1
I have heard of letting the world be, and exercising forbearance;
I have not heard of governing the world. Letting be is from the
fear that men, (when interfered with), will carry their nature
beyond its normal condition; exercising forbearance is from the
fear that men, (when not so dealt with), will alter the
characteristics of their nature. When all men do not carry their
nature beyond its normal condition, nor alter its
characteristics, the good government of the world is secured.
Formerly, Yâo's government of the world made men look joyful;
but when they have this joy in their nature, there is a want of
its (proper) placidity. The government of the world by Kieh, (on
the contrary), made men look distressed; but when their nature
shows the symptoms of distress, there is a want of its (proper)
contentment. The want of placidity and the want of contentment
are contrary to the character (of the nature); and where this
obtains, it is impossible that any man or state should anywhere
abide long. Are men exceedingly joyful?--the Yang or element of
expansion in them is too much developed. Are they exceedingly
irritated?--the Yin or opposite element is too much developed.
When those elements thus predominate in men, (it is as if) the
four seasons were not to come (at their proper times), and the
harmony of cold and heat were not to be maintained;--would there
not result injury to the bodies of men? Men's joy and
dissatisfaction are made to arise where they ought not to do so;
their movements are all uncertain; they lose the mastery of
their thoughts; they stop short midway, and do not finish what
they have begun. In this state of things the world begins to
have lofty aims, and jealous dislikes, ambitious courses, and
fierce animosities, and then we have actions like those of the
robber Kih, or of Zäng (Shän) and Shih (Zhiû). If now the whole
world were taken to reward the good it would not suffice, nor
would it be possible with it to punish the bad. Thus the world,
great as it is, not sufficing for rewards and punishments, from
the time of the three dynasties downwards, there has been
nothing but bustle and excitement. Always occupied with rewards
and punishments, what leisure have men had to rest in the
instincts of the nature with which they are endowed?
2
Moreover, delight in the power of vision leads to excess in the
pursuit of (ornamental) colours; delight in the power of hearing,
to excess in seeking (the pleasures of) sound; delight in
benevolence tends to disorder that virtue (as proper to the
nature); delight in righteousness sets the man in opposition to
what is right in reason; delight in (the practice of) ceremonies
is helpful to artful forms; delight in music leads to voluptuous
airs; delight in sageness is helpful to ingenious contrivances;
delight in knowledge contributes to fault-finding. If all men
were to rest in the instincts of their nature, to keep or to
extinguish these eight delights might be a matter of
indifference; but if they will not rest in those instincts, then
those eight delights begin to be imperfectly and unevenly
developed or violently suppressed, and the world is thrown into
disorder. But when men begin to honour them, and to long for
them, how great is the deception practised on the world! And not
only, when (a performance of them) is once over, do they not
have done with them, but they prepare themselves (as) with
fasting to describe them, they seem to kneel reverentially when
they bring them forward, and they go through them with the
excitements of music and singing; and then what can be done (to
remedy the evil of them)? Therefore the superior man, who feels
himself constrained to engage in the administration of the world
will find it his best way to do nothing. In (that policy of)
doing nothing, he can rest in the instincts of the nature with
which he is endowed. Hence he who will administer (the
government of) the world honouring it as he honours his own
person, may have that government committed to him, and he who
will administer it loving it as he loves his own person, may
have it entrusted to him. Therefore, if the superior man will
keep (the faculties lodged in) his five viscera unemployed, and
not display his powers of seeing and hearing, while he is
motionless as a representative of the dead, his dragon-like
presence will be seen; while he is profoundly silent, the
thunder (of his words) will resound, while his movements are (unseen)
like those of a spirit, all heavenly influences will follow them;
while he is (thus) unconcerned and does nothing, his genial
influence will attract and gather all things round him:--what
leisure has he to do anything more for the government of the
world?
3
Zhui Khü asked Lâo Tan, saying, 'If you do not govern the world,
how can you make men's minds good?' The reply was, 'Take care
how you meddle with and disturb men's minds. The mind, if pushed
about, gets depressed; if helped forward, it gets exalted. Now
exalted, now depressed, here it appears as a prisoner, and there
as a wrathful fury. (At one time) it becomes pliable and soft,
yielding to what is hard and strong; (at another), it is sharp
as the sharpest corner, fit to carve or chisel (stone or jade).
Now it is hot as a scorching fire, and anon it is cold as ice.
It is so swift that while one is bending down and lifting up his
head, it shall twice
2
Probably an imaginary personag [sic] have put forth a soothing
hand beyond the four seas. Resting, it is still as a deep abyss;
moving, it is like one of the bodies in the sky; in its resolute
haughtiness, it refuses to be bound;-such is the mind of man!'
Anciently, Hwang-Tî was the first to meddle with and disturb the
mind of man with his benevolence and righteousness. After him,
Yâo and Shun wore their thighs bare and the hair off the calves
of their legs, in their labours to nourish the bodies of the
people. They toiled painfully with all the powers in their five
viscera at the practice of their benevolence and righteousness;
they tasked their blood and breath to make out a code of laws;--and
after all they were unsuccessful. On this Yâo sent away Hwan Tâu
to Khung hill, and (the Chiefs of) the Three Miâo to San-wei,
and banished the Minister of Works to the Dark Capital; so
unequal had they been to cope with the world. Then we are
carried on to the kings of the Three (dynasties), when the world
was in a state of great distraction. Of the lowest type of
character there were Kieh and Kih; of a higher type there were
Zäng (Shän) and Shih (Zhiû). At the same time there arose the
classes of the Literati and the Mohists. Hereupon, complacency
in, and hatred of, one another produced mutual suspicions; the
stupid and the wise imposed on one another; the good and the bad
condemned one another; the boastful and the sincere interchanged
their recriminations;--and the world fell into decay. Views as
to what was greatly virtuous did not agree, and the nature with
its endowments became as if shrivelled by fire or carried away
by a flood. All were eager for knowledge, and the people were
exhausted with their searchings (after what was good). On this
the axe and the saw were brought into play; guilt was determined
as by the plumb-line and death inflicted; the hammer and gouge
did their work. The world fell into great disorder, and
presented the appearance of a jagged mountain ridge. The crime
to which all was due was the meddling with and disturbing men's
minds. The effect was that men of ability and worth lay
concealed at the foot of the crags of mount Thâi, and princes of
ten thousand chariots were anxious and terrified in their
ancestral temples. In the present age those Who have been put to
death in various ways lie thick as if pillowed on each other;
those who are wearing the cangue press on each other (on the
roads); those who are suffering the bastinado can see each other
(all over the land). And now the Literati and the Mohists begin
to stand, on tiptoe and with bare arms, among the fettered and
manacled crowd! Ah! extreme is their shamelessness, and their
failure to see the disgrace! Strange that we should be slow to
recognise their sageness and wisdom in the bars of the cangue,
and their benevolence and righteousness in the rivets of the
fetters and handcuffs! How do we know that Zäng and Shih are not
the whizzing arrows of Kieh and Kih? Therefore it is said, 'Abolish
sageness and cast away knowledge, and the world will be brought
to a state of great order.'
4
Hwang-Tî had been on the throne for nineteen years, and his
ordinances were in operation all through the kingdom, when he
heard that Kwang Khäng-dze was living on the summit of Khung-thung,
and went to see him. 'I have heard,' he said, 'that you, Sir,
are well acquainted with the perfect Tâo. I venture to ask you
what is the essential thing in it. I wish to take the subtlest
influences of heaven and earth, and assist with them the (growth
of the) five cereals for the (better) nourishment of the people.
I also wish to direct the (operation of the) Yin and Yang, so as
to secure the comfort of all living beings. How shall I proceed
to accomplish those objects?' Kwang Khäng-dze replied, 'What you
wish to ask about is the original substance of all things; what
you wish to have the direction of is that substance as it was
shattered and divided. According to your government of the world,
the vapours of the clouds, before they were collected, would
descend in rain; the herbs and trees would shed their leaves
before they became yellow; and the light of the sun and moon
would hasten to extinction. Your mind is that of a flatterer
with his plausible words;--it is not fit that I should tell you
the perfect Tâo.'
Hwang-Tî withdrew, gave up (his government of) the kingdom,
built himself a solitary apartment, spread in it a mat of the
white mâo grass, dwelt in it unoccupied for three months, and
then went again to seek an interview with (the recluse). Kwang
Khäng-dze was then lying down with his head to the south. Hwang-Tî,
with an air of deferential submission, went forward on his knees,
twice bowed low with his face to the ground, and asked him,
saying, 'I have heard that you, Sir, are well acquainted with
the perfect Tâo;--I venture to ask how I should rule my body, in
order that it may continue for a long time.' Kwang Khäng-dze
hastily rose, and said, 'A good question! Come and I will tell
you the perfect Tâo. Its essence is (surrounded with) the
deepest obscurity; its highest reach is in darkness and silence.
There is nothing to be seen; nothing to be heard. When it holds
the spirit in its arms in stillness, then the bodily form of
itself will become correct. You must be still; you must be pure;
not subjecting your body to toil, not agitating your vital force;--then
you may live for long. When your eyes see nothing, your ears
hear nothing, and your mind knows nothing, your spirit will keep
your body, and the body will live long. Watch over what is
within you, shut up the avenues that connect you with what is
external;--much knowledge is pernicious. I (will) proceed with
you to the summit of the Grand Brilliance, where we come to the
source of the bright and expanding (element); I will enter with
you the gate of the Deepest Obscurity, where we come to the
source of the dark and repressing (element). There heaven and
earth have their controllers; there the Yin and Yang have their
Repositories. Watch over and keep your body, and all things will
of themselves give it vigour. I maintain the (original) unity (of
these elements), and dwell in the harmony of them. In this way 1
have cultivated myself for one thousand and two hundred years,
and my bodily form has undergone no decay.'
Hwang-Tî twice bowed low with his head to the ground, and said,
'In Kwang Khäng-dze we have an example of what is called Heaven.'
The other said, 'Come, and I will tell you:--(The perfect Tâo)
is something inexhaustible, and yet men all think it has an end;
it is something unfathomable, and yet men all think its extreme
limit can be reached. He who attains to my Tâo, if he be in a
high position, will be one of the August ones, and in a low
position, will be a king. He who fails in attaining it, in his
highest attainment will see the light, but will descend and be
of the Earth. At present all things are produced from the Earth
and return to the Earth. Therefore I will leave you, and enter
the gate of the Unending, to enjoy myself in the fields of the
Illimitable. I will blend my light with that of the sun and moon,
and will endure while heaven and earth endure. If men agree with
my views, I will be unconscious of it; if they keep far apart
from them, I will be unconscious of it; they may all die, and I
will abide alone!'
5
Yün Kiang, rambling to the east, having been borne along on a
gentle breeze, suddenly encountered Hung Mung, who was rambling
about, slapping his buttocks and hopping like a bird. Amazed at
the sight, Yün Kiang stood reverentially, and said to the other,
'Venerable Sir, who are you? and why are you doing this?' Hung
Mung went on slapping his buttocks and hopping like a bird, but
replied, 'I am enjoying myself.' Yün Kiang said, 'I wish to ask
you a question.' Hung Mung lifted up his head, looked at the
stranger, and said, 'Pooh!' Yün Kiang, however, continued, 'The
breath of heaven is out of harmony; the breath of earth is bound
up; the six elemental influences do not act in concord; the four
seasons do not observe their proper times. Now I wish to blend
together the essential qualities of those six influences in
order to nourish all living things;-how shall I go about it?'
Hung Mung slapped his buttocks, hopped about, and shook his head,
saying, 'I do not know; I do not know!'
Yün Kiang could not pursue his question; but three years
afterwards, when (again) rambling in the east, as he was passing
by the wild of Sung, he happened to meet Hung Mung. Delighted
with the rencontre, he hastened to him, and said, 'Have you
forgotten me, O Heaven? Have you forgotten me, O Heaven?' At the
same time, he bowed twice with his head to the ground, wishing
to receive his instructions. Hung Mung said, 'Wandering
listlessly about, I know not what I seek; carried on by a wild
impulse, I know not where I am going. I wander about in the
strange manner (which you have seen), and see that nothing
proceeds without method and order;--what more should I know?'
Yün Kiang replied, 'I also seem carried on by an aimless
influence, and yet the people follow me wherever I go. I cannot
help their doing so. But now as they thus imitate me, I wish to
hear a word from you (in the case).' The other said, 'What
disturbs the regular method of Heaven, comes into collision with
the nature of things, prevents the accomplishment of the
mysterious (operation of) Heaven, scatters the herds of animals,
makes the birds all sing at night, is calamitous to vegetation,
and disastrous to all insects;-all this is owing, I conceive, to
the error of governing men.' 'What then,' said Yün Kiang, 'shall
I do?' 'Ah,' said the other, 'you will only injure them! I will
leave you in my dancing way, and return to my place.' Yün Kiang
rejoined, 'It has been a difficult thing to get this meeting
with you, O Heaven! I should like to hear from you a word (more).'
Hung Mung said, 'Ah! your mind (needs to be) nourished. Do you
only take the position of doing nothing, and things will of
themselves become transformed. Neglect your body; cast out from
you your power of hearing and sight; forget what you have in
common with things; cultivate a grand similarity with the chaos
of the plastic ether; unloose your mind; set your spirit free;
be still as if you had no soul. Of all the multitude of things
every one returns to its root. Every one returns to its root,
and does not know (that it is doing so). They all are as in the
state of chaos, and during all their existence they do not leave
it. If they knew (that they were returning to their root), they
would be (consciously) leaving it. They do not ask its name;
they do not seek to spy out their nature; and thus it is that
things come to life of themselves.'
Yün Kiang said, 'Heaven, you have conferred on me (the knowledge
of) your operation, and revealed to me the mystery of it. All my
life I had been seeking for it, and now I have obtained it.' He
then bowed twice, with his head to the ground, arose, took his
leave, and walked away.
6
The ordinary men of the world all rejoice in men's agreeing with
themselves, and dislike men's being different from themselves.
This rejoicing and this dislike arise from their being bent on
making themselves distinguished above all others. But have they
who have this object at heart so risen out above all others?
They depend on them to rest quietly (in the position which they
desire), and their knowledge is not equal to the multitude of
the arts of all those others! When they wish again to administer
a state for its ruler, they proceed to employ all the methods
which the kings of the three dynasties considered profitable
without seeing the evils of such a course. This is to make the
state depend on the peradventure of their luck. But how seldom
it is that that peradventure does not issue in the ruin of the
state! Not once in ten thousand instances will such men preserve
a state. Not once will they succeed, and in more than ten
thousand cases will they ruin it. Alas that the possessors of
territory,--(the rulers of states),--should not know the danger
(of employing such men)! Now the possessors of territory possess
the greatest of (all) things. Possessing the greatest of all
things,--(possessing, that is, men),--they should not try to
deal with them as (simply) things. And it is he who is not a
thing (himself) that is therefore able to deal with (all) things
as they severally require. When (a ruler) clearly understands
that he who should so deal with all things is not a thing
himself, will he only rule the kingdom? He will go out and in
throughout the universe (at his pleasure); he will roam over the
nine regions, alone in going, alone in coming. Him we call the
sole possessor (of this ability); and the sole possessor (of
this ability) is what is called the noblest of all.
The teaching of (this) great man goes forth as the shadow from
the substance, as the echo responds to the sound. When
questioned, he responds, exhausting (from his own stores) all
that is in the (enquirer's) mind, as if front to front with all
under heaven. His resting-place gives forth no sound; his sphere
of activity has no restriction of place. He conducts every one
to his proper goal, proceeding to it and bringing him back to it
as by his own movement. His movements have no trace; his going
forth and his re-enterings have no deviation; his course is like
that of the sun without beginning (or ending).
If you would praise or discourse about his personality, he is
united with the great community of existences. He belongs to
that great community, and has no individual self. Having no
individual self, how should he have anything that can be called
his? If you look at those who have what they call their own,
they are the superior men of former times; if you look at him
who has nothing of the kind, he is the friend of heaven and
earth.
7
Mean, and yet demanding to be allowed their free course;--such
are Things. Low, and yet requiring to be relied on;--such are
the People. Hidden (as to their issues), and yet requiring to be
done;--such are Affairs. Coarse, and yet necessary to be set
forth;--such are Laws. Remote, and yet necessary to have
dwelling (in one's self);--such is Righteousness. Near, and yet
necessary to be widely extended;--such is Benevolence.
Restrictive, and yet necessary to be multiplied;--such are
Ceremonies. Lodged in the centre, and yet requiring to be
exalted;--such is Virtue. Always One, and yet requiring to be
modified;--such is the Tâo. Spirit-like, and yet requiring to be
exercised;--such is Heaven.
Therefore the sages contemplated Heaven, but did not assist It.
They tried to perfect their virtue, but did not allow it to
embarrass them. They proceeded according to the Tâo, but did not
lay any plans. They associated benevolence (with all their
doings), but did not rely on it. They pursued righteousness
extensively, but did not try to accumulate it. They responded to
ceremonies, but did not conceal (their opinion as to the
troublesomeness of them). They engaged in affairs as they
occurred, and did not decline them. They strove to render their
laws uniform, but (feared that confusion) might arise from them.
They relied upon the people, and did not set light by them. They
depended on things as their instruments, and did not discard
them.
They did not think things equal to what they employed them for,
but yet they did not see that they could do without employing
them. Those who do not understand Heaven are not pure in their
virtue. Those who do not comprehend the Tâo have no course which
they can pursue successfully. Alas for them who do not clearly
understand the Tâo!
What is it that we call the Tâo? There is the Tâo, or Way of
Heaven; and there is the Tâo, or Way of Man. Doing nothing and
yet attracting all honour is the Way of Heaven; Doing and being
embarrassed thereby is the Way of Man. It is the Way of Heaven
that plays the part of the Lord; it is the Way of Man that plays
the part of the Servant. The Way of Heaven and the Way of Man
are far apart. They should be clearly distinguished from each
other. |