by An Liu
68. Xian Zhen (d. 627 B.C.E.) was a noble of Jin. Yao is a mountain in present-day Henan Province.
69. An alternative version of this anecdote appears in LSCQ 16.4/93/20–16.4/94/11. Another version appears in 12.40 and a brief version in 13.11.
70. Xia Zhengshu was a grandee of Chen.
71. This event occurred in 598 B.C.E. See Zuozhuan, Xuan 11.
72. Shenshu Shi was a minister of King Zhuang of Chu. This anecdote is mentioned in 18.2.
73. Zhang Wu was a vassal of Earl Zhi. He is mentioned in LSCQ 2.4/10/2 and 22.6/148/25 as having encouraged the earl in his belligerent course. This anecdote is mentioned in 18.2.
74. Viscount Wen of Zhonghang was the leader of one of the “six ministerial clans” that for a time controlled the state of Jin.
75. Earl Zhi died in 453 B.C.E. See ZGC 203/105/8–14.
76. Laozi 44.
77. These events took place in 523 and 522 B.C.E. See Zuozhuan, Zhao 19, 20. Fei Wuji (d. 515 B.C.E.) was the junior mentor of Crown Prince Jian of Jing (Chu), with whom he had a falling out. King Ping ruled from 529 to 516 B.C.E.
78. That is, all the civilized or culturally “Chinese” states.
79. Wu Zishe was the grand mentor of Crown Prince Jian. Chengfu was a city in present-day Anhui Province.
80. The king had taken away one of his son’s wives, a particularly beautiful woman from Qin. See LSCQ 22.1/144/1–2.
81. This anecdote occurs in altered form in LSCQ 22.1/144/1–5.
82. Xu Shen identifies Tangzi as a grandee of Qi. Chen Pianzi may be the Jixia scholar identified in other texts as Tian Pian. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1887n.7. King Wei of Qi reigned from 356 to 320 B.C.E.
83. Following Lau, HNZ, 1 4n.7.
84. This anecdote appears in a different form in ZZ 12/30/9–11. Li Zhu or (here, “Grieving for Pearl”) appears in 1.6, and Jue Duo .(here, “Grabbing-Grasping”) in 19.5.
85. Both Mengzhu ” and Yunmeng are marshes in present-day Henan and Hubei provinces, respectively; the Nine Rivers are tributaries of the Yangtze; and Jingzhou Bis a region encompassing central and southern Hubei, northern and central Hunan, and parts of Sichuan.
86. Yang Bojun suspects that this figure’s surname is Chen and that zhuyu is an official title meaning something like “ordinary charioteer” (Chunqiu Zuozhuan zhu, 1683).
87. These events occurred in 481 B.C.E. See Zuozhuan, Ai 14. Duke Jian reigned from 484 to 481 B.C.E.
88. The names of these two figures are somewhat garbled. Chen Chengchang is more frequently recorded as Tian Chang . He was a grandee of Qi and the leader of the powerful Tian clan. He initially shared the prime ministership of Qi with Jian Zhi , whom he killed in the incident described in this anecdote. Zai Yu (522–458 B.C.E.) was a disciple of Confucius. It is possible that Jian Zhi and Zai Yu were the same figure. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1893–94n.7.
89. This anecdote occurs in LSCQ 17.6/106/19–23.
90. These events took place in 517 B.C.E. See Zuozhuan, Zhao 25. The Ji and Hou clans were grandee families of the state of Lu.
91. Ji Pingzi (d. 505 B.C.E.) was head of the Ji, or Jisun , clan.
92. Earl Zhao of Hou was head of the Hou clan. Duke Zhao of Lu reigned from 541 to 510 B.C.E.
93. Zijia Ju was a grandee of Lu and kinsman of the ducal house.
94. That is, the Jisun, Mengsun , and Shusun clans, three branch lineages of the ducal house of Lu that had consolidated great power in the sixth century B.C.E.
95. This anecdote appears in LSCQ 16.6/96/18–26.
96. The “woman of Cai” married Duke Huan of Qi. One day while boating with her husband, she rocked the boat and frightened him, for which he divorced her. This began a chain of events that ultimately led to a war between Qi and Chu. See HFZ 32/84/14–19.
97. The Lü clan was the original ducal house chartered at Qi by the Zhou kings. They were usurped by their vassals, the Chen (or Tian) clan, in 386 B.C.E.
98. Laozi 30.
99. Following Liu Taigong’s alternative reading. See Lau, HNZ, 195n.3.
100. Chong’er , later Duke Wen of Jin. See 12.22 and 20.37.
101. A physical anomaly for which Chong’er was known.
102. Xi Fuji was a minister and fief holder of Cao. See 11.6 and 12.22.
103. A somewhat different version of this anecdote occurs in Zuozhuan, Xi 23.
104. According to Xu Shen, both Zizhu and Ziguo were grandees of Chu. They are unrecorded elsewhere. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1902n.12.
105. This character seems to indicate drinking water thickened with millet or barley.
106. Following Lau’s (HNZ, 196n.2) proposed emendation.
107. Bo Juzi appears in 6.1, where he is said to have been able to bag a bird at a height of a hundred ren. Gao You’s commentary identifies him as a skilled bird hunter of Chu. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 1:642n.22. The “tether cord” mentioned in this passage refers to a thin line connecting the arrow to the bow so that a bird shot on the wing cannot get away.
108. Mount Min is in present-day Sichuan Province; Dongting is a lake in present-day Hunan Province; Shicheng was a city in present-day Henan Province; Dantu is a district in present-day Hubei Province.
109. According to LSCQ 14.8/78/25, Niu Que was a “great Confucian” who lived in the mountains. Gao You notes that he was a native of Qin. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1905n.4.
110. This anecdote appears, somewhat altered, in LSCQ 14.8/78/26–14.8/79/4.
111. Odes 256, “Grave” ().
112. According to the Shiji, these “records and charts” were presented to the First Emperor of Qin by Lu Sheng in 215 B.C.E. after an expedition to “the island of the immortals.” See Shiji 6:252.
113. This is the famous Qin general Meng Tian (d. 210 B.C.E.).
114. According to Xu Shen, Yang Wengzi was a Qin general. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1908n.2.
115. Liusha , or “Flowing Sands,” was a desert region of the northwestern imperial domain (in the area of present-day Gansu Province). The Liao River flows through Manchuria in northeastern China.
116. Tu Sui was dispatched to campaign against the Yue in 214 B.C.E. See Shiji 112:2958.
117. According to Xu Shen, Xincheng is in present-day Hubei Province.
118. Jiuyi is a mountain in present-day Hunan Province.
119. Fanyu was a district in present-day Guangdong Province.
120. Nanye , or “Southern Wilderness,” was the name of a region in present-day Hubei Province.
121. The Yugan River is in present-day Hubei Province.
122. . The Shiji jijie notes that the first character of this binome (jian) is an attenuated office title and that the second (lu) is the individual’s name, his surname not having been transmitted. See Shiji 112:2959n.5.
123. According to Xu Shen, Xi’ou was a tribe of the Yue people, and Yi Xusong was their leader. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1910n.15.
124. Daze was a village in present-day Anhui Province.
125. Xi was a pavilion in present-day Shaanxi Province.
126. Liu Bang (247–195 B.C.E.) was a rebel leader against the Qin who became the founding emperor of the Han dynasty. Xiang Yu (232–202 B.C.E.) was a rival rebel leader who briefly held the title of “hegemon king” before being defeated by Liu Bang.
127. Duke Ai of Lu reigned from 494 to 468 B.C.E.
128. .
129. Following Yu Dacheng’s proposed emendation. See Lau, HNZ, 198n.1.
130. Following Wang Shumin’s proposed emendation. See Lau, HNZ, 198n.2.
131. Ni Yue was a noble and famed debater of Song. See chap. 16, n. 20. He is mentioned in HFZ 32/82/6–7.
132. The text here is working off a pun: the same character, jie , means both to “untie” a knot and to “solve” a puzzle or a riddle. This alludes to an anecdote in LSCQ 17.2/100/26–17.2/101/2. There the story is told about “a disciple of Ni Yue” who reportedly solved a knot puzzle by recognizing that it was impossible to untie. A similar point is made in
17.193, and the story is alluded to in 16.20.
133. Accepting Lau’s (HNZ, 198n.3) proposed emendation.
134. Conforming to the original text rather than following Lau’s emendation of to (“When his words were finished”).
135. The music of the sage-king Shun .
136. This anecdote occurs in LSCQ 14.8/79/13–16.
137. Both are songs of ancient Chu. See CC 9/23/13. “Northern Bank” appears there as “Waving Lotuses” .
138. According to Xu Shen, a popular rustic song. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1914n.5.
139. King Yan of Xu is a semilegendary figure who features in many early texts. A non-Chinese ruler of a southern people, he is variously said to have lived during the reign of King Mu of Zhou (r. ca. 976–ca. 922 B.C.E.), King Wen of Chu (r. 689–677 B.C.E.), or, as in the Huainanzi, King Zhuang of Chu (r. 613–591 B.C.E.). See Chen Qiyou, Hanfeizi xinjiaozhu (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2000), 1093–94n.4.
140. Wangsun Li , according to Xu Shen, was a minister of Chu.
141. These translations are approximate. The binomial terms for these plants appear only in the Huainanzi and are otherwise unknown.
142. Changes, hexagram 1, Qian , “Nine in the First Place” ().
143. Changes, hexagram 1, Qian , “Nine in the Third Place” ().
144. King Zikuai of Yan yielded his throne to his prime minister, Zizhi , in 316 B.C.E., in emulation of the ancient sages Yao and Shun. He was ultimately killed. See Shiji 15:732.
145. The lord of Dai was lured to his death at the hands of Viscount Xiang of Zhao in 457 B.C.E., according to LSCQ 14.5/75/14–22. There is no mention in that or any other extant account of his having been a Mohist.
146. According to Xu Shen, Kuang Jue was a hermit executed by the Grand Duke for leading the people astray. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1919n.19.
147. Duangan Mu was a recluse highly revered by Marquis Wen of Wei. See LSCQ 15.3/83/23–25.
148. Shan Bao was a hermit of Lu.
149. This anecdote appears in ZZ 19/50/30–31 and LSCQ 14.8/79/12–13.
150. Zhang Yi was a knight of Lu.
151. This anecdote appears in LSCQ 14.8/79/11–12 and ZZ 19/50/31–32.
152. Zhao Xuanmeng , or Viscount Xuan of Zhao, was a great minister of Jin during the reign of Duke Li (r. 581–573 B.C.E.).
153. This anecdote appears in Zuozhuan, Xuan 2; and LSCQ 15.4/84/8–18.
154. This anecdote appears in 12.49 and LSCQ 20.3/131/1–5.
155. Tian Zifang , an official of Wei honored as the teacher of Marquis Wen of Wei (r. 445– 396 B.C.E.), is said to have been a disciple of either Zigong or Zixia. A chapter of the Zhuangzi bears his name.
156. The image of the mantis waving its claws at an approaching carriage is cited twice in the Zhuangzi as a popular proverb (chaps. 4 and 12), but there it is treated as an example of foolish and futile bravado.
157. Tang prevented a hunter from using a prayer that would summon all birds into his net and instead taught him a prayer that would limit his catch to the birds he needed. See LSCQ 10.5/51/25–10.5/52/2.
158. According to LSCQ 10.5/52/4–7, King Wen’s workers discovered bones while digging a pond, and he ordered them ceremonially reinterred. Xu Shen gives an alternative version of the story. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1924n.20.
159. Discounting Lau’s proposed deletion of “his Potency.”
160. Qisi was the native place of Sunshu Ao, located in present-day Henan Province. Yulou was a neighboring town.
161. Xu Shen identifies the lord of Wey as Zhe , Duke Chu (r. 493–481 B.C.E.), and the king of Wu as Fuchai. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1927nn.1, 2.
162. Great Steward Pi (also known as Bo Pi [d. 473]), a great minister of Wu under King Fuchai, is often cited as a negative exemplar.
163. A much briefer and altered version of this anecdote appears in Zuozhuan, Ai 7.
164. Wang Shumin asserts that this figure’s name should be Gongyizi . See Lau, HNZ, 201n.1.
165. Discounting Lau’s (HNZ, 201n.2) proposed emendation, “to being a son.”
166. Accepting Wang Shumin’s proposed emendation. See Lau, HNZ, 201n.5.
167. Accepting Wang Shumin’s proposed emendation. See Lau, HNZ, 201n.6.
168. We translate the received text as it reads, assuming that the players are playing a game akin to wei qi (“encirclement chess,” known also by its Japanese name, go). Many commentators, however, would emend it according to the version of this anecdote that appears in LieZ 8/50/12–16, in which the players are playing a game that uses dice, such as liubo (for which, see chap. 15, n. 50). See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1932n.5; and A. C. Graham, trans., The Book of Lieh-tzü: A Classic of Tao (New York: Columbia University Press, 1990), 172–73.
169. According to Xu Shen, Qu Jian was a grandee of Chu.
170. See 12.5.
171. This occurred in 479 B.C.E. See Zuozhuan, Ai 16.
172. . Zuozhuan gives this figure’s name as Zixi.
173. . According to Xu Shen, both Zijiao and Ziqi were paternal uncles of Duke Sheng.
174. Shangcai was a district of ancient Chu in present-day Henan Province.
175. King Wei of Chu reigned from 339 to 329 B.C.E.
176. Lau’s (HNZ 18/201/29) text contains a seemingly superfluous ruo () that is not in other editions and should be excised. See Zhang Shuangdi 1997, 2:1935n.18.
177. These events occurred in 493 B.C.E. See 12.23; and Shiji 31:1468–76.
178. Guxu is likely an alternative rendering of Gusu , a town in present-day Jiangsu Province. See He Ning, Huainanzi jishi (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1998), 1308.
179. Discounting Lau’s (HNZ 18/202/6) emendation of to . Lau seems to be emending on the basis of a parallel text found in Gao You’s commentary to LSCQ 8.4/41/11. See Chen Qiyou, Lüshi chunqiu jiaoshi (Shanghai: Xuelin, 1995), 458n.36. But the original text of the Huainanzi is more logical. Lowering the ears is a recognizable sign of submission among canines, whereas it is not clear how “smoothing its fur” would be at all observable.
Nineteen
CULTIVATING EFFORT
ACCORDING TO the summary in chapter 21, “Cultivating Effort” was written for those “whose entry into the Way is not yet profound, and whose appetite for debate is not yet deep.” Substantively, chapter 19 provides arguments that can be used to challenge a number of political and philosophical views that seem to have been in vogue at the time the Huainanzi was created. Together, these arguments support the general theme of the chapter, that cultivating effort is necessary in a wide variety of contexts and among a wide variety of people, from the sage who tries to bring benefit to the world to the common man who tries to lift himself morally through education and training. Rhetorically, the chapter instructs the reader in techniques of assertion and refutation that can be used in oral debate. Each of the chapter’s seven sections lays out a sustained argument that begins by asserting or refuting a particular proposition. In every case, personal effort is seen to be indispensable even when it pertains to the key concept of “non-action” (wuwei ), advocated throughout the Huainanzi as a technique of sagely government. Here, “non-action” is redefined to highlight the importance of human agency and human exertion.
The Chapter Title
We have translated the title of chapter 19, “Xiu wu” , as “Cultivating Effort.”1 Even though “Cultivation and Effort” also would be an acceptable translation of this chapter title, we prefer the verb–object reading because we believe that it best expresses the chapter’s main theme as developed in all seven of its sections. Xiu is associated with a constellation of concepts such as to regulate, to cultivate, and to improve, with connotations of beginning with the natural tendency of a person or thing and developing it to perfection. Wu is associated with working hard, making an effort, trying to do something, and exerting oneself to the utmost. Both words point to the importance of human agency and its indispensable role in perfecting oneself and the world. The message of the title, as of t
he chapter itself, is that no ruler can hope to succeed unless he devotes himself to the task of ruling.
Summary and Key Themes
Each of this chapter’s seven sections addresses a philosophical issue to be affirmed or refuted. The first two sections take up the concept of non-action but differ in the arguments they employ.
Section 19.1 is a refutation of what may have been a particularly popular early Han reading of the concept of non-action—that the non-active sage is “solitarily soundless and indifferently unmoving.” It challenges this depiction through a detailed description of the Divine Farmer, Yao, Shun, Yu, and Tang and their contributions to human society. As “rulers who made the world flourish,” these five sages are said to have “labored their bodies and used their minds to the utmost on behalf of the people to bring benefit and eradicate harm, yet they never tired of doing so.”
Section 19.2 also addresses the concept of non-action but does so differently. Instead of refuting one particular understanding of the concept, it redefines non-action, linking the concept to the natural propensity of things (shi ), on the one hand, and to human effort, on the other:
The propensity of terrain [is such that] water flows east, but people must work on it so that the floodwaters flow through the valleys.
Grain and crops grow in the spring, but people must apply their efforts to them so that the five grains can reach maturity.
If they had let the water flow naturally or waited for the plants to grow by them-selves, the accomplishments of Gun and Yu would not have been established, and the wisdom of Lord Millet would not have been employed.
Having set out this fundamental position for understanding the concept of non-action, the section then refines its definition. Non-action means
not allowing private ambitions to interfere with the public Way,
not allowing lustful desires to distort upright techniques.
[It means]
complying with the inherent patterns of things when initiating undertakings,
according with the natural endowments of things when establishing accomplishments,
and advancing the natural propensities of things so that misguided precedents are not able to dominate.