1
Thien Dze-fang, sitting in attendance on the marquis Wän of Wei,
often quoted (with approbation) the words of Khî Kung. The
marquis said, 'Is Khî Kung your preceptor?' Dze-fang replied,
'No. He only belongs to the same neighbourhood. In speaking
about the Tâo, his views are often correct, and therefore I
quote them as I do.' The marquis went on, 'Then have you no
preceptor?' 'I have.' And who is he? He is Tung-kwo Shun-dze.'
'And why, my Master, have I never heard you quote his words?'
Dze-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 Tâo, he rectifies his demeanour, so that they
understand it, and in consequence their own ideas melt away and
disappear. How should one like me be fit to quote his words?'
When Dze-fang went out, the marquis Wän continued in a state of
dumb amazement all the day. He then called Lung Lî-khin, 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 Dze-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
Wän-po Hsüeh-dze, on his way to Khï, stayed some time in Lû,
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 Khî; and on his
way back (to the south), he again stayed in Lû, 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 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.'
Kung-nî saw the man, but did not speak a word to him. Dze-lû
said, 'You have wished, Sir, to see this Wän-po Hsüeh-dze for a
long time; what is the reason that when you have seen him, you
have not spoken a word?' Kung-nî replied, 'As soon as my eyes
lighted on that man, the Tâo in him was apparent. The situation
did not admit of a word being spoken.'
3
Yen Yüan asked Kung-nî, 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 along," I mean that when you speak, I also speak. By
saying, "When you go more quickly, I also do the same," I mean I
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-nî 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.
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 Lâo Tan, and arrived just as he had
completed the bathing of his head, and was letting his
dishevelled hair get dry. There be was, motionless, and as if
there were not another man in the world. Confucius waited
quietly; and, when in a 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).' Lâo Tan replied,
'I was enjoying myself in thinking about the commencement 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 bow 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.' Lâo Tan replied, 'The 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 Tâo understand the
subject.'
Confucius said, 'O Master, your virtue is equal to that of
Heaven and Earth, and still I must borrow (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?'
Lâo 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) Tâo 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.'
5
At an interview of Kwang-dze with duke Âi of Lû, the duke said,
'There are many of the Learned class in Lû; but few of them can
be compared with you, Sir.' Kwang-dze replied, 'There are few
Learned men in Lû.' 'Everywhere in Lû,' 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-dze, '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
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 Lû, 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. Kwang-dze said, 'When the
state of Lû 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 Pâi-lî
Hsî, and so he became a cattle-feeder, and his cattle were all
in fine condition. This made duke Mû of Khin 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 Yü, and therefore he was able to influence others.
7
The ruler Yüan of Sung wishing to have a map 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 Wän was (once) looking about him at Zang, 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
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 Zang; and perhaps the evils of your
people will be cured."' The great officers said eagerly, 'It was
the king, your father.' King Wän 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, Zang, 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 [sic]), 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 Min 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 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
Yüan questioned Confucius, saying, 'Was even king Wän unequal to
determine his course? What had he to do with resorting to a
dream?' Kung-nî replied, 'Be silent and do not say a word! King
Win 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 Yü-khâu was exhibiting his archery' to Po-hwän Wû-zän.
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-hwän Wû-zän 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 Wû-zän turned round and walked
backwards, till his feet were two-thirds of their length outside
the edge, and beckoned Yü-khâu 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 Wû asked Sun-shû Âo, 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-shû Âo 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 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-nî 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 Fû-hsî nor Hwang-Tî 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 Thâi 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.'
The king of Khû 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, if the
destruction of Fan had not been sufficient to destroy that which
it had most deserving to be preserved, the preservation of Khû
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 Khû had not begun to be
preserved. |