by An Liu
follows the times in initiating affairs.
The kings of high antiquity performed the feng [sacrifice] on Mount Tai and the shan [sacrifice] on Mount Liangfu.48 The seventy or more sages [all] had methods and standards that were different. They were not deliberately opposed to one another; it was that times and the age were different.
For this reason,
they did not follow already established methods;
they followed those for which there was a basis.
Methods that had a basis were those that extended and shifted with transformations. He who can extend and shift with transformations is the noblest among men, that is all. [11/99/7–11]
11.12
Thus,
the songs of Hu Liang49 can be followed, but how he created his songs cannot be [re]created.
The methods of the sages can be observed, but how they established their methods cannot be plumbed.
The words of disputing scholars can be heard, but how they formulate their words cannot be given form.
The Chunjun sword50 can be cherished, but Ou Ye’s51 skill cannot be evaluated.52
Now Wang Qiao and Chi Songzi53
exhaled and inhaled,
spitting out the old and internalizing the new.
They cast off form and abandoned wisdom;
they embraced simplicity and returned to genuineness;
in roaming with the mysterious and subtle
above, they penetrated to the clouds and Heaven.
Now if one wants to study their Way and does not attain their nurturing of the qi and their lodging of the spirit but only imitates their every exhale and inhale, their contracting and expanding, it is clear that one will not be able to mount the clouds and ascend on the vapors.
The Five Thearchs and the Three Kings
viewed the world as a light [affair],
minimized the myriad things,
put death and life on a par,
matched alteration and transformation.
They embraced the great heart of a sage by mirroring the dispositions of the myriad things.
Above, they took spirit illumination as their friend;
below, they took creation and transformation as their companions.
Now if one wants to study their Way and does not attain their pure clarity and mysterious sagacity, yet maintains their methods, statutes, rules, and ordinances, it is clear that one cannot achieve order.
Thus it is said:
“Obtaining ten sharp swords is not as good as attaining the skill of Ou Ye;
obtaining one hundred fleet horses is not as good as attaining the arts of Bo Le.” [11/99/11–18]
11.13
The ultimate greatness of the Uncarved Block is its being without form or shape;
the ultimate subtlety of the Way is its being without model or measure.
The roundness of Heaven cannot be tested by the compass;
the squareness of Earth cannot be tested by the [carpenter’s] square.
From furthest antiquity to the present days is called “extension-in-time”;
The four directions [plus] up and down are called “extension-in-space.”54
The Way is within their midst, and none can know its location. Thus,
With those who cannot see far, one cannot speak of greatness;
With those whose intelligence is not capacious, one cannot discuss ultimacy.
Of old,
Feng Yi attained the Way and thus became immersed in the Great River,
Qin Fu55 attained the Way and thus lodged on Kunlun.
Through it [i.e., the Way],
Bian Que56 cured illness,
Zaofu drove horses,
Yi shot [arrows],
Chui worked as a carpenter.
What each did was different, yet what they took as the Way was one.
Now those who penetrate things by embodying the Way have no basis on which to reject one another. It is like those who band together to irrigate a field—each receives an equal share of water.
Now if one slaughters an ox and cooks its meat, some will be tart, some will be sweet. Frying, stewing, singeing and roasting, there are myriad ways to adjust the flavor, but it is at base the body of a single ox.
Chopping down a cedar or camphor [tree] and carving and splitting it, some [of it] will become coffins or linings, [and] some [of it] will become pillars and beams. Cutting with or against the grain, its uses are myriad, but it all is the material from a single tree.
Thus, the designations and prescriptions of the words of the Hundred Traditions are mutually opposed, but they cleave to the Way as a single body.
Compare it [i.e., the Way] to silk, bamboo, metal, and stone.57 In concert, they all [make] music. The sound and tradition of each is different, but none is lost from the structure.
The assessment methods of Bo Le, Han Feng, Qin Ya, and Guan Qing58 were all different, but their understanding of horses was as one.
Thus the methods and statutes of the Three Augusts and the Five Thearchs vary, but their attainment of the people’s hearts was equivalent.
Tang entered Xia and used their methods;
King Wu entered Yin and used their rituals.
[The tyrants] Jie and Djou were destroyed using [these methods and rituals],
yet Tang and Wu used them to create order. [11/99/20–11/100/2]
11.14
Thus,
[even] when the knife and saw are laid out, if one is not a good craftsman, one cannot shape the wood.
[Even] when the furnace and the earthen molds are prepared, if one is not a skillful smith, one cannot shape the metal.
Butcher Dan cut up nine cows in one morning,59 and his knife was sharp enough to split a hair.
Cook Ding used his knife for nineteen years, and his knife was as if just cast and sharpened.60
Why is this? It roamed among the many spaces.
The compass, the square, the angle rule, and the marking cord are the tools of the skillful but do not make one skilled. Thus if the se has no strings, even a music master61 could not make a tune. [Yet] strings alone cannot produce sorrow. Thus strings are the tools of sorrow; they do not cause one to be sorrowful. The master artisan’s construction of the repeating crossbow, the revolving aperture, the hidden lock, and trompe l ’oeil inlays62 enters into the darkest of subtleties, the ultimate of spiritlike harmony. What wanders in the spaces between the heart and the hand, and is not in the realm of things, is something [even] fathers cannot teach to their sons. A blind musician’s abandoning thought on encountering things, releasing the spirit and rising to dance, [thus] giving it form with strings, is something [even] an elder brother cannot describe to his younger brother.
Now,
one who makes [something] true uses the level;
one who makes something straight uses the marking cord.
Making true or straight without being in the line or on the level is an art that cannot be shared. When one strikes the [note] gong, gong responds; pluck the jue [string], and [another] jue [string] moves. This is the mutual response of identical tones.63 What does not correspond to any of the five tones, but to which all twenty-five strings respond, is the Way, which cannot be transmitted.64 Thus,
solitude is the lord of form;
silence is the ruler of tone. [11/100/4–13]
11.15
In the world, “right” and “wrong” have no immutable basis. Each age affirms what it [deems] right and rejects what it [deems] wrong.65 What each calls right and wrong is different, [yet] each [deems] itself right and others wrong. Seen from this [basis],
there are facts that accord with one’s self, yet they are not originally “right.”
There are those that are repellent to one’s heart, yet are not originally “wrong.”
Thus,
those who seek what is “right” do not seek the pattern of the Way; they seek what accords with their selves.
Those who reject what is “wrong” do not cri
ticize what is crooked, they discard what is repellent to their hearts.
What is repellent to me is not necessarily not in accord with others.
What accords with me is not necessarily not rejected by custom.
The “right” of the utmost right has no wrong;
the “wrong” of the utmost wrong has no right.
This is genuine “right” and “wrong.”
As for its being “right” here and “wrong” there, “wrong” here and “right” there, this is called “one right, one wrong.” This one “right” and “wrong” is one corner [of the universe]. The unity [of all] “rights” and “wrongs” is the whole cosmos.66 Now if I want to chose a “right” and lodge there, chose a “wrong” and abandon it, I still cannot know, among what the age calls “right” and “wrong,” which is “right,” and which is “wrong.”67 [11/100/15–21]
The Laozi says:
“Ruling a great state is like cooking a small fish.”68
Those who favor leniency say [it means] “Do not disturb it too much”;
those who favor strictness say, “Give it salt and vinegar, that’s it.”
Duke Ping of Jin let slip words that were not correct. Music Master Kuang raised his qin and bumped into him, so that he tripped on his robe and [struck] the wall. The courtiers wanted to plaster [the damaged spot]. Duke Ping said, “Leave it. This will [remind] me of my fault.”69
Confucius heard this and said, “It is not that Duke Ping did not cherish his body, but that he wanted to attract those who would admonish him.”
Han [Fei]zi heard this and said, “The assembled officials abandoned Ritual and were not punished. This is to condone transgression. This is why Duke Ping did not become hegemon!”70
There was a guest71 who presented someone to Mizi.72 When the visitor73 left, Mizi said, “Your visitor has only three faults.
He looked at me and laughed, this is arrogance.
In conversation he did not mention his teacher, this is effrontery.
His manner was light and his words were deep, this is rebelliousness.”
The guest said,
“He looked at you and laughed, this is impartiality.
In conversation he did not mention his teacher, this is comprehensiveness.
His manner was light and his words were deep, this is loyalty.”
Thus the demeanor [of the visitor]74 was the same,
but one thought him a gentleman, [and]
the other thought him a petty man.
This is the difference of one’s own perspective. [11/100/23–11/101/4]
Thus,
if what they choose and discard correspond, then the words [of a minister to a ruler] will be [deemed] loyal, and they will become increasingly intimate. If their persons are distant, then [although their] plans are appropriate, suspicion will arise.
If his own mother were to treat her son’s scalp boils and blood flowed past his ears, those who saw would consider it the utmost of love. If it were his stepmother, then those passing would think it was jealousy.
The dispositions of these affairs are the same; the point of view is different. From the top of the city wall
oxen look like sheep,
sheep look like pigs,
because where one stands is high.
Peer at your face in a pan of water and it is round;
peer at it in a cup of water and it is oval.
The shape of one’s face has not altered from what it was. It is now round, now oval because where one looks at it is different.
Now although I want to rectify my person in facing things, how can I, without deliberation, know the viewpoint from which the age peers at me? If I turn and transform and race along with the age, this is like trying to flee the rain. There is nowhere to go where I will not get wet.
If I constantly want to reside in emptiness, then I cannot become empty. If I do not make myself empty and become empty spontaneously, none of my goals will not be met.75
Thus one who comprehends the Way is like the axle of a cart. He himself does not move, yet with the wheel he reaches one thousand li. He turns at the limitless origin. One who does not comprehend the Way is as if lost and confused. If you tell him east, west, south, north, his position is clear. As soon as there is a turn, he strays and suddenly does not grasp it; again he is lost and confused. Thus to the end of his days, he is a servant to others, like a weather vane76 in the wind. He is not stable for an instant. Thus the sage embodies the Way and returns to nature; he does not transform in facing transformation, thus he comes close to withdrawal. [11/101/4–14]
11.16
In an ordered age,
the structure is easy to maintain;
its affairs are easy to do;
its rites are easy to practice;
its duties are easy to fulfill.
For this reason,
no person occupies two offices;
no officer manages two affairs.
Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants [keep] separate communities and [live in] different regions.
Farmers discuss strength with one another;
scholars discuss conduct with one another;
artisans discuss skill with one another;
merchants discuss numbers with one another.
Thus,
scholars have no negligent conduct;
farmers have no wasted effort;
artisans have no odious tasks;
merchants have no debased goods.
Each rests secure in his nature; they are not able to interfere with one another.
Thus when Yi Yin started earthworks,
those with long legs were set to treading on shovels,77
those with strong backs were set to carrying earth,
those who were blind in one eye were set to [reading the] level,
hunchbacks were set to applying stucco.
Each had (a task) that was appropriate to him, and people’s natures were put on a par.
The people of Hu are accustomed to horses;
the people of Yue are accustomed to boats.
They have different forms and separate categories.
If they exchange tasks, they will be upset;
if they lose their positions, they will be denigrated;
if they achieve their [potential] force, they will be honored.
The sage takes up [both] and uses them; their worth is as one [to him]. [11/101/16–21]
11.17
Foreknowledge and farsightedness,
vision reaching to a thousand li away,
are the zenith of human talent,
yet in an ordered age this is not expected of the people.
Broad learning and strength of will,
eloquent speech and fluent words,
are the perfection of human intelligence,
yet the enlightened ruler does not demand this of his subordinates.
Disdaining the age and scorning [material] things,
being uncorrupted by vulgarity,
are the upright conduct of a scholar,
yet in an ordered age these are not used to transform the people.
The repeating crossbow and the hidden lock,
the curved knife leaving no trace,78
are the most marvelous [products] of human skill,
yet an ordered age does not make these the task of the people.
Thus Chang Hong and Music Master Kuang had foreknowledge of calamity and good fortune; their words contained no failed plans; yet they could not serve in office among the many.
Gongsun Long79 broke arguments and repelled words, distinguishing like and unlike, discriminating between the hard and the white, [yet] he could not share his Way with the multitude.
Beiren Wuze80 rejected Shun and threw himself into the Qingling Pool, [yet] he could not serve as a model for the age.
Lu Ban and Mozi made kite hawks out of wood and they flew, not landing for three days,81 yet no one could employ them as carpenters.
Thus
what is so lofty as to be unreachable cannot be the measure of humans;
conduct that cannot be matched cannot be made the custom of the kingdom. [11/101/23–11/102/3]
[One who] can judge heavy and light by holding [things] without being off by a zhu or a liang82 the sage does not use; [instead,] he hangs things on the scales.
[One who] can judge high and low [deviations from the horizontal] by sight without being off by a foot or an inch the enlightened ruler does not employ; [instead,] he seeks it with the water level.
Why is this? Human talent cannot be employed reliably, but standards and measures can be passed down from generation [to generation].
Thus
the order of the kingdom may be maintained with the foolish,
and the control of the army can be used with the powerful.
If you wait to harness [only] Yaoniao or Feitu,83 then you will not mount a chariot in this age.
If you wait to be matched only with Xi Shi or Mao Qiang, then you will not be married to the end of your life.
This being so, if people have made do without awaiting the heroes of antiquity, it is because they went along with what they had and used it. Qiji could traverse one thousand li in a single day. An inferior horse requires ten rest stops, but in ten days it will still get there. Looking at it from this [perspective], human talent cannot be exclusively relied on, yet the techniques of the Way can be universally practiced. In the methods of a chaotic age,
the lofty is made the measure, and those who do not reach it are incriminated;
duties are weighty, and those who cannot overcome them are punished;
tests are perilous, and those who do not dare are executed.
The people are trapped by these three demands, thus
they ornament their intelligence and cheat their superiors;
they commit depravity and shirk [their duties].
Thus although there are harsh laws and severe punishments, one cannot contain their wickedness. Why is this? Force is insufficient. Thus a maxim says:
“When a bird is desperate, it grasps for food with its beak;
when a beast is desperate, it roots for food with its horns;
when a person is desperate, he deceives.”
This says it. [11/102/5–13]
11.18
The standard of the Way and Potency is comparable to the sun and moon.