律書

When a king creates institutions, establishes laws, and sets the measures and standards for all things, everything derives from the six pitch-pipes. The six pitch-pipes are the root of the myriad affairs.

This is especially true for military equipment and operations. The saying goes: 'Observe the enemy and know fortune or misfortune; listen to the sounds and judge victory or defeat.' This is the Way that a hundred kings have never altered.

When King Wu attacked King Zhou of Shang, he blew the pitch-pipes and listened to their sound, tracing the cycle from the first month of spring through the last month of winter. The killing energies converged, and the dominant tone was gong. Like sounds follow like — this is simply the nature of things. What is there to wonder at?

Warfare is what the sage uses to punish the violent, pacify a disordered age, level the steep and dangerous, and rescue the imperiled. Even animals with teeth and horns will fight back when attacked — how much more so human beings, who carry within them the energies of like and dislike, joy and anger? Joy gives birth to love; anger brings the sting of venom. This is the principle of human feeling and nature.

In ancient times the Yellow Emperor fought the Battle of Zhuolu to quell the fire-disaster; Zhuan Xu engaged Gonggong in battle to end the water-catastrophe; King Tang of Shang launched the campaign at Nanchao to destroy the chaos of the Xia. Dynasties rose and fell in alternation; the victor assumed power — all received from Heaven.

After this, famous strategists arose in succession. Jin employed Jiu Fan; Qi employed Prince Cheng Fu; Wu employed Sun Wu. They clarified military discipline, made rewards and punishments reliable, and in the end made their lords hegemon over the feudal states, annexing rival territory. Though they did not match the proclamations and oaths of the Three Dynasties, their persons were honored, their rulers elevated, and they won renown in their own time — can this not be called glory? How different from the Confucian scholars of later generations who, blind to the larger picture and unable to weigh what matters, vaguely preach moral transformation and insist that force should never be used. At worst, this leads to the ruler's humiliation and the loss of his domain; at minimum, to invasion, encroachment, and decline. Yet they cling stubbornly to this position without budging! Discipline through the rod cannot be abolished in the household; punishments and penalties cannot be discarded in the state; punitive campaigns cannot be eliminated from the world. The difference lies only in skillful versus clumsy application, in acting in accord with or against the natural order.

Xia Jie and Yin Zhou could wrestle wolves with their bare hands and outrun four-horse chariots on foot — their courage was no small thing. They won a hundred battles and cowed the feudal lords into submission — their power was no trifle. The Second Emperor of Qin garrisoned armies across useless territory and deployed forces along every border — his strength was not weak. He provoked enmity with the Xiongnu and entangled himself in wars with the Yue — his strategic position was not thin. Yet when their authority was spent and their momentum exhausted, commoners in the back alleys became enemies of the state. The fault lay in the relentless pursuit of war without knowing when to stop — the craving for conquest that never ceases.

When Gaozu possessed the empire, the three borders were in revolt, and the kings of the great states, though nominally protective vassals, had not fulfilled their duty as subjects. It happened that Gaozu was weary and sick of military affairs, and with the counsel of Xiao He and Zhang Liang, he laid down arms for a time to rest — keeping the frontier states loosely bridled rather than firmly controlled.

By the time Emperor Wen ascended the throne, General Chen Wu and others proposed: "Nan Yue and Joseon were subjects of China from the Qin era onward, but later they raised armies, fortified their passes, and sat watching with shifting loyalty. Under Gaozu the realm was newly pacified and the people barely settled — military action was not feasible then. Now Your Majesty governs the people with humanity and kindness, and your bounty reaches across the seas. You should seize the moment while soldiers and civilians are willing to serve, campaign against the rebellious factions, and unify the borders." Emperor Wen replied: "I am fit only to wear the cap and sash of office — my mind did not reach this far. After the Lu clan's disorder, the meritorious ministers and imperial kinsmen were united in shame, yet I stumbled into the supreme position and have lived in constant dread, trembling lest I fail to see things through. Moreover, weapons are instruments of ill fortune. Even if we achieve what we seek, the mere act of mobilizing will bring waste and suffering. What would we then say to the common people and the distant lands? The late emperor understood that exhausting the people's labor must not be done carelessly, and so did not pursue it. How could I presume to be more capable? The Xiongnu continue to raid our borders, and our military officers have won no victories. The border people, fathers and sons alike, have borne arms for too long. This pains me deeply, and not a day passes that I do not think of it. But since we cannot yet eliminate the threat, let us for now strengthen the border defenses, post lookouts, make peace treaties, exchange envoys, and bring rest and tranquility to the northern frontier. This alone would be a great achievement. Do not discuss military campaigns further." Thus the common people were spared both internal and external conscription and could rest their shoulders in the fields. The realm grew prosperous and rich: grain fell to just over ten cash per bushel, roosters crowed and dogs barked across ten thousand li of cook-fire smoke. Can this not be called harmony and contentment?

The Grand Historian says: In Emperor Wen's time, the realm had just emerged from the cauldron of war. The people were content in their occupations, and he followed their natural inclinations without disturbing them. Thus the common people were at peace. Even old men of sixty or seventy had never needed to go to the market town, and they played and romped like small children. Was this not the kind of virtuous gentleman that Confucius praised?

The Documents speak of the 'Seven Regulators' and the twenty-eight lodges. The pitch-pipes and calendar are Heaven's means of circulating the energies of the Five Phases and Eight Regulators, and Heaven's means of ripening and completing the myriad things. 'Lodge' means where the sun and moon rest. 'Lodge' also means to release energy.

The Buzhou Wind resides in the northwest and governs the killing and generation of life. The Eastern Wall lodge lies east of the Buzhou Wind and governs the opening of generative energy to send it eastward, reaching to the Encampment lodge. Encampment governs the nurturing of the embryonic yang energy and its birth. Eastward it reaches to Danger. Danger means 'crumbling' — it speaks of the yang energy's near-collapse, hence the name 'Danger.' This corresponds to the tenth month, when the pitch-pipe is Yingzhong. Yingzhong means the yang energy responds but is not yet active. In the twelve earthly branches this is hai. Hai means 'to contain' — meaning the yang energy is stored below, hence 'containing.'

The pitch-pipe mathematics: nine times nine is eighty-one, which gives gong. Remove one-third, yielding fifty-four for zhi. Add one-third, yielding seventy-two for shang. Remove one-third, yielding forty-eight for yu. Add one-third, yielding sixty-four for jue. Huangzhong is 8 inches and 7/81 parts long — gong. Dalv is 7 inches and 5/27 parts. Taicu is 7 inches and 2/9 parts — jue. Jiazhong is 6 inches and 1/27 parts. Guxian is 6 inches and 4/9 parts — yu. Zhonglv is 5 inches and 26/27 parts — zhi. Ruibin is 5 inches and 18/27 parts. Linzhong is 5 inches and 4/9 parts — jue. Yize is 5 inches and 2/3 parts — shang. Nanlv is 4 inches and 8/9 parts — zhi. Wuyi is 4 inches and 14/27 parts. Yingzhong is 4 inches and 8/27 parts — yu.

The tone-generation fractions: zi = 1. chou = 2/3. yin = 8/9. mao = 16/27. chen = 64/81. si = 128/243. wu = 512/729. wei = 1024/2187. shen = 4096/6561. you = 8192/19683. xu = 32768/59049. hai = 65536/177147.

The method for generating Huangzhong: for downward generation, double the numerator and triple the denominator. For upward generation, quadruple the numerator and triple the denominator. The upper value is 9; shang is 8; yu is 7; jue is 6; gong is 5; zhi is 9. Place 1 and multiply by 9 three times to obtain the denominator. When the numerator equals the denominator, the length is one inch. The total is nine inches — this is called 'the gong of Huangzhong.' Therefore it is said: sound begins with gong and ends with jue; number begins with one and ends with ten, and is perfected by three; energy begins at the winter solstice, completes its cycle, and is born again.

Spirit is born from nothingness; form is completed in being. From form comes number; from form comes sound. Therefore it is said: spirit directs energy, and energy takes on form. When forms follow patterns, they can be classified. Some have not yet taken form and cannot be classified; some share the same form and belong to the same class. What can be classified can be ranked; what can be classified can be recognized. The sage understands the distinction that Heaven and Earth make among things, and so proceeds from what exists to what does not yet exist, grasping what is as subtle as energy and as faint as sound. The sage relies on spirit to preserve these things, and however subtle they are, they must be tested against reality. Those who verify the Way through its manifestations see clearly. Without a sage's mind to harness perception, who could preserve the spirit of Heaven and Earth and fulfill the nature of form? Spirit is what all things receive yet cannot know its coming or going. The sage reveres it and wishes to preserve it. Only by wishing to preserve it does spirit itself endure. Because one wishes to preserve it, nothing is more precious.

The Grand Historian says: The rotating mechanism and jade transverse are used to regulate the Seven Regulators — that is, Heaven, Earth, and the twenty-eight lodges. The ten heavenly stems, the twelve earthly branches, and the pitch-pipe tuning have been standardized since high antiquity. Establishing the pitch-pipes, operating the calendar, and calculating the degrees of the sun — these can be measured and verified. To align tallies and tokens, to connect with the Way and its virtue — this is what these systems accomplish.

Since the time of the Yellow Emperor, the mandate was given to Ling Lun. He listened for male and female tones, balancing thick and thin. Through these he regulated the seasons and tracked the stars. Military formations took their tempo from them; musical instruments were derived from them. From the subtle he discerned the manifest; he measured transformation and plumbed the divine. How vast is the empty receptacle that contains and nourishes all living things!