by An Liu
and conforms in trustworthiness with the four seasons.
See also 20.12. For a discussion of the ways in which the ruler should correlate his governance with Heaven, Earth, and the seasons, see chaps. 3–5.
5. See, especially, 20.10.
6. See 20.3, where the notions of the Heavenly Heart (tianxin ), Quintessential Sincerity, and spirit illumination are discussed together. Note that chap. 20 uses the terms “Heavenly Heart” and “Quintessential Sincerity” synonymously. The term tianxin appears in the Huainanzi only in chap. 20 (five times) and chap. 21 (once, in that chapter’s summary of chap. 20). The text usually identifies the Utmost Essence or Quintessential Spirit as the medium through which humans move Heaven above and the Quintessential Sincerity as the means by which the ruler moves his people below. See, especially, chap. 6, “Surveying Obscurities,” chap. 7, “The Quintessential Spirit,” and chap. 10, “Profound Precepts.”
7. See 20.4 and 20.18. Note that chap. 9 claims: “The loftiest [of rulers] transforms by means of his spirit” (9.8). References to the “spirit transformation” (shen hua ) of the populace and “transforming [the people] like a spirit” (hua ru shen ) appear in chaps. 9, 10, 15, and 20.
8. For example, 20.9 concludes: “Thus if the ruler applies the Way to the people and they do not follow him, he has not exercised a sincere heart.” “Sincerity” used as a noun or the related terms “Quintessential Sincerity,” “Utmost Sincerity,” the “sincere heart,” and “the heart that is sincere” occur in chaps. 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 17, 18, and 20. The most extensive discussions of the concept are found in chaps. 10 and 20.
9. Heaven’s responses, for example, are explained in 20.3:
Heaven and humanity are mutually in communication with each other. Thus
when a state is endangered and perishes, the pattern of Heaven changes.
When an age is deluded and chaotic, rainbows appear.
In 3.3: “The feelings of the rulers of men penetrate to Heaven on high.” Resonance (ganying) is the principal subject of chap. 6.
10. See 20.9.
11. The term “spirit illumination” (shenming ) pervades the Huainanzi, appearing in thirteen of the text’s twenty-one chapters: 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20, and 21. The term “spirit” or “spirits” (shen) appears in every chapter of the text.
12. For the joys of enlightenment fostered by learning and inquiry, see, especially, 20.30. For the most impassioned arguments that the ruler should exert himself to study, see chap. 19, “Cultivating Effort,” esp. 19.5.
13. For discussions of the role and limits of law, see 20.21–24. For earlier discussions of the role of law in sagely governance, see esp. chap. 9, “The Ruler’s Techniques.”
14. Chap. 20 pairs Propriety and Rightness (20.22 and 20.23), Humaneness and Rightness (20.26 and 20.27), and Humaneness and Wisdom (20.39). These virtues also are discussed in many other chapters of the text.
15. For other discussions of the various forms of verbal and nonverbal forms of communication between the ruler and his people, see, for example, chaps. 6, 10, and 12.
Twenty
20.1
Heaven
established the sun and moon,
arranged the stars and planets,
harmonized the yin and yang,
and displayed the four seasons.
The day serves to blaze things with sunlight;
the evening serves to give them respite;
the wind serves to dry things out,
and the rain and dew serve to moisten them.
In giving life to things, no one sees the means by which it nurtures them and yet things reach maturity.
In taking life away from things, no one sees the means by which it sends them off to death and yet things cease to exist.
This is called “spirit illumination.” Sages take it as their model. Thus,
when they initiate good fortune, no one sees from whence it originates and yet it arises.
When they eradicate calamity, no one sees the means by which they do so and yet it disappears.
Move away from it; it nears.
Approach it; it recedes.
Search for it; it will not be obtained.
Examine into it; it is not insubstantial.
Reckon it by days; it is incalculable.
Reckon it by years; there is surplus. [20/210/3–6]
20.2
When moisture comes, no one sees its form, yet the charcoal has already grown heavier.
When the wind blows, no one sees its image, yet the trees have already been set in motion.
The sun moves, but we do not see its movements. [The great horse] Qiji gallops with his back to the sun, and the grasses and trees are crushed under his hooves. Before there is enough time to set out the warning lights to announce his arrival,1 the sun is already in front of him.
When Heaven is about to send forth a strong wind, before the grasses and trees have moved, birds have already begun to soar.
When it is about to send forth rain, before the dark clouds have gathered, the fish have already begun to gasp for air,2
for the qi of yin and yang move each other. Thus
cold and heat, dryness and moistness, follow one another in accordance with their kind.
Sounds and echoes reply to each other in accordance with their tone.
Thus the Changes says,
“When the crane calls in the treetop,
its babies respond to it.”3 [20/210/8–12]
20.3
When the High Ancestors went into mourning, for three years they did not speak and all within the Four Seas were silent and voiceless. [But] as soon as a single word was uttered, [they] greatly moved the world. This is because they relied on their Heavenly Heart when opening and closing their mouths. Thus, as soon as you stimulate the root, the hundred branches all respond. It is like the spring rains watering the myriad things;
turbulently they flow,
copiously they spread out;
there is no place that is not moistened
and no plant that does not thrive. [20/210/14–16]
Thus, when the sage embraces his Heavenly Heart, his voice can move and transform the world. Thus, when his Quintessential Sincerity is stimulated within, an embodied qi responds in Heaven:
Lucky stars appear,
yellow dragons descend,
auspicious winds arrive,
sweet springs appear,
excellent grains thrive,
rivers do not fill and overflow,
and the seas do not churn and roil.
Thus the Odes says,
“Nurturing and yielding are the hundred spirits
even to the rivers and mountain peaks.”4
When you oppose heaven and oppress the myriad things,
the sun and moon [suffer] partial eclipses;
the five planets lose their proper orbits;
the four seasons overstep one another.
In the day it is dark and at night it is light;
mountains crumble and rivers flood;
in winter there are thunderstorms, and in summer there are frosts.
The Odes says,
“In the first month, frost is abundant;
my heart is anxious and grieved.”5
Heaven and humanity are mutually in communication with each other. Thus
when a state is endangered and perishes, the pattern of Heaven changes.
When an age is deluded and chaotic, rainbows appear.
The myriad things are mutually linked; Quintessence and baleful energy are mutually in conflict. Thus matters of spirit illumination
cannot be created by wisdom and cunning,
and cannot be achieved by agility and strength.
What Heaven and Earth embrace,
what yin and yang nurture,
what rain and dew moisten
are the myriad things that are born and live.
Kingfisher [feathers] and sea turtle [shell],
pearls and jade,
are colorful and bright,
glistening and glossy.
When rubbed, they are not scratched;
kept for a long time, they do not change.
Xi Zhong could not fashion them;
Lu Ban could not make them—
this is what is called the “great skill.” [20/210/18–25]
20.4
A person of Song used ivory to make a mulberry leaf for the ruler.6 It took three years for him to finish it.
Stem and veins, downy hairs and indentations,
tenuous points and lustrous color—
When it was mixed in among real mulberry leaves, one could not tell [which it was]. Liezi heard this and said, “If Heaven and Earth took three years to make a leaf, then among the myriad things, very few would have had leaves! Now when Heaven and Earth carry out their transformations,
they blow and [leaves] emerge;
they puff and [leaves] drop.
Why does [this person of Song] expend so much effort?” Thus
anything that can be measured is small,
and any [quantity] that can be counted is few.
No measurement can encompass the supremely great;
no enumeration can count the supremely numerous.
Thus
the realm of the nine provinces7 cannot be measured in qing and mu;8
the eight cardinal points cannot be measured in circuits and li.
Mount Tai cannot be calculated in fathoms and feet;9
the rivers and seas cannot be measured in pecks and bushels.10
Thus the Great Man
conforms in Potency with Heaven and Earth,
conforms in brightness with the sun and moon,
conforms in numinous efficacy with the ghosts and spirits,
and conforms in trustworthiness with the four seasons.
Thus sages
embrace the qi of Heaven and enfold the heart of Heaven,
grasp centrality and embody harmony.
They do not descend from the ancestral temple, yet they journey to the Four Seas. [Everywhere] they alter habits and change customs, so that the people transform and become good as if it were their own natures. This is because [the sages] are capable of transforming [others] like a spirit.
The Odes says,
“The spirits hear
if in the end we are in harmony and peace.”11 [20/210/27–20/211/5]
20.5
Now with regard to ghosts and spirits,
we look for them, but they are without form;
we listen for them, but they are without voice;
yet we perform the Suburban Sacrifice to Heaven and the [appropriate] observances to the mountain and river [spirits].
With prayer and sacrifice we seek prosperity;
with invocations and charms we seek rain;
with tortoise shell and milfoil we decide matters.
The Odes says,
“When the spirits might descend
cannot be calculated.
How can you treat them with disdain?”12 [20/211/5–7]
20.6
Heaven extends to the highest;
Earth extends to the thickest.
The moon illuminates the nights;
the sun illuminates the days.
The arrayed stars are bright and clear;
yin and yang transform.
There is no purposeful activity in this.13 If you rectify their Ways, things will be thus-of-themselves. Therefore,
yin and the yang [cycle through] four seasons, but not [in order to] generate the myriad things.
Rain and dew fall in season, but not [in order to] nurture grasses and trees.
Spirit and illumination join,
yin and yang harmonize,
and the myriad things are born.
Thus,
tall mountains and deep forests
are not [for the benefit of] tigers and leopards.
Massive trees and leafy branches
are not [for the benefit of] flying birds.
Springs flow a thousand li,
and pools plunge a hundred ren,14
but not [for the benefit of] flood dragons.
Things reach their height and loftiness,
achieve their girth and massiveness;
mountains for residing and trees for perching,
nests for sheltering and caves for hiding,
water for soaking and land for traveling.
Each reaches its state of equipoise.
Now,
what is large generates what is small;
what is numerous generates what is scarce.
This is the Way of Heaven. Thus,
a small mound of earth cannot produce clouds and rain,
and a small stream cannot produce fish and turtles
because it is too small.
The steamy vapor [rising from] cattle and horses produces maggots and lice,
but the steamy vapor from maggots and lice cannot produce cattle and horses.
Thus
transformation is engendered from without;
it is not engendered from within. [20/211/9–15]
20.7
Now flood dragons crouch in deep pools, but their eggs hatch in earthen mounds. The male cloud-dragon sings in a high voice, and the female sings in a low voice; through transformation they achieve [their] form. This is the Utmost Essence. Thus when the sage nurtures his heart, nothing is better than sincerity. With Utmost Sincerity, he can move and transform [others].
Now those who possess the Way
amass essence inside themselves
and lodge spirit within their hearts.
[They] are quiet and indifferent, tranquil and undisturbed,
with pleasure and profundity in their breasts.15
Thus the qi of depravity has no place to tarry or obstruct.
The joints of [their] four limbs are well articulated;
their hairs’ vapor vents away in an orderly fashion.
Thus the main axes of their bodies are harmonious and advantageous, so that none of the hundred channels and the nine apertures fail to flow freely. Thus where the spirit dwells, it is sure to attain its proper place. How could we say that this is just [a matter of] soothing the joints or arranging the hair? [20/211/17–21]
20.8
When a sagely ruler is in power, he is
boundless and formless,
quiet and voiceless.
The officials are as if devoid of tasks;
the court is as if devoid of people.
There are
no scholars in seclusion,
no people in exile,
none doing forced labor,
and none wrongfully mutilated.
Within the Four Seas, none fails to
look up to the ruler’s Moral Potency
or imitate the ruler’s directives.
The [“barbarian”] states of the Yi and the Di arrive with their respective interpreters,16 [but] the sagely ruler declines to engage in disputations with their [various] households and persuasions with their [various] families. He extends the sincerity in [his] heart and applies it to the world, that is all.17
The Odes says,
“Let there be kindness in the Central States,
bringing tranquillity to the four quarters.”18
When the interior is compliant, the exterior is peaceful. [20/211/23–26]
20.9
When the Great King Danfu dwelled in Bin, the Dee tribes attacked him. He left with his staff and whip. The common people [followed Danfu]. Carrying their young, supporting their old, and shouldering their axes and earthenware [pots], they traversed the Liang Mountains and established a state in Qizhou. This is not something an order could summon.19
Duke Mu of Qin suffered the affront of having some local rustics eat the meat of his fine steeds.20 [In response] he gave them fine liquor to drink. [Later], at the battle of Hann[yuan], [the rustics] fought to th
e death to repay Duke Mu. This is not something a written contract could have bound them to do.
Mizi was ruling in [the land of] Danfu. Wuma Qi went to see how he had transformed the people. He observed that when people fished at night, if they caught a small fish, they let it go. This was not something that restrictive laws could prohibit.21
When Confucius was minister of justice in Lu, no one threw litter on the roads, nor were prices raised in the marketplace. In tilling the fields and in fishing, people ceded to the elderly, and those with grizzled hair did not carry things. These are not things that laws could achieve.
Now the reason why an arrow
can be shot for a long distance and penetrate a hard substance is because the bow is strong, but the reason it can hit the tiny center of a target is due to the human heart.
Rewarding goodness and punishing wickedness is for government decrees, but the reason they can be carried out depends on Quintessential Sincerity.
Thus, though a bow may be strong, it cannot hit the target on its own.
Though a decree may be enlightened, it cannot be carried out on its own.
They must be grounded in Quintessential Sincerity22 in order to be effective. Thus if the ruler applies the Way to the people and they do not follow him, he has not exercised a sincere heart. [20/211/26–20/212/5]
20.10
Heaven, Earth, and the four seasons do not [purposefully] produce the ten thousand things.23
Spirit and illumination join,
yin and yang harmonize,
and the myriad things are born. When a sage rules the world, he does not change the people’s nature but soothes and facilitates the nature that is already present and purifies and cleanses it. Thus following [the nature of things] may be considered great, whereas making [things] may be considered minor.
Yu dredged the Dragon Gate, broke through Yique, demarcated the Yangzi River, and channeled the Yellow River [so that] they ran eastward into the sea, by following the [natural] flow of water.
Lord Millet reclaimed the grasslands and introduced tillage, fertilized the soil and planted grain, enabling each of the five grains to grow appropriately, by following the propensity of the soil.
Tang and Wu, with three hundred armored chariots and three thousand soldiers in armor, quelled the violent and rebellious and brought Xia and Shang under control, by following the people’s desire.
Thus if you can follow [the nature of things], you will be matchless in the world.