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Chuang Tzu
BOOK X.
PART II. SECTION III.
Khu Khieh, or 'Cutting open Satchels.'
1. In taking precautions against thieves who cut open satchels, search bags, 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
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 collecting
of the things for the great thief. Let me try and set this matter forth. Do not those
who are vulgarly called wise prove to be collectors for the great thieves? And do not
those who are called sages prove to be but guardians in the interest of the great thieves?
How do I know that the case is so? Formerly, in the state of Khi, the neighbouring towns
could see one another; their cocks and dogs never ceased to answer the crowing and barking
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 establishment of the ancestral
temples and of the altars of the land and grain, and the ordering of the hamlets and houses,
and of every corner in the districts, large, medium, and small, were in all particulars
according to the rules of the sages. So it was; but yet one morning, Thien Khang Tzu killed the ruler of Khi, and stole his state. And was it only the state that
he stole? Along with it he stole also the regulations of the sages and wise men (observed
in it). And so, though he got the name of being a thief and a robber, yet he himself continued
to live as securely as Yao and Shun had done. Small states did not dare to find fault
with him; great states did not dare to take him off; for twelve generations (his descendants)
have possessed the state of Khi. Thus do we not have a case in which not only did (the party) steal the state
of Khi, but at the same time the regulations of its sages and
wise men, which thereby served to guard the person of him, thief and robber as he was?
2. Let me try to set forth this subject (still further). Have not there been among those
vulgarly styled the wisest, such as have collected (their wealth) for the great chief?
and among those styled the most sage such as have guarded it for him? How do I know that
it has been so? Formerly, Lung-fang was beheaded; Pi-kan had his heart torn out; Khang Hung was ripped open; and Dze-hsu was reduced to pulp (in the Kiang). Worthy as those four men were, they did
not escape such dreadful deaths. The followers of the robber Kih asked him, saying, 'Has the robber also any method or principle (in his proceedings)?'
He replied, 'What profession is there which has not its principles? That the robber in
his recklessness comes to the conclusion that there are valuable deposits in an apartment
shows his sageness; that he is the first to enter it 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 division
of the plunder shows his benevolence. Without all these five qualities no one in the world
has ever attained to become a great robber.' Looking at the subject in this way, we see
that good men do not arise without having the principles of the sages, and that Kih 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 many;—it follows that the sages benefit
the world in a few instances and injure it in many. Hence it is that we have the sayings,
'When the lips are gone the teeth are cold;'
'The poor wine of Lu gave occasion to the siege of Han-tan;'
'When sages are born great robbers arise.'
When the stream is dried, the valley is empty; when the mound is levelled, the deep pool
(beside it) is filled up. When the sages have died, the great robbers will not arise;
the world would be at peace, and there would be no more troubles. While the sagely men
have not died, great robbers will not cease to appear. The more right that is attached
to (the views of) the sagely men for the government of the world, the more advantage will
accrue to (such men as) the robber Kih. If we make for men pecks and bushels
to measure (their wares), even by means of those pecks and bushels should we be teaching
them to steal; if we
make for them weights and steelyards to weigh (their wares), even by means of those weights
and steelyards shall we be teaching them to steal. If we make for them tallies and seals
to 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 teaching them to steal.
How do I know that it is so? Here is one who steals a hook (for his girdle);—he
is put to death for it: here is another who steals a state;—he becomes its prince.
But it is at the gates of the princes that we find benevolence and righteousness (most
strongly) professed;—is not this stealing benevolence and righteousness, sageness
and wisdom? Thus they hasten to become great robbers, carry off princedoms, and steal
benevolence and righteousness, with all the gains springing from the use of pecks and
bushels, weights and steelyards, tallies and seals:—even the rewards of carriages
and coronets have no power to influence (to a different course), and the terrors of the
axe have no power to restrain in such cases. The giving of so great gain to robbers (like)
Kih, and making it impossible to restrain them;—this is the error committed by the
sages.
3. In accordance with this it is said, 'Fish should not be taken
from (the protection of) the deep waters; the agencies for the profit of a state should
not be shown to men.'
But those sages (and their teachings) are the agencies for the profit of the world, and
should not be exhibited to it. Therefore if 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 set aside in the world, a beginning might be made 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 begin to possess and employ their (natural) power of hearing.
If elegant ornaments were abolished, the five embellishing colours disused, and the eyes
of (men like) Li Ku glued
up, all men would begin to possess and employ their (natural) power of vision. If the
hook and line were destroyed, the compass and square thrown away, and the fingers of men
(like) the artful Khui
smashed, all men would begin to possess and employ their (natural) skill;—as it
is said, 'The greatest art is like stupidity.'
If conduct such as that of Za(Shan)
and Shih (Khiu) were
discarded, the mouths of Yang (Ku)
and Mo (Ti) gagged, and benevolence and righteousness seized and thrown aside, the virtue
of all men would begin to display its mysterious excellence. 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 knowledge, there
would be no delusions in the world. When they possessed and employed their (natural) virtue,
there would be no depravity in the world. Men like Zang (Shan), Shih (Khiu), Yang (Ku),
Mo (Ti), Shih Khwang (the musician), the artist Khui, and Li Ku, all display their qualities
outwardly, and set the world in a blaze (of admiration) and confound it;—a method
which is of no use!
4. Are you, Sir, unacquainted with the age of perfect virtue? Anciently there were Yung-khang,
Ta-thing, Po-hwang, Kang-yang, Li-lu, Li-khu, Hsien-yuan, Ho-hsu, Zun-lu, Ku-yung, Fu-hsi,
and Shan-nang. In their
times the people made knots on cords in carrying on their affairs.
They thought their (simple) food pleasant, and their (plain) clothing beautiful. They
were happy in their (simple) 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 (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 perfect good order prevailed.
Now-a-days, however, such is the state of things that you shall see the people stretching
out their necks, and standing on tiptoe, while they say, 'In such and such a place there
is a wise and able man.' Then they carry with them whatever dry provisions they may have
left, and hurry towards it, abandoning their parents in their homes, and neglecting the
service of their rulers abroad. Their footsteps may be traced in lines from one state
to another, and the ruts of their chariot-wheels also for more than a thousand li. This
is owing to the error of their superiors in their (inordinate) fondness for knowledge.
When those superiors do really love knowledge, but do not follow the (proper) course,
the whole world is thrown into great confusion.
How do I know that the case is so? The knowledge shown in the (making of) bows, cross-bows,
hand-nets, stringed arrows, and contrivances with springs is great, but the birds are
troubled by them above; the knowledge shown in the hooks, baits,
various kinds of nets, and bamboo traps is great, but the fishes are disturbed by them
in the waters; the 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 views, is great, but the common people are perplexed
by all the sophistry. Hence there is great disorder continually in the world, and the
guilt of it is due to that fondness for knowledge. Thus it is that all men know to seek
for the knowledge that they have not attained to; 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 which occasions the great confusion and disorder. It is just as if, above, the
brightness of the sun and moon were darkened; as if, beneath, the productive vigour of
the hills and streams were dried up; and as if, between, the operation of the four seasons
were brought 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 nature. Great indeed
is the disorder produced in the world by the love of knowledge. From the time of the three
dynasties downwards it has been so. The plain and honest-minded people are neglected,
and the plausible representations of restless spirits received
with pleasure; the quiet and unexciting method of non-action is put away, and pleasure
taken in ideas garrulously expressed. It is this garrulity of speech which puts the world
in disorder.
1 See pp. 141, 142.
2 The meaning is plain;
but to introduce the various geographical terms would make the translation cumbrous. The
concluding ### is perplexing.
3 This event is mentioned
in the Analects, XIV, xxii, where the perpetrator of the murder is called Khan Khang Tzu,
and Khan Hang. Hang was his name, and Khang the honorary title given to him after his
death. The family to which he belonged had originally taken refuge in Khi from the state
of Khan in B. C. 672. Why and when its chiefs adopted the surname Thien instead of Khan
is not well known. The murder took place in 482. Hang did not immediately usurp the marquisate;
but he and his successors disposed of it at their pleasure among the representatives of
the old House till 386, when Thien Ho was recognised by the king of Kau as the marquis;
and his next successor but one took the title of king.
4 The kingdom of Khi
came to an end in B. C. 221, the first year of the dynasty of Khin, after it had lasted
through five reigns. How Chuang Tzu made out his 'twelve generations' we cannot tell.
There may be an interpolation in his text made in the time of Khin, or subsequently.
5 See on Book IV,
par. 1.
6 See on Book IV,
par. 1.
7 A historiographer
of Kau, with whom Confucius is said to have studied music. He was weakly and unjustly
put to death, as here described by king Kang, in B. C. 492.
8 Wu Dze-hsu, the
hero of revenge, who fled from Khu 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 Kiang near the present Su-kau;—about B. C. 475.
9 See on Book VIII,
par. 4.
10 This is an instance
of cause and effect naturally happening.
11 At a meeting of
the princes, presided over by king Hsuan of Khu (B. C. 369-340), the ruler of Lu brought
very poor wine for the king, which was presented to him as wine of Kao, in consequence
of a grudge against that kingdom by his officer of wines. In consequence of this king
Hsuan ordered siege to be laid to Han-tan, the capital of Kao. This is an instance of
cause and effect occurring irregularly.
12 There seems to
be no connexion of cause and effect here; but Chuang Tzu goes on in his own way to make
out that there is such a connexion.
13 The verb 'to steal'
is here used transitively, and with a hiphil force.
14 See the Tao Teh
King, ch. 36. Our author's use of it throws light on its meaning.
15 Note 1, p. 186.
16 Note 2, p. 269.
17 A skilful maker
of arrows of the time of Yao,—the Kung-kung of the Shu, II, i, 21; V, xxii, 19.
18 The Tao Teh King,
ch. 45.
19 Note 6, p. 269.
20 Note 7, p. 269.
21 Note 5, p. 261.
22 Of the twelve names
mentioned here the reader is probably familiar with those of Fu-hsi and Shan-nang, the
first and second of the Ti in chronology. Hsien-yuan is another name for Hwang-Ti, the
third of them. Ku-yung was, perhaps, a minister of Hwang-Ti. Ho-hsu has occurred before
in Book IV. Of the other seven, five occur among the fifteen sovereigns placed in the
'Compendium {footnote p. 288} of History' between Fu-hsi and Shan-nang. The remaining
two may be found, I suppose, in the Lu Shih of Lo Pi.
23 See the eightieth
chapter of the Tao Teh King.
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