Hu Yin (1098-1156), an adopted son of Hu Anguo and brother of Hu Hong (see source 3.6), wrote the Dushi guanjian as a moralistic commentary on the Zizhi tongjian. Hu’s interpretations of Tang history were heavily influenced by Fan Zuyu’s Tangjian (see source 2.11). The Dushi guangjian in turn exerted significant influence on Zhu Xi’s (1130-1200) highly popular Zizhi tongjian gangmu (Outline and Details of the Zizhi tongjian), which abridged and reorganized the Zizhi tongjian narrative to convey Neo-Confucian moral principles and conform to the format of an Annals commentary.

Like Hu Hong, Hu Yin was fervently opposed to peace with the Jurchen Jin, believing that the Southern Song had a moral duty to avenge the captured emperors, regain the Chinese heartland, and reassert Chinese superiority over the barbarians. But Hu Yin also resembled his adoptive father and brother in using the rhetoric of ethnocentric moralism to criticize moral failings in the Chinese. The commentary in the Dushi guanjian thus often alternates between ethnocentric and moralistic arguments, sometimes denigrating and dehumanizing the barbarians and sometimes comparing the Chinese unfavorably to them for rhetorical effect. The passages translated below reflect this pattern and betray a certain ambivalence or inconsistency toward the question of whether barbarians are fully human. They also reflect the influence of earlier Neo-Confucian theories about qi endowment.

~~~~~

[Commentary on Jin Zhun’s violent seizure of power from the Xiongnu Liu family in 318]

Q: When Heaven created human beings, were they divided into Hua and barbarians (Yi)?

A: No.

Q: In that case, when the sage [Confucius] regarded the Hua as those inside and the barbarians (Yi) as outsiders, and when he regarded the barbarians (Rong-Di) as inferior and the Hua of the Central Lands (Zhonghua) as superior, wasn’t he being contrary to Heaven?

A: If the barbarians (Yi-Di) could behave like [people of] the Central Lands, then they too would be [people of] the Central Lands. It is just that they are inhumane and immoral, avaricious and murderous, which is contrary to the principle of humanity. That is why [Confucius] regarded them as inferior outsiders, strongly disapproving of their throwing the Central Lands into disorder with their conquests.

Q: If, when Heaven created human beings, there was no division between Hua and barbarians, then why are the barbarians (Yi-Di) inhumane and immoral, avaricious and murderous, contrary to the principle of humanity?

A: All [human beings] are endowed with the same qi, yet some are wise and some foolish. This does not mean that Heaven is unduly partial toward the wise and miserly toward the foolish. All [human beings live] within the space between [heaven and earth], yet some are in the Central Lands and some are barbarians (Yi-Di). This does not mean that Heaven makes the Central Lands good and the barbarians bad. Rather, their concentrations [of qi] differ in purity and balance, which makes their apportioned capacities differ as well.

The leaders of the five Hu (barbarian) peoples¹ all had exceptional talents, but they could not supplement these with learning in order to bring [their talents] to correctness and completion. For that reason, even though they sometimes managed by luck to do something good, their innate qi endowment was one tending toward violence and cruelty. In the end, they could not conceal this even by exercising self-control…. The sage [Confucius] was careful in maintaining the distinction between Hua and barbarians and would not permit [the barbarians] to enter the Central Lands and live there, thus preventing them from gradually bringing disorder to the Hua. Was this not farsighted and thoughtful for the welfare of future generations?

…

[Commentary on Liu Song emperor Wen’s decision to take advantage of the Northern Wei emperor Tuoba Tao’s assassination to launch a northern expedition in 452.]

In ancient warfare, it was not permitted to attack an enemy in mourning. This was because the enemy state had just suffered a great loss and was deserving of compassion; one who examined one’s conscience would not bear to attack. If one should break the peace and gloat over the other side’s misfortune, such an attack driven by hunger for gain would be the way of the barbarians (Didao). The Central Lands are the Central Lands only because they have humaneness and moral duty. If they lose these, then they became barbaric (Yi-Di). If one resides in the Central Lands and behaves barbarically, then one is no better than the barbarians, and if one is no better, then how can one gain their submission? [Emperor] Gaozu of [Liu] Song attacked [Later] Qin when it was in mourning for its ruler [in 416], and in less time than it takes to turn on one’s heels, [the Northern] Wei [emperor Tuoba] Tao attacked [Liu] Song when it was in mourning [for Gaozu in 422]. What goes around comes around; if I behave inhumanely and immorally, then others will also treat me inhumanely and immorally. Emperor Wen did not take warning from this and took advantage of the Northern Wei’s mourning to attack it. This was barbarism attacking barbarians; in what way was he any different?

…

[Commentary on Tang minister Lu Zhi’s argument that an emperor should rule through moral charisma and moral duty, not betraying others even if they betray him.]

Since Han times, there has been a saying, “I’d rather betray others than let them betray me.” Every person who was fond of deceitful schemes and the unprincipled pursuit of results has used this saying, and every such person has ended up walking into calamity. Human beings differ from barbarians (Yi-Di) and animals in having a heart of humaneness and moral duty. Animals only know how to drink, eat, and attack and devour one another. Barbarians only value brute force, but they have intelligence and are therefore close to being human. As for human beings, they ought to maintain their hearts of humaneness and act according to moral duty in order to preserve what makes them human. Now to say, “I’d rather betray others than let them betray me,” that is something even barbarians might not do!

---

1. “The five Hu peoples” was a stock expression for five ethnic groups—the Xiongnu, Jie, Xianbei, Dī, and Qiang—who founded states in north China after the collapse of the Western Jin in 311-316. ↩︎