IKTRODTJCTION. XXIII 



As a symbol of the world, the Lodge of the Hungleague is square and is called Tang, ,/the 

 inclosed square" or, in a narrower sense, the House, Loggia (Bal.), Lodge (EnglisJi), Loge (Frcnch, 

 German & Duich.) The lodge is contained within a circle (Catechism, Q. 219 & 227) as a sym- 

 bol of the universality of the brotherhood. # 



In a wider sense the square raeans // correctness , righteousness." 



Confucius did not eat anything which was not cut square, for the princely man does not 

 leave off correctness even being in haste; therefore he always cut up his meat in square slices 

 before he ate. ( l ) In the Yih-king it is also said: /, The princely man has a square (correct) 

 heart and is pervaded by righteousness." ( 2 ) 



Fuh-hi to whom is ascribed the invention of signs to express thoughts, has been supposed to 

 form them in the following manner. 



He took 2 straight lines, one entire and one broken , , which 



lines were called Liang-i ( 3 ), //the two fundamental rules." These two lines were combined 

 together and formed //the four figures" (sze-siang) ( 4 ), standing thus: 



Doubling these bigrams and trebling the number of strokes he got the eight diagrams (Pah- 

 kwa) ( 5 ), standing thus: 



These 8 diagrams were multiplied to 64 by subsequent combinations, and the Chinese scripture 

 is supposed to have been derived from these primary lines. 



//One, two, three and four" says Tso-khiu-ming in his Chuen, ( G ) ,/Contain the most profound 

 doctrine. Tliis doctrine did not escape the ancients, who made it the object of their mosfi 

 profound studies and meditations." 



The number 4 is expressed by a very expressive character, Sze ( JJÏj j whieh is composed ot' 



the old symbol houi ( [ZI ) four, square, and jö«/£ (/V) to divide or separate, denoling that the 

 square is to be separated. ( 7 ) Hence the division into four of many things in China. 



Thefirst division of mankind in China was fourfold, viz: The learned, husbaudmcn, artisans, 



(i) Lun-yü, Book X, Chap. VIII, 3. 



( 2) -^ ^ -£j pfj ^ ^ Yih-king, Chap. II, under Jljj , 



t 3 ) m « <*> ra # ( 5 ) a » 



( 6 ) See note 11, at the foot of page xxi. Tso-khiu was a conteraporary of Confucius and, consequently, m 

 more ancient than Pythagoras who taught the saaie doctrine. (Mémoires conccrnant les Chiuois, VI, I 



(7) Morrison's Chinese DictioDary. 



