The Huainanzi

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by An Liu


  The translation of this chapter title is indeed a complicated matter, and a good case can be made for each of the versions discussed here. We believe that the translation “Profound Precepts” both best conforms to how the words of the chapter title would have been understood at the time the Huainanzi was written and best describes the content of the chapter, which does in fact contain many brief precepts.

  Summary and Key Themes

  “Profound Precepts,” like so many chapters before it, opens with a poetic and moving exaltation of the inclusiveness, perfection, and limitlessness of the Way. Accordingly, those who “embody the Way” (10.1) or “follow Heaven’s Way,” identifying their qi with that of the origins of all things (10.3), do so through direct experience (10.113). With this identity established, they transcend the vast majority of human beings. Leaving behind the more typical human emotions that arise in response to the phenomenal world—such as sorrow, joy, happiness, and anger—for a deeper level of inner experience that enables one to generate a range of different feelings from deep within the interior of the self, they respond to others with a profound sense of inner equanimity and move them with these feelings of a wholly different order (10.1). Such is the basis of Moral Potency in the world embodied in the ideal of the Superior Man and the sage.7

  The Superior Man is associated with many virtues, chief among them being Humaneness, Rightness, and Goodness (10.32, 10.77, 10.101). Undoubtedly, the pair Humaneness and Rightness are most important. As section 10.6 explains, “If not for Humaneness and Rightness, the Superior Man would have nothing to live for.” He acts out of Humaneness and Rightness at every turn (10.82, 10.106). More “intimate than a father” (10.29), Humaneness is understood as the “visible proof of accumulated kindness” (10.5). The kindness of a humane heart is particularly valued for its ability to move others in profound ways (10.34).8

  The Superior Man’s ability to embody Rightness is attributed to the inner state of his heart and mind: he persistently “ponders Rightness” (10.67), “fears losing Rightness” (10.6), wishes to practice Rightness (10.33), and either “advances and obtains” or “withdraws and yields by means of Rightness” (10.82). “More exalted than a ruler” (10.29), the Rightness of the Superior Man includes “a sense of appropriateness” (10.87). More specifically, it is “what comports with the human heart and conforms to what is appropriate for the majority of humankind” (10.5).9

  The Superior Man also is synonymous with Goodness, which he reflects on constantly, assessing the measure of his personal virtue (10.32) and attending to acts of goodness, no matter how trivial. Through persistence and dogged determination, his seemingly banal acts of goodness slowly accrue to become something truly outstanding (10.9, 10.101, 10.102): “Radiantly it rivals the brilliance of the sun and moon. No one in the world can restrain or repress it” (10.71). Ever mindful of doing good in the world, the Superior Man understands that such goodness is rooted in his Heaven-ordained nature, and whether or not he encounters good or bad fortune is a matter of destiny (10.77).10 Accordingly, it is always better to seek for goodness not in others but in the deepest recesses of oneself (10.42).

  The Superior Man stands out from the crowd because he possesses a number of additional qualities. When he acts, he is mindful of the consequences of his actions (10.23). He is a perfect blend of cultural refinement and natural substance (10.23). And he is able to foretell the course of an affair by the characteristics it exhibits at its inception (10.21). He also is marked by a willingness to speak the truth and disregard the consequences of doing so, making him a reliable critic of the ruler (10.10) and giving him a sense of circumspection when his person is concerned (10.46) and a sense of vigilance when pondering the stirrings of his innermost heart (10.31). Indeed, the Superior Man is decidedly preoccupied with his interior landscape, for this is where his moral compass lies. As the autonomous author of his moral destiny, he cannot do otherwise. The text clearly explains: “Thus, goodness or evil is our own doing; bad or good fortune is not our own doing. Thus the Superior Man complies with what lies within him; that is all he can do” (10.76). Accordingly, the Superior Man’s Way, the ultimate ethical model of emulation for the remainder of humankind, must be sought within the self:

  The Way of the Superior Man is

  close but cannot be attained,

  low but cannot be ascended,

  contains nothing inside it, but cannot be filled. It is

  enduring yet brilliant,

  far-reaching yet illustrious.

  To understand this and so follow the Way is something that cannot be sought in others but only attained from the self. If you abandon the search within yourself and seek it in others, you will have strayed far from it. (10.65)11

  The sage, like the Superior Man, does not follow the crowd. He is marked by an equal dose of moral autonomy; listening to his own heart and disregarding the opinions of others, he “reverts to himself and does not take [the lead from others]” (10.113; see also 10.58). Indeed, for both the Superior Man and the sage, “obtaining oneself” and “seeking within the self” are the most important qualities of the morally perfected person.12 Thus the sage, like the Superior Man, is also fiercely independent and self-reliant. One passage explains that this independence is the very quality that enables the sage to connect to others. There the sage is likened to a drum: “There is no instrument that is in tune with it, and no instrument that cannot be accompanied by it” (10.51). And like the Superior Man, he is unconcerned with the evaluations of others; he follows his own inner compass (10.113).

  Yet the sage differs from the Superior Man in possessing certain qualities unique to this ideal. Although the sage shares with the Superior Man the ability to know the future of an event before it unfolds, based on the qualities it exhibits at its inception (10.7, 10.83, 10.96), the sage’s perspicacity endows him with additional qualities not associated with the Superior Man. It enables him to do such things as recognize and understand the subtleties of things that would confuse the average person (10.115), act in a timely fashion (10.89), and find something of use in everything, preparing “even the shavings from the timber” (10.16). His intellectual prowess is matched by certain emotive qualities that contribute to his unique qualities as an ideal personality: chief among them are a sense of foreboding (10.111) and anxious concern (10.20, 10.48, 10.72, 10.79), which appear as persistent emotions of his inner landscape.

  When he occupies a position of political leadership, the sage nurtures the people (10.21), moving and transforming them with his intrinsic feelings (10.25) in a spiritlike fashion (10.31) that is commensurate with their inherent qualities (10.56).13 So vital and powerful are these two aspects of sagely governance that one passage claims: “If you cherish feelings and embrace inherent qualities, Heaven cannot kill you; Earth cannot bury you. Your voice will resound throughout the space between Heaven and Earth; your brightness will match the sun and moon” (10.41). The spiritlike transformation of the people is accomplished by means of nonverbal communication through the Quintessential qi of the human heart, providing the physiological basis for unspoken forms of communication between the ruler and his people and among people in general (10.24).14 Accordingly, the sage’s government is marked by Perfect or Utmost Potency (zhi de ).15 When the ruler embodies the sage’s Perfect Potency, “His words are identical with his plans; his actions are identical with his intentions. Above and below are of one mind” (10.3). His government is a balanced admixture of the guiding patterns of culture and the intrinsic feelings of humanity (10.54). He thereby gains the hearts of the people by promoting what they love (10.20).16 Thus although the text readily concedes that verbal communication is essential to governance, it is what is communicated nonverbally that is most clearly prized. As one passage explains:

  A three-month-old infant does not yet understand the distinction between benefit and harm, but the love of a kind mother is conveyed to the infant because of her feelings.

  Thus the usefulness of what
is spoken—how manifestly tiny it is!

  The usefulness of what is not spoken—how vastly great it is! (10.26)

  The central claim of the chapter is that the best rulers conduct themselves in accordance with their innermost feelings (10.11) and thereby move the hearts of those whom they rule. Accordingly, much of the chapter outlines the details of how human resonance works, demonstrating the centrality of the human heart and the feelings that correspond to this deeper psychic world and how these feelings evoke various kinds of sympathetic and resonant responses from other human beings.17 Of particular relevance here is the concept of inner sincerity, apparently an emotion or attitude that appears to be identified with one’s deepest psychic landscape that should ideally precede one’s speech and actions and accompany the expression of other feelings. Of the many kinds of intrinsic feelings prized in the chapter and distinguished from the more pedestrian emotional responses to external stimuli, feelings that arise purely as responses to the external world, there is no doubt that sincerity enjoys pride of place.18 Sincerity is said to make people responsive to the commands of their leaders: The ruler wills it, and the people fulfill it. This is because of inner sincerity (10.56, 10.17, 10.25). Sincerity has the power to move things that are quite distant from oneself (10.22) and gives rise to an internal joy and calm (10.57).19

  Sources

  “Profound Precepts” confirms and develops concepts and terms that appear in a group of early texts typically associated with Confucius and his early followers: the Lunyu, Liji, Mengzi, Xunzi, Zisizi, and Wuxingpian (Mawangdui and Guodian versions). The Superior Man, the morally perfected ideal of these early texts, figures prominently in the chapter and is frequently contrasted, as in the Lunyu, with its counterpart, the petty man.20 Moreover, the Superior Man is associated with a number of characteristics consonant with these texts: he embodies the twin virtues of Humaneness and Rightness. He also is associated with Rightness, Goodness, Trustworthiness, and Loyalty. As in the Lunyu, he is a perfect blend of cultural ornamentation (wen) and natural substance (zhi) (10.23). He also is mindful, cautious, or circumspect of his solitude (shen qi du ), a quality commensurate with the Superior Man of the Zhongyong, Wuxingpian, and Liji. Most important, as in these early texts, the Superior Man follows the moral inclinations of his own heart and is guided primarily by this internal compass rather than the opinions of others. Other concepts as well bear the stamp of these early texts. The chapter’s discussion of the related concepts of Heaven and destiny draws on or alludes to the Mengzi and Xunzi. The chapter’s emphasis on human feelings as the primary source of ethical action is clearly indebted to the Mengzi, as are the arguments for accumulating small acts of goodness so as to establish truly outstanding virtue. “Profound Precepts” follows the Lunyu and Mengzi in contrasting the Superior Man’s concern for Rightness with the petty man’s concern with profit. The concept of sincerity, which is mentioned often, is reminiscent of that in the Zhongyong.21 “Profound Precepts” develops these foundational ideas by linking them to the more recent vocabulary of inner cultivation centering on the “Quintessential qi” as the physiological basis for human resonance evident in such texts as chapter 49, “Inner Cultivation” (Nei ye ), of the Guanzi and chapter 9.5, “Breaking Through (via the Quintessential qi)” (Jing tong ), and chapter 18.3, “Communicating (via the Quintessential qi)” (Jing yu ), of the Lüshi chunqiu.

  The Chapter in the Context of the Huainanzi as a Whole

  As the chapter summary in chapter 21, “An Overview of the Essentials,” suggests, “Profound Precepts” analyzes and differentiates various assessments of four essential concepts—the Way, Moral Potency, Humaneness, Rightness—and a number of additional notions intimately related to these four. As the summary explains: “It proposes similes and selects appositions to match them with analogies. It divides into segments and forms sections, to respond with brief aphorisms.” Such a collection of profound precepts (mou cheng) is meant to provide the reader with the first of several weapons in a growing conceptual arsenal meant to be deployed to defend certain kinds of intellectual territory: “It is what makes it possible to respond without error when provoked by devious explanations and combative assessments” (21/225/13–14).

  Sarah A. Queen and John S. Major

  1. “Profound Precepts” argues frequently that the Superior Man is one who seeks (the Way) within himself (e.g., 10.17).

  2. Respectively, Donald Harper, “Huai Nan Tzu chapter 10: Translation and Prolegomena” (master’s thesis, University of California, 1978); Le Blanc and Mathieu 2003.

  3. YZ 5.5/41/28: : “,.”

  4. GZ 32/85/11: ,;,. See also 32/84/31. Unfortunately, it appears that this chapter has survived through the ages only in partial form, as the second half of the chapter currently consists of two anecdotes unrelated to the materials that constitute the first half of the chapter. The following chapter of the Guanzi, entitled “Four Evaluations” (Si cheng ) and consisting of four exchanges between Duke Huan of Qi and Guan Zhong, uses the term cheng in the alternative sense of “appraisal” or “evaluation.”

  5. SY 20/173/17–18: : (The western neighbor, being on the right side [all doors face south], is more highly esteemed than the eastern neighbor). For another example from the Shuo yuan, see the anecdote in which the humble attendant Zhao Cangtang seeks to persuade his lord, the heir Ji of Zhongshan, to send an emissary to visit his father, Marquis Wen of Wei. Zhao Cangtang initiates his persuasion by presenting a precept saying: “When a son for three years does not listen to his father’s inquiries, he cannot be called filial; when a father for three years does not inquire after his son, he cannot be called kind” (;,: (SY 12.6/95/20). Additional precepts are recited as the story unfolds. See SY 12.6/96/18 and 12.6/96/20.

  6. LH 28/127/6: ,.

  7. For other references to the Way, see 10.1, 10.3, 10.5, 10.62, 10.65, 10.74, 10.77, 10.79, 10.85, 10.86, 10.88, 10.100, 10.107, and 10.114.

  8. For other discussions of Humaneness, see 10.5, 10.6, 10.28, 10.34, and 10.106.

  9. For other references to Rightness, see 10.5, 10.6, 10.29, 10.33, 10.46, 10.48, 10.67, 10.70, 10.82, 10.87, 10.88, 10.91, and 10.104.

  10. For other references to the randomness of good and bad fortune, see 10.7, 10.60, 10.76, 10.77, 10.83, 10.99, 10.111, and 10.112.

  11. For other references to the Superior Man, see 10.6, 10.10, 10.21, 10.23, 10.27, 10.28, 10.31, 10.32, 10.46, 10.65, 10.66, 10.67, 10.77, 10.82, 10.101, and 10.106.

  12. For the importance of the self as the ultimate arbiter of the virtuous life, see 10.17, 10.22, 10.24, 10.31, 10.32, 10.42, 10.49, 10.58, 10.65, 10.86, 10.106, and 10.113.

  13. For additional references to the sage, see 10.7, 10.8, 10.15, 10.25, 10.30, 10.36, 10.37, 10.40, 10.48, 10.51, 10.58, 10.83, 10.89, 10.90, 10.91, 10.96, 10.111, 10.113, and 10.118.

  14. For other references to the essence or Quintessential qi, see 10.18, 10.24, 10.94, and 10.103.

  15. For additional references to Moral Potency, see 10.73, 10.85, 10.91, 10.102, 10.104, 10.105, and 10.106.

  16. For further discussions of the ideal ruler and government described in this chapter, see 10.2, 10.3, 10.4, 10.9, 10.13, 10.29, 10.44, 10.52, 10.55, 10.56, 10.64 (Mandate of Heaven), 10.74, 10.78, 10.84, 10.85, 10.86, 10.89, 10.98, 10.100, and 10.104.

  17. For various references to the heart, see 10.2, 10.4, 10.5, 10.11, 10.17, 10.20, 10.21, 10.41, 10.47, 10.53, and 10.94.

  18. For references to feelings, see 10.11, 10.25, 10.26, 10.34, 10.35, 10.36, 10.41, 10.45, 10.50, 10.53, 10.54, 10.58, 10.62, 10.67, 10.68, 10.69, 10.81, and 10.99.

  19. For more on sincerity, see 10.17, 10.22, 10.25, 10.56, 10.57, 10.72, 10.103, and 10.116. Is sincerity an emotion or a quality of emotions? See 10.72. Note that Mencius regarded sincerity as one of the hallmarks of the morally perfected person.

  20. See 10.6, 10.33, 10.39, 10.60, 10.66, 10.67, 10.71, 10.87, and 10.106.

  21. In addition, in “Huai Nan Tzu chapter 10,” Harper has pointed out that the style of argumentation p
rominent in the first half of the chapter, which draws heavily on the Odes and Changes, is reminiscent of a style of argumentation associated most typically with the Xunzi and the evaluation of historical figures is consistent with various positions articulated in the Analects and Mengzi. He also argues for strong affinities between this chapter and the Zisizi.

  Ten

  10.1

  The Way at its highest has nothing above it;

  at its lowest it has nothing below it.

  It is more even than a [carpenter’s] level,

  straighter than a marking cord,

  rounder than a compass,

  and more square than a [carpenter’s] square.

  It embraces the cosmos and is without outside or inside. Cavernous and undifferentiated, it covers and supports with nothing to hinder it.

  Therefore, those who embody the Way

  are not sorrowful or joyful;

  are not happy or angry.

  They sit without disturbing thoughts,

  and sleep without dreams.1

  Things come, and they name them.

  Affairs arise, and they respond to them.2 [10/82/15–17]

  10.2

  The ruler is the heart of the state.

  When the heart is well ordered, the hundred joints are all secure;

  when the heart is unsettled, the hundred joints are all confused.

  Thus

  if your heart is well ordered, your limbs and body [can] ignore each other.

  If your state is well ordered, ruler and minister [can] forget each other.3 [10/82/19–20]

  10.3

  The Yellow Emperor said,

  “Broad and infinite,

  [I] follow Heaven’s Way,

  and my qi is identical with the Origin.”4

 

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