by An Liu
11. Commentators explain that the people of Yue were familiar with shooting overhead (e.g., at birds in trees) but not at shooting at things far away. They were unable to adapt their familiar technique to a new goal.
12. Glue will not stick to pitch; each “steals” the other’s stickiness. Charcoal was used to insulate ice in ice houses during the summertime. See also 11.18; and chap. 11, n. 96.
13. The tip of a downy hair just beginning to emerge through an animal’s skin in autumn is a standard ancient Chinese metaphor for the smallest possible thing.
14. Many species of orchids have little or no scent; nevertheless, orchids (lan ) are strongly associated with fragrance in Chinese literary imagery.
15. Chen Chengheng is the same as Chen Chengchang. See 13.8.
16. Ziyuan Jie (also known as Ziju ) was a grandee of Qi who served at the court of Duke Jian. Chen Chengheng threatened Ziyuan Jie because the latter would not join in his plot to assassinate Duke Jian of Qi.
17. This refers to a story in Zhuangzi 48 (ZZ 48/19/18) about a man who could capture the insects on the end of a pole by being able to concentrate his whole spirit on the task.
18. Duke Bo of Sheng was so preoccupied with a rebellion that he injured his chin with a whip held upside down and was not even aware of it. See 12.46.
19. See 7.15; and Hanfeizi, chap. 7.
20. Ni Yue was a logician of Song who is said to have defeated all the debaters at Jixia by arguing the proposition that “a white horse is not a horse.” He “untied” (i.e., “solved”) the duke’s knot by showing that it could not be untied. See 17.193; and chap. 18, nn. 131, 132.
21. The father’s advice seems useful; a good strategy for a young bride entering her husband’s household was to avoid being conspicuous in any way.
22. Chunyu Kun warned a neighbor that his chimney was defective and might cause a fire. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1651n.25.
23. Yin and yang (the two qi) are always simultaneously present in everything, but usually in unequal amounts; thus one or the other is naturally dominant. When they are present with equal force and contend for dominance, the effects described result.
24. A similar statement appears in 4.9.
25. Some editions use the character qi , which in this usage means something like “nature” (almost equivalent to xing ), while others use qi , as in 16.21. There is a clear point of congruence of the terms, but qi appears to be correct here. See 4/34/23: jie xiang qi qi, jie ying qi lei . This expresses the same idea as tong qi xiang dong here.
26. A passage in 1.6 makes a similar point.
27. See 16.111.
28. Baozhe , shopkeeper, explained by the commentators as the proprietor of a wine shop. He dares not keep a biting dog because it would frighten away his customers.
29. This sentence is transposed from 16.59, following the suggestion of Wang Niansun. See Lau, HNZ, 157, 159.
30. A major violation of etiquette. Compare 16.79.
31. Mozi opposed music as wasteful.
32. Some commentators interpret the “beauty” and “ugliness” of this passage as referring to one’s reputation. See also Laozi 56; and Zhuangzi 24 (ZZ 24/10/27).
33. Shentu Di was a minister of King Djou of Shang who committed suicide out of shame that he could not reform his ruler.
34. Zuozhuan, Xi 33; Gongyang zhuan, Xi 33.
35. That is, the blackbird, which can imitate the songs of many other birds. Also called the turn-tongue (fan she ). See 5.5.
36. That is, his voice has become rusty from disuse.
37. The lives of most animals pass unnoticed; these anomalies, though bad omens, receive a kind of immortality by being recorded in writing.
38. That is, fuling, written or , which is said to grow on the roots of pine trees and to embody the “hidden spirit” of the tree. See Shiji 128/3b–4a.
39. A parasitic plant that has no roots.
40. See 16.89.
41. That is, Wen Zhong. He was forced to commit suicide by a suspicious king. See Shiji 28/7a–b; and Zuozhuan, Ai 3.
42. The Fan clan was one of the “six ministerial clans” of the Jin. The clan was destroyed and its territory divided among the Hann, Zhi, Zhao, and Wei clans in 458 B.C.E.
43. For these and other weights and measures, see app. B.
44. For a similar argument, see 2.7.
45. Qu here is equivalent to qu in the following line; in this context, we take both as having the sense of “inclinations.”
46. A similar statement is found in 17.141.
47. These stories of Yi the Archer and the wrestler Qingji are alluded to in 14.4.
48. An almost identical statement appears in 17.222.
49. That is, the praise itself drew attention to the case, and thus it was discovered that the mother of the convict laborer was in fact doing the work for him.
50. A similar point is made in 17.28 and 19.5.
51. Yang Youji appears in 13.11 in an anecdote about King Gong of Chu. That is presumably the “king of Chu” in this anecdote as well.
52. For Mr. He’s jade disk, see 6.3 and 16.19; and chap. 14, n. 57; for the jade half-disk of the Xiahou clan, see 7.6, 13.15, and 17.2.
53. For the term junxing , see also 17.61; compare the “ruler of [all] notes” (yin zhi jun ) in 3.29 and 6.4.
54. That is, the horse might not die after all, but the one who kills the ox will be executed. The commentators explain that an ox is crucial to agriculture and that to kill one is a capital offense.
55. The Jisun clan was one of the three branch lineages descended from Duke Huan of Lu (r. 712–694 B.C.E.) that became the most powerful factions in that state during the late Spring and Autumn period. Gao You tentatively identifies the head of the Jisun clan during this period as either Ji Kangzi (d. 468 B.C.E.) or Ji Huanzi (d. 492 B.C.E.). See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1688n.1.
56. He drowned in a rising river while waiting for a woman who never arrived despite her promise. See also 13.11 and 17.242.
57. Kong Bo was a great-grandson of Confucius. His mother had been repudiated by his father, but he nevertheless should have mourned her.
58. Zhaoge (Courtsong) was the name of a pre-Anyang capital of the Shang dynasty. Supposedly the court music of Shang was composed there, so Mozi, who opposed music, considered it a place to avoid. See Le Blanc and Mathieu 2003, 773n.40.
59. Correcting “Zengzi” to “Confucius,” as suggested by Liu Wendian. See Lau, HNZ, 163n.5.
60. A similar statement appears in 17.176.
61. He Bo , not (as the name might suggest) a human ruler, but a god. See also 17.210.
62. Regarded as the same as the jade disk of Mr. Bian or Mr. He . See chap. 14, n. 57; and 6.3, 16.19, and 16.90.
63. Odes 218.
64. Compare 17.113.
65. “Yang’a” (Sunny Slope) and “Cailing” (Brightly Colored Water Chestnuts) were famous melodies of the state of Chu.
66. Mo Mu was the wife of the Yellow Emperor. Alhough ugly, she was virtuous. See Lüshi chunqiu 14.7.
67. Wan and yan , ritual jade implements, said to represent mercy and severity, respectively.
68. Both “fox-head” and “rooster-head” are medicinal herbs, the first a kind of bean and the second a type of water lily.
69. A similar statement appears in 6.3. According to later Chinese pharmacopeias, a poultice of crushed shellfish was used to treat the rash caused by exposure to raw lac sap (the lac tree is related to poison sumac). But the enzymes in the shellfish medicine also are capable of preventing lacquer from drying properly, so it must be kept away from lacquer that is still being manufactured. We are grateful to Anthony Barbieri-Low (private communication) for this insight.
70. There is a play on words here. The character miao , “blind in one eye,” has the eye radical on the left, and the character for “few” (i.e., “small” with an additional stroke) on the right.
71. If you place feathers in one end of a scale and charcoal in the other and it balances e
venly in dry weather, then the charcoal end will drop down when it is humid (because charcoal absorbs moisture better than feathers). Such a device could act as a sort of weather-forecasting tool.
72. According to Gao You, Li Shi was a “devious official.” See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1716n.10. Yu Dacheng proposes that the characters in his name be transposed to produce “Scribe Li” . See Lau, HNZ, 166n.6.
73. He anticipated that he would be promoted to serve in Li Shi’s place.
74. Maternal Uncle Fan (also known as Hu Yan [d. 622 B.C.E.]) was the uncle of Duke Wen of Jin and one of his most influential advisers. The story of his refusing to return home is recorded in Hanfeizi 32. Duke Wen was returning from a ten-year exile; Maternal Uncle Fan was outraged by his treatment of his faithful veterans.
75. All these are examples of inappropriate behavior. The “waves of the marquis of Yang” are sudden waves in the river, caused by the drowned marquis’s ghost, that can overturn boats and cause people to drown. See 6.1.
76. Literally, “the mother of his neighbor to the east.” “Eastern neighbor” is a conventional term meaning “landlord.”
77. Bao Shen served as prime minister of Chu during the reign of King Wen.
78. Pi Chen was an influential minister of Zheng. According to Gao You, he was unable to devise plans in the capital, only in the countryside, so Zichan would take him out into the countryside to discuss policy. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1722n.2.
79. The message of all these examples is that contrary to expectations, unpromising people sometimes prove useful.
80. The “six arts” of Confucianism were rites, music, archery, charioteering, writing, and mathematics.
Seventeen
17.1
To apply the standards of a bygone era in governing the world [today] is like a passenger in a boat who lost his sword in midstream. Right away he made a mark on the boat, intending to come back at night to look for the sword. His lack of knowledge of how to sort things out was certainly profound! Now to follow the footprints in one small corner [of the world] and not to know how to wander in accord with Heaven and Earth—no confusion can be greater than that. Just because something is suitable for a particular time is not enough to make it valuable [always]. It can be compared with making earthen dragons in time of drought or making [sacrificial] straw dogs during an epidemic. They are sovereign only at a particular time.
17.2
The torn remnants of a baby’s swaddling cloth1 are of value for treating bites of the qiu insect,2 but it is not the jade half-disk of the Xiahou clan.3
17.3
It has no antiquity and no present,
no beginning and no end.
Before there were yet Heaven and Earth, it generated Heaven and Earth. It is the profoundly subtle and expansively grand.
17.4
Where feet tread is shallow, but we [must] rely on where we do not tread before we [can] walk.
What a knowledgeable person knows is narrow, but we [must] rely on what we do not know before we [can] understand.
17.5
A swimmer uses his feet to kick and his hands to sweep [through the water]. But if you have not mastered the technique of swimming, the more you kick, the more you will get into trouble. When you do learn to swim, it is not [just] a matter of hands and feet.
17.6
Birds fly back to their home;
rabbits return to their burrow;
dying foxes head for their lair;
gnats hover over the water.
All things rely on what bring them into being.
17.7
One does not give a mirror to a person who has lost his sight;
one does not give a pair of shoes to a person who has lost a foot;
one does not give a ceremonial cap to a person from Yue;
they are of no use to them.
17.8
Although a hammer has a handle, it cannot pound itself;
although eyes can see a hundred paces away, they cannot see their own eyelids.
17.9
Dogs and pigs do not eat from plates and cups. Carelessly they fatten their bodies; [consequently] self-regard hastens their own deaths.
Phoenixes fly more than a thousand ren4 high; consequently, no one can reach them.
17.10
The moon illuminates the sky, but it is swallowed by the toad;5
the deng6 reptile wanders in the fog, but it is endangered by the cricket;
the crow’s strength vanquishes the sun, but it submits to the zhuizha bird.7
[Things] can possess [both] strengths and weaknesses.
17.11
No one lives longer than a child who dies in infancy;
Ancestor Peng was short lived.8
17.12
If the rope is short, it cannot be used to draw water from the depths;
if the implement is small, it cannot be used [on things that are] abundantly large.
It is not within its capacity.
17.13
Anger arises from non-anger,
action arises from non-action.
17.14
Look for the formless and you will see what you look for.
Listen for the soundless and you will hear what you listen for.
17.15
The best flavor does not satiate;
the highest language does not embellish.
The highest joy does not [elicit] laughter;
the loftiest sound does not call out.
The greatest artist does not chop;
the greatest cook does not carve;
the greatest hero does not fight.9
When you attain the Way, its Potency follows. This is like the correspondence of the [pitch-pipe] note Yellow Bell and the [pentatonic] note gong, or the correspondence of the [pitch-pipe] note Great Budding and the [pentatonic] note shang —their consonance cannot be altered.
17.16
If someone is gambling for [a piece of tile], his pace will be measured.
If he is gambling for gold, he will be excited.
If he is gambling for jade, he will be very ill at ease.
For this reason, if what you value is external, then what is internal will be dulled.10
17.17
When you pursue a wild animal, your eyes will not notice Mount Tai.
When you crave and desire something external, your perception will be impaired.
17.18
Those who hear the sound of a sound are deaf.
Those who hear the sound of no sound are discerning.
Those who are neither deaf nor discerning have penetrated through to spirit illumination.
17.19
The diviner grasps the tortoise shell;
the shaman arranges the [milfoil] slips.
When inquiring about their calculations, how can it be numbers that we ask about?
17.20
Those who are dancing set the beat while those sitting unconsciously clap their hands in unison. What brings them to that point is the same.
17.21
The sun rises in the Bright Valley
and sets in the Abyss of Anxiety.11
No one is aware of its movements,
but in a moment’s time
it turns your head around.
17.22
No one wants to learn to ride a dragon, but everyone wants to learn to ride a horse.
No one wants to learn to rule ghosts, but everyone wants to learn to rule men.
[People] hasten after what is of use.
17.23
To dismantle a gate to make firewood;
to plug a well to make a mortar:
When people do things, sometimes they are that stupid.12
17.24
Water and fire repel each other, but when a small cauldron lies between them, the five flavors are harmonized.
Bone and flesh13 attract each other, but when slander intervenes, the father–son relationship is threatened.
17.25
Now when the means by which you nurture something harms what you nurture, it is like shaving the foot to fit the shoe or trimming the head to fit the hat.
17.26
Calamus repels fleas and lice but attracts centipedes.14 It alleviates a minor irritation but invites a great harm. Thus small pleasures [can] undermine significant benefits.
17.27
A collapsing wall does not compare with one that does not [collapse].15 But it is better than a falling-down house.
17.28
That the bi and yuan [jade ritual objects] become implements is due to the merits of the grit;16
that the Moye [sword] cuts so cleanly is due to the strength of the whetstone.
17.29
When the cunning rabbit is caught, the hunting dog is cooked.
When the high-flying bird is shot down, the strong crossbow is put into storage.
17.30
The gadflies that accompany a thoroughbred go a thousand li but do not fly. They do not have stores of grain, yet they do not starve.
17.31
Suppose you have an accidental fire and it happens to rain. Having the accidental fire is unfortunate but its happening to rain is fortunate. Thus within ill fortune there is good fortune.
17.32
The purveyor of coffins desires human illness and plague;
the hoarder of grain desires yearly drought and famine.
17.33
When water is still, it is level.
When it is level, it is clear.
When it is clear, it reveals the shapes of things.
Nothing can hide; thus it can be used to make things correct.
17.34
Where streams dry up, valleys become empty.
Where hills level off, gorges fail to flow.
Where lips dry out, teeth grow cold.
17.35
[Although] river water runs deep, its silt lies in the mountains.
17.36
From the same plain white silk,
one piece might be used for a [mourning] cap