The Huainanzi

by An Liu

  Confucius heard this and said, “It is not that Duke Ping did not cherish his body, but that he wanted to attract those who would admonish him.”

  Han[Fei]zi heard this and said, “The assembled officials abandoned Ritual and were not punished. This is to condone transgression. This is why Duke Ping did not become hegemon!”

  7. Hanfeizi 36. Note that Huainanzi 13.18 (13/128/23–27) uses the same anecdote to make a quite different didactic point:

  When Viscount Xiang of Wei was surrounded in Jinyang, he broke the siege and rewarded the five men who were meritorious, and Gao He was the first to be rewarded. Those who flanked him to the right and left exclaimed: “As for the hardships at Jinyang, [Gao] did not possess any great merit, yet today he is the first to be rewarded. Why?”

  Viscount Xiang of Wei responded, “During the siege of Jinyang, our altars to the soil and grain were endangered, and our state and families were imperiled. Among our numerous officials, there was not one who did not harbor a proud and arrogant heart, [but] only He did not stray from the ritual pertaining to ruler and minister.” Thus through the rewarding of this one man, those who served as ministers in the world, without exception to the end of their lives, showed loyalty to their ruler. This is an example of rewarding the few to encourage the many.

  8. HFZ 36/115/9–20.

  9. For a discussion of this debate, see Sarah A. Queen, From Chronicle to Canon: The Hermeneutics of the Spring and Autumn According to Tung Chung-shu (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), 17–19, 82.

  10. For examples of the “dialogical rebuttal,” see Chunqiu fanlu zhuzi suoyin 1.2/3/15, 2.1/6/17, 2.1/7/4, 3.1/10/16, 3.1/11/4, 3.1/11/16, 3.1/12/4, 3.2/12/18, 3.2/12/27, and 11.6/53/20.

  11. Esson M. Gale, Discourses on Salt and Iron: A Debate on State Control of Commerce and Industry in Ancient China (Leiden: Brill, 1931).

  12. Tjan Tjoe Som, Po Hu T’ung: The Comprehensive Discussions in the White Tiger Hall, 2 vols. (Leiden: Brill, 1949, 1952).

  Nineteen

  19.1

  Some people say: “Those who are non-active

  are solitarily soundless

  and indifferently unmoving.1

  Pull them, and they do not come;

  push them, and they do not go.

  Only those who are like this give the appearance of having attained the Way.”

  I believe this is not so. I might ask them: “Is it possible to refer to such men as the Divine Farmer, Yao, Shun, Yu, and Tang as sages?’ [Even] those who hold to this view [of non-action] certainly could not contend otherwise. [But] if you examine these five sages, it is clear that none of them achieved non-action.

  In ancient times,

  the people fed on herbaceous plants and drank [only] water,

  picked fruit from shrubs and trees

  and ate the meat of oysters and clams.

  They frequently suffered tribulations from feverish maladies and injurious poisons. Consequently, the Divine Farmer first taught the people to plant and cultivate the five grains.

  He evaluated the suitability of the land,

  [noting] whether it was dry or wet, fertile or barren, high or low.

  He tried the taste and flavor of the one hundred plants

  and the sweetness or bitterness of the streams and springs,

  issuing directives so the people would know what to avoid and what to accept. At the time [he was doing this], he suffered poisoning [as many as] seventy times a day.

  Yao established filial piety, compassion, humaneness, and love, inspiring the people to become like sons and brothers.

  To the west, he taught the People of the Fertile Lands;

  to the east, he reached the Blackteeth People;

  to the north, he soothed the Yudu People;

  and to the south he made inroads to Jiaozhi.2

  He exiled Huan Dou3 to Mount Chong,

  pursued the Three Miao [tribes] to Three Dangers [Mountain],

  banished Gong Gong to Yuzhou,

  and executed Gun at Feather Mountain.4

  Shun created homes.

  Constructing walls and thatching roofs,

  opening lands and planting grains,

  he directed all the people

  to abandon their caves and

  each to establish a family dwelling.

  These are the practices he initiated.

  To the south he chastised the Three Miao [tribes],

  dying along the way at Zangwu.

  Yu,

  bathed by torrential rains

  and combed by violent winds,

  cleared the waterways and dredged the rivers,

  bored through Dragon Gate,

  opened up Yin Pass,

  repaired the embankments of Peng Li [i.e., Boyang Lake],

  mounted the four vehicles,5

  followed the mountains,

  and marked their trees,

  leveling and ordering the water and land

  so as to determine [the boundaries of] the eighteen hundred states.

  Tang

  rose early and retired late

  to take full advantage of his perspicacious intelligence;

  reduced taxes and lightened demands

  to enhance the people’s livelihood;

  displayed virtue and bestowed favor

  to rescue the impoverished and bereft.

  He mourned the dead and inquired about the afflicted

  to take care of orphans and widows.

  [Consequently,]

  the common people grew close to and cleaved to him.

  His policies and directives flowed forth and circulated [everywhere].

  Thus he subsequently

  marshaled his troops at Mingtiao,

  surrounded [Jie] of the Xia at Nan Guo,

  punished him for his transgressions,

  and banished him to Mount Li.

  These five sages were rulers who made the world flourish. They 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.

  Now if you raise a beaker of wine,

  no one would notice [the strain] from your face,

  but if you lift a vat [weighing] a dan, sweat will flow profusely.

  How much more so will this be the case if you take on the worries of the world

  and assume responsibility for all the affairs within the [Four] Seas!

  This is far heavier than a vat weighing a dan.

  Moreover, these sages

  were not embarrassed by their humble status

  but regretted that the Way did not prevail;

  were not anxious about their brief life spans

  but worried that the people were impoverished.

  For this reason,

  when Yu acted on the waterways,

  he used his own body to break through the banks of the Yangxu [River];

  and Tang, at the time of the great drought,

  offered himself as a sacrifice at the edge of Mulberry Forest.

  If the sages’ solicitousness for the people was as clear as this, is it not deluded to accuse them [of being] “non-active”? [19/202/12–30]

  Furthermore, in ancient times

  when emperors and kings were established, it was not to serve and nourish their [own] desires;

  when sages took office, it was not to indulge and delight their own persons.

  It was because in the world,

  the strong oppressed the weak,

  the many violated the few,

  the clever deceived the ignorant,

  and the brave dispossessed the timid.

  Those who possessed knowledge did not impart it;

  those who accumulated wealth did not distribute it.6

  Thus the Son of Heaven was established in order to equalize them.

  Since one person’s intelligence was not sufficient to shed light on all things within the [Four] Seas, the Three Dukes and the Nine Ministers were established t
o aid and assist him.

  Since inaccessible states with varied customs and remote and secluded locales could not receive and be enriched by the ruler’s virtue, Lords of the Land were established to instruct and admonish them.

  This made it so that

  no land was untended,

  no season was not [met with its proper] response,

  no official concealed his activities,

  no state neglected to benefit [the people].

  By these means, they clothed the cold and fed the hungry, nourished the old and infirm, and gave respite to those wearied from their labors.

  [Moreover,] if you look at the sages from the perspective of the common man,7 then

  [the cook] Yi Yin, with cauldron on his back, sought to serve Tang;

  [the butcher] Lü Wang, with carving knife in hand, entered Zhou [to serve as a high official];8

  Baili Xi was sold back to [Duke Mu of] Qin;9

  Guan Zhong was tied and fettered [and taken to the court of Duke Huan of Qi].

  Confucius’s stove was not black,

  and Mozi’s mat was not warm.10

  Thus it is that sages

  do not consider mountains high,

  do not consider rivers wide.

  They withstand insult and humiliation in order to seek to serve a ruler of their age. They do not crave high salaries or covet official posts but instead want to work to advance the world’s benefits and eradicate the common people’s hardships. In a work that has been transmitted to us it is written:

  “The Divine Farmer was haggard and downcast;

  Yao was emaciated and forlorn;

  Shun was weather-beaten and dark;

  and Yu had calloused hands and feet.”

  Looking at it from this perspective, the sages’ anxious toiling for the common people is profound indeed. Thus from the Son of Heaven down to the common people, when

  the four limbs are not exercised

  and thought and forethought [are] not applied,

  yet the tasks of governance are addressed and resolved—such a thing has never been heard of. [19/203/1–10]

  19.2

  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 themselves, the accomplishments of Gun and Yu would not have been established, and the wisdom of Lord Millet would not have been employed.

  What I call 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.

  Thus,

  the undertakings of government will succeed,

  but [you] personally will not be glorified.11

  [Your] accomplishments will be established,

  but your reputation will not obtain.

  [Non-action] does not mean that

  a stimulus will not produce a response

  or that a push will not move [something].

  If you

  use fire to dry out a well

  or use the Huai [River] to irrigate a mountain,

  these are cases of using personal [effort] in contradiction of the natural course [of things]. Thus I would call such [activities] “taking deliberate action.” But if

  on the water you use a boat,

  in the sand you use a shu,

  in the mud you use a chun,

  in the mountains you use a lei,12

  in the summer you dig [ditches],

  in the winter you pile up [dikes],

  in accordance with a high place you make a mound,

  and following a low one you dig a pond,

  these [activities] are not what I would call “deliberate action.” [19/203/12–18]

  19.3

  As sages carry out their affairs, they differ in specific [details] but agree on matters of principle; they start out along different paths but return to the same place.13 In preserving [their states] against danger and stabilizing them against collapse, they are as one, and their wills never deviate from the desire to bring benefit to others. How might I illuminate this point?

  Long ago, Chu wanted to attack Song. Mozi heard about it and was deeply grieved over it, so he left Lu and hurried off [toward Chu], traveling for ten days and ten nights. [Although] his feet swelled with blisters, he did not stop; he tore his clothes into shreds to bandage his feet [instead]. Arriving at Ying, he had an audience with the king of Chu and said, “I14 have heard that the great king is raising troops in preparation for an attack on Song. Do you attack Song because you are certain to get it? Or do you attack Song despite making life bitter for the masses, overworking the people, exhausting your army, and destroying their weaponry, thereby shouldering a reputation for being unjust in the world, even though you gain not a single inch of territory?”

  The king replied, “If I were certain not to get Song and, moreover, I would be considered unjust, why would I attack it?”

  Mozi said, “Splendid! I will show you that the great king will certainly harm [his reputation of being] just and not get Song.”

  The king responded, “[But] Gongshu Ban, the most skilled artisan in the world, is making a ‘Cloud Ladder’15 device in preparation for the attack on Song. How could I not take [Song]?”

  Mozi replied, “I request that if you should allow Gongshu to prepare the attack, you give me permission to defend Song.”

  Subsequently, Gongshu Ban prepared the device to attack Song, and Mozi prepared the provisions to defend Song. [Gongshu Ban made] nine attacks and Mozi nine times repelled him. Chu could not enter Song. Finally Chu’ s troops retreated and called off the attack on Song.16

  Duangan Mu declined an official salary and remained at home. When Marquis Wen of Wei passed by his village gate, he bowed from his chariot. His driver asked, “My Lord, why did you bow from your chariot?”

  Marquis Wen said, “Duangan Mu is here. This is why I bowed.”

  The driver said, “Duangan Mu is a scholar who wears simple attire. For my lord to bow at his village gate—is this not excessive?”

  Marquis Wen replied, “Duangan Mu does not chase after power and profit. He embraces the Way of the Superior Man; secluding himself in an impoverished lane, his reputation spreads a thousand li. How could I presume not to bow?

  Duangan Mu is resplendent because of his virtue;

  I am resplendent because of my power.

  Duangan Mu is rich in Rightness;

  I am rich in wealth.

  Power is not as honorable as virtue;

  wealth is not as lofty as Rightness.

  Even if Duangan Mu could change places with me, he would not do so. All day long I am saddened and embarrassed by my shadow.17 How could I scorn him?”

  Some time later, Qin raised troops to attack Wei, but Sima Yu18 admonished the ruler of Qin, saying, “Duangan Mu is a worthy, and his ruler has treated him with propriety. There is no one in the world who does not recognize this. None among the Lords of the Land has failed to hear of this. If you raise troops and attack [his state], does not this amount to hindering Rightness?” Thereupon Qin demobilized its troops and did not attack Wei.

  Now Mozi, tripping and stumbling, hastened ten thousand li to preserve Chu and Song, but Duangan Mu, [by] shutting his gate and refusing to come out, brought peace to Qin and Wei. As for going or staying, their propensities opposed each other, but both could preserve a state. This is what I mean by “[They start out along] different paths bu
t return to the same place.”

  Now, those who extinguish a fire draw water from the well and hasten to the fire.

  Some use a jug or a bottle,

  while others use a tub or a basin.

  Their squareness or roundness, angularity or smoothness, is not alike. In how much water they hold, they are all different; but for extinguishing a fire, they are all equal.

  Thus,

  the singing of Qin, Chu, Yan, and Wei have different traditions, but all are joyful.

  The wailing of the nine Yi and the eight Di tribes have different sounds, but all are sorrowful.

  Now singing is evidence of joy,19 and wailing is the product of grief. An ardent feeling internally is manifested as a response externally. The cause [of the response] lies in the feeling itself.20 Thus the hearts of sages never deviate, day and night, from the desire to benefit others. The scope of their beneficence reaching so far, the results are correspondingly great. [19/203/20–19/204/11]

  19.4

  When the customary usages of an age fall into disuse and decline and those who repudiate learning become numerous, [they say]: “People’s natures possess strengths and weaknesses, just as fish are swift and cranes are particolored. This is something natural that cannot be diminished or enhanced.”21 I believe this is not so. That fish are swift and cranes are particolored is analogous to

  what makes people people

  and what makes horses horses,

  insofar as their muscles, bones, frame, and body, which they receive from Heaven, cannot be altered. Judging the issue from this perspective, they are not the same in kind.

  Now when a horse is a young colt, it jumps and kicks, raises its tail and runs, and people cannot control it.

  Its bite is strong enough to pierce flesh and break bones,

  and its kick is hard enough to break a skull or crush a chest.

  But

  when a groom tames it

  or a fine charioteer trains it,

  he restrains it with bridle and harness

  and leads it with rein and bit,

  so that even if it must cross a precipice or leap a ditch, it would not dare to shy away. Thus, its form makes it a horse, and a horse cannot be transformed [into anything else.] That the horse can be mounted and ridden is achieved through training. A horse is a dumb brute, and yet it is possible to penetrate its vital energy and will by relying on training to perfect the horse. How much more is this true of people! [19/204/13–18]