The Tâo Teh King — Sacred Books of China Part I, SBE Vol. 39 (trans. James Legge, 1891)
English·1879–1910·trans. James Legge·241 passages
The text · part 8 of 11
These several classes, with different occupations, and different repup. 273tations, have agreed in doing injury to their nature and sacrificing their persons. Take the case of a male and female slave?;—they have to feed the sheep together, but they both lose their sheep. Ask the one what he was doing, and you will find that he was holding his bamboo tablets and reading. Ask the other, and you will find that she was amusing herself with some game*. They were differently occupied, but they equally lose their sheep. (So), Po-i* died at the foot of Shau-yang * to maintain his fame, and the robber Aih® died on the top of Tungling ° in his eagerness for gain. Their deaths were occasioned by different causes, but they equally shortened their lives and did violence to their nature ;—why must we approve of Po-i, and condemn the robber Kih? In cases of such sacrifice all over the world, when one makes it for the sake of benevolence and righteousness, the common people style him ‘a superior man, but when another does it for the sake of goods and riches, they style him ‘a small man.’ The action of sacrificing is the same, and yet we have ‘the superior man’ and ‘the small man!’ In the matter of destroying his life, and doing injury to his nature, the robber Xih simply did the same as Po-t ;—why must we make the distinction of ‘superior man’ and ‘small man’ between them ?
1 See the Khang-hst? dictionary under the character ae
2 Playing at some game with dice. 5 See VI, par. 3.
‘ A mountain in the present Shan-hst, probably in the department of Phi-24u.
5 A strange character, but not historical, represented as a brother of Lift-hsid Hui. See Bk. XXIX.
® «The Eastern Height,’= the Thai mountain in the present Shan-tung.
(39] T
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3.
‘ A mountain in the present Shan-hst, probably in the department of Phi-24u.
5 A strange character, but not historical, represented as a brother of Lift-hsid Hui. See Bk. XXIX.
® «The Eastern Height,’= the Thai mountain in the present Shan-tung.
(39] T
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5. Moreover, those who devote their nature to (the pursuit) of benevolence and _ righteousness, though they should attain to be like 34ng (Shan) and Shih (3hid), I do not pronounce to be good; those who devote it to (the study of) the five flavours, though they attain to be like Shd-v 1, I do not pronounce to be good ; those who devote it to the (discrimination of the) five notes, though they attain to be like Shih Khwang, I do not pronounce to be quick of hearing; those who devote it. to the (appreciation of the) five colours, though they attain to be like Lt Ad, I do not pronounce to be clear of vision. When I pronounce men to be good, I am not speaking of their benevolence and righteousness ;—the goodness is simply (their possession of) the qualities (of the T4éo). When I pronounce them to be good, I am not speaking of what are called benevolence and righteousness; but simply of their allowing the nature with which they are endowed to have its free course. When I pronounce men to be quick of hearing, I do not mean that they hearken to anything else, but that they hearken to themselves ; when I pronounce them to be clear of vision, I do not mean that they look to anything else, but that they look to themselves. Now those who do not see themselves but see other things, who do not get possession of themselves but get possession of other things, get possession of what belongs to others, and not of what is their own; and they reach forth to what attracts others, and not to that in themselves which should attract them. But
1 Different from Yih-ya, the famous cook of duke Hwan of KAf. This is said to have been of the time of Hwang-Tf. But there are different readings of the name.
PT. Il, SECT.1. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-8ZE. 275 thus reaching forth to what attracts others and not to what should attract them in themselves, be they like the robber Ath or like Po-i, they equally err in the way of excess or of perversity. What I am ashamed of is erring in the characteristics of the T Ao, and therefore, in the higher sphere, I do not dare to insist on the practice of benevolence and righteousness, and, in the lower, I do not dare to allow myself either in the exercise of excess or perversity.
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BOOK IX. Part II. Section II.
Ma Thi, or ‘ Horses’s Hoofs.’
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BOOK IX. Part II. Section II.
Ma Thi, or ‘ Horses’s Hoofs.’
1. Horses can with their hoofs tread on the hoarfrost and snow, and with their hair withstand the wind and cold; they feed on the grass and drink water; they prance with their legs and leap :—this is the true nature of horses. Though there were made for them grand towers? and large dormitories, they would prefer not to use them. But when Po- 140 8 (arose and) said, ‘I know well how to manage horses, (men proceeded)‘ to singe and mark them, to clip their hair, to pare their hoofs, to halter their heads, to bridle them and hobble them, and to confine them in stables and corrals. (When subjected to this treatment), two or three in every ten of them died. (Men proceeded further) to subject them to hunger and thirst, to gallop them and race them,
1 See pp. 140, 141.
2 Literally, ‘ righteous towers ;’ but 35 is very variously applied, and there are other readings. Compare the name of ling thai, given by the people to the tower built by king Wan; Shih, III, i, 8.
5 A mythical being, the first tamer of horses. The name is given to a star, where he is supposed to have his seat as superintendent of the horses of heaven. It became a designation of Sun Yang, a famous charioteer of the later period of the Kau dynasty, but it could not be he whom Awang-jze had in view.
* Po-ldo set the example of dealing with horses as now described; but the supplement which I have introduced seems to bring out better our author’s meaning.
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and to make them go together in regular order. In front were the evils of the bit and ornamented breastbands, and behind were the terrors of the whip and switch. (When so treated), more than half of them died.
The (first) potter said, ‘I know well how to deal with clay;’ and (men proceeded) to mould it into circles as exact as if made by the compass, and into Squares as exact as if formed by the measuring square. The (first) carpenter said, ‘I know well how to deal with wood;’ and (men proceeded) to make it bent as if by the application of the hook, and straight as if by the application of the plumb-line. But is it the nature of clay and wood to require the application of the compass and square, of the hook and line? And yet age after age men have praised Po-ldo, saying, ‘He knew well how to manage horses,’ and also the (first) potter and carpenter, saying, ‘They knew well how to deal with clay and wood. This is just the error committed by the governors of the world.
2. According to my idea, those who know well to govern mankind would not act so. The people had their regular and constant nature} :—they wove and made themselves clothes ; they tilled the ground and got food 2. This was their common faculty. They were all one in this, and did not form themselves into separate classes; so were they constituted and left to their natural tendencies*. Therefore in the
This was their common faculty. They were all one in this, and did not form themselves into separate classes; so were they constituted and left to their natural tendencies*. Therefore in the
1 Compare the same language in the previous Book, par. 3.
But the weaver’s or agriculturist’s art has no more title to be called primitive than the potter’s or carpenter's.
5 A difficult expression; but the translation, probably, gives its lees ee eS Ee : meee acesp. 278 age of perfect virtue men walked along with slow and grave step, and with their looks steadily directed forwards. At that time, on the hills there were no foot-paths, nor excavated passages; on the lakes there were no boats nor dams; all creatures lived in companies ; and the places of their settlement were made close to one another. Birds and beasts multiplied to flocks and herds ; the grass and trees grew luxuriant and long. In this condition the birds and beasts might be led about without feeling the constraint ; the nest of the magpie might be climbed to, and peeped into. Yes, in the age of perfect virtue, men lived in common with birds and beasts, and were on terms of equality with all creatures, as forming one family ;—how could they know among themselves the distinctions of superior men and small men? Equally without knowledge, they did not leave (the path of) their natural virtue; equally free from desires, they were in the state of pure simplicity. In that state of pure simplicity, the nature of the people was what it ought to be. But when the sagely men appeared, limping and wheeling about in (the exercise of) benevolence, pressing along and standing on tiptoe in the doing of righteousness, then men universally began to be perplexed. (Those sages also) went to excess in their performances of music, and in their gesticulations in the practice of ceremonies, and then men began to be separated from one another. If the raw materials true significance. ‘Heaven’ here is synonymous with ‘the T4o;’ but its use shows how readily the minds, even of Lao and Awang, had recourse to the earliest term by which the Chinese fathers had expressed their recognition of a Supreme and Controlling Power and Government,
- oct es eee
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had not been cut and hacked, who could have made a sacrificial vase from them? If the natural jade had not been broken and injured, who could have made the handles for the libation-cups from it? If the attributes of the TA4o had not been disallowed, how should they have preferred benevolence and righteousness? If the instincts of the nature had not been departed from, how should ceremonies and music have come into use? If the five colours had not been confused, how should the ornamental figures have been formed? If the five notes had not been confused, how should they have supplemented them by the musical accords? The cutting and hacking of the raw materials to form vessels was the crime of the skilful workman ; the injury done to the characteristics of the T4o in order to the practice of benevolence and righteousness was the error of the sagely men.
3. Horses, when living in the open country, eat the grass, and drink water; when pleased, they intertwine their necks and rub one another; when enraged, they turn back to back and kick one another ;—this is all that they know to do. But if we put the yoke on their necks, with the moonlike frontlet displayed on all their foreheads, then they know to look slily askance, to curve their necks, to rush viciously, trying to get the bit out of their mouths, and to filch the reins (from their driver) ;— this knowledge of the horse and its ability thus to act the part of a thief is the crime of Po-ldo. In the time of (the Ti) Ho-hsii?, the people occupied
1 An ancient sovereign ; but nothing more definite can be said about him. Most of the critics identify him with Shan-nang, thep. 280 their dwellings without knowing what they were doing, and walked out without knowing where they were going. They filled their mouths with food and were glad; they slapped their stomachs to express their satisfaction. This was all the ability which they possessed. But when the sagely men appeared, with their bendings and stoppings in ceremonies and music to adjust the persons of all, and hanging up their benevolence and righteousness to excite the endeavours of all to reach them, in order to comfort their minds, then the people began to stump and limp about in their love of knowledge, and strove with one another in their pursuit of gain, so that there was no stopping them :—this was the error of those sagely men.
Father of Husbandry, who occupies the place in chronological tables after Ffi-hsi, between him and Hwang-Ti. In the Tables of the Dynastic Histories, published in 1817, he is placed seventh in the list of fifteen reigns, which are placed without any specification of their length between Ff-hst and Shan-nang. The name is written as iy § and Fil F.
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BOOK X. Part II. Section III.
Khi Khieh, or ‘Cutting open Satchels.’
The name
is written as iy § and Fil F.
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BOOK X. Part II. Section III.
Khi Khieh, or ‘Cutting open Satchels.’
1. In taking precautions against thieves who cut open satchels, search bags, and break open boxes, people are sure to cord and fasten them well, and to employ strong bonds and clasps; and in this they are ordinarily said to show their wisdom. Whena great thief comes, however, he shoulders the box, lifts up the satchel, carries off the bag, and runs away with them, afraid only that the cords, bonds, and clasps may not be secure; and in this case what was called the wisdom (of the owners) proves to be nothing but a collecting of the things for the great thief. Let me try and set this matter forth, Do not. those who are vulgarly called wise prove to be collectors for the great thieves? And do not those who are called sages prove to be but guardians in the interest of the great thieves ?
How do I know that the case is so? Formerly, in the state of K/i, the neighbouring towns could see one another; their cocks and dogs never ceased to answer the crowing and barking of other cocks and dogs (between them). The nets were set (in the water and on the land); and the ploughs and hoes were employed over more than a space of two thousand li square. All within its four boundaries, the
1 See pp. 141, 142.
oep. 282 establishment of the ancestral temples and of the altars of the land and grain, and the ordering of the hamlets and houses, and of every corner in the districts, large, medium, and small, were in all particulars according to the rules of the sages’. So it was; but yet one morning, Thien AAang-3ze? killed the ruler of A‘4t, and stole his state. And was it only the state that he stole? Along with it he stole also the regulations of the sages and wise men (observed in it), And so, though he got the name of being a thief and a robber, yet he himself continued to live as securely as Yao and Shun had done. Small states did not dare to find fault with him; great states did not dare to take him off; for twelve generations (his descendants) have possessed the state of AA#i*, Thus do we not have a case in which not only did (the party) steal the state of K/i,
1 The meaning is plain; but to introduce the various geographical terms would make the translation cumbrous. The concluding HH is perplexing.
The concluding HH is perplexing.
2 This event is mentioned in the Analects, XIV, xxii, where the perpetrator of the murder is called Khan Khang-3ze, and Khan Hang. Hang was his name, and Aang the honorary title given to him after his death. The family to which he belonged had originally taken refuge in K/At from the state of KAanin B.c.672. Why and when its chiefs adopted the surname Thien instead of Kan is not well known. The murder took place in 482. Hang did not immediately usurp the marquisate; but he and his successors disposed of it at their pleasure among the representatives of the old House till 386, when Thien Ho was recognised by the king of 4u as the marquis; and his next successor but one took the title of king.
8 The kingdom of KAf came to an end in s.c. 221, the first year of the dynasty of Ahin, after it had lasted through five reigns. How Awang-3ze made out his ‘twelve generations’ we cannot tell, There may be an interpolation in his text made in the time of Ain, or subsequently, ee -- - : = cee ea a oep. 3 but at the same time the regulations of its sages and wise men, which thereby served to guard the person of him, thief and robber as he was ?
2. Let me try to set forth this subject (still further). Have not there been among those vulgarly styled the wisest, such as have collected (their wealth) for the great chief? and among those styled the most sage such as have guarded it for him? How do I know that it has been so? Formerly, Lung-fang! was beheaded; Pi-kan? had his heart torn out; Aang Hung® was ripped open; and 3zehsii * was reduced to pulp (in the Kiang). Worthy as those four men were, they did not escape such dreadful deaths. The followers of the robber Kih* asked him, saying, ‘Has the robber also any method or principle (in his proceedings)?’ He replied, ‘What profession is there which has not its principles? That the robber in his recklessness comes to the conclusion that there are valuable deposits in an apartment shows his sageness; that he is the first to enter it shows his bravery; that he is the last to quit it shows his righteousness; that he knows whether (the robbery) may be attempted or not shows his wisdom; and that he makes an equal
1 See on Book IV, par. 1.
2 See on Book IV, par. 1.
5 A historiographer of Kau, with whom Confucius is said to have studied music. He was weakly and unjustly put to death, as here described by king King, in B.c. 492.
* Wai 32ze-hsii, the hero of revenge, who fled from KA( to WA, which he long served. He was driven at last to commit suicide, and his body was then put into a leathern wine-sack, and thrown into the Kiang near the present SQ-A4u ;—about B.c. 475.
® See on Book VIII, par. 4.
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He was driven at last to commit suicide, and his body was then put into a leathern wine-sack, and thrown into the Kiang near the present SQ-A4u ;—about B.c. 475.
® See on Book VIII, par. 4.
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division of the plunder shows his benevolence. Without all these five qualities no one in the world has ever attained to become a great robber.’ Looking at the subject in this way, we see that good men do not arise without having the principles of the sages, and that Aih could not have pursued his course without the same principles. But the good men in the world are few, and those who are not good are many ;—it follows that the sages benefit the world in a few instances and injure it in many. Hence it is that we have the sayings, ‘When the lips are gone the teeth are cold!;’ ‘The poor wine of La gave occasion to the siege of Han-tan?;’ ‘When sages are born great robbers arise®, When the stream is dried, the valley is empty; when the mound is levelled, the deep pool (beside it) is filled up. When the sages have died, the great robbers will not arise ; the world would be at peace, and there would be no more troubles. While the sagely men have not died, great robbers will not cease to appear. The more right that is attached to (the views of) the sagely men for the government of the world, the more advantage will accrue to (such men as) the robber Kih. If we make for men pecks and bushels
1 This is an instance of cause and effect naturally happening.
2 At a meeting of the princes, presided over by king Hsiian of Kh (8. c. 369-340), the ruler of La brought very poor wine for the king, which was presented to him as wine of K4o, in consequence of a grudge against that kingdom by his officer of wines. In consequence of this king Hsiian ordered siege to be laid to Han-tan, the capital of K4o. This is an instance of cause and effect occurring irregularly.
3 There seems to be no connexion of cause and effect here ; but Awang-3ze goes on in his own way to make out that there is such a connexion,
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This is an instance of cause and effect occurring irregularly.
3 There seems to be no connexion of cause and effect here ; but Awang-3ze goes on in his own way to make out that there is such a connexion,p. 285 to measure (their wares), even by means of those pecks and bushels should we be teaching them to steal!; if we make for them weights and steelyards to weigh (their wares), even by means of those weights and steelyards shall we be teaching them to steal. If we make for them tallies and seals to secure their good faith, even by means of those tallies and seals shall we be teaching them to steal. If we make for them benevolence and righteousness to make their doings correct, even by means of benevolence and righteousness shall we be teaching them to steal. How do I know that it is so? Here is one who steals a hook (for his girdle) ;—he is put to death for it: here is another who steals a state ;—he becomes its prince. But it is at the gates of the princes that we find benevolence and righteousness (most strongly) professed ;—is not this stealing benevolence and righteousness, sageness and wisdom ? Thus they hasten to become great robbers, carry off princedoms, and steal benevolence and righteousness, with all the gains springing from the use of pecks and bushels, weights and steelyards, tallies and seals:—even the rewards of carriages and coronets have no power to influence (to a different course), and the terrors of the axe have no power to restrain in such cases. The giving of so great gain to robbers (like) Aih, and making it impossible to restrain them ;—this is the error committed by the sages.
3. In accordance with this it is said, ‘Fish should
1 The verb ‘to steal’ is here used transitively, and with a hiphil force.
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The giving of so great gain to robbers (like) Aih, and making it impossible to restrain them ;—this is the error committed by the sages.
3. In accordance with this it is said, ‘Fish should
1 The verb ‘to steal’ is here used transitively, and with a hiphil force.
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not be taken from (the protection of) the deep waters; the agencies for the profit of a state should not be shown to men?.’ But those sages (and their teachings) are the agencies for the profit of the world, and should not be exhibited to it. Therefore if an end were put to sageness and wisdom put away, the great robbers would cease to arise. If jade were put away and pearls broken to bits, the small thieves would not appear. If tallies were burned and seals broken in pieces, the people would become simple and unsophisticated. If pecks were destroyed and steelyards snapped in two, the people would have no wrangling. If the rules of the sages were entirely set aside in the world, a beginning might be made of reasoning with the people. If the six musical accords were reduced to a state of utter confusion, organs and lutes all burned, and the ears of the (musicians like the) blind Khwang? stopped up, all men would begin to possess and employ their (natural) power of hearing. If elegant ornaments were abolished, the five embellishing colours disused, and the eyes of (men like) Li AQ® glued up, all men would begin to possess and employ their (natural) power of vision. If the hook and line were destroyed, the compass and square thrown away, and the fingers of men (like) the artful AZui* smashed, all men would begin to possess and employ their (natural) skill;—as it is said, ‘The greatest art is
1 See the Taéo Teh Xing, ch. 36. Our author’s use of it throws light on its meaning.
2 Note 1, p. 186.
5 Note 2, p. 269.
4 A skilful maker of arrows of the time of Y4o,—the Kungkung of the Shf, II, i, 21; V, xxii, 19.
PT, Il, SECT. 111, THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-3ZE. 287 like stupidity!’ If conduct such as that of 3ang (Shan)? and Shih (AZid)* were discarded, the mouths of Yang (A(t)* and Mo (Ti) gagged, and benevolence and righteousness seized and thrown aside, the virtue of all men would begin to display its mysterious excellence. When men possessed and employed their (natural) power of vision, there would be no distortion in the world. When they possessed and employed their (natural) power of hearing, there would be no distractions in the world. When they possessed and employed their (natural) faculty of knowledge, there would be no delusions in the world. When they possessed and employed their (natural) virtue, there would be no depravity in the world. Men like 34ng (Shan), Shih (Aid), Yang (1), Mo (Ti), Shih Khwang (the musician), the artist Kui, and Li A‘, all display their qualities outwardly, and set the world in a blaze (of admiration) and confound it ;—a method which is of no use! ‘
Men like 34ng (Shan), Shih (Aid), Yang (1), Mo (Ti), Shih Khwang (the musician), the artist Kui, and Li A‘, all display their qualities outwardly, and set the world in a blaze (of admiration) and confound it ;—a method which is of no use! ‘
4. Are you, Sir, unacquainted with the age of perfect virtue? Anciently there were Yung-£/ang, T4-thing, Po-hwang, KXang-yang, Li-lf, Li-££0, Hsien-yiian, Ho-hsii, 3un-lt, A‘d-yung, Fd-hsi, and Shan-nang’. In their times the people made
1 The Tao Teh Xing, ch. 45.
2 Note 6, p. 269.
5 Note 7, p. 269.
* Note 5, p. 261.
5 Of the twelve names mentioned here the reader is probably familiar with those of Ff-hst and Shan-nang, the first and second of the Tf in chronology. Hsien-yiian is another name for Hwang- Ti, the third of them. “d-yung was, perhaps, a minister of Hwang- Ti. Ho-hsii has occurred before in BookIV. Of the other seven, five occur among the fifteen sovereigns placed in the ‘Compendiump. 288 knots on cords in carrying on their affairs. They thought their (simple) food pleasant, and their (plain) clothing beautiful. They were happy in their (simple) manners, and felt at rest in their (poor) dwellings. (The people of) neighbouring states might be able to descry one another; the voices of their cocks and dogs might be heard (all the way) from one to the other; they might not die till they were old; and yet all their life they would have no communication together’. In those times perfect good order prevailed.
How do I know that the case is so? The knowledge shown in the (making of) bows, cross-bows, hand-nets, stringed arrows, and contrivances with springs is great, but the birds are troubled by them of History’ between Ffa-hst and Shan-nang. The remaining two may be found, I suppose, in the Lf Shih of Lo Pf. 1 See the eightieth chapter of the Tao Teh Xing.
.
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The remaining two may be found, I suppose, in the Lf Shih of Lo Pf. 1 See the eightieth chapter of the Tao Teh Xing.
.
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above; the knowledge shown in the hooks, baits, various kinds of nets, and bamboo traps is great, but the fishes are disturbed by them in the waters ; the knowledge shown in the arrangements for setting nets, and the nets and snares themselves, is great, but the animals are disturbed by them in the marshy grounds. (So), the versatility shown in artful deceptions becoming more and more pernicious, in ingenious discussions as to what is hard and what is white, and in attempts to disperse the dust and reconcile different views, is great, but the common people are perplexed by all the sophistry. Hence there is great disorder continually in the world, and the guilt of it is due to that fondness for knowledge. Thus it is that all men know to seek for the knowledge that they have not attained to; and do not know to seek for that which they already have (in themselves); and that they know to condemn what they do not approve (in others), and do not know to condemn what they have allowed in themselves ;—it is this which occasions the great confusion and disorder. It is just as if, above, the brightness of the sun and moon were darkened; as if, beneath, the productive vigour of the hills and streams were dried up; and as if, between, the operation of the four seasons were brought to an end :—in which case there would not be a single weak and wriggling insect, nor any plant that grows up, which would not lose its proper nature. Great indeed is the disorder produced in the world by the love of knowledge. From the time of the three dynasties downwards it has been so. The plain and honest-minded people are neglected, and the plausible representations of restless spirits (39] Up. 290 received with pleasure; the quiet and unexciting method of non-action is put away, and pleasure taken in ideas garrulously expressed. It is this garrulity of speech which puts the world in disorder.
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BOOK XI. Part II. Section IV.
34i Ya, or ‘Letting Be, and Exercising Forbearance},’
1. I have heard of letting the world be, and exercising forbearance; I have not heard of governing the world. Letting be is from the fear that men, (when interfered with), will carry their nature beyond its normal condition; exercising forbearance is from the fear that men, (when not so dealt with), will alter the characteristics of their nature. When all men do not carry their nature beyond its normal condition, nor alter its characteristics, the good government of the world is secured.
When all men do not carry their nature beyond its normal condition, nor alter its characteristics, the good government of the world is secured.
Formerly, Yao’s government of the world made men look joyful; but when they have this joy in their nature, there is a want of its (proper) placidity. The government of the world by Xieh, (on the contrary), made men look distressed; but when their nature shows the symptoms of distress, there is a want of its (proper) contentment. The want of placidity and the want of contentment are contrary to the character (of the nature); and where this obtains, it is impossible that any man or state should anywhere abide long. Are men exceedingly joyful ?—the Yang or element of expansion in them is too much developed. Are they exceedingly
1 See pp. 142, 143. U2
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irritated >—the Yin or opposite element is too much developed. When those elements thus predominate in men, (it is as if!) the four seasons were not to come (at their proper times), and the harmony of cold and heat were not to be maintained ;—would there not result injury to the bodies of men? Men’s joy and dissatisfaction are made to arise where they ought not to do so; their movements are all uncertain; they lose the mastery of their thoughts; they stop short midway, and do not finish what they have begun. In this state of things the world begins to have lofty aims, and jealous dislikes, ambitious courses, and fierce animosities, and then we have actions like those of the robber ih, or of 3ang (Shan) and Shih (3hid)* If now the whole world were taken to reward the good it would not suffice, nor would it be possible with it to punish the bad. Thus the world, great as it is, not sufficing for rewards and punishments, from the time of the three dynasties downwards, there has been nothing but bustle and excitement. Always occupied with rewards and punishments, what leisure have men had to rest in the instincts of the nature with which they are endowed ?
2. Moreover, delight in the power of vision leads
' I supply the ‘it is as if, after the example of the critic LQ Shfkih, who here introduces a Ii in his commentary (3p 2} Hey
Zz brag we #H Fe zx Zz): What the text seems to state as a fact is only an illustration. Compare the concluding paragraphs in all the Sections and Parts of the fourth Book of the Lt 7.
2 Our moral instincts protest against Taoism which thus places in the same category such sovereigns as Yao and Kieh, and such men as the brigand ih and 3ang and Shih.
PT. Il, SECT. IV. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-3ZE. 293
2 Our moral instincts protest against Taoism which thus places in the same category such sovereigns as Yao and Kieh, and such men as the brigand ih and 3ang and Shih.
PT. Il, SECT. IV. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-3ZE. 293 to excess in the pursuit of (ornamental) colours; delight in the power of hearing, to excess in seeking (the pleasures of) sound; delight in benevolence tends to disorder that virtue (as proper to the nature); delight in righteousness sets the man in opposition to what is right in reason; delight in (the practice of) ceremonies is helpful to artful forms; delight in music leads to voluptuous airs; delight in sageness is helpful to ingenious contrivances ; delight in knowledge contributes to fault-finding. If all men were to rest in the instincts of their nature, to keep or to extinguish these eight delights might be a matter of indifference; but if they will not rest in those instincts, then those eight delights begin to be imperfectly and unevenly developed or violently suppressed, and the world is thrown into disorder. But when men begin to honour them, and to long for them, how great is the deception practised on the world! And not only, when (a performance of them) is once over, do they not have done with them, but they prepare themselves (as) with fasting to describe them, they seem to kneel reverentially when they bring them forward, and they go through them with the excitements of music and singing; and then what can be done (to remedy the evil of them)? Therefore the superior man, who feels himself constrained to engage in the administration of the world will find it his best way to do nothing’. In (that policy of) doing nothing, he can rest in the instincts of the nature with which he is endowed. Hence he who will administer (the government of) the world
1 Here is the TAoistic meaning of the title of this Book.
eee ni:
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honouring it as he honours his own person, may have that government committed to him, and he who will administer it loving it as he loves his own person, may have it entrusted to him. Therefore, if the superior man will keep (the faculties lodged in) his five viscera unemployed, and not display his powers of seeing and hearing, while he is motionless as a representative of the dead, his dragon-like presence will be seen; while he is profoundly silent, the thunder (of his words) will resound; while his movements are (unseen) like those of a spirit, all heavenly influences will follow them; while he is (thus) unconcerned and does nothing, his genial influence will attract and gather all things round him :—what leisure has he to do anything more for the government of the world ?
3. 3hui AZii? asked Lao Tan, saying, ‘If you do not govern the world, how can you make men’s minds good?’ The reply was, ‘Take care how you meddle with and disturb men’s minds. The mind, if pushed about, gets depressed; if helped forward, it gets exalted. Now exalted, now depressed, here it appears as a prisoner, and there as a wrathful fury. (At one time) it becomes pliable and soft, yielding to what is hard and strong; (at another), it is sharp as the sharpest corner, fit to carve or chisel (stone or jade). Nowit is hot as a scorching fire, and anon it is cold as ice. It is so swift that while one is bending down and lifting up his head, it shall twice
' A quotation, but without any indication that it is so, from the Tao Teh King, ch. 13. * Probably an imaginary personage.
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have put forth a soothing hand beyond the four seas. Resting, it is still as a deep abyss; moving, it is like one of the bodies in the sky; in its resolute haughtiness, it refuses to be bound ;—such is the mind of man?!’
Anciently, Hwang-Ti was the first to meddle with and disturb the mind of man with his benevolence and righteousness *, After him, Yao and Shun wore their thighs bare and the hair off the calves of their legs, in their labours to nourish the bodies of the people. They toiled painfully with all the powers in their five viscera at the practice of their benevolence and righteousness; they tasked their blood and breath to make out a code of laws ;—and after all they were unsuccessful. On this Yao sent away Hwan Tau to Khung hill, and (the Chiefs of) the Three Mido to San-wei, and banished the Minister of Works to the Dark Capital; so unequal had they been to cope with the world. Then we are carried on to the kings of the Three (dynasties), when the world was in a state of great distraction. Of the lowest type of character there were Xieh and Xih; of a higher type there were 3ang (Shan) and Shih (Zhit). At the same time there arose the classes of
* IT must suppose that the words of Lao-3ze stop here, and that what follows is from Awang-3ze himself, down to the end of the paragraph. We cannot have L4o-jze referring to men later than himself, and quoting from his own Book.
* Hitherto Yao and Shun have appeared as the first disturbers of the rule of the T4o by their benevolence and righteousness. Here that innovation is carried further back to Hwang-Ti.
5 See these parties, and the way they were dealt with, in the Sha King, Part II, Book I, 3. The punishment of them is there asctibed to Shun; but Y4o was still alive, and Shun was acting as his viceroy.
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Here that innovation is carried further back to Hwang-Ti.
5 See these parties, and the way they were dealt with, in the Sha King, Part II, Book I, 3. The punishment of them is there asctibed to Shun; but Y4o was still alive, and Shun was acting as his viceroy.
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the Literati and the Mohists. Hereupon, complacency in, and hatred of, one another produced mutual suspicions; the stupid and the wise imposed on one another; the good and the bad condemned one another; the boastful and the sincere interchanged their recriminations ;—and the world fell into decay. Views as to what was greatly virtuous did not agree, and the nature with its endowments became as if shrivelled by fire or carried away bya flood. All were eager for knowledge, and the people were exhausted with their searchings (after what was good). On this the axe and the saw were brought into play ; guilt was determined as by the plumb-line and death inflicted; the hammer and gouge did their work. The world fell into great disorder, and presented the appearance of a jagged mountain ridge. The crime to which all was due was the meddling with and disturbing men’s minds. The effect was that men of ability and worth lay concealed at the foot of the crags of mount Thai, and princes of ten thousand chariots were anxious and terrified in their ancestral temples. In the present age those who have been put to death in various ways lie thick as if pillowed on each other; those who are wearing the cangue press on each other (on the roads); those who are suffering the bastinado can see each other (all over the land). And nowthe Literati and the Mohists begin to stand, on tiptoe and with bare arms, among the fettered and manacled crowd! Ah! extreme is their shamelessness, and their failure to see the disgrace! Strange that we should be slow to recognise their sageness and wisdom in the bars of the cangue, and their benevolence and righteousness in the rivets of the fetters and handcuffs! How do we know that
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34ng and Shih are not the whizzing arrows of Kieh and Kih!? Therefore it is said, ‘ Abolish sageness and cast away knowledge, and the world will be brought to a state of great order 2.’
How do we know that
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34ng and Shih are not the whizzing arrows of Kieh and Kih!? Therefore it is said, ‘ Abolish sageness and cast away knowledge, and the world will be brought to a state of great order 2.’
4. Hwang-Ti had been on the throne for nineteen years*, and his ordinances were in operation all through the kingdom, when he heard that Kwang Khang-yze * was living on the summit of Khungthung®, and went to see him. ‘I have heard,’ he said, ‘that you, Sir, are well acquainted with the perfect T4o. I venture to ask you what is the essential thing in it. I wish to take the subtlest influences of heaven and earth, and assist with them the (growth of the) five cereals for the (better) nourishment of the people. I also wish to direct the (operation of the) Yin and Yang, so as to secure the comfort of all living beings. How shall I proceed to accomplish those objects?’ Kwang Khang-jze_ replied, ‘What you wish to ask about is the original substance of all things*; what you
~~ - 4
1 Compare this picture of the times after Yao and Shun with that given by Mencius in III, ii, ch. 9 et al. But the conclusions arrived at as to the causes and cure of their evils by him and our author are very different.
? A quotation, with the regular formula, from the Tao Teh King, ch. 19, with some variation of the text.
5 ? in B.c. 2678.
* Another imaginary personage ; apparently, a personification of the Tao. Some say he was Léo-jze,—in one of his early states of existence ; others that he was ‘a True Man,’ the teacher of Hwang-Ti. See Ko Hung’s ‘Immortals,’ I, i.
5 Equally imaginary is the mountain Khung-thung. Some critics find a place for it in the province of Ho-nan; the majority say it is the highest point in the constellation of the Great Bear.
® The original ether, undivided, out of which all things were formed.
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5 Equally imaginary is the mountain Khung-thung. Some critics find a place for it in the province of Ho-nan; the majority say it is the highest point in the constellation of the Great Bear.
® The original ether, undivided, out of which all things were formed.
ap. 298 wish to have the direction of is that substance as it was shattered and divided’. According to your government of the world, the vapours of the clouds, before they were collected, would descend in rain; the herbs and trees would shed their leaves before they became yellow; and the light of the sun and moon would hasten to extinction. Your mind is that of a flatterer with his plausible words ;—it is not fit that I should tell you the perfect T Ao.’ Hwang-Ti withdrew, gave up (his government of) the kingdom, built himself a solitary apartment, spread in it a mat of the white m4o grass, dwelt in it unoccupied for three months, and then went again to seek an interview with (the recluse). Kwang KAangze was then lying down with his head to the south. Hwang-Ti, with an air of deferential submission, went forward on his knees, twice bowed low with his face to the ground, and asked him, saying, ‘I have heard that you, Sir, are well acquainted with the perfect Tao ;—I venture to ask how I should rule my body, in order that it may continue for a long time. Kwang Aang-3ze hastily rose, and said, ‘A good question! Come and I will tell you the perfect Tao. Its essence is (surrounded with) the deepest obscurity; its highest reach is in darkness and silence. There is nothing to be seen; nothing to be heard. When it holds the spirit in its arms in stillness, then the bodily form of itself will become correct. You must be still; you must be pure; not subjecting your body to toil, not agitating your vital force ;—then you may live for long. When
1 The same ether, now in motion, now at rest, divided into the Yin and Yang.
PT. Il, SECT. Iv. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-8ZE. 299
You must be still; you must be pure; not subjecting your body to toil, not agitating your vital force ;—then you may live for long. When
1 The same ether, now in motion, now at rest, divided into the Yin and Yang.
PT. Il, SECT. Iv. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-8ZE. 299 your eyes see nothing, your ears hear nothing, and your mind knows nothing, your spirit will keep your body, and the body will live long. Watch over what is within you, shut up the avenues that connect you with what is external ;—much knowledge is pernicious. I (will) proceed with you to the summit of the Grand Brilliance, where we come to the source of the bright and expanding (element) ; I will enter with you the gate of the Deepest Obscurity, where we come to the source of the dark and repressing (element). There heaven and earth have their controllers; there the Yin and Yang have their Repositories. Watch over and keep your body, and all things will of themselves give it vigour. I maintain the (original) unity (of these elements), and dwell in the harmony of them. In this way I have cultivated myself for one thousand and two hundred years, and my bodily form has undergone no decay }’ Hwang-Ti twice bowed low with his head to the ground, and said, ‘In Kwang A’ang-jze we have an example of what is called Heaven *.’ The other said, ‘Come, and I will tell you:—(The perfect T4o) is something inexhaustible, and yet men all think it has an end; it is something unfathomable, and yet men all think its extreme limit can be reached. He who attains to my TAo, if he be in a high position, will be one of the August ones, and in a low position, will be a king. He who fails in attaining it, in his highest attainment will see the light, but will
1 It seems very clear here that the earliest Taoism taught that the cultivation of the Tao tended to prolong and preserve the bodily life.
_ ? A remarkable, but not a singular, instance of Kwang-3ze’s application of the name ‘ Heaven.’
TISe rte ais TE ST cece ace oe ee HH ee es
+ ete a mee 0 mete ote oe ea - eep. 300 descend and be of the Earth. At present all things are produced from the Earth and return to the Earth. Therefore I will leave you, and enter the gate of the Unending, to enjoy myself in the fields of the Illimitable. I will blend my light with that of the sun and moon, and will endure while heaven and earth endure. If men agree with my views, I will be unconscious of it; if they keep far apart from them, I will be unconscious of it; they may all die, and I will abide alone?!’
I will blend my light with that of the sun and moon, and will endure while heaven and earth endure. If men agree with my views, I will be unconscious of it; if they keep far apart from them, I will be unconscious of it; they may all die, and I will abide alone?!’
5. Yiin Xiang ?, rambling to the east, having been borne along on a gentle breeze *, suddenly encountered Hung Mung ?, who was rambling about, slapping his buttocks‘ and hopping like a bird. Amazed at the sight, Yiin Kiang stood reverentially, and said to the other, ‘ Venerable Sir, who are you ? and why are you doing this?’ Hung Mung went on slapping his buttocks and hopping like a bird, but replied, ‘I am enjoying myself” Yiin Kiang said, ‘1
* A very difficult sentence, in interpreting which there are great differences among the critics.
2 I have preferred to retain Yiin Kiang and Hung Mung as if they were the surnames and names of two personages here introduced. Mr. Balfour renders them by ‘The Spirit of the Clouds,’ and ‘Mists of Chaos.’ The Spirits of heaven or the sky have still their place in the Sacrificial Canon of China, as ‘the Cloud- Master, the Rain-Master, the Baron of the Winds, and the Thunder Master.’ Hung Mung, again, is a name for ‘the Great Ether,’ or, as Dr. Medhurst calls it, ‘ the Primitive Chaos.’
5 Literally, ‘passing by a branch of Ffi-y4o;’ but we find fayo in Book I, meaning ‘a whirlwind.’ The term ‘branch’ has made some critics explain it here as ‘the name of a tree,’ which is inadmissible. I have translated according to the view of Lf Shié-4ih.
* Or ‘stomach,’—according to another reading.
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wish to ask you a question. Hung Mung lifted up his head, looked at the stranger, and said, ‘ Pooh!’ Yiin Kiang, however, continued, ‘The breath of heaven is out of harmony; the breath of earth is bound up; the six elemental influences! do not act in concord; the four seasons do not observe their proper times. Now I wish to blend together the essential qualities of those six influences in order to nourish all living things ;—how shall I go about it ?’ Hung Mung slapped his buttocks, hopped about, and shook his head, saying, ‘I do not know; I do not know!’
Now I wish to blend together the essential qualities of those six influences in order to nourish all living things ;—how shall I go about it ?’ Hung Mung slapped his buttocks, hopped about, and shook his head, saying, ‘I do not know; I do not know!’
Yiin Xiang could not pursue his question; but three years afterwards, when (again) rambling in the east, as he was passing by the wild of Sung, he happened to meet Hung Mung. Delighted with the rencontre, he hastened to him, and said, ‘Have you forgotten me,O Heaven? Have you forgotten me, O Heaven??’ At the same time, he bowed twice with his head to the ground, wishing to receive his instructions. Hung Mung said, ‘Wandering listlessly about, I know not what I seek ; carried on by a wild impulse, I know not where I am going. I wander about in the strange manner (which you have seen), and see that nothing proceeds without method and order* ;—what more should I know?’ Yiin Kiang replied, ‘I also seem carried on by an aimless influence, and yet the people follow me wherever I go. I cannot help their doing so. But now as they thus
1 Probably, the yin, the yang, wind, rain, darkness, and light ;— see Mayers, p. 323.
2 See Introduction, pp. 17, 18.
$ Compare in Book XXIII, par. 1.
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imitate me, I wish to hear a word from you (in the case). The other said, ‘What disturbs the regular method of Heaven, comes into collision with the nature of things, prevents the accomplishment of the mysterious (operation of) Heaven, scatters the herds of animals, makes the birds all sing at night, is calamitous to vegetation, and disastrous to all insects ;—all this is owing, I conceive, to the error of governing men.’ ‘What then,’ said Yiin Kiang, ‘shall I do?’ ‘Ah,’ said the other, ‘you will only injure them! I will leave you in my dancing way, and return to my place.’ Yiin Xiang rejoined, ‘It has been a difficult thing to get this meeting with you, O Heaven! I should like to hear from you a word (more). Hung Mung said, ‘Ah! your mind (needs to be) nourished. Do you only take the position of doing nothing, and things will of themselves become transformed. Neglect your body; cast out from you your power of hearing and sight; forget what you have in common with things; cultivate a grand similarity with the chaos of the plastic ether; unloose your mind; set your spirit free; be still as if you had no soul. Of all the multitude of things every one returns to its root. Every one returns to its root, and does not know (that it is doing so). They all are as in the state of chaos, and during all their existence they do not leave it’. If
Of all the multitude of things every one returns to its root. Every one returns to its root, and does not know (that it is doing so). They all are as in the state of chaos, and during all their existence they do not leave it’. If
1 They never show any will of their own.—On the names Yiin Kiang and Hung Mung, La Shfi-4ih makes the following remarks :—‘ These were not men, and yet they are introduced here as questioning and answering each other; showing us that our author frames and employs his surnames and names to serve his own purpose. Those names and the speeches made by the parties are all from him. We must believe that he introduces Confucius, YAo, and Shun just in the same way.’
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they knew (that they were returning to their root), they would be (consciously) leaving it. They do not ask its name; they do not seek to spy out their nature; and thus it is that things come to life of themselves.’
Yiin Kiang said, ‘ Heaven, you have conferred on me (the knowledge of) your operation, and revealed to me the mystery of it. All my life I had been seeking for it, and now I have obtained it.” He then bowed twice, with his head to the ground, arose, took his leave, and walked away.
6. The ordinary men of the world? all rejoice in men’s agreeing with themselves, and dislike men’s being different from themselves. This rejoicing and this dislike arise from their being bent on making themselves distinguished above all others. But have they who have this object at heart so risen out above all others? They depend on them to rest quietly (in the position which they desire), and their knowledge is not equal to the multitude of the arts of all those others?! When they wish again to administer a state for its ruler, they proceed to employ all the methods which the kings of the three dynasties considered profitable without seeing the evils of such a course. This is to make the state depend on the peradventure of their luck. But how seldom it is that that peradventure does not issue in the ruin of the state! Not once in ten thousand instances will such men preserve a state. Not once will they succeed, and in more than ten thousand cases will they
1 Meaning eccentric thinkers not TAoists, like Hui-3ze, Kungsun Lung, and others. 2 The construing and connexion of this sentence are puzzling.
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Not once will they succeed, and in more than ten thousand cases will they
1 Meaning eccentric thinkers not TAoists, like Hui-3ze, Kungsun Lung, and others. 2 The construing and connexion of this sentence are puzzling.
em ee ee ee ap. 304 ruin it. Alas that the possessors of territory,—(the rulers of states),—should not know the danger (of employing such men)! Now the possessors of territory possess the greatest of (all) things. Possessing the greatest of all things,—(possessing, that is, men), —they should not try to deal with them as (simply) things. And it is he who is not a thing (himself) that is therefore able to deal with (all) things as they severally require. When (a ruler) clearly understands that he who should so deal with all things is not a thing himself, will he only rule the kingdom ? He will go out and in throughout the universe (at his pleasure); he will roam over the nine regions }, alone in going, alone in coming. Him we call the sole possessor (of this ability); and the sole possessor (of this ability) is what is called the noblest of all.
The teaching of (this) great man goes forth as the shadow from the substance, as the echo responds to the sound. When questioned, he responds, exhausting (from his own stores) all that is in the (enquirer’s) mind, as if front to front with all under heaven. His resting-place gives forth no sound; his sphere of activity has no restriction of place. He conducts every one to his proper goal, proceeding to it and bringing him back to it as by his own movement. His movements have no trace; his going forth and his re-enterings have no deviation; his course is like that of the sun without beginning (or ending).
1 <The nine regions’ generally means the nine provinces into which the Great Yii divided the kingdom. As our author is here describing the grand T4oist ruler after his fashion in his relation to the universe, we must give the phrase a wider meaning; but I have not met with any attempt to define it.
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If you would praise or discourse about his personality, he is united with the great community of existences. He belongs to that great community, and has no individual self. Having no individual self, how should he have anything that can be called his? If you look at those who have what they call their own, they are the superior men of former times ; if you look at him who has nothing of the kind, he is the friend of heaven and earth.
Having no individual self, how should he have anything that can be called his? If you look at those who have what they call their own, they are the superior men of former times ; if you look at him who has nothing of the kind, he is the friend of heaven and earth.
7. Mean, and yet demanding to be allowed their free course ;—such are Things. Low, and yet requiring to be relied on;—such are the People. Hidden (as to their issues), and yet requiring to be done ;—such are Affairs. Coarse, and yet necessary to be set forth ;—such are Laws. Remote, and yet necessary to have dwelling (in one’s self) ;—such is Righteousness. Near, and yet necessary to be widely extended ;—such is Benevolence. Restrictive, and yet necessary to be multiplied ;—such are Ceremonies. Lodged in the centre, and yet requiring to be exalted ;—such is Virtue. Always One, and yet requiring to be modified ;—such is the Tao. Spiritlike, and yet requiring to be exercised ;—such is Heaven}.
Therefore the sages contemplated Heaven, but did not assist It. They tried to perfect their virtue, but did not allow it to embarrass them. They proceeded according to the Tao, but did not lay any plans. They associated benevolence (with all their doings), but did not rely on it. They pursued right-
1 All these sentences are understood to show that even in the non-action of the Master of the Tao there are still things he must do.
[39] x
_—p. 306 eousness extensively, but did not try to accumulate it. They responded to ceremonies, but did not conceal (their opinion as to the troublesomeness of them). They engaged in affairs as they occurred, and did not decline them. They strove to render their laws uniform, but (feared that confusion) might arise from them. They relied upon the people, and did not set light by them. They depended on things as their instruments, and did not discard them}.
They did not think things equal to what they employed them for, but yet they did not see that they could do without employing them. Those who do not understand Heaven are not pure in their virtue. Those who do not comprehend the T4o have no course which they can pursue successfully. Alas for them who do not clearly understand the Tao!
What is it that we call the Ta4o?? There is the TAo, or Way of Heaven; and there is the Tao, or Way of Man. Doing nothing and yet attracting all honour is the Way of Heaven; Doing and being embarrassed thereby is the Way of Man. It is the Way of Heaven that plays the part of the Lord; it is the Way of Man that plays the part of the Servant. The Way of Heaven and the Way of Man are far apart. They should be clearly distinguished from each other.
1 Antithetic to the previous sentences, and showing that what such a Master does does not interfere with his non-action.
® This question and what follows shows clearly enough that, even with Awang-3ze, the character Tao (34) retained its proper meaning of the Way or Course.