Myths and Legends of China Part 5

Chou Tzu's "T'ai Chi T'u"

Chou Tun-i, appropriately apotheosized as 'Prince in the Empire of Reason,' completed and systematized the philosophical world-conception which had hitherto obtained in the Chinese mind. He did not ask his fellow-countrymen to discard any part of what they had long held in high esteem: he raised the old theories from the sphere of science to that of philosophy by unifying them and bringing them to a focus. And he made this unification intelligible to the Chinese mind by his famous _T'ai chi t'u_, or Diagram of the Great Origin (or Grand Terminus), showing that the Grand Original Cause, itself uncaused, produces the _yang_ and the _yin_, these the Five Elements, and so on, through the male and female norms (_tao_), to the production of all things.

Chu Hsi's Monistic Philosophy

The writings of Chu Hsi, especially his treatise on _The Immaterial Principle [li] and Primary Matter [ch'i]_, leave no doubt as to the monism of his philosophy. In this work occurs the pa.s.sage: "In the universe there exists no primary matter devoid of the immaterial principle; and no immaterial principle apart from primary matter"; and although the two are never separated "the immaterial principle [as Chou Tzu explains] is what is previous to form, while primary matter is what is subsequent to form," the idea being that the two are different manifestations of the same mysterious force from which all things proceed.

It is unnecessary to follow this philosophy along all the different branches which grew out of it, for we are here concerned only with the seed. We have observed how Chinese dualism became a monism, and how while the monism was established the dualism was retained. It is this mono-dualistic theory, combining the older and newer philosophy, which in China, then as now, const.i.tutes the accepted explanation of the origin of things, of the universe itself and all that it contains.

Lao Tzu's "Tao"

There are other cosmogonies in Chinese philosophy, but they need not detain us long. Lao Tzu (sixth century B.C.), in his _Tao-te ching, The Canon of Reason and Virtue_ (at first ent.i.tled simply _Lao Tzu_), gave to the then existing scattered sporadic conceptions of the universe a literary form. His _tao_, or 'Way,' is the originator of Heaven and earth, it is "the mother of all things." His Way, which was "before G.o.d," is but a metaphorical expression for the manner in which things came at first into being out of the primal nothingness, and how the phenomena of nature continue to go on, "in stillness and quietness, without striving or crying." Lao Tzu is thus so far monistic, but he is also mystical, transcendental, even pantheistic. The way that can be walked is not the Eternal Way; the name that can be named is not the Eternal Name. The Unnameable is the originator of Heaven and earth; manifesting itself as the Nameable, it is "the mother of all things." "In Eternal Non-Being I see the Spirituality of Things; in Eternal Being their limitation. Though different under these two aspects, they are the same in origin; it is when development takes place that different names have to be used. It is while they are in the condition of sameness that the mystery concerning them exists. This mystery is indeed the mystery of mysteries. It is the door of all spirituality."

This _tao_, indefinable and in its essence unknowable, is "the fountain-head of all beings, and the norm of all actions. But it is not only the formative principle of the universe; it also seems to be primordial matter: chaotic in its composition, born prior to Heaven and earth, noiseless, formless, standing alone in its solitude, and not changing, universal in its activity, and unrelaxing, without being exhausted, it is capable of becoming the mother of the universe." And there we may leave it. There is no scheme of creation, properly so called. The Unwalkable Way leads us to nothing further in the way of a cosmogony.

Confucius's Agnosticism

Confucius (551-479 B.C.) did not throw any light on the problem of origin. He did not speculate on the creation of things nor the end of them. He was not troubled to account for the origin of man, nor did he seek to know about his hereafter. He meddled neither with physics nor metaphysics. There might, he thought, be something on the other side of life, for he admitted the existence of spiritual beings. They had an influence on the living, because they caused them to clothe themselves in ceremonious dress and attend to the sacrificial ceremonies. But we should not trouble ourselves about them, any more than about supernatural things, or physical prowess, or monstrosities. How can we serve spiritual beings while we do not know how to serve men? We feel the existence of something invisible and mysterious, but its nature and meaning are too deep for the human understanding to grasp. The safest, indeed the only reasonable, course is that of the agnostic--to leave alone the unknowable, while acknowledging its existence and its mystery, and to try to understand knowable phenomena and guide our actions accordingly.

Between the monism of Lao Tzu and the positivism of Confucius on the one hand, and the landmark of the Taoistic transcendentalism of Chuang Tzu (fourth and third centuries B.C.) on the other, we find several "guesses at the riddle of existence" which must be briefly noted as links in the chain of Chinese speculative thought on this important subject.

Mo Tzu and Creation

In the philosophy of Mo Ti (fifth and fourth centuries B.C.), generally known as Mo Tzu or Mu Tzu, the philosopher of humanism and utilitarianism, we find the idea of creation. It was, he says, Heaven (which was anthropomorphically regarded by him as a personal Supreme Being) who "created the sun, moon, and innumerable stars." His system closely resembles Christianity, but the great power of Confucianism as a weapon wielded against all opponents by its doughty defender Mencius (372-289 B.C.) is shown by the complete suppression of the influence of Mo Tzuism at his hands. He even went so far as to describe Mo Tzu and those who thought with him as "wild animals."

Mencius and the First Cause

Mencius himself regarded Heaven as the First Cause, or Cause of Causes, but it was not the same personal Heaven as that of Mo Tzu. Nor does he hang any cosmogony upon it. His chief concern was to eulogize the doctrines of the great Confucius, and like him he preferred to let the origin of the universe look after itself.

Lieh Tzu's Absolute

Lieh Tzu (said to have lived in the fifth century B.C.), one of the brightest stars in the Taoist constellation, considered this nameable world as having evolved from an unnameable absolute being. The evolution did not take place through the direction of a personal will working out a plan of creation: "In the beginning there was Chaos [_hun tun_]. It was a mingled potentiality of Form [_hsing_], Pneuma [_ch'i_], and Substance [_chih_]. A Great Change [_t'ai i_] took place in it, and there was a Great Starting [_t'ai ch'u_] which is the beginning of Form. The Great Starting evolved a Great Beginning [_t'ai s.h.i.+h_], which is the inception of Pneuma. The Great Beginning was followed by the Great Blank [_t'ai su_], which is the first formation of Substance. Substance, Pneuma, and Form being all evolved out of the primordial chaotic ma.s.s, this material world as it lies before us came into existence." And that which made it possible for Chaos to evolve was the Solitary Indeterminate (_i tu_ or the _tao_), which is not created, but is able to create everlastingly. And being both Solitary and Indeterminate it tells us nothing determinate about itself.

Chuang Tzu's Super-tao

Chuang Chou (fourth and third centuries B.C.), generally known as Chuang Tzu, the most brilliant Taoist of all, maintained with Lao Tzu that the universe started from the Nameless, but it was if possible a more absolute and transcendental Nameless than that of Lao Tzu. He dwells on the relativity of knowledge; as when asleep he did not know that he was a man dreaming that he was a b.u.t.terfly, so when awake he did not know that he was not a b.u.t.terfly dreaming that he was a man. [10] But "all is embraced in the obliterating unity of the _tao_, and the wise man, pa.s.sing into the realm of the Infinite, finds rest therein." And this _tao_, of which we hear so much in Chinese philosophy, was before the Great Ultimate or Grand Terminus (_t'ai chi_), and "from it came the mysterious existence of G.o.d [_ti_]. It produced Heaven, it produced earth."

Popular Cosmogony still Personal or Dualistic

These and other cosmogonies which the Chinese have devised, though it is necessary to note their existence in order to give a just idea of their cosmological speculations, need not, as I said, detain us long; and the reason why they need not do so is that, in the matter of cosmogony, the P'an Ku legend and the _yin-yang_ system with its monistic elaboration occupy virtually the whole field of the Chinese mental vision. It is these two--the popular and the scientific--that we mean when we speak of Chinese cosmogony. Though here and there a stern sectarian might deny that the universe originated in one or the other of these two ways, still, the general rule holds good. And I have dealt with them in this order because, though the P'an Ku legend belongs to the fourth century A.D., the _I ching_ dualism was not, rightly speaking, a cosmogony until Chou Tun-i made it one by the publication of his _T'ai chi t'u_ in the eleventh century A.D. Over the unscientific and the scientific minds of the Chinese these two are paramount.

Applying the general principles stated in the preceding chapter, we find the same cause which operated to restrict the growth of mythology in general in China operated also in like manner in this particular branch of it. With one exception Chinese cosmogony is non-mythological. The careful and studiously accurate historians (whose work aimed at being _ex veritate_, 'made of truth'), the sober literature, the vast influence of agnostic, matter-of-fact Confucianism, supported by the heavy Mencian artillery, are indisputable indications of a constructive imagination which grew too quickly and became too rapidly scientific to admit of much soaring into the realms of fantasy. Unaroused by any strong stimulus in their ponderings over the riddle of the universe, the sober, plodding scientists and the calm, truth-loving philosophers gained a peaceful victory over the mythologists.

CHAPTER IV

The G.o.ds of China

The Birth of the Soul

The dualism noted in the last chapter is well ill.u.s.trated by the Chinese pantheon. Whether as the result of the co-operation of the _yin_ and the _yang_ or of the final dissolution of P'an Ku, human beings came into existence. To the primitive mind the body and its shadow, an object and its reflection in water, real life and dream life, sensibility and insensibility (as in fainting, etc.), suggest the idea of another life parallel with this life and of the doings of the 'other self' in it. This 'other self,' this spirit, which leaves the body for longer or shorter intervals in dreams, swoons, death, may return or be brought back, and the body revive. Spirits which do not return or are not brought back may cause mischief, either alone, or by entry into another human or animal body or even an inanimate object, and should therefore be propitiated. Hence wors.h.i.+p and deification.

The Populous Otherworld

The Chinese pantheon has gradually become so mult.i.tudinous that there is scarcely a being or thing which is not, or has not been at some time or other, propitiated or wors.h.i.+pped. As there are good and evil people in this world, so there are G.o.ds and demons in the Otherworld: we find a polytheism limited only by a polydemonism. The dualistic hierarchy is almost all-embracing. To get a clear idea of this populous Otherworld, of the supernal and infernal hosts and their organizations, it needs but to imagine the social structure in its main features as it existed throughout the greater part of Chinese history, and to make certain additions. The social structure consisted of the ruler, his court, his civil, military, and ecclesiastical officials, and his subjects (cla.s.sed as Scholars--officials and gentry--Agriculturists, Artisans, and Merchants, in that order).

Wors.h.i.+p of Shang Ti

When these died, their other selves continued to exist and to hold the same rank in the spirit world as they did in this one. The _ti_, emperor, became the _Shang Ti_, Emperor on High, who dwelt in _T'ien_, Heaven (originally the great dome). [11] And Shang Ti, the Emperor on High, was wors.h.i.+pped by _ti_, the emperor here below, in order to pacify or please him--to ensure a continuance of his benevolence on his behalf in the world of spirits. Confusion of ideas and paucity of primitive language lead to personification and wors.h.i.+p of a thing or being in which a spirit has taken up its abode in place of or in addition to wors.h.i.+p of the spirit itself. Thus Heaven (T'ien) itself came to be personified and wors.h.i.+pped in addition to Shang Ti, the Emperor who had gone to Heaven, and who was considered as the chief ruler in the spiritual world. The wors.h.i.+p of Shang Ti was in existence before that of T'ien was introduced. Shang Ti was wors.h.i.+pped by the emperor and his family as their ancestor, or the head of the hierarchy of their ancestors. The people could not wors.h.i.+p Shang Ti, for to do so would imply a familiarity or a claim of relations.h.i.+p punishable with death. The emperor wors.h.i.+pped his ancestors, the officials theirs, the people theirs. But, in the same way and sense that the people wors.h.i.+pped the emperor on earth, as the 'father' of the nation, namely, by adoration and obeisance, so also could they in this way and this sense wors.h.i.+p Shang Ti. An Englishman may take off his hat as the king pa.s.ses in the street to his coronation without taking any part in the official service in Westminster Abbey. So the 'wors.h.i.+p'

of Shang Ti by the people was not done officially or with any special ceremonial or on fixed State occasions, as in the case of the wors.h.i.+p of Shang Ti by the emperor. This, subject to a qualification to be mentioned later, is really all that is meant (or should be meant) when it is said that the Chinese wors.h.i.+p Shang Ti.

As regards sacrifices to Shang Ti, these could be offered officially only by the emperor, as High Priest on earth, who was attended or a.s.sisted in the ceremonies by members of his own family or clan or the proper State officials (often, even in comparatively modern times, members of the imperial family or clan). In these official sacrifices, which formed part of the State wors.h.i.+p, the people could not take part; nor did they at first offer sacrifices to Shang Ti in their own homes or elsewhere. In what way and to what extent they did so later will be shown presently.

Wors.h.i.+p of T'ien

Owing to T'ien, Heaven, the abode of the spirits, becoming personified, it came to be wors.h.i.+pped not only by the emperor, but by the people also. But there was a difference between these two wors.h.i.+ps, because the emperor performed his wors.h.i.+p of Heaven officially at the great altar of the Temple of Heaven at Peking (in early times at the altar in the suburb of the capital), whereas the people (continuing always to wors.h.i.+p their ancestors) wors.h.i.+pped Heaven, when they did so at all--the custom being observed by some and not by others, just as in Western countries some people go to church, while others stay away--usually at the time of the New Year, in a simple, unceremonious way, by lighting some incense-sticks and waving them toward the sky in the courtyards of their own houses or in the street just outside their doors.

Confusion of Shang Ti and T'ien

The qualification necessary to the above description is that, as time went on and especially since the Sung dynasty (A.D. 960-1280), much confusion arose regarding Shang Ti and T'ien, and thus it came about that the terms became mixed and their definitions obscure. This confusion of ideas has prevailed down to the present time. One result of this is that the people may sometimes state, when they wave their incense-sticks or light their candles, that their humble sacrifice is made to Shang Ti, whom in reality they have no right either to wors.h.i.+p or to offer sacrifice to, but whom they may unofficially pay respect and make obeisance to, as they might and did to the emperor behind the high boards on the roadsides which s.h.i.+elded him from their view as he was borne along in his elaborate procession on the few occasions when he came forth from the imperial city.

Thus we find that, while only the emperor could wors.h.i.+p and sacrifice to Shang Ti, and only he could officially wors.h.i.+p and sacrifice to T'ien, the people who early personified and wors.h.i.+pped T'ien, as already shown, came, owing to confusion of the meanings of Shang Ti and T'ien, unofficially to 'wors.h.i.+p' both, but only in the sense and to the extent indicated, and to offer 'sacrifices' to both, also only in the sense and to the extent indicated. But for these qualifications, the statement that the Chinese wors.h.i.+p and sacrifice to Shang Ti and T'ien would be apt to convey an incorrect idea.

From this it will be apparent that Shang Ti, the Supreme Ruler on High, and T'ien, Heaven (later personified), do not mean 'G.o.d' in the sense that the word is used in the Christian religion. To state that they do, as so many writers on China have done, without pointing out the essential differences, is misleading. That Chinese religion was or is "a monotheistic wors.h.i.+p of G.o.d" is further disproved by the fact that Shang Ti and T'ien do not appear in the list of the popular pantheon at all, though all the other G.o.ds are there represented. Neither Shang Ti nor T'ien mean the G.o.d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, or the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost of the New Testament. Did they mean this, the efforts of the Christian missionaries to convert the Chinese would be largely superfluous. The Christian religion, even the Holy Trinity, is a monotheism. That the Chinese religion (even though a summary of extracts from the majority of foreign books on China might point to its being so) is not a monotheism, but a polytheism or even a pantheism (as long as that term is taken in the sense of universal deification and not in that of one spiritual being immanent in all things), the rest of this chapter will abundantly prove.

There have been three periods in which G.o.ds have been created in unusually large numbers: that of the mythical emperor Hsien Yuan (2698-2598 B.C.), that of Chiang Tzu-ya (in the twelfth century B.C.), and that of the first emperor of the Ming dynasty (in the fourteenth century A.D.).

The Otherworld Similar to this World

The similarity of the Otherworld to this world above alluded to is well shown by Du Bose in his _Dragon, Image, and, Demon_, from which I quote the following pa.s.sages:

"The world of spirits is an exact counterpart of the Chinese Empire, or, as has been remarked, it is 'China ploughed under'; this is the world of light; put out the lights and you have Tartarus. China has eighteen [now twenty-two] provinces, so has Hades; each province has eight or nine prefects, or departments; so each province in Hades has eight or nine departments; every prefect or department averages ten counties, so every department in Hades has ten counties. In Soochow the Governor, the provincial Treasurer, the Criminal Judge, the Intendant of Circuit, the Prefect or Departmental Governor, and the three District Magistrates or County Governors each have temples with their apotheoses in the other world. Not only these, but every _yamen_ secretary, runner, executioner, policeman, and constable has his counterpart in the land of darkness. The market-towns have also mandarins of lesser rank in charge, besides a host of revenue collectors, the bureau of government works and other departments, with several hundred thousand officials, who all rank as G.o.ds beyond the grave. These deities are civilians; the military having a similar gradation for the armies of Hades, whose captains are G.o.ds, and whose battalions are devils.