by An Liu
to regret committing errors and feel satisfied when you achieve merit,
to push ahead and not know to return,
this [too] is called “reckless.” [14/140/6–14]
14.57
When your circles coincide with the compass,
when your squares coincide with the [carpenter’s]
square, when your going constitutes ferocity,
when your stopping constitutes civility,
you will be able to lead a small number of people,
but you will not be able to lead the multitudes.
When you raise knotweed in rows,
when your [ceremonial] cups are [furnished with] pedestals,
when you measure out millet and pound it [to remove the husk],
when you count out rice to prepare for steaming it,
you will be able to govern a household,
but you will not be able to govern a state.
When you wash the cup before eating from it,
when you clean the goblet before drinking from it,
when you bathe before offering up food,
you will be able to nourish the elderly of your household,
but you will not be able to offer a feast to the Three Armies. [14/140/16–18]
14.58
If you are not unassuming, you cannot govern what is great.
If you are not simple, you cannot unite the multitudes.
The greatest music is invariably unassuming.
The greatest rites are invariably simple.
Unassuming, you thus may be like Heaven.
Simple, you thus may be like Earth.
The greatest music [provokes] no resentment.
The greatest rites do not [evoke] censure.
All within the Four Seas will attach themselves to your rule, and thus you will be able to become emperor. [14/140/20–21]
14.59
When the mind is agitated,
though provided with a well-made bed and soft mats, you will not feel comfortable.
Though provided with a meal of wild rice and succulent beef, you will not find the taste good.
Though provided with the [music of] the qin and se, and the piping of the flute, you will not feel joy.
Only when vexations dissipate and agitations disappear will food taste good, a bed feel peaceful, a dwelling feel secure, and wanderings be joyful.
Looking at it from this perspective,
Nature has the means to be joyful,
and the means to be sorrowful.
Now if you try to promote what cannot bring joy to your nature
and you harm what brings joy to your nature,
though enriched by possessing the world and revered as the Son of Heaven, you will not be able to avoid becoming a sorrowful person.
In all cases, human nature
enjoys peace and quiet and dislikes discord and noise;
it enjoys rest and relaxation and dislikes toil and hard work.
When the mind is consistently free of desires, it is said to be “peaceful.”
When the body is consistently free of tasks, it is said to be “resting.”
If you allow the mind to wander in peace and quiet
and abandon the body to leisure,
thereby awaiting Heaven’s decree,
within you will find joy,
and without you will be free from worries.
Even something as grand as the world will not be sufficient to change your unitary vision.
Should the sun or moon be eclipsed, it will not be sufficient to compel you to change your intentions.
Thus,
though lowly, it is as if you were honored;
though impoverished, it is as if you were wealthy. [14/140/23–28]
14.60
The greatest Way is devoid of form.
The greatest Humaneness is devoid of affection.
The greatest disputation is devoid of sound.
The greatest honesty is devoid of modesty.
The greatest courage is devoid of haughtiness.
When you do not abandon these five, you are heading in the right direction. [14/141/1]
14.61
When armies contend with too many orders, they will grow chaotic.
When wine [drinking] is under too many constraints, there will be disputes.
When armies grow chaotic, they will be routed.
When there are disputes, there will be mutual harm.
Therefore,
what begins as beautiful and elegant always ends up vulgar and vile.
What begins joyfully always ends up sorrowfully.
Yet things that begin in simplicity
invariably end up in perfect harmony.
Now suppose you prepare good wine and savory food to fete your guests and greet them with a modest bearing and humble words, hoping in this way to join with them in happy concord. Yet while contending to fill your guest’s cup, contrary [to expectations], a quarrel ensues. In the course of the quarrel, both parties are injured, arousing the enmity of each other’s clans for three generations. Thus contrary to expectations, you have elicited the very thing you despise. Such are the dangers of wine! [14/141/3–6]
14.62
The shortcoming of the Odes lies in its partiality;
the shortcoming of the Music lies in its critiques;
the shortcoming of the Rites lies in its criticisms.58 [14/141/8]
14.63
It is not the case that the zhi tone lacks a yu sound or that the yu tone lacks the zhi sound.
Of the five tones, none is without overtones, but it is the dominant tone that determines the name of a specific note.
Thus, Humaneness and Rightness, wisdom and courage are equally possessed by the sage,
Yet they all contribute to the single designation of the sage; all speak of his greatness. [14/141/10–11]
14.64
Yang qi arises in the northeast and culminates in the southwest.
Yin qi arises in the southwest and culminates in the northeast.
From their inception the evolutions of yin and yang are synchronized.
Daily [the one that is waxing] strengthens [within its own] category.
[Moving] slowly and keeping equidistant from each other,
One becomes hot enough to melt sand;
The other becomes cold enough to freeze water.
Thus, the sage is cautious and circumspect concerning what he accumulates. [14/141/13–14]
14.65
Water comes out of the mountains and flows to the sea;
grain grows in the fields and is stored in granaries.
The sage observes the beginning of things and knows their end. [14/141/16–17]
14.66
We offer up astringent mushrooms from a sitting mat;
we offer up dark wine in a zun goblet;
we offer up raw fish on a zu stand;
we offer up unsalted soup in a dou vessel.
Such foods neither please the ears or eyes nor suit the palate or belly, yet the former kings valued them, because they attended first to the root and only afterward to the branches. [14/141/19–21]
14.67
When the sage encounters things in the world amid their thousand alterations and myriad evolutions, he invariably relies on what never transforms to respond to what is always transforming.
Cold and heat stand in opposition to each other.
During the season of intense cold, the ground cracks and water freezes, yet fire’s capacity to burn is not diminished as a consequence.
During the season of intense heat, stones melt and metal fuses, yet fire’s capacity to burn is not enhanced as a consequence.
The alterations of cold and heat neither harm nor benefit his person, for his inner substance is unchanging. [14/141/23–25]
14.68
The sage constantly follows behind and does not take the lead;
he constantly responds and does not initiate;
he
does not advance to seek after things;
nor does he retreat to decline things.
“I follow the times for three years;
when the time’s departed, there I would go.
I fled the times for three years,
so the time was at my back.
I have no discarding or seeking,
in the center I find my place.”
The Way of Heaven is without affection; it gives only to those who have Potency.59 Those who possess the Way do not lose the opportune moment to accommodate others, and those who do not possess the Way lose the opportune moment to accommodate others. If you rectify yourself and await your fate, once a propitious moment arrives, you can neither welcome nor oppose it. Whether you impede it or seek convergence with it, once the opportune moment passes, you cannot pursue it or change its course.
Thus, you will not say: “I have done nothing and yet the empire remains distant.”
Nor will you say: “I desire nothing yet the empire does not come to me.” [14/141/27–14/142/3]
14.69
In ancient times, those who preserved themselves
rejoiced in their Moral Potency and forgot their lowly status; therefore fame could not alter their wills.
They rejoiced in the Way and forgot their poverty; therefore profit could not disturb their minds.60
Though concerns for fame and profit filled the world, it did not suffice to alter their wills.
Thus,
they were pure and able to be joyous;
they were tranquil and able to live peacefully.
Thus, those who govern themselves are those with whom you may speak of the Way. [14/142/5–6]
14.70
Now the difference between your own life and the time dating back to the Great Vastness is distant indeed.
The difference between your own death and the eternity of Heaven and Earth is immense indeed.
To expend the life span of a single person worrying about the chaos of the world is like worrying that there is insufficient water in a river and trying to augment it with one’s tears. The turtle lives for three thousand years, whereas the mayfly does not live more than three days. Now if you rely on the mayfly to augment the turtle’s life, people will surely laugh at you. Thus, those who stop worrying about the chaos of the world and simply delight in governing themselves are those with whom you may speak of the Way.61 [14/142/6–9]
14.71
When the Superior Man does good, he cannot ensure that it will bring good fortune;
when he refuses to do evil, he cannot ensure that it will not bring bad fortune.
If good fortune arrives, since it is not something he sought, he does not proclaim his achievements;
if bad fortune arrives, since it is not something he elicited, he does not regret his actions.
If he should cultivate himself inwardly to the utmost and still adversity and bad fortune arrive, it is due to Heaven and not the person. 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.
Thus,
those who understand the Way are not confused;
those who understand fate are free from anxiety.62 [14/142/11–14]
14.72
When the ruler of a state possessing ten thousand chariots passes away, we bury his bones in the wild lands and worship his spirit in the Mingtang.
[This is because] the spirit is more highly honored than the physical form.
Thus,
when the spirit regulates, the physical form complies,
but when the physical form prevails, the spirit dissipates.
Acuity and keenness may be employed, but you must revert to the spirit. This is called “Grand Vacuity.”63 [14/142/16–17]
Translated by Sarah A. Queen
1. For the “Grand One” (tai yi ), see also 3.13, 7.15, 8.7, 9.2, and 21.2.
2. For the notion of “returning to your Ancestor,” see 16.1 and 16.15. The latter explains:
The crumbling of a wall is better than its building;
the melting of ice is better than its freezing
because they [thus] return to the Ancestor.
For “returning to the Ancestor of Nature and Destiny,” see the summary of chap. 7 in 21.2. For the “Great Ancestor,” see Zhuangzi, chap. 6. For a different point of view, see 17.27.
3. Tai chu . Compare the “Grand Beginning” (tai shi ) in 3.1.
4. The concept of the “Genuine” (zhen ren ) is developed most extensively in chap. 2 but also appears in chaps. 6–8. See also extensive references in the Zhuangzi, especially in chaps. 6 and 24.
5. This saying also appears in Zhuangzi 7 (ZZ 7/21/19–20).
6. The Wenzi parallels this passage to the end of this line, and then the two texts diverge. See WZ 4/18/22–4/19/1.
7. Prince Qingji was the son of King Liao of Wu (r. 526–515 B.C.E.). He fled into exile when his brother, King Helü, usurped the throne. He was renowned as a fierce warrior and an expert swordsman.
8. This saying paraphrases Zhuangzi 7 (ZZ 7/20/20), where it is attributed to Laozi. It does not, however, appear in the received version of the Daodejing. This saying also appears in 17.84 and 10.92.
9. Following Lau, who follows Wang Niansun and emends wu mo bu zu gu qi diao () to wu mo zu gu qi he (), based on other occurrences of the expression in, for example, Huainanzi, chaps. 1, 2, and 7. See Lau, HNZ, 133n.2. See also Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1475n.2. For the similar expression bu zu yi gu he, see ZZ 5/15/2.
10. For the sage’s ability to “return to the self” (fan ji ) or the closely related expression “return to [one’s] nature” (fan xing ), see 10.113, 10.117, 11.5, 11.6, and 11.15. For “returning to [one’s] nature” as the root of governance, see 20.28. For a parallel passage in the Wenzi, see WZ 4/19/23–26.
11. For the justification of reading shu as shu , see the numerous examples from the Huainanzi and other texts listed in Zhuang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1475n.7.
12. Guang Chengzi .
13. For a longer and differently ordered version of this passage in which the Master of Broad Perfection imparts his teachings to the Yellow Emperor, see Zhuangzi 11 (ZZ 11/27/15–28).
14. For this line, see Changes, hexagram 2, Kun.
15. See also Wenzi 4 (WZ 4/24/4–7).
16. See the exchange in Zhuangzi 19 (ZZ 19/50/18–23) between Yen Hui and Confucius on what enables a good swimmer to handle a boat deftly.
17. Danfu was the (legendary) grandfather of King Wen, founder of the Zhou dynasty. The story of Great King Danfu is also found in 12.15 and 20.9. The version in chap. 12 is in turn nearly identical to the story as it appears in Zhuangzi 28 (28/81/23–28). See Mair 1997, 285–86. See also LSCQ 21.4/141/11–17; and Knoblock and Riegel 2000, 557–58.
18. For a near parallel to this passage, see HSWZ 2/10.
19. Fang chuan , which we understand to be a vessel comprising two boats lashed together side by side.
20. For a near parallel to this passage in Zhuangzi 20, see ZZ 20/54/4–6.
21. See also WZ 4/20/1–5.
22. See also WZ 4/20/6–7.
23. For these two couplets of parallel prose (beginning with “Thus”), see also WZ 4/20/8–9.
24. The six lines following “Thus” have near parallels in WZ 4/20/8–10.
25. See also WZ 4/20/10–13.
26. See also WZ 4/20/17–18.
27. For these four lines, see also WZ 4/20/18–19.
28. Odes 241.
29. See also WZ 4/20/19–20.
30. See also WZ 4/20/20–21.
31. See also WZ 4/18/18–20.
32. This claim appears in Zhuangzi 4 (ZZ 4/10/25–26). Graham translates:
Another point: competitors in a game of skill begin in a bright Yang mood, but it is apt to end up by darkening to Yin; when they have gone too far they play more and more unfair tricks. Drinkers at a formal banquet are manner
ly at first, but generally end up too boisterous; when thy have gone too far the fun gets more and more reckless. This happens in all sorts of affairs. (1982, 71)
Mair’s version reads,
Moreover, those who contest for supremacy with cleverness begin openly but invariably end up in deception. In their excesses, they are full of chicanery. Those who drink according to etiquette begin politely but invariably end up disorderly. In their excesses, they are full of debauchery. It’s the same with all affairs. (1997, 35)
33. A similar point is made in LSCQ 14.5/74/23. See Knoblock and Riegel 2000, 319.
34. Zi and chui are trifling amounts.
35. LSCQ 17.7/107/6–7, “No Duality” (Bu er), similarly states: “Where there is unity, order results; where there are differences, chaos ensues; where there is unity, security results; and where there are differences, danger arises” (Knoblock and Riegel 2000, 434). LSCQ 17.8/107/13–15, “Upholding Unity” (Chi yi), also states:
The true king by holding fast to the One makes the myriad things correct. An army must have a general, for he is what unifies it; a state must have a ruler, for he is what unifies it and the world must have a Son of Heaven, for he is what unifies it. The Son of Heaven must hold fast to the One, for that is what makes him unique. Where there is unity, there is order; where there is duality, there is chaos. (Knoblock and Riegel 2000, 434)
36. See also WZ 5/26/12–13.
37. This sentence also appears in WZ 5/26/15–16.
38. Odes 249.
39. LSCQ 17.6/106/11–14, “Heeding the Circumstances” (Shen shi), quotes Shen Dao:
When a rabbit runs by, a hundred people chase it. The reason is not that a hundred people could divide one rabbit but that its distribution has not yet been settled. Since its distribution has not yet been settled, even a Yao might exhaust his strength chasing it. How much more would this be the case with an ordinary man! But when the market is filled with rabbits, passersby pay them no heed. The reason is not that they do not desire rabbits but that their distribution is settled. When distribution is settled, no one, no matter how backward, contests with another over it. Therefore, governing the world, as well as a single state, rests on nothing more than settling distribution. (Modified from Knoblock and Riegel 2000, 431–32)