Emperor Yao

“ Shao Hao sat on the throne eighty years and died at the age of a hundred. Chuan Hsü sat on the throne seventy-nine years and died at the age of ninety-eight. Ti Ku sat on the throne seventy years and died at the age of a hundred and fifty. The Emperor Yao sat on the throne ninety-eight years and died at the age of a hundred and eighteen; and the Emperors Shun and Yü both attained the age of one hundred years. At that epoch the Empire was tranquil, and the people happy in the attainment of old age; and yet no Buddha had yet reached China. ”

“ He is an idealist and a mystic, with all the idealist's hatred of a utilitarian system, and the mystic's contempt for a life of mere external activity. "The perfect man ignores self; the divine man ignores action; the true sage ignores reputation" (p. 5) . The Emperor Yao would have abdicated in favour of a hermit, but the hermit replies that "reputation is but the shadow of reality," and will not exchange the real for the seeming. But greater than Yao and the hermit is the divine being who dwells on the mysterious mountain in a state of pure, passionless inaction. ”

“ Plutarch, in his treatise on the Mystery of Osiris and Isis, tells that Set (the ancient god who became a devil) was “born neither at the proper time, nor by the right place”, but that he “forced his way through a wound which he had made in his mother’s side”.
Different forms of the legend are found in China. According to the traditions preserved in the “Bamboo Books”, which are of uncertain antiquity, the Emperor Yao was born fourteen months after he was conceived, the Emperor Yu emerged from his mother’s back, and the Emperor Yin from his mother’s chest. ”

“ If the oldest son leads the host, and younger men [idly occupy offices assigned to them] , however firm and correct he may be, there will be evil.
"The topmost line, divided, shows the great ruler delivering his charges [appointing some] , to be rulers of States, and others to undertake the headship of clans; but small men should not be employed [in such positions] ."
OLDEST CHINESE LETTERS. From an inscription attributed to the Emperor Yao, 2350 B.C.
The most ancient historical books of the Chinese date from the time of Yao. ”

“ It is well known that the Chinese designate their empire as the “Middle Kingdom.” Another native name for China is “Chung-ho-a,” which I find translated as “the Flower of the Middle.” The empire is likewise designated as “the Four Seas”=ssu-hai and “the Four Mountains,” and it was actually divided by the emperor Yaou or Yāo (B.C. 2357) into four provinces converging at the capital, the central enclosure of which was considered as the centre of heaven and earth. ”

“ The sovereign who fails to issue his commands loses his raison d’être; the minister who fails to carry out his sovereign’s commands, and to make them known to the people, loses his raison d’être; the people who fail to produce grain and flax and silk, fashion articles of everyday use, and interchange commodities, in order to fulfil their obligations to their rulers, should lose their heads.”
“And if I am asked what Method is this, I reply that it is what I call the Method, and not merely a method like those of Lao Tzŭ and Buddha. The Emperor Yao handed it down to the Emperor Shun ”

“ How did He manage that?” “The Son of God,” replied Mencius, “can recommend any one to God, but he cannot make God give that man the throne. Just so, the feudal nobles can recommend any one to the Son of God, but they cannot make the Son of God appoint that man to be a feudal noble. Likewise, a Minister can recommend any one to his suzerain, but he cannot make his suzerain appoint that man to be a Minister. In those days of old, Yao recommended Shun to God, and God accepted him; he let the people see what sort of man Shun was, and the people accepted him. ”

“ In the two preceding reigns the sovereign had always consulted the public good rather than family interest—a form of monarchy which the Chinese call elective, but which has never been followed, save that the Emperor exercises the right of choice among his sons irrespective of primogeniture. The man who bears the odium of having departed from the unselfish policy of Yao and Shun is this same Ta-yü. He left the throne to his son and, as the Chinese say, "made of the empire a family estate." ”

“ They have no chariots, nor boats, nor weapons of any kind.
Of old, the Yellow Emperor (3rd millennium b.c.) visited the capital of this country; and when he came back, in his confused state he lost his hold on the empire, [11] all through trying to govern by a system of knotted cords. [12] When the throne was handed on to Yao and Shun, there were sacrifices with a thousand goblets and a hundred flagons, the result being that a divine man had to be shot, in order to secure a passage into this territory, on the frontiers of which will be found perfect peace for life. ”

“ Therefore I said not uniform."
"Come nearer, my son," said Lao Tzŭ, "and I will tell you about the Three Kings and the Five Rulers.
"The Yellow Emperor's administration caused the affections of the people to be catholic. Nobody wept for the death of his parents, and nobody found fault.
All loved each other equally. "The administration of Yao diverted the affections of the people into particular channels. If a man slew the slayer of his parents, nobody blamed him. ”

“ He told the Emperor he was a skilful archer and could fly in the air on the wings of Page 181the wind. Yao, to test his skill, ordered him to shoot one of his arrows at a pine-tree on the top of a neighbouring mountain. Ch’ih shot an arrow which transfixed the tree, and then jumped on to a current of air to go and fetch the arrow back. Because of this the Emperor named him Shên I, ‘the Divine Archer,’ attached him to his suite, and appointed him Chief Mechanician of all Works in Wood. He continued to live only on flowers. ”

“ But they came among tribes who, though somewhat inferior to them in general civilisation, were by no means destitute of culture. ... Among such people, and others of a lower civilisation, such as the Jungs of the west and the Teks, the ancestors of the Tekke Turcomans, in the north, the Chinese succeeded in establishing themselves. The Emperor Yaou (2356-2255 B. C.) divided his kingdom into twelve portions, presided over by as many Pastors, in exact imitation of the duodenary feudal system of Susa with their twelve Pastor Princes. ”

“ The Emperor Yau, who began to reign four hundred and eighty years after the monarch, it seems, set aside his own children in favour of a young husbandman, whom he chose for his successor. This choice of an emperor out of the country, has inspired the Chinese with a great esteem for agriculture. Yu, who succeeded Shun, came to the throne after the same manner. It is said, he found out the way, by means of canals, to drain off the water into the sea, which at the beginning of the empire overflowed several low countries, and afterwards made use of them to render the soil fruitful. ”

“ If Shun had already been in the position of the son of Heaven, and had moreover led on all the feudal princes of the empire to observe the three years' mourning for Yaou, there must in that case have been two sons of Heaven.'"
Hëen-k‘ëw Mung said, "On the point of Shun's not employing Yaou as a minister, I have received your instructions. But it is said in the 'Book of Poetry,'
'Under the wide heaven,
All is the king's land;
Within the sea-boundaries of the land,
All are the king's servants.'
When Shun became emperor, I venture to ask how it was that Koo-sow was not one of his servants." ”

“ Yuan is one of the shrewdest and most unscrupulous men of China, and the Empress, in rewarding him by this appointment for his service to her in making known the Emperor’s purpose to send her into captivity, gave power to a man who would desert her, when it suited him, as quickly as he had the weak, but well-meaning, Emperor. ”

“ The left hand being the place of honor in China, on that side of the throne stood the imperial but unfortunate Prince, Yong-Li, a youth of fifteen years of age, near to whom stood the aged Woo, whose office, that of a colao or censor, was at once the most dangerous and most popular in the empire, his duty being to check the great mandarins, and even the Emperor himself, in the wrong exercise of their authority. ”

“ The strength of China has been thoroughly demonstrated, [Pg 275] and the vindication of her prestige is complete. Whatever danger there may be to the permanence of China's triumph lies rather from Russia than from the conquered peoples of Tian Shan Nan Lu; nor is there much danger that the Chinese laurels will become faded even before an European foe. Tso Tsung Tang and his lieutenants, Kin Shun, who has since fallen into disgrace,—perhaps he had excited the envy of his superior—and Chang Yao, accomplished a task which would reflect credit on any army and any country. ”

“ But he is quite as able a man and more frank and reliable. He has enemies, as every public man has, especially in Asia. Some can never forgive him for his supposed part in the virtual dethronement of the Emperor several years ago. It is alleged that the Emperor counted on the army of Yuan Shih Kai to support him in his reform policy, but that Yuan consulted with Jung Lu, who was then the Viceroy of Chih-li, and that that worthy promptly laid the whole matter before the Empress Dowager ”

“ Emperor Gaozu of Han held a funeral for Emperor Yi, thereby winning over the populace to his side! In our time, the Son of Heaven was forced to flee. If you could really use this as a pretext to raise an army and prop up the emperor in order to satisfy the expectations of the public, it would be an exceedingly rare and brilliant strategy. If you don't act quickly, someone else will get there before us." Cao Cao was overjoyed. He was just about to raise his army, when he suddenly received a report that an imperial envoy had delivered a decree summoning him to court. ”

“ When he broached the subject his wife said, “The Yüan’s have dominated their part of the country these many years. They have a large army and are very prosperous. One day a Yüan will become Emperor and our daughter may hope to be an Empress. But how many sons has he?”
“Only this one.”
“Then we should accept the offer. Even if our daughter does not become an Empress, Hsüchou is nothing to be sad about.”
Lü Pu decided to accept and so treated the messenger with extreme generosity. Han Yin went back with a favourable answer. ”

“ In his youth he asked Kuang-shou Lao-jên, ‘Old Longevity,’ to grant him immortality. “The time has not yet come,” replied Old Longevity; “before it does you have to become an emperor. I will give you the means of reaching the end you desire. Give orders that after you are dead you are to be buried on the southern slope of the sacred mountain Hêng Shan; there you will learn the doctrine of Ch’ih Ching-tzŭ and will become immortal.”
The Emperor Hsien Yüan, having abdicated the throne, sent for Chu Jung, and bestowed upon him the crown. ”

“ YAO, you. One of the ‘ancient sovereigns’ of China. The Shu-King or Book of History—the oldest historical record the Chinese possess—begins with the reign of Yao (B.C. 2357) , and shows him at the head of an elaborate, well-organized governmental system, carefully searching out able and virtuous men to be placed at the head of the different departments, and appointing astronomers to regulate the seasons. ”

“ It may here be mentioned that many short pieces of doubtful age and authorship—some few unquestionably old—have been rescued by Chinese scholars from various sources, and formed into convenient collections. Of such is a verse known as “Yao’s Advice,” Yao being the legendary monarch mentioned in chapter ii., who is associated with Shun in China’s Golden Age:—
“With trembling heart and cautious steps
Walk daily in fear of God ... ”

“ Then suddenly the host arose and drew his sword, saying, “He who is above us being weak and irresolute is unfit for the duties of his high place. Wherefore I, as of old did I Yin and Ho Kuang, will set aside this Emperor giving him the title of Prince Hung-nung and I will place on the throne the present Prince of Ch‘ên-liu. And those who do not support me will suffer death.”
Fear seized them in its grip and they were silent, all but Yüan Shao who said that the Emperor was innocent of any fault and to set him aside in favour of a commoner was rebellion and nothing else. ”

“ When Ts‘ao Ts‘ao returned to his palace Hsün Yü and his fellow advisers went in to see him. Hsün Yü said, “It is no advantage to you, Illustrious Sir, that the Emperor recognises Liu as an uncle.”
“He may be recognised as uncle, but he is under my orders since I control the decrees of the throne. He will be all the more ready to obey. Beside I will keep him here under the pretence of having him near his sovereign and he will be entirely in my hands. I have nothing to fear. The man I fear is Yang Piao, who is a relative of the two Yüans. ”

“ Due perception of [159] this was the secret of Yao's success as a ruler, and of Shun's success as his minister. Due perception of this constitutes the virtue of sovereigns on the throne, the Tao of the inspired Sage and of the uncrowned King below. Keep to this in retirement, and the lettered denizens of sea and dale will recognise your power. Keep to this when coming forward to pacify a troubled world, and your merit shall be great and your name illustrious, and the empire united into one. In your repose you will be wise; in your movements, powerful. By inaction you will gain honour ”