Chapter 33
God established a line of light from his throne in heaven down to Ka’yu; he maintained this light of heaven with mortals by the presence of half a billion angels.
That which was inspired of God, came to the soul of Ka’yu; what God spoke, that Ka’yu spoke.
And God spoke through Ka’yu in such a way that man would not know it was God speaking; for he desired to inspire men to self-culture, instead of relying on Gods and angels as previously. ||
In the language of Ka’yu, the Great Spirit was called, Shang Te; but the word, Te, was God; the words, the Shang Te, were the Gods.
Ka’yu said: Behold, man has blockaded the road to wisdom. In one place he has heaped up thousands of books of the ancients; in another place, he wastes time in rites and ceremonies.
Our labor is to remodel the whole, by choosing from all the past that which is the best. Te will guide us in this.
We must, therefore, make one book, acknowledging the EVER PRESENT GREAT SPIRIT, and His one SHANG TE [True God –Ed.]. And this book must contain all the glory and beauty now contained in the seven hundred sacred books of the empire.
And since there are four hundred and eighty-six books on the intermediate world [atmospherea –Ed.], which no man can learn, we must take from them all their soundest parts, and make one book of these.
And in the same way, there being twelve hundred and seventy books on the spirits of the dead, and their testimonies of the lower and the higher heavens, we must make one book of this.
And of the two thousand two hundred books on magic, and on conjuring spirits, and on second sight and second hearing, we must make one book out of these.
Of books of families, there are more than four thousand, which shall also be condensed into one book.
Of histories, there are more than four thousand books, which shall be condensed into one book.
Of law books, there are more than twelve thousand books, and of the precedents of judges’ decrees, there are more than thirty thousand books. All of these shall be condensed into one book.
Of provinces, and of the empire, and of their governors and emperors, there are two thousand seven hundred books, all of which shall be condensed into one book.
And of government, there are seven hundred books, which shall be condensed into one.
Of caste, there are four hundred and ninety books, and of proprieties, three hundred and twenty, and all of these shall be condensed into one book. ||
Ka’yu, continuing, said: My work is to bring confusion to a termination. Of doctrines, laws, rites and ceremonies, and philosophies of both heaven and earth, we have had enough.
In a dark age, Shang Te (True God) gives his commandments in injunctions; he shows the people what is right, and what is wrong. In my day, the people know these things, but they do not practice them.
Even the preachers and conductors of ceremonies in the temples, who proclaim righteousness, charity and good works, do not practice what they preach. They live in ease and luxury, but tell us to go give to the poor. Yes, and they threaten us with hell, if we do not do it.
Of these different doctrines, there are seven hundred kinds in the sacred books; and they all condemn the followers of the others. Concerning which, to escape the damnation of hell, a man would need to do sacrifice more than four thousand days every year! This is not possible to any man. For there are only three hundred and sixty-five days in a year!
Nor is it possible for any man to learn all the books; no, a thousand years would not suffice.
God (Te) forbid that I add more to the burden we have already. And I know he will preserve, in our abridgment, all that is good in the whole of them.
Since we cannot live according to the multitude of doctrines and philosophies, we must abridge them within the scope of man. Neither must we cut any of them off entirely, or we lead their followers into rebellion.
Since we have so many law books and so many judges’ decrees, all of which, before he can become a judge of the court a man must learn, which is impossible, we must cut them down into a few simples, but sufficient to cover the rules of discretion in judgment. It is better to throw the judge of the court partly on his own judgment and responsibility, than for him to be a blank as to judgment, simply reading the decree of a preceding judge.
And as to the religion of this man, or that man; behold, it has come to pass, that each, in his own order, performs his rites and ceremonies, sacrifices and prayers, like a trained horse in a showman’s circle, going round and round, and not knowing its meaning.
For it has come about, that the religions have made machines of the worshippers; the law books have made machines of the courts; the books of government have made machines of governors and emperors.
I am sent into the world to make men of men, and women of women.
There is no religion to suit me, therefore I make one. There is no government of the empire to suit me, therefore I devise one. There is no system in society, therefore I make one.
I am not sent into the world to destroy what is, or what has been; there are enough evil men to do that. I am sent to cull the harvest, and to gather choice seed from what now is, and what has been.
For the seed I plant is selected not to be planted in the ocean, nor on the moon, nor in a far-off country; but to be planted in Chine’ya, and in Chine’ya I will plant it.