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Introductory Notes

BOOK XXVI. WÂI WÛ.

The first two characters of the first paragraph are again adopted as the title of the Book,—Wâi Wû, 'External Things;' and the lesson supposed to be taught in it is that 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.' Hû Wän-ying interprets them of 'External Disadvantages.' The things may in fact be either of these. What seems useless may be productive of the greatest services; and what men deem most advantageous may turn out to be most hurtful to them.

What really belongs to man is the Tâo. That is his own, sufficient for his happiness, 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 injurious.

Readers must judge for themselves of the way in which the subject is illustrated in the various paragraphs. Some of the stories are pertinent 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-dze after he had passed away.

Book XXVI
Part III Section IV

Wâi Wû, or 'What comes from Without¹.'

1. What comes from without cannot be determined beforehand. So it was that Lung-fäng² was killed; Pî-kan immolated; and the count of Kî (made to feign himself) mad, (while) O-lâi died³, and Kieh and Kâu both perished. Rulers all wish their ministers to be faithful, but that faithfulness may not secure their confidence; hence Wû Yün became a wanderer along the Kiang⁴, and Khang Hung died in Shû, where (the people) preserved his blood for three years, when it became changed into green jade⁵. Parents all wish their sons to be filial, but that filial duty may not secure their love; hence Hsiâo-kî⁶ had to endure his sorrow, and Zäng Shän his grief⁷.

When wood is rubbed against wood, it begins to burn; when metal is subjected to fire, it (melts and) flows. When the Yin and Yang act awry, heaven and earth are greatly perturbed; and on this comes the crash of thunder, and from the rain comes fire, which consumes great locust trees⁸. (The case of men) is still worse. They are troubled between two pitfalls⁹, from which they cannot escape. Chrysalis-like, they can accomplish nothing. Their minds are as if hung up between heaven and earth. Now comforted, now pitied, they are plunged in difficulties. The ideas of profit and of injury rub against each other, and produce in them a very great fire. The harmony (of the mind) is consumed in the mass of men. Their moonlike intelligence cannot overcome the (inward) fire. They thereupon fall away more and more, and the Course (which they should pursue) is altogether lost.

2. The family of Kwang Kâu being poor, he went to ask the loan of some rice from the Marquis Superintendent of the Ho¹⁰, who said, 'Yes, I shall be getting the (tax-) money from the people (soon), and I will then lend you three hundred ounces of silver;—will that do?' Kwang Kâu flushed with anger, and said, 'On the road yesterday, as I was coming here, I heard some one calling out. On looking round, I saw a goby in the carriage rut, and said to it, "Goby fish, what has brought you here?" The goby said, "I am Minister of Waves in the Eastern Sea. Have you, Sir, a gallon or a pint of water to keep me alive?" I replied, "Yes, I am going south to see the kings of Wû and Yüeh, and I will then lead a stream from the Western Kiang to meet you;—will that do?" The goby flushed with anger, and said, "I have lost my proper element, and I can here do nothing for myself; but if I could get a gallon or a pint of water, I should keep alive. Than do what you propose, you had better soon look for me in a stall of dry fish."'

3. A son of the duke of Zän¹¹, having provided himself with a great hook, a powerful black line, and fifty steers to be used as bait, squatted down on (mount) Kwâi Khî, and threw the line into the Eastern Sea. Morning after morning he angled thus, and for a whole year caught nothing. At the end of that time, a great fish swallowed the bait, and dived down, dragging the great hook with him.

Then it rose to the surface in a flurry, and flapped with its fins, till the white waves rose like hills, and the waters were lashed into fury. The noise was like that of imps and spirits, and spread terror for a thousand lî. The prince having got such a fish, cut it in slices and dried them. From the Keh river¹² to the cast, and from Zhang-Wû¹³ to the north, there was not one who did not eat his full from that fish; and in subsequent generations, story-tellers of small abilities have all repeated the story to one another with astonishment. (But) if the prince had taken his rod, with a fine line, and gone to pools and ditches, and watched for minnows and gobies, it would have been difficult for him to get a large fish. Those who dress up their small tales to obtain favour with the magistrates are far from being men of great understanding; and therefore one who has not heard the story of this scion of Zän is not fit to take any part in the government of the world;—far is he from being so¹⁴.

4. Some literati, students of the Odes and Ceremonies, were breaking open a mound over a grave¹⁵. The superior among them spoke down to the others, 'Day is breaking in the east; how is the thing going on?' The younger men replied, 'We have not yet opened his jacket and skirt, but there is a pearl in the mouth. As it is said in the Ode,

"The bright, green grain
Is growing on the sides of the mound.
While living, he gave nothing away;
Why, when dead, should he hold a pearl in his mouth¹⁶?"'

Thereupon they took hold of the whiskers and pulled at the beard, while the superior introduced a piece of fine steel into the chin, and gradually separated the jaws, so as not to injure the pearl in the mouth.

5. A disciple of Lâo Lâi-dze¹⁷, while he was out gathering firewood, met with Kung-nî. On his return, he told (his master), saying, 'There is a man there, the upper part of whose body is long and the lower part short. He is slightly hump-backed, and his ears are far back. When you look at him, he seems occupied with the cares of all within the four seas I do not know whose son he is.' Lâo Lâi-dze said, It is Khiû; call him here;' and when Kung-nî came, he said to him, 'Khiû, put away your personal conceit, and airs of wisdom, and show yourself to be indeed a superior man.' Kung-nî bowed and was retiring, when he abruptly changed his manner, and asked, 'Will the object I am pursuing be thereby advanced?' Lao Lâi-dze replied, 'You cannot bear the sufferings of this one age, and are stubbornly regardless of the evils of a myriad ages:—is it that you purposely make yourself thus unhappy? or is it that you have not the ability to comprehend the case? Your obstinate purpose to make men rejoice in a participation of your joy is your life-long shame, the procedure of a mediocre man. You would lead men by your fame; you would bind them to you by your secret art. Than be praising Yâo and condemning Kieh, you had better forget them both, and shut up your tendency to praise. If you reflect on it, it does nothing but injury; your action in it is entirely wrong. The sage is full of anxiety and indecision in undertaking anything, and so he is always successful. But what shall I say of your conduct? To the end it is all affectation.'

6. The ruler Yüan of Sung¹⁸ (once) dreamt at midnight that a man with dishevelled hair peeped in on him at a side door and said, 'I was coming from the abyss of commissioned by the Clear Kiang to go to the place of the Earl of the Ho; but the fisherman Yü Zü has caught me.' When the ruler Yüan awoke, he caused a diviner to divine the meaning (of the dream), and was told, 'This is a marvellous tortoise.' The ruler asked if among the fishermen there was one called Yü Zü, and being told by his attendants that there was, he gave orders that he should be summoned to court. Accordingly the man next day appeared at court, and the ruler said, 'What have you caught (lately) in fishing?' The reply was, 'I have caught in my net a white tortoise, sieve-like, and five cubits round.' 'Present the prodigy here,' said the ruler; and, when it came, once and again he wished to kill it, once and again he wished to keep it alive. Doubting in his mind (what to do), he had recourse to divination, and obtained the answer, 'To kill the tortoise for use in divining will be fortunate.' Accordingly they cut the creature open, and perforated its shell in seventy-two places, and there was not a single divining slip which failed¹⁹.

Kung-nî said, 'The spirit-like tortoise could show itself in a dream to the ruler Yüan, and yet it could not avoid the net of Yü Zü. Its wisdom could respond on seventy-two perforations without failing in a single divination, and yet it could not avoid the agony of having its bowels all scooped out. We see from this that wisdom is not without its perils, and spirit-like intelligence does not reach to everything. A man may have the greatest wisdom, but there are a myriad men scheming against him. Fishes do not fear the net, though they fear the pelican. Put away your small wisdom, and your great wisdom will be bright; discard your skilfulness, and you will become naturally skilful. A child when it is born needs no great master, and yet it becomes able to speak, living (as it does) among those who are able to speak.'

7. Hui-dze said to Kwang-dze, 'You speak, Sir, of what is of no use.' The reply was, 'When a man knows what is not useful, you can then begin to speak to him of what is useful. The earth for instance is certainly spacious and great; but what a man uses of it is only sufficient ground for his feet. If, however, a rent were made by the side of his feet, down to the yellow springs, could the man still make use of it?' Hui-dze said, 'He could not use it,' and Kwang-dze rejoined, 'Then the usefulness of what is of no use is clear²⁰.'

8. Kwang-dze said, 'If a man have the power to enjoy himself (in any pursuit), can he be kept from doing so? If he have not the power, can he so enjoy himself? There are those whose aim is bent on concealing themselves, and those who are determined that their doings shall leave no trace. Alas! they both shirk the obligations of perfect knowledge and great virtue. The (latter) fall, and cannot recover themselves; the (former) rush on like fire, and do not consider (what they are doing). Though men may stand to each other in the relation of ruler and minister, that is but for a time. In a changed age, the one of them would not be able to look down on the other. Hence it is said, "The Perfect man leaves no traces of his conduct."

'To honour antiquity and despise the present time is the characteristic of learners²¹; but even the disciples of Khih-wei²² have to look at the present age; and who can avoid being carried along by its course? It is only the Perfect man who is able to enjoy himself in the world, and not be deflected from the right, to accommodate himself to others and not lose himself. He does not learn their lessons; he only takes their ideas into consideration, and does not discard them as different from his own.

9. 'It is the penetrating eye that gives clear vision, the acute car that gives quick hearing, the discriminating nose that gives discernment of odours, the practised mouth that gives the enjoyment of flavours, the active mind that acquires knowledge, and the far-reaching knowledge that constitutes virtue. In no case does the connexion with what is without like to be obstructed; obstruction produces stoppage; stoppage, continuing without intermission, arrests all progress; and with this all injurious effects spring up.

'The knowledge of all creatures depends on their breathing²³. But if their breath be not abundant, it is not the fault of Heaven, which tries to penetrate them with it, day and night without ceasing; but men notwithstanding shut their pores against it. The womb encloses a large and empty space; the heart has its spontaneous and enjoyable movements. If their apartment be not roomy, wife and mother-in-law will be bickering; if the heart have not its spontaneous and enjoyable movements, the six faculties of perception²⁴ will be in mutual collision. That the great forests, the heights and hills, are pleasant to men, is because their spirits cannot overcome (those distracting influences). Virtue overflows into (the love of) fame; (the love of) fame overflows into violence; schemes originate in the urgency (of circumstances); (the show of) wisdom comes from rivalry; the fuel (of strife) is produced from the obstinate maintenance (of one's own views); the business of offices should be apportioned in accordance with the approval of all. In spring, when the rain and the sunshine come seasonably, vegetation grows luxuriantly, and sickles and hoes begin to be prepared. More than half of what had fallen down becomes straight, and we do not know how.

10. 'Stillness and silence are helpful to those who are ill; rubbing the corners of the eyes is helpful to the aged; rest serves to calm agitation; but they are the toiled and troubled who have recourse to these things. Those who are at ease, and have not had such experiences, do not care to ask about them. The spirit-like man has had no experience of how it is that the sagely man keeps the world in awe, and so he does not inquire about it; the sagely man has had no experience of how it is that the man of ability and virtue keeps his age in awe, and so he does not inquire about it; the man of ability and virtue has had no experience of how it is that the superior man keeps his state in awe, and so he does not inquire about it. The superior man has had no experience of how it is that the small man keeps himself in agreement with his times that he should inquire about it.'

11. The keeper of the Yen Gate²⁵, on the death of his father, showed so much skill in emaciating his person²⁶ that he received the rank of 'Pattern for Officers.' Half the people of his neighbourhood (in consequence) carried their emaciation to such a point that they died. When Yâo wished to resign the throne to Hsü Yû, the latter ran away. When Thang offered his to Wû Kwang²⁷, Wû Kwang became angry. When Kî Thâ²⁸ heard it, he led his disciples, and withdrew to the river Kho, where the feudal princes came and condoled with him, and after three years, Shän Thû-tî²⁹ threw himself into the water. Fishing-stakes³⁰ are employed to catch fish; but when the fish are got, the men forget the stakes. Snares are employed to catch hares, but when the hares are got, men forget the snares. Words are employed to convey ideas; but when the ideas are apprehended, men forget the words. Fain would I talk with such a man who has forgot the words!

庄子·杂篇·外物第二十六

外物不可必，故龙逢诛，比干戮，箕子狂，恶来死，桀、纣亡。人
主莫不欲其臣之忠，而忠未必信，故伍员流于江，苌弘死于蜀，藏其
血，三年而化为碧。人亲莫不欲其子之孝，而孝未必爱，故孝己忧而
曾参悲。木与木相摩则然，金与火相守则流，阴阳错行，则天地大骇
，于是乎有雷有霆，水中有火，乃焚大槐。有甚忧两陷而无所逃。囗
上“陈”下“虫”音ｃｈｅｎ２）囗（左“虫”右“享”音ｄｕｎ１
）不得成，心若县于天地之间，慰囗（左上“民”右上“文”下“日
”音ｍｉｎ２）沈屯，利害相摩，生火甚多，众人焚和，月固不胜火
，于是乎有囗（左“亻”右“贵”音ｔｕｉ２）然而道尽。

庄周家贫，故往贷粟于监河侯。监河侯曰：“诺。我将得邑金，将
贷子三百金，可乎？”庄周忿然作色曰：“周昨来，有中道而呼者，
周顾视车辙，中有鲋鱼焉。周问之曰：‘鲋鱼来，子何为者耶？’对
曰：‘我，东海之波臣也。君岂有斗升之水而活我哉！’周曰：‘诺
，我且南游吴越之王，激西江之水而迎子，可乎？’鲋鱼忿然作色曰
：‘吾失我常与，我无所处。我得斗升之水然活耳。君乃言此，曾不
如早索我于枯鱼之肆。’”

任公子为大钩巨缁，五十囗（“物”字以“害”代“勿”音ｊｉｅ
４）以为饵，蹲乎会稽，投竿东海，旦旦而钓，期年不得鱼。已而大
鱼食之，牵巨钩，陷没而下骛，扬而奋囗（上“髟”下“耆”），白
波若山，海水震荡，声侔鬼神，惮赫千里。任公子得若鱼，离而腊之
，自制河以东，苍梧已北，莫不厌若鱼者。已而后世辁才讽说之徒，
皆惊而相告也。夫揭竿累，趣灌渎，守鲵鲋，其于得大鱼难矣！饰小
说以干县令，其于大达亦远矣。是以未尝闻任氏之风俗，其不可与经
于世亦远矣！

儒以《诗》、《礼》发冢，大儒胪传曰：“东方作矣，事之何若？
”小儒曰：“未解裙襦，口中有珠。”“《诗》固有之曰：‘青青之
麦，生于陵陂。生不布施，死何含珠为？’接其鬓，压其囗（左“岁
”右“页”音ｈｕｉ４），儒以金椎控其颐，徐别其颊，无伤口中珠
。”

老莱子之弟子出薪，遇仲尼，反以告，曰：“有人于彼，修上而趋
下，末偻而后耳，视若营四海，不知其谁氏之子。”老莱子曰：“是
丘也，召而来。”仲尼至。曰：“丘，去汝躬矜与汝容知，斯为君子
矣。”仲尼揖而退，蹙然改容而问曰：“业可得进乎？”老莱子曰：
“夫不忍一世之伤，而骜万世之患。抑固窭邪？亡其略弗及邪？惠以
欢为，骜终身之丑，中民之行易进焉耳！相引以名，相结以隐。与其
誉尧而非桀，不如两忘而闭其所誉。反无非伤也，动无非邪也，圣人
踌躇以兴事，以每成功。奈何哉，其载焉终矜尔！”

宋元君夜半而梦人被发窥阿门，曰：“予自宰路之渊，予为清江使
河伯之所，渔者余且得予。”元君觉，使人占之，曰：“此神龟也。
”君曰：“渔者有余且乎？”左右曰：“有。”君曰：“令余且会朝
。”明日，余且朝。君曰：“渔何得？”对曰：“且之网得白龟焉，
其圆五尺。”君曰：“献若之龟。”龟至，君再欲杀之，再欲活之。
心疑，卜之。曰：“杀龟以卜吉。”乃刳龟，七十二钻而无遗囗（上
“竹”下“夹”）。仲尼曰：“神龟能见梦于元君，而不能避余且之
网；知能七十二钻而无遗囗，不能避刳肠之患。如是则知有所困，神
有所不及也。虽有至知，万人谋之。鱼不畏网而畏鹈鹕。去小知而大
知明，去善而自善矣。婴儿生，无硕师而能言，与能言者处也。”

惠子谓庄子曰：“子言无用。”庄子曰：“知无用而始可与言用矣
。夫地非不广且大也，人之所用容足耳，然则厕足而垫之致黄泉，人
尚有用乎？”惠子曰：“无用。”庄子曰：“然则无用之为用也亦明
矣。”

庄子曰：“人有能游，且得不游乎！人而不能游，且得游乎！夫流
遁之志，决绝之行，噫，其非至知厚德之任与！覆坠而不反，火驰而
不顾。虽相与为君臣，时也。易世而无以相贱。故曰：至人不留行焉
。夫尊古而卑今，学者之流也。且以囗（左“犭”右“希”）韦氏之
流观今之世，夫孰能不波！唯至人乃能游于世而不僻，顺人而不失己
。彼教不学，承意不彼。目彻为明，耳彻为聪，鼻彻为颤，口彻为甘
，心彻为知，知彻为德。凡道不欲壅，壅则哽，哽而不止则囗（“诊
”字以“足”代“讠”音ｚｈｅｎ３），ｚｈｅｎ３则众害生。物之
有知者恃息。其不殷，非天之罪。天之穿之，日夜无降，人则顾塞其
窦。胞有重阆，心有天游。室无空虚，则妇姑勃囗（左“奚”右“谷
”音ｘｉ１）；心无天游，则六凿相攘。大林丘山之善于人也，亦神
者不胜。德溢乎名，名溢乎暴，谋稽乎囗（左“言”右“弦”音ｘｉ
ａｎ２），知出乎争，柴生乎守，官事果乎众宜。春雨日时，草木怒
生，铫囗（左“金”右“辱”音ｎｏｕ４）于是乎始修，草木之倒植
者过半而不知其然。静默可以补病，眦囗（繁体字“灭”字以“女”
代“氵”音ｍｉｅ４）可以沐老，宁可以止遽。虽然，若是劳者之务
也，非佚者之所未尝过而问焉；圣人之所以骇国，贤人未尝过而问焉
；小人所以合时，君子未尝过而问焉。

演门有亲死者，以善毁爵为官师，其党人毁而死者半。尧与许由天
下，许由逃之；汤与务光，务光怒之；纪他闻之，帅弟子而蹲于囗（
上“穴”下“款”音ｋｕａｎ３）水，诸侯吊之。三年，申徒狄因以
囗（“赔”字以“足”代“贝”音ｂｏ２）河。

荃者所以在鱼，得鱼而忘荃；蹄者所以在兔，得兔而忘蹄；言者所
以在意，得意而忘言。吾安得夫忘言之人而与之言哉！”

Footnotes

back ¹ See Vol. xxxix, p. 155.

back ² The name of Kwan Lung-fang, a great officer of Kieh, the tyrant of Hsü;—see Bk. IV, par. 1, et al.

back ³ A scion of the line of Khin whose fortunes culminated in Shih Hwang-Tî. O-lâi assisted the tyrant of Shang, and was put to death by king Wû of Kâu.

back ⁴ The famous Wû Dze-hsü, the hero of Revenge, who made his escape along the Kiang, in about B.C. 512, to Wû, after the murder of his father and elder brother by the king of Khû.

back ⁵ See Bk. X, par. 2. In the Zo-kwan, under the third year of duke Âi, it is related that the people of Kâu killed Khang Hung; but nothing is said of this being done in Shû, or of his blood turning to green jade! This we owe to the Khun Khiû of Lü.

back ⁶ Said to have been the eldest son of king Wû Ting or Kâo Zung of the Yin dynasty. I do not know the events in his experience to which our author must be referring.

back ⁷ The well-known disciple of Confucius, famous for his filial piety.

back ⁸ The lightning accompanying a thunderstorm.

back ⁹ The ideas of profit and injury immediately mentioned.

back ¹⁰ In another version of this story, in Liû Hsiang's Shwo Yüan, XI, art. 13, the party applied to is 'duke Wän of Wei;' but this does not necessarily conflict with the text. The genuineness of the paragraph is denied by Lin Hsî-kung and others; but I seem to see the hand of Kwang-dze in it.

back ¹¹ I suppose this was merely a district of Khû, and the duke of it merely the officer in charge of it;—according to the practice of the rulers of Khû' after they usurped the title of King.

back ¹² The ### of the text = ###, the still giving its name to the province so called.

back ¹³ Where Shun was buried.

back ¹⁴ This last sentence is difficult to construe, and to understand.—The genuineness of this paragraph is also questioned, and the style is inferior to that of the preceding.

back ¹⁵ I can conceive of Kwang-dze telling this story of some literati who had been acting as resurrectionists, as a joke against their class; but not of his writing it to form a part of his work.

back ¹⁶ This verse is not found, so far as I know, anywhere else.

back ¹⁷ Lâo Lâi-dze appears here as a contemporary of Confucius, and the master of a Tâoistic school, and this also is the view of him which we receive from the accounts in Sze-mâ Khien and Hwan-fû Mi. Sze-mâ says he published a work in fifteen sections on the usefulness of Tâoism. Some have imagined that he was the same as Lâo-dze himself, but there does not appear any ground for that opinion. He is one of the twenty-four examples of Filial Piety so celebrated among the Chinese; but I suspect that the accounts of him as such are fabrications. He certainly lectures Confucius here in a manner worthy of Lâo Tan.

back ¹⁸ Compare in Bk. XXI, par. 7.

back ¹⁹ The story of this wonderful tortoise is found at much greater length, and with variations, in Sze-mâ Khien's Records, Bk. LXVIII, q. v. The moral of it is given in the concluding remarks from Confucius.

back ²⁰ See Bk. I, par. 6, and XXIV, par. 14. The conversations between our author and Hui-dze often turned on this subject.

back ²¹ Does our author mean by 'learners' the literati, the disciples of Confucius?

back ²² Khih-wei,—see Bk. VI, par. 7. Perhaps 'the disciples of Khih-wei' are those who in our author's time called themselves such, but were not.

back ²³ There seems to underlie this statement the Tâoist dogma about the regulation of the 'breath,' as conducive to long life and mental cultivation.

back ²⁴ Probably what in Buddhist literature are called 'the Six Entrances (###)' what Mayers denominates 'The Six Organs of Admittance, or Bodily Sensations,' the Shadâyatana, the eye, ear, nose, mouth, body, and mind,—one of the twelve Nidânas in the Buddhist system.

back ²⁵ The name of one of the gates in the wall of the capital of Sung.

back ²⁶ The abstinences and privations in mourning were so many that there was a danger of their seriously injuring the health;—which was forbidden.

back ²⁷ See Bk. VI, par. 3; but in the note there, Wû Kwang is said to have been of the time of Hwang-Tî; which is probably an error.

back ²⁸ See IV, par. 3; but I do not know who Kî Thâ was, nor can I explain what is said of him here.

back ²⁹ See again IV, par. 3.

back ³⁰ According to some, 'baskets.' This illustration is quoted in the Inscription on the Nestorian Monument, II, 7.