by An Liu
Now the rain that drips from the eaves is sufficient to fill to overflowing a hu vessel, but the waters of the Yangzi and Yellow Rivers cannot fill a leaking zhi cup.89 Thus the human heart is like this. If you make yourself conform to the Techniques of the Way in measurement and limitation, food will fill the emptiness; clothes will block the cold; and it will suffice to care for the body of one seven feet tall.90 But if you lack the Techniques of the Way in measurement and limitation and try to practice restraint and moderation on your own, the positional advantage of ten thousand chariots will not suffice to make you honored, and all the wealth in the world will not suffice to make you happy. [13/130/6–8]
13.21
Sunshu Ao thrice declined the post of prime minister but was free of a worried expression, for rank and emolument could not entangle him.
Ci Fei of Jing [encountered] two scaly dragons that wrapped around his boat, but his mind was not moved, for strange creatures could not startle him.91
When the minds of sages are regulated and their wills are at ease, their essence and spirit are preserved within,92 so that things are not sufficient to mislead them. [13/130/8–10]
If a drunkard endeavors to enter the city gates, he will consider it to be like the seven-foot [door to] the women’s quarters.
If he is crossing the Yangzi or the Huai River, he will consider it to be a ditch no [wider than] a xun or a chang.
The wine has muddled his spirit.
When a nervous person sees a standing gnomon at night, he will take it to be a ghost;
when he sees an oddly shaped rock, he will take it to be a tiger.
Fear has seized his qi. How much truer is this for the strange creatures of the world!
When male and female join in intercourse and yin and yang cleave to each other, then feathered creatures produce chicks and fledglings, [and] furry creatures produce foals and calves. The soft parts become skin and flesh; the hard parts become teeth and bones. People do not find this strange. [Likewise,] when water gives birth to waterbugs and clams, or mountains give birth to gold and jade, people do not find it strange. [Likewise,] when an old locust tree bursts into flame or dried blood becomes phosphorescent, people do not find it strange. But when mountains give off Xiaoyang, water gives birth to Wangxiang, wood gives birth to Bifang, and wells give birth to Fenyang, people find it strange.93 Since they hear and observe them infrequently, their knowledge of these things is superficial. The strange things of the world are matters about which sages have a unique vision; the reversions of benefit and harm are matters about which the knowledgeable have a unique understanding and comprehension.94 [13/130/12–17] [But] identifying and differentiating the suspicious and the doubtful are what confuse and befuddle the common people of our age.
Because [sages]
see things that cannot be generally made known within the [Four] Seas,
and hear things that cannot be made clear to the masses of people,
they therefore make use of [vulgar beliefs in] ghosts and spirits and inauspicious and auspicious omens to establish prohibitions for them, and they generalize shapes and expand categories to alter appearances95 for them. How do we know this is so? The proverbs of the common people of our age say:
“In the great sacrifice to the Most High Ones, a pig may serve as the supreme sacrificial animal”;
or, “when interring a dead person, it is not necessary to place his fur garments in the tomb”;
or, “when two people are engaging in swordplay, the Grand Ancestor will bump them on the elbow”;
or, “whoever lies down with his head pillowed on a door frame, the ghosts and spirits will step on his head.”
But none of these are written in the laws and ordinances or handed down among the oral teachings of the sages.
Now that in the great sacrifice to the Most High Ones, the pig is considered the supreme sacrificial animal is not because it is superior to wild animals such as deer or that [those having] spirit illumination uniquely savor it. So what about it? It is simply because householders generally raise pigs and so they are easily obtained; therefore they are [really] honored because of their convenience.
That when burying a dead person his fur garments are not entombed with him is not because [the fur garments] are better than silk or cotton cloth at warming the body. Rather, it is because the world considers fur to be something that is difficult to obtain and high priced, and it can be passed on to the next generation. Whereas it is of no advantage to the deceased, it can [be used to] care for the living. Thus in accordance with its value, its use [as grave goods] is avoided.
[The reason it is said that] when two people are engaging in swordplay, the Grand Ancestor will bump them on the elbow is that when engaging in swordplay, [the participants inevitably] must have accidents, and if they accidentally injure each other, the rancor necessarily will be great. The enmity from a bloodless match becomes angry combat, and what is a small matter in itself [escalates into] something involving mutilating punishment. This is because the foolish do not know to restrain themselves,, so [the sages] rely on the Grand Ancestor to constrain their minds.96
Now [it is said that] if anyone lies down with his head pillowed on a door frame, the ghosts and spirits will leave footprints on his head. If ghosts and spirits can mysteriously be transformed, they will not rely on doorways and windows to come and go. If in accordance with their ethereal quality they come and go, then likewise they cannot tread on things. Now the doorway and windows are things that windy qi passes through, and windy qi is the coarse and bulky stuff of yin and yang. Those who encounter it necessarily fall ill. Therefore we rely on the ghosts and spirits to warn and caution them.
Now all things of this kind are not of the sort that can successfully be written down in annals and documents of bamboo or silk and kept in official archives; therefore we use blessings and portents to make them clear. When simpletons do not know enough [to realize] their own transgressions, we rely on the terrors of ghosts and spirits to teach them a lesson. This is something that arose in the far-distant [past]. If the gullible [really] think that there are blessings and portents, and the fearless think that there are not, only one who has the Way can figure out what they are thinking. [13/130/19–13/131/4]
That the present age sacrifices
to the well and the stove, the gate and the door,
the basket and the broom and the mortar and pestle,
is not because these spirits are able to enjoy these sacrifices but because [people] presume on and rely on their Potency, so that hardship and suffering will not visit them personally. For this reason, when people in season observe the Potency [of these spirits], they do not [afterward] forget their efficacy.
[The clouds] touch its stones and disperse,
spread over every inch [of the land] and gather,
and in the space of one morning bring rain to the whole world.
[This happens] only on Mount Tai.97
They flow ceaselessly, though the world reddens with drought for three years,
and moisten [an area] extending one hundred li, soaking the grass and trees with water.
Only the Yangzi and the Huai rivers:
This is why the Son of Heaven sacrifices to them in accordance with their rank.
Thus,
if there is a horse that has saved someone from danger, when it dies people bury it with its carapace for a shroud.
If there is an ox that has been virtuous toward a person, when it dies people bury it with the passenger box of a large carriage for its burial mat.
If when an ox or horse is meritorious, it cannot be forgotten, how much more so is this the case with people? This is the reason why sages emphasize humaneness and embrace kindness.
Thus Yan Di98 invented fire. When he died, he became the [god of the] kitchen.
Yu used his strength to the fullest extent on behalf of the world. When he died, he became the [god of the] soil.
Lord Millet invented sowing and reaping.
When he died, he became the [god of the] grain.
Yi [the Archer] eradicated harm from the world. When he died, he became the [god of the] ancestral shrine.
This is why ghosts and spirits were set up [to receive sacrifices]. [13/131/6–13]
13.22
There was a man in northern Chu who became a vigilante. His sons implored him to give it up, but he would not listen. Some bandits in the district undertook a massive search to determine his whereabouts. Eventually he was discovered; surprised, at night he fled. Pursuing him, [the bandits] caught up to him on the road. Those on whose behalf he had striven99 all fought for him. He got out of it unscathed and returned home. He said to his sons: “You repeatedly [tried to] stop me from acting as a vigilante. Now there was trouble, and in the end I relied on everyone100 and got away. Your remonstrances were of no use.” He knew how to save himself when there was trouble, but he did not know how to avoid trouble altogether. If you assess affairs in this way, will not the outcome be in doubt?
A man from Song was about to marry off his daughter. He said to his child, “This marriage may not turn out successfully. If it looks like you will be sent away, you had better have some savings of your own. If you have something saved up and are rich, it will be easy to marry again later.” The child listened to her father’s scheme and stole [some money] and hid it away. When her lord and master realized she was a thief, he expelled her from the house. Her father did not repudiate her but, on the contrary, reaped the benefits of his scheme. He knew that [if a bride were] expelled [she should have] saved up money, but he did not know about saving up money and therefore being expelled. If you assess matters in this way, will not the outcome be a surprise!? [13/131/15–22]
Now suppose someone were looking for something to haul freight and sought out a single cart to do the job. [He reasoned that] if a single ox exerted all its strength, the axle might break, so he added another cart shaft to make it more secure. He did not know that it is the pressure of the cart shaft itself that makes the axle break!
The king of Chu wore a jade circlet at his waist. He went hunting rabbits, and as a result of his movement, the jade circlet broke. So [next time] he wore two jade circlets at his waist, in order to be prepared. But the two jade circlets banged together, and so their destruction was hastened.
The government of a chaotic state much resembles these examples. [13/131/24–28]
Now,
the eyes of the owl are large, but its vision does not compare with that of the rat;
the feet of the millipede are numerous, but its speed does not compare with that of a snake.
With things, it is certainly true that there are instances in which
being large does not compare with being small,
or being numerous does not compare with being few.
When it comes to
the strength within weakness and the weakness within strength,
the danger within safety and the survival within destruction,
if not for a sage, who could see it! Greatness or smallness, honor or disgrace, [alone] do not suffice for an assessment to be made. Only the Way that resides in each is to be valued. How can I clarify this point?
When the Son of Heaven takes up residence in his suburban pavilion, the Nine Ministers hasten to him, and the grandees follow along; those who are seated prostrate themselves, and those who are leaning [against the walls] set themselves in order. Meanwhile [to prepare for] a great audience in the Mingtang, [the Son of Heaven]
hangs up his hat, takes off his sword,
undoes his sash, and retires.
It is not that the suburban pavilion is large or that the audience hall is narrow and cramped but that the most highly honored reside there.
Now the nobility of the Way of Heaven does not depend on whatever the Son of Heaven holds in esteem. Wherever it resides, the masses welcome it. When hibernating insects [emerge] and jays nest, they all turn toward the Supreme One. Perfect Harmony lies precisely in this and nothing else. When the emperor sincerely embraces the Way and cleaves to Perfect Harmony, then [even] the birds and beasts, grasses and trees, do not fail to come under his beneficent influence. Is this not even more true for the people themselves? [13/131/30–13/132/6]
Translated by Sarah A. Queen, John S. Major, and Michael Puett
1. There is a good deal of commentarial disagreement about the exact nature of these garments, but the point of the sentence is clear: ancient rulers wore simple clothing rather than elaborate royal regalia. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1332n.2.
2. That is, the nests were made low to the ground because birds had no fear of humans. These lines appear to have been inspired by Xunzi, chap. 31.3, Duke Ai. See Xiong Gongzhe , ed., Xunzi jinzhu jinyi (Taibei: Shangwu yinshuguan, 1975), 626; compare the translation by Knoblock 1988, 3:261.
3. Bai xing (lit., “hundred surnames”), a standard term for the people as a whole.
4. Bo Yu , according to Gao You, was a minister of the Yellow Emperor. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1336n.17.
5. The regulation is quoted from the Gongyang Commentary, Duke Yin, year 2, month 9. See Chunqiu, Duke Yin, II.5.
6. Mencius 4A:26 and 5A:2. The first passage cited notes, “There are three ways of being a bad son. The most grave is failing to produce an heir. Shun married without telling his father because he feared not having an heir. To the gentleman, this was as good as having told his father” (Legge 1895, vol. 2, Mencius, 313). The suggestion seems to be that Shun’s actions were ultimately approved by Confucius because when weighing the different expressions of filial piety—announcing one’s bride to one’s father or taking a wife to some day produce an heir—Shun weighed the moral choices at hand and made the correct choice.
7. Bo Yikao , King Wen’s eldest son, was boiled alive by King Djou.
8. The “Great Measure” is recorded as the music of Yao in LSCQ 5.5.
9. Zhang Shuangdi generally reconciles this historical musicology with that presented in 11.9. He identifies the “Great Xia” with the “Pipes of Xia” (1997, 2:1346n.18). He moreover claims that the two characters wu xiang are not a single musical form but a contraction of the two forms attributed to King Wu in 11.9 (1997, 2:1346n.20). We follow his reading here. For more background on all these musical forms, see the notes to 11.9.
10. Duke Zhao of Lu reigned from 541 to 510 B.C.E.
11. This story is recorded in Liji 7.
12. Dates are not known for the lord of Yang and the lord of Liao , if in fact they ever lived. Gao You explains that in antiquity it was the custom of both husband and wife to serve their guests at a feast but that on seeing the beauty of Liao’s wife, Yang was moved to murder. The story is cited in Liji 31. Zheng Xuan’s commentary to that passage notes that these figures’ states are unknown, in which case Yang and Liao would be posthumous titles (thus they would be Marquis Yang and Marquis Liao). See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1347–48n.24.
13. Laozi 1.
14. Guan and Cai (more often cited as Guan Shu and Cai Shu ) were brothers of King Wu who rebelled against the authority of their nephew, the young King Cheng, and were executed by the Duke of Zhou, who was acting as regent. See also 11.18, 20.14, and 20.25; and chap. 21, n. 31.
15. It is difficult to convey the sense of yishi in a short English phrase. It refers to a type of political instability in which rule devolves rapidly from grandfather to son to grandson.
16. Quan in this phrase refers to the ruler’s moral, as well as political, equilibrium—literally, a weight that will balance the scale. The term is an important concept in the philosophy of Mencius. See his example of a drowning woman who needs to be rescued. Ritual forbids her brother-in-law from touching her, but he nevertheless grabs her by the hand to save her life. He is said to have adopted a balanced position between a ritual requirement and a moral imperative. See Mencius 4A.17.
17. Ren yi wei jing, yi yi wei ji ,; ji , a “skein of threads,” is often used as a synonym for “weft.”
18. Boc
heng Zigao , a Lord of the Land, was appointed by Yao but resigned his rank on the appointment of Shun to be Son of Heaven, complaining that government had become too burdensome and complex. His story is recorded in Lüshi chunqiu 20.2.
19. Chen Chengchang (also known as Tian Chang and Tian Heng), leader of the Tian clan in Qi, served as prime minister under Duke Jian. In 481 B.C.E., he killed the duke and established his brother as Duke Ping. From that point forward, the Tian clan was ever more firmly in control of Qi, until it finally replaced the Lü clan altogether as rulers of Qi in 379 B.C.E.
20. Chiyi Zipi , a follower of Tian Chang identified by some commentators with Fan Li , was a fugitive aristocrat from Chu who ultimately settled in Qi after the fall of Yue. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1372–74n.15.
21. See 10.95. There the implied reason for Ziyang’s death is somewhat different from that presented here.
22. Of these figures, Gao You notes that they were “skilled at singing.” See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1377n.24. Little other lore concerning them survives in extant texts.
23. Yi biao , literally, “sundial and gnomon,” but metaphorically the instruments that set a standard of accuracy.
24. Lou Bi and Zhai Qiang were simultaneously employed as high officials of the Wei court under King Ai (r. 318–296 B.C.E.). They felt intense mutual animosity and worked at cross-purposes to each other in planning foreign policy, thereby bringing disaster on Wei. See Zhanguoce 317B (James I. Crump, trans., Chan-kuo Ts ’e, rev. ed., Michigan Monographs in Chinese Studies, vol. 77 [Ann Arbor: Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan, 1996], 385–87). The extant text of the Huainanzi contains the name of Wu Qi here directly after the contracted names of Lou Bi and Zhai Qiang, but Gu Guangqi argues persuasively on the basis of a parallel passage from HFZ 36/117/14–15 that Wu Qi’s name must be an extraneous interpolation at this point in the text. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1378n.6.
25. King Min of Qi (r. 300–284 B.C.E.) was exceedingly powerful for a time, expanding his territories through aggressive conquests. He agreed with King Zhao of Qin on their mutual recognition as “thearchs” of the West and East, respectively. Ultimately, his belligerence brought the enmity of the other states on him, and he was driven from his capital and to death by a combined army under the command of the Yan general Yue Yi.