Liu Hsin and His Theory of the Beginning of the Schools
刘歆和他关于各家缘起的理论
Liu Hsin's whole analysis reads as follows: "The members of the Ju school had their origin in the Ministry of Education... This school delighted in the study of the Liu Yi [the Six Classics or six liberal arts] and paid attention to matters concerning human-heartedness and righteousness.
刘歆这段分析的原文是:“儒家者流,盖出于司徒之官,……游文于六经之中,留意于仁义之际,
They regarded Yao and Shun [two ancient sage emperors supposed to have lived in the twenty-fourth and twenty-third centuries B.C.] as the ancestors of their school, and King Wen [1120?-1108? B.C. of the Chou dynasty] and King Wu [son of King Wen] as brilliant exemplars.
祖述尧舜,宪章文武,
To give authority to their teaching, they honored Chung-ni [Confucius] as an exalted teacher.
宗师仲尼,以重其言,
Their teaching is the highest truth.
于道最为高。
"That which is admired must be tested." The glory of Yao and Shun, the prosperity of the dynasties of Yin and Chou, and the achievements of Chung-ni are the results discovered by testing their teaching.
孔子曰:‘如有所誉,其有所试。’ 唐虞之隆,殷周之盛,仲尼之业,已试之效者也。”
"Those of the Taoist school had their origin in the official historians.
“道家者流,盖出于史官,
By studying the historical examples of success and failure, preservation and destruction, and calamity and prosperity, from ancient to recent times, they learned how to hold what is essential and to grasp the fundamental.
历记成败存亡祸福古今之道,然后知秉要执本,
calamity,英 [kə'læmɪtɪ],美 [kə'læməti]
n. 灾难;不幸事件
n. (Calamity)人名;(英)卡拉米蒂
They guarded themselves with purity and emptiness, and with humbleness and meekness maintained themselves... Herein lies the strong point of this school."
清虚以自守,卑弱以自持,……此其所长也。”
From YLYK《中国哲学的故事》专辑S03E05