CHAPTER XLV

_CONFUCIUS AND LAO-TSZ_

Historians had to be careful--Reverence for rulers--Confucius'

feelings--His failings--All on the surface--His concealments--His

artful censures--Sanctity of the classes--Confucius' meannesses

and indiscretions--Allowances must be made for time and place--

Tsz-ch'an quite as good a man--Reasons for permanency of Confucian

system--Reasons for Lao-tsz not being mentioned--All Chinese

statesman-philosophers were, or tried to be, practical--First

mention of Lao-tsz's new Taoism--Lao-tsz well known 400 B.C.--

State intercourse before Confucius' time--Philosophy taught by

word of mouth--Cheapening of books accounts for spread of

knowledge--Description of ancient books--Confucius was young when

he visited Lao-tsz--Lao-t&s book in ancient character--Meagreness

of details evidence of rigid truth--Obscurity of the Emperor--

Difficult questions of fact answered--How Lao-tsz was visited--

Proofs of genuineness--Originals must be studied by foreign

critics.

Ancient China Simplified · 第 45 / 51 章