The Huainanzi

by An Liu

what matter would not be successful?

  Only if you do not use something [now] can you use it later;

  only if you do not act [now] can you act later.

  If the essence and spirit are overworked, they become dispersed;

  if the ears and eyes are [employed] excessively, they become exhausted.

  Thus a ruler who has the Way extinguishes planning and discards intent. Quiet and empty, he waits.

  He does not speak for the officials;

  he does not do their jobs.

  According to their job titles, they are assigned responsibilities;

  as their offices are employed, they discharge their duties.

  [They have] responsibilities without [written] instructions,

  duties without [formal] teaching;

  he takes “I don’t know” as the Way,

  and “How is it done? as a treasure.

  In this way, someone is responsible for each of the affairs [handled by] the numerous officials. [9/77/7–15]

  9.26

  Holding on to the handles of authority and positional advantage makes it easy to transform the people.

  That the ruler68 of Wey took into service [Confucius’s disciple] Zilu was because [the ruler’s] authority was heavy.

  That Dukes Jing69 and Huan of Qi made ministers of Guan Zhong and Yan Ying was because [the rulers’] positions were exalted.

  That [sometimes]

  the timid can subdue the brave

  and the unintelligent can control the wise

  is because they can use positional advantage successfully. Now,

  the limbs of a tree cannot be larger than its trunk,

  the stem cannot be stronger than the root.

  So it is said that light and heavy, large and small, have that by which they mutually control each other. It is like the way the five fingers are attached to the arm. They can grasp, extend, snatch, or grab, and none [happens] other than as we wish it. This is to say, the small are appendages of the large. Thus to have the benefit of positional advantage means that what you hold is very small but what you manage is very large; what you guard is very compact, but what you control is vast. Thus a tree trunk ten [hand]spans [in circumference] can support a roof weighing a thousand jun, and a key five inches long can control the opening and closing [of a door]. How can this small amount of material be sufficient for the task? The position they occupy is the important thing.

  Confucius and Mo Di cultivated the techniques of the former sages and had a penetrating understanding of the theories of the six arts. Their utterances adhered to their doctrines, and their personal actions embodied their will. [Yet] those who, admiring their Rightness and following their influence, submitted to them and served them did not amount to more than a few tens of individuals. But if they had occupied the position of Son of Heaven, everyone in the world would have become Confucians or Mohists.

  King Zhuang of Chu70 was distressed because Wen Wuwei was killed in [the state of] Song.71 He pushed up his sleeves in anger and arose [to invade Song]. [Officials] in robes and caps fell in with him at every stage along the road so that at last they formed a whole army beneath the walls of Song. [His grasp of] the handles of authority was weighty.

  King Wen of Chu72 liked to wear a cap of xie fur,73 and the people of Chu imitated him. King Wuling of Zhao74 attended court wearing a belt [decorated with] shells and a cap [plumed] with pheasant feathers, and the [entire] state of Zhao transformed [their dress] along with him. Yet if an ordinary person were to go to court wearing a xie-fur hat, a belt of shells, and a cap [plumed] with pheasant feathers, he could not avoid being laughed at by others. [9/77/17–26]

  There is not one in ten thousand among the common people who loves goodness, rejoices in uprightness, and, without waiting to hear what is forbidden or punishable, naturally stays within the scope of the laws and standards. But if [the ruler] hands down commands that must be followed, so that those who obey them benefit and those who disobey them suffer, then before the sun [dial’s] shadow has moved, no one within the Four Seas will fail to toe the line.

  Thus, grasping a sword or a glaive by the blade and [advancing to fight]—not even Beigongzi75 or Sima Kuaikui76 could be used to respond to an enemy attack [in that manner]. But if he were to grasp the hilt and raise the tip of the blade, then even an ordinary person might prevail. If [even] Wu Huo [or Jie Fan]77 were to pull on an ox’s tail from behind, even though the tail might break off, still the ox would not go where they wanted it to [because] that would be working against [its natural propensities]. But if you put a mulberry stick through [the ox’s] nose, even a five-foot-tall child could lead it anywhere within the Four Seas, [because] that would be complying with [its natural propensities].

  With a seven-foot oar you can steer a boat to the right or to the left because it uses the water [itself] to assist it. The Son of Heaven issues commands. His orders are implemented and his prohibitions observed because he uses the people [themselves] as his positional advantage. [9/77/28–9/78/4]

  If the ruler defends the people against what does them harm and opens [a way] for the people to have what brings them benefit, then his awesomeness will spread like the bursting of a dike or the breaking of a dam. Thus if you follow the current and head downstream, it is easy to reach your goal; if you gallop with your back to the wind, it is easy to go far.

  When Duke Huan of Qi set up his government, he got rid of meat-eating animals, [got rid of] grain-eating birds, and took down snares and nets. With these three undertakings, he pleased the common people.

  When [Tyrant] Djou murdered his uncle, Prince Bi Gan,78 his blood relatives79 grew resentful. When he cut off the legs of people who were crossing the river in the early morning, tens of thousands of people rebelled. With these two undertakings, he lost the world.

  Now,

  [a ruler’s] Rightness cannot be relied on to benefit everyone in the world, but if it benefits one person, the world will follow his example.

  [A ruler’s] cruelty might not be enough to harm everyone in the world, but if it harms one person, the whole world might rise in rebellion.

  Thus,

  Duke Huan made three undertakings and [subsequently presided over] nine gatherings of the Lords of the Land.

  Djou performed two undertakings, and [subsequently] he could not live even as a commoner. Thus one cannot but be careful of one’s actions. [9/78/6–10]

  9.27

  When the ruler levies taxes on the people, he must first calculate what the harvest will bring in, weigh what the people have in storage, and find out, [in anticipation of] abundance or dearth, the numbers of people who have a surplus or a shortage. Only after this should he use [tax revenues to pay for] chariots, carriages, clothing, and food to satisfy his desires.

  High terraces and multistoried pavilions, serried rooms, and linked chambers—it is not that they are not elegant, but when the people do not even have hollowed-out caves or wattle huts in which to shelter themselves, an enlightened ruler does not enjoy them.

  Rich [food], strong wines, and sweet pastries—it is not that they are not good, but when not even husks of the grain or beans and peas make it to the mouths of the people, then the enlightened ruler does not find [such delicacies] sweet.

  A well-made bed and finely woven mats—it is not that these are not restful, but when the people live in frontier walled towns, braving danger and hardship, dying in the meadowlands [leaving] sun-bleached bones, an enlightened ruler does not [lie] peacefully [in his fine bed].

  Thus those who ruled over humanity in antiquity felt such sorrowful despondency80 for [the troubles of] the people that

  if some went hungry in the state, his food would not be heavily seasoned;

  if some people were cold, in winter he would not wear furs.

  When the harvest was abundant and the people prosperous, only then would the ruler set up the bells and drums and display the shields and axes [used in ceremonial dances]. Ruler and ministers, superiors and subord
inates, then with one mind took pleasure in them, so that there was not a single sorrowful person in the state. [9/78/10–17]

  Thus people in ancient times created

  [instruments of] metal, stone, bamboo, and strings to express their joy;81

  weapons, armor, axes, and halberds to display their anger;

  wine cups and libations, [sacrificial] meat stands and platters, pledges and toasts, to verify their happiness;

  unbleached mourning garments and straw sandals, breast-beating and gyrating, crying and weeping, to communicate sorrow.

  These all are cases of things that swell up internally and then become manifest externally. But] coming down to [the times of] disorderly rulers,

  in taking from the people, they did not calculate their strength;

  in seeking [taxes] from those below, they did not measure their savings.

  Men and women were not able to pursue their callings of farming and weaving because they had to supply the demands of their superiors. Their strength was exhausted and their resources were depleted. Rulers and ministers despised one another. Thus [if just when] the people reached the point that, with parched lips and agitated livers, they had only enough for the moment with nothing put aside, the rulers began to have the great bells struck, the drums beaten, the reed pipes played, and the qin and se plucked, it would have been just like descendants donning armor to enter the ancestral temple or wearing silk gauze to go on a military campaign. [One could say that] they had lost sight of that from whence joy in music arises. [9/78/19–24]

  Now as people pursue their livelihoods, if a single man follows the plow, he can till no more than ten mu of land. The yearly harvest from fields of middling quality would not exceed four dan per mu. His wife and children and the elderly and infirm must also rely on this. Sometimes there are diverse calamities such as floods, droughts, and natural disasters. He also has to pay the taxes to the ruler for the expenses of chariots and horses, and soldiers and armor. From this point of view, the life of commoners is pitiful indeed! Now over the great [expanse] of Heaven and Earth, [on average] a three-year period of farming should produce a surplus of one year’s grain. Thus roughly

  over nine years, there should be three years’ savings,

  six years’ accumulation in eighteen years,

  and nine years’ reserve in twenty-seven years.

  Even if there were floods, droughts, or natural disasters, none of the people would become distressed and impoverished and be left to wander about in utter destitution.

  Thus if the state does not have

  a reserve of nine years’ production, it is called “insufficient.”

  Without six years’ accumulation, it is called “pitiful.”

  Without three years’ surplus, it is called “impoverished.”

  Thus humane princes and enlightened rulers are restrained in what they take from those below; they are measured in supporting themselves. As a result, the people can receive the bounty of Heaven and Earth and not encounter the difficulties of hunger and cold. But if there are greedy rulers and violent princes, they vex those below, plundering and confiscating [goods] from the people to gratify their insatiable desires. Consequently, the people have no means to avail themselves of Heaven’s Harmony or tread the path of Earth’s Bounty. [9/78/26–9/79/6]

  9.28

  Food is the root of the people;

  the people are the root of the state;

  the state is the root of the ruler.

  For this reason, the ruler of men

  above, follows the seasons of Heaven;

  below, relies on the resources of Earth;

  and in their midst, uses the strength of the people.

  Thus

  living things grow to maturity;

  the five grains flourish abundantly.

  The ruler [is responsible for] teaching the people how to

  nourish and care for the six [kinds of] domestic animals,

  plant trees in the [proper] season,

  work at laying out paddy fields and open fields,

  start [seedlings of] and plant mulberry trees and hemp.

  According to whether the soil is fertile or infertile, high or low, they sow each place with what suits it. In hilly and precipitous places where the five grains will not sprout, they plant trees and bamboo.

  In spring they prune the dry branches.

  In summer they take fruits and melons.

  In autumn they gather vegetables and grains.

  In winter they cut firewood.

  All these are resources for the people. Thus while alive, they have no lack of things to use, and when dead, their corpses are not abandoned.

  Thus by the laws of the former kings,

  when hunting they did not wipe out herds;

  they did not catch fawns or baby animals;

  they did not drain marshes to get fish;

  they did not burn forests to capture [animals].

  [In the ninth month],82 before dholes had offered their sacrifices, the nets [for catching animals] were not spread out in the wild.

  [In early spring] before otters had sacrificed fish,83 the fishnets were not put in the water [because the fish were too small].

  [At the beginning of autumn,] when the eagles and falcons had not yet been used to seize [other] birds, nets [for catching birds] were not placed in valleys and gorges.

  [In the ninth month,] before the leaves had fallen, axes were not brought into the mountains and forests.

  [In the tenth month,] before the insects had gone into hibernation, the fields were not burned off.

  Pregnant animals were not killed;

  fledgling birds and eggs were not taken.

  Fish that were not [at least] a foot long were not caught;

  pigs that were not [at least] a year old were not eaten.

  Thus grasses and trees grew like steam rising into the air, and birds and beasts returned [to their habitats] like the flowing of a spring. Flying birds ascended to the sky like smoke or clouds. This was [all] because the conditions were ripe for them. [9/79/8–16]

  Thus, according to the administrative policies of the former kings,

  When the clouds from the Four Seas gathered [at the beginning of spring], the field boundaries were repaired.

  When frogs and toads called and the swallows descended and arrived [in the third month], the roads were opened and byways cleared.

  When yin [qi] descended to the hundred springs [in the tenth month], the bridges were repaired.

  When the [lunar lodge] Extension culminated [at dusk in the third month], various grains were industriously planted.

  When the star Great Fire [Antares] culminated [at dusk in the fourth month], millet and beans were sown.

  When the [lunar lodge] Emptiness culminated [at dusk in the eighth month], winter wheat was planted.

  When the [lunar lodge] Pleiades culminated [at dusk in the twelfth month], reserves of grain were stored, and firewood was cut.84

  The ruler reported upward to Heaven, and he made pronouncements downward to the people. The reason that the former kings in those ways

  responded to the seasons and put all in order,

  strengthened the state and benefited the people,

  and populated the wilds and attracted [settlers] from distant lands,

  was because their Way was complete. It was not that they were able too see with their own eyes and personally went on foot [to investigate]. They wanted to benefit the people. Their wanting to benefit the people was never neglected in their [own] hearts, so the officials naturally were conscientious. The heart is incapable of accomplishing even one of the tasks of the nine apertures and the four limbs [of the body], but in moving, resting, hearing, and seeing, all take the heart as their master because it never forgets to benefit them. [9/79/18–22]

  Thus Yao did good, and much additional goodness came about [because of it].

  [The tyrant] Jie did wrong, and much additional evil came about [because of it]
.

  When goodness accumulates, success is reached; When wrong accumulates, failures proliferate. [9/79/24–25]

  9.29

  Generally people say that you want

  your heart to be small [cautious] and your will to be large [expansive];

  your wisdom to be round [full] and your conduct square [proper];

  your abilities to be many and your affairs few.

  “The heart should be cautious” means that you should consider difficulties before they arise, prepare for calamities before they occur, guard against transgressions and be careful about small matters, and not dare to give rein to your desires.

  “The will should be expansive” means that you should bring together and embrace the myriad states, unify and standardize diverse customs, ally and shelter the commoners as if uniting them as a single people, and act as the hub when [opinions about] right and wrong converge like the spokes of a wheel.

  “Wisdom should be round” means that you turn like a circle with no distinction between beginning and end, and flow to the four directions like a deep and inexhaustible spring. When the myriad things arise together, there is nothing to which you fail to turn your attention and respond.

  “Conduct should be square” means that you should be straight and unswerving, pure and uncorrupted. Even if you are destitute, you never change your patterns, and when successful, you never force your will [on others].

  “Abilities should be many” means that you must be competent in both civil and military matters, and adhere to proper deportment both in movement and at rest. In your actions, in promoting and demoting, you always do what is appropriate. You meet with no opposition, and so nothing is incomplete or inappropriate.

  “Affairs should be few” means that you grasp the handles and wield the techniques [of governance], get what is important so as to respond to the multitudes, grasp the essence so as to govern widely, dwell in quietude and stay centered, revolve at the pivot, and use the one to bring together the myriads, like bringing together [the two halves of] a tally.

  Thus,

  if your heart is cautious, you can put a stop [to problems] in their incipient stages.

  If your will is great, there will be nothing you do not embrace.