The Power of an Alleged Tradition - CHINA Buchservice

256
DOROTHEE SCHAAB-HANKE
dynasty ruled by Metal, and silver fl owed out of the mountains. The Zhou ruled
by Fire, and thus it was given a sign in the form of a vermilion bird. As now the
Qin have replaced the Zhou, it is the era of the Power of Water. In ancient times
when Duke Wen of Qin went out hunting, he captured a black dragon. This is
an auspicious sign which indicates the [effects of the] power of Water.” For this
reason, the First Emperor of Qin changed the name of the Yellow River into
Water of the Power. He fi xed the start of the year on the tenth month, honored
the color Black and used the number Six, the number corresponding to Water, as
a standard for all measurements. In music, he honored the fi rst note in the musical
scale, and in all his government affairs he put laws above all else. 50
At the beginning of the Han dynasty, one of the most important scholars concerned
with the question of ceremonials who at the same time adhered to the cosmologists’
ideas was Zhang Cang �� (?–152 B.C.). As is emphasized in the biographical
account devoted to him, he was fond of books and of matters concerning the pitch
pipes and the calendar. 51 Moreover, he was an expert on the theory of dynastic cycles
and was entrusted with the installation of the fi rst imperial calendar of the Han, the
Zhuanxu li���� (calendar of Zhuanxu). However, the calendar he propagated –
as the author of the Shiji remarks with an unmistakably grudging undertone – was
still the one which had been used during the Qin dynasty. 52
As we turn now to the situation during the reign of Emperor Wen (r. 180–157),
we may infer from the Shiji account that there arose a confl ict of opinions among
the representatives of what was two different strands of essentially the same theory
of dynastic cycles. The main opponents within this confl ict were Zhang Cang on the
one hand and Gongsun Chen ��� 53 and Jia Yi ���(201–169) on the other. The
confl ict is described in several chapters of the Shiji. 54 The account in the “Treatise on
the Calendar” runs as follows:
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When it came to the time of Emperor Wen, Gongsun Chen, a man of Lu, submitted
a document which was based on Ends and Beginnings of the Five Virtues, saying:
“The Han received the virtue of Earth, thus it would be fi tting to make a new begin-
50 Shiji 28/1366. Note the striking parallel between the text of this anonymous memorial and the following passage
in the chapter Yingtong ���of the Lüshi chunqiu������(quoted after the ICS Concordance Series:13.2/64/10)
where the last lines differ remarkably from the above quoted Shiji account: ���������������
������������������������������������������ “The [force]
which will replace Fire is certain to be Water. Heaven has again fi rst given signs that the ethers of Waters are
in ascendance. Since the ethers of Water are ascendant, the ruler should honor the color Black and model his
affairs on Water. If the ethers of Water culminate and no one knows [of it], after the numbers have come to their
full, [the cycle] will shift toward Earth: What Heaven makes, is [only] the time period, but He will not help
farming below.” Cf. John Knoblock and Jeffrey Riegel, The Annals of Lü Buwei: A Complete Translation and Study
(Stanford: University Press 2000), 283; see also John Louton, “Concepts of Comprehensiveness and Historical
Change in the Lü-shih Ch’un-ch’iu,” 106–7.
51 Shiji 96/2675.
52 Shiji 96/2685.
53 The only information on his dates is the remark in the Shiji that the discussion concerning the question where
the Han dynasty should be positioned within the cycle of rule took place in the year 166 B.C. The fact that
Gongsun Chen shared the clan name Gongsun ���with Gongsun Qing is certainly not accidental. It may be
relevant that the cognomen of Huangdi, as recorded in the “Annals of the Five Thearchs” (Wudi benji�����)
of the Shiji (1/1), is Gongsun.
54 Shiji 26/1260; 28/1381; 96/2681–2682 and again in the Grand Scribe’s remark, Shiji 96/2685.
BMFEA 74 · 2002