by An Liu
The position of “Integrating Customs” in the structure of the Huainanzi reflects the philosophical priorities underpinning the text as a whole. In the same way that the Huainanzi describes the cosmos moving farther and farther through time from the undifferentiated and potent state of its cosmogonic origins, the text itself moves from a discussion of the Way, the concept in which it invests ultimate value, through successively less fundamental concerns. In this context, the place of “Integrating Customs,” after chapters on cosmology and personal cultivation but before those on rhetoric and military affairs, represents the medial role to which the Huainanzi authors consign ritual in their system of prescriptions for the Han era. The opening section of this chapter recapitulates the argument in chapter 8 that Humaneness, Rightness, and Ritual are symptoms of, and arise only in successive stages of, an age of decline. Chapter 11 then builds on that fundamental assertion. Although ritual is thus shown to be a secondary concern, an imperfect substitute for primordial rule by means of the Way and its Potency, it is counted as more essential to efficacious governance in the current age than are modes of instrumental cunning or naked state power.
Andrew Meyer
1. The relationship between the titles “Qi su” and “Qi wu lun” may be more than an allusion, as the authors of the Huainanzi may have appended the latter title to the second chapter of the Zhuangzi. See Harold D. Roth, “Who Compiled the Chuang Tzu?” in Chinese Texts and Philosophical Contexts: Essays Dedicated to Angus C. Graham, ed. Henry Rosemont Jr. (La Salle, Ill.: Open Court Press, 1991),118.
2. Respectively, Burton Watson, The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu (New York: Columbia University Press, 1968); and Graham 1982.
3. Wallacker 1962. Csikszentmihalyi 2004, 18, also translates this title as “Equalizing Customs”; Le Blanc and Mathieu 2003 translate it as “De l’équivalence des mœurs.”
4. For a discussion of the term ru and its translation as “Confucians,” see the introduction to this book.
5. For a review of the Han state structure, see Hans Bielenstein, The Bureaucracy of Han Times (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980).
6. For a study of the expanding geoethnographic scope of Han rule, see Yü Ying-shih, “Han Foreign Relations,” in The Cambridge History of China, vol. 1, The Ch ’in and Han Empires, 221 b.c.–a.d. 220, ed. Denis Twitchett and Michael Loewe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986), 377–462.
7. For Confucian ritual theory, see Herbert Fingarette, Confucius: The Secular as Sacred (New York: HarperCollins, 1972), 1–17; and Paul Goldin, Rituals of the Way: The Philosophy of Xunzi (La Salle, Ill.: Open Court Press, 1999), 55–82.
8. For an extensive study of these texts, see Jeffrey K. Riegel, “The Four ‘Tzu Ssu’ Chapters of the Li Chi: An Analysis of the Fang Chi, Chung Yung, Piao Chi, and Tzu I” (Ph.D. diss., Stanford University, 1978).
9. Liji 31.2/139/14.
10. Liji 31.2/139/15.
11. That is, the “Doctrine of the Mean,” another of the supposed “Zisi” chapters of the Liji, often also printed as an independent text as one of the Confucian “Four Books.”
12. Liji 32.1/142/21.
13. Laozi 38/13/17. A devolutionary argument based on Laozi 38 is also found in 8.3. See the introduction to chap. 8.
14. Liji 32.13/144/21–22.
15. For a recent discussion of the exemplary case of one of the four “Zisi” chapters, see Edward L. Shaughnessy, “Rewriting the Zi Yi: How One Chinese Classic Came to Read as It Does,” in Rewriting Early Chinese Texts (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2006), 63–130.
Eleven
11.1
Following nature and putting it into practice is called “the Way”;1
attaining one’s Heaven[-born] nature is called “Potency.”
Only after nature was lost was Humaneness honored;
only after the Way was lost was Rightness honored.
For this reason,
when Humaneness and Rightness were established, the Way and Potency receded;
when Ritual and Music were embellished, purity and simplicity dissipated.2
Right and wrong took form, and the common people were dazzled;
pearls and jade were revered, and the world set to fighting [over them].
These four were the creations of a declining age and are the implements of a latter age. [11/93/20–22]
Now Ritual
distinguishes the revered and the lowly,
differentiates the noble and the base.
Rightness is what unites sovereign and minister, father and son, elder brother and younger brother, husband and wife, friend and friend.
What the current age considers Ritual [demands] reverence and respect yet [causes] jealousy.
What it considers Rightness is boastful and condescending yet [is deemed] potent.
[Because of them,]
ruler and minister oppose each other;
blood kin become resentful of one another.
This is to lose the basis of Ritual and Rightness. Thus [government] is confused and complicated.
When water accumulates, it generates fish that eat one another;
when earth accumulates, it generates beasts that [devour] one another’s flesh;
when Ritual and Rightness are embellished, they generate false and hypocritical scholars.
To blow on ashes yet not to want to get a mote in one’s eye,
to wade through water yet not to want to get soaked:
these [things] are impossible.
In antiquity, the people were naïve and ignorant, [and] they did not know west from east. The [expressions on] their faces did not exceed their feelings [within], [and] their words did not outstrip their deeds.
Their clothes were warm and without pattern;
their weapons were blunt and had no edge.
Their songs were joyful yet without warbling;
their sobbing was mournful yet without shouting.
They dug wells and drank,
plowed fields and ate.
They had nothing with which to adorn their beauty, nor did they grasp for acquisitions.
Kinsmen did not praise or deprecate one another;
friends did not resent or revere one another.
Upon the creation of Ritual and Rightness and the valuation of goods and wealth, deception and falsehood sprouted, [and] blame and praise proliferated together; resentment and reverence arose in concert. Because of this,
there was the perfection of Zeng Can and Xiao Ji,
the perversity of Robber Zhi and Zhuang Qiao.
Thus where there is the Great Chariot3 and the Dragon Banner,4 the feathered canopy and hanging straps, teams of horses and columns of riders, there must be the wickedness of drilling [peep]holes and removing crossbars, digging up graves and climbing over walls. Where there are cunning patterns and complex embroidery, fine cloth and gossamer silk, there must be clomping along in straw sandals and those whose short coats have unfinished hems. Thus it is clear that high and low depend on each other, the short and the long give form to each other. [11/93/24–11/94/4]
Now the frog becomes the quail, [and] the water scorpion becomes the dragonfly.5 These all give rise to what is not of their own kind. Only the sage understands their transformations.
When the Hu [northern “barbarians”] see hemp, they do not understand that it can be used to make cloth.
When the Yue [southern “barbarians”] see fleece, they do not know that it can be used to make a [felt] rug.
Thus with one who does not comprehend things, it is difficult to discuss transformation. [11/94/6–8]
In ancient times, Grand Duke Wang6 and Duke Dan of Zhou met with each other after receiving fiefs.
Grand Duke Wang asked the Duke of Zhou, “How will you govern Lu?”
The Duke of Zhou said, “I will exalt the noble and draw close to my kindred.”
The Grand Duke said, “Henceforward Lu will grow weaker!”
The Duke of Zhou asked
the Grand Duke, “How will you govern Qi?”
The Grand Duke said, “I will raise up the worthy and promote those of merit.”
The Duke of Zhou said, “In later generations, there will certainly be a ruler who rises through assassination.”
Afterward, Qi grew daily larger, to the point of becoming hegemon. After twenty-four generations, [the ducal house] was replaced by the Tian clan.7 Lu grew daily smaller, being destroyed in the thirty-second generation. Thus the Changes says,
“Treading on frost, hard ice descends.”
The sages’ perception of outcomes at their origin is [truly] subtle!8 Thus the “mountain of dregs” originated with the use of ivory chopsticks; the “roasting beam” originated with a hot ladle.9 [11/94/10–15]
11.2
Zilu saved someone from drowning and accepted an ox by way of thanks. Confucius said, “[People in] the state of Lu will certainly favor saving [others] from calamity.”
Zigong ransomed someone and did not accept gold from the [state] treasury.10 Confucius said, “No one in Lu will pay ransom for anyone again.”
By accepting, Zilu encouraged virtue;
by refusing, Zigong put a stop to goodness.
Confucius’s clarity was such that
he used the small to know the great, [and]
he used the near to know the distant.
He was one who penetrated reasoning.
Viewed on this basis, although incorruptibility has its place, it cannot be universally practiced. Thus
when one’s actions accord with customs, they may be followed;
when one’s affairs correspond to one’s abilities, they are easily accomplished.
Arrogant falsehood that deludes the age and haughty conduct that separates one from the masses—these the sage does not take as customs for the people.
Wide mansions and broad houses, series of doors and spacious rooms, these are what [make] people secure, but if birds enter them, they are afraid.
Tall mountains and difficult passes, deep forests and thick grass, these are what delight tigers and leopards, but if people enter them, they are terrified.
River valleys and broad ponds, deep water and profound springs, these are what serve the [water] turtle and the monitor lizard, but if people enter them, they die.
The “Xian Pool” and the “Riding on Clouds,” the “Nine Shao” and the “Six Ying,”11 these are what people delight12 in, but if birds and beasts hear them, they are alarmed.
Deep valleys and sheer cliffs, tall trees and spreading branches, these are what please monkeys and apes, but if people climb them, they tremble.
Their forms are different and their natures divergent, thus
what delights one upsets the other;
what makes one secure endangers the other.
Now, with regard to all that is covered by Heaven and supported by Earth—all that is illuminated by the sun and overseen by the moon—make each facilitate its nature, rest secure in its position, occupy what is appropriate to it, and accomplish what it is able. Thus even
the stupid have their strong points;
the wise have that for which they are not equipped.
A pillar cannot be used as a toothpick;
a hairpin cannot support a house.
A horse cannot carry heavy loads;
an ox cannot chase in fast [pursuit].
Lead cannot be used to make a sword,
and bronze cannot be used to make a crossbow;
iron cannot be used to make a boat,
and wood cannot be used to make an ax.
Each is
used where it is best suited
and applied to what is appropriate to it,
thus all the myriad things are placed on a par, and none transgresses the others.
A bright mirror is convenient for reflecting a form, but for steaming food, it does not measure up to a bamboo basket.
A sacrificial ox with red hair13 is fit to be offered up in the [ancestral] temple, but for bringing rain, it does not match a black snake.14
Viewed on this [basis], there is no [distinction] of noble or base among things.
If one values things in accordance with what ennobles them, there is nothing that is not noble.
If one degrades things in accordance with what debases them, there is nothing that is not base. [11/94/15–30]
11.3
Uncut jade can never be thick enough;
jade inlay can never be thin enough;
lacquer can never be black enough;
rice powder can never be white enough.
These four are opposites, yet when urgently [needed], they are equal, their usefulness is the same. Now of furs and straw garments, which is more urgently [needed]? If one encounters rain, then furs are useless, when one ascends the [regal] hall, straw is not worn. These things alternate in being “emperor.”15 They are comparable to boats and chariots, mud sledges and sand chariots, [palaces and] tents—each definitely has its appropriate [use]. Thus Laozi says,
“Do not elevate the worthy.”
This means that one [should] not put fish in trees or plunge birds into the depths. [11/95/1–4]
When Yao ruled the world,
Shun was his minister of education; Xie16
was his minister of war;
Yu was his minister of works;
Lord Millet was his minister of agriculture;
Xi Zhong was his palace craftsman.
In his guiding of the myriad people,
those who lived near the water were fishers;
those who lived in the mountains were foresters;
those who lived in valleys were herdsmen;
those who lived on the plains were farmers.
Their location was appropriate to their occupation;
their occupation was appropriate to their tools;
their tools were appropriate to their functions;
and their functions were appropriate to the people [who used them].
On marshes and coastlines, nets were woven;
on hillsides and slopes, fields were plowed.
They obtained [things]
by using what they had to exchange for what they lacked,
using what they were skilled [in making] to exchange for what they were incapable [of producing].
For this reason,
those who rebelled were few;
those who obeyed were many.
It was comparable to rolling chess pieces on the ground. The round ones will roll into depressions; the square ones will rest on high [ground]. Each follows what is natural to it. How can there be superior and inferior? It is like the wind encountering pitch pipes, spontaneously activating them; each responds with a high or a low [note]. [11/95/6–11]
11.4
Monkeys and apes, on obtaining a luxuriant tree, do not quit it for a cave;
porcupines and badgers, on finding an embankment, do not quit it for a hedge.
Nothing
abandons what is of benefit to it
and seeks out what is of harm to it.
For this reason,
neighboring states can see one another,
and each can hear the sound of the other’s chickens and dogs,17
yet
footprints never reach the rulers’ boundary;
cart ruts never run beyond a thousand li —
everyone rests in what makes him secure.
Thus a chaotic state seems full;
an ordered state seems empty;
a collapsing state seems lacking;
a surviving state seems to have surplus.
The emptiness is not a lack of people; it [arises from] each maintaining his
position.
The fullness is not a plethora of people; it [arises from] each chasing after nonessential [tasks].
The surplus is not an abundance of goods; it [arises from] desires being restricted and affairs being few.
The lack is not a dearth of wealth; it [arise
s from] the people being agitated and expenses being excessive.
Thus
the methods and statutes of the former kings were not inventions; they were compliance.
Their prohibitions and executions were not initiatives; they were preservation. [11/95/13–18]
What controls all objects is not objects, it is harmony.
What controls harmony is not harmony, it is people.
What controls people is not people, it is the ruler.
What controls the ruler is not the ruler, it is desire.
What controls desire is not desire, it is nature.
What controls nature is not nature, it is Potency.
What controls Potency is not Potency, it is the Way. [11/95/20–22]
11.5
If the original nature of human beings is obstructed and sullied, one cannot get at its purity and clarity—it is because things have befouled it. The children of the Qiang, Dii, Bo, and Dee [barbarians] all produce the same sounds at birth. Once they have grown, even with both the xiang and diti interpreters,18 they cannot understand one another’s speech; this is because their education and customs are different. Now a three-month-old child that moves to a [new] state after it is born will not recognize its old customs. Viewed on this basis, clothing and ritual customs are not [rooted in] people’s nature; they are received from without.
It is the nature of bamboo to float, [but] break it into strips and tie them in a bundle and they will sink when thrown into the water—it [i.e., the bamboo] has lost its [basic] structure.
It is the nature of metal to sink, [but] place it on a boat and it will float—its positioning lends it support.
The substance of raw silk is white, [but] dye it in potash and it turns black.
The nature of fine silk is yellow, [but] dye it in cinnabar and it turns red.
The nature of human beings has no depravity; having been long immersed in customs, it changes. If it changes and one forgets the root, it is as if [the customs one has acquired] have merged with [one’s] nature.
Thus
the sun and the moon are inclined to brilliance, but floating clouds cover them;
the water of the river is inclined to purity, but sand and rocks sully it.
The nature of human beings is inclined to equilibrium, but wants and desires harm it.