by An Liu
17.118
With a mat six feet long,
if you lay it flat to be stepped over, even an inept person could do it;
if you stand it on end to be jumped over, even a highly talented person would not find it easy.
This is because the conditions have been changed.
17.119
A hundred plums is sufficient to make vinegar for a hundred people,
[but] one plum is not sufficient to make vinegar45 for one person.
17.120
Forbidding the world to eat because [one person] was killed by food,
forbidding the world to ride because [one person] was injured by a carriage, would be perverse.
17.121
If you use a hook, you are quiet;
if you use brushwood,46 you tap the boat;
if you use a trap, you press it down;
if you use a net, you lift it up.
The means differ, but in getting fish they are the same.
17.122
When you see an elephant’s tusk, you know he was bigger than an ox.
When you see a tiger’s tail, you know it was bigger than a fox.
One portion appears, and the remaining one hundred portions are known.
17.123
Small states do not fight in the space between large states;
two deer do not fight when there is a rhinoceros close by.
17.124
If you assist the sacrificer, you get to taste the offering.
If you aid a brawler, you get injured.
If you take shelter under an unlucky tree, you will be struck by lightning.
17.125
Some call it a zhong, some call it a long.47
Some call it a li, some call it a deng.48
The name is different, but the reality is the same.
Se meaning “head lice”
and se meaning “a musical instrument made from a hollow piece of wood”:
The name is the same, but the reality is different.
17.126
The sun and the moon want to shine, but drifting clouds can cover them.
Orchids and irises want to endure, but autumn winds will vanquish them.
17.127
If a tiger has a cub that cannot grasp and tear [prey with its claws], it will kill the cub right away because it is not fierce enough.
17.128
A jade seal carved in the shape of a tortoise is something the worthy turns into an ornament;
topsoil dispersed in the fields is something the capable turns into wealth.
To give a drowning person gold and jade is not as good as a few feet of rope.
17.129
In looking at writings,
if there is the character “wine” above, the character “meat” will certainly be below.49
If” year” is above, “month” will certainly be below.
We can pick them out according to their categories.
17.130
If you’re covered with dust and you squint, that is a good reason; but if you cover [your eyes] before you have [even] gone out your door, that is contrary to the Way.50
17.131
The butcher dines on coarse vegetables.
The carriage maker travels on foot.
The potter uses broken bowls.
The carpenter lives in cramped quarters.
The one who makes it does not [necessarily] use it;
the one who uses it is not willing to make it.
17.132
With the wheel hub [properly] set up, each of its thirty spokes makes full use of its strength but does not detract from the others. If you take one spoke alone and set it into the hub, discarding all the others, how would it be possible to go ten thousand li?
17.133
If you walk at night, you close your eyes and stretch your hand in front of you.51
If you cross [a body of] water, you untie your horses and take a boat.
In doing things, there are appropriate [actions], and there are things that should not be done.
17.134
Tangerines and pomelos have their native places.
Phragmites reeds and metataxis vines have places where they cluster.
Wild animals with identical feet follow one another in migration.
Birds with identical wings follow one another in flight.
17.135
Rainwater from the fields empties into the sea;
words whispered in someone’s ear can be heard for a thousand li.
17.136
When Su Qin walked slowly, people said, “Why is he walking?”
When he hurried along, they said, “Why does he hurry?”
When he galloped his horse, they said, “Why does he gallop?”
Whatever he did, people discussed it. Many activities bring much criticism.
17.137
If the skin is nowhere to be seen,
where will you look for the hair?52
If you fear the head and fear the tail,
what about all that is hidden in the body?
17.138
To want to see the nine continents [of the world]53 when your feet have not gone [even] a thousand li;
to be ignorant of the sources of government and education but to wish to reign over myriads of people—
these things are difficult!
17.139
If [the prey is] too obvious, it will be taken;
if [the bird is] too leisurely, it will be shot down.
Thus,
Great Purity is as if sullied;
Great Potency is as if deficient.54
17.140
If you have never planted nor harvested, yet grain fills your warehouses;
if you have never raised mulberry trees or silkworms, yet silk fills your sacks,
then you obtained them [through conduct] not in accord with the Way, and their use must be contradictory [to the Way].
17.141
The sea does not accept floating carrion;
Mount Tai does not elevate the petty person.55
The bladder is not offered up on an offering stand;56
the piebald horse does not qualify for sacrifice.
17.142
Using a fan to cool yourself in midsummer but not knowing enough to put it away when winter comes;
raising the hem of your clothing when crossing a stream but not knowing enough to lower it when you reach the [other] bank—
[some people] are unable to respond to alterations.
17.143
There are mountains that have no forests.
There are valleys that have no wind.
There are rocks that have no metal.
17.144
The people sitting in a hall all have different belt hooks, but they all hold their sashes closed in the same way.
17.145
Duke Xian [of Jin]’s worthiness [did not save him from being] deceived by Lady Li.57
Shusun [Bao]’s58 knowledge [did not save him from being] tricked by Shu Niu.59
Thus when Zheng Zhan60 entered Lu, the Spring and Autumn Annals said, “A deceitful person is coming, a deceitful person is coming!”
17.146
When the gentleman has wine,
the rustic beats his ceramic jar.61
Though [the gentleman] does not show
approval, he also does not show scorn.
17.147
By nature, people find silk suitable, but when being shot at, they suit up in armor. Thus they find that what doesn’t suit them serves very suitably.
17.148
When the spokes are set into the hub of a wheel, each meeting its respective hole, they do not pierce one another. It resembles officials, each of whom tends to his respective duties and does not interfere with the others.
17.149
Because he had avoided being shot by wearing armor, he wore it to enter water;
because he had crossed a river by holding on to a gourd, he used i
t to smother a fire.
We can say he did not understand how to categorize things.
17.150
When the Superior Man presides over the people, it is like
using a rotted rope to drive a racehorse,
treading on thin ice with a jiao dragon beneath it,
or entering a forest and encountering a nursing tiger.
17.151
Skillfully using others is like the feet of a millipede; though numerous they do not harm one another.
Or like the lips and the teeth, the hard and the soft rub up against each other but do not overcome each other.
17.152
The beauty of clear wine begins with the plow and the spade;
the beauty of fine brocade begins with the shuttle and the loom.
17.153
Rough linen when new is not as good as burlap;
burlap when old is not as good as rough linen.
Some things are best when new;
others are best when old.
17.154
A dimple is attractive on a cheek, but on the forehead it is ugly;
embroidery is appropriate on a robe, but on a cap it is reprehensible.
17.155
Horse teeth are not ox hoofs.
Sandalwood roots are not catalpa branches.
Thus if you see the root of their singularity, the myriad things can be known.
17.156
When it is formed, a stone is hard;
when it emerges, an orchid is fragrant.
When they are young, they [already] possess these qualities;
when they mature, they [become] obvious.
17.157
Propping it up or knocking it over,
thanking him or scolding him,
gaining it or losing it,
permitting it or forbidding it—
they are a thousand li apart.
17.158
To dirty your nose but to powder your forehead,
to have [dead] rats rotting in the courtyard but to burn incense in the palace,
to go in the water but to hate to get wet,
to embrace the odorous but to seek out the fragrant,
—even someone who is good at things cannot manage these.
17.159
Second sprouts are not harvested; flowering plants that grow large too early miss their [proper] season and wilt.
17.160
Do not say that things are unlucky. After all, a rice pot will not fall into a well by itself.
If you pull out a hairpin and get a spark, why should you be surprised?
17.161
To prevent someone from crossing a river is possible, but if a person has already reached the middle of the river, it is not possible to prevent him from crossing.
17.162
Seeing a single stripe of a tiger, you do not know how fierce he is.
Seeing a single hair of a steed, you do not know how well he runs.
17.163
Larva produce dragonflies;
tiny eggs produce mosquitoes;
rabbit-tooth [insects] produce dragon ants.
What things have for their making
emerges from what cannot be reasoned.
Those who do not know this are amazed;
those who know this do not think it strange.
17.164
Bronze sparkles with green;
gold sparkles with yellow;
jade sparkles with white.
An oilseed lamp shines dimly;
a tallow lamp shines richly.
You can use
the obscure to know the obvious
and the external to know the internal.
17.165
Simulated meat62 cannot be tasted by the mouth;
the appearance of ghosts and spirits cannot be perceived by the eyes;
the pleasure of seizing a shadow cannot assume reality in the heart.
17.166
Winter ice can crack;
summer trees can bear fruit.
The right moment is hard to get and easy to lose.
17.167
When the trees are thick and luxuriant on all sides, you can chop them down all day long, and no one would know [the difference]. But when the autumn winds bring down the frost, in just one night, they [all] die of cold.
17.168
To force-feed someone with a fever,
to give cold drinks to someone with sunstroke,
to pull on the rope to rescue a hanged person,
to throw a stone to save a drowning person:
[Although] one wants to help, [these things] do harm instead.
17.169
Although you may wish to prevent runaway horses, you need not rush out the door for [every] rumbling cart;
although you want to be careful when taking wine, you need not cling to your sleeping mat.
17.170
Once Meng Ben63 reaches into a rat hole, the rats will die in no time; [nevertheless] they assuredly will bite his fingers because he has lost his positional advantage.
17.171
When clouds rise in the mountains, the bases of pillars grow damp.
When the fuling fungus is dug up, the [parasitic] convolvula vine dies.
17.172
When one house is lost to fire, one hundred houses burn.
When liars plot in secret, the “hundred names” become sun-bleached bones.64
17.173
When grain gets wet, it becomes warm;
when clay pots are fired, they emit water.
In water there is fire;
in fire there is water.
17.174
Swift lightning breaks stone.
Yin and yang erode each other.65
These are natural forces.
17.175
When hot [bath] water is poured into a river, it does not increase [its volume] by much. When floodwaters drain into the sea, although they cannot increase its expanse, they still add to what was already there.
17.176
A one-eyed net cannot catch a bird.66
A baitless hook cannot catch a fish.
If you meet up with a scholar and lack propriety, you will not catch his respect.
17.177
The convolvula vine has no roots, but it can grow.
The snake has no feet but it can go.
A fish has no ears, but it can hear.
A cicada has no mouth, but it can sing.
They all have what makes them so.
17.178
The crane lives for a thousand years, so it may fulfill its wanderings; the mayfly is born in the morning and dies in the evening but gets its fill of enjoyment.
17.179
When [the tyrant] Djou minced Earl Mei, King Wen plotted with the Lords of the Land against him.
When [the tyrant] Jie showed no gratitude toward one who remonstrated, Tang had the people weep for him.
A wild horse does not butt into a tree;
a mad dog does not throw himself into a river;
and even a deaf insect does not immolate itself.
How much more so should people [avoid self-destruction].
17.180
If you like bears but feed them salt;
if you like otters but give them wine to drink;
though you may wish to raise them well, this contradicts their Way.
17.181
If it made you happy, you might destroy a boat to get its rudder;
if it were your heart’s desire, you might destroy a bell to get its clapper.
17.182
For every small disgrace Master Guan accomplished something glorious.
For every hundred deceptions Su Qin performed one honest act.
17.183
Where a target is displayed, bow and arrows gather.
Where a forest’s trees flourish, hatchets and axes enter.
It is not that someone summoned them. The force of circumstance attracts them.
17.
184
The expectation of a reward might lead you to rescue a drowning man; still, it also certainly benefits the drowning man.
17.185/186
If a boat is as likely to sink as to float, even a fool would not set foot on it.
Even [the famous horse] Qiji,
if he did not go when spurred on,
or if he failed to stop when reined in,
would not be selected by the ruler of men to travel [a single] li.
17.187
Those who criticize my conduct wish to be my friends;
those who demean my goods wish to barter with me.
17.188
Water blended with water is not worth drinking.
A one-stringed se is not worth listening to.
17.189
A fine horse will die from being tied up;
an honest scholar will grow poor from being upright.
A worthy is spurned at the court;
a beautiful woman is spurned at the palace.
17.190
When the traveler thinks [of his loved one] on the road,
the one at home dreams in her bed.
When the kindly mother sighs in Yan [in the north],
her son misses her in Jing [in the south].
These are [cases of] Essence going back and forth.
17.191
Where red meat hangs, crows and magpies gather.
Where hawks and buzzards soar, throngs of birds disperse.
Whether creatures disperse or gather depends on how they respond to one another.
17.192
If you eat [someone’s] food, don’t destroy his utensils;
If you eat fruit [from a tree], don’t break its branches.
17.192a
If you block up a spring, you’ll go dry;
If you turn your back on your roots, you’ll grow rotten.
17.193
Interlacing brushstrokes cannot extend far.
Linked rings cannot be separated.
The way to “solve” them is by not separating them.67
17.194
Going down to the river and hoping for a fish is not so good as going home and knotting a net.
17.195
A moon-bright pearl is