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

It is by its breath that we control whatever creature we grasp. Life is the root of death, and death is the root of life. Kindness springs from injury, and injury springs from kindness. He who sinks himself in water or enters amidst fire brings destruction on himself.

The first member of this paragraph is very difficult to construe. Mr. Balfour gives for it:—‘ The Laws affecting the animal creation reside in the Breath or Vital Fluid.’ The first character of it properly denotes ‘birds.’ It is often found with another denoting ‘quadrupeds;’ and again it is found alone denoting both birds and beasts. It is also interchanged with another of the same name, denoting ‘top. 263 seize or grasp,’ in which meaning I have taken it; but the bearing of the saying on the general meaning of the Treatise I have not apprehended.

The next four sayings are illustrations of LAo-jze’s ‘contraries’ of Taoism. The final saying is a truism ;— is it introduced here as illustrating that whatever is done with design is contrary to the Tao?

5. The stupid man by studying the phenomena and laws of heaven and earth becomes sage; I by studying their times and productions become intelligent. He in his stupidity is perplexed about sageness; I in my freedom from stupidity am the same. He considers his sageness as being an extraordinary attainment; I do not consider mine so.

Some scholars have expunged this paragraph as not being genuine; it is certainly difficult to construe and to understand.

6. The method of spontaneity proceeds in stillness, and so it was that heaven, earth, and all things were produced. The method of heaven and earth proceeds gently and gradually, and thus it is that the Yin and Yang overcome (each other by turns). The one takes the place of the other, and so change and transformation proceed accordingly.

XK‘ Hst praises this paragraph as very good, and the use of the character 3in (‘proceeds gently and gradually’) as exquisite. After all, what do we learn from it? That Creation proceeded without striving or crying? And that the same Creative Power continues to act in the same way?

7. Therefore the sages, knowing that the method of spontaneity cannot be resisted, take action accordingly and regulate it (for the purpose of culture). The way of perfect stillness cannot be subjected to numerical calculations ; but it would seem that therep. 264 is a wonderful machinery, by which all the heavenly bodies are produced, the eight diagrams, and the sexagenary cycle; spirit-like springs of power, and hidden ghostlinesses ; the arts of the Yin and Yang in the victories of the one over the other :—all these come brightly forward into visibility.

I cannot say that I fully understand this concluding paragraph of the Yin Fi King. One thing is plain from it,—how the Yi King was pressed into the service of the TAoism that prevailed when it was written. I leave it with the judgment on it, quoted by Li Hsi-yiieh from a Lt Bhien-hsii. ‘The subject-matter of the Yin Fa: and Téo Teh is all intended to set forth the action by contraries of the despoiling powers in nature and society. As to finding in them directions for the government of states, the conduct of war, and the mastery of the kingdom, with such expressions as those about a wonderful machinery by which the heavenly bodies are produced, the eight diagrams, the cycle, spirit-like springs, and hidden ghostlinesses :—they all have a deep meaning, but men do not know it. They who go to the Yin FQ for direction in war and use LAéo-jze for guidance in government go far astray from the meaning of both.’

APPENDIX III.

Yii Shad Xing, or ‘The Classic of the Pivot of Jade.’

Mr. Wylie says (Notes, p. 179) that the Pivot of Jade is much used in the ritual services of Taoism, meaning that it is frequently read in the assemblies of its monks, The object of the Treatise, according to Li Hsi-yiieh, is ‘to teach men to discipline and refine their spirit ;’ and he illustrates the name by referring to the North Star, which is called ‘the Pivot of the Sky,’ revolving in its place, and carrying round with it all the other heavenly bodies. So the body of man is carried round his spirit and by it, and when the spirit has been disciplined and refined, till it is freed from every obscuring influence, and becomes solid, soft, and strong as jade, the name, ‘ the Pivot of Jade,’ is appropriate to it.

The name of the Treatise, when given at full length, is— ‘The True Classic of the Pivot of Jade, delivered by the Heaven-Honoured One, Who produces Universal Transformation by the Sound of His Thunder.’ To this personage, as Wylie observes, the T4oists attribute a fabulous antiquity, but there is little doubt that the author was a Hsiian-yang 3ze, about the time of the Yiian dynasty (A. D. 1280-1367). From the work of Wang KAi (ch. 243), we learn that this Hsiian-yang 3ze was the denomination of Au-yang Yii-yiien, a scion of the famous Au-yang family. What he says is to the following effect :—

1. The Heaven-honoured One says, ‘All you,
Heaven-endowed men, who wish to be instructed

\p. 266 about the Perfect T4o, the Perfect TAo is very recondite, and by nothing else but Itself can it be described. Since ye wish to hear about it, ye cannot do so by the hearing of the ear :—that which eludes both the ears and eyes is the True T4o; what can be heard and seen perishes, and only this survives. There is (much) that you have not yet learned, and especially you have not acquired this! Till you have learned what the ears do not hear, how can the T4o be spoken about at all?’

There is (much) that you have not yet learned, and especially you have not acquired this! Till you have learned what the ears do not hear, how can the T4o be spoken about at all?’

‘Heaven-honoured (Thien 3un)’ is a title given by the Taoists to the highest objects of their reverence and worship. Chalmers translates it by ‘Celestial Excellency,’ and observes that it is given to ‘all the Three Pure Ones ;’ but its application is much more extensive, as its use in this Treatise sufficiently proves. No doubt it was first adopted after the example of the Buddhists, by whom Buddha is styled ‘World-honoured,’ or ‘ Ever-honoured’ (Shih 3un).

The phrase Thien Zan, which I have translated here ‘ Heaven-endowed Men,’ is common to the three religions of China; but the meaning of it is very different in each. See the Confucian and the T4oist significations of it in the Khang-hst Thesaurus, under the phrase. Here it means ‘the men possessed by the T4o ;—T4Ao-Z4n of the highest class.’ In a Buddhist treatise the meaning would be ‘ Ye, devas and men.’

2. The Heaven-honoured One says, ‘ Sincerity is the first step towards (the knowledge of) the T4o; it is by silence that that knowledge is maintained ; it is with gentleness that (the TAo) is employed. The employment of sincerity looks like stupidity; the employment of silence looks like difficulty of utterance; the employment of gentleness looks like want of ability. But having attained to this, you mayp. 267 forget all bodily form ; you may forget your personality; you may forget that you are forgetting.’

‘All this,” says Li Hsi-yiieh, ‘is the achievement of vacuity, an illustration of the freedom from purpose which is characteristic of the T4o.’ Compare par. 14 in the sixth Book of Kwang-jze.

3. ‘He who has taken the first steps towards (the knowledge of) the T4o knows where to stop; he who maintains the T4o in himself knows how to be diligently vigilant; he who employs It knows what is most subtle.

‘When one knows what is most subtle, the light of intelligence grows (around him); when he can know how to be diligently vigilant, his sage wisdom becomes complete; when he knows where to stop, he is grandly composed and restful.

‘When he is grandly composed and restful, his sage wisdom becomes complete; when his sage wisdom becomes complete, the light of intelligence grows (around him); when the light of intelligence grows around him, he is one with the T do.

‘This is the condition which is styled the True
Forgetfulness ;—a forgetting which does not forget ;
a forgetting of what cannot be forgotten.

‘ That which cannot be forgotten is the True T4o. The T4o is in heaven and earth, but heaven and earth are not conscious of It. Whether It seem to have feelings or to be without them, It is (always) one and the same.’

‘ That which cannot be forgotten is the True T4o. The T4o is in heaven and earth, but heaven and earth are not conscious of It. Whether It seem to have feelings or to be without them, It is (always) one and the same.’

4. The Heaven-honoured One says, ‘While I am in this world, what shall I do to benefit life? I occupy myself with this subtle and precious Treatise for the good of you, Heaven-endowed men. Thosep. 268 who understand it will be allowed to ascend to the happy seats of the Immortals.

‘Students of the Tao believe that there are (the influences of) the ether and of destiny. But the (conditions of) climate being different, the constitutions received by men are naturally different, and hence they are ascribed to the ether. And the (conditions of ) wisdom and stupidity being different, their constitutions as fine and coarse are naturally different, and hence they are ascribed to the destiny. The destiny depends on fate; the ether depends on Heaven.

‘The restraints arising from the ether and destiny are the manacles decreed by Heaven. But if one acquire the True TAo, though stupid, he may become wise; though coarse, he may become fine ;—if there only be the decree of fate.

‘ Stupidity the darkest, and coarseness the densest, are consequences of climate; but the suffering of them and the changing of them may take place, when Heaven and Earth quicken the motive spring. When this is done without the knowledge of men, it is said to take place spontaneously. If it be done. with a consciousness of that want of knowledge, it is still said to take place spontaneously. The mystery of spontaneity is greater than that of knowledge; but how it comes to be what it is remains a thing unknown. But as to the T4o, It has not begun to come under the influence of what makes stupid and coarse. Hear this all ye Heaven (-endowed) men; and let all the multitude in all quarters rejoice.’

It may be considered as a proof of the difficulty of the Text that to this long paragraph Li Hsi-yiieh does not subjoin a single explanatory remark.

APPENDIX IV.

Zah Yung King, or ‘Classic of the Directory for a Day.’

APPENDIX IV.

Zah Yung King, or ‘Classic of the Directory for a Day.’

I have nowhere found any mention of the author of this brief composition, or of its date. The use of Buddhistic expressions in it shows that it cannot have had a very early origin. It belongs to the same category of TAoist writings as the KkAing Kang King, which is the first of these appendixes. Li Hsi-yiieh says, ‘The Treatise is called “the Directory for a Day,” as showing that during all the hours (the T4o) should not be left for a single instant (comp. the words of Confucius at the beginning of the Kung Yung). Let the work be done, and there is sure to be the result promised; only there must be the Purity insisted on both of body and mind. In the second paragraph it is said, “During the twelve hours of the day let the thoughts be constantly fixed on absolute Purity;” and in the last paragraph, “During the twelve hours be always pure and undefiled ;”—thus showing what the main teaching of the Great T4oistic system is, and the pre-eminent place which Purity occupies in the “ Directory for a Day.” The style is so clear and simple that I have left it without note or comment.’

1, As to what should be done in a day, when the eating and drinking has been arranged, let one sit straight with his mouth shut, and not allow a single thought to arise in his mind. Let him forget everything, and keep his spirit with settled purpose. Letp. 270 his lips be glued together, and his teeth be firmly pressed against one another. Let him not look at anything with his eyes, nor listen to a single sound with his ears. Let him with all his mind watch over | his inward feelings. Let him draw long breaths, and gradually emit them, without a break, now seeming to breathe, and now not. In this way any excitement of the mind will naturally disappear, the water from the kidneys will rise up, the saliva will be produced in the mouth, and the real efficaciousness becomes attached to the body. It is thus that one acquires the way of prolonging life.

2. During the twelve hours of the day let one’s thoughts be constantly fixed on absolute Purity. Where one thought (of a contrary kind) does not arise, we have what we call Purity; where nothing (of a contrary kind) enters the Tower of Intelligence (=the mind), we have what we call the Undefiled. The body is the house of the breath; the mind is the lodging of the spirit. As the thoughts move, the spirit moves ; as the spirit moves, the breath is distributed. As the thoughts rest, the spirit rests ; when the spirit rests, the breath is collected.

The body is the house of the breath; the mind is the lodging of the spirit. As the thoughts move, the spirit moves ; as the spirit moves, the breath is distributed. As the thoughts rest, the spirit rests ; when the spirit rests, the breath is collected.

The true powers of the five elements unite and form the boat-like cup of jade, (after partaking of which), the body seems to be full of delicious harmony. This spreads like the unguent of the chrismal rite on the head. Walking, resting, sitting, sleeping, the man feels his body flexible as the wind, and in his belly a sound like that of thunder. His ears hear the songs of the Immortals, that need no aid from any instrument; vocal without words, and resounding without the drum. The spirit and the breath effect a union and the bloom of

APP.Ive CLASSIC OF THE DIRECTORY FOR A DAY. 271 childhood returns. The man beholds scenes unfolded within him; Spirits of themselves speak to him ; he sees the things of vacuity, and finds himself dwelling with the Immortals. He makes the Great Elixir, and his spirit goes out and in at its pleasure. He has the longevity of heaven and earth, and the brightness of the sun and moon. He has escaped from the toils of life and death.

Accustomed to the phraseology of the Text all his life, the commentator Li, as has been seen, did not think it necessary to append here any notes of explanation. A few such notes, however, will be welcome to an English reader. ‘The twelve hours of the day:’—a Chinese hour is equal to two of our hours, and their twelve to our twenty-four. The twelve hours are named by the twelve branch terms of the cycle.

‘The boat-like cup of jade’ seems to be a satisfactory rendering of the Chinese characters tao kwei in the Text, which might be translated ‘knife, and jade-symbol.’ But tao, commonly meaning ‘knife, is in the Shih King (I, v; VII, 2) used of ‘a small boat.’ In the Khang-hsi Thesaurus, under the phrase, we have the following quotation, as if from Ko Hung’s Biographies of Immortals :— ‘khan Hsi, a native of the territory of WA, was studying the TAo in Sha, when the master Lao sent a beautiful young lady to him with a tray of gold and a cup of jade filled with medicine, and the message, “This is the mysterious elixir; he who drinks it will not die.’ And on this he and his wife had each a tdo kwei.’ See the account in Ko Hung’s work, which is much more diffuse.

In the mention of ‘the chrismal rite’ there is a reference to what Dr. Williams calls ‘a kind of Buddhist baptism or holy unction, by sprinkling, which confers goodness,’ ‘administered to children, idols, &c.’ (See under the characters kw4n and ting.)

3. Do not allow any relaxation of your efforts,
During all the hours of the day strive always to be

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pure and undefiled. The spirit is the child of the breath ; the breath is the mother of the spirit.

Do not allow any relaxation of your efforts,
During all the hours of the day strive always to be

p. 272

pure and undefiled. The spirit is the child of the breath ; the breath is the mother of the spirit.

As a fowl embraces its eggs, do you preserve the spirit and nourish the breath. Can you do this without intermission ? Wonderful! wonderful! The mystery becomes still deeper !

In the body there are seven precious organs, which serve to enrich the state, to give rest to the people, and to make the vital force of the system full to overflowing. Hence we have the heart, the kidneys, the breath, the blood, the brains, the semen, and the marrow. These are the seven precious organs. They are not dispersed when the body returns (to the dust). Refined by the use of the Great Medicine, the myriad spirits all ascend among the Immortals.

If we were sure that we had exactly hit the meaning and spirit of every part of this paragraph, it would hardly be worth while to give more space to its illustration.

A sufficient number of the best of the Treatises of the later Taoism have been placed before the reader to show him how different they are from the writings of Lao and Kwang, and how inferior to them. It might seem as if Kwang-3ze, when he ceased to write, had broken the staff of Taoism and buried it many fathoms in the earth. We can hardly wonder that Confucianists, such as KO Hsi, should pronounce, ‘ What the sect of T4o chiefly attend to is,—the preservation of the breath of life;’ and that Buddhists, such as Lid Mi, should say of it, ‘Long life being attained, its goal is reached.’

APPENDIX V.

Analyses by Lin Hst-éung of several of the
Books of Awang-jze.

Book I.

The Hsido-y4o in the title of this Book denotes the appearance of perfect ease and satisfaction. The Yd, which conveys the idea of wandering or rambling about, is to be understood of the enjoyment of the mind. The three characters describe the chief characteristic of our ‘Old Kwang’s’ life, and therefore he placed the Book at the beginning of his more finished compositions or essays.

But when one wishes to enjoy himself in the fullest and freest way, he must first have before him a view like that of the wide sea or of the expanse of the air, in order that his mind may be free from all restraint, and from the entanglements of the world, and that it may respond in the fitting way to everything coming before it :—it is only what is Great that can enter into this enjoyment. Throughout the whole Book, the word Great has a significant force.

In paragraph 1 we are presented with the illustration of the phang. Long was the journey which it would undertake, when it contemplated removing to the South. That it required a wind of 90,000 li to support it, and even then only rested after a flight of six months, was owing to its own Great size, and also because the Southern Ocean was not to be easily reached by a single effort.

That it required a wind of 90,000 li to support it, and even then only rested after a flight of six months, was owing to its own Great size, and also because the Southern Ocean was not to be easily reached by a single effort.

What is said, in paragraph 2, about men, when going anywhere, proportioning the provisions which they take

[40] Tp. 274 with them to the length of the journey has the same meaning. How should such creatures as the cicada and the little dove be able to know this? Knowledge is great or small, because the years of the parties are many or few :—so it is that one is inferior to another. Have they not heard of the ming-ling and t4-#Aun, which make their spring and autumn for themselves? And so does the phang, as we may understand. Its not resting till the end of six months is really not a long time to it. The case of Phang 34 is not worth being taken into account.

This description of the greatness of the phang is not any fabrication of our author’s own, nor any statement peculiar to the K4i Hsieh. The same things are told in the ‘ Questions of Thang to Xi,’ as in paragraph 3.

As to the long journey of the phang and the marshquail’s laughing at it, that is not different from what the other two little creatures said above ;—arising simply from the difference between the great and the small. And what difference is there between this and the case of those who enjoy themselves for a season in the world? Yung-3ze of Sung is introduced (and immediately dismissed), as not having planted himself in the right position, and not being Great. Then Lieh-jze is brought forward, and dismissed as not being Great, because he had something to wait for. It is only he who rides on the twofold primal ether of the Yin and Yang, driving along with the six elements through all their changes as they wax and wane, and enjoying himself at the gate of death, that can be pronounced Great. This is what is called the Perfect Man; the Spirit-like Man; and the Sage Man.

In illustration of this, as instances of the Great Man, we have, in paragraph 4, Hsii Yd, regardless of the name; the personage on the hill of Kd-shih, in paragraph 5, with no thought of the services he could perform; and YAo with his deep-sunk eyes, in paragraph 6, no longer thinking much of his throne, and regardless of himself. All these characteristics could be used, and made their possessor great; but let not this lead to a suspicion of greatness as

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All these characteristics could be used, and made their possessor great; but let not this lead to a suspicion of greatness asp. 275 incompatible with usefulness. As a caution against this, we have, in paragraph 7, the salve to keep the hands from being chapped ;—a Great thing when used properly, but of little value when not so used. Let those who exercise their minds look at this:—should they not seek to be useful, and so become Great? We have also the weasel and the yak, the one of which gets into trouble by its being of use, while the other escapes harm by its being of no use. Let those who have work to do in the world look at this. The Great calabash and the Great tree are, each of them, a phang:—why may we not abandon ourselves to our natural feeling of enjoyment in connexion with them? Let men be satisfied with their Greatness and seek for nothing more.

As to the style of the Book, the sudden statement and the sudden proof; the sudden illustration and the sudden reasoning; the decision, made to appear as no decision ; the connexion, now represented as no connexion; the repetition, turning out to be no repetition :—these features come and go on the paragraphs, like the clouds in the open firmament, changing every moment and delightful to behold.

La Fang-hfi describes it well:—‘The guiding thread in the unspun floss; the snake sleeping in the grass.’

Book II.

In writings intended to throw light on the T4o we find many different views, affirmations on one side and denials on the other. These may be called Controversies, and the reason why they are not adjusted is that every one will hold fast to his own view. But every peculiar view arises from the holder’s knowledge. Such knowledge, however, tends to the injury of his mind, and serves no purpose, good or bad, in illustrating the nature of the T4o ;—it only increases the confusion of controversy. Hence when we wish to adjust controversies, we must use our knowledge well; and to use our knowledge well, we must stop at the point beyond which it does not extend,

T2

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In this whole Book knowing and not knowing is the thread that runs through it, (and binds its parts together). The expressions about men’s being ‘in darkness,’ in paragraph 2, and the T4o’s being ‘obscure,’ in paragraph 3, indicate the want of knowledge; those, also in paragraph 3, about ‘the light of the mind,’ and ‘throwing that light on a subject,’ indicate the good use of knowledge; those, in paragraph 5, about ‘the scintillations of light from the midst of confusion and perplexity, and ‘the store of light,’ in paragraph 7, indicate the stopping at the point to which our knowledge does not extend. And what is to be done when we stop at this point? Nothing more can be done; we have simply, as it is said in paragraph 6, to stop here.

And what is to be done when we stop at this point? Nothing more can be done; we have simply, as it is said in paragraph 6, to stop here.

When Nan-kwo 3ze-kfi says, in paragraph 1, ‘I had lost myself, he fully expresses the subject-matter of the Book. If we think that the affirmations and denials made by men’s minds are fictions, made out from nothing to be something, that is like the myriad different sounds of the wind, suddenly appearing in their innumerable variations. But who is it that produces all these sounds? As is said in paragraph 2, they are ‘the sounds of Earth which are really the notes of Heaven.’ The minds of men speak from their possession of knowledge. However great or small their words may be, they are all of their own making. A discourse under a thousand Heads with a myriad Particulars, suddenly arising and as suddenly stopping, may suggest the idea of what we call‘a True Ruler. But the idea is vague, and though our knowledge does not reach to such a subject, men toil their intelligence to the end of their lives, never stopping till both mind and body are exhausted. What is the reason of this? It is because they have their ‘minds completely made up (par. 3).’

Now if words were like the chirpings of very young birds that come upon the ear, there would be no difference between them as regards truth or falsehood, right or wrong ; but there is some obscuring influence, through which the different views of the Literati and Mohists are produced, with their confusion and uncertainty. All this is becausep. 277 the parties do not use their knowledge well. In their controversies each looks at the other’s view only from his own standpoint, and throwing on the subject from that the light of Heaven, thus emptily replying to one another without end. And is this purposely intended to make a violent end of their disputations? (It is not so), for the T4o is originally one. High and low, beautiful and ugly, ordinary and strange, success and overthrow, have nothing to do with it. The intelligent know this ; those who weary their minds in trying to bring about a unity do not know it. At this point the sages throw on the subject the light of Heaven, also wishing to rest in Heaven, and so they come to a natural union :—this is how they use their knowledge well.

And what are we to consider the highest reach of know-— ledge (see par. 5)? The ancients thought it necessary to place this in the time before anything began to be A second class would have it that there had (always) been (some) things; and a third class held that between those things (and men) there had been a relativity. Thus it was that gradually there came differences of opinion, in affirmations and denials; and when these once arose, there could not but be the experiences of success and failure.

Thus it was that gradually there came differences of opinion, in affirmations and denials; and when these once arose, there could not but be the experiences of success and failure.

But any one-sidedness in controversy is not sufficient to be accounted a proof of success or of failure. Not only is the T4o radically one; but those who employ it, however they may seem to differ, will be found to be substantially one and the same. When the sages, in the midst of slippery confusion and doubtful perplexity, yet find the clearness of conviction, is it not because they place the controversies that we speak of among the things that are not to be used ?

But if there were no affirmations and denials, there would be no words. And let me think here. Suppose there were no words of controversy, we must not infer from that that there were no words at all. Is this word correct? Then if I also employ it, I form one class with all who do so? Is it not correct? Then if I also deny it, I form another class with those who do the same. Formerly,p. 278 when speaking of men’s words, I said that they should change places, and look at things from the different standpoints of each other; so with reference to my own words, my holding my ‘Yea,’ does not interfere with my changing my place, and taking my position with those who say ‘Nay’ in the case. If indeed there be no words of affirmation and denial, what words will there be? We must go back to the beginning when there were no words. We must go back still farther,—to the vacuity before the beginning when there were no words. If we try to go back even farther still, then great and small, long life and short life, heaven and earth and all things, fade away, blending together in the One. But that ONE is also a word. In this way we go on without end, wishing to make ‘an end of controversy, and instead of doing that, our endeavour only serves to increase it. The better plan is to stop, as is proposed in a former paragraph, to stop at this point—Even this word about having no controversy may be spared.

In this way we go on without end, wishing to make ‘an end of controversy, and instead of doing that, our endeavour only serves to increase it. The better plan is to stop, as is proposed in a former paragraph, to stop at this point—Even this word about having no controversy may be spared.

The sage, by avoiding discussion, reasoning, and the drawing of distinctions, while he availed himself of words, yet retained the advantage of eschewing words, and was also afraid of calling the demarcations (of propositions) by their eight qualities (see par. 7). Still, however, the trace of the use of words remained with him. It is not so in the case of the Great Tao and the Great Argument. | The TAo (which is displayed) is not the Tao; the Argument (which is most subtle) does not reach the point ; the degree of Non-action is very great; but notwithstanding it is difficult to speak of what is entirely empty of purpose. The way by which the knowledge of the ancients reached the highest point was their stopping when their knowledge extended no farther. If they could know what they did not know, it was by means of the Heavenly Treasure-house ; it was thus they could take their place in the centre of the circle, to which all lines converged, and from which all questions could be answered. If they added what they did know to the sum of what they did not know, they thenp. 279 possessed the Store of Light; and it was thus that they made provision for the scintillations of slippery doubt.

To the same effect was what Shun told Y4o (end of par. 7). As to the referring what is advantageous and what is hurtful, and the mysteries of life and death, to the sphere of the unknown, that is set forth in the conversation between Nieh Khiieh and Wang f (par. 8).

As to how it is that rulers and grooms, other men and one’s self, do not know each other, that is seen in the conversation between AK Aii 3hido-jze and Khang-wi 3ze.

As to what is said about the substance and shadow waiting on each to make their manifestations, and not knowing how they were brought about, and about the dreamer and the man awake doubting about each other, and not knowing howto distinguish between them, we have knowledge stopping at the point to which it does not extend, and gradually entering into the region of transformation.

Is there anything still remaining to be done for the adjustment of controversy? One idea grows up out of another in the Book, and one expression gives rise to another apparently quite different. There is a mutual connexion and reference between its parts. Suddenly the style is difficult as the slope of Yang-&/ang, and vanishes like the path of a bird; suddenly it looks like so many steep cliffs and successive precipices. When ordinary scholars see this and cannot trace the connexion of thought, if they put it on one side, and did not venture to say anything about it, they might be forgiven. But when they dare to follow their prejudices, and to append their licentious explanations, breaking up the connexion of thought, and bringing down to the dust this wonderful composition, the admiration of thousands of years ;—ah! when the old Kwang took his pencil in hand, and proceeded to write down his thoughts, why should we be surprised that such men as these cannot easily understand him?

p. 280

Book VI.

‘The Great and most Honoured Master’ is the T Ao. It appears separately in the Heavenly and Human elements (of our constitution), and exists alone and entire in what is beyond death and life; being, as we say, that which nothing can be without. To describe it as that which stands out superior and alone, we use for it the character Koh (St) (par. 5); to describe it as abiding, we call it the True; to describe it as it vanishes from sight, we apply to it the names of Purity, Heaven, and Unity (par. 12).

When men value it, it is possible to get possession of it. But he who wishes to get it must, with the knowledge which he has attained to, proceed to nourish what that knowledge is still ignorant of. When both of these are (as it were) forgotten, and he comes under the transformation of the Tao, he enters into the region in which there is neither life nor death ;—to the Human element (in him) he has added the Heavenly.

Now what knowledge does not know is the time of birth and death, and what it does know is what comes after birth and precedes death. It would seem as if this could be nourished by the exercise of thought ; but if we do this after birth and before death, we must wait for the time of birth and death to verify it. If we try to do so before that time, then the circumstances of the Human and the Heavenly have not yet become subject to their Ruler. It is this which makes the knowledge difficult, and it is only the True Man with. the True Knowledge who has no anxiety about it.

In the position which the True man occupies, he has his adversities and prosperities, his successes and defeats, his gains and his losses, his seasons of security and of unrest,— all the changes of his circumstances; but his mind forgets them all, and this result is due to his possession of both the Knowledge and the Téo.

As to his bodily conditions, he has his sleeping and

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As to his bodily conditions, he has his sleeping andp. 281 awaking, his eating and resting,—his constant experiences ; but his mind (also) forgets them all. For the springs of action which move to the touch of Heaven, and the movements of desire are indeed different in men; but when we advance and examine the proper home of the mind, we find no difference between its place and nature at the time of birth and of death, and no complication in these after birth and before death:—so it is that the Mind, the T4o, the Heavenly, and the Human are simply One. Is not the unconsciousness of the mind the way in which the True man exercises his knowledge and nourishes it? Carrying out this unconsciousness, from the mind to the body and from the body to the world, he comprehends the character of the time and the requirements of everything, without any further qualification. Hence, while the mind has not acquired this oblivion, the great work of life always suffers from some defect of the mind, and is not fit to be commended. But let the mind be able to exercise this quality, and it can be carried out with great and successful merit, and its admirable service be completed. This is the mind of the True man, never exercised one-sidedly in the world, and gaining no one-sided victory either Heavenward or Manward.

Given the True Man with the True Knowledge like this, the nature of death and life may begin to be fully described. Death and life are like the night and the dawn; —is there any power that can command them? Men cannot preside over them. This is what knowledge does not extend to; but within the sphere of knowledge, there is that which is dearer than a Father (par. 5), and more to be honoured than a Ruler; the Eminent, the True, and that moreover over which Heaven cannot preside. Valuable therefore is the nourishing of this Knowledge; and what other art in nourishing it is there but the unconsciousness of which we speak? Why do we say so? The body is born, grows old and dies. This is the common lot. However skilful one may be in hiding it away, it is sure to disappear. Men know that the body is not easily got, butp. 282 they do not know that what might seem like man’s body never comes to an end. Being hidden away in a place from which there is no escape for anything, it does not disappear. This takes place after birth and before death, and may be verified at the times of birth and death; but how much better it is to consider Heaven good, old age good, the beginning good and the end good, than vainly to think that the nourishing of knowledge is making the body good! The doing this is what is called the Tao. And the sage enjoys himself in this; not only because the T4o itself does not disappear, but also because of all who have got it not a single one has ever passed away from notice.

The doing this is what is called the Tao. And the sage enjoys himself in this; not only because the T4o itself does not disappear, but also because of all who have got it not a single one has ever passed away from notice.

But it is not easy to describe the getting of the Tao. In the case about which Nii Yii told Nan-po 3ze-khwei (par. 8); the talents of a sage and the T4o of a sage came together in the study of it; three, seven, and nine days are mentioned as the time of the several degrees of attainment; the learner went on from banishing all worldly matters from his mind as foreign to himself till he came to the utter disregard of time. In this way was he led from what was external, and brought inwards to himself; then again from the idea of the T4o’s being a thing, it was exhibited as Tranquillity amid all Disturbances, and he was carried out of himself till he understood that neither death nor life is more than a phenomenon. The narrator had learned all this from writings and from Lo-sung, searching them, and ever more the more remote they were. Truly great is the difficulty of getting the T4o!

And yet it need not be difficult. It was not so with 3ze-yii (par. 9), in whose words about one arm being transformed into a fowl, and the other into a cross-bow, we see its result, as also in what he said about his rumpbone being transformed into a wheel, his spirit into a horse, and one loosing the cord by which his life is suspended.

(Again) we have a similar accordance (with the To) in 3ze-li’s question to 3ze-lai (par. 10), about his being made the liver of a rat or the arm of an insect, with the latter’s reply and his remark about the furnace of a founder.

p. 283

These were men who had got the TAo; as also were 3ze-fan and Khin Kang (par. 11), men after the Maker’s mind, and who enjoyed themselves, disporting in the one vital ether of heaven and earth.

The same may be said of Mang-sun 3hai (par. 12). If he had undergone a transformation, he would wait for the future transformation of which he did know. So it was that he obtained the T4o. He and all the others were successful through the use of their mental unconsciousness ; and they who pursue this method, must have the idea of I-v 3ze, who wished to have his branding effaced, and his dismemberment removed by hearing the substance of the Tao (par. 13).

Parties who have not lost the consciousness of their minds and wish to do so must become like Yen Hui (par. 14), who separated the connexion between his body and mind, and put away his knowledge, till he became one with the Great Pervader.

13).

Parties who have not lost the consciousness of their minds and wish to do so must become like Yen Hui (par. 14), who separated the connexion between his body and mind, and put away his knowledge, till he became one with the Great Pervader.

Of such as have lost (in part) the consciousness of their minds and wish to do so entirely, we have an instance in 3ze-sang (par. 15), thinking of Heaven and Earth and of his parents as ignorant of his (miserable) condition, and then ascribing it to Destiny. He exhibited the highest obliviousness :—was he not, with the knowledge which he possessed, nourishing that of which he was ignorant? Such were the True Men, and such was the True Knowledge.

In this Book are to be found the roots of the ideas in the other six Books of this Part. In this they all unite. It exhibits the origin of all life, sets forth the reality of all cultivation, and shows the springs of all Making and Transformation, throwing open the door for the Immortals and

Buddhas. Here is the wonderful Elixir produced by the .

pestle of Jade, the touch of which by a finger produces the feathers of Transformation. As to its style, a vast lake of innumerous wavelets, the mingling of a hundred sparkling eddies, a collection of the oldest achievements in composition, a granary filled with all woods ;—it is only in the erp. 284 power of those who admire the leopard’s spots to appreciate it!

Book IX.

Governing the world is like governing horses. There is the government, but the only effect of it is injury. Po-lao’s management of horses (par. 1) in a way contrary to their true nature was in no respect different from the way of the (first) potter and the (first) carpenter in dealing with their clay and wood in opposition to the nature of those substances, yet the world praises them all because of their skill, not knowing wherein the good government of the world consists.

Now the skilful governors of the world simply caused the people to fulfil the conditions of their regular nature (par.2). It was their gifts which they possessed in common, and their Heaven-inspired instincts, which constituted the (Early) age of Perfect Virtue. When the sages fashioned their benevolence, righteousness, ceremonies, and music, and the people then began to lose their perfect virtue, it was not that they had themselves become different. For benevolence, righteousness, ceremonies, and music, are not endowments forming a part of their regular nature ;—they are practised only after men have laid aside the Tao and its characteristics, and abandoned the guidance of their nature and its feelings. This is what we say that the mechanic does when he hacks and cuts the raw materials to form his vessels. Why should we doubt that it was by Po-ldo’s dealing with horses that they became wise enough to play the part of thieves (par. 3); and that it was by the sages’ government of the people that their ability came to be devoted to the pursuit of gain? The error of the sages in this cannot be denied.

From beginning to end this Book is occupied with one idea. The great point in it grew out of the statement in paragraph 3 of the previous Book, that ‘all men are furnished with certain regular principles, and it is the easiest to construe of all Awang-3ze’s compositions ; butp. 285 the general style and illustrations are full of sparkling vigour. Some have thought that, where the ideas are so few, there is a waste of words about them, and they doubt therefore that the Book was written by some one imitating Kwang-jze; but I apprehend no other hand could have shown such a mastery of his style.

Book XI.

That the world is not well governed is because there are those who try to govern it. When they try to govern it, they cannot but be ‘doing’ (to that end). Unable to keep from this‘ doing, they cause the world to be happy or to be miserable, both of which things the instincts of man’s nature refuse to accept. Although the arts of governing are many, they only cause and increase disorder. Why so? Because they interfere with men’s minds.

Unable to keep from this‘ doing, they cause the world to be happy or to be miserable, both of which things the instincts of man’s nature refuse to accept. Although the arts of governing are many, they only cause and increase disorder. Why so? Because they interfere with men’s minds.

Now when men are made to be miserable or happy, they come to have great joy or great dissatisfaction. The condition ministers to the expansive or the opposite element (in nature), and the four seasons, the cold and the heat, all lose their regularity. This causes men everywhere in a contentious spirit to indulge their nature to excess, bringing about a change of its attributes, and originating the practice of good and evil. All unite in bringing this state about ; and in the end all receive its consequences. Hence such men as Kih the robber, 34ng Shan, and Shih 3hdi ought not to be found in a well-governed age. But those who governed the world went on to distinguish between the good and the bad, and occupied themselves with rewarding and punishing. When.they wished men to rest in the requirements of their nature, was it not difficult for them to realise the wish ?

And how much more was it so when they went on in addition to insist on acute hearing and clear vision, on benevolence, righteousness, ceremonies, music, sageness, and knowledge (par. 2)! They did not know that these eight things were certainly of no use to the world, but injurious to it. Led astray by them, and not perceivingp. 286 this, they continued to practise them, and to do this every day more and more. This is what we see indeed in the ordinary men of the world, but not what we should have expected from superior men. The Superior man does nothing, and rests in the instincts of his nature. He values and loves his own person, which fits him to be entrusted with the charge of the world, and thereupon we see things becoming transformed of themselves. Yes, we see indeed that men’s minds are not to be interfered with (par. 3).

Let me try to attest this from (the example of) the ancient Tis and Kings. These in their interference with the minds of men, began with their inculcation of benevolence and righteousness, proceeded to their distinctions of what was right and wrong, and ended with their punishments and penalties. Their government of the world ended with the disordering of it. And the result can be seen, the Literati and the Mohists still thinking how they can remedy them.

Their government of the world ended with the disordering of it. And the result can be seen, the Literati and the Mohists still thinking how they can remedy them.

But let us ask who it really was that brought things to this pass. The answer is supplied to us in the words of Lao Tan (see T. T. X., ch. 19), ‘ Abolish sageness and cast away wisdom, and the world will be brought to a state of good order.’ But the issue does not commence with the state of the world. When Kwang Kang-jze replied to Hwang-Ti’s questions, he said (par. 4), ‘Watch over your body, and increase the vigour of things. Maintain the unity, and dwell in the harmony.’ What he said,. about the rain descending before the clouds collected, about the trees shedding their leaves before they were yellow, about the light (of the sun and moon) hastening to extinction, about Hwang-Ti’s mind being that of a flatterer of which he would make no account, and about how he should do nothing but rest in the instincts of his nature, and not interfere with the minds of men :—all these are expressions bearing on the value and love which should be given to the body. And the lesson in his words does not end with the watching over the body.

There are the words addressed by Hung Mung to Yiin

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Kiang, ‘Nourish in your mind a great agreement (with the primal ether). (Things) return to their root, and do not know (that they are doing so). As to what you say, that “the mysterious operations of Heaven are not accomplished, that the birds all sing at night, that vegetation withers under calamity, and that insects are all overtaken by disaster :—about all these things there is no occasion for anxiety.” While you do nothing, rest in the promptings of your human nature, and do not interfere with the minds of men ;—such is the genial influence that attracts and gathers all things round itself (par. 2).’

But the Superior man’s letting the world have its own course in this generous way ;—this is what the ordinary men of the world cannot fathom. When such men speak about governing, they examine carefully between others and themselves, and are very earnest to distinguish between differing and agreeing. Their only quest is to find how they may overcome others, and the end is that they are always overcome by others, They do not know that in order to reduce others to the level of things, there must be those who cannot be reduced by others to that level. Those are said to be the sole possessors of the power (par. 6).

Those are said to be the sole possessors of the power
(par. 6).

The teaching of the Great man, however, is not of this nature. He responds to others according to their qualities, without any selfish purpose. Although he is the sole possessor of the power, that power comes to be nothing in his view. Between having and not having there is to him no difference in the use. Doing nothing, and yet sometimes obliged to act, he forthwith does so; when he acts, yet no one sees that he has acted, and it is the same as if he did not act. So it is according to the T4o; but therein there are both the Heavenly and the Human elements. In accordance with this there are (in actual government) the Lord and the Minister (par. 7). When one discerns this, and knows which element is to be preferred, convinced that it is doing nothing which is valuable, what difficulty has he in governing the world ?

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The thread of connexion running through this Book is ‘Doing Nothing.’ Whether it speaks of the promptings of the nature or of the minds of men, it shows how in regard to both there must be this ‘doing nothing.’ In the end, with much repetition it distinguishes and discusses, showing that what doing there may be in doing nothing need not trouble us, and is not the same as the ‘ Extinction’ of the Buddhists. There is not much difference between the teaching of this Book, and what we read in the Confucian Analects, ‘He did nothing and yet governed efficiently (Bk. XV, ch. iv).’ This is an instance of the light thrown by our ‘old Kwang’ on the Xing, and shows how an understanding may take place between him and our Literati.

In the style there are so many changes and transformations, so many pauses and rests as in music, conflicting discussions, and subtle disquisitions, the pencil’s point now hidden in smoke and now among the clouds, the author’s mind teeming with his creations, that no one who has not made himself familiar with a myriad volumes should presume to look and pronounce on this Book.

Book XX.

The afflictions of men in the world are great, because their attainments in the T4o and Its Attributes are shallow. The T4o with Its Attributes is the Author of all things. To follow It in Its transformings according to the time is not like occupying one’s self with the qualities of things, and with the practice and teaching of the human relations, which only serve to bring on disaster and blame. He who seeks his enjoyment in It, however, must begin by emptying himself. Hence we have, ‘Rip your skin from your body, cleanse your heart, and put away your desires (par. 2);’ then afterwards ‘you can enjoy yourself in the land of Great Vacuity.’ In this way one attains to the status represented by coming across ‘an empty vessel’ and escapes ‘the evils which the close-furred fox and the elegantly-spotted leopard’ are preparing for themselves.

These are the ideas in the paragraph about f-lido of

BK, Xx. ANALYSES OF BOOKS OF KWANG-8ZE, 289

These are the ideas in the paragraph about f-lido of

BK, Xx. ANALYSES OF BOOKS OF KWANG-8ZE, 289

Shih-nan which may help to illustrate, and receive illustration from, what Kwang-jze says (par. 1) that ‘he would prefer to be in a position between being fit to be useful and wanting that fitness.’

In the case of Pei-kung Shé collecting taxes for the making of a peal of bells, we have only the exercise of a small art (par. 3). He could, however, put away all thought of self, and act as the time required. He was ‘as a child who has no knowledge,’ so slow was he and hesitating in this respect; there escorting those who went, here welcoming those who came. But from all this we may know how far he had advanced (in the knowledge of the Tao).

But on consideration I think it was only Confucius of whom this could be spoken. Did not he receive a great share of the world’s afflictions (par. 4)? When Théi-kung Zan spoke to him of ‘ putting away the ideas of merit and fame, and placing himself on the level of the masses of men,’ he forthwith put away the idea of himself and complied with the requirements of the time. This was the art by which he enjoyed himself in the T4o and Its attributes, and escaped the troubles of the world.

He could put away the idea of self in responding to the world, but he could not do so in determining his associations. In consequence of this, more distant acquaintances did not come to lay further afflictions on him, and his nearer friends perliaps came to cast him off because of those afflictions. What was he to do in these circumstances?

If one be able to comply with the requirements of the time in his relations with men, but cannot do so in his relations to Heaven, then in the world he will indeed do nothing to others contrary to what is right, but he will himself receive treatment contrary to it; and what is to be done in such a case? 3ze-sang H4 saw the difficulty here and provided for it. What he said about ‘a union of Heaven’s appointment,’ and about ‘the intercourse of superior men being tasteless as water, shows how well he knew the old lessons about a connexion growing out

[40] Up. 290 of external circumstances and one founded in inward feeling. When one has divested himself of the idea of self, there will not again ‘be such an experience as that of Confucius, when his intimate associates were removed from him more and more, and his followers and friends were more and more dispersed.

When one has divested himself of the idea of self, there will not again ‘be such an experience as that of Confucius, when his intimate associates were removed from him more and more, and his followers and friends were more and more dispersed.

And Confucius himself spoke of such a case. What he said about its being ‘easy not to receive (as evils) the inflictions of Heaven,’ and ‘difficult not to receive as benefits the favours of men (par. 7),’ shows how truly he perceived the connexion between the Heavenly and the Human (in man’s constitution), and between ‘the beginning and end’ of experiences. When one acts entirely according to the requirements of the time, the more he enlarges himself the greater he becomes, and the more he loves himself the more sorrow he incurs. If he do not do so, then we have the case of him who in the prospect of gain forgets the true instinct of his preservation, as shown in the strange bird of the park of Tido-ling (par. 8), and the case of the Beauty of the lodging-house, who by her attempts to show off her superiority made herself contemned. How could such parties so represented occupy themselves with the Tao and Its attributes so as to escape the calamities of life ?

This Book sets forth the principles which contribute to the preservation of the body, and keeping harm far off, and may supplement what still needed to be said on this subject in Book IV. The T4o and Its attributes occupy the principal place in it; the emptying of Self, and conforming to the time, are things required by them. The exquisite reasonings and deep meaning of the Book supply excellent rules for getting through the world. Only the sixth paragraph is despicable and unworthy of its place. It is evidently a forgery, and I cannot but blame Kwo 3ze-hsiian for allowing it to remain as the production of Kwang-3ze.

Book XXII.

The T4o made Its appearance before Heaven and Earth.
It made things what they are and was Itself no THING,

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being what is called their Root and Origin (par. 2). If we consider It something existing, It was not such; if we consider It as something non-existing, that does not fully express the idea of it. The ‘I knowit (of Hwang-Ti)’ is an addition of ‘Knowledge’ to the idea of it, and (his) ‘I will tell you’ is the addition of a description of it (par. 1). Therefore he who would embody the T4o can only employ the names of ‘Do Nothing’ and ‘ Returning to the Root, and then go forward to the region of the Unknown and the Indescribable.