8
1. Virtue (de) here seems to
mean inner power or vital
force; see p. 58, n. 10. This
and the following three
sections are much closer
in thought to the Daodejing
of Laozi than the preceding
sections, and the use of the
word de seems to accord
with its use in the Daodejing.
Also, here we encounter for
the first time in Zhuangzi
the term xing or “inborn
nature,” which is so
important to
Confucian thought.
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2. The five vital organs—
liver, lungs, heart, kidneys,
and spleen—were related to
the five elements and later
to the five Confucian
virtues—benevolence,
propriety, good faith,
righteousness, wisdom.
3. Also called Li Lou; noted
for his exceptionally keen
eyesight.
4. Famous musician
mentioned on p. 12. With
this passage, compare
Daodejing XII: “The five
colors confuse the eye, the
five sounds dull the ear.”
5. Zeng Shen, a disciple of
Confucius, and Shih Yu,
historiographer of the state
of Wei, paragons of
benevolence and righteousness, respectively.
W EB B ED TO E S
Two toes webbed together, a sixth finger forking off—
these come from the inborn nature but are excretions as
far as Virtue is concerned.1 Swelling tumors and protruding wens—these come from the body but are excretions as far as the inborn nature is concerned. Men overnice in the ways of benevolence and righteousness try to
put these into practice, even to line them up with the five
vital organs!2 This is not the right approach to the Way
and its Virtue. Therefore he who has two toes webbed
together has grown a flap of useless flesh; he who has a
sixth finger forking out of his hand has sprouted a useless
digit; and he who imposes overnice ways, webs, and
forked fingers on the original form of the five vital organs will become deluded and perverse in the practice of
benevolence and righteousness, and overnice in the use
of his hearing and sight. Thus he who is web toed in eyesight will be confused by the five colors, bewitched by
patterns and designs, by the dazzling hues of blue and
yellow, of embroidery and brocade—am I wrong? So we
have Li Zhu.3 He who is overnice in hearing will be confused by the five notes, bewitched by the six tones, by the
sounds of metal and stone, strings and woodwinds,
the huangzhong and dalü pitch pipes—am I wrong? So we
have Music Master Kuang. 4 He who is fork fingered
with benevolence will tear out the Virtue given him and
stifle his inborn nature in order to seize fame and reputation, leading the world on with pipe and drum in the
service of an unattainable ideal—am I wrong? So we
have Zeng and Shih.5 He who is web toed in argumenta-
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WEBBED TOES
61
tion will pile up bricks, knot the plumb line, apply the
curve,6 letting his mind wander in the realm of “hard” and
“white,” “likeness” and “difference,” huffing and puffing
away, lauding his useless words—am I wrong? So we have
Yang and Mo.7 All these men walk a way that is overnice,
web toed, wide of the mark, fork fingered, not that which is
the True Rightness of the world.
He who holds to True Rightness8 does not lose the
original form of his inborn nature. So for him, joined
things are not webbed toes; things forking off are not superfluous fingers; the long is never too much; the short is
never too little.9 The duck’s legs are short, but to stretch
them out would worry him; the crane’s legs are long, but
to cut them down would make him sad. What is long by
nature needs no cutting off; what is short by nature needs
no stretching. That would be no way to get rid of worry.
I wonder, then, whether benevolence and righteousness
are part of man’s true form? Those benevolent men—
how much worrying they do!
The man with two toes webbed together would weep
if he tried to tear them apart; the man with a sixth finger
on his hand would howl if he tried to gnaw it off. Of these
two, one has more than the usual number; the other has
less; but in worrying about it, they are identical. Nowadays the benevolent men of the age lift up weary eyes,10
worrying over the ills of the world, while the men of no
benevolence tear apart the original form of their inborn
nature in their greed for eminence and wealth. Therefore
I wonder whether benevolence and righteousness are really part of man’s true form? From the Three Dynasties
on down,11 what a lot of fuss and hubbub they have made
in the world!
If we must use curve and plumb line, compass and
square, to make something right, this means cutting away
its inborn nature; if we must use cords and knots, glue and
lacquer, to make something firm, this means violating its
natural Virtue. So the crouchings and bendings of rights
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6. All seem to be building
metaphors, though the
meaning of the last is
doubtful. I read gou instead
of ju.
7. The hedonist philosopher
Yang Zhu and the advocate
of universal love Mo Di.
We would expect a
reference to the logicians,
however, since they were
the ones who argued about
“hard,” “white,” etc.; see p.
12, n. 9.
8. Reading zhizheng as in the
preceding sentence.
9. At this point, the
meaning of the symbolism
seems to shift (with some
violence to the logic of the
argument). The webbed
toes and extra fingers, which
earlier represented the
forced and unnatural
morality of Confucianism,
now become natural
deformities such as we have
seen in the earlier chapters,
which it would be wrong to
try to correct.
10. Following Ma Xulun’s
interpretation.
11. The Xia, Shang, and
Zhou dynasties.
62
12. Following Fukunaga,
I read tong with the man
radical. A similar phrase,
tonghu, appears in sec. 9, and
tongran in sec. 23.
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13. The sage ruler Shun,
idol of the Confucian
philosophers.
WEBBED TOES
and music, the smiles and beaming looks of benevolence and righteousness, which are intended to comfort
the hearts of the world, in fact destroy their constant
naturalness.
For in the world, there can be constant naturalness.
Where there is constant naturalness, things are arced
not by the use of the curve, straightened not by the use
of the plumb line, rounded not by the compasses,
squared not by T squares, joined not by glue and lacquer,
bound not by ropes and lines. Then all things in the
world, simple and compliant, live and never know how
they happen to live; all things, rude and unwitting,12 get
what they need and never know how they happen to get
it. Past and present, it has been the same; nothing can do
injury to this [principle]. Why, then, come with benevolence and righteousness, that tangle and train of glue
and lacquer, ropes and lines, and try to wander in the
realm of the Way and its Virtue? You will only confuse
the world!
A little confusion can alter the sense of direction;
a great confusion can alter the inborn nature. How do I
know this is so? Ever since that man of the Yu clan13 began
preaching benevolence and righteousness and stirring up
the world, all the men in the world have dashed headlong
for benevolence and righteousness. This is because benevolence and righteousness have altered their inborn nature, is it not?
Let me try explaining what I mean. From the Three
Dynasties on down, everyone in the world has altered his
inborn nature because of some [external] thing. The
petty man?—he will risk death for the sake of profit. The
knight?—he will risk it for the sake of fame. The high
official?—he will risk it for family; the sage?—he will risk it
for the world. All these various men go about the business
in a different way and are tagged differently when it comes
to fame and reputation; but in blighting their inborn
nature and risking their lives for something, they are the
same.
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WEBBED TOES
63
The slave boy and the slave girl were out together
herding their sheep, and both of them lost their flocks.
Ask the slave boy how it happened: well, he had a bundle
of writing slips and was reading a book.14 Ask the slave girl
how it happened: well, she was playing a game of tossand-wait-your-turn. They went about the business in different ways, but in losing their sheep, they were equal. Bo
Yi died for reputation at the foot of Shouyang Mountain;
Robber Zhi died for gain on top of Eastern Mound.15 The
two of them died different deaths, but in destroying their
lives and blighting their inborn nature, they were equal.
Why, then, must we say that Bo Yi was right and Robber
Zhi wrong?
Everyone in the world risks his life for something. If he
risks it for benevolence and righteousness, then custom
names him a gentleman; if he risks it for goods and wealth,
then custom names him a petty man. The risking is the
same, and yet we have a gentleman here, a petty man
there. In destroying their lives and blighting their inborn
nature, Robber Zhi and Bo Yi were two of a kind. How
then can we pick out the gentleman from the petty man
in such a case?
He who applies his nature to benevolence and righteousness may go as far with it as Zeng and Shi, but I
would not call him an expert. He who applies his nature
to the five flavors may go as far with it as Yu Er,16 but I
would not call him an expert. He who applies his nature
to the five notes may go as far with it as Music Master
Kuang, but I would not call this good hearing. He who
applies his nature to the five colors may go as far with it as
Li Zhu, but I would not call this good eyesight. My definition of expertness has nothing to do with benevolence
and righteousness; it means being expert in regard to your
Virtue, that is all. My definition of expertness has nothing
to do with benevolence or righteousness;17 it means following the true form of your inborn nature, that is all.
When I speak of good hearing, I do not mean listening to
others; I mean simply listening to yourself. When I speak
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14. An unusual slave boy
who, in true Confucian
fashion, was attempting to
improve his mind.
15. On Bo Yi, the model of
righteousness; see p. 126,
n. 3; Robber Zhi, who
appears later as the subject
of sec. 29, represents the
ultimate in greed and
violence.
16. Apparently a famous
chef and connoisseur
of flavor.
17. This clause is excessively
wordy and merely repeats
what was said earlier. I
suspect that it is corrupt
and that in its original form
it contained some reference
to the five flavors.
64
WEBBED TOES
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of good eyesight, I do not mean looking at others; I mean
simply looking at yourself. He who does not look at himself
but looks at others, who does not get hold of himself but
gets hold of others, is getting what other men have got and
failing to get what he himself has got. He finds joy in what
brings joy to other men but finds no joy in what would
bring joy to himself. And if he finds joy in what brings joy
to other men but finds no joy in what brings joy to himself, then whether he is a Robber Zhi or a Bo Yi, he is
equally deluded and perverse. I have a sense of shame before the Way and its Virtue, and for that reason I do not
venture to raise myself up in deeds of benevolence and
righteousness or to lower myself in deluded and perverse
practices.
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9
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H O RSE S’ H O O F S
Horses’ hoofs are made for treading frost and snow, their
coats for keeping out wind and cold. To munch grass,
drink from the stream, lift up their feet and gallop—this
is the true nature of horses. Though they might possess
great terraces and fine halls, they would have no use for
them.
Then along comes Bo Luo.1 “I’m good at handling
horses!” he announces and proceeds to singe them, shave
them, pare them, brand them, bind them with martingale
and crupper, tie them up in stable and stall. By this time,
two or three out of ten horses have died. He goes on to
starve them, make them go thirsty, race them, prance
them, pull them into line, and force them to run side by
side, in front of them the worry of bit and rein, behind
them the terror of whip and crop. By this time, more than
half the horses have died.
The potter says, “I’m good at handling clay! To round
it, I apply the compass; to square it, I apply the T square.”
The carpenter says, “I’m good at handling wood! To arc it,
I apply the curve; to make it straight, I apply the plumb
line.” But as far as inborn nature is concerned, the clay
and the wood surely have no wish to be subjected to compass and square, curve and plumb line. Yet generation after generation sings out in praise, saying, “Bo Luo is good
at handling horses! The potter and the carpenter are good
at handling clay and wood!” And the same fault is committed by the men who handle the affairs of the world!
In my opinion, someone who was really good at handling the affairs of the world would not go about it like
this. The people have their constant inborn nature. To
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1. Frequently mentioned
in early texts as an expert
judge of horses.
66
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2. Reading tong with the
man radical; see p. 62, n. 12.
3. The terms su and pu
(uncarved simplicity),
appear frequently in the
Daodejing, for example,
ch. XIX. Waley translates
them as “Simplicity” and
“the Uncarved Block,”
respectively.
HORSES’ HOOFS
weave for their clothing, to till for their food—this is the
Virtue they share. They are one in it and not partisan, and
it is called the Emancipation of Heaven. Therefore, in a
time of Perfect Virtue, the gait of men is slow and ambling; their gaze is steady and mild. In such an age,
mountains have no paths or trails, lakes no boats or
bridges. The ten thousand things live species by species,
one group settled close to another. Birds and beasts form
their flocks and herds; grass and trees grow to fullest
height. So it happens that you can tie a cord to the birds
and beasts and lead them about or bend down the limb
and peer into the nest of the crow and the magpie. In this
age of Perfect Virtue, men live the same as birds and
beasts, group themselves side by side with the ten thousand things. Who then knows anything about “gentleman” or “petty man”? Dull and unwitting,2 men have no
wisdom; thus their Virtue does not depart from them.
Dull and unwitting, they have no desire; this is called
uncarved simplicity. In uncarved simplicity, the people
attain their true nature.3
Then along comes the sage, huffing and puffing after
benevolence, reaching on tiptoe for righteousness, and
the world for the first time has doubts; mooning and
mouthing over his music, snipping and stitching away at
his rites, and the world for the first time is divided. Thus,
if the plain unwrought substance had not been blighted,
how would there be any sacrificial goblets? If the white
jade had not been shattered, how would there be any
scepters and batons? If the Way and its Virtue had not
been cast aside, how would there be any call for benevolence and righteousness? If the true form of the inborn
nature had not been abandoned, how would there be any
use for rights and music? If the five colors had not confused men, who would fashion patterns and hues? If the
five notes had not confused them, who would try to
tune things by the six tones? That the unwrought substance was blighted in order to fashion implements—
this was the crime of the artisan. That the Way and its
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HORSES’ HOOFS
67
Virtue were destroyed in order to create benevolence
and righteousness—this was the fault of the sage.
When horses live on the plain, they eat grass and drink
from the streams. Pleased, they twine their necks together
and rub; angry, they turn back to back and kick. This all
horses know how to do. But if you pile poles and yokes on
them and line them up in crossbars and shafts, then they
will learn to snap the crossbars, break the yoke, rip the
carriage top, champ the bit, and chew the reins.4 Thus
horses learn how to commit the worst kinds of mischief.5
This is the crime of Bo Luo.
In the days of He Xu,6 people stayed home but didn’t
know what they were doing, walked around but didn’t
know where they were going. Their mouths crammed
with food, they were merry; drumming on their bellies,
they passed the time. This was as much as they were able
to do. Then the sage came along with the crouchings and
bendings of rites and music, which were intended to reform the bodies of the world; with the reaching-for-adangled-prize of benevolence and righteousness, which
was intended to comfort the hearts of the world. Then for
the first time, people learned to stand on tiptoe and covet
knowledge, to fight to the death over profit, and there was
no stopping them. This, in the end, was the fault of the
sage.
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4. There are many different
interpretations of the terms
in this sentence. I follow
Ma Xulun’s emendations
and interpretations.
5. Following texts that read
neng rather than tai.
6. Legendary ruler of
high antiquity.
10
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RIFLIN G TRUNKS
1. That is, it was rich
and fertile and had
no wastelands.
If one is to guard and take precautions against thieves who
rifle trunks, ransack bags, and break open boxes, then he
must bind with cords and ropes and make fast with locks
and hasps. This the ordinary world calls wisdom. But if a
great thief comes along, he will shoulder the boxes, hoist
up the trunks, sling the bags over his back, and dash off,
only worrying that the cords and ropes, the locks and
hasps, are not fastened tightly enough. In that case, the
man who earlier was called wise was in fact only piling up
goods for the benefit of a great thief.
Let me try explaining what I mean. What the ordinary
world calls a wise man is in fact someone who piles things
up for the benefit of a great thief, is he not? And what it
calls a sage is in fact someone who stands guard for the
benefit of a great thief, is he not? How do I know this is
so? In times past there was the state of Qi, its neighboring
towns within sight of one another, the cries of their dogs
and chickens within hearing of one another. The area
where its nets and seines were spread, where its plows and
spades dug the earth, measured more than two thousand
li square, filling all the space within its four borders.1 And
in the way its ancestral temples and its altars of the soil
and grain were set up, its towns and villages and hamlets
were governed, was there anything that did not accord
with the laws of the sages? Yet one morning Viscount
Tian Cheng murdered the ruler of Qi and stole his state.
And was it only the state he stole? Along with it, he also
stole the laws that the wisdom of the sages had devised.
Thus, although Viscount Tian Cheng gained the name
of thief and bandit, he was able to rest as peacefully as a
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RIFLING TRUNKS
69
Yao or a Shun. The smaller states did not dare condemn
him; the larger states did not dare attack; and for twelve
generations, his family held possession of the state of
Qi.2 Is this not a case in which a man, stealing the state
of Qi, along with it stole the laws of the sages’ wisdom
and used them to guard the person of a thief and a
bandit?
Let me try explaining it. What that ordinary world
calls a man of perfect wisdom is in fact someone who piles
things up for the benefit of a great thief; what the ordinary world calls a perfect sage is in fact someone who
stands guard for the benefit of a great thief. How do I
know this is so? In times past, Guan Longfeng was cut
down; Bi Gan was disemboweled; Chang Hong was torn
apart; and Wu Zixu was left to rot. All four were worthy
men, and yet they could not escape destruction.3
One of Robber Zhi’s followers once asked Zhi, “Does
the thief, too, have a Way?”
Zhi replied, “How could he get anywhere if he didn’t
have a Way? Making shrewd guesses as to how much
booty is stashed away in the room is sageliness; being the
first one in is bravery; being the last one out is righteousness; knowing whether or not the job can be pulled off is
wisdom; dividing up the loot fairly is benevolence. No
one in the world ever succeeded in becoming a great thief
if he didn’t have all five!”
From this, we can see that the good man must acquire
the Way of the sage before he can distinguish himself, and
Robber Zhi must acquire the Way of the sage before he
can practice his profession. But good men in the world are
few, and bad men many, so in fact the sage brings little benefit to the world but much harm. Thus it is said, “When the
lips are gone, the teeth are cold; when the wine of Lu is
thin, Handan is besieged.” 4 And when the sage is born, the
great thief appears.
Cudgel and cane the sages, and let the thieves and
bandits go their way; then the world will at last be well
ordered! If the stream dries up, the valley will be empty;
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2. The assassination of the
king of Qi took place in 481
bce; the actual usurpation
of the state by the Tian
family, in 386 bce. No one
has satisfactorily explained
the “twelve generations”;
Yu Yue suggests that it is
a copyist’s error for shishi
(generation after
generation).
3. All four men attempted
to give good advice to their
erring sovereigns and ended
by being put to death or
forced to commit suicide.
On Guan Longfeng and Bi
Gan, see p. 23; on Chang
Hong and Wu Zixu, see
p. 227, n. 2. I suppose this is
meant to illustrate how the
rulers “stole” the wisdom of
their counselors, though it
is hardly apt, since all the
rulers came to violent ends
as a result of their
wickedness.
4. At a gathering of the
feudal lords at the court
of Chu, the ruler of Lu
presented a gift of thin
wine, while the ruler of
Zhao presented rich wine.
But the wine steward of
Chu, having failed to
receive a bribe from the
ruler of Zhao, switched the
gifts, and the ruler of Chu,
angered, attacked Zhao and
laid siege to its capital,
Handan. Another version of
the story asserts that the
ruler of Chu, angered at
Lu’s thin wine, attacked Lu;
and a third state, which had
(continued )
70
hitherto been intimidated
by Chu’s power, took
advantage of the opportunity to attack Chu’s ally,
Zhao. In both versions, the
saying is meant to illustrate
the existence of a causal
connection between
apparently unrelated
phenomena.
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5. Tian Chang, Viscount
Cheng of Qi, who appeared
as the “stealer” of the state
of Qi, was said to have won
the support of the people of
Qi by using a larger-thanstandard measure in doling
out grain to the people, but
the standard measure when
collecting taxes in grain. See
Zuozhuan, Duke Zhao, third
year. The writer probably
has this fact in mind.
6. An old saying, also found
in Daodejing XXXVI.
7. If he is not to be a danger
to the world, he must, like
the true Daoist sage, remain
unknown and unrecognized.
RIFLING TRUNKS
if the hills wash away, the deep pools will be filled up. And
if the sage is dead and gone, then no more great thieves
will arise. The world will then be peaceful and free of
fuss.
But until the sage is dead, great thieves will never
cease to appear, and if you pile on more sages in hopes of
bringing the world to order, you will only be piling up
more profit for Robber Zhi. Fashion pecks and bushels
for people to measure by, and they will steal by peck and
bushel.5 Fashion scales and balances for people to weigh
by, and they will steal by scale and balance. Fashion tallies
and seals to ensure trustworthiness, and people will steal
with tallies and seals. Fashion benevolence and righteousness to reform people, and they will steal with benevolence and righteousness. How do I know this is so? He
who steals a belt buckle pays with his life; he who steals a
state gets to be a feudal lord—and we all know that benevolence and righteousness are to be found at the gates
of the feudal lords. Is this not a case of stealing benevolence and righteousness and the wisdom of the sages? So
men go racing in the footsteps of the great thieves, aiming
for the rank of feudal lord, stealing benevolence and righteousness and taking for themselves all the profits of peck
and bushel, scale and balance, tally and seal. Though you
try to lure them aside with rewards of official carriages
and caps of state, you cannot move them; though you
threaten them with the executioner’s ax, you cannot deter
them. This piling up of profits for Robber Zhi to the
point where nothing can deter him—this is all the fault of
the sage!
The saying goes, “The fish should not be taken from
the deep pool; the sharp weapons of the state should not
be shown to men.” 6 The sage is the sharp weapon of the
world, and therefore he should not be where the world
can see him.7
Cut off sageliness, cast away wisdom, and then the
great thieves will cease. Break the jades, crush the pearls,
and petty thieves will no longer rise up. Burn the tallies,
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RIFLING TRUNKS
71
shatter the seals, and the people will be simple and guileless. Hack up the bushels, snap the balances in two, and
the people will no longer wrangle. Destroy and wipe out
the laws that the sage has made for the world, and at last
you will find that you can reason with the people.
Discard and confuse the six tones; smash and unstring
the pipes and lutes; stop up the ears of the blind musician
Kuang; and for the first time; the people of the world will
be able to hold on to their hearing. Wipe out patterns and
designs; scatter the five colors; glue up the eyes of Li Zhu;
and for the first time, the people of the world will be able
to hold on to their eyesight. Destroy and cut to pieces the
curve and plumb line; throw away the compass and square;
shackle the fingers of Artisan Chui;8 and for the first time;
the people of the world will possess real skill. Thus it is
said, “Great skill is like clumsiness.”9 Put a stop to the
ways of Zeng and Shi; gag the mouths of Yang and Mo;
wipe out and reject benevolence and righteousness; and
for the first time, the Virtue of the world will reach the
state of Mysterious Leveling.10
When men hold on to their eyesight, the world will no
longer be dazzled. When men hold on to their hearing,
the world will no longer be wearied. When men hold on
to their wisdom, the world will no longer be confused.
When men hold on to their Virtue, the world will no
longer go awry. Men like Zeng, Shi, Yang, Mo, Musician
Kuang, Artisan Chui, or Li Zhu all displayed their Virtue
on the outside and thereby blinded and misled the world.
As methods go, this one is worthless!
Have you alone never heard of that age of Perfect Virtue? Long ago, in the time of Yong Cheng, Da Ting, Bo
Huang, Zhong Yang, Li Lu, Li Xu, Xian Yuan, He Xu,
Zun Lu, Zhu Rong, Fu Xi, and Shen Nong, the people
knotted cords and used them.11 They relished their food,
admired their clothing, enjoyed their customs, and were
content with their houses. Though neighboring states
were within sight of one another and could hear the cries
of one another’s dogs and chickens, the people grew old
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8. A skilled artisan of
ancient times; see p. 153.
9. The same saying appears
in Daodejing XLV. But here
it does not seem to fit the
context, and I suspect
that as Wang Maohong
suggested, it is an interpolation, probably by someone
who wished to establish a
connection between this
passage and the Daodejing.
10. Xuantong, a term also
found in Daodejing LVI.
Waley explains it there as
a state “in which there is a
general perception not
effected through particular
senses.”
11. As a means of reminding
themselves of things; they
had no use for writing.
The men mentioned in
this sentence appear to be
mythical rulers of antiquity,
some mentioned in other
early texts, some appearing
only here. The passage from
this point on to the next to
last sentence is all but
identical with a passage in
Daodejing LXXX.
72
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12. In late Zhou times, the
feudal lords competed to
attract men of unusual
intelligence and ability to
their courts. The state of
Qi, which, as we have seen,
was ruled at the time by the
Tian family, was particularly
famous for the inducements that it offered to
draw philosophers from all
over China to its statesponsored academy.
13. I follow Fukunaga in the
interpretation of the terms
in this sentence.
14. That is, to discard the
concept of good; I read yi as
identical with the yi in the
earlier parallel sentence.
RIFLING TRUNKS
and died without ever traveling beyond their own borders. At a time such as this, there was nothing but the
most perfect order.
But now something has happened to make people
crane their necks and stand on tiptoe. “There’s a worthy
man in such and such a place!” they cry, and bundling
up their provisions, they dash off. At home, they abandon
their parents; abroad, they shirk the service of their ruler.
Their footprints form an unending trail to the borders
of the other feudal lords; their carriage tracks weave back
and forth a thousand li and more. This is the fault of men
in high places who covet knowledge.12
As long as men in high places covet knowledge and are
without the Way, the world will be in great confusion.
How do I know this is so? Knowledge enables men to
fashion bows, crossbows, nets, stringed arrows, and like
contraptions; but when this happens, the birds flee in
confusion to the sky. Knowledge enables men to fashion
fishhooks, lures, seines, dragnets, trawls, and weirs; but
when this happens, the fish flee in confusion to the depths
of the water. Knowledge enables men to fashion pitfalls,
snares, cages, traps, and gins; but when this happens, the
beasts flee in confusion to the swamps. And the flood of
rhetoric that enables men to invent wily schemes and poisonous slanders, the glib gabble of “hard” and “white,” the
foul fustian of “same” and “different,” bewilder the understanding of common men.13 So the world is dulled and
darkened by great confusion. The blame lies in this coveting of knowledge.
In the world, everyone knows enough to pursue what he
does not know, but no one knows enough to pursue what
he already knows. Everyone knows enough to condemn
what he takes to be no good, but no one knows enough to
condemn what he has already taken to be good.14 This is
how the great confusion comes about, searing the vigor of
hills and streams below, overturning the round of the four
seasons in between. There is no insect that creeps and
crawls, no creature that flutters and flies, that has not lost
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RIFLING TRUNKS
73
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its inborn nature. So great is the confusion of the world that
comes from coveting knowledge!
From the Three Dynasties on down, it has been this
and nothing else—shoving aside the pure and artless
people and delighting in busy, bustling flatterers; abandoning the limpidity and calm of inaction and delighting
in jumbled and jangling ideas. And this jumble and jangle
has for long confused the world.
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11
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LE T IT B E , LE AV E IT A LO NE
1. The words “restless and
aspiring” represent four
characters in the original
whose meaning is
very doubtful.
I have heard of letting the world be, of leaving it alone;
I have never heard of governing the world. You let it be
for fear of corrupting the inborn nature of the world; you
leave it alone for fear of distracting the Virtue of the
world. If the nature of the world is not corrupted, if
the Virtue of the world is not distracted, why should
there be any governing of the world?
Long ago, when the sage Yao governed the world, he
made the world bright and gleeful; men delighted in their
nature, and there was no calmness anywhere. When the
tyrant Jie governed the world, he made the world weary
and vexed; men found bitterness in their nature, and there
was no contentment anywhere. To lack calmness, to lack
contentment, is to go against Virtue, and there has never
been anyone in the world who could go against Virtue
and survive for long.
Are men exceedingly joyful?—they will do damage to
the yang element. Are men exceedingly angry?—they will
do damage to the yin. And when both yang and yin are
damaged, the four seasons will not come as they should;
heat and cold will fail to achieve their proper harmony;
and this in turn will do harm to the bodies of men. It will
make men lose a proper sense of joy and anger, to be constantly shifting from place to place, to think up schemes
that gain nothing, to set out on roads that reach no glorious conclusion. Then for the first time, the world will
grow restless and aspiring,1 and soon afterward will appear the ways of Robber Zhi, Zeng, and Shi.
Then, although the whole world joins in rewarding
good men, there will never be enough reward; though the
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LET IT BE, LEAVE IT ALONE
75
whole world joins in punishing evil men, there will never
be enough punishment. Huge as the world is, it cannot
supply sufficient reward or punishment. From the Three
Dynasties on down, there has been nothing but bustle
and fuss, all over this matter of rewards and punishments.
How could people have any leisure to rest in the true
form of their inborn nature and fate!
Do men delight in what they see?—they are corrupted
by colors. Do they delight in what they hear?—they are
corrupted by sounds. Do they delight in benevolence?—
they bring confusion to Virtue. Do they delight in righteousness?—they turn their backs on reason. Do they
delight in rites?—they are aiding artificiality. Do they
delight in music?—they are aiding dissolution. Do they delight in sageness?—they are assisting artifice. Do they
delight in knowledge?—they are assisting the fault finders. As long as the world rests in the true form of its inborn nature and fate, it makes no difference whether or
not these eight delights exist. But if the world does not
rest in the true form of its nature and fate, then these
eight delights will begin to grow warped and crooked,
jumbled and deranged, and will bring confusion to the
world. And if on top of that, the world begins to honor
them and cherish them, then the delusion of the world
will be great indeed! You say these are only a fancy that
will pass in time? Yet men prepare themselves with fasts
and austerities when they come to describe them, kneel
solemnly on their mats when they recommend them, beat
drums and sing to set them forth in dance. What’s to be
done about it, I’m sure I don’t know!
If the gentleman finds he has no other choice than to
direct and look after the world, then the best course for
him is inaction. As long as there is inaction, he may rest in
the true form of his nature and fate. If he values his own
body more than the management of the world, then he
can be entrusted with the world. If he is more careful of his
own body than of the management of the world, then the
world can be handed over to him.2 If the gentleman can in
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2. A similar saying is found
in Daodejing XIII, though
the wording is somewhat
different.
76
LET IT BE, LEAVE IT ALONE
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truth keep from rending apart his five vital organs, from
tearing out his eyesight and hearing, then he will command corpse-like stillness and dragon vision, the silence
of deep pools, and the voice of thunder. His spirit will
move in the train of Heaven, gentle and easy in inaction,
and the ten thousand things will be dust on the wind.
“What leisure have I now for governing the world?” he
will say.
3. Daoist writers ordinarily
have only praise for
the Yellow Emperor, and
in Han times Daoism was
known as Huanglao, the
teaching of the Yellow
Emperor and Laozi. It is
surprising, therefore, to find
him cited here as the prime
meddler, though this is
typical of the shifting roles
assigned to the figures who
appear in the Zhuangzi. It is
unclear whether the
following section should be
taken as a continuation of
Laozi’s speech or as the
words of the writer; I have
taken it as the latter.
4. These banishments of
evil and insubordinate men
are mentioned in the Book of
Documents, “Canon of Shun,”
in which their presence has
long raised the troubling
question of why there
should have been any
unsubmissive men during
the rule of a sage.
Cui Zhu was questioning Lao Dan. “If you do not govern
the world, then how can you improve men’s minds?”
Lao Dan said, “Be careful—don’t meddle with men’s
minds! Men’s minds can be forced down or boosted up,
but this downing and upping imprisons and brings death
to the mind. Gentle and shy, the mind can bend the hard
and strong; it can chisel and cut away, carve and polish. Its
heat is that of burning fire, its coldness that of solid ice, its
swiftness such that, in the time it takes to lift and lower
the head, it has twice swept over the four seas and beyond.
At rest, it is deep fathomed and still; in movement, it is
far-flung as the heavens, racing and galloping out of reach
of all bonds. This indeed is the mind of man!”
In ancient times the Yellow Emperor first used benevolence and righteousness to meddle with the minds of
men.3 Yao and Shun followed him and worked till there
was no more down on their thighs, no more hair on their
shins, trying to nourish the bodies of the men of the
world. They grieved their five vital organs in the practice
of benevolence and righteousness, taxed their blood and
breath in the establishment of laws and standards. But
still some men would not submit to their rule, and so they
had to exile Huan Dou to Mount Chung, drive away the
Sanmiao tribes to the region of Sanwei, and banish Gong
to the Dark City.4 This shows that they could not make
the world submit.
By the time the kings of the Three Dynasties appeared,
the world was in great consternation indeed. On the lowest
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LET IT BE, LEAVE IT ALONE
77
level, there were men like the tyrant Jie and Robber Zhi,
on the highest, men like Zeng and Shi, and the Confucianists and Mohists rose up all around. Then joy and
anger eyed each other with suspicion; stupidity and wisdom duped each other; good and bad called one another
names; falsehood and truth slandered each other; and the
world sank into a decline. There was no more unity to the
Great Virtue, and the inborn nature and fate shattered
and fell apart. The world coveted knowledge, and the
hundred clans were thrown into turmoil.5 Then there were
axes and saws to shape things; ink and plumb lines to trim
them; mallets and gouges to poke holes in them; and the
world, muddled and deranged, was in great confusion.
The crime lay in this meddling with men’s minds. So it was
that worthy men crouched in hiding below the great
mountains and yawning cliffs, and the lords of ten thousand chariots fretted and trembled above in their ancestral halls.
In the world today, the victims of the death penalty lie
heaped together; the bearers of cangues tread on one another’s heels; the sufferers of punishment are never out of
one another’s sight. And now come the Confucianists and
Mohists, waving their arms, striding into the very midst of
the fettered and manacled men. Ah, that they should go
this far, that they should be so brazen, so lacking in any
sense of shame! Who can convince me that sagely wisdom
is not in fact the wedge that fastens the cangue, that benevolence and righteousness are not in fact the loop and
lock of these fetters and manacles? How do I know that
Zeng and Shi are not the whistling arrows that signal the
approach of Jie and Zhi? Therefore I say, cut off sageness,
cast away wisdom, and the world will be in perfect order.
The Yellow Emperor had ruled as Son of Heaven for nineteen years, and his commands were heeded throughout
the world, when he heard that Master Guang Cheng was
living on top of the Mountain of Emptiness and Identity.
He therefore went to visit him. “I have heard that you, sir,
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5. Following Zhang
Binglin’s interpretation.
78
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6. That is, the yin and yang,
being two, already represent
a departure from the primal
unity of the Way. What
Master Guang Cheng is
objecting to, of course, is
the fact that the Yellow
Emperor wishes to “control”
them.
7. The Chinese ruler, when
acting as sovereign, faces
south. Master Guang
Cheng, by assuming the
same position, indicates his
spiritual supremacy.
LET IT BE, LEAVE IT ALONE
have mastered the Perfect Way. May I venture to ask
about the essence of the Perfect Way?” he said. “I would
like to get hold of the essence of Heaven and earth and
use it to aid the five grains and to nourish the common
people. I would also like to control the yin and yang in
order to ensure the growth of all living things. How may
this be done?”
Master Guang Cheng said, “What you say you want to
learn about pertains to the true substance of things, but
what you say you want to control pertains to things in
their divided state.6 Ever since you began to govern the
world, rain falls before the cloud vapors have even gathered; the plants and trees shed their leaves before they
have even turned yellow; and the light of the sun and
moon grows more and more sickly. Shallow and vapid,
with the mind of a prattling knave—what good would it
do to tell you about the Perfect Way!”
The Yellow Emperor withdrew, gave up his throne,
built a solitary hut, spread a mat of white rushes, and
lived for three months in retirement. Then he went once
more to request an interview. Master Guang Cheng was
lying with his face to the south.7 The Yellow Emperor, approaching in a humble manner, crept forward on his
knees, bowed his head twice, and said, “I have heard that
you, sir, have mastered the Perfect Way. I venture to ask
about the governing of the body. What should I do in order to live a long life?”
Master Guang Cheng sat up with a start. “Excellent,
this question of yours! Come, I will tell you about the
Perfect Way. The essence of the Perfect Way is deep and
darkly shrouded; the extreme of the Perfect Way is mysterious and hushed in silence. Let there be no seeing, no
hearing; enfold the spirit in quietude, and the body will
right itself. Be still, be pure, do not labor your body, do
not churn up your essence, and then you can live a long
life. When the eye does not see, the ear does not hear, and
the mind does not know, then your spirit will protect the
body, and the body will enjoy long life. Be wary of what is
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LET IT BE, LEAVE IT ALONE
79
within you; block off what is outside you, for much knowledge will do you harm. Then I will lead you up above the
Great Brilliance to the source of the Perfect Yang; I will
guide you through the Dark and Mysterious Gate to the
source of the Perfect Yin. Heaven and earth have their
controllers, the yin and yang their storehouses. You have
only to take care and guard your own body; these other
things will of themselves grow sturdy. As for myself, I
guard this unity, abide in this harmony, and therefore
I have kept myself alive for twelve hundred years, and
never has my body suffered any decay.”
The Yellow Emperor bowed twice and said, “Master
Guang Cheng, you have been as a Heaven to me!”
Master Guang Cheng said, “Come, I will explain to
you. This Thing I have been talking about is inexhaustible, and yet men all suppose that it has an end. This
Thing I have been talking about is unfathomable, and yet
men all suppose that it has a limit. He who attains my
Way will be a Bright One on high,8 and a king in the
world below. But he who fails to attain my Way, though he
may see the light above him, will remain below as dust. All
the hundred creatures that flourish are born out of dust
and return to dust. So I will take leave of you, to enter the
gate of the inexhaustible and wander in the limitless
fields, to form a triad with the light of the sun and moon,
to partake in the constancy of Heaven and earth. What
stands before me I mingle with, what is far from me I
leave in darkness.9 All other men may die; I alone will
survive!”
Cloud Chief was traveling east and had passed the
branches of the Fuyao when he suddenly came upon Big
Concealment.10 Big Concealment at the moment was
amusing himself by slapping his thighs and hopping
around like a sparrow. When Cloud Chief saw this, he
stopped in bewilderment, stood dead still in his tracks,
and said, “Old gentleman, who are you? What is this
you’re doing?”
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8. The term “Bright One”
(huang) was originally an
epithet for Heaven or a
being commanding respect
and awe, such as the sage
rulers of antiquity.
9. The meaning is doubtful.
10. Cloud Chief and Big
Concealment are inventions
of the writer, the latter
apparently representing the
Daoist sage. Fuyao appeared
in sec. 1 as a name for the
whirlwind; here perhaps it
is an error for Fusang, a
huge mythical tree in the
eastern sea from whose
branches the sun rises.
80
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11. Traditionally defined
as the breaths of the yin,
yang, wind, rain, darkness,
and light.
LET IT BE, LEAVE IT ALONE
Big Concealment, without interrupting his thigh slapping and sparrow hopping, replied to Cloud Chief, “Amusing myself.”
“I would like to ask a question,” said Cloud Chief.
“Oh dear!” said Big Concealment, for the first time raising his head and looking at Cloud Chief.
“The breath of heaven is out of harmony; the breath of
earth tangles and snarls,” said Cloud Chief. “The six
breaths do not blend properly;11 the four seasons do not
stay in order. Now I would like to harmonize the essences
of the six breaths in order to bring nourishment to all living creatures. How should I go about it?”
Big Concealment, still thigh slapping and sparrow
hopping, shook his head. “I have no idea! I have no idea!”
So Cloud Chief got no answer. Three years later he
was again traveling east and, as he passed the fields of
Song, happened on Big Concealment once more. Cloud
Chief, overjoyed, dashed forward and presented himself,
saying, “Heavenly Master, have you forgotten me? Have
you forgotten me?” Then he bowed his head twice and
begged for some instruction from Big Concealment.
Big Concealment said, “Aimless wandering does not
know what it seeks; demented drifting does not know
where it goes. A wanderer, idle, unbound, I view the sights
of Undeception. What more do I know?”
Cloud Chief said, “I, too, consider myself a demented
drifter, but the people follow me wherever I go, and I have
no choice but to think of them. It is for their sake now that
I beg one word of instruction!”
Big Concealment said, “If you confuse the constant
strands of Heaven and violate the true form of things,
then Dark Heaven will reach no fulfillment. Instead, the
beasts will scatter from their herds; the birds will cry all
night; disaster will come to the grass and trees; misfortune
will reach even to the insects. Ah, this is the fault of men
who ‘govern’!”
“Then what should I do?” said Cloud Chief.
“Ah,” said Big Concealment, “you are too far gone! Up,
up, stir yourself and be off!”
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LET IT BE, LEAVE IT ALONE
81
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Cloud Chief said, “Heavenly Master, it has been hard
indeed for me to meet with you—I beg one word of
instruction!”
“Well, then—mind-nourishment!” said Big Concealment.12 “You have only to rest in inaction, and things will
transform themselves. Smash your form and body, spit
out hearing and eyesight, forget you are a thing among
other things, and you may join in great unity with the
deep and boundless. Undo the mind, slough off spirit, be
blank and soulless, and the ten thousand things one by
one will return to the root—return to the root and not
know why. Dark and undifferentiated chaos—to the end
of life, none will depart from it. But if you try to know it,
you have already departed from it. Do not ask what its
name is; do not try to observe its form. Things will live
naturally and of themselves.”
Cloud Chief said, “The Heavenly Master has favored
me with this Virtue, instructed me in this Silence. All my
life I have been looking for it, and now at last I have it!”
He bowed his head twice, stood up, took his leave, and
went away.
The common run of men all welcome those who are
like themselves and scorn those who differ from themselves. The reason they favor those who are like themselves and do not favor those who are different is that their
minds are set on distinguishing themselves from the crowd.
But if their minds are set on distinguishing themselves
from the crowd, how is this ever going to distinguish them
from the crowd? It is better to follow the crowd and be
content, for no matter how much you may know, it can
never match the many talents of the crowd combined.
Here is a man who wants to take over the management
of another man’s state.13 He thinks thereby to seize all the
profits enjoyed by the kings of the Three Dynasties but
fails to take note of their worries. This is to gamble with
another man’s state, and how long can you expect to gamble with his state and not lose it? Fewer than one man in
ten thousand will succeed in holding on to the state; the
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12. “Mind-nourishment”
may seem an odd thing to
recommend, particularly
as the whole anecdote is
directed against purposeful
“governing” or “nourishing.”
But this is typical of Daoist
paradox. As we soon see, it
does not in fact mean what
it seems to mean.
13. Probably a reference to
the itinerant statesmenadvisers of late Zhou times
who wandered about
offering their services to the
various feudal lords.
82
14. I follow Fukunaga in
punctuating after the
first wu.
15. Following Yu Yue’s
interpretation.
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16. Following Zhang
Binglin’s interpretation.
17. The remainder of the
chapter, with its recognition of the necessity for
benevolence, righteousness,
law, ritual, etc., seems to clash
violently with what has gone
before. Some commentators
interpret it as a description
of the kind of compromise
that even the perfect Daoist
ruler must make if he is to
rule effectively. Others
regard it as an interpolation
or a passage misplaced from
some other section. See the
similar passage on p. 79.
18. Following Ma Xulun’s
interpretation.
LET IT BE, LEAVE IT ALONE
odds in favor of losing it are more than ten thousand to
one. It is sad indeed that the possessors of states do not
realize this!
Now the possessor of a state possesses a great thing.
Because he possesses a great thing, he cannot be regarded as a mere thing himself.14 He is a thing, and yet
he is not a mere thing; therefore he can treat other things
as mere things. He who clearly understands that in
treating other things as mere things, he himself is no
longer a mere thing—how could he be content only to
govern the hundred clans of the world and do nothing
more? He will move in and out of the Six Realms, wander over the Nine Continents, going alone, coming alone.
He may be called a Sole Possessor, and a man who is a
Sole Possessor may be said to have reached the peak of
eminence.
The Great Man in his teaching is like the shadow that
follows a form, the echo that follows a sound. Only when
questioned does he answer, and then he pours out all his
thoughts, making himself the companion of the world.
He dwells in the echoless, moves in the directionless, takes
by the hand you who are rushing and bustling back and
forth15 and proceeds to wander in the beginningless. He
passes in and out of the boundless and is ageless as the
sun. His face and form16 blend with the Great Unity,
the Great Unity that is selfless. Being selfless, how then
can he look on possession as possession? He who fixed
his eyes on possession—he was the “gentleman” of ancient times. He who fixes his eyes on nothingness—he is the
true friend of Heaven and earth.
What is lowly and yet must be used—things.17 What is
humble and yet must be relied on—the people. What is irksome18 and yet must be attended to—affairs. What is sketchy
and yet must be proclaimed—laws. What seems to apply
only to distant relationships and yet must be observed—
righteousness. What seems to apply only to intimate relationships and yet must be broadened—benevolence.
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LET IT BE, LEAVE IT ALONE
83
What is confining and yet must be repeatedly practiced—
ritual. What is already apt and yet must be heightened—
Virtue. What is One and yet must be adapted—the
Way. What is spiritual and yet must be put into
action—Heaven.
Therefore the sage contemplates Heaven but does not
assist it. He finds completion in Virtue but piles on nothing more. He goes forth in the Way but does not scheme.
He accords with benevolence but does not set great store
by it. He draws close to righteousness but does not labor
over it. He responds to the demands of ritual and does
not shun them. He disposes of affairs and makes no excuses. He brings all to order with laws and allows no confusion. He depends on the people and does not make
light of them. He relies on things and does not throw
them aside. Among things, there are none that are worth
using, and yet they must be used.
He who does not clearly understand Heaven will not
be pure in Virtue. He who has not mastered the Way will
find himself without any acceptable path of approach.
He who does not clearly understand the Way is pitiable
indeed!
What is this thing called the Way? There is the Way of
Heaven and the way of man. To rest in inaction, and command respect—this is the Way of Heaven. To engage in
action and become entangled in it—this is the way of man.
The ruler is the Way of Heaven; his subjects are the way
of man. The Way of Heaven and the way of man are far
apart. This is something to consider carefully!
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12
HE AV EN A ND E A R TH
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1. Perhaps a reference to the
Confucian doctrine of the
rectification of names, that
is, the necessity to make
certain that the one who is
called “ruler” is in fact a
true ruler, etc. The writer of
this chapter seems to be
attempting to effect a
compromise between
Daoist and Confucian
ideals of government.
2. Yi, elsewhere translated
as “righteousness.”
3. As pointed out by
commentators, the position
of the de and that of the dao
in the next sentence should
be reversed to match the
order of the sorites that
follows. But the text is
probably faulty.
4. It is not known what
“Record” the writer is
quoting.
5. The Master has been
variously identified as Laozi,
Zhuangzi, or Confucius.
Heaven and earth are huge, but they are alike in their
transformations. The ten thousand things are numerous,
but they are one in their good order. Human beings are
many, but they all are subjects of the sovereign. The sovereign finds his source in Virtue, his completion in Heaven.
Therefore it is said that the sovereign of dark antiquity
ruled the world through inaction, through Heavenly Virtue
and nothing more.
Look at words in the light of the Way—then the sovereign of the world will be upright.1 Look at distinctions in
the light of the Way—then the duty2 of sovereign and
subject will be clear. Look at abilities in the light of the
Way—then the officials of the world will be well ordered.
Look everywhere in the light of the Way—then the response of the ten thousand things will be complete.
Pervading Heaven and earth: that is the Way.3 Moving
among the ten thousand things: that is Virtue. Superiors
governing the men below them: that is called administration. Ability finding trained expression: that is called skill.
Skill is subsumed in administration, administration in
duty, duty in Virtue, Virtue in the Way, and the Way in
Heaven. Therefore it is said, those who shepherded the
world in ancient times were without desire, and the world
was satisfied, without action, and the ten thousand things
were transformed. They were deep and silent, and the hundred clans were at rest. The Record says: “Stick to the One,
and the ten thousand tasks will be accomplished; achieve
mindlessness, and the gods and spirits will bow down.” 4
The Master said:5 The Way covers and bears up the ten
thousand things—vast, vast is its greatness! The gentle-
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HEAVEN AND EARTH
85
man must pluck out his mind! To act through inaction is
called Heaven. To speak through inaction is called Virtue.
To love men and bring profit to things is called benevolence. To make the unlike alike is called magnitude. To
move beyond barrier and distinction is called liberality.
To possess the ten thousand unlikes is called wealth. To
hold fast to Virtue is called enrootment. To mature in
Virtue is called establishment. To follow the Way is called
completion. To see that external things do not blunt the
will is called perfection. When the gentleman clearly
comprehends these ten things, then how huge will be the
greatness of his mind setting forth, how endless his ramblings with the ten thousand things!
Such a man will leave the gold hidden in the mountains,
the pearls hidden in the depths. He will see no profit in
money and goods, no enticement in eminence and wealth,
no joy in long life, no grief in early death, no honor in
affluence, no shame in poverty. He will not snatch the
profits of a whole generation and make them his private
hoard; he will not lord it over the world and think that he
dwells in glory. His glory is enlightenment, [for he knows
that] the ten thousand things belong to one storehouse,
that life and death share the same body.
The Master said: The Way—how deep its dwelling,
how pure its clearness! Without it, the bells and chiming
stones will not sound. The bells and stones have voices,
but unless they are struck, they will not sound. The ten
thousand things—who can make them be still?
The man of kingly Virtue moves in simplicity and is
ashamed to be a master of facts. He takes his stand in the
original source, and his understanding extends to the spirits. Therefore his Virtue is far-reaching. His mind moves
forth only when some external thing has roused it. Without the Way, the body can have no life, and without Virtue,
life can have no clarity. To preserve the body and live out
life, to establish Virtue and make clear the Way—is this
not kingly Virtue? Broad and boundless, suddenly he
emerges, abruptly he moves, and the ten thousand things
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86
6. Compare Daodejing XXI:
“shadowy and indistinct,
within it is a thing; dim and
dark, within it is an essence.”
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7. That is, he accommodates
himself to external
phenomena as a traveler
accommodates himself
to the conditions of the
journey. In the main,
I follow Fukunaga’s
interpretation, though the
sentence is very obscure.
HEAVEN AND EARTH
follow him—this is what is called the man of kingly
Virtue!
He sees in the darkest dark, hears where there is no
sound. In the midst of darkness, he alone sees the dawn;
in the midst of the soundless, he alone hears harmony.
Therefore, in depth piled upon depth, he can spy out the
thing; in spirituality piled upon spirituality, he can discover
the essence.6 So in his dealings with the ten thousand
things, he supplies all their wants out of total nothingness. Racing with the hour, he seeks lodging for a night,
in the great, the small, the long, the short, the near, the
far.7
The Yellow Emperor went wandering north of the Red
Water, ascended the slopes of Kunlun, and gazed south.
When he got home, he discovered he had lost his Dark
Pearl. He sent Knowledge to look for it, but Knowledge
couldn’t find it. He sent the keen-eyed Li Zhu to look for
it, but Li Zhu couldn’t find it. He sent Wrangling Debate
to look for it, but Wrangling Debate couldn’t find it. At
last he tried employing Shapeless, and Shapeless found it.
The Yellow Emperor said, “How odd!—in the end it was
Shapeless who was able to find it!”
Yao’s teacher was Xu You; Xu You’s teacher was Nie Que;
Nie Que’s teacher was Wang Ni; and Wang Ni’s teacher
was Piyi. Yao asked Xu You, “Would Nie Que do as the
counterpart of Heaven? I could get Wang Ni to ask him
to take over the throne from me.”
Xu You said, “Watch out! You’ll put the world in danger! Nie Que is a man of keen intelligence and superb
understanding, nimble-witted and sharp. His inborn nature surpasses that of other men, and he knows how to
exploit what Heaven has given him through human devices. He would do his best to prevent error, but he doesn’t
understand the source from which error arises. Make him
the counterpart of Heaven? Watch—he will start leaning
on men and forget about Heaven. He will put himself first
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HEAVEN AND EARTH
87
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and relegate others to a class apart. He will worship
knowledge and chase after it with the speed of fire. He
will become the servant of causes, the victim of things,
looking in all four directions to see how things are faring,
trying to attend to all wants, changing along with things,
and possessing no trace of any constancy of his own. How
could he possibly do as counterpart of Heaven? However, there are clans, and there are clan heads. He might do
as the father of one branch, though he would never do as
the father of the father of the branch. His kind are the
forerunners of disorder, a disaster to the ministers facing
north, a peril to the sovereign facing south!”
Yao was seeing the sights at Hua when the border guard
of Hua said, “Aha—a sage! I beg to offer up prayers for the
sage. They will bring the sage long life!”
Yao said, “No, thanks.”
“They will bring the sage riches!”
Yao said, “No, thanks.”
“They will bring the sage many sons!”
Yao said, “No, thanks.”
“Long life, riches, many sons—these are what all men
desire!” said the border guard. “How is it that you alone
do not desire them?”
Yao said, “Many sons mean many fears. Riches mean
many troubles. Long life means many shames. These three
are of no use in nourishing Virtue—therefore I decline
them.”
The border guard said, “At first I took you for a sage.
Now I see you are a mere gentleman. When Heaven gives
birth to the ten thousand people, it is certain to have
jobs to assign to them. If you have many sons and their
jobs are assigned to them, what is there to fear? If you
share your riches with other men, what troubles will you
have? The true sage is a quail at rest, a little fledgling at its
meal, a bird in flight that leaves no trail behind. When the
world has the Way, he joins in the chorus with all other
things. When the world is without the Way, he nurses his
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88
HEAVEN AND EARTH
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Virtue and retires in leisure. And after a thousand years,
should he tire of the world, he will leave it and ascend to
the immortals, riding on those white clouds all the way up
to the village of God. The three worries you have cited
never touch him; his body is forever free of peril. How can
he suffer any shame?”
The border guard turned and left. Yao followed him,
saying, “Please—I would like to ask you . . .”
“Go away!” said the border guard.
When Yao ruled the world, Bocheng Zigao was enfeoffed
as one of his noblemen. But when Yao passed the throne
to Shun, and Shun passed it to Yu, Bocheng Zigao relinquished his title and took up farming. Yu went to see him
and found him working in the fields. Yu scurried forward
in the humblest manner, came to a halt, and said, “In former times when Yao ruled the world, sir, you served as
one of his noblemen. But when Yao passed the throne to
Shun, and Shun passed it to me, you relinquished your title and took up farming. May I be so bold as to ask why?”
Zigao said, “In former times when Yao ruled the world,
he handed out no rewards, and yet the people worked
hard; he handed out no punishments, and yet the people
were cautious. Now you reward and punish, and still the
people fail to do good. From now on, Virtue will decay;
from now on, penalties will prevail. The disorder of future ages will have its beginning here! You had better be
on your way now—don’t interrupt my work!” Busily, busily he proceeded with his farm work, never turning to
look back.
In the Great Beginning, there was nonbeing; there was no
being, no name. Out of it arose One; there was One, but
it had no form. Things got hold of it and it came to life,
and it was called Virtue. Before things had forms, they had
their allotments; these were of many kinds but not cut off
from one another, and they were called fates. Out of the
flow and flux, things were born, and as they grew, they
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HEAVEN AND EARTH
89
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developed distinctive shapes; these were called forms.
The forms and bodies held within them spirits, each with
its own characteristics and limitations, and this was called
the inborn nature. If the nature is trained, you may return
to Virtue, and Virtue at its highest peak is identical with
the Beginning. Being identical, you will be empty; being
empty, you will be great. You may join in the cheeping and
chirping, and when you have joined in the cheeping
and chirping, you may join with Heaven and earth. Your
joining is wild and confused, as though you were stupid,
as though you were demented. This is called Dark Virtue. Rude and unwitting, you take part in the Great
Submission.
Confucius said to Lao Dan, “Here’s a man who works to
master the Way as though he were trying to talk down an
opponent,8 making the unacceptable acceptable, the not
so, so. As the rhetoricians say, he can separate ‘hard’ from
‘white’ as clearly as though they were dangling from the
eaves there. Can a man like this be called a sage?”
Lao Dan said, “A man like this is a drudging slave, a
craftsman bound to his calling, wearing out his body,
grieving his mind. Because the dog can catch rats, he ends
up on a leash.9 Because of his nimbleness, the monkey is
dragged down from the mountain forest. Qiu,10 I’m going
to tell you something—something you could never hear
for yourself and something you would never know how to
speak of. People who have heads and feet but no minds
and no ears—there are mobs of them. To think that beings with bodies can all go on existing along with that
which is bodiless and formless—it can never happen! A
man’s stops and starts, his life and death, his rises and
falls—none of these can he do anything about. Yet he
thinks that the mastery of them lies with man! Forget
things, forget Heaven, and be called a forgetter of self. The
man who has forgotten self may be said to have entered
Heaven.”
* * *
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8. Following Ma Xulun,
I read bang (slander) in
place of fang.
9. Following Sun Yirang,
I read lei in place of si;
compare the parallel passage
on p. 56.
10. Confucius’s familiar
name. In using it to address
Confucius face to face,
Laozi is expressing great
familiarity and/or
contempt.
90
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11. Following texts that read
ju (agitated) in place of chu.
HEAVEN AND EARTH
Jianglü Mian went to see Ji Che and said, “The ruler of Lu
begged me to give him some instruction. I declined, but
he wouldn’t let me go, and so I had no choice but to tell
him something. I don’t know whether or not what I said
was right, but I would like to try repeating it to you. I said
to the ruler of Lu, ‘You must be courteous and temperate!
Pick out and promote those who are loyal and publicspirited, allow no flattery or favoritism, and then who of
your people will venture to be unruly?’”
Ji Che heehawed with laughter. “As far as the Virtue of
emperors and kings is concerned,” he said, “your advice is
like the praying mantis that waved its arms angrily in
front of an approaching carriage—it just isn’t up to the
job. If the ruler of Lu went about it in that way, he would
simply get himself all stirred up,11 place himself on a tower
or a terrace. Then things would flock around him, and the
crowd would turn its steps in his direction!”
Jianglü Mian’s eyes bugged out in amazement. “I am
dumbfounded by your words,” he said. “Nevertheless, I
would like to hear how the Master would speak on this
subject.”
Ji Che said, “When a great sage rules the world, he
makes the minds of his people free and far wandering. On
this basis, he fashions teachings and simplifies customs,
wiping out all treason from their minds and allowing each
to pursue his own will. All is done in accordance with the
inborn nature, and yet the people do not know why it is
like this. Proceeding in this way, what need has he either
to revere the way in which Yao and Shun taught their
people or to look down on it in lofty contempt? His only
desire is for unity with Virtue and the repose of the
mind.”
Zigong traveled south to Chu, and on his way back through
Jin, as he passed along the south bank of the Han, he saw an
old man preparing his fields for planting. He had hollowed
out an opening by which he entered the well and from
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HEAVEN AND EARTH
91
which he emerged, lugging a pitcher, which he carried out
to water the fields. Grunting and puffing, he used up a great
deal of energy and produced very little result.
“There is a machine for this sort of thing,” said Zigong.
“In one day it can water a hundred fields, demanding very
little effort and producing excellent results. Wouldn’t you
like one?”
The gardener raised his head and looked at Zigong.
“How does it work?”
“It’s a contraption made by shaping a piece of wood.
The back end is heavy and the front end light and it raises
the water as though it were pouring it out, so fast that it
seems to boil right over! It’s called a well sweep.”
The gardener flushed with anger and then said with
a laugh, “I’ve heard my teacher say, where there are machines, there are bound to be machine worries; where
there are machine worries, there are bound to be machine
hearts. With a machine heart in your breast, you’ve spoiled
what was pure and simple, and without the pure and
simple, the life of the spirit knows no rest. Where the life
of the spirit knows no rest, the Way will cease to buoy you
up. It’s not that I don’t know about your machine—I would
be ashamed to use it!”
Zigong blushed with chagrin, looked down, and made
no reply. After a while, the gardener said, “Who are you,
anyway?”
“A disciple of Kong Qiu.”12
“Oh—then you must be one of those who broaden
their learning in order to ape the sages, heaping absurd
nonsense on the crowd, plucking the strings and singing
sad songs all by yourself in hopes of buying fame in the
world! You would do best to forget your spirit and breath,
break up your body and limbs—then you might be able
to get somewhere. You don’t even know how to look after
your own body—how do you have any time to think about
looking after the world! On your way now! Don’t interfere with my work!”
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12. Confucius.
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92
13. On Mr. Chaos (Hundun),
see p. 59.
HEAVEN AND EARTH
Zigong frowned, and the color drained from his face.
Dazed and rattled, he couldn’t seem to pull himself together, and it was only after he had walked on for some
thirty li that he began to recover.
One of his disciples said, “Who was that man just now?
Why did you change your expression and lose your color
like that, Master, so that it took you all day to get back to
normal?”
“I used to think there was only one real man in the
world,” said Zigong. “I didn’t know that there was this
other one. I have heard Confucius say that in affairs you
aim for what is right, and in undertakings you aim for success. To spend little effort and achieve big results—that is
the Way of the sage. Now it seems that this isn’t so. He
who holds fast to the Way is complete in Virtue; being
complete in Virtue, he is complete in body; being complete in body, he is complete in spirit; and to be complete
in spirit is the Way of the sage. He is content to live
among the people, to walk by their side, and never know
where he is going. Witless, his purity is complete. Achievement, profit, machines, skill—they have no place in this
man’s mind! A man like this will not go where he has no
will to go, will not do what he has no mind to do. Though
the world might praise him and say he had really found
something, he would look unconcerned and never turn
his head; though the world might condemn him and say
he had lost something, he would look serene and pay no
heed. The praise and blame of the world are no loss or
gain to him. He may be called a man of Complete Virtue.
I—I am a man of the wind-blown waves.”
When Zigong got back to Lu, he reported the incident
to Confucius. Confucius said, “He is one of those bogus
practitioners of the arts of Mr. Chaos.13 He knows the
first thing but doesn’t understand the second. He looks
after what is on the inside but doesn’t look after what is
on the outside. A man of true brightness and purity who
can enter into simplicity, who can return to the primitive
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HEAVEN AND EARTH
93
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through inaction, give body to his inborn nature, and embrace his spirit, and in this way wander through the everyday world—if you had met one like that, you would have
had real cause for astonishment.14 As for the arts of Mr.
Chaos, you and I need not bother to find out about them.”
Zhun Mang was on his way east to the Great Valley of
the sea when he happened to meet Yuan Feng by the
shore of the eastern ocean.15 Yuan Feng said, “Where are
you going?”
“I’m going to the Great Valley.”
“What will you do there?”
“The Great Valley is the sort of thing you can pour into
and it never gets full, dip from and it never runs dry. I’m
going to wander there.”
Yuan Feng said, “Don’t you care about what happens to
ordinary men? Please, won’t you tell me about the government of the sage?”
“The government of the sage?” said Zhun Mang. “Assign offices so that no abilities are overlooked; promote
men so that no talents are neglected. Always know the true
facts, and let men do what they are best at. When actions
and words proceed properly and the world is transformed,
then at a wave of the hand or a tilt of the chin, all the
people of the four directions will come flocking to you.
This is called the government of the sage.”
“May I ask about the man of Virtue?”
“The man of Virtue rests without thought, moves
without plan. He has no use for right and wrong, beautiful
and ugly. To share profit with all things within the four
seas is his happiness, to look after their needs is his peace.
Sad faced, he’s like a little child who has lost his mother.
Bewildered, he’s like a traveler who has lost his way. He
has more than enough wealth and goods, but he doesn’t
know where they come from. He gets all he needs to eat
and drink, but he doesn’t know how he gets it. This is
called the manner of the man of Virtue.”
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14. That is, the true man
of the Way does not retire
from the world or reject
society and its inventions.
15. The names of the
persons in the anecdote
are allegorical, Zhun Mang
meaning something like
“Artless and Forgetful” and
Yuan Feng meaning “Little
Wind.”
94
HEAVEN AND EARTH
“May I ask about the man of spirit?”
“He lets his spirit ascend and mount on the light; with
his bodily form, he dissolves and is gone. This is called the
Illumination of Vastness. He lives out his fate, follows to the
end his true form, and rests in the joy of Heaven and earth
while the ten thousand cares melt away. So all things return
to their true form. This is called Muddled Darkness.”
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16. If they were viewing the
actual troops, the episode
must be set in the eleventh
century bce, when King Wu
of the Zhou attacked and
overthrew the last ruler of
the Shang dynasty. But
perhaps they were watching
the court dances performed
in later ages that reenacted
the campaign. The “man of
the Yu clan” in the following
sentence is the sage ruler
who did not have to launch
any military expeditions.
Men Wugui and Chizhang Manqui were watching the
troops of King Wu.16 Chizhang Manqui said, “He is no
match for the man of the Yu clan. That’s why he runs into
all this trouble!”
Men Wugui said, “Was the world already in good order
when the man of the Yu clan came along to order it? Or
was it in disorder, and later he brought it in order?”
Chizhang Manqui said, “Everybody wants to see the
world well ordered. If it had been so already, what point
would there have been in calling on the man of the Yu
clan? The man of the Yu clan was medicine to a sore. But
to wait until you go bald and then buy a wig, to wait until
you get sick and then call for a doctor, to prepare the
medicine like a true filial son and present it to your loving
father, wearing a grim and haggard look—this the true
sage would be ashamed to do. In an age of Perfect Virtue,
the worthy are not honored; the talented are not employed. Rulers are like the high branches of a tree; the
people, like the deer of the fields. They do what is right,
but they do not know that this is righteousness. They love
one another, but they do not know that this is benevolence. They are truehearted but do not know that this is
loyalty. They are trustworthy but do not know that this is
good faith. They wriggle around like insects, performing
services for one another, but do not know that they are
being kind. Therefore they move without leaving any trail
behind, act without leaving any memory of their deeds.”
When a filial son does not fawn on his parents, when a
loyal minister does not flatter his lord, they are the finest
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HEAVEN AND EARTH
95
of sons and ministers. He who agrees with everything his
parents say and approves of everything they do is regarded
by popular opinion as an unworthy son; he who agrees
with everything his lord says and approves of everything
his lord does is regarded by popular opinion as an unworthy minister.17 But in other cases, men do not realize that
the same principle should apply. If a man agrees with everything that popular opinion says and regards as good
everything that popular opinion regards as good, he is not,
as you might expect, called a sycophant and a flatterer. Are
we to assume, then, that popular opinion commands more
authority than one’s parents or is more to be honored than
one’s lord?
Call a man a sycophant, and he flushes with anger; call
him a flatterer, and he turns crimson with rage. Yet all his
life, he will continue to be a sycophant; all his life, he will
continue to be a flatterer. See him set forth his analogies
and polish his fine phrases to draw a crowd, until the beginning and end, the root and branches of his argument
no longer match!18 See him spread out his robes, display
his bright colors, put on a solemn face in hopes of currying favor with the age—and yet he does not recognize
himself as a sycophant or a flatterer. See him with his followers laying down the law on right and wrong, and yet he
does not recognize himself as one of the mob. This is the
height of foolishness!
He who knows he is a fool is not the biggest fool; he
who knows he is confused is not in the worst confusion.
The man in the worst confusion will end his life without
ever getting straightened out; the biggest fool will end his
life without ever seeing the light. If three men are traveling along and one is confused, they will still get where
they are going—because confusion is in the minority. But
if two of them are confused, then they can walk until they
are exhausted and never get anywhere—because confusion is in the majority. And with all the confusion in the
world these days, no matter how often I point the way, it
does no good. Sad, is it not?
Burton. The Complete Works of Zhuangzi, Columbia University Press, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central,
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17. Because it is the duty of
the son and minister to
reprimand his parents and
lord, respectively, when they
are clearly in the wrong.
18. Following texts that
omit the zui and adopting
Chu Boxiu’s interpretation;
the reference is apparently
to the rhetoricians.
96
19. Following Lu Deming’s
emendations.
Copyright © 2013. Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
20. Is this sentence
intended to belong with
what precedes it or with
what follows it? I am unable
to tell.
21. On Yangzi and Mozi, see
p. 61, n. 7. They preached
acceptance and rejection,
repectively, of sensual
pleasure.
HEAVEN AND EARTH
Great music is lost on the ears of the villagers, but play
them “The Breaking of the Willow” or “Bright Flowers,”
and they grin from ear to ear. In the same way, lofty words
make no impression on the minds of the mob. Superior
words gain no hearing because vulgar words are in the
majority. It is like the case of the two travelers tramping
along in confusion and never getting where they are going.19 With all the confusion in the world these days, no
matter how often I point the way, what good does it do?
And if I know it does no good and still make myself do it,
this too is a kind of confusion. So it is best to leave things
alone and not force them. If I don’t force things, at least I
won’t cause anyone any worry.
When the leper woman gives birth to a child in the
dead of the night, she rushes to fetch a torch and examine
it, trembling with terror lest it look like herself.20
The hundred-year-old tree is hacked up to make bowls
for the sacrificial wine, blue and yellow with patterns on
them, and the chips are thrown into the ditch. Compare
the sacrificial bowls with the chips in the ditch, and you
will find them far apart in beauty and ugliness; yet they
are alike in having lost their inborn nature. Robber Zhi,
Zeng, and Shi are far apart in deeds and righteousness,
and yet they are the same in having lost their inborn nature. There are five conditions under which the inborn
nature is lost. One: when the five colors confuse the eye
and cause the eyesight to be unclear. Two: when the five
notes confuse the ear and cause the hearing to be unclear.
Three: when the five odors stimulate the nose and produce weariness and congestion in the forehead. Four:
when the five flavors dull the mouth, causing the sense of
taste to be impaired and lifeless. Five: when likes and dislikes unsettle the mind and cause the inborn nature to
become volatile and flighty. These five all are a danger to
life. And yet the followers of Yangzi and Mozi go striding
around, thinking they have really gotten hold of something.21 This is not what I call getting hold of something.
Burton. The Complete Works of Zhuangzi, Columbia University Press, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central,
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HEAVEN AND EARTH
97
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If what you have gotten has gotten you into trouble,
then can you really be said to have gotten something? If
so, then the pigeons and doves in their cage have also gotten hold of something. With likes and dislikes, sounds
and colors, you cripple what is on the inside; with leather
caps and snipe-feathered bonnets, batons stuck in belts
and sashes trailing, you cramp what is on the outside.
The inside hemmed in by pickets and pegs, the outside
heaped with wraps and swathes, and still you stand in
this tangle of wraps and swathes and declare that you
have gotten hold of something? If so, then the condemned men with their chained wrists and manacled fingers, the tiger and the leopard in their pens and prisons,
have also gotten hold of something!22
Burton. The Complete Works of Zhuangzi, Columbia University Press, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central,
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22. These last two
paragraphs, with their
mention of Robber Zhi,
Zeng, and Shi, and
discussion of the five notes,
flavors, etc., are close in
thought and terminology to
the preceding sections.
Speculation is that they
originally belonged to either
sec. 9 or sec. 11.
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