicorns are likewise all genuine.