Confucius and the Lin

      

Confucius (谿山行旅)(551 BC-479 BC)

         The olderConfucius grew the more disappointed was he that his life should have beenspent in vain.  We are told in the Lun Yuthat he said: 

        “No wise rulerrises; no one in the empire will make me his master.  My time has come to die.”

          Saddened bythe fact that his moral views were rejected by the princes of the nation, hepredicted the coming of turbulent times and civil wars, events which had indeedbecome unavoidable through the degeneration of many petty courts and theirdisregard for the welfare of the people.

The Lin (麒麟)

         Once ithappened (so Kung Yang [1] informs us) that a strange creature had been killedon a hunt of the Duke Ai of Lu, and the sage was called to inspect the body andgive his opinion.  Confucius declared itto be that supernatural animal called Lin, the appearance of which is deemed arare occurrence.  In his despair,Confucius looked back on the death of this royal beast as a bad omen and heexclaimed: “My teaching is finished indeed.” [2]

         It is patheticto observe the sage’s despair at the end of his career:  but such is the fate of reformers and thissaying of Confucius sounds very much like a literal translation of Christ’slast word, “It is finished!” 

Fan Kuan, Travellers Amid Mountains and Streams (谿山行旅), Song Dynasty, ca. 1000, ink and slight color on silk, National Palace Museum, Taipei

        Two yearslater Confucius felt the approach of his end. While he walked in front of his house he muttered this verse:

                                   “Hugemountains wear away.

                                                                                 Alas!

                                    The strongest beams decay.

                                                                                 Alas!

                                    And thesage like grass

                                    Must fade.                             Alas!

(The original is quoted from Li Ki, The Book of Ritual.)

         These linesof complaint are the Eli, eli, lama sabachthani of Confucius.  He feels forsaken and fears that his work hasbeen in vain.

        Confucius diedin 478 in retirement, and his faithful followers built a tomb over his remains,mourning on the spot for three years. His most devoted admire, Tze Kung, built a hut and lived there for threeyears longer.

Tomb of Confucius in Qufu

[1]  Kung Yang is one of the three commentators of Kung Tse's historical book Spring and Autumn, the others being Tso Chi and Ku Liang.

[2]  This is the verbatim translation of the four words "wu tao ch'iung i."

Excerpt from:  Paul Carus, Chinese Astrology.  LaSalle, Open Court, 1907. (Please click on link for Paul Carus biography.)

Paul Carus (1852-1919)