Zhuangzi Chapter 24: Xu Wu Gui (One Without Secrets)
Translated by Nina Correa
Nu Shang (Appointment Maker) arranged for Xu Wu Gui (One Without Secrets) to have an audience with Marquis Wu of Wei.
Marquis Wu said to him sympathetically:
“Your life has already been filled with so many hardships! You don’t get much sympathy while suffering in the mountain forests, so you’ve come seeking it from me.”
Xu Wu Gui said:
“I came to sympathize with you. Why would you be sympathetic towards me? You’re constantly trying to fulfill your habitual obsessions, and for such a long time have been overtaken by your own likes and dislikes that your own natural sensibilities are diseased! You’ve then been trying to blot out those habitual obsessions, hammer down your likes and dislikes, and in the process your perceptions have been diseased. That’s why I came to sympathize with you, not to ask for your sympathy!”
Marquis Wu became aloof and detached and didn’t answer.
After a short pause, Xu Wu Gui said:
“Let me explain to you how I size up dogs. The temperament marking an inferior dog is that it simply goes for its own satisfaction then stops – which is the virtue of most dogs in the fields. The temperament marking a mediocre dog is that it seems to be observing something all day. The temperament marking a superior dog is that it seems to have lost all sense of itself. That’s how I size up dogs, but I size up horses a little differently. When sizing up a horse, if it can walk in a perfectly straight line, turn comfortably in figure eights, easily be guided in 90 degree turns and continue making circles on command, then that’s a horse which can be used by the state. However, it wouldn’t be a horse of the natural world. A horse of the natural world has developed its natural abilities. It seems deficient and defective, as though it’s given up on trying to be other than what it is. By being like that, it can speed off like the fastest racing chariot while kicking up dust in its wake, without trying to figure out what it’s supposed to be doing as a horse.”
Marquis Wu was extremely delighted at this and laughed.
When Xu Wu Gui left from the meeting Nu Shang said to him:
“Sir, what did you discuss in there when you were alone with my lord? When I have discussions with him, I toss out quotes from the Shi Jing (Book of Odes), the Shu Jing (Book of History), the Li Ji (Book of Rites), the Yue Jing (Book of Music). Then I follow that up with quotes from the Jin Ban (Golden Tablets) and the Liu Tao (Six Strategies). If he obeyed the mandates for dealing with affairs stated in those texts, then there’d be no way for him to be criticized, but I’ve never seen him crack a smile before. Now what did you say to him that made him so delighted like this?”
Xu Wu Gui said:
“I simply told him how I size up dogs and horses.”
Nu Shang said:
“That was all?”
“Haven’t you heard about the man who was exiled to the state of Yue? After he’d been away from his own state for several days, he was happy to come across anyone he knew. After he’d been away for several months, he was happy to come across anyone from his own state. After he’d been away for about a year, he was happy to see anyone who vaguely resembled someone from his own state. He missed what was familiar to him If someone was to take off into the vast wilderness where brambles and thorny bushes grow so thick that only rodents and weasels could traverse them, and as he staggered trying to get a foot hold he happened to hear the footsteps of another human being, he’d become happy. And how much more so if he heard the soft laughter and murmuring of his loved ones by his side! It’s been such a long time since my lord heard the soft laughter and murmuring of his loved ones by his side!”
Xu Wu Gui had an audience with Marquis Wu.
Marquis Wu said:
“You live in a mountain forest eating berries and nuts and have to be satisfied with onions and garlic, only visiting me infrequently. Now you’ve gotten old, huh? Do you now want to come share some hearty food and wine with me? To share in the feast and sacrifices to the god of the harvest?”
Xu Wu Gui said:
“I was born into humble poverty. I wouldn’t dare drink your wine or eat your rich food. I’ve come to sympathize with you.”
The Marquis said:
“Why? What would you want to sympathize with me about?”
“I sympathize with both your spirit and outer form.”
Marquis Wu said:
“What do you mean by that?”
Xu Wu Gui said:
“The heavens and the earth nourish all things equally. Just because someone has risen to the top of the heap doesn’t mean they should get preferential treatment. Just because someone was left behind at the bottom doesn’t mean they should be treated as any lower. You alone may be the commander of ten thousand chariots, but you embitter all the people within your state by only being interested in feeding your ears, eyes, nose and mouth with no regard for your spirit. The spirit thrives on harmony and decays on debauchery. Since your debauchery has caused you to be diseased, I sympathize with you. Do you think there’s anything you can do to cure your disease?”
Marquis Wu said:
“I’ve been wanting to see you for a long time. I want to show compassion to the people and act righteously by putting an end to the warfare. Would that work?”
Xu Wu Gui said:
“No, it wouldn’t. Having compassion for people starts a cycle of harming people. Using the concept of righteousness to end warfare is the root of creating more warfare. If you decide to act that way, then you’d not only put yourself in great danger but you’d never succeed. And if you were to view any success you had as a beautiful thing, that would be a tool for further destruction. If you set forth the ideas of benevolence and righteousness, how many more pretenses would that create! When appearances are used to set up what are acceptable behaviors, success depends on cutting off certain things, and these enforced changes cause outward expressions of strife.
“In addition to what you suggested before, you must not line up your troops in their military uniforms between the towers outside the city, nor should you have your foot soldiers and horsemen on guard at the palace altar. Don’t harbor resentment for other’s achievements, don’t use cleverness to try to outwit others, don’t come up with schemes to try to gain victory over others, and don’t engage in battles with others in order to get the upper hand. If you kill the people along with the soldiers and grab up all their land, thinking this will nourish your personal and spiritual goals, then how can you know what the war is good for? How could you determine what a victory would depend on? You seem to have already prevented yourself from looking honestly within, believing you’re responding sincerely to the heavens and earth but refusing to go deeper. Once people had already died or left your domain, what use would there be then to get rid of your soldiers!”
Huang Di was looking for Da Kui in the Ju Ci mountains. Fang Ming (Sharp at Steering) was his carriage driver. Chang Can (Adept Navigator) rode with him in the chariot. Zhang Ruo (Businessman) and Xi Peng (Eloquent Friend) walked in front of the horses. Kun Hun (Keeper of the Inner Gate) and Hua Ji (Clever Inspector) walked behind the carriage. When they reached the open country outside the city limits of Xiangcheng all seven of the wise men had lost their way, and there wasn’t a place to ask for directions.
They came upon a young boy herding a group of horses and decided to ask him if he knew the way:
“Do you know of the Ju Ci mountains?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know where Da Kui is located?”
“Yes.”
Huang Di said:
“How Strange! This little boy not only knows of Ju Ci mountains, but also knows where Da Kui is located. May I ask what you know about dealing with the world?”
The little boy said:
“How to deal with the world seems as simple as what I’m doing right now, and nothing more than that. So, what’s the problem? When I was much younger I traveled within the six directions, and my wanderings just made me dizzy and nauseous. One of my older teachers told me: ‘Try riding on the chariot of the sun while wandering in the open country outside the city limits of Xiangcheng.’ Now I’ve recovered a bit from my nausea by instead wandering outside of the six directions. Dealing with the world is as simple as what I’m doing right now, and nothing more than that. Here I am, so what’s the problem?”
Huang Di said:
“Dealing with the world is indeed not something a small child would consider to be a problem, but even so, I’d still like to ask you how to deal with the world.”
When the small boy didn’t provide an answer, Huang Di asked him the question again.
The small boy said:
“Is dealing with the world any different than herding horses? Just stay away from anything that might harm the horses, and that’s all!”
Huang Di repeatedly bowed several times, giving the boy the respect due a Master, and left.
Students who seek knowledge but don’t consider themselves to have changed anything by that will be unhappy. Students who enjoy debating but don’t feel their words have created a sense of order will be unhappy. Students who look for solutions to everything but haven’t been able to make reformative changes will be unhappy. All of them are limited by something. Students who attract attention from the rest of the world rise in government positions. Students who comfortably mingle with others are honored by their employers. Students who excel in physical strength are useful for overcoming disasters. Students who are brave and daring are roused by conflicts. Students who like using weapons and wearing armor are happy to go to war. Students who tire out easily will seek comfortable positions. Students who are interested in legal matters will elaborate on the laws. Students who embrace manners and piety will respectfully endure whatever comes their way. Students who practice the ideas of benevolence and righteousness will place a high value on boundaries.
A farmer without weeds to pull and fields to plow would feel insignificant. A merchant without a sales route or a marketplace in which to deal his goods would feel insignificant. If the common people are kept busy with doing chores from dawn to dusk, then that calms them down. If the blue collar workers have ingenious machines to work with, then they feel strong in their jobs. If those who strive to be wealthy don’t feel like they’ve accumulated enough, then their greed causes them grief. If those who seek power and influence don’t feel outstanding, then their sense of self-worth causes them sadness. Because they’re influenced by other things, their vain attempts at happiness are thwarted. They try to find a use for any situation they come upon, and they can’t resist the urge to act on it. They all follow along with the idea that they must be significant as they grow older and never find any way to take it easy. They rapidly spread their own personal ambitions to the detriment of all other living things, and for their whole lives they don’t see things any differently. How sad!
Zhuangzi said:
“If an archer doesn’t take aim first but still hits the center of the target, and we still call him a good shot, then we could say that everyone in the world could be as esteemed as Yi, couldn’t we?”
Hui Zi said:
“We could.”
Zhuangzi said:
“If the world doesn’t have a common consensus as to what’s right, and we say that each person’s perception of what’s right can be right, then we could say that everyone in the world could be as esteemed as Yao, couldn’t we?”
Hui Zi said:
“We could.”
Zhuangzi said:
“Okay then, if we take the four schools of Confucians, Mohists, Yangists and Bingists, then add your own school of thought to that making five, how can we come up with which one is actually right? Maybe it’s someone like Lu Ju (Hasty and Blunt)? One of his disciples said: ‘I’ve achieved my Master’s Dao. In the winter I can set a fire under a cauldron, and in summer I can create ice.’ Lu Ju told him: ‘That’s correctly using Yang to summon Yang and using Yin to summon Yin, but that’s not what I mean by Dao. I’ll show you my Dao.’ Thereupon he tuned his psalteries (ancient stringed instruments resembling zithers), and placed one in the hall and the other in his bedroom. When he plucked a string tuned to gong (a C note), that string on the other psaltery resonated. When he plucked a string tuned to jiao (an E note), that string on the other psaltery resonated. That was because each instrument had been tuned exactly the same. If a string on one of the instruments had been retuned so it didn’t match any of the standard five notes (there were only five musical notes recognized: C, D, E, F, A) and if that particular string was plucked, all twenty-five strings on the other instrument would resonate. That wouldn’t be because it was creating an unusual sound, but because that particular note was dominant over the others. Isn’t that what someone who thinks they’re right does?”
Hui Zi said:
“The Confucians, Mohists, Yangists and Bingists are currently trying to cut me down with their debates, arguing with me by citing ancient texts and trying to suppress me with their loud voices, but they haven’t been able to prove I’m wrong. So, what about that?”
Zhuangzi said:
“A man from the state of Qi amputated his son’s feet and sent him off to the state of Song to receive the honorable position of being a gatekeeper since he wasn’t physically whole.
(Note: A gatekeeper who could not run away was more valuable, so they were deliberately mutilated.)
“The man tried to eliminate what was causing him to feel inferior by putting fetters on someone else (his son). He then sought respect by bragging about his son’s position, but he never got recognition anywhere beyond his own neighborhood. That was the legacy he left his son! Or how about the man in the state of Chu who’d been mutilated and set up as a gatekeeper. He took off in the middle of the night when no one was around, but ended up getting into an argument with the boatman who could have assisted him in his escape. He didn’t have the ability to get himself off the hill where he was imprisoned, but he had enough ability to get himself into an argument.”
Zhuangzi was taking part in a funeral procession when he passed the grave of Hui Zi. He turned around to face those behind him and said:
“There was a man from Ying who had a speck of plaster on the tip of his nose sitting there like the wing of a fly, so he requested that Carpenter Shi chop it off. Carpenter Shi swung his ax making a sound like hissing wind and chopped off the piece of plaster without causing any harm at all to his nose while the man from Ying just stood there without losing his composure. When Duke Yuan of Song heard about this feat, he summoned Carpenter Shi and said: ‘I’d like you to try doing that on me.’ Carpenter Shi said: ‘As your servant I’m able to carve things. However, what I used as the substance for doing that particular feat died long ago.’ My own dearest friend has died. I no longer have any substance to act upon! I no longer have anyone I can share in discussions with!”
When Guan Zhong was ill, Duke Huan asked him:
“Your illness seems to be getting worse, and even though I don’t want to bring it up, you might eventually get seriously ill. If that were to happen, I’m wondering who I’d find to replace you. Do you have any suggestions?”
Guan Zhong said:
“Who would you want to appoint?”
The duke said:
“Bao Shu Ya (an old friend of Guan Zhong and long time supporter of Duke Huan).”
“He won’t do. His behavior is that of a pure, honest and kind scholar, but he doesn’t consider himself to be like other people and if he hears of the faults of another person he won’t forget them for the rest of his life. If you put him in charge of running the country, at the highest level he’d latch onto you for support and at the lowest level he’d be contradictory to the welfare of the people. It wouldn’t take long for him to get under your skin and offend you!”
The duke said:
“Okay then, who would you suggest?”
He replied:
“Since you insist I give a recommendation, I’d suggest Xi Peng (not the same Xi Peng mentioned above, but one of Duke Huan’s advisers). His behavior is such that those who are superior aren’t concerned about him usurping their positions, and those who are inferior don’t feel he’s any better than they are. He’s ashamed he can’t be more like Huang Di, and is apologetic for not being more like others. Those who share their virtue with others are called sagely. Those who share their assets with others are called worthy. Those who use their sense of self-worth as a basis for evaluating others will never find adequate assistants. Those who use their sense of self-worth as a means of feeling below others couldn’t help but find adequate assistants. He doesn’t promote those who have reputations throughout the state, nor does he ask for audiences for his own family. Since you insisted I give a recommendation, I suggested Xi Peng.”
The King of Wu was floating down the Yangtze River and stopped to climb up a mountain to hunt for monkeys. When a group of monkeys saw him, they became agitated and suddenly rushed away escaping into the deep forest. There was one monkey who was hanging listlessly from a vine scratching at a flea and leering arrogantly at the king. When the king shot at it, it quickly and deftly grabbed the speeding arrow right out of the air. The king immediately ordered his assistants to shoot a bevy of arrows at it, and the monkey was killed and captured.
The king turned to his friend Yan Bu Yi (Unquestionable Dignity) and said:
“That monkey showed off its cleverness, relying on what it thought was advantageous skills, and was haughty toward me. So it ended up getting killed. Let this be a warning! Beware! Don’t allow yourself to show the appearance of arrogance to others!”
When Yan Bu Yi returned home, he began studying under Dong Wu (Expressionless Tree) to learn to eliminate facial expressions. He got rid of smug expressions that showed his sense of power. After three years the people he came into contact with in the state commended him.
Nan Bo Zi Qi (Exalted Count of Southern Darkness) had been sitting alone at his table for some time when he looked up to the sky and let out a deep sigh.
When Yan Cheng Zi (Mr. Image of a Successful Traveler) came in and saw him sitting there he said:
“You’re really one in a million. You can make your shape look like a withered skeleton, and your mind like dying embers!”
“I’ve had the experience of living in the mouth of a mountain cave. While I was there Tian He (Chief Minister of the state of Qi) once came to pay a visit, and everyone from the surrounding three states congratulated him. I must have made an impression on him, and therefore he wanted to know me. I must have given the impression I had something to sell, and therefore he came to barter with me. Since I didn’t really have anything, what was there to get to know about me? Since I really didn’t have anything to sell, what was there to barter for? Sheesh! I feel a sadness in my heart for those who give up the essence of their natural selves. I also have a sadness in my heart for those who have a sadness in their hearts. I also have a sadness in my heart for those who have a sadness in their hearts for those who have a sadness in their hearts. But that was a while ago and today I went far away.”
When Zhong Ni (Confucius) was in the state of Chu, the king of Chu proposed a toast to him. Sun Shu Ao stood up holding up an ornamental wine goblet. Yi Liao of Shi Nan held up a glass of wine and offered these words:
“Person in touch with the words of antiquity! Share with us some words.”
(Note: This is obviously a fictional story, as the characters mentioned lived in different centuries.)
“I’ve heard about speaking without using my own words, but I’ve never been able to do that myself. However, I’ll try to speak that way now. Yi Liao of Shi Nan played with balls and left it up to the two houses to settle their own disputes. Sun Shu Ao lolled about in his bedroom with a feather fan and left it up to the people in Ying to throw down their own weapons. I wish I had a beak three feet long.”
(Note: Having a beak refers to being able to recite like a parrot.)
They (Liao and Ao) were said to have followed Dao without speaking. He (Kong) was said to have argued his point without using many words. Therefore, true virtue inevitably comes from a unity with Dao, and when words are cut short and the knowledge expressed is based on not really knowing – that’s getting somewhere. Those who form a unity with Dao realize that by their own virtue they can’t possibly be the same as anyone else, and those who express knowledge while realizing they don’t really know aren’t able to hold up their end in arguments. By trying to create a name for themselves the Confucians and Mohists have fallen into a very deep pit.
The ocean doesn’t reject the flow coming from the rivers eastward into it, and therefore is a symbol of great perfection. A sage joins together with everything contained in the bag between the heavens and the earth, whether it be wading through remote marshes or taking part in the world, and he doesn’t recognize anyone in terms of which clan they belong to. So, he lives his life without a high rank and dies without great ceremonies to his honor. He doesn’t need to have others gather around him to prove his reality, nor does he need to be regarded as famous to establish himself. These things can be used to describe a great person.
Just because a dog can bark well doesn’t mean it’s a good dog. Just because a person can speak well doesn’t mean they’re worth anything, let alone great! Simply being regarded as great doesn’t mean someone is actually great, let alone that they’re a person of virtue! Of the things endowed with greatness, nothing can match the heavens and earth. Who could seek to be like that and be so naturally endowed with greatness? One who understands her own natural greatness doesn’t look for it, doesn’t lose it, doesn’t cast it away and doesn’t allow other things to easily change who she is. She returns repeatedly to a sense of who she really is and doesn’t feel that she’s lacking in any way. She abides by what’s been given to her nature by antiquity but doesn’t become manipulative. This is the sincerity of a great person.
(Nan Bo) Zi Qi (Exalted Count of Southern Darkness) had eight sons. He lined them all up in front of him and called for Jiu Fang Yin (Nine Methods for Descriptions) and said:
“Taking a look at my sons, can you tell me which one is the most auspicious?”
Jiu Fang Yin said:
“Kun (Doormat) is the most auspicious.”
Zi Qi was pleasantly surprised and said:
“What will happen to him?”
“Kun will dine at the same table as a monarch for the rest of his life.”
Zi Qi became depressed at this news and asked with tears in his eyes:
“Why would my son have to suffer such an extreme thing?”
Jiu Fang Yin said:
“To have a son who’d end up dining with royalty would be something seen as advantageous by most of his distant relatives, and even more so by his parents! But now that you’ve heard this news you’re crying as though you want to resist this blessing. Your son is auspicious, but his father doesn’t see this as auspicious.”
Zi Qi said:
“Yin, how are you able to recognize exactly how Kun will be auspicious? You might be able to see that he’ll drink lots of wine and eat lots of food by the characteristics of his nose and mouth, but how can you tell for sure how he’ll get those things? I’ve never been a shepherd, but a lamb was born at the southwest corner of my house. I’ve never been fond of trapping animals, but a quail was born at the northwest corner of my house. These things don’t seem strange, do they?
(Note: These are signs of being lucky. The natural position for sheep in Chinese astrology is the northwest. The natural position for the rat in Chinese astrology is the north – the rat was supposed by the ancient Chinese to turn into a quail in the spring.)
“My son and I have been wandering, just sort of traveling where the world might take us. Together we accept the joys from the heavens and the food from the earth, but we don’t engage in other’s affairs, don’t do much of anything, and don’t consider this to be strange. We ride along together with whatever comes naturally from this great earth and don’t get stirred up by our contact with other things. We’re united in our winding and twisting through life and don’t get involved in how others think we should tend to our affairs. Now I’m finding out there’s some compensation being demanded. That seems like an odd thing for this world to lay at our doorstep, but I suppose we must go with this unusual situation. This dangerous situation can’t be due to anything my son or I did wrong, yet why would the heavens lay this on us! That’s why I’ve been crying.”
Soon after, he sent Kun on an errand to the state of Yan. He was captured by some bandits on the road. They knew it would be difficult to sell him with all his limbs in tact, but they’d get a good price for him if he was missing his feet. So they cut off his feet and sold him in the state of Qi, where Duke Kang set him up as a watchman on a border of his land. He ate meat and drank wine for the rest of his life.
(Note: A slave who could not run away was more valuable.)
Nie Que (Cracked and Missing Teeth) came upon Xu You (a legendary hermit, student of Nie Que) and said:
“Where are you going?”
“I’m running away from Yao (legendary emperor, student of Xu You).”
“What do you mean?”
“Yao is so intent on encouraging benevolence that I’m afraid he’ll end up being a laughing stock throughout the whole world, and that in the future people will end up seeing others as food (for their ambitions). All sorts of people wouldn’t have any trouble attaching themselves to him, claiming they love him in order to be brought into his inner circle, showing him what they can do for him to gain promotions, praising him to become his advisers, but at that point if he does something they don’t like they’ll trash him. Love is one of the benefits that can be gotten from being benevolent and righteous, so those who are willing to give up on the ideas of benevolence and righteousness are few while those who seek to profit from them are many. To engage in benevolence and righteousness by putting on pretenses without being sincere is using them as tools of greed to capture people like birds. If it’s left up to one person to decide the best method to benefit the world, the strength of his power being so absolute would be completely one sided. Yao knows that a worthy person could benefit the whole world, but he doesn’t realize that there are some who would want to steal the whole world. It’s only someone who doesn’t make a determination of who’s worthy that can understand that.”
There are those who are faithfully naive. There are those who are immersed in neediness. There are those who are determinedly ambitious.
Those who are known as the faithfully naive will study the words of one Master, then because they’re so faithful to him and so naive they’ll feel self-satisfied and consider themselves to be quite sufficient in their learning, even though they really haven’t understood anything and haven’t progressed at all. Those are said to be the faithfully naive.
Those who are immersed in neediness are like a tick on a pig. They choose a place to implant themselves between the bristles on the pig’s back, thinking they’re in a huge palace with a big garden. Or they attach themselves in the folds of the groin, the creases of the hoof, between the teats in the belly or in the crook at the back of the knee or ankle and consider themselves to be safely planted in a beneficial place. They don’t realize that when the butcher comes along one day making preparations for the sacrifice, he’ll take them along with the pig to the roasting pit. Their progress is dependent on what they’ve attached themselves to, and their decline is dependent on what they’ve attached themselves to. Those are said to be immersed in neediness.
Those who are determinedly ambitious are like Shun. Mutton isn’t attracted to ants, but ants are attracted to mutton, since mutton has a pungent smell. Shun’s behavior must have had a pungent smell since most of the people in the state wanted to be around him. Therefore, after he moved his capital city three times, finally settling in the ruins of Deng, ten thousand families followed him. Yao heard of Shun’s abilities and praised him as a child of the earth’s soil, saying that he hoped he’d receive blessings from everything he did. By the time Shun was praised as a child of the earth’s soil, he was already showing wear from his age and his clarity had diminished, so he never got the opportunity to take a rest and retire. Those are said to be determinedly ambitious.
So a spiritual person doesn’t like to be surrounded by a bevy of admirers. If they crowd around him like that, he doesn’t make comparisons between them, and by not making comparisons he’s of no benefit to anyone. In that way no one feels like they’re closer to him than anyone else, but no one feels shunned either. He embraces virtue and encourages harmony by being subservient to the world. This is what’s known as a true person.
Like ants, abandoning knowledge. Like fish, achieving proper arrangements. Like sheep, abandoning expectations. Use the eyes to watch with the eyes. Use the ears to listen with the ears. Use the mind to respond with the mind. One who does those things would be as balanced as a string holding a weight and as adjustable as a buckle on a belt. The true people in ancient times waited on the heavens to guide them, and didn’t try to use other people to help them connect to the heavens. Such were the true people in ancient times.
Achieve life and lose death. Achieve death and lose life. There are lots of medicines which can be used: Jin, Jie Geng, Ji Yong, Shi Ling (various medicinal plants used as cures for maladies). Each one of them can be important to use for a specific illness, but who could cure anything by just reciting their names?
Gou Jian took refuge on Kuai Ji mountain with three thousand armed troops. Only Zhong was allowed to know where they were hiding, but what Zhong didn’t know was that he should have been in fear for his life.
Therefore it’s been said:
“The hawk’s eyes are especially suited for their purpose and the crane’s legs are properly proportioned. To eliminate those things from either creature would cause them grief.”
Therefore it’s been said:
“When the wind blows excessively over a river the water evaporates. When the sun beats down excessively over a river the water evaporates.” But even if the river and the sun both were in close contact with the river at the same time, the river wouldn’t consider this to be the beginning of its disruption because it just depends on its source to keep flowing along. Taking a close look, it’s obvious that water stays close to the land, a shadow stays close to a person, and things stay close to other things.
Therefore it can be dangerous for one’s eyes to peer intently at one thing. It can be dangerous for one’s ears to listen intently to one thing. It can be dangerous for one’s mind to be single-sightedly in pursuit of one thing. It can be even more dangerous to keep doing those things all the time, especially if there’s a sense of trying to achieve something by doing those things without feeling a need to change. Misfortunes will seem to keep piling up and each moment will be filled with dense rubble. It takes a lot of skill to be able to dispense with the rubble and it might take a long time to see any results. So people prefer to think those things make them treasured individuals. Isn’t that sad! They go on destroying each other’s states and slaughtering the people endlessly, not knowing to question why this is happening.
A foot placed on the earth is taking a step, but although it’s just taking one step if we depend on the places we haven’t stepped on yet then we can be assured of making progress. People’s knowledge is small, but although it’s small if we depend on what we don’t know then we can understand what’s meant by the heavens:
Knowing of a great unity
Knowing of a great mystery
Knowing of a great vision
Knowing of a great equalness
Knowing of a great method
Knowing of a great trust
Knowing of a great order
…. It’s perfect!
The great unity connects everything.
The great mystery explains everything.
The great vision looks at everything.
The great equalness contributes to everything.
The great method forms everything.
The great trust evaluates everything.
The great order supports everything.
Give the utmost priority to the heavens. Follow the glow. Be unified with the pivot. These are the starting points. Then what you thought you understood will appear as misunderstanding, and what you thought you knew will appear as ignorance. Through ignorance comes knowledge. Questions about this can’t be constricted, yet they can’t be without constrictions. Though abstract and evasive, it has substance. It isn’t marked by time throughout the centuries, and can’t be depleted. So how could it not be able to be talked about and spread through discussions! If we stopped asking questions about it, how much doubt and confusion there would be. If we use that which there is no doubt about to remove doubts and recover that which there is no doubt about, then that can be esteemed as the greatest place to be without uncertainty.
Zhuangzi Chapter 25: Peng Yang (Persistent Optimist)
Translated by Nina Correa
When Yang (Peng Yang – Persistent Optimist) traveled to the state of Chu, Yi Jie agreed to speak with the king about him, but before he had a chance to set up an audience between Peng and the king, Yi Jie resigned.
Peng Yang then went to see Wang Guo (Honorable Outcome) and said:
“Sir, could you introduce me to the king?”
Wang Guo said:
“I don’t think so. You might want to go ask Gong Yue Xiu (Happily Resting in Results) to do that for you.”
Peng Yang said:
“What could Gong Yue Xiu do?”
“In the winter he fishes for soft shelled turtles in the Yangtze River. In the summer he rests at the edges of the forest on a mountain. When those who are passing by ask him what he’s doing, he answers: ‘This is my home.’ If Yi Jie already tried to help you but couldn’t do it, I couldn’t do any better! I’m no match for Yi Jie. What’s apparent from Yi Jie’s behavior is that he’s without any virtue, but is knowledegable. He has no respect for those who’ve developed their spiritual side, but condescends to those of wealth and power in this world. Since he knows he’d be of no help to a person of virtue, when he comes upon them he disappears. One who’s freezing in the winter likes to imagine he’s being covered by the spring’s warmth. One who’s experiencing sunstroke likes to think about the chilly breezes of winter. The king of Chu behaves like that kind of person. He gives off an imposing air and demands respect. If he feels someone is guilty, he’s without forgiveness but attacks like a tiger. If someone doesn’t kowtow to his sense of his own virtue, how could they ever get him to bend to their requests!
“Therefore, when a sage is in dire straits, he makes his close friends and family forget about his impoverishment. When he’s in a prominent position, he makes the dukes and princes forget about his rank and instead reverses their positions. When dealing with things, he joins in their amusement. When dealing with people, he takes pleasure in the things they experience but holds true to himself. He sometimes might keep his mouth shut just to slake people’s thirst for harmony, and might stand right along side people to assist them in making their own transformations. Like a father and son who are comfortable with their living arrangements (the son following the mandates of the father), they’re thus able to enjoy their leisure time together. His (Gong’s) heart is with the hearts of others so he can get a lot done. That’s why I suggest you wait for Gong Yue Xiu.”
The sage becomes entwined in silk fabric which encompasses everything into an integral whole, but he doesn’t know how this happened and he just chalks it off to what’s natural. He flows along allowing fate to make the decisions and the heavens to be his teacher. People thereby are left to follow their own destiny. If he worried about knowledge and where he was going constantly without letting up for a moment, how would he ever find a time to stop?
When someone is born physically attractive, even if someone gave them a mirror, unless they were told they were beautiful they wouldn’t know it. Whether they knew it or didn’t know it, whether they heard it or didn’t hear it, they could still be happy endlessly. Other people might continuously be attracted to them, but that’s just their nature. When a sage loves people, even if someone explained to them what love was, unless they were told they were loving they wouldn’t know it. Whether they knew it or didn’t know it, whether they heard it or didn’t hear it, they would still continuously love people. Other people might feel safe and secure with them, but that’s just their nature.
When coming upon old familiar territory, just observing it causes a sense of comfortable recognition. Even if the terrain has been overgrown with new vegetation that obliterates nine out of ten familiar sites, there would still be a sense of comfort. How much more so would it be if someone actually saw what they were looking at and heard what they were listening to. Each thing would stand out like a ten foot tower in a vast expanse of other distractions.
Ran of the Xiang clan (Youthful Appearance) retained the health and appearance of someone middle-aged by going along with what worked. He joined along with things without considering endings or beginnings, and without considering if they were short-term or long-term. In one day all the things he’d joined with could change, but his sense of unity with them didn’t change. When one experience ended, he simply let it go. If someone looks to the heavens to be their teacher, they wouldn’t be able to grasp what the heavens was teaching, but would simply be looking at other things with their own mind. Why would anyone engage in such a thing? A sage doesn’t even begin to try to possess the heavens, to try to possess other people, to try to possess a beginning, nor to try to possess things. He joins together with others as they move along and doesn’t refuse. He helps them prepare for where they’re going but doesn’t try to influence them. Isn’t that being adaptable to things?
When Tang came into power, he took advice from one of his officials, Deng Heng (Constantly Climbing). He listened carefully to his advice, but didn’t allow himself to be limited by it. Since his achievements enabled him to adapt comfortably to his success, he was allowed to keep the title he’d take on. Those titles gained him a place in future philosophical schools, which meant he’d gotten a dual perspective. Zhong Ni (Confucius) exhausted himself pondering that and trying to glean some learning from it.
Rong Cheng (Embodiment of Success) had simply told his clansmen:
“Eliminate the concept of individual days, and there’s no way to measure a year, no way to know what’s inside or outside.”
Ying of Wei (King Hui of the state of Wei) made a treaty with Marquis Tian Mou (chief commander of Qi), but Marquis Tian Mou reneged on the deal. Ying of Wei was so mad that he wanted to send someone to assassinate him.
When his minister of war (Gongsun Yan) heard what he’d said, he felt humiliated by it and said to Ying:
“You have numerous chariots at your disposal, but you want to send some commoner to deal with your enemy! My suggestion is that you give me two hundred thousand armed men so we can make an outright attack on them. We’ll take all the people as prisoners, rope in their oxen and cattle, and make their ruler burn from the inside out after we’ve set fire to the countryside. Mou will run away trying to escape, but we’ll track him down like a dog for going against his word and snap his spine in two.”
When Ji Zi (a moralist) heard about this he became humiliated and said:
“We’ve been in the process of building an eighty foot high wall around the city, and now that this wall is almost completed, if it’s left to go into disrepair that would really embitter even the minor officials at all the wasted effort. It’s been seven years now since we’ve used soldiers in battle, and this has been the foundation of the kings of Wei. Yan is a very troubled person and shouldn’t be listened to.”
When Hua Zi (an elder statesman) heard about all this he thought it was disgraceful and said:
“Someone who promotes the idea of attacking Qi is a troubled person. Someone who promotes the idea that you absolutely shouldn’t attack is also a troubled person. Someone who calls the war mongers and the peace lovers troubled people is also a troubled person.”
The king said:
“Then what’s to be done about this?”
“You should simply seek the answer from Dao!”
When Hui Zi heard about this he introduced Dai Jen Ren (One with Different Perspectives) to the king.
Dai Jen Ren said:
“You must have heard about a snail and know something about it?”
“Sure.”
“There’s a kingdom on its left antenna with a clan called Aggressors. There’s a kingdom on its right antenna with a clan called Retaliators. Every once in a while they get into an argument over territory and go to war. The corpses strewn about number in the thousands, and the defeated army is chased back for fifteen days before the victor returns home.”
The king said:
“Bah! Why all this nonsensical talk?”
“Please let me show you how this can be used in a practical manner. Do you believe that there are borders limiting how far north, south, east, west, up and down extend?”
The king said:
“They’re without limits.”
“Understanding that your heart can wander where there are no limits, but return to experience existence from your perspective in the kingdom, doesn’t it seem that whatever might seem real in one moment could vanish in the next?”
The king said:
“Definitely.”
“Your perspective right now comes from being in the middle of the state of Wei, in the middle of the capital city of Liang, and from the viewpoint of being a king. Between your viewpoint and the viewpoint of the Retaliators, is there much difference?”
The king said:
“No difference.”
After the visitor had left, the king got a faraway and disturbed look on his face as though his mind had gone off somewhere. At that point Hui Zi came to see him.
The king said:
“That visitor was truly a great person. A sage wouldn’t be capable of matching him.”
Hui Zi said:
“Blow into a bamboo flute and it’ll produce a loud sound. If someone tries to blow into the end of a sword’s hilt, all that’ll be produced is a soft whooshing whisper. Yao and Shun were set up on a pedestal by the people, but to say Yao and Shun were in any way ahead of Dai Jen Ren would be analogous to puffing out one soft whooshing whisper.”
When Kong Zi (Confucius) was in the state of Chu he stopped over at an inn on Yi Qui (Ant Hill). A neighboring family, including the husband, wife, servants and maids, had gathered on the roof of their house.
Zi Lu (a disciple of Confucius) asked:
“Why are all those people standing so precariously up there?”
Zhong Ni said:
“They’re the servants of a sage who’s trying to disguise himself as a commoner and hide among the tilled fields. He’s pretty much gotten rid of his notoriety, but his determination hasn’t yet been exhausted. His words are only coming from his mouth, but he hasn’t yet spoken from his heart. His opinions don’t go along with the rest of society, but his heart is conflicted with the acceptance of that. He’s someone who’s trying to submerge himself on dry land. Could he be Yi Liao of Shi Nan?”
Zi Lu asked permission to go fetch him.
Kong Zi said:
“Don’t bother! He knows I’m seeking to further my personal agenda and traveling through Chu in an effort to make the king of Chu grant me an audience, so he figures I must be a sycophant. Feeling the way he does, he’d be ashamed of listening to anything a sycophant had to say, let alone coming into physical contact with one! Besides, what makes you think he’s still there?”
Zi Lu went to look for him, but found that all the rooms were empty.
Chang Wu (Full Grown Shade Tree), who had been given charge over the fiefs in his area, said to Zi Lao (Keeper of Sacrificial Animals):
“A ruler mustn’t be crude and sloppy in governing, and mustn’t be careless and negligent when keeping the people in line. I used to be crude and sloppy when I plowed my fields and planted seeds, so the crop I received was crude and sloppy as well. I used to be careless and negligent when I tended to pulling weeds, so the crop I received was careless and negligent as well. The next year I changed my tactics, plowing deep furrows and carefully selecting the seeds I planted. I received back a large and flavorful crop that kept me satisfied for the whole year.”
When Zhuangzi heard about this he said:
“Nowadays when people try to regulate their bodies and control their minds, most of them are like what Chang described. They run away from the heavens, defy their natural inclinations, extinguish their emotions and pay no attention to their spirits, becoming like an autonomous herd. So, those who are crude and sloppy when dealing with their natural inclinations, condemning their own likes and dislikes as being evil, will eventually find their natures choked and stunted by weeds, reeds and brambles. At first the sprouts (of those plants) seem to assist with our growth, but gradually they permeate and puncture our true natures, leaking profusely into every part and we can’t choose where they might erupt. They drift and float like cancerous tumors eating away at our insides until what we release as excrement is thick and putrefied.”
While Bai Ju (Intent on Rectification) was studying with Lao Dan (Laozi) he said:
“Please allow me to go out and travel in the world.”
Lao Dan said:
“Don’t bother! Everywhere in the world is just like it is here.”
When he became insistent about it, Lao Dan said:
“Where will you go first?”
“I’ll begin in the state of Qi.”
When he reached Qi he saw the corpse of a executed criminal. He moved the body around into a more respectful position and draped his robe over it.
He howled to the heavens and wept over it saying:
“You poor thing! You poor thing! The world is experiencing a great upheaval and you might be the first to have departed because of it. We’ve been told not to steal and not to kill others. After glory and dishonor have been established, that opens the door for determining more defects. After treasures and wealth have been accumulated, that opens the door for more contentions. Now that more defects have been determined and more contentions have been accumulated, that wreaks havoc on how people view themselves and leaves no time for them to take a breather. We may not want things to be that way, but it still happens!
“Those who ruled people in ancient times gave credit to others for their achievements and took responsibility themselves for losses; gave credit to others when things went right and took responsibility themselves when things went wrong. Therefore, if even one other person experienced a loss they would step back and check themselves out. It isn’t like that nowadays. They hide behind others who are too stupid to realize they’re being duped. When great difficulties arise from their actions, they put the blame on cowards. They create impossibly difficult tasks for others, then punish them when they can’t fulfill their mandates. They send others out on missions knowing they’ll be killed when they get there. When the people know their strength is insufficient, they use pretenses to give the illusion of accomplishing what was mandated. Every day they have to pretend more and more until eventually none of the soldiers and people can find any peace at all without pretending about something. When they’re not strong enough, they pretend to be. When they’re not smart enough, they cheat and deceive others. When they don’t have enough material possessions, they steal from others. There’s so much stealing and thievery going on, who really is to blame for it?”
By the time Qu Bo Yu turned sixty years old he had gone through sixty transformations. There wasn’t once that he didn’t start out thinking he was right about something and then end up taking back his words and admitting he was wrong. He doesn’t know even today if what he calls right and wrong might be like all the other fifty-nine times he was wrong. All living things are born but none of them can catch sight of where they came from. All living things proceed through life but none of them can catch sight of the doors they go through. People all respect what their knowledge enables them to know but none of them know how to depend on what their knowledge enables them not to know so they can later find understanding. Can’t this be called the greatest part of doubt? Give up! Give up! There’s no way to escape it. That which is said to be, is it really so?
Zhong Ni (Confucius) asked the Great Historians Da Tao, Bo Chang Jian and Shi Wei:
“Duke Ling of Wei gets drunk and submerges himself in personal gratification but doesn’t pay attention to governing his state. He hunts wherever he wants without obeying the borders set by the game wardens. How did he end up being called Duke Ling (tr. Ling – magical)?”
Da Tao said:
“Those kinds of things just happen.”
Bo Chang Jian said:
“Duke Ling had three wives with whom he bathed in the same tub. But when Shi Qiu came to visit him in the imperial palace bearing gifts, he rushed to assist him and lead him by the arm. He can be quite careless when dealing with those who fulfill his sexual desires, but can be totally serious when confronted with those who are considered to be worthies. That’s how he end up being called Duke Ling.”
Shi Wei said:
“When Duke Ling died, a divination was made and it was said that it would be inauspicious for him to buried in the family grave. Another divination showed that if he were buried at Sha Qiu it would be very auspicious. After digging down for several feet, a stone coffin was found. When it was rinsed off and examined, this was found engraved on it: ‘Not relying on his descendants (to provide him with a grave site), Duke Ling decided to be buried here.’ You see, Duke Ling had become Ling (magical) a long time ago. Those two other guys (Da and Bo) – how could they be competent enough to know about this?”
Shao Zhi (Lacking Knowledge) asked Tai Gong Diao (Supremely Fair Equalizer):
“What’s meant by saying that a small village spreads out in all directions?”
Tai Gong Diao said:
“That a village spreads out in all directions means that it brings together hundreds of different personal names into the the confines of ten clan names and regulates them all equally. It brings together what was different so they can all be considered the same, and it disperses the similarities so they can all be different.
(Note: In ancient China the people of a certain region were all given the same surname, usually one chosen by the king. These were their clan names although the people within one clan might not be related to one another. However, each person had a given name which a child’s parents could choose themselves. If someone was accepted into the government as an official, their surname and given name were usually changed by the king. That’s why so many different names were used when referring to one person.)
“Now if you point out the hundred individual body parts of a horse, you wouldn’t be pointing specifically at a horse. However, when a horse is standing right in front of you, even though it’s made up of a hundred different parts, it’d be called a horse. So it is that hills and mountains gradually accumulate soil and become tall. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers join their waters and become powerful. Capable people merge together as equals to become impartial. So if something from outside of them tries to influence their nature, presenting itself as authoritative, they don’t hold on to it. If something emerges from deep within them, presenting itself as correct, they don’t cast it away.
“Each of the four seasons has a special energy, and the heavens doesn’t favor one over another, so the course of a year completes itself. Each of the five senses has a special job to do, and the person in charge of all of them doesn’t become personally attached to one over another, so the whole system is managed properly. As for courtesy and aggression, a magnanimous person doesn’t favor one over another, so virtue provides the only preparation necessary. Each of the living things has a special nature, and Dao doesn’t become personally attached to one over another, so nothing is categorized. Not categorizing anything allows for no action to be taken, and when no action is taken then there is nothing that doesn’t act naturally.
“Time has endings and beginnings. Each generation goes through changes and transformations. Fortune and misfortune occur haphazardly – sometimes their arrival is unwelcome and other times welcomed. By setting oneself on a specific course and adamantly sticking to it, that’s when what occurs is perceived as going with the grain or going against it. If we compare the things in a vast wilderness, there are hundreds of different things that all work together to create the environment. Or observe a huge mountain and notice that the trees and rocks can cohabit the same area. This is what’s meant by saying that a small village spreads out in all directions.”
Shao Zhi said:
“Okay, then wouldn’t it be enough to call that Dao?”
Tai Gong Diao said:
“Not at all. We might try to count up all the things using numbers, and even though it can’t be limited to ten thousand, we still use the term ‘the ten thousand things’, but using numbers to categorize them simply makes it easier for us to refer to them. So, we use terms like ‘the heavens’ and ‘the earth’ to denote the largest things. We use ‘Yin’ and ‘Yang’ to denote the essence of things. We use ‘Dao’ to denote the way things work together. Because we use so many numbers and categories to make it easier for us to refer to them, even though they’d exist without that, we then end up making all sorts of comparisons between things! Then we end up creating debates – like the ongoing arguments between what’s a dog and what’s a horse. It’d be so much better to leave all that stuff behind.”
(Note: “…arguments between what’s a dog and what’s a horse” refers to the ongoing clever debates between the philosophers, which was occasionally funny, but was meant to show that one school of thought was superior to another.)
Shao Zhi said:
“Within the four directions (north, south, east, west – the surface of the earth, as it was considered at the time to be a flat square) and contained within the six fields (north, south, east, west, up, down – the atmosphere of the earth), how did the birth of the ten thousand things come about?”
Tai Gong Diao said:
“Yin and Yang attracted each other, enfolded each other and fulfilled each other. The four seasons alternated with each other, giving birth to each other and putting an end to each other. Likes and dislikes repel and attract, thereby a bridge arose between male and female with comings and goings that created a grand pivot (natural cycles of copulation and procreation). Safety and danger easily change into one another. Fortune and misfortune give rise to each other. Relaxation and tension are worn down by each other. Accumulation and dispersal follow after each other. These are the parts of reality that can be set down on record and are the pure essence that can be obviously noted. This natural sequence is followed by each thing and this evolution must impact each thing. Reversal after reaching an extreme and beginning after completion – these are inherent to all things. Those words that can best be used for what knowledge can achieve are merely showing the extremes things can reach. A person who’s intent on connecting with Dao doesn’t pursue things to the point of their decaying and doesn’t backtrack to investigate the beginning. In that way discussions about these things stop.”
Shao Zhi said:
“According to Ji Zhen (Reality of the natural seasons) nothing did it, but according to Jie Zi (Catching hold of the nature of birth) there was something that made it all happen (created the ten thousand things). These two schools go on and on with their discussions about it. Which one is correctly getting to the core of things, and which one is spreading their own theories?”
Tai Gong Diao said:
“Chickens cackle and dogs bark. Anyone knows that. But even though they have this extensive knowledge, they can’t explain in words how these things became that way nor can they determine what will happen to them later. They can split them up and analyze them and come up with a perfect resolution without any actual basis for their theories. This may seem to be a great resolution but it can’t encompass everything. Saying that ‘Something made it all happen’ or that ‘Nothing did it’, they haven’t yet removed themselves from things and end up missing the mark. ‘Something made it all happen’ allows for belief in a specific truth. ‘Nothing did it’ allows for a belief in emptiness. Making classifications and holding them as truths determines that things reside in a specific place for a reason. Giving up classifications and holding nothing as truth determines that things exist in emptiness with no reasoning. What can be spoken about can be given meaning, and speaking about it helps to cure insecurities. What hasn’t yet come into existence can’t cause anxiety, and what has already been dismissed can’t cause obstructions. Death and birth aren’t so far away that their patterns can’t be observed, but saying ‘Something made it all happen’ or ‘Nothing did it’ would cause suspicion as to whether those were false statements. When trying to examine the basis of existence, there’s no limit to how far back we’d have to go. When we seek to find out how everything will evolve, there’s no place we’d be able to stop. What’s without limits and without stopping can’t be described in words, so what we end up doing is noting similar patterns in living things. ‘Something made it all happen’ and ‘Nothing did it’ are attempts at describing the origins of existence and how things began and will end up.
“Dao can’t be possessed, and what can be possessed can’t be let go of. When Dao is used as a term to denote something, that’s starting from a faulty premise and going forward from there. Saying ‘Something made it all happen’ or ‘Nothing did it’ depends on one contorted viewpoint of things, so how could either of them be considered a greater method? If those words are considered to be substantial, then everything said would place limitations on Dao. If those words are considered to be superficial then everything said would place limitations on things. To reach an ultimate conclusion about Dao and things, neither speaking nor silence could convey that. By not speaking and not being silent, discussions reach their ultimate conclusion.”
