Religions challenged the great Chinese system of ethics in the early centuries of the Christian era. In the end they failed to destroy the dominance of China's humanist sage
Buddhism and Taoism were in the ascendant and Confucianism was in eclipse in China from the end of the Han dynasty (220 A.D.) to the emergence of Sung (960). Buddhist temples were the centers of learning. Scholars came from afar. Art and architecture were inspired by Buddhism and reflected Buddhist influences. New schools of Buddhism were developed while Confucianism stood still, retaining its influence largely in the home and in the conduct of government.
If Buddhism and Taoism dominated the religious and esthetic side of Chinese life, however, Confucian ism still provided an ethical code and laid down the guidelines for the civil service examination system and the bureaucracy. This was to pave the way for the revival of Confucianism as the dominant way of life in the Sung dynasty. Bureaucracy was increasingly institutionalized and more efficiently administered under the Tang. The basic subjects were still the Confucian classics, although there were a few gestures in the direction of the Taoists as a result of the royal house's claim of descent from Lao Tzu.
Buddhism was not particularly well suited to the needs of realistic political life. It tended to go away from the mundane modalities of life rather than toward them. At the time, Confucianism didn't make much of a creative contribution. Philosophically speaking, it was at nadir. Yet Confucianism had something to say and Buddhism did not on such worldly subjects as taxation. Land was nationalized and redistributed in early Tang times, and this new system provided the bases for the system of taxation and military service. Both the Japanese and Koreans imitated the Tang innovation.
But the system was breaking down by the 700s (middle of the Tang dynasty). The effort to abolish private property failed. Concentration of land ownership actually increased. Tax evasion became easier and the revenues of the state fell off. In 780, a new twice a-year tax plan was introduced by the statesman Yang Yen (727-781). Government income and expenditures were carefully budgeted. Each area of the country was assigned a tax quota in accordance with local conditions. Money became the medium of payment.
Yang Yen's tax proposal was an example of Confucian pragmatism in action at a time when the Buddhists and Taoists were seemingly in total control. This is an excerpt from the New History of the Tang Dynasty:
"When the dynastic laws were first formulated, there was the land tax, the labor tax on able-bodied men and the cloth tax on households. In the K'ai-yuan period (713-741), there was peace and prosperity, and the tax registers were not kept up. Enforcement of the law was lax; people migrated or died, and land changed hands. The poor rose and the rich fell. Nothing was the same as before. The Board of Revenue year after year presented out-of-date figures (on those subject to tax) to the court.
"Those who were sent to guard the frontiers were exempted from the land tax and the labor tax for six years, after which they returned from service. Yet as Emperor Hsuan-tsung was engaged in many campaigns against the barbarians, most of those sent to the frontiers died. The frontier generals, however, concealed the facts and did not report their deaths. Thus their names were never removed from the tax registers. When Wang Kung held the post of Commissioner of Fiscal Census in the Tien-pao period (724-755), he strove to increase revenue. Since the names appeared on the registers and yet the people were missing, he concluded that, they had concealed themselves to avoid paying taxes. Thereupon he examined the old registers, made allowance for the exemption (of six years) and then demanded that the households of these men pay the land and labor taxes which they would have owed the government over the previous 30 years. The people were distressed and had no place to appeal. Thus the tax system deteriorated badly.
"After the Chih-te period (756-762), there were wars all over the empire. Famine and epidemics ensued. All kinds of labor services had to be performed. The population declined and some areas were deserted. The expenses of the state and its armies were drawn from the Commissioner of Funds and the Fiscal Intendants; the local army commanders were supplied by the Regional Commandants and the Militia Commandants. Thus there were four offices collecting taxes, and they had not control over each other, so that the system was greatly disrupted. The court had no check on the various commissioners and the latter had no check on the local prefectures. The special tributes from all parts of the empire went into the inner treasury of the imperial palace (rather than the state treasury). Powerful ministers and crafty officials took advantage of this and engaged in corrupt practices. The public was given to think that these were gifts to be presented to the emperor; the officials themselves thought of the tribute as so much personal loot. Often it ran into the tens of thousands. In Honan, Shantung, Chien-nan and Hsiang-chou, where large forces were stationed, the military officers all took care of themselves handsomely. Very little of the taxes which should have gone to the emperor was actually presented. Altogether· there were several hundred kinds of taxes; those which had been formally abolished were never dropped and those which duplicated others were never eliminated. Old and new taxes piled up and there seemed to be no limit to them. The people drained the last drop of their blood and marrow and sold their loved ones. Month after month they were engaged in forced labor without a rest. Petty officials added to the burden, living at the people's expense. Rich people with many able-bodied adults in their families sought to obtain exemption from labor services by having them become officials, students, Buddhist monks and Taoist priests. The poor could do nothing to obtain an exemption and continued to be registered as able-bodied adults liable to labor service. The upper class had their taxes forgiven while the lower class had their taxes increased. Thereupon the empire was ruined and distressed and the people wandered around like vagrants. Less than four or five out of a hundred lived in their own villages and stayed on their own land. Yang Yen was concerned about these evils and petitioned the throne to establish the twice-a-year tax in order to unify the tax system:.
" 'The way to handle all government expenses and tax collections is first to calculate the amount needed and then to allocate the tax among the people. Thus the income of the state would be governed according to its expenses. All households would be registered in the places of their actual residence, without regard to whether they are native households or non-native. All persons should be graded according to their wealth, without regard to whether they are fully adult or only half adult. (Before 744, half-adults were aged 16 to 21; after that the age bracket was 18 to 22.) Those who do not have a permanent residence and do business as traveling merchants should be taxed in whatever prefecture or sub prefecture they are located at the rate of a 30th of their holdings. It is estimated that the amount taken from them will be the same as that paid by those having fixed domicile, so that they could not expect to gain from chance avoidance of the tax. The tax paid by residents should be collected twice a year, during the summer and autumn. All practices which cause annoyance to the people should be corrected. The separate land and labor tax and all miscellaneous labor services should be abolished; and yet the count of the able-bodied adults should still be kept. The tax on land acreage should be based upon the amount of land cultivated in the 14th year of Ta-li (779) and the tax should be collected equally. The summer tax should be collected no later than the sixth month and the autumn tax no later than the eleventh month. At the end of the year, local officials should be promoted and demoted according to the increase or decrease in the number of households and tax receipts. Everything should be under the control of the President of the Board of Revenue and the Commissioner of Funds.'
"The emperor approved of this policy and officials in the capital and the various provinces were informed of it. There were some who questioned and opposed the measure, considering that the old system of land and labor taxes had been in operation for several hundred years and that a change should not be made precipitously. The emperor did not listen to them, however, and eventually the empire enjoyed the benefits of the measure."
Lu Chih (754-805) was opposed to the twice-a-year tax on Confucian grounds and wrote three memorials on the subject. An adviser to the Emperor Tetsung, he argued from the point of view of Confucian conservatism as opposed to Confucian reformism. Although he stood on the firm Confucian ground of equitable government to benefit the people as well as the state, he nevertheless found himself in the dilemma of how to oppose drastic reforms that had already been; implemented. He fell back on the typical position of the conservative: that of advocating the correction of defects rather than urging outright repeal. These are excerpts from the thinking of Lu Chih:
"According to the established law of the dynasty, there were three kinds of taxes. The first was known as the land tax, the second the cloth contribution and the third was labor service. This threefold tax system followed the example of former sages and took into consideration the advantages and disadvantages of the tax measures of previous dynasties. It followed ancient traditions and embodied profound wisdom; it was just in distribution and encouraged people to remain on the land; it was simple in general outline and universal in application. For by collecting rent, on the land, exacting cloth from the household and requiring labor from the individual, the tax was made uniform throughout the empire and it became impossible for people to evade their share of the tax burden by moving to another part of the country. Thus the people were relieved from the feeling of insecurity and the officials freed from the sense of bafflement which constantly changing tax expedients are likely to give rise to. As a means of making life secure, it made for permanence of domicile without restrictive legislation; as a means of imposing labor service, it became possible to know the population without a vexatious census; as a means of government, it enabled the rulers to carry out their duties without complex and exacting laws; as a means of taxation, it produced enough for those above the government without impoverishing those below (the people).
"The laws initiated in the Three Dynasties have been, generally speaking, followed by later rulers. Though there are slight differences and modifications in practice, the principles have remained the same. But as a result of the barbarian uprisings in the later years of the Tien-pao period (742-755), utter confusion reigned in our land and untold suffering came upon our people; the registers and administrative divisions be came outmoded due to the shift in population and the tax laws were vitiated because of the ever-growing demands of the armies. At the beginning of the Chien-chung period, there was an attempt at reform. The government realized the necessity of rectifying evils but the measures it introduced were not based upon sound principles. It realized the wisdom of simplification but the methods it adopted were not founded on realities. Thus the new scheme allowed new ills to arise without completely eliminating the old and made a complete paralytic of a man who was before only lame.
"Now in undertaking the remedy of old evils, it is necessary to find out their cause. If the times are at fault, it is only necessary to bring order to the times; if the laws are at fault, it becomes necessary to completely revise the laws. The Book of Changes says: 'One must make sure that what one does is right if one wishes to be free from regrets.' To make changes without considering causes and consequences would only result in substituting one set of evils for another. One must, therefore, compare the new with the old and anticipate all possible objections and difficulties. And it goes without saying that no scheme should be put into effect before it has been worked out in detail; it also goes without saying that nothing should be changed unless the advantages of the new far outweigh that of the old. For to introduce change without subjecting its premise to a searching analysis and without considering its possible consequences is but to substitute a new evil for the old.
"As for the old tax laws, they were instituted by the sage ancestors (of Tang) and had been found workable for a hundred years. It was only after the incidence of the recent military campaigns and the extraordinary expenditures they incurred that traditional tax laws became inadequate. This is a case of the times being at fault, not the laws. Now without trying first to bring order' to the times that are at fault, changes have been made in laws that were free from blame. The traditional measures of cloth contribution and labor service were swept aside and the new scheme of the twice-a-year tax introduced. Being faulty in conception and careless in detail, the new tax scheme has only exhausted the people and made their lot worse every day.
"If laws are made with the idea of benefiting the people, it is impossible not to win the support of the people; if they are made with the. idea of filling the treasury, it is impossib1e not to lose the people’s support. When Your Majesty came to the throne, you earnestly wished to bring about peace and good government. You issued a gracious proclamation, deeply deploring the existing evils. Concerned with the heavy burden of the multifarious taxes and exactions and grieved by the suffering they had wrought upon the people, you sent out commissioners to announce your benevolent intentions.
"To achieve this, proper steps should have been taken to take away from those above in order to give to those below, to cut expenses in order to save wealth, to discourage extravagance and greed in order to reverse the trend toward corruption, to eliminate unnecessary outlays in order to relieve the people of heavy exactions. Instead, the provinces have been subjected to great hardship because of the irksome examination of the registers and tax rolls necessary to determine the highest annual tax rate during the Ta-li period (766-799), which the twice-a-year tax must use as a base. This is in effect the adoption of an unconstitutional expedient as fixed law and the incorporation of oppressive exactions of doubtful origin as regular features of the tax scheme. This amounts to making the extraction of money from the people the primary objective of the government; one can hardly say that it is consistent with concern for the people.
"To create a law without keeping the welfare of the people in mind - what is this if not a case of faulty conception?
"Now surely wealth can be produced only by the labor of men. Skill and industry lead to wealth and plenty; ineptitude and laziness to want and deficiency. It is for this reason that the ancient sage-kings made the able-bodied male the tax unit when they instituted the tax system. They did not demand from a man morel than his just portion; nor did they let him escape with less. They did not increase a man's taxes because he worked hard at his crops, nor did they lighten them because he abandoned his tillage. Thus people were encouraged to sow as much as they could. They did not add to a man's taxes because he lived in settled productivity, nor did they exempt a man from his cloth contribution because he wandered about without an established home. Thus stability was achieved.
They did not exact more labor from a man because of his industry nor did they accept less from a man because of his laziness. Thus diligence was encouraged. Only by such ways as these can the people be happy in their abode and willingly contribute their best. Even the shiftless and lazy are bound to mend their ways because of the good examp1e of their fellows and the prevailing spirit of fairness and honesty.
"The twice-a-year tax works on a different principle. It is based upon property only and not on the able-bodied male. This means that the more property one has, the more one has to pay, and the less property, the less tax. The system entirely fails to take into account the diverse natures of various types of property. For there are things which can be concealed on one's person or hidden away in strong boxes, things of great value although not exposed to curious eyes; there are things heaped up on threshing floors and stored away in bins, things of little value though generally regarded as evidence of wealth. There is property which can be circulated and made to grow, which may be small in amount but on which interest can be collected by the day. There is property in the form of dwellings and utensils which though high in cost brings nothing from one end of the year to the other. But under the twice-a-year tax system, these diverse types of property are all converted into so many strings of money, and it surprises no one that the system should work inequities and encourage evasion. For under this system, those who range over the land and traffic in commerce are often able to escape their share of the tax burden, while those who devote themselves to the basic vocation of agriculture and establish fixed homes are constantly harassed by ever-increasing demands. This amounts to tempting the people to circumvent the law and forcing them to shirk their just share of labor. It is inevitable that productivity should decline and morals deteriorate, depression come to the villages and towns and a decrease result in tax collections.
"Furthermore, in drawing up the scheme, no effort was made to achieve an equal distribution of the tax burden. The provinces and districts were merely ordered to levy the new taxes according to the old rate. It was not realized that because of the long military campaigns conditions were far from being the same in the different localities. Not only was the nature of the demands made upon one place different from that made upon another, but there was also great disparity in the ability of the administrators. Thus the tax burden varies greatly from place to place, just as opinions differ among the respective commissioners.
"In introducing new regulations, existing inequities should have been recognized and changes made wherever necessary; but instead, the officials were more interested in collecting as much in taxes as they could and were loath to eliminate anything. The actual resources and capacities of the various administrative districts were not given any weight at all; the old rate was the only thing that mattered. Thus the new law had the effect of causing ever heavier migrations away from the regions where the rate was high and toward the regions where the rate was low. The result was that in the former regions the burden became heavier because the quota had to be shared by fewer people than before, while in the latter regions the burden became even lighter because the quota could be distributed among more people. In this way the situation tends to become more and more inequitable.
"Again no policy directive was issued for general guidance. Each of the ten-odd commissioners was given authority to draw up regulations for his own area. Consequently, the inevitable divergence both in the tax rate and the method of collection. When the proposals were reported back to the court, there was no attempt to compare and reconcile them. Under the circumstances it is not difficult to imagine the inconsistencies that the system must entail or the disadvantages that it must evidence when compared with the old.
"To create a law without first considering all its possible ramifications and consequences-what is this if not a case of being careless in detail?
"Since the law was faulty. in conception and careless in detail, it has caused great hardships to a people already sorely tried. They could hardly be expected to stand up under the crushing burden even if the law were administered with the utmost solicitude for their welfare, much less when officials act as if they are trying to make a' confused mass of silk worse confounded or to rip open again an old wound."
Lu Chih goes on to list such abuses as inflexibility (allowing no reductions or exemptions to meet local conditions), the exacting of additional levies despite the agreement not to do so, losses accruing to the people through the exchange of goods or produce for money to pay taxes and special gifts that had to be sent to the emperor. In reasserting the basic Confucian principles of tax policy, he says:
"Duke Ai inquired of Yu Jo, 'It is a year of dearth and we have not enough revenue for our needs; what is to be done?' 'Why not simply tithe the land?' replied Yu Jo. 'Why with two-tenths,' said the Duke, 'I have still not enough; how could I manage with a one-tenth system?' 'If the people enjoy plenty,' Yu Jo answered, 'with whom will the prince share want? But if the people are in want, with whom will the prince share plenty?'
"Confucius said: 'He who rules a state or a household is not concerned with poverty but with inequity, not with lack of numbers but with want of harmony. For with equity, there would be no resentment; with thrift there would be no poverty; with harmony, there would be no lack of numbers; with contentment, there would be no upheavals.'
"All these are examples of regarding the people as the root and wealth as the branches. If the people are content, there would be a sufficiency of wealth; if the root is firmly established, then the state would be at peace. Now the people suffer not only want but dire poverty; the taxes are not only inequitable but many and various; presents not only continue to come but there are numerous additional demands.
"This state of affairs not only grieves the heart but threatens the very safety of the state. What more urgent need for reform could there be than this?
"Your Majesty is cautious in nature and has often warned against innovations. Realizing this, I dare not seek the entire elimination of the evils and inequities; it would bring some degree of relief if the more superfluous and more flagrant measures were done away with."
Lu Chih recommended the elimination of unnecessary expenditures and the curtailment of excessive ones (including abolition of the 20 per cent surtax and the ending of emergency levies with termination of the emergencies, no additional gifts from the provinces, conversion of tax money units into cloth on a basis of the average price in various localities, holding officialdom. responsible for losses resulting from poor quality of cloth, accurate determination of the number of households and classification of the provinces for payment of taxes based on their resources.
One of the most vocal opponents of Buddhism was Han Yu (786-824), a noted literary stylist whose ancient-prose style, as contracted with the elaborate parallel-prose of his time, influenced later writers. He has been compared with Mencius for his unyielding insistence on Confucianism. At the time, he didn't carry the day but was to became a patron saint of the Confucian revival moment of the 10th century. His most fiery memorial protested against the display of a purported relic of Buddha in the imperial palace as superstitious, morally subversive and un-Chinese. This polemic piece so infuriated the emperor that Han Yu barely escaped with his life and was banished to southernmost China:
"Your servant begs leave to say that Buddhism is no more than a cult of the barbarian peoples which spread to China in the time of the Latter Han. It did not exist in ancient times. When Emperor Kao-tsu (founder of the Tang) received the throne from the House of Sui, he deliberated upon the suppression of Buddhism. But at that time the various officials, being of small worth and knowledge, were unable fully to comprehend the ways of the ancient kings and the exigencies of past and present, and so could not implement the wisdom of the emperor and rescue the age from corruption. Thus the matter came to nought, to your servant's constant regret.
"Now Your Majesty, wise in the arts of peace and war, unparalleled in divine glory from countless ages past, upon your accession prohibited men and women from taking Buddhist orders and forbade the erection of temples and monasteries, and your servant believed that at Your Majesty's hand, the will of Kao-tsu would be carried out. Even if the suppression of Buddhism should be as yet impossible, your servant hardly thought that Your Majesty would encourage it and on the contrary cause it to spread. Yet now your servant hears that Your Majesty has ordered the community of monks to go to Feng-hsiang to greet the bone of Buddha, that Your Majesty will ascend a tower to watch as it is brought into the palace, and that the various temples have been commanded to welcome and worship it in turn. Though your servant is abundantly ignorant, he understands that Your Majesty is not so misled by Buddhism as to honor it thus in hopes of receiving some blessing or reward, but only that, the year being one of plenty and the people joyful, Your Majesty would accord with the hearts of the multitude in setting forth for the officials and citizens of the capital some curious show and toy for their amusement. How could it be, indeed, that with such sagely wisdom, Your Majesty should in truth give credence to these affairs? But the common people are ignorant and dull, easily misled and hard to enlighten, and should they see their emperor do these things, they might say that Your Majesty was serving Buddhism with a true heart. 'The Son of Heaven is a Great Sage,' they would cry, 'and yet he reverences and believes with all his heart! How should we, the common people, then begrudge our bodies and our lives?' Then would they set about singeing their heads and scorching their fingers (in Buddhist renunciation of the world), binding together in groups of ten or a hundred, doffing their common clothes and scattering their money, from morning to evening urging each other on lest one be slow, till old and young alike had abandoned their occupations to follow Buddhism. If this is not checked and the bone is carried from one temple to another, there will be those who will cut off their arms and mutilate their flesh in offering. Then will our old ways be corrupted, our customs violated and the tale will spread to make us the mockery of the world.
"Now Buddha was a man of the barbarians who did not speak the language of China and wore clothes of a different fashion. His sayings did not concern the ways of our ancient kings, nor did his manner of dress conform to their laws. He understood neither the duties that bind sovereign and subject, nor the affections of father and son. If he were still alive today and came to our court by order of his ruler, Your Majesty might condescend to receive him, but it would amount to no more than one audience in the Hsuan-cheng Hall, a banquet by the Office of Receiving Guests, the presentation of a suit of clothes, and he would then be escorted to the borders of the nation, dismissed and not allowed to delude the masses. How then, when he has long been dead, could his rotten bones, the foul and unlucky remains of his body, be rightly admitted to the palace? Confucius said: 'Respect ghosts and spirits but keep them at a distance.' So when the princes of ancient times went to pay their condolences at a funeral within the 'state, they sent exorcists in advance with peach wands to drive out evil and only then would they advance. Now without reason Your Majesty has caused this loathsome thing to be brought in and would personally go to view it. No exorcists have been sent ahead, no peach wands employed. The host of officials have not spoken out against this wrong, and the censors have failed to note its impropriety. Your servant is deeply shamed and begs that this bone be given to the proper authorities to be cast into fire and water (that this evil be rooted out, the world freed from its error and later generations spared this delusion. Then may all men know how the acts of their wise sovereign transcend the commonplace a thousand-fold. Would this not be glorious? Would it not he joyful?
"Should the Buddha indeed have supernatural power to send down curses and calamities, may they fall only upon the person of your servant, who calls upon High Heaven to witness that he does not regret his words. With all gratitude and sincerity, your servant presents this memorial for consideration, being filled with respect and awe."
Han Yu thought that classical training had deteriorated since Confucius' time. He considered literary tricks degrading and wanted to go back to the era of the great Confucian teachers and the necessity of learning as a lifetime pursuit. He said:
"Student's of ancient times all had their teachers, for it is only through the teacher that the Way is transmitted, learning imparted, and doubts dispelled. Unless all men were born with knowledge, who among them could be free from doubts? And if one has no teacher to take his doubts to, they will never be solved. The man who was born before me and truly learned the Way before me I shall follow and make my teacher. The man who was born after me but learned the Way before me I shall also follow and make my teacher. What I seek from my teacher is the Way. What is it to me, then, whether he is older or younger than I? Regardless of high or low station, age or youth, he who has the Way shall be my teacher.
"Alas, the teaching of the Way has long been neglected! Hard it is, then, to expect men to be without doubts. The sages of antiquity far excelled ordinary men, and yet they 'sought teachers and questioned them. But the common people of today, though they are equally far from the level of the sages, count it a shame to study with a teacher. Thus do sages become even wiser, and the stupid more stupid. Indeed is this not why some men are 'sages and others are stupid?
"If a man loves his son, he selects a teacher to give the boy instruction, and yet he is ashamed to follow a teacher himself. This is folly indeed. The sort of teacher who gives a child a book and teaches him to punctuate and read is not what I call a transmitter of the Way and a dispeller of doubts. But at least the child who cannot read goes to a teacher, while the father who is in doubt will not. This is to learn the minor things and neglect the major ones, and I for one fail to see the wisdom of it.
"Sorcerers, doctors, musicians and the various craftsmen are not ashamed to study with teachers. And yet among the families of scholar-officials, if you speak of a teacher or a disciple everyone gathers around and begins to laugh. If you ask them, why they laugh, they reply: 'These two men are practically the same age and so they must understand the Way equally well.' Again, if the teacher is lower in social status than the disciple, it is considered shameful to study with him, while if he is a high official, it is thought that one studies with him only to curry favor. Alas, it is obvious that in such circumstances the teaching of the Way can never be restored. Sorcerers, doctors, musicians and craftsmen are not considered the equal of gentlemen and yet gentlemen these days cannot match them in knowledge. Is this not strange?
"A sage has no constant teacher. Confucius acknowledged Tan Tzu, Chang Hung, Shih Hsiang and Lao Tan as his teachers, although Tan Tzu and his like were surely not so wise as Confucius. Confucius said: 'When I walk along with two others, they may serve me as my teachers.' Thus a disciple is not necessary one who is inferior to his teacher, and the teacher one who is wiser than his disciples. It is simply that the teacher has learned the Way before others, and has specialized in the art of instruction."
Han Yu believed - as did Confucius-that China had gone steadily downhill since the time of the sage kings. Of the necessity for reviving Confucianism and suppressing Buddhism and Taoism, he wrote:
"To love universally is called humanity (jen); to apply this in a proper way is called righteousness (i). The operation of these is the Way (Tao), and its inner power(te) is that it is self-sufficient, requiring nothing from outside itself. Humanity and righteous ness are fixed principles, but the Way and its inner power are speculative concepts. Thus we have the way of the gentleman and the way of the small man, and both good and evil power. Lao Tzu made light of humanity and righteousness, but he did not thereby abolish them. His view was narrow like that of a man who sits at the bottom of a well and looks up at the sky, saying, 'The sky is small'. This does not mean that the sky is really small. Lao Tzu understood humanity and righteousness in only a very limited sense, and therefore it is natural that he belittled them. What he called the Way was only the Way as he saw it, and not what I call the Way; what he called inner power was only power as he saw it, and not what I call inner power. What I call the Way and power are a combination of humanity and righteousness and this is the definition accepted by the world at large. What Lao Tzu called the Way and power are stripped of humanity and righteousness, and rep resent only the private view of one individual.
"After the decline of the Chou and the death of Confucius, in the time of Ch'in's book burnings, the Taoism of the Han, and the Buddhism of the Wei, the Chin, the Liang and the Sui, when men spoke of the Way and power, of humanity and righteousness, they were approaching them either as followers of Yang Chu or of Mo Tzu, or Lao Tzu or of Buddha. Being followers of these doctrines, they naturally rejected Confucianism. Acknowledging these men as their masters, they made of Confucius an outcast, adhering to new teachings and vilifying the old. Alas, though men of later ages long to know of humanity and righteousness, the Way and inner power, from whom may they hear of them?
"In ancient times there were only four classes of people, but now there are six (official, farmer, artisan and merchant plus the Taoist and Buddhist clergy). There was only one teaching, where now there are three (Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism). For each family growing grain, there are now six consuming it; for each family producing utensils, there are now six using them; for one family engaged in trade, six others take their profits. Is it surprising then that the people are reduced to poverty and driven to theft?
"In ancient times men faced many perils, but sages arose who taught them how to protect and nourish their lives, acting as their rulers and teachers. They drove away the harmful insects and reptiles, birds and beasts, and led men to settle in the center of the earth. The people were cold and they made them clothes, hungry and they gave them food. Because men had dwelt in danger in the tops of trees or grown sick sleeping on the ground, they built them halls and dwellings. They taught them handicrafts that they might have utensils to use, trades so that they could supply their wants, medicine to save them from early death, proper burial and sacrifices to enhance their sense of love and gratitude, rites to order the rules of precedence, music to express their repressed feelings, government to lead the indolent and punishments to suppress the overbearing. Because men cheated each other, they made tallies and seals, measures and scales to insure confidence; because men plundered they made walls and fortifications, armor and weapons to protect them. Thus they taught men how to prepare against danger and prevent injury to their lives.
"Now the Taoists tell us that 'until the sages die off, robbers will never disappear', or that 'if we destroy our measures and break our scales then the people will cease their contention.' Alas, how thoughtless are such sayings! If there had been no sages in ancient times, then mankind would have perished, for men have no feathers or fur, no scales or shells to protect them from cold and heat,. no claws and teeth to contend for food. Therefore those who are rulers give commands which are carried out by their officials and made known to the people, and the people produce grain, rice, hemp and silk, make utensils and exchange commodities for the support of the superiors. If the ruler fails to issue commands, then he ceases to be a ruler, while if his subordinates do not carry them out and extend them to the people, and if the people do not produce goods for the support of their superiors, they must be punished. Yet the Way (of the Taoists and Buddhists) teaches men to reject the ideas of rulers and subject and of father and son, to cease from activities which sustain life and seek for some so-called purity and Nirvana. Alas, it is fortunate for such doctrines that they appeared only after the time of the Three Reigns and thus escaped suppression at the hands of Yu and T'ang, kings Wen and Wu, the Duke of Chou and Confucius, but unfortunate for us that they did not appear before the Three Reigns so that they could have been rectified by those sages.
"The Book of Rites says: 'The ancients who wished to illustrate illustrious virtue throughout the kingdom first ordered well their own states. Wishing to order well their states, they first regulated their families. Wishing to regulate their families, they first cultivated their persons. Wishing to cultivate their persons, they first rectified their hearts. Wishing to rectify their hearts, they first sought to be sincere in their thoughts.' Thus when the ancients spoke of rectifying the heart and being sincere in their thoughts, they had this purpose in mind. But now the Taoists and Buddhists seek to govern their hearts by escaping from the world, the state and the family. They violate the natural law, so that the son does not regard his father as a father, the subject does not look upon his ruler as a ruler and the people do not serve those whom they must serve.
"When Confucius wrote in the Spring and Autumn Annals, he treated as barbarians those feudal lords who observed barbarian customs and as Chinese those who had advanced to the use of Chinese ways. The Analects says: 'The barbarians with rulers are not the equal of the Chinese without rulers.' The Book of Odes says: 'Fight against the barbarians of the west and north, punish those of Ching and Shu.' Yet now the Buddhists come with their barbarian ways and put them ahead of the teachings of our ancient kings. Are they not become practically barbarians themselves?
"What were these teachings of our ancient kings? To love universally, which is called humanity; to apply this in the proper manner, which is called righteousness; to proceed from these to the Way and to be self-sufficient without seeking anything outside, which is called inner power. The Odes and the History, the Changes and the Spring and Autumn Annals are their writings; rites and music, punishments and government, their methods. Their people were the four classes of officials, farmers, artisans and merchants; their relationships were those of sovereign and subject, father and son, teacher and friend, guest and host, elder and younger brother, and husband and wife. Their clothing was hemp and silk; their dwelling halls and houses; their food grain and rice, fruit and vegetables, fish and meat. Their ways were easy to understand; their teachings simple to follow. Applied to oneself, they brought harmony and blessing; applied to others, love and fairness. To the mind they gave peace; to the state and the family all that was just and fitting. Thus in life men were able to satisfy their emotions and at death the obligations due them were fulfilled. Men sacrificed to Heaven and the gods were pleased; to the spirits of their ancestors and the ancestors received their offerings. What Way is this? It is what I call the Way, and not what the Taoists and Buddhists call the Way. Yao taught it to Shun, Shun to Yu, to T'ang and T'ang to kings Wen and Wu and the Duke of Chou. These men taught it to Confucius and Confucius to Mencius, but when Mencius died it was no longer handed down. Hsun Tzu and Yang Hsiung understood elements of it but their understanding lacked depth; they spoke of it but incompletely. In the days before the Duke of Chou, the sages were rulers and so they could put the Way into practice, but after the time of the Duke of Chou, they were only officials and so they wrote at length about the Way.
"What should be done now? I say that unless Taoism and Buddhism are suppressed, the Way will not prevail; unless these men are stopped, the Way will not be practiced. Let their priests be turned into ordinary men again, let their books be burned and their temples converted into homes. Let the Way of our former kings be made clear to lead them, and let the widower and the widow, the orphan and the lonely, the crippled and the sick be nourished. Then all will be well."
Emperor Wu-tsung (841-846) ordered the suppression of Buddhism and other foreign religions. The immediate instigation came from Taoist priests who were the emperor's mentors in a search for immortality. Taoists welcomed the opportunity to deal a blow to their rivals. The emperor himself was aware of the advantages in secularizing the Buddhist clergy and confiscating the wealth of the temples. His edict, however, was steeped in Confucianism. Buddhism was not driven from China but was weakened institutionally to a point where Japan took over doctrinal leadership. Religion in China was returned to a Confucian position of subservience to the state. Wu-tsung's edict said:
"We have heard that up through the Three Dynasties, the Buddha was never spoken of. It was only from the Han and Wei on that the religion of idols gradually came to prominence. So in this latter age it has transmitted its strange ways, instilling its infection with every opportunity, spreading like a luxuriant vine, until it has poisoned the customs of our nation; gradually and before anyone was aware, it beguiled and con founded men's minds so that the multitude have been increasingly led astray. It has spread to the hills and plains of all the nine provinces and through the walls and towers of our two capitals. Each day finds its monks and followers growing more numerous and its temples more lofty. It wears out the strength of the people with constructions of earth and wood, pilfers their wealth for ornaments of gold and precious objects, causes men to abandon their lords and parents for the company of teachers, and severs man and wife with its monastic decrees. In destroying law and injuring mankind, nothing surpasses this doctrine.
"Now if even one man fails to work the fields, someone must go hungry; if one woman does not tend her silkworms, someone will go cold. At present there are an inestimable number of monks and nuns in the empire, each of them waiting for the farmers to feed him and the silkworms to clothe him, while the public temples and private chapels have reached boundless numbers, all with soaring towers and elegant ornamentation sufficient to outshine the imperial palace itself. The exhaustion of goods and manpower, and the corruption of morals that beset the Chin, Sung, Ch'i and Liang dynasties all were caused by just this situation.
"Thus Kao-tsu and T'ai-tsung, the founders of our dynasty, employed military arts to quell rebellion and disorder, and the arts of peace to bring order to China. Wielding these two rods alone, they were able to rule the land. How could anyone think of taking up this religion of the far western wilderness to stand in challenge against us? During Chen-kuan and K'ai-yuan eras (627-649, 713-741), steps were already taken for the regulation of Buddhism. But its eradication was not completed and instead it only spread with increasing popularity.
"Having thoroughly examined all earlier reports and consulted public opinion on all sides, there no longer remains the slightest doubt in our mind that this evil should be eradicated. Loyal ministers of the court and provinces have lent their aid to our high intentions, submitting most apt proposals which we have found worthy of being put into effect. Presented with an opportunity to suppress this source of age-old evil and fulfill the laws and institutions of the ancient kings, to aid mankind and bring profit to the multitude, how could we forbear to act?
"The temples of the empire which have been demolished number over 4,600; 26,500 monks and nuns have been returned to lay life and enrolled as subject to the twice-a-year tax; over 40,000 privately established temples have been destroyed, releasing thirty to forty million ch'ing of fertile, top-grade land and female servants who will become subject to the twice- a-year tax. Monks and nuns have been placed under the jurisdiction of the Director of Aliens to make it perfectly clear that this is a foreign religion. Finally, we have. ordered over 2,000 men of the Nestorian and Mazdean religions to return to lay life and cease from polluting the customs of China.
"Alas, what had not been carried out in the past seemed to have been waiting for this opportunity. If Buddhism is completely abolished now, who will say that the action is not timely? Already over a hundred thousand idle and unproductive Buddhist followers have been expelled and countless of their gaudy, useless buildings destroyed. Henceforth we may guide the people in stillness and purity, cherish the principle of nonaction, order our government with simplicity and ease and achieve a unification of customs so that the multitudes of the realm will find their destination in our august rule. Since this eradication of evil began it has daily and in unknown ways worked its effect. Now we send down this edict to the provincial officials that they may further carry out our will."