Further evidence of the attention now being drawn in the West 10 the "philosophy of "Confucius forthcoming from the publication Professor W..E. Soothill's transla~ tion of the Analects of Confucius in "The World's Classics" (Oxford University. Press, London. 2/-) Professor Soothill's translation first appeared. in 1910 and it is well Known to. most people in China. Lady. Hosie has written a special preface for the new edition of her father's work, and appropriately: enough she has written this preface during her recent visit to renew her tong acquaintance with Chins 'The wisdom of Confucius should support the arguments of those who hold that the children of elderly parents surpass others in intellect, for Confucius' father—a man of outstanding physical strength and courage, of whom it was once that Ne' enabled his men to make their return to the city during an enemy attack by holding the Porteullis up on his own shoulders: until the last man had. safely entered—was 70 years old when his famous son was born, the mother being a young maiden whom' the old man had taken unto himself asa second wife. The mother called her son Chin because of the noble proportions of his forehead—a circumstance which shows that mothers of 551 B.C, had very much the same ideas about their first-born mothers of to-day.
Legends, of course, have grown round the' birth of Confucius, and one records that a spirit appeared to his mother telling her that she Would bring forth a sage in a hollow mulberry tree; and when he was, as the conventional phrase puts it, "on the way", the spirits of the ive planets laid before her an animal shaped like a cow, covered with ragoh's scales, and with one horn like @ unicorn, ' That was the sacred lin, which only appears before the birth of a sage, That Confucius himself was not exempt from belief in this legend shown by the story that when a similar beast, with a broken leg, was caught a couple of years before Confucius died, he burst into tears because he realized that his own end was predicted: It is even said that the piece of ribbon which his mother had attached at his birth to its horn was still there, In order to oblige the spirit the expectant mother, learning from her husband that near by there was a eave known as that of the Hollow Mulberry Tree, deliberately went there for the great event, and the exceptional qualities of "her son. were at once confirmed when just. at his birth a spring bubbled up for his first bath, and then died away, But whatever his mother may have thought about Confucius, eur= vent Chinese descriptions do not! credit him as a child with beauty, but certainly with extraordinary features, "He had a mouth like the fea, ox lips, and a dragon's back. Lady Hosie' points out that such bielures as there are of Confuclus—and even they may be of doubtful authenticity—show him to be a man with the broad, strong, equable face of the countryman of North China, handsome in his! dress, with. large, dark, lustrous eyes, humorous, kind and thoughtful, and, of course, with large ears, for large ears are a sign of sagacity, He inherited his father's physique, and his disciples knew to their cost that he was able to out-walk and out-ride ther, and, indeed, to put up with privations far better than they. One of his disciples, Tau Lu, the Bold, the former soldier, ventured t remonstrate, and received fron: the sage a discouraging reply:
"Does a man of the higher order:
also have to suffer want?"
"The superior man bears want unshaken," replied the Master, "the inferior man in want, becomes de-
Confuclis was a sportsman, he iked archery, and he fished—never with a net—and when shooting he didn't aim at a resting bird.
Married at 19 to a lady from the State of Sung, his son was born. in 681 BE. and was named Kung, Li, but is better known as Po Vu, under which name he appears in the Analects; it means "carp' for Confucius received a present of that fish on the auspicious occasion of Lu, hie chief, son's birth from the Duke Po Vu was not shown any favouritism, and it is considered clear from' the Analects that the son of Confucius' spirit, Yen Hui, was dearer to him than any son of his body, for Yen Hui put into practice the teaching of his Master.
Both Confucius' parents were dead before he martied and he rose steadily in the official hierarchy of the Dukedom of Lu, becoming Prime Minister, it is said, in 49¢—but went into exile for thirteen years because of the acceptance by the Duke of a present of singing girls against his advice, During those years of exile, Confucius ex~ perienced many vicissitudes, including distress and starvation. Eventually, two years after the death of his wife, he was recalled to Lu, in 483, and his last years) were marred by bereavement, the death of his son, Po Vu, being followed in the next year by that of his beloved Yen Hui, and-two years later the impetuous Tzu Lu, fell in battle. He himself died in 479, according to the most reliable records.
The Analects or Conversations of Confucius are thought to have been compiled after his death by followers of his two disciples, Tseng. and Vu, who are called "philoso~ phers" in the opening paragraphs. In the main they are his discussions with his disciples and enquirer, although some are the actual say-Ings of the disciples. When the Emperor Chin Shih Huang ordered that all books should be burnt and. all scholars buried alive so that the teaching of history might be simplified, he was not able completely to enforce his fell edict, and fortunately the Analects escaped the massacre, A copy was found some: eighty years later in a house which had been occupied by Confucius Himselt—another copy was found elsewhere.
The Analects were first translated into Latin in 1687 by a Roman. Catholic missionary, and later by Mahan and French Fathers into) their own tongues. Dr. Legge, 1861, the first holder of the Chair of the Chinese Language at Oxford, included the "Analects translation of the Chinese Classics. Professor Soothill's translation of 1910 was produced with the idea of giving a more modern interpretation to the books, and this! translation consists of twenty books, divided into ten volumes, two books a volume.
The virility of Confucius Analects shown in the remarkable way in. which they have stood the changes. of world thought in the 2,000 years since they were first recorded, and above all, the good humour of the Sage's wit and wisdom make them. Just as attractive to the reader of to-day as they must have been to} those of past centuries—although it should be remembered that Chinese scholars are disposed to. jomphasize the venerability of the Sage and his precepts rather than. to delight in his undoubted humour.
The playful manner in which he could) Febuke his. followers con Stantly peeps out from these records conversations. "The. disciple, already named as the bola soldier, found. his rashness pilloried when!
For teed an un tral c 10 Mater sad Once war may be caled throwing therm Ho was a master of repartee, a, for example, when he ras. asked to admire a certain man because he ought thrice before he took any action, and he. tersely replied, There is no sign of antiquated prejudice in his comment on the, difficulty of handling servants:
your are friendly with them they "lose their deference, If you fare reserved with them they resent
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.