4."From Confucius downwards until now, there are onlyhundred years and somewhat more. The distance in time from the sage is so far from being remote,and so very near at hand was the sage＇s residence. In these circumstances, is there no one to transmit hisdoctrines? Yea, is there no one to do so?"
while from T＇ang to the rise of the Chow dynasty were 644 years. Here, as before, II, Pt, II, xiii, Mencius uses 500 as a round number. In知之, the 之 refers to the doctrines of the sages.