^HV Of PRIfv??^
^^^CG.'c^L SE>^^:^'^
BL1010.S3v.39 Sacred Books of China,
ttie
texts
of iaac
THE
SACRED BOOKS OF THE EAST
[39]
f onbon
HENRY FROWDE
^5^-
Oxford University Press Warehouse
Amen Corner,
E.C.
THE
SACRED BOOKS OF THE EAST TRANSLATED
BY VARIOUS ORIENTAL SCHOLARS
AND EDITED BY
F.
MAX MULLER
VOL. XXXIX
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS 1891
[
All rights reserved
]
0;cfor5
PRINTED AT THE CLARENDON PRESS IIY
HORACK HART, PRINTER TO THH VNIVKRSITY
THE
SACRED BOOKS OF CHINA THE TEXTS OF TAOISM
TRANSLATED BY
JAMES LEGGE
PART
I
THE TAO TEH ^ING THE WRITINGS OF iiTWANG-SZE BOOKS I— XVII
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS 1891 [All rights reserved^
CONTENTS PAGE
PREFACE
xi
INTRODUCTION. CHAP.
Was Taoism older than
I.
Three Religions
in
China.
Lao-jze.?
.
Peculiarity of the
.
.
Tao Teh
.
The Texts of the Tao Teh ICwg and A^wang-jze
II.
regards their authenticity and genuineAND THE ARRANGEMENT OF THEM
ShCt, as
ness,
...
The Tao Teh
i.
historian
;
The evidence
A'ing.
of Lieh-^ize,
Han
Fei-jze,
The Catalogue
Pan Ku.
of
and other Taoist
writers
of
Han
and that of the Sui dynasty. The Commentaries of man of the Ho-side,' and of Wang Pi. Division Parts and Chapters, and number of Characters in the Text.
of the Imperial Library of
;
the old
into ii.
The Writings of isfwang-jze. The division of
those Writings.
Their general Title and III.
What
is
its
Importance to Taoism of the
Books
Meaning usage of
God'
is
it
the meaning of the name Tao? and the
of the
by
No
.
.
Usage of the term Thien.
name.
K\va.ng-^ze.
the equivalent of
name Ti.
into three Parts.
meaning.
CHIEF POINTS OF BELIEF IN TAOISM
'
4
Sze-ma AVnen, the
and '
i
ATing.
Mr.
Giles's
Thien.
Tao
.12
view that the name
Relation of the
Tao
idea of Creation-proper in Taoism.
composed of body and
.
Peculiar to the
Man
is
That the cultivation of the and Startling results of the Tdo
spirit.
promotes longevity. proceeds by contraries. The paradisiacal state. The decay of Taoism before the growth of knowledge. The moral and practical teachings of Lao-jze. Humility his three Jewels that good is to be returned for evil.
how
;
It
;
IV.
V.
Accounts of Lao-jze and Sze-ma A'z/ien
On the Tractate
ATwang-^ze given
;
by
of Actions and their Retributions Peculiar style and nature of the Treatise. Its date. Meaning of the Title. Was the old Taoism a Religion ? The Kang family. Influence of Buddhism on Taoism.
33 38
CONTENTS.
VI 11
THE TAO TEH Part
(Chapters
I
i
A'lNG.
to xxxvii)
45 to 79
Ch. 1. Embodying the Tao, p. 47. 2. The Nourishment of 3. Keeping the People at Rest, p. 49. the Person, pp. 47, 48. 5. The Use of Emptiness, 4. The Fountainless, pp. 49, 50. 6. The Completion of Material Forms, p. 51. 7. Sheathp. 50. 8. The Placid and Contented Nature, Fulness and Complacency contrary to the Tao, Possibilities through the Tao, pp. 53, 54. 11. The
ing the Light, p. 52. 9-
PP- 52, 5310.
p. 53.
Use of what has no Substantive Existence,
pp. 54, 55.
12.
The
Repression of the Desires, p. 55. 13. Loathing Shame, p. 56. 14, The Manifestation of the Mystery', p. 57. 15. The Exhibition of the Qualities of the Tao, pp. 58, 59. 16. Returning Root, pp. 59, 60. 17. The Unadulterated Influence,
to the
18.
pp. 60, 61.
The Decay
of Manners, p. 61.
the Unadulterated Influence, p. 62.
Ordinary Men, pp. 62, 63. Operation,
in its
p. 64.
20.
19. Returning to Being Different from
The Empty Heart, or the Tao The Increase granted to Humility,
21.
22.
Absolute Vacancy, pp. 65, 66. 24. Painful Gracious25. Representations of the Mystery, pp. 67, 68. 2G. The Quality of Gravity, p. 69. 27. Dexterity in Using the Tao, p. 70. 28. Returning to Simplicity, p. 71. 29. Taking no 23.
p. 65.
ness, p.
(i-j.
Action, pp. 71, 72.
A
Caveat against War, pp. 72, T^)- 31. The Tao with no Name, pp. 74, 33. Discriminating between Attributes, p. 75. 75. 34. The Task of Achievement, pp. 76, Tj. 35. The Attribute of Benevolence, p. -]]. 36. Minimising the Light, p. ^'^. 37. The Exercise of Government, p. 79. Stilling
Part
II
War,
30.
pp. 73, 74.
32.
(Chapters xxxviii to Ixxxi)
Soto 124
Ch. 38. About the Attributes of the Tao, pp. 80, 81. 39. The Origin of the Law, pp. 82, 83. 40. Dispensing with the Use (of Means), pp. 83, 84. 41. Sameness and Difference, pp. 84, 85.
42.
Universal
Use
The Transformations of the Tao, p. 85. 43. The (of the Action in Weakness of-the Tao), p. 87.
44. Cautions, pp.
Z-j, 88. 45. Great or Overflowing Virtue, p. 88. The Moderating of Desire or Ambition, pp. 88, 89. 47. Surveying what is Far-off, p. 89. 48. Forgetting Knowledge,
40.
49. The Quality of Indulgence, p. 91. 50. The Value on Life, pp. 92, 93. 51. The Operation (of the Tao) in Nourishing Things, pp. 93, 94. 52. Returning to the Source,
p. 90.
set
pp. 94, 95. 53. Increase of Evidence, pp. 96, 97. 54. The Cultivation (of the TAo), and the Observation (of its Effects), pp. 97, 98.
55.
The Mysterious Charm,
p.
99.
56.
The Mysterious
CONTENTS. Excellence, p. loo.
The Genuine
57.
IX
Influence, pp. loo, loi.
Transformation according to Circumstances, pp. loi, 102. 59. Guarding the Tao, pp. 102, 103. 60. Occupying the Throne, 58.
pp. 103, 104. 61. The Attribute of Humility, pp. 104, 105. 62. Practising the Tao, pp. 105, 106. 63. Thinking in the Beginning, pp. 106, 107. 64. Guarding the Minute, pp. 107, 108. 65. Pure, unmixed Excellence, pp. 108, 109. 66. Putting One's Self Last, p. 109.
67.
Three Precious Things,
Heaven, pp. in, p. 112.
The Difficulty of being The Disease of Knowing,
Self, p. 114.
74.
The Use
Allowing
73.
Men
p.
no.
68.
Matching
of the Mysterious (Tao),
Known,
(rightly)
70.
71.
113.
69.
112.
p. 113.
72.
pp. 112,
Loving One's
to take their Course, p. 116.
Restraining Delusion, p. 117.
75.
How
Greediness In-
A
Warning against (Trusting in) Strength, pp. 118, 119. 77. The Way of Heaven, p. 119. 78. Things to be Believed, p. 120. 79. Adherence to Bond or Covenant, p. 121. 80. Standing Alone, p. 122. 81. The Mani-
jures,
pp.
117,
118.
76.
festation of Simplicity, p. 123.
THE WRITINGS OF ArWANG-3ZE. INTRODUCTION. PAGE
Brief Notices of the different Books
PART
.
.127
.
.
I.
BOOK I. i.
II.
ii.
III.
iii.
IV.
iv.
Hsiao-yao Yu, or Enjoyment
other
V. VI.
V. vi.
in
Untroubled Ease
KhX Wu Lun, or the Adjustment of Controversies Yang Shang Ku, or Nourishing the Lord of Life. Zan A'ien Shih, or Man in the World, Associated
.
164
.
176
.
198
with
Men
203
Teh A7mng FiJ, Ta Bung Shih,
or the Seal of Virtue Complete
or the Great
.
.
Master VII.
vii.
236
Ying Ti Wang, or the Normal Course Kings
PART
for
Rulers and
259
II.
Webbed Toes
268
i.
Phien Mau, or
ii.
Ma
X.
iii.
Kh\\. A'/Heh, or
XL
iv.
3ai Yu, or Letting Be, and Exercising Forbearance
VIII.
IX.
223
and Most Honoured
276
Thi, or Horses's Hoofs
Cutting
Open
Satchels
.
.
.281 .
291
CONTENTS. FACE
BOOK
XII. XIII.
XIV.
XV. XVI. XVII.
vii.
Heaven and Earth Thien Tao, or the Way of Heaven Thien Yiin, or the Revolution of Heaven
viii.
Kho
ix,
Shan Hsing,
X.
A7/iu Shui, or the Floods of
V. vi.
Thien
t,
Ti, or
.
or Ingrained Ideas
or Correcting the Nature.
Autumn
345
363
.
.
368
374
Transliteration of Oriental Alphabets adopted for the Translations of the Sacred
Books of the East
393
PREFACE. In the Preface to the Books of the East' (1879),
third I
volume of these 'Sacred
stated that
I
proposed giving
System of Taoism, translations of the Tao Teh J^ing by Lao-jze (sixth century B.C.), the Writings of /^wang-jze (between the middle of the fourth and third centuries B.C.), and the Treatise of 'Actions and their Retributions (of our eleventh century) and perhaps also of one or more of the in
due course,
in order to exhibit the
'
;
other characteristic Productions of the System.
The two volumes now submitted to the reader are a made so long ago. They contain versions of the Three Works which were specified, and, in fulfilment of the promise
addition, as Appendixes, four other
shorter Treatises
of
Analyses of several of the Books of A^wang-jze by Lin Hsi-/l'ung a list of the stories which form so important a part of those Books two Essays by two of the greatest Scholars of China, written the one in A. D. 586 and illustrating the Taoistic beliefs of that age, and the other in
Taoism
;
;
;
and dealing with the four Books of A'wang-jze, whose genuineness is frequently called in question. The concluding Index is confined very much to Proper Names. For Subjects the reader is referred to the Tables of Contents, the Introduction to the Books of ^wang-jze (vol. xxxix, pp. 127-163), and the Introductory Notes to the various Appendixes. The Treatise of Actions and their Retributions exhibits to us the Taoism of the eleventh century in its moral or ethical aspects in the two earlier Works A. D. 1078
;
we
see
it
rather as a philosophical speculation than as a
religion in the ordinary sense of that term. till
first
after the introduction of
Buddhism
into
It was not China in our
century that Taoism began to organise
itself as
a
XU
PREFACE.
Religion, having
and
monasteries and nunneries,
its
While
rituals.
it
did so,
stitions peculiar to itself:
Tdo
as a rule of
from
the
life
—some, and
its
images
maintained the super-
like the cultivation of the
come down
favourable to longevity,
times,
earliest
it
others
vi^hich
grew
up
during the decay of the A'du dynasty, and subsequently
blossomed
;
— now
in
Mystical Speculation
;
now
in
the
Alchemy; now in the search for the pills of Immortality and the Elixir vitae; now in Astrological
pursuits of
fancies
now
;
control
them
in visions of Spirits ;
and
and
in
Magical arts to Purgatory
finally in the terrors of its
and everlasting Hell.
Its
phases have been continually
attracts our notice more as a degraded adjunct of Buddhism than as a development of the speculations of Lao-jze and A'wang-jze. Up to its contact with Buddhism, it subsisted as an opposition to the Confucian system, which, while admitting the existence and rule of the Supreme Being, bases its teachings on the study of man's nature and the enforcement of the duties binding on all men from the moral and social principles of their
changing, and at present
it
constitution. It
is
only during the present century that the Texts
of Taoism
have begun to receive the attention which they deserve. Christianity was introduced into China by Nestorian missionaries in the seventh century and from the Hsi-an monument, which was erected by ;
their successors in
entrance,
we
7(Si,
nearly 150 years after their
first
perceive that they were as familiar with the
books of Lao-5ze and /iTwang-jze as with the Confucian literature of the empire, but that
monument
is
the only
memorial of them that remains. In the thirteenth century the Roman Catholic Church sent its earliest missionaries to China, but we hardly know anything of their literary labours.
The great Romish missions which continue to the present day began towards the end of the sixteenth century and ;
there exists
now
T^o Teh ATing
in
the India Office a translation of the
in Latin,
which was brought
to
England
PREFACE.
XIU
by a Mr. Matthew Raper, and presented by him
to the
Royal Society, of which he was a Fellow, on January 1788.
do not
Raper
sented, as stated in the Introduction, p. 12, to Mr.
by
P.
The
loth,
The manuscript is in excellent preservation, but we know by whom the version was made. It was pre-
de Grammont, Missionarius Apostolicus, ex-Jesuita.' '
chief object of the translator or translators
was to
Most Holy Trinity and of the Incarnate God were anciently known to the Chinese
show
that 'the Mysteries of the
nation.'
The
version as a whole
is
of
little
The
value.
reader will find, on pp. 115, 116, its explanation of Lao's seventy-second chapter; the first morsel of it that has
—
appeared
in print.
Protestant missions to China
commenced
in
1807
;
but
it
was not till 1868 that the Rev. Dr. Chalmers, a member of one of them, published his Speculations on Metaphysics, Polity, and Morality of " The Old Philosopher," Lao-Tsze.' Meanwhile, Abel Remusat had aroused the curiosity of scholars throughout Europe, in 1833, by his 'Memoir on '
the Life and Opinions of Lao-Tseu, a Chinese Philosopher of the sixth century before our era, who professed the opinions
commonly
to their disciples.'
attributed to Pythagoras, to Plato, and
Remusat was followed by one who had
him his first lessons in Chinese, and had become a truly great Chinese scholar, the late Stanislas Julien. received from
—
He
published in 1842 'a complete translation for the first time of this memorable Work, which is regarded with reason as the most profound, the most abstract, and the most difficult of all Chinese Literature.' Dr. Chalmers's also complete, but his comments, whether from Chinese sources, were much fewer than those supplied by Julien. Two years later, two German by versions of the Treatise were published at Leipzig Reinhold von Planckner and Victor von Strauss, differing much from each other, but both marked by originality and
translation
was
original or
;
—
ability. I
for
undertook myself, as stated above,
in
1879 to translate
'The Sacred Books of the East' the Texts of Taoism
PREFACE.
XIV
which appear in these volumes and, as I could find time from my labours on The Texts of Confucianism,' I had written out more than one version of Lao's work by the end ;
'
Though
of 1880. in
exhibiting
not satisfied with the result,
my
general views of
it
I
felt justified
an article
in
in the
British Quarterly Review of July, 1883. In 1884 Mr. F. H. Balfour published at Shanghai a version of Taoist Texts, Ethical, Political, and Speculative.' His Texts were ten in all, the Tao Teh King being the His version of this differed in first and longest of them. many points from all previous versions and Mr. H. A. Giles, of H. M.'s Consular Service in China, vehemently assailed it and also Dr. Chalmers's translation, in the China Review for March and April, 1886. Mr. Giles, indeed, occasionally launched a shaft also at Julien and myself; but his main object in his article was to discredit the genuineness and authenticity of the Tao Teh ATing The work,' he says, is undoubtedly a forgery. It itself '
;
'
'
much
contains, indeed,
that he did not.'
I
that
Lao
replied,
more
Tzii did say, but
so far as was necessary, to
Mr. Giles in the same Review for January and February, 1888 and a brief summary of my reply is given in the ;
second chapter of the Introduction
in
this
confidence has never been shaken for a
Tao Teh A'ing most
original
as a genuine relic of Lao-jze,
minds of the Chinese
My
volume.
moment
in the
one of the
race.
now published, I have used 'The Complete Works of the Ten Philosophers
In preparing the version
:
First,
;
a Su-/'au reprint sophers, nearly
included in clear
it.
in
all
'
1804 of the best editions of the Philo-
belonging more or less to the Taoist school,
It is
and accurate.
a fine specimen of Chinese printing,
The
Treatise
of Lao-^ze
of course
by Kwei Yu-kwang (better known as Kwei A'an-shan) of the Ming dynasty. The Text and Commentary are those of Ho-shang Kung occupies
(Introd.,
the
]).
7),
first
place,
as edited
along with the division of the whole into
Parts and eighty-one chapters, and the chapters,
all
attributed to him.
titles
of the several
Along the top
of the page,
XV
PREFACE. there
is
a large collection of notes from celebrated com-
down to the editor himself. Commentary of Wang Pi
mentators and writers
Second, the Text and
who
also Fu-sze),
See Introduction,
four.
(called
died A. D. 249, at the early age of twentyp. 8.
Wings) to Lao-jze;' by 3iao Hung This (called also Zao-hau), and prefaced by him in 1587. the most extensive and most important is what Julien calls Third, 'Helps
(lit.
'
contribution to the understanding of Lao-jze, which possess.'
we
yet
from the ablest writings Fei (Introd., p. 5) downwards,
Its contents are selected
Han
on the Treatise from closing in
many
chapters with the notes
made by
piler himself in the course of his studies.
the com-
Altogether the
sets before us the substance of the views of sixty-four
book
writers on our short A'ing.
analyse the
list
Julien took the trouble to
of them, and found
composed of three
it
emperors, twenty professed Taoists, seven Buddhists, and He thirty-four Confucianists or members of the Literati. says,
'
Lao-jze according to
last constantly explain
These
the ideas peculiar to the School of Confucius, at the risk of misrepresenting him, and with the express intention of throttling his system
; '
then adding,
'
The commentaries who
written in such a spirit have no interest for persons
wish to enter fully into the thought of LAo-jze, and obtain a just idea of his doctrine. I have thought it useless, therefore, to specify the
names
of such commentaries
and
their authors.' I have quoted these sentences of Julien, because of a charge brought by Mr. Balfour, in a prefatory note to his own version of the Tao Teh King, against him and other
translators.
hesitation,
'
'
One prime
lies at
defect,'
he says, though with some
the root of every translation that has
been published hitherto and this is, that not one seems to have been based solely and entirely on commentaries The Confurnished by members of the Taoist school. ;
fucian element enters largely into all
;
and
here,
I
think,
an
been done to Lao-^Jjze. To a Confucianist the Taoist system is in every sense of the word a heresy, and injustice has
PREFACE.
XVI
a commentator holding this opinion expositor.
It is
as a
surely not the best
is
Grammarian rather than as a
Philo-
sopher that a member of the Ju Chia deals with the Tao Teh A'ing he gives the sense of a passage according to the syntactical construction rather than according to the ;
genius of the philosophy plain the text
by
his
own
and
itself;
in
attempting to ex-
canons, instead of
by the canons of
Taoism, he mistakes the superficial and apparently obvious meaning for the hidden and esoteric interpretation.' Mr. Balfour will hardly repeat his charge of imperfect or erroneous interpretation against Juhen and I believe that it is equally undeserved by most, if not all, of the other trans;
lators against
whom
his guide the
Explanations of the
as the
Lu
work
'
of Lii
directed.
it is
Yen
He himself adopted as Tao Teh iiTing,' current
(called also Lii 3",
Lu
Tung-pin, and
Through
K/mn-ysing), a Taoist of the eighth century.
have had an opportunity of exand I am comamining this edition of Lao's Treatise pelled to agree with the very unfavourable judgment on it Mr. Balfour's kindness
I
;
pronounced by Mr. Giles as both spurious and ridiculous.' we are told of Lii Yen is very suspicious much of The editions of our little book ascribed it evidently false. I have for more than twenty years to him are many. '
'
'
All that
;
possessed one with the
title
of
'The Meaning
of the
Tao
Explained by the TRUE Man of AVnm-yang,' being a reprint of 1690, and as different as possible from the work patronised by Mr. Balfour.
Teh King
Fourth, the Thai Shang H wun Hsiian Tao Teh A"an King,— work of the present dynasty, published at Shanga.
do not know. It is certainly of worth purchasing as one of the It professes to be the finest specimens of block-printing. production of' The Immortals of the Eight Grottoes,' each
hai,
but when produced
the Lii
of
whom
^u
is
type, and
styled
'
I
is
a Divine Ruler (Ti A' tin).'
The
eighty-
one chapters are equally divided for commentary among thcm,excepting that 'the Divine Ruler, the Universal Refiner,' has the
last eleven
assigned to him.
The Text
is
ever}'-
whcrc broken up into short clauses, which are explained
in
XVU
PREFACE.
by God, the True Helper,' the same, The Divine Ruler, the True Helper,' and comments at length on chapters 31 to 40. I mention these particulars as an illustration of how the The ancient Taoism has become polytheistic and absurd. name God, the True Helper,' is a title, I imagine, given to Lii ^u. With all this nonsense, the composite commentary is a good one, the work, evidently, of one hand. One of several recommendatory Prefaces is ascribed to Wan K/iang, the god of Literature and he specially praises the work, as 'explaining the meaning by examination of the Text.' Fifth, a Collection of the Most Important Treatises of the Taoist Fathers (Tao 3u ATan Kwan Ki Y^o).' This was reprinted in 1877 at KhdLng-kaM in ^iang-su beginning with the Tao Teh King, and ending with the Kan Ying Phien. Between these there are fourteen other Treatises, mostly short, five of them being among Mr. BalThe Collection was edited by a Lu four's Taoist Texts.' and the Commentary selected by him, in all but the Yii last Treatise, was by a Li Hsi-yiieh, who appears to have a very few characters I
suppose,
who
is
'
also styled,
'
'
;
'
;
'
;
been a recluse
in
a monastery on a mountain
ment of Pao-ning, him be not entirely Sixth, the
Wu
Sze-z^/nvan,
if,
in
the depart-
what
indeed,
said of
is
fabulous.
Commentary on
the
Tao Teh ^ing, by
249-1333) of Lin iT/zwan. This has been of the highest service to me. Wu Khang was the He is one of the Literati greatest of the Yiian scholars. quoted from occasionally by 3iao Hung in his -Wings;' /v//ang (a.d.
1
but by no means so extensively as Julien supposes (Observations Detachees, p.
the
1
xli).
My
own copy
of his
2th Section of the large Collection of the
work is in Yueh-ya '
Wu
AV^ang in 1865 (Proleg. to the Shu, p. 0^6), I said that he was a bold thinker and a daring critic, handling his text with a freedom which I had not seen in any other Chinese scholar.' The subsequent study of his writings has confirmed me in this Perhaps he might be characterised as an opinion of him. Hall,' published in
1853.
Writing of
'
independent, rather than as a bold, thinker, and the daring 'x^
[39]
b
PREFACE.
XVlll
of his criticism
(See Introd,,
must not be supposed to be without caution.
p. 9.)
The Writings foreigners
still
have
TTwang-^ze
of
less
been
studied
than the Treatise of Lao-^ze.
by
When
I undertook in 1879 to translate them, no version of them had been published. In 1881, however, there appeared at Shanghai Mr. Balfour's The Divine Classic of Nan-hua '
(Introd., pp.
Taoist
II,
being the
12),
Philosopher.'
Works
was a
It
'
bold
Chuang Tsze,
of '
undertaking
in
Mr. Balfour thus to commence his translations of Chinese Books with one of the most difficult of them. I fancy that he was himself convinced of this, and that his undertaking had been
'
too bold,'
by the
criticism
to
which
China Review by Mr.
his
work was
Neverwas no small achievement to be the first to endeavour to lift up the veil from ATwang-^ze. Even a first translation, though imperfect, is not without benefit to others who come after, and are able to do better. In preparing the draft of my own version, which draft was subjected theless,
in
the
Giles.
it
made
finished in April, 1887, I
frequent reference to the
volume of Mr. Balfour. Having exposed the errors of Mr. Balfour, Mr. Giles proceeded to make a version of his own, which was published last year in London, with the title of Chuang Tztr, Mystic, Moralist, and Social Reformer.' It was not, however, till I was well through with the revision of my '
draft version, that
volume.
supplied myself with a copy of his
I
doubt that Mr. Giles's translation would be well and tersely done, and I preferred to do my own work independently and without the help which he would have afforded me. In carrying my sheets through the press, I have often paused over my rendering of a passage to
I
did
compare it with
not
his
and
and form where we differ. will see
his
have pleasure
in acknowledging and competent reader own judgment on passages and points ;
the merits of his version.
I
The
careful
Before describing the editions of A'wang-^zc which
I
PREFACE. have consulted,
I
XIX
must not omit to mention Professor
Gabelentz's 'Treatise on the Speech or Style of A'wang-jze,'
a Contribution to Chinese Grammar,' published at Leipzig in 1888. It has been a satisfaction to me to find myself on almost every point of usage in agreement with
as
'
the views of so able a Chinese scholar.
The works which have been
I
employed
in
preparing
my
version
:
The True King of Nan-hwa,' in The Complete Ten Philosophers,' which has been described The Commentary which it supplies is that of Kwo above. Hsiang (Introd., pp. 9, 10), with The Sounds and Meanings First,
Works
'
'
of the
'
of the Characters' from
the
Lu Teh
Terms and Phrases
century.
As
Ming's Explanations of '
of the Classics,' of our seventh
in the case of
the
Tao Teh King,
the
Ming
editor has introduced at the top of his pages a selection of
comments and notes from a great to his own time. Second,
'
variety of scholars
down
Helps (Wings) to A'wang-jze by 3iao Hung,' title on Lao-jze
a kindred work to the one with a similar
by the same author, and prefaced by him in 1588. The two works are constructed on the same lines. 3i^o draws from forty-eight authorities, from Kwo Hsiang divides the several Books also into paragraphs, more or fewer according to their length, and the and my version follows him variety of subjects in them He has two conin this lead with little or no change.
his materials
He
to himself.
;
cluding Books; readings, and
the one containing a collation of various on the
the other a collection of articles
history and genius of /^wang-jze,
and
different
passages
of his Text.
Third, the like
ATwang-^ze Hsueh
or
'
A'wang-jze
Snow,' equivalent to our '/^wang-jze Elucidated
Lu
made by The
;'
Canton province, written in 1796. Books are preceded by a short summary of their The work goes far to fulfil the promise of subject-matter.
a
Shu-z^-ih of
different
its title.
Fourth,
Kwang-^ze
Yin, meaning 'The
b
2
Train
of
XX
PREFACE.
Thought
in
AVang-;ze Traced
in
My
Phraseology.'
its
dynasty, under the editorship of a
Commentary of Lin Ming into the present Lu K/iu-\va.ng of Alang-
The
and elegant, but rather
copy
a reprint,
is
1880, of the
in
who Hved from
Hsi-/^ung.
su province.
style
is
the
clear
that of the preceding work.
more concise than
out the four disputed Books the others are followed
(XXVIII
to
by an elaborate
It leaves
XXXI)
;
but
all
discussion of their
scope and plan.
The X'an-hwa Classic of ATwang-^ze Explained,' in 1621, by a Hsiian Ying or 3ung ( ^^, ^i ^% ^^^ name is printed throughout the book, now in one of these ways, now in the other), called also Mdu-kung. The commentary is carefully executed and Fifth,
'
^
published '
ingenious
my
but
;
printed that
it
made
appears to have of the
edition
pointed out by
copy of the book
is
so incorrectly
can only be used with caution.
work
;
his version
Mr. Balfour
mainly from the same
and some of his grossest errors
Giles arose from his accepting without
]\Ir.
question the misprints of his authority. Sixth,
^)
'
;'— by
Independent Views of A'wang-;ze (^J -^ :^ Hu Wan-ying, published in 1751. Occasionally,
the writer pauses over a passage, which, he thinks, has defied all
of
'
preceding students, and suggests the right explanation it,
or leaves
It
only remains for
it
as inexplicable.
me
to refer to the Repertories of
Elegant Extracts,' called by the Chinese
abound
in their literature,
Ku Wan,
wiiich
and where the masterpieces of
composition are elucidated with more or less of critical detail and paraphrase. I have consulted nearly a dozen of these
collections,
especially
to
and would
that
called
mention
my
indebtedness
Mei AV/wan, which
discusses
passages from twelve of iTwang-^ze's books. When consulting the editions of Lin Hsi->^ung and Lu Shu-^ih, the reader is surprised by the frequency with
which they refer to the 'old explanations' as 'incomplete and unsatisfactory,' often as 'absurd,' or 'ridiculous,' and he
PREFACE. finds
XXI
on examination that they do not so express themselves He is soon convinced that the transla-
without reason.
tion of /v wang-jze calls for the exercise of one's individual judgment, and the employment of every method akin to the critical processes by which the meaning in the books of
other languages this
is
determined.
me
which made
prepare
It in
was the perception of
the
first
place a draft
version to familiarise myself with the peculiar style and eccentric thought of the author.
From
iTwang-jze to the Tractate of 'Actions and their
Retributions latter case
the transition
'
as easy as
is
in
is is
great.
Translation in the
difficult in
the former.
It
1816 called attention to the Kan Europe, as he did to the Tao Teh A'ing
was Remusat who
Ying Phien
it
in
and he translated the Text of it with In 1828 Klaproth published a translation of it from the Man-chau version and in 1830 a translation in English appeared in the Canton Register, a newspaper published at Macao. In 1828 Julien published what has since been the standard version of it with an immense amount of additional matter under the title 'Le Livre Des Recompenses et Des Peines, en Chinois et en Fran9ais; Accompagne de quatre cent Legendes, Anecdotes et Histoires, qui font connaitre les Doctrines, les Croyances et les Mceurs de la Secte des Tao-sse.' In writing out my own version I have had before me First, 'The Thai Shang Kan Ying Phien, with seven years
later,
a few Notes and Illustrative Anecdotes.
;
;
:
Plates and the Description of them;' edition, as profusely furnished with anecdotes
as
Juhen's original, and
notes,
all
a popular
and
stories
pictorially illustrated.
The
comments, and corresponding sentences from the
Confucian Classics are also abundant. Second, 'The Thai Shang Kan
Ying Phien,
explanations collected from the Classics and Histories
with ;
'
a Cantonese reprint of an edition prepared in the KJiitw-
lung reign by a Hsia ATiu-hsia.
XXU
PREFACE.
Third, the edition
in
the Collection of Taoist Texts
It is by Hsii Hsiu-teh. above on p. xvii decidedly Taoistic but without stories or pictures. Fourth, 'The Thai Shang Kan Ying Phien ATu;' by
described
;
;
The Work follows Tao Teh A'ing in
Hui Tung, of the present dynasty.
Commentary
of
Wu
A'/zang on the
Collection of the Yiieh-}'a Hall. is
in
dated
in
1
749.
The
was praying always or
'
for
Ko Hung
The Commentary, he
by
refers
her recovery.
It
(Introduction,
tells us,
his
contains
p.
5,
nom de plume
Maintainer of Simplicity.'
He
the
preface of the author
consequence of a vow, when his mother was
from
the
note),
of
was written ill, and he
many to
extracts
whom
he
Pao-phoh 3ze,
considers indeed this
Tractate to have originated from him. I
have thus
set forth all that
way of preface. For comprised
in the
is
necessary to be said here by
various information about the Treatises
Appendixes, the reader
is
referred to the
preliminary notes, which precede the translation of most of
them.
I
have often sorely missed the presence of a competent
who would have assisted me in the quest of and in talking over difficult passages. Such a helper would have saved me much time but the result, I think, would scarcely have appeared in any great alteration native scholar references,
;
of
my
versions.
J.L. Oxford, Decanhcr
20, 1890.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM. INTRODUCTION. CHAPTER
I.
Was TAoism older than I.
Lao-3ze?
In writing the preface to the third volume of these
Sacred Books of the East '
in 1879, I referred to Lio-jze as the acknowledged founder of the system of Taoism. Pro'
longed study and research, however, have brought
me
to
the conclusion that there was a Taoism earlier than his
;
and that before he wrote his Tao Teh King, the principles taught in it had been promulgated, and the ordering of human conduct and government flowing from them inculcated.
For more than a thousand years the Three Religions ^as been a Stereotyped phrase in China, m China. meaning what we call Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. The phrase itself simply means the Three Teachings,' or systems of instruction, leaving the '
Three Religions
'
subject-matter of each 'Teaching' to be learned
Of
the threcj Buddhism
is
of course the
been introduced into China only Christian
it is
assigned.
in the first
by
much
inquiry.
recent, having
century of our
Both the others were indigenous
era.
country, and are traceable to a that
most
to
the
greater antiquity, so
a question to which the earlier origin should be
The years
of Confucius's
life
lay between B.C.
but his own acknowledgment that he was 55^ and 478 a transmitter and not a maker,' and the testimony of his grandson, that he handed down the doctrines of Yao and ;
'
'
Shun
(B.C. 2300), [39]
and elegantly displayed the regulations B
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
Wan
of
and \Vu
(15.
C. 1200),
CH.
I.
taking them as his model/ are
known.
well
the most likely account of it, 2. LAo-jze's birth is said, in king Ting of the to have taken place in the third year of He was thus rather more than A'ftu dynasty, (b. C.) 604.
name
the
The two men seem
years older than Confucius.
fifty
have met more than once, and
am
I
to
inclined to think that
of Lao-^ze, as the designation of the other, arose
from Confucius's styling him to his disciples 'The Old "^
They met
Philosopher.'
as
Heads
of different schools or
schemes of thought but did not touch, so far as we know, on the comparative antiquity of their views. It is a peculiarity of the TaoTeh A^ing that any historical element in ;
of the vaguest nature possible, and in all ° chapters there is not a smgle proper name.
it is
PeculL-inty of the Tao Teh
Aing.
,
its
Y^j. ^\^QYe are
,
.
some
references to earlier sages
whose words the author was copying out, and to sentencemakers whose maxims he was introducing to illustrate his own sentiments ^ In the most distant antiquity he saw a happy society in which his highest ideas of the Tao were realised, and in the seventeenth chapter he tells us that in the earliest times the people did not know that there were their rulers, and when those rulers were most successful in dealing with them, simply said, We are what we are of '
'
'
Evidently,
ourselves.'
men
existed to Lao-Jze at
a condition of happy innocence,
—
in
paradisiacal state, according to his
was
state
first
likely to be.
When wc
from
turn
the treatise of Liio-3ze to
writings of A'wang-jzc, the greatest of his followers,
'ITic sixth
'
we
the are
chapter of Lao's treatise, that about 'the Spirit of the Valley,'
referred to in Lich-^ze (I,
is
in
what we must call a idea of what such a
i**),
commentator Tu Tao-zJ-im (about
as being from
Hwang
Ti, from
which the
A. u. 1300) t.ikes occasion to say:
'From
wc know
whicli
that Lao-jze was accustomed to (]uoie in his treatise passages from cnrlicr records,— as when he refers to the remarks of " some sage," of
"
some
nil
nncii-nt," of " the
these cases he
case
is
is
sentence-makers," and of "
clearly introducing the
like^that of Confucius
nmkcr," &c.'
Found
in
some
words of
when he said, "I 3iao Hung, in loc.
am
writer on war."
earlier wise
men.
In
The
a transmitter and not a
CH.
INTRODUCTION.
I.
not
left
doubt as to his
in
Taoism.
paradisiacal
Hwang
belief
in
an early state of
Ti, the first year of
whose
placed in B.C. 2697, is often introduced as a seeker of the Tdo, and is occasionally condemned as having been ^/
reign
is
one of the
up
'
first
to disturb
its
the State of Perfect
sovereigns of
whom we
rule in men's
Unity.'
He
minds and break mentions several
can hardly find a trace
in
the
records of history as having ruled in the primeval period,
and gives us more than one description of the condition of the world during that I
do not
think
happy time
that
^.
iiTwang-jze
had
any
historical
evidence for the statements which he makes about those
men who flourished in them, and their His narratives are for the most part fictions, in which the names and incidents are of his own devising. They are no more true as matters of fact than the accounts of the characters in Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress are truC; with reference to any particular individuals but as these last are grandly true of myriads of minds in different early days, the
ways.
;
may we read in iTwang-jze's stories the thoughts men beyond the restrictions of place and time. He believed that those thoughts were as old as the men to whom he attributed them. I find in his belief a ground for ages, so
of Taoistic
believing myself that to Taoism, as well as to Confucianism,
we ought to attribute a much earlier origin than the famous men whose names they bear. Perhaps they did not differ so much at first as they came afterwards to do in the hands of Confucius and Lao-jze, both great thinkers, the
one
and the other more of a metaphysician. they were ever more akin than they came to be, their divergence took place, are difficult questions on which it may be well to make some remarks after we have tried to set forth the most important principles of Taoism. Those principles have to be learned from the treatise of
more of a
moralist,
When and
how,
if
Lao-jze and the writings of A"wang-jze.
1
See in Books IX, X, and
B 2
XI F.
We
can hardly
,
CH.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
IT.
Taoism taught in them is the Taoism now for many China, or that has been current in it origin of and nature the into inquiry an in but centuries must be consulted rcHgions these are the authorities that accepted. The for'raoism, and whose evidence must be Responses to them,' will show treatise, 'Actions and the that the
sa>-
current
in ;
one of the phases of
it
at a
much
later period.
CHAPTER
II.
The Texts of the Tao Teh Ki^g and ^Twang3ZE Slltr, AS REGARDS THEIR AUTHENTICITY AND GENUINENESS, AND THE ARRANGEMENT OF THEM. I.I.I
now
will
state briefly,
first,
the grounds on which
I
Tao Teh
A'ing as a genuine production of the age to which it has been assigned, and the truth of its It authorship by Lao-^ze to whom it has been ascribed. would not have been necessary a few years ago to write as 1886 if these points could be called in question, but in accept the
A'Mr. Herbert
A.
Her Majesty's Consular Service
Giles, of
China, and one of the ablest Chinese scholars living, vehemently called them in question in an article in the in
China Review
for the
months of March and April.
His
have been replied to, and I am not going to revive here the controversy which they produced, but only to state a portion of the evidence which satisfies my own
strictures
mind on the two points 2.
just mentioned.
has been said above that the year
It
probably, that of Liio-jze's birth.
Sze-ma
not recorded.
, torian, T, riic evidence "' . .
,
/v//ien,
who
A7;ien,
his 3zc.
'
first
604 was, is
i>'^,
commences
.
Biographies
He tells
B. C.
of his death
great Chinese his-
died in about B.C.
.
S/e-in;'i
the
The year
'
with a short account of Lao-
us that the philosopher
had been a
curator of the Royal Library of/v'au, and that, mourning over the decadence of the d\-nasty, he wished to withdraw from the world, and proceeded to the pass or defile of Hsien-ku ^
'
111
the i)rcsent district ofLing-pao,
Shan Aau, province of Ho-nan.
CH.
INTRODUCTION.
II.
leading from China to the west.
There he was recognised Yin Hsi (often called Kwan Yin), himself a well-known Taoist, who insisted on his leaving him a writing before he went into seclusion. Lao-jze then wrote his views on The Tao and its Characteristics,' in two parts or sections, containing more than 5000 characters, gave the manuscript to the warden, and nor is it known where he died.' This went his way ^ account is strange enough, and we need not wonder that it was by and by embellished with many marvels. It con-
by the warden
of the pass,
'
;
tains,
'
however, the definite statements that Lao-jze wrote
Tao Teh King
the
two
in
than 5000 characters.
acquainted with the treatise
from
parts,
And
that
is
and consisting of more
AVnen was himself
well
apparent from his quotations
with, in almost every case, the specification of the
it,
He
author.
thus adduces part of the
first
a large portion of the last chapter but
chapter,
one.
and
His brief
and his writings are numerous. But between Lao-jze and Sze-ma K/iien there were many Taoist writers whose works remain. I may specify of them Lieh-jze (assuming that his chapters, Fei-jze'and" though not composed in their present form by other Taoist i^[^^ ^lay yet be accepted as fair specimens
references also to Lio-jze 3.
of his teaching)
century B.C.
We
find
him
/i
;
wang-jze (of the fourth
refusing to accept high ofiice
from king Wei of K/iu, B.C. 339-299) Han Fei, a voluminous author, who died by his own hand in B.C. 230; and ;
Liu An, a scion of the Imperial House of Han, king of Hwai-nan, and better known to us as Hwai-nan ^ze, who In the books of all also died by his own hand in B.C. 122. these
men we
our treatise.
find quotations of
They
quotations from Lio-jze
1
to
;
In an ordinary Student's Manual
which
set before
it
may be worth
many
Han
I find a
;
and
this
on Food and Drink).
in
of them, all
but
note with reference to this incident
while to give a place here
Lao-jze a dish of tea
many
Fei several times
was the
drinking between host and guest (see the ch. 7,
passages that are
are expressly said to be,
:
—The warden,
it is
said,
origin of the custom of tea-
^ ^ ^ ^ 3^
7j^,
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
6
CH.
ir.
shows the book beneath his eyes. To show how numerous the quotations by Han Fci and Liu An are, let it be borne in mind that the Tao Teh A'ing has come down to us as divided into eighty-one short chapters and that the whole ;
of
it
Of the
shorter than the shortest of our Gospels.
is
whole or portions of seventythose two writers. There are other authors
cii;hty-onc chapters, either the
one arc found
in
not so decidedly Taoistic, in the
little
whom we
These quotations arc
book.
find quotations
in
V\irious readings indeed there are
correct.
from
general wonderfully ;
but
if
we were
memory, their differences of the text had been multiplied
sure that the writers did trust to
would only prove that copies from the very
first.
In passing on from quotations to the complete text, I will Evidence of Pan clinch the assertion that A'/Hen was well
^" acquainted with our treatise, by a passage from the History of the Former Han Dynasty (B.C. 206A.D. 24), which was begun to be compiled by Pan Ku, who died however in 92, and left a portion to be completed by his the famous Pan A'ao. The thirty-second chapter of
sister,
Biographies
his
the end
it is
preferred
is
devoted to Sze-ma KJn^n, and towards on the subject of the Great Tao he and Ldo to the six A'ing.' Hwang and
said that
Hwang
'
'
Lao must there be the writings of Hwang-Ti and The association of the two names also illustrates '
LiTo-jze.
the anti-
claimed for Taoism, and the subject of note 1, p. 2. on from quotations to complete texts, and turn, first, to the catalogue of the Imperial Library of Han, as compiled by Liu Hsin, not later than the commencement of our Chriiitian era. There are entered in it Taoist works by (juity
We go
4-
Cntnlofnie of the ^'>i>'ty-seven different InM-cM.i LiUnry
authors, containino- in all
993 chapters or sections (phicn). premier of A'/fang Thang (b.c.
1
Yin, the
1766), heads
the
list
w.ih fifty-one sections.
There are in it four editions work with commentaries :-by a Mr. Lin, in four sections; a Mr. Fu, in thirty-seven sections; a Mr. Hsu. m s.x sections; and by Liu Hsiang, Hsin's own ol
Lao-3ze
father,
m
s
fin.r sections. All these four works have since perished, but there they were in the Imperial Library before
CH.
INTRODUCTION.
II.
our era began.
books or
ATwang-jze
in
is
7
the same
sections, the greater part of
list in
fifty-two
which have happily
escaped the devouring tooth of time.
We
now
turn
to
the
twentieth
chapter of K/nens
Biographies, in which he gives an account of
Yo
the
I,
and who himself played a famous part, both as a politician and military leader, and became prince of Wang-X'u under the kingdom of A'ao in B. c. 279. Among his descendants was a Yo AV/an, who scion of a distinguished family,
learned in
KM
the words,' that
'
is,
the Taoistic writings
'
of
Hwang-Ti and Lao-jze from an old man who lived on the Ho-side.' The origin of this old man was not known, but Yo AV/an taught what he learned from him to a Mr. Ko, who again became preceptor to 3hao 3han, the chief minister of KM, and afterwards of the new dynasty of Han, dying
in B.C. 190.
now to the catalogue of the imperial Library of the dynasty of Sui (a.d. 589-618), we find that The catalogue it Contained many editions of Lao's treatise 5-
Referring
oftheSui dynasty,
^j^h commentaries.
'The Tao Teh
man of the
ATing,' with the
The
first
mentioned
commentary
Ho-side, in the time of the emperor
is
of the old
Wan
of
Han
added in a note that the dynasty of Liang (a.d. 502-556) had possessed the edition of the old man of the Ho-side, of the time of the Warring States but that with some other texts and commentaries it had disappeared.' I find it difficult to believe that there had been two old men of the Ho-side ^, both teachers of Taoism and commentators on our A'incf, but I am willing to content myself with the more recent work, and accept the copy that has been current say from B.C. 150, when Sze-ma KMen could have been little more than a boy. Taoism was a favourite study with many of the Han emperors and their ladies. Hw^i-nan 3ze, of whose many quotations from (B.C. 179-142).
It is
;
—
^
The
earlier old
the other
Some
VnT
I-'
man
of the Ho-side
^^\
;
critical objections to the
ground of the
is
styled in Chinese j[pj
but the designations have the genuineness of the
style are without foundation.
latter's
p
j)(^
yv>
same meaning.
commentary on the
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
8 the
Lao
of
text
son of WCin, there
ir.
have spoken, was an uncle of the
I
To
emperor Wan.
CH.
the emperor A'ing (B.C. 156-143), the attributed the designation of Lao's
is
work of standard authority. At the beginning of his reign, we are told, some one was commending to him four works, among which were those of Deeming that the work of Lao-)ze and A'wang-^ze. Hwang-}ze and Lao-3ze was of a deeper character than the others, he ordered that it should be called a A'ing, established a board for the study of Taoism, and issued an edict that the book should be learned and recited at court, and throughout the country ^ Thenceforth it was so styled. treatise as a A'ing. a
We
find
Mi
riwang-fu
T A o Teh
(a.d. 215-282) referring to
it
as the
A' n g. i
The second
place in the Sui catalogue
commentary of W^ang
text and
Pi or
extraordinary scholar
The work of w-nngi'l.
ti^g
^t;
Teh-ming used
Q^^iy j^gg
much
has always been
in
is
given to the
Wang
Fu-sze, an
who
died in A. D. 249, Qf twenty-four. This work
It was its text which Lu Explanation of the Terms and
prized.
his
'
Phrases of the Classics,' in the seventh centur}^ the editions of
which
possess
Among
that printed in 1794 with the imperial moveable metal types. I need not speak of editions or commentaries subsequent it
I
is
Wang Pi's. They soon begin to be many, and are only not so numerous as those of the Confucian Classics. 6. All the editions of the book are divided into
to
two
the former called Tao, and the latter '^^^' ^'^^^'^^S the Qualities or Characteristics
parts,
Divisions into
EmnnUT
of"
of the Tao, but this distinction of subjects
characters in the
by no means uniformly adhered I
one
referred already to the division of the .short
attributed
chapters {37 to
Ho-su!e.'
Jun
or
+ 44). which
Yen
is
to.
whole into eighty-
by common tradition 'The old man of the
is
ll<,-shang Kung, or Another very early commentator, called Yen
chapters (40
made a division into seventy-two + 32), under the innuence, no doubt, of some
A'lin-phing,
Sec 3iao
Tiling's
Wings or Helps,
ch. v, p. 11..
CH.
INTRODUCTION.
II.
His predecessor, perhaps, had no but the names of his chapters were, for the most part, happily chosen, and have been preserved. Wu Kh3.ng arranged the two parts in mystical considerations.
better reason for his eighty-one
sixty-seven chapters (31+36).
He
Wu
does not
'
It
Mr. Wylie with
to suppose, as even
did \ that
;
is
a mistake, however,
all his
general accuracy
curtails the ordinary text to
curtail,
some
extent,'
but only re-arranges according to his
some of Ho-shang Kung's chapters and sometimes altering the order of their clauses. fashion, uniting
Sze-ma Lao-jze,
AT/^ien tells us that, as the treatise
came from
contained more than 5000 characters
it
as one critic says,
'
in one,
;
that
more than 5000 and fewer than
is,
6000.'
Ho-shang Kung's text has 5350, and one copy 5590 Pi's, S^^3i and one copy 5610. Two other early texts have been counted, giving 5720 and 5635 characters
Wang
The brevity arises from the terse conciseness owing mainly to the absence of the embellishment of particles, which forms so striking a peculiarity in the composition of Mencius and A'wang-^ze. In passing on to speak, secondly and more briefly, of the far more voluminous writings of ^wang-^ze, I may say that I do not know of any other book of so ancient a date as the Tao Teh ^ing, of which the authenticity of the origin and genuineness of the text can claim to be so well subrespectively.
of the style,
stantiated. II. 7. In the catalogue of the Han Library we have the entry of 'ATwang-^ze in fifty-two books or sections.' By
The Books
of
A%ang-jze.
the time of the Sui dynasty, the editions of
amounted to nearly a score. The come down to us goes by the name of Kwo Hsiang's. He was an officer and scholar of the 3in dynasty, who died about the year 312. Another officer, also of ^\n, called Hsiang Hsiu, of rather an earlier date, had undertaken the same task, but left it incomplete and his manuscripts coming (not, as it appears, by earliest
j^jg
-^^ork
commentary
that has
;
'
Notes on Chinese Literature,
p. 173.
CH.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
lO
ir.
any fraud) into Kwo's hands, he altered and completed them as suited his own views, and then gave them to the In the short account of Kwo, given in the twentieth public. chapter of the Biographies of the 3in history, it is said unsatisthat several tens of commentators had laboured factorily
on A'wang's writings before Hsiang Hsiu took
them in hand. As the joint result of the labours of the two men, however, we have only thirty-three of the fiftytwo sections mentioned in the Han catalogue. It is in vain that I have tried to discover how and when the other nineteen sections were
commentaries on the
In one of the earliest
lost.
Tao Teh King,
that
by Yen 3un, we
have several quotations from /^wang-3;ze which bear evidently the stamp of his handiwork, and are not in the current Hooks; but they would not altogether make up a
We
single section.
have only to be thankful that so large work has been preserved. Sii
a proportion of the original
Shih
known, called in Books 15 and been challenged, and a paragraph here and
(3ze-/('an,
and Tung-pho),
it
is
well
question the genuineness of Books 28 to 31 ^ 16 have also
there in one or other of the Books.
The
various readings,
according to a collation given by ^lao Hung, are few.
There can be no doubt that the Books of A^wang-jze It has been all the friends of Taoism. mentioned above that the names Hwang-Ti Importance to ^ ^ Lao-^ze wcrc associated together as Taoism of the 'i"d Hooks of denoting the masters of Taoism, and the phrase, the words of Hwang-Ti and Lao-^ze, came to be no more than a name for the Tao Teh King. Gradually the two names were contracted into 'Hwang LAo,' as in the passage quoted on p. 6 from Pan KO. Alter the llan dynasty, the name Hwang gave place to A'wang. and the names Lao A' wang, and, sometimes inverted, A'wang Lao, were employed to denote the system 'â&#x20AC;˘r the texts of Taoism, la the account, for instance, o{ Ki <S.
were hailed by
'
,
.
,
,
,
,
'
'
A
lirothcr of Sl>il>, Sii A'ih
3zc-yii
commentary on thcTaoTch A'inj;; four Hooks, in Ids Inscription for
tiic
and Ying-pin\ wrote a remarkable
Init it w.is
Shih
who
first
discredited those
temple of Awang-jze, prepared in 1078.
INTRODUCTION.
CH.ir.
Khang,
in
we have
II
the nineteenth chapter of the Biographies of 3in,
a typical Taoist brought before
he loved Lao and A'wang
;
and a the most favourable impression on him, up,
'
Kwang Kau The
9.
my
are
'
When grown
us.
visitor, to
says,
Books
of TTwang-jze are
The
Outer;' and 3 a, 'the Miscellaneous.' seven Books prises ^ the third, eleven.
. ,,
T^. Division 01 the .
.
into three
produce
Lao-jze and
masters.'
thirty-three
into three Parts, called Nei, or 'the Inner;'
Books
'
; ^
Wai,
first
divided or 'the
Part com-
the second, fifteen >
'
Inner
'
may be
; >
and
under-
More ImBooks are significant, and each expresses the subject or theme of its Book. They are believed to have been prefixed by iTwang-jze himself, and that no alteration could be made in the comStood as equivalent to esoteric or
The
portant.
of the several
titles
position but for the worse.
sense of
supplementary
so called are
'
Wings
'
'
Outer
'
is
or subsidiary.
understood
in the
The
Books
to the previous seven.
fifteen
Their
titles
were not given by the author, and are not significant of the Taoistic truth which all the paragraphs unite, or should unite, in illustrating
;
they are merely some name or phrase first paragraph in
taken from the commencement of the each Book,
—
originally
Kwo
names of the Books of the Confucian Hebrew Pentateuch. The fixing them
like the
Analects, or of the
generally supposed to have been the work of
is
The eleven Miscellaneous Books are also supplementary to those of the first Part, and it is not easy to see why a difi"erence was made between them and the Hsiang.
fifteen that precede. 10.
ATwang-^ze's writings have long been current under
Nan Hwa Kan ^ing.
He was a native of in what was then born duchy of Sung, The general title of Awang-jze's called the district of Mang, and belonged to ^°^ ^' the state or kingdom of Liang or Wei. As he grew up, he filled some official post in the city of 3hi-
the
name
of
^^^^
— the
which it is not easy to determine with In A.D. 742, the name of his birth-place was changed (but only for a time) to Nan-hwa, and an imperial order was issued that i^wang-jze should thence-
yiian,
certainty.
site of
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
CH.
III.
be styled 'The True Man of Nan-hwa,' and his Book, 'The True Book of Nan-hwa ^' To be 'a True Man' is the highest Taoistic achievement of a man, and our author thus canonised communicates his glory to his forth
Book.
CHAPTER
III.
And is the meaning of the name Tao? THE CHIEF points OF BELIEF IN TaOISM.
What 1.
The
translation of the
first
Western language was executed
Roman
Mcaniogofthe name Tao.
^^^^
jj.
Tao Teh A^ing in
into a
Latin by some of the
Catholic missionaries, and a copy of
brought to England by a Mr. Matthew
Raper, F. R.S., and presented by him to the Society at a meeting on the loth January, 1788, being the gift to him of P. Jos. de Grammont, Missionarius Apostolicus, ex-Jesuita.'
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
'
Tao
In this version
Supreme Reason
is
taken
of the
in
the sense of Ratio, or the
Divine Being, the
Creator and
Governor.
M. Abel Rcmusat, the first Professor of Chinese in Paris, does not seem to have been aware of the existence of the above version Lilo's
character Tao, bien traduit,
London, but
in
treatise
si
his attention
about 1820, and, '
was attracted to
1823, he wrote of the
in
Ce mot me semble ne pas pouvoir etre mot Ao'yos^ dans le triple sens
ce n'est par le
de souvcrain Etre, de raison, et de parole.' Remusat's successor in the chair of Chinese, the late Stanislas Julien, published
whole It,
treatise.
and the
kwan
in 1842 a translation of the -Having concluded from an examination of
earliest
Taoist writers, such as /iTwang-^ze,
Ho-
Ho-shang Kung, that the Tao was devoid of action, of thought, of judgment, and of intelligence, he concluded that it was impossible to understand l>y
it
3ze, and
'the I'rimordial Reason, or the Sublime Intellicreated, and which governs the world,' and to
gence which
'
Sec
ll.c
Khang-hsJ Thesaurus
(JH
^
g(4
Jf^^),
under
^
INTRODUCTION.
CH. in.
13
note: â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
this he subjoined the following Quelque Strange que puisse paraitre cette idee de Lao-3ze, elle n'est pas sans exemple dans Fhistoire de la philosophic. Le mot nature n'a-t-il pas ete employe par certains philosophes, que la religion et la raison condamnent, pour designer une cause premiere, egalement depourvue de pensee et d'intelligence?' Julien himself did not doubt that Lao's idea of the character was that it primarily and properly meant 'a way,' and hence he translated the title Tao Teh King by 'Le Livre de la Voie et de la Vertu,'
transferring at the
'
same time the name Tao
to the text
of his version.
The
first
English writer
who endeavoured
to give a dis-
account of Taoism was the late Archdeacon Hardwick, while he held the office of Christian Advocate in the Unitinct
versity of Cambridge. (vol.
ii,
p. 67),
when
In his
'
Christ and other Masters'
treating of the religions of China, he
says, I feel disposed to argue that the centre of the system founded by Lao-jze had been awarded to some energy or power resembling the " Nature " of modern speculators. '
indefinite expression Tao was adopted to denominate an abstract cause, or the initial principle of life and order, to which worshippers were able to assign the attributes of immateriality, eternity, immensity, invisibility.'
The
It
was, probably, Julien's reference in his note to the use
of the term nature, which suggested
to
Hardwick
his
analogy between Lao-jze's Tao, and 'the Nature of modern speculation.' Canon Farrar has said, 'We have long personified
under the name of Nature the sum
total of
God's
and now the notion of Nature as a distinct, living, independent entity seems to be ineradicable alike from our literature and our systems of philosophy^.' But it seems to me that this metaphorical or mythological use of the word nature for the Cause and Ruler of it, implies the previous notion of Him, that is, of God, in the mind. Does not this clearly appear in the words of Seneca? 'Vis ilium (h.e. Jovem Deum) naturam
laws as observed in the physical world
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
^
Language and Languages, pp.
184, 1S5.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
14
:— hie
vocare, non peccabis
cujus spiritu vivimus
est
CH.
iir.
ex quo nata sunt omnia,
^'
Works
In his translation of the
Kwang-^ze
of
in i88t,
Mr. Balfour adopted Nature as the ordinary rendering of
He
the Chinese Tao.
says,
'When
the word
is
translated
—
her processes, her means the Way of Nature, methods, and her laws; when translated Reason, it is the same as li, the power that works in all created things, producing, preserving, and life-giving,— the intelligent prinwhen translated Doctrine, it refers to ciple of the world the True doctrine respecting the laws and mysteries of
Way.
it
—
;
He calls
Nature.'
Nature
attention also to the point that 'he uses
sense of
the
in
Chinese expression
Natura naturans,
wan wu (= all
while the
things) denotes
Natura
But this really comes to the metaphorical use It can of nature which has been touched upon above. claim as its patrons great names like those of Aquinas, naturata.'
Giordano Bruno, and Spinoza, but I have never been able its barbarous phraseology makes it more than
to see that
a figure of speech^.
The term Nature, however,
is
so handy, and often
so appropriately into a version, that a signification
I
should not hesitate
as Mr. lialfour has done; but as cation, to try to put a
fits
Tao
had ever such to employ it as freely if
has not that
it
non-natural meaning
into
signifiit,
only
perplexes the mind, and obscures the idea of Lao-jze.
Mr. Balfour himself says cation of
Tao
is
'The primary signifiBeyond question this
(p. xviii),
simply "road."'
meaning underlies the use of it by the great master of Taoism and b)- A'wang-^ze Let the reader refer to the version of the twenty-fifth chapter of Lao's treatise, and to ''\
•
Nntiir. Quacst. lib. II, cap. xlv.
»
Mnrtintnu's
'
Types of Ethical Theory,"
I, p.
286, and his
whole Conjectural '
llistnry of .S|)inr)za's Thought.' '
2l
''•
tqi'ivalcnt to the
Christian system occurs
Greek
f/
o5os, the
way.
AYhere this name for the
our Revised Version of the Act* of the Apostles, the literal rendering is adhered to. n cai>ilal W. See Acts i.\. 2 xix. ij, 23 x.\ii. xxiv, in
New
Testament
in the
Way being printed with
;
;
4
;
14, 22.
CH.
INTRODUCTION.
III.
the notes subjoined to
Tao
There
it.
taneously operating cause of
1
appears as the spon-
movement
all
in
the pheno-
mena of the universe and the nearest the writer can come to a name for it is the Great Tao.' Having established this ;
'
name, he subsequently uses it repeatedly; see chh. xxxiv and liii. In the third paragraph of his twentieth chapter, iTwang-jze uses a synonymous phrase instead of Lao's Great Tao,' calling it the 'Great Thu,' about which there can be no dispute, as meaning the Great Path,' Way,' '
'
'
Course ^' In the last paragraph of his twenty-fifth Book, A'wang-jze again sets forth the metaphorical origin of the name Tao. 'Tao,' he says, 'cannot be regarded as having a positive existence existences cannot be regarded or
'
;
The name Tao
as non-existent.
the purpose of description. causation, or that
phase of a thing signation of
for the purpose,
ject of the
about
it
;
Tao.
a metaphor used for
does nothing,
it
exercises
some
is
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
Tao
is
sub-
[
talk
\
the extreme to which
Neither speech nor silence
to convey the notion of
it.
When we
is
sufficient
from speech, our speculations about
The Tao
therefore
is
it
reach their
a phenomenon
;
not a positive
mode of being. Lao's idea of it may become plainer as we proceed to other points of his system. In the meantime, the best way of dealing with it in translating being, but a
to transfer
it
to the version, instead of trying to introduce *
an English equivalent for it. ,. 2. Next in importance to Ta'^s the name Thien, meaning at first tlie vaulted sky or the open firmament of heaven. In the Confucian Classics, and in the speech of the Chinese ^^^ Khang-hsi
xC ^^*
Medhurst gives
'
road.'
thu by
lu,
road or way.
Unfortunately, both Morrison and Williams overlooked
this definition of the character.
synonym
dictionary defines
settles the original
Giles has also a note in
meaning of
Tao
\
neither speak nor
highest point.'
^
/
the whole day, and the subject of discourse will
only have been a thing.
is
1
.^
we might in a day's time exhaust the Words not being sufficient, we may
things conduct us.
refrain
is
say that
speaking of it from the how can such language serve as a deits greatness If words were sufficient
it
in
it
To
1
oc, showing how
in the sense of
'
road.'
this
\
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
1
name
people, this
CH.
III.
used metaphorically as it is by ourSupreme Being, with reference
is
sclves for the
Usageofthe u-rmThicn.
especially to
God
that the idea of
arose
His
will
among
and
rule.
So
was
it
the Chinese fathers
;
so
fashion a name for God, it was that they proceeded to calling Him Ti, and Shang Ti, 'the Ruler,' and 'the
Supreme a
;
but
Taoist fathers found this
The
Ruler.'
their people
in their idea
of the
among
Tao they had already
Supreme Concept which superseded the necessity of any The name Ti for God only occurs once in the Tao
other.
Teh
A'ing
the well-known passage of the fourth chapter,
in
;
I do not know might seem to be before God.' Nor is the name Thien very common. We have the phrase, Heaven and Earth,' used for the two great constituents of the kosmos, owing their origin to the Tao, and
where, speaking of the Tao, Lao-jze says,
whose Son
it is
;
'
it
'
also for a sort of binomial power, acting in
harmony with
Tao, covering, protecting, nurturing, and maturing all things. Never once is Thien used in the sense of God, the Supreme Being. In its peculiarly Taoistic employment, The Tao of Heaven it is more an adjective than a noun. means the Tao that is Heavenly, the course that is quiet and undemonstrative, that is free from motive and effort,
the
'
V
such as
seen
is
ceeding and
The Tao to it,
its
in
the processes of nature, grandly pro-
successful
without any striving or crying.
by this Tao, is contrary and shows will, purpose, and effort, till, submitting to it becomes the Tao or Way of the Sages,' which in all action has no striving. of man, not dominated
it,
'
The
characteristics both of
Heaven and man are
dealt
with more fully by A' wang than by Lao. In the conclusion of his eleventh Book, for instance, he says 'What do we :
mean by Tao ? There
Tao
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
Way)
of Heaven, and Acting without action, and yet altracling all honour, is the Way of Heaven. Doing and being embarrassed thereby is the Way of man. The Way
there
t)f
I
is
the
Tao
of
is
the
(or
man.
leaven should play the part of lord
the part of minister.
The two
distinguished from each other.'
;
the
Way
of man,
are far apart, and should be
CH.
INTRODUCTION.
III.
17
Book (par. 2), /f wang-jze tells us what he Heaven Acting without action,— this is what is called Heaven.' Heaven thus takes its law from the Tao. 'The oldest sages and sovereigns attained to do the same,'— it was for all men to aim at the same achieveIn his next
intends
by
ment.
As
:
'
'
—
'
they
were
successful,
'vacancy,
stillness,
placidity, tastelessness, quietude, silence,
and non-action characteristics, and they would
would be found to be their go on to the perfection of the Tao\ The employment of Thien by the Confucianists, as of Heaven by ourselves, must be distinguished therefore from
name
the Taoistic use of the
to denote the quiet but
mighty influence of the impersonal Tao and to translate it by God only obscures the meaning of the Taoist writers. This has been done by Mr. Giles in his version of A'wang-jze, which is otherwise for the most part so good. Everywhere on his pages there appears the great name 'God;' a blot on his translation more painful to my eyes and ears than the use of Nat-ure' for Tao by Mr. Balfour. ;
'
'
—
'
I
know
that Mr. Giles's plan in translating
English equivalents for plan
good where there are
is
equivalents
strict
ground for the
;
but
in
is
to use strictly
The
two languages such the case before us there is no
for its application.
Chinese thien
is
kinds of Chinese terms ^.
all
our
in the
The exact English equivalent heaven. The Confucianists
thien metaphorically for the personal Being they denominated Ti (God) and Shang Ti (the Supreme God), and a translator may occasionally, in working on books of Confucian literature, employ our name often used
whom
God
But neither Lao nor A'wang ever attached God to it and when one, in working on books of early Tioist literature, translates thien by God, such a rendering must fail to produce in an English reader a correct apprehension of the meaning. There is also in A'wang-,5ze a peculiar usage of the name Thien. He applies it to the Beings whom he introduces as for
it.
anything like our idea of
1
The Tao Teh A'ing,
-
See
'
eh. 25,
;
and A'wang-^ze, XIII, par.
Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio,' vol.
[39]
C
i,
p. i,
i.
note
2.
CH.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
,3
ill.
mystical Masters of the Tao, generally with in
Thierir appellations
''rr
A'wany-jze.
will
In par.
5,
what
of
is
In
'
called
'Kwang Kh^ng 3ze
is
again, the mystical Yun-/'iang
is
and mystical Hung-
to say to the equally fabulous
made
Hwang-Ti does
A7/ang-jze \ saying,
which Mr. Giles renders
Ik-avc^Ji,'
4,
we have an example
AV/ang-jze
surely God.'
from Book
In par.
Kwang
reverence to his instructor
Kwang
own
XI
illustration of this.
in
suffice
Two
yjcws.
order to set forth his
instances
mung, 'O Heaven, have you forgotten me?' and, farther knowledge on, O Heaven, you have conferred on me (the ;' of it of) your operation, and revealed to me the mystery 'your in both which passages Mr. Giles renders thien by '
I
lolincss.'
Hut Mr. Giles seems to agree with Taoists had no idea of a personal God, ,.
,..,
,
Mr. Giles
own
s
ilka of the
JIime'"God''rs the equivalent of 'I h
Thien
On
or Heaven.
old
that the
his sixty- eighth page,
. ,_
near the beginning of
me
when they wrote of .^^_
,
.
,
Book VI, we meet with
following sentence, having every appear-
^^^^
ance of beinfj translated from the Chinese
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
i
text
own
:
'
God
by
a principle which exists
is
and operates without selfmanifestation.' By an inadvertence he has introduced his own definition of 'God' as if it were A'wang-jze's and though I can find no characters in the text of which I
virtue of
its
intrinsicality,
;
can suppose that he intends
it
to
be the translation,
it
is
valuable as helping us to understand the meaning to be
Name
attached to the Great
have referred above
I
treatise, wiicre
in his
volume.
only passage in Lao's he uses the name Ti or God in its highest (p.
1
6) to the
The relation of scnse, Saying that the ihcTaotoTi. ^^^^,^ 1^^,^,^ hcioYc llini.' '
so, for in his first
'
Kwanj;
was,' in
it
is
AV/anj,' -^zc
Immortals Baid, 'an
a grotto of rocks.'
He
to
might well say
chapter he describes the Tao,
of as) having no
Spirit-like
Tao might seem '
(conceived
name, as the Originator of heaven and
li.
n.ls
(;||l|)
the
[jjj
list
j^^
of characters in ),'
Inmiorlal of old,
Ko
Ilung's 'History of
written in our fourth century.
who
lives
on the
hill
'
He
of M'ung-thung
CH.
19
and (conceived of
earth,
of
INTRODUCTION.
III.
as) having a name, as the Mother reader will also find the same predicates at greater length in his fifty-first chapter.
The
all things.'
Tao
of the
The
character Ti is also of rare occurrence in /Avang-^ze, excepting as apphed to the five ancient Tis. In Bk. Ill, par. 4, and in one other place, we find it indicating the
Supreme Being, but the usage
ascribed to the ancients.
is
XV, par. 3, in a description of the human Spirit, its name is said to be Thung Ti,' which Mr. Giles renders Of God Mr. Balfour, One with God;' while my own version is The Divinity in Man.' In Bk. XII, par. 6, we have the expression the place of God in Mr. Giles, the kingdom of God ;' in Mr. Balfour, the home of God.' In In Bk.
'
'
;
'
'
'
'
;
'
'
'
and the former instance, the character seems to be used with the ancient meaning which had entered into the folkthis
But in Bk. VI, par. 7, there is a passage which shows clearly the relative position of Tao and Ti in the Taoistic system and having called attention to it, I will go on to other points. Let the reader mark well the followlore of the people.
;
ing predicates of the earth,
Tao
from of old, there
:
It
— Before there were heaven and '
was, securely existing.
From
It
came the mysterious existence of spirits from It the mysterious existence of Ti (God). It produced heaven, It produced earth \' This says more than the utterance of Lao, that 'the Tao seemed to be before God;' does it not say that Tao was before God, and that He was what He is by virtue of Its operation? 3. Among the various personal names given to the Tao ^^'^ ^^^°^^ °^ ^ao Hwa, 'Maker and TransNoideaofCreation proper in former,' and 3 ao Wu iTe, Maker of things.' Instances of both these names are found in Bk. ;
—
—
'
Creator' and God' have both been employed 9, 10. them but there is no idea of Creation in Taoism. Again and again A'wang-jze entertains the question of
VI, parr. for
'
'
;
—
For this sentence we find in Mr. Balfour Spirits of the dead, receiving become divine the very gods themselves owe their divinity to its influence and by it both Heaven and Earth were produced.' The version of it by Mr. Giles is too condensed Spiritual beings drew their spirituality therefrom, while the universe became what we see it now.' ^
It,
:
'
;
;
:
—
'
C 2
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
20
how
it
CH. in.
at the first beginning of things.
was
Different views
he says :—' Among the men What point. of old their knowledge reached the extreme was that extreme point ? Some held that at first there was not anything. This In Bk. II, par. 4-
arc stated.
'
is
the extreme point,— the utmost limit to which nothing
can be added.
'A second class held that there was something, but without any responsive recognition of it (on the part of man). 'A third class held that there was such recognition, but there had not begun to be any expression of different opinions about
It
it.
the (doctrine of the)
The
in
T a o ^' was that which i^wang-^ze
The most condensed expression
himself preferred.
given
that there ensued injury to
it
of these three views
first
Bk. XII. par. 8
was nothing
things there
:
—
first
in all
the vacancy of space
existence
;
From
without bodily shape.
duced, (receiving) what
of
it is
In the Grand Beginning of
•
was nothing that could be named ^. that there arose the still
definite expression
was through the
of different opinions about
we
It
the
was
first
all
there
in this state
existence, but
be pro-
this things could
characters.
their several
call
;
That which had no bodily shape was divided, and then without intermission there was what we call the process of conferring. (The two processes) continued to operate, and things were produced.
As
appeared the distinguishing
they were completed, there
which w^e call the That shape was the body preserving in it and each had its peculiar manifestation which lines of each,
bodily shape.
the
spirit,
we call its nature.' Such was the genesis Compare
of things
;
the formation of heaven
XXII, parr. 7, 8, and XXIII, par. 10. given for this sentence: 'In the beginning of all things there was not even nothing. There were no names; these arose afterwards.' In hi* crili(|uc on .Mr. i;alfour's version in 1S82, Mr. Giles proposed At the '
'
also lik.
Mr. H:ilfour
h.id
:
Uginning oi
now
in his
all
own
nothing did not
things there was notiung version gives for e.xisl.
it,
Then came
'
;
—
'
but this nothing had no name.'
He
At the beginning of the beginning, even
the period of the nameless
;
'—an improve-
ment, certainly, on the other; but which can hardly be accepted as the correct version of the text.
INTRODUCTION.
CH. in.
21
and earth and
all that in them is, under the guidance of was an evolution and not a creation. How the Tao itself came,— I do not say into existence, but into operation, neither Lao nor A'wang ever thought of saying anything about. We have seen that it is nothing
the
Tao.
It
—
material^
It
appearance
in
acted spontaneously of
the
itself.
Its
sudden
field of
non-existence, Producer, Transformer, Beautifier, surpasses my comprehension. To Lao
it seemed to be before God. I am compelled to accept the existence of God, as the ultimate Fact, bowing before it with reverence, and not attempting to explain it, the
one mystery, the sole mystery of the universe. The bodily shape was the body preserving in it the 4. spirit, and each had its peculiar manifestation which we '
So it is said in the passage quoted above from A^wang-jze's twelfth Book, and the language shows call its nature.'
Man
T>,
of
.
,
how Taoism, in a loose and indefinite way, man to be composed of body and
composed body and Considered
IS
^^^"
spirit,
'
•'
'
associated together, yet not necessarily
dependent on each other. Little is found bearing on this tenet in the Tao Teh A^ing. The concluding sentence of ch.
o^'>^,
gevity,'
is
'
He who
and yet does not
dies
of doubtful acceptation.
More
perish, has lon-
pertinent
is
the
coming forth,' and of death as 'an entering-;' but iiTwang-^ze expounds more fully, though after all unsatisfactorily, the teaching of their system on description of
life
as 'a
the subject.
At
the conclusion of his third Book, writing of the death
When
it was at the was the simple sequence (of his coming). Quiet acquiescence in what happens at its proper time, and quietly submitting (to its sequence), afford no occasion for grief or for joy. The ancients described (death) as the loosening of the cord on which God suspended (the life). What we can point to are the faggots that have been consumed but the fire is transmitted elsewhere, and we know not that it is over and ended.'
of Lao-jze, he says,
proper time
;
'
the master came,
when he went away,
it
;
1
The Tao Teh A'ing,
ch. 14; et al.
^
Ch. 50.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
22 It
is.
however,
CH.
III.
connexion with the death of his own Book, that his views most
in
wife, as rehited in the eighteenth
fullyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; I do not say 'clearly 'â&#x20AC;&#x201D;appear. We are told that that event took place, his friend Hui-jze went to condole with him, and found him squatted on the ground,
when
drumming on said to him,
the vessel (of
When
'
and singing.
ice),
brought up children, and then dies wail for her vessel
and
sing,
died,
is it
was
her old age, not to to
drum on the demon-
not an excessive (and strange)
possible for
it
in
When you go on
A'wang-5ze replied, 'It
stration?' first
enough.
is
His friend
a wife has lived with her husband,
me
is
not so.
When
to be singular,
she
and not
by the event? But I reflected on the commencement of her being, when she had not yet been born to life. Not only had she no life, but she had no bodily form. Not only had she no bodily form, but she had no breath. affected
.Suddenl)' in this chaotic condition there ensued a change, and there was breath another change, and there was the bodily form; a further change, and she was born to life; a change now again, and she is dead. The relation between those changes is like the procession of the four :
lies if
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
spring, autumn, winter, and summer. There she with her face up, sleeping in the Great Chamber^; and
seasons,
I
were to
for all.
1
sobbing and going on to wail for her,
fall
should think
I
did not understand what therefore restrained myself.' I
was appointed
The next paragraph of the same Book contains another story about two ancient men, both deformed, who, when looking at the graves on Kwan-lun, begin to feel in their own frames
the
symptoms of approaching dissolution. One 'Do you dread it?' and gets the reply,
says to the other,
Why should I chcad it ? Life is a borrowed thing. he living frame thus borrowed is but Life so much dust. .ind death are like day and night.' No.
'
I
In
every birth,
a rcjK-liti.Mi of It
'the
(;i;ui<l
it
what
wouUl thus appear, there is, somehow, it is said, as we have seen, took place
]5eginning of
I
li.1t
is.
all
things,'
bclwcca heaven ami
when out
cailli.
of the
INTRODUCTION.
CH. in.
primal nothingness, the
Tao somehow
23
appeared, and there
was developed through its operation the world of tilings, material things and the material body of man, which enshrines or enshrouds an immaterial spirit.
This returns
and may be regarded indeed as the body during the time of life, and that in due time receives a new embodiment. In these notions of Taoism there was a preparation for the appreciation by its followers of the Buddhistic system when it came to be introduced into the country, and which forms a close connexion between the two at the present day, Taoism itself constantly becoming less definite and The Book influential on the minds of the Chinese people.
Tao that gave Tao operating in
to the
which
tells
it,
us of the death of A^wang-jze's wife concludes
with a narrative about Lieh-jze and an old bleached skull ^, and to this is appended a passage about the metamorphoses of things, ending with the statement that
'
duces the horse, and the horse the man,
the panther pro-
who
then again
enters into the great machinery (of evolution), from which
things
all
come forth (at birth) and into which they Such representations need not be
re-enter
death).'
(at
charac-
terised. 5.
Ku
object of _, The Tao
Hsi,
'
the prince of Literature,' described the main
Taoism
to be
'
the preservation of the breath of
and Liu Mi, probably of our thirteenth -A r^ ccntury ^, m his Dispassionate Comparison
life as
;'
^
promotive of
1
•
•
'
longevity.
^f ^j^^ i:\,x&^ Religions,' declares
that
'
its
Such is the account of Taoism ordinarily given by Confucian and Buddhist writers, but our authorities, Lao and A'wang,
chief achievement
is
the prolongation of longevity.'
hardly bear out this representation of time.
1
There are chapters
Quoted
in
of the
it
as true of their
Tao Teh A'ing
which
Maxims of the The words are irom
the Amplification of the Sixteen Precepts or
second emperor of the present dynasty by his son. Dr. Milne's version of the Sacred Edict,' p. 137. 2 In his Index to the Tripi/aka, Mr. Bunyio Nanjio '
and his work to the Yiian dynasty. they are assigned to that of Sung. dynasties,
— from
the
Sung
(p. 359) assigns Liu Mi In a copy of the work in my possession The author, no doubt, lived under both
into the Yiian.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
24
CH. in,
presuppose a peculiar mana<:jenient of the breath, but the treatise is singularly free from anything to justify what Mr, lialfour well calls
'
the antics of the
mystic and recondite calisthenics
on the Tao as conducive to long
have references to
it
Kung-fu, or system of Lao insists, however,
^'
life,
and
in
A'wang-^ze
we
as a discipline of longevity, though
those who kept blowing and breathing with open mouth, inhaling and exhaling the breath, expelling the old and taking in new
even he mentions rather with disapproval
'
passing their time like the (dormant) bear, and stretching
He says that 'all simply shows their desire for longevity, and is what
anti twisting (their necks) like birds.'
this
the scholars who manage the breath, and men who nourish the body and wish to live as long as Phang-ju, are fond of doing -,' own opinion is that the methods of the Tao
My
were
cultivated for the sake of the longevity which they were thought to promote, and that Lao, discounfirst
tenancing such a use of them, endeavoured to give the doctrine a higher character and this view is favoured by passages in A'wang-^ze. In the seventh paragraph, for ;
Book VI, speaking of parties who had obtained the Tao, he begins with a prehistoric sovereign, who got it and by it adjusted heaven and earth,' Among his
instance, of his
'
other instances
is
who got
Phang-ju,
and
lived on to the
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;a
longevity of
time of the
more than
1
five
it
in the
800 years, greater than that
ascribed to Methuselah!
In the paragraph
there appears a Nii Yu,
is
Taoist
in
plexion rcpl)I
is,
will
the words,
is
who 'You
time of Shun,
leading princes of A'au,
that follows
addressed by another famous
are old. Sir, while your
like that of a child
;â&#x20AC;&#x201D; how
is
it
so.?'
I became acquainted with the Tao.' adduce onl\' one more passage of A'wang.
comand the
'
In his
eleventh
Pook, and the fourth paragraph, he tells us of Miterviews between 1 wang-Ti, in the nineteenth year of his rei-n, which would be c. 2679, and his instructor Kwang 1
l'..
A//ang-?zc.
The Taoist sage '
'
Sec note on Seeltk.
XV,
j).
1.S7
par.
is
not readily prevailed on
of his Awanji-ize.
I.
CH.
INTRODUCTION.
III.
to unfold the treasures of his
but at last his reluctance '
Come, and
essence
will
I
tell
2C
knowledge to the sovereign,
overcome, and he says to him, you about the Perfect Tao. Its is
surrounded
with the deepest obscurity its darkness and silence. There is nothinoto be seen, nothing to be heard. When it holds the spirit is
highest reach
arms
in its
become
is
;
in
then the bodily form will of
in stillness,
correct.
You must be
not subjecting your body to
toil,
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
itself
you must be pure
still,
;
not agitating your vital
then you may live for long. When your eyes see nothing, your ears hear nothing, and your mind knows nothing, your spirit will keep your body, and the body will force
:
Watch over what is within you shut up the avenues that connect you with what is external ;â&#x20AC;&#x201D; much live long.
;
knowledge is pernicious. I will proceed with you to the summit of the Grand Brilliance, where we come to the bright and expanding (element) I will enter with you the gate of the dark and depressing element. There heaven and earth have their Controllers; there the Yin and ;
Yang
have their Repositories. Watch over and keep your body, and all things will of themselves give it vigour. I maintain the (original) unity (of these elements). In this
my
way
I
have cultivated myself
for
and we obtain 3879 as the year
1200 years, and
Add
bodily form knows no decay.'
B.C. of
1300 to 2679,
Kwang
A'/zang-
jze's birth 6.
Lao-^ze describes some other and kindred results of
Tao
cultivating the Startling results of the Tao.
managing
his
terms which are sufficiently
in
and which
is
difficult to accept.
chapter he says,
fiftieth
travels
life
it
'
He who
is
startling.
In his skilful in
on land without having to shun
rhinoceros or tiger, and enters a host without having to
avoid buff coat or sharp weapon. place in him into which to thrust place in which to fix
admit in
its
point.
its
And
him no place of
'
rhinoceros finds no
horn, nor the tiger a
weapon
claws, nor the
for
what reason
death.'
his fifty-fifth chapter,
The its
To
He who
the attributes (of the Tao)
is
.?
a place to
Because there
is
the same effect he says in
has
in
like
an
himself abundantly infant.
Poisonous
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
26
insects will not sting
him
CH.
fierce beasts will
;
III.
him
not seize
;
birds of prey will not strike him.'
Such
by
assertions startle us
their contrariety to our
and experience, but so does most of the teaching What can seem more absurd than the declaraof Taoism. tion that "the Tao does nothing, and so there is nothing that it docs not do ? And yet this is one of the fundamental obser\'ation
'
The
axioms of the system. enunciates
able to maintain (the Tao),
be transformed by them.' so, is
thirty-seventh chapter, which
goes on to say,
it,
'
all
and kings were
If princes
things would of themselves
This principle,
if
we can
call it
generalised in the fortieth, one of the shortest chapters,
and partly
in
rhyme:
â&#x20AC;˘The movement of
the
Tao
By contraries proceeds And weakness marks the course Of Tao's mighty deeds. All things under heaven sprang from
it
named)
it
;
that existence sprang from
as existing (and as
non-existent
(and not named).'
Ilo-shang Kung, or whoever gave their names to the
Tao Teh A'ing, styles this fortieth chapter Dispensing with the use (of means).' If the wish to use
chapters of the '
means arise in the mind, the nature of the Tao as the Nameless Simplicity has been vitiated and this nature is celebrated in lines like those just quoted '
'
;
:
'
Simplicity without a Is IVce
from
With no
do not
cull
these points.
name
external aim.
desire, at rest
All things I
all
go
right,
and
siill,
as of their
will.'
any passages from A'wang-ijze to
In his eleventh
Book
illustrate
Government by 'Let-a-be and the exercise of Forbearance.' 7. Ihis Tao ruled men at first, and then the world was
in
a paradisiacal state.
The
p.ira(lisiacnl *"^^''-
ceased
to
is
Neither of our authorities
how long observes
his subject
in his
be observed.'
tells
us
but as
Lao
eighteenth chapter, 'the
Tao
this condition lasted,
A'wang-^ze, however, gives
us
CH.
INTRODUCTION.
III.
more than one
description of
He
disiacal state was.
calls
27
what he considered the parait the age of Perfect Virtue.' '
In the thirteenth paragraph of his twelfth '
Book he
In this age, they attached no value to wisdom, nor
men
says,
employed
Superiors were (but) as the higher branches and the people were like the deer of the wild. They were upright and correct, without knowing that to be so was Righteousness they loved one another, without knowing that to do so was Benevolence they were honest and leal-hearted, without knowing that it was Loyalty of ability.
of a tree
;
;
;
they
engagements, without knowing that to in their movements they employed the services of one another, without thinking that they were their
fulfilled
do so was Good Faith
;
conferring or receiving any
Therefore their actions
gift.
no trace, and there was no record of their affairs.' Again, in the fourth paragraph of his tenth Book, addressing an imaginary interlocutor, he says, 'Are you, Sir, un-
left
He
acquainted with the age of Perfect Virtue?'
then gives
names of twelve sovereigns who ruled in it, of the greater number of whom we have no other means of knowing anything, and goes on Tn their times the people used the
:
knotted cords their
in
(simple)
beautiful.
—
They thought
carrying on their business.
food pleasant,
They were happy
and in
their
(plain)
their (simple)
clothing
manners,
and
felt at rest in their (poor) dwellings. (The people of) neighbouring states might be able to descry one another
the voices of their cocks and dogs might be heard from
one to the other and yet all their
they might not die life
till
they were old
;
they would have no communication
In those times perfect good order prevailed.'
together.
One
;
other description of the primeval state
interesting.
It is in
is still
more
IX :—
the second paragraph of Bk.
—
The people had their regular and constant nature they wove and made themselves clothes they tilled the ground and got food. This was their common faculty. They were '
:
;
all
one
classes
in this, ;
and did not form themselves
so were they constituted and
left
into separate
to their natural
Therefore in the age of Perfect Virtue men walked along with slow and grave step, and with their
tendencies.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
28
On
looks steadily directed forwards.
CH. in.
the hills there were
no footpaths nor excavated passages on the lakes there were no boats nor dams. All creatures lived in companies, and their places of settlement were made near to one ;
Birds and beasts multiplied to flocks and herds
another.
the grass and trees grew luxuriant and long.
The
;
birds
and beasts might be led about without feeling the conthe nest of the magpie might be climbed to, and straint peeped into. Yes, in the age of Perfect Virtue, men lived in common with birds and beasts, and were on terms of how equality with all creatures, as forming one family; ;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
know among themselves the distinctions of men and small men ? Equally without knowledge,
could they superior
they did not leave the path of their natural virtue free
from
desires,
they were
in
;
equally
the state of pure simplicity.
In that pure simplicity, their nature
was what
it
ought
to be.'
Such were the
earliest
had been
in
If ever their ancestors
they w^ere
;
it
must have
These had
long passed
or savage condition,
a ruder
been at a much antecedent time. out of such a state
whom Kwang-^ze
Chinese of
could venture to give any account.
tillers
of the ground, and
They lived in happy kindly harmony with the
acquainted with the use of the loom.
one another, and in But there is not the slightest allusion to any sentiment of piety as animating them individually, or to any ceremony of religion as observed by them in common. This surely is a remarkable feature in
relations with
tribes of inferior creatures.
their condition.
upon <S.
the
I
call attention to
it,
but
I
do not dwell
it.
But by the time of Lao and /v'wang the cultivation of
Tao
liad
fallen
which
The decay of the Tao before the Krowtii of kiiowlenge.
and of
s<)ci;il
The
into disuse.
demanded, with
simplicity of
life
freedom from n ij '^'^ cisturbuig speculation and action, was no longer to be found in individuals or in '^ governmcnt. It was the general decay of manners order which unsettled the mind of Lao, made it
its
â&#x20AC;˘
4
i
1
i.-
liiin
resign his position as a curator of the
and
ileterniinc to
Royal Library,
wilhdniw from China and hide himself
INTRODUCTION.
CH. in.
among
the rude peoples beyond
terioration of the
Tao
and of
29
The cause
it.
of the de-
the evils of the nation
all
was attributed to the ever-growing pursuit of knowledge, and of what we call the arts of culture. It had commenced in the time of Hwang-Ti, ^wang says very long before; in one place ^; and in another he carries it still higher to Sui-zan and Fu-hsi^. There had been indeed, all along
—
the line of history, a groping for the rules of
by
cated
life,
The
the constitution of man's nature.
as indiresults
were embodied in the ancient literature which was the lifeHe had gathered up that literalong study of Confucius. ture
he recognised the nature of man as the gift of Heaven The monitions of God as given in the convictions
;
or God.
of man's
Tao
mind supplied him with a
very different from the All this was gall and or brooding recluse,
Tao
or Path of duty
or Mysterious
Way
of Lao.
wormwood to the dreaming librarian and made him say, If we could re'
nounce our sageness and discard our wisdom, better for the people a hundredfold.
If
we
it
would be
could renounce
our benevolence and discard our righteousness, the people
would again become filial and kindly. If we could renounce our artful contrivances and discard ovir (scheming for) gain, there would be no thieves nor robbers^.' We can laugh at this. Taoism was wrong in its opposition to the increase of knowledge. Man exists under a law In pursuing
of progress.
it
there are
demanded
discretion
and justice. Moral ends must rule over material ends, and advance in virtue be ranked higher than advance in science. So have good and evil, truth and error, to fight out the battle on the field of the world, and in all the range of time but there is no standing still for the individual or for society. Even Confucius taught his countrymen to set too high a value on the examples of antiquity. The school of Lao-jze fixing themselves in an unknown region beyond antiquity, a prehistoric time between the Grand Beginning of all things out of nothing, and the unknown commencement of societies of men, has made no advance ;
—
'
'
—
1
Bk, XI, par. '^
5.
Tao Teh Alng,
'
Bk. XVI, par.
ch. 19.
2.
CH.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
-O
III.
but rather retrograded, and is represented by the still more degenerate Taoism of the present day. There is a short parabolic story of /Avang-jze, intended to represent the antagonism between Taoism and knowThe last ledge, which has always struck me as curious.
:— The Ruler (or paragraph of his seventh Book is this god Ti)ofthe Southern Ocean was Shu (that is, Heedless); the Ruler of the Northern Ocean was H u (that is, Hasty); and the Ruler of the Centre was Hwun-tun (that is, Chaos). Shu and Hu were continually meeting in the land '
of
Hwun-tun, who treated them very how they might repay
sulted together
They
well.
con-
his kindness,
and
seven orifices for the purposes of seeing, hearing, eating, and breathing, while this (poor) Ruler alone has not one. Let us try and make them for him." Ac-
"Men
said,
have
all
cordingly they dug one orifice
in
him every day; and
at
the end of seven daj's Chaos died.'
So
it
was that Chaos passed away before Light.
the nameless Simplicity of the
was better that 'Heedless' and Hasty' did a good deed. I have thus set forth eight characteristics of the Taosystem, having respect mostly to what is peculiar and
ledge. to the 9. istic
But
it
Kosmos.
mystical
in
'
I
it.
will
now conclude my
exhibition of
it
by
bringing t> o together under one head the practical lessons of its author for men individually,
... rhc pracUcal
~,
...
!=>
lessons of
^o-iic.
The
So did
Tao disappear before Knowthe Chaos should give place
,^j^j
|-^^.
^j^^
administration
of government.
praise of whatever excellence these possess belongs to
Lfio himself: A'wang-^ze devotes illustration of the abstruse
and
himself mainly to the
difficult points.
I''irst, it docs not surprise us that in his rules for individual man, Lao should place Humility in the foremost place.
A
favourite illustration with
him
eighth chai^tcr he says Huniiliiv.
Tao
of the :
.
,
IS
like that of water.
of water appears
water.
In.
his
— 'The hisfhest exccl-
,
Icnce
,
is
The
„ excellence
and in its occujiying, without striving to the contrary, the low ground which all men dislike. Hence (its way) is near to that of the Tao.' To the same effect in the seventy-eighth in
its
benefiting all things,
CH.
INTRODUCTION.
III.
chapter:
—'There
nothing
is
weak than water, and yet firm and strong there
31
the world more soft and
in
for attacking
things that are
nothing that can take precedence the world knows that the soft overis
of it. Every one in comes the hard, and the weak the strong able to carry
it
but no one
;
is
out in practice.'
Lao associates with Humility them his three Precious Things or They are Gentleness, Economy, and
In his sixty-seventh chapter
two other virtues, and
calls
Jewels.
Lao's three Jewels.
Economy I
Shrinking from taking precedence of others. I can be bold with that can be liberal Shrinking from taking precedence
of others,
can become a vessel of the highest honour.'
'
With
that Gentleness,' he says,
And
'
;
;
I
in his sixty-third chapter,
He
height of morality.
he
says, '(It
rises to a still loftier
the
is
way
of the Tao)
to act without (thinking of) acting, to conduct affairs with-
out (feeling) the trouble of them
;
to taste without discern-
ing any flavour, to consider the small as great,
^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ many, and to recompense injury with kindness.' the grand Christian precept, Render to no man
^"for'evil°°
Here
is
'
evil for evil.
If thine
give
him
evil
with good.'
noise in
drink.
its
the
It
We
know
author's lifetime
comes
Taoistic
prised to find
in
hunger, feed him
Be not overcome with
consulted him about it^.
enemy
it,
;
that the
evil,
;
if
he
thirst,
but overcome
maxim made some
that the disciples of Confucius
and that he was unable
to receive
with less important matters by virtue of
'rule of contraries.'
what
little
reference to
have been surhave met with in do not think that I
it I
the course of my Chinese reading. I iTwang-jze takes notice of it to illustrate it after his fashion. There, however, it is in the Tao Teh King. The fruit of it
has yet to be developed.
Second, Lao laid
down
the state as for the sixty-first chapter,
like
life '
the same rule for the policy of
of the individual.
What makes
a low-lying, down-flowing stream
^
He
a state great ;
—
Confucian Analects, XIV, 36.
it
says
in his
its
being
is
becomes the
V
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
32
centre to which tend
CH.
under heaven.'
(the small states)
all
iii.
He
then uses an illustration which will produce a smile: 'Take the case of all females. The female always over-
comes the male by her
Stillness
stillness.
may
be con-'
Resuming his subject, he adds, 'Thus it is that a great state, by condescending to small states, gains them for itself; and that small states, by abasing themselves to a great state, win it over to them. sidercd (a sort of) abasement.'
In the one case the abasement tends to gaining adherents the other case, to procuring favour.
in
only wishes to unite
men
The
;
great state
together and nourish
them
;
a
small state only wishes to be received by, and to serve,
Each gets what
the other.
must learn
to abase
'All very well in theory,'
the world has not seen
The
fact
from
it,
is
it
desires,
but the great state
itself.'
it
deplorable.
some one
will exclaim, 'but,
yet reduced to practice.'
No
So
it is.
one saw the misery arising
and exposed its unreasonableness more unsparingly, But it was all in vain in his time, as it
than A'wang-^ze.
has been course.
to toil on,
yet
the centuries that have since rolled their
in all
Philosophy, philanthrop}% and religion have '
faint,
come when humility and
peace and good
still
yet pursuing," believing that the time will
will
among
love shall secure the reign of
the nations of men.
While enjoining humility, Lao protested against war. 'Arms, however beau-
In his thirty-first chapter he says,
omen They who have
are instruments of evil
may be said, do not like to employ them.' Perhaps in his sixty-ninth chapter he allows defensive war, but he adds, 'There is no calamity greater than that of lightly engaging in war. To do that is near losing the gentleness which is so precious. Thus it is that
tiful,
to
all
creatures.
when weai)ons
;
hateful,
the
it
Tao
are (actually) crossed, he
who
deplores the
(situation) conquers.'
some other
Tlierc are
Taoism
t<.
reader, but
the
which I
I
must
Tao Teh
salient features
i^oints in
should like to
the practical lessons of call the attention of
the
him for them to the chapters of A'ing, and the Books of A'wang-3ze. Its have been set forth somewhat fully. Notrefer
,;
INTRODUCTION.
CH. IV.
33
withstanding the scorn poured so freely on Confucius by A'wang-^ze and other Taoist writers, he proved in the course of time too strong for
The
people.
country
in
Lao
as the teacher of their
entrance of Buddhism, moreover, into the
our
first
century, was very injurious to Taoism,
is only the shadow of its former self. by the government, but not patronised as it was when emperors and empresses seemed to think more It is by the spread of knowof it than of Confucianism,
which
still
exists,
but
It is tolerated
ledge, which
has always opposed, that
it
its
overthrow and
disappearance will be brought about ere long.
CHAPTER
IV.
Accounts of Lao-3ze and A'wang-3ze given BY SZE-MA seems
It
ii"wang
what
in
is
Only one
to
not a single proper
A'ing.
There
is
give a
name
incidents of his
character.
life.
He
place
A'//ien.
Lao and in I
occurs in the
hardly an historical allusion
chapter, the twentieth,
autobiographical
from
passing
before
Introduction,
about them by Sze-ma
said
said that
Teh
desirable, this
KHlY.l<i.
It
it
to
have
Tao in
it.
has somewhat of an
tells
appears alone
us,
however, of no
in the
world through
Tao, melancholy and misunderstood, yet binding that Tao more closely to his bosom. The Books of A'wang-^ze are of a different nature, abounding in pictures of Taoist life, in anecdotes and But narratives, graphic, argumentative, often satirical. they are not historical. Confucius and many of his disciples, Lao and members of his school, heroes and sages of antiquity, and men of his own day, move across his pages but the incidents in connexion with which they are introduced are probably fictitious, and devised by him His 'names of 'to point his moral or adorn his tale.' individuals and places are often like those of Bunyan in his cultivation of the
;
his
Pilgrim's Progress or his Holy War, emblematic and the doctrines which he employs
of their characters [39]
D
V^
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
^
CH. iv.
stage himself,
them to illustrate. He often comes on the his descriptions, and there is an air of verisimilitude in them but we possibly also a certain amount of fact about It is only testimony. historical as them to appeal cannot he always writes to Sze-ma A7/ien that we can go for this but what he has to tell us of in the spirit of an historian ;
;
;
men
the two
y\nd
first,
is
not much.
as
to
his
When
account of Lao-^ze.
he
the wrote, about the beginning of the first century B.C., Taoist master was already known as Lao-3;ze. Khxen, how-
surname was Li, and his name R, meaning Ear,' which gave place after his death to Tan, meaning Long-eared,' from which we may conclude that he was named from some peculiarity in the form of his He was a native of the state of AVm, which had ears. then extended far beyond its original limits, and his ever, tells us that his '
"
Ho-nan or of Royal Library and when Confucius visited the capital in the year B.C. 517, the two men met. AV/ien says that Confucius's visit to Lo-yang was that he might question Lao on the subject of ceremonies. He might have other objects in mind as well but however Li said to Khung, The men about that was, the two met. whom you talk arc dead, and their bones are mouldered to dust only their words are left. Moreover, when the superior man gets his opportunity, he mounts aloft but when the birth-place was in the present province of
He was a
An-hui.
curator in the
;
;
'
;
;
time
against him, he
is
circumstances ^
I
is
by the force of a good merchant,
carried along
have heard that
though Ik- have rich treasures safely stored, appears as if he were pour and that the superior man, though his virtue be complete, is yet to outward seeming stupid. Put away your proud air and many desires, your insinuating habit and w ild will. They are of no advantage to you this is all I have to tell you.' Confucius is made ;
;
to say to his disciples after the interview
'
Jiilirn trnnslntcs this
moves
as
if
his feel
were
by
'
il
errc
h.
cnlanj^'led.'
ravcnturc'
To one
:
'
I
know how
In i86r I rendered
critic it
it,
'
He
suggests the idea of a
bundle or wisp of brusiiwood rolled about over the ground by the wind.
INTRODUCTION.
CH. IV.
can
birds
fly,
fishes
may be
runner
35
swim, and animals run.
snared,
the
But the
swimmer hooked, and the
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
by the arrow. But there is the dragon how he mounts on the wind through the clouds, and rises to heaven. To-day I have seen Lao-^ze, and can only compare him to the dragon.' In this speech of Confucius we have, I believe, the origin of the name Lao-?;ze, as applied to the master of Taoism. The Old Philosopher,' or The Old GenIts meaning is
flyer shot
cannot
:
tell
'
'
tleman^.'
time of year, '
At
Confucius might well so style Li R. this
interview he
and the other was
Lao-^ze cultivated the
was himself
in
AVden
in his eighty-eighth.
Tao and
its
the
his thirty-fifth
adds,
attributes, the chief
aim of his studies being how to keep himself concealed He continued to reside at (the and remain unknown. capital of) A'au, but after a long time, seeing the decay of the dynasty, he left it and went away to the barriergate, leading out of the kingdom on the north-west. Yin Hsi, the warden of the gate, said to him, " You are about to withdraw yourself out of sight. Let me insist on your (first) composing for me a book." On this, Lao-,^ze wrote a book in two parts, setting forth his views on the Tao and its attributes, in more than 5000 characters. He then went away, and it is not known where he died. He was a superior man, who liked to keep himself unknown.' Kh'itn finally traces Lao's descendants
down
to the
first
Those who attach themselves to the doctrine of Lao-jze condemn that of the Literati, and the Literati on their part condemn Laojze, verifying the saying, " Parties whose principles are century B.C., and concludes by saying,
different cannot take counsel together."
by doing nothing ^
The
characters
'
Li
may mean
'
taught that
the old boy,' and so understood have given rise
to various fabulous legends; that his mother
had carried him
seventy-two years (some say, for eighty-one), and that when the white hair of an old man.
Ko Hung
R
others are as a matter of course trans-
in
bom
her
womb
for
the child had
Julian has translated the fabulous legend of By that time the legends of
of our fourth century about him.
Buddhism about 6'akyamuni had become current in China, and were copied and applied to Lao-jze by his followers. Looking at the meaning of the two names, I am surprised no one has characterized Lao-jze as the Chinese Seneca.
D
2
â&#x20AC;˘
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
36
formed, and that rectification
being pure and
the
same way ensues from
still.'
This morsel
is
about Lao-5ze.
Teh Kinga.t
in
CH. IV
all that we have of historical narrative The account of the writing of the Tao
the request of the warden of the barrier-gate
Otherwise, the has a doubtful and legendary appearance. record is free from anything to raise suspicion about it. It says nothing about previous existences of Lao, and nothing of his travelling to the west, and learning there He goes the doctrines which are embodied in his work.
through the pass out of the domain of Kau, and died no
one knowing where. It
is
difficult,
however, to reconcile this
last
statement
with a narrative in the end of A'wang-^ze's third Book.
There we see Lao-^ze dead, and a crowd of mourners wailing round the corpse, and giving extraordinary
demon-
which offend a disciple of a higher order, who has gone to the house to offer his condolences on the occasion. But for the peculiar nature of most of A"wang's strations of grief,
narratives,
we should
say, in opposition to K/ilen, that the
place and time of Lao's death were well known.
however, i^wang-jze to give
may have
him the opportunity of
to his ideal of
it,
the
life
Possibly,
invented the whole story,
setting forth what, according
of a Tdoist master should be, and
how even Lao-^ze
himself fell short of it. Second, AV/ien's account of A'wang-.^ze
He was
a native, he
tells us,
is still
more
brief.
of the territory of Mang, which
belonged to the kingdom of Liang or Wei, and held an office, he does not say what, in the city of K/n-yiian.
A'wang was thus of the same part of China as Lao-jze, and probably grew up familiar with all his speculations and lessons. He lived during the reigns of the kings Hui of Liang, Hsiian of K/d, and Wei of AT/m. We cannot be wrong therefore in assigning his period to the latter half of the third, and earlier part of the fourth century B.C. He ^was thus a contemporary of Mencius. They visited at the same courts, and yet neither ever mentions the other. They were the two ablest debaters of their day, and fond of exposing what they deemed heresy. But it would only be
INTRODUCTION.
CH. IV.
37
a matter of useless speculation to try to account for their never having come into argumentative collision.
K/ntn says with
all
A'wang had made himself well acquainted
'
:
the literature of his time, but preferred the views
and ranked himself among his followers, so that more than ten myriads of characters contained in his
of Lao-^ze,
of the
published writings the greater part are occupied with metaphorical illustrations of Lao's doctrines.
He made
"
The
Old Fisherman," " The Robber K'lh.'' and " The Cutting open Satchels," to satirize and expose the disciples of Confucius, and clearly exhibit the sentiments of Lao. Such names and characters as " Wei-lei Hsii " and " Khang-sang 3ze " are fictitious, and the pieces where they occur are not to be understood as narratives of real events
^.
But A'wang was an admirable writer and skilful composer, and by his instances and truthful descriptions hit and exposed the Mohists and Literati. The ablest scholars of his day could not escape his satire nor reply to it, while he allowed and enjoyed himself with his sparkling, dashing style and thus it was that the greatest men, even kings and princes, could not use him for their purposes. King Wei of Khn, having heard of the ability of A'wang Kkn, sent messengers with large gifts to bring him to his court, and promising also that he would make him his chief minister. A'wang-jze, however, only laughed and said to '
;
'
them,
"
A
thousand ounces of
silver are
a great gain to me,
and to be a high noble and minister is a most honourable position. But have you not seen the victim-ox for the border sacrifice ? It is carefully fed for several years, and robed with rich embroidery that
it
may
be
fit
to enter the
Grand Temple. When the time comes for it to do so, it would prefer to be a little pig, but it cannot get to be so. Go away quickly, and do not soil me with your presence. 1
Khang-sang 3ze
is
evidently the
Kang-sang Khix of A'wang's Book XXIII.
supposed by Sze-ma A^ng of the Thang dynasty, who called himself the Lesser Sze-ma, to be the name of a Book one, in that case, of the lost books of Awang. But as we find the Hill of Wei-lei mentioned in Bk. XXIII as the scene of Kang-sang AVnVs Taoistic labours and success, I suppose that AV/ien's reference is to that. The names are quoted by him from Wei-lei Hsii
is
;
'
memory, or might be
insisted
on as instances of
'
different readings.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
38
CH. V.
had rather amuse and enjoy myself in the midst of a than be subject to the rules and restrictions in the court of a sovereign. I have determined never to take office, but prefer the enjoyment of my own free will." TT/zien concludes his accountof A^wang-jze with the above story, condensed by him, probably, from two of Kwangs own narratives, in par. 11 of Bk. XVII, and 13 of XXXII, to the injury of them both. Paragraph 14 of XXXII brings before us one of the last scenes of Kwa.ng-^zes life, and we may doubt whether it should be received as from his own pencil. It is interesting in itself, however, and I introduce it here When A'wang-jjze was about to die, his disciples " I shall signified their wish to give him a grand burial. have heaven and earth," he said, " for my coffin and its shell the sun and moon for my two round symbols of jade the stars and constellations for my pearls and jewels I
filthy ditch
'
:
;
;
;
not the provisions for
will
What would you add
"We
to
my
them
?
interment be complete
The
"
disciples
?
replied,
are afraid
that the crows and kites will eat our TsTwang-^ze rejoined, "Above, the crows and kites will eat me below, the mole-crickets and ants will eat me
master."
;
;
to take from those and give to these
your
would only show
partiality."
Such were among the last words of A"wang-5ze. His end was not so impressive as that of Confucius; but it was in keeping with the general magniloquence and
strong
assertion of independence that
marked
CHAPTER On THE Tractate
all his
course.
V.
of Actions and their
Retributions. I.
The
contrast
Teh A-ing and
is great between the style of the Tao the Books of ATwang-jze and that of the
^^^^ ^'^^^S Phien, a translation of which is "°'^.^"^"^^"ed as a specimen of the Texts of thexTilTinl "^ Taoism. The works of Lao I'hien. and ATwang stand alone in the literature of the system. What Peculiar style
INTRODUCTION.
CH.v.
it
39
was before Lao cannot be ascertained, and in liis chapit comes before us not as a religion, but as a subject
ters
of philosophical speculation, together with applications of
it
insisted
on by Lao
some
himself.
practical
The
bril-
more than his ingenious defence of his master's speculations, and an aggregate of illustrative narratives sparkling with the charms of his composition, but in themselves for the most part unbeThis treatise, on lievable, often grotesque and absurd. the other hand, is more of what we understand by a sermon liant
pages of jfirwang-jze contain
little
and and actions which are good, and a still greater variety of others which are bad, exhorting to the cultivation and performance of the former, or popular tract.
It
eschews
all
difficult discussion,
sets forth a variety of traits of character
and warning against the latter. It describes at the outset the machinery to secure the record of men's doings, and the infliction of the certain retribution, and concludes with insisting on the wisdom of repentance and reformation. At the same time it does not carry its idea of retribution beyond death, but declares that if the reward or punishment is not completed in the present life, the remainder will be received by the posterity of the good-doer and of the offender.
A
place
Taoism
in
popularity served
given to the treatise among the Texts of The Sacred Books of the East,' because of its The various editions of it,' as obin China. is
'
'
by Mr. Wylie,
'are innumerable;
it
has appeared
from time to time in almost every conceivable size, shape, and style of execution. Many commentaries have been written upon it, and it is frequently published with a collection of several hundred anecdotes, along with pictorial illustrations, to illustrate every paragraph seriatim. It is deemed a great act of merit to aid by voluntary contribution to-
wards the gratuitous distribution of
work^'
this
not known, but, as Mr. Wylie also observes, it appears to have been written during The earliest mention of the Sung dynasty. 2.
The author
of the treatise
is
The
origin of the treatise.
jt ^
which
I
have met with
Notes on Chinese Literature,
p.
is
1
79.
in the continua-
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
40
tion of Ma-t\van Lin's encyclopedic first
work by
CH. v.
Wang
KhX,
published in 1586, the fourteenth year of the fourteenth
emperor of the Ming dynasty.
In
Wang's supplement
to
his predecessor's account of Taoist works, the sixth notice
commentary on the Thai Shang Kan Ying a Li AV^ang-Iing,' and immediately before it is a commentary on the short but well-known Yin Fii /i'ing by a Lu Tien, who lived 1042-1102. Immediately after is
of 'a
Phien by
other works of the eleventh century are mentioned.
it
same century
that
origin of the
As
Kan
we may reasonably Ying Phien. therefore
To
refer the
meaning of the title, the only difficulty is with the two commencing characters Thai Shang. Julien left The meaning of them Untranslated, with the note, however, the title. that they were I'abreviation de Thai Shang Lao ^iin, expression honorifique par laquelle les Tao-sze to the
'
designent L^o-^ze,
le
the interpretation
commonly given
fondateur de leur secte
This
is
of the phrase, and
it
^.'
hardly worth while to indicate any doubt of its correctness but if the characters were taken, as I believe they
is
;
were, from the beginning of the seventeenth chapter of the
Tao Teh
iTing,
should prefer to understand them of
I
the highest and oldest form of the Taoistic teaching-. 3.
tian
I quoted on page 13 the view of Hardwick, the ChrisAdvocate of Cambridge, that the indefinite expression '
* See Le Livre des Recompense (London, 1S35). '
et
des Peines en Chinois et en Fran9ois
The designation of Lao-jze as Thai Shang Lao A'iin originated probably in the Thang dynasty. It is on record that in 666 Kao 3ung, the third em'peror, went to Lao-jze's temple at Po Aau (the place of Lao's birth, and still ^
called by the ferred
same name, in the department of Fang-yang in An-hui\ and conon him the title of Thai Shang Yiian Yiian Hwang Ti, 'The Great
God, the Mysterious Originator, the Most High.' ' Then,' says Mayers, Manual, p. 113, for the first time he was ranked among the gods as " Great Supreme, the Emperor (or Imperial God) of the Dark First Cause." ' The whole entry is '
Later on, in 1014, we find Aan Bung, the fourth Sung emperor, also visiting Po Aau, and in Lao's temple, which has by this time become the Palace of Grand Purity,' enlarging his title to Thai Shang Lao A'un Yiian '
bhang Teh Hwang Grand Virtue
Hwun
Tt,
'
The Most High,
at the Chaotic Origin.'
the Ruler Lao, the Great
But such
titles
God
of
are not easily translated.
INTRODUCTION.
CH. V.
Tao was Was Taoism
4
adopted to denominate an abstract Cause, or the initial principle of life and order, to which worshippers were able to assign
the old a religion?
the attributes
of immateriality, eternity, immensity, inHis selection of the term worshippers in this passage was unfortunate. Neither Lao nor A'wang says anything about the worship of the Tao, about priests or visibility.'
monks, about temples or rituals. How could they do so, Tio was not to them the name of a personal Being, nor Heaven a metaphorical term equivalent to the
seeing that
'
'
Confucian Ti,
With a
Shang
'Ruler,' or
this agnosticism as to
certain
management and
might be prolonged
'Supreme
Ti,
God, and their
Ruler.'
belief that
discipline of the breath
indefinitely, I
by life
do not see how any-
thing of an organised religion was possible for the old Taoists.
Khm dynhad been prolonged, and the dynasty become consolidated, there might have arisen such a religion in connexion with Taoism, for we have a record that he, as head of the Empire, had eight spirits^ to which he offered sacrifices. AV/in, however, soon passed away what remained in permanency from it was only the abolition of the feudal kingdom. The Taoist
proclivities of the founder of the
asty are well known.
If his life
;
4. We cannot here attempt to relate in detail the rise and growth of the A'ang family in which the headship of
Taoism has been hereditary tury, with the exception of
The
family of
^'^.ng.
One
of the
since our first Christian cenone not very long interruption.
earliest
members of
it,
isTang
Liang, must have been born not long after
the death of A'wang-^ze, for he joined the party of Liu
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
The eight spirits were 2. The Lord of Earth i. The Lord of Heaven The Lord of War 4. The Lord of the Yang operation 5. The Lord of the 6. The Lord of the Moon; 7. The Lord of the Sun; and
^
3.
:
;
;
the
His authority
the sixth of Sze-ma AVnen's monographs.
is
;
;
Yin operation; 8. The Lord of
Four Seasons.
See Mayers's C. R. Manual, pp. 327, 328. AVnen seems to say
that the worship of these spirits could be traced to
Wan and Wu at to whom in the list
Thai Rung,
A au
one of the
dynasty
the
principal ministers of kings
the rise of the
twelfth century B. c,
of Taoist writings in the Imperial
and
Library of Han, no fewer than 237
phien
are ascribed.
in
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
42
Pang, the founder of the dynasty of Han,
by
his
wisdom and
CH. v.
in B. C. 208,
and
brav^ery contributed greatly to his suc-
Khin, and other contenders for Abandoning then a poHtical
cess over the adherents of
the sovereignty of the empire.
he spent the latter years of his
career,
for the elixir of
Among ^ang
a vain quest
life in
life.
Liang's descendants in our
century was a
first
Tao-ling, who, eschewing a career in the service of
the state, devoted himself to the pursuits of alchemy, and
succeeded in compounding the grand elixir or pill, and at the age of 123 was released from the trammels of the mortal body, and entered on the enjoyment of immorat last
tality,
leaving to his descendants his books, talismans and
charms, his sword, mighty against
Tao-ling stands out,
in
arch of the system, with the or Preceptor of Heaven.'
title
his seal.
first patri-
Thien Shih, 'Master 3ung of the Thang dyn-
of
Hslian
asty in 748, confirmed the dignity and
and
and
spirits,
Taoist accounts, as the
title in
the family
1016 the Sung emperor A'an 3ung invested its representative with large tracts of land near the Lung-hu mounin
The
tain in A'iang-hsi.
the
same man
dence not
is
many
still
present patriarch
alive
— made
—for
years ago, and was interviewed
foreigners in Shanghai.
The
I
suppose
a journey from his resi-
succession
is
by
several
said to be per-
petuated by the transmigration of the soul of A^ang Tao-
some whose heirship ling into
miracle
is
infant or youthful is
member
of the family
supernaturally revealed as soon as the
effected^.
This superstitious notion shows the influence of Buddhism on Taoism. It has been seen from the eighteenth of the Books of A'wang-5ze what affinities there were between '^^^'sm and the Indian system and there can be no doubt that the introduction of the latter
Innucnce of
;
Buddhism on 'laoism.
•
*.
r^i
•
^^
^
,
,
.
,
into Uliina did more than anything else to development of the Taoistic system. As early as the time of Confucius there were recluses in the country, men who had withdrawn from the world, disgusted with its affect the
*
See Mayers's C. R. Manual, Part
I,
article 35.
CH. V.
IfvITRODUCTION.
vanities and in despair from its disorders. Lao would appear to have himself contemplated this course. When their representatives of our early centuries
dhists
saw the Budwith their images, monasteries, and
among them
nunneries, their ritual
and
they proceeded to
discipline,
They
built
monasteries and nunneries, framed images, composed
litur-
organise themselves after a similar fashion.
and adopted a peculiar mode of tying up their hair. Three Precious Ones of Buddhism, emblematic to the initiated of Intelligence personified in Buddha, the Law, and the Community or Church, but to the mass of the worshippers merely three great idols, styled by them Buddha Past, Present, and To Come these appeared in Taoism as the Three Pure Ones,' also represented by three great images, each of which receives the title of His Celestial Eminence,' and is styled the Most High gies,
The
'
'
:
'
'
'
God (Shang
Ti).'
The
first
of
them
is
a deification of
Chaos, the second, of Lao-^ze, and the third of
whom
or what
;
I
know not
perhaps of the Tao.
But those Three Pure Ones have been very much cast and veneration, by Yii Hwang Ti or Yu Hwang Shang Ti. This personage appears to have been a member of the A'ang clan, held to be a magician and venerated from the time of the Thang dynasty, but deified in 1116 by the Sung emperor Hui 3ung at the instigation of a charlatan Lin Ling-sii, a renegade Buddhist monk. He is the god in the court of heaven to whom the spirits of the body and into the shade, as the objects of popular worship
of the hearth in our treatise proceed at stated times to report for approval or condemnation the conduct of men.
Since the the tenets of
first
by the teachers ture of their of retribution
present
life
;
in
recent times are
still
Phien,
further adopted
of Taoism, and shaped to suit
own system. but
Kan Ying
publication of the
Buddhism have been
the na-
have observed that the idea our treatise does not go beyond the the
I
manifestoes
of
much occupied with
courts of purgatory and thr^atenings
misery of hell to those
whom
Taoism of more descriptions of the
of the
everlasting
their sufferings in those courts
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
44
CH.V.
Those manifestoes are Ti that men and women may be led to repent of their faults and make atonement for their crimes. They emanate from the
fail
to
their wickedness.
wean from
published by the mercy of
Yu Hwang Shang
temples of the tutelary deities^ which are found throughout the empire, and especially in the walled cities, and are
under the charge of Taoist monks. larger of these temples
the purgatorial
may
A visitor to
one of the
not only see the pictures of
and other forms of the modern
courts
but he will find also astrologers, diviners, geomancers, physiognomists, et id genus omne, plying their trades or waiting to be asked to do so, and he will superstitions^
wonder how
it
has been possible to
affiliate
such things
with the teachings of Lao-ue.
Other manifestoes of a milder form, and more like our being issued as from one or
tractate, are also continually
other of what are called the state gods, all in
tion
the charge of the
whose temples are In the approxima-
same monks.
which has thus been going on of Taoism to Buddhism,
the requirement of celibacy fessors of the former
Code
^
;
was long
resisted
by the
pro-
but recent editions of the Penal
contain sundry regulations framed to enforce celi-
bacy, to bind the
monks and nuns of both systems to the maxims concerning filial piety,
observance of the Confucian
and the
sacrificial
worship of the dead
;
and also to
the multiplication of monasteries and nunneries.
restrict
Neither
Lao nor A'wang was a celibate or recommended celibacy. The present patriarch, as a married man, would seem to be able
'
still
Called
to resist the law.
A'Aang
Hwang
Miao, 'Wall and Moat Temples,'
Palladia of
the city.
See Dr. Eitel's third edition of his Three Lectures on Buddhism,' pp. 36-45 (Hongkong: Lane, Crawford & Co., 1SS4). The edition of the Penal to which he refers is of 1879. ^
Code
'
THE TAO TEH KING, OR
THE TAO
AND
ITS CHARACTERISTICS.
THE TAO TEH PART Ch.
1.
The Tao
I.
A^ING.
I.
that can be trodden
not the
is
enduring and unchanging Tao. The name that can be named is not the endurine and unchanmno- name. 2.
(Conceived of
having no name,
as)
Originator of heaven and earth
having a name, 3.
Mother of all things. we must be found, deep mystery we would sound it is
the
Always without If its
the
is
it
(conceived of as)
;
desire
;
But Its 4.
if
desire always within us be,
outer fringe
is
Under these two
all
we
that
aspects,
shall see.
really the
it is
same
;
but as development takes place, it receives the different names. Together we call them the Mystery.
Where that
is
the Mystery
the deepest
is
fl M' 'Embodying nature of the
understand the
The author
the Tao.'
Tao Tao
all
Par. 3 suggests the
in
and
itself,
sets forth,
would allow him, the
its
its
nature.
words of the apostle John,
God
;
for
God
is
Lao-3ze's ideal in the absolute, and
comprehended
in this chapter,
To
manifestation.
one must be partaker of
loveth not knoweth not tion, are
the gate of
subtle and wonderful.
as well as the difficulty of his subject
Tao,
is
love.'
its
'
He
that
Both the
Teh, or opera-
the latter being the
T^o with
the name, the Mother of all things. See pages 1 2, 13 in the Introduction on the translation of the term Tao. 2.
I.
/
All in the world
beautiful,
and
in
doing
know
this
the beauty of the
they have (the idea of)
^
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
48
PT.
I.
what ugliness is they all know the skill of the skilful, and in doing this they have (the idea of) what the want of skill is. 2. So it is that existence and non-existence give birth the one to (the idea of) the other that difficulty and ease produce the one (the idea of) the other that length and shortness fashion out the one ;
;
;
the figure of the other; that (the ideas of) height and lowness arise from the contrast of the one with the other
;
that the musical notes
and tones become
harmonious through the relation of one with another; and that being before and behind give the idea of one following another. 3. Therefore the sage manages affairs without doing anything, and conveys his instructions without the use of speech. 4.
things spring up, and
All
which declines to show is
itself;
there
not one
is
they grow, and there
they go no claim made for their ownership is no expecta;
through their processes, and there tion (of a
reward for the
accomplished, and there
is
results).
The work
no resting
in
it
(as
is
an
achievement).
The work
done, but
is
'Tis this that
^ ^,
'
The Nourishment
Ho-shang Kung's
The
how no one can
see
makes the power not cease
titles
are
of the Person.'
But many of
more appropriate than
chapter starts with
instances
of the
to be.
this.
antinomies,
which suggest to the mind each of them the existence of its corresponding opposite and the author finds in them an analogy to the contraries which characterize the operation ;
'
'
Tao, as stated
He then proceeds to describe the action of the sage in par. 3 as in accordance with this law of contraries and, in par. 4, that of heaven of the
in
chapter 40.
;
THE TAO TEH
CH. IV.
and
earth, or
what we may
A'ING.
49
call nature, in
the processes of
the vegetable world. Par. 2 should be rhymed, but â&#x20AC;˘
my
satisfaction in the
who can
could not succeed to
read Chinese will see that the
The
rhyme. being
I
endeavour to rhyme
last
pronounced
two rhyme so;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; see
also,
first
it.
members
the concluding
Khang-hsi
the
Every one
four
[^
dictionary
in voc.
and employ men of superior keep the people from rivalry among themselves not to prize articles which are difficult to procure is the way to keep them from becoming thieves not to show them wdiat is likely to excite their desires is the way to keep their minds from disorder. 3.
Not
I.
ability
the
is
to value
way
to ;
;
sage, in the exercise of his 2. Therefore the government, empties their minds, fills their bellies,
and strengthens their bones. keep them without knowledge and without desire, and where there are those who have knowledge, to keep them from presuming to act (on it). When there is this abstinence from action, good order is universal.
weakens 3.
their wills,
He
^ ^,
constantly (tries to)
'
Keeping the People
the chapter
Tao
is
is
to
show
at Rest.'
The
unfavourable to the spread of knowledge
people, and would keep
object of
that government according to the
them rather
in
among the
the state of primi-
and ignorance, thereby securing their restand universal good order. Such is the uniform teaching of Lao-^ze and his great follower iTwang-^ze, and
tive simplicity
fulness
of
all
Taoist writers.
4.
I.
The Tao
is (like)
the emptiness of a vessel
and in our employment of guard against all fulness. [39]
E
it
;
we must be on our
How
deep and unfa-
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
^O
thomable of
We
2.
as
it is,
things
all
PT.
I.
were the Honoured Ancestor
if it
!
should blunt our sharp points, and unravel
the complications of things; we should attemper our brightness, and bring ourselves into agreement
How pure and with the obscurity of others. the Tao is, as if it would ever so continue ^J
3. I do not know whose son appear to have been before God.
iff
The
'
")n5
Fountainless.'
it
There
It
is.
still
might
nothing before
is
might seem to have been before God. And yet there is no demonstration by it of its presence and It is like the emptiness of a vessel. The second operation. the
Tao;
character
it
=
;^ftl
practical lesson
to be like
5.
= ^; â&#x20AC;&#x201D; see is,
The
must try
earth do not act from (the im-
pulse of) any wish to be benevolent all
latter.
Tao we
it.
Heaven and
I.
Khang-hsi on the
that in following the
00
;
they deal with
things as the clogs of grass are dealt with. fc>
The
sages do not act from (any wish to be) benevolent
;
they deal with the people as the dogs of grass are dealt with. 2.
May
not the space between heaven and earth
be compared to a bellows 'Tis emptied, yet 'Tis
?
its power and sends forth air the more.
again,
loses not
Much
speech to swift exhaustion lead
Your
inner being guard,
^ is
moved
it
j^,
'
The Use
the operation of the
of Emptiness.'
Tao, and
sage in accordance with
The
and keep
it
we
see
free.
Quiet and unceasing
effective is the rule of the
it.
i were made of straw tied up in the shape of dogs, and used in praying for rain and after-
grass-dogs in par.
;
THE TAO TEH
CH. VI.
wards,
when
with
Heaven and
for.
earth and the sages dealt so
things and with the people
all
does not seem a happy one.
this chapter.
The Chinese
bellows
the principle
is
different to look at
is
same
the
way
par. concludes in a later
Book there is fully developed the The illustration in par. 2 is better.
In that
a, b.
meaning of
but the illustration
;
Both ATwang-^ze and HwaiSee especially the former,
nan mention the grass- dogs.
XIV, 25
5
the sacrifice was over, were thrown aside and
uncared
left
A'ING.
in
from
but
ours,
the construction of both.
The
some countenance
to the
that lends
Taoism's dealing with the breath.
The
6.
The
valley spirit dies not, aye the
female mystery thus do
same
we name.
from which at first they issued forth, the root from which grew heaven and
Its gate,
Is called
earth.
Long and unbroken does its power remain, Used gently, and without the touch of pain.
J^ ^, 'The title
rightly
chapter
Completion of Material Forms.'
expresses
but there
;
velopment of the
'
'
import
of this
a foundation laid in
is
life
it
This
enigmatical for the de-
Taoism, which occupies
later
the prolongation of
(^)
the
itself
with
by the management of the breath
or vital force.
The
valley
emptiness
'
is
metaphorically as a symbol of
used
or 'vacancy
'
;'
and
'
the spirit of the valley'
is
the something invisible, yet almost personal, belonging to
the Tao, which constitutes the
our ICing.
name
'
The
spirit
Teh
(|^) in the name of has come to be a
of the valley
for the activity of the
Tao
'
in all
the realm of
its
'The female mystery' is the Tdo with a name of chapter i, which is the Mother of all things.' All livingbeings have a father and mother. The processes of generation and production can hardly be imaged by us but by a recognition of this fact and so Lao-jze thought of the existing realm of nature of life as coming through an operation.
'
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
E
2
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
r2
PT.
I.
primal air or breath, evolution (not a creation) from the appearing in the forms of dividing into two, and thence The chapter is found in things, material and immaterial. Lieh-^ze
b) quoted
(I, i
by him from a book of Hwang-Ti
and here Lao-^ze has appropriated See the Introduction, 7.
I.
long.
it,
and made
it
his
own.
p. 2.
Heaven is long-enduring and The reason why heaven and
earth continues earth are able
and continue thus long is because they do This is how they are of, or for, themselves.
to endure
not live
able to continue and endure. 2. Therefore the sage puts his
own person
last,
found in the foremost place he treats his person as if it were foreign to him, and yet that Is it not because he has no person is preserved. personal and private ends, that therefore such ends
and yet
is
it
are realised
bS
/
^
'
;
?
The chapter teaches by not thinking of it, or
Sheathing the Light.'
that one's best good
is
realised
Heaven and earth afford a pattern to the it. and the sage affords a pattern to all men.
seeking for sage, 8.
The The
I.
water.
highest excellence
fiting all things,
and
(to the contrary),
Hence 2.
(its
The
way)
;
in its
is
its
of)
bene-
occupying, without striving
the low place which
men
all
dislike.
near to (that of) the Tao.
excellence of a residence
bility of) the place
stillness
(that
like
is
excellence of water appears in
;
that of the
that of associations
is
is
mind
in (the suitais
in their
in
abysmal
being with
that of government is in its securing good order that of (the conduct of) affairs is in its ability; and that of (the initiation of) any movement
the virtuous
;
;
is
in its timeliness.
^
CH. X.
THE TAO TEH TING.
.
3. And when (one with the highest excellence) does not wrangle (about his low position), no one
finds fault with him.
^ ft' 'The
Placid and Contented Nature.'
an illustration of the way of the Tao, ployed by Lao-jze.
is
Water, as
repeatedly em-
The various forms of what is excellent in par. 2 arc brought forward to set forth the more, by contrast, the excellence of the humility indicated in the acceptance of the lower place without striving to the contrary. 9.
I.
It
better to leave a vessel unfilled, than
is
to attempt to carry
it
when
it
is
If
full.
you keep
feeling a point that has been sharpened, the point
cannot long preserve 2.
When gold
sharpness.
its
and jade
cannot keep them
fill
the hall, their possessor
When
safe.
lead to arrogancy, this brings
the
work
is
done, and one's
its
wealth and honours
on itself When becoming dis-
evil
name
is
tinguished, to withdraw into obscurity
is
way of
the
Heaven.
jH
^
;
this title.
I
teaching of the chapter
complacency
The
first
cannot give a satisfactory rendering of
but
The in
clauses of the
M ^, IS
ffii
are instances of the
10.
'
two sentences
Z=^
ÂŤi
oldest composition.
Tao'
is,
success are contrary to the
inverted '
tfii '
The way
^
;S,
style not
of
that fulness and
Tao.
in par. 1,
ÂŤt
ffn
^^ f^ IS ^,
uncommon
in
the
Heaven '= the Heavenly '
exemplified by man. I.
When
the
intelligent
and animal souls
are held together in one embrace, they can be kept-
from separating.
When
one gives undivided atand brings it to the utmost degree of pliancy, he can become as a (tender) tention to the
(vital)
breath,
^
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
54
I.
he has cleansed away the most myshe can become
When
babe.
PT.
.
terious sights (of his imagination),
without a flaw. In loving the people and ruling the state, cannot he proceed without any (purpose of) action ? In the opening and shutting of his gates of heaven, 2.
cannot he do so as a female bird ? While his intelligence reaches in every direction, cannot he (appear
be without knowledge ? (all things) and nourishes 3. (The Tao) produces them it produces them and does not claim them as it it does all, and yet does not boast of it its own
to)
'*'
;
y
;
;
presides over
This
is
what
and yet does not control them.
all, is
called
'
The
mysterious Quality' (of
the Tao).
Hb '^'
'
difficult to
Ku
Even
Possibilities.'
The
satisfactorily.
ported
y
;
This chapter
is
one of the most
understand and translate in the whole work. Hsi was not able to explain the first member
but
am
I
text of that
persuaded the
member seems first
clause of
well supit is
some-
how corrupt. The whole seems to tell what can be accomplished by one who is possessed of the Tao. In par. 3 he appears free
from
self-consciousness in
all
what he
self-satisfaction in the results of his doing.
does,
The
and of
all
other two
I)aragraphs seem to speak of what he can do under the <,nndance of the
by
his
Tao
management
for himself
and
for others.
of his vital breath bring his
He
can
body
to
the state of Taoistic perfection, and keep his intelligent
and animal souls from being separated, and he can rule men without purpose and effort. The gates of heaven '
in par. 2 is
a Taoistic phrase for the nostrils as the organ
of the breath
11. it
is
The
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; see the commentary of Ho-shang Kung.
thirty spokes unite in the
on the empty space
(for
one nave; but
the axle), that the
THE TAO TEH ZTNG.
CH. XII.
55
use of the wheel depends.
Clay is fashioned into on their empty hollowness, that their use depends. The door and windows are cut out (from the walls) to form an apartment but it is on the empty space (within), that its use depends. Therefore, what has a (positive) existence serves for profitable adaptation, and what has not that for vessels
^_
but
;
is
it
;
(actual) usefulness.
^ M, 'The Use The
of what has no Substantive Existence.'
three illustrations serve to set forth the freedom of the
Tao
from
12.
pre-occupation and purpose, and the use of
all
what seems
useless.
Colour's five hues from
I.
eyes their sight
th'
take
will
Music's five notes the ears as deaf can
make
The flavours five deprive the mouth of taste The chariot course, and the wild hunting waste Make mad the mind and objects rare and strange, ;
;
Sought
men's conduct
for,
change.
will to evil
Therefore the sage seeks to satisfy (the craving
2.
of) the belly,
He
eyes.
and not the
(insatiable longing of the)
puts from him the latter, and prefers to
seek the former. 't^ in
^,
'
The Repression
accordance with the
the attractions of what senses
of the Desires.'
Tao is
and imagination, and
five colours are
and Yellow
;
the
Chinese musical
men from
external and pleasant to the to
maintain the primitive
Compare
simplicity of men's w^ays and manners.
The
Government
seeks to withdraw
chap.
2.
Black, Red, Green or Blue, White,
five
scale,
notes
are
those
our G, A, B, D,
E
of the imperfect ;
the five tastes
are Salt, Bitter, Sour, Acrid, and Sweet. I
am
not sure that
Wang
Pi has caught exactly the
author's idea in the contrast between satisfying the belly
TEXTS OF TAOISM.
TliE
56
PT.
I.
and satisfying the eyes but what he says is ingenious In satisfying the belly one nourishes himself; in gratifying the eyes he makes a slave of himself.' :
;
'
Favour and disgrace would seem equally honour and great calamity, to be regarded as personal conditions (of the same kind). 2. What is meant by speaking thus of favour and 13.
to
I.
be feared
;
Disgrace Is being In a low position enjoyment of favour). The getting that (favour) leads to the apprehension (of losing it), and disgrace
}
(after the
the losing
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
It
leads to the fear of
(still
greater cala-
what is meant by saying that favour and disgrace would seem equally to be feared. And what is meant by saying that honour and mity)
:
this is
great calamity are to be (similarly) regarded as per-
What makes me liable 1 my having the body (which I call
sonal conditions
to great
calamity
myself)
If
I
is
;
had not the body, what great calamity could
come
me
to
?
Therefore he who would administer the kinedom, honouring it as he honours his own person, may be employed to govern it, and he who would 3.
administer
it
with the love which he bears to his
own person may be ;^iil>,
'
entrusted with
Loathing Shame.'
The chapter
construe,
and some
explain
as in the case of ch. 10.
not to
it
It.
disciples of Ki\
is
difficult to
Hsi had to ask him to His remarks on it are
my mind
satisfactory. Its object seems to be to show that the cultivation of the person according to the Tao, is the best qualification for the highest offices, even for the government of the world. Par. 3 is found in A'wang-jze (XI, i8b) in a connexion which suggests this
view of the chapter.
him the
It
may
be observed, however, that
position of the verbal characters in the
in
two clauses
CH. XIV.
THE TAO TEH ZING.
of the paragraph
is
57
the reverse of that in the text of
Ho-
shang Kung, so that we can hardly accept the distinction of meaning of the two characters given in his commentary, Professor Gabelcntz but must take them as synonyms. gives the following version of A'wang-jze 'Darum, gebraucht er seine Person achtsam in der Verwaltung des Reiches, so mag man ihm die Reichsgewalt anvertrauen :
;
.
.
.
liebend (schonend)
14.
We
I.
we name
it
'
do not hear
name
it
'
look at
iibertragen.'
.
and we do not see
it,
the Equable.' it,
try to grasp
.
.
We
listen to
it,
it, and and we
and we name it the Inaudible.' We and do not get hold of it, and we '
it,
With these three
the Subtle.'
made
qualities,
it
and hence we blend them together and obtain The One. 2. Its upper part is not bright, and its lower part cannot be
is
not obscure.
the subject of description
Ceaseless in
its
action,
;
yet cannot
it
be named, and then it again returns and becomes This is called the Form of the Formless, nothing. and the Semblance of the Invisible this is called the Fleeting and Indeterminable. we follow 3. We meet it and do not see its Front ;
;
it,
and do not see
of the
Tao
Back.
its
When we
can lay hold
of old to direct the things of the present know it as it was of old in
day, and are able to
the beginning, this of
called (unwinding)
is
the clue
Tao.
^ ^, 'The of par.
I
is
Manifestation of the Mystery.'
the Tao, but the
the primal conception of
it,
Tao
The
subject
and not from things,
in its operation,
as entirely distinct
The the second paragraph. have translated 'the Equable, 'the Inaudible,' and 'the Subtle,' are now pronounced t, Hi, and Wei, and in 1823 Remusat fancied that they were which
rises
before the
mind
Chinese characters which
I
in
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
^8
PT.
r.
Hebrew tetragrammaton Tl^Tl'^ which he thought had come to Lao-jze somehow from the West, It was a mere fancy or or been found by him there. dream and still more so is the recent attempt to revive the notion by Victor von Strauss in 1870, and Dr. Edkins intended to give the
;
in
The
1884.
of the latter
idea
maintaining, as he does, that
is
strange,
specially
we should read the
cha-
Lao-jze has not
racters according to their old sounds.
in the chapter a personal Being before his mind, but the procedure of his mysterious Tao^ the course according to which the visible phenomena take place, incognisable by
human sense and capable of only approximate description by terms appropriate to what is within the domain of sense. See the Introduction, pp. 15.
I.
The
14, 15.
masters (of the Tao) in old and exquisite penetration, commysteries, and were deep (also) so as skilful
times, with a subtle
prehended
its
to elude men's
As they were thus beyond make an effort to describe
knowledge.
men's knowledge,
will
I
of what sort they appeared to be.
Shrinking looked they like those
2.
through a stream
in
who
all
are afraid of
awe of melting away
guest is
;
Let
and
dull like
Who it
Who
be
can still,
;
muddy
and
it
the will
grave
;
evanescent
into anything
(make)
on,
a
like
like ice that
wood
that has
vacant like a
;
water.
muddy water
(clear)
?
gradually become clear.
can secure the condition of rest
ment go
who wade
irresolute like those
unpretentious like
not been fashioned
3.
;
around them
his host)
(in
valley,
winter
and the condition of rest
?
Let move-
will
gradually
arise. 4.
They who
not wish to be their not being
preserve this method of the full full
(of themselves).
of themselves
It is
Tao
do
through
that they can
THE TAO TEH
CH. XVI.
afford
59
worn and not appear new and
seem
to
A'TNG.
complete.
m ^M, 'The
Exhibition of the Quahty,' that
Tao, which has been set forth
outcome
Its practical
of old,
and
who
in their
in their
for the
The
good
is
here described
of the
the masters of
in
own weakness were
yet strong in
variety of the readings in par. 4
nan (XII, 23
a) with
illustration to
which
fuhiess, evidently as
overflowing.
is
This par.
it it,
humility were mighty to be co-workers with of the world.
not so as to affect the meaning.
filled to
is,
the preceding chapter.
in
it
considerable, but
found in Hwaian unimportant variation. From the it
in
is
subjoined he understood
is
ch. 9, as
Both here and there such
man
the
being that of a vessel fulness
is
and then Lao-^ze sHdes into another metaphor, that of a wornused metaphorically of a
The
out garment.
tampered with.
I
text
overfull
of par.
omit the
^
of himself;
has been variously
3
of the current copies, after
the example of the editors of the great recension of the
Yung-lo period (a.d. 1403-1424) of the Ming dynasty. 16.
The
I.
(state of)
vacancy should be brought
utmost degree, and that of stillness guarded with unwearying vigour. All things alike go through their processes of activity, and (then) we see them to the
When
return (to their original state).
things
(in
the vegetable world) have displayed their luxuriant
growth,
we
see each of them return to
returninof to their root stillness
is
what we
and that stillness may be
;
its
call
root.
This
the state of
called a reporting
that they have fulfilled their appointed end. 2.
The
changing
report of that fulfilment rule.
intelligent
and
;
To know that
is
the regular, un-
unchanging rule
is
to
be
know it leads to wild movements The knowledge of that unchanging
not to
evil issues.
rule produces a (grand) capacity
and forbearance, and
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
60
Px.
I.
community community of of character and he who
that capacity and forbearance lead to a (of feeling with all things).
From
this
comes a kingliness oroes on to be heaven-like. In that likeness to heaven he possesses the Tao. Possessed of the Tao, he endures long; and to the end of his bodily life, is exempt from all danger of decay. feeling
;
is kincr-like
^ ^^,
'
Returning to the Root.'
Tao
the operation of the
ment
an operation
;
silent,
The
chapter exhibits
man, and in governbut all-powerful unaccompanied
in nature, in
;
with any demonstration of
its
presence, but great in
its
results.
An
officer
superior
he
(^ -^j
when he
;
^ ^.
said
is
receives a charge
^<^
So
all
from his it
animate things, including men,
receive their charge from the
they have
or commission
reports the execution of
Tao
as to their
life,
and when
they are represented as reporting that fulfilment and the fulfilment and report are described as their unchanging rule, so that they are the Tao's impassive infulfilled
it
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
struments, having no will or purpose of their own, according to Lao-jze's formula of doing nothing and yet doing all '
The of
it,
getting to possess the Tao, or to be an
follows the
embodiment becoming Heaven or Heaven-like and this ;
accordance with the saying in the fourth chapter that 'the Tao might seem to have been before God.' But, in is in
A'wang-jze especially,
we often find the full possessor and Tao spoken of as Heaven.' The last sentence, that he who has come to the full possession of the Tao is exempt from all danger of decay, is generally illustrated by displayer of the
'
a reference to the utterances in ch. 50 as if Lao-jze did indeed see in the Tao a preservative against death. ;
17.
not
I.
know
In the highest antiquity, (the people) did
that there were (their rulers). next age they loved them and praised them.
In the
In the
THE TAO TEH
CH. XVIII.
next they feared them
Thus
them.
was
it
deficient (in
ensued
in
the next they despised
was that when faith the rulers) a want of
(in
Tao)
the
them
faith in
the people).
(in
How
2.
;
6l
ATING.
did
irresolute
those
(earliest
rulers)
appear, showing (by their reticence) the importance
Their work was which they set upon their words done and their undertakings were successful, while !
the people
all said,
\^ )^, 'The is
'We
are as
we
are, of ourselves
!
Unadulterated Influence.'. The influence
that of the Tao, as seen in the earliest and paradisiacal
The two
times.
chaf)ters that follow are closely connected
showing how the silent, passionless influence of the Tao was gradually and injunously superseded by 'the wisdom of the world,' in the conduct of government. In with
this,
the
first
sentence there
^,
but
it
first
is
for
^ ^ ^5
'they
some
words valuable or spake;' cp. i Sam. iii. 1. their
18.
^^
The
clause of par. 3 gives
made
a small various reading of
does not affect the meaning of the passage.
I.
When
the Great
difficulty;
precious,'
i.
e.
Tao (Way
'
they seldom
or Method)
ceased to be observed, benevolence and righteousness came into vogue. (Then) appeared wisdom
and shrewdness, and there ensued great hypocrisy. 2. When harmony no longer prevailed throughout the six kinships, filial sons found their manifestation when the states and clans fell into disorder, loyal ;
ministers appeared.
^ ^,
'
The Decay
of Manners.'
preceding chapter, and showing also
A
how the
sequel to the v/
general decay
of manners afforded opportunity for the display of certain virtues
by
individuals.
curring here for the
TAao.
>
first
Observe 'the Great Tdo,' octime as the designation of 'the
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
62 19,
If
I.
we
I.
renounce our sageness and would be better for the people w^e could renounce our benevo-
could
discard our wisdom,
a hundredfold.
PT.
If
it
and discard our righteousness, the people would again become filial and kindly. If we could renounce our artful contrivances and discard our (scheming for) gain, there would be no thieves nor lence
robbers. 2. Those three methods (of government) Thought olden ways in elegance did fail And made these names their want of worth
But simple
Would
selfish
§ f^,
'
to veil
;
and courses plain and true ends and many lusts eschew.
view^s,
Returning to the
The chapter desires a return and shows how superior the
Unadulterated
Influence.'
to the simplicity of the
Tao,
would be to that of the more developed systems of morals and government which had superseded it. It is closely connected with the two chapters that precede.
result
LAo-^ze's call for the renunciation
methods of the sages and paradisiacal state is repeated ad
of the
20.
I.
When we
rulers in lieu of his fancied
nauseam by
A'wang-^ze.
renounce learning we have no
troubles.
The
(ready)
Small
is
'
yes,'
and
(flattering)
yea
'
'â&#x20AC;&#x201D; ;
the difference they display.
But mark
their issues,
good and
ill
;
What space the gulf between shall fill ? What all men fear is indeed to be feared but how wide and without end is the range of questions ;
(asking to be discussed) 2. The multitude of men look satisfied and pleased; as if enjoying a full banquet, as if mounted on a tower in spring. I alone seem listless and still,
my desires
having as yet given no indication of their
THE TAO TEH ^ING.
CH. XX.
am
63
an infant which has not yet if I had no home to go to. The multitude of men all have enough and to spare. I alone seem to have lost presence. smiled.
I
everything.
am
like
look dejected and forlorn, as
I
My
mind
man
that of a stupid
is
;
I
a state of chaos.
in
Ordinary
men
look bright and intelligent, while
They
alone seem to be benighted.
look
full
I
of
I alone am dull and confused. seem to be carried about as on the sea, drifting as if I had nowhere to rest. All men have their spheres of action, while I alone seem dull and incapable, like
discrimination, while I
(Thus)
a rude borderer. other men, but
value
I
alone
I
the
am
different
from
nursing-mother (the
Tao). -S.
^^,
'
Being Different from Ordinary Men.'
ter sets forth the difference to external
pursuit and observance of the votaries
and others
;
Tao
and Lao-.^ze speaks
example of the former.
The chap-
appearance which the produces between its in
it
as himself an
In the last three chapters he has
been advocating the cause of the Tao against the learning and philosophy of the other school of thinkers in the country. Here he appears as having renounced learning, and found an end to the troubles and anxieties of his own mind but at the expense of being misconceived and misrepresented by others. Hence the chapter has an autobiographical ;
character.
Having stated the
fact
following the
renunciation
of
he proceeds to dwell upon the troubles of learning in the rest of par. i. Until the votary of learning knows everything, he has no rest. But the instances which he learning,
adduces of
this are
not striking nor easily understood.
cannot throw any light on the four lines about the
'
yes
'
I
and
the 'yea.'
Confucius (Ana. XVI,viii) specifies three things of which man stands in awe and these and others ot
the superior
;
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
64
may have been
a similar nature
had
Tao
doubt, the '
the mysterious virtue
'
end
at the
no
is,
'with a name,' as in ch.
in operation,
r.
the things which Lao-^ze
The nursing-mother
mind.
in his
PT.
i
;
of chapters 51 and 52.
The erandest forms of active force From Tao come, their only source.
21.
Who Our
Tao
can of sight
Eluding
it flies,
of things
all in it
Eluding touch, eluding
There are Profound
tell ?
our touch as well.
eluding touch,
sight,
The forms
the nature
crouch
their semblances, all right.
dark and obscure
it is,
Things' essences
;
there endure.
all
Those essences the truth enfold Of what, when seen, shall then be
Now
it is
name
Its
;
sight,
so
;
told.
'twas so of old.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;what passes not away
;
So, in their beautiful array.
Things form and never know decay.
How know
I
that
existing things
^
'
J\^^,
Tao
in
the
But
Heart.'
The
title.
operation.
its
all
the beauties of
this (nature of the
The Empty
applicability of the
so with
is
it
By
?
This
I
Tao). to
fail
see the
subject of the chapter
is
is
the
the significance of the
|^
and to render it by virtue,' as Julicn and Chalmers do, only serves to hide the meaning. in
clause or
first
line,
'
Julicn, however, says that 'the virtue
and he second from,'
right
is
line,
and
taking
as having the
not, as
Lao-^zc's
in
mind
^,
sense of
Chalmers does,
is
that of the
Tao;
the last character of the '
from,'
in the sense of
the source
'
'
following,'
occupied with a very difficult subject to describe the production of material forms by the Tao;
how
is
or from what, he does not say.
'semblances,' Julicn 'les
images,'
What I have rendered and Chalmers 'forms.'
THE TAO TEH
CH. xxiil.
seems, as the latter says, in
the 'Eternal Ideas' of Plato
^ING.
65
some way
to correspond to
the Divine Mind.
in
Lao-jze had no idea of 'personality' 22.
I.
The
in
the
But
Tao.
becomes complete; the crooked, worn out, new. He are few gets them he whose (desires)
partial
straight; the empty, full; the
whose are
(desires)
many goes
;
astray.
2. Therefore the sage holds In his embrace the one thing (of humility), and manifests It to all the He Is free from self-display, and therefore world. he shines from self-assertion, and therefore he is distinguished from self-boasting, and therefore his merit Is acknowledged from self-complacency, and therefore he acquires superiority. It Is because he is thus free from striving that therefore no one in the world Is able to strive with him. ;
;
;
That saying of the ancients that the partial becomes complete was not vainly spoken all real completion Is comprehended under it. '
3.
:
'
^^ ^^, The '
This
Increase granted to Humility.'
rightly expresses the subject-matter of the chapter. translate the
first
clause otherwise than
I
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
I
title
cannot
It was Whether which are men-
have done.
an old saying, which Lao-^ze found and adopted. it
was intended
tioned it
do '
may
embrace
to
all
it
make
so as to
so.
The emptiness
'
which becomes full is in the ground which
hollowness of a cavity filled
the cases
be questioned, but he employs
by overflowing water
;
literally is
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; see Mencius, IV,
ii,
the
sure to be 18,
'
The
worn out' is explained by the withered foliage of a tree, which comes out new and fresh in the next spring. I have see taken the first sentence of par. 2 as Wu AV/ang does ;
his
commentary
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
in loc.
23. I. Abstaining from speech marks him who Is obeying the spontaneity of his nature. A violent [39]
F
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
65
wind does not
last for
PT.
a whole morning
If
a sudden
;
To whom is To Heaven
rain does not last for the whole day. owing ? it that these (two) things are
and Earth,
I.
Heaven and Earth cannot make how much less
such (spasmodic) actings last long,
can
man Therefore when one
2.
making the
is
who are also pursuing and those who are making the
Tao
his
agree with
business, those
it,
him
manifestation
in
it,
course their object agree with him in that while even those who are failing in both these things agree with him where they fail. of
its
whom he agrees as to the have the happiness of attaining to it; those with whom he agrees as to its manifestation have the happiness of attaining to it and those with whom he agrees in their failure have also the happiness of 3.
Hence, those with
Tao
;
the
attaining (to
Tao).
(But)
faith sufficient (on his part),
when
there
a want of faith
is
(in
not
him)
ensues (on the part of the others).
^ ^, /
'Absolute Vacancy.'
This,
I
think,
is
the meaning
Emptiness and Nothingness,' an entire conformity to the Tao in him who professes to be directed by it. Such an one will be omnipotent in his influence in all
of the
others.
title,
'
The Tao in him Those who are
loquacity.
will
restrain
are not to be thought of as bad men, Julien has
who have
it,
au crime.
all
(spasmodic)
described in par. 3 as
They
men
' '
failing
given up, as
are simply ordinary men,
Tao and practice of and virtue by the man whom the author has in mind. As we might expect, however, the mention of such men has much embarrassed the comit,
failed in their
but arc
won
study of the
to truth
mentators.
Compare end of
par.
the concluding sentence with the one at the i
in ch. 17.
THE TAO TEH
CH. XXV.
iilNG.
6*]
He who
24.
stand firm (easily).
stands on his tiptoes does not he who stretches his legs does not walk (So), he who displays himself does not ;
he who asserts his own views is not distinhe who vaunts himself does not find his merit acknowledged he who is self-conceited has no Such conditions, viewed superiority allowed to him. shine
;
guished
;
;
from the standpoint of the Tao, are like remnants of food, or a tumour on the body, which all dislike.
Hence those who pursue
(the course) of the
Tao
do
not adopt and allow them.
^
J§1'
'
Painful Graciousness.'
The
chapter should be
This concludes the subject of the two previous chapters, pursuing the course, the course of the unemotional Tao without vain effort or display. so designated.
—
The remnants ings
;
— see
the Li
rendered by
'
of food were not used as sacrificial offer-
K\
In what
(vol. xxvii, p. 82).
probably, by a mistake, for
^
;— see
a quotation
have
I
^
a tumour attached to the body,' the
by
is
Wu
AV/ang from Sze-ma iT/den. 'Which all dislike' is, literally, Things are likely to dislike them,' the things being spirits and men,' as Wu explains the term. '
'
'
'
I. There was something undefined and comcoming into existence before Heaven and Earth. How still it was and formless, standing alone, and undergoing no change, reaching everyIt where and in no danger (of being exhausted) may be regarded as the Mother of all things. 2. I do not know its name, and I give it the
25.
plete,
!
designation
Making an
The
Great.
3.
Great,
of
the
Tao
(the
effort (further) to give
it
passes on
(in
F 2
Way it
a
or
name
constant flow).
Course). I
call it
Passing
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
58 on,
Therefore the
returns.
great
Having become remote, Tao is great; Heaven
becomes remote.
it
Earth
;
great
is
(sage) king
and the
;
PT.
I.
it
is
also
is
In the universe there are four that are great, great. and the (sage) king is one of them. Man takes his law from the Earth the Earth 4.
;
law from Heaven Heaven takes its law takes from the Tao. The law of the Tao is its being its
what
;
it is.
^
of the
'Representations
;^,
In
Mystery.'
this
chapter Lao approaches very near to give an answer to the question as to what the Tao is, and yet leaves the reader ;
He commences by calling
disappointed.
it
'
a thing
(^)
but that term does not necessitate our regarding it as mateWe have seen in the preceding chapter that it is rial.' used to signify spirits and men.' Nor does his going on '
'
to speak of
conceive
it
it
as
chaotic (j[^ )^) necessarily lead us to of the material elements of things '
'
;
made up
as
'
14 to the three im-
the same term applied material constituents there said to be blended in the idea
we have of
in ch.
it. '
He
does not
know
its
name,' and he designates
way
term denoting a course or
the phenomenal attribute, the
(Tao,
method
^), and in
which
it
by the
indicating all
pheno-
mena come
before our observation, in their development or
evolution.
And
evolution, he
to distinguish
would
call
it
'
it
from
all
other methods of
the Great Method,' and so he
employs that combination as its name in ch. 18 and where but it cannot be said that this name has ;
maintained
itself
in
the writings
understood thus, he here says, as
else-
fully
But
of his followers. in ch. t, that
it
is
'the
Mother of all things.' And yet, when he says that 'it was before Heaven and Earth were produced,' he comes very near his affirmations in chapters i and 4, that the nameless Tao was the beginning (or originating cause) of Heaven and Earth,' and might seem to have been before '
'
THE TAO TEH
CH. XXVI.
Was
God.'
Him Him
as
'
he groping
after
God
if
69
haply he might
find
think he was, and he gets so far as to conceive of
I
?
A'ING.
the Uncaused Cause,' but comes slioil of the idea
The
of His personahty.
other subordinate causes which
Tao, but simply a spontaneity, evolving from and not acting from a personal will, consciously in
he mentions
after all the itself,
get their force or power from the
all
Tao
the direction of
its
searching find out to perfection
The
is
Who can by own wisdom and love. God ? Who can find out the Almighty '
?
predicate of the
to myself,
is
Tao
away, and comes back;' together equal to
26.
I.
in
the chapter, most perplexing
'It returns,' in par. 3.
'
It is
Gravity
is
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;are
'
It
flows away, far
not the three statements
everywhere
?
the root of lightness
;
stillness,
the ruler of movement.
Therefore a wise prince, marching the whole go far from his baggage waggons.
2.
day, does not
Although he may have brilliant prospects to look at, he quietly remains (in his proper place), indifferent How should the lord of a myriad chariots to them. If he carry himself lightly before the kingdom ? do act lightly, he has lost his root (of gravity) he proceed to active movement, he will lose
;
if
his
throne.
^
ip^,
The Quality
'
of Gravity.'
are both attributes of the
Gravity and
Tao; and he who
stillness
cultivates
it
must not give way to lightness of mind, or hasty action. The rule for a leader not to separate from his baggage is simply the necessity of adhering to gravity. have adopted from Han Fei the reading of 'the wise prince for the sage,' which is found in Ho-shang Kung and later on the reading of has lost his root for his 'loses his ministers/ though the latter is found also in
waggons I
'
'
'
'
Han
Fei.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
70 27.
The
I.
skilful traveller
wheels or footsteps
;
l.
leaves no traces of his
the skilful speaker says nothing
that can be found fault with or
reckoner uses no
pt.
tallies
;
blamed
;
the skilful
the skilful closer needs no
open what he has shut will be binder uses no strino-s or knots, while to unloose what he has bound will be impossible. In the same way the sage is always skilful at saving men, and so he does not cast away any man he is always skilful at saving things, and so he does not cast away anything. This is called Hiding the light of his procedure.' bolts or bars, while to
impossible
;
the skilful
;
'
Therefore the
2.
looked up
to)
man
who has not the skill is of) him who has the honour
of
skill is
a master (to be
by him who has not the
skill
;
and he
the helper of (the reputation
skill. If the one did not and the other did not rejoice in an (observer), though intelligent, might about them. This is called 'The utmost
his master,
his helper,
greatly err
degree of mystery.'
^^
'
ffl'
of the
Dexterity
Tao.
This
in Using,' that
is,
in the application
the substance of the chapter, celebrating the effective but invisible operation of the Tao, and the impartial exercise of it for the benefit of all is
men
and
all things.
I have given the most natural construction of the two characters at the end of par. i, the only possible construction of them, so far as I can see, suitable to the context. The action of the Tao (non-acting and yet all-efficient) and that of the sage in accordance with it, are veiled by their nature from the sight of ordinary men.
It is
more
difficult to catch the scope and point of par. 2. were not the conditions described in it, it would be hard for even an intelligent onlooker to distinguish between the man xn ho had the skill and the man without it, between
If there
THE TAO TEH KmC.
CH. XXIX.
7I
him who possessed the Tao, and him who had
it
not,
which would be strange indeed. 28.
Who
I.
Yet
As
knows
his
manhood's strength,
his female feebleness maintains
still
one channel flow the many drains,
to
come to him, yea, all beneath the sky. Thus he the constant excellence retains All
;
The
simple child again, free from
all stains.
Who
knows how white attracts, Yet always keeps himself within
The
black's shade.
pattern of humility displayed,
in view of all beneath the sky unchanging excellence arrayed. Endless return to man's first state has made.
Displayed
He
;
in the
W^ho knows how glory shines, Yet loves disgrace, nor e'er for
it is
pale
Behold his presence in a spacious vale, To which men come from all beneath the sky. The unchanging excellence completes its tale
;
/ The simple infant man in him we hail. 2. The unwrought material, when divided and The sage, when emdistributed, forms vessels. ployed, becomes the Head of all the Officers (of government) and in his greatest regulations he ;
employs no violent measures.
^
>g|, 'Returning to
forth humility
purpose, as characteristic of the
was '
in the
primeval time.
the Son of Heaven,'â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the
The
Simplicity.'
and simplicity, an
chapter sets
artless
freedom from
man
Tao, such
of
all
as he
The sage in par. 2 may be Head of all rule in the kingdom, '
'
or the feudal lord in a state.
29.
I.
If
for himself,
any one should wish to get the kingdom and to efl"ect this by what he does, I see
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
72
pt.
I.
The kingdom is a spiritand cannot be got by active doing. He who would so win it destroys it he who would hold that he will not succeed. like thing,
;
it
in his 2.
grasp loses
it.
The course and nature of things is such What was in front is now behind What warmed anon we freezinpf find.
that
;
Strength
The
is
of weakness oft the spoil
store in ruins
mocks our
'
;
toil.
Hence the sage puts away excessive
effort,
extrava-
gance, and easy indulgence. ffi
^'
'Taking no Action.'
All
made
efforts
with a
purpose are sure to fail. The nature of the Tao necessitates their doing so, and the uncertainty of things and
same lesson. That the kingdom or throne is a spirit-like vessel has become a common enough saying among the Chinese. Julien has, L'Empire est comme un vase divin;' but I events teaches the
'
'
'
always
shrink
from
English analogue
translating
by
jjj^
'
divine.'
Its
and the idea in the text is based on the immunity of spirit from all material law, and is
'spirit,'
the uncertain issue of attempts to deal with it according to ordinary methods. A'/zang takes the phrase as equiva-
Wu
lent to
'
superintended by
as Julien's 'divin.'
purpose, and
spirits,'
The Tao
which
is
as inadmissible
forbids action with a personal
all such action is sure to things as well as in the least.
fail
in the greatest
30. I. He who would assist a lord of men in harmony with the Tao will not assert his mastery in the kingdom by force of arms. Such a course is sure to meet with its proper return. 2. Wherever a host is stationed, briars and thorns
spring up.
In the sequence of great armies there are sure to be bad years.
THE TAO TEH ^ING.
CH. xxxr.
A
3.
and
(commander)
skilful
He
stops.
strikes a decisive blow, does not dare (by continuing his
operations) to assert will strike the
and complete
his mastery.
He
He
blow, but will be on his guard against
being vain or boastful or arrogant it.
73
strikes
it
in
consequence of
as a matter of necessity
;
he strikes
but not from a wish for mastery.
it,
When
4.
rity
things have attained their strong matu-
This may be said to be not Tao and what is not in soon comes to an end.
they become old.
accordance with the
in
accordance with
^ ^, A
it
:
Caveat against War.*
'
War
the spirit of the Tao, and, as being so, misery, and leads to early ruin.
It is
a case of necessity, and even then
its spirit
must be guarded
no doubt, followed
^
by
'
only permissible
in
and tendencies
striking a decisive blow,' I have,
Julien's
'
frapper un coup decisif
occurs six times in par.
Hung
3iao
contrary to
productive of
against.
In translating -1^
same
is is
says that in
3,
but the
all
followed first
'
The
by ]^, and
instance the
ff\]
should be taken as equivalent to j^, so that we should have to translate, He is determined against being vain,' &c. '
But there is no necessity for such a construction of j^. Weakness and not strength is the character of the '
'
'
Tao
;
31.
hence the lesson
I.
Now
ments of creatures.
evil
'
in par. 4.
arms, however beautiful, are Instru-
omen,
it may be said, to all who have the Tao do
hateful,
Therefore they
not like to employ them. 2.
The
superior
man
ordinarily considers the left
hand the most honourable place, but in time of war the right hand. Those sharp weapons are instruments of evil omen, and not the instruments of the
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
74
man
superior
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;he
PT.
I.
them only on the compulCalm and repose are what he (by force of arms) is to him undesiruses
sion of necessity. prizes
victory
;
To
able.
consider this desirable would be to delight
in the slaughter of
slaughter of
On
men
men
cannot
;
and he who delights oret
in the
his will in the kingfdom.
occasions of festivity to be on the
left hand on occasions of mourning, the The second in command of the army right hand. has his place on the left the general commanding in chief has his on the right his place, that is, is 3.
is
the prized position
;
;
;
assiofned to
who has
him
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
men
killed multitudes of
them with the
bitterest grief
should weep for
and the victor
;
has his place (rightly) according to those
j^ ^,
Wan' The chapter continues the subject The imperially-appointed editors of Text and Commentary (1765) say that from
preceding.
Wang
Pi's
the beginning of par. 3 to the end, there of text and
in all
it is
the saddest thing next to losing I,
the appearance
found
in
;
but they
Ho-shang
other ancient copies.
The concluding sentence will suggest words of the Duke of Wellington, that
32.
is
commentary being mixed together
alteration in the text as
Kung, and
In battle
rites.
Stilling
'
of the
make no
He
as in the rites of mourning.
The Tao,
to
some readers the
to gain a battle
was
it.
considered as unchanging, has
no name. 2,
Though
small,
in its primordial simplicity it may be the whole world dares not deal with (one
embodying) it as a minister. If a feudal prince or the king could guard and hold it, all would spontaneously submit themselves to him. 3.
Heaven and Earth (under its guidance) down the sweet dew, which,
together and send
unite
with-
THE TAO TEH ^ING.
en. XXXIII,
75
out the directions of men, reaches equally everywhere as of 4.
its own accord. As soon as it proceeds
When
to action, it has a name. once has that name, (men) can know to
it
rest in
When
it.
be free from
The
5.
they
all risk
know
to rest in
it,
they can
of failure and error.
Tao
relation of the
to all the
world
is
like
that of the great rivers and seas to the streams from
the valleys.
^ |m. But
Chalmers translates
The
supply a better. the
Tao come ;
of par.
'
virtue
The
'
is
in par.
virtue.'
difficult to
it
evidently the Attribute of
it has no and the commencement 4 must both be explained from ch. 1.
in the latter,
it
In the former state Par.
has.
'primordial simphcity
4
by
Teh
Teh, the
Tao come forth
that
is
lated from the text of is
but to
me
different, it is
I.
is
for
Wang
Pi.
I
^
^Ij
this to
have trans-
text of it
in its
and become
From
men.
The
Tao
the
and the
very obscure.
and he comments upon
as
Ho-shang it
stands,
inexplicable.
He who knows
he who knows himself
comes others
itself,
into operation
which affords a law
the end of the paragraph
Kung
1
in par. 2 is
'
simplest conception, alone, and
33.
by 'sagely
out from the condition of the Absolute, and
capable of being named.
name
this
cannot adopt that rendering, and find
I
is
strong
other
men
is intellis^ent. ;
is
discerning;
He who
over-
he who overcomes himself
He who is satisfied with his lot is rich who goes on acting with energy has a (firm) will. 2. He who does not fail in the requirements of his position, continues long he who dies and yet mighty.
is
;
he
;
does not perish, has longevity.
^ 1^, The
'Discriminating between (different) Attributes.'
teaching of the chapter
is
that the possession of the
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
76
Tao
PT.
confers the various attributes which are here
dis-
has been objected to it that elsewhere the represented as associated with dulness and not
tinguished.
Tao
most
I.
is
It
and with weakness and not with strength. But these seem to be qualities viewed from without, and Inwardly, its qualities acting on what is beyond itself are the very opposite, and its action has the effect of enlightening what is dark, and overcoming what is strong.
intelligence,
interesting are the predicates in par.
More
3iao
2.
Hung
monk, Kumara^^iva, one of the four suns of Buddhism,' and who went to China 'To be alive and yet not alive may well be in A.D. 401 called long; to die and yet not be dead may well be He also gives the views of Lu Nangcalled longevity.'
gives the
comment on
of the Indian
it
'
:
from change of
shih (a.d. 1043-1 102) that the freedom
from death of ATwang-jze, and from extinction of the Buddhists, have all the same meaning as the concluding that tlie human body is like the saying of Lao-^ze here covering of the caterpillar or the skin of the snake that we occupy it but for a passing sojourn. No doubt, Lao-jze Lieh-jize,
;
;
believed in another
Many passages 34.
in
All-pervading
I.
which to
the individual after the present.
is
the Great
faith.
Tao!
It
may
hand and on the right. All things depend on it for their production,
be found on the 2.
life for
TTwang-jze indicate the same
it
gives to them, not one refusing obedience
When
it.
left
claim the
its
name
work
is
accomplished,
of having done
things as with a garment, and of being their lord things. pear),
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
it
it
does not
It clothes all
it.
makes no assumption
may be named
in
the smallest
All things return (to their root and disap-
and do not know that
over their doing so
it
is it
which presides
;â&#x20AC;&#x201D; it may be named
in
the
greatest things. 3.
Hence
the sage
is
able (in the
accomplish his great achievements.
same way) It is
to
through
THE TAO TEH
CH. XXXV.
A'lNG.
"]"]
making himself great that he can accom-
his not
pHsh them.
fi ^) The Task '
greatness of what the for
in ch. 35,
it
which
who
does
it
;
the influence of the
Tao
2, 10,
reading of
^
chapter 35.
and
51,
and
Par. 2
the
descriptive of
is
the vegetable world.
in
statements and expressions are of chapters
is
;
permeated by the Tao.
is
subject
by Lao's own name
called here
and the unconscious simpHcity with and then the achievements of the sage
does it
The
of Achievement.'
Tao,
much
for
The
akin to those in parts
Ho-shang Kung's
;g :^ some copies give
^
f^Tl
difficult
J§) as
in
2.
I,
To him who
holds in his hands the Great
Image
(of the invisible
pairs.
Men
Tao), the v^hole world reand receive no hurt, but
resort to him,
and the feeling of ease. Music and dainties will make the passing guest stop (for a time). But though the Tao as it comes from the mouth, seems insipid and has no flavour, though it seems not worth being looked at or (find) rest, peace, 2.
listened to, the use of
it is
inexhaustible.
-^1^^, 'The Attribute of Benevolence.' seems
little
the chapter
appropriateness in this is
the inexhaustible efficacy of
good of the world. The Great Image the
Tao
title.
in its
who embodies
(of the invisible
operation
;
this in his
But there
The subject of the Tdo for the
Tao)
is
a
name
as in chapters 14 and 41.
government
attraction for all the world.
Or
the
will
^
for
He
be a centre of ~J\
^^ may
be
taken as a predicate of the holder of the Great Image 'If he go all under heaven teaching the Tao.' Both
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
constructions
are
maintained by commentators of note.
In par. 2 the attraction of the of ordinary pleasures
and
Tao
is
contrasted with that
gratifications.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
y8 36.
he
is
When
I.
one
make
sure to
is
PT.
I.
about to take an inspiration, when he
a (previous) expiration
;
going to weaken another, he will first strengthen him when he is going to overthrow another, he will when he is going to despoil first have raised him up is
;
;
another, he is
first
w^ill
have made
gifts to
him
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
called 'Hiding the light (of his procedure).' and the 2. The soft overcomes the hard
this
weak
;
the strong. 3.
Fishes should not be taken from the deep
instruments for the profit of a state should not be
shown
to the people.
& ^,
'Minimising the Light;'
K/ning has pointed
The the
chapter
gist of the
paragraph, where
Tao by
is
is
equivalent,
^^
Wu
as
of ch. 27.
to be sought in the second
we have two
contraries,
But there this of the
out, to the
instances of the action of
supposed always to be for good.
a difficulty in seeing the applicability to
cases mentioned
in
par.
i.
The
first
case,
merely a natural phenomenon, having no moral character but the others, as they have been illustrated from indeed,
is
;
by Han Fei and others at least, belong to schemes of selfish and unprincipled ambitious strategy, which it would be injurious to Lao-jze to suppose that he intended. Par. 3 is the most frequently quoted of all the passages historical incidents,
our King, unless it be the first part of ch. i. Fishes taken from the deep, and brought into shallow water, can be easily taken or killed that is plain enough. The sharp in
'
;
instruments of a state' are not its 'treasures,' its
nor
its
its
'weapons of
war,' nor
'instruments of government,' that
rewards and punishments, though this
last is
pretation often put on them, and sustained
is,
the inter-
by a
foolish
reference to an incident, real or coined, in the history of the
dukedom
of Sung. The li /c/ii are contrivances for gain,' machines, and other methods to increase the wealth of a state, but, according to the principles of Lao-^ze, really injurious to
'
it.
These should not be shown
to the people,
THE TAO TEH
CH. XXXVII.
whom
i^ING.
79
the Taoistic system would
keep in a state of and ignorance. This interpretation is in accordance with the meaning of the characters, and with In no other way can the general teaching of Taoism. primitive simplicity
I
explain the paragraph so as to justify the place un-
doubtedly belonging to 37.
I
The Tao
.
it
sake of doing
which
does not do.
2. all
If princes
the system.
in its regular
(for the it
in
it),
course does nothing
and so there
and kings were able
is
nothing
to maintain
it,
things would of themselves be transformed by
them. 3.
became to me an object would express the desire by the nameless
If this transformation
of desire,
I
simplicity.
Simplicity without a
name
from all external aim. With no desire, at rest and still. All things go right as of their will. Is free
^
jj^,
'
The Exercise
of Government.'
This exercise
should be according to the Tao, doing without doing,
governing without government.
The
subject of the third paragraph
the king, and he
more vividness
is
spoken of
is
a feudal prince or
in the first person, to
to the style, unless the
^,
'
I,'
give
may, possibly,
be understood of Lao-3ze himself personating one of them.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
8o
PART 38.
I.
(Those
II.
II.
possessed in highest degree
avIio)
the attributes (of the
PT.
Tao) did not
(seek) to
show
them, and therefore they possessed them (in fullest (Those who) possessed in a lower demeasure). gree those attributes (sought how) not to lose them, and therefore they did not possess them (in fullest measure). 2.
J
(Those who) possessed
in
the highest degree
those attributes did nothing (with a purpose), and
had no need to do anything. (Those who) possessed them in a lower degree were (always) doing, and had need to be so doing. 3. (Those who) possessed the highest benevolence were (always seeking) to carry it out, and had no need to be doing so. (Those who) possessed the highest righteousness were (always seeking) to carry it out, and had need to be so doing. 4. (Those who) possessed the highest (sense of) propriety were (always seeking) to show it, and when men did not respond to it, they bared the arm and marched up to them. 5. Thus it was that when the Tao was lost, its / attributes appeared when its attributes were lost, benevolence appeared when benevolence was lost, righteousness appeared; and when righteousness was lost, the proprieties appeared. ;
;
6.
Now
propriety
is
heartedness and good
mencement
of
the attenuated form of lealfaith,
disorder
;
and
swift
is
also the com-
apprehension
is
THE TAO TEH
CH. XXXVIII.
(only) a flower of the
8
A'lNG.
Tao, and
is
the beginning of
stupidity. it is that the Great man abides and eschews what is flimsy dwells It is thus fruit and not with the flower. puts away the one and makes choice of the
Thus
7.
is
soh'd,
;
'virtue,'
misleading us
The which
he
is.
It is
by any other English term
and yet there would be a danger of
its
thus
the interpretation of the chapter.
in
'virtue'
is
the activity or operation of the
supposed to have come out of
is
that other.
'About the Attributes;' of Tao, that
1^ ^M,
not easy to render teh here
than
by what with the
Even Han Fei so defines work of the Tao.'
it
here,
'Teh
is
its
Tao,
absoluteness.
the meritorious
In par. 5 we evidently have a resume of the preceding paragraphs, and, as it is historical, I translate them in the
though what took place on the early stage of also be said to go on taking place in the
past tense
;
the world
may
experience of every individual. hesitation
I
With some considerable
have given the subjects
in
those paragraphs in
the concrete, in deference to the authority of Ho-shang
Kung and most other commentators. The former says, 'By "the highest teh" is to be understood the rulers of the greatest antiquity, without name or designation, whose Most virtue was great, and could not be surpassed.' ingenious, and in accordance with the Taoistic system, is the manner in which Wii K/iang construes the passage, and I am surprised that it has not been generally accepted. By 'the higher teh' he understands 'the Tao,' that which is
prior to
^
't^)
'
and above the
^y
'^^^^
Teh
(
J;^ f^Âť
^Âť ^^ f^
^ _t'
lower teh,' benevolence, that which
is
and below the Teh; by 'the higher benevolence,' the Teh which is above benevolence; by 'the higher righteousness,' the benevolence which is above righteousness and by the higher propriety,' the righteousness which is above propriety. Certainly in the summation of these four paragraphs which we have in the fifth, the after
'
;
[39]
G
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
82
PT.
them would appear to have been by Wu.
subjects of
in
II.
the mind
of Lao-jze as thus defined
In the remainder of the chapter he goes on to speak depreciatingly of ceremonies and knowledge, so that the
whole chapter must be understood as descriptive of the process of decay and deterioration from the early time in
Tao and
which the of men.
attributes
its
swayed the
societies
things which from of old have I. The One (the Tao) are Heaven which by it is bright and pure
got
39.
the
Earth rendered thereby firm and sure powers by it suppHed
Spirits with
Valleys kept
full
throughout their void
All creatures which through
it
do
Princes and kinofs
who from
it
get
The model which
to all they give.
All these are the results of the 2.
If
One
;
;
(Tao).
heaven were not thus pure,
rend
live
it
soon would
;
were not thus sure, 'twould break and bend Without these powers, the spirits soon would fail If earth
;
;
drought would parch each vale creatures would pass away
If not so filled, the
Without that life, Princes and kings, without that moral sway, Howcve- grand and high, would all decay. 3,
its
Thus
it
is
that dignity finds
(previous) meanness, and
what
lowness (from which princes and kings call themselves stability in the
of small virtue,' and as Is
'
its (firm)
it '
rises).
its
Hence
Orphans,'
'
Men
Carriaores without a nave.'
not this an acknowledgment that
sidering themselves
root in
lofty finds
is
;
;
mean they
in
their con-
see the foundation of
THE TAO TEH
CH. XL.
their dignity
So
?
it
KING.
S^
that in the enumeration of
is
we do not come on answer the ends of a carriage. They to show themselves eleeant-lookino- as jade, but (prefer) to be coarse-looking as an (ordinary) the different parts of a carriage
what makes do not wish
it
stone.
^
'
2|5C'
The
Origin of the Law.'
a reference to the
Law
given to
all
In this things
described in the conclusion of chapter 25. afTords that law
through which of doing,
it
by
adduced as
is
deed got the
spirit of
as
given
the
is
in the third
illustrating
how they have
Tao; and
I
by Ho-shang Kung,
S^ = 'the (
To
paragraph.
kings speak depreciatingly
unworthy'), which
and has been adopted by nearly
Pi,
Tao
all things.
of themselves
instead of
the
doing nothing for the sake
in its spontaneity,
The difficulty of translation The way in which princes and
epithet
And
is
as
passionless, undemonstrative nature,
its
yet does
there
title
by the Tao,
all
in-
accept the last '
is
naveless
found
'
in
(_^),
Wang
subsequent editors.
we have only
to refer back where the thirty spokes, and the nave, empty to receive the axle, are spoken of, and it is shown how the usefulness of the carriage is derived from that emptiness of the nave. This also enables us to give a fair and consistent explanation of the difficult clause which follows, in which For his also I have followed the text of Ho-shang Kung.
see
its
appropriateness here,
to chapter 11,
,
it
Wang
Pi has
iS, which
by Hwai-nan ^ze
;
also
In the translation of the clause
what similar
is
found
in a
quotation of
but this need not affect the meaning.
illustration
we
are assisted
about a horse
in
of /^wang-jze's Books, par. 10.
40.
I.
The movement of the Tao By contraries proceeds
And weakness marks Of Tao's mighty G
2
the course
deeds.
by
a
some-
the twenty-fifth
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
§4 2.
PT.
II.
All things under heaven sprang from It as named) that existence sprang from It
existing (and
;
as non-existent (and not named).
^
use, that
chapter
Dispensing with the Use (of Means);'— with their
'
ffl,
is,
as
appears to
it
The
us.
Tao by
the action of the
is
subject of the brief
contraries, leading to a
what existed previously, and by means which might seem calculated to produce a contrary
result the opposite of
result.
In translating par. 2
have followed 3iao Hung, who
I
key to it in ch. i. Having a name, the Tao is having no name, it is the Orithe Mother of all things But here is the teaching of ginator of Heaven and Earth.' Lao-jze: 'If Tao seems to be before God,' Tao itself finds the
;
'
'
'
—
sprang from nothing. 41.
Scholars of the highest class,
I.
hear about the Tao, earnestly carry Scholars of the middle class,
about
it,
seem now
to
keep
Scholars of the lowest class,
about
it,
laugh greatly at
it
when they
into practice.
when they have heard and now to lose it. when they have heard
it
it.
If
it
were not (thus)
be the Tao. 2., Therefore the sentence-makers have thus expressed themselves
lauehed
would not be
at, it
fit
to
:
'
The Tao, when
Who Its
progress
even way
brightest seen, seems light to lack;
in is
Its highest virtue Its greatest
And
it
makes, seems drawing back
rugged track. from the vale doth
like a
rise
beauty seems to offend the eyes
he has most whose
lot
seems but poor and low; seems change to undergo largest square doth yet no corner show"
Its firmest virtue Its solid truth Its
A
vessel great,
;
it is
;
the least supplies.
the slowest
made
THE TAO
CH. XLil.
TEII X'ING.
85
Loud
is its sound, but never word it said semblance great, the shadow of a shade.'
A
The Tao
3. is
;
Tao
the
is
which
hidden, and has no is
skilful at
name
imparting
;
but
it
(to all thinc^s
what they need) and making them complete.
^,
j5|
'
Sameness and
tion of the
Who
The chapter
Difference.'
sequel of the preceding, and
may be
Tao's proceeding by
taken as an
is
a
illustra-
contraries.
the sentence-makers were whose sayings are quoted
we cannot tell, but it would have been strange if L^o-^ze had not had a large store of such sentences at his command. The fifth and sixth of those employed by him here are found in Lieh-jze (II, 15 a), spoken by Lao in reproving Yang Ku, and in VII, 3 a, that heretic appears quoting an utterance of the same kind, with the words, according to an '
^ ^^ ZV
old saying {^^
I. TheTao produced One; One produced Two; produced Three Three produced All things. All things leave behind them the Obscurity (out of which they have come), and go forward to embrace
42.
Two
the
;
Brightness
they
while
which they have emerged), harmonised by the Breath of
(into
are
Vacancy.
What men
dislike is to be orphans, to have be as carriages without naves and yet these are the designations which kings and 2.
little
virtue, to
princes use
;
for
So
themselves.
is
it
that
some
things are increased by being diminished, and others are diminished 3.
The
What
by being increased.
other
men
(thus)
violent and strong
death.
I
^^/
will
make
teach,
I
do not die
this the basis of
The Transformations
also teach.
their natural
my
of the Tao.'
teaching. In par.
2
we
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
S6
PT.
ii.
have the case of the depreciating epithets
giv^en to themwhich we found before in ch. 39, and a similar lesson is drawn from it. Such depreciation leads to exaltation, and the contrary course of selfexaltation leads to abasement. This latter case is stated emphatically in par. 3, and Lio-jze says that it was the
by kings and
selves
princes,
So
basis of his teaching.
far therefore
we have
in
this
chapter a repetition of the lesson that the movement of the Tao is by contraries,' and that its weakness is the sure '
precursor of strength.
But the connexion between
lesson and what he says in par. to this time at least
it
to understand here that the
the
same
^
'
Up
The passage
'
'
In this case what would be the significance of
non-existent
named?
Kwang
this
The Tao produced One.' Tao is The One.' Are we Tao and the One were one and
('produced')?— that the
viously
being
?
difficult to trace.
has baffled m}-self.
seems to give us a cosmogony. We have already seen that the
the
it is
i
(a. D.
'
Tao
now became
'
which had been preexistent,' or capable of
This seems to be the view of Sze-nui
1009-1086).
The most singular form which this view assumes is in one of the treatises on our A'ing, attributed to the l^aoist patriarch Lii
(g f£ jg |g |^ g|), that 'the One is Heaven, which was formed by the congealing of the Tao.' According to another treatise, also assigned to the same Lu
(M
M^^n'
fS M)^ the One was 'the primordial ether;' the Two, 'the separation of that into its Yin and Yang constituents and the Three, the production of heaven, earth, and man by these.' In quoting the paragraph Hwai;
'
'
nan ^zc omits
and
— ^ ;^ Kao
his glossarist,
—^
and commences with Zl, Yu, makes out the One to be the -
,
Tao,
the Two to be Spiritual Intelligences (jjj^ ^), and Three to be the Harmonising Breath. From the mention of the Yin and Yang that follows, I believe that Lao-3ze intended by the Two these two qualities or elements in the primordial ether, which would be the One.' I dare not hazard a guess as to what the Three were.
the
'
'
'
THE TAO TEH ^ING.
CH. XLIV.
43.
The
I,
thing
softest
87
the
in
against and overcomes the hardest
;
world dashes that which has
no (substantial) existence enters where there is no I know hereby what advantage belongs to
crevice,
doing nothing (with a purpose). 2. There are few in the world who attain to the teaching without words, and the advantage arising
from non-action.
"^
ffl,
The Universal Use (of The chapter takes
'
the action in weakness us back to the lines of
of the Tao).' ch. 40, that
'Weakness marks the course Of Tao's mighty deeds.'
By
'
the softest thing in the world
'
it is
agreed that we are
wear away the hardest Dashing against and overcoming is a metaphor rocks. taken from hunting. Ho-shang Kung says that what has no existence' is the Tao it is better to understand by it the unsubstantial air (^) which penetrates everywhere, to understand
'
water,'
which
will
'
'
'
;
we cannot see how. Compare par. 2 with 44.
I,
ch.
2,
par. 3.
Or fame or life, Which do you hold more dear Or life or wealth,
To
which would you adhere
?
?
Keep life and lose those other things Keep them and lose your life: which
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
brino^s
Sorrow and pain more near 2.
Thus we may
Who
cleaves to fame
Rejects what
Who
?
see.
is
more great
loves large stores
Gives up the richer
state.
;
;
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
88
Who
3.
pt.
II.
content
is
Needs fear no shame. Who knows to stop Incurs no blame.
From danger
free
Long- live shall he. 'â&#x20AC;˘
â&#x20AC;˘jV J\^,
come
Cautions.'
The chapter warns men
into competition with the value
to let nothing
which they set on the
Tao. The Tao is not named, indeed, but the idea of it was evidently in the writer's mind. The whole chapter rhymes after a somewhat peculiar fashion familiar enough, however, to one who is acquainted with the old rhymes of the Book of Poetry. ;
45,
W^ho thinks
I.
his great
achievements poor
Shall find his vioour longf endure.
Of greatest
2.
fulness,
deemed a
;
overcomes heat. correct law to
^^ t^'
all
Purity
and
stillness
'Great or Overflowing Virtue.'
According to is
Wu
that of the
dial ether
still
the
The chapter
is
Tao by contraries.
AV^ang^ the action which overcomes
Yang
and the
give
under heaven.
another illustration of the working of the cold
void,
Exhaustion ne'er shall stem the tide. Do thou what's straight still crooked deem Thy greatest art still stupid seem, And eloquence a stammering scream. Constant action overcomes cold beingf
element
in
the developing primor-
which overcomes heat is that of the contrary Yin element. These may have been in ;
stillness
Lao-jze's mind, but the statements are so simple as hardly to need
and
any comment.
Wu
further says that the purity
stillness are descriptive of the condition of non-action.
40. I. When the Tao prevails in the world, they send back their swift horses to (draw) the dung-carts.
THE TAO TEH
CH. XLVII.
When
Tao
the
is
iiTING.
89
disregarded in the world, the war-
horses breed in the border lands. 2.
There
ambition
is no guilt greater than to sanction no calamity greater than to be discon-
;
tented with
no fault greater than the Therefore the sufficiency of an endurinor and unchanorino- suffi-
one's lot
;
wish to be getting.
contentment
is
ciency.
"^ ^, The
Moderating of Desire or Ambition.'
'
how
chapter shows
to contentment
the practice of the
^ it is
Wu
have, after
I
K/ising, admitted a
doing so being that
by A'ang Hang
A'u Hsi also adopted this reading
XVIII, of
^,
i
his chief authority for
so found in a poetical piece
139).
In par. 3
7 a).
^^
The
must conduce
and happiness.
In translating par. after the
Tao
for "pj*
^,
Han Ying
but
I
(^
(a. d. 7(S-
^ ^,
-^
has a tempting variation
have not adopted
because the
it
same phrase occurs elsewhere. 47.
I,
stands
Without going outside
(all
his door,
one under-
that takes place) under the sky
;
looking out from his window, one sees the
The
Heaven.
farther
that
one
without
Tao
of
goes out (from
himself), the less he knows. 2.
Therefore the
sao^es eot their
knowledgfe with-
gave their (right) names to things without seeing them and accomplished their ends without any purpose of doing so. out travelling
;
;
^
'
1m,'
lesson to
Surveying what
men
is
Far-off.'
The chapter
is
a
to judge of things according to their internal
conviction of similar things in their as the chapter
is,
it
is
somewhat
own
experience.
mystical.
The
Short phrase,
The Tao' or way of Heaven, occurs in it for the first time and it is difficult to lay down its precise meaning. Lao-^ze would seem to teach that man is a microcosm and that^ if '
;
;
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
90
he understand the movements of understand the movements of various readings, of which I
the in
Han
in
Ying. preceded by
'
There are
not necessary to speak. the past tense, and perhaps
should also be translated
first
II.
own mind, he can
other minds.
all
it is
have translated par. 2
his
PT.
Most
so.
formerly
or
'
'
of
it
is
found
anciently.'
48. I. He v/ho devotes himself to learning (seeks) from day to day to increase (his knowledge) he who ;
Tao
devotes himself to the
(seeks)
from day to day
to diminish (his doing). 2. He diminishes it and again diminishes it, till he arrives at doing nothing (on purpose). Having
arrived at this point of non-action, there
is
nothing
which he does not do.
He who
3.
gets as his
own
all
under heaven does
so by giving himself no trouble (with that end).
one take trouble (with that end), he
own
getting as his
^
all
is
If
not equal to
under heaven.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
the contrast between ^H, Forgetting Knowledge Learning and the Tao. It is only by the Tao that the world can be won. 3iao Hung commences his quotations of commentary on ;
'
chapter with the following from Kumara^iva on the
this
second par. till
there
away. in
'
it.
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
is
â&#x20AC;˘
He
carries
on the process of diminishing
nothing coarse about him which
is
not put
He puts it away till he has forgotten all that was bad He then puts away all that is fine about him. He
does so
till
he has forgotten
the bad was wrong, and the
all
that
good
is
was good in it. But Having dimiright.
nished the wrong, and also diminished the right, the process
Passion and and the Tao are in such union that he does nothing but though he does nothing, he allows all things to do their own doing, and all things are done.' Such is a Buddhistic view of the passage, is
carried on
till
they are both forgotten.
desire are both cut off;
and
his virtue :
not very intelligible, and which
I
do not endorse.
THE TAO
CH. XLIX.
In a passage in the
Art.
we have
2),
TEII ZING.
9
Narratives of the School
'
'
a Confucian view of the passage
shrewdness,
(Bk. IX, :
'
Let
wisdom
and
be guarded by stupidity, and the service of the possessor will let them be guarded by comaffect the whole world plaisance, and his daring and strength will shake the age let them be guarded by timidity, and his wealth will be all intelligence,
perspicacity,
;
within the four seas there will be what
them be guarded by humility, and the method of " diminishing it,
let
;
we
call
But neither do I endorse this. and diminishing it again." My own view of the scope of the chapter has been given above in a few words. The greater part of it is founci in '
A^wang-jze. I. The saee has no invariable mind of his he makes the mind of the people his mind.
49.
own
;
2. To those who are good (to me), I am good and to those who are not good (to me), I am also good and thus (all) get to be good. To those who are sincere (with me), I am sincere and to
;
;
—
;
who
those
sincere
;
— and thus
The
3.
in
ani
I
also
get to be sincere.
(all)
sage has
the world an appearance of
mind in a state of indifterkeep their eyes and ears him, and he deals with them all as his
and keeps
indecision,
ence to
me),
are not sincere (with
The
all.
directed to
his
people
all
^
children. |iM,
f^ how
'
The Quality
of Indulgence.'
The
chapter shows
that quality enters largely into the dealing of the sage
with other men, and exercises over them a transforming influence,
My
dominated as
commentary on
it
it is
in
him by the Tao.
taken from Dr. Chalmers. A good was given by the last emperor but one of
version of par.
1
is
Sung dynasties, The mind of the sage is
the earlier of the two great A. D.
1
II 1-1
1
17
:
—
'
occupation and able to receive; In par. 3
I
still,
adopt the reading of
the period
in
from preand able to respond.'
^^
('
free
to get
')
instead of
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
92
PT.
II.
more common :|^ (' virtue' or 'quality'). There is Han Ying (IX, 3 b, 4 a), the style of which, most readers will probably agree with me in thinking, was moulded on the text before us^ though nothing is said of any connexion between it and the saying of Lao-jze. the
a passage in
I
must regard
it
as a sequel to the conversation between
Confucius and some of his disciples about the principle (LAo's principle) that
'
Injury should be recompensed with
Kindness,' as recorded in the Con. Ana.,
read
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 3ze-lu '
said, "
be good to them
When men are good
XIV,
36.
We
to me, I will also
when they
are not good to me, I will 3ze-kung said, " W^hen men are good to me, I will also be good to them when they are not good to me, I will simply lead them on, forwards it may be or backwards."' Yen Hui said, " When men are good to me, I will also be good to them when they are not good to me, I will still be good to them." The views also be not
;
good
to them."
;
;
of the three disciples being thus different, they referred the
point to the Master, who said, " The words of 3ze-lu are such as might be expected among the (wild tribes of) the Man and the Mo those of 3ze-kung, such as might be ;
among friends those of Hui, such as might be expected among relatives and near connexions." This is all. The Master was still far from Lao-^ze's standpoint, and that of his own favourite disciple, Yen Hui. expected
;
'
50.
and 2.
I.
Of every
come
forth
and
live
;
they enter (again)
ten three are ministers of
life (to
them-
and three are ministers of death. There are also three in every ten whose aim is 3. live, but whose movements tend to the land (or
selves)
to
INIen
die.
;
place) of death. And for what reason ? Because of their excessive endeavours to perpetuate life. 4. But I have heard that he who is skilful in managing the life entrusted to him for a time travels on the land without having to shun rhinoceros or
CH.
THE TAO TEH
LI.
^ING.
93
and enters a host without having
tiger,
buff coat or sharp weapon.
him
place in
into
The
to avoid
rhinoceros finds no
which to thrust
its
horn, nor the
which to fix its claws, nor the weapon a place to admit its point. And for what reason ? Because there is in him no place of death. ^
tiger a place in
^ the
>^,
Tao
In par.
'
The Value
i life is
Life.'
The chapter sets
forth
and death.
presented to us as intermediate between
two non-existences. readers those in Job In pars. 2 and 3
by
on
set
as an antidote against decay
The words i.
I
will
translate the characters
by 'thirteen,' as have done. The characters
'three in ten,' instead of
other translators
many
suggest to
21.
tible of either translation
-p
^^
Julien
and
are suscep-
according to the tone
in
which
^.
They were construed as I have done by Wang Pi and many of the best commentators have followed in his wake. The ministers of life to themselves would be those who eschewed all things, both in-
we
read the
;
'
'
and external, tending to injure health the ministers who pursued courses likely to cause disease and shorten life the third three v/ould be those who thought that by mysterious and abnormal courses they could prolong life, but only injured it. Those three classes being thus disposed of, there remains only one in ten rightly using the Tao, and he is spoken of in the next paragraph. This par. 4 is easy of translation, and the various readings in it are unimportant, differing in this respect from those in par. 3. But the aim of the author in it is not clear. In ascribing such effects to the possession of the Tao, is he ternal
'
;
of death,' those
;
Chalmers thinks ? or indulging the play of or simply saying that the Taoist will keep himself out of danger ? '
trifling,'
as Dr.
his poetical fancy
51.
I.
.^
All things are produced by the Tao, and
nourished by
its
outflowing operation.
They
their forms according^ to the nature of each,
receive
and are
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
94
PT.
II.
completed according to the circumstances of their Therefore all things without exception condition.
honour the Tao, and exalt its outflowing operation. 2. This honouring of the Tao and exalting of its operation is not the result of any ordination, but ahva)s a spontaneous tribute.
Thus
3.
is
it
Tao
that the
produces
nourishes them, brings them to their
(all
things),
growth,
full
nurses them, completes them, matures them, maintains them,
and overspreads them.
produces them and makes no claim to the
It
4.
possession of them
;
it
them through
carries
processes and does not vaunt
their
doing so
ability in
its
;
them to maturity and exercises no control this is called its mysterious operation. over them it
brings
;
^
^^^,
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
'The Operation
The
Things.'
(of
operation of the
Tao
in
Tao)
the
subject of the chapter nature,
is
in
Nourishing
in
the quiet passionless the production and
nourishing of things throughout the seasons of the year a
theme dwelt on by Lao-^ze,
in
II,
4,
X,
;
and other
3,
places.
The Tao
is
the subject of
what seem the subjects
in all
all
the predicates in par. i,and
but the
first
member
should
be construed adverbially. On par. 2 Wu AV^ang says that the honour of the Son of Heaven is derived from his appointment by God, and that is derived from him and the nobility ascribed operation, we are not to think of any external ordinaThere is a strange reading of two of the members of
then the nobility of the feudal princes but to
the honour given to the
in
its
tion.
Wang
par. 3 in
This
is
torian
52.
sky
is
Pi, viz.
^ ;^ # ;^
quoted and predicated of
Monument
;
Tao
'
for
^ ;^ fb
Heaven,'
in
;2.
the Nes-
of Hsi-an in the eighth century.
I.
(The Tao) which originated
to
be considered as the mother of them
all
under the all.
THE TAO TEH TING.
CH.LII.
When
95
we know what her one knows that he is his mother's child, and proceeds to guard (the qualities of) the mother that belong to him, to the end of his life he will be free from all peril. 2.
the mother
is
found,
When
children should be.
Let him keep his mouth closed, and shut up all his life he will be exempt from laborious exertion. Let him keep his mouth open, and (spend his breath) in the promotion of his affairs, and all his life there will be no safety 3.
the portals (of his nostrils), and
for him.
The
4.
perception of what
clear-sightedness
of)
and tender 5.
Who And
chapter
is
its
is
soft
(source so) bright, all blight.
hides the unchanmno- from men's sioht.
The meaning
Returning to the Source.'
obscure, and the commentators give
determining
As
it.
the
in
treats of the operation of the
seems
(the secret
uses well his light,
Will from his body ward
'
is
(the secret of) strength.
is
Reverting to
^ 7C'
small
is
the guarding of what
;
in this to
preceding
Tao on
little
of the
help in
Lao-jze
chapter,
material things, he
go on to the operation of
in
it
man, or how
he, with his higher nature, should ever be maintaining
it
in himself.
For the understanding of paragraph i we must refer to first chapter of the treatise, where the Tao, 'having no
the
name,' appears as world, and then,
'
the Beginning
'
or
having a name,' as the same thing or concept in both of '
or absolute, and the manifestation of doings. '
The
old
Jesuit
Mundus principium
et
translators
'
First its
its it
'
Cause
'
Mother.'
of the It is
phases, the ideal in
its
passionless
render this par. by
causam suam habet
in
Divino ^^,
seu actione Divinae sapientiae quae dici potest ejus mater.'
So
far I
may assume
that they agreed with
me
standing that the subject of the par. was the Tao.
in
under-
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
96 Par. 2 lays
from the Tao. translators as ei
timendum
PT.
II.
down the law of life for man thus derived The last clause of it is given by the same equivalent to Unde fit ut post mortem nihil '
sit,'
— a meaning which the
characters will not
and the next par., I am obliged to conclude that even in Lao-jze's mind there was the germ of the sublimation of the material frame which issued in the asceticism and life-preserving arts of the later Taoism. Par. 3 seems to indicate the method of 'guarding the mother in man,' by watching over the breath, the protoplastic one of ch. 42, the ethereal matter out of which all material things were formed. The organs of this breath in man are the mouth and nostrils (nothing else should be bear.
But from that
'
clause,
'
understood here by
and P^
^^
the former in the last par. of the
;
— see fifth
the explanations of of the appendixes to
and the management of the breath Buddhism and Taoism. In par. 4 The guarding what is soft is derived from the use of the soft lips in hiding and preserving the hard and
the Yi in vol. xvi, is
p.
432)
;
the mystery of the esoteric '
'
'
'
strong teeth.
—
Par. 5 gives the gist of the chapter Man's always keeping him the ideal of the Tao, and, without purpose, :
before
simply doing whatever he finds to do; Tao-like and powerful in all his sphere of action. I have followed the reading of the last character but one, which is given by 3iao Hung instead of that found in Ho-
shang Kung and 53.
I.
(put into
If
a
I
Wang
Pi.
were suddenly position
to)
to
become known, and
conduct
(a
government)
according to the Great Tao, what I should be most afraid of would be a boastful display. 2. The great Tao (or way) is very level and easy but people love the by-ways. 3. Their court(-yards and buildings) shall be well kept, but their fields shall be ill-cultivated, and their ;
granaries very empty.
They shall wear
elegant and
THE TAO TEH KmC.
CH. LIV.
97
ornamented robes, carry a sharp sword at their girdle, pamper themselves in eating and drinking, and have such a superabundance of property and wealth This (princes) may be called robbers and boasters. ;
is
contrary to the
-^ P^'
Tao
surely!
The
Increase of Evidence.'
'
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
chapter contrasts
government by the Tao with that conducted in a spirit of ostentation and by oppression. In the 'I' of paragraph i does Lao-^ze speak of himself? I think he does. Wu K/ia.ng understands it of 'any man,' i.e. which is possible. any one in the exercise of government What is peculiar to my version is the pregnant meaning ;
given to
^
cius.
have adopted
I
Hsiang's
say
'
^ff,
common enough it
is
in the
mouth
of Confu-
here because of a passage
Shwo-wan (XX, 13
Excessive
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
b),
where Lao-jze
the difficulty of practising the
in
Liu
made
is
Tao
to
at the
present time,' adding that the princes of his age would not receive
it
from him.
34, et al.
From
On
the
'
Great Tao,' see chapters 25, Han Fei (12 b and
the twentieth book of
I conclude that he had the whole of this chapter in copy of our King, but he broke it up, after his fashion, into fragmentary utterances, confused and confounding. He gives also some remarkable various readings, one of which
13 a)
his
(^,
instead
character 48)
quoted
in
of is
Ho-shang
now
Kung and Wang
generally adopted.
Pi's
the Khang-hsi dictionary under
^
I.
What
(Tao's) skilful planter plants
Can never be uptorn
;
What his skilful arms enfold, From him can ne'er be borne. Sons
shall bring in lengthening line,
Sacrifices to his shrine. 2.
Tao when
nursed within one's
His vigour [39]
will
H
make
true
;
is
with this
reading.
54.
^^,
The passage
self,
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
98
PT.
II.
And where the family it rules What riches will accrue !
The neighbourhood where In thriving will abound
And when
prevails
seen throughout the state,
'tis
Good fortune will be found. Employ it the kingdom o'er, And men thrive all around. In this way the effect will be seen
3.
by the observation of
different cases
the neighbourhood
in
it
;
the state
in
;
in the person,
the family
in
;
and
;
in
;
the
kingdom.
How
4.
hold thus
do all
I
know
that
under the sky
this
effect
By
?
sure to
is
(method of
this
observation).
^, The '
tion (of is
found
ters,
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
Tao
Cultivation (of the Tao), and the Observa-
its Effects).'
The sentiment
of the
first
paragraph
the twenty-seventh and other previous chapthat the noiseless and imperceptible acting of the
is
in
irresistible in its influence;
and
this runs
through
to the end of the chapter with the additional appeal to the
influence of sacrifices,
The
its effects.
a religious
rite,
introduction of the subject of
though not presented to the
Highest Object, will strike the reader as peculiar in our A'ing.
The Teh mentioned of the
him
Tao embodied
in
times in par. 2
five
in all the spheres of his occupation,
by Han Fei according example I have to some extent
and
differently
to
his
follow^ed.
The Kung.
force of pars. 3
On
the
first
is
the 'virtue'
the individual, and extending from
and 4
is
its
is
explained
application
;
and
well given
by Ho-shang
Take
the person of
clause he says,
'
one who cultivates the Tao, and compare it with that of one who does not cultivate it which is in a state of decay ? and which is in a state of preservation ? ;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
THE TAO TEH
CH. LV.
55.
He who
I.
has
Tao)
attributes (of the
K-ING.
99
himself abundantly the an infant. Poison-
in
like
is
will not sting him fierce beasts will not him birds of prey will not strike him. 2. (The infant's) bones are weak and its sinews soft, but yet its grasp is firm. It knows not yet the union of male and female, and yet its virile member may be excited showing the perfection of its physical essence. All day long it will cry without its throat becoming hoarse showing the harmony
ous insects
seize
;
;
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
(in its constitution).
To him by whom
3.
(The
And
this harmony is known, unchanging (Tao) is shown. the knowledge wisdom finds its throne.
secret of) the in
All life-increasing arts to evil turn
Where
the mind
(False)
makes the
vital
the strength, (and
is
breath to burn,
o'er
we should
it
mourn.) 4. When things have become strong, they (then) become olcl, which may be said to be contrary to the Tao. Whatever is contrary to the Tao soon
ends.
^
'
/f^,
The Mysterious Charm
;
'
meaning, apparently,
the entire passivity of the Tao.
With
pars,
and
i
fant in chapters 10
3, compare what is said about the inand 20, and about the immunity from
dangers such as here described of the disciple of the in ch. 50.
translated
My by
'
dictionary will is
'
evil' in
felicity;'
show
well authorised.
The
third
It is
^
,
Khang-hsi
but a reference to the
that the
and fourth
Kung's text as
Tao
the second triplet of par. 3 has been
meaning which
I
give to
jjj^
the only meaning allowable here.
^
in this par.
appear
in
Ho-shang
and he comments on the clauses accord-
H
2
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
lOO jngly
but
^
is
now
Some
the received reading.
IT.
light
paragraph and the next by an apocryphal conversation attributed to Lao-^ze in Liu Hsiang's Shwois
â&#x20AC;˘
;
PT.
thrown on
this
wan, X, 4 a. 56.
He who knows
I.
speak (about
to)
about 2.
it
it)
does not
He
;
(the
he who
know
(who knows
Tao) does
not (care
(ever ready to) speak
it.
it)
and close the portals
is
will
(of
his
keep
mouth shut
his
nostrils).
He
will
blunt his sharp points and unravel the complications of things he will attemper his brightness, and bring ;
himself into agreement with the obscurity (of others). This is called the Mysterious Agreement.' '
(Such an one) cannot be treated familiarly or distantly he is beyond all consideration of profit or Injury; of nobility or meanness he Is the noblest 3.
;
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
man under heaven.
^ fS'
'
The Mysterious
us a picture of the
man
of
Excellence.'
The chapter
Tao, humble and
retiring,
vious of himself and of other men, the noblest heaven.
gives
obH-
man under
Par. I is found in A'wang-^ze (XIII, 20 b), not expressly mentioned, as taken from Lao-jze, but at the end of a string
of sentiments, ascribed to the Master,' some of them, like the two clauses here, no doubt belonging to him, and the others, probably A'wang-jze's own. '
Par. 2 is all found in chapters 4 and 52, excepting the short clause in the conclusion.
A
state may be ruled by (measures of) weapons of war may be used with crafty dexterity; (but) the kingdom Is made one's own (only) by freedom from action and purpose. 2. How do I know that it Is so By these 57.
I.
correction
;
.^
1
THE TAO TEH
CH. LVIII.
facts
:
lOI
A'ING,
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; In the kingdom the mukipHcation of prohibi-
tive enactments increases the poverty of the people
the more implements to add to their profit that the
people have, the greater disorder
there in the
is
more acts of crafty dexterity that men possess, the more do. strange contrivances appear; the more display there is of legislation, the more thieves and robbers there are. state
and clan
the
;
I will do nothing and the people will be transformed of I will be fond of keeping still, and the
Therefore a sage has
3.
(of purpose),
themselves people
;
will of
'
themselves become correct.
take no trouble about
themselves become rich
and the people
tion,
said,
it,
;
will
I
and the people will of I will manifest no ambi-
will of
themselves attain to the
primitive simplicity.'
{$ ÂŽ<' The Genuine Influence.' The chapter shows how government by the Tao is alone effective, and of uni'
versal application
;
contrasting
it
with the failure of other
methods. After the 'weapons of war' in par. take
'
i,
one
is
the meaning which
chapters
;^6
and
I
80,
scheme of thought.
finally adopted, especially after
In the last
member
of the
We
same
^,
^ -^
;
in
studying
seems more consonant with Lao-^ze's
Ho-shang Kung has the strange reading of |^ it in his commentary but the better text of both
tempted to
the sharp implements' in par. 2 as such weapons, but
par.,
and uses is
found
Hwai-nan and .Sze-ma K/iien, and in Wang Pi. do not know if the writer were quoting any par-
ticular sage in par. 3, or referring generally to the sages of
the past
58.
;
I.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; men Hke the
'
sentence-makers
The Pfovernment
that
'
of ch. 41.
seems the most un-
wise,
Oft goodness to the people best supplies
;
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
I02
That which
Is
Will work but
Misery
!
is
Shall
II.
meddHng, touching everything, ill, and disappointment bring.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; happiness to be found â&#x20AC;&#x201D;misery lurks beneath
Happiness what either 2.
PT.
it
!
!
by
side
its
Who
knows
will come to in the end ? we then dispense with correction ?
The
(method of) correction shall by a turn become distortion, and the good in it shall by a turn become evil. The delusion of the people (on this point) has indeed subsisted for a long time. 3. Therefore the sage is (like) a square which cuts no one (with its angles) (like) a corner which injures no one (with its sharpness). He is straightforward, but allows himself no license he is bright, but does ;
;
not dazzle,
^,
jlP
but this chapter
Han
'Transformation according to Circumstances;'
title ;
does not throw Hght on the meaning of the
nor are
we helped
to an understanding of
Fei, with his additions
and comments (XI,
nor by Hwai-nan with his illustrations (XII, 21 difficulty of
it is
increased
by
preceding chapter of which trasts still further
the
method
its
it is
it
by
3 bj 4 b),
a, b).
The
being separated from the really the sequel.
It
con-
government by the Tao, with that by
The sage
is the same in both government both marked by the opposites or contraries which distinguish the procedure of the Tao, as stated in ch. 40.
of correction.
chapters, his character and
For regulating the human (in our constiand rendering the (proper) service to the heavenly, there is nothing like moderation. 2. It is only by this moderation that there Is effected an early return (to man's normal state). 59.
I.
tution)
That early return lation
is what I call the repeated accumuof the attributes (of the Tao). With that
THE TAO TEH
CH. LX.
accumulation of those attributes,
repeated
comes the subjugation
Of
return).
He who
His case
we say that
stalks firm
ing
is
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
its
this is the
the ruler of a state.
may
like that (of the plant)
is
roots are deep and
its
flower
way
its
endur-
to secure that
be seen.
shall long
life
^ ^' it
:
may be
possesses the mother of the state
continue long.
of which
(of
and when one knows not what
;
the limit shall be, he 3.
there
every obstacle to such subjugation we know not what
this
be the limit
shall
IO3
ATING.
The chapter shows how
'Guarding the Tao.'
the guarding of the
Tao
that ensures a continuance
The abuse
of it and must believe, the later Taoist dreams about the elixir vitae and life-preserving pills. The whole of it, with one or two various readings, is found in Han Fei (VI, 4 b-6 a), who speaks twice in his comments of The Book.' Par. I has been translated, Tn governing men and in serving Heaven, there is nothing like moderation.' But by 'Heaven' there is not intended 'the blue sky' above us, nor any personal Power above it, but the Tao embodied in our constitution, the Heavenly element in our nature. The moderation is the opposite of what we call living
of long
with vigour and success.
life,
other passages in our
King
helped on,
I
'
'
'
'
fast,'
'burning the candle at both ends.'
In par. 2
mon ^g.
I
must read in
it
^,
like
^
^^.
Its
instead of the
Lu Teh-ming, and
him appears from
misprint in
nounced
I
find
more com-
that
meaning
is
the
same
is
it
his subjoining that
it
as in
is
not a pro-
^^
H^ in ch. 53, par. 5. Teh is not virtue in our common meaning of the term, but 'the attributes of the Tao,' as '
'
almost always with Lao-jze. In par. 3 'the mother of the state' ch.
I,
60.
small
and especially I.
Governing a great
fish.
is
the
Tao
as in
in ch. 52, par. i.
state
is
like
cooking
^
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
I04
PT.
il.
2. Let the kingdom be governed according to the Tao, and the manes of the departed will not mani-
fest their spiritual
energy.
It
not that those
is
manes have not that spiritual energy, but it will not It is not that it could not be employed to hurt men. hurt men, but neither does the ruling sage hurt them. 3.
When
other, their
these two do not injuriously affect each
good
influences converge in the virtue
Tao).
(of the
^ ^, 'Occupying
the Throne;' occupying
it,
that
is,
according to the Tao, noiselessly and purposelessly, so that the people enjoy their lives, free from all molestation seen and unseen. Par. I That is, in the most quiet and easy manner. The whole of the chapter is given and commented on by Han .
Fei (VI, 6 a-7 b)
chapter, the '
It
but very unsatisfactorily.
;
The more one
thinks and reads about the rest of the
more does he agree with the words of Julien same characters, :
presents the frequent recurrence of the
and appears as insignificant as it is unintelligible, if we give to the Chinese characters their ordinary meaning.' The reader will observe that we have here the second mention of spirits (the manes; Chalmers, 'the ghosts;' Julien, les demons). See ch. 39.
—
Whatever Lao-jze meant to teach in par. 3, he laid in it a foundation for the superstition of the later and present
— such as appeared
Taoism about the
spirits of
a few years
the 'tail-cutting' scare.
61.
I.
a low-1)
ago
in
the dead
;
What makes
ing,
a great state down-flowing (stream)
centre to which tend
(all
is its
—
being
(like)
becomes the the small states) under ;
it
heaven.
—
2. (To illustrate from) the case of all females the female always overcomes the male by her stillness. :
Stillness
may be
considered (a sort of) abasement.
CH.
THE TAO TEH
I.XII.
Thus
3.
small
to
small state,
them
for
by abasing themselves
states,
win
by condescending itself; and that
that a great state,
it is
states, gains
TO5
A'ING.
over to them.
it
abasement leads
a
to
great
In the one case the
to gaining adherents, in the other
case to procuring favour.
The
4.
great state only wishes to unite
gether and nourish them to
;
men
to-
a small state only wishes
be received by, and to serve, the other.
gets what to abase
it
desires, but the great state
itself.
^^fj^, The Attribute of Humility and the illustration of
;'
'
with Lao-^ze
;
words of a greater than Lao-^ze: self shall be exalted.'
Tao
from the low-lying is
also a favourite
The language can hardly but
subject with him.
I.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a favourite theme
it
stream to which smaller streams flow
62.
Each must learn
has of
'
thincrs O the
all
recall the
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; He that humbleth him-
most honoured
place.
No
treasures give
Bad men (its)
good men so
rich a grace;
guards, and doth their
ill
efface.
admirable words can purchase honour
(Its)
2.
it
admirable deeds can raise their performer above
Even men who
others.
doned by 3.
are not
good are not aban-
it.
Therefore when the sovereign occupies his Son of Heaven, and he has appointed
place as the
his three ducal ministers,
send
in
though
(a prince)
were to
a round symbol-of-rank large enough to
fill
both the hands, and that as the precursor of the team of horses (in the court-yard), such an offering would not be equal to (a lesson of) this Tao, which one
might present on 4.
Why
was
it
his knees.
that the ancients prized this
Tao
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
I06
much
SO
Was
?
not because
it
it
pt.
could be got
II.
by-
and the guilty could escape (from the This is the reason why stain of their guilt) by it ? all under heaven consider it the most valuable thing. seeking for
'^
iM*,
'
it,
Practising the
T a o.'
m ^,
'
The
value set
on the Tao,' would have been a more appropriate
The of
title.
chapter sets forth that value in various manifestations
it.
Par.
For the meaning of
I.
^,
see Confucian Analects,
III, ch. 13.
Par.
I
2.
am
obliged to adopt the reading of the
first
by Hwai-nan, ^^ "^ ;â&#x20AC;&#x201D; see especially 1)U
sentence of this paragraph given
M^
ti
\il
^ ^y ^ ^
his
XVIII, 10 a, as from a superior man, have not found his reading anywhere else. Par. 3 is not easily translated, or explained. See the
quotation of I
A
"pT
rules
it
in
on presenting offerings at the court of a ruler or the
Sacred Books of the East,' p. 84, 3, and also a narrative in the 3o K-wan under the thirty-third year of duke Hsi. king, in vol. xxvii of the
'
note
63.
(It is
I.
way of
the
(thinking of) acting
ing the) trouble of
;
to
the
Tao)
conduct
them
;
to act without
affairs
without
(feel-
to taste without discerning
any flavour to consider what is small as great, and a few as many and to recompense injury with ;
;
kindness. 2.
(The master of
difficult
it)
anticipates things that are
while they are easy, and does things that
would become great while they are small. cult things
in
All
diffi-
the world are sure to arise from a
previous state in which
they were easy, and
all
great things from one in which they were small.
Therefore the sage, while he never does what is is able on that account to accomplish the
great,
greatest things.
THE TAO TEH ^ING.
CH. LXIV.
He who
3.
little
faith
easy
is
lightly promises
he
;
who
never has any
these two characters
has led Chalmers to of Grace.'
The
of the Tao, and objects easily
In par.
i
Therefore the
difficult.
in
what seems
easy,
and so
difficulties.
^p, 'Thinking
^SÂť
them
even
difficulty
sure to keep but
continually thinking things
is
sure to find
sage sees
is
IO7
The former
the Beginning.'
in
M
of
commonly misprinted and this mistranslate them by The Beginning is
,
'
chapter sets forth the passionless method
how
by
the sage accordingly accomplishes his
forestalling in his
measures
all difficulties.
the clauses are indicative, and not imperative,
and therefore we have to supplement the text in translating in some such way, as I have done. They give us a cluster of aphorisms illustrating the procedure of the Tao by contranes,' and conclude with one, which is the chief glory of Lao-^ze's teaching, though I must think that its value is somewhat diminished by the method in which he reaches it. It has not the prominence in the later teaching of Taoist writers which we should expect, nor is it found (so far as I know) in ATwang-^ze, Han Fei, or Hwai-nan. It is quoted, however, twice by Liu Hsiang see my note on par. 2, of ch. 49. '
;
It '
follows from the
whole chapter that the Taoistic was not an absolute quiescence and inacbut had a method in it.
doing nothing
tion,
64.
I.
'
That which
is
at rest
is
easily kept hold of;
before a thing has given indications of it is
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
easy to take measures against
it
;
its
presence,
that which
is
broken that which is very small is easily dispersed. Action should be taken before a thing has made its appearance order should be brittle is easily
;
;
secured before disorder has begfun. 2.
The
tiniest
tree
sprout
;
which
fills
the arms grew from the
the tower of nine storeys rose from a
A
1
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
08
heap of earth
(small)
commenced with a
;
PT.
11.
the journey of a thousand
li
single step.
He who
acts (with an ulterior purpose) does he who takes hold of a thing (in the same way) loses his hold. The sage does not act (so), and therefore does no harm he does not lay hold (so), 3.
harm
;
;
and therefore does not conduct of
in their
when they
(But) people
lose his hold.
affairs
are constantly ruining
them
If they
were
are on the eve of success.
careful at the end, as (they should be) at the begin-
would not so ruin them. Therefore the sage desires what (other men)
ning, they 4.
do not desire, and does not prize things he learns what (other men) do not
get
;
back to what the
turns
passed by. of
ulterior
^
'
:J|j^,
helps the natural development and does not dare to act (with an
Guarding the Minute.'
and enlargement of the
unites the two, blending
Compare the
discuss. I,
ch. 29.
I.
The
tising the
but rather to
The
chapter
Wu
is
a con-
TT/zang, indeed,
them together with some ingenious
first
it is
not necessary to
part of par. 3 with the last part
who showed
ancients
Tao
The
last.
transpositions and omissions, which
65.
and
purpose of his own).
tinuation
of par.
learn,
men have
Thus he
things,
all
multitude of
difficult to
their skill in prac-
did so, not to enlighten the people,
make them simple and
ignorant.
governing the people arises from their having much knowledge. He who (tries to) govern a state by his wisdom is a scourge to it while he who does not (try to) do so is a blessing. 2.
3.
also
difficulty in
He who knows his
model and
these two things finds in rule.
Ability
to
know
them this
THE TAO TEH
CH. LXVI.
model and
rule constitutes
^ING.
lOQ
what we
call
reaching
indeed ing
is
its
them
*/?*
such mysterious
the myste-
Deep and
rious excellence (of a governor).
far-
showing
excellence,
possessor as opposite to others, but lead-
to a great conformity to him.
f^'
'
P'J^^'
unmixed Excellence.' The chapter shows
theTao in government, in contrast with the appHcations and contrivances of
the powerful and beneficent influence of
human wisdom. rant'
is
Compare
would be to make them '
is
My 'simple
ch. 19.
More
taken from Julien.
stupid.'
and igno-
literally the translation
My
scourge
'
'
in par. a
also after Julien's 'fleau.'
66.
I.
That whereby the homage and
to receive the
streams,
is
and seas are able
rivers
tribute of all the valley
their skill in being lower than they
thus that they are the kings of them that the sage (ruler), wishing to be
all.
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
So
it is
it
is
above men, puts
himself by his words below them, and, wishing to be before them, places his person behind them. 2.
them,
In this
men do
way though he has
his place
above
not feel his weight, nor though he has
his place before them,
do they
feel
it
an injury to
them. 3. Therefore all in the world delight to exalt him and do not weary of him. Because he does not strive, no one finds it possible to strive with him.
^
Q^, 'Putting one's self Last.'
The
subject
is
the
power of the Tao, by its display of humility in attracting men. The subject and the way in which it is illustrated are frequent themes in the i^Ting. See chapters 8, 32, 39, 42, 61, et al.
The last sentence of par. 3 is found also in ch. 22. There seem to be no quotations from the chapter in Han Fei or Hwai-nan but Wu AV/ang quotes passages from Tung ;
no
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
PT.
II.
second century B. c), and Yang Hsiung which seem to show that the phraseology The former says When one of it was famiUar to them. places himself in his qualities below others, his person is above them when he places them behind those of others,
A'ung-shu (B.C.
(of the
53-A.D.
18),
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
'
;
before them ;' the other, Men exalt him who humbles himself below them and give the precedence to his person
'
is
;
him who puts himself behind 67.
seem
Now it is just be
to
would
its
it
greatness that makes
were
any other
like
smallness have been
!
But
2.
its
If
inferior.
(system), for long
known
is
yet appears to be inferior (to other systems
it
of teaching). it
my Tao
All the world says that, while
I.
great,
them.'
economy
have three precious things which
I
and hold
The
fast.
gentleness
first is
and the third
;
is
;
I
prize
the second
is
shrinking from taking
precedence of others. 3. With that gentleness economy I can be liberal
precedence of others,
being
be foremost 4.
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
(of all
and firmly
save
its
with that
economy, and are
;
all
for
the hindmost place, and seek only to
Gentleness
battle, will
;
;
can become a vessel of the
being bold
all for
liberal
can be bold
shrinking from taking
N ow-a-days they give up gentleness
highest honour.
and are
I
I ;
is
which the end
sure to
is)
death.
be victorious even
to maintain its ground.
possessor,
by
in
Heaven
his (very) gentleness pro-
tecting him.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;'
^,
from par.
'
The Three Precious 2,
Things.'
This
title is
taken
and suggests to us how the early framer of
these titles intended to express
of their several chapters.
by them the subject-matter The three things are the three
distinguishing qualities of the possessor of the
Tao, the
THE TAO TEH
CH. LXVIII.
Ill
A'ING.
three great moral qualities appearing in
its
followers, the
we may venture to say, of the Tao itself. The same phrase is now the common designation of Buddhism in China, the Tri-ratna or Ratna-traya, 'the Precious Buddha,' the Precious Law/ and the Precious Priesthood (or rather Monkhood) or Church;' appearing also in the qualities,
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
'
'
'
Tri-j-ara;/a,'
or
formula of the Three Refuges,' what Dr. formula fidei of the early
'
Eitel calls 'the most primitive
Buddhists, introduced before Southern and Northern Buddhism separated.' I will not introduce the question of whether Buddhism borrowed this designation from Taoism, It is in Buddhism the formula Church or Religion in Taoism a rule for the character, or the conduct which the Tao demands from all My Tao in par. i is the reading of Wang Pi men. Ho-shang Kung's text is simply 3]^. Wang Pi's reading
after its entrance into China.
of a peculiar
;
'
is
'
now generally adopted. The concluding sentiment
of the chapter
the saying of Mencius (VII, state love benevolence, he will '
Heaven
'
is
equivalent to
Providence, as 68.
we should
He who
in
IV,
2),
fiorhts
'
is
equivalent to
If the ruler of a
have no enemy under heaven.'
the Tao,' the course of events,
say.
(Tao's) wars has
Assumes no
He who
'
ii,
martial port
skill
;
with mostgrood will
To rage makes no resort. He who vanquishes yet still Keeps from his foes apart whose bests men most fulfil Yet humbly plies his art.
He
Thus we
And
say,
'
therein
He is
ne'er contends,
his mioht.'
Thus we say, Men's wills he bends, That they with him unite.' Thus we say, Like Heaven's his ends, No sage of old more bright.' '
'
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
112
g^ ^, work
'
The
Matching Heaven.'
of the practiser of the
Tao
The
chapter
to
by
it
69.
Wu I,
A
is
chapter describes the
(^)
He
appears under
of the ancient chariot.
a sequel of the preceding, and
K/tang, as
is
11.
as accomplished like that
of Heaven, without striving or crying.
the figure of a mailed warrior
PT.
is
joined on
also the next.
master of the art of war has
not dare to be the host (to
commence
prefer to be the guest (to act
said,
'
do
I
the war)
;
I
on the defensive).
do not dare to advance an inch I prefer to retire This is called marshalling the ranks where foot.' there are no ranks baring the arms (to fight) where there are no arms to bare; grasping the weapon I
;
a
;
where there is no weapon to grasp advancing against the enemy where there is no enemy. 2. There is no calamity greater than lightly engaging in war. To do that is near losing (the gentleness) which is so precious. Thus it is that when opposing weapons are (actually) crossed, he ;
who
deplores (the situation) conquers.
^
Such jH, 'The Use of the Mysterious (Tao).' seems to be the meaning of the title. The chapter teaches that, if war were carried on, or rather avoided, according to the Tao, the result would be success. Laojze's own statements appear as so many paradoxes. They are examples of the procedure of the Tao by 'contraries,' or opposites.
We
do not know who the master of the military art Perhaps the author only adopted the
referred to was.
style of quotation to express his
My
own
sentiments.
words are very easy to know, and very but there is no one in the world who is able to know and able to practise them. 2. There is an originating and all-comprehending 70.
I.
easy to practise
;
THE TAO TEH
CH. Lxxr.
(principle) in
my
A'ING.
113
words, and an audioritative law for
the things (which
enforce).
I
because they do
It is
know these, that men do not know me. 3. They who know me are few, and I am on
not
account (the more) to be prized.
sage wears
(a
poor garb of) hair
carries his (signet of) jade in his
^P l^l, The Difficulty of Tao comprehends and rules '
members of a
It is
clan were
The
Lao-^ze's teaching, as the
the loins of their
all in
he
cloth, while
bosom.
being (rightly) Known.' all
that
thus that the
him
(:^)' ^^^ continue to look up to
first
father
and the people of
;
a state are all under the direction of their ruler yet the philosopher had to complain of not being known. Lao-jze's principle and rule or ruler was the Tao. His utterance ;
here
Par.
is
2,
XIV,
71.
in
by Hwai-nan, though
and yet
the highest (attainment)
think)
we do know
It is
2.
having
is
(think) ;
we do not know know (and yet
a disease.
simply by being pained at (the thought of)
this disease that
we
are preserved from
sage has not the disease.
that
would be inseparable from
does not have
^,
is
not to
The
^H
his text
both cases.
To know
I.
of Confucius
ch. ^y, et al.
twice quoted
not quite the same
is
Compare the words
very important.
is
in the Analects,
He knows it,
it.
the pain
and therefore he
it.
'The Disease of Knowing.'
Here, again, we
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
have the Tao working 'by contraries,' in the matter of knowledge. Compare par. i with Confucius's account of what knowledge is in the Analects, II, ch. 17. The par. 1 is found in one place in Hwai-nan, lengthened out by the addition of particles
In
but the variation is unimportant. another place, however, he seems to have had the ;
correct text before him. Par. 2 [39]
is
in
Han
Fei also lengthened out, but with an I
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
TI4
important variation
(^
construe his text.
His
^ ^
for is
^
FT.
^), and
II.
cannot
I
probably a transcriber's
error.
72. I. When the people do not fear what they ought to fear, that which is their great dread will come on them. 2. Let them not thoughtlessly indulge themselves in their ordinary life let them not act as if weary ;
of
what that life depends on. 3. It is by avoiding such indulgence that such
weariness does not 4.
arise.
Therefore the sage knows (these things) of
himself, but does not parade (his knowledge)
but does not (appear to set
And
a)
;
loves,
value on, himself
thus he puts the latter alternative
away and
makes choice of the former. 2i5 Loving one's Self This title is taken from the expression in par. 4 and the object of the chapter seems to be to show how such loving should be manifested, and
^^
'
;
to enforce the lesson
by the example
of the
'
sage,' the true
master of the Tao. In par. i the great dread is death, and the things which ought to be feared and may be feared, are the indulgences of the appetites and passions, which, if not eschewed, tend to shorten life and accelerate the approach '
'
of death. Pars.
2
and 3 are supplementary to
i.
second character of Ho-shang Kung's text Pi reads 1^^, which has the
same name
For M^, the
in par. 2,
as the other
Wang ;
and
according to the Khang-hsi dictionary, the two characters are interchangeable.
adopting
adopted It
;^Jp
this
gives a
for the
I
have also followed
former of the two
J^
Wu
AV^ang
in par. 3.
in
Wu
reading from a commentator Liu of Lii-ling.
good meaning, and
of other sentences
made on
is
supported by the structure
similar lines.
Kmc
THE TAO TEH
CH, LXXII.
II5
In par. 4 the sage must be the ruler who is a sage,' a master of the Tao, 'the king' of ch. 25. He 'loves himself,' i.e. his life, and takes the right measures to '
prolong his is
doing
but without any demonstration that he
life,
so.
The above chapter
'
'
I
is,
conceive, the correct explanation of the
but as to the Chinese
;
lators of
may be
it
it,
In illustration of this
tentiae.'
critics
and foreign
trans-
'Quot homines, tot
said,
I
scn-
venture to subjoin what
is found on it in the old version of the Jesuit missionaries, which has not been previously printed :
Prima explicatio juxta interpretes. jam
Populus, ubi
I.
principis iram
non timet,
nihil
non
audet ut jugum excutiat, resque communis ad extremum discrimen adducitur.
Ambitio
3.
vectigalium
numquam 3.
faciat
terram angustiorem,
alendo
si
non
et
insufficientem
alias terras quaeret.
neque patrii soli taedebit. semper attentus potentiam suani
taedet,
Ouare sanctus
populo
sibi
ostentat.
Quia vere
5.
sibi
non
populus patriae pertaesus
Vitae
4.
non
principis
magnitudine
non se pretiosum facit non se talem aestimat cujus
se amat,
recte consulit
;
et honori infelices populi unice servire debeant,
eum
populorum
se reputat qui
felicitati
vel quia felicitati
immo
totum
potius
se debeat
impendere. 6.
Ergo
1.
Populus
illud resecat, istud amplectitur.
Alia explicatio. facile
ad
summum 2.
eum
si
non
ita
accedit,
timet principis majestatem, sed
majestas non minuitur,
immo ad
pervenit.
Vectigalibus terra
non opprimitur, sua quisque si se non vexari populus
si
contentus alias terras non quaeret, experitur. 3.
4.
si non taedet, nee patrii soli taedebit. Quare sanctus majestatis fastum non affectat, immo
Vitae
similem se caeteris ostendit. I
2
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
Il6
Sibi recte consulens,
5.
PT.
populorum amans, non
tl.
se pre-
tiosum et inaccessibilem facit. 6. Quidquid ergo timorem incutere potest, hoc evitat quod amorem conciliat et benignitatem, se demonstrat
hoc
et ultro amplectitur.
eligi
73.
He whose
I.
boldness appears in his daring
do wrong, in defiance of the laws) is put to death he whose boldness appears in his not daring (to do Of these two cases the one appears so) lives on. to be advantageous, and the other to be injurious. (to
;
But
When
Who On
it
to
do
the former case).
in
the
It is
2.
?
account the sage feels a difficulty (as to
this
what
Heaven's anger smites a man,
the cause shall truly scan
way
Heaven
of
overcomes
skilfully
to
it
;
does not
of themselves.
are quiet, and yet
The meshes
not to strive, and yet
not to speak, and yet
a reply
skilful in (obtaining)
men come
;
its
Its
call,
it
is
and yet
demonstrations
plans are skilful and effective.
of the net of
Heaven
are large
;
far
apart, but letting nothing escape.
fi
j^) 'Allowing
Men
to
The
take their Course.'
chapter teaches that rulers should not be hasty to punish, especially
seem
by the
Though they may Heaven does not allow offenders
infliction of death.
to err in leniency, yet
to escape.
While Heaven hates the ill-doer, yet we must not always Its judgments that every one who suffers from them is an ill-doer; and the two lines which rhyme, and conclude from
sentiment in our Clouds and darkness are round about Him.' They are ascribed to Lao-jze by Lieh-j(ze (VI, 7 a) but, it has been said, that they are quoted by him 'in an illustrate this point, are equivalent to the
Old
l^ook,
'
;
entirely different connexion.'
But the same text
in
two
THE TAO TEH
CH.LXXV. different
sermons
may be
A'lNG.
I
17
said to be in different connexions.
In Lieh-jze and our A"ing the lines have the same meaning, and substantially the same application. Indeed A'ang ATan, of our fourth century, the commentator of Lieh-jze, quotes
the
comment
into,
'Who
can do
Wang
of
know
can
Pi on this passage, condensing
the mind of
Heaven?
it
Only the sage
so.'
74. I. The people do not fear death; to what purpose is it to (try to) frighten them with death ? If the people were always in awe of death, and I could always seize those who do wrong, and put
who would dare to do wrong ? One who presides over the inHe who would inflict death in the fliction of death. room of him who so presides over it may be described as hewing wood instead of a great carpenter. Seldom is it that he who undertakes the hewing, instead of the great carpenter, does not cut his own them 2.
to death,
There
is
always
hands -^Ij
^,
'Restraining Delusion.'
The
chapter sets forth
the inefficiency of capital punishment, and warns rulers against the infliction of
the infliction of death is
very clear
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
'
It
is
it.
Who
is
The answer
?
it
that superintends
of Ho-shang
Kung
Heaven, which, dwelling on high
and ruling all beneath, takes note of the transgressions of men.' There is a slight variation in the readings of the second sentence of par. 2 in the texts of Ho-shang Kung and Wang Pi, and the reading adopted by ^'islo Hung but the meaning is the differs a little from them both ;
same
in
them
all.
This chapter and the next are rightly joined on to the preceding by
Wu
AV/ang.
75. I. The people suffer from famine because of the multitude of taxes consumed by their superiors. It is
through
this that
they suffer famine.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
Il8
The
2.
the (excessive) agency
them).
ino-
It is
II.
govern because of
difficult to
people are
PT.
of their superiors (in govern-
through
this that
they are
difficult
to orovern.
The
1
O-.
people
make
dying because of the
light of
o-reatness of their labours in seekino- for the
of
It is this
livino-.
Thus
of dying.
high value on
^
is
it
that to leave the subject of
altogether out of view
livino-
better than to set a
is
it.
'How
^tM,
nothing-doing
means
which makes them think light
The want
Greediness Injures.'
Tao
of the
leads to the multiplication of exactions
by the government, and to the misery of the people, so The chapter to make them think lightly of death. a warning for both rulers and people.
76.
Man
I.
his death, firm
Trees and brittle
at his birth
Thus
it
is
concomitants of
that firmness
the
all
things.
and
and strength are the and weakness, the
softness
;
(relies ;
on) the strength of his
and a
tree
which
is
strong
the out-stretched arms, (and thereby invites
Therefore the place of what
below, and that of what
f^
i^iji
' ,
A
more
in
In par.
is
Warning against
trust in one's force is
with)
feller.)
4. is
it is
life.
Hence he who fill
supple and weak; at
(So
dry and withered.
forces does not conquer will
2.
plants, in their early growth, are soft
at their death,
;
is
and strong.
concomitants of death
3.
is
not easy to determine whether rulers, or people, or
It is
both, are intended in the concluding sentence of par.
2.
as
is
soft
is firm and strong and weak is above.
(trusting in) Strength.'
contrary to the
weakness and humility. the two characters which
1
To
Tao, whose strength I
have rendered by
THE TAO TEH ZING.
CH. Lxxvil.
'
(so
it
is
with)
all
things
Hung
'
are found in the texts of both
Wang
Ho-shang Kung and
both reject them.
K/iang and 3iao
should also have neglected in Liii
the rest of pars,
all
Wu
but
Pi,
I
them, but thev are also found (X, 4 a), with
II9
i
Hsiang's
and
2,
Shwo Wan
as from Lao-^zc.
They are an anakoluthon, such as is elsewhere found in our King; e.g. "][% ^|^ in ch. 21, par. 2. The 'above' and 'below' in par. 4 seem to be merely
^
^
a play on the words, as capable of
meaning more and '
less
honourable.'
Way (or Tao) of Heaven be (method of) bending a bow ? The (part of the bow) which was high is brought low, and what was low is raised up. (So Heaven) diminishes where there is superabundance, and supplements where there is deficiency. 77.
I.
May
compared
2.
not the
to the
Way
the
It is
of
Heaven
to diminish super-
abundance, and to supplement deficiency.
He
so with the
way of man.
who have
not enough to add to
takes
It is
not
away from those his own super-
abundance. 3.
Who
in
own superabundance and under heaven ? Only he who is
can take his
therewith serve
all
possession of the
Therefore the
Tao
!
sage acts without claimhe achieves his merit and does not rest (arrogantly) in it he does not wish 4.
(ruling)
ing the results as his
;
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
to display his superiority.
^ ^,
'
The
Way
of
Heaven
;'
but the chapter contrasts
that way, unselfish and magnanimous, with the
way
of
and contracted, and illustrates the point by the method of stringing a bow. This must be seen as it is done in China fully to understand the illustration. I have known great athletes in this country tasked to the utmost man,
selfish
I
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
20
PT.
of their strength to adjust and bend a large Chinese
ll.
bow
from Peking.
The what
'sage
is
of par. 4
'
said of
is
him with
the
ch.
'King'
2,
Compare
of ch. 25.
par. 4, et al.
78. I. There is nothinof in the world more soft and weak than water, and yet for attacking things that are firm and strong there is nothing- that can
take precedence of effectual) for
which
it
it
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; for
there
is
nothing (so
can be changed.
2. Every one in the world knows that the soft overcomes the hard, and the weak the strono-, but no one is able to carry it out in practice. 3. Therefore a sage has said,
He who
'
accepts his state's reproach,
Is hailed therefore its altars' lord
To him who
;
bears men's direful woes
They all the name of King accord.' Words that are strictly true seem to be
4.
para-
doxical.
fj' Things to be Believed.' It is difficult to give and appropriate translation of this title. The chapter shows how the most unlikely results follow from
ft
'
a short
action according to the Par.
Tao. Par. Par.
Tao. Water was Lao-^ze's favourite emblem of the Compare chapters 8, 66, et al. 2. Compare ch. ^6, par. 2. 3. Of course we do not know who the saee was I.
from
whom
may
suggest to
Lao-jze got the lines of this paragraph.
have done to '
me
The Is
some readers the
They they
:
honest man, though e'er so poor, king o' men for a' that.'
But the Taoist of Lao-jze honest man.
lines of Burns, as
is
a higher ideal than Burns's
THE TAO TEH
CH. LXXIX.
Par. 4
separated from this chapter, and
is
the next by 79,
made
1
to begin
Wu K/ia.ng.
When
I.
12
A'ING.
a reconciliation
effected (between
is
two parties) after a great animosity, there is sure to be a grudge remaining (in the mind of the one who was wTong). And how can this be beneficial (to the other)
?
Therefore
2.
(to
guard against
sage
the
this),
keeps the left-hand portion of the record of the
engagement, and does not fulfilment of
insist
by the other
it
on the (speedy) (So), he who
party.
has the attributes (of the Tao) regards (only) the conditions of the engagement, while he
who has
not
those attributes regards only the conditions favourable to himself.
In the
3.
love
it Is
;
of Heaven, there
shows, but by no means clearly,
Tao
be better off
will
own
try to secure his Par.
the end than he
in
The chapter
holds fast to the
who
will rather
presents us with a case which the statements of
I
reconciled,
'
for the
Par. 2
is
;
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; two
disputants, one
the latter, though apparently
and ready
retaining a grudge,
still
his dissatisfaction, for,'
partiality of
interests.
good, and the other bad
'
no
how he who
the chapter are intended to meet
=
is
'Adherence to Bond or Covenant.'
^,
fj^
Way
always on the side of the good man.
when he has an opportunity.
good
to
wreak
The -^
of.'
intended to solve the question.
The terms
of
a contract or agreement were inscribed on a slip of wood,
which was then divided into two half of
it.
At
to each other,
the settlement, it
was
if
;
each party having one
the halves perfectly fitted
carried through.
The one who had
the right in the dispute has his part of the agreement, but
does not
insist
on
it,
and
is
the conditions being even
forbearing
now
;
the other insists on
altered in his favour.
The
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
122
this last case
by which
characters
enigmatical,
reference
having;
to
is
PT.
II.
expressed, are very
the
satisfaction of the
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;a
subject into which
government dues of Lao-jze's time, it would take much space to go.
Par. 3 decides the question by the action of Heaven, is only another name for the course of the Tao.
which
80.
In a
I.
little
state with a small population,
I
though there were individuals would so order with the abilities of ten or a hundred men, there should be no employment of them I would make that,
it,
;
the people, while looking on death as a grievous thing, yet not 2.
remove elsewhere
(to
avoid
Though they had boats and
it).
carriages, they
should have no occasion to ride in them though they had buff coats and sharp weapons, they should have no occasion to don or use them. ;
3.
I
would make the people return
to the use of
knotted cords (instead of the written characters). 4. They should think their (coarse) food sweet their (plain) clothes beautiful
places
of rest
;
and
their
;
their (poor) dwellings
common
ways
(simple)
sources of enjoyment.
There should be a neighbouring state within and the voices of the fowls and dogs should be heard all the way from it to us, but I would make the people to old age, even to death, not have any 5.
sight,
intercourse with '
jjL,
it.
Standing Alone.'
The chapter
sets forth
what
Lao-jze conceived the ancient government of simplicity was, and what he would have government in be.
He
does not use the personal pronoun
subject of the thrice-recurring to suppose that he
is
supposes himself
in
^^, but
himself that subject
charge of a
little
it ;
is
time to
all '
I
'
as the
most natural
and he modestly and a small
state
THE TAO TEH
CH. LXXXI.
The
population.
I23
A'ING.
reader can judge for himself of the con-
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
a people rude summation that would be arrived at and uninstructed, using quippos, abstaining from war and all travelling, kept aloof from intercourse even with their neighbours, and without the appliances of what we call ;
civilisation.
The
text
nearly
is
found
all
in
Sze-ma K/ntn and
The first member of par. i, however, is very The old Jesuit translators, Julien, Chalmers,
/Twang-^ze. puzzling.
and V. von Strauss, all differ in their views of it. Wu Kh3.ng and ^\3.o Hung take what I have now rendered by abilities,' as meaning implements of agriculture,' but their view is based on a custom of the Han dynasty, which is not '
'
remote enough for the purpose, and on the suppression, after
Wang
81.
I.
Sincere words are not fine
Those who
not sincere.
do not dispute (about skilled in
2.
it)
;
words are the
Tao)
the disputatious are not (the
Tao)
are not
With
'
with
;
The
all
contraries
more does
the more that he gives to himself.
the sharpness of the
Way
of Heaven,
the doing in the
way
of the
strive.
Manifestation of Simplicity.'
The chapter
Tao
proceeds, and
shows how quietly and understand.
;
more does he have all
sage he does not
^ ^,
(for himself).
that he expends for others, the
injures not
this
(in
sage does not accumulate
others, the
by
fine
the extensively learned do not
he possess of his own
it
;
text.
it.
The
The more
3.
;
are skilled
Those who know
it.
extensively learned
know
Ho-shang Kung's
of a J\^ in
Pi,
in
The
a
way
effectively the
that
author, says
only the master of
Wu
it
can
KhdiWg, 'sums up
in
the subject-matter of the two Parts of his Treatise,
showing that in all its five thousand characters, there nothing beyond what is here said.'
is
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
24
I
Chalmers the well-known
Par. 3 suggests to Dr.
Bunyan
as an analogue of
it
pt,
li.
lines of
:
'A man there was, though some did count him mad, The more he gave away, the more he had.'
Wii /sT/^ang brings together two sentences from A'wang-jze (XXXIII, 21 b, 22 a), written evidently with the characters of this text in mind, which, as from a T^oist mint, are
a
better analogue,
still
rhyme '
Amassing but
He I
mean
to
him a sense of need betrays
hoards not, and thereby his affluence displays.' first
pair of contraries in
^)Âť
Those two characters primarily
'sharpness' and
'wounding by cutting;' they are
(^Ij
often
and used
in
'being injurious;' '
venture to put them into
I
have paused long over the
par. 3
also
and
:
contrary
though
'
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
the sense of 'being beneficial,' and 'contraries,'
had Lao-jze
in
mind
?
both of them. I
Which
must think the former,
from all previous translators. The 'Celestis Tao natura ditat omnes,
differing in this
Jesuit version
is,
nemini nocet;' Julien's, 'II est utile aux etres, et ne leur nuit point;' Chalmers's, 'Benefits and does not injure;' and V. von Strauss's, 'Des Himmels Weise ist
wolthun und nicht beschadigen.'
THE
WRITINGS OF/^WANG-3ZE.
THE
WRITINGS OF/<^WANG-3ZE. INTRODUCTION. Brief Notices of the different Books.
Book The have
Hsiao-yao Yu.
I.
three characters which form the
all
them the ideagram
of
Shwo Wan
idea, as the
^
explains
title
(-^o)Âť
it,
of this
Book
which gives the
'now walking, now
of
We
might render the title by Sauntering or Rambling at Ease but it is the untroubled enjoyment of the mind which the author has in view. And this enjoyhalting.'
'
;
'
ment
is
secured by the
Tao, though
not once occur in the Book. thesis first
smallest,
by the
that character does
A'wang-jze
his
illustrates
cases of creatures, the largest and the
showing that however different they
may
be
in
size,
they should not pass judgment on one another, but
may
equally find their happiness in the
Tao.
From
this
he advances to men, and from the cases of Yung-.^ze and Lieh-jze proceeds to that of one who finds his enjoyment in
independent of every other being or instru-
himself,
and we have the three important definitions of the accomplished Taoist, as 'the Perfect Man,' 'the Those definitions Spirit-like Man,' and the Sagely Man.' are then illustrated the third in Yao and Hsii Yu, and the second in the conversation between A^ien Wu and Lien Shu. mentality
;
'
;
The like
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
description given in this conversation of the spirit-
man
very
is
Potentate,'
a garment,
startling,
Him who
true only of
is
a
and contains statements that are the Blessed and only Spirit,' '
'
Who covereth Himself with light Who stretcheth out the heavens as a '
as
with
curtain,
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
128
Who
layeth the beams maketh the clouds His of the wind,'
eternity.'
'
Who
pressions in the
possessor of the
ir.
chambers in the waters, Who Who walketh on the wings
of His
chariot,
rideth on a cherub,'
The most
BK.
imaginative and
'
Who
inhabiteth
metaphorical ex-
Tao Teh King about Tao are tame, compared
the power of the
with the language
it here, as he often uses There follows an illustration of 'the Perfect Man,' which is comparatively feeble, and part of it, so far as I can see, inappropriate, though Lin
of our author.
attention to
I call
the same extravagant style.
Hsi-y^ung says that
other interpretations of the sen-
all
tences are ridiculous.
In the seventh and last paragraph trations that nothing
istically;
'to
we have two
illus-
only used
Tao-
really useless,
is
the same
Confucius in the Analects,
effect,'
XVH,
if
says
^mo Hung,
They hang
ii.'
'as
loosely,
however, from what precedes.
An '
is
Book was that A'wang-jze intended by the great phang, 'which,' says Lu Shu-Zih,
old view of the
himself
wide of the mark.'
Book H.
Wu
^^i
Lun.
Mr. Balfour has translated this title by Essay on the Uniformity of All Things;' and, the subject of the Book '
being thus misconceived, his translation of it could not The Chinese critics, I may say fail to be very incorrect. without exception, construe the
second and third characters,
and mean '
'
Lun,
I
have done.
The
are taken together,
Discussions about Things,' equivalent to our
Controversies.'
first
as
title
Wu
They
are under the government of the
character K/ii, used as a verb, with the signification
of 'Harmonising,' or 'Adjusting.'
by condensing a passage from
the
Let me illustrate this Supplementary Com-
'
mentary of a Mr. A'ang, a sub-secretary of the Imperial Chancery,' of the says,
'
What
calls "
^i
f"f Ii)- ^^ " Discussions about Things
Ming dynasty (gg
A^wang-jze
has reference to the various branches of the numerous schools, each of which has its own views, conflicting with
BK.
BRIEF NOTICES OF THE DIFFERENT BOOKS.
II.
He
the views of the others.'
goes on to show that
I
if
29
they
would only adopt the method pointed out by A'wang-jze. their controversies would be adjusted (^^ |^ ^),' now '
using the
first
Khi
in the passive voice.
This then was the theme of our author in this Book. Tt must be left for the reader to discover from the translation how he pursues it. I pointed out a peculiarity in the former Book, that though the idea of the Tao underlies it all, the term itself is never allowed to appear. Not only does the same idea underlie this Book, but the name is
The Tao
frequently employed.
is the panacea for tlic through the use of which be made to disappear.
evils of controversy, the solvent
the different views of
That the
Tao
of A'wang-jze
is
men may
not a Personal
name
seen in several passages.
in
the conception
We
have not to go beyond the phenomena of nature to discover the reason of their being what they are nor have we to go beyond the bigoted egoism and vaingloriousness of controversialists is
;
to find the explanation of their discussions, various as these are,
and confounding
sphere of knowledge, Ruler.'
If
traces
is
there
'
'
to his
We
proper course.
'
cannot advance any proof of Creation.
Whether we assume
that
beginning' or nothing, diction
neither in nature nor in the
any other Heaven but own mind. That is his only True there be any other, we do not see His form, nor of His acting. Things come about in their
what belongs
any
the sounds of the wind amon<r
like
To man,
the trees of a forest.
and absurdity.
we
there was something
'
in
the
are equally landed in contra-
Let us stop at the limit of what
we know, and not try to advance a step beyond it. Towards the end of the Book our author's agnosticism seems to reach its farthest point. All human experience is spoken of as a dream or as illusion.' He who calls another a dreamer does not know that he is not dreaming himself. One and another commentator discover in such '
utterances something very like the Buddhist doctrine that ^ all
life
is
but so
consummation [39]
in
much
illusion
(^).
This notion has
the story with which the
K
Book
its
concludes.
I
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
30
BK.
ill,
A'wang-jze had dreamt that he was a butterfly. When he awoke, and was himself again, he did not know whether he, Kwang Kiu, had been dreaming that he was a butterfly,
was now a butterfly dreaming that it was Kwang Kau. yet he adds that there must be a diff"erence between A'au and a butterfly, but he does not say what that But had he ever dreamt that he was a difiference is.
or
And
butterfly, so as to lose the consciousness of his personal
/Avang A'au ?
identity as
do not think
T
One may,
so.
perhaps, lose that consciousness in the state of insanity
but the language of
Young
not sufficiently guarded
is
;
when
he writes of '
Dreams, -where thought,
When
in fancy's
dreaming, our thoughts are not conditioned by the
categories of time and space identity
is
never
The Lord
Yang Shang
III.
of Life
'
is
the Tao.
indebted for the origin of
Though not if it
were,
Book
but the conviction of our
;
lost.
Book â&#x20AC;˘
maze, runs mad.'
life
and
a Personal Being,
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 'the
Lord of
made
ATu.
It is to this
that
we
are
for the preservation of it
is
it.
here spoken of as
Life;' just as in the preceding
'a True Governor,' and But how can we nourish the Tao? The reply is, By avoiding all striving to do so by a passionless, unstraining performance of what we have to do in our position in life; simply allowing the Tao to guide and nourish us, without doing anything to please ourselves or to counteract the tendency of our being to decay and 'a
it
True
is
to appear as
Ruler.'
;
death. Par.
the
1
life,
exhibits the injury arising from not thus nourishing
and
sets forth the rule
we
are to pursue.
Par. 2 illustrates the observance of the rule
by the perfect with which the cook of the ruler Wan-hui of Wei cut up the oxen for his employer without trouble to himself, or
skill
injury to his knife.
BRIEF NOTICES OF THE DIFFERENT BOOKS.
BK. IV,
I31
Par. 3 illustrates the result of a neglect of one of the
cautions in par.
to a certain master of the Left,
i
brought on himself dismemberment
who had
the loss of one of
in
his feet.
how even
Par. 4 shows
the Lord of Life
'
'
Lao-jze had failed by neglecting the other
allowing in his good-doing an admixture of
which produced
in his disciples a
in
nourishing
and
caution,
human
feeling,
regard for him that was
Tao, and made them This is the most the Book, and it is followed by
inconsistent with the nature of the
him excessively on
wail for
his death.
remarkable portion of a sentence which implies that the existence of man's His body spirit continues after death has taken place. is
intended by the
That
'
faggots
that are
'
consumed by the
represents the spirit which
fire
may
fire.
be transferred
elsewhere.
Some commentators dwell on the analogy between this and the Buddhistic transrotation of births which latter Others teaching, however, they do not seem to understand. ;
say that
Lord of Life is simply when he conveyed away the flooded by doing that which gave him no trouble see '
the nourishment of the
'
acting as Yii did
waters
'
;
Mencius, IV,
'
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
26.
ii,
In iTwang-jze there are various other stories of the same character as that about king Wan-hui's cook, 3
and XXII,
They
9.
are
instances
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; e.g. XIX,
of the
dexterity
acquired by habit, and should hardly be pressed into the service of the doctrine of the
Book
A is
man
IV.
has his place
Zan
among
a member, while he
And
Tao.
A'ien Shih. other
men
of the
lives,
in the
body
world
he
;
of humanity.
he has
his
special duties to discharge, according to his position,
and
as
he has
his place in
his relation to others.
society, so
also
Taoist writers refer to this
as a proof of the practical
A'wang-jze.
K
Book
character of the writings
2
of
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
132
They
BK. iv.
are right to a certain extent in doing so
;
but the
cases of relationship which are exhibited and prescribed for
Book is of Httle human conduct and duty. In the two paragraphs we have the case of Yen Hui, who
are of so pecuhar a character, that the
value as a directory of first
wishes to go to Wei, an-d try to reform the character and
government of its oppressive ruler in the third and fourth, that of the duke of Sheh, who has been entrusted by the ;
king of
KJm
which
occasioning him
and
is
with a
difficult
mission to the court of AV/i,
much anxiety and apprehension of a Yen Ho, who is about to undertake
in the fifth, that
the office of teacher to the son of duke Ling of Wei, a
young man with
a
very bad
natural
other four paragraphs do not seem to
disposition.
come
The
naturally
in
after these three cases, being occupied with
two immense and wonderful trees, the case of a poor deformed cripple, and the lecture for the benefit of Confucius by the madman '
of AV/u,'
In
all
these last paragraphs, the
theme is the no use.
usefulness, to the party himself at least, of being of
Confucius graphs.
is
the principal speaker in the
Sheh there
is
much
that
is
shrewd and good
;
the duke of
but we prefer
the practical style of his teachings, as related disciples in the Confucian Analects.
four para-
first
Yen Hui and
In what he says to
by
Possibly,
it
his
own
was the
object of A'wang-5ze to exhibit his teaching, as containing,
without his being aware of
it,
much
acter of the Taoistic system.
duke of Sheh, however, is less than what he is made to say to
Yen Ho
is
has a place
of the mystical char-
His conversation with the obnoxious to this charee
Yen
Hui.
The
adviser of
a A'ii Po-yii, a disciple of Confucius, in
who
still
the sage's temples.
In the conclusion, the
Taoism of our author comes out in methods of Confucius. His object in the whole treatise, perhaps, was to show how 'the doing nothing, and yet thereby doing everything,' was the method contrast with the
to be pursued in
all
the intercourses of society.
BRIEF NOTICES OF THE DIFFERENT BOOKS.
BK. V.
Book of
Teh Khung
V.
I
33
Fu.
The fu {^) consisted in the earliest times of two slips bamboo made with certain marks, so as to fit to each
other exactly, and held
ment the
By
or cov^enant.
by the two parties to any agreethe production and comparison of
the parties verified their mutual relation
slips,
and
;
the claim of the one and the obligation of the other were sufficiently established.
'
of the character in this
By
Seal
'
seems the best translation
title.
virtue ^m) we must understand the characteristics Tao. Where those existed in their full proportions in any individual, there was sure to be the evidence or proof of them in the influence which he exerted in all his intercourse with other men and the illustration of this is the subject of this Book, in all its five paragraphs. That influence is the Seal set on him, proving him to be a true child of the Tao. '
'
(
of the
;
'
'
The
I may call them, men who had lost
of the
heroes, as
graphs are
three para-
first
their feet, having
been reduced to that condition as a punishment, just or unjust, all
of certain offences
and those of the
;
last
two are
distin-
guished by their extraordinary ugliness or disgusting de-
But neither the
formity.
deformities trouble the
their
feet
nor their
serenity of their
own
minds, or
loss
of
interfere with the effects of theii" teaching
upon others; so superior is their outward appearance.
Various brief descriptions of the the Book.
and character
their virtue to the deficiencies in
Tao
The most remarkable
of
are interspersed in
them
are those
in
which there is no element of falsehood,' and as the author of all the Changes The sentences where or Transformations in the world. par.
1,
where
it
appears as 'that
in
'
'
these
seeks to
know Him
in
whom
is
nothing
false.
not be affected by the instability of creation life
were involved
in
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
He He would
by Mr. Balfour
occur are thus translated
:
even
'
if
his
the general destruction, he would yet
hold firmly to his faith
(in
God).'
And
he observes
in a
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
134 note, that
the
first
short sentence
commentators as referring to
Kan
'
is
explained by the
(S
3ai
^),
the term
But we met with
used by the Taoist school for God.' that
BK. vi.
name and synonyms of it in Book Tao, coupled with the
II, par. 2,
as appel-
its personality. A'an 3^i, 'the True Governor or Lord,' may be used as a designation for god or God, but the Taoist
denial of
lations of the
whom
school denies the existence of a Personal Being, to
we
are accustomed to apply that name.
Hui-^ze, the sophist and friend of /Twang-^ze, in the conclusion as disputing
duced
is
intro-
with him the propriety
of his representing the Master of the
Tao
as being
still
'a
and is beaten down by him with a repetition of his assertions, and a reference to some of Hui-jze's well-known What would ATwang-jze have said, if his peculiarities. opponent had affirmed that his instances were all imaginary, and that no man had ever appeared who could appeal to his possession of such a seal to his virtues and influence as he described ? Lu Fang-wang compares with the tenor of this Book what we find in Mencius, VII, i, 21, about the nature of the superior man. The analogy between them, however, is very faint and incomplete.
man
;'
'
'
Book So verb,
VI.
Ta 3ung
Shih.
translate the title of this Book, taking Bi-ing as a
I
3ung Shih as =' The Master who is Honoured.' take 3ung in the sense of 'Originator,' in it is employed in the Tao Teh A'i n g, Ixx, 2. Which-
and
Some which
critics
ever rendering be adopted, there is no doubt that the title is intended to be a designation of the T^o and no one of our author's Books is more important for the understanding ;
of his system of thought.
The key
to
it
is
found
in
the
first
of
its
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
fifteen
para-
There are in man two elements the Heavenly or Taoistic, and the human. The disciple of the Tao, recognising them both, cultivates what he knows as a man graphs.
;
BRIEF NOTICES OF THE DIFFERENT BOOKS.
BK. VI.
I
35
become entirely conformed to the action of the Tao, and submissive in all the most painful experiences A seal will be in his lot, which is entirely ordered by it. set on the wisdom of this course hereafter, when he has SO as to
completed the period of
on earth, and
his existence
re-
turns to the state of non-existence, from which the
Tao
In the meantime he
may
him
called
to be born as a
attain to be the
True man
man.
possessing the
Our author then proceeds paragraphs his idea of the
name
that this
is
to give his
True Man.
be understood
to
True
'
in
knowledge.
readers in
five
Mr. Balfour says the esoteric sense,
the partaking of the essence of divinity,' and he translates
But we have no right to introand divinity.' Nan-hwai (VII, 5 b) gives a short definition of the name which is more to the point: 'What we call "the True Man" is it
by the Divine Man.' '
duce here the terms
'
divine
'
'
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
one whose nature
A. ^
'[^
^
is
~^
in
agreement with the ''
jM! ili
^"*^ ^^^^
Tao (j^ g^ '^
commentator adds
in a
'Such men as Fu-hsi, Hwang-Ti, and Lao Tan.' The Khang-hsi dictionary commences its account of the character
note,
j^. or
the
'
True' by a
Shwo Wan
definition of the
as a
|j||
^,
True
Man
taken from
'a recluse of the mountain,
whose bodily form has been changed, and who ascends to but when that earliest dictionary was made. heaven Taoism had entered into a new phase, different from what The most prominent it had in the time of our author. characteristic of the True Man is that he is free from all exercise of thought and purpose, a being entirely passive in In par. 3 seven men are mentioned, the hands of the Tao. good and worthy men, but inferior to the True. Having said what he had to say of the True Man, TTwang-^ze comes in the seventh paragraph to speak directly of the Tao itself, and describes it with many wonderful predicates which exalt it above our idea of God ;â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a concept and not a personality. He concludes by mentioning a number of ancient personages who had got the Tao, and by it wrought wonders, beginning with a Shih-wei, who preceded Fu-hsi, and ending with Fu Yiieh, the minister of ;
'
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
156 Wu-ting,
came a
in the fourteenth
century
BK. vii.
and who
B.C.,
mentioned as
finally be-
Phang 3u
star in the eastern portion of the zodiac.
through his possession of the Tao, from the twenty-third century B.C. to the seventh or later. The sun and moon and the constellation of the Great Bear is
also
living,
are also mentioned as called the is
its possessors, and the fabulous Being Mother of the Western King. The whole passage
perplexing to the reader to the
The remaining paragraphs
last degree.
mostly occupied with and of its effects in making men superior to the infirmities of age and the most terrible deformities of person and calamities of penury; as 'Tranquillity' under all that might seem most calculated to disturb it. Very strange is the attempt at the conclusion of are
instances of learning the Tao,
par. 8 apparently to trace the genesis of the
the
Tao.
Confucius
is
knowledge of introduced repeatedly as the ex-
lounder of Taoism, and made to praise ultra of human attainment.
Book The
it
as the
ne plus
Yixg Ti Wang.
VII.
of the three characters in this title renders the translation of it somewhat perplexing. Ying has different first
meanings according as third.
In the
or should be to.
I
in
;
read in the
first tone or in the the symbol of what is right, the third tone of answering or responding it is
tone
first
prefer to take
it
it
is
here in the
first
As Kwo
tone.
Hsiang says, One who is free from mind or purpose of his own, and loves men to become transformed of themselves, is fit to be a Ruler or a King,' and as 3hui A^wan, another early commentator, says, He whose teaching is that which is without words, and makes men in the world act as if they were oxen or horses, is fit to be a Ruler or a King.' '
'
This then
the object
is
of the
Bookâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; to
describe that
government which exhibits the Tao equally in the rulers and the ruled, the world of men all happy and good without purpose or It consists
effort.
of seven paragraphs.
iuodel ruler in
him
The
of the line of Thai,
first
shows
whom
I
us the
have not
BRIEF NOTICES OF THE DIFFERENT BOOKS.
UK. vir.
The second shows
succeeded in identifying. .such a rule, uncontrolled
and
us
37
I
men under
safe like the bird that flies
high beyond the reach of the archer, and the mouse secure in its deep hole from its pursuers. The teacher in this portion
is
madman
AT/aeh-yii,
known
in
the Confucian school as
'
the
and he delivers his lesson in opposition to the heresy of a Zah-kung Shih, or 'Noon Beginning.' of AVm,'
In the third paragraph the speakers are a nameless man,' and a Thien Kan, or Heaven Root.' In the fourth paragraph Lao-^ze himself appears upon the stage, and lectures '
'
a
Yang
3ze-/^u, the
saying that
'
Yang A'u
where the
He concludes by
of Mencius.
took their stand
intelligent kings
could not be fathomed, and they found their enjoyment
in
(the realm of) nonentity.'
The
fifth
paragraph
is
longer,
of a wizard, a physiognomist
and
in
tells
us of the defeat
A'ang,
by Hu-^ze, the
master of the philosopher Lieh-3ze, who is thereby delivered from the glamour which the cheat was throwing round him. I
confess to not being able to understand the various pro-
by which Hu-^ze foils the wizard and makes him run The whole story is told, and at greater length, in the second book of the collection ascribed to Lieh-^ze, and cesses
away.
the curious student that
may
like to look at the translation of
work by Mr. Ernst Faber (Der Naturalismus
bei
den alten Chinesen sowohl nach der Seite des Pantheismus als des Sensualismus, oder die Sammtlichen Werke des Philosophen Licius, 1H77). The effect of the wizard's defeat on Lieh-^ze was great. He returned in great humility to his
He
house, and did not go out of
it
for three years.
did the cooking for his wife, and fed the pigs as
were feeding men.
He
if
he
returned to pure simplicity, and
therein continued to the end of his
life.
But
I
do not see
the connexion between this narrative and the government of the Rulers and Kings.
The sixth paragraph is a homily by our author himself on 'non-action.' It contains a good simile, comparing the mind of the perfect man to a mirror, which reflects faithwhat comes before it, but does not retain any image of it, when the mind is gone.
fully
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
138
BK.
VIII.
The last paragraph is an ingenious and interesting allegory relating how the gods of the southern and northern seas brought Chaos to an end by boring holes in him. Thereby they destroyed the primal simplicity, and according to Taoism did Chaos an injury On the whole I do not think that this Book, with which the more finished essays of /iTwang-jze come to an end, is so successful as !
those that precede
it.
'
Book
VIII.
Phien Mau.
This Book brings us to the Second Part of the writings of our author, embracing in all fifteen Books.
Of
the most
important difference between the Books of the First and the other Parts some account has been given in the Introduc-
We
tory Chapter.
character of their
have here to do only with the different
Those of the seven preceding Books are so many theses, and are believed to have been prefixed to them hy Kwang-^ze himself; those of this Book and the others that follow are believed to have been prefixed
by
titles.
Kwo
Hsiang, and consist of two or three characfrom the beginning, or near the beginning of the several Books, after the fashion of the names of the Books in the Confucian Analects, in the works of Mencius, and in our Hebrew Scriptures. Books VIII to XIII are ters taken
considered to be supplementary to
VII by Au-yang Hsiu. The title of this eighth Book, Phien Mdu, has been rendered by Mr. Balfour, after Dr. Williams, Double Thumbs.' But the Mau, which may mean either the Thumb or the '
Great Toe, must be taken in the latter sense, being distinin this paragraph and elsewhere from A'ih, a finger,' and expressly specified also as belonging to the foot. The guished
'
character phien, as used here, dictionary as
is
defined in the Khang-hsi
anything additional growing out as an appendage or excrescence, a growing out at the side.' This '
would seem to justify the translation of it by 'double.' But in paragraph 3, while the extra finger increases the
number
of the fingers, this growth on the foot
as diminishing the
number
of the toes.
I
is
represented
must consider
BRIEF NOTICES OF THE DIFFERENT BOOKS.
BK.VIII.
1
39
the phien therefore as descriptive of an appendage by which the great toe was united to one or all of the other toes, and can think of no better rendering of the title than what I have given. It is told in the 3o /^wan (twenty-third year of duke Hsi) that the famous duke Wan of 3in had
phien hsi eh,
that
is.
that his ribs presented the appear-
So much for the title. Book seems strange to us the Tao, benevolence and righteousness
ance of forming one bone.
The
subject-matter of the
according to
that,
;
are not natural growths of humanity, but excrescences on it,
like the extra finger
web
on the hand, and the membranous of the Taoistic system
The weakness
of the toes.
A'wang-^ze's arguments must be pronounced very feeble.
begins to appear. his position
Shun
is
introduced as the
first
who
in
support of
The
called in the
ancient
two great
and vex the world, keeping society for more than a thousand years in a state of uneasy excitement. Of course he assumes that prior to Shun, he does not say for how long a time (and in other places he makes decay to have begun earlier), the world had been in a state of paradisiacal innocence and simplicity, under the guidance of the Tao, untroubled by any consideration of what was right and what was wrong, men passively allowing their nature to have its quiet development, and happy in that condition. All culture of art or music is wrong, and so it is wrong and
virtues to distort
injurious to
be striving to manifest benevolence and to
maintain righteousness.
He
two men, one of the twelfth cendied of hunger rather than and one of a more acknowledge the dynasty of A'au
tury
especially singles out
B.C.,
the famous Po-i,
who
;
recent age, the robber Shih, a great leader of brigands,
who
brought himself by his deeds to an untimely end and he We must give our sees nothing to choose between them. ;
judgment
for the teaching of
Confucianism
in preference to
our author can be regarded as a fair He is ingenious in his statements expositor of the latter. and illustrations, but he was, like his master Lao-jze, only that of Taoism,
a dreamer.
if
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
140
Book Horses
'
and
'
Hoofs
'
Text, standing there
The account
in
MA
IX.
are the
Thi.
first
two characters of the
the relation of regent and regimen.
of the teaching of the
so concise that
y^'ung is
'
BK. IX,
I will
avail
Book given by Lin Hsi-
myself of
it.
He
says
:
Governing men is like governing horses. They may be governed in such a way as shall be injurious to them, contrary to its true just as Po-lao governed the horse; nature. His method was not different from that of the (first) potter and carpenter in dealing with clay and '
—
wood
;
— contrary to the
withstanding the
—
not knowing what it is good and skilful government of Such government simply requires that men be
men.
to
fulfil
parties
;
the
constitutes
made
Not-
nature of those substances.
one age after another has celebrated
those
of
skill
that
ties
this,
their regular constant
which they
all
possess in
nature,
— the
quali-
common, with which they
by Heaven, and then be left to themselves. which constituted the age of perfect virtue but when the sages insisted on the practice of benevolence, righteousness, ceremonies, and music, then the are constituted
was
It
this
;
people began to be without that perfect virtue.
they were
in
Not
that
themselves different from what they had been,
but those practices do not really belong to their regular nature of the
;
they arose from their neglecting the characteristics
Tao, and abandoning
their natural constitution
;—
was the case of the skilful artisan cutting and hacking his raw materials in order to form vessels from them. There is no ground for doubting that Po-lao's management of horses gave them that knowledge with which they went on to play the part of thieves, or that it was the sages* government of the people which made them devote themit
selves to the pursuit of gain
;
—
it is
impossible to deny the
error of those sages. '
There
to the end
is ;
in the Book from the beginning an amplification of the expression in the
but one idea
—
it is
preceding Book that
" all
men have
their regular
and con-
BRIEF NOTICES OF THE DIFFERENT BOOKS.
BK. X.
stant constitution,"
and
is
I41
the most easily construed of
In consequence, however,
iTwang-^ze's compositions.
all
of
the wonderful touches of his pencil in describing the sym-
pathy between men and other creatures in their primal state, some have imagined that there is a waste and embellishment of language, and doubted whether the Book is really his own, but thought it was written by some one in I apprehend that no other hand imitation of his style. would easily have attained to such a mastery of that style.' There is no possibility of adjudicating definitely on the
Book thus expressed in The same suspicion arose
suspicion of the genuineness of the
Hsi-^ung's concluding remarks. in
my own
mind
My surprise
in the process of translation.
continues that our author did not perceive the absurdity of his notions of the primal state of
men, and of
his
condem-
nation of the sages. ^fc>^
Book It
is
X.
Kn\j AV/ieh.
observed by the commentator Kwei
that one idea runs through this
Book
:
A'an-zC'/aian
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; that the most sage
and wise men have ministered to theft and robbery, and that, if there were an end of sageness and wisdom, the world would be at rest. Between it and the previous Book there is a general agreement in argument and object, but in this the author expresses himself with greater vehemence, and almost goes to excess
in his
denunciation of the institu-
tions of the sages.
The
reader will agree with these accounts of the Book.
A'wang-jze at times becomes weak
To my mind
lish his points.
of this Book and we have in them
maintained
names
of
its
many
we suppose
in his
attempts to estab-
the most interesting portions
the last one are the
full
statements which
happy state of men when the Tao undisputed sway in the world, and the of the
of the early Taoistic sovereigns.
that anything would be gained
by
How
can
a return to
the condition of primitive innocence and simplicity
?
The
antagonism between Taoism and Confucianism comes out in this
Book very decidedly.
J
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
42
The
title
Book
of the
clause of the
first
first
taken from two characters
is
in
the
paragraph.
Book The two
BK. xr.
3ai Yu.
XI.
characters of the title are taken from the
first
sentence of the Text, but they express the subject of the Book more fully than the other titles in this Part do, and to a place in Part
not easy to
It is
almost entitle
it
translate them,
and Mr. Balfour renders them by
I.
'
Leniency
towards Faults,' probably construing 3a-i as equivalent to our preposition in,' which it often is. But iTwang-jze uses '
3a and Yu
both
i
the significance of the 3ai.
which gives the idea of
'
Yu by Kh wan (W),
and
The two two,
wu
them together, the compound being derived from 3ai is defined by 3hun (^),
as verbs, or blends
chief force of the binomial
'
preserving
'
or
keeping
'
being indulgent or '
characters are afterwards
'
intact,'
forbearing.'
exchanged
for
other
wei (&ÂŁ '^), 'doing nothing,' 'inaction,' a
grand characteristic of the Tao.
The following summary
of the
Ying's explanations of our author;
Yu
Book
is
taken from Hsiian
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 'The two characters 3^i
express the subject-matter of the Book, and "govern-
ing" points out the opposite error as the disease into which
men
Let men be, and the tendencies of and there will be no necessity for governing the world. Try to govern it, and the world will be full of trouble and men will not be able to rest in the tendencies of their nature. These are the subjects of the first two paragraphs. In the third paragraph we have the erroneous view of 3hui AV/ii that by government it was possible to make men's minds good. He did not know that governing was a disturbing meddling with the minds of men and how Lao-jze set forth the evil of such government, going on till it be irretrievable. This long paragraph vigorously attacks the injury done by governing. are prone to
their nature will
fall.
be at
rest,
;
'
;
'
In the
fourth paragraph,
when Hwang-Ti questions
BK. XII.
BRIEF NOTICES OF THE DIFFERENT BOOKS.
Kwang
K/iang'ize, the latter sets aside his inquiry about
the government of the world, and
I43
him about the when Yiin A'iang asks Hung Mung about governing men, the latter tells him government of himself; and
in
the
about the nourishing of the heart.
tells
fifth,
These two great para-
graphs set forth clearly the subtlest points
in the policy of
Truly it is not an empty name. In the two last paragraphs, A'wang in his own words and way sets forth, now by affirmation, and now by negation, the meaning of all that precedes.' This summary of the Book will assist the reader in understanding it. For other remarks that will be helpful, I must refer him to the notes appended to the Text. The Book is not easy to understand or to translate and a remark found in the K\a.-k/nng edition of the Ten
Let-a-be. '
;
'
to
me,
'
Lii HsiCi-fu, who died in 1279, was welyou cannot understand one or two sentences
by
Philosophers,'
come
If
of A^wang-^ze,
it
does not matter.'
Book The name;
XII.
Thien
Tf.
two characters of the Book are adopted as its Ti, 'Heaven and Earth.' These are employed, not so much as the two greatest material forms in the universe, but as the Great Powers whose influences extend to all below and upon them. Silently and effectively,
and a
first
— Thien
with entire spontaneity, their influence goes forth, rule
and pattern
is
thus given to those on
whom
business of the government of the world devolves.
one character Heaven as the denomination of
'
'
yet
is
so powerful,
Lu Shu-/^ih how the rulers
says
:
—
is
employed throughout the
this purposeless spontaneity
'
the
The Book which
This Book also sets forth clearly
of the world ought simply to act in accord-
ance with the spontaneity of the virtue of Heaven
;
abjuring
away knowledge; and doing nothing: way the Tao or proper Method of Government
sageness and putting
—
in this
will
be attained
to.
As
to the coercive
methods of
Mo
Ti
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
144
and Hui-jze, they only serve
BK, xiii,
to distress those
who
follow
them.'
in
This object of the Book appears, more or less distinctly, most of the illustrative paragraphs though, as has been ;
pointed out in the notes upon considered to be spurious.
it;
several of
Paragraphs
6,
them must be 7,
and
thus called in question, and, as most readers will
are
11
feel,
with
From 13 to the end, the paragraphs are held to be one long paragraph where A'wang-jze introduces his own but the genuineness of the reflections in an unusual style whole, so far as I have observed, has not been called in reason.
;
question.
Book 'Thien Tao,'
XIII.
the
first
Thien Tao. two characters of the
paragraph, and prefixed to the best translated
by
'
noiseless spontaneity,
The
Way
Book
name
which characterises '
all
first it,
are
the operations
perfecting
the rulers of the world attain to this same
government, and the sages among
of
Heaven,' meaning the
of
of nature, proceeding silently, yet
As
as the
men
all
things.'
way
in their
attain to
it
in their
government and doctrine arrive at a corresponding perfection. The joy of Heaven and the joy of Men are both realised. There ought to be no purpose or will in the universe. Vacancy, stillness, placidity, tastelessness, quietude, silence, and non-action this is the perfection of the Tao and its characteristics.' Our author dwells especially on doing-nothing or nonaction as the subject-matter of the Book. But as the world is full of doing, he endeavours to make a distinction between the Ruling Powers and those subordinate to and employed by them, to whom doing or action and purpose, though still without the thought of self, are necessary and by this distinction he seems to me to give up the peculiarity teachings, both
'
'
'
'
'
;
;
of his system, so that
yang the
some of the
Ilsiu, are obliged to confess
Book
critics,
especially
Au-
that these portions of
are unlike the writing of A^wang-jize.
antagonism of Taoism to Confucianism
is
Still
the
very apparent
BRIEF NOTICES OF THE DIFFERENT BOOKS.
BK. XIV.
throughout. relating the
1
45
Of the illustrative paragraphs, the seventh, churlish behaviour of Lao-3ze to Confucius,
and the way in which he subsequently argues with him and snubs him, is very amusing. The eighth paragraph, relating the interview between Lao and Shih-/^//ang Kh\, is very strange. The allusions in it to certain incidents and peculiarities in Lao's domestic
life
make
us wish that
had fuller accounts of his history and the way he rates his disciple shows him as a master of the ;
in
we
which
lans-uatre
of abuse.
The concluding paragraph about duke Hwan interesting, but I can
only dimly perceive the argument of the Book.
Book XIV. The
(^
of
Kh\
is
bearing on
Thien Yun.
between the movement of the heavens
contrast
^),
its
and the resting of the earth
(i-jjj
^),
requires
the translation of the characters of the title by 'The Revolution of Heaven.' But that idea does not enter largely into the subject-matter of the Book. The whole,' '
says Hsiian Ying, 'consists of eight paragraphs, the first three of which show that under the sky there is nothing
which is not dominated by the Tao, with which the Tis and the Kings have only to act in accordance; while
how the T a o is not to be found in the material forms and changes of things, but in a spiritthe last five set forth
energy working imperceptibly, developing and conphenomena.' I have endeavoured in the notes on the former three paragraphs to make their meaning less obscure and unconlike
trolling all
nected than
paragraphs
it
are,
is
on a
first
The
perusal.
we may assume,
all
of
them
five illustrative
factitious,
and
can hardly be received as genuine productions of A'wangLi the sixth paragraph, or at least a part of it, Lin Hsi-^'ung acknowledges the hand of the forger, and not
3ze.
less unworthy of credence are in my opinion the rest of it and much of the other four paragraphs. If they may be
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
146
BK. XV.
taken as from the hand of our author himself, he was too much devoted to his own system to hold the balance of
judgment evenly between Lao and Khung.
Book XV. I
first
Kho
t.
can think of no better translation for J|] ^, the two characters of the Book, and which appear as its title,
Ingrained Ideas;' notions, that is, held as firmly they were cut into the substance of the mind. They do not belong to the whole Book, however, but only to the first member of the first paragraph. That paragraph
than our as
'
if
describes six classes of men, only the last of which are the right followers of the
point of view,
who
Tao
paragraph identified w^ith length in the sixth Book. paragraph of Taoists
longevity
breath
is
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the
;
Sages, from the Taoistic
again are in the last sentence of the last
interesting as
'
the True
Men
'
fifth
who cultivated the system with a view to by their practices in the management
yet our author does not accord to
;
described at
member of this first showing how there was a class
The
them
obtain of the his full
approbation, while at the same time the higher Taoism appears in the last paragraph, as promoting longevity without
management of the breath. K/zu Po-hsiu, in his commentary on ^wang-jze, which was published in laio, gives Po-i and Shu-,^/n as instances of the first class spoken Confucius and Mencius, of the second 1 Yin and of here Fu Yiieh, of the third KJiko Fu and Hsu Via, as instances Of the fifth class he gives no example, but of the fourth. that of Phang 3u mentioned in it. That which distinguishes the genuine sage, the True Man of Taoism, is his pure simplicity in pursuing the Way, as it is seen in the operation of Heaven and Earth, and
the
;
;
;
/
nourishing
his
spirit
accordingly,
till
there
ensues
an
amalgamation between his Way and the orderly operation of Heaven. This subject is pursued to the end of the Book. The most remarkable predicate of the spirit so ethereal
trained
is
that in the third paragraph,
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; that
'Its
name
is
the
BK, XVI.
BRIEF NOTICES OF THE DIFFERENT BOOKS.
same
God on which none of the critics has been throw any satisfactory light. Balfour's version
as Ti or
able to is
'
:
name
;
Its
name
is
then
is
"
I47
'
called "
Of God,"
One with God the
'
'
then
'
"
Giles's,
'
;
'
Its
being in conse-
quence of his view that the subject is 'man^s spiritual existence before he is born into the world of mortals.' My own view of the meaning appears in my version. Lin Hsi-/??ung, however, calls the genuineness of the whole Book into question, and thinks it may have proceeded from the same hand as Book XIII. They have certainly one peculiarity in common many references to sayings which cannot be traced, but are introduced by the formula ;
of quotation,
Therefore,
'
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
it is said.'
Shan Hsing.
Book XVI.
is the meaning of and expresses sufificiently well the subject-matter of the Book. It was written to expose the vulgar learn'
the
Rectifying or Correcting the Nature
'
title,
'
'
ing of the time as contrary to the principles of the true
Taoism,
that
Lu
learning being, according to
'the teachings of Hui-^ze and
wished that we had
fuller
Kung-sun Lung.'
accounts of these.
Shu-^nh,
It is to
be
But see
in
Book XXXIII.
Many
of comparing the
of the critics are fond
with the 2ist chapter of the 7th
Book
Book
of Mencius, part
i,
where that philosopher sets forth Man's own nature as the most important thing to him, and the source of his true enjoyment,' which no one can read without admiration. But we have more sympathy with Mencius's fundamental views about our human nature, than with those of iTwangjze and his Taoism. Lin Hsi-/('ung is rather inclined to doubt the genuineness of the Book. Though he admires its composition, and admits the close and compact sequence of its sentences, there is yet something about it that does not smack of iirwang-3ze's style. Rather there seems to me to underlie it the antagonism of Lao and ATwang to the '
learning of the Confucian school.
L
2
The only
characteristic
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
148
of our author which
which he
is
miss,
I
is
BK. xvii.
the illustrative stories of In this the
generally so profuse.
Book agrees
with the preceding.
Kmii
Book XVII. A' //ill Shui, or
'Autumn
Shui.
first two characters Book, are adopted as its title. Its subject, in that paragraph, however, is not so much the waters of autumn, as the greatness of the Tao in its spon-
of the
first
taneity,
No
paragraph of
when
it
Waters,' the
this
has obtained complete dominion over man.
Tao is so great a favourite with Lao-jze as water, but he loved to set it forth in its quiet, onward movement, always seeking the lowest place, and always exercising a beneficent influence. But water is here illustration of the
before A"wang-ue in
its
mightiest
volume,â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the inundated
Ho
and the all but boundless magnitude of the ocean and as he takes occasion from those phenomena to deliver his ;
by 'The Floods of Autumn.' adopt the account of the Book given by Lu ShuThis Book,' he says, shows how its spontaneity
lessons, I translate the title
To ^ih
/
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
'
'
the greatest characteristic of the Tao, and the chief thing inculcated in it is that we must not allow the human is
element to extinguish
in
our constitution the Heavenly.
Ho and the Sea, our author gives us to see the Five Tis and the Kings of the Three dynasties as only exhibiting the Tao in a small degree, while its great development is not to be found in outward form and appliances so that it cannot be described in words, and it is difficult to find its point of commencement, '
First,
using the illustrations of the
which indeed appears nothing the
to
be impracticable, while
human may be
still
by doing
united with the Heavenly, and
men may bring back their True condition. By means of the conversations between the guardian spirit of the Ho and Zo (the god) of the Sea this subject is exhaustively treated. 'Next
(in
paragraph
other subjects illustrate
8),
the
how
spontaneity and doing nothing. par. 9)
khwei, the millepede, and
the mind
The
is
spirit-like in its
case of Confucius (in
shows the same spontaneity, transforming violence.
BRIEF NOTICES OF THE DIFFERENT BOOKS. I49
BK. xviil.
Lung
Kung-SLin
(in par. 10), refusing to
spontaneity, and seeking victory
shows
ings, in
his
wisdom
to
be only
The remaining
the well.
us A^wang-jze
by
enjoying himself
like the fishes, in the is
comply with
that
his sophistical reason-
like the folly of the frog
three paragraphs bring before
the spontaneity of his
to the allurements of rank aloft, as
by
;
Tao, now superior
then, like the phoenix flying
in perfect ease
;
and
finally, as
happiness of his self-possession.'
Such
Many
of the
a brief outline of this interesting chapter.
critics would expunge the ninth and tenth paragraphs as unworthy of A'wang-;;ze, the former as misrepresenting
Confucius, the latter as extolling himself.
may
Book XVIII. The
may
I
think
they
both be allowed to stand as from his pencil.
title
of this Book, A'ih
Lo.
A'iti
Lo, or Perfect Enjoyment,' '
also be received as describing the subject-matter of
it.
what he means by It seems to involve two elements, Perfect Enjoyment.' freedom from trouble and distress, and freedom from the What men seek for as their chief good fear of death. would only be to him burdens. He does not indeed altoBut the author does not
us distinctly
tell
'
condemn them, but his own quest is the better and more excellent way. His own enjoyment is to be obtained by means of doing nothing that is, by the Tao of which passionless and purposeless action is a chief characteristic and is at the same time the most effective action, as is illusgether
;
;
;
trated in the operation of heaven and earth.
Such
the substance of the
is
first
paragraph.
The second
showing how his principle controlled Kwang-^ze on the death of his wife. Paragraph 3 shows us two professors of Taoism delivered by it from the fear Paragraph 4 brings our author beof their own death. fore us talking to a skull, and then the skull's appearance is
interesting
to
him
in
a
as
dream and
fucius itself,
telling
him
of the happiness of
occupied with Conand his favourite disciple Yen Hui. It stands by unconnected with the rest of the Book, and its
the state after death.
Paragraph 5
is
I
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
50
genuineness
BK. XIX.
denied by some commentators. The last in an enlarged form in the Books ascribed
is
paragraph, found
to Lieh-(^ze, has as
little
to
do
and
is
a strange anticipation in China
of the Book,
theme
as the fifth with the general
of the transrotation or transformation system of Buddhism.
Indeed, after reading this Book,
Taoism and Buddhism should
in
we cease to wonder that many practices come so
near each other.
Book XIX.
TA Shang.
have been inclined to translate the
I
title
of this
Book
by The Fuller Understanding of Life,' with reference to what is said in the second Book on The Nourishment of the Lord of Life.' There the Life before the mind of the '
'
writer
is
to the
that of the Life
Body
of the Spirit.
;
here he extends his view also
The one
subject
is
not kept,
however, with sufficient distinctness apart from the other,
and the profusion of illustrations, taken, most of them, from the works of Lieh-^^ze, is perplexing. To use the words of Lu Shu-/^ih This Book shows how he who would skilfully nourish his life, must maintain his spirit complete, and become one with Heaven. These two ideas preside in it throughout. In par, 2, the words of the Warden Yin show that the spirit kept complete is beyond the reach of harm. In 3, the illustration of the hunchback shows how the will must be maintained free from all confusion. In 4, that of the ferryman shows that :
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
to the completeness of the spirit there
regard of
'
is
required the dis-
In 5 and 6, the words of Thien Khai-/l'ih convey a warning against injuring the life by the indulgence of sensual desires. In 7, the sight of a sprite by
duke
life
Hwan
or death.
unsettles his
spirit.
In
8,
the gamecock
trained so as to preserve the spirit unagitated. see the
man
in
In
9,
is
we
the water of the cataract resting calmly in
In 10, we have the maker of the bellstand completing his work as he did in accordance with the mind of Heaven. All these instances show how the his
appointed
lot.
BK. XXI.
spirit is
BRIEF NOTICES OF THE DIFFERENT BOOKS.
The
nourished.
in par. 11, not
reckless charioteering of
I51
Tung Ye
stopping when the strength of his horses was
exhausted, and the false pretext of Sun Hsiu, clear as at
noon-day, are instances of a different kind while in the hardly needing the application of his mind, and ;
skilful Shui,
fully enjoying himself in all things, his his
harmony with Heaven, and
movements
Shan Mu.
Book XX.
It requires a httle effort to perceive that title
of this Book, does not belong to
only to the
first
of
its
testify of
his spiritual completeness.'
nine paragraphs.
it
Shan
M
d,
the
as a whole, but
That speaks of a
which our author once saw on a mountain. The other paragraphs have nothing to do with mountain trees, As the last Book might be considered to large or small. be supplementary to the Nourishment of Life,' discussed in Book III, so this is taken as having the same relation to Book IV, which treats of Man in the World, associated larere tree
'
'
with other men.' of which are
It
shows by
of interest,
full
its
various narratives,
how by
the principles and lessons of the
some
a strict observance of
Tao
a
man may
preserve
and be happy, may do the right thing and enjoy himself and obtain the approbation of others in the various circumstances in which he may be placed. The themes both of Books I and IV blend together in it. Paragraph has more the character of an apologue than most of his life
<S
A'wang-jze's stories.
Book XXI. Thien 3ze-fang
who appear
marquis
XIV,
Wan
that ruler.
merely the name of one of the men paragraph. That he was a hislearned from the Plans of the Warring
is
in the first
torical character States,'
Thien 3ze-fang.
is
art. 6,
'
where we
find
him
at the court of the
Wei (b. C. 424-387), acting as counsellor to Thien was his surname 3ze-fang his designaof
;
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
152
and Wu-<^ai his name. any of the paragraphs but the
tion,
It is
Book
not easy to reduce
to
all
one category. The
He
BK. xxil.
has nothing to do with
first.
the narratives or stories in the
fifth,
seventh, and eighth, indeed,
or unworthy of our and the sixth and ninth are trivial, though the ninth bears all the marks of his graphic style. Paragraphs A common idea in 3 and 4 are both long and important. them and in 1, 2, and 10 seems to be that the presence and power of the Tao cannot be communicated by words, and are independent of outward condition and circumstances.
are generally
author
as spurious,
rejected
;
Km
Book XXIL With
this
Book
the Second Part of iTwang-^ze's Essays
or Treatises ends. '
All the Books
'
show the opposition
ledge as enjoined
Pei Yu.
in
Taoism
of
in it/
says
Lu
Shu-/&ih,
to the pursuit of
knowand
the Confucian and other schools
Book may be regarded and clearest of them all.'
as the deepest,
this
;
most vehement,
The concluding
sentences of
the last paragraph and Lao-jze's advice to Confucius in par. 5, to
'
sternly repress his knowledge,'
may be
referred
to as illustrating the correctness of Lu's remark.
Book seventeenth
is
commonly considered
to be the
most
eloquent of ATwang-jze's Treatises, but this twenty-second
Book is not
it in eloquence, and it is more characmethod of argument. The way in which he the names with which he personifies the attri-
inferior to
teristic of his
runs riot in
butes of the Tao,
is a remarkable instance of the subtle which he often brings out his ideas and in no other Book does he set forth more emphatically what his
manner
in
;
own
idea of the Tao was, though the student often fails to be certain that he has exactly caught the meaning. The title, let it be observed, belongs only to the first
paragraph. '
The A'ih
in
it
must be taken
knowledge,' and not of wisdom.' '
in
the sense of
BK. XXIV.
BRIEF NOTICES OF THE DIFFERENT BOOKS.
Book XXIII.
53
I
Kang-sang A'^u.
It is not at all certain that there ever was such a personage as Kang-sang AVm, who gives its name to the Book. In his brief memoir of A^wang-:;ze, Sze-ma K/n&n spells, as
we should
surname differently,
say, the first character of the
Kang
(^), employs Khang (/l), adding
and
for the
own
opinion, that there was nothing in reality corresponding
to the account given of the characters
They would be
other Books.
in
this
his
and some
therefore the inventions of
ATwang-jze, devised by him to serve his purpose in setting forth the teaching of Lao-jze.
the value of the
Lu
It
may have
been
Book would hardly be thereby
so,
but
affected.
Shu-/^ih gives the following very brief account of the
Borrowing the language of Mencius concerning other disciples of Confucius as compared with the sage, he says, Kang-sang K/m had all the members of Lao-^ze, but in small proportions. To outward appearance he was above such as abjure sagehood and put knowledge away, but still he was unable to transform Nanyung K/m, whom therefore he sent to Lao-jze and he announced to him the doctrine of the Tao that everything contents.
Yen Hui and two
'
;
was done by doing
The mary
nothing.'
reader will see that this
is
a very incomplete sum-
of the contents of the Book.
Taoistic ideal of the
'
Perfect Man,'
We
and the
find
in
it
the
discipline both
body and mind through the depths of the system by means of which it is possible for a disciple to become such. of
Book XXIV. This Book
is
Hsij
Wu-kwei.
named from the first three characters in it, name of Hsii Wu-kwei, who plays the
the surname and
most important part not further appear. recluse of Wei,
who
in
the
first
He comes visits
the marquis of the state.
two paragraphs, and does
before us as a well-known
the court to offer his counsels to
But whether there ever was such
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
154
BK. XXV.
a man, or whether he was only a creation of ATwang-jze,
we
know, tell. Scattered throughout the Book are the lessons so common with our author against sagehood and knowledge, and on cannot, so far as
I
the quality of doing nothing and thereby securing the doing
The concluding chapter
of everything.
Work
descriptions in the whole
Taoistic idea of Heaven. Lli
Fang,
'
not to be read hastily
There are
'
many dark and
flavour will there be found in
the Book,' says
in
it is
It is
more
studied, the
3eh-yang.
named from the
is
finest
of the
it.'
Book XXV. This Book
one of the
Tao and
mysterious expressions.
but the more
;
is
of the
first
two characters
in
it,
'3eh-yang,' which again are the designation of a gentle-
man
of Lu, called
Klixx,
seeking for an introduction to the king of that state,
Phang Yang, who comes before us
in
we may suppose, of giving him good counsel. Whether he ever got the introduction which he desired we do not know. The mention of him only serves to bring in three with the view,
other individuals,
belonging to Kh\x^ and the characters
all
but we hear no more of 3eh-yang. The second and third paragraphs are, probably, sequels to the of two of
them
;
but his name does not appear. The paragraphs from 4 to 9 have more
first,
themselves
but
;
The
of thought.
The former lages,'
the
it is
tenth and eleventh are more important.
deals with
common
the Talk of the Hamlets and Vil-
'
sentiments of men, which, correct and
just in themselves, are not to
expression of the
Tao
itself is
or less interest in
not easy to trace in them any sequence
Tao
be accepted as a
the latter sets forth
;
how
sufficient
the
pose of description
;
as
if
capable, therefore, from
the
its
Tao
were a thing, and not
material derivation of giving
adequate expression to our highest notion of what
The Book,' Tao cannot be '
name
only a metaphorical term, used for the pur-
says
Lu
Shu-^^ih,
described
'
by any name
;
it is.
how the Great that men ought to
illustrates
BK. XXVII.
BRIEF NOTICES OF THE DIFFERENT BOOKS.
I
55
Stop where they do not really know, and not try to find
it
any phenomenon, or in any event or thing. They must forget both speech and silence, and then they may approximate to the idea of the Great Tao.' in
Book XXVI. The
Wai Wu.
two characters of the
first paragraph are again adopted as the title of the Book,â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Wai Wu, 'External Things ;' and the lesson supposed to be taught in it is that first
expressed in the first sentence, that the influence of external things on character and condition cannot be determined beforehand. It may be good, it may be evil. Mr. Balfour has translated the two characters by External Advantages.' '
Hu Wan-ying The
interprets
them
of
'
External Disadvantages.'
may in fact be either of these. What seems may be productive of the greatest services and what men deem most advantageous may turn out to be things
useless
;
most hurtful to them.
What
man
is the Tao. That is his and cannot be taken from him, if he prize it and cultivate it. But if he neglect it, and yield to external influences unfavourable to it, he may become bad, and suffer all that is most hateful to him and
own,
really belongs to
sufiicient for his happiness,
injurious.
Readers must judge the subject
is
for themselves of the
way
in
illustrated in the various paragraphs.
which
Some
enough others are wide of the mark. The second, third, and fourth paragraphs are generally held to be spurious, poor in composition, and not at all to the point.' If my note on the six faculties of perception in par. 9 be correct;, we must admit in it a Buddhistic hand, modifying the conceptions of Kwang-^zQ after he had passed away. of the stories are pertinent
;
'
'
'
Book XXVII.
Yu
Yt) Yen.
Yen, Metaphorical Words,' stand at the commencement of the Book, and have been adopted as its name. '
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
15^
They might be employed
to denote
are not appHcable to the
Book
its first
BK. xwill.
paragraph, but
Nor let the reader expect to find even here any disquisition on the nature of the metaphor as a figure of speech. Translated literally,
'YiiYen'
are
as a whole.
'Lodged Words,'
that
is,
Ideas
meaning or character from their environment, the narrative or description in which they are that receive their
deposited.
i^wang-3ze wished, I suppose, to give some description of the style in which he himself wrote :â&#x20AC;&#x201D; now metaphorical,
now abounding his
Taoistic
of his /iTih
words,
in
and throughout moulded by seems to be the meaning
quotations,
views.
This
last
Yen,â&#x20AC;&#x201D; literally,
common
as
'Cup, or Goblet, Words,' that is, the water constantly supplied in the
moulded by the T^oist principle, the element Heaven blended in man's constitution and that should direct and guide his conduct. The best help in the cup, but
all
of and from
interpretation of the paragraph
is derived from a study of second Book, as suggested in the notes. Of the five paragraphs that follow the first, the second relates to the change of views, which, it is said, took place
the
in
difficult
Confucius
the third, to the change of feeling in 3ang-jze poverty and prosperity the fourth, to changes of character produced in his disciple by the teachings of Tungkwo ^ze-k/n the fifth, to the changes in the appearance of the shadow produced by the ever-changing substance in
;
his
;
;
and the in
sixth, to the
change of
spirit
and manner produced
Yang
K\x by the stern lesson of Lio-^ze. Various other lessons, more or less appropriate and im-
portant, are interspersed.
Some critics argue that this Book must have originally been one with the thirty-second, which was made into two by the
insertion
between
intervening Books, but this
its is
Book XXVIII.
ZangWang,
Parts of the four spurious uncertain and unlikely.
Zang Wang.
explaining the characters as
I
have done,
BK. XXIX.
BRIEF NOTICES OF THE DIFFERENT BOOKS.
I
57
fairly indicates the subject-matter of the
we have
Book. Not that a king in every ilhistration, but the personages
adduced are always men of worth, who decline the throne, or gift, or distinction of whatever nature, proffered to them, and feel that they have something better to live for.
A
persuasion, however,
widely spread, that this Book
is
and the three that follow are
all
spurious.
The
first critic
was Su Shih (better known as Su Tung-pho, A. D. 1036-1101); and now, some of the best editors, such as Lin Hsi-/^ung, do not admit them into their texts, while others who are not bold enoueh to exclude them altogether, do not think it worth their while to discuss them seriously. Hu Wan-ying, for instance, says, Their style is poor and mean, and they are, of note to challenge their genuineness
'
without doubt, forgeries.
I will not therefore trouble myself with comments of praise or blame upon them. The
may accept or reject them at his pleasure.' But something may be said for them. Sze-ma AV^ien seems to have been acquainted with them all. In his short biographical notice of A' wang-^ze, he says, He made the Old Fisherman, the Robber A'ih, and the Cutting Open Satchels, to defame and calumniate the disciples of Confucius.' A'/zien does not indeed mention our present Book along with and XXXI, but it is less open to objection on the ground he mentions than they are. I think if it had stood alone, it would not have been condemned. reader
'
XXX
Book XXIX. It
the
A-ih.
has been seen above that Sze-ma Kh\&x\ expressly
ascribes the jze.
Tao
Book
called
'
A"//ien refers also in
facts
of
his
history
the
Robber
A"ih
to
'
contrast
in
Confucius' favourite disciple
Yen Hui
with
those about
therefore
time, and that he
that
had read
the it.
Book
On
on must
as inexplicable
We
the supposition of a just and wise Providence.
conclude
ATwang-
another place to A'ih, adducing
existed
in
AV/ien's
the other hand
it
has
been shown that Confucius could not have been on terms
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
158
of friendship with Liii-hsia K\, and all that
brother the robber wants substantiation.
me
ever existed appears to
BK. XXX.
is
related of his
That such a man
Are we
very doubtful.
to put
paragraph then as a jeu d' esprit on the part of iTwang-^ze, intended to throw ridicule on Confucius and what our author considered his
down
the whole of the
first
does so, and we are amused by the robber. In the other two paragraphs we have good instances of
pedantic ways.?
It certainly
to hear the sage outcrowed
/Twang-jze's
names
'
metaphorical expressions,'
for his personages,
cating their characters
;
more or
but
in
first
his
coinage
of
ingeniously indi-
such cases the element of
and it is the anachroparagraph which constitutes its chief
time or chronology does not enter
nism of the
less
;
difficulty.
The name of Robber A'ih may be said to be a coinage and that a famous robber was popularly indicated by the name appears from its use by Mencius (III, ii, ch. 10, 3), to explain which the commentators have invented the story of a robber so-called in the time of Hwang-Ti, in the twentyWas there really such a legend ? seventh century B. C. and did iiTwang-jze take advantage of it to apply the name to a notorious and disreputable brother of Liu-hsia K\} Still there remain the anachronisms in the paragraph which have been pointed out. On the whole we must come to '
'
;
!
a conclusion rather unfavourable to the genuineness of the
Book. But it must have been forged at a very early time, and we have no idea by whom.
Book XXX.
We
Yueh
.^ien.
need not suppose that anything ever occurred
A^wang-jze's experience such as
is
described here.
in
The
and that he himself is which he describes, only shows of writing in wdiich he indulged was ingrained We do not know that there into the texture of his mind. ever was a ruler of A'ao who indulged in the love of the
whole narrative
made to play how the style
is
metaphorical
the part in
it
;
BK. XXXI.
BRIEF NOTICES OF THE DIFFERENT BOOKS.
sword-fight, and kept about
59
I
him a crowd of vulgar bravoes
such as the story describes. We may be assured that our author never wore the bravo's dress or girt on him the
The whole is a metaphorical representation which a besotted ruler might be brought to a feeling of his degradation, and recalled to a sense of his duty and the way in w^hich he might fulfil it. The narrative I do not feel any great difficulty is full of interest and force. in accepting it as the genuine composition of A'wang-^ze.
bravo's sword. of the
way
in
himself could have composed it ? Was it a goodhumoured caricature of him by an able Confucian writer to repay him for the ridicule he was fond of casting on the
Who but
sage
.''
Book XXXI. '
The Old Fisherman
'
is
Ytj-Ft^.
the fourth of the
Books
in the
collection of the writings of K\va.ng-^ze to which, since the
time of Su Shih, the epithet of spurious has been attached '
'
by many.
My
own
opinion, however, has been already
intimated that the suspicions of the genuineness of those
Books have been entertained on insufficient grounds and so far as 'the Old Fisherman' is concerned, I am glad that it has come down to us, spurious or genuine. There may be a certain coarseness in the Robber A'ih,' which makes us but the satire in this despise Confucius or laugh at him Book is delicate, and we do not like the sage the less when he walks up the bank from the stream where he has been lectured by the fisherman. The pictures of him and his disciples in the forest, reading and singing on the Apricot Terrace, and of the old man slowly impelling his skiff to the land and then as quietly impelling it away till it is lost ;
'
;
among kind
the reeds, are delicious
in the
so light in
volume. its
decisive, could
;
there
What hand
is
nothing finer of
but that of
touch and yet so strong, both have delineated them }
/i
its
wang-jze,
incisive
and
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
l6o
Book XXXII.
BK. xxxii.
Lieh Yu-khau.
Lieh Yli-khau, the surname and name of Lieh-^ze, with which the first paragraph commences, have become current as the name of the Book, though they have nothing to do with any but that one paragraph, which is found also in the second Book of the writings ascribed to Lieh-^ze.
There
some variations in the two Texts, but they are so shght that we cannot look on them as proofs that the two passages are
are narratives of independent origin.
Various
difficulties
surround the questions of the existence
work which bears his name. They be found distinctly and dispassionately stated and discussed in the 146th chapter of the Catalogue of the of Lieh-^ze, and of the will
The
K/i'ien-lung Imperial Library.
make make
to
me
to
it
clear
when he
lived, or
There
that he lived in the time of ;
seem
out that there was such a man, but they do not
their present form.
606)
writers
it
is
how
his writings
assumed
a statement of Liu Hsiang
duke
Mu
of
Kang
(B.C.
637-
but in that case he must have been earlier than
whom
he very frequently quotes. The Mu of A'ang should be Mu of Lu (B.C. 409-377), which would make him not much anterior to Mencius and ATwang-jze but this is merely an ingenious Lao-jze himself,
writers think that Liu's
'
'
;
conjecture.
As
to the composition of his chapters, they are
first hand from Lieh, but by some one of whether they were current in ATwang-^ze's days, and he made use of various passages from them, or those passages were Kwang-^ze's originally, and taken from him by the followers of Lieh-^ze and added to what fragments they had of their master's teaching these are points which must be left undetermined. Whether the narrative about Lieh be from ATwang-^ze or not, its bearing on his character is not readily apprehended but, as we study it, we seem to understand that his master Wu-;:an condemned him as not having fully attained to the Tao, but owing his influence with others
evidently not at
his disciples
;
;
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
BRIEF NOTICES OF THE DIFFERENT BOOKS.
BK. XXXII.
mainly to
And
this
distinctly,
less
Shu-Zih says
in
his
all
'This Book also sets forth respect
shown
human
doings drawing ;
quaHties.
As Lu
paragraphs.
:
essential condition of the Tao.
heavenly
human
the lesson which our author keeps before him,
is
more or
manifestation of his merely
tlie
l6l
to
Hwan
Doing Nothing
as the
Lieh-jze, frightened at the
him by the soup-vendors, and yet by
men
his
to him, disowns the rule of the
of A'ang, thinking himself different from
other men, does not
know
that
Heaven recompenses men in them
according to their employment of the heavenly
;
how human
the resting of the sages in their proper rest shows ancients pursued the heavenly and not the
;
the the
one who learned to slay the Dragon, but afterwards did not exercise his
skill,
begins with the human, but afterwards
in those who do not rest in the by the inward war, we see how the small men do not know the secret of the Great Repose; 3hao Shang, glorying in the carriages which he had acquired, is still farther removed from the heavenly; when
goes on to the heavenly
;
heavenly, and perish
Yen Ho shows did
that the sage, in imparting his instructions,
not follow the example of Heaven
benefits,
we
learn that
it
is
in
dift
using
its
only the Doing Nothing of
Man which
is in agreement with Heaven the knowing the mind of man, and the various methods required to test it, show the readiness with which, when not under the rule of Heaven, it seems to go after what is right, and the greater readiness with which it again
the True
;
difficulty of
revolts from indifferent to
it
;
in
Khao-fu, the Correct, we have one
the distinctions of rank, and from
him we
advance to the man who understands the great condition appointed for him, and is a follower of Heaven then comes he who plays the thief under the chin of the Black ;
Dragon, running the greatest
risks
of success, a resolute opponent of
on a mere peradventure Heaven and finally we ;
have A'wang-^^ze despising the ornaments of the sacrificial ox, looking in the same way at the worms beneath and the kites overhead, and regarding himself as quite independent [39]
M
1
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
62
BK. xxxiil,
example of the embodiment of harmony with Heaven.' So does this ingenious commentator endeavour to exhibit the one idea in the Book, and show the unity of its
of them, thus giving us an
the spiritual, and of
different paragraphs.
Book XXXIII. The Thien Hsia
Thien Hsia.
with which this
Book commences
is
in
regimen, and cannot be translated, so as to give an adequate idea of the scope of the Book, or even of the
first paragraph which it belongs. The phrase itself means literally under heaven or the sky,' and is used as a denomination of the kingdom,' and, even more widely, of the world or all men.' 'Historical Phases of Taoist Teaching' would be nearly
to
'
'
'
'
descriptive of the subject-matter of the
jected to on two grounds:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
first,
'
Book but may be obmethod ;
that a chronological
is not observed, and next, that the concluding paragraph can hardly be said to relate to Taoism at all, but to the sophisti-
cal teachers,
Par.
I
which abounded
in
the age of Kwang-'^ze.
sketches with a light hand the nature of Taoism
and the forms which
it assumed from the earliest times to the era of Confucius, as imperfectly represented by him and
his school.
Par. 2 introduces us to the system of Mo Ti and his school as an erroneous form of Taoism, and departing, as it continued, farther and farther from the old model. Par. 3 deals with a modification of
by
scholars
who
Mohism, advocated
are hardly heard of elsewhere.
Par. 4 treats of a further modification of this modified Mohism, held by scholars 'whose Tao was not the true Tao, and whose " right " was really " wrong." '
Par. 5 goes back to the era of Lao-jze, and mentions him and Kwan Yin, as the men who gave to the system of Tao a grand development. Par. 6 sets forth A'wang-^ze as following in their steps
and going beyond them, the brightest luminary of the system.
BK. XXXIII.
BRIEF NOTICES OF THE DIFFERENT BOOKS.
Par. 7 leaves
Taoism, and
I
63
brings up Hui Shih and other
sophists.
Whether the Book should be received
as from A'wang-^ze
himself or from some early editor of his writings question.'
If
it
did
come from
a good opinion of himself. at this distant time to
his pencil,
It is
M
2
'
a
vexed
hard for a foreign student
be called on
one side or the other.
is
he certainly had
for
an opinion on the
THE
WRITINGS OF /nVANG-3ZE. BOOK Part
Hsiao-yao Yu,
I.
'Enjoyment Ease \'
or
Khwan'-,
is
Section
I.
Ocean there
In the Northern
I.
of which
I.
—
Untroubled
in
is
a
fish,
name
the
do not know how many
I
li
changes into a bird with the name of Phang, the back of which is (also) I do not know
in size.
It
—
how many and
li
flies, its
When
When
in extent.
wings are
the sea
like clouds all
moved
is
rouses
this bird
(so as to
itself
round the sky.
bear
it
along),
Southern Ocean
is
it
The
prepares to remove to the Southern Ocean. the Pool of Heaven.
See notice on pp. 127, 128, on the Title and Subject-matter
^
of the Book.
The khwan and
2
transcending in of the
them he
West as so
the
size the
phang
are both fabulous creatures, far
dimensions ascribed by the wildest fancy
to the kraken and the roc. AVang-^ze represents huge by way of contrast to the small creatures which
—
to show that size has nothing to do Tao, and the perfect enjoyment which the possession of The passage is a good specimen of the Yu Yen affords. is
intending to introduce
;
with the it
(^
W")' nietaphorical or parabolical narratives or
are the chief characteristic of our author's writings
must keep
in
mind
that the idea or lesson in
rally of a Taoistic nature.
its
'
;
stories,
which
but the reader
lodging
'
is
gene-
PT.
I,
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
SECT. I.
There
the (book called)
is
Kh\ Hsieh
^
165
——a record
of marvels.
We
of the
of the dust (which quivers in the sun-
have in it these words When the phang is removing to the Southern Ocean it flaps (its wings) on the water for 3000 It. Then it ascends on a whirlwind 90,000 li, and it rests only at the end of six months.' (But similar to this is the movement of the breezes which we call) the horses fields,
:
beams), and of living things as against one another by the air
proper colour of the sky
Or
?
distance and illimitable extent
down just 2.
they are blown Is its
^.
azure the
occasioned by
is it
If
'^
'
its
one w^ere looking
(from above), the very same appearance w^ould
meet
And
of water
;
his view.
moreover,
—
if it
(to
speak
be not great,
it
of) the
will
accumulation
not have strength
Upset a cup of water in a and a straw will float on it as if it were a the Place a cup in it, and it will stick fast boat. (So it is w^ater is shallow and the boat is large. if it be not great, with) the accumulation of wind it will not have strength to support great wings. Therefore (the phang ascended to) the height of 90,000 li, and there was such a mass of wind beneath it thenceforth the accumulation of wind was sufficient. As it seemed to bear the blue sky on its to support a large boat. cavity,
;
—
;
;
back, and there was nothing to obstruct or arrest course,
it
could pursue
its
way
its
to the South.
There may have been a book with this tide, to \\\\\c\\ A'wang-jze if feehng that what he had said needed to be substantiated. This seems to be interjected as an al'terthought, suggesting to the reader that the phang, soaring along at such a height, was only an exaggerated form of the common phenomena with which ^
appeals, as
he was familiar.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
66
1
BK,
I.
A cicada and a little dove laughed at saving, We make an effort and fly towards an elm or sapanit,
'
tree and sometimes before we reach it, we can do no more but drop to the ground. Of what use is it for this (creature) to rise 90,000 li, and make for the South ? He who goes to the grassy suburbs \ returning to the third meal (of the day), will have he who goes to his belly as full as when he set out a distance of 100 It will have to pound his grain where he stops for the night he w4io goes a thousand li, will have to carry with him provisions for What should these two small creathree months. The knowledge of tures know about the matter ? that which is small does not reach to that which is
wood
;
'
;
;
great
;
(the experience of) a few years does not reach
to that of
How
many.
The mushroom
do we know that
of a morning does not
it
is
so
?
know (what
takes place between) the beginning and end of a
month
the short-lived cicada does not
;
know (what
takes place between) the spring and autumn. are instances of a short term of of KJiix"- there
is
the
(tree)
These
life.
In the south
called
Ming-ling^
500 years, and its autumn the same high antiquity there was that called Ta-/('//un ^,
whose spring in
^
In Chinese,
INI
particular place. their ^
is
;
an g 3 hang; but
The
green colour), not
The
not the
this is
name
of any
phrase denotes the grassy suburbs (from
from any
far
city or town.
great state of the South, having
its
capital
Ying in the KJnn for
present Hu-pei, and afterwards the chief competitor with the sovereignty of the
kingdom.
^
Taken by some
^
This and the ]\Iing-ling
tioned above,
mentioned
name
as the
together
in the fifth
in the next paragraph.
with
Book
of a tortoise.
tree, as well as the
the
khwan
mushroom men-
and phang, are
all
of the writings of Lieh-jze, referred to
PT.
r.
SECT.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
I.
whose spring was 8000
And Phang
same.
day
to the present
were
{to wish)
miserable ''^
3.
the one
for his length of
autumn the
its
man renowned hfe if all men :
—
match him, would they not be
to
?
byThang^
In the questions put
similar statements
:
—
'
dark and vast ocean,
is
the
In
in breadth,
while no one knows
it
there
to
Ki we have
In the bare and barren north
Heaven.
there
and
years,
3"-^^ is
167
is
a
fish,
— the
Pool of
several thousand
its
length.
There is (also) a is the khwan. phang; its back is like the Thai
bird
li
name named the Its
mountain, while wings are like clouds all round the sky. On a whirlwind it mounts upwards as on the whorls of a goat's horn for 90,000 li, till, far removed from the its
cloudy vapours,
and then
it
bears on
it
shapes
its
its
back the blue sky,
course for the South, and pro-
A quail by the side of a marsh laughed at it, and said, Where is it going to ? up with a bound, and come clown again I spring when I have reached but a few fathoms, and then and fly about among the brushwood and bushes ceeds to the ocean there.'
'
;
^ Or the patriarch Phang.' Confucius compared himself to him (Analects, VII, i) -'our old Phang;' and Kii Hsi thinks he was a worthy officer of the Shang dynasty. Whoever he was, the At the end of legends about him are a mass of Taoistic fables. the Shang dynasty (b. c. 11 23) he was more than 767 years old, and still in unabated vigour. We read of his losing 49 wives and 54 sons and that he still left two sons, Wu and I, who died in Fu--('ien, and gave their names to the Wii-i, or Bu-i hills, from See Mayers' Chinese Reader's which we get our Bohea tea '
;
—
;
'
!
IManual,' p. 175. ^
The founder
of the
Lieh-jze his interlocutor
is
Shang dynasty called
(b. c. 1766-1754). Hsia Ko, and ^zt-k\.
In
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
l68 this
is
the perfection of flying.
ture eoino- to
?
bk,
Where
is
I.
that crea-
This shows the difference between
'
the small and the great.
whose wisdom is sufficient some one office, or whose conduct secure harmony in some one district, or whose
Thus
it
that men,
is
for the duties of will
virtue
befitting a ruler so that they could efficiently
is
govern some one selves in this
state, are sure to
manner
(like
look on them-
the quail), and yet
Yung-
would have smiled and laughed at (This Yung-^ze), though the whole world them. should have praised him, would not for that have stimulated himself to greater endeavour, and though the whole world should have condemned him, would not have exercised any more repression of his course so fixed Avas he in the difference between the internal (judgment of himself) and the external (judgment of others), so distinctly had he marked out the bounding limit of glory and disgrace. Here, how^ever, he stopped. His place in the world indeed had become indifferent to him, but still he had not jze
^
of
Sung
^
;
planted himself firmly
There was Lieh-^ze
(in -,
the right position).
who rode on
the wind
and
pursued his way, with an admirable indifference (to ^
We
can hardly
tell
who
this
Yung-^ze was.
Sung was a Ho-
duchy, comprehending portions of the present pro\inces of nan, An-hui, and ^iang-su. ^
was
See note on the title of Book XXXII. Whether there ever a personage called Lieh-jze or Lieh Yu-khdu, and what is the
real character of the writings that
go under his name, are questions cannot be more than thus alluded to in a note. He is often introduced by A'wang-jze, and many narratives are common to that
their
books.
Here he comes before
but as a semi-supernatural being, the highest
consummations of
the
us, not as a thinker
who has Tao.
and
writer,
only not yet attained to
PT.
I.
SECT.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
I.
1
69
external things), returning, however, after fifteen
all
In regard to the things that
days, (to his place).
supposed to) contribute to happiness, he was free from all endeavours to obtain them but though he had not to walk, there was still something for (are
;
which he had to wait. But suppose one who mounts on (the ether of) heaven and earth in its normal operation, and drives along the six elemental energies of the changing (seasons), thus enjoying himself
said,
it is
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
what has he to wait for^? There'The Perfect man has no (thought of)
the illimitable,
in
fore
the Spirit-like man, none of merit minded man, none of fame \' self;
Yao ^ proposing
4.
Yu
'%
said,
forth,
if
not be
'
When
;
the Sagely-
to resign the throne to Hsii
the sun and
moon have come
the torches have not been put out, would
them to give light ? are coming down, if we
difficult for
seasonal rains
When still
it
the
keep
waterino- the ground, will not our toil be labour lost
forth (as sovereign),
do ? Do you. Master, stand and the kingdom will (at once)
be well governed.
If
for all the
good
it
will
I
still
(continue to) preside
must look on myself as vainly occupying Hsli the place I beg to resign the throne to you,' over
it,
I
;
The
^
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
description of a master of the Tdo, exalted by
him be nothing but travagance, above mere mortal man. In the predicates about
he
is
will
in
unless
the conclusion, however,
presented under three different phrases, which
do well to keep
it,
the ravings of a wild ex-
the reader
mind.
^ The great sovereign with whom the documents of the Shii ^ing commence b. c. 2357-2257. ^ A counsellor of Yao, who is once mentioned by Sze-ma A7/ien in his account of Po-i, in the first Book of his Biographies :
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
Hs^ ^'^^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^'^^ instance of 'the Sagely man,' (?lj fli)with whom the desire of a name or fame has no influence.
I
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
70
Yu
said,
You,
'
kingdom
Sir,
If
stances take your place, shall
the sake of the
name
guest of the reality; the guest
deep
The
?
?
— shall
these circum-
in
I
not be doing so for
I
But the name is but the I be playing the part of
makes
tailor-bird
nest in the
its
but only uses a single branch
forest,
the mole
;
drinks from the Ho, but only takes what
Return and
belly.
r,
govern the kingdom, and the
well governed.
is
BK.
—
rest in being ruler,
^
its
have
will
I
Thouoh
nothinor to do with the throne.
fills
the cook
were not attending to his kitchen, the representative of the dead and the officer of prayer would not leave their cups and stands to take his place.' 5.
ATien
A7/ieh-yu
^
Wu
^
asked Lien Shu
saying,
2,
'
I
heard
talking words which were great, but
nothing corresponding to them
(in
reality)
gone, they could not be brought back.
I
;
was
had
— once fright-
—
ened by them they were like the Milky Way ^ which cannot be traced to its beo-innine or end. They had no connexion with one another, and were ;
What were asked Lien Shu, and the other replied, that 'Far away on the hill of Ku-shih ^
not akin to the experiences of men.' his
words
(He
?
said)
there dwelt a Spirit-like
'
"^
^
Some
man whose
say the tapir.
'
See Hwang-fu
under the surname and name of nent Taoists,
I,
Lu Thung,
5,
who eschews
]\Ii's
account of him,
in his
Notices of Emi-
25.
the Ho and the Han but the name of those combined was used to denote the IMilky Way.' See the Khang-hsi Thesaurus under the character avf. All
Literally,
;
'
'
rivers •'
and skin
flesh
Known to us only through A'wang-jze. The madman of A7/u' of the Analects, XVIII,
intercourse with Confucius.
*
'
'
which
'
is
said about the
hill is
that
it
was
'
in the
North
Sea.'
PT.
I.
SECT.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
I.
I7I
were (smooth) as ice and (white) as snow that his manner was elegant and dehcate as that of a virgin that he did not eat any of the five grains, but inhaled the wind and drank the dew that he mounted on the clouds, drove along the flying dragons, rambling and enjoying himself beyond the four seas that by the concentration of his spirit-like powers he could save men from disease and pestilence, and secure every year a plentiful harvest' These words ;
;
me
appeared to believe them.
wild and incoherent and
'So
it is,'
said Lien Shu.
'
did not
I
The
blind
have no perception of the beauty of elegant figures, But nor the deaf of the sound of bells and drums. is it only the bodily senses of which deafness and There is also a simiblindness can be predicated ? and of this your words lar defect in the intelligence supply an illustration in 3Aourself. That man, with those attributes, though all things were one mass of confusion, and he heard in that condition the whole world crying out to him to be rectified, would not ;
have to address himself laboriously to the task, as Nothing if it were his business to rectify the world. could hurt that
man
to the sky, could not
;
the greatest floods, reaching
drown him, nor would he
feel
the fervour of the greatest heats melting metals and stones
and
till
they flowed, and scorching
From
hills.
could
how
the ground
mould and fashion Yaos and Shuns ^;
still
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
should he be willing to occupy himself with
things
-?'
^
Shun was
^
All this description
man.'
all
the dust and chaff of himself, he
We
bodiment.
the successor of
have
in
it
is
the
Yao
in the ancient
to give us results
kingdom.
an idea of the
of the
Tao
in
its
'
Spirit-like
fullest
em-
y
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
172
A man
6.
of Sung,
who
BK.
I.
dealt in the ceremonial
went with them to Yiieh^, the people of which cut off their hair and tattooed their bodies, Yao ruled the so that they had no use for them. people of the kingdom, and maintained a perfect government within the four seas. Having gone to see the four (Perfect) Ones ^ on the distant hill of Ku-shih, when (he returned to his capital) on the south of the Fan water*, his throne appeared no more to his deep-sunk oblivious eyes ^ caps (of Yin)
sent
"^
sowed.
me some seeds of a large calabash, which The fruit, when fully grown, could contain
five piculs (of anything).
See the
A
^
Said to have
state, part
Wang
A7/ueh,
A
river in
tary of the °
'
IX,
who
brief
iii,
used
I
to contain water,
it
3.
of the present province of ^ieh-/^iang.
been Hsii Yu mentioned above, with Nieh and Phi-i, who will by and by come before us. Shan-hsi, on which was the capital of Yao a tribuI,
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
Ho.
This paragraph
man,' is
U K\,
1
^
*
'The king of
Hui-jze^ told AVang-jze, saying,
7.
Wei I
^,
is
intended to give us an idea of
The
has no thought of himself.
'
the Perfect
description, however,
and tame, compared with the accounts of Hsii
Yu and
of
the Spirit-like man.'
Or Hui
*
Wei),
(b. c.
cius the
Shih, the chief minister of
works of
is
really
'
commence. thinker and
whom and INIenHe was a friend
;
in
a long account of several of his views.
that the conversations tree
king Hui of Liang (or
that philosopher
of A'wang-jze, and an eccentric there
'
370-333),' with an interview between
illustrate his
that things
about
took place
;
'
the great calabash
Book XXXIII do not think and the great I
'
'
A^wang-jze probably invented them, to
Tao, and when rightly
point that size had nothing to do with the
which seemed useless were not
really so
used. ^
Called also Liang from the
name
of
its
capital.
Wei was one
of the three states (subscqucnlly kingdoms), into which the great fief
of 3in was divided about
b. c.
400.
PT.
SECT.
I.
I.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-SZE.
73
I
was so heavy that I could not Uft it by myself. it in two to make the parts into drinking vessels but the dried shells were too wide and unstable and would not hold (the liquor) nothing
but I
it
cut
;
;
but laree useless ness '
I
thinsrs
knocked them
You were
to
Because of their uselessAVang-jze replied, pieces.' !
indeed stupid,
my
master, in the use of
what was larQ-e. There was a man of Suno- who was skilful at making a salve which kept the hands from getting chapped and (his family) for generations had made the bleaching of cocoon-silk their business. A stranger heard of it, and proposed to buy the art of the preparation for a hundred ounces The kindred all came together, and conof silver. sidered the proposal. " We have," said they, " been bleaching cocoon-silk for generations, and have only gained a little money. Now in one morning we can let sell to this man our art for a hundred ounces him have it." The stranger accordingly got it and ;
;
w^ent
away with
Wu\whowas
it
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
to give counsel to the king of
then eneaofed
The king gave him
the
in hostilities
command
with Ytieh.
of his
fleet,
and
the winter he had an engagement with that of
in
Ylleh, on which he inflicted a great defeat
-,
and was
invested with a portion of territory taken from Ytieh.
The keeping
the hands from getting chapped was
the same in both cases; but in the one case
it
led to
the investiture (of the possessor of the salve), and
^
A
great
and ancient
The name remains
state
on
the sea-board, north of Yiieh.
in the district of
Wu-X-iang
in the prefecture
of
Su-Mu. "^
on
The
salve gave the troops of
Wii a great advantage
the A'iang, especially in winter.
in a
war
I
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
74
in the other
it
had only enabled
tinue their bleaching.
The
owinof to the different use
its
BK.
owners to con-
difference of result
made
I.
of the
art.
was
Now
you, Sir, had calabashes large enough to hold five piculs
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; why
did you not think of making large
means of which you could have floated over rivers and lakes, instead of giving yourself the sorrow of finding that they were useless for holding anything. Your mind, my master, would seem to have been closed against all intelligence Hui-jze said to y^Twang-^ze, I have a large tree, which men call the Ailantus\ Its trunk sw^ells out bottle-gourds of them, by
!'
'
to a large size, but his line to
it
;
its
is
not
fit
for a carpenter to apply
smaller branches are knotted and
crooked, so that the disk and square cannot be used
on them. Though planted on the wayside, a builder would not turn his head to look at it. Now your words, Sir, are great, but of no use all unite in putting them away from them.' /vwang-jze replied, Have you never seen a wild cat or a weasel ? There it lies, crouching and low, till the wanderer approaches east and west it leaps about, avoiding neither what is high nor what is low, till it is caught in a trap, or dies in a net. Again there is the Yak -, so large that it is like a cloud hanging in the sky. It is large indeed, but it cannot catch mice. You, Sir, have a large tree and are troubled because it is why do you not plant it in a tract where of no use there is nothing else, or in a wide and barren wild ? ;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
'
;
;
'
The Ailantus glandulosa, common
called "^
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
*
the
fetitl tree,'
from the odour of
The bos grunniens
great
demand
for
its
in the
north of China,
leaves.
of Thibet, the long
tail
making standards and chowries.
of which
is
in
PT.
I.
SECT.
I.
THE WRITINGS OF iiWANG-3ZE.
There you might saunter
idly
by
its
I
side,
or iu
the enjoyment of untroubled ease sleep beneath
Neither
bill
nor axe would shorten
there would be nothing to injure in its uselessness to
it.
its
?'
it.
existence
What
cause you distress
75
is
;
there
I
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
76
BOOK Part
Wu
Kh\
Lun, or
'
Nan-kwo
ward on and breathed to have lost
^z&-kk\
(His
gently,
was
seeming
of
^'
seated,
leaning
for-
looking up to heaven to
be
in a trance,
and
consciousness of any companion.
all
disciple).
"-
He was
his stool.
II.
The Adjustment
Controversies I.
II.
II.
Section
I.
BK,
Yen AV^ang
3ze-yu
^,
who was in What is
attendance and standing before him, said,
'
Can the body be made to become thus like a this ? withered tree, and the mind to become like slaked His appearance as he leans forward on the is such as I never saw him have before in the same position.' 3ze-/'//i said, 'Yen, you do well to ask such a question, I had just now lost myself^; but how should you understand it? You
lime
?
stool to-day
'
See pp. 128-130.
^
Nan-kwo,
'
the
southern
suburb,'
quarter where ^zQ-kJA had resided, and
He
is
introduced several times by A'wang-^ze in his writings
Books IV,
We
^
had probably been the is used as his surname.
7
;
XXVII,
4,
:
and perhaps elsewhere.
have the surname of
this disciple,^^Ye
n (^^); his name,
Yen
(|(ยง) ; his honorary or posthumous epithet (AV/ang); and The use of the epithet shows his ordinary appellation, 3ze-yu. that he *
all
and
his
'He had
master had lived before our author.
lost himself;' that
is,
he had become unconscious of
around him, and even of himself, as
if
he were about to enter
PT.
r.
SECT.
THE WRITINGS OF ^WANG-8ZE.
11.
may have
heard the notes
heard those of Earth
;
1
77
of Man, but have not you may have heard the notes ^
of Earth, but have not heard those of Heaven.' 3ze-yu said,
'
venture to ask from you a descrip-
I
The reply was, 'When the breath of the Great Mass (of nature) comes strongly, it is tion of all these.'
called
Wind.
when
it
issues
Sometimes
it
does not come so; but
does, then from a myriad apertures there
its
excited noise
a prolonged gale
;
—have
Take
?
—
you not heard
it
in
the projecting bluff of a
mountain forest in the great trees, a hundred spans round, the apertures and cavities are like the ;
nostrils, or
round
the mouth, or the ears
like a
cup or a mortar
;
;
now
square,
now
here like a wet foot-
and there like a large puddle. (The sounds them are like) those of fretted water, of the arrowy whizz, of the stern command, of the inprint,
issuing from
haling of the breath, of the shout, of the gruff note,
of the deep wail, of the sad and piping note. first
but
in
harmony with them.
a small response
;
Gentle winds produce
violent winds a great one.
the fierce gusts have passed away,
am ad hi.
all
When
the apertures
an Immortal/ a mild form of the Buddhistic But his attitude and appearance were intended by
into the state of s
The
notes are slight, and those that follow deeper,
A'wang-3;ze to
'
indicate
Avhat should be
reference to the inquiry pursued in the
appears to me, of agnosticism.
the mental condition in
Book;
—a
condition,
it
See the account of Lao-jze in
Book XXI, par. 4. The Chinese term here (lai) denotes
a similar trance in ^
holes,
a reed or pipe, with three
by a combination of which there was formed the rudimentary
or reed organ.
Our author
uses
it
for the
nature, various as the various opinions of
about thin OS. [39]
N
sounds or notes heard
men
in their
in
discussions
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
178
BK.
Ii.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
have you not seen this in the are empty (and still); bending and quivering of the branches and leaves ? 3ze-yLi said, The notes of Earth then are simply those which come from its myriad apertures and '
'
;
the notes of
Man may just
be compared to those
which (are brought from the tubes of) bamboo allow me to ask about the notes of Heaven \' 3^^Mi replied, When (the wind) blows, (the sounds from) the myriad apertures are different, and (its ;
'
cessation)
makes them stop of themselves.
Both of
these things arise from (the wind and the apertures)
themselves
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; should
that excites 2.
them
Great knowledge
small knowledge
speech
is
is
wide and comprehensive
and exact and complete
much
(merely) so
agency
be any other
there
?'
is
partial
talk
^.
;
speech
small
When we
;
Great
restricted.
is
sleep, the soul
communicates with (what is external to us) when the body is set free. Our intercourse with others then leads to various activity, and daily there is the striving of mind with mind. There are hesitancies deep difficulties small reservations apprehensions causing restless distress, and great ;
we awake,
;
'
ally.
;
;
The sounds of Earth have been described Of the sounds of Man very little is said,
subject of the next paragraph. disciple's inquiry
Nothing
is
about the notes of Heaven.
fully
and graphic-
but they form the
said in
answer to the how-
It is intimated,
is no necessity to introduce any foreign Influence Heaven in connexion with the notes of Earth. The term Heaven, indeed, is about to pass with our author into a mere synonym of Tao, the natural 'course' of the phenomena of men
ever, that there
or
Power
and -
like
things.
Words
are the
'
sounds
by which they are excited.
'
of
Man
;
and knowledge
is
the
*
wind'
PT.
SECT.
I.
THE WRITINGS OF X'WANG-SZE.
II.
1
79
apprehensions producing endless fears. Where their utterances are like arrows from a bow, we have
who
their charge to
pronounce what is where they are given out like the conditions of a covenant, we have those who maintain their views, determined to overcome. (The weakness of their arguments), like the decay (of things) in autumn and winter, shows the failing (of the minds of some) from day to day or it is like their water which, once voided, cannot be gathered up again. Then their ideas seem as if fast bound with cords, showinof that the mind is become like an old and dry moat, and that it is nigh to death, and cannot be restored to vigour and brightness. Joy and anger, sadness and pleasure, anticipation and regret, fickleness and fixedness, vehemence and (all tardiness these indolence, eagerness and moods), like music from an empty tube, or mushrooms from the warm moisture, day and night succeed to one another and come before us, and we do not know whence they sprout. Let us stop Let those
right
feel
it
and what
is
wrong
;
;
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
!
"US
stop
!
Can we expect
they are produced
to find out suddenly
how
?
were not (the views of) another, I should if there were not I (with my views), this is nearly a true statehis would be uncalled for ment of the case, but we do not know what it is that makes it be so. It mig-ht seem as if there would be If there
not have mine
;
:
a true Governor
A
^
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
concerned
in
it,
Governor would be a good But ^wang-jze did not Power or Being as working in man. His Tao; and this will be increasingly evident ^
'
'
true
'
the true God.'
study of his Books.
N
2
but we do not find enough
translation for
admit any supernatural
Governor was we proceed with
true
the
as
the
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
l80
BK. H.
any trace (of his presence and acting). That such an One could act so I believe but we do not see His form. He has affections, but He has no form. Given the body, with its hundred parts, its nine openings, and its six viscera, all complete in their Do you love places, which do I love the most ? them all equally ? or do you love some more than Is it not the case that they all perform the others ? ;
part of your servants and waiting
women
All of
?
such, are they not incompetent to rule
them being
one another ? or do they take it in turns to be now There must be a true and now servants ? Ruler (among them) ^ whether by searching you can find out His character or not, there is neither advantage nor hurt, so far as the truth of His operation When once we have received the is concerned. bodily form complete, its parts do not fail to perform ruler
their functions
the end comes.
till
In conflict with
harmony with them, they pursue
things or in
their
course to the end, with the speed of a galloping
horse which cannot be stopped be constantly toiling all one's
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
is it
not sad
lifetime,
To
?
without see-
ing the fruit of one's labour, and to be weary and
worn out with going to
is
may
:
knowing where he
his labour, without
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
is
it
not a deplorable case
?
Men
what advantage is this ? When the body is decomposed, the must not the mind will be the same along with it Is the life case be pronounced very deplorable ^ ? say,
'
But
it
not death
is
;'
yet of
:
^
The name Ruler '
'
is
different
from
'
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
Governor
'
above
;
but
they both indicate the same concept in the author's mind. ^
The
this would be that the mind is not disand A'wang-^ze's real opinion, as we shall and death were but phases in the phenomenal
proper reply to
solved with the body; find,
was
that
life
PT.
I.
SECT.
man
of
THE WRITINGS OF
II.
indeed enveloped
whom
alone to
it
in
such darkness
appears so
appear to be so to other
A'WANG-3ZE.
men
And
?
l8l
?
does
Is
it
it
not
I
?
3. If we were to follow the judgments of the predetermined mind, who would be left alone and without a teacher ? Not only would it be so with those who know the sequences (of knowledge and feeling) and make their own selection among them, but it would be so as well wuth the stupid and unthinking. For one who has not this determined mind, to have his ^
and negations is like the case described He went to Yiieh to-day, and arrived It would be making what was not at it yesterday -.' But even the spirit-like Yii ^ a fact to be a fact. how to do this, and how should known have could not one like me be able to do it ? affirmations
in the saying,
But speech
'
is
not like the blowing (of the wind)
;
If, howthe speaker has (a meaning in) his words. ever, what he says, be indeterminate (as from a
mind not made not
?
He
up),
does he then really speak or
thinks that his words are different from the
is there any distinction But how can the Tao be so obscured, that there should be a True and a How can speech be so obscured that False' in it? there should be the Right' and the Wrong' about them ? Where shall the Tao go to that it will not
chirpings of fledgelings
;
but
between them or not?
'
'
'
development. question here, 1
2
'
'
But the course of his argument suggests to us the Is hfe worth living ?
This 'teacher' is 'the Tao.' Expressing the absurdity of the case.
sayings of Hui-,5ze; ^
The
'
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; see Book XXXIII, par.
successor and counsellor of Shun,
remedied the flood of Yao.
This
is
one of the
7.
who coped
with and
the texts of TAOISM.
t82
BK. H.
be found ? Where shall speech be found that it Tao becomes obscured be inappropriate? through the small comprehension (of the mind), and speech comes to be obscure through the vain-gloriousness (of the speaker). So it is that we have the contentions between the Literati^ and the Mohists -,
will
the one side affirming what the other denies, and
we would
decide on their several no plan is like bringing the (proper) light (of the mind) ^ to bear on them. All subjects may be looked at from (two points of If I look at a view), from that and from this.
vice versa.
affirmations
If
and
denials,
—
thing from another's point of view,
only as said,
'
know
I
myself, do
it
I
That view comes from :
a consequence of that that view
and
each the other
this "*.
—
'
I
know this
—which
do not see
and
;
is
Hence
it.
this
and now death
it
be
there
so,
view
is
the theory that
(the opposite views)
Although
it
it is
— produce is
affirmed
now death and now life the admissibility of a thing and now its inadmissibility now its inadmissibility and now its admis(The disputants) now affirm and now deny; sibility. now deny and now affirm. Therefore the sagely man does not pursue this method, but views things in the light of (his) Heaven^ (-ly nature), and hence now now
life
;
;
;
forms his judgment of what ^
^
The The
is
right.
followers of Confucius. disciples of IVIih-^ze,
or
INIih
Ti, the heresiarch,
—
whom
Mencius attacked so fiercely; see Mencius, V, i, 5,et al. His era must be assigned between Confucius and Mencius. ^ That is, the perfect mind, the principle of the Tao. * As taught by Hui-^ze see XXXIII, 7 but it is doubtful if the quotation from Hui's teaching be complete. ;
^
Equivalent
to
Tao.
the
ATwang-jze of the term
—
'
;
See on the use in
Heaven,'
Lao-jze
in the Introduction, pp.
and
16-18.
PT.I. SECT.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
11.
183
is the same as that, and that view is same as this. But that view involves both a and this view involves also a rieht and a wrong:
This view
the
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
are there indeed, or are there and a wrons^ They have not not the two views, that and this ? found their point of correspondency which is called As soon as one finds this the pivot of the Tao. rieht
:
pivot, he stands in the centre of the ring (of thought), where he can respond without end to the changing without end to those affirming, and without views end to those denying. Therefore I said, There is ;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
'
nothing like the proper light (of the mind).' 4.
By means
my
of a finger (of
that the finger (of another)
is
own) to
not a finger
illustrate is
not so
not so by means
good of what is (acknowledged to be) not a finger and by means of (what I call) a horse to illustrate that (what another calls) a horse is not so, is not so good a plan as to illustrate that it is not a horse, by means of what is (acknowledged to be) not a horse ^ (All things in) heaven and earth may be (dealt with a plan as to illustrate that
it is
;
as) a finger
;
(each of) their myriads
may be
(dealt
Does a thing seem so to me ? (I say Does it seem not so to me ? (I say so. not so. A path is formed by (constant)
with as) a horse. that)
it
is
that)
it
is
1
The
lanc:ua2:e of
our author here
is
understood to have
refer-
ence to the views of Kung-sun Lung, a contemporary of Hui-^ze, and a sophist like him. One of his treatises or arguments had the another that of 'Pointing to title of 'The White Horse,' and
had been preserved, we might have seen more But the illustration of the monkeys and their actions shows us the scope of the whole paragraph to be that controversialists, whose views are substantially
Things.'
If these
clearly the appropriateness of the text here.
the same,
may
yet differ,
and
that with heat, in words.
1
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
84
A
treading on the ground.
name through to
it.
How
is
it
not so
by
called
is
is it ?
so
so because
?
It is
It
is
not
its
inherent character and
There
it is
because
so,
it
II.
its
name
the (constant) application of the
Everything has capability.
thing
BK.
How
so.
not so.
is
its
proper
nothing which has not these.
is
Therefore, this being
so, if
we
take a stalk of grain
^
(large) pillar, a loathsome (leper) and (a beauty Hsi Shih -, things large and things insecure, they may in the things crafty and things strange light of the Tao all be reduced to the same category (of opinion about them). V from ^^ It was separation that led to completion completion ensued dissolution. But all things, without regard to their completion and dissolution, may again be comprehended in their unity; it is only the far reachinor in thought who know how to comprehend them in this unity. This being so, let us give up our devotion to our own views, and occupy ourselves
and a like)
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
with the ordinary views.
These ordinary views are
grounded on the use of things. (The study of that) use leads to the comprehensive judgment, and that judgment secures the success (of the inquiry). That success gained, search),
we do the
not
^
When we
stop. it is
so,
stop,
we have what
and yet is
called
Tao.
The
toil
A
our
spirits
and
intelligence, obstin-
means both a stalk of grain Each meaning has its advocates here.
character in the text
a horizonta] beam.'
'
'
and
famous beauty, a courtezan presented by the king of Yiieh enemy, the king of Wii, and who hastened on his progress ruin and death, she herself perishing at the same time.
-
to his to
are near (to the object of our
know how
When we
'
we
and there we
PT.
SECT.
I.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
II.
ately determined (to establish our
know
not
own
view),
the agreement (which underhes
we have what
views of others),
1
it
called
is
'
85
and do and the In the
morning three.' What is meant by that In the morning three ? A keeper of monkeys, in giving them out their acorns, (once) said, In the morning I will give you three (measures) and in the evening four.' This made them all angry, and he said, 'Very well. In the morning I will give you four and in the evening three.' His two proposals were substantially the same, but the result of the one was to make the creatures angry, and of the other to make them pleased :â&#x20AC;&#x201D; an illustration of the point I am insisting '
'
*
Therefore the sagely
on.
dispute in
its
man
brings together a
and rests In Both sides of the
affirmations and denials,
Heaven
the equal fashioning of
\
question are admissible. 5.
Among the men of old their knowledge reached What was that extreme point ?
the extreme point.
Some This
held that at is
first
there was
anything.
not
the extreme point, the utmost point to which
nothinor can be
added
A
^.
second class held that
there was
something, but without any responsive
recognition
^
A
of
it
(on the part of men).
third class held that there
was such recognition,
but there had not begun to be any expression of different opinions
^
the
Literally,
'
the
Tao, by which
about
Heaven-Mould or Moulder,' all
^
See the same passage
The
and
I
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; another name
for
things are fashioned.
^
in
Book XXIII,
ordinary reading here
tinctive limit,'
it.
is
par. 10.
fang {^^),
'a
Lin Hsi-Z'ung adopts the reading
have followed him.
boundary' or
^,
'
'dis-
a response,'
1
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
86 It
was through the
opinions about
II.
definite expression of different
that there ensued injury to (the
it
doctrine of) the Tao. (doctrine of the)
BK.
was
It
Tao which
Was
(partial) preferences.
injury to the
this
led to the formation of it
indeed after such pre-
ferences were formed that the injury
came
?
or did
the injury precede the rise of such preferences the injury arose after their formation,
?
If
Kkos method
of playing on the lute was natural.
If the injury
arose before their formation, there would have been
no such playing on the
lute as A'ao's \
A'ao Wan's playing on the indicating time widi his his views), while
(were
all
staff,
leaning against a dryandra tree
The knowledge
extraordinar}).
men
lute, Shih Kwang's and Hui-jze's (giving
of the
was nearly perfect, and therefore they practised them to the end of their lives. They loved them because they were different from those of others. They loved them and wished to make them known to others. But as they could not be made clear, though they tried to make them so, they ended with the obscure (discussions) about the hard and the white.' And their sons -, moreover, with all the threads of their fathers' compositions, yet to the end of their lives accomplished three
their several arts)
(in
'
'
nothing.
If they,
'
proceeding
said to have succeeded, then
^
A'ao
of 3in.
Wan
in this
am
I
way, could be
also successful
and Shih Kwang were both musicians of the state Kwang's surname, was his denomi-
Shih, which appears as
nation as
'
music-master,'
why AVang-^ze
It is difficult
introduces these
to
men and
understand the reason their
ways, or
how
it
helps his argument. '
Perhaps we should read here
the son of Hui-^ze.
'
son,' with special reference to
PT.
r.
SECT.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
II.
187
they cannot be pronounced successful, neither
if
I
nor any other can succeed.
Therefore the
scintillations of light
from the midst
of confusion and perplexity are indeed valued by the sagely
man
;
but not to use one's own views and
on the ordinary views
to take his position
what
is
is
called using the (proper) light. 6.
not
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
I do But here now are some other sayings know whether they are of the same character as ^
those which character.
or not
I
have already given, or of a
Whether they be
when looked
of the
:
different
same character
at along with them, they
have a
character of their own, which cannot be distinguished
But though
from the others.
me
this
be the
case, let
try to explain myself.
There was a beginning. before that beginning
^.
There was There was
a beginning
beginning
a
previous to that beginning before there was
the
beGrinninof.
There was existence there had been no existence. There was no existence before the besfinninor of that no existence ^. There was no existence previous to the no existence before there was the beginning of the no existence. If suddenly there was nonexistence, we do not know whether it was really ;
anything existing,
or really
not
existing.
Now
have said what I have said, but I do not know whether what I have said be really anything to the I
point or not.
*
Referring, I think, to those below
commencing
'
There was a
beginning.' ^
That
is,
looking
at things
non-existence, and discarding
from the standpoint of an original considerations of space and time.
all
1
f
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
88
BK.
11.
Under heaven there is nothing greater than the an autumn down, and the Thai mountain is small. There is no one more long-lived than a child which dies prematurely, and Phang ^u did not live tip of
Heaven, Earth, and I w^ere produced things and I are one. Since they are one, can there be speech about them ? But since they are spoken of as one, must there not be room for speech ? One and Speech are two two and one are three. Going on from this (in our enumeration), the most skilful reckoner cannot reach (the end of the necessary numbers), and how much less can ordinary people do so Therefore from non-existence we proceed to existence till we arrive at three proceeding from existence to existence, to how many should we reach ? Let us abjure such procedure, and simply rest here ^ out his time. together,
and
all
;
!
;
y
The Tao
at first met with no responsive recogSpeech at first had no constant forms of expression. Because of this there came the demar7.
nition.
cations (of different views).
demarcations
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; they are
Let
me
describe those
the Left and the Right
^
the Relations and their Obligations^; Classifications* '
On
this
concluding clause, 3iao
Hung
says
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 'Avoiding such
procedure, there will be no affirmations and denials (no contraries).
The
phrase
j^ ^^ 2t
terpreters have missed
its
occurs in the
Book
several times,
meaning from not observing
that
and
;^
in-
^
serve merely as a final particle, and often have the
them, without affecting
usages of
in the
|^
^
That
^
Literally,
is,
its
^ "^ |^
See also
f]^,
[^ added to Wang Yin on the
ch. 1208, art. 6.
direct opposites.
righteousnesses
'
relations. *
meaning.'
Literally,
'
separations.'
; '
the proper
way of
dealing with the
PT.
I.
SECT.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
II.
1
89
Emulations and Contentions. the Ei^ht Qualities.' Outside the limits of the world of men \ the sage occupies his thoughts, but does not discuss about he occupies his inside those limits anythingIn the thoughts, but does not pass any judgments.
and their Distinctions These are what are
;
called
'
;
Khun Khm ^
which embraces the history of the
former kings, the sage indicates his judgments, but does not argue
(in vindication
Thus
of them).
it is
that he separates his characters from one another
without appearing to do so, and argues without the form of argument. How does he do so ? The sao^e cherishes his views in his own breast, while men generally state theirs argumentatively, to
Hence we have the
to others.
saying,
'
show them
Disputation
a proof of not seeing clearly.'
is
The Great Tao ^ does The Great Argument Great Benevolence
is
not admit of being praised.
does
not
words.
require
not (officiously) benevolent.
Great Disinterestedness does not vaunt its humility. Great Courage is not seen in stubborn bravery.
The Tao
that
is
displayed
is
not the Tao.
Words
argumentative do not reach the point. Benevolence that is constantly exercised does not
that
are
accomplish its
^
purity
its
Literally,
Disinterestedness that vaunts
object.
not genuine. Courage that
is
'
the six conjunctions,'
meaning
points of space, with the zenith and nadir the universe of space.
Here we must
have done. "^
'
The Spring and Autumn
complimented by AVang-^ze. ^
Compare
the
Tao Teh
; '
;
is
the
most stub-
four cardinal
sometimes a name
restrict the
meaning
for
as I
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Confucius's Annals of Lu, here
See in Mencius, IV,
A'ing, ch. 25, et al.
ii,
21.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
190
born
is
These
ineffectual.
BK.
II.
seem to be round become square (and
five
(and complete), but they tend to
immovable) ^ Therefore the knowledge that stops what it does not know is the orreatest. Who knows the argument that needs no words, and the Way that is not to be trodden ^ ? He who is able to know this has what is called 'The Heavenly Treasure-housed' He may pour into it without its being filled he may pour from it without its being exhausted and all the while he does not know whence (the supply) comes. This is what is called The Store of Liorht ^' Therefore of old Yao asked Shun, saying, I wish to smite (the rulers of) S^ng, Kwei, and Hsii-ao*. at
;
;
'
*
Even when standing
my
out of '
Those three
in
my court,
How
mind.
is
it
rulers live (in their
among
I
cannot get them
Shun
so?'
little
replied,
states) as if
mugwort and other brushwood; them out of your mind ? Formerly, ten suns came out together, and all things were illuminated by them how much
they were
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;how
is
it
the
that you cannot get
;
should (your) virtue exceed
(all)
suns
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
!
8. Nieh /C/iuoh^ asked Wang 1^, saying, Do you know, Sir, what all creatures agree in approving and '
Compare
^
The classic of Lao, in Names for the Tao.
^ * '
^
^
the use of
Three small
quality
'
of
'
Is
states.
emulation
'
in the
chaps,
Shu
i,
A'ing,
I,
iii,
11,
2.
Yao's wish to smite an instance of the
or jealousy
?
Both Taoistic worthies of the time of Yao, supposed to have been two of the Perfect Ones whom Yao visited on the distant hill of KCi-shih (I, par. 6). According to Hwang M\, Wang I was '
the teacher of
Nieh
AV/iieh,
and he again of Hsii Yu.
PT.
SECT.
I.
THE WRITINGS OF ZWANG-3ZE.
11.
I91
?' How should I know it ? was the reply. you know what it is that you do not know ? asked the other again, and he got the same reply. He asked a third time, Then are all creatures thus without knowledge ?' and Wang I answered as before,
affirming
'
'
Do
'
—
'
A
(adding however),
my
explain I
"
say
know
I
know
'
it,"
I will try and do you know that when (am showing that) I do
Notwithstanding,
How
meaning.
really
I
and that when I say " I do not know it," I really am showing that I do know it \' And let me ask you some questions If a man sleep in a damp place, he will have a pain in his loins, and half his body will be as if it were dead but will it be so with an eel ? If he be living in a tree, he will be frightened and all in a tremble but will it be so with a monkey ? And does any one of the three know his right place ? Men eat animals that have been fed on grain and grass deer feed on the thickset grass centipedes enjoy small snakes owls and crows delight in mice but does any one of the four know the right taste ? The dog-headed monkey finds its mate in the female gibbon the elk and the axis deer cohabit and the eel enjoys itself with other fishes. Mao 3liiang ^ and Li /Ci - were accounted by men to be most beautiful, but when fishes saw them, they dived deep in the water from them when birds, they flew from them aloft and not
it,
:
—
'
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
^
Compare
"
Two
Shih (par. latter,
par.
i
of
Book XXII.
famous beauties; 4,
note
2),
and
—
the former, a contemporary of Hsi
like her also, of the state of Yiieh
the daughter of a barbarian chief
among
She was captured by duke Hsien of 3hi, quently
and
made
state.
her his wife,
—
to
;
the
the Western Jung.
in b. c.
672.
the great injury
He
of his
subsefamily
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
192
BK.
II.
when deer saw them, they separated and fled away ^ But did any of these four know which in the world the right female attraction
is
matter, the
first
As
?
look at the
I
principles of benevolence
and
right-
eousness and the paths of approval and disapproval are inextricably mixed and confused together possible that
is it
among them
I
know how
should
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; how
to discriminate
?'
Nieh A7/ueh said (further), Since 3'ou, Sir, do not know what is advantageous and what is hurtful, is the Perfect man also in the same way without the A knowledge of them ?' Wang I replied, The Perfect man is spirit-like. Great lakes might be boiling about him, and he would not feel their heat the Ho and the Han might be frozen up, and he w^ould not feel the cold the hurrying thunderbolts might split the mountains, and the wind shake the ocean, without being able to make him afraid. Being such, he mounts on the clouds of the air, rides on the sun and moon, and rambles at ease beyond the four seas. Neither death nor life makes any change in him, and how much less should the considerations of advantage and injury do so '
'
;
;
!
-
9.
^
Kh\\ 3hiao-5ze
Not thinking them
^
asked A7/ang-wu 3^G^ saying,
beautiful, as
men
did,
but frightened and
repelled by them. ^
Compare Book
'
We
know
mentioned here '
the master
'
I,
pars. 3
and
the other appears also in
;
the oldest
wu's
Book XXV,
that immediately follows be Confucius they
been contemporary with him.
would seem
5.
nothing of the former of these men, but what
to
make
critics,
name was
it
certain
The '
the master
and some modern ones as But this view
also Kh\^.
in
A7/iCi
'
6, q. v.
must have
A'/^ang-wu's
reply
was Confucius, but
well, think that is
is
If
A7/ang-
attended with more
PT.
I.
SECT.
ir.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
T93
.
heard the Master (speaking of such language as " The sagely man does not occupy himself with worldly affairs. He does not put him'
I
the followuig)
self in the
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
way
of what
is profitable, nor try to avoid he has no pleasure in seeking (for anything from any one); he does not care to be found
what
is
hurtful
;
Way he speaks without speakhe does not speak when he speaks thus finding his enjoyment outside the dust and dirt (of the in
(any established)
ing
;
;
;
world)."
The Master
shoreless flow of
considered
mere words, and
this to
all I
consider
'
The
Sir,
think of
it
? '
it
to
Way.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;What
AV/ang-wu 3ze
replied,
describe the course of the Mysterious
do you,
be a
hearing of such words would have perplexed
even Hwang-Ti, and how should KJAiX be competent them ? And you, moreover, are too hasty in forming your estimate (of their meaning). You see the &^g^y and (immediately) look out for the cock (that is to be hatched from it) you see the bow, and (immediately) look out for the dove (that is to be brought down by it) being roasted. I will try to explain the thing to you in a rough way do you in the same way listen to me. How could any one stand by the side of the sun and moon, and hold under his arm all space and all time ? (Such language only means that the sagely man) keeps his mouth shut, and puts aside questions that are uncertain and dark making his inferior capacities unite with him in honouring (the One Lord). Men in general bustle about and toil the to understand
;
;
'
;
;
difficulties
than the other.
lation after the first
'
By
the clause interjected in the trans-
Master,' I have avoided the incongruity of
ascribing the long description of
[39]
Taoism
O
to Confucius.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
194 sagely
man seems
stupid and to
BK.
II.
know nothing \ He
blends ten thousand years together in the one (conception of time)
the myriad things
;
spontaneous course, and they are
all
pursue their
before him as
all
doinof so.
How
do I know that the love of life is not a and that the dislike of death is not like a young person's losing his way, and not knowing that he is (really) going home ? Li A'i ^ was a daugh'
delusion
?
ter of the
Warden
border
When
of Ai.
(the ruler
of) the state of ^'m first got possession of her, she
wept till the tears wetted all the front of her dress. But when she came to the place of the king% shared with him his luxurious couch, and ate his grain-andgrass-fed meat, then she regretted that she had wept. How do I know that the dead do not repent of their former cravinof for *
life ?
Those who dream of
may in
(the pleasures of) drinking
the morning wail and
of wailing and weeping
may
weep in
those
;
who dream
the morning be going
When they were dreaming they did in their dream they was a dream may even have tried to interpret it ^ but when they awoke they knew that it was a dream. And
out to hunt.
know
not
it
;
;
^
Compare
^
See note
Lao-^ze's account of himself in his 2
on page 191.
The
lady
is
Work,
ch. 20.
there said to have
been the daughter of a barbarian chief ; here she appears as the child of the border Warden of Ai. Sut her maiden surname of A'i (j(I5)
shows her
family of A'au.
Had
father
must have been a scion of the royal
he forsaken his wardenship, and joined one
Ti tribes, which had adopted him as ^\n was only a marquisate. How does
of the ^
ruler as *
'
a king
chief?
A wang-jze
speak of its
?
This could not be; a
dream, and
its
man
does not come to himself in his
in that state try to interpret
it.
PT.
I.
SECT.
II.
THE WRITINGS OF X'WANG-SZE.
the great awaking, after which
there
is
know
that this
1
we
95
shall
was a great dream ^ All the while, the stupid think the}^ are awake, and with nice discrimination insist on their knowledge now playing the part of rulers, and now of grooms. Bigoted was that KJl\\\. He and you are both dreaming. I who say that you are dreaming am dreaming myself. These words seem very strange but if after ten thousand asfes we once meet with a ereat saoe who knows how to explain them, it will be as if we met him (unexpectedly) some morning or evening. life
;
\
;
10.
'
Since you
made me
enter into this discussion
you have got the better of me and not I of you, are you indeed right, and I indeed wrong ? If I have got the better of you and not you of me, am I indeed right and you indeed wrong ? Is the one of us right and the other wrong ? are we both right or both wrong ? Since we cannot come to a mutual and common understanding, men will cerwith you,
if
tainly continue in darkness '
Whom shall
I
employ
on the subject.
to adjudicate in the matter?
employ one who agrees with )ou, how can he, And the same ? may be said, if I employ one who agrees with me. It will be the same if I employ one who differs from If
I
agreeing with you, do so correctly
us both or one
way
who
agrees with us both.
In this
and you and those others would all not be able to come to a mutual understanding and shall we then wait for that (great sage) ? (We need not do so.) To wait on others to learn how conflicting opinions are changed is simply like not so I
;
^
Compare XVIII,
O 2
par. 4.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
196 waiting at
found
The harmonising
all.
BK.
11.
of them
is to be Heaven, and by the unlimited past. It is by
in the invisible operation of
following this on into
method that we can complete our years (without our minds being disturbed) ^ this
'What
is
meant by harmonising
nions) in the invisible operation of is
(conflicting opi-
Heaven
the affirmation and the denial of
it
;
? There and there is
the assertion of an opinion and the rejection of it. If the affirmation be according to the reality of the
—
fact, it is certainly different from the denial of it there can be no dispute about that. If the assertion of an opinion be correct, it is certainly different from :
rejection:
—
neither can there be any dispute about Let us forget the lapse of time let us forget the conflict of opinions. Let us make our appeal to the Infinite, and take up our position there ^.' its
that.
;
II. The Penumbra asked the Shadow ^ saying, Formerly you were walking on, and now you have stopped formerly you were sitting, and now you have risen up how is it that you are so without '
;
:
stability
? '
—
The Shadow
movements of something
replied,
else to
that something else on which See
I
'
I
wait for the
do what
I
do,
and
wait waits further
passage again in Book XXVII, par. i, where the phrase have called here the invisible operation of Heaven,' is said to be the same as the Heavenly IMould or ]\Ioulder,' that is, 1
which
this
I
'
'
the Heavenly Fashioner, one of the Taoistic 2
That
is, all
things being traced
have found the pivot to which
all
up
names
Tao. Tao, we
for the
to the unity of the
conflicting opinions,
all
affirma-
tions, all denials, all positions
and negatives converge, and bring to bear on them the proper light of the mind. Compare paragraph 3. ^ A story to the same effect as this here, with some textual varia-
tions,
above.
occurs in
Book XXVII, immediately
after par.
i
referred to
PT.
I.
SECT.
TPIE
11.
on another
WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
do as
to
does \
it
My
97
1
waiting,
—
is it
for
the scales of a snake, or the wrings of a cicada-?
How
should
I
do another ^ ? Formerly, '
butterfly, a
know why I,
I
do one
thing, or
A^vang A'au, dreamt that
butterfly flying
I
do not
was a
about, feeling that
it
was enjoying itself I did not know that it was K^.u. Suddenly I awoke, and was myself again, the veritable A'au. I did not know whether it had formerly been A'au dreaming that he was a butterfly, or it was now a butterfly dreaming that it was A'au. But between ATau and a butterfly there must be a differenced This is a case of what is called the Transformation of Things'*.' ^
The mind cannot
there be one, 2
Even
these
of the shadow 3
I
is
rest in
second causes, and the
first
cause,
if
inscrutable.
must wait for the will of the creature more remarkable.
;
but the case
is still
have put
this
interrogatively, as
because of the particle ^jj, which
is
being more graphic, and
generally, though not neces-
sarily, interrogative. *
Hsiian Ying, in his remarks on these two sentences, brings
out the force of the story very successfully
:
—
'
Looking
at
them
in
appearance, there was necessarily a difference between them, but in the delusion of the dream each of them appeared the A'au could be a other, and they could not distinguish themselves
their ordinary
!
the butterfly could be ATau
butterfly,
and
world
traces of that
all
and
this
may
the influence of transformations/ tion of things,' see in
Book XI,
;
— we may see
pass away, as they
that in the
come under
For the phrase, the transformaBut the Taoism here '
par. 5, et al.
can hardly be distinguished from the Buddhism that holds that human experience is merely so much may a or illusion.
all
1
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
98
BOOK Part
I.
BK.
III.
III.
Section
III.
Yang Shang A^u, or 'Nourishing the Lord of Life'.' There
1.
there
no
is
knowledge
a limit to our Hfe, but to
is
With what
limit.
limited to pursue
is
what is unlimited is a perilous thing and when, knowing this, we still seek the increase of our knowThere should ledge, the peril cannot be averted '^ not be the practice of what is good with any thought of the fame (which it will bring), nor of what is evil with any approximation to the punishment (which it will incur) ^: an accordance with the Central Element (of our nature) ^ is the regular way after
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
to preserve the body, to maintain the
life,
to nourish
our parents, and to complete our term of years. 2. His cook^ was cutting up an ox for the ruler Wan-hui^. Whenever he applied his hand, leaned forward with his shoulder, planted his foot, and em-
^
'^
See pp. 130, 131.
Under what
is
said
about
knowledge here there
lies
the
objection of Taoists to the Confucian pursuit of knowledge as the
means for the right conduct of life, instead of and self-suppression of their own system.
the
quiet
simplicity '
This of
text '
doing * °
is
it
evil
the
is '
key
to the three
paragraphs that follow.
not easily construed.
The
*
doing good
'
But the and the
are to be lightly understood.
A '
name for the Tao. The ruler Wan-hui '
(or Wei),' with the
Mencius
the
is
understood to be
'
king Hui of Liang
account of an interview between
works of
that philosopher
commence.
whom and
PT.I. SECT.
THE WRITINGS OF ^WANG-3ZE.
III.
ployed the pressure of his knee,
1
99
in the audible rip-
ping off of the skin, and slicing operation of the knife, the sounds were all in regular cadence. Move-
ments and sounds proceeded as in the dance of the Mulberry Forest and the blended notes of the King Shau ^' The ruler said, Ah Admirable That your art should have become so perfect (Having finished his operation), the cook laid down his knife, and replied to the remark, What your '
^
'
'
'
!
!
!
'
method of the Tao, somethine in advance of any art. When I first began to cut up an ox, I saw nothing but the (entire) carcase. servant loves
is
After three years deal with
I
at
it
with
the
I
ceased to see
in a spirit-like
it
Now
as a whole.
it
manner, and do not look
my eyes. The use my spirit acts as it
carded, and
my
of
senses
is
dis-
Observing the through the great
wills.
lines, (my knife) slips and slides through the great cavities, taking advantage of the facilities thus presented. My art avoids the membranous ligatures, and much more
natural
crevices
the great bones.
'A good cook changes
may have been
every month
changes his
Now my
broken. teen years yet
its
;
edge
it
is
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
every year; (It an ordinary cook may have been)
his knife
injured) in cutting ;
(it
;
been in use for ninehas cut up several thousand oxen, and as sharp as if it had newly come from knife has
There are the interstices of the and the edge of the knife has no (appreciable) thickness when that which is so thin enters where the Interstice is, how easily It moves along The the whetstone.
joints,
;
!
^
Ti.
Two
pieces of music, ascribed to AV^ang
Thang and Hwang-
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
200
blade has more than room enough.
BK.
III.
Nevertheless,
come to a complicated joint, and see that there will be some difficulty, I proceed anxiously and with caution, not allowing my eyes to wander from the place, and moving my hand slowly. Then by a very slight movement of the knife, the part is quickly
whenever
I
separated, and drops like (a clod of) earth to the
ground. hand,
I
Then look
standing up with the knife in
with an air of satisfaction, wipe
The
in its sheath.'
my
round, and in a leisurely manner,
all
ruler
it
Wan-hui
clean, said,
'
and put
it
Excellent
I have heard the words of my cook, and learned from them the nourishment of (our) life.'
When Kung-wan
Hsien^ saw the Master of the and said, What sort of man How is it he has but one foot ? Is it from is this ? Heaven? or from Man?' Then he added-, 'It must be from Heaven, and not from Man. Heaven's making of this man caused him to have but one foot. In the person of man, each foot has its marrow. By this I know that his peculiarity is from Heaven, and not from Man. A pheasant of the marshes has to take ten steps to pick up a mouthful of food, and thirty steps to get a drink, but it does not seek to be nourished in a coop. Though its spirit would (there) 3.
Left,
he was
startled,
'
enjoy a royal abundance,
it
does not think (such
confinement) good.'
^
There was a family
in
Wei
with the double surname Kung-wan.
This would be a scion of it. ^ This is Hsien still speaking. reasoning ad
sensum and
Left had done which he suffered; the
pheasant.
'
evil,'
not
We
have to understand his The master of
ad verbum.
so as to incur the punishment from
and had shown himself
less
wise
than
a
PT.
I.
4.
SECT.
III.
THE WRITINGS OF ^WANG-3ZE.
When Lao Tan
died \
20I
Kh\w Shih ^ went
to con-
dole (with his son), but after crying out three times,
he came out. The disciples ^ said to him, Were 'I was,' he reyou not a friend of the Master ? phed, and they said, Is it proper then to offer your condolences merely as you have done?' He said, 'It is. At first I thought he was the man of men, and now I do not think so. W^hen I entered a little ago and expressed my condolences, there were the old men wailing as if they had lost a son, and the young men wailing as if they had lost their In his attracting- and uniting them to himmother. self in such a way there must have been that which made them involuntarily express their words (of condolence), and involuntarily wail, as they were doing. And this was a hiding from himself of his Heaven (-nature), and an excessive indulgence of his (human) feelings a forgetting of what he had received (in being born) what the ancients called the punishment due to neglecting the Heaven (-nature) When the Master came ^, it was at the proper time when he went away, it was the simple sequence (of his coming). Quiet acquiescence in what happens at its proper time, and quietly submitting (to its *
'
'
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
;
"*.
ceasing) afford no occasion for grief or for joy ^
The
ancients described (death) as the loosening of the ^
Then
""
the
account
that
Lao-^ze went westwards,
known as to where he died, must be Nothing more is known of this person.
nothing
is
^
Probably the disciples of Lao-jze.
*
Lao had gone
to
an excess
in his
'
and
that
without foundation.
doing good,' as
if
he were
seeking reputation. ^
Into the world.
"
See A'wang-jze's remarks and demeanour on the death of his
wife, in
Book XVHI.
202
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
cord on which
God suspended
BK. in.
(the Hfe) \
What we
can point to are the faggots that have been con-
sumed but the fire we know not that it ;
This short sentence
^
(*^)'
the
^°*^'' ^^
The
^
by
'
fire
is
over and ended
^.
remarkable by the use of the character
T
i
^ usage here ascribed to the ancients.
concluding sentence might stand as a short paragraph
The
itself. '
'^^>
transmitted (elsewhere), and
is is
'
'
faggots
the animating
faggots are
are understood to represent the body, spirit.
The body
and
perishes at death as the
consumed by the fire. But the fire may be transmitted and so the spirit may migrate, and be existing
to other faggots,
elsewhere.
'
PT.
SECT. IV.
I.
THE WRITINGS OF
BOOK Part
Zan
Man
'
Yen Hui^ went
?
'
asked the Master.
reply.
'
And
Men ^'
see /v'ung-ni^ and asked
to
leave to take his departure. to
'
'
Where
will
I
go
Wei
is
'
in the
'
are you going
Wei * was
to
?
with what object
that the ruler of
World, Associated
in the
with other I.
IV.
Section IV.
I.
A^ien Shih, or
X-VVANG-SZE.
'
the
have heard
'I
vigour of his years,
and consults none but himself as to his course. He deals with his state as if it were a light matter,
and has no perception of all
over the country as
contain
them
;
on
the
if
He
his errors.
people's dying
lightly of his
;
no smaller space could and about the
plains
'^
marshes, they are as thick as heaps of
people know not where to turn you, Master, say, " Leave the
^
See pp. 131, 132.
2
The favourite disciple Of course, Confucius
^
*
;
A
thinks
the dead are lying
to.
I
state
The
fuel.
have heard that
is
well
of Confucius, styled also 3ze-yuan.
—
his designation or
married name.
feudal state, embracing portions of the present provinces of
Ho-nan, ^ih-li, and Shan-tung. There was another state, which we must also call Wei in English, though the Chinese characters of them are different; one of the fragments of the great state of 3i».
—
more to the west. ^ At this time the marquis Yuan, known see Book XXV, humous tide of duke Ling ° Adopting Lin's reading of ^p instead of ;
—
to
us by his post-
9.
the
common
^.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
204
BK. IV.
governed go to the state where disorder prevails ^" At the door of a physician there are many who are ill. I wish through what I have heard (from you) to think out some methods {of dealing with Wei), if peradventure the evils of the state may be cured.' ATung-ni said, 'Alas! The risk is that you will go only to suffer in the punishment (of yourself) The right method (in such a case) will not admit of any admixture. With such admixture, the one method will become many methods. Their multiplication will embarrass you. That embarrassment will make you anxious. However anxious you may be, you will not save (yourself). The perfect men of old first had (what they wanted to do) in themselves, and afterwards they found (the response to If what they wanted in themselves it) in others. was not fixed, what leisure had they to go and interfere with the proceedings of any tyrannous ;
man
?
Moreover, do you know how virtue is liable to be dissipated, and how wisdom proceeds to display '
Virtue
itself?
name
for
it,
is
dissipated in (the pursuit of) the
and wisdom seeks
to display itself in the
striving with others.
In the pursuit of the
men overdirow one
another
;
wisdom
name
becomes
a weapon of contention.
Both these things are and should not be allowed to have free course in one's conduct. Supposing one's virtue to be great and his sincerity firm, if he do not comprehend the spirit of those (whom he wishes to influence) and supposing he is free from the instruments of
evil,
;
Compare
^
lesson
as
Hui
is
given
says.
in ;
the
Analects, VIII,
but Confucius
may
at
xiii,
2,
where a
different
another time have spoken
PT.
SECT. IV.
r.
THE WRITINGS OF
iSTWANG-SZE.
205
if he do not when in such a case he minds forcibly insists on benevolence and righteousness, setting them forth in the strongest and most direct
disposition to strive for reputation,
comprehend
their
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
tyrant, then
language, before the
he, hating (his
reprover's) possession of those excellences, will put
him down as doing him others
You man
is
sure
indeed will (to
whom
Further,
'
if
He who
injury.
injures
be injured by them in return. hardly escape being injured by the
to
you go) perchance he takes pleasure
in
men
of worth and hates those of an opposite character,
what
is
make yourself men about him) ?
the use of your seeking to
out to be different (from such
Before you have begun to announce (your views), and ruler, will take advantage of you,
he, as king
immediately contend with you for victory. will be dazed and full of perplexity you will you will try to look pleased with him your demeanour will frame your words with care
and
Your eyes
;
;
be conformed to his In this
views.
you
;
way you
will
will
confirm him In his
be adding
fire to fire,
and water to water, increasing, as we may express To these signs it, the evils (which you deplore). of deferrine to him at the first there will be no end.
You
be
will
you, of
in
danger, seeing he does not believe
making your words more
are sure to die at the
'And formerly and
A'ieh^ killed
A'au^ killed the
^
The
^
A
^
The
*
A
tyrant with
whom
worthy minister of tyrant with
strong,
hands of such a prince
and you
tyrant.
Kwan
Lung-fang
Pi-kan ^
Both
the dynasty of Hsia ended.
A'ieh.
whom
the dynasty of
Shang or Yin ended. Yin dynasty.
half-brother of A'au, the tyrant of the
of
206
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
these
cultivated
persons,
their
sympathy with the lower people
BK. IV.
bending down in to comfort them
suffering (as they did) from their oppressors,
and on
account opposing their superiors. On this account, because they so ordered their conduct, their
their
compassed
rulers
destruction
their
regard had they for their
own
fame.
:
— such
(Again),
anciently attacked (the states of) 3hung-/C'ih
Yu
Hsii-ao \ and states
were
their
population,
attacked the ruler of
Hu
\
^
Yao and
Those
empty, and with no one to continue the people being exterminated.
left
They had engaged in war without ceasing; their craving for whatever they could get was insatiable.
And this (ruler of Wei) is, like them, one who craves after fame and greater substance have you not heard it ? Those sages were not able to over-
— —how much ;
come the
thirst for fame and substance you be able to do so Nevertheless you must have some ground (for the course which you wish to take) pray try and tell it to me.' ;
less will
!
;
Yen Hui
said,
'
May
go, doing so in uprightness
I
and humility, using also every endeavour to be uniform (in my plans of operation) ? No, indeed was the reply. How can you do so ? This man '
'
!
'
makes
a display ^ of being filled to overflowing (with
virtue),
are
and has great
self-conceit.
not to be determined
from
his
His feelings countenance.
Ordinary men do not (venture to) oppose him, and he proceeds from the way in which he affects them
^
See in par.
3hung-/(-ih. 2
I take
dictionary.
7,
Book
II,
See the ShQ,
^
here as
where Hsu-ao
III,
is
mentioned, though not
ii.
= ^^ ;— a meaning given in the Khang-hsi
PT.
I.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
SECT. IV.
to seek
still
more the
satisfaction of his
207
own mind.
He may
be described as unaffected by the (small lessons of) virtue brought to bear on him from day to day and how much less will he be so by your ;
great lessons
?
be converted.
to
He will be He may
you, but inwardly there will tion
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; how can
you (go
to
obstinate,
and refuse
outwardly agree with be no self-condemna-
him
in this
way and be
?
successful)
(Yen Hui) maintaining
rejoined, 'Well then;
my
straightforward
while inwardly
intention,
I
will
outwardly seem to bend to him. I will deliver (my lessons), and substantiate them by appealing to antiquity. Inwardly maintaining my straightforward intention,
When
I
Heaven,
whom we
it
be a co-worker with Heaven. of being a co-worker with because I know that (the sovereign,
shall
I
thus is
speak
son of Heaven, and myself, are by Heaven as Its sons. And should I then, as if my words were only my own, be seeking to find whether men approved of them, or disapproved of them ? In this way men will pronounce me a (sincere and simple ^) boy. This is what is called being a co-worker with Heaven. Outwardly bending (to the ruler), I shall be a co-worker with other men. To carry (the memorandum tablet to court) ^, to kneel, and to bend the body reverentially these are the observances of ministers. They all employ them, and should I presume not to do so ? Doing what other men do, they would have no occasion to blame me. This style) the
equally regarded
*
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
*
Entirely unsophisticated, governed by the
^
See the Li A'l, XI,
ii,
16, 17.
Tao.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
208 is
what
is
BK. IV.
called being a fellow-worker with other
men.
my
Full)' declaring
'
sentiments and substantiat-
them by appealing
ing
antiquity,
to
be a
shall
I
Although the words lessons may really be con-
co-worker with the ancients.
which I convey my demnatory (of the ruler), they will be those of In this way, though antiquity, and not my own. This straightforward, I shall be free from blame. is what is called being a co-worker with antiquity. May I go to Wei in this way, and be successful?' How can you do so ? No indeed!' said A'ung-ni. You have too many plans of proceeding, and have Though you not spied out (the ruler's character). firmly adhere to your plans, you may be held free from transgression, but this will be all the result. How can you (in this way) produce the transformation (which you desire) ? All this only shows (in you) the mind of a teacher in
'
'
!
2.
Yen Hui
to ask the
said,
fasting \ (as)
is
I
have the method,
He who
it ?
'
I
can go no farther
method from will will
thinks
you.
tell
you it
find
easy
(But)
I
venture '
It
when you
easy to practise
it
be disapproved
will
Hui
of by the bright Heaven.'
;
A'ung-ni replied,
you,'
said,
'
My
family
For months together we have no spirituous drink, nor do we taste the proscribed food or any strong-smelling vegetables can this be regarded poor.
is
;
fasting?'
as
The
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
reply was, 'It
appropriate to sacrificing, but
^
The term
^
Such as onions and
pigeon.
is
it
is
is
the
fasting-
not the fasting
emphatic, as Confucius goes on to explain. garlic,
with horse, dog, cow, goose, and
PT.
I.
THE WRITINGS OF i:WANG-3ZE.
SECT. IV.
of the mind.' of the mind
'
I
is,'
209
venture to ask what that
fastino-
and A'ung-ni answered,
said Hui,
Maintain a perfect unity in every movement of your will. You will not wait for the hearing of your ears about it, but for the hearing of your mind. You will not wait even for the hearine of your mind, but for the hearing of the spirit ^ Let '
Let the
the hearing (of the ears) rest with the ears.
mind what
rest is
in
the verification (of the rightness of
But the
in the will).
spirit is free
from
all
pre-occupation and so waits for (the appearance of)
Where
things.
freedom from
all
the (proper)
course
pre-occupation
;
is
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; such
there
^,
freedom
is is
Hui said Before it was possible for me to employ (this method), there I was, the Hui that I am now, that I can employ it, the Hui that I was has passed away. Can I be said the fasting of the mind.'
^,
'
;
have obtained this freedom from pre-occupation ?' The Master replied, Entirely. I tell you that you can enter and be at ease in the enclosure (where he is), and not come into collision with the reputation (which belongs to him). If he listen to your counsels, let him hear your notes if he will not listen, be silent. Open no (other) door employ no other medicine dwell with him (as with a friend) in the same apartment, and as if you had no other option, and you will not be far from success in your object. Not to move a step is easy to walk without treading on the ground is difficult. In acting after the manner of men, it is easy to fall to
'
;
;
;
;
^
' ^
The character The Tao. *
Said [39]
; '
in the text for
'
probably, after having
P
the breath.'
'
here
is
made
trial
of this fasting.
spirit
^^,
'
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
2IO into
hypocrisy
Heaven,
it is
acting
in
;
flying without them.
of
the
I
wise
I
;
manner of
the
I have have not heard of have heard of the knowhave not heard of the
play the hypocrite.
difficult to
heard of flying with wings ledge
after
BK. IV.
;
I
Look at that aperture empty apartment is filled
knowledge of the unwise. (left
in
the wall)
;
with light through
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the
Felicitous influences rest (in
it.
the mind thus emblemed), as in their proper resting
Even when they do not
place.
what
is
called
galloping
so rest,
we have
body) seated and (the mind)
(the
The
abroad.
information
comes
that
through the ears and eyes is comprehended internally, and the knowledgfe of the mind becomes something external (when this is the case), the :
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
spiritual intelligences will
men do
come, and take up their
how much more
dwelling with us, and
other
will
undergo a transforming influence. This was the hinge on which Yil and Shun moved Fu-hsi it was this which and Ki-kkW - practised all their lives how much so
!
All
thino-s
thus
^
;
:
more should other men
follow the
same
rule
!
3. 3ze-kao ^, duke of Sheh, being about to proceed on a mission to Kki, asked A'ung-ni, saying, The king is sending me, A"u-liang ^, on a mission which *
^
Often spoken of as Fo-hi, the founder of the Chinese kingdom.
His place B.C. ^
in
chronology should be assigned to him more than
3000 rather than under
A
that date.
predecessor of Fu-hsi, a sovereign of the ancient para-
disiacal time. ^
The name
of Sheh remains in Sheh-hsien, a
department Nan-yang, Ho-nan.
Its
governor,
who
district is
of the
the subject
of this narrative, was a Shan A'li-liang, styled 3ze-kao.
He was
PT.
I.
SECT.
THE WRITINGS OF ^WANG-3ZE.
IV.
2
I I
very important. Kh\ will probably treat me as his commissioner with great respect, but it will not be Even an in a hurry (to attend to the business). ordinary man cannot be readily moved (to action), is
and how much very
me
less the prince of a state
You,
of apprehension.
full
that of
few which,
all
Sir,
am
I
!
once said to
things, great or small, there
were
not conducted in the proper way^,
if
could be brought to a happy conclusion
;
that, if
was sure to be the evil of being dealt with after the manner of men that, if it were successful, there was sure and that, to be the evil of constant anxiety ^ whether it succeeded or not, it was only the the thing were not successful, there
^'
;
;
virtuous
man who
could secure
not beinof
its
fol-
lowed by evil. In my diet I take what is coarse, and do not seek delicacies, a man whose cookery does not require him to be using cooling drinks. This morning I received my charge, and in the evening I am drinkinef iced water; am I not Such is feeling the internal heat (and discomfort) ? my state before I have actually engaged in the I affair; am already suffering from conflicting anxieties. And if the thing do not succeed, (the
—
—
—
king)
is
sure
to
The
evil
of men.
deal with is
me
twofold
;
after
the
manner
as a minister,
not able to bear the burden (of the mission).
not a duke, but as the counts of A7/u had usurped the
names
king, they gave high-sounding
am
I
Can name
of
and
to all their ministers
officers. ^
Or, 'according to the Tao.'
^
As a
^
Anxiety
criminal '
;
punished by his sovereign.
night and day,' or
peculiar usage of
'
cold and hot
Yin Yang. r 2
'
fits
of trouble
;
—
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
212 you,
Sir,
tell
me
something
BK, iv.
me
help
(to
A'ung-ni replied, 'In
all
things under heaven there
are two great cautionary considerations
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the
the requirement implanted (in the nature)^
is
the
in
?
case)
other
the conviction of what
is
of a son for his parents
is
The
right.
is
one the
;
love
the implanted require-
ment, and can never be separated from his heart the service of his ruler by a minister
what
is
is
and from its obligation there is no escaping anywhere between heaven and earth. These are what are called the great cautionary considerations. Therefore a son finds his rest in serving his parents without reference to or choice of place and right,
;
this
is
the height of
filial
way
In the same
duty.
a subject finds his rest in serving his ruler, without reference to or choice of the business
simply obeying (the dictates
;
and
this
When men
the fullest discharge of loyalty.
is
are
their hearts, the
of)
considerations of grief and joy are not readily set
They know
before them. tive to
what is appointed ment of virtue. minister
or of a
cannot but do. business
that there
their acting as they do,
(in
;
and
is
and
no
alterna-
rest in
it
as
this is the highest achieve-
He who
is
in
the position of a
son has indeed to do what he
Occupied with the
details of the
hand), and forgetful of his
own
person,
he to think of his pleasure in living You, my master, may well or his dislike of death ? proceed on your mission. In 'But let me repeat to you what I have heard
what
leisure has
:
The Ming of A'ung Yung. 1
the text here
is
that in the
first
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
sentence of the
PT.
THE WRITINGS OF ^WANG-3ZE.
SECT. IV.
I.
intercourse (between states),
all
if
2
I
3
they are near to
each other, there should be mutual friendliness, veriif they are far apart, there must be fied by deeds ;
sincere adherence to truth in their messages.
Those
messages will be transmitted by internuncios. But to convey messages which express the complacence or the dissatisfaction of the two parties is the most If they be those of difficult thing in the world. mutual complacence, there is sure to be an overflow of expressions of satisfaction if of mutual dissatisBut faction, an overflow of expressions of dislike. all extravagance leads to reckless language, and ;
such lanmiaee
fails
distrust arises,
to
woe
command
belief.
to the internuncio
!
When
this
Hence
the
Rules for Speech^ say, " Transmit the message exactly do not transmit it with any overflow of as it stands language so is (the internuncio) likely to keep him;
;
self whole." '
4.
Moreover,
skilful
of strength,
trials
attempts
(to
but
wrestlers begin with
always
gain the victory)
;
end with
open
masked
as their excitement
grows excessive, they display much wonderful dexParties drinking according to the rules at
terity.
observe good order, but ahvays end with disas their excitement grows excessive, their fun becomes uproarious -. In all things it is so. People first
order
;
are at
first sincere,
at the
^
but always end with becoming rude
commencement
thincrs are treated as trivial,
and Probably a Collection of Directions current at the time to the name of Yang Hsiung's Treatise with the same ;
which led
name
in
our
first
See the Shih,
century. II, vii, 6.
2
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
14
BK. iv.
but as the end draws near, they assume great pro-
Words
portions.
the wind
them) is motion ;
point
waves acted on by by The wind and waves are easily set in lost. the success of the matter of which the real ;
are (like) the
the real point of the matters (discussed
lost is easily
is
peril. Hence quarrels much as by artful words The breath comes angrily,
put in
are occasioned by nothing so
and one-sided speeches. as
when a
beast, driven to death, wildly bellows forth
On
this animosities arise on both sides. Hasty examination (of the case) eagerly proceeds, they and revengeful thoughts arise in their minds do not know how. Since they do not know how such thoughts arise, who knows how they will end ? Hence the Rules for Speech^ say, "Let not an internuncius depart from his instructions. Let him If he go beyond the not urge on a settlement.
rage.
its
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
regular rules, he will complicate matters.
Departing from his instructions and urging on a settlement imperils negotiations. A good settlement is proved by its lastinof lonof, and a bad settlement cannot be " altered ought he not to be careful ? Further still, let your mind find its enjoyment in the circumstances of your position nourish the central course which you pursue, by a reference to your unavoidable obligations. This is the highest object for you to pursue what else can you do to fulfil the charge (of your father and ruler) -. The best thing you can do is to be prepared to sacrifice your life and this is the most difficult thinof to do.' ;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
'
;
;
to
^
See above, on preceding page.
^
Not meaning
the king of
A7m;
but the
Tao, whose
be found in his nature and the conditions of his
lot.
will
was
PT.
SECT.
I.
IV.
THE WRITINGS OF iTWANG-BZE.
Yen Ho \ being about to undertake
5.
2
I
5
the office of
Teacher of the eldest son of duke Ling of Wei, con-
KW
sulted
Po-yii^.
'
Here,' said he,
'is
this (young)
man, whose natural disposition is as bad as it could be. If I allow him to proceed in a bad way, it will be at the peril of our state if I insist on his proceeding in a right way, it will be at the peril of my own person. His wisdom is just sufficient to know the errors of other men, but he does not know how he errs himself. What am I to do in such a case ? A'u Po-yii replied, 'Good indeed is your question Be on your guard be careful see that you ;
'
;
!
;
Your best plan will be, with keep yourself correct your person to seek association with him, and with and your mind to try to be in harmony with him these of with both connected dangers there are yet While seeking to keep near to him, do not things. !
;
enter into his pursuits
;
while cultivating a harmony
of mind with him, do not
show how superior you are
your personal association you enter into his pursuits, you will fall with him and be ruined, you will tumble down with a crash. If in maintaining a harmony with his mind, you show how different
to him.
If in
you are from him, he will think you do so for the reputation and the name, and regard you as a If you find him to be a mere creature of evil omen ^ if you find boy, be you with him as another boy him one of those who will not have their ground marked out in the ordinary way, do you humour ;
^
A member
of the
Yen
family of Lu.
again in Books XIX, XXVIII, and 2
A
^
Compare
minister of
Wei; a
in the
friend
We
shall
meet with him
XXXII.
and favourite of Confucius.
A'ung Yung,
ii,
ch. 24.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
2l6
him
if you find him to be free show yourself to be the same leading him on so as to keep him free from
in this characteristic
from
BK. iv.
lofty
(ever)
^
;
airs,
;
faults.
Do
'
you not know
mantis
?
(the
fate
angrily stretches out
It
of) its
the
the progress of the carriage, unconscious of ability for such
thinks of
its
If
careful.
a task, but showing
own
powers.
praying
arms, to arrest in-
its
how much
Be on your guard
;
you cherish a boastful confidence
your own excellence, and place yourself
it
be in
in collision
with him, you are likely to incur the fate (of the mantis).
Do
you not know how those who keep tigers They do not dare to supply them with ? living creatures, because of the rage which their killing of them will excite. They do not (even) dare to give them their food whole, because of the rage which their rending of it will excite. They watch till their hunger is appeased, (dealing with them) from their knowledge of their natural ferocity. Tigers are different from men, but they fawn on those who feed them, and do so in accordance with their nature. When any of these are killed by them, it is because they have gone against that nature. '
proceed
Those again who are fond of horses preserve dung in baskets, and their urine in jars. If musquitoes and gadflies light on them, and the grooms brush them suddenly away, the horses '
their
break their
bits,
injure (the
ornaments on) their
heads, and smash those on their breasts. care that
^
is
The more
taken of them, the more does their fond-
Equivalent to
'
Do
not cross him in his peculiarities.'
PT.
I.
THE WRITINGS OF ^WANG-3ZE.
SECT. IV.
2
I
7
Ought not management of
ness (for their attendants) disappear.
caution
them) 6.
to
be exercised
the
(in
?
A (master) mechanic, called
Shih, on his
way
to
came to iOu-ytian \ where he saw an oak-tree, which was used as the altar for the spirits of the land. It was so large that an ox standing behind Kill,
it
could not be seen.
measured a hundred spans
It
round, and rose up eighty cubits on the
hill
before
it
threw out any branches, after which there w^ere ten or so, from each of which a boat could be hollow^ed People came to see it in crowds as in a market out. place, but the mechanic did not look round at it, but held on his
way without
stopping.
One
of his work-
men, however, looked long and admiringly at it, and then ran on to his master, and said to him, Since I followed you with my axe and bill, I have never seen such a beautiful mass of timber as this. Why would you. Sir, not look round at it, but went on '
? Have done,' said Mr. Shih, and do not speak about it. It is quite useless. A a coffin or boat made from its w^ood would sink an article of furniture shell would quickly rot a door would be would soon go to pieces a pillar would be covered with the exuding sap riddled by insects the material of it is good for
without stopping
'
'
'
;
;
;
;
;
nothing, and hence o^reat o
^
a
an
agfe o
The name
hill.
All
it
is
that
it
has attained to so
-.'
of a place
;
of a road
these accounts of the
editions of our author,
showing
;
of a bend in the road
name
that the
are found in locality
identified. ^
No
one has thought
it
worth cutting down.
;
of
different
had not been
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
2l8
BK. IV.
When Mr. Shih was returning, the altar-oak appeared to him in a dream, and said, What other tree will you compare with me ? Will you compare me to one of your ornamental trees ? There are '
hawthorns, pear-trees, orange-trees, pummelo-trees, gourds and other low fruit-bearing plants. When their fruits are ripe, they are knocked down from
among
them, and thrown
the
The
dirt ^
large
branches are broken, and the smaller are torn away.
So
it
is
them
their
they do not complete their
;
come
natural term of existence, but
end
makes
that their productive ability
lives bitter to
to a
premature
middle of their time, bringing on themselves the destructive treatment which they ordinin the
arily
receive.
It
sought to discover
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
is
with
so
how
it
all
was that
I have was so useless
things. I
had long done so, till (the effort) nearly caused and now I have learned it it has been of the greatest use to me. Suppose that I had possessed useful properties, should I have become of the great size that I am ? And moreover you and I are both things how should one thing thus pass its judgment on another ? how is it that you a useI
my
death
:
;
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
man know
all this about me a useless tree ? Mr. Shih awoke, he kept thinking about his dream, but the workman said, Being so taken with
less
When
'
its
uselessness,
how
is it
that
it
altar for the spirits of the land
yet acts here as the
? '
'Be
still,'
master's reply, 'and do not say a word.
It
was the simply
happened to grow here and thus those who do not know it do not speak ill of it as an evil thing. If it were not used as the altar, would it be in danger of ;
^
This
is
the indignity intended.
PT.
I.
THE WRITINGS OF A;WANG-3ZE.
SECT. IV.
being cut down preserved
is
219
Moreover, the reason of its being from that of the preservation
?
different
of things generally
not your explaining
is
;
it
from
the sentiment which you have expressed wide of the
mark
?
Nan-po ^z^-khi in rambling about the Heights Shang ^, saw a large and extraordinary tree. The ^
7.
of
teams of a thousand chariots might be sheltered under it, and its shade would cover them all ^zeIt must contain an k/ii said, What a tree is this When he looked extraordinary amount of timber up, however, at its smaller branches, they were so twisted and crooked that they could not be made into rafters and beams when he looked down to its root, its stem was divided into so many rounded portions that neither coffin nor shell could be made from them. He licked one of its leaves, and his mouth The smell of it would make felt torn and wounded. !
'
!
!
;
a
man
frantic, as if intoxicated, for
more than three
This, indeed,' said he, is a whole days together. tree good for nothing, and it is thus that it has Ah and spirit-like men attained to such a size. '
'
!
acknowledge In
Sung
this worthlessness (and its result) ^'
there
is
the district of A'ing-shih
'^,
in
which catalpae, cypresses, and mulberry trees grow well. Those of them which are a span or two or rather more in circumference ^ are cut down by persons who want to make posts to which to tie their ^
Probably the Nan-kwo '^zt-kh\
at the
beginning of the second
Book. '^
In the present department of Kwei-teh, Ho-nan.
^
A
*
In what part of the duchy
ÂŽ
See Mencius, VI,
difficult
sentence to construe.
i,
13.
we do
not know.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
2 20
monkeys
BK. iv.
those which are three or four spans round are cut down by persons who want beams for and those of seven their lofty and famous houses or eight spans are cut clown by noblemen and rich merchants who want single planks for the sides of The trees in consequence do not their coffins. complete their natural term of life, and come to a premature end in the middle of their growth under ;
;
the axe and
from
bill
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
this
their supplying
In the
the evil that befalls
is
them
good timber.
same way the A^ieh
^
(book) specifies oxen
that have white foreheads, pigs that have turned-up
and men that are
and The Ho. wizards know them by these peculiarities and consider them to be inauspicious, but spirit-like men consider them on this account to be very fortunate. snouts,
forbids
their
being
suffering from piles,
sacrificed
to
the
8. There was the deformed object Shu^. His chin seemed to hide his navel his shoulders were higher than the crown of his head the knot of his hair pointed to the sky his five viscera were all compressed into the upper part of his body, and his two By sharpening needles thigh bones were like ribs. and washing clothes he was able to make a living. By sifting rice and cleaning it, he was able to support When the o-overnment was callinoten individuals. out soldiers, this poor Shu would bare his arms among the others when it had any great service ;
;
;
;
be undertaken, because of his constant ailments, none of the work was assigned to him when it was
to
;
^
Probably the name of an old work on
ever a time in China or on any altar ^
One
when human
sacrifices.
sacrifices
?
of ^wang-^ze's creations.
But was there
were offered to the Ho,
PT.
SECT.
I.
THE WRITINGS OF i^WANG-3ZE.
IV.
22
1
giving out grain to the
sick, he received three /§ung, and ten bundles of firewood. If this poor man, so deformed in body, was still able to support himself, and complete his term of life, how much more may they do so, whose deformity is that of their
faculties^
When
9.
madman
Confucius went to
Kku."^, A'/^ieh-yu,
the
of A'/m^, as he was wandering about, passed
his door, and said, O Phoenix, O Phoenix, how your virtue degenerated The future is not to be waited for the past is not to be sought again
by
'
is
!
;
When
!
good order prevails accomplish
tries to
prevails,
he
may
all
in the world, the
his service
preserve his
life
sage
;
when
;
at the present
disorder
it is enough if he simply escape being punished. Happiness is lighter than a feather, but no one knows
time,
how
to support
it
;
calamity
is
heavier than the earth,
and yet no one knows how to avoid it. Give over give over approaching men with the lessons of your virtue You are in peril you are in peril, hurrying on where you have marked out the ground against your advance I avoid publicity, I avoid publicity, that my path may not be injured. I pursue my !
!
!
course,
my ^
feet
The
now going backwards, now may not be hurt
deficiency of their faculties
assimilate
them
to
The
— here mental faculties — would
the useless trees in the last two paragraphs,
whose uselessness only proved ^
crookedly, that
•*.
useful to them.
great state of the south, having
its
capital in the present
Hil-pei.
of
'
See the Analects, XVIII,
*
The madman would seem Confucius
;
v.
to contrast his
but the meaning
cannot be discussed
is
own
course with that
very uncertain, and the text
fully in these short notes.
There
is
a jingle
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
2 22
BK. IV.
The mountain by its trees weakens itself ^ The grease which ministers to the fire fries itself. The cinnamon tree can be eaten, and therefore it is cut down. The varnish tree is useful, and therefore incisions are made in it. All men know the advan'
tage of being useful, but no one knows the advantage of being useless.'
of
rhyme also them
in the sentence,
and some
critics find
something
like
this in
'Ye
To ^
save
Literally,
strength.
ye thorny
ferns,
my '
feet,
robs
I
ferns,
O
backward
itself;
'
injure not turn, or
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; exhausts
its
my
way!
winding stray
!
moisture or productive
PT.
I.
THE WRITINGS OF
SECT. V.
BOOK Part
Teh Khung I.
^
;
223
V.
Section V.
I.
Fu, or 'The Seal of Virtue Completed'
In Lu^ there was a
both his feet
isTWANG-SZE.
Wang
Thai^ who had
while his disciples
who
follow^ed
lost
and
went about with him were as numerous as those of A^mg-ni. AO^ang Ki ' asked A'ung-ni about him, saying, Though Wang Thai is a cripple, the disciples who follow him about divide Lii equally with you, Master. When he stands, he does not teach them when he sits, he does not discourse to them. But they go to him empty, and come back full. Is '
;
indeed such a thing as instruction without
there
words ^ ? and while the body is imperfect, may the mind be complete ? What sort of man is he ? Kung-ni replied, This master is a sage. I have '
'
See pp. 133, 134. native state of Confucius, part of the present Shan-tung.
Âť
^
The
^
A
Taoist of complete virtue
such a person.
The
*
feet,
Our author
character
The
feet
below
that
'
is
him according
to his fashion.
say that he had
lost
both his
the meaning, because of what
is
he walked on his heels to see Confucius.'
must have been amputated, or mutilated rather (justly or punishment but A'wang-jze wished to say nothing
unjustly), as a
on
but probably there was not really
uh (Tli) does not
but I suppose that such
said of Toeless
;
fabricates
;
that point. ^
Perhaps a disciple of Confucius
such. c
See the
Tao Teh
A'ing, ch.
2
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;not elsewhere mentioned
as
2
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
24
only been too late
him my teacher
in
BK. v.
going to him.
I
will
make
and how much more should those
;
Why should do so who are not equal to me I will lead on all only the state of Lu follow him ? under heaven with me to do so.' AV/ang K\ rejoined, He is a man who has lost his feet, and yet he must be he is known as the venerable Wang ^ very different from ordinary men. What is the The peculiar way in which he employs his mind ? reply was, Death and life are great considerations. but they could work no change in him. Though heaven and earth were to be overturned and fall, His judgment is they would occasion him no loss. fixed regarding that in which there is no element and, while other things change, he of falsehood ^ !
'
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
;
'
'
;
chanofes not.
The
transformations of thino-s are to
him the developments prescribed for them, and he keeps fast hold of the author of them ^' A'/^ang K\ said, What do you mean ? When '
'
'
we see
look at things,' said A'ung-ni,
them
and the
to
gall,
be
as they differ,
*
we
different, (as for instance) the liver
or Khi\ and Ytieh
we (Wang
when we look
;
them
at
be a unity. Thai). He takes no knowSo it is with this ledge of the things for which his ears and eyes are the appropriate organs, but his mind delights itself them, as they agree,
the
in
harmony of
(all
see
all
to
excellent) qualities.
He
looks
which belongs to things, and does not perceive where they have suffered loss. He looks at the unity
^
Literally,
'
the Senior
; '
often rendered
'
Teacher.'
'That in which there is no element of falsehood' is the Tao, which also is the 'Author' of all the changes that take place in ^
time and space. of the Book,
See the Introductory Note on the
title
and subject
PT.
THE WRITINGS OF
SECT.v.
I.
on the
;irWANG-3ZE.
225
loss of his feet as only the loss of so
much
earth.'
AV/ang K\
said,
He
'
By
(proper) self \
(the nature of) his
what
is
unchangeable
much
so
entirely occupied with his
is
knowledge he has discovered mind, and to that he holds as
his
^
but
;
The
of him?'
how
men make 'Men do not
that
is it
reply was,
look into running water as a mirror, but into
—
water
;
them
all,
it
only the
is
and keep them
OT
their real selves).
the contemplation of
(in
things which are what they
are by the influence of the earth,
it is
only the pine
and cypress which are the best instances
summer
as in
still
water that can arrest
still
brightly green
Of
^.
;
—
in
winter
those which were
what they were by the influence of Heaven^, the most correct examples were Yao and Shun for;
tunate in (thus) maintaining their
and so as '
As
own
correct,
life
to correct the lives of others.
a verification of the (power of) the original
endowment, when
has been preserved, take the
it
result of fearlessness,
— how
the heroic spirit of a
been thrown into an army If a man only seeking for fame and of nine hosts ^. able in this way to secure it can produce such an effect, how much more (may we look for a greater single brave soldier has
^
Wang
things. *
Thai saw
Notwithstanding
his
stance himself, and
all
embodiment of
the
his this,
Tao, and
things in the
all
Comp. Book XI,
the
Tao
in all
par. 7, et al.
He
being a cripple. others forget
What
Tao.
it,
forgets that circum-
constrained and
follows
is
an
won by
illustration of
exaggerated indeed, but not so extravagantly as
in
many
other passages. ^
In the Taoistic meaning of the term.
*
The
royal
prince of three. [39]
army '
consisted of six hosts
Nine hosts
'
= a very Q
;
that of a great feudal
great army.
2
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
26
result)
earth,
from one whose rule and holds all things
simply has his lodging
whom
in
BK. V.
over heaven and
is
his
in
the six
treasury,
who
members ^ of
his
and eyes serve but as conveying emblematic images of things, who comprehends all his knowledge in a unity, and whose mind never dies If such a man were to choose a day on which he would ascend far on high, men would (seek to) But how should he be willing to follow him there. occupy himself with other men ?
body,
his ears
!
'
2.
Shan-thu A'ia^ was (another)
man who had
lost
Along with ^z^-kh^cxv' of A^'ang^ he studied under the master Po-hwan Wu-2'an ^. ^z^-khkw said to him (one day), If I go out first, do you remain behind and if you go out first, I will remain behind.' Next day they were again sitting together on the same mat in the hall, when 3ze-/{'/^an spoke the same words to him, adding, Now I am about to his feet.
'
;
'
go out will you stay behind or not ? Moreover, when you see one of official rank (like myself), you do not try to get out of his way; do you consider yourself equal to one of official rank ? Shan-thu ;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
'
K'm. replied,
'
In our Master's school
such recognition required of
whose pleasure
official
is
there indeed
rank
?
You
are
your official rank, and would therefore take precedence of other men. I one. Sir,
is
in
The
arms, legs, head, and trunk. Another cripple introduced by our author to serve his purpose. ' Kung-sun AV^iao; a good and able minister of A'ang, an earldom forming part of the present Ho-nan. He was a con^
^
temporary of Confucius, B.C. 522.
He was
who wept when he heard
a branch of the royal family of ^
A
of his death in
a scion of the ruling house, which again was
Taoist teacher.
Khi.
See XXI, par. 9; XXXII, par.
i.
PT.
I.
THE WRITINGS OF ATWANG-SZE.
SECT.V.
have heard that when a mirror
is
227
bright, the dust
does not rest on it when dust rests on it the mirror is not bright. When one dwells long with a man of ;
and virtue, he comes to be without error. There now is our teacher whom you have chosen to make you greater than you are and when you still talk in this way, are you not in error ? 3ze-/7/an rejoined, 'A (shattered) object as you are, you would still strive to make yourself out as good as Yao If I may form an estimate of your virtue, might it not be sufficient to lead you to the examination of yourself ?' ability
;
'
!
The
other said, 'Most criminals, in describing their
offences,
have
would make
out that they ought not to
it
them few would describe appear that they should not
lost (their feet) for
them so
as to
make
have preserved their
who know
feet.
;
They are
that such a calamity
therefore rest in
When men bent bow,
it
as
it
what was appointed
stand before (an archer
if
they are
only the virtuous
was unavoidable, and
in the
like) I
middle of his
the place where they should be hit
is
be not
many
hit,
that
also
for them. ^
with his
field,
that
and if they was appointed. There are
with their feet entire
;
who laugh
at
me
be-
have lost my feet, which makes me feel vexed and angry. But when I go to our teacher, I throw off that feeling, and return (to a better mood) he has washed, without my knowing it, the other from me by (his instructions in) what is good. I have attended him now for nineteen years, and have not known that I am without my feet. Now, you. Sir, and I have for the object of our study the cause
I
;
^
B.
A
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
famous archer of antiquity
c, or perhaps earlier.
Q
2
in the
twenty-second century
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
2 28
bk. v.
(virtue) which is internal, and not an adjunct of the body, and yet you are continually directing your
my
attention to in this
and
?
external body;
and said, thing more about it' looks,
—are you not wrong
uneasy, altered his
3ze-/J'/^an felt
'
You need
*
manner
not, Sir, say any-
3. In Lu there was a cripple, called Shu-shan the Toeless\ who came on his heels to see A'une-ni. A'ung-ni said to him, By your want of circumspection in the past. Sir, you have incurred such a calamity; of what use is your coming to me now?' Toeless said, Through my ignorance of my proper '
—
'
business and taking too litde care of
came
my
to lose
feet.
possessing what
still
is
my
body,
I
But now I am come to you, more honourable than my
and which therefore I am anxious to preserve entire. There is nothing which Heaven does not cover, and nothing which Earth does not sustain feet,
;
you. Master, were regarded by
—
me
as doing the part
of Heaven and Earth; how could would receive me in such a way ? joined,
'
am
I
I
know
'
that
you
Confucius re-
But why, my where I will try to When Toeless had
but a poor creature.
master, do you not
come
inside,
tell you what I have learned ? gone out, Confucius said, Be stimulated to effort, my disciples. This toeless cripple is still anxious to learn to make up for the evil of his former conduct how much more should those be so whose conduct has been unchallenged '
'
—
!
Mr. Toeless, however, told Lao
^
'
Toeless
'
is
a sort of nickname.
probably, where he dwelt
:—
'
Tan
(of the inter-
Shu-shan or Shu
Toeless of Shu
hill.'
hill
was,
PT.
I.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
SECT. V.
view), saying,
'
Khung
Kk\\\,
I
229
apprehend, has not
yet attained to be a Perfect man.
What has he
with keeping a crowd of disciples around him
to
do
He
?
seeking to have the reputation of being an extra-
is
ordinary and marvellous man, and does not
man
the Perfect
and
know
that
considers this to be as handcuffs
fetters to him.'
Lao Tan
said,
'Why did you
simply lead him to see the unity of
life
not
and death,
and that the admissible and inadmissible belong to one category, so freeing him from his fetters ? Would this be possible?' Toeless said, It is the punishment inflicted on him by Heaven ^ How can he be freed from it ? '
4. Duke Ai of Lu- asked A'ung-ni, saying, 'There was an ugly man in Wei, called Ai-thai Tho 'K His father-in-law, who lived with him, thought so much of him that he could not be away from him. His wife, when she saw him (ugly as he was), represented to her parents, saying, " I had more than ten times rather be his concubine than the wife of any other man ^" He was never heard to take the lead in discussion, but always seemed to be of the same opinion with others. He had not the position of a ruler, so He had no as to be able to save men from death.
revenues, so as to be able to satisfy men's craving for food.
^
is
'
He
was ugly enough, moreover,
'Heaven' here unavoidable
is
; '
it is
a
synonym of Tao.
to scare
Perhaps the meaning
so in the Taoistic order of things.
^ It was in the sixteenth year of duke Ai that Confucius died. Ai was marquis of Lu from b.c. 494 to 468. ^ The account of Ai-thai Tho is of course ^wang-5ze's own Ai-thai is understood to be descriptive of his ugliness, fabrication.
and Tho to be his name. * Perhaps this was spoken by
his wife before their marriage.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
230
He
the whole world.
BK.V.
men
agreed with
instead of
them to adopt his views his knowledge did not go beyond his immediate neighbourhood \ And yet his father-in-law and his wife were of one mind about him in his presence (as I have said); he must have been different from other men. Certainly he was ugly I called him, and saw him. enough to scare the whole world. He had not lived with me, however, for many months, when I was drawn to the man and before he had been with me a full year, I had confidence in him. The state trying to lead
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
;
being without a chief minister,
commit the government
my
(was minded) to
I
He
to him.
responded to
proposal sorrowfully, and looked undecided as
if
he would fain have declined it. I was ashamed of myself (as inferior to him), but finally gave the government into his hands. In a little time, howI was sorry and ever, he left me and went away. felt that I had sustained a loss, and as if there were no other to share the pleasures of the kingdom with me. What sort of man was he ? ATung-ni said, Once when I was sent on a mission to AT/m, I saw some pigs sucking at their dead mother. After a little they looked with rapid glances, when '
'
they
all left her,
and ran away.
They
felt
that she
did not see them, and that she was no longer like
themselves.
What
was not her bodily tion to her figure.
do not at
^
in
One
hand.
they had loved
figure,
When
his interment
in their
mother
but what had given animaa
man
dies in battle, they
employ the usual appendages
sees dimly the applicability of this illustration to the case
What made
Ai-thai
Tho
so
much esteemed was
power, quite independent of his ugly person.
his
mental
PT.
THE WRITINGS OF ZWANG-3ZE.
SECT.v.
r,
of plumes
^
:
as to supplying shoes to one
them
;
—
why he
no reason
lost his feet, there is
for
23
in neither
case
is
who
has
should care
there the proper reason
The members
of the royal harem do not pare their nails nor pierce their ears - when a man is newly married, he remains (for a time) absent from his official duties, and unoccupied with them -. That their bodies might be perfect was make them thus dealt with sufficient to how much greater results should be expected from men This Ai-thai Tho whose mental gifts are perfect was believed by men, though he did not speak a word and was loved by them, though he did no
for their use
'.
;
;
—
!
;
special service
for
He made men
them.
appoint
government of their states, afraid only He that he would not accept the appointment. must have been a man whose powers ^ were perfect, thoueh his realisation of them ^ was not manifested
him
to the
in his person,'
Duke Ai said, What is meant by saying that his A'ung-nt replied, Death powers were complete ? and life, preservation and ruin, failure and success, poverty and wealth, superiority and inferiority, blame and praise, hunger and thirst, cold and heat '
'
'
;
these are the changes of circumstances, the operation
of our appointed
Day and
lot.
night they succeed
to one another before us, but there
^
See the Li
illustrations
^ '
A'i,
VIII,
i,
'
7
;
but the applicabiUty of these two
reasoning from the less to the two compare the mosaical provision
as in
the
'
Powers' are the capacities of the nature,
Virtue
'
is
no wisdom
not so clear.
These two have force With the latter of Deuteronomy xxiv. 5.
2
greater.'
in
is
is
—
the gift of the
the realisation or carrying out of those capacities.
Tao.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
232
able to discover to what they
owe
BK.
V,
their origination.
They are not sufficient therefore to disturb the harmony (of the nature), and are not allowed to enter into the treasury of intelligence.
and
To cause
this
harmony
be diffused, while the feeling of pleasure is not lost from the mind to allow no break to arise in this state day or night, so that it is always spring-time ^ in his relations with external satisfaction ever to
;
things
what
experiences to realise in his mind
in all his
;
is
appropriate to each season (of the year)^:
these are the characteristics of him
whose powers
are perfect' *
And what
do you mean by the realisation of
these powers not being manifested in the person?'
(pursued further the duke). is
The
reply was,
'
There
nothing so level as the surface of a pool of
water.
All within
comes
may
It
to
efficacy
serve as an example of what
still
mean.
I
circuit is preserved (in peace), and there no agitation from without. The virtuous
its it
is
the perfect cultivation of the
Though
(of the nature).
harmony
the realisation of this be
not manifested in the person, things cannot separate
themselves (from
Some days
its influence).'
afterwards duke Ai told this conversa-
tion to Min-^ze^, saying,
the
work of the
'
Formerly
it
seemed
to
me
sovereio-n to stand in court with his
and to pay good heed to the accounts of the people concerned, lest any should come to a (miserable) death this face to the south, to rule the kingdom,
;
^
Specially the season of complacent enjoyment.
^
So, in Lin Hsi-/('ung
;
but the meaning has to be forced out
of the text, ^
The
disciple
Min Sun
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
or JNIin ^zQ-kh\ex\.
PT.
I I
I.
THE WRITINGS OF KWANGSZE.
SECT. V.
233
considered to be the sum (of his duty). Now that have heard that description of the Perfect man, I
my idea is not the real one, and that, by employing myself too lightly, I may cause the ruin I of my state. and Khung A7/iu are not on the footing of ruler and subject, but on that of a virtuous fear that
friendship.' 5.
A
person
who had no
lips,
whose
legs were
bent so that he could only walk on his toes, and who was (otherwise) deformed \ addressed his counsels to
duke Ling of Wei, who was so pleased with him, that he looked on a perfectly formed man as having a lean and small neck in comparison with him. Another who had a large goitre like an earthenware jar addressed his counsels to duke Hwan of AV/i -, who was so pleased with him that he looked on a perfectly formed man as having a neck lean and small in comparison with him ^ So it is that when ^
one's virtue
bodily form
is
extraordinary, (any deficiency
may be
in) his
When men
do not forget what is (easily) forgotten, and forget what is not (easily) forgotten, we have a case of real oblivion. Therefore the sagely man has that in which his mind finds its enjoyment, and (looks on) wisdom as (but) the shoots from an old stump agreements with forgott
:n.
;
others are to him but so
much
o-lue
;
kindnesses are
These two men are undoubtedly inventions of AVang-^ze, are brought before us, not by surnames and names, but
^
They by
their several deformities. ^
B.C. ^
The 685 Lin
first
of the five presiding chiefs
;
marquis of A7n from
to 643.
Hsi-/('ung
wonders whether the story of the man who was
so taken with the charms of a one-eyed courtesan, that he thought
other
women
all
had an eye too many, was taken from
this
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
234
(but the arts of) intercourse
merchants' wares.
as)
;
The
BK. V.
and great sagely
(but
skill is
man
— of what use would wisdom be to him no cutting and hacking to do — of what
plans
has
no
lays ?
;
;
He use
would glue be to him ? He has lost nothing of what use would arts of intercourse be to him ? He has no goods to dispose of; what need has he (The want of) these four to play the merchant ? things are the nourishment of (his) Heavenly (nature) Since he that nourishment is its Heavenly food. receives this food from Heaven, what need has he ;
—
man's (devising) ? He has the bodily form of man, but not the passions and desires of (other) men. He has the form of man, and therefore he is a man. Being without the passions and desires of men, their approvings and disapprovlngs are not How Insignificant and small is to be found In him. How (the body) by which he belongs to humanity grand and great Is he In the unique perfection of his for anything of
!
Heavenly
(nature)
!
Hul-jze said to AVang-jze,
'
Can a man Indeed
The reply was, be without desires and passions ? But on what grounds do you call him a He can.' man, who Is thus without passions and desires ? '
'
'
y appearance
The Tao^ gives him his personal Heaven - gives him his bodily form how should we not call him a man ?' Hui-jze rejoined, Since you call him a man, how A'wang-jze said,
'
(and powers)
;
;
'
^
the
Lu
mac
maintains here that 'the
(^1^), 'the
figure,' ^
Shu-/('ih
same meaning
or
'
Tao' and Heaven' '
have
nor does he make any distinction between
personal appearance,' and
hsing {J^\
'the
bodily form.'
Compare
Iv, 5.
;
in
the
Tao Teh
A'ing expressions
in
li,
2,
and
PT.
I.
SECT.
THE WRITINGS OF
V.
i^-WANG-SZE.
235
can he be without passions and desires ? reply was, You are misunderstanding what '
by passions and that he
is
What
desires.
without these
is,
I
that this
The
'
I
mean
mean when
man
I
say
does not by
and dishkings do any inward harm to his body he always pursues his course without effort, and does not (try to) increase his (store of) life.' his Hkings ;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
Hui-jze rejoined,
*
of (the amount) of
ATwang-jze said,
'
were not that increasing his body ?' The Tao gives him his personal If there
life,
how would he get
^
Heaven gives him his appearance (and powers) and he does not by his likings and dis;
bodily form
;
But now were something external to you, and subject your vital powers to toil. You sing (your ditties), leaning against a tree you go to sleep, grasping the stump of a rotten dryandra Heaven selected for you the bodily form (of tree. a man), and you babble about what is strong and likings
do any internal harm to his body.
you, Sir, deal with your spirit as
if it
;
what ^
is
white
^.'
Apparently a gross meaning attached by Hui-jze to ^wang-jze's
words. ^
J^wang-jze beats down his
refers to
some of
XXXIII,
par. 7,
his
well-known
and elsewhere.
opponent, and contemptuously peculiarities;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; as
in II, par. 5,
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM,
236
BOOK Part
Ta 3ung
bk. vi.
VI.
Section VI.
I.
Shih, or 'The Great and Most Honoured Master ^.'
He who knows the part which the Heavenly^ him) plays, and knows (also) that which the Human (in him ought to) play, has reached the perfection I.
(in
He who knows the part which the Heavenly plays (knows) that it is naturally born with him he who knows the part which the Human ought to play (proceeds) with the knowledge which he possesses to nourish it in the direction of what he does not (yet) know": to complete one's natural term of years and not come to an untimely end in (of knowledge).
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
the middle of his course
Although
it
be
so,
an
is
Such knowledcre
condition).
firmation of
it
as correct
;
it
How
not yet determined ^
evil (attending this
still
awaits the con-
does so because
it
is
do we know that what
See pp. 134-136-
' "^
Both
sense;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
'
the
Heaven and Man here are used in the Taoistic meaning which the terms commonly have both with '
outcome of
all
that
is
the
Tao
lot,
which are beyond
to
'
'
Lao and A'wang. ^ The middle member of
to
the fulness of knowledge.
is
there
this
said in the
sentence
Book
;
is
said to be the practical
conducting the student of
an unquestioning submission to the experiences in his his comprehension, and approaching nearly
what we understand by the Christian virtue of Faith. That is, there may be the conflict, to the end of life, between
*
PT.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
SECT, VI.
I.
2^^*]
the Heavenly (in us) is not the Human ? and what we call the Human is not the Heavenly ? There must be the True man\ and then there is the True knowledge.
we
call
that
2. What True men
few
meant by 'the True Man-?'
is
The
of old did not reject (the views of) the
they did not seek to accomplish (their ends)
;
like heroes (before others)
;
they did not lay plans
Being such, though they might make mistakes, they had no occasion for repentance though they might succeed, they had no self-complacency. Being such, they could ascend those ends
to attain
^.
;
the loftiest heights without fear
;
they could pass
through water without being made wet by could
j^V^ (^o
and
faith
into X....W
fact,
fire ...^
without v.... beiuQ^ ^^.,.^ burnt ..
so graphically exhibited in the
it
so
;
they
;
it
was
Book of Job, and com-
pendiously described in the seventy-third Psalm.
Here we meet with the True Man, a Master of the Tao. the same as the Perfect Man, the Spirit-like Man, and the Sagely Man (see pp. 127, 128), and the designation is some^
He
is
times interchanged in the
Sagely Man.' esoteric sense,
IMr.
paragraphs that follow with
five
Balfour says here that this
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; "partaking of ^^ K
accordingly translates
'
is
'
the divine man.'
names
Wan dictionary defines the name by
the
and he
But he might
in the
K^
'jj||
'
used in the
the essence of divinity;"'
by
as well translate any one of the other three
The Shwo
name
same way. '
a recluse
whose bodily form has been changed, and who ascends to heaven but when this account was made, Taoism had entered into a new phase, different from what it had in the time of of the mountain,
;
'
our author. ^
In this description of 'the
there
is
what
on the
title
teristic
of
is
of the
first
him was
participation of
True
grotesque and what
Book,
his
it.
-f" has here the sense of
is
in
what
follows,
exaggerated (see note
The most prominent characcomprehension of the Tao and
p. 127).
perfect
Man,' and
^^
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
238
by
that
their
BK. VI.
knowledge they ascended
to
and
Tao\
reached the
The True men
of old did not dream when they had no anxiety when they awoke, and did not care that their food should be pleasant. Their breathing came deep and silently. The breathing of the true man comes (even) from his heels, while men generally breathe (only) from their throats. When men are defeated in argument, their words come from their gullets as if they were vomiting. Where lusts and desires are deep, the springs of the Heavenly are shallow. slept,
The True men
of old
knew nothing
of the love
or of the hatred of death.
Entrance into life occasioned them no joy the exit from it awakened no resistance. Composedly they went and came. They did not forget what their beginning had been, and they did not inquire into what their end would of
life
;
They accepted
and rejoiced in it and returned (to their state before life) \ Thus there was in them what is called the want of any mind to resist the Tao, and of all attempts by means of the Human to assist the Heavenly. Such were they who are called the True men. be.
they forgot
3.
(their life)
fear of death),
Being such, their minds were free from all their demeanour was still and unmoved
thought ^
^
(all
Was
;
not this the state of non-existence
However we may
Pantaoism. in nature, but j\^^
^^
is
ai)pears in the
must have got forgetting,' or
not identical with
'
into the free
from
?
We
describe that, the
Tao
operates
it.
common
editions as j\^
text at a very early time. all
cannot say of
'
^^, which The mind
thought and purpose,' appears every-
PT.
THE WRITINGS OF i:WANG-3ZE.
SECT.vi.
I.
239
beamed simpHcity. Whatever coldcame from them was Hke that of autumn whatever warmth came from them was Hke that their foreheads
ness
of spring.
we
Their joy and anger assimilated to what
They
see in the four seasons.
did in regard to
know how far their action would go. Therefore the sagely man might, in his conduct of war, destroy a state things what was suitable, and no one could
all
without losing the hearts of the people
^
;
his benefits
and favours might extend to a myriad generations Hence he who without his being a lover of men. tries to
share his joys with others
not a sagely
is
man he who manifests affection is not benevolent he who observes times and seasons (to regulate his conduct) is not a man of wisdom he to whom profit and injury are not the same is not a superior man he who acts for the sake of the name of doing so, ;
;
;
and loses his (proper) self is not the and he who throws away his person is
not the true (way) cannot
Such men as
others.
Po-i, Shii-Zv/n, the
in a
command
Hu
count of
(right) scholar
Wu
Pu-/('ieh,
I\i,
way which
the service of
Hsii-yu,
Kwang,
Ki Tha, and
Shan-thu Ti, all did service for other men, and sought to secure for them what they desired, not seeking their
own
Book
in the
critics
contend that
^
Such
-.
True Man. Not a few and not the Tao of which it is a A'wang-jze intended by the Master in tlie title.
where
quality, that
pleasure
as a characteristic of the it
was
this,
'
'
antithetic statements are startling, but they are
common
with both Lao-jze and our author. ^
The
seven
men mentioned
pose, as instances of
here are
all
adduced,
good and worthy men, but
still
I
must sup-
inferior to the
Of Hu Pij-Z'ieh all that we are told is that he was an One account of Wu Kwang is that he was of the time of Hwang-Ti, with ears seven inches long another, that he
True Man.
'
ancient worthy.'
;
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
240
BK. vi,
4. The True men of old presented the aspect of judging others aright, but without being partisans ;
of feeHng their
own
insufficiency, but
being without
Their pecuharities were natural were not obstinately attached to them their humility was evident, but there was nothing of unreality or display about it. Their placidity and satisfaction had the appearance of joy; their ever}^ movement seemed to be a necessity to them. Their accumulated attractiveness drew men's looks to them their blandness fixed men's attach-
flattery or cringing.
to them, but they ;
;
ment
to their virtue.
They seemed
to
accommodate
themselves to the (manners of their age), but with a
haughty indifference was beUnceasing seemed their endeavours to keep (their mouths) shut when they looked down, they had forgotten what they wished to say. They considered punishments to be the substance cere(of government, and they never incurred it) monies to be its supporting wings (and they always observed them) wisdom (to indicate) the time (for action, and they always selected it); and virtue to be accordance (with others), and they were all-accordant. Considering punishments to be the substance (of government), yet their generosity appeared in the (manner of their) infliction of death. Considering ceremonies to be its supporting wings, they pursued
certain severity
yond
its
their
;
control.
;
;
;
was of
Thang, of the Shang dynasty. Po-i and Shufrom the Analects and also the count of Kh\, whose name, it is said, was Hsii-yii. I can find nothing kh\
the time of
are
about
known
K\ Tha
to us
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
his
;
name
in
3iao Hung's text
is
^ÂťP
^'M
y^.
Shan-thu Ti was of the Yin dynasty, a contemporary of Thang.
He drowned other places.
himself in the Ho.
Most of these
are referred to in
PT.
I.
THE WRITINGS OF
SECT. vr.
isTWANG-SZE,
241
by means of them their course in the world. Considering wisdom to indicate the time (for action), the)^ felt it necessary to employ it in (the direction of)
Considering virtue to be accordance
affairs.
(with others), they sought to ascend
its
height along
who had feet (to climb it). (Such were they), and yet men really thought that they did what they with
all
did by earnest effort \ 5.
In this
their likings
way they were one and and
were the same
;
dislikings.
Where
the
same
in all
they liked, they
where they did not
like,
they were
In the former case where they liked, they
the same.
were fellow-workers with the Heavenly (in them) in the latter where they disliked, they were coworkers with the Human in them. The one of these elements (in their nature) did not overcome
Such were those who are called the men. Death and life are ordained, just as we have the constant succession of night and day in both cases from Heaven. Men have no power to do anything
the
other.
True
;
—
—
them such is the constitution of There are those who specially regard Heaven^ as their father, and they still love It (distant as It is) ^; how much more should they love
in reference to
things
;
^.
—
^ All this paragraph is taken as illustrative of the True man's freedom from thought or purpose in his course. "^
^
See note 3 on par. i, p. 236. Love is due to a parent, and so such persons should love
Heaven.
There
ence to the diverged
to
is
in the text here, I think,
earliest time, before
Theism and Taoism.
here.
[39]
an unconscious
refer-
the views of the earliest Chinese
R
We
cannot translate the
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
242
That which stands out (Superior and specially regard selves,
and
them-
give their bodies to die for him
will
how much more
;
should they do so for That which
their true (Ruler)
is
A lone) M Some
superior to
as
their ruler
bk. vi.
^
When
!
the springs are dried
Than
up, the fishes collect together on the land.
by the damp about them, and keep one another wet by their slime, it would be better for them to forget one another in the rivers and lakes ^. And when men praise Yao and condemn Aleh, it would be better to forget them both, and seek the renovation of that they should moisten one another there
the Tao.
There
6.
support of it
;
my
is
the great
my body
on
Mass it
;
(of nature)
my life
old age seeks ease on
it
;
is
;
—
I
find the
spent in
at death
I
toil
on
find rest
—what makes my
life a good makes my death good ^ If you hide away a boat in the ravine of a hill, and hide away the hill in a lake, you will
in
it
;
also a
say that (the boat) shall
is
secure
while you in the dark
may
;
but at midnight there
come a strong man and carry it hide
away anything, whether
the most suitable place, and yet J
from world
But
off
on
know nothing about
his back, it.
You
small or great, in it
shall disappear
you could hide the world in the *, so that there was nowhere to which it could be removed, this would be the grand reality of the it.
if
— the Tao.
^
The
2
This sentence contrasts the cramping
great and most honoured Master,
effect
on the mind of
Confucianism with the freedom given by the doctrine of the Tao. ^ The Tao does this. The whole paragraph is an amphfication of the view given in the preceding note. * '
The Tao cannot be
ever-during thing.'
taken away.
It is
with
its
possessor, an
PT.
SECT.
I.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
v'l.
243
Thing \ When the body of man comes mould -, there is even then occasion for joy but this body undergoes a myriad transformations, and does not immediately reach its perever-cluring
from
special
its
;
fection
;
— does
incalculable
himself
not thus afford occasion for joys
it
Therefore the sagely
?
that from which there
in
of separation, and by which
He
all
man no
is
enjoys
possibility
things are preserved.
considers early death or old age, his beginning
be good, and in this other men him how much more will they do so in regard to That Itself on which all things depend, and from which every transformation arises
and
his ending, all to
imitate
;
—
!
This
7.
form ^
It
Tao;
— there
is
in It
(by the teacher),
not be received (by his scholars).
be apprehended (by the mind), but seen.
emotion and
does nothing and has no bodily
may be handed down
It
may
but
the
Is
but
sincerity,
It
has
It
It
and ground (of existence)
Its root
of old, there
It
was, securely existing.
From
came the mysterious existences of spirits, from mysterious existence of
produced earth. ^
^ •''
the
See
p. 242,
note
Tao
itself II,
Men
at a
it
;
It
The
was
for:^!^, supplied
byHwai-nan 3ze.
True Man,' and now brings in Compare the predicates of It here the
'
But there are other, and perhaps higher,
2.
here.
very early time
their spirits after death,
God.
It
the
4.
as his subject.
par.
It
God ^ It produced heaven was before the ThaWci ^ and
Our author has done with
things said of
^
It
Adoptingthereadingof ^n
with Bk.
*
in
Before there were heaven and earth, from
Itself.
It
may
cannot be
to the
and
Tao
came
that those concepts
primal ether out of which
interaction of the
to believe in the existence of
in the existence of a
Yin and Yang. R
2
Supreme Ruler or
were owing.
things were fashioned by the This was something like the
all
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
244
yet could not be considered high
^
;
It
BK. vi.
was below
all
space, and yet could not be considered deep ^
It
was produced before heaven and earth, and yet could not be considered to have existed long^; It was older than the highest antiquity, and yet could not be considered old ^ Shih-wei got It^, and by It adjusted heaven and earth. Fti-hst got It, and by It penetrated to the mystery of the maternity of the primary matter. The Wei-tau^ got It, and from all antiquity has made no eccentric movement. The Sun and Moon got It, and
have not intermitted (their bright Khan-pei got It, and by It became lord of Khwan-lun ^ Fang-i^ got It, and by It enjoyed himself in the Great River. A'ien Wu ^ got It, and Hwang-Ti'^ got It, by It dwelt on mount Thai. A'wan-hsil ^ and by It ascended the cloudy sky.
from
antiquity
all
shining).
protoplasm;
current idea of
hut while protoplasm
the lower parts of the earth, the Thai->('i
lies
was imagined
down
in
to be in
the higher regions of space. '
^ ^ *
The Tao
is
independent both of space and time.
A prehistoric sovereign. A name for the constellation Name
of the
spirit
of the
fairy-land of Taoist writers,
Sumeru ^
is
The
in
Buddhism.
spirit
;
spirit
we met with him
^ze's fictitious
Yellow River
presiding over the
Manual, pp. 54, 55. ^ Appears here as the
mountain
of the Great Bear.
Khwan-lun mountains in Thibet, the very much in Taoism what mount
in
mount Thai,
of I,
5,
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; see
IMayers's
the great eastern
but simply as one of A'wang-
personages.
Appears before in Bk. 11; the first of Sze-ma A7^ien's 'Five Tis;' no doubt a very early sovereign, to whom many important discoveries and inventions are ascribed ; is placed by many at the head of Taoism itself ^ The second of the 'Five Tis;' a grandson of Hwang-Ti. I do ''
not
know what
to say of his
'
Dark
Palace.'
PT.
I.
SECT.
got
VI.
THE WRITINGS OF
and by
It,
dwelt
It
Dark
the
in
245 Palace.
was set on the North Pole. Hsi Wang-mu^ got It, and by It had her seat No one knows Its in (the palace of) Shao-kwang. Phang 3*^^ got beginning no one knows Its end. It, and lived on from the time of the lord of Yii F^u Yiieh ^ got It, and to that of the Five Chiefs ^. by It became chief minister to Wu-ting^, (who thus) (After in a trice became master of the kingdom. his death), Fu Yiieh mounted to the eastern portion of the Milky Way, where, riding on Sagittarius and Scorpio, he took his place among the stars. Yu-/{7/iang^ got
and by
A'WANG-3ZE.
It,
It
;
Nan-po 3ze-khwei
8. '
You
are old,
that of a child '
;
^
asked
Nil
Yu
saying,
<',
while your complexion
Sir,
—how
is
it
so
?
The
'
The
have become acquainted with the Tao.'
I
other said, 'Can
I
learn the
Tao
like
is
reply was,
Nil Yii said,
?'
can you ? You, Sir, are not the man There w^as Pu-liang 1 who had the abilities of a sagely man, but not the Tao, while I had the Tao, but not the abilities. I wished, '
How
No. do
to
so.
'
however, to teach him,
^
The
bird's 2
A
Spirit of the
Northern regions, with a man's
the *
face,
and a
body, &c.
See Mayers's
queen of the Genii on mount Khwan-lun.
Manual, pp. 178, 179. ^ Phang 3u has been before us '
peradventure, he might
if,
Lord of Yu.'
The
See the Shu, IV,
about the
INIilky
five
viii
Way
;
in
Chiefs
Bk.
I.
;— see
Shun
is
intended by
Mencius,VI,
ii,
7.
but we have nothing there of course
and
the
stars.
—This
passage
certainly
lessens our confidence in .ff'wang-jze's statements.
Perhaps the same as Nan-po "^zQ-khx in Bk. IV, par. 7. Must have been a great Taoist. Nothing more can be of him or her. ^
^
''
Only mentioned here.
said
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
246
become the sagely man indeed. do so, it was easy (I thought) the
Tao
another
man
of the sagely
possessing
proceeded to do
his
so,
BK. vi,
he should not one possessing communicate it to If
for
to
abilities.
Accordingly,
three days, he was able to banish from his
worldly (matters). This accomplished,
all
my
intercourse with
him
in
the
I
I
After
but with deliberation ^
mind
continued
same way; and
in
seven days he was able to banish from his mind
thought of men and things. This accomplished, and my instructions continued, after nine days, he was able to count his life as foreign to himself. This accomplished, his mind was afterwards clear and after this he was able to see as the morning That individuality perhis own individuality ceived, he was able to banish all thought of Past Freed from this, he was able to peneor Present. trate to (the truth that there is no difference be(how) the destruction of tween) life and death life is not dying, and the communication of other (The Tao) is a thing which life is not living. accompanies all other things and meets them, which is present when they are overthrown and when Its name is Tranthey obtain their completion. quillity amid all Disturbances, meaning that all
;
-.
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
Its Perfection \'
such Disturbances lead to '
And how
did
teacher), learn reply,
'
this
?
^
So the
"
Standing by himself, as
^
Amid
all
learned
'I
'
from the son of Fu-mo -f-H is
alone (without any
you, being
all
*
;
it,'
was the
he learned
it
from
explained.
changes, in
it
life
were face to face with the Tao. and death, the possessor of the Tao
has peace. *
Meaning
writings
;
literally,
'
the son of the assisting pigment.'
PT,
I,
THE WRITINGS OF ^WANG-3ZE.
SECT. VI.
the grandson of Lo-sung
247
he learned it from Shanhe learned it from Nieh-hsli he, from he, from Wu-ao he, from Hsiian-ming Hsli-yi and he learned it from I-shih.' he, from 3han-liao
ming
;
;
;
;
;
;
3ze-sze \ 3^C"y^^ ^ 3ze-li \ and 3ze-lai \ these four men, were talking together, when some one 9.
'Who
made from and the rump-bone from death ? Who knows how death and birth, living on and disappearing, compose the one body ? I would be friends with him 2.' The four men looked at one another and laughed, but no one seized with his mind the drift of the questions. All, however, were friends together. Not long after 3ze-yu fell ill, and 3ze-sze went to said,
can suppose the head to be spine from
nothing, the
life,
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
inquire for him.
'
How
(the sufferer),
great,' said
That He should have made me the deformed object that I am He was a crooked 'is
the Creator^!
!
'
hunchback
We
are
;
his five viscera
to give, in his
^
Tao
We
They
own
fashion,
from the
first
^wang-^ze seems
some notion
into the
names
not to suppose that by this and the other
follow individuals are intended,
of the
were squeezed
that
have wished
to
of the genesis of the idea
speculations about the origin of things.
need not suppose that these are the names of
real
men.
are brought on the stage by our author to serve his purpose.
Hwai-nan makes
the
name
of the
first
to
have
been 3ze-shui
same fepresentation in Bk, XXIII, par. 10. on it here, The head, the spine, the rump-bone mean simply the head and tail, the beginning and end. All things Their birth and their begin from nothing and end in nothing. death are only the creations of our thought, the going and coming ^
A^'u
Compare
the
Teh-y^ih says
of the primary ether.
of
life '
'
When we
have penetrated to the non-reality
and death, what remains of the body of so many
The
'
Creator' or 'Maker'
(^
^i?
^)
is
the
feet
Tao.
?
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
248
upper part of his body navel
;
his
his
;
BK. VI.
chin bent over his
shoulder was higher than his crown
crown was an ulcer pointing to the sky came and went in gasps ^ yet he was easy in his mind, and made no trouble of his condition. He limped to a well, looked at himself in it, and said, 'Alas that the Creator should have ^zg made me the deformed object that I am said, Do you dislike your condition ? He replied, If He were to No, why should I dislike it ? transform my left arm into a cock, I should be watching with it the time of the night; if He were
on
his
his breath
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
!
'
'
'
'
transform
to
my
right
arm
into
a
cross-bow,
should then be looking for a hsiao to (bring
I
down
He were to transform my rump-bone and my spirit into a horse, I should then be mounting it, and would not change it for another steed. Moreover, when we have got (what we are to do), there is the time (of life) in which when we lose that (at death), submission to do it (is what is required). When we rest in what the time requires, and manifest that submission, neither
and) roast;
if
into a wheel,
;
joy nor sorrow can find entrance
(to the mind) ^. This would be what the ancients called loosing- the cord by which (the life) is suspended. But one hung up cannot loose himself; he is held fast by And that creatures cannot overcome his bonds ^
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
^
Compare
this description of
3ze-yu's deformity with that of
the poor Shfl, in IV, 8. ^
Such
is
the submission to one's lot produced by the teaching
of Taoism. ^
Compare
the
same phraseology
in III, par, 4,
near the end.
In
correcting Mr. Balfour's mistranslation of the text, Mr. Giles himself falls
into a mistranslation through not observing that the ut
PT.
SECT.
I.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
VI.
Heaven (the inevitable) is why should I hate my
fact
;
long-acknowledged
a
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
249
condition
?
and lay gasping and children stood around him wailing ^ S^e-li went to ask for him, and said to them, 'Hush! Get out of the way! Do not disturb him as he is passing through his chancre.' Then, leaning aoainst the door, he said (to the dying man), Great indeed is the Creator! What will He now make you to become } Where will He take you to ? Will He make you the liver of a rat, or the arm of an insect ^ } Before
10.
long 3ze-lai
fell
ill,
at the point of death, while his wife
'
3ze-lai replied,
Wherever a parent
'
tells
a son to
go, east, west, south, or north, he simply follows
the
a
my
than his parents are.
If
more
are
to
they are hastening
death, and
shall
I
The Yin and Yang
command.
man
I do not quietly submit to them, be obstinate and rebellious. There is the
great
Mass
body
in
it
(of nature)
my
;
life
age seeks ease on
what has made
it
my
;
is ;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
I
find the support of
my
my
old
spent in
at death
life
toil I
on
it
find rest
a good will
;
on
it
:
make my death
also a QTood. '
Here now
If the metal " I
is
is
must be made
passive, having the
force of the
j^
governing the ^
a great founder, casting his metal.
were
Compare
to leap
up
(in
the pot), and say,
into a (sword like the)
Mo-yeh
^,"
j^ that precedes as its subject (observe the ^^ in the best editions), and not active, or
after
^^
that follows.
the account of the scene at Lao-ijze's death, in III,
par. 4. ^
Here comes
^
The name
in the belief in transformation.
of a famous sword;
made
for
Ho-lii, the king of
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
250
BK. vi.
the great founder would be sure to regard
it
as
when a form is being fashioned in the mould of the womb, if it were to say, " I must become a man I must become a man," the
uncanny.
So, again,
;
Creator would be sure
When we
regard
to
it
as uncanny.
once understand that heaven and earth
are a great melting-pot, and the Creator a great
we have
founder, where can
not be right for us
and we die
sleep,
We
?
to
go
that
to
shall
are born as from a quiet
calm awaking,'
to a
II. 3ze-sang Hu \ Mang 3ze-fan \ and ^z^-kJi\\\ A'ang \ these three men, were friends together.
(One of them
said),
'
Who
can associate together
without any (thought of) such association, or act together without any (evidence of) such co-operation
Who
?
can mount up into the sky and enjoy
disporting beyond the and forgetting all others as if this were living, and would have no end ? The three men looked at one another and laughed, not perceiving the drift of the questions and they
himself amidst the
utmost limits
mists,
(of things)
-,
;
continued to associate together as friends. Suddenly, after a time^, 3ze-sang
Hu died.
Before
he was buried, Confucius heard of the event, and
Wu
(b. c.
See the account of the forging of
514-494).
^^ /M ^U
H
^>
indicate that 3ze-lai
^'^'
and
74-
"^^^^
mention of
the other three
it
men were
it
in the
would seem
to
of the time of
Confucius. ^ These three men were undoubtedly of the time of Confucius, and some would identify them with the 3ze-sang Po-jze of Ana.
VI, is
I,
Mang
A'ih-fan of VI, 13, and the
very unlikely. 2
Or,
'
'^
Or,
'
They were
Lao
Taoists.
without end.'
Some
time went by
silently, and.'
of IX,
vi,
4.
This
PT.
SECT. VI.
I.
THE WRITINGS OF
JÂŁ-WANG-3ZE.
25
I
3ze-kung to go and see if he could render any assistance. One of the survivors had composed a ditty, and the other was playing on his lute. Then they sang together in unison, sent
Hu
'Ah! come, Sang
Your being
!
ah! come, Sang
Hu!
true you've got again,
While we, as men,
still
here remain
Ohone
!
^
3ze-kung hastened forward to them, and said, venture to ask whether it be accordino- to the rules to be singing thus in the presence of the corpse ? The two men looked at each other, and laughed, saying, What does this man know about the idea that underlies (our) rules ? 3ze-kung returned to Confucius, and reported to him, saying, '
I
'
'
'
'
What
sort of
men
are those
body
as
singing in
no change
them
;
They had made
?
and treated the They were the presence of the corpse, and there was
none of the usual preparations a
thing
in their
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;what
sort
foreign
to
countenances. of
men
^,
them.
I
cannot describe
are they
?
'
Confucius
Those men occupy and enjoy themselves in what is outside the (common) ways (of the world), while I occupy and enjoy myself in what lies within those ways. There is no common ground for those of such different ways and when I sent you to condole with those men, I was acting stupidly. They, moreover, make man to be the fellow of the replied,
'
;
^
In accordance with the ancient and modern practice in China
of calling the dead back.
But these were doing so
in a
song to
the lute. "
Or,
'
they do not regulate their doings (in the usual way).'
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
252
BK. vi.
Creator, and seek their enjoyment in the formless
heaven and
of
condition
earth.
They
consider
hfe to be an appendage attached, an excrescence
annexed to them, and death to be a separation of the appendage and a dispersion of the contents
With these views, how should know wherein death and life are to be found, what is first and what is last ? They borrow
of the excrescence.
they or
and pretend that the common
different substances,
form of the body is composed of them \ They dismiss the thought of (its inward constituents like) the liver and
and (its outward constituents), Again and again they end and they begin, having no knowledge of first They occupy themselves ignorantly and principles. vaguely with what (they say) lies outside the dust and dirt (of the w^orld), and seek their enjoyment the
gall,
and
ears
eyes.
How should in the business of doing- nothinof. they confusedly address themselves to the ceremonies
by the
practised
common
and
people,
exhibit themselves as doing so to the ears and eyes '
of the multitude
3ze-kung
?
said,
'
Yes, but
why do
Master,
you,
'
(common) ways (of the world) ? The reply was, I am in this under the condemning Nevertheless, I will share sentence of Heaven-.
act according to the '
^
The
wind or ^
A
body and water.
idea that the air, fire,
is
composed of
the elements of earth,
strange description of himself by the sage.
Literally,
'
I
am
(one of) the people killed and exposed to public view by Heaven;' referring, perhaps, to the description of a living man as suspended '
by a string from God.' Confucius was content to accept his life, and used it in pursuing the path of duty, according to his conception of it, without aiming at the transcendental method of the Taoists.
I
can attach no other or better meaning
to the expression.
PT.
THE WRITINGS OF A:WANG-3ZE.
SECT. VI.
I.
with you (what
have attained
I
253
3ze-kung
to).'
re-
method which you pursue and Confucius said, 'Fishes breed and grow Growing in the water; man developes in the Tao.
joined,
'
to ask the
venture
I
;'
in the water,
the fishes cleave the pools, and their
nourishment
is
Developing
supplied to them.
in
Tao, men do nothing, and the enjoyment of Hence it is said, " Fishes fortheir life is secured. the
get one another in the rivers and lakes
one another 3ze-kung
who '
in the arts
said,
I
He
;
^'
The
stands aloof from other men, but he
forget
man
reply was, is in
accord
The small man the the superior man among men man among men is the small man of
Heaven Heaven is
Hence
!
superior
Heaven
men
'
venture to ask about the
stands aloof from others
with of
'
of the Tao."
said, "
;
'
!
^
is
it
"
12. Yen Hui asked A^mg-ni, saying, 'When the mother of Mang-sun 3hai ^ died, in all his wailing for her he did not shed a tear in the core of his heart he felt no distress during all the mourning rites, he Without these three things, exhibited no sorrow. he (was considered to have) discharged his mournis it that in the state of Lu one who has ing well not the reality may yet get the reputation of having ;
;
;
it ?
I
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
think
the
matter very strange.'
A'ung-ni
Misled by the text of Hsiiang Ying, Mr. Balfour here reads
^
^ instead of H^. "
in
Here, however, he aptly compares with the language of Christ
Matthew
vii.
the system of "
28.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; A'wang-^ze
Taoism
Must have been
a
seems
as better than his
member
to make Confucius own
praise
Mang-sun
family
!
of the IMang or
of Lu, to a branch of which Mencius belonged.
l^'
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
2 54
said,
BK. vi.
That Mang-sun carried out (his views) to the He was advanced in knowledge; but (in case) it was not possible for him to appear to be '
utmost. this
negligent (in his ceremonial observances)
succeeded
in
being really so to himself.
but he
^,
Mang-sun
does not know either what purposes life serves, or what death serves he does not know which should be first sought, and which last ^. If he is to be transformed into something else, he will simply await the This transformation which he does not yet know. And moreover, when one is about is all he does. to undergo his change, how does he know that it has ;
not taken place
And when
?
he
is
not about to un-
how does he know that it has are taken place ^ ? Take the case of me and you we in a dream from which we have not begun to dergo his change,
:
awake
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
* ?
Moreover, Mang-sun presented in his body the appearance of being agitated, but in his mind he was conscious of no loss. The death was to him like the '
and no (more was more awake than others
issuing from one's dwelling at dawn,
He
terrible) reality.
When
were.
they wailed, he also wailed, having
himself the reason
why he
And we
did so.
all
in
have
we are as how do we know that we
our individuality which makes us what
compared together
^
sun
The people felt
;
but
that
Mang-
he must present the appearance of observing them.
This
would seem
to
set
such store by the mourning
show
that
Taoism arose
rites,
after the earlier
views of
the Chinese. ^
I
adopt here, with
instead of the
me
^
This
*
Are such dreams
is
to
many
more common
of the
critics,
the reading of
^h
^Ji^,
very obscure. possible.?
See what
I
have said on
II, par. 9.
PT.
THE WRITINGS OF
SECT.vi.
I.
A'\VANG-3ZE.
255
in any case correctly that individuality ? Moreover you dream that you are a bird, and seem to be soaring to the sky or that you are a fish, and seem to be diving- in the deep. But you do not know whether we that are now speaking are awake or in a dreamt It is not the meeting with what is
determine
;
pleasurable that produces the smile
it is not the smile suddenly produced that produces the arrange;
ment (of the person). When one rests in what has been arranged, and puts away all thought of the transformation, he is in unity with the mysterious Heaven.' A
said to him,
Yao
having gone to see Hsii Yii, the latter benefit have you received from
l-r 3ze-
3.
1
What
'
The
? '
reply was,
'
Yao
says
me,
to
You
must yourself labour at benevolence and righteousness, and be able to tell clearly which is right and which wrong (in conflicting statements).' Hsii Yu rejoined, Why then have you come to me ? Since Yao has put on you the brand of his benevolence and righteousness, and cut off your nose with his right and wrong ", how will you be able to wander '
way
the
in
of aimless enjoyment, of unregulated
contemplation, and the ever-changing forms (of dispute)
^
?'
I-r .3ze said,
This also
is
obscure
'
That may be
but Confucius
;
is
;
again
but
I
made
should
to praise
the Taoistic system. ^
I-r
is
said
an old name this
I to
name appearing
swallow
sonage ^
by Li
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
is
have been
'
a worthy scholar
; '
but I-r
is
and there is a legend of a being of king Mu, and then flying away as a
for the swallow,
see
the
to
Khang-hsi Thesaurus under j^.
entirely fabulous.
Dismembered or
disfigured you.
The
per-
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
256 like to skirt
along
its
hedges.'
BK. vr.
But/ said the other,
'
Eyes without pupils can see nothing of the beauty of the eyebrows, eyes, and other features the blind have nothing to do with the green, yellow, and variegated colours of the sacri*
it
cannot be.
;
robes.'
ficial
/('wang^
lost
I-r ^zg
rejoined,
beauty,
his
'
Yet,
A^ii-liang
^
when Wu-
his
strength,
and Hwang-Ti his wisdom, they all (recovered them) 2 under the moulding (of your system) how do you know that the Maker will not obliterate the marks of my branding, and supply my dismember;
ment, so that, again perfect
you as
my
teacher
?
not yet be known.
my form, I may follow Yu said, Ah that can-
in
Hsii
'
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
'
!
you the rudiments. O my Master! O my Master! He gives to all things their blended qualities, and does not count it any righteousness His favours reach to all generations, and He does not count it any benevolence will tell
I
;
He is more ancient than the highest antiquity, and does not count Himself old He overspreads heaven ;
and supports the earth He carves and fashions all bodily forms, and does not consider it any act of ;
skill
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
this
is
He
in
I
find
my
enjoyment.'
Yen Hui said, I am making progress.' replied, What do you mean ? 'I have
14.
ni
whom '
'
'
to think of benevolence
A'ungceased
and righteousness,' was the
Very well but that is not enough.' Another day, Hui again saw A'ung-ni, and said, am making progress.' 'What do you mean.?'
reply.
'I
'
;
Names of parties, of whom we know nothing. It is implied, wc must suppose, that they had suffered as is said by their own ^
inadvertence. ^
Wc
must suppose that they had done
so.
I.
'
have
I
'
Very
A
but that
is
not enough.'
Hui again saw (the Master), and am making progress.' 'What do you mean ?'
I
'
sit
I
thought of ceremonies and music'
lost all
well,
257
third day,
said, *
THE WRITINGS OF ^WANG-3ZE.
SECT. VI.
PT.
and forget everything
ing that you
^'
A^ung-ni changed
What do you mean by sayand forget (everything) ? Yen Hui
countenance, and sit
said,
'
'
My
connexion with the body and its parts my perceptive organs are discarded. is dissolved Thus leaving my material form, and bidding farereplied,
'
;
well to
my
knowledge,
Great Pervader
you are free from
One
'
likings
all
one with the and forgetting
call sitting
I
A'ung-ni said,
all things.'
am become
I
This
^.
;
(with that Pervader),
so transformed, you
become impermanent. You have, indeed, beI must ask leave to follow come superior to me
are
!
in
your steps ^.'
* and 3ze-sang * were friends. (Once), had rained continuously for ten clays, 3ze-yu So I fear that 3ze-sang may be In distress.' said, he wrapped up some rice, and went to give It to him When he came to 3ze-sang's door, there to eat. issued from It sounds between sincjinor and wailino-
3ze-yu
15.
when
it
'
^
'I
"^).
and
sit
forget;'
Hui proceeds
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; generally thus
to set forth the
supplemented
(ffiE
^J^
^^
meaning he himself attached
to the phrase. ^
is
Another denomination,
obstruction ^
Here
is
(^C
think,
1
also explained as meaning,
'
^ ;^ M ^)/ of Taoism
;
to
which the sage would, no doubt,
have taken exception.
Two
of the
[39]
The ^7^ |S which there is no
Tao.
another testimony, adduced by our author, of Confu-
cius's appreciation
*
of the
the great void in
men
in pars. 9, 10.
S
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
258
came Heaven
EK. vi.
a lute was struck, and there
Father
O
!
Mother
O
!
voice could not sustain riedly pronounced.
!
itself,
the words,
O Men
and the
line
'
O
The
!
'
was hur-
3ze-yu entered and said,
'
Why
are you singing, Sir, this line of poetry in such a
The
way?'
ing in vain, extremity.
so poor
?
other replied,
'
I
was thinking, and think-
how it was that I was brought to such Would my parents have wished me to be Heaven overspreads all without any par-
tial feeling,
and so does Earth sustain
Heaven and Earth make me kindly feeling
done
it,
and
extremity!
^
Here
is
I
—
?
I
was trying
could not do so.
it is
is
to find out
But here
what was appointed
;
—would
I
who had am in this
for me^!'
Taoism ;— unquestioning subbeyond our knowledge and control.
the highest issue of
mission to what
all
so poor with any un-
PT.
THE WRITINGS OF ^WANG-3ZE.
SECT. VII.
I.
BOOK Part
Ying Ti Wang\
259
VII.
Section VII.
I.
or
'The Normal Course
for
Rulers and Kings^'
Nieh A7/ueh^ put four questions to Wang i ^, know (how to answer). On this Nieh I^/meh. leaped up, and in great delight walked away and informed Phu-i-^ze ^ of it, who said to him, Do you (only) now know it ?' He of the line of Yii * was not equal to him of the line of Thai ^. I.
not one of which did he
'
He
of Yii
still
kept
in
himself (the idea of) bene-
volence by which to constrain (the submission of)
men
and he did win men, but he had not begun
;
to
proceed by what did not belong to him as a man.
He
of the line of Thai would sleep tranquilly, and
awake
now
as an ox ^
-
^
contented simplicity.
in
himself
*"'.
He
would consider
(merely) as a horse, and
His knowledge was
now
(merely)
and untroubled
real
See pp. 136-138. See p. 190, note 5.
An
So, Hwang-fii Mi,
ancient Taoist, of the time of Shun.
who adds
that
years old.
I
Shun served him
as his master
when he was
eight
made
suppose the name indicates that his clothes were
of rushes. *
Shun.
ÂŽ
An
nothing "
He
See
p. 245, note 3.
ancient sovereign, is
known
earlier,
;
;
but
thought nothing about his being, as a man, superior to the
Shun in governing employed Thai had not begun to do so.
lower creatures. ledge
no doubt, than Fu-hsi
of him.
S 2
his acquired
know-
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
26o
BK.Vil.
by doubts and his virtue was very true not begun to proceed by what belonged ;
:
—he
to
had him as
a man.
Wu^
A'ien
2.
who
A'/zieh-yli^,
went to see the mad said to him,
'What
did
(reckise),
Zah-iung
you ?' The reply was, He told me that gave forth their regulations according to their own views and enacted righteous measures, no one would venture not to obey them, and all would be transformed.' AV/ieh-yti said, That is but the Shih^
tell
when
rulers
'
'
For the
hypocrisy of virtue.
right ordering of the
world it would be like trying to wade throuo-h the sea and dig through the Ho, or employing a musquito to carry a mountain on its back. And when a sage
is governing, does he govern men's outward actions ? He is (himself) correct, and so (his government) goes on this is the simple and certain way by which he secures the success of his affairs. Think of the bird which flies high, to avoid being hurt by the dart on the string of the archer, and the little mouse which makes its hole deep under Shan;
to avoid the
/t'/i'm ^
out
;— are
3.
danger of being smoked or dug knowing than these two little
(rulers) less ?'
creatures
Yin",
—
Thien Kan^ rambling on the south of (mount) came to the neighbourhood of the Liao-water.
^
See
p.
^
See
p. 170,
''
A
170, note
name ;—
*
Name
•'
A
note '
('
3.
a worthy,'
of some
name
2.
hill,
Root of
it is
said.
or height, the sky'), but probably mythical.
There
is
a star so called. «
Yin
Probably the name of a mountain, though is
not given in the dictionary.
this
meaning of
PT.
I.
SECT.
THE WRITINGS OF ZWANG-3ZE.
VII.
261
Happening there to meet with the man whose name is known \ he put a question to him, saying, I beg to ask what should be done - in order to (carry on) the government of the world,' The nameless man said, Go away you are a rude borderer. Why do you put to me a question for which you are unprepared ? I would simply play the part of the Maker of (all) things ^ When wearied, I would mount on the bird of the light and empty air, proceed beyond the six cardinal points, and wander in the region of nonnot
'
'
;
'
entity, to dwell in the wilderness
What method have
of desert space.
you, moreover, for the govern-
ment of the world that you
(thus) agitate
my mind
?'
(Thien Kan), however, again asked the question,
and the nameless man said, Let your mind find its enjoyment in pure simplicity blend yourself with '
;
(the
primary) ether in idle indifference
things to take their natural course
personal or selfish consideration
world 4.
will
^
Yang
Or,
*
all
having an Interview with Lao
3ze-/tu^, '
Here
particular Being, so
is
We
a nameless man.'
'
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
allow
be governed.'
Tan, said to him,
had any
:
;
and admit no do this and the ;
a man, alert and vigorous
cannot
named,
in
tell
whether A'wang-^;;ze
view or not.
^ The objectionable point in the question doing was necessary in the case.
is
the supposition that
'
^
Or,
question,
'
I
it
am
unprepared.'
seems better
But as Thien Kan repeats the second pronoun. He had
to supply the
thought on the subject. *
See the same phraseology
merely our
author's
way
in
What
VI, par. 11.
of describing
the
follows
non-action
is
of the
Tao. ^
The Yang Xu, whom Mencius
attacked so fiercely.
perhaps, a contemporary and disciple of Lao-jze.
He
was,
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
262
BK. VII.
responding to
in
widely
Tao
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; ?
kings
all matters \ clearsighted and and an unwearied student of the can he be compared to one of the intelligent The reply was, Such a man is to one of
intelligent,
'
'
the intelligent kings but as the bustling underling of a court who toils his body and distresses his mind
And
with his various contrivances-.
moreover,
it is
the beauty of the skins of the tiger and leopard
which makes men hunt them the agility of the monkey, or (the sagacity of) the dog that catches the yak, which make men lead them in strino-s but can one similarly endowed be compared to the ;
intelligent kings
Yang
5ze-/^u
?
looked discomposed and
said,
'
I
venture to ask you what the government of the intelligent kings is.' Lao Tan replied, In the governing of the intelligent kings, their services '
overspread
all
to consider
it
under the sky, but they did not seem as proceeding from themselves
;
their
transforming influence reached to all things, but the people did not refer it to them with hope. No one could tell the name of their agency, but they made
men and
things be joyful in themselves. Where they took their stand could not be fathomed, and they found their enjoyment in (the realm of) nonentity.' 5.
^
In A'ang there was a mysterious wizard"^ called
The
^ may ^
understand a
as
the quickness of the -
Compare
be taken as its
object
;
=
fnj
or as
in
,
= ^,
which case '
we must
an echo,' indicating
man's response to things.
the language of
Lao Tan,
in
Bk. XII, par.
8,
near
the beginning. '
M
is
generally feminine,
meaning
'
a witch.'
We
must take
PT.
SECT.
I.
THE WRITINGS OF ^VVANG-3ZE.
VII.
He knew
A'i-hsien.
all
26'^
about the deaths and births
of men, their preservation and ruin, their misery and happiness, and whether their Hves would be long or
the year, the month, the decade
short, foretelling
and the day like a spirit. When the people of ICang saw him, they all ran out of his way. Lieh-jze went Returning, to see him, and was fascinated^ by him. he told Hu-3ze of his interview, and said, I considered your doctrine, my master, to be perfect, but I have found another which is superior to it.' Hu-jzereplied, I have communicated to you but the outward letter of my doctrine, and have not communicated its reality and spirit and do you think that you are in possession of it ? However many hens *
'
;
there be,
if
there
how should they show
your countenance
in
with him, that
On
it
you con-
that
Try and come
here as masculine is
'
(=3^V
When The
your
to
me
to him.'
came with
the morrow, accordingly, Lieh-^ze Hu-jze.
in
is
to succeed in inter-
may show myself
I
man and saw
racter
(all
man
mind) ^ and so enable (this) preting your physiognomy.
the
When
^ ?
the world with your doctrine, you are sure
front to
be not the cock among them,
lay (real) eggs
they went out, the
general meaning of the cha-
magical,' the antics of such performers to bring
down
the
spirits. ^
Literally,
-
The
the
'
intoxicated.'
teacher in
Taoism of
name Lin (^).
Lieh-^ze, called also
Hu
AV^iu, with
See the remarks on the whole paragraph
in
the Introductory Notice of the Book. ^
'
spirit *
The hens ;
'
'[^
stretch,'
'
signify the letter of the doctrine
the eggs,' a real is '
here in the
to set forth.'
knowledge of first
tone,
' ;
the cock,'
its
it.
and read
as
^^, meaning
'
to
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
264 wizard
said,
'
Alas
your master
!
thing
a dead man.
;
!
I
;
When
!
slaked with water
all
life)
is
— not for ten days more strange about him — saw the
not live
will
BK. vii.
'
I
He
saw some-
ashes (of his Lieh-jze
re-
wept till the front of his jacket was wet with his tears, and told Hu-3ze what the man had said. Hu-jze said, I showed myself to him with the forms of (vegetation beneath) the earth. There were entered, he
'
the sprouts indeed, but without (any appearance of)
growth or regularity: the springs of
my
—he
seemed to see me with power closed up. Try and
(vital)
come to me with him again.' Next day, accordingly, Lieh-jze brought the man
When
again and saw Hu-jze.
man
said,
'
It
is
they went out, the
a fortunate thing for your master
He
met with me.
will get better he has saw the balance (of the springs of life) that had been stopped (inclining in Lieh-jze went in, and reported these his favour).' words to his master, who said, I showed myself to him after the pattern of the earth (beneath the) sky.
that he all
the signs of living
;
I
!
'
Neither semblance nor reality entered (into
but the springs (of
hibition),
beneath
my
feet
;
—he
life)
seemed
springs of vigorous action in
my
ex-
were issuing from
to see full
me
play.
with the
Try and
come with him again.' Next day Lieh-jze came with the man again, and again saw Hu-jze with him. When they went Your master is never the out, the wizard said, '
same.
him
I
cannot understand his physiognomy.
try to steady himself,
and
I
will
Let
again view him.'
went in and reported this to Hu-jze, who This time I showed myself to him after the pattern of the grand harmony (of the two elemental Lieh-jze
said,
'
PT.
I.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
SECT.VIT.
with
forces),
He seemed power
superiority inchning
the to
me
see
to
neither.
with the springs of
Where
equal balance.
in
265
(vital)
the water wheels
about from (the movements of) a dugong \ there is an abyss where it does so from the arresting (of its ;
an abyss
where
and the There are nine abysses with their several names, and I have only exhibited three of them. Try and come course), there
is
;
water keeps flowing on, there
it
is
does
so,
an abyss.
with him again.'
Next day they came, and they again saw Hu-^ze. But before he had settled himself in his position, the wizard lost himself and ran away. Pursue him,' said Hu-jze, and Lieh-^ze did so, but could not come up with him. He returned, and told Hu-^ze, saying, There is an end of him he is '
'
;
I was showing him myself after the pattern of what was before I began to come from my author. I confronted him w'th pure vacancy, and an easy in-
lost;
Hu-jze rejoined,
could not find him.'
I
difference.
represent.
He Now
know what
I meant to was the Idea of exand now that of an onward flow,
not
did
he thought
hausted strength,
'
it
and therefore he ran away.' After
Lieh-jze considered that he
this,
yet begun
to
learn
(his
master's
had not
doctrine).
He
returned to his house, and for three years did not
go
He
out.
the pigs as
^
One
A^
,
if
did the cooking for his wife.
he were feeding men.
of the dugong. '
He
He
has various names in Chinese, one being
It
the Man-Fish,' from a fancied resemblance of
and face to a human being mermaid.
fed
took no part
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the origin perhaps
its
head
of the idea of the
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
266
or interest In occurring
BK. vii.
He
affairs.
put away the
carving and sculpture about him, and returned to
pure simpHcity.
was
Like a clod of earth he stood there
Amid
bodily presence.
in his
distractions he
all
and shut up in himself. way he continued to the end of his life. (silent)
Non-action (makes
6.
fame
all
in this
exemplifier) the lord of
its
non-action (serves him as) the treasury of
;
all
plans
all
offices
wisdom
And
non-action
;
(fits
him
the burden of
for)
non-action (makes him) the lord of
;
The range
^
of his action
nowhere any trace of
but there
is
fulfils
that he has received from
all
all
inexhaustible,
is
his presence.
He
Heaven^, but
he does not see that he was the recipient of anything. A pure vacancy (of all purpose) is what characterises
When
him.
a mirror. thing
not retain
with 7.
^
all
The
me
that
is
is
before
it),
but does
able to deal successfully
Southern Ocean was Shu^, the
and not imperative. Lin Hsi--^ung observes had been offered of them were inap-
the explanations that
propriate.
My own
version
The
interpretations.
is
substantially in accordance with his
chief difficulty
which seems anti-Taoistic
;
is
with
but our author
is
the
first
member,
not speaking of the
purpose of any actor, but of the result of his non-action. is
to be taken in the sense of
The
it is
members of this sentence occasion the translator no They are constructed on the same lines, and seem
four
to be indicative
all
his mind,
and injures none.
Ruler"' of the
small trouble. to
Thus he
it.
things,
The
man employs
conducts nothing and anticipates no-
responds to (what
it
;
the perfect
It
qp,
'lord,'
F*
'exercising lordship."
Jel in the third sentence indicates a person or persons in the
author's
mind
^
=
^
Perhaps
*
Meaning
in
what precedes.
the Heavenly or self-determining nature. '
god '
'
would be a
Heedless.'
better translation.
PT.
THE WRITINGS OF KWANG-SZTL.
SECT. VII.
I.
Ruler of the Northern Ocean was
meeting
very
in
the land of Chaos,
They
well.
Hu^ and the Ruler Hu were continu-
Shu and
of the Centre was Chaos. ally
267
who treated them how they might
consulted together
said, Men all have seven purpose of seeing, hearing, eating, and breathing, while this (poor) Ruler alone has not one. Let us try and make them for him.' Accord-
repay his kindness, and
'
for the
orifices
dug one orifice in him every day end of seven days Chaos died ^.
ingly they at the
'
"^
Meaning
The
'
allegory
how
is
ingenious and amusing.
condition of things.'
'
critic
died.'
another
says that an
But surely state.
'
It indicates,'
action (the opposite of non-inaction) injures the
More
especially
the Taoistic opposition to the use of
One
and
Sudden.'
little
says Lin, first
'
;
'
it
'
was
alas
!
is
in
harmony with
in
government.
might well follow the concluding
;
Chaos should give place to Sudden' did not do a bad work.
better that
Heedless' and
it
knowledge
'
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
268
BOOK Part
I.
Phi en Man, or 'Webbed Toes 1.
A
viii.
VIII.
Section
II.
BK.
'
^'
liofament imitinor the blof toe with the other
toes and an extra finger
but they are more than
may be is
good
natural for use.
growths,
-
'
Excres-
on the person and hanging tumours are growths from the body, but they are unnatural additions to it. There are many arts of benevolence and righteousness, and the exercise of them is discences
tributed
among
the five viscera
correct
method accordinor
Tao.
Thus
it is
;
but this
is
not the
is
but
useless flesh,
and
that the addition to the foot
the attachment to
it
of so
the addition to the hand a useless finger.
^
to the characteristics of the
(So
it
much
is
but the planting on
is
that) the connecting (the
virtues) with the five viscera renders,
it
of
by excess or
restraint, the action of
benevolence and righteous-
ness bad, and leads to
many
ment of 2.
1
'^
(great)
employ-
vision.
Therefore an extraordinary power of vision
See pp. 138, 139. Come out from the nature,' but *
as in the translation. ^
arts as in the
powers of hearing or of
The
The
five viscera are
character
'
nature
is
not
'
must be taken here
Tao.
the heart, the liver, the stomach, the lungs,
and the kidneys. To the liver are assigned the element and the virtue of benevolence to the lungs, the element and the virtue of righteousness. ;
'
'
wood,' metal,'
PT.
II.
SECT.
THE WRITINGS OF
I.
A'WANG-3ZE.
269
leads to the confusion of the five colours
excessive use of ornament.
^
and an
(Its possessor), in the
resplendence of his green and yellow, white and black, black
and green,
come a Li A'u
An
-.
will
not stop
he has be-
till
extraordinary power of hear-
leads to a confusion of the five notes
ing-
use
excessive
of the
six
",
accords
musical
and an (Its
^.
from the instruand bamboo, aided by
possessor), in bringing out the tones
ments of metal, stone, silk, the Hwang-zi'ung^ and Ta-lii* (tubes), will not (So), stop till he has become a Shih Khwang ^ excessive benevolence eagerly brings out virtues and restrains its (proper) nature, that (its possessor) may acquire a famous reputation, and cause all the oreans and drums in the world to celebrate an unattainable condition and he will not stop till he has ;
become a 3^ng (Shan)^ or a Shih
An
(3hiu)'.
ex-
Black, red, azure (green, blue, or black), white, and yellow.
^
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
The same as the Li Lau of Mencius (IV, i, i), of the time of Hwang-Ti. It is not easy to construe the text here, and in the Hsiian Ying, having read on to the analogous sentences below. '^
'}^ ^^ ^^^ uninterrupted predicate of the sharp
'}M.
not this a proof of the extraordinary be,
'
But
in the
it
was exemplified
version was the
^
The
*
There
five
name
Li
A'u.'
seer, says,
What
? '
The meaning
that
'
Is
would
follows
is
given
that occurred to myself.
first
notes of the Chinese musical scale.
are twelve of these musical notes, determined
twelve regulating tubes; the
in
gift
of the
first
six,
tube, giving the sharp notes
sented by Ta-lii, giving the ^
See in
^
The famous
by the
represented here by Hwang->^ung,
flat
;
and
six,
repre-
notes.
II, par. 5.
3ang-3ze, or
3ang Shan, one
of Confucius's ablest
disciples. ^
An
officer of
Wei
in the sixth century b.
c.
He
belonged to a
and hence the surname Shih (_^). Confucius mentions him in the most honourable terms in the family of historiographers,
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
270
BK.viil.
traordinary faculty in debating leads to the piling up of arguments like a builder with his bricks, or a net-
maker with
his
string.
(Its
possessor) cunningly
contrives his sentences and enjoys himself in dis-
cussing what hardness is and what whiteness is, where views agree and where they differ, and pressing on, though weary, with short steps, with (a multitude of) useless words to make good his opinion nor will he stop till he has become a Yang (A'u)^ or Mo (Ti)\ But in all these cases the parties, with their redundant and divergent methods, do not proceed by that which is the correct path for all under the sky. That which is the perfectly correct path is not ;
to lose the real character of the nature with
we
are endowed.
Hence the union
which
(of parts) should
not be considered redundance, nor their divergence superfluity
;
what
too long, nor what
is
long should not be considered
is
short too short.
for instance, are short, but
them, but if
it
occasions pain
;
if
we
A duck's
try to
legs,
lengthen
and a crane's legs are long,
we try to cut off a portion of them, it produces grief. Where a part is by nature long, we are not to amputate, or where it is by nature short, we are not lengthen it. There remove any trouble that to
is it
no occasion
to
try
to
may cause.
3. The presumption is that benevolence and righteousness are not constituents of humanity for to ;
how much rise
!
Analect
anxiety does the exercise of them give
Moreover when another toe
XV,
vi,
by the name
Shih
Yii.
is
'
united to the
Righteousness
'
was
his great attribute. ^
The two
heresiarchs so
much denounced by Mencius.
have appeared in previous Books.
Both
PT.
SECT.
II.
great
THE WRITINGS OF ^-WANG-SZE.
I.
to
toe,
divide
member few
membrane makes you an extra finger, to gnaw it In the one case there is a
the
weep and when there off makes you cry out. ;
271
is
too many, and in the other a
member
too
but the anxiety and pain which they cause
;
The benevolent men
the same.
is
of the present age
look at the evils of the world, as with eyes
full
of
dust,
and are
who
are not benevolent, having violently altered the
after riches is
with sorrow by them, while those
of their proper nature, greedily pursue
character
fore
filled
The presumption
and honours.
there-
that benevolence and righteousness are con-
trary to the nature of
man
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;how
full
of trouble and
contention has the world been ever since the three dynasties
And
^
began
!
moreover,
in
employing the hook and
line,
the compass and square, to give things their correct
form you must cut away portions of what naturally in employing strings and fastenings, glue and varnish to make things firm, you must violently interfere with their qualities. The bendings and stoppings in ceremonies and music, and the factitious expression In the countenance of benevolence and righteousness, in order to comfort the minds of
belongs to them
men
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; these
all
;
show a
regular principles (of the
men
failure in
human
observing^ the
All
constitution).
and according to them what Is bent is not made so by the hook, nor what is straight by the line, nor what is round by the compass, nor what is square by the carpenter's square. Nor Is adhesion effected by '
are furnished with such regular principles
Those of Hsia, Shang, and A'au;â&#x20AC;&#x201D; from
century
b. c. to
our author's
own
time.
;
the twenty-third
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
272
BK. viri.
the use of glue and varnish, nor are things
together by means of strings and bands. is
that
all
in
bound
Thus
it
the world are produced what they are
do not know how and they equally attain their several ends while they do not know how it is that they do so. Anciently it was so, and it is so now and this constitution of thingfs should not be made of none effect. Why then should benevolence and righteousness be employed as connecting (links), or as glue and varnish, strings and bands, and the enjoyment arising from the Tao and its characteristics be attributed to them ? it is a deception practised upon the world. Where the deception is small, there will be a change in the direction (of the objects pursued) where it is great, there will be a change of the nature itself. How do I know that it is so ? Since he of the line of Yli called in his benevolence and righteousness to distort and vex the world, the
by a
certain guidance, while they
they are produced so
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
;
world has their
not ceased
to hurry about to execute
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;has
not this been by means of
commands
benevolence
;
and righteousness
views) of their nature 4.
I
From
will
the
to
change (men's
?
therefore try and discuss this matter.
commencement of
the three
dynasties
downwards, nowhere has there been a man who has not under (the influence of external) things altered (the course of) his nature. Small men for the sake of gain have sacrificed their persons scholars for the sake of fame have done so great and sagely officers, for the sake of their families men, for the sake of the kingdom. These several classes, with different occupations, and different repu;
;
PT.
SECT.
II.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
I.
273
have agreed in doing injury to their nature and sacrificing their persons. Take the case of a they have to feed the sheep male and female slave tations,
^
;
—
Ask
together, but they both lose their sheep.
the
one what he was doing, and you will find that he was holding his bamboo tablets and reading. Ask the other, and you will find that she was amusing They were differently herself with some game -. occupied, but they equally lose their sheep. Po-t
^
died at the foot of Shau-yang
fame, and the robber linof
occasioned by
Their deaths were but they equally
causes,
different
shortened their lives and did nature
;
—why must
the robber A'ih
?
'
a superior man,' but
The
we have
'
common
action of sacrificing
man
the superior
all
'
over
people style
when another does
the sake of goods and riches, they style him
man.'
their
to
and condemn
for the sake of bene-
it
volence and righteousness, the hini
Po-i,
In cases of such sacrifice
when one makes
the world,
violence
approve of
w^e
(So),
to maintain his
died on the top of Tung-
A''ih^
in his eacferness for grain.
'^
*
is
and
In the matter of destroying his
'
it
for
a small
the same, and yet '
life,
the small
man
' !
and doing injury same as
to his nature, the robber A''ih simply did the
—
why must we make the distinction of man and small man between them ? Po-i
;
'
superior
'
'
'
^
2 *
See the Khang-hsi dictionary under the character ^ ^ See VI, par. Playing at some game with dice.
A
mountain
ment of ^
A
in
Ph(i-/{'au.
strange character, but not historical, represented as a brother
of Liu-hsia Hui. «
3.
the present Shan-hsi, probably in the depart-
'The Eastern
See Bk.
XXIX.
Height,'
=
the
Shan-tung. [39]
T
Thai mountain
in
the present
2
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM,
74
BK.Viil.
who devote their nature to benevolence and righteousness,
Moreover, those
5,
of
pursuit)
(the
though they should attain to be like and Shih (3hiu), I do not pronounce those who devote it to (the study flavours, though they attain to be like not pronounce to be good those who
3ang (Shan) be good
to
of)
the
Shu-r ^ devote
;
five I
do
it
to
the (discrimination of the) five notes, though they
be
attain to
to be quick
like
Shih Khwang,
of hearing
;
those
I
do not pronounce
who devote
it
to
the (appreciation of the) five colours, though they attain to be like Li Kii,
I do not pronounce to be pronounce men to be good, I am not speaking of their benevolence and righteousness the goodness is simply (their possession
clear of vision.
;
When
I
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
When I pronounce be good, I am not speaking of what are called benevolence and righteousness but simply of) the qualities (of the Tao).
them
to
;
of their allowing the
nature with which they are
to have its free course. When I pronounce be quick of hearing, I do not mean that they hearken to anything else, but that they hearken to themselves when I pronounce them to be clear of
endowed
men
to
;
vision, else,
do not mean that they look
to anything but that they look to themselves. Now those do not see themselves but see other thing-s I
who who do
not get possession of themselves but get possession of other things, get possession of what
belongs to others, and not of what is their own and they reach forth to what attracts others, and not to that in themselves which should attract them. But ;
1
Different from Yih-ya, the
This
is
famous cook of duke Hwan of A7n. been of the time of Hwang-Ti. But there are readings of the name.
said to have
different
PT.
II.
SECT.
I.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
275
thus reaching forth to what attracts others and not to
what should
like the
the
way
attract
them
robber A'ih or like
in
themselves, be they
Po-i,
they equally err
of excess or of perversity.
What
I
in
am
ashamed of is erring" in the characteristics of the Tao, and therefore, in the higher sphere, I do not dare to insist on the practice of benevolence and righteousness, and, in the lower, I do not dare to allow myself either in the exercise of excess or perversity.
T
2
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
"^1^
BOOK Part
Ma
IX.
Section
II.
BK. ix.
II.
Thi, or 'Horses's Hoofs
i.'
Horses can with their hoofs tread on the hoarand snow, and with their hair withstand the wind and cold they feed on the grass and drink I.
frost
;
water
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
they prance with their legs and leap this is the true nature of horses. Though there were made for them grand towers - and large dormitories, they would prefer not to use them. But when Polao
3
:
;
(arose and) said,
horses,'
'
I
(men proceeded)
know ^
well
how
to
manage
and mark them,
to singe
to clip their hair, to pare their hoofs, to halter their
them and hobble them, and to conand corrals. (When subjected to this treatment), two or three in every ten of them died. (Men proceeded further) to subject them to hunger and thirst, to gallop them and race them, heads, to bridle fine
them
in stables
^
See pp. 140, 141.
^
Literally, 'righteous towers;' but
^
is
very variously applied,
and there are other readings. Compare the name of ling thai, given by the people to the tower built by king Wan Shih, III, i, 8. ^ A mythical being, the first tamer of horses. The name is given to a star, where he is supposed to have his seat as superin;
tendent of the horses of heaven. It became a designation of Sun Yang, a famous charioteer of the later period of the Aau dynasty, but it could not be he whom Awang-^ze had in view. * Po-lao set the example of dealing with horses as now described; but the supplement which I have introduced seems to
bring '-'">â&#x20AC;˘ better i-/>-LLvi our Will auiiiwi author's3 meaninii. '6 out iiicaiiiuy.
-^
PT,
SECT.
II.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
II.
277
make them go together in regular order. In were the evils of the bit and ornamented breastbands, and behind were the terrors of the whip and
and
to
front
(When
switch.
so treated),
more than half of them
died.
The
(first)
potter said,
'
I
know
well
how
to deal
;
and (men proceeded) to mould it into circles as exact as if made by the compass, and into squares as exact as if formed by the measuring
with clay
'
The (first) carpenter said, I know well and (men proceeded) to how to deal with wood make it bent as if by the application of the hook, and square.
'
'
;
straight as
But
is it
if
by the application of the plumb-line.
the nature of clay and
wood
to require the
and square, of the hook yet age after age men have praised
application of the compass
and
line
And
?
Po-lao, saying,
saying,
wood.'
'
He knew
and also the
horses,' '
They knew This
is
(first)
potter and
how
well
how
well
to
manage
carpenter,
and committed by the
to deal with clay
just the error
Sfovernors of the world. 2. According to my idea, those who know well to govern mankind would not act so. The people had they wove and their regular and constant nature ^ made themselves clothes they tilled the ground and This was their common faculty. They got food ^. were all one in this, and did not form themselves so were they constituted and into separate classes :
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
;
;
left to
^
^
their natural tendencies ^
Therefore
in
the
the same language in the previous Book, par. 3. But the weaver's or agriculturist's art has no more title to be
Compare
called primitive than the potter's or carpenter's. ^
A difficult
expression
;
but the translation, probably, gives
its
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
278
age of perfect virtue
and grave
men walked
and with
step,
along with slow
their looks steadily directed
At
foot-paths,
nor excavated passages
there were no boats nor
made
;
dams
;
;
creatures lived in
their settlement
were
Birds and beasts multi-
close to one another.
and herds
all
;
and the places of
plied to flocks
no on the lakes
that time, on the hills there were
forwards.
companies
BK. IX.
the grass and trees grew
In this condition the birds and
luxuriant and long.
beasts might be led about without feeling the constraint
;
the nest of the magpie might be climbed
and peeped
Yes,
into.
in the
age of perfect
to,
virtue,
men lived in common with birds and beasts, and were on terms of equality with all creatures, as forming one family how could they know among themselves the distinctions of superior men and small men ? Equally without knowledge, they did ;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
not leave (the path of) their natural virtue free
from
simplicity.
desires, they
were
that state of pure
In
;
equally
the state of pure
in
simplicity,
the
ought to be. But when the sagely men appeared, limping and wheeling about in (the exercise of) benevolence, pressing along and standing on tiptoe in the doing of righteousness, then men universally began to be perplexed. (Those sages also) went to excess in their performances of music, and in their gesticulations in nature of the people was what
it
the practice of ceremonies, and then
be separated from one another.
If the
men began
to
raw materials
synonymous with 'the Tao ;' Lao and A'wang, had recourse to the earliest term by which the Chinese fathers had expressed their recognition of a Supreme and Controlling Power and Government. true significance.
but
its
use shows
'
Heaven' here
how
is
readily the minds, even of
PT.
11,
SECT.
THE WRITINGS OF
II,
i^-WANG-SZE.
2
79
had not been cut and hacked, who could have made sacrificial vase from them ? If the natural jade had not been broken and injured, who could have made the handles for the libation-cups from it ? If the attributes of the Tao had not been disallowed, how should they have preferred benevolence and a
righteousness?
If the instincts of the nature
not been departed from,
had
how should ceremonies and
music have come into use ? If the five colours had not been confused, how should the ornamental figures
have been formed
had not been supplemented them by the musical accords ? The cutting and hacking of the raw materials to form vessels was the crime of the skilful workman the injury done to the If the five notes
?
how should
confused,
have
they
;
Tao
characteristics of the
in order to the practice of
benevolence and righteousness was the error of the sagely men, 3.
Horses,
when
the grass, and
open country, eat
living in the
drink water
when
;
pleased, they
intertwine their necks and rub one another
;
back and
kick
know
do.
when
one But if we put the yoke on their necks, with the moonlike frontlet displayed on all their foreheads, then they turn back
enraged,
another
they
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
know
this
is
all
to
that they
to
to look slily askance, to curve their necks,
to rush viciously, trying to get the bit out of their
mouths, and to this
the reins (from their driver)
filch
knowledge of the horse and
act the part of a thief
is
its
;
ability thus to
the crime of Po-lao.
In
the time of (the Ti) Ho-hsil \ the people occupied
^
An
ancient sovereign
about him.
JNIost
;
but nothing
more definite can be said him with Shan-nang, the
of the critics identify
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
28o their
BK. IX.
dwellings without knowing what
they were
doing, and walked out without knowing where they
were going. They filled their mouths with food and were glad they slapped their stomachs to exThis was all the ability press their satisfaction. which they possessed. But when the sagely men appeared, with their bendings and stoppings in ceremonies and music to adjust the persons of all, and hanging up their benevolence and righteousness to excite the endeavours of all to reach them, in order to comfort their minds, then the people began to stump and limp about in their love of knowledge, and strove with one another in their pursuit of gain, this was the so that there was no stopping them error of those sagely men. ;
:
Father of Husbandry, tables after Fu-hsi,
who
occupies the place in chronological
between him and Hwang-Ti.
of the Dynastic Histories, published in 1817, he in the
list
is
In the Tables placed seventh
of fifteen reigns, which are placed without any specifica-
tion of their length between Fu-hsi is
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
written as
^^
and
|^ ^.
and Shan-nang.
The name
FT.
II.
SECT.
III.
THE WRITINGS OF ^WANG-3ZE.
BOOK Part
X.
Section
II.
28
III.
Kh\\ Kh\^\\, or Cutting open Satchels
^'
'
I.
In taking precautions against thieves
who
cut
and break open boxes, people are sure to cord and fasten them well, and to employ strong bonds and clasps and in this they are ordinarily said to show their wisdom. When a great thief comes, however, he shoulders the box, lifts up the satchel, carries off the bag, and runs open
satchels, search bags,
;
away with them,
afraid only that the cords, bonds,
and clasps may not be secure and in this case what was called the wisdom (of the owners) proves to be ;
nothing- but a collectino^ of the thinors for the o-reat
me try and set who are vulgarly
Let
thief.
not those
collectors for the great thieves
who
matter forth.
this
Do
called wise prove to be
And
?
do not those
are called sages prove to be but guardians in
the interest of the great thieves
How
do
know
I
?
that the case
is
so
?
Formerly,
towns could see one another their cocks and dogs never ceased to answer the crowino- and barkino- of other cocks and dogs (between them). The nets were set (in the water and on the land) and the ploughs and hoes were employed over more than a space of two thousand li square. All within its four boundaries, the in the state of A7/i, the neiohbouringf ;
;
^
See pp. 141, 142.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
282
BK. X.
establishment of the ancestral temples and of the
and
altars of the land
and the ordering of the
grain,
hamlets and houses, and of every corner
medium, and
districts, large,
small,
were
So
culars according to the rules of the sages \
was
but yet one morning, Thien AV/ang-^ze
;
the
in
in all parti-
-
it
killed
And was it Along with it he stole the regulations of the sages and wise men
the ruler of A7/i, and stole his state.
only the state that he stole also
(observed
in
And
it).
?
though he got the name
so,
of being a thief and a robber, yet he himself con-
tinued to live as securely as
Yao and Shun had
Small states did not dare to find
done.
fault with
him
great states did not dare to take him off; for twelve
descendants) have possessed the
generations (his of
state
Kh\
Thus do we not have
'\
which not only did (the party) The meaning
^
ical
plain
is
;
^
Khi,
but to introduce the various geograph-
The concluding
terms would make the translation cumbrous.
{ffj
case in
a
steal the state oi
perplexing,
is
This event
is
mentioned
perpetrator of the
murder
Hang. Hang was him after his death.
his
ally taken refuge in
in the Analects,
is
XIV,
xxii,
called AVian AV^ang-^ze,
where the and A7;an
name, and A7/ang the honorary title given to family to which he belonged had originA7zi from the state of A7;an in b. c. 672. Why
The
and when its chiefs adopted the surname Thien instead of A7/an is not well known. The murder took place in 482. Hang did not immediately usurp the marquisate
posed of
House
it
till
at their pleasure
386,
but he and his successors dis-
;
among
the representatives of the old
when Thien Ho was recognised by
A'au as the marquis
;
and
his next successor but
the king ot
one took the
title
of king. ^
year
The kingdom
of
Kh\ came
to
of the dynasty of A7;in, after
reigns.
cannot
How tell.
an end in b, c. 221, the it had lasted through
first
five
AVang-jze made out his twelve generations we There may be an interpolation in his text made in
the time of Kh'm, or subsequently.
'
'
PT.
SECT.
II.
THE WRITINGS OF ^WANG-3ZE.
III.
but at the same time the req-ulations of
283
its sagfes
and
wise men, which thereby served to guard the person of him, thief and robber as he was
ther).
me Have
styled
the
Let
2.
?
try to set forth this subject
among
not there been
such
wisest,
(still
have collected
as
among
wealth) for the great chief? and
fur-
those vulgarly (their
those styled
it for him ? do I know that it has been so ? Formerly, Lung-fang ^ was beheaded Pi-kan - had his heart torn out I^/mng Hung'^ was ripped open and 3zehstl * was reduced to pulp (in the A'iang). Worthy
the most sage such as have guarded
How
;
;
;
men
as those four
dreadful A'ih
were, they did not escape such
The
deaths.
asked him, saying,
^
method or replied,
'
principles
comes
principle
What
followers *
(in
profession
robber
the
the robber also any
his
proceedings)?'
is
He
there which has not
That the robber
?
of
Has
in
his
its
recklessness
to the conclusion that there are valuable de-
that he shows his bravery that he is the last to quit it shows his righteousness that he knows whether (the robbery) may be attempted or not shows his wisdom and that he makes an equal posits in an
the
is
first
apartment shows his sageness
to enter
it
;
;
;
;
Book
*
See on
IV, par.
i.
^
See on Book IV, par.
i.
^
A
historiographer of A'au, with
have studied music.
He was
here described by king *
Wu
^ang,
whom
Confucius
weakly and unjustly put
is
said to
to death, as
in b. c. 492.
3ze-hsu, the hero of revenge,
who
fled
from
I^/iu to
Wu,
which he long served. He was driven at last to commit suicide, and his body was then put into a leathern wine-sack, and thrown into the JTmug near the present Su-ztau about b. c. 475. ;
°
See on Book VIII, par.
4.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
284
division of the plunder
out
all
shows
BK. X.
With-
his benevolence.
these five qualities no one in the world has
Looking good men do
ever attained to become a great robber.'
we
at the subject in this way,
see that
not arise without having the principles of the sages,
and that A'ih could not have pursued his course without the same principles. But the good men in the world are few, and those who are not good are manv it follows that the sagfes benefit the world ;
in
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
a few instances and injure
we have
that
the sayings,
the teeth are cold^
'
great robbers arise
".'
'
When
When
sages are born
the stream
empty; when the mound
is
it is
the lips are gone
'The poor wine of Lu gave occa-
;'
sion to the siege of Han-tan-;'
the valley
Hence
many.
in
it
When
the deep pool (beside
it)
is
filled
dried,
is
levelled,
is
When
up.
the
sages have died, the great robbers will not arise the world would be at peace, and there would be no
more
While the sagely men have not
troubles.
died, great robbers will not cease to appear.
more
right that
men
sagely
for the
more advantage robber ATih. ^
This
At
is
government of the world, the
will accrue to
If w^e
The
attached to (the views of) the
is
make
for
an instance of cause and
(such
men
men
as) the
pecks and bushels
effect naturally
happening.
by king Hsiian of Khn (b. c. 369-340), the ruler of Lu brought very poor wine for the king, which was presented to him as wine of A'ao, in consequence of a grudge against that kingdom by his officer of Avines. In consequence of this king Hsiian ordered siege to be laid to Han-tan, the capital of A'ao. This is an instance of cause and ^
effect ^
a meeting of the princes, presided over
occurring irregularly.
There seems
to
be no connexion of cause and
but A^vang-^ze goes on in his
such a connexion.
own way
to
make
effect here
out that there
is
PT.
II.
to
measure
SECT.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
III.
285
even by means of those
(their wares),
pecks and bushels should we be teaching them to steal if we make for them weights and steelyards ^
;
weigh (their wares), even by means of those weights and steelyards shall we be teaching them If we make for them tallies and seals to to steal. secure their good faith, even by means of those tallies and seals shall we be teaching them to steal. If we make for them benevolence and righteousness to make their doings correct, even by means of benevolence and righteousness shall we be teachino- them How do I know that it is so ? Here is to steal. one who steals a hook (for his girdle) he is put to to
;
death for
it
becomes
its
here
:
princes that
is
But
prince.
we
find
who
another
is
it
—
steals a state
;
—he
at the gates of the
benevolence and righteousness
(most strongly) professed
;
—
is
not this stealing bene-
volence and riohteousness, sas^eness and wisdom
off
?
become great robbers, carry princedoms, and steal benevolence and righteous-
Thus they hasten
to
ness, with all the gains springing
from the use of
pecks and bushels, weights and steelyards,
and
seals
:
—even
the
rewards
coronets have no power to influence course),
(to
and
a different
and the terrors of the axe have no power
restrain in such cases.
to robbers (like) A'ih, restrain
tallies
of carriages
them
;
—
The
to
giving of so great gain
and making it impossible to committed by the
this is the error
sages. o-
^
In accordance with this
The
hiphil
verb
force.
'
to
steal
'
is
here
it is
used
said, 'Fish
transitively,
should
and with a
286
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
BK. X.
not be taken from (the protection of) the deep the agencies for the profit of a state should not be shown to men \' But those sages (and their
waters
;
teachings) are the
agencies
for the
world, and should not be exhibited to if
profit
of the
Therefore
it.
an end were put to sageness and wisdom put away,
the great robbers would cease to arise.
If jade were put away and pearls broken to bits, the small thieves would not appear. If tallies were burned and seals
broken in pieces, the people would become simple and unsophisticated. If pecks were destroyed and steelyards snapped in two, the people would have no wrangling.
If the rules of the sages
were entirely might be made
set aside in the world, a beginning
of reasoning with the people. If the six musical accords were reduced to a state of utter confusion, organs and lutes all burned, and the ears of the (musicians like the) blind Khwang^ stopped up, all
men would (natural)
begin
to
possess
power of hearing.
and
employ their ornaments
If elegant
were abolished, the five embellishing colours disused, and the eyes of (men like) Li A'u ^ glued up, all
men would
begin to possess and employ their power of vision. If the hook and line were destroyed, the compass and square thrown away, and (natural)
men (like) men would begin to (natural) skill ;â&#x20AC;&#x201D; as it is
Khm
the fingers of
the artful
all
possess and employ their
^
Tao Teh
See the
throws hght on 2 ^
*
Note Note
A
I,
its
'The
A'ing, ch. 36. meaning.
Our
smashed,
greatest art
author's use of
is
it
p. i86.
2, p.
skilful
kung of
said,
*
269.
maker of arrows of the time of Yao,
the Shu, II,
i,
21
;
V,
xxii, 19.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
the
Kung-
PT. n. SECT.
THE WRITINGS OF ^WANG-3ZE.
III.
like stupidity \'
If
287
conduct such as that of ^^ng
were discarded, the mouths (Ti) gagged, and benevolence and righteousness seized and thrown aside, the virtue of all men would begin to display its (Shan)2
Yang
of
Shih
^j^(-[
{A"u)
'^
(A'//iu)3
Mo
and
When men possessed and employed their (natural) power of vision, there would be no distortion in the world. When they possessed and employed their (natural) power of hearing, there would be no distractions in the world. When they possessed and employed their (natural) faculty of knowleds^e, there would be no delusions in the world. When they possessed and employed their (natural) virtue, there would be no depravity in the w^orld. Men like 3ang (Shan), Shih (A7/iu), Yang (A'u), Mo mysterious excellence.
(Ti),
Shih
Khwang
(the musician), the artist AV^ui,
and Li
A'u, all display their qualities outwardly,
set the
world
it
;
in
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;a method which Are you,
4.
perfect virtue
?
and Shan-nang^.
^ ^ *
^
Of
6, p.
269.
7, p.
269.
5, p.
261,
!
5'-ii"^'lu,
Li-lu,
Li-/(7m,
A'u-yung,
Fu-hsi,
In their times the people
The Tao Teh ^ing, Note Note Note
of no use
A^'ang-yang,
Ho-hsii,
Hsien-yiian,
^
is
unacquainted with the age of Anciently there were Yung-/7/ang,
Sir,
Po-hwang,
Ta-thing,
and
a blaze (of admiration) and confound
made
ch. 45.
names mentioned here the reader is probably and Shan-nang, the first and second chronology. Hsien-yiian is another name for Hwang-
the twelve
familiar with those of Fu-hsi
of the
Ti
in
Ti, the third of them. Ti. five
A'ia-yung was, perhaps, a minister of
Ho-hsii has occurred before in
occur
among
Book IV.
Of
Hwang-
the other seven,
the fifteen sovereigns placed in the
'
Compendium
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
288
BK. X.
knots on cords in carrying on their affairs. They thought their (simple) food pleasant, and their clothing
(plain)
their (simple)
They were happy
beautiful.
manners, and
at
felt
rest
in
in
their
dwellings. (The people of) neighbouring might be able to descry one another; the voices of their cocks and dogs might be heard (all the way) from one to the other they might not die till they were old and yet all their life they would have no communication together \ In those times (poor)
states
;
;
perfect
good order
prevailed.
Now-a-days, however, such
the state of things
is
that you shall see the people stretching out their
necks, and standing on tiptoe, while they say,
such and such a place there
'
In
a wise and able
is
Then they carry with them whatever dry may have left, and hurry towards
man.'
provisions they
abandoning their parents
it,
in
their
homes, and
neglecting the service of their rulers abroad. footsteps
may be
traced in
and the ruts of more than a thousand
to another, for
Their from one state
lines
their chariot-wheels also 1 1.
This
is
owine
to the
error of their superiors in their (inordinate) fondness
When those superiors do really love knowledge, but do not follow the (proper) course, the whole world is thrown into great confusion. for knowledge.
How
do
I
know
that the case
is
so
?
The know-
ledge shown in the (making of) bows, cross-bows, hand-nets, stringed arrows, and contrivances with springs
is
of History
may be ^
'
great, but the birds are troubled
between
Fii-hsi
The remaining two Lo Pf. Tao Teh A'ing.
and Shan-nang.
fomid, I suppose, in the
Lu
See the eightieth chapter of the
by them
Shih of
PT,
II.
SECT.
above
III.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
shown
the knowledge
;
in
the hooks, baits,
bamboo
various kinds of nets, and
289
but the fishes are disturbed by them
traps in
is
great,
the waters
;
knowledge shown in the arrangements for setting nets, and the nets and snares themselves, is great, but the animals are disturbed by them in the marshy grounds. (So), the versatility shown in artful deceptions becoming more and more pernicious, in ingenious discussions as to what is hard and what is white, and in attempts to disperse the dust and reconcile different view^s, is great, but the common people are perplexed by all the sophistry. the
Hence
there
is
great disorder
world, and the guilt of for
knowledge.
Thus
it
is
continually in the
due
is
it
that
to that fondness all
men know
to
seek for the knowledge that they have not attained
and do not know to seek for that which they already have (in themselves) and that they know to condemn what they do not approve (in others), and do not know to condemn what they have allowed in themselves it is this wdiich occasions It is just as if, the great confusion and disorder. above, the brightness of the sun and moon were darkened as if, beneath, the productive vigour of and as if, the hills and streams were dried up between, the operation of the four seasons were broucjht to an end in which case there would not be a single weak and wriggling insect, nor any plant that grows up, which would not lose its proper Great indeed is the disorder produced in nature. From the the world by the love of knowledge. time of the three dynasties downwards it has been so. to
i
;
;
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
;
;
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
The
plain and honest-minded people are neglected, and the plausible representations of restless spirits [39]
^
\
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
290
received with pleasure
method of non-action taken
in
;
is
BK. X.
the quiet and unexciting
put away, and pleasure
ideas garrulously expressed.
It
is
this
garrulity of speech which puts the world in disorder.
PT.
II.
sr.CT. IV.
THE WRITINGS OF 7^WANG-3ZE.
BOOK Part
29
XI.
Section IV.
II.
3ai Yu, or 'Letting Be, and Exercising Forbearance \' I,
have heard of
I
letting
the world be, and
have not heard of governLetting be is from the fear that
exercising forbearance
ing the world.
;
I
men, (when interfered with), will carry their nature beyond its normal condition exercising forbearance is from the fear that men, (when not so dealt with), ;
When
will alter the characteristics of their nature. all
men do
not carry their nature beyond
its
normal
nor alter its characteristics, the good government of the world is secured. Formerly, Yao's government of the world made men look joyful but when they have this joy in their nature, there is a want of its (proper) placidity. The government of the world by A'ieh, condition,
;
(on the contrary),
made men look
when
their nature
shows the symptoms of
there
is
a want of
its
distressed
;
but
distress,
(proper) contentment.
The
and the want of contentment are contrary to the character (of the nature) and where this obtains, it is impossible that any man or state should anywhere abide long. Are men exceedingly joyful ? the Yang or element of expansion in them
want of
placidity
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
is
too
much developed. ^
Are they exceedingly
See pp. 142, 143.
U
2
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
292
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
irritated? the Yin or much developed. When
opposite
dominate in men, were not to come
as if)
harmony of tained
;
element
is
too
those elements thus pre-
is
(it
BK. xr.
(at their
the four seasons
proper times), and the
cold and heat were not to be main-
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; would there not result injury to the bodies
men
Men's joy and dissatisfaction are made to ? where they ought not to do so their movements are all uncertain they lose the mastery of their thoughts they stop short midway, and do not finish what they have begun. In this state of things the world begins to have lofty aims, and jealous dislikes, ambitious courses, and fierce animosities, and then we have actions like those of the robber A'ih, or of 3^"g' (Shan) and Shih (3hiu)^. If now the whole world were taken to reward the good it would not suffice, nor w^ould it be possible of
arise
;
;
;
with,
it
as
is,
it
Thus
to punish the bad.
the world, great
not sufficing for rewards and punishments,
from the time of the three dynasties downwards, there has been nothinof but bustle and excitement.
Always occupied with rewards and punishments, what leisure have men had to rest in the instincts of the nature with which they are endowed ? 2.
^
X'ih,
I
Moreover, delight
supply the
who
'
it
'O ^L ^P ^^ j^ fact is
is
as
if,'
here introduces a
only an
the power of vision leads
after the
^^
example of
in his
What Compare
"2r "TT)-
illustration.
in
the critic
Lu Shu-
commentary (^^ [7^
0^
the text seems to state as a the concluding paragraphs
and Parts of the fourth Book of the Li A^i. ^ Our moral instincts protest against Taoism which thus places in the same category such sovereignjs as Yao and Aleh, and such men as the brigand A'ih and Bang and Shih.
in
all
the Sections
PT.
II.
THE WRITINGS OF
SECT. IV.
to excess
in
il'WANG-SZE.
29
^^
pursuit of (ornamental) colours
the
power of hearing, to excess in seeking delight in benevolence pleasures of) sound
delight in the (the
;
disorder
tends to nature)
that
virtue
proper to
(as
delight in righteousness sets the
;
opposition to what
is
right in reason
practice of) ceremonies
is
;
sageness
is
helpful
in
delight in (the
helpful to artful forms
delight in music leads to voluptuous airs in
the
man
;
;
delight
ingenious contrivances
to
knowledge contributes to fault-finding. If all men were to rest in the instincts of their nature, to keep or to extinguish these eight delights might be a matter of indifference but if they will
delight in
;
those instincts, then those eight delights begin to be imperfectly and unevenly developed or
not rest
in
and the world is thrown into But when men begin to honour them,
violently suppressed, disorder.
to long for them,
and
how
practised on the world!
great
And
is
the deception
not only,
when
(a
performance of them) is once over, do they not have done with them, but they prepare themselves (as) with fasting to describe them, they seem to kneel reverentially
when they bring them
forward,
and they go through them with the excitements of music and singing; and then what can be done Therefore the evil of them) ? (to remedy the superior man, who feels himself constrained to engage
in the administration of the
his best w^ay to
do nothing \
world
will find
it
In (that policy of)
doine nothinor he can rest in the instincts of the Hence he who nature with which he is endowed. will administer (the government of) the world ^
Here
is
the Taoistic
meaning of
the
title
of this Book.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
294
BK. XI,
it as he honours his own person, may have that government committed to him, and he who will administer it lovinof it as he loves his own person, may have it entrusted to him ^ Therefore, if the superior man will keep (the faculties lodged in) his five viscera unemployed, and not display his powers of seeing and hearing, while he is motionless
honouring
a representative of the dead, his dragon-like presence will be seen while he is profoundly silent,
as
;
the thunder (of his words) will resound
movements
while his
;
are (unseen) like those of a
spirit,
all
heavenly influences will follow them while he is (thus) unconcerned and does nothing, his genial ;
and gather all things round he to do anything more for the government of the world ? influence will attract
him
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;what
3.
3^"^ui
leisure has
KhW^
asked Lao Tan, saying,
'
If
you do
how can you make men's minds good ? The reply was, Take care how you meddle with and disturb men's minds. The mind,
not govern the world,
'
'
if
pushed about, gets depressed gets exalted.
it it
Now
exalted,
;
if
now
helped forward, depressed, here
appears as a prisoner, and there as a wrathful fury.
(At one time) it becomes pliable and soft, yielding what is hard and strong (at another), it is sharp
to
;
as the sharpest corner,
or jade). is
it
Now it
cold as
bending down and
^
A
It
is
lifting
fire,
and anon
so swift that while one
up
his head,
quotation, but without any indication that
Tao Teh ^
to carve or chisel (stone
hot as a scorching
is
ice.
fit
A'ing, ch. 13.
Probably an imaginary personage.
it
is
shall twice
it is
so,
from the
PT.
II.
THE WRITINGS OF ^-WANG-BZE.
SECT. IV.
295
have put forth a soothing hand beyond the four seas. Resthig, it is still as a deep abyss moving, it is like one of the bodies in the sky in its resolute haughtisuch is the mind of ness, it refuses to be bound ;
;
;
man
^
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
!'
Anciently, Hwang-Ti was the first to meddle with and disturb the mind of man with his benevolence and righteousness -. After him, Yao and Shun wore their thiohs bare and the hair off the calves of their
nourish the bodies of the
legs, in their labours to
powers benevothey tasked their blood lence and righteousness and after of laws code a make out and breath to
They
people.
toiled painfully with all the
in their five viscera at the practice of their ;
;
all
On
they were unsuccessful.
Hwan Tau
to
Three Miao
to San-wei,
Works
to the
AV^ung
hill,
this
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
Yao
sent
and (the Chiefs
away
of) the
and banished the Minister of so unequal had they
Dark Capital
;
been to cope with the world ^ Then we are carried on to the kings of the Three (dynasties), when the world was in a state of great distraction. Of the lowest type of character there were A'ieh and A'ih of a higher type there were S^ng (Shan) and Shih ;
(3hiu).
At
the
same time there arose the
classes of
^ I must suppose that the words of Lao-jze stop here, and that what follows is from A%ang-jze himself, down to the end of the
We cannot have Lao-jze referring to men later than and quoting from his own Book. 2 Hitherto Yao and Shun have appeared as the first disturbers of the rule of the Tao by their benevolence and righteousness. Here that innovation is carried further back to Hwang-Ti. ^ See these parties, and the way they were dealt with, in the Shu King, Part II, Book I, 3. The punishment of them is there ascribed to Shun but Yao was still alive, and Shun was acting as
paragraph. himself,
;
his viceroy.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
296
BK. XI,
Hereupon, complaone another produced mutual suspicions the stupid and the wise imposed on one the good and the bad condemned one another another; the boastful and the sincere interchanged and the world fell into decay. their recriminations Views as to what was greatly virtuous did not agree,
the Literati and the Mohists.
cency
and hatred
in,
of,
;
;
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
and the nature with its endowments became as if shrivelled by fire or carried away by a flood. All were eager for knowledge, and the people were exhausted On with their searchings (after what was good). this the axe and the saw were brought into play guilt was determined as by the plumb-line and death the hammer and gouge did their work. inflicted The world fell into great disorder, and presented the appearance of a jagged mountain ridge. The crime to which all was due was the meddling with and disturbing- men's minds. The effect was that men of ability and worth lay concealed at the foot of the crags of mount Thai, and princes of ten thousand chariots were anxious and terrified in their ancestral In the present age those who have been temples. put to death in various ways lie thick as if pillowed on ;
;
those who are wearing the cangue press on each other (on the roads) those who are suffer-
each other
;
;
ing the bastinado can see each other land).
And now the
(all
over the
and the Mohists begin
Literati
on tiptoe and with bare arms, among the and manacled crowd Ah extreme is their shamelessness, and their failure to see the disgrace Strange that we should be slow to recognise their sageness and wisdom in the bars of the cangue, and their benevolence and riofhteousness in the rivets of the fetters and handcuffs How do we know that to stand,
fettered
!
!
!
PT.
II.
THE WRITINGS OF A:WANG-3ZE.
SECT. IV.
297
5ang and Shih are not the whizzing arrows of A'ieh and A^ih ? Therefore it is said, AboHsh sageness and cast away knowledge, and the world will be ^
'
brought to a state of great order
Hwang-Ti had been on
4.
-.'
the throne for nineteen
years ^ and his ordinances were
in
operation
all
through the kingdom, when he heard that Kwang K/mng-^zQ ^ was living on the summit of Khungthung^, and went to see him. said,
have
'I
Tao.
perfect
I
venture to ask you what
thing in
essential
influences of
earth,
of the) five
secure the comfort of
and
the
for
also wish
I
AV^ang-^ze
replied,
What you
the original substance of
is
^
Compare
that given
by
this picture of the
INIencius in III,
as
to
shall
Kwang
? '
wish to ask about
all
things
arrived at as to the causes and cure of their
*'
;
what you
Yao and Shun
times after ch. 9 et al.
ii,
so
How
livine beines.
proceed to accomplish those objects '
(better)
to direct
Yin and Yang,
all
them
assist with
cereals
nourishment of the people. the (operation of the)
the
is
wish to take the subtlest
I
it.
heaven and
the (growth
I
he
heard,'
that you, Sir, are well acquainted with the
'
with
But the conclusions evils by him and our
author are very different. ^
A
King,
quotation, with the regular formula, ch. 19, with
some
?
*
Another imaginary personage
Some
Tao.
of existence;
Hwang-Ti. ^
Equally
critics
say â&#x20AC;˘^
Tao Teh
in B.C. 2678.
^
the
from the
variation of the text.
Ko Hung's
imaginary
find a place for
it is
it
is
'
one of
in
his early states
True Man,'
Immortals,'
the
in the
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
I,
the teacher of
i.
mountain Khung-thung. province of
Ho-nan
;
Some
the majority
the highest point in the constellation of the Great Bear.
The
formed.
apparently, a personification of
was 'a
others that he
See
;
say he was Lao-^ze,
original ether, undivided, out of
which
all
things were
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
298
wish to have the direction of
BK. xr.
that substance as
is
it
was shattered and divided \ According to your government of the world, the vapours of the clouds, before they were collected, would descend in rain the herbs and trees would shed their leaves before they became yellow and the light of the sun and moon would hasten to extinction. Your mind is that of a flatterer with his plausible words it is not fit that I should tell you the perfect Tao.' Hwang-Ti withdrew, gave up (his government of) the kingdom^ built himself a solitary apartment, spread in it a mat of the white mao grass, dwelt in it unoccupied for three months, and then went again to ;
;
;
—
Kwang AV^ang-
seek an interview with (the recluse).
was then lying down with his head to the south. Hwang-Ti, with an air of deferential submission, went forward on his knees, twice bowed low with his face to the ground, and asked him, saying, I have
jze
*
heard that you. perfect
my
Tao;
—
are well acquainted with the
Sir, I
how
venture to ask
body, in order that
it
may
I
should rule
continue for a long
time.' Kwang A7^ang-jze hastily rose, and said, A good question Come and I will tell you the perfect Tao. Its essence is (surrounded with) the '
!
deepest obscurity;
and
to be heard.
is
When
nothinof to
it
You must be
still
not subjecting your body to vital
force
;
—then
you may
^ The same ether, now Yin and Yang.
is
darkness
in
be seen
;
holds the spirit in
then the bodily form of
in stillness,
correct.
highest reach
its
There
silence.
in motion,
;
itself will
nothingf its
arms
become
you must be pure not agitating your ;
toil,
live
now
for long.
When
at rest, divided into the
PT,
ir.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
SECT. IV.
299
your eyes see nothing, your ears hear nothhig, and your mind knows nothing, your spirit will keep your body, and the body will live long.
Watch over what
within you, shut up the avenues that connect you
is
with what cious.
the
is
external
Grand
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; much
knowledge
is
perni-
proceed with you to the summit of
(will)
I
Brilliance,
where we come
to the source
of the bright and expanding (element)
;
will enter
I
with you the gate of the Deepest Obscurity, where
we come
and repressing There heaven and earth have their conthere the Yin and Yang have their ReposiWatch over and keep your body, and all to the source of the dark
(element). trollers
;
tories.
things will of themselves give
it
vigour.
I
maintain
the (original) unity (of these elements), and dwell in
harmony of them. In this way I have cultivated myself for one thousand and two hundred years, and the
my
bodily form has undergone no decay
Hwang-Ti
bowed low with
twice
ground, and said,
'
his
^'
head
to the
Kwang AV/ang-^ze we have an called Heaven^.' The other said,
In
example of what is Come, and I will tell you (The perfect Tao) is something inexhaustible, and yet men all think it has an end it is something unfathomable, and yet men all think its extreme limit can be reached. He who attains to my Tao, if he be in a high position, will be one of the August ones, and in a low posi'
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
;
tion, will in his
^
It
He who
be a king.
fails
in attaining
highest attainment will see the seems very clear here that the
the cultivation of the
Tao
earliest
light,
it,
but will
Taoism taught
that
tended to prolong and preserve the bodily
life. -
A
remarkable, but not a singular, instance of ^wang-jze's appli-
cation of the
name Heaven.' '
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
o OO
At
descend and be of die Earth.
BK. XT.
present
things
all
are produced from the Earth and return to the Earth. I will leave you, and enter the gate of the Unending, to enjoy myself in the fields of the Illimitable. I will blend my light with that of the sun and moon, and will endure while heaven and earth endure. If men agree with my views, I will be
Therefore
unconscious of I
it
if
;
they keep far apart from them,
be unconscious of
will
alone
will abide
it
;
they
may
all die,
and
I
!
^
5. Ylin K'mng^, rambling to the east, having been borne along on a gentle breeze ^, suddenly encountered Hung Mung -, who was rambling about, slap-
ping his buttocks
^
and hopping
Amazed
like a bird.
Alang stood
Yiin
at the sight,
reverentially,
and
Venerable Sir, who are you ? and why are you doing this ? Hung Mung went on slapping his buttocks and hopping like a bird, but said to the other,
'
'
replied,
^
A
'
I
very
Yun K'mng
enjoying myself.'
difificult
among
differences ^
am
'
I
sentence, in interpreting which there are great the critics.
have preferred to retain Yiin ^lang and
I
said,
Hung Mung
as
if
they were the surnames and names of two personages here intro-
Mr. Balfour renders them by
duced.
and their
'
The
Mists of Chaos.' place
in
Spirits of
the Sacrificial
Canon
'
The
Spirit of the Clouds,'
heaven or the sky have of China,
as
'
the
still
Cloud-
Master, the Rain-Master, the Baron of the Winds, and the Thunder
Hung Mung,
]\Iaster.'
as Dr. ^
Medhurst
calls
again,
it,
Literally, 'passing
'
is
I
name
for
'
the Great Ether,' or,
by a branch of Fu-yao; but we find fuwhirlwind.' The term 'branch' has here as the name of a tree,' which is '
yao in Book I, meaning 'a made some critics explain it inadmissible.
a
the Primitive Chaos.'
'
have translated according to the view of
Shu-X'ih. *
Or
'
stomach,'
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; according
to
another reading.
Lu
PT.
II.
SECT. IV.
THE WRITINGS OF i'WANG-3ZE.
Hung Mung
wish to ask you a question.' his head,
Yun
looked at the stranger, and
Alang, however, continued,
'
up Pooh
lifted
said,
The
3OI
'
!
breath of
heaven is out of harmony the breath of earth is bound up the six elemental influences ^ do not act in concord the four seasons do not observe their ;
;
;
Now
proper times.
wish to blend together the
I
essential qualities of those six influences in order to
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; how shall
'
go about it ? Hung Mung slapped his buttocks, hopped about, and shook his head, saying, I do not know I do not nourish
all
living things
;
I
'
;
know
!
Yun A^iang could not pursue his years afterwards,
when
question; but three
(again) rambling in the east,
was passing by the wild of Sung, he happened meet Hung Mung. Delighted with the rencontre, he hastened to him, and said, Have you Have you forgotten me, forgotten me, O Heaven ? Heaven^?' At the same time, he bowed twice with his head to the ground, wishing to receive his instructions. Hung Mung said, 'Wandering listlessly about, I know not what I seek carried on by a wild impulse, I know not where I am going. I wander about in the strange m.anner (which you have seen), and see that nothing proceeds without method and Ytin A'iang order ^; what more should I know?' replied, I also seem carried on by an aimless influence, and yet the people follow me wherever 1 go. 1 cannot help their doing so. But now as they thus
as he to
'
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; '
^
Probably, theyin, the yang, wind, rain, darkness, and light
see Mayers, p. 323. ^
See Introduction, pp.
^
Compare
in
17, 18.
Book XXIII,
par.
i.
;-
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
o 02
imitate me,
wish to hear a word from you
I
The
case).'
BK. XI.
other said,
'
What
method of Heaven, comes
(in
the
disturbs the regular
into colHsion with the
nature of things, prevents the accompHshment of the mysterious (operation of) Heaven, scatters the
herds of animals, makes the birds
all
sing at night,
calamitous to vegetation, and disastrous to
is
insects
;
—
all
this is
of governing men.' 'shall
I
do
?'
owing, '
What
I
all
conceive, to the error
Yun
then,' said
ATiang,
'Ah,' said the other, 'you will only
I will leave you in my dancing way, injure them and return to my place.' Ylin A'iang rejoined, It has been a difficult thing to get this meeting with I should like to hear from you a you, O Heaven word (more).' Hung Mung said, Ah your mind (needs to be) ncmrished. Do you only take the position of doing nothing, and things will of themselves become transformed. Neglect your body cast out from you your power of hearing and sight forget what you have in common with things cultivate a grand similarity with the chaos of the plastic ether unloose your mind set your spirit free be still as if you had no soul. Of all the multitude of things every one returns to its root. Every one returns to its root, and does not know (that it is doing so). They all are as in the state of chaos, and during all their existence they do not leave it\ If !
'
!
'
!
;
;
*
They never show any will and Hung Mung, Lu
^ang
—
;
;
of their own. Shu-X'ih
— On
makes
the
the
names Yiin
following re-
These were not men, and yet they are introduced here showing us that our author frames and employs his surnames and names to serve his own purpose. Those names and the speeches made by the parties We must believe that he introduces Confucius, are all from him. Yao, and Shun just in the same way.' marks as
:
'
questioning and answering each other
;
PT.
II.
they
SECT. IV.
knew
THE WRITINGS OF
JsTWANG-SZE.
were returning
(that they
they would be (consciously) leaving
name they do not seek
not ask
its
nature
and thus
;
;
it
is
that things
303
to their root), it.
They do
to spy out their
come
to life of
themselves.'
Heaven, you have conferred on knowledge of) your operation, and revealed to me the mystery of it. All my life I had been seeking for it, and now I have obtained it' He then bowed twice, with his head to the ground, arose, took his leave, and walked away. Yiin A^iang said,
me
'
(the
6. The ordinary men of the world ^ all rejoice in men's agreeing with themselves, and dislike men's being different from themselves. This rejoicing and
from their being bent on making above all others. But have they who have this object at heart so risen out above all others ? They depend on them to rest quietly (in the position which they desire), and their knowledge is not equal to the multitude of the arts this dislike arise
themselves
of
all
distinguished
those others
-
minister a state for all
!
When
they wish again to adthey proceed to employ
its ruler,
the methods which the kings of the three dynasties
considered profitable without seeing the evils of such
This
a course.
is
to
make
the state depend on the
peradventure of their luck.
But how seldom
it
is
that that peradventure does not issue in the ruin of
the state
such
men
ceed,
and
^
Not once
!
Meaning
in ten
preserve a state. in
thousand instances
Not once
will
more than ten thousand cases
wall
they sucwill
eccentric thinkers not Taoists, like Hui-^ze,
they
Kung-
sun Lung, and others. ^
The
construing and connexion of this sentence are puzzling.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
304
BK. XI.
—
Alas that the possessors of territory, {the should not know the danger (of employing such men) Now the possessors of terri-
ruin
it,
rulers of states),
—
!
tory possess the greatest of
—
(all)
Possessing
things.
the greatest of
all
—they should
not try to deal with them as (simply)
And
things.
that
it
things,
he who
is
(possessing, that
is
not a thing (himself)
therefore able to deal with
is
When
they severally require.
who should
stands that he
men),
is,
(all)
things as
(a ruler) clearly
so deal with
all
under-
thines
is
not a thing himself, will he only rule the kingdom
He
?
go out and in throughout the universe (at pleasure) he will roam over the nine regions \ will
his
;
alone in going, alone in coming. sole possessor (of this ability) (of this ability)
The
is
what
teaching of
is
;
call
called the noblest of
great
(this)
Him we
the
and the sole possessor
man goes
all.
forth as the
shadow from the substance, as the echo responds
When
sound.
the
questioned,
own
hausting (from his (enquirer's) mind, as
stores)
he all
responds, that
is
in
to
ex-
the
under heaven. His resting-place gives forth no sound his sphere of activity has no restriction of place. He conducts every one to his proper goal, proceeding to it and bringing him back to it as by his own movement. His movements have no trace; his going forth and his re-enterings have no deviation his course
is
if
front to front with
like that of the
all
sun without beeinnine
(or ending).
^
'
The
nine regions
'
generally
means
the nine provinces into
which the Great Yii divided the kingdom. As our author is here describing the grand Taoist ruler after his fashion in his relation to the universe, we must give the phrase a wider meaning; but I have not met with any attempt to define
it.
PT.
II.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
SECT. IV.
305
you would praise or discourse about his perhe is united with the great community of He belongs to that great community, existences. and has no individual self. Having no individual self, how should he have anything that can be called If you look at those who have what they call his ? If
sonality,
their own, they are the superior if
you look
is
the friend 7.
men
of former times
him who has nothing of the of heaven and earth.
at
Mean, and yet demanding
free course
;
—such
be relied on
quiring to
to
are Things. ;
;
kind, he
be allowed their Low, and yet re-
— such
are
the
People.
Hidden (as to their issues), and yet requiring to be such are Affairs. Coarse, and yet necessary done ;
—
to be set forth
;
— such
widely extended
(in one's self)
Near, and yet
Righteousness. ;
Remote, and yet
are Laws.
necessary to have dwelling
— such
is
;
— such
necessary to
is
be
Benevolence. Restrictive,
—
such are Cereand yet necessary to be multiplied Lodged in the centre, and yet requiring to monies. Always One, and yet such is Virtue. be exalted such is the Tao. Spiritrequiring to be modified like, and yet requiring to be exercised ;— such is ;
;
—
;
Heaven
—
^
Therefore the sages contemplated Heaven, but did not assist
It.
but did not allow
They it
to
tried to perfect their virtue,
embarrass them.
They
pro-
ceeded according to the Tao, but did not lay any plans. They associated benevolence (with all their doings), but did not rely on it. They pursued right^
All these sentences are understood to
non-action of the Master of the
must do. [39]
X
Tao
show
there
that even in the
are
still
things he
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
306
BK. XI.
eousness extensively, but did not try to accumulate They responded to ceremonies, but did not con-
it.
ceal
(their
them).
opinion as
to
They engaged
troublesomeness of they occurred,
the
in affairs as
and did not decline them.
They
strove to render
their laws uniform, but (feared that confusion)
might upon the people, and did not set light by them. They depended on things as their instruments, and did not discard them ^ They did not think things equal to what they employed them for, but yet they did not see that they could do without employing them. Those who do arise
from them.
They
relied
Heaven are not pure in their virtue. Those who do not comprehend the Tao have no not understand
course which they can pursue successfully.
them who do not
What
clearly understand the
we
Tao
Alas for
Tao
!
There is the Tao, or Way of Heaven; and there is the Tao, or Way of Man. Doing nothing and yet attracting all honour is the Way of Heaven Doing and being embarrassed thereby is the Way of Man. It is the Way of Heaven that plays the part of the Lord is it
that
call
the
- ?
;
;
the
is
it
Servant.
Man
Way
of
Man
The Way
are far apart.
that plays the part of the
of Heaven and They should be
the
Way
of
clearly dis-
tinguished from each other. ^
Antithetic to the previous sentences,
and showing
that
what
such a Master does does not interfere with his non-action. ^ This question and what follows shows clearly enough that, even with
AVang-^ze, the character
meaning of the
Way
or Course.
Tao
{^)
retained
its
proper
PT.
II.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
SECT. V.
BOOK Part
Thien
307
XII.
Section V.
II.
'Heaven and Earths'
Ti, or
Notwithstanding the greatness of heaven and
I.
earth, their transforming
lathe
power proceeds from one
notwithstanding the number of the myriad
;
them
things,
the government
same
notwithstanding the multitude of mankind,
;
the lord of
them
of
is
one and the
their (one) ruler-.
is
The
ruler's
from the qualities (of the Tao) and be perfected by Heaven'', when it is so, it is called Mysterious and Sublime.' The ancients ruled the world by doing nothing simply should
(course)
proceed
'
;
by
this attribute of
—
Heaven
If we look at their
words
^
in
the light of the
Tao,
(we see that) the appellation for the ruler of the
^
^
See pp. 143, 144. Implying that that '
itself
the
Heaven
'
is
ruler,
'
the
Son of Heaven,'
here defined as meaning
'
only one.
is
Non-action, what
is
of
(^ ^ Q
Tao
;
virtue, or qualities of PM)'>' ^^^ ^^^ (fS) ^^ ^'^^ see the first paragraph of the next Book.
—
This sentence gives the thesis, or subject-matter of the whole Book, which the author never loses sight of. *
®
Perhaps we should translate here, 'They looked
at their words,'
—
Dem So Gabelentz construes Tao gemass betrachteten sie die reden.' The meaning that I have given is substantially the same. The term words occasions a
referring to
'
the ancient rulers.'
:
'
difficulty.
^ ^ ^'
I ,
understand '
it
here, with
most of the
the words of appellation.'
X
2
'
'
critics,
as
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
308
was correctly assigned
world
^
same
light at the distinctions
;
if
BK.XII.
we
look
the
in
which they instituted, (we see that) the separation of ruler and ministers was right if we look at the abilities which they ;
called forth
duties of) if
we
all
the
in
same
(we see that the
light,
the offices were well performed
look generally in the same
(we see that) their response
way
and
;
at all things,
com-
(to this rule) w^as
Therefore that which pervades (the action that of) Heaven and Earth is (this one) attribute plete^.
;
which operates in all things is (this one) course that by which their superiors govern the people is and that the business (of the various departments) by which aptitude is given to ability is skill. The skill was manifested in all the (departments of) ;
;
business in
those departments were
;
righteousness
of) the natural virtue
to (the pattern of) it
administered
the
was manifested
Tao was
according
Heaven.
said %
is
the virtue
;
Tao; and
according to the
Hence
all
the righteousness was (the outflow
;
'The
ancients
who had
the
nourishment of the world wished for nothing and the world had enough they did nothing and all things were transformed their stillness was abysmal, ;
;
and the people were all composed.' says^, 'When the one (Tao) pervades
''
Weaning, probably,
his appellation as
The Record it,
business
all
Thien 3ze,
'
the
Son of
Heaven.' ^
That
is,
'
they responded to the Tao,' without any constraint
but the example of their rulers. "
Here there would seem
been able to trace to *
of
This
it.
'
Record
'
its
is
to
be a quotation wliich
I
have not
source.
attributed to Lao-^ze
;
but
we know nothing
In illustration of the sentiment in the sentence, the
critics
PT.
is
SECT.
11.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
V.
When
completed.
mind gets
the
309
to be free
from
aim, even the Spirits submit.'
all
The Master
2.
said^,
spreads and sustains
'
by all means
to
is
The
overflowing influence!
Its
It
the
remove from
his
Tao
How
all things.
that over-
great It
what
is
mind
that
(all
It).
called (a
men and lence.
mark
of) the (true) Virtue.
benefitino- thinos
is
in
man ought
Acting without action is what Heaven(-like). Speech coming forth of
trary to
is
Superior
what
is
called
is
is
con-
called
itself
is
Loving Benevo-
Seeing wherein things that are different yet
is what is called being Great. Conduct free from the ambition of beino- distinouished above others is what is called being Generous. The possession in himself of a myriad points of dift'erence is what is called being Rich. Therefore to hold fast the natural attributes is what is called the Guiding Line (of government) - the perfecting of those attributes is what is called its Establishment accordance with the Tao is what is called beins: Complete and not allowing anything external to affect the will is what is called being Perfect. When
agree
;
;
Superior
the
man
understands these ten
things,
he keeps all matters as it were sheathed in himself, showing the greatness of his mind and through ;
the outflow of his doings,
Being such, he
to him).
and the pearls
hill,
in
all
lets
things
move
the gold
the deep
;
lie
(and come hid in the
he considers not
refer to par. 34 in the fourth Appendix to the Yi King; but not to the point. 1
the
Who
2
I think the IMaster here ? Confucius ? or Lao-jze ? though sometimes even our author thus denominates
is
latter,
Confucius .?
it is
;
'
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; see
the Tao.
'
par. 9.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
^lO
BK. xil.
property or money to be any gain he keeps aloof from riches and honours he rejoices not in long life, and grieves not for early death he does not account prosperity a glory, nor is ashamed of indigence he would not grasp at the gain of the whole world to be held as his own private portion he would not desire to rule over the whole world as his own private distinction. His distinction is in understanding that all things belong to the one treasury, and that death and life should be viewed in the ;
;
;
;
;
same way^' said, How still and deep is the How limpid is its where the Tao resides! purity! Metal and stone without It would give forth no sound. They have indeed the {power of) sound (in them), but if they be not struck, they do
The Master
3.
'
place
not emit are '
Who
it.
things
in) all
The man
can determine (the qualities that
?
of kingly qualities holds on his
unoccupied, and
is
ashamed
(the conduct of) affairs.
(what
is)
He
to
way
busy himself with
establishes himself in
the root and source (of his capacity), and
wisdom grows to be spirit-like. In this way his become more and more great, and when his mind goes forth, whatever things come in his way, it lays hold of them (and deals with them). Thus, if there were not the Tao, the bodily form would not have life, and its life, without the attributes (of the Tao), would not be manifested. Is not he who preserves the body and gives the fullest his
attributes
development to the ^
Balfour
more
;
'
einung.'
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
'
The
Gabelentz
:
life,
diflference
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
'
who
establishes the attri-
between
life
and death
exists
no
Sterben und Leben haben gleiche Ersch-
PT.
SECT.
II.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
V.
Tao
butes of the
and
of kingly qualities
sudden issuings
clearly displays
How
?
and
when all man whose qualities
He
It,
I
possessed
he
is
I
his
in
unexpected moveThis we call things follow him!
forth,
ments, the
majestic
^
in his
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
him
fit
to rule.
where there is the deepest obscurity he In the midst of the is no sound. deepest obscurity, he alone sees and can distinguish '
sees
;
hears where there (various
objects)
in
;
midst of
the
a
soundless
he alone can hear a harmony (of notes). Therefore where one deep is succeeded by a greater, he can people all with things where one mysterious range is followed by another that is more so, he (abyss),
;
In
can lay hold of the subtlest character of each. this
way
in his intercourse
with
all
farthest from
them what they seek; while he
now
he yet returns
small
;
now
he
having anything, he can yet give is always hurrying
is
to
forth,
things, while
to his resting-place
long,
now
short
now
;
;
now
large,
distant,
now
near^.
Hwang-Ti, enjoying himself on the north of
4.
Red-water,
the
ascended
to
the
height
of
the
Khwan-lun (mountain), and having looked towards the south, was returning home, when he lost his He employed Wisdom to dark-coloured pearl 2. search for it, but he could not find it. He employed (the clear-sighted) Li A'li to search for it. but he ^
I
can hardly follow the reasoning of A%ang-jze here. The whole I have translated the two concluding is obscure.
of the paragraph
characters
^0
]^,
^s
if
they were
^ ^,
after the
example of Lin
whose edition of A wang-jze was first published in 1261. ^ Meaning the Tao. This is not to be got or learned by wisdom, or perspicacity, or man's reasoning. It is instinctive to Hsi-yi,
man, as the Heavenly
gift
or Truth
(^ ^)'
3
I
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
2
BK. XII.
He
employed (the vehement search for it, but he could He then employed Purposeless \ who not find it. found it; on which Hwang-Ti said, 'How strange that it was Purposeless who was able to find it
could not find
it.
7v'//ieh A'/^au^ to
debater)
!
of Hsu 5. The teacher of Yao was Hsti Yu ^ Yu, Nieh /^/meh-; of Nieh A'/ziieh, Wang ! ^ of Wang I, Phei-i -. Yao asked Hsti Yu, saying, 'Is Nieh A"/aieh fit to be the correlate of Heaven^? (If you think he is), I will avail myself of the ;
Wang Yu
services of
I
Hsti
place).'
him
to constrain
replied,
(to
take
my
'Such a measure would
be hazardous, and full of peril to the kingdom The character of Nieh AVaieh is this; he is acute, perspicacious, shrewd and knowing, ready in reply, sharp in retort, and hasty his natural (endowments) surpass those of other men, but by his human qualities he seeks to obtain the Heavenly gift he exercises his discrimination in suppressing his
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
;
but he does not know what is the source from which his errors arise. Make him the correlate of Heaven He would employ the human qualities, so that no regard would be paid to the Heavenly gift. Moreover, he would assign different functions to the different parts of the one perSon *. errors,
!
^
by '
The meaning of the characters shows what is the idea emblemed name and so with Hsiang Wang, a Semblance,' and
this
^
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
;
Nonentity
' ;
All these
=
'
^
again. '
JMatch
above ruled ''
We
He
jMi's list of is
; '
that
in
'
Purposeless.'
eminent Taoists.
be distinguished from
to
Heaven
is,
be
that of Phei-i,
We
shall
who
meet with
Phia-i.
sovereign below,
as
Heaven
all.
are referred for the
J,
'
names have occurred, excepting
heads Hwang-fu
him
Mindless,'
Bk. V, par.
r.
meaning of this
characteristic to
^-f"
j]M
PT.
II.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
SECT. V.
313
Moreover, honour would be given to knowledge, and he would have his plans take effect with the speed of fire. Moreover, he would be the slave of everything he initiated. Moreover, he would be embarrassed by things. Moreover, he would be looking all round for the response of things (to his measures). Moreover, he would be responding to the opinion of the multitude as to what was right. Moreover, he would be changing as things changed, and would not begin to have any principle of con-
How
stancy.
correlate of
can such a
Heaven
man be
common
the smaller branches of a family and the
ancestor of
all
its
be the
to
fit
Nevertheless, as there are
?
branches, he might be the father
of a branch, but not the father of the fathers of
Such government
branches \
the
would lead
conduct)
to
disorder.
all
(as
he would
It
would be
calamity in one in the position of a minister, and ruin
if
6.
he were
in the position of the sovereign.'
Yao was
looking about him
border-warden of which said, me ask blessings on the sage ^
That
is,
Nieh might be a
'
!
Ha
May
minister,
Hwa^
at
the sage
!
he
the
Let
!
long
live
!
but could not be the
based on the rules for the rise of sub-surnames in the same clan, and the consequent division of see the Li A'i, Bk. XIII, i, 10-14, clans under different ancestors
The phraseology
sovereign.
is
;
and XIV, -
'Hwa'
where
it
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
8. is
name of a place, The genuineness of
evidently intended for the
was can hardly be determined.
whole paragraph
is
called in question;
and
calling attention to
what the border-warden
the close of the
of the sage (Taoist),
years, ascends the place of
age,
wind
life
among
God, and
is
pass
made
it
the
by, merely
to say
after living a
about
thousand
the Immortals ('|^=fll|), ^^'^^ arrives at free from the three evils of disease, old
is
and death; or as some !
who
I
but
say, after the Buddhists, water,
fire,
and
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
314
Yao
said,
'
Hush
!
sage become rich
but the other went on,
'
Yao
!
'
(the warden) continued,
sons
When Yao
!
said,
'
Long
'
wish for
them
? '
;
Yao
is
'
(again) said,
May
it
'
May
Hush
'
! '
the
but
many
Hush,' the warden
and many sons are what men
that you alone do not wish for
repHed,
many
'
the sage have
repeated his
hfe, riches,
—how
BK. XII.
'
Many
sons bring
many
fears
;
and long life gives rise to many obloquies. These three things do not help to nourish virtue and therefore I wish to decline them.' The warden rejoined, At first I considered you to be a sage now I see in you only a Superior man. Heaven, in producing the myriads of the people, is sure to have appointed for them their several offices. If you had many sons, and gave them (all their) offices, what would you have to fear ? If you had riches, and made other men share them with you, what trouble would you have ? riches bring
troubles
;
;
'
;
The
sage finds his dwelling like the quail (without
any choice of its own), and is fed like the fledgling he is like the bird which passes on (through the air), and leaves no trace (of its flight). When good order prevails in the world, he shares in the general prosperity. When there is no such order, he cultivates his virtue, and seeks to be unoccupied. After a thousand years, tired of the world, he leaves it, and ascends among the immortals. He mounts on the white clouds, and arrives at the place of God. The three forms of evil do not reach him, his person is always free from misfortune what obloquy has he to incur ? ;
—
With this the border-warden left him. Yao followed him, saying, I beg to ask but the other '
said,
'
Begone
!
—
;
'
PT.
II.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-8ZE.
V.
When Yao was
7.
kao
SECT.
^
315
ruling the world, Po-Z'/^ang- 3ze-
was appointed by him prince of one of the
From Yao
states.
(afterwards) the throne passed to
Shim, and from Shun (again)
to Yli
Ma.ng 3ze-kao resigned
principality
and (then) Poand began Yli went to see him, and to cultivate the ground. found him ploughing in the open country. Hurrying to him, and bowing low in acknowledgment of his superiority, Yii ihen stood up, and asked him, saying, Formerly, when Yao was ruling the world, you. Sir, were appointed prince of a state. He gave his sovereignty to Shun, and Shun gave his to me, when you, Sir, resigned your dignity, and are his
;
'
(now) ploughing (here)
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
son of your conduct.'
I
venture to ask the rea-
3ze-kao
said,
'
When Yao
ruled the world, the people stimulated one another
what was
(to
right) without his
wards, and stood in
awe
(of
offering
them
re-
doing wrong) without
them with punishments. Now you employ both rewards and punishments, and the his threatening
Their virtue punishments will from this time prevail the disorder of future ages will from this time begin. Why do you, my master, not go away, and not interrupt my work?' With this he resumed his ploughing with his head bent down, and people notwithstanding are not good.
from
will
this
time decay
;
;
did not (again) look round. 8.
In the
Grand Beginning
(of all things)
there
vacancy of space there was nothinor that could be named". It was in this state
was nothing
^
Some
in all the
;
legends say that this Po-X7/ang 3ze-kao was a pre-incar-
nation of Lao-^ze
;
but
this
paragraph
is
like the last,
and cannot
be received as genuine. ^
This
sentence
is
differently understood,
according as
it
is
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
3l6
that there arose the tence, but
existence
first
^
;
BK. Xll.
— the
first exis-
From
without bodily shape.
still
this
things could then be produced, (receiving) what
bodily shape was divided
^
and then without
;
we
mission there was what
we
That which had no
their proper character ^
call
call
inter-
the process of con-
(The two processes) continuing in operaAs things were com-
ferring*.
things were produced.
tion,
pleted, there
were produced the distinguishing
of each, which
we
call
lines
That shape
the bodily shape.
was the body preserving in it the spirit ^, and each had its peculiar manifestation, which we call its Nature. When the Nature has been cultivated, it returns to its proper character and when that has been fully reached, there is the same condition as at the Beginning. That sameness is pure vacancy, and the vacancy is great. It is like the closing of That the beak and silencing the singing (of a bird). closinof and silencino- is like the union of heaven and ;
earth (at the beginning) punctuated
^.
;-:f
or
its
adopt the former; the other If the author
would have written
is
contrary to
had wished
to
Probably, the primary ether, what
This sentence
^
Into what
is
is
the
;
So then,
M :^ M 1
can only
idea of Chinese
be understood
called the
* The conferring of something more By whom or what ? By Heaven the
^
it
so,
he
^^ ^^.
Thai
A'ih.
anticipatory.
we call the yin and now in motion.
that term the
my
differently, as, for instance, ffl£ ^^l^
^
at rest,
ilE,
For myself,
advocates.
^
now
union, effected, as
M M, ^ M ;g, ^
Each punctuation has
composition.
The
*'.
yang;
—
the
same
ether,
than what was material.
Taoist understanding by
Tao.
man
consists of the material
body and
the immaterial
spirit. ®
The
potential heaven
primal ether.
and
earth, not yet fashioned
from the
PT.
317
might seem to indicate stupidity or darkness, but what we call the mysterious quality' (existing
is,
it
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-SZE.
SECT. V.
II.
is
'
at the beginning)
same
the
it is
;
as the
Grand Sub-
mission (to the Natural Course).
The Master asked Lao Tan, saying, Some Tao (as by a law), which they have ^
9.
men
only to follow
;
—
(a thing,
inadmissible
is
it
'
regulate the
it
;
is
are like) the sophists
what
tinguish as
they say,)
so,
or
who say
admissible or
(They
that they can dis-
hard and what
is
is
not so.
is
it
white as clearly
is
the objects were houses suspended in the sky.
if
Can such men be said to be sages ^ ?' The reply was, They are like the busy underlings of a court, who *
toil their
bodies and distress their minds with their
various artifices
;
— dogs, (employed) to monkeys^
catch the yak, or
to
from their forests
—
their
(for
their
sorrow
that are brought
tricksiness).
what you cannot
AV/iu,
I
and what you cannot speak of: Of those who have their heads and feet, and yet have neither minds nor ears, there are multitudes; while of those who have their bodies, and at the same time preserve that which has no bodily form or shape, there are really none. you
tell
It
this
;
it
is
—
not in their
is
dying or
movements
living, their falling
be found.
to
The
is
in (their dealing with) the
^
This
'
IMaster
unnecessary ^
'
is
in
in
without doubt Confucius. point of Confucius's question are not clear. to Lao-^^ze that all his disquisitions about
thing
to
?
Compare
human element
they have forgotten external things,
The meaning and Did he mean to object the Tao as the one ^
rising again, that
regulation of the course
this
When
stoppages, their
or
and
lies
them.
hear,
Bk. VII, par.
4.
be
studied
and followed were
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
3^8
and have
bk. xii.
forgotten the heavenly element in
also
may be named men who have forgotten themselves. The man who has forgotten himself is them, they
whom it is said that he has become identified Heaven \' lo. At an interview with K\ Kkth. iTiang-lu Mien 2 said to him, 'Our ruler of Lu asked to receive he of with
2,
my instructions. I declined, on the ground that I had not received any message ^ for him. Afterwards, however, I told him (my thoughts). I do not know whether (what I said) was right or not, and I beg to repeat it to you. I said to him, " You must strive to be courteous and to exercise self-restraint you must distinguish the public-spirited and loyal, and repress the cringing and selfish who among ;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
the people will in that case dare not to be in har-
mony said,
'
with you?"' Ki Khth laughed quietly and Your words, my master, as a description of the
Ti or King, were like the threatenits arms by a mantis which would thereby stop the advance of a carriage inadequate to accomplish your object. And moreover, if he guided himself by your directions, it would be as if he right course for a
movement
ing
of
;
were ^
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
to increase the dang-erous heio^ht of his towers
Their action
is
like tliat of
Heaven,
silent
but most effective,
without motive from within or without, simply from the impulse of
Tao. These two men are only known by the mention of them here. They must have been officers of Lu, K\ A7;eh a member of the great Ki or A'i-sun family of that state. He would appear the
^
also to have
been the teacher of the other
real personages,
if, indeed, they were and not merely the production of ATwang-^ze's ;
imagination. ^
That
which
I
is
any lessons or instructions from you,
should communicate to him.
my
master,
PT.
II.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-SZE.
SECT. V.
319
and add to the number of his valuables collected in them the multitudes (of the people) would leave their (old) ways, and bend their steps in the same ;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
direction.'
A'iang-lu fright,
'
theless,
I
am
Mien was awe-struck, and
said in his
by your words, Master, nevershould like to hear you describe the in-
I
startled
The
fluence (which a ruler should exert).'
other
kingdom, he would stimulate the minds of the people, and cause them to carry out his instructions fully, and change their said,
'
If a great sage ruled the
manners
come them
;
evil
he would take their minds which had beand violent and extinguish them, carrying forward to act
all
in
accordance with the
(good) will belonging to them as individuals, as
they did
it
they knew not what so.
Would
and Shun
if
of themselves from their nature, while it
was that made them do
such an one be willing to look up to
in their instruction
elder brothers
?
He would
Yao
of the people as his
treat
them
as his juniors,
belonging himself to the period of the original plastic
ether ^
His wish would be that
all
should
agree with the virtue (of that early period), and quietly rest in II,
it.'
3^e"l^ung had been rambling in the south in
was returning to ^\\\. As he passed (a on the north of the Han, he saw an old man who was going to work on his vegetable garden. He had dug his channels, gone to the well, and was bringing from it in his arms a jar of water to pour Toiling away, he expended a great deal into them. Khi\, and place)
^
'
A
The Chinese
phrase here
vivifying influence, a
is
explained by Dr. WilHams
vapour or aura producing
things.'
:
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
320
BK. Xll.
of Strength, but the result which he accomplished
was very
There is a hundred one day. With
3ze-kung said to him,
small.
contrivance here, by means of which plots of
ground may be irrigated
the expenditure of a very
accomplished (to try
?
it)
'
How
little
in
'
a
strength, the result
Would you, Master, not like is great. The gardener looked up at him, and
work ? 3ze-kung said, 'It is a lever made of wood, heavy behind, and light in front. It raises the water as quickly as you could do said,
'
does
it
'
with your hand, or as Its
name
is
bubbles over from a
it
The gardener
a shadoof.'
boiler.
put on an
angry look, laughed, and said, I have heard from my teacher that, where there are ingenious contrivances, there are sure to be subtle doings and that, where there are subtle doings, there is sure to be a scheming mind. But, when there is a scheming mind *
;
in the breast, its pure simplicity this
pure simplicity
residence of the (the contrivance
to use
is
impaired.
When
impaired, the spirit becomes
and the unsettled
unsettled,
ashamed
is
spirit is
not the proper
I do not know which you mention), but I should be
Tao.
not that
It is
it.'
looked blank and he hung down his head, and made no After an interval, the gardener said to him,
(At these words) 3ze-kung
ashamed reply. '
Who
;
are you. Sir
'A
'
?
The
disciple of
Khung
AV/iu,'
Are you not the scholar whose great learning makes you comparable to a sage, who make it your boast that you
was the
reply.
surpass
all
by
yourself,
others,
other continued,
who
'
sing melancholy ditties
all
thus purchasing a famous reputation
throughout the kingdom get the energy of your
?
you would (only) forand neglect the care of
If
spirit,
PT.
II.
SECT. V.
THE WRITINGS OF ATWANG-SZE.
32
your body, you might approximate (to the Tao). But while you cannot regulate yourself, what leisure to be regulating the world ? Go on your and do not interrupt my work.' 3ze-kung shrunk back abashed, and turned pale. He was perturbed, and lost his self-possession, nor did he recover it, till he had walked a distance of thirty li. His disciples then said, Who was that man ? Why, Master, when you saw him, did you change your bearing, and become pale, so that you have been all day without returning to yourself?' He replied to them, Formerly I thought that there was but one man ^ in the world, and did not know that there was this man. I have heard the Master say
have you way,
Sir,
'
'
that to seek for the
means of
conductinor his under-
takings so that his success in carrying
them out may
be complete, and how by the employment of a little strength great results may be obtained, is the way of the sage. all.
Now
They who
(I
perceive that)
it
is
not so at
hold fast and cleave to the
are complete in the qualities belonging to
it.
Tao Com-
plete in those qualities, they are complete in their
Complete
bodies.
in
their bodies, they are
com-
To
be complete in spirit is the way of the sage. (Such men) live in the world in closest union with the people, going along with them, but they do not know where they are going. Success, Vast and complete is their simplicity gain, and ingenious contrivances, and artful cleverplete in their spirits.
!
ness, indicate (in their opinion) a forgetfulness of the
(proper)
where
mind of man. These men will not go mind does not carry them, and will do
their
^
[39]
Confucius.
Y
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
^22 3
of which
nothing
Though
they would
be
world
(only)
should
get what
disregarded
loftily
mind does not approve.
their
the
all
praise
them,
think
should
they
and though
;
BK. xii.
all
the world
should blame them, they would but lose (what they think)
fortuitous
and
not
to
world's blame and praise can do
all
the attributes (of the Tao), while
called one of those
who
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the
neither benefit
Such men may be described
nor injury. ing
be received;
them
I
as possess-
can only be
are like the waves carried
about by the wind.' When he returned to Lu, (3zekung) reported the interview and conversation to Confucius,
who
said,
'
The man makes
cultivating the arts of the
knows the first regulates what
thing, but not the sequel to is
.
^'
/
iV
He He
what
is
he had intelliorence enough to be entirely unsophisticated, and by doing nothing to seek to return to the normal simplicity, embody^^& {^^^^ instincts of) his nature, and keeping his spirit (as
^Q^'
it.
internal in himself, but not
external to himself.
^ÂŤ'
a pretence of
Embryonic Age^
it
were) in his arms, so enjoying himself in
common
the
If
ways, you might then indeed be afraid
I
of him
Biit
!
what should you and
I
find in the arts
of the embryonic time, worth our knowing?'
A'un Mang^, on his
12.
J
way
to the ocean,
met with
Yiian Fung^ on the shore of the eastern sea, and
^
The arts men in '
earliest
in
its
of the Embryonic Age' suggests the idea of the their struggles for support;
formation of the universe.
not in
itself uninteresting, is
is
said,
in the fifth
we
Tao
of
Heaven
believed to be a spurious introduction,
and not the production of -A'vvang-jze. ^ These are not names of men, but
Mung
not the
But the whole of the paragraph,
paragraph of the
like
last
Yun Alang and Hung By A'un Mang, it
Book.
are to understand 'the great primal ether,' and by Yiian
PT.
II.
THE WRITINGS OF ^WANG-3ZE.
SECT.V.
323
was asked by him where he was going. I am to the ocean going,' he repHed, and the other A'lm Mang said, Such again asked, What for ? *
'
;
'
'
'
'
the nature of the ocean that the waters which
is
flow into
from
it
can never
it
exhaust
I
it.
fill
nor those which flow
it,
enjoy myself, rambling by
will
Ytian Fung replied, Have you no thoughts it.' about mankind ^ ? I should like to hear from you about sagely government.' iTun Mang said, Under '
'
the government of sages,
all
offices are distributed
according to the fitness of their nature
;
all
appoint-
ments are made according to the ability of the men whatever is done is after a complete survey of all circumstances actions and words proceed from the inner impulse, and the whole world is transformed. Wherever their hands are pointed and their looks directed, from all quarters the people are all sure to come (to do what they desire) this is what is called government by sages.' I should like to hear about (the government of) ;
;
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
'
men
the kindly, virtuous
The
reply was,
when
tuous,
'
Under
(continued Ytian Fung).
^,'
the government of the vir-
quietly occupying (their
place),
they
have no thought, and, when they act, they have no anxiety; they do not keep stored (in their minds) what is right and what is wrong, what is good and Fung,
'
^
Literally,
kind,
Why
the east wind.'
they are here
men
made '
men
to do,
with their cross eyes
characters,' says ^
The
;'
an appellation
tell.
for
man-
having their eyes set across their face more on the same
plane than other animals
in
these should discourse together as
only ^wang-jze himself could
text is simply
giving the
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
'
an extraordinary application of the
Lin Hsi->^ung. '
virtuous
meaning as
'
men
kindly
signification.
Y
2
'
;
'
but the reply
as well.
justifies
|ei has often
us
this
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
324
what
They
bad.
is
BK. xir.
share their benefits
among
within the four seas, and this produces what (the state of) satisfaction
is
they dispense their
;
all
called gifts
and this produces what is called (the state of) (The people) grieve (on their death) like rest. babies who have lost their mothers, and are perplexed like travellers who have lost their way. They have a superabundance of wealth and all necessaries, and they know not whence it comes they have a sufficiency of food and drink, and they such are the know not from whom they get it appearances (under the government) of the kindly and virtuous.' I should like to hear about (the government of) the to
all,
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
*
(continued Yiian
spirit-like men,'
The
reply was,
'
Men
Fung once
more).
of the highest spirit-like
mount up on the light, and (the limitations body vanish. This we call being bright and
qualities of) the
ethereal.
They
carry out to the utmost the powers
with which they are endowed, and have not a single
Their joy is that of heaven embarrassments of affairs melt
attribute unexhausted.
and
earth,
and
all
away and disappear proper nature
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and
;
things
all
this is
what
is
return
to
their
called (the state
of) chaotic obscurity \' 13.
Man Wu-kwei and
latter said,
'
at the
It is
had the
When no human
/^ih-Z-ang Man-/'//i
because he was not born
time of the Lord of ^
-
army of king Wu, when
^
been looking
Yu
that therefore he
^,
in the is
in-
element had come in to mar the development
of the Tao. ^
If these be the
names of
real personages, they
Wh, about b. c. 11 22. understood to mean He is
must have been
of the time of king '
Generally
'
not equal to the
Lord of
PT.
II.
SECT.V.
volved
THE WRITINGS OF ^WANG-3ZE.
325
Man
W{i-kwei
trouble (of war).'
this
in
Was
when
kingdom was
in good Lord of Yu governed it ? or was it after it had become disordered that he governed ? The other said, That the kingdom be in a it condition of good order, is what (all) desire, and (in that case) what necessity would there be to say anything about the Lord of Yii ? He had medicine for sores false hair for the bald and healing for those he was like the filial son carrying in who were ill
replied,
'
it
the
order, that the
'
'
;
;
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
the medicine to cure his kind father, with every sign
of distress
ashamed
in
(of
A
his countenance.
sage would be
such a thing) ^
In the age of perfect virtue they attached no
'
value to wisdom,
nor employed
men
of
ability.
Superiors were (but) as the higher branches of a tree
;
and the people were like the deer of the wild. They were upright and correct, without knowing that to be so was Righteousness they loved one another, without knowine that to do so was Benevolence they were honest and leal-hearted, without knowing that it was Loyalty; they fulfilled their engagements, without knowing that to do so was Good Faith in their simple movements they employed ;
;
;
the services of one another, without thinking that
they were conferring or receiving any fore their actions left
record of their 14.
Yii,'
by
The
or Shun.
Hu
no
trace,
gift.
There-
and there was no
affairs.'
filial
son
who does
The meaning which
Wan-ying, and seems
I
not
flatter his father.
have given
is
that
propounded
to agree better with the general pur-
port of the paragraph. ^-
that he had not been able to keep and requiring to be thus attended to.
Ashamed
getting sick,
his father
from
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
326
and the
loyal minister
not fawn on his
the highest examples of a minister and a
ruler, are
son.
who does
BK. XII.
When
a son assents to
all
that his father says,
and approves of all that his father does, common opinion pronounces him an unworthy son when a minister assents to all that his ruler says, and ap;
proves of
that his ruler does,
all
common
opinion
pronounces him an unworthy minister. Nor does any one reflect that this view is necessarily correct ^
But when common opinion (itself) affirms anything and men therefore assent to it, or counts anything good and men also approve of it, then it is not said that they are mere consenters and flatterers is ;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
common
opinion
then more authoritative
father, or
more
be honoured than a ruler ? Tell merely following (the opinions) of
a
man
that he
to is
than a
another, or that he is a flatterer of others, and at once he flushes with anger. And yet all his life he is merely following others, and flattering them. His illustrations are made to agree with theirs his phrases are glossed: to win the approbation of the multitudes. From first to last, from beginning to end, he finds no fault with their views. He will let his robes hang down^, display the colours on them, and arrange his movements and bearing, so as to win the favour of his age, and yet not call himself a flatterer. He is but a follower of those others, approving and dis;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
^
We
can hardly
tell
whether
this
paragraph should be under-
stood as a continuation of A7ah-X'ang's remarks, or as from ^ze himself.
opinion ^
is
The meaning
right,
here
down
that every
one
without pausing to reason about
See the Yi King, Appendix
robes hang
is
is
III,
ii,
attributed to Shun.
15,
it.
where
this letting his
Ought we
this that in this
paragraph we have /^Mh-^'ang
and against the
common opinion
^wang-
feels that this
still
to infer
from
speaking about
of Shun's superiority to king
Wu
?
PT.
II.
THE WRITINGS OF
SECT.V.
iTVVANG-SZE.
327
approving as they do, and yet he will not say that he is one of them. This is the height of stupidity.
He who knows
is not very stupid under a delusion is not
stupidity
his
;
he who knows that he
is
He who
greatly deluded.
never shake the delusion will all his life not
become
greatly deluded will
is
he who
off;
very stupid
is
men
If three
intellioent.
be walking together, and (only) one of them be under a delusion (as to their wa)'), they may yet reach their goal, the deluded being the fewer but if two of them be under the delusion, they will not do so, the deluded being the majority. At the pre;
sent time,
when
though
pray
I
the whole world
men
to
go
cannot make them do so
;
is
in the
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
is it
under a delusion, right direction,
not a sad case
I
"^
Grand music does not penetrate the
ears of vil-
The Breaking
of the Wil-
lagers
but
;
low,' or
'
they hear
if
The So
'
Bright Flowers
^'
they
will roar
with
words do not remain in the minds of the multitude, and that perfect words are not heard, because the vulgar words predominate. By two earthenware instruments the (music of) a bell will be confused, and the pleasure that it would At the present time the afford cannot be obtained. whole world is under a delusion, and though I wish laughter.
go
to
?
my
Therefore
my
I
wOiom
shall
^
The names
^
I shall
pathise
I
can
I
have
cannot do
best course
pose go, and no more pursue it,
how
succeed
it.
to share in
my
of two songs, favourites with
to let
is
If
I
so, if
feel the
I
my
pur-
do not pursue sorrow -
tiie
.'^
common
more that I am alone without any with me, and be the more sad. only
in
were way, that would be another de-
Knowinof that
to try to force lusion.
that lofty
a certain direction,
in
doinof so
it is
people. to
sym-
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
328 .^
BK. xii. 1
,
an ugly man ^ have a son born to him at midhe hastens with a Hght to look at it. Very eagerly he does so, only afraid that it may be like If
night,
himself.
From a tree a hundred years old a portion be cut and fashioned into a sacrificial vase, with the bull figured on it, which is ornamented further with green and yellow, while the rest (of that portion) is cut away and thrown into a ditch. If now we compare the sacrificial vase with what was thrown into the ditch, there will be a difference between them as respects their beauty and ugliness but they both agree in having lost the (proper) nature of the wood. So in respect of their practice of righteousness there is a difference between (the robber) A'ih on the one hand, and ^a.ng (Shan) or Shih (3hiu) on the other but they all agree in having lost (the proper qualities of) their nature. Now there are five things which produce (in men) 15^.
shall
;
;
The
the loss of their (proper) nature.
fondness eye,
for)
the five
and take from
the second
is
it its
(proper) clearness of vision
^^ is
They cannot
and take from
should perhaps be translated
edited
by ^iao Hung and others tell
;
(their fondness for) the five notes (of
music), which disorder the ear
tion
first is (their
colours which disorder the
whether
it
'
a leper.'
The
as a paragraph
It its
illustra-
by
itself.
be intended to end the paragraph that
precedes or to introduce the one that follows. ^
This paragraph must be our author's own.
^/nh-/'ang, of the
time of king Wfi, could not be criticising the schemes of
Mo
life
pro-
and Yang, whose views were so much later in time. It breathes the animosity of Lao and AVang against all schemes of learning and culture, as contrary to the simplicity of
pounded by
life
according to the Tao.
PT.
II.
SECT. V.
(proper)
THE WRITINGS OF i^WANG-3ZE.
power of hearing
;
the third
for)
trils,
and produce a feehng of
flavours,
;
the fourth
distress all
over the
(their fondness for) the five
is
which deaden the mouth, and pervert its the fifth is their preferences and
sense of taste dislikes,
(their fond-
the five odours which penetrate the nos-
ness
forehead
is
329
;
which unsettle the mind, and cause the
nature to go flying about.
These
five things are all
and now Yang and Mo begin to stretch forward from their different standpoints, each thinking that he has hit on (the proper course injurious to the
life
;
for men).
But the courses they have call
the proper course.
leads to distress
the right thing
;
What
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; can
hit
they have hit on what
If they have,
?
on are not what
I
they have hit on (only)
we may
is
say that the
dove in a cage has found the right thing for it. Moreover, those preferences and dislikes, that (fondness for) music and colours, serve but to pile up fuel (in their breasts)
;
while their caps of leather, the
bonnet with kingfishers' plumes, the memorandum tablets which they carry, and their long girdles, Thus inserve but as restraints on their persons. wardly stuffed full as a hole for fuel, and outwardly fast bound with cords, when they look quietly round from out of their bondage, and think they have got all they could desire, they are no better than criminals whose arms are tied together, and their fingers subjected to the screw, or than tigers and leopards in sacks or cages, and yet thinking that they have got (all
they could wish).
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
2,3^
BOOK Part
Thien Tao, X I.
The Way
of
'
XIII.
Section VI.
II.
or
The Way
particular place, so that
by
operate, and directors)
Those who
who
all
Way
does the
Sages
of the
within the seas submit to them.
clearly understand (the
sympathy with
are in
any
things are brought to
all
so does the Way of the Tis under the sky turn to them (as their
so also
;
(unceasingly),
(of its influence) in
it;
all
operate, and
-
\'
Heaven
of
Heaven operates
and leaves no accumulation perfection
BK. Xlll.
Way of)
Heaven, and
(that of) the sages,
and
familiar through the universe
the four quarters
in
work of the Tis and the
(of the earth) with the
yet act spontaneously from themselves
:
kings,
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;with
the
appearance of being ignorant they are yet entirely still.
The
stillness of the sabres
does not belono- to them
as a consequence of their skilful ability^;
are not able to disturb their minds
account that they are
When
still.
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
it
water
all is
things
on
clearness shows the beard and eyebrows (of
^
See pp. 144, 145.
^
That
is,
rally explain
its '
operation
is
accumulation
'
The Chinese
universal.
here by
'
rest,'
which
is
this
is still, its
criiics
him
gene-
not quite the
idea. ^
Such
is
A^ing, chaps.
the
meaning here of and often.
2, 8,
the
^,
as in the
Tao Teh
PT.
who
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
SECT. VI.
II.
looks into
It is
it).
33
I
^, and the Such is the
a perfect Level
greatest artificer takes his rule from
it.
and how much greater is that The still mind of the sage the mirror of heaven and earth, the glass of all
clearness of
is
still
human
of the
water,
Spirit!
things.
Vacancy,
stillness, placidity, tastelessness,
quietude,
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
and non-action this is the Level of heaven and earth, and the perfection of the Tao and its characteristics^'. Therefore the T is, Kings, and Sages found in this their resting-place ". Resting here, they were vacant from their vacancy came fullness from their fullness came the nice distinctions (of silence,
;
;
;
From their vacancy came stillness that was followed by movement their movements were successful. From their stillness came things).
;
stillness
;
their non-action.
Doing-nothing, they devolved the
Doing-nothing was
cares of office on their employes.
accompanied by the feeling of there
is
satisfaction.
Where
that feeling of satisfaction, anxieties
troubles find no place
and the years of
;
life
and are
many. Vacancy, silence,
When
stillness, placidity, tastelessness,
and doing-nothing are the root of
we find such
understood,
this is
quietude,
all
throne as Yao, and such a minister as Shun. with this a high position
is
occupied,
butes of the Tis and kings,
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the
with this in a low position,
we
here,
is
contracted in
have mistaken for
many
things.
a ruler on the
we
When
find the attri-
sons of
Heaven
editions into
^^,
which some
|^.
^
Such are the natural
^
Impl}ing cessation from
characteristics of all
;
find the m3'Sterious
tlie
Taoistic mind.
thought and purpose.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
2,32
BK. Xlll.
uncrowned kings, with their ways. With this pubHc Hfe), and enjoying themselves at leisure, we find the scholars who dwell by the rivers and seas, among the hills and forests, all submissive to it with this coming forward to active life and comforting their age, their merit is great, and their fame is distinguished and all the world becomes united in one.
sages, the
retiring (from
;
;
—
2. (Such men) by their stillness become sages and by their movement, kings. Doing-nothing, they are honoured in their plain simplicity, no one in the world can strive with them (for the palm of) excel;
;
The clear understandino- of the virtue of Heaven and Earth is what is called The Great Root,' and The Great Origin they who have it are in harmony with Heaven, and so they produce
lence.
'
'
;
equable arrangements
all
who
those
are in
'
—
world
in the
harmony with men.
;
—they
are
Being
in
harmony with men is called the Joy of men being in harmony with Heaven is called the Joy of Heaven. ;
A!wang-jze said, shall
cruel
'My
hash and blend ;
he
all
Master!
my
Master!
He
things in mass without being
shall dispense his favours to all ages with-
out beino- benevolent.
He
is
older than the hio^hest
and yet is not old. He overspreads the heavens and sustains the earth from him is the carving of all forms without any artful skill This is what is called the Joy of Heaven. Hence it is
antiquity,
;
^
said,
their
"Those who know life,
act like
the Joy of Heaven during Heaven, and at death undergo
transformation like (other) things ^
^
!
Compare in Bk.VI, They do not cease
changed.
pars. 13
and
^
;
in their stillness
7.
to be, but only
become transformed
or
PT.
THE WRITINGS OF ZWANG-3ZE.
SECT. VI.
II.
they possess 'the quaHty of the Yin, and
333 in their
movement they flow abroad as the Yang. Therefore he who knows the Joy of Heaven has no murmuring against Heaven, nor any fault-finding with men: and suffers no embarrassment from thines, nor any reproof from ghosts. Hence it is said, His '
movements are those of Heaven his stilhiess is that of Earth his whole mind is fixed, and he rules over the world. The spirits of his dead do not come he is not worn out by their souls. to scare him ;
;
;
His words proceeding from his vacancy and stillness, yet reach to heaven and earth, and show a communication with
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
things this is w^hat is called the Joy This Joy of Heaven forms the mind of the sage whereby he nurtures all under the sky ^' " all
:
of Heaven.
'
and
Way
was the
It
3.
of the Tis and Kings to
^
Heaven and Earth
regard
nothing as their constant
Tao
as their Author, the
Lord, and Doine-
characteristics as their
its
Doing-nothing, they
rule.
could use the whole world in their service and mioht
have done more
acting, they
;
were not
sufficient for
the service required of them by the world. the
men
Hence
When
of old held non-inaction in honour.
superiors do
nothing and their inferiors also
nothing, inferiors and superiors possess the
and when
virtue
;
same
virtue,
When
inferiors
there
inferiors
and superiors possess the
are none
and
act,
do
same
to act as ministers.
their
superiors
also
act,
then superiors and inferiors possess the same
Tao
and when superiors and
same
inferiors possess the
^ I suppose that from It is said from what book we do not know. '
^
'
The
virtue,' or attribute
;
= the
'
to this
way.
is
all
;
quotation, but
TEXTS OF TAOISM.
'^^E
334
Tao, there
none
is
Bit. XIII.
But that
to preside as Lord.
the superiors do nothing and yet thereby use the
world
and that the
in their service,
employed
acting, be
an unchangeable
in
inferiors,
while
the service of the world,
is
Therefore the ancient
principle.
who presided over the world, though their knowledge embraced (all the operations of) Heaven and Earth, took no thought of their own about them though their nice discrimination appreciated the fine fashioning of all things, they said not a word though their power comprehended all about it kings
;
;
the
within
they
seas,
Heaven produces
did
nothing, yet
their transformations
Earth
;
nothing
themselves.
things experience
all
effects
no growth, yet
all
things receive their nurture; the Tis and Kings did nothing, yet
all
the world testified their effective ser-
Hence it is said, 'There is nothing more spiritlike than Heaven; there is nothing richer than Earth there are none greater than the Tis and Kings.' Hence The attributes of the Tis and it is said (further), kings corresponded to those of Heaven and Earth.' vices.
;
'
was thus that they availed themselves of (the Heaven and Earth, carried all things on unceasingly (in their courses), and employed the It
operations of)
men
various classes of 4.
position lower.
lord
The
;
details (of
;
'
work) to those
The compendious
in
who
higher
the
are in the
decision belongs to the
the minutiae of execution, to his ministers. direction of the three hosts
the five weapons ^
in their service.
Originating belongs to those
Three hosts
'
-
is
but a
constituted
^
and
the military
men with
their
trifling quality
force
;
rewards
of one of the
largest states. ^
The bow,
the club, the spear, the lance, the javelin.
Other
PT.
II.
SECT.
VI.
THE WRITINGS OF a:wang-3ze.
335
and penalties with their advantages and sufferings, and the inflictions of the five punishments ^ are but elements of instruction
trivial
measures, and numbers, with jurisprudence
^,
ceremonies, laws,
;
the
all
minutiae of
are small matters in government
the notes of bells and drums, and the display of
plumes and flags are the slightest things in music, and the various grades of the mourning garments are the most unimportant manifestations of grief. These five unimportant adjuncts required the operation of the excited spirit and the employment of the arts of
The men of old the mind, to bring them into use. had them indeed, but they did not give them the first place.
The father
brother
ruler precedes,
and the minister follows
precedes, and
the
precedes,
son follows
;
;
the
and the younger follows
the
elder ;
the
senior precedes, and the junior follows; the male
precedes, and the female follows
;
the husbanci pre-
and the wife follows. This precedence of the more honourable and sequence of the meaner is seen in the (relative) action of heaven and earth, and hence the sages took them The more honourable position of as their pattern. heaven and the lower one of earth are equivalent to a designation of their spirit-like and intelligent qualities. The precedence of spring and summer and the sequence of autumn and winter mark the
cedes,
enumerations of ihem are given.
See the
'
Officers of ^au,' Bk.
XXXII. ^
Branding, cutting off the nose, cutting off the
tion, death. ^
I
read here ^l] (not
^);g.
feet,
castra-
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
336
BK. Xlll.
In the transformations
order of the four seasons.
and growth of all things, every bud and feature has and in this we have their gradual its proper form maturing and decay, the constant flow of transformaThus since Heaven and Earth, tion and change. which are most spirit-like, are distinguished as more honourable and less, and by precedence and sequence, how much more must we look for this in the ways ;
men In the ancestral temple it is to kinship that honour is given in court, to rank in the neighbourhoods and districts, to age in the conduct of of
!
;
;
;
affairs, to
wisdom
ways.
we speak
If
such
;
is
the order in those great
of the course (to be pursued in
them), and do not observe their order, their course.
observe 5.
It,
If
we speak
why do
w^e
we
violate
of the course, and do not
apply that
Therefore the ancients
who
name
to
it ?
clearly understood
Tao first sought to apprehend w^hat was meant by Heaven \ and the Tao and its characterisWhen this was apprehended, then tics came next. came Benevolence and Rio^hteousness. When these were apprehended, then came the Distinction of duties and the observance of them. This accomplished, After objects there came objects and their names. and their names, came the employment of men according to their qualities: on this there followed the examination of the men and of their work. This led to the approval or disapproval of them, which again was succeeded by the apportioning of rewards and penalties. After this the stupid and the intelligent understood what was required of them, and the honourable and the mean occupied their several posithe great
*
The meaning,
probably,
is
'
spontaneity.'
PT.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
SECT. VI.
II.
The good and
tions.
to them,
sincerely
superiors,
their
Their
best.
ability
duties implied in their official
;
their
the able, and those inferior
did
was distributed the names were fulfilled.
^^'^J
In this
nourish
their
way
did they serve
regulate
inferiors,
and cultivate their persons. They did not call their knowledge and schemes into requisition they were required to fall back upon (the method of) things,
;
Heaven
—
:
this
was what
is
the Rule of Great Peace.
Book
called the Perfection of
Hence
it
is
said in the
^ 'There are objects and there are their names.'
Objects and their names the ancients had
them
did not put
When place to
;
but they
foremost place.
the ancients spoke of the Great
was only steps
in the
'
after four other steps that
Tao,
it
they gave a
Objects and their Names,' and after eight they gave a place to Rewards and
that
'
had
they
once spoken of 'Objects and their Names,' they w^ould have shown an ignorance of what is the Root (of government) if Penalties.'
If
all
at
;
they had
spokenof Rewards and Penalties,' they would have shown an ignorance of the first steps of it. Those whose words are thus an inall
at once
version of the (proper) course, or in opposition to are (only
to be) ruled
fit
rule others
?
their Names,'
by others
;
— how can
it,
they
To speak all at once of Objects and and of Rewards and Penalties,' only '
'
shows that the speaker knows the instruments of government, but does not know the method of it. is fit
to
not
fit
we
call
be used as an instrument
in the world,
to use others as his instruments
a mere sophist, a
^
[39]
We
cannot
tell
man
:
— he
but
what
of one small idea.
what book or books.
Z
is
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
2,^S
BK. Xlii.
Ceremonies, laws, numbers, measures, with minutiae of jurisprudence, the ancients had
the
all
but
;
it
by these that inferiors serve their superiors it is not by them that those superiors nourish the world, is
;
In what 6. Anciently, Shun asked Yao, saying', way does your Majesty by the Grace of Heaven^ exercise your mind ? The reply was, I simply '
'
'
show no arrogance towards the neglect the poor people
love their infant children
I
Shun
their widows,'
goes
it
;
but
asked Yao, plied,
is
it
'When
(a
and
;
rejoined,
not what
do you think
'
;
grieve for those
I
;
helpless
'
I
die
;
Admirable, as
far as
'How
then,'
should do
I
do not
who
compassionate
Great.'
is
I
? '
Shun
re-
sovereign) possesses the virtue of
Heaven, then when he shows himself in action, it is stillness. The sun and moon (simply) shine, and the four seasons pursue their courses. So it is with the regular phenomena of day and night, and with the movement of the clouds by which the rain is distributed,' Yao said, Then I have only been persistently troubling myself! What you wish is to be in harmony with Heaven, while I wish to be in harmony with men.' Now (the Way of) Heaven and Earth was much thought of of old, and Hwang-Ti, Yao, and Shun united in admiring it. in
'
Hence
the kings of the world of old did nothing,
but tried to imitate that 7.
Way.
Confucius went to the west to deposit (some)
writings in the library of
^
So, in the
ing sovereign a Taoistic ^
It
is
'
is
mode
Spring and
Kku
Autumn
'
ordinarily designated,
-,
when
3ze-lu coun-
Chronicle, the rightful reign'
Heaven's King,'
It is
not
of speaking of him.
supposed
rtiat
Confucius, disappointed by his want of
PT.
II.
SECT.
THE WRITINGS OF ATWANG-SZE.
VI.
selled him, sayinor,
'
J
have heard that the
339 officer in
A'ang^ Repository of ATaii was one Lao Tan, who has given up his office, and is Hving
charge of in his
this
own
As you. Master, vv^ish to deposit why not go to him, and obtain
house.
these writings here,
accompHsh your object) \' Confucius 'Good;' and he went and saw Lao Tan, who refused his assistance. On this he proceeded to give an abstract of the Twelve Classics ^ to bring the other over to his views Lao Tan, however, interrupted him while he was speaking, and said, This is too vague let me hear the substance of
his help (to said,
'^.
'
;
them them
Confucius
in brief.'
The
ness.'
said,
other said,
man ? man be not
stitute the nature of If the superior
fulfil
his character
;
'
if
me
Let
'
consider Benevolence and
*
'
The
substance of
occupied with Benevolence and Righteous-
is
ask whether you
Righteousness to con'I do,'
was the answer.
benevolent, he will not
he be not righteous, he might Benevolence and born.
not have been
as well
Righteousness are truly the nature of man.'
Lao
Let me ask you what you mean by Benevolence and Righteousness.' Confucius said, To be in one's inmost heart in kindly sympathy
Tan
continued,
'
'
success, wished to deposit the writings or
much
available for ^
'
Royal Library,
in the
some
The name
that they
future teacher,
more
of the Royal Library
books which he prized so
might not be
lost,
and be
fortunate than himself.
(^^)
;
meaning, perhaps,
Approved.' ^
That
^
Meaning, perhaps, the
is,
help
him
to get his '
books deposited
chronicle of twelve marquises of Lii.
We know
the time of Confucius which could be stvled the
g&
is
to
in the Library.
Spring and Autumn,' containing a
be read shui.
Z 2
of no collection in '
Twelve
Classics.'
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
34^ with
all
things
men
to love all
;
thoughts
selfish
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
this
;
BK. xiiu
and
to allow
no
the nature of Benevolence
is
Lao Tan exclaimed, 'Ah! you
and Righteousness.'
" To almost show your inferiority by such words love all men " is not that vao-ue and extravagant ? !
!
To be
"
seeking to allow no selfish thoughts
selfishness
is
^
If you, Master, wish
!
men
" !
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; that
not to be
without their (proper) shepherding, think of
Heaven
and Earth, which certainly pursue their invariable course think of the sun and moon, which surely ;
maintain their brightness
;
think of the stars In the
which preserve their order and courses think of birds and beasts, which do not fail to collect together in their flocks and herds and think of the trees, which do not fail to stand up (in their zodiac,
;
Do
places).
you, Master, imitate this
way and
carry
hurry on, following this course, and reach your end. Why must you further be
Into practice
It
you will vehement
;
In putting
Righteousness, as
if
forward your Benevolence and you were beating a drum, and
seeking a fugitive son, (only making him run away the more) ? Ah Master, you are introducing dis!
order into the nature of 8.
Shih-/c/iang
Kh\
man
having an interview with
2,
Lao-^ze, asked him, saying,
you were a sage, and
!
'
came
I
I
heard. Master, that here, wishing to see
you, without grudging the length of the journey. During the stages of the hundred days, the soles of my feet became quite callous, but I did not dare to stop ^
The
We
and
rest.
Now
I
perceive that )'ou are not
unselfishness was not spontaneous.
know nothing
of this personage, but what is related here nor does the whole paragraph serve to advance the arguments of the Book. 2
PT.
II.
SECT. VI.
THE WRITINGS OF ATWANG-SZE.
34
Because there was some rice left about the away your younger sister, when your food, whether raw which was unkind or cooked, remains before you not all consumed, a
sao-e.
holes of the rats, you sent ;
Laoyou keep on hoarding it up to any extent jze looked indifferent, and gave him no answer. Next day KIA again saw Lao-jze, and said, Yesterday I taunted you but to-day I have gone back to a better mood of mind. What is the cause (of the change) - ? Laoize replied, I consider that I have freed myself from the trammels of claiming to be artfully knowing, spirit-like, and sage. Yesterday if you had called me an ox, )ou might have or if you had called me a horse, you done so '.'
'
;
'
'
;
might have done so ^. If there be a reality (corresponding to men's ideas), and men give it a name, which another will not receive, he will in the sequel My manner w^as what I constantly suffer the more. -I did not put it on for the occasion.' observe Shih-Z'/zang KJi\ sidled away out of Lao's shadow; then he retraced his steps, advanced forward, and ;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
asked how he should cultivate himself.
The
reply
you stare your forehead is broad and yet with your eyes you bark and growl with your mouth tapering your appearance is severe and pretentious you are like a horse held by its tether, you would move, but are restrained, and (if let go) would start off like an was,
'
Your demeanour
is
repelling
;
;
;
;
;
^
These seem strange charges to bring against Lao-jze, and no thrown on them from other sources. The change had been produced by the demeanour of Lao-^ze
lisrht is ^
;
the other could not are given by ^
Compare
tell
some of
how.
Other explanations of the question
the critics.
in the first
paragraph of Book VII.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
342
BK. XIII.
arrow from a bow you examine all the minutiae of a thing your wisdom is artful, and yet you try to All these are to be considered proofs look at ease. If on the borders one of your want of sincerity. ;
;
were
be found with them, he would be named a
to
Thief; 9.
The Master^
itself in
what
what
least
said,
'The Tao does not exhaust
greatest, nor
is
and therefore
is
it
ever absent from
be found comand diffused in all things. How wide is its How deep is its ununiversal comprehension fathomableness The embodiment of its attributes in benevolence and righteousness is but a small is
;
to
is
it
plete
!
!
result of
perfect
man
its
spirit-like
(working)
man who can determine
;
but
has (the charge of) the world
charge great
?
barrass him.
and yet
He
is
it
is
it
only the
The
this. ;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
is
perfect
not the
not sufficient to em-
wields the handle of power over
the whole world, and yet
is
it
nothing to him.
His
discrimination detects everything false, and no consideration of gain
moves him.
He
penetrates to
the truth of things, and can guard that which
fundamental.
So
it is
that
is
heaven and earth are ex-
and he views all things with indifference, and his spirit is never straitened by them. He has comprehended the Tao, and is in harmony with its characteristics; he pushes back benevolence and righteousness (into their proper place), and deals with ceremonies and music as (simply) guests yes, the mind of the perfect man determines all ternal to him,
:
things aright.'
^
No
doubt, Lao-^ze.
Philosophers,' the text
is
In the
^^
'
Complete Works of the Ten
-?- and not
-^
^.
PT.
THE WRITINGS OF rWANG-3ZE.
SECT. VI.
II.
What
10.
343
the world thinks the most valuable ex-
Tao is to be found in books. But books are only a collection of words. Words have what is valuable in them what is valuable in words is the ideas they convey. But those ideas are a sequence of something else and what that something else is cannot be conveyed by words. When the world, because of the value which it attaches to words, commits them to books, that for which it so values them may not deserve to be valued because that which it values is not what hibition of the
;
—
;
;
is
—
—
really valuable.
Thus
what we look at and can see is form and colour, and what we listen to and can hear is (only) names and sounds. Alas that men of the world should think that form and colour, name and sound, should be sufficient to give them the real nature of the Tao. The form and colour, the name and sound, are certainly not sufficient to convey its real nature and so it is that the wise do not speak and those who do speak it
is
that
(only) the out\vard
!
;
'
How
are not wise,' real nature
should the world
know
that
?
Duke Hwan\
seated above in his
hall,
was
(once)
reading a book, and the wheelwright Phien was
making
Laying aside his below it -. chisel, Phien went up the steps, and said, I venture to ask your Grace what words )Ou are reading ? The duke said, The words of the sabres/ 'Are those sap-es alive?' Phien cona
wheel
hammer and '
'
'
^
No
doubt, duke
chiefs of the "^
^au
Hwan
of Kh\, the
first
of the five presiding
dynasty.
See in INIencius
the courtyard below
I, it.
i,
vii,
4 a similar reference to the hall
and
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
344 tinned.
'
They
BK. XIII.
are dead,' was the reply.
my
said the other, 'what you,
'
Then,'
Ruler, are reading are
only the dregs and sediments of those old men.'
The duke said, How should you, a wheelwright, have anything to say about the book which I am reading? If you can explain yourself, very well; if you cannot, you shall die!' The wheelwright said, Your servant will look at the thing from the In making a wheel, point of view of his own art. '
'
proceed gently, that
if I
workmanship that
is
is
pleasant enough, but the
not strong;
is
if. I
proceed violently,
toilsome and the joinings do not
movements of my hand are
fit.
If the
neither (too) gentle nor
my mind
is realised. But by word of mouth I cannot teach the knack to there is my son, nor can my son learn it from me. Thus it is that I am in my seventieth year, and am (stih) making wheels in my old age ^ But these ancients, and what it was not possible for them to convey, are dead and gone so then what you, my Ruler, are reading is but their dregs and sediments
(too) violent, the idea in I
(how to do a knack in it.
cannot
tell
:
this)
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
!
^
Compare
his butcher;
the story in
Book
and other passages.
III about the ruler
Wan-hui and
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
PT.ii.SECT.Vll.
BOOK Part
Thien I.
Yiin, or
How
XIV.
Section VII.
II.
'
345
The Revolution
(ceaselessly)
of Heaven^'
heaven revolves! How And do the sun
(constantly) earth abides at rest!
and moon contend about their (respective) places ? Who presides over and directs these (things) ? Who binds and connects them together ? Who is It that, without trouble or exertion on his part, causes and maintains them ? Is it, perhaps, that there is some secret spring, in consequence of which they cannot be but as they are ? Or Is It, perhaps, that they move and turn as they do, and cannot stop of themselves
?
And how (Then) how the clouds become rain Who diffuses the rain ao-ain forms the clouds them so abundantly ? Who is It that, without !
!
trouble or exertion on his part, produces this ele-
mental enjoyment, and seems to stimulate It? The winds rise in the north one blows to the ;
west,
and another
to
upwards, uncertain
the
east
their
In
;
while some
direction.
rise
By whose
Who is it that, they produced ? without any trouble and exertion of his own, effects breathing are all their
1
undulations
?
I
venture to ask their cause-.
See pp. 145, 146.
Down to this we have a description of the phenomena of heaven and earth and of nature generally as proceeding regularly 2
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
346
Wu-hsien Thiao^
To heaven
said,
'Come, and
BK. XIV.
will tell you.
I
Extreme Points, and the five Elements ^. When the Tis and Kings acted in accordance with them, there was good government when they acted contrary to them, there was there belonof the six
;
Observing the things (described)
evil.
divisions (of the writing) of
Lo
their
^,
in the
nine
government
was perfected and their virtue was complete. They inspected and enlightened the kingdom beneath them, and all under the sky acknowledged and susSuch was the condition under the tained them. august (sovereigns^) and those before them.' Tang^, the chief administrator of Shang^, asked and the answer about Benevolence What do was, Wolves and tigers are benevolent.' you mean ? said Tang. A'wang-^ze replied, Father 2.
iTwang-^ze
*^,
'
'
'
'
and son (among them) are affectionate to one another. Why should they be considered as not beneand
noiselessly, without
subject of the Book.
one, it is
any apparent cause
As
the description
is
;
which
is
the chief
not assigned to any
we must suppose it to be from A%ang-jze himself; and that he who asks the question in the last three characters.
by the critics to have been a minister of the Shang Thai-mau in the seventeenth century b.c. but even A'wang-jze would hardly so violate the unity of time. ^ Generally means 'the Five Regular Virtues;' supposed to ^
This
said
is
dynasty, under
mean ^
here
'
;
the Five Elements.'
Probably the
King, V,
iv,
'
Nine Divisions of the Great
from the Lo
river exhibited to the great Yii.
*
Possibly Fu-hsi, Shan Nang, and
ÂŽ
'
king
Shang
Wu
Shang.
'
to '
Plan,' in the Shii
fancied to be derived from the writing, which a tortoise
must be taken as the
the
Hwang-Ti. duchy of Sung, assigned by
representative of the kings of the
Tang would '
be a principal minister of
it
dynasty of
in the
^wang-,5ze. â&#x20AC;˘^
The
chief of
all
the virtues according to Confucianism.
time of
PT.
II.
THE WRITINGS OF ZWANG-SZE.
SECT. vil.
347
?' 'Allow me to ask about perfect benevopursued the other. A'wang-^ze said, Perfect benevolence ^ does not admit (the feeling) of affec-
volent
lence,'
*
The
tion.'
minister said,
'
I
have heard is no
out (the feeling of) affection there
without love there
sible to say that the filial
?
not
is
filial
;
—
love,
is it
and
permis-
perfectly benevolent are not
A'wang-jze rejoined,
'
duty
that, with-
'
That
is
way
not the
Perfect Benevolence is the very filial duty is by no means sufficient The saying which you quote is not to
to put the case.
highest thing to describe
;
—
it.
the effect that (such benevolence) transcends
—
filial
One, travelling to the south, comes (at last) to Ying^, and there, standing with his face to the north, he does not see mount Ming^. Why does he not see it? Because he is so far from it. Hence it is said, " Filial duty as a part of reverence is easy, but filial duty as a duty;
does not refer to such duty at
it
part of love love, yet
may be
it
is
is
If
difficult.
difficult to
easy for
me
it
all.
be easy as a part of
forget* one's parents.
to forget
my
parents, but
It it
is
make my parents forget me. If it were easy to make my parents forget me, it is difficult for me to forget all men in the world. If it were easy to forget all men in the world, it is difficult to make difficult to
them
all
forget me."
This virtue might make one think and Shun, and not wish to be they\ '
1
A
denomination here
for the
light of
The
Yao
profit
Tao, employed by A'wang-jze
for
the purpose of his argument. 2
The
3
Name of a hill in the extreme north. The Tao requires such forgetfulness
*
capital of the state of
and receiver ^
I
;
it is
think this
is
a part of
AVni in the south.
its
the meaning.
'
on the part of both giver
doing-nothing.'
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
348
and
influences of
beneficial
extend to a myriad
it
knows whence they
ages, and no one in the world
How
come.
and speak
(as
can you simply heave a great sigh,
you do) of benevolence and
loyalty,
these
may be
but they are
duty ?
and purity;
firmness,
sincerity,
filial
benevolence, righteous-
Filial duty, fraternal respect,
ness,
BK. xiv.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
from
far
said, "
sufficient to
To him who
come up
has what
to
it is
noble \
the dignities of a state are as nothing-
him who has what
the greatest riches,
is
is
;
to
the
all
is as nothing to him who has he could wish, fam.e and praise are as
wealth of a state all
it.
most
Therefore all
all
pressed into the service of this virtue,
that
nothing,"
It
is
;
Tao
thus that the
admits of no
substitute.' 3. '
Pel-man A^/^ang
You were
O
the open country near
music of the Hsien-/7/ih
*,
When
was
I
it,
afraid
;
able to speak, and lost said,
'
It
was
I
my
likely that
was performed with
in
I
heard the
it
self-possession.'
The Tao.
^
This
free
(the instruments of)
version takes
dictionary explains
it.
^
Only heard
*
The name
of,
part
;
The Ti
should so affect you
attuned according to (the influences of)
1
first
me weary
and became agitated and un-
the next m.ade
the last perplexed me.
saying,
Ti, a performance of the
the Thung-thing lake. of
Hwang-Ti,
asked
^
celebrating,
4^
=
as
j^.
!
men, and Heaven.
It all
It
So the Khang-lisi
it.
so far as I know, in this passage.
of Hwang-Ti's music
In his elaborate description of
;
it,
I
do not venture
to translate
our author intended to give
an idea of the Tao, and the effect which the study of it was calculated to produce on the mind; as appears from the concluding sentence of the paragraph.
PT.
II.
THE WRITINGS OF ATWANG-SZE.
SECT.vil.
349
proceeded according to (the principles of) propriety and righteousness, and was pervaded by (the idea of) the '
Grand
The
Purity.
Perfect Music
Heaven
of
;
had
response
its
in the
indicated the action of the five virtues,
It
to the spontaneity (apparent
and corresponded
in
showed the blended distincof the four seasons, and the grand harmony of After this
nature). tions
first
of men, and was conformed to the principles
affairs
all thino's
;
it
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the succession of those seasons one after
another, and the production of things in their proper
Now
order.
peaceful and
and given as
if
swelled,
it
and now
military strains
Now
forth.
it
was
it
its
clear,
and now rough,
the contracting and expanding of the elemen-
processes blended harmoniously
tal
died away,
clearly distinguished
(in
Its
notes).
Those notes then flowed away in waves of light, till, as when the hibernating insects first begin to move, I commanded the terrifying crash of thunder. Its end was marked by no formal conclusion, and it began again without any prelude. It seemed to die away, and then it burst into life it came to a close, and then it rose again. So it went on regularly and inexhaustibly, and without the intervention of any It was this which made you afraid. pause ;
:
'
it
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
I made harmony of the Yin and Yang, and
In the second part (of the performance),
describe the
threw round it the brilliance of the sun and m.oon. Its notes were now short and now long, now soft Their changes, however, were and now hard. marked by an unbroken unity, though not domiThey filled every nated by a fixed regularity. valley and ravine
and guard your
;
you might shut up every
crevice,
spirit (against their entrance),
yet
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
350
BK. XIV.
was nothing but gave admission
there
to
them.
Yea, those notes resounded slowly, and might have been pronounced high and clear. Hence the shades of the dead kept in their obscurity the sun and ;
moon, and
all
the stars of the zodiac, pursued their
several courses.
when
I
made (my instruments) leave off, came to an end, and their
(the performance)
You
(echoes) flowed on without stopping.
thought
and were not able to understand it; you looked for it, and were not able to see it; you pursued it, and were not able to reach it. Allamazed, you stood in the way all open around you, and then you leant against an old rotten dryandratree and hummed. The power of your eyes was exhausted by what you wished to see your strength
anxiously about
it,
;
failed
your desire to pursue
in
could not reach
it,
while
myself
I
Your body was but
it.
so
much
empty vacancy while you endeavoured to retain it was that endeavour which your self-possession ^
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
made you weary. '
In the last part (of the performance),
I
notes which did not have that wearying
employed effect.
I
blended them together as at the command of sponHence they came as if following one antaneity. other in confusion, like a clump of plants springing
from one root, or like the music of a forest produced by no visible form. They spread themselves all around without leaving a trace (of their cause) and seemed to issue from deep obscurity where Their movements came from there was no sound. nowhere their home was in the deep darkness ;
;
;
*
I,
ii.
See the usage of the two characters
Ode
3.
^^
^*g
in the
Shih King,
PT.
II.
THE WRITINGS OF i:WANG-3ZE.
SECT. VII.
35
some would
call death, and some and some, (merely) the flower. Those notes, moving and flowing on, separating- and shifting, and not following any regular sounds, the world might well have doubts about them, and refer them to the judgment of a sage, for the sages understand the nature of this music, and judge in accordance with the prescribed (spontaneity). While the spring of that spontaneity has not been touched,
conditions which life
;
some, the
fruit,
and yet the regulators of the five notes are all this is what is called the music of prepared Heaven, deliehtinof- the mind without the use of Hence it is said in the eulogy of the Lord words. of Piao \ " You listen for it, and do not hear its sound you look for it, and do not perceive its form ;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
;
;
heaven and earth it envelopes all within the You wished to hear it, but could not universe." and therefore you were perplexed. take it in I performed first the music calculated to awe and you were frightened as if by a ghostly visitaI follow^ed it with that calculated to weary tion. and in your weariness you would have withdrawn. and in I concluded with that calculated to perplex your perplexity you felt your stupidity. But that it fills
;
;
'
;
;
;
stupidity
is
convey the
akin
Tao
the Tao; you may with it your person, and have it (ever)
to in
with you.' 4. When Confucius was travelling in the west in -, sayWei, Yen Ytian asked the music-master
Km
'
Some
case ^
it
Even
this.
The name
him.
whom
sovereign of antiquity, of
other mention but
is
said
to
should consist of three
Onlv heard of
here.
be
^,
it
is difficult
to find
any
have not discovered pronounced Piao; in which
in the
Lu Shih
I
and not of three j/^.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
352 O
BK. XIV.
How is it, do you think, with the course of the Master ? The music-master repHed, 'Alas! it is all over with your Master!' 'How so?' asked Yen Ylian and the other said, Before the crrass-does^ ing,
*
'
'
;
are set forth (at the sacrifice), they are deposited in
box or basket, and wrapt up with elegantly embroidered cloths, while the representative of the dead and the officer of prayer prepare themselves by fasting to present them. After they have been set forth, however, passers-by trample on their heads and backs, and the grass-cutters take and burn them in cooking. That is all they are good for. If one should again take them, replace them in the box or basket, wrap them up with embroidered cloths, and then in rambling, or abiding at the spot, should go to sleep under them, if he do not get (evil) dreams, a
he
is
sure to be often troubled w^ith the nightmare.
Now here
is
in the same way taking the by the ancient kings, and leadwander or abide and sleep under
your Master
grass-dogs, presented
ing his disciples to
Owing to this, the tree (beneath which they them. were practising ceremonies) in Sung was cut down^ he was obliged to leave Wei ^ he was reduced to extremities in Shang^ and A'au^: were not those experiences like having (evil) dreams ? He was kept in a state of siege between A7^an and 3hai ^, so that for seven days he had no cooked food to eat, and was in a situation between life and death were not those experiences like the nightmare ? ;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
:
Tao Teh
^
See the
^
In consequence of the dissoluteness of the court
A'ing, ch.
5.
^
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
Analects III, ;
xxii.
Analects
VI, xxvi; IX, 17. *
Meaning Sung and
^^'ei.
^
Analects XI,
ii,
i.
PT.
SECT.
II.
THE WRITINGS OF
VII.
A'WANG-3ZE.
353
you are travelling by water, your best plan is if by land, a carriage. Take a boat, which will go (easily) along on the water, and try to push it along on the land, and all your lifetime it will not go so much as a fathom or two are not ancient time and the present time like the water and the dry land ? and are not A^au and Lu like the boat and the carriage ? To seek now to practise *
If
to use a boat
;
:
(the old
ways
of)
A'au
boat on the dry land.
and has no success
down
Lu
It is
pushing along a
like
is
only a toilsome labour,
he who does so
;
He
with calamity.
in
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
is
sure to meet
has not learned that
the arts (of one time) he
is
in
handing
sure to be reduced
to extremity in endeavouring to adapt
them
to the
conditions (of another).
'And have you not seen the working of a shadoof? and (the rope of) it is pulled, it bends down when it is let go, it rises up. It is pulled by a man, and does not pull the man and so, whether it bends down or rises up, it commits no offence against the In the same way the rules of propriety, man.
When
;
;
righteousness,
laws,
Hwangs
five
^
and
and Tis
^
measures
of
three
the
derived their excellence,
not from their being the same as those of the present day, but from their (aptitude for) government.
We ^
may compare them It is
to
haws
impossible to speak definitely of
(Augustuses) and by them.
Tis were, or
five
^,
who
whom
pears, oranges,
these three
Hwangs
the speaker intended
The former would seem to lead us to the when twelve (or thirteen) Heavenly Hwangs,
fabulous ages,
Earthly, and nine
of 576,000 years.
Human There
the five Tis ended with ^
ruled over the is
eleven
for a period
a general agreement of opinion that
Yao and Shun.
See Williams's Dictionary, sub voc. [39]
young world,
purely
A a
He
says
it
is
the
Cra-
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
354
BK. XIV.
and pummeloes, which are different in flavour, but all suitable to be eaten. Just so it is that the rules of propriety, righteousness, laws, and measures, change according to the time. If
*
now you
take a monkey, and dress
robes of the duke of A^au,
and
will
not be satisfied
altogether.
And
if
it
till
in
it
the
and tear them, has grot rid of them
will bite it
you look at
the
difference
between antiquity and the present time it is as great as that between the monkey and the duke of IvdiU. In the same way, when Hsi Shih was troubled in mind, she would knit her brows and frown on all in ^
her neighbourhood.
An
ugly
woman
of the neigh-
bourhood, seeing and admiring her beauty, went home, and also laying her hands on her heart proceeded to stare and frown on all around her. When the rich people of the village saw her, they shut fast their doors and would not go out when the poor people saw her, they took their wives and children ;
and ran away from
her.
The woman knew how
to
admire the frowning beauty, but she did not know how it w^as that she, though frowning, was beautiful. Alas it is indeed all over with your Master ^ !
!
5. When Confucius was in his fifty-first year 2, he had not heard of the Tao, and went south to Phei ^
taegus cuneata and pinnatifida, common esteemed
in
China, and
much
for its acidity.
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
A
famous beauty, the concubine of king Fft-X'Mi of Wu. The comparisons in this paragraph are not complimentary to Confucius. Of course the conversation never took place, and must have been made up to ridicule the views of the sage. ^
^
^
This would be
in b.c.
than a hundred years *
Probably in what
Hsu-X:au, A'iang-su.
503 or 502, and Lao-jze would be more
old. is
now
the district of Phei, department of
PT.
II.
THE WRITINGS OF X'WANG-SZE.
SECT. VII.
355
Lao Tan, who said to him, You have come, have you ? I have heard that you are the have you also got the wisest man of the North Tao ? Not yet,' was the reply and the other went on, How have you sought it ? Confucius said, I sought it in measures and numbers, and after five years I had not got it.' And how then did you seek it?' 'I sought it in the Yin and Yang, and after twelve years I have not found it' Lao-^ze said, 'Just so! If the Tao could be presented (to another), men would all present it to their rulers if it could be served up (to others), men would all serve it up to their parents if it could be told (to others), men would all tell it to their brothers if it could be given to others, men would all orive it to their sons and grandsons. The reason why it cannot be transmitted is no other but this, that if, within, there be not the presiding principle, it will not remain there, and if, outwardly, there be not the correct obedience, it will not be carried When that which is mven out from the mind out. (in possession of it) is not received by the mind and when, without, the sage will not give it out entering in from without, there is no power in the receiving mind to entertain it, the sage will not to see
Sir
'
;
;
'
'
;
*
'
'
'
;
;
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
;
permit
it
common
to
Fame
hid there \
lie
to all
;
we should
is
a possession
not seek to have
much
Benevolence and righteousness were as the lodging-houses of the former kings we should only rest in them for a night, and not occupy them for of
it.
;
^ That is, the sage will not deposit compare Analects XVI, vi.
A a
2
it,
where
it
will lie
hidden
:
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
356 long.
men
If
BK. XIV.
see us doing so, they will have
much
to say against us.
The
'
men
perfect
of old trod the path of benevo-
lence as a path which they borrowed for the occasion,
and dwelt
in
Righteousness as
in
a lodging which they
Thus they rambled
lised for a night.
in
the vacancy
of Untroubled Ease, found their food in the fields of Indifference,
and stood
in the
gardens which they had
not borrowed. Untroubled Ease requires the doing of
nothing
ment
;
;
Indifference
is
easily supplied with nourish-
not borrowing needs no outlay.
called this the
Enjoyment
The
ancients
that Collects the True.
Those who think that wealth is the proper thing them cannot give up their revenues those who seek distinction cannot give up the thought of fame those who cleave to power cannot give the handle of it to others. While they hold their grasp of those '
for
;
;
things, they are afraid (of losing them). let
at
them
When
they
and they will not look a single example, from which they might perceive
the
go, they are grieved
(folly)
;
of their restless pursuits
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; such men are
under the doom of Heaven \ Hatred and kindness; taking and giving; reproof these eight things and instruction death and life '
:
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
are instruments of rectification, but only those are
able to use
comply with "
Correction
them who do not obstinately their great changes. Hence is
Rectification."
When
refuse to it is
said,
the minds of
^ See the same expression used in Book VI, par. 11, used by Confucius of himself. Comparing the two passages together, I must doubt the correctness of my note there (2, p. 252), that
'Heaven'
men
is
used
in the
Confucian sense of Ti, or God.
The
here pursued and toiled after the pleasures of the world, rather
than the quiet satisfactions of the Tao.
PT.
II.
SECT.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
VII.
357
some do not acknowledge this, it is because the gate Heaven^ (in them) has not been opened.'
of
6.
At an
interview with
Lao Tan, Confucius
spoke to him of benevolence and righteousness. Lao Tan said, If you winnow chaff, and the dust gets into your e}es, then the places of heaven and earth and of the four cardinal points are all changed to you. '
If musquitoes or gadflies puncture your skin, it will But this keep you all the night - from sleeping. painful iteration of benevolence and righteousness excites my mind and produces in it the greatest confusion. If you, Sir, would cause men not to lose their natural simplicity, and if you would also imitate the wind in its (unconstrained) movements, and stand forth in all the natural attributes belonging to you why must you use so much energy, and carry a great drum to seek for the son whom you have lost"'? The snow-goose does not bathe every day to make itself white, nor the crow blacken itself every day to !
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
make
itself black.
The
natural simplicity of their
black and white does not afford any ground for controversy
;
and the fame and praise which men like make them greater than they
to contemplate do not
naturally are.
When
the
springs
(supplying
the
pools) are dried up, the fishes huddle together on
Than that they should moisten one another there by their gasping, and keep one another wet by their milt, it would be better for them to
the dry land.
foro-et
1
2 ^ *
one another
in the rivers
See Book XXIII, par.
9.
^
The
and lakes
phrase
=
g
y
^'
JfJ.
is a mistake for The common reading Compare the same illustration in the preceding Book, This illustration is from Book VI, par. 5. .
par.
7.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
J 58
From
this
interview with
BK. XIV.
Lao Tan, Confucius
returned home, and for three days did not speak.
His disciples (then) asked him, saying, Master, you have seen Lao Tan in what way might you admonish and correct him ? Confucius said, In him (I may say) that I have now seen the dragon. The dragon coils itself up, and there is its body it unfolds itself and becomes the dragon complete. It rides on the cloudy air, and is nourished by the Yin and Yang. I kept my mouth open, and was unable to shut it how could I admonish and correct Lao '
;
'
'
;
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
Tan?' 7.
sit
3ze-kung
still
^
said,
So
'
then, can (this)
man
indeed
as a representative of the dead, and then
appear as the dragon
when he
?
Can
his voice
resound as
Can he heaven and earth? May I, 3^"^ze, also get to see him?' Accordingly with a message from Confucius he went to see Lao Tan. Lao Tan was then about to answer (his salutation) haughtily in the hall, but he said in a low voice, My years have rolled on and are passing away, what do you. Sir, wish to admonish me about ? ^zqkung replied, 'The Three Kings and Five Tis ^ ruled is
profoundly
exhibit himself in his
movements
thunder,
still ?
like
'
'
^
3ze-kung would seem
to
have undertaken
this expedition
maintain the reputation of the Master and his school
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; only
to
to
be
more signally than Confucius had been. These are different probably, though the text is not quite certain, from the three Hwangs and five Tis of par. 3. The Hwangs (or August Sovereigns) preceded the Tis; the Kings (Wangs) came after them. The Three Kings are the three lines
defeated by Lao-jze ^
of kings
Shun.
commencing with the dynasty of Hsia, and following the names mentioned by 3ze-kung, we ought
From
certainly so to understand the designation here.
PT. n. SECT.vir.
THE WRITINGS OF ^WANG-3ZE.
the world not in the
same way, but the fame
accrued to them
the same.
is
How
is
my
that has
that you
it
alone consider that they were not sages
359
?
Come
' '
Why do
you say that (their Yao,' was the government) was not the same ? reply, gave the kingdom to Shun, and Shun gave Yii had recourse to his strength, and it to Yli. Thang to the force of arms. King Wan was obedient to A"au (-hsin), and did not dare to rebel kine Wu rebelled aoainst A'^au, and would not submit to him. And I say that their methods were not the same.' Lao Tan said, Come a little more forward, my son, and I will tell you how the Three forward a
little,
son.
'
'
'
'
Hwangs and the Five Tis^ ruled the world. HwangTi ruled it, so as to make the minds of the people If the parents all conformed to the One (simplicity). of one of them died, and he did not wail, no one blamed him. Yao ruled it so as to cause the hearts If any, of the people to cherish relative affection. however, made the observances on the death of other members of their kindred less than those for
no one blamed them -. Shun ruled it, so as to produce a feeling of rivalry in the minds Their wives gave birth to their of the people. their parents,
children in the tenth
those children
could
month of speak at
their pregnancy, but five
months
;
and
before they were three years old, they began to
people by their surnames and names. that men began to die prematurely.
Then
^
2
call
was
Yii ruled
so as to cause the minds of the people to chana;ed. &
it
it,
become
Men's minds became scheming, and they
2, preceding page. Referring to some abuses, contrary to the doctrine of rela-
See note
tionship.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
360
BK. xiv.
used their weapons as if they might legitimately do so, (saying that they were) killing thieves and not The people formed themselves killing other men. so it was throughout into different combinations ;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
Everywhere there was great consternation, and then arose the Literati and (the From them came first the followers of) Mo (Ti). doctrine of the relationships (of society) and what
the kingdom.
;
can be said of the
now
prevailing customs (in the
I tell you marrying of) wives and daughters ? that the rule of the Three Kings and Five Tis may be called by that name, but nothing can be greater
than the disorder which
it
produced.
The wisdom
of the Three Kings was opposed to the brightness of the sun and
moon
above, contrary to the exquisite
purity of the hills and streams below, and subversive
of the beneficent gifts of the four seasons between.
Their wisdom has been more
fatal
than the
sting-
of
a scorpion or the bite of a dangerous beast ^ Unable to rest in the true attributes of their nature and constitution,
was
it
they
still
regarded themselves as sages
not a thing to be ashamed of
shameless.'
:
But they were 5ze-kung stood quite disconcerted and ?
at ease.
ill
Confucius said to Lao Tan, I have occupied myself with the Shih, the Shu, the Li, the Yo, the Yi, and the AV/un Kh'm, those six Books, for what I 8.
'
myself consider a long time
^
What
beast
is
-,
and
am
thoroughly
meant here cannot be ascertained from the
characters in the text,
i(\^
^^
^ 1^.
But with the preparation of the Khun Khm Confucius's Hfe ended it is very plain that no conversation such as ^wang-^ze has ^
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
fabricated here could ever have taken place.
PT.
II.
SECT.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
Yii.
acquainted with their contents. rulers,
With seventy-two
offenders against the right,
all
36
I
have
dis-
coursed about the ways of the former kings, and set
examples of (the dukes of) Kd.w and and not one of them has adopted (my views)
the
forth
Shao
;
and put them
in practice
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; how very to
make
difficult
it is
to
clear the path to
!
be pursued Lao-jze
:
and
prevail on such men,
replied,
'
It
not met with a ruler
is
fortunate
that
you have
Those by how they made
fitted to rule the aoe. o
six writings are a description of the vestiges left
the former kings, but do not
tell
and what you, Sir, speak about are still only the vestiges. But vestiges are the prints left by the shoes are they the shoes that produced them ? A pair of white herons look at each other with pupils that do not move, and impregnation takes place the male insect emits its buzzing sound in the air above, and the female responds from the air below, and impregnation takes place the creatures called lei are both male and female, and each such vestiges
;
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
;
;
breeds of
individual
itself \
The
nature cannot
be altered the conferred constitution cannot be changed the march of the seasons cannot be arrested; the Tao cannot be stopped. If you get the Tao, there is no effect that cannot be produced if you miss it, there is no effect that can.' ;
;
;
Confucius (after this) did not go out, till at the end of three months he went again to see Lao Tan, and said, I have got it. Ravens produce their young by hatching fishes by the communication of '
;
their milt
'
;
the small-waisted
Where had Lao-jze
wasp by transforma-
or his author learned his zoology?
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
362
BK. XIV.
when a younger brother comes, the elder weeps -. Long is it that I have not played my part in harmony with these processes of transformation. But as I did not play my part in harmony with tion
^
;
such transformation, Lao-^ze said,
'
You
how
? I transform men Khm, you have found
could
will do.
the Tao.' II, v,
Ode
his
nose
is
put
ascribed to Confucius,
is
rarely according to the fact of
^
See the Shih King,
^
Because, as we say,
though
it is
the case.
'
II, 3,
about the sphex. out.'
But the sentiment,
PT.
II.
THE WRITINGS OF ^WANG-3ZE.
SECT.VIII.
BOOK Part
Kho I.
1,
Ihofrained Ideas
own conduct
;
XV.
Section VIII.
II.
or
363
'
Ingrained Ideas
\'
and a hioh estimate of
their
leaving the world, and pursuing un-
common ways
talking
;
disparagement
of
and
loftily
others
;
—
all
this
resentful
in is
simply
symptomatic of arrogance. This is what scholars who betake themselves to the hills and valleys, who are always blaming the world, and who stand aloof like withered trees, or throw themselves into deep ^, are fond of. Discoursing of benevolence, righteousness, loyalty,
pools
and good faith being humble and frugal, self-forgetall this is simply symptomatic of ful and courteous (self-)cultivation. This is what scholars who wish to tranquillise the world, teachers and Instructors, men who pursue their studies at home and abroad, ;
;
are fond
—
of.
Discoursing of their great merit and making a
name for themselves insisting on the ceremonies between ruler and minister and rectifying all this shows the relations between high and low their one object to be the promotion of government. This is what officers of the court, men who honour their lord and would strengthen the state and who
great
;
;
;
^
2
See pp. 146, 147. did Shan-thu Ti.
As
See
in
—
Book VI,
par. 3.
.!)
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
64
would do
utmost to incorporate other states
their
with their own, are fond
of.
and lakes
marshes
Resorting to solitary places
BK. XV.
;
dwelling
in
occupying themselves with angling
;
—
and living at ease all this shows their one object to be to do nothing. This is what gentlemen of the rivers and seas, men who avoid the society of the world and desire to live at leisure, are fond of. Blowing and breathing with open mouth inhaling and exhaling the breath expelling the old breath and taking in new passing their time like the (dormant) bear \ and stretching and twisting (the neck) all this simply shows the desire for like a bird This is what the scholars who manipulongevity. late their breath, and the men who nourish the body and wish to live as long as Pang ^u, are ;
;
;
;
^
fond
;
—
of.
As
who have a lofty who pursue
to those
any ingrained ideas succeed
the path of
crovernment without
in
self-
and righteousness
cultivation without benevolence
who
character without
;
p^reat services or
who enjoy their ease without resorting to the rivers and seas who attain to longevity without the management (of the breath) who forget all things
fame
;
;
;
and yet possess
things
all
;
whose
placidity
is
un-
be valued attend them such men pursue the way of heaven and earth, and
limited, while all things to
:
display the characteristics of the sages. said
is
^
'
-,
This
is
Placidity, indifference,
probably the meaning.
silence,
The
text
is
Hence
it
quietude,
simply
:
— Bear'
passing, bird-stretching.' ^
:
'It is
said
'
cannot answer. racteristics of the
— where We
?
and by
whom
.?
These questions we
have met indeed already with the same cha-
Tao;
but A'wang-jze
is
not likely to be quoting
PT.
II.
SECT.
THE WRITINGS OF X-WANG-SZE.
VIII.
absolute vacancy, and non-action
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; these
365
are
the
which maintain the level of heaven and earth and are the substance of the Tao and its qualities
characteristics.'
In accordance with this it is said, The sage is entirely restful, and so (his mind) is evenly balanced '
2.
This even balance and ease appears and indifference. In this state of even balance and ease, of placidity and indifference, anxieties and evils do not find access to him, no depraving influence can take him by surprise
and
at ease.
his placidity
in
;
virtue
his
complete,
is
and
his
continues
spirit
unimpaired.'
Therefore (like)
it is
(also) said,
the action of
transformation
Heaven
common
ness his virtue
is
the
to
'
;
The and
(all)
same
life
of the sage
his death
things.
is
In his
as that of the Yin,
movement his diffusiveness Yang. He does not take the
is
in
like
He
still-
and
that of the
initiative in
ing either happiness or calamity.
is
the
produc-
responds to
the influence acting on him, and moves as he feels the pressure. He rises to act only when he is obliged
do
to
so.
He
discards
wisdom and the memories
he follows the lines of his Heaven (-given nature) and therefore he suffers no calamity from Heaven, no involvement from things, no blame from men, and no reproof from the spirits of
of the past;
;
His life seems to float along his death seems to be a resting. He does not indulge any
the dead \
himself.
On
;
the
'
It is said,'
and the
five
recurrences of the phrase
Lu Shu-^-ih says that ^wang-^^ze is quoting from sentences current among the adherents of Taoism,â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the sentence-makers often drawn on by Lao-jze; compare the Tao Teh A'ing, ch. xli.
below,
^
See Book XIII, par.
2.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
366
anxious doubts
His
light
is
BK. xv.
he does not lay plans beforehand.
;
without display; his good faith
out previous arrangement.
is
with-
His sleep is untroubled followed by no sorrows.
waking is and pure; his soul is not subject to weariness. Vacant and without self-assertion, placid and indifferent, he agrees with the virtue of
by dreams His spirit is
his
;
guileless
Heaven.' it is said (further), Sadness and pleashow a depraving element in the virtue (of those who feel them) joy and anger show some error in love and hatred show a failure of their their course Hence for the mind to be free from sorrow virtue. and pleasure is the perfection of virtue to be of one mind that does not change is the perfection of
Therefore
'
sure
;
;
;
quietude
;
to
be conscious of no opposition is the to have no intercourse with
perfection of vacancy (external) things
and
to
is
;
the perfection of indifference
have no rebellious
dissatisfactions
the
is
perfection of purity.' If the body and does not rest, it becomes worn out if the spirit be used without cessation, it becomes and when toiled, it becomes exhausted. It toiled is the nature of water, when free from admixture, to be clear, and, when not agitated, to be level while if obstructed and not allowed to flow, it cannot preserve its clearness being an image of the 3.
be
Therefore
it
is
said
(still
further),
'
toiled,
;
;
virtue of Heaven.'
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
Hence
it
said (once again),
is
To
be guileless and pure, and free from all admixture to be still and uniform, without undergoing any change to be indifferent and do nothing to '
;
;
move and to nourish
;
yet to act like
the
spirit.
Heaven
Now
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
this is
the wa}-
he who possesses a
PT.
SECT.
II.
THE WRITINGS OF
VIII.
sword made
Kan-yueh
at
'
JiTWANG-SZE.
preserves
a box, and does not dare to use
;
it
carefully in
it
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
367
it is
considered
But the human spirit - goes forth in all directions, flowing on without limit, reaching to heaven above, and wreathing round the earth beneath. It transforms and nourishes all things, and cannot be represented by any form. Its name is " the Divinity (in man)^" It is only the path of pure simplicity which guards and the perfection of valuable swords.
When
preserves the Spirit.
and not
lost, it
amalgamation,
this ethereal
path
this
becomes one with the
and
;
in
harmony with
acts in
it
preserved
is
Spirit
the orderly operation of Heaven.'
There
men
vulgar saying,
the
is
The
'
multitude of
consider gain to be the most important thing
pure scholars, fame value
ambition
their
who
those
;
sage
the
;
Therefore simplicity
purity.'
of that in which there
is
that in which the spirit
who can embody the True Man
is
simplicity
prizes
essential
the denomination
is
no admixture
purity of
;
not impaired.
and
;
are wise and able
purit}^
It is
whom we
he call
^.
^
for
Both of the seaboard swords produced
the
states of
in
Wu
them.
been the name of a valley or place
weapons made
in
instead of -=p
^,
which
is
it;
found in the
3°
^
Might be translated
^
A
-^
^
-A.7/wan as the '
the subtle
in
Wu, famous
we should read as equivalent to
name
that spirit,
The
something about See the
full
^
j^,
let
human
spirit in the
the reader observe,
See pp. 146, 147, where
I
it.
account of
'
the
the
j^^
spirit.'
subject of the clause,
and not the Tao.
for
-J-*
of Yiieh.
very remarkable use of Ti rifj^) for the
sense of God.
*
unless indeed
and take
and Yiieh were famous
Kan-yiieh appears to have
True Man'
in
Book VI.
is
have said
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
368
BOOK Part
Shan Hsing,
II.
BK. xvi.
XVI.
Section IX.
or 'Correcting the Nature^'
who would correct their nature by I. Those means of the vulgar learning^, seeking to restore it to its original condition, and those who would regulate ^ their desires, by the vulgar ways of thinkseeking thereby to carry their intelligence to
ing,
must be pronounced
perfection,
The
ignorant people.
Tao
be deluded and
to
who
ancients
regulated the
nourished their faculty of knowledge by their
and all through life abstained from they must be employing that faculty in action pronounced to have (thus also) nourished their placidity by their knowledge ^. When the faculty of knowledge and the placidity placidity,
;
^ "^
the
See pp. 147, 148. Vulgar must mean '
'
'
common,' and
'
was an adherent.
The Chinese
used as the opposite of ^*a*
is
the vulgar learning
'
Taoism,
say that
criiics
'
is
of which he
vulgar
'
here
is
true.'
generally explained by
rB[j
,
'
to confuse,' but I
construe the sentence with that meaning of the term.
Khang-hsi
'
popular in the time of our author, and which he
teaching
regarded as contrary to the principles of
3
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
dictionary which I
cannot In the
have followed, the character
is
defined by V'^ with special reference to this passage. *
This sentence
Book.
The
'
is
the clue to the
knowledge
'
is
perception and apprehension.'
author's aim in the whole
defined by
!^
^
' ,
the faculty of
PT.
ir.
THE WRITINGS OF
SECT. IX.
A'WANG-SZE,
369
(thus) blend together, and they nourish each other, then from the nature there come forth harmony and
The
orderly method.
When
orderly method.
Tao)
attributes (of the
Tao
harmony; the
stitute the
(itself)
con-
secures the
the attributes appear in a
we have Benevowhen the path is all marked by orderly method, we have Righteousness when the rightuniversal practice of forbearance,
lence
;
;
and (all) things are regarded with affection, we have Leal-heartedness when the (heart's) core is thus (pure) and real, and carried back to its (proper) qualities, we have Music eousness
is
clearly manifested,
;
when
this sincerity
and
capacity,
with what
its
appears
demonstrations are
elegant,
is
the range of the
in all
in
accordance
we have Ceremony.
If Cere-
monies and Music are carried out in an imperfect and one-sided manner, the world is thrown into confusion. When men would rectify others, and their
own
virtue
tend
itself to
extend
it,
beclouded,
is
them.
they also
The men
2.
If
it
is
not sufficient to ex-
an attempt be made so to
will lose their (proper) nature.
of old, while the chaotic condition
was yet undeveloped \ shared the
placid tranquillit}'
which belons^ed to the whole world. At that time the Yin and Yang were harmonious and still their resting and movement proceeded without any dis;
turbance
;
the four seasons had their definite times
;
not a single thing received any injury, and no living
being came to a premature end.
^
men
These 'men of old were what we ma}'
in the lowest stage of
call
Men '
might be
prhneval
men
; '
development; but which our author
considered to be the highest or paradisiacal condition of their nature.
[39]
B b
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
370
BK. xvi.
possessed of (the faculty of) knowledge, but they
had no occasion
This was what
for its use.
At
the state of Perfect Unity.
is
called
this time, there
was
no action on the part of any one, but a constant manifestation of spontaneity.
This condition (of excellence) deteriorated and Sui-san and Fu-hsi arose and comtill menced their administration of the world ^ on which came a compliance (with their methods), but The condition going on the state of unity was lost. to deteriorate and decay, Shan Nang and Hwang-Ti decayed,
;
arose,
and took the administration of the world, on
which (the people) rested
(in
methods), but
their
did not themselves comply with them.
Still
the
and decay continued till the lords of Thano- and Yli ^ beoan to administer the world. These introduced the method of governing by transdeterioration
formation, resorting to the stream (instead of to the spring)
thus vitiating the purity and
^,
They
destroying
the Tao, and substituted the Good for it, and pursued the After this they forcourse of Haphazard Virtue. sook their nature and followed (the promptings of) One mind and another associated their minds. their knowledge, but were unable to give rest to the Then they added to this knowledge (exworld.
the simplicity (of the nature).
^
^wang-jze gives no
hint
highest condition to have lasted.
Speculum,'
'
the
Fire-producer,'
of
how long he
Sui-san,
whom
'
the
left
considered this
man
Williams
of the Burning
calls
'
the
Pro-
metheus of China,' appears before Fii-hsi, as the first in the line of the Rulers of the world, who broke up the Primal Unity. ^ These were Yao and Shun, named from the principalities over
which ^
'
their fathers ruled.
The streams were '
the
methods of culture Tao were
simple virtues and spontaneity of the
that arose after the lost.
PT.
11.
THE WRITINGS OF KWANGSZE.
SECT. IX.
ternal and) elegant forms,
and went on
to
37
make
The forms
these more and more numerous. tuiguished the (primal) simplicity,
ex-
the mind was
till
drowned by their multiplicity. After this the people began to be perplexed and disordered, and had no way by which they might return to their true nature, and brinor back their origrinal condition. 3.
Looking
from
at the subject
this point of view,
we see how the world lost the (proper) course, and how the course (which it took) only led it further astray \ The world and the Way, when they came together, being (thus) lost to each other, how could the men of the Way make themselves conspicuous in the world ? and how could the world ^
rise to
an appreciation of the
Way ?
Since the
Way
had no means to make itself conspicuous in the world, and the world had no means of rising to an appreciation of the Way, though sagely men might not keep among the hills and forests, their virtue hidden, but not because they themwas hidden ;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
selves souofht to hide
Those whom the
it.
ancients called Retired Scholars' '
did not conceal their persons, and not allow themselves to be seen
and refuse
;
they did not shut up their words,
to give utterance to
them
;
they did not
hide away their knowledge, and refuse to bring it The conditions laid on them by the times forth.
were very much awry. If the conditions of the times had allowed them to act in the world on a great scale, they would have brought back the state of unity without any trace being perceived (of how ^
It is
the
same character
to translate thus differently,
in the text
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; ^\ B
b
2
which
I
have been obliged
â&#x20AC;˘7
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
72
they did
When
so).
deeper
(in
in) their
It
those conditions shut them up
such action, they struck their roots
entirely from
waited.
BK. XVI.
themselves), were perfectly was thus that they preserved
own
still
and
(the
Way
persons.
4. The ancients who preserved (the Way in) their own persons did not try by sophistical reasonings
knowledge they did not seek to embrace (everything in) the world in their knowledge, nor to comprehend all the virtues in it. Solitary and trembling they remained where they were, and sought the restoration of their nature. What had they to do with any further action ? The Way indeed is not to be pursued, nor (all) its characA little teristics to be known on a small scale. to gloss over their
knowledge
;
injurious to those characteristics
is
Way
doings are injurious to the '
They simply
ment
is
what
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;hence
;
it is
small said,
Complete enjoythe Attainment of the
rectified themselves.' is
meant by
'
Aim.'
What was anciently called the Attainment of the Aim did not mean the getting of carriages and '
'
coronets
needed
^
it
;
simply meant that nothing more was
for their enjoyment.
Now-a-days what
is
Attainment of the Aim means the getting of carriaoes and coronets. But carriaores and coronets belong to the body they do not affect the nature When such things happen to as it is constituted. being but for a time, come, it is but for a time their coming cannot be obstructed and their going called 'the
'
;
;
cannot
be
stopped
2.
^
That
^
Because they depend on
ch. 17, 2.
is,
Therefore we
should
not
worldly distinction. others.
Compare Mencius VI,
i,
PT.
II.
SECT. IX.
THE WRITINGS OF iTWANG-BZE.
373
because of carriages and coronets indulge our aims, nor because of distress and straitness resort to the the one of these vulgar (learning and thinking) conditions and the other may equally conduce to ;
our enjoyment, which is simply to be free from If now the departure of what is transient
anxiety.
takes away one's enjoyment, this view shows that what enjoyment it had given was worthless. Hence it is said, 'They who lose themselves in their pursuit of things, and lose their nature in their study of what is vulgar, must be pronounced people who turn things upside down.'
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
374
BOOK Part Kk'iiX I.
The
Shu
'
XVII. Section X.
II.
or
I,
bk. xvii.
The Floods
of
Autumn
^'
time of the autumnal floods was come, and -A all discharging themselves
the hundred streams were
Ho,
into the
that across
its
Its current
was greatly swollen^, so
channel from bank to bank one could
not distinguish an ox from a horse. (Spirit-) earl of the
ing that
all
Ho
^
On
this the
laughed with delight, think-
the beauty of the world was to be found
Along- the course of the river he walked east till he came to the North Sea, over which he looked, with his face to the east, without beino^ able to see where its waters beo-an. Then he began to turn his face round, looked across the expanse, (as if he M^ere) confronting Zo ^ and said with a sigh, What the vulgar saying expresses about him who has learned a hundred points (of the Tao), and thinks that there is no one equal to himself, was surely spoken of me. And moreover, I have heard his
in
charge.
'
^
See pp. 148, 149. (fM ^^^^ perhaps
means
'
turbid.'
It
has nothing to do with
the river A'ing. ^
See Mayers's Manual,
p. 54.
Our author adopts
the
common
beHefs or superstitions of his time, and after his fashion puts his
own
reasonings into the mouths of these mythological personages.
It is
more
of the
difficult to
Northern Sea.
collect the legends about
See the
Zo
of the sea, or
Khang-hsi Thesaurus under
PT.
II.
THE WRITINGS OF X-WANG-RZE.
SECT.X.
375
making little of the knowledge of /vTung-ni and the righteousness of Po-i, and at first I did not parties
Now
believe them.
I
behold the all-but-boundless
had not come to your danger (of continuing in my ignorance), and been laughed at for long in the schools of our great System \' Zo, (the Spirit-lord) of the Northern Sea, said, *A froof in a well cannot be talked with about the extent (of your realms).
gate,
should have been
I
If
I
in
An of — he confined the summer cannot be talked with about — knows nothing beyond own season. A scholar of limited views cannot be talked with about bound by the teaching (which he the Tao; — he sea
to
is
;
his hole.
limits
insect of the
ice
its
it
;
is
Now you have come forth from between your banks, and beheld the great sea. You have come to know your own ignorance and inferiority, and are in the way of being fitted to be talked with about great principles. Of all the waters under heaven there are none so great as the sea. A myriad streams flow into it without ceasing, and
has received).
and afterwards " it discharges filled without ceasing, and yet it is not emptied. In spring and in autumn it undergoes no change it Its supetakes no notice of floods or of drought.
yet
not
is
it
them
;
(also)
;
riority
^
over such streams even as the Alang and the
Thus
the
system of the
Confucian learning and
Tao
have translated here as which is given by Lin Hsi-/'ung. 2
worthies were to the
its
Ho
only as the waters of the
I
if
the
The
to the great sea.
reading
were
^
so far as depends on edidons and dictionaries, is explained in the Khang-hsi dictionary as a great '
sang on the is all
East,' against
evaporated
!
^
^,
correct reading, however,
which the water of the sea
\^'> ^vhich
Rock
in
collects,
is
Fuand
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
2,']6
BK. XVII.
Ho
cannot be told by measures or numbers
that
I
and have never, notwithstanding this, made much of myself, is because I compare my own bodily form with (the greatness of) heaven and earth, and (remember that) I have received my breath from the Yin and Yane. Between heaven and earth I am but as a small stone or a small tree on a great hill. So long as I see myself to be thus small, how should I estimate all within the I make much of myself ? four seas, compared with the space between heaven and earth, to be not so large as that occupied by I estimate our a pile of stones in a large marsh Middle States, compared with the space between the ;
!
four seas, to be smaller than a single rice in a great
the
number
as myriads
granary
When we
!
of things (in existence), ;
and man
is
grain of
little
would
set forth
we speak
of them
only one of them.
Men
occupy all the nine provinces but of all whose life is maintained bv strain -food, wherever boats and Thus, carriages reach, men form only one portion. compared with the myriads of things, they are not equal to a single fine hair on the body of a horse. Within this range are comprehended all (the territories) which the five Tis received in succession from one another all which the royal founders of the three dynasties contended for all which excited the anxiety of Benevolent men and all which men Po-i was accounted famous in office have toiled for. for declining (to share in its government), and Knngni was accounted great because of the lessons which ;
;
;
;
he addressed
much
to
it.
of themselves
They ;
acted as they did, making
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; therein
like
you who a
little
time ago did so of yourself because of your (volume of)
water
!
PT,
THE WRITINGS OF ATWANG-SZE.
SECT. X.
11.
The
Ho
377
Well then, may
I
consider heaven and earth as (the ideal of) what
Is
2.
great,
small
?
earl of the
said,
'
and the point of a hair as that of what is Zo of the Northern Sea replied, No. The '
'
(different) capacities of things are illimitable
never stops, (but ever chancrins^
;
is
always moving on)
;
time
man's
lot is
the end and the beoinninor of thinos
never occur (twice)
men
;
in
the same way.
Therefore
of great wisdom, looking at things far off or
near at hand, do not think them insignificant for
being small, nor much of them for being great
knowing how
capacities differ illimitably.
They
:
ap-
peal with intelligence to things of ancient and recent
occurrence, without being troubled by the remote-
ness of the former, or standing on tiptoe to lay hold of the latter course.
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;knowing that time
They examine with
never stops
in its
discrimination (cases of)
and of want, not overjoyed by success, nor knowing the inconstancy of man's lot. They know the plain and quiet path (In which things proceed), therefore they are not
fulness
disheartened by failure
overjoyed to
live,
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
nor count
It
a calamity to die
:
the end and the beoflnninsf of thlngrs never occurrlnof
same way. must reckon that what men know is not so much as what they do not know, and that the time (twice) In the *
We
since they w^ere born
Is
not so long as that which
elapsed before they were born.
When
they take
most small and try to fill with it the dimensions of what Is most great, this leads to error and confusion, and they cannot attain their end. Looking at the subject In this way, how can }ou
that which
know
is
that the point of a hair
mine the minuteness of what
Is
is
sufficient to deter-
most
small, or that
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
378
heaven and earth are sufficient dimensions of what is most large ?
The
3.
world
earl of the
Ho
said,
say, "
all
bodily form
;
That which and that which
is is
'
BK. xvii.
complete the
to '
The
dispiiters of the
most minute has no most great cannot be
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
encompassed ;" is this really the truth ?' Zo of the Northern Sea replied, When from the standpoint of what is small we look at what is great, we do not take it all in when from the standpoint of what is great we look at what is small, we do not see it '
;
Now
clearly.
the subtile essence
extreme degree
;
largest form.
its
suitability,
But the
is
smallness in
and the vast mass
is
Different as they are, each has
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;according
their
to
its
greatness in its
several conditions.
and the gross both presuppose that Where there is no bodily form, there is no longer a possibility of numerical where it is not possible to encompass a division mass, there is no longer a possibility of numerical estimate. What can be discoursed about in words what can be reached in is the grossness of things subtile
they have a bodily form.
;
;
idea
is
the subtilty of things.
coursed about
by do
nice
in
What
cannot be dis-
words, and what cannot be reached
discrimination of thought, has nothing to
either with subtilty or grossness. '
Therefore while the actions of the Great
himself on his benevolence and kindness
movements
are not
made with a view
;
Man
plume
are not directed to injure men, he does not
while his
to gain,
he
does not consider the menials of a family as mean while he does not strive after property and wealth,
he does not plume himself on declining them while he does not borrow the help of others to accomplish his affairs, he does not plume himself on supporting ;
PT.
II.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
SECT. X.
himself by his
who
those
he
own
strength, nor does he despise greed do what is mean while his conduct from the vultrar, he docs
in their
differs in
379
;
not plume himself on being so different from them while it is his desire to follow the multitude, he docs ;
not despise the glib-tongued
flatterers.
The rank
and emoluments of the world furnish no stimulus to him, nor does he reckon its punishments and shame He knows that the right and the to be a disgrace. wrong can (often) not be distinguished, and that what is small and what is great can (often) not be defined. I have heard it said, "The Man of Tao does not become distinguished is
unsuccessful
of self;"
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
;
the Great
to so great a
;
the greatest virtue
Man
degree
has no thought
may
the lot be
restricted.' 4.
The
earl of the
Ho
said,
'
Whether
the subject
be what is external in things, or Avhat is internal, how do we com.e to make a distinction between them Zo of as noble and mean, and as great or small ? the Northern Sea replied, When we look at them '
'
of the Tao, they are neither noble Looking at them in themselves, each Looking thinks itself noble, and despises others. at them in the light of common opinion, their being noble or mean does not depend on themselves, Lookine at them in their differences from one another, if we call those great which are greater than others, there is nothing that is not great, and in
the
light
nor mean.
in the
We
same way there
is
nothing that
is
not small.
heaven and earth is but (as) a grain of the smallest rice, and that the point such is of a hair is (as) a mound or a mountain the view given of them by their relative size. Lookshall (thus)
know
that
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
380 ing at
them from the
services they render, allowing
which
to everything the service
one which
not serviceable
is
consideration to what
one which
is
BK. XVII.
it
does, there
does not do, there
it
not
is
and, extending the
;
We
not unserviceable.
know
not
is
(for in-
and West are opposed to each and yet that the one cannot be without
stance) that East other,
(suggesting the
idea
the
of)
other
;
— (thus)
their
Looking at them with respect to their tendencies, if we approve of what they approve, then there is no one who may not be approved of and, if we condemn what they condemn, there is no one who may not be condemned. There are the cases of Yao and i^ieh, each of whom approved of his own course, and condemned the other such is the view arising from the consideration of tendency and aim. Formerly Yao and Shun resigned (their thrones), and yet each continued to be Ti A^ih-khwai ^ resigned (his marquisate) which led to his ruin. Thang and Wu contended (for the sovereignty), and each became king the duke of Pai - contended (for AV/u), which led to his extinction. Looking at the subject from these examples of striving by force and of resigning, and from the conduct of Yao (on the one hand) and of A'ieh (on the other), we see that there is a time for noble acting, and a time for share of mutual service
is
determined.
;
;
—
*
;
;
^
See Mencius
notes. ^
"^^
See the
is
II,
ii,
ch. 8,
last
narrative but A.
sixteenth year of duke Ai of Lu, '
The duke
and
I,
ii,
chaps. 10, 11, with the
probably a mistake for -jp.
of Pai
'
—
in the
3o AVnvan, under
the
the year in which Confucius died.
was merely the chief of a district of Khh but Ruler of the State, he was defeated, and
rebelling against the
strangled himself.
one
;
PT.
THE WRITINGS OF ^WANG-3ZE.
SECT. X.
11.
mean;
— these
38
characteristics are subject to
no
I
re-
gular rule.
'A battering ram may be used against the wall city, but it cannot be employed to stop up a
5.
of a hole
;
—the
(horses)
uses of implements are different.
Kh'A\-k\
gallop 1000
li,
and Hwa-liu
but for catching rats
equal to a wild
dog or a weasel
creatures are different.
The
— the
gifts
of
and can discern the
point of a hair, but in bright day
mound
;
in
white horned owl col-
lects its fleas in the night-time,
eyes and cannot see a
The
one day they were not
could
^
or a
it
hill
stares with ;
its
— the natures
of creatures are different.
Hence
Shall we not follow and and have nothing to do with the wrong ? shall we not follow and honour those who secure good government, and have nothing to do with those who produce disorder } " show a want of acquaintance with the principles of Heaven and Earth, and with the different qualities of things. It is like followincr and honourinof Heaven and taking no account of Earth it is like following and honourinof the Yin and takinof no account of the Yang. It is clear that such a course cannot be pursued. Yet notwithstanding they go on talking '
the sayings,
honour the
"
right,
;
—
if
they are not stupid, they are visionaries.
The Ti
sovereigns resigned their thrones to others
so
in
:
one way, and the rulers of the three dynasties
transmitted
thrones
their
He who
to
their
successors
in
from the requirements of his time and contrary to its custom is called an usurper; he who complies with the time
another.
^
Two
of kins'
acts differently
]\Iu's
team of eight famous
steeds.
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
382
BK. xvii.
and follows the common practice is said to be rightHold your peace, O earl of the Ho. How should you know what constitutes being noble and being mean, or who are the small and who the great?'
eous.
The what am I
Ho
Very well. But do ? and what am I not to do ? How am I to be guided after all in regard to what I accept or reject, and what I pursue or put away from me ? Zo of the Northern Sea replied, 'From the standpoint of the Tao, what is noble ? and what earl
6.
of the
said,
*
to
'
is
mean
?
These expressions are but the
extremes of the average
Do
level.
own
different
not keep per-
which put you in are few? and what are many ? These are denominations which we employ in thanking (donors) and dispensing Do not study to be uniform in doing so gifts. it only shows how different you are from the Tao. Be severe and strict, like the ruler of a state who does not selfishly bestow his favours. Be scruputinaciously to your
ideas,
such opposition to the Tao.
What
;
lous, yet gentle, like the tutelary spirit of the land,
when
sacrifice
bestow
his
offered
is
blessing
to
selfishly.
him who does not Be large-minded
whose four terminating points are illimitand form no particular enclosures. Hold all things in your love, favouring and supporting none This is called being without any local specially. like space,
able,
all things are equally regarded no long or short among them. There is no end or beofinnino^ to the Tao. Thincrs indeed die and are born, not reaching a perfect state which can be relied on. Now there is emptiness, and now fulness they do not continue in one form. The years cannot be reproduced time
or partial regard there
;
is
*
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
;
PT.
II.
THE WRITINGS OF
SECT. X.
isTWANG-SZE.
383
Decay and growth, fulness and emptiness, when they end, begin again. It is thus that we describe the method of great righteousness, and discourse about the principle pervading cannot be arrested.
all
The
things.
life
of things
is
like the
hurrying
and galloping along of a horse. With every movement there is a change with every moment there is an alteration. What should you be doing ? what should you not be doing ? You have only to be ;
allowino- this
be
course
of natural
transformation to
oroinof on.' 7.
The
replied,
'
Ho Tao ?
earl of the
so valuable in the
He who knows
'What then
said,
Zo
'
the
is
there
of the Northern Sea
Tao
is
sure to be well
acquainted with the principles (that appear in the Acquainted with (those) procedures of things).
he
principles,
is
how
sure to understand
to regulate
his conduct in all varying circumstances.
that understanding, he injure himself.
Fire cannot burn him
perfect in virtue, nor water
Having
not allow things
will
drown him
;
who
is
to (so)
neither cold
nor heat can affect him injuriously neither bird nor This does not mean that he is beast can hurt him. ;
indifferent to these things
;
it
criminates between where he
means
may
that he dis-
safely rest
and
be in peril that he is tranquil equally that he is careful what in calamity and happiness so that nothing he avoids and what he approaches is heavenly "What said, it is can injure him. Hence
where he
will
;
;
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
what is human is external." The virtue If you know the in what is Heavenly. operation of what is Heavenly and what is Human, you will have your root in what is Heavenly and your position in Virtue. You will bend or stretch
is
internal
;
man)
is
(of
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
384
(only) after the (necessary) hesitation
BK. XVIT.
you
;
have
will
may be pronounced
returned to the essential, and
have reached perfection.' What do you mean,' pursued the earl, by the Heavenly, and by the Human ? Zo replied, 'Oxen and horses have four feet; that is what I call their Heavenly (constitution). When horses' heads are haltered, and the noses of oxen are pierced, that is what I call (the doing of) Man. Hence it is said, " Do not by the Human (doing) extinguish the Heavenly (constitution) do not for your (Human) purpose extinguish the appointment (of Heaven) do not bury your (proper) fame in (such) a pursuit carefully guard (the Way) and do not lose of it it this is what I call reverting to your True to
'
'
'
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
;
;
;
:
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
(Nature)."
The khwei
8.
desires to be like
^
-
the millipede^
the millipede to be like the serpent
wind the wind to be be like the mind ^
like the
eye to
the serpent
;
like the
;
eye
and the
;
said to the millipede, 'With my one hop about, and can hardly manage to go along. Now you have a myriad feet which you can employ how is it that }-ou are so abundantly fur-
The khwei
leg
I
;
nished
The
'
?
millipede said,
you not seen one ejecting portion of portions ^
one
I'he foot.'
It
fall
like
is
down
khwei is 'a The hsien
a
'
It is
saliva
not so.
Have
The
largest
the
smaller
?
while
pearl,
like a
shower of mist
sort of
dragon
has
many
(it
feet;
may
in
be, a
one account
innumerworm) with calls
it
'a
centipede.' ^
Such
is
tors explain ^
the it
meaning of the
by hsien
Compare Book
I,
(^),
lin or lien. '
to covet
The
and
par. 3, towards the end.
best
desire.'
commenta-
THE WRITINGS OF A-WANG-3ZE.
PT. n. SECT. X.
Now
able drops.
put
I
in
motion the springs
me by Heaven, without knowing how The millipede said to the serpent,
in
385
'
I I
set
do so.' go along
by means of my multitude of feet and yet how is it that I do not go so fast as you who have no ;
feet at all
}
The
'
serpent replied,
'
How
can the
method of moving by the springs set in us l)y Heaven be changed } How could I make use of ?
feet
The
I serpent said to the wind, get along by moving my backbone and ribs, thus appearing to have some (bodily) means of progression. But now you. Sir, rise with a blustering force in the North Sea, and go on in the same way to the South Sea How does it seemingly without any such means. The wind said, Yes. With such a take place ? blusterino- force I rise in the North Sea and o;o on to the South Sea. But you can point to me, and therein are superior to me, as you are also in Yet notwithstanding, it is only I treading on me. who can break great trees, and blow down great '
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
'
'
Therefore he
houses.
cannot overcome only he
who
is
Conqueror (of 9.
When
is
whom
all
that
a great overcomer.
the sagely
man
^
that
is
are
small
But it is the Great
all).'
Confucius was travelling
in
Khwang-,
The sagely man is 'the True man,' who embodies the Tao. The Tao has given to the khwei, the millipede, the serpent, and ii may be said also to the wind, their means of progression and action. Nothing is said of the eye and the mind ;â&#x20AC;&#x201D; it was not necessary to ^
dwell on the 2
account of
own
Tao
in
them.
Our author's IX, v and XI, xxii. own, constructed by him to convey his
See Confucian Analects, this
event
is
his
Taoistic lessons. [39]
c c
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
386
some people of Sung
BK. xvil.
and saw him, and you are so pleased?' and I will tell you.
said,
How
*
Confucius
have
I
is
(widi
but he kept
;
singing to his lute without stopping. in,
him
(once) surrounded
a hostile intention) several ranks deep
came
3ze-lu
Master, that
it,
'Come
said,
here,
tried to avoid being
strait for a long time and that have not escaped shows that it was so appointed for me. I have sought to find a ruler that would employ me for a long time, and that I have not Under found one, shows the character of the time. Yao and Shun there was no one in the kingdom reduced to straits like mine and it was not by their
reduced to such a
;
I
;
sagacity that
men succeeded
Under
as they did.
A^ieh and A'au no (good and able man) in the king-
dom
found his way to employment
;
and
for (want of) sagacity that they failed to
it
do
was not so.
It
was simply owing to the times and their character. People that do business on the water do not shrink from meeting ip-uanodons and dragoons that is the courao-e of fishermen. Those who do business on land do not shrink from meeting rhinoceroses and tigers that is the courage of hunters. When men see the sharp weapons crossed before them, and look on death as going home that is the courao-e of the determined soldier. When he knows that his strait is determined for him, and that the employment of him by a ruler depends on the character of the time, and then meeting with great *
;
;
—
—
;
distress
is
yet not afraid
;
—that
my good
sagely man.
Wait,
what there
determined for
is
his leave, saying,
is the courage of the Yu, and you will see
me
in
my
lot.'
A little
armed men approached
afterwards, the leader of the
and took
—
'
We
thought you were
PT.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
SFXT. X.
II.
387
Yang Hu\ and therefore surrounded you. we see our mistake.' (With this) he begged his leave, 10. '
and withdrew.
Kung-sun Lung- asked
When
young,
W'as
I
Now to take
former kings
;
Man
of
Wei
saying,
^',
learned the teachings of the
I
and when
was grown
I
up,
became
I
and
proficient in the practice of benevolence
right-
brought together the views that agreed and disagreed; I considered the questions about I set forth what w^as to be hardness and whiteness eousness.
I
"*
;
affirmed and what was not, and what was allowable
and w^hat was not
;
I
studied painfully the various
schools of thought, and reasoninofs of
all
made myself master
their masters.
of the
thouoht that
I
T
had reached a good understanding of every subject but now that I have heard the words of /i'wang-jze, I do not they throw me into a flutter of surprise. know whether it be that I do not come up to him in the power of discussion, or that my knowledge is not But now I do not feel able to open my equal to his. mouth, and venture to ask you what course I should Kung-jze Mau leant forward on his stool, pursue.' drew a long breath, looked up to heaven, smiled, and 1
2
doubt the Yang Ho of The grandson (Kung-sun)
No
Analects XVII,
i.
of one of the rulers of
Alo
(one of
the three states into which the great state of Bin had been broken He has come down to us as a philosophic sophist, -whose up).
views
it
is
not easy to define.
Book XXXIII, par. 7. ^ Wei was another of the sons of
its
See Mayers's Manual,
the divisions of 3in,
ruler at this time, a great
AVang-jze, and more than a match *
Holding,
it
is
supposed, that
'
and
I\Iau
p.
288, and
was one of
admirer, evidently, of
for the sophist
Lung.
the attributes of material objects,
such as hardness and colour, are separate existences '^so IMayers, :
after
Wylie.
C C 2
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
388 said,
'
Have you
not heard of the frog of the dilapi-
how
dated well, and
"How
Eastern Sea,
it
said to the turtle of the
means of the I
draw
When
my feet
by the fragments of
of the lining proceeded to the water,
keep my chin up, (and have got to the mud, I dive
legs together,
strike out). till
enter,
I
projections formed
tiles
my
I leap upon and having by
enjoy myself?
I
the parapet of this well. the broken
BK. xvii.
I
are lost in
Then
it.
turning round,
that of the shrimps, crabs, and tadpoles there
one that can do entire
command
hesitates to
like
of
me. all
go forward,
I
see
is
not
Moreover, when one has
the water in the gully, and it is
the greatest pleasure to
enjoy one's self here in this dilapidated well
^
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; why
do not you. Master, often come and enter, and see it The turtle of the Eastern Sea (was for yourself?" then proceeding to go forward), but before he had put in his left foot, he found his right knee caught and held fast. On this he hesitated, drew back, and told (the frog) all about the sea, saying, " A distance of a thousand
nor would to
sound
li is
not sufficient to express
its
extent,
thousand cubits be equal In the time of Yii, for nine
(a line of) eight
depth.
its
years out of ten the flooded land
(all drained into it), water was not sensibly increased and in the time of Thang for seven years out of eight there was a drought, but the rocks on the shore (saw) no
and
its
;
Thus
diminution of the water because of
it.
that no change
waters by any
is
produced
in
its
it
is
cause operating for a short time or a long, and that
they do not advance nor recede for any addition or subtraction, whether great or small
;
and
this is the
great pleasure afforded by the Eastern Sea." ^
A
passage
diflicult to
construe.
When
PT.
SECT. X.
II.
the
THE WRITINGS OF
was amazed and
terror-struck,
389
heard
dilapidated well
of the
frog-
A'WANG-3ZE.
and
he
this,
lost himself in
surprise. '
And
enouoh right
is
moreover, when you, to
know where
and what
who have
wTong should
is
not wisdom
the discussions about what end,
desire to
still
see through the words of AVang-^ze, that
employing a mosquito back, or a millipede
^
—tasks
to
equal.
Still further,
enough
to
to carry a
is
like
mountain on
its
Ho runs;
to gallop as fast as the
which both the insects are sure to be un-
know
when
you,
who have
not wisdom
the w^ords employed in discussing
very mysterious subjects, yet hasten to show your sharpness of speech on any occasion that
may
occur,
not this being like the frog of the dilapidated
is
well
?
And
that (AVang-jze) now plants his foot on the Yellow Springs (below the earth), and anon rises to the height of the Empyrean. Without any regard to south and north, with freedom he launches out in every direction, and is lost in the unfathomable. Without any regard to east and west, starting from what is abysmally obscure, he comes back to what is '
grandly
intelligible.
(All
the while), you,
Sir,
in
amazement, search for his views to examine them, and grope among them for matter for discussion this is just like peeping at the heavens through a are not tube, or aiming at the earth with an awl ;
—
;
both the implements too small for the purpose
your ways, '
^
And have you A
graph tell
— a Shang
what.
Go
not heard of the young learners of
different character ;
?
Sir.
A'ii,
from
that for a millipede in the last para-
evidently
some small
insect,
but
we cannot
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
390
BK. xvii,
Shau-ling\ and how they did in Han-tan? Before they had acquired what they might have done in that capital, they had forgotten what they had learned to
do
and were marched back to it on hands and knees. If now you do not go away, you will forget your old acquirements, and fail in your profession.' in their old city,
their
Kung-sun Lung gaped on the speaker, and could not shut his mouth, and his tongue clave to
He
away and ran
slank
its roof.
off.
Awang-jze was (once) fishing in the river Phu ^, Kim ^ sent two great officers to him, with the message, I wish to trouble you with 1 1
.
when
the king of
'
the charge of
all
my
within
/v'wang-jze
territories.'
kept on holding his rod without looking round, and said,
'
have heard that in IC/iu there is a spirit-like wearer of which died 3000 years and which the king keeps, in his ancestral
I
tortoise-shell, the
ago
^,
temple, in a
hamper covered with a
Was
cloth.
better for the tortoise to die, and leave
its
it
shell to
be thus honoured ? Or would it have been better for it to live, and keep on dragging its tail through the mud?' The two officers said, It would have been better for it to live, and draw its tail after it over the mud ^.' Go your ways. I will keep on drawing my tail after me through the mud.' '
'
^
A
cily
of A'ao, as Han-tan was
its capital.
Of
referred to, I have not been able to learn anything.
marched ~
A
'
gives
river,
my
which
idea of still
what
gives
it
its
may have name to
the incident
The
'
were
been.
Phii-Mu, department
^/zao-X'au, Shan-tung. ^ * â&#x20AC;˘"^
Probably king Wei,
b. c.
339-330.
A good antiquity for X/m A species of Testudo Serpentina, !
?
pieces of Japanese lacquer-ware.
such as
is
often seen
on
PT.
THE WRITINGS OF A'WANG-3ZE.
SECT. X.
II.
Hui-^ze being a minister of state
12.
in
39
I
Liang \
A'wancr-ue went to see him.
Some one had
Hui-jze that A'wang-5ze was
come with a wish
told to
on which he was afraid, and instituted a search for the stranger all over the kingdom for three days and three nights. (After this) ATwang-jze went and saw him, and said, 'There " the Young Phoenix -;" is in the south a bird, called —do you know it ? Starting from the South Sea, it never resting but on the flies to the Northern
supersede him
in his office,
;
bignonia^, never eating but the fruit of the melia azederach *, and never drinking but from the purest An owl, which had got a putrid rat, (once), springs. when a phoenix went passing overhead, looked up Do you wish now, to it and gave an angry scream. your possession of the kingdom of Liang, to me with a similar scream ?
in
frighten
'
and
A'wang-jze
13.
dam
the
These thryssas come
ease said,
— that
;
You
'
are not a
Another name
^
when
^
out,
fish
Wei, so called from
for
other
know^ w'hat
capital;
its
said,
at their
The
fishes.'
how do you
;
on
M^alking
former
the
and play about
the enjoyment of
is
were
Hui-3;ze
Hao
over the
—
in the
present department of Khai-fang. the critics explain the
So
2
be
'
the argus pheasant,' or
the bird to
was does not
'
name.
Williams thinks the bird
a variety of the peacock.'
affect the
meaning of our
may
But what
author's reference
it.
^
One
of the
Eleococcae, the Dryandra Cordifolia
of
Thunberg. *
All the editions
The
sense.
which critics. '^
A
I
I
have seen give
^^
have given
;
and not
It is also called
river in the
'
'
which makes no
here,
character should doubtless be
^^,
with the meaning
bamboo,' which
is
found
in
the
the Pride of India.'
department and
district
of Fung-yang, An-hui.
]1^
THE TEXTS OF TAOISM.
392
BK. xvii.
enjoyment of fishes^ ?' A^vang-jze 'You are not I. How do you know that I do not know what constitutes the enjoyment of fishes ?' Hui-,^ze said, I am not you and though indeed I do not fully know you, you certainly are not a fish, and (the argument) is complete against your knowing what constitutes the happiness of fishes.' A'wang-^ze replied, Let us keep to your original question. You said to me, " How do you know what constitutes the enjoyment of fishes ? " You knew that I knew it, and yet you put your question to me well, I know constitutes the rejoined,
'
;
'
;
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
(from our enjoying ourselves together) over the
it
Hao.' ^
Surely a captious question.
We
creatures from their demonstrations.
infer the
feelings of other
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396
.s
TRANSLITERATION OF ORIENTAL ALPHABETS.
Sacred Books of the East TRANSLATED BY
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Professor S.
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Buddhist Texts from Japan. III. The Ancient PalmLeaves containing' the Prac'7/a-Paramita-Hr/dayaSutra and the Ush//isha-Vii;>-aya-Dhara/^i.
Max Muller, M.A., and Bunyiu Nanjio, M.A. With an Appendix by G. Buhler, CLE. With many Plates. Edited by F.
Small
4to, 10s.
Contains facsimiles of the oldest Sanskrit
MS. at
present known.
DhsirmaSa.^no^rs.hs., a7i A^icient Collection
of Buddhist
Technical Terms. Prepared for publication by Kenjiu Kasawara, a Buddhist death, edited by F. Max Muller and H. Wenzel. Small 4to, 7^. 6d.
Priest from Japan, and, after his
Katayana's Sarvanukrama;^i of the 7?/gveda. With Extracts from Vedarthadipika.
Sha<'/guru.fishya's
Commentary
entitled
Edited by A. A. Macdonell, M.A., Ph.D.
i6j.
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS LONDON: HENRY FROWDE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE, AMKN CORNER,
E.G.
Princeton
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