The Huainanzi

by An Liu

  the argument that is not spoken

  and the Way that is not [called] “the Way.”

  Thus

  to attract those who are far-off [i.e., emissaries], one employs non-action;

  to cherish those who are close by, one employs non-interference.28

  But only one who “walks by night”29 is able to have this [technique]. Thus [he] retires [his] fast horses so they [only] make dung,30 and [his] chariot tracks do not need to extend beyond far-off lands. This is what is called

  racing while sitting, bathing on dry land,

  darkness at noon, bright light at night,

  melting pitch in winter,

  making ice in summer. [6/50/22–25]

  6.3

  One who has the Way of Heaven has

  no private motives in what he accepts,

  no private motives in what he rejects.

  One who is capable has more than enough;

  one who is inept has an insufficiency.

  One who accords with it prospers;

  one who opposes it suffers setbacks.

  It is like

  the pearl of Marquis Sui31

  or the jade disk of Mr. He:32

  Those who achieved it became rich;

  those who lost it became poor.

  The standard of [what constitutes] getting or losing is deep, minute, elusive, and obscure. It is hard to use knowledge to discuss it or to explain it by means of debate. How can we know that this is so? Now [the medicinal herb] Earthyellow is sovereign for mending bones, and Sweetgrass is sovereign for healing [injured] flesh. But to take what is good for mending bones and expect it to heal flesh or to take what is good for healing flesh and promote it for mending bones would be like Wangsun Zhuo, who wanted to use a double dose of a medicinal plant used for [curing] partial paralysis in order to revive a man who had been killed in battle—really, one could say that he had lost his senses!33 Now if one were to accept [that] fire can burn wood and use it to melt metal, that would [follow] the movement of the Way. But if one were to accept [that] lodestone can attract iron and use it to attract tile, that would certainly be difficult. Things certainly cannot be assessed according to their weight [alone]. [6/51/1–6]

  Now,

  the burning mirror can draw fire [from the sun];

  lodestone can draw iron;

  crabs spoil lacquer;34

  and sunflowers incline to the sun—

  [but] even if one has enlightened understanding, it is not possible to [explain why] these things are so. Thus investigations by ear and eye are not adequate to discern the principles of things; discussions employing the mind and its conceptions are not adequate to distinguish true and false. Thus he who uses knowledge as the basis for government will have a hard time holding on to his state. Only he who penetrates to Supreme Harmony and who grasps the responses of the natural will be able to possess it [i.e., his state].

  Thus when Mount Yao collapsed, the Boluo River dried up. When Ou the Smelter was born, the sword Chunjun was completed.35 When [the tyrant] Djou acted without the Way, Zuo Qiang was at his side.36 The Grand Duke37 served through two generations; thus King Wu succeeded in establishing [his rule]. Seen from this perspective, the paths of benefit or harm, the gateways of calamity or good fortune, cannot be obtained [just] by seeking them out. [6/51/8–12]

  Now,

  how the Way compares with Potency

  is like how leather compares with rawhide.

  From a distance they [seem] close;

  close together they [seem] far apart.38

  [One who] does not get the Way is like [someone] watching minnows.39

  Therefore,

  the sage is like a mirror,

  neither holding onto nor welcoming [anything],

  responding but not storing up.

  Thus he can undergo ten thousand transformations without injury.

  To [claim to] get it is indeed to lose it;

  so is not losing it really to get it? [6/51/14–16]

  6.4

  Now when a person who tunes a se

  plays [the note] gong, [another] gong [string] responds;

  when he plucks a jue [string], [another] jue responds.40

  This is the harmony of notes that are the same. But if [he] tunes one string eccentrically, so that it does not accord with [any] of the five notes and then strikes it, and all twenty-five strings [of the se] respond, this is [a case of] the sounds not yet having begun to differentiate but the ruler of [all] notes having already achieved its form.41 Thus one who penetrates to Supreme Harmony is as confused as [a person who] is stupified by drink, who wanders about in a sweet daze without knowing where he has come from or where he is going.

  Simple and mild, he [descends] the vortex;

  simple and stupified, he [reaches] his end.

  He is like

  one who has not yet begun to emerge from the Ancestor.

  This is called the Great Penetration. [6/51/18–21]

  6.5

  Now a red chi dragon and a green qiu dragon42 were roaming around in Ji [Province].43

  The sky was blue,

  the earth tranquil.

  Venomous animals did not make an appearance;

  flying birds did not startle them.

  Entering a thorny thicket,

  they fed on plums and fodder.

  Enjoying the taste and savoring the sweetness, they did not stray outside a space of a hundred mou.44 So the snakes and swamp eels45 took them lightly and thought that they would not be able to tussle with them and win, [whether] in the river or the ocean. But when [the dragons ascended] to the dark clouds in the pale dawn, yin and yang engaged and struggled. [The dragons] descended on the wind, tangled in squalls of rain, rode the billows, and ascended again, awesomely moving Heaven and Earth. The sound of thunder penetrated to the midst of the ocean. [Then] the salamanders46 and swamp eels burrowed a hundred ren [fathoms] into the mud; black bears and brown bears crawled away to the crags of hills and mountains; tigers and leopards sheltered in caves and did not dare to roar; gibbons and monkeys tumbled down headfirst and lost their grip on the trees and branches—how much more [affected] were mere snakes and swamp eels?

  The soaring aloft of a female and a male phoenix reached [such a state of] Utmost Potency that thunder and lightning did not occur; wind and rain did not arise, the rivers and valleys did not flood; and grasses and trees did not tremble. So the swallows and sparrows mocked them, saying that they were incapable of matching them in squabbling among the roof beams and rafters.47 Turning about, [the phoenixes] departed to a height of ten thousand ren, wheeled and soared beyond the four seas, [flew] past the Carved-Out Garden of Kunlun,48 drank from the rushing rapids of the Polished Pillar,49 flew to and fro over the banks of the Dark Oxbow,50 curved around the borders of Ji [Province], lightly cleared [the peak of] Duguang [Mountain], entered with the [setting] sun into Yijie [Valley], washed their wings in the Weak-water [River], and, at dusk, [roosted] in Wind Cave. During this whole time, geese, swans and cranes were, without exception, awestruck and slunk away to hide, sticking their beaks into the riverbank. How much more [affected] were mere swallows and sparrows? This [is a case of] being clear about the traces of small matters but being unable to know the origins of great events. [6/51/23–6/52/5]

  6.6

  In ancient times, when Wang Liang51 and Zaofu went driving, [as soon as] they mounted their chariots and took hold of the reins, the horses set themselves in order and wanted to work together.

  They obediently paced in step with one another;

  [whether] pulling hard or easing off, they were as one.

  Their hearts were in tune and their qi harmonious;

  their bodies [became] more and more light and coordinated.

  They were content to work hard and happy to go forward;

  they galloped away as if they would vanish.

  They went right and left like [the waving of] a whip;

  they circled around like a jade
bracelet.

  All people of that era considered [Wang Liang and Zaofu] to be superlative [charioteers], but that was because they had not yet seen any [truly] worthy ones. Now consider the charioteering of Qian Qie and Da Bing.52 They

  considered reins and bits superfluous,

  got rid of whips and cast aside goads.

  Before the chariot began to move, it was starting on its own.

  Before the horses were given the signal, they were walking on their own.

  They paced [like the] sun and moved [like the] moon.

  They flashed [like the] stars and advanced [like the] dark.

  They raced [like] lightning and leaped [like] ghosts.53

  Advancing or withdrawing, gathering strength or stretching out,

  they did not see the slightest barrier.

  Thus,

  with no gesturing or pointing,

  with no cursing or scolding,

  they overtook the wild geese flying to Piled Stone Mountain,

  passed the jungle fowl [flying to] Guyu Mountain.

  Their galloping was like flying;

  their bursts of speed like thread snapping.

  [It was] like riding an arrow or mounting the wind,

  like following a cyclone and returning in an instant.

  At dawn they started from Fusang

  and set with the sun at Luotang.

  This was taking something unused and obtaining its usefulness: it was not done by examining things through reason or thought or through the exercise of manual skill. Whenever urgent desires took form in the breasts [of Qian Qie and Da Bing], their quintessential spirits were [already] communicated to the six horses.54 This was a case of using non-driving to go driving. [6/52/7–14]

  6.7

  In ancient times, the Yellow Emperor ruled the world. Li Mu and Taishan Ji assisted him in

  regulating the movements of the sun and the moon,

  setting in order the qi of yin and yang,

  delimiting the measure of the four seasons,

  correcting the calculations of the pitch pipes and the calendar.

  They

  separated men from women,

  differentiated female and male [animals],

  clarified the high and the low,

  ranked the worthy and the mean;

  they took steps [to ensure that]

  the strong would not oppress the weak;

  the many would not oppress the few.

  People lived out their allotted life spans and did not suffer early death;

  crops ripened in season and were not subject to calamities.

  All the officials were upright and not given to partiality.

  High and low were in concord and did not find fault.

  Laws and commandments were clear and there was no confusion.

  Officials assisted the ruler and did not engage in flattery.

  Hunters55 did not encroach on field boundaries.

  Fishers did not struggle over coves.

  On the roads, people did not pick up [and keep] things that were dropped [by others]; in the markets, [goods] did not have predetermined prices.

  City and town [gates] were not closed.

  Towns were without bandits and thieves.

  Humble travelers shared their supplies with one another.

  [Even] dogs and pigs spat out beans and millet [that they found] on the road.

  And no one cherished thoughts of conflict in their hearts. Because of that,

  the essence of the sun and moon was bright.

  The stars and celestial chronograms56 did not deviate from their orbits.

  Winds and rain were timely and moderate.

  The five grains grew and ripened [as they should].

  Tigers and leopards57 did not roar wildly.

  Raptors did not snatch prey wildly.

  Phoenixes soared above the [royal] courtyards.

  The qilin wandered in the suburbs.

  Green dragons drew the [royal] carriage,

  and Flying Yellows58 were put away in their stables.

  Of the various northern states and the country of Hanging Ears, there were none that did not offer their tribute and skills. And yet this [age of the Yellow Emperor] did not come up to the Way of Lord Fuxi. [6/52/16–22]

  Going back to more ancient times,

  the four pillars were broken;

  the nine provinces were in tatters.

  Heaven did not completely cover [the earth];

  Earth did not hold up [Heaven] all the way around [its circumference].59

  Fires blazed out of control and could not be extinguished;

  water flooded in great expanses and would not recede.

  Ferocious animals ate blameless people;60

  predatory birds snatched the elderly and the weak.

  Thereupon, Nüwa

  Smelted together five-colored stones61 in order to patch up the azure sky,

  cut off the legs of the great turtle to set them up as the four pillars,

  killed the black dragon62 to provide relief for Ji Province,63

  and piled up reeds and cinders to stop the surging waters.

  The azure sky was patched;

  the four pillars were set up;

  the surging waters were drained;

  the province of Ji was tranquil;

  crafty vermin died off;

  blameless people [preserved their] lives.

  Bearing the square [nine] provinces on [her] back

  and embracing Heaven,

  [Fuxi and Nüwa64 established]

  the harmony of spring and the yang of summer,

  the slaughtering of autumn and the restraint of winter.65

  [People] kept their heads squarely on their pillows and slept straight as a marking cord. Whatever obstructed yin and yang, [causing them to be] deeply blocked up and unable to connect,66 [Fuxi and Nüwa] thoroughly set in order.

  [Whoever] ran counter to qi and [thereby] perverted things;

  [whoever] through hoarding provisions harmed the people;

  [they] interrupted and stopped them.

  At that time, [people]

  rested in tranquillity,

  woke up with alacrity.

  One considered himself a horse;

  another considered himself an ox.67

  Their motions were calm and unhurried;

  their gaze was tranquil and uncurious.68

  In their ignorance, they all got what they needed to know,

  but they did not know where it came from.

  Aimlessly drifting, they did not know what they were looking for;

  zombielike,69 they did not know where they were going.70

  At that time, birds and beasts, noxious vermin and snakes, without exception, sheathed claws and fangs.71 They stored away their venom and poison, and none of them were disposed to attack or bite.

  Examining into these glorious achievements, [we find that]

  they reach up to the ninefold Heaven;

  they extend down to the Yellow Clods.72

  Their fame resounded down through later generations;

  their brilliance dazzled successively the myriad things.

  [They] mounted their thunder chariot,

  with flying long dragons73 as the inner pair

  and green qiu dragons as the outer pair.

  They grasped their incomparable jade emblems;

  their sitting mat was a floriate diagram;

  they spread out74 clouds like silken threads.

  Preceded by white chi dragons,

  followed by hurrying snakes,

  aimlessly drifting, rambling at random,

  leading [a retinue of] ghosts and spirits,

  they climbed to ninefold Heaven,

  paid court to the [Supreme] Thearch at the Numinous Gate,

  silent and reverent they ended [their journey] in the presence of the Great Ancestor.

  Even then, they

  did not make a great show of their accomplishments,

&n
bsp; did not heap praise on their own reputations.

  They concealed [within themselves] the Way of the Genuine

  and followed the imperatives of Heaven and Earth.

  How was this so? [In them] the Way and its Potency achieved the highest penetration, and wisdom and precedent were extinguished. [6/52/24–6/53/8]

  6.8

  Coming down to the time of [the tyrant] Jie of the Xia [dynasty],

  rulers had become benighted and unenlightened.

  Their Way was excessive and lacked restraint;

  they rejected the pardons and punishments of the Five Thearchs75

  and rescinded the laws and ordinances of the Three Kings.76

  As a result,

  Utmost Moral Potency was obliterated [rather than] publicly promoted;

  the Thearch’s Way was suffocated [rather than being] made to flourish.

  Their conduct of affairs offended Azure Heaven;

  their issuing of proclamations contravened [the rhythms of] the four seasons.

  Spring and autumn recoiled from their [accustomed] harmonies;

  Heaven and Earth discarded their Potency.

  The rulers of humankind occupied their positions but were uneasy;

  great lords concealed their Way and did not speak out.

  The multitude of officials took as their standard77 the wishes of their superiors and embraced what matched [those wishes]. Flesh and bone drifted apart78 and [followed] their own interests. Depraved persons strolled about by threes and twos and hatched secret plots. They interposed themselves between rulers and ministers and fathers and sons, and competed for rewards.

  They flattered their rulers and aped their ideas

  and caused chaos for the people while carrying out their own affairs.

  For this reason,

  rulers and ministers became estranged and were not on intimate terms;

  bone and flesh drifted apart and were not close.

  Well-established [earthen] altars dried out and cracked apart;

  [state] banquet pavilions shuddered and collapsed.

  Packs of dogs howled and entered deep waters;

  pigs gobbled mouthfuls of rushes and bedded down in river coves.79

  Beauties messed up their hair and blackened their faces, spoiling their appearance.

  Those with fine voices filled their mouths with charcoal, kept their [talent] shut away, and did not sing.

  Mourners did not [express] the fullness of grief;

  hunters did not obtain any joy [from it].80