Zhuangzi

"Lin Hui himself said, 'The regalia involved a mere question of money. The child was from God.' "And so it is that in trouble and calamity mere money questions are neglected, while we ever cling nearer to that which is from God. And between neglecting and clinging to, the difference is great. "The friendship of the superior man is negative like water. The friendship of the mean man is full-flavoured like wine. That of the superior man passes from the negative to the affectionate. That of the mean man passes from the full-flavoured to nothing. The friendship of the mean man begins without due cause, and in like manner comes to an end. "I hear and obey," replied Confucius; and forthwith he went quietly home, put an end to his studies and cast aside his books. His disciples no longer saluted him as teacher; but his love for them deepened every day.

On another occasion, Sang Hu said to him again, "When Shun was about to die, he commanded the Great Yü as follows: - Be careful. Act in accordance with your physical body. Speak in accordance with your feelings. You will thus not get into difficulty with the former nor suffer annoyance in the latter. And as under these conditions you will not stand in need of outward embellishment of any kind, it follows that you therefore will not stand in need of anything." Also an episode of doubtful authorship. The commentators, however, have nothing to say against its genuineness. Chuang Tzŭ put on cotton clothes with patches in them, and arranging his girdle and tieing on his shoes, To keep them from falling off. went to see the prince of Wei. "How miserable you look, Sir!" cried the prince. "It is poverty, not misery," replied Chuang Tzŭ. "A man who has TAO cannot be miserable. Ragged clothes and old boots make poverty, not misery. Mine is what is called being out of harmony with one's age. "Has your Highness never seen a climbing ape? Give it some large tree, and it will twist and twirl among the branches as though monarch of all it surveys. Yi and Fêng Mêng An ancient archer and his apprentice. can never catch a glimpse of it.

"But put it in a bramble bush, and it will move cautiously with sidelong glances, trembling all over with fear. Not that its muscles relax in the face of difficulty, but because it is at a disadvantage as regards position, and is unable to make use of its skill. And how should any one, living under foolish sovereigns and wicked ministers, help being miserable, even though he might wish not to be so? "It was under such circumstances that Pi Kan was disembowelled." See ch. iv. The above episode is too much even for Chinese critics, and has been condemned accordingly. When Confucius was hemmed in between Ch'ên and Ts'ai and had gone seven days without food, then, holding in his left hand a piece of dry wood and in his right hand a dry stick, he sang a ballad of Piao Shih. An ancient ruler. He had an instrument, but the gamut was wanting. There was sound, but no tune. The sound of the wood accompanied by the voice of the man yielded a harsh result, but it was in keeping with the feelings of his audience.

Yen Hui, who was standing by in a respectful attitude, thereupon began to turn his eyes about him; and Confucius, fearing lest he should be driven by exaltation into bragging, or by a desire for safety into sorrow, As a result of hearing the song. spoke to him as follows: - "Hui! it is easy to escape injury from God; it is difficult to avoid the benefits of man. There is no beginning and there is no end. Man and God are ONE. Who then was singing just now?" "Pray, Sir, what do you mean," asked Yen Hui, "by saying that it is easy to escape injury from God?" "Hunger, thirst, cold, and heat," replied Confucius, "are but as fetters in the path of life. They belong to the natural laws which govern the universe; and in obedience thereto I pass on my allotted course. The subject dares not disregard the mandates of his prince. And if this is man's duty to man, how much more shall it be his duty to God?" "What is the meaning of difficult to avoid the benefits of man?" asked Yen Hui.

Plain English · paraphraseYen Hui, who was standing nearby with a respectful attitude, began to look around. Confucius, fearing that Yen Hui might become boastful from excitement or sad from a desire for safety after hearing the song, spoke to him: "Hui! It is easy to escape harm from God; it is difficult to avoid the benefits of man. There is no beginning and no end. Man and God are one. Who then was singing just now?" "Please, sir, what do you mean," asked Yen Hui, "by saying it is easy to escape injury from God?" "Hunger, thirst, cold, and heat," replied Confucius, "are like obstacles on the path of life. They are part of the natural laws that govern the universe; and I follow my course as they dictate. A subject dares not ignore the commands of his prince. And if this is man's duty to man, how much more should it be his duty to God?" "What do you mean," asked Yen Hui, "by saying it is difficult to avoid the benefits of man?"

"If one begins," replied Confucius, "by adaptation to surroundings, rank and power follow without cease. Such advantages are external; they are not derived from oneself. And my life is more or less dependent upon the external. The superior man does not steal these; nor does the good man pilfer them. What then do I but take them as they come? "Therefore it has been said that no bird is so wise as the swallow. If it sees a place unfit to dwell in, it will not bestow a glance thereon; and even though it should drop food there, it will leave the food and fly away. Now swallows fear man. Yet they dwell among men. Because there they find their natural abode." In the same way, man should adapt himself to the conditions which surround him. "And what is the meaning," enquired Yen Hui, "of no beginning and no end?" "The work goes on," replied Confucius, "and no man knoweth the cause. How then shall he know the end, or the beginning? There is nothing left to us but to wait." "And that man and God are ONE," said Yen Hui. "What does that mean?" "That man is," replied Confucius, "is from God. That God is, is also from God. That man is not God, is his nature.

Sc. that which makes him man. The Sage quietly waits for death as the end." Which shall unite him once again with God. When Chuang Tzŭ was wandering in the park at Tiao-ling, he saw a strange bird which came from the south. Its wings were seven feet across. Its eyes were an inch in circumference. And it flew close past Chuang Tzŭ's head to alight in a chestnut grove. "What manner of bird is this?" cried Chuang Tzŭ. "With strong wings it does not fly away. With large eyes it does not see." Or it would not have flown so near. So he picked up his skirts and strode towards it with his cross-bow, anxious to get a shot. Just then he saw a cicada enjoying itself in the shade, forgetful of all else. And he saw a mantis spring and seize it, forgetting in the act its own body, which the strange bird immediately pounced upon and made its prey. And this it was which had caused the bird to forget its own nature. And approach so close to man.

This episode has been widely popularised in Chinese every-day life. Its details have been expressed pictorially in a roughly-executed woodcut, with the addition of a tiger about to spring upon the man, and a well into which both will eventually tumble. A legend at the side reads, - "All is Destiny!" "Alas!" cried Chuang Tzŭ with a sigh, "how creatures injure one another. Loss follows the pursuit of gain." Those who would prey on others are preyed upon in turn themselves. So he laid aside his bow and went home, driven away by the park-keeper who wanted to know what business he had there. For three months after this, Chuang Tzŭ did not leave the house; and at length Lin Chü A disciple. asked him, saying, "Master, how is it that you have not been out for so long?" "While keeping my physical frame," replied Chuang Tzŭ, "I lost sight of my real self. Gazing at muddy water, I lost sight of the clear abyss. Besides, I have learnt from the Master as follows: - "When you go into the world, follow its customs." This saying is attributed, in uncanonical works, to Confucius. But if any one was "Master" to Chuang Tzŭ, it would of course be Lao Tzŭ.

Plain English · paraphraseThis story has become very popular in everyday Chinese life. The details are shown in a roughly made woodcut, showing a tiger about to jump on a man, and a well into which both will eventually fall. A legend on the side says, "All is Destiny!" "Alas!" cried Zhuangzi with a sigh, "how creatures harm one another. Gain leads to loss." Those who try to take from others are taken from in turn. So he put down his bow and went home, driven away by the park keeper who wanted to know what business he had there. For three months after this, Zhuangzi did not leave the house; and finally, Lin Chu, a disciple, asked him, saying, "Master, why have you not been out for so long?" "While taking care of my body," replied Zhuangzi, "I lost sight of my true self. Looking at muddy water, I forgot the clear abyss. Also, I have learned from the Master as follows: 'When you go into the world, follow its customs.' This saying is attributed, in non-canonical works, to Confucius. But if anyone was 'Master' to Zhuangzi, it would of course be Laozi.

Now when I strolled into the park at Tiao-ling, I forgot my real self. That strange bird which flew close past me to the chestnut grove, forgot its nature. The keeper of the chestnut grove took me for a thief. Consequently I have not been out." When Yang Tzŭ Yang Chu. See ch. viii. went to the Sung State, he passed a night at an inn. The innkeeper had two concubines, one beautiful, the other ugly. The latter he loved; the former, he hated. Yang Tzŭ asked how this was; whereupon one of the inn servants said, "The beautiful one is so conscious of her beauty that one does not think her beautiful. The ugly one is so conscious of her ugliness that one does not think her ugly." "Note this, my disciples!" cried Yang Tzŭ. "Be virtuous, but without being consciously so; and wherever you go, you will be beloved."

T'IEN TZŬ FANG. Argument: - TAO cannot be imparted in words - It is not at man's disposal - It does not consist in formal morality - It is an inalienable element of existence - Without it the soul dies - With it man is happy and his immortality secure - Illustrations. [This chapter is supplementary to chapter vi.] T'ien Tzŭ Fang was in attendance upon Prince Wên of Wei. Whose tutor he was. He kept on praising Ch'i Kung, until at length Prince Wên said, "Is Ch'i Kung your tutor?" "No," replied Tzŭ Fang; "he is merely a neighbour. He discourses admirably upon TAO. That is why I praise him." "Have you then no tutor?" enquired the Prince. "I have," replied Tzŭ Fang. "And who may he be?" said Prince Wên. "Tung Kuo Shun Tzŭ," answered Tzŭ Fang. "Then how is it you do not praise him?" asked the Prince. "He is perfect," replied Tzŭ Fang. "In appearance, a man; in reality, God. Unconditioned himself, he falls in with the conditioned, to his own greater glory. Pure himself, he can still tolerate others. If men are without TAO, by a mere look he calls them to a sense of error, and causes their intentions to melt away. How could I praise him?"

Thereupon Tzŭ Fang took his leave, and the Prince remained for the rest of the day absorbed in silence. At length he called an officer in waiting and said, "How far beyond us is the man of perfect virtue! Hitherto I have regarded the discussion of holiness and wisdom, and the practice of charity and duty to one's neighbour, as the utmost point attainable. But now that I have heard of Tzŭ Fang's tutor, my body is relaxed and desires not movement, my mouth is closed and desires not speech. All I have learnt, verily it is mere undergrowth. And the kingdom of Wei is my bane." TAO is not to be reached by the superficial worker, or by such as value the distinctions of this world. When Wên Po Hsüeh Tzŭ "A sage from the south," as the commentators say, anticipating the "Middle Kingdom" below. was on his way to Ch'i, he broke his journey in Lu. A certain man of Lu begged for an interview, but Wên Po Hsüeh Tzŭ said, "No. I have heard that the gentlemen of the Middle Kingdom are experts in ceremonies and obligations, but wanting in knowledge of the human heart. I do not wish to see him."

Plain English · paraphraseTzŭ Fang took his leave, and the Prince spent the rest of the day in deep silence. After a while, he called for an officer who was waiting nearby and said, "How far beyond us is the man of perfect virtue! Until now, I thought that talking about holiness and wisdom, and practicing charity and duty to one's neighbor, was the highest goal possible. But now that I have heard about Tzŭ Fang's tutor, my body is relaxed and does not want to move, my mouth is closed and does not want to speak. All I have learned, truly, is just undergrowth. And the kingdom of Wei is my bane." The TAO is not to be reached by the superficial worker, or by those who value the distinctions of this world. When Wên Po Hsüeh Tzŭ, "A sage from the south," as the commentators say, anticipating the "Middle Kingdom" below, was on his way to Ch'i, he stopped his journey in Lu. A certain man from Lu asked to meet with him, but Wên Po Hsüeh Tzŭ said, "No. I have heard that the gentlemen of the Middle Kingdom are experts in ceremonies and obligations, but lack knowledge of the human heart. I do not wish to see him."

So he went on to Ch'i; but once more at Lu, on his way home, the same man again begged to have an interview. "When I was last here," cried Wên Po Hsüeh Tzŭ, "he asked to see me, and now again he asks to see me. Surely he must have something to communicate." Whereupon he went and received the stranger, and on returning gave vent to sighs. Next day he received him again, and again after the interview gave vent to sighs. Then his servant asked him, saying, "How is it that whenever you receive this stranger, you always sigh afterwards?" "I have already told you," replied Wên Po Hsüeh Tzŭ, "that the people of the Middle Kingdom are experts in ceremonies and obligations but wanting in knowledge of the human heart. The man who visited me came in and went out as per compasses and square. His demeanour was now that of the dragon, now that of the tiger. He criticised me as though he had been my son. He admonished me as though he had been my father. Therefore I gave vent to sighs."

When Confucius saw Wên Po Hsüeh Tzŭ, the former did not utter a word. Whereupon Tzŭ Lu said, "Master, you have long wished to see Wên Po Hsüeh Tzŭ. How is it that when you do see him you do not speak?" "With such men as these," replied Confucius, you have only to look, and TAO abides. There is no room for speech." See ch. v, ad init., on "the Doctrine which is not expressed in words." Yen Yüan See p. 179. asked Confucius, saying, "Master, when you go at a walk, I go at a walk. When you trot, I trot. When you gallop, I gallop. But when you dash beyond the bounds of mortality, I can only stand staring behind. How is this?" "Explain yourself," said Confucius. "I mean," continued Yen Yüan, "that as you speak, I speak. As you argue, I argue. As you preach TAO, so I preach TAO. And by 'when you dash beyond the bounds of mortality I can only stand staring behind,' I mean that without speaking you make people believe you, without striving you make people love you, without factitious attractions you gather people around you. I cannot understand how this is so."

Plain English · paraphraseWhen Confucius saw Wên Po Hsüeh Tzŭ, he said nothing. Then Tzŭ Lu said, "Master, you have long wanted to see Wên Po Hsüeh Tzŭ. Why then, when you see him, do you not speak?" "With people like these," Confucius replied, "you only need to look, and TAO remains. There is no need for words." See chapter v, at the beginning, on "the Doctrine which is not expressed in words." Yen Yüan (see p. 179) asked Confucius, saying, "Master, when you walk, I walk. When you trot, I trot. When you gallop, I gallop. But when you dash beyond the bounds of mortality, I can only stand and stare behind. Why is this?" "Explain yourself," said Confucius. "I mean," Yen Yüan continued, "that when you speak, I speak. When you argue, I argue. When you preach TAO, I preach TAO. And by 'when you dash beyond the bounds of mortality I can only stand staring behind,' I mean that without speaking you make people believe you, without striving you make people love you, without artificial attractions you gather people around you. I cannot understand how this is so."

"What is there to prevent you from finding out?" replied Confucius. "There is no sorrow to be compared with the death of the mind. The death of the body is of but secondary importance. Cf. ch. ii, "The body decomposes, and the mind goes with it. This is our real cause for sorrow." "The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. There is no place which he does not illuminate; and those who have eyes and feet depend upon him to use them with success. When he comes forth, that is existence; when he disappears, that is non-existence. "And every human being has that upon which he depends for death or for life. Mind, which rises with life and sets at death. But if I, receiving this mind-informed body, pass without due modification to the end, So that the mind perishes with the body. day and night subject to ceaseless wear and tear like a mere thing, unknowing what the end will be, and in spite of this mind-informed body Which should teach a higher lesson.

conscious only that fate cannot save me from the inevitable grave-yard, - then I am consuming life until at death it is as though you and I had but once linked arms to be finally parted for ever! Is not that indeed a cause for sorrow? The motive of this involved paragraph is identical with that of Mr. Mallock's famous essay Is Life Worth Living? "Now you fix your attention upon something in me which, while you look, has already passed away. Yet you seek for it as though it must be still there, - like one who seeks for a horse in a market-place. In the interim the animal has been sold. What I admire in you is transitory. Nevertheless, why should you grieve? Although my old self is constantly passing away, there remains that which does not pass away." The mind, which feeds and thrives upon change. Confucius went to see Lao Tzŭ. The latter had just washed his head, and his hair was hanging down his back to dry. He looked like a lifeless body; so Confucius waited awhile, but at length approached and said, "Do my eyes deceive me, or is this really so? Your frame, Sir, seems like dry wood, as if it had been left without that which informs it with the life of man."

Chuang Tzŭ (?) is here repeating himself. "I was wandering," replied Lao Tzŭ, "in the unborn." Reflecting upon the state of man before his birth into the world. "What does that mean?" asked Confucius. "My mind is trammelled," replied Lao Tzŭ, "and I cannot know. My mouth is closed and I cannot speak. But I will try to tell you what is probably the truth. "The perfect Negative principle is majestically passive. The perfect Positive principle is powerfully active. Passivity emanates from heaven above; activity proceeds from earth beneath. The interaction of the two results in that harmony by which all things are produced. There may be a First Cause, but we never see his form. His report fills space. There is darkness and light. Days come and months go. Work is being constantly performed, yet we never witness the performance. Life must bring us from somewhere, and death must carry us back. Beginning and end follow ceaselessly one upon the other, and we cannot say when the series will be exhausted. If this is not the work of a First Cause, what is it?" "Kindly explain," said Confucius, "what is to be got by wandering as you said." "The result," answered Lao Tzŭ, "is perfect goodness and perfect happiness. And he who has these is a perfect man."

"And by what means," enquired Confucius, "can this be attained?" "Animals," said Lao Tzŭ, "that eat grass do not mind a change of pasture. Creatures that live in water do not mind a change of pond. A slight change may be effected so long as the essential is untouched. "Joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, find no place in that man's breast; for to him all creation is ONE. And all things being thus united in ONE, his body and limbs are but as dust of the earth, and life and death, beginning and end, are but as night and day, and cannot destroy his peace. How much less such trifles as gain or loss, misfortune or good fortune? "He rejects rank as so much mud. For he knows that if a man is of honourable rank, the honour is in himself, and cannot be lost by change of condition, nor exhausted by countless modifications of existence. Who then can grieve his heart? Those who practise TAO understand the secret of this." "Master," said Confucius, "your virtue equals that of Heaven and Earth; yet you still employ perfect precepts in the cultivation of your heart. Who among the sages of old could have uttered such words?"

"Not so," answered Lao Tzŭ. "The fluidity of water is not the result of any effort on the part of the water, but is its natural property. And the virtue of the perfect man is such that even without cultivation there is nothing which can withdraw from his sway. Heaven is naturally high, the earth is naturally solid, the sun and moon are naturally bright. Do they cultivate these attributes?" Confucius went forth and said to Yen Hui, "In point of TAO, I am but as an animalcule in vinegar. Had not the Master opened my eyes, I should not have perceived the vastness of the universe." He who would concentrate himself upon life after death must first familiarise himself with life before birth. When Chuang Tzŭ was at an interview with Duke Ai of Lu, Who had then been dead 120 years. the latter said, "We have many scholars, Sir, in Lu, but few of your school." "In Lu," replied Chuang Tzŭ, "there are but few scholars." "Look at the number who wear scholars' robes," said the Duke. "How can you say they are few?" "Scholars who wear round hats," answered Chuang Tzŭ, "know the seasons of Heaven. Scholars who wear square shoes know the shape of Earth. According to ancient Chinese cosmogony, "Heaven is round: Earth is square."

Plain English · paraphrase"No," said Lao Tzu. "The flowing nature of water does not come from any effort by the water itself, but is its natural state. And the virtue of the perfect person is such that even without training, nothing can escape his influence. Heaven is naturally high, the earth is naturally firm, the sun and moon are naturally bright. Do they work to have these qualities?" Confucius went out and said to Yan Hui, "In terms of the Way, I am like a tiny creature in vinegar. If the Master had not opened my eyes, I would not have seen the vastness of the universe." One who wants to focus on life after death must first understand life before birth. When Zhuangzi met with Duke Ai of Lu, who had been dead for 120 years, the Duke said, "We have many scholars in Lu, but few like you." "In Lu," Zhuangzi replied, "there are few true scholars." "Look at how many wear the robes of scholars," said the Duke. "How can you say they are few?" "Scholars who wear round hats," Zhuangzi answered, "know the seasons of Heaven. Scholars who wear square shoes know the shape of Earth. According to ancient Chinese cosmology, 'Heaven is round; Earth is square.'"

And scholars who loosely gird themselves are ready to decide whatever questions may arise. But scholars who have TAO do not necessarily wear robes; neither does the wearing of robes necessarily mean that a scholar has TAO. If your Highness does not think so, why not issue an order through the Middle Kingdom, making death the punishment for all who wear the robes without having the TAO?" Thereupon Duke Ai circulated this mandate for five days, the result being that not a single man in Lu dared to don scholars' robes, - with the exception of one old man who, thus arrayed, took his stand at the Duke's gate. My Ming editor (a priest) says this was Confucius himself! The Duke summoned him to the presence, and asked him many questions on politics, trying to entangle him, but in vain. Then Chuang Tzŭ said, "If there is only one scholar in Lu, surely that is not many." It is unnecessary, says Lin Hsi Chung, to descend to anachronisms in reference to the genuineness of this episode. Rank and power had no charms for Po Li Ch'i. 7th century BC. This story is alluded to by Mencius.

So he took to feeding cattle. His cattle were always fat, which caused Duke Mu of Ch'in to ignore his low condition and entrust him with the administration. Shun cared nothing for life or death. He was therefore able to influence men's hearts. His parents even went so far as to try to kill him. Prince Yüan of Sung desiring to draw a map, the officials of that department presented themselves, and after making obeisance stood waiting for the order, more than half of them already licking their brushes and mixing their ink. One of them arrived late. He sauntered in without hurrying himself; and when he had made obeisance, did not wait but went off home. The Prince sent a man to see what he did. He took off his clothes and squatted down bare-backed. "He will do," cried the Prince. "He is a true artist." The commentators do not get much out of this episode. Lin Hsi Chung damns it as a forgery. When Wên Wang was on a tour of inspection in Tsang, he saw an old man fishing. But his fishing was not real fishing, for he did not fish to catch fish, but to amuse himself. Wherefore, from the standpoint of TAO, he was the more likely to succeed.

So Wên Wang wished to employ him in the administration of government, but feared lest his own ministers, uncles, and brothers, might object. On the other hand, if he let the old man go, he could not bear to think of the people being deprived of such an influence. Accordingly, that very morning he informed his ministers, saying, "I once dreamt that a Sage of a black colour and with a large beard, riding upon a parti-coloured horse with red stockings on one side, appeared and instructed me to place the administration in the hands of the old gentleman of Tsang, promising that the people would benefit greatly thereby." The ministers at once said, "It is a command from your Highness' father." "I think so," answered Wên Wang. "But let us try by divination." "It is a command from your Highness' late father," said the ministers, "and may not be disobeyed. What need for divination?"

Plain English · paraphraseSo Wên Wang wanted to use him in government, but he was afraid his own ministers, uncles, and brothers might object. On the other hand, if he let the old man go, he could not bear the thought of the people losing out on his influence. So that very morning he told his ministers, "I once dreamed of a black-bearded Sage on a horse with red stockings on one leg, who told me to put the government in the hands of the old man from Tsang, promising the people would benefit greatly." The ministers said at once, "It is a command from your Highness' father." "I think so too," said Wên Wang. "But let us try divination." "It is a command from your Highness' late father," said the ministers, "and cannot be disobeyed. What need for divination?"

So the old man of Tsang was received and entrusted with the administration. He altered none of the existing statutes. He issued no unjust regulations. And when, after three years, Wên Wang made another inspection, he found all dangerous organisations broken up, the officials doing their duty as a matter of course, while the use of measures of grain was unknown within the four boundaries of the State. There was thus unanimity in the public voice, singleness of official purpose, and identity of interests to all. So Wên Wang appointed the old man Grand Tutor; and then, standing with his face to the north, An attitude of respect. Facing the south was the conventional position of a ruler. asked him, saying, "Can such government be extended over the empire?" The old man of Tsang was silent and made no reply. He then abruptly took leave, and by the evening of that same day had disappeared, never to be heard of again. Yen Yüan said to Confucius, "If Wên Wang was unable to do this of himself, how was he able to do it by a dream?" "Silence!" cried Confucius: "It is not for you to criticise Wên Wang who succeeded in fulfilling his mission. The dream was merely to satisfy the vulgar mind." The whole episode is of course spurious.

Lieh Yü K'ou Or Lieh Tzŭ. See ch. i. instructed Po Hun Wu Jên See ch. v. in archery. Drawing the bow to its full, he placed a cup of water on his elbow and began to let fly. Hardly was one arrow out of sight ere another was on the string, the archer standing all the time like a statue. "But this is shooting under ordinary conditions," cried Po Hun Wu Jên; "it is not shooting under extraordinary conditions. Now I will ascend a high mountain with you, and stand on the edge of a precipice a thousand feet in height, and see how you can shoot then." Thereupon Wu Jên went with Lieh Tzŭ up a high mountain, and stood on the edge of a precipice a thousand feet in height, approaching it backwards until one-fifth of his feet overhung the chasm, when he beckoned to Lieh Tzŭ to come on. But the latter had fallen prostrate on the ground, with the sweat pouring down to his heels. "The perfect man," said Wu Jên, "soars up to the blue sky, or dives down to the yellow springs, The infernal regions. or flies to some extreme point of the compass, without change of countenance. But you are terrified, and your eyes are dazed. Your internal economy is defective."

You have not TAO. Chien Wu See ch. i. said to Sun Shu Ao, A famous minister of the Ch'u State. "Sir, you have been three times called to office without showing any elation, and you have been three times dismissed without displaying any chagrin. At first, I doubted you; but now I notice that your breathing is perfectly regular. How do you manage thus to control your emotions?" "I am no better than other people," replied Sun Shu Ao. "I regard office when it comes as something which may not be declined; when it goes, as something which cannot be kept. To me both the getting and losing are outside my own self; and therefore I feel no chagrin. How am I better than other people? "Besides, I am not conscious of office being either in the hands of others or in my own. If it is in the hands of others, my own personality disappears; if in mine, theirs. And amidst the cares of deliberation and investigation, what leisure has one for troubling about rank?" When Confucius heard this, he said, "The perfect Sages of old! - cunning men could not defeat them; beautiful women could not seduce them; robbers could not steal from them; They were unmoved in the face of danger.

Fu Hsi and the Yellow Emperor could not make friends of them. Life and death are great; yet these gave them no pang. That would cause them to sacrifice truth. How much less then rank and power! "The souls of such men pierced through huge mountains as though they had been nothing; descended into the abyss without getting wet; occupied lowly stations without chagrin. They filled the whole universe; and the more they gave to others, the more they had themselves." These last words occur in chapter lxxxi. of the Tao-Tê-Ching. It is, to say the least, strange to find them here in the mouth of Confucius without a hint as to their alleged Taoistic source. The explanation is that when this episode was penned, that patchwork treatise which passes under the name of the Tao-Tê-Ching had not been pieced together. The Prince of Ch'u was sitting with the Prince of Fan. By and by, one of the officials of Ch'u said, "There were three indications of the destruction of the Fan State." "The destruction of the Fan State," cried the Prince of Fan, "did not suffice to injure my existence. Which was already, by virtue of TAO, beyond the reach of mundane influences.

And while the destruction of the Fan State did not suffice to injure my existence, the preservation of the Ch'u State will not be enough to preserve yours. You being without TAO. From this point of view it will be seen that while we Fans have not begun to be destroyed, you Ch'us have not begun to exist." A good specimen of the Fallacia Amphiboliæ.

Plain English · paraphraseAnd while the destruction of the Fan State did not harm me, the survival of the Ch'u State will not save you. You lack the TAO. From this point of view, it will be seen that while we Fans have not yet begun to be destroyed, you Ch'us have not yet begun to exist." A good example of the _Fallacia Amphiboliæ_.

KNOWLEDGE TRAVELS NORTH. Argument: - Inaction and TAO - The universe our model - Spontaneity our watchword - Omnipresence and indivisibility of TAO - External activity, internal passivity - Man's knowledge finite - Illustrations. [This chapter is supplementary to chapter vi.] When Knowledge travelled north, across the Black Water, and over the Dark-Steep Mountain, he met Do-nothing Say-nothing and asked of him as follows: - "Kindly tell me by what thoughts, by what cogitations, may TAO be known? By resting in what, by according in what, may TAO be approached? By following what, by pursuing what, may TAO be attained?" To these three questions, Do-nothing Say-nothing returned no answer. Not that he would not answer, but that he could not. So when Knowledge got no reply, he turned round and went off to the south of the White Water and up the Ku-chüeh Mountain, where he saw All-in-extremes, and to him he put the same questions. "Ha!" cried All-in-extremes, "I know. I will tell you...." But just as he was about to speak he forgot what he wanted to say. So when Knowledge got no reply, he went back to the palace and asked the Yellow Emperor. The latter said, "By no thoughts, by no cogitations, TAO may be known. By resting in nothing, by according in nothing, TAO may be approached. By following nothing, by pursuing nothing, TAO may be attained."

Then Knowledge said to the Yellow Emperor, "Now you and I know this, but those two know it not. Who is right?" "Of those two," replied the Yellow Emperor, "Do-nothing Say-nothing is genuinely right, and All-in-extremes is near. You and I are wholly wrong. Those who understand it do not speak about it, those who speak about it do not understand it. These words occur in the Tao-Tê-Ching, ch. vi. See also ante, p. 170. Therefore the Sage teaches a doctrine which does not find expression in words. See ante, ch. v. Also The Remains of Lao Tzŭ, p. 7. TAO cannot be made to come. Virtue cannot be reached. Virtue (TÊ), here the exemplification of TAO. Charity can be evoked. Duty to one's neighbour can be wrongly directed. Ceremonies are mere shams. "Therefore it has been said, 'If TAO perishes, then TÊ will perish. If TÊ perishes, then charity will perish. If charity perishes, then duty to one's neighbour will perish. If duty to one's neighbour perishes, then ceremonies will perish. Ceremonies are but a showy ornament of TAO, while oft-times the source of trouble.' The above is from the Tao-Tê-Ching, ch. xxxviii. It is interesting to note how the Yellow Emperor annihilates time by quoting a work not written until many centuries after his date.

"Therefore it has been said, 'Those who practise TAO suffer daily loss. If that loss proceeds until inaction ensues, then by that very inaction there is nothing which cannot be done.' Also in the Tao-Tê-Ching, ch. xlviii. "Now, we are already beings. And if we desire to revert to our original condition, how difficult that is! 'Tis a change to which only the greatest among us are equal. "Life follows upon death. Death is the beginning of life. Who knows when the end is reached? The life of man results from convergence of the vital fluid. Its convergence is life; its dispersion, death. If then life and death are but consecutive states, what need have I to complain? "Therefore all things are ONE. What we love is animation. What we hate is corruption. But corruption in its turn becomes animation, and animation once more becomes corruption. "Therefore it has been said, The world is permeated by a single vital fluid, and Sages accordingly venerate ONE." "Tota formatio procedens ex nomine uno." Liber Jezirah, p. Bi. (Parisiis: G. Postello, 1552.)

Then Knowledge said to the Yellow Emperor, "I asked Do-nothing Say-nothing, but he did not answer me. Not that he, would not; he could not. So I asked All-in-extremes. He was just going to tell me, but he did not tell me. Not that he would not; but just as he was going to do so, he forgot what he wanted to say. Now I ask you, and you tell me. How then are you wholly wrong?" "Of those two," replied the Yellow Emperor, "the former was genuinely right, inasmuch as he did not know. The latter was near, inasmuch as he forgot. You and I are wholly wrong, inasmuch as we know." TAO is attained, not by knowledge, but by absence of knowledge. When All-in-extremes heard of this, he considered that the Yellow Emperor had spoken well. "Spoken knowingly" gives the only chance of bringing out what is here a forced play upon words. The universe is very beautiful, yet it says nothing. The four seasons abide by a fixed law, yet they are not heard. All creation is based upon absolute principles, yet nothing speaks.

And the true Sage, taking his stand upon the beauty of the universe, pierces the principles of created things. Hence the saying that the perfect man does nothing, the true Sage performs nothing, beyond gazing at the universe. In the hope of attaining, by contemplation, a like spontaneity. For man's intellect, however keen, face to face with the countless evolutions of things, their death and birth, their squareness and roundness, - can never reach the root. There creation is, and there it has ever been. But the secret of life is withheld. The six cardinal points, reaching into infinity, are ever included in TAO. An autumn spikelet, in all its minuteness, must carry TAO within itself. There is nothing on earth which does not rise and fall, but it never perishes altogether. Nihilo nil posse reverti. The Yin and the Yang, and the four seasons, keep to their proper order. Apparently destroyed, yet really existing; the material gone, the immaterial left; - such is the law of creation, which passeth all understanding. This is called the root, whence a glimpse may be obtained of God.

From this point, upon which the finger of man can never be laid, his mind may perhaps faintly discern the transcendent workings of that Power by which all creation is swayed; - "uncover those secret recesses where Nature is sitting at the fires in the depths of her laboratory." Swedenborg. Yeh Ch'üeh enquired of P'i I about TAO. For the former see ch. ii. Of the latter there is no record. The latter said, "Keep your body under proper control, your gaze concentrated upon ONE, - and the peace of God will descend upon you. Keep back your knowledge, and concentrate your thoughts upon ONE, - and the holy spirit shall abide within you. Virtue shall beautify you, TAO shall establish you, aimless as a new-born calf which recks not how it came into the world." While P'i I was still speaking, Yeh Ch'üeh had gone off to sleep; at which the former rejoiced greatly, and departed singing, "Body like dry bone, Mind like dead ashes; This is true knowledge, Not to strive after knowing the whence. In darkness, in obscurity, The mindless cannot plan; - What manner of man is that?" His mortal trammels had fallen off by his absorption into TAO. Shun asked Ch'êng, His tutor. saying, "Can one get TAO so as to have it for one's own?"

"Your very body," replied Ch'êng, "is not your own. How should TAO be?" "If my body," said Shun, "is not my own, pray whose is it?" "It is the delegated image of God," replied Ch'êng. "Your life is not your own. It is the delegated harmony of God. The affinity of the Yin and Yang causes them, when in due proportions, to combine and produce life. Your individuality is not your own. It is the delegated adaptability of God. Providing the endless variety of shapes with an endless variety of complexion. Your posterity is not your own. It is the delegated exuviæ of God. As God sends us into the world, so He wishes us to "increase and multiply." You move, but know not how. You are at rest, but know not why. You taste, but know not the cause. These are the operation of God's laws. How then should you get TAO so as to have it for your own?" Cf. "Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost," etc. I. Corinthians vi. 19. Confucius said to Lao Tzŭ, "To-day you are at leisure. Pray tell me about perfect TAO."

"Purge your heart by fasting and discipline," answered Lao Tzŭ. "Wash your soul as white as snow. Discard your knowledge. TAO is abstruse and difficult of discussion. I will try, however, to speak to you of its outline. "Light is born of darkness. Classification is born of formlessness. The soul is born of TAO. The body is born of the vital essence. Existence springs from non-existence. "Thus all things produce after their kind. Creatures with nine channels of communication are born from the womb. Creatures with eight are born from the egg. Nature is always self-similar. Of their coming there is no trace. In their departure there is no goal. No entrance gate, no dwelling house, they pass this way and that, as though at the meeting of cross-roads. "Those who enter herein become strong of limb, subtle of thought, and clear of sight and hearing. They suffer no mental fatigue, nor meet with physical resistance. "Heaven cannot but be high. Earth cannot but be broad. The sun and moon cannot but revolve. All creation cannot but flourish. To do so is their TAO.

"But it is not from extensive study that this may be known, nor by dialectic skill that this may be made clear. The true Sage will have none of these. It is in addition without gain, in diminution without loss, that the true Sage finds salvation. "Unfathomable as the sea, wondrously ending only to begin again, informing all creation without being exhausted, the TAO of the perfect man is spontaneous in its operation. That all creation can be informed by it without exhaustion, is its TAO. The TAO of TAO. "In the Middle Kingdom there are men who recognise neither positive nor negative. They abide between heaven and earth. They act their part as mortals, and then return to the Cause. "From that standpoint, Of the Cause, sc. God, which is commensurate with infinity. life is but a concentration of the vital fluid, whose longest and shortest terms of existence vary by an inappreciable space, - hardly enough for the classification of Yao and Chieh. As good and bad. See ch. iv. "Tree-fruits and plant-fruits exhibit order in their varieties; and the relationships of man, though more difficult to be dealt with, may still be reduced to order. These have been classified as follows: -

1. Sovereign and Subject. 2. Husband " Wife. 3. Father " Son. 4. Elder Brother " Younger Brother. 5. Friend " Friend. The true Sage who meets with these, does not violate them. Neither does he continue to hold fast by them. He adapts himself to the exigencies of his environment. Adaptation by arrangement is TÊ. Spontaneous adaptation is TAO, by which sovereigns flourish and princes succeed. "Man passes through this sublunary life as a white horse passes a crack. Here one moment, gone the next. Neither are there any not equally subject to the ingress and egress of mortality. One modification brings life; then another, and it is death. Living creatures cry out; human beings sorrow. The bow-sheath is slipped off; the clothes-bag is dropped; and in the confusion the soul wings its flight, and the body follows, on the great journey home! "The reality of the formless, the unreality of that which has form, - this is known to all. Those who are on the road to attainment care not for these things, but the people at large discuss them. Attainment implies non-discussion: discussion implies non-attainment. Manifested, TAO has no objective value; hence silence is better than argument. It cannot be translated into speech; better then say nothing at all. This is called the great attainment."

Tung Kuo Tzŭ asked Chuang Tzŭ, saying, "What you call TAO, - where is it?" "There is nowhere," replied Chuang Tzŭ, "where it is not." "Tell me one place at any rate where it is," said Tung Kuo Tzŭ. "It is in the ant," replied Chuang Tzŭ. "Why go so low down?" asked Tung Kuo Tzŭ. "It is in a tare," said Chuang Tzŭ. "Still lower," objected Tung Kuo Tzŭ. "It is in a potsherd," said Chuang Tzŭ. "Worse still!" cried Tung Kuo Tzŭ. "It is in ordure," said Chuang Tzŭ. And Tung Kuo Tzŭ made no reply. "Sir," continued Chuang Tzŭ, "your question does not touch the essential. When Huo, inspector of markets, asked the managing director about the fatness of pigs, the test was always made in parts least likely to be fat. Do not therefore insist in any particular direction; for there is nothing which escapes. Such is perfect TAO; and such also is ideal speech. Whole, entire, all, are three words which sound differently but mean the same. Their purport is ONE.

"Try to reach with me the palace of Nowhere, and there, amidst the identity of all things, carry your discussions into the infinite. Try to practise with me inaction, wherein you may rest motionless, without care, and be happy. For thus my mind becomes an abstraction. It wanders not, and yet is not conscious of being at rest. It goes and comes and is not conscious of stoppages. Backwards and forwards without being conscious of any goal. Up and down the realms of Infinity, wherein even the greatest intellect would fail to find an end. "That which makes things the things they are, is not limited to such things. The limits of things are their own limits in so far as they are things. The limits of the limitless, the limitlessness of the limited, - these are called fulness and emptiness, renovation and decay. TAO causes fulness and emptiness, but it is not either. It causes renovation and decay, but it is not either. It causes beginning and end, but it is not either. It causes accumulation and dispersion, but it is not either." O Ho Kan was studying with Shên Nung under Lao Lung Chi. No record of the first and last. Shên Nung was a legendary emperor who invented agriculture. See p. 196.

Shên Nung used to remain shut up, with his head on the table, absorbed in day-dreams. On one occasion, O Ho Kan knocked at the door, and entering said, "Lao Lung is dead!" Thereupon Shên Nung, leaning on his staff, arose; and flinging down his staff with a bang, smiled and said, "O my Master, thou knewest me to be worthless and self-sufficient, and thou didst leave me and die. Now I, having no scope for my vain talk, I too will die." When Yen Kang Tiao "A man of TAO." Comm. heard this, he said, "Those who exemplify TAO are sought after by all the best men in the empire. Now if one who has not attained to more TAO than the ten-thousandth part of the tip of an autumn spikelet, is still wise enough to withhold vain talk and die, - how much more those who exemplify TAO? To the eye it is formless, and to the ear it is noiseless. Those who discuss it, speak of it as 'the obscure.' But the mere fact of discussing TAO makes it not TAO." At this the Empyrean asked Without-end, saying, "Do you know TAO?" "I do not," replied Without-end; whereupon the Empyrean proceeded to ask Inaction. "I do know TAO," said Inaction.

"Is there any method," asked the Empyrean, "by which you know TAO?" "There is," replied Inaction. "What is it?" asked the Empyrean. "I know," answered Inaction, "that TAO may honour and dishonour, bind and loose. That is the method by which I know TAO." The Empyrean repeated these words to No-beginning, and asked him which was right, the ignorance of Without-end or the knowledge of Inaction. "Not to know," replied No-beginning, "is profound. To know is shallow. Not to know is internal. To know is external." Here the Empyrean broke in with a sigh, "Then ignorance is knowledge, and knowledge ignorance! But pray whose knowledge is the knowledge of not knowing?" "TAO," said No-beginning, "cannot be heard. Heard, it is not TAO. It cannot be seen. Seen, it is not TAO. It cannot be spoken. Spoken, it is not TAO. That which imparts form to forms is itself formless; therefore TAO cannot have a name." Form precedes name.

No-beginning continued, "He who replies to one asking about TAO, does not know TAO. Although one may hear about TAO, he does not really hear about TAO. There is no such thing as asking about TAO. There is no such thing as answering such questions. To ask a question which cannot be asked is vain. To answer a question which cannot be answered is unreal. And one who thus meets the vain with the unreal is one who has no physical perception of the universe, and no mental perception of the origin of existence, - unfit alike to roam over the K'un-lun peak or to soar into the Supreme Void." Light asked Nothing, saying, "Do you, Sir, exist, or do you not exist?" But getting no answer to his question, Light set to work to watch for the appearance of Nothing. Hidden, vacuous, - all day long he looked but could not see it, listened but could not hear it, grasped at but could not seize it. See The Remains of Lao Tzŭ, p. 31. "Bravo!" cried Light. "Who can equal this? I can get to be nothing, Darkness. but I cannot get as far as the absence of nothing. Assuming that Nothing has an objective existence, how can it reach this next stage?"

The man who forged swords for the Minister of War was eighty years of age. Yet he never made the slightest slip in his work. The Minister of War said to him, "Is it your skill, Sir, or have you any method?" Any TAO? - in its earlier sense of way of doing things. "It is concentration," replied the man. "When twenty years old, I took to forging swords. I cared for nothing else. If a thing was not a sword, I did not notice it. I availed myself of whatever energy I did not use in other directions in order to secure greater efficiency in the direction required. Still more of that which is never without use; - TAO. So that there was nothing which did not lend its aid. Jen Ch'iu asked Confucius, saying, "Can we know about the time before the universe existed?" "We can," replied Confucius. "Time was of old precisely what it is now." At this rebuff, Jen Ch'iu withdrew. Next day he again visited Confucius and said, "Yesterday when I asked you that question and you answered me, I was quite clear about it. To-day I am confused. How is this?"

"Your clearness of yesterday," answered Confucius, "was because my answer appealed direct to your natural intelligence. Your confusion of to-day results from the intrusion of something other than the natural intelligence. You have passed from "simple apprehension" to "judgment." There is no past, no present, no beginning, no end. To-day will be the yesterday of to-morrow. To have posterity before one has posterity, - is that possible?" Jen Ch'iu made no answer, and Confucius continued, "That will do. Do not reply. If life did not give birth to death, and if death did not put an end to life, surely life and death would be no longer correlates, but would each exist independently. What there was before the universe, was TAO. TAO makes things what they are, but is not itself a thing. Nothing can produce TAO; yet everything has TAO within it, and continues to produce it without end. In its offspring. And the endless love of the Sage for his fellow-man is based upon the same principle." Yen Yüan asked Confucius, saying, "Master, I have heard you declare that there may be no eagerness to conform, no effort to adapt. If so, pray how are we to get along?" Reach that condition which is only attained by adaptation to environment.

"The men of old," replied Confucius, "practised physical, but not moral, modification. They adapted themselves to the requirements of matter, while their hearts remained the same. The men of to-day practise moral, not physical modification. They allow their hearts to be influenced while resisting the exigencies of the external. Let your modification extend to the external only. Internally, be constant without modification. "How shall you modify, and how shall you not modify? How reconcile the divergence? - By not admitting division. I.e. "by being constant without modification," says Lin Hsi Chung. "There was the garden of Hsi Wei, the park of the Yellow Emperor, the palace of Shun, the halls of T'ang and Wu. The allusion appears to be to schools of learning, like the Grove of Academus. See chs. vi, xii. These were perfect men; but had they been taught by Confucianists and Mihists, they would have hammered one another to pieces over scholastic quibbles. How much more then the men of to-day? "The perfect Sage, in his relations with the external world, injures nothing. Neither does anything injure him. And only he who is thus exempt can be trusted to conform and to adapt. "Mountain forests and loamy fields swell my heart with joy. But ere the joy be passed, sorrow is upon me again. Familiarity destroys the charm.

Joy and sorrow come and go, and over them I have no control. "Alas! the life of man is but as a stoppage at an inn. He knows that which comes within the range of his experience. Otherwise, he knows not. He knows that he can do what he can do, and that he cannot do what he cannot do. But there is always that which he does not know and that which he cannot do; and to struggle that it shall not be so, - is not this a cause for grief? "The best language is that which is not spoken, the best form of action is that which is without deeds. Then conformity and adaptation are not required. Spread out your knowledge and it will be found to be shallow." It will by no means cover the area of the knowable. "Read this chapter," says one critic, "and the Tripitaka and the Mahâyâna will open out before you as beneath a sharp-edged blade."

KÊNG SANG CH'U. Argument: - The operation of TAO is not seen - Spheres of action vary - TAO remains the same - Spontaneity essential - TAO can be divided but remains entire - It is infinite as Time and Space - It is unconditioned - The external and the internal - Illustrations. Among the disciples of Lao Tzŭ was one named Kêng Sang Ch'u. He alone had attained to the TAO of his Master. He lived up north, on the Wei-lei Mountains. Of his attendants, he dismissed those who were systematically clever or conventionally charitable. The useless remained with him; the incompetent served him. And in three years the district of Wei-lei was greatly benefited. One of the inhabitants said in conversation, "When Mr. Kêng Sang first came among us, we did not know what to make of him. Now, we could not say enough about him in a day, and even a year would leave something unsaid. Surely he must be a true Sage. Why not pray to him as to the spirits, and honour him as a tutelary god of the land?" On hearing of this, Kêng Sang Ch'u turned his face to the south Towards the abode of Lao Tzŭ.

in shame, at which his disciples were astonished. But Kêng Sang said, "What cause have you for astonishment? The influence of spring quickens the life of plants, and autumn brings them to maturity. In the absence of any agent, how is this so? It is the operation of TAO. "I have heard that the perfect man may be pent up like a corpse in a tomb, yet the people will become unartificial and without care. So powerful will be his influence. But now these poor people of Wei-lei wish to exalt me among their wise and good. Surely then I am but a shallow vessel; and therefore I was shamed for the doctrine of Lao Tzŭ." The disciples said, "Not so. In a sixteen-foot ditch a big fish has not room to turn round; but 'tis the very place for an eel. On a six or seven-foot hillock a large beast finds no shelter, while the uncanny fox gladly makes its lair therein. Besides, ever since the days of Yao and Shun it has always been customary to honour the virtuous, advance the able, give precedence to the good and useful. Why not then among the people of Wei-lei? Let them do it, Sir."

"Come here, my children," said Kêng Sang Ch'u. "A beast big enough to swallow a cart, if it wanders alone from the hills, will not escape the sorrow of the snare. A fish big enough to gulp down a boat, if stranded on the dry shore will become a prey to ants. Therefore it is that birds and beasts love height, and fishes and turtles love depth. And the man who cares for himself hides his body. He loves the occult. There is a play here upon words. "As to Yao and Shun, what claim have they to praise? Their fine distinctions simply amounted to knocking a hole in a wall in order to stop it up with brambles; They had better have left the wall alone. to combing each individual hair; to counting the grains for a rice pudding! How in the name of goodness did they profit their generation? "If the virtuous are honoured, emulation will ensue. If knowledge be fostered, the result will be theft. People will employ their knowledge against each other.

These things are of no use to make people good. The struggle for wealth is so severe. Sons murder their fathers; ministers their princes; men rob in broad daylight, and bore through walls at high noon. I tell you that the root of this great evil is from Yao and Shun, and that its branches will extend into a thousand ages to come. A thousand ages hence, man will be feeding upon man!" Nan Yung Ch'u A disciple. sadly straightened his seat and said, "But what is one of my age to do that he may attain to this?" "Preserve your form complete," said Kêng Sang, "your vitality secure. Let no anxious thoughts intrude. And then in three years' space you may attain to this." "I do not know," said Nan Yung, "that there is any difference in the form of eyes; yet blind men cannot see. I do not know that there is any difference in the form of ears; yet deaf men cannot hear. I do not know that there is any difference in the form of hearts; The seat of the intellect.

yet fools cannot use theirs to any purpose. The forms are alike; yet there is something which differentiates them. One will succeed, and another will not. Yet you tell me to preserve my form complete, my vitality secure, and let no anxious thoughts intrude. But so far I only hear TAO with my ears." "Well said!" cried Kêng Sang; and then he added, "Small wasps cannot transform huge caterpillars. According to Chinese notions, the wasp has no young. It transforms a small caterpillar into the required offspring. Bantams cannot hatch the eggs of geese. The fowls of Lu can. Not that there is any difference in the hatching power of chickens. One can and another cannot, because one is naturally fitted for working on a large, the other on a small scale. My talents are of the latter order. I cannot transform you. Why not go south and see Lao Tzŭ?" So Nan Yung took some provisions, and after a seven days' journey arrived at the abode of Lao Tzŭ. "Have you come from Kêng Sang Ch'u?" said the latter. "I have," replied Nan Yung. "But why," said Lao Tzŭ, "bring all these people with you?" Meaning the questions he was going to ask.

Nan Yung looked back in alarm, and Lao Tzŭ continued, "Do you not understand what I say?" Nan Yung bent his head abashed, and then looking up, said with a sigh, "I have now forgotten how to answer, in consequence of missing what I came to ask." He was so confused by Lao Tzŭ's question coming before he had had time to state his mission. "What do you mean?" said Lao Tzŭ. "If I do not know," replied Nan Yung, "men call me a fool. If I do know, I injure myself. If I am not charitable, I injure others. If I am, I injure myself. If I do not do my duty to my neighbour, I injure others. If I do it, I injure myself. My trouble lies in not seeing how to escape from these three dilemmas. On the strength of my connection with Kêng Sang, I would venture to ask advice."

"When I saw you," said Lao Tzŭ, "I knew in the twinkling of an eye what was the matter with you. And now what you say confirms my view. You are confused, as a child that has lost its parents. You would fathom the sea with a pole. You are astray. You are struggling to get back to your natural self, but cannot find the way. Alas! alas!" Nan Yung begged to be allowed to remain, and set to work to cultivate the good and eliminate the evil within him. At the expiration of ten days, with sorrow in his heart, he again sought Lao Tzŭ. "Have you thoroughly cleansed yourself?" said Lao Tzŭ. "But this grieved look.... There is some evil obstruction yet. "If the disturbances are external, Sc. sensual. do not be always combating them, but close the channels to the mind. If the disturbances are internal, do not strive to oppose them, but close all entrance from without. And the mind will recover itself. If the disturbances are both internal and external, then you will not even be able to hold fast to Tao, still less practise it."

Plain English · paraphrase"When I saw you," said Lao Tzu, "I knew at once what was wrong. And now what you say confirms my view. You are confused, like a child that has lost its parents. You try to measure the sea with a pole. You are lost. You are trying to return to your natural self, but cannot find the way. Alas! Alas!" Nan Yung begged to be allowed to stay, and began to work at cultivating the good and removing the evil within him. After ten days, with sorrow in his heart, he returned to Lao Tzu. "Have you completely cleansed yourself?" said Lao Tzu. "But this sad look... there is still some evil blocking you. If the disturbances come from outside, sensual ones, do not always fight them, but block the channels to the mind. If the disturbances come from inside, do not try to oppose them, but block all entry from outside. Then the mind will recover. If the disturbances are both inside and outside, then you will not even be able to hold on to Tao, let alone practice it."

"If a rustic is sick," said Nan Yung, "and another rustic goes to see him; and if the sick man can say what is the matter with him, - then he is not seriously ill. Yet my search after TAO is like swallowing drugs which only increase the malady. Although really not so very far from TAO (sc. health) as evidenced by my being able to describe my complaint, which a man sick of some serious disease is scarcely able to do. I beg therefore merely to ask the art of preserving life." "The art of preserving life," replied Lao Tzŭ, "consists in being able to keep all in ONE, Sc. Body and soul. See the Tao-Tê-Ching, ch. x, where this idea has been reproduced. to lose nothing, to estimate good and evil without divination, To know that each is bound up in the other. to know when to stop, and how much is enough, to leave others alone and attend to oneself, to be without cares and without knowledge, - to be in fact as a child. A child will cry all day and not become hoarse, because of the perfection of its constitutional harmony. Also reproduced in the Tao-Tê-Ching, ch. lv.

It will keep its fist tightly closed all day and not open it, because of the concentration of its virtue. It will gaze all day without taking off its eyes, because its sight is not attracted by externals. In motion, it knows not whither it is bound; at rest, it is not conscious of doing anything; but unconsciously adapts itself to the exigencies of its environment. This is the art of preserving life." "Is this then the virtue of the perfect man?" cried Nan Yung. "Not so," said Lao Tzŭ. "I am, as it were, but breaking the ice. "The perfect man shares the food of this earth, but the happiness of God. He does not incur trouble either from men or things. He does not join in censuring, in plotting, in toadying. Free from care he comes, and unconscious he goes; - this is the art of preserving life." "This then is perfection?" inquired Nan Yung. "Not yet," said Lao Tzŭ. "I specially asked if you could be as a child. A child acts without knowing what it does; moves without knowing whither. Its body is like a dry branch; its heart like dead ashes. Thus, good and evil fortune find no lodgment therein; and there where good and evil fortune are not, how can the troubles of mortality be?

"Those whose hearts are in a state of repose give forth a divine radiance, by the light of which they see themselves as they are. And only by cultivating such repose can man attain to the constant. "Those who are constant are sought after by men and assisted by God. Those who are sought after by men are the people of God; those who are assisted by God are his chosen children. The stuff of which rulers are made. "To study this is to study what cannot be learnt. To practise this is to practise what cannot be accomplished. To discuss this is to discuss what can never be proved. Let knowledge stop at the unknowable. That is perfection. And for those who do not follow this, God will destroy them! "Knowledge," says Emerson in his Montaigne, or the Sceptic, "is the knowing that we cannot know." "With such defences for the body, ever prepared for the unexpected, deferential to the rights of others, - if then calamities overtake you, these are from God, not from man. Let them not disturb what you have already achieved. Let them not penetrate into the soul's abode. For there resides the Will. And if the will knows not what to will, it will not be able to will.

Inability to exercise the functions of will is TAO. "Whatsoever is not said in all sincerity, is wrongly said. And not to be able to rid oneself of this vice is only to sink deeper towards perdition. "Those who do evil in the open light of day, - men will punish them. Those who do evil in secret, - God will punish them. Who fears both man and God, he is fit to walk alone. The term here used for "God" means strictly those "spirits" which are the avenging emissaries of the Deity. Those who are devoted to the internal, To self-culture. in practice acquire no reputation. Those who are devoted to the external, strive for pre-eminence among their fellows. Practice without reputation throws a halo around the meanest. But he who strives for pre-eminence among his fellows, he is as a huckster whose weariness all perceive though he himself puts on an air of gaiety. "He who is naturally in sympathy with man, to him all men come. But he who forcedly adapts, has no room even for himself, still less for others. And he who has no room for others, has no ties. It is all over with him. "There is no weapon so deadly as man's will. Excalibur is second to it. There is no bandit so powerful as Nature.

Plain English · paraphraseNot being able to use your will is the TAO. "If you don't say something with complete honesty, you're saying it wrong. And not getting rid of this bad habit just makes you sink deeper toward ruin. "People who do evil openly will be punished by others. People who do evil in secret will be punished by God. The one who fears both people and God is fit to walk alone. The word used here for "God" means strictly those "spirits" who are the punishing messengers of the Divine. Those who focus on the inner life, on self-cultivation, in practice gain no reputation. Those who focus on the outer life, strive to stand out among others. Inner practice without reputation makes even the humble shine. But the one who tries to stand out among others is like a huckster, whose tiredness everyone sees, even if he tries to look cheerful. "The one who naturally feels sympathy for people, all people come to him. But the one who forces himself to adapt has no room even for himself, let alone others. And the one who has no room for others has no connections. That's the end for him. "There is no weapon more deadly than a person's will. Excalibur is second to it. There is no bandit more powerful than Nature.

The interaction of the Positive and Negative principles, which produces the visible universe. In the whole universe there is no escape from it. Yet it is not Nature which does the injury. It is man's own heart. "TAO informs its own subdivisions, their successes and their failures. What is feared in subdivision is separation. From the parent stock of TAO. What is feared in separation, is further separation. So that all connection is severed. Thus, to issue forth without return, this is development of the supernatural. To issue forth and attain the goal, this is called death. To be annihilated and yet to exist, this is convergence of the supernatural into ONE. To make things which have form appear to all intents and purposes formless, - this is the sum of all things. Man's final triumph over matter. "Birth is not a beginning; death is not an end. There is existence without limitation; there is continuity without a starting-point. Existence without limitation is Space. Continuity without a starting-point is Time. There is birth, there is death, there is issuing forth, there is entering in. That through which one passes in and out without seeing its form, that is the Portal of God.

"The Portal of God is Non-Existence. All things sprang from Non-Existence. Existence could not make existence existence. It must have proceeded from Non-Existence, The idea of existence, independent of its correlate, cannot be apprehended by the human intellect. And Non-Existence and Nothing are ONE. If all things sprang from non-existence, it might be urged that non-existence had an objective existence. But non-existence is nothing, and nothing excludes the idea of something, making subjective and objective nothings ONE. Herein is the abiding-place of the Sage. There where the matter of mortality shares the tenuity of the formless. "The knowledge of the ancients reached the highest point, - the time before anything existed. This is the highest point. It is exhaustive. There is no adding to it. "The second best was that of those who started from existence. Life was to them a misfortune. Death was a return home. There was already separation. "The next in the scale said that at the beginning there was nothing. Then life came, to be quickly followed by death. They made Nothing the head, Life the trunk, and Death the tail of existence, claiming as friends whoever knew that existence and non-existence, and life and death were all ONE.

"These three classes, though different, were of the same clan; as were Chao Ching who inherited fame, and Chia who inherited territory. The fact of inheritance was the same, but not the thing inherited, - by these men of Ch'u. There are various interpretations of this passage. No two commentators agree. "Man's life is as the soot on a kettle. Meaning, concentrated smoke. Yet men speak of the subjective point of view. But this subjective point of view will not bear the test. It is a point of knowledge we cannot reach. Individual standards are fallacious. What is subjective from one point of view is objective from another. "At the winter sacrifice, the tripe may be separated from the great toe; yet these cannot be separated. Each carries away the characteristics of the whole. He who looks at a house, visits the ancestral hall, and even the latrines. Thus every point is the subjective point of view. Or else he has not seen the house but only a part. Where then is the subjective point of view of the house, and by analogy, of the man? "Let us try to formulate this subjective point of view. It originates with life, and, with knowledge as its tutor, drifts into the admission of right and wrong. In the abstract.

But one's own standard of right is the standard, and others have to adapt themselves to it. Men will die for this. Such people look upon the useful as appertaining to wisdom, the useless as appertaining to folly; upon success in life as honourable, upon failure as dishonourable. Not knowing the value of the useless, or perceiving that what is so at one time is not so at another. The subjective point of view is that of the present generation, who like the cicada and the young dove see things only from their own standpoint. See ch. i. "If a man treads upon a stranger's toe in the market-place, he apologises on the score of hurry. If an elder brother does this, he is quit with an exclamation of sympathy. And if a parent does so, nothing whatever is done. The child being part of himself. "Therefore it has been said, 'Perfect politeness is not artificial; Kuo Hsiang says this means treating others as oneself. Lin Hsi Chung takes the "natural" or "spontaneous" view which is here adopted. perfect duty to one's neighbour is not a matter of calculation; perfect wisdom takes no thought; perfect charity recognises no ties; perfect trust requires no pledges.'

"Discard the stimuli of purpose. Free the mind from disturbances. Get rid of entanglements to virtue. Pierce the obstructions to TAO. "Honours, wealth, distinction, power, fame, gain, - these six stimulate purpose. "Mien, carriage, beauty, arguments, influence, opinions, - these six disturb the mind. Referring, of course, to the mien, carriage, etc. of others. "Hate, ambition, joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure, - these six are entanglements to virtue. "Rejecting, adopting, receiving, giving, knowledge, ability, - these six are obstructions to TAO. The key to which is inaction. "If these twenty-four be not allowed to run riot, then the mind will be duly ordered. And being duly ordered, it will be in repose. And being in repose, it will be clear of perception. And being clear of perception, it will be unconditioned. And being unconditioned, it will be in that state of inaction by which there is nothing which cannot be accomplished. "TAO is the sovereign lord of TÊ. TÊ is the "virtue" of spontaneity. Life is the glorifier of TÊ. By means of which it can be manifested. Nature is the substance of life. The code of which life is the embodiment. The operation of that nature is action. The perversion of that action is error.

"People who know put forth physical power. People who know employ mental effort. But what people who know do not know is to be as the eye. Which sees without looking. "Emotion which is spontaneous is called virtue passive. Emotion which is not evoked by the external is called virtue active. The names of these are antagonistic; but essentially they are in accord. All "virtue" should proceed from the real self, sc. from God. "Yi was skilled in hitting the bull's-eye; but stupid at preventing people from praising him for so doing. See ch. v. The Sage devotes himself to the natural and neglects the artificial. For only the Perfect Man can devote himself profitably to the natural and artificial alike. Insects influence insects; So as to make others like themselves because insects are natural. When the Perfect Man hates the natural, it is the artificially natural which he hates. How much more man's alternate naturalness and artificiality?

Plain English · paraphrasePeople who understand use physical strength. People who understand use mental effort. But what people who understand do not know is to be like the eye. Which sees without looking. Emotion that comes naturally is called passive virtue. Emotion that is not stirred by the outside is called active virtue. Their names are opposite; but their essence is the same. All "virtue" should come from the real self, that is, from God. Yi was good at hitting the bull's-eye; but bad at stopping people from praising him for doing so. See chapter five. The Sage focuses on the natural and ignores the artificial. For only the Perfect Man can usefully focus on both the natural and the artificial. Insects affect insects; so that they make others like themselves, because insects are natural. When the Perfect Man hates the natural, it is the artificial kind of naturalness that he hates. How much more so with people's mix of naturalness and artificiality?

"If a bird falls in with Yi, Yi will get it. Such is his skill. And if the world were made into a cage, birds would have no place of escape. So it was that by cookery T'ang got hold of I Yin, and by five rams' skins Duke Mu of Ch'in got Po Li Ch'i. But had these princes not been themselves successful at getting, they never would have got these men. Apocryphal stories both. I Yin was the successful and famous minister of the founder of the Shang dynasty. For Poh Li Ch'i, see p. 270. "A one-legged man discards ornament, his exterior not being open to commendation. Condemned criminals will go up to great heights without fear, for they no longer regard life and death from their former point of view. And those who pay no attention to their moral clothing Artificial virtues. and condition become oblivious of their own personality; and by thus becoming oblivious of their personality, they proceed to be the people of God. "Wherefore, if men revere them, they rejoice not. If men insult them, they are not angered. But only those who have passed into the eternal harmony of God are capable of this.

Plain English · paraphrase"If a bird falls in with Yi, Yi will get it. That is his skill. And if the world were made into a cage, birds would have no place to escape. So it was that by offering food, T'ang got hold of I Yin, and by giving five rams' skins, Duke Mu of Ch'in got Po Li Ch'i. But if these princes had not themselves been skilled at getting what they wanted, they never would have gotten these men. These are both apocryphal stories. I Yin was the successful and famous minister of the founder of the Shang dynasty. For Po Li Ch'i, see p. 270. A one-legged man discards ornament, because his appearance cannot be praised. Condemned criminals will go up to great heights without fear, because they no longer care about life and death as they once did. And those who pay no attention to their moral clothing and condition become unaware of their own personality; and by becoming unaware of their personality, they become the people of God. Therefore, if men revere them, they do not rejoice. If men insult them, they are not angered. But only those who have entered the eternal harmony of God are capable of this."

"If your anger is external, not internal, it will be anger proceeding from not-anger. If your actions are external, not internal, they will be actions proceeding from inaction. "If you would attain peace, level down your emotional nature. If you desire spirituality, cultivate adaptation of the intelligence. If you would have your actions in accordance with what is right, allow yourself to fall in with the dictates of necessity. For necessity is the TAO of the Sage." Do nothing save what you cannot help doing. The authorship of this chapter has been disputed. Lin Hsi Chung regards the question as by no means settled.

Plain English · paraphraseIf your anger comes from outside, not from inside, then it is anger that comes from not being angry. If your actions come from outside, not from inside, then they are actions that come from not acting. If you want peace, calm your emotions. If you want to be spiritual, develop your mind's ability to adapt. If you want your actions to be right, follow what necessity demands. Because necessity is the way of the wise person. Do nothing except what you cannot avoid doing. The authorship of this chapter has been disputed. Lin Hsi Chung thinks the question is not settled at all.

HSÜ WU KUEI. Argument: - TAO is passionless - Immorality of the moral - Obstructions to natural virtue - The evils of action - Too much zeal - The outward and visible - The inward and spiritual - Illustrations. Hsü Wu Kuei, introduced by Nü Shang, went to see Wu Hou of Wei. A hermit, a minister, and a prince, respectively. The Prince greeted him sympathisingly, and said, "You are suffering, Sir. You must have endured great hardships in your mountain life that you should be willing to leave it and visit me." "It is I who should sympathise with your Highness, not your Highness with me," answered Hsü Wu Kuei. "If your Highness gives free play to passion and yields to loves and hates, then the natural conditions of your existence will suffer. Internally. And if your Highness puts aside passion and abjures loves and hates, then your senses of sight and hearing will suffer. Externally. It is I who should sympathise with your Highness, not your Highness with me."

The Prince was too astonished to reply; and after a while Hsü Wu Kuei continued, "I will try to explain to your Highness how I judge of dogs. The lowest in the scale will eat their fill and then stop, like a cat. Those of the middle class are as though staring at the sun. The highest class are as though they had parted with their own individuality. "But I do not judge of dogs as well as I judge of horses. I judge of horses as follows. Their straightness In running. must be that of a line. Their curve must be that of an arc. Their squareness, that of the square. Their roundness, that of the compasses. One commentator applies all this to the shape of the animals. These are the horses of the State. They are not equal to the horses of the Empire. The horses of the Empire are splendid. They move as though anxious to get along, as though they had lost the way, as though they had parted with their own individuality. Thus, they outstrip all competitors, over the unstirred dust, out of sight!"

Plain English · paraphraseThe Prince was too surprised to answer. After a moment, Hsu Wu Kuei went on. "I will try to explain to your Highness how I judge dogs. The lowest kind will eat until they are full and then stop, like a cat. The middle kind look as if they are staring at the sun. The highest kind look as if they have lost their own identity. But I do not judge dogs as well as I judge horses. I judge horses like this: their straight running must be like a straight line. Their curve must be like an arc. Their squareness must be like a square. Their roundness must be like the compasses. One commentator applies all this to the shape of the animals. These are the horses of the State. They are not as good as the horses of the Empire. The horses of the Empire are splendid. They move as if eager to go, as if they had lost their way, as if they had lost their own identity. Thus, they outpace all others, over untouched dust, out of sight!"

The Prince was greatly pleased and smiled. But when Hsü Wu Kuei went out, Nü Shang asked him, saying, "What can you have been saying to his Highness? Whenever I address him, it is either in a pacific sense, based upon the Canons of Poetry, History, Rites, and Music; or in a belligerent sense, based upon the Golden Roster or the Six Plans of Battle. Ancient military treatises. I have transacted with great success innumerable matters entrusted to me, yet his Highness has never vouchsafed a smile. What can you have been saying to make him so pleased as all this?" "I merely told him," replied Hsü Wu Kuei, "how I judged of dogs and horses." "Was that all?" enquired Nü Shang, incredulously. "Have you not heard," said Hsü Wu Kuei, "of the outlaw of Yüeh? After several days' absence from his State, he was glad to meet any one he had known there. After a month, he was glad to meet any one he had even seen there. And after a year, he was glad to meet any one who was in any way like to his fellow-countrymen. Is not this a case of absence from one's kind increasing the desire to be with them?

Plain English · paraphraseThe Prince was very happy and smiled. But when Hsü Wu Kuei left, Nü Shang asked him, "What did you say to his Highness? Every time I speak to him, it's either peaceful, based on the _Poetry_, _History_, _Rites_, and _Music_; or it's about war, based on the _Golden Roster_ or the _Six Plans of Battle_. I've handled many important matters successfully, yet his Highness has never smiled at me. What did you say to make him so happy?" "I just told him," replied Hsü Wu Kuei, "how I judge dogs and horses." "Was that all?" asked Nü Shang, not believing. "Have you not heard," said Hsü Wu Kuei, "of the outlaw of Yüeh? After being away from his country for several days, he was glad to meet anyone he had known there. After a month, he was glad to meet anyone he had even seen there. After a year, he was glad to meet anyone who was even a little like his fellow countrymen. Isn't this because being away from your own kind makes you long more to be with them?

"Thus a man who had fled into the wilderness, where bishop-wort chokes the path of the weasel and stoat, now advancing, now stopping, - how he would rejoice if the footfall of a fellow-creature broke upon his ear. And how much more were he to hear the sound of a brother's, of a relative's voice at his side. Long it is, I ween, since his Highness has heard the voice of a pure man at his side!" Hsü Wu Kuei went to visit the Prince. The latter said, "Living, Sir, up in the hills, and feeding upon berries or satisfying yourself with leeks, you have long neglected me. Are you now growing old? Or do you hanker after flesh-pots and wine? Or is it that mine is such a well-governed State?" "I am of lowly birth," replied Hsü Wu Kuei. "I could not venture to eat and drink your Highness' meat and wine. I came to sympathise with your Highness." "What do you mean?" cried the Prince? "What is there to sympathise about?" "About your Highness' soul and body," replied Hsü Wu Kuei. "Pray explain," said the Prince. "Nourishment is nourishment," said Hsü Wu Kuei. To a peasant as to a prince.

"Being high up does not make one high, nor does being low make one low. Your Highness is the ruler of a large State, and you oppress the whole population thereof in order to satisfy your sensualities. But your soul is not a party to this. The soul loves harmony and hates disorder. For disorder is a disease. Therefore I came to sympathise. How is it that your Highness alone is suffering?" "I have long desired to see you," answered the Prince. "I wish to love my people, and by cultivation of duty towards one's neighbour to put an end to war. Can this be done?" "It cannot," replied Hsü Wu Kuei. "Love for the people is the root of all evil to the people. Cultivation of duty towards one's neighbour in order to put an end to war is the origin of all fighting. If your Highness starts from this basis, the result can only be disastrous. Why try to "do" anything? "Everything that is made good, turns out bad. The artificial is impermanent. And although your Highness should make charity and duty to one's neighbour, I fear they would be spurious articles. For the inward intention would appear in the outward manifestation. The adoption of a fixed standard

I.e. of the personal standard of individuals. See pp. 305, 306. would lead to complications. And revolutions within lead to fighting without. Surely your Highness would not make a bower into a battlefield, nor a shrine of prayer into a scene of warfare! This, of course, refers to the mind. "Have nothing within which is obstructive of virtue. Seek not to vanquish others in cunning, in plotting, in war. If I slay a whole nation and annex the territory in order to find nourishment for my passions and for my soul, - irrespective of military skill, wherein does the victory lie? "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" "If your Highness will only abstain, that will be enough. Cultivate the sincerity that is within your breast, so as to be responsive to the conditions of your environment, and be not aggressive. The people will thus escape death; From oppression. and what need then to put an end to war?" When the Yellow Emperor went to see TAO upon the Chü-tz'ŭ Mountain, Fang Ming was his charioteer, Ch'ang Yü sat on his right, Chang Jo and Hsi P'êng were his outriders, and K'un Hun and Hua Chi brought up the rear. Commentators tear this passage to tatters.

On reaching the wilds of Hsiang-ch'êng, The limit of the known. these seven Sages lost their way and there was no one of whom to ask the road. By and by, they fell in with a boy who was grazing horses, and asked him, saying, "Do you know the Chü-tz'ŭ Mountain?" "I do," replied the boy. "And can you tell us," continued the Sages, "where TAO abides?" "I can," replied the boy. "This is a strange lad," cried the Yellow Emperor. "Not only does he know where the Chü-tz'ŭ Mountain is, but also where TAO abides! Come tell me, pray, how would you govern the empire?" "I should govern the empire," said the boy, "just the same as I look after my horses. What else should I do? "When I was a little boy and used to live within the points of the compass, In Vanity Fair. my eyes got dim of sight. An old man advised me to mount the chariot of the sun I.e. of Intelligence. and visit the wilds of Hsiang-ch'êng. My sight is now much better, and I continue to dwell without the points of the compass. I should govern the empire in just the same way. What else should I do?"

"Of course," said the Yellow Emperor, "government is not your trade. Still I should be glad to hear what you would do." The boy declined to answer, but on being again urged, cried out, "What difference is there between governing the empire and looking after horses? See that no harm comes to the horses, that is all!" Thereupon the Emperor prostrated himself before the boy; and addressing him as Divine Teacher, took his leave. Divine Teacher means "inspired by God." The term used is that employed in modern times for the head or Pope of debased Taoism, often wrongly rendered as the "Master of Heaven." If schemers have nothing to give them anxiety, they are not happy. If dialecticians have not their premisses and conclusion, they are not happy. If critics have none on whom to vent their spleen, they are not happy. Such men are the slaves of objective existences.

Those who attract the sympathies of the world, start new dynasties. Those who win the people's hearts, take high official rank. Those who are strong undertake difficulties. Those who are brave encounter dangers. Men of arms delight in war. Men of peace think of nothing but reputation. Men of law strive to improve the administration. Professors of ceremony and music cultivate deportment. Moralists devote themselves to the obligations between man and man. Take away agriculture from the husbandman, and his classification is gone. Take away trade from the merchant, and his classification is gone. Daily work is the stimulus of the labourer. The skill of the artisan is his pride. If money cannot be made, the avaricious man is sad. If his power meets with a check, the boaster will repine. Ambitious men love change. Thus, men are always doing something; inaction is to them impossible. They observe in this the same regularity as the seasons, ever without change. They hurry to destruction, dissipating in all directions their vital forces, alas! never to return. Chuang Tzŭ said, "If archers who aimed at nothing and hit something were accounted good shots, everybody in the world would be another Yi. See p. 308. Could this be so?" "It could," replied Hui Tzŭ.

"If there was no general standard of right in the world," continued Chuang Tzŭ, "but each man had his own, then everybody would be a Yao. Could this be so?" "It could," replied Hui Tzŭ. "Very well," said Chuang Tzŭ. "Now there are the Confucianists, the Mihists, the schools of Yang Yang Chu. See ch. viii. and Ping, Kung Sun Lung. See ch. xvii. making with your own five in all. Pray which of these is right? "Possibly it is a similar case to that of Lu Chü? Of whom there is no record. - A disciple said to him, 'Master, I have attained to your TAO. I can do without fire in winter: I can make ice in summer.' "'You merely avail yourself of latent heat and latent cold,' replied Lu Chü. 'That is not what I call TAO. I will demonstrate to you what my TAO is.' "Thereupon he tuned two lutes, and placed one in the hall and the other in the adjoining room. And when he struck the Kung note on one, the Kung note on the other sounded; when he struck the chio note on one, the chio note on the other sounded. This because they were both tuned to the same pitch.

"But if he changed the interval of one string, so that it no longer kept its place in the octave, and then struck it, the result was that all the twenty-five strings jangled together. There was sound as before, but the influence of the key-note was gone. Is this your case?" "The Confucianists, the Mihists, and the followers of Yang and Ping," replied Hui Tzŭ, "are just now engaged in discussing this matter with me. They try to overwhelm me with argument or howl me down with noise. Yet they have not proved me wrong. Why then should you?" "A man of the Ch'i State," replied Chuang Tzŭ, "sent away his son into the Sung State, to be a door-keeper, with maimed body. Doorkeepers in ancient times were, for obvious reasons, deprived of their feet. But a vase, which he valued highly, he kept carefully wrapped up. Thus Hui Tzŭ sacrifices the greater to the less. "He who would seek for a stray child, but will not leave his home, is like to lose him. Thus restricted to his four antagonistic schools is Hui Tzŭ's search for TAO.

"If a man of Ch'u, who was sent away to be a door-keeper, began, in the middle of the night, when no one was about, to fight with the boatman, I should say that before his boat left the shore he would already have got himself into considerable trouble." A maimed man (Hui Tzŭ) should avoid quarrels. His own share of TAO is insufficient even for himself. Chuang Tzŭ was once attending a funeral, when he passed by the grave of Hui Tzŭ. Turning to his attendants, he said, "A man of Ying Capital of the Ch'u state. who had his nose covered with a hard scab, no thicker than a fly's wing, sent for a stone-mason to chip it off. The stone-mason plied his adze with great dexterity while the patient sat still and let him chip. When the scab was all off, the nose was found to be uninjured, the man of Ying never having moved a muscle. "When Yüan, prince of Sung, heard of this, he summoned the stone-mason and said, 'Try to do the same for me.' "'I used to be able to do it Sire,' replied the stone-mason, 'but my material has long since perished.' "And I too, ever since he perished, have been without my material, having no one with whom I can speak."

Plain English · paraphrase"If a man from Ch'u, who had been sent away to work as a door-keeper, started fighting with the boatman in the middle of the night when no one else was around, I would say that before the boat even left the shore, he would already be in serious trouble. A maimed man (Hui Tzŭ) should avoid arguments. His share of the TAO is not enough even for himself. Chuang Tzŭ once attended a funeral and passed by the grave of Hui Tzŭ. Turning to his attendants, he said, 'A man from Ying, the capital of the Ch'u state, had a hard scab on his nose, no thicker than a fly's wing. He sent for a stone-mason to chip it off. The stone-mason worked with great skill, and the patient sat still while he chipped away. When the scab was gone, the nose was found to be unharmed, and the man from Ying had not moved a muscle. When Yüan, the prince of Sung, heard about this, he summoned the stone-mason and said, 'Try to do the same for me.' 'I used to be able to do it, Sire,' replied the stone-mason, 'but my material has long since perished.' And I too, ever since he perished, have been without my material, having no one with whom I can speak."

A generous compliment to an old adversary. "There was no one," says Lin Hsi Chung, "in all Chuang Tzŭ's generation who could understand him; neither is there any one now, at this late date, any more than there was then." Kuan Chung being at the point of death, Duke Huan went to see him. See p. 226. "You are ill, venerable Sir," said the Duke, "really ill. You had better say to whom, in the event of your getting worse, I am to entrust the administration of the State." "Whom does your Highness wish to choose?" enquired Kuan Chung. "Will Pao Yü do?" asked the Duke. Kuan Chung and Pao Yü are the "Damon and Pythias" of China. "He will not," said Kuan Chung. "He is pure, incorruptible, and good. With those who are not like himself, he will not associate. And if he has once heard of a man's wrong-doing, he never forgets it. If you employ him in the administration of the empire, he will get to loggerheads with his prince and to sixes and sevens with the people. It would not be long before he and your Highness fell out." "Whom then can we have?" asked the Duke.

"There is no alternative," replied Kuan Chung; "it must be Hsi P'êng. He is a man who forgets the authority of those above him, and makes those below him forget his. Ashamed that he is not the peer of the Yellow Emperor, In virtue. he grieves over those who are not the peers of himself. "To share one's virtue with others is called true wisdom. To share one's wealth with others is reckoned meritorious. To exhibit superior merit is not the way to win men's hearts. To exhibit inferior merit is the way. There are things in the State he does not hear; there are things in the family he does not see. Purposely ignoring petty faults. There is no alternative; it must be Hsi P'êng." Of whom commentators give no further notice. The prince of Wu took a boat and went to the Monkey Mountain, which he ascended. When the monkeys saw him, they fled in terror and hid themselves in the thicket. One of them, however, disported himself carelessly, as though showing off its skill before the prince. The prince took a shot at it; but the monkey, with great rapidity, seized the flying arrow with its hand. Then the prince bade his guards try, the result being that the monkey was killed.

The skill of the poor monkey availed nothing against the cloud of arrows discharged by the guards. On peut être plus fin qu'un autre, mais on ne peut pas être plus fin que tous les autres. Thereupon the prince turned to his friend Yen Pu I, and said, "That monkey flaunted its skill and its dexterity in my face. Therefore it has come to this pass. Beware! Do not flaunt your superiority in the faces of others." Yen Pu I went home, and put himself under the tuition of Tung Wu, A professor of TAO. with a view to get rid of such superiority. He put aside all that gave him pleasure and avoided gaining reputation. And in three years his praise was in everybody's mouth. Tzŭ Chi of Nan-poh See ch. iv. was sitting leaning on a table. He looked up to heaven and sighed, at which juncture Yen Ch'êng Tzŭ entered and said, "How, Sir, can such an important person as yourself be in body like dry wood, in mind like dead ashes?" Instead of exerting yourself for the benefit of mankind. The speaker, says one commentator, was "a disciple." "I used to live in a cave on the hills," replied Tzŭ Chi. "At that time, T'ien Ho, The famous founder of the later House of Ch'i.

Plain English · paraphraseThe poor monkey's skill was no match for the cloud of arrows the guards shot. _One can be sharper than another, but not sharper than all others._ Then the prince turned to his friend Yen Pu I and said, "That monkey showed off its skill and dexterity in front of me. That is why it ended up like this. Be careful! Do not show off your superiority in front of others." Yen Pu I went home and placed himself under the teaching of Tung Wu, a professor of TAO, to get rid of such superiority. He gave up all things that gave him pleasure and avoided gaining a reputation. And in three years, his praise was in everyone's mouth. Tzŭ Chi of Nan-poh See ch. iv. was sitting leaning on a table. He looked up to the sky and sighed. At that moment, Yen Ch'êng Tzŭ entered and said, "How, Sir, can such an important person as yourself be in body like dry wood, in mind like dead ashes?" Instead of exerting yourself for the benefit of mankind. The speaker, says one commentator, was "a disciple." "I used to live in a cave on the hills," replied Tzŭ Chi. "At that time, T'ien Ho, the famous founder of the later House of Ch'i.

because he once saw me, was thrice congratulated by the people of Ch'i. Now I must have given some indication by which he recognised me. As a Sage. I must have sold for him to buy. For had I not manifested myself, how would he have recognised me? Had I not sold, how could he have bought? "Alas! I grieve over man's self-destruction. As reputation comes, reality goes. And then I grieve over one who grieves for another. And then I grieve over him who grieves over one who grieves for another! And so I get daily farther and farther away." And become like dry wood, my soul absorbed into TAO. When Confucius went to Ch'u, the prince entertained him at a banquet. Sun Shu Ao stood up with a goblet of wine in his hand, and I Liao of Shih-nan poured a libation, saying, "On such occasions as this, the men of old were wont to make some utterance." "Mine," replied Confucius, "is the doctrine of wordless utterances. Shall I who make no utterances, make utterance now? "I Liao of Shih-nan played with his ball, and the trouble of two houses was arranged. A man of great strength who refused to aid in settling a State quarrel. He was a great ball player, - whatever that may have been.

Sun Shu Ao remained quietly in repose, and the men of Ying threw down their arms. No one dared attack them, so powerful was the prestige of their minister. I should want a three-foot tongue indeed! To achieve more by talk than these two achieved by inaction. "Theirs was the TAO of inaction. His was the argument of silence. Wherefore, for TÊ The manifestation of TAO. to rest in undivided TAO, By which all things are ONE. and for speech to stop at the unknowable, - this is perfection. "With undivided TAO, TÊ cannot be coincident. The latter is multiform. No argument can demonstrate the unknowable. Subdivision into Confucianists and Mihists only makes confusion worse confounded. "The sea does not reject the streams which flow eastward into it. Therefore it is immeasurably great. The true Sage folds the universe in his bosom. His good influence benefits all throughout the empire, without respect to persons. Born without rank, he dies without titles. He does not take credit for realities. But attributes it all to circumstances. He does not establish a name. For what he has done. This is to be a great man. "A dog is not considered a good dog because he is a good barker. He must also bite.

A man is not considered a good man because he is a good talker. How much less in the case of greatness? And if doing great things is not enough to secure greatness, how much less shall it secure virtue? "In point of greatness, there is nothing to be compared with the universe. Yet what does the universe seek in order to be great? "He who understands greatness in this sense, seeks nothing, loses nothing, rejects nothing, never suffers injury from without. He takes refuge in his own inexhaustibility. He finds safety in according with his nature. This is the essence of true greatness." Tzŭ Chi had eight sons. He ranged them before him, and summoning Chiu Fang Yin, said to him, "Examine my sons physiognomically, and tell me which will be the fortunate one." "K'un," replied Chiu Fang Yin, "will be the fortunate one." "In what sense?" asked the father, beaming with delight. "K'un," said Chiu Fang Yin, "will eat at the table of a prince, and so end his days." Thereupon Tzŭ Chi burst into tears and said, "What has my son done that this should be his fate?"

"Eating at the table of a prince," replied Chiu Fang Yin, "will benefit the family for three generations. How much more his father and mother! But for you, Sir, to go and weep is enough to turn back the luck from you. The son's fortune is good, but the father's bad." "Yin," said Tzŭ Chi, "I should like to know what you mean by calling K'un fortunate. Wine and meat gratify the palate, but you do not say how these are to come. "Supposing that to me, not being a shepherd, a lamb were born in the south-west corner of my hall; or that to me, not being a sportsman, quails were hatched in the north-east corner. If you did not call that uncanny, what would you call it? "My sons and I do but roam through the universe. With them I seek the joys of heaven; with them I seek the fruits of earth. With them I engage in no business; with them I concoct no plots; with them I attempt nothing out-of-the-way. With them I mount upon the truth of the universe, and do not offer opposition to the exigencies of our environment. With them I accommodate myself naturally; but with them I do not become a slave to circumstances. Yet now the world is rewarding me!

"Every uncanny effect must be preceded by some uncanny cause. Alas! my sons and I have done nothing. It must be the will of God. Therefore I weep." Shortly afterwards, when K'un was on his way to the Yen State, he was captured by brigands. To sell him as he was, would be no easy matter. To sell him without his feet would be easy enough. So they cut off his feet and sold him into the Ch'i State, where he became door-keeper to Duke Chü and had meat to his dinner for the rest of his life. Commentators make terrible havoc here. Yeh Ch'üeh meeting Hsü Yu, said to him, "Where are you going?" "Away from Yao!" replied the latter. "What do you mean?" asked Yeh Ch'üeh. "Yao," said Hsü Yu, "thinks of nothing but charity. I fear he will become a laughing-stock to the world, and that in future ages men will eat one another. See p. 296. "There is no difficulty in winning the people. Love them and they will draw near. Profit them and they will come up. Praise them and they will vie with one another. But introduce something they dislike, and they will be gone.

"Love and profit are born of charity and duty to one's neighbour. Those who ignore charity and duty to one's neighbour are few; those who make capital out of them are many. "For the operation of these virtues is not disinterested. It is like lending gear to a sportsman. With a view to share the game. Wherefore, for one man to dogmatise for the good of the whole empire, is like splitting a thing at a single blow. Without reference to method or the requirements of the case in point. "Yao knows that good men benefit the empire. But he does not know that they injure it. Only those on a higher level than good men know this. "There are nincompoops; there are parasites; there are enthusiasts. "A man who learns from a single teacher, and then goes off exultant, satisfied with his acquirements though ignorant that there was a time when nothing existed, - such a one is a nincompoop.

"Parasites are like the lice on a pig's back. They choose bald patches, which are to them palaces and parks. The parts between the toes, the joints, the dugs, and the buttocks, are to them so many comfortable and convenient resting-places. They know not that one day the butcher will tuck up his sleeves and spread straw and apply fire, and that they will perish in the singeing of the pig. As they sow, so do they reap. This is to be a parasite. "Of enthusiasts, Shun is an example. Mutton does not care for ants; it is the ants which care for the mutton. Mutton has a frowsy smell; and there is a frowsiness about Shun which attracts the people. Therefore it was that after three changes of residence, when he came to the Têng district, he had some hundred thousand families with him. "Then Yao, hearing of his goodness, appointed him to a barren region, trusting, as he said, that Shun's arrival would enrich it. When Shun took up this appointment, he was already old, and his intellect was failing; yet he would not cease work and retire from office. He was, in fact, an enthusiast.

"So it is that the spiritual man dislikes a crowd. For where there is a crowd there is diversity, and where there is diversity advantage does not accrue. He is therefore neither very intimate, nor very distant. He clings to virtue and nourishes a spirit of harmony, in order to be in accord with his fellow-men. This is to be a divine man. "Leave wisdom to ants. Strive for what fishes desire. To be left alone in the water. "Leave attractiveness to mutton. Use your eyes to contemplate, your ears to listen to, your mind to consider, their own internal workings. For him who can do these things, his level will be that of a line, his modifications in due and proper season. "Therefore, the divine man trusts to the natural development of events. He does not strive to introduce the artificial into the domain of the natural. Accordingly, life is a gain and death a loss, or death is a gain and life a loss. According to circumstances. "For instance, drugs. They are characteristically poisonous. Such are Chieh-Kêng, Chi-Yung, and Shih-Ling. Circumstances, however, make of each a sovereign remedy. The list is inexhaustible. Chieh-Kêng is the Platycodon grandiflorum. It is used by Chinese doctors as a tonic, astringent, and vermifuge.

"When Kou Chien encamped with three thousand armed warriors at Kuei-ch'i, Leading the men of Wu to attack the Yüeh State. only Chung Wên Chung, minister of Yüeh. saw that defeat would be followed by a rally. Yet he could not foresee the evil that was to come upon himself. Wherefore it has been said, 'An owl's eyes are adapted to their use. A crane's leg is of the length required. 'Twould be disastrous to shorten it.' This illustration has been used in ch. viii, p. 101. "Thus it has been said, 'The wind blows and the river suffers. The sun shines and the river suffers.' But though wind and sun be both brought into relation with the river, it does not really suffer therefrom. Fed from its source, it still continues to flow on. The Sage too has a source from which the nourishment of his soul is supplied. "The relation between water and earth is determinate. The relation between a man and his shadow is determinate. The relation between thing and thing is determinate. "The relation between eye and vision is baneful. Because indeterminate.

Plain English · paraphraseWhen Kou Chien set up camp with three thousand armed men at Kuei-ch'i, leading the people of Wu to attack the Yüeh State, only Chung Wên Chung, a minister of Yüeh, realized that defeat would be followed by a resurgence. But he could not see the disaster that would come to himself. That is why it has been said, "An owl's eyes are suited to their purpose. A crane's leg is the right length. It would be harmful to shorten it." This illustration is used in chapter viii, page 101. "It has been said, 'The wind blows and the river suffers. The sun shines and the river suffers.' But even though wind and sun are connected with the river, the river does not really suffer from them. Fed from its source, it continues to flow. The Sage also has a source from which his soul is nourished. "The relationship between water and earth is fixed. The relationship between a man and his shadow is fixed. The relationship between one thing and another is fixed. "The relationship between the eye and vision is harmful, because it is not fixed.

The relation between ear and hearing is baneful. The relation between mind and object is baneful. The relation between all kinds of capacity and man's inner self is baneful. If such banefulness be not corrected, disasters will spring up on all sides. Retrogression is hard to achieve, and success long in coming. Yet alas! men regard such capacities as valuable possessions. "The destruction of States and the ceaseless slaughter of human beings result from an inability to examine into this. "The foot treads the ground in walking; nevertheless it is the ground not trodden on which makes up the good walk. A man's knowledge is limited; but it is upon what he does not know that he depends to extend his knowledge to the apprehension of God. "Knowledge of the great ONE, of the great Negative, of the great Nomenclature, of the great Uniformity, of the great Space, of the great Truth, of the great Law, - this is perfection. "The great ONE is omnipresent. The great Negative is omnipotent. The great Nomenclature is all-inclusive. The great Uniformity is all-assimilative. The great Space is all-receptive. The great Truth is all-exacting. The great Law is all-binding. "The ultimate end is God. He is manifested in the laws of nature. He is the hidden spring. At the beginning, he was. Had an objective existence.

This, however, is inexplicable. It is unknowable. But from the unknowable we reach the known. "Investigation must not be limited, nor must it be unlimited. It must be undertaken from the standpoint of the unconditioned. In this vague undefinedness there is an actuality. Time does not change it. It cannot suffer diminution. May we not then call it our great Guide? "Why not bring our doubting hearts to investigation thereof? And then, using certainty to dispel doubt, revert to a state without doubt, in which doubt is doubly dead?" Doubt dispelled leaves conviction firmer still. Lin Hsi Chung says that this essay begins with the subtle to end in the abstruse. "The force of language," adds he, "can no farther go!"

TSÊ YANG. Argument: - Influence of virtue concealed - The true Sage a negative quantity - The great, the small, the infinite - Crime and Capital - Rulers and their vices - What is Society? Predestination or Chance? Illustrations. When Tsê Yang visited the Ch'u State, I Chieh An official of Ch'u. spoke of him to the prince; but the latter refused an audience. Upon I Chieh's return, Tsê Yang went to see Wang Kuo, A local Sage. and asked him to obtain an interview with the prince. "I am not so fitted for that," replied Wang Kuo, "as Kung Yüeh Hsiu." A hermit. "What sort of a man is he?" enquired Tsê Yang. "In winter," said Wang Kuo, "he catches turtles on the river. In summer, he reposes in some mountain copse. If any passers-by ask of him, he tells them, "This is my home." Where I Chieh could not succeed, still less should I. I am not equal even to him. "He is a man without virtue, but possessed of knowledge. Were it not for an air of arrogance, he would be very popular with his superiors. But help without virtue is a hindrance. Shivering people borrowing clothes in the coming spring! Hot people thinking of last winter's icy blast!

"The prince of Ch'u is dignified and severe. In punishing, he is merciless as a tiger. Only a very practised or a very perfect man could influence him. "The true Sage, when in obscurity, causes those around him to forget their poverty. When in power, he causes princes to forget ranks and emoluments, and to become as though of low estate. He rejoices exceedingly in all creation. He exults to see TAO diffused among his fellow-men, while suffering no loss himself. TAO is a constant quantity. It can be shared, but cannot be divided. "Thus, although silent, he can instil peace; and by his mere presence cause men to be to each other as father and son. From his very return to passivity comes this active influence for good. So widely does he differ in heart from ordinary men. Wherefore I said, 'Wait for Kung Yüeh Hsiu.' "The true Sage is free from all embarrassments. All things are to him as ONE. Yet he knows not that this is so. It is simply nature. In the midst of action he remains the same. He makes God his guide, and men make him theirs. He grieves that wisdom carries one but a short distance, and at times comes altogether to a deadlock.

"To a beauty, mankind is the mirror in which she sees herself. If no one tells her she is beautiful, she does not know that she is so. But whether she knows it or whether she does not know it, whether she hears it or whether she does not hear it, her joy will never cease, neither will mankind ever cease to take pleasure therein. It is nature. "The love of a Sage for his fellows likewise finds expression among mankind. Were he not told so, he would not know that he loved his fellows. But whether he knows it or whether he does not know it, whether he hears it or whether he does not hear it, his love for his fellows is without end, and mankind cease not to repose therein. "The old country, the old home, gladden a wanderer's eyes. Nay, though nine-tenths of it be a howling wilderness, still his eye will be glad. How much more to see sight and hear hearing, from a lofty dais suspended in their very midst!" The joy of the wanderer is as that of the mind returning to a consciousness only of itself. Jen Hsiang Shih reached the centre and attained. The centre at which all Infinities converge. See p. 18. This individual was a legendary ruler of old.

Plain English · paraphraseTo a beauty, people are the mirror in which she sees herself. If no one tells her she is beautiful, she does not know she is so. But whether she knows it or does not know it, whether she hears it or does not hear it, her joy will never stop, and people will never stop taking pleasure in it. It is nature. "The love of a wise person for others also shows itself among people. If he were not told so, he would not know that he loves others. But whether he knows it or does not know it, whether he hears it or does not hear it, his love for others never ends, and people never stop resting in it. "An old country, an old home, gladden a traveler's eyes. Even if nine-tenths of it is a wild, empty place, still his eyes will be glad. How much more so to see and hear from a high platform placed right among them!" The joy of the traveler is like the mind returning to awareness of itself. Jen Hsiang Shih reached the center and attained. The center where all Infinities meet. See p. 18. This person was a legendary ruler of old.

He recognised no beginning, no end, no quantity, no time. Daily modified together with his environment, as part of ONE he knew no modification. Why not rest in this? To strive to follow God and not to succeed is to display an activity fatal to itself. How can success ever be thus achieved? The true Sage ignores God. He ignores man. He ignores a beginning. He ignores matter. He moves in harmony with his generation and suffers not. He takes things as they come and is not overwhelmed. How are we to become like him? T'ang appointed his Equerry, Mên Yin Têng Hêng, to be his tutor, listening to his counsels but not being restricted by them. He got TAO for himself and a reputation for his tutor. But the reputation was a violation of principle, and landed him in the domain of alternatives. Instead of ONE. No ingenuity of commentator has here succeeded in making sense. As a tutor, Confucius pushed care and anxiety to an extreme limit. Yung Ch'êng Shih Lao Tzŭ's tutor. said, "Take away days, and there would be no years. No inside, no outside." Prince Hui of Wei had made a treaty with prince Wei of Ch'i, which the latter broke.

Thereupon prince Hui was wroth, and was about to send a man to assassinate him. But the Captain-General heard of this, and cried out in shame, "Sire, you are ruler over a mighty State, yet you would seek the vengeance of a common man. Give me two hundred thousand warriors, and I will do the work for you. I will take his people prisoners, and carry off their oxen and horses. I will make the heat of the prince's mind break out on his back. Then I will seize his country, and he will flee. Then you can wring his neck as you please." When Chi Tzŭ heard this, he cried out in shame and said, "If you are building a ten-perch wall, and when the wall is near completion, destroy it, you inflict great hardship on the workmen. Alluding to the corvée system of public works. The speaker was an official of Wei. Now for seven years the troops have not been called out. That is, as it were, your Highness' foundation work. Listen not to the Captain-General. He is a mischievous fellow." When Hua Tzŭ Also an official of Wei.

heard this, he was very indignant and said, "He who argued in favour of punishing the Ch'i State was a mischievous fellow. And he who argued against punishing the Ch'i State was a mischievous fellow. And he who says that either of the above is a mischievous fellow, is a mischievous fellow himself." "Where then shall I find what to do?" enquired the prince. "In TAO alone," said Hua Tzŭ. When Hui Tzŭ heard this, he introduced Tai Chin Jen to the prince. A Sage of the Liang State. For Hui Tzŭ, see p. 8. "There is a creature called a snail," said Tai Chin Jen. "Does your Highness know what I mean?" "I do," replied the prince. "There is a kingdom on its left horn," continued Tai Chin Jen, "ruled over by Aggression, and another on its right horn, ruled over by Violence. These two rulers are constantly fighting for territory. In such cases, corpses lie about by thousands, and one party will pursue the other for fifteen days before returning." "Whew!" cried the prince. "Surely you are joking." "Sire," replied Tai Chin Jen, "I beg you to regard it as fact. Does your Highness recognise any limit to space?" "None," said the prince, "It is boundless."

"When, therefore," continued Tai Chin Jen, "the mind descends from the contemplation of boundless space to the contemplation of a kingdom with fixed boundaries, that kingdom must seem to be of dimensions infinitesimally small?" "Of course," replied the prince. "Well then," said Tai Chin Jen, "in a kingdom with fixed boundaries Meaning the then empire of the Chous. there is the Wei State. In the Wei State there is the city of Liang. In the city of Liang there is a prince. In what does that prince differ from Violence?" In his pettiness. "There is no difference," said the prince. Thereupon Tai Chin Jen took his leave, and the prince remained in a state of mental perturbation, as though he had lost something. When Tai Chin Jen had gone, Hui Tzŭ presented himself, and the prince said, "Our friend is truly a great man. Sages are not his equal." "If you blow through a tube," replied Hui Tzŭ, "the result will be a note. If you blow through the hole in a sword-hilt, the result will be simply whssh. Yao and Shun have been belauded by mankind; yet compared with Tai Chin Jen they are but whssh."

When Confucius went to Ch'u, he stopped at a restaurant on Mount I. The servant to a man and his wife who lived next door, got up on top of the house. "Whatever is he doing up there?" asked Tzŭ Lu. "He is a Sage," replied Confucius, "under the garb of a menial. He buries himself among the people. So as to get into closer relation with them. He effaces himself at the wayside. Fame, he has none; but his perseverance is inexhaustible. Though his mouth speaks, his heart speaks not. He has turned his back upon mankind, not caring to abide amongst them. He has drowned himself on dry land. I think 'tis I Liao of Shih-nan." See p. 325. Tzŭ Lu asked to be allowed to go and call him; but Confucius stopped him, saying, "No. He knows that I know what he is. He knows that I have come to Ch'u to recommend him to the prince. And he looks on me as a toady. Under the circumstances, as he would scorn to hear the words of a toady, how much more would he scorn to see him in the flesh! How could you keep him?" Tzŭ Lu went to see, but the house was empty. The border-warden of Ch'ang-wu said to Tzŭ Lao,

Ch'in Lao, or Ch'in Chang, a disciple of Confucius. "A prince in his administrative details must not lack thoroughness; in his executive details he must not be inefficient. Formerly, in my ploughing I lacked thoroughness, and the results also lacked thoroughness. In my weeding I was inefficient, and the results were also inefficient. By and by, I changed my system. I ploughed deep, and weeded carefully, the result being an excellent harvest, more than I could get through in a year." Chuang Tzŭ, upon hearing this, observed, "The men of to-day in their self-regulation and their self-organisation are mostly as the Border-warden has described. They put their Godhead out of sight. They abandon their natural dispositions. They get rid of all feeling. They part with their souls, carried away by the fashion of the hour. "Those who lack thoroughness in regard to their natural dispositions suffer an evil tribe to take the place thereof. The physical senses. These grow up rank as reeds and rushes, at first of apparent value to the body, but afterwards to destroy the natural disposition. Then they break out, at random, like sores and ulcers carrying off pent-up humours." Poh Chü was studying under Lao Tzŭ. "Let us go," said he, "and wander over the world."

Plain English · paraphraseCh'in Lao, or Ch'in Chang, a disciple of Confucius. "A prince must not lack thoroughness in his administrative details; he must not be inefficient in his executive details. In the past, when I plowed, I lacked thoroughness, and the results also lacked thoroughness. When I weeded, I was inefficient, and the results were also inefficient. Later, I changed my method. I plowed deeply and weeded carefully, and the result was an excellent harvest, more than I could finish in a year." Chuang Tzu, upon hearing this, said, "People today, in their self-regulation and self-organization, are mostly like the Border-warden described. They put their Godhead out of sight. They abandon their natural dispositions. They get rid of all feeling. They part with their souls, carried away by the fashion of the hour. "Those who lack thoroughness in regard to their natural dispositions allow an evil tribe to take their place. The physical senses. These grow up rank as reeds and rushes, at first seeming valuable to the body, but later destroying the natural disposition. Then they break out, at random, like sores and ulcers carrying off pent-up humours." Poh Chü was studying under Lao Tzŭ. "Let us go," he said, "and wander over the world."

One commentator says Poh Chü was a "criminal," probably from his sympathetic remarks in the context. "No," replied Lao Tzŭ, "the world is just as you see it here." But as he again urged it, Lao Tzŭ said, "Where would you go to begin with?" "I would begin," answered Poh Chü, "by going to the Ch'i State. There I would view the dead bodies of their malefactors. I would push them to make them rise. I would take off my robes and cover them. I would cry to God and bemoan their lot, as follows: - 'O sirs, O sirs, there was trouble upon earth, and you were the first to fall into it!' "I would say, 'Perhaps you were robbers, or perhaps murderers?'... Honour and disgrace were set up, and evil followed. Wealth was accumulated, and contentions began. Now the evil which has been set up and the contentions which have accumulated, endlessly weary man's body and give him no rest. What escape is there from this? This might almost have come from The Curse of Capital, (Aveling) or from one of Mr. Hyndman's discourses.

"The rulers of old set off all success to the credit of their people, attributing all failure to themselves. All that was right went to the credit of their people, all that was wrong they attributed to themselves. Therefore, if any matter fell short of achievement, they turned and blamed themselves. "Not so the rulers of to-day. They conceal a thing and blame those who cannot see it. They impose dangerous tasks and punish those who dare not undertake them. They inflict heavy burdens and chastise those who cannot bear them. They ordain long marches and slay those who cannot make them. "And the people, feeling that their powers are inadequate, have recourse to fraud. For when there is so much fraud about, In the rulers. how can the people be otherwise than fraudulent? If their strength is insufficient, they will have recourse to fraud. If their knowledge is insufficient, they will have recourse to deceit. If their means are insufficient, they will steal. And for such robbery and theft, who is really responsible?" When Chü Poh Yü See p. 49.