by An Liu
“Sayings Explained” provides the means by which to
compare through analogy the tenets of human affairs
and elucidate through illustration the substance of order and disorder.
It ranks the hidden meanings of subtle sayings,
explaining them with literary expressions that reflect ultimate principles.
Thus it patches up and mends deficiencies due to errors and oversights. (21.2)
This summary makes clear that the goal of this chapter is to remedy potential conceptual deficiencies by collecting a number of “subtle sayings” and “literary expressions” whose hidden meanings and recondite principles are clarified through literary techniques like “comparing through analogy” and “elucidating through illustration.” Such literary techniques enabled the Huainanzi’s compilers to shape this inherited oral wisdom and make it their own.
The Huainanzi’s authors have organized this chapter as a series of sayings () with their attendant explanations (). The opening section (14.1) serves as a preamble to the chapter as a whole and does not follow the chapter’s standard format. Thereafter, most sections begin with a saying that is explained through an illustration, an analogy, or a definition. In several instances, the sayings are layered or interleaved with explanations within a single section. In a few cases, the section concludes with a flourish, quoting a passage from the Odes or Changes. Generally, however, this chapter, like chapters 16 and 17, does not rely very much on canonical authority. Rather, it collects and conserves a genre of oral literature that seems to have been a ubiquitous part of intellectual life in the late Warring States and early Han periods: well-known sayings.
In order to make this apparent to the reader, we italicized the sayings that open each section of the chapter. Distinguishing the sayings from their corresponding explanations proved to be challenging because the sayings are not introduced with the conventions—“a tradition says” () or “there is a saying that states” () —typically used in Warring States and Han texts to introduce oral maxims. We thus relied on several criteria to parse the materials, including grammatical structure, parallelism, rhyme, and an analysis of the ways in which various grammatical particles are used here. Parallel passages in other texts (such as the Zhuangzi, Wenzi, and Hanshi waizhuan) also were helpful. In many cases, the repetition of a theme or concept from a previous line indicates the beginning of the explication. In other cases, the explication is introduced with the standard marker “therefore” () or “thus” (). In still other cases, standard phrases such as “this is what is meant by X” or “this is what is called X” () identify the explanation. This list of criteria is by no means exhaustive.
Despite our best efforts, in some cases our demarcations remain tentative simply because the materials in some sections are more ambiguous and challenging, containing few or no markers of which we can be confident. In some cases, other scholars might have made different decisions about sectioning. Nonetheless, we believe that our understanding of chapter 14 of the Huainanzi as a series of sayings () with corresponding explanations () is correct and that such an approach will enable the reader to appreciate the chapter’s rhetorical coherence, which in turn will offer new interpretive possibilities for others to explore in the future. For these reasons, we have chosen to translate the chapter title as “Sayings Explained,” to underscore and clarify the chapter’s special rhetorical aims and characteristics.
Summary and Key Themes
This chapter opens with a description of the “Grand One” (taiyi ), portrayed as a personification of the primordial state of the Way before things as discrete entities came into existence. This first section of the chapter thus establishes a conceptual framework for the many (and otherwise seemingly random and disconnected) sayings and explications. This structural strategy is similar to that of other chapters consisting of a fairly large number of short sections that collect various types of oral literature, such as precepts (chapter 10), anecdotes (chapter 12), and persuasions (chapters 16 and 17). The opening passage of those chapters also serves as a frame, a kind of preamble, showing how the content of the chapter is to be understood. The placement of the opening anecdote concerning the “Grand One” and the closely related “Grand Inception” thus strikes us as not only the consequence of a deliberate editorial choice by the Huainan masters but also a key to the chapter as a whole.
The Grand One: Human Ontogeny Reflects Cosmogony
The Grand One personifies the state of things at the primeval time before time began, when there was only Oneness, a state of utter nondifferentiation. The Grand One represents unmediated unity characterized by emptiness and nondifferentiation, thus containing the full potentiality of all that will come to be in the world but that has not yet been formed and fashioned. The Grand One is both anterior to the creative (that is, differentiating) process of the Way and implicit in it as the source from which the differentiation of things proceeds: “It is not that there was nothing that made things into things; rather, what made things into things is not among the myriad things” (14.1).
Both individual human ontogeny and human history echo this grand cosmogonic movement from a state of formlessness to the acquisition of physical form, a transition from Nonbeing to Being. This process, the “Grand Inception,” is understood to be both inevitable and regrettable, a devolution from the primeval and ideal state of the Grand One. (This theme of cosmic and historical devolution is important throughout the Huainanzi and is emphasized especially in chapters 6 and 8.) Once human beings acquire physical form, they willingly fall under the sway of the phenomenal world and thus lose their original unity. This need not happen, however. As the opening passage of this chapter points out, some can “return to that from which they were born as if they had not yet acquired a physical form.” These are the “Genuine,” idealized beings that represent the highest level of identification with the cosmos.
The Grand One, the Sage, and the Superior Man
With this conceptual mooring in place, the chapter uses gnomic verse to describe the sage, the Superior Man, and the manner in which they represent various aspects of sagely governance. What specific qualities does the sage possess? Just as the non-differentiated and timeless Grand One is a manifestation of the Pole Star, the sage is identified with the stillness and constancy of the unmoving center (14.22, 14.67). This stability engenders inner harmony (he ) or equanimity (ping ), which enables the sage to remain unburdened and unperturbed by the world (14.5, 14.29). A number of sayings explicitly identify the sage with qualities associated with the Way, as described in the Laozi. The sage is nameless, formless, and empty. He is unassuming, keeping to the soft and weak. He is identified with non-action, nonstriving, naturalness, nonassertiveness, non-knowledge, and nonintervention.2 He is selfless and devoid of mind, desires, and preferences. He follows the natural tendencies of things and does not initiate or innovate. He prizes (apparent) weakness and despises (apparent) strength, recognizing, as the Laozi states, that “the power of tigers and leopards attracts archers. The agility of monkeys and apes invites pursuit.” But the description of the sage in this chapter draws on other sources besides the Laozi. The sage is the traceless sage of the Hanfeizi, who through his non-action and invisibility stands beyond the criticisms and judgments of his underlings. He is the timely sage of the Lüshi chunqiu, who, indifferent to worldly success and failure, simply waits for the opportune moment to arise (and understands the limitations imposed on his actions should that time not come). By following the natural course of things, the sage is able to keep his life secure and his innate nature intact while avoiding for both himself and his governance such negative outcomes as bad fortune, harm, danger, criticism, and chaos.
The Superior Man, although not achieving the perfection of the sage, cultivates his virtuous conduct in the world and extends his kindness to the world but goes to great pains to ensure that his goodness does not bring him fame or that his humaneness does not bring him notice. Like the sage, he
remains in the background, barely discernible to those around him yet contributing to the harmony and unity of the world. By inwardly following his nature and the principles of the Way, the Superior Man outwardly accords with Rightness and is not burdened by the external world. The virtuous conduct of the Superior Man interacts (by means of the natural force of resonance) with the world of phenomena to generate “upright qi” (as opposed to the “noxious qi” generated by such historical monsters of bad rulership as Jie and Djou [see 14.31]). Like the sage, the Superior Man embodies unity or oneness, but his oneness is associated with the mental focus identified as an essential quality of the sage as described by Xunzi. In short, the Superior Man is synonymous with Moral Potency in the world; he simply does good and refuses to do evil, all the while recognizing that such conduct will not ensure that good fortune comes to his person and bad fortune does not. Like the sage, he is indifferent to the conventions of worldly success and failure. Thus, echoing the Laozi, one passage concludes: “Therefore, within himself his mind is constantly tranquil and still, and his Moral Potency is unencumbered. Even the barking of a dog cannot startle him because he naturally trusts his genuine responses” (14.71).
The Grand One and the Ordering of the Intrinsic Self
Echoing a theme that pervades the Huainanzi, “Sayings Explained” insists that an essential step on the path to sagehood is returning to primordial unity by identifying the intrinsic self with the Grand One. The sage must constantly cultivate his intrinsic Potency so as to become as unitary and self-sufficient as the Grand One, finding self-realization within rather than looking to what lies outside the self. He does so by relying on the Way and its Techniques (dao shu ) to cultivate such essential aspects of the self as mind, natural tendencies, and the spirit.3 Of equal importance is the necessity of restraining or eradicating responses to the external world that are expressed as human desires or preferences. By cultivating his identification with the Grand One and purging himself of desires for particular things and outcomes in the differentiated world, the sage achieves Grand Vacuity (taichong ), a psychic state that enables him to respond to the external world from a unified and still center.
The Grand One and the Ordering of the Extrinsic World
Having cultivated the qualities of the Grand One in his intrinsic person, the sage is empowered to bring order to the world. With this conceptual frame in place, the chapter turns to a number of themes found throughout the Huainanzi. A clear homology is established between ordering the self and ordering the world; one must begin by ordering what lies within.4 Because the Grand One represents a state of cosmic unity temporally and epistemologically prior to the differentiation of the ten thousand things, the ruler is urged to emulate the Grand One in his governance: “When the ruler grasps the One [zhi yi ], there is order; when he lacks constancy [chang ], there is disorder.”5 The Huainan masters are quick to identify this immersion in unity with non-action : “The Way of rulership is not the means by which one acts; it is the means by which one does not act.”6 This saying is elucidated further:
What does “non-action” mean? [It means that]
the wise do not avail themselves of their position to intervene;
the courageous do not avail themselves of their position to engage in violence;
and the humane do not avail themselves of their position to confer kindness.
This may be called “non-action.” Through non-action, you can grasp the One.
The One is the root of the myriad things. It is the Way that is unopposed. (14.35)
We see here that non-action is the chief characteristic of the sagely ruler, but it is not the only one. All the qualities of a sage—being nameless, selfless, formless, empty, and unassuming; without mind, desires, or preferences; natural, non-striving, nonassertive, unknowing and noninterventionist—come into play in sage-governance. Repeatedly, the authors warn that only those who do not seek to rule the world, who rise above the worldly conventions of success and failure, who are indifferent to bringing fame and reputation to their person or ensuring that they enjoy good fortune, and who avoid misfortune are truly fit to rule. The ruler must rely on the Way and not his personal preferences (14.48). In short, the sage rules by extinguishing his personal preferences and biases so that he follows the natural tendencies of things and is as impartial as Heaven and Earth (14.44, 14.45). Thus he rules as a sage but (fortunately) is not recognized as such; fame and reputation are contradictions of the Way and only bring disaster.
Sources
In this chapter, as throughout the Huainanzi, we see the Huainan masters weaving together various strands of gnomic verse and philosophical concepts derived from diverse wisdom traditions of the pre-Han era. Here, the authors demonstrate how gnomic sayings—most, if not all, of which would have been familiar to educated people of the time—exemplify themes seen elsewhere in the Huainanzi concerning the sage and his governance of the world. As we saw earlier, the sayings are explained through the literary techniques of “comparing through analogy” and “elucidating through illustration.” Apothegms that at first glance seem unrelated to the sage are read analogically as descriptions of this ideal personality.7 For example,
Yang qi arises in the northeast and culminates in the southwest.
Yin qi arises in the southwest and culminates in the northeast.
This description of the yearly waxing and waning of yin and yang, which the authors flesh out in the following lines, is read as a metaphor for the sage who “is cautious and circumspect concerning what he accumulates” (14.64). We also find the following apothegm describing the trajectory of two commonplace items from their origins to their destinations:
Water comes out of the mountains and flows to the sea;
grain grows in the fields and is stored in granaries.
This saying similarly is read analogically as descriptive of the sage who “observes the beginning of things and knows their end” (14.65).
An example of the second literary technique, “elucidating through illustration,” is
Those who excel at swimming do not study how to move a boat with a pole yet find [boats] easy to use.
Those who possess strong muscles do not study how to ride a horse yet find [horses] easy to mount.
Those who look lightly upon [taking possession of] the world do not allow their person to become entangled by external things; thus they can occupy such a position. (14.14)
Here the compilers illustrate the deep meaning of this expression by linking it to the following anecdote concerning the Great King Danfu:
When the Great King Danfu resided in Bin, the Dee people attacked him. He offered them skins, silks, pearls, and jades, but they did not heed him. Danfu then bid farewell to his elders and moved his residence to the foot of Mount Qi. Carrying their young and supporting their old, the common people followed Danfu, and subsequently he established a state there. By this principle, is it not fitting that the house of Zhou attained the world in four generations? Those who do nothing deliberately to take possession of the world assuredly are those who can rule the world.8 (14.14)
By explaining the implications of these sayings through analogy and illustration, the authors shape this gnomic literature by identifying how these sayings should be interpreted.
This chapter reiterates arguments concerning the ideal ruler and his governance found elsewhere in the Huainanzi and echoes sayings that appear in early texts such as the Mozi, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Hanfeizi, Guanzi, Lüshi chunqiu, Wenzi, and Hanshi waizhuan. As part of the common intellectual property of educated people of the time, the origins of the gnomic sayings quoted in this chapter usually cannot be traced to particular literary sources so might best be described as part of early China’s cultural inheritance. The contribution of the Huainan masters has been to use those sayings as the basis for their arguments about the nature of ideal rulership.
The Chapter in the Context of the Huainanzi as a Whole
The summary of chapter 14 in chapter 21 of
the Huainanzi describes the literary methods employed in this chapter, and the concluding line of the chapter summary refers to its broader conceptual goals: chapter 14 “patches up and mends deficiencies due to errors and oversights.” Therefore, any arguments or themes presented earlier in the work that were misunderstood or overlooked are meant to be redressed in this chapter. A striking example of how this chapter harks back to earlier material is the way in which it recapitulates and expands on a theme from chapter 7—the tranquil, self-cultivated nature of the sage and the sage’s complete lack of interest in pursuing political power and its worldly trappings. This is why the chapter might at first glance seem redundant, although as argued earlier, the chapter is not simply a repetition of themes that appear elsewhere in the work. Rather, it presents such themes within an overarching conceptual framework that foregrounds the notion of the Grand One, a concept to which the book returns repeatedly, exploiting this symbol with its associations ranging from cosmogony, cosmology, and human ontogony to self-cultivation and human governance in order to underscore the concept of self-identification with primordial unity as characteristic of a sage and foundational to one who would rule the world as a sage.9
Sarah A. Queen
1. Csikszentmihalyi 2004, 150n.117; Le Blanc and Mathieu 2003, 658.
2. See 14.3, 14.4, 14.18, 14.19, 14.22, 14.35, 14.46, 14.67, and 14.68.