Page:Ch'un Ts'ew Pt I.pdf/18





THE NATURE AND VALUE OF THE CH&lsquo;UN TS&lsquo;ËW.  

I. II.  

DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE EXPECTATIONS RAISED BY THE EARLIEST ACCOUNTS OF THE CH&lsquo;UN TS&lsquo;EW.

1. In the prolegomena to vol. I., on page 1, I have said that of the five King or classical works, the authorship, or compilation rather, of which is loosely attributed to Confucius, 'the Ch&lsquo;un Ts&lsquo;ëw is the only one which can rightly be described as of his own making.' If I had been as familiar with the Ch&lsquo;un Ts&lsquo;ëw in 1861 as I am now, instead of appearing, as in that judgment, to allow that it is an original Work of the sage, I should have contented myself with saying that of it alone has the making been claimed for him. The question as to what he really did in the matter of this Classic is one of great perplexity.

2. The earliest authority who speaks on the subject is Mencius. No better could be desired; and the glowing account which he gives of the Work excites our liveliest expectations. His language puts it beyond doubt that in his time, not far removed from that of Confucius, there was a book current in China, called the Ch&lsquo;un Ts&lsquo;ëw, and accepted without question by him and others as having been made by the sage.