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Introductory Notes

BOOK XIV. THIEN YÜN.

The contrast between the movement of the heavens (###), and the resting of the earth (###), 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 Hsüan Ying, 'consists of eight paragraphs, the first three of which show that under the sky there is nothing which is not dominated by the Tâo, with which the Tîs and the Kings have only to act in accordance; while the last five set forth how the Tâo is not to be found in the material forms and changes of things, but in a spirit-like energy working imperceptibly, developing and controlling all phenomena.'

I have endeavoured in the notes on the former three paragraphs to make their meaning less obscure and unconnected than it is on a first perusal. The five illustrative paragraphs are, we may assume, all of them factitious, and can hardly be received as genuine productions of Kwang-dze. In the sixth paragraph, or at least a part of it, Lin Hsî-kung acknowledges the hand of the forger, and not less unworthy of credence are in my opinion the rest of it and much of the other four paragraphs. If they may be 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 Lâo and Khung.

Book XIV
Part II Section VII

Thien Yün, or 'The Revolution of Heaven¹.'

1. How (ceaselessly) heaven revolves! Flow (constantly) earth abides at rest! And do the sun 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?

(Then) how the clouds become rain! And how the rain again forms the clouds! Who diffuses them so abundantly? Who is it that, without trouble or exertion on his part, produces this elemental enjoyment, and seems to stimulate it?

The winds rise in the north; one blows to the west, and another to the east; while some rise upwards, uncertain in their direction. By whose breathing are they produced? Who is it that, without any trouble and exertion of his own, effects all their undulations? I venture to ask their cause².

Wû-hsien Thiâo³ said, 'Come, and I will tell you. To heaven there belong the six Extreme Points, and the five Elements⁴. When the Tîs and Kings acted in accordance with them, there was good government; when they acted contrary to them, there was evil. Observing the things (described) in the nine divisions (of the writing) of Lo⁵, their government was perfected and their virtue was complete. They inspected and enlightened the kingdom beneath them, and all under the sky acknowledged and sustained them. Such was the condition under the august (sovereigns⁶) and those before them.'

2. Tang⁷, the chief administrator of Shang⁷, asked Kwang-dze about Benevolence⁸, and the answer was, 'Wolves and tigers are benevolent.' 'What do you mean?' said Tang. Kwang-dze replied, 'Father and son (among them) are affectionate to one another. Why should they be considered as not benevolent?' 'Allow me to ask about perfect benevolence,' pursued the other. Kwang-dze said, 'Perfect benevolence¹³ does not admit (the feeling) of affection.' The minister said, 'I have heard that, without (the feeling of) affection there is no love, and without love there is not filial duty;—is it permissible to say that the perfectly benevolent are not filial?' Kwang-dze rejoined, 'That is not the way to put the case. Perfect Benevolence is the very highest thing;—filial duty is by no means sufficient to describe it. The saying which you quote is not to the effect that (such benevolence) transcends filial duty;—it does not refer to such duty at all. One, travelling to the south, comes (at last) to Ying¹⁰, and there, standing with his face to the north, he does not see mount Ming¹¹. 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 part of love is difficult. If it be easy as a part of love, yet it is difficult to forget¹² one's parents. It may be easy for me to forget my parents, but it is difficult to 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 them all forget me."

'This virtue might make one think light of Yâo and Shun, and not wish to be they¹³. The profit and beneficial influences of it extend to a myriad ages, and no one in the world knows whence they come. How can you simply heave a great sigh, and speak (as you do) of benevolence and filial duty? Filial duty, fraternal respect, benevolence, righteousness, loyalty, sincerity, firmness, and purity;—all these may be pressed into the service of this virtue, but they are far from sufficient to come up to it. Therefore it is said, "To him who has what is most noble¹⁴, all the dignities of a state are as nothing¹⁵; to him who has what is the greatest riches, all the wealth of a state is as nothing; to him who has all that he could wish, fame and praise are as nothing." It is thus that the Tâo admits of no substitute.'

3. Pei-män Khäng¹⁶ asked Hwang-Tî, saying, 'You were celebrating, O Tî, a performance of the music of the Hsien-khih¹⁷, in the open country near the Thung-thing lake. When I heard the first part of it, I was afraid; the next made me weary; and the last perplexed me. I became agitated and unable to speak, and lost my self-possession.' The Tî said, 'It was likely that it should so affect you! It was performed with (the instruments of) men, and all attuned according to (the influences of) Heaven. It proceeded according to (the principles of) propriety and righteousness, and was pervaded by (the idea of) the Grand Purity.

'The Perfect Music first had its response in the affairs of men, and was conformed to the principles of Heaven; it indicated the action of the five virtues, and corresponded to the spontaneity (apparent in nature). After this it showed the blended distinctions of the four seasons, and the grand harmony of all things;—the succession of those seasons one after another, and the production of things in their proper order. Now it swelled, and now it died away, its peaceful and military strains clearly distinguished and given forth. Now it was clear, and now rough, as if the contracting and expanding of the elemental processes blended harmoniously (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 pause:—it was this which made you afraid.

'In the second part (of the performance), I made it describe the harmony of the Yin and Yang, and threw round it the brilliance of the sun and moon. Its notes were now short and now long, now soft and now hard. Their changes, however, were marked by an unbroken unity, though not dominated by a fixed regularity. They filled every valley and ravine; you might shut up every crevice, and guard your spirit (against their entrance), yet there was nothing but gave admission 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. I made (my instruments) leave off, when (the performance) came to an end, and their (echoes) flowed on without stopping. You thought anxiously about it, 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. All amazed, you stood in the way all open around you, and then you leant against an old rotten dryandra tree and hummed. The power of your eyes was exhausted by what you wished to see; your strength failed in your desire to pursue it, while I myself could not reach it. Your body was but so much empty vacancy while you endeavoured to retain your self-possession¹⁸:—it was that endeavour which made you weary.

'In the last part (of the performance), I employed notes which did not have that wearying effect. I blended them together as at the command of spontaneity. Hence they came as if following one another 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 there was no sound. Their movements came from nowhere; their home was in the deep darkness;— conditions which some would call death, and some life; some, the fruit, 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, and yet the regulators of the five notes are all prepared;—this is what is called the music of Heaven, delighting the mind without the use of words. Hence it is said in the eulogy of the Lord of Piâo¹⁹, "You listen for it, and do not hear its sound; you look for it, and do not perceive its form; it fills heaven and earth; it envelopes all within the universe." You wished to hear it, but could not take it in; and therefore you were perplexed.

'I performed first the music calculated to awe; and you were frightened as if by a ghostly visitation, I followed it with that calculated to weary; and in your weariness you would have withdrawn. I concluded with that calculated to perplex; and in your perplexity you felt your stupidity. But that stupidity is akin to the Tâo; you may with it convey the Tâo in your person, and have it (ever) with you.'

4. When Confucius was travelling in the west in Wei, Yen Yüan asked the music-master Kin²⁰, saying, 'How is it, do you think, with the course of the Master?' The music-master replied, 'Alas! it is all over with your Master!' 'How so?' asked Yen Yüan; and the other said, 'Before the grass-dogs²¹ are set forth (at the sacrifice), they are deposited in a 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, he is sure to be often troubled with the nightmare. Now here is your Master in the same way taking the grass-dogs, presented by the ancient kings, and leading his disciples to wander or abide and sleep under them. Owing to this, the tree (beneath which they were practising ceremonies) in Sung was cut down²²; he was obliged to leave Wei²³; he was reduced to extremities in Shang²³ and Kâu²⁴:—were not those experiences like having (evil) dreams? He was kept in a state of siege between Khän and Zhâi²⁵, 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?

'If you are travelling by water, your best plan is to use a boat; 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 Kâu and Lû like the boat and the carriage? To seek now to practise (the old ways of) Kâu in Lû is like pushing along a boat on the dry land. It is only a toilsome labour, and has no success; he who does so is sure to meet with calamity. He has not learned that in handing down the arts (of one time) he is 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? When (the rope of) it is pulled, it bends down; and 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 man. In the same way the rules of propriety, righteousness, laws, and measures of the three Hwangs²⁶ and five Tîs²⁶ 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 to haws²⁷, pears, oranges, 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 it in the robes of the duke of Kâu, it will bite and tear them, and will not be satisfied till it has got rid of them altogether. And if you look at the difference between antiquity and the present time it is as great as that between the monkey and the duke of Kâu. In the same way, when Hsî Shih²⁸ was troubled in mind, she would knit her brows and frown on all in her neighbourhood. An ugly woman of the neighbourhood, 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 was that she, though frowning, was beautiful. Alas! it is indeed all over with your Master²⁹!'

5. When Confucius was in his fifty-first year³⁰, he had not heard of the Tâo, and went south to Phei³¹ to see Lâo Tan, who said to him, 'You have come, Sir; have you? I have heard that you are the wisest man of the North; have you also got the Tâo?' '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.' Lâo-dze said, 'Just so! If the Tâo 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 give 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 out. When that which is given out from the mind (in possession of it) is not received by the mind without, the sage will not give it out; and when, entering in from without, there is no power in the receiving mind to entertain it, the sage will not permit it to lie hid there³². Fame is a possession common to all; we should not seek to have much of it. 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 long. If men see us doing so, they will have much to say against us.

'The perfect men of old trod the path of benevolence as a path which they borrowed for the occasion, and dwelt in Righteousness as in a lodging which they used for a night. Thus they rambled 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; Indifference is easily supplied with nourishment; not borrowing needs no outlay. The ancients called this the Enjoyment that Collects the True.

'Those who think that wealth is the proper thing for 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 things, they are afraid (of losing them). When they let them go, they are grieved; and they will not look at a single example, from which they might perceive the (folly) of their restless pursuits:-such men are under the doom of Heaven³³.

'Hatred and kindness; taking and giving; reproof and instruction; death and life:—these eight things are instruments of rectification, but only those are able to use them who do not obstinately refuse to comply with their great changes. Hence it is said, "Correction is Rectification." When the minds of some do not acknowledge this, it is because the gate of Heaven³⁴ (in them) has not been opened.'

6. At an interview with Lâo Tan, Confucius spoke to him of benevolence and righteousness. Lâo Tan said, 'If you winnow chaff, and the dust gets into your eyes, 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 keep you all the night³⁵ from sleeping. But this 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 lost³⁶? The snow-goose does not bathe every day to make itself white, nor the crow blacken itself every day to 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 to contemplate do not make them greater than they naturally are. When the springs (supplying the pools) are dried up, the fishes huddle together on the dry land. 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 forget one another in the rivers and lakes³⁷.'

From this interview with Lâo Tan, Confucius returned home, and for three days did not speak. His disciples (then) asked him, saying, 'Master, you have seen Lâo 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 Lâo Tan?'

7. Dze-kung³⁸ said, 'So then, can (this) man indeed sit still as a representative of the dead, and then appear as the dragon? Can his voice resound as thunder, when he is profoundly still? Can he exhibit himself in his movements like heaven and earth? May I, Zhze, also get to see him?' Accordingly with a message from Confucius he went to see Lâo Tan.

Lâo 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?' Dze-kung replied, 'The Three Kings and Five Tîs³⁹ ruled the world not in the same way, but the fame that has accrued to them is the same. How is it that you alone consider that they were not sages?' 'Come forward a little, my son. Why do you say that (their government) was not the same?' 'Yâo,' was the reply, 'gave the kingdom to Shun, and Shun gave it to Yü. Yü had recourse to his strength, and Thang to the force of arms. King Wän was obedient to Kâu (-hsin), and did not dare to rebel; king Wû rebelled against Kâu, and would not submit to him. And I say that their methods were not the same.' Lâo Tan said, 'Come a little more forward, my son, and I will tell you how the Three Hwangs and the Five Tîs⁴⁰ ruled the world. Hwang-Tî ruled it, so as to make the minds of the people all conformed to the One (simplicity). If the parents of one of them died, and he did not wail, no one blamed him. Yâo ruled it so as to cause the hearts of the people to cherish relative affection. If any, however, made the observances on the death of other members of their kindred less than those for their parents, no one blamed them⁴¹. Shun ruled it, so as to produce a feeling of rivalry in the minds of the people. Their wives gave birth to their children in the tenth month of their pregnancy, but those children could speak at five months; and before they were three years old, they began to call people by their surnames and names. Then it was that men began to die prematurely. Yü ruled it, so as to cause the minds of the people to become changed. Men's minds became scheming, and they used their weapons as if they might legitimately do so, (saying that they were) killing thieves and not killing other men. The people formed themselves into different combinations;—so it was throughout the kingdom. Everywhere there was great consternation, and then arose the Literati and (the followers of) Mo (Tî). From them came first the doctrine of the relationships (of society); and what can be said of the now prevailing customs (in the marrying of) wives and daughters? I tell you that the rule of the Three Kings and Five Tîs 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 beast⁴². Unable to rest in the true attributes of their nature and constitution, they still regarded themselves as sages:—was it not a thing to be ashamed of? But they were shameless.' Dze-kung stood quite disconcerted and ill at ease.

8. Confucius said to Lâo Tan, 'I have occupied myself with the Shih, the Shû, the Lî, the Yo, the Yî, and the Khun Khiû, those six Books, for what I myself consider a long time⁴³, and am thoroughly acquainted with their contents. With seventy-two rulers, all offenders against the right, I have discoursed about the ways of the former kings, and set forth the examples of (the dukes of Kâu and Shâo; and not one of them has adopted (my views) and put them in practice:—how very difficult it is to prevail on such men, and to make clear the path to be pursued!'

Lâo-dze replied, 'It is fortunate that you have not met with a ruler fitted to rule the age. Those six writings are a description of the vestiges left by the former kings, but do not tell how they made such vestiges; 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 lêi are both male and female, and each individual breeds of itself⁴⁴. The nature cannot be altered; the conferred constitution cannot be changed; the march of the seasons cannot be arrested; the Tâo cannot be stopped. If you get the Tâo, 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 Lâo Tan, and said, 'I have got it. Ravens produce their young by hatching; fishes by the communication of their milt; the small-waisted wasp by transformation⁴⁵; when a younger brother comes, the elder weeps⁴⁶. 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 such transformation, how could I transform men?' Lâo-dze said, 'You will do. Khiû, you have found the Tâo.'

庄子·外篇·天运第十四

“天其运乎？地其运乎？日月其争于所乎？孰主张是？孰维纲是？
孰居无事推而行是？意者其有机缄而不得已乎？意者其运转而不能自
止邪？云者为雨乎？雨者为云乎？孰隆施是？孰居无事淫乐而劝是？
风起北方，一西一东，有上仿徨。孰嘘吸是？孰居无事而披拂是？敢
问何故？”巫咸囗（左“礻”右“召”音ｓｈａｏ４）曰：“来，吾
语女。天有六极五常，帝王顺之则治，逆之则凶。九洛之事，治成德
备，临照下土，天下戴之，此谓上皇。”

商大宰荡问仁于庄子。庄子曰：“虎狼，仁也。”曰：“何谓也？
”庄子曰：“父子相亲，何为不仁！”曰：“请问至仁。”庄子曰：
“至仁无亲。”大宰曰：“荡闻之，无亲则不爱，不爱则不孝。谓至
仁不孝，可乎？”庄子曰：“不然，夫至仁尚矣，孝固不足以言之。
此非过孝之言也，不及孝之言也。夫南行者至于郢，北面而不见冥山
，是何也？则去之远也。故曰：以敬孝易，以爱孝难；以爱孝易，以
忘亲难；忘亲易，使亲忘我难；使亲忘我易，兼忘天下难；兼忘天下
易，使天下兼忘我难。夫德遗尧、舜而不为也，利泽施于万世，天下
莫知也，岂直大息而言仁孝乎哉！夫孝悌仁义，忠信贞廉，此皆自勉
以役其德者也，不足多也。故曰：至贵，国爵并焉；至富，国财并焉
；至愿，名誉并焉。是以道不渝。”

北门成问于黄帝曰：“帝张咸池之乐于洞庭之野，吾始闻之惧，复
闻之怠，卒闻之而惑，荡荡默默，乃不自得。”帝曰：“汝殆其然哉
！吾奏之以人，徵之以天，行之以礼义，建之以大清。四时迭起，万
物循生。一盛一衰，文武伦经。一清一浊，阴阳调和，流光其声。蛰
虫始作，吾惊之以雷霆。其卒无尾，其始无首。一死一生，一偾一起
，所常无穷，而一不可待。汝故惧也。吾又奏之以阴阳之和，烛之以
日月之明。其声能短能长，能柔能刚，变化齐一，不主故常。在谷满
谷，在坑满坑。涂囗（左“谷”右“阝”）守神，以物为量。其声挥
绰，其名高明。是故鬼神守其幽，日月星辰行其纪。吾止之于有穷，
流之于无止。子欲虑之而不能知也，望之而不能见也，逐之而不能及
也。傥然立于四虚之道，倚于槁梧而吟：‘目知穷乎所欲见，力屈乎
所欲逐，吾既不及，已夫！’形充空虚，乃至委蛇。汝委蛇，故怠。
吾又奏之以无怠之声，调之以自然之命。故若混逐丛生，林乐而无形
，布挥而不曳，幽昏而无声。动于无方，居于窈冥，或谓之死，或谓
之生；或谓之实，或谓之荣。行流散徙，不主常声。世疑之，稽于圣
人。圣也者，达于情而遂于命也。天机不张而五官皆备。此之谓天乐
，无言而心说。故有焱氏为之颂曰：‘听之不闻其声，视之不见其形
，充满天地，苞裹六极。’汝欲听之而无接焉，而故惑也。乐也者，
始于惧，惧故祟；吾又次之以怠，怠故遁；卒之于惑，惑故愚；愚故
道，道可载而与之俱也。”

孔子西游于卫，颜渊问师金曰：“以夫子之行为奚如？”师金曰：
“惜乎！而夫子其穷哉！”颜渊曰：“何也？”师金曰：“夫刍狗之
未陈也，盛以箧衍，巾以文绣，尸祝齐戒以将之。及其已陈也，行者
践其首脊，苏者取而爨之而已。将复取而盛以箧衍，巾以文绣，游居
寝卧其下，彼不得梦，必且数眯焉。今而夫子亦取先王已陈刍狗，聚
弟子游居寝卧其下。故伐树于宋，削迹于卫，穷于商周，是非其梦邪
？围于陈蔡之间，七日不火食，死生相与邻，是非其眯邪？夫水行莫
如用舟，而陆行莫如用车。以舟之可行于水也，而求推之于陆，则没
世不行寻常。古今非水陆与？周鲁非舟车与？今蕲行周于鲁，是犹推
舟于陆也！劳而无功，身必有殃。彼未知夫无方之传，应物而不穷者
也。且子独不见夫桔槔者乎？引之则俯，舍之则仰。彼，人之所引，
非引人者也。故俯仰而不得罪于人。故夫三皇五帝之礼义法度，不矜
于同而矜于治。故譬三皇五帝之礼义法度，其犹囗（左“木”右“且
”）梨橘柚邪！其味相反而皆可于口。故礼义法度者，应时而变者也
。今取囗（“援”字以“犭”代“扌”）狙而衣以周公之服，彼必囗
（“龄”字以“乞”代“令”）啮挽裂，尽去而后慊。观古今之异，
犹囗狙之异乎周公也。故西施病心而颦其里，其里之丑人见之而美之
，归亦捧心而颦其里。其里之富人见之，坚闭门而不出；贫人见之，
挈妻子而去走。彼知颦美而不知颦之所以美。惜乎，而夫子其穷哉！
”

孔子行年五十有一而不闻道，乃南之沛见老聃。老聃曰：“子来乎
？吾闻子，北方之贤者也！子亦得道乎？”孔子曰：“未得也。”老
子曰：“子恶乎求之哉？”曰：“吾求之于度数，五年而未得也。”
老子曰：“子又恶乎求之哉？”曰：“吾求之于阴阳，十有二年而未
得也。”老子曰：“然，使道而可献，则人莫不献之于其君；使道而
可进，则人莫不进之于其亲；使道而可以告人，则人莫不告其兄弟；
使道而可以与人，则人莫不与其子孙。然而不可者，无佗也，中无主
而不止，外无正而不行。由中出者，不受于外，圣人不出；由外入者
，无主于中，圣人不隐。名，公器也，不可多取。仁义，先王之蘧庐
也，止可以一宿而不可久处。觏而多责。古之至人，假道于仁，托宿
于义，以游逍遥之虚，食于苟简之田，立于不贷之圃。逍遥，无为也
；苟简，易养也；不贷，无出也。古者谓是采真之游。以富为是者，
不能让禄；以显为是者，不能让名。亲权者，不能与人柄，操之则栗
，舍之则悲，而一无所鉴，以窥其所不休者，是天之戮民也。怨、恩
、取、与、谏、教、生杀八者，正之器也，唯循大变无所湮者为能用
之。故曰：正者，正也。其心以为不然者，天门弗开矣。”

孔子见老聃而语仁义。老聃曰：“夫播糠眯目，则天地四方易位矣
；蚊虻囗（左“口”右上“先先”右下“日”音ｚａｎ４）肤，则通
昔不寐矣。夫仁义惨然，乃愤吾心，乱莫大焉。吾子使天下无失其朴
，吾子亦放风而动，总德而立矣！又奚杰杰然若负建鼓而求亡子者邪
！夫鹄不日浴而白，乌不日黔而黑。黑白之朴，不足以为辩；名誉之
观，不足以为广。泉涸，鱼相与处于陆，相囗（左“口”右“句”）
以湿，相濡以沫，不若相忘于江湖。”

孔子见老聃归，三日不谈。弟子问曰：“夫子见老聃，亦得将何规
哉？”孔子曰：“吾乃今于是乎见龙。龙，合而成体，散而成章，乘
云气而养乎阴阳。予口张而不能囗（左“口”右上“力”右中“力力
”右下“月”音ｘｉｅ２）。予又何规老聃哉？”子贡曰：“然则人
固有尸居而龙见，雷声而渊默，发动如天地者乎？赐亦可得而观乎？
”遂以孔子声见老聃。老聃方将倨堂而应，微曰：“予年运而往矣，
子将何以戒我乎？”子贡曰：“夫三皇五帝之治天下不同，其系声名
一也。而先生独以为非圣人，如何哉？”老聃曰：“小子少进！子何
以谓不同？”对曰：“尧授舜，舜授禹。禹用力而汤用兵，文王顺纣
而不敢逆，武王逆纣而不肯顺，故曰不同。”老聃曰：“小子少进，
余语汝三皇五帝之治天下：黄帝之治天下，使民心一。民有其亲死不
哭而民不非也。尧之治天下，使民心亲。民有为其亲杀其服而民不非
也。舜之治天下，使民心竞。民孕妇十月生子，子生五月而能言，不
至乎孩而始谁，则人始有夭矣。禹之治天下，使民心变，人有心而兵
有顺，杀盗非杀人。自为种而‘天下’耳。是以天下大骇，儒墨皆起
。其作始有伦，而今乎妇女，何言哉！余语汝：三皇五帝之治天下，
名曰治之，而乱莫甚焉。三皇之知，上悖日月之明，下睽山川之精，
中堕四时之施。其知惨于蛎虿之尾，鲜规之兽，莫得安其性命之情者
，而犹自以为圣人，不可耻乎？其无耻也！”子贡蹴蹴然立不安。

孔子谓老聃曰：“丘治《诗》、《书》、《礼》、《乐》、《易》
、《春秋》六经，自以为久矣，孰知其故矣，以奸者七十二君，论先
王之道而明周、召之迹，一君无所钩用。甚矣！夫人之难说也？道之
难明邪？”老子曰：“幸矣，子之不遇治世之君！夫六经，先王之陈
迹也，岂其所以迹哉！今子之所言，犹迹也。夫迹，履之所出，而迹
岂履哉！夫白囗（左上“臼”左下“儿”右“鸟”音ｙｉ４）之相视
，眸子不运而风化；虫，雄鸣于上风，雌应于下风而风化。类自为雌
雄，故风化。性不可易，命不可变，时不可止，道不可壅。苟得于道
，无自而不可；失焉者，无自而可。”孔子不出三月，复见，曰：“
丘得之矣。乌鹊孺，鱼傅沫，细要者化，有弟而兄啼。久矣，夫丘不
与化为人！不与化为人，安能化人。”老子曰：“可，丘得之矣！”

Footnotes

back ¹ See pp. 145, 146.

back ² Down to this we have a description of the phenomena of heaven and earth and of nature generally as proceeding regularly {footnote p. 346"> and noiselessly, without any apparent cause; which is the chief subject of the Book. As the description is not assigned to any one, we must suppose it to be from Kwang-dze himself; and that it is he who asks the question in the last three characters.

back ³ This is said by the critics to have been a minister of the Shang dynasty, under Thâi-mâu in the seventeenth century B. C.; but even Kwang-dze would hardly so violate the unity of time.

back ⁴ Generally means 'the Five Regular Virtues;' supposed to mean here 'the Five Elements.'

back ⁵ Probably the 'Nine Divisions of the Great Plan,' in the Shû King, V, iv, fancied to be derived from the writing, which a tortoise from the Lo river exhibited to the great Yü.

back ⁶ Possibly Fû-hsî, Shän Näng, and Hwang-Tî.

back ⁷ 'Shang' must be taken as the duchy of Sung, assigned by king Wû to the representative of the kings of the dynasty of Shang. 'Tang' would be a principal minister of it in the time of Kwang-dze.

back ⁸ The chief of all the virtues according to Confucianism.

back ⁹ A denomination here for the Tâo, employed by Kwang-dze for the purpose of his argument.

back ¹⁰ The capital of the state of Khû in the south.

back ¹¹ Name of a hill in the extreme north.

back ¹² The Tâo requires such forgetfulness on the part of both giver and receiver; it is a part of its 'doing-nothing.'

back ¹³ I think this is the meaning.

back ¹⁴ The Tâo.

back ¹⁵ This free version takes ### as = ###. So the Khang-list dictionary explains it.

back ¹⁶ Only heard of, so far as I know, in this passage.

back ¹⁷ The name of Hwang-Tî's music; I do not venture to translate it. In his elaborate description of it, our author intended to give an idea of the Tâo, and the effect which the study of it was calculated to produce on the mind; as appears from the concluding sentence of the paragraph.

back ¹⁸ See the usage of the two characters ### in the Shih King, I, ii, Ode 3.

back ¹⁹ Some sovereign of antiquity, of whom it is difficult to find any other mention but this. Even in the Lû Shih I have not discovered him. The name is said to be pronounced Piâo; in which case it should consist of three ###, and not of three ###.

back ²⁰ Only heard of here.

back ²¹ See the Tâo Teh King, ch. 5.

back ²² Analects III, xxii.

back ²³ In consequence of the dissoluteness of the court; Analects VI, xxvi; IX, 17.

back ²⁴ Meaning Sung and Wei.

back ²⁵ Analects XI, ii, i.

back ²⁶ It is impossible to speak definitely of who these three Hwangs (Augustuses) and five Tîs were, or whom the speaker intended by them. The former would seem to lead us to the purely fabulous ages, when twelve (or thirteen) Heavenly Hwangs, eleven Earthly, and nine Human ruled over the young world, for a period of 576,000 years. There is a general agreement of opinion that the five Tîs ended with Yâo and Shun.

back ²⁷ See Williams's Dictionary, sub voc. He says it is the Crataegus {footnote p. 354"> cuneata and pinnatifida, common in China, and much esteemed for its acidity.

back ²⁸ A famous beauty,—the concubine of king Fû-khâi of Wû.

back ²⁹ 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.

back ³⁰ This would be in B. C. 503 or 502, and Lâo-dze would be more than a hundred years old.

back ³¹ Probably in what is now the district of Phei, department of Hsü-kâu, Kiang-sû.

back ³² That is, the sage will not deposit it, where it will lie hidden;—compare Analects XVI, vi.

back ³³ 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' is used in the Confucian sense of Tî, or God. The men here pursued and toiled after the pleasures of the world, rather than the quiet satisfactions of the Tâo.

back ³⁴ See Book XXIII, par. 9. The phrase = ###.

back ³⁵ The common reading ### is a mistake for ###.

back ³⁶ Compare the same illustration in the preceding Book, par. 7.

back ³⁷ This illustration is from Book V1, par. 5.

back ³⁸ Dze-kung would seem to have undertaken this expedition to maintain the reputation of the Master and his school;—only to be defeated by Lâo-dze more signally than Confucius had been.

back ³⁹ These are different probably, though the text is not quite certain, from the three Hwangs and five Tîs of par. 3. The Hwangs (or August Sovereigns) preceded the Tîs; the Kings (Wangs) came after them. The Three Kings are the three lines of kings commencing with the dynasty of Hsü, and following Shun. From the names mentioned by Dze-kung, we ought certainly so to understand the designation here.

back ⁴⁰ See note 2, preceding page.

back ⁴¹ Referring to some abuses, contrary to the doctrine of relationship.

back ⁴² What beast is meant here cannot be ascertained from the characters in the text, ###.

back ⁴³ But with the preparation of the Khun Khiû Confucius's life ended;—it is very plain that no conversation such as Kwang-dze has fabricated here could ever have taken place.

back ⁴⁴ Where had Lâo-dze or his author learned his zoology?

back ⁴⁵ See the Shih King, II, v, Ode II, 3, about the sphex.

back ⁴⁶ Because, as we say, 'his nose is put out.' But the sentiment, though it is ascribed to Confucius, is rarely according to the fact of the case.