by Chuang Tzu
The countries of Han and Wei were at war over a territorial dispute. Master Hua Tzu went to see Marquis Chao Hsi of Han, who looked worried. Master Hua Tzu said, ‘Now imagine that the people of the world were to present you with a document which read, “If you lay hold of this with your left hand, you will lose your right hand; lay hold with your right hand, and you will lose your left hand; however, if you lay hold of this, you will also rule the world.” So, Lord, would you do so?’
The Marquis Chao Hsi said, ‘I wouldn’t touch it.’
Master Hua Tzu said, ‘Excellent! From that point of view, I can certainly see that two hands are more important than the whole world. Furthermore, your body itself is more important than just your two hands. The whole of Han is much less important than the whole of the world and this scrap of land you are fighting over is of less significance than Han. However, surely, my Lord, if you so value your body and your life, you should not be following a path of misery and distress trying to seize this territory!’
Marquis Chao Hsi said, ‘Splendid! I have been offered all sorts of advice from different people, but I have never before been offered words of such wisdom.’
Master Hua Tzu, it can be said, knew the difference between what was significant and what was minor.
The ruler of Lu had heard that Yen Ho had gained the Tao and so he sent a messenger bearing gifts of silk to start up discussions with him. Yen Ho was sitting in the doorway of his simple house, dressed in coarse hemp cloth and feeding a cow. The ruler of Lu’s messenger arrived and Yen Ho met him.
The messenger asked, ‘Is this Yen Ho’s house?’
Yen Ho replied, ‘This is Ho’s house.’
The messenger proceeded to offer the gifts to him, but Yen Ho said, ‘I think that unfortunately you have got your instructions confused. If you present these to the wrong person, you will get into trouble. I suggest you return and check that you are doing the right thing.’
So the messenger went back, ensured his instructions were accurate and then came back to look for him, but he could not find him. It is true that those like Yen Ho really do hate honours and wealth.
It is said, the true purpose of the Tao is in caring for yourself, its edges are concerned with running the country and the family, while it is only its dregs which are concerned with ruling the world. So, from this we can understand that what Emperors and kings do is surplus to what the sage does, for it does not relate to care of the self or of life.
The leaders of this generation, that is to say most of them, throw away their lives in pursuit of material gain. Isn’t it pathetic! When the sage starts something, he will certainly have considered what he is doing and why he is doing it. Now this is like a man who takes the pearl of the Marquis of Sui and shoots a bird in the sky with it, high up in the air. People would obviously laugh at him. Why is this so? Because he has used something of great value to obtain something of little value. Now surely life is even more valuable than the pearl of the Marquis of Sui!
Master Lieh Tzu was in great poverty and had a hungry look about him. A visitor spoke about this to Tzu Yang, Prime Minister of Cheng, saying, ‘Lieh Tzu Kou looks like a scholar who has the Tao, yet here he lives in your state and you let him exist in poverty?’ Prime Minister Tzu Yang sent an officer to see him with a gift of rice. Master Lieh Tzu greeted him and bowed, but twice refused the gift.
After the messenger had gone, Master Lieh Tzu went inside, and his wife looked scornfully at him and beat her breast saying, ‘I have been told that the wife and children of one who has the Tao have comfort and happiness, but right now we are starving. The ruler understood his mistake, and sends you some food to eat, Master. But the Master refuses it. Is this then our destiny?’
Master Lieh Tzu laughed and said, ‘The ruler does not know me. He sent the rice because someone told him to. Likewise, one day someone could speak against me and he could treat me like a criminal. That is why I will not accept.’ As it so happened, the people rose against Tzu Yang in civil war and put him to death.
When King Chao of Chu105 was forced into exile from his country, sheep-butcher Yueh fled also and followed King Chao into exile. King Chao eventually returned in triumph to his kingdom and rewarded those who had followed him. When he met sheep-butcher Yueh, Yueh said, ‘Oh great King, you lost your kingdom, and Yueh lost his butcher’s shop. The great King has regained his kingdom and Yueh has regained his butcher’s shop. I have received back what I needed, so why should you speak of rewarding me?’
The King said, ‘Make him!’
Sheep-butcher Yueh said, ‘The great King lost his kingdom but not because of anything I did, so I could not be punished for that. The great King has regained his kingdom, again not because of anything I did, therefore I wouldn’t expect to rewarded for that.’
‘I want to meet him,’ said the King.
Sheep-butcher Yueh said, ‘The laws of the kingdom of Chu say that someone must have achieved great deeds and been the recipient of acclaim before he can be called to meet the King. Now, my knowledge did not save the kingdom, nor was I courageous enough to die in battle with the invaders. When the armies of Wu entered Ying, I was terrified of the danger and fled from the invaders. I did not purposely follow the King. Yet the King intends breaking with convention and wants to see me. This is not the sort of thing I want the rest of the world to hear about me.’
The King said to Tzu Chi, the War Minister, ‘Sheep-butcher Yueh occupies a lowly place, yet what he says about righteousness is very profound. I want you to promote him to one of the three most senior positions in the government.’
Sheep-butcher Yueh said, ‘I appreciate that being one of the three most senior ministers is more noble than being a sheep-butcher, and that ten thousand chung is a better salary than what I currently earn. However, I cannot, through my desire for profit, allow the ruler to become known for being so profligate with his favours! I dare not accept, but wish simply to return to my stall as a sheep-butcher.’ He never did accept.
Yuan Hsien106 lived in Lu, where his house was only a few steps wide and looked as if its thatch was shorn grass. Its broken door was made from brushwood and the door-posts were of mulberry wood. Earthenware pots minus their bottoms and stuffed with rags served as the two windows, while the house leaked above and was damp below, but he sat contentedly playing music.
Tzu Kung,107 wearing an inner robe of purple and an outer one of white and travelling in a carriage drawn by large horses, the top of which could not fit through the gate, came to see Yuan Hsien. Yuan Hsien emerged at his gate to greet him, wearing a hat made of bark and slippers worn down to the heel, holding a staff made of hellebore.
Tzu Kung said, ‘Good grief, Sir! You must be in terrible distress.’
Yuan Hsien replied, ‘I have heard say that to have no money is to be poor, and to have studied but to have no way to use one’s studies is to be in distress. Now, I may be poor, but I am not in distress.’
Tzu Kung stepped back in astonishment and embarrassment.
Yuan Hsien laughed and said, ‘To act only in order to be praised; to pretend to be even-handed and yet to be biased; to study just so as to show off; to teach just in order to boast; to hide your real intentions behind a pretence of righteousness and benevolence; to show off through extravagant use of horses and chariots, I can’t bear all this!’
Tseng Tzu lived in Wei, wearing a worn hemp quilt coat and no outer garment, with a haggard and emaciated visage and his hands and feet callused and hardened. He could go three days without lighting a fire, ten years without having a new set of clothes. If he put his hat on straight, the straps broke; if he pulled his coat together, his elbows came through the cloth; and if he pulled on his shoes, his heels broke through at the back. Nevertheless, as he shuffled along, he sang the Odes of Sacrifice of Shang108 with a voice that penetrated Heaven and Earth as if it came from a struck bell or a chiming stone. The Son of Heaven could not get him to be a minister nor could the princes make him their friend. Thus it
is with those who feed their souls while forgetting their body. Those who feed their bodies forget about ideas of profit, and those who follow the Tao forget about the concerns of the heart.
Confucius said to Yen Hui, ‘Hui, come here! Your family is poor and you are lowly, so why not seek high office?’
Yen Hui replied, ‘I don’t want to be an official. I have fifty acres of farm land outside the city, which supplies me with basic foods. I have ten acres of land within the outer wall and this supplies me with luxuries. I take delight in playing my lute and I am more than happy just to study the Tao of my Master. I don’t want any positions.’
Confucius looked upset. Then his demeanour changed and he said, ‘What a splendid mind you have, Hui! I have heard it said,
‘ “One who knows he is contented will not get mixed up in the pursuit of gain;
one who truly understands what is good will not be worried by any loss;
one who knows himself inwardly will not be worried by lack of external positions.”
‘I have been preaching this for a long time, but now I see it embodied in you, Hui, and I have certainly benefited from that today.’
Prince Mou of Wei from Chung Shan said to Chan Tzu, ‘My body is here beside the rivers and oceans, but my heart is back in the courts of Wei. What advice can you give me?’
Chan Tzu said, ‘Value life. If you value life then you will put profit into perspective.’
‘I understand all that,’ said Prince Mou of Wei from Chung Shan, ‘but I find I can’t overcome my feelings.’
Chan Tzu said, ‘If you can’t handle your feelings, how can you avoid harming your spirit? If you can’t control your emotions, but nevertheless try to to stop yourself following them, you will harm yourself twice over. Those who do this double injury to themselves are not counted amongst those with long life.’
Wei Mou had command of ten thousand chariots, so for him to retire and live alone in the caves and cliffs was much more difficult than for a scholar. He may not have had the Tao, but we can say he had the intention.
Confucius was trapped in between Chen and Tsai and for seven days he did not eat cooked food, simply a vegetable soup without any rice.
His face was drawn and haggard yet he sat contentedly playing his lute and singing inside the house. Yen Hui was outside choosing the vegetables, and Tzu Lu and Tzu Kung were talking to each other.
They said to Yen Hui, ‘Our Master has twice been chased out of Lu, he has fled from Wei, had his tree chopped down in Sung, been in distress in Shang and Chou and is now trapped between Chen and Tsai. If anyone kills the Master, they will be free of any guilt; if anyone imprisons him, they will be without blame. Yet here he sits, endlessly playing and singing. Can a noble gentleman be so lacking in shame as this?’
Yen Hui had nothing to say in reply, so he went in to report this conversation to Confucius. Confucius laid aside his lute and said, ‘Those two are just petty people. Tell them to come here and I will explain to them.’
Tzu Lu and Tzu Kung came in. Tzu Lu said, ‘The current situation is one of considerable distress!’
‘What sort of talk is this?’ said Confucius. ‘When the nobleman flows with the Tao, that is called flowing. When he cannot flow with the Tao, he doesn’t flow. Now, I hold to the Tao of righteousness and benevolence and am thus able to confront this chaotic generation, so what prevents me from flowing? Looking within, I am unconcerned by any difficulties of the Tao and I confront any problems which arise without losing my Virtue. When we see the winter coming and the frost and snow arrive, that is when we appreciate the endurance of the pine and cypress. The difficulties between Chen and Tsai are in fact a blessing!’
Confucius picked up his lute and started to play and sing again. Tzu Lu siezed hold of a shield and began to prance about while Tzu Kung said, ‘I had no idea that Heaven is so high and Earth so far below.’
The people of the past who had the Tao were happy if they were trapped and happy if they could flow. Their happiness was unconnected to either of these. If they had the Tao and its Virtue, then being trapped or flowing were simply to them like the regular succession of cold and hot or wind and rain. So Hsu Yu was content on the warm slopes of the Ying River and Kung Po enjoyed himself on the top of Kung Hill.109
Shun wanted to hand over the world to his friend from the north, Wu Tse, but Wu Tse said, ‘You are a strange person, my Lord, for at first you lived in the fields and ditches and then you went into the gate of Yao. As if that were not enough, he now wants to drag me into his awful mess and taint me with his crimes. I am ashamed to be seen with you.’ And having said this, he threw himself into the deep waters of the Ching Ling.
Tang110 was planning to attack Chieh and so he visited Pien Sui, who said, ‘It is nothing to do with me.’
‘Then who can help?’ said Tang.
‘I don’t know.’
Tang looked for advice from Wu Kuang, and Wu Kuang said, ‘It is nothing to do with me.’
‘Then who can help?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Could Yi Yin?’ said Tang.
‘He is a violent man who acts disgracefully. I don’t know more than that.’
So Tang went to Yi Yin and they planned the attack together. When Chieh had been conquered, Tang offered to abdicate to Pien Sui. Pien Sui said, ‘When you were planning to attack Chieh, you asked my advice, so you must consider me a villain. Now you have conquered Chieh, you offer the throne to me, so you must also think I am ambitious. I was born into this disorderly generation, yet a man who has nothing of the Tao comes to me twice, trying to stain me with his actions. I cannot stand to hear these words repeated time and time again.’ So saying, he threw himself into the waters of the Chou River and died.
Tang wanted to offer the throne to Wu Kuang and said, ‘The man of wisdom has planned this, the fighting man has carried it out and now the benevolent one should take over, for this is the Tao of the past. So why should you not do so, Sir?’
Wu Kuang refused: ‘To overthrow the ruler is not righteous; to massacre the people is not benevolent; to cause distress to others and to take your own pleasure is not honourable. I have heard it said that, if someone does not act righteously, don’t accept their commission. If a generation is without the Tao, don’t set foot on their land. So there is no question of me accepting! I cannot stand looking at you any longer.’ And so saying, he fastened a stone to his back and drowned himself in the River Lu.
Earlier, in the time of the Chou Dynasty’s triumph,111 there were two scholars who lived in Ku Chu called Po Yi and Shu Chi. The two said to each other, ‘I have heard that in the west there is a man who has the Tao, so let’s go and visit him.’ When they reached the sunlit side of Mount Chi, King Wu heard about them and sent Shu Tan to see them. He suggested they make an agreement, saying, ‘Your wealth will be second in rank and your titles of the first rank if you agree to this proposal, and seal it with blood and bury it.’112
The two friends looked at each other and burst out laughing. ‘Huh, how odd!’ they said. ‘This is not what we would call the Tao. In the ancient past Shen Nung had the whole world, and he carried out the ritual sacrifices at the appointed times and with great respect, but he never dreamt of praying for blessings. When sorting out the people, he was true and honest and did what was right, but never expected anything from them. He liked to rule fairly, and when necessary would be stern and strict. He didn’t exploit the failures of others in order to further his own powers. He didn’t use other people’s weaknesses to increase his own strength. He didn’t exploit favourable openings in order to make profit. But now the Chou Dynasty, seeing that the Yin have fallen into disarray, suddenly seize the government from them, asking advice from the leaders and bribing the ordinary people. They have brought out their weapons and offered sacrifices and made pacts with people to try and show how serious they are. They shout their own praises in order to impress the people and they attack just for the sake of gain, which is just to over
throw disorder and replace it with tyranny.
‘We have heard that, even if by good luck the scholars of old lived in peaceful times, they did not shirk public office. However, if they lived in a time of chaos, they tried not to remain in office if they could help it. Now the world is in darkness and the Virtue of the Chou has rotted. Rather than stay here and be associated with it, it is better if we flee and thus maintain our purity.’ The two scholars went north to Mount Shou Yang, where they died of starvation. Now, if men like them have managed to avoid getting any fame or fortune, they did so by being high-minded and conscientious in behaviour, taking pleasure in their own ideas without having to lower themselves to serve the world. This is what these two scholars achieved.
CHAPTER 29
Robber Chih
Confucius was friendly with Liu Hsia Chi, whose brother was called Robber Chih. Robber Chih had nine thousand followers who pillaged wherever they wished in the land, attacking and robbing the princes, breaking into houses, stealing the people’s cattle and horses, seizing their wives and daughters. Having stolen so much wealth, they forgot their families, ignored their fathers and mothers and did not sacrifice to their ancestors. Whenever they rampaged through the countryside, if it was a big kingdom, the people guarded their walls, and if it was a small kingdom, the people fled into their forts. All the multitude of peoples dreaded them.