The Imperial Hunt

[peterg]

This source is interesting for its reference to the Imperial hunt and the Zhouyi 8.5 practice of hunting game on three sides only.
Its on p86-87 of Jack Chen's The Writing of Imperial Poetry in Medieval China, a free download (sign in may be reqd.) at Academia.edu https://www.academia.edu/1100186/The_Writing_of_Imperial_Poetry_in_Medieval_China
p86-87 https://htmlcdn.scribd.com/68dl3brpvk2cnsys/images/17-304b781891.jpg

There is a reference to the desirability of conducting the hunt in the farmers slack season (alluded to in the Zuozhuan),
and hunting wild animals to protect the commoners p88-89
https://htmlcdn.scribd.com/68dl3brpvk2cnsys/images/18-6f0f104ae7.jpg,
but nothing about 'not warning the local people'.
Presumably,'being more needy, they would not have left the fourth side open'.(Wu Jing Nuan).
I just skimmed through the book hoping to find something like the piece quoted.
Chen begins the book with ''Many Emperors in China wrote poetry and much of their poetry has justifiably gone unread''.

 

[hilary]

That's an interesting thought: that letting game go on one side is a sign of your status. I wonder if it's a sort-of mirror image of 14.3 - that is, only a certain kind of person has the resources and capacity to make a significant offering, and only a certain kind of person can let game go.

 

[peterg]

Liu Ming in Changing reads 14.3 as rich offerings at the altar of the ancestors.Do what the poor cannot do.Give generously according to means.His alternative reading is ''the vassal pays tribute (heng) to the emperor.This line refers to the custom of gift giving to strengthen alliances.''(Like the custom of alliances through gifts and marriage?).He translates H.8 as Alliance.
He reads 8.5 as 'a hunting form of divination.The ruler wants to bag an auspicious animal, an omen of success.But confidence is so strong and alliances are so solid, that there is no doubt and the animals are allowed to escape'.
I thought it was just a demonstration of royal benevolence.
Legges translation of the Zuozhuan is indexed so for practice I looked up hunting and found one useful reference in Book 2 year 7 : the duke hunts using fire (in the fields).This is condemned as wanton because nothing would escape.

 

[peterg]

three-sided battue

Two google book previews with references to the three-sided battue.
http://books.google.ie/books?id=xMB...A#v=onepage&q=three-sided battu china&f=false
http://books.google.ie/books?id=YZo...Q#v=onepage&q=three-sided battu china&f=false
The second link also has a reference (note55) to Ling yu, the Divine Park of King Wen of Zhou.Mencius (in Liang Hui Wang 2 chap.9) describes how he shared its produce with the people,and opened it to the grass-cutters and fuel gatherers, the hare and pheasant catchers.The people thought it's 70 square li too small.
Unlike the 40 sq. li private park of King Xuan of Qi which the people thought was too large.Killing a deer there was as great a crime as murder, making the park a giant pitfall (jing) in the middle of the Kingdom.
http://ctext.org/mengzi/liang-hui-wang-ii

This poem shows a Han Imperial hunt in a more brutal light:
https://digitalcollections.anu.edu.au/html/1885/42048/rap.html

Zhouyi 8.5 Hard to make sense of the capital people not being warned or admonished.
Whincup thinks the line is ambiguous.This 'openness' might be the secret of the Zhouyi's success, allowing for many interpretations.
Takaskima reads 'The townspeople will be reasonable and moderate without the need for injunctions'.
Benevolent leadership wins spontaneous loyalty and allegiance?. There might be escape from a siege situation.

 

[hilary]

Those are very interesting, thanks!

I've always assumed the townspeople not warned were a poetic parallelism - but of the gentle kind you find in the Songs, more a 'these things feel the same, they belong together' than a point-for-point allegorical correspondence. Hunting only on three sides is the same kind of thing as not warning the people - and all this is a 'demonstration' of Seeking Union.

Of course then the question is, 'So what does hunting on only three sides feel like?' - which is why those excerpts are so interesting. It seems to mean moderation: not forcing it, not going to extremes, not letting yourself be driven exclusively by the desire for success.

Having a look at the 'warning' - it seems to have to do with warning them off something forbidden. A 'thou shalt not', possibly with a subtext of 'unless you want your ears cut off'. If you don't do this, how will you keep order? And if the hunt isn't efficiently closed on all four sides, how will they catch anything?

 

[peterg]

''Rising from the Blood Stained Fields:Royal Hunting and State Formation in Shang Dynasty China''
by Magnus Fiskesjo. A free download at Academia.edu in two parts.Scroll towards middle of page.
Its looks extremely interesting.It includes details of the methods and tactics of the Shang Royal hunt.
How, what, who, where, when. Also discusses hunting and divination, and hunting in oracle bone inscriptions.And hunting as a military exercise.
Link to both parts https://cornell.academia.edu/MagnusFiskesjö
PDF of part 1 https://www.academia.edu/417368/Ris...g_China._PDF_split_in_two_parts._Here_Part_1_
CONTENTS page https://htmlcdn.scribd.com/6rzze3h3k02czuqe/images/8-e4d0b6f2d4.jpg

The Royal hunt was a conspicuous display of the King's majesty and military power.
This link to The Royal Hunt in Eurasian History by Thomas Allen (page 230 last paragraph) refers to the Royal hunt as a manifestation of the Xin dynasty Emperor's majesty and military prowess: http://books.google.ie/books?id=WFl...=onepage&q=classical china royal hunt&f=false

 

[peterg]

Those are very interesting, thanks!

I've always assumed the townspeople not warned were a poetic parallelism - but of the gentle kind you find in the Songs, more a 'these things feel the same, they belong together' than a point-for-point allegorical correspondence. Hunting only on three sides is the same kind of thing as not warning the people - and all this is a 'demonstration' of Seeking Union.

Of course then the question is, 'So what does hunting on only three sides feel like?' - which is why those excerpts are so interesting. It seems to mean moderation: not forcing it, not going to extremes, not letting yourself be driven exclusively by the desire for success. ...

I like the idea of a poetic parallel.
Because there is an escape route the captured animals can be deemed to have cooperated somewhat and given themselves up willingly, as if attracted by the sage Ruler's virtuous conduct and moral government.
Likewise, the restless people, tribes and allies come from all sides willingly, without the need for coercive measures.
Alfred Huang in The Complete I Ching (free online) compares the lines to King Wen building alliances.
He discusses the story of the illustrious King Tang of Shang who loosened the hunters nets on three sides to make a point.The feudal lords saw this as a demonstration of Tang's moral excellence.Roel Sterckx in The Animal and Daemon in Early China(p.143, first google book link above) includes the Tang story in relation to the three sided battue.