《外篇》
骈拇 - Webbed Toes
1
骈拇:
骈拇枝指，出乎性哉！而侈于德。附赘县疣，出乎形哉！而侈于性。多方乎仁义而用之者，列于五藏哉！而非道德之正也。是故骈于足者，连无用之肉也；枝于手者，树无用之指也；多方骈枝于五藏之情者，淫僻于仁义之行，而多方于聪明之用也。是故骈于明者，乱五色，淫文章，青黄黼黻之煌煌非乎？而离朱是已。多于聪者，乱五声，淫六律，金石、丝竹，黄钟、大吕之声非乎？而师旷是已。枝于仁者，擢德塞性以收名声，使天下簧鼓以奉不及之法非乎？而曾、史是已。骈于辩者，累瓦结绳窜句，游心于坚白同异之间，而敝跬誉无用之言非乎？而杨、墨是已。故此皆多骈旁枝之道，非天下之至正也。彼正正者，不失其性命之情。故合者不为骈，而枝者不为跂；长者不为有馀，短者不为不足。是故凫胫虽短，续之则忧；鹤胫虽长，断之则悲。故性长非所断，性短非所续，无所去忧也。意仁义其非人情乎！彼仁人何其多忧也？且夫骈于拇者，决之则泣；枝于手者，齕之则啼。二者或有馀于数，或不足于数，其于忧一也。今世之仁人，蒿目而忧世之患；不仁之人，决性命之情而饕富贵。故意仁义其非人情乎！自三代以下者，天下何其嚣嚣也？
Webbed Toes:
A ligament uniting the big toe with the other toes and an extra finger may be natural growths, but they are more than is good for use. Excrescences on the person and hanging tumours are growths from the body, but they are unnatural additions to it. There are many arts of benevolence and righteousness, and the exercise of them is distributed among the five viscera; but this is not the correct method according to the characteristics of the Dao. Thus it is that the addition to the foot is but the attachment to it of so much useless flesh, and the addition to the hand is but the planting on it of a useless finger. (So it is that) the connecting (the virtues) with the five viscera renders, by excess or restraint, the action of benevolence and righteousness bad, and leads to many arts as in the employment of (great) powers of hearing or of vision. Therefore an extraordinary power of vision leads to the confusion of the five colours and an excessive use of ornament. (Its possessor), in the resplendence of his green and yellow, white and black, black and green, will not stop till he has become a Li Zhu. An extraordinary power of hearing leads to a confusion of the five notes, and an excessive use of the six musical accords. (Its possessor), in bringing out the tones from the instruments of metal, stone, silk, and bamboo, aided by the Huang-zhong and Da-lu (tubes), will not stop till he has become a Shi Kuang. (So), excessive benevolence eagerly brings out virtues and restrains its (proper) nature, that (its possessor) may acquire a famous reputation, and cause all the organs and drums in the world to celebrate an unattainable condition; and he will not stop till he has become a Zeng (Shan) or a Shi (Qiu). An extraordinary faculty in debating leads to the piling up of arguments like a builder with his bricks, or a netmaker with his string. (Its possessor) cunningly contrives his sentences and enjoys himself in discussing what hardness is and what whiteness is, where views agree and where they differ, and pressing on, though weary, with short steps, with (a multitude of) useless words to make good his opinion; nor will he stop till he has become a Yang (Zhu) or Mo (Di). But in all these cases the parties, with their redundant and divergent methods, do not proceed by that which is the correct path for all under the sky. That which is the perfectly correct path is not to lose the real character of the nature with which we are endowed. Hence the union (of parts) should not be considered redundance, nor their divergence superfluity; what is long should not be considered too long, nor what is short too short. A duck's legs, for instance, are short, but if we try to lengthen them, it occasions pain; and a crane's legs are long, but if we try to cut off a portion of them, it produces grief. Where a part is by nature long, we are not to amputate, or where it is by nature short, we are not to lengthen it. There is no occasion to try to remove any trouble that it may cause. The presumption is that benevolence and righteousness are not constituents of humanity; for to how much anxiety does the exercise of them give rise! Moreover when another toe is united to the great toe, to divide the membrane makes you weep; and when there is an extra finger, to gnaw it off makes you cry out. In the one case there is a member too many, and in the other a member too few; but the anxiety and pain which they cause is the same. The benevolent men of the present age look at the evils of the world, as with eyes full of dust, and are filled with sorrow by them, while those who are not benevolent, having violently altered the character of their proper nature, greedily pursue after riches and honours. The presumption therefore is that benevolence and righteousness are contrary to the nature of man - how full of trouble and contention has the world been ever since the three dynasties began!
2
骈拇:
且夫待钩绳规矩而正者，是削其性；待绳约胶漆而固者，是侵其德也；屈折礼乐，呴俞仁义，以慰天下之心者，此失其常然也。天下有常然。常然者，曲者不以钩，直者不以绳，圆者不以规，方者不以矩，附离不以胶漆，约束不以纆索。故天下诱然皆生，而不知其所以生；同焉皆得，而不知其所以得。故古今不二，不可亏也。则仁义又奚连连如胶漆纆索，而游乎道德之闲为哉？使天下惑也！夫小惑易方，大惑易性。何以知其然邪？自虞氏招仁义以挠天下也，天下莫不奔命于仁义，是非以仁义易其性与？
Webbed Toes:
And moreover, in employing the hook and line, the compass and square, to give things their correct form you must cut away portions of what naturally belongs to them; in employing strings and fastenings, glue and varnish to make things firm, you must violently interfere with their qualities. The bendings and stoppings in ceremonies and music, and the factitious expression in the countenance of benevolence and righteousness, in order to comfort the minds of men - these all show a failure in observing the regular principles (of the human constitution). All men are furnished with such regular principles; and according to them what is bent is not made so by the hook, nor what is straight by the line, nor what is round by the compass, nor what is square by the carpenter's square. Nor is adhesion effected by the use of glue and varnish, nor are things bound together by means of strings and bands. Thus it is that all in the world are produced what they are by a certain guidance, while they do not know how they are produced so; and they equally attain their several ends while they do not know how it is that they do so. Anciently it was so, and it is so now; and this constitution of things should not be made of none effect. Why then should benevolence and righteousness be employed as connecting (links), or as glue and varnish, strings and bands, and the enjoyment arising from the Dao and its characteristics be attributed to them? It is a deception practised upon the world. Where the deception is small, there will be a change in the direction (of the objects pursued); where it is great, there will be a change of the nature itself. How do I know that it is so? Since he of the line of Yu called in his benevolence and righteousness to distort and vex the world, the world has not ceased to hurry about to execute their commands - has not this been by means of benevolence and righteousness to change (men's views) of their nature?
3
骈拇:
故尝试论之，自三代以下者，天下莫不以物易其性矣。小人则以身殉利，士则以身殉名，大夫则以身殉家，圣人则以身殉天下。故此数子者，事业不同，名声异号，其于伤性以身为殉，一也。臧与谷，二人相与牧羊，而俱亡其羊。问臧奚事，则挟厕读书；问谷奚事，则博塞以游。二人者，事业不同，其于亡羊均也。伯夷死名于首阳之下，盗跖死利于东陵之上。二人者，所死不同，其于残生伤性均也，奚必伯夷之是而盗跖之非乎？天下尽殉也。彼其所殉仁义也，则俗谓之君子；其所殉货财也，则俗谓之小人。其殉一也，则有君子焉，有小人焉；若其残生损性，则盗跖亦伯夷已，又恶取君子小人于其间哉？且夫属其性乎仁义者，虽通如曾、史，非吾所谓臧也；属其性于五味，虽通如俞儿，非吾所谓臧也；属其性乎五声，虽通如师旷，非吾所谓聪也；属其性乎五色，虽通如离朱，非吾所谓明也。吾所谓臧者，非仁义之谓也，臧于其德而已矣；吾所谓臧者，非所谓仁义之谓也，任其性命之情而已矣；吾所谓聪者，非谓其闻彼也，自闻而已矣；吾所谓明者，非谓其见彼也，自见而已矣。夫不自见而见彼，不自得而得彼者，是得人之得而不自得其得，适人之适而不自适其适者也。夫适人之适而不自适其适，虽盗跖与伯夷，是同为淫僻也。余愧乎道德，是以上不敢为仁义之操，而下不敢为淫僻之行也。
Webbed Toes:
I will therefore try and discuss this matter. From the commencement of the three dynasties downwards, nowhere has there been a man who has not under (the influence of external) things altered (the course of) his nature. Small men for the sake of gain have sacrificed their persons; scholars for the sake of fame have done so; great officers, for the sake of their families; and sagely men, for the sake of the kingdom. These several classes, with different occupations, and different reputations, have agreed in doing injury to their nature and sacrificing their persons. Take the case of a male and female slave; they have to feed the sheep together, but they both lose their sheep. Ask the one what he was doing, and you will find that he was holding his bamboo tablets and reading. Ask the other, and you will find that she was amusing herself with some game. They were differently occupied, but they equally lose their sheep. (So), Bo-yi died at the foot of Shou-yang to maintain his fame, and the robber Zhi died on the top of Dong-ling in his eagerness for gain. Their deaths were occasioned by different causes, but they equally shortened their lives and did violence to their nature; why must we approve of Bo-yi, and condemn the robber Zhi? In cases of such sacrifice all over the world, when one makes it for the sake of benevolence and righteousness, the common people style him 'a superior man,' but when another does it for the sake of goods and riches, they style him 'a small man.' The action of sacrificing is the same, and yet we have 'the superior man' and 'the small man!' In the matter of destroying his life, and doing injury to his nature, the robber Zhi simply did the same as Bo-yi - why must we make the distinction of 'superior man' and 'small man' between them? Moreover, those who devote their nature to (the pursuit) of benevolence and righteousness, though they should attain to be like Zeng (Shen) and Shi (Qiu), I do not pronounce to be good; those who devote it to (the study of) the five flavours, though they attain to be like Shu-er, I do not pronounce to be good; those who devote it to the (discrimination of the) five notes, though they attain to be like Shi Kuang, I do not pronounce to be quick of hearing; those who devote it to the (appreciation of the) five colours, though they attain to be like Li Zhu, I do not pronounce to be clear of vision. When I pronounce men to be good, I am not speaking of their benevolence and righteousness; the goodness is simply (their possession of) the qualities (of the Dao). When I pronounce them to be good, I am not speaking of what are called benevolence and righteousness; but simply of their allowing the nature with which they are endowed to have its free course. When I pronounce men to be quick of hearing, I do not mean that they hearken to anything else, but that they hearken to themselves; when I pronounce them to be clear of vision, I do not mean that they look to anything else, but that they look to themselves. Now those who do not see themselves but see other things, who do not get possession of themselves but get possession of other things, get possession of what belongs to others, and not of what is their own; and they reach forth to what attracts others, and not to that in themselves which should attract them. But thus reaching forth to what attracts others and not to what should attract them in themselves, be they like the robber Zhi or like Bo-yi, they equally err in the way of excess or of perversity. What I am ashamed of is erring in the characteristics of the Dao, and therefore, in the higher sphere, I do not dare to insist on the practice of benevolence and righteousness, and, in the lower, I do not dare to allow myself either in the exercise of excess or perversity.
马蹄 - Horses's Hoofs
1
马蹄:
马，蹄可以践霜雪，毛可以御风寒，齕草饮水，翘足而陆。此马之真性也。虽有义台、路寝，无所用之。及至伯乐，曰：“我善治马。”烧之剔之，刻之雒之，连之以羁馽，编之以皂栈，马之死者十二三矣；饥之渴之，驰之骤之，整之齐之，前有橛饰之患，而后有鞭厕之威，而马之死者已过半矣。陶者曰：“我善治埴，圆者中规，方者中矩。”匠人曰：“我善治木，曲者中钩，直者应绳。”夫埴、木之性，岂欲中规矩钩绳哉？然且世世称之曰：“伯乐善治马，而陶、匠善治埴木。”此亦治天下者之过也。
Horses's Hoofs:
Horses can with their hoofs tread on the hoarfrost and snow, and with their hair withstand the wind and cold; they feed on the grass and drink water; they prance with their legs and leap: this is the true nature of horses. Though there were made for them grand towers and large dormitories, they would prefer not to use them. But when Po-l?o (arose and) said, 'I know well how to manage horses,' (men proceeded) to singe and mark them, to clip their hair, to pare their hoofs, to halter their heads, to bridle them and hobble them, and to confine them in stables and corrals. (When subjected to this treatment), two or three in every ten of them died. (Men proceeded further) to subject them to hunger and thirst, to gallop them and race them, and to make them go together in regular order. In front were the evils of the bit and ornamented breastbands, and behind were the terrors of the whip and switch. (When so treated), more than half of them died. The (first) potter said, 'I know well how to deal with clay;' and (men proceeded) to mould it into circles as exact as if made by the compass, and into squares as exact as if formed by the measuring square. The (first) carpenter said, 'I know well how to deal with wood;' and (men proceeded) to make it bent as if by the application of the hook, and straight as if by the application of the plumb-line. But is it the nature of clay and wood to require the application of the compass and square, of the hook and line? And yet age after age men have praised Po-l?o, saying, 'He knew well how to manage horses,' and also the (first) potter and carpenter, saying, 'They knew well how to deal with clay and wood.' This is just the error committed by the governors of the world.
2
马蹄:
吾意善治天下者不然。彼民有常性，织而衣，耕而食，是谓同德；一而不党，命曰天放。故至德之世，其行填填，其视颠颠。当是时也，山无蹊隧，泽无舟梁；万物群生，连属其乡；禽兽成群，草木遂长。是故禽兽可系羁而游，乌鹊之巢可攀援而闚。夫至德之世，同与禽兽居，族与万物并，恶乎知君子小人哉！同乎无知，其德不离；同乎无欲，是谓素朴。素朴而民性得矣。及至圣人，蹩躠为仁，踶跂为义，而天下始疑矣；澶漫为乐，摘僻为礼，而天下始分矣。故纯朴不残，孰为牺尊！白玉不毁，孰为圭璋！道德不废，安取仁义！性情不离，安用礼乐！五色不乱，孰为文采！五声不乱，孰应六律！夫残朴以为器，工匠之罪也；毁道德以为仁义，圣人之过也。
Horses's Hoofs:
According to my idea, those who knew well to govern mankind would not act so. The people had their regular and constant nature: they wove and made themselves clothes; they tilled the ground and got food. This was their common faculty. They were all one in this, and did not form themselves into separate classes; so were they constituted and left to their natural tendencies. Therefore in the age of perfect virtue men walked along with slow and grave step, and with their looks steadily directed forwards. At that time, on the hills there were no foot-paths, nor excavated passages; on the lakes there were no boats nor dams; all creatures lived in companies; and the places of their settlement were made close to one another. Birds and beasts multiplied to flocks and herds; the grass and trees grew luxuriant and long. In this condition the birds and beasts might be led about without feeling the constraint; the nest of the magpie might be climbed to, and peeped into. Yes, in the age of perfect virtue, men lived in common with birds and beasts, and were on terms of equality with all creatures, as forming one family - how could they know among themselves the distinctions of superior men and small men? Equally without knowledge, they did not leave (the path of) their natural virtue; equally free from desires, they were in the state of pure simplicity. In that state of pure simplicity, the nature of the people was what it ought to be. But when the sagely men appeared, limping and wheeling about in (the exercise of) benevolence, pressing along and standing on tiptoe in the doing of righteousness, then men universally began to be perplexed. (Those sages also) went to excess in their performances of music, and in their gesticulations in the practice of ceremonies, and then men began to be separated from one another. If the raw materials had not been cut and hacked, who could have made a sacrificial vase from them? If the natural jade had not been broken and injured, who could have made the handles for the libation-cups from it? If the attributes of the Dao had not been disallowed, how should they have preferred benevolence and righteousness? If the instincts of the nature had not been departed from, how should ceremonies and music have come into use? If the five colours had not been confused, how should the ornamental figures have been formed? If the five notes had not been confused, how should they have supplemented them by the musical accords? The cutting and hacking of the raw materials to form vessels was the crime of the skilful workman; the injury done to the characteristics of the Dao in order to the practice of benevolence and righteousness was the error of the sagely men.
3
马蹄:
夫马，陆居则食草饮水，喜则交颈相靡，怒则分背相踶。马知已此矣。马所知止此矣。李音智，非。夫加之以衡扼，齐之以月题，而马知介倪、闉扼、鸷曼、诡衔、窃辔。故马之知而态至盗者，伯乐之罪也。夫赫胥氏之时，民居不知所为，行不知所之，含哺而熙，鼓腹而游，民能以此矣。及至圣人，屈折礼乐以匡天下之形，县企仁义以慰天下之心，而民乃始踶跂好知，争归于利，不可止也。此亦圣人之过也。
Horses's Hoofs:
Horses, when living in the open country, eat the grass, and drink water; when pleased, they intertwine their necks and rub one another; when enraged, they turn back to back and kick one another - this is all that they know to do. But if we put the yoke on their necks, with the moonlike frontlet displayed on all their foreheads, then they know to look slily askance, to curve their necks, to rush viciously, trying to get the bit out of their mouths, and to filch the reins (from their driver); this knowledge of the horse and its ability thus to act the part of a thief is the crime of Bo-le. In the time of (the Di) He-xu, the people occupied their dwellings without knowing what they were doing, and walked out without knowing where they were going. They filled their mouths with food and were glad; they slapped their stomachs to express their satisfaction. This was all the ability which they possessed. But when the sagely men appeared, with their bendings and stoppings in ceremonies and music to adjust the persons of all, and hanging up their benevolence and righteousness to excite the endeavours of all to reach them, in order to comfort their minds, then the people began to stump and limp about in their love of knowledge, and strove with one another in their pursuit of gain, so that there was no stopping them: this was the error of those sagely men.
胠箧 - Cutting open Satchels
1
胠箧:
将为胠箧、探囊、发匮之盗而为守备，则必摄缄、縢，固扃、鐍，此世俗之所谓知也。然而巨盗至，则负匮、揭箧、担囊而趋，唯恐缄、縢、扃、鐍之不固也。然则乡之所谓知者，不乃为大盗积者也？故尝试论之，世俗之所谓知者，有不为大盗积者乎？所谓圣者，有不为大盗守者乎？何以知其然邪？昔者齐国邻邑相望，鸡狗之音相闻，罔罟之所布，耒耨之所刺，方二千馀里。阖四竟之内，所以立宗庙社稷，治邑、屋、州、闾、乡曲者，曷尝不法圣人哉！然而田成子一旦杀齐君而盗其国。所盗者岂独其国邪？并与其圣知之法而盗之。故田成子有乎盗贼之名，而身处尧、舜之安，小国不敢非，大国不敢诛，十二世有齐国。则是不乃窃齐国，并与其圣知之法，以守其盗贼之身乎？尝试论之，世俗之所谓至知者，有不为大盗积者乎？所谓至圣者，有不为大盗守者乎？何以知其然邪？昔者龙逢斩，比干剖，苌弘胣，子胥靡，故四子之贤而身不免乎戮。故盗跖之徒问于跖曰：“盗亦有道乎？”跖曰：“何适而无有道邪？夫妄意室中之藏，圣也；入先，勇也；出后，义也；知可否，知也；分均，仁也。五者不备而能成大盗者，天下未之有也。”由是观之，善人不得圣人之道不立，跖不得圣人之道不行；天下之善人少而不善人多，则圣人之利天下也少而害天下也多。
Cutting open Satchels:
In taking precautions against thieves who cut open satchels, search bags, and break open boxes, people are sure to cord and fasten them well, and to employ strong bonds and clasps; and in this they are ordinarily said to show their wisdom. When a great thief comes, however, he shoulders the box, lifts up the satchel, carries off the bag, and runs away with them, afraid only that the cords, bonds, and clasps may not be secure; and in this case what was called the wisdom (of the owners) proves to be nothing but a collecting of the things for the great thief. Let me try and set this matter forth. Do not those who are vulgarly called wise prove to be collectors for the great thieves? And do not those who are called sages prove to be but guardians in the interest of the great thieves? How do I know that the case is so? Formerly, in the state of Qi, the neighbouring towns could see one another; their cocks and dogs never ceased to answer the crowing and barking of other cocks and dogs (between them). The nets were set (in the water and on the land); and the ploughs and hoes were employed over more than a space of two thousand li square. All within its four boundaries, the establishment of the ancestral temples and of the altars of the land and grain, and the ordering of the hamlets and houses, and of every corner in the districts, large, medium, and small, were in all particulars according to the rules of the sages. So it was; but yet one morning, Tian Cheng-zi killed the ruler of Qi, and stole his state. And was it only the state that he stole? Along with it he stole also the regulations of the sages and wise men (observed in it). And so, though he got the name of being a thief and a robber, yet he himself continued to live as securely as Yao and Shun had done. Small states did not dare to find fault with him; great states did not dare to take him off; for twelve generations (his descendants) have possessed the state of Qi. Thus do we not have a case in which not only did (the party) steal the state of Qi, but at the same time the regulations of its sages and wise men, which thereby served to guard the person of him, thief and robber as he was? Let me try to set forth this subject (still further). Have not there been among those vulgarly styled the wisest, such as have collected (their wealth) for the great chief? And among those styled the most sage such as have guarded it for him? How do I know that it has been so? Formerly, Long-feng was beheaded; Bi-gan had his heart torn out; Chang Hong was ripped open; and Zi-xu was reduced to pulp (in the Chang). Worthy as those four men were, they did not escape such dreadful deaths. The followers of the robber Zhi asked him, saying, 'Has the robber also any method or principle (in his proceedings)?' He replied, 'What profession is there which has not its principles? That the robber in his recklessness comes to the conclusion that there are valuable deposits in an apartment shows his sageness; that he is the first to enter it shows his bravery; that he is the last to quit it shows his righteousness; that he knows whether (the robbery) may be attempted or not shows his wisdom; and that he makes an equal division of the plunder shows his benevolence. Without all these five qualities no one in the world has ever attained to become a great robber.' Looking at the subject in this way, we see that good men do not arise without having the principles of the sages, and that Zhi could not have pursued his course without the same principles. But the good men in the world are few, and those who are not good are many - it follows that the sages benefit the world in a few instances and injure it in many.
2
胠箧:
故曰：“唇竭则齿寒，鲁酒薄而邯郸围，圣人生而大盗起。”掊击圣人，纵舍盗贼，而天下始治矣。夫川竭而谷虚，丘夷而渊实。圣人已死，则大盗不起，天下平而无故矣。圣人不死，大盗不止。虽重圣人而治天下，则是重利盗跖也。为之斗斛以量之，则并与斗斛而窃之；为之权衡以称之，则并与权衡而窃之；为之符玺以信之，则并与符玺而窃之；为之仁义以矫之，则并与仁义而窃之。何以知其然邪？彼窃钩者诛，窃国者为诸侯，诸侯之门，而仁义存焉，则是非窃仁义圣知邪？故逐于大盗，揭诸侯，窃仁义并斗斛、权衡、符玺之利者，虽有轩冕之赏弗能劝，斧钺之威弗能禁。此重利盗跖而使不可禁者，是乃圣人之过也。故曰：“鱼不可脱于渊，国之利器不可以示人。”彼圣人者，天下之利器也，非所以明天下也。故绝圣弃知，大盗乃止；掷玉毁珠，小盗不起；焚符破玺，而民朴鄙；掊斗折衡，而民不争；殚残天下之圣法，而民始可与论议。擢乱六律，铄绝竽瑟，塞瞽旷之耳，而天下始人含其聪矣；灭文章，散五采，胶离朱之目，而天下始人含其明矣；毁绝钩绳而弃规矩，攦工倕之指，而天下始人有其巧矣。故曰：“大巧若拙。”削曾、史之行，钳杨、墨之口，攘弃仁义，而天下之德始玄同矣。彼人含其明，则天下不铄矣；人含其聪，则天下不累矣；人含其知，则天下不惑矣；人含其德，则天下不僻矣。彼曾、史、杨、墨、师旷、工倕、离朱，皆外立其德，而以爚乱天下者也，法之所无用也。
Cutting open Satchels:
Hence it is that we have the sayings, 'When the lips are gone the teeth are cold;' 'The poor wine of Lu gave occasion to the siege of Han-dan;' 'When sages are born great robbers arise.' When the stream is dried, the valley is empty; when the mound is levelled, the deep pool (beside it) is filled up. When the sages have died, the great robbers will not arise; the world would be at peace, and there would be no more troubles. While the sagely men have not died, great robbers will not cease to appear. The more right that is attached to (the views of) the sagely men for the government of the world, the more advantage will accrue to (such men as) the robber Kih. If we make for men pecks and bushels to measure (their wares), even by means of those pecks and bushels should we be teaching them to steal; if we make for them weights and steelyards to weigh (their wares), even by means of those weights and steelyards shall we be teaching them to steal. If we make for them tallies and seals to secure their good faith, even by means of those tallies and seals shall we be teaching them to steal. If we make for them benevolence and righteousness to make their doings correct, even by means of benevolence and righteousness shall we be teaching them to steal. How do I know that it is so? Here is one who steals a hook (for his girdle) - he is put to death for it: here is another who steals a state - he becomes its prince. But it is at the gates of the princes that we find benevolence and righteousness (most strongly) professed - is not this stealing benevolence and righteousness, sageness and wisdom? Thus they hasten to become great robbers, carry off princedoms, and steal benevolence and righteousness, with all the gains springing from the use of pecks and bushels, weights and steelyards, tallies and seals: even the rewards of carriages and coronets have no power to influence (to a different course), and the terrors of the axe have no power to restrain in such cases. The giving of so great gain to robbers (like) Zhi, and making it impossible to restrain them - this is the error committed by the sages.In accordance with this it is said, 'Fish should not be taken from (the protection of) the deep waters; the agencies for the profit of a state should not be shown to men.' But those sages (and their teachings) are the agencies for the profit of the world, and should not be exhibited to it. Therefore if an end were put to sageness and wisdom put away, the great robbers would cease to arise. If jade were put away and pearls broken to bits, the small thieves would not appear. If tallies were burned and seals broken in pieces, the people would become simple and unsophisticated. If pecks were destroyed and steelyards snapped in two, the people would have no wrangling. If the rules of the sages were entirely set aside in the world, a beginning might be made of reasoning with the people. If the six musical accords were reduced to a state of utter confusion, organs and lutes all burned, and the ears of the (musicians like the) blind Khwang stopped up, all men would begin to possess and employ their (natural) power of hearing. If elegant ornaments were abolished, the five embellishing colours disused and the eyes of (men like) Li Zhu glued up, all men would begin to possess and employ their (natural) power of vision. If the hook and line were destroyed, the compass and square thrown away, and the fingers of men (like) the artful Khui smashed, all men would begin to possess and employ their (natural) skill - as it is said, 'The greatest art is like stupidity.' If conduct such as that of Zeng (Shen) and Shi (Qiu) were discarded, the mouths of Yang (Zhu) and Mo (Di) gagged, and benevolence and righteousness seized and thrown aside, the virtue of all men would begin to display its mysterious excellence. When men possessed and employed their (natural) power of vision, there would be no distortion in the world. When they possessed and employed their (natural) power of hearing, there would be no distractions in the world. When they possessed and employed their (natural) faculty of knowledge, there would be no delusions in the world. When they possessed and employed their (natural) virtue, there would be no depravity in the world. Men like Zeng (Shen), Shi (Qiu), Yang (Zhu), Mo (Di), Shi Kuang (the musician), the artist Khui, and Li Zhu, all display their qualities outwardly, and set the world in a blaze (of admiration) and confound it - a method which is of no use!
3
胠箧:
子独不知至德之世乎？昔者容成氏、大庭氏、伯皇氏、中央氏、栗陆氏、骊畜氏、轩辕氏、赫胥氏、尊卢氏、祝融氏、伏羲氏、神农氏，当是时也，民结绳而用之，甘其食，美其服，乐其俗，安其居，邻国相望，鸡狗之音相闻，民至老死而不相往来。若此之时，则至治已。今遂至使民延颈举踵曰“某所有贤者”，赢粮而趣之，则内弃其亲而外去其主之事，足迹接乎诸侯之境，车轨结乎千里之外，则是上好知之过也。上诚好知而无道，则天下大乱矣。何以知其然邪？夫弓、弩、毕、弋、机变之知多，则鸟乱于上矣；钩饵、罔、罟罾笱之知多，则鱼乱于水矣；削格、罗落、罝罘之知多，则兽乱于泽矣；知诈渐毒、颉滑坚白、解垢同异之变多，则俗惑于辩矣。故天下每每大乱，罪在于好知。故天下皆知求其所不知而莫知求其所已知者，皆知非其所不善而莫知非其所已善者，是以大乱。故上悖日月之明，下烁山川之精，中堕四时之施，惴耎之虫，肖翘之物，莫不失其性。甚矣夫好知之乱天下也！自三代以下者是已。舍夫种种之民而悦夫役役之佞，释夫恬淡无为而悦夫啍啍之意，啍啍已乱天下矣。
Cutting open Satchels:
Are you, Sir, unacquainted with the age of perfect virtue? Anciently there were Rong-cheng, Da-ting, Bo-huang, Zhong-yang, Li-lu,Li-Chu, Xian-yuan, He-xu, Zun-lu, Zhu-rong, Fu-xi, and Shen-nong. In their times the people made knots on cords in carrying on their affairs. They thought their (simple) food pleasant, and their (plain) clothing beautiful. They were happy in their (simple) manners, and felt at rest in their (poor) dwellings. (The people of) neighbouring states might be able to descry one another; the voices of their cocks and dogs might be heard (all the way) from one to the other; they might not die till they were old; and yet all their life they would have no communication together. In those times perfect good order prevailed.Now-a-days, however, such is the state of things that you shall see the people stretching out their necks, and standing on tiptoe, while they say, 'In such and such a place there is a wise and able man.' Then they carry with them whatever dry provisions they may have left, and hurry towards it, abandoning their parents in their homes, and neglecting the service of their rulers abroad. Their footsteps may be traced in lines from one state to another, and the ruts of their chariot-wheels also for more than a thousand li. This is owing to the error of their superiors in their (inordinate) fondness for knowledge. When those superiors do really love knowledge, but do not follow the (proper) course, the whole world is thrown into great confusion.How do I know that the case is so? The knowledge shown in the (making of) bows, cross-bows, band-nets, stringed arrows, and contrivances with springs is great, but the birds are troubled by them above; the knowledge shown in the hooks, baits, various kinds of nets, and bamboo traps is great, but the fishes are disturbed by them in the waters; the knowledge shown in the arrangements for setting nets, and the nets and snares themselves, is great, but the animals are disturbed by them in the marshy grounds. (So), the versatility shown in artful deceptions becoming more and more pernicious, in ingenious discussions as to what is hard and what is white, and in attempts to disperse the dust and reconcile different views, is great, but the common people are perplexed by all the sophistry. Hence there is great disorder continually in the world, and the guilt of it is due to that fondness for knowledge. Thus it is that all men know to seek for the knowledge that they have not attained to; and do not know to seek for that which they already have (in themselves); and that they know to condemn what they do not approve (in others), and do not know to condemn what they have allowed in themselves - it is this which occasions the great confusion and disorder. It is just as if, above, the brightness of the sun and moon were darkened; as if, beneath, the productive vigour of the hills and streams were dried up; and as if, between, the operation of the four seasons were brought to an end: in which case there would not be a single weak and wriggling insect, nor any plant that grows up, which would not lose its proper nature. Great indeed is the disorder produced in the world by the love of knowledge. From the time of the three dynasties downwards it has been so. The plain and honest-minded people are neglected, and the plausible representations of restless spirits received with pleasure; the quiet and unexciting method of non-action is put away, and pleasure taken in ideas garrulously expressed. It is this garrulity of speech which puts the world in disorder.
在宥 - Letting Be, and Exercising Forbearance
1
在宥:
闻在宥天下，不闻治天下也。在之也者，恐天下之淫其性也；宥之也者，恐天下之迁其德也。天下不淫其性，不迁其德，有治天下者哉！昔尧之治天下也，使天下欣欣焉人乐其性，是不恬也；桀之治天下也，使天下瘁瘁焉人苦其性，是不愉也。夫不恬不愉，非德也。非德也而可长久者，天下无之。人大喜邪，毗于阳。大怒邪，毗于阴。阴阳并毗，四时不至，寒暑之和不成，其反伤人之形乎！使人喜怒失位，居处无常，思虑不自得，中道不成章，于是乎天下始乔诘、卓鸷，而后有盗跖、曾、史之行。故举天下以赏其善者不足，举天下以罚其恶者不给，故天下之大不足以赏罚。自三代以下者，匈匈焉终以赏罚为事，彼何暇安其性命之情哉！而且说明邪，是淫于色也；说聪邪，是淫于声也；说仁邪，是乱于德也；说义邪，是悖于理也；说礼邪，是相于技也；说乐邪，是相于淫也；说圣邪，是相于艺也；说知邪，是相于疵也。天下将安其性命之情，之八者，存可也；亡可也；天下将不安其性命之情，之八者，乃始脔卷、獊囊而乱天下也。而天下乃始尊之惜之，甚矣天下之惑也！岂直过也而去之邪！乃齐戒以言之，跪坐以进之，鼓歌以舞之，吾若是何哉！故君子不得已而临邪天下，莫若无为。无为也，而后安其性命之情。故贵以身于为天下，则可以托天下；爱以身于为天下，则可以寄天下。故君子苟能无解其五藏，无擢其聪明，尸居而龙见，渊默而雷声，神动而天随，从容无为而万物炊累焉。吾又何暇治天下哉！
Letting Be, and Exercising Forbearance:
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, Yao's government of the world made men look joyful; but when they have this joy in their nature, there is a want of its (proper) placidity. The government of the world by Jie, (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 Zhi, or of Zeng (Shen) and Shi (Qiu). 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? 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?
2
在宥:
崔瞿问于老聃曰：“不治天下，安藏人心？”老聃曰：“汝慎无撄人心。人心排下而进上，上下囚杀，淖约柔乎刚强。廉刿雕琢，其热焦火，其寒凝冰。其疾俛仰之间，而再抚四海之外，其居也渊而静，其动也县而天。偾骄而不可系者，其唯人心乎！昔者黄帝始以仁义撄人之心，尧、舜于是乎股无胈，胫无毛，以养天下之形，愁其五藏以为仁义，矜其血气以规法度。然犹有不胜也。尧于是放欢兜于崇山，投三苗于三峗，流共工于幽都，此不胜天下也夫！施及三王而天下大骇矣。下有桀、跖，上有曾、史，而儒、墨毕起。于是乎喜怒相疑，愚知相欺，善否相非，诞信相讥，而天下衰矣；大德不同，而性命烂漫矣；天下好知，而百姓求竭矣。于是乎釿锯制焉，绳墨杀焉，椎凿决焉。天下脊脊大乱，罪在撄人心。故贤者伏处大山嵁岩之下，而万乘之君忧栗乎庙堂之上。今世殊死者相枕也，桁杨者相推也，刑戮者相望也，而儒、墨乃始离跂攘臂乎桎梏之间。意！甚矣哉！其无愧而不知耻也甚矣！吾未知圣知之不为桁杨椄槢也，仁义之不为桎梏、凿枘也，焉知曾、史之不为桀、跖嚆矢也！故曰：‘绝圣弃知而天下大治。’”
Letting Be, and Exercising Forbearance:
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, Yao's government of the world made men look joyful; but when they have this joy in their nature, there is a want of its (proper) placidity. The government of the world by Jie, (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 Zhi, or of Zeng (Shen) and Shi (Qiu). 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? 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?Cui Ji asked Lao Dan, 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 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, Huang-Di was the first to meddle with and disturb the mind of man with his benevolence and righteousness. After him, Yao and Shun wore their thighs bare and the hair off the calves of their legs, in their labours to nourish the bodies of the people. They toiled painfully with all the powers in their five viscera at the practice of their benevolence and righteousness; they tasked their blood and breath to make out a code of laws - and after all they were unsuccessful. On this Yao sent away Huan Dou to Chong hill, and (the Chiefs of) the Three Miao 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 Jie and Zhi; of a higher type there were Zeng (Shen) and Shi (Qiu). 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 Tai, 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 Zeng and Shi are not the whizzing arrows of Jie and Zhi? Therefore it is said, 'Abolish sageness and cast away knowledge, and the world will be brought to a state of great order.'
3
在宥:
黄帝立为天子十九年，令行天下，闻广成子在于空同之上，故往见之，曰：“我闻吾子达于至道，敢问至道之精。吾欲取天地之精，以佐五谷，以养民人；吾又欲官阴阳，以遂群生。为之奈何？”广成子曰：“而所欲问者，物之质也；而所欲官者，物之残也。自而治天下，云气不待族而雨，草木不待黄而落，日月之光益以荒矣。而佞人之心翦翦者，又奚足以语至道！”黄帝退，捐天下，筑特室，席白茅，闲居三月，复往邀之。广成子南首而卧，黄帝顺下风膝行而进，再拜稽首而问曰：“闻吾子达于至道，敢问治身奈何而可以长久？”广成子蹶然而起，曰：“善哉问乎！来！吾语女至道。至道之精，窈窈冥冥；至道之极，昏昏默默。无视无听，抱神以静，形将自正。必静必清，无劳女形，无摇女精，乃可以长生。目无所见，耳无所闻，心无所知，女神将守形，形乃长生。慎女内，闭女外，多知为败。我为女遂于大明之上矣，至彼至阳之原也；为女入于窈冥之门矣，至彼至阴之原也。天地有官，阴阳有藏，慎守女身，物将自壮。我守其一，以处其和，故我修身千二百岁矣，吾形未尝衰。”黄帝再拜稽首曰：“广成子之谓天矣！”广成子曰：“来！吾语女。彼其物无穷，而人皆以为有终；彼其物无测，而人皆以为有极。得吾道者，上为皇而下为王；失吾道者，上见光而下为土。今夫百昌，皆生于土而反于土，故余将去女，入无穷之门，以游无极之野。吾与日月参光，吾与天地为常。当我，缗乎！远我，昏乎！人其尽死，而我独存乎！”
Letting Be, and Exercising Forbearance:
Huang-Di had been on the throne for nineteen years, and his ordinances were in operation all through the kingdom, when he heard that Guang Cheng-zi was living on the summit of Kong-tong, and went to see him. 'I have heard,' he said, 'that you, Sir, are well acquainted with the perfect Dao. 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?' Kong Tong-zi 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 Dao.'Huang-Di withdrew, gave up (his government of) the kingdom, built himself a solitary apartment, spread in it a mat of the white m?o grass, dwelt in it unoccupied for three months, and then went again to seek an interview with (the recluse). Kong Tong-zi was then lying down with his head to the south. Huang-Di, 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 Dao - I venture to ask how I should rule my body, in order that it may continue for a long time.' Kong Tong-zi hastily rose, and said, 'A good question! Come and I will tell you the perfect Dao. 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 I have cultivated myself for one thousand and two hundred years, and my bodily form has undergone no decay.'Huang-Di twice bowed low with his head to the ground, and said, 'In Kong Tong-zi we have an example of what is called Heaven.' The other said, 'Come, and I will tell you: (The perfect Dao) 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 Dao, 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!'
4
在宥:
云将东游，过扶摇之枝，而适遭鸿蒙。鸿蒙方将拊髀雀跃而游。云将见之，倘然止，贽然立，曰：“叟何人邪？叟何为此？”鸿蒙拊髀雀跃不辍，对云将曰：“游。”云将曰：“朕愿有问也。”鸿蒙仰而视云将曰：“吁！”云将曰：“天气不合，地气郁结，六气不调，四时不节。今我愿合六气之精，以育群生，为之奈何？”鸿蒙拊髀雀跃掉头曰：“吾弗知，吾弗知。”云将不得问。又三年，东游，过有宋之野，而适遭鸿蒙。云将大喜，行趋而进曰：“天忘朕邪？天忘朕邪？”再拜稽首，愿闻于鸿蒙。鸿蒙曰：“浮游不知所求，猖狂不知所往，游者鞅掌，以观无妄，朕又何知！”云将曰：“朕也自以为猖狂，而百姓随予所往；朕也不得已于民，今则民之放也。愿闻一言。”鸿蒙曰：“乱天之经，逆物之情，玄天弗成；解兽之群，而鸟皆夜鸣；灾及草木，祸及止虫。意！治人之过也！”云将曰：“然则吾奈何？”鸿蒙曰：“意！毒哉！仙仙乎归矣！”云将曰：“吾遇天难，愿闻一言。”鸿蒙曰：“意！心养。汝徒处无为，而物自化。堕尔形体，吐尔聪明；伦与物忘，大同乎涬溟；解心释神，莫然无魂。万物云云，各复其根，各复其根而不知。浑浑沌沌，终身不离；若彼知之，乃是离之。无问其名，无闚其情，物故自生。云将曰：“天降朕以德，示朕以默，躬身求之，乃今也得。”再拜稽首，起辞而行。
Letting Be, and Exercising Forbearance:
Yun Jiang, rambling to the east, having been borne along on a gentle breeze, suddenly encountered Hong Mang, who was rambling about, slapping his buttocks and hopping like a bird. Amazed at the sight, Yun Jiang stood reverentially, and said to the other, 'Venerable Sir, who are you? and why are you doing this ?' Hong Mang went on slapping his buttocks and hopping like a bird, but replied, 'I am enjoying myself.' Yun Jiang said, 'I wish to ask you a question.' Hong Mang lifted up his head, looked at the stranger, and said, 'Pooh!' Yun Jiang, 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?' Hong Mang slapped his buttocks, hopped about, and shook his head, saying, 'I do not know; I do not know!'Yun Jiang 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 Hong Mang. Delighted with the rencontre, he hastened to him, and said, 'Have you forgotten me, 0 Heaven? Have you forgotten me, 0 Heaven?' At the same time, he bowed twice with his head to the ground, wishing to receive his instructions. Hong Mang 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?' Yun Jiang 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 Yun Jiang, '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.' Yun Jiang rejoined, 'It has been a difficult thing to get this meeting with you, 0 Heaven! I should like to hear from you a word (more).' Hong Mang 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.'Yun Jiang 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.
5
在宥:
世俗之人，皆喜人之同乎己，而恶人之异于己也。同于己而欲之、异于己而不欲者，以出乎众为心也。夫以出于众为心者，曷尝出乎众哉！因众以宁所闻，不如众技众矣。而欲为人之国者，此揽乎三王之利，而不见其患者也。此以人之国侥幸也，几何侥幸而不丧人之国乎！其存人之国也，无万分之一；其丧人之国也，一不成而万有馀丧矣。悲夫！有土者之不知也！
Letting Be, and Exercising Forbearance:
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)!
夫有土者，有大物也。有大物者，不可以物物；而不物，故能物物。明乎物物者之非物也，岂独治天下百姓而已哉！出入六合，游乎九州，独往独来，是谓独有。独有之人，是谓至贵。
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.
大人之教，若形之于影，声之于响。有问而应之，尽其所怀，为天下配。处乎无响，行乎无方。挈汝适复之挠挠，以游无端，出入无旁，与日无始，颂论形躯，合乎大同，大同而无己。无己，恶乎得有有！睹有者，昔之君子；睹无者，天地之友。
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.
6
在宥:
贱而不可不任者，物也；卑而不可不因者，民也；匿而不可不为者，事也；粗而不可不陈者，法也；远而不可不居者，义也；亲而不可不广者，仁也；节而不可不积者，礼也；中而不可不高者，德也；一而不可不易者，道也；神而不可不为者，天也。故圣人观于天而不助，成于德而不累，出于道而不谋，会于仁而不恃，薄于义而不积，应于礼而不讳，接于事而不辞，齐于法而不乱，恃于民而不轻，因于物而不去。物者莫足为也，而不可不为。不明于天者，不纯于德；不通于道者，无自而可。不明于道者，悲夫！
Letting Be, and Exercising Forbearance:
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 Dao. Spiritlike, and yet requiring to be exercised - such is Heaven.Therefore the sages contemplated Heaven, but did not assist It. They tried to perfect their virtue, but did not allow it to embarrass them. They proceeded according to the Dao, 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 Dao have no course which they can pursue successfully. Alas for them who do not clearly understand the Dao!
何谓道？有天道，有人道。无为而尊者，天道也；有为而累者，人道也。主者，天道也；臣者，人道也。天道之与人道也，相去远矣，不可不察也。
What is it that we call the Dao? There is the Dao, or Way of Heaven; and there is the Dao, 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.
天地 - Heaven and Earth
1
天地:
天地虽大，其化均也；万物虽多，其治一也；人卒虽众，其主君也。君原于德而成于天，故曰：玄古之君天下，无为也，天德而已矣。以道观言而天下之君正，以道观分而君臣之义明，以道观能而天下之官治，以道泛观而万物之应备。故通于天地者，德也；行于万物者，道也；上治人者，事也；能有所艺者，技也。技兼于事，事兼于义，义兼于德，德兼于道，道兼于天。故曰：“古之畜天下者，无欲而天下足，无为而万物化，渊静而百姓定。”记曰：“通于一而万事毕，无心得而鬼神服。”
Heaven and Earth:
Notwithstanding the greatness of heaven and earth, their transforming power proceeds from one lathe; notwithstanding the number of the myriad things, the government of them is one and the same; notwithstanding the multitude of mankind, the lord of them is their (one) ruler. The ruler's (course) should proceed from the qualities (of the Dao) and be perfected by Heaven, when it is so, it is called 'Mysterious and Sublime.' The ancients ruled the world by doing nothing - simply by this attribute of Heaven.If we look at their words in the light of the Dao, (we see that) the appellation for the ruler of the world was correctly assigned; if we look in the same light at the distinctions which they instituted, (we see that) the separation of ruler and ministers was right; if we look at the abilities which they called forth in the same light, (we see that the duties of) all the offices were well performed; and if we look generally in the same way at all things, (we see that) their response (to this rule) was complete. Therefore that which pervades (the action of) Heaven and Earth is (this one) attribute; that which operates in all things is (this one) course; that by which their superiors govern the people is the business (of the various departments); and that by which aptitude is given to ability is skill. The skill was manifested in all the (departments of) business; those departments were all administered in righteousness; the righteousness was (the outflow of) the natural virtue; the virtue was manifested according to the Dao; and the Dao was according to (the pattern of) Heaven.Hence it is said, 'The ancients who had the nourishment of the world wished for nothing and the world had enough; they did nothing and all things were transformed; their stillness was abysmal, and the people were all composed.' The Record says, 'When the one (Dao) pervades it, all business is completed. When the mind gets to be free from all aim, even the Spirits submit.'
2
天地:
夫子曰：“夫道，覆载万物者也，洋洋乎大哉！君子不可以不刳心焉。无为为之之谓天，无为言之之谓德，爱人利物之谓仁，不同同之之谓大，行不崖异之谓宽，有万不同之谓富。故执德之谓纪，德成之谓立，循于道之谓备，不以物挫志之谓完。君子明于此十者，则韬乎其事心之大也，沛乎其为万物逝也。若然者，藏金于山，藏珠于渊；不利货财，不近贵富；不乐寿，不哀夭；不荣通，不丑穷；寿夭俱忘，穷通不足言矣。不拘一世之利以为己私分，不以王天下为己处显。显则明，万物一府，死生同状。”
Heaven and Earth:
The Master said, 'It is the Dao that overspreads and sustains all things. How great It is in Its overflowing influence! The Superior man ought by all means to remove from his mind (all that is contrary to It). Acting without action is what is called Heaven(-like). Speech coming forth of itself is what is called (a mark of) the (true) Virtue. Loving men and benefiting things is what is called Benevolence. Seeing wherein things that are different yet agree is what is called being Great. Conduct free from the ambition of being distinguished above others is what is called being Generous. The possession in himself of a myriad points of difference is what is called being Rich. Therefore to hold fast the natural attributes is what is called the Guiding Line (of government); the perfecting of those attributes is what is called its Establishment; accordance with the Dao is what is called being Complete; and not allowing anything external to affect the will is what is called being Perfect. When the Superior man understands these ten things, he keeps all matters as it were sheathed in himself, showing the greatness of his mind; and through the outflow of his doings, all things move (and come to him). Being such, he lets the gold lie hid in the hill, and the pearls in the deep; he considers not property or money to be any gain; he keeps aloof from riches and honours; he rejoices not in long life, and grieves not for early death; he does not account prosperity a glory, nor is ashamed of indigence; he would not grasp at the gain of the whole world to be held as his own private portion; he would not desire to rule over the whole world as his own private distinction. His distinction is in understanding that all things belong to the one treasury, and that death and life should be viewed in the same way.
3
天地:
夫子曰：“夫道，渊乎其居也，漻乎其清也。金石不得，无以鸣。故金石有声，不考不鸣。万物孰能定之！夫王德之人，素逝而耻通于事，立之本原而知通于神。故其德广，其心之出，有物采之。故形非道不生，生非德不明。存形穷生，立德明道，非王德者邪！荡荡乎！忽然出，勃然动，而万物从之乎！此谓王德之人。视乎冥冥，听乎无声。冥冥之中，独见晓焉；无声之中，独闻和焉。故深之又深，而能物焉；神之又神，而能精焉。故其与万物接也，至无而供其求，时骋而要其宿，大小、长短、修远。”
Heaven and Earth:
The Master said, 'How still and deep is the place where the Dao resides! How limpid is its purity! Metal and stone without It would give forth no sound. They have indeed the (power of) sound (in them), but if they be not struck, they do not emit it. Who can determine (the qualities that are in) all things?'The man of kingly qualities holds on his way unoccupied, and is ashamed to busy himself with (the conduct of) affairs. He establishes himself in (what is) the root and source (of his capacity), and his wisdom grows to be spirit-like. In this way his attributes become more and more great, and when his mind goes forth, whatever things come in his way, it lays hold of them (and deals with them). Thus, if there were not the Dao, the bodily form would not have life, and its life, without the attributes (of the Dao), would not be manifested. Is not he who preserves the body and gives the fullest development to the life, who establishes the attributes of the Dao and clearly displays It, possessed of kingly qualities? How majestic is he in his sudden issuings forth, and in his unexpected movements, when all things follow him! This we call the man whose qualities fit him to rule.'He sees where there is the deepest obscurity; he hears where there is no sound. In the midst of the deepest obscurity, he alone sees and can distinguish (various objects); in the midst of a soundless (abyss), he alone can hear a harmony (of notes). Therefore where one deep is succeeded by a greater, he can people all with things; where one mysterious range is followed by another that is more so, he can lay hold of the subtlest character of each. In this way in his intercourse with all things, while he is farthest from having anything, he can yet give to them what they seek; while he is always hurrying forth, he yet returns to his resting-place; now large, now small; now long, now short; now distant, now near.'
4
天地:
黄帝游乎赤水之北，登乎昆仑之丘而南望，还归，遗其玄珠，使知索之而不得，使离朱索之而不得，使吃诟索之而不得也。乃使象罔，象罔得之。黄帝曰：“异哉！象罔乃可以得之乎？”
Heaven and Earth:
Huang-Di, enjoying himself on the north of the Red-water, ascended to the height of the Kun-lun (mountain), and having looked towards the south, was returning home, when he lost his dark-coloured pearl. He employed Wisdom to search for it, but he could not find it. He employed (the clear-sighted) Li Zhu to search for it, but he could not find it. He employed (the vehement debater) Chi Gou to search for it, but he could not find it. He then employed Purposeless, who found it; on which Huang-Di said, 'How strange that it was Purposeless who was able to find it!'
5
天地:
尧之师曰许由，许由之师曰啮缺，啮缺之师曰王倪，王倪之师曰被衣。尧问于许由曰：“啮缺可以配天乎？吾藉王倪以要之。”许由曰：“殆哉圾乎天下！啮缺之为人也，聪明睿知，给数以敏，其性过人，而又乃以人受天。彼审乎禁过，而不知过之所由生。与之配天乎？彼且乘人而无天，方且本身而异形，方且尊知而火驰，方且为绪使，方且为物絯，方且四顾而物应，方且应众宜，方且与物化而未始有恒。夫何足以配天乎？虽然，有族有祖，可以为众父，而不可以为众父父。治乱之率也，北面之祸也，南面之贼也。”
Heaven and Earth:
The teacher of Yao was Xu You; of Xu You, Nie Que; of Nie Que, Wang Ni; of Wang Ni, Bei-yi. Yao asked Xu You, saying, 'Is Nie Que fit to be the correlate of Heaven? (If you think he is), I will avail myself of the services of Wang Ni to constrain him (to take my place).' Xu You replied, 'Such a measure would be hazardous, and full of peril to the kingdom! The character of Nie Que is this - he is acute, perspicacious, shrewd and knowing, ready in reply, sharp in retort, and hasty; his natural (endowments) surpass those of other men, but by his human qualities he seeks to obtain the Heavenly gift; he exercises his discrimination in suppressing his errors, but he does not know what is the source from which his errors arise. Make him the correlate of Heaven! He would employ the human qualities, so that no regard would be paid to the Heavenly gift. Moreover, he would assign different functions to the different parts of the one person. Moreover, honour would be given to knowledge, and he would have his plans take effect with the speed of fire. Moreover, he would be the slave of everything he initiated. Moreover, he would be embarrassed by things. Moreover, he would be looking all round for the response of things (to his measures). Moreover, he would be responding to the opinion of the multitude as to what was right. Moreover, he would be changing as things changed, and would not begin to have any principle of constancy. How can such a man be fit to be the correlate of Heaven? Nevertheless, as there are the smaller branches of a family and the common ancestor of all its branches, he might be the father of a branch, but not the father of the fathers of all the branches. Such government (as he would conduct) would lead to disorder. It would be calamity in one in the position of a minister, and ruin if he were in the position of the sovereign.'
6
天地:
尧观乎华。华封人曰：“嘻！圣人！请祝圣人：使圣人寿。”尧曰：“辞。”“使圣人富”。尧曰：“辞。”“使圣人多男子”。尧曰：“辞。”封人曰：“寿、富、多男子，人之所欲也。女独不欲，何邪？”尧曰：“多男子则多惧，富则多事，寿则多辱。是三者，非所以养德也，故辞。”封人曰：“始也我以女为圣人邪，今然君子也。天生万民，必授之职，多男子而授之职，则何惧之有！富而使人分之，则何事之有！夫圣人鹑居而鷇食，鸟行而无彰；天下有道则与物皆昌，天下无道则修德就闲；千岁厌世，去而上仙，乘彼白云，至于帝乡。三患莫至，身常无殃，则何辱之有！”封人去之，尧随之，曰：“请问。”封人曰：“退已！”
Heaven and Earth:
Yao was looking about him at Hua, the border-warden of which said, 'Ha! the sage! Let me ask blessings on the sage! May he live long!' Yao said, 'Hush!' but the other went on, 'May the sage become rich!' Yao (again) said, 'Hush!' but (the warden) continued, 'May the sage have many sons!' When Yao repeated his 'Hush,' the warden said, 'Long life, riches, and many sons are what men wish for - how is it that you alone do not wish for them?' Yao replied, 'Many sons bring many fears; riches bring many troubles; and long life gives rise to many obloquies. These three things do not help to nourish virtue; and therefore I wish to decline them.' The warden rejoined, 'At first I considered you to be a sage; now I see in you only a Superior man. Heaven, in producing the myriads of the people, is sure to have appointed for them their several offices. If you had many sons, and gave them (all their) offices, what would you have to fear? If you had riches, and made other men share them with you, what trouble would you have? The sage finds his dwelling like the quail (without any choice of its own), and is fed like the fledgling; he is like the bird which passes on (through the air), and leaves no trace (of its flight). When good order prevails in the world, he shares in the general prosperity. When there is no such order, he cultivates his virtue, and seeks to be unoccupied. After a thousand years, tired of the world, he leaves it, and ascends among the immortals. He mounts on the white clouds, and arrives at the place of God. The three forms of evil do not reach him, his person is always free from misfortune - what obloquy has he to incur?'With this the border-warden left him. Yao followed him, saying, 'I beg to ask-- ;' but the other said, 'Begone!'
7
天地:
尧治天下，伯成子高立为诸侯。尧授舜，舜授禹，伯成子高辞为诸侯而耕。禹往见之，则耕在野。禹趋就下风，立而问焉，曰：“昔尧治天下，吾子立为诸侯；尧授舜，舜授予，而吾子辞为诸侯而耕。敢问其故何也？”子高曰：“昔尧治天下，不赏而民劝，不罚而民畏。今子赏罚而民且不仁，德自此衰，刑自此立，后世之乱自此始矣。夫子阖行邪？无落吾事！”俋俋乎耕而不顾。
Heaven and Earth:
When Yao was ruling the world, Bo-cheng Zi-Gao was appointed by him prince of one of the states. From Yao (afterwards) the throne passed to Shun, and from Shun (again) to Yu; and (then) Bo-cheng Zi-Gao resigned his principality and began to cultivate the ground. Yu went to see him, and found him ploughing in the open country. Hurrying to him, and bowing low in acknowledgment of his superiority, Yu then stood up, and asked him, saying, 'Formerly, when Yao was ruling the world, you, Sir, were appointed prince of a state. He gave his sovereignty to Shun, and Shun gave his to me, when you, Sir, resigned your dignity, and are (now) ploughing (here) - I venture to ask the reason of your conduct.' Zi-Gao said, 'When Yao ruled the world, the people stimulated one another (to what was right) without his offering them rewards, and stood in awe (of doing wrong) without his threatening them with punishments. Now you employ both rewards and punishments, and the people notwithstanding are not good. Their virtue will from this time decay; punishments will from this time prevail; the disorder of future ages will from this time begin. Why do you, my master, not go away, and not interrupt my work?' With this he resumed his ploughing with his head bent down, and did not (again) look round.
8
天地:
泰初有无，有无名，一之所起，有一而未形。物得以生，谓之德；未形者有分，且然无间，谓之命；留动而生物，物成生理，谓之形；形体保神，各有仪则，谓之性。性修反德，德至同于初。同乃虚，虚乃大。合喙鸣，喙鸣合，与天地为合。其合缗缗，若愚若昏，是谓玄德，同乎大顺。
Heaven and Earth:
In the Grand Beginning (of all things) there was nothing in all the vacancy of space; there was nothing that could be named. It was in this state that there arose the first existence - the first existence, but still without bodily shape. From this things could then be produced, (receiving) what we call their proper character. That which had no bodily shape was divided; and then without intermission there was what we call the process of conferring. (The two processes) continuing in operation, things were produced. As things were completed, there were produced the distinguishing lines of each, which we call the bodily shape. That shape was the body preserving in it the spirit, and each had its peculiar manifestation, which we call its Nature. When the Nature has been cultivated, it returns to its proper character; and when that has been fully reached, there is the same condition as at the Beginning. That sameness is pure vacancy, and the vacancy is great. It is like the closing of the beak and silencing the singing (of a bird). That closing and silencing is like the union of heaven and earth (at the beginning). The union, effected, as it is, might seem to indicate stupidity or darkness, but it is what we call the 'mysterious quality' (existing at the beginning); it is the same as the Grand Submission (to the Natural Course).
9
天地:
夫子问于老聃曰：“有人治道若相放，可不可，然不然。辩者有言曰：‘离坚白若县宇。’若是，则可谓圣人乎？”老聃曰：“是胥易技系，劳形怵心者也。执留之狗成思，猿狙之便自山林来。丘！予告若，而所不能闻与而所不能言。凡有首、有趾、无心、无耳者众，有形者与无形无状而皆存者尽无。其动，止也；其死，生也；其废，起也。此又非其所以也。有治在人，忘乎物，忘乎天，其名为忘己。忘己之人，是之谓入于天。”
Heaven and Earth:
The Master asked Lao Dan, saying, 'Some men regulate the Dao (as by a law), which they have only to follow - (a thing, they say,) is admissible or it is inadmissible; it is so, or it is not so. (They are like) the sophists who say that they can distinguish what is hard and what is white as clearly as if the objects were houses suspended in the sky. Can such men be said to be sages?' The reply was, 'They are like the busy underlings of a court, who toil their bodies and distress their minds with their various artifices - dogs, (employed) to their sorrow to catch the yak, or monkeys that are brought from their forests (for their tricksiness). Qiu, I tell you this - it is what you cannot hear, and what you cannot speak of: Of those who have their heads and feet, and yet have neither minds nor ears, there are multitudes; while of those who have their bodies, and at the same time preserve that which has no bodily form or shape, there are really none. It is not in their movements or stoppages, their dying or living, their falling and rising again, that this is to be found. The regulation of the course lies in (their dealing with) the human element in them. When they have forgotten external things, and have also forgotten the heavenly element in them, they may be named men who have forgotten themselves. The man who has forgotten himself is he of whom it is said that he has become identified with Heaven.'
10
天地:
将闾葂见季彻曰：“鲁君谓葂也曰：‘请受教。’辞不获命，既已告矣，未知中否，请尝荐之。吾谓鲁君曰：‘必服恭俭，拔出公忠之属，而无阿私，民孰敢不辑！’”季彻局局然笑曰：“若夫子之言，于帝王之德，犹螳蜋之怒臂以当车轶，则必不胜任矣。且若是，则其自为处危，其观台多物，将往投迹者众。”将闾葂覤覤然惊曰：“葂也汒若于夫子之所言矣。虽然，愿先生之言其风也。”季彻曰：“大圣之治天下也，摇荡民心，使之成教易俗，举灭其贼心而皆进其独志，若性之自为，而民不知其所由然。若然者，岂兄尧、舜之教民，溟滓然弟之哉？欲同乎德而心居矣。”
Heaven and Earth:
At an interview with Ji Che, Jiang-li Wan said to him, 'Our ruler of Lu asked to receive my instructions. I declined, on the ground that I had not received any message for him. Afterwards, however, I told him (my thoughts). I do not know whether (what I said) was right or not, and I beg to repeat it to you. I said to him, "You must strive to be courteous and to exercise self-restraint; you must distinguish the public-spirited and loyal, and repress the cringing and selfish - who among the people will in that case dare not to be in harmony with you?"' Ji Che laughed quietly and said, 'Your words, my master, as a description of the right course for a Di or King, were like the threatening movement of its arms by a mantis which would thereby stop the advance of a carriage - inadequate to accomplish your object. And moreover, if he guided himself by your directions, it would be as if he were to increase the dangerous height of his towers and add to the number of his valuables collected in them - the multitudes (of the people) would leave their (old) ways, and bend their steps in the same direction.'Jiang-li Wan was awe-struck, and said in his fright, 'I am startled by your words, Master, nevertheless, I should like to hear you describe the influence (which a ruler should exert).' The other said, 'If a great sage ruled the kingdom, he would stimulate the minds of the people, and cause them to carry out his instructions fully, and change their manners; he would take their minds which had become evil and violent and extinguish them, carrying them all forward to act in accordance with the (good) will belonging to them as individuals, as if they did it of themselves from their nature, while they knew not what it was that made them do so. Would such an one be willing to lookup to Yao and Shun in their instruction of the people as his elder brothers? He would treat them as his juniors, belonging himself to the period of the original plastic ether. His wish would be that all should agree with the virtue (of that early period), and quietly rest in it.'
11
天地:
子贡南游于楚，反于晋，过汉阴，见一丈人方将为圃畦，凿隧而入井，抱瓮而出灌，搰搰然用力甚多而见功寡。子贡曰：“有械于此，一日浸百畦，用力甚寡而见功多，夫子不欲乎？”为圃者卬而视之曰：“奈何？”曰：“凿木为机，后重前轻，挈水若抽，数如泆汤，其名为槔。”为圃者忿然作色而笑曰：“吾闻之吾师：‘有机械者必有机事，有机事者必有机心。’机心存于胸中，则纯白不备；纯白不备，则神生不定；神生不定者，道之所不载也。吾非不知，羞而不为也。”子贡瞒然惭，俯而不对。
Heaven and Earth:
Zi-gong had been rambling in the south in Chu, and was returning to Jin. As he passed (a place) on the north of the Han, he saw an old man who was going to work on his vegetable garden. He had dug his channels, gone to the well, and was bringing from it in his arms a jar of water to pour into them. Toiling away, he expended a great deal of strength, but the result which he accomplished was very small. Zi-gong said to him, 'There is a contrivance here, by means of which a hundred plots of ground may be irrigated in one day. With the expenditure of a very little strength, the result accomplished is great. Would you, Master, not like (to try it)?' The gardener looked up at him, and said, 'How does it work?' Zi-gong said, 'It is a lever made of wood, heavy behind, and light in front. It raises the water as quickly as you could do with your hand, or as it bubbles over from a boiler. Its name is a shadoof.' The gardener put on an angry look, laughed, and said, 'I have heard from my teacher that, where there are ingenious contrivances, there are sure to be subtle doings; and that, where there are subtle doings, there is sure to be a scheming mind. But, when there is a scheming mind in the breast, its pure simplicity is impaired. When this pure simplicity is impaired, the spirit becomes unsettled, and the unsettled spirit is not the proper residence of the Dao. It is not that I do not know (the contrivance which you mention), but I should be ashamed to use it.' (At these words) Zi-gong looked blank and ashamed; he hung down his head, and made no reply.
有间，为圃者曰：“子奚为者邪？”曰：“孔丘之徒也。”为圃者曰：“子非夫博学以拟圣，于于以盖众，独弦哀歌以卖名声于天下者乎？汝方将忘汝神气，堕汝形骸，而庶几乎！而身之不能治，而何暇治天下乎？子往矣，无乏吾事！
After an interval, the gardener said to him, 'Who are you, Sir?' 'A disciple of Kong Qiu,' was the reply. The other continued, 'Are you not the scholar whose great learning makes you comparable to a sage, who make it your boast that you surpass all others, who sing melancholy ditties all by yourself, thus purchasing a famous reputation throughout the kingdom? If you would (only) forget the energy of your spirit, and neglect the care of your body, you might approximate (to the Dao). But while you cannot regulate yourself, what leisure have you to be regulating the world? Go on your way, Sir, and do not interrupt my work.'
子贡卑陬失色，顼顼然不自得，行三十里而后愈。其弟子曰：“向之人何为者邪？夫子何故见之变容失色，终日不自反邪？”曰：“始以为天下一人耳，不知复有夫人也。吾闻之夫子：‘事求可、功求成、用力少、见功多者，圣人之道。’今徒不然。执道者德全，德全者形全，形全者神全。神全者，圣人之道也。托生与民并行，而不知其所之，汒乎淳备哉！功利、机巧，必忘夫人之心。若夫人者，非其志不之，非其心不为。虽以天下誉之，得其所谓，謷然不顾；以天下非之，失其所谓，傥然不受。天下之非誉，无益损焉，是谓全德之人哉！我之谓风波之民。”反于鲁，以告孔子。孔子曰：“彼假修浑沌氏之术者也：识其一，不知其二；治其内，而不治其外。夫明白入素，无为复朴，体性抱神，以游世俗之间者，汝将固惊邪？且浑沌氏之术，予与汝何足以识之哉！”
Zi-gong shrunk back abashed, and turned pale. He was perturbed, and lost his self-possession, nor did he recover it, till he had walked a distance of thirty li. His disciples then said, 'Who was that man? Why, Master, when you saw him, did you change your bearing, and become pale, so that you have been all day without returning to yourself?' He replied to them, 'Formerly I thought that there was but one man in the world, and did not know that there was this man. I have heard the Master say that to seek for the means of conducting his undertakings so that his success in carrying them out may be complete, and how by the employment of a little strength great results may be obtained, is the way of the sage. Now (I perceive that) it is not so at all. They who hold fast and cleave to the Dao are complete in the qualities belonging to it. Complete in those qualities, they are complete in their bodies. Complete in their bodies, they are complete in their spirits. To be complete in spirit is the way of the sage. (Such men) live in the world in closest union with the people, going along with them, but they do not know where they are going. Vast and complete is their simplicity! Success, gain, and ingenious contrivances, and artful cleverness, indicate (in their opinion) a forgetfulness of the (proper) mind of man. These men will not go where their mind does not carry them, and will do nothing of which their mind does not approve. Though all the world should praise them, they would (only) get what they think should be loftily disregarded; and though all the world should blame them, they would but lose (what they think) fortuitous and not to be received - the world's blame and praise can do them neither benefit nor injury. Such men may be described as possessing all the attributes (of the Dao), while I can only be called one of those who are like the waves carried about by the wind.' When he returned to li, (Zi-gong) reported the interview and conversation to Confucius, who said, 'The man makes a pretence of cultivating the arts of the Embryonic Age. He knows the first thing, but not the sequel to it. He regulates what is internal in himself, but not what is external to himself. If he had intelligence enough to be entirely unsophisticated, and by doing nothing to seek to return to the normal simplicity, embodying (the instincts of) his nature, and keeping his spirit (as it were) in his arms, so enjoying himself in the common ways, you might then indeed be afraid of him! But what should you and I find in the arts of the embryonic time, worth our knowing?'
12
天地:
谆芒将东之大壑，适遇苑风于东海之滨。苑风曰：“子将奚之？”曰：“将之大壑。”曰：“奚为焉？”曰：“夫大壑之为物也，注焉而不满，酌焉而不竭，吾将游焉。”苑风曰：“夫子无意于横目之民乎？愿闻圣治。”谆芒曰：“圣治乎，官施而不失其宜，拔举而不失其能，毕见其情事而行其所为，行言自为而天下化，手挠顾指，四方之民莫不俱至，此之谓圣治。”“愿闻德人。”曰：“德人者，居无思，行无虑，不藏是非美恶。四海之内，共利之之谓悦，共给之之谓安；怊乎若婴儿之失其母也，傥乎若行而失其道也。财用有馀而不知其所自来，饮食取足而不知其所从。此谓德人之容。”“愿闻神人。”曰：“上神乘光，与形灭亡，此谓照旷。天地乐而万事销亡，万物复情，此之谓混冥。”
Heaven and Earth:
Zhun Mang, on his way to the ocean, met with Yuan Feng on the shore of the eastern sea, and was asked by him where he was going. 'I am going,' he replied, 'to the ocean;' and the other again asked, 'What for?' Zhun Mang said, 'Such is the nature of the ocean that the waters which flow into it can never fill it, nor those which flow from it exhaust it. I will enjoy myself, rambling by it.' Yuan Feng replied, 'Have you no thoughts about mankind? I should like to hear from you about sagely government.' Zhun Mang said, 'Under the government of sages, all offices are distributed according to the fitness of their nature; all appointments are made according to the ability of the men; whatever is done is after a complete survey of all circumstances; actions and words proceed from the inner impulse, and the whole world is transformed. Wherever their hands are pointed and their looks directed, from all quarters the people are all sure to come (to do what they desire): this is what is called government by sages.''I should like to hear about (the government of) the kindly, virtuous men,' (continued Yuan Feng). The reply was, 'Under the government of the virtuous, when quietly occupying (their place), they have no thought, and, when they act, they have no anxiety; they do not keep stored (in their minds) what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is bad. They share their benefits among all within the four seas, and this produces what is called (the state of) satisfaction; they dispense their gifts to all, and this produces what is called (the state of) rest. (The people) grieve (on their death) like babies who have lost their mothers, and are perplexed like travellers who have lost their way. They have a superabundance of wealth and all necessaries, and they know not whence it comes; they have a sufficiency of food and drink, and they know not from whom they get it: such are the appearances (under the government) of the kindly and virtuous.''I should like to hear about (the government of) the spirit-like men,' (continued Yuan Feng once more). The reply was, 'Men of the highest spirit-like qualities mount up on the light, and (the limitations of) the body vanish. This we call being bright and ethereal. They carry out to the utmost the powers with which they are endowed, and have not a single attribute unexhausted. Their joy is that of heaven and earth, and all embarrassments of affairs melt away and disappear; all things return to their proper nature: and this is what is called (the state of) chaotic obscurity.'
13
天地:
门无鬼与赤张满稽，观于武王之师。赤张满稽曰：“不及有虞氏乎！故离此患也。”门无鬼曰：“天下均治而有虞氏治之邪，其乱而后治之与？”赤张满稽曰：“天下均治之为愿，而何计以有虞氏为？有虞氏之药疡也，秃而施髢，病而求医。孝子操药以修慈父，其色燋然，圣人羞之。至治之世，不尚贤，不使能；上如标枝，民如野鹿；端正而不知以为义，相爱而不知以为仁；实而不知以为忠，当而不知以为信；蠢动而相使，不以为赐。是故行而无迹，事而无传。”
Heaven and Earth:
Men Wu-gui and Chi-zhang Man-ji had been looking at the army of king Wu, when the latter said, 'It is because he was not born in the time of the Lord of Yu, that therefore he is involved in this trouble (of war).' Men Wu-gui replied, 'Was it when the kingdom was in good order, that the Lord of Yu governed it? Or was it after it had become disordered that he governed it?' The other said, 'That the kingdom be in a condition of good order, is what (all) desire, and (in that case) what necessity would there be to say anything about the Lord of Yu? He had medicine for sores; false hair for the bald; and healing for those who were ill: he was like the filial son carrying in the medicine to cure his kind father, with every sign of distress in his countenance. A sage would be ashamed (of such a thing). In the age of perfect virtue they attached no value to wisdom, nor employed men of ability. Superiors were (but) as the higher branches of a tree; and the people were like the deer of the wild. They were upright and correct, without knowing that to be so was Righteousness; they loved one another, without knowing that to do so was Benevolence; they were honest and leal-hearted, without knowing that it was Loyalty; they fulfilled their engagements, without knowing that to do so was Good Faith; in their simple movements they employed the services of one another, without thinking that they were conferring or receiving any gift. Therefore their actions left no trace, and there was no record of their affairs.'
14
天地:
孝子不谀其亲，忠臣不谄其君，臣子之盛也。亲之所言而然，所行而善，则世俗谓之不肖子；君之所言而然，所行而善，则世俗谓之不肖臣。而未知此其必然邪！世俗之所谓然而然之，所谓善而善之，则不谓之道谀之人也。然则俗固严于亲而尊于君邪！谓己道人，则勃然作色；谓己谀人，则怫然作色。而终身道人也，终身谀人也，合譬饰辞聚众也，是始终本末不相坐。垂衣裳，设采色，动容貌，以媚一世，而不自谓道谀，与夫人之为徒，通是非，而不自谓众人，愚之至也。知其愚者，非大愚也；知其惑者，非大惑也。大惑者，终身不解；大愚者，终身不灵。三人行而一人惑，所适者犹可致也，惑者少也；二人惑则劳而不至，惑者胜也。而今也以天下惑，予虽有祈向，不可得也。不亦悲乎！
Heaven and Earth:
The filial son who does not flatter his father, and the loyal minister who does not fawn on his ruler, are the highest examples of a minister and a son. When a son assents to all that his father says, and approves of all that his father does, common opinion pronounces him an unworthy son; when a minister assents to all that his ruler says, and approves of all that his ruler does, common opinion pronounces him an unworthy minister. Nor does any one reflect that this view is necessarily correct. But when common opinion (itself) affirms anything and men therefore assent to it, or counts anything good and men also approve of it, then it is not said that they are mere consenters and flatterers - is common opinion then more authoritative than a father, or more to be honoured than a ruler? Tell a man that he is merely following (the opinions) of another, or that he is a flatterer of others, and at once he flushes with anger. And yet all his life he is merely following others, and flattering them. His illustrations are made to agree with theirs; his phrases are glossed: to win the approbation of the multitudes. From first to last, from beginning to end, he finds no fault with their views. He will let his robes hang down, display the colours on them, and arrange his movements and bearing, so as to win the favour of his age, and yet not call himself a flatterer. He is but a follower of those others, approving and disapproving as they do, and yet he will not say that he is one of them. This is the height of stupidity. He who knows his stupidity is not very stupid; he who knows that he is under a delusion is not greatly deluded. He who is greatly deluded will never shake the delusion off; he who is very stupid will all his life not become intelligent. If three men be walking together, and (only) one of them be under a delusion (as to their way), they may yet reach their goal, the deluded being the fewer; but if two of them be under the delusion, they will not do so, the deluded being the majority. At the present time, when the whole world is under a delusion, though I pray men to go in the right direction, I cannot make them do so - is it not a sad case?
大声不入于里耳，《折杨》、《皇荂》，则嗑然而笑。是故高言不止于众人之心，至言不出，俗言胜也。以二缶锺惑，而所适不得矣。而今也以天下惑，予虽有祈向，其庸可得邪？知其不可得也而强之，又一惑也，故莫若释之而不推。不推，谁其比忧！厉之人夜半生其子，遽取火而视之，汲汲然惟恐其似己也。
Grand music does not penetrate the ears of villagers; but if they hear 'The Breaking of the Willow,' or 'The Bright Flowers,' they will roar with laughter. So it is that lofty words do not remain in the minds of the multitude, and that perfect words are not heard, because the vulgar words predominate. By two earthenware instruments the (music of) a bell will be confused, and the pleasure that it would afford cannot be obtained. At the present time the whole world is under a delusion, and though I wish to go in a certain direction, how can I succeed in doing so? Knowing that I cannot do so, if I were to try to force my way, that would be another delusion. Therefore my best course is to let my purpose go, and no more pursue it. If I do not pursue it, whom shall I have to share in my sorrow? If an ugly man have a son born to him at midnight, he hastens with a light to look at it. Very eagerly he does so, only afraid that it may be like himself.
15
天地:
百年之木，破为牺尊，青黄而文之，其断在沟中。比牺尊于沟中之断，则美恶有间矣，其于失性一也。跖与曾、史，行义有间矣，然其失性均也。且夫失性有五：一曰五色乱目，使目不明；二曰五声乱耳，使耳不聪；三曰五臭薰鼻，困惾中颡；四曰五味浊口，使口厉爽；五曰趣舍滑心，使性飞扬。此五者，皆生之害也。而杨、墨乃始离跂自以为得，非吾所谓得也。夫得者困，可以为得乎？则鸠鴞之在于笼也，亦可以为得矣。且夫趣舍声色以柴其内，皮弁、鹬冠、搢笏、绅修以约其外，内支盈于柴栅，外重纆缴，睆睆然在纆缴之中而自以为得，则是罪人交臂、历指，而虎豹在于囊槛，亦可以为得矣。
Heaven and Earth:
From a tree a hundred years old a portion shall be cut and fashioned into a sacrificial vase, with the bull figured on it, which is ornamented further with green and yellow, while the rest (of that portion) is cut away and thrown into a ditch. If now we compare the sacrificial vase with what was thrown into the ditch, there will be a difference between them as respects their beauty and ugliness; but they both agree in having lost the (proper) nature of the wood. So in respect of their practice of righteousness there is a difference between (the robber) Zhi on the one hand, and Zeng (Shen) or Shi (Qiu) on the other; but they all agree in having lost (the proper qualities of) their nature.Now there are five things which produce (in men) the loss of their (proper) nature. The first is (their fondness for) the five colours which disorder the eye, and take from it its (proper) clearness of vision; the second is (their fondness for) the five notes (of music), which disorder the ear and take from it its (proper) power of hearing; the third is (their fondness for) the five odours which penetrate the nostrils, and produce a feeling of distress all over the forehead; the fourth is (their fondness for) the five flavours, which deaden the mouth, and pervert its sense of taste; the fifth is their preferences and dislikes, which unsettle the mind, and cause the nature to go flying about. These five things are all injurious to the life; and now Yang and Mo begin to stretch forward from their different standpoints, each thinking that he has hit on (the proper course for men).But the courses they have hit on are not what I call the proper course. What they have hit on (only) leads to distress - can they have hit on what is the right thing? If they have, we may say that the dove in a cage has found the right thing for it. Moreover, those preferences and dislikes, that (fondness for) music and colours, serve but to pile up fuel (in their breasts); while their caps of leather, the bonnet with kingfishers' plumes, the memorandum tablets which they carry, and their long girdles, serve but as restraints on their persons. Thus inwardly stuffed full as a hole for fuel, and outwardly fast bound with cords, when they look quietly round from out of their bondage, and think they have got all they could desire, they are no better than criminals whose arms are tied together, and their fingers subjected to the screw, or than tigers and leopards in sacks or cages, and yet thinking that they have got (all they could wish).
天道 - The Way of Heaven
1
天道:
天道运而无所积，故万物成；帝道运而无所积，故天下归；圣道运而无所积，故海内服。明于天，通于圣，六通四辟于帝王之德者，其自为也，昧然无不静者矣。圣人之静也，非曰静也善，故静也，万物无足以铙心者，故静也。水静则明烛须眉，平中准，大匠取法焉。水静犹明，而况精神！圣人之心静乎，天地之鉴也，万物之镜也。夫虚静恬淡，寂漠无为者，天地之平而道德之至，故帝王圣人休焉。休则虚，虚则实，实则伦矣。虚则静，静则动，动则得矣。静则无为，无为也，则任事者责矣。无为则俞俞，俞俞者忧患不能处，年寿长矣。夫虚静恬淡，寂寞无为者，万物之本也。明此以南乡，尧之为君也；明此以北面，舜之为臣也。以此处上，帝王天子之德也；以此处下，玄圣素王之道也。以此退居而闲游，江海山林之士服；以此进为而抚世，则功大名显而天下一也。静而圣，动而王，无为也而尊，朴素而天下莫能与之争美。夫明白于天地之德者，此之谓大本大宗，与天和者也；所以均调天下，与人和者也。与人和者，谓之人乐；与天和者，谓之天乐。
The Way of Heaven:
The Way of Heaven operates (unceasingly), and leaves no accumulation (of its influence) in any particular place, so that all things are brought to perfection by it; so does the Way of the Dis operate, and all under the sky turn to them (as their directors); so also does the Way of the Sages operate, and all within the seas submit to them. Those who clearly understand (the Way of) Heaven, who are in sympathy with (that of) the sages, and familiar through the universe and in the four quarters (of the earth) with the work of the Dis and the kings, yet act spontaneously from themselves: with the appearance of being ignorant they are yet entirely still. The stillness of the sages does not belong to them as a consequence of their skilful ability; all things are not able to disturb their minds - it is on this account that they are still. When water is still, its clearness shows the beard and eyebrows (of him who looks into it). It is a perfect Level, and the greatest artificer takes his rule from it. Such is the clearness of still water, and how much greater is that of the human Spirit! The still mind of the sage is the mirror of heaven and earth, the glass of all things.Vacancy, stillness, placidity, tastelessness, quietude, silence, and non-action - this is the Level of heaven and earth, and the perfection of the Dao and its characteristics. Therefore the Dis, Kings, and Sages found in this their resting-place. Resting here, they were vacant; from their vacancy came fullness; from their fullness came the nice distinctions (of things). From their vacancy came stillness; that stillness was followed by movement; their movemerts were successful. From their stillness came their non-action. Doing-nothing, they devolved the cares of office on their employes, Doing-nothing was accompanied by the feeling of satisfaction. Where there is that feeling of satisfaction, anxieties and troubles find no place; and the years of life are many.Vacancy, stillness, placidity, tastelessness, quietude, silence, and doing-nothing are the root of all things. When this is understood, we find such a ruler on the throne as Yao, and such a minister as Shun. When with this a high position is occupied, we find the attributes of the Dis and kings,-- the sons of Heaven; with this in a low position, we find the mysterious sages, the uncrowned kings, with their ways. With this retiring (from public life), and enjoying themselves at leisure, we find the scholars who dwell by the rivers and seas, among the hills and forests, all submissive to it; with this coming forward to active life and comforting their age, their merit is great, and their fame is distinguished - and all the world becomes united in one. (Such men) by their stillness become sages; and by their movement, kings. Doing-nothing, they are honoured; in their plain simplicity, no one in the world can strive with them (for the palm of) excellence. The clear understanding of the virtue of Heaven and Earth is what is called 'The Great Root,' and 'The Great Origin;' - they who have it are in harmony with Heaven, and so they produce all equable arrangements in the world - they are those who are in harmony with men. Being in harmony with men is called the joy of men; being in harmony with Heaven is called the joy of Heaven.
庄子曰：“吾师乎！吾师乎！虀万物而不为戾，泽及万世而不为仁，长于上古而不为寿，覆载天地、刻雕众形而不为朽，此之谓天乐。故曰：知天乐者，其生也天行，其死也物化；静而与阴同德，动而与阳同波。故知天乐者，无天怨，无人非，无物累，无鬼责。故曰：其动也天，其静也地，一心定而王天下；其鬼不祟，其魂不疲，一心定而万物服。言以虚静推于天地，通于万物，此之谓天乐。天乐者，圣人之心，以蓄天下也。”
Zhuangzi said, 'My Master! my Master! He shall hash and blend all things in mass without being cruel; he shall dispense his favours to all ages without being benevolent. He is older than the highest antiquity, and yet is not old. He overspreads the heavens and sustains the earth; from him is the carving of all forms without any artful skill! This is what is called the Joy of Heaven. Hence it is said, "Those who know the joy of Heaven during their life, act like Heaven, and at death undergo transformation like (other) things; in their stillness they possess the quality of the Yin, and in their movement they flow abroad as the Yang. Therefore he who knows the Joy of Heaven has no murmuring against Heaven, nor any fault-finding with men; and suffers no embarrassment from things, nor any reproof from ghosts. Hence it is said, 'His movements are those of Heaven; his stillness is that of Earth; his whole mind is fixed, and he rules over the world. The spirits of his dead do not come to scare him; he is not worn out by their souls. His words proceeding from his vacancy and stillness, yet reach to heaven and earth, and show a communication with all things: this is what is called the Joy of Heaven. This Joy of Heaven forms the mind of the sage whereby he nurtures all under the sky.'"'
2
天道:
夫帝王之德，以天地为宗，以道德为主，以无为为常。无为也，则用天下而有馀；有为也，则为天下用而不足。故古之人贵夫无为也。上无为也，下亦无为也，是下与上同德，下与上同德则不臣；下有为也，上亦有为也，是上与下同道，上与下同道则不主。上必无为而用天下，下必有为为天下用，此不易之道也。故古之王天下者，知虽落天地，不自虑也；辩虽雕万物，不自说也；能虽穷海内，不自为也。天不产而万物化，地不长而万物育，帝王无为而天下功。故曰：莫神于天，莫富于地，莫大于帝王。故曰：帝王之德配天地。此乘天地，驰万物，而用人群之道也。
The Way of Heaven:
It was the Way of the Dis and Kings to regard Heaven and Earth as their Author, the Dao and its characteristics as their Lord, and Doing-nothing as their constant rule. Doing-nothing, they could use the whole world in their service and might have done more; acting, they were not sufficient for the service required of them by the world. Hence the men of old held non-inaction in honour. When superiors do nothing and their inferiors also do nothing, inferiors and superiors possess the same virtue; and when inferiors and superiors possess the same virtue, there are none to act as ministers. When inferiors act, and their superiors also act, then superiors and inferiors possess the same Dao; and when superiors and inferiors possess the same Dao, there is none to preside as Lord. But that the superiors do nothing and yet thereby use the world in their service, and that the inferiors, while acting, be employed in the service of the world, is an unchangeable principle. Therefore the ancient kings who presided over the world, though their knowledge embraced (all the operations of) Heaven and Earth, took no thought of their own about them; though their nice discrimination appreciated the fine fashioning of all things, they said not a word about it; though their power comprehended all within the seas, they did nothing themselves. Heaven produces nothing, yet all things experience their transformations; Earth effects no growth, yet all things receive their nurture; the Dis and Kings did nothing, yet all the world testified their effective services. Hence it is said, 'There is nothing more spiritlike than Heaven; there is nothing richer than Earth; there are none greater than the Dis and Kings.' Hence it is said (further), 'The attributes of the Dis and kings corresponded to those of Heaven and Earth.' It was thus that they availed themselves of (the operations of) Heaven and Earth, carried all things on unceasingly (in their courses), and employed the various classes of men in their service.
3
天道:
本在于上，末在于下；要在于主，详在于臣。三军、五兵之运，德之末也；赏罚利害，五刑之辟，教之末也；礼法度数，形名比详，治之末也；钟鼓之音，羽毛之容，乐之末也；哭泣衰绖，隆杀之服，哀之末也。此五末者，须精神之运，心术之动，然后从之者也。末学者，古人有之，而非所以先也。
The Way of Heaven:
Originating belongs to those in the higher position; details (of work) to those who are in the lower. The compendious decision belongs to the lord; the minutiae of execution, to his ministers. The direction of the three hosts and their men with the five weapons is but a trifling quality; rewards and penalties with their advantages and sufferings, and the inflictions of the five punishments are but trivial elements of instruction; ceremonies, laws, measures, and numbers, with all the minutiae of jurisprudence, are small matters in government; the notes of bells and drums, and the display of plumes and flags are the slightest things in music, and the various grades of the mourning garments are the most unimportant manifestations of grief. These five unimportant adjuncts required the operation of the excited spirit and the employment of the arts of the mind, to bring them into use. The men of old had them indeed, but they did not give them the first place.
君先而臣从，父先而子从，兄先而弟从，长先而少从，男先而女从，夫先而妇从。夫尊卑先后，天地之行也，故圣人取象焉。天尊地卑，神明之位也；春夏先，秋冬后，四时之序也。万物化作，萌区有状，盛衰之杀，变化之流也。夫天地至神，而有尊卑先后之序，而况人道乎！宗庙尚亲，朝廷尚尊，乡党尚齿，行事尚贤，大道之序也。语道而非其序者，非其道也；语道而非其道者，安取道！
The ruler precedes, and the minister follows; the father precedes, and the son follows; the elder brother precedes, and the younger follows; the senior precedes, and the junior follows; the male precedes, and the female follows; the husband precedes, and the wife follows. This precedence of the more honourable and sequence of the meaner is seen in the (relative) action of heaven and earth, and hence the sages took them as their pattern. The more honourable position of heaven and the lower one of earth are equivalent to a designation of their spirit-like and intelligent qualities. The precedence of spring and summer and the sequence of autumn and winter mark the order of the four seasons. In the transformations and growth of all things, every bud and feature has its proper form; and in this we have their gradual maturing and decay, the constant flow of transformation and change. Thus since Heaven and Earth, which are most spirit-like, are distinguished as more honourable and less, and by precedence and sequence, how much more must we look for this in the ways of men! In the ancestral temple it is to kinship that honour is given; in court, to rank; in the neighbourhoods and districts, to age; in the conduct of affairs, to wisdom; such is the order in those great ways. If we speak of the course (to be pursued in them), and do not observe their order, we violate their course. If we speak of the course, and do not observe it, why do we apply that name to it?
4
天道:
是故古之明大道者，先明天而道德次之，道德已明而仁义次之，仁义已明而分守次之，分守已明而形名次之，形名已明而因任次之，因任已明而原省次之，原省已明而是非次之，是非已明而赏罚次之。赏罚已明而愚知处宜，贵贱履位，仁贤不肖袭情，必分其能，必由其名。以此事上，以此畜下，以此治物，以此修身，知谋不用，必归其天，此之谓太平，治之至也。
The Way of Heaven:
Therefore the ancients who clearly understood the great Dao first sought to apprehend what was meant by Heaven, and the Dao and its characteristics came next. When this was apprehended, then came Benevolence and Righteousness. When these were apprehended, then came the Distinction of duties and the observance of them. This accomplished, there came objects and their names. After objects and their names, came the employment of men according to their qualities: on this there followed the examination of the men and of their work. This led to the approval or disapproval of them, which again was succeeded by the apportioning of rewards and penalties. After this the stupid and the intelligent understood what was required of them, and the honourable and the mean occupied their several positions. The good and the able, and those inferior to them, sincerely did their best. Their ability was distributed; the duties implied in their official names were fulfilled. In this way did they serve their superiors, nourish their inferiors, regulate things, and cultivate their persons. They did not call their knowledge and schemes into requisition; they were required to fall back upon (the method of) Heaven: this was what is called the Perfection of the Rule of Great Peace.
故《书》曰：“有形有名。”形名者，古人有之，而非所以先也。古之语大道者，五变而形名可举，九变而赏罚可言也。骤而语形名，不知其本也；骤而语赏罚，不知其始也。倒道而言，迕道而说者，人之所治也，安能治人！骤而语形名赏罚，此有知治之具，非知治之道；可用于天下，不足以用天下。此之谓辩士，一曲之人也。礼法度数，形名比详，古人有之，此下之所以事上，非上之所以畜下也。
Hence it is said in the Book, 'There are objects and there are their names.' Objects and their names the ancients had; but they did not put them in the foremost place. When the ancients spoke of the Great Dao, it was only after four other steps that they gave a place to 'Objects and their Names,' and after eight steps that they gave a place to 'Rewards and Penalties.' If they had all at once spoken of 'Objects and their Names,' they would have shown an ignorance of what is the Root (of government); if they had all at once spoken of 'Rewards and Penalties,' they would have shown an ignorance of the first steps of it. Those whose words are thus an inversion of the (proper) course, or in opposition to it, are (only fit to be) ruled by others - how can they rule others? To speak all at once of 'Objects and their Names,' and of 'Rewards and Penalties,' only shows that the speaker knows the instruments of government, but does not know the method of it, is fit to be used as an instrument in the world, but not fit to use others as his instruments: he is what we call a mere sophist, a man of one small idea. Ceremonies, laws, numbers, measures, with all the minutiae of jurisprudence, the ancients had; but it is by these that inferiors serve their superiors; it is not by them that those superiors nourish the world.
5
天道:
昔者舜问于尧曰：“天王之用心何如？”尧曰：“吾不敖无告，不废穷民，苦死者，嘉孺子而哀妇人。此吾所以用心也。”舜曰：“美则美矣，而未大也。”尧曰：“然则何如？”舜曰：“天德而出宁，日月照而四时行，若昼夜之有经，云行而雨施矣。”尧曰：“胶胶扰扰乎！子，天之合也；我，人之合也。”夫天地者，古之所大也，而黄帝、尧、舜之所共美也。故古之王天下者，奚为哉？天地而已矣。
The Way of Heaven:
Anciently, Shun asked Yao, saying, 'In what way does your Majesty by the Grace of Heaven exercise your mind?' The reply was, 'I simply show no arrogance towards the helpless; I do not neglect the poor people; I grieve for those who die; I love their infant children; and I compassionate their widows.' Shun rejoined, 'Admirable, as far as it goes; but it is not what is Great.' 'How then,' asked Yao, 'do you think I should do?' Shun replied, 'When (a sovereign) possesses the virtue of Heaven, then when he shows himself in action, it is in stillness. The sun and moon (simply) shine, and the four seasons pursue their courses. So it is with the regular phenomena of day and night, and with the movement of the clouds by which the rain is distributed.' Yao said, 'Then I have only been persistently troubling myself! What you wish is to be in harmony with Heaven, while I wish to be in harmony with men.' Now (the Way of) Heaven and Earth was much thought of of old, and Huang-Di, Yao, and Shun united in admiring it. Hence the kings of the world of old did nothing, but tried to imitate that Way.
6
天道:
孔子西藏书于周室，子路谋曰：“由闻周之徵藏史有老聃者，免而归居。夫子欲藏书，则试往因焉。”孔子曰：“善。”往见老聃，而老聃不许，于是翻十二经以说。老聃中其说，曰：“大谩，愿闻其要。”孔子曰：“要在仁义。”老聃曰：“请问：仁义，人之性邪？”孔子曰：“然。君子不仁则不成，不义则不生。仁义，真人之性也，又将奚为矣？”老聃曰：“请问何谓仁义？”孔子曰：“中心物恺，兼爱无私，此仁义之情也。”老聃曰：“意！几乎后言！夫兼爱，不亦迂乎！无私焉，乃私也。夫子若欲使天下无失其牧乎？则天地固有常矣，日月固有明矣，星辰固有列矣，禽兽固有群矣，树木固有立矣。夫子亦放德而行，循道而趋，已至矣，又何偈偈乎揭仁义，若击鼓而求亡子焉？意！夫子乱人之性也！”
The Way of Heaven:
Confucius went to the west to deposit (some) writings in the library of Zhou, when Zi-lu counselled him, saying, 'I have heard that the officer in charge of this Zheng Repository of Zhou was one Lao Dan, who has given up his office, and is living in his own house. As you, Master, wish to deposit these writings here, why not go to him, and obtain his help (to accomplish your object).' Confucius said, 'Good;' and he went and saw Lao Dan, who refused his assistance. On this he proceeded to give an abstract of the Twelve Classics to bring the other over to his views. Lao Dan, however, interrupted him while he was speaking, and said, 'This is too vague; let me hear the substance of them in brief.' Confucius said, 'The substance of them is occupied with Benevolence and Righteousness.' The other said, 'Let me ask whether you consider Benevolence and Righteousness to constitute the nature of man?' 'I do,' was the answer. 'If the superior man be not benevolent, he will not fulfil his character; if he be not righteous, he might as well not have been born. Benevolence and Righteousness are truly the nature of man.' Lao Dan continued, 'Let me ask you what you mean by Benevolence and Righteousness.' Confucius said, 'To be in one's inmost heart in kindly sympathy with all things; to love all men; and to allow no selfish thoughts - this is the nature of Benevolence and Righteousness.' Lao Dan exclaimed, 'Ah! you almost show your inferiority by such words! "To love all men!" is not that vague and extravagant? "To be seeking to allow no selfish thoughts!" - that is selfishness! If you, Master, wish men not to be without their (proper) shepherding, think of Heaven and Earth, which certainly pursue their invariable course; think of the sun and moon, which surely maintain their brightness; think of the stars in the zodiac, which preserve their order and courses; think of birds and beasts, which do not fail to collect together in their flocks and herds; and think of the trees, which do not fail to stand up (in their places). Do you, Master, imitate this way and carry it into practice; hurry on, following this course, and you will reach your end. Why must you further be vehement in putting forward your Benevolence and Righteousness, as if you were beating a drum, and seeking a fugitive son, (only making him run away the more)? Ah! Master, you are introducing disorder into the nature of man!'
7
天道:
士成绮见老子而问曰：“吾闻夫子圣人也，吾固不辞远道而来，愿见，百舍重趼而不敢息。今吾观子，非圣人也。鼠壤有馀蔬，而弃妹之者，不仁也；生熟不尽于前，而积敛无崖。”老子漠然不应。士成绮明日复见，曰：“昔者吾有刺于子，今吾心正却矣，何故也？”老子曰：“夫巧知神圣之人，吾自以为脱焉。昔者子呼我牛也而谓之牛，呼我马也而谓之马。苟有其实，人与之名而弗受，再受其殃。吾服也恒服，吾非以服有服。”士成绮雁行避影，履行，遂进而问：“修身若何？”老子曰：“而容崖然，而目冲然，而颡頯然，而口阚然，而状义然，似系马而止也。动而持，发也机，察而审，知巧而睹于泰，凡以为不信。边竟有人焉，其名为窃。”
The Way of Heaven:
Shi-cheng Qi, having an interview with Laozi, asked him, saying, 'I heard, Master, that you were a sage, and I came here, wishing to see you, without grudging the length of the journey. During the stages of the hundred days, the soles of my feet became quite callous, but I did not dare to stop and rest. Now I perceive that you are not a sage. Because there was some rice left about the holes of the rats, you sent away your younger sister, which was unkind; when your food, whether raw or cooked, remains before you not all consumed, you keep on hoarding it up to any extent.' Laozi looked indifferent, and gave him no answer.Next day Qi again saw Laozi, and said, 'Yesterday I taunted you; but to-day I have gone back to a better mood of mind. What is the cause (of the change)?' Laozi replied, 'I consider that I have freed myself from the trammels of claiming to be artfully knowing, spirit-like, and sage. Yesterday if you had called me an ox, you might have done so; or if you had called me a horse, you might have done so. If there be a reality (corresponding to men's ideas), and men give it a name, which another will not receive, he will in the sequel suffer the more. My manner was what I constantly observe - I did not put it on for the occasion.'Shi-cheng Qi sidled away out of Lao's shadow; then he retraced his steps, advanced forward, and asked how he should cultivate himself. The reply was, 'Your demeanour is repelling; you stare with your eyes; your forehead is broad and yet tapering; you bark and growl with your mouth; your appearance is severe and pretentious; you are like a horse held by its tether, you would move, but are restrained, and (if let go) would start off like an arrow from a bow; you examine all the minutiae of a thing; your wisdom is artful, and yet you try to look at ease. All these are to be considered proofs of your want of sincerity. If on the borders one were to be found with them, he would be named a Thief.'
8
天道:
夫子曰：“夫道，于大不终，于小不遗，故万物备。广广乎其无不容也，渊乎其不可测也。形德仁义，神之末也，非至人孰能定之！夫至人有世，不亦大乎！而不足以为之累。天下奋柄而不与之偕，审乎无假而不与利迁，极物之真，能守其本，故外天地，遗万物，而神未尝有所困也。通乎道，合乎德，退仁义，宾礼乐，至人之心有所定矣。”
The Way of Heaven:
The Master said, 'The Dao does not exhaust itself in what is greatest, nor is it ever absent from what is least; and therefore it is to be found complete and diffused in all things. How wide is its universal comprehension! How deep is its unfathomableness! The embodiment of its attributes in benevolence and righteousness is but a small result of its spirit-like (working); but it is only the perfect man who can determine this. The perfect man has (the charge of) the world - is not the charge great? and yet it is not sufficient to embarrass him. He wields the handle of power over the whole world, and yet it is nothing to him. His discrimination detects everything false, and no consideration of gain moves him. He penetrates to the truth of things, and can guard that which is fundamental. So it is that heaven and earth are external to him, and he views all things with indifference, and his spirit is never straitened by them. He has comprehended the Dao, and is in harmony with its characteristics; he pushes back benevolence and righteousness (into their proper place), and deals with ceremonies and music as (simply) guests: yes, the mind of the perfect man determines all things aright.'
9
天道:
世之所贵道者，书也，书不过语，语有贵也。语之所贵者，意也，意有所随。意之所随者，不可以言传也，而世因贵言传书。世虽贵之，我犹不足贵也，为其贵非其贵也。故视而可见者，形与色也；听而可闻者，名与声也。悲夫！世人以形色名声为足以得彼之情！夫形色名声果不足以得彼之情，则知者不言，言者不知，而世岂识之哉！
The Way of Heaven:
What the world thinks the most valuable exhibition of the Dao is to be found in books. But books are only a collection of words. Words have what is valuable in them - what is valuable in words is the ideas they convey. But those ideas are a sequence of something else - and what that something else is cannot be conveyed by words. When the world, because of the value which it attaches to words, commits them to books, that for which it so values them may not deserve to be valued - because that which it values is not what is really valuable. Thus it is that what we look at and can see is (only) the outward form and colour, and what we listen to and can hear is (only) names and sounds. Alas! that men of the world should think that form and colour, name and sound, should be sufficient to give them the real nature of the T?. The form and colour, the name and sound, are certainly not sufficient to convey its real nature; and so it is that 'the wise do not speak and those who do speak are not wise.' How should the world know that real nature?
桓公读书于堂上，轮扁斫轮于堂下，释椎凿而上，问桓公曰：“敢问公之所读者何言邪？”公曰：“圣人之言也。”曰：“圣人在乎？”公曰：“已死矣。”曰：“然则君之所读者，古人之糟魄已夫！”桓公曰：“寡人读书，轮人安得议乎！有说则可，无说则死。”轮扁曰：“臣也，以臣之事观之。斫轮，徐则甘而不固，疾则苦而不入。不徐不疾，得之于手而应于心，口不能言，有数存焉于其间。臣不能以喻臣之子，臣之子亦不能受之于臣，是以行年七十而老斫轮。古之人与其不可传也死矣，然则君之所读者，古人之糟魄已矣。”
Duke Huan, seated above in his hall, was (once) reading a book, and the wheelwright Bian was making a wheel below it. Laying aside his hammer and chisel, Bian went up the steps, and said, 'I venture to ask your Grace what words you are reading?' The duke said, 'The words of the sages.' 'Are those sages alive?' Bian continued. 'They are dead,' was the reply. 'Then,' said the other, 'what you, my Ruler, are reading are only the dregs and sediments of those old men.' The duke said, 'How should you, a wheelwright, have anything to say about the book which I am reading? If you can explain yourself, very well; if you cannot, you shall, die!' The wheelwright said, 'Your servant will look at the thing from the point of view of his own art. In making a wheel, if I proceed gently, that is pleasant enough, but the workmanship is not strong; if I proceed violently, that is toilsome and the joinings do not fit. If the movements of my hand are neither (too) gentle nor (too) violent, the idea in my mind is realised. But I cannot tell (how to do this) by word of mouth; there is a knack in it. I cannot teach the knack to my son, nor can my son learn it from me. Thus it is that I am in my seventieth year, and am (still) making wheels in my old age. But these ancients, and what it was not possible for them to convey, are dead and gone: so then what you, my Ruler, are reading is but their dregs and sediments!'
天运 - The Revolution of Heaven
1
天运:
天其运乎？地其处乎？日月其争于所乎？孰主张是？孰维纲是？孰居无事推而行是？意者其有机缄而不得已邪？意者其运转而不能自止邪？云者为雨乎？雨者为云乎？孰隆施是？孰居无事淫乐而劝是？风起北方，一西一东，有上彷徨，孰嘘吸是？孰居无事而披拂是？敢问何故？巫咸袑曰：“来！吾语女。天有六极五常，帝王顺之则治，逆之则凶。九洛之事，治成德备，监照下土，天下戴之，此谓上皇。”
The Revolution of Heaven:
How (ceaselessly) heaven revolves! How (constantly) earth abides at rest! And do the sun and moon contend about their (respective) places? Who presides over and directs these (things)? Who binds and connects them together? Who is it that, without trouble or exertion on his part, causes and maintains them? Is it, perhaps, that there is some secret spring, in consequence of which they cannot be but as they are? Or is it, perhaps, that they move and turn as they do, and cannot stop of themselves? (Then) how the clouds become rain! And how the rain again forms the clouds! Who diffuses them so abundantly? Who is it that, without trouble or exertion on his part, produces this elemental enjoyment, and seems to stimulate it? The winds rise in the north; one blows to the west, and another to the east; while some rise upwards, uncertain in their direction. By whose breathing are they produced? Who is it that, without any trouble and exertion of his own, effects all their undulations? I venture to ask their cause.Wu-xian Shao said, 'Come, and I will tell you. To heaven there belong the six Extreme Points, and the five Elements. When the Dis and Kings acted in accordance with them, there was good government; when they acted contrary to them, there was evil. Observing the things (described) in the nine divisions (of the writing) of Luo, their government was perfected and their virtue was complete. They inspected and enlightened the kingdom beneath them, and all under the sky acknowledged and sustained them. Such was the condition under the august (sovereigns) and those before them.'
2
天运:
商太宰荡问仁于庄子。庄子曰：“虎狼，仁也。”曰：“何谓也？”庄子曰：“父子相亲，何为不仁？”曰：“请问至仁。”庄子曰：“至仁无亲。”太宰曰：“荡闻之：无亲则不爱，不爱则不孝。谓至仁不孝，可乎？”庄子曰：“不然。夫至仁尚矣，孝固不足以言之。此非过孝之言也，不及孝之言也。夫南行者至于郢，北面而不见冥山，是何也？则去之远也。故曰：以敬孝易，以爱孝难；以爱孝易，以忘亲难；忘亲易，使亲忘我难；使亲忘我易，兼忘天下难；兼忘天下易，使天下兼忘我难。夫德遗尧、舜而不为也，利泽施于万世，天下莫知也，岂直太息而言仁孝乎哉！夫孝悌仁义，忠信贞廉，此皆自勉以役其德者也，不足多也。故曰：至贵，国爵并焉；至富，国财并焉；至愿，名誉并焉。是以道不渝。”
The Revolution of Heaven:
Tang, the chief administrator of Shang, asked Zhuangzi about Benevolence, and the answer was, 'Wolves and tigers are benevolent.' 'What do you mean?' said Tang. Zhuangzi replied, 'Father and son (among them) are affectionate to one another. Why should they be considered as not benevolent?' 'Allow me to ask about perfect benevolence,' pursued the other. Zhuangzi said, 'Perfect benevolence does not admit (the feeling) of affection.' The minister said, 'I have heard that, without (the feeling of) affection there is no love, and without love there is not filial duty - is it permissible to say that the perfectly benevolent are not filial?' Zhuangzi rejoined, 'That is not the way to put the case. Perfect Benevolence is the very highest thing - filial duty is by no means sufficient to describe it. The saying which you quote is not to the effect that (such benevolence) transcends filial duty - it does not refer to such duty at all. One, travelling to the south, comes (at last) to Ying, and there, standing with his face to the north, he does not see mount Ming. Why does he not see it? Because he is so far from it. Hence it is said, "Filial duty as a part of reverence is easy, but filial duty as a part of love is difficult. If it be easy as a part of love, yet it is difficult to forget one's parents. It may be easy for me to forget my parents, but it is difficult to make my parents forget me. If it were easy to make my parents forget me, it is difficult for me to forget all men in the world. If it were easy to forget all men in the world, it is difficult to make them all forget me."'This virtue might make one think light of Yao and Shun, and not wish to be they. The profit and beneficial influences of it extend to a myriad ages, and no one in the world knows whence they come. How can you simply heave a great sigh, and speak (as you do) of benevolence and filial duty? Filial duty, fraternal respect, benevolence, righteousness, loyalty, sincerity, firmness, and purity - all these may be pressed into the service of this virtue, but they are far from sufficient to come up to it. Therefore it is said, "To him who has what is most noble, all the dignities of a state are as nothing; to him who has what is the greatest riches, all the wealth of a state is as nothing; to him who has all that he could wish, fame and praise are as nothing." It is thus that the Dao admits of no substitute.'
3
天运:
北门成问于黄帝曰：帝张咸池之乐于洞庭之野，吾始闻之惧，复闻之怠，卒闻之而惑，荡荡默默，乃不自得。”
The Revolution of Heaven:
Bei-men Cheng asked Huang-Di, saying, 'You were celebrating, O Di, a performance of the music of the Xian-chi, in the open country near the Dong-ting lake. When I heard the first part of it, I was afraid; the next made me weary; and the last perplexed me. I became agitated and unable to speak, and lost my self-possession.'
帝曰：“汝殆其然哉！吾奏之以人，徵之以天，行之以礼义，建之以太清。夫至乐者，先应之以人事，顺之以天理，行之以五德，应之以自然，然后调理四时，太和万物。四时迭起，万物循生；一盛一衰，文武伦经；一清一浊，阴阳调和，流光其声；蛰虫始作，吾惊之以雷霆；其卒无尾，其始无首；一死一生，一偾一起；所常无穷，而一不可待。女故惧也。
The Di said, 'It was likely that it should so affect you! It was performed with (the instruments of) men, and all attuned according to (the influences of) Heaven. It proceeded according to (the principles of) propriety and righteousness, and was pervaded by (the idea of) the Grand Purity. The Perfect Music first had its response in the affairs of men, and was conformed to the principles of Heaven; it indicated the action of the five virtues, and corresponded to the spontaneity (apparent in nature). After this it showed the blended distinctions of the four seasons, and the grand harmony of all things - the succession of those seasons one after another, and the production of things in their proper order. Now it swelled, and now it died away, its peaceful and military strains clearly distinguished and given forth. Now it was clear, and now rough, as if the contracting and expanding of the elemental processes blended harmoniously (in its notes). Those notes then flowed away in waves of light, till, as when the hibernating insects first begin to move, I commanded the terrifying crash of thunder. Its end was marked by no formal conclusion, and it began again without any prelude. It seemed to die away, and then it burst into life; it came to a close, and then it rose again. So it went on regularly and inexhaustibly, and without the intervention of any pause: it was this which made you afraid.
吾又奏之以阴阳之和，烛之以日月之明；其声能短能长，能柔能刚；变化齐一，不主故常；在谷满谷，在坑满坑；涂郤守神，以物为量。其声挥绰，其名高明。是故鬼神守其幽，日月星辰行其纪。吾止之于有穷，流之于无止。予欲虑之而不能知也，望之而不能见也，逐之而不能及也，傥然立于四虚之道，倚于槁梧而吟。目知穷乎所欲见，力屈乎所欲逐，吾既不及已夫！形充空虚，乃至委蛇。汝委蛇，故怠。
'In the second part (of the performance), I made it describe the harmony of the Yin and Yang, and threw round it the brilliance of the sun and moon. Its notes were now short and now long, now soft and now hard. Their changes, however, were marked by an unbroken unity, though not dominated by a fixed regularity. They filled every valley and ravine; you might shut up every crevice, and guard your spirit (against their entrance), yet there was nothing but gave admission to them. Yea, those notes resounded slowly, and might have been pronounced high and clear. Hence the shades of the dead kept in their obscurity; the sun and moon, and all the stars of the zodiac, pursued their several courses. I made (my instruments) leave off, when (the performance) came to an end, and their (echoes) flowed on without stopping. You thought anxiously about it, and were not able to understand it; you looked for it, and were not able to see it; you pursued it, and were not able to reach it. All-amazed, you stood in the way all open around you, and then you leant against an old rotten dryandra-tree and hummed. The power of your eyes was exhausted by what you wished to see; your strength failed in your desire to pursue it, while I myself could not reach it. Your body was but so much empty vacancy while you endeavoured to retain your self-possession: it was that endeavour which made you weary.
吾又奏之以无怠之声，调之以自然之命，故若混逐丛生，林乐而无形；布挥而不曳，幽昏而无声。动于无方，居于窈冥；或谓之死，或谓之生；或谓之实，或谓之荣；行流散徙，不主常声。世疑之，稽于圣人。圣也者，达于情而遂于命也。天机不张而五官皆备，此之谓天乐，无言而心说。故有焱氏为之颂曰：‘听之不闻其声，视之不见其形，充满天地，苞里六极。’汝欲听之而无接焉，而故惑也。
'In the last part (of the performance), I employed notes which did not have that wearying effect. I blended them together as at the command of spontaneity. Hence they came as if following one another in confusion, like a clump of plants springing from one root, or like the music of a forest produced by no visible form. They spread themselves all around without leaving a trace (of their cause); and seemed to issue from deep obscurity where there was no sound. Their movements came from nowhere; their home was in the deep darkness - conditions which some would call death, and some life; some, the fruit, and some, (merely) the flower. Those notes, moving and flowing on, separating and shifting, and not following any regular sounds, the world might well have doubts about them, and refer them to the judgment of a sage, for the sages understand the nature of this music, and judge in accordance with the prescribed (spontaneity). While the spring of that spontaneity has not been touched, and yet the regulators of the five notes are all prepared - this is what is called the music of Heaven, delighting the mind without the use of words. Hence it is said in the eulogy of the Lord of Yan, "You listen for it, and do not hear its sound; you look for it, and do not perceive its form; it fills heaven and earth; it envelopes all within the universe." You wished to hear it, but could not take it in; and therefore you were perplexed.
乐也者，始于惧，惧故祟；吾又次之以怠，怠故遁；卒之于惑，惑故愚；愚故道，道可载而与之俱也。”
'I performed first the music calculated to awe; and you were frightened as if by a ghostly visitation. I followed it with that calculated to weary; and in your weariness you would have withdrawn. I concluded with that calculated to perplex; and in your perplexity you felt your stupidity. But that stupidity is akin to the Dao; you may with it convey the Dao in your person, and have it (ever) with you.'
4
天运:
孔子西游于卫。颜渊问师金，曰：“以夫子之行为奚如？”师金曰：“惜乎，而夫子其穷哉！”颜渊曰：“何也？”师金曰：“夫刍狗之未陈也，盛以箧衍，巾以文绣，尸祝齐戒以将之；及其已陈也，行者践其首脊，苏者取而爨之而已。将复取而盛以箧衍，巾以文绣，游居寝卧其下，彼不得梦，必且数眯焉。今而夫子，亦取先王已陈刍狗，聚弟子游居寝卧其下。故伐树于宋，削迹于卫，穷于商、周，是非其梦邪？围于陈、蔡之间，七日不火食，死生相与邻，是非其眯邪？
The Revolution of Heaven:
When Confucius was travelling in the west in Wei, Yan Yuan asked the music-master Jin, saying, 'How is it, do you think, with the course of the Master?' The music-master replied, 'Alas! it is all over with your Master!' 'How so?' asked Yan Yuan; and the other said, 'Before the grass-dogs are set forth (at the sacrifice), they are deposited in a box or basket, and wrapt up with elegantly embroidered cloths, while the representative of the dead and the officer of prayer prepare themselves by fasting to present them. After they have been set forth, however, passers-by trample on their heads and backs, and the grass-cutters take and burn them in cooking. That is all they are good for. If one should again take them, replace them in the box or basket, wrap them up with embroidered cloths, and then in rambling, or abiding at the spot, should go to sleep under them, if he do not get (evil) dreams, he is sure to be often troubled with the nightmare. Now here is your Master in the same way taking the grass-dogs, presented by the ancient kings, and leading his disciples to wander or abide and sleep under them. Owing to this, the tree (beneath which they were practising ceremonies) in Sung was cut down; he was obliged to leave Wei; he was reduced to extremities in Shang and Zhou: were not those experiences like having (evil) dreams? He was kept in a state of siege between Chen and Cai, so that for seven days he had no cooked food to eat, and was in a situation between life and death: were not those experiences like the nightmare?
夫水行莫如用舟，而陆行莫如用车。以舟之可行于水也而求推之于陆，则没世不行寻常。古今非水陆与？周、鲁非舟车与？今蕲行周于鲁，是犹推舟于陆也，劳而无功，身必有殃。彼未知夫无方之传，应物而不穷者也。
'If you are travelling by water, your best plan is to use a boat; if by land, a carriage. Take a boat, which will go (easily) along on the water, and try to push it along on the land, and all your lifetime it will not go so much as a fathom or two: are not ancient time and the present time like the water and the dry land? and are not Zhou and Lu like the boat and the carriage? To seek now to practise (the old ways of) Zhou in Lu is like pushing along a boat on the dry land. It is only a toilsome labour, and has no success; he who does so is sure to meet with calamity. He has not learned that in handing down the arts (of one time) he is sure to be reduced to extremity in endeavouring to adapt them to the conditions (of another).
且子独不见夫桔槔者乎？引之则俯，舍之则仰。彼，人之所引，非引人也，故俯仰而不得罪于人。故夫三皇、五帝之礼义法度，不矜于同而矜于治。故譬三皇、五帝之礼义法度，其犹柤梨橘柚邪！其味相反，而皆可于口。
'And have you not seen the working of a shadoof? When (the rope of) it is pulled, it bends down; and when it is let go, it rises up. It is pulled by a man, and does not pull the man; and so, whether it bends down or rises up, it commits no offence against the man. In the same way the rules of propriety, righteousness, laws, and measures of the three Huangs and five Dis derived their excellence, not from their being the same as those of the present day, but from their (aptitude for) government. We may compare them to haws, pears, oranges, and pummeloes, which are different in flavour, but all suitable to be eaten.
故礼义法度者，应时而变者也。今取猿狙而衣以周公之服，彼必齕啮挽裂，尽去而后慊。观古今之异，犹猿狙之异乎周公也。故西施病心而矉其里，其里之丑人见而美之，归亦捧心而矉其里。其里之富人见之，坚闭门而不出；贫人见之，挈妻子而去之走。彼知矉美而不知矉之所以美。惜乎！而夫子其穷哉！”
'Just so it is that the rules of propriety, righteousness, laws, and measures, change according to the time. If now you take a monkey, and dress it in the robes of the duke of Zhou, it will bite and tear them, and will not be satisfied till it has got rid of them altogether. And if you look at the difference between antiquity and the present time it is as great as that between the monkey and the duke of Zhou. In the same way, when Xi Shi was troubled in mind, she would knit her brows and frown on all in her neighbourhood. An ugly woman of the neighbourhood, seeing and admiring her beauty, went home, and also laying her hands on her heart proceeded to stare and frown on all around her. When the rich people of the village saw her, they shut fast their doors and would not go out; when the poor people saw her, they took their wives and children and ran away from her. The woman knew how to admire the frowning beauty, but she did not know how it was that she, though frowning, was beautiful. Alas! it is indeed all over with your Master!'
5
天运:
孔子行年五十有一而不闻道，乃南之沛，见老聃。老聃曰：“子来乎？吾闻子北方之贤者也，子亦得道乎？”孔子曰：“未得也。”老子曰：“子恶乎求之哉？”曰：“吾求之于度数，五年而未得也。”老子曰：“子又恶乎求之哉？”曰：“吾求之于阴阳，十有二年而未得。”
The Revolution of Heaven:
When Confucius was in his fifty-first year, he had not heard of the Dao, and went south to Pei to see Lao Dan, who said to him, 'You have come, Sir; have you? I have heard that you are the wisest man of the North; have you also got the Dao?' 'Not yet,' was the reply; and the other went on, 'How have you sought it?' Confucius said, 'I sought it in measures and numbers, and after five years I had not got it.' 'And how then did you seek it?' 'I sought it in the Yin and Yang, and after twelve years I have not found it.'
老子曰：“然。使道而可献，则人莫不献之于其君；使道而可进，则人莫不进之于其亲；使道而可以告人，则人莫不告其兄弟；使道而可以与人，则人莫不与其子孙。然而不可者，无佗也，中无主而不止，外无正而不行。由中出者，不受于外，圣人不出；由外入者，无主于中，圣人不隐。名，公器也，不可多取。仁义，先王之蘧庐也，止可以一宿而不可以久处，觏而多责。古之至人，假道于仁，托宿于义，以游逍遥之虚，食于苟简之田，立于不贷之圃。逍遥，无为也；苟简，易养也；不贷，无出也。古者谓是采真之游。
Laozi said, 'Just so! If the Dao could be presented (to another), men would all present it to their rulers; if it could be served up (to others), men would all serve it up to their parents; if it could be told (to others), men would all tell it to their brothers; if it could be given to others, men would all give it to their sons and grandsons. The reason why it cannot be transmitted is no other but this - that if, within, there be not the presiding principle, it will not remain there, and if, outwardly, there be not the correct obedience, it will not be carried out. When that which is given out from the mind (in possession of it) is not received by the mind without, the sage will not give it out; and when, entering in from without, there is no power in the receiving mind to entertain it, the sage will not permit it to lie hid there. Fame is a possession common to all; we should not seek to have much of it. Benevolence and righteousness were as the lodging-houses of the former kings; we should only rest in them for a night, and not occupy them for long. If men see us doing so, they will have much to say against us. The perfect men of old trod the path of benevolence as a path which they borrowed for the occasion, and dwelt in Righteousness as in a lodging which they used for a night. Thus they rambled in the vacancy of Untroubled Ease, found their food in the fields of Indifference, and stood in the gardens which they had not borrowed. Untroubled Ease requires the doing of nothing; Indifference is easily supplied with nourishment; not borrowing needs no outlay. The ancients called this the Enjoyment that Collects the True.
以富为是者，不能让禄；以显为是者，不能让名；亲权者，不能与人柄。操之则栗，舍之则悲，而一无所鉴，以闚其所不休者，是天之戮民也。怨、恩、取、与、谏、教、生、杀，八者，正之器也，唯循大变无所湮者，为能用之。故曰：正者，正也。其心以为不然者，天门弗开矣。”
'Those who think that wealth is the proper thing for them cannot give up their revenues; those who seek distinction cannot give up the thought of fame; those who cleave to power cannot give the handle of it to others. While they hold their grasp of those things, they are afraid (of losing them). When they let them go, they are grieved; and they will not look at a single example, from which they might perceive the (folly) of their restless pursuits: such men are under the doom of Heaven. Hatred and kindness; taking and giving; reproof and instruction; death and life: these eight things are instruments of rectification, but only those are able to use them who do not obstinately refuse to comply with their great changes. Hence it is said, "Correction is Rectification." When the minds of some do not acknowledge this, it is because the gate of Heaven (in them) has not been opened.'
6
天运:
孔子见老聃而语仁义。老聃曰：“夫播糠眯目，则天地四方易位矣；蚊虻噆肤，则通昔不寐矣。夫仁义憯然，乃愤吾心，乱莫大焉。吾子使天下无失其朴，吾子亦放风而动，总德而立矣，又奚杰然若负建鼓而求亡子者邪？夫鹄不日浴而白，乌不日黔而黑。黑白之朴，不足以为辩；名誉之观，不足以为广。泉涸，鱼相与处于陆，相呴以湿，相濡以沫，不若相忘于江湖。”
The Revolution of Heaven:
At an interview with Lao Dan, Confucius spoke to him of benevolence and righteousness. Lao Dan said, 'If you winnow chaff, and the dust gets into your eyes, then the places of heaven and earth and of the four cardinal points are all changed to you. If musquitoes or gadflies puncture your skin, it will keep you all the night from sleeping. But this painful iteration of benevolence and righteousness excites my mind and produces in it the greatest confusion. If you, Sir, would cause men not to lose their natural simplicity, and if you would also imitate the wind in its (unconstrained) movements, and stand forth in all the natural attributes belonging to you!-- why must you use so much energy, and carry a great drum to seek for the son whom you have lost? The snow-goose does not bathe every day to make itself white, nor the crow blacken itself every day to make itself black. The natural simplicity of their black and white does not afford any ground for controversy; and the fame and praise which men like to contemplate do not make them greater than they naturally are. When the springs (supplying the pools) are dried up, the fishes huddle together on the dry land. Than that they should moisten one another there by their gasping, and keep one another wet by their milt, it would be better for them to forget one another in the rivers and lakes.'
孔子见老聃归，三日不谈。弟子问曰：“夫子见老聃，亦将何归哉？”孔子曰：“吾乃今于是乎见龙。龙合而成体，散而成章，乘乎云气而养乎阴阳。予口张而不能嗋，予又何规老聃哉！”子贡曰：“然则人固有尸居而龙见，雷声而渊默，发动如天地者乎？赐亦可得而观乎？”遂以孔子声见老聃。
From this interview with Lao Dan, Confucius returned home, and for three days did not speak. His disciples (then) asked him, saying, 'Master, you have seen Lao Dan; in what way might you admonish and correct him?' Confucius said, 'In him (I may say) that I have now seen the dragon. The dragon coils itself up, and there is its body; it unfolds itself and becomes the dragon complete. It rides on the cloudy air, and is nourished by the Yin and Yang. I kept my mouth open, and was unable to shut it - how could I admonish and correct Lao Dan?' Zi-gong said, 'So then, can (this) man indeed sit still as a representative of the dead, and then appear as the dragon? Can his voice resound as thunder, when he is profoundly still? Can he exhibit himself in his movements like heaven and earth? May I, Ci, also get to see him?' Accordingly with a message from Confucius he went to see Lao Dan.
老聃方将倨堂而应微曰：“予年运而往矣，子将何以戒我乎？”子贡曰：“夫三王、五帝之治天下不同，其系声名一也。而先生独以为非圣人，如何哉？”老聃曰：“小子少进！子何以谓不同？”对曰：“尧授舜，舜授禹，禹用力而汤用兵，文王顺纣而不敢逆，武王逆纣而不肯顺，故曰不同。”
Lao Dan was then about to answer (his salutation) haughtily in the hall, but he said in a low voice, 'My years have rolled on and are passing away, what do you, Sir, wish to admonish me about?' Zi-gong replied, 'The Three Kings and Five Dis ruled the world not in the same way, but the fame that has accrued to them is the same. How is it that you alone consider that they were not sages?' 'Come forward a little, my son. Why do you say that (their government) was not the same?' 'Yao,' was the reply, 'gave the kingdom to Shun, and Shun gave it to Yu. Yu had recourse to his strength, and Tang to the force of arms. King Wen was obedient to Zhou (-xin), and did not dare to rebel; king Wu rebelled against Zhou, and would not submit to him. And I say that their methods were not the same.'
老聃曰：“小子少进！余语汝三皇、五帝之治天下。黄帝之治天下，使民心一，民有其亲死不哭而民不非也。尧之治天下，使民心亲，民有为其亲杀其杀而民不非也。舜之治天下，使民心竞，民孕妇十月生子，子生五月而能言，不至乎孩而始谁，则人始有夭矣。禹之治天下，使民心变，人有心而兵有顺，杀盗非杀，人自为种而天下耳，是以天下大骇，儒、墨皆起。其作始有伦，而今乎妇女，何言哉！余语汝：三皇、五帝之治天下，名曰治之，而乱莫甚焉。三皇之知，上悖日月之明，下睽山川之精，中堕四时之施。其知憯于蛎虿之尾，鲜规之兽，莫得安其性命之情者，而犹自以为圣人，不可耻乎？其无耻也！”子贡蹴蹴然立不安。
Lao Dan said, 'Come a little more forward, my son, and I will tell you how the Three Huangs and the Five Dis ruled the world. Huang-Di ruled it, so as to make the minds of the people all conformed to the One (simplicity). If the parents of one of them died, and he did not wail, no one blamed him. Yao ruled it so as to cause the hearts of the people to cherish relative affection. If any, however, made the observances on the death of other members of their kindred less than those for their parents, no one blamed them. Shun ruled it, so as to produce a feeling of rivalry in the minds of the people. Their wives gave birth to their children in the tenth month of their pregnancy, but those children could speak at five months; and before they were three years old, they began to call people by their surnames and names. Then it was that men began to die prematurely. Y? ruled it, so as to cause the minds of the people to become changed. Men's minds became scheming, and they used their weapons as if they might legitimately do so, (saying that they were) killing thieves and not killing other men. The people formed themselves into different combinations - so it was throughout the kingdom. Everywhere there was great consternation, and then arose the Literati and (the followers of) Mo (Di). From them came first the doctrine of the relationships (of society); and what can be said of the now prevailing customs (in the marrying of) wives and daughters? I tell you that the rule of the Three Kings and Five Dis may be called by that name, but nothing can be greater than the disorder which it produced. The wisdom of the Three Kings was opposed to the brightness of the sun and moon above, contrary to the exquisite purity of the hills and streams below, and subversive of the beneficent gifts of the four seasons between. Their wisdom has been more fatal than the sting of a scorpion or the bite of a dangerous beast. Unable to rest in the true attributes of their nature and constitution, they still regarded themselves as sages: was it not a thing to be ashamed of? But they were shameless.' Zi-gong stood quite disconcerted and ill at ease.
7
天运:
孔子谓老聃曰：“丘治《诗》、《书》、《礼》、《乐》、《易》、《春秋》六经，自以为久矣，孰知其故矣，以奸者七十二君，论先王之道而明周、召之迹，一君无所钩用。甚矣夫！人之难说也，道之难明邪！”
The Revolution of Heaven:
Confucius said to Lao Dan, 'I have occupied myself with the Shi, the Shu, the Li, the Yue, the Yi, and the Chun Qiu, those six Books, for what I myself consider a long time, and am thoroughly acquainted with their contents. With seventy-two rulers, all offenders against the right, I have discoursed about the ways of the former kings, and set forth the examples (of the dukes of Zhou and Shao); and not one of them has adopted (my views) and put them in practice: how very difficult it is to prevail on such men, and to make clear the path to be pursued!'
老子曰：“幸矣，子之不遇治世之君也！夫六经，先王之陈迹也，岂其所以迹哉！今子之所言，犹迹也。夫迹，履之所出，而迹岂履哉！夫白鶂之相视，眸子不运而风化；虫，雄鸣于上风，雌应于下风而风化。类自为雌雄，故风化。性不可易，命不可变，时不可止，道不可壅。苟得其道，无自而不可；失焉者，无自而可。”
Laozi replied, 'It is fortunate that you have not met with a ruler fitted to rule the age. Those six writings are a description of the vestiges left by the former kings, but do not tell how they made such vestiges; and what you, Sir, speak about are still only the vestiges. But vestiges are the prints left by the shoes - are they the shoes that produced them? A pair of white herons look at each other with pupils that do not move, and impregnation takes place; the male insect emits its buzzing sound in the air above, and the female responds from the air below, and impregnation takes place; the creatures called lei are both male and female, and each individual breeds of itself. The nature cannot be altered; the conferred constitution cannot be changed; the march of the seasons cannot be arrested; the Dao cannot be stopped. If you get the Dao, there is no effect that cannot be produced; if you miss it, there is no effect that can.'
孔子不出三月，复见，曰：“丘得之矣。乌鹊孺，鱼傅沫，细要者化，有弟而兄啼。久矣夫，丘不与化为人！不与化为人，安能化人！”老子曰：“可。丘得之矣。”
Confucius (after this) did not go out, till at the end of three months he went again to see Lao Dan, and said, 'I have got it. Ravens produce their young by hatching; fishes by the communication of their milt; the small-waisted wasp by transformation; when a younger brother comes, the elder weeps. Long is it that I have not played my part in harmony with these processes of transformation. But as I did not play my part in harmony with such transformation, how could I transform men?' Laozi said, 'You will do. Qiu, you have found the Dao.'
刻意 - Ingrained Ideas
1
刻意:
刻意尚行，离世异俗，高论怨诽，为亢而已矣，此山谷之士，非世之人，枯槁赴渊者之所好也。语仁义忠信，恭俭推让，为修而已矣，此平世之士，教诲之人，游居学者之所好也。语大功，立大名，礼君臣，正上下，为治而已矣，此朝廷之士，尊主强国之人，致功并兼者之所好也。就薮泽，处闲旷，钓鱼闲处，无为而已矣，此江海之士，避世之人，闲暇者之所好也。吹呴呼吸，吐故纳新，熊经鸟申，为寿而已矣，此道引之士，养形之人，彭祖寿考者之所好也。
Ingrained Ideas:
Ingrained ideas and a high estimate of their own conduct; leaving the world, and pursuing uncommon ways; talking loftily and in resentful disparagement of others - all this is simply symptomatic of arrogance. This is what scholars who betake themselves to the hills and valleys, who are always blaming the world, and who stand aloof like withered trees, or throw themselves into deep pools, are fond of. Discoursing of benevolence, righteousness, loyalty, and good faith; being humble and frugal, self-forgetful and courteous - all this is simply symptomatic of (self-)cultivation. This is what scholars who wish to tranquillise the world, teachers and instructors, men who pursue their studies at home and abroad, are fond of. Discoursing of their great merit and making a great name for themselves; insisting on the ceremonies between ruler and minister; and rectifying the relations between high and low - all this shows their one object to be the promotion of government. This is what officers of the court, men who honour their lord and would strengthen the state and who would do their utmost to incorporate other states with their own, are fond of. Resorting to marshes and lakes; dwelling in solitary places; occupying themselves with angling and living at ease - all this shows their one object to be to do nothing. This is what gentlemen of the rivers and seas, men who avoid the society of the world and desire to live at leisure, are fond of. Blowing and breathing with open mouth; inhaling and exhaling the breath; expelling the old breath and taking in new; passing their time like the (dormant) bear, and stretching and twisting (the neck) like a bird - all this simply shows the desire for longevity. This is what the scholars who manipulate their breath, and the men who nourish the body and wish to live as long as Peng Zu are fond of.
若夫不刻意而高，无仁义而修，无功名而治，无江海而闲，不道引而寿，无不忘也，无不有也，澹然无极而众美从之，此天地之道，圣人之德也。
As to those who have a lofty character without any ingrained ideas; who pursue the path of self-cultivation without benevolence and righteousness; who succeed in government without great services or fame; who enjoy their ease without resorting to the rivers and seas; who attain to longevity without the management (of the breath); who forget all things and yet possess all things; whose placidity is unlimited, while all things to be valued attend them: such men pursue the way of heaven and earth, and display the characteristics of the sages.
2
刻意:
故曰：夫恬惔寂寞，虚无无为，此天地之平而道德之质也。
Ingrained Ideas:
Hence it is said, 'Placidity, indifference, silence, quietude, absolute vacancy, and non-action: these are the qualities which maintain the level of heaven and earth and are the substance of the Dao and its characteristics.'
故曰：圣人休，休焉则平易矣，平易则恬惔矣。平易恬惔，则忧患不能入，邪气不能袭，故其德全而神不亏。
In accordance with this it is said, 'The sage is entirely restful, and so (his mind) is evenly balanced and at ease. This even balance and ease appears in his placidity and indifference. In this state of even balance and ease, of placidity and indifference, anxieties and evils do not find access to him, no depraving influence can take him by surprise; his virtue is complete, and his spirit continues unimpaired.'
故曰：圣人之生也天行，其死也物化；静而与阴同德，动而与阳同波；不为福先，不为祸始；感而后应，迫而后动，不得已而后起。去知与故，循天之理，故无天灾，无物累，无人非，无鬼责。其生若浮，其死若休；不思虑，不豫谋；光矣而不耀，信矣而不期；其寝不梦，其觉无忧；其神纯粹，其魂不罢。虚无恬惔，乃合天德。
Therefore it is (also) said, 'The life of the sage is (like) the action of Heaven; and his death is the transformation common to (all) things. In his stillness his virtue is the same as that of the Yin, and in movement his diffusiveness is like that of the Yang. He does not take the initiative in producing either happiness or calamity. He responds to the influence acting on him, and moves as he feels the pressure. He rises to act only when he is obliged to do so. He discards wisdom and the memories of the past; he follows the lines of his Heaven (-given nature); and therefore he suffers no calamity from Heaven, no involvement from things, no blame from men, and no reproof from the spirits of the dead. His life seems to float along; his death seems to be a resting. He does not indulge any anxious doubts; he does not lay plans beforehand. His light is without display; his good faith is without previous arrangement. His sleep is untroubled by dreams; his waking is followed by no sorrows. His spirit is guileless and pure; his soul is not subject to weariness. Vacant and without self-assertion, placid and indifferent, he agrees with the virtue of Heaven.'
故曰：悲乐者，德之邪；喜怒者，道之过；好恶者，德之失。故心不忧乐，德之至也；一而不变，静之至也；无所于忤，虚之至也；不与物交，惔之至也；无所于逆，粹之至也。
Therefore it is said (further), 'Sadness and pleasure show a depraving element in the virtue (of those who feel them); joy and anger show some error in their course; love and hatred show a failure of their virtue. Hence for the mind to be free from sorrow and pleasure is the perfection of virtue; to be of one mind that does not change is the perfection of quietude; to be conscious of no opposition is the perfection of vacancy; to have no intercourse with (external) things is the perfection of indifference; and to have no rebellious dissatisfactions is the perfection of purity.'
故曰：形劳而不休则弊，精用而不已则劳，劳则竭。水之性，不杂则清，莫动则平，郁闭而不流，亦不能清，天德之象也。
Therefore it is said (still further), 'If the body be toiled, and does not rest, it becomes worn out; if the spirit be used without cessation, it becomes toiled; and when toiled, it becomes exhausted. It is the nature of water, when free from admixture, to be clear, and, when not agitated, to be level; while if obstructed and not allowed to flow, it cannot preserve its clearness - being an image of the virtue of Heaven.'
故曰：纯粹而不杂，静一而不变，惔而无为，动而以天行，此养神之道也。
Hence it is said (once again), 'To be guileless and pure, and free from all admixture; to be still and uniform, without undergoing any change; to be indifferent and do nothing; to move and yet to act like Heaven: this is the way to nourish the spirit.
3
刻意:
夫有干、越之剑者，柙而藏之，不敢用也，宝之至也。精神四达并流，无所不极，上际于天，下蟠于地，化育万物，不可为象，其名为同帝。纯素之道，惟神是守，守而勿失，与神为一，一之精通，合于天伦。野语有之曰：“众人重利，廉士重名，贤人尚志，圣人贵精。”故素也者，谓其无所与杂也；纯也者，谓其不亏其神也。能体纯素，谓之真人。
Ingrained Ideas:
Now he who possesses a sword made at Gan-Yue preserves it carefully in a box, and does not dare to use it - it is considered the perfection of valuable swords. But the human spirit goes forth in all directions, flowing on without limit, reaching to heaven above, and wreathing round the earth beneath. It transforms and nourishes all things, and cannot be represented by any form. Its name is "the Divinity (in man)." It is only the path of pure simplicity which guards and preserves the Spirit. When this path is preserved and not lost, it becomes one with the Spirit; and in this ethereal amalgamation, it acts in harmony with the orderly operation of Heaven.' There is the vulgar saying, 'The multitude of men consider gain to be the most important thing; pure scholars, fame; those who are wise and able value their ambition; the sage prizes essential purity.' Therefore simplicity is the denomination of that in which there is no admixture; purity of that in which the spirit is not impaired. It is he who can embody simplicity and purity whom we call the True Man.
缮性 - Correcting the Nature
1
缮性:
缮性于俗，俗学以求复其初，滑欲于俗，思以求致其明，谓之蔽蒙之民。
Correcting the Nature:
Those who would correct their nature by means of the vulgar learning, seeking to restore it to its original condition, and those who would regulate their desires, by the vulgar ways of thinking, seeking thereby to carry their intelligence to perfection, must be pronounced to be deluded and ignorant people.
古之治道者，以恬养知；知生而无以知为也，谓之以知养恬。知与恬交相养，而和理出其性。夫德，和也；道，理也。德无不容，仁也；道无不理，义也；义明而物亲，忠也；中纯实而反乎情，乐也；信行容体而顺乎文，礼也。礼乐遍行，则天下乱矣。彼正而蒙己德，德则不冒，冒则物必失其性也。
The ancients who regulated the Dao nourished their faculty of knowledge by their placidity, and all through life abstained from employing that faculty in action - they must be pronounced to have (thus also) nourished their placidity by their knowledge. When the faculty of knowledge and the placidity (thus) blend together, and they nourish each other, then from the nature there come forth harmony and orderly method. The attributes (of the Dao) constitute the harmony; the Dao (itself) secures the orderly method. When the attributes appear in a universal practice of forbearance, we have Benevolence; when the path is all marked by orderly method, we have Righteousness; when the righteousness is clearly manifested, and (all) things are regarded with affection, we have Leal-heartedness; when the (heart's) core is thus (pure) and real, and carried back to its (proper) qualities, we have Music; when this sincerity appears in all the range of the capacity, and its demonstrations are in accordance with what is elegant, we have Ceremony. If ceremonies and Music are carried out in an imperfect and one-sided manner, the world is thrown into confusion. When men would rectify others, and their own virtue is beclouded, it is not sufficient to extend itself to them. If an attempt be made so to extend it, they also will lose their (proper) nature.
2
缮性:
古之人在混芒之中，与一世而得澹漠焉。当是时也，阴阳和静，鬼神不扰，四时得节，万物不伤，群生不夭，人虽有知，无所用之，此之谓至一。当是时也，莫之为而常自然。
Correcting the Nature:
The men of old, while the chaotic condition was yet undeveloped, shared the placid tranquillity which belonged to the whole world. At that time the Yin and Yang were harmonious and still; their resting and movement proceeded without any disturbance; the four seasons had their definite times; not a single thing received any injury, and no living being came to a premature end. Men might be possessed of (the faculty of) knowledge, but they had no occasion for its use. This was what is called the state of Perfect Unity. At this time, there was no action on the part of any one, but a constant manifestation of spontaneity.
逮德下衰，及燧人、伏羲始为天下，是故顺而不一。德又下衰，及神农、黄帝始为天下，是故安而不顺。德又下衰，及唐、虞始为天下，兴治化之流，浇淳散朴，离道以善，险德以行，然后去性而从于心。心与心识知而不足以定天下，然后附之以文，益之以博。文灭质，博溺心，然后民始惑乱，无以反其性情而复其初。
This condition (of excellence) deteriorated and decayed, till Sui-ren and Fu-xi arose and commenced their administration of the world; on which came a compliance (with their methods), but the state of unity was lost. The condition going on to deteriorate and decay, Shan Nang and Huang-Di arose, and took the administration of the world, on which (the people) rested (in their methods), but did not themselves comply with them. Still the deterioration and decay continued till the lords of Tang and Yu began to administer the world. These introduced the method of governing by transformation, resorting to the stream (instead of to the spring), thus vitiating the purity and destroying the simplicity (of the nature). They left the Dao, and substituted the Good for it, and pursued the course of Haphazard Virtue. After this they forsook their nature and followed (the promptings of) their minds. One mind and another associated their knowledge, but were unable to give rest to the world. Then they added to this knowledge (external and) elegant forms, and went on to make these more and more numerous. The forms extinguished the (primal) simplicity, till the mind was drowned by their multiplicity. After this the people began to be perplexed and disordered, and had no way by which they might return to their true nature, and bring back their original condition.
3
缮性:
由是观之，世丧道矣，道丧世矣。世与道交相丧也。道之人何由兴乎世，世亦何由兴乎道哉！道无以兴乎世，世无以兴乎道，虽圣人不在山林之中，其德隐矣。隐，故不自隐。古之所谓隐士者，非伏其身而弗见也，非闭其言而不出也，非藏其知而不发也，时命大谬也。当时命而大行乎天下，则反一无迹；不当时命而大穷乎天下，则深根宁极而待。此存身之道也。古之行身者，不以辩饰知，不以知穷天下，不以知穷德，危然处其所而反其性，己又何为哉！道固不小行，德固不小识。小识伤德，小行伤道。故曰：正己而已矣。
Correcting the Nature:
Looking at the subject from this point of view, we see how the world lost the (proper) course, and how the course (which it took) only led it further astray. The world and the Way, when they came together, being (thus) lost to each other, how could the men of the Way make themselves conspicuous in the world? and how could the world rise to an appreciation of the Way? Since the Way had no means to make itself conspicuous in the world, and the world had no means of rising to an appreciation of the Way, though sagely men might not keep among the hills and forests, their virtue was hidden - hidden, but not because they themselves sought to hide it. Those whom the ancients called 'Retired Scholars' did not conceal their persons, and not allow themselves to be seen; they did not shut up their words, and refuse to give utterance to them; they did not hide away their knowledge, and refuse to bring it forth. The conditions laid on them by the times were very much awry. If the conditions of the times had allowed them to act in the world on a great scale, they would have brought back the state of unity without any trace being perceived (of how they did so), When those conditions shut them up entirely from such action, they struck their roots deeper (in themselves), were perfectly still and waited. It was thus that they preserved (the Way in) their own persons. The ancients who preserved (the Way in) their own persons did not try by sophistical reasonings to gloss over their knowledge; they did not seek to embrace (everything in) the world in their knowledge, nor to comprehend all the virtues in it. Solitary and trembling they remained where they were, and sought the restoration of their nature. What had they to do with any further action? The Way indeed is not to be pursued, nor (all) its characteristics to be known on a small scale. A little knowledge is injurious to those characteristics; small doings are injurious to the Way - hence it is said, 'They simply rectified themselves.'
乐全之谓得志。古之所谓得志者，非轩冕之谓也，谓其无以益其乐而已矣。今之所谓得志者，轩冕之谓也。轩冕在身，非性命也，物之傥来，寄者也。寄之，其来不可圉，其去不可止。故不为轩冕肆志，不为穷约趋俗，其乐彼与此同，故无忧而已矣。今寄去则不乐，由是观之，虽乐，未尝不荒也。故曰：丧己于物，失性于俗者，谓之倒置之民。
Complete enjoyment is what is meant by 'the Attainment of the Aim.' What was anciently called 'the Attainment of the Aim' did not mean the getting of carriages and coronets; it simply meant that nothing more was needed for their enjoyment. Now-a-days what is called 'the Attainment of the Aim' means the getting of carriages and coronets. But carriages and coronets belong to the body; they do not affect the nature as it is constituted. When such things happen to come, it is but for a time; being but for a time, their coming cannot be obstructed and their going cannot be stopped. Therefore we should not because of carriages and coronets indulge our aims, nor because of distress and straitness resort to the vulgar (learning and thinking); the one of these conditions and the other may equally conduce to our enjoyment, which is simply to be free from anxiety. If now the departure of what is transient takes away one's enjoyment, this view shows that what enjoyment it had given was worthless. Hence it is said, 'They who lose themselves in their pursuit of things, and lose their nature in their study of what is vulgar, must be pronounced people who turn things upside down.'
秋水 - The Floods of Autumn
1
秋水:
秋水时至，百川灌河，泾流之大，两涘渚崖之间，不辩牛马。于是焉河伯欣然自喜，以天下之美为尽在己。顺流而东行，至于北海，东面而视，不见水端，于是焉河伯始旋其面目，望洋向若而叹，曰：“野语有之曰‘闻道百，以为莫己若’者，我之谓也。且夫我尝闻少仲尼之闻而轻伯夷之义者，始吾弗信，今我睹子之难穷也，吾非至于子之门则殆矣，吾长见笑于大方之家。”
The Floods of Autumn:
The time of the autumnal floods was come, and the hundred streams were all discharging themselves into the He. Its current was greatly swollen, so that across its channel from bank to bank one could not distinguish an ox from a horse. On this the (Spirit-) earl of the He laughed with delight, thinking that all the beauty of the world was to be found in his charge. Along the course of the river he walked east till he came to the North Sea, over which he looked, with his face to the east, without being able to see where its waters began. Then he began to turn his face round, looked across the expanse, (as if he were) confronting Ruo, and said with a sigh, 'What the vulgar saying expresses about him who has learned a hundred points (of the Dao), and thinks that there is no one equal to himself, was surely spoken of me. And moreover, I have heard parties making little of the knowledge of Zhongni and the righteousness of Bo-yi, and at first I did not believe them. Now I behold the all-but-boundless extent (of your realms). If I had not come to your gate, I should have been in danger (of continuing in my ignorance), and been laughed at for long in the schools of our great System.'
2
秋水:
北海若曰：“井蛙不可以语于海者，拘于虚也；夏虫不可以语于冰者，笃于时也；曲士不可以语于道者，束于教也。今尔出于崖涘，观于大海，乃知尔丑，尔将可与语大理矣。天下之水，莫大于海，万川归之，不知何时止而不盈；尾闾泄之，不知何时已而不虚；春秋不变，水旱不知。此其过江河之流，不可为量数。而吾未尝以此自多者，自以比形于天地而受气于阴阳，吾在天地之间，犹小石小木之在大山也，方存乎见少，又奚以自多！计四海之在天地之间也，不似礨空之在大泽乎？计中国之在海内，不似稊米之在大仓乎？号物之数谓之万，人处一焉；人卒九州，谷食之所生，舟车之所通，人处一焉。此其比万物也，不似豪末之在于马体乎？五帝之所连，三王之所争，仁人之所忧，任士之所劳，尽此矣。伯夷辞之以为名，仲尼语之以为博，此其自多也，不似尔向之自多于水乎？”
The Floods of Autumn:
Ruo, (the Spirit-lord) of the Northern Sea, said, 'A frog in a well cannot be talked with about the sea - he is confined to the limits of his hole. An insect of the summer cannot be talked with about ice - it knows nothing beyond its own season. A scholar of limited views cannot be talked with about the Dao - he is bound by the teaching (which he has received). Now you have come forth from between your banks, and beheld the great sea. You have come to know your own ignorance and inferiority, and are in the way of being fitted to be talked with about great principles. Of all the waters under heaven there are none so great as the sea. A myriad streams flow into it without ceasing, and yet it is not filled; and afterwards it discharges them (also) without ceasing, and yet it is not emptied. In spring and in autumn it undergoes no change; it takes no notice of floods or of drought. Its superiority over such streams even as the Kiang and the Ho cannot be told by measures or numbers; and that I have never, notwithstanding this, made much of myself, is because I compare my own bodily form with (the greatness of) heaven and earth, and (remember that) I have received my breath from the Yin and Yang. Between heaven and earth I am but as a small stone or a small tree on a great hill. So long as I see myself to be thus small, how should I make much of myself? I estimate all within the four seas, compared with the space between heaven and earth, to be not so large as that occupied by a pile of stones in a large marsh! I estimate our Middle States, compared with the space between the four seas, to be smaller than a single little grain of rice in a great granary! When we would set forth the number of things (in existence), we speak of them as myriads; and man is only one of them. Men occupy all the nine provinces; but of all whose life is maintained by grain-food, wherever boats and carriages reach, men form only one portion. Thus compared with the myriads of things, they are not equal to a single fine hair on the body of a horse. Within this range are comprehended all (the territories) which the five Dis received in succession from one another; all which the royal founders of the three dynasties contended for; all which excited the anxiety of Benevolent men; and all which men in office have toiled for. Bo-yi was accounted famous for declining (to share in its government), and Zhongni was accounted great because of the lessons which he addressed to it. They acted as they did, making much of themselves - therein like you who a little time ago did so of yourself because of your (volume of) water!'
3
秋水:
河伯曰：“然则吾大天地而小毫末可乎？”北海若曰：“否。夫物，量无穷，时无止，分无常，终始无故。是故大知观于远近，故小而不寡，大而不多，知量无穷；证向今故，故遥而不闷，掇而不跂，知时无止；察乎盈虚，故得而不喜，失而不忧，知分之无常也；明乎坦涂，故生而不说，死而不祸，知终始之不可故也。计人之所知，不若其所不知；其生之时，不若未生之时。以其至小，求穷其至大之域，是故迷乱而不能自得也。由此观之，又何以知毫末之足以定至细之倪！又何以知天地之足以穷至大之域！”
The Floods of Autumn:
The earl of the He said, 'Well then, may I consider heaven and earth as (the ideal of) what is great, and the point of a hair as that of what is small?' Ruo of the Northern Sea replied, 'No. The (different) capacities of things are illimitable; time never stops, (but is always moving on); man's lot is ever changing; the end and the beginning of things never occur (twice) in the same way. Therefore men of great wisdom, looking at things far off or near at hand, do not think them insignificant for being small, nor much of them for being great: knowing how capacities differ illimitably. They appeal with intelligence to things of ancient and recent occurrence, without being troubled by the remoteness of the former, or standing on tiptoe to lay hold of the latter: knowing that time never stops in its course. They examine with discrimination (cases of) fulness and of want, not overjoyed by success, nor disheartened by failure: knowing the inconstancy of man's lot. They know the plain and quiet path (in which things proceed), therefore they are not overjoyed to live, nor count it a calamity to die: the end and the beginning of things never occurring (twice) in the same way. We must reckon that what men know is not so much as what they do not know, and that the time since they were born is not so long as that which elapsed before they were born. When they take that which is most small and try to fill with it the dimensions of what is most great, this leads to error and confusion, and they cannot attain their end. Looking at the subject in this way, how can you know that the point of a hair is sufficient to determine the minuteness of what is most small, or that heaven and earth are sufficient to complete the dimensions of what is most large?'
4
秋水:
河伯曰：“世之议者皆曰：‘至精无形，至大不可围。’是信情乎？”北海若曰：“夫自细视大者不尽，自大视细者不明。夫精，小之微也，垺，大之殷也，故异便。此势之有也。夫精粗者，期于有形者也；无形者，数之所不能分也；不可围者，数之所不能穷也。可以言论者，物之粗也；可以意致者，物之精也；言之所不能论，意之所不能察致者，不期精粗焉。是故大人之行，不出乎害人，不多仁恩；动不为利，不贱门隶；货财弗争，不多辞让；事焉不惜人，不多食乎力，不贱贪污；行殊乎俗，不多辟异；为在从众，不贱佞谄；世之爵禄不足以为劝，戮耻不足以为辱；知是非之不可为分，细大之不可为倪。闻曰：‘道人不闻，至德不得，约分之至也。”
The Floods of Autumn:
The earl of the He said, 'The disputers of the world all say, "That which is most minute has no bodily form; and that which is most great cannot be encompassed" - is this really the truth?' Ruo of the Northern Sea replied, 'When from the standpoint of what is small we look at what is great, we do not take it all in; when from the standpoint of what is great we look at what is small, we do not see it clearly. Now the subtile essence is smallness in its extreme degree; and the vast mass is greatness in its largest form. Different as they are, each has its suitability - according to their several conditions. But the subtile and the gross both presuppose that they have a bodily form. Where there is no bodily form, there is no longer a possibility of numerical division; where it is not possible to encompass a mass, there is no longer a possibility of numerical estimate. What can be discoursed about in words is the grossness of things; what can be reached in idea is the subtilty of things. What cannot be discoursed about in words, and what cannot be reached by nice discrimination of thought, has nothing to do either with subtilty or grossness. Therefore while the actions of the Great Man are not directed to injure men, he does not plume himself on his benevolence and kindness; while his movements are not made with a view to gain, he does not consider the menials of a family as mean; while he does not strive after property and wealth, he does not plume himself on declining them; while he does not borrow the help of others to accomplish his affairs, he does not plume himself on supporting himself by his own strength, nor does he despise those who in their greed do what is mean; while he differs in his conduct from the vulgar, he does not plume himself on being so different from them; while it is his desire to follow the multitude, he does not despise the glib-tongued flatterers. The rank and emoluments of the world furnish no stimulus to him, nor does he reckon its punishments and shame to be a disgrace. He knows that the right and the wrong can (often) not be distinguished, and that what is small and what is great can (often) not be defined. I have heard it said, "The Man of Dao does not become distinguished; the greatest virtue is unsuccessful; the Great Man has no thought of self" - to so great a degree may the lot be restricted.'
5
秋水:
河伯曰：“若物之外，若物之内，恶至而倪贵贱？恶至而倪小大？”北海若曰：“以道观之，物无贵贱；以物观之，自贵而相贱：以俗观之，贵贱不在己。以差观之，因其所大而大之，则万物莫不大；因其所小而小之，则万物莫不小。知天地之为稊米也，知豪末之为丘山也，则差数等矣。以功观之，因其所有而有之，则万物莫不有；因其所无而无之，则万物莫不无。知东西之相反，而不可以相无，则功分定矣。以趣观之，因其所然而然之，则万物莫不然；因其所非而非之，则万物莫不非。知尧、桀之自然而相非，则趣操睹矣。昔者尧、舜让而帝，之、哙让而绝；汤、武争而王，白公争而灭。由此观之，争让之礼，尧、桀之行，贵贱有时，未可以为常也。梁丽可以冲城，而不可以窒穴，言殊器也；骐骥骅骝，一日而驰千里，捕鼠不如狸狌，言殊技也；鸱鸺夜撮蚤，察毫末，昼出瞋目而不见丘山，言殊性也。故曰：盖师是而无非，师治而无乱乎？是未明天地之理，万物之情者也。是犹师天而无地，师阴而无阳，其不可行明矣。然且语而不舍，非愚则诬也。帝王殊禅，三代殊继。差其时，逆其俗者，谓之篡夫；当其时，顺其俗者，谓之义徒。默默乎河伯！女恶知贵贱之门，大小之家！”
The Floods of Autumn:
The earl of the He said, 'Whether the subject be what is external in things, or what is internal, how do we come to make a distinction between them as noble and mean, and as great or small?' Ruo of the Northern Sea replied, 'When we look at them in the light of the Dao, they are neither noble nor mean. Looking at them in themselves, each thinks itself noble, and despises others. Looking at them in the light of common opinion, their being noble or mean does not depend on themselves. Looking at them in their differences from one another, if we call those great which are greater than others, there is nothing that is not great, and in the same way there is nothing that is not small. We shall (thus) know that heaven and earth is but (as) a grain of the smallest rice, and that the point of a hair is (as) a mound or a mountain - such is the view given of them by their relative size. Looking at them from the services they render, allowing to everything the service which it does, there is not one which is not serviceable; and, extending the consideration to what it does not do, there is not one which is not unserviceable. We know (for instance) that East and West are opposed to each other, and yet that the one cannot be without (suggesting the idea of) the other - (thus) their share of mutual service is determined. Looking at them with respect to their tendencies, if we approve of what they approve, then there is no one who may not be approved of; and, if we condemn what they condemn, there is no one who may not be condemned. There are the cases of Yao and Jie, each of whom approved of his own course, and condemned the other - such is the view arising from the consideration of tendency and aim.Formerly Yao and Shun resigned (their thrones), and yet each continued to be Di; Zhi-kuai resigned (his marquisate) which led to his ruin. Tang and Wu contended (for the sovereignty), and each became king; the duke a contended (for Qi), which led to his extinction. Looking at the subject from these examples of striving by force and of resigning, and from the conduct of Yao (on the one hand) and of Jie (on the other), we see that there is a time for noble acting, and a time for mean - these characteristics are subject to no regular rule.A battering ram may be used against the wall of a city, but it cannot be employed to stop up a hole - the uses of implements are different. The (horses) Qi-ji and Hua-liu could in one day gallop 1000 li, but for catching rats they were not equal to a wild dog or a weasel - the gifts of creatures are different. The white horned owl collects its fleas in the night-time, and can discern the point of a hair, but in bright day it stares with its eyes and cannot see a mound or a hill - the natures of creatures are different.Hence the sayings, "Shall we not follow and honour the right, and have nothing to do with the wrong? shall we not follow and honour those who secure good government, and have nothing to do with those who produce disorder?" show a want of acquaintance with the principles of Heaven and Earth, and with the different qualities of things. It is like following and honouring Heaven and taking no account of Earth; it is like following and honouring the Yin and taking no account of the Yang. It is clear that such a course cannot be pursued. Yet notwithstanding they go on talking so: if they are not stupid, they are visionaries. The Di sovereigns resigned their thrones to others in one way, and the rulers of the three dynasties transmitted their thrones to their successors in another. He who acts differently from the requirements of his time and contrary to its custom is called an usurper; he who complies with the time and follows the common practice is said to be righteous. Hold your peace, 0 earl of the He. How should you know what constitutes being noble and being mean, or who are the small and who the great?'
6
秋水:
河伯曰：“然则我何为乎？何不为乎？吾辞受趣舍，吾终奈何？”北海若曰：“以道观之，何贵何贱，是谓反衍，无拘而志，与道大蹇。何少何多，是谓谢施，无一而行，与道参差。严乎若国之有君，其无私德；繇繇乎若祭之有社，其无私福；泛泛乎若四方之无穷，其无所畛域。兼怀万物，其孰承翼？是谓无方。万物一齐，孰短孰长？道无终始，物有死生，不恃其成；一虚一满，不位乎其形。年不可举，时不可止；消息盈虚，终则有始。是所以语大义之方，论万物之理也。物之生也若骤若驰，无动而不变，无时而不移。何为乎？何不为乎？夫固将自化。”
The Floods of Autumn:
The earl of the He said, 'Very well. But what am I to do? and what am I not to do? How am I to be guided after all in regard to what I accept or reject, and what I pursue or put away from me?' Ruo of the Northern Sea replied, 'From the standpoint of the Dao, what is noble? and what is mean? These expressions are but the different extremes of the average level. Do not keep pertinaciously to your own ideas, which put you in such opposition to the Dao. What are few? and what are many? These are denominations which we employ in thanking (donors) and dispensing gifts. Do not study to be uniform in doing so - it only shows how different you are from the Dao. Be severe and strict, like the ruler of a state who does not selfishly bestow his favours. Be scrupulous, yet gentle, like the tutelary spirit of the land, when sacrifice is offered to him who does not bestow his blessing selfishly. Be large-minded like space, whose four terminating points are illimitable, and form no particular enclosures. Hold all things in your love, favouring and supporting none specially. This is called being without any local or partial regard; all things are equally regarded; there is no long or short among them.There is no end or beginning to the Dao. Things indeed die and are born, not reaching a perfect state which can be relied on. Now there is emptiness, and now fulness - they do not continue in one form. The years cannot be reproduced; time cannot be arrested. Decay and growth, fulness and emptiness, when they end, begin again. It is thus that we describe the method of great righteousness, and discourse about the principle pervading all things. The life of things is like the hurrying and galloping along of a horse. With every movement there is a change; with every moment there is an alteration. What should you be doing? what should you not be doing? You have only to be allowing this course of natural transformation to be going on.'
7
秋水:
河伯曰：“然则何贵于道邪？”北海若曰：“知道者必达于理，达于理者必明于权，明于权者不以物害己。至德者，火弗能热，水弗能溺，寒暑弗能害，禽兽弗能贼。非谓其薄之也，言察乎安危，宁于祸福，谨于去就，莫之能害也。故曰：天在内，人在外，德在乎天。知天人之行，本乎天，位乎德，惟知天人之行者，本乎自然而处乎自得。蹢䠱而屈伸，反要而语极。”曰：“何谓天？何谓人？”北海若曰：“牛马四足，是谓天；落马首，穿牛鼻，是谓人。故曰：无以人灭天，无以故灭命，无以得殉名。谨守而勿失，是谓反其真。”
The Floods of Autumn:
The earl of the He said, 'What then is there so valuable in the Dao?' Ruo of the Northern Sea replied, 'He who knows the Dao is sure to be well acquainted with the principles (that appear in the procedures of things). Acquainted with (those) principles, he is sure to understand how to regulate his conduct in all varying circumstances. Having that understanding, he will not allow things to injure himself. Fire cannot burn him who is (so) perfect in virtue, nor water drown him; neither cold nor heat can affect him injuriously; neither bird nor beast can hurt him. This does not mean that he is indifferent to these things; it means that he discriminates between where he may safely rest and where he will be in peril; that he is tranquil equally in calamity and happiness; that he is careful what he avoids and what he approaches - so that nothing can injure him. Hence it is said, "What is heavenly is internal; what is human is external." The virtue (of man) is in what is Heavenly. If you know the operation of what is Heavenly and what is Human, you will have your root in what is Heavenly and your position in Virtue. You will bend or stretch (only) after the (necessary) hesitation; you will have returned to the essential, and may be pronounced to have reached perfection.''What do you mean,' pursued the earl, 'by the Heavenly, and by the Human?' Ruo replied, 'Oxen and horses have four feet - that is what I call their Heavenly (constitution). When horses' heads are haltered, and the noses of oxen are pierced, that is what I call (the doing of) Man. Hence it is said, "Do not by the Human (doing) extinguish the Heavenly (constitution); do not for your (Human) purpose extinguish the appointment (of Heaven); do not bury your (proper) fame in (such) a pursuit of it; carefully guard (the Way) and do not lose it: this is what I call reverting to your True (Nature)."'
8
秋水:
夔怜蚿，蚿怜蛇，蛇怜风，风怜目，目怜心。
The Floods of Autumn:
The kui desires to be like the millipede; the millipede to be like the serpent; the serpent like the wind; the wind to be like the eye; and the eye to be like the mind.
夔谓蚿曰：“吾以一足踸踔而行，予无如矣。今子之使万足，独奈何？”蚿曰：“不然。子不见夫唾者乎？喷则大者如珠，小者如雾，杂而下者不可胜数也。今予动吾天机，而不知其所以然。”
The kui said to the millipede, 'With my one leg I hop about, and can hardly manage to go along. Now you have a myriad feet which you can employ; how is it that you are so abundantly furnished?' The millipede said, 'It is not so. Have you not seen one ejecting saliva? The largest portion of it is like a pearl, while the smaller portions fall down like a shower of mist in innumerable drops. Now I put in motion the springs set in me by Heaven, without knowing how I do so.'
蚿谓蛇曰：“吾以众足行，而不及子之无足，何也？”蛇曰：“夫天机之所动，何可易邪？吾安用足哉！”
The millipede said to the serpent, 'I go along by means of my multitude of feet; and yet bow is it that I do not go so fast as you who have no feet at all?' The serpent replied, 'How can the method of moving by the springs set in us by Heaven be changed? How could I make use of feet?'
蛇谓风曰：“予动吾脊胁而行，则有似也。今子蓬蓬然起于北海，蓬蓬然入于南海，而似无有，何也？”风曰：“然。予蓬蓬然起于北海而入于南海也，然而指我则胜我，䠓我亦胜我。虽然，夫折大木，蜚大屋者，唯我能也，故以众小不胜为大胜也。为大胜者，唯圣人能之。”
The serpent said to the wind, 'I get along by moving my backbone and ribs, thus appearing to have some (bodily) means of progression. But now you, Sir, rise with a blustering force in the North Sea, and go on in the same way to the South Sea - seemingly without any such means. How does it take place?' The wind said, 'Yes. With such a blustering force I rise in the North Sea and go on to the South Sea. But you can point to me, and therein are superior to me, as you are also in treading on me. Yet notwithstanding, it is only I who can break great trees, and blow down great houses. Therefore he whom all that are small cannot overcome is a great overcomer. But it is only he who is the sagely man that is the Great Conqueror (of all).'
9
秋水:
孔子游于匡，宋人围之数匝，而弦歌不惙。子路入见，曰：“何夫子之娱也？”孔子曰：“来！吾语女。我讳穷久矣，而不免，命也；求通久矣，而不得，时也。当尧、舜而天下无穷人，非知得也，当桀，纣而天下无通人，非知失也，时势适然。夫水行不避蛟龙者，渔父之勇也；陆行不避兕虎者，猎夫之勇也；白刃交于前，视死若生者，烈士之勇也；知穷之有命，知通之有时，临大难而不惧者，圣人之勇也。由处矣！吾命有所制矣。”无几何，将甲者进，辞曰：“以为阳虎也，故围之；今非也，请辞而退。”
The Floods of Autumn:
When Confucius was travelling in Kuang, some people of Song (once) surrounded him (with a hostile intention) several ranks deep; but he kept singing to his lute without stopping. Zi-lu came in, and saw him, and said, 'How is it, Master, that you are so pleased?' Confucius said, 'Come here, and I will tell you. I have tried to avoid being reduced to such a strait for a long time; and that I have not escaped shows that it was so appointed for me. I have sought to find a ruler that would employ me for a long time, and that I have not found one, shows the character of the time. Under Yao and Shun there was no one in the kingdom reduced to straits like mine; and it was not by their sagacity that men succeeded as they did. Under Jie and Zhou no (good and able man) in the kingdom found his way to employment; and it was not for (want of) sagacity that they failed to do so. It was simply owing to the times and their character. People that do business on the water do not shrink from meeting iguanodons and dragons - that is the courage of fishermen. Those who do business on land do not shrink from meeting rhinoceroses and tigers - that is the courage of hunters. When men see the sharp weapons crossed before them, and look on death as going home - that is the courage of the determined soldier. When he knows that his strait is determined for him, and that the employment of him by a ruler depends on the character of the time, and then meeting with great distress is yet not afraid - that is the courage of the sagely man. Wait, my good You, and you will see what there is determined for me in my lot.' A little afterwards, the leader of the armed men approached and took his leave, saying, 'We thought you were Yang Hu, and therefore surrounded you. Now we see our mistake.' (With this) he begged to take his leave, and withdrew.
10
秋水:
公孙龙问于魏牟曰：“龙少学先生之道，长而明仁义之行，合同异，杂坚白，然不然，可不可，困百家之知，穷众口之辩，吾自以为至达已。今吾闻庄子之言，汒焉异之，不知论之不及与，知之弗若与？今吾无所开吾喙，敢问其方。”
The Floods of Autumn:
Gong-sun Long asked Mou of Wei, saying, 'When I was young, I learned the teachings of the former kings; and when I was grown up, I became proficient in the practice of benevolence and righteousness. I brought together the views that agreed and disagreed; I considered the questions about hardness and whiteness; I set forth what was to be affirmed and what was not, and what was allowable and what was not; I studied painfully the various schools of thought, and made myself master of the reasonings of all their masters. I thought that I had reached a good understanding of every subject; but now that I have heard the words of Zhuangzi, they throw me into a flutter of surprise. I do not know whether it be that I do not come up to him in the power of discussion, or that my knowledge is not equal to his. But now I do not feel able to open my mouth, and venture to ask you what course I should pursue.'
公子牟隐机太息，仰天而笑曰：“子独不闻夫堋井之蛙乎？谓东海之鳖曰：‘吾乐与！出跳梁乎井干之上，入休乎缺甃之崖，赴水则接腋持颐，蹶泥则没足灭跗，还虷蟹与科斗，莫吾能若也。且夫擅一壑之水，而跨跱堋井之乐，此亦至矣，夫子奚不时来入观乎？’东海之鳖左足未入，而右膝已絷矣。于是逡巡而却，告之海曰：‘夫千里之远，不足以举其大；千仞之高，不足以极其深。禹之时，十年九潦，而水弗为加益；汤之时，八年七旱，而崖不为加损。夫不为顷久推移，不以多少进退者，此亦东海之大乐也。’于是堋井之蛙闻之，适适然惊，规规然自失也。且夫知不知是非之竟，而犹欲观于庄子之言，是犹使蚊负山，商蚷驰河也，必不胜任矣。且夫知不知论极妙之言，而自适一时之利者，是非堋井之蛙与？且彼方跐黄泉而登大皇，无南无北，奭然四解，沦于不测；无东无西，始于玄冥，反于大通。子乃规规然而求之以察，索之以辩，是直用管窥天，用锥指地也，不亦小乎！子往矣！且子独不闻寿陵馀子之学行于邯郸与？今子不去，将忘子之故，失子之业。”
Gong-sun Mou leant forward on his stool, drew a long breath, looked up to heaven, smiled, and said, 'Have you not heard of the frog of the dilapidated well, and how it said to the turtle of the Eastern Sea, "How I enjoy myself? I leap upon the parapet of this well. I enter, and having by means of the projections formed by the fragments of the broken tiles of the lining proceeded to the water, I draw my legs together, keep my chin up, (and strike out). When I have got to the mud, I dive till my feet are lost in it. Then turning round, I see that of the shrimps, crabs, and tadpoles there is not one that can do like me. Moreover, when one has entire command of all the water in the gully, and hesitates to go forward, it is the greatest pleasure to enjoy one's self here in this dilapidated well - why do not you, Master, often come and enter, and see it for yourself?" The turtle of the Eastern Sea (was then proceeding to go forward), but before he had put in his left foot, he found his right knee caught and held fast. On this he hesitated, drew back, and told (the frog) all about the sea, saying, "A distance of a thousand li is not sufficient to express its extent, nor would (a line of) eight thousand cubits be equal to sound its depth. In the time of Yu, for nine years out of ten the flooded land (all drained into it), and its water was not sensibly increased; and in the time of Thang for seven years out of eight there was a drought, but the rocks on the shore (saw) no diminution of the water because of it. Thus it is that no change is produced in its waters by any cause operating for a short time or a long, and that they do not advance nor recede for any addition or subtraction, whether great or small; and this is the great pleasure afforded by the Eastern Sea." When the frog of the dilapidated well heard this, he was amazed and terror-struck, and lost himself in surprise.And moreover, when you, who have not wisdom enough to know where the discussions about what is right and what is wrong should end, still desire to see through the words of Zhuangzi, that is like employing a mosquito to carry a mountain on its back, or a millipede to gallop as fast as the Ho runs - tasks to which both the insects are sure to be unequal. Still further, when you, who have not wisdom enough to know the words employed in discussing very mysterious subjects, yet hasten to show your sharpness of speech on any occasion that may occur, is not this being like the frog of the dilapidated well?And that (Zhuangzi) now plants his foot on the Yellow Springs (below the earth), and anon rises to the height of the Empyrean. Without any regard to south and north, with freedom he launches out in every direction, and is lost in the unfathomable. Without any regard to east and west, starting from what is abysmally obscure, he comes back to what is grandly intelligible. (All the while), you, Sir, in amazement, search for his views to examine them, and grope among them for matter for discussion - this is just like peeping at the heavens through a tube, or aiming at the earth with an awl; are not both the implements too small for the purpose? Go your ways, Sir.And have you not heard of the young learners of Shou-ling, and how they did in Han-dan? Before they had acquired what they might have done in that capital, they had forgotten what they had learned to do in their old city, and were marched back to it on their hands and knees. If now you do not go away, you will forget your old acquirements, and fail in your profession.'
公孙龙口呿而不合，舌举而不下，乃逸而走。
Gong-sun Long gaped on the speaker, and could not shut his mouth, and his tongue clave to its roof. He slank away and ran off.
11
秋水:
庄子钓于濮水，楚王使大夫二人往先焉，曰：“愿以境内累矣！”庄子持竿不顾，曰：“吾闻楚有神龟，死已三千岁矣，王巾笥而藏之庙堂之上。此龟者，宁其死为留骨而贵乎，宁其生而曳尾于涂中乎？”二大夫曰：“宁生而曳尾涂中。”庄子曰：“往矣！吾将曳尾于涂中。”
The Floods of Autumn:
Zhuangzi was (once) fishing in the river Pu, when the king of Chu sent two great officers to him, with the message, 'I wish to trouble you with the charge of all within my territories.' Zhuangzi kept on holding his rod without looking round, and said, 'I have heard that in Chu there is a spirit-like tortoise-shell, the wearer of which died 3000 years ago, and which the king keeps, in his ancestral temple, in a hamper covered with a cloth. Was it better for the tortoise to die, and leave its shell to be thus honoured? Or would it have been better for it to live, and keep on dragging its tail through the mud?' The two officers said, 'It would have been better for it to live, and draw its tail after it over the mud.' 'Go your ways. I will keep on drawing my tail after me through the mud.'
12
秋水:
惠子相梁，庄子往见之。或谓惠子曰：“庄子来，欲代子相。”于是惠子恐，搜于国中三日三夜。庄子往见之，曰：“南方有鸟，其名为鵷鶵，子知之乎？夫鵷鶵发于南海而飞于北海，非梧桐不止，非练实不食，非醴泉不饮。于是鸱得腐鼠，鵷鶵过之，仰而视之曰：‘吓！’今子欲以子之梁国而吓我邪？”
The Floods of Autumn:
Huizi being a minister of state in Liang, Zhuangzi went to see him. Some one had told Huizi that Zhuangzi was come with a wish to supersede him in his office, on which he was afraid, and instituted a search for the stranger all over the kingdom for three days and three nights. (After this) Zhuangzi went and saw him, and said, 'There is in the south a bird, called "the Young Phoenix" - do you know it? Starting from the South Sea, it flies to the Northern; never resting but on the bignonia, never eating but the fruit of the melia azederach, and never drinking but from the purest springs. An owl, which had got a putrid rat, (once), when a phoenix went passing overhead, looked up to it and gave an angry scream. Do you wish now, in your possession of the kingdom of Liang, to frighten me with a similar scream?'
13
秋水:
庄子与惠子游于濠梁之上。庄子曰：“儵鱼出游从容，是鱼之乐也。”惠子曰：“子非鱼，安知鱼之乐？”庄子曰：“子非我，安知我不知鱼之乐？”惠子曰：“我非子，固不知子矣；子固非鱼矣，子之不知鱼之乐全矣。”庄子曰：“请循其本。子曰‘汝安知鱼乐’云者，既已知吾知之而问我，我知之濠上也。”
The Floods of Autumn:
Zhuangzi and Huizi were walking on the dam over the Hao, when the former said, 'These thryssas come out, and play about at their ease - that is the enjoyment of fishes.' The other said, 'You are not a fish; how do you know what constitutes the enjoyment of fishes?' Zhuangzi rejoined, 'You are not I. How do you know that I do not know what constitutes the enjoyment of fishes?' Huizi said, 'I am not you; and though indeed I do not fully know you, you certainly are not a fish, and (the argument) is complete against your knowing what constitutes the happiness of fishes.' Zhuangzi replied, 'Let us keep to your original question. You said to me, "How do you know what constitutes the enjoyment of fishes?" You knew that I knew it, and yet you put your question to me - well, I know it (from our enjoying ourselves together) over the Hao.'
至乐 - Perfect Enjoyment
1
至乐:
天下有至乐无有哉？有可以活身者无有哉？今奚为奚据？奚避奚处？奚就奚去？奚乐奚恶？
Perfect Enjoyment:
Under the sky is perfect enjoyment to be found or not? Are there any who can preserve themselves alive or not? If there be, what do they do? What do they maintain? What do they avoid? What do they attend to? Where do they resort to? Where do they keep from? What do they delight in? What do they dislike?
夫天下之所尊者，富贵寿善也；所乐者，身安、厚味、美服、好色、音声也；所下者，贫贱夭恶也；所苦者，身不得安逸，口不得厚味，形不得美服，目不得好色，耳不得音声；若不得者，则大忧以惧。其为形也亦愚哉！
What the world honours is riches, dignities, lonevity, and being deemed able. What it delights in is rest for the body, rich flavours, fine garments, beautiful colours, and pleasant music. What it looks down on are poverty and mean condition, short life and being deemed feeble. What men consider bitter experiences are that their bodies do not get rest and ease, that their mouths do not get food of rich flavour, that their persons are not finely clothed, that their eyes do not see beautiful colours, and that their ears do not listen to pleasant music. If they do not got these things, they are very sorrowful, and go on to be troubled with fears. Their thoughts are all about the body - are they not silly?
夫富者，苦身疾作，多积财而不得尽用，其为形也亦外矣。夫贵者，夜以继日，思虑善否，其为形也亦疏矣。人之生也，与忧俱生，寿者惛惛，久忧不死，何苦也！其为形也亦远矣。烈士为天下见善矣，未足以活身。吾未知善之诚善邪，诚不善邪？若以为善矣，不足活身；以为不善矣，足以活人。故曰：“忠谏不听，蹲循勿争。”故夫子胥争之以残其形，不争，名亦不成。诚有善无有哉？今俗之所为与其所乐，吾又未知乐之果乐邪，果不乐邪？吾观夫俗之所乐，举群趣者，誙誙然如将不得已，而皆曰乐者，吾未之乐也，亦未之不乐也。果有乐无有哉？吾以无为诚乐矣，又俗之所大苦也。故曰：“至乐无乐，至誉无誉。”
Now the rich embitter their lives by their incessant labours; they accumulate more wealth than they can use: while they act thus for the body, they make it external to themselves. Those who seek for honours carry their pursuit of them from the day into the night, full of anxiety about their methods whether they are skilful or not: while they act thus for the body they treat it as if it were indifferent to them. The birth of man is at the same time the birth of his sorrow; and if he live long he becomes more and more stupid, and the longer is his anxiety that he may not die; how great is his bitterness!-- while he thus acts for his body, it is for a distant result. Meritorious officers are regarded by the world as good; but (their goodness) is not sufficient to keep their persons alive. I do not know whether the goodness ascribed to them be really good or really not good. If indeed it be considered good, it is not sufficient to preserve their persons alive; if it be deemed not good, it is sufficient to preserve other men alive. Hence it is said, 'When faithful remonstrances are not listened to, (the remonstrant) should sit still, let (his ruler) take his course, and not strive with him.' Therefore when Zi-xu strove with (his ruler), he brought on himself the mutilation of his body. If he had not so striven, he would not have acquired his fame: was such (goodness) really good or was it not? As to what the common people now do, and what they find their enjoyment in, I do not know whether the enjoyment be really enjoyment or really not. I see them in their pursuit of it following after all their aims as if with the determination of death, and as if they could not stop in their course; but what they call enjoyment would not be so to me, while yet I do not say that there is no enjoyment in it. Is there indeed such enjoyment, or is there not? I consider doing nothing (to obtain it) to be the great enjoyment, while ordinarily people consider it to be a great evil. Hence it is said, 'Perfect enjoyment is to be without enjoyment; the highest praise is to be without praise.'
天下是非果未可定也。虽然，无为可以定是非。至乐活身，唯无为几存。请尝试言之。天无为以之清，地无为以之宁，故两无为相合，万物皆化。芒乎芴乎，而无从出乎！芴乎芒乎，而无有象乎！万物职职，皆从无为殖。故曰：“天地无为也，而无不为也。”人也，孰能得无为哉！
The right and the wrong (on this point of enjoyment) cannot indeed be determined according to (the view of) the world; nevertheless, this doing nothing (to obtain it) may determine the right and the wrong. Since perfect enjoyment is (held to be) the keeping the body alive, it is only by this doing nothing that that end is likely to be secured. Allow me to try and explain this (more fully): Heaven does nothing, and thence comes its serenity; Earth does nothing, and thence comes its rest. By the union of these two inactivities, all things are produced. How vast and imperceptible is the process!-- they seem to come from nowhere! How imperceptible and vast!-- there is no visible image of it! All things in all their variety grow from this Inaction. Hence it is said, 'Heaven and Earth do nothing, and yet there is nothing that they do not do.' But what man is there that can attain to this inaction?
2
至乐:
庄子妻死，惠子吊之，庄子则方箕踞鼓盆而歌。惠子曰：“与人居长子，老身死，不哭亦足矣，又鼓盆而歌，不亦甚乎！”庄子曰：“不然。是其始死也，我独何能无概然！察其始而本无生，非徒无生也，而本无形，非徒无形也，而本无气。杂乎芒芴之间，变而有气，气变而有形，形变而有生，今又变而之死，是相与为春秋冬夏四时行也。人且偃然寝于巨室，而我噭噭然随而哭之，自以为不通乎命，故止也。”
Perfect Enjoyment:
When Zhuangzi's wife died, Huizi went to condole with him, and, finding him squatted on the ground, drumming on the basin, and singing, said to him, 'When a wife has lived with her husband, and brought up children, and then dies in her old age, not to wail for her is enough. When you go on to drum on this basin and sing, is it not an excessive (and strange) demonstration?' Zhuangzi replied, 'It is not so. When she first died, was it possible for me to be singular and not affected by the event? But I reflected on the commencement of her being. She had not yet been born to life; not only had she no life, but she had no bodily form; not only had she no bodily form, but she had no breath. During the intermingling of the waste and dark chaos, there ensued a change, and there was breath; another change, and there was the bodily form; another change, and there came birth and life. There is now a change again, and she is dead. The relation between these things is like the procession of the four seasons from spring to autumn, from winter to summer. There now she lies with her face up, sleeping in the Great Chamber; and if I were to fall sobbing and going on to wall for her, I should think that I did not understand what was appointed (for all). I therefore restrained myself!'
3
至乐:
支离叔与滑介叔观于冥伯之丘，昆仑之虚，黄帝之所休。俄而柳生其左肘，其意蹶蹶然恶之。支离叔曰：“子恶之乎？”滑介叔曰：“亡。予何恶？生者，假借也；假之而生生者，尘垢也。死生为昼夜。且吾与子观化而化及我，我又何恶焉？”
Perfect Enjoyment:
Mr. Deformed and Mr. One-foot were looking at the mound-graves of the departed in the wild of Kun-lun, where Huang-Di had entered into his rest. Suddenly a tumour began to grow on their left wrists, which made them look distressed as if they disliked it. The former said to the other, 'Do you dread it?' 'No,' replied he, 'why should I dread it? Life is a borrowed thing. The living frame thus borrowed is but so much dust. Life and death are like day and night. And you and I were looking at (the graves of) those who have undergone their change. If my change is coming to me, why should I dislike it?'
4
至乐:
庄子之楚，见空髑髅，髐然有形，撽以马捶，因而问之曰：“夫子贪生失理，而为此乎？将子有亡国之事，斧钺之诛，而为此乎？将子有不善之行，愧遗父母妻子之丑，而为此乎？将子有冻馁之患，而为此乎？将子之春秋故及此乎？”于是语卒，援髑髅枕而卧。
Perfect Enjoyment:
When Zhuangzi went to Chu, he saw an empty skull, bleached indeed, but still retaining its shape. Tapping it with his horse-switch, he asked it, saying, 'Did you, Sir, in your greed of life, fail in the lessons of reason, and come to this? Or did you do so, in the service of a perishing state, by the punishment of the axe? Or was it through your evil conduct, reflecting disgrace on your parents and on your wife and children? Or was it through your hard endurances of cold and hunger? Or was it that you had completed your term of life?' Having given expression to these questions, he took up the skull, and made a pillow of it when he went to sleep.
夜半，髑髅见梦曰：“子之谈者似辩士。视子所言，皆生人之累也，死则无此矣。子欲闻死之说乎？”庄子曰：“然。”髑髅曰：“死，无君于上，无臣于下，亦无四时之事，从然以天地为春秋，虽南面王乐，不能过也。”庄子不信，曰：“吾使司命复生子形，为子骨肉肌肤，反子父母妻子、闾里、知识，子欲之乎？”髑髅深矉蹙頞曰：“吾安能弃南面王乐而复为人间之劳乎？”
At midnight the skull appeared to him in a dream, and said, 'What you said to me was after the fashion of an orator. All your words were about the entanglements of men in their lifetime. There are none of those things after death. Would you like to hear me, Sir, tell you about death?' 'I should,' said Zhuangzi, and the skull resumed: 'In death there are not (the distinctions of) ruler above and minister below. There are none of the phenomena of the four seasons. Tranquil and at ease, our years are those of heaven and earth. No king in his court has greater enjoyment than we have.' Zhuangzi did not believe it, and said, 'If I could get the Ruler of our Destiny to restore your body to life with its bones and flesh and skin, and to give you back your father and mother, your wife and children, and all your village acquaintances, would you wish me to do so?' The skull stared fixedly at him, knitted its brows, and said, 'How should I cast away the enjoyment of my royal court, and undertake again the toils of life among mankind?'
5
至乐:
颜渊东之齐，孔子有忧色。子贡下席而问曰：“小子敢问：回东之齐，夫子有忧色，何邪？”孔子曰：“善哉汝问！昔者管子有言，丘甚善之，曰：‘褚小者不可以怀大，绠短者不可以汲深。’夫若是者，以为命有所成而形有所适也，夫不可损益。吾恐回与齐侯言尧、舜、黄帝之道，而重以燧人、神农之言。彼将内求于己而不得，不得则惑，人惑则死。且女独不闻邪？昔者海鸟止于鲁郊，鲁侯御而觞之于庙，奏九韶以为乐，具太牢以为善。鸟乃眩视忧悲，不敢食一脔，不敢饮一杯，三日而死。此以己养养鸟也，非以鸟养养鸟也。夫以鸟养养鸟者，宜栖之深林，游之坛陆，浮之江湖，食之鳅鲦，随行列而止，委蛇而处。彼唯人言之恶闻，奚以夫譊譊为乎！咸池、九韶之乐，张之洞庭之野，鸟闻之而飞，兽闻之而走，鱼闻之而下入，人卒闻之，相与还而观之。鱼处水而生，人处水而死，故必相与异，其好恶故异也。故先圣不一其能，不同其事。名止于实，义设于适，是之谓条达而福持。”
Perfect Enjoyment:
When Yan Yuan went eastwards to Qi, Confucius wore a look of sorrow. Zi-gong left his mat, and asked him, saying, 'Your humble disciple ventures to ask how it is that the going eastwards of Hui to Qi has given you such a look of sadness.' Confucius said, 'Your question is good. Formerly Kwan-tsze used words of which I very much approve. He said, "A small bag cannot be made to contain what is large; a short rope cannot be used to draw water from a deep well." So it is, and man's appointed lot is definitely determined, and his body is adapted for definite ends, so that neither the one nor the other can be augmented or diminished. I am afraid that Hui will talk with the marquis of Qi about the ways of Huang-Di, Yao, and Shun, and go on to relate the words of Sui-zan and Shan Nang. The marquis will seek (for the correspondence of what he is told) in himself; and, not finding it there, will suspect the speaker; and that speaker, being suspected, will be put to death. And have you not heard this? Formerly a sea-bird alighted in the suburban country of Lu. The marquis went out to meet it, (brought it) to the ancestral temple, and prepared to banquet it there. The Jiu-shao was performed to afford it music; an ox, a sheep, and a pig were killed to supply the food. The bird, however, looked at everything with dim eyes, and was very sad. It did not venture to eat a single bit of flesh, nor to drink a single cupful; and in three days it died.'The marquis was trying to nourish the bird with what he used for himself, and not with the nourishment proper for a bird. They who would nourish birds as they ought to be nourished should let them perch in the deep forests, or roam over sandy plains; float on the rivers and lakes; feed on the eels and small fish; wing their flight in regular order and then stop; and be free and at ease in their resting-places. It was a distress to that bird to hear men speak; what did it care for all the noise and hubbub made about it? If the music of the Jiu-shao or the Xian-chi were performed in the wild of the Dong-ting lake, birds would fly away, and beasts would run off when they heard it, and fishes would dive down to the bottom of the water; while men, when they hear it, would come all round together, and look on. Fishes live and men die in the water. They are different in constitution, and therefore differ in their likes and dislikes. Hence it was that the ancient sages did not require (from all) the same ability, nor demand the same performances. They gave names according to the reality of what was done, and gave their approbation where it was specially suitable. This was what was called the method of universal adaptation and of sure success.'
6
至乐:
列子行食于道，从见百岁髑髅，攓蓬而指之曰：“唯予与汝知而未尝死，未尝生也。若果养乎？予果欢乎？”
Perfect Enjoyment:
Liezi (once) upon a journey took a meal by the road-side. There he saw a skull a hundred years old, and, pulling away the bush (under which it lay), he pointed to it and said, 'It is only you and I who know that you are not dead, and that (aforetime) you were not alive. Do you indeed really find (in death) the nourishment (which you like)? Do I really find (in life my proper) enjoyment?
7
至乐:
种有几，得水则为继，得水土之际则为蛙蠙之衣，生于陵屯则为陵舄，陵舄得郁栖则为乌足，乌足之根为蛴螬，其叶为蝴蝶。胡蝶，胥也化而为虫，生于灶下，其状若脱，其名为鸲掇。鸲掇千日为鸟，其名曰乾馀骨。乾馀骨之沬为斯弥，斯弥为食醯。颐辂生乎食醯，黄軦生乎九猷，瞀芮生乎腐蠸。羊奚比乎不笋，久竹生青宁，青宁生程，程生马，马生人，人又反入于机。万物皆出于机，皆入于机。
Perfect Enjoyment:
The seeds (of things) are multitudinous and minute. On the surface of the water they form a membranous texture. When they reach to where the land and water join they become the (lichens which we call the) clothes of frogs and oysters. Coming to life on mounds and heights, they become the plantain; and, receiving manure, appear as crows' feet. The roots of the crow's foot become grubs, and its leaves, butterflies. This butterfly, known by the name of xu, is changed into an insect, and comes to life under a furnace. Then it has the form of a moth, and is named the Qu-duo. The Qu-duo after a thousand days becomes a bird, called the gan-yu-gu. Its saliva becomes the si-mi, and this again the shi-xi (or pickle-eater). The yi-lu is produced from the pickle-eater; the huang-kuang from the jiu-you; the mou-rui from the fu-quan. The yang-xi uniting with a bamboo, which has long ceased to put forth sprouts, produces the qing-ning; the qing-ning, the panther; the panther, the horse; and the horse, the man. Man then again enters into the great Machinery (of Evolution), from which all things come forth (at birth), and which they enter at death.
达生 - The Full Understanding of Life
1
达生:
达生之情者，不务生之所无以为；达命之情者，不务知之所无奈何。养形必先之以物，物有馀而形不养者有之矣；有生必先无离形，形不离而生亡者有之矣。生之来不能却，其去不能止。悲夫！世之人以为养形足以存生，而养形果不足以存生，则世奚足为哉！虽不足为而不可不为者，其为不免矣。
The Full Understanding of Life:
He who understands the conditions of Life does not strive after what is of no use to life; and he who understands the conditions of Destiny does not strive after what is beyond the reach of knowledge. In nourishing the body it is necessary to have beforehand the things (appropriate to its support); but there are cases where there is a superabundance of such things, and yet the body is not nourished. In order to have life it is necessary that it do not have left the body; but there are cases when the body has not been left by it, and yet the life has perished. When life comes, it cannot be declined; when it goes, it cannot be detained. Alas! the men of the world think that to nourish the body is sufficient to preserve life; and when such nourishment is not sufficient to preserve the life, what can be done in the world that will be sufficient? Though (all that men can do) will be insufficient, yet there are things which they feel they ought to do, and they do not try to avoid doing them.
夫欲免为形者，莫如弃世。弃世则无累，无累则正平，正平则与彼更生，更生则几矣。事奚足弃而生奚足遗？弃事则形不劳，遗生则精不亏。夫形全精复，与天为一。天地者，万物之父母也，合则成体，散则成始。形精不亏，是谓能移；精而又精，反以相天。
For those who wish to avoid caring for the body, their best plan is to abandon the world. Abandoning the world, they are free from its entanglements. Free from its entanglements, their (minds) are correct and their (temperament) is equable. Thus correct and equable, they succeed in securing a renewal of life, as some have done. In securing a renewal of life, they are not far from the True (Secret of their being). But how is it sufficient to abandon worldly affairs? and how is it sufficient to forget the (business of) life? Through the renouncing of (worldly) affairs, the body has no more toil; through forgetting the (business of) life, the vital power suffers no diminution. When the body is completed and the vital power is restored (to its original vigour), the man is one with Heaven. Heaven and Earth are the father and mother of all things. It is by their union that the body is formed; it is by their separation that a (new) beginning is brought about. When the body and vital power suffer no diminution, we have what may be called the transference of power. From the vital force there comes another more vital, and man returns to be the assistant of Heaven.
2
达生:
子列子问关尹曰：“至人潜行不窒，蹈火不热，行乎万物之上而不栗。请问何以至于此？”关尹曰：“是纯气之守也，非知巧果敢之列。居！吾语女。凡有貌象声色者，皆物也，物与物何以相远？夫奚足以至乎先？是色而已。则物之造乎不形，而止乎无所化，夫得是而穷之者，物焉得而止焉！彼将处乎不淫之度，而藏乎无端之纪，游乎万物之所终始，壹其性，养其气，合其德，以通乎物之所造。夫若是者，其天守全，其神无郤，物奚自入焉！夫醉者之坠车，虽疾不死。骨节与人同，而犯害与人异，其神全也，乘亦不知也，坠亦不知也，死生惊惧不入乎其胷中，是故遻物而不慑。彼得全于酒而犹若是，而况得全于天乎！圣人藏于天，故莫之能伤也。”复雠者不折镆、干，虽有忮心者不怨飘瓦，是以天下平均。故无攻战之乱，无杀戮之刑者，由此道也。不开人之天，而开天之天，开天者德生，开人者贼生。不厌其天，不忽于人，民几乎以其真。
The Full Understanding of Life:
My master Liezi asked Yin, (the warden) of the gate, saying, 'The perfect man walks under water without encountering any obstruction, treads on fire without being burned, and walks on high above all things without any fear; let me ask how he attains to do this?' The warden Yin replied, 'It is by his keeping of the pure breath (of life); it is not to be described as an achievement of his skill or daring. Sit down, and I will explain it to you. Whatever has form, semblance, sound, and colour is a thing; how can one thing come to be different from another? But it is not competent for any of these things to reach to what preceded them all - they are but (form and) visibility. But (the perfect man) attains to be (as it were) without form, and beyond the capability of being transformed. Now when one attains to this and carries it out to the highest degree, how can other things come into his way to stop him? He will occupy the place assigned to him without going beyond it, and lie concealed in the clue which has no end. He will study with delight the process which gives their beginning and ending to all things. By gathering his nature into a unity, by nourishing his vital power, by concentrating his virtue, he will penetrate to the making of things. In this condition, with his heavenly constitution kept entire, and with no crevice in his spirit, how can things enter (and disturb his serenity)?'Take the case of a drunken man falling from his carriage - though he may suffer injury, he will not die. His bones and joints are the same as those of other men, but the injury which he receives is different: his spirit is entire. He knew nothing about his getting into the carriage, and knew nothing about his falling from it. The thought of death or life, or of any alarm or affright, does not enter his breast; and therefore he encounters danger without any shrinking from it. Completely under the influence of the liquor he has drunk, it is thus with him - how much more would it be so, if he were under the influence of his Heavenly constitution! The sagely man is kept hid in his Heavenly constitution, and therefore nothing can injure him.'A man in the pursuit of vengeance would not break the (sword) Mo-yu or Gan-jiang (which had done the deed); nor would one, however easily made wrathful, wreak his resentment on the fallen brick. In this way all under heaven there would be peace, without the disorder of assaults and fighting, without the punishments of death and slaughter: such would be the issue of the course (which I have described). If the disposition that is of human origin be not developed, but that which is the gift of Heaven, the development of the latter will produce goodness, while that of the former would produce hurt. If the latter were not wearied of, and the former not slighted, the people would be brought nearly to their True nature.'
3
达生:
仲尼适楚，出于林中，见痀偻者承蜩，犹掇之也。仲尼曰：“子巧乎？有道邪？”曰：“我有道也。五六月累丸，二而不坠，则失者锱铢；累三而不坠，则失者十一；累五而不坠，犹掇之也。吾处身也若厥株拘，吾执臂也若槁木之枝，虽天地之大，万物之多，而唯蜩翼之知。吾不反不侧，不以万物易蜩之翼，何为而不得！”孔子顾谓弟子曰：“用志不分，乃凝于神，其痀偻丈人之谓乎！”
The Full Understanding of Life:
When Zhongni was on his way to Chu, as he issued from a forest, he saw a hunchback receiving cicadas (on the point of a rod), as if he were picking them up with his hand. 'You are clever!' said he to the man. 'Is there any method in it?' The hunchback replied, 'There is. For five or six months, I practised with two pellets, till they never fell down, and then I only failed with a small fraction of the cicadas (which I tried to catch). Having succeeded in the same way with three (pellets), I missed only one cicada in ten. Having succeeded with five, I caught the cicadas as if I were gathering them. My body is to me no more than the stump of a broken trunk, and my shoulder no more than the branch of a rotten tree. Great as heaven and earth are, and multitudinous as things are, I take no notice of them, but only of the wings of my cicadas; neither turning nor inclining to one side. I would not for them all exchange the wings of my cicadas - how should I not succeed in taking them?' Confucius looked round, and said to his disciples, '"Where the will is not diverted from its object, the spirit is concentrated" - this might have been spoken of this hunchback gentleman.'
4
达生:
颜渊问仲尼曰：“吾尝济乎觞深之渊，津人操舟若神。吾问焉，曰：‘操舟可学邪？’曰：‘可。善游者数能。若乃夫没人，则未尝见舟而便操之也。’吾问焉而不吾告，敢问何谓也？”仲尼曰：“善游者数能，忘水也。若乃夫没人之未尝见舟而便操之也，彼视渊若陵，视舟之覆犹其车却也。覆却万方陈乎前而不得入其舍，恶往而不暇！以瓦注者巧，以钩注者惮，以黄金注者殙。其巧一也，而有所矜，则重外也。凡外重者内拙。”
The Full Understanding of Life:
Yan Yuan asked Zhongni, saying, 'When I was crossing the gulf of Shang-shen, the ferryman handled the boat like a spirit. I asked him whether such management of a boat could be learned, and he replied, "It may. Good swimmers can learn it quickly; but as for divers, without having seen a boat, they can manage it at once." He did not directly tell me what I asked - I venture to ask you what he meant.' Zhongni replied, 'Good swimmers acquire the ability quickly - they forget the water (and its dangers). As to those who are able to dive, and without having seen a boat are able to manage it at once, they look on the watery gulf as if it were a hill-side, and the upsetting of a boat as the going back of a carriage. Such upsettings and goings back have occurred before them multitudes of times, and have not seriously affected their minds. Wherever they go, they feel at ease on their occurrence. He who is contending for a piece of earthenware puts forth all his skill. If the prize be a buckle of brass, he shoots timorously; if it be for an article of gold, he shoots as if he were blind. The skill of the archer is the same in all the cases; but (in the two latter cases) he is under the influence of solicitude, and looks on the external prize as most important. All who attach importance to what is external show stupidity in themselves.'
5
达生:
田开之见周威公。威公曰：“吾闻祝肾学生。吾子与祝肾游，亦何闻焉？”田开之曰：“开之操拔篲以倚门庭，亦何闻于夫子！”威公曰：“田子无让！寡人愿闻之。”开之曰：“闻之夫子曰：‘善养生者，若牧羊然，视其后者而鞭之。’”威公曰：“何谓也？”田开之曰：“鲁有单豹者，岩居而水饮，不与民共利，行年七十而犹有婴儿之色，不幸遇饿虎，饿虎杀而食之。有张毅者，高门、悬薄，无不走也，行年四十而有内热之病以死。豹养其内而虎食其外，毅养其外而病攻其内，此二子者，皆不鞭其后者也。”
The Full Understanding of Life:
Tian Kai-zhi was having an interview with duke Wei Of Zhou, who said to him, 'I have heard that (your master) Zhu Shen has studied the subject of Life. What have you, good Sir, heard from him about it in your intercourse with him?' Tian Kai-zhi replied, 'In my waiting on him in the courtyard with my broom, what should I have heard from my master?' Duke Wei said, 'Do not put the question off, Mr. Tian; I wish to hear what you have to say.' Kai-zhi then replied, 'I have heard my master say that they who skilfully nourish their life are like shepherds, who whip up the sheep that they see lagging behind.' 'What did he mean?' asked the duke. The reply was, 'In Lu there was a Shan Bao, who lived among the rocks, and drank only water. He would not share with the people in their toils and the benefits springing from them; and though he was now in his seventieth year, he had still the complexion of a child. Unfortunately he encountered a hungry tiger, which killed and ate him. There was also a Zhang Yi, who hung up a screen at his lofty door, and to whom all the people hurried (to pay their respects). In his fortieth year, he fell ill of a fever and died. (Of these two men), Bao nourished his inner man, and a tiger ate his outer; while Yi nourished his outer man, and disease attacked his inner. Both of them neglected whipping up their lagging sheep.'
6
达生:
仲尼曰：“无入而藏，无出而阳，柴立其中央。三者若得，其名必极。夫畏涂者，十杀一人，则父子兄弟相戒也，必盛卒徒而后敢出焉，不亦知乎！人之所取畏者，衽席之上，饮食之间，而不知为之戒者，过也。”
The Full Understanding of Life:
Zhongni said, 'A man should not retire and hide himself; he should not push forward and display himself; he should be like the decayed tree which stands in the centre of the ground. Where these three conditions are fulfilled, the name will reach its greatest height. When people fear the dangers of a path, if one man in ten be killed, then fathers and sons, elder brothers and younger, warn one another that they must not go out on a journey without a large number of retainers - and is it not a mark of wisdom to do so? But there are dangers which men incur on the mats of their beds, and in eating and drinking; and when no warning is given against them - is it not a mark of error?'
7
达生:
祝宗人玄端以临牢厕，说彘曰：“汝奚恶死？吾将三月豢汝，十日戒，三日齐，藉白茅，加汝肩尻乎雕俎之上，则汝为之乎？”为彘谋曰：“不如食以糠糟，而错之牢厕之中。”自为谋，则苟生有轩冕之尊，死得于腞、楯之上，聚偻之中，则为之。为彘谋则去之，自为谋则取之，所异彘者何也？
The Full Understanding of Life:
The officer of Prayer in his dark and squarecut robes goes to the pig-pen, and thus counsels the pigs, 'Why should you shrink from dying? I will for three months feed you on grain. Then for ten days I will fast, and keep vigil for three days, after which I will put down the mats of white grass, and lay your shoulders and rumps on the carved stand; will not this suit you?' If he had spoken from the standpoint of the pigs, he would have said, 'The better plan will be to feed us with our bran and chaff, and leave us in our pen.' When consulting for himself, he preferred to enjoy, while he lived, his carriage and cap of office, and after death to be borne to the grave on the ornamented carriage, with the canopy over his coffin. Consulting for the pigs, he did not think of these things, but for himself he would have chosen them. Why did he think so differently (for himself and) for the pigs?
8
达生:
桓公田于泽，管仲御，见鬼焉。公抚管仲之手曰：“仲父何见？”对曰：“臣无所见。”公反，诶诒为病，数日不出。齐士有皇子告敖者曰：“公则自伤，鬼恶能伤公！夫忿滀之气，散而不反，则为不足；上而不下，则使人善怒；下而不上，则使人善忘；不上不下，中身当心，则为病。”桓公曰：“然则有鬼乎？”曰：“有。沈有履，灶有髻。户内之烦壤，雷霆处之；东北方之下者，倍阿、鲑蠪跃之；西北方之下者，则泆阳处之。水有罔象，丘有峷，山有夔，野有彷徨，泽有委蛇。”公曰：“请问委蛇之状何如？”皇子曰：“委蛇，其大如毂，其长如辕，紫衣而朱冠。其为物也恶，闻雷车之声，则捧其首而立。见之者殆乎霸。”桓公冁然而笑曰：“此寡人之所见者也。”于是正衣冠与之坐，不终日而不知病之去也。
The Full Understanding of Life:
(Once), when duke Huan was hunting by a marsh, with Guan Zhong driving the carriage, he saw a ghost. Laying his hand on that of Guan Zhong, he said to him, 'Do you see anything, Father Zhong?' 'Your servant sees nothing,' was the reply. The duke then returned, talking incoherently and becoming ill, so that for several days he did not go out. Among the officers of Qi there was a Huang-zi Gao-ao, who said to the duke, 'Your Grace is injuring yourself; how could a ghost injure you? When a paroxysm of irritation is dispersed, and the breath does not return (to the body), what remains in the body is not sufficient for its wants. When it ascends and does not descend, the patient becomes accessible to gusts of anger. When it descends and does not ascend, he loses his memory of things. When it neither ascends nor descends, but remains about the heart in the centre of the body, it makes him ill.' The duke said, 'Yes, but are there ghostly sprites?' The officer replied, 'There are. About mountain tarns there is the lu; about furnaces, the Jie; about the dust-heaps inside the door, the Lei-ting. In low-lying places in the north-east, the Bei-a and Wa-long leap about, and in similar places in the north-west there dwells the Yi-yang. About rivers there is the Wang-xiang; about mounds, the Shen; about hills, the Kui; about wilds, the Fang-huang; about marshes, the Wei-tuo.' 'Let me ask what is the Wei-tuo like?' asked the duke. Huang-zi said, 'It is the size of the nave of a chariot wheel, and the length of the shaft. It wears a purple robe and a red cap. It dislikes the rumbling noise of chariot wheels, and, when it hears it, it puts both its hands to its head and stands up. He who sees it is likely to become the leader of all the other princes.' Duke Huan burst out laughing and said, 'This was what I saw.' On this he put his robes and cap to rights, and made Huang-zi sit with him. Before the day was done, his illness was quite gone, he knew not how.
9
达生:
纪渻子为王养斗鸡。十日而问：“鸡已乎？”曰：“未也。方虚憍而恃气。”十日又问。曰：“未也。犹应向景。”十日又问。曰：“未也。犹疾视而盛气。”十日又问。曰：“几矣。鸡虽有鸣者，已无变矣，望之似木鸡矣，其德全矣，异鸡无敢应者，反走矣。”
The Full Understanding of Life:
Ji Xing-zi was rearing a fighting-cock for the king. Being asked after ten days if the bird were ready, he said, 'Not yet; he is still vain and quarrelsome, and relies on his own vigour.' Being asked the same after other ten days, he said, 'Not yet; he still responds to the crow and the appearance of another bird.' After ten days more, he replied, 'Not yet. He still looks angrily, and is full of spirit.' When a fourth ten days had passed, he replied to the question, 'Nearly so. Though another cock crows, it makes no change in him. To look at him, you would say he was a cock of wood. His quality is complete. No other cock will dare to meet him, but will run from him.'
10
达生:
孔子观于吕梁，县水三十仞，流沫四十里，鼋鼍鱼鳖之所不能游也。见一丈夫游之，以为有苦而欲死也，使弟子并流而拯之。数百步而出，被发行歌而游于塘下。孔子从而问焉，曰：“吾以子为鬼，察子则人也。请问蹈水有道乎？”曰：“亡，吾无道。吾始乎故，长乎性，成乎命。与齐俱入，与汩偕出，从水之道而不为私焉。此吾所以蹈之也。”孔子曰：“何谓始乎故，长乎性，成乎命？”曰：“吾生于陵而安于陵，故也；长于水而安于水，性也；不知吾所以然而然，命也。”
The Full Understanding of Life:
Confucius was looking at the cataract near the gorge of Lu, which fell a height of 240 cubits, and the spray of which floated a distance of forty li, (producing a turbulence) in which no tortoise, gavial, fish, or turtle could play. He saw, however, an old man swimming about in it, as if he had sustained some great calamity, and wished to end his life. Confucius made his disciples hasten along the stream to rescue the man; and by the time they had gone several hundred paces, he was walking along singing, with his hair dishevelled, and enjoying himself at the foot of the embankment. Confucius followed and asked him, saying, 'I thought you were a sprite; but, when I look closely at you, I see that you are a man. Let me ask if you have any particular way of treading the water.' The man said, 'No, I have no particular way. I began (to learn the art) at the very earliest time; as I grew up, it became my nature to practise it; and my success in it is now as sure as fate. I enter and go down with the water in the very centre of its whirl, and come up again with it when it whirls the other way. I follow the way of the water, and do nothing contrary to it of myself - this is how I tread it.' Confucius said, 'What do you mean by saying that you began to learn the art at the very earliest time; that as you grew up, it became your nature to practise it, and that your success in it now is as sure as fate?' The man replied, 'I was born among these hills and lived contented among them - that was why I say that I have trod this water from my earliest time. I grew up by it, and have been happy treading it - that is why I said that to tread it had become natural to me. I know not how I do it, and yet I do it - that is why I say that my success is as sure as fate.'
11
达生:
梓庆削木为鐻，鐻成，见者惊犹鬼神。鲁侯见而问焉，曰：“子何术以为焉？”对曰：“臣工人，何术之有！虽然，有一焉。臣将为鐻，未尝敢以耗气也，必齐以静心。齐三日，而不敢怀庆赏爵禄；齐五日，不敢怀非誉巧拙；齐七日，辄然忘吾有四枝形体也。当是时也，无公朝，其巧专而外骨消；然后入山林，观天性；形躯至矣，然后成见鐻，然后加手焉；不然则已。则以天合天，器之所以疑神者，其是与？”
The Full Understanding of Life:
Qing, the Worker in Rottlera wood, carved a bell-stand, and when it was completed, all who saw it were astonished as if it were the work of spirits. The marquis of Lu went to see it, and asked by what art he had succeeded in producing it. 'Your subject is but a mechanic,' was the reply; 'what art should I be possessed of? Nevertheless, there is one thing (which I will mention). When your servant had undertaken to make the bell-stand, I did not venture to waste any of my power, and felt it necessary to fast in order to compose my mind. After fasting for three days, I did not presume to think of any congratulation, reward, rank, or emolument (which I might obtain by the execution of my task); after fasting five days, I did not presume to think of the condemnation or commendation (which it would produce), or of the skill or want of skill (which it might display). At the end of the seven days, I had forgotten all about myself - my four limbs and my whole person. By this time the thought of your Grace's court (for which I was to make the thing) had passed away; everything that could divert my mind from exclusive devotion to the exercise of my skill had disappeared. Then I went into the forest, and looked at the natural forms of the trees. When I saw one of a perfect form, then the figure of the bell-stand rose up to my view, and I applied my hand to the work. Had I not met with such a tree, I must have abandoned the object; but my Heaven-given faculty and the Heaven-given qualities of the wood were concentrated on it. So it was that my spirit was thus engaged in the production of the bell-stand.'
12
达生:
东野稷以御见庄公，进退中绳，左右旋中规。庄公以为文弗过也，使之钩百而反。颜阖遇之，入见曰：“稷之马将败。”公密而不应。少焉，果败而反。公曰：“子何以知之？”曰：“其马力竭矣，而犹求焉，故曰败。”
The Full Understanding of Life:
Dong-ye Ji was introduced to duke Zhuang to exhibit his driving. His horses went forwards and backwards with the straightness of a line, and wheeled to the right and the left with the exactness of a circle. The duke thought that the lines and circles could not be surpassed if they were woven with silken strings, and told him to make a hundred circuits on the same lines. On the road Yan He met the equipage, and on entering (the palace), and seeing the duke, he said, 'Ji's horses will break down,' but the duke was silent, and gave him no reply. After a little the horses did come back, having broken down; and the duke then said, 'How did you know that it would be so?' Yan He said, 'The horses were exhausted, and he was still urging them on. It was this which made me say that they would break down.'
13
达生:
工倕旋而盖规矩，指与物化，而不以心稽，故其灵台一而不桎。忘足，履之适也；忘腰，带之适也；知忘是非，心之适也；不内变，不外从，事会之适也。始乎适而未尝不适者，忘适之适也。
The Full Understanding of Life:
The artisan Chui made things round (and square) more exactly than if he had used the circle and square. The operation of his fingers on (the forms of) things was like the transformations of them (in nature), and required no application of his mind; and so his Intelligence was entire and encountered no resistance. To be unthought of by the foot that wears it is the fitness of a shoe; to be unthought of by the waist is the fitness of a girdle. When one's wisdom does not think of the right or the wrong (of a question under discussion), that shows the suitability of the mind (for the question); when one is conscious of no inward change, or outward attraction, that shows the mastery of affairs. He who perceives at once the fitness, and never loses the sense of it, has the fitness that forgets all about what is fitting.
14
达生:
有孙休者，踵门而诧子扁庆子曰：“休居乡不见谓不修，临难不见谓不勇，然而田原不遇岁，事君不遇世，宾于乡里，逐于州部，则胡罪乎天哉？休恶遇此命也？”扁子曰：“子独不闻夫至人之自行邪？忘其肝胆，遗其耳目，芒然彷徨乎尘垢之外，逍遥乎无事之业，是谓‘为而不恃，长而不宰’。今汝饰知以惊愚，修身以明污，昭昭乎若揭日月而行也。汝得全而形躯，具而九窍，无中道夭于聋盲跛蹇而比于人数，亦幸矣，又何暇乎天之怨哉！子往矣！”
The Full Understanding of Life:
There was a Sun Xiu who went to the door of Zi-bian Qing-zi, and said to him in a strange perturbed way, 'When I lived in my village, no one took notice of me, but all said that I did not cultivate (my fields); in a time of trouble and attack, no one took notice of me, but all said that I had no courage. But that I did not cultivate my fields, was really because I never met with a good year; and that I did not do service for our ruler, was because I did not meet with the suitable opportunity to do so. I have been sent about my business by the villagers, and am driven away by the registrars of the district - what is my crime? 0 Heaven! how is it that I have met with such a fate?' Bian-zi said to him, 'Have you not heard how the perfect man deals with himself? He forgets that he has a liver and gall. He takes no thought of his ears and eyes. He seems lost and aimless beyond the dust and dirt of the world, and enjoys himself at ease in occupations untroubled by the affairs of business. He may be described as acting and yet not relying on what he does, as being superior and yet not using his superiority to exercise any control. But now you would make a display of your wisdom to astonish the ignorant; you would cultivate your person to make the inferiority of others more apparent; you seek to shine as if you were carrying the sun and moon in your hands. That you are complete in your bodily frame, and possess all its nine openings; that you have not met with any calamity in the middle of your course, such as deafness, blindness, or lameness, and can still take your place as a man among other men - in all this you are fortunate. What leisure have you to murmur against Heaven? Go away, Sir.'
孙子出。扁子入坐，有间，仰天而叹。弟子问曰：“先生何为叹乎？”扁子曰：“向者休来，吾告之以至人之德，吾恐其惊而遂至于惑也。”弟子曰：“不然。孙子之所言是邪，先生之所言非邪，非固不能惑是。孙子所言非邪，先生所言是邪，彼固惑而来矣，又奚罪焉？”
Sun-zi on this went out, and Bian-zi went inside. Having sitten down, after a little time he looked up to heaven, and sighed. His disciples asked him why he sighed, and he said to them, 'Xiu came to me a little while ago, and I told him the characteristics of the perfect man. I am afraid he will be frightened, and get into a state of perplexity.' His disciples said, 'Not so. If what he said was right, and what you said was wrong, the wrong will certainly not be able to perplex the right. If what he said was wrong, and what you said was right, it was just because he was perplexed that he came to you. What was your fault in dealing with him as you did?'
扁子曰：“不然。昔者有鸟止于鲁郊，鲁君说之，为具太牢以飨之，奏九韶以乐之，鸟乃始忧悲眩视，不敢饮食。此之谓以己养养鸟也。若夫以鸟养养鸟者，宜栖之深林，浮之江湖，食之以委蛇，则平陆而已矣。今休，款启寡闻之民也，吾告以至人之德，譬之若载鼷以车马，乐鴳以钟鼓也。彼又奚能无惊乎哉？”
Bian-zi said, 'Not so. Formerly a bird came, and took up its seat in the suburbs of Lu. The ruler of Lu was pleased with it, and provided an ox, a sheep, and a pig to feast it, causing also the Jiu-shao to be performed to delight it. But the bird began to be sad, looked dazed, and did not venture to eat or drink. This was what is called "Nourishing a bird, as you would nourish yourself." He who would nourish a bird as a bird should be nourished should let it perch in a deep forest, or let it float on a river or lake, or let it find its food naturally and undisturbed on the level dry ground. Now Xiu (came to me), a man of slender intelligence, and slight information, and I told him of the characteristics of the perfect man, it was like using a carriage and horses to convey a mouse, or trying to delight a quail with the music of bells and drums - could the creatures help being frightened?'
山木 - The Tree on the Mountain
1
山木:
庄子行于山中，见大木，枝叶盛茂，伐木者止其旁而不取也。问其故。曰：“无所可用。”庄子曰：“此木以不材得终其天年。”夫子出于山，舍于故人之家。故人喜，命竖子杀雁而烹之。竖子请曰：“其一能鸣，其一不能鸣，请奚杀？”主人曰：“杀不能鸣者。”
The Tree on the Mountain:
Zhuangzi was walking on a mountain, when he saw a great tree with huge branches and luxuriant foliage. A wood-cutter was resting by its side, but he would not touch it, and, when asked the reason, said, that it was of no use for anything, Zhuangzi then said to his disciples, 'This tree, because its wood is good for nothing, will succeed in living out its natural term of years.' Having left the mountain, the Master lodged in the house of an old friend, who was glad to see him, and ordered his waiting-lad to kill a goose and boil it. The lad said, 'One of our geese can cackle, and the other cannot - which of them shall I kill?' The host said, 'Kill the one that cannot cackle.'
明日，弟子问于庄子曰：“昨日山中之木，以不材得终其天年；今主人之雁，以不材死。先生将何处？”庄子笑曰：“周将处乎材与不材之间。材与不材之间，似之而非也，故未免乎累。若夫乘道德而浮游则不然。无誉无訾，一龙一蛇，与时俱化，而无肯专为；一上一下，以和为量，浮游乎万物之祖；物物而不物于物，则胡可得而累邪！此黄帝、神农之法则也。若夫万物之情，人伦之传，则不然。合则离，成则毁，廉则挫，尊则议，有为则亏，贤则谋，不肖则欺，胡可得而必乎哉？悲夫！弟子志之，其唯道德之乡乎！”
Next day, his disciples asked Zhuangzi, saying, 'Yesterday the tree on the mountain (you said) would live out its years because of the uselessness of its wood, and now our host's goose has died because of its want of power (to cackle) - which of these conditions, Master, would you prefer to be in?' Zhuangzi laughed and said, '(If I said that) I would prefer to be in a position between being fit to be useful and wanting that fitness, that would seem to be the right position, but it would not be so, for it would not put me beyond being involved in trouble; whereas one who takes his seat on the Dao and its Attributes, and there finds his ease and enjoyment, is not exposed to such a contingency. He is above the reach both of praise and of detraction; now he (mounts aloft) like a dragon, now he (keeps beneath) like a snake; he is transformed with the (changing) character of the time, and is not willing to addict himself to any one thing; now in a high position and now in a low, he is in harmony with all his surroundings; he enjoys himself at ease with the Author of all things; he treats things as things, and is not a thing to them: where is his liability to be involved in trouble? This was the method of Shan Nong and Huang-Di. As to those who occupy themselves with the qualities of things, and with the teaching and practice of the human relations, it is not so with them. Union brings on separation; success, overthrow; sharp corners, the use of the file; honour, critical remarks; active exertion, failure; wisdom, scheming; inferiority, being despised: where is the possibility of unchangeableness in any of these conditions? Remember this, my disciples. Let your abode be here - in the Dao and its Attributes.'
2
山木:
市南宜僚见鲁侯，鲁侯有忧色。市南子曰：“君有忧色，何也？”鲁侯曰：“吾学先王之道，修先君之业，吾敬鬼尊贤，亲而行之，无须臾离居，然不免于患，吾是以忧。”
The Tree on the Mountain:
Yi-liao, an officer of Shi-nan, having an interview with the marquis of Lu, found him looking sad, and asked him why he was so. The marquis said, 'I have studied the ways of the former kings, and cultivated the inheritance left me by my predecessors. I reverence the spirits of the departed and honour the men of worth, doing this with personal devotion, and without the slightest intermission. Notwithstanding, I do not avoid meeting with calamity, and this it is which makes me sad.'
市南子曰：“君之除患之术浅矣。夫丰狐文豹，栖于山林，伏于岩穴，静也；夜行昼居，戒也；虽饥渴隐约，犹旦胥疏于江湖之上而求食焉，定也。然且不免于罔罗机辟之患，是何罪之有哉？其皮为之灾也。今鲁国独非君之皮邪？吾愿君刳形去皮，洒心去欲，而游于无人之野。南越有邑焉，名为建德之国。其民愚而朴，少私而寡欲；知作而不知藏，与而不求其报；不知义之所适，不知礼之所将；猖狂妄行，乃蹈乎大方；其生可乐，其死可葬。吾愿君去国捐俗，与道相辅而行。”
The officer said, 'The arts by which you try to remove calamity are shallow. Think of the close-furred fox and of the elegantly-spotted leopard. They lodge in the forests on the hills, and lurk in their holes among the rocks - keeping still. At night they go about, and during day remain in their lairs - so cautious are they. Even if they are suffering from hunger, thirst, and other distresses, they still keep aloof from men, seeking their food about the Jiang and the Hu - so resolute are they. Still they are not able to escape the danger of the net or the trap; and what fault is it of theirs? It is their skins which occasion them the calamity. And is not the state of Lu your lordship's skin? I wish your lordship to rip your skin from your body, to cleanse your heart, to put away your desires, and to enjoy yourself where you will be without the presence of any one. In the southern state of Yue, there is a district called "the State of Established Virtue." The people are ignorant and simple; their object is to minimise the thought of self and make their desires few; they labour but do not lay up their gains; they give but do not seek for any return; they do not know what righteousness is required of them in any particular case, nor by what ceremonies their performances should be signalised; acting in a wild and eccentric way as if they were mad, they yet keep to the grand rules of conduct. Their birth is an occasion for joy; their death is followed by the rites of burial. I should wish your lordship to leave your state; to give up your ordinary ways, and to proceed to that country by the directest course.'
君曰：“彼其道远而险，又有江山，我无舟车，奈何？”市南子曰：“君无形倨，无留居，以为舟车。”
The ruler said, 'The way to it is distant and difficult; there are rivers and hills; and as I have neither boat nor carriage, how am I to go?' The officer from Shi-nan rejoined, 'If your lordship abjure your personal state, and give up your wish to remain here, that will serve you for a carriage.'
君曰：“彼其道幽远而无人，吾谁与为邻？吾无粮，我无食，安得而至焉？”市南子曰：“少君之费，寡君之欲，虽无粮而乃足。君其涉于江而浮于海，望之而不见其崖，愈往而不知其所穷。送君者皆自崖而反，君自此远矣。故有人者累，见有于人者忧。故尧非有人，非见有于人也。吾愿去君之累，除君之忧，而独与道游于大莫之国。方舟而济于河，有虚船来触舟，虽有惼心之人不怒；有一人在其上，则呼张歙之；一呼而不闻，再呼而不闻，于是三呼邪，则必以恶声随之。向也不怒而今也怒，向也虚而今也实。人能虚己以游世，其孰能害之！”
The ruler rejoined, 'The way to it is solitary and distant, and there are no people on it - whom shall I have as my companions? I have no provisions prepared, and how shall I get food? How shall I be able to get (to the country)?' The officer said, 'Minimise your lordship's expenditure, and make your wants few, and though you have no provisions prepared, you will find you have enough. Wade through the rivers and float along on the sea, where however you look, you see not the shore, and, the farther you go, you do not see where your journey is to end - those who escorted you to the shore will return, and after that you will feel yourself far away. Thus it is that he who owns men (as their ruler) is involved in troubles, and he who is owned by men (as their ruler) suffers from sadness; and hence Yao would neither own men, nor be owned by them. I wish to remove your trouble, and take away your sadness, and it is only (to be done by inducing you) to enjoy yourself with the Dao in the land of Great Vacuity. If a man is crossing a river in a boat, and another empty vessel comes into collision with it, even though he be a man of a choleric temper, he will not be angry with it. If there be a person, however, in that boat, he will bawl out to him to haul out of the way. If his shout be not heard, he will repeat it; and if the other do not then hear, he will call out a third time, following up the shout with abusive terms. Formerly he was not angry, but now he is; formerly (he thought) the boat was empty, but now there is a person in it. If a man can empty himself of himself, during his time in the world, who can harm him?'
3
山木:
北宫奢为卫灵公赋敛以为钟，为坛乎国门之外，三月而成上下之县。王子庆忌见而问焉，曰：“子何术之设？”奢曰：“一之间，无敢设也。奢闻之：‘既雕既琢，复归于朴。’侗乎其无识，傥乎其怠疑；萃乎芒乎，其送往而迎来；来者勿禁，往者勿止；从其强梁，随其曲傅，因其自穷。故朝夕赋敛而毫毛不挫，而况有大涂者乎！”
The Tree on the Mountain:
Bei-gong She was collecting taxes for duke Ling of Wei, to be employed in making (a peal of) bells. (In connexion with the work) he built an altar outside the gate of the suburban wall; and in three months the bells were completed, even to the suspending of the upper and lower (tiers). The king's son Qing-ji saw them, and asked what arts he had employed in the making of them. She replied, 'Besides my undivided attention to them, I did not venture to use any arts. I have heard the saying, "After all the carving and the chiselling, let the object be to return to simplicity." I was as a child who has no knowledge; I was extraordinarily slow and hesitating; they grew like the springing plants of themselves. In escorting those who went and meeting those who came, my object was neither to hinder the comers nor detain the goers. I suffered those who strongly opposed to take their way, and accepted those who did their best to come to terms. I allowed them all to do the utmost they could, and in this way morning and evening I collected the taxes. I did not have the slightest trouble, and how much more will this be the case with those who pursue the Great Way (on a grand scale)!'
4
山木:
孔子围于陈、蔡之间，七日不火食。大公任往吊之，曰：“子几死乎？”曰：“然。”“子恶死乎？”曰：“然。”
The Tree on the Mountain:
Confucius was kept (by his enemies) in a state of siege between Chen and Cai, and for seven days had no food cooked with fire to eat. The Da-gong Ren went to condole with him, and said, 'You had nearly met with your death.' 'Yes,' was the reply. 'Do you dislike death?' 'I do.'
任曰：“予尝言不死之道。东海有鸟焉，其名曰意怠。其为鸟也，翂翂翐翐，而似无能；引援而飞，迫胁而栖；进不敢为前，退不敢为后；食不敢先尝，必取其绪。是故其行列不斥，而外人卒不得害，是以免于患。直木先伐，甘井先竭。子其意者饰知以惊愚，修身以明污，昭昭乎若揭日月而行，故不免也。昔吾闻之大成之人曰：‘自伐者无功，功成者堕，名成者亏。’孰能去功与名而还与众人！道流而不明居，得行而不名处；纯纯常常，乃比于狂；削迹捐势，不为功名。是故无责于人，人亦无责焉。至人不闻，子何喜哉？”
Then Ren continued, 'Let me try and describe a way by which (such a) death may be avoided. In the eastern sea there are birds which go by the name of yi-dai; they fly low and slowly as if they were deficient in power. They fly as if they were leading and assisting one another, and they press on one another when they roost. No one ventures to take the lead in going forward, or to be the last in going backwards. In eating no one ventures to take the first mouthful, but prefers the fragments left by others. In this way (the breaks in) their line are not many, and men outside them cannot harm them, so that they escape injury. The straight tree is the first to be cut down; the well of sweet water is the first to be exhausted. Your aim is to embellish your wisdom so as to startle the ignorant, and to cultivate your person to show the unsightliness of others. A light shines around you as if you were carrying with you the sun and moon, and thus it is that you do not escape such calamity. Formerly I heard a highly accomplished man say, "Those who boast have no merit. The merit which is deemed complete will begin to decay. The fame which is deemed complete will begin to wane." Who can rid himself of (the ideas of) merit and fame, and return and put himself on the level of the masses of men? The practice of the Dao flows abroad, but its master does not care to dwell where it can be seen; his attainments in it hold their course, but he does not wish to appear in its display. Always simple and commonplace, he may seem to be bereft of reason. He obliterates the traces of his action, gives up position and power, and aims not at merit and fame. Therefore he does not censure men, and men do not censure him. The perfect man does not seek to be heard of; how is it that you delight in doing so?'
孔子曰：“善哉！”辞其交游，去其弟子，逃于大泽；衣裘褐，食杼栗；入兽不乱群，入鸟不乱行。鸟兽不恶，而况人乎！
Confucius said, 'Excellent;' and thereupon he took leave of his associates, forsook his disciples, retired to the neighbourhood of a great marsh, wore skins and hair cloth, and ate acorns and chestnuts. He went among animals without causing any confusion among their herds, and among birds without troubling their movements. Birds and beasts did not dislike him; how much less would men do so!
5
山木:
孔子问子桑雽曰：“吾再逐于鲁，伐树于宋，削迹于卫，穷于商、周，围于陈、蔡之间。吾犯此数患，亲交益疏，徒友益散，何与？”
The Tree on the Mountain:
Confucius asked Zi-sang Hu, saying, 'I was twice driven from Lu; the tree was felled over me in Song; I was obliged to disappear from Wei; I was reduced to extreme distress in Shang and Zhou; and I was kept in a state of siege between Chen and Cai. I have encountered these various calamities; my intimate associates are removed from me more and more; my followers and friends are more and more dispersed - why have all these things befallen me?'
子桑雽曰：“子独不闻假人之亡与？林回弃千金之璧，负赤子而趋。或曰：‘为其布与？赤子之布寡矣。为其累与？赤子之累多矣。弃千金之璧，负赤子而趋，何也？’林回曰：‘彼以利合，此以天属也。’夫以利合者，迫穷祸患害相弃也；以天属者，迫穷祸患害相收也。夫相收之与相弃亦远矣。且君子之交淡若水，小人之交甘若醴；君子淡以亲，小人甘以绝。彼无故以合者，则无故以离。”
Zi-sang Hu replied, 'Have you not heard of the flight of Lin Hui of Jia - how he abandoned his round jade symbol of rank, worth a thousand pieces of silver, and hurried away with his infant son on his back? If it be asked, "Was it because of the market value of the child?" But that value was small (compared with the value of the jade token). If it be asked again, "Was it because of the troubles (of his office)?" But the child would occasion him much more trouble. Why was it then that, abandoning the jade token, worth a thousand pieces of silver, he hurried away with the child on his back? Lin Hui (himself) said, "The union between me and the token rested on the ground of gain; that between me and the child was of Heaven's appointment." Where the bond of union is its profitableness, when the pressure of poverty, calamity, distress, and injury come, the parties abandon one another; when it is of Heaven's appointment, they hold in the same circumstances to one another. Now between abandoning one another, and holding to one another, the difference is great. Moreover, the intercourse of superior men is tasteless as water, while that of mean men is sweet as new wine. But the tastelessness of the superior men leads on to affection, and the sweetness of the mean men to aversion. The union which originates without any cause will end in separation without any cause.'
孔子曰：“敬闻命矣。”徐行翔佯而归，绝学捐书，弟子无挹于前，其爱益加进。
Confucius said, 'I have reverently received your instructions.' And hereupon, with a slow step and an assumed air of ease, he returned to his own house. There he made an end of studying and put away his books. His disciples came no more to make their bow to him (and be taught), but their affection for him increased the more.
异日，桑雽又曰：“舜之将死，真泠禹曰：‘汝戒之哉！形莫若缘，情莫若率。缘则不离，率则不劳；不离不劳，则不求文以待形；不求文以待形，固不待物。’”
Another day Sang Hu said further to him, 'When Shun was about to die, he charged Yu, saying, 'Be upon your guard. (The attraction of) the person is not like that of sympathy; the (power of) affection is not like the leading (of example). Where there is sympathy, there will not be separation; where there is (the leading of) example, there will be no toil. Where there is neither separation nor toil, you will not have to seek the decoration of forms to make the person attractive, and where there is no such need of those forms, there will certainly be none for external things.'
6
山木:
庄子衣大布而补之，正緳系履而过魏王。魏王曰：“何先生之惫邪？”庄子曰：“贫也，非惫也。士有道德不能行，惫也。衣弊履穿，贫也，非惫也，此所谓非遭时也。王独不见夫腾猿乎？其得楠、梓、豫、章也，揽蔓其枝，而王长其间，虽羿、蓬蒙不能眄睨也。及其得柘、棘、枳、枸之闲也，危行侧视，振动悼栗，此筋骨非有加急而不柔也，处势不便，未足以逞其能也。今处昏上乱相之间，而欲无惫，奚可得邪？此比干之见剖心，徵也夫！”
The Tree on the Mountain:
Zhuangzi in a patched dress of coarse cloth, and having his shoes tied together with strings, was passing by the king of Wei, who said to him, 'How great, Master, is your distress?' Zhuangzi replied, 'It is poverty, not distress! While a scholar possesses the Dao and its Attributes, he cannot be going about in distress. Tattered clothes and shoes tied on the feet are the sign of poverty, and not of distress. This is what we call not meeting with the right time. Has your majesty not seen the climbing monkey? When he is among the plane trees, rottleras, oaks, and camphor trees, he grasps and twists their branches (into a screen), where he reigns quite at his ease, so that not even Yi or Peng Meng could spy him out. When, however, he finds himself among the prickly mulberry and date trees, and other thorns, he goes cautiously, casts sidelong glances, and takes every trembling movement with apprehension - it is not that his sinews and bones are straitened, and have lost their suppleness, but the situation is unsuitable for him, and he cannot display his agility. And now when I dwell under a benighted ruler, and seditious ministers, how is it possible for me not to be in distress? My case might afford an illustration of the cutting out the heart of Bi-gan!'
7
山木:
孔子穷于陈、蔡之间，七日不火食，左据槁木，右击槁枝，而歌猋氏之风，有其具而无其数，有其声而无宫角，木声与人声，犁然有当于人心。
The Tree on the Mountain:
When Confucius was reduced to great distress between Chen and Cai, and for seven days he had no cooked food to eat, he laid hold of a decayed tree with his left hand, and with his right hand tapped it with a decayed branch, singing all the while the ode of Biao-shi. He had his instrument, but the notes were not marked on it. There was a noise, but no blended melody. The sound of the wood and the voice of the man came together like the noise of the plough through the ground, yet suitably to the feelings of the disciples around.
颜回端拱还目而窥之。仲尼恐其广己而造大也，爱己而造哀也，曰：“回！无受天损易，无受人益难。无始而非卒也，人与天一也。夫今之歌者其谁乎？”
Yan Hui, who was standing upright, with his hands crossed on his breast, rolled his eyes round to observe him. Zhongni, fearing that Hui would go to excess in manifesting how he honoured himself, or be plunged in sorrow through his love for him, said to him, 'Hui, not to receive (as evils) the inflictions of Heaven is easy; not to receive (as benefits) the favours of men is difficult. There is no beginning which was not an end. The Human and the Heavenly may be one and the same. Who, for instance, is it that is now singing?'
回曰：“敢问无受天损易。”仲尼曰：“饥溺寒暑，穷桎不行，天地之行也，运物之泄也，言与之偕逝之谓也。为人臣者，不敢去之。执臣之道犹若是，而况乎所以待天乎！”
Hui said, 'I venture to ask how not to receive (as evils) the inflictions of Heaven is easy.' Zhongni said, 'Hunger, thirst, cold, and heat, and having one's progress entirely blocked up - these are the doings of Heaven and Earth, necessary incidents in the revolutions of things. They are occurrences of which we say that we will pass on (composedly) along with them. The minister of another does not dare to refuse his commands; and if he who is discharging the duty of a minister feels it necessary to act thus, how much more should we wait with ease on the commands of Heaven!'
“何谓无受人益难？”仲尼曰：“始用四达，爵禄并至而不穷，物之所利，乃非己也，吾命有在外者也。君子不为盗，贤人不为窃。吾若取之，何哉？故曰：鸟莫知于鷾鸸，目之所不宜处，不给视，虽落其实，弃之而走。其畏人也，而袭诸人间，社稷存焉尔。”
'What do you mean by saying that not to receive (as benefits) the favours of men is difficult?' Zhongni said, 'As soon as one is employed in office, he gets forward in all directions; rank and emolument come to him together, and without end. But these advantages do not come from one's self - it is my appointed lot to have such external good. The superior man is not a robber; the man of worth is no filcher - if I prefer such things, what am I? Hence it is said, "There is no bird wiser than the swallow." Where its eye lights on a place that is not suitable for it, it does not give it a second glance. Though it may drop the food from its mouth, it abandons it, and hurries off. It is afraid of men, and yet it stealthily takes up its dwelling by his; finding its protection in the altars of the Land and Grain.'
“何谓无始而非卒？”仲尼曰：“化其万物而不知其禅之者，焉知其所终？焉知其所始？正而待之而已耳。”
'What do you mean by saying that there is no beginning which was not an end?' Zhongni said, 'The change-- rise and dissolution-- of all things (continually) goes on, but we do not know who it is that maintains and continues the process. How do we know when any one begins? How do we know when he will end? We have simply to wait for it, and nothing more.'
“何谓天与人一邪？”仲尼曰：“有人，天也；有天，亦天也。人之不能有天，性也，圣人晏然体逝而终矣。”
'And what do you mean by saying that the Human and the Heavenly are one and the same?' Zhongni said, 'Given man, and you have Heaven; given Heaven, and you still have Heaven (and nothing more). That man can not have Heaven is owing to the limitation of his nature. The sagely man quietly passes away with his body, and there is an end of it.'
8
山木:
庄周游乎雕陵之樊，睹一异鹊自南方来者，翼广七尺，目大运寸，感周之颡而集于栗林。庄周曰：“此何鸟哉？翼殷不逝，目大不睹。”蹇裳躩步，执弹而留之。睹一蝉方得美荫而忘其身；螳蜋执翳而搏之，见得而忘其形；异鹊从而利之，见利而忘其真。庄周怵然曰：“噫！物固相累，二类相召也。”捐弹而反走，虞人逐而谇之。
The Tree on the Mountain:
As Zhuang Zhou was rambling in the park of Diao-ling he saw a strange bird which came from the south. Its wings were seven cubits in width, and its eyes were large, an inch in circuit. It touched the forehead of Zhou as it passed him, and lighted in a grove of chestnut trees. 'What bird is this?' said he, 'with such great wings not to go on! and with such large eyes not to see me!' He lifted up his skirts, and hurried with his cross-bow, waiting for (an opportunity to shoot) it. (Meanwhile) he saw a cicada, which had just alighted in a beautiful shady spot, and forgot its (care for its) body. (Just then), a preying mantis raised its feelers, and pounced on the cicada, in its eagerness for its prey, (also) forgetting (its care for) its body; while the strange bird took advantage of its opportunity to secure them both, in view of that gain forgetting its true (instinct of preservation). Zhuang Zhou with an emotion of pity, said, 'Ah! so it is that things bring evil on one another, each of these creatures invited its own calamity.' (With this) he put away his cross-bow, and was hurrying away back, when the forester pursued him with terms of reproach.
庄周反入，三月不庭。蔺且从而问之：“夫子何为顷间甚不庭乎？”庄周曰：“吾守形而忘身，观于浊水而迷于清渊。且吾闻诸夫子曰：‘入其俗，从其俗。’今吾游于雕陵而忘吾身，异鹊感吾颡，游于栗林而忘真，栗林虞人以吾为戮，吾所以不庭也。”
When he returned and went into his house, he did not appear in his courtyard for three months. (When he came out), Lin Qie (his disciple) asked him, saying, 'Master, why have you for this some time avoided the courtyard so much?' Zhuangzi replied, 'I was guarding my person, and forgot myself; I was looking at turbid water, till I mistook the clear pool. And moreover I have heard the Master say, "Going where certain customs prevail, you should follow those customs." I was walking about in the park of Diao-ling, and forgot myself. A strange bird brushed past my forehead, and went flying about in the grove of chestnuts, where it forgot the true (art of preserving itself). The forester of the chestnut grove thought that I was a fitting object for his reproach. These are the reasons why I have avoided the courtyard.'
9
山木:
阳子之宋，宿于逆旅。逆旅有妾二人，其一人美，其一人恶，恶者贵而美者贱。阳子问其故，逆旅小子对曰：“其美者自美，吾不知其美也；其恶者自恶，吾不知其恶也。”阳子曰：“弟子记之！行贤而去自贤之行，安往而不爱哉？”
The Tree on the Mountain:
Yang-zi, having gone to Song, passed the night in a lodging-house, the master of which had two concubines - one beautiful, the other ugly. The ugly one was honoured, however, and the beautiful one contemned. Yang-zi asked the reason, and a little boy of the house replied, 'The beauty knows her beauty, and we do not recognise it. The ugly one knows her ugliness, and we do not recognise it.' Yang-zi said, 'Remember it, my disciples. Act virtuously, and put away the practice of priding yourselves on your virtue. If you do this, where can you go to that you will not be loved?'
田子方 - Tian Zi-fang
1
田子方:
田子方侍坐于魏文侯，数称溪工。文侯曰：“溪工，子之师邪？”子方曰：“非也。无择之里人也，称道数当，故无择称之。”文侯曰：“然则子无师邪？”子方曰：“有。”曰：“子之师谁邪？”子方曰：“东郭顺子。”文侯曰：“然则夫子何故未尝称之？”子方曰：“其为人也真，人貌而天虚，缘而葆真，清而容物。物无道，正容以悟之，使人之意也消。无择何足以称之！”
Tian Zi-fang:
Tian Zi-fang, sitting in attendance on the marquis Wen of Wei, often quoted (with approbation) the words of Qi Gong. The marquis said, 'Is Qi Gong your preceptor?' Zi-fang replied, 'No. He only belongs to the same neighbourhood. In speaking about the Dao, 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 Dong-guo Shun-zi.' 'And why, my Master, have I never heard you quote his words?' Zi-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 Dao, 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?'
子方出，文侯傥然终日不言，召前立臣，而语之曰：“远矣全德之君子！始吾以圣知之言、仁义之行为至矣，吾闻子方之师，吾形解而不欲动，口钳而不欲言。吾所学者直土梗耳，夫魏真为我累耳！”
When Zi-fang went out, the marquis Wen continued in a state of dumb amazement all the day. He then called Long Li-chen, 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 Zi-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
田子方:
温伯雪子适齐，舍于鲁。鲁人有请见之者，温伯雪子曰：“不可。吾闻中国之君子，明乎礼义而陋于知人心，吾不欲见也。”至于齐，反舍于鲁，是人也又请见。温伯雪子曰：“往也蕲见我，今也又蕲见我，是必有以振我也。”出而见客，入而叹。明日见客，又入而叹。其仆曰：“每见之客也，必入而叹，何邪？”曰：“吾固告子矣：‘中国之民，明乎礼义而陋乎知人心。’昔之见我者，进退一成规，一成矩；从容一若龙，一若虎；其谏我也似子，其道我也似父。是以叹也。”
Tian Zi-fang:
Wen-bo Xue-zi, on his way to Qi, stayed some time in Lu, 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 Qi; and on his way back (to the south), he again stayed in li, 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.'
仲尼见之而不言。子路曰：“吾子欲见温伯雪子久矣，见之而不言，何邪？”仲尼曰：“若夫人者，目击而道存矣，亦不可以容声矣。”
Zhongni saw the man, but did not speak a word to him. Zi-lu said, 'You have wished, Sir, to see this Wen-bo Xue-zi for a long time; what is the reason that when you have seen him, you have not spoken a word?' Zhongni replied, 'As soon as my eyes lighted on that man, the Dao in him was apparent. The situation did not admit of a word being spoken.'
3
田子方:
颜渊问于仲尼曰：“夫子步亦步，夫子趋亦趋，夫子驰亦驰，夫子奔逸绝尘，而回瞠若乎后矣。”夫子曰：“回，何谓邪？”曰：“夫子步亦步也，夫子言亦言也，夫子趋亦趋也，夫子辩亦辩也，夫子驰亦驰也，夫子言道，回亦言道也。及奔逸绝尘，而回瞠若乎后者，夫子不言而信，不比而周，无器而民滔乎前，而不知所以然而已矣。”
Tian Zi-fang:
Yan Yuan asked Zhongni, 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 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.'
仲尼曰：“恶！可不察与！夫哀莫大于心死，而人死亦次之。日出东方而入于西极，万物莫不比方。有目有趾者，待是而后成功，待昼而作。是出则存，是入则亡。万物亦然，有待也而死，有待也而生。吾一受其成形，而不化以待尽，效物而动，日夜无隙，而不知其所终，薰然其成形，知命不能规乎其前，丘以是日徂。吾终身与汝交一臂而失之，可不哀与！女殆著乎吾所以著也。彼已尽矣，而女求之以为有，是求马于唐肆也。吾服女也甚忘，女服吾也亦甚忘。虽然，女奚患焉！虽忘乎故吾，吾有不忘者存。”
Zhongni 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. I move as acted on by things, day and night without cessation, and I do not know when I will come to an end. Clearly I am here a completed frame, and even one who (fancies that he) knows what is appointed cannot determine it beforehand. I am in this way daily passing on, but all day long I am communicating my views to you; and now, as we are shoulder to shoulder you fail (to understand me) - is it not matter for lamentation? You are able in a measure to set forth what I more clearly set forth; but that is passed away, and you look for it, as if it were still existing, just as if you were looking for a horse in the now empty place where it was formerly exhibited for sale. You have very much forgotten my service to you, and I have very much forgotten wherein I served you. But nevertheless why should you account this such an evil? What you forget is but my old self; that which cannot be forgotten remains with me.'
4
田子方:
孔子见老聃，老聃新沐，方将被发而乾，慹然似非人。孔子便而待之，少焉见曰：“丘也眩与？其信然与？向者先生形体掘若槁木，似遗物离人而立于独也。”老聃曰：“吾游心于物之初。”
Tian Zi-fang:
Confucius went to see Lao Dan, and arrived just as he had completed the bathing of his head, and was letting his dishevelled hair get dry. There he was, motionless, and as if there were not another man in the world. Confucius waited quietly; and, when 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).' Lao Dan replied, 'I was enjoying myself in thinking about the commencement of things.'
孔子曰：“何谓邪？”曰：“心困焉而不能知，口辟焉而不能言，尝为女议乎其将。至阴肃肃，至阳赫赫；肃肃出乎天，赫赫发乎地；两者交通成和而物生焉，或为之纪而莫见其形。消息满虚，一晦一明，日改月化，日有所为，而莫见其功。生有所乎萌，死有所乎归，始终相反乎无端，而莫知其所穷。非是也，且孰为之宗！”
'What do you mean?' 'My mind is so cramped, that I hardly know it; my tongue is so tied that I cannot tell it; but I will try to describe it to you as nearly as I can. When the state of Yin was perfect, all was cold and severe; when the state of Yang was perfect, all was turbulent and agitated. The coldness and severity came forth from Heaven; the turbulence and agitation issued from Earth. The two states communicating together, a harmony ensued and things were produced. Some one regulated and controlled this, but no one has seen his form. Decay and growth; fulness and emptiness; darkness and light; the changes of the sun and the transformations of the moon: these are brought about from day to day; but no one sees the process of production. Life has its origin from which it springs, and death has its place from which it returns. Beginning and ending go on in mutual contrariety without any determinable commencement, and no one knows how either comes to an end. If we disallow all this, who originates and presides over all these phenomena?'
孔子曰：“请问游是。”老聃曰：“夫得是，至美至乐也。得至美而游乎至乐，谓之至人。”孔子曰：“愿闻其方。”曰：“草食之兽不疾易薮，水生之虫不疾易水，行小变而不失其大常也，喜怒哀乐不入于胸次。夫天下也者，万物之所一也。得其所一而同焉，则四肢百体将为尘垢，而死生终始将为昼夜而莫之能滑，而况得丧祸福之所介乎！弃隶者若弃泥涂，知身贵于隶也，贵在于我而不失于变。且万化而未始有极也，夫孰足以患心！已为道者解乎此。”
Confucius said, 'I beg to ask about your enjoyment in these thoughts.' Lao Dan 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 Dao understand the subject.'
孔子曰：“夫子德配天地，而犹假至言以修心，古之君子，孰能脱焉？”老聃曰：“不然。夫水之于汋也，无为而才自然矣。至人之于德也，不修而物不能离焉，若天之自高，地之自厚，日月之自明，夫何修焉！”
Confucius said, '0 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?' Lao Dan 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?'
孔子出，以告颜回曰：“丘之于道也，其犹醯鸡与！微夫子之发吾覆也，吾不知天地之大全也。”
Confucius went out and reported the conversation to Yan Hui, saying, 'In the (knowledge of the) Dao 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
田子方:
庄子见鲁哀公。哀公曰：“鲁多儒士，少为先生方者。”庄子曰：“鲁少儒。”哀公曰：“举鲁国而儒服，何谓少乎？”庄子曰：“周闻之：儒者冠圜冠者，知天时；履句屦者，知地形；缓佩玦者，事至而断。君子有其道者，未必为其服也；为其服者，未必知其道也。公固以为不然，何不号于国中曰‘无此道而为此服者，其罪死’？”于是哀公号之五日，而鲁国无敢儒服者。独有一丈夫儒服而立乎公门，公即召而问以国事，千转万变而不穷。庄子曰：“以鲁国而儒者一人耳，可谓多乎？”
Tian Zi-fang:
At an interview of Zhuangzi with duke Ai of Lu, the duke said, 'There are many of the Learned class in Lu; but few of them can be compared with you, Sir.' Zhuangzi replied, 'There are few Learned men in Lu.' 'Everywhere in Lu,' rejoined the duke, 'you see men wearing the dress of the Learned - how can you say that they are few?' 'I have heard,' said Zhuangzi, '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 Lu, 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. Zhuangzi said, 'When the state of Lu can thus produce but one man of the Learned class, can he be said to be many?'
6
田子方:
百里奚爵禄不入于心，故饭牛而牛肥，使秦穆公忘其贱，与之政也。有虞氏死生不入于心，故足以动人。
Tian Zi-fang:
The ideas of rank and emolument did not enter the mind of Bai-li Xi, and so he became a cattle-feeder, and his cattle were all in fine condition. This made duke Mu of Qin 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 Yu, and therefore he was able to influence others.
7
田子方:
宋元君将画图。众史皆至，受揖而立；舐笔和墨，在外者半。有一史后至者，儃儃然不趋，受揖不立，因之舍。公使人视之，则解衣般礴，裸。君曰：“可矣，是真画者也。”
Tian Zi-fang:
The ruler Yuan of Song 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
田子方:
文王观于臧，见一丈夫钓，而其钓莫钓，非持其钓，有钓者也，常钓也。
Tian Zi-fang:
King Wen 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).
文王欲举而授之政，而恐大臣父兄之弗安也；欲终而释之，而不忍百姓之无天也。于是旦而属之夫夫曰：“昔者寡人梦，见良人黑色而髯，乘驳马而偏朱蹄，号曰：‘寓而政于臧丈人，庶几乎民有瘳乎！’”诸大夫蹴然曰：“先君王也。”文王曰：“然则卜之。”诸大夫曰：“先君之命王，其无它，又何卜焉！”
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 Wen 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?'
遂迎臧丈人而授之政。典洗无更，偏令无出。三年，文王观于国，则列士坏植散群，长官者不成德，斔斛不敢入于四竟。列士坏植散群，则尚同也；长官者不成德，则同务也；斔斛不敢入于四竟，则诸侯无二心也。文王于是焉以为大师，北面而问曰：“政可以及天下乎？”臧丈人昧然而不应，泛然而辞，朝令而夜遁，终身无闻。
(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), 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 Wen 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.
颜渊问于仲尼曰：“文王其犹未邪？又何以梦为乎？”仲尼曰：“默！汝无言！夫文王尽之也，而又何论刺焉！彼直以循斯须也。”
Yan Yuan questioned Confucius, saying, 'Was even King Wen unequal to determine his course? What had he to do with resorting to a dream?' Zhongni replied, 'Be silent and do not say a word! King Wen 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
田子方:
列御寇为伯昏无人射，引之盈贯，措杯水其肘上，发之，适矢复沓，方矢复寓。当是时，犹象人也。伯昏无人曰：“是射之射，非不射之射也。尝与汝登高山，履危石，临百仞之渊，若能射乎？”于是无人遂登高山，履危石，临百仞之渊，背逡巡，足二分垂在外，揖御寇而进之。御寇伏地，汗流至踵。伯昏无人曰：“夫至人者，上闚青天，下潜黄泉，挥斥八极，神气不变。今汝怵然有恂目之志，尔于中也殆矣夫！”
Tian Zi-fang:
Lie Yu-Kou was exhibiting his archery to Bo-hun Wu-ren. 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. Bo-hun Wu-ren 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 Wu-ren turned round and walked backwards, till his feet were two-thirds of their length outside the edge, and beckoned Yu-kou 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
田子方:
肩吾问于孙叔敖曰：“子三为令尹而不荣华，三去之而无忧色。吾始也疑子，今视子之鼻间栩栩然，子之用心独奈何？”孙叔敖曰：“吾何以过人哉！吾以其来不可却也，其去不可止也，吾以为得失之非我也，而无忧色而已矣。我何以过人哉！且不知其在彼乎，其在我乎？其在彼也，亡乎我；在我也，亡乎彼。方将踌躇，方将四顾，何暇至乎人贵人贱哉！”
Tian Zi-fang:
Jian Wu asked Sun-shu Ao, saying, 'You, Sir, were thrice chief minister, and did not feel elated; you were thrice dismissed from that position, without manifesting any sorrow. At first I was in doubt about you, (but I am not now, since) I see how regularly and quietly the breath comes through your nostrils. How is it that you exercise your mind?' Sun-shu Ao replied, 'In what do I surpass other men? When the position came to me, I thought it should not be rejected; when it was taken away, I thought it could not be retained. I considered that the getting or losing it did not make me what I was, and was no occasion for any manifestation of sorrow - that was all. In what did I surpass other men? And moreover, I did not know whether the honour of it belonged to the dignity, or to myself. If it belonged to the dignity, it was nothing to me; if it belonged to me, it had nothing 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?'
仲尼闻之曰：“古之真人，知者不得说，美人不得滥，盗人不得劫，伏戏、黄帝不得友。死生亦大矣，而无变乎己，况爵禄乎！若然者，其神经乎大山而无介，入乎渊泉而不濡，处卑细而不惫，充满天地，既以与人，己愈有。”
Zhongni 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 Fu-xi nor Huang-Di 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 Tai 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.'
11
田子方:
楚王与凡君坐，少焉，楚王左右曰“凡亡”者三。凡君曰：“凡之亡也，不足以丧吾存。夫‘凡之亡也，不足以丧吾存’，则楚之存不足以存存。由是观之，则凡未始亡而楚未始存也。”
Tian Zi-fang:
The king of Chu 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 Chu 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 Chu had not begun to be preserved.
知北游 - Knowledge Rambling in the North
1
知北游:
知北游于玄水之上，登隐弅之丘，而适遭无为谓焉。知谓无为谓曰：“予欲有问乎若：何思何虑则知道？何处何服则安道？何从何道则得道？”三问而无为谓不答也，非不答，不知答也。知不得问，反于白水之南，登狐阕之丘，而睹狂屈焉。知以之言也问乎狂屈。狂屈曰：“唉！予知之，将语若，中欲言而忘其所欲言。”知不得问，反于帝宫，见黄帝而问焉。黄帝曰：“无思无虑始知道，无处无服始安道，无从无道始得道。”
Knowledge Rambling in the North:
Knowledge had rambled northwards to the region of the Dark Water, where he ascended the height of Imperceptible Slope, when it happened that he met with Dumb Inaction. Knowledge addressed him, saying, 'I wish to ask you some questions: By what process of thought and anxious consideration do we get to know the Dao? Where should we dwell and what should we do to find our rest in the Dao? From what point should we start and what path should we pursue to make the Dao our own?' He asked these three questions, but Dumb Inaction gave him no reply. Not only did he not answer, but he did not know how to answer.Knowledge, disappointed by the fruitlessness of his questions, returned to the south of the Bright Water, and ascended the height of the End of Doubt, where he saw Heedless Blurter, to whom he put the same questions, and who replied, 'Ah! I know, and will tell you.' But while he was about to speak, he forgot what he wanted to say.Knowledge, (again) receiving no answer to his questions, returned to the palace of the Di, where he saw Huang-Di, and put the questions to him. Huang-Di said, 'To exercise no thought and no anxious consideration is the first step towards knowing the Dao; to dwell nowhere and do nothing is the first step towards resting in the Dao; to start from nowhere and pursue no path is the first step towards making the Dao your own.'
知问黄帝曰：“我与若知之，彼与彼不知也，其孰是邪？”黄帝曰：“彼无为谓真是也，狂屈似之，我与汝终不近也。夫知者不言，言者不知，故圣人行不言之教。道不可致，德不可至。仁可为也，义可亏也，礼相伪也。故曰：‘失道而后德，失德而后仁，失仁而后义，失义而后礼。礼者，道之华而乱之首也。’故曰：‘为道者日损，损之又损之，以至于无为，无为而无不为也。’今已为物也，欲复归根，不亦难乎！其易也，其唯大人乎！生也死之徒，死也生之始，孰知其纪！人之生，气之聚也，聚则为生，散则为死。若死生为徒，吾又何患！故万物一也，是其所美者为神奇，其所恶者为臭腐；臭腐复化为神奇，神奇复化为臭腐。故曰：‘通天下一气耳。’圣人故贵一。”
Knowledge then asked Huang-Di, saying, 'I and you know this; those two did not know it; which of us is right?' The reply was, 'Dumb Inaction is truly right; Heedless Blurter has an appearance of being so; I and you are not near being so. (As it is said), "Those who know (the Dao) do not speak of it; those who speak of it do not know it;" and "Hence the sage conveys his instructions without the use of speech." The Dao cannot be made ours by constraint; its characteristics will not come to us (at our call). Benevolence may be practised; Righteousness may be partially attended to; by Ceremonies men impose on one another. Hence it is said, "When the Dao was lost, its Characteristics appeared. When its Characteristics were lost, Benevolence appeared. When Benevolence was lost, Righteousness appeared. When Righteousness was lost, Ceremonies appeared. Ceremonies are but (the unsubstantial) flowers of the Dao, and the commencement of disorder." Hence (also it is further said), "He who practises the Dao, daily diminishes his doing. He diminishes it and again diminishes it, till he arrives at doing nothing. Having arrived at this non-inaction, there is nothing that he does not do." Here now there is something, a regularly fashioned utensil - if you wanted to make it return to the original condition of its materials, would it not be difficult to make it do so? Could any but the Great Man accomplish this easily?'Life is the follower of death, and death is the predecessor of life; but who knows the Arranger (of this connexion between them)? The life is due to the collecting of the breath. When that is collected, there is life; when it is dispersed, there is death. Since death and life thus attend on each other, why should I account (either of) them an evil?'Therefore all things go through one and the same experience. (Life) is accounted beautiful because it is spirit-like and wonderful, and death is accounted ugly because of its foetor and putridity. But the foetid and putrid is transformed again into the spirit-like and wonderful, and the spirit-like and wonderful is transformed again into the foetid and putrid. Hence it is said, "All under the sky there is one breath of life, and therefore the sages prized that unity."'
知谓黄帝曰：“吾问无为谓，无为谓不应我，非不我应，不知应我也。吾问狂屈，狂屈中欲告我而不我告，非不我告，中欲告而忘之也。今予问乎若，若知之，奚故不近？”黄帝曰：“彼其真是也，以其不知也；此其似之也，以其忘之也；予与若终不近也，以其知之也。”
Knowledge said to Huang-Di, 'I asked Dumb Inaction, and he did not answer me. Not only did he not answer me, but he did not know how to answer me. I asked Heedless Blurter, and while he wanted to tell me, he yet did not do so. Not only did he not tell me, but while he wanted to tell me, he forgot all about my questions. Now I have asked you, and you knew (all about them) - why (do you say that) you are not near doing so?' Huang-Di replied, 'Dumb Inaction was truly right, because he did not know the thing. Heedless Blurter was nearly right, because he forgot it. I and you are not nearly right, because we know it.'
狂屈闻之，以黄帝为知言。
Heedless Blurter heard of (all this), and considered that Huang-Di knew how to express himself (on the subject).
2
知北游:
天地有大美而不言，四时有明法而不议，万物有成理而不说。圣人者，原天地之美而达万物之理。是故至人无为，大圣不作，观于天地之谓也。
Knowledge Rambling in the North:
(The operations of) Heaven and Earth proceed in the most admirable way, but they say nothing about them; the four seasons observe the clearest laws, but they do not discuss them ; all things have their complete and distinctive constitutions, but they say nothing about them. The sages trace out the admirable operations of Heaven and Earth, and reach to and understand the distinctive constitutions of all things; and thus it is that the Perfect Man (is said to) do nothing and the Greatest Sage to originate nothing, such language showing that they look to Heaven and Earth as their model.
今彼神明至精，与彼百化，物已死生方圆，莫知其根也，扁然而万物自古以固存。六合为巨，未离其内；秋豪为小，待之成体。天下莫不沈浮，终身不故；阴阳四时运行，各得其序。惛然若亡而存，油然不形而神，万物畜而不知。此之谓本根，可以观于天矣。
Even they, with their spirit-like and most exquisite intelligence, as well as all the tribes that undergo their transformations, the dead and the living, the square and the round, do not understand their root and origin, but nevertheless they all from the oldest time by it preserve their being. Vast as is the space included within the six cardinal points, it all (and all that it contains) lies within (this twofold root of Heaven and Earth); small as is an autumn hair, it is indebted to this for the completion of its form. All things beneath the sky, now rising, now descending, ever continue the same through this. The Yin and Yang, and the four seasons revolve and move by it, each in its proper order. Now it seems to be lost in obscurity, but it continues; now it seems to glide away, and have no form, but it is still spirit-like. All things are nourished by it, without their knowing it. This is what is called the Root and Origin; by it we may obtain a view of what we mean by Heaven.
3
知北游:
啮缺问道乎被衣，被衣曰：“若正汝形，一汝视，天和将至；摄汝知，一汝度，神将来舍。德将为汝美，道将为汝居，汝瞳焉如新出之犊而无求其故！”言未卒，啮缺睡寐。被衣大说，行歌而去之，曰：“形若槁骸，心若死灰，真其实知，不以故自持。媒媒晦晦，无心而不可与谋。彼何人哉！”
Knowledge Rambling in the North:
Nie Que asked about the Dao from Bei-yi, who replied, 'If you keep your body as it should be, and look only at the one thing, the Harmony of Heaven will come to you. Call in your knowledge, and make your measures uniform, and the spiritual (belonging to you) will come and lodge with you; the Attributes (of the Dao) will be your beauty, and the Dao (itself) will be your dwelling-place. You will have the simple look of a new-born calf, and will not seek to know the cause (of your being what you are).' Bei-yi had not finished these words when the other dozed off into a sleep.Bei-yi was greatly pleased, and walked away, singing as he went,'Like stump of rotten tree his frame,Like lime when slaked his mind became.Real is his wisdom, solid, true,Nor cares what's hidden to pursue.0 dim and dark his aimless mind!No one from him can counsel find.What sort of man is he?'
4
知北游:
舜问乎丞曰：“道可得而有乎？”曰：“汝身非汝有也，汝何得有夫道？”舜曰：“吾身非吾有也，孰有之哉？”曰：“是天地之委形也；生非汝有，是天地之委和也；性命非汝有，是天地之委顺也；孙子非汝有，是天地之委蜕也。故行不知所往，处不知所持，食不知所味。天地之强阳气也，又胡可得而有邪？”
Knowledge Rambling in the North:
Shun asked (his attendant) Cheng, saying, 'Can I get the Dao and hold it as mine?' The reply was, 'Your body is not your own to hold - how then can you get and hold the Dao?' Shun resumed, 'If my body be not mine to possess and hold, who holds it?' Cheng said, 'It is the bodily form entrusted to you by Heaven and Earth. Life is not yours to hold. It is the blended harmony (of the Yin and Yang), entrusted to you by Heaven and Earth. Your nature, constituted as it is, is not yours to hold. It is entrusted to you by Heaven and Earth to act in accordance with it. Your grandsons and sons are not yours to hold. They are the exuviae entrusted to you by Heaven and Earth. Therefore when we walk, we should not know where we are going; when we stop and rest, we should not know what to occupy ourselves with when we eat, we should not know the taste of our food - all is done by the strong Yang influence of Heaven and Earth'. How then can you get (the Dao), and hold it as your own?'
5
知北游:
孔子问于老聃曰：“今日晏闲，敢问至道。”
Knowledge Rambling in the North:
Confucius asked Lao Dan, saying, 'Being at leisure to-day, I venture to ask you about the Perfect Dao.'
老聃曰：“汝齐戒，疏𤅢而心，澡雪而精神，掊击而知！夫道，窅然难言哉！将为汝言其崖略。
Lao Dan replied, 'You must, as by fasting and vigil, clear and purge your mind, wash your spirit white as snow, and sternly repress your knowledge. The subject of the Dao is deep, and difficult to describe - I will give you an outline of its simplest attributes.
夫昭昭生于冥冥，有伦生于无形，精神生于道，形本生于精，而万物以形相生，故九窍者胎生，八窍者卵生。其来无迹，其往无崖，无门无房，四达之皇皇也。邀于此者，四肢强，思虑恂达，耳目聪明，其用心不劳，其应物无方。天不得不高，地不得不广，日月不得不行，万物不得不昌，此其道与！
'The Luminous was produced from the Obscure; the Multiform from the Unembodied; the Spiritual from the Dao; and the bodily from the seminal essence. After this all things produced one another from their bodily organisations. Thus it is that those which have nine apertures are born from the womb, and those with eight from eggs. But their coming leaves no trace, and their going no monument; they enter by no door; they dwell in no apartment: they are in a vast arena reaching in all directions. They who search for and find (the Dao) in this are strong in their limbs, sincere and far-reaching in their thinking, acute in their hearing, and clear in their seeing. They exercise their minds without being toiled; they respond to everything aright without regard to place or circumstance. Without this heaven would not be high, nor earth broad; the sun and moon would not move, and nothing would flourish: such is the operation of the Dao.
且夫博之不必知，辩之不必慧，圣人以断之矣。若夫益之而不加益，损之而不加损者，圣人之所保也。渊渊乎其若海，魏魏乎其终则复始也，运量万物而不匮，则君子之道，彼其外与！万物皆往资焉而不匮，此其道与！
'Moreover, the most extensive knowledge does not necessarily know it; reasoning will not make men wise in it - the sages have decided against both these methods. However you try to add to it, it admits of no increase; however you try to take from it, it admits of no diminution - this is what the sages maintain about it. How deep it is, like the sea! How grand it is, beginning again when it has come to an end! If it carried along and sustained all things, without being overburdened or weary, that would be like the way of the superior man, merely an external operation; when all things go to it, and find their dependence in it - this is the true character of the Dao.
中国有人焉，非阴非阳，处于天地之闲，直且为人，将反于宗。自本观之，生者，暗醷物也。虽有寿夭，相去几何？须臾之说也。奚足以为尧、桀之是非？
'Here is a man (born) in one of the middle states. He feels himself independent both of the Yin and Yang, and dwells between heaven and earth; only for the present a mere man, but he will return to his original source. Looking at him in his origin, when his life begins, we have (but) a gelatinous substance in which the breath is collecting. Whether his life be long or his death early, how short is the space between them! It is but the name for a moment of time, insufficient to play the part of a good Yao or a bad Jie in.
果蓏有理，人伦虽难，所以相齿。圣人遭之而不违，过之而不守。调而应之，德也；偶而应之，道也。帝之所兴，王之所起也。
'The fruits of trees and creeping plants have their distinctive characters, and though the relationships of men, according to which they are classified, are troublesome, the sage, when he meets with them, does not set himself in opposition to them, and when he has passed through them, he does not seek to retain them; he responds to them in their regular harmony according to his virtue; and even when he accidentally comes across any of them, he does so according to the Dao. It was thus that the Dao flourished, thus that the kings arose.
人生天地之间，若白驹之过郤，忽然而已。注然勃然，莫不出焉；油然漻然，莫不入焉。已化而生，又化而死，生物哀之，人类悲之。解其天弢，堕其天弢，纷乎宛乎，魂魄将往，乃身从之，乃大归乎！
'Men's life between heaven and earth is like a white colt's passing a crevice, and suddenly disappearing. As with a plunge and an effort they all come forth; easily and quietly they all enter again. By a transformation they live, and by another transformation they die. Living things are made sad (by death), and mankind grieve for it; but it is (only) the removal of the bow from its sheath, and the emptying the natural satchel of its contents. There may be some confusion amidst the yielding to the change; but the intellectual and animal souls are taking their leave, and the body will follow them: This is the Great Returning home.
不形之形，形之不形，是人之所同知也，非将至之所务也，此众人之所同论也。彼至则不论，论则不至。明见无值，辩不若默。道不可闻，闻不若塞。此之谓大得。”
'That the bodily frame came from incorporeity, and will return to the same, is what all men in common know, and what those who are on their way to (know) it need not strive for. This is what the multitudes of men discuss together. Those whose (knowledge) is complete do not discuss it - such discussion shows that their (knowledge) is not complete. Even the most clear-sighted do not meet (with the Dao) - it is better to be silent than to reason about it. The Dao cannot be heard with the ears - it is better to shut the ears than to try and hear it. This is what is called the Great Attainment.'
6
知北游:
东郭子问于庄子曰：“所谓道，恶乎在？”庄子曰：“无所不在。”东郭子曰：“期而后可。”庄子曰：“在蝼蚁。”曰：“何其下邪？”曰：“在稊稗。”曰：“何其愈下邪？”曰：“在瓦甓。”曰：“何其愈甚邪？”曰：“在屎溺。”东郭子不应。
Knowledge Rambling in the North:
Dong-guo Zi asked Zhuangzi, saying, 'Where is what you call the Dao to be found?' Zhuangzi replied, 'Everywhere.' The other said, 'Specify an instance of it. That will be more satisfactory.' ' It is here in this ant.' 'Give a lower instance.' 'It is in this panic grass.' 'Give me a still lower instance.' 'It is in this earthenware tile.' 'Surely that is the lowest instance?' 'It is in that excrement.' To this Dong-guo Zi gave no reply.
庄子曰：“夫子之问也，固不足质。正获之问于监市履狶也，每下愈况。汝唯莫必，无乎逃物。至道若是，大言亦然。周、遍、咸三者，异名同实，其指一也。尝相与游乎无何有之宫，同合而论，无所终穷乎！尝相与无为乎！澹而静乎！漠而清乎！调而闲乎！寥已吾志，无往焉而不知其所至；去而来而不知其所止，吾已往来焉而不知其所终；彷徨乎冯闳，大知入焉而不知其所穷。物物者与物无际，而物有际者，所谓物际者也；不际之际，际之不际者也。谓盈虚衰杀，彼为盈虚非盈虚，彼为衰杀非衰杀，彼为本末非本末，彼为积散非积散也。”
Zhuangzi said, 'Your questions, my master, do not touch the fundamental point (of the Dao). They remind me of the questions addressed by the superintendents of the market to the inspector about examining the value of a pig by treading on it, and testing its weight as the foot descends lower and lower on the body. You should not specify any particular thing. There is not a single thing without (the Dao). So it is with the Perfect Dao. And if we call it the Great (Dao), it is just the same. There are the three terms, "Complete," "All-embracing," "the Whole." These names are different, but the reality (sought in them) is the same; referring to the One thing.'Suppose we were to try to roam about in the palace of No-where - when met there, we might discuss (about the subject) without ever coming to an end. Or suppose we were to be together in (the region of) Non-action - should we say that (the Dao was) Simplicity and Stillness? or Indifference and Purity? or Harmony and Ease? My will would be aimless. If it went nowhere, I should not know where it had got to; if it went and came again, I should not know where it had stopped; if it went on going and coming, I should not know when the process would end. In vague uncertainty should I be in the vastest waste. Though I entered it with the greatest knowledge, I should not know how inexhaustible it was. That which makes things what they are has not the limit which belongs to things, and when we speak of things being limited, we mean that they are so in themselves. (The Dao) is the limit of the unlimited, and the boundlessness of the unbounded.'We speak of fulness and emptiness; of withering and decay. It produces fulness and emptiness, but is neither fulness nor emptiness; it produces withering and decay, but is neither withering nor decay. It produces the root and branches, but is neither root nor branch; it produces accumulation and dispersion, but is itself neither accumulated nor dispersed.'
7
知北游:
婀荷甘与神农同学于老龙吉。神农隐几阖户昼瞑，婀荷甘日中奓户而入，曰：“老龙死矣！”神农隐几拥杖而起，嚗然放杖而笑，曰：“天知予僻陋慢訑，故弃予而死。已矣！夫子无所发予之狂言而死矣夫！”
Knowledge Rambling in the North:
A-he Gan and Shen Nong studied together under Lao-long Ji. Shen Nong was leaning forward on his stool, having shut the door and gone to sleep in the day time. At midday A-he Gan pushed open the door and entered, saying, 'Lao-long is dead.' Shen Nong leant forward on his stool, laid hold of his staff and rose. Then he laid the staff aside with a clash, laughed and said, 'That Heaven knew how cramped and mean, how arrogant and assuming I was, and therefore he has cast me off, and is dead. Now that there is no Master to correct my heedless words, it is simply for me to die!'
弇堈吊闻之，曰：“夫体道者，天下之君子所系焉。今于道，秋豪之端，万分未得处一焉，而犹知藏其狂言而死，又况夫体道者乎！视之无形，听之无声，于人之论者，谓之冥冥，所以论道，而非道也。”
Yan Gang, (who had come in) to condole, heard these words, and said, 'It is to him who embodies the Dao that the superior men everywhere cling. Now you who do not understand so much as the tip of an autumn hair of it, not even the ten-thousandth part of the Dao, still know how to keep hidden your heedless words about it and die - how much more might he who embodied the Dao do so! We look for it, and there is no form; we hearken for it, and there is no sound. When men try to discuss it, we call them dark indeed. When they discuss the Dao, they misrepresent it.'
于是泰清问乎无穷曰：“子知道乎？”无穷曰：“吾不知。”又问乎无为。无为曰：“吾知道。”曰：“子之知道，亦有数乎？”曰：“有。”曰：“其数若何？”无为曰：“吾知道之可以贵，可以贱，可以约，可以散。此吾所以知道之数也。”泰清以之言也问乎无始，曰：“若是，则无穷之弗知，与无为之知，孰是而孰非乎？”无始曰：“不知深矣，知之浅矣；弗知内矣，知之外矣。”于是泰清中而叹曰：“弗知乃知乎！知乃不知乎！孰知不知之知？”无始曰：“道不可闻，闻而非也；道不可见，见而非也；道不可言，言而非也。知形形之不形乎？道不当名。”
Hereupon Grand Purity asked Infinitude, saying, 'Do you know the Dao?' 'I do not know it,' was the reply. He then asked Do-nothing, Who replied, 'I know it.' 'Is your knowledge of it determined by various points?' 'It is.' 'What are they?' Do-nothing said, 'I know that the Dao may be considered noble, and may be considered mean, that it may be bound and compressed, and that it may be dispersed and diffused. These are the marks by which I know it.' Grand Purity took the words of those two, and asked No-beginning, saying, 'Such were their replies; which was right? and which was wrong? Infinitude's saying that he did not know it? or Do-nothing's saying that he knew it?' No-beginning said, 'The "I do not know it" was profound, and the "I know it" was shallow. The former had reference to its internal nature; the latter to its external conditions.' Grand Purity looked up and sighed, saying, 'Is "not to know it" then to know it? And is "to know it" not to know it? But who knows that he who does not know it (really) knows it?' No-beginning replied, 'The Dao cannot be heard; what can be heard is not It. The Dao cannot be seen; what can be seen is not It. The Dao cannot be expressed in words; what can be expressed in words is not It. Do we know the Formless which gives form to form? In the same way the Dao does not admit of being named.'
无始曰：“有问道而应之者，不知道也。虽问道者，亦未闻道。道无问，问无应。无问问之，是问穷也；无应应之，是无内也。以无内待问穷，若是者，外不观乎宇宙，内不知乎太初，是以不过乎昆仑，不游乎太虚。”
No-beginning (further) said, 'If one ask about the Dao and another answer him, neither of them knows it. Even the former who asks has never learned anything about the Dao. He asks what does not admit of being asked, and the latter answers where answer is impossible. When one asks what does not admit of being asked, his questioning is in (dire) extremity. When one answers where answer is impossible, he has no internal knowledge of the subject. When people without such internal knowledge wait to be questioned by others in dire extremity, they show that externally they see nothing of space and time, and internally know nothing of the Grand Commencement. Therefore they cannot cross over the Kun-lun, nor roam in the Grand Void.'
8
知北游:
光曜问乎无有曰：“夫子有乎，其无有乎？”光曜不得问，而孰视其状貌，窅然空然，终日视之而不见，听之而不闻，搏之而不得也。光曜曰：“至矣！其孰能至此乎！予能有无矣，而未能无无也，及为无有矣，何从至此哉！”
Knowledge Rambling in the North:
Starlight asked Non-entity, saying, 'Master, do you exist? or do you not exist?' He got no answer to his question, however, and looked stedfastly to the appearance of the other, which was that of a deep void. All day long he looked to it, but could see nothing; he listened for it, but could hear nothing; he clutched at it, but got hold of nothing. Starlight then said, 'Perfect! Who can attain to this? I can (conceive the ideas of) existence and non-existence, but I cannot (conceive the ideas of) non-existing non-existence, and still there be a nonexisting existence. How is it possible to reach to this?'
9
知北游:
大马之捶钩者，年八十矣，而不失豪芒。大马曰：“子巧与？有道与？”曰：“臣有守也。臣之年二十而好捶钩，于物无视也，非钩无察也。是用之者，假不用者也以长得其用，而况乎无不用者乎！物孰不资焉？”
Knowledge Rambling in the North:
The forger of swords for the Minister of War had reached the age of eighty, and had not lost a hair's-breadth of his ability. The Minister said to him, 'You are indeed skilful, Sir. Have you any method that makes you so?' The man said, 'Your servant has (always) kept to his work. When I was twenty, I was fond of forging swords. I looked at nothing else. I paid no attention to anything but swords. By my constant practice of it, I came to be able to do the work without any thought of what I was doing. By length of time one acquires ability at any art; and how much more one who is ever at work on it! What is there which does not depend on this, and succeed by it?'
10
知北游:
冉求问于仲尼曰：“未有天地可知邪？”仲尼曰：“可。古犹今也。”冉求失问而退，明日复见，曰：“昔者吾问‘未有天地可知乎’，夫子曰：‘可。古犹今也。’昔者吾昭然，今日吾昧然，敢问何谓也？”仲尼曰：“昔之昭然也，神者先受之；今之昧然也，且又为不神者求邪？无古无今，无始无终。未有子孙而有子孙，可乎？”冉求未对。仲尼曰：“已矣，末应矣！不以生生死，不以死死生。死生有待邪？皆有所一体。有先天地生者物邪？物物者非物。物出不得先物也，犹其有物也。犹其有物也，无已。圣人之爱人也终无已者，亦乃取于是者也。”
Knowledge Rambling in the North:
Ran Qiu asked Zhongni, saying, 'Can it be known how it was before heaven and earth?' The reply was, 'It can. It was the same of old as now.' Ran Qiu asked no more and withdrew. Next day, however, he had another interview, and said, 'Yesterday I asked whether it could be known how it was before heaven and earth, and you, Master, said, "It can. As it is now, so it was of old." Yesterday, I seemed to understand you clearly, but to-day it is dark to me. I venture to ask you for an explanation of this.' Zhongni said, 'Yesterday you seemed to understand me clearly, because your own spiritual nature had anticipated my reply. Today it seems dark to you, for you are in an unspiritual mood, and are trying to discover the meaning. (In this matter) there is no old time and no present; no beginning and no ending. Could it be that there were grandchildren and children before there were (other) grandchildren and children?' Ran Qiu had not made any reply, when Zhongni went on, 'Let us have done. There can be no answering (on your part). We cannot with life give life to death; we cannot with death give death to life. Do death and life wait (for each other)? There is that which contains them both in its one comprehension. Was that which was produced before Heaven and Earth a thing? That which made things and gave to each its character was not itself a thing. Things came forth and could not be before things, as if there had (previously) been things - as if there had been things (producing one another) without end. The love of the sages for others, and never coming to an end, is an idea taken from this.'
11
知北游:
颜渊问乎仲尼曰：“回尝闻诸夫子曰：‘无有所将，无有所迎。’回敢问其游。”仲尼曰：“古之人，外化而内不化；今之人，内化而外不化。与物化者，一不化者也。安化安不化，安与之相靡，必与之莫多。狶韦氏之囿，黄帝之圃，有虞氏之宫，汤、武之室。君子之人，若儒、墨者师，故以是非相挤也，而况今之人乎！圣人处物不伤物。不伤物者，物亦不能伤也。唯无所伤者，为能与人相将、迎。山林与！皋壤与！使我欣欣然而乐与！乐未毕也，哀又继之。哀乐之来，吾不能御，其去弗能止。悲夫！世人直为物逆旅耳！夫知遇而不知所不遇，知能能而不能所不能。无知无能者，固人之所不免也。夫务免乎人之所不免者，岂不亦悲哉！至言去言，至为去为。齐知之所知，则浅矣。”
Knowledge Rambling in the North:
Yan Yuan asked Zhongni, saying, 'Master, I have heard you say, "There should be no demonstration of welcoming; there should be no movement to meet" - I venture to ask in what way this affection of the mind may be shown.' The reply was, 'The ancients, amid (all) external changes, did not change internally; now-a-days men change internally, but take no note of external changes. When one only notes the changes of things, himself continuing one and the same, he does not change. How should there be (a difference between) his changing and not changing? How should he put himself in contact with (and come under the influence of) those external changes? He is sure, however, to keep his points of contact with them from being many. The park of Xi-wei, the garden of Huang-Di, the palace of the Lord of Yu, and the houses of Tang and Wu - (these all were places in which this was done). But the superior men (so called, of later days), such as the masters of the Literati and of Mohism, were bold to attack each other with their controversies; and how much more so are the men of the present day! Sages in dealing with others do not wound them; and they who do not wound others cannot be wounded by them. Only he whom others do not injure is able to welcome and meet men.'Forests and marshes make me joyful and glad; but before the joy is ended, sadness comes and succeeds to it. When sadness and joy come, I cannot prevent their approach; when they go, I cannot retain them. How sad it is that men should only be as lodging-houses for things, (and the emotions which they excite)! They know what they meet, but they do not know what they do not meet; they use what power they have, but they cannot be strong where they are powerless. Such ignorance and powerlessness is what men cannot avoid. That they should try to avoid what they cannot avoid, is not this also sad? Perfect speech is to put speech away; perfect action is to put action away; to digest all knowledge that is known is a thing to be despised.'
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——书中自有，黄金屋。
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