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Rh A thousand expressions of opinion, modelled upon that of Sze-ma Ts‘ëen, might easily be adduced, all, it seems to me, as I have said already, prompted by an endeavour to reconcile the existing Work with the accounts of the Ch‘un Ts‘ëw given in Mencius. As we come down the course of time, we ﬁnd the scholars of China less positive in the view that Confucius made any change in the text of the Ch‘un Ts‘ëw of Loo. Choo He says, ‘The entries in the Ch‘un Ts‘ëw, that, for instance, “Such a man did such a thing” are according to the old text of the historiographers of Loo, come down to us from the stylus of the sage, transcribing or retrenching. Now-a-days, people, when they see the Ch‘un Ts‘ëw, are sure to say, “Such and such a character has its stigma for such and such a man,” so that Confucius thus took it on him, according to his private views, to dispense without authority his praise or blame. But Confucius simply wrote the thing correctly as it was, and the good or evil of it was manifest of itself. If people feel that they must express themselves as I have said, we must get into our hands the old text of the historiographers of Loo, so that, comparing it with what we now have, the difference and agreement between them would be apparent. But this is now impossible.’

Chaou Yih adduces two paragraphs from the ‘Annals of the Bamboo Books,’ which, he thinks, may be the original form of two in the Ch‘un Ts‘ëw. The one is—‘Duke Yin of Loo and duke Chwang of Choo made a covenant at Koo-meeh,’ corresponding to I. i. 2, ‘In the third month, the duke and E-foo of Choo made a covenant in Mëeh.’ The other is—‘Duke Hëen of Tsin united with the army of Yu, and, attacking Kwoh, extinguished Hëa-yang,’ corresponding to V. ii. 3, ‘An army of Yu and an army of Tsin extinguished Hëa-yang.’ ‘These two cases,’ observes Chaou, ‘show that the style of the historiographers of the States was, we may say, similar to that of the Ch‘un Ts‘ëw, and that Confucius on deliberation only altered a few characters to lodge in others of his own his praise or censure’. But to make these two instances exactly to the point, it would be necessary that they should occur in the annals of the State of Loo, somehow preserved to us. Besides, 15]