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Introductory Notes

BOOK XIX. TÂ SHÄNG.

I have been inclined to translate the 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 that of the Body; here he extends his view also to the Life of the Spirit. 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-dze, is perplexing.

To use the words of Lû Shû-khî:—'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 to the completeness of the spirit there is required the disregard of life or death. In 5 and 6, the words of Thien Khâi-kih convey a warning against injuring the life by the indulgence of sensual desires. In 7, the sight of a sprite by duke Hwan unsettles his spirit. In 8, the gamecock is trained so as to preserve the spirit unagitated. In 9, we see the man in the water of the cataract resting calmly in his appointed lot. In 10, we have the maker of the bell-stand completing his work as he did in accordance with the mind of Heaven. All these instances show how the spirit is nourished. The reckless charioteering of Tung Yê in par. 11, not stopping when the strength of his horses was exhausted, and the false pretext of Sun Hsiû, clear as at noon-day, are instances of a different kind; while in the skilful Shui, hardly needing the application of his mind, and fully enjoying himself in all things, his movements testify of his harmony with Heaven, and his spiritual completeness.'

Book XIX
Part II Section XII

Tâ Shäng, or 'The Full Understanding of Life¹.'

1. He who understands the conditions of Life does not strive after what is of no use to life; and he who understands the conditions of Destiny does not strive after what is beyond the reach of knowledge. In nourishing the body it is necessary to have beforehand the things (appropriate to its support)²; but there are cases where there is a superabundance of such things, and yet the body is not nourished'. In order to have life it is necessary that it do not have left the body; but there are cases when the body has not been left by it, and yet the life has perished³.

When life comes, it cannot be declined; when it goes, it cannot be detained. Alas! the men of the world think that to nourish the body is sufficient to preserve life; and when such nourishment is not sufficient to preserve the life, what can be done in the world that will be sufficient? Though (all that men can do) will be insufficient, yet there are things which they feel they ought to do, and they do not try to avoid doing them. For those who wish to avoid caring for the body, their best plan is to abandon the world. Abandoning the world, they are free from its entanglements. Free from its entanglements, their (minds) are correct and their (temperament) is equable. Thus correct and equable, they succeed in securing a renewal of life, as some have done⁴. In securing a renewal of life, they are not far from the True (Secret of their being). But how is it sufficient to abandon worldly affairs? and how is it sufficient to forget the (business of) life? Through the renouncing of (worldly) affairs, the body has no more toil; through forgetting the (business of) life, the vital power suffers no diminution. When the body is completed and the vital power is restored (to its original vigour), the man is one with Heaven. Heaven and Earth are the father and mother of all things. It is by their union that the body is formed; it is by their separation that a (new) beginning is brought about. When the body and vital power suffer no diminution, we have what may be called the transference of power. From the vital force there comes another more vital, and man returns to be the assistant of Heaven.

2. My master⁵ Lieh-dze⁵ asked Yin, (the warden) of the gate⁵, saying, 'The perfect man walks under water without encountering any obstruction, treads on fire without being burned, and walks on high above all things without any fear; let me ask how he attains to do this⁶?' The warden Yin replied, 'It is by his keeping of the pure breath (of life); it is not to be described as an achievement of his skill or daring. Sit down, and I will explain it to you. Whatever has form, semblance, sound, and colour is a thing; how can one thing come to be different from another? But it is not competent for any of these things to reach to what preceded them all;—they are but (form and) visibility. But (the perfect man) attains to be (as it were) without form, and beyond the capability of being transformed. Now when one attains to this and carries it out to the highest degree, how can other things come into his way to stop him? He will occupy the place assigned to him without going beyond it, and lie concealed in the clue which has no end. He will study with delight the process which gives their beginning and ending to all things. By gathering his nature into a unity, by nourishing his vital power, by concentrating his virtue, lie will penetrate to the making of things. In this condition, with his heavenly constitution kept entire, and with no crevice in his spirit, how can things enter (and disturb his serenity)?

'Take the case of a drunken man falling from his carriage;—though he may suffer injury, he will not die. His bones and joints are the same as those of other men, but the injury which he receives is different:—his spirit is entire. He knew nothing about his getting into the carriage, and knew nothing about his falling from it. The thought of death or life, or of any alarm or affright, does not enter his breast; and therefore he encounters danger without any shrinking from it. Completely under the influence of the liquor he has drunk, it is thus with him;—how much more would it be so, if he were under the influence of his Heavenly constitution! The sagely man is kept hid in his Heavenly constitution, and therefore nothing can injure him.

'A man in the pursuit of vengeance would not break the (sword) Mo-yê or Yü-kiang (which had done the deed); nor would one, however easily made wrathful, wreak his resentment on the fallen brick. In this way all under heaven there would be peace, without the disorder of assaults and fighting, without the punishments of death and slaughter:—such would be the issue of the course (which I have described). If the disposition that is of human origin be not developed, but that which is the gift of Heaven, the development of the latter will produce goodness, while that of the former would produce hurt. If the latter were not wearied of, and the former not slighted, the people would be brought nearly to their True nature.'

3. When Kung-nî was on his way to Khû, as he issued from a forest, he saw a hunchback receiving cicadas (on the point of a rod), as if he were picking them up with his hand⁷. 'You are clever!' said he to the man. 'Is there any method in it?' The hunchback replied, 'There is. For five or six months, I practised with two pellets, till they never fell down, and then I only failed with a small fraction⁸ of the cicadas (which I tried to catch). Having succeeded in the same way with three (pellets), I missed only one cicada in ten. Having succeeded with five, I caught the cicadas as if I were gathering them. My body is to me no more than the stump of a broken trunk, and my shoulder no more than the branch of a rotten tree. Great as heaven and earth are, and multitudinous as things are, I take no notice of them, but only of the wings of my cicadas; neither turning nor inclining to one side. I would not for them all exchange the wings of my cicadas;—how should I not succeed in taking them?' Confucius looked round, and said to his disciples, "Where the will is not diverted from its object, the spirit is concentrated;"—this might have been spoken of this hunchback gentleman.'

4. Yen Yüan asked Kung-nî, saying, 'When 1 was crossing the gulf of Khang-shän⁹, the ferryman handled the boat like a spirit. I asked him whether such management of a boat could be learned, and he replied, "It may. Good swimmers can learn it quickly; but as for divers, without having seen a boat, they can manage it at once." He did not directly tell me what I asked;—I venture to ask you what he meant.' Kung-nî replied, 'Good swimmers acquire the ability quickly;—they forget the water (and its dangers). As to those who are able to dive, and without having seen a boat are able to manage it at once, they look on the watery gulf as if it were a hill-side, and the upsetting of a boat as the going back of a carriage. Such upsettings and goings back have occurred before them multitudes of times, and have not seriously affected their minds. Wherever they go, they feel at ease on their occurrence.

'He who is contending for a piece of earthenware puts forth all his skill¹⁰. If the prize be a buckle of brass, he shoots timorously; if it be for an article of gold, he shoots as if he were blind. The skill of the archer is the same in all the cases; but (in the two latter cases) he is under the influence of solicitude, and looks on the external prize as most important. All who attach importance to what is external show stupidity in themselves.'

5. Thien Khâi-kih¹¹ was having an interview with duke Wei of Kâu¹¹, who said to him, 'I have heard that (your master) Kû Hsin¹¹ has studied the subject of Life. What have you, good Sir, heard from him about it in your intercourse with him?' Thien Khâi-kih replied, 'In my waiting on him in the courtyard with my broom, what should I have heard from my master?' Duke Wei said, 'Do not put the question off, Mr. Thien; I wish to hear what you have to say.' Khâi-kih then replied, 'I have heard my master say that they who skilfully nourish their life are like shepherds, who whip up the sheep that they see lagging behind¹².' 'What did he mean?' asked the duke. The reply was, 'In Lû there was a Shan Pâo, who lived among the rocks, and drank only water. He would not share with the people in their toils and the benefits springing from them; and though he was now in his seventieth year, he had still the complexion of a child. Unfortunately he encountered a hungry tiger, which killed and ate him. There was also a Kang Î, who hung up a screen at his lofty door, and to whom all the people hurried (to pay their respects)¹³. In his fortieth year, he fell ill of a fever and died. (Of these two men), Pho nourished his inner man, and a tiger ate his outer; while I nourished his outer man, and disease attacked his inner. Both of them neglected whipping up their lagging sheep.'

Kung-nî said, 'A man should not retire and hide himself; he should not push forward and display himself; he should be like the decayed tree which stands in the centre of the ground. Where these three conditions are fulfilled, the name will reach its greatest height. When people fear the dangers of a path, if one man in ten be killed, then fathers and sons, elder brothers and younger, warn one another that they must not go out on a journey without a large number of retainers;—and is it not a mark of wisdom to do so? But there are dangers which men incur on the mats of their beds, and in eating and drinking; and when no warning is given against them;—is it not a mark of error¹⁴?'

6. The officer of Prayer¹⁵ in his dark and square-cut robes goes to the pig-pen, and thus counsels the pigs, 'Why should you shrink from dying? I will for three months feed you on grain. Then for ten days I will fast, and keep vigil for three days, after which I will put down the mats of white grass, and lay your shoulders and rumps on the carved stand;—will not this suit you?' If he had spoken from the standpoint of the pigs, he would have said, 'The better plan will be to feed us with our bran and chaff, and leave us in our pen.' When consulting for himself, he preferred to enjoy, while he lived, his carriage and cap of office, and after death to be borne to the grave on the ornamented carriage, with the canopy over his coffin. Consulting for the pigs, he did not think of these things, but for himself he would have chosen them. Why did he think so differently (for himself and) for the pigs¹⁶?

7. (Once), when duke Hwan¹⁷ was hunting by a marsh, with Kwan Kung¹⁸ driving the carriage, he saw a ghost. Laying his hand on that of Kwan Kung, he said to him, 'Do you see anything, Father Kung?' 'Your servant sees nothing,' was the reply. The duke then returned, talking incoherently and becoming ill, so that for several days he did not go out. Among the officers of Khî there was a Hwang-dze Kâo-âo¹⁹, who said to the duke, 'Your Grace is injuring yourself; how could a ghost injure you? When a paroxysm of irritation is dispersed, and the breath does not return (to the body), what remains in the body is not sufficient for its wants. When it ascends and does not descend, the patient becomes accessible to gusts of anger. When it descends and does not ascend, he loses his memory of things. When it neither ascends nor descends, but remains about the heart in the centre of the body, it makes him ill.' The duke said, 'Yes, but are there ghostly sprites²⁰?' The officer replied, 'There are about mountain tarns there is the Lî; about furnaces, the Khieh; about the dust-heaps inside the door, the Lei-thing. In low-lying places in the north-east, the Pei-a and Wa-lung leap about, and in similar places in the north-west there dwells the Yî-yang. About rivers there is the Wang-hsiang; about mounds, the Hsin; about hills, the Khwei; about wilds, the Fang-hwang; about marshes, the Wei-tho.' 'Let me ask what is the Wei-tho like?' asked the duke. Hwang-dze said, 'It is the size of the nave of a chariot wheel, and the length of the shaft. It wears a purple robe and a red cap. It dislikes the rumbling noise of chariot wheels, and, when it hears it, it puts both its hands to its head and stands up. He who sees it is likely to become the leader of all the other princes.' Duke Hwan burst out laughing and said, 'This was what I saw.' On this he put his robes and cap to rights, and made Hwang-dze sit with him. Before the day was done, his illness was quite gone, he knew not how.

8. Kî Hsing-dze was rearing a fighting-cock for the king²¹. Being asked after ten days if the bird were ready, he said, 'Not yet; he is still vain and quarrelsome, and relies on his own vigour.' Being asked the same after other ten days, he said, 'Not yet; he still responds to the crow and the appearance of another bird.' After ten days more, he replied, 'Not yet. He still looks angrily, and is full of spirit.' When a fourth ten days had passed, he replied to the question, 'Nearly so. Though another cock crows, it makes no change in him. To look at him, you would say he was a cock of wood. His quality is complete. No other cock will dare to meet him, but will run from him.'

9. Confucius was looking at the cataract near the gorge of Lü²², which fell a height of 240 cubits, and the spray of which floated a distance of forty lî, (producing a turbulence) in which no tortoise, gavial, fish, or turtle could play. He saw, however, an old man swimming about in it, as if he had sustained Some great calamity, and wished to end his life. Confucius made his disciples hasten along the stream to rescue the man; and by the time they had gone several hundred paces, he was walking along singing, with his hair dishevelled, and enjoying himself at the foot of the embankment. Confucius followed and asked him, saying, 'I thought you were a sprite; but, when I look closely at you, I see that you are a man. Let me ask if you have any particular way of treading the water.' The man said, 'No, I have no particular way. I began (to learn the art) at the very earliest time; as I grew up, it became my nature to practise it; and my success in it is now as sure as fate. I enter and go down with the water in the very centre of its whirl, and come up again with it when it whirls the other way. I follow the way of the water, and do nothing contrary to it of myself;—this is how I tread it.' Confucius said, 'What do you mean by saying that you began to learn the art at the very earliest time; that as you grew up, it became your nature to practise it, and that your success in it now is as sure as fate?' The man replied, 'I was born among these hills and lived contented among them;—that was why I say that I have trod this water from my earliest time. I grew up by it, and have been happy treading it;—that is why I said that to tread it had become natural to me. I know not how I do it, and yet I do it;—that is why I say that my success is as sure as fate.'

10. Khing, the Worker in Rottlera²³ wood, carved a bell-stand²⁴, and when it was completed, all who saw it were astonished as if it were the work of spirits. The marquis of Lû went to see it, and asked by what art he had succeeded in producing it. 'Your subject is but a mechanic,' was the reply; 'what art should I be possessed of? Nevertheless, there is one thing (which I will mention), When your servant had undertaken to make the bell-stand, I did not venture to waste any of my power, and felt it necessary to fast in order to compose my mind. After fasting for three days, I did not presume to think of any congratulation, reward, rank, or emolument (which I might obtain by the execution of my task); after fasting five days, I did not presume to think of the condemnation or commendation (which it would produce), or of the skill or want of skill (which it might display). At the end of the seven days, I had forgotten all about myself;—my four limbs and my whole person. By this time the thought of your Grace's court (for which I was to make the thing) had passed away; everything that could divert my mind from exclusive devotion to the exercise of my skill had disappeared. Then I went into the forest, and looked at the natural forms of the trees. When I saw one of a perfect form, then the figure of the bell-stand rose up to my view, and I applied my hand to the work. Had I not met with such a tree, I must have abandoned the object; but my Heaven-given faculty and the Heaven-given qualities of the wood were concentrated on it. So it was that my spirit was thus engaged in the production of the bell-stand.'

11. Tung-yê Kî²⁵ was introduced to duke Kwang²⁶ to exhibit his driving. His horses went forwards and backwards with the straightness of a line, and wheeled to the right and the left with the exactness of a circle. The duke thought that the lines and circles could not be surpassed if they were woven with silken strings, and told him to make a hundred circuits on the same lines. On the road Yen Ho²⁷ met the equipage, and on entering (the palace), and seeing the duke, he said, 'Kî's horses will break down,' but the duke was silent, and gave him no reply. After a little the horses did come back, having broken down; and the duke then said,' How did you know that it would be so?' Yen Ho said, 'The horses were exhausted, and he was still urging them on. It was this which made me say that they would break down.'

12. The artisan Shui²⁸ made things round (and square) more exactly than if he had used the circle and square. The operation of his fingers on (the forms of) things was like the transformations of them (in nature), and required no application of his mind; and so his Intelligence ²⁹ I was entire and encountered no resistance.

13. To be unthought of by the foot that wears it is the fitness of a shoe; to be unthought of by the waist is the fitness of a girdle. When one's wisdom does not think of the right or the wrong (of a question under discussion), that shows the suitability of the mind (for the question); when one is conscious of no inward change, or outward attraction, that shows the mastery of affairs. He who perceives at once the fitness, and never loses the sense of it, has the fitness that forgets all about what is fitting.

14. There was a Sun Hsiû³⁰ who went to the door of Dze-pien Khing-dze, and said to him in a strange perturbed way, 'When I lived in my village, no one took notice of me, but all said that I did not cultivate (my fields); in a time of trouble and attack, no one took notice of me, but all said that I had no courage. But that I did not cultivate my fields, was really because I never met with a good year; and that I did not do service for our ruler, was because I did not meet with the suitable opportunity to do so. I have been sent about my business by the villagers, and am driven away by the registrars of the district;—what is my crime? O Heaven! how is it that I have met with such a fate?'

Pien-dze³¹ said to him, 'Have you not heard how the perfect man deals with himself? He forgets that be has a liver and gall. He takes no thought of his ears and eyes. He seems lost and aimless beyond the dust and dirt of the world, and enjoys himself at ease in occupations untroubled by the affairs of business. He may be described as acting and yet not relying on what he does, as being superior and yet not using his superiority to exercise any control. But now you would make a display of your wisdom to astonish the ignorant; you would cultivate your person to make the inferiority of others more apparent; you seek to shine as if you were carrying the sun and moon in your hands. That you are complete in your bodily frame, and possess all its nine openings; that you have not met with any calamity in the middle of your course, such as deafness, blindness, or lameness, and can still take your place as a man among other men;—in all this you are fortunate. What leisure have you to murmur against Heaven? Go away, Sir.'

Sun-dze on this went out, and Pien-dze went inside. Having sitten down, after a little time he looked up to heaven, and sighed. His disciples asked him why he sighed, and he said to them, 'Hsiû came to me a little while ago, and I told him the characteristics of the perfect man. I am afraid he will be frightened, and get into a state of perplexity.' His disciples said, 'Not so. If what he said was right, and what you said was wrong, the wrong will certainly not be able to perplex the right. If what he said was wrong, and what you said was right, it was just because he was perplexed that he came to you. What was your fault in dealing with him as you did?' Pien-dze said, 'Not so. Formerly a bird came, and took up its seat in the suburbs of Lû³². The ruler of Lû was pleased with it, and provided an ox, a sheep, and a pig to feast it, causing also the Kiû-shâo to be performed to delight it. But the bird began to be sad, looked dazed, and did not venture to eat or drink. This was what is called "Nourishing a bird, as you would nourish yourself." He who would nourish a bird as a bird should be nourished should let it perch in a deep forest, or let it float on a river or lake, or let it find its food naturally and undisturbed on the level dry ground. Now Hsiû (came to me), a man of slender intelligence, and slight information, and I told him of the characteristics of the perfect man, it was like using a carriage and horses to convey a mouse, or trying to delight a quail with the music of bells and drums;could the creatures help being frightened?'

庄子·外篇·达生第十九

达生之情者，不务生之所无以为；达命之情者，不务知之所无奈何
。养形必先之以物，物有余而形不养者有之矣。有生必先无离形，形
不离而生亡者有之矣。生之来不能却，其去不能止。悲夫！世之人以
为养形足以存生，而养形果不足以存生，则世奚足为哉！虽不足为而
不可不为者，其为不免矣！夫欲免为形者，莫如弃世。弃世则无累，
无累则正平，正平则与彼更生，更生则几矣！事奚足遗弃而生奚足遗
？弃事则形不劳，遗生则精不亏。夫形全精复，与天为一。天地者，
万物之父母也。合则成体，散则成始。形精不亏，是谓能移。精而又
精，反以相天。

子列子问关尹曰：“至人潜行不窒，蹈火不热，行乎万物之上而不
栗。请问何以至于此？”关尹曰：“是纯气之守也，非知巧果敢之列
。居，予语女。凡有貌象声色者，皆物也，物与物何以相远！夫奚足
以至乎先！是色而已。则物之造乎不形，而止乎无所化。夫得是而穷
之者，物焉得而止焉！彼将处乎不淫之度，而藏乎无端之纪，游乎万
物之所终始。壹其性，养其气，合其德，以通乎物之所造。夫若是者
，其天守全，其神无隙，物奚自入焉！夫醉者之坠车，虽疾不死。骨
节与人同而犯害与人异，其神全也。乘亦不知也，坠亦不知也，死生
惊惧不入乎其胸中，是故囗（“逆”字的右上加“口口”音ｅ４）物
而不囗（“摺”字以“忄”代“扌”音ｓｈｅ４）。彼得全于酒而犹
若是，而况全于天乎？圣人藏于天，故莫之能伤也。复仇者，不折镆
干；虽有忮心者，不怨飘瓦，是以天下平均。故无攻战之乱，无杀戮
之刑者，由此道也。不开人之天，而开天之天。开天者德生，开人者
贼生。不厌其天，不忽于人，民几乎以其真。”

仲尼适楚，出于林中，见佝偻者承蜩，犹掇之也。仲尼曰：“子巧
乎，有道邪？”曰：“我有道也。五六月累丸二而不坠，则失者锱铢
；累三而不坠，则失者十一；累五而不坠，犹掇之也。吾处身也，若
蹶株拘；吾执臂也，若槁木之枝。虽天地之大，万物之多，而唯蜩翼
之知。吾不反不侧，不以万物易蜩之翼，何为而不得！”孔子顾谓弟
子曰：“用志不分，乃凝于神。其佝偻丈人之谓乎！”

颜渊问仲尼曰：“吾尝济乎觞深之渊，津人操舟若神。吾问焉曰：
‘操舟可学邪？’曰：‘可。善游者数能。若乃夫没人，则未尝见舟
而便操之也。’吾问焉而不吾告，敢问何谓也？”仲尼曰：“善游者
数能，忘水也；若乃夫没人之未尝见舟而便操之也，彼视渊若陵，视
舟若履，犹其车却也。覆却万方陈乎前而不得入其舍，恶往而不暇！
以瓦注者巧，以钩注者惮，以黄金注者囗（左“歹”右“昏”音ｈｕ
ｎ１）。其巧一也，而有所矜，则重外也。凡外重者内拙。”

田开之见周威公，威公曰：“吾闻祝肾学生，吾子与祝肾游，亦何
闻焉？”田开之曰：“开之操拔囗（上“竹”下“彗”音ｈｕｉ４）
以侍门庭，亦何闻于夫子！”威公曰：“田子无让，寡人愿闻之。”
开之曰：“闻之夫子曰：‘善养生者，若牧羊然，视其后者而鞭之。
’”威公曰：“何谓也？”田开之曰：“鲁有单豹者，岩居而水饮，
不与民共利，行年七十而犹有婴儿之色，不幸遇饿虎，饿虎杀而食之
。有张毅者，高门县薄，无不走也，行年四十而有内热之病以死。豹
养其内而虎食其外，毅养其外而病攻其内。此二子者，皆不鞭其后者
也。”仲尼曰：“无入而藏，无出而阳，柴立其中央。三者若得，其
名必极。夫畏涂者，十杀一人，则父子兄弟相戒也，必盛卒徒而后敢
出焉，不亦知乎！人之所取畏者，衽席之上，饮食之间，而不知为之
戒者，过也！”

祝宗人玄端以临牢柙说彘，曰：“汝奚恶死！吾将三月囗（“物”
字以“豢”代“勿”音ｈｕａｎ４）汝，十日戒，三日齐，藉白茅，
加汝肩尻乎雕俎之上，则汝为之乎？”为彘谋曰：“不如食以糠糟而
错之牢柙之中。”自为谋，则苟生有轩冕之尊，死得于囗（左“月”
右“彖”音ｚｈｕａｎ４）囗（左“木”右“盾”音ｓｈｕｎ３）之
上、聚偻之中则为之。为彘谋则去之，自为谋则取之，所异彘者何也
！

桓公田于泽，管仲御，见鬼焉。公抚管仲之手曰：“仲父何见？”
对曰：“臣无所见。”公反，诶诒为病，数日不出。齐士有皇子告敖
者，曰：“公则自伤，鬼恶能伤公！夫忿囗（左“氵”右“畜”）之
气，散而不反，则为不足；上而不下，则使人善怒；下而不上，则使
人善忘；不上不下，中身当心，则为病。”桓公曰：“然则有鬼乎？
”曰：“有。沈有履。灶有髻。户内之烦壤，雷霆处之；东北方之下
者倍阿，鲑囗（上“龙”下“虫”音ｌｏｎｇ２）跃之；西北方之下
者，则囗（左“氵”右“失”音ｙｉ４）阳处之。水有罔象，丘有囗
（上“山”下“辛”音ｓｈｅｎ１），山有夔，野有彷徨，泽有委蛇
。”公曰：“请问委蛇之伏状何如？”皇子曰：“委蛇，其大如毂，
其长如辕，紫衣而朱冠。其为物也恶，闻雷车之声则捧其首而立。见
之者殆乎霸。”桓公囗（左“单”右“辰”音ｚｈｅｎ３）然而笑曰
：“此寡人之所见者也。”于是正衣冠与之坐，不终日而不知病之去
也。

纪囗（左“氵”右“省”音ｓｈｅｎｇ３）子为王养斗鸡。十日而
问：“鸡已乎？”曰：“未也，方虚骄而恃气。”十日又问，曰：“
未也，犹应向景。”十日又问，曰：“未也，犹疾视而盛气。”十日
又问，曰：“几矣，鸡虽有鸣者，已无变矣，望之似木鸡矣，其德全
矣。异鸡无敢应者，反走矣。”

孔子观于吕梁，县水三十仞，流沫四十里，鼋鼍鱼鳖之所不能游也
。见一丈夫游之，以为有苦而欲死也。使弟子并流而拯之。数百步而
^M 出，被发行歌而游于塘下。孔子从而问焉，曰：“吾以子为鬼，察子
则人也。请问：蹈水有道乎？”曰：“亡，吾无道。吾始乎故，长乎
性，成乎命。与齐俱入，与汩偕出，从水之道而不为私焉。此吾所以
蹈之也。”孔子曰：“何谓始乎故，长乎性，成乎命？”曰：“吾生
于陵而安于陵，故也；长于水而安于水，性也；不知吾所以然而然，
命也。”

梓庆削木为囗（“遽”字以“钅”代“辶”音ｊｕｕ４），囗成，
见者惊犹鬼神。鲁侯见而问焉，曰：“子何术以为焉？”对曰：“臣
，工人，何术之有！虽然，有一焉：臣将为ｊｕｕ４，未尝敢以耗气
也，必齐以静心。齐三日，而不敢怀庆赏爵禄；齐五日，不敢怀非誉
巧拙；齐七日，辄然忘吾有四枝形体也。当是时也，无公朝。其巧专
而外骨消，然后入山林，观天性形躯，至矣，然后成ｊｕｕ４，然后
加手焉，不然则已。则以天合天，器之所以疑神者，其是与！”

东野稷以御见庄公，进退中绳，左右旋中规。庄公以为文弗过也。
使之钩百而反。颜阖遇之，入见曰：“稷之马将败。”公密而不应。
少焉，果败而反。公曰：“子何以知之？”曰：“其马力竭矣而犹求
焉，故曰败。”

工囗（“睡”字以“亻”代“目”音ｃｈｕｉ２）旋而盖规矩，指
与物化而不以心稽，故其灵台一而不桎。忘足，履之适也；忘要，带
之适也；知忘是非，心之适也；不内变，不外从，事会之适也；始乎
适而未尝不适者，忘适之适也。

有孙休者，踵门而诧子扁庆子曰：“休居乡不见谓不修，临难不见
谓不勇。然而田原不遇岁，事君不遇世，宾于乡里，逐于州部，则胡
罪乎天哉？休恶遇此命也？”扁子曰：“子独不闻夫至人之自行邪？
忘其肝胆，遗其耳目，芒然彷徨乎尘垢之外，逍遥乎无事之业，是谓
为而不恃，长而不宰。今汝饰知以惊愚，修身以明囗（左“氵”右“
于”），昭昭乎若揭日月而行也。汝得全而形躯，具而九窍，无中道
夭于聋盲跛蹇而比于人数亦幸矣，又何暇乎天之怨哉！子往矣！”孙
子出，扁子入。坐有间，仰天而叹。弟子问曰：“先生何为叹乎？”
扁子曰∶“向者休来，吾告之以至人之德，吾恐其惊而遂至于惑也。
”弟子曰：“不然。孙子之所言是邪，先生之所言非邪，非固不能惑
是；孙子所言非邪，先生所言是邪，彼固惑而来矣，又奚罪焉！”扁
子曰：“不然。昔者有鸟止于鲁郊，鲁君说之，为具太牢以飨之，奏
九韶以乐之。鸟乃始忧悲眩视，不敢饮食。此之谓以己养养鸟也。若
夫以鸟养养鸟者，宜栖之深林，浮之江湖，食之以委蛇，则安平陆而
已矣。今休，款启寡闻之民也，吾告以至人之德，譬之若载鼷以车马
，乐囗（左“安”右“鸟”音ｙａｎ４）以钟鼓也，彼又恶能无惊乎
哉！”

Footnotes

back ¹ See vol. xxxix, pp. 150, 151.

back ² Wealth will supply abundantly the things that are necessary and fit for the nourishment of the body, but sudden death may render them unavailing.

back ³ That is, the higher fife of the spirit has perished.

back ⁴ I think I have caught the meaning. The phrase signifying 'the renewal of life' has been used to translate 'being born again' in John's Gospel, ch. 3.

back ⁵ We find here Lieh-dze (whose name has already occurred several times) in communication with the warden Yin, who was a contemporary of Lâo-dze, and we must refer him therefore to the sixth century B.C. He could not therefore be contemporary with our author, and yet the three characters of the text mean 'My Master, Lieh-dze;' and the whole of the paragraph is found in Lieh-dze's second Book (4a-5a) with a good many variants in the text. {footnote p. 13"> The gate was at the passage leading from the Royal Domain of those days into the great feudal territory of Zin;—from the north-west of the present province of Ho-nan into Shen-hsî.

back ⁶ Lieh-dze puts an absurd question to the warden, which is replied to at length, and unsatisfactorily. We need not discuss either the question or the answer in this place.

back ⁷ This paragraph is also found with variations in Lieh-dze, {footnote p. 15} Bk. II (9^a). The dexterity of the hunchback in catching the cicadas will remind some readers of the account given by the butcher in Book III of his dexterity in cutting up his oxen.

back ⁸ The names of two small weights, used anciently for 'a fraction,' 'a small proportion.'

back ⁹ This is another paragraph common both to our author and Lieh-dze, but in neither is there any intimation of the place.

back ¹⁰ I think this is the meaning. ### is defined by ###, 'to compete for anything by archery.'

back ¹¹ We have no information about who these personages and the others below were, and I have missed the story, if it be in Lieh-dze. The duke, it will be seen, had the appanage of Kâu.

back ¹² Pay more attention to any part of their culture which they are neglecting.

back ¹³ It served its purpose there, but had not been put in its place with any special object.

back ¹⁴ This may seem to nourish the body, but in reality injures the life.

back ¹⁵ Who had the charge also of the sacrifices.

back ¹⁶ Lin Hsî-hung says that the story shows the many troubles that arise from not renouncing the world. Ensnared by the world, men sacrifice for it their higher life, and are not so wise as pigs are for their life. The short paragraph bristles with difficulties.

back ¹⁷ The first of the leading chieftains among the princes; B.C. 683-642.

back ¹⁸ His chief minister.

back ¹⁹ An officer introduced here for the occasion, by surname Hwang, and designation Kâo-âo. The Dze simply = Mr.

back ²⁰ The commentators have a deal to say about the folklore of the various sprites mentioned. 'The whole shows that ghostly sprites are the fruit of a disordered mind.' It is a touch of nature that the prince recovers as soon as he knows that the ghost he had seen was of good presage.

back ²¹ According to the Lieh-dze version of this story (Bk. II, 17^b) the king was king Hsüan, B.C. 827-782. The trainer's rule seems to have been that his bird should meet its antagonist, with all its vigour complete and undisturbed, and not wishing to fight.

back ²² I think that there are two versions of this story in Lieh-dze. In Bk. VIII (4^b, 5^a), it appears that Confucius was on his way from Wei to Lû, when he stopped his carriage or cart at this spot to view the cataract, and the incident occurred, and he took the opportunity to give the lesson to his disciples.

back ²³ The Dze or rottlera was and is a very famous tree, called 'the king of trees,' from its stately appearance and the excellence of its timber.

back ²⁴ The 'bell-stand' is celebrated in the Shih King, III, i, Ode 8. A complete peal consisted of twelve bells, suspended in two tiers one above the other.

back ²⁵ Ki would be the name of the charioteer, a gentleman of La, called Tung-yê, 'eastern country,' I suppose from the situation of his estate.

back ²⁶ Duke Kwang would be the marquis Thung of Lû, B.C. 693-662.

back ²⁷ Yen Ho was probably the chief of the Yen family at the time. A scion of it, Yen Hui, afterwards became the favourite disciple of Confucius. He could hardly be the same Yen Ho who is mentioned in Bk. IV, par. 5. Ki has had, and still has, his representatives in every country.

back ²⁸ Shui is mentioned in the Shû King, V, xxii, 19, as a famous maker of arrows. Some carry him back to the time of Shun.

back ²⁹ Literally, 'Tower of intelligence,'—a Tâoistic name for the mind.

back ³⁰ A weakling, of whom we know only what we read here.

back ³¹ This must have been a man of more note. We find him here with a school of disciples in his house, and sought out for counsel by men like Sun Hsiû.

back ³² Compare par. 5, Bk. XVIII.