by An Liu
17. The three exceptions to this general rule close respectively with a citation from the Zhuangzi, Shenzi, and Guanzi. See 12.42, 12.50, and 12.51.
18. Hanfeizi 21 comments on lines that appear in the following chapters of the extant Wang Bi edition of the Laozi: 26, 27, 33, 36, 41, 46, 47, 52, 54, 63, 64, and 71. It uses anecdotes mainly to explicate the Laozi but not exclusively so, as in chap. 12 of the Huainanzi. Sometimes lines from the Laozi are introduced with brief philosophical explanations as in the chapter’s discussion of political purchase (shi ). See HFZ 21/42/31–21/43/4. Hanfeizi, chap. 20, “Explaining the Laozi ” (Jie lao ), comments on the following chapters from the Laozi: 1, 14, 38, 46, 50, 53, 54, 58, 59, 60, and 67. It is structured very differently from Hanfeizi 21 by not using stories to gloss lines from the Laozi, preferring philosophical prose. See HFZ 20/34/8–20/41/31. These two early commentaries have not received the scholarly attention they deserve, given their ability to illuminate two important and influential readings of the Laozi. Bertil Lundhal and Zheng Liangshu have reviewed the most important features of these two commentaries and the debates concerning their authorship and dating, but the field is in great need of a more detailed study of these two works. See Bertil Lundhal, Han Fei Zi: The Man and the Work, Stockholm East Asian Monographs, no. 4 (Stockholm: Stockholm Institute of Oriental Languages, Stockholm University, 1992); and Zheng Liangshu, “Hanfeizi Jie Lao pian ji Yu Lao pian chutan” , Hanxueyanjiu 6, no. 2 (1988): 299–332.
19. Huainanzi 12 and Hanfeizi 21 also share two parallels. See HNZ 12/110/17–19 and HFZ 21/44/18–21; and HNZ 12/117/12–15 and HFZ 21/45/9–13. HNZ 12/111/4–7 recounts the tale of Goujian’s servitude to and ultimate defeat of King Wu, and HFZ 21/44/10–13 refers briefly to this same story. Other chapters in the Huainanzi contain additional anecdotes that also appear in the Hanfeizi but vary in their details and are used for different didactic purposes. Compare, for example, the narrative of the ivory chopsticks in HFZ 21/44/5–8 with the version in HNZ 20.4.
20. Chap. 12 shares nine parallels or near parallels with the received Zhuangzi, two of which also appear in the Lüshi chunqiu. Compare the following anecdotes: HNZ 12/105/3–18 and ZZ 22/62/18– 22; HNZ 12/106/28–12/107/4 and ZZ 22/60/31–22/61/2; HNZ 12/109/12–19 and ZZ 28/81/23–28; HNZ 12/109/21–25 and ZZ 28/84/7–11; HNZ 12/110/1–8 and ZZ 13/37/10–13; HNZ 12/114/26–29 and ZZ 10/24/27–10/25/3; HNZ 12/115/12–17 and ZZ 6/19/17–20; HNZ 12/116/18–19 and ZZ 1/1/19; HNZ 12/117/1–4 and ZZ 2/7/17–19; and HNZ 12/117/6–10 and ZZ 22/63/1–3.
21. Other tropes from the Zhuangzi developed in chap. 12 are “the usefulness of the useless” (12.34) and “valuing life” (12.15 and 12.16).
22. For the parallel and near parallel anecdotes, compare HNZ 12/105/20–26 and LSCQ 18.3/111/16–21; HNZ 12/106/1–6 and LSCQ 18.5/114/21–24; HNZ 12/106/8–13 and LSCQ 17.8/107/23– 26; HNZ 12/106/15–20 and LSCQ 25.4/163/24–28; HNZ 12/107/6–14 and LSCQ 15.1/80/19–1/81/6; HNZ 12/107/16–12/108/3 and LSCQ 15.5/85/13–26; HNZ 12/108/5–9 and LSCQ 15.6/86/20–21; HNZ 12/108/11–15 and LSCQ 26.2/167/20–23; HNZ 12/108/17–21 and LSCQ 16.6/95/29–16.6/96/2; HNZ 12/108/23–27 and LSCQ 19.5/124/16–20; HNZ 12/109/1–10 and LSCQ 19.8/128/10–17; HNZ 12/109/12– 19 and LSCQ 21.4/141/11–17; HNZ 12/109/21–25 and LSCQ 21.4/141/27–29; HNZ 12/109/27–30 and LSCQ 17.8/107/18–21; HNZ 12/111/9–13 and LSCQ 19.8/128/10–17; HNZ 12/112/19–12/113/3 and LSCQ 6.4/31/20–6.4/32/4; HNZ 12/113/16–20 and LSCQ 19.6/126/3–8; HNZ 12/114/26–29 and LSCQ 11.4/55/25–11.4/56/1; HNZ 12/115/19–28 and LSCQ 16.4/93/20–16.4/94/11; HNZ 12/116/21– 28 and LSCQ 18.8/118/7–13; HNZ 12/117/22–26 and LSCQ 24.5/158/24–29; HNZ 12/117/28–12/118/8 and LSCQ 20.3/131/1–5; and HNZ 12/118/17–21 and LSCQ 14.3/72/25–14.3/73/4. As we saw earlier, chap. 4 also draws heavily on the LSCQ.
23. For the circulation and interchange of anecdotes as modular units of meaning, see David Schaberg, A Patterned Past (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2001), 163–90. For one proposed strategy to sort out textual parallels through isocolometrical analysis, see William G. Boltz, “Notes on the Textual Relation Between the ‘Kuo yü’ and the ‘Tso Chuan,’” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 53, no. 3 (1990): 491–502. See also William G. Boltz, “The Composite Nature of Early Chinese Texts,” in Text and Ritual in Early China, ed. Martin Kern (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2005), 50–78.
24. See, for example, 12.3, an anecdote about Hui Shi drafting a set of laws for King Hui of Wei. Another version of this story appears in LSCQ 18.5/114/21–24. See Knoblock and Riegel 2000, 459–60. For a comparative analysis of the Huainanzi and Lüshi chunqiu versions, see Le Blanc 1985, 86–90.
As Le Blanc points out, the Lüshi chunqiu concludes the anecdote by emphasizing the importance of laws, whereas the Huainanzi ends by quoting Laozi’s famous dictum, “The more detailed the laws and edicts; the more thieves and robbers there are.”
25. Michael Loewe, ed., Early Chinese Texts, Early China Special Monograph, no. 2 (Berkeley: Society for the Study of Early China and the Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, 1993), 125. The Hanshi waizhuan cites the Laozi twice. See Lau, HNZ, 7.10 and 9.16.
26. Loewe, Early Chinese Texts, 125.
27. For parallel and near parallel anecdotes with chap. 12, compare HSWZ 3.21/20/27–3.21/21/2 and HNZ 12/113/22–26; HSWZ 3.30/23/14–20 and HNZ 12/119/14–20; HSWZ 5.6/35/26–5.6/36/3 and HNZ 12/110/1–8; HSWZ 6.15/48/5–9 and HNZ 12/111/9–13; HSWZ 7.10/51/30–10/52/5 and HNZ 12/110/10–15; HSWZ 7.12/52/16–21 and HNZ 12/113/28–12/114/3; and HSWZ 10.23/78/1–4 and HNZ 12/108/23–27. The Hanshi waizhuan also shares other anecdotes and traditional sayings found in chaps. 10, 11, 13, 14, 18, and 20 of the Huainanzi.
Twelve
12.1
Grand Purity asked Inexhaustible, “Do you know the Way?”
Inexhaustible responded, “I don’t know it.”
[Grand Purity] then asked Non-action, “Do you know the Way?’
Non-action replied, “I know it.”
[Grand Purity said,] “Does this Way that you know have norms?”1
Non-action responded, “Yes, the Way that I know has norms.”
[Grand Purity] inquired, “What are the norms, then?”
Non-action responded, “The Way that I know
can be weak or strong;
it can be soft or hard;
it can be yin or yang;
it can be dark or bright;
it can embrace or contain Heaven and Earth;
it can respond to or await the Limitless.
These are the norms by which I know the Way.” [12/105/3–7]
Grand Purity then asked Non-beginning, “Earlier, I asked Inexhaustible about the Way and Inexhaustible replied, ‘I don’t know it.’ I then asked Non-action and Non-action responded, ‘I know it.’ So I asked him, ‘Does this Way that you know have norms?’ Non-action then responded, ‘Yes, the Way that I know has norms.’ When I asked him whether he could [name] the norms, he responded, ‘I know that the Way
can be weak or strong;
it can be soft or hard;
it can be yin or yang;
it can be dark or bright;
it can embrace or contain Heaven and Earth;
it can respond to or await the Limitless.
These are the norms by which I know the Way.’ This being so, between Inexhaustible’s not knowing and Non-action’s knowing, which is right and which is wrong?”
Non-beginning answered,
“Not knowing it is deep while knowing it is shallow;
not knowing it is internal while knowing it is external;
not knowing it is refined while knowing it is coarse.”
Grand Purity then gazed up at the heavens and said with a long sigh,
“Then is not knowing, in fact, knowing?
And is knowing, in fact, not knowing?
Who knows that knowing it is not knowing
and that not knowing it is knowing?”
Non-beginning
responded,
“The Way cannot be heard, for what is heard is not the Way;
the Way cannot be seen, for what is seen is not the Way;
the Way cannot be spoken, for what is spoken is not the Way.
Who knows the formlessness of what gives form to form?2
Therefore the Laozi says:
“When all the world recognizes good as good,
there is ill.”3
Therefore
those who know do not speak;
those who speak do not know.4 [12/105/9–18]
12.2
The Duke of Bo asked Confucius: “Is it possible for people to share subtle words?”5 Confucius did not respond. The Duke of Bo asked again: “Isn’t it like throwing stones into the water?”
Confucius replied: “Skilled divers from Wu and Yue could retrieve them.”
“Then perhaps it is like throwing water into water?” the Duke of Bo asked.
Confucius replied: “When the waters of the Zi and Sheng rivers were blended together, Yi Ya tasted [the water] and recognized [which was which].”
The Duke of Bo responded: “Then is it not the case that people certainly cannot transmit subtle words?”
“Why consider it impossible?” asked Confucius. “[But it is possible] only for those who really know to what words refer. Now those who know to what words refer do not rely on words to speak. Fishermen get wet and hunters chase after their prey, but not because they like to do so. Therefore, the best words reject words [altogether], and the best acts are devoid of action. What [those of] shallow knowledge squabble over is inconsequential.” The Duke of Bo did not grasp Confucius’s meaning and consequently died in a bathhouse.6
Therefore the Laozi says:
“Words have an ancestor and affairs have a sovereign.
It is only because people lack this knowledge that they fail to understand me.”7
These words describe the Duke of Bo. [12/105/20–26]
12.3
Huizi drafted the state laws on behalf of King Hui [of Wei].8 When he had completed them, he showed them to the elders,9 all of whom praised them. He then submitted them to King Hui. King Hui was elated by them and showed them to Zhai Jian.10 Zhai Jian exclaimed, “Excellent.”
King Hui inquired, “Since they are excellent, can we implement them?”
Zhai Jian responded, “We cannot.”
King Hui then asked, “If they are excellent, why can we not implement them?”
Zhai Jian answered, “Now take those who haul heavy logs: those in front call,
‘Heave!’11 while those behind respond, ‘Ho!’ This is a chant to encourage the strength of those who haul heavy loads. Could it really be that they do not know either the melodies of Zheng and Wey or the [tune called] ‘Whirling Chu’? Although they know such melodies, they do not use them because they do not suit the circumstance as well as this chant does. Governing a state is a matter of ritual and not a matter of literary eloquence.”12 Therefore the Laozi says:
“The more detailed the laws and edicts,
the more thieves and robbers there are.”13
This is what is meant here. [12/106/1–6]
12.4
Tian Pian14 offered a persuasion on the techniques of the Way to the king of Qi, whereupon the king of Qi responded to Tian Pian: “What I possess is the state of Qi. The techniques of the Way are difficult to rely on to eradicate [its] troubles. I would much rather hear about governing the state of Qi.”
Tian Pian replied: “My words said nothing [about] governing, but they may be used to create governing. [My words] may be compared to trees in a forest. They are not lumber, but they may be used to create lumber. I implore Your Majesty to investigate what has been said and then extrapolate from that the means to govern Qi. Although my [persuasion] might not eradicate the troubles of Qi, it can alter and transform what lies between Heaven and Earth and what is within the six coordinates. How can it suffice [for Your Majesty] to ask only about the governance of Qi?”15
This is what Lao Dan referred to as
a shape without a shape [of its own],
a form without an object [of its own].16
What the king asked about was Qi, and Tian Pian made an analogy to lumber.
Now,
the lumber is not so important as the forest;
the forest is not so important as the rain;
the rain is not so important as yin and yang;
yin and yang are not so important as harmony;
and harmony is not so important as the Way. [12/106/8–13]
12.5
When the Duke of Bo won possession of the state of Jing [i.e., Chu], he could not [bring himself to] distribute among the people the grain [kept in] the storehouses. On the seventh day [after the conquest], Shi Qi17 entered [the capital] and said [to the Duke of Bo]: “You obtained this wealth through unrighteous means. Moreover, you could not [bring yourself to] share it. Calamity is sure to arrive. If you are incapable of giving [this wealth] to the people, it would be best to burn it so as not to give them cause to harm us.” The Duke of Bo did not heed his advice.
On the ninth day [after the conquest], the Duke of She18 entered [the capital]. He brought out the goods from the Supreme Storehouse in order to distribute them to the multitudes. He then removed the weapons from the Lofty Repository in order to distribute them to the common people. Thereafter he attacked the Duke of Bo, and on the nineteenth day [after the conquest] he captured him.
To desire the state when one does not yet possess it may be called the utmost avarice. To be incapable of acting on behalf of others, not to mention being incapable of acting on behalf of oneself, may be called utmost foolishness. How is the Duke of Bo’s stinginess any different from the cannibal owl’s love for its offspring?19
Therefore the Laozi says:
“Rather than holding it upright and filling it to the brim,
better to have stopped in time.20
Hammer it to a point,
and the sharpness cannot be preserved forever.”21 [12/106/15–20]
12.6
When Viscount Jian of Zhao selected Viscount Xiang as his successor, Dong Anyu22 asked: “Wu Xie is of humble origins; why did you select him as your successor?”
Viscount Jian replied: “It was on account of [the type of] person he is. He is someone capable of enduring humiliation for the sake of the altars of soil and grain.”
On another day Earl Zhi and Viscount Xiang were drinking wine together when Earl Zhi knocked Viscount Xiang on the head. The great ministers suggested that Earl Zhi should be executed for this, but Viscount Xiang replied: “When the former ruler appointed me, he said that I was a man who was capable of enduring humiliation for the sake of the altars of soil and grain. Did he say that I was a man capable of murdering another man?”
[Viscount Xiang] had been in office for ten months when Earl Zhi besieged him at Jinyang. Viscount Xiang dispatched a small force that attacked Earl Zhi and soundly defeated him. He split Earl Zhi’s skull23 and made a drinking vessel from it.
Therefore the Laozi says:
“Know the male
but keep to the role of the female
and be a ravine for the world.”24 [12/106/22–26]
12.7
Gaptooth asked Ragbag about the Way.
Ragbag replied:
“Straighten your body,
focus your gaze,
and Heaven’s Harmony will arrive.
Concentrate your perception,
straighten your posture,
and the spirit will come to take up its abode.25
Potency will beautify you,
and the Way will reside in you.
You will be naïve as a newborn calf who does not seek out the reason for it.”
Before Ragbag had finished speaking, Gaptooth fell into a deep sleep, having become a companion to the infinite. Ragbag broke out in song and went away singing:
“His form is like a withered carcass;
his mind is like dead ashes.
He authenticates his true knowledge
but does not rely on precedent to grasp it by himself.
Obscure and dim,
he has no mind with which to scheme.
What a man he is!”26
Therefore the Laozi says:
“When your discernment illuminates the four quarters,
can you do so without relying on knowledge?”27 [12/106/28–12/107/4]
12.8
Viscount Xiang of Zhao dispatched an attacking force against [the “barbarian” state of] Dee and defeated it. When the inhabitants of [the two cities of] Zuo and Zhong had been captured, a messenger arrived to report the victory to Viscount Xiang, who was just about to eat his meal. When Viscount Xiang heard the news, an anxious expression appeared on his face. His attendants asked: “Capturing two cities in one morning is a cause for celebration. Why, then, do you appear so anxious?”
Viscount Xiang replied: “The swelling of the Yangzi and Yellow rivers does not last more than three days; wild winds and violent rains do not last a morning;28 the sun at high noon lasts for less than a moment. Now the virtuous conduct of the Zhao clan has not yet amounted to anything, and yet in one morning two cities have been captured. Our demise is imminent!”
When Confucius heard about this, he said: “The Zhao clan will surely prosper!”
Anxiety leads to prosperity;
happiness leads to ruin.
Winning is not difficult, but preserving victory presents real challenges. The worthy ruler relies on his sense of anxiety to preserve victory, and so his good fortune extends to his descendants. The states of Qi, Chu, Wu and Yue all were victorious for a time, yet eventually their rulers were captured and ruined because they did not understand how to preserve victory. Only the ruler who possesses the Way can preserve victory. Confucius had enough strength to draw back the bolted gate of the capital, but he did not want to become known for his strength. Mozi engaged in defensive warfare that forced Gongshu Ban to submit to him, yet Mozi did not want to be known as a warrior. Those who are skilled at preserving victory consider their strength as weakness.29