Shun

“ But because his parents were not in accord with him, he felt like a poor man who has nowhere to turn to.
"To be an object of complacency to the officers of the empire is what men desire; but it was not sufficient to remove the sorrow of Shun. The possession of beauty is what men desire: but though Shun had for his wives the two daughters of the emperor, it was not sufficient to remove his sorrow. Riches are what men desire, but though the empire was the rich property of Shun, it was not enough to remove his sorrow. ”

“ Therefore it was that after three changes of residence, when he came to the Teng district, he had some hundred thousand families with him.
"Then Yao, hearing of his goodness, appointed him to a barren region, trusting, as he said, that Shun's arrival would enrich it. When Shun took up this appointment, he was already old, and his intellect was failing; yet he would not cease work and retire from office. He was, in fact, an enthusiast.
"So it is that the spiritual man dislikes a crowd. For where there is a crowd there is diversity, and where there is diversity advantage does not accrue. ”

“ There is nothing which it cannot do, Shun-yuen. At its summons the world crawls prostrate at its feet; the Emperors bow their necks; wealth, beauty, power throng to worship it; nay, it can reach down the starry bodies from the skies and weld them into a single sphere, as potters knead clay, incomparably stupendous. ”

“ To Yaou succeeded Shun, who carried on the work of his predecessor of consolidating the Chinese power with energy and success. In his reign the first mention is made of religious worship. ... In Shun's reign occurred the great flood which inundated most of the provinces of the existing empire. The waters, we are told, rose to so great a height, that the people had to betake themselves to the mountains to escape death. ”

“ I will take Wong Fe to her brothers.
Shun
I shall hold her forever!
Ching
You think joy can last so long? (To Makuro, shrugging.) A boy yet!
[65]
Shun
In Japan you have my young scholar, Onoto. All my knowledge I have given him. In his heart is my purpose, his eyes hold my vision.
Makuro
Onoto!
Shun
His years are younger, his flame will leap higher. I am only one who fails you. In every nation our numbers are growing. Do not fear for humanity. Our brothers are everywhere. ”

“ When Yâo has been on the throne for seventy years, he proposes to resign in favour of his principal minister, who is styled the Four Mountains. That worthy declares himself unequal to the office. Yâo then asks him whom he can recommend for it; be the worthiest individual a noble or a poor man, he will appoint him to the dignity. This brings Shun upon the stage. All the officers about the court can recommend him,—Shun of Yü [1] , an unmarried man among the lower people. ”

“ 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." ”

“ When Quong Lung would have seated Wau Shun on the chair of which the highbinder had such a lively recollection, the coolie shook his head, saying: “Nay, who is thy slave that he should sit in the presence of the Most Powerful. The ground thou treadest is good enough for him.” ”

“ In the third, Shun and Kâo-yâo sing to each other on the mutual relation of the sovereign and his ministers.
1. The Tî said, 'Come Yü, you also must have excellent words (to bring before me) .' Yü did obeisance, and said, 'Oh! what can I say, O Tî, (after Kâo-yâo) ? I can (only) think of maintaining a daily assiduity.' Kâo-yâo said, 'Alas! will you describe it?' Yü replied, 'The inundating waters seemed to assail the heavens, and in their vast extent embraced the hills and overtopped the great mounds, so that the people were bewildered and overwhelmed. ”

“ By the fact that ever since the time when Shun bid for charity and duty to one's neighbour in order to secure the empire, men have devoted their lives to the pursuit thereof. Is it not then charity and duty to one's neighbour which change the nature of man?
Therefore I have tried to show that from the time of the Three Dynasties it has always been the external which has changed the nature of man. If a mean man, he will die for gain. If a superior man, he will die for fame. If a man of rank, he will die for his ancestral honours. If a Sage, he will die for the world. ”

“ Their sorrow was deep as the waters of the Lake that go straight down a thousand miles. Dark clouds blackened the sun. Shōjō [19] howled in the mist and ghosts whistled in the rain. The queens said, “Though we speak of it we cannot mend it. High Heaven is secretly afraid to shine on our loyalty. [13] But the thunder crashes and bellows its anger, that while Yao and Shun are here they should also be crowning Yü. When a prince loses his servants, the dragon turns into a minnow. When power goes to slaves, mice change to tigers. ”

“ Kin Shun followed up his success with marvellous rapidity and restless energy, while the Kashgarian troops fled incontinently to Kucha, abandoning the people and the country to the invader. The unfortunate inhabitants implored with piteous entreaties the mercy of the conqueror, and it is with genuine satisfaction we record the fact that Kin Shun informed them of their safety, and bade them have no further alarm.
By this time it is probable that the Chinese army had been largely reinforced from the rear, for we have now come to a more arduous portion of the enterprise, the attack against Kucha. ”

“ In the days of Yao and Shun, no man throughout the empire was a failure, though no one was conscious of the gain. In the days of Chieh and Chou, no man throughout the empire was a success, though no one was conscious of the loss. ”

“ Had, having, and in quest to have, extreme;
A bliss in proof, and proved, a very woe;
Before, a joy proposed; behind, a dream.
All this the world well knows; yet none knows well
To shun the heaven that leads men to this hell. ”

“ 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 ”

“ Then comes the Churuck the next day, with an aspect more dreadful than the bans.
In the morning, the Shun-nashees all go to bathe, and gather a large number of cocoa-nuts, bananas, and other fruits. Before the temple, the Jhap is performed. It is a terrace made by sticking some bamboo poles in the ground, and sometimes rises twenty feet high. The Shun-nashees, both young and old, climb up the terrace and stand in two rows, one above the other; the spectators stand all round; some climb up the trees, to get a better view. ”

“ I read that the days of Han are numbered and that the great Minister’s merits command the regard of all the world as when Shun succeeded Yao and Yü continued the work of Shun, conforming to the mind of heaven and the desire of man.”
“How dare I expect this?” said Cho.
“From the days of old those who walk in the way have replaced those who deviate therefrom; those who lack virtue have fallen before those who possess it. ”

“ Hâu-kî was the same as Khî, who appears in Part II of the Shû, as Minister of Agriculture to Yâo and Shun, and co-operating with Yü in his labours on the flooded land. The name Hâu belongs to him as lord of Thâi; that of Kî, as Minister of Agriculture. However the combination arose, Hâu-kî became historically the name of Khî of the time of Yâo and Shun, the ancestor to whom the kings of Kâu traced their lineage. He was to the people the Father of Husbandry, who first taught men to plough and sow and reap. ”

“ This man is the Chinese emperor Shun, who reigned from 2255 to 2206 B.C. It is said that this emperor invented the game in order to strengthen the weak mind of his son Shang Kiun. By others the invention of the game is attributed to the predecessor of Shun, the emperor Yao, who reigned from 2357 to 2256 B.C. If this theory is correct it would make the game about forty-two hundred years old. The third theory is that Wu, a vassal of the Chinese emperor Kieh Kwei (1818–1767 B.C.) invented the game of Go. To the same man is often attributed the invention of games of cards. ”

“ But on receipt of the Decree, Su Shun dared to make use of blasphemous language in regard to ourselves, forgetful of the inviolable relation between Sovereign and subject. Our hair stands on end with horror at such abominable treason. Moreover he has dared to allow his wife and family to accompany him, when on duty accompanying the Imperial coffin from Jehol, which is a most disgraceful violation of all precedent. [8] The whole of his property, both at Peking and at Jehol, is therefore confiscated, and no mercy shall be shown him. ”

“ The whole story is of course simply a satire upon the venality and injustice of the ruling classes in China.
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[431] In Book V. of Mencius’ works we read that Shun, the perfect man, stood with his face to the south, while the Emperor Yao (see No. VIII., note 63) and his nobles faced the north. This arrangement is said to have been adopted in deference to Shun’s virtue; for in modern times the Emperor always sits facing the south. ”

“ Discouraged by failure, he visits the grave of the Emperor Shun (chapter ii.) , and gives himself up to prayer, until at length a phœnix-car and dragons appear, and carry him in search of his ideal away beyond the domain of mortality,—the chariot of the Sun moving slowly to light him longer on the way, the Moon leading and the Winds bringing up the rear,—up to the very palace of God. Unable to gain admission here, he seeks out a famous magician, who counsels him to stand firm and to continue his search ”

“ Shun is composed of 頁 yeh head as radical, with 川 ch'uan streams as phonetic. It originally meant eternal principles, right, and has now come to signify flowing with, in accordance with, obedient to, etc., but is here the name given by the conquering Mings to Tohan Timur, the last Emperor of the Yüan or Mongol dynasty. ”

“ The Chinese settlers in Formosa call themselves "foreign men," but they call us "foreign things;" for, they argue, if we called you foreign men, what should we call ourselves? The Shun-pao deserves much credit for its unvarying use of western instead of outside nations when speaking of foreign powers, but the belief is still very prevalent that we all come from a number of small islands scattered round the coast of one great centre, the Middle Kingdom. ”

“ Now Shun-nashees thus gathered together spend the rest of the month in visiting the idols of Shiba and their brethren in different villages,—very like to the custom of the fire-companies in this country, who receive from, and make visits to, their friends of neighboring towns. When two or more parties come in collision, they stand in order, and salute and embrace each other with loud shouts of “Tarash-orare nash Shiba!” Each party has some leading men, who sing a few verses, desiring their friends to expound or solve them as the nature of the question would require. ”

“ And Wau Shun squatted on the floor before his chief.
“There is no harm in the chair, Wau Shun,” said Quong Lung, seating himself on it carelessly, “no harm unless, indeed, the sitter tells lies or have deceit in his heart.” Then, after a pause, he went on: “The writings of Lee Toy—thou hast brought them?”
“Of a surety,” replied Wau Shun, producing a packet of papers from his blouse.
After Quong Lung had looked through them, and satisfied himself that they were authentic and complete, he said: “Wau Shun, the white devils say that virtue is its own reward ”

“ On another occasion, Sang Hu said to him again, "When Shun was about to die, he commanded the Great Yü as follows:—Be careful. Act in accordance with your physical body. Speak in accordance with your feelings. You will thus not get into difficulty with the former nor suffer annoyance in the latter. And as under these conditions you will not stand in need of outward embellishment of any kind, it follows that you therefore will not stand in need of anything."
Also an episode of doubtful authorship. The commentators, however, have nothing to say against its genuineness. ”

“ Shun is credited with selecting his successor Yu.
The Emperor Yu was the first monarch of the Dynasty of Hea. According to tradition he was the son of a star-god. It is told that one night his mother saw a falling star and became pregnant. She afterwards swallowed a pearl that had been dropped by a spirit. In due course she gave birth to Yu.
A similar myth is attached to the memory of the Irish Christian saint Ciaran of Saigir, which was probably taken over from some ancient Celtic hero, the son or grandson of Sirona (the aged one or star-goddess) . ”