123 above] to mean passing on the tradition from father to son or from one
generation
to the next.
A-Companion-to-the-Cantos-of-Ezra-Pound-II
It may be on account of their parents' illness they vow to devote their body.
As soon as the parents are well, they go up to the mountain to publicly burn incense .
.
.
On arriving at the summit, they throw themselves down the precipice, and are either killed, or maimed" [VII, 80].
8! . celestial . . . not get it: "If he [the Buddha] is divine will he long to have your silver and . . . protect you in consequence? And if you fail to offer money . . . he will be angry. . . ? then he is a despicable fellow [a hsiao jen]" [VII, 81].
82. Gemisto: [23:3; 83:3].
83. Ideogram: Hsiao [M2605] , "little. " 84. Ideogram: Jen [M3097], "man. "
85. And the language . . . : "But all the incantations of the Buddhist books are in the barbarous lingo of Buddha's country" [Vll,83].
[60:73].
98/687-688
631
67. Is
emperor is at much pain to explain that the evil tactics and promises of the priests were not an idea of Buddha himself: "Y ou ignora- muses are all ignorant that their Buddhist books say that Buddha was the Heir Appar- ent of the King of Fan. Grown weary of the cares of the world, he hid himself in the heights of a snowy mountain to practice asceticism. Parents, children, and wife he alike neglected: is it likely he will concern himself about all you people and expound his tenets to you? Besides, he gave up his Harem, the Dragon Chamber, and the Phoe? nix Hall; will he on the other hand prize the religious houses and monasteries you build? " A footnote explains that a "feng koh" is an abode of royalty [VII, 78-79].
sound of
the Bhud
likely
nunneries: The
. . .
68. ch'i'd
the 2 characters following.
'em: A play on the
69. ;;;:: Ch'i [M550], "abandon. "
70. if: She [M5700], "reject. "
71. ~! : Ma [M4311], used as question mark. The left component is the character for "mouth," the right for "horse. "
72. <j;vmv TaD BEaD: H, "the nature [phys- ics] of the god. "
73. Procopius: D. ca. A. D. 562? Byzantine historian who is alleged to have written the scurrilous Secret History unmasking the evil life of Empress Theodora [96:90].
74. old Peabody: [101/724; 10118]. 75. Antaninus: [78:56].
76. Leo: [96:270].
86. fan 1: [M 1790] , "foreign. " 4
87. hua : [M22l5], "talk. "
88. If you don't . . . out: "If none of you people believe these heretical sects, they will
? ? ? ? 632
98/688-690
98/690-691
633
not wait to be driven aut, they will become extinct naturally" [VII, 87] ,
89, Ideogram: Wang-iu [cf. 49 above], the salt commissioner. Wang-iu-p'uh . . . feeling that the style was still too abstruse . . . ren- dered this exposition [the Wen-Ii, cf. 128 below] into colloquial" [Baller, Edict, fore? word, iii] .
90. K'ang-hsi: [Cf. 60 above].
91. grits in the mortar: The Wen-Ii was done by a literary man whose language, making no connection with the real life of the people, contained impediments to understanding, so Wang Iu-p'uh, after this unintentionally inef- fective effort, started over again {DG, Pat, 4-1,137-139].
92. Ideograms: 14 [M3002], "righteous-
to the influence of climate and locality on character: suh, is composed of 'man' and 'a valley' " [ibid. ].
101. feelings . . . nature: "Observe the well- bred man; he conforms to custom with both grace and sincerity; this is the real thing in courteousness" [IX, 102]. Again Pound re- lies on ideas elicited by some of the charac- ters, as in the next line.
102. en' : [MI743], "grace. "
103. ch'ing2: [MI170], "feelings. "
104. Ford: Ford Madox F. [74: 165].
105. "De tribus": L, "concerning tribe. " Originally, "three. " Refers to De tribus im- postoribus [On the three imposters], attri- buted (prob. falsely) to Frederic II [97:272]. The great deceivers in the treatise are Moses, Christ, and Mohammed [JW].
106. "Aulentissima": [79:44].
107. "ver restate": The last half of the opening line of A1camo's poem [97:270] is, "ch'apari inver' la state" ("which appears toward the summer"). Pound may have used "ver" rather than "inverno" because the word means "spring" in Latin [JW] .
108. more solid . . . cassia: The continuous tradition that "a man's paradise is his own good nature," from Kati [93:2] to K'ang Hsi, is "more solid. . . . "
109. i4 : [M3002], "morality. "
110. ch'i4: [M554], "breath. "
111. Kang: [M3278]' "peace. "
112. Hi: Hsi: [M2451] , "bright. " The name of the Manchu emperor. The characters to- gether mean "the King of Peace. "
113. two 1/2s . . . : As with the tally-sticks [77:56].
114. "De libro Chi-king": L, the Latin edi- tion of the Shih Ching [59:2,6] done by Lacharme [59:Sources]. ~
115. his father: Shun Chih, the father of K'ang Hsi [59:20].
116. "Ostendit, incitaque:. L, "show and in- cite. " The odes do so "ad lumen rationis" ("by the light of reason") so that we may reach enlightenment, or "reap in the sun- light" [Lacharme, preface, xi].
117. Plotinus: [cf. 20 above].
118. Gemisto: [cf. 21 above]. Gemisto de- fined divinity as hilarity and speed in com- munication [DG, Pai, 3-2, 178; cf. 22 above].
ready-made expressions will add a vivacity to his style" [Edict, foreword, iv].
131. "Don't send . . . ": A Chinese proverb often quoted. "By all means go and pay your taxes yourself; don't commission some- body else to take them" [XIV, 151].
132. Delcroix: Carlo D. [88:46; 92:49].
133. Baller thought . . . : "Nothing but Divine motive power can raise fallen hu- manity" [Edict, foreword, iv].
134. 2muan I bpo: [112:6]. A Na-khi cere- mony to be developed at length in Cantos 110-113.
135. meaning . . . Emperor: Each chapter of The Sacred Edict opens with this formula: "The meaning of the Emperor: (he) says. " The first chapter goes on: "-Our Imperial Ancestor, the Benevolent Emperor ruled the empire for sixty-one years. " A note to the word "Emperor" says: "Lit. Lord of 10,000 years" [I, I] .
136. heart's . . . say: Pound's literal render- ing of several characters in the opening of The Sacred Edict: i4 [M2960], "idea"; hsin 1 [M2735], "heart"; yin l [M7418], "tone"; szul [M5580J, "think"; shuo1 ? S [M5939], "say" [ibid. ].
137. Ideogram: Ching: [MI138], "rever- ence"; Ideogram: hsiao [M2601], "filial piety. " From which comes order in the state. The latter character is used with Sage- trieb [cf.
123 above] to mean passing on the tradition from father to son or from one generation to the next.
ness"; shenI
[M5719], "profound. "
93. Ideogram: Li3-4 [M3865], "inside. "
94. Ideogram: Yuan2 [M7725], "source. "
The characters are from the Edict: "The law contains a profound meaning and was pri- marily drawn up in accordance with . . . hu- man nature" [VIII, 92]. The characters for "small . . . white . . . under cover" are com- ponents of yuan2 , all helping to express the idea thav"justice issues from human "nature"
[DG, Pai, 4-1, 139].
95. Ideogram: T'ai4 [M6020], "great. "
96. Ideogram: P'ing2 [M5303], "peace. " "The peace of the Empire depends entirely upon the existence of good manners and customs" [IX, 99].
. . .
98. tso: [M6776], "is. "
99. feng: J1l [MI890], "wind. "
100. suh: [M5497], "customs. " A footnote reads: "The Chinese attach great importance
97. Earth and water
reaction to some of the characters in the source: "All this is the result of climatic influences [Lit. , imbued with the wind breath of the water and soil] hence it is spoken of as 'feng' [or breath of nature]"
[IX, 99].
: Pound's
visual
[105: 16].
by mind, mens ipsa sola, one can understand
the nature of divinity, "and that the pre- sence of memory, intelligence and love in man is a mirror-image, speculum, of the Di- vine Trinity"[ibid. ].
120. john barleycorn: An epithet for a far- mer in England. Vegetation / mystery rites connections are implied [Moody, Pai, 4-1, 56? 65; 88:62].
121. Je tzu: Je [M3094], "incite. " Tzu [M6939], "son. " A pun on the name Jesus.
122. Byzance: [Cf. 18 above].
123. Sagetrieb: [Cf. 52 above and inside
front cover of the journal Sagetrieb].
124. Baller: Frederick William B. , 1853-
1922, member of the China Inland Mission, author of Chinese word lists, translator of The Sacred Edict.
125. volgar'eloquio: [Cf. 50 above].
126. Mathews: R. H. M. , author of the Chi- nese English Dictionary, whose renderings of the characters struck Pound as lacking "verve" or "style. "
127. ~ Wang: The salt commissioner [cf. 49 above] .
128. Ven-li: Wen-Ii. The literary rendition of The Sacred Edict.
129. long-ching: Yung Cheng. He wrote the
Wen-Ii.
130. Baller's view: "The Chinese trunk in quotations; and he who can quote their
119. Anselm:
Anselm said that
138. TO IW. A. Ov: H, "beauty. " 139. "Parents . . . ": An exact
quote from
the Edict [I, 5].
140. cheng: [M351], "upright"; king: ching
[M1123] , "constant" or "classics. "
141. The text . . . : Authorities differ about the meaning of these two characters in the Chinese classics. Some say they are the op- posite of the characters used for "strange doctrines" or "flimsy foundations. " Pound
? ? ? ? ? 634
98/691-692
98/692-693
635
invites the reader to consider the terms from Kung's point of view.
142. men3 : [M4418], "door" or "schoo! . " "Years ago the philosopher Tseng of the Confucian school said. . . . " A footnote says, "Lit. , door; hence the entrance into a sect itself: cf 'disciples of the Porch'" [1,5].
143. and not cheat . . . : "! fthey act falsely and fraudulently in serving the Government, it is the same as defrauding their parents, and is undutiful" [1,6].
144. Filial . . . : "It is evident from this passage . . . that the principle of filial piety is very inclusive" [ibid. ].
145. Family . . . : "All the squabbles that arise among brethren . . . are on account of property. Some squabble about money, some about land, some about houses, some about food: all sorts of things" [1,11].
146. II. Ten thousand . . . : A formulaic phrase meaning a very long tirt\e. An expres~ sian of good will is quite often, "May you live ten thousand years" [cf 135 above]. The Roman numerals here and in the follow- ing indicate the chapter of the Edict.
147. have clans . . . : "All mankind have ancestors. Those who descend from them (like) the branching of a tree, are spoken of as the 'Nine clan relatives' " [II, 19].
148. There are districts: "From time imme- morial there have been district commu- nities" [III, 29] .
149. Avoid litigation: The 7? character sen- tence of K'ang Hsi's original Edict precedes each of the 16 chapters. The slogan for Chap. III reads: "Pacify the Local Commu- nities in order to put an end to Litigation" [ibid. ]. The title of section 3 is "How to avoid Strife" [III, 3] .
150. Without . . . : "But for sowing, whence would there be food to eat? but for silk? worm culture whence should we have clothes to wear? " [IV, 42].
151. Imperial paradigm: "Observe that the Emperors of old all regarded fanning . . . as a
matter of the utmost importance. In spring time the Emperor went ploughing in per- son. " A footnote reads: "Lit. , in the inter- ests of the Empire to set a good example" [IV, 43] . This notion was taken up in 17th- century Germany and France [86:78].
152. and then waste not: "The main thing is to recognize the difficulty of (obtaining) money, and not to waste and squander it" [V, 59].
153. Nor scrape iron . . . : The 6 characters involved mean literally: "needle-pointed- top-scrape-iron-[and a nonsyllabic]. " Bal- ler gives: "hoarding in a regular skin-flint fashion [V, 56;DG,Pai, 4? 1, 154].
154. habits of scholars: "Attach Importance to Academies, in order to improve the Hab- its of Scholars" [VI, 62] . A rendition of the character slogan at the head of the chapter.
155. ox . . . mule . . . : [Cf. 63 above].
156. books you read . . . : "Study some classical works; cultivate intercourse with a few respectable companions" [VI, 65].
157. cheng king: [Cf. 140 above]. a. 58. ut supra: L, "as above.
8! . celestial . . . not get it: "If he [the Buddha] is divine will he long to have your silver and . . . protect you in consequence? And if you fail to offer money . . . he will be angry. . . ? then he is a despicable fellow [a hsiao jen]" [VII, 81].
82. Gemisto: [23:3; 83:3].
83. Ideogram: Hsiao [M2605] , "little. " 84. Ideogram: Jen [M3097], "man. "
85. And the language . . . : "But all the incantations of the Buddhist books are in the barbarous lingo of Buddha's country" [Vll,83].
[60:73].
98/687-688
631
67. Is
emperor is at much pain to explain that the evil tactics and promises of the priests were not an idea of Buddha himself: "Y ou ignora- muses are all ignorant that their Buddhist books say that Buddha was the Heir Appar- ent of the King of Fan. Grown weary of the cares of the world, he hid himself in the heights of a snowy mountain to practice asceticism. Parents, children, and wife he alike neglected: is it likely he will concern himself about all you people and expound his tenets to you? Besides, he gave up his Harem, the Dragon Chamber, and the Phoe? nix Hall; will he on the other hand prize the religious houses and monasteries you build? " A footnote explains that a "feng koh" is an abode of royalty [VII, 78-79].
sound of
the Bhud
likely
nunneries: The
. . .
68. ch'i'd
the 2 characters following.
'em: A play on the
69. ;;;:: Ch'i [M550], "abandon. "
70. if: She [M5700], "reject. "
71. ~! : Ma [M4311], used as question mark. The left component is the character for "mouth," the right for "horse. "
72. <j;vmv TaD BEaD: H, "the nature [phys- ics] of the god. "
73. Procopius: D. ca. A. D. 562? Byzantine historian who is alleged to have written the scurrilous Secret History unmasking the evil life of Empress Theodora [96:90].
74. old Peabody: [101/724; 10118]. 75. Antaninus: [78:56].
76. Leo: [96:270].
86. fan 1: [M 1790] , "foreign. " 4
87. hua : [M22l5], "talk. "
88. If you don't . . . out: "If none of you people believe these heretical sects, they will
? ? ? ? 632
98/688-690
98/690-691
633
not wait to be driven aut, they will become extinct naturally" [VII, 87] ,
89, Ideogram: Wang-iu [cf. 49 above], the salt commissioner. Wang-iu-p'uh . . . feeling that the style was still too abstruse . . . ren- dered this exposition [the Wen-Ii, cf. 128 below] into colloquial" [Baller, Edict, fore? word, iii] .
90. K'ang-hsi: [Cf. 60 above].
91. grits in the mortar: The Wen-Ii was done by a literary man whose language, making no connection with the real life of the people, contained impediments to understanding, so Wang Iu-p'uh, after this unintentionally inef- fective effort, started over again {DG, Pat, 4-1,137-139].
92. Ideograms: 14 [M3002], "righteous-
to the influence of climate and locality on character: suh, is composed of 'man' and 'a valley' " [ibid. ].
101. feelings . . . nature: "Observe the well- bred man; he conforms to custom with both grace and sincerity; this is the real thing in courteousness" [IX, 102]. Again Pound re- lies on ideas elicited by some of the charac- ters, as in the next line.
102. en' : [MI743], "grace. "
103. ch'ing2: [MI170], "feelings. "
104. Ford: Ford Madox F. [74: 165].
105. "De tribus": L, "concerning tribe. " Originally, "three. " Refers to De tribus im- postoribus [On the three imposters], attri- buted (prob. falsely) to Frederic II [97:272]. The great deceivers in the treatise are Moses, Christ, and Mohammed [JW].
106. "Aulentissima": [79:44].
107. "ver restate": The last half of the opening line of A1camo's poem [97:270] is, "ch'apari inver' la state" ("which appears toward the summer"). Pound may have used "ver" rather than "inverno" because the word means "spring" in Latin [JW] .
108. more solid . . . cassia: The continuous tradition that "a man's paradise is his own good nature," from Kati [93:2] to K'ang Hsi, is "more solid. . . . "
109. i4 : [M3002], "morality. "
110. ch'i4: [M554], "breath. "
111. Kang: [M3278]' "peace. "
112. Hi: Hsi: [M2451] , "bright. " The name of the Manchu emperor. The characters to- gether mean "the King of Peace. "
113. two 1/2s . . . : As with the tally-sticks [77:56].
114. "De libro Chi-king": L, the Latin edi- tion of the Shih Ching [59:2,6] done by Lacharme [59:Sources]. ~
115. his father: Shun Chih, the father of K'ang Hsi [59:20].
116. "Ostendit, incitaque:. L, "show and in- cite. " The odes do so "ad lumen rationis" ("by the light of reason") so that we may reach enlightenment, or "reap in the sun- light" [Lacharme, preface, xi].
117. Plotinus: [cf. 20 above].
118. Gemisto: [cf. 21 above]. Gemisto de- fined divinity as hilarity and speed in com- munication [DG, Pai, 3-2, 178; cf. 22 above].
ready-made expressions will add a vivacity to his style" [Edict, foreword, iv].
131. "Don't send . . . ": A Chinese proverb often quoted. "By all means go and pay your taxes yourself; don't commission some- body else to take them" [XIV, 151].
132. Delcroix: Carlo D. [88:46; 92:49].
133. Baller thought . . . : "Nothing but Divine motive power can raise fallen hu- manity" [Edict, foreword, iv].
134. 2muan I bpo: [112:6]. A Na-khi cere- mony to be developed at length in Cantos 110-113.
135. meaning . . . Emperor: Each chapter of The Sacred Edict opens with this formula: "The meaning of the Emperor: (he) says. " The first chapter goes on: "-Our Imperial Ancestor, the Benevolent Emperor ruled the empire for sixty-one years. " A note to the word "Emperor" says: "Lit. Lord of 10,000 years" [I, I] .
136. heart's . . . say: Pound's literal render- ing of several characters in the opening of The Sacred Edict: i4 [M2960], "idea"; hsin 1 [M2735], "heart"; yin l [M7418], "tone"; szul [M5580J, "think"; shuo1 ? S [M5939], "say" [ibid. ].
137. Ideogram: Ching: [MI138], "rever- ence"; Ideogram: hsiao [M2601], "filial piety. " From which comes order in the state. The latter character is used with Sage- trieb [cf.
123 above] to mean passing on the tradition from father to son or from one generation to the next.
ness"; shenI
[M5719], "profound. "
93. Ideogram: Li3-4 [M3865], "inside. "
94. Ideogram: Yuan2 [M7725], "source. "
The characters are from the Edict: "The law contains a profound meaning and was pri- marily drawn up in accordance with . . . hu- man nature" [VIII, 92]. The characters for "small . . . white . . . under cover" are com- ponents of yuan2 , all helping to express the idea thav"justice issues from human "nature"
[DG, Pai, 4-1, 139].
95. Ideogram: T'ai4 [M6020], "great. "
96. Ideogram: P'ing2 [M5303], "peace. " "The peace of the Empire depends entirely upon the existence of good manners and customs" [IX, 99].
. . .
98. tso: [M6776], "is. "
99. feng: J1l [MI890], "wind. "
100. suh: [M5497], "customs. " A footnote reads: "The Chinese attach great importance
97. Earth and water
reaction to some of the characters in the source: "All this is the result of climatic influences [Lit. , imbued with the wind breath of the water and soil] hence it is spoken of as 'feng' [or breath of nature]"
[IX, 99].
: Pound's
visual
[105: 16].
by mind, mens ipsa sola, one can understand
the nature of divinity, "and that the pre- sence of memory, intelligence and love in man is a mirror-image, speculum, of the Di- vine Trinity"[ibid. ].
120. john barleycorn: An epithet for a far- mer in England. Vegetation / mystery rites connections are implied [Moody, Pai, 4-1, 56? 65; 88:62].
121. Je tzu: Je [M3094], "incite. " Tzu [M6939], "son. " A pun on the name Jesus.
122. Byzance: [Cf. 18 above].
123. Sagetrieb: [Cf. 52 above and inside
front cover of the journal Sagetrieb].
124. Baller: Frederick William B. , 1853-
1922, member of the China Inland Mission, author of Chinese word lists, translator of The Sacred Edict.
125. volgar'eloquio: [Cf. 50 above].
126. Mathews: R. H. M. , author of the Chi- nese English Dictionary, whose renderings of the characters struck Pound as lacking "verve" or "style. "
127. ~ Wang: The salt commissioner [cf. 49 above] .
128. Ven-li: Wen-Ii. The literary rendition of The Sacred Edict.
129. long-ching: Yung Cheng. He wrote the
Wen-Ii.
130. Baller's view: "The Chinese trunk in quotations; and he who can quote their
119. Anselm:
Anselm said that
138. TO IW. A. Ov: H, "beauty. " 139. "Parents . . . ": An exact
quote from
the Edict [I, 5].
140. cheng: [M351], "upright"; king: ching
[M1123] , "constant" or "classics. "
141. The text . . . : Authorities differ about the meaning of these two characters in the Chinese classics. Some say they are the op- posite of the characters used for "strange doctrines" or "flimsy foundations. " Pound
? ? ? ? ? 634
98/691-692
98/692-693
635
invites the reader to consider the terms from Kung's point of view.
142. men3 : [M4418], "door" or "schoo! . " "Years ago the philosopher Tseng of the Confucian school said. . . . " A footnote says, "Lit. , door; hence the entrance into a sect itself: cf 'disciples of the Porch'" [1,5].
143. and not cheat . . . : "! fthey act falsely and fraudulently in serving the Government, it is the same as defrauding their parents, and is undutiful" [1,6].
144. Filial . . . : "It is evident from this passage . . . that the principle of filial piety is very inclusive" [ibid. ].
145. Family . . . : "All the squabbles that arise among brethren . . . are on account of property. Some squabble about money, some about land, some about houses, some about food: all sorts of things" [1,11].
146. II. Ten thousand . . . : A formulaic phrase meaning a very long tirt\e. An expres~ sian of good will is quite often, "May you live ten thousand years" [cf 135 above]. The Roman numerals here and in the follow- ing indicate the chapter of the Edict.
147. have clans . . . : "All mankind have ancestors. Those who descend from them (like) the branching of a tree, are spoken of as the 'Nine clan relatives' " [II, 19].
148. There are districts: "From time imme- morial there have been district commu- nities" [III, 29] .
149. Avoid litigation: The 7? character sen- tence of K'ang Hsi's original Edict precedes each of the 16 chapters. The slogan for Chap. III reads: "Pacify the Local Commu- nities in order to put an end to Litigation" [ibid. ]. The title of section 3 is "How to avoid Strife" [III, 3] .
150. Without . . . : "But for sowing, whence would there be food to eat? but for silk? worm culture whence should we have clothes to wear? " [IV, 42].
151. Imperial paradigm: "Observe that the Emperors of old all regarded fanning . . . as a
matter of the utmost importance. In spring time the Emperor went ploughing in per- son. " A footnote reads: "Lit. , in the inter- ests of the Empire to set a good example" [IV, 43] . This notion was taken up in 17th- century Germany and France [86:78].
152. and then waste not: "The main thing is to recognize the difficulty of (obtaining) money, and not to waste and squander it" [V, 59].
153. Nor scrape iron . . . : The 6 characters involved mean literally: "needle-pointed- top-scrape-iron-[and a nonsyllabic]. " Bal- ler gives: "hoarding in a regular skin-flint fashion [V, 56;DG,Pai, 4? 1, 154].
154. habits of scholars: "Attach Importance to Academies, in order to improve the Hab- its of Scholars" [VI, 62] . A rendition of the character slogan at the head of the chapter.
155. ox . . . mule . . . : [Cf. 63 above].
156. books you read . . . : "Study some classical works; cultivate intercourse with a few respectable companions" [VI, 65].
157. cheng king: [Cf. 140 above]. a. 58. ut supra: L, "as above.
