tled"; ting," "peak," "summit"; ting.68 "secure," "fixed,” "steady"; ting," "ballast"; ting," "honest," "trusty"; t'ing," "decided," "resolute"; t'ing,72 "baton of authority"; t'ing," "good," "complete," "full," "whatever is the purpose of life." 73" 5. The Fifth Stem, Wu or Mou.74 Supposed to be a form of mou,75 "an ax or halberd," but probably used phonetically for mou," "luxuriant," "ripe grain," "when all things are flourishing," with which both Edkins and Williams connect it. The characters ch'eng" and hsien,78 written with the same phonetic element, mean "complete," "perfect," "all." Connections with mou," "luxuriant"; mou,80 "force of purpose," "to exert one's mind"; mou,81 "male," "virility"; mou,82 "to deliberate," "to ponder"; wu,83 "to bend the mind to a subject"; wu,84 "to gallop furiously"; mou,85 "to do business," "carry on commerce";-are more or less probable. The leading idea is activity, the business of life. 6. The Sixth Stem, Chi.86 The native lexicologers do not explain the form of this symbol, but all are agreed as to its signification: "one's self." It resembles ideograms employed to depict "breath" and "air." Williams says: "This character is connected with the center of a thing, as it is considered to be altered from chung,87 "the middle," and because it is the sixth of the ten stems." Of similar meaning are chi,88 "to exhaust a subject"; chi,89 "to stand up." The man is now "himself," has come to his own, having accomplished the purpose of life, and the gradual descent to the grave begins. 7. The Seventh Stem, Keng." "The original form represents the hands receiving a thing, as at autumn when all things are full...to change, to alter, age; to bestow reward." In Chalmers' opinion it is composed of kung," "to lift up the hands together," and kan, "to violate"; the latter element being phonetic. Kan itself is composed of ju,93 "to enter," inverted, and yi,94 "one." His definition is: "joining on to, as the border or foot of a garment." The main idea seems to be either (i) change, alteration; or (ii) rewards of labor; cozcaquauhtli and ollin are the American analogs. Connected may be: keng,95 "to change"; keng," "a limit," "an extreme point"; keng," "a path leading to a sepulchre"; keng,98 “to thrum the threads of a lute rapidly, so as to endanger breaking them." 8. The Eighth Stem, Hsin.94 From yi,100 "one," and ch'ien,101 "error," explained as depicting "the arms of a man holding up a thing, referring to the sorrow one feels at winter coming." Ch'ien is from kan,102 "to violate," under an old form of shang,1 "superiors." The ordinary meaning of hsin is "a bitter, sharp, pungent taste"; whence, by metonymy, because the peppery taste makes the tears flow, "toilsome," "suffering," "grievous," "sad," "the melancholy feeling in autumn when vegetation turns sere.' The Shuo-wen says it is composed of ch'ien,104 "to offend superiors," plus an extra stroke, 105 showing the enormity of the crime. The meaning of sadness and failing powers is appropriate to the position occupied by the character in the stem series. 9. The Ninth Stem, Jen.106 110 III 112 113 According to Dr. Williams, "defined as a man standing on the earth, the earth denoting the business of life." Others say it represents the embryo in the womb. It resembles t'ing1o7 in form, and as a phonetic element is often interchanged with jen, 108 "sincere." Other meanings are: "running water," "great," "full," "to flatter." Edkins' account is: "Plants growing out of the ground, with the sense t'ing, 'grow upward.' This stem is very similar in form to t'ing and indeed seems to be confounded with that symbol by some of the authorities." Chalmers' definition of the jen stem is "to sustain, to bear...probably a derivative of kung, 109 "work," like chu, wu, ch'en, and ya,' and the middle line denotes the person doing the work intended." The character, as now written, consists in the sign for "scholar" with an additional stroke on top. Concerning the t'ing ideogram, Chalmers says that the old form shows a man standing on the soil, meaning "to stand up," "go." It is probable that the jen sign is used phonetically for a character, now read jen," meaning "sincere," "sure," "trusty," "rely upon," "a trust," "an office," "to undertake," "be responsible for," "the incumbent," "acting official." Other words with the sound jen have significations suitable to the position of this emblem among the stems; e. g., jen,116 "to dwell on with satisfaction," as a well-spent life, we may opine; jen," "fortitude," "endurance"; jen,118 "grain which is fully ripe"; jen,11 "the yellowish color of an old sword." The significance of this symbol lies in its reference to the completion of the affairs of life and to pleasurable retrospection. 122 The old form in the shape of a cross is, according to the native etymologists, the same as the modern kuei,12 "arms," "tridents," "arrows," etc. The modern form,' from the Li13 writing, is also old, and is said to be a combination of po,124 "to stop," "to hinder," (from chih, "to step," in two positions), with shih,125 "an arrow," i. e., to send home an arrow. "The dictionary Shuo-wen, commenting on the old "cross" form, points out that it represents "water flowing from the four quarters and entering the ground." Williams states that "the original form is like two sticks laid across to represent water flowing into the ground in all directions." Edkins, following the Liushu Cheng-wei, thinks that the two pieces of wood placed crosswise "formed no other than an ancient implement used in leveling." This was called kuei,126 and used by builders in reducing land to a level. In the variety written with the arrow sign, Edkins detects pei,127 "north," and shih,128 "arrow." The north belongs to winter, and kuei is applied to both. "Both earth and water," on the authority of the Shuo-wen, "then become smooth and flat and can be easily measured." Streams flowing together are now kuei,129-a similar sound but differently ideographed. A place where four roads meet is also kuei.130 All the authorities identify the lower part of the kuei stem with the "arrow" sign, but the forms of the two are not quite the same. (See Wu-yin Chih-yün and Chih-yün in K'ang-hsi, s. v. kuei.3) The etymological connections are very interesting and suggestive. That which most naturally presents itself is, as suggested by the Cheng-yün,-"to return," kuei,132 "to go to," "to send back," "to revert to the original place," used in the phrase kuei wu,133 "to revert to nothingness," "to die." Other relations are: kuei,134 "strength all gone out"; kuei,135 "water all dried up," as in a fountain or well; kuei,136 "to change," "to alter"; kuei,137 "the day, but especially the shadow," as in fei kuei,138 "time flies." The tortoise, kuei,139 emblem of longevity, and the juniper tree kuei,140 whose durable wood is prized for making coffins, as also kuei,141 "the spirit of a dead man," are all called by this same name kuei; and it is curious to note that the "disk of the sun" kuei,142 and the "sunflower" kuei,143 are similarly designated, in connection with the fact that the last day-name in the American calendars is "sun," the home of the soul, otherwise styled xochitl, i. e., "flower." Summarizing the results attained by these analyses of the "Ten Stems," we obtain a sequence somewhat as follows: 1. Chià; the sprout is still hidden in the ground, but begins to feel the impulse of life and shoots upward; 2. Yi; it has reached the surface and uncurls; 3. Ping; the sun reaches it; and beneath his influence 5. Móu; spreads forth luxuriantly; until, as a tree, 6. Chi; it has reached its full growth; and 7. Keng; its fruit is gathered; 8. Hsin; decay sets in; the leaves fall; 9. Jên; the seed is again hidden in the ground; and 10. Kuèi; at the close of the year, there is a return to the origin darkness, and the processes of nature enter on a new cycle of life. As the "ten stems" have reference to the operations nature in the procession of the seasons, so it can be show that the "twelve branches" relate to man's affairs in par |