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The Writings of Kwang-tze — Sacred Books of China Part II, SBE Vol. 40 (trans. James Legge, 1891)

English·1879–1910·trans. James Legge·245 passages

The text · part 2 of 12

saw them, and asked what

1 Pei-kung, ‘Northern Palace,’ must have been the name of
Shé’s residence, and appears here as if it were his surname.

2 A son, probably of king King of Kau (B.c. 544-529).—On the whole paragraph, seé par. 10 of the preceding Book.

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arts he had employed in the making of them. Shé replied, ‘Besides my undivided attention to them, I did not venture to use any arts. I have heard the saying, “After all the carving and the chiselling, let the object be to return to simplicity.” I was asa child who has no knowledge ; I was extraordinarily slow and hesitating ; they grew like the springing plants of themselves. In escorting those who went and meeting those who came, my object was neither to hinder the comers nor detain the goers. I suffered those who strongly opposed to take their way, and accepted those who did their best to come to terms. I allowed them all to do the utmost they could, and in this way morning and evening I collected the taxes. I did not have the slightest trouble, and how much more will this be the case with those who pursue the Great Way (on a grand scale)!’

4. Confucius was kept (by his enemies) in a state of siege between AZ#ain and Zhai}, and for seven days had no food cooked with fire to eat. The Thai-kung Zan? went to condole with him, and said, ‘ You had nearly met with your death.’ ‘ Yes,’ was the reply. ‘Do you dislike death?’ ‘I do.’ Then Z&n continued, ‘ Let me try and describe a way by which (such a) death may be avoided.—In the eastern sea there are birds which go by the name of f-is?; they fly low and slowly as if they were deficient in power. They fly as if they were

1 Compare Analects XI, ii.

* We might translate Th4i-kung by ‘the grand-duke.’ We know nothing about him. He tries to convert Confucius to TAoism just as f-lifo does the marquis of Lf in par. 2; and for a time at least, as Kwang-jze makes it appear, with more success.

® Were these f-is swallows? So some of the critics say.

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leading and assisting one another, and they press on one another when they roost. No one ventures to take the lead in going forward, or to be the last in going backwards. In eating no one ventures to take the first mouthful, but prefers the fragments left by others. In this way (the breaks in) their line are not many’, and men outside them cannot harm them, so that they escape injury.

In eating no one ventures to take the first mouthful, but prefers the fragments left by others. In this way (the breaks in) their line are not many’, and men outside them cannot harm them, so that they escape injury.

‘ The straight tree is the first to be cut down; the well of sweet water is the first to be exhausted. Your aim is to embellish your wisdom so as to startle the ignorant, and to cultivate your person to show the unsightliness of others. A light shines around you as if you were carrying with you the sun and moon, and thus it is that you do not escape such calamity. Formerly I heard a highly accomplished man say, “ Those who boast have no merit. The merit which is deemed complete will begin to decay. The fame which is deemed complete will begin to wane.” Who can rid himself of (the ideas of) merit and fame, and return and put himself on the level of the masses of men? The practice of the TAo flows abroad, but its master does not care to dwell where it can be seen; his attainments in it hold their course, but he does not wish to appear in its display. Always simple and commonplace, he may seem to be bereft of reason. He obliterates the traces of his action, gives up position and power, and aims not at merit and fame. Therefore he does not censure men, and men do not censure him. The perfect man does not seek to be heard of ; how is it that you delight in doing so ?’

1 A clause of uncertain meaning. {40} D

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Confucius said, ‘Excellent ;’ and thereupon he took leave of his associates, forsook his disciples, retired to the neighbourhood of a great marsh, wore skins and hair cloth, and ate acorns and chestnuts. He went among animals without causing any confusion among their herds, and among birds without troubling their movements. Birds and beasts did not dislike him; how much less would men do so!

5. Confucius asked 3ze-sang Hf}, saying, ‘I was twice driven from Lf; the tree was felled over me in Sung; I was obliged to disappear from Wei; I was reduced to extreme distress in Shang and Kau’; and I was kept in a state of siege between Ain and 3hai. I have encountered these various calamities ; my intimate associates are removed from me more and more; my followers and friends are more and more dispersed ;—why have all these things befallen me?’ 3ze-sang Hd replied, ‘Have you not heard of the flight of Lin Hui of Ai4*;—how he abandoned his round jade symbol of rank, worth a thousand pieces of silver, and hurried away with his infant son on his back? If it be asked, “Was it because of the market value of the child?” But that value was small (compared with the value of the jade token). If it be asked again, “ Was it because of the troubles

Supposed to have been a recluse.

2 Ido not know the particulars of this distress in Shang and K4u, or have forgotten them. A still more full recital of the sage’s misfortunes occurs in Lieh-3ze, VII, 84.

If it be asked again, “ Was it because of the troubles

Supposed to have been a recluse.

2 Ido not know the particulars of this distress in Shang and K4u, or have forgotten them. A still more full recital of the sage’s misfortunes occurs in Lieh-3ze, VII, 84.

8 The text here appears to be somewhat confused. Lin Hui is said to have been a man of the Yin dynasty, and of a state which was called ia, and for the verification of such a state I have searched in vain. The explanation of his conduct put here into his mouth is very good.

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(of his office)?” But the child would occasion him much more trouble. Why was it then that, abandoning the jade token, worth a thousand pieces of silver, he hurried away with the child on his back ? Lin Hui (himself) said, “The union between me and the token rested on the ground of gain; that between me and the child was of Heaven’s appointment.” Where the bond of union is its profitableness, when the pressure of poverty, calamity, distress, and injury come, the parties abandon one another ; when it is of Heaven’s appointment, they hold in the same circumstances to one another. Now between abandoning one another, and holding to one another, the difference is great. Moreover, the intercourse of superior men is tasteless as water, while that of mean men is sweet as new wine. But the tastelessness of the superior men leads on to affection, and the sweetness of the mean men to aversion. The union which originates without any cause will end in separation without any cause.’

Confucius said, ‘I have reverently received your instructions. And hereupon, with a slow step and an assumed air of ease, he returned to his own house. There he made an end of studying and put away his books. His disciples came no more to make their bow to him (and be taught), but their affection for him increased the more.

Another day Sang H¢i said further to him, ‘ When Shun was about to die, he charged? Yii, saying, ‘ Be

1 The i y of the text here are allowed on all hands to be spurious, and tt raid have been substituted for them. What follows, however, from Shun to Yii, is far from being clear, in itself, or in its connexion.

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upon your guard. (The attraction of) the person is not like that of sympathy; the (power of) affection is not like the leading (of example). Where there is sympathy, there will not be separation; where there is (the leading of) example, there will be no toil, Where there is neither separation nor toil, you will not have to seek the decoration of forms to make the person attractive, and where there is no such need of those forms, there will certainly be none for external things.’

6. Kwang-3ze in a patched dress of coarse cloth, and having his shoes tied together with strings, was passing by the king of Wei, who said to him, ‘How great, Master, is your distress ?’ A wang-jze replied, ‘It is poverty, not distress! While a scholar possesses the T4o and its Attributes, he cannot be going about in distress. Tattered clothes and shoes tied on the feet are the sign of poverty, and not of distress. This is what we call not meeting with the right time. Has your majesty not seen the climbing monkey? When he is among the plane trees, rottleras, oaks, and camphor trees, he grasps and twists their branches (into a screen), where he reigns quite at his ease, so that not even {' or Phang Mang? could spy him out. When, however, he finds himself among the prickly mulberry and date trees, and other thorns, he goes cautiously, casts sidelong glances, and takes every trembling movement with apprehension ;—it is not that his sinews and bones

1 f;—-see Book V, par. 2. Phang Mang was a contemporary of f, learned archery from him, and then slew him, that he might himself be the foremost archer in the kingdom ;—see Mencius IV, li, 24.

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are straitened, and have lost their suppleness, but the situation is unsuitable for him, and he cannot display his agility. And now when I dwell under a benighted ruler, and seditious ministers, how is it possible for me not to be in distress? My case might afford an illustration of the cutting out the heart of Pi-kan!!’

7. When Confucius was reduced to great distress between Aan and AKAéi, and for seven days he had no cooked food to eat, he laid hold of a decayed tree with his left hand, and with his right hand tapped it ~ with a decayed branch, singing all the while the ode of Pido-shih?, He had his instrument, but the notes were not marked on it. There was a noise, but no blended melody. The sound of the wood and the voice of the man came together like the noise of the plough through the ground, yet suitably to the feelings of the disciples around. Yen Hui, who was standing upright, with his hands crossed on his breast, rolled his eyes round to observe him. Aungni, fearing that Hui would go to excess in manifesting how he honoured himself, or be plunged in sorrow through his love for him, said to him, ‘ Hui, not to receive (as evils) the inflictions of Heaven is easy; not to receive (as benefits) the favours of men is difficult. There is no beginning which was not an end. The Human and the Heavenly may be one

1 ¢A spurious paragraph, no doubt. Lin Hsf-éung thus concludes what he has to say on this paragraph ; but it is not without its interest and lessons.

2? I do not know who this was, nor what his ode or air was. Lit Teh-ming read the character RR, and says that Pido-shih was one of the old royal Tis who did nothing. In all my texts it is wrongly printed with three RK:

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and the same. Who, for instance, is it that is now singing!?’ Hui said, ‘I venture to ask how not to receive (as evils) the inflictions of Heaven is easy.’ Kung-ni said, ‘Hunger, thirst, cold, and heat, and having one’s progress entirely blocked up ;—these are the doings of Heaven and Earth, necessary incidents in the revolutions of things. They are occurrences of which we say that we will pass on (composedly) along with them. The minister of another does not dare to refuse his commands; and if he who is discharging the duty of a minister feels it necessary to act thus, how much more should we wait with ease on the commands of Heaven?!’ ‘What do you mean by saying that not to receive (as benefits) the favours of men is difficult ?’ Aungni said, ‘As soon as one is employed in office, he gets forward in all directions; rank and emolument. come to him together, and without end. But these advantages do not come from one’s self ;—it is my appointed lot to have such external good. The’ superior man is not a robber; the man of worth is no filcher ;—if I prefer such things, what am 1%? Hence it is said, ‘ There is no bird wiser than the swallow.” Where its eye lights on a place that is not suitable for it, it does not give it a second glance. Though it may drop the food from its

1 This question arose out of the previous statement that man and Heaven might be one,—acting with the same spontaneity.

2 Confucius recognises here, as he often does, a power beyond his own, ‘his appointed lot,’ what we call destiny, to which the Tao requires submission. This comes very near to our idea of God.

5 Human gifts had such an attraction, that they tended to take from man his heavenly spontaneity ; and were to be eschewed, or received only with great caution.

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mouth, it abandons it, and hurries off. It is afraid of men, and yet it stealthily takes up its dwelling by his; finding its protection in the altars of the Land and Grain},

‘What do you mean by saying that there is no beginning which was not an end?’ ung-ni said, ‘The change—rise and dissolution—of all things (continually) goes on, but we do not know who it is that maintains and continues the process. How do we know when any one begins? How do we know when he will end? We have simply to wait for it, and nothing more ?.’

‘And what do you mean by saying that the Human and the Heavenly are one and the same?’ Aung-ni said, ‘Given man, and you have Heaven; given Heaven, and you still have Heaven (and nothing more). That man can not. have Heaven is owing to the limitation of his nature*, The sagely man quietly passes away with his body, and there is an end of it.’

That man can not. have Heaven is owing to the limitation of his nature*, The sagely man quietly passes away with his body, and there is an end of it.’

8. As Kwang A4uwas rambling in the park of Tidoling ¢ he saw a strange bird which came from the south. Its wings were seven cubits in width, and

1 What is said here about the swallow is quite obscure. Hsikung says that all the old attempts to explain it are ridiculous, and then propounds an ingenious one of his own; but I will leave the passage with my reader to deal with it as he best can.

2 Compare with this how in Book XVIII we find Awang-jze singing by the dead body of his wife.

8 That man is man and not Heaven is simply from the limitation of his nature,—his ‘ appointed lot.’

‘ Tido-ling might be translated ‘Eagle Mount.’ Where it was I do not know; perhaps the name originated with Kwang-3ze, and thus has become semi-historical.

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its eyes were large, an inch in circuit. It touched the forehead of Au as it passed him, and lighted in a grove of chestnut trees. ‘What bird is this ?’ said he, ‘with such great wings not to go on! and with such large eyes not to see me!’ He lifted up his skirts, and hurried with his cross-bow, waiting for (an opportunity to shoot) it. (Meanwhile) he saw a cicada, which had just alighted in a beautiful shady spot, and forgot its (care for its) body. (Just then), a preying mantis raised its feelers, and pounced on the cicada, in its eagerness for its prey, (also) forgetting (its care for) its body ; while the strange bird took advantage of its opportunity to secure them both, in view of that gain forgetting its true (instinct of preservation)!. Awang Au with an emotion of pity, said,‘ Ah! so it is that things bring evil on one another, each of these creatures invited its own calamity. (With this) he put away his cross-bow, and was hurrying away back, when the forester pursued him with terms of reproach.

When he returned and went into his house, he did not appear in his courtyard? for three months ?. (When he came out), Lan 3ii® (his disciple) asked him, saying, ‘ Master, why have you for this some time avoided the courtyard so much?’ A wang-jze replied, ‘I was guarding my person, and forgot myself; I was looking at turbid water, till I

1 Kwang-3ze might now have shot the bird, but we like him the better for letting it alone.

? So then, masters of schools, like Awang-gze, received and taught their disciples in the courtyard of their house ;—in China as elsewhere. For three ‘months,’ it is conjectured, we should read three ‘ days.’

5 The disciple Lan 3i appears here, but not, so far as I know, elsewhere.

PT. I. SECT. XII, THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-8ZE, 4!

For three ‘months,’ it is conjectured, we should read three ‘ days.’

5 The disciple Lan 3i appears here, but not, so far as I know, elsewhere.

PT. I. SECT. XII, THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-8ZE, 4!

mistook the clear pool. And moreover I have heard the Master say 1, “ Going where certain customs prevail, you should follow those customs.” I was walking about in the park of Tido-ling, and forgot myself. A strange bird brushed past my forehead, and went flying about in the grove of chestnuts, where it forgot the true (art of preserving itself), The forester of the chestnut grove thought that I was a fitting object for his reproach. These are the reasons why I have avoided the courtyard.’ —

9. Yang-3ze, having gone to Sung, passed the night in a lodging-house, the master of which had two concubines ;—one beautiful, the other ugly’. The ugly one was honoured, however, and the beautiful one contemned. Yang-jze asked the reason, and a little boy of the house replied, ‘The beauty knows her beauty, and we do not recognise it. The ugly one knows her ugliness, and we do not recognise it.’ Yang-yze said, ‘Remember it, my disciples. Act virtuously, and put away the practice of priding yourselves on your virtue. If you do this, where can you go to that you will not be loved?’

* Who was this ‘ Master?’

* The story here is found in Lieh-jze II, 15%». The Yang-zze is there Yang Af, against whom Mencius so often directed his arguments.

° See the greater part of this paragraph in Prémare’s ‘ Notitia Linguae Sinicae,’ p. 200, with his remarks on the style.

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BOOK XXI.

Part II. Section XIV..
Thien 3ze-fang}.

1. Thien 3ze-fang, sitting in attendance on the marquis Wan of Wei?, often quoted (with approbation) the words of KAit Kung*® The marquis said, ‘Is KAi Kung your preceptor ?’ 3ze-fang replied, ‘No. He only belongs to the same neighbourhood. In speaking about the TAo, his views are often correct, and therefore I quote them as I do. The marquis went on, ‘Then have you no preceptor ?’ ‘T have.” ‘And who is he?’ ‘He is Tung-kwo Shun-yze‘.’ ‘And why, my Master, have I never heard you quote his words?’ 3ze-fang replied, ‘He is a man who satisfies the true (ideal of humanity)’; a man in appearance, but (having the mind of) Heaven. Void of any thought of himself, he accommodates himself to others, and nourishes the true ideal that belongs to him. With all his purity, he is forbearing to others. Where they are without the T do, he rectifies his demeanour, so that they understand it, and in consequence their own ideas melt

1 See vol. xxxix, pp. 151, 152. 2 B.c. 424-387.

5 Some well-known worthy of Wei.

‘ A greater worthy still. He must have lived near the outside suburban wall of the capital, and his residence became a sort of surname. .

5 The Human and the Heavenly were blended in his personality.

PT. Il. SECT, XIV. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-8ZE. 43 away and disappear. How should one like me be fit to quote his words ?’

He must have lived near the outside suburban wall of the capital, and his residence became a sort of surname. .

5 The Human and the Heavenly were blended in his personality.

PT. Il. SECT, XIV. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-8ZE. 43 away and disappear. How should one like me be fit to quote his words ?’

When 3ze-fang went out, the marquis W4n continued in a state of dumb amazement all the day. He then called Lung Lt-444n, and said to him, ‘How far removed from us is the superior man of complete virtue! Formerly I thought the words of the sages and wise men, and the practice of benevolence and righteousness, to be the utmost we could reach to. Since I have heard about the preceptor of 3ze-fang, my body is all unstrung, and I do not wish to move, and my mouth is closed up, and I do not wish to speak ;—what I have learned has been only a counterfeit of the truth’, Yes, (the possession of Wei) has been an entanglement to me.’

2. Wan-po Hsiieh-jze *, on his way to KAi, stayed some time in Lf, where some persons of the state begged to have an interview with him. He refused them, saying, ‘I have heard that the superior men of these Middle States* understand the (subjects of) ceremony and righteousness, but are deplorably ignorant of the minds of men. I do not wish to see them.’ He went on to KAti; and on his way back (to the south), he again stayed in Lf, when the same persons begged as before for an interview. He then said, ‘Formerly they asked to see me, and now again they seek an interview. They will afford me

? So the Khang-hs? dictionary defines the phrase ;—‘a wooden image made of earth,’ says Lf Shf-Aih.

* A T4oist of note from some region in the south, perhaps from ht, having his own share of the Téoistic contempt for knowledge and culture.

’ Probably Lf and the northern states grouped closely round the toyal domain.

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some opportunity of bringing out my sentiments.’ He went out accordingly and saw the visitors, and came in again with a sigh. Next day the same thing occurred, and his servant said to him, ‘ How is it that whenever you see those visitors, you are sure to come in again sighing?’ ‘I told you before,’ was the reply, ‘that the people of these Middle States understand (the subjects of) ceremony and righteousness, but are deplorably ignorant of the minds of men. Those men who have just seen me, as they came in and went out would describe, one a circle and another a square, and in their easy carriage would be like, one a dragon and another a tiger. They remonstrated with me as sons (with their fathers), and laid down the way for me as fathers (for their sons). It was this which made me sigh.’

They remonstrated with me as sons (with their fathers), and laid down the way for me as fathers (for their sons). It was this which made me sigh.’

Xung-nt saw the man, but did not speak a word to him. 3ze-l said, ‘ You have wished, Sir, to see this Wan-po Hsiieh-jze for a long time ; what is the reason that when you have seen him, you have not spoken a word?’ ung-nt replied, ‘As soon as my eyes lighted on that man, the T4o in him was apparent. The situation did not admit of a word being spoken.’

3. Yen Yiian asked Kung-ni, saying, ‘ Master, when you pace quietly along, I also pace along; when you go more quickly, I also do the same; when you gallop, I also gallop; but when you race along and spurn the dust, then I can only stand and look, and keep behind you'.’ The Master said, ‘Hui, what do you mean?’ The reply was, ‘In saying that “when you, Master, pace quietly along, I also pace

1 They are both supposed to be on horseback.

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along,” I mean? that when you speak, I also speak. By saying, “When you go more quickly, I also do the same,” I mean? that when you reason, I also reason. By saying, ‘“‘ When you gallop, I also gallop,” I mean? that when you speak of the Way, I also speak of the Way; but by saying, “ When you race along and spurn the dust, then I can only stare, and keep behind you,” I am thinking how though you do not speak, yet all men believe you; though you are no partisan, yet all parties approve your catholicity ; and though you sound no instrument, yet people all move on harmoniously before you, while (all the while) I do not know how all this comes about ; and this is all which my words are intended to express?’

Kung-ni said, ‘But you must try and search the matter out. Of all causes for sorrow there is none so great as the death of the mind ;—the death of man’s (body) is only next to it. The sun comes forth in the east, and sets in the extreme west ;— all things have their position determined by these two points. All that have eyes and feet wait for this (sun), and then proceed to do what they have to do. When this comes forth, they appear in their places; when it sets, they disappear. It is so with all things. They have that for which they wait, and (on its arrival) they die; they have that for which they wait, and then (again) they live. When once I receive my frame thus completed, I remain unchanged, awaiting the consummation of my course.

1 In these three cases the th, of the text should be #.

? So Hui is made to represent the master as a mental Thaumathurgist, and Confucius is made to try to explain the whole thing to him ;—but not to my mind successfully. Still a distinction is maintained between the mind and the body.

‘46 THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. BK, XXI.

I move as acted on by things, day and night without cessation, and I do not know when I will come to an end. Clearly I am here a completed frame, and even one who (fancies that he) knows what is appointed cannot determine it beforehand. I am in this way daily passing on, but all day long I am communicating my views to you; and now, aS we are shoulder to shoulder you fail (to understand me) ;—is it not matter for lamentation ? You are able in a measure to set forth what I more. clearly set forth ; but that is passed away, and you look for it, as if it were still existing, just as if you were looking for a horse in the now empty place where it was formerly exhibited for sale. You have very much forgotten my service to you, and I have very much forgotten wherein I served you. But nevertheless why should you account this such an evil? What you forget is but my old self; that which cannot be forgotten remains with me.’

4. Confucius went to see Léo Tan, and arrived just as he had completed the bathing of his head, and was letting his dishevelled hair get dry. There he was, motionless, and as if there were not another man in the world’. Confucius waited quietly; and, when ina little time he was introduced, he said, ‘Were my eyes dazed? Is it really you? Just now, your body, Sir, was like the stump of a rotten tree. You looked as if you had no thought of anything, as if you had left the society of men, and were standing in the solitude (of yourself).’ Lao Tan replied, ‘I was enjoying myself in thinking about the commencement

1 He was in the TAoistic trance, like Nan-kwo 3ze-éA1, at the beginning of the second Book.

PT. Il, SECT. XIV. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-3ZE. 47

PT. Il, SECT. XIV. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-3ZE. 47 of things?’ ‘What do you mean?’ ‘My mind is so cramped, that I hardly know it; my tongue is so tied that I cannot tell it; but I will try to describe it to you as nearly as I can. When the state of Yin was perfect, all was cold and severe; when the state of Yang was perfect, all was turbulent and agitated. The coldness and severity came forth from Heaven; the turbulence and agitation issued from Earth. The two states communicating together, a harmony ensued and things were produced. Some one regulated and controlled this, but no one has seen his form. Decay and growth; fulness and emptiness; darkness and light; the changes of the sun and the transformations of the moon :—these are brought about from day to day; but no one sees the process of production. Life has its origin from which it springs, and death has its place from which it returns. Beginning and ending go on in mutual contrariety without any determinable commencement, and no one knows how either comes to an end. If we disallow all this, who originates and presides over all these phenomena ?’

Confucius said, ‘I beg to ask about your enjoyment in these thoughts. L4o Tan replied, ‘The

1 This ‘commencement of things’ was not the equivalent of ‘our creation out of nothing,’ for Lao Tan immediately supposes the existence of the primary ether in its twofold state, as Yin and Yang; and also of Heaven and Earth, as a twofold Power working, under some regulation and control, yet invisible ; that is, under the Tao. In the same way the process of beginning and ending, growth and decay, life and death go on, no one knows how, or how long. And the contemplation of all this is the cause of unceasing delight to the Perfect man, the possessor of the T Ao. Death is a small matter, merely as a change of feature; and Confucius acknowledges his immeasurable inferiority to LAo-3ze.

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And the contemplation of all this is the cause of
unceasing delight to the Perfect man, the possessor of the T Ao.
Death is a small matter, merely as a change of feature; and
Confucius acknowledges his immeasurable inferiority to LAo-3ze.

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comprehension of this is the most admirable and the most enjoyable (of all acquisitions). The getting of the most admirable and the exercise of the thoughts in what is the most enjoyable, constitutes what we call the Perfect man.’ Confucius said, ‘I should like to hear the method of attaining to it. The reply was, ‘Grass-eating animals do not dislike to change their pastures; creatures born in the water do not dislike to change their waters. They make a small change, but do not lose what is the great and regular requirement (of their nature); joy, anger, sadness, and delight do not enter into their breasts (in connexion with such events). Now the space under the sky is occupied by all things in their unity. When they possess that unity and equally share it, then the four limbs and hundred members of their body are but so much dust and dirt, while death and life, their ending and beginning, are but as the succession of day and night, which cannot disturb their enjoyment; and how much less will they be troubled by gains and losses, by calamity and happiness! Those who renounce the paraphernalia of rank do it as if they were casting away so much mud ;— they know that they are themselves more honourable than those paraphernalia. The honour belonging to one’s self is not lost by any change (of condition). Moreover, a myriad transformations may take place before the end of them is reached. What is there in all this sufficient to trouble the mind ? Those who have attained to the T4o understand the subject.’

Confucius said, ‘O Master, your virtue is equal to that of Heaven and Earth, and still I must borrow

PT, Il, SECT, XIV. THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-8ZE. 49

(some of your) perfect words (to aid me) in the cultivation of my mind. Who among the superior men of antiquity could give such expression to them?’ L4o Tan replied, ‘Not so. Look at the spring, the water of which rises and overflows ;— it does nothing, but it naturally acts so. So with the perfect man and his virtue ;—he does not cultivate it, and nothing evades its influence. He is like heaven which is high of itself, like earth which is solid of itself, like the sun and moon which shine of themselves ;—what need is there to cultivate it ?’

Confucius went out and reported the conversation to Yen Hui, saying, ‘In the (knowledge of the) T4o am I any better than an animalcule in vinegar? But for the Master’s lifting the veil from me, I should not have known the grand perfection of Heaven and Earth.’

But for the Master’s lifting the veil from me, I should not have known the grand perfection of Heaven and Earth.’

5. At an interview of Awang-jze with duke Ai? of Lf, the duke said, ‘There are many of the Learned class in Lt; but few of them can be compared with you, Sir. Awang-jze replied, ‘There are few Learned men in La.’ ‘Everywhere in L4,’ rejoined the duke, ‘you see men wearing the dress of the Learned? ;—how can you say that they are few ?’? ‘I have heard,’ said Kwang-jze, ‘that those of them who wear round caps know the times of heaven; that those who wear square shoes know the contour of the ground; and that those who saunter about with semicircular stones at their

1 Duke Ai of L@ died in n.c. 468, a century and more before the birth of Kwang-jze. On that, as well as on other grounds, the paragraph cannot be genuine.

2 Compare the thirty-eighth Book of the Li Ai, where Confucius denies that there was any dress peculiar to the scholar,

[40] Ep. 50 girdle-pendents settle matters in dispute as they come before them. But superior men who are possessed of such knowledge will not be found wearing the dress, and it does not follow that those who wear the dress possess the knowledge. If your Grace think otherwise, why not issue a notification through the state, that it shall be a capital offence to wear the dress without possessing the knowledge.’ On this the duke issued such a notification, and in five days, throughout all La, there was no one who dared to wear the dress of the Learned. There was only one old man who came and stood in it at the duke’s gate. The duke instantly called him in, and questioned him about the affairs of the state, when he talked about a thousand points and ten thousand divergences from them. Awang-jze said, ‘When the state of Lf can thus produce but one man of the Learned class, can he be said to be many?’

6. The ideas of rank and emolument did not enter the mind of P4i-lt Hst!, and so he became a cattlefeeder, and his cattle were all in fine condition. This made duke Md of Ain forget the meanness of his position, and put the government (of his state) into his hands. Neither life nor death entered into the mind of (Shun), the Lord of Yi, and therefore he was able to influence others 2.

7. The ruler Yiian? of Sung wishing to have a map

1 Pai-lt Hsi, a remarkable character of the seventh century B.c., who rose to be chief minister to MQ, the earl (or duke) of Kfin, the last of the five Leading Princes of the kingdom. Mf died in B.c. 621. Mencius has much to say of P4i-lt Hs.

* Shun’s parents wished to kill him; but that did not trouble his mind ; his filial piety even affected them.

* His first year as duke of Sung was 3.c. 530. The point of the story is not clear.

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621. Mencius has much to say of P4i-lt Hs.

* Shun’s parents wished to kill him; but that did not trouble his mind ; his filial piety even affected them.

* His first year as duke of Sung was 3.c. 530. The point of the story is not clear.

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drawn, the masters of the pencil all came (to undertake the task). Having received his instructions and made their bows, they stood, licking their pencils and preparing their ink. Half their number, however, remained outside. There was one who came late, with an air of indifference, and did not hurry forward. When he had received his instructions and made his bow, he did not keep standing, but proceeded to his shed. The duke sent a man to see him, and there he was, with his upper garment off, sitting cross-legged, and nearly naked. The ruler said, ‘He is the man; he is a true draughtsman.’

8. King Wan was (once) looking about him at 3ang 4, when he saw an old man fishing*. But his fishing was no fishing. It was not the fishing of one whose business is fishing. He was always fishing (as if he had no object in the occupation). The king wished to raise him to office, and put the government into his hands, but was afraid that such a step would give dissatisfaction to his great ministers, his uncles, and cousins. He then wished to dismiss the man altogether from his mind, but he could not bear the thought that his people should be without (such a) Heaven (as their Protector). On this, (next) morning, he called together his great officers, and said to them, ‘Last night, I dreamt that I saw a good man, with a dark complexion and a

1 Where 3ang was cannot be told.

2 The old fisherman here was, no doubt, the first marquis of Ki, after the establishment of the dynasty of Kau, known by various names, as Lit Shang, Thai-kung Wang, and Kiang 3ze-y4. He did much for the new rule, but his connexion with kings Wan and Wa is a mass of fables. The fishing as if he were not fishing betokened in him the aimlessness of the T4o.

E 2

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beard, riding on a piebald horse, one half of whose hoofs were red, who commanded me, saying, “Lodge your government in the hands of the old man of 3ang; and perhaps the evils of your people will be cured.”’ The great officers said eagerly, ‘It was the king, your father.’ King W4n said, ‘Let us then submit the proposal to the tortoise-shell.’ They replied, ‘It is the order of your father. Let not your majesty think of any other. Why divine about it?’ (The king) then met the old man of 3ang, and committed the government to him.

Let not your majesty think of any other. Why divine about it?’ (The king) then met the old man of 3ang, and committed the government to him.

The statutes and laws were not changed by him; not a one-sided order (of his own) was issued; but when the king made a survey of the kingdom after three years, he found that the officers had destroyed the plantations (which harboured banditti), and dispersed their occupiers, that the superintendents of the official departments did not plume themselves on their successes, and that no unusual grain measures were allowed within the different states. When the officers had destroyed the dangerous plantations and dispersed their occupants, the highest value was set on the common interests; when the chiefs of departments did not plume themselves on their successes, the highest value was set on the common business; when unusual grain measures did not enter the different states, the different princes had no jealousies. On this king Wan made the old man his Grand Preceptor, and asked him, with his own face to the north, whether his government might be extended to all the kingdom. The old

* That is, that all combinations formed to resist and warp the course of justice had been put an end to.

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man looked perplexed and gave no reply, but with aimless look took his leave. In the morning he had issued his orders, and at night he had gone his way; nor was he heard of again all his life. Yen Yiian questioned Confucius, saying, ‘Was even king Wan unequal to determine his course ? What had he to do with resorting to a dream?’ Xung-ni replied, ‘Be silent and do not say a word! King Wan was complete in everything. What have you to do with criticising him? He only had recourse (to the dream) to meet a moment's difficulty,’

9. Lieh Yii-kh4u was exhibiting his archery! to Po-hwin Wi-zin?. Having drawn the bow to its full extent, with a cup of water placed on his elbow, he let fly. . As the arrow was discharged, another was put in its place; and as that was sent off, a third was ready on the string. All the while he stood like a statue. Po-hwan Wo-zdn said, ‘ That is the shooting of an archer, but not of one who shoots without thinking about his shooting. Let me go up with you to the top of a high mountain, treading with you among the tottering rocks, till we arrive at the brink of a precipice, 800 cubits deep, and (I will then see) if you can shoot.’ On this they went up a high mountain, making their way among the tottering rocks, till they came to the brink of a precipice 800 cubits deep. Then Wd-zan turned round and walked backwards, till his feet were two-

1 This must be the meaning of the BS, ‘for.’ The whole story is found in Lieh-3ze, II, p. 5. From Lieh’s Book VIII, p. 2, we learn that Lieh-3ze’s teacher in archery was Yin Hsi, the warden of the pass famous in the history of Lao-3ze.

® Mentioned in Book V, par. 2.

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5. From Lieh’s Book VIII, p. 2, we learn that Lieh-3ze’s teacher in archery was Yin Hsi, the warden of the pass famous in the history of Lao-3ze.

® Mentioned in Book V, par. 2.

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thirds of their length outside the edge, and beckoned Yii-khAu to come forward. He, however, had fallen prostrate on the ground, with the sweat pouring down to his heels. Then the other said, ‘The Perfect man looks up to the azure sky above, or dives down to the yellow springs beneath, or soars away to the eight ends of the universe, without any change coming over his spirit or his breath. But now the trepidation of your mind appears in your dazed eyes ; your inward feeling of peril is extreme!’

10, Kien Wo asked Sun-shi Ao}, saying, ‘ You, Sir, were thrice chief minister, and did not feel elated; you were thrice dismissed from that position, without manifesting any sorrow. At first I was in doubt about you, (but I am not now, since) I see how regularly and quietly the breath comes through your nostrils. How is it that you exercise your mind?’ Sun-shd Ao replied, ‘In what do I surpass other men? When the position came to me, I thought it should not be rejected; when it was taken away, I thought it could not be retained. I considered that the getting or losing it did not make me what I was, and was no occasion for any manifestation of sorrow ;—that was all. In what did I surpass other men? And moreover, I did not know whether the honour of it belonged to the dignity, or to myself. If it belonged to the dignity, it was nothing to me; if it belonged to me, it had nothing

? Sun-sh Ao;—see Mencius VI, ii, 15. He was, no doubt, a good and able man, chief minister to king Kwang of KAg. The legends or edifying stories about him are many; but Awanggze, I think, is the author of his being thrice raised and thrice dismissed from office.

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to do with the dignity. While occupied with these uncertainties, and looking round in all directions, what leisure had I to take knowledge of whether men honoured me or thought me mean ?’

Kung-ni heard of all this, and said, ‘The True men of old could not be fully described by the wisest, nor be led into excess by the most beautiful, nor be forced by the most violent robber. Neither Fd-hst nor Hwang-Ti could compel them to be their friends. Death and life are indeed great considerations, but they could make no change in their (true) self; and how much less could rank and emolument do so? Being such, their spirits might pass over the Thai mountain and find it no obstacle to them!; they might enter the greatest gulphs, and not be wet by them; they might occupy the lowest and smallest positions without being distressed by them. Theirs was the fulness of heaven and earth; the more that they gave to others, the more they had.’

Theirs was the fulness of heaven and earth; the more that they gave to others, the more they had.’

The king of AQ and the ruler of Fan? were sitting together. After a little while, the attendants of the king said, ‘Fan has been destroyed three times.’ The ruler of Fan rejoined, ‘The destruction of Fan has not been sufficient to destroy what we had that was most deserving to be preserved. Now,

1 It is difficult to see why this should be predicated of the
‘spirits’ of the True men.

2 Fan was a small state, held at one time by descendants of the famous duke of AKau;—see the 830 KAwan, I, vii, 6; V, xxiv, 2. But we do not know what had been the relations between the powerful A/G and the feeble Fan, which gave rise to and could explain the remarks made at the entertainment, more honourable to Fan than to KAQ.

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if the destruction of Fan had not been sufficient to destroy that which it had most deserving to be preserved, the preservation of KO had not been sufficient to preserve that in it most deserving to be preserved. Looking at the matter from this point of view, Fan had not begun to be destroyed, and Kh had not begun to be preserved.

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BOOK XXII.
Part II. Section XV.

Kih Pei Y4, or ‘Knowledge Rambling in the
North 1,’

1. Knowledge? had rambled northwards to the region of the Dark Water *, where he ascended the height of Imperceptible Slope *, when it happened that he met with Dumb Inaction*, Knowledge addressed him, saying, ‘I wish to ask you some questions :—By what process of thought and anxious consideration do we get to know the Tao? Where should we dwell and what should we do to find our rest in the T4o? From what point should we start and what path should we pursue to make the T4o our own?’ He asked these three questions, but Dumb Inaction? gave him no reply. Not only did he not answer, but he did not know how to answer.

Knowledge ?, disappointed by the fruitlessness of his questions, returned to the south of the Bright

} See vol. xxxix, p. 152.

2 All these names are metaphorical, having more or less to do with the qualities of the Tao, and are used as the names of personages, devoted to the pursuit of it. It is difficult to translate the name Khwang Khii (FE Kp). An old reading is ai, which Medhurst explains by ‘Bent or Crooked Discourse.’ ‘ Blurter,’ though not an elegant English term, seems to express the idea our author would convey by it. Hwang-Tt is different from the other names, but we cannot regard him as here a real personage.

5 These names of places are also metaphorical and TAoistic.

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Hwang-Tt is different from the other names, but we cannot regard him as here a real personage.

5 These names of places are also metaphorical and TAoistic.

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Water, and ascended the height of the End of Doubt, where he saw Heedless Blurter, to whom he put the same questions, and who replied, ‘Ah! | I know, and will tell you.’ But while he was about to speak, he forgot what he wanted to say. Knowledge, (again) receiving no answer to his questions, returned to the palace of the Ti*, where he saw Hwang-T1, and put the questions to him. Hwang-Ti said, ‘To exercise no thought and no anxious. consideration is the first step towards knowing the T4o; to dwell nowhere and do nothing is the first step towards resting in the T4o; to start from nowhere and pursue no path is the first step _ towards making the T4o your own.’ Knowledge then asked Hwang-T}, saying, ‘I and you know this; those two did not know it; which of us is right?’ The reply was, ‘Dumb Inaction * is truly right; Heedless Blurter has an appearance of being so; I and you are not near being so. (As it is said), “ Those who know (the T 40) do not speak of it; those who speak of it do not know it*;” and “Hence the sage conveys his instructions without the use of speech*.”. The T4o cannot be made ours by constraint; its characteristics will not come to us (at our call), Benevolence may be practised ; Righteousness may be partially attended to; by Ceremonies men impose on one another. Hence it

' See note 3, on preceding page.

® Ti might seem to be used here for ‘God,’ but its juxtaposition with Hwang-Ti is against our translating it so.

5 See note 2, on preceding page. ~

* See the Tdo Teh King, chaps. 56 and 2. Awang-3ze is quoting, no doubt, these two passages, as he vaguely intimates I think by the KX , with which the sentence commences.

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is said, “ When the T4o was lost, its Characteristics appeared. When its Characteristics were lost, Benevolence appeared. When Benevolence was lost, Righteousness appeared. When Righteousness was lost, Ceremonies appeared. Ceremonies are but (the unsubstantial) flowers of the T4o, and the commencement of disorder?.” Hence (also it is further said), ‘“‘ He who practises the T4o, daily diminishes his doing. He diminishes it and again diminishes it, till he arrives at doing nothing. Having arrived at this non-inaction, there is nothing that he does not do?.” Here now there is something, a regularly fashioned utensil ;—if you wanted to make it return to the original condition of its materials, would it not be difficult to make it do so? Could any but the Great Man accomplish this easily 2?

Could any but the Great Man accomplish this easily 2?

‘Life is the follower of death, and death is the predecessor of life; but who knows. the Arranger (of this connexion between them)*? The life is due to the collecting of the breath. When that is collected, there is life; when it is dispersed, there is death. Since death and life thus attend on each other, why should I account (either of) them an evil ?

‘Therefore all things go through one and the same experience. (Life) is accounted beautiful because it is spirit-like and wonderful, and death is accounted ugly because of its foetor and putridity. But the foetid and putrid is transformed again into the spirit-like and wonderful, and the spirit-like and wonderful is transformed again into the foetid and

' See the Tao Teh King, chaps. 38 and 48.

* This sentence is metaphorical of the T4o, whose spell is broken by the intrusion of Knowledge.

5 This ‘ Arranger’ is the T4o.

alp. 60 putrid. Hence it is said, “ All under the sky there is one breath of life, and therefore the sages prized that unity '.”’

Knowledge? said to Hwang-Tt?, ‘I asked Dumb Inaction ?, and he did not answer me. Not only did he not answer me, but he did not know how to answer me. I asked Heedless Blurter, and while he wanted to tell me, he yet did not do so. Not only did he not tell me, but while he wanted to tell me, he forgot all about my questions. Now I have asked you, and you knew (all about them) ;—why (do you say that) you are not near doing so?’ Hwang-Tt replied, ‘Dumb Inaction? was truly right, because he did not know the thing. Heedless Blurter? was nearly right, because he forgot it. I and you are not nearly right, because we know it. Heedless Blurter? heard of (all this), and considered that Hwang-Tt? knew how to express himself (on the subject).

2. (The operations of) Heaven and Earth proceed in the most admirable way, but they say nothing about them; the four seasons observe the clearest laws, but they do not discuss them ; all things have their complete and distinctive constitutions, but they say nothing about them ®.

The sages trace out the adtnirable operations of - Heaven and Earth, and reach to and understand the distinctive constitutions of all things; and thus it is that the Perfect Man (is said to) do nothing and the Greatest Sage to originate nothing, such language showing that they look to Heaven and Earth as

1 I have not been able to trace this quotation to its source.
2 See note 2, p. 57. 5 Compare Analects XVII, xix, 3.

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their model?. Even they, with their spirit-like and most exquisite intelligence, as well as all the tribes that undergo their transformations, the dead and the living, the square and the round, do not understand their root and origin, but nevertheless they all from the oldest time by it preserve their being.

Even they, with their spirit-like and most exquisite intelligence, as well as all the tribes that undergo their transformations, the dead and the living, the square and the round, do not understand their root and origin, but nevertheless they all from the oldest time by it preserve their being.

Vast as is the space included within the six cardinal points, it all (and all that it contains) lies within (this twofold root of Heaven and Earth) ; small as is an autumn hair, it is indebted to this for the completion of its form. All things beneath the sky, now rising, now descending, ever continue the same through this, The Yin and Yang, and the four seasons revolve and move by it, each in its proper order. Now it seems to be lost in obscurity, but it continues ; now it seems to glide away, and have no form, but it is still spirit-like. All things are nourished by it, without their knowing it. This is what is called the Root and Origin; by it we may obtain a view of what we mean by Heaven *.

3, Nieh Xhiieh® asked about the T Ao from Phei-i*, who replied, ‘If you keep your body as it should be, and look only at the one thing, the Harmony of Heaven will come to you. Call in your knowledge, and make your measures uniform, and the spiritual (belonging to you) will come and lodge with you; the Attributes (of the T4o) will be your beauty, and the T4o (itself) will be your dwelling-place. You will have the simple look of a new-born calf, and

1 Compare the Tao Teh Xing, ch. 25.

? The binomial ‘ Heaven and Earth’ here gives place to the one term ‘ Heaven,’ which is often a synonym of T4o.

8 See his character in Book XII, par. 5, where Phei-? also is mentioned.

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will not seek to know the cause (of your being what you are). Phei-f had not finished these words when the other dozed off into a sleep.

Phei-t was greatly pleased, and walked away, singing as he went, ,

‘Like stump of rotten tree his frame,

Like lime when slaked his mind became’.
Real is his wisdom, solid, true,
Nor cares what's hidden to pursue.
O dim and dark his aimless mind!
No one from him can counsel find.
What sort of man is he?’

4. Shun asked (his attendant) Aang’, saying, ‘Can I get the T4o and hold it as mine?’ The reply was, ‘ Your body is not your own to hold ;— how then can you get and hold the Téo?’ Shun resumed, ‘If my body be not mine to possess and hold, who holds it?’ ang said, ‘It is the bodily form entrusted to you by Heaven and Earth. Life is not yours to hold. It is the blended harmony (of the Yin and Yang), entrusted to you by Heaven and Earth. Your nature, constituted as it is, is not ” yours to hold. It is entrusted to you by Heaven and Earth to act in accordance with it. Your grandsons and sons are not yours to hold. They are the exuviae® entrusted to you by Heaven and Earth. Therefore when we walk, we should not know where we are going; when we stop and rest, we should not know what to occupy ourselves with ;

Your grandsons and sons are not yours to hold. They are the exuviae® entrusted to you by Heaven and Earth. Therefore when we walk, we should not know where we are going; when we stop and rest, we should not know what to occupy ourselves with ;

1 See the account of Nan-kwo 3ze-4At in Book II, par. 1.

2 Not the name of a man, but an office.

8 The term in the text denotes the cast-off skin or shell of insects, snakes, and crabs. See the account of death and life in par. 1.

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when we eat, we should not know the taste of our food ;—all is done by the strong Yang influence of Heaven and Earth'. How then can you get (the To), and hold it as your own ?’

5. Confucius asked Lado Tan, saying, ‘ Being at leisure to-day, I venture to ask you about the Perfect T4o.’ Lao Tan replied, ‘You must, as by fasting and vigil, clear and purge your mind, wash your spirit white as snow, and sternly repress your knowledge. The subject of the T4o is deep, and difficult to describe ;—I will give you an outline of its simplest attributes.

‘The Luminous was produced from the Obscure ; the Multiform from the Unembodied ; the Spiritual from the T4o; and the bodily from the seminal essence. After this all things produced one another from their bodily organisations. Thus it is that those which have nine apertures are born from the womb, and those with eight from eggs*% But their coming leaves no trace, and their going no monument; they enter by no door; they dwell in no apartment * :—they are in a vast arena reaching in all directions. They who search for and find (the To) in this are strong in their limbs, sincere and far-reaching in their thinking, acute in their hearing, and clear in their seeing. They exercise their minds without being toiled; they respond to everything aright without regard to place or circumstance. Without this heaven would not be high, nor earth

1 It is an abstruse point why only the Yang is mentioned here, and described as ‘ strong.’

? It is not easy to see the pertinence of this illustration.

8’ Hf Wan-ying says, ‘ With this one word our author sweeps away the teaching of Purgatorial Sufferings.’

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broad; the sun and moon would not move, and nothing would flourish :—such is the operation of the T4o.

‘Moreover, the most extensive knowledge does not necessarily know it; reasoning will not make men wise in it;—the sages have decided against both these methods. However you try to add to it, it admits of no increase; however you try to take from it, it admits of no diminution ;—this is what the sages maintain about it. How deep it is, like the sea! How grand it is, beginning again when it has come to an end! If it carried along and sustained all things, without being overburdened or weary, that would be like the way of the superior man, merely an external operation ; when all things go to it, and find their dependence in it ;—this is the true character of the TAo.